The Star Before Me

Chapter 2: Catching Up

The next morning you woke to the underneath of a bunk that wasn't yours.

It took you a moment to come round and realise where you were, and why you weren't in your communal entertainment officers dorm. Sighing, you rubbed your eyes and pushed yourself up, wondering how long it would be before this became normal, and you would no longer have to remind yourself that you were three million years into the future and nobody was with you. Well, not nobody, but next to nobody.

There was a soft knock on your door and you walked over, smiling at Lister greeted you from the other side. "Mornin', Y/N, sleep well?"
You shrugged a little. "I guess, considering everything." It was true, you hadn't dreamed that night, so it was a rather uneventful sleep. You supposed you should thank your brain for not giving you nightmares or weird dreams considering the news you'd received the day before. "How long was I out for?"
"Little under twelve hours, I asked Hol to let me know when you were up." He answered. That explained why he was here exactly as you woke up. "We brought a bunch of clothes to our bunkroom, if you're up for picking some out? I know you probably feel all... gross after waking up from stasis."

You chuckled at his awkward expression. "Yeah, I took a shower last night as soon as I got here, but I should have realised I'd have to put this grotty thing back on..." You smiled, motioning at your old rock shirt for a band you'd seen when you were a teenager. It was faded mostly from overuse, but the years in stasis had you wanting to change it. Wondering what terrible fashion choices the members of this ship wore, you followed Lister back to his quarters, finding Cat there as well.
"No Rimmer?" You smirked, spotting the pile of clothes laid on both the table and the bed.

"Thank god." Cat grinned. "Goal-Post head gets on my last nerves."
Lister shook his head. "Give it a rest, Cat. Rimmer went to do his stupid exercises." He explained to you. Funny, you hadn't imagined Rimmer of all people exercising, though it made more sense than Lister ever exercising, and if Cat really was a real cat, you couldn't picture him doing much either.
"So, these are all the clothes you managed to find?" You questioned, looking at the messy pile as Lister beamed.

"Yup!" He popped the 'p' and wondered over to the clothes. "I couldn't really remember what type of clothes you wore, and I don't know if you'll like any of them, but have a look and see."
You nodded, before realising they were still in the room once you'd picked something to try on. You glanced at them both, realising you were still in your boxers. Cat was lounging on Listers' bunk, reading some form of magazine, while Lister himself was flitting through the clothes. "Um..." You muttered, earning both of their attention.
"Oh, yeah, sorry!" Lister chuckled awkwardly. "Come on, Cat, you can judge her choice of clothes after!" He grabbed the other man's arm, dragging him from the bunk - much to his complaints.

You couldn't help but laugh watching the two exit.
Once the door had slid closed, you tried on the first outfit you'd picked out.

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In the end, you'd wound up with a few pairs of black jeans - which would probably end up ripped up due to various circumstances - and some plain shirts. You'd also managed to find a nice fitting leather jacket and a very soft baggy black jumper. You'd stick with your own shoes because wearing other people's shoes was a gross thought, and you had found a few things that might be good for 'special occasions'; though you doubted there would be any of those on the ship with only four of you there and Holly.

But the clothes you wore at the moment was some black short-shorts and your doc martins with a beige shirt. You'd rolled the sleeves up and half-tucked it round your waist, leaving the top few buttons open and tying your hair back so it wouldn't keep knocking the collar.
It was very soft... comfier than you would have thought. You'd usually avoid something like this, and had almost thrown it to one side, until you realised what nice fabric it was.