SunnyBeeWriting

MILES QUARITCH

Peachy Keen. Part One

Peachy Keen. Part Two

Peachy Keen. Part Three

Peachy Keen. Part Four

SULLY!READER

The Gentle Stars

Finding Purpose

🥹🥹 Don’t worry friend, soon! It’ll be here before you know it, it’s just taking longer than I thought 🥲 but all of you and your support is amazing!! ❤️❤️

-👁️👄👁️💅

So thanks again, you are all amazing! And I’m going to try to start posting more things whether they’re writings or reblogs! I want to make some more friends on here! ❤️❤️❤️

Hi guys!! I’m sorry for the wait! The next few chapters will be MASSIVE if I don’t split them up! And the plot is about to pick up for sure. Thank you all so, so much for all your encouragement and likes and comments, they make me so, so happy. And trust me things will spice up I promise 😈😈! 🥹 I love you guys, you are all the best!! Peachy Keen, Part Four 🍑✨

WORDS: 5,921

WARNINGS: NONE

“Ni-hona.”

The word coming from Quaritch's mouth is jumbled and slow as he struggles to pronounce it. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration, his hand waving in front of him in the correct gesture as he tries to speak.

“No, no, not ni-hona, nìhona.” You speak slowly, making sure to pronounce the syllables correctly. Your mouth twitches as you struggle not to smile. Really, it’s just ridiculous how charming this guy can be when he’s frustrated.

Quaritch’s scowl deepens as you correct him, but he begrudgingly repeats your speech pattern.

“Nìhona.”

You beam and clap your hands together twice in front of you, pride filling your chest. “Yes! It can be a little tricky to remember, but once you practice a little bit, you’ll be saying it in your sleep!”

Quaritch sits up straighter, and you definitely aren’t imagining the way his chest puffs out a little bit at your praise. His mouth quirks up slightly at the corners at your elated reaction.

“Honestly, I’m pretty surprised you got it so fast. I know it took me at least two weeks to learn what you learned in one week.” It isn't a lie. Quaritch had taken off with your lessons much faster than you could have ever expected, soaking up everything Na’vi related like an eager sponge. It was impressive, to say the least.

He snorts softly, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “What, you thought I wouldn’t be able to do it? This shit is easy as hell.”

This time you can’t help your giggle, and you aren’t imagining the way his golden eyes soften just a bit.

It’s a beautiful day as you sit across from one another in the courtyard, so close your knees almost brush together. The daylight is warm against your skin and dark hair, and it lights up Quaritch in front of you. It would be the perfect day if you could hear the sounds of insects and the breeze of trees around you, but the only thing you can hear is the constant cacophony of construction and hexbots at work in the distance. Even with that all that noise, there is almost nothing that could ruin your mood right now.

It's been two days since your conversation on the stairs, and you’d been so relieved when you’d met up the morning afterward and everything between you felt…surprisingly normal. You’d been worried that it would feel uncomfortable, or that something would have changed in how he interacted with you. To your relief, Quaritch had simply greeted you with his usual scowl before kicking your ass again.

You were just glad that your emotional moment with him hadn’t seemed to change anything.

You sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, simply soaking in his presence. Your lesson time for the morning ended about fifteen minutes ago, but you just don’t want to leave yet. It seems Quaritch feels the same way, as he makes no move to get up. In fact, this is probably the longest time you’ve spent with him in silence.

It was nice to just be with someone, with no expectations or small talk.

Eventually, Quaritch shifts to stand, long legs pulling out from his seat on the floor to push himself up. You look up from your place on the ground to watch him rise, not even bothering to look away as he catches your gaze.

When he offers you a hand up, you grasp it without hesitation. He pulls you to your feet much more gently than in the past, and your hands linger together for a brief moment before you simultaneously let go.

That’s the one thing you've noticed that seems to have changed since the stairs. He's more gentle with his words and with his hits, less mean almost. He grabs things for you, and when you walk together he hovers a hand above the small of your back. He's almost hesitant to meet your eyes sometimes. It's a stark contrast to how he acted to you in the beginning, but you couldn't say you minded at all. In fact, his behavior now never failed to make your face burn and butterflies explode in your stomach. 

