Love and Blood; Regulars Space AU

Chapter Seven

Biffle sat back slowly as the autopilot kicked in and took over the controls. Six hours until they reached Shofkal. He and Henwy could tolerate each other until then.

The two sat in awkward silence as they broke out into the void of space. The ship sputtered for a second, the gravity generators kicking in while the end crystal cores were activated, launching them forward.

"So," Henwy started, turning to glance at Biffle, who was picking at a scab on his wrist, "How'd you get that ship of yours. The Guardian, you called it?"

"Yeah," Biffle replied, folding his arms and looking up at the galaxy around them, "My parents lended it to me. Gave me a year to get a ship of my own. And put me charge of their dogs."

Henwy nodded slowly and turned back to the window.

"You?"

Henwy shifted his wings, "Took out a loan, bought the Margo, and have been paying it off ever since. After this, I'm going to buy myself an actual ship. One like this."

Henwy waved his hand gesturing around, "I have a friend who I'm going to start traveling with. He's about to graduate from the Star Force as a researcher."

"That's good for you."

Henwy observed Biffle for a moment. "What about you? What's your plans after this mission?"

Biffle shrugged, "Whatever it was before this mission."

The two fell into a silence for a long time. The stars were brighter out in space. Light pollution dulled their colors, but out here they sparkled in a vast array. Nearby planets became visible, way out in the inky black abyss. The hum of the Pyrrus comforted Biffle, reminding him of better times when seeing someone didn't make him tense.

"Hey, Biffle?"

"Yeah?"

There was a pause as Henwy shifted and curled his wings around himself. "What happened?"

Biffle felt his throat start to close as he choked out a quiet, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Henwy started, struggling for words, "What happened to us? Why did everything change? Why did we start arguing so much?"

Biffle curled in his antennae, "I think we got to know each other."

The two were quiet. Henwy wiped his face with his sleeve, "Were we just...never meant to be friends, then?"

Biffle wrapped his arms around himself and pulled his legs onto the chair. He couldn't find himself to respond. It felt like his throat had completely closed, preventing him from saying the words he wanted to say, so instead he just shrugged and turned away from Henwy, looking out at space as the ship continued it's humming.

The silence smothered both of them as they watched the front window. He was starting to think that his memory was wrong, that he was picturing everything as worse than it actually was. It wouldn't be the first time it has.

Biffle kicked his feet up in the dashboard and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his fragile wings.

Per usual, Nico and Sigils were fast asleep, while Biffle and Henwy were left to watch over the ship.

An orange light zigzagged over the controls and stopped beside Biffle, nipping at his feet. Small little shocks emitted from the fox hologram, making Biffle flinch away.

He shooed off the fox, "Stop it. Leave me alone."

Henwy snickered, "I think he wants you to get your feet off of the controls."