Snuggling!

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snuggle with someonespecial

A SHIPPING MEME

What better time than these cool, crisp mornings or rapidly lengthening nights to jump right under a warm blanket with that irreplaceable person in your life? Even if you're not sleeping together - heck, even if you've not been straight with your feelings and you're not officially an "item" - there's nothing wrong with cuddling up. Grab a book, get some hot cocoa, turn on the TV (if you're in an era where the tube's available), or just enjoy each other's presence on the couch or in the bed.

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• This is a shipping meme, not a smut meme, but if you want interactions to turn to something more, I can't stop you.
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Ikari Gai | Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger | starter for justcallmedoc

[enthusianchor]

[It's one of those nights in space where they're not close enough to a planet to be warmed by its sun, so the whole Galleon is taking on the kind of chill a room normally gets when it has a window that won't close all the way in the middle of winter. Don's been hunched over his desk for most of the day working on some project, and while Gai's reluctant to bother him, he also knows the evening's not going to be fun for anyone if they both get cold and cranky.

So obviously the solution is to warm up. Gai's already filled his hot water bottle and made a nice big cup of cocoa, and there are blankets fresh out of the dryer. (It's not so bad to get stuck with laundry duty sometimes.)

Once he's got their cabin door closed behind him, Gai sort of half-sneaks over to Don's desk to set down the cocoa and put a hand on his shoulder.]

Hey~ You look like you could use a break!

[justcallmedoc]

[Don springs to life with a start and sits back. He wasn't sleeping, he was concentrating! Plus it's cold in here. Cold makes anybody sluggish. He smiles up at Gai and stretches. It's probably not the best idea to set out hot, sugary drinks next to sensitive equipment, but he can't find it in his heart to rebuke Gai.]

You think so? It's not like it's late.

[enthusianchor]

You've been working really hard all day, though. And people work better when they take breaks to keep themselves fresh. [He smiles wide, making an effort to look charming and cool enough to lure Don away from his project.] Plus you made lunch and dinner for everybody on top of that, you've earned it.

[justcallmedoc]

Hm... [Don wraps his hands around the mug and looks thoughtful. His fingertips are getting chilly, which probably isn't a great sign for his furthered productivity. But he doesn't think of himself as having earned things too often. He leans way back in his chair to tip his head up at Gai.] You're not just bored waiting for me to finish with work, right?

[enthusianchor]

No, no! [Well. Technically yes, but that's beside the point! And--because the opportunity is right there--he leans down to steal a very quick kiss.] C'mon. You've been taking care of everyone else and the Galleon stuff all day. Somebody's gotta return the favor.

[justcallmedoc]

[Don pinks at the kiss, which, really he should be over by now. He'd say that he doesn't need favors returned and doesn't like being spoiled, except for the fact that he totally does. He swivels in his desk chair a little.]

Okay, fine. But not to sleep. I want to get this sorted out before morning so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.

[He flexes his chilly toes and slips out of his chair, stretching his arms up high.] Marvelous is probably a real pain to be around right now. I don't envy Joe one bit.

[enthusianchor]

[Yes! Victory! Gai nearly bounces over to the bed, where he grabs one of the still-warm blankets that just came out of the dryer and spreads it out. When he shimmies over to his usual half of the mattress, he tucks a corner of the blanket around his shoulders, then pats the space beside him.

Yes, he's inviting Don to be filling in a space pirate burrito.]

Yeah. I think Marvelous-san spent half of our New Year's visit under the kotatsu. [His impression of Marvelous is, uh. Well, it's certainly A Thing.] "Oi! Gimme your coffee, it's freezing in here!"

[justcallmedoc]

It was so hard not to laugh. [He's pretty close to it now, even, while he's taking off his sensible spacemom shoes to crawl onto the bed. He fits himself against Gai and folds over the other half of their blanket tortilla.] I wasn't expecting it to be so cold indoors on a planet, but it wasn't that bad. I'm looking forward to going again. Your family's really nice.

[enthusianchor]

[Gai sort of curls around him, his grin huge and a little dreamy.] They really like you. [The grin softens--he wishes he could have met Don's family, and he wishes he didn't feel so clumsy whenever he tries to ask about Don's life before he joined the Gokaigers. It's almost always like stumbling around in the dark, not knowing if he was going to hit something that hurt.

But he put all this together so he could take care of Don, not so he could be selfish, so he presses on.] Mom especially. She likes that you talked to her about her teaching work. Plus she thinks you're cute.

[justcallmedoc]

I could kinda tell. [Oh, oh the fawning.] It was a little awkward, to be honest, but... nice. [He turns the words over in his head a few times. It's hard to keep family talk light. He's practically new at it.] My grandma used to treat me like that. Which is nice and all, but it's kind of embarrassing now that I'm a pirate.

