Ethan clapped his hands together, shaking his head at Jeffrie's antics.
"Now that Cap's done marking his territory, let's move on, shall we?"
He gestured toward the sleek corridors of the Kraken, its interior dimly lit with soft blue lights running along the metallic walls.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to your home
The crew followed him, some intrigued, some skeptical. The submarine was massive, easily capable of housing their entire force and then some.
Scarlett ran her fingers along the smooth steel walls, her gaze sharp. "I have to admit, this is impressive."
Ethan smirked. "Oh, Red, you haven't even seen the best part."
Azul arched an eyebrow. "Please don't start listing specs. I can feel the nerd energy radiating off you."
Ethan ignored her, leading the group down the corridor.
"This baby is state-of-the-art. Not just undetectable, but faster than anything in its class. Internal air filtration, hydro-pressure resistance, top-tier AI navigation—oh, and my favorite feature—zero-gravity sleeping pods."
Ray blinked. "Wait… zero-gravity?"
Ethan grinned. "I thought it'd be a nice touch."
Lily raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. "I don't think I want to float while I sleep."
Jeffrie chuckled, shooting her a look. "You afraid you'll drift into someone else's bunk?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Please. I'd end up dragging you back into yours before you started orbiting the hallway."
Jeffrie smirked. "So you would be in my room."
She didn't miss a beat. "Only to push you off the ceiling."
Trice snorted under his breath. Ray muttered, "Y'all are unbearable."
Jeffrie leaned slightly closer to Lily, voice low enough just for her. "Careful. Keep flirting like that, and I might start thinking you like me."
Lily's smirk didn't waver. "Who said I didn't?"
Jeffrie raised an eyebrow, caught off guard for just a heartbeat.
Ethan, oblivious as ever, huffed and clapped his hands. "Fine. Fine. All right, here's how it works."
He stopped at a large control panel near the dormitory section, still talking, but Jeffrie and Lily were still locked in that faint, charged silence—the kind that promised this wasn't over.
He pressed a button, and a holographic display of the Kraken's sleeping quarters materialized before them.
"Each of you has your own room—yes, even you lovebirds." He smirked at Jeffrie, Ray, and Trice. "Though, given the… complicated sleeping arrangements… I took the liberty of making some of them bigger."
Jeffrie smirked. "Good man."
Ethan began handing out keycards, one by one.
Ray flipped his key between his fingers as Isabella and Nyah flanked him.
"Guess that means we got our own place, huh?" Isabella mused, nudging him with a playful grin.
Nyah smirked. "Hope it's soundproofed."
Ray chuckled, draping an arm around both. "Wouldn't want to traumatize the crew."
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Moving on."
Trice took his key next, glancing at Naomi and Camila.
Naomi stretched, already looking forward to a comfortable bed. "This better have a good mattress."
Camila grinned. "Or we'll just steal another one."
Trice shook his head. "Long as y'all don't steal mine, we good."
Ethan smirked. "You guys have a deluxe suite—thank Jeffrie for that one."
Trice raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Cuzzo, setting me up nice?"
Jeffrie smirked. "Can't have my boys uncomfortable."
Ethan turned to Raven next, handing her a separate key.
"You're in a room near the command center since you're running recon."
Raven took it, giving a nod of approval. "Close to Azul. I like it."
Ethan shrugged. "Figured you'd want to keep an eye on our tech expert."
Azul shot Raven a glance. "Just don't hover over my shoulder too much."
Raven smirked. "No promises."
Scarlett and Sophia received their keys next, both exchanging a glance before looking at Ethan.
Scarlett tilted her head. "So… did you put us close to Jeff's room?"
Ethan hesitated. "Uh…"
Jeffrie smirked. "You wanna be close, Red?"
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "It's a logistics thing."
Sophia grinned. "Mmhmm. Logistics."
Ethan sighed. "You're down the hall."
Scarlett crossed her arms. "Hmph. Convenient."
Lily took her key quietly, glancing around. "And I'm where?"
Ethan smirked. "Near the med bay, of course. Can't have our top medic too far away."
Lily nodded. "That makes sense."
The rest of the recruits—Elliot, Dante, Adrian, Zane, Sergei, Ezra, and the others—similarly received their keys, each one exchanging a few words before moving on.
Elliot looked at his key. "Never thought I'd be getting a room on a submarine."
Dante smirked. "Better than a prison cell."
Adrian cracked his neck. "As long as it has a shower, I'm good."
Zane looked around at the sleek walls. "This is way too fancy."
Sergei grunted. "It will do."
Ezra, leaning against the wall, gave a lazy smile. "I call dibs on the best room."
Ethan sighed. "You don't get to call dibs."
