Chapter 13: What About Love
Hornet looked out across the golden sands, the emptiness of the beach feeling like a polar opposite to the beaches she had seen in human photos. Only a few parasols could be seen far down the beach, as a small group of what appeared to be destroyers playing out in the water. A girl holding a newspaper was watching them from the pier, failing to even come close to being subtle as to what she was doing.
"I'm gonna have to talk to her again, aren't I…"
Hornet set her cooler down, and brought up her own parasol above her head. Throwing it like a javelin, Hornet's parasol stabbed itself into the grains of the beach, opening with a metallic smack. Snickering to herself, she picked her cooler up once more, walking towards her open beach shade. Setting her cooler down underneath the parasol, she took her baseball cap down, letting her hair whip around in the cool breeze of the ocean.
The cool, clear water washed around her ankles as she stepped out into the water, letting the sand sink around her foot. Stepping farther into the water, she felt the height of the sand slowly slope down, letting the water slowly move up her legs until she felt it around her waist. The golden sand of the beach had turned into a white underneath the waves, while the seashells glittered in the sunlight.
Leaping forward, Hornet let herself dive into the water, swimming along the sand for a short distance. Breaking through the surface, she gasped for air and shook her head, droplets of water flying out in every direction from her hair.
Looking out in front of her, she saw a dark blob floating below the surface. She cautiously stepped forward, fearing that it could be one of the larger ships. Suddenly, the blob rushed her, a large sharp fin slicing through the water's surface as it headed towards Hornet. Hornet jumped with a yelp, immediately turning around and swimming back towards the safety of the sand. Looking behind her, Hornet's eyes widened as she saw the fin getting closer.
Swimming harder, she tried to out swim the pursuer, but she could feel the currents being pushed behind her feet. A tanned figure threw a metal rope to her from the beach. "Grab on!" The figure yelled. Hornet grabbed it without hesitation, feeling herself be pulled with a heavy force as she found herself skidding across the sand.
Standing up, Hornet felt her knees give way as she looked out into the water. The fin was circling around still, but it couldn't hurt her now. She looked down at the soft sand below her, nauseated from the experience of being pulled through the water so quickly. Looking up at her savior, she was greeted with the bright red of a lifeguard's swimsuit, and the brown, pale blue of the girl's hair.
"Northampton?" Hornet asked as she tried to stand once more.
"Just rest for a little, would you?" Northampton draped a towel over Hornet's back. "I'd say you'd need a bigger boat, but I don't think I could pull one heavier than you," Northampton joked, managing to get a laugh out of Hornet.
"It seems like the issue we had with Sandy still isn't resolved." Hornet kept her eye on the fin, it slowly starting to retreat out into the bay.
"I should take you to the medic, just so we can make sure you're all together."
Hornet thought to herself for a moment, weighing her options. "Why don't we get something to eat? I should at least be able to repay you somehow."
Northampton gave her an uneasy look. "I'm not sure… I don't want to get yelled at by my boss."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can work something out if that happens. Now come on, let's try to make things a little better for the two of us."
Hornet found herself sitting at a quaint wooden table in the back of a restaurant, it's large glass window showing off the golden beach, and the central island of the base. Northampton stood at the cashier, ordering for herself rather than Hornet possibly getting something wrong. Hornet had returned the towel, leaving Northampton to have it lie around her neck. Taking a sip of her Oxy-Cola, Hornet suddenly realized how strong Northampton's physical figure was. "No wonder she was able to pull me out."
Northampton slipped into the seat in front of Hornet, the cruiser leaning forward against the table edge. Her tan skin shone in the artificial lighting of the restaurant, and a faint pink dust could be seen across her cheeks. "Do you do this every time something happens to you?" Northampton finally asked after an awkward pause.
Hornet snickered, her usual grin returning to her face. "Of course I do! How else could I repay someone?" Northampton fought the urge to roll her eyes at Hornet's innocent answer.
"You could just pay them?" Northampton gave the obvious comeback.
