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"You all good there, buddy? That landing sounded uncharacteristically chaotic," Gabbro called out before Nova even reached their cove.
"Ga-Gabbro–" they wheezed, stumbling over to their hideout and gracelessly collapsing as soon as they were in range of breathable air.
"I'll take that as a no."
"I- I'm- I'm in-"
"Buddy, relax. Take a breather. Let your oxygen tank refill and just-"
"I'm in love with you," they choked out, finally, falling onto their back and gasping for breath. Staring up at the cloudy, gray, ever familiar sky of Giant's Deep. They felt their heartbeat in their ears, and there was a noticeable lack of sound. A palpable tension, thick like molasses. Not so different from the one that was so painfully familiar with Hal.
"I think you're lonely, hatchling," Gabbro offered gently. No. No, no.
"No," they gasped out exactly that thought, "No. No. You- all of you- I can't- you can't just-"
"Buddy–"
"What?" they snapped, immediately regretting the way it came out. Gabbro was as unphased as ever.
"You're sending yourself into a fit. Just try to breathe. You can do that, yeah?"
"I- I-"
"Mm," Gabbro hummed softly, "Maybe some white noise will help."
The sound of their instrument filled the air once more, an admittedly comforting one; especially as compared to the horror of the dreaded anglerfish that never left their head upon first hearing it.
For many minutes, Nova was anything but calm. They were just short of hyperventilating, in the jaws of a full blown anxiety attack. Still, they tried to do as Gabbro instructed. Deep breaths. In and out. Just like Hal used to tell them, before everything went awry.
Nova choked on a sob, fighting back those embarrassing noises. The knot in their throat made the task at hand more challenging, and it felt like the world was ending– oh, but it was ending, oh stars, the world was really ending, they were doomed to be stuck in a time loop for all of eternity, oh-
"Hookay, let's try something else, hatchling."
All they could do to attempt a response was give a weak, pitiful noise of acknowledgement.
"Right. Okay. How about- do you remember that game you and Hal made up when you were just tadpoles?"
"I- um-" Nova tripped over their words. How exactly did Gabbro expect them to respond in the state they were? "I- I guess? I don't-"
"It was an exploring game. Or rather, you were the explorer, Hal was the researcher," Gabbro informed them, very matter-of-factly. Nova blinked.
"I.. o-ookay?"
"You were always quite the go-getter, even fresh out the pond," Gabbro mused, "I'm sure it's not as easy to recall in detail with how young you both were."
"I don't- what are you getting at, Gabbro?"
Then, shockingly, Gabbro swung their legs over the side of the hammock and stood. Stretched their arms over their head and groaned before setting their flute down in the hammock.
Rather unceremoniously, they plopped down in front of Nova in the sand; legs criss-crossed.
They reached out with both hands and gently patted both sides of their helmet.
"How about you take this off and get a real breath of fresh air, yeah? Sure, your suit does its job and supplies oxygen, keeps you good and alive, but even I get a little claustrophobic in this thing."
Nova blinked several times. Couldn't do quite much apart from stare.
"You still in there, buddy?" Gabbro called out, waving a hand in front of their face.
"I- yes. I'm here," they muttered. "Why do- I- no, um, really, I don't need to–"
Nova stopped their nonsense string of rambling when Gabbro put their hands on their own helmet, and just like that, they pulled it off and set it aside.
"You always were a bit self-conscious, weren't you; Hatchling? That's okay. We've all been there. The good news is, you and I are the only ones in about a 10 kilometer radius. Just me, you– well, and I suppose the several violently spinning cyclones."
"Um… okay."
They undid the safety on their helmet and, begrudgingly, pulled it off; setting it next to Gabbro's. The cool air and wind from the cyclones did nothing to make their face not feel like it was positively on fire. Gabbro grinned at them, and that most certainly did not help matters, either. Made them quite worse, in fact.
"See? Was that so difficult?"
"Immensely," they deadpanned, praying their expression did not convey the way their heart was pounding in their chest. What a mess.
"Mm. You'll live, hatchling."
