We remained there blissfully for several amazing minutes, before we were interrupted by the chime of a message being received.

                The letters from home, I realized

I sat up and Lunëne reached over to grab their tablet.

                "Oh, sorry. I can check it later." Lunëne offered.

                "No, no not at all. I'm honestly feeling better, thank you." I stood up and stretched out a bit. "I should check mine too, I left it in my room."

                I took a step towards the door before suddenly pivoting and leaning down and giving them a kiss on their forehead. They looked up in surprise, and brushed the hair away from their face. I smiled awkwardly, and they smiled warmly back. That simple kiss somehow felt more intimate than the last time we made out.

                "Um, see ya." I added as I opened the curtain, walked to the next curtain over, and walked into my room. I was definitely blushing. Not exactly how I wanted to be acting in front of Lunëne, but I couldn't help it. And I could tell they loved it.

                I checked my own messages, seeing letters from my parents, Teo, and some extended family. I sat down on the floor, leaning up against my bed, and read through them all. The tension drained from my shoulders as I read all good news again. If I hadn't just drained all of the tears in my body, I would have shed a few tears of relief.

                I let my mind drift, doing some rough math in my head. The first message from home took three years to get to me. And then it took three years for them to get my message and then send back their own. So, these messages were written six years after the first. And then it took nine years to get to us. So, there was a whole nine-year gap that I didn't know about. And it would take nine years for my reply, so my parents would be waiting eighteen years between messages.

                They could have an entire child and raise it until it went off to college and I wouldn't even know. Why was I just doing this math now— how hadn't I realized when I left that it would be this long between being able to talk to everyone I had known and loved?

                I pushed myself up and opened my curtain. Lunëne's curtain was still open.

                "Hey, how's it going back home for you?" I asked pensively, leaning against the doorframe.

                "Actually... pretty great. You?" They looked up with a smile.

                "Yeah, not bad. Hey, wanna head to breakfast? It's about that time."

                "Yeah, always." They joked as they stood up and passed me. I followed behind. I found myself looking intently at them like I had never really before. The way they walked, their hair. The way they mindlessly fidgeted with their left hand before reaching up to push the hair away from their face. The absolutely sweetest face they made, as they periodically looked back at me.

I had seen that face before, had seen their walk and their little quirks that made them unique. And I had found them endearing. I couldn’t stop thinking of how amazing it was to now so suddenly see them through new eyes, and how it was somehow frightening in such a lovely way.

                We were late, but not the only ones. In fact, Garland was the only one sitting at the table when we walked in. She gave a cheerful wave. We walked over to our usual lines and grabbed our trays before walking over to the table.

                "You're lucky, I had to fend off like ten people trying to take your seats" Garland looked at me expectantly with eyebrows raised while she took a bite of her omelet.

                "Thank you," I replied as I sat down, "And sorry for being late."

                "Was it... bad news from back home?" She asked pensively. She looked over at Lunëne as they sat down, "Or was there some other reason you two were late?"

                I looked at Lunëne and met their gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Valentine walking in, Elissa following right behind.

                "Oh, look who just showed up." I interjected before the conversation continued. "Ok, so let's pretend that Lunëne and I weren't late, and they're the only one. That would be hilarious."

                I saw Lunëne stifle a smile as Garland gave me a blank expression with pursed lips. I could read the 'oh really?' on her face.

                "Hey, where's Silas?" Elissa asked as she sat down. Meanwhile, Valentin had made his way to a line across the cafe.

                "I have no idea. Really not like him to be the last one here." Garland replied. There was a minute of silence as we all picked at our food. Valentin sauntered up with two trays and sat down, sliding the second tray over to Elissa.

                Lunëne and I looked at each other, exchanging excitedly impish looks. Garland glanced at Elissa and then at Lunëne and me, before settling on a look into the distance and a slight smile. There was another moment of silence. We were just waiting on the two of them telling us.

                "What? I was helping out a friend. Next time I'll get Soelli's breakfast too so y'all know I don't play favorites." Valentin joked.

                "Hey, did y'all hear about the passengers that died?" Elissa interrupted after giving Valentin the side eye for a split second.

                "Yeah, one from mid-level and three from top level." Garland replied and then looked between Lunëne and me, "Oh, did you know either of them?"

                There was a hesitant pause between us.

                "Um, yeah actually I did. Bryn." I cleared my throat, "He’s... he was a really good guy."

                "Oh god, I'm so sorry!"

                "I'm really sorry to hear that dude, that's awful."

                "Thanks." I acknowledged solemnly, still picking at my food. There was another pause, a strained one this time.

                "The other three were on Silas' level. Do you guys think maybe, um... he's not here because he knew someone too?" Garland pondered, glancing around the table.

                "Or he got bad news from home. Either way, this isn't like him. I'm gonna go check on him, anyone else wanna go with?" Valentin asked, putting down his fork, "These waffles are kinda soggy anyways."

                "Yeah, I'll go too." Lunëne offered, as Garland, Elissa, and I nodded in response. I took a few last bites as Garland and Lunëne stood up to return their trays. Elissa hurriedly finished what she could and took her apple with her as Valentin offered to take her tray and mine. We met as a group and made our way towards the back of the café, where stairs lead to the other two levels.

