By The Steel Angel
Authors Notes - This idea popped into my head after
talking to my dear friend Kristin. ~Hug~. And it's a pairing
that I've never done before, Marco/Cassie. Post-war, of course.
I'd never hurt Jake like that. You guys should know that by now.
So sit back, and enjoy. =P
"Moral regrets, Bill?
I don't have any. Just ask Eisenhower, Grant, or Macarthur if they
had any moral regrets after their wars. You can't add morality into
the equation. It keeps you from doing what you need to do, to win
the war." I said. Mr. O'reilly nodded, and looked over at Jake
and Cassie.
"Mr. Berenson? Ms.
Price? Do you have anything to add?" He asked. Both Jake
and Cassie shook their heads. "Well, as always, we'll let the audience
decide. Thank you for keeping it pithy. Next on the rundown..."
And Bill went on. I stood up, along with Jake and Cassie, as was
escorted out of the studio, and back down the hallway toward the green
room.
"I hope Ax didn't eat all
of those rice krispie squares." I said as we walked down the long hallway.
Cassie turned her head to look at me wearily.
"Marco, there was a plate
of about a hundred of them in the green room. And he's only been
in there for about fifteen minutes." Cassie said. I nodded
slightly, looking back at her.
"Yeah, I know." I said.
Cassie giggled slightly at the implication. Only Jake remained silent.
I nudged him with my elbow. "Come on, Big Guy. Laugh it up."
I said. He looked down at me.
"I'm not really in the mood
to laugh." He said coldly. Most people would have taken the hint,
and backed off. But I knew Jake better than his own mother did.
I knew how to push his buttons.
"Why not? It's the
two year anniversary of the end of the war. You should be ecstatic."
I said. He stopped walking. I stopped as well, as Cassie continued
on into the green room. I didn't blame her.
"It wouldn't be fair for
me to be happy." Jake said simply. I rolled my eyes.
"Fair to whom?" I asked.
"To Rachel. To Tom.
To Jara Hamee, and Tobias. Those Seventeen Thousand Yeerks that I
killed. It wouldn't be fair to Elfangor." He said stonily.
I laughed critically.
"Oh come off it, Jake!
Tobias chose to leave, you didn't make him! Rachel and Tom
and Jara died, but hey, casualties are a part of war. There's no
such thing as a clean war. All those Yeerks? They were our
enemies, Jake. The winners of war write the history. It was
a justified act. And as for Elfangor, he died so that you could be
standing right where you are right now, with the knowledge that you won
the war." I said. I saw Jake clench his fists. He knew everything
I was saying was true, and he hated me for it.
"I... I'll see you later
tonight, Marco." He said, and turned around. He started to
walk back toward the exit. I decided to let him. I turned,
and walked into the green room. I saw Cassie standing there with
a horrified look on her face. She was staring down at an empty plate,
and then at the Andalite standing across the room.
I believe I have defied
the laws of human food consumption. This is why I was forced to demorph.
> Ax said, smiling with his eyes, the way Andalites do. We still
hadn't figured out if Ax had a sense of humor.
"Did Jake leave?" Cassie
asked me. I turned toward her. She had a look of sadness on
her face. I nodded.
"Yeah. He'll be at
my place later on tonight, though." I said. We were having a little
get together at my home later on that evening. Well, Cassie, Jake,
and I. Ax had to get back to the Dome Ship in orbit around the planet
at the moment.
I must say, Prince
Jake still seems to have not gotten over the decisions he made during the
war. It is common of a leader. Even Elfangor had regrets. >
Ax said softly. I nodded at him, then looked back to Cassie.
I noticed the pain that was in her eyes, and I knew exactly what she was
feeling. Because Jake, my best friend, my main man.... just wasn't
Jake anymore.
***
"So, wait a minute.
Let me get this straight. You turned down a date with Hillary
Duff?!" Cassie asked, supressing a slight giggle. This was actually
the first time that I'd been able to be myself with any of the others since
the end of the war. I was even dressed in clothes similar to the
ones I used to wear during the war, rather than the designer clothes I'd
grown accustomed to over the last two years.
"Yeah. She's just
not my type, you know?" I said. Cassie smiled slyly.
A smile I hadn't seen on her for years.