 “Well, Peach, this has been fun, but I got a meeting with my team in thirty. Those assholes are probably already loosin’ their minds waitin’. Jackasses can’t do shit without me.” He sneers, rolling his eyes derisively. 

You snicker. Quaritch definitely has an ego, but from the way you’ve seen his team hang onto his every word and order, he probably isn’t too far off the mark with that statement.

Quaritch grins briefly at your laugh, sharp fangs peeking out slightly. Even though you have your own set of sharp teeth now, seeing his never fails to make your stomach jolt. 

“Sounds about right, sir. Same time tomorrow?”

Quaritch falters so briefly that you wonder if you're imagining it. He opens his mouth slightly, as if to speak, before something flashes over his face and he closes it. His eyes move between yours and his tail flicks unsteadily behind him.

“Yeah, sweetheart. And make sure your scrawny ass isn’t late this time, alright? I don’t have all day to wait on you. I am actually important around here, you know.”

Your lips twitch, but you manage not to smile. You contort your face into something semi-serious, but your eyes and voice are clearly amused.

“Yes, sir!”

Quaritch rolls his eyes, his own mouth twitching. His long arm reaches across the distance between your bodies and he presses his hand briefly against the bare skin of your upper arm. The training you’ve been doing together has put some faint callouses on his hands, and they rub tenderly against your skin as he strokes a quick path. He does it quickly, as though it’s an action he doesn’t even realize he’s doing.

You’ve been in close proximity for months, training and talking and almost kissing, but your heart still races in your chest every time you touch. It’s embarrassing, really, the effect he has on you.

You gaze at each other for another long moment before he releases you and turns around.

You blow out a quiet breath as you watch him walk away and out of the yard, appreciating the view as you always do. At least this time you don’t have anything sharp in your hands. Just thinking about it makes your hand sting, even though the cut has long since healed.

You wander back to the Avatar sleeping center, taking your time and enjoying the light of the day. You certainly don't have much of anything to do once you are linked back into your human body.

Soon enough, though, you make it to the center. After you link back, you simply lay in the pod for a moment, staring up at the warm yellow lighting. You just can’t seem to get your body to move. 

Eventually, you’re able to find the motivation to rise from your position and open the pod. You swing your legs over the side and sit there for another minute, blearily rubbing your fists against your eyes to clear them. Your mouth feels a little fuzzy and your head has begun to throb sharply at your temples, but all in all, you feel fairly energetic. It’s much better than you felt when you first began linking.

You stand on your feet, turning this way and that to stretch out your lethargic muscles. Your stomach begins to growl hungrily, so you drearily make your way to the doors of the center just as Miss Hall strides through.

Her red hair is in its usual severe bun, slicked back and not a hair out of place. Everything about her looks as it usually does, but it’s her quick pace and the pleased expression on her face that takes you off guard.

“Nice morning, isn’t it, Miss Hall? How’s it going with-” you pause when Miss Hall’s head jerks toward you and an uncharacteristically enthusiastic smile appears on her face. In the time you’ve known her, you’ve never seen such a happy look from her before. It’s enough to make you hesitate in the doorway, startled. When the smile doesn’t fade from her mouth, something clicks in your mind and realization floods your body.

Is it…?

Your heart leaps into your throat when she answers your unasked question by nodding her head.

Ohmygod it’s time!

You quickly cover the remaining distance from her in a few brief seconds so you can either clap her shoulder, pull her into a hug, or do a celebratory dance. You aren’t even sure. Just as you’re lifting your arms to apparently pull her into a hug, she coughs and shoves her arm in between your bodies for a handshake.

Oh, right. Woops.

You lower your arms and stay a few feet away, respecting her choice for less physical contact. That didn’t stop you from squeezing her hand and giving it ten pumps up and down though.

“They actually agreed to let us head out? All of us? How far do we-?”

“We are allowed a maximum distance of ten miles from the tree line of the Kill Zone-"

You squeal and clap your hands, interrupting her sentence, but you just can’t help it.

“But only ten miles, no more, do you understand?” She gives you a stern look as she speaks. 

You nod your head franticly. Ten miles past the Kill Zone was so much further than you ever expected the RDA to allow your little group of newbies to head out on their first trip into the wilderness of Pandora. But you certainly weren’t fucking complaining! It's a dream come true, being able to travel that far so soon, and you are not going to ruin it.

