A/N: Okayyy so Z's a big mess here, but trust me, she will be fine! :D Alsooo a bit of pining!


SPD was a long way from the hotel. The drive was all the more treacherous. Sky and Z had decided to stick to the schedule, as anyway, they were the only ones supposed to return to SPD after the wedding, and had already scheduled a cab to take them. When they had booked the dab, neither had anticipated they'd be going back as Mr. and Mrs. Tate.

"We're not telling Cruger, right?" Z asked, uneasily, as they loaded their luggage onto the car, and Sky shook his head, "not unless he outrightly asks, 'hey, Sky, Z are you married?"

"And you're gonna go get the annulment papers as soon as possible?"

"Probably saturday?"

"Why Saturday?!" Z looked aghast.

"Because we don't have a day off before that, and Z, I gotta consult my lawyer, figure out how to do it, and THEN do it" he said, and Z groaned, "why did I even marry you" she tried to joke, but it wasn't really funny. A *too soon* kinda situation.

XXX

Back at SPD, as Cruger briefed them, Sky and Z were relieved that he didn't ask much about the reception. He and Dr. Manx had both returned to the academy after the Wedding, and hadn't stuck around for the reception. So, of course, neither had a clue about Sky and Z's situation. So far, only the two of them really knew, in the whole academy, as their three other friends who did know, weren't here. Probably won't be for days, and then, Sky and Z could get rid of this, and go their separate ways.

As Cruger finished his briefing, he said one thing, that was so insignificant to him, but turned Sky and Z's words upside down.

"Cadets, while you were gone, we commissioned a refurbishing and some restoration of both you, and Cadet Drew and Carson's rooms. Sadly, the work has taken a little longer to finish than we expected due to a sudden fault in equipment, and so I will have to request you to adjust with each other, as roommates, in the guest room, for a couple of days"

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" Sky asked, in shock.

"Your things have already been moved to the room, cadets,"

"Wait, how dare you touch my belongings without asking me?" Z almost shouted, and Sky wondered what was there to shout about? Maybe she was just a little edgy about the whole situation. To be honest, so was he. THEY COULDN'T SHARE A ROOM TOGETHER!

Cruger nodded, "Cadets, I am requesting you very politely, please adjust" right, polite request is code for IT'S AN ORDER.

Sky and Z nodded. And were then dismissed . Sky sighed, "do we… Do we really need to share a room?" he asked her, as he gripped the wall in the hallway for support. Maybe it was just all the stress of everything, but he just couldn't find the strength to stay upright.

Z felt that way too, but to a lesser degree. She looked away, "Sky, I'm gonna give in my leave application, okay?" she said, soberly, and Sky's eyes widened, "WHAT?"

"Don't… don't question it" she said, and he could see she was having trouble, "I can't even look at you… and Cruger wants us to share a room?"
"WHY Z WHY?" he asked, incredulous, "Are you serious? We've only gotten *married* What's so terrible about that? Why are you acting SO STRANGELY? Z Delgado we can get a divorce, this isn't the end of everything!?" he tried to reason with her, and she turned her back at him.

"You won't get it… you never would"

And with that, she ran off. She knew she was being weird, aloof, strange, as Sky had put it. And why exactly? She wasn't scared, or unable to digest that she was married to Sky Tate. If it'd have been any other guy in the entire universe, Z probably would've laughed off at their stupidity. They would've gotten divorced, and then everything would've gone right back to normal, as if nothing had happened, except for a little ''Divorced'' label on their resume.

But with Sky… Sky was different. He was making it out as if it wasn't that big a deal. Maybe it wasn't to him… but it was to her. She had known Sky for almost YEARS now, and they were probably the best of friends. This divorce did complicate things, but it was still understandable, and most of all, FIX-ABLE. The problem, the REAL problem, was that she, Elizabeth Delgado, was not. Not when it came to Sky Tate.

Not when it came to the guy she had been deeply in love with for so many years.

It was a secret. She hadn't let anybody catch even a whiff of it. She had gone on with her life… boyfriends, hookups, it all happened in a frenzy, none of it ever stuck. Z had never told this to anyone, ever, but she always thought that IF, if only she and Sky ever got in a relationship, anything of the sort, it'd be the kind to last. But looking at how life had made it actually happen, a marriage that was about 100% to end in divorce…

Z was capable enough to endure anything from the physical torture of burning that brand into the back of her waist to the pain of living alone on the street, knowing there was no relief coming… But one thing she had never been able to handle, was someone she deeply loved, be it a friend, or a family member, or something in between, to leave her life. Whatever be the reason.

She had lost too much already, she couldn't afford to lose Sky.

But now, she was feeling afraid, that with the way she was acting, maybe she had lost him already.

XXX

"BUT SI—" Z couldn't complete her sentence, because Cruger interrupted with a "Cadet Delgado, all of your teammates are already on vacation. So unless if you have a valid reason for asking for leave, I'd recommend you suck up and do your job,"

Why was Cruger being so mean today? Maybe he was just worried about working with less than half the usual work force.

"You and Cadet Tate are the only highly trained officials present. And I have a very important assignment for the two of you to do together." he started, "I will brief you two about it tomorrow,"

Z interrupted with an "Sir, please? Can't you let us—"

"It's a two person assignment, Tate can't handle it alone, and neither can you, and we don't have replacements available either, so I would suggest you to help us, besides you've already taken a two week leave for Miss Drew and Mr Carson's wedding."

Z groaned, and walked out. This was the first time Cruger was being so annoying, so SO difficult. Z half wondered if he was doing it to her on purpose, but just as she exited she was pulled out of her thoughts by Sky grabbing her hand, and pulling her into a side hallway.

"How romantic" Z commented, dryly.

"I was listening. Why did he reject your leave application?"

"Something like… some two person assignment, no replacements, half the manpower, blah blah" she shook her head, "whatever, looks like we're not getting away from each other…" she trailed off, then quietly said, "Unless… "

"Unless what?"

"Unless I quit."

"WHAT?"

"I can quit. I'll get another job…?" Z said, uncertainly. It was a very rash idea, but it was the only option on her mind.

Sky realised he needed to talk some sense into her, Z was not feeling emotionally stable, "Z" he held her by the shoulders, "we can stay together for a couple of weeks. It's not gonna be difficult. Just… Just think as if nothing happened, okay?"

She still looked uncertain, "Z, please listen to me, don't do such stupid things! This is a little mistake… We can easily fix it, we WILL, don't you worry, we'll find another way!" he took her hand in both of his, "I'm here, we're together. We'll get through. We'll still be friends, Z, you're not gonna lose me" he tried to calm her down, and she just looked into his eyes, painfully. He had just read her mind, hadn't he? She suddenly felt so overwhelmed by emotions, that she almost collapsed into his arms… But Sky was there to catch her.


A/N: What happens next? STAY TUNED!