Nico blinked awake, staring up at the familiar white ceiling of his small home, disoriented, the remnants of a dream clinging to the edges of his consciousness. His chest tightened. Had it all been a play of his mind? Was she gone again?

He turned on the bed, and there she was. Those hazel eyes, flecked with gold, gazed back at him. "You kinda passed out there," Kira said, a soft smile curving her lips.

"I guess I did," Nico smiled in return, the tightness on his chest loosening.

She reached out, her fingers brushing a stray strand of hair from his forehead. But her smile slowly faded, replaced by a shadow of sadness in her eyes.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, his voice soft.

She shook her head. "I keep thinking about those kids... about Lucia."

Nico's chest ached at the thought of Lucia, her bright eyes skipping around the clinic. He sighed. "Maybe we could try reaching out to my contact. Last I heard, he was on Tartarus. We could go there, see if he can get us the parts we need for the machine."

"I could go there," Kira corrected. "Nico, your place is here. These people need you."

"And I need you, Kira," he said, his hand covering hers. "We'll go together. Sell the drill, clear your debt, get the parts, and come back. Then we'll be together. Finally."

She smiled, a bittersweet curve of her lips, but then she shook her head. "You make it sound so simple... What am I supposed to do here, Nico? Teach the kids how to hotwire a hoverbike and swear like a spacer?"

"You're great with kids," he said, his voice earnest. "Who knows, maybe you could teach them a few survival tricks-without the swearing." Kira let out a small chuckle. "Look, seriously, there's plenty you could do here," Nico said, his voice firm with hope.

But Kira's smile faded, her expression grew more serious "This isn't a good idea, Nico. I've been here a few days and look at the mess I've dragged with me. I don't belong here. This is your calling, not mine."

Nico sat up, his hand still holding hers, unwilling to let go. "No, Kira. Not this time. I've lost you twice already. I can't... I can't take losing you a third time. You can't leave again."

Her gaze shifted downward, looking at their intertwined hands. "You're the one who left first, remember?" she murmured, her voice soft and distant, as though speaking to a haunting memory. "When I was... losing myself."

Her words hit him like a physical blow, and he turned away, his grip on her hand loosening. "I thought... I thought you'd forgiven me."

"I did," she said, her voice closer now, her hand resting on his arm. "I never blamed you for leaving. But... what about you?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Nico stared at the crumpled sheets, his mind swirling with the faces of the children, miners, and families he'd helped, bringing him solace, purpose, a way to keep going. But they all blurred together, replaced by a single, haunting face. The face of the girl he couldn't help. The girl he couldn't save. The girl he abandoned when she needed him the most.

"I couldn't handle it, Kira," he admitted, his voice low. "Watching you self-destruct like that... I felt so helpless. It was... too much."

Kira's eyes softened. She leaned in, gently caressing his arm. "I wasn't your burden, Nico. We were both fucked up back then. You had your own shit to deal with. We were both a mess, and it was a long time ago." She took his chin, turning his face toward hers. Her gaze was firmer now. "You've killed your boy too. You've grown, Nico. You've become the man you were always meant to be. And I'm so fucking proud of you."

Her words hung in the air, and for the first time, Nico let himself believe them. The tightness in his chest that had been there for years loosened, if only slightly. He inhaled deeply, the weight easing just a little.

"Let's not think too far ahead," he said, his voice low but steady. "Let's focus on clearing your debt. And getting the parts for the machine. Will you help me with that?"

A small, warm smile crept across her lips. "I already told you I'd help you. I promise, okay?"

"Okay," Nico said, smiling as he gave her a soft nod. "We'll figure the rest out later."

She lay her head on his chest, her body curling into his, wrapping herself in the sheets. Nico held her close, feeling her warmth, the steady rise and fall of her breath.

"Remember those nights on Alboris by the sea?" she whispered softly. "I'd sneak out of my parents' house, climb through the window to meet you at the pier. We'd watch the stars, laugh, kiss... and wait for the sunrise. Do you ever think about that?"

"I think about it every time I see a sunrise," Nico murmured.

She smiled against his chest, a small, peaceful smile.

They stayed like that, wrapped in the quiet comfort of each other's presence. His fingers drifted through her hair, traced the freckles on her shoulder. Slowly, her breathing deepened, and she fell asleep, her face soft and innocent, no longer the tough pilot of the Fringe, but the girl he once knew.

Outside, the faint hum of the generator droned in the distance, but here, in the quiet of their shared space, the rest of the world felt far away. Nico smiled to himself, feeling a warmth he hadn't felt in years. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep beside her.

***

Nico opened his eyes to the soft light of dawn filtering through the cracks in the window blinds. He instinctively reached to the side, expecting to find her there, her warm, comforting presence. But the sheets were cold, empty.

She wasn't there.

His chest tightened as he sat up, scanning the room. No sign of her. A cold sense of dread crept into his veins. He sprang out of bed, his heart pounding. The bathroom door creaked open under his hand. Nothing. No clothes. No trace of her.

She was gone.

Nico's mind raced. The ExoCore drill-they'd hidden it inside the clinic. She wouldn't leave without it. He still had time. He could still catch up with her.

Throwing on his clothes, Nico rushed outside, the dusty street still quiet in the early morning haze. He moved quickly, entering the clinic through the back door. The examination room was still. The lights were off.

Then, something hard crunched under his foot.

He flicked the lights on. His toolbox lay overturned on the floor, tools scattered haphazardly across the room. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes darted to the cabinet where they'd hidden the drill. The metal box was there, standing on the floor, its surface gleaming dully in the harsh light. He exhaled in relief. She couldn't have gone far if the box was still here.

But as he drew closer, dread settled in his stomach. The lid was open. Inside was chaos-metal sheets, wires, screws, and bolts scattered as though the drill had been torn apart.

Nico's mind raced to make sense of it when his gaze caught on something else-the soft flicker of blue lights on the side panel of the biomedical device.

His heart skipped a beat.

He hurried over, opening the charred lid of the machine, his hands trembling. Inside, gleaming and pristine, was a new quantum processing board, its lights blinking softly. The ExoCore logo stared back at him. Behind it, the smooth hum of a fusion power core.

She'd used the drill parts to fix it.

She'd left them behind. For them. For him.

Nico took a step back, his chest tight with realization. His breath quickened as his eyes fell to the floor, catching on a scrap of paper lying beside the machine. He crouched slowly, almost afraid to touch it. The sketch of himself with the children stared back at him, Lucia's name scrawled at the bottom. But there, in the corner, written in red crayon, was another handwriting.

His throat tightened as he read it, the paper fluttering slightly in his grip.

The clinic was silent. Outside, the distant hum of machinery droned on, oblivious to the choice that had been made.

He closed his eyes, holding Kira's final message close, feeling the weight of her words sink deep inside him.

You can't fix me, Nico. You don't have to. You need them more.

K

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading my story! I had a lot of fun writing it.

If you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a vote or leaving a comment bellow.

Your support means the world to me and keeps me motivated to continue writing.

Thank you, I hope you liked it!

If you'd like to read more about these characters and this universe, leave a comment below!