Icarus Sidewinder looked out the window, gazing out upon the starry night sky above Munich. He sighed wistfully, suddenly wishing to once again be a part of his natural element, soaring above all his problems.

He had become so engaged in this thought that he hadn't noticed the footsteps approaching from behind.

"Mind if I join you?"

Icarus cocked his head slightly to take in the form of Drake Marshall. The Vanguard Europe field leader was dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, sipping a cola beverage.

"Can't see why you'd want to, Captain America," Sidewinder sighed, "but it's your choice..."

Drake furrowed his brow. "I... uh... suppose I'll take that as a yes."

Drake came up to the window that Icarus leaned against and matched the pilot's pose. Taking a sip of his soda, Drake followed his teammate's gaze out the window and into the night sky.

"Stars are beautiful tonight," he said in an attempt to start up some conversation.

"I guess..." Icarus shrugged.

Drake attempted another go. 'You see that one?" he said as he pointed at a particular grouping of stars. "That's Pegasus. The flying horse. Y'know, I could never find the Big Dipper or Orion's Belt, but I could always seem to find Pegasus. You think that's weird?"

"Whatever, Boy Scout," Icarus said, turning from the window and walking back into the party.

"Icarus!" Drake called, stopping the pilot as he moved away. "Wait up!"

"Yeah?" Icarus said, turning around, suddenly looking none too happy.

"Look," Drake said, "I don't know if you're used to it or not, but I'm used to starting off meeting people on the right foot. I don't think we got that opportunity."

"What?"

"You fought well out there, Icarus," Drake said, "and I know Paragon knew what he was doing when he brought you on. I was hoping that we could maybe be friends..."

Icarus stared at the Vanguard leader blankly for a moment, then, after a pause just long enough to be construed as uncomfortable, he burst out laughing.

"Don't go soft on me, Captain!" he chortled, slapping the man on the shoulder. Then, taking a swig of his wine, he raised his glass and continued to walk away. "Cheers!"

"Well," Marshall said, standing awkwardly with his soda, "that went well..."

Last edited by Grimm; 2004-09-17 8:54 PM.