"Jim! You made it! Hi Braxton, hi Matt! How did the-Oh! Hello."
"Stephen." The large cat offered his name without hesitation or explanation for why he was there.
Sy glanced hesitantly between the four boys. His usual upbeat energy was unable to penetrate the long faces that greeted him. Even Jim didn't have a smile for him. He'd never seen his friends so sullen before.
"Please tell me you didn't get caught and everything's not worse."
"We didn't exactly get caught," Jim sighed. He flopped down onto Sy's bed, not seeming to notice he was seated beside Hogarth.
Varian was lounging on the floor by Hogarth's feet. Both boys were uncharacteristically still and silent as their companions trooped in and claimed seats.
"So," Sy glanced at the other two with him before hesitantly venturing a question. "What did happen?"
"Hearing's tomorrow." Braxton sighed once. He shook his whole body, physically clearing away the bad news. In seconds a grin was back on his face. "You should have seen it, guys. I demolished Stalkenew."
"I am sitting right here. And no, you did not."
"Wanna go again so I can show them I did?"
"No, I do not."
"You're no fun."
"No, I am not."
Braxton laughed happily. "Alright science nerds, what are we talking about today?"
"Internal combustion engines." Hogarth piped up.
"Well that sounds boring." Braxton plunked himself down in the desk chair and threw his feet up on the desk. "Pick something else. We literally built one in class. Let's talk about something that isn't school work?"
"Ours blew up," Varian reminded Braxton with a huff. "I want to build a successful one."
"Sure, science nerd. Later. Talk about something entertaining instead."
"The explosion was kinda entertaining," Jim offered helpfully from the bed. "I mean, you know. In retrospect."
"He's not wrong," Varian agreed. He sat up a little straighter and twisted around to look at Hogarth behind him. "From an engineering perspective, it was quite disappointing, of course. It hurts to see your inventions just blow up right in front of you. But on the flip side of that coin, the scientific side, it is interesting to see just what went wrong and to ferret out the exact solution that'll lead to a successful project."
"Is that why you kept the engine, then?" Braxton inquired, his eyebrow raising in amusement. Varian whipped back around towards him. Before he could ask just how Braxton knew, the cyborg was already answering the question. "I saw it under your bed when I was snooping around last time we hung out in your room. What? I knew I smelled something burnt, and with your track record, I wanted to make sure you weren't going to accidentally light half the barracks on fire."
"...that is fair," Varian allotted reluctantly.
"Moving on from Braxton's less than moral activities," Sy got up from his seat on the floor and relocated to the bed beside Jim. "Maybe we could refocus our energies on something a bit more positive?"
Jim wrapped his arm around Sy and pulled him in closer. "Like you?" He asked with a grin.
"Be good," Sy hissed, though he didn't pull away.
The other boys turned away to hide their laughter. The only one not muffling laughter was Stalkenew. He looked mildly perplexed about what the other boys found so funny and otherwise completely unphased. "I didn't know you started dating someone, Jim."
Jim instantly bristled. He shifted his weight, half blocking Sy from view. "Shut your mouth, Stalkenew. You don't know anything. I'm not dating anyone."
"My mistake then." Stephen's tail snapped back and forth behind him, betraying the irritation hidden behind his calm tone.
628's head tipped to the side, his eyes watching every movement Stalkenew's tail made. Braxton scooped the small alien into his lap and held on tightly, silently reminding him not to start another fight.
"Jim, be kind." Sy shifted on the bed so he could offer Stalkenew an apologetic smile. "I am sorry about him. Please make yourself comfortable."
"You're just going to invite him to hang out with us?" Braxton scoffed. "My mortal enemy, and you just invite him to hang out."
"Yes." Sy smiled sweetly. "My room, I get to decide who hangs out."
"Cool!" Braxton grinned at the leopard. "Alright, Stephen, eternal hatred is on hold for the night. Grab a seat!"
"He can call me Stephen. You call me Stalkenew."
"All these years of fighting and we're still not on first name basis. Oof. I see animosity means nothing these days."
"Animosity can still mean something," Stalkenew answered as he leaned back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. "You mean nothing."
628 started to growl. Braxton started to laugh. "Oh, he's good. Sy, flirt with Jim more often so more people rile him up, alright? This is great!"
"He wasn't flirting with me!" Jim snapped.
Braxton laughed. "Oh yeah. This is great."
"Braxton." Matt gave him a reproachful look. "I think you've caused enough trouble for the night. Try to lay low until after the hearing, please? We finally have a date for it. I don't want to lose my best friend."
"I thought I was your best friend," Jim protested. He snickered. "Alright, sorry. I tried to say that with a straight face. I really did."
