Notes:

Starfighter belongs to HamletMachine.

This story is dedicated to the lovely asocialconstruct~

"It's Deimos, right?" Ethos asked, curiously looking at the slim, gray-eyed fighter.

Deimos looked up with surprise at being addressed. He nodded once, giving Ethos a simple glance before staring back toward the Officers' conference room. Voices were muffled by the closed door, but Deimos could still make out Encke's threatening bass, interrupted only occasionally by Keeler's smooth tones and Cain's snarky defenses. Deimos couldn't hear Praxis, but he assumed Cain's griping was mostly directed toward him.

The day had started out like most others:

Meet Cain in the mess hall.

Listen to Cain brag about his latest tumble with Abel.

Agree to get information on Bering for Cain.

Try not to laugh too loudly when Cain propositioned a red-faced Athos.

Look like a proper lackey when the word "Cyclops" was tossed around as Praxis walked by.

But then the morning routine had detoured when Praxis snapped back instead of ignoring them like every other day. And Cain, being Cain, had bristled before spitting another insult. One thing had led to another, Ethos trying to pry Praxis away and Deimos hesitating between backing Cain up and getting ready to duck blows; there may or may not have been comments about Praxis' mother (who was probably a very nice lady, despite the morning slander), and Cain may or may not have ended up with a bowl of porridge on his head. Regardless, a fistfight at 0800 resulted in all four men being ordered to attend a disciplinary meeting.

Deimos just hoped he didn't wind up with bathroom cleaning duty because of Cain's temper again.

"I'm Ethos," the navigator abruptly offered, breaking the silence and holding out a hand.

Deimos suppressed a sigh at the boy's persistence. "I know."

"Oh."

A few quiet moments went by before Ethos ran a hand through his unruly blonde curls. "Sorry about this… I mean, Cain is a d- uh, not very nice… But Praxis should've just walked away. I wish he had." He let out a deep breath and leaned back. "You fighters and your attitudes."

Deimos blinked and waited for some kind of accusation, but Ethos only smiled.

"You seem a bit different though," Ethos went on, trying to find some pleasant ground.

"I suppose," Deimos offered, voice rough.

Ethos nodded. "Your eyes are really peculiar too."

Looking away, Deimos merely shrugged

"I like them," Ethos said. "They're pretty."

Deimos felt his cheeks turn pink, but he did his best to keep his surprise out of his expression. He met Ethos' stare, wondering what the navigator wanted. If this was some plan to get Deimos to defend Praxis-

Encke's voice bellowed, and the words "Reliant" and "disrespectful" carried through the door as if it weren't there.

Ethos winced. "I hope we're not next."

"You weren't really involved," Deimos mumbled with a little reassurance. "And you'll fall to Keeler anyway."

Ethos nodded. "Yeah, true. Keeler can be intense when he wants to, though."

Deimos looked curious at that and raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me," Ethos laughed. "All that hair of his is like storage for his icy rage or something. Not that he's not a great guy- he is. Really great, and knows his stuff. I'm just saying, I don't underestimate his anger."

"Hm."

Another short silence.

"So Deimos, you like vanilla?"

"Um, pardon?" Deimos asked, wondering what the navigator meant. Was that some sort of sexual implication? Like flavor? Or did "vanilla" represent navigators? Would that make fighters "chocolate" then? Was Ethos hitting on him?

"Your coffee," Ethos explained. "You usually put vanilla creamer in your coffee in the mornings."

"Oh." He noticed that? "Yes. I do."

"Praxis bought some vanilla roasted beans the last time he was on shore leave. I bet I could get him to share some."

Deimos blinked again. "Thanks," he said, curiosity building. "You're very… friendly, Ethos."

The curly-haired navigator looked momentarily abashed before smiling awkwardly. "I guess I'm just a bit lonely."

"Aren't you and Praxis close?"

"Not really. I…" He stopped himself, hesitating. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"Why?" Deimos asked, genuinely interested.

Ethos shrugged. "I think he's still feeling guilt over his previous navigator. I think he has a lot on his mind, and I'm not, I don't know, worth the time or something."

Deimos thought about Cain, eyes trailing back to the office door. "I like you," he said after a moment, not quite sure if he meant it. But Ethos' face lit up, and the smile he offered was worth the few words.

"I like you too, Deimos," the navigator said cheerfully. "Maybe this morning isn't off to the worst start after all."

Deimos shrugged, but he found himself smiling a little too. "Yeah."

Maybe it wasn't.