Chapter Text
“Dammit!” Blythe ripped her headgear off, breathing heavily as she stared at the readout projected in the fighter jet’s cockpit. Three seconds. She’d missed the record flight score by three, measly seconds. She screwed her eyes shut and bemoaned the weeks of extra flight time she’d put in. It didn’t feel fair, being one of the top students at the Deepspace Aerospace Academy yet never claiming number one in any record or class. No, all of those positions were held by a young man in the same year as her: Caleb Xia.
And, as if to mock her, she could see him and a few other of her second-year classmates waving at her from the flight deck. Blythe arranged her face in a semblance of respectful disappointment and hit the button for the aircraft seals to disengage. Time to pretend she wasn’t self-conscious and frustrated. Time to mask her real emotions behind ones that people found likable. Wind tangled the small baby hairs escaping her braid as she exited the cockpit. A few students were already approaching, and Blythe’s stomach flip-flopped when she saw Gideon.
Shiiiiiittt. Why now of all times?
Swallowing down butterflies, she gave everyone a playful shrug. “Guess I owe everyone beers for fallin’ flat on my ass.”
“No way!” Timothy said, coming over and giving her shoulder a playful swat. “That was insane. How many Gs did you pull?”
“Seven or so.”
“And you’re not feeling sick at all?”
She was a bit queasy but no more than when she forgot to eat, so she shrugged. “Was too focused. Might puke later once the adrenaline wears off.”
A friendly, boyish voice had her looking up at Caleb. “Dunno.” He shot her a friendly smile, purple eyes vivid in the sunlight. “I think you’re tougher than you admit, Blythe Calis. Fess up. You chose not to beat my record just to be nice, didn’t you?”
Blythe wasn’t sure whether to consider his comment a diss or a sincere compliment. Realizing that her emotions were currently biasing her thinking, she deduced it was the latter.
“Well of course.” She shot back, playfully crossing her arms. “You are the class mascot, after all. Can’t have you moping around campus or team morale would drop.”
Gideon chuckled and smacked Caleb’s back. “She’s got you there.”
“Hey now.” Caleb put on a look of pretend indignation. “If I’m mascot, where’s my bonus pay? Can’t be workin’ for free when I have a family to take care of.”
Timothy rolled his eyes, seeming less playful and actually annoyed. “There he goes again. Xia, you’re like a broken record. ‘Family this. My pipsqueak that.’ Over and over again.”
Blythe’s senses homed in on the shorter man’s microexpressions. Jealousy. And… concern. She agreed with the latter—the former being a waste of time when you were up against a prodigy. Caleb Xia, for his talents, had a few secrets hidden behind his affable personality and ‘golden boy’ persona. But it wasn’t the time to muse on that. She was tired, hungry, and in need of a beer or three.
“Who’s up for fried chicken?” She said, “First round of drinks are on me.”
After a collective cheer, the group made their way towards the hangar bay. Blythe had to steady her breathing when, to her dismay, Xia ended up walking on her left and Gideon on her right. The latter was the issue. Gideon was all of her weaknesses wrapped into one: sincere, responsible, friendly but with a small shy streak, and handsome in a way that was exactly her type. Then there was the fact that his eyes got so damn soft when he smiled at her. It was all mutual respect and camaraderie, not anything romantic, but she near about swooned anytime he did it. And damn was he doing it now, in that way that radiated respect.
“Nice job, Calis.” Gidon said, “I mean it. Those turns were so precise I thought I was watching a training video. You worked hard and it shows.”
Her stomach flip-flopped as she gave him a polite smile in return. “Thanks. Though I’m just glad Captain Roth won’t be able to snub me again now that I’m runner up for first place.”
Gideon’s expression became somber as he regarded her. “You don’t have to put up with him, even if he is a superior. We’d happily come with you to report the shit he puts you through.”
“Seconded.” Caleb said, tone firm. “But no pressure if you want to handle it on your own.”
Blythe shrugged. “I appreciate it, guys, but reporting him will just end up with my statement being dropped into a pile with countless others to be forgotten. It’s easier and less wounding to my pride to just deal with it until he retires in a few months.”
