"Hey Vathion!" Mirith called as they got off the bus, "Quit ignoring me!" she demanded, catching up to him. Stopping, he looked towards her, then glanced behind her as the bus left them alone on the corner of the street. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong?" Vathion took a breath and summoned a smile for his best friend.

"Gantshit," Mirith put her fists on her hips. "After the play, you ran off. You've been avoiding me all week outside of school. Today, your improv' was terrible. You didn't say a word to me at lunch. Now, on the bus, you just sat there staring off into space like there's somewhere else you'd rather be. Don't tell me there's nothing wrong." Her large honey-colored eyes pinched at the corners as she leaned toward him. The way her backpack hung from the straps over her shoulders made her shirt pull tighter across her breasts. She had a slight floral scent enhancing her natural musk today.

"Sorry, got something on my mind." He decided to tell part of the truth. It had been a long day at school. Honestly, he didn't remember anything about the last week; he was just counting down the days. Tomorrow, he would be leaving Larena, flying to Ika station, then heading to the Serfocile-owned Baelton station where the Natan Fleet was currently parked, and finally meeting his father.

"Oh, come on! I'm your best friend! If you could tell anyone other than Jathas about something bothering you, I'd hope it would be me," Mirith dropped her head to the side, her hair falling across her shoulder. She'd bleached it blonde some time back but was letting her natural green return. She was right for the most part. However, he still had secrets from even her, such as who his father was and what he really did with his spare time. "Mom and Dad are planning another trip to the mountains. You're invited, of course."

I'm never going to come back here, he realized as he stared at her.

Stunned depression pressed in, dampening his excitement of getting to meet his father for the first time. Meeting Natan meant giving up everything he had grown up with, including Mirith. Only Jathas would be able to go with him. There would be no one his age on the fleet. Maybe he would see some of the spacers from the Café, but they were adults. It wasn't the same. Even if he did see people his age or his acquaintances from school, no one would ever treat him the same again.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Vath?"

Taking a breath, Vathion shook his head, then looked up at the sky to keep his cool and not get choked up, "Dean Farlis called me into his office today. Gave me my diploma." And thanked me for not being like my father. Makes me wonder what Dad did to the man.

"What?" Mirith demanded, stepping forward as her hands went to his shoulders, "But why?"

Vathion managed another smile. "I've got all the credits I need to graduate."

"Two years early! Why didn't you say something about this earlier? This is great news! We're going to graduate together now!"

He shrugged. Mirith was only a year older than he, seventeen, but she was brilliant in a school full of overachievers and geniuses. Of course, Natan would never have his only son in a school that did not give the best education available anywhere in the Gilon Empire.

"You should be jumping for joy! Not looking like... like someone kicked your pet!" She bounced on her toes.

Drawing himself up, Vathion snorted. "I don't have a pet," he said haughtily. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

Mirith shoved her hands into her hair. "You! Don't make me tickle you! I'll find out what's wrong! Sooner or later, you know that, don't you?" Mirith shook a finger at him. "Possibly over cookies?"

"Cookies?" Vathion mewed. Mirith's cookies were even better than Vathion's mother's, and they were difficult to resist.

:Would it really be that bad if you did tell her?: Jathas suggested, having been silent for most of the day.

Vathion shifted his book bag on his shoulder, hoisting it up higher. He'd cleaned out his locker, so the bag was uncommonly heavy.

"If you tell me what's wrong?" Mirith begged, eyes widening even further as she leaned in towards him. He suspected that she'd noticed his occasional glances towards her breasts and was now trying to use her limited leverage to get him to agree.

Finally, he shuffled a foot and looked aside, "All right."

With a sly grin breaking across her features, Mirith looped her arm around his and latched on, heading him toward her house. "So, did you see the latest episode of the Fleet Show?" she asked conversationally.

Vathion rolled his eyes. "Filler."

"Yeah. Still funny, though!" Turning her head, she peered up at him and continued, "What with his saying he named one of his ships after a squished pet fish?"

Pulling a face, Vathion declined to comment. He had plenty to say about that episode, but since Mirith did not know and possibly would not believe him without proof of some sort, there was no point. Especially considering that the only form of proof she would accept was his calling up Ha'Natan personally and introducing them.

"I get the rest of the names. We all figured out that they were his zodiac. But it's really weird that he named three ships after people," Mirith continued. She cast Vathion a sly look. "You think they're named after family, like the news was saying?" She nudged his side with her elbow. "That was a real crackpot theory about him dodging biology and having sons."

"It's possible," Vathion admitted. "If he left early enough."

Mirith pulled a face. "I'd feel real bad for his sons then. The theory is gaining some real ground, though. People are going to start looking around for..." She stopped talking, closing her mouth with tight lips as her gaze twisted toward him.

"I know," Vathion said. "It won't be a problem."

"Well, anyway. What was with that girl?" Mirith continued.

"Oh, the Six, Gold, Doughnuts, and Alcohol?" Vathion said, using the woman's zodiac since he did not remember the character's name. She was a one-shot, probably looking for her start in show business, and playing a partying, egotistical bimbo on the Natan Fleet Show was as good a start as any.

Mirith snorted. "Reminded me a lot of Lisha. What with her whole 'KISS me, Ha'Natan!'" Mirith spun away abruptly to face him, and he stopped, watching as she flung her arms up into the air gleefully.

Finally chuckling, Vathion shook his head. Mirith overbalanced on her toes, swayed forward, and landed against his chest. Lifting his hands, he caught her.

"You did really great in the play, you know?"

