Surface R: Reunion

Aftermath

TREY EVERHART, YEAR 62

It's only been a few days since the incident but every moment is warm and happy from then on, even though we've been traveling almost non-stop.

I'm happy to finally have my sister back in my life. Sure, Nina spends most of her time with Kytes, and while I pretend I'm oppose that, I'm still glad it's the blond and not anyone else. Still, not that they are official yet but if they were, they better take it slow. I don't want to be an Uncle or brother-in-law to Thomas and Kytes until I'm at least thirty.

Thomas is still the same cynic and sarcastic dude, but according to my sister, it wasn't as bad as it was when they were underground. I'm still trying to figure out if that was due to him being reunited to his brother, getting fresh air from the surface, or Lindsay's presence. I decided to go with all of the above to make it simple, since him still not deciding if he liked her since he's remembering his sort of puppy love for Jenny makes it complicated.

And Sean and Cody... Where should I even begin? Sean, a former emotionless, cold, and bitter brat is the older brother of our very own bright, cheerful and friendly Cody. Should I still be surprised by anything life brings? I wonder if there's a word that can go beyond cheerful, because that's what Cody is. And when it had been such a rare occurrence when Sean smiled before, now it's all he ever does when he's with our, as Thomas would put, little bluebird.

And I guess it was happy for other reasons, too.

Corrin's fingers tighten around mine. His hands are really soft. They haven't change as much as mine has, rough and calloused due to all the activities I did over the years and not to mention my power usage, but he said he always had and he always will love how they feel.

I guess I should explain how we ended up like this, too.

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

I was stoking the fire the manual way, poking a stick to the wood and flames, add more lumber where needed since Rhys have yet to give us new batteries.

"Trey?" Corrin came up to me.

I jolted, turning towards him. "Oh Core, hey." I greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, well, I guess it is, anyway..."

I frowned, he sounded unsure. I left the fire and stood in front of him. "Core?"

"I guess, I just wanted to apologize?" Corrin rubbed the back of his head. "about that time when I opposed you, because of Cody and everything."

I sighed in relief. Was that all?

"Core, no apology necessary. You guys are allowed to oppose me and call me out for anything wrong I've done." I assured him. "I may have been upset at the time," like duh, why wouldn't I, just the thought of Cody leaving us was frustrating enough. But the thought of Corrin leaving... Losing him forever... I shuddered. "but I don't hold it against you." I said. "not the first time you've opposed me, either. Remember whenever I got injured and had to stay put, like a few days ago? If anything, I should apologize for not trying hard enough to get Cody to stay."

"Yeah, well, it was beyond your control so it's not your fault either...." Corrin manages a smile. "Opposing you though was all me... And we never really opposed you in front of the entire group, and during a huddle, too. I mean, it wouldn't look good for your leadership..."