They walked up into the ship hand in hand, Poppy laughing about something Francis said. They stepped over the threshold and Poppy stopped in her tracks. In front of them was Evan. His handsome face was mottled with bruises and cuts, and he started towards them, his mouth open to talk.
Francis' laid-back and cool demeanor dropped when he saw Evan. His brows furrowed and he tensed immediately. He didn't say anything, though. There was only silence.
He walked up to them, his hands in his pockets. "I'm not here to fight," he reassured them. "I'm actually here to apologize." He sighed deeply and rubbed his nose. "I was angry... about a lot of things, and it was really difficult for me to see you two together. I'm sorry."
(YOU ARE HERE TO FIGHT, EVAN. FIGHT ME.) "Alright," he said slowly. "I suppose I understand where you're coming from." He crossed his arms, obviously still not very trustworthy, and a bit frustrated.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry," he said. "I'm totally okay with everything between you two now. I've gotten over it. I behaved irrationally and angrily." Poppy squinted at him until she eventually nodded. "Okay, Evan," she said quietly. "Thanks." He nodded and let them pass, and when they got out of earshot, Poppy turned to Francis with look of confusion. "What was that about?"
"I don't know," he said, his tone mildly suspicious. "Nor do I care. Nothing good has ever come from him, but I suppose I have to accept any form of reconciliation."
"He doesn't matter, anyway," she soothed as they turned down their hallway. "He's trying, I suppose."
"I wouldn't expect you to," she replied. She grinned up at him cheekily, intertwining her fingers with his. "I mean, he was kind of an ass."
He brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss the top of it. "I did kind of beat him up, too, so that makes me an ass, as well."
"I mean, yeah," she said, smiling up at him. "But he instigated it." She yawned and pushed her hair out of her face, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "It doesn't really matter. He's irrelevant."
She kissed his cheek and they entered his room. She walked over to the bed and flopped onto it with a sigh, her eyes staring straight up to the ceiling. "I suppose it's back to work tomorrow, then?"
"I didn't get a notification either," she said, closing her eyes sleepily. "But normally they leave them to the last minute." She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand as she did so, and shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
He sat next to her on the edge of the bed, folding his hands. "Yeah. I'm probably going to change into pajamas in the bathroom."
