With Krow glaring daggers into Jun and Yvette “Nova” Hook crying against the rainbow of alcohol bottles, they knew they had moments to make their case.

“I don’t really have any loyalty to the IF on this.” They blurted out.

Krow took a button from the register and slapped it down on the counter. On it was a QR code. “Scan your receipt.”

“I mean, technically we were sent here to find her, but as of, like,” Jun’s phone read 7:02 PM, “right now, I’m off the clock.”

“Then why bother her? Don’t you have better things to do?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Jun glanced over to Nova. “But I didn’t track you down to harass you.” They could’ve worded that better. “You have your reasons for running, right? I want to help.”

Nova sniffled. “You wanna help me run?”

Krow rolled her eyes. “Scan the receipt.” As Jun obliged, Krow called over her shoulder. “She’s just saying that so she can weasel information outta you. Don’t believe it. I bet her ‘help’ is gonna be convincing you to turn yourself in.”

“Yeah, she’s right about my help.” admitted Jun. Lying wouldn’t help them build trust with either woman. “But if you hear me out and decide you wanna keep hiding, I’ll pretend we never met.” They looked back at Krow. “I already told my buddy not to tell anyone else we found her. See?”

Krow turned her head away from the tablet Jun slid over the counter. Despite herself, her eyes wandered over to the texts on them. “As if that means anything.”

Jun couldn’t win them all. Instead, they slid their tablet over to a much more interested party: Nova. Her eyes glistened in the light of Jun’s tablet as she looked it over. “I can’t believe y’all did this under my nose…” She shook her head. “I just don’t understand.”

“Sorry, it’s nothing personal.” Jun tried to reassure her.

“Oh no, I understand why you’re here. What I’m not gettin’ is—I ran into six or eight of your crew already. One of ‘em even tried to warn me about the rest of y’all. Why’d it take so long for any of ya to do anything? You coulda brought this up the first time I was here.”

“See, I would’ve, but funny story, that kid you ran into on the way here was actually lost, so I had to go and find him.”

Nova squinted. “Ain’t he too young for the IF?”

“He says he’s 19, but I don’t think he should be—Anyway. Since you said you’d be back, I figured I could swing back around later on.”

“Okay, but your friend was still here.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Why didn’t she tell me anything? She seemed pretty ‘eager to strike when the time was right.’” Hearing her quote Roxie’s text made Jun cringe. Nova’s fingers drummed quick, nervous taps against the counter. “And she had the nerve to have a whole conversation with me. She even started cryin’ when you showed up to do whatever you’re plannin’ to do.” The hurt in her eyes turned to frustration. Anger. “Was all that just a joke? Was it part of your plan?”

Jun wanted nothing more than to defend Roxie. “I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but I can’t see her lying about her feelings like that.” Krow raised her eyebrows at them. If they didn’t know Roxie so well, they’d think she knew something about her they didn’t. “I’ve never seen her that upset. I don’t think she really thought through what we were doing until she got to know you better.”

“Oh okay, so she was perfectly fine with ruining Nova’s life before she got to know her.” Krow and Aiden might make good friends.

Not knowing how to bat for Roxie without making her look thoughtless, Jun ignored Krow. “I don’t know what we were supposed to do when we found you. Contact our captain about it, I guess?”

“Sounds like amateur hour.” Krow and Aiden would make great friends.

“But I wanted to give you a heads up. Lunaria’s a terrible place to hide from the IF.”

Nova’s head bobbed in understanding. She shrank into her shoulders somewhat.

“I mean, if amateurs like us were able to run into you, think of what’ll happen when they send someone competent.” Jun watched her sink into deep thought. Even Krow’s face sobered. “I just want to help you get the best outcome from all of this. Like, I really don’t wanna freak you out, but things look pretty bad for you if you get caught any later than tonight.”

Resting her head in her hands, Nova let out a deep sigh.

“She’s just trying to—”

The front door opened, letting in a party of three. A woman with star-shaped afro puffs offered up a hesitant smile. “Are you guys open?”

