Chapter Text
At first, the idea had seemed ridiculous.
Space tourism represented everything Margo hoped NASA would never become. Astronautics were about space exploration, about unveiling the secrets of the universe and pushing the borders of mankind beyond anything they could imagine, not entertaining bored multi-billionaires with a nice view.
On the other hand, she had to admit she was curious to discover what Karen Baldwin had built. Although they were never close, Margo had witnessed her grow from housewife to co-founder of one of the most promising businesses in the US, rightfully earning her respect.
And then, there was the small matter of the IAC being moved earlier in the year. If she passed the opportunity, she would have to wait another 18 months before reuniting with her international peers. Her mind wandered towards a very specific peer, blonde-haired with tender eyes and a soft smile.
Last year’s IAC had been rather… interesting. For the thousandth time, she internally cursed the Chinese delegate for his path that night, turning a promising evening into a flight home full of frustration.
She cringed at the thought. Who was she kidding? Had she really wanted to, she could have exited the elevator with Sergei. In fact, this would have risen less suspicion from the intruder, since he had no way of knowing where their respective rooms were and the elevator was only pressed for floor 5. But she had panicked then.
Yes, her heart always seemed to beat a bit faster when Sergei was around. Yes, she always looked forward to phone calls in uncomfortable phone booths, and Emma telling her that Neptune Records called. And occasionally, she fantasized on what life would be like, if they were not on opposite sides of the space race. They could try all the sushi they wanted, they could spend all night dissecting the pros and cons of a new engine design with jazz softly playing in the background. And maybe, just maybe, they could have crossed that invisible line between them.
But he always remained just that, an abstract fantasy providing her comfort in the middle of the night whenever she felt the emptiness of a desert JSC a bit more strongly than usual. She had never really thought about what it would be like to actually dance with that invisible line, about whether or not she would cross it if she felt he would catch her on the other side.
Over the years, she had become expert at hiding how affected she was by the tension between them. She was always reminded to bury it deep in her by a gold circle on his finger and the burdening weight of their respective positions hovering over them. The disappearance of his wedding ring coincided with the launch of the race to Mars, dramatically increasing the pressure on both their shoulders.
That is why she really hadn’t been expecting his fingers lightly brushing against hers, his delighted smile catching the corner of her eyes when she had returned the pressure to his hand.
Hence the utter panic when the elevator had come to an unexpected halt.
She knew she had hurt him that night, although he had done his best to hide it. She had seen the misunderstanding and raw disappointment in his gaze. Her heart constricted at the memory.
None of them had dared to mention this little incident in the few calls they had shared since, and she did not really know where they stood on this specific matter. But Margo had had plenty of time to process this in the last six months. Maybe it would be a forever missed opportunity, and he would go back to being just a fantasy. Or maybe, just maybe, it had been the first step towards a path she had long wanted to follow, but been too afraid to walk so far.
Although it had been inevitable then, she was determined to make sure he would not doubt the reciprocity of his interest if presented with the opportunity again.
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As always before an IAC conference, Sergei was happy. Correction. This time, he was giddy.
In a surprising turn of events, this year’s IAC had been moved from its usual London location to… space! Karen Baldwin and Sam Cleveland were about to officially inaugurate Polaris Orbital Hotel, the first hotel in space.
Since they had faced a lot of concern in the media regarding safety issues, they figured hosting an event full of aerospace engineers would earn them enough credibility to brush away all worries.
Being firsthand space admirers, the IAC organizers had obviously agreed to this, especially as it removed all accommodation costs. Polaris Space Tours was desperate to launch smoothly.
This morning, he had learned that due to the peculiarity of this IAC conference, the guest list was extremely selective, and Moscow was not able to justify the presence of a babysitter. Since this was becoming a rather major event and they had been quite pleased with the recent progression of the soviet Mars program, they had allowed him to go on his own – although reluctantly.
So, he was going to space. With Margo. Without any babysitter to watch them.
Hence the giddiness.
He tried to suppress the grin his lips seemed determined to form. A soviet smiling at 3am in a phone booth somewhere in freezing Moscow would clearly arise suspicion from any life form setting eyes on them.
He picked up the phone at its first ring. Best not to draw attention.
“Hello?”
“Sergei.”
His attempt not to smile failed at the first note of her voice reaching his ear.
“Margo, hi.”
Was it him, or was she smiling too?
“How are you?”
“I’m… uh… cold, but well.” How could he not be? The thought of seeing her again six months earlier than planned literally warmed his heart.
“What album did I order this time?”
Ah, the album. He had not been familiar with jazz ten years ago, but it had been crystal clear that Margo’s language was music. So, he had tried to learn over the past ten years. At first, Dr Nikulov hid soviet engineering designs in the records. Over the years, Sergei started burying small pieces of his heart in them too.
“It’s Mary Lou Williams.” According to the salesman at Neptune Records, she was the first renowned female jazz pianist. Her talent had shattered the glass ceiling of music, just like Margo’s talent had shattered that of aerospace engineering. He intended it as a compliment.
He had never been really sure that his choices reflected what he wanted them to. He was not even sure that she was looking for a meaning in them. His voice was shy when he continued. “Do you know of her?”
A delighted sigh from the other side of the receiver. This was confirmation enough to him.
“Only one of the best improvisers.”
He smiled. “Like you, Margo.”
A short pause. Even if he could not see her, he knew she was blushing. And he took pride in it.
“Well… I don’t know about that.”
He chuckled. How she could be so confident in her science, yet so shy in her other personal traits always amazed him.
He cleared his throat, suddenly reminded that the condition for his going to the IAC was for him to fix their Mars orbiters first. Time for business. He tried to focus on the ease with which she solved his issue instead of the bitter taste of guilt in his mouth. Her reminder that he had managed to help her just weeks before eased some of the tension in his shoulders. He was still in control – for now. So far, he had managed to make up for all the information he had been asked to extract, always finding roundabout means to restore balance to the intelligence scale the KGB was relentlessly pulling their way. He knew it was only a matter of time before things would go south.
“Oh, and congratulations on the announcement”.
There was still time. He had already picked his mission commander, and he was close to finding a nuclear engine. There were still a few issues to be fixed, but he was confident everything would be solved by 1996. He smiled.
“Could you have imagined, when we first met… God, ten years ago now… That we would both be here, now, on the way to Mars?” This could not have happened without her help. He had never dared to dream of Mars before meeting her.
“With a program on the way to Mars, yes, I would have hoped this much Sergei.” Confident in her science indeed. She lowered her voice. “But us, in space, two weeks from now? I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around this”. Her voice was a little higher than usual, an odd combination of apprehension and excitement.
He was fully grinning now.
“I never thought I would say this, but… See you in space Margo! I cannot wait.”
Deep down, he knew this was not only due to the unexpected location. But she didn’t need to know this just yet.
“Me neither. Have a safe travel, Sergei”
“You too, Margo.”
The line went dead. He sighed, leaning against the panel. He'd better not meet anyone on his way home, because his smile was not going away tonight. Tightening his jacket around him, he walked up to his car, his mind filled with pictures of a certain red head pianist.