Heroes of the Galaxy

It’s difficult to keep his gaze as he rightfully confronts her, her heart heavy and receiving a mighty blow from the hurt in his voice, in his face. Gods… She never meant to hurt him, but she still had. Why should I stay? He poses a good question. Asuka swallows the growing lump in her throat as her gaze finally drops. “I know,” it comes out shakier than intended and she takes a breath to steady her voice. “I know I hurt you, terribly, and it was the last thing I ever wanted to do.” She gains the courage to meet James’s eyes again. “For your sake, the less you knew, the better because I wasn’t about to drag you into this and be the one responsible for ruining your career. To leave Earth, we had to steal a ship. If you knew about it and said nothing, you would have become an accomplice, and if it got traced back to you, it would have fallen all on you. And if you knew, you would have tried to stop us and Ryou would have had no issue knocking you out and I wasn’t about to let that happen either!”

Whatever shred of composure she had is short-lived, quickly crumbling beneath the weight of the guilt and emotions she kept bottled up for four years as she continues. “I–” her voice squeaks, “I didn’t know how long we would be out there and it… it wasn’t fair to keep you waiting for someone who may not even come back. But I had no idea Garrison would–” She frowns, eyes falling to the floor once more. “But I guess I should have considering their track record. But I never stopped thinking about it or you and I hoped – prayed – you would be safe here, but of course not because of this… stupid war!” She stops with a sob, tears welling up in her eyes. “I know I can’t expect anything from you, but I just… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she apologizes tearfully, hiding her face behind a hand.

    He listens to her quietly, lips pressed into a thin line. His arms hang stiffly at his sides, his fists clenched in a grip so tight his knuckles fade to white. Internal conflict brews within him as he debates whether he’d have proceeded the way Asuka had predicted or if he’d acted differently. A very loud part of him screams that things would have been different because it’s her... and gods, his love for her makes—no, made him want to do so many reckless things.

    But all that’s in the past, or isn’t it?

    A sob hickups out of her and he glances up, knowing full well his heart will break at the sight of her tear-streaked face. He’s not blind or callous — it’s obvious she cared (cares, even) and never meant to hurt him... but she did. It takes a tremendous amount of effort for him not to step forward and pull her into his arms, to comfort and brush away her tears, though he wants to, badly. It’s not his place and his heart refuses to go through this again.

    His breath stutters unevenly in his chest and he inhales sharply. He has to walk away, for his own sake, but he needs closure first.

    “Asuka...” Their eyes finally meet.

    “I... loved you.” There it is, a crushing weight lifted off his chest. “But I never got the chance to tell you before we...” he chokes up, vaguely gesturing with his hand to allude to their sudden breakup. 

    Did she ever love him? He’ll likely never know. Still, he pushes forward.

    “Despite your actions being a massive breach of protocol, Asuka, I would have supported you... covered for you, if I’d had to. At least, I’d like to think I would have.” In a way, he had ended doing so anyway, though with genuine lack of knowledge, as the Garrison had cornered him for answers that he didn’t have. 

    “I would have done so because, had I been in your shoes, had I been presented with the possibility of finding a family member that I presumed dead...” His jaw clenches as he pushes aside the thoughts of his own lost family. “I think I would have done the same.”

    And by the gods, he would have waited for her. His heart never truly stopped waiting for her.

Shiro winces when Romelle concludes what the situation really is from his explanation. He isn’t ignorant of his avoidance but hearing it actually put into words is a different story, especially when he’s likely going to be confronted on it, now that Romelle is no longer confused by the idiom. Matters are made worse by the realization that he got ahead of himself and dove head first into a giant hole he dug if Romelle is asking him to clarify. Good going, Shirogane… First outing yourself and now this.

“It’s… it’s complicated,” Shiro sighs after a long, awkward pause, feeling even more guilty than he already does. “It’s not that simple.”

    “What’s so complicated about it? Either you like him or you don’t... It seems pretty black and white to me.” Seriously, humans overcomplicate everything, especially their feelings.

