Your POV
"Don. Don, wait!" You yell, stalking after your fuming boyfriend of pretty near four years. "Don!"
He stops, dead in his tracks, turning to glare at you.
"What is it, princess?" He sneers, narrowing his eyes.
"I... I." You begin to stutter, standing there rather awkwardly now, your previous urgency quickly diminishing.
"You're what? You're sorry? Because a simple sorry ain't gonna fix things now! Literally!" Don retorts, gesturing to the now broken piece of machinery in his hands. "This was our last solution to the Chariot problem, Y/N."
"Don," You sigh. "It was an honest accident. I didn't notice you had your hands full! And frankly, when have you cared so much about solving anybody else's issues other than your own?"
You spit out your last few words like venom.
The man in front of you stumbles back slightly, almost as if your words had physically hurt him.
You groan inwardly, knowing full well what you had just started.
"Geez. I am horrible with words. Listen, I didn't mean to-"
He raises a hand to silence you, glaring daggers at you.
"Ease off." He mutters, before turning on his heel and continuing on his way.
"Don!" You practically whine as he continues his long strides. "I'm sorry!"
"I'm sure you are!" He yells back, his voice echoing down the now empty halls of the Resolute.
"For frig sakes." You mutter lowly, quickly following after him.
The bright orange jacket was hard to miss, really. It was helpful in times like these; you could easily trail behind him and still know exactly where he was headed.
Which was exactly the case now.
As you pass the Mess Hall, filled with families eating dinner, you wave at Will Robinson, who you had seen around a few times.
Nice kid.
He waves back, smiling broadly.
Continuing on, you allow your focus to solely set on the back of the familiar orange jacket, watching with mild confusion as Don steps into a stairwell off to the side, heading down.
"Where are you going?" You mumble softly to yourself, entering the stairwell seconds after him, the sound of a door shutting distantly below you signalling that he had likely headed to his quarters for the evening.
I've gotta go talk to him... I can't just leave it like this...
"Don? Are you there?" You inquire neutrally into your Comm, waiting for a reply as you lean against a nearby wall.
"What do you want now?" Your boyfriend's voice comes through on the other end, sounding tired and frustrated.
"We need to finish our conversation. We can't leave it like that!"
"Yes we can." Comes the reply, the sound of sudden static on the other end signalling that he had cut the connection and muted his Comm.
"Dammit, West! I swear..." You curse to yourself, stalking down the stairs the way he had been moments ago, the soles of your boots digging into the floor beneath you.
With a frustrated sigh, you step through the door with a simple label, Crew Only, sprawled across it in orange standard block lettering, and into the long corridor housing the Crew's quarters.
"I just don't know what to tell her, Debbie! She's been driving me crazy the last few weeks!" Don's voice echoes throughout the hallway as you approach his room.
He didn't shut his door like he usually does.
"I've been driving you crazy?" You state, now standing in the doorway to the small area, hands on your hips.
"And would you look at that. The lady of the hour decides to stop by and pay me a visit."
"We need to talk, Don."
He rolls his eyes.
"About what, sweetheart? We've already been over this!"
You sigh, genuinely feeling sorry as you run a hand through your hair, stepping into the small area slightly.
"Listen. I know I broke our only solution to the Chariot problem. And I know that I shouldn't have been so snide back there. So, I guess I came to apologize in person..."
Don rolls his eyes once again, mumbling something under his breath as he pushes himself away from the lone chair he had been sitting in seconds ago, stepping towards you.
"Apologies seem to be pretty regular between us." He states bluntly, stepping past you slightly and practically slamming his hand against the digital button that controls the door as it closes behind you both with a hiss.
"It would seem so." You nod as he comes back into your vision, a rather calm look settling over his features, not matching his previous action of aggression towards the door's keypad. "I heard you talking to Debbie before I came in."
At this, Don seems to shrink back slightly into the chair he had sat in once again.
"You heard that, huh?"
"Of course I did. Your door wasn't closed and I even made a comment when I walked in here." You reply, a look of confusion settling over your own features.
"Hm. I guess I didn't hear it."
What's going on here?
Even more confused and concerned now, you move further into the small space, gently sitting down on the edge of the small bed, facing your boyfriend.
"Are you good, Don?" You question, raising an eyebrow. "You don't seem like yourself..."
The man in front of you shakes his head slowly, laughing to himself.
"Am I good... Am I good? Ever since I've been stranded with the Robinsons for 9 months, I now talk to a chicken and other inanimate objects! So I ask you the same question, am I good? Because let me tell you, I have no idea if I'm 'good' or not!" Don snaps, a brief look of hopelessness falling across his face before being replaced by his usual slight smirk. "Oh, and in reply to your so-called apology, I do not accept."
All you can do is stare at the man in front of you, at a complete loss for words.
"I... I... What do you mean you don't accept!"
"I do not accept your apology." He repeats again, sounding like a child.
You can't help but laugh as he dramatically crosses his arms and pouts, like he had just lost his best friend.
"Well, how would you come to accept my apology?" You ask, a teasing tone in your voice as you decide to play along.
At this, Don's smirk broadens.
"Well, for starters, I would need some alone time with a certain someone..." He grins, getting up off the chair and quickly making his way over to where you had been sitting.
"Don! What are you-"
Before you could say much more, however, you're cut short by a bone crushing hug that sends both of you flying backwards into the small mattress you had been perched upon.
"Don! Don stop!" You protest as the inevitable tickle war begins to make your eyes water, your laughter taking over.
"What did you say? I can't understand you, princess..." He practically laughs as you begin to struggle against his grip, laughing so hard by this point that you literally had tears streaming down your face.
"S... S... Stop! Please!" You manage to gasp out in between fits of laughter.
"Oh! That's what you meant..." Don murmurs playfully as his sudden tickle attack ceases and you begin to calm down, slowly settling into his strong frame.
"So... I guess this means you accept my apology?" You whisper, not trusting your strained voice from laughing so hard to speak much louder.
"I guess it'll do." He smirks, brushing a stray strand of hair away from your face before pulling you closer into him.
****
You both had somehow managed to begin to drift in and out of consciousness, becoming wearier with every minute that ticked by, and eventually ending up where you are now, practically asleep but not quite.
"Don..." You murmur, your eyes shut, head resting against his. "Don?"
"Hm."
"We never figured out what to do about the Chariot problem..." You sigh, almost fully awake now as you pull yourself to a sitting position, rubbing your eyes, glancing at the clock.
12:30 AM.
"We've gotta figure out something! If we don't-"
You're cut off by his arm lazily raised in front of your mid-section in an attempt to prevent you from going anywhere.
"We'll figure that out in the morning, or whenever we wake up... Come back..." Don whines softly, fatigue and exhaustion lacing his tone, slurring his words slightly.
"You're right..." You yawn, gently laying back down beside the man next to you, his arm now draping over your torso.
"Finally, you decide to listen to me for once..." He mutters lazily, pulling you even closer than before. "Just stay with me, princess..."
You laugh softly as he gently kisses your forehead before sleep finally manages to overtake him, the sounds of his soft snores echoing around you both in the small space.
"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon..." You whisper as your own eyelids begin to grow heavy with exhaustion, curling closer to the man beside you.
"I'll stay with you."