​Grace winced, but tucked the black box close and then, with one arm, grabbed his tether, intending to pull himself back to the Mary.

Simon grabbed the other end and yanked him forward as he ranted, “You turned off your radio in a highly dangerous fucking blood-infected submarine that's still alive. It attacked you and still you-!”

​“Grace is stupid!” Rocky’s robotic voice crackled.

​“Yes! Grace is stupid!” Simon ranted, tugging Grace closer until his EVA suit bumped into him. Grace probably should be offended, but he was just glad to have someone there to catch him. He hated jumping between two space vessels. The infinite yawning all around him.

​Grace gently clunked his helmet against Simon’s with a breathless smile. Simon abruptly stopped his rant.

​“I got it.”

​Simon’s eyes were wide behind the thick glass.

​“You... got it.”

​He caught his breath for a second, feeling Simon’s arm clutching him tight even through the EVA suit. His chest was overflowing with warmth. Simon came out to rescue him. Simon was terrified, and still, he was going to go get Grace without knowing if something bad had even happened. Grace knew he was in trouble, but he couldn’t really let the shame sink into him, just yet. He was sure it would hit him later.

​Shaking himself from his wide-eyed stare, Simon pulled back and slammed the button that closed the airlock with an air of aggression. The air hissed as the airlock acclimatized.

​“You were coming to save me,” Grace said, stupidly. Whoops.

​His back turned to him as he stiffened. After a moment he growled, “You’re too reckless. We had no idea if you were dead or being overrun by the fucking-”

​Simon was breathing harshly as he cut himself off. Mary beeped at them to indicate the pressure and atmosphere were stable. Simon struggled to twist off his helmet, his breath fogging up the plastic.

​Grace immediately went over to help and twisted the helmet enough that Simon could yank it off his head. He immediately glared at Grace.

​“Do you have any idea how stupid that was?” Simon demanded as Grace twisted off his own helmet. “Do you have any idea what those things could do to you?”

​Grace immediately thought back to the arm, welded to the pipe, covered in gore and dangling.

​“Yeah,” Grace murmured. He looked down at his hand, covered in crackling tendrils. Simon flinched back.

​“So you know, and you still did it? I told you to retreat,” Simon's voice was hard, and Grace frowned.

​“I’m not a soldier in your army, Simon,” Grace said, and Simon stiffened. “I had to get the black box. It was too important. I was careful.”

​Simon scoffed and gestured to his arm covered in agroglobin mess.

​“I was! They die within seconds of exposure, so I cut small pockets into them and then-”

​“I don't care how clever you think you were- you still could have died. You’re in space, Ryland. What if it cracked your helmet? What if it tore your suit? You’d be dead in seconds.”

​“It was worth the risk-”

​Simon made an aggravated noise and started to wrestle himself out of the suit.

​“I don’t know what you want from me,” Grace said, “I got the black box! Isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t that the reason you- that you-”

​Simon glared at him, daring him to finish his sentence.

​“It… it was too important to you for me to give up,” Grace admitted. “It was the first thing you asked for when you woke up and I… I didn’t even think to try and get it. I had to make up for that.”

​Simon’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and then he was back to glaring.

​“Don’t tell me you were willing to risk your life just because it’s important to me. That’s stupid.”

​“I mean, that was part of the reason.”

​Simon’s face loosened slightly from his glare, but he shook his head as he finished pulling his suit off, leaving him in the casual clothes he was wearing before, without the protective suit underneath it- like he rushed to get to Grace. His chest hurt.

​“I don’t get you,” Simon huffed and then pushed himself toward the Hail Mary interior.

​He pulled himself through the opening door as Grace called back, “Well, I don't understand you either!”

​Grace huffed as Simon disappeared down the hall out of sight, and he was left facing two Eridians staring straight at him.

​“Grace.”

ava places her order with the exhausted looking barista before settling down at a nearby table. she pulls out her laptop (covered in stickers of anglerfish, a relic from the phase she went through last year) and opens up the google doc she’d been editing and re-editing since last night. she’s just going to put a few finishing touches on her conclusion to make the paper not look like it was started just eight hours before the deadline.

the outside world seems to always vanish for ava whenever she's inside ground control. the street’s constant buzz feels muffled, held back by glass and brick. everything gets reduced to the sounds of the barista’s sponge making a soft, rhythmic shush-shush against the counter accompanied and the gentle gurgle of the espresso machine. it’s a world held in a peaceful bubble which is why she loves coming here to do her work.

“venti coffee with a splash of oat milk and two pumps of vanilla for eva?”

ava looks up from her laptop. "that's me."

but the other woman had already gotten up to get the coffee as well, and she stops in her tracks. "oh. that's also me." she says.

they stare at each other and now that ava has a better view of the woman, she recognizes her. they’d taken a minor history course together freshman year. ava’s also seen her organize charity events and campus cleanup campaigns often. she’s someone ava had admired from afar for her drive and work ethic. but this is a bit of an awkward first encounter.

the barista clears his throat. “two venti coffees.” he clarifies.

eva nods at him. “yes, i ordered both.”

the barista places both orders in eva’s hands and is about to disappear into a side room but ava calls him back.

“how long will mine take?” she asks him.

the barista scratches the back of his neck, looking apologetic. “we just ran out of beans and my partner went out to get more. it might be a while before he comes back.”

ava groans. “i have somewhere i really need to be in ten minutes. isn't there anything you can do?”

the barista shrugs. “there’s chamomile tea?”

ava pinches the bridge of her nose. “i haven't slept in two days. chamomile tea right now would put me in a coma.”

“sorry, ma'am.” the barista shrugs. “you're just gonna have to wait." he doesn't wait for her reply. just turns and leaves.

ava's startled when she hears a polite cough from behind her. she didn’t know eva was still there. eva steps closer and her bold flowery perfume takes over the earthy smell of the cafe.

"i couldn't help but overhear your conversation." she says. her eyes flick down at ava's graphic tee— "I like jellyfish and maybe three people”— and the corner of her mouth twitches up into a faint smile. she looks at her watch and back at ava. “i need both coffees,” she continues. “but you appear to be in a hurry.” she holds out one of her cups to ava.

ava, who can name every cephalopod ever, suddenly can’t remember any english words. her brain short circuits at the pleasant aroma wafting up from the cup and eva's kindness. “oh, i can’t take yours—“

eva shakes her head. “i have time to wait. you don’t look like you do." she says matter-of-factly. “i insist.”

ava closes her hand around the cup and smiles at eva gratefully. “i owe you one.”

“then you’re going to need this.” eva grabs a napkin from the dispenser, scribbles something on it and slides it over.

ava can't help her smile when she reads the note.

Same name, same order. Same time tomorrow? and a phone number underneath.

fun fact: a venti contains 20 fluid ounces which is roughly 410 mg of caffeine. the FDA's recommended daily limit is 400 mg. the inside of eva's mind must be a terrifying place.

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