[And with Marvelous snickering under the kotatsu.]

[enthusianchor]

[That stops him in his tracks. It's new that Don's offering, so new he's almost startled. He's in the dark again, but this time he's been offered a hand, and all he can do is hold tight and walk as carefully as possible.]

I didn't really know any of my grandparents. [He swallows hard before making that tentative step forward.] Were you close?

[justcallmedoc]

[He nods. This isn't... so bad. It helps that it's Gai, and time's had a dulling effect on the pain of remembering he didn't fully notice until he started talking.] My grandparents raised me since I was really small, so they were a lot like parents to me.

[enthusianchor]

Really? [Huh. He had no idea, but now that he thinks about it, it does explain a lot.] Were they your mom's parents, or your dad's? [Gai's, uh. Not going to ask about what happened to his parents, because that's probably a shortcut to pain he doesn't want to cause.]

[justcallmedoc]

My mom's. [He's leaning into Gai now, not out of distress but in a kind of melty if vulnerable comfort he didn't expect.] I stayed in her old room when I was a kid. You'd think that would make me sad, but it let me feel close to her even though I didn't remember her that well.

[enthusianchor]

[This is so new it makes him dizzy. Don is sharing, and he's not sad or anxious. Carefully, Gai shifts to wrap both arms around him--there's this strange fluttery surge of warmth spreading through his chest, and he pulls Don in like having him physically closer will transfer that warmth to him too.]

That actually sounds pretty nice. [He's quiet for a moment, trying to think of something relatively safe to ask.] So what did you want to be when you were little?

[justcallmedoc]

[Somehow, the pointed effort to comfort him makes it... not harder, it doesn't make it harder, but it makes him more aware of how hard it should be. He pulls the blanket tighter around them and snuggles into Gai, considering.]

Helpful. I guess I didn't have a specific thing I wanted to be for a long time, just things I liked. What about you?

[enthusianchor]

[Gai can't help but smile. Because that's an even cuter answer than he expected.] Well. I always wanted to be a Sentai. Except for one summer when I wanted to be Tuxedo Mask. But aside from that... I always thought it'd be kinda cool to be a reporter. You get to go exciting places and hear all kinds of stories to take back and share with everyone.

[A beat, and then--] Did your grandparents teach you how to cook?

[justcallmedoc]

Yep! [It feels good to remember, even if the good feelings are tinged with guilt over resisting them so long. If he was alone, he'd feel worse, but Gai is there throwing off his usual rays of sunshine.] Food was really important in our house. I used to go straight home from school to get done with my homework so I could help cook.

[Speaking of food...]

Ah, sorry! [He slithers free just long enough to rescue his mug from the desk.] You made me this and I was letting it get cold.

[enthusianchor]

[Gai almost squawks in protest, because blanket burrito so cozy--but then Don settles back in with his cocoa, and the big dumb grin comes back in full force.] I don't mind. [Especially since Gai didn't accidentally chase him away by asking something too personal.] That sounds like you, though. Hard-working and thoughtful, even as a little kid. [He sits up a little, just so Don's less likely to spill and have something else to worry over.]

[justcallmedoc]

My friends didn't see it that way. [Don drinks and lets the steam from his cup warm his face.] It doesn't sound like you changed a lot, either.

[enthusianchor]

Not really, I guess. [Not in most of the ways that count.] I'm happier now, though.

[No, he wasn't really an unhappy kid, but there's having an okay life and then there's landing your dream job and dream guy in the space of a year. The thought sends a rush of heat to his ears for no good reason.]

So, uh. [Deflecting!] Did you and your friends play inside or outside, mostly?

[justcallmedoc]

Outside! [He looks almost proud. You were expecting the opposite, weren't you?] My grandpa would chase me out if I was inside for too long.

[A beat]

That happened a lot, come to think of it. I've always been kind of a homebody.

[enthusianchor]

[Okay, yes, he was expecting classic Indoor Kid. But it's a pleasant surprise! Although that last bit... that knocks loose a question that just sort of falls out of his skull before he can stop it.]

So do you think you'd want to settle down somewhere one of these days?

[justcallmedoc]

[Don starts, turns a little red, and looks down into his mug. It's kind of a serious question. And he's still not too used to thinking into the future for things like this.]

Ah. Yeah, I think I would. A pirate has to retire with his riches someday, right? [He lets his thumb rub the rim of the mug.] Although, I've been wondering something.

[enthusianchor]

Yeah? [Gai fidgets, watching Don's hands. He's starting to feel uneasy, like he might have suddenly hecked up this entire attempt at a gesture of kindness.] What's that?