Author's Note: SO. I originally just wanted this piece to be a one-shot. But I have a retarded, over-active imagination and didn't want it to turn into a tl;dr thing.. So, yeah. Suddenly, it's going to be two parts.

Prequel-ish companion piece to "Illusion of Home". Describes the events taking place over the course of 2024 prior to it. Please R&R.

Symbiosis

The first time.

They weren't lovers.

There was no drawn out courtship between the two of them. No escalating infatuation that would lead to heart-felt confessions of budding feelings. It was curiosity more than anything on her part. And, well… the Australian boy just happened to be in the right place at the right time, so to speak.

Sometimes we can't explain why we do the things we do.

He'd detected something in Jazmine Becket. From the first time he'd laid eyes on her. Something that he knew he might develop a fondness for. As such, he wanted nothing more than to keep a proper distance. It had proved to be a challenge though, as she seemed to derive great enjoyment from her incessant tormenting of him.

"Hah, alright. It's your funeral though, Becket."

That was what Chuck Hansen had told her before the first time they'd kissed. There was no love behind it. Only anger— and the wanton sort of emotion that accompanied young lust. It was a struggle for dominance in its purest form.

She would never forget that kiss though.

"You know, you really are a fucking nuisance."

"And why is that? Because you aren't as much of a badass as you think you are?"

Both of them were walking at a brisk pace now. Chuck had done so in an attempt to shake the Becket girl's pursuit. But she wasn't falling behind, much to his displeasure. Chuck had stormed off lividly following a heated argument in the hanger. It was only when chancing a glance over his shoulder that he realized Jazmine had been nipping at his heels from the get-go.

He finally ceased his rampage down the hallway, turning to her menacingly. A look of animalistic agitation gleamed in his eyes and his voice came as a snarl.

"LOOK— why don't you just fuck off already?"

"Oh, okay. Because someone is actually trying to know you? Even though all you've done this entire time is make yourself look like a piece of shit? That's rich."

She really did have a comeback for everything. And although Chuck would never say it, it was actually kind of attractive.

He shifted his weight back while crossing his arms and staring down at the brown haired girl in front of him. She wasn't going to be leaving any time soon. That much she'd made clear. Still— why would she even want to "know" him.. or however she'd put it..? Why couldn't she just react like everyone else? It would be easier that way. To scorn him for his cockiness. His bad attitude.

Chuck wasn't equipped for the sort of response she'd given instead.

Glancing around the area once to confirm that they were alone, he finally spoke.

"… what's there to know?" His voice had died down considerably and he'd subconsciously broken eye contact with her. Even if it was only for a few fleeting seconds.

The whole thing had started when she'd caught him watching her in the launch bay that afternoon. Something he actually did quite often. She was a pretty girl, sure— no denying that. But there was also this sort of… undeniable bleakness hanging over her. It was difficult to ignore. He'd heard she'd had a brother who served as a ranger in the PPDC up until he'd been KIA. Maybe that had something to do with it. It was a sadness that wasn't overly apparent at first glance, but he could see it in her eyes all the same.

He was no stranger to sadness.

"You honestly thought I haven't noticed you watching me for months now? Do you really believe yourself to be that clever? Or do you just think that I'm that stupid? Like I said— you aren't as slick as you think you are, Hansen." Jazmine punctuated his name cruelly, hands resting on her hips in a way that demanded a satisfactory reply. Despite the air of sorrow that normally surrounded her, her demeanor was one of aggression and confidence. Any normal man would have likely folded under it.

What happened next came in a blur. Jazmine felt herself being forced backwards and driven into the iron wall of the hallway. Hard. She didn't cower though, nor did she fight him. She merely held her ground and surveyed him in a challenging manner. Chuck had trapped her wrists above her head in a death-grip, moving towards her until their faces were barely inches apart and his body was pressed just slightly into hers.

"I do as I please, Becket. Everyone else here knows it. And you'd do well to learn it too."

It'd hurt when he'd had her for the first time. But that was only to be expected.

It wasn't like she'd ever been with anyone else before.

It was foolish— giving her virginity to someone like Chuck. Someone who didn't care for her, let alone love her. She knew it. But it didn't matter now. What was done was done.

Jazmine was positioned on her hands and knees in front of him, gasping in discomfort and pain as her body began to crumple slightly at the sensation of being filled for the first time. She could literally feel herself tearing. Her recovery period was cut short however as she felt Chuck yanking her upwards by her hips. He slammed her back onto his length viciously, earning an audible cry from the American girl. "You like that, Becket?" he hissed, burying a fist in her long wavy hair and yanking her head up towards him.

