Author's Note: If you have been reading any of my stories for any length of time, you might recall several mentions of the infamous Mexican restaurant Soltoro, the scene of Jeff's and Lisa's spectacular break-up after so many years of dating. This story recounts that evening and all of the discomfort - and humor - that goes along with it.
This story is dedicated to Emie Mac - I know how much she hates the way the Jeff/Lisa relationship ended, but hey, she asked for more VV-during-Wade-years stories. ;)
As always, I own nothing except my characters. WEP owns everything else, except Soltoro, which is based on the Mexican eatery owned by Michael Jordan Restaurants.
Lyrics are dedicated to Mer3Girl, MaveriKat, and fredgdperry.
"Wastin' away again in Margaritaville,
Searching for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
But I know it's my own damn fault."
- Jimmy Buffett, "Margaritaville"
"Let's go out for dinner tonight," Morgan suggested. "We've all been cooped up in this house way too long."
Jeff nodded in agreement. "Maybe I should call Lisa. We can make it a double date - you and your hubby, me and my girl."
"Right on, Amigo."
Jeffrey Manabu Aki, former captain of the Voltron Vehicle Force and its Air Team, had been living with his best friend, Morgan Feld Rackens, and her husband David for more than three years - since Sky Marshall Wade took over Galaxy Garrison. Morgan and David, who had been instructors at the Space Academy, were on an extended leave of absence; when Wade took charge, his new second-in-command, Jonathan James Hawkins, had instructed the whole of his Voltron Vehicle Force, as well as Morgan, David, and their friends Aidan Dalloway and Kelly Asimov, to go into hiding.
They'd done exactly as the commander had wished. Jeff couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Cliff, or Crik, or Wolo, or Rocky, or Chip, or...Seven hells, it's been forever since I've seen any of them from the Explorer. The only two he saw regularly were Lisa Kaga and Ginger Ellington. Lisa because he was dating her, and Ginger - his old flame, not that he liked to spread that information around - because she was living with his girlfriend.
It was actually a less-awkward arrangement than it sounded. Lisa and Ginger had been roommates at the Space Academy. It seemed a natural progression that they lived together now.
"Where do you wanna go tonight, Morganza?" He stretched his arms overhead. "What do you feel like? Italian? Chinese? Thai? Sushi?" He made a face. "Oh, I forgot. You don't like raw fish."
"Hey now." She smacked him. "How about Mexican? You know me - I can always go for a burrito with chips and salsa. Ooh, and a margarita. Yeah. Original mix, on the rocks, with salt." She looked nearly delirious at the thought.
"You, Morganza, are so predictable."
"And you are still thoroughly obnoxious."
Jeff grinned. "Okay, Mexican it is." He paused to fully appreciate her winning smile. To this day, he'd never found a woman as beautiful as his best friend. There was just something about those violet eyes and that gleaming black hair, infused with threads of aubergine and cerulean, that made him think that she was the most beautiful woman on Planet Earth.
Well...there was one woman who was just as beautiful. And no, it wasn't Lisa. It was Chris.
Christiane Kogane had an easy beauty, one which Lisa and Ginger and even Morgan needed to work at. With her turquoise eyes - the same eyes that her brother Keith possessed - and that long, wavy blue-black hair that rippled down her back, she was stunning by anyone's standards. Even better, she had a kind heart and a brilliant mind, which made her even more beautiful than she already was.
He couldn't believe it had taken him so long to figure this out. No. You can't. She's Keith's sister. You can't be feeling like this about your old roommate's sister. And besides, you have a girlfriend. Pull yourself together, Aki.
Things were a little stale with Lisa. They'd been together for so many years, he practically lost count. Not that she wasn't a great girl, of course. She was beautiful and sweet, intuitive and kind, smart and funny. But from the day - no, make that the instant - they'd made their relationship official, he felt as though they didn't quite fit. Like they were two similar pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that didn't quite interlock properly, but were smashed together anyway for the time being until the proper pairing came along. Which he knew was bound to happen; Christiane had already predicted it* the night before Morgan married David.
"Amigo? Did you even hear what I said?"
It took Jeff a moment to realize that his daydreaming about Lisa and Christiane caused him to miss what Morgan was saying. "Sorry, Morganza. I spaced out for a second."
"You sure did." Those violet eyes smirked back at him. "I said, I'll make reservations for around 1900 hours. Get on the horn and let Lisa know we'll pick her up."
"We will? She can't just meet us there?"
Morgan's expression turned incredulous. "Jeff, what in seven hells is wrong with you today?" she chirped, swiping her husband's catchphrase. "You're acting like a lunatic. God, of course we're gonna pick Lisa up. Are you crazy or something?"
Jeff didn't want to tell his best friend that, yes, something was off today. No, he wasn't crazy. But something was most definitely off, and he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
When Ginger spied her roommate spending more time primping in the bathroom than she normally would, she knew something was up. "Hey Lis," she shot out, detouring by the liquor cabinet and retrieving her bottle of Bombay Sapphire along the way, "What are you guys doing tonight? Anything special?"
Lisa hardly heard her; she was too focused on her image in the mirror. "What was that, Lemon Drop? Did you say something?"
Ginger smacked her roommate in the upper arm with her bottle of gin.
"Ouch!"
"Hey, much like your boyfriend, you deserved that."
Lisa grinned. "Probably. But you know I'll never admit to it."
The bubbly blond rolled her eyes. "Of course not. So, like I asked before, are you guys doing anything special tonight?"
