Nita Callahan woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Turning over to look at the clock on her bedside table, she groaned. Eleven o'clock already? She hid her face in her pillow to block out the sun streaming through her window. There goes my morning.

"Hey, lazy," a voice called from outside her bedroom, "you going to get up today or are you planning on sleeping until school starts again?"

Nita sighed, then got up. As annoying as her sister Dairine could be, she had a point. Still, there were more tactful ways to wake someone in the morning. "Ha ha," she called, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "let's see you wake up before nine right after saving the planet."

Dairine snorted. "That was days ago. I think you're getting tired in your old age."

"So are you, Miss 'Can't Even Make Her Own Breakfast Without Wizardry" Nita shot back, though without much force; she was still dead tired. She opened the door and walked passed Dairine, who was still in her pyjamas, towards the bathroom. "Speaking of breakfast, have you eated all the corn flakes yet or am I actually gonna get a bowl or two out of this box?"

Dairine rolled her eyes as she followed Nita down the hall. "Don't worry, Dad bought another one last week."

Nita looked at her. "Dad went shopping last week? By himself?" With everything that had gone on recently, grocery shopping had been the last thing on her mind. She felt guilty for bailing on her father, and surprised no one had mentioned anything about it sooner.

"Yeah, he went while you were on Mars. He figured he'd seen you do it enough times to manage on his own. And that there might have been some more important things for you to deal with than whether we were going to eat next week." Nita smiled a little at that; her dad still had trouble running the house with their mom gone, but he'd gotten a lot better at it over time.

Nita turned on the bathroom light as her sister headed into her own room to get dressed. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror the dream she'd had the night before came back to her and Nita was annoyed to find herself growing hot at the memory. After everything that had happened on Mars, it was quite clear that things between her and Kit weren't exactly as they'd been a month ago. Once upon a time, Nita had hoped that maybe she could breach this fact with him, at some point when things weren't so hectic and immediate. Now, as she remembered the conversation they'd had on that other, older Mars, Nita wondered if such a hope were still possible.

As she picked up her toothbrush and turned on the tap, her sister reappeared in the doorway, dressed now in shorts and one of her favourite Star Wars tees that she'd had forever. "You doing anything today?"

"Nothing important, if that's what you mean." Nita said, squirting toothpaste onto her brush. "I'm clinging desperately to the idea that maybe, just once, I'll get a couple weeks off after I save the world." She turned to her sister, then, confused, "Now that you mention it, are you doing anything today? Usually you'd be on Wellakh by now."

Dairine made a face. "Nelaid has some kind of big event to attend and said I should wait before heading over."

"Aren't you supposed to call him 'The Sunlord That Was', or something?"

Dairine grinned. "Technically, though I've never cared much for fancy titles. Anyway, it shouldn't take too long on his end, no more than a couple of hours. I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

Nita rolled her eyes. "Impossible. But hey, it's good to see you around the house a little more. It was getting quiet around here."

Dairine narrowed her eyes at her sister, unconvinced. "You're just saying that because you're still half asleep. Wake up a bit more and then tell me how wonderful I am."

Nita chuckled as Dairine headed downstairs. It is true though. When she's not being insufferable, she's actually kind of nice to have around.

You'll never tell her, though. Bobo said silently. Nita smiled around her toothbrush. If I give her too many compliments, she'll start getting ideas. She could almost feel the peridexis smile.

As she brushed her teeth, the image of her and Kit standing up on that high precipice reappeared. I can't believe he just bailed on me like that, dream or no dream. And who's to say it wasn't just a dream? He might not even remember it. Funny how, even after everything that had happened between them, it was still so hard to imagine talking to him about this. This is so completely stupid, she thought, scowling at the mirror, we've had connected dreams before, and I never wondered whether he'd remember it the next morning. Why is it any different this time?

Because the truth, in this case, is suddenly important, and would change things? Bobo said to her.

Nita sighed and rinsed off her toothbrush, putting it back on the rack. She spat out the toothpaste and looked at herself in the mirror again. I'm still me. Kit's still Kit. That doesn't change, no matter what happens. He's not going to freak out at me just for asking, even if he doesn't remember. She made a face, then, and turned away from her reflection. At least, I don't think so.

