Chapter 529: Starting a harem

The next few hours passed in controlled chaos that Kelvin was genuinely good at managing. He coordinated with Sam on budget allocation, got Sophie’s approval on security arrangements that basically amounted to "no Harbingers allowed," and somehow convinced the faction’s logistics team that yes, they could transform the main common area into something resembling a proper celebration space.

By six o’clock, the transformation was complete. Tables arranged in clusters rather than formal rows. Food stations set up along the walls, catered from three different local establishments because Kelvin had learned that variety prevented complaints. Lighting adjusted to something warmer than the usual tactical brightness. Music playing at a volume that allowed conversation without forcing people to shout.

People started filtering in around six-thirty. Recruits came first, still uncertain if this was mandatory or optional despite Kelvin’s assurances it was completely voluntary. Then the more experienced Eclipse members, followed by the core team in scattered arrivals rather than a coordinated entrance.

Kelvin watched from near one of the food stations, mentally cataloging who showed up and how they interacted. Marcus immediately grabbed food and planted himself near a group of newer recruits who looked uncomfortable. Reyna was laughing at something Torres said. Chen stood alone initially, then Valencia’s friend—another recruit whose name Kelvin really needed to remember—approached him and started a conversation.

The faction was functioning. Actually functioning as a community rather than just a military unit.

Diana arrived at six fifty-five, wearing civilian clothes that Kelvin had literally never seen her in before or he did but was too animated to even remember a thing. She wore dark pants, simple shirt, nothing fancy. But the fact that she’d changed out of tactical gear felt significant in ways he couldn’t quite articulate.

She found him near the drinks. "You’re staring."

"I’m observing," Kelvin corrected. "Making sure the party’s running smoothly."

"The party’s running fine. You planned it well." Diana picked up a drink, something non-alcoholic based on the color. "So where are we going for dinner?"

"There’s a place about twenty minutes from here. Italian food, which I know you like because I’ve watched you demolish pasta in the commissary approximately seventeen times. Good reviews, quiet enough for conversation, not so fancy that I’ll feel underdressed in whatever I’m wearing."

"Which is?"

Kelvin looked down at his current outfit. Standard Eclipse tactical wear, because he’d been too busy organizing the party to think about changing. "This, apparently. Unless you want to wait while I find something that doesn’t have equipment pouches."

Diana’s smile was small but genuine. "I don’t mind the pouches."

They left together, and Kelvin tried not to read too much into the fact that several recruits noticed and immediately started whispering to each other.

They arrived on time and the restaurant was exactly as advertised. Quiet, good food, dim lighting that made conversation feel private even though there were other people around. They got a corner table, ordered, and then sat in silence for approximately thirty seconds before Kelvin’s inability to handle quiet kicked in.

"So," he said. "KROME performed really well today. The resonance cannon especially, but also the general structural integrity held up better than I expected given the golem was actively trying to crush me."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk about work?"

"I want to talk about something, and work is a safe topic that we’re both comfortable with."

"Fair enough." She took a drink. "The left arm actuator is still showing stress fractures. I looked at it earlier. You’re going to need a full replacement of the joint assembly, not just repairs."

"I know. I’ve got the parts on order, should arrive in a few days." Kelvin leaned forward slightly. "But the core design is solid. Everything you helped me build, it all worked exactly as intended. Which means I owe you approximately sixty percent of the credit for me being alive right now."

"Only sixty percent?"

"The other forty is my natural charm and quick thinking."

Diana actually laughed at that. "Your natural charm."

"I’m very charming. Ask anyone."

"I’m asking you, and you’re biased."

They fell into easier conversation after that. Work stuff initially, because it was comfortable territory, but gradually branching into other topics. Kelvin talked about the party planning, about how the recruits were recovering from the northern facility, about Sam’s latest complaints regarding budget allocations.

Diana listened, occasionally interjecting with her own observations or asking questions that suggested she was actually paying attention rather than just being polite.

The food arrived. They ate. Kelvin managed to not spill anything on himself despite his general track record with fine motor control during social situations.

"Can I ask you something?" Diana said eventually.

"Sure."

"Why now?"

Kelvin set down his fork. "What do you mean?"

"On Raiju Prime, I asked you out. You said you weren’t ready." Diana’s expression was carefully neutral. "That was months ago. So why now? What changed?"

Kelvin took a breath, trying to organize thoughts that didn’t want to organize. "I wasn’t ready then. I was still processing a lot of stuff about my life, about feeling like I couldn’t contribute meaningfully to the team. I was the support guy who made jokes while everyone else fought. And I didn’t want to drag you into that mess."

"And now?"

"Now I killed a three-horn Harbinger. Built KROME into something that actually works. Led a team through a contract and brought everyone home alive." He met her eyes. "Now I feel like maybe I’m someone worth being interested in, instead of just someone you’re stuck working with."

Diana was quiet for a moment. "You know I was interested in you before any of that, right?"

"I know. Which honestly made it worse, because I couldn’t figure out why."

