Sunday could not have come fast enough. Jim was awake before his alarm sounded. The showers were empty except for one boy belting out his good morning routine. Jim pulled his sweater down over his head as he rushed through the nearly empty halls.

As he had hoped, he beat Braxton to the cafeteria. He went through the breakfast line quickly and carted his tray over to hide in a corner. He did not have to wait long before his friend - and they would be friends again, he'd be sure of it - stood half awake with a tray in his hands.

Braxton made his way over to table 8-B and plunked down in his usual space. Sleepily he began eating his meal. With Braxton's back to him, Jim made his move. He grabbed his tray and quickly crossed the cafeteria. He was seated beside Braxton before the cyborg had the chance to realize what was happening. Awake now, Braxton sat up straight and glared at Jim. He reached for his breakfast to move somewhere else but Jim had already slid it out of his reach.

"Braxton, just give me five minutes. Please. For Matt."

Braxton crossed his arms but gave a short nod. "Five minutes."

Jim took a deep breath. He needed to start this off right. "I'm sorry." Braxton didn't respond to his apology, just glaring at the other boy. Jim took it to be a good sign that he wasn't being insulted for his opener. "Look," Jim ran his fingers through his hair, "I messed up. I think I get that now. I wasn't trying to hurt you, I really didn't know that you were sensitive to the cyborg jokes.

"I know that your home isn't always kind to people with that sort of upgrade, you've mentioned it before, but things are kinda different here. Most of us think that your upgrades are pretty awesome. I mean, when I first met you, I only saw your radio, and I still thought it made you the coolest cadet here. I wanted to be your friend just because your parts fascinated me.

"You're only the second cyborg I've gotten close to, I'm more used to full flesh beings or full robots. You and silver are both important to me. Really important. But I'm not allowed to have anything to do with Silver. Referencing you two collectively, it's kinda the only way I had to acknowledge that he still exists. I didn't mean to hurt you by it, I just didn't want to let him go completely."

Jim took a deep breath and slid Braxton's tray back over towards him. "I'm going to work on not doing that any more, calling you just by your upgrades and things, I promise. Please sit with us again? I miss you. I miss my friend."

Braxton was silent. He studied Jim with a guarded expression. Jim did his best not to squirm. Finally Braxton picked up his fork. "Thought you hated that sweater."

The weight that had been wrapped around Jim's heart since the fight lifted. He broke out into a bright smile. "Eh, it's not as bad as I thought. It's at least warm, I just have to keep shoving the sleeves up."

Braxton snorted. He sliced his toast in half as he replied, "I'm sure we can thank Sy for that."

Jim took a deep breath. "You are going to refrain from using your radio around him, right?" He was afraid of ruining their newly repaired relationship, but he couldn't let that slide either. "And you won't be as mean to him?"

Braxton smirked at his breakfast. "Sure, Jim. Whatever you like."

"Thanks Brax." Jim scanned open his tablet with his free hand. He needed to tell Sy and Matt the good news.