"There's nothing to worry about, Katie. Soda's the nicest guy you could ever meet."

Katie made her way up the stairs to the apartment, Steve beside her. "He sure sounds like it. But the two of you also seem so close, so he really has to like me."

Steve reassured Katie, as they reached the second flight of stairs. "He will like you. And you're right. We are close. That's why I want you two to know each other."

Katie followed Steve up the remainder of the stairs, the couple then coming to the third floor landing. "You sound so confident."

"Because I am. I know Soda better than anybody." Steve opened the door to apartment 36, his arm wrapping around Katie's waist, as they stepped inside. "Hey, buddy, we're here."

Soda felt himself jump from his place on the couch, his voice caught in his throat.

Steve waited for Soda to turn around. When that didn't happen, he went to his best friend's side, laying a hand on his back. "Hey, Soda, Katie's here to meet you. What's going on?"

Katie hung back, choosing to watch her new boyfriend and his roommate from a short distance.

Steve leaned closer to Soda, making and keeping eye contact. "Talk to me, Sodapop. I'm not sure yet what I've walked in on, but I'm here."

Soda tried to focus on his present surroundings, hoping they'd begin to ground him, despite the past's hold on his mind. "Sorry, Stevie. Don't mean to embarrass you."

Steve watched Soda's eyes close, then shared a look with Katie before taking a moment to go over to her. "Make yourself at home, all right? Have a drink, a snack, anything you want. Me and Soda just need a second."

Katie nodded, quiet, as she saw Steve go back to Soda, one hand guiding his best friend up.

Soda walked with Steve to the hallway, where he slumped against the wall, face hidden and voice low. "Flashbacks, Steve. Not sure why. Just happened."

Steve knelt down alongside Soda, a hand touching the back of his head. "You know it's like that sometimes, buddy. I'm sorry. You're not embarrassing me either. You'll feel better soon, and you'll still meet Katie."

"It's the worst timing. I just got here, and it was quiet. Maybe too quiet. And then, the mask was there and the shot. His voice. Everything. As real as it used to feel back at the DX."

Steve touched Soda's arm where the faded scar still remained, knowing his best friend would forever carry the memories, even as time did its part to help him heal. "But you're safe, okay? I know how real it can seem, but you're still doing just fine."

Soda felt one of Steve's arms wrap around him followed by the other and leaned into the embrace. "I only need a minute. Not going to keep you from Katie."

"It's all right, brother. She knows we needed some time. That's not a problem."

Soda fell silent, simply letting himself be held.

Steve squeezed Soda tight, intent on conveying the depths of his determination to keep being there for his best friend. "And you've done the same for me."

Soda pulled away, his gaze shifting toward where he knew Katie was waiting for them. "I think I'm good now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. I've gotta meet Katie, so I can tell her what a great guy you are."

"Just don't open with that, all right? It'll make me look too desperate."

Soda got to his feet along with Steve, following him to the kitchen, where Katie was at the table with a glass of water. "Hi, I'm Sodapop. Sorry about leavin' you in here like that."

Steve patted Soda on the shoulder, a confirmation of his earlier reassurance. "Yeah, Katie, this is my best buddy since grade school. We met in Kindergarten and haven't been apart since."

Katie held her hand out to Soda. "I'm so glad to meet you. Steve talks about you a lot."

Soda shook the offered hand, giving Katie a smile. "He talks about you a lot too. I've gotta tell you that you couldn't find a better guy. I've got two actual blood brothers, but Steve's my third one. He's the best friend on the planet."

"I can already see why that is."

Steve felt himself start to blush a bit, as Katie looked at him. "All right. So it's official. My best friend and my girlfriend know each other. Now, what do we do with the rest of our evening?"

Emily stroked Macaroni's fur, as the kitten curled up on the bed beside her. "Good night, Mac. I love you."

"Yeah, so I do all the stuff most any mechanic can do, but I'm learnin' more about the electrical systems in cars too."

