Author's note: I am catching feelings *weeeeeeeeeeeeep*
Thanks to SomeoneForeignnnnnnn! Don't worry about not having time to review. I gotta get back to work/study soon too oahahhahafeelingnooooadultingnooooooooooo. xxxxxxxxxxxx
…..
Chapter 5: Mesilla
….
As they walked from the Dolphin into town, Lily babbled on the phone. "Hello, Cathy? Sorry for returning your calls so late, was out on a mission. All okay in the florist shop? And the house?" Cathy had just called to check in and all was going well. She and Jimmy were settled in at the new house and she quit her job at the café in order to be at the florist full time. Lily smiled as Cathy told her about sales and shipments. She passed the phone over to Jet so that he could have a few words with her and Jimmy. He quickly put his hand over the phone, for fear that people on the street would hear Jimmy yelling, "JET! YOU ARE 002! YOU ARE THE BESSSSST! WILL YOU TEACH ME TO FLY?! WHAT IS MS. LILY'S CODE? WHAT ARE HER POWERS?!" Lily laughed at Jet's pained expression. "Jimmy, I don't know what you are talking about but the line is breaking down, I have to go, bye!" and Jet thrust the phone back to Lily, who was still laughing. Next, she checked in with Alice. "Hey, hi, Alice? Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, yes I'm alive, sorry, sorry my phone was… uhh, stolen?" Jet raised an eyebrow at her. Lily mouthed back, 'what?' How could she tell Alice she was in a coma for three days after decapitating an enemy cyborg? Alice was just all questions on her travels and Lily tried to be as vague as possible. After what seemed like an eternity of interrogation, she finally put her phone in her bag.
"So, what is this town called?" Lily asked Jet as they walked hand in hand through the narrow streets of white washed houses. Flowers and vines hung from overhead terraces. "It's called Mesilla," he replied looking around as though searching for something. "009 said there was a nice restaurant around here somewhere," he added. Lily did not mind rambling around, this was her first time being out of the Dolphin in days. Same for Jet seeing as he stayed by her bedside as much as possible.
"Ah, I think this is it," he announced excitedly, pulling her inside. After a few words with the seating host, they were directed upstairs to a table out on the terrace. "Ohhh, Jet, look! It's beautiful!" Lily squealed, running over to the railing and looking out over the twinkling lights of the old center. Jet's heart did a funny beat looking at her. He had been so worried that she would not wake up and now, here she was, as loud as ever, hanging over the railing and smiling out at the city, wearing a blue button down and jeans with a red flower pin holding her messy hair up in a bun. Other people in the restaurant turned around to look at the two, probably wondering who the blow-ins were.
Once sat at the table, the waiter came and welcomed them. "Would you like to try our house wine tonight?"
"Yes."
"Glass or bottl-?"
"Bottle. Each. Please," Lily smiled up at the waiter. Once their food was ordered and wine poured, Lily rested her elbows on the table and looked out over the city again. "Thanks for bringing me here, Jet." He smiled and looked at her. "Well, it will be last time I take you anywhere if you don't get your elbows off the table," he scolded playfully. "Oh, look at you, manners police." Jet chuckled. "Yeah, my dad used to knock our elbows off the table whenever me and Frankie did that." Lily raised her brow. It was the first time he referred to his older brother by name. Lily moved her elbows and gave him a small smile. She picked up her glass of wine to cheers with him. "What are we cheering to?" she asked. "To you, for not dying. Again," he smiled. She winked at him. "At least we can't say our lives are boring, right?" Jet chuckled. "Right, but I feel like I could do with a boring spell after this. Hopefully things will be quieter in Japan." Lily nodded. "I am excited to go. I was supposed to live there for a year, before everything happened…. Did you like it?" Jet thought for a moment. "In hindsight, yes. But at the time I was in a bad way after destroying the base. I am looking forward to going back for a while with a fresh start. We have our own base there at Dr. Kozumi's house. Oh, and it's right beside the beach." Lily's eyes lit up. "Really? How nice!" Jet looked out over the city again. Lily could sense that something was on his mind.
"Jet, what's wrong? Don't bother saying nothing." Jet looked at her and twitched his lips. "Let's not spoil tonight; we can talk about it another time." Alarm bells rang in Lily's ears. "No way, I cannot enjoy the night knowing something is on your mind. Please tell me now." Jet turned towards her but did not look her in the eye and whispered "I feel guilty." Lily frowned. "Why?" Jet sighed. He really did not want to discuss this now. The thoughts had been going around and around in his head while she was in the coma. "Because I couldn't save you. I couldn't do anything, after that basta- cyborg… broke my hand and nearly knocked my lights out. He could have killed you right in front of me, and there was nothing I could have done," Jet made sure to speak in a hushed voice, "and now you are here being all cute as ever, as though nothing happened." He breathed out deeply. "There will be more fights in our future. I don't know if I can handle seeing you like that again. I want to say that'll I protect you… but…"
Lily lifted her glass of wine and stared him down. "What should I do, Jet? Lock myself away and not fight? I understand that you worry, but there is no other option." Jet tensed. "Yes, you are right. I just…. I…." Lily looked at him thoughtfully. Worry was written all over his face. "After all, you are the one that told me our strength comes from being in a team. We protect each other. We do what we can and work together, okay?" she added in a quiet but fierce voice. Jet nodded. "I…" he paused again and looked down. "I guess I am not used to the idea of you being so tough. I don't want you to be in situations like this. I don't want it to change you."