"Isn't getting them something to eat the same as that? Besides, it's not all the time that I get to pay for lunch for such a beautiful girl," Hornet said without hesitation, seemingly not realizing what she had truly just said. Northampton wasn't sure how to respond, her face now flush with a pink hue.
"What do you mean by that?" Northampton asked cautiously as a waiter set down a large pan with a cheese pizza on top of it.
Hornet took a slice from the pan, taking a bite of cheesy goodness before responding. "I mean, you've got smooth tan skin, a slim body, and stunning hair. I don't see why you aren't a model instead of a lifeguard." Once more Hornet didn't seem to realize the context of her words. Instead, she continued biting into her pizza slice, letting Northampton take her time.
"I think I need to step outside for some air." Northampton quickly walked out of the restaurant, her hands covering her face that was now fully flushed with embarrassment.
Hornet strolled through the halls of the Eagle Union dorms, bored by another slow day around the base. The white clouded sky made the hallways look cold, as if the base had been filled with snow. Only the faint warm glow of a few fireplaces around the dorm showed a difference in this weather. Hornet's walk of boredom ended with her turning into the dorm's library. Quickly she rushed behind the wall, peeking out to watch the events unfolding inside. Enterprise and Belfast were sitting in a pair of chairs in front of the fireplace, with Belfast holding a book about humans.
"Do we really have to study these every day?" Enterprise complained.
"Yes we do, Lady Enterprise. Would you like to understand your emotions better or would you rather just live knowing that every emotion inside you is something you don't know anything about?"
"Fine," Enterprise grumbled. Hornet faintly giggled at the sight of her usually stoic and mature sister complaining about having to learn something new.
Belfast flipped straight to around the middle of the book, slowly changing the page as she looked for something inside. Running her finger down the page, Belfast stopped and smiled. "The first word we're going to do is 'Love'." Enterprise sat straight up, blushing slightly.
"According to the humans, 'Love' is 'an intense feeling of deep affection'. Usually 'Love' is preceded by something the humans call 'Flirting'. Do you understand so far, Lady Enterprise?" Enterprise nodded.
"'Flirting' means to 'behave as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions'. For example Lady Enterprise, when you complemented my eyes, that would be considered flirting."
Hornet felt a chill run up her spine. "Does that mean…" She ran down the hallway, her boring day turning out to be a real adventure.
Hornet skidded around a corner, thundering down the hallway that led to the Eagle Union cruiser hallway. In these few moments the familiar walls and rooms of the building had become a maze, as if changing to suffocate her attempt to reach her one true destination. Hornet slid around another corner, her feet seemingly barely touching the ground as she raced towards the one door that had started to feel locked forever. Nearly falling over as she stopped in front of Northampton's door, she quickly got down on one knee, breathing heavily.
Abruptly, the door opened, revealing Northampton in a quite casual getup. A long sleeve sweater and blue jeans fit better than Hornet expected. Hornet looked into Northampton's eyes, unsure if she should really go through with this. Taking in a deep breath, she finally spilled her beans. "Northampton, I… I love you!" Hornet stammered out, leaving Northampton stunned and blushing. "It's just that, I didn't really understand what I was saying, and I only realized it because of my sister, and I thought I should apologize for what I did but what I did was my true feelings so I'm not sure if-." Hornet stopped herself as Northampton put a finger against her lips.
"Hornet, you're the first person I've ever heard say things like that about me. Neither of my sisters would even say those things. It made me feel… wanted by someone. I'm sure most of the other girls here don't understand human emotions too well, but you've opened my eyes. So Hornet, I love you too." Northampton leaned out of her doorway, giving Hornet a kiss on the cheek.
Giving a cute wave as Hornet started to tremble with excitement, Northampton shut her door. Hornet could hear the sound of muffled giggling on the other side of the door before her own emotions leapt out. Hornet leapt into the air, screaming inside from her pent up excitement and newfound relationship. Racing back down the way she came, it was only a matter of time before her sisters knew about this.
End of chapter 13