The common room was warm with chatter. Damp towels hung over chairs, Milo packets scattered across the table. A rest day loomed tomorrow, and the team was in loose mode—half recovering, half restless.
Randy, for once, had the floor.
"So I told the umpire, 'It's not that I'm blind—it's just that my opponent's shots were invisible!'"
Silence.
Jomar blinked.
Mira crunched loudly on a biscuit.
Karl stared at the ceiling like he'd ascended into a different dimension.
But then—
Eri. Laughed.
A short, involuntary snort, as if her soul had been ambushed.
The room froze. A bird chirped outside. Someone dropped a spoon.
Randy stood taller, blinking like he'd just been knighted.
"Dane," he whispered. "Did you see that?"
"I'm blind now," Dane muttered, stunned.
Eri's eyes widened in horror. "It—it wasn't that funny."
"Too late," Mira smirked. "You're infected."
"I always knew my jokes were a slow burn," Randy said, striking a dramatic pose.
Alona was trying to stifle a giggle. Not from the joke—but from Randy's face.
Later, as things mellowed again, Dane and Alona found themselves sitting by the hostel's open-air hallway, half-watching the moonlight flicker on the tiles.
"You've been smiling more lately," Alona said quietly.
"That's because you're here," Dane replied without hesitation.
Her breath caught. "That's... smooth."
"I've been practicing. Karl and Randy are bad influences."
She nudged his shoulder. "It's working."
He glanced down at her hand resting close to his. Closer now.
Just as he moved to take it, Jomar barreled into the hallway.
"ALONA LIKES DANE!"
"THEY'RE SITTING TOGETHER AGAIN!" Mira echoed, dramatically sliding into view.
Alona groaned. Dane looked ready to dissolve into smoke.
"Don't worry," Mira added. "We ship it."
"Hard," Jomar nodded.
Inside, Eri was still pretending Randy didn't exist. Randy, however, stood by the mirror rehearsing stand-up material.
"If I can crack her once... I can do it again."
Karl patted his back solemnly. "Dream big, man."
And outside, as the stars blinked quietly overhead, Alona rested her head on Dane's shoulder. Just for a moment. Just long enough to make the chaos inside fade.
Tomorrow was another day of war.
But tonight?
Just peace, sparks, and one extremely smug Mira.