Eve seemed nonplussed by Jove's success as they brought the fish out to show the others. Aster shouted her congratulations from a distance as she attempted to imitate the penguins by sliding across the ice on her chest and stomach.
Jove would have joined her in an instant had the fishing not snared his attention. He was also aware of the way his mother kept watching him watch Aster, and wasn't about to feed the flames of her suspicion.
"I believe it is an Antarctic Toothfish," said Andromeda. "They're abundant in and around the Southern Ocean and often grow to be quite large."
"I see where it gets its name from," muttered Jove as he took the lure out of a somewhat terrifying mouth. "Are they good to eat?"
"They are supposed to be quite tasty," said Andromeda.
"We should wait until we get back to scale and filet this one," said Kira. "Maybe if we catch a more reasonably-sized fish, we can clean it and eat it with dinner tonight."
Their success was far from a one-off event. Jove caught half a dozen fish over the next two hours, most over ten pounds, all large enough to be worth keeping. He took a break to check in on Eve and Aster and found them to be having a similar amount of success.
"I caught an eel!" said Aster, enthusiastically.
"Nice work." Jove glanced at Eve, but she still seemed annoyed with him, which stoked his own animosity.
"Jovian," said Aster, in a neutral tone. "I thought the two of us might go for a walk later on. Try to find the penguins again."
She flashed a smirk, and he felt a rise of heat and excitement in his chest.
"Sounds like fun," he said. "I never got to pet one earlier."
"I'll walk you through it," said Aster. "Come find me when you get some downtime."
Eve cleared her throat. "Trying to fish here. Talking scares them away."
Jove shook his head but wasn't interested in another fight. He returned to his own tent, where Kira was preparing their dinner next to the door. Nothing complicated, flat bread with fish and kale and a bit of sauce.
The fishing was still their priority and didn't slow down to give them time for a proper family meal. Jove got another bite while his mother was in the middle of serving him. He focused on reeling the fish in while Kira brought Eve and Aster their food, returning to report that the fishing was still similarly hot in the other tent.
He pulled it out, easily another twenty pounder, though they'd caught so many that they both hardly reacted to it. "This changes everything, you know."
His mother nodded slowly. "It really does. This many fish, combined with our hydroponics setup, and we might not have to worry about food for months. Years, even, assuming we can come back to catch more."
He let himself consider it as he brought the fish out to the pile where the subzero temperatures were dutifully freezing them for safe keeping. A year or two, with just him and Eve and Aster and his mother.
The world already felt like a shrunken mockery of its former self, with new realities and diminished boundaries. How would their family change after that much time in isolation?
"I got another bite!" called his mother. "It's… too big to even fit through the hole!"
He came back in to the sight of her leaning her weight into the line in an attempt to pull a truly massive fish up and out of the water. It snapped just as he came to help her from behind, and he caught her as she fell back into him laughing.
Jove shook his head, still chuckling. "What would we even have done with that fish if we'd caught it?"
"Same thing we'll do with all the rest." Kira turned her head to face his, breathing still askew. "Make fish sticks. Fish tacos."
"Fish sticks, huh?"
He leaned in a little closer, suddenly fascinated by their proximity to one another.
"Yeah," she whispered.
Jove kissed her on the lips, unable to resist the tenor of the moment.
"I… didn't realize you were such a fan of fish sticks," she whispered, with a tiny smile.
"Sometimes they hit the spot."
They kissed again, and there was no playfulness or deniability, only passion and rising need. Kira pressed a hand to his chest as he started to move on to her neck.
"Jovian," she said. "We should talk."
"Do we have to?"
"Yes." She summoned some authority to both her voice and eyes. "Now that most of our needs are being taken care of, we have a chance to… come up for air. It's easy to get a little caught when you're in a situation where there is so much going on, both in the world and emotionally."
"I know," he said. "You're right."
He still hadn't let go of her and couldn't resist inhaling her scent, which was intoxicating and seemed to bring him right back to where he'd been when they'd kissed.
"I haven't had many hugs since your father died. Hugs or kisses. Combined with how distant we'd grown, Jovian…" She shook her head and bit her lower lip. "It's like my body's not on the same page as my mind, and my mind isn't sure if it should be reading the book to begin with."
"You didn't hook up with anyone while you lived at the station?" He couldn't resist asking, the question fed by a bit of curiosity he'd had about her and Ryan.
"Of course not!" she snapped, elbowing him in the ribs.
"I was just curious. You're so beautiful, Mom. It must have been torture for the male researchers."
"Why would you think that?"
Because it's torture for me, he thought, but didn't say.
Torture entwined with confusion. She was his mother, and he shared in so much of what she was describing. The uncertainty. The guilt.
"I should give you some space." He took a step back and moved toward the tent's door.
"Hold on," said Kira. "Where are you planning on going?"
He stifled a wince. "I figured I'd go and see what was happening in the other tent. Give you a little room to breathe. I don't want you to feel like I'm stepping over any boundaries that you aren't comfortable with."
"You may already have," she said, looking away.
He felt her words like a reprimand as he remembered wrestling in the snow earlier that day, how quickly their playful game had shifted to having her arms pinned and legs wrapped around him.
"I've noticed you and your aunt," she said.
The air was heavy as he walked across the tent, stepping with care around the wet spots on the floor, and took a seat next to her on the sturdier cot. "What are you asking me, Mom?"
"Are you attracted to her?" asked Kira.
He tried to seem outwardly tense while being relieved by the extent of the question, though he knew she might have more. He'd promised Aster not to tell his mother, but lying to his mother's face might not just be immoral, but impossible for him.
"Yeah," he said. "I suppose I am. Pretty fucked up, isn't it?"
"Unorthodox is the word I would choose. Or maybe… inappropriate." She rubbed his shoulder. "Jove, it'll end in disaster if you entertain her… whims. She'll either take it too far, or let you take it too far, and you'll both end up in a situation where there's no escaping the awkwardness and fallout."
He didn't disagree with her, but her clinical and authoritative assessment prickled him. "Maybe. But you said it yourself. We might be here in Antarctica, hunkered down, for months. Years, maybe. What? Am I just supposed to watch Ryan's porn over and over again for all that time?"
"You shouldn't bring up pornography with your mother," she said, a tiny smile sneaking past her guard. "With that said, I recognize that you might have… certain needs."
He felt a rush of arousal that felt like it had been waiting in the wings. "What are you saying?"
Kira pursed her lips. "Can you keep a secret, Jovian?"