A/N: I picture Dark Ace/Starling as highly sexual, condescending and needy for attention. (If you haven't already, read the fanfic The Tiara Debate by mistressmarionnete.)
Prompt: (for LJ's 78tarot community) The Five of Wands. Challenge. An exciting challenge which raises the adrenalin. Competition(s); a need to prove oneself.
Make the Beats Go Harder
It feels good to engage in combat with someone who is not a teenager, to scream and swear without the fear of repercussion - that she might break her challenger too hard. They never meet in mid-air, always on the ground, always on the tails of tracking someone else. He is the instigator of this evening's fight, bouncing his newly-written taunts before he presents them to the red-haired sky knight. The woman is itching to let off some steam with several hours of constant riding under her belt, looking for a little exercise, and partakes in his desire for a bit of a scrap. An aerial fight is no good for her, so she grounds her baby and waits for him to follow.
Starling grips her nunchucks tightly, and tackles Dark Ace head-on before he can charge his striker crystal and beat her down with an energy pulse. He is in a playful mood, and asks her if she wants to return to Cyclonia with him, and will champion her if she does end up slaying Repton. Closing his eyes, he laughs in her face and confesses there are only two sky knights who have bested him – and she is not one. The Talon holds the advantage for he is both the better pilot and a grown male. Muscle mass and a larger stature are on his side. To prove his point, they tumble several times in the dirt and Starling bangs her head against the front tire of his Switchblade. They fight only with their bodies, punching and scratching at whatever exposed skin they can find. Try to tear pieces of armour from their clothes.
His pins her down with his bony elbows and prevents her kicking his groin by parting her legs with a knee. Indulging his masochistic thoughts, she advises he should at least learn her skimmer's name before using her body so greedily. Wandering hands do nothing for her the man in question knows how to execute a proper oil change. After all, mechanics are much better at sex than Cyclonian fighters.
Dark Ace's comes loose as beads of perspiration roll down his forehead in tides. Seeing her opportunity, Starling scrunches her face into a hard grimace while the heel of her hand comes in contact with the soft cartilage of his nose. The capillaries burst with blood. A matching blow to his head knocks both the helmet and the Talon off her stomach. She shoves him further to the side, knees him in the gut and flips him off.
"You're not the one I want to kill." She admonishes and chuckles as he tends to his nasal cavity; he attempts to staunch the flow with a forefinger and a thumb. As predicted, the scuffle is over, faster than sex and definitely not satisfying enough. Filthy and sporting a few bruises, Starling sidesteps the man's hunched form, retrieves her weapons from a nearby bush and pets the top of his head in a patronizing manner. Down on his knees, Dark Ace rolls his eyes and mutters something about that damn kid, Aerrow.
Even in defeat, everything goes back to the Storm Hawks. To add insult to injury, she ruffles his black hair and whispers in his ear about not being able to understand him, his words sound gargled. He is too proud to go after her, and she has to pick up Repton's trail once again, but she blows him a parting kiss as she mounts her Slip-Wing and takes to the air.