“Yeah, come on in!” Krow beckoned them. “Don’t worry about us. She just got done paying.” She turned to Jun with a cheery smile. “You have a good evening!”

“Wait.” Nova called out. “Krow, do ya think we could talk a little more in private?”

Krow’s eyes flickered back and forth to the new customers taking their seats at the bar. “S-Sure? If you two wanna. Ask Big Leda, and she’ll find some place for you. Be warned though,” she gave Jun a pointed look, “she’ll probably wanna keep an eye on things~”

“Got it.” Jun gave a thumbs up.

“Follow me.” Nova waved them over towards a just outside of the restroom area.

The smell of fried fish hit Jun the moment they entered the stairwell. As it turned out, drinks didn’t make up for the fact that they hadn’t eaten since noon. Faint sizzling from up above let them know the fish being fried would be fresh.

“Sorry, I hope the smell doesn’t bother ya much. Big Leda must be cookin’ dinner.” Nova backed into a door opposite of the stairs. “This way, please?”

Jun looked up the stairs. “You’re not gonna let her know we’re here?”

“No need for that. Krow was just fussin’.” She stopped in the doorway. “‘Sides, I was hopin’ to talk in private. You sure you won’t get an extra pay bump for turning me in?” A nervous laugh wasn’t enough to cover up the sincerity of her question. “No hard feelings if ya will.”

“Nah. If you had nothing to lose, I wouldn’t be here.”

Her face sobered. “Somethin’ to lose, huh?”

She led Jun into a space that could’ve been roomy if not for the shelves lined with alcohol, the boxes full of more alcohol, and the industrial-sized refrigerator that may or may not contain alcohol. A mop stood charging next to a small shelf of cleaning supplies isolated from everything else, probably so its contents wouldn’t get mixed up with the alcohol.

“Be careful not to knock anything over.” Nova pulled a stool from the back. “D’ya want a seat? This is the only one we have back here. It’s not our hang out spot, so…”

“I’m good.”

“Great! I’ve been walkin’ all day.” She took the stool. “So.” Her hands smoothed out the bottom of her long shirt. Her short dress? Her top. “What’s this about things I have to lose?”

Jun peeled off their tablet and scrolled to the documents Lorenzo sent them. “You’ve been gone since July 30th? That’s 28 days if I have my math right.” They maneuvered over to Mia’s notes. “After thirty days, you’ll be sentenced to up to a year of military jail and dishonorably discharged.”

Nova squinted. “Yeah, I thought so. What do ya mean ‘after thirty days?’ What am I missin’ out on?”

“If you turn yourself in now, you’ll only have to deal with a month of confinement.”

“And dishonorable discharge?”

“Nope.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“It shocked me too.” Jun smiled. “The IF’ll keep paying you after you go AWOL so long as you come back within a month. Sure, it’ll be reduced pay for a while, but you’ll still be enlisted.”

“C-Can I see what you’re lookin’ at?”

Jun handed her the tablet. “Sure thing. It’s the messages from Mia. Krow’s little sis.”

The brightest thing in the room was Nova’s eyes as they darted across the screen. Her brows furrowed. “All this time, I’d been told—I’d been thinkin’ I’d be sent back to Earth the moment I was found out.”

“Told? By who?”

“Some guy I found online.” She covered her mouth. “I-I don’t feel comfortable givin’ a name. I mean, with him bein’ so secretive, I’m not even sure if I have the right one.”

“That’s cool. I was just curious.”

“He told me the IF sent him back to Earth and he lost everything.”

“Do you know how long he was gone?” Sunglasses did Jun no favors in such a dark room, so they took theirs off.

“Longer than a month, I know that for sure.” Nova’s eyes widened at the screen. “Wait, this is… Nevermind.” She gave the tablet back. “Thanks for showin’ me.”

“No prob.” Jun strapped it around their wrist. “But that’s prolly not enough to get you to come back, is it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have left in the first place. Can you tell me why you did?”

Nova fidgeted with her purse. “Sure. Only if I get to ask you a question first. It’s kinda silly.”

“I’m used to silly questions.”

