You can't take the {sky} from me

“But… isn’t there a difference between conforming and choosing not to bait someone with teasing?” It seemed a simple enough thought, but Matvei was also accustomed to being on the receiving end of such remarks. Then again, when it came to Laika, he himself seemed to take over Gauche in the overprotective area. At least he hadn’t lost the ability to say ‘no’ yet.

“You sound like an accident waiting to happen,” Gauche commented dryly, rolling her veiled eyes. “Or an arrest. No wonder there’s a deportation protocol with you.” With a soft sigh, Gauche turned to Matvei and bowed once before she vanished from sight again. She could still listen in from her PET and there were better things to do than linger on Matvei’s shoulder.

“Oh, right… questions!” Matvei straightened in his chair, his face turning serious. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you. What did you want to ask me?”

   Charlie snorted. “Laika and I get along in an odd way, compared to most. Trust me, if I suddenly stopped teasing him, he’d be worried. That’s how he’d know if I was being serious or if something was wrong.”

  “Now, as for my questions...well, one is a question, one’s a request~. First things first...” Charlie tilted his head as he watched Matvei for a moment, as if he were looking for something.

”Is that Ijuuin Enzan?!” A young boy scrambled to watch the battle table, pushing past his sister. 

”No! Don’t be stupid! He doesn’t come around here since winning the N1! Why would he hang around little spots like this when he can battle against Megaman and Netto!” She quickly shut down his fan-based squeals. “Besides, that’s a girl!” 

The winner in question was wearing a baseball cap that hid their hair, and a baggy sweatshirt that obscured their figure. However, you could still see a small smirk pop up from under it, as their green navi won another round. If you were paying attention through the throngs of players, you could see them as the people moved forward in line. 

“Anyone else wanna play? I’m getting bored here! Someone give me a challenge!” They leaned back on their heels, seeming to enjoy frustrating the other people, but remaining very casual about it. That only sent the newest challenger into more of a rage, and caused the winner to laugh out loud. 

   Charlie looked up as he heard another cry of loss from the battle table. The line of challengers had dwindled into less than a handful of kids, with only one person on the other end, most of their face hidden by the cap they wore, but that smirk was easy to see.

   The pilot smirked in turn and deposited their empty plate into a trash bin as he pulled out his PET, walking over to the table. He waited patiently while the last of the challengers was beaten, and quietly plugged in.

{🎀};— At this time, it was smack dab in the middle of the lunch rush hour. There were lines in several places; workers from construction workers to those in expensive business suits. The waft of different foods could catch the attention of someone with a bad head cold from at least a mile and half away. This was no different from the girl with rather unkempt hair that was walking around after deciding to ditch her Net Savior session for the day for reasons she’d rather keep to herself.

All the choices she originally wanted to go to was packed to the brim with people, so that definitely was out of the question. If she didn’t find some sort of place that was completely packed then she would just go–wait. There was suddenly a familiar smell … the smell of spices, cheese, freshly baked bread and some cooked meats. It was pizza! Amy looked towards the direction of wear the smell was coming from–a half pizzeria. half small arcade. While she usually goes to the one that was more on the ‘traditional’ side, that was on the other side of the city. Besides, they had one of those IPC battle table games right? Just because she is playing hooky didn’t mean she couldn’t get any training in.

She walked in and looked around her surroundings–the bright blinking lights from the games, the smell of that greasy yet delicious portable food from Amerope filled the air. Even if it was a bit too noisy for her liking, there wasn’t that many people like there was at the other restaurants so this could be manageable.

The pinkette walked over to where the games were and went directly to the IPC battle table. Just as she was about to ask one of the kids if they would like a Net battle, one of the parents had saw her walking over and right after whispering to the other parents, they had gotten their kids and practically dragged them to the other arcade machines despite their children’s protests.

To everyone else, it seemed like the parents were being unreasonably rude to their children but Amy knew the truth; it seemed like even if are trying your hardest to not be a delinquent anymore, people will still treat you like you have the plague. Now Amy sighed as picked a place to sit down, debating with herself whether she should just go home fix herself something to eat.