                "We should check with the Lead to see which room is Silas's or see if they know anything." Elissa suggested. We wordlessly followed Valentin, navigating to the Lead's room. Every level seemed to have the same layout, and I was hit by a sense of déjà vu walking through the halls.

                Valentin knocked at the door after an uncharacteristic hesitation. The door slid open to reveal a familiar looking room.

                "Yes?" the Lead asked, clearly confused by the unfamiliar faces standing at her door.

                "Um, yeah we're friends with Silas and we didn't see him at breakfast which is not like him at all, so we were worried. We just wanted to see if we could check on him." Garland spoke up. The Lead paused for a moment and her seemed to think for a moment on how to respond.

                "That's really sweet, I understand. I did see him earlier... if he didn't make it to breakfast, he might have not been in the mood to see you guys this morning. I can, however, bring you to his room and see what he says. However, we do have a rule— no overnight visits to other floors. And also, if he needs some time alone, you guys have to respect that." She determined softly. We all agreed quickly with nods and an "absolutely" and "of course" mixed in.

                She led us down the hallways to his room. Walking up to his curtain first, she knocked gently on his doorway.

                "Hey Silas. You have friends here to visit you." The Lead called out lightly. There was a long pause, and I shifted nervously. How confident was she that Silas was in his room?

                "Come in." Silas feebly replied. Valentin looked to the Lead and then glanced at Garland before opening the curtain.

                "Let me know if you need anything." The Lead offered before heading back the way we came.

                We stood awkwardly at the entrance for a second. Valentin took a few steps in and stood next to the bed, and Elissa followed. Garland entered, taking the other side closest to the bed. Lunëne was able to take a step in, standing in the middle, as I leaned against the doorway. There really wasn't enough room for all of us.

                Silas lay on his back, staring motionlessly at the ceiling for an uncomfortably long minute. The atmosphere was as if we were all gathered around the hospital bed of someone who just found out they had a terminal illness. None of us really knew where or how to start.

                "Sorry I missed breakfast." Silas broke the silence quietly.

                "You don't have to apologize dude; we just wanted to..." Valentin paused for a second to think of the right words.

                "We were worried about you." Garland interjected. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

                Silas blinked a few times, still staring at the ceiling with a nearly blank expression. A flicker of despair crossed his face for a second, and he opened his mouth and then closed it. He blinked a few more times as a tear found its way out of his eye and trickled down his face. The silence held its grip on the room, no one daring to move.

                "They were- I knew them. Lena and Odalis. I- you heard right? I knew them. Actually, knew them..." Silas trailed off for a moment, "I... Well actually we were dating."

                The silence continued, this time with mouths open in shock.

                "Wait..." Valentin started.

                "Silas, we had no idea." Garland lamented with her voice cracking.

                "Sorry." Silas turned his head and looked over at Valentin and Elissa for the first time.

                "That's okay! I mean that's your own personal business, I'm sure you would have told us when you were ready." Elissa reassured him with an encouraging smile.

                "You were dating Lena? Or Oda- wait, you mean you were dating both?" Valentin asked incredulously. I noticed Elissa subtly nudge him. "I- I didn't even know you were dating one person, meanwhile you're up here with two people- sorry, I'm just... I'm really sorry to hear about that."

                Silas drew his feet towards himself and slowly sat up, sitting with his knees to his chest. He looked around and seemed to notice that the room was packed.

                "Oh, sorry. It's really small in here. Someone can sit on the bed." Silas offered as he moved closer to the top. Valentin and Elissa gingerly sat down and Lunëne moved into their spot, while I shuffled in close behind and silently slid the curtain closed. "Yeah, I was dating both of them. Lena and Odalis."

                "Did they, um... know about each other?" Valentin asked hesitantly. This time, the nudge from Elissa was a bit harder and less subtle.

                "Yeah. Odalis and Lena were already dating when we launched. Odalis and I started talking the first week, and then the next week I really hit it off with Lena.  Had a great date with Odalis, and then with both of them. And then a few more after that too." Silas stopped, lost in thought.

                "What were they like?" Lunëne prompted gently after a moment.

                "Romantic. And fun. Odalis was kind of crazy, in a grand, silly way. I told him the other day that I had finished my book but I was too lazy to walk to the library to get a new one, and he literally just swept me off my feet and carried me to the library. I think he was trying to embarrass me. So, it was really weird but also... kind of sweet. The first time anyone has done something crazy like that for me. And Lena was just a ball of energy. Electric, and really encouraging. Supportive." He paused and thought for a second, "I was really worried that she was going to be jealous or upset. But she liked me. And I liked her. And she liked that I liked her and Odalis. It was..."

                The room fell into a heavy silence again.

                "What- um, what did you do for your dates?" I offered, glancing at Lunëne and then looking at Silas. He gave me a hint of a smile and then looked off into the distance.

                Silas shared stories that none of us knew were happening just a floor or two above us. We asked questions until we had none left to ask. And then I started to talk about Bryn. I didn't have as much to say, but it was a distraction from the silence and heartbreak.