Chapter 11 - Vacation
"You're going to have to speak eventually. Tell me how the girl survived."
"No! You won't get a WORD out of me!"
"The longer you resist, the worse your punishment will be. Dark Ace..." Cyclonis summoned her right hand man to her side, "Perhaps you can loosen her tongue?" The Dark Ace grinned evilly and approached the imprisoned woman menacingly, his blade held tightly in his hand.
She looked up into his blood red eyes with her silver ones, "Please..."
"No mercy."
The dream ended with a flash of light, followed by a loud thump and a feminine scream that sounded remarkably like a certain blonde's. Aerrow opened his eyes to see Aerrin staring straight up at the bunk above them and Finn climbing back up off the floor. Following Aerrin's gaze, he recognised two familiar faces peeking over the edge of the bunk above them.
"Piper, what are you doing?" Aerrow asked, rubbing his eyes. Piper brought the camera back down from her face, giggling like crazy.
"A little Sky Monkey told me you three were all asleep together, so I followed him back here to get a few pictures of it." Piper motioned to Radarr as she spoke, "We also set course for Tropica. According to Radarr, you said that we were going to go there anyway. Took us forever to figure out what he was saying too."
Aerrow gave Radarr a little smile, "Thanks buddy, I think we need that little vacation ASAP." Radarr chirped in agreement. "How long until we get there?"
"A couple of hours yet." Piper replied. Aerrow let himself relax again, turning his head slightly and glancing around the room. Aerrow noticed that Aerrin's gaze had been redirected toward Finn and she was giggling like crazy, making the sharpshooter frown.
"What?" he asked in a frustrated tone, turning his head frantically trying to find the source of Aerrin's amusement.
"Finn," Aerrin managed to breathe, "You, um... you split your pants when you fell off the bed." Everyone else in the room immediately cracked up. Piper held up her camera again and quickly took a snap of the now red Finn.
"It's not funny. Shut up." Finn snapped, earning himself a stern look from Aerrow.
"Don't you talk to her like that, Finn."
"I was talking to you," he replied, giving his leader a smug look. Aerrow tried to darken his expression and failed, unable to keep himself from smiling. In reply he simply mouthed the word 'bitch'.
"Now, now, boys," Aerrin intervened, "both of you shut up."
"Yeah, okay. We wouldn't want Finn to split anything else!" Aerrow cracked.
"Oh very funny Aerrow," Finn glared at his Skyknight, "I'm gonna go and change. Aerrin, do you think you could, uh, help me?"
"Oh, right!" Aerrin jumped up and walked around behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hiding his backside from view.
"Thanks," he smiled gratefully at her over his shoulder, "the last thing I need is more shit from these guys." On queue, a slip of paper fell from above them and onto the bed next to Aerrow. Aerrin looked up to see Piper grinning at her from the top bunk. She glanced back at the paper and smiled, seeing the bright red Finn from earlier staring back up at her.
"Nice picture," Aerrow smirked.
"Yeah, ya see?" Finn rolled his eyes, "Here we go again!"
Aerrin narrowed her eyes at her brother, silencing him. She rested her head against Finn's back and sighed, "Come on Finny, let's go and get you out of those pants." Aerrow coughed, evidently choking on his own saliva. "You're so easy Aer!" she giggled, removing an arm from Finn to mess up Aerrow's hair. Aerrow retaliated by pinching Aerrin's arm. "Ouch!"
A few flashes of light lit up the room and the trio glanced up at Piper again. Aerrow just shook his head. Aerrin raised an eyebrow, "You call that a camera?" The others all gave her a quizzical look, "I'll show you later," she grinned. She pulled Finn by the hips in the direction of the door. Finn walked slowly toward the door, trying to make it the least awkward for them as he could. When the door closed behind them, Aerrow looked back up at Piper.
"So..." he started, acting as though he was unsure of what to say or do next. He placed his hands behind his head and glanced quickly at Radarr, who immediately understood what his friend was telling him. He jumped down onto the floor and hastily scampered out of the room.
His gaze back on Piper, Aerrow waited for her to say something. She smiled and climbed down from the top bunk and crawled up next to Aerrow, resting her head on his shoulder. "So are you alright 'Aer?'" she asked, mocking his sister's nickname for him. He nodded and wrapped his arms around Piper's shoulders. "She cares about you a lot, you can just see it."
