Where Power Isn't Needed
Title: Where Power Isn’t Needed
Summary: Set during the Series 4 episode ‘White Hole.’ On a ship with no working electricity, Cat and Lister learn that the smallest shred of independence, no matter how mad it may be, can be OK.
Rating: PG-13 (nothing graphic, no worries!)
Author: EllieET
Genre: Romance. Slightly humourous too.
Warnings: Slash. My first fanfic. Pairing that isn’t Lister/Rimmer (although I do ship them!)
Spoilers: White Hole, Series 4, and the Pilot episode, which I’ve researched but never seen. ^__^
Disclaimer: (Turns out empty pockets) Nope. Grant and Naylor’s pockets, however, are full to the brim.
Having only seen a few episodes of RD, and having to sweet-talk my parents into letting me watch and tape it on Monday and Saturday nights, I’m not sure how you guys will react to this. I was going to wait a while longer before writing fanfiction, but on watching ‘White Hole’ on Monday night, and observing the small ‘bike’ scene between Cat and Lister, it seemed to me that Cat became more caring and serious than usual in order to calm Lister down. Then I thought up this ficlet. Tell me if I get the smallest thing wrong, and please bear in mind I’ve seen hardly any episodes. Okay?
*
The Cat glanced over from atop his bunk at Lister. The other man had been pumping away at that bike for ten minutes now, and his breath could be heard coming in fast, hurried pants, even from all the way across the room. His shoulders were rising and falling, and it was all too obvious how tired he was. And yet, he kept going. Unbelievable.
“OK, bud, take a break,” Cat said, propping himself up on his elbows. Lister promptly stopped pedaling to stare, bemused, at Cat over his shoulder.
“What?”
“Take a break,” Cat repeated. There was no way he would be able to get to sleep with all that racket going on, he told himself. There was no point.
“Wow.” Lister climbed off the bike in one swift movement and strode across the room to lean against Cat’s bunk. “That’s a new record - you admitting you were wrong about the smegging bike!”
“It’s not admitting I’m wrong,” Cat protested. “I just don’t think you should do it if you can’t pedal quietly. Plus,” he added, “You’re exhausted.”
“Lucky, that. If I weren’t so flat-out I’d kill you.”
“Least it keeps you fit,” Cat offered helpfully, as Lister collapsed in the lower bunk.
“Well, thanks, man, thanks a lot,” Lister replied sarcastically as he unzipped his jacket. He threw off his cap and briefly massaged his face with his hands before rubbing both his hands together. “Gosh, it *is* chilly in here, isn’t it?”
“Slightly.” Cat hung his head over the side of his bunk so that he could talk to Lister properly.
“Sure you don’t want me to continue pedaling?” Lister asked after a slight pause.
“I want to actually get some beauty sleep, thanks.” Cat tried to inject some of the usual trademark sharpness into his voice, but it finally came out rather flat; emotionless, even.
“You positive, man, I’ve just realised that we might freeze into a couple of un-thawable ice-blocks before Kryten and Rimmer get back.”
“Well, I’ve got a solution to the problem.” Cat sat up on his bunk and then jumped down next to Lister.
“Which is?” Lister asked, watching Cat’s movements somewhat suspiciously.
“We share a bed.”
Lister blinked. “Do what?”
“Body-heat,” Cat hastened to explain. “It keeps us warm. The cat-race did it all the time in particularly chilly conditions. Wanna give it a try?”
Lister appeared to think about it for a moment. Then his face cleared and he shrugged. “OK.”
Cat grinned, and then taking hold of Lister’s arm, pulled him towards the large red couch built into the wall at the other end of the room.
“The bunk’s too small for two of us,” he told a mystified Lister. “And no offence, buddy - “ He went back to get the pillow and the rendered-useless electric blanket “ - but you are kinda - big.”
“We haven’t used this thing for absolute smegging yonks,” Lister said, sitting down on the couch and running his hands over the fabric. “Never realised it would come in so handy.”