"We're going to dinner tonight at Soltoro with Morgan and David." Lisa swept her shimmering dark hair off her shoulders, securing it with a fabric-covered elastic that was nearly the same shade as her strands.
"Nice. That's the new Mexican restaurant that opened on the Lower West Side, right?"
"I think so."
"Awesome." Ginger unscrewed the cap from the bottle of gin. "I can guarantee that Morgan picked the joint out. You know how much she likes her margaritas."
Turning her face back to her reflection, Lisa rolled her eyes, which her roommate could see clearly in the mirror. "I wouldn't be surprised." She dusted her face with more powder. "Morgan calls the shots in that household, more or less. Jeff and David wouldn't say anything to the contrary."
Sensing the disdain in her roommate's voice, Ginger lifted the bottle of gin to her lips for a quick sip. "Do you have a problem with Morgan?" she asked in the most non-judgmental voice she could conjure up.
The former Sea Team pilot sighed. "It's not a problem with Morgan per se," she spoke into the mirror, avoiding her roommate's direct gaze. "It's just...I feel like Jeff's slipping away from me, Gingie. I mean, ever since the whole Garrison takeover, when he started living with Morgan and David, I feel like Jeff's becoming less like the boyfriend I know and love, and turning into a stranger."
"So you think Morgan's changed him?"
"Not exactly. I just think that Morgan brings out the worst in Jeff. Much like how she brought out the worst in Keith."
Ouch. Ginger lifted the bottle to her lips again as she raised her eyebrows at Lisa's reflection in the mirror. That was a below-the-belt blow, referring to Morgan's disastrous and breakup-ridden relationship with Keith Kogane throughout their time at the Space Academy. "Do you think that's fair, Lis?"
The dark-haired former Sea Team pilot whipped around on her make-up stool. "Of course it's fair!" she snapped, her eyes glittering with anger. "What, do you think it's fair to me that my boyfriend chose to live with his best friend over his girlfriend? Because I sure don't!"
Oh boy. With a slow exhale, Ginger placed her bottle of gin on her roommate's vanity table. "Lisa, what's going on here? Morgan isn't the issue, Jeff is." From behind, she wrapped her arms around her oldest friend's shoulders, and they both stared at their reflection in the mirror. "Hey, nobody likes the fact that Wade took over the Garrison and pulled this stunt on us. That's a given. We miss Keith, we miss the boys on Arus, we miss Len, we miss being in space, we miss the Explorer and Voltron...we miss seeing each other on a regular basis. Did I leave anything out?"
"I don't think so," Lisa answered, wondering where this rant was going and how it applied to her love life.
"I think your whole problem is that Jeff - after years and years of dating you - chose to live with somebody other than you when we got stuck in a rough spot. I mean, what does that say about him?" She smirked. "Don't forget, you're not the only person in this room who dated him. At least he had the decency to tell me up front when it was over. With you, I feel like he's dragging it out."
Horror flooded Lisa's body. "What? Do you think he's trying to break up with me?"
Ginger backed away. "Umm…"
"Ellington. Tell me the truth."
The bubbly blond didn't know how to tactfully say that yes, she actually did think that Jeff was planning on making a break from his girlfriend. "Well, I, uh, don't think he's actually gonna, you know…"
Lisa inhaled quickly. "Do you think he'll do it tonight?"
Without thinking, Ginger reached for her bottle and slugged down a few swallows of Bombay Sapphire. "Probably not," she admitted weakly. The gin had given her liquid courage. "I think he's gonna take the easy way out and make you end the relationship."
Crestfallen, Lisa looked into the mirror, gazing at her liquid-dark orbs and shimmering ponytail. "It's not like I want to break up with Jeff. What I want is to marry him. To settle down and have some kids." Her eyes narrowed, and she focused on her slitted reflection. "What am I going to do if he breaks up with me, Gingie? I'm too old to start over."
Ginger hated to tell her friend that thirty was not too old to start over; she felt that it defeated the purpose. "Look, I'm sorry I said anything. Forget that my mouth even opened. Or, even better, pretend it was the gin talking." She shoved the bottle back between her lips, foregoing a shotglass once more.
Lisa made a face. "Ick. Don't put your lips on the bottle, Gingie."
The former Air Team pilot made a face. "Who do you think you are, Kelly?"
Christiane Eiko Kogane felt uneasy tonight, but it had nothing to do with her job.
The seer was one of the few recent graduates of the Space Academy who was still employed by Galaxy Garrison. A systems analyst at her core, she worked as a tech sargeant far below Sky Marshall Wade on the proverbial professional ladder. She often put in long hours to kill time. After all, she had nothing better to do.
From a very early age, Christiane had had visions. When she was young, they started as very vivid dreams; as she grew older, she realized them for what they were. After the tragic loss of her parents and a very painful separation from her brother, she'd had one that comforted her and made her feel as though all of the pieces would eventually fall into place.
Her brother, far older and more mature than he had been at the time, had spoken to her in that vision. In it, he told her a few things, one of which being that the man whose soul she was linked to was none other than his best friend. She knew immediately who that was; she knew from the first time he contacted her after graduating from the Space Academy to tell her that he'd be looking out for her while Keith was on his mission to Arus.
Jeff.
She was taken aback at first - she hadn't thought she'd be dumbstruck by The One. But she had been. Once she'd finally met Jeff in person, all of the pieces did fall into place. It was hard not to love him right on the spot.