She almost missed the look Gideon and Caleb shared over her head. Their expressions of ’as if we’d leave a classmate to suffer’ let her know that she might have to deal with a bit of overprotectiveness from both for a while. It hurt her pride at the same time it made her feel better. Their class was a tight knit group, protective of each other, and supportive in ways she hadn’t experienced in her family life. So, she decided to let the two do whatever they planned. And, in kind, she’d be there to support them or help them anytime they needed it.
***
The fried chicken place just off of the DAA campus was normally noisy, but that night it was a madhouse. Blythe rubbed her temples to try and ease the headache coming from the din of academy students who had clearly had too much alcohol for the night. Their table of second-years was more subdued, with most people in cheerful conversations as they nursed their first or second beer. Blythe was in the latter camp as she sat across from Gideon, Caleb to her left, and Talia to her right. The latter was a tiny thing with dark hair and a serious personality. However, alcohol made Talia a bit clingy, and she was currently hugging Blythe around the waist, tone slurred.
“Yer so pretty.”
Blythe patted the other young woman’s back. “I think that’s enough for you, hun.”
“Noooo…”
Gideon gave Blythe a wink which spiked her pulse before he discreetly moved Talia’s glass out of reach. “It’s nice to be able to hang out before exam season fully kicks off. Anyone going home for the long weekend?”
Caleb leaned back in his seat and stretched his long legs out. “I am.”
Gideon gave him an incredulous look. “Read between the lines, Xia. I was asking the gals. Not you. You always go home for breaks.”
“Not true.” Caleb shrugged. “I’ve missed a few.”
“Only under duress or test stress.” Gideon rolled his eyes before looking to Blythe. “What about you?”
“I dunno.” She swirled her beer in her glass, the topic slightly uncomfortable. “I want to prep for exams, but my mom probably expects me to come back and help organize my dad’s things.”
“Oh, right.” Gideon gave her an empathic look. “He passed away last month, right?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “We weren’t close after he and mom got divorced. Sent me happy birthday texts but was otherwise consumed by his job working for the Farspace Fleet. It probably killed him in the end.” Realizing that she’d sombered the mood, she tried to smile. “It’s okay, though. I got some of his pilot’s genetics out of the deal, and all I’ve ever wanted to do was fly.”
Caleb gave her a boyish smile. “Here here. There’s nothin’ better than open sky.”
“And Gs.” Talia said and looked up at Blythe with a pout. “I wish I had your or Xia’s steeled stomachs. Five is all I can take. Any more and I’m down with a migraine for days…”
“Don’t feel too bad, Tal.” Gideon said, “You’re normal while these two—” He flapped a hand at Blythe and Caleb playfully. “—They’re more like machines when they’re in the cockpit.”
“Oy.” Caleb playfully kicked the other young man under the table. “I’m as human as it gets.”
“Hardly.” Blythe teased him, sipping at her beer. “I sometimes feel like someone designed you for aerospace flight.”
Caleb clicked his tongue at her, expression teasing. “That’s just the pot callin’ the kettle black, Calis.”
“Don’t sass me until you wise up enough to stop using old-ass idioms.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I swear you talk and text like someone a decade older.”
“Your compliments need work.” He smiled at her, eyes thinned in a look of amusement. “But I’ll take it.”
She gaped at him, suddenly riled up that he was twisting her words. “It wasn’t a compliment!”
Talia whined, eyes fluttering closed as she leaned against Blythe. “Shush please. Sleep now…” The young woman was soon snoring softly. Blythe sighed and wrapped an arm around her to make sure she didn’t fall.
“Silly kid, not knowing your limits…”
There was suddenly a shout of ‘shots’ from a group of DAA upperclassmen that had people distracted for a moment. The older students had surrounded a table of first years and were trying to get the younger students to drink shots of vodka. Gideon’s mouth twisted in a look of concern as he watched the rowdy group.
“That’s Ryan’s mob of imbeciles. They better not stir trouble again. What’s with wanting to get the younger classes shitfaced, anyway? If we weren’t all adults, I’d think they were bullying people.”
“They are bullying people.” Blythe remarked, swirling her beer in her glass. “It’s a power play. Their egos can’t deal with younger classmates having better scores or records, so they pretend to be doing something ‘nice’ for people when it’s just a way to put others down.”