You had spent the past two months developing the muscular tone and reflexes of your Avatar so you would be ready for the large amount of physical activity wandering around Pandora would require. Learning to fight from Quaritch of all people had undoubtedly helped in that goal; your Avatar had much better strength and speed now. 

And you wonder if this is what Quaritch felt like all the time, fast and powerful, so much bigger and better than everyone around him. If so, it’s no wonder he’s kind of a bully; sometimes even you got a little cocky with your newfound physical prowess, and you aren’t even half the asshole Quaritch liked to be sometimes.  

“Okay, okay, when do we leave?”

Tomorrow, tomorrow, say tomorrow!

“We’ll head out tomorrow morning, all five members of the second division.”

I might literally shit my pants right now.

Your mind races, your heart furiously pumping to keep up with all the exhilaration now surging through your blood and into your brain. You’re going to have to shower, have to pack, have to prepare the equipment that’ll come along, have to tell the group-

You gasp, lurching up from the chair you hadn't even realized you had drifted into, too consumed with your wild thoughts.

“I’ll go tell the group!” you almost shout, already halfway out the door before Miss Hall can even respond.

They’re going to be so excited!

If you had been bored to tears these last few months, Emma, James, Margot, and even David were all absolutely crazed by monotony at this point. With no Quaritch to lighten up their day, they’ve fallen into the same old routine of grey walls and mindlessly studying things they already reviewed years ago.

You race down the hallways. You bump into a few people but don't slow down to apologize properly, instead shouting a haphazard, “Sorry!” back at them as you continue on your way.

You turn a corner a few hallways from the break room too fast, and you crash face-first into the side of someone’s hard leg.

You bounce right off them, face throbbing angrily. You would have landed on your ass if a giant hand hadn’t shot out and grabbed your shoulder before you could fully tilt backward.

“Jesus Peach, where the hell you runnin’ off to so fast?”

You gasp lightly, lifting your wide eyes up, up, up until you meet Quaritch questioning golden ones.

You beam up at him, too buzzed to feel embarrassed about running into him like an excited toddler. He raises his eyebrow as he takes in your thrilled face, clearly curious as to what was tickling you. You're about to deliver the news when your eyes trail down his chest and you freeze.

There, against his green tank top and resting by his silver dog tags, is your pendant.

You stare at it, stunned. All thoughts of Pandora dissolve in your brain like mist. You barely refrain from gasping again.

While he had accepted your gift and hadn’t laughed straight in your face like you thought he might, you never actually believed he would wear something you had made, something so clearly sentimental.

Quaritch follows your startled eye line to his chest, blinking when he sees you gaping at the pendant. He raises his eyebrow questioningly again, scoffing while crossing his arms over his chest.

“What, Peach? You thought I wasn’t gonna wear it?” He sneers, looking almost defensive.

You stutter, mind struggling to catch up with everything that's happening. “W-Well, you just weren’t wearing it the past two days, sir. I just figured…”

He rolls his eyes derisively. “I needed to find a chain to put it on. Took me a few days.” He smirks at you. “Just couldn’t wait to see me wearin’ it, huh?”

You color a bit, lips thinning, but you refuse to rise to his teasing bait. You lean back and cross your own arms over your chest to match his stance. “No, sir, I’m just glad to see you liked it, that’s all.”

“Well, you made it, so. Anyway, what the hell has you running around here like your ass is on fire?" 

Your eyes soften as your limbs practically melt into the floor at his words. He was wearing it just because you made it?

You clear your throat, attempting to move onto Pandora and not focus on his surprisingly tender words. Even as you do, the sweet feeling of affection for Quaritch doesn’t leave, instead nesting deep and gently into your heart and bones. “Uh, Amanda said our group is now cleared by the higher-ups for fieldwork. My group and I leave tomorrow morning.”  

You snatch up Quaritch’s right hand resting by his side, the excitement of the news once again making its way through your veins and rejuvenating you. It takes both your hands to hold one of his, and even then they still look teeny tiny by his own massive one. You squeeze it as tightly as you can, which probably feels like nothing to him.

“Isn’t it amazing? We’ve been waiting months for this, not to mention the years we’ve been training and prepping, and I-” Your voice had been getting higher and higher as your excitement explodes like fireworks in your blood, and you drop his hand just as quickly as you had grabbed it to start clapping your hands together. You’re just about to start jumping up and down when Quaritch places an enormous hand on your shoulder to keep you still and interrupts you.

