Delphi913: So sorry it was another long interval from updating! And I apologize that I'm not quite sure what 'high jinks' are, so I hope this delivered well. And that's actually a great idea! I'll probably do that in two chapters, so thank you for the suggestion!
Chapter 8: Blooming Feelings
If there had been any doubt in his mind, the whole 'party' had confirmed his feelings on the announcement. The week had passed quickly, with not much going on except his daily lessons. When he had woken up the next day, however, it was like the ship had been transformed. Or, to be more specific, half of it was transformed.
Everything from his bedroom to the classrooms was normal, but the hanger, as well as a few rooms used for private briefings, was filled with colorful decorations and numerous tables. Most of the decorations depicted hearts or a strange, winged-human silhouette that Leo hadn't seen before. For some reason, he felt strangely embarrassed by the display.
His feet had taken him to one of the formerly private rooms, where some of the crew was doing various activities: slow dancing, chatting, and… drinking? The last scene greatly confused him for a number of reasons, but it did seem like they were serving some sort of alcoholic drink. This… was not what I was expecting.
"You alright, kid?" his mentor's voice came from a behind him, causing the boy to turn around. Rock Thunderheart must have seen the confused expression on his face.
"Yeah… I think so," he still felt a bit awkward about the events happening in the room, "are they allowed to drink alcohol when there could possibly be an attack?"
"Ah," his mentor took a quick glanced into the room; "there's a limitation and only half of the crew are allowed to take the day off today. The other half gets to celebrate tomorrow."
"Half?" the more explaining that he heard didn't necessarily clear things up for him. "What are we celebrating anyway? Does it have something to do with that mission you went on?"
The older Frame runner shook his head. "No, not entirely. Remember when I told you about a holiday called 'Valentine's Day'?" Leo nodded, prompting him to continue, "well, it's like a celebration for couples, most often young people normally go on dates and-"
"OK then," Leo quickly cut him off, feeling even more awkward now. It wasn't like he had ever been in love, so the holiday really was more relevant to the older people on the ship… right?
The older man was giving him a calculating stare, making the boy wonder what he had done wrong. "Well…" his mentor started, but something seemed to catch his attention; "I guess you might be a bit too young for that sort of thing. Why don't you spend some time with Celvice today instead?"
"Yeah, that works," he nodded, spying his friend standing by one of the tables, looking just as awkward as he felt. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, considering the fact that classes were most likely cancelled for the day and he didn't have much else to do. It would be nice to catch up with his friend.
"Good morning, Leo," Celvice greeted him, looking a bit more relaxed when she had spotted the boy coming towards her. He couldn't blame her for being uncomfortable; they were practically the two youngest members of the Atlantis. Plus, this holiday seemed a bit… Leo wasn't quite sure how to describe it.
"Good morning," he greeted back, leaning against the wall since there weren't any chairs to sit in. The young pilot still felt a bit out of place as he watched the older adults in the room. "So, did my teacher actually explain what this holiday was about?"
Leo hoped that, just maybe, the older Frame Runner had given Celvice a more descript explanation without the… awkwardness he had felt. She shook her head though, a light blush on her face as she looked away from him. "No, but Miss. Elena did explain things a bit."
No further explanation came after that, causing the two to grow quiet. The room was filled with laughter and music, but the young pilot was trying to figure out what else they could do. An idea hit him, one that most likely wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Celvice, do you want to take a walk around the ship? Half of it seems decorated, but I didn't see much before coming here." He suggested, figuring that they would be allowed to. It was just a walk around the ship and then… he wasn't sure what they would do after that but it was a start.
"Sure. Maybe we could visit the hangers too." She nodded, a smile on her face as she followed him out the room. He got the subtle hint: maybe they could visit ADA while they were there too. Then I'll finally have a legitimate excuse to tell ADA for visiting.
