Title: Two Centimetres
Fandom: F-Zero
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Pairings: John Tanaka/Jody Summer
Finished: Yes

Comments: Figured I'd breathe some life into this section with something that hasn't been done before I haven't written in a long time, though, so I might be a little off. I might be way off, I'm not sure. I also had to take a few liberties with stuff, but I'm not aiming for this to be accurate to anything. We'll say this is GX canon or something, maybe X, I don't really care too much XD I wrote it just to satisfy myself, really :)

Er, John's POV, because I don't think I mention that in the fic itself.

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The rain cascades down the window, each droplet taking great care to collect others on its way down the glass. It has been raining for quite some time now. I hear it rains for weeks at at time here - adding to the ever-rising water levels. Big Blue wouldn't really be my choice for a vacation spot; I admit it without shame: I'm not comfortable with the water. It's not my choice, being here. If it were, I would've avoided it completely. Apparently, the federation officials decided we needed to be stationed here for a while - "to look after things" they said. What these "things" are, I'm not sure - and I'm not sure I want to know - but the rain has since cancelled it out.

So here I am, sitting by the window, watching the rain outside. Not quite entertaining.

I glance quickly to my right. Jody is sitting there, flipping through a book. I can tell she isn't reading it, she's flipping too fast, for a start. And her eyes aren't even moving away from one spot - as they usually would when someone's reading, obviously. She looks up briefly, shooting a glare my way, but I'm used to that.

"What?" she snaps, shutting the book sharply. Well, she's obviously as irritated with the situation as I am, but... she always acts this way towards me.

"Nothing," I say, smiling a little. I scratch the back of my neck a bit, like I always do when I'm a little nervous. Call it a bad habit.

A soft "Hm," escapes her lips, and she puts the book down on the coffee table in front of her. She then gets up from her seat and makes her way to the other window, located at the opposite side of the room. Lifting her hand to the glass, she sighs, "I wonder how long it's going to keep up like this..." she says, her voice trailing off before she sighs again.

"Well, the forecast said it's due out by the end of the week," I say, making my way to the other end of the room. I stop beside her, "It rains a lot here, apparently."

She doesn't answer me, and only continues to watch the world on the other side of the window. The sun - while barely visible, hidden by the clouds - was beginning to set beyond the sea, painting those ominous clouds a desaturated orange; casting an eerie glow over the few buildings that stood above the water, and the glass tubes below it. It's quite a sight, seeing the sparkle of the lights underneath the water. I wonder breifly what it must be like down there in those underwater buildings - the I remember my fear of the water, and immediately perish the thought.

I finally tear my gaze from the window and let it rest upon her. I feel a quick tug at my heart when I see it - she's crying. For what reason, I'm not sure; but I aim to put an end to it.

Slowly, I take hold of her hand, and squeeze it gently. It feels so good to do that without receiving a good smack to the head! However, she tenses up, but still won't turn towards me. I take it into my own hands to do so, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to face me.

She looks up, a clearly annoyed look on her face, but those glistening tears throw off any attempts to look intimidating. I lift a hand to her face, gently wiping those tears away with my thumb, trying my hardest to ignore her look of shock (and anger). I let my hand linger there a moment more - I've got to enjoy every second of this, because it won't ever come again, I'm sure. But she still doesn't move away, which surprises me.

I'm feeling exceptionally bold now, and I slowly pull her against me, encircling her body with my arms in an embrace. God knows she needs it. The silence is broken briefly by an escaped sob, and I hold her closer to me, on the verge of tears myself. I can't bear to see someone in such pain, least of all Jody! I want to love her, I really do - she just won't let me.

I draw back a little bit, tilting her chin up. Her eyes still shimmer with those unshed tears, but there's no anger or annoyance evident in her expression anymore, her eyes hold an intense longing I've never seen in them before. Before I can stop myself, I'm leaning forward.

Ten centimetres, I can feel her breath.

Five centimetres, and I'm breathing her in.

Two centimetres, and she finally realizes how close I am...

She pulls away from me violently, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. And just as quickly, she leaves the room, muttering about something she has to do.

Just as quickly, I'm all alone again, the sound of the rain on the window my only company. Turning to the window, I lean against it. The cool glass on my skin is very relaxing, really. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that machine I know all too well speed off through one of those glass tubes under the water. I don't worry, though. She'll be back, she just needs some time to herself, obviously. I wonder what she was so upset about in the first place?

I sit down on the windowsill, sighing. But I smile. I saw something in her I've never seen before.

And I was only two centimetres away.

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