“You mean to tell me they already cleared your little group of pussycats for Pandora? Jesus, you think your team is really ready for that?” Despite his harsh words, the grip on your shoulder is gentle. He doesn’t look angry per se, more disbelieving and annoyed than anything.

Your childish excitement falters, your smile dropping a bit when you realize he has a point. You’ve struggled with remembering that Pandora isn’t a joke or something you can just waltz into half-cocked and hoping for the best. You were always too focused on the beautiful scientific possibilities, and you often forget just what Pandora really is; an unknown, hostile environment that will kill you if you let down your guard. Like Quaritch had said when you had first met him, Pandora would eat you alive if you weren’t careful.

You breathe in deeply, squaring your shoulders as your heart rate begins to calm. You’re still beyond thrilled about this, but Quaritch is right. This is not the time for you to slip off into your head like you usually do when you start overthinking things.

If you weren’t alert, focused, and mature about this, something awful could happen to you or to your friends, just because you were off galivanting around the forest. If someone you cared about got hurt because you were too distracted by pretty flowers, you would never forgive yourself. And with that thought in your head, you feel a spark of fear tighten your gut.

You swallow. “I - I know. But I really think that we’re ready for this, and it won’t be for more than a few hours-”

“I know you, Peach, and whether it’s for a minute or an hour, you like to get lost in that pretty lil’ head of yours and not pay attention.”

You wince, conceding. “I know, I know, but I will focus when I’m out there and I’ll do my job. This is what I came here for, what I’ve studied for. We’ll be in and out, just like that.”

You reach out hesitantly and slowly grab onto his hand once again. Your gentle touch seems to calm him a little bit, and his eyes lock onto yours. Your sure to any passerbys that your height difference must look extremely comical as you stand across from one another, but you don’t break eye contact to see if anyone’s looking.

“I’ll be okay, Quaritch. I promise I’ll pay attention and listen to every order. I’ll be back before you know it.”

The tension that had suddenly gripped him seems to flee him as quickly as it appeared. You’re about to relinquish your grip on his hand just as he tightens his gently. He squeezes your hand, clearly making sure to be careful with your fragile limb.

Something flashes across his face, gone before you can determine what it is. Determination, perhaps? Resolution? Whatever it is, you’re just glad he had pulled your head from your ass and given you the facts straight. If there was one thing you could rely on Quaritch to do, it was to give no bullshit.

“I’ll you in two days, Quaritch. I’ll be back before you know it!” You grin, trying to sound convincing. You’re not sure if it’s for him or for you.

You slowly let go of his hand again, giving it one last soft squeeze. You peer up at him as best you can at your height. Eventually, Quaritch nods once, a distant expression on his face. He takes a step back, putting some distance between you as he speaks.

“Guess I’ll see you soon, Peach.”

Your mouth twitches upward. “See you soon, sir.”

Quaritch nods one last time before he swiftly moves around you and continues on his path. You turn to watch him go, brows furrowed at his seemingly sullen mood.

It really won’t be that long, you reason. We’ll be able to continue our lessons soon, he won’t miss that much time.

You wander back toward the break room where you know your team will be, thoughts of Quaritch soon replaced by nervous excitement as you imagine your group's reaction to the news. As you step through the doors, you hear the tail end of an irritated discussion.

“ -alright, and I’m just saying that if they wanted to, they would totally have us moving in that direction - oh hey, girl!” Margot breaks off her sentence once she notices you standing in the doorway. Her face brightens up, grin spreading across her face. You don’t blame her; two months spent with just David and the lovebirds for company has made you a little crazy, too.

“I was just telling these three about how - ” Margot’s sentence cuts off as she takes a full look at your face. Her smile drops a bit, eyes flickering over your expression. You have no idea what you look like; probably nervous, delighted. It has to be a very strange look.

“What’s wrong, sugar? You look like you’re about to either pass out or dance, I can’t really tell. Why don’t you sit down-”

“We’ve been approved for Pandora.” Your words come out choked.