“Yeah, that’s because we take everything on Red Dwarf for granted,” said Cat in a surprisingly solemn tone, coming back with the blanket and pillow. “It’s like you said - we’re all dependent and that’s the problem here.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Lister accepted the pillow and threw it down on one end of the couch. He paused for a moment, eyeing the opposite wall. “The thing is, I was really surprised to come out of stasis and discover that I was the only surviving member of a radiation leak. The only person left on Red Dwarf - can you imagine? Granted, Rimmer was brought back, and then we found you, and then we rescued Kryten.”
Cat nodded as he leaned against the wall, taking in Lister’s every word, feeling alarmingly attentive.
“But still - to have a whole ship to myself,” Lister continued. “I’d never had that before. One minute - “
“One minute you’re squashed in with Alphabet Head with the approximate ownership of one bunk and the unofficial claim to the vending machines’ Salt and Vinegar Crisps,” finished Cat. “And the next, you have the run of Red Dwarf.”
“Yeah.” Lister nodded. “That’s exactly what it was. So I guess I couldn’t help revolving my life around this ship. I thought I was moving up in the world and I let this place get the better of me. I never stopped to think about what would happen in an emergency.”
“Well, at least you’re alive,” tried Cat.
“Yeah, but for how long?” Lister looked up at him.
“We’ve managed to fight our way out of scraps before, buddy.” Cat clapped him on the shoulder, hoping to raise Lister’s fading morale. “We can get out of this one, alright? Now no more misery - you’re just tired.”
Lister blinked at his friend, surprised at the unfamiliar sincerity in Cat’s words. Then he shrugged as Cat sat down next to him with the blanket slung over his shoulder.
“Wow, this thing sure is comfy,” he mumbled to himself, bouncing on the couch slightly. “Maybe I can put up guard-dog signs in case anyone else tries to use it.” Putting an arm around Lister, he grinned at him. “Let’s see if we can match up to the expectations of my ancestors.” Then he pulled Lister back with him, two pairs of legs tangling together somewhat clumsily at the other end of the couch. After some shuffling around, they lay side by side as comfortably as possible, Cat’s head resting against the pillow and Lister’s head resting on his chest.
“Are you alright, bud?” Cat asked, all too aware that one of his arms was still wrapped around Lister.
“Yeah. Feel warm yet?”
“Not yet. It takes a while.” Cat threw the blanket over them both and tried to move his hand away. He froze when he realised his fingers were now brushing Lister’s braids. They felt rather thick but soft to the touch, and Cat couldn’t help but admire the texture, at the same time feeling slightly envious. As his own hair was somewhat coarse and even slightly rough, it always needed a good touch of gel to soothe it every day. Slowly, almost instinctively, Cat allowed his hands to start fingering Lister’s braids less tentatively, marveling at the silkiness, wondering absent-mindedly if he should have his hair styled like this at some point. Not that it would make any difference. Lister’s hairstyle was one-in-a-million, and Cat knew that it wouldn’t look half as good on anyone else - not even himself.
“Cat? What are you doing?” Lister’s voice brought Cat back from his fantasies of hair and the difference between coarse and silky and - oh, for the love of Frankenstein, what were his fingers trying to do?
“Er - sorry.” Cat made a huge effort to keep his cool on the ground as he snatched his hand away - only to rest it on one of Lister’s hunches. “It’s just the whole getting-to-sleep thing, it’s kind of a morale to play with your fingers when you’re halfway into a blissful coma.”
“I don’t have a problem with you playing with my hair, but wouldn’t thinking random stupid things be a whole lot more effective?” Lister sounded mystified and didn’t seem to notice that Cat’s eyes had widened and that he was staring at him. “That’s what I do. Actually, I’ve just remembered something.”
“Which is?” Cat asked. His fingers gave a tentative tug at one of Lister’s braids, but Lister didn’t shy away. If anything, his eyes were gazing at the ceiling and he was chewing his lip thoughtfully.
