Now that the Kerberos mission had been publicized Shiro and Matt had practically become celebrities. Shiro was used to all the attention, having had practically every student come up with the idea that Shiro would give them pilot lessons, but it had been relatively unknown to Matt. Matt loved having all the glory, often sharing his excitement with his classmates while Nova and Shiro shared glances while smiling at how much their friend was enjoying the experience. Nova secretly thought it was adorable. His face would light up as he talked about the different mechanisms of the ship to whoever would listen. Usually that ended up being Nova and Lauren, who would sit on Nova's couch as Matt stood in front of them, motioning to imaginary parts and acting out different scenarios.

Small trips to earth's moon were common and all the staff had visited at least once but going further to the edge of the galaxy gave everyone a reason to be excited. Nova had overheard many of the staff trying to convince Sam that they'd be a big help.

"Nova." Sam greeted as she walked into his office. She had grown closer to the Holt family over the years, often visiting San and Colleen on her days off.

"Hi Sam," she smiled in greeting. "Here's your books back."

Sam had tried getting her into the mission, even joking about her sneaking in as a stowaway, but when the board refused paying for another person Sam had given her a few books of Pluto. Nova understood their logic, she wasn't necessity but Sam had promised that once their mission was a success and more money went to researching the outer planets she'd be first on his list.

Because Matt and Shiro were handpicked for the Kerberos mission they had to go extensive training, an extreme physical and psychological test would have to be taken before either of them could go into space. Shiro took the physical training extremely well and incredibly serious but most nights Nova would have to listen to Matt complain as he iced practically every part of his body. It had been humorous at first, she had even joined some exercises and was pleased to see she could run faster than Matt. Nova had also enjoyed Matt's dramatics, especially ones that ended with Shiro getting so irritated that he left the two to fend for themselves. There was once, after a 3 mile run where Matt refused to move from his spot on the track. "I can't feel my legs" he had complained to an irritated Shiro as he tried to reason that they all had final coming up. Nova had practically dragged Matt off of the track where she collapsed onto the soft grass. They must have sat on the grass for hours, Nova had been embarrassed at the time, watching as her best friend refused to stand up.

"Well you have to be seen fit enough to go on the mission." Nova reminded him replacing a now melted ice pack with a new one on his shin. He winced as the cold hit him. She felt slightly bad, she knew she had been a little rough. They were at her apartment now, she was less than thrilled by the fact that her couch now had sweat marks on it but she ignored them because of the boy causing them.

"But running is just cruel."

"Hey. I used to run." She defended but couldn't argue. She recalled her high school training schedule and she never missed the 8 mile runs they completed in 90 degree weather. She half heartedly listened as he described his ultimate fail as Shiro, once again, demolished him. Nova was spending her last semester studying to be the new astronomy teacher. She knew she was lucky to have a job laid out. Iverson had always been soft on her. Matt had pointed that out one day when they were running late through the halls and all he did was give a disapproving look rather than yell at the pair. "You're too sweet to get angry at." Matt had told her. She had laughed at him, knowing full well how irritating she must have been to everyone else. The anxiety of not having a career after graduation faded but was instead replaced by her fear for Matt, Shiro and Mr. Holt. She was sure she just got the recommendation as an attempt to alleviate some of the stress of her best friends leaving but those attempts were in vain.

"What are you doing?" Nova showed Matt her notebook. He had found it incredibly amusing how she was putting so much effort into the class syllabus. It was a beginner class but Nova found it easier to focus on specific plans rather than improvising. She watched as he finished another glass of water, making a dramatic show, priding himself in hydrating. Nova rolled her eyes before standing up to refill his glass.

Matt groaned as Nova shoved another glass of water in his face. On top of bruised shin Matt had neglected to drink any water before that days workout and almost collapsed halfway through due to heat exhaustion. It had been her, instead of Shiro, to give him a long speech about healthy habits and preparing for takeoff. He gave her an unamused look as she urged him to drink more. He quickly finished the drink before turning his attention back to her.

"This is why you should come with us, no one else can navigate through the stars." He complained, using an argument she had quickly given up fighting. If she was being honest, his argument was pointless. Astronomy was useful for smaller scale observations. On their mission they'd have the top ship and navigation resources. She never paid much attention when Matt tried to comfort her over not being chosen for Kerberos. She knew he was only exaggerating to make her feel better. She was no better than him at astronomical navigation.

"Shiro is just as good at navigation as me." She said. He had huffed at that but remained quiet. She recalled the weeks after the mission had gone public as Matt practically pushed her to Iverson's office. Luckily for Nova, she was bigger than Matt and never got close enough to the office to experience was Matt bragging on her behalf would be like.

