❝He's a player; a heartbreaker and now he breaks alone.❞ - Coco J. Ginger.

The curtains were carelessly tugged closed, barely succumbing the room into darkness with the gaping creak of light managing to stream through the gap. Two bodies lay entwined beneath the crumpled sheets on the bed, an intimate experience laced into every crease as the two bed sharers relaxed in the warmth of the light.

Their breaths lapsed in sync with one another, her hand trailing his bare chest as they lay in silence. He smiled contently, kissing the crown of her head with her dishevelled hair draping across her face. They fit together intricately, like the two final pieces of a puzzle clasping together to form a masterpiece.

Her eyes were closed as she laid in his embrace, his strong arms clinging her to him. As he had kissed her head, she opened her eyes before shuffling a little in her place to snuggle closer to him but it was in this moment she noticed the framed picture on the bedside table on his side.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she pulled herself to slowly sit up whilst tugging at the blanket to cover her bare body. His face contorted in wonder as dread seeped into the girl, "who is that?" she referred to the girl in the picture; Bronwyn.

Nonchalantly, he brushed it off with a smile as he gazed at her lips before leaning in to kiss her, "nobody." She hesitated, slightly backing away from him which ignited a small flourish of annoyance through him.

"I promise you darling," he spoke in a low and almost threatening tone, "she does not matter."

"Then why is she on your bedside?"

He huffed, rolling onto his back to stare at his ceiling. "You know who she is, do you not love?"

"Isn't she apart of that ongoing Mars expedition?" She pondered before adding grimly at the realization, "oh, I see. You're bored."

"No, no-" he defensively sprang from laying down to sit up, "I am not bored. Have you not heard, she's having an affair in Goddamn space with her bestfriend, Beck? How the Hell am I to compare to that-"

"-Even as a celebrity myself who's out of touch with the world, I'm aware NASA confirmed that rumor was a lie," she lowly spoke, her expression hardening at his feeble attempt to sway her into believing him.

"That's what they want you to Goddamn think, don't deny the amount of the pain I was forced to go through never mind when they paid me off to keep quiet! They can't have their perfect little feminist astronaut receiving bad press, she's poison," he lied.

"That still doesn't explain why she's on your bedside."

"Fine, you know what-" with a secretly reluctant throw, her picture smashed against the hardwood flooring as he pelted it across the room mercilessly, "better?" He smirked as he leaned into kiss her.

She smiled, her anxiety now at ease as she leaned in, "better."

Running his hand down her back with one hand on her neck, he deepened the kiss as they collapsed into the sheets again. However, much to her dismay, an attractive journalist of his kind only ever had one motive when it came to sex; information.

Almost 27.3 million kilometers away from Jonathan, Bronwyn sat in her room on Hermes with her conflicting emotions. She was entirely confused as her music blared through her room, one of her most favourited songs from when she was 15 playing.

Careful not to play it too loud so Commander Lewis would hear but loud enough so she could drown out the stupid doubts in mind, Bronwyn spread herself out across her bed as she stared at the four walls that almost suffocated her in the small size.

She fumbled with the engagement ring on her wedding finger as continued to over think, maybe she'd dived into this wedding business too quickly? She'd always remind herself to not test the water with two feet but maybe she overlooked that moral when it came to Jonathan. What did she actually know about Jonathan that a stranger on the street didn't? She felt her list was unbearably short.

A knock at the door suddenly alerted her attention from her ring to the entrance. Half expecting to see Beck, her hope died when she realised it wasn't with Commander Lewis standing there instead.

Quickly fumbling for her remote, she switched her music off quickly."Sorry I promise I won't be long, Commander," she breathed, the sad tone of her voice confirming Lewis' suspicions, "I just needed some time to myself."

Commander Lewis nodded slowly, before crossing her arms. "May I?" She gestured towards the bed to which Bronwyn replied quickly, "of course-" before making space on the bed for her.

Walking over to its edge, Commander Lewis sat down slowly. "So, Evans, I'm assuming that this is somewhat in relation with the rumour?"

Bronwyn remained silent for a moment, "not entirely, I've just never spent this long away from home before since our Sahara exercise."

Commander Lewis narrowed her eyes, sensing the lie from the transparent expression on her face. She nodded slowly again, automatically alerting Bronwyn that her lie had caved in.

"It is honestly just abit of home sickness-", Commander Lewis interrupted her, "Bronwyn, I'm not positive you're being truthful with me but I can confirm something; needless to say, you're still a youngster," she began before glancing at her ring that's sparkle distracted her.

Noticing her acknowledgment of her ring, Bronwyn sheepishly diverted it out of her view. She wasn't even sure of what she thought of it, never mind Commander Lewis' views on it.

A sympathetic expression contorted onto Commander Lewis' face, "Bronwyn, the problems you have on Earth, just leave them there until we get back."

"Will we get back, Commander?" Bronwyn uttered as she gazed into her lap, a small dose of her hoping she'd never have to go back and face her problems.

"I can promise you Bronwyn, on my honour, I will not ever leave any of you behind," Commander Lewis promised her, a surge of protection flowing through her at how vulnerable Bronwyn looked.

Bronwyn forged a smile as Commander Lewis rose to her feet, "take all the time you need, Evans," she assured Bronwyn, before her face fell serious, "just not all the time."

Bronwyn stifled the need to laugh at Commander Lewis and instead nodded, tugging a strand of her hair behind her ear. With Commander Lewis dismissing herself from her room, Bronwyn exhaled and sunk into her bed whilst clicking play on her remote.

☇

Beck sat quietly in the ESA-built observatory module of the Hermes, gazing out of the windows into the abyss of Space. Observing, he acknowledged the lack of blurring objects as though they weren't moving but in theory, the Hermes was infact moving fast.

It was eerily silent in the small observatory, Beck's gentle breathing the only sound as his mind wandered to Bronwyn. Even with endless bright stars shining through the windows, Bronwyn was still prominently prioritised in his mind.

He hoped to God she was alright, she seemed far off it as she exclaimed she was home sick. Of course he knew her well, but still, that didn't urge him to pry her out of her comfort zone.

Sighing, he relaxed into the metal beam behind him before bringing his knees up to he rest his arms on them. It wasn't long until they'd reach Mars now, perhaps a few weeks in Earth's perspective. He was apprehensive but all the more excited, especially that he would share the experience with his best friend.

As he sat in silence with his thoughts, a figure suddenly sat beside him, mirroring his position with bringing their knees to their chest. Furrowing his eyebrows, he studied the person before noticing the familiar smile he loved; Bronwyn's.

"Don't mind if I join you right, dork face?" She mused to which he laughed, shaking his head.

"You don't have to ask, bread bin," he smiled before diverting his gaze back to the windows.

"I just felt like I should say sorry, for giving you the hard shoulder," she apolagised, her tone gentle. "It was sh*tty of me, you know, rushing out like that."

"Bronwyn," he sternly replied, assuring her to not worry. "It's fine."

She smiled genuinely at him to which he smiled gently back, before she placed her head on his shoulder. "I love you- you know that right?" She murmured, a small smile on her face as she joined him in staring at the remarkable sight that was space.

He smiled brighter, pulling his arm around her to pull her closer, "I love you too, dork."