"I really like the green-teal thing going on with the uniform." Comet said, adjusting the sleeves on his coat. "The material's good too."
"Excellent!" Solano exclaimed. "It suits you well! Now that you are here, we can continue our holiday!"
"I forgot about that. Are you gonna–"
"Leave you here? Of course not! That would be incredibly rude! You will be coming with us!"
Comet pushed his hands into his pockets.
"I...I am?"
Solano laughed.
"Yes! Luno and I still have yet to see the comet! We want you to see it, too! Come along!"
Solano started walking, and Comet followed close behind.
"This place is crazy. Feels like it's got a different setup every time I try going somewhere."
"It does! The Station is ever-changing, just like us and the universe! I am sure you will find your way around soon enough!"
"How long has it even been here?"
"As long as we can remember! Which is a very long time indeed! Since before you or your parents or your parents' parents or your parents' parents' parents! And longer still!" Solano replied. "Since before humanity was even a thing!"
"Jeez."
"You say that a lot!"
"Yeah, I know. Picked it up from my sister."
The two of them walked out into the main station room and saw Luno preparing the Eclipse for their trip.
"This still feels like a dream." Comet remarked as he and Solano stood on the edge of the platform. "Can't believe this all happened in a weekend."
"Time flies when you're escaping Hell!" Solano chirped. "We have before! It was fun!"
"It was not." Luno remarked, not looking up from his work.
"Can't be a whole lot worse than standing in front of a firebox all day." Comet said. "I, uh, have a question, though."
"What is it?" Solano asked.
"What's gonna happen back on Earth? With my family?"
Luno finally looked up from his work.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I dunno. I still kinda care about them, you know? Even if they sucked."
The twins exchanged a glance. Luno set his tools aside and climbed up onto the platform.
"Nothing will happen to your family." he said. "But it will appear as if you passed away in your sleep. Peacefully." he answered. "I do not know how they will respond to such a thing."
"I...kinda want to know. I like to think they loved me deep down, y'know?"
Luno sighed.
"I understand it is not easy, darling, but it is best to let them be. Sometimes the search for answers leads one only to more heartache."
Comet sighed.
"Guess so. I'm not sure if I miss them or not." he said. "You guys only have each other as far as family goes, right?"
Luno frowned, more than he usually did.
"As far as we know." he replied. "But that is all right. We are all we need."
Solano threw his arm around Luno's shoulders, much to his chagrin.
"We are a better duo than trains and tracks! And now you're here too!"
Luno stepped forward and gently put his hands on Comet's shoulders.
"The both of us understand that it will take you a while to adjust to living here. Take as much time as you need. We've got as much as we could ever want."
"And make sure you tell us if you need anything!" Solano added. "Even if you just wanna go somewhere else for a while! Why do you think we're on holiday?"
Luno pulled the pocket watch from his pocket and checked its face.
"All right, my dears. We ought to get going."
Just as the twins turned to climb up into the cab, Comet spoke again.
"Thank you guys. Really." he said. "I-I really can't thank you enough."
"You do not need to." Luno replied, holding his hand out. "Mind the gap, would you?"
He pulled Comet up into the cab and soon enough, they were off.
The sounds of the train, with its pistons gliding up and down and the crackling of the firebox, were just about as sweet and soothing as music. Luno's coal shovel striking the edge of the firebox met Sunspot's joyful squeaking, and Solano's idle chatter with Luno was broken up by the sound of his occasional pull of the whistle cord.
Everything worked together harmoniously, and for once, Comet felt like he was part of the heartbeat of the system he now lived in. There wasn't anybody breathing down his neck or banging on his door telling him to get a job. All he had to do right now was sit on a train and ride off to who knows where.
Solano finally slowed the train down and Comet could see the vast expanse of space all around them. Luno wiped coal dust from his face with his sleeve and set the shovel aside.
"We've returned to your solar system." he said, standing up and pointing out the window. "There is the sun, and just beyond that is Earth."
"We really are in space, huh?" Comet breathed.
"Told you so!" Solano exclaimed. "Isn't it lovely? It goes on and on for ages! There is so much out there I want to show you, I don't even know where to start!"
Comet smiled.
"We've got all the time we could want, right?"
"Yes! You're already getting it!"
Luno held onto one of the handrails and leaned out of the cab.
"There we are. Comet, come here."
Comet joined Luno where he stood, silently grateful for the arm he put around him to keep him from falling out into space.
"Straight ahead. Do you see it?"
In the relative distance, Comet could see the bright blue plasma tail of the very entity he'd named himself after.
"That's..."
"Halley's comet. Unfortunately we cannot get too close. I'd rather not spend the rest of our holiday cleaning comet dust out of the flues."
Solano slowed the train further and joined them.
"Ha! There it is!" he exclaimed. "Just as nice as I expected! This was a wonderful idea!"
"It will be your turn to choose our next holiday, Solano. I am eager to see if you can beat this."
"I probably can! We will see!"
Comet sighed with contentment, resting his head back against Luno's chest.
This was home.
He didn't want it any other way.
