AN: I actually get to warn you guys about double updates now, they're no longer the standard. But you get weekly chapters in exchange, so I hope it's a good trade off! Long story short, don't miss chapter 50. Short story long, 50 chapters! I'm so excited to be this deep into things with y'all. There's still quite a bit to go, no worries, this'll be a proper series. Still, it's nice to see how far we've progressed. Enjoy a couple moments of peace while they last, these boys can be a bit dramatic.

Tuesday 20:47

The boys piled into Matt's room together. The walls were plastered with papers. Many of them were letters in the same neat handwriting despite the different names signed at the bottom. The rest were portraits of various people. They all sported the same sky black skin that Matthew had and all had the same red eyes but for two with blue.

Sy studied them quietly. Braxton hoisted 628 up to his shoulder and stepped over to join him. Sy tensed. Braxton kept his eyes on the drawings. "He did all of those himself. I met him when he was working on this one," he tapped a picture of a beautiful woman with laugh lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth.

"His mother?" Sy guessed.

Braxton nodded. "He saved her for almost last. Said she was one of the hardest ones to do." 628 tipped his head to the side as they gazed at the pictures together. Braxton nodded to the picture beside it. "That one's my favorite, though."

This picture was of a young boy dangling upside down by his knees. His hair fell towards the bottom of the paper and his shirt bunched up around his arms so that his stomach stuck out. He had his eyes squished shut and he stuck his tongue out towards whomever was looking his way.

Sy giggled. "A younger cousin or a little brother?"

"Cousin," Matt answered from his bed. He sat cross legged with his sketchbook in his lap. "Chilton was seven when I left home. He'd be nine now. He's a good kid, though. Always full of energy, always begging me to come and play with him, or sing with him, or hiding behind me when he got in trouble for teasing his sister." He set his book aside and stood up so he could join them at the wall.

Matthew gestured next to a picture of a small girl with a sweet smile that looked to be only about three. "That's her. She's a sassy little thing, from what I've heard. She was still a babe in arms when I left. I barely know her." He sighed softly and ran his finger down the portrait's cheek. "She doesn't recognize me when I come home. I might as well be a stranger stopping by for a visit."

Braxton set his hand on Matt's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, well after you get out of here, you'll have plenty of time to teach her who you are. Who knows, maybe Fikky and I can come live next to you! She and I are going to need a house, might as well put it beside you! You can help raise our kids."

Matt snorted. "I pity anyone who has to help raise your kids, Braxton." Braxton laughed brightly so Matt continued. "They'd be trying to upgrade each other as soon as they can walk. And once they start heading out on their own, nothing in the solar system will be safe!" He wandered over towards the pictures on his opposite wall.

628 giggled as he spun around to face Matt. "I keep safe!"

Matt scoffed. "Oh please. You'd be right there with the kids and getting in trouble alongside them."

Braxton rolled his shoulder so 628 fell backwards and into his arms. "Matt's right, you know," he teased affectionately. "If my kids are going to be bad, it'll be because you taught them."

628 perked his ears up. "You like bad!"

Braxton grinned. "You got that right, little buddy."

Sy giggled softly and glanced down at the ground. "Are you and Fikky going to have many kids, Braxton?"

"As many as we can!" Braxton answered brightly. "If we can't have them ourselves, we'll just have to take a few in." He tossed 628 into the air and caught him again. "Good old uncle 628 will be around to help as well, I'm sure."

Sy bit his lip hard. He glanced at Braxton and 628 before turning to Jim abruptly. "You've been quiet. Anything on your mind?"

Jim shrugged. "I was just thinking about last class. The teacher had us working with that program you and I- okay, well, that I went a little too far in. I just took you along for the ride."

Sy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Jim settled into the chair by Matt's desk. "Well, I was right when I guessed that the third years took a spy ship past it. We went with them, but I don't think we're finished with the program. There was that third layer, and we didn't touch it today. I was trying to figure out what it might be for."

