Khan followed the Headmistress' instructions, leaving the hangar only when a team of soldiers summoned him. A cab was also waiting for him, so his trip back to the second district began immediately.
Quelling the excitement wasn't easy, and Khan even failed to put it down for good. It was simply impossible for him to suppress that feeling. After all, he had spent more than three years getting where he was, and his efforts were finally about to pay off.
Still, the excitement didn't stop troublesome thoughts from filling Khan's mind. He couldn't ignore his problems when he was so close to stepping onto his sought path, and those ideas afflicted his thoughts even when the elevator brought him to his flat.
"Khan?" Monica excitedly called as soon as the flat notified her, and Khan didn't hesitate to hurry into the main hall to meet her. She came out of a corridor to greet him, but her broad smile vanished when she saw him.
Monica squinted her eyes and approached Khan to smell his uniform. She even inspected his brace and shoes before glaring at his face.
"You fought," Monica stated.
"How did you-?" Khan questioned.
"I knew it!" Monica exclaimed, reaching for Khan's uniform to unbutton it. She even lowered his pants to check whether he had suffered any injury.
"I'm fine," Khan reassured, crouching to grab Monica's side and pull her up with him. "Monica, I'm fine."
"How can you always get into fights?!" Monica scolded, stomping her feet.
"The Thilku didn't believe I defused the bomb," Khan explained shortly. "I had to show them what I can do."
"I'll call the doctor," Monica declared, pulling up her phone.
"I'm fine," Khan repeated. "Well, not as fine as him."
Monica frowned, but Khan eventually nodded toward a spot behind her. She turned only to see a smiling Wayne standing at the corridor's edges. The latter was the embodiment of excitement, and his eyes often fell on Khan's lowered pants.
"Wayne, remember what we said about privacy?" Monica snorted, quickly pulling up Khan's pants to cover him.
"So," Wayne announced, "The woman pulls down the man's pants as soon as he gets home. I get it. I get it."
"Wayne!" Monica shouted.
"Don't take anything we do as normal," Khan chuckled, pulling Monica onto his chest. "She is just on the lewd end of the spectrum."
"Khan!" Monica cried.
"I see!" Wayne's eyes lit up. "I have to adjust my idea of Miss Solodrey."
"Stop using Wayne to tease me," Monica complained, hiding her face in Khan's chest. "It's fine only when we are alone."
"This is what I call a low blow," Khan explained to Wayne. "Now I can't find the strength to tease her anymore."
"Taking notes!" Wayne nodded, and Khan laughed when Monica let out a suppressed scream.
"Okay, okay," Khan uttered, rubbing Monica's hair. "Let's sit for a while. I have to talk to you two."
Wayne smiled, sprinting through the hall to perform a precise leap that ended right at the center of a couch. He even put his hands on his knees, seemingly excited about the incoming talk.
Khan and Monica didn't miss that gesture, and similar thoughts invaded their minds. Wayne had been far worse off than any of them but had recovered completely in half the time.
"I wish you could heal that quickly," Monica commented.
"He just needs to go through the same experiments!" Wayne responded. "The needles aren't too bad, but-."
"I changed my mind," Monica interrupted, taking Khan's face in her hands to deliver a short kiss. "I'll get you a drink, dear."
Khan couldn't help but wear a dumb smile as he watched Monica leave his chest to head for one of the hall's drawers. She even peeked at him during her slow walk, and her expression revealed how pleased she was that he was looking at her.
A helpless sigh escaped Khan's mouth as he headed for a couch before Wayne's. The latter waited patiently, but his face was the image of a hyperactive kid ready to start a game.
"Where is Andrew?" Khan asked.
"He is sparring with Francis," Wayne revealed. "They should be back soon."
Khan nodded before lifting his gaze when Monica approached the array of couches. She delivered a full glass to Wayne before sitting on Khan's right to make sure he could hug her. Of course, the couple also got their respective drinks.
"So," Khan announced, clearing his throat. "Nothing is official yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll get to work with the Thilku once I graduate."
"Is it because of the bomb?" Monica asked.
"Precisely," Khan confirmed. "I don't know the details, but it makes sense for the Harbor to want me on the field. I'm the most informed about the human side in the end."
"Which isn't much," Monica sighed, glancing at Wayne. "Are you sure you can't tell us more about the criminals? You might know useful details."
"Even if I knew," Wayne laughed, "I might be unable to reveal them. I lost count of how many restrictions they put on me."
Monica and Khan couldn't help but show sad smiles. No matter how many times they heard Wayne's story, his life remained terrible.