    Just... how had he gotten himself into this situation? Oh, yeah... his ridiculously chivalrous side had to make its appearance and he’d been unable to resist Asuka Shirogane’s pleading eyes.

    Now, he finds himself sitting on one of the couches at the Drunken Lizard, his arm loosely draped around Asuka’s shoulders as they engage in idle conversation with some of the other junior officers. From the scathing glare he feels directed at the back of his head, Asuka’s previous suitor hasn’t stopped looking in their direction.

    “He’s persistent, isn’t he?” He frowns, leaning in closer as part of his act. “Whatever happened to ‘No means no’?”

       “ Are you sure there is nothing similar here ? ” Sure, they were in space, but he knew Hunk, he had made their journey all the more delicious with his skills “ Come on Hunk ! You are a magician when it comes to space food, there must be something you can do, right buddy ? ”

Honestly, Ína had been too entrenched in her research to really care for her hunger – or even to notice it. Finally, it’s James’ reply that has her looking up from her book to his expression, and then down to the container. She doesn’t feel overly hungry, but Ína has never been one to eat much. Still, James looks concerned enough that Ína gives in. She sets her book aside, turning the corner of the page down and adjusting in her seat so she can sit cross legged.

“You worry too much,” She quips as she reaches for her container. Mostly cool, now, but she doesn’t mind. “I hope we get permission for these upgrades– I’d like to make some adjustments before installing anything, but it seems like it could be very good for our fuel consumption, long-term. How has your evening been?”

     ❝No, I worry just the right amount,❞ he huffs and slides a bottle of water toward her. Often enough, he finds himself feeling like the mother hen of the group... but he supposes SOMEONE has to make sure the MFE-ARES unit is in tiptop shape and, as the team leader and resident worry-wart, it’s up to him. It would be nice if one of the others would pick up the slack every once in a while, though.

    When she brings up the upgrades, he nods — he hasn’t delved into them as much as Ína has but Sam did debrief him earlier and that’s good enough for now.

    ❝We should see a 15% improvement in our fuel consumption, from what Commander Holt told me.❞ It doesn’t sound like much at first but an extra hour of flight can make a world of a difference in a pinch.

“Who?” Pidge glances up to see Keith and Shiro on separate sides of the room, gazing longingly at each other when the other wasn’t watching in-between their tasks.

“I don’t know why I even asked.” She sighs dramatically, “Yes, and I wish they would do something about it already. It’s making me gag.”

    ❝They’re cute,❞ she chuckles, ❝...and certainly NOT subtle.❞ If the way their puppy eyes keep flicking toward one another is any indication. 

Hunk’s reassurances cause Shiro to pause and he lightly flushes at the knowledge that he’s not being particularly subtle in his jealousy, which is thankfully being misinterpreted by the other paladin.

Yeah, that’s… what I’m concerned about. He sighs. “I know they will be, Hunk, but I still can’t help but worry with us being separated across the universe and uncertain as to how Zarkon is tracking us. If they need backup, they won’t be able to get it quickly.”

    ❝Listen, Shiro. I know you have a good point...❞ he frowns. His anxiety had already factored in that Keith and the princess could be discovered, but he’d tried pushing it to the back of his mind seeing as how it’s something neither of them can fix. He’ll just have to convince Shiro of the same.

    ❝Don’t you think it’s a little mean to force Cass and Ryou to fake a relationship just for the sake of this alliance?❞  She’s all for giving the two humans a much-needed shove in the right direction but feeling how distressed Cass really is over it...

Keith:

Shiro:

Keith:

Lance: What’s going on?

    He hesitates. 

    In the middle of all the turmoil and all the pain that he’s been drowning in from the beginning of the war, her voice is the only thing that can bring everything to a screeching halt and he almost hates it. He hesitates, jaw clenched and loose fists hanging at his sides. He hesitates even though he wants nothing more than to retreat and close himself up, to put as much distance between himself and what is surely imminent heartbreak.

    As it is, he’s never been good at fighting the gravitational hold she seems to have on his heart. After what feels like an eternity, he turns around to face her, his eyes finding hers.