"Y-yes…" Her voice was shaky; stifled, as she tried her best to ignore the feeling of what she assumed was her own blood tricking down her right thigh. The fiery young girl that Chuck had been at odds with not even an hour ago in the main wing of the barracks had all but vanished. Now, Jazmine Becket was in his bed, bent over in front of him while he fucked her from behind. It was getting him off to no end.

"Good…"

Another particularly rough thrust.

"Because you're mine now."

She could practically hear the smile on his face.

"Don't.. don't stop..!"

Jazmine's hands were planted lightly upon his toned chest while she rode him. Chuck arched up into her with each thrust, tightening his grasp on her rear as he watched her sizable breasts bounce up and down with each jerk he gave. He could feel himself ready to peak at any given moment, driving into her with primal need and receiving loud, yet grateful cries of satisfaction in return.

It was a good thing that it was around four in the morning.

They would meet like this most nights. Normally in his room, though sometimes in hers. Wherever was most convenient at the time. Outside of their late night trysts, there was no substantial difference in the day-to-day interaction between the two of them. Little had changed, really.

Things had been going on this way for several months now. And at times, it seriously made Jazmine contemplate what she was doing with her life.

"Ah, shit.. I'm about to come.." Chuck groaned. He clenched her hips savagely in his calloused hands, working her over his shaft again and again until she felt his whole body begin to tense. Muttering a string of half audible curses under his breath, Chuck abruptly pushed her forward so that she was now laying flat on the bed. He gave a few more shallow thrusts before reluctantly withdrawing and allowing his release to spatter all over her smooth stomach.

The only sound in the room for quite some time was the two of them simultaneously trying to catch their breath. Jazmine was the first to stir, blinking once and then shutting her eyes for a few moments. Upon re-opening them, her vision drifted downwards to the small murky puddle painting her torso. She had to give him credit. Despite the fact that there was nothing other than physicality between them, Chuck had, at the very least, had the decency to pull out each and every time they'd been together. Reaching over habitually towards the box of tissues sitting on the table next to his bed, she wiped the sticky substance from her body.

Chuck was still breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from their romp. He carefully moved away from her, having shifted onto his side before pulling a sheet upwards to cover his exposed skin. Normally, this would be the point in which she gathered her clothing and excused herself.. but there had been several nights where she'd simply fallen asleep right next to him, feeling too fatigued and (strangely enough) comfortable to move. Stranger yet, Chuck didn't seem to mind the occasions in which she had fallen asleep in his bed. Even though she wasn't exactly sure what they were to one another, he had never once told her to leave. There had even been a few times where she could have sworn she felt his body pressed against hers while they slept.

Jazmine quietly laid back down beside him so that she was facing the Australian boy. Admittedly, when he wasn't running his mouth off, he was quite an attractive man. Barely twenty one years old, but handsome beyond his years. It went without saying that in all likelihood, there were plenty of girls who would have been dying to be in her position right now. His eyes were shut.. though she doubted that he could have succumbed to sleep so quickly.

"Not leaving tonight, eh? … You like what you see, girlie?"

Even with his eyes closed and his voice slightly slurred, Chuck's words still managed to resonate with trademark arrogance.

He was so sure of himself. It was amazing.

Jazmine's nose wrinkled a bit in response, quick to pretend that she hadn't just been admiring him the way she was. "Shut up, you. I'm tired… you did me in."

If it hadn't been so dark in the room, she might have caught the hint of a grin flashing across Chuck's face. "Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch, Becket. I'm only teasing…" The ranger's eyes were open now, reaching out to flip a stray piece of hair away from her face. His fingers gently lingered by her cheek, just a little longer than was permissable, before moving his hand away.

Now the girl in his bed had gone silent. That was one of the first times he'd ever said anything even remotely pleasant to her— let alone touched her nice-like. Outside of sex, their conversations up till now had contained little more than outright animosity. Perhaps it was because he was tired.. He must not have been thinking straight. Yeah. That had to be it. She, on the other hand, was quite awake now.

Her reply never came. She was unsure of what to say anyways. Turning over to face away from him after an awkward silence, Jazmine resolved to get some sleep before she would need to get up and slip out of his room in a few hours.

Jazmine Becket spent her time alone most days.

Being alone was never really something that bothered her. Or maybe it was because she just didn't let it. Either way— she had her own "secret spot" that was much better than sitting in some over-crowded mess hall with the other mechanics. It was a simple lookout platform, situated over the bay in which Gipsy Danger was docked. Nothing that would have been overly extravagant to most of the Shatterdome's tenants, but it was still a place that she felt at ease.

Any pleasant thoughts were unexpectedly cut short when she collided head on with someone in an effort to turn a corner. And at breakneck speed. Jazmine staggered backwards, only to be greeted with a colourful slew of expletives from the stranger in question.

"Oi! Why don't you watch where you're going you daft motherfu—"

Then she was locking stares with Chuck Hansen.

