The Suite Life X

33 - Awkward Heart-to-Hearts

Cody’s stoic mood didn’t improve in the slightest upon being beamed back in. If he was honest with himself, considering what was going through his mind at the moment (in particular, Wind Crowrang’s last words to him and how true they seemed in hindsight), he didn’t much feel like talking to anyone…

…but alas, he had an obligation to keep.

Pretty much ignoring everyone else in the Navigation Room (including his girlfriend, surprisingly enough), he pulled her into the Repair Bay.

She didn’t protest, as she knew they both needed to be there anyway, but his silence still concerned her.

“What did you want to talk about…?”

Under normal circumstances, that would've been London's cue to start rambling about whatever was on her mind, often to the chigarin of everyone around her.

Both of them knew this, which made the yawning silence that followed all the more uncomfortable.

Eventually, it became too much for the heiress to take. “Say something!”

The blonde’s voice took on an unusually sarcastic bite. “Isn't that your job? You're the one who wanted to talk…”

“Yeah, well…” She trailed off, so many thoughts whirling around in her head. She really didn't know where to start. “How…?”

“Huh?”

“How do I fix you?!” The girl all but screamed, as she practically, no, actually, jumped up and down, waving her arms around wildly. How do I make you better? I can't make Zack come back! I can't even make you see that you're strong! I…I keep hurting people and I can't stop…”

This outburst, if only for a moment, brought Cody out of his despondency. “You’re not hurting people! At least, not on purpose…”

She looked down silently at her feet for a second before whispering, “He saved me, you know.”

The dour mood was back for him, along with a healthy dose of guilt. “I know. He might’ve told me that, too, if I’d just stopped to listen to him, instead of just lecturing him like we were still back home…”

“Well, it's not like you can do anything about it, so will you two just quit whining?”

One look at each other confirmed that the voice didn’t come from either of them. It took them a second to place the voice.

“Axl…?”

Suddenly materializing seemingly out of thin air, the navy blue reploid had up a peace sign. Bailey was right beside him, looking none too pleased. Whether it was with her boyfriend, or the current situation, was unclear.

“‘Sup Princess! Knew you'd make a speedy recovery! Yup, never doubted it for a second…”

Cody didn't quite buy that last sentence, perhaps due to the decade and a half of practice that comes with living with a somewhat habitual liar (albeit one that he ultimately loved to death).

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” the farm girl answered, arms crossed. “I'm not chopped liver you know.”

Her tone and features softened significantly. It was clear to anyone that he was taking this hard. “You know you can talk to me, too, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Bailey, how do you fix people?”

Everyone looked at the oldest teen blankly. Leave it to her to take a sledgehammer to an emotional moment.