Luckily, the older group seemed to quickly get distracted, most heading back to the bar. But as Gideon and Caleb’s eyes remained hawk-trained on the rowdy DAA students, Blythe’s focus was drawn to something different. While she and many others had partaken in beer and fried chicken, Caleb had been nursing a glass of water for the entire meal. A single, deconstructed chicken thigh lay on his plate. It didn’t even look like he’d eaten any of it, just pulled it apart to make it seem like he had. Blythe’s eyes thinned. She couldn't help add his behavior to a running dossier stored in her head; her being a child raised by a psychologist who had been more of a clinician than a parent. In fact, if someone peeled Blythe’s brain apart they’d find multiple files on her classmates. It was how she took care of them; figuring out who was going to have a panic attack before they did, recognizing depressive symptoms before they got out of hand, or easing tensions between two people before it blew up. But Caleb Xia had a different sort of problem. One that went farther than abstaining from alcohol or avoiding ‘unhealthy’ foods.
Within a few minutes, a few people were talking about another round of drinks, and Blythe called Talia’s roommate to come pick her up. The young woman that arrived at the restaurant was apologetic as she helped Talia stand.
“Sorry she gets so goofy. She didn’t kiss anyone, did she?”
Blythe cocked an eyebrow, filing away that surprising tidbit for later. “No, she just got huggy. Does she have a habit of kissing people?”
“Sometimes.” The roommate pinched Talia’s cheek to rouse her. “Come on, silly. Time to go home.”
“Hiiii.” Talia grinned at her roommate. “Yer cute.”
“I’ll walk you two out.’ Blythe said, “Some fresh air sounds nice”
It took a while for the taxi to arrive, and Blythe helped the roommate get Talia into the back seat before watching the cab drive off. The night was cold for the season, so her breath fogged a bit as she watched the headlights disappear around a corner.
“Better get back.” She mumbled to herself and turned around to see Caleb exiting the fried chicken place. He seemed… off as he walked into a side alley. After a moment's hesitation, Blythe followed, peeking around the corner. Caleb was sitting on the stairs up to the restaurant's side entrance, head in his hands. The light above the door cast harshly over his dark hair.
“You okay?” Blythe called out, and Caleb raised his head to look at her. He seemed stiff, if not a bit frustrated.
“Fine…” He said, averting his gaze. “I’ll be back in after I get some air.”
Never one to be dissuaded, Blythe approached and crouched down to get a look at him. It was a bit surprising to see his eyes harden. The expression was mask-like, an automatic defense. But, unfortunately for Xia, Blythe knew the look well. She also knew the smell of vodka well.
“Was it the upperclassmen again?” She said, “They’re constantly trying to get everyone to overdo it. You probably just drank to get them to lay off the others, right?”
Caleb’s mask slipped a bit, revealing exhaustion and even anger. “They went after the first years again. I got ‘em to back off but…”
“... but the non-violent tactic came with a price.” Blythe sighed, the sound almost a growl as she remembered the rowdy upperclassman. “Honestly you should have just used your Evol on douche canoes like that.”
Caleb let out a laugh before quickly going silent. Blythe quickly sensed why. Whatever amount of liquor he’d been tasked with drinking was hitting him. He probably felt uneasy, even a bit scared, so she broke one of her unsaid rules out of sympathy.
“Here.” She held out a hand. “I don’t usually tell people, but I have a biomodulation Evol. I’ll share the load until the worst of it is out of your system.”
He eyed her, seeming reluctant. “I’ll be fine. You should go back in.”
“And leave you here to suffer?” She scowled at him. “So why do you get to be a martyr but I can’t, hm? Think you’re the main character and I'm just an NPC?”
Caleb blinked at her, visibly surprised at her sharp words, then averted his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be conceited.”
“I’d call you more stubborn and self-sacrificing.” She extended her hand further. “Come on. I may not look it, but my ability to metabolize alcohol is second to none. We’ll have you detoxed in no time.”
He hesitated, but took her hand, his palm dwarfing hers. Blythe’s eyes went wide when she felt her head start to spin as a result of the link. “Holy shit.” She said, “Xia, how were you even forming coherent sentences in this state? They must have had you drink half a bottle.”
“Around that.” He muttered, going to release her hand to cut the modulation. But Blythe hung on.
