Christina Koch ³ (wlw)

When you joined NASA, you thought it would be like a typical office job: you're assigned a task, you complete it, and you're out. But as soon as you set foot in that building, you knew things were going to be very different. People were divided into large departments, each more important than the last, and you couldn't afford to make a mistake because a single error could destroy everything the team had built.

Years passed, man returned to the Moon with Artemis II, and now most people were being trained to go back, explore it again and again until they knew it completely and began to establish a base. You were nominated for one of those missions, so from that moment on you had to start preparing, since not just anyone becomes an astronaut overnight. The gym was different; it wasn't your typical "gym for aesthetics," it was more like a "gym for safety." Your trainer was Christina Koch, the first woman to walk on the Moon with the crew on Artemis II, and of course, your unrequited love. For obvious reasons, you didn't tell her you liked her, since she was 47 and you were only 25, plus she was your trainer, and... you didn't have the guts.

Today was a day like any other. You went to the gym at 5 AM. Christina was there, calmly working out. Minutes passed, and your exercises were going perfectly. You'd already learned how to do them correctly without your body hurting as punishment—or so it seemed until it was time for the bar, the muscle-up. You stood on a bench and stretched out on the bar after a few push-ups. While reaching for the bench with your foot, you accidentally kicked it, and your hands felt weak on the metal bar. Suddenly, just when you thought you were going to fall, Christina appeared and caught you in her arms like you were a princess—her princess.