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Ace had always thought she was cool. Not the coolest, she wasn’t delusional. But she was definitely cool. She could rebuild a half‑missing engine, outrun a Scrapadactyl, She’d went into D-Structs lair pretending to be Skrap-it! And she didn’t get caught! But Xee was different.
Xee was Xee‑cool.
Ace sat on the edge of the garage flatbed, a small wrench clamped between her teeth as she watched Xee talk. Something about a Scrapadactyl, apparently she’d taken the beak right off one. Ace had heard the story three times already, but somehow it hadn’t gotten old.
“And then,” Xee said,, “it tried to snap at me again, so I just grabbed the beak before it could.”
“You grabbed it?”
Xee shrugged like it was obvious. “What else was I supposed to do?”
Ace stared. There were so many answers to that question. Run. Hide. Find Ty and the trux. Scream. Literally do anything except grabbing a Scrapadactyl’s beak.
But Xee kept talking, gesturing casually with her claws like she was explaining how to tighten a bolt. “After that, it couldn’t bite me anymore.”
Ace felt a grin tug at her mouth. “That’s insane! But you could’ve gotten hurt.”
“Well, I didn’t get hurt, did I?”
“That’s not the point.”
Xee tilted her head. “Then what’s the point?”
Ace opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked away, suddenly fascinated by a pile of scrap metal beside her paw. “I don’t know.”
Xee laughed a soft, soothing laugh.
Ace hated how much she liked that sound. Then immediately decided she didn’t hate it. That would be ridiculous. It sounded like music to her ears. She just… liked it. As a friend. Obviously.
Xee had always been like this. She’d scuttle back into the garage with some impossible story about what she’d done outside the Crater, and Ace would find herself listening. Really listening. Like the time Xee tied a bunch of Scraptors’ claws together and left them tripping over each other. Or when she disappeared into the outlands for a whole day and returned with rare parts no one had ever seen. Or when she mentioned sleeping beneath the stars because she’d traveled alone for so long she’d gotten used to it.
Ace remembered that one. She remembered everything Xee told her.
She glanced over. Xee was still talking, but Ace wasn’t listening anymore, she was watching the way Xee’s expression shifted when she got really into the story. The slight tilt of her head when she was thinking. The way she went quiet before answering, like she wanted to make sure she meant what she said.
Ace had spent so long trying to figure her out. Xee wasn’t easy. She didn’t talk about herself much. She could vanish into the wilderness for days and come back acting like nothing happened. Sometimes she was loud and mischievous; other times she seemed perfectly content sitting alone, watching the sky.
Ace didn’t always know what she was thinking. That used to bother her. Now? She wanted to know.
“Ace! Are you okay? I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past minute.”
Ace jolted, jaw snapping shut. Xee was looking right at her.
“I’m fine! I was just thinking.”
“Alright then..” Xee chuckled and turned away. Ace waited until she wasn’t looking before letting out a sharp puff of air. She scratched her claws lightly against the rock.
What was wrong with her? This wasn’t a crush. It couldn’t be. She’d never had a crush before. Whenever she liked someone, it faded eventually. Easy. Simple.
But unfortunately, Xee wasn’t simple. She was very far from SIMPLE.
Maybe that was why Ace couldn’t stop thinking about her. Maybe she just admired her. That made sense. Xee was cool. Brave, clever, and super independent. She’d survived alone and still managed to make everyone laugh despite her being a little socially awkward.
Ace admired that. Nothing weird about admiration. Nothing weird about wanting to sit beside her. Nothing weird about remembering her stories. Nothing weird about wondering what she was thinking when she went quiet. Nothing weird about waking up and wondering where she was in the Crater.
Nothing weird about—
“Hey.”
Ace looked up. Xee had scurried closer, her dark grey and green frame right beside Ace “What?”
“You disappeared again.”
“Huh? I’ve been here the whole time, Xee.”Ace said, a little defensive at having her thoughts interrupted.
“Not literally, ACE. I mean you were staring at nothing like you were somewhere else.”
Ace frowned. “You’re one to talk.”
Xee chuckled and smiled. “Yeah.. you’re right.”
For a moment, neither spoke. Ace looked at her — really looked.
Maybe she’d never fully understand Xee. Maybe there would always be pieces tucked away somewhere Ace couldn’t reach. But she wanted to try. She wanted to keep listening. Keep hearing about the places Xee had been. She wanted to sit beside her when she watched the stars, even if neither said anything.
She didn’t know when she’d started wanting that. She didn’t know why. She only knew she couldn’t stop.
Xee bumped her tail lightly against Ace’s. “Coming?”
Ace blinked. “Where?”
“Nowhere.”
Ace stared. “Huh..”
Xee smiled. “Just figured you’d come anyway.”
Ace felt her metal cheeks warm, “Yeah. Fine.” And she followed, clamps pattering lightly against the stone. Because maybe Xee was impossible to understand. Maybe Ace would spend forever trying.
She didn’t mind. She had a feeling she wouldn’t stop. Ace liked the extra work anyways.