Page 69

“Okay, Merriam Webster,” I snap, the defensiveness raw in my tone. “Still not funny.”

Unable to suppress his smile Talon adds, "It's amusing to watch you uncomfortable."

Oscar chuckles. “Vesper’s got you just where you deserve.”

“Strung out?" Talon suggests. “A nervous wreck?”

“Shut up. Both of you,” I mutter, though their relentless banter starts to chip away at my resolve.

“We should document this,” Oscar continues, sounding far too pleased.

“Don’t you dare,” I warn them both.

“Z is growing a sense of humor. Next thing you know, he'll start having fun. Speaking of fun," Talon chimes in, his grin widening. “I’ve been thinking about something. When's the last time you saw Alex with anyone? Like, actually with someone. Dating, hooking up, whatever.”

The question catches me off guard. I pause my pacing, trying to recall a single instance of Alex bringing someone home or mentioning a date.

“I can't remember," I admit reluctantly. “But that doesn't mean?—”

“Exactly,” Talon cuts in. “In the three years I've known him, not once. Not a single person. I was starting to think he was in a committed relationship with his computer.”

Oscar lets out a low chuckle. “He does spend more time with it than any human.”

"He doesn't broadcast his hook-ups."

“Hook-ups require leaving your room occasionally," Talon points out. "When does he ever go out unless it's for a job?"

I frown, trying to counter his logic and coming up empty. I hate that Talon's right. But as much as I'd like to deny it, the signs have been there all along. Alex tracks her across rooms. The way he softens, just barely, when she speaks. How he lets her into spaces he keeps locked away to the rest of us. It's the same gravitational pull we've all felt, drawing us into her orbit one by one.

“Look, I'm not saying you need to throw a parade for him,” Talon continues, his voice gentler now. “But maybe cut the guy some slack. This thing with Vesper…it's different for him.”

“Different how?” I challenge, though part of me already knows the answer.

“She makes him human, Z. Just like she does for you. For all of us.”

The truth in his words cuts deeper than I want to admit. Before Vesper crashed into our lives, we were functional at best—damaged men working together out of necessity, not choice. But now, there’s something different holding us together. Vesper.

When we got her back, something shifted in all of us. She became the center of everything. The constant. The one pulling us home like four lost ships in a storm.

She’s the gravity that keeps us from drifting too far. The reason we fight. The reason we stay.

“I still don't like it,” I mutter, but the heat has drained from my words.

“You don't have to like it,” Oscar says. “You just have to respect it. Her choice.”

The sound of a door opening down the hall silences us all. We turn collectively, watching as Vesper emerges from Alex's room. She pauses when she notices us all staring, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“Hi,” she yawns, padding barefoot into the living room. “Alex is still out. I didn't want to wake him."

“And you?” I ask, unable to keep the edge from my voice. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than I have in days, actually.”

Something in her expression dares me to make an issue of it. I swallow the jealousy rising in my throat, forcing myself to nod. "Good.”

“You know this place echoes, right?” she mentions as she shuffles by me and settles onto the couch next to Oz, curling her body against his.

“Which means?” Talon asks, his smug expression faltering slightly.