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imaginethebeautifulworld · 1 year

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hermann gottlieb: on lunar exploration & lying to lab partners

Newton still has... moments. Fortunately, Hermann has become something of an expert.

Drafted this at work yesterday while my students did some freewriting. Five word prompt, and this AU came to life almost instantly. 1.539 words.

"I think I hate this."

"I know this is asking for the impossible, but could you please shut up?"

"No; I definitely hate this," Newt decided, plowing ahead as if completely unaware of Hermann speaking. The latter silently seethed, once more damning Fate and his father and every other confounded thing that had led to him being stuck here with this... menace.

Hermann turned from the observation screen with a scathing remark at the ready, but felt it deteriorate immediately upon seeing the distressing state of his partner.

Newton had situated himself on the floor, picking listlessly at some loose grout along the baseboard. Hermann frowned at the motion- the grout in question had developed a disturbingly bright, violet patina; as their lab and quarters were from the original base, it was likely a few decades old already.

And Newton, their alleged “expert” on microbes and fungi, was poking his bare fingers into it.

Wonderful.

The irritation was easily dismissed however, replaced by a flicker of concern as Hermann observed the repetitive action, realizing that this wasn't Newton's usual restlessness.

The pattern was too familiar after spending so long working next to the man- the way Newton had pulled his lower lip between his teeth, the subtle way he had shoved his entire body into as small a position as possible, right arm curved protectively around the folded legs, chin was only millimeters away from resting on his knees.

Stars help him, but he had seen this far too many times before.

"Newton, have you taken-"

"I mean, I know we're not in that much danger out here, I know that, but every time someone goes out there I get so caught up worrying about what might happen to them or what might come back with them or- It's- It's stupid; I’m being stupid, but it's like I can't stop and-"

His leg would give him hell for this later, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. Hermann carefully took a seat on Newton's right, before promptly wrapping his left arm about the younger's shoulders and hauling him into something resembling an embrace.

Newton stuttered out the beginnings a protest, but it fell away just as quickly, and he relaxed slightly. With a mild sense of victory, Hermann allowed himself a small smile, thumb tracing light fractals onto Newton's upper arm, the ridges in his skin snagging slightly on the Mylar of Newton's uniform.

"I must look pretty bad right now, huh." It was an only observation, a passing rhetorical, but Hermann couldn't help but hum an assent anyway, Newton letting out a small sound of frustration.

"I should be better than this by now. Hell I- I'm on the actual Moon! How is my anxiety still this bad?"

Hermann took a moment to consider how he should answer- _if _he should answer. But at Newton's subtle behest… Well, something was expected.

He was humbled- Newton trusting that Hermann could offer him a solution, that he could read the man better than Newton himself and offer some quantifiable, justifiable conclusion which could finally set his mind at ease.

But the human mind wasn't so simple as that; he knew firsthand how damnably un-simple it was.

Before one could even be considered for being stationed at Lunar Outpost GQ-654, they were required to take part in strenuous mental and physical examinations (with some notable exemptions), and well-

While he, in his own humble opinion, did an admirable job of concealing it, Hermann's mind was also filled with- as Newton had once phrased so eloquently- a “big ol' bag of cats.”

Another smile, this one unbidden, as he recalled that evening, watching Newton fly about the lab in his excitement, rambling (only partly-coherent) about the new water samples collected by Commander Mori's team on their latest mission. Captain Beckett had been visiting and surveying with fond amusement as Newton carried on, his tirade having shifted to something minutely conversational, dragging Raleigh into a debate about- A children’s game?

Oh, it was an age ago. Hermann couldn't recall every detail, but the core sensations of the memory remained: warmth, affection, familiarity.

And familiarity- perhaps acknowledgement?- was what Newton needed most.

"I don't much care for the dark side, myself."

He felt Newton stiffen slightly; had it been too long since he'd spoken last?

No... No. the coordinates for Mako's team showed that it had only been a few moments, barely any time having passed at all since he had taken a seat on the floor.

Newton was quiet, frame still coiled with tension that was edging towards contagious, Hermann's own fears starting to-

"Somehow I always seem to forget you're just as much a mess as I am."

Hermann couldn't repress a sardonic huff of laughter at that, letting his head fall back to rest against the cold wall, eyes fluttering shut as he sang softly. "'Misery... Misery loves company.'" He paused, resumed in his normal tone, almost conversationally. "Or so they say."

