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Sue graduates from Tactical School a year early, he's barely fifteen. He's toned down the flirting - he treats Aegis completely platonically, in particular - and has cut down on the unhealthy amount of sleeping-with-everything-that-wants. And he's apparently, via his independent study, gotten far enough through the curriculum that they're nudging him along to Command.
They've given Sue a strange old man for a tutor, who appeared in his room and started a physical confrontation, which Sue won; Sue related this story to her with something between amusement and irritation.
And a quicker-than-average flurry of notes has been piling up in the psych data since about that time, according to the timestamps.
Aegis knows before they tell her that they're going to send her to Command early too. She's just barely fifteen herself when she gets another update of the psych files and sees that Sue's had - well, the files aren't terribly clear, some of the communication is happening via in-person conversation and memos that don't get stored in these folders, but Sue's had some kind of breakdown and the only things they can think of to get him out of it, get him back into shape to train and fight, are her friendship and Howlett. They have mixed feelings about both - Howlett's insubordination problem; their bewilderment that Aegis and Sue can be so close when "she's the one person he can't link!" - but they're desperate.
Bird? They don't talk as often over the long distance, just as there was a lull when he went to Tactical ahead of her; their schedules have nothing in common and their contexts less. But he knows her, and he can reach this far if he tries. And she wants to know what's wrong.
autokinetic
He conjures the appropriate directions on his desk and rotates them so she can read them from her side of the table.
autokinetic
Aegis reads them. "And - just confirming, sir - at present my only resource for convincing Sue to do anything he doesn't want to do is my charming company and the vague threat that I might be taken away?"
"You came up with that vague threat," he says, "not me. You can threaten to take yourself away if you think it'll help. I'm done threatening things."
autokinetic
"Sir, the threat was issued when I arrived on this station and he wasn't there to meet me. Unless you explicitly tell us that we can see each other whenever we want in perpetuity - and Sue believes you - then the threat stands."
All necessary doors open at her touch, including the one to Sue's room.
Sue himself is flopped out on his bunk, not moving much.
Sue himself is flopped out on his bunk, not moving much.
autokinetic
"I was kinda hoping for a warmer welcome than that," says Aegis, closing the door behind her and swaying.
autokinetic
"Sue, Sue, my bird, my bird," soothes Aegis, "it's okay, I'm here, they say I can come whenever I want, you don't have to be all cooped up by yourself..."
"Bad day," he says wryly, resettling himself to put his head in her lap.
Weird dreams, he adds by link, and sends a confused impression of his cuddlepile with Kas and Petaal and Amariah and Ivy.
Weird dreams, he adds by link, and sends a confused impression of his cuddlepile with Kas and Petaal and Amariah and Ivy.
autokinetic
Aegis pets his hair. ...You dreamed about other mes and yous before, but that one's... huh.
autokinetic
"I graduated Tactical a couple of weeks ago and they haven't let me see you till now, but now they want me to talk you into going back on the simulator. Somehow. For some reason," says Aegis, dutifully playing for the likely hidden cameras and going on petting his hair. "They moved Howlett too, at the same time, he thought it was probably about you to begin with, I don't suppose you've seen him?"