Isaias lay on the common room couch shuffling around. He was far too big for the couch. His feet tucked out the other side. On his other side, Marco was shifting on his couch trying to become comfortable.

“I’m not going to make it a whole week on these,” he muttered.

Isaias growled and got up, grabbed his sheet and pillow, and laid it out on the floor. He laid down.

“Much better! Cold though. Brr”

“Move over so that we can share my blanket and use yours as bedding.”

Isaias stood and together they made an impromptu bed, then laid down again.

Isais raised his arms above his head to his pillow and rolled over.

“Night, Marco.”

“Are you still mad at me?”

Isaias yawned. “It’s a little late for this Marco.”

“It’s a perfect time! No one’s around!”

Isaias yawns again but rolled over to face him. “They will be if you keep shouting.”

“Look, Isaias, I’m not so sure what’s made you so mad.”

Isaias sighed. Maybe sleeping together like this wasn’t the best action I could have taken. He watched Marco who was glaring at him again and cracked his knuckles. “Look, Marco. You’ve been giving me an attitude since Zen let it slip that I liked a guy.”

Marco twitched and Isaias sighed.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to.”

“You can’t stand gays, fine but keep your actions against us at a low. I’ll get another fighting partner when we return to Puerto Nuevo,” Isaias said, rolling over and curled in a ball.

Marco lay there shocked. He didn’t want another fighting partner! For his faults, Isaias was fun to be with and he respected him. There had to be a way he could rid himself of his phobia of men, right?

“Isaias?”

But Isaias was already asleep. He could hear tiny snores coming from him.

“I don’t hate you,” he muttered before closing his eyes and nodding off.

Isaias cracked an eye open. Then why do you shudder in disgust when I even brush by you? Isaias closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Zen awoke with a little bit more strength than the day before. It had been late last evening when she awoke and now she was quite hungry. Once her staples were checked, she was able to sit up and once more acquired help from Kiera in the bathroom. Wearing clean clothes, she faced the day. It would take five more days to get back home to her estimates of how fast they seemed to be flying. They seemed to be skimming the air, almost floating by like a cloud instead of flying. Had the chase hampered them so much? She wished she had been awake for the chase but she had been under a sedative sleeping off the pain of the staples.

She walked down the halls and came upon her brother and Marco snuggled beside one another. Marco was leaning on Isaias’s chest and Isaias had his arm thrown over Marco’s waist. That’s going to bring problems...big ones.

She kept walking over to the big area labeled kitchen where the crew members were all gathered and eating.

“Good morning,” she yawned.

Stephan grinned from his place at the counter.” Morning. You seem better,” he said picking a small red cube from a red disk-like thing and handing it to her. She gazed at it and finally recognized it as a meal. A real meal, not onion soup.

“Oh,” she said pressing a small button and a meal of pancakes and sausages materialized from the small cube. These things worked like dimensional pockets keeping whole meals warm for decades. She went and sat down beside Edline who had the same thing. Edline smiled and nodded digging in. Zen smiled at her and did the same.

Over in the common room, Marco had woken up and was trying not to panic. This is partially my fault and Isaias hasn’t moved his hand anywhere else except my back. I...I can do this.

Isaias’s head fell to nuzzle Marco’s and Marco took a deep breath staying still, his eyes filmed over. Then he began to tug, hard from Isaias’s grip. All the while repeating “not again,” over and over.

Isaias awoke to a knee to the stomach. It wasn’t a good feeling and he immediately crunched up into a ball. What the heck? I was dreaming of making it to Lieutenant and then ...He looked at Marco who seemed to be flailing around and fighting with an invisible enemy.

“Marco? Hey, buddy wake up,” he said before noticing Marco’s foggy eyes. Damn, he’s awake! This is some kind of PTSD or something.

He got up and ran to the kitchen where everyone was gathered.

“Yo, Pirate. Your brother is wigging out right now ...I mean he’s trapped in some serious PTSD right now. He needs help,” Isaias said.

Stephan shrugged but Edline stood up.

“Can you take me to him? I can help him. Stephan can’t,” she said.

‘Thanks Little Spark,” Isaias said and led her to Marco who was still flailing around. Edline approached her citrine eyes glowing.

“Can you hold him? I have to rewire his brain,” she said.

Isaias nodded and grabbed a hold of Marco’s flailing arms as he sat on him.

Edline’s hands sparked with electricity and she slowly brought it to Marco’s ears making sure to keep it at the lowest voltage possible. She could see where his neurons were currently misfiring and realigned them slowly. She didn’t want to fry him. She let the electricity rewire his neurons and slowly backed out.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Marco had a seizure.

Isaias held him down.

He stopped flailing and took a deep breath in. An hour later he was awake and disoriented. He noticed Edline kneeling beside him.

“Eddie? Wh- what happened? Why can’t I move?”

“That would be me, buddy. Don’t wig out again! Edline had to bring you out of one major trauma drama. I’m holding you down for her,” said Isaias as he slowly let Marco go and got off him, kneeling beside him. Marco tried to remember what happened but all he could come up with was a blank. Why can’t I remember?

He gazed from Isaias to Edline who was calmly shifting through his hair, and back.

“I can’t remember what happened,” he said.

“You probably won’t ever remember, brother,” sighed Edline. “Electric shocks erase memories but you should be fine with symptoms for a while.”

“Electric shocks?”

“It’s what I essentially did to you, Marco. I rewired your neurons,” Edline said smiling.

Marco tried to move but his whole body seized up in a cramp and he whimpered.

“I’m sorry Marco but you probably shouldn’t move for a while,” she said.

“I-I have to use the bathroom,” Marco whimpered.

Isaias sighed. He didn’t want Marco to relapse, but the guy wasn’t getting to the bathroom on his own.

