Friends
A short-short story

by Kimber

Serena and Apollo hadn't been married very long, a couple of years. It probably should be mentioned here that they were blissfully happy until it happened. They were held together by a bond stronger than any forged in battle or disaster. They truly loved each other.
But, to begin at the beginning, they met during the Great Exodus. Apollo found Serena among the refugees after the attacks were finally over. She was dirty and wounded, looking like a drained husk as she hovered protectively over a small child. He could see the strength of will under the smears of ashes, blood and tears and it touched his heart. He was amazed that anything could after all he had seen that day. The dead and dying had become a kind of grim, print wallpaper on reality. He went to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and wordlessly let herself and her son be led to the ship where the remnants of their world were being herded and taken to what they hoped was safety.
In the days and weeks that followed no one thought of anything except survival. Many died. Many wanted to die. Disease, starvation, loss of loved ones and loss of hope took many the enemy had missed. They had no idea, at least not a clear one, of where they were going or what they would do when they got there. All the survivors could think of was their faith that the gods would provide. And until then, they would make due. Serena did all the odd jobs she could, and her son, Boxey was a kind of mascot for the people in their section of the beaten old freighter. He would move from lean-to to packing crate, carrying supplies and asking questions. Basically keeping their minds off the fact that they were dying.
In time, and with a great deal of sacrifice and ingenuity, things began to fall into a kind of routine and civilization, of a sort, began to restore itself. There was more food and water. The power seemed to stay on during most of the waking hours now. The med crews came almost every day. And word had come down the pipeline that the Warriors were going to be coming to the fringes of the fleet to assign living quarters to the refugees who had survived. Apollo knew that he had to see her. He checked the census every week after he learned her name, just to see if she were still alive. He couldn't admit it, even to himself, but she had taken hold of him. He still saw her there amid the wreckage of a world, strong and silent, bent but not broken and her eyes haunted his dreams. He had asked to be assigned to her section when the time came to go out and bring in the stragglers.
It didn't take long for them to fall in love. They had both started down that road the first day and from the time he found her again in the cargo hold of that freighter, the three of them were inseparable. They became an instant family. It didn't really replace the families they had lost, but having each other made the losses more bearable. Serena held his head in her lap as he finally wept for the brother he saw shot down while trying to return to base when the Great Holocaust began. Apollo let her cry herself to sleep in his arms almost every night as she relived the day her house disintegrated with her husband and daughter inside while she and Boxey watched from the street outside. Together they both tried to find a way to explain genocide to a seven year old.
Soon, it was decided that it was time to make the family unit official. Apollo and Serena were married. Boxey gave the bride away and Apollo's father, as Commander of the Fleet, performed the ceremony. Soon after they were billeted in small, family quarters forward on the main ship. Because of Apollo's status as one of the few remaining fighter pilots, he was granted some privileges. Serena was assigned to teach the children history and language and Apollo began the long and arduous task of helping to rebuild the fleet's defenses. They were always aware that at any time the enemy could find them. If they knew that anyone had survived the final attack, they would most certainly be looking. Every day pilots would fly short range reconnaissance and every other day long range.
When they had settled in to the routine of their new quarters, Apollo started bringing his wing man and best friend Starbuck home for dinner. Starbuck was a rakish young man and confirmed bachelor. Serena loved to tease the two young men on their obvious differences; they were complete opposites in every sense. Apollo was dark of hair, complexion and mood. He was the serious and responsible wing commander. Starbuck was fair haired and free with an allergy to commitment and responsibility. Regardless, they were like brothers and soon Starbuck became another member of the family. Boxey adored "Uncle Starbuck" and Starbuck doted on him. Serena looked on him like a brother, someone she could turn to when Apollo was in a mood she didn't understand or when he just wanted to be alone. "To think", he said, and because Serena loved him, she tried to understand.
It was during the time of the epidemic, when half the remaining population was struck down, and half of those died, that Serena became a pilot. The enemy had found them and the fleet was in serious trouble. There were very few pilots left healthy enough to fly and the word went out to the general population that recruits were desperately needed. When Serena came home in uniform Apollo was, understandably, upset. There were many words said that neither of them truly meant and it put a great strain on their relationship. But in the end Apollo bent to her will and to the fact that she was right. The fleet needed every able bodied person it could muster. She flew well and eventually ended up in Apollo and Starbuck's squadron.
It was at this point that things began to go wrong. Serena was still teaching in her off duty time and Apollo was training the recruits in the newly formed 'academy' which consisted of rows of desks set up on the hanger deck. They saw very little of each other and the stress of their schedules and the constant attacks by their relentless pursuers caused a little patch of distance to begin to form between them. Nothing serious, mind you, just a certain attitude of taking for granted that the other person is well, and dealing with everything just fine, and therefore there is no need to take time away from busy schedules. Serena began to feel it first. She wanted to tell Apollo how she felt but when she tried to form the words they sounded so silly and selfish to her that she kept them to herself instead.
Serena was in the classroom after an especially frustrating day of trying to pound grammar into the heads of children who's only focus seemed to be what it feels like to fly a fighter, and would they be allowed to see hers, and if they all got good marks on their assignments would she take them all out one day... . She had to just sit for a few moments after they had all cleared out and drop a mental note toward the gods to grant her the patience to not toss them all out the nearest air lock. She stood up and began straightening the desk for the next teacher when she saw Starbuck passing by. She called out to him, grateful to see an adult for a change. He came in laughing at her harried look, mentioning that he had seen her look better after 8 hours in the cockpit. She smiled, immediately feeling all of the tension of the day and her life flowing out of her. Starbuck always made her feel better. She asked him to sit with her for a while and talk to her while she programmed the lessons into the children's computers for the next day.
As he talked, he watched her work. He had always felt so comfortable around Serena. From the first moment Apollo had introduced them he knew they would be friends forever, at least. She had a grace and strength and simple beauty that made him think of green grass and flowers and flowing streams. All things natural. All things that the other women he had had relationships with were not.
When she had finished, he helped her pick up her things and put them into her carry-all. He was in the process of inviting himself to dinner when the stylus he was handing her dropped to the floor. He stooped down to get it and when he looked up his breath caught as his heart leapt into his throat. He was staring into two deep pools of bluest truth. She had knelt down at the same time and their hands met on the stylus. Time stopped. There was no one and nothing in the universe but those eyes. There was no war, there was no uncertain future, there were no thoughts but those of two very scared, very lonely friends. It happened without words or signals, no real thoughts or intentions, just an escape from what they both knew deep down was waiting out there. Just two warm and willing arms to fall into, two soft and caring lips to help make the monsters go away. In this there was normalcy. There was the illusion that their homes hadn't been blown to bits along with everything they had ever known as real. There was the ability to believe for just a moment that there were no responsibilities or painful realities to face. This is what two normal people do when the universe is working properly.
When their lips parted, they each searched the others face for signs of doubt or hesitance. As Starbuck got up and closed and locked the door, neither of them would allow themselves to think of the one other person this really involved. There wasn't any room for that now. Maybe later they would try to find a way to justify it, or forget about it but right now they both needed it to happen. Maybe later there would be a way to tell Apollo.