Except for one small detail: he had been chosen to lead the Voltron Vehicle Force and would be off exploring the universe instead of staying on Earth. That had killed any chances of romance between them. Instead, he had forged a relationship with Lisa. Lisa was his girlfriend, and Christiane couldn't do anything about it.
She couldn't do anything but be patient, in any case. She knew that Jeff's current romance was going to hit the skids. She just didn't know when.
Since getting married, David Rackens had amassed quite a few things. Not just a wife - that was a given - but as a wedding present from his parents, he'd received an old Victorian home which Morgan had no problems with rehabbing. In addition, being careful with his money had allowed him to purchase two hovercars, one four-seater and one sporty two-seater...even though they rarely had need for a vehicle, as public transportation was plentiful.
Not tonight. For their double date, David had broken out the four-seater. Morgan, dressed sensually in snug-fitting black skinny jeans, a lacy long-sleeved violet top with a plunging V-neck, and little black suede booties with a four-inch pencil heel, sat up front in the passenger seat with him, while Jeff sat in the back.
"Amigo! You look like you're headed towards your death," the navigator shot back to her best friend. "What gives? What is wrong with you today?"
Jeff shivered. "I wish I knew, Morganza," he replied, his voice thick with dread. "There's just a weirdness in my gut today. I can't explain it. I wish I could."
"Seven hells! I wish you could, too." David expertly steered the vehicle through traffic, enjoying the fact that they weren't taking public transportation for a change. "Whenever you start worrying my wife, Jeffrey, it directly affects me."
"So I'm ruining your life, Brit?" Jeff stuck his tongue out at his best friend's husband.
David grimaced. "You know I hate it when you call me that."
"YEAH! Geez, Amigo, what the heck is your problem?" Morgan craned her neck to glare at Jeff in the backseat. "I sure hope that Lisa can talk some sense into you. I have never seen you act this weird in all the years I've known you."
Lisa. Jeff cringed at the mention of his girlfriend. Why did he have so much dread in his gut whenever someone brought her name up? He shouldn't have felt like that; they'd been together long enough for him to know…
Oh, seven hells. He wanted to smack himself in the face.
He knew exactly why he was so weird today. He knew. He knew. It was time to end the charade for good.
Lisa put the finishing touches on her ensemble when she heard Ginger groan from the other room. "What happened, Roommate?" she hollered, fastening a moonstone stud earring to her lobe. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah," Ginger groaned. "Lucas called out tonight, and work just asked to see if I could fill in for him. Geez, if I'd have known, I wouldn't have drunk so much gin earlier." She covered her eyes with her hand.
The former Sea Team pilot laughed as Ginger fumbled with the button-fly on her jeans to change into her work uniform. "Come on, you don't have to be that sober in order to sling potato wedges into the deep-fryer," she teased as her roommate scrambled into the bedroom to get dressed.
"Shut up!" the bubbly blond cried out as she slammed the bureau drawer shut. "You're not helping!"
As Ginger dressed in a frenzy, Lisa saw David's hovercar pull up through the open window in their apartment. "Gotta go, Lemon Drop. My ride's here!" She raced for the door, both eager and anxious for her date to begin. She needed to get to the bottom of her situation with Jeff, once and for all. She was tired of living in this limbo. Either her boyfriend wanted to take things to the next level - meaning, an engagement and moving in together - or he wanted to break up with her. And she was going to force the issue tonight. After all, they'd been together long enough.
As the door swung shut behind her, she distinctly heard the growl of, "You know, if I wasn't in such a rush for work, I would have killed you for that Lemon Drop comment back there!"
Soltoro was the newest Mexican eatery on Manhattan's Lower West Side. It was a small restaurant; dim with wood floors, plain wooden tables and matching benches, and several wooden booths with deep-red cushions.
Though the restaurant was small, the margaritas were massive.
"I love this place already," Morgan cooed as they sat down at one of the benches. "Mmm, my favorite food and my favorite drinks. And the drinks are huge!"
Lisa, seated across the table from her friend's husband, caught David's eye. He looked uncomfortable, as though he was anticipating his wife to throw back way too many of the aforementioned cocktails. "Just keep your eyes on how many you drink, Love," he reminded her.
"Yes, Dad," she retorted, sticking out her tongue.
With a silly grin, Lisa reached beneath the table for her boyfriend's hand. Jeff, too, seemed uncomfortable tonight, his shoulders rigid as he stared straight ahead at Morgan. He begrudgingly laced his fingers with hers. "Are you having a margarita tonight, too?" she asked.
"Definitely." Jeff nodded his head emphatically. "With the best top-shelf tequila they have at this joint."
"Now you're talkin'!" Morgan, Lisa noted, never failed to turn up the volume whenever alcohol was concerned. Yet another reason her boyfriend needed to move out of that household and into a new apartment with her. She wondered how David put up with his wife.
The waitress came by to take their drink orders. Lisa ordered a cerveza, Morgan and Jeff each ordered a margarita on the rocks with top-shelf tequila, and David, who was driving, stuck to seltzer with lime. As she scurried off to the bar, the navigator broke out the menu and began studying dinner options. "Okay, so where are the burritos in this joint?"
Lisa squeezed Jeff's hand hard in an attempt to squelch her annoyance. To her surprise, her boyfriend didn't squeeze back.
Turning out French fries was hot work. Ginger wiped a bead of sweat off her brow as she sliced endless rounds of potatoes. Stupid Lucas. He owes me big for calling out tonight.
