Back at the diner, Kobra had returned from patrol, giving Sky and Poison a weird look as they entered, still holding hands. Sky almost felt as if someone had caught her doing something wrong and her first instinct was to let go of Poison's hand but he held her tightly, ignoring Kobra completely. This didn't feel right. They were brothers and she didn't want to be the reason for any tension between them. The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble, especially now that they needed to stick together more than ever before. But she didn't feel like it was her place to get involved and say something to Poison about it. They had to resolve it themselves. All she could do was try not to alienate Kobra by avoiding him like Poison was. So when he was preparing food behind the counter two hours later, she joined him.

'Looks delicious.' she joked, grabbing the plates from the shelf and Kobra gave her a weak smile. 'Hey, can we have a little training session after dinner? I feel like I've been slacking a bit.'

'Sure. Anything in particular?' he replied, obviously surprised at her request.

'Just the usual. And maybe we could go for a run tomorrow morning?' she said and he nodded.

It wasn't like Sky had to force herself to spend time with him, she had always enjoyed it, even in the beginning when he was hardly talking to her. But the daily training had strengthened their friendship and she hoped that it would help get it back on track now. There was something else.

'Also, I think it's time to move out of your room. It's been too long and we have a mattress now.' Sky added. Not only would it be good for Poison and Kobra but also for her. She needed the distance. As a matter of fact, sleeping next to Poison, having all those crazy thoughts, was driving her insane.

'I appreciate that. But maybe that's not a good idea right now.' he replied, not looking at her.

She knew he would refuse her offer.

'I think it's a really good idea actually. And I need some...space, anyway. There are other things I have to concentrate on and I don't need the distractions.' Sky was careful choosing her words but she could tell Kobra felt uncomfortable.

'Listen, I know you overheard our conversation in the car and I'm sorry for what I said, I really am. I guess I'm just worried.' she was shocked at his confession. 'It's not that I'm not happy for my brother or anything. I just...I know how painful it is to care for someone. Because at any time, that someone could be taken away from you. Dying is easier if you don't have to leave anyone behind.'

'So we stopped loving?' Sky just said, it sounded more like a statement than a question and she knew he was right. He nodded and swallowed hard.

'What if that happens to you? To him? What happens if one day you have a child? And then it gets taken away from you? Or you get taken from your child? What if it ends up all alone, like Poison and I did? Love only brings you pain in this world and I don't want that for you and I don't want that for my brother.'

Sky had never seen him that upset. She reached out and took his arm.

'Basically we're doing everything BLI wanted us to do. They've made us so paranoid that we don't even allow ourselves to love anymore?' she said although that realization was painful, it was exactly what they both needed to hear. Kobra looked at her with a frown.

'But since when do we just give them what they want? We're rebels. Kobra, you know I'm worried about losing him too. I'm worried about losing any of you. I hate the fact that I have a family now because I have so much more to lose. We all have been through a lot but instead of just forgetting how to love, we just have to do everything we can to make sure that no one has to go through that ever again.'

*

'Do you think it's gonna work?' Jet asked as him, Ghoul and Poison were sitting outside, watching Kobra and Sky do their training.

Poison knew her intentions and he had actually been pleasantly surprised when he found them in the kitchen earlier, talking to each other about what had seemed to be important. He knew it was probably something to do with him and Sky but he hadn't asked. He wasn't one to pry. But whatever Sky had told Kobra, the tension between the three of them had magically disappeared and Poison couldn't help but feel relieved. They would still have to talk eventually but for now, they were good.

'I don't know. All I know is that we have to try. It could be a good start if it does work. If not...well we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.'

'If it doesn't work we might have to ask ourselves whether or not this world is even worth saving. If it doesn't want to be saved then what's the point.' Ghoul muttered and took one of Poison's cigarettes.

He couldn't even remember how many times they had had this discussion. Whether or not people actually wanted to be saved. Whether or not there was something out there for them, something worth fighting for. The Killjoys had their reasons. Their purpose was all they had and they all had agreed that it was worth dying for, a long time ago. And now that Poison had Sky, there was another reason for him to do everything in his power to give her the life she deserved and make sure that others could have what they had. He was watching her, blocking Kobra's punches and kicks, defending herself and deal out blows. She was getting way too good at this and he smiled, thinking about how she had left him completely speechless at the shooting range. If she was capable of acquiring all these skills in such a short amount of time with such little practise, what else was she capable of? Of course she had worked and trained hard but she was almost as good as them already. Almost as good as Poison himself. What was weird was that he had had those skills all along. He had trained Kobra, Jet, Ghoul and Cherri Cola, without knowing where he had learned it all. As she flat out knocked him down, even Kobra was unprepared.

'She's like a fucking ninja!' Ghoul noted and shook his head in disbelief.

