She wanted answers.

No.

She NEEDED answers.

And he was going to answer her question whether he liked it or not.

"Four years."

He turned away, a little ashamed at hearing that. She just stared at him, scoffing at his choice of appearance. It didn't help at all that he decided to show up like he did. No, he couldn't show up as her glowing knight in shining armor or her camo-clad confidant. No. He decided to dress in his sky blue Earth cadet shirt and black pants. Yeah, it had to be what he wore when they first met, when she was just some stalker-ish stowaway, an unwanted surprise for her good ol' Pops.

It also didn't help that when he did decide to show up, he himself was an unwanted surprise... in her damned bedroom... while she was changing into her sleepwear. Oh, how fun was that? She was still red in the face from that exchange.

"Four years, Jordan," she repeated, her voice breaking up ever so slightly every second. "I understand you've got a lot of big responsibilities now, but... four years?"

"Molly..."

"Why didn't you visit?"

Jordan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I'm sorry, partner, but I... I'm not even supposed to be here now."

She blinked in surprise; this wasn't quite the answer she was expecting. "What do you mean you're not supposed to be here? What, did the Creators ban you from coming here?" she mockingly joked, and she glanced at the former gunner boy, her expression suddenly softening. Jordan's silence answered her question. "...Wait. They... didn't, did they?"

"You're a good guesser, Molly," was his simple reply.

"But..." She tried to make sense out of this. "But... why would they ban you from Earth?"

"They didn't ban me from Earth," he corrected, his eyes drawn to her bedroom floor. "They banned me from seeing you."

"What?" She was in shock, her lips quivering. "They can't do that, can they?"

"If they really could, I wouldn't be here right now," he explained, sitting on the side of her bed. "I think they just wanted me to think they could keep me from coming here. And at first... I thought it was a good idea." When she didn't reply, he continued. "I think they were trying to protect me or something. They knew why I did what I did, and they told me that if I get too attached, it's only going to result in pain. Because I'm going to be on Oban for longer than anyone can possibly imagine. And you're going to be here on Earth... for not even a fraction of that."

"Jordan..."

He closed his glowing eyes. "But four years is plenty of time to think, you know? And just recently I realized that I was already attached. I was already in pain. A full ten thousand years of this?" He opened his eyes, just to roll them at the thought. "So much better than hanging out with you while I still can, right?" he added sarcastically.

She sighed sorrowfully, taking a seat right next to him and wrapping her arms around him. "Jordan... I'm so sorry."

He returned her embrace. "Don't be. I'm just... not quite used to all this, I guess."

"You shouldn't even have to--"

"Molly, don't start with that," he whispered; it sent chills down her spine. "Let's drop the subject. How have you been? You and your dad getting along alright?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "We're doing great. Thanks." They sat in awkward silence for quite some time, in each others' arms, before she spoke up again. "Hey, Jordan? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. You can ask me anything."

She started to smile. He really was her confidant, wasn't he? Even without the camo. "How do you feel about Eva?"

When even the Avatar of the galaxy is confused, something needs an explanation. She was more than willing to give him one.

"You say you're attached," she said, "and I bet that means you still got some feelings for Molly." She looked into his eyes, studying them intently. "What about Eva?"

"They're one and the same, aren't they?" he suggested, and she felt a little troubled that he didn't seem to know exactly where she was going with this. Did the Avatar really not know? Or was he going somewhere else with this?

"No," she answered. "Molly was a lie. A cloak to get her closer to her father without him knowing. Because a father who doesn't know who you are is better than no father at all." She stopped there, not wanting to go any further in fear of somehow hating her father all over again. She didn't want that to happen, not after all these years, all these trials she went through just to get him back. "Eva," she continued, "is the girl you're talking to right now."

"Well," he spoke slowly, "if I recall, I didn't fall for a name. I fell for the girl behind it."

Eva let go of him, and he frowned. "I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

"No," she assured him, trying desperately to hide her blushing. She failed miserably. "I just... I don't hear stuff like that very often."

He tilted his head. "That's one thing I can't figure out."

"What? Me being single?" she chuckled. Jordan just shrugged. "Heh, well, let's just say it's hard to find the right guy."

"Oh?"

"Well, what can I say?" she asked, smirking at the Avatar. "You and Aikka set the bar pretty damn high."

A little taken back, Jordan looked away, appearing a little guilty again. "I... hope you're not just waiting for one of us." He unconsciously began to rub his arm. "I don't know about Aikka, but I'm stuck on Oban. Hell, I have to be back by the end of the night," he sighed. "I feel her calling me. Or maybe it's just the Creators. I really hope it's just Oban," he muttered, not wanting to have to put up with them for a whole month about how he shouldn't have gone to visit the girl he sacrificed himself for in the first place.

"You mean... you can't stay the night?"

He raised a bushy eyebrow, and then chuckled. "Wow... Just four minutes ago you were ready to kick my ass out. Now you want me to stay the night?"

"You know me, Jordan. I can change my mood on a moment's notice."

"I guess so." Eva gave him a playful nudge. He barely even flinched. "Alright. I'll stay with you 'til you fall asleep, but I really need to get back to Oban, okay?"

She gave in, nodding in understanding. "Okay." She leaned forward, kissing Jordan on the cheek before lying down on her bed. Burying her cheek in the pillow, she looked up at the Avatar looking right back at her with a blush of his own. "I guess I'm going to have to stay awake all night now, huh?"

"Eva..."

"I know, I know." She closed her eyes, but surprisingly to Jordan her lights didn't go out right away. "Hey... one last thing."

"Hmm?"

She lifted her eyelids open just enough to see him. "Why are you wearing that, anyway?"

He just shrugged. "I always wear this when I come back to Earth. No one asks questions then. If I walked around glowing all the time or wearing my Earth Team get-up, you can bet someone's going to get curious."

"True. Very true." She shifted a little on her bed, still staring at him. "But just so you know... you look old when you wear that."

"...Goodnight, Eva."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're no fun anymore."

He chuckled a little, looking around the room for a moment for no real reason in particular, before addressing her again. "You know, you haven't changed a bit." ...No response. He turned to find that she was out like a light. Smiling sadly, he leaned down, planting a kiss on Eva's forehead. "Don't worry. I'll come back." He would, too. He had no reason not to anymore. Ten thousand years was a long time, especially for someone like Jordan. But if he had a few more memories with the one person he would give away everything for--and he had--maybe it won't seem so long.

-X-

This is meant to stand on its own, but if I come up with anything to add to this, I might add more.

Oban Star-Racers is owned by Sav! the World Productions. I am not profiting off of this oneshot.