When Timmy arrived back at Red Fountain, his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. He saw Tecna and Bishop attacking each other with daggers. He knew that this was Bishop's weapon of choice, and Tecna didn't stand a chance against his level of experience. Timmy threw his helmet to the ground and ran towards the two, tackling Bishop to the ground.
To his surprise, he heard Tecna yell, "Timmy, what on the Magical Dimension are you doing? Get off of him!"
"What?" Timmy asked as he continued to hold Bishop to the ground.
Bishop looked both annoyed and humored. He grumbled irritably, "You can get off me now, Mainframe. I was just teaching her how to wield a dagger." He then pointed to the weapon that had fallen in the grass and continued, " Look no point," emphasizing that the phantodagger he was using was in safety mode.
Timmy's face turned red with embarrassment, and he helped Bishop up from the ground and apologized, "Sorry."
To his surprise, Bishop started laughing and said, "I misjudged you, Mainframe. I assumed you were just a legacy admission with no real talent or bravery. Now, I realize there might be a smidge of a man in there after all."
Then, Bishop grabbed his dagger, "We'll practice this along with throwing knives tomorrow after class." He paused to grab his towel before adding, "Unless Tecna is interested in having round two in my bedroom." Before Timmy could step forward, Tecna grabbed his hand and asked, "Would you like to go for a walk with me?" She was shocked to see the tenseness in his shoulders fall away instantly.
He nodded, and they walked towards the woods where Tecna had hung her targets. It was later in the afternoon, and the fireflies were out. There was a chill in the air that made Tecna shiver. Nevertheless, she marched on and said, "Follow me. I want to show you something."
Timmy did as he was told, and eventually they came across a crystal-clear lake. Lilly pads and pink flowers decorated the top of the lake, and colorful fish swam in its depths. Tecna sat next to the lake and waited for Timmy to sit next to her. When he did, she noticed he had a troubled look on his face. "What's bothering you, Timmy?" She asked.
Timmy let out a sigh, "Several things actually," he admitted.
"Okay, then let's go through them together," she suggested.
Timmy fidgeted nervously and said, "First, I want to apologize for the way my family treated you. While at dinner, I overheard my sister talking to my aunt about how she chased you away."
Tecna sensed he was stressed and replied, "Timmy, I don't blame you for the actions of others."
Timmy stood up angrily, "But, you should. I know my family better than anyone. I should have known that their prejudices would be stronger than their…."
"Timmy," Tecna interrupted, "You wanted to introduce me to your family. There's nothing wrong with that. I would be more troubled if you were ashamed to introduce me to your family."
"Still, I'm sorry for the way things turned out. I really wanted them to get to know you." Timmy paused for a minute before continuing, "If they could only see you the way I do, I know that they would adore you."
Timmy sat down next to Tecna again, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, "Is that it?" She asked.
Timmy looked down in his lap, looking embarrassed, "No, there's one more thing… Why were you with Bishop?" Timmy couldn't help the sliver of jealousy that slipped out, but thankfully Tecna was too dense to notice.
"I want to master every weapon, and Bishop is the best with handling knives," she replied logically.
"Then why didn't you ask one of our roommates to come with you? Bishop is a pervert. What if he would have taken advantage of you?" Timmy asked worriedly.
"Do you honestly think they would have let me come if they knew?" Tecna answered his question with one of her own.
"Of course not, they…." That was when Timmy realized her reasoning. She had been suffocating under their constant surveillance.
Tecna continued, "As much as I appreciate you guys looking out for me, I also need to be able to go out and do things on my own. I need you guys to trust that I can handle myself. That's part of the reason I am working so hard to learn how to fight. I don't want you to have to worry about me."
"I'm never going to stop worrying about you, Tec," Timmy whispered.
"I know," she replied, placing a kiss on his cheek, "and that's one of the things I adore about you."
Timmy's eyes got wide, and his face lit up with a goofy smile. They stayed there for a few minutes longer before ultimately deciding to go back.
A few days later…
Today they were going to be working out on the obstacle course. Tecna needed to be cautious not to get her injured arm dirty. She grabbed a bandage and secured it with several layers of gauze and tape before heading out to the field.
When she arrived, Timmy was taking his turn on the obstacle course.
Sky approached Tecna and said, "Hey, you're looking much better today."
Tecna nodded and replied, "The pain in my arm has gone down significantly."
"So, what do you think about Timmy?" Sky asked curiously. He had overheard Timmy talking to Flora about the night at the lake and was hoping to play matchmaker. He had informed the other Specialists about the event as well.
She looked up from her phone and saw him climbing a rope, "I think he's doing fine on the obstacle course," she said, glancing back at her phone.
"That's not what I meant," Sky replied, deciding to reword what he said, "Are you interested in him?"
"He's fascinating. He has a vast understanding of technology and mechanics. Not to mention mathematical skills that rival my own." Tecna answered as she continued working her app she was working on.
