The dinner ends. Eden's words ring in my head. Home. "Man, that was awesome," Pascao mutters. He looks in my direction as he says this. I can't help but smile. Over the years, my friendship with Pascao has strengthened. "Thanks for the food, Tess." "Thank June that it's her birthday," Tess jokes. Grinning, she hands me a small, red velvet box. "Thank you for your friendship, June. Happy twenty-seventh." The red velvet box reminds me of something else. I stare at it for a second. "Thank you, Tess," I reply, taking the box. I hope she realizes that what I said has a double-layer of meaning to it. Thank you for the gift. Thank you for bringing Day here. Thank you. Thank you. She smiles at me genuinely. Then she turns back to the two brothers. "It's getting late," she says. "Eden might get late for his interview tomorrow, Daniel." "Nah," Eden says, stretching. He winks at Tess. I smile at the sight. Eden has so many things in common with Day. Winking at girls is one of them. "I would probably say I got a goddy jet lag or something." Tess scowls at him good-naturedly. "Make sure you pass that interview, Eden." "Sure will. They love me here, don't they, cousin?" The three of us watches the exchange quietly, passing knowing glances between each other. Day raises his eyebrow at me, grinning. Eden runs a hand through his curly hair, yawning. He looks at his watch, and his eyes widen. "Goddy hell, Daniel, I might be late for my interview tomorrow." "Don't blame me, you trot," Day replies, grinning. "Your flirting took an hour." The two brothers stand up. I notice that Day's taller than Eden by a few inches. "Sorry, Tess, we have to go," Eden mutters. He winks again. "Until then, next time?" "Yes. Sure the two of you won't get lost?" A silence passes. "Uh," Day looks out the window, running a hand through his hair. He scratches his ear. "This is Ruby sector, yeah?" "Don't worry, June's here," Pascao adds in, looking at me mischievously. "She can take you back." "No, no, I don't want to inconvenient her," Day replies, shaking his head. "I think I know where-" "Are you sure?" "Yes." "June knows where it is," Pascao cuts in stubbornly. "Right, June?" Day looks at me pleadingly, as if asking me to say no. Obviously, he does not want to inconvenient me. It's apparent on his face. But I can tell that he has no idea where we are right now. "I-yes." "June would take you," Tess says, smiling. "June, here's some of the birthday cake, I'm pretty sure you'd want to keep it-" "It's alright, Tess," I reply. "It's yours. Please keep it for me." We stand up. I struggle to put on my coat. I'm shaking, though I don't know why. I ignore it, not wanting Tess to worry. She has enough on her plate for now. After that, I hug Tess tightly and whisper a shaky "thank you". She smiles at me, nodding, her expression understanding. Her brown eyes twinkle in the light. She knows what I'm trying to say. The two brothers hug her, too, and I can't help but grin as Eden hugs her for longer than a beat. It would be lovely to see them get together. And I know that Day feels that way, too. Pascao follows us out, his grin widening. We thank Tess for the last time. Then, we head out. We walk in silence for a few minutes. "I'll get going," Pascao says, looking at the three of us with a mischievous grin. "Good luck for the interview, man. I'll see the three of you around." He looks at us one last time, grinning, and turns around. An awkward silence passes. "Sorry, June, that you're stuck here," Day mutters, not meeting my eyes. "It's alright. I have no schedule to catch tomorrow," I lie. I have a full training schedule with my squadron early morning tomorrow. "Is there anyone waiting for you at home?" His tone, though concerned, has something else inside it. Or maybe I'm imagining it. I blush, ignoring Eden's ever-present smirk. I shake my head.