She had noticed that their group dynamic had changed since the announcement of Kerberos. Even Adam had forgone his and Shiro's big fight, realizing the dangerous possibilities. Her and Matt even spent everyday glued to each other. She didn't think they went more than a few hours without each other,

and only when they were sleeping. She had noticed his increased clingingness the year prior and while it bothered her then now she didn't want it to end.

She had assumed their relationship had evolved. They couldn't just be friends anymore. Of course, Nova could never bring it up to him. She wasn't sure what it was like to have a boyfriend. She blamed all her current feelings on the fact that Matt would be gone for half a year. She was projecting. She believed that. Until she realized that she was completely stupid when she had a crush. It was like a switch flipped and all of a sudden everything Matt said was funny and she noticed things about him that she never had before.

She noticed, one day in class, that he looked really good in purple. He had complained about the color, even offering to give the shirt to Nova, who's entire face had enflamed. She felt like an idiot.

Shiro couldn't stand to look at them sometimes. It had always been obvious that Matt had always liked Nova. Nova had been completely oblivious to her best friends feelings for her. Maybe she thought he was always this hyperactive and clumsy. To Shiro, Matt had always been solely devoted to Nova, a fact in which she never seemed to realize.

Shiro rolled his eyes as Nova took another quick glance at Matt, blushing when she saw he was already staring. Keith had figured it out too and was making it blantenly obvious.

"You know, the best relationships start off as friendships." Nova stopped organizing papers, tilting her head and giving Keith and odd look.

"I've heard that." She admitted. She hadn't quite heard the romanticized version only that her mother had shared that it was better to be be friends with your spouse and love was non existent.

"So," Keith slowed his voice. " Why not give it a shot?"

Nova smiled. "Do you have a crush?"

Matt started laughing as Keith sputtered out a quick denial. Just as the two started teasing him Shiro put a stop to the chants.

"Stop teasing the kid." Nova smirked.

"It wouldn't be the first time." She replied as Matt began listing off the times Keith had done something to set them off.

Keith didn't try to deny their accusations, instead he smiled looking at the two. Nova always had the biggest smile when she was near Matt and Keith always found it incredibly amusing how Matt would stumble with words when Nova looked at him.

"Anyone free for dinner?" Nova asked, looking around the table at Matt, Shiro, Adam and Keith. She was met by silence as all of her companions picked at their lunch.

"We, Uh, have a briefing." Matt replied as she turned to her side to look at him.

"Oh." She said. "Why didn't you just say that?"

The rest shifted in their seats. She rolled her eyes. "For the last time, I am not upset about Kerberos." The group had been careful not the mention the mission too many times. At first Nova thought it was because no one wanted to see them go but Keith had let it slip that they were trying to be sensitive to her feelings. She thought it was ridiculous. This huge thing was happening to her two best friends and they were afraid of hurting her feelings.

"Tomorrow night." Shiro suggested.

"Yeah. Fine." She looked at Keith who was sitting across from her. "Dinner tonight?" She rolled her eyes as Matt shifted in his seat "hey".

"You have a briefing." She mocked back, ignoring his feigned pain.

"Okay." Keith responded.

That might Nova made mac and cheese. It was the only thing she knew how to make by scratch other than baked goods so that's what she settled for most nights.

"Here's to staying on the ground." She smiled as Keith lifted his glass.

They made small talk for a while, talking about classes and other students. Keith had grown a lot over the past few years. He had gotten more comfortable around the group, especially Nova who he saw as a sister.

"Do you all really think I'm upset about not going to Kerberos?" Nova asked. She knew they thought she was, she just wanted to hear it.

Keith shrugged. "You always tense up when we mention it. And you probably don't want to be honest about why you're so upset."

Nova gave him a confused look. She had noticed that Keith was insightful and observant, a deadly combination. "What?"

"You like Matt." Keith replied simply. Trying to to smile when Nova's face turned bright red. Instead of being embarrassed she broke out in a huge smile.

"Shut up." She replied, without denying his observation.

" I knew it." He too matches her grin.

"Shut up." She responded again tilting her head at each word.

Keith didn't shut up, instead he expressed his excitement. "Are you going to tell him?" He questioned.

"Why would I do that?" Nova asked with a sly smile. Keith could see how Matt liked her.

He knew she was mocking him. She wasn't as oblivious as the others thought. Nova was smart. And as much as everyone liked to believe that she was unaware of her best friend's feelings she knew exactly what Matt's thoughts towards her were.

"Are you scared?"

Nova shrugged. "There's just no point. The mission is in a few weeks and they'll be plenty of time after that."

"You're scared." Keith announced.

"Terrified." Nova confirmed but she was still smiling.