99. Friendship

"Who is your best friend?"

The question had come unpredictably and unexpectedly as he banged his drink down, the contents of it sloshing out of the cup and onto the table. She stared at the small droplets of brown liquid as she contemplated her answer, her baffled eyes reflected in the spilled drink.

What had started as a normal father-daughter bonding date had turned out to be an interrogation of sorts. She could hardly blame him for wanting to know about his only offspring's life, her life. After all, he was so used to her being under his watchful eye 24/7, and he had lost his sense of security over her to Star Command. It was only natural for him to be curious. But the questions he was springing on her were heavy. Especially after she seemed a little too zealous while explaining Level 10 of ranger training that she had completed earlier that week.

She didn't know why the subject had come up in the first place. Perhaps it was because Star Command was her life now. What else could she have talked about?

Sure, she asked how Tangea was doing, what sort of (oh-so-interesting) rules he had cooked up recently, how his health was, the normal things. But when she ran out of questions for him, her fall back topic was… well, Star Command.

And that is when she learned quickly to think of a better fall back topic the next time.

But it was too late now. He had her cornered with a question she had no idea how to answer, and no intention of answering truthfully, even if she could think of an answer. So after a few moments of awkward silence, a staring contest between her and the table, and the (rather annoying) emission of a nervous giggle, she was able to think of a perfect solution. Suck up.

"Why, you of course, Daddy!" she laughed, touching his arm. A momentous grin erupted on his face and she knew he'd fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. She breathed a sigh of relief. She had almost forgotten the question.

"Oh, Mira, my girl! You aren't lying to your Father now, are you?"

She shook her head vigorously. He laughed, thoroughly amused and proud of her (obviously flawless) answer. And as an added bonus, the interrogation ended right then and there as he ordered two bowls full of Cosmo Custard for the both of them.

At the end of the night she kissed his cheek goodbye and he headed back to their home planet. A space taxi arrived to take her to Star Command. She stepped inside, plopping down, exhaling deeply, yanking the belt around her waist loose, and pulling out her earrings. She rubbed her cheeks as they hurt from smiling so much. Never. Again.

The questions that were fired at her by her father had long ended, but her mind had not yet released her from the burden of his words. Um… who exactly was her best friend? If she ever were to answer that honestly, what would she say?

Definitely no one from Tangea, she thought, snorting and rolling her eyes. Maybe it would have been acceptable to respond with Norma or Carina, her childhood friends (for lack of a 'better' word). But then again, she doubted she could even pull off a lie that large. Jealous of the fact that she was higher status than them and destined to be queen someday, Carina and Norma did all they could to make her life miserable, including pushing her off the palace balcony. Yeah. Not a fun experience. And yet, she pretended they were her friends because they were supposed to be her friends. But, then again, if it wasn't for them (and her father's oppressive rules), she wouldn't have met Romac.

Was Romac her best friend? When she was an unruly, rebellious teenager, the answer would have been yes. But now, he was nothing more than an old love. Someone she might hope to see again someday. But did she hold on to every ounce of hope she had left that he would return? No. She just wasn't that kind of person.

So, the question still remained. And frankly, the only three er… people she had left to choose from weren't exactly 'best friend' material. Composed of a control freak, ex-janitor, and robot, Team Lightyear didn't really have much to offer.

She'd like to be able to call Buzz Lightyear, the greatest space ranger the galaxy had ever seen, her best friend. But Buzz hadn't had a best friend since Warp Darkmatter, and well… that didn't exactly work out now, did it? Plus he was over-bearing, over-controlling, over-rated, at times obsessive, and who was she kidding? No. No, she did not want to call Buzz Lightyear her best friend.

Then there was Booster, the lovable Joadian. As sweet as he was, she could not call him her best friend. He was great at making her feel better, and fun to be with most of the time. But as weird as it sounded, she felt like she rarely spent any time with him. Out of all the members on her team, she felt she knew and interacted with Booster the least. Her heart sank a little at the thought, and she made a mental note to be more conscious of the big guy once she got back to Star Command.

Which is where she had currently and conveniently arrived at that very moment. She stepped out of the taxi, paying the driver and running up the stairs to her room where she could (thank the high heavens) get changed.

Well, she thought she was going to get changed, but didn't even reach the door, let alone the hallway that led to her bed chambers. Instead, she found herself sprawled on the floor after running into who else, but XR.

Something had to be screwy with her brain, because instead of frowning, she actually smiled as the little robot offered her his hand, all the while apologizing for knocking her over. She smiled even harder as his arm fell off and she was sent flying to the ground again. He looked mortified until she scooted up against the wall and patted the space beside her.

"Mira, are you okay? I'm sorry!" He (clumsily) slid down next to her, muttering. "And I just got that arm fixed last week. Darn LGMs…"

Why was she still grinning like a madman? She could have sworn her cheeks were about to burst from over-enthusiasm earlier today… and now all of the sudden she was fine?

"I'm fine, XR. Quite comfortable, actually." In fact, she never felt more at ease.

He looked slightly less terrified and a bit more assured. "So, how was it? I mean, how'd it go?" He stumbled over the words, but somehow she just knew what he was talking about.

"It was fine. Things are okay between him and me. For once." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. XR smiled.

"That's good. Great actually!" They exchanged satisfied looks and then the mood seemed to falter slowly, as both were at a loss of what to say. XR broke the silence. "Well, I was uh- headed to the science bay, you know- to sleep."

"Oh yeah, of course!" She hadn't realized how late it was. He got up, brushing off his (nonexistent) pants and giving her a subtle smile goodbye. She felt her heart rise into her throat as he turned his back to her and began to wheel down the hall. "XR, who's your best friend?"

She immediately slapped a hand to her disloyal mouth. Where the question had sprung from, she had no idea. It was if her mouth had a mind of its own, because it certainly didn't come from her brain. She lowered her hand as he turned around, anticipating his answer. It had to be Booster. The two of them were best buds, getting along better than any of the members of their team.

And yet, he turned around, shuffling his feet and saying, "well, um, you are." He looked as if he might die from embarrassment. And it was quite possible he would if she didn't respond, and fast.

The only problem was, no words would emit from her mouth. She could only stare at him with a look of shock on her face. Because he was right…

She laughed at all his jokes, and he hers, even if they were completely ridiculous. They shared the same sense of humor, both sarcastic and cynical, but hilarious (at least in their minds) at the same time. They were both so very different that they were alike. He was an outcast among robots, and she was an outcast among Tangeans. He got her. There was an understanding between them that she could not quite explain. He listened to and respected her feelings. He cared about her and she… she genuinely cared about him. More so than she let herself believe.

She had never quite contemplated about him so much before, but instead taken him for granted. The truth hit her hard and fast, and she felt her heart rise into her throat. "Yeah… we're best friends." She finally found her voice. "Thanks XR."

The little robot smiled, and she could tell he was holding back an exclamation of delight, his eyes gleaming brightly. "Sure. Night, Mira."

Before she knew it, she was leaping to her feet, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace, her head resting on his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back gently. Suddenly she was filled with an overwhelming feeling of warmth and happiness, something she had never quite experienced before. She just wanted to stay there forever with her first and only best friend.

And as they said their goodbyes that night, both smiling and trying to hide their glowing red cheeks, she reminded herself to thank her father the next time she saw him.

For BG, the best Marred writer I've ever had the privilege to 'meet!' Happy birthday hun! I hope you liked this! :D

Oh, and if you're wondering where I got the names of the Tangeans from, I used star names. ;)