Finally, Ethan turned to Jeffrie and handed him his key.
"And for our fearless leader… the presidential suite."
Jeffrie smirked, flipping the key between his fingers. "Wouldn't expect anything less."
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Of course, you get the biggest room."
Azul smirked. "He needs the biggest room."
Lily muttered. "Five women."
Ray laughed. "That man's got his own harem."
Trice shook his head. "Cuzzo's wild."
Jeffrie chuckled, ignoring the commentary. He tucked his key away and turned back to Ethan.
"Alright. That all?"
Ethan nodded. "Rooms assigned, gear stored, everything's set. We launch in twenty minutes."
Jeffrie exhaled, his playful demeanor shifting as he turned toward the rest of the crew.
"Alright, you heard him. Get settled, get some rest. Once we're under, there's no turning back."
With that, the crew dispersed, each heading toward their respective rooms, the weight of the upcoming mission settling over them.
Jeffrie lingered for a moment, glancing at Azul and Scarlett, who remained behind.
Scarlett smirked. "You coming, Captain?"
Azul raised an eyebrow. "Or are you gonna take a victory lap first?"
Jeffrie chuckled, wrapping an arm around both of them. "Oh, don't worry, ladies. I'm right behind you."
As they disappeared down the hall, Ethan shook his head, muttering to himself.
"Man's living a damn movie."
He wasn't the only one thinking it.
lingered just a bit too long.
Raven said nothing, but the slow sip of her coffee and narrow stare spoke volumes.
Sophia, fresh from her own moment with Jeffrie, leaned against the wall like she didn't notice. But she did.
Everyone did.
And no one said a word.
With a hiss, the Kraken's doors sealed shut behind them, locking the team into the depths of the mission ahead.
The hum of the Kraken's engines pulled steadily as the submarine began its deep descent.
The crew settled into their assigned rooms, each preparing for the mission in their way. The usual banter had faded, replaced by a heavy silence, the kind that comes when adrenaline hasn't hit yet, but tension already has.
Not just mission tension.
Personal tension.
And in the quiet hum of that steel corridor, emotions pressed in like the pressure outside the hull.
But in Jeffrie's grand suite, there was no such thing as solitude.
It was the most spacious room on the Kraken—not just because he was the leader, but because, as expected, he never slept alone.
Scarlett, Azul, Lily, Sophia, and Raven all had their own rooms, but none of them used them.
Instead, one by one, they found their way into his bed—drawn like gravity, like instinct—curling against him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Azul was draped across his chest, fingers lazily tracing circles on his skin.
Scarlett had a leg thrown over his, her body tucked tightly into his side like she owned the spot.
Sophia lay beneath one arm, Lily beneath the other, both nestled close, their breaths syncing with his.
And Raven—true to form—stretched out across all of them like a cat in a sunbeam, her head resting comfortably on Azul's hip.
Jeffrie smirked, eyes half-lidded. "I thought y'all had rooms."
Scarlett murmured, voice thick with sleep. "We do. We just don't use them."
Sophia smirked without opening her eyes. "Too far from you."
Lily hummed. "Besides… your bed's the biggest."
Raven yawned. "And the warmest."
Azul chuckled, breath tickling his collarbone. "You complaining, Captain?"
Jeffrie pressed a soft kiss to Azul's forehead, then leaned over to do the same to Scarlett. "Not even a little."
Scarlett stretched like a cat, voice playful. "Good answer."
Raven muttered from somewhere in the tangle, "Just don't start anything, Jeff. I actually want to sleep."
Jeffrie laughed. "No promises."
Lily shook her head, trying to sound stern. "We need rest before the mission."
Sophia cracked one eye open. "That's what we always say… but somehow, we never just sleep."
Azul smirked. "That's because someone can't keep his hands to himself."
Jeffrie ran a slow hand down Azul's spine before resting it on Scarlett's hip. "Y'all keep coming back, so clearly I'm doing something right."
Scarlett snorted. "Cocky as ever."
"I mean," Jeffrie said, grinning, "you're literally all in my bed right now."
"That can change," Raven muttered, lifting her head lazily.
"Please," Lily said, smirking. "You'd be the last one to leave."
Jeffrie chuckled—but then, as the laughter faded, a soft silence settled over them. One of those rare, still moments where no one had to fill the air. They were all just there.
Together.
He let out a slow breath, his voice quieter now. "Y'know… I've been through a lot. Lost more than I'd admit. Carried more than I should've."
Azul shifted to look at him, her teasing gone. The others grew still.
"I never thought I'd get this," Jeffrie said. "Not the ship. Not the war. Not this... you."
His arms tightened just slightly around them.
"I love you all," he said.
Soft. Sincere.