"I know" Aerrow whispered, "It's strange though, having a sister. My only family has ever been the Storm Hawks. Even weirder than that, I know things about her. Its only been about a week and I feel like I've known her my entire life!"
"Well, you kind of have," Piper whispered in reply, reaching up and tangling her fingers in his red hair.
"No, its more than just that," he rested his forehead against hers, "It's like, I know her. I know everything about her. I know that her favourite colour is red. I know that she can't stand the taste or smell of fish. I know that she's been in love and I know that the person she loved broke her heart. I know these things and she's never even told me. Ask me about her world and her upbringing though, and I can't even guess. I just know her."
Piper attempted to shrug, finding it difficult with Aerrow's arms wrapped so tightly around her shoulders. "Well, you are twins. Some people believe that twins have some sort of mental or spiritual connection, maybe its true." Piper looked up into Aerrow's green eyes with her gold ones, "you should talk to her about it later on. Maybe you two can figure it out together and strengthen the connection."
Aerrow nodded, he loved hearing Piper talk like this. At times it made him feel extremely unintelligent, but right now he found it just adorable. Her leaned over slowly and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Piper moaned into the kiss, deepening it by pulling him closer with the hand still entangled in his hair.
Aerrow pushed his entire body up against Piper's, continuing to gently caress her lips with his own. After what felt like an eternity, they exasperated for air. Piper's eyes were darting madly around the room. "What's wrong?" Aerrow asked.
"Aerrow, this is your sister's bed!" Piper exclaimed.
"Then that should make this even more exciting" Aerrow said huskily, pulling Piper on top of him and kissing her again.
On the flight deck, Aerrin was standing behind Stork, jabbering away to the pilot about the existence of mind worms.
"Oh yes, they do exist." she said brightly, "I learned about them in school -this place where kids have to go to learn until they're 17" Aerrin quickly filled them in, "mind worms are pretty rare though. There are plenty of other diseases that are more likely."
"You... don't have any, do you?" Stork asked quickly, turning his gaze to the young girl.
"No, don't worry Stork, I'm clean."
"That's disappointing. I've always wanted to observe an unknown virus or disease."
"Come visit me on my world and you can see plenty. There are so many interesting ones. A lot of them have interesting names too."
"Oh? Like what?" Stork turned around again.
"Well... there's the chickenpox," Aerrin shrugged. Finn's laughter interrupted her.
"Chickenpox? What the hell is that?"
"Its an infection that almost everybody on Earth gets at one time or another. They mostly get it in childhood but it can occur later in life. If it does occur later, it can be dangerous or even fatal."
"Pff! Right!" Finn rolled his eyes.
"Finn, it can make you sterile." Aerrin glared, making Finn's eyes widen, "It also covers your body in little pink spots that itch like crazy," she lifted up the bottom of her shirt and pointed to a few small scars on her stomach, "and if you scratch them, they scar. I got it a year ago. It isn't nice and its not funny."
Finn sank down into the nearest chair and Stork smiled, "Sounds interesting."
Aerrin shrugged, "Not really, it just sounds funny."
"Well, I think its interesting," Stork went back to steering the ship, "By the way, we're there. I just have to find somewhere to land the ship."
Aerrin bolted to the window, followed by a grinning Finn. "Oh my gosh! We're finally here!" Aerrin giggled with excitement, jumping up and down. Finn yelped in pain when she landed on his foot and grabbed her shoulders to hold her still.
"Ow," he groaned, cringing as he looked down at Aerrin, "Babe-I MEAN- Um, beautiful," he corrected himself quickly, "Let's go and see if we can find you a swimsuit to wear, okay?"
"Piper will have something I can borrow, won't she?" Aerrin asked. Already knowing Finn's reply, she tuned out.
"Well, if she doesn't you can always just go in nak- OUCH!" Finn yelled as the palm of Aerrow's hand came into contact with the back of his head.
"That's my sister you're talking about," Aerrow scolded him, grabbing the blonde's collar threateningly.
"Dude! Chill! I was only kidding!" a frightened Finn cried, desperately attempting to escape the red head's grip.
"I know," Aerrow's scowl quickly twisted into a smile and he released his friend and slapped him on the back, "I'm just messing with you."
"Heh," Finn laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't doubt that Aerrow would still make him pay for that comment later though.
Piper suddenly appeared at Aerrin's side and grabbed her arm, "Come on! Let's go find you something!" Aerrin was pulled from the room before Finn even got a chance to protest the abduction of his romantic interest.