As they were exiting the room, they ran into Elena. After greetings were exchanged, they continued on their way to view the rest of the ship. Leo couldn't help but feel as though something was off about today. Despite the holiday, both Elena and his mentor were acting somewhat strange. And Celvice…
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, glancing over at her and feeling concern when he realized how red her face looked. Of course, the crowdedness of the other room might have been getting to her. If that was the case, he was glad that they had moved elsewhere.
"Yes, I'm fine," she nodded in reassurance quite quickly, her face still a bit red. The tint in her cheeks went away a bit as they continued to walk, marveling at the different decorations. Streamers of red and pink covered the doorways and white banners were strung up with varied messages along the hallways.
As they approached the hallway to the hanger, a strange display caught his attention. Leo walked over to it, Celvice following close behind. The display was shaped like half of a heart but was filled with different shades of red, pink, and white.
"They're cards," Leo remarked as he opened one of them and saw writing inside. The boy glanced over at Celvice, seeing her do the same; although she actually took time to read what was in the card. Another smile, this one softer, appeared on her face.
"Valentine's Day cards." She affirmed with a nod, closing the one card and opening another. "Apparently people on the ship wrote them and placed them here."
"Who are they for?" The boy opened one of the cards, finding that he didn't recognize the name inside. It must have been written from one of the mechanics or repair crews. Leo didn't have much interaction with other groups outside of his class other than the reconnaissance crew and the group that was repairing Jehuty.
"Different people, maybe someone's love interest or close friend," as Celvice said this, her face lit up again, but her voice didn't waver. She tilted her head a bit in confusion as she stepped away from the wall, turning around and observing the whole display. "Why only half a heart though?"
Leo wondered the same, but his mentor's words came back to him. "There's another party tomorrow, since only half the crew is allowed to take off. Maybe the other half will be filled then."
"Sort of like answers to these ones?" The smile never left her face and Leo found that, as he answered, he was looking at her for the first time, like he knew her but found something new about her. Her blue hair was pulled back in its normal, loose braid and she was wearing an ankle-length dress of a similar color with a white jacket. The sight left him somewhat unable to think for a moment, so he simply nodded.
"Yeah."
The young pilot was so lost in thought that he hadn't realized that Celvice had started towards the hanger again. "Are you coming?" her voice brought him back to reality as she turned towards him. He smiled and nodded, following after her through the hanger doors.
Thankfully, the hanger seemed to be untouched by the decorations outside. Leo didn't know how he would have felt if he had come in to see Jehuty decorated with streamers and the strange winged-humanoid silhouettes floating around. The lights were a bit dimmed, so they had to be careful not to trip over anything on their way down to the Orbital Frame.
The repair stairs were still in front of the Orbital Frame, which made getting to it much easier. Their footsteps echoed off the metal stairs as they climbed, Leo first and then Celvice. He had offered for her to go in first, considering that it seemed the polite thing to do, but she had insisted that he went in first. He had been the first one to have contact with the Orbital Frame.
He hit the control seat with a thud, jumping down much faster than he had first anticipated. Leo hadn't been to visit ADA for a few weeks now, so the idea that he would get to talk to 'her' was nice. Celvice would also be able to say hi too.
Speaking of which… the boy stood back up to help his friend into the cockpit. The long dress made getting in harder for her, but they eventually were able to get situated with them sitting side by side. The position wasn't the most comfortable – it certainly showed how much more they had grown in the past months – but it brought back some fun memories. As the screen over the cockpit closed above them, he smiled at the sense of déjà vu.
"I haven't been in here since…" Celvice trailed off, thinking the same thing he had. Unlike the young pilot, the girl hadn't snuck off in the middle of the night to visit the Orbital Frame, so it really had been a long time for her.
"Yeah, it sure seems like such a long time," Leo nodded, finding the darkness of the control room comforting. He hadn't started up the Orbital Frame yet, finding that for once he wanted to sit in silence for a few extra moments. Even though he had been visiting ADA, it had been a long time since he had piloted Jehuty.
"Ready to say hi?" Celvice asked after another moment, looking over at him with another soft smile. She seemed just as excited as he felt.