A few minutes later, Nita wandered into the kitchen, dressed now, with Kit still on her mind. She went over their conversation again and again in her head, and each time it felt more and more like it really was a dream, just wishful thinking on her part. That would make it the first time I've had a normal, non-lucid dream with Kit in it, though. This had never happened before; usually her regular dreams were more abstract, a feeling or glimpse of a scene, nothing so complete. Then again, it hadn't necessarily felt like a lucid dream, or at least not like the kind she did on purpose. Maybe I did it by accident, or got caught up in a regular dream while I was already in a lucid one. Nita sighed as she headed over to the cupboard to grab a bowl and the box of cornflakes.

It seems to me, Bobo said slowly, that perhaps what you were feeling was the influence of someone else's consciousness on your own lucid dream.

Nita blinked at that. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. As she poured milk onto her cornflakes, she saw again the jewelled bodice and wispy skirt she'd worn in the dream. That was definitely Kit's influence, she thought as her cheeks flushed, so he must remember it. He has to.

Finishing her breakfast in near record time, Nita was almost out the door when Dairine came down the stairs, Spot trundling along behind her.

"You leaving now?" Nita said to her as Dairine grabbed a banana from the bowl on the kitchen table.

Dairine nodded. "Nelaid just sent word through Spot that his function thingy is over." She looked at Nita, manual on the table in front of her as she tied her shoelaces. "Looks like you're going somewhere too. Thought you said today was gonna be a day of rest?"

"It is, I'm just heading over to Kit's. There's something that happened on Mars I need to clear up with him."

"Does it have anything to do with that stunt you pulled on his manual?" Dairine asked.

Nita grimaced. "No, though I'm sure that'll come up during the course of conversation eventually." She snuck a sideways glance at Dairine as her sister headed back upstairs. "Speaking of which," she called after her, "when is the stunt I pulled on your manual gonna come up during the course of conversation?"

Dairine just shrugged and said over her shoulder, "Soon enough. For now I think you're more troubled by it than I am." She stopped then, halfway up the staircase, and turned to look at Nita. "And look what it did to Dad, he's actually better for it. I'm almost tempted to say it was worth it." Then she grinned. "Almost."

Nita laughed. "Glad to hear it. Now I just have to hope Kit sees it the same way."

The look Dairine gave her was unusually perceptive. "He will. I think he would've wanted you to do it sooner. You did save him, after all."

"Mamvish and Irina saved him, I just sat there and almost passed out."

Dairine shook her head. "No, you saved him. You defeated Aurilelde and helped Kretef see the error of his ways. Kit never would've lasted as long inside him without you to keep him going."

Nita just shrugged. "I did what I had to do. I wasn't about to give up."

Dairine grinned. "I know," she said, then turned around and climbed the rest of the staircase. A few seconds later a whoosh of displaced air told Nita her sister had gone. Nita sighed, then, and went to put her bowl in the sink. I hate it when she acts like that, she thought, walking through the living room to the front door.

Like what? Bobo said.

Nita made a face. Like she knows everything, she thought, though when you think about it, at least someone does.

The front door bumped shut behind her. Nita locked it and took a deep breath, looking down to where Kit's street met hers. Knowledge is power, right Bobo? And I know what he said. I'll make him remember, if I have to.

A with that thought in mind—and hoping very much that she wouldn't have to—Nita set off.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too—Oh, hola Nita!" Carmela smiled as she let Nita into the house. "Poco mutante, you have a visitor!"

"Am not!" Came Kit's response from upstairs. Nita couldn't help giggling.

Don't laugh, Kit said silently, She's calling you a mutant too, you know.

I don't mind, Nita replied, there are worse things we could be mistaken for. At least she doesn't actually believe it.

"Are you guys doing your little mind-reading trick again?" Carmela said as she led the way through the living room into the kitchen. "Why even come over if you can just talk to each other in your head?"

Nita rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Why leave your house at all, what with cell phones and the internet? Sometimes it's nice to see people face-to-face." Then she gave a wicked grin as she accepted the lemon fizzy drink Carmela offered her. "And, in this case at least, I have a little issue with Kit that needs to be dealt with in person."

Carmela raised her eyebrows and leaned against the counter. "What's my little brother done this time? He didn't get brainwashed by another Martian princess, did he?"

"Not last time I checked." Nita said, grinning. It was then that Kit appeared in the doorway. Despite her self-assurances on the way there, Nita couldn't help but feel awkward as he looked at her and smiled. It was one thing to tell yourself there's nothing to be nervous about, and another thing entirely to actually overcome said nerves.

