A Corner of the Preserve, Tuesday Evening, and then Later that Evening in Room 402

[oncourtandstage]

Troy was out for an evening run, pushing himself further and further, making his way through the preserve on longer and longer winding paths, sometimes making paths of his own

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[redintraining]

Sky glanced up at Troy, blinking and shaking his head. Aware of his presence, but somehow not really caring. He'd been sitting there cross-legged for quite a while, thinking about Dru, and more importantly, how he felt about Dru... the silly, stupid notion at the back of his head... no. It wasn't true.

"... Didn't mean to startle you," Sky finally spoke up. "Sorry."

[oncourtandstage]

"No, it's okay," Troy said, dusting himself off. "I'm fine." He took a good look at Sky. "... Are you okay? You look... what happened?"

[redintraining]

"I'm... I don't know how I am." Sky slowly uncrossed his legs and stretched them before getting up, as they were cramped from sitting there so long. He suddenly realized how cold he was. "I just... needed... to get away. From my room. For a while."

[oncourtandstage]

"Yeah, I can understand that," Troy said, moving in closer, moving in to place his arm across Sky's shoulders. "I've had to do that a few times, too. Just... sometimes it gets to be too much."

What, exactly, was getting too much? Troy figured he'd leave that open for Sky, if he wanted to say.

[redintraining]

Sky found he didn't want to refuse the touch... that it was almost comforting. He remembered what Cruger had said about not being alone and did not want to refuse any companionship now. He nodded, willing himself to not let any more tears fall.

"Yeah. Yeah, it does get like that." He took a deep breath. "You asked what happened. My best friend Dru... he got sent off on a mission shortly after I arrived here. He went missing last week, and today..." He stopped. He couldn't say it. He hadn't yet said aloud that Dru was dead. Because saying it aloud would mean letting go of that one last, tiny bit of hope that he'd be found alive and well. Cruger would not have told Sky there was little chance if there really was not.

[oncourtandstage]

Troy started to lead Sky back towards the dorms. "He's..." He pulled Sky into a hug. "Is he..." He found he couldn't say it, that he wanted to be wrong. "Are they sure...?"

[redintraining]

Sky accepted the hug and allowed himself to be led along. The touch was comforting, reassuring, somehow exactly what he needed right now, and he understood why he'd been told to not be alone. These gestures cut through the numbness. The fog around his brain. The loneliness. He felt like he could think a little more clearly now.

"Not 100%. He's officially Missing in Action. But my Commander told me they're... not optimistic."

[oncourtandstage]

"Oh, Sky, that sucks." Troy felt really awkward, not having anything else to say, but all of a sudden all his problems felt... really insignificant. "D'you want to tell me about him? What he's like?"

[redintraining]

Sky pursed his lips and took a deep breath.

"I... I don't know if I can," he admitted. "Not right now. I just... I'm trying to think about it and get over it and be strong, like I know I should be, and it's so hard. I shouldn't be alone, though. Commander Cruger told me that, but until you came along, I didn't realize how much he was right."

What he didn't want to tell Troy was that Sky was starting to realize- and it made his stomach twist- that as much as he loathed it when others joked about Dru being his husband, and as much as he denied it... ...no. That was stupid. That was just his sleep-deprived, depressed, muddled brain, making him think stupid thoughts in his grief. Dru was his best friend. Sky didn't feel that way about him.

[oncourtandstage]

"You can't just get over something like this," Troy said, softly. "Nor should you... I mean, if he was your best friend, you loved him, right?" He pulled Sky maybe a little closer, even though it made it a little bit more awkward for him to walk. He figured Sky probably needed the contact, the comfort, more than anything else. "And... sometimes it helps to remember."

[redintraining]

Sky found he was... rather enjoying this intimacy. He looked up, realizing they were already within sight of the dorms now.

"I guess so," he grudgingly admitted. "...I did love him. Not in that way. No. But we were best friends. We were... we're as close as brothers. Closer. He's the only person at the Academy who could top me in anything."

[oncourtandstage]

Troy... was really hard-pressed not to snigger slightly at that, but he did manage. "You were a star student at your Academy, huh?" he asked, smiling softly. "I can't say that surprises me. You do see... intensely focused."

[redintraining]

Sky snorted a little.

"Yeah. It was one of the reasons I was sent here, because they called me an overachiever. I wasn't as good as Dru, but... I am pretty good. I'm very committed to what I do." A pause, a longing sigh. Thinking about Dru in the present tense almost helped. Almost. Because thinking about him in the past would mean acknowledging that he was gone, just like speaking the words aloud would.

[oncourtandstage]

"I bet you're good at everything you try," Troy said, chuckling softly. As they approached the entrance to the dorms, he asked, "D'you want to come up to my room? Get something to drink?"

[redintraining]

Sky nodded.

"...That sounds good. Thanks. Preferably something hot." He shivered. "I... kinda ran off without my coat after Commander Cruger called me."

[oncourtandstage]

"I've got some peppermint tea," Troy offered. "I keep it 'cause it's good for your throat when you sing a lot. Or I could run to the common room and grab some hot chocolate?"