Everyone freezes, stunned. They gape at you from around the room. You’d all been expecting this, but it was one thing to wait for it and another thing entirely to have it happen. Just as you thought, your group is torn between the thrill of seeing Pandora in the flesh for the first time and the terror of being in a hostile environment.

The room sits in silence for a moment before Margot closes her mouth, swallows, and rasps, “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow, Miss Hall said.” You struggle to speak. Your mouth is dry from both excitement and dread.

They sit there for another moment, wrapping their minds around the news. Margot is the first to stand. She smiles, clearly enthusiastic, but her mouth is tight.

“Well. I guess we need to get packed, huh?”

------

When you make it back to your quarters that night, you spend at least two hours packing every single thing you think you might need in Pandora. You run around your room like a whirlwind, packing things into a bag and then unpacking them over and over again as you work yourself into a frenzy. Eventually, you send it off to be put in the center for when you link up. All the really important equipment is already in the Avatar center, but you still want to be prepared.

Your thoughts anxiously jump all over the place. Waiting for stressful situations has never been your strong suit.

You doze in and out of sleep restlessly, spending more time kicking off your covers and tossing and turning than you actually do resting. Blessedly, you’re able to grab a few hours of sleep once your mind stops running wild, but you know you’ll still be tired when your alarm clock goes off.

Once you wake up and the reality of the situation pumps energy through your veins, you get dressed and ready as fast as you can. Your fingers quiver slightly as you struggle to put on your tennis shoes.

You head down to the mess hall, squinting your eyes against the bright lights of the hallways. You snag a bagel and eat it as best you can, ignoring the way your stomach turns. By the time you eat it and make your way to the linking center, you’re practically sweating. Nerves are quickly making a complete mess of you.

Just as you enter through the doors, Margot leaps from her seat and hurtles her way toward you. You barely have time to open your arms before she’s crashing into you so hard that you take a step back, but you don’t hesitate even a second before wrapping your arms around her in turn.

You only hug her for less than five seconds, but by the time she releases her grip, you feel so, so much better. It feels like a sharp, heavy stone had been lifted off your chest and you can finally breathe. You hadn’t noticed how twisted your mood had turned, torn between excitement and fear.  

“Hey, girl.” Margot speaks in a rare, quiet voice. She looks how you feel; tired, thrilled, stressed. Her hair is slightly mussed and her face is a little pale, but you can’t imagine you look any better.

“Hey, Margot.” You give her as best of an encouraging smile as you can, even though it feels more like a grimace. She returns the look, and together you walk toward the table where the rest of the group is waiting.

Poor Emma looks like she’s a second away from puking, and James sits by her, rubbing a hand soothingly against her back. David is in the corner of the room, muttering to himself almost frantically as he obsessively wipes his glasses clean against his shirt.

You grimace at their state, but you feel a little glad that you aren’t the only one apprehensive about this trip. It’d be more worrisome if they weren’t acting like this, really. The last thing anyone needs is someone acting cocky and causing trouble on your first outing.

You take a seat just as Miss Hall comes through the doors, professionally put together as always. She scans the room in one quick glance, and once she realizes the whole team is here, she says,

“Alright, team. Let’s get started.”

You make sure to focus on the quick reminders, what the primary mission of your group is, and the process of the investigation. Your mind begs you to think about the future and everything that could go wrong, but you stubbornly keep your attention on the present.  

Three hours and many conversations later, it’s time to link up. You squeeze Margot’s hand one last time and share one last look before you shuffle over to the linking pod. It takes too many minutes to clear your frantic mind. Eventually, bright white and vibrant colors flash across your eyes, and then you’re waking up in the body of your Avatar.

You and the team get dressed in tense silence. Your clothes are different from the regular attire you wear around Bridgehead. Now you’re wearing dark green shorts and a beige crop top that is covered by a tan, long-sleeved open shirt made of thin fabric. Your long dark hair is pulled back and covered by a bandana. You wear shoes for once, sturdy boots and socks that will help you walk on the slick forest floor.

Most of the supplies for Pandora exploration stays in a separate part of the Avatar center, and for the first time since arriving on on this planet, you actually get to use it. Holotablets preloaded with specific data, vests, comm links, backpacks filled with equipment. Everything that could possibly be needed for exploration and data collection is here.

It’s a scientist’s wet dream.

You pack quickly, fussing and triple checking everything before it’s time to leave the center.