“Well, when I was a teenager, me mates and I, we were always sleeping over at each other’s houses, whenever the parents were away,” he told Cat. “We normally had mattresses on the floor, but we usually shared them, to get warm, I guess.”
“Oh, yeah?” Cat asked in interest. His hand gathered up all of Lister’s braids in one go and he let them slip between his fingers.
“Yeah. We didn’t sleep in this position, though; not ever.”
“First time for everything.” Cat joked feebly.
“Yeah.” Lister smiled and snuggled into Cat’s chest. Cat’s eyes widened further, his brain working furiously. *StaycoolstaycoolstaycoolstaySANE!*
“I think this body-heat thing’s working,” said Lister, sounding somewhat sleepy. “Can you feel anything?”
“I - uh - I can feel something,” Cat replied, which was painfully true. His fingers twitched, desperate for something to do, something casual, something that would work - and ended up playing with Lister’s braids again.
*Chances are Frankenstein’s turning in her grave right now,* thought Cat, now clinging on to his normally cool aura by the slenderest of slender threads. What had he gotten himself into? And more importantly - why was Lister making him feel like this? Had the reason always been there? Had it been what made Cat feel sorry for Lister as he watched his friend pumping away at that bike without avail? Had it been what had led him to try to soothe Lister’s frayed nerves just half-an-hour before when Lister had been grousing over their lack of independence?
The question was: What was the reason?
Then it struck.
Oh, man.
Cat lost all sense of reality, not to mention sensibility, as Lister glanced up at him and then moved his face closer. Cat only just had time to take in the sudden misty gaze of his friend’s eyes before they were nose-to-nose, and then mouth-to-mouth.
*Oh my gosh this was SO not the plan we’re supposed to be keeping other warm but NOT IN THAT WAY!*
First chance to pull away.
The kiss continued.
Second chance to pull away.
Lister’s tongue slid through Cat’s lips and he obliged, allowing his sleeping partner to deepen the kiss. He felt Lister’s tongue carefully outline the ridge of his teeth and fangs, and he gave a quiet moan before he could hold himself back.
Third chance to pull away.
“OK, hang about.” Cat pulled away from Lister with what felt like a huge force, only to realise that they were still on the couch, and he wouldn’t be able to shift to safety any further. Especially not while Lister was clinging on to him with a cast-iron grip.
“What’s wrong, man?” Lister asked, frowning at him.
“I’ll tell you when I manage to find an answer,” Cat blinked. He knew he should look away, but he couldn’t. Because he felt it wasn’t the right thing to do in this kind of situation.
“Yeah, I know the feeling. What did we just do?” Lister fixed him with a questioning glance. His hand clung impossibly tighter to Cat’s red jacket.
“Maybe…we shouldn’t be sharing - ” Cat began feebly.
“No! It’s OK,” Lister offered quickly. “Honestly, man - it’s OK.”
Cat gaped at him. “You serious?”
“Yeah. I think I am.”
Cat could only stare.
“Well, you were the one who suggested the body-heat theory.” Lister’s lips twitched. “I was curious, so I agreed. And then you started playing with my hair. Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Can I help you find an answer? Electricity doesn’t control everything on this ship.” Lister’s voice softened slightly.
*No, it doesn’t,* thought Cat. *This is something we did ourselves. Maybe that’s why it’s OK.*
Yes. Yes, it was OK. Yes, there were trapped on a ship without any power, floating aimlessly in space and scavenging for whatever resources they could find. Yes, they didn’t know what was going to happen to them yet; the chances were 50-50, life versus death. Yes, they were sharing a couch; yes, they had kissed; and no, Cat was not going to run away screaming.
Because, he realised, placing a hand under Lister’s chin and pulling him gently forwards to kiss him again, there were some things that didn’t need electricity. They were at a stage where power wasn’t needed.
