Athena stood at the entrance of the Cosmos Space Center. She'd felt so determined on her way there, but now that she was here, her courage had left her.

I haven't seen him in so long. What if he doesn't want to see me?

She shook these thoughts away. She came here to rekindle an old friendship. And she was damn well going through it.

Apollo had offered to join her, but she insisted that she would be fine. Now she wasn't so sure.

"I'll be fine." She said to herself, having grown accustomed to using her boyfriend's mantra. "I'll be fine."

Finally, she moved her feet and entered the building, making a beeline for the reception desk.

"Hello," said the young girl behind the counter. "Welcome to the Cosmos Space Center. Is there something I can help you with."

"Y-yeah. I was hoping I could see direc- er, I mean assistant director Cosmos." Athena said.

"The assistant director? Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, n-no. I'm an old friend of his. My name is Athena Cykes."

The receptionist's eyes grew large as she said this. "Athena CYKES? Just a moment." She picked up a phone and punched in a few numbers. "Assistant director Cosmos? You have a visitor… Her name is Athena Cykes… Yes, of course, sir." She then hung up the phone and looked back at Athena/ "He says he is a bit busy, but that he can make a little time. His office-"

"I know where it is." Athena said before walking straight to the man's office. Once she reached the door, she felt herself lose her nerve again. But she sucked in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the door slid open to reveal Yuri Cosmos, riding his trademark Segway.

"Ah, Miss Cykes. What brings you here?"

Athena swallowed the lump in her throat. "Hello, Mr. Cosmos. It's been a while, huh?"

Cosmos plucked at his moustache. "It certainly has. It seems like it's been years since you left to stufy abroad."

"Uh, i-it has been years."

"Hm? Oh, yes, it has been, hasn't it? Why don't you come in? Have a seat! I'm rather busy, but I can certainly make time for idle chatter."

"Uh, s-sure." Athena said before entering the office. It hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen it. The room was a mess, with papers all over the place and all of the furniture, chairs, desks, tables, even lamps, was space themed. Athena took a seat on the lunar rover love.

"I heard about your recent predicament in the mountains. That must have been quite the adventure." Cosmos said, riding over to his desk.

Athena was glad that he was the first to mention it. "Yeah. It was pretty crazy." She clasped her hands together and looked at the floor. "That's… Actually why I'm here."

Cosmos looked at her with bewilderment.

"Being stuck in that cave… It reminded me of what happened years ago. You remember? When I got lost in the caves at that nature preserve."

Cosmos had his back turned to the woman. "Ah yes, I certainly remember that day. So you came here to reminisce about the failures of an old explorer of the unkown."

Athena looked at him. "No! Exactly the opposite. I remember… After that day, you and I drifted apart. I wanted to fix that. We used to be so close."

Cosmos remained silent. "I remember as well, Miss Cykes. Your mother wished for me to keep my distance. And I did, fearing what would happen if I failed you again."

Athena stood from the love seat and stepped towards the man. "But I can take of myself now! You don't have to worry about anything like that."

Cosmos stayed silent and Athena took the hint. She turned leave, but froze in her tracks before reaching the door.

"Athena, are you busy right now?"

Athena turned back to look at Cosmos, who still had his back turned to her.

"Uh, no. I came here to talk to you since I had the day off."

Cosmos finally turned around. "Then would you care to join me for lunch? That little diner across the street is still open. I remember how much you loved that place when you were younger."

Athena smiled softly. "I'd love to."

"Very well then. Off we go! …Cadet."