“Fine. So long as it’s not as bad as the DMV,” I grumble.
Luna snuggles me closer, sighing like a contented cat.
I decide to ask her something I’ve been pondering. “What do you think about us sharing a room on the ship?”
Luna stills. “Are you talking about shared living quarters?”
“I think that would be nice,” I admit. “We could maybe take over one of the free rooms and design the space together, bring in decor elements that we both like, and make it into our loooove nest,” I say with cheeky exaggeration.
She laughs. “I think that’s a fucking fantastic idea.”
“If possible, it would be nice for us to keep our individual quarters too in case we ever need some space or if one of us is sick.”
“Hmmm. We’ll have to run all this by Kheph first, of course, but I suspect he won’t have an issue with it.”
I think she’s probably right about that too. Even though I don’t know him to the extent that she does, he’s not a complicated man. If anything, he’s a bit too generous and kind. It’s abundantly clear that Sasha, Luna, and Najar do a great deal to protect him from anyone or anything that might try to take advantage of that.
“Ooh, we could even do some shopping for some room decor items while we’re in the shopping district.”
“I love that idea,” she murmurs, pressing a soft kiss into the side of my neck and making me shiver. “Being able to sleep together at night is already one of my favorite things. But having a space we could share and make our own would-be heaven.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. Keeping our own individual rooms, or at least one of them, as a place where we can go to retreat, and for me study, might be a good transitional move. For instance, if one of us is working late hours and the other is not, we might need it.” I pet one of the tentacles around my waist. “A doctor is kind of on call at all times. There will be times when I’m working late and don’t want to disturb you by coming in during the wee hours of the morning. You have your own work after all.”
She grunts a noise of agreement. “That makes a lot of sense. We could try it out for a while, and if we find that we don’t need to keep our separate rooms, we can always free them up. But there’s no rush on that. For the foreseeable future, I don’t imagine we’re going to be adding any other members to the Sleigh Belle’s crew. We’re kind of a complete unit now, three amazing couples who make a superhero rescue team.”
I laugh. “Cool. I thought that might be the case. You never know what may happen in the future, but I also think we’re pretty good as a family unit as we are.”
Luna nuzzles the back of my neck, and I bask in the warmth of her embrace, something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of.
For quite possibly the first time in my life, I’m not worried about the future. Together with Luna, I somehow know everything is going to work out.
EPILOGUE
Three months later…
Luna
“Time to take a break, babe.”
Gemma looks up from the screen she’s been staring at for hours.
Two months ago, she officially started classes with the Intergalactic Alliance’s medical school. Ever since, she’s had her nose buried in a screen most of the day, reading chapters from her textbooks and watching lectures from her professors. Gemma seems to be in her element, and we often spend the time in bed together with her telling me about all the interesting things she learned about that day. I’m thrilled to see her so full of enthusiasm and joy.
Even with her busy schedule we make time to be with each other as much as possible, and I remind her to take breaks and eat when she’s been working too long. Like now.
“It’s time for dinner and a break.”
She blinks at me and then leans back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. “How long have I been at it?”
I snort. “Four hours. That’s the limit we agreed on.”
“Damn. I got so caught up in what I was reading I lost track of time.” She smiles at me softly. “Thanks for making sure I don’t forget to rest and eat.”
We meet up with the others at our communal dining table, and I’m delighted to see that Kheph has heated up my dad’s starfire dumplings that he made for me. I’ve been saving them, and they’re the perfect thing to revive you after all that studying. We also have some soup and rice, courtesy of the food generator.
Okay, so I already ate a bunch of the dumplings in secret over the past few months, and this is the last batch. But no one needs to know that.
“Starfire dumplings are the absolute best, especially my dad’s,” I tell Gemma. “They’re spicy balls of love.”