She wasn't quite sure how everything had fallen through and she'd ended up in this mess. At one time in her career, she'd been an exceptional pilot, a member of the Vehicle Force and its Air Team, in charge of the Falcon VT Fighter and forming Voltron's chestplate. She'd been making money and doing a job which she loved. Slinging hash at a stupid all-night grease-pit diner was not how she thought she'd turn out.
Freaking Wade. This is all his fault. Ginger had no idea where her life was headed, but she knew that she hadn't signed up for this.
"Hey, Ellington! Less moping, more French fries!"
Narrowing her eyes at the boss, she turned back to the deep fryer and threw more potatoes in. No, this was definitely not what she'd signed up for when she started at the Space Academy more than a decade ago. With longing in her heart, she wondered what Lance was up to...and if he was doing anything to help bring Wade's reign over the Garrison to an end.
Lisa had to admit, dinner and drinks were surprisingly good.
Though she'd never been a fan of Mexican food once she'd moved away from home - living in Arizona, it had been more authentic than it would ever be in Manhattan - she was pleased with her meal. What she was not pleased with was how many margaritas her boyfriend had drunk. It seemed as though Jeff had consumed two margaritas for her every cerveza, and Morgan was hot on his heels.
She could tell that David was not very pleased, either, but then again, he was British. He was the type to squash down his displeasure and never mention it again. Wow, Morgan certainly lucked out with him. If she were married to Keith, they'd be tearing each other's hair out by now.
Jeff and Morgan had been in their own little tequila-infused world, laughing and giggling and chatting incessantly like they were the only two people in the restaurant. Lisa didn't particularly care to be excluded, and she was certain that David was irritated by it as well. What she couldn't figure out was why those two were so tight. She didn't understand it, especially since Morgan was married. If the navigator had wanted to be with Jeff, she could have done so a long time ago. "So what's going on over there, you two?"
David shook his head. "Don't even bother." He reassuringly patted her hand. "Those two, once they get started, are in a different universe than the rest of us. I've learned to accept it by now."
NO! she screamed in her head. I will not just "get used to it." Jeff has to choose. Tonight. Does he want to live out the rest of his life with me, or does he want to remain a bachelor, living and hanging out with his married friends for the rest of his life? "It shouldn't have to be that way, David," she asserted, blowing out her exhale angrily. "Right, Jeff?"
If Jeff was paying attention to her, he certainly didn't act like it.
Feeling defeated, Lisa dropped her shoulders and looked around the restaurant. The small space was very close and intimate, and she noticed a couple at the table next to them. The woman, a petite blond who reminded her of Ginger, was sipping at her own cerveza while her date - Ironically, he looks like Lance McClain - finished his and asked for another.
They seem like a nice couple, she thought absently.
As Jeff and Morgan rattled on without a care for either of their partners, Lisa focused on the couple at the next table. They were cute, and she liked them. It wasn't only because they looked like Lance and Ginger; it was what they reminded her of, which was a time before Wade's takeover. Before the Arusian Voltron Force's lions were grounded, before the S.S. Explorer and the Vehicle Team were recalled for good. Before Keith Kogane had gone rogue to find Black Lion, and Lenora Stensson had gone into hiding to avoid being thrown into the Void.
Before the reason and meaning for her entire life had been ripped away.
With a jolt, she realized that that was why she wanted to marry Jeff so badly. She had nothing left. Her position as pilot of the Space Prober on Vehicle Voltron's Sea Team had been taken away from her. Nothing was safe anymore; with her career in shambles, she needed something to hold onto, something to anchor her in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty.
She wanted one thing to help her tackle the future, and marriage would be it. With Jeff as her husband, she would feel confident knowing that not matter what happened down the road, at least she had someone who would always be by her side to support her. And being married, she could take comfort in the fact that if she was never able to pilot her Space Prober again, at least she would be a wife and a mom.
The waitress brought the couple at the next table their order of nachos and guacamole, along with the guy's - Lance's, she mournfully referred to him as - new cerveza.
"Hey." She tugged at Jeff's sleeve. "Don't they remind you of Lance and Ginger?"
"Who?" Her boyfriend was clearly tipsy. He didn't seem like himself. She felt as though she didn't know him at all.
"That couple at the next table over," she hissed.
The four of them turned to check out the cute couple. The guy, with his shaggy brown hair, did indeed look like Lance; his lady, with her curly blond hair and warm brown eyes, was reminiscent of her bubbly Texan roommate. They watched as the guy nervously coughed into his fist, his girl seemingly oblivious as she took another sip of her cerveza.
"Yum. They got guacamole. We should've thought to get guacamole," Morgan moaned as she polished off the rest of her margarita. "Next time, huh, Amigo."
"Next time, Morganza," Jeff agreed.
For some reason, Lisa couldn't take her eyes off them. She wondered why the guy looked so nervous, and why the girl kept sipping at her beer bottle like she had no idea what was going on. Something's up, and she has no idea what it is. Something like...OH.
She covered her mouth as she realized what was about to happen.
Once the guy finished his new cerveza, he cleared his throat. Lisa, rapt, grabbed Jeff's hand so that he could watch too, and David and Morgan followed suit. "So Christine," Lance's look-alike began, literally shaking with nerves, "I hope you're having a good time tonight."
"Yeah, Mark, I am," she responded, blissfully unaware of what was about to come.
"That's good." He coughed once more. "So, um, I wanted to ask you something."
David rolled eyes. "Come on, man, you can do it," he coached quietly from his seat. "It's not so difficult, I promise."
Mark - Lance - moved in closer to Christine - Ginger - and kissed her cheek. "So, we've been together for, what? A year and a half now?"