At least she won’t be judged at her own house.

   Charlie looked up as a flash of pink hair settled into a seat next to the table he was at, noticing the looks flashed her way. Well, those were looks he’d seen before, directed at him in his own youth, though that was hardly a surprise with how he held himself, even now. Thoughtfully, he walked over and sat in front of her, flashing one of his better smiles as he spoke.

   “Hello there~. What’s a rose like you doing around all these dandelions, hmm? You shouldn’t let them get you down, they like looking at book covers more than reading the content, if you catch my meaning.”

“…that’s a really nice way to think,” Matvei murmured absently, resisting the urge to grip the thin chain hidden under his shirt. Would people treat him differently if they knew? He shuddered to think about it. Bullying had been bad enough; a pedestal in a spotlight would only be worse.

“The captain is really protective of her highness…” A gentle smile tinged with sadness slowly spread over Matvei’s face. “It’s… really nice to see him so happy with someone.”

Happy or not, that didn’t change the fact that Charlie had purposely upset Laika. Matvei couldn’t allow that to continue. “…but you should do that to tease him,” he frowned, his voice taking on a stern tone. “The captain is a really good person, but he doesn’t need any more stress than he already has.”

   Charlie nodded somberly. “Yeah, he doesn’t.” The older man sighed. “I haven’t purposefully done that in a long time, but sometimes my sheer existence causes him to wig out~. He takes on too much by himself rather than letting others help him, especially when we try to help him without prompting. Which, unfortunately, I do often. I don’t like leaving something undone if I know I can help. Just not my style.”

   Gyroman rolled his eyes. “Which is why I’ve had to make reparations with some of our clients many times. You could stand to learn a thing or four from Laika, Charlie.’ Gyro turned to nod at Gauche. “Or from some of the Navi’s, like Blues or Rockman. Sergeant Utkin’s here seems perfectly capable, if a bit brusque. Maybe paying some attention would help ease Laika’s chagrin?”

   Charlie huffed. “I’ve told you before, I’m not changing my entire personality and beliefs just so someone else can feel appeased. I’m plenty aware of a mood and atmosphere, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to follow it like everyone else.” 

   He shrugged as he spoke again. “Can’t make the world a better place if you stand frozen in worry. Keep moving, keep looking forward, and you’ll have a better chance at doing something great~.” Charlie nodded to Matvei with a smile. “That being said, don’t put yourself at too huge a risk. Always have a way to come back alive, or at least only as banged up as necessary. There’s plenty of people in the world around us who care about us, regardless of if we know it or not.” A fond look entered his eyes at the words. Tesla would never forgive him if he got himself hurt badly while on the job.

Gauche reappeared on Matvei’s shoulder with a small flash, her arms crossed and her mouth set in a thin frown. She was less than impressed, that much was for certain, but her over-protective tendencies with Matvei certainly didn’t help. “I’ve alerted the Captain of your arrival, whirlybird.”

“Whirlybird..?” Matvei sighed and gave his shoulder a small shake. Really, how Gauche managed to come up with all these nicknames on such short notice was amazing – and somewhat concerning. But really, she should do it a little less. It was hard to make friends when you teased them all the time.

“Wait, Pri–her highness?!” Matvei’s eye widened almost comically, his lips forming a surprise ‘o’ as he started at Charlie. How could anyone flirt with someone like that without being worried? Or concerned? Or generally nervous?

Maybe Charlie was braver than Laika made him out to be…

“..but how? Weren’t you scared? And you did it more than once?”

“How...?” Charlie looked taken aback for a moment before a small peal of laughter bubbled up inside him. This young sergeant was entertaining with his innocence. He could see what drew Freddie to him.

   “Well, for starters, no, I wasn’t scared. Rank and status never really mattered to me. If there’s a need to stand on ceremony then sure, treat a princess like a princess. But she’s still a person under that crown~. Treating her like a person is rather easy, same for anyone else.” Charlie smirked as he thought back to the past. “And yes, I did so more than once, much to Laika’s chagrin. He...took exception to my advances a few times.”

