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They talked while they strolled through the streets.

Or rather, Julius talked, getting him caught up on all the headlines in town. Just gossip, really, like who had just had a baby, who had just married who, what shops were up to something new and exciting. Everything that would've been in his letter had he managed to find it he said, and it was a pleasure to make Frederic laugh. If the captain was somewhat reticent to talk about his own life, Julius didn't make note of it. In fact, he talked more, spilling over with joy about his new project and listing off the details about what would happen next even if some of it went over Frederic's head. He looked grateful just to listen, smiling and asking questions whenever the engineer needed prompting.

The two reached the stately clock tower at the northern point of town, one of Evelyn's first contributions to Wheelis, and Frederic laughed out loud when he saw where they were. There was a heavy set of double doors that led to the staircase inside with its comfortable railing and wider stairs. Outside, there was a wood-and-metal staircase that was narrow and winded around the tower counter-clockwise.

Julius shrugged and grinned, "I thought, maybe for old time's sake? But you know what, it's fine, it was a dumb idea, we can just–"

"I'll be waiting at the top," Frederic shouted, throwing open the left door and disappearing into the tower. Julius wasn't far behind, taking the outer stair with quick and sure steps, focused on nothing but his footing, the occasional noise of Frederic banging on the wall and trying to judge if he was going faster or slower than the transhuman. He was three steps away from the top when the door burst open on the balcony, and they were neck and neck on reaching the clock face, laughing and catching their breath like they were teenagers again. Julius flopped down first and the captain, though he was more careful about it, sat down beside him, unable to escape the clanking sound he made against the stone structure.

"Do you remember the first time we raced like that?" Julius asked, looking up at Frederic who was nodding.

"It was right after my fourth surgery," he said, taking one deep breath and blowing it out dramatically. "Your mother threatened to take back my legs if it would keep me in bed."

"She wouldn't have," Julius defended his mother reflexively, but he chuckled when he thought about it. "It's why we refused to come down, though. And why we jammed the door!" They both laughed, Frederic shrugging helplessly.

"It seemed like the best idea at the time," he said, sighing softly as he leaned his head back against the wall. Julius looked at Frederic again, hesitating. The lines on his face were just a little deeper, the set of his shoulders just a little lower, the change evident in the way he carried himself.

"You don't have to tell me about Tierra Lue," he said suddenly, discouraged when he felt Frederic stiffen beside him, but he kept going. "If there were armies, rebels in airships, or witches riding bears in steel armor, I've already heard every version and more. That's all mechanics do, you know, gossip around their forges like wives at a well. I don't want the fairy tale version from Tremont’s rumor mill, Freddie. I just want to know that you're okay."

Frederic sighed, covering his face under his left hand for a moment, before clambering up to his feet. Julius pushed up onto his hands, standing up quickly, thinking that he'd have to chase down the captain and apologize, but the man remained standing. He stared out across the various shops and houses, counting the soft, orange lamps that marked the main street. It was a comfortable, familiar sight, one that he'd had the pleasure of calling home for the better part of his life. There were a few new buildings, but the skyline hadn't changed all that much. Despite being a hub of magical and scientific innovation, Wheelis had stayed much the same since he'd sailed away seven years ago.

He wished he could say the same about himself.

The transhuman took a deep breath, and he shook his head.

"I am not okay at all, Jules," he said quietly.

Julius stepped forward, pulling Frederic into his hold, and he was too shocked to be relieved when the taller man bowed his shoulders and folded into the embrace. He didn't think Frederic to be without emotions, but it was just so rarely that the engineer was privy to them, it felt like he was never prepared for that show of trust. Julius shut his eyes tightly, refraining from sighing when he felt the other man wrap his left arm around his ribcage and hold on tightly.

"Do you remember your first set of limbs," he whispered. They stood so close Julius didn't need to speak any louder. "The ones that almost killed you? It was an older pattern in the metals Mama used, no one could've known you'd react that way but I, I still blamed her. I believed in Mama's legend so much, you know? I didn't know she could make mistakes."

"I didn't know that," Frederic said huskily.

"You weren't supposed to," Julius replied candidly. He sighed, thinking about what had happened next. "Then she started getting you out into the exercise yard, forcing you into physical therapy, and I thought she was so cruel. You'd almost died! If it were up to me, you didn't have to do anything but eat cake and stay in bed. Instead you went along with it. You let her push you out into the yard every morning, and you didn't, I mean, you had no idea how to move your body. No one really knew how to show you! You cried, your stumps bled, and I didn't talk to Mama for a week because she kept pushing you out into that yard every damn morning."

"That I remember," Frederic said, and the Qian thought he could hear a ghost of a smile in his voice. "You used me as a middle man."

"I was very immature for my age, quiet," he said and that was definitely a chuckle from Frederic. Bolstered by the sound, Julius continued in a rush. "Freddie, what I'm trying to say is, there are some things that no one can show you. Other people can give you a push in the right direction, but it's up to you to figure it out. It's not easy, it's going to hurt, and then one day, you'll find that you're past this too." He started nodding before Julius had even finished, pressing his forehead against the crook of his shoulder for a second before sighing. When he pulled back, Frederic stood more at ease and his smile seemed lighter. Then it curled, he got a strange look on his face, and the engineer frowned.

"Come sailing with me," the captain said.

"What?" Julius blurted out, stepping back.

"You're a licensed ship engineer, I know for a fact that you've kept your credentials up to date, and you've flown with me before," he pointed out, smirking fondly at the memory. "We could do it again, preferably with fewer barbarians this time."

"Frederic, no."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a pushover!" He said and crossed his arms in the face of Frederic's amusement. "You can't just break down like that and then ask me to join your crew, it's practically cheating."

The captain sighed to hold back from laughing, because now that he said it out loud, it was something Frederic realized he wanted. Julius had to know he wasn't joking. "Look, the guild's put some tough characters on my crew, men that I don't completely trust. I would sleep better knowing I've got a friend onboard."

"Tough characters!" He repeated, looking at Frederic in disbelief. "So you want a soft, limp-wristed boy still tangled in his mother's skirts onboard as what, a bodyguard?"

"Come off it, you're not soft. I think you even put on muscle since I last saw you," the captain replied straight-faced, giving in to a small smile when Julius remained clearly unamused. "What I want is a decent engineer in the hold to keep my ship flying. If you don't come with me, Jules, I'll have to conscript an engineer from the guild and you know what the guild's engineers are like."

"All backslappers and bootlickers until your boat's fallen out of the sky. Suddenly it's 'what do you mean steam engines need water?'" He mocked, pursing his lips and giving Frederic a heated look. "You can't let those hacks near the Daruna, they'll throw pattern spells at it and undo all of my hard work on that precious engine and- that is a cruel and clever way to manipulate me. Very cruel, very clever." Frederic fell back down to the floor, laughing so carelessly that Julius couldn't be angry. Grinning he sat down beside him and leaned back, enjoying the sight of the valley laid out before them. "I can't just up and leave, Freddie," he said, the subtle whine in his tone almost begging, but Frederic's eyes narrowed.

"Are you worried about your radio tower?"

"Oh no," he answered, so casually that Frederic believed it was the truth. "Nate and Darla have that in hand, and they both keep better records than I do. They'll have it sorted by week's end as long as someone reminds them to eat and sleep every now and then. It's just, so sudden, you know?"

"Ah," the captain said knowingly. "Myka." Julius' face flushed with sudden red, and Frederic's eyes widened. "Oh," he said.

"Don't do that, don't try to read me, I hate it when you do that," the engineer muttered, shifting his knees uncomfortably. "We're just friends."

"Jules, I didn't mean... is this about the accident at the foundry?" With some effort, Frederic managed to keep his tone light and impartial. It helped the other man look less like he was standing in front of a firing squad. "Evelyn said that Myka saved your life, but she didn't tell me exactly what happened."

"It was so dumb," Julius sighed, and Frederic swayed to bump him lightly with his shoulder.

"Most of your stories start out like that," he teased, smiling when the younger man laughed.

"Only because so many of my stories have you in it," Julius made a face at him and but after a moment, he sighed again. "So, I had this brilliant idea, right? If nephelite crystals can channel the resonator patterns transmitted from a distance, and at a high enough temperature nephelite melts, then why couldn't I melt several of them together and form them into a better shape to conduct– stop laughing, I am a genius and it should have worked." Julius smiled helplessly, shaking his head at Frederic but the captain composed himself quickly.

"Let me guess," he said. "It exploded."

Julius nodded slowly. "Completely destroyed the forge, while I stood four feet away," he crossed his left arm over his chest, grasping the tender scar on his right shoulder. "Mama says that if I had still been standing where I was, the metal would've gone through my ribcage. Instead, it went through Myka. Cut through his left shoulder and arm, nicked me on my right, and he was knocked out from the fall, bit his tongue clean through, and there was all this blood, Freddie. I thought he was dead, there was so much blood," he sighed, sinking his face into both hands. He was grateful when, unable to hug him on that side, Frederic leaned in close and placed his head on his shoulder. "There was blood everywhere and it was my fault."

"Jules," he started, but the engineer let his hands fall away with a sharp intake of breath.

"I know! I've heard everything you could think to tell me, I really have," he said plaintively. "I know that we're both fine, no worse for the wear, and Myka's a hero, he was just in the right place at the right time. Even he said it didn't change anything between us but if something had happened, it would've been on me." Julius pressed his lips together, holding back a sigh. "His death would've been on my head, so I can't leave him. You don't have to understand that, you just have to respect it. I won't go without him."

"So don't."

"Huh?" Julius drew up short, and Frederic thought it was saintly of him to keep from laughing at the look on his face.

"Bring him with you. There's room on board," he did smile at the Qian's dawning realization and he nodded to affirm his offer. "An engineer always needs an assistant, right?" Julius threw his arms around Frederic's shoulders, and the captain bit back a sharp noise of pain, releasing his breath in a sputtering breath. "The arm, the arm," he reminded him, making the younger man jump back.

"You've been here half a day, how has Mama not dragged you onto her table yet?" Julius lamented.

"She didn't have anything in my size ready to go," Frederic raised an eyebrow. "But she said you might. We were just waiting for you to come back. Do you really still use my measurements for all of your experiments?" He asked, somewhere between amused and concerned.

Julius seemed to ignore the question entirely, eyes like saucers as he bounced excitedly in his seat. "Marlea ward us, I think I have the perfect arm for you," he said.

The captain exhaled in a huff, and then frowned. "It's not going to explode, is it?"