"Because you’re brilliant. Because you make me laugh. Because you see problems differently than anyone else I’ve met." Diana’s voice was steady, matter-of-fact. "The three-horn kill didn’t change any of that. It just gave you confidence you should have had already."

Kelvin felt something warm and uncomfortable in his chest. "That’s unfairly nice of you to say."

"I’m not being nice. I’m being honest."

They finished dinner. Paid. Walked back toward Eclipse headquarters through streets that were quieter than usual for this time of evening. The party would still be going, probably ramping up now that people had loosened up and stopped worrying about whether showing up was mandatory.

Kelvin was aware of Diana walking beside him, close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed. He was aware that the evening had gone well, that she’d smiled more than he’d expected, that this felt like the start of something rather than just an isolated event.

He was also aware that his brain was already working overtime finding ways this could go wrong.

They reached the headquarters entrance. Diana paused, turning to face him. "Thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for saying yes."

"Kelvin." Her expression shifted to something more serious. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay."

"I’m not good at this. The relationship thing. I don’t do vulnerability well. I don’t do emotional availability well. Most of the time I don’t do emotions well, period." Diana’s hands were still, but Kelvin recognized tension in her posture. "So if we’re doing this, you need to know what you’re getting into."

"Someone who’s honest about their limitations?" Kelvin offered. "That sounds pretty functional compared to most people I know."

"I’m serious."

"So am I." He took a breath. "Diana, you literally spent three days installing a weapon system in my mech because you wanted to make sure I’d survive combat. You care. You just show it differently than other people. That’s fine. I can work with different."

Diana studied him for a long moment. Then she nodded, something in her expression relaxing slightly. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"Alright."

They headed inside together, and Kelvin felt something settle that he hadn’t realized was unsettled. The party was still going, louder now, music competing with conversation. People clustered in groups, eating and drinking and generally existing without the context of immediate danger.

Sophie was near one of the food tables, talking to Seraleth about something that involved a lot of hand gestures. Lila stood alone near the far wall, watching the crowd with an expression Kelvin couldn’t quite read. Noah was nowhere immediately visible.

Diana touched his arm briefly. "I’m going to check on the recruits. Make sure nobody’s doing anything stupid."

"Okay. I’ll..." Kelvin gestured vaguely at nothing. "Be around."

She left, and Kelvin found himself standing alone in the middle of a party he’d organized, suddenly uncertain what to do with himself now that the organizational part was complete.

He grabbed a drink and started circulating, making small talk with recruits, checking that everyone had enough food, generally playing host. It was easier than thinking too hard about the dinner, about Diana’s warning, about the growing awareness that caring about someone meant accepting the possibility of losing them.

An hour passed. The party maintained its energy, people rotating through conversations, some leaving as exhaustion caught up with them. Kelvin was talking to Marcus about KROME modifications when he saw Diana slip out of the main room toward one of the quieter corridors.

Her expression was off. Not obviously wrong, but Kelvin had spent enough time watching her work to recognize when something wasn’t quite right.

He excused himself from the conversation and followed, keeping enough distance to not be obvious about it. Diana walked through two corridors, then entered one of the smaller equipment storage rooms that people occasionally used when they needed space away from crowds.

Kelvin waited thirty seconds, then followed.

He found her sitting on the floor, back against the wall, head tilted back and eyes closed. Not crying, but breathing in a way that suggested she was forcing control rather than feeling it naturally.

"Diana?"

She opened her eyes, saw him, and something in her expression cracked. "I told you I’m not good at this."

Kelvin closed the door behind him and sat down beside her, not touching, just present. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. That’s the problem." Diana’s voice was tight. "Everything’s fine. The party’s going well. The mission today was successful. You came back alive. Everything’s perfectly fine."

"But?"

"But Valencia’s dead. Twelve recruits are dead. We lost forty-seven Grey soldiers. All those people died three weeks ago and we’re throwing a party like it doesn’t matter."

"The party’s because it matters," Kelvin said quietly. "Not despite it."

"I know that. Intellectually, I know that." Diana’s hands were clenched in her lap. "But I keep thinking about Valencia. She asked me for advice two days before the northern facility. About chi control, about combat positioning. I told her she was doing fine, that she just needed more practice. And then she died because I wasn’t covering that sector properly."

"Diana—"

"I know it’s not rational. I know there were five three-horns and a four-horn and that casualties were inevitable given the threat level. I know tactical doctrine says acceptable losses in that situation are—" She stopped, breathing hard. "I know all of that. But she asked me for advice and I told her she was fine and then she died."

Kelvin didn’t have words for that. Didn’t have platitudes that would make it better or arguments that would logic away the guilt. So he just sat there, shoulder touching hers, letting her process.

"And you," Diana said after a moment. "You went into that jungle today with five recruits and killed a cat four. And the entire time you were gone, I kept checking mission updates because I was terrified I’d see casualty notifications."

"But you didn’t. Everyone came back."