“It’s all good.” She said, “But can I sit next to you? Even I’ve got the spins.”
Caleb finally seemed to relent, scooting over to make space for her. Their linked hands didn’t feel romantic in the least, more like a doctor checking a patient’s pulse, so Blythe didn’t feel awkward as she eyed him.
“Feeling better?”
He nodded, shoulders relaxing a bit. “Yeah. I still feel like I’m gonna either burst out laughing or start crying, but it’s manageable now.”
“Is this your first time with alcohol?”
“Yep.” He managed to give her a small, playful smile. “Think less of me?”
“Nah.” She shrugged. “Everyone’s got preferences. I just worry that you’re so damn controlled all the time. Hell, I bet you downed a few of those disgusting DAA nutrition bars for dinner rather than eat the chicken.”
His silence was her answer. Blythe used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a bit tipsy and loose lipped. “Restricting so much isn’t healthy, Xia. And that’s coming from someone with a hell of a lot of issues.”
“You don’t seem the type to have issues.” He remarked, tone distanced. Blythe scowled at him.
“Nor do you. So, what’s up?”
“Nothin’.”
“Liar.”
“Busybody.”
“Arse.” She reached over to smack his shoulder, her aim slightly off because of the shared effect of the alcohol. “You know what? You’re a liar too. Putting on facades like you’re the most relaxed guy in the world when you actually feel like you’re bound in chains. Hell, you probably think you deserve the chains for whatever reason.”
A moment of tense silence stretched between them until Caleb covered his eyes with his free hand. “So what? People prefer a smiling face. Not someone broken.”
Blythe’s eyebrows raised in a look of surprise. “Broken… dude, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“And I did.”
She took a moment to breathe, mind swirling a bit from the liquor. The last thing she wanted was to push him to open up when they were both intoxicated. But it was as if she’d finally seen the real Caleb Xia. Not the mask, not the facade, but her very real friend and rival who had been hiding like a kid scared of monsters under the bed.
“Okay…” She said, “Well I don’t think you’re broken. I think you’re just in pain and you’re compensating. It’s impressive, actually. I don’t think I can even imagine maintaining that much self-control.”
There was another moment of shared silence before he replied. “...It’s exhausting.”
“Makes sense.”
Caleb finally looked at her, eyes a bit unfocused and his expression pained. “I just can’t risk fucking up. Ever. I have to stay in control otherwise everything is going to fall to pieces.”
“That’s kinda like saying ‘I can’t be human’.”
“Yeah.” He let out a harsh laugh and stared at the ground. “I don’t know if I am, sometimes. I feel like a number. A machine. Even when…” He trailed off, seeming to lose his train of thought. Blythe observed him for a moment before speaking.
“Is there anyone that makes you feel normal?”
He glanced at her, eyes sad. “Yeah.”
“Lemme guess, it’s that gal you have back home?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“To me, at least.” She shrugged. “Your body relaxes when you talk about her. You breathe easier, too.”
“Damn, Calis.” He chuckled, seeming almost impressed. “Am I a case study to you or what?”
She hesitated, then let the buzz of the alcohol drive her honesty. “I have a case study in my head on everyone. It was how my mother raised me. Everyone needed to be assessed. I needed to know their drives, their desires, their weaknesses. And now I can’t stop doing it. It’s…”
“Exhausting?”
“Yeah…”
Caleb let out a long breath, seeming to relax a bit more. “That doesn’t sound like much of a childhood.”
“Tell me about it.” She scoffed, “After she learned about my dad’s infidelity, when she was supposedly ‘perfect’ at reading people, she went off the rails. She even started taking me to shady clinics to try and get my Evol to modulate not just metabolism but emotional processing. Then she kicked me out of the house when she learned that I wanted to be a pilot and not her protege.”
“This is probably the alcohol talking, but your mother sounds cracked in the head.”
“Yeah.” Blythe couldn’t help but be reminded of that day, and of how her mother’s eyes had been so cold and distanced. “But it was also nice, in a way. I learned that I was only of value if I became her, if I immortalized a perfect version of her. So, I was able to stop loving her like a mom.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment before Caleb gently squeezed her hand. “Can you keep a secret?”
“You know I can, Xia.”
He nodded. “Yeah. But you might act differently around me after I tell you.”
