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Disclaimer: I own no – one, but I actually think that you never thought so, because if I would own them I wouldn't have to write this and they would be together by now.
Chapter 6
Song:
Life
(Starship)
It's a big, big universe. So many dimensions and unanswered questions.
Not to mention life
It was Taz's second month at the academy. She still refused to spend more time than necessary with her roommates, but she had started to talk to them. Up had forced them to be nice to her – he'd promised them some money if they would make friends with Taz.
But she had started to kinda like Specs. Taz thought it was funny that everything she said sounded clever even though the others avoided her because of that. Specs didn't mind but she seemed pleasant that she had at least one person around her who tried to understand what she'd said.
"Could jou please shut up for once?" Taz interrupted one of Spec's speeches about how similar robots were to humans as they were sitting in the shade of a tree in front of the academy. Specs had started to read a lot about this topic and even though Taz had tried to understand what her friend had said she couldn't remember even a single word.
"I'm sorry," Specs responded quickly and shut up.
She knew that Taz was in a bad mood since a few days – well, even worse than usual – but she didn't know what was bothering her. Someone sat down besides the two of them.
"Go away," Taz muttered, not even looking up from the bug which she was staring at.
"Taz?" Up said, slightly confused. She recognised his voice immediately and looked at him.
"What?" Taz responded, dangerously.
"What's wrong?" Up asked softly and took her hand, but she shoved his away.
Specs looked at the two of them and decided that it would be better to go. She got up and hurried towards her room.
Taz hadn't even recognised that she was gone. "Nothings wrong. I'm perfectly fine"
"Ya can't lie to me, Tazzie. I know ya better than that," Up said with a slight smirk.
Taz didn't even notice that he'd called her 'Tazzie' because otherwise she would have probably punched him. Up wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she buried her face in his chest. "It's been two moths since –"
Since her quincheanera. There was no need for her to finish that sentence for Up knew exactly what she meant.
"I know how ya feel," he said gently.
"No. No jou don't. I saw my family getting murdered by some hijos de puta robots! On de day which should have been de best of my life!" Taz yelled and looked into his eyes. They were so beautiful and … NO! She shook her head violently.
Up was confused. He had seen something he couldn't quite name flushing through Taz's eyes. It had made them slightly bigger as if she'd just realised something. But then she shook her head and the anger turned back. Somehow Up couldn't concentrate on anything but her beautiful eyes.
"It is just so unfair dat dey had to die while I can be here with jou and become a Starship Ranger. Dey could have lived if jou'd come earlier, Up!" she continued. Up knew that she didn't blame him for that. It was just that she needed someone to blame for it. He was glad that Taz didn't blame herself and he wasn't going to complain.
"I'm sorry, Taz"
"Jou should be! Jou don't even know how it feels!" Taz yelled and got up.
"I do," Up responded while he got up too. "I'm an orphan, too. My family died when I was sixteen. They were murdered by robots, too. And the Starship Rangers found me. And they told me to always get back up. And that's what I did. And that's what you should do too, Taz"
He grabbed her wrists and forced her to face him. "I even tried to kill myself as I couldn't take it anymore, because I had no – one to hold on to. But you have, Taz"
Taz looked shocked as he said that, but she still didn't respond.
"You have me, Taz. And I'll never leave you," Up said as she finally looked at him.
"Lo siento, Up," Taz said softly and he pulled her in a tight embrace.
But suddenly there was a loud BANG and people began to scream. A beam of light flushed through the academy.
"What's going on?" Taz asked as far from fear as always.
"Robots," Up said calmly. He knew exactly what was going on – it wasn't the first time that the robots tried to attack the academy.
"Robots?" Taz asked aghast.
Up nodded and grabbed her tiny hand in his huge one. "We need zappers," he told her and was really confused that she wasn't scared. But he had never seen her scared so it actually was not a surprise.
Taz nodded and took him to the gym where they always got their zappers from at school. She handed Up one and took one, too.
"Taz, don't ya think you should stay here?" Up asked as gently as he could.
"No. No I don't think so. I'll come with jou and kick dose robotas ass!" Taz yelled and grabbed his wrist. "Don't force me to stay here while jou go and fight de robots. Please let me come with jou, Up," she said softly, almost impossible to hear, but Up heard her.
"But you would be save here. We could hide you so they will never find you. I don't want ya to die, Taz," he said and stroke the hair out of her face.
