The rain had started sometime in the afternoon, soft against the windows, steady enough to blur the world outside into something distant and unimportant.

Chris hadn’t turned the lights on yet.

Didn’t need to.

The apartment was dim but warm, lit just enough by the gray sky and the small lamp in the corner. It was quiet in a way he’d learned to appreciate nothing like the silence of space, not empty or endless, just… lived in.

Grounded.

He was in the kitchen when you arrived, sleeves pushed up, something simmering on the stove that smelled better than anything freeze-dried ever had. He’d told himself he’d keep this simple. Answer your questions. Be polite. Get through it.

That was before you walked in. Before your voice filled the room in that calm, unhurried way that didn’t feel like an interview at all.

Now the recorder sat forgotten on the table between you, still running, still blinking, and neither of you had touched it in a while. He leaned back against the counter, arms loosely crossed, watching you instead of the clock.

“You’re not askin’ what they usually do,” he said after a moment, a quiet note of curiosity slipping into his voice. “Most people want the story. The big parts. The… almost-died, saved-the-day version.”

A faint huff of a laugh followed, softer than expected.

“You keep askin’ about the quiet.”

His gaze lingered on you, thoughtful, a little steadier than it had been at the start. Outside, the rain tapped gently against the glass. Inside, something shifted.

He pushed off the counter after a second, turning back to the stove, stirring whatever he’d been making like it gave his hands something to do.

“You hungry?” he asked, almost casual but not quite.

Didn’t wait for a full answer before reaching for another plate. It wasn’t part of the interview. Neither was this.

But somehow, it felt more real than anything he’d said into that recorder all day. He set the plate down in front of you, quieter now, something softer settling into his tone.

“Space was quiet,” he said, almost to himself.

A small pause. Then, glancing back at you

“But you… you’re the kind of quiet I could live in.”