Matt reached over to pat his shoulder. "You did good. Don't hurt yourself. Prop Sy's pillow up behind you and-Where is your pillow, Sy?"
Sy's cheeks went bright red. "Oh, uh. You know. The wash. Wash it every month. Gotta clean off the oils and dirt or I break out."
"Mm." Braxton gave an exaggerated stretch. "Well, I'd love to say that fight made me break a sweat and I need a shower, but that would be a lie. Truth is it smells like cat in here, so I'm out. Catch you all tomorrow at breakfast. Sy, walk with me a minute?"
"Oh, sure?" Sy took his feet. "Will this take long?"
"Shouldn't. Don't worry, Cinderella. I'll have you tucked back in before curfew."
"You really shouldn't use royalty as the butt of your jokes, you know. Especially if you're going into this career field. You need a little diplomacy." Sy cast an apologetic look over his shoulder at Jim before he closed his bedroom door behind him.
"Sure, we'll work on that. Right after Jim's diplomacy skills. What was that with Stalkenew?"
Sy flushed hard and looked down. "Oh, well, you know how Jim gets. I mean, you know him better than I do."
"Differently. I know him differently than you. Look, Sy," Braxton sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "There's no way to do this that isn't awkward. So I'll just say it, okay? I know you're dating Jim. Or, you know, something like that. I don't know the details. He didn't say anything, you two are just really, really bad at hiding it. I mean, it's honestly pathetic how obvious it is. No offense."
"I'm mildly offended."
"No, seriously. It's really bad. Like, I've seen babies with less obvious diapers than you two."
"Did you just compare my relationship to poop?"
"And really, that's surprising from you. Jim I get. He's a bit of an idiot in love, but you were really good at hiding your crush for such a long time. You really had us guessing for a bit there about if you liked him back or not. But as soon as Jim decides to get all official with his googly eyes, it's like you just forgot how to function on anything other than "obvious", and I figured I should warn you."
"I am definitely offended."
"The point I'm making, Sy, is…well…Look, I'm not experienced in this. I've only ever dated one person. Fikky and I, well…she's great. Taught me a lot. About myself, and about love. And a few other things too. I got to teach you this sweet spinning hook kic-off topic. Look. Sy."
Sy crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. "This is uncharacteristically chatty for you."
Braxton sighed heavily. He sunk down against the wall, his arms draped over his knees, hands dangling loosely. "Yeah. I know."
Sy slid down beside him. "What's wrong?"
"Honestly? I'm scared. Matt's not ready to be on his own. Jim doesn't have enough experience to handle these things. You're decent, but so naive and idealistic. Varian is…well, Varian. And Garthy….actually, he might have the best chance out of all of you, just needs to lay off the caffeine. Point is, Sy, I'm leaving tomorrow. There's still a lot I need to teach you guys, ways I need to protect you, and I won't be there for that any more. I want to give you advice, but it isn't the right time, the right place, or the right tone."
Sy smiled. He nudged Braxton's shoulder with his own. "Well, I'm willing to take your advice. Go on, hit me. Give me whatever cute little speech you'd have if this was the right time and right place. Because for me, it is."
Braxton smiled. "Fikky and I've learned a lot from each other. But the most important thing we learned was how to handle decisions. It's not my decision. It's not her decision. It's our decision. And we've got to make them together. And the times we can't come to a decision? You always go with the person who's most uncomfortable."
Braxton tipped his head back, smiling up at the ceiling. "I asked her to marry me, you know. Before I came here. The week before I shipped out, I asked her to be my wife. Suggested we get it signed and sealed before I left. Fikky? She turned me down. Said she didn't want to be ink on a paper when we weren't even certain we could survive long distance. I was leaving, what if she couldn't handle a boyfriend, a husband, who wasn't around? She was uncomfortable, so we went with her decision. We've got a good handle on it now, though. I'll ask her again once I grad-...after I'm discharged."
Sy laughed softly. "What does your proposal have to do with my advice?"
Braxton rolled his head to the side so he could see Sy. "You need to talk to Jim. If you two are going to act the way you're acting, people are going to ask questions. You gotta come up with how you're handling relationship questions. Because Jim is not handling them well."
Sy got his feet under him, pausing in a crouch beside Braxton. He set a hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to him. Thank you, Braxton."
"Sure, Softspot."
Sy turned away, heading back towards his room. He paused after a few steps, looking back over his shoulder. "Hey Braxton?"
"Yeah?"
"Chin up. You don't always have to be the one protecting people. Let people protect you, too, for a change."
Braxton tipped his head back against the wall again with a sigh. He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of Sy's fading footsteps.
There was no one that could protect him from himself.