Upon entering Piper's room, Aerrin took her usual seat at Piper's desk and swung her legs lazily through the air, "I don't have to wear anything too girly do I?"
Piper pulled open a closet in the corner of the room and began rummaging through it. "Do I look like the sort of person who owns anything girly?" she asked, pausing for a moment to raise an eyebrow at Aerrin. Aerrin shook her head and looked down at her legs. Her eyes snapped back up when Piper pulled something out of the closet and threw it at her, "You'd be wrong."
The swimsuit in Aerrin's lap was a black bikini. Aerrin immediately began to protest. "I can't wear this!" she cried, "I don't have the legs for it!" Piper just shook her head and picked up her own bikini, which was yellow in colour and really went with her eyes.
"Trust me," she whispered as she led Aerrin out of the room, "Finn won't be able to keep his eyes off you." Aerrin blushed as she walked beside Piper, the realisation that Finn would see her in it making her feel embarrassed.
"I-I don't know about this."
"You want him to notice you more, right?"
"I think he notices me enough, but if you think this is a good idea..." Aerrin trailed off. She looked down again at the plain black bikini in her hands. It was simple but it was designed to look good on. They entered the bathrooms and each entered a shower cubical to change.
A minute later the two of them emerged wearing their swimmers. Aerrin stared at herself in the mirror. The bikini actually didn't look too bad on her. It definitely drew attention to her chest, but it wasn't overdone and it made her feel a bit more confident in herself seeing that she wasn't completely skin and bones. The overall look even made her feel better about her thighs. She looked over to see Piper looking at her own thighs and sighing.
"You look gorgeous," she smiled, placing a hand on the crystal mage's back and causing her to smile.
"You too" Piper said softly, "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier by the way" she mumbled, shuffling on the spot.
"Nah, don't worry about it," Aerrin laughed, "It's all in the past. Come on, I want to get onto the beach."
The two girls wrapped towels around their waists and left the bathroom. When they walked back onto the flight deck, they were greeted by Finn's low whistle, "You ladies look hot!" he exclaimed, reaching out and taking Aerrin's waist, "I can't wait to show you off on the beach!" Aerrin gave Finn an amused look.
"Show me off?"
"I... did not mean that the way it sounded. You look beautiful is all." he muttered. Aerrin wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight.
"When do I get to see you in your swimmers?" she flirted.
Finn looked down, "I'm wearing my swim trunks, if you didn't notice, I'm just still wearing my shirt."
"Well take it off!" Aerrin giggled, grabbing the bottom of the blonde's shirt and forcefully pulling it over his head. She looked back at him and examined his well toned chest. "Very nice," she said, trailing her hands down his sides, "I think you're the one whose gonna get shown off." Finn rolled his eyes playfully and hugged her again. Aerrow cleared his throat and Finn took a step away from Aerrin.
Aerrow was also dressed in his swim trunks, as were the rest of the team. Following Aerrow's lead, they all made their way down the corridors and off the ship. The moment Aerrin stepped onto the hot sand, she sighed happily. Looking around she saw several other ships parked along the beach, all scattered and a fair distance away from them. Behind them was a vast jungle which gave the impression of being on a tropical island.
"So that's why its called Tropica,"she said aloud to herself.
The team began to unload tents and other supplies from the ship. "We'll be staying here the night," Aerrow informed her, "but you can't stay on the beach unless you do it properly... That is, unless you're Stork." Aerrin chuckled when she noticed that Stork was standing at the open hatch of the Condor, looking down at the sand with a look of distaste. "He never stays down here with us. He'd much rather stay on the ship and 'protect' it." Aerrow an Aerrin laughed as they each carried a tent over to where Piper and Finn had set down the other supplies. Radarr was dragging a third tent along the ground behind them.
"Okay," Aerrow said, placing the tent he was carrying down on the ground, "Let's get the tents up now while its still light. I get the feeling none of us will want to do it later on. Piper, you can share with Aerrin. Finn and Junko, you have the larger tent. Radarr, you're with me." Finn started to protest but was silenced by Aerrow looking directly at him, "No negotiations. I don't want you anywhere near the girls' tent Finn."
Piper coughed and muttered "Hypocrite" earning herself a nudge in the ribs from her leader.
"Fine," Finn pouted, kicking his tent across the sand toward Junko.
The tents eventually got set up, with a few giggles along the way. At one point, Aerrow had asked Radarr to hold one of the poles down. The poor critter hadn't been heavy enough and was sent flying through the air and landed face first in the sand, much to the entire team's amusement.