Sy shook his head. "We shouldn't be trying to figure it out if we're not meant to know about it."

Braxton waved him off. "But we do know about it, so let's speculate!"

Matt laughed. "I swear you're going to give Sy a panic attack one of these days, Braxton. It'll be alright, Sy. The teacher told us not to use outside knowledge while completing our missions, she's already aware that we know about this, we just have to prove ourselves capable of acting with integrity."

Jim gestured to the desk. "Come have a seat, Sy. I promise it'll be alright. It won't be affecting you and 628 this time, and the three of us are capable of continuing as we have been."

Sy hesitated before walking over to perch on the edge of the desk. "I guess you're going to discuss it with or without my approval," he admitted softly. "So I suppose it doesn't hurt for 628 and I to listen in."

"That's our boy!" Braxton tossed 628 into the air again. The small experiment sailed through the air before he landed on the bed beside Matt's pillow.

Matt followed him over and sat down in his place at the foot of the bed. He folded his legs in front of him and set his sketchbook on his lap. He picked up his pen but didn't put it to paper. Instead he fixed Braxton with a look and raised an eyebrow. Braxton groaned and returned with his most pathetic look. Matt shifted his expression into something sterner. Braxton sighed heavily and gave him a pleading look. Matt shook his head.

"Are you two alright?" Jim wasn't sure what was going on with his friends but he knew it wasn't normal.

"Braxton just has something he needs to say," Matt answered, though he didn't take his eyes off the aforementioned boy.

Braxton stuck his tongue out at Matt. He sighed heavily and turned to Sy. "I'm sorry for this morning." Matt cleared his throat. Braxton groaned, though when he spoke again his voice was more sincere. "Look, my friends mean everything to me. Let's be real, you're pretty suspicious sometimes. Where I'm from, you don't let that just sit. Honesty, trust, family...they're things you don't treat lightly."

Braxton ran his hand through his hair, subconsciously stroking his temple above his upgraded ear. "Matt and I have spoken. I'm willing to give you a chance. No more questions about your family."

Sy relaxed and gave him a tentative smile. "Well, thank you."

Braxton's look hardened. "But I am going to warn you, if your secrets hurt Jim, I will make you regret it."

Jim surged to his feet. "How dare you threaten him!"

Sy grabbed Jim's shoulder and tugged him gently back towards the chair. "It's okay, Jim. I understand." He shrugged and smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm no stranger to the idea of dangerous secrets. I can tell you who my family is, I just won't."

He spun a pencil sitting on the desk so he didn't have to look at any of the gathered boys. "Please understand. My family is mine to worry about. I grew up spending alternating summers with my grandparents and my uncle. Whoever I was with, I spent a lot of time watching them work. Schooling was through tutors while I traveled with my parents. I've never had much by way of friends my age. I had my cousin when I visited his family, but spaceships don't contain much by way of children."

Sy looked up, his face lightening as he looked around at them. "You guys, you're the first friends I've made on my own. I have a few classmates that I'm getting close to as well. Aladdin has been seeking me out to partner up when 628 doesn't. Mellow and I have been working together on saturdays. It's been nice."

Sy's smile reached his eyes. "I'm happy with you guys. What I have here, it's something I want to keep separate from my family. I love my family, don't get me wrong, but they come from a world that's so different from what you have. I was fortunate enough to grow up meeting so many different species, seeing so many worlds." A small laugh escaped him. "I followed my family into the forces so I can keep seeing them. And right here, this room...this is what I wanted to find."

Jim set his hand on Sy's knee and gave a small squeeze. "And we'll help you find more of it. I promise."

Braxton sighed softly and gave Sy a small grin. "I guess I can't blame you for wanting a life separate from your upbringing. I accepted my offer for the same reasons. To get away from how I was raised, from my parents. No more questions. I promise." He walked over and stuck out his hand. "Truce."

Sy grasped his hand. "Truce."