There was no time left. The Calamitous Hollow was so close Jet could feel it in his bones. He could time the intervals in his head and gauge how quickly the storms were coming. It was too rhythmic to be a coincidence. Something Seraphinite mentioned came to mind. It was like an engine trying to turn over and start, or a circuit trying to connect.

The frequency was so close now. No matter how much energy they’d collected, Jet still didn’t feel as prepared as he wanted to be. Maybe if he’d spent more nights awake instead of sleeping. Maybe he could have skipped another couple meals and made some sort of a difference.

He didn’t know. But if they failed, he knew what he had done (or hadn’t done). He would go back over each moment, critique his efforts, and take responsibility. If there was an Earth left, at least.

Despite it all, Jet did need to take a break every once in a while. To write up a new report, or to comb through the information they’d gained, or to take a moment to sit and recalibrate his thoughts. Maybe brush his fingers over the keys of the piano in his office. He didn’t need the instrument for the music to play in his head, but the vibrations resonating within him were calming.

One night as time continued to trickle away from them, Jet teleported into his office with every intention of immediately going to his desk. He came to a stop and stared instead.

Blond hair fanned out over his desk. Aquamarine hunched over the surface, pillowing his head on his arms. The computer screen had dimmed on a half complete report, close to shutting off.

Jet’s heart tightened. With appreciation. With guilt. With a so strange yet familiar, which he hadn’t felt for anyone other than Aquamarine.

The last several weeks had been hard on Aquamarine, Jet knew. It had been hard on all of them. To be thrown do suddenly into the unknown, unsure if Earth would survive a strike from a strange, otherworldly monster. Unsure if they would be able to celebrate another birthday.

Regret nagged at him. He should have done more to celebrate with Aquamarine. He should have taken him to a movie, or driven up the mountains for a day. He should have fit as much time together into what little they had remaining. Make the most of life, in case there might not be much left.

Jet hated the uncertainty obscuring their future. He hated that they’d been forced to rely on their enemies to protect their home. The White Moon could choose to abandon them at any moment. The Negaverse had done everything the could to protect the Earth from the threat beyond the stars, but Jet still worried it might not be enough.

Quietly, Jet approached his desk. He unclasped his cape, torn between leaving Aquamarine where he was, or risk waking him by moving him somewhere more comfortable.

When this was over, he would be more attentive. He would make up for lost time. Earth’s survival may be his goal, but it would be nothing without Aquamarine.

With a sad, wistful smile, Jet placed his cape around Aquamarine’s shoulders.