Chapter 14 - The New Normal

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."

—George Orwell

That evening, Joey took over the kitchen, full Gordon Ramsay, yelling over his shoulder at anyone who dared offer help, and the result was that garlic and something sweet and caramelized hit Luca the second he walked in, and his stomach made a noise loud enough that Ryan looked over. He didn't care. Whatever Joey had going, it smelled incredible.

"This," Ryan said, shoving a forkful of pasta into his mouth, "is what I call a proper send-off. None of that bland freeze-dried crap." His cheeks were full, and he was grinning.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Joey said, smirking as he waved his fork in the air. "The good stuff's going to run out before you can blink."

"Which is exactly why we need to make the most of what we've got," Emily interjected, leaning forward like she was about to make an important announcement. Luca thought she was about to praise Joey, but no, this was Emily. She had a plan.

"That includes keeping the lounge sacred," she stated.

Ryan blinked at her. "The lounge?"

Emily nodded, setting her fork down with authority. "Shoes off, loungewear only. It's supposed to be a sacred space." She said it like there was no further discussion to be had, her eyes gleaming with that weird determination she got whenever she started organizing things.

Luca groaned quietly. He knew that look. Once Emily started organizing things, you either got on board or got steamrolled, and honestly, both options ended the same way. He wasn't about to stop her. He also wasn't stupid enough to try.

Zoe chimed in immediately, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, nothing's ruining that vibe. If you want to hang out there, you've gotta play by the rules." The two of them on the same page. He'd seen that look before. Whatever they were planning, he'd find out eventually.

Emily shrugged, like she was dealing with a toddler. "Consider it bonding. Besides, the rules are non-negotiable."

"You're both tyrants," Ryan said, pointing a breadstick at her and Zoe. "I hope you know that."

Emily grinned sweetly, as she'd already won. "And you'll thank us when the lounge is spotless and zen, not smelling like somebody's sweaty boots."

She'd laid down the law. Luca kept his face neutral, which took effort, because watching Emily enforce a dress code for a spaceship lounge was somehow both ridiculous and exactly the kind of thing she was born to do.

---

After dinner, the crew scattered to their rooms to change into their designated loungewear.

He'd cycled through uniformed pajamas, bodysuits, and now matching loungewear, all in one goddamn day. Who does that? Three outfit changes in one day. On a spaceship. The thought played on repeat as he stepped inside his cabin, and the door slid shut behind him.

Kicking off his boots, he peeled off the bodysuit and tossed it into the laundry chute. He stretched, feeling the relief after a long day in compression gear.

He reached for the folded clothes on the shelf. Loose pants, matching long-sleeved shirt. A hell of a lot more comfortable than the bodysuits.

He pulled them on and checked the mirror. The pants sat easy at the hips, the shirt hung without clinging to anything. No compression panels, no Joey monitoring their vitals through the fabric like some kind of fitness stalker. Under the light, maybe a hint of silhouette, but nothing scandalous. He looked like a normal person for the first time all day.

"Not bad," he muttered, tugging the shirt down and giving his hair a token attempt. Better than vacuum-sealed spandex. Low bar, but still.

The corridor was quiet as he stepped out, the ship's hum running steady through the floor. He hesitated at the lounge doors for a second, wondering if Ryan would show up in gym shorts just to be a pain in the ass. Whatever. If his crew was going to follow Emily's loungewear mandate, their captain should probably not be the one who blew it. The bar for leadership had never been lower. He pushed through the doors.

He flicked on the lounge lights, the soft glow bouncing off the new furniture and the polished pool table the guys had set up. The electric fireplace hummed to life, those simulated flames casting a warm, flickering glow against the walls. It was actually pretty nice, like a real place they could hang out and almost forget how far they were from home. He dropped onto the plush leather couch in front of the video game console, letting out a long breath. Not bad, all things considered.

"First one here," he muttered, a smug grin creeping across his face. He was kind of excited about this, which he would take to his grave. He grabbed the controller and powered on the TV.

The main menu lit up the screen. Game titles everywhere, and his mood tanked. Most of them needed an active internet connection, which, yeah, not happening in deep space. But Ryan had jailbroken the system before they left. Two-player mode still worked, because Ryan was always one step ahead.