"Yeah," she agreed, toying with her bottle.
"So, I was wondering what you were doing with the rest of your life."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, Mark? What exactly are you asking?"
His eyes widening, he pulled a small diamond ring out of his pocket. "Christine, I love you," he blurted out, not bothering to get off the bench and drop down to one knee. "You're my everything, and I can't imagine going through life without you. So I wanted to know...will you marry me?"
Morgan, David, Jeff, and Lisa sat rapt at their table, breathlessly awaiting the girl's response.
Christine's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she stared at the ring. "Oh my God, Mark, yes!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. He slid the ring onto her finger, and she burst into tears. "Oh my God, I'm getting married! We're getting married!"
David and Morgan broke out into applause, as did a few of the nearby patrons. Lisa sniffled as Jeff kept silent. "Oh my goodness, that's so nice!" she squeaked, clinging to her boyfriend's side. "Look at them! They just got engaged!"
The former Voltron captain remained quiet.
His silence worried her. "I said, Jeff, that they just got engaged."
He shrugged. "I saw. Good for them." He seemed more interested in the remnants of the drink at the bottom of his cocktail glass than Mark's and Christine's marital happiness. "That's nice."
His words infuriated her. To her, it was as though he was writing off Mark's and Christine's engagement - and their own, as well. "What's wrong, Jeff? Don't you think it's nice that they got engaged?"
She watched him visibly stiffen, and he turned his gaze to Morgan. The navigator could only shoot him a look of sympathy. "I did say it was nice, Lis."
"Uh-huh." The former Sea Team pilot moved in for the kill. She was bound and determined to take the next step in their relationship, or break it off for good. She was tired of waiting in this limbo. "So, when do you think we'll get engaged, Jeff?"
The sheer silence at the table was overwhelmingly uncomfortable. Morgan and David exchanged discreet side glances as Jeff placed both palms on the table. "Lisa, can we not have this discussion now?" he asked curtly. "Can we wait until we get home?"
"No, we can't." Her ebony eyes glittered furiously in the dim lighting. "Because as much as I'd like otherwise, we don't have a home together. There's only the apartment I share with Ginger, and the room you rent from these two." The motioned to Morgan and David. "So it seems as though this is as good a place as any to discuss this."
"Oh, seven hells, this is not my night." David buried his face in his hands.
"Fine, Lis." The former Air Team captain shot his girlfriend an exasperated glance. "Then we'll talk about it. What do you want from me?"
"I want to get married, Jeff." She stared at him maddeningly. "I want us to get a place of our own and move in together. I want to get engaged, I want a wedding, I want to have kids. And if you don't want any of that, then I think you had better tell me right now."
Morgan swallowed nervously, avoiding her best friend's gaze.
Jeff rubbed his eyes, exasperated. "What do you want me to say?"
"When do you think we'll get married?"
This is it, Aki. Surprisingly, he felt calm. He probably felt better than he had in a long time, and less guilty at that. "Never."
His admission came as a blow not only to his girlfriend, but to their friends as well. Morgan and David both gasped in shock as Lisa recoiled in horror. "What do you mean, never? Did our relationship mean nothing to you, Jeff? Were all those years we spent together a waste of time?"
Christiane. Think about what Christiane said, that Lisa has never been The One. "No, Lisa, I don't think it was a waste of time. But I do think that we were never right for each other from the start, and we were both desperately trying to prove otherwise." His words were gentle, but he might as well have slapped her across the face.
Lisa swung her legs out over the bench. "Excuse me," she shot out, darting towards the restroom. She raced past the happy couple, both of them pausing their celebration to see what was the matter.
"Well…" For once, David was rendered speechless. "I'm not quite sure what in bloody hell I just witnessed."
"Um," Morgan cleared her throat, "does this mean you and Lisa just broke up, Amigo?"
Jeff looked over in the direction of the restrooms. "Yeah. I think we just did."
Pidge's comm beeped.
They'd hardly heard from Keith while he was on the run. Employed as instructors at the Space Academy, Darrell "Pidge" Stoker, Tsuyoshi "Hunk" Garrett, and Lance Charles McClain had to hide the fact that they were still working with their rogue captain in his quest to find Black Lion. They needed to keep up appearances so that no one - Sky Marshall Wade in particular - would figure out that they were working behind the scenes with Commander Hawkins to regain control of the Garrison. So on the rare occasions that they did hear from their fearless leader, he usually contacted the former Green Lion pilot.
With his small size and ninja reflexes, Pidge was both fast enough and stealth enough to get to the Den undetected.
"Okay, Captain Crankypants," he spoke into the comm, "Sparrow's in the Nest."
"Crankypants? Who do you think you are, Lance?"
"Disregard the semantics. What've you got for me, Chief?"
"You're in the Den, yes?"
"Of course. What did you think 'Sparrow's in the Nest' meant?"
A sigh. "Then bring up the visuals."
Pidge did as asked, bringing up Keith's image on the monitor. He looks good, all things considered. Their team captain had shaved his head in order to get off Earth undetected, but the blue-black locks had grown back in considerably. "Hey, Shorty. It's good to see you."
"You too, Chief."
Over the visuals, Keith looked around the Den. "I'm sorry I contacted you right now. It would've been nice to see the three of you."
"The four of us - Commander Hawkins is technically in charge of this op."
"I remember." His turquoise eyes softened. He'd been through so much on his quest, things he didn't ever want to tell his friends - extortion, bribery, violence, murder. While most of what he'd done hadn't brought him any closer to Black Lion, it had gotten him cash, which allowed him to live on the lam and continue his search. "And no, I don't have anything new to report. I just...I missed you guys tonight."