“I met a guy on the Moon Base. Luis, I think his name was?”

The name rang a bell. “Was he working a desk job? Big mole on the side of his face?”

“So you do know him!”

“He was my headset guy when my shoulder got busted.” Jun recalled with a wistful laugh. They felt the pain like it was yesterday.

“We never talked much. Honestly, I was bein’ a little nosy and I overheard someone arguing with him over callin’ you ‘he.’”

Their eyebrows raised. “He did?”

“His defense was that you told him it was fine to call ya that.”

“Totally. Was that your question?”

“Well, sorta. If you don’t mind me askin’, why? Makin’ the switch to ‘she,’ for someone like you…” Nova motioned to them. “I feel like people could get behind that pretty easily.”

“Yeah. You’re asking why I’m okay with it? Uhhhh...”

Nova nodded politely, having shot down their usual explanation before they could make it. As she guessed, most people who knew Jun before they outed themself had since switched over to feminine terms. They insisted they didn’t mind otherwise. No one needed to call them ma’am, hold doors open for them, or stop giving them testosterone. People did anyway. Aiden and apparently Luis were the only outliers.

Jun fidgeted with their hat, trying to come up with something that would let them weasel out of this line of conversation. “I thought it’d be easier for some of the guys, but I guess I was wrong.”

“So you were just doin’ it for their comfort?” Concern was written all over Nova’s face. “Didn’t it bother you? It’s stressful enough to put on a front for so long. Were you really gonna pretend to be somethin’ you weren’t the rest of your life?”

It was easier than the alternative. “I’m okay. I grew up being mistaken for a guy pretty often.”

“But not all the time, right?”

“Not all the time–Oops.” Jun bumped the lamp hanging above them in an attempt to rest their hand behind their head nonchalantly. “Ma wouldn’t let that happen. ‘Jun, you’re a cute girl, stop trying to hide it. Wear something pretty for once!’ We were, like, always getting on each other’s nerves over stuff like that. She wouldn’t let me in the kitchen when her friends were over unless I wore something ‘presentable.’ So I didn’t go there.”

“You didn’t eat?” Nova grimaced.

“No, no, no—I mean yeah, I ate food.” Most days. “I wasn’t, like, trapped. All I had to do was hop outta the window and order something out. Or my dad would hop in the window with food.”

Nothing Jun told her seemed to ease her mind. Before they could steer the conversation back on track, she cut in with, “Dang, and I thought I cared about my styling. I would’ve at least put on the clothes to eat.”

“It was more of a principle thing. I don’t like being put into a box.” Jun finally got the reins back. “When people think I’m a guy, at least it’s a different box.” They laughed it off like a joke.

They couldn’t afford to take themself too seriously. Sure, treating others so differently based on genitalia was strange, but people traded drinks for strips of paper that only had value because everyone agreed on it. What did it mean to be neither man nor woman in a world where most people didn’t know other options? Was Jun kidding themself?

What about Aiden? Maybe he didn’t care, but it stung knowing people boxed him into manhood no matter what. Sometimes they had to remind themself he came out. Of all people, they should know better. It’s not like they needed reminding of Roxie’s womanhood or Emil’s masculinity. Being androgynous meant Jun at least had options for which box people stuffed them in.

Looking around, it felt like the objects strewn about had more respected ways to define themselves than the people in the room. Beer came in different boxes based on brand. Wine bottles lined the shelves, as did whisky, liquor, brandy, rum, and a whole assortment of other bottles. Some held syrups and soda instead of alcohol. Mixing any of these together led to the creation of something unique, something most people were more willing to accept than them.

It’s a matter of luck they hadn’t faced more pushback from the people who already knew the truth. Though few in number, their combined belief in Jun counted for something. It made their life a lot easier.

“I guess that’s all I wanted to know.” Nova spoke up after a moment of silence. “Whatever you’re fine with bein’ called, I’m fine with it.”

“Cool.” Jun smiled. If they weren’t semi-famous, maybe they could’ve been more honest. Oh well. There were other things on their mind. “So, about you running away…”