“As if.”
“Even if I tell you that the girl I have back home isn’t ‘mine’? She’s just a friend and… well, someone I was raised with.”
Her brow furrowed as she studied his profile. “Like as a cousin?”
“Like… as a sister.” He said, eyes downcast. “Starting when we were around middle school age.”
Blythe blinked at him, unsure of what to feel. “Okay… so she just pretends to be your girlfriend. And…” The reality hit her in a wave, and she let out a low whistle. “You’re really in love with her.”
Caleb swallowed, throat bobbing, and hung his head. “Yeah. I told you I was broken.”
“Well, let’s talk it out.” She said, “You aren’t related, so that’s a relief. And she’s only, what, two years younger?”
“About that, yeah.”
“Does she like you back in the same way?”
Caleb tensed for a moment before letting out a slow exhale. “I don’t know. We are the closest people to each other, so it’s like everything we are, everything we think and feel is ensnared in the other person. All I have to do is close my eyes and I can sense where she’s at. Sometimes even what she’s thinking. She may not realize it, but she can do the same thing to me. It’s why I built the walls in my head and perfected masking. Why I practically ran away to college and then the DAA. To keep her out. I’m two years older. It may not seem like a lot now, but when we were teenagers? I couldn’t let her see what was going on in my head. It just got worse from there, so I couldn't…” He trailed off, seeming to reconsider what he was about to say. “...it’s like some twisted god dumped my soulmate in my lap and said that wanting her was a sin.”
Blythe’s heart ached, hearing the pain in his voice. “So, you try to be what she needs, rather than what you want to be to her.”
He let out a rasped chuckle. “Yeah. I know she could never hate me enough to throw me away completely. But my life has always been that way: either be useful or be abandoned. And I like being useful to her. She’s always going out of her way to help other people but ignores herself constantly. Taking care of her is as close to heaven as I’ll ever get. And she’s so damn cute when—” He stopped suddenly and cleared his throat, looking embarrassed.
“Lemme see her.” Blythe said, “Do you have pics?”
Caleb fished around in his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it and pulling up his photos. His hand was a bit clumsy from the alcohol when he handed it to her. Blythe cocked an eyebrow at him, shocked that he would just let her peruse through his albums.
“Uh… if I see gross pics on here—”
He flicked her forehead before she could finish. “As if, Calis. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Well, you are a dude, so I was just checking.” She turned her eyes to the phone to see photo after photo of a pretty young woman. It seemed like Caleb was trying to record every second of their time together. There were even hours of videos, and Blythe played a random one. It was of the young woman crouching off to the side of a boardwalk at a beach, her summer dress fluttering in the wind as she pet a stray cat. Blythe almost felt guilty watching the scene. It was as if she were in Caleb’s place, storing away a moment in time that seemed as if it would disappear without some sort of proof of its existence. Then there was how the young woman turned back to Caleb; how she smiled. It was as if one glimpse of Caleb had transformed the pretty young woman into a brilliant sky of stars: ephemeral and utterly breathtaking.
“Shit, dude.” Blythe murmured, “She feels like you’re her entire world.”
Caleb let out an uneven breath. “Yeah.”
“And you’re scared that she didn’t have a choice to feel that way.” Blythe paused, eyes still on the video as she mulled over the recording of Caleb and the young woman’s interaction. “Hell, worse than that, you’re scared of what could happen if she lost that world.”
“Yeah and… yeah.”
“And you’re scared because maybe she could keep that entire world and also have one of her own.”
“Damn, Calis.” Caleb let out a defeated chuckle and rubbed his eyes with his free hand.. “A few revelations are cool. Exposing the depths of my soul while I’m three sheets to the wind is kinda cruel.”
“Sorry.” Blythe handed his phone back, and Caleb shrugged before tucking it back in his jacket pocket.
“I was just teasin’ you.” He said, then averted his gaze again. “...I want her to have everything. So, it feels like, if she chooses me, I’ll trap her in this small, tiny world that’s just the two of us.”
“And what if that’s what she wants? Tiny can mean cozy and safe to some people.”
He went silent for a moment to consider her question. “Then… I might never know if it’s actually love or what people call a ‘trauma bond.’ Something pretty horrific happened to us before we were adopted. I can’t go into detail, but what you describe with your mother, being molded and forced to become something. I know what that’s like.”