"Hmph," Pidge snorted. "Are you going soft on us, Chief?"
"Nah." A wave of emotion crashed over the rogue pilot. "Tell me something, Shorty: have you guys heard anything about Jeff lately?"
The systems analyst furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head. "Nada. Hawkins won't say anything about the Vehicle Voltron members, other than assuring me that Chip had packed up for Balto." He shrugged. "No Morgan, no Kelly, and no Aidan, either. And Lance seems to be under the impression that Len is dead."
Keith shook his head. "I don't believe it."
"We don't know the facts for sure," Pidge shuddered, "but Len's disappeared without a word."
"I'm sorry I contacted you. This is depressing."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
His gaze brightened for a moment. "How is Allura?"
Knowing exactly how his captain once felt about the beautiful Arusian princess, Pidge's expression brightened. "She's doing well. We just contacted her a couple of days ago. Lance wants to go visit next week, if he can sneak away from the Academy for a couple of days."
A pang of both regret and jealousy stabbed Keith in the abdomen. "That's good to know. One less thing for me to worry about." He glanced at his watch - he always kept it synchronized to Galactic Standard Time. "I should go now - I just wanted to check in and see how you guys were doing, even though I've got nothing new to report."
"It's okay, Chief. Sometimes it's good to hear from you, period, whether you've got news or not."
"Take care of yourself, Shorty." Keith ended the transmission and leaned back in his chair.
He had been hoping that they'd heard something about Jeff. His best friend and Academy roommate was the only person who knew about his sister. And tonight, for some reason, he felt that Christiane was experiencing an inner turmoil. Some brother I am.
He had no idea how he knew. It was an intuition from his gut.
In her free time, all Christiane did was read.
As much as she wanted to hang out with Morgan, or go out to the bar and drink her cares away, her visions had instructed her to keep put. With Wade in charge of Galaxy Garrison, she wanted to keep a low profile. She didn't want to do anything to draw attention to herself or her friends, especially since her estranged brother was both a wanted man and despised by the Sky Marshall. So she spent her spare time reading: books, magazines, articles, people, oracles...really, anything she could get her hands and turquoise eyes on.
Suddenly, she looked up from the article as a powerful wave of - What is that? Panic? - shot through her. The feeling permeated every cell of her body, running through her veins with abandon.
Something had happened to Jeff. It was an intuition from her gut.
When Lisa failed to return from the restroom after ten minutes, David's uncomfortable gaze shifted over to his wife. "Love," he addressed Morgan, "I think you'd better go track her down."
"Yeah, Morganza," Jeff chimed in. "I'll pay the bill. It's the least I can do for screwing things up tonight."
The navigator buried her face in her hands. "Ugh," she groaned, "this is gonna be so bad."
"Most likely." David shrugged. "How are we going to get home now, Jeffrey?"
"I'll ride in the front with you. The girls can ride together in the back."
Morgan stood up from the table. "Yeah, like that's not gonna be awkward."
"Of course it will be." A new voice joined the conversation; when they looked up, Lisa was standing over them with her arms crossed. Her ebony eyes were bloodshot, and she'd let down her ponytail so that her long, shimmering strands hung past her shoulders. "But I've got to get home somehow...even if it means riding in the same vehicle as my ex-boyfriend." She spoke the last word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
"Lis…" Jeff began.
"Enough." She turned her gaze over to David, unable to look at either Jeff or Morgan. The two of them always had been kindred souls, like it or not. "You didn't get the bill, did you?"
"Jeff was about to settle it," the Brit answered.
"Forget it. I already paid. Let's get out of here." Her expression was harsh.
David turned his sights on the two cohorts. "You heard the lady. Excuse the pun, but let's blow this taco stand."
The ride home was awkward enough, with Jeff in the front and Morgan in the back, filled with silence and thick with tension. No one knew what to say. Lisa was well aware that she was the odd man out; though friendly with the married couple, her ex-boyfriend lived with them, so it was obvious who was the outsider in that vehicle.
Worst of all was how she shared the backseat with Morgan. As much as she loved the girl - they were all family, after all - Lisa completely despised the fact that she had single-handedly ruined her relationship. There would be no wedding bells in her future; no shared home or babies. She would have to re-write the life she had so carefully scripted in her head. How could she possibly start over? At thirty?
Suddenly, she had to get out of there. Now.
Where are we? she wondered, scrambling to orient herself. If they were traveling anywhere near Times Square, the diner Ginger worked at wasn't too far off. She could go there, wait out the end of her roommate's shift, and they could walk home together. "David, how close are we to Uptown?"
"You mean, Times Square?" he called from the driver's seat.
"Yeah."
"We were closer three blocks ago, but -"
"Good enough," she cut him off. "Stop the car."
Morgan's eyes widened. "Lis, what are you doing?"
"Getting out of here." She barely waited until David had landed the hovervehicle on the ground before jumping out of the backseat. "I'd like to say it's been fun, but given the circumstances…" She let her voice trail off, darting a poisonous glare in the direction of the passenger seat.
David whistled. "I don't feel comfortable letting you out here, Lisa. It's late, it's dark, I don't like it."
"Well, I didn't like much of this entire evening," she growled, "so I guess it's been a bad night all around. Besides, don't worry about me. I used to be a member of the Voltron Force. I can take care of myself."