"Yep," the boy's hands flew to the controls. He laughed when the lights started to flicker on. The humming of the Metatron-powered engine and the lights of the control screen were enough nostalgia to make him almost cry. He wasn't even sure why.
A few more seconds passed as the Orbital Frame powered on. ADA's familiar voice rang through the cockpit as the main viewing screen popped up. "Good morning, Leo, Celvice," 'she' greeted the two of them, sensing their presences.
"Good morning, ADA," the both of them greeted at the same time, wide smiles on their faces. More screens popped up around them.
"Scanners indicate that a high level of activity is present on the Atlantis, even more so than usual." The AI calculated, causing Celvice to let out a small laugh of delight.
"Yeah, there's a holiday today," Leo answered, feeling strangely happy and sad at the same time. The two of them like this; it brought back good and bad memories, as well as unanswered questions.
"It's been a long time since I've last talked with you, ADA. How have you been?" Celvice inquired politely. The boy felt a stab of pain; he hadn't told the girl about ADA's fatal mission. Still, his friend would have probably been sad if he had.
"Not much activity has occurred aboard this Orbital Frame. Repairs are at a 63% completion." ADA's words seemed to drive the guilt and pain further, but Leo didn't outwardly show it. The AI probably could tell because of physical or mental factors, but he hoped it wouldn't be brought up.
"That's great news," Celvice said with joy, unaware of the implications. "You're almost back to being better."
"If you mean that Jehuty's restoration is nearly complete, then yes."
Leo laughed along with his friend at ADA's rewording. 'She' still seemed to be new to some terminology, but 'she' had learned a lot since the Antilia raid. Silence filled the cockpit for a moment before Celvice spoke up.
"You know, I wasn't sure what to think when you showed up with Jehuty, Leo," her words were pensive as she stared at her hands. "I almost thought that it was another machine, ready to get rid of me. All I could think about was making sure that everyone was alright, but I was so relieved when it was you…"
"Celvice…" he started, not sure of what to say. She didn't speak much of what happened because of the memories brought up of her injury. Slowly but surely though, she seemed to be getting better. It would take time. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt either. ADA had scanned the area and everyone else had already evacuated."
"I couldn't take that chance though," she shook her head, hands clasped together. Her green eyes almost seemed to reflect the fire that had burned that day. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if someone would have been hurt when I could have helped."
"The only other lifeforms that Jehuty's scanners picked up were the pilots of the enemy Orbital Frames," ADA commented, causing them both to laugh again.
"See…" he started, but the AI cut him off before he could continue.
"Past data also indicates that Leo's stress raised when you disappeared, as well as the appearance of a few 'curses.'"
"ADA!" Leo shouted, feeling quite embarrassed with the implications of the revelation could mean. His face lit up, but Celvice poked his shoulder, a slightly stern expression on her face.
"Leo, no cursing," she chided, almost playfully, as she looked at him. This only caused his face to turn redder. He avoided her gaze, casting it towards the main screen.
"Sorry, but you had me worried."
"Still, no cursing." Her words were final, but her gaze had softened. She understood, but the 'no cursing' rule was quite firm in her beliefs. He was lucky that she didn't chide him anymore.
"The scanners have also picked up an abnormal object within Jehuty's cockpit," ADA's proclamation caused confusion to run through him. He thought for a moment that 'she' was still referring to the Antilia raid.
"Huh?"
"An abnormal object is a few inches above your heads." The AI's words caused the boy to look upwards, at the back wall of the control chamber. His confusion only grew when he saw a strange plant there.
"They actually placed something in here? What is that?" For some reason, the red and white 'plant' made his face lit up again. For what reason, he couldn't remember. He thought he had seen the plant before… but maybe in a different color scheme…
"I-It's a fake… m-mistletoe…" Celvice stuttered, her face becoming red as her voice faded. He glanced down at her, feeling as though the 'plant' was out of place.
