Author's Note: AJ and Tezz. Yup. I actually adore the idea of these two. This fic has some referenced Vert/Zoom and Stanford/Agura, so now you know my ships.
Enjoy! And remember, comments are well loved and appreciated!
The Battle Force 5 shot through the zone with more speed than was probably necessary, given their current situation. But then, the zone was starting to collapse, so speed probably was necessary, thought Tezz. He cursed as he sped through the zone, keeping his words to Serbian so the team didn't realize what he was saying.
"We need to go, now!" shouted Vert over the coms.
"Obviously," muttered Tezz.
"Can the 'tude, dude, we gotta jet," said Zoom, zipping by him. Tezz checked his scans and found Vert and Zoom ahead of him, Agura at his left, and AJ behind him. He frowned and looked at his rear-view mirror. AJ's GearSlammer was staggering as it tried to push through the zone.
Running the probability rates in his head, Tezz took a deep breath, cranked the wheel, and shot back toward AJ.
"Tezz! Where are you going?" shouted Vert. Tezz ignored him and accelerated, eyes narrowed as the GearSlammer slid back closer and closer to the crumbling edge of the platform they were on.
Red Sentient seismic bombs. Not enough to destabilize a zone, but enough to force them all out.
Tezz swiped his hand across his screen and activated his hadron beam. The beam latched onto the GearSlammer and Tezz cranked the wheel in the other direction. The Splitwire screeched at him as it swung back around. He grit his teeth and slammed the accelerator to the floor, forcing the Splitwire forward.
"Tezz, let go, we won't both make it!" shouted AJ. Tezz ignored him, they shot forward, but they weren't fast enough. The zone was crumbling around them. Seismic shocks were destroying everything.
"AJ, Tezz!" Vert's voice. The zone falling. Then the Gearslammer and the Splitwire were falling and Tezz winced, preparing for the worst.
A fusion vortex appeared above them and the SkyKnife shot through. It fired off two cables and hauled them both back up, yanking them toward the portal even as their wheels and treads touched down.
As they crossed the portal, Tezz couldn't help his sigh of relief. They'd made it out. Now, to get back to the Hub.
As the five vehicles stopped in the Hub, Tezz got out of his car and tried to sneak off. He knew, logically, that he had nothing to fear, that they'd all made it out of the zone in one piece and that he was only trying to help a teammate.
He also knew, logically, that Vert was going to lecture him anyway, that he was a terrible liar, and that the moment Vert asked Tezz why he had done that without telling anyone, he was going to crack.
Because it wasn't simply to 'help a teammate', no, Tezz wouldn't – couldn't – have done that for anyone else.
"Tezz, a word," said Vert, swinging out of the Saber. Tezz supressed a sigh and turned back to Vert, schooling his expression into one of disinterest as Vert approached. "That was a bad call in the Battle Zone, back there."
Tezz hummed noncommittally. "He was in danger. You told me to be a 'team player'," he put air-quotes around the words, "I was simply following orders."
Vert faltered, mouth opening and closing. "Uh…"
"He's got you there, dude," said Zoom. He clapped a hand on Vert's shoulder and grinned at him, then turned his gaze to Tezz, head cocked. "But you never follow orders, what makes AJ so special?"
"Yes, Tezz, what does make AJ so special?" asked Stanford. Tezz could hear his footfalls behind him and he was half tempted to turn around and shock the smug tone out of Stanford's voice. However, he thought that might have been a tad drastic, or else would completely ruin his trying to hide his emotions.
"Nothing," said Tezz. "AJ is my friend. He required assistance. I do not see you all asking Vert why he chooses to prioritize Zoom in Battle Zones."
Stanford cracked a grin as Vert sputtered. "That's a bit different, love," he said.
Spinner nodded. "Yeah, Tezz, they're in love," sang Spinner, batting his eyelashes and clasping his hands together. "Are you in love with AJ?" Zoom shoved him.
AJ looked up, brow furrowed and cheeks a little red. Tezz cleared his throat and forced himself not to panic, despite the heat he could feel building in his cheeks. "I do not know what you are talking about," he said, purposely avoiding the question. "You are… what is the phrase? Making mountains out of moleskins?"