"How can it change me?" she asked. Jet was about to answer when the waitress brought out their food. She quickly served them and turned on her heel, sensing tension in the air. Jet cleared his throat. "I don't want you to end up like me. Cold, brash, insensitive, angry…. And other choice words 003 and 004 have thrown at me." He added, dropping his gaze. Lily was stunned. She was ready to fight him on equality; that she can and will fight. But he was concerned about her emotional well-being, though he did not explain himself well. She thought about her response carefully, seeing how uncomfortable he was. "I don't see those traits in you, Jet…. I am able to detach myself from what happens when I am 0014. I sure you have learned to do the same, when you are 002, or when you were Jet Link in the 60's." Jet looked at her in surprise. "No, I guess I haven't. Honestly, I only see myself as 002 now. I tried to be Jet again in New York," he whispered. "What about with me, who are you then?" Jet paused, a small smile playing on his lips. "With you, and only you, I am Firecracker, somewhere between Jet and 002." Lily smiled back at him. "With you, I am Lily. But there will be times when I have to be separate from that. It's something we will have to work on. I only want you to be 002 when in uniform." Jet smiled warmly at her and as she picked up her glass. "A new cheers, cheers to us, for trying to be normal." Jet clinked his glass to hers, "Here's to being Jet and Lily, totally normal… people."
…
Lily was on the last of her wine. She stared down at the candle on the table burning out. Much to her disapproval, Jet had got up to go pay for their dinner. She thought about their conversation, how he worried about her. Smiling to herself, she realized she was very lucky to have someone worry about the things that never actually crossed her mind. She did not think about the aftermath of the fight with R-03. 'I guess when something… traumatic happens to someone, they don't think about how they'll cope. Other people worry about that…' Her pushed the fight from her mind and focused on Jet. They were more open with each other now and spent the rest of the dinner discussing plans for travel once they get a break from scouting for other cyborgs.
A kiss on top of her head brought her back. "Hey, I have a surprise for you." He rested his hands on top of her shoulders. "Hmmmmm? Whatcha do?" Jet smiled down at her. "This restaurant is also a little hotel. I booked us in for the night." Lily's jaw dropped. "You didn't! Ohhh my gosh! But, will they get mad at us for staying out? Ohh but thank you!" He chuckled at her response. "Nope, I called them. All is good. We just got to be back early for the flight back to Japan. I volunteered us for double duty on board so we can make up for playing hookie tonight," he winked at her. Lily reached up, lightly grabbing his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. "Lead the way, Firecracker."
…..
At 2am, Lily sat out on the little terrace of their hotel room, wrapped in just a blanket. She rested her feet on the balcony railing and stared out over view of Mesilla. Streetlight flickered and a low hum of music carried through the night air. The open shutters behind her led to the bedroom, where Jet slept in a tangle of linen. She sighed heavily, trying to her best to take in everything that happened tonight. It was their first time out on a proper date since they met. They also had not had any alone time since New York. Sneaking around the Dolphin was just too awkward. She turned to look at Jet's sleeping form, in a starfish position, taking up all the bed, of course. A smile spread across her face. He looked so peaceful now. Lily knew he had so much on his mind, a mix of guilt and fear. Remembering the snippets of conversation the others had with her during her coma, she is almost certain he did not discuss anything with them. Jet is not the sort. He closes himself up. 'He stayed with me, all those days. I can't even imagine what that was like for him… he must really love me.'
As intimate as they were now, Lily was not foolish. She knew very well he had other darker demons inside him. He had been so hurt before. She could tell by the way he carried himself. Only the most sensitive and insecure people held up such a guard. There were times, when back in her home in New York, he would twist and turn in his sleep. Or she would wake up to the sound of him grinding his teeth. Even when he slept, he was on edge. Hopefully in time, he would open up to her more and let her support him, so he could be the playful, relaxed, soft Jet she knew was there, deep down. She hoped to lead by example. After all, she herself was a very open person and took the chance to laugh whenever possible. Lily smiled sadly to herself, 'Probably because my family was so close and caring. Poor Jet didn't have an upbringing like mine.'
She got up and walked back into the bedroom, the blanket trailing along the ground. She carefully got into bed, so as not to wake him, and curled up beside him. He shifted slightly and his arm found her waist, pulling her in closer. "Firefly…" he muttered in his sleep. Lily smiled into his shoulder and whispered, "Love you, Firecracker."
….
The following morning, they had breakfast on their private balcony. "I'm gonna miss this place," Lily sighed. "Yeah, me too. But, we already made plans for our travels last night, remember?" Lily smiled and stretched. "Yesssss. Disneyland first!" Jet scowled at her. "God no. Italy." Lily pouted. "Fine, but then I get to choose after it, okay?" Jet waved dismissively. "Sure, sure. I thought you'd want to visit somewhere, what's the word, botanical, first?" Lily smirked, "Oh, I do, but I wanted to be a princess before I wanted to become a botanist, so don't take my dream from me!" Jet eyed her up and down. "You don't seem like the princess type. I can't imagine you, puffy dresses and grace." Lily waved her hand dismissively at him. "Lawd no, I wanted to be Mulan! A princess who could fight!" Jet chuckled and glanced at his watch. "We better get back to the Dolphin, Lily. You ready?" Lily sighed. "No. You go on without meeeee." Jet got up and took her by the hand. "Come on, I am not getting stuck with kitchen clean up by myself. You are going down with me." Lily refused to get up and Jet pulled her, pulling the chair too. "The quicker we get this done, the quicker we get to Disneyland," he bargained. And with that Lily was up and heading out the door of their room.
….
Author's note: Okay, just a fluffy little chapter :D
Now, I know the next arc of the series follows the Mythos Cyborg and all that Greek God stuff. I don't know whether to follow that, or explore my own story while they set up base in Japan….. or post some shorts, as in, time skips and all that…. Hmmmm, suggestions?! Part of me wants to have parts where Lily fights and puts all those stupid hoes in their place (let's be fair, female characters in this series are WEAK….. maybe I can bring R-02 into the story?). Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx