Years ago. A small colony on the outer rim.
The dream pulled Juli back. Not to the moment the raiders attacked. Not to the desperate fear. But to what came after.
The RED-haired hero stood among the wreckage, casually talking into a communication device. His presence alone made the smoking ruins feel safer. "Yeah, send a rebuild unit. Small colony, maybe three hundred people. They'll need shelter, food, medical."
Young Juli, maybe six years old, watched him with wide eyes. His mother stood nearby, dusty and exhausted but alive. Beautiful, even in poverty. Blonde hair like Juli's, tied back messily. Warm eyes, a smile that hadn't completely died despite years of struggling.
The hero noticed her staring. That grin. "You know, I just saved this whole colony, and you're looking at me like I forgot to take out the trash."
She blinked, caught off guard. Then laughed. "Maybe I'm just trying to figure out if you're real."
"Oh, I'm very real." He walked closer, that confident swagger unmistakable. "Want me to prove it?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly. "I think saving us was proof enough."
"Aw, come on. I could do a backflip. Maybe juggle some debris. Really sell the 'heroic' angle."
"Please don't juggle debris."
"Too late. Already committed." He picked up three small rocks and actually started juggling them. Perfectly. While maintaining eye contact. "See? Multi-talented."
She laughed again, covering her mouth. "You're ridiculous."
"I prefer 'charmingly eccentric.'" He caught all three rocks in one hand with a flourish. "But I'll take ridiculous if it makes you smile."
Young Juli watched them, confused but somehow happy. His mom was laughing. Actually laughing. He hadn't heard that sound in months.
The hero noticed Juli staring and crouched down to his level. "Your mom's pretty amazing, kid. You know that?"
"I know," Juli said simply.
"Good answer." The hero stood, turning back to her. "Seriously though, you raised a good kid. Single-handedly, from what I'm guessing?"
Her expression faltered slightly. "His father... left. A long time ago."
"Then he's an idiot." The hero's tone was casual but sincere. "Anyone who walks away from a woman like you clearly doesn't appreciate what he had."
She stared at him, genuinely surprised. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough." He grinned. "You stayed. You protected your son. You didn't run when the raiders came. That tells me everything I need to know."
For a moment, they just looked at each other. Something unspoken passed between them. Something deeper than words.
An hour later, the rebuild unit arrived. Cargo haulers, construction drones, supplies. The hero rolled up his sleeves and helped. Not from a distance. He lifted debris with one hand like it weighed nothing, carried materials, worked alongside colonists.
Juli's mother worked nearby, organizing shelter assignments. The hero kept finding excuses to be close to her.
"You're pretty strong for someone who probably doesn't need to do manual labor," she observed.
"Who says I don't need to?" He hefted a metal beam effortlessly. "I love a good workout. Keeps the blood pumping. The muscles flexing. Very therapeutic."
"Is that what you call showing off?"
"I prefer 'demonstrating competence.'" He set the beam down with exaggerated care. "Besides, someone's gotta make sure you're impressed."
"Oh, so this is all for me?"
"Absolutely. I'm a simple man with simple goals." That grin again. "Make pretty blonde women smile. Save the galaxy. Not necessarily in that order."
She actually giggled. "You're impossible."
"Impossibly charming, you mean."
"That too, I suppose."
Young Juli watched them work together. The way his mom's eyes lit up when the hero made a joke. The way the hero's smile seemed more genuine around her. The way they moved in sync without even trying.
By evening, the colony had temporary shelters. Nothing fancy, but livable. Juli's mother stood in front of their new assigned unit, small but clean.
"It's not much," she said, fidgeting with her hair. "But would you like to stay for dinner? As thanks?"
The hero's expression softened. "I'd really like that."
"And maybe," she added quietly, her cheeks pink, "you could stay the night? It's late. Long journey back to wherever you're going."
His grin returned, but there was something else behind it. Something vulnerable. "Well, if you're offering, how can I refuse?"
Night came. The colony quieted.
Young Juli woke up around midnight. Couldn't sleep. Too much excitement. Too many new feelings.
He slipped out of his small room, intending to take a walk. Look at the stars. Process everything.
Then he saw them.
His mother, standing at her doorway. The hero beside her. Her hand clasped with his. She was smiling, blushing hard, leading him inside. Her blonde hair was down now, catching the moonlight.
"Come on," she whispered. "Before Juli wakes up."
"You sure about this?"
"Very sure." Her voice was soft. "I haven't felt like this in... I don't know how long."
"Me neither," the hero admitted quietly.
The door closed softly.
Young Juli stood frozen. Then, because he was a no-good idiot even as a child, he crept to the window.
