Sasha sat at her desk, staring at the paperwork on it. Normally, she would've started work right away, but after what happened between her and Ratchet yesterday that was a challenge for her. All she could think about was how stupid she felt, leading Ratchet onto something just because she thought she knew him. It was destined to fail, Sasha thought to herself. All she could do was continue her work.
Just as Sasha could finally start working, she heard the door open. Looking up from her paperwork, she saw Clank walk up to her desk. Sasha sighed, knowing what he was going to ask about.
"Ratchet told me everything," Clank said.
"Then you know that this was a mistake." She replied, "I appreciate your help, but I shouldn't have done this to begin with. It's just a distraction from our duties."
"I mean he told me everything. Even about your boyfriend in middle school."
"How did Ratchet… Dad."
"I suspect that your encounter with President Phyronix caused some psychological damage to resurface."
"You have no idea what I'm going through!" Sasha said in a hostile tone before calming herself down. "...I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. It's just that ever since yesterday, Ratchet has been miserable. He has tried his best to hide it, but I can tell." The guilt she felt about Ratchet got worse after hearing that. "Regardless, I have come to drop this off," Clank said before pulling out a data stick and putting it on the desk right in front of Sasha.
"What's this?" She asked.
"Data containing the results of every compatibility test I could find between you and Ratchet." Clank said, "You seemed like the type of person who wanted to be sure everything was right, so I did my research. I even compiled Markazian star signs. And do you know what the consensus was?" Sasha leaned forward in interest. "... That you two were very compatible."
"Really?" She said, taking the stick and thinking about what to do with this impressive information.
"That is all, ma'am. I won't inconvenience you any further." Clank was walking towards the door. But before he could leave, Sasha spoke.
"That guy I dated, he was the first person to make me feel welcomed in my school." She said, which made Clank stop in his tracks. "I thought I could trust him, but he was using me. And when I was no use to him, he threw me away. He didn't even dump me in private, he did it in front of everyone in the hallway, calling me tiny and a furball. I hated him for what he did, but I hated myself for being weak. After a weekend of crying, I told myself that I would never be emotionally vulnerable again."
Clank walked back towards Sasha. "That was a horrible experience, but I assure you that Ratchet is not like that. He's been through what you have, why would he do that to anyone else? Look at me, I once saw myself as merely a defect, yet Ratchet thought of me as anything but. It was thanks to him I could garner the confidence to do things a robot like me wouldn't normally do."
"Funny, he said the same thing about you giving confidence in him."
Clank giggled, "I guess that's why we work so well together. I couldn't have asked for a better partner…neither can you."
Sasha was shocked at what he said, but he was right. Even though she had spent little time with Ratchet, she felt something with him she never felt with anyone else before, even her ex. Still, there was that feeling of uncertainty gnawing at the back of her head. "I-I guess, but what if it doesn't-"
"What if it doesn't work out?" Clank interrupted, "No one can be certain of that. The best we can do is improvise. Something that Ratchet excels at."
"The little robot gives good advice." A voice said from across the room. Sasha was surprised to see her father standing in front of the doorway. She first thought that Clank had brought him in, but after seeing the shocked look on his face, that seemed unlikely.
"Dad?" She said, walking towards him. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to apologize," he said. "What I did was wrong. I just… I just didn't want you to get hurt. But judging by what Ratchet said, I was worried for nothing. He loves you, you know?"
Sasha was silent for a bit before Phyronix put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her directly in the eye. "Sasha, I want you to answer this question for me, and I want you to be 100% sure about it. Do you love him?"
Silence filled the room for a short time. Then, with as much firmness and certainty as she could, Sasha spoke. "I do."
Phyronix gave a smile, "Then go after him and tell him how you feel!"
Sasha nodded with a smile, then walked out of the office with full confidence in herself.
Ratchet was on the little landing pad outside his temporary apartment, working maintenance on his ship. He noticed one thruster wasn't working properly, so he got on his back and went under his ship to fix it. He was doing this for about 2 minutes before he heard someone say his name. Ratchet lifted his head up a bit to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was Sasha standing next to him.
He was so shocked and eager to talk to her that he accidentally hit his head on the underside of the ship as he got up. After reassuring a concerned Sasha and adjusting to the pain, he spoke. "What brings you around here?"
"I wanted to talk about what you said yesterday." Sasha said, "... About us."
"Listen, it's fine." Ratchet said, trying to reassure her. "I get it, this was all too sudden."