Blythe gave him an empathetic look, her tone sincere and even a bit pained. “You didn’t deserve any of that, Xia. Neither did the girl you love. And it doesn’t have to shape you forever. The two of you aren’t stuck as children. And I know it sounds fucking hard, but you as a person needs to prioritize yourself. That world you imagine creating with her is only small because you feel small. So, I hope you’ll think about what it’d be like to get to a point where you’re an entire universe.”
Caleb didn’t respond for a long time, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence as their breaths fogged the air. But he eventually looked back at her with an appreciative expression.
“Finally outdid me, Calis. Top marks.”
“You’re a decade too young to be givin’ me marks, Xia.” She scoffed and smacked the back of his head. The two of them chuckled for a moment before Blythe assessed her level of intoxication. “My spins are gone. What about you?”
“I’m feelin’ a lot better.” He released her hand before gently punching her shoulder. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” She stood and stretched her arms over her head. Caleb followed, and the two of them exited the alleyway to find the rest of the group chatting outside the restaurant. Gideon was the first to notice. Blythe couldn't help but frown a bit at his expression. The young man seemed almost dejected before his familiar smile returned as he approached her and Caleb.
“You’ve got some tolerance, Xia.” He said, clapping the other young man on the shoulder. “I half expected to have to go rescue you like some damsel in distress.”
“Calis chanted a magic spell and made it all better.” Caleb joked back, “You should ask her to show you some of her tricks. Maybe her crystal ball will tell you whether your crush likes you back.”
Blythe’s amusement turned to shock when Gideon visibly flushed.
Oh… She realized, heart twisting in her chest. He likes someone. That… hurts. But it’s not like I had a chance anyway.
Gideon lowered his voice as he nearly growled at Caleb. “Dude. Not cool.”
Caleb just gave the other young man a mischievous smile. “If you snooze you lose, Gid. Special gals like the one you’re head over heels for get snapped up quick. I could spill the beans for you if you’re too chicken. It’s so easy, just say ‘I like—”
He wasn’t able to finish before Gideon was trying to put him in a headlock. The group laughed and placed bets as the two young men playfully scuffled. Despite her feelings towards Gideon, Blythe immediately placed her bet on Caleb. He always seemed to come out on top. It was the only reason that, despite her concerns for his overall wellbeing, she thought he’d eventually live a happy, normal life.
***
Blythe stared dumbly at the tombstone nestled neatly amongst others of the same style, the name and dates inscribed on it seeming like echoes of a nightmare. Sound of mournful breaths, quiet sobs, and the shuffling of DAA-regulation officer’s boots filled the air around her.
Caleb Xia was gone.
He had cheated death in deepspace; had inspired not only their class but those both older and younger than him. But now he was six feet under; a corpse covered in gruesome burns, in everyone’s mind, because that’s all they knew about his death. It hadn’t come in the cold of space, but in a blaze of fire. And that fact only seemed to worsen the agonizing ache in Blythe’s chest. The young man who loved to fly would never do so again. He’d had his wings burned away before he’d reached the highest skies. And he’d left behind more than just friends who had remained by his grave long past the funerary service.
A young woman with long, dark hair stood closest to his headstone, eyes glassy as she stared at the flowers piled around it. Blythe hesitated before approaching. To anyone else, the young woman would seem solemn but collected. But to Blythe, it was clear that the girl Caleb had so loved was falling apart from the inside out. Despite being amongst so many others, the young woman looked so alone, as if she were a dancer without a partner. A planet without its rings. A lone melody where there had once been a perfect duet.
Blythe cleared her throat as she came to stand beside the girl. “Hi…”
“Hello.” The girl gave her sterile smile; polite yet distanced. “Were you one of Caleb’s friends?”
“Yeah.” Blythe hesitated, nervous about what to say. “He… he talked about you. Constantly. I hope you know that he…”
She trailed off, seeing the flash of agony in the young woman’s eyes. No, not agony, a galaxy collapsing until there was nothing left but black holes that merged to form an expanse of pitch black. The young woman didn’t so much bury her grief as she created a cosmic void to hide it within.