Through the gap in the curtain, he saw them.
Kissing.
Not a small kiss. A real one. Deep. Affectionate. Desperate, even. His mother's arms around the hero's neck. The hero's hands on her waist, gentle but firm.
Juli covered his eyes immediately. "Nope nope nope."
But curiosity won. One eye peeked between his fingers.
His mother's hands moved to the hero's shirt. Started unbuttoning. Still kissing. The hero's shirt came off, revealing a perfectly sculpted torso. Not a single scar. Flawless. Like he'd never been touched by violence despite being a warrior.
The kissing intensified. His mother's fingers traced the hero's chest. The hero's hand moved to her hair.
"OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH!" Juli whispered to himself, both eyes covered now. "This is getting way too grown-up!"
He turned and walked away quickly, face burning.
He wandered to the edge of the colony, found a spot overlooking the valley, and sat down. Tried to process what he'd just seen. Tried not to think about it. Failed miserably.
"What a naughty boy."
Juli jumped. The hero sat down beside him, now wearing his shirt again (though unbuttoned), that massive grin on his face. "Peeping at your mom's window? Bold move, kid."
"I WASN'T—" Juli's face went red. "I was just—"
"Relax, relax. I'm messing with you." The hero laughed, genuine and warm. "Come here. Sit with me properly."
Juli scooted closer hesitantly.
"Let's look at the stars together," the hero said, tilting his head up.
They sat in silence for a while. The night was clear. Stars everywhere. The hero's presence was warm, even in the cool air. Juli could feel it radiating off him. Safety. Strength. Something indefinable that made the world feel right.
But when Juli glanced up at the hero's face, he saw something else.
Sadness.
Deep in those eyes. Hidden behind the grin and the confidence and the jokes. Something heavy. Something that hurt.
"Are you sad?" Young Juli asked quietly.
The hero's smile faltered for just a second. Then returned, softer. "What makes you say that?"
"Your eyes. They look... I don't know. Different."
The hero stared at the stars for a long moment. "You're a perceptive kid, you know that?"
"So you ARE sad?"
"Sometimes." The hero's voice was quieter now. "Sometimes being who I am means... carrying things. Things I can't really talk about."
"Why not?"
"Because some problems don't have easy answers, kid." He ruffled Juli's blonde hair. "But that's not something you need to worry about. You've got your whole life ahead of you."
"But you're a hero. Heroes shouldn't be sad."
The hero laughed, but it sounded hollow. "Heroes are just people, Juli. We just happen to be strong enough to help others. Doesn't mean we have all the answers for ourselves."
Young Juli didn't fully understand. But he leaned against the hero's side anyway. Felt that warmth.
"When I grow up," Juli said, "I wanna be like you."
The hero's expression changed. Something genuine broke through. "Then you better train hard, kid. Harder than anyone else. Because strength isn't just physical. It's having the courage to be yourself even when the world tells you not to."
"I will. I'll train a hundred times harder!"
"That's the spirit." The hero pulled him closer, almost protective. "Your mom... she's special, you know that?"
"Yeah."
"Take care of her. Always. Promise me that."
"I promise."
They sat together under the stars. The hero's warmth. The sadness in his eyes. The way he held young Juli like he was holding onto something precious he knew he'd have to let go.
Both real. Both true. Both breaking something inside him that he'd never let anyone see.
THUNK. THUNK.
Two pens hit Juli's head simultaneously from opposite directions.
His eyes snapped open. The exam hall. The datapad. The countdown timer showing he'd already lost five minutes.
He looked left. Nara smiled sweetly, her pen now conveniently on the ground.
He looked right. Pam's pen was also mysteriously on the floor. Her expression said I will murder you if you fail this.
Juli's face went through several emotions. Confusion. Panic. Then determination.
He raised his hand above his head. Slowly moved it down over his face like closing a curtain, his expression shifting dramatically from goofy confusion to dead serious focus.
Then Juli grabbed the datapad and started working. Reading questions. Answering. Moving fast.
Both Pam and Nara sighed with relief.
Then immediately glared at each other.
Their eyes locked. Silver versus crimson. Silent warfare.
A holographic android proctor floated over, its robotic voice cutting through the tension. "Cadets. Eyes on your own stations. Any further disruption will result in disciplinary action."
They both snapped back to their tests, but the glaring continued in their peripheral vision.
Juli didn't notice. He was in the zone now, plowing through Galactic History questions.
The exam hall hummed with tense energy.
And somewhere in his mind, the warmth of that night still lingered.
The hero. His mother. The sadness in those eyes.