As Astra woke the moment the sun began to shine through the window, she instinctively leaned over the side of her bed to wish a cheery good morning to Luna, only to face carpet and be reminded that she was home now and that Luna was all the way over on Patch.

She heaved a whimpering sigh. Sure, it had only been a few days, but she missed her. She missed seeing her sleepy face in the morning with her hair all messy and wild, or how often she'd yawn and talk about how she wanted to go back to bed, or how easily Astra could perk her up with a cup of poorly-made coffee.

She missed the others, too. It just wasn't the same without them. So quiet. So boring. She'd gotten so used to waking up around other people that it was now weird to greet the morning alone. Aside from her stuffed animals, of course.

Despite her old disappointment, she rolled out of bed and prepared herself for the day. There was no point in moping or dwelling on how much she missed her team; she'd just have to find something to distract her until she went to bed that night.

Grabbing her scroll, she sent Luna a text.

'good morning! i miss you!'

Hesitating slightly, she then added a '3' afterward. She knew Luna wouldn't see it for another few hours, but at least she'd have something nice to wake up to. She just hoped she wasn't being a bother.

Speaking of nice things to wake up to, she could smell something warm and sweet coming from the kitchen. Following her nose, she strolled through the house to find her mother standing at the stove, a plate of freshly-stacked pancakes on the bench beside her.

Shoving away her longing to see Luna again, Astra put on her best smile.

"Morning, mom!" She greeted. "We're doing pancakes again?" They'd been a habitual meal of Neon's since Astra's return, it seemed.

Neon turned to her and grinned as she placed another pancake on the pile. "Look!" She announced proudly. "I think I've finally figured out how to make the shapes."

Astra blinked at the pancakes. In total honesty, she couldn't make out what most of them were meant to be, but she wasn't going to admit that. "They look yummy!" She offered instead. It wasn't a lie; she knew a pancake's shape wasn't exactly going to affect the taste.

"I'm glad you think so," Neon replied, turning the stove off. "Because I way overestimated how much batter I was going to need," She laughed. "It's a pity the boys aren't here, or else they could " She cut herself off, suddenly looking downcast.

Astra felt a stab of pity for her. "They're still mad at you, huh?" Neon's decision to move to Vale with Astra had not been popular with the rest of Team FNKI. She'd insisted to them that she could still make it up to Atlas from time to time for missions, but they'd felt betrayed by her decision to split off from the rest of the group. On one hand, Astra understood their anger. On the other, she found it completely ridiculous that they would judge her so harshly for finally leaving a place that had never been good for her to begin with. Teams split up all their time, whether it was due to wanting to move, or settle down and have families, or any other reason.

Neon sighed. "It's fine," She replied. She forced a smile. "They'll come around, I'm sure. They're never mad at me for that long."

Astra could hear the pain in her voice. "You don't have to stay down here with me, you know," She said softly. "I'll be okay on my own." She was lying, of course. She didn't know how she'd handle ever living by herself. But she didn't want her mother's team holding a grudge over this.

Neon shook her head insistently. "It wasn't just for you. I've wanted out of that place for a very long time. I'd hoped they'd see things the same way," She sighed again. "But part of that Atlas loyalist mentality is still there with them."

Astra hated seeing her like this, especially because it didn't happen often. It wasn't fair. Neon's parents had died in the mines when she was young, and Flynt's family had taken her in, raising her alongside him as a sister. She'd been able to grow up in Atlas mostly fine because she had humans protecting her, but she'd still suffered discrimination, even in her adult years. She had every right to detest that city and to take the chance to get out when she could, but it seemed that her team hadn't understood. They just saw it as selfishness and disloyalty.

Neon shook herself, seeming to try and snap herself out of it. "But it's fine!" She said again, forced brightness in her tone. "They're getting stubborn in their old age, but they'll understand eventually." She smiled gently at Astra. "And until then, I've still got my shining star."

Astra grinned at her. "Always."

Neon clapped her hands. "Alright, that's enough about me," She grabbed the plate of pancakes and sat at the table, gesturing for Astra to join her. "What about you? Are you happy to be getting a break?"

Astra sat at the table and grabbed a pancake that looked like it was supposed to be a star-shape. "Yeah," She admitted. "But I miss the team. It's weird without them." She pulled the pancake apart absent-mindedly. "I just started dating Luna. And now I can't even see her anymore."

"I wish I could say I understand how you feel," Neon replied. "But I can imagine how badly you'd like to see her again."

"Have you ever thought about it?" Astra found herself asking.

"About what?"

"Dating, I mean," Astra clarified. "I know you've had crushes before, but I don't think you've mentioned ever having dated someone."

"Oh," Neon chuckled. "I don't think anyone could handle dating me. I think I'd be a bit much for them."

Astra shrugged. "I dunno," She replied cheekily. "Ilia seemed pretty interested when I told her you'd crushed on her once."

Neon blinked in surprise. "Ilia Amotila? When did you ever talk to her?"

Astra gasped. "I didn't tell you? She's Beacon's history teacher now!"

Neon stared at her. "So…she lives her now? In Vale?"

Astra nodded enthusiastically.

Neon chuckled softly. "You don't really think she's interested though, do you? I'm surprised she even remembers me; we didn't exactly hang out with the same groups."

Astra shrugged. "Well, she got all flustered when I told her. Kind of like how Luna did with me before I knew she liked me."

Neon narrowed her eyes jokingly. "Why exactly did you tell her that, anyway?"

Astra stood, throwing her hands in the air to emphasize her point. "Because I think it would be cool if you got out there!" She waved her hands. "You used to be cool party master Neon Katt, lighting up any room you walked into, and now you're…" She looked down at her half-eaten pancake. "…Making questionably-shaped pancakes and struggling to find a job." She leaned over the table to look her mother in the eye. "I love you so much, but your life's getting kinda sad."

"Okay," Neon blinked. "That was…brutally honest. Not hard to see where you got that from."

"I'm sorry, mother," Astra closed her eyes wisely. "But it was time you knew the truth. You're getting boring."

Neon huffed. "Alright, fine. I'll contact Ilia and ask her how she's doing. Will that make you happy?"

Astra nodded. "Very much so." Even better would be if it led to a date, in Astra's opinion. Maybe then there'd be someone else ever in the house, for once.

"Do you have her contact?" Neon asked.

Astra pulled out her scroll. "Yep!" Something on her screen caught her attention and she squealed. "Ooh! Luna's awake!" She checked the message.

'morning! blaze woke me up early, but i'm glad i got to wake up to this :) miss you too, btw'

Her heart leaped. "Aww! She liked my message!" She looked back up at her mother. "Hold on, I'll give you Ilia's contact later," She shrugged. "Or you can just look it up. But I've gotta go take this."

Neon chuckled. "Alright, have fun."

Astra bounced back to her room and flopped down on her bed to reply to Luna and ask her why her sister had woken her up so early. She sighed wistfully as she laid her scroll down on her pillow and waited eagerly for a response, gazing fondly at the screen. Maybe she couldn't see Luna in person for the time being, but for now, texting was almost as good. At least it was something. With any luck, the holidays would fly by before she knew it, and she'd be back at Beacon with Luna and her friends in no time.

She certainly hoped so. It seemed that, outside of school, nothing interesting was going to happen. Life at home was normal, and boring, and would probably stay that way. She hoped that the next week and a half would fly by in no time.