And Cat was alright with that.
*
The End.
Summary: Set during the Series 4 episode ‘White Hole.’ On a ship with no working electricity, Cat and Lister learn that the smallest shred of independence, no matter how mad it may be, can be OK.
Rating: PG-13 (nothing graphic, no worries!)
Author: EllieET
Genre: Romance. Slightly humourous too.
Warnings: Slash. My first fanfic. Pairing that isn’t Lister/Rimmer (although I do ship them!)
Spoilers: White Hole, Series 4, and the Pilot episode, which I’ve researched but never seen. ^__^
Disclaimer: (Turns out empty pockets) Nope. Grant and Naylor’s pockets, however, are full to the brim.
Having only seen a few episodes of RD, and having to sweet-talk my parents into letting me watch and tape it on Monday and Saturday nights, I’m not sure how you guys will react to this. I was going to wait a while longer before writing fanfiction, but on watching ‘White Hole’ on Monday night, and observing the small ‘bike’ scene between Cat and Lister, it seemed to me that Cat became more caring and serious than usual in order to calm Lister down. Then I thought up this ficlet. Tell me if I get the smallest thing wrong, and please bear in mind I’ve seen hardly any episodes. Okay?
*
The Cat glanced over from atop his bunk at Lister. The other man had been pumping away at that bike for ten minutes now, and his breath could be heard coming in fast, hurried pants, even from all the way across the room. His shoulders were rising and falling, and it was all too obvious how tired he was. And yet, he kept going. Unbelievable.
“OK, bud, take a break,” Cat said, propping himself up on his elbows. Lister promptly stopped pedaling to stare, bemused, at Cat over his shoulder.
“What?”
“Take a break,” Cat repeated. There was no way he would be able to get to sleep with all that racket going on, he told himself. There was no point.
“Wow.” Lister climbed off the bike in one swift movement and strode across the room to lean against Cat’s bunk. “That’s a new record - you admitting you were wrong about the smegging bike!”
“It’s not admitting I’m wrong,” Cat protested. “I just don’t think you should do it if you can’t pedal quietly. Plus,” he added, “You’re exhausted.”
“Lucky, that. If I weren’t so flat-out I’d kill you.”
“Least it keeps you fit,” Cat offered helpfully, as Lister collapsed in the lower bunk.
“Well, thanks, man, thanks a lot,” Lister replied sarcastically as he unzipped his jacket. He threw off his cap and briefly massaged his face with his hands before rubbing both his hands together. “Gosh, it *is* chilly in here, isn’t it?”
“Slightly.” Cat hung his head over the side of his bunk so that he could talk to Lister properly.
“Sure you don’t want me to continue pedaling?” Lister asked after a slight pause.
“I want to actually get some beauty sleep, thanks.” Cat tried to inject some of the usual trademark sharpness into his voice, but it finally came out rather flat; emotionless, even.
“You positive, man, I’ve just realised that we might freeze into a couple of un-thawable ice-blocks before Kryten and Rimmer get back.”
“Well, I’ve got a solution to the problem.” Cat sat up on his bunk and then jumped down next to Lister.
“Which is?” Lister asked, watching Cat’s movements somewhat suspiciously.
“We share a bed.”
Lister blinked. “Do what?”
“Body-heat,” Cat hastened to explain. “It keeps us warm. The cat-race did it all the time in particularly chilly conditions. Wanna give it a try?”
Lister appeared to think about it for a moment. Then his face cleared and he shrugged. “OK.”
Cat grinned, and then taking hold of Lister’s arm, pulled him towards the large red couch built into the wall at the other end of the room.
“The bunk’s too small for two of us,” he told a mystified Lister. “And no offence, buddy - “ He went back to get the pillow and the rendered-useless electric blanket “ - but you are kinda - big.”
“We haven’t used this thing for absolute smegging yonks,” Lister said, sitting down on the couch and running his hands over the fabric. “Never realised it would come in so handy.”
