Interstellar Academy
29: Junior .5
A/N: Is it obvious I'm giving up on titling these?
When the Academy's ship docked and students flocked out, he searched for his girlfriend that he'd spent a month away from. When he found her, instead of braided hair, she wore her black wavy locks down, tumbling down her back and ending neatly just passed her waist. She excitedly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, pulled away by her two roommates.
"You seriously ruin everything," Jim said, more to Helena than to Charlotte.
The blond haired, pink skinned alien shrugged, dragging the tiny sunmaid to the girls' dorm.
Stav and Ruse placed a reassuring hand on their friend's shoulder. "Hey, man, look. In a year and half, they can't really intervene anymore."
This saddened Jim just a bit. "I know. Which should make me happy, but it doesn't."
"AW!" Stav hugged his human friend tightly, his silver arms constricting the boy's airways. "He does love us!"
"S-Stav, please!" Jim gasped, gulping air once he'd been released. "Of course I do. I don't stick around you guys for giggles."
"Well, you do, but we get what you're saying."
Dinner that night went by slowly, and once they were dismissed, Jim's little group, bundled up, strolled by the beach.
Jim kept Nova behind, his hand firmly around hers.
"I had a good holiday," he said, keeping his voice low enough for her to hear.
"Did you? I'm glad to hear that." She squeezed his hand, her mitten rubbing against his glove. "What did you do?"
The conversation was comfortably casual, and they faded into their own little world built for two. The others had decided to hit the hay, but they wanted to stick by each other for just a little bit longer. They sat on a patch of grass just beyond the beach, finding it warmer than the sand. Jim took this opportunity to hold his girlfriend close to him. She didn't protest, but leaned into him and sighed heavenly.
"I'm glad you had a good break," she said softly, her voice drifting.
"Did you?"
She didn't say anything for awhile, and he began thinking she'd fallen asleep on him. Then she said, "It could have been better. Cassie was annoying. But, you know, brothers."
He didn't, but never said so. "What did he do?"
"He was just a pest. Mostly… about my boyfriend…"
"Ah." Even though they were twins, from what Nova said, Cassie liked referring to himself as the "older" twin, and talked to her as such.
"Yeah. He just… he wouldn't let it go. He at first thought you didn't know about my being a sunmaid, and then thought you were crazy for sticking around…" Something hinted at the end of her sentence, though she made inclination to speak further.
So Jim edged her on. "Alright, and?"
"Well…" She gave a grudging and pushed away to look him dead in the eye. "What do you think about it? I can't help but ask, and I'm sorry but…"
"I'm crazy, but not because I'm with you. I'm crazy because I'm… well… me." He winked at her, which lightened her mood. "You keep me stable, so I don't be as reckless as I could be. I mean, you're probably the crazy one in our relationship."
Her mouth hung open at his statement, believing he was being serious, until a ghostly smirk snaked onto his face. She tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms down. "Oh, really?"
His eyebrows furrowed playfully. "Of course. What girl sticks around a guy who releases prisoners, triggers planet explosions and develops other-worldly enemies? Crazy girls."
She pressed her chest against his, their noses touching and her eyes unmoving. He took this opportunity to flip her over, dominating over her.
"You cheated!" she said, squirming under him.
"Nah, you're just easily distracted by my handsome voice and charm."
"Don't flatter yourself."
She managed to release herself from his grip, though he still hovered over her. She rested on her elbows, using one hand to pull him down close to her and kiss him. He returned the favor instantly, tilting his head and using a free hand to hold her chin steady. The kiss didn't last long; the cold weather made their lips numb. He pulled away first, slowly, as if he didn't want this moment to stop.
"You're looking at me strangely," she commented, sitting up fully now.
"I was just thinkin'. About… a year and a half from now. Stav brought it up."
"What about it?"
He paused as he thought, wondering how to go about this subject. He assumed just saying it would be best. "What are you planning to do? After we graduate?"
She seemed surprised by the question, but went with it. "Well, whatever my parents have planned for me. Unless something else came up."
"Like what?" He urged, something inside him guessing what it could be.
"You know… if you wanted me to come with you. Where ever you went."
This relieved Jim. "Yeah. I would love that, actually."
Sharing one last kiss before allowing the night to end, Jim strongly believed that he'd probably found his balance in life, that things were finally going to go as planned.
But his adventures two years ago taught him otherwise, and it seemed he needed a little reminder.
