Black Leather
Jul. 24th, 2005 08:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ellieet.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
reddwarfslashTitle: Black Leather
Summary: Set immediately after the S7 episode ‘Duct Soup.’ The heat finally gets to Cat.
Genre: General
Rating: PG
Author: Ellie ET
Disclaimer: I own Red Dwarf and all characters associated with it. Lie-mode cancel.
Warnings: Spoilers for Duct Soup. Can be seen in a slashy light.
"We’re safe!” Lister sat back in his seat as relief washed over him. Between himself and Cat, the two had managed to direct Starbug away from the collision course with the sun-planetoid. The crew were now headed towards open space, and hopefully, a cool area.
“Nice one, Cat.” Lister stood up from his seat and stretched. Then he fanned himself with one hand.
“It’s still so hot,” the Cat complained, coughing slightly in his pilot’s chair. “Guess it’s the temperature. You’d better get Kryten on it.”
Lister nodded. “I guess that backwash in the tunnels was handy for something. At least we got a cool-down. Oh, by the way, Kris’s got your jacket. You want me to get it back for you?”
“Nah, just tell her to put it in the wash...” Cat gave a second, rather dry cough and wet his lips before putting a hand to his forehead and rubbed the area above his eyes. “Get me a glass of water, would you buddy?”
Lister frowned at the strange behaviour. “Sure. Be right back.” Leaving the cockpit, he walked through the parlour into the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the shelf, filled it with cold water and took it back to Cat.
“Here.” He handed Cat the glass. With one hand still on the controls, Cat took it and drained it in one.
“Thanks.” He put the empty glass on the console and glanced sideways at Lister. “You’d better go get some sleep.”
“Nah.” Lister shook his head, leaning on the console and staring out at the wide open deep-space in front of his eyes. “I’ll just go and tell Kryten to sort out that thermos problem, then I’ll come help you steer. I won’t get any rest in those guest-quarters anyway.”
“I could kill that droid,” Cat growled. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“It sounds more like the kind of thing Rimmer would do as totally unforgivable retaliation for all the – harmless – pranks I ever played on him,” Lister scowled. His face cleared and he shook his head. “Well, I’ll be back in a minute. Keep her going, Cat.” With that, he left the ship in Cat’s control, strode through the parlour and climbed up the steps to his quarters. On entering his cabin, he was greeted with a strange sight: Kryten sitting on the floor rubbing his head and Kochanski standing over him with a satisfied sort of smile and a spanner in hand.
“Hi, guys,” Lister said warily, kneeling down next to Kryten. “What happened here?”
“Please, sir, don’t ask,” Kryten muttered, as he took the hand that Lister offered. “Miss Kochanski here was just educating me on her least favourite pipe noises.”
“Oh.” Lister pulled the mechanoid to his feet. “Well, could you do me a favour, and sort out that thermos? It’s still boiling. I don’t know how Cat can stand it in that leather – it’s so tight.”
Kochanski gave him a small smirk over Kryten’s shoulder. “You do remember that little conversation we had in the tunnel – ?”
“Don’t even go there!” Lister warned. “I’m just saying – “
But the rest of his sentence was drowned out as the whole cabin suddenly veered violently to the left, sending objects hurling across the room and throwing Lister, Kryten and Kochanski onto the floor.
“The ship’s careening out of control!” Kochanski shouted. “Not that I’m not used to it by now, but – “
“Cockpit! Now!” Lister scrambled to the door, and stumbled down the stairs; at the same time, Starbug very slowly began to drop down into space like a stone. Running into the cockpit with Kochanski and Kryten on his tail, the first thing Lister saw was the Cat, slumped over the controls unconscious.
“Kryten, help Cat!” Lister yelled as he ran to his seat and started to work frantically while Kryten grabbed Cat around the waist and pulled his limp body from the chair. Lister pulled the controls towards him and Starbug veered upwards, gradually straightening out as the human managed to re-establish the ship’s course again.
“Switching to autopilot.” Chest heaving, Lister pressed the ‘autopilot’ button and then leaving the ship to steer itself, he joined Kryten and Kochanski in the pantry, leaning over Cat’s unconscious form.
“He’s burning up, sir!” Kryten was holding a hand to Cat’s forehead, looking anxious. “Mr. Cat must have fainted from the heat of the ship!”
“Right. Get him upstairs.” Between them, Lister and Kryten picked Cat up and then carried him upstairs to Lister and Cat’s shared quarters, putting the feline on Cat’s bunk.
