To Ninetails – thanks heaps for the good remarks, the first scene I actually wrote of this story was that bit with Irvine and Van in Van's room, so there you go. Maelgwyn – ya, the spacing shights me too but I'm a sucker for one-liners…short ones…and lots of them…hoo… (I tried to fix it a bit in this chap tho) Psycho-Kitty-Purra – okay, you can have Irvine, but I get VAN!! ^_- Naomi Hunter – (cool name BTW!) your stories ROCK; plain and simple! (especially Bed of Roses… *drooooool*) But yeah, I was pointing out that there aren't many Van + Irvine pairings within all the shounen-ai's. Legal crap:
Disclaimer: By the love of all things Cheesy, I still don't own Zoids…I just love to fack up the characters minds with my inane scribble.
Warnings: YES!!! Van + Irvine get a lil' intimate in this chapter!! (Van: A LITTLE!?) *ahem* If you don't like the idea of Van and Irvine being together, go read Peter Pan you homophobic freaks. Send me flames and I'll just use 'em to start forest fires, it's a hobby of mine.
Oh yeah, and that anonymous general finally got a name in this chapter too!
Broken ~ Part three
Just Smile...
Irvine blinked back his surprise, lying still for a long moment before slowly reaching up with one hand to hold Van's cheek. The black haired boy closed his eyes against the touch, unconsciously leaning into it.
"Van…" Irvine whispered. "But…for how long?"
The young pilot shook his head sadly. "I don't know…I honestly don't…" he opened his ebony eyes to gaze at Irvine. "I'm just…so confused about it all, Irvine… It scares me, to tell the truth…"
Irvine placed both hands onto Van's shoulders, staring up at him with a clear gaze. "Van, you're not the only one who's confused. But even if we are, we still shouldn't be scared of our feelings for each other."
Van stared down at Irvine, slightly stunned. *Our feelings…for each other?* He blinked in realization. "Irvine…? You mean, you…?" The bounty hunter nodded with a warm smile.
"Yeah Van…" he almost laughed at the blank expression on Van's face. "You're more than just a best friend to me; more than just a brother in arms… I guess it just took a while to realise it too, huh?"
Van slowly began to smile widely. He felt happier than he had in a long time; heart swelling almost to bursting point as pressed his hands flat on Irvine's chest. As fucked up as he thought it was, he had to admit he really liked the new feelings. Van had a split-second hesitation flare in his mind: what would the others think of this? He dismissed it as soon as it entered his mind. Van was positive that Irvine would agree with him that as long as they were together, nothing could be better. And they certainly didn't need Fiona or Moonbei telling them that they couldn't be with one another.
"Say Irvine," Van said softly, slowly massaging the bounty hunter's chest with his thumbs, his smile fading to a warm smirk. "I was lying before… I did like it…" He watched the cogs in Irvine's head tick over. "And I wouldn't mind repeating the experience…"
Van leant forward and softly pressed his lips to Irvine's, loving the sudden tingle that ran down his spine. The bounty hunter ran his hands over Van's back, pulling his body closer to his own. The young pilot slowly slid his hands up to fumble with the clasp at the top of Irvine's overalls, frowning when he couldn't get it undone fast enough.
He broke the kiss lightly. "Dammit Irvine, why d'you have to wear something with such a stupid buckle?" He mumbled and went back to kissing him.
Irvine reached up and held both of Van's wrists in one hand, unclipping the nuisance quickly, and smirking under the kiss. With Van's hands still trapped, Irvine reached up to the teen's exposed stomach and traced the skin there with a feathery touch. Van jumped at the light contact, moaning as Irvine found the most sensitive area. The bounty hunter was quick to respond and he held Van's hands tighter, refusing to let go as he slipped the fingers of his free hand up the front of Van's shirt to caress taught muscles.
