Taz/Up Fan Fiction:

Moving As One

Author's Notes:

This is set before Taz cut her hair and Taz's 5th year of being a Starship ranger. So in my mind Taz is around 20 and Up is about 30. Also, I only got my Spanish from Google Translate, so sorry if it sucks! And a massive thank you to my beta (look her up he pen name is littleblackbowlerhat) , she writes fanfic too, it's bloody amazing!

And if you want the link to the song I imagine them dancing to at the end of the story here it is, one of the greatest love songs ever written in my opinion. .com/watch?v=zrK5u5W8afc

Enjoy

Up. That's all she thought about as she put on her mascara in long, fluid motions. "Mierda" she muttered under her breath as she got a large scrape of mascara over the bridge of her nose. She had been so immersed in her thoughts of Up she hadn't been concentrating on what she was doing. She sighed into the mirror and the face that looked back was almost taunting her with the image of the girl she thought she could never be. She had never seen herself as the 'pretty' girl, but she wasn't exactly 'un – pretty' either. She was Taz, just Taz the toughest son – of – a – bitch in the whole of Starship. However, Taz did have defining features, she fluttered her long eyelashes and underneath hid the most gorgeous russet – brown eyes. When she looked at you with those eyes it felt like that they were penetrating directly into the depths of your souls as she looked at you. Her hair was a long river of ebony, cascading like a waterfall all the way down her back.

In keeping with the occasion, Taz had left her hair down, with a small plait winding its way around from temple to temple. A welcome change from her usual ponytail or braid. As you see, tonight was the 125th Anniversary of the G.L.E.E. There was going to be a big banquet with a large dance floor constructed in the middle of the ships training room. It was the largest and most adaptable space on the ship. To Taz it seemed like everyone was taking dates. There was February and Bug, Krayonder and Specs, Mega girl and Tootsie and then there was Taz. However, there was also Up. Her Up. Taz's Up. "Parada Taz…No se puede hacer esto" Taz mumbled to herself. She was sure Up didn't like her like that, he couldn't! They were best friends; they had been for five years, ever since he had rescued her from los robots ather quinceañera.

So why was she getting dressed up in this ridiculous dress? Why was she trying to impress him? She looked at herself in the mirror again, her floor length, ruby red dress perfectly complementing her tiny Mexican curves. She looked nice, she would even consider herself to look pretty. Then she knew, she wanted impress Up because…because…because she loved him. It was as simple as that. She wanted to nothing more for him to sweep her up in his arms and tell her the same. But Taz realised that it was only a fantasy. She promptly slumped down into a sitting position on her bed, feeling nothing more than sadness at having to go the banquet and face Up.

Taz. The very thought of the word made his stomach do somersaults. Stupid Taz, Up thought. He couldn't think of anyone else or anything else for that matter. Taz was always on his mind. He let his thoughts wander, he wondered what she was wearing tonight, he hoped it was red. He liked her in red, it complimented her beautiful tanned, Mexican skin and her long black hair that was as dark as night itself. "No, no Up, you can't torture yourself like this anymore" he mumbled to himself in a thick, Southern drawl.

Up went back to trying to concentrate on tying his tie; it was black with the G.L.E.E. symbol signifying the occasion at hand. He wore a simple black suit, but it fit him perfectly and he would even admit to himself that he looked nice in it. Well at least he thought it was better than his usual grey training uniform. Up stared at himself in the mirror and tried to slick back his quickly greying hair, he managed it with copious amounts of hair gel and ten minutes of time. With his hair taken away from his face the large scar across his eye had become more prominent, he ran his fingers across it, wincing at the memories that came with it. He looked old, so very old, but he was only thirty. He again thought of Taz, so young and full of life. It's not like he didn't have time ahead of him it was just he knew that Taz wouldn't go for him. If they went out in public together it would look like a father and daughter were dating! Though he just couldn't shake the thought from his mind that he would give anything to wake up every morning next Taz, smelling her sweet natural scent. He even went as far as dreaming of a life with her, there were kids, three of them and a dog. They had a house with white shutters and a cosy interior…

"Stop Up!" he almost shouted at himself. He hit the wall with his fist, hard. He looked at the wall and there he saw a tiny dent of where he had lashed out his anger, because he only knew that his dreams would never be fulfilled. He focused his eyes back to himself in the mirror, eyes full of angry tears, he quickly wiped them away and turned from the mirror. Up strode out into his bedroom and as he reached the door he leant his head against the cool metal interior of his room, wishing nothing more to be sucked up right there and then because he didn't want to face Taz tonight. It had just become too hard to resist.

