“Sky?”

Anyone would be distracted by the sound of their name being called. And that was especially true for Sky when it was the voice of his oldest friend, his first and only love, and the absolute last person he wanted to see him in this moment, calling his name.

He hesitated in the midst of the fight for a moment and Jade took that moment of distraction as an opportunity to punch Sky in the stomach. There was a fair amount of celestial power behind that punch, not only knocking the air out of his lungs but throwing him back more than a few feet.

“Sky!” his name was called again. He tried to sit up and regain a bit of control and dignity in the situation but sharp pain from his side ripped through him. A cracked rib... fantastic...

Sky could hear Leo’s feet pounding on the pavement, coming towards him. With each of Leo’s steps, Sky wished more and more to sink into the Earth.

Leo put a hand on his leg, just below the knee then angled his body in between Sky and Jade.

Sky felt his face grow warm and tears start forming in his eyes.

*

Leo didn’t want to believe the man that just saved him, that looked so much like Sky, was a bad guy, but...

He blocked Sky from the sight of the man that had just punched him halfway across a parking lot and had a strange black and sparkling liquid dripping off his fist. He seemed to let it fully slough off his arm as he raised his hands, palms out, in a show of non-force.

He didn’t come a single step forward when he asked, “do you know Sky?”

When Leo responded he found that his throat was dry and his voice cracked, “since kindergarten.”

“And you’re... friends?”

Sky’s hand suddenly gripped Leo’s shoulder and he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Leo glanced back at Sky. Sky’s face was a little red and there were tears forming in his eyes and a grimace of pain on his lips.

“Yes,” he snapped.

The man looked the two of them up and down slowly, then shrugged, “alright. I’ll let you have him without any more of a fight... want Ini to heal that cracked rib of yours?”

“I’m fine,” Sky forced out through gritted teeth.

The man shrugged again and shoved his hands in his pockets, “suit yourself.” He turned around and started walking away, the girl in the skintight star suit following behind. “You owe me either way!” he threw his final words over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner.