In a part of town she never frequented, later than she usually ventured out, Mia's home city became foreign to her. Dark, featureless buildings replaced the pastel ones she knew, as if to not get in the way of the floating signs advertising bars, clubs, and other places she never considered going to. Maybe she wasn't allowed to begin with. It wouldn't surprise her if they had door light systems to keep out undesirables.

Roxie's pace threatened to leave her in the dust. Mia wanted to ask if she came here often, but aside from sounding like a cheesy pick-up line, it risked bringing them closer. So Mia didn't speak.

Roxie was more than capable of carrying the conversation, anyway. "What say you?"

"Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch what you just said."

"I was just saying how proud I am that Russell chose the path of the practical effect artist than that of a substance mixer." For a moment, it looked like she meant to reach back for Mia's hand, but she drew back. Mia wished she had, which was why it was better that she didn't.

"Oh. Me too."

"It's noble, and the risk of bottle cap-related accidents is much lower."

"Yeah." Mia wished he'd just listened to her. At least he learned his lesson before poisoning everyone. He and the other boys reported that he limited his experimentation to cooking these days, finding new ways to stretch pasta while allowing for versatile meals. Mia never cared much about variety, but knowing that Russell managed to save money made her proud. Some of her teaching sank in, and he made the others happy in the process. As much as she enjoyed Space Paisano's, she wished she had the chance to try one of his new dishes.

"Our destination lies before us." Roxie stopped with her at a crosswalk. She looked around, tilted her head back and forth, and opened her mouth to say something, but cut herself short. Then she turned to Mia with a smile. "I haven't been talking too much, have I?"

"What?" Mia reacted more than she probably should have. "Why would you–? No."

"Just checking~" Tucking her hands behind her back, Roxie stepped off the curb when the pedestrian light turned green.

The absence of her hand around Mia's became harder to ignore. A fuzzy coat wasn't enough to replace that warmth, though she tried to pull hers closer all the same. She kept her responses clipped on the way over, never engaging further with Roxie's conversations than she had to, so maybe she finally noticed. Maybe this was the first sign of her drifting away. Mia sure hoped not.

She followed Roxie's lead until they came to a building with an open sign in its window. Beyond it, people occupied tables and filled the row of stools lining the bar counter. Mia searched for her sister's face behind the bar, but she only saw a much older woman putting all of her energy into a cocktail shaker.

Roxie huddled up to the building, away from pedestrians. "This is as far as I go. Let me know when you need me to pick you up."

"W-Where are you going? I don't even know if my sister's here."

"Hmmm." Roxie arced her hands over her eyes to focus on the bar's interior. "I'll stay right here, and you can text me if she's there or not."

"You can come in if you want."

She grimaced a little. "Uhhh, I don't think she'd like that very much."

"Katie wouldn't?"

"It's not her fault. It's just, um." Roxie stared into her eyes. "Okay, you have to promise not to tell Captain Galhardo, but me and Jun found Ranger Hook. She's really sweet, I wish you got to meet her. Or maybe not, because I thought we'd leave before she showed back up again, but she showed up the same time Jun did, and then it was..." Her mouth quivered. "A-Anyway, Jun took her to the Moon Base."

"Oh..." Mia didn't know how to comfort her. She didn't fully understand what the problem was in the first place or how to bring up that Roxie still didn't answer her question. "Um, is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" It took a moment for Roxie's smile to come back. "Nothing's wrong, I think. I'm not really sure why we had to turn her in, or why we're keeping it secret from the captain, but Junzie always knows what to do. They're not cruel. So whatever they're up to should be fine. Probably."

"Hey." A voice from behind Roxie made both of them jump. "If you don't know what someone's doing, ask questions. A real friend'll let you in."

Mia followed the voice to a woman with much shorter hair than the girl she'd grown up with, one who wore muted colors and dark eyeshadow instead of the bright hues her sister once loved. A heart tattoo sat on one of her biceps. Had they passed each other on the street, Mia might not have noticed her, but seeing her dark hair, the mole on her forehead, and the way she strolled over—with the same nonchalance she always had—made her heart catch in her chest.

