Sy stepped out into the hallway with Zephyr. Braxton's metal door slid shut behind them. The cyborg scoffed and crossed his arms. "Glad to finally be rid of him."
"Brax, try to be a bit kinder about it," Jim suggested. Sy was right. If they were going to make this thing work, they needed to reframe how they thought about the interactions. "He was kind enough to agree to give us our evenings alone. We've got an hour and a half to just hang out and be ourselves like usual."
Braxton sighed. "I suppose you're right. Still, you can't expect me to enjoy having a parole officer."
Sy knocked on the door to be let back in. Varian hit the button on the wall and the smooth door slid aside to allow him entrance. Hogarth waved from where he and Varian were crowded together near the corner.
Matt had claimed Braxton's bed. 628 was curled up in his lap, quite possibly taking a nap. Braxton was seated on the floor. He'd detached his left leg at the knee and was working on cleaning out his joints.
Jim had claimed Braxton's desk chair, though the thought crossed his mind that he should have taken a seat on the floor so he could sit with Sy.
Sy gave the gathered group of friends a nervous smile. "So, um, thank you for gathering here tonight."
Hogarth bounced excitedly in place. "Oh, a murder mystery, how exciting!"
"What?" Sy blinked several times, his train of thought completely derailed.
"You've never read a mystery book or watched a movie? It's such a common trope. You know 'I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you here today' lightning bolt, thunder crash, dramatic pause."
Braxton snorted in amusement. "Hogarth, it took Sy two months to figure out that Jim was head over heels in love with him. Do you really think he's going to host a murder mystery? Pretty sure those get solved in a night, not a semester."
"Ha ha, very funny." Sy frowned good naturedly at Braxton.
Braxton winked. "I know, I'm hilarious."
"Be nice, Brax." Matt shook his head affectionately. "What was it you wanted to say, Sy?"
"I'm not sure the best way to say it, so I'm just going to be direct. I need everyone here to be quiet about Jim and I. Jim's aware, but I hadn't wanted to make things into a big deal with everyone else. My family would not be supportive of us if they knew we were dating. Zephyr's parents are very close to mine, if word got back to them that I'm dating Jim, it….would not be easy for us. I would appreciate it if you acted as if Jim and I were just friends."
The room was silent for a moment. Matt immediately looked to Jim to gauge his reaction. Jim offered a hesitant smile.
"Sy and I have talked this over," he figured it was best to speak up, just in case they needed the reassurance. "I'm fine with keeping things under cover. I'd rather be silent and keep Sy than risk losing him. It's just for a few weeks anyway, right? Braxton is going to be on his best behavior and they'll decide to terminate the peer mentorship."
"Or I'll drive Zephyr insane to the point where he either demands I have a new mentor or he gets me thrown out!" Braxton agreed cheerfully. "Don't worry, you two. If he starts looking suspicious, I'll just distract him with my usual, irritating charm."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no intentions of weaponizing you against my friend." Sy answered with a hard roll of his eyes.
Hogarth smiled. "We'll be sure to help you out. If you and Jim need, we'll be more than happy to help cover for you! I'm sure there's lots of ways that we could distract him. I don't believe that we've had a chance to chat about his opinions of robots and their unethical use as slaves of war by civilizations outside the Galactic Federation and the Intersolar Solar Union."
"What's your opinion on weaponizing a fully caffeinated Hogarth against your friend?" Jim inquired playfully. "I'd be more than happy to go run and refill his coffee if necessary."
Sy shook his head. "I want Zephyr to feel welcome. He is not the enemy, I promise."
Braxton folded his hands behind his head. "You know, Sy. Sometimes you do need to pick sides."
"Not when there's no reason to," Sy retaliated. "Believe it or not, your goals are not so different. Zephyr does not want to get you kicked out. He just wants to get through this assignment, too. I promise it'll be easier on the both of you if you try to get along and antagonize him a bit less."
"I make no promises in that regard," Braxton answered. "Honestly, it's not so bad having De Châteaupers around if I get to have a bit of fun with it."
Matt set a hand on Braxton's shoulder. "Maybe this time we can be the ones to concede. Zephyr isn't so bad, really. He has some learning to do yet, but don't we all?"