Blythe swallowed down the things she had wanted to say. None of it would help. Because what were human words, human sympathy, when something akin to an eternal bond had been shattered so completely. So, instead, she turned her eyes to the gravestone which would immortalize a young man whose wings had been stolen before his time.
She loved you too, Caleb Xia. Blythe thought, a single tear running down her cheek. She loved you more than you could have ever realized.
A year later, Blythe was striding down a long corridor lined with lockers. The DAA offices were empty due to the late hour, so her footsteps echoed in a familiar rhythm. Just as familiar was a locker covered in notes that she stopped by every time she had to walk down that particular hallway. As was now tradition, she rapped her knuckles against the metal surface of Caleb’s locker, eyes trailing over the notes that his peers and friends had left. Some were old and faded, others newer, but all spoke of how one loss could echo through a wider community. Blythe’s own note, taped neatly in a corner, read:
Next time you fly, Caleb Xia, I hope it’s with her by your side. I hope your next life finds the two of you free to soar as high as you could ever want. And may the universe the two of you create be one of endless summers.
She let out a long breath before remembering to pull her phone out of her pocket and text Gideon to confirm that they were still on to get drinks together, as had become their weekly routine ever since Caleb had died. But the news flash on her screen immediately had her heart racing.
“News Update: More information on today’s unexpected protocore energy fluctuation that disrupted the 6PM Coelum Express to Skyhaven.”
She couldn't help but feel anxious. Gideon had gone to Linkon City that morning, to visit Caleb’s grave, and could very well have been on that train back to Skyhaven. Blythe immediately called Gideon’s number as she strode down the corridor. The dim lighting stretched her shadow until it seemed warped and twisted. That was until she turned a corner and came to a large window overlooking Skyhaven. The last sliver of the sun was setting, causing her to squint out across a cityscape painted in purples, golds, and reds. But her reverie was short lived as the sound of racing footsteps and a voice had her turning around.
“Blythe!” Gideon looked out of breath as he ran over to her, his eyes wide. She could only blink in surprise as he took a moment to catch his breath.
“There you are.” She said, relief crashing into her chest as she ended the call and pocketed her phone. “Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He let out a breathless laugh, mirth and shock clear in his tone. “Damn intuition, Calis. Never surprises.” After another moment to catch his breath, he let out a long exhale and fixed her with a serious expression. “I’m going to tell you something, and I need you to know that it’s the honest truth.”
“Okay…”
“Caleb’s alive.”
Blythe felt as if something short circuited in her brain, then immediately glared at Gideon. Over the past year, they’d become extremely close, perhaps even best friends, so him making a joke like this was beyond cruel. But rather than laugh, he gently took her shoulders, leaning in until they were eye to eye.
“He’s alive, Blythe. His situation is… complicated. But he’s alive. I’ll jump off the roof if that’s what it takes for you to believe me.”
Her rage fizzled out like a candle flame dropped into a lake. Not only was Gideon serious, he looked like he was about to cry. And suddenly she felt like doing the same. Her vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes.
“W-Why-How—”
“Dunno.” Gideon murmured, his expression a mix of affection, sadness, and empathy. “But that damn bastard even told me to clear out his locker and said ‘It’s better if my name isn’t around to ruin the mood’. It was him, no doubt about it.”
Blythe’s heart began to race as the implications of Caleb being alive hit her. “We need to tell—”
“She already knows.” Gideon managed a breathless laugh. “She was with him at the damn cemetery.”
Letting out a shaky breath of relief, Blythe managed a teary smile. “Well, if this is some kind of hallucination, it’s a nice one.”
“Yeah…” Gideon hesitated, averting his eyes for a moment before meeting hers again. “And he gave me some advice after we almost got blown to smithereens on that train.”
Her eyes went wide. “So, you were—”
He interrupted her gently. “Just hear me out, okay?”
“...Okay.” She hesitated for a moment, wondering what could be more important than him almost dying. “What advice did he give you?”
“To finally tell you that I’m in love with you.”
She hiccupped. Or more like her body hiccupped as her brain went blank. It took Blythe a minute to reset, and by then, Gideon looked panicked as he waited for her reply.
“Wait…” She exhaled slowly to try and slow her erratic heartbeat. “You're in love with me? Gloomy, stick-up-the-butt me?”
