... yeah. [ Jokingly: ] I was never super normal to begin with —


— that doesn't mean I think other people shouldn't get off? Like you definitely deserve to get off and have fun. Forte, too. And I really wanna hope that it all works out all right and even if it's for a little while everyone has some peace.

[ okay, that earns a laugh: ]

Uh. Duh, I hope you won't? There's a very real possibility we will have our one month anniversary docked and I am pre-emptively booking you for the entire day regardless.

[ snorts, nudging him: ]

Glad to hear I'm worth skipping school for.

[ dramatic gasp ]

Sir, that's practically a criminal offense.

I can't believe you, you've gone rogue.

It's a good thing Holy Order does not actually have a prison cell on ship, just an animal therapy room. You'd have too much fun there, so you can't be locked up there either.

A rebel.

[ leans into him. ]

I like that, but I'm glad you got away from them too. So, school - you're going to go straight back?

There's nothing wrong with that. Why do you think I've been studying so much?

[ hmm ]

I don't know, we'll see each other a lot less if we're in school.

And I'll be trapped between Nightingale and Starling again, true torture.


[ a beat. ]

Actually, school might not be so bad now?

Because now I have these things.

[ he puts the earbuds on the table! ]

They're not working right now and I wouldn't wear them around you unless you asked me, too.

Hopefully, they'll let me wear them.

— But if you're going back, so am I.

Even if I decided to graduate early - it doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy an indefinite amount of time as a normal high school kid with my normal high school boyfriend in a normal high school?


[ yes he says it that way on purpose as he looks away sheepishly: ] If you wanted.