Your group makes its way across Bridgehead toward the utility aircraft section of the city. Your tail waves nervously behind you as you walk, and it almost hits a tiny passing military man as you wander too close into his personal space. He shouts at you, glaring, and you only spare him an apologetic glance and a squeaky shout of “Sorry!” before you keep walking. You don’t have time to do anything else.  

The loud noise of people and machines does nothing to calm your nerves, and your sensitive ears frantically flick with the amount of deafening pandemonium that assaults your senses.

It doesn’t get any better as you walk. When you reach the launching pads, the shrieking of the SA-2 Samson aircraft makes you want to cover your ears and cower. You’re grimacing fiercely as you walk closer to the pad, and you can see the rest of your group doing the same. When you see it waiting, the nerves return full force. Your stomach turns and a cold sweat breaks out across your skin.

Don’t puke, don’t puke, Jesus Christ.

“Get on!” Miss Hall shouts as best she can over the howling. The other members go first, stepping up and into the large carrier. The whirring of the blades causes your hair to whip wildly over your face, blocking your view, and you try not trip on your feet as you pull yourself onto the craft after James. He turns around after he finds his footing again and gives you a hand up. Once you stand inside, you quickly take off your backpack and find a seat.

Miss Hall is the last one to climb in, hands full of the light, protective vests that are now required by the RDA. She hands them out to everyone and you grip yours tightly as you take it from her, knuckles white. You hold it your hands uncertaintly; you’d watched training videos on how to put the thing on and how to properly buckle it up, but now that you’re here your mind is going blank.

You shake your head in an effort to reorganize your thoughts, but the shrieking and the wind make it an almost impossible task. You sit up from your seat a bit to put the vest on over your shoulders.

Miss Hall finishes her conversation with the pilot and makes her way steadily over to your seats.

“Everyone ready?!” She shouts. Her eyes are a bright yellow, hair finally ruffled. She has a wide, encouraging smile on her face, and you distantly realize that this is the most genuine you’ve ever seen her.

She opens her grinning mouth to shout again before something seems to catch her attention. She looks out the open side of the carrier, eyebrows furrowing after a second. You follow her gaze, curious to see what made such an expression.

For a brief moment, you aren’t really sure if what you’re seeing is real.

Holy fucking shit! Is that Quaritch?!

Indeed, striding toward your aircraft, flanked by Z-Dog and Lopez, is Quaritch.

It feels as though someone has shocked you with a taser. You lurch up in your seat, gasping, eyes wide and mouth open as you stare at Quaritch’s intimidating form. Your heart thunders in your chest from both surprise and excitement.

Is he coming with us!?

The thought fills you with giddiness and you eagerly watch as he gets closer to the aircraft. As he nears you can see his hard and serious expression, as well as his new getup. He’s wearing dark green army vest covered in pockets, the thick straps resting against his broad shoulders. A black comm link that matches your own is around his throat. He holds a massive gun strapped across his chest next to his usual breathing mask. He walks like he owns Bridgehead, sneer firmly in place as he towers over even his team members. From this angle you can see his blue skin glowing in the daylight and his tail flicking irritably behind him.

You don’t realize you’re gawking at him until your mouth begins to dry. You snap it closed, suddenly breathless.

Soon enough, a large blue hand wraps around the opening to the carrier and Quaritch’s massive body lifts itself through. Your seat is right next to the large opening, so when Quaritch enters his shoulder brushes against the bare skin of your knees as he pulls himself up.

You're out of your seat before you realize it, hand reaching out to grab onto Quaritch’s massive bicep. He jerks a little bit when he realizes he’s being touched, glower firmly on his face when he turns to see who’s doing the touching. His expression settles when he realizes it’s you, face brightening as his sneer turns into a mocking smirk at your shocked face.

“What the hell are you doing here!?” You shout over the engine and wind, leaning close until your face is right next to his shoulder. You almost have to press your body to his so he can hear you. He leans down over you, putting his face close to yours as he shouts back. His golden eyes lock onto yours.

“What, Peach, you think I was going to let your scrawny ass get yourself killed out there!? God knows you wouldn’t last a second in Pandora without me watching your dumbass! What would everyone think if someone I was training died on their first time out?”

You beam at him, too happy to care about his slightly insulting words. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here!” You shout as loudly as you can.