“I’ll look after him,” Lister nodded up at the mechanoid. “Tell Kris to keep an eye on the ship’s course and for smeg’s sake, go fix that thermos before we all melt! No wonder the poor guy fainted!”
“Of course, sir.” Kryten nodded, gesturing to Cat. “I think a damp cloth and a drink of water should do the trick.” With that, he turned and walked out of the door.
Alone with Cat, Lister immediately sprang into action. He grabbed one of the small clean towels hanging on the rack on the wall next to the sink. Dampening it, he wrung it slightly and then rejoined Cat on the bed, carefully placing the towel on his forehead. Gradually, Cat began to stir.
“What happened?” he moaned. “Where – where am I?”
“It’s OK, man.” Lister bent over him. “You fainted in the cockpit.”
“Really?” Cat blinked dazedly at him. “Then – then what happened to the ship?”
“It’s alright, it’s all under control,” Lister assured. “You were just overheated. Now get some sleep, man. Kryten’s fixing up the thermos right now; it’ll be cooler soon.”
Cat sat up slightly. “Buddy, I’m still burning up.”
Lister cocked his head sideways. “OK, then. Only one thing for it. Off with that smegging leather, come on.”
“What?” Now more awake, Cat stared at him. “Why should I?”
“You’re gonna faint again if you don’t. The leather’s too hot. Anyway, black attracts heat more. Take it off.”
Cat rolled his eyes, looking too dizzy and tired to complain. “OK.” He sat up properly, the cloth falling off his forehead as he attempted to reach for the zip at the back of the leather shirt.
“Here, man, I’ll do it,” Lister offered.
“You?”
“Would you rather I got Kryten?”
“OK, you do it,” Cat sighed, exhausted to put up much of an argument. Those long nights of piloting had certainly gotten to him, Lister thought, although they had never heard one word of complaint out of the feline’s mouth. Reaching around Cat with his left hand for the zip at the back, Lister quickly started to unzip the shirt and then helped Cat out of it, leaving the feline clad in his CAT belt and leather trousers. Lister bit his lip in alarm as he saw the tight leather marks on Cat’s arms and shoulders; the torso the feline seemed to be trying to cover up. Lister sighed and rolled his eyes.
“I know about your six nipples; you don’t have to be worried about me seeing them. Those marks though - that’s rough.” Lister’s hand reached for the belt. “That’s really rough. How d’you stand it?”
“I can take it, OK?” Cat muttered.
“You said the same thing at Wax-World a few years ago, and then you went hysterical.” Lister unbelted the CAT belt and pulled it away from Cat’s mid-section. Rolling it up, he put it carefully on the floor. Then there were only the trousers left to remove. Lister glanced apologetically at Cat.
“Sorry about this,” he told him. “But I can’t have you sleeping like that.”
Cat shrugged. Respectfully closing his eyes, Lister’s hands found the hook and the fly of Cat’s trousers. He unfastened both, dragging them down Cat’s legs slowly, as the feline helpfully arched upwards to give Lister’s hands more room to move. It was a pain-stakingly slow job, due to Lister’s closed eyes and it seemed he was trying to avoid any kind of obstruction or incident without causing embarrassment for Cat. Finally though, Cat was able to slip out of the trousers and kicked them off completely. The feline quickly wriggled under the blankets before Lister could open his eyes.
“You can look,” he grinned, as he grabbed the cloth and pressed it back against his forehead. Lister’s eyes opened hesitantly, and then he smiled in evident relief.
“That was hard,” he sighed.
“And awkward,” added Cat, as a droplet of water fell down his face from the damp towel.
“Yeah.” Lister shrugged. “Fancy another drink?”
“Thanks.”
Lister gave him a quick grin, before striding out of the door and walking down the stairs to the parlour. At the table, there sat a worried-looking Kochanski.
“How is he?” she asked, glancing up on hearing Lister’s approach
“He’s fine, now. I’m giving him the night off; he needs a break.” Lister ran another glass under the tap, ensuring it was filled with cold water. “As for piloting, I’ll do it,” he added over his shoulder, “I know I’m not as good as him, but I can see us through the rest of the night. And Kryten can always take over.”
“Speaking of Kryten, he’s just finished work on the thermos; we should be getting cooler anytime now.”
Lister nodded. “Right. I’ll be back down in five, ten minutes.” With that, he climbed the stairs and walked back to the quarters with the glass of water in hand.