“Don’t wig on me,” he muttered before picking Marco up from the floor and carrying him to the bathroom. Marco didn’t have a say as he hung onto Isaias grudgingly.

Edline smirked at the two and went back to the kitchen where everyone except Stephan was looking on.

“Is Marco going to be fine?” Asked Zen.

Edline nodded. “Yep! He’ll be…”

“I can do that on my own Isaias!” Yelled Marco from the bathroom.

Zen grinned. “You’re right. He’ll be fine.”

“He might want some tablets for the major headache he’ll have,” said Kiera shrugging. She went back to her breakfast. Everyone joined Stephan at the counter. He was sipping his coffee silently, his crystal blue eyes holding a strange spark to them. He ignored everyone and watched from the counter as Marco hobbled back to the common room to sit on a couch. Isaias was a few steps away and was folding the bedding while Marco sat on the couch.

“I guess brother is too stubborn for his own good,” Stephan muttered, shrugging as he finished his coffee.

“Stephan! You can help Marco with his muscles,” cried Edline, giving him a teary-eyed gaze.

“Alright, Ed. I don’t think he’ll want it but I’ll offer...for you,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen. Zen watched as the two brothers had words and Stephan ended up immobilizing Marco with water.

Marco scowled as Stephan slowly ran over his body with water, soothing aching muscles.

“I’m fine now,” he muttered. Did he have to be tied up like a trice darned criminal?

“I’ll decide that,” muttered Stephan as he trailed the water ball over Marco’s stomach reminding Marco he was hungry now. He had the starting of a massive headache too. Stephan trailed the water ball down his legs and he felt his muscles be healed from the soreness he felt still. Stephan trailed the water ball to his toes and back up.

“There. Fixed. Don’t go having seizures again,” he muttered standing and walking back to the kitchen. He did hear the weak “thanks,” and grinned. It was nice having his older brother in his debt. Marco sighed and stood making his way to the kitchen where Isaias was happily munching on some pancakes and talking with Val about Skin.

Marco grumbled about monster iguanas and took a meal sitting beside Isaias and munching on breakfast. Marek entered the conversation placing an arm over Val’s shoulders. Marco watched in sadness as Val snuggled up to him. He turned his thoughts to Isaias who was laughing at something Marek had said. I would if I could...but I can’t. It’s foggy but something about this morning triggered an episode. I can’t be near men. Sorry, Isaias. When we get to Puerto Nuevo, we should go our own ways.

He sat and ate with a cloud hanging over him.

Isaias let his eyes take in the easy way Val responded to Marek and sighed. He’d never have that with Marco. This morning showed him that. The guy literally couldn't be touched by men or he’d wig out. He hated gays that much. Something had to have happened in the past to give him that PTSD. Maybe if I work with him on it?

That was if Marco was willing to work on it. He was damn stubborn!

Zen watched Isaias and Marco and sighed. It was hopeless for the two of them. She shrugged and walked over to Edline who seemed to have a frown on her face. She turned to Zen.

“Is there anything that can be done for brother?” She asked, watching as her brother fell into a bad mood and left to sit on the couch in the common room. “I want him happy despite what he did to Stephan and me.”

Zen sighed and sat beside the little girl. “It’s up to them. I know my brother doesn’t give up easily but your brother seems stubborn. He might not want to work on his problems,” she said running a hand through frizzy auburn hair. “Hey, Edline, why is your hair so frizzy today?”

Edline shrugged. “I’m a lightning elemental. If I don’t have full control of my abilities it reacts and it shows on me by my hair and my body shocks people.”

“So you need to work on your control then?”

Edline faced Zen nodding.

Zen tilted her head before grinning. “I have an idea. I’ll tickle you and you have to not shock me...ok?”

Edline smiled. “Ok!”

Zen began tickling Edline and jumped when she was shocked.

Edline laughed. “Sorry, again?”

Zen smiled and began tickling her again.

Stephan popped out of the back of the ship covered in oil stains and walked over to the snuggling couple. “Val, I checked the mechs on this rig and the compressor is freezing up again.”

“Yes, because you pulled a hyperdrive where there was no antimatter!” yelled Marek, standing as Val faced Stephan.

Stephan shrugged. “It was necessary at the time.”

“You’re lucky we are still in one piece! You pulled an antimatter conversion where there was none! You could have killed us S!”

“Would you rather be in the caring hands of the GAA!”

Marek shut up and sat back down grumbling.

Zen watched the argument with keen eyes.

“I thought not. Right now, our priority is the crystal. Everything else can be pushed aside for now.” Stephan said.

“Including our lives?”Marek asked

“Look, Marek, I wouldn’t have engaged hyperdrive if there had been any other choice ok?”

Val squeezed Marek’s arm before removing it from his shoulders and standing. “On it Captain,” he said leaving for the engine room.

Isaias looked on from his seat beside Marek. Interesting. Anyone can defer to the Pirate king. Kiera has done it and now so has Marek. Val seems to like keeping the peace.

He got up from the table and joined Marco on the couch. He gave him space not wanting another episode like this morning. Marco had an arm thrown over his eyes. Kiera noticed and went into the med room for some tablets. She came back and handed them to Marco who took them gratefully.

“Can he lay down on a med bed,” Isaias asked as Marco shifted on the couch, his legs coming right off.

“Yes, he can stay in the adjacent bed for the rest of his stay,” Kiera said and Isaias nodded.

“Come on, buddy,” Isaias muttered carrying the groaning male to the med room and depositing him on a med bed before turning to leave. Marco’s fingers brushed his.

“Thanks, Isaias,” he whispered before rolling over and tucking an arm under his head.

Isaias smirked. He touched me! He might not have noticed but he did and he let me carry him to the med bed. Maybe there is some hope.

Isaias left the dark room grinning.