He seems briefly surprised by your joy before his smirk turns cocky. “I bet you are, Peach!”

You scoff and daringly wack him lightly on the arm just as Z-Dog and Lopez pull themselves into the carrier. Z-Dog raises an eyebrow at Quaritch’s close position to you, her smirk growing mocking as she pops her bright pink bubblegum. Her expression schools itself into something more neutral when Quaritch turns to shout instructions at her, but you can still see the amusement in her eyes. Lopez remains silent beside her, hands holding his gun close to his chest. He nods when you make eye contact with him.

They turn to take a seat near your group, eyeing your team members distastefully. It seems like Quaritch wasn’t the only Recom member who dislikes scientists.

You grip Quaritch’s forearm and lead him toward the empty seat next to yours. You push your backpack off to the side to make room for your feet and take a seat. Quaritch places himself next to you, close enough that your thigh presses tightly against his. It makes your body buzz.

The whirring of the engine begins to scream even louder as it prepares to take off and you wince. Your hands bring themselves up until they’re pressed tightly against your ears. It only muffles the sound slightly.

Quaritch scowls when he sees you wince, golden eyes tightening around the corners and mouth thinning. He leans in close again to say something, and you tilt your head closer to hear. Your hair brushes against the bare skin of his arm.

“The loud noises will get better!” He shouts, nodding when you look at him. You nod back, immensely relieved to hear it.

He snorts when he sees your open vest. He rolls his eyes as he stands up from his seat to kneel in front of you, uncaring of the way the carrier shakes aggressively as it leaves the ground. His broad fingers swiftly begin to put the buckles and snaps in place, tugging here and there. As he gets lower, his hand brushes against the gentle flare of your hip, and you can’t help but shudder. Luckily, it's covered by the shuddering of the aircraft. You really didn’t need Quaritch to look any smugger than he already does. 

You watch him tug your vest into place until everything sits perfectly, pretty mouth twisting as he works. He nods once he’s done, moving to sit back in his seat like he hadn’t just taken you completely by surprise. That does seem to be his thing, though.

You can’t seem to wrap your head around the fact that Quaritch was actually here and coming with you on your first trip. All your worries seem to fade away as you realize what this means. If there is anyone whose capabilities you trusted, it's Quaritch. You’ve seen this guy fight before, and even then he barely broke a sweat. You also trusted that he would put in an effort to keep you safe, even if just to ‘save his image’ as he said. You almost roll your eyes.

The important thing is that you feel safe with Quaritch. Maybe that's stupid, maybe you’d end up regretting it. But for now, it's the only way you can feel. And with that feeling, hope and elation fully blossoms as you think about what you are about to accomplish with Quaritch by your side.

And really, what’s the worst that could happen?

Tagging: I tried to get everyone!!

@kristennero @silverhowe @creativityleftthechat @nissilou

@x-maladaptive-daydreams-x @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed

@rdeville @anxiousraindrop5299 @floufli @rax-raxus

@nanamislut321 @perseny @gremlinfuck @e1d0lonk3k

@iwillnotexplainmyself @mxddymay @coffinbeananteiku @j-ang-0 @rowdy-00 @tmblrsexyw0man

@tohellwiththedevill @arsen-the-vamp @babyduk213

@owaowaowawa @desertrose244 @myxwallz @the-black-pines

@nahpu55yboy @goldmacaron @secretnerd00 @mxddymay @mckenzieriley69 @kristennero @kakimakiloh

@nina-murs @cannon3fodder @helpimhyperfixating @natalie12seal @daisybelldarling @b-dawwwg @r3dc4ndy @bitem4rked @simpforavillain @ilikeblueppl @curlymantis @novas-dreamworld

I'm dropping in here to tell you!!!

I LOVE YOUR WRITING AND CHARACTERISATION!!! QUARITCH!!! MARGOT EMMA JAMES DAVID (bcus who doesn't have an ass like that at work?) AMANDA TOO AND MOST OF ALL READER!!! SHE'S SO RELATABLE AND EASY TO IMAGINE!!!

I am so glad I caught hinataashoyos recommendation of peach keen!!! I'm so happy I found another wonderful writer here!!!

Bye!! Remember to have food, stay hydrated and enough rest!!! And take your time while writing!!!