"Becket—? What the hell are you doing here?"

She wouldn't have said that his tone had softened, necessarily— but it had changed from one of blind anger to legitimate surprise. Peppered with a dash of annoyance, too. There was no time for her to react though. He glanced over his shoulder once before hastily grabbing her by the hand and towing her in the direction from which she'd come.

"Wait..! What are you doing?"

"Just be quiet, Becket!"

And for once, Jazmine decided that it was better to remain quiet. Chuck had been moving with such purpose that she figured he must be trying to get away from something.. or someone. Several turns later through the winding corriders of the facility, the young pilot was pulling the two of them into what appeared to be a vacant supply closet, shutting the door hurriedly after they'd cleared the threshold. He exhaled with what seemed to be relief, standing several feet away from her in front of an empty supply rack. Taking a moment to push the locks of chestnut brown hair obscuring her vision from her face, Jazmine wasted no time training her gaze on Chuck, semi-expectantly.

"What was that all about?"

Now that they were away from… whatever it was they needed to be away from, some answers would be nice.

"… my old man— following after me. Crazy old dog just doesn't know when to quit".

"Did you … have a disagreement or something?" Each word was chosen carefully, genuinely surprised that Chuck was even beginning to explain what seemed to be a bit of a personal dilemma to her.

"That's none of your damn business." He snapped defensively, furrowing his brow.

Jazmine's face instantly contorted, writing herself off as a simpleton for wanting to believe Chuck could ever be anything more than an asshole towards her. "Yeah? Well at least you still have your father. Maybe you should just try being thankful for that much."

She… hadn't meant to say that. But it just sort of came out.

The Australian pilot paused at this— and the morning he'd last seen his mother came flooding involuntarily into his mind. Even though it had been nearly ten years ago, he could still recount it vividly. Her curly strawberry blonde hair, pretty blue eyes and kind smile. The way she'd sweetly kissed him goodbye on his forehead before she'd left for work.

And then she was gone.

His father would not speak.

He was alone.

"… Look, I—" Chuck hesitated. The precursors to what appeared to be tears were welling up in the corners of the girl's eyes now. It wasn't a weepy sort of sad crying though. They were more like the tears you get when you're wordlessly frustrated by something. He'd always been terrible at these sorts of things.

It had been his spur-of-the-moment decision to drag her in here with him. And it wasn't like she knew anything about his god awful relationship with his father, or would understand it for that matter. Not only that— he couldn't help but find himself a bit taken aback that she would even care to ask in the first place. No one ever did… albeit for seemingly obvious reasons.

Chuck Hansen may have been an asshole— but he wasn't heartless.

"… I'm— not trying to be a prick. I just.. am sometimes, I don't know." The voice he'd used was very low, almost humble even, as if he were afraid that someone else might hear him through the thick metal walls. "I guess I should at least try to not be as much of one to you though, eh..? We're only snogging one another for god sake and you're still the only person that I've ever been any kind of close to in this stupid place, Jazmine…" Casting a dispondent, downwards smile, he did his best to act nonchalant in regards to the whole ordeal.

That was the first time he'd ever called he by her name. And somehow, that alone had given her the faintest reassurance that maybe she hadn't just been wasting the past four months of her life sleeping with some attractive, rude bastard for no foreseeable reason.

Giving her a nervous glance, Chuck began pacing back a forth a bit, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable. It could have been that he was afraid she would judge him; think he'd gone soft. But his fears were never realized. Jazmine had blinked away the tears in her eyes, and feeling particularly brave now, she'd cautiously moved to approach him. "It's— I mean… Everyone has their reasons.. for the way they are." Reaching up to brush his messy reddish hair away from his forehead while she spoke, she was letting her body run on autopilot now. What he'd said… it was a side of him she'd never been allowed to see before. A dangerous side. It made her want to comfort him; be close to him. She didn't even bother to second guess herself when she'd leaned up to press her lips against his.

Chuck, who had been feeling ill at ease only seconds before, thoughtlessly reciprocated the kiss the instant he'd felt her lips touch his own. There was something that sparked inside of him at that moment. It was an alien sort of thing, that he clearly knew nothing about… but somehow it felt much nicer than constantly arguing with the American girl. His father long forgotten, he pulled her against him, entertaining his urge to wrap his arms around the small of her back while their kiss intensified.

"What.. are you… doing..?" It was a half-hearted question if he'd ever heard one, as he was kissing her back now just as fervently.

"I don't know…" She admitted, finally pulling away. Jazmine's eyes drifted away from him, silently staring down at the ground for a couple of seconds as if she was contemplating some unknown thing. He would have taken the time to be confused had he not felt her fingers hooking under his belt before he could even form any manner of conscious thought.

"But what I do know.. is that you suddenly seem to have too many articles of clothing on, Hansen."