Bah, I'm lazy... Legal shight:
Disclaimer: No song and dance this time around, just a plain ol' "I don't own Zoids" (Hey it's late, er, early, give me a break!)
Warnings: Van goes a lil' psycho at the start. Irvine goes a lil' psycho at the end. Fiona is wa~ay too clingy all the way through...
Broken ~ Part eight
Dinner Disaster
Van slammed his door shut, eyes clenched tight and his fists balled at his sides. The young pilot had held back as best as he could as he stormed off to his room and now his rage had begun to boil over. He spluttered a few angry sounds before he screamed, stumbling forward a few steps. He reeled back and slammed his fist into the nearest object that happened to be the wall behind him. His hands flew to his head and he cried out again, doubling over. Van felt the sting of hot tears in his eyes and on his face as they streamed down his cheeks. He sobbed uncontrollably as he stood there, his tears dropping onto the floor.
"Why??" he asked no one. "Why can't I destroy Raven?? He's just one maverick and I'm in the Guardian Force! I should be able to kill him easily!!" he breathed raggedly as he collapsed to his knees. He shook his head slowly as a choked sob escaped his lips. "I just…I can't…" He leant forward until his forehead rested on the cold ground, tears blurring his vision as he opened his eyes. Van breathed raggedly on the ground, his fingers still knotted into his hair as he knelt on the ground.
"Eight days…" he breathed after a long moment. "Zeek will be fully recovered in eight days Van…" he closed his eyes and sat back up again, breathing hard as he waited for his eyes to dry. "Harlan can go stuff himself for all I care; Raven will die by my hands and no one else's. I'm not insane and I'm not suicidal; I just have to stay alive for the next eight days and then with Zeek by my side, I'll take that son of a bitch down once and for all."
He opened his eyes again and stared aimlessly at the ceiling, a tortured look playing on his face. *You really think your Organoid is going to save you this time?* Raven's voice played in his mind and he glared hard at the ceiling. *Ha! Shows what you know Raven! I'm going to take you down by myself this time!* Van's reply to the grey haired maverick. The black haired boy sighed as the memories of that one fight flooded into his mind; the one that had started all of this…
"So…" he breathed. "It all comes down to eight days…" He clenched his eyes tight as his right hand began to burn and he gasped softly. Van's eyes flew down to his knuckles and he winced; the back of his hand was bloody where the skin had split open. He swallowed and stood up again, holding his hand out as he walked over to the small sink in his room. The cold water bit into his skin and he groaned as the blood began to wash away from his sore hand; his other hand busying itself with the task of finding a bandage in the cabinet above the sink.
Van turned the tap off and pulled a bandage and a small patch from the cabinet, walking over to his bed and flopping down hard, opening the patch with his teeth. He went about the task of cleaning up his hand and bandaging it up, wincing at certain points as the tightness of the cloth pressed into his wound. He tied it tightly and flexed his fingers to make sure it would stay tight; happy with the result he stood up and took in a deep breath.
Van walked back to the mirrored cabinet, staring hard at his blank expression. He twisted his head around and looked himself over, frowning after a moment. "Huh…" he breathed. "God I look terrible…" He leant over the sink and splashed his face with cold water, brushing some through his hair with his fingers. He shook his head quickly, a spray of water flying out, before standing up and checking himself once again. Van smiled weakly at his reflection. "Not perfect, but you'll have to do I suppose…"
A soft knock on the door interrupted his monologue and he turned to lock shocked eyes on it. He blinked and slapped his head in realisation. It was Fiona! She'd come over to pick him up for dinner, which he'd completely forgotten about. He checked his watch; sure enough, it read seven at night.
"Coming!" he finally blurted out. He looked down at himself with a groan; his Guardian Force uniform would have to do. It wasn't that dirty anyway, he concluded with a shrug. Van strode over to the door and opened it with a large smile.
"Hey Fiona, what's up?" She giggled at him. "I came to pick you up. I hope I'm not early." The young pilot shook his head. "Nope, you're right on time," he finally noticed the green dress she had on. "Wow… You look great Fiona!" The Zoidian smiled hopefully up at him. "You really think so?"
Van nodded and laughed. "Of course! I wouldn't have said so otherwise!" The blonde girl blushed prettily and smiled warmly at him. "Thank you Van, really," she paused to grab his hand and pull him out of the doorway. "Come on then, we'd better get… Oh Van! What happened to your hand?" She pointed to his right hand and the young pilot followed her gaze.
"Oh that… I, uh, I hurt it today when I…when I was teaching those new recruits basic fighting techniques," he laughed and held it up for her to see. "Good thing I was trained in basic first aid, huh?" She looked worriedly at him and shook her head. "It doesn't hurt, does it?" Van grinned at her. "Nah, it's fine; it'll heal over in no time flat. Now, how about dinner, hey Fiona?"
She laughed at him and nodded her head. "Sure thing Van." Fiona led Van through the base to the main gate where a Gustav was parked. Van raised an eyebrow. "Hey, isn't that Moonbei's Gustav?" Fiona nodded as she opened the hatch. "Yes, but I wheedled her into letting me use it for the night. Now come on; in you get." Van smiled and shook his head as he climbed into the front passenger seat. "I don't know how you convinced Moonbei to let you use her Gustav; let alone for the night. She's more possessive of this thing than her money!" Fiona shrugged as she started the Zoid with a smirk. "It's a secret."
Van laughed and the two remained quiet as they exited the base. The rotund Zoid had just passed the large double gates of the Keron Base when Van frowned and turned to the blonde girl next to him. "Hey Fiona," he said softly. "Just where are we going anyway?" She smiled warmly at him. "You'll see when we get there…"
Van sighed and stared outside, a whisper of a smile playing on his lips as he reached up to unconsciously play with his Guardian Force chain. *Well, wherever we're going, I hope they have good food…* his hand snaked around to pull his ponytail around to the front. He smiled fondly as he stared at the black tresses; it was getting longer. *Maybe I will wear it out more often…*
***
"The Starlight Bistro?" Van raised an eyebrow as they stopped in front of the large building and he read the sign. Fiona nodded and smiled at him. "I told you Van, I wanted to make it up to you; so, the Starlight Bistro…"
Van chuckled and walked inside with her, shaking his head. He looked around the inside of the place, a little in awe of everything. He noticed a few couples dancing slowly in a little garden he hadn't seen from the outside. "Wow, classy place," he remarked, suddenly remembering what he wore. He blushed with embarrassment as Fiona turned to him. "What's wrong Van?"
"Well, this place is pretty high-class and I'm just wearing my uniform…" he turned worried eyes to her. "Are you sure it's okay for me to come in here like this?" Fiona giggled at him as she led them towards a free table at the back. "You look fine Van, trust me." She smiled to herself and turned away from him, a blush creping over her cheeks. *Very fine…* She giggled again and Van just rolled his eyes, biting back a sigh.
They sat down and Van