Once everything was set up, Junko, Piper and Radarr ran straight for the water to get a quick swim in before lunch. Aerrow and Finn set up an umbrella and sat underneath it on their towels. Aerrin made herself comfortable next to Finn and helped Aerrow rub sunblock onto his back.
"Wow you're pale, Aer." Aerrin commented as she started applying the sunblock. Aerrow glanced over his shoulder and smiled as Aerrin continued, "I mean, seriously! How do you sit out here and not get burnt immediately?" The comment made Aerrow chuckle.
"Yeah, I could ask you the same thing, sis. You're just as pale as I am! By the way," he added calmly, "what's with the nickname? Not that I mind it. As obvious as it is, nobody has ever called me that before." Aerrin finished rubbing in the lotion and patted her brother on the back, letting him know that she was finished.
"Well, everyone needs a nickname," she shrugged as Aerrow turned around.
"What's yours then, sis?" Aerrow tilted his head and leaned back onto on hand.
Aerrin grinned, "I said everyone needs one, not that everyone has one." Aerrow nodded slowly, "the closest thing I have to a nickname is the one you gave me."
Aerrow raised an eyebrow, "I gave you a nickname?"
Aerrin nodded, "'sis'" she replied cheerfully.
Finn snorted, "That's lame! You need a real nickname." He stood up and nodded in the direction of the kiosks, "I'm going to a smoothie. Aerrin, you want one?" Aerrin nodded in reply. "Any flavour in particular that you'd like?"
Aerrin thought for a moment, "Um, I really don't know. What are you getting?"
Finn bit his lower lip before he replied, "I'm stuck between two flavours."
Shrugging, the red haired girl looked back up at the blonde, "Just get both, okay? We can just share or something."
"Sounds cool to me. Aerrow—I mean, Aer," he mocked his leader, "think of a nickname for your sister, okay?" Aerrow saluted Finn playfully as the sharpshooter turned and wandered off toward the kiosks.
Aerrin sighed as she watched him walk along the beach. The environment really suited him. The sun shining down matched his hair as well as his personality and the rolling waves were as unpredictable as he seemed to be. "And the sand is just as annoying as him," she grumbled aloud, dusting as much sand as she could off her legs and sitting further back on Finn's towel.
Aerrow looked over at her and laughed, "he's one of a kind for sure." Immediately realising what he had just said, Aerrow slapped his hand over his mouth. This wasn't the way he had wanted her to find out about their so called 'connection'.
"What did you say?" Aerrin asked him, wide eyed. She watched her brother closely as he let his hand fall back into his lap.
"N-nothing, just talking to myself." he lied. Aerrin shrugged and leaned back again.
The two of them sat there for ages just watching the waves roll in and slowly get pulled back out again. The sky was completely clear today. Not a single cloud passed over the Terra as they sat there surveying their surroundings. The white hot sand appeared to be glowing, making t nearly impossible to see what the others were doing down by the water. Aerrow and Aerrin laughed when they witnessed a distracted Junko get completely wiped out by a rather large wave. Seemingly frustrated by the silence, Aerrin eventually spoke again.
"So what did you and Piper get up to after Finn and I left the bedroom earlier?" she asked her brother. Aerrow looked back over and grinned cheekily at his twin sister, falling back onto his towel and propping himself up on his elbows. Aerrin didn't seem to catch on, so Aerrow widened his eyes and stared her down until she finally clued on. "Oh my gosh! Did you really?" Aerrow nodded, stifling a laugh.
Aerrin reached over and slapped him on the thigh, "I'm so proud of you!" she laughed, "my little brother is all grown up!"
Aerrow coughed and laughed, "Uh, you know I wasn't exactly innocent before that, right?"
Aerrin tilted her head, "How would I know that?" she half giggled, she sat forward and took a piece of fruit out of the cooler beside her and looking down at it. It appeared to be some kind of berry. It was purple in colour and smelled sweet. She took a bite before addressing Aerrow again, "So, who was your first then?"
"Um, a girl named Kai. I don't want to talk about her though" he replied quickly, "I assume you're not so innocent any more?"
"What makes you say that?" Aerrin asked, grinning at her brother. He shrugged and reached over her to get something to eat from the cooler. Aerrin sighed heavily and stared down the beach, "His name was Mayson," Aerrow froze and looked over at her again as she spoke slowly, "he appeared kind and caring, but he was just a controlling, sexist pig."