Van was in seventh Heaven; the speed at which his head was spinning from the whirlwind of new sensations was almost too much for him. Van moaned again as Irvine refused to let go, torturing him blissfully while Van was fully restrained. It was an incredible feeling; Van had no control over what happened and the thought of that was driving him insane. All to soon, Irvine pulled his lips away from Van's, breathing hard as he muttered a barely discernable "You don't hear me complaining about your stupid tight shirt," returning to the kiss as if it were never gone.
Van pulled back suddenly, panting heavily as he stared back at Irvine with half-closed eyes; Irvine held the same state as Van, though his look was more questioning.
"Don't…don't you think…" Van whispered hoarsely, "that maybe we're going a bit fast?"
The bounty hunter considered the pilot sitting on top of him for a moment before smiling warmly up at him. "We'll go as fast as you want, Van," Irvine replied, finally releasing Van's wrists to reach up and hold Van's cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb.
Van gave him a small, lop-sided smile as he gazed into Irvine's light indigo eyes. He sighed softly and leant forward, stretching out and lying gently on Irvine's chest. The bounty hunter tenderly wrapped his arms around the young pilot and smiled at him, kissing his hair softly.
"Irvine…" Van said after a long while.
"Mmm?" Irvine replied quietly.
"What…do you think we should tell the others about this?" Van blurted out quickly.
Irvine stopped for a moment. After thinking, he replied, "Not just yet… I mean, I think they'll be freaked enough that you went out for a one on one with Raven's Geno-Breaker. Not to mention nearly killing yourself because of it."
Van sighed and closed his eyes. "I know…don't remind me." He groaned uncomfortably, brow furrowing. "Hey Irvine, could you rub the spot between my shoulders please? It's still a bit sore there."
Irvine complied and chuckled at him. "I'm not surprised, you took a pretty bad hit in the Liger."
Van opened his eyes. "How do you know?" He was sure he'd blocked out all incoming transmissions.
The bounty hunter smirked. "The general told us before I took off that you'd cut off all communications, so I figured that a standard com hack was in order."
Van raised his head to stare directly at Irvine. "You hacked into Liger's com system?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Irvine smirked at him; Van returning with a frown. "Lemme guess, a talent from your past life?" Van asked wryly.
The bounty hunter laughed and that was all the answer Van needed to hear. Irvine stopped laughing and stared evenly at Van. "I saw how badly you got hit in the Liger while Raven was still attacking you. You were hit so hard that your harness broke, that much I saw before the connection died," Irvine said. "When I found you, you'd been thrown a good fifty metres from the Liger."
Van frowned and laid his head back on Irvine's chest. He hid his worried expression from the bounty hunter. *I was thrown from the Liger…? Then why aren't I dead?* He thought as he stifled a yawn.
"Someone's tired," Irvine stated.
"Am not."
"Are too."
"I am…" he yawned again, "…not."
Irvine smiled at Van and pushed the two into a sitting position. "You need to rest Van. It'll still be another hour and a half before the recovery team gets here."
"But I'm fine Irvine! You know as well as anyone else that I can take a beating and still keep going." He poked himself hard in the ribs to prove a point and doubled over, clutching them tightly. "Okay, that hurt…" he winced. Irvine frowned at him. "Seriously Van, you need to rest."
Van glowered at him. "The last time you said 'seriously Van', I threw you to the ground and screamed bloody murder at you."
The bounty hunter sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes Van, but if only this one time in your entire life, you need to listen to me. You need to rest up before the others get here."
Van sighed and shook his head. It was pointless to argue with Irvine; we always won anyway. "Fine. I'll go take a nap or something…" he trailed off. "But wake me before they get here, okay?"
