The rest of family dinner was a quiet and tense but ultimately endurable affair. Kira suggested that Aster and Eve try out the sauna afterward before disappearing into her work again. Jove retired to his dormitory, laying in bed and watching a movie on his phone while the wall screen played one of the preset video backgrounds of a crackling fire.
"It's nice in here." Aster appeared in his open doorway, dressed in a white cotton robe with her blonde hair still wet and scraggly. "Are you watching a movie?"
"Yeah. The Prestige."
"It's been years since I've seen that," said Aster. "Can you put it up on the wall screen or is the fireplace too irresistibly cozy for you to switch off?"
"Yeah, sure."
He smiled and made room for her on the bed, not that it was all that big of a bed. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale faced off against one another as the current scene devolved into a heated argument.
Aster took the spot next to him, sitting lengthwise on the bed with her back against the pillows along the headboard. Jove's arm had been laying across the headboard and was now technically around her shoulders, which felt strange. Not bad, but not quite right, either.
Aster took his hand by the wrist and pulled it down to properly curl around her. "It's been far too long since I've cuddled with my nephew. At least a decade, I think."
"Don't you mean your boyfriend?" he said, with a teasing smile.
"Ah, yes! Ryan could be back at any minute."
"He's probably already figured it out," said Jove. "I'm actually a little surprised by how… close he and my mother seem to be."
"Well…" Aster cuddled in a little closer against him. "Better safe than sorry, just in case he hasn't. He'll never leave me alone if he becomes sure that I'm single. Darling, can you even imagine being stuck in the middle of nowhere in Antarctica with only your boss for company?"
"I'd rather not," he muttered.
"The boss, and the AI, I suppose." Aster suddenly leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "It's a little eerie thinking about how Andromeda is always there, listening in."
"I bet there are still some limits," said Jove. "A closed door is still a closed door."
"You think?"
He shrugged, feeling an odd thrill at how close she was to him. "Could always test it."
"You have something in mind?" Aster flashed a wicked smile. "She's like the devil. Call her name and she'll come right away."
"That's a wicked comparison," he said, staring at her.
"If the shoe fits…"
Laughter came from the movie as Hugh Jackman and Scarlet Johansson shared a touching moment followed by an intense kiss. Jove slowly pulled his attention back to the screen, but struggled to focus on his movie. He was a little annoyed at how different his aunt seemed to him after her career had reframed her into what amounted to a modern sex symbol.
She was still the same woman, still his mother's sister, no more or less sexy than she had been during his childhood and teenage years. A joke Andre had made once about the kind of acting she'd be best suited for came to mind, and then he was feeling annoyed for different reasons, remembering Eve's earlier comment about the groping.
The door to his room slid open. His mother stood on the other side, brow furrowed as she took in the sight of Jove with his arm around his aunt.
"I didn't realize you were in here, Aster," said Kira.
"Is that a problem?" asked Aster. "Andromeda told me that I shouldn't stream movies without checking with you first, in case you needed the bandwidth. So I opted to watch one my nephew downloaded, instead."
"It's not a problem," said Kira, in a voice that somewhat contradicted the statement. "The point of having you all here was for us to do some family bonding. It's fine. I just wanted to say goodnight to my son."
Aster stood up, made a show of stretching, and then forced Kira to step sideways as she left the room. "Night Jove."
"Goodnight, Aunt Aster."
Kira stepped back into the small room and slowly slid the door closed behind her. She gave Jove a smile, though there was something sad about it, and crossed her arms.
"I'm glad you could come, Jovian," she said.
"I'm glad you invited us down here, Mom."
He really was, even if it hadn't been her idea. He'd forgotten how much he missed his mom's quiet confidence and thoughtful concern. He wanted to know her better, to be closer to her, for there to be more trust in their relationship, but wasn't sure how to get there.
Kira raised a finger, seeming to choose her words carefully. "I thought there might be something you needed to ask me. It might be better if we get to it tonight, so we can have tomorrow and the day after that to just relax. I plan on taking some time off to go to Port Sirius with the three of you and enjoying the hotel while you're there."
He only heard the first part of her words and they struck him like an accusation, though he didn't let it show. She'd always been smart like that, good at picking up on vibes even if she was bad at putting the right ones out. She knew he'd come to beg her for money, and in her magnanimous motherly style, had offered him the perfect opportunity to grovel.
"I can't think of anything." He said the words, feeling his face go hot, too proud to do the smart thing and simply ask her for the cash he desperately needed.
"Are you sure, Jove?" asked his mother. "We haven't really talked about how things are going with you. Work wise. Situation wise."
"I'm fine, Mom," he said, controlling his tone. "Really."
"I know you and Eve are different people," said Kira. "You've been on different tracks since day one. You both have your own struggles in life. It's not as though I compare you to her or love you any less."
Jove gritted his teeth. It was the second, unsaid part to that statement that felt like acid injected into his heart.
It's not as though I compare you to her or love you any less… because of your failures. Because of your criminal record. Because Eve is like me, talented and driven and successful.
"Are you going to have a conversation like this with Eve, then?" he snapped. "Are you going to ask her if she needs to beg you for anything and tell her that you still love her even if she's a fuckup?"
He expected to see hurt or at least shock in her expression. Instead, she narrowed her eyes.
"I'll talk with Eve too, but I expect it will go differently than it has with you," said Kira. "She listens to what I'm actually saying."
"Goodnight, Mother," he said, turning the movie back on.
"Goodnight Jovian."