“Yeah, that’s because we take everything on Red Dwarf for granted,” said Cat in a surprisingly solemn tone, coming back with the blanket and pillow. “It’s like you said - we’re all dependent and that’s the problem here.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Lister accepted the pillow and threw it down on one end of the couch. He paused for a moment, eyeing the opposite wall. “The thing is, I was really surprised to come out of stasis and discover that I was the only surviving member of a radiation leak. The only person left on Red Dwarf - can you imagine? Granted, Rimmer was brought back, and then we found you, and then we rescued Kryten.”
Cat nodded as he leaned against the wall, taking in Lister’s every word, feeling alarmingly attentive.
“But still - to have a whole ship to myself,” Lister continued. “I’d never had that before. One minute - “
“One minute you’re squashed in with Alphabet Head with the approximate ownership of one bunk and the unofficial claim to the vending machines’ Salt and Vinegar Crisps,” finished Cat. “And the next, you have the run of Red Dwarf.”
“Yeah.” Lister nodded. “That’s exactly what it was. So I guess I couldn’t help revolving my life around this ship. I thought I was moving up in the world and I let this place get the better of me. I never stopped to think about what would happen in an emergency.”
“Well, at least you’re alive,” tried Cat.
“Yeah, but for how long?” Lister looked up at him.
“We’ve managed to fight our way out of scraps before, buddy.” Cat clapped him on the shoulder, hoping to raise Lister’s fading morale. “We can get out of this one, alright? Now no more misery - you’re just tired.”
Lister blinked at his friend, surprised at the unfamiliar sincerity in Cat’s words. Then he shrugged as Cat sat down next to him with the blanket slung over his shoulder.
“Wow, this thing sure is comfy,” he mumbled to himself, bouncing on the couch slightly. “Maybe I can put up guard-dog signs in case anyone else tries to use it.” Putting an arm around Lister, he grinned at him. “Let’s see if we can match up to the expectations of my ancestors.” Then he pulled Lister back with him, two pairs of legs tangling together somewhat clumsily at the other end of the couch. After some shuffling around, they lay side by side as comfortably as possible, Cat’s head resting against the pillow and Lister’s head resting on his chest.
“Are you alright, bud?” Cat asked, all too aware that one of his arms was still wrapped around Lister.
“Yeah. Feel warm yet?”
“Not yet. It takes a while.” Cat threw the blanket over them both and tried to move his hand away. He froze when he realised his fingers were now brushing Lister’s braids. They felt rather thick but soft to the touch, and Cat couldn’t help but admire the texture, at the same time feeling slightly envious. As his own hair was somewhat coarse and even slightly rough, it always needed a good touch of gel to soothe it every day. Slowly, almost instinctively, Cat allowed his hands to start fingering Lister’s braids less tentatively, marveling at the silkiness, wondering absent-mindedly if he should have his hair styled like this at some point. Not that it would make any difference. Lister’s hairstyle was one-in-a-million, and Cat knew that it wouldn’t look half as good on anyone else - not even himself.
“Cat? What are you doing?” Lister’s voice brought Cat back from his fantasies of hair and the difference between coarse and silky and - oh, for the love of Frankenstein, what were his fingers trying to do?
“Er - sorry.” Cat made a huge effort to keep his cool on the ground as he snatched his hand away - only to rest it on one of Lister’s hunches. “It’s just the whole getting-to-sleep thing, it’s kind of a morale to play with your fingers when you’re halfway into a blissful coma.”
“I don’t have a problem with you playing with my hair, but wouldn’t thinking random stupid things be a whole lot more effective?” Lister sounded mystified and didn’t seem to notice that Cat’s eyes had widened and that he was staring at him. “That’s what I do. Actually, I’ve just remembered something.”
“Which is?” Cat asked. His fingers gave a tentative tug at one of Lister’s braids, but Lister didn’t shy away. If anything, his eyes were gazing at the ceiling and he was chewing his lip thoughtfully.