Katie listened to Soda talk about his job at TSC, her gaze then checking the clock that hung in the living room. "That sounds like an interesting job, Sodapop. It's always a plus if you get to learn more about whatever field you're in. But I've really got to get going. I have an 8:00 a.m. class tomorrow."

Steve reached for Katie's hand, as she stood to her feet. "Here. I'll walk you out."

Soda waved to Katie, as he also stood and started to head to his room. "It was real good to meet you, Katie. I'm sure I'll see you again soon. Good night."

Katie waved back to Soda, as Steve opened the door for her. "Good night to you too."

Steve followed Katie outside, the pair walking along the landing. "See? He likes you just fine."

"Yeah. I like him too. He's sweet. He's okay, right?"

"Yeah. When we got here, that was just- well, Soda's been through a lot of stuff. We both have, and our friendship is one way we cope."

"You two even act like brothers. Probably better than some brothers actually. I've never seen anyone be so touchy-feely with each other."

"Yeah. Like I've said, I'm an affectionate guy. And for me, it's not just with a person I'm dating, it's with everybody I love. Soda's always been my family, so I love him a lot."

"I can tell. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but I did see the hug you gave him. I thought it was sweet for you to pull him aside like that and help him with whatever was going on."

"Soda's done the same for me more times than I can even remember, so it's definitely automatic. We both know how important it can be to literally hold on to one another too. Honestly, those kinds of moments are usually private, but it doesn't bother me for somebody to see. It's the way we are with each other."

"If you ask me, I bet it's pretty rare for friends to be so committed. But it's a good thing, a valuable thing."

"Yeah, I know. Trust me. It doesn't get taken for granted. You could probably say the relationship I have with my dad is rare too. We're extra close because we weren't always close at all. It took a lot of work to get where we are."

"Do you think you and I are going to get close?"

Steve shivered, as he felt Katie's hands on his waist, her touch then moving down to his thighs. "I hope so. I can't wait to get very close to you."

"Yeah, Pone. I'll see you in two weeks. Take care til then, little brother. I love you."

Steve heard the end of Soda's phone call, coming back inside the apartment just as his best friend was about to hang up. "Hey, Kid. See you when you get here!"

Soda kept the receiver to his ear, listening for a moment before he chuckled. "He says he heard your loud mouth all the way from Stillwater, Stevie."

"Oh yeah? Tell him I miss him too."

"You hear that, Pony? Yeah, okay. Get some sleep. Bye."

Steve plopped down on the couch, as Soda hung up the phone. "Nice to see our communication style still works over long distance."

"Of course it does. Speaking of, how are you and Katie communicating?"

"Man, that's only slightly better than the biology and chemistry joke."

"Yeah, yeah. But I've gotta use somethin' to ask about ya'll. You were outside for a while."

"I've never gotten like this over a woman before, Soda. She says things that make me turn to Jello inside. At the same time, my heart is opening up to her. We aren't just kissing and stuff. We're really talking. I can see this going a lot further."

"You think you're fallin' in love?"

"Yeah. I mean, she touches me, and I want more. I love being with her and listening to her. She cares about me, and she cares about the other people in my life. That means a lot."

"I know it does. So she wasn't too put-off by, you know, the way I was when ya'll got here?"

"Nah. She was good, buddy. She even asked me if you were okay."

"How did you answer that?"

"I told her you are okay and said you've been through a lot. I didn't say anything specific though. She thinks our kind of friendship is rare."

"Yeah. It probably is. But she got that from just those few minutes?"

"Apparently so. I guess you can tell a lot from a moment like that cause I didn't even think twice about doing what I could to help."

"Yeah, and you knew really quick that somethin' was wrong. You didn't leave me to deal with it alone either."

"Hell no, buddy. I couldn't do that. Besides, I'm sure Katie liked seeing that she's dating a sensitive guy."

"I helped you keep impressin' your new woman then?"

"Sure did. I like to think that Katie seeing the way I am with everyone else in my life is something important because it helps her get to know me better. And that's where we are right now. We're building our relationship."