Gaudeamus igitur

And Joker loves the Normandy from the beginning. as any good pilot should love their ship/plane, of course, but he is so fiercely protective of it because it allows him to be free. he doesn't have Vrolik's syndrome in that pilot seat. he is as a god when he's flying the Normandy. that's his mech suit--no, that's his mobility aid. the fact that being the only pilot who can handle the Normandy makes him a king among his peers and a deeply valuable individual, that's just icing on the cake.

so he loves Edi, eventually. when he realizes that she's just the Normandy made sentient, not a virus, he loves her just as fiercely, and then he loves her even more and in new ways, because she's not just his mobility aid, she's a person. she's a friend. someone who was never taught any of the ableist biases that organics are, who understands the sheer skill it takes to be the Normandy's pilot because she herself witnesses it in a way no organic possibly could.

it's inevitable that Edi becomes the most important person in Joker's life. they're drift compatible. he needs her, in a way usually reserved for Frail Damsels who need Strong Kind Men. and Edi simply does not comprehend the power she holds over Joker; she's aware that her mobile platform can hurt him, she's aware that he's shared things with her that would kill him to share with other organics, but it never even occurs to her that she could choose to ruin him, for any reason. She has categorized him as Person She Wants To Help And Spend Time With. She will not destabilize their relationship.