He frowned at her, clearly upset at how she was referring to herself. “You’re not either of those things. You’re methodical and committed to keeping people safe. And you’re stunningly beautiful. And—”
In her embarrassed panic, she covered his mouth with her palm, then quickly yanked her hand back when she realized what she'd done. Both of them flushed a deep red as the moment sunk in. Blythe took a moment to close her eyes and slowly exhale.
“Damn that Caleb Xia.”
“Tell me about it.” Gideon said, tone quiet and a bit uncertain. “But his advice was solid. And there’s no pressure, Calis. I’ll be your friend no matter what. I don’t need you to love me back, I just want you to know that you’re impossibly perfect in my eyes and I’d give you the world if you ever asked for it.”
She opened her eyes to find him looking more nervous then she’d ever seen him, even after dozens of harrowing flight tests. It was criminally adorable. So much so that she even managed an affectionate smile as she confessed her own feelings.
“Been in love with you since first year, Gid. And I don’t need the world. Just you and an open sky where we can fly together.”
There was a buzz and both her and Gideon looked down to where his phone was vibrating in his pocket. He went to silence it but both of them froze at the name on the screen.
Caleb Xia.
“Answer it.” Blythe said, “I want to rip him a new one at the same time I thank him.”
“By all means.” Gideon chuckled, answering the call and pulling it on speaker. Blythe took the initiative.
“Yo, Xia. I beat your record three times over. Whatever business you’re dealing with, take care of it quick and get your ass over here so I can show you up in real time. Okay?”
The sound of Caleb’s soft laugh came over the phone. “Only three times? Sounds like you’ve been slacking off, Calis.”
“Dead men should bite their tongues.” She snapped playfully. “Do you know how much money Gideon and I spent on flowers for your grave, you arse? You owe us bigtime.”
“How about I pay you back by showin’ up at your and Gideon’s wedding when you two tie the knot?”
She hiccupped again, causing Caleb to laugh even harder. Gideon was the one to respond, his face a deep red.
“Cut it, Xia. And what if I hadn’t confessed yet? You’d have mucked everything up.”
“Nah, Gid. I know you too well. You ran straight to her and wasted zero time confessin’.”
Gideon groaned, defeated before he could even fight back. “Dammit…”
Overwhelmed at the familiar banter, Blythe couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes, her past grief and current joy mixing. “Hey, Caleb, that girl you call pipsqueak…”
“I know.” He said softly, “I’m working on building that universe for her. It might take me a hundred years, but we’ll be okay.”
“You better.” She wiped her eyes as more tears threatened to fall. “You two better live forever, you hear. Or at least long enough to put flowers on my grave for twice as long as I did yours. And…” She glanced up at Gideon, stomach flipping at his besotted expression. “...thanks. I mean it.”
“Anytime.” Caleb said, tone growing somber. “But Calis, I have a favor to ask. I need you and Gideon to keep pretending I’m dead. It’s… complicated.”
Blythe felt her heart twist. It would be agonizing to watch her peers mourn when she knew the truth. But Caleb’s tone belied the importance of his request. So, she tried to lighten the mood in the only way she could.
She glanced up at Gideon with a wide smile, winking at him at the same time as she spoke to Caleb. “Under one condition, Xia. When you’ve sorted through whatever business is keeping you ‘dead,’ come back to fly with us.”
“You…” Caleb hesitated for a moment. “You guys would want that? Even after all that’s happened?”
Blythe and Gideon replied at the same time. “Yes.”
Caleb chuckled softly, seeming almost taken aback. “Then it’s a promise.”
“And a challenge.” Blythe said, closing her eyes to imagine wings over an open sky. “Don’t give up, Caleb. Because we won’t give up on you. Got it?”
There was a moment of silence before he replied. “Got it. Xia over and out.”
As the call ended, a flock of birds in a V formation passed by the large window, and both Blythe and Gideon turned to watch them fly off into the distance. Blythe’s eyes settled on the leader, the one that set the course while also taking the brunt of the wind force to ensure that those behind it conserved energy. The creature seemed tired, its wings heavy in the air, so her lips arched into a smile when another bird moved forward to take its place.
Weak, strong, old, young, even lost and found again; a flock took care of its members no matter what.