"Mole hills," corrected Agura, strolling over, "and he's right guys, lay off. So he tried to save a teammate, big deal. I would have saved any of you."
"Thank you, Agura," said Tezz. With that, he slid away from them and cleared his throat. "I have work to do." Then, he disappeared from the Hub and upstairs, to his room, where he collapsed against the door inside his room and took a deep breath.
Damn it. He could have caused a large problem back there. He needed to keep hold of his emotions and stop acting like… what was it Spinner had called Zoom once? A love struck middle schooler? He wasn't quite sure what the term meant, but it felt fitting for the circumstance.
Tezz sighed and closed his eyes. His heart beat hard in his chest and his skin was clammy and warm all at once. He knew this feeling – the fight or flight instinct – but to have it activated by proximity to a person, to a secret, was a newer sensation. One he wasn't sure he was fond of.
Tezz took a deep breath and went about collecting his things for another night of research. He'd sleep later, when he wasn't frustrated and certain that his emotions would keep him awake.
Once he was certain the others had left, Tezz went back downstairs to the Hub and pulled up the computer to work. He studied the numbers he'd been working on closely, trying to find out the exact composition of the seismic bombs the Red Sentients had used in the Battle Zone. If they used them again, Tezz wanted to have a solution for them. That was his job, after all, to gather information and ensure the team had the advantage in the zones.
He was so invested in his work that he didn't notice someone else was in the Hub until they spoke.
"Hey, Tezz?" Tezz certainly did not jump at the sound of AJ's voice. Nor did he feel himself grow warm and his hands begin to tremble.
He'd never been much of a liar, if he were honest. Even less so to himself than to others.
"AJ," said Tezz, barely keeping his voice level. He did not turn from his computer for fear of revealing his discomfort. Not of AJ, no, but of himself and his reaction. It would not do well to jeopardize the team or otherwise embarrass himself. "Did you want something?"
"Yeah, you," said AJ. Tezz swallowed. He had heard Vert say that to Zoom after Battle Zones enough to know there was often a double meaning to the phrase, but it was improbable that AJ used the phrase in the same manner. "We all went to Zeke's and I uh, brought you some pizza?"
At this, Tezz turned and looked at AJ and found him carrying a box of pizza. AJ cracked a smile at him, something in his expression that Tezz knew the others would describe as sheepish.
"Want a slice?" asked AJ. He opened the box and the smell of pepperoni and mushroom pizza, Tezz's favourite, filled the room. "I got lots, eh?"
Tezz looked over his shoulder at his calculations, then at AJ, who smiled at him. With a shrug, he started toward AJ and pulled a slice from the box, grateful he'd gotten out of his shocksuit earlier. "Sure," said Tezz. "Why not?"
The two sat together against their vehicles, eating pizza in almost silence. After a few minutes, AJ began talking about extreme sports – specifically, snowmobile stunts – and Tezz didn't have to feign interest. The topic was genuinely intriguing, especially the inertia required to do a backflip with a snowmobile. He wondered how AJ had discovered those numbers without breaking his neck, as doing the actual math seemed unlikely.
He was intelligent, but not intelligent like Tezz was. AJ was better with people and with creative thinking. Tezz appreciated that about him. Liked that about him, even.
"So, uh," said AJ, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I ask you something?"
"Querying whether or not you may ask me a question is, in itself, a question," said Tezz. AJ blinked. Tezz sighed. "You may."
AJ nodded and set down his pizza slice on the box. He was perched on the GearSlammer, legs crossed, while Tezz leaned against the Splitwire, one leg resting against it. AJ slid off the GearSlammer and set the pizza box down on it before walking over to Tezz. Tezz sucked in a breath and stared at AJ, the two of them level as he was leaning against the Splitwire.
"The guys, and Agura, have been talking about, uh, you and…" AJ shook his head, trailing off, and Tezz's mind picked up where AJ left off. Had the team discovered his emotions? Had they told AJ? That seemed highly improbable, but his heart clenched and he lost his breath anyway.