"And I don't want jou to die, Up. Dat's why I want to come with jou – to help jou," she whispered and put her hand on his which was still in her hair.
"Taz … Please I don't want ya to get hurt. Please stay her, I beg you," Up said softly.
Taz didn't respond, but then she heard another scream and nodded slightly. He thought he'd seen tears in her eyes, but that must have been an imagination.
"I won't get hurt," Up said as he bent down and kissed her forehead. He stormed out of the room and Taz was all alone.
She sat down and hugged her knees. Taz had never felt so terrible – she was scared as hell. But she wasn't scared of the possibility that the robots could find and kill her, Taz was only scared that they would kill Up. She'd never cared for anyone that much – not even for her family for crying out loud.
Every scream she heard startled her until she realised that it was not Up's voice. Taz took her zapper and hugged it tightly. She felt like a little kid which waited for his parents to come home. Only that her parents were dead and she didn't think of Up as a father, which would have been really weird for him being just seven years older.
But suddenly Taz heard a scream and there were no doubts that it was Up's. She got up and stormed out of the gym.
Up was fighting a robot when he heard steps coming closer. He didn't even have to look to know that it was Taz. The robot noticed that Up wasn't that concentrated on fighting anymore it shot a laser beam at him. He dropped to the floor, but he was still alive and looking for his zapper. Taz rushed at the robot and shot at it widely. It punched her in the stomach and she coughed up some blood, but she didn't mind.
Up had found his zapper and got up carefully. He shot the robot, but I managed to shot him, too. Taz didn't think anymore. She grabbed her zapper and hit the robot. Taz didn't know why she did that, but she didn't know how to use a zapper anymore. The robot seemed to be confused and it said something like "Foolish hu – man" before it didn't move anymore. It's red – beam eyes darkened and it dropped onto the floor.
Taz hurried towards Up who was lying onto the floor and seemed pretty much dead. She had never paid attention in first aid even though Up had told her to do so. Now Taz wished she had done that.
She rested her head on Up's chest and she cried out in relieve as she felt his heart beating slowly.
oooOOOooo
As Up opened his eyes he wondered where he was. He felt like he needed to throw up, but he didn't want to get up. Up looked around and saw Taz sleeping in a chair next to his bed.
He was at the academy's sickbay and she'd stayed with him just like he'd done as she had been in here. Up reached out one hand and touched hers gently.
Taz woke up, looking startled. Up smiled slightly as he looked at her, she looked ready to kill somebody. Taz glared around the room until she realised that Up had woken up. For some reason she tried to hide her happiness for him being alright.
"Ya stayed here," he said softly and Taz could see him smiling slightly.
"I just did what jou've done too," she growled. Suddenly she realised that Up was still holding her hand and it felt strange – in a good way.
"So you'll stay too as long as I want you to?" he asked weakly and smirked slightly. Taz rolled her eyes.
Up tried to sit up, but it hurt him. "Did the doctor tell ya when I'll be alright again?" he asked under his breath.
"Oh, don't be so soft, idiota!" Taz replied as she left her chair to lie down besides him. "Jou can leave here tomorrow, Up," she whispered in his ear as Up wrapped his arms around her petite frame.
"Ya saved my life, Taz. D'ya know that?" He said softly.
"I just did what jou would have done, too. And by de way, jou already saved my life once," Taz replied casually.
"I owe ya my life"
"And so do I. So I guess we're quits," Taz said. She didn't want him to know how much this all bothered her. She wanted Up to think that she was strong enough to save him from a robot without much fuss. And Taz also wanted him to be proud of her.
"I – no, no we aren't! You are a hero!"
"Up, look, if I would be a hero then jou wouldn't even be here. I'm just …" She cut herself up. Taz didn't want to tell him why she really had come.
"Have I ever told ya that you are the only person in my live that I care about?" Up asked softly.
"And so do I. Dat was why I saved jou," Taz replied.
She wrapped her arms around Up's waist and buried her face in his chest.
It was strange that her presence comforted him so much. He'd never had this feeling around another person before. But Taz had changed his whole life. Up had always been the one who punched people for no reason or who shouted at people who didn't even look at him. But now he had Taz who did that and he was the one who had to calm her down. And she was the first person whom he'd ever told his story.
Up listened to her steady breathing until he fell asleep.
I actually really don't know why I do that. I just got a feeling like that chapter is not complete if they don't fall asleep at the end.
Please, please review!