“Here you go.” On entering, he handed the glass to Cat, who was still sitting up in bed, holding the cloth to his forehead.
“Thanks.” Cat took the glass and took a sip. “I’m feelin’ better already.”
“Well, I reckon you need a few hours’ sleep,” Lister told him quietly. “You haven’t had a good long kip in ages. Not since we lost Red Dwarf… Anyway, the thermos is fixed, so you should have a cool night.”
Cat nodded, looking slightly relieved. “Thanks, bud.”
“It’s OK.” Lister clapped his hands together briskly. “Right, I’m off downstairs to pilot. Give me a shout if you need me, OK?”
“I will.”
Lister seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then reaching out with one hand, pulled back a few strands of the feline’s still-damp hair. Cat narrowed his eyes up at him, and Lister tensed, expecting an annoyed insult or maybe even a slap. Instead, the feline’s mouth curled upwards slightly and without a word, but breathing an inward sigh of relief, Lister allowed his other hand to gently but firmly push Cat down by the shoulder to lie on the bunk. Resting his head against the pillow, Cat heard the lights switch off as he closed his eyes.
“Night, Cat,” said Lister’s voice. Already half-asleep, Cat mumbled in reply, “Night.”
“Sleep tight.”
Lister listened as Cat’s breathing gradually evened out to soft little hums. Sighing half-heartedly, he left the room, taking care to close the door behind him.
Starbug flew on through what was left of the night, and when Cat woke in the morning, feeling better for sleeping, the first thing he saw was an exhausted Lister curled up in his bunk opposite; the previous long night had certainly affected him.
Cat gave an extremely quiet chuckle as he absent-mindedly inspected his fingernails. Hugging himself for a moment, he suddenly took note of how cool the room was now, in comparison to a few hours ago when he had been sitting in the pilot’s chair downstairs with a dry throat, his surroundings hot and uncomfortable.
Snuggling back under the blankets, Cat closed his eyes. What was another five minutes in bed?
Oh, and mental note to self: no black leather today. Not yet, anyway.
*
*Fin.*
Summary: Set immediately after the S7 episode ‘Duct Soup.’ The heat finally gets to Cat.
Genre: General
Rating: PG
Author: Ellie ET
Disclaimer: I own Red Dwarf and all characters associated with it. Lie-mode cancel.
Warnings: Spoilers for Duct Soup. Can be seen in a slashy light.
"We’re safe!” Lister sat back in his seat as relief washed over him. Between himself and Cat, the two had managed to direct Starbug away from the collision course with the sun-planetoid. The crew were now headed towards open space, and hopefully, a cool area.
“Nice one, Cat.” Lister stood up from his seat and stretched. Then he fanned himself with one hand.
“It’s still so hot,” the Cat complained, coughing slightly in his pilot’s chair. “Guess it’s the temperature. You’d better get Kryten on it.”
Lister nodded. “I guess that backwash in the tunnels was handy for something. At least we got a cool-down. Oh, by the way, Kris’s got your jacket. You want me to get it back for you?”
“Nah, just tell her to put it in the wash...” Cat gave a second, rather dry cough and wet his lips before putting a hand to his forehead and rubbed the area above his eyes. “Get me a glass of water, would you buddy?”
Lister frowned at the strange behaviour. “Sure. Be right back.” Leaving the cockpit, he walked through the parlour into the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the shelf, filled it with cold water and took it back to Cat.
“Here.” He handed Cat the glass. With one hand still on the controls, Cat took it and drained it in one.
“Thanks.” He put the empty glass on the console and glanced sideways at Lister. “You’d better go get some sleep.”
“Nah.” Lister shook his head, leaning on the console and staring out at the wide open deep-space in front of his eyes. “I’ll just go and tell Kryten to sort out that thermos problem, then I’ll come help you steer. I won’t get any rest in those guest-quarters anyway.”
“I could kill that droid,” Cat growled. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“It sounds more like the kind of thing Rimmer would do as totally unforgivable retaliation for all the – harmless – pranks I ever played on him,” Lister scowled. His face cleared and he shook his head. “Well, I’ll be back in a minute. Keep her going, Cat.” With that, he left the ship in Cat’s control, strode through the parlour and climbed up the steps to his quarters. On entering his cabin, he was greeted with a strange sight: Kryten sitting on the floor rubbing his head and Kochanski standing over him with a satisfied sort of smile and a spanner in hand.