"It's not fine." Sasha replied with a stern voice, "Yes, this might be too sudden, but you know what? I don't care. All I know is that… I love you."
Ratchet's eyes widened in shock as his cheeks turned a bright red. "Y-y-you what?"
"I want you to be the person who gives me confidence, just like Clank. And in return, I'll be your confidence person."
Ratchet should've been elated by her confession, but he remembered the reality of his situation. "I-I want to say yes, but I just got done justifying why this relationship wouldn't work. For one thing, isn't it going to be weird for a ranger to be dating their leader? It makes it look like you're picking favorites."
Sasha put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sure you made up a million reasons why we wouldn't work out. The truth is, I don't know if this will last. But I've heard from your partner that you're good at improvising, and I'm willing to improvise with you."
Ratchet chuckled. That sounds like something Clank would say about him. But now he struggled with what to say to Sasha. He could've just accepted her feelings like he wanted to, but he didn't feel like that would truly show how he felt. So Ratchet did another brave feat, he leaned in and kissed Sasha's lips.
It surprised her at first, but eventually returned the kiss while wrapping her arms around him as Ratchet did the same. After what felt like hours, when in reality it was 11 seconds, they pulled away.
"Well… that's one way to say yes," Sasha said, still processing what had happened.
"That was… probably one of the scariest things I've ever-" Before Ratchet could finish, Sasha pulled him in for another kiss, this time for a few seconds longer. Eventually, they would reluctantly pull away.
"See," Sasha said with a smile. "I'm good at improvising."
"That's… one thing to call it." Ratchet said as he held her hands. "So… we're official now?"
"What, you thought what just happened was for show?" She said sarcastically.
Ratchet laughed. "No… it was real. I'm just… I'm really happy to be with you."
"Me too."
"Man, it sucks that I have to go back to Veldin tomorrow."
"Well, then let's make your last day here something to remember."
"Like it hasn't already?"
Sasha laughed as she wrapped her arms around his left arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Aleero City is a big place. There's more I can show you."
"Are you taking me on another tour?"
"Are you gonna say no, Hotshot?"
"No, Ma'am. Er… I mean yes, I'd like another tour." Sasha just laughed and kissed him on the cheek as they walked away from the ship.
Meanwhile, Clank had been secretly eavesdropping on their conversation from the nearby bushes. "Looks like Operation Satchet is a success," he said before giggling to himself, finding satisfaction at achieving an objective.
1 Month Later
"Ratchet, you there?" Sasha said, looking at the video feed on her monitor and only seeing his ears.
"Oh, good!" Ratchet said as he rose into the frame. "Sorry, I just got this new monitor today. Still have to figure out how it works."
Even though Ratchet and Sasha were officially together, he still had to go back to Veldin. So the two agreed to video call each other occasionally. Ratchet even went so far as to get a new monitor for himself just to talk to her
"So, how have you been?" Sasha asked.
"Oh, not too bad. Aside from Clank having his own local radio show."
"Really!?"
"Yeah, he thought that since he helped us get together, he could do the same for others as a way to 'achieve mission goals.' So now he gives dating advice."
Sasha giggled, "Well, he is a robot. It'd make sense for him to like having objectives and completing them."
"I guess, It's just weird seeing him as a matchmaker. But if he enjoys it, I can deal with it. What about you, how are the Rangers doing?"
"Oh, great. We've had 4 successful operations against some criminal organizations and leftover forces from Drek's army. Although Qwark loves to take the credit for everything, even when he's not officially part of them. It gets on my nerves."
"Oh yeah, he can be a lot sometimes. Just try to go easy on him, he really wants to make up for what he did."
"You forget who you're talking to, but I'll do my best."
"If you need someone to vent to, I can always listen. If I'm being honest, I kinda like you when you're angry."
Sasha was a bit surprised, as she had never been complimented on her anger before. All this did was make Sasha remember how special he was. "Well then, I'll be sure to let out my inner Cazar next time we talk."
"Yes, please." Ratchet said eagerly.
"Ratchet!" Grimroth shouted from offscreen. "Where are you!? Did you forget what day it is!"
"Oh, crap!" Ratchet said, "We're having a sale today. I gotta help out. I'm sorry we had to cut this short."
"It's fine, I'm just happy talking to you," Sasha said with a smile.
Ratchet smiled back, "I love you."
"I love you too." She said before turning off the monitor.