Before he had the chance to reply further, she darted off in the direction of Times Square. More than anything else, she needed her best friend.
Seamus, the short-order cook at the diner, had a crush on Ginger.
Why must the Irish boys always have a crush on me? the bubbly blond groaned in her head, thinking briefly of Shannon. Her former teammate had always tried to say that he didn't particularly care to have a girlfriend, since women were "too emotional" anyway, but that didn't stop him from spending his free time with her. Or trying to. Or from nicknaming her Cupcake. Well, at least it was better than Lemon Drop.
Marginally.
"Hey Girlie!" he called out, turning a block of burger patties on the grill. "You got those fries ready yet?"
"Just about." She lifted the basket of potatoes from the deep fryer and shook it. Excess oil poured off and into the tub below, leaving nothing behind but golden French fries.
Tourists flocked to the diner for their French fries. They were hand-cut wedges, an art which the Texan had mastered, and no other restaurant in New York served them they way they did. Once Seamus plated the burger, Ginger would stack the wedges up around it, almost as though she was building a fort, held together with a few strategically-placed toothpicks.
"Good. This burger is all but done." The cook took the closest patty off the grill and slid it onto the bun. "Work your magic, Blondie."
She rolled her eyes and got to work, building the French fry fort as she usually did. You've gotta be kidding me. I can't believe my life has been reduced to this.
Once the plate had been sent out of the kitchen, she looked up at the clock. 2230 hours. She was due for a break. Whipping her apron off and hanging it up on the hook, she announced, "I'm on break, Seamus. I'll be back in fifteen."
He nodded. The diner was open twenty-four hours a day, but they were both clocking out at 0100. "I'm hot on your heels," he replied. "Wait for me."
Great. Being a nice girl, she waited for the cook to remove his own apron before joining her. Pressed against her side, the Irishman escorted her out the back door, where he lit up a cigarette.
"So, Girlie, what are you doing after this?"
She shuddered. "Going home. Getting some sleep."
"Do you want company?"
His question startled her. What, did he really think she fancied him? "I have a roommate, so no thanks."
"Too bad." Seamus inhaled, the acrid smoke causing Ginger to cough. His brand of cigarettes was much different from the one Lance used to smoke. "Tell me, do you like cupcakes? There's this popular bakery on Sixth Avenue that sells a bunch of them. I was thinking of taking you over there sometime."
A date. He's asking me out on a date. She hadn't dated a civilian since starting at the Space Academy when she was sixteen years old. She was fairly certain that she didn't want to start all over again with someone who wouldn't understand her background with Galaxy Garrison. And what's up with these Irish boys? Why do they automatically associate me with cupcakes? "Well geez, Seamus, that sounds nice, but…"
Before she had to let him down gracefully, she noticed a figure in the distance with the distinctive willowy gait which her roommate possessed. "Lisa?" she called out, turning away from the cook. "Is that you?"
"Oh, Gingie. I'm so glad I found you. I had an awful evening."
When Lisa collapsed in her arms, crying, Ginger immediately knew what had happened. "I'm going home, Seamus."
"But you're not off the clock for another two-plus hours," he protested.
She looked at her broken, sniffling mess of a roommate, then back at the cook. "Then I quit." Then, turning back to Lisa, she assured her, "It's okay. We're going home, you can tell me everything when we get there." Then she walked away from the diner without so much as a glance back, her arms still wrapped around her heartbroken roommate.
Sliding beneath the comforter, Jeff felt terrible. And yet, at the same time, he had never felt so relieved.
He hadn't realized how stressful it was to be with someone as great as Lisa. She really was great, no mistake about it. Beautiful, smart, calm, sweet, thoughtful, intuitive...she was the complete package, wrapped up in a shiny bow.
It was too much pressure. She was perfect, and he was as far from perfection as he could get.
From the very beginning, Jeff couldn't figure out how he had been elected as captain of the Voltron Vehicle Force. Though his grades at the Space Academy had been excellent, he didn't have the right temperament for the job - he was hot-headed and impatient, he made rash decisions, and he acted against orders, for which he'd once taken a blow in the face from Commander Hawkins. Hardly the qualifications for anyone of any sort of leadership position, and yet, there he was. Or at least, there he had been, as long as the S.S. Explorer had been in commission.
They were too different. He was too flawed, and she was too perfect. From the start, he'd known that they weren't good together, but he'd hung in there anyway. He wasn't lying when he said that they were never right for each other, but were trying to prove otherwise. He had desperately wanted Lisa to be the right girl for him.
It was as if being part of such perfection would make him a better person. It hadn't. I just dragged her down with me. I am the biggest jerk that ever existed. I'm not a good guy - I'm so bad, I make Zeppo look better by comparison.
"Amigo."
He shouldn't have been surprised that Morgan would corner him for a private chat, but he was nonetheless. He shifted in bed as his best friend joined him atop the mattress. "Hey, I want you to know that I just heard from Ginger. She and Lisa are home and safe." She paused, elbowing him. "So, care to tell me what that was all about tonight?"
"What's to tell, Morganza? I told Lisa everything as honestly as I could. To me, we've always felt like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that weren't quite a perfect fit, but we stayed smashed together anyway until something better came along." He closed his eyes and laid his head against the pillow. "I wish we had worked out. I feel like she pushed me to be a better person."
"You shouldn't have to depend on another person to make yourself better, Amigo."
"Yeah, you're right." He exhaled. Should he tell her about Christiane's vision or not? Oh, what the heck. "And there's another reason. You'll probably crack up, but the real reason is because Lisa isn't The One."