Irvine nodded and stood up. "I'll go and move the Sykes closer to the Liger." Van noted for the first time how far away Irvine had actually left the Zoid. Irvine looked him over. "You alright to stand up?" Van nodded and waved him off. "It'll be fine…"
The black haired teen struggled slowly to his feet as Irvine left, stumbled forward and nearly fell over. He winced in pain as he stabilised himself. "Stupid leg…" he grated out. He limped over to the Liger and rested against its large claw, running his hand gently over the cool metal. "Aw Liger…I never meant to put you through this…" he whispered sadly. "I was just too blind to see anything else except the destruction of Raven and my own personal vendetta… I'm sorry buddy…"
Van stared up at the now dark sky, the stars glistening in the velvet blue. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry…" he whispered to himself.
***
"And they haven't found them yet?" Fiona asked in a worried voice.
Moonbei shook her head. "They know where they are. It's just getting to them is a problem," she sighed. "Van went and got himself caught beyond that rock canyon; the recovery unit's having a hell of a time getting to them."
Fiona sighed and stared back at the floating Organoid in the pod. "Zeek… Don't you worry, Van'll be back in no time." Moonbei smiled at her. "There you go! That's a positive outlook we should all take!"
Fiona smiled back at her. "Where's Doctor Dee?" she asked looking around.
"Who knows? Probably out working on another crazy invention of his," she replied. "Well, either that or in the control room."
The blonde girl nodded. "We should go and find him. He might have helped the recovery team get to Van and Irvine by now." Moonbei smiled and winked at her. "Sure thing, let's go."
Fiona took one last look at Zeek before they left. *Van…please be all right…*
***
"Van… Hey Van… Time to wake up Van…" a soft voice called.
The black haired teen grumbled and rolled over. "…Mmno… Lemme sleep…bit more…" he replied tiredly.
"No Van, get up now."
Van groaned and opened one eye. "Go away…" He nearly jumped out of his skin and sat bolt up. "Ir-Irvine!? But what…where…" he calmed down as he gazed around. "Sorry…I was dreaming of home… I thought you were my sister."
Irvine smirked. "I thought as much," he stared at Van's leg wide-eyed. "Van, are you alright?"
Van followed his line of sight and blinked in shock. The side of his left pants leg had a rather large blood stain on it trailing from the knee to his boot. Van winced.
"Shit, and I didn't feel that?" he asked in wonder.
Irvine laughed off his worry. "Well it doesn't really matter now," he jabbed a thumb behind him. Van followed his line of vision and nearly laughed.
A white Gustav ambled slowly over to them and stopped. The cockpit opened and two soldiers jumped out, running over to them.
"Lieutenant Fleihight! We apologise for the delay sir!" They saluted him fiercely. Van blinked at them.
"There's no problem, soldiers. If anything, the extra rest did me some good," he gazed up at the Liger, which he had fallen asleep under. "Too bad the same thing can't be said about my Zoid…"
The second soldier helped Van to his feet, walking him over to the Gustav while the other tended to the Blade Liger. "Sir? I have an order from the general for you."
Van raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"He wants you to report immediately to his office when we return. It sounded quite urgent, sir."
The black haired teen swallowed. *Great. Probably going to chew me out for taking off so suddenly.* He nodded his thanks. "Alright then. Oh and uh, if you find Liger's missing blade out here somewhere, I'd be grateful."
***
The trip back was long and uncomfortable for Van. Sitting dead still in the back of the Gustav with a bandage on his head and a bloody great patch around his leg was not his idea of fun. He took a deep breath and sighed silently. Still, the alternative could have been worse; he could have been testing out a new set of wings if it wasn't for his sheer dumb luck. Van frowned to himself. No, not sheer dumb luck, it was skill, real skill; that and Raven probably just got bored with him.
Van closed his eyes and lowered his head, relaxing into his seat. He hated this silence. Apart from the continual roar of the Gustav's engines, there was no other sound, which, to Van, was just as bad as no sound whatsoever. He groaned in frustration, quietly enough so as not to alert the soldiers. He rather be banging his head against a wall than sitting there in silence. Van sighed and opened his eyes to stare at the stars that now glinted in the dark sky, eyes full of pain.