   Gyroman groaned quietly as Charlie talked. Most of the problems Charlie’d had back then had been to his flirtatious nature, which often left Gyro to clean up the mess after him. “Charlie, you’re forgetting how often you did that. Half the time you were doing it just to antagonize Laika.”

“Oh… really?” Matvei blinked, surprise clear on his face as he leaned against one of the tables in the break room. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d met Frederic before, most of them usually involving Laika. He’d never really thought he could call what he left a good impression. Maybe a confusing one, but not particularly good. “I didn’t know he liked me, I was worried I’d weirded him out.”

The topic of Laika made Matvei’s expression brighten, his visible eye warming as he finally took a chair and nodded. “The Captain is very soft. He thinks he’s too strict sometimes, but he’s very kind. He was the first person on the base who accepted me, and–”

Matvei stopped suddenly, his eyes growing wide as he leaned partway back in his chair. “Oh! You’re… You’re Charlie.” Well, that was a problem. But Charlie seemed polite enough. Weird, but polite. “Um, the captain told me I should never be alone with you.”

   Gyroman snorted. “Charlie, your reputation precedes you. Again.” The navi sighed as his NetOp laughed.

   “Well, it does tend to make things easier, though occasionally it makes my life more difficult, I admit.” Charlie turned back to Matvei. “Don’t listen to Laika on that, he’s never been all that fond of me. I used to flirt with Pride and, well, he took that a bit poorly.”

   Gyroman rolled his eyes at that. “It doesn’t help that you made habit out of it just to needle the Captain at the time. Every opportunity, you two were at each others throats.”

   “Water under the bridge, Gyro! At least for me. Laika, unfortunately, still holds something resembling resentment towards me, but I like to think I’m growing on him~.” Charlie chuckled again and he spoke to Matvei. “Regardless, I don’t disagree with you about your captain. He’s a teddy bear...or maybe a young puppy at times. But he has his teeth, so to speak~. As for Frederic, very few things weird him out, but fewer still capture his attention. Count yourself as being someone he considers close. He’s got a loyalty complex of sorts. Err...” 

hub-bat:

Alright, Rock thought to himself, looking down at a list no one else could see- on the visor built into his eyes he checked off grocery items for his mama. He didn’t mind venturing out in a copyroid for his mom on and off- he was more dutiful about it than Netto was. I think I’ve gotten everything. .

His eyes fell on the nearby pick-up Netbattle tournament. He hadn’t been in a proper tournament in forever- and some part of him was still dying to. Maybe another time, with Netto nearby…

He thought now not to stick around too long, for anyone over there spotting the famous “Megaman” and he would never get home. As he turned away and was about to leave though, he was shocked to find a friend!

“Charlie!” Rock exclaimed, forgetting all about being recognized and bouncing over to his past teammate. “I haven’t seen you since- well, since last time! How goes the flying? Laika still shooting you outta the sky?”

   Charlie looked up as he heard his name, setting down his pizza as he smiled and nodded a greeting. “Hey, Rockman, you sure know how to give a backhanded greeting~. You know I don’t get shot down.”

   The pilot straightened a bit as he talked, scanning the people around them--Rock was famous after all. Charlie would prefer to not be swarmed, so a careful eye would be necessary. “As for the flying, it goes. I’m playing taxi driver more than anything lately. Charlie sighed, the staleness of his day job was never an exciting conversation topic.

“He must have told you a lot,” Matvei mused, offering Charlie a small, friendly smile. They didn’t have a huge reputation outside the fencing world, and Charlie didn’t seem the type to follow sports any more than Frederic had. “That was Gauche; she’ll deliver your message quickly, I promise.”

Gesturing down the hall, Matvei began making his way toward the break room. Charlie’s request wasn’t so much bothersome as odd. He certainly wasn’t the most interesting soldier here, and he couldn’t imagine why he needed to be interviewed (interrogated? questioned?) like this. Maybe it had something to do with the net saviors? He had spoken to Laika before about wanting to join.

“It’s just down this next hall but…” he paused, glancing over his shoulder with a curious, but cautious look. “I guess don’t mind answering questions? That’s a big part of my job here.”