Brandon stopped Sky, seeing that this was going nowhere. Brandon then clarified, "What he means is do you love him?"
Tecna blinked in surprise, "Love?... I've never felt love before. I don't think I would even know if I were in love. Besides, love is the most illogical of emotions."
Brandon was going to question her further when Codatorta said, "Tecna, you're up."
She placed her phone down and ran to the front of the obstacle course, where Codatorta was holding a vest that would add an extra 50 lbs to her body. They used weights to help build up their endurance.
Timmy walked up to the group and said, "I beat my best score."
"Congrats Timmy," Brandon replied, looking kind of bummed out.
"What's wrong Brandon," Timmy asked, concerned.
Sky put his hand on his shoulder and replied, "It's nothing. I say we go get the girls after school today and head to the beach. We have a three-day holiday after all."
"I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than with all my friends. You better call them now though, Stella will have us waiting several hours to pack otherwise," Timmy said jokingly.
Brandon laughed and replied, "You have a point. I will shoot her a text."
As Tecna finished the course and came around to the rest of the group, Riven asked, "How do you think you did?"
"Three and a half minutes," she replied, looking frustrated, "But I still can't seem to climb that stupid rope. God help us if we are given any missions where climbing is involved… I will be so screwed."
"You'll get better," Sky replied, "Timmy used to not be able to climb it at all, and now he has no problems."
"Yeah, not to mention your arm is still injured. So cut yourself some slack. You'll do better next time," Timmy encouraged her before Codatorta called him to edit the digital portion of the course.
"In the meantime, we plan on taking our girlfriends to the beach for the holiday," Brandon explained, "Do you want to come? Besides, it would give Timmy someone to hang out with. His birthday is this weekend."
Tecna nodded, "Sure, that sounds like fun. So, when is his birthday?"
"Monday... Great, the last day of the holiday is going to be spending it with the nerd herd," Riven grumbled, earning him a whack on the back of the head from Brandon.
…
Back in Zenith, the Trix met with King Cryos.
"Where is my daughter?" he asked angrily.
"We've simply hit a snag. However, we have a plan to capture Tecna soon, your majesty," Icy answered irritably.
"What do you mean? She has no powers. What's taking you so long?" Cryos asked.
Darcy countered, "That's the issue, she's supposed to be powerless, but she's not. We were fried to a crisp the last time we tried to capture her."
King Cryos sat up, looking surprised, and replied, "Well, that's interesting. Fine, I will give you more time. But hurry up."
…
Tecna was packing her bags after practice when she saw the shirt Timmy ripped up the other day folded on his bed. 'Why hasn't he thrown that out yet,' she wondered. She then saw Timmy walk in with a load of laundry. She instantly noticed the scraps she used to wrap her injury were in the load, freshly washed.
"Timmy, why are you keeping a ripped-up shirt?" Tecna asked curiously.
"It's nothing to be worried about," He replied, "Are you almost packed?"
She sensed he was hiding something but decided to keep silent about it.
"Yeah… I am going to go grab some food from the cafeteria. Do you want me to bring you anything back?" She asked.
He shook his head and placed the shirt and scraps in a box under his bed. "I already ate. Thanks, though," he answered.
When she went to the cafeteria, she was surprised to see the other guys there. She waved to them as she approached the table with her plate of food. "Hey guys, how's packing coming?"
Riven was the first to answer, "I'm done, but the rest of these guys still need to pick out their training bras."
Tecna gave him a look that showed him she clearly wasn't amused. Helia could sense the tension and decided to ask, "What about you, Tecna? Have you finished?"
"I think so," she replied simply. "What's the plan for this weekend anyway?"
"We should arrive at the hotel around 5:00 tonight. After we unpack, we'll have dinner and head to a new club that Musa wants to check out. From there, we'll kind of play it by ear," Helia answered.
"Sound's great," Brandon said before standing up, "I still have more packing to do."
"Me too, see you guys later," Sky added.
"Yeah, and I am going to go take a shower before we go," Riven added, leaving Helia and Tecna alone at the table.
They talked for a while, but Tecna was a bit distracted. Helia seemed to notice this and asked, "Tecna, what's bothering you?"
She let out a sigh and asked, "Does Timmy have some kind of attachment to that shirt he used to bandage my arm. I noticed he didn't throw it out afterward."
Helia's fist tightened. It was a nervous tic that he has had over the years. He thought to himself, 'If I tell her, she might feel guilty, but it could also show her just how much she means to Timmy.'
Finally, he decided to take a chance and answered, "Timmy's mother died a few years back. He's keeping it because it was the last thing she made him before she died. As you can tell, she wasn't much of a seamstress, but it was sewn with love."
Tecna felt like she had been punched in the gut with what Helia had just told her. No wonder he was so set on saving it. "Thanks for telling me," She responded, standing up and throwing out her tray, "I'll see you later, Helia."
Helia looked down at his lap. She looked crushed. Maybe it would have been better to keep that information to himself.