"But wait… isn't that a part of another holiday?" He asked, finally getting the decoration down. He studied the paper and foil 'plant' as he sat down, confusion etched onto his face.
Celvice suddenly leaned towards him, her face still red but determination in her gaze. His eyes widened when she gave him a shy peck on his cheek, causing his face to turn red again. A small, almost nervous, laugh left him as she leaned away, a small smile on her face as she took glances at him. The message was clear though.
"T-that's what you're supposed to do, right?" he asked, stammering and unsure. Somehow, the action held deeper meaning for the both of them. Celvice just nodded shyly, a blush still painted on her face. Leo found that it was quite adorable though.
ADA had remained quiet through the whole exchange, but the AI's voice caused Leo to refocus on reality. "There is an incoming transmission. I will patch it through."
"Huh?" Another confused expression left his mouth, but it quickly turned to shock as the video message was sent through. On the screen were two of the most unlikely people he thought would be spying on them.
"Congrats you two!" Rock Thunderheart seemed overly excited while Elena was standing behind him, a knowing smile on her face. Seeing the two adults caused Leo's face to heat up in embarrassment again.
"Y-you've been spying on us?!"
"Y-you never said that this was what you meant…" Celvice trailed off, her face red as well. The boy looked over at her as the realization slipped into his mind. Elena and my mentor set this up?!
"Uh… um…" Leo wasn't quite sure what to say, so instead, incoherent thoughts were spilling from his mouth. Celvice remained quiet beside him, making him wonder if she was upset.
"Don't worry; we got the whole thing on video!" His mentor's words only caused further panic to surge through him.
"What?!"
Several hours later, after Leo had been successful on getting away from the two adults and thanking Celvice for the nice company, the boy found himself back at the card wall. It was probably later than he should have been up, but his feelings wouldn't let him sleep. Celvice liked him? The idea both excited and scared him. He couldn't deny the way he had worried over her safety and the relief that he had felt when she had been released from recovery. That was all just something a friend would do… right? The more he thought about it, the more that he realized that the feeling had turned into something more.
But, how does this even work? What am I supposed to do? It's not like my parents were great role models for being in love… the thought seemed a bit harsh, but it was true.
So, at this late hour of the night, Leo found that he took solace in reading the cards plastered on the wall. Tomorrow, there would be more cards included, completing the heart. His hands skimmed to the next card, a pretty white card with drawn decorations and cursive letters. He opened the card, the breath leaving him when he realized that he recognized the writing.
Celvice… wrote me a card, the thought made him freeze as he stared at the writing, realizing how simple and pretty her handwriting actually was. He didn't have much chance to observe it back on Antilia, but they had exchanged written emails while she had been visiting her family. The words flooded his vision as he leaned closer to read it fully:
Dear Leo,
Happy Valentine's Day! I know we don't get a lot of chances to spend time together as often as we used to, but that's all a part of growing older and going along our respective paths. Still, when I find myself home, I find that my thoughts are constantly on your wellbeing.
I hope that your day is filled with fun and you make some good memories! Even if you don't feel the same way, I'm so glad that I have been able to be your friend!
Love,
Celvice
Leo continued to stare at the letter, feeling a strange feeling in his chest. He broke into a smile though, wondering if he would be able to keep the card once the celebration was over. He probably would be able to. Another thought stuck him as he walked back to his room.
Tomorrow… Celvice, that's when you'll get your card.
I know that this is so, so, so late and I'm sorry! Although a Valentine's chapter in June might be a bit refreshing. I think so anyway, considering that most holidays the archives get flooded with holiday fanfictions, so much that some can get lost. Still, I am very sorry that this is late by months, but I hope the content and slightly longer length would make up for it. As for romance, I've only recently delved into writing it, so I apologize if this isn't as good as some other fanfictions. I find Celvice and Leo's relationship as cute and sweet, so I tried to make it like that~ I could also just see Rock Thunderheart and Elena setting them up :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll be eagerly working on the next one!
-AnimeWolfGirl9