That was betrayal, was it not?
"And I," finished AJ, swallowing visibly. Tezz blinked. What? "They uh, well…" AJ rubbed the back of his neck. He was blushing, his entire face flushed and his gaze at the floor instead of on Tezz. Tezz furrowed his brow. He wasn't much for looking people in the eye – frankly, he found it uncomfortable – but this behaviour from AJ was irregular.
"AJ?" asked Tezz. He wasn't sure how to finish his question.
AJ looked at Tezz, something in his eyes that Tezz couldn't place. "Can I kiss you?"
Tezz blinked, started, and stared at AJ with a dropped jaw and wide eyes. AJ cringed and stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck with a red face.
"Jeez, sorry, I didn't, I mean, I thought…" AJ trailed off and turned away from Tezz. "I'll go now, eh?"
Tezz reached out and grabbed AJ's wrist. AJ hesitated, looked at Tezz's hand, then at Tezz's face.
"I do not recall saying 'no'," said Tezz, voice barely above a whisper. AJ stared at him, his own eyes going wide and his mouth dropping open. Tezz bit his lip and waited, knowing there was little else he could do.
AJ turned, taking Tezz's hand in his own and stepping in close to Tezz. "Yeah, okay, eh?" said AJ, voice soft. He leaned up, hair hanging in his eyes. "Awesome." With that, he closed the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss to Tezz's lips.
Tezz had never been struck by lightning before, but he thought this might have been close to what it felt like. The surge of energy and warmth through his body centred on where their lips and hands connected. Tezz brought up one hand to cup AJ's face and tilted his head experimentally to deepen the kiss. Little sparks danced across his spine and Tezz found himself falling into the simple touch of hands at his hips and the hand he had on AJ's cheek.
When they pulled back, Tezz exhaled a shaky breath and stared down at AJ, who grinned at him through his floppy hair.
"Good?" asked AJ.
Tezz brought up his other hand, the one AJ had released to hold onto his hips, and let his fingers brush his still tingling lips. "Yes," said Tezz, surprised at how soft and hoarse his voice had gotten. "That was my first kiss."
AJ's eyes went wide and he blushed again, ducking his head. "Well, uh, I'm glad I could be part of it, eh?" He sounded unsure and he went to take his hand off Tezz's hip, but Tezz caught his wrist with his free hand and held fast.
"Would you also like to be part of my second kiss?" asked Tezz.
AJ grinned. "Yeah, I would," he said, and he stepped in to kiss Tezz again. They stayed like that longer than Tezz would have thought possible, quietly trading kisses and soft words asking if the other liked this, or that, or if they wanted to stop. It was five minutes by his, highly accurate mind you, internal clock when the roar of several vehicles came into the warehouse.
The two men pulled back, neither able to hide their flustered appearances, and Tezz murmured a quiet 'I should go' before scooting away toward the elevator.
Catcalls went up before he could even get ten steps and Tezz froze, putting one hand over his face. He felt his entire face go hot, embarrassment flooding his veins in an altogether unpleasant way.
"Guys, lay off," said Vert, his voice ringing clear above the calls. "Teasing me and Zoom is fine – and Agura and Stanford when you can get away with it," a few snickers "but these two are new to this, especially Tezz, cut him a break."
Tezz turned to look at Vert, who was leaned against the Saber with a slight frown. "You guys okay?" asked Vert.
Tezz looked to AJ, who smiled shyly at him.
"Yes," said Tezz, softly, "I believe we are fine." He hesitated a moment, then, turning to AJ, he said, "Would you like to finish our pizza on the roof?"
AJ grinned and grabbed the box. "Wanna grab a couple of sodas too?" asked AJ. Tezz nodded. Together, the two headed up to the roof, pizza and sodas in hand. Tezz wondered, as he regaled AJ with the science behind the stars, if this counted as a first date. He hoped it did, and, as AJ slid their fingers together, he thought AJ considered it as much as well.
With a small smile, Tezz told AJ about the stars as they ate pizza, fingers tangled together in the quiet of the desert night, and, for once, he allowed himself to stop thinking in numbers and simply to feel.