A Moon Mission and A Second Chance
Summary: You and Christina were always "it's complicated"âpartners with a silent "something more" that shattered after your risky launch decision. Three years later, she reappeared at your office, rebuilding that lost trust through late-night data sessions and protective teasing. After a terrifying lunar mission, you finally shared a kiss in the midnight lab. She later soft-launched you on Instagram, posting a candid of you laughing. Between her "love eyes" and protective presence, it was clear: youâre officially her home.
Tags: Fictional, I just need to let this one out, wlw, Friends to Lovers, Angst and Romance, Space Explorers RPF - Freeform, Artemis II - Freeform, Fluff, Happy Ending, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Fluff and Humor
Author's Note: I loved writing this <33 I am OBSESSED with Christina Koch. Much respect to Astro Christina's husband, Bob. She is our wife now.
You and Christina were coworkers, best friends, and maybe something more. Neither of you could ever really put a name to it. You both just knew that when everything else drifted away, you were the only ones who stayed.
Until the mission. Three years of your life were riding on that launch, and you refused to let a few degrees of freezing temperature sideline it. You pushed. You insisted. Christinaâever so gentle and just and always looking out for the human costâhad been the one to lead the disapproval. For the safety of the crew, she stopped you.
The silence of the Science Institute was a deliberate choice. After the falloutâafter the frost-damaged sensors and the stubborn pride that nearly cost NASA a crewâyou traded the roar of rocket engines for the scratch of a pen and the hum of the archives.Â
That's what you keep telling yourself.
When you saw Victor and the rest of the crew, your heart performed a maneuver it hadnât practiced in years. Victor was there, looking as tired as you felt. But then there was Christina. She stood there with that same quiet, humane gravity that had always made her the moral North Star of the Astronaut Office. The same steady, grounding expression that used to be the only thing that made sense to you when the world was spinning too fast. She looked at you, without the judgment of a former colleague who had seen you crash and burn, with something older, deeperâsomething that felt like home.Â
âI am already at peace here,â You said, voice flat, looking toward Victor but feeling only her. âWhat are you guys doing trying to disturb it again?âÂ
Christina didn't flinch. She stepped forward, ignoring Victorâs presence entirely. "Somethingâs happened," she said softly, "that weâre having trouble understanding."
You gestured them inside your office, the resentment warring with the muscle memory of you and your former crew being a team. Everyone settled into the sitting area, the space you had meticulously crafted for "intentional living," now invaded by the chaos of your past.
Starting with coffee, the conversation strained, filled with the debris of your history. The dialogue felt like a dance that wasnât performed in years.
The crew shifted, the air thick with the weight of three years of silence. Christine stepped forward, her eyes warm and dangerously genuine. "I need to talk to her. Alone," she told the others.Â
Watching her walk into your space was like watching a ghost reclaim its home. You two sat by the table with unfinished paperwork. Looking into her eyes made you think of everything youâd lostâthe dreams, the career, and whatever happened between you two. It was nostalgic and you hated it. Living in the past felt like drowning, but you were still so thirsty for her.
She looked like she really needed that coffee.
âSomethingâs happened that weâre having trouble understanding,â she repeated, her eyes locked on yours.
âAnd you think I can help?â You asked, keeping your gaze on the coffee service. You paused, the bitterness flavoring your words. âSomething happened related to the Space Flight Center?â
âSomething like that.â Christina stood and started pacing, her energy restless.
âOr,â I offered, a little sharper, âthere was a problem with conducting science, maintenance, and spacewalks? Are we calling it something else now to make the failure sound like a feature?âÂ
You lifted your eyes to hers. âSomething at NASA? Or,â You added with a bitter edge, âis there a problem with the National-Always-Stalling-Administration? Is the science too hard for them now?â
She winced. âPlease tell me you donât call it that.âÂ
You glared at her. âYouâre really going to argue linguistics with me now?â
âWhy not? I thought,â Christinaâs voice was dangerously soft, âthat your job was mainly numbers.â
You turned and went to the area where the crew retreated and retrieved a coffee for yourself before sitting across from her. You set the mug down with a sharp click. âIt took more time to finish this cup,â you remarked, âthan for us to start fighting again.â
Years ago, your colleagues would have rolled their eyes in appreciation of this camaraderie; now even Jeremy and Reid, who were giggly and full of lightheartedness, now just watches. Jeremy who was the crewâs resident "big guy with a big heart"âremains a silent observer. He sits there, his large frame looking almost awkward in the stillness, like a Great Dane trying to fit into a tiny chair. They both still has that sweet, blank-stare kindness in their eyes, but the giggly, lighthearted clumsiness has been replaced by a polite, muted nod. You found yourself deeply disliking their professionalism. It made you realize just how much you missed the messy version of your old life.