Kneeling at the foot of his bunk, Cadet Jordan Duncan was folding the last of his uniform shirts with practiced precision. The dim lights of the cadet shared bunkroom bathed the room in a muted golden glow, casting soft shadows against the brushed steel walls. A small satchel sat open on the floor beside him, half-packed with folded clothes, a PADD, and his regulation boots polished to perfection.

He paused momentarily, his hands resting on the fabric, and exhaled slowly. There was something bittersweet about packing (even if it was temporary). It reminded Jordan of his first day on the Astra, unsure of himself, clutching the same satchel, wondering where he belonged. The thought of leaving gnawed at him, even if it was for a few days. He wasn’t just leaving a ship. He was leaving Alfie, routines, laughter, and comfort. Everything familiar. It made him feel like he was stepping away from something just beginning to feel like home. He had only been on the Astra for a few months and had just started getting used to it. 

The door hissed open with a gentle swoosh, letting in a brief whisper of cooler air from the corridor. Jordan didn’t look up—he figured it was just one of the others returning from duty.

Then, arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and warm lips brushed the back of his neck.

Jordan was startled slightly but relaxed just as fast. He recognised the scent and the firm yet affectionate grip. 

“Alfie,” he murmured, a smile spreading across his lips.

Turning in the embrace, he found himself face-to-face with his boyfriend, who looked like he’d just crawled out of a plasma manifold. His usual sandy-brown hair was matted to his forehead, his cheeks were streaked with dirt, and sweat clung to him like a second skin. His uniform was unzipped, exposing the grimy black undershirt beneath, and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, revealing smudged forearms.

Despite it all—or maybe because of it—he looked absolutely radiant, his blue eyes gleaming excitedly.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Jordan said, brushing a smear of grime from Alfie’s cheek with the side of his thumb.

Alfie grinned, clearly out of breath. “Engine room’s a sauna. I’ve been working with Ensign Jaceon on those upgrades to the warp drive. Took a break and figured I’d rather spend it with you than breathe in another cloud of warp coolant. Plus, after our little jaunt following Crawler and getting ourselves displaced, I realised that you and I have not had a single moment where it’s just us two. So I thought, why delay it while I’ve got an hour break!”

Before Jordan could reply, Alfie leaned in again, kissing him deeply, then shoved him gently backward onto the bunk. Jordan fell with a gentle thud against the mattress, a surprised laugh escaping his lips. Straddling him, Alfie placed his knees on either side of Jordan’s hips, his hands bracing against the wall above the headboard as he leaned down. Their lips met again, slower this time. The taste of sweat and engine oil didn’t matter. Alfie’s hands moved to the zipper of Jordan’s jacket, tugging it downward as he peppered kisses along his collarbone and neck.

“You’re insatiable,” Jordan whispered with a chuckle, fingers curling into the back of Alfie’s uniform top, pulling him close.

“You’re right,” Alfie mumbled between kisses, “but can you blame me?”

They kissed again, a little more urgently now, the tension from the last few months fading between the heat of their bodies and the soft creak of the bunk beneath them. Their mission in surveying a gas giant and then the herd of gormaganders had been flipped upside down and back to front when somehow, Captain Bennet of the Destiny had been able to transport them and the rest of the Odyssey Squadron thousands of light years to a new location in the Nacene Reach. Since then, the cadet crew based on the Astra had not stopped in working to repair their ship and bring it back to operational status. Now, after Captain Niro had returned from the Odyssey with orders to upgrade the ship with a quantum slipstream drive, their work had continued on their next project. None of the cadets had been given any downtime. Trying to find some private time just for them had been a challenge for the two young cadets, so they agreed to hold fire for now. They would find the right time and the right place to rekindle their romance. 

Apparently, now was the time Alfie wanted it. 

But then Alfie pulled back suddenly, his gaze drawn to the satchel on the floor. His brow furrowed. “Wait… are you packing?”

Still resting his hand on Alfie’s lower back, Jordan blinked in surprise. “Uh… yeah.”

Sitting up from his lap, Alfie’s hands rested on Jordan’s chest, still rising and falling from their stolen moment. “Why? Where are you going?”

Jordan hesitated for a beat before answering. “Commander Gray asked for a few of us to assist with the upgrades on the Bellerophon. They’re short on hands, and seeing as our upgrades are going well ahead of schedule, Captain Niro agreed for Scott, Jib, Beatrice and me to lend them a hand.”

Alfie’s face fell. “The Bellerophon? That’s my mom’s ship.”

“I know,” Jordan said quickly, holding up a hand in surrender. He knew what Alfie would be saying next, so he quickly jumped in before Alfie started his complaining. “Trust me, I didn’t request the assignment. I don’t even know if she knows I’m going. All I know is that Captain Niro said we’d only be there to help once they’ve landed on that nearby Class L world. The Astra is going to land beside them at some point and help out as well. So I won’t be that far away.”

“You’re just going to vanish on me and report to my mother?” Alfie’s voice was half-joking, half-annoyed. “She already thinks I’m barely holding it together since leaving the Odyssey. Now she’s going to be watching you to see if you crack under pressure and tell her about how I’m doing or, even worse, tell her about us!”

“It’s not like that. Plus, your mom adores me, and I’m sure our folks know about us by now,” Jordan said, trying to calm Alfie down gently. “I’ll be back. It’s just a couple of days.”

With exaggerated frustration, Alfie let out a growl and narrowed his eyes. “You better come back. If not, I’m staging a mutiny, stealing a shuttle, and flying to your rescue.”

Jordan laughed, his chest shaking beneath Alfie’s hands. “I believe you.”

Alfie leaned in again, pressing a kiss to Jordan’s lips, softer this time.

Jordan kissed him back, then pulled away with a grimace. “I love you Alfie Thomas McCallister-Reyas, but you smell and taste so bad.”

Alfie smirked. “And yet, you were just kissing me like your life depended on it, Jordan Luke Duncan-Court.”

Jordan smirked back at how sarcastic they were getting in calling each other by their full names. “Don’t flatter yourself, Cadet McCallister. I do have some standards.”

“Oh, I’m beyond flattered, Cadet Duncan,” Alfie said with a grin, echoing his boyfriend’s formal use of their titles before he hopped off Jordan’s lap and grabbed him by his wrist. “Come on. You’re not going to say goodbye without helping me clean up.”

Jordan raised a brow, confused by what his boyfriend wanted from him. “You want me to scrub the grease and dirt out of your hair? I’m pretty certain I’ve not read that in any boyfriend job description. Why would I want to stand in a sonic shower with you and clean your hair? That seems like a waste of my time and yours.”

“Yeah, but there may be other parts,” Alfie replied, tugging Jordan off the bed with a playful wink, hoping his boyfriend was getting what he was trying to suggest. “I may need help to make sure I don’t miss a spot. Do you get what I’m getting at?”

With a laugh, Jordan then realised what Alfie was implying, and soon he allowed himself to be dragged along, their boots thudding softly against the metal deck plating as they made their way toward the sonic showers. Behind them, the satchel sat forgotten. There was still time to pack. Right now, the only thing that mattered was helping Alfie avoid missing any spots.