You lay in your bunk, staring at the ceiling. Only when you were certain the corridors were empty did you slip out of bed, careful not to make a sound. Bare feet on the cool metal floor, you crept down the hallway toward Lucas’s stateroom.

This wasn’t new. You and him had been at it for weeks now — late-night meetings when the rest of the crew were asleep. You weren’t even sure when it started. Maybe after the lockdown drill when you ended up stuck together in an equipment bay for three hours.

If Bridger caught wind of this, he wouldn’t just scold you—he’d lock you in your stateroom, take away all privileges, and make you spend days manually inspecting every system on the sub, no shortcuts, no excuses. But… it’d be worth it.

When you reached Lucas’ door, the familiar nervous excitement hit. The one that made your fingers tremble just slightly before knocking.

The door slid open faster than you expected, like he’d been waiting.

Lucas stood there barefoot, wearing a t-shirt way too big for him, his hair messy from running his hands through it.

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide the grin tugging at his mouth. “You know, one of these nights, they’re gonna notice us sneaking around. And when they do…” he shrugged, eyes flicking up to meet yours, “I’m totally blaming you.”