Katie's mouth dropped the closer she stepped to Mia. "Kenzie?"

"Katie?"

The next thing Mia knew was the crush of her sister's embrace. As if she needed more proof of her sister's identity, she smelled a floral perfume similar to the one that used to make their room hard to breathe in. She didn't realize how much she missed it, especially now that Katie learned not to overdo it.

Katie pulled away from the hug, still gripping Mia by the shoulders. "Whoops. Got a little," she sniffled, "carried away. Messed up your sunglasses a little."

"It's fine. I don't need them right now anyway." Mia put the sunglasses in her purse.

Her sister squinted. "Is that my old purse?"

"O-Oh, do you want it back?"

"Nah, it goes with your look much better. Cute outfit by the way!"

"Thanks, it was her idea." She lifted a limp hand toward Roxie.

"Oh! Huh. Well... Nice work."

Roxie bowed. "Thank you."

Mia stared at the ground, then looked back up at her sister long enough to be so overwhelmed that she had to look back down again. This cycle kept happening, and whenever she looked up, she found Katie trying to figure out how to rest her hands. Neither said a word all the while.

Katie broke the silence first. "Uh, I thought it was you guys, but I wasn't sure how to approach. I wasn't tryin' to creep on your conversation." She turned to Roxie. "I won't pretend like I didn't see you tagging along with the ragamuffins."

"Ah, I've been caught!" Roxie laughed nervously. "Since I'm here, I really do want to believe that Jun has Nova's best interests at heart, even if I'm not sure what—"

"I don't hate you guys." Katie lifted up a hand to stop her. "Not anymore, heh."

"Um, what exactly is going on with that?" Now seemed like a good time for Mia to ask.

"So I found out you guys have been stalking my coworker? Unbelievable!"

"She was your...? Oh."

"For the record," she pointed a finger towards Roxie, "the only reason I'm letting you and Jun off the hook is 'cause I think Nova's coming back with good news."

"Really?" Roxie squeaked with joy. She threw her arms up in the air. "Rejoice!"

"I think." reiterated Krow. "She told me they're on their way back here. I asked for deets, but she said she wants to tell me in person. Her text had a lotta exclamation points, which is a good sign. Did Jun tell you anything?"

Roxie looked through her phone. "Jun just told me they're in the dome. Both of them! And that 'everything worked out.'"

"As in 'Nova's gonna be alright?'"

"I don't know. But." Roxie lifted a finger. "I'll ask."

"Good. Listen, I know you trust Jun, but next time you find yourself in a situation where you don't know what she's up to and someone else's life is on the line, don't stop asking until you get a straight answer."

"Yeah..." Roxie lowered her head. "I learned that lesson too late. While I'm at it, I'll make sure to consider the consequences of our missions more deeply."

"Better late than never."

She bowed. "I will take my leave for now. Hopefully, I'll be back in time to offer Nova my sincerest apologies." She looked over to Mia. "You don't have any newfound food allergies or sensitivities, right?"

"What?" The question hit Mia like a dodgeball from thin air. "Not that I know of."

"Okay, great! Text me if I'm needed. I'll only be a few blocks away. Bye-byyye~" Before she could decide how to respond, Roxie disappeared among the barhoppers, the club-goers, and the holographic signs.

Katie, meanwhile, stuck her hands in her pockets, blowing out air while she looked anywhere but Mia. "Sooo, it's just us now."

"It is." Mia remembered why she was called here. "Uh. You said you had something to apologize for?"

Katie lowered her head. "Yeah. I do. Do you know what happened to your dad?"

"I just found out today. We were looking through cases of deserters from the IF and I saw his. Then I brought it up to Mom, and she told me you hung up on him."

She sucked air through her teeth. "Guess that saves me from having to explain that." Her eyes softened. "I didn't like the guy all that much, but looking back, it was all petty stuff and vibes. He'd promise to buy me stuff and then forget. He'd promise he and Mom would stay home and watch you guys so I could go out with friends, but then something would come up."