Startled by her tone and the nearness, her body pressed against him as she stepped closer; Vathion stared into her eyes. "Promise me," he said, the words slipping free before he could stop them.

She stared up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Promise you'll always be my friend, above everything else?"

Sobering, Mirith's lips curved into a gentle smile. "Of course."

On impulse, Vathion leaned down, pressing his lips to hers in an awkward and unpracticed kiss. Mirith melted against him in a way that made his heart beat faster.

:Maybe it'll be all right to give in just a little bit?: he reasoned to Jathas, then realized that his Bond was cheering in the back of his mind and trying to be quiet about it.

A passing car honked at them, and Vathion, flushing to the roots of his violet hair, pulled back to stare wide-eyed at the vehicle as it continued down the road. Mirith remained where she was, grinning like she had just got first prize. Staring down at her in confusion, Vathion wondered if it was possible to be any more embarrassed. She stood on her toes to whisper into his triangle-shaped ear, "Wanna do it?" She caught his wrist and dragged him toward her house without waiting for his answer. He helplessly stumbled after her.

:But I can't! Not yet! Have to meet Dad first! Then Mom will be fine, and everything will be fine!:

:Calm down,: Jathas ordered, :She won't make you do anything you don't want to.:

Reaching Mirith's house, she pulled him down the white-pebble path to her front door. Her house was like most others in the neighborhood; the short fence surrounding the front garden was painted sunshine yellow, and the flowers within the garden were arranged in a pattern and planted so that they would bloom at certain times to make different patterns. Mirith's mother was good at selecting flowers like that.

After opening her door, Mirith pulled him inside and shut the door behind her. "Mom and Dad won't be home for another hour," she offered.

"Miri," Vathion swallowed, leaning back against the door, something in his bag poking him uncomfortably in his back, "My mom." His voice cracked.

As if he'd thrown ice water on her, Mirith's eyes widened, then dulled, and her shoulders sank. "Vath... I'm sorry... you've tried really hard, I know you have, but... Nature is just cruel sometimes. You can't stay a kid forever."

"I know, but..." Staring at her face, Vathion took a breath and cleared his throat, "I won't be able to go on the trip with you. Mom and I are going to go somewhere. We're leaving tomorrow. And... After that... everything will be okay with Mom. I'll be able to do what I want then."

Straightening, Mirith stared at him for a long moment. "Where?" she asked.

"Baelton," Vathion admitted finally. He really did not want to lie to her. "I... probably won't be able to see you for a while, though."

She turned away, dropping her backpack on the floor under the coat rack to the left. Her house was built according to similar plans to Vathion's, with the living room to the right and a hall straight off the front door. "Do you still want cookies?" Mirith asked, looking towards him and managing a smile.

"Yeah," Vathion answered. I hate these secrets.

:Then why not tell her?: Jathas asked.

Vathion ignored him.

Setting his bag down, Vathion followed her into the kitchen.

"You got your grades from the finals back today, didn't you?" Mirith asked as he took a seat at her dining table while she got the cookies out and brought him a glass of milk.

"Yeah," Vathion sighed, "I got marked down in language. Gonna catch smoke for that one."

Mirith snorted, "What? Someone going to spank you?" she teased.

Looking towards her, Vathion snorted. "As if!" Her reply was to grin mischievously; apparently, she was over his rejection.

She quirked a brow at that but thankfully didn't ask.

"Aola's just a stickler for pronunciation!"

Mirith sat down beside him and picked up a cookie, shoving it into Vathion's mouth as he opened it to continue griping. Mirith continued speaking, "Sheh is a Linguist. Of course, sheh is snippety about proper grammar and punctuation. We're very lucky to have sheh teaching at our school. Even if no one knows where the hell to find Humans. What exactly did you call her, anyway?"

Vathion swallowed the mouthful of cookie. "An honorable scallop. I meant to say scholar!" He lifted a hand to catch the crumbs he accidentally sputtered on the table, trying not to waste.

Mirith cackled. "No wonder!"

"Come on! Those words are really close in Terran!" Vathion defended after swallowing, then picked up his drink to wash it down. Mirith just continued to laugh at him. "Not like I'm planning on being any sort of translator or anything. Certainly can't be a Linguist like her. I'll tell him it's because of the play." Instead of studying, Vathion had been working on his father's birthday present; a hack code for standard AI's. There was also the hack he had done on the video game his father had given him to replace the Graviball graphics with characters he didn't like. Honestly, though, Vathion figured Natan could really use the AI hack to reap information from Rebels directly.

Lifting a brow, Mirith blinked, "Her? Oh, I guess sheh would have told you sheh's gender. You're Aola's pet, after all."

"What do you mean by that?" Vathion demanded, turning to look at Mirith. Her warm scent struck him as she leaned in close to answer.

"Only that you've been taught by sheh since fourth grade, and sheh's always making you translate stuff for the rest of the class, and sheh interrogated you the longest during the exams."

"Oh, so you mean that I'm her pet because she torments me the most?" Vathion leaned toward her in return.

Drawing back suddenly, Mirith turned away to take a bit of her own cookie, leaving Vathion to lurch forward in surprise. :Oh, now she's getting back at me by teasing,: Vathion observed to Jathas.

His Hyphokos suddenly disengaged, climbing to the table. "Hello, Jath," Mirith greeted the lizard-like creature. "Decided to join the conversation?"

"Abandoning him," Jathas said cheerfully as he pointed a stubby finger at Vathion, his long ears up like exclamation points, "And getting cookies of my own. They're too good to enjoy vicariously!"

"Why, thank you!" Mirith said.