Newton shifted, relaxing and stretching out his left leg, letting out a pained noise as his knee cracked. Hermann winced in sympathy; their pending approach towards middle age was agreeing with neither of them.

After a few short breaths, he could hear a tease in Newton's voice. "Never woulda pegged you for an Anthrax fan."

"I'm not," Hermann lied easily. "But when you insist on playing that incessant caterwauling at all hours-"

"Hey-"

"-is it so hard to believe I would find at least one or two things that are somewhat tolerable?"

Newton's stunned silence- no matter how brief it would likely be- was a proverbial point to Hermann. He felt his smile grow, and could practically envision the consternation eclipsing the other's face.

"Herms..."

Oh. Oh dear, no. That wasn't the correct tone.

Alarmed, Hermann straightened, eyes wide as he tried to assess the condition of his crewmate. "Newton?"

Bright, hazel eyes were angled upwards to meet his own, and there was-

Oh, bugger him to hell.

-that damned smirk.

"You just admitted you like my music."

"I admitted to no such thing. I simply suggested-"

"Lie all you want, dude. I know now," Newton elongated and deepened his words, a practiced attempt at mimicking a villain from some cheesy B-rated sci-fi film. Hermann was surprised that Newton didn't punctuate his words with a-

"Mu-wha-ha-ha-ha."

-There it was.

"You're a bloody juvenile."

"Shut up; you love it," Newton chirped, voice finally peeling in its normal register. A little humiliation on his own end perhaps, but it was worth it to see Newton bouncing- quite literally- back on his feet, bright smile in place, holding out a hand to help Hermann stand.

"In small increments, Newton. Small increments," Hermann found himself acquiescing as he took the proffered hand, wincing as he avoided placing too much weight on his right leg.

He hoped Newton hadn't-

"You good?"

-Oh of course he had noticed.

Hermann waved off Newton's concern, awkwardly ambling back towards his work station. The screen shifted to follow him, intuitively adjusting for the most convenient angle of its intended viewers. "I'll drop by Medical for more painkillers after J43-G3R is back in the docking bay."

As much as it ached, Hermann was still in charge of monitoring his Robotics' programming whenever one of the teams was out. If there were any faults or coding errors, then he needed to-

"I'll get 'em for you, dude."

Newton's voice cut off his train of thought, eyes dragging away from the observation screen. "Pardon?"

The other man offered a small shrug. "You asked me earlier about my meds, and I really did forget this morning. Figured I'll save you the wait and grab yours while I'm there."

Fondness settled like a small weight in his chest, and he internally sighed in relief. "Thank you, Newton. I would be most grateful."

Newton offered him double finger-guns as he shuffled backwards out the door. "Anytime, my guy."

Hermann started to turn back to his computer, the long lists of data that he would be sorting through come tomorrow, before he heard familiar footsteps once again.

"Hey Herms?"

Hermann didn't look away from his screen, only slightly tilting his head in Newton's direction. "Mm?"

"Thanks for earlier. I don't say it a lot, but I don't know how I'd get by without ya."

Hermann felt his entire body stutter at the spontaneous introduction of sentimentality; it was one thing to offer a loved one a physical gesture of comfort, but words-

Newton was watching him with that fond, foolish look he knew well now. Oh, it had dimmed for a time, somewhere between their first attempt at friendship and becoming begrudging research partners, but it had long since become so synonymous with all things Hermann now considered _Newton _that he couldn't help but offer a reflexive smile back.

"Get out of here, you blasted menace," he ordered, words still holding a tad too much fondness.

With a backwards shuffle and a mocking salute, Newton's expression shifted into a mischievous grin, the man almost side-swiping the doorway as he finally departed.

Hermann rolled his eyes before turning back to his work, lightly humming along to a song he most definitely wasn't a fan of.

#pacific rim #newt geiszler #newton geiszler #dr. geiszler #hermann gottlieb #dr. gottlieb #mako mori #raleigh beckett #short story #ficlet #newmann #could be read as platonic or romantic and i'm happily somewhere in the middle #au #alternate universe #lunar exploration #they are Friends! and i stand by this #my writing #speaking from experience you don't share a work space with someone who blasts music all the time without picking up a couple things you lik #my college roommate got me into edm and trap and i got her into punk rock; it balances~

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