"I think I vaguely remember that."

"Was it annoying? Yeah. I still don't know if he was just forgetful or what, but he always tried to weasel his way back into my good graces—" Katie raised her hands, stopping herself. "My point is: None of that was bad enough to kick him out of the family. I'd gotten it in my dumb teenage brain that I did the work around the house and Mom made the money, so we didn't need him."

"Dad was a talent agent. It's not like he didn't work."

"I didn't think that was a real job! But money is money."

Mia knew that well.

"And even if I didn't like him, you did. Mom did. The boys don't remember him that well, but I'm sure he would've been a fine enough dad to them." Guilt colored Katie's face. "I'm sorry for taking that away from you guys."

Mia didn't know what to say, so she just nodded. She appreciated the apology, even if it left her more confused on how to view her father. He was gone either way, so she should probably stop thinking too hard about him. Still, that's easier said than done.

"Hey. You remember how much I used to complain about how unfair it was that I always had to take care of you guys?"

She nodded again.

"I still stand by it, for the record." Katie placed her hands on her hips. "But I'm sure you guys understand by now. Russell does for sure. He really gave me an earful when he was here. My heart went out to the kid, but I did have to hit him with an 'at least you didn't have to change dirty diapers.'"

"I'm so thankful I missed out on that." Mia sighed.

"Heh. What I'm really jealous of is how they have each other. Yeah, they only just figured out how to share chores, but aside from Russell, they were pretty light on responsibilities. And so was he until you left last year."

"Last year? I mean, I was training him last year, but I only left a few months ago."

"What?? From the way they all were talking, I thought you'd been gone longer than that!" Katie shook her head, then beckoned Mia to follow her to the next building down. She leaned on its wall. "Lean with me."

Mia did as told.

"How is she doing?"

It took her a few moments to register who she meant. "Mom? Today's been a little rough for her since I brought up Dad." She rubbed the fur along her sleeve. "She's usually okay, though. I think," she hesitated, "I think she misses you."

Katie looked away. "Do you guys get along?"

"We don't fight."

"Do you still get books together?"

"Not since..." Mia didn't want to blame her sister. "Someone has to watch the boys. I don't mind staying at home; she's the one who likes to go around town and stuff. It gives her things to tell me about when she gets home."

"Oh, so you tell each other about your day?"

"She tells me about hers."

"Does she ever ask about yours?"

Mia stayed quiet.

"Does she still ask for advice on how to flirt with men? Or how to solve fights between her friends? Does she still cry into your arms whenever thinking about Tom gets her down?"

Sometimes she cried about Katie leaving her or how awful it was when one of the boys had a medical emergency. Today, she even cried about Mia.

"She still pretend to have a maid so people wouldn't know we're broke?"

"She stopped after I left."

Katie pinched her brow. "Wow, she really hasn't changed a bit. How do you feel about things? About her, about," her mouth twitched, "me? C'mon, don't hold back. Let us have it!"

"Have what? Why would I be mad at you?"

"Why wouldn't you be? I took your dad out of the picture and walked out on everyone! I'm surprised you showed up. If I were in your shoes, I don't know if I'd ever forgive you."

"Katie, you were a teenager."

"And you were just a kid! I left you handling taxes at nine, dealing with Mom's problems at nine, covering up accidents so that she wouldn't wallow in her own self pity? At nine? Save for the last one, I didn't have to do any of that stuff until Tom got sent away, and I was like, what, fifteen?"

"Getting mad isn't productive." Mia shrugged. "I meant, not for me." she clarified upon a quirk of her sister's eyebrow. "It's nice to know that you're okay."

Weary eyes stared into her. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"Uh, thanks. Sorry, I'm still getting used to that. If it makes you feel any better about 'walking out on us,' I'm doing basically the same thing."

Katie's face scrunched up. "You're getting deployed and coming back. That is literally not the same thing. You're sending back money! You don't send back money when you walk out on family. What you're doing is more like getting sent to war against—I dunno, space or something."