“Hi, guys,” Lister said warily, kneeling down next to Kryten. “What happened here?”
“Please, sir, don’t ask,” Kryten muttered, as he took the hand that Lister offered. “Miss Kochanski here was just educating me on her least favourite pipe noises.”
“Oh.” Lister pulled the mechanoid to his feet. “Well, could you do me a favour, and sort out that thermos? It’s still boiling. I don’t know how Cat can stand it in that leather – it’s so tight.”
Kochanski gave him a small smirk over Kryten’s shoulder. “You do remember that little conversation we had in the tunnel – ?”
“Don’t even go there!” Lister warned. “I’m just saying – “
But the rest of his sentence was drowned out as the whole cabin suddenly veered violently to the left, sending objects hurling across the room and throwing Lister, Kryten and Kochanski onto the floor.
“The ship’s careening out of control!” Kochanski shouted. “Not that I’m not used to it by now, but – “
“Cockpit! Now!” Lister scrambled to the door, and stumbled down the stairs; at the same time, Starbug very slowly began to drop down into space like a stone. Running into the cockpit with Kochanski and Kryten on his tail, the first thing Lister saw was the Cat, slumped over the controls unconscious.
“Kryten, help Cat!” Lister yelled as he ran to his seat and started to work frantically while Kryten grabbed Cat around the waist and pulled his limp body from the chair. Lister pulled the controls towards him and Starbug veered upwards, gradually straightening out as the human managed to re-establish the ship’s course again.
“Switching to autopilot.” Chest heaving, Lister pressed the ‘autopilot’ button and then leaving the ship to steer itself, he joined Kryten and Kochanski in the pantry, leaning over Cat’s unconscious form.
“He’s burning up, sir!” Kryten was holding a hand to Cat’s forehead, looking anxious. “Mr. Cat must have fainted from the heat of the ship!”
“Right. Get him upstairs.” Between them, Lister and Kryten picked Cat up and then carried him upstairs to Lister and Cat’s shared quarters, putting the feline on Cat’s bunk.
“I’ll look after him,” Lister nodded up at the mechanoid. “Tell Kris to keep an eye on the ship’s course and for smeg’s sake, go fix that thermos before we all melt! No wonder the poor guy fainted!”
“Of course, sir.” Kryten nodded, gesturing to Cat. “I think a damp cloth and a drink of water should do the trick.” With that, he turned and walked out of the door.
Alone with Cat, Lister immediately sprang into action. He grabbed one of the small clean towels hanging on the rack on the wall next to the sink. Dampening it, he wrung it slightly and then rejoined Cat on the bed, carefully placing the towel on his forehead. Gradually, Cat began to stir.
“What happened?” he moaned. “Where – where am I?”
“It’s OK, man.” Lister bent over him. “You fainted in the cockpit.”
“Really?” Cat blinked dazedly at him. “Then – then what happened to the ship?”
“It’s alright, it’s all under control,” Lister assured. “You were just overheated. Now get some sleep, man. Kryten’s fixing up the thermos right now; it’ll be cooler soon.”
Cat sat up slightly. “Buddy, I’m still burning up.”
Lister cocked his head sideways. “OK, then. Only one thing for it. Off with that smegging leather, come on.”
“What?” Now more awake, Cat stared at him. “Why should I?”
“You’re gonna faint again if you don’t. The leather’s too hot. Anyway, black attracts heat more. Take it off.”
Cat rolled his eyes, looking too dizzy and tired to complain. “OK.” He sat up properly, the cloth falling off his forehead as he attempted to reach for the zip at the back of the leather shirt.
“Here, man, I’ll do it,” Lister offered.
“You?”
“Would you rather I got Kryten?”
“OK, you do it,” Cat sighed, exhausted to put up much of an argument. Those long nights of piloting had certainly gotten to him, Lister thought, although they had never heard one word of complaint out of the feline’s mouth. Reaching around Cat with his left hand for the zip at the back, Lister quickly started to unzip the shirt and then helped Cat out of it, leaving the feline clad in his CAT belt and leather trousers. Lister bit his lip in alarm as he saw the tight leather marks on Cat’s arms and shoulders; the torso the feline seemed to be trying to cover up. Lister sighed and rolled his eyes.
“I know about your six nipples; you don’t have to be worried about me seeing them. Those marks though - that’s rough.” Lister’s hand reached for the belt. “That’s really rough. How d’you stand it?”
