Zephyr's silence permeated their table with an awkward, stilted aire. What conversations did crop up were scattered and died with little fanfare. Even sweet, cheerful Sy seemed to be struggling to manage the fact that Zephyr neither wanted to be there, nor was wanted.

Braxton was the only one who seemed unaffected by the situation. If anything, he seemed almost pleased to have a reason to further annoy the senior student.

"So, Zephyr, did you have to take any of the entrance examinations like the rest of us, or did your grandpa get you in on word of mouth alone?"

"I was tested like every other student," Zephyr answered tightly.

"Oh, so they do care about keeping up appearances! Now that's interesting. I'll assume you were incapable of failing any of them?"

Zephyr bristled. "I do not like your implications, Rudforest. I was scored anonymously, as all prospective youth are. My parents had me schooled extensively in my youth, so no further training was required before I was granted entrance to the school. I am aware I was privileged to have received the lessons I did at the age I was, but nothing untoward can be found anywhere in my records."

Braxton laughed. "Then why would you be offended by my questions? Anyone would be curious. It wouldn't be a good look for the admiral's own grandson to fail his exams, after all."

628 growled softly in agreement.

"Enough, Braxton." Sy's voice was soft, but firm.

For once, Braxton obeyed. Perhaps out of shock that Sy had stood up to him, or perhaps out of respect for their friendship. Jim would likely never know.

"I think we're finished with dinner," Sy took to his feet before he had even finished his sentence, "So let's clean up and go."

Jim wasted no time. "Good idea. Braxton, can we use your room?"

"I am not letting my personal snitch into my quarters," Braxton answered stubbornly. "He's invaded enough of my life, he will not go any further."

"I have no desire to enter your chambers," Zephyr answered stiffly.

"You only have to stay with Braxton until he retires for the night, right?" Matt perked up suddenly. "Can you come with us to see Braxton safely to his room, and then go? We'll vouch for Braxton, and if we hang out in his room, he can just stay there after we leave for the night. So really, he would have retired for the night when we get back to his room."

Zephyr hesitated a moment.

Sy nodded. "I think it would make sense, Zephy. You can go with him to see him brush his teeth and such before bed, and then go hang out with your own friends before curfew. If anything happens, I'll message you the moment he leaves his room."

"I trust you, Nah-Nah," Zephyr answered softly. "And so that is the only reason I will agree to this. Rudforest, you will not exit your room for any reason after I leave you for the evening. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Braxton was not about to do anything to jeopardize some free time away from De Châteaupers.

"Thank you, Zephy!" Sy hugged his friend tightly. "Thank you!"

Braxton sighed. "I hate to say it, but you have my thanks as well. If you are…agreeable to it, I think it may be beneficial to us both if we continue this arrangement for the rest of my trial period. I don't particularly want you hanging around in my lounge time, and it's clear you have no desire to waste your free time on me, as well. You have my word that I will contact you if for any reason I want to exit my room before curfew."

Zephyr studied Braxton cautiously. After a moment he stuck out his hand. "I am in agreement with the arrangement."

Braxton clasped hands and gave a single, strong pump. "On my word, then."

Zephyr released his hand and turned back to gather his trash. Sy reached over and slid his tray away. "It's my turn to clear the trays, Zephyr. You can relax. I'll be right back."

Jim swiftly gathered up the silverware and glasses. "If you guys want to start heading for Braxton's room, Sy and I will catch up as soon as we drop this stuff off."

Hogarth nodded. "Okay! Thank you!"

628 immediately leapt up onto Braxton's shoulder. "Akootah!"

Matt waved a temporary farewell before joining their small crowd as they headed out the door. One hand rested on Varian's elbow. He and Hogarth worked in tandem, gently steering their bookworm friend through the crowded dining hall and towards the exit into relative freedom.

Jim followed Sy in the opposite direction across the room. They deposited the trash into the appropriate bins and left their stacks of trays and cups on the counter. A singular tentacle coiled around the trays and drew them into the kitchen.

Together the two boys made their way out of the mess hall and into the corridors beyond. As if by unspoken agreement, neither of them rushed to catch up with their friends. In fact, Jim noticed, they were both walking perhaps a bit slower than they might otherwise.

"Sy?"

"Yes?" Sy glanced up at him, a tiny smile on his lips.

"Thank you for trusting us." Jim ran a hand through his hair as he tried to pick out the right words. "I know how important it is for you to impress your family. It would have been easy for you to never get involved with us once you realized we were…not the sort of people that would look good as your friends. Or you could have turned me down, spared yourself this whole risky relationship and taken the safer path of just friends.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, really, is that I'm glad you feel safe enough with us to be yourself. I love who you truly are, and…I'm really glad I got to meet this Sy. I know it's been hard on you with Zephyr being around, and I don't think I've done the best job of trying to help ease things for you. I want to, I really do, he's just…" Jim sighed.

Sy smiled and set his hand on Jim's arm. "I understand."

"Honestly, Sy, I don't understand how you can be friends with him. He's just so different from you."

Sy shrugged. "Zephyr's my best friend. Here he's…I guess he's like me. He wants to impress people, too. He's got lots of eyes on him, and he's afraid of making mistakes. He doesn't have someone like you, or Braxton, to teach him how to handle adversity. He's figuring it out on his own. I'm not asking you to become his best friend, too. I'm not even asking you to be his friend. Just understand that I love him, I will always love him, and just like you gave me a chance, I'm asking you to give him one, too."

Jim sighed softly. "I'm trying, Sy, but he's not making it easy for us."

Sy tipped his head slightly to the side, a contemplative expression on his face. "How hard would you be trying if you had to go and sit with him and his friends every meal? No Braxton, no Matt, not even Varian. Just you, me, Zephyr, and all his friends."

Jim wrinkled his nose. He opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again quickly. Best not to say anything hasty and get himself in trouble. He opened his mouth to try again, but decided against it once more.

What was he even supposed to say to that? 'No thanks I'd rather starve'?

Sy smiled. "I see you understand now." He leaned over and kissed Jim's cheek before starting off down the hall once more. "Come on then, let's go make sure he and Braxton aren't fighting again."

Jim sighed heavily. "I wish I had half your positivity, Sy." He jogged a couple steps to catch up. Once he was next to his boyfriend, he laced his fingers through Sy's. "I'll try to keep that in mind, I promise. I'll work harder at making him feel welcome."

Sy turned and kissed him for real. "I know you will. You're a good person, Jim. You've shown me that right from the very beginning. I knew it the day you told me those awful jokes to keep me from being scared during the obstacle course. That's the man I fell in love with. Zephyr will understand someday, I promise. Today's just not that day."

Jim nodded. "I trust you. One more kiss, then, and then we should catch up. I don't want them getting suspicious about how long we've been behind."

Sy nodded. He leaned in one final time.

Jim pulled him closer, just taking a moment to enjoy this. That was one of the things he treasured most about his relationship. It didn't matter what the subject was, he and Sy could talk about anything. There were no secrets between them. Sometimes a bit of misunderstanding or poor communication, but in the end, they could always count on each other to talk everything out.

Now all he had to do was find the right time for their first 'I love you's. The first time was special, he didn't want to mess it up. After all, Sy deserved nothing but the best.