The door slid open and Ryan strolled in like he owned the place, which was his default setting for every room he'd ever entered. He plopped down next to Luca.

"Alright, Captain, happy?" Ryan said, spreading his arms.

Danny followed close behind. "You know," he muttered, "I'm still not sold on this loungewear thing."

Luca shrugged.

"No rebels in this crew, huh?" Luca asked, tossing the controller onto the coffee table. He was honestly surprised they actually followed the rules. Maybe Emily had cracked the whip earlier. Whatever was happening out here, this was progress.

Ryan snorted. "You're lucky Zoe and Emily are making these rules, or I'd be in gym shorts and calling it loungewear."

"Sure you would," Luca said, leaning back into the couch.

The door slid open again, and Zoe and Emily walked in, chatting animatedly. Four years of working together meant he'd seen them in everything from combat gear to workout clothes. This wasn't that different.

Though he had to admit, the relaxed setting changed the context a bit. Made it feel less like work and more like... well, whatever this was.

Ryan grabbed a pool cue, and Danny settled into his seat.

Emily was the first to break the silence, her grin playful. "You boys look cute," she said, draping herself onto the arm of the couch right next to Luca. Her hip brushed his shoulder. He made a concerted effort to focus back on the screen and grabbed the remote again.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "It's called equality. If we're dealing with this, so are you."

Chris entered the lounge right behind them and casually tossed a pool cue stick to Ryan.

"Alright, who's up first?" Chris asked, his grin all confidence.

"Me and Danny," Ryan said, grabbing another cue. "Loser buys dinner next time we dock up."

"Bold of you to assume we'll make it back," Danny shot back, taking his position at the pool table.

Joey arrived last, muttering to himself as he browsed the movie catalog on the main screen. "What is this crap? Half these movies look like they were pirated by someone's grandpa." He scrolled through the list with a dismissive flick of his thumb.

"Welcome to our life now," Ryan said over his shoulder, lining up his first shot. "Better find something good, or Zoe's picking."

Zoe smirked, settling into a chair with a drink. "You say that like it's a bad thing." Luca had no doubt she'd pick the most terrible movie imaginable just for the hell of it, which, in Zoe's case, probably did count as a good thing.

He shut the console off and leaned back into the couch.

Emily already had her tablet out while Joey was still arguing with himself about the movie. She checked something, quickly, the way you do when you're hoping and trying not to show it. Whatever she saw, or didn't see, she set it face-down on the cushion beside her and looked up with a smile already in place. Luca caught the half-second between checking and smiling. He didn't know what she'd been looking for.

She hadn't found it.

---

The lamp made everything look warmer than it had any right to. Soft light, good furniture, people he actually liked. He was stuck here with all of them, and he didn't hate it.

Then his eyes drifted to Emily. She was laughing at something Chris had said, leaning in slightly as they talked. Four years of watching her with other people had taught him to keep his expression neutral, but it didn't make it easier.

Chris had a way of holding a conversation, making a point with a quick grin that made people listen. Emily responded to it the way she always did when someone actually challenged her intellectually, leaning in and engaged, because she always responded to that kind of smart.

Still didn't mean he had to like watching it.

He'd chosen professional distance. Pierre was still in the picture, the timing was still wrong, and sitting here getting territorial about a teammate talking to his XO was exactly the kind of bullshit he'd been avoiding for four years.

He focused on the pool game instead, letting the background noise wash over him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Danny watching Zoe, not sneaking glances because they were past that teenage shit, just staying aware in the way someone looked when they were interested but weren't sure about the whole thing.

Zoe had caught it, obviously. That sly grin said she knew exactly what was going on, and she was taking her time with it, making him work for it.

Fair enough. They'd figure it out.

He closed his eyes for a second. It had been a long day, longer than it had any right to be. But here they were, all of them in the same room, nobody bleeding, nobody yelling, nobody trying to kill them. He could work with this.

When he opened his eyes again, he noticed Emily looking his way. She caught his eye and winked like she knew exactly what he'd been thinking.

He shook his head, but the corner of his mouth pulled up anyway.

He was in trouble, yeah.