'We are good trainers. But we aren't that good. It's been a bit over a month and look at her.' Jet shot Poison a look and Poison knew he was thinking what he was thinking.

Wherever they had come from and whoever had sent them here, they had taught them how to fight.

*

'Oh shit, I'm sorry! Are you okay?' Sky extended her hand and Kobra grabbed it but instead of pulling himself up, he pulled her down and she collapsed on top of him, giggling.

'You have the skills but you're still a weakling.' he laughed, feeling her arms for non-existent biceps.

'Well, just proves that I don't have to be strong in order to beat you.' she replied, getting up again and dusting herself off.

'True. You can beat me. But try beating Poison. He has both the skills and the strength.' Kobra followed her example and stood, wiping the sweat of his forehead. She could tell he was proud of her, despite the little digs, and it made her smile.

'But he's a boy. And I'm a girl. I can do other things to make him weak. I'd beat him any day.' she bragged and Kobra rolled his eyes at her, looking over to his brother who was watching, along with Ghoul and Jet.

'He'd let you think you can, just to make you happy.'

Yes he would. Even though Sky didn't want him to. Especially after everything that he had done to make her as good as she was. Of course she wasn't as strong as the guys. She had been skinny all her life, got ill easily and every month mother nature sent a not so friendly reminder that her body was simply that of a girl and therefore not capable of building the muscles and strength that the guys had. Especially while being underfed and out in the open with no shelter for so long. But she was quick and had learned to be as agile as Poison, her reflexes were superb and she was amazing with a gun. It didn't matter how she had obtained these skills, she had them and they gave her certain advantages.

'You think you could help us train other rebels?' Kobra asked and she smiled, feeling incredibly honored.

'Totally. I could train the girls if they show up.'

'Fuck that, you can train boys and girls. Don't limit yourself.' he held out his fist and she bumped it with hers. It was good to have Kobra back and she could tell that Poison softened up to his brother a little bit, just by watching them.

But Sky was still worried what he would think about getting him back as his old roommate.

*

Poison was confused to find Kobra in his room when he walked in, looking for Sky, after their training session. They had gotten a mattress from the motel and the room he had been preparing was more or less ready now but it still caught him off guard when Kobra told him that Sky had moved already, making sure Kobra would take back his space. It wasn't so much that he was annoyed about sharing the room with his brother again, he had every right to be there even and it would be good for their relationship to spend some guy time together. What upset him was the thought of spending the nights without Sky.

'So you moved out?' he had waited until everyone had gone to bed and was now standing in front of the shower stall in the bathroom.

'Just for now.' she replied, peeking her head out, her hair in a soapy, messy, huge nest. She surveyed him for a moment before closing the door again. Poison could tell she was comfortable enough with him being in here.

'I don't like it. I don't like sleeping without you. I haven't slept without you since the night I found you.' he leaned against the sink and stared at the lime green tiles, trying his best not to think of the fact that she was just a few steps away from him and completely naked.

'You'll get over it.' Poison smiled to himself, it was kind of pathetic that she was trying to make him believe she didn't care. He knew exactly how she felt because it was exactly how he felt too.

'I don't think I will.' he said and heard her chuckle. 'You know Kobra and I are gonna be just fine without your little intervention. We're brothers.'

'I didn't do this for you and Kobra, silly.' she turned the water off and he saw her grab the towel that was hanging over the door of the stall. A few seconds later Sky emerged from the shower and Poison caught himself staring at her, feeling hot all of a sudden.

'That!' she pointed at his face. 'That's why I did it. You and I, we can't keep our hands to ourselves and you know it. As hard as we try, it's only a matter of time before something happens and then what? We have other things to focus on.'

He was speechless for a second before he composed himself again.

'Not at night though. At night, I just wanna focus on you.' he stepped closer and she pushed him away playfully, turning her back to him to grab her hairbrush. He could still see her in the mirror, her cheeks turning pink.

'Well that didn't sound suggestive at all.' she whispered and began brushing her hair. He stopped her after just a few strokes.

'It was supposed to sound suggestive.' he giggled and took the brush from her, continuing to brush her hair carefully, trying to detangle her locks.

He loved her hair. It somehow always smelled so nice, even when it was dirty. And it was dirty a lot. He smiled thinking about all the nights he had just stayed awake, nuzzling her curls, inhaling that sweet scent. He loved playing with it while she was reading or simply resting, wrapping one curl around his finger or holding it between his mouth and nose to pretend it was a moustache. He loved her hair. He loved everything about her. And he was tired of running from how he really felt.

'I love you.' he said, pulling her against him, hugging her tightly.

Notes

this is a bit short (I'm really busy this weekend) but I hope the ending makes up for it :)

thanks for reading, I hope I can update tomorrow