A/N- Okkkay. So I wanted to make this clear. This oneshot is kind of like…strange in the chronology. These oneshots aren't all linked together, so it's best you read them separately rather than try to imagine them all taking place in the same 'universe' Yeah. Enjoy XD
Six year old Tasmine Lopez, or Tazzie, as she preferred to be called, was very adventurous. In fact, she was probably more adventurous and spirited than the majority of young children in her area, and in her school. As most children did, Tazzie was quite happy to play Starship Rangers all day, and was often made Commander Tazzie when she played the game with her friends, but she was usually voted as commander, because despite being the youngest and the smallest, she was definitely the most enthusiastic.
Tazzie took the game very, very seriously. In her eyes, this wasn't a game, it was training for what she wanted to do when she grew up, and so she always made sure to stay in character. The small group of friends she was playing with in particular on that day were two girls and a boy. The girls, were quite the opposite of Tazzie, they had no interest of playing Starship Rangers, and so Tazzie had sniffed, stating she didn't need them anyway, and stalked away.
The boy, seven year old Felipe Eustaquio was quite fond of Tazzie, and liked her more than most of the people he knew, and he liked her spirit and playful attitude. He saw that she was upset, and biting his lip, and quickly followed after her, looking concerned.
"Tazzie! Tazzie!" he called out, and the dark haired child paused, turning to look at him with a defiant glare.
"¿Qué? (What?)" she demanded, looking impatient and also wary. He knew she didn't trust people easily.
"¿Estás bien? (Are you okay?)" he inquired quietly, and Tazzie puffed out her cheeks in an annoyed manner, pursing her lips slightly.
"No, estúpido. (No, Stupid.)" She shot back at him, and he tried not to wince at the anger in her voice, knowing it wasn't really directed at him.
"Voy a jugar con ustedes. (I will play with you.)" Felipe offered quietly, and Tazzie paused, looking at him with both of her eyebrows raised, a look of genuine surprise on her young face.
"Verdad? (Really?)" she asked after a moment, and Felipe grinned slightly, nodding his head.
"Si," He told her in a matter-of-fact voice. Tazzie frowned, her eyebrows furrowing together slightly. She tilted her head to the side.
"¿Por qué? (Why?)" Tazzie asked, and Felipe blushed, rubbing his arm quietly and shooting her a very nervous grin. She didn't seem effected, simply stared at him in confusion. She knew she was pretty weird, and that most people didn't like to talk to her or play with her. Only a handful of the boys even would. So why was Felipe being so nice all of a sudden?
"Me gustas. (I like you.)" Felipe muttered, obviously embarrassed by this confession, and Tazzie's confusion only grew. She stared at him blankly, and Felipe leaned in, lightly pressing a chaste kiss against her lips before quickly pulling back, nervous. Tazzie blinked, obviously stunned before her eyes met his.
Then, a sudden wave of anger crossed her face and she clenched her fists before swiftly punching him in the face and knocking him down, yelling at him never to touch her again. She shuddered and walked away, rubbing the back of her hand against her lips in obvious distaste.
"Ew." Was all she muttered.
"Huh?" Taz asked, breaking out of her almost trance like state as she realised Up was speaking to her. "Sorry, what?"
Up shot her a look, one of his eyebrows raised, and Taz remembered they had been talking about their previous relationships – or lack here thereof.
"I said, out of curiosity, when was your first kiss?"
Taz hid a smirk, shrugging her shoulders in obvious nonchalance. She lifted her feet up, dropping them on the table and began to idly examine her knife.
"Doesn't matter, really." She shrugged, polishing the cool steel of the blade with the bottom of her tank top. "It never really meant anything to me – I was young. I don't really consider it to be my first real kiss, because I didn't want it." She smirked ever so slightly. "He was seven, I was six. I punched him in the face."
Up guffawed slightly, shooting her a slight smirk, causing her eyes to widen in obvious fake innocence.
"Y'don't change much." He noted with a grin, remembering her punching someone in the academy for doing the same thing.
"I'd just like someone to be patient and just wait for me to kiss dem." Taz scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I make it clear I'm not interested, but dey kiss me anyway. It's so estupido."
"Is there anyone you'd like to kiss you, though?" Up inquired, looking genuinely curious. Taz paused, realising with a mounting horror that the blood was rushing to her face in a blush. Her own body was betraying her.
"No." She said defensively, shooting him a glare, her cheeks alight with colour, and Up grinned slowly.
"Liar." He smirked, idly moving closer to her. Taz's whole body froze, but her eyes saught his for a moment. "I think there is someone." He murmured moving close to her. Much too close. Taz's eyes strayed to his lips for a moment, wondering if he was going to… stupid! She shouldn't even think like that. Still – he was dangerously close now, and Taz knew she could close the gap between their lips if she wanted to – and she really wanted to. She tried to banish that thought from her mind, staying very still, her eyes locked onto his with a burning intensity.
Up stared back at her, the same intense fire in his own eyes, and lightly brushed one of her bangs behind her ear, tucking it in place, his fingers lightly dusting over her cheek, leaving a burning trail on her skin where his skin met hers. The commander let out a slow breath, and Taz felt the light breeze wash over her cheeks, and her eyes trailed down to his lips for a moment. He was waiting for something, apparently, as he didn't make another move towards her. Lips suddenly dry, Taz ran her tongue over them lightly to moisten them, and Up's fingers were slowly caressing her cheeks again, causing her to let out a low sigh of contentment. This was so wrong, and the contact shouldn't feel natural, welcoming. But it did.
Taz realised suddenly, what Up was waiting for. He wasn't going to kiss her, he wanted her to make that choice. She had said it herself, she'd wanted someone to be patient.
"Taz," Up murmured, his voice lower than usual, and Taz felt something shoot up her spine, setting her senses on high alert all of a brain was telling her to stop, that this was a terrible idea and was completely insane – it went against everything she was. Ignoring that part of her brain however, was easy. Much too easy. Her eyes closed, and before she could really understand what her body was forcing her to do, her lips were up against his, and her hands had somehow moved up to tangle themselves deep in his hair.
Up's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm, instead of pushing her away like she had expected.
It was short, sudden and completely breath-taking. Slowly, almost reluctantly, they parted from one-another, and Taz wanted to punch him suddenly because the self-satisfied grin on his face told her that he had been hoping for this all along.
"Jerk." She muttered, her eyes narrowing into a glare, but he didn't seem worried.
"You kissed me, remember?" he teased, and Taz let out a slight growl, though she became distracted as her hands were on his chest, and she could feel the slow steady thump of a heartbeat under her fingertips. She paused, glancing at her hands for a moment before her eyes met his startlingly blue ones, which were soft and tender now, a rarity from the usually fierce Commander she knew. For a moment, the utter adoration in his eyes took her breath away, and she knew she couldn't be imagining it. She felt weak for a moment, wondering if she should just shove him away and go to the gym.
He whispered her name once more however, and Taz's eyes slid closed as his lips captured hers instead, the pressure tender and loving, almost. Deep inside of her, Taz knew it couldn't last. Not really. Tomorrow, she and him and the rest of their team would be heading for the last robot base, to destroy the final phason deposit. She realised that Up knew they might not make it out of there alive. If this was her last chance, then screw the rules. For once, she could forget herself.