"Well, I'll leave you two to yourselves. Important mutant matters to discuss, I'm sure." Carmela smiled sweetly at Kit, who glared back at her, and flounced out of the room. Seeing the look on Kit's face helped ease some of Nita's worry, mostly because she was too busy laughing to do anything else.

"Is there anything else you wanted to discuss, or did you just come here to laugh at my pain?" Kit said, leaning against the same spot on the counter that his sister had just vacated. Nita calmed herself down enough to fix him with a glare.

"Actually, yeah, there is something else." She took a deep breath, then looked Kit straight in the eyes. They were inquisitive, and she could almost hear the whirring of his mind as he wondered what she was going to say next.

"Do you remember the little talk we had last night, after we checked in on Aurilelde and Khretef on Mars?"

Nita could tell Kit was carefully controlling his expression, could feel herself hold her own face still. He didn't say anything, and eventually broke eye contact, reaching up to scratch behind his ear.

"Ye-es," he said, but he sounded uncertain. Nita rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Kit, you either do or you don't. I spent this whole morning stressing over whether it was a figment of my imagination or not."

Kit laughed at that. "You weren't the only one."

Nita gulped. So he does remember. Well, that answers one of my questions. "Why on Earth did you bail on me like that?" She demanded.

He shrugged, finally looking up to meet her eyes. "Why did you sound like you were gonna faint when I asked you what you called me?"

"I was embarassed!" Nita replied, defensive.

Kit smiled. "Of what? C'mon, Neets, what did you think I was gonna do? Blast you?"

Now it was Nita's turn to glance away. She looked down at the soda in her hands, flushing. "Not exactly. But this isn't something we've talked about before. I didn't know if you..."

"If I agreed?" Kit said. "Let's just say I didn't know either until recently. There always seemed to be something more, I dunno, pressing to attend to."

Nita snorted. "Tell me about it."

There was a moment of silence, and Nita felt herself clamming up as she struggled for something to say. "So, what happens now?"

Kit shrugged. "What's always happened. We're still partners, after all. We're still friends. Now we're just...something else."

Nita nodded. "It doesn't sound so bad, when you put it that way."

Kit laughed. The sound was encouraging enough that Nita looked up and caught Kit's gaze again. His eyes were twinkling mischieviously. "I dunno, Neets. You can get a little testy, if you haven't noticed. Almost chewed my ear off on several occasions, if I remember correctly."

Nita huffed. She put her drink down and walked around the kitchen table, meaning to whack him. And then, in a flash, she was reminded of something Aurilelde had said to her, right before Nita had uttered the word that started this whole thing. When she reached Kit, instead of punching him, Nita found herself pulling him into a hug, squeezing him hard. Kit's initial shock ebbed quickly and he circled his arms around her. His cheek pressed against hers, and she could feel his smile as she closed her eyes and rested her chin on his shoulder. They stood like that for some time, just holding each other, not speaking. Then, Nita sighed.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I," she said. Kit held her a little ways away, then, so as to look her in the eye.

"You won't," he said in the Speech. Nita smiled slowly.

"Is that a premonition?"

"You tell me." He replied. He was smiling, but his gaze was serious as it held hers, and it was then that Nita realized how very close they were. All she would need to do is lean in and-

"You know, they say there's nothing more beautiful than young love," came a voice from the doorway, and Nita and Kit jumped apart. "But they clearly haven't seen young mutant love. So touching. I can't wait for Helena to hear about this, not to mention Dairine-" Carmela would've kept going, but at that moment the sound of keys and muffled voices at the front door got her attention, and a wicked grin grew on her face. "Oh Mama, Papa, Helena, have I got news for you," Carmela called, and she winked at Nita and Kit and went to greet her parents and sister.

Nita could just feel Kit's annoyance at his sister bubble over in his mind, but between the tingle in her skin from where their cheeks had touched and the wild beating of her heart, Nita found it hard to care about Carmela and her teasing.

"Well, at least now we don't have to worry about how we're going to tell them." Nita said.

Kit sighed. "Whatever you say, Neets." In the living room, Nita could just hear Carmela telling her parents that her little brother had finally gotten a clue, and he and Nita were in mutant love. Nita laughed at that, and looked over at Kit to find him chuckling, too.

"You know," he said, taking Nita's hand and giving it a squeeze, "I think Carmela's got this covered." He looked at her, still smiling. "The usual place?"

Nita looked down at their joined hands, then back up at Kit. Then she grinned.

"You're on."

Together, they vanished.