20 minutes later Up found himself sitting on a bar stool surveying the room of happy chatting people enjoying themselves at the ball. Some were standing in small groups talking amongst their friends, others dancing to the slow beat of the music and other couples stealing away in the darkest corners of the room. Up was already on his 2nd whiskey, drowning his sorrows in the shallow amber liquid, feeling extremely sorry for himself.

As Up was drinking, Taz was readying herself to step into the room, she was pacing outside the door not wanting to face the crowd as she walked in. She quickly turned on her heel and pushed open the door. A collective hush and then a gasp swept across the room like the appropriately named, Mexican wave. Taz looked around, every single person in the room was staring at her, the girls in awe and the men with absolute looks of lust on their faces. Her blood red dress flowed perfectly around her feet, sashaying across her silver high heels perfectly. She was looking round for a familiar face and she saw her friends, February, Bug, Megagirl, Tootise, Specs and Krayonder huddled in a small group with their heads cocked to one side as if to say "Is that really you Taz?"

Taz kept to sweeping the room with her gaze, when she couldn't stand anyone staring at her any longer, she took to glaring daggers at any man or woman who turned their head to look at her, and soon people were slowly turning back to their conversations, but she knew they were quietly whispering about her. Taz continued to look for the one face in the crowd that wouldn't judge her, that wouldn't stare at her and she yearned for him. Prior to the banquet she thought she wouldn't be able to stand to look at him, but the thoughts had passed, she shook them out of her mind. She had to accept reality and face the facts, she had told herself. However as she saw a small huddle of ensigns being pushed away from the bar by the bartender, as they were underage, she saw him.

Sitting all on his lonesome at the bar, his head drooped so that it almost touched the bars edge and she saw him down the half-filled glass of scotch that sat in front of him. As he cringed at the strong woodiness of the drink and as he did he tensed and Taz saw his muscles defined through even the thick layer of his suit. Those muscles, it made her weak at the knees. As he relaxed again the muscles disappeared into the fabric, making for a weak looking Up yet again. She walked closer to him and as she got within five metres of him his head snapped up and he did a double take, for the second time he looked up it was slow and unsure. His eyes widened as his gaze swept up and down Taz's petite frame and his eyebrows disappeared into his greying hairline.

Taz became instantly worried when Up didn't say anything and he was just staring, staring at her but not at her. Only at her dress, her shoes, her hair. She began to worry, and panic set in. He liked her. He liked her. Her worry was immediately replaced with anger. Up had known Taz for five years and he had never shown this kind of interest in her before. It was probably only because she was killing aliens or knocking out people when she got angry at them, the only reason he liked her now was because she was 'pretty' and though she realised she had done it for him, this was not the way she wanted it to be, she never did. Realising this she quickly turned to face the door and storm out of the hall, hot tears forming in her eyes. Threatening to overflow down her face at any moment.

Up watched in trance as Taz walked out of the banquet, her hips swaying savagely as she seemed to stomp out of the crowded room. Without even realising it he was up out of his seat, taking long strides towards the door with his long legs Up was already three quarters away across the room just as the door was closing with quite some force behind Taz and he jogged the rest of the way pushing through the crowd of people crossing the doorway as he was just about to reach it. It was like he couldn't stop, he needed her, and he couldn't control himself. As Up stepped out of the hall he saw a flash of red as Taz's dress whipped and then disappeared around the corner into the corridor leading to her room.

He shouted after her in a worried tone "Taz, Taz….Tazia!". They were now at opposite ends of the corridor and Taz's head lashed around extremely fast to throw an icy glare at Up. She hated it when people used her full name. Up saw her beautiful cheeks were stained with tears that were slowly but surely still running down her face.

"Don't ever call me that again pendejo bastardo" Taz growled at him through shuddering breaths. She started to walk away again, but Up had already strode across the space between them and had grabbed Taz's well-defined bicep. Suddenly Up felt Taz soften slightly at his touch, but it only lasted a moment as in the next second she had ripped her arm out of Up's grasp and had now turned to face him.