"Would she have been your
type, say, three years ago?" She asked.
"Oh, definately."
I said. Cassie started giggling, which only coerced me to chuckle
as well. I was about to say something equally witty, but the phone
rang. I picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey Marco." It was
Jake.
"Oh, hey. When are
you planning on coming over?" I asked.
"I can't make it.
The University called, and I've gotta do a seminar first thing in the morning
over in San Bernadino." He said. I rolled my eyes. Jake
was always a terrible liar.
"Oh, well, all right then."
I said, and hung up the phone. I didn't want to get into anything
over the phone. I set it down on the coffee table.
"Was that Jake?" Cassie
asked. I nodded, and turned to look at her. She was sitting
right next to me.
"Yeah. He said something
about an early morning seminar in San Bernadino." I said. She sighed,
and leaned her head against my shoulder.
"Sometimes I feel like you
and I are the only ones that really came out of the war alive. Rachel
is dead... Tobias... who knows where Tobias is? Ax is fine, but he's
a prince now. He's back with his own people. Jake..." She let
it hang. She didn't have to elaborate. I knew exactly what
she meant. As strange as it seemed, I felt a bond for between Cassie
and I, even from just these last three hours of talking.
Wait, three whole hours?
"Sheesh, it's eleven oclock
already," I said. Cassie looked down at her watched, and blushed
deeply.
"Oh man... I'm such a ditz
sometimes," She muttered, and grabbed her purse from the table. I
put a hand on her shoulder, halting her motions. She turned to look
at me.
"Hey, take it easy.
It's late. Why don't you crash here?" I offered.
"I don't know... I wouldn't
want to impose." She said. I stared at her drolly.
"Cassie, I've got twenty
two unoccupied guest bedrooms, and you're one of my best friends, whom
I don't get to see too often. I won't take no for an answer." I said
Cassie smirked.
"Holding me against my will?
That isn't like you, Marco." She said teasingly. I grinned.
"Do you want me to change
my mind?" I said with a laugh.
***
I woke up in the middle of
the night, blinking. What was the matter? What had woken me
up? I looked over at the clock near my bed. Two Eighteen.
I sat up in my bed, wearing only my boxers and a white tanktop, which was
my normal sleeping attire. Then I realized that I could hear something.
I stepped out of my bed, and peered outside my room, down the hall.
There was steam coming out of one of the bathrooms. Someone must
be taking a shower.
And that someone was singing.
It was a beautiful voice.
One I'd never heard before. Britney Spears? Jewel? Michelle
Branch? No. Maybe it was because I was still half asleep, that
I didn't immediately recognize the voice as Cassie's. I crept down
the hallway and leaned against the doorway. The door had been left
open.
"Close your eyes... give
me your hand, darlin'. Can you feel my heart beating? Do you
understand? Do you feel the same? Am I only dreaming?
Or is the burning, an eternal flame?" She sang.
"I believe, that it's meant
to be, darlin'. I watch you when you are sleeping, you belong with
me. Do you feel the same? Am I only dreaming? Or is this
burning, an eternal flame?" I sang the second verse. The water
stopped. Out of the cloud of steam, came Cassie. Her hair had
grown longer, and was wet around her shoulders. She was wrapped in
a white towel. She looked so... beautiful.
"You... have a great singing
voice." Cassie said simply. I gulped, staring into her eyes.
"You've got the most beautiful
voice I've ever heard." I said sincerely. She blushed.
"Thanks... Jake never commented
much," She said.
"He's crazy." I said,
then lifted a hand, and stroked her cheek. She rubbed her cheek against
my hand. I lifted her chin up slightly, and pressed my lips against
hers. She returned the kiss warmly, pressing me against the wall.
She pressed her body against mine, which held the towel in place.
I wrapped my arms around her, deepening the kiss.
"Marco..." Cassie said softly,
breaking the kiss. My arms never left her waist.
"Yes?" I whispered.
My lips were no more than an inch away from hers.
"Make love to me..." She
whispered. I pulled her even closer. I nodded slightly, and
kissed her again.
Unfortunately, FFN has a stupid rule about NC-17. So this is where the fic is gonna have to end. I do have the uncute version typed up, so email me at Wickedclowns101@hotmail.com if you wish to see it. Toodles.