“Well, when I was a teenager, me mates and I, we were always sleeping over at each other’s houses, whenever the parents were away,” he told Cat. “We normally had mattresses on the floor, but we usually shared them, to get warm, I guess.”
“Oh, yeah?” Cat asked in interest. His hand gathered up all of Lister’s braids in one go and he let them slip between his fingers.
“Yeah. We didn’t sleep in this position, though; not ever.”
“First time for everything.” Cat joked feebly.
“Yeah.” Lister smiled and snuggled into Cat’s chest. Cat’s eyes widened further, his brain working furiously. *StaycoolstaycoolstaycoolstaySANE!*
“I think this body-heat thing’s working,” said Lister, sounding somewhat sleepy. “Can you feel anything?”
“I - uh - I can feel something,” Cat replied, which was painfully true. His fingers twitched, desperate for something to do, something casual, something that would work - and ended up playing with Lister’s braids again.
*Chances are Frankenstein’s turning in her grave right now,* thought Cat, now clinging on to his normally cool aura by the slenderest of slender threads. What had he gotten himself into? And more importantly - why was Lister making him feel like this? Had the reason always been there? Had it been what made Cat feel sorry for Lister as he watched his friend pumping away at that bike without avail? Had it been what had led him to try to soothe Lister’s frayed nerves just half-an-hour before when Lister had been grousing over their lack of independence?
The question was: What was the reason?
Then it struck.
Oh, man.
Cat lost all sense of reality, not to mention sensibility, as Lister glanced up at him and then moved his face closer. Cat only just had time to take in the sudden misty gaze of his friend’s eyes before they were nose-to-nose, and then mouth-to-mouth.
*Oh my gosh this was SO not the plan we’re supposed to be keeping other warm but NOT IN THAT WAY!*
First chance to pull away.
The kiss continued.
Second chance to pull away.
Lister’s tongue slid through Cat’s lips and he obliged, allowing his sleeping partner to deepen the kiss. He felt Lister’s tongue carefully outline the ridge of his teeth and fangs, and he gave a quiet moan before he could hold himself back.
Third chance to pull away.
“OK, hang about.” Cat pulled away from Lister with what felt like a huge force, only to realise that they were still on the couch, and he wouldn’t be able to shift to safety any further. Especially not while Lister was clinging on to him with a cast-iron grip.
“What’s wrong, man?” Lister asked, frowning at him.
“I’ll tell you when I manage to find an answer,” Cat blinked. He knew he should look away, but he couldn’t. Because he felt it wasn’t the right thing to do in this kind of situation.
“Yeah, I know the feeling. What did we just do?” Lister fixed him with a questioning glance. His hand clung impossibly tighter to Cat’s red jacket.
“Maybe…we shouldn’t be sharing - ” Cat began feebly.
“No! It’s OK,” Lister offered quickly. “Honestly, man - it’s OK.”
Cat gaped at him. “You serious?”
“Yeah. I think I am.”
Cat could only stare.
“Well, you were the one who suggested the body-heat theory.” Lister’s lips twitched. “I was curious, so I agreed. And then you started playing with my hair. Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Can I help you find an answer? Electricity doesn’t control everything on this ship.” Lister’s voice softened slightly.
*No, it doesn’t,* thought Cat. *This is something we did ourselves. Maybe that’s why it’s OK.*
Yes. Yes, it was OK. Yes, there were trapped on a ship without any power, floating aimlessly in space and scavenging for whatever resources they could find. Yes, they didn’t know what was going to happen to them yet; the chances were 50-50, life versus death. Yes, they were sharing a couch; yes, they had kissed; and no, Cat was not going to run away screaming.
Because, he realised, placing a hand under Lister’s chin and pulling him gently forwards to kiss him again, there were some things that didn’t need electricity. They were at a stage where power wasn’t needed.
And Cat was alright with that.
*
The End.