"This time. But there’ll be a next time, and a time after that, and eventually the probability catches up." Her voice was getting quieter. "That’s what this job is. We keep rolling dice until we roll badly. And caring about people just means it hurts more when they don’t come back."

Kelvin finally understood what she’d meant at dinner. Not good at vulnerability. Not good at emotions. Diana had spent so long maintaining control, using her momentum manipulation as a physical metaphor for how she approached everything, that actually wanting something felt dangerous.

"I can’t promise I’ll always come back," Kelvin said. "That would be a lie. But I can promise I’ll do everything possible to make sure I do. KROME’s built to keep me alive. The resonance cannon you installed works perfectly. Every system you’ve helped me design is making it more likely I survive the next bad situation."

"That’s not enough."

"It’s what we have."

Diana was quiet for a long moment. Then she leaned her head against his shoulder, the gesture small but significant. "I don’t know how to do this. How to care about someone without it feeling like I’m setting myself up for catastrophic failure."

"Nobody knows how to do it. We’re all just making it up as we go along." Kelvin hesitated, then added, "But I think maybe doing it badly together is better than not doing it at all."

She made a sound that might have been a laugh. "That’s your argument? That we should try despite knowing we’ll probably fail?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

They sat there for a while longer, neither speaking, just existing in a space where vulnerability wasn’t being performed or controlled. Eventually Diana pulled back, wiping at her face despite there being no actual tears, forcing her expression back to something resembling normal.

"We should go back," she said.

"We should," Kelvin agreed. "But we don’t have to."

"No. The party’s still going. People will notice if we’re both gone too long." She stood, offering him a hand up. "And I need to stop avoiding the things that make me uncomfortable."

Kelvin took her hand and let her pull him to his feet. "For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing better at this than you think you are."

"That’s a low bar."

"Achievable bar. Which is better than aspirational."

Diana actually smiled at that, the expression was small but genuine. They headed back toward the main room together, and Kelvin noticed she didn’t let go of his hand until they were close enough that other people could see.

The party was winding down now. Fewer people, lower energy, the kind of natural ending that happened when everyone had said what they wanted to say and eaten enough food. Sophie was organizing cleanup with efficiency. Seraleth was helping, her height making her useful for reaching things on upper shelves.

Lila was still standing alone near the wall, but now she was watching Noah, who’d apparently reappeared from wherever he’d been earlier. They made eye contact across the room, and something passed between them that Kelvin couldn’t quite read.

Then Sophie noticed the same thing, and her expression shifted to something complicated.

Kelvin glanced at Diana. "Do you see what I’m seeing?"

"Unfortunately."

"Should we do something?"

"Like what? Announce their relationship drama to the entire faction?" Diana’s tone was dry. "Let them figure it out themselves."

"Fair point."

The party officially ended around eleven. People filtered out in small groups, heading back to quarters or off-site housing. Sam coordinated final cleanup with the logistics team. The common area slowly returned to something resembling its normal configuration.

Kelvin found himself helping with cleanup despite technically being off-duty, because standing around felt weird when other people were working. Diana worked beside him, efficiently stacking chairs and breaking down tables without commentary.

By midnight, the space was clean. Sam dismissed the cleanup crew, thanked Kelvin for organizing the event, and headed out himself.

Kelvin was about to leave when he saw Noah sitting alone in one of the smaller side rooms, tablet in hand but not actually looking at it.

"Hey," Kelvin said, walking over. "Party went well, I think."

Noah looked up. "It did. Good idea."

"I have them occasionally." Kelvin dropped into the chair across from him. "So. I reopened the Diana case."

Noah’s expression shifted slightly. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. She asked me out on Raiju Prime. I said I wasn’t ready. Tonight I asked her out. She said yes. We had dinner. It was good." Kelvin stared at the ceiling. "Then she told me she doesn’t think she can do this. That caring about people in our line of work means eventually losing them. That she’s terrified I’m going to die on some mission and she’ll have to process that alongside everything else."

"What did you say?"

"That we’re all making it up as we go along and doing it badly together is better than not doing it at all." Kelvin laughed, the sound slightly hollow. "Which is maybe the worst argument for a relationship I’ve ever made, but she didn’t immediately reject it, so I’m calling that a win."

"It’s not a bad argument," Noah said.

"It feels like one. I finally work up the courage to actually pursue this, and now I think my heart’s broken before anything even really started."

Noah was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Do you remember those mangas and novels you gave me when we first met at the academy?"

Kelvin blinked at the sudden topic shift. "Yeah. Why?"

"Remember how you kept insisting I had protagonist energy? That I was clearly the main character of some narrative because ridiculous things kept happening around me?"

"I remember you calling me insane for suggesting it."

"I’m starting to think you were right." Noah set down the tablet, his expression somewhere between amused and exhausted. "Because I think I just accidentally started a harem."

Kelvin stared at him. Not shock, exactly. Not amusement, though that was definitely part of it. Just staring, trying to process that sentence, trying to figure out if Noah was joking or serious or having some kind of stress-induced breakdown.

"You," Kelvin said finally, "need to explain that statement immediately."