"Always philosophical," Braxton sighed affectionately. "Look Sy, I'm sorry, but I'm not compromising who I am. Zephyr is a nepotistic, entitled, spoiled rich kid. His granddaddy is literally in charge of our entire school, he has everything he wants handed to him with either fanfare or discretion, his choice as needed. I believe he'll survive if I don't treat him like he's the son of Zeus. I've met the kid. Herc isn't half bad, I'll take him over Zephyr any day. And Hercules is legitimately the son of a god. Zephyr's just named after one."
"Braxton-"
"No, Matt." For once Braxton didn't even bother to hear out his friend. "I have spent plenty of time playing by rich boys' rules. This time he can play by mine. If he doesn't like it, then you'll have to forgive me for not caring. No one cared when I didn't like something, I'm not going to care now."
"Come on, Brax," Jim started. He knew their pleas were useless, but he had to try. "I'm not saying I'm a fan of Zephyr either, but we at least need to get along."
"We'll get along just fine if he learns to sit down, shut up, and show up on time. That's all he's gotta do and we'll get through this no issues. We won't say a word about you two," Braton nodded to Sy to include him in his response, "but that's all I'll promise."
Sy nodded once. "I suppose that's all I expected. Enjoy your night."
The young cadet hadn't moved far from the door before he'd started his plea. It didn't take him more than a step or two before he had punched the button to open the door.
"Wait, Sy!" Jim was on his feet in an instant. "Where are you going?"
"Zephyr's room. I'll see you guys at breakfast." With that he stepped out, the smooth metal sliding shut behind him.
Jim rounded on Braxton furiously. "What is your problem? Can't you do one thing for someone else? Why do you always have to think of yourself first!"
"I'm going to give you one chance to walk that back, James."
Matt sighed heavily. He slid 628 off his lap and got to his feet. "Come on you two, let's not get into this again. It's exhausting when you two fight."
"We wouldn't fight if Braxton could care about anyone but himself."
"You know that's not true, Jim," Matt reprimanded him sternly.
Hogarth hesitantly spoke up from where he had shrunk back into the corner of the room. "I'm with Matt. Braxton's spent a lot of time helping me compile a list of robotic communities and cultures that have created true artificial intelligence."
Varian nodded. "He's been a real good sport about letting me test some of my alchemy experiments on him, as well. Nothing dangerous, really, but sometimes it's better to test things on rubber and metal than it is on flesh the first few times."
"And I don't believe I need to mention the language lessons you and I have both received?" Matt crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Jim sighed heavily and sank back onto the desk behind him. "You're right," he agreed reluctantly. "I'm sorry, Braxton."
Braxton was silent for a moment, just studying Jim.
"I guess I still get a bit heated over Sy. I know he can take care of himself, I just feel…" He didn't know how to describe it, really, so he let his sentence trail off there instead. Why bother with words that wouldn't do justice?
Braxton finally nodded. "You're not going to keep him if you can't let him stand on his own."
"I'm not keeping him," Jim retaliated, his ego still bruised. "Sy's with me because he wants to be."
"And he won't for much longer if you attack everyone he disagrees with," Braxton replied in a clipped tone.
Varian sighed as he climbed to his feet. "Maybe it's best if we all head out for the night. Come on, Hogarth. I'll show you my blueprints for the automatons I was telling you about."
Hogarth quickly jumped up behind him. "Sounds great. Night guys, see you at breakfast!"
Matt offered Jim a thin smile. "I think they've got the right idea. We'll see you later, Jim. Mind dropping 628 off at his room on your way? I don't think we're going to get him up to leave on his own."
Jim frowned, but accepted he was being kicked out. He scooped up their small, furry, but surprisingly dense, friend and headed for the doors. How Braxton could cart him around on his shoulder like he weighed nothing, Jim had no idea. 628 wasn't very big, but for his size, he sure was heavy.
The walk to the first years' dorm hall was long and very quiet. Jim did not much enjoy being left alone with nothing but his thoughts.
Sometimes his own mind was the most frustrating place to be.