Aerrow's eyes widened an he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I-I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories for you," he frowned, "you wanna talk about it?"
His sister leaned over a bit further and rested her head on his shoulder, "Not really much to tell. I ended up getting annoyed when he wouldn't let me travel or join the armed forces. I had to decide whether I wanted him or if I wanted to be happy. I loved him, but I knew I had to do what was right for me. If I had stayed with him, he would have scarred me more. As it is, I'm afraid to really let my guard down around Finn. I think I made the right choice leaving Mayson."
Aerrow nodded and hugged her tighter, "You did, sis. I'm proud of you" he pulled away from her and looked her straight in the eyes, "You don't have to worry though, despite how I act about the matter, I trust Finn. With him, what you see is what you get. His mask is so transparent. We all know the idiot is a big softy... even though he tries to hide it. He would not and could not ever intentionally hurt you, right Finn?" Aerrin followed Aerrow's gaze until her eyes fell on Finn, who was standing next to them holding two smoothies in his hands.
"Right," he said slowly, "Aerrin, I'm sorry about what that moron did to you. You know I could never do something like that to you. Why didn't you tell me about him?" Aerrin shrugged and moved over so that Finn could sit next to her. As he knelt in front of her, Aerrin reached out and placed her right hand on his face gently.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I wasn't intentionally keeping it from you, it just never came up. I've... never actually told anybody else about it before either." Aerrin relaxed when she saw Finn smile, and grinned in return.
"Well, how about we cheer you up, hm?" He nudged Aerrin's leg with his knee, "We are on holidays after all. I got the two different flavoured smoothies. One is strawberry and the other is banana. Which one do you want?" he held the two smoothies out in front of him for her to decide.
Aerrin was still unable to decide, "Can I try them both first?" When Finn nodded, she reached out and took the pink coloured smoothie from him. Taking a sip, she smiled and hummed happily. "That one's nice" she said as she reached out and took the other smoothie from the Sharpshooter. She took a small sip of the banana flavoured drink before looking back up at Finn, "I still can't decide."
"Maybe you should try both flavours at once?" Aerrow suggested in a bored tone. He was now laying flat on his back and watching a bug that had landed on the underside of the umbrella.
Aerrin nodded in agreement, "Thanks Aer." She quickly took another sip of each drink and smiled, "That's good. I like them that way."
Finn rolled his eyes, "Am I going to have to go and buy myself something else?"
Chuckling, Aerrin shook her head, "No, I wouldn't do that to you!" She passed him the strawberry flavoured smoothie, "I'll take the banana one. You should really try the two flavours together though."
"You think so?" Finn asked, smirking a little.
"Mhmm."
Before Aerrin even knew what was happening, she found Finn leaning over her, his lips pressed tightly against hers. Her mind instantly began to work at a million miles an hour. Should she kiss him back? What would the rest of the team think of her if she did? Would it start something that she would regret later on?
Only a second had passed and Aerrin's mind felt as though it had been racing for well over an hour. She realised that she had to make her decision now or risk hurting Finn later on. 'Ahh hell,' she thought, 'I like the guy, so what's the worst that could happen?'
She very slowly started to kiss him back, letting her eyes close. Her heart started beating faster and faster, pounding in her ears as she reached out with her free hand and rested it on the back of Finn's neck. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when Finn pulled away again, Aerrin felt like she was flying. She had never been kissed like that in her life. It was so gentle and so sweet. So perfect.
She eventually opened her eyes again to see Finn's blue ones staring straight back at her. She leaned forward again quickly and gave him one last peck on the lips before she let her hand slide from his neck and onto the ground beside her.
"Wow," she whispered, grinning up at the smirking blonde.
"I'll say," he replied slowly, "those flavours are amazing together." He and Aerrin both laughed, not taking their eyes off each other. Finn moved so that he was no longer kneeling over Aerrin, but sitting close beside her. Their gaze broke immediately and their facial expressions changed drastically when they both came to the same horrifying realisation; Aerrow was sitting right next to them.
The Dark Ace grinned as he approached Terra Tropica. As the Master had predicted, the Storm Hawks' cruiser was visible parked on the beach below them. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the talon squadron surrounding him. This would be all too easy. The last thing that brat Aerrow would expect. He held a brightly coloured crystal out in front of him and cackled loudly. Such a simple plan, but so effective.
Soon it would begin.
