Mud Puddles [Jim Hawkins x Reader]

Chapter 10

The platform was close. Tantalizingly close: The Fat Lady was only a few klicks away from their flag. Sure, they had only four days left to retrieve the flag and sail back to the academy, but still the cadets felt confident. No doubt the others were already on their return trip. The rest of the squad had begun almost a day prior to Jim and (Y/N). Plus, they'd already seen many of their peer's ships pass by.

The engine was acting suspiciously. Ever since the solar storm, it had been making a slight grinding sound. Momentarily its rattling purr would slow down into a growl before picking back up again. But, as the cadets were pressed for time as it was, Jim had avoided a comprehensive diagnosis. They couldn't afford to stop. Instead, he crossed his fingers and covered his ears whenever it made a concerning noise.

That did not turn out to be a wise decision.

They had just passed one of the final landmarks when the engine, at long last, had finally caved. At first, (Y/N) didn't notice because she had been dozing in the hold. But when she began to float out of the hammock, her mind was alert and panicking.

"Jim!?" She called out warily but was rewarded with no response. Walking along the roof with her hands, she grabbed a rope floating out from the storeroom and tied herself to the ladder before ascending onto the deck. There were buckets and the ends of rope floating aimlessly about the deck.

"Jim!" (Y/N) called again. He wasn't at the helm, nor clinging to the deck: was he already floating in dead space? Before she considered looking over the edge of the ship, a faraway voice came from above her.

"Up here!" She looked to where the voice originated from and saw him clinging to the mainsail, white shirt billowing.

"Need a rope?" She called. He shook his head. (Y/N) watched him glide down the sails with minimal effort, and before hitting the deck face-first, he grabbed a knoll in the mast to spin himself upright. "...Or not."

"The artificial gravity's gone kaput," Jim glided over to the sizzling eyesore in the centre of the deck. All of the lights were off. Actually, all of the lights across the ship were off. After a moment of inspection, Jim reached a conclusion.

"The main generator blew, everything's dead. I can get the backup generator running, but it might take me a while to get everything else online again." He said. (Y/N) nodded.

"If you use the Xorbutar Method of Naval Problem Solving, you might get it done quicker." She said, humour on her lips. Jim rolled his eyes and laughed dryly.

"Har har. Very funny."

After a moment Jim of fiddling with the machine, (Y/N), who had been several feet in the air, fell onto the deck awkwardly.

"Ow -- Could you warn me next time?!" Jim chuckled when he heard her disgruntled complaints.

"Why would I do that when your reaction is so priceless?" He said, looking over his shoulder with a cheeky smile. She huffed and crossed her arms childishly while muttering something about Jim's immaturity.

"Oh, I'm immature?"

"I wasn't talking to you, but yes."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Are you calling me a hypocrite?"

"Yes, actually!"

(Y/N) sighed in exasperation.

"Are we seriously arguing again? We were doing so well!" She said. Jim shrugged defensively.

"I wasn't arguing, you just took my friendly joke the wrong way!" By now they were both facing each other: (Y/N) hugging her elbows whilst Jim leaned against the artificial gravity generator with his arms crossed.