"Dad…" he breathed unconsciously. He suddenly remembered how his father had hoisted the young lad onto his shoulders as they walked home from his father's early return from an assignment. Van had been five at the time and susceptible to bursts of giggles, especially at his father's antics.
A wisp of a sad smile touched the black haired youth's mouth as Van leant forward to rest his arm on the side of the Gustav, and his head in his palm.
*Who would have thought it possible…* he mused to himself. *I grew up in a village not knowing the horrors of war and end up fighting in it to destroy the pain it's caused. It's logical though really…* he frowned. *Humans will always have the urge to fight. Pacifism is a joke; it's just a fancy word made up by some dead democrat. As long as mankind exists there will always be fighting… Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead…* he smirked sadly.
"Sir?" The soldier's voice snapped him from his thoughts.
"Yes, what is it?" Van asked, sitting up straight.
"We're almost back at the base, sir. We'll be arriving in about two minutes."
Van smiled. "That's a relief…" The soldier raised a questioning eyebrow. "Sir?"
The young pilot smirked at him. "I was getting hungry."
***
As Van climbed wearily out of the Gustav, three figures came running over. Van smiled up at them; his friends, Moonbei, Fiona and Doctor Dee. He winced inside. Fiona… He'd known for a long time now that she liked him; he just never thought of himself to be the type of guy to have a girlfriend. He smirked. Now he really didn't think of himself that way.
"Van! I'm so glad you're still alive! We were all so worried!" Fiona cried and threw herself around him. Van's eyes went wide but he managed to suppress a loud gasp.
He grinned weakly at her when she released him. "Hey Fiona, good to see you too…"
"Still alive, huh?" Moonbei smirked. "You're going to wish you weren't soon enough," the girl grinned at him. "You should go and see General Harlan now, Van. He's been expecting you." Van's face fell. The one thing he wished didn't have to happen. He nodded all the same.
"Sure," he said quietly as he began to walk off.
Van walked silently down the multiple hallways and staircases until he came to the large door of the general's office. He took a deep breath and knocked quickly. "Come in," came the hard voice. Van pushed open the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him. The general sat at the far end of the room at his desk.
"General Harlan," Van said with a salute as he walked forward. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
The older man looked up at him from his paperwork with a hard glare. "Van Fleihight, what you did today was totally irresponsible, defines all there is surrounding insubordination and, might I add, completely insane!" His voice ended at a yell.
Van never tore his gaze away. "I understand that sir, but I-"
The general stood up and narrowed his gaze at the young pilot. "I don't think you do, son," he walked out from behind his desk and moved to the front of it, leaning against it. "There are no words you can say to justify why you chose to go head to head with Raven, and there's no way of avoiding your punishment for that noncompliance." Harlan sighed heavily. "Despite that, the fact that you came back alive plus your previous record in the Guardian Force have somewhat reduced your punishment."
Van waited for an answer. So he was still going to get punished for it, no surprise there; but having it shortened? He frowned to himself. "I accept my penalty sir. And I know that it was wrong of me to act of my own free will while under your command."
Harlan nodded. "At least you're smart enough to see that…" he glared stonily at Van. "You will pilot no Zoid, whether it be for business or recreation, within the next two weeks. Your association with the Guardian Force and all militaristic factions will be terminated if you do so."
TBC
Chan: Yay! We have lemony goodness!! *grin* I love it...I love it good...
Irvine: *staring at Van in the background* Is he going to be alright?
Chan: Bah, it'll improve his character!
Irvine: I mean you hit him pretty hard...
Chan: So ya, the next chapter's gonna be fuuuuuuun to write!
Irvine: Not to metion that whack with the frypan...
Chan: Hey! I'm speaking to the readers here!!
Irvine: Now that was just cruel...
*Chan whacks Irvine with a rolled-up newspaper*
Irvine: I didn't mean it!! Aw great, now she's starting on me!! *runs off with Chan in hot pursuit*
Van: *in extreme pain* I want off this ride...