As the heavy door of Leo's cabin clicked shut, sealing them off from the rest of the station, Ivan jerked his arm free from Felix's grip. He rubbed his ear, his jaw tightening as his dark, piercing gaze locked onto Felix with suppressed irritation.
"What is your problem, Felix? Why did you have to pull that stunt and drag me out?" —Ivan's voice was low, laced with a dangerous edge.
Felix didn't flinch. He simply leaned back against the cool metallic wall, crossing his arms with a calm, unimpressed smirk.
"The drama queen here is you, Ivan. Did you even look at Misha's state? She was barely holding herself together, finally starting to breathe. If you had barged in there swinging your usual dominance, you would've sent her straight into a full-blown panic attack." —Felix replied smoothly, though his eyes carried a sharp warning beneath the casual tone.
Ivan went silent for a moment. He knew Felix wasn't wrong—Misha's psychological fragility was a raw nerve for all of them. Yet, the stubborn, possessive drive in Ivan refused to back down completely.
"We can't just leave her alone with Leo, expecting him to handle everything," Ivan muttered, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper. "You know as well as I do—this eighteen-week stretch in the void is too much for just one of us to anchor. All three of us are the only reality she has left."
Felix's expression softened slightly. He reached out, giving Ivan's shoulder a firm, grounding pat.
"I know, Ivan. None of us are letting her go. But give her some breathing room. If we suffocate her right now, she'll shatter completely. Let her take things at her own pace."
Standing in the quiet, sterile hum of the corridor, the two men fell silent. Inside the cabin behind them, the lingering quiet of Leo and Misha's sanctuary remained undisturbed, while outside, the guardians of her fractured reality kept their vigil.
As the lingering echo of Felix's words settled between them, a slow, knowing smirk touched the corner of Ivan's lips. He leaned his shoulder casually against the cool metallic wall of the corridor, his dark eyes fixed firmly on the sealed door of Leo's cabin.
"You've got it all wrong, Felix," Ivan muttered, his voice dropping to a low, gravelly hum that only the two of them could hear. "I'm not trying to suffocate her. I just know what she needs to stay anchored in this madness."
He paused for a second, letting the quiet hum of the station fill the space between them before continuing:
"What needed to happen between her and Leo inside is already taking place. But you and I both know the depth of what Misha and I share—the way she responds to me, the way her body craves that absolute control when the panic sets in. Leo's turn is just the beginning. Once he's finished, it'll be my turn to go in."
Ivan's tone carried an unyielding certainty, a heavy sense of possession that left no room for argument. Felix didn't push back this time. He simply let out a quiet sigh, knowing that in the crushing isolation of deep space, Ivan's brutal, unapologetic grip was just as vital to Misha's survival as anything else.Inside Leo's cabin, the heavy storm of emotion had finally subsided into a fragile, exhausted quiet. The soothing scent of the blossoms and Leo's steady grounding presence had brought Misha back from the brink of her panic. After a long, restorative stretch of intimacy, the pneumatic door of the cabin slid open with a soft hiss.
Leo stepped out into the corridor, looking calm but physically spent, the quiet satisfaction of having anchored Misha lingering in his expression. Waiting in the hallway, Ivan and Felix watched him emerge. The moment Leo cleared the threshold, Ivan's dark eyes locked onto the open doorway, a sharp, predatory spark of anticipation igniting in his gaze. He knew his turn had arrived.
Without wasting a single second, Ivan strode past Leo and stepped directly into the sanctuary. Felix simply leaned against the wall with an unbothered smirk, watching as Ivan crossed into the room. With a heavy, deliberate thud, the cabin door slid shut behind Ivan, sealing him inside with Misha.
As the heavy cabin door sealed shut behind him, Ivan stepped into the warm, dimly lit space. Misha was sitting at the edge of the large bed, her body still exhausted and aching from the hours spent with Leo. Her hair was tangled, and her breath hitched as she saw who had just walked in.
Blinking in disbelief and sudden panic, she pulled the sheet higher around her shoulders and stared up at him:
"Wait... didn't we already... why are you back? What do you want?"
A slow, possessive smirk curved across Ivan's lips. He didn't answer immediately; instead, he closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate strides. The heavy air of the room shifted instantly under his commanding presence.
Stopping right at the edge of the bed, Ivan reached out and caught her chin gently between his fingers, forcing her to look straight into his dark, unyielding eyes.
Leaning down until his voice was a low, gravelly hum against her skin, he murmured:
"Leo only pulled you back from the edge, Misha. Did you really think our account was settled that easily? Out here in the endless void, holding your mind and body together isn't a one-man job... Now, tell me you can deny what you need from me."
Her breath caught in her throat as the weight of his dominance washed over her, completely sweeping away any remaining hesitation.
When Ivan finally emerged from the cabin a while later, his usual composed expression carried a distinct new mark. Across his right cheek, a bright red handprint was starkly visible—unmistakable proof that Misha, driven by a surge of overwhelmed frustration or raw impulse, had struck him hard before he left.
Waiting out in the corridor, Leo caught sight of the vivid red mark on Ivan's face and couldn't hold back a quiet, knowing chuckle. His smile wasn't mocking, but rather a warm, amused acknowledgment of the sheer chaos Misha could unleash even in her most vulnerable states.
Ivan narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening as he shot a dark, brooding look at Leo. Ignoring the burning sting on his cheek, he casually adjusted his collar, a fierce, unapologetic glint in his eyes as he muttered under his breath:
"She's still wild, but she knows exactly who she needs."
Leo shook his head with a faint smile, stepping away from the wall as the rotation of their relentless deep-space cycle prepared for its next phase.
Seeing the vivid red mark stamped across Ivan's face, Leo couldn't resist a slow, teasing grin. He stepped closer, his voice laced with playful amusement:
"Well, look at that," Leo chuckled softly, his eyes glinting with mischief. "What happened in there, Ivan? Did our quiet little bird decide to leave her permanent signature? Come on, don't keep secrets—what's your special technique for getting slapped across the room?"
Ivan's jaw clenched tighter, the burning sting on his cheek only fueling his stubborn pride. He shot Leo a dark, smoldering glare, refusing to let the mocking get to him.
"Wipe that stupid grin off your face, Leo," Ivan muttered, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly threat. "She might have held back with your gentle routine, but with me, she lets out every ounce of that raw, untamed fury. That fire only burns like that because of what we are to each other. Go on inside if you think you can handle her when she's like this."
Standing in the sterile, hum-filled corridor, the two men locked eyes, the silent rivalry between them hanging thick in the air just as Felix stepped forward with an amused smirk of his own.