Neither Braxton nor 628 sat with them at breakfast. Matt glanced in their directions several times, though he said nothing about the empty seats. Sy was the one to hesitantly broach the subject. "Is he planning on joining us for dinner?"

Matt shook his head. "He's over with Varian's group."

Jim scoffed. "Of course that's who he'd go to. A whole squad of fanboys for his fancy metal parts. Half those guys just want to take him apart and study him."

"Are you jealous?" Matt was truly confused now. "Braxton seemed to be under the impression that you're, uh…"

"Racist?" Jim stabbed his eggs with too much force. "So I've heard. That cogs-for-brains has no idea what he's talking about! If he wants to be a baby, that's on him. I tried talking to him, he's the one pouting and hanging out somewhere else."

Matt drew back. "You don't need to snap at me, Jim. At least Braxton was able to talk to me like we're still friends. I get that you're upset, but I don't appreciate being snapped at."

Jim turned his sour look on Matt. "Oh, so you're taking his side now?"

"I'm not taking any sides, Jim." Matt shook his head. "You're both my friends. But I'm telling you now, I'm not going to put up with you taking out your anger on me. You and Braxton need to work this out. Yelling at me isn't going to do anything to solve it."

Sy touched Jim's shoulder gently. "What if you told him you were sorry? You don't have to be wrong to apologize."

Jim rolled his eyes. "Tell him that. He's the one dragging this out. I'm not doing anything. He can come talk to me."

Sy sighed softly. He let the topic drop and turned to Matt instead. "Have you worked any on those sketches you were showing me? I'd love to see your progress." Matt nodded and pulled out his tablet so he could show off the drawings he was working on.

Having his friends so clearly ignoring him was not helping Jim's mood any. He had no conversation to distract himself with so he finished his breakfast in record time. He stood up and snatched up his tablet. Sy glanced at him, but was pulled back into what Matt was saying. Jim left them there.

Sy stood up to follow him. Matt caught the younger boy's sleeve and shook his head. Slowly Sy sunk back down into his seat as he watched Jim sulk his way out of the room.

Matt closed his art program and set his tablet aside. "Coddling him won't help this one, Sy. I know he's important to you, but sometimes you need to let someone hurt to learn the lesson. He and Braxton need to work this one out on their own."

Sy looked trustingly up at Matt. "But what if they don't repair their friendship?"

"That's on them. You be friends with whomsoever you want. What matters most is how you handle your own heart."

"My heart hurts to see them fighting."

Red eyes met green. Matt smiled at the younger cadet. "They are both good people. Very passionate people. Sometimes you can't stop a fire from burning, only guide the direction it should go." He started to sing, his rich voice soft and low.

"Love and hate are two sides of the same coin,

Forever tumbling through our hearts.

Sometimes it lands with love side up,

Sometimes it lands the other way round.

Love is when something means more than ourselves,

There is no sacrifice too grand

Putting their needs before our own,

Putting our hearts in their hands

Hate is when something hurts what we love,

Damaging the things that mean the most,

Be that ourselves or someone else,

Be that our morals or our hearts."

"But what do we do when it seems love is lost,

When brother fights brother at any cost?

How do we guide the coin,

How do we stop the pain,

Will they ever see what love can help them gain?" Sy's voice wavered as he answered, the light sound of his voice a beautiful contrast to Matt's deeper tone.

"Some stories don't have a happy ending,

Sometimes our heros get hurt,

Happy stories can end in tears,

But tragedies can end without,

All you can do for them is try your best,

Being there no matter what they need,

Showing them your full support,

Showing them you see their worth."

Matt wrapped a gentle arm over Sy's shoulders and pulled him in against his side. "Braxton and Jim both have big personalities, and a big stubborn streak. But they also have big hearts. Whatever is going on between them is not going to break them. We just need to give them time to work it out. You do what feels right to you, but don't try to force your choices on them."

Sy nodded reluctantly. "Alright," he cast one last glance in the direction Jim had gone. "I'll try."