   Charlie just nodded. “Oh, he has. I have a hard time getting a word in edgewise some time. He holds you in high esteem. I’ve had to start going through his Navi to get anything done.” Charlie chuckled. “I’ve never seen him so enthusiastic about another person, outside of those he considers family~.”

   Charlie gestured towards the direction Matvei had indicated. Ah, you don’t have to wait with me if you have other things you need to do. I know how hard a taskmaster Laika can be, despite how much of a softie he is~.” Charlie winked, earning a snort from Gyroman, who appeared on his shoulder.

“Laika also will ban you from Sharo again if you keep coming in unnanounced. You’re lucky i’d already sent a message to Searchman about your arrival and got us clearance. We could have been shot at, Charlie.”

“Certain… soldier?” Matvei’s eyebrow quirked upward. Laika was the only answer that made sense, but it was an odd way to refer to him. Maybe it was some sort of joke they had with each other? Still, he thought he’d known all of Laika’s friends, or at least their names, maybe something good really had happened in his absence.

“The Captain is likely busy right now.” Matvei informed, offering an apologetic smile. “But… I can send a message along asking him to meet us when he’s free.”

As if on queue, the small hologram of a navi appeared on Matvei’s shoulder, and Gauche’s eyes sized Charlie up from behind her visor. “Charlie Airstar, arrived with a gift and wants to spend some quality time with you. Of course. Consider it done, young master.” Perhaps it was her own way of sending a warning, but even if Matvei’s memory wasn’t the best at the moment, she knew who Charlie was. And what Laika would think when he found out.

“Um, thank you…?” Matvei blinked, his expression furrowing into a brief, confused frown before he offered Charlie another smile. “There’s a small break room nearby we can use.”

   “I’d appreciate it...Gauche, right?” Charlie nodded. “Oh, and let him know his order for the princess came in as well~. I just need him to verify it’s up to his standards before I deliver it.”

“Oh, ah… thank you?” The mention of Frederic’s name brought forth recognition and he brightened slightly. So this man was an ally. Good. He wouldn’t have to e-mail Laika with pictures and times. Searching through security footage was never fun.

“And… back?” Matvei paused, curling his mouth upward in a sweet smile. “I finished training for the day not too long ago, if that’s what you mean. But I haven’t been gone. I’m sorry; maybe we’ve been missing each other?”

As to where Frederic was… maybe he wasn’t the best guide for this. But if they were going to be cooking, the communal kitchens seemed a safe bet; that’s where guests were allowed to cook. “I can take you to the kitchens if you’re going to be eating together. They’re not far.”

   Charlie sighed internally, but he let the obvious lie go. He’s been in his line of business long enough to see through some of the most intricate lies, one so obvious was an easy catch. “I see~. That’s likely, with how infrequent I get to visit this base.”

Startled, Matvei looked down at Charlie’s hand, a gesture he still wasn’t accustomed to. Salutes and bows seemed so much more commonplace for him, but manners were manners. It would be rude to turn the gesture down.

“I’m… Matvei. Sergeant Matvei Utkin.” Now where had he heard Charlie’s name before? The news? Or maybe it was Laika himself? Charlie had mentioned him. That was a small comfort. Or perhaps he had been gone for too long and forgotten too much. He’d need to fix that fast. 

“Could I have his name? I might be able to point you in the right direction.”

   “Matvei...That’s a good name~.” Charlie smiled and shook the hand that took his. “Ah, no, I just finished a small lunch with him. Frederic had me bring some groceries so he could cook a proper meal~.”

(*alarms to off* WHEEEWHOOO! Deportation! Deportation!)

The sharp click of Matvei’s boots came to a sudden halt as he peered over his shoulder, a soft squeak of alarm pouring from his lips. This man certainly didn’t look like part of the military, but he swore he’d seen the face before. Maybe in pictures? A report?

“Um,” he hesitated, trying to assess if this man was friend or foe. Certainly an enemy sneaking into a base wouldn’t be so obvious, right? A friendly start wouldn’t hurt.