"Yeah, sure. For maybe like, 16 more minutes, and then I'll die in a fiery explosion for the- what time would this even be? Thirtieth? Thirty-fifth- f- mmph–"
The sudden obtrusion of a- what was- oh- a marshmallow. Yes. A marshmallow hastily stuffed into their mouth obstructed any more senseless rambling. Nova shot Gabbro a glare, though they paid it no mind. As was typical for them.
"I see the attitude never changed," they commented idly. Nova huffed and took the marshmallow out of their mouth.
"Why did you do that."
"You were rambling. And panicking. Again. We just got you relaxed– uh, more or less. Don't need you getting worked up all over again, hatchling."
"Stars, I wish you would stop calling me that. I- I'm n-not a hatchling. I'm not a- ch-child. Do you- d-do you really think- a hatchling wo-would have seen half–"
"I'm gonna go ahead and stop you right there, buddy," Gabbro said gently, patting them on their thigh. Really, their hand was there for no longer than a few seconds, so why did it feel so–
"I think you might be misinterpreting me. Then again, that's on me more than it is you."
Gabbro took a bite of another marshmallow they pulled from a pocket and made a face. "Gee, buddy, I know it's all personal preference, but how do you enjoy eating these untoasted?"
"I- you're getting off track."
"Right, right, my bad; buddy. So, anywho– what I was tryin' to get at was, it's a term of endearment. You're a smart one, always have been– I'm sure you haven't missed the differences in situations where I call you hatchling and where I call you tadpole."
Nova realized maybe too late that their mouth was slightly agape, and they closed it self consciously. Oh, but of course they understood now. Stars, they were such an idiot, why did they-
"My point is, I know you aren't a child anymore. I can say the same for the rest of the older folk, buddy."
Nova felt stupid, so stupid.
"I… yeah. I get that. I get it. So-Sorry, I just-"
"Mm, no need for any of that. I hear ya loud n' clear. If it's that uncomfortable, I won't call you it anymore. Whatever gives you peace of mind."
No, no, that's not what they wanted. They choked a little. Oh, how humiliating it all was.
"N-No, I don't- I d-don't want you to st-stop," they rasped. Oh, it was so much worse being able to see the look on Gabbro's face. To see the confusion clear as day. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the sun went supernova at exactly that very moment, actually.
"I-" they drew in a deep breath, followed by a shaky sigh. Tried to collect themselves and their thoughts. Stars, for once, just pull it together. "I don't- mi-mind. I don't. I ju-just… it's. Like you said. I misinterpreted it."
For a few moments– a few too long, really– Gabbro stared. Then they blinked, and huffed as a smile formed on their face. Oh, relief. Sure. They'll take that one.
"I gotcha. Whatever you say, time buddy."
Hm. Nova could not discern why the nicknames made their heart race so. So confusing. So unfamiliar. Actually, really, just being in the presence of Gabbro seemed to do it for them. But that… made sense. Finally. More or less.
"Well!" they exclaimed all too suddenly, and Nova did not doubt their expression was nothing less than comical, "You know, you still haven't taken me up on my offer to teach you to play the flute. How about we go out of this loop with a bang, hatchling?"
Okay. Yeah. Nova most certainly was not going to put the effort into understanding the way that made them feel. What were they even thinking, anyway? Oh, stars. The horror of it all. Absolutely not.
"I- you were just using it, though."
Gabbro snorted, and they had half a mind to shoot them a glare… not really, though. Whatever.
"You scared of catching my germs, buddy? Thought you would've learned in school that it's just a tadpole's tale."
"Oh, stars, forget it. Just get it over with."
"Well, based on the rising temperature, your wish should be granted with relative haste."
Nova sighed as they watched Gabbro stand and retrieve their flute. What a mess. What a mortifying, confusing, terrifying, utter, catastrophe. How will they ever get out of this one? Did they even want to get out of it? It was such a feeling. An intoxicating one, to put it into words. Oh, stars. No need to overthink it anymore– not until the next loop. They let the harsh sound of the flute they produced fill their mind and drown out all other thoughts, if only for a moment.