Thanks for the reviews so far guys :DD I will try to keep going ):O Hope you enjoy~ it's a little shorter this time sorry D:

"Flaky?" The green-haired boy asked again. "It is you…" He breathed. Flaky still couldn't move, trying to process what was going on. After what seemed like an eternity, staring into each other's eyes, she spoke.

"F…Flippy?" She whispered, since she her throat was constricting, like on that fateful day. He nodded, still with a look of awe and confusion.

"It's… been a while." He grinned but his eyes looked tired. Flippy looked even taller now, but he still had his toned, well-built physique, maybe even more developed. His silver dog tags tinkled and shone in the dim light, bright against a black shirt. He wore his old jacket and beret, both looking more worn, and… were those dark, faded spots…?

Flaky touched his shoulder, wondering if he was real. Flippy flinched at her contact, and she withdrew quickly, knowing better than embrace him here and now, as much as she wanted to. He didn't seem okay, after all. His eyes were slightly unfocused and, though he looked happy to see Flaky, he seemed… different. More hollow. She also noted the bruise on his head, bleeding slightly, and his limp. But she was so happy to see him, and so she laughed softly in a mix of amazement and relief and happiness. He came back when she thought she had lost him forever. She wanted to ask so many questions, but first things first. "We should get you to a doctor…"

But his eyes widened at this. "I—I don't think that's a good idea," Flippy muttered, turning away his head a little, avoiding her gaze.

"What? Why?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." He said quickly. Flaky never remembered him to be afraid of doctors. But he seemed to have made up his mind, so she didn't pursue it any further, knowing how stubborn he could be sometimes. She sighed. "Well, you're definitely in no shape to be driving anywhere else tonight, wherever you were going. Neither is your car. Why don't you come in and we can talk more?" He looked panicked again.

"I'm fine, really," he insisted, starting to open the door of the car again. Flippy stumbled and Flaky held his arm to steady him. He twitched a little, but he didn't fight back, only breathing slowly. Flaky wondered why he was being so defiant, but she couldn't simply leave him here in the dark, injured with a broken car to top it off.

"Come on, at least for the night." Now Flippy sighed, nodding reluctantly. She slung his arm around her neck and slowly walked him to her house. He had to stoop to do this, and it felt a bit awkward, but they got inside eventually. She brought him to the couch, and he lied down, taking off his shoes and propping his right foot on a cushion. He examined it for a bit, wiggling the toes in his sock.

"Just a broken ankle. It should take a couple days, since now I'm in town. Injuries heal much faster here, don't they?" He said, smiling dryly. It was true. Along with the town's high accident rate, there was a quickening of healing as well. Deep wounds would close within a day or two, and broken bones within a week. Of course, not even the town's strange curative properties could stop death, if the damage was too severe…

Flaky nodded understandingly, quickly gathering some ice from the freezer and applying some in a bag on his forehead. She made a makeshift splint out of some cardboard and cloth for his ankle and helped him put it on. Flaky topped that off with a bag of more ice. When they finished, she simply sat next to him for a while on the side table, both silent.

"Sorry you have to see me like this," Flippy said, sighing. "What a great way to meet each other after so long. And how I have to take up your house like this."

"Oh, no. I'm just really happy to get to see you again," Flaky confessed, with all honesty, smiling. Then she fiddled with her hair, thinking of how lonely it was these past years. "When you left… I didn't know if I would be able to…"

"I'm glad I'm able to see you too," Flippy said, smiling back. Some more silence.

"So… were you driving back to your house? What happened?" Flippy looked up again at her.

"Yeah. The war was over and I was driving home, but I got, uh, startled by the street light. And crashed." He looked a little ashamed of himself.

"At least it wasn't anything too serious, thank goodness," Flaky murmured.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I think my car is busted."

"I'll call for the car repairs to pick it up in the morning," Flaky said, with a hand wave. "Don't worry. It's fine if you stay till you get better." Secretly, she was excited to spend some time with Flippy after so long. But his gaze, pointed at the clock on the wall, was hard and unreadable.

"I don't know…" Flaky tilted her head. "I… I don't want to be any trouble to you," he said, turning to her again.

"Like I said, don't worry about it." Flaky smiled reassuringly. But he kept a look of helpless anxiety. The clock ticked some more.

"I'll let you sleep now," Flaky said, getting up. "See you in the morning, and don't be afraid to call me if you need anything." Flippy stayed where he was, still focusing on the clock like he wanted time to go by faster. Flaky went upstairs to her bedroom, and let out a breath as she closed the door behind her. She still couldn't believe what just happened. After all those years of thinking about him, Flippy was suddenly here, in her own house. But he's acting so… Flaky shook her head in exasperation.

The phone rang. She picked it up, and Giggle's hyper voice rang out.

"What happened out there, Flaky?" Giggles exclaimed. "I was just showering, and there was this awful sound outside…"

"Oh, that? You wouldn't believe it. Flippy crashed while he was driving home," Flaky said, in almost one breath.

"Flippy? Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's on my couch downstairs right now. He just has a bruise and a broken ankle, but he'll be okay."

"Oh, phew. I hope he gets better soon! I'll tell the others, and we'll all give him a warm welcome back!"

"That'll be great, Giggles. I'm sure he'll be happy to see everyone else too."

"Okay, bed is calling. See ya, Flaky! I'll leave you two to your… ahem, alone time for a bit tomorrow too," Giggles said, with one of her trademark giggles.

"Huh? W-what do you mean by that?" Flaky exclaimed into the receiver, blushing already, but Giggles had already hung up. With a huff, Flaky put the phone back, and changed for bed, looking forward to tomorrow already.