"Oh?" In the darkness, he couldn't see Morgan's brow lift. "And how, pray tell, do you know that?"
"Christiane told me. The night before your wedding. She said that Lisa wasn't The One for me, but she refused to tell me who she was."
"Hmph." The navigator frowned. "Baby Girl never told me that."
"Why would she?" He blew out his exhale obnoxiously. "Look, Morganza, I love you and all that, but I don't want to rehash this anymore tonight. Could we all just go to sleep? I promise, we'll discuss it tomorrow."
She rolled over onto her shoulder so that she was facing him. "Okay, Jeffie. But don't think I won't hound you about it at breakfast." She kissed his cheek, then rolled over and out of his bed. "Good night, Amigo. Sleep well."
Once he heard the door close behind her, Jeff thought that, actually, he would sleep well. The weight was finally off his chest, and though it pained him tremendously to hurt Lisa, he knew that it was for the best. She was free to find the man she would finally marry and start a family with, and he would find The One. The One that Christiane had promised.
He wondered if the seer already knew everything that had happened tonight.
How long has it been? Weeks? Months? Oh, who the heck cares? It's not as though life has gotten any better. Wade is still in charge, Keith is still gone, Len is still MIA, and me...I'm still single.
Lisa couldn't tell how much time had passed since Jeff broke up with her; the days blurred together into one stupendous heap of numbness and miscellaneous extras. She'd spent as much time as she could working in the pawn shop, picking up every available shift and then some. Her job - or, more specifically, her paycheck - seemed to dull the constant ache in her soul.
It was Saturday night. Because she was single - and because Ginger had quit her job and was currently unemployed - she had nothing better to do. And besides, someone had to pay the bills.
She was bored. As she kept a blind eye on the nearly-desolate store, her mind wandered back to the days when she was a member of the Vehicle Team. Flying her Space Prober, forming the right leg of Voltron, exploring planets, fighting the Drules...how was it even possible that it was all so far away now? How had Galaxy Garrison fallen apart? How had her life fallen apart?
The mechanical doorbell brought her back to her senses. A customer had walked in, her boyfriend right behind her.
Lisa didn't know the woman personally, but she knew the type. Mother Russia, her coworkers called females like her. Beautiful, haughty, proud, Eastern European, with exquisite black eyes and platinum-blond hair, her sharp gaze on the cases filled with glittering jewels. Her cheekbones were like diamonds, hard enough to cut glass.
For a moment, she merely watched the woman, shrinking behind the counter and feeling more and more inferior by the second.
"Lisa? Is that you?"
In a daze, the former Sea Team pilot looked up...and into the brilliant blue eyes of someone she used to know. "Aidan?"
Aidan Dalloway looked no different than he had the last time she saw him. His blue eyes sparkled beneath the shop's fluorescent lighting. His facial hair, always neatly trimmed, was a shade or two darker than his actual crowning glory, that flowing mane of long, luscious blond waves, pulled back into a glossy ponytail. Dressed in well-fitted clothes to show off his muscular form, he looked like a god.
"Lis! It is you! How have you been, Sweetheart?"
Her heart pounded away in her chest. From her very first semester at the Space Academy, she'd harbored a crush on Aidan Dalloway. She'd even kissed him a time or two during their education, never anything serious to him, but it had always meant something to her. And now, there he was in front of her.
But with Mother Russia.
"I've been awful," she admitted nervously, keeping an eye out for his girl. "Jeff dumped me."
"Then he's a bigger frickin' moron than I gave him credit for."
His words made her feel better, but the sight of the woman he walked in with didn't. She had to know, even if the truth killed her. "But never mind me. How long have you been dating that chick over there?"
"Who, Illyana? At least, I think her name's Illyana." He glanced over his shoulder, shrugging. "Trust me, I'm not dating her. I picked her up at Sullivan's tonight."
"Oh." Disappointment crept up her spine. "Are you taking her home with you?"
He shook his head. "Nah. She's too high-maintenance for me." Then, with a lifted eyebrow, he observed, "Well, you're certainly inquisitive about my love life, aren't you, Sargeant Kaga?"
Sargeant Kaga. No one had called her by her official title since Wade's takeover. It felt really nice. "I like to learn things, Sargeant Dalloway. I'm very intuitive, in case you forgot."
"Well, your intuition is way off tonight." He leaned over, reaching for one of her business cards on the counter. "Wow, Lis, it's so good to see you. I've missed you guys terribly. If you see Ginger or Morgan or Rackens, send my regards." He scribbled his phone number on the back of her card, then pushed it into her palm. "Call me sometime, will you?"
Shocked, she cast her eyes down towards the number on the card. In her giddy stupor, the digits made no sense. He gave me his phone number. Aidan Dalloway gave me his phone number.
She couldn't wait to tell her roommate.
"Oh Blondie, are you coming?" the Russian-accented voice huffed impatiently from the exit.
Aidan turned. "If you insist," he answered patiently. Then, turning back to Lisa, he mouthed, "Seriously. Call me." He blew her a kiss before heading off into the night with Mother Russia.
Her lips tingled with excitement as she watched the door shut behind them, her shaking hands clutching the business card. For a moment, she stood still in the emptiness, feeling a thrill as she'd never known before surge throughout her body. For the first time, she and her long-time crush were both unattached, neither was hung up on anyone else, and she had his phone number. Now she needed to work up the nerve to call.
As bad as the past three years had been, things were finally starting to look up.
THE END
* See my three-part story "Princess of China" for further details.