"That's one of the things I wanted to talk about," Khan said. "Holing myself in the flat while I'm a student is fine, but an actual job will probably require my presence. They might very well send me out of the Harbor."
"I'll come with you!" Wayne exclaimed.
"The Headmistress made it very clear that you are still a criminal in the Global Army's eyes," Khan explained, "And I don't have the authority to clear your name. Once I'm out of the picture, many families will probably ask for your head."
"My neck can survive all sorts of cutting!" Wayne proudly claimed.
"It's not about that," Monica intervened. "You'd only slow Khan down right now. You need to get your head fixed so we can finally learn more about his heritage."
"He is a noble," Wayne stated, "Just like me."
"Yes," Monica sighed, "But his situation doesn't make much sense. You claim they had accepted his parents. How can a single incident make them cut ties?"
"Maybe there is more to the Second Impact," Khan guessed.
"I understand the Global Army having more connections to the Nak than it lets out," Monica voiced, "But you are talking about conspiracies. There are cleaner ways to kill important figures."
"Even nobles?" Khan wondered.
"Only the nobles know that," Monica shook her head. "Though, I think sending a Nak ship with a living Nak inside is too much. It simply draws too much attention."
"That's true," Khan agreed. That wasn't the first time they had that conversation, and the clues always pointed in the same direction. The Second Impact couldn't have been part of a larger ploy.
"How is the Nak in your nightmares?" Wayne asked. "Tall? Strong? Stronger than us?"
"Scared," Khan revealed. "I can feel its fear but can't explain it."
Monica placed a hand on Khan's leg to make him feel her presence. Her words were useless in that situation, but her warmth could help.
"I heard my mother was a troublemaker," Khan recalled, kissing Monica's head to thank her for that gesture. "Maybe her family couldn't wait to cut her away."
"Maybe," Monica uttered. "I don't think you can learn anything concrete right now."
"You are right," Khan heaved a helpless sigh, lying his head on the couch's back. "I need to focus on studying anyway. Your mother wants me to do well."
"You also need to focus on me," Monica whined. "We won't be able to see each other too often once the semester is over."
"And me too!" Wayne exclaimed. "Let's spend every day together!"
"You are not sleeping in our room," Monica scolded.
"But the bed is big enough for the three of us!" Wayne stated.
"I'm not doing this again!" Monica cried.
"Again?" Wayne asked.
"It's nothing," Monica promptly voiced, glaring at Khan since he had worn a teasing smile. "Right?"
"Right, right," Khan laughed, but a notification lit up on the hall's walls and distracted the trio.
Khan, Monica, and Wayne glanced toward the elevator room, and George soon walked out of it. He had also recovered, but a complaint escaped his mouth as soon as he reached the hall.
"You started without me," George snorted.
"You aren't exactly easy to track these days," Khan teased. "Something tells me you are too busy with Anita as your nurse."
"Never tell her that," George warned, heading for an empty couch and grabbing the bottle Monica had left on the floor.
"So," Monica giggled, unable to hide how happy she was that things were working out for her friend. "Anita isn't telling me much, but I heard she skipped a few lessons."
"She must have been busy studying," George vaguely said.
"Busy?" Wayne repeated. "Khan, he meant sex, right?"
"He did," Khan confirmed.
"Come on, man," George scolded. "It's me she gets angry at when you tease her like this."
"We are teasing you," Khan pointed out.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," George snorted, seeing the three happy gazes pointed at him.
"Are you going somewhere?" Khan questioned.
"Well," George cleared his throat. "The semester is almost over. As boring as it sounds, I might have to return to my family and deal with some jobs."
"When did you get so responsible?" Monica joked. "I thought you would have used any loophole to laze around a bit longer."
"Wait," Khan noticed something. "Is Anita coming with you?"
"Maybe," George lowered his voice and hid his mouth behind the bottle. "She wants to meet my mother. You know, politics."
Khan and Monica didn't believe for a single second that the event was limited to politics. It had far deeper importance, especially when considering George's character.
"Stop looking at me like this," George cursed. "I bet you also made plans to keep being a married couple."
"I wish," Khan stated, beating Monica. "We'll see. Wayne is my biggest problem for now."
"I'm the greatest problem!" Wayne proudly echoed.
"I'm thinking about doing another meeting with the other descendants," Khan explained. "I can't use the Solodrey family's resources for his treatment. They'd just chain me tighter to them."
"But the big families have a higher chance of having connections with the criminals," George pointed out. "Why don't you send him to mine? It would be easier to control the process."
