Hydro & Beetle

Beetle's methodology is foolproof. They apply themselves fully to the search for a PhD placement, then to the degree itself. He emerges at last, some years later, victoriously from his cocoon, with tens of pages of work to show for it. Their practical work in entomology, and more especially his theoretical expeditions into panspermia, are both widely acclaimed, and before long Professor Beetle is tenured at the Seldona Royal University. Their time off is spent wading knee-high in editorial work as a scientific advisor for media and film projects.

Hydro, renewed with determination, drags herself off the couch and applies to every university in the country till she gets a place on a fast-track degree in Engineering. Zie loves every moment, but two months post-grad they quit xer Research & Development placement for good, applying instead to teach middle-school science classes. He loves every second of it even more than the last. Plus, the job leaves them with a surplus of writing time, and the local, then regional sci-fi magazines publish a number of lovingly-edited serial stories for many years to come.

Naturally, with moving up comes the side effect of moving out. Upon being accepted to their PhD, Beetle found there was no better time than the present to also consider moving out of their parents' house. Logically, perhaps, it would have made sense to flat-share someplace with more than one bedroom, but it was altogether much more economical to live in the flat Hydro already had instead of investing in another. It was far more cost-effective to share an office, and a sofa, and occasionally the same pair of slippers, than it was to buy second versions of everything. A few years into teaching, having scraped together the funds, the pair decided it'd be most efficient to buy a new place together anyway. They'd need another bedroom for the kid, after all.