Taz then resorted to screaming at Up in an unusual display of her being out of control " How dare you touch me Up! And I …I... did this for you…" she then struggled to get her words out and had to settle back into rapid Spanish. "Yo confiaba en ti, no pensé que sería el tipo de persona. Lo que me asusta saber que usted es ... pensé que era mi amigo y pensé que podría ir más lejos, pero al parecer me equivoqué. ¡Aléjate de mí Up". Then she hung her head, sobs penetrating her already uneven breath, finishing her rant as it ended in whispers.

Up then just held her. No more, no less. Just held her while she cried, while she let out all the feelings. Her head fitting perfectly in to the sculpted chest that was Up's and her arms wrapped around his waist, her hands clasping each other at the small of his back.

He slowly prised her small body off of him and then held her face in his hands, her cheeks drowning in shed tears. Up wiped the tears off her face in gentle gestures and he just looked in her eyes, never breaking the gaze. Taz took her hands and ran her hands through his hair, feeling the warmth of his body heat. The silence had been long, but never awkward and it was Up who broke it by saying "You were always mine, my first and my only, and it may sound cliché but I always loved you, I want to be yours. I want to wake up next to you every day and love you forever, because I love you Taz, I love you…please…please Taz, say something" He was floundering as Taz's mouth had might a slight 'o' shape.

"But this isn't right…this isn't how it's supposed to go. You are supposed to love me, for me, not for a dress and stilettos!" stammered Taz. She held back her tears now, she didn't want to cry any more in front of him, she didn't want to cry any more tears for him either. "Why do you only now realise that you love me, why now! Tell me Up, give me a reason to love you back!"

"When I saw you running from me, I didn't care about what you were wearing and I didn't care that you looked absolutely stunning. I only cared that you were running and I realised for the first time that I didn't want you to leave. I didn't want you to run, I wanted you to stay and we could dance and talk. That's all I want, I want you to stay, and when I saw you running tonight, it broke my heart…" Up answered simply, his voice trembling with emotion.

Before he knew it Taz's lips were against his, slowly prising them apart with her tongue. It wasn't urgent nor was it gentle; it was that beautiful in between where the love meets the passion. Up was shocked but only for a moment as of then he kissed her back, exploring her mouth with his tongue. His hands moved through her hair, pulling at the braid and cradling her neck in his big hands. Taz's arms snaked their way through his, grabbing at his hips and caressing skin that had become present as his shirt untucked slightly. The kiss slowed, but not to a halt, just so their lips were resting upon each other and Up couldn't help but grin and Taz returned the favour and said "And there's my reason…Te amo Up"

They went back to kissing Up's hands following the long trail of hair down to her lower back, his hands resting on Taz's behind, only for a second before he moved them back up to her face where he held her cheeks and rubbed the nape of her neck with his long and slender fingers. She made a slight groaning sound at the latter and smiled into the kiss, he chuckled softly and said "We should really get back the banquet, people will wonder".

"But I would much rather do this than go in there and see those idiotas" she almost whined. Taz prised herself off of him and put a hand on his chest running her hand up and down the muscles that she could feel through the smart white shirt. Taz felt him shudder under her touch and she giggled, a sound most foreign coming out of her mouth.

"Come on Taz, let's go, we'll dance. It'll be fun, I promise." He said in the Southern accent Taz longed for.

"Bien…voy a ir" she struggled out as he grabbed her round the middle in an attempt to get her moving down the corridor. He straightened up and slyly slipped his hand into hers and she wrapped her slight fingers around his ginormous hand and a blush crept up into her cheeks.

The two were suddenly facing the door to the hall and they pushed open the barricade between them and the party and strode into the banquet. Eyes flicked to the doors and all members of the Starship saw Up and Taz standing there, hand in hand looking utterly and completely stricken with love. Small smiles crossed the lips of most in the room, seeing the truth behind the matter. The dynamic duo was finally together.

The pair crossed the room into the centre of the dance floor and a song came on, Unchained Melodies. It reverberated across the hall in long, resounding notes. Taz and Up had already slipped into a dancing position. Taz's hand on Up's hip and the other in the middle of his back, moving in soothing circles in time with the music. Up had his right arm draped softly around Taz's waist and the other high up on her shoulder, almost reaching her neck. As the song drifted slowly into the chorus, Taz rested her head on Up's chest and without each other's knowledge they smiled to themselves. Sliding gracefully across the floor, moving as one.