“I can take it, OK?” Cat muttered.
“You said the same thing at Wax-World a few years ago, and then you went hysterical.” Lister unbelted the CAT belt and pulled it away from Cat’s mid-section. Rolling it up, he put it carefully on the floor. Then there were only the trousers left to remove. Lister glanced apologetically at Cat.
“Sorry about this,” he told him. “But I can’t have you sleeping like that.”
Cat shrugged. Respectfully closing his eyes, Lister’s hands found the hook and the fly of Cat’s trousers. He unfastened both, dragging them down Cat’s legs slowly, as the feline helpfully arched upwards to give Lister’s hands more room to move. It was a pain-stakingly slow job, due to Lister’s closed eyes and it seemed he was trying to avoid any kind of obstruction or incident without causing embarrassment for Cat. Finally though, Cat was able to slip out of the trousers and kicked them off completely. The feline quickly wriggled under the blankets before Lister could open his eyes.
“You can look,” he grinned, as he grabbed the cloth and pressed it back against his forehead. Lister’s eyes opened hesitantly, and then he smiled in evident relief.
“That was hard,” he sighed.
“And awkward,” added Cat, as a droplet of water fell down his face from the damp towel.
“Yeah.” Lister shrugged. “Fancy another drink?”
“Thanks.”
Lister gave him a quick grin, before striding out of the door and walking down the stairs to the parlour. At the table, there sat a worried-looking Kochanski.
“How is he?” she asked, glancing up on hearing Lister’s approach
“He’s fine, now. I’m giving him the night off; he needs a break.” Lister ran another glass under the tap, ensuring it was filled with cold water. “As for piloting, I’ll do it,” he added over his shoulder, “I know I’m not as good as him, but I can see us through the rest of the night. And Kryten can always take over.”
“Speaking of Kryten, he’s just finished work on the thermos; we should be getting cooler anytime now.”
Lister nodded. “Right. I’ll be back down in five, ten minutes.” With that, he climbed the stairs and walked back to the quarters with the glass of water in hand.
“Here you go.” On entering, he handed the glass to Cat, who was still sitting up in bed, holding the cloth to his forehead.
“Thanks.” Cat took the glass and took a sip. “I’m feelin’ better already.”
“Well, I reckon you need a few hours’ sleep,” Lister told him quietly. “You haven’t had a good long kip in ages. Not since we lost Red Dwarf… Anyway, the thermos is fixed, so you should have a cool night.”
Cat nodded, looking slightly relieved. “Thanks, bud.”
“It’s OK.” Lister clapped his hands together briskly. “Right, I’m off downstairs to pilot. Give me a shout if you need me, OK?”
“I will.”
Lister seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then reaching out with one hand, pulled back a few strands of the feline’s still-damp hair. Cat narrowed his eyes up at him, and Lister tensed, expecting an annoyed insult or maybe even a slap. Instead, the feline’s mouth curled upwards slightly and without a word, but breathing an inward sigh of relief, Lister allowed his other hand to gently but firmly push Cat down by the shoulder to lie on the bunk. Resting his head against the pillow, Cat heard the lights switch off as he closed his eyes.
“Night, Cat,” said Lister’s voice. Already half-asleep, Cat mumbled in reply, “Night.”
“Sleep tight.”
Lister listened as Cat’s breathing gradually evened out to soft little hums. Sighing half-heartedly, he left the room, taking care to close the door behind him.
Starbug flew on through what was left of the night, and when Cat woke in the morning, feeling better for sleeping, the first thing he saw was an exhausted Lister curled up in his bunk opposite; the previous long night had certainly affected him.
Cat gave an extremely quiet chuckle as he absent-mindedly inspected his fingernails. Hugging himself for a moment, he suddenly took note of how cool the room was now, in comparison to a few hours ago when he had been sitting in the pilot’s chair downstairs with a dry throat, his surroundings hot and uncomfortable.
Snuggling back under the blankets, Cat closed his eyes. What was another five minutes in bed?
Oh, and mental note to self: no black leather today. Not yet, anyway.
*
*Fin.*
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-07-24 10:45 pm (UTC)Erm, I liked it at any rate. And I can see Kochanski using Kryten as a musical instrument.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-26 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-25 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-26 03:20 pm (UTC)And the icon isn't actually mine, it's DracoTheLizard's. She's kindly lent it me. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-26 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-26 10:52 pm (UTC)