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Jet had known for a long time that he could not “love”. At least not in the most traditional sense of the word. He would never be in the same dizzying romance that seemed to occupy the time of most of his peers, never feel the same way that they felt about another person. For the most part, this did not bother him. What did bother him was the fear that the people he cared about most (for though his heart did not work in the same way as others, there were people he cared about) would leave him once they managed to do just what he could not.
Fall in love.
It didn’t matter for a while. As the Unnatural Disaster, there were very few people he got close enough to to even consider acquaintances, even fewer that he could consider “friends.” There was no one to leave him, thus there was no worry about being left.
It was not until he met Buddy Aurinko that this fear cemented itself in place. A woman that he considered his closest friend – he would even go so far as to call her “family”, yet she could be gone in an instant, the moment she found that special someone. It was a fear that he was ashamed to admit kept him up at night. It seemed for a while as though this fear was totally unfounded. It was not as though Buddy was like him in the same way, but she was averse to romance, still pining for a long-lost lover from a time gone by.
Of course, things changed when that long-lost lover came back into the picture. One Vespa Ilkay, notorious doctor and assassin (one had to admire a person who could pull off both). He had immense respect for Vespa, sure, and he eventually would consider himself one of her friends. And of course, Jet was over the moon (take your pick as to which one) that Buddy had found the love of her life again, but the fear came back to haunt him, and it returned twice as strong, for now it seemed as though it were coming true.
Jet was no fool. He had seen enough streams and read enough books to know what came next. He knew that many people saw friendship as the second fiddle to romance, as nothing more than a consolation prize. Now that Buddy and Vespa had been reunited it would only be a matter of time before Jet was left in the dust. He knew how things like this went.
So it surprised him beyond measure when Buddy and Vespa did the unexpected: They stayed. They built their own life in the Cerberus Province, at least for a while, until Buddy decided that it was time for her and Vespa to move onto bigger and better things.
And yet, she still wanted Jet along with her. Buddy had this elaborate idea in mind, the type she was so inclined to come by, of a criminal family and the thievery of a living legend: the Curemother Prime. And best of all, she wanted Jet to be part of this family.
“You and I are already family, darling,” she had said when she explained this plan. “Vespa and I simply wish to expand the arrangement”
“Speak for yourself,” Vespa replied.
“I always do.”
Jet could not say he was initially all too enthralled with the idea of “expanding” their little family. Things had been working as they were supposed to, and besides, adjusting to one new person was hard enough, what was he to do with three more? Especially that surly detective, and not to mention the nameless thief – and the hacker? With her endless energy and apparent lack of self control? Forget it, Buddy’s new family idea would never work.
But of course, Jet’s life was always full of surprises. While the Aurinko crime family was unsteady on its feet for the first few weeks (there seemed to have been something between Juno and Ransom. Yet another reason why Jet sometimes thanked the stars above that he could not love in that way), it eventually evened out and Jet found himself starting to care equally for every member of the family – even Rita had grown on him, almost instantaneously if he is being honest. It was one of the first times that the fear had fully left his body, at least for the first time since he had met Buddy.
_______
One evening, Jet and Rita had settled down to watch a couple of streams in the main room of the Carte Blanche. The rest of the family was off doing whatever couples do, so it was just Rita and Jet on their own for the night. The stream in question had been Rita’s choice, some cheesy romantic thing about two women from opposite sides of a war who fall in love. It was a plot that had been done to death, but the stream itself was entertaining enough, so Jet watched.
Near the end of the stream, when the two romantic leads were preparing to set off into space, the protagonist had one last heartfelt meeting with her closest friend. She was going to be leaving them behind, after all. It was during this scene that Jet was faintly aware of the sound of sniffling coming from beside him. He turned and saw that Rita had started to cry.
“Rita. What is wrong?”
“It’s nothing, Mr. Jet. Really.”
“In my experience, people are not often brought to tears by ‘nothing’. You can tell me if something is bothering you.”
“But I don’t wanna be a bother! Really, nothing’s wrong.”
“One person discussing how they feel is not a bother. Any person who believes the opposite is not worth having as a friend,” said Jet.
“Okay. If you’re sure I’m not annoying you or anything.”
“I can promise that you are not.”
“Well, it’s just that scene, where she’s saying goodbye to her friend, and I… I dunno, what if that happens with Mr. Steel and me?”
“I am not quite sure if I follow”
“Well, Mr. Steel and Mr. Ransom are going steady now, and I can’t say I’m upset about it, because I haven’t seen Mr. Steel that happy in years, even when he was with me, so of course it’s good! But… it’s just…” Rita took a pause. “What if he and Mr. Ransom decide to leave? I’m just his friend after all. No one sticks around for friends once they’ve found the love of their lives. I dunno. It probably sounds silly.”
“It does not sound silly. I used to have fears like that myself, if I am being fully honest, I sometimes still do. When one does not feel romantic attraction, it seems as though friends and family are all one has.”
Jet handed Rita a box of tissues, which she took gratefully, before he continued. “I cannot promise you that Juno will not leave, as I do not live inside his head and thus cannot make any solid claims one way or another. However, I know that he cares very deeply for you, and there is such a thing as the kind of care you have for a person that is just as deep – if not deeper – than romance. By observing you and Juno, I have deduced that you two have a relationship like this one. As do Buddy and I, if you care to know.”
“Yeah… I guess Mr. Steel and I have always been pretty close. But what if he does leave?” Asked Rita.
“Then I will still be here, and we will pick up the pieces together. But for now, we may put these worries out of our heads, and stay steadfast in the knowledge that our friends really do care for us, regardless of romantic partners.”
“That’s real cheesy, Mr. Jet.”
“I know. But I have found that it is true,” said Jet, before continuing. “Would you like to watch another stream?”
“Sure!” replied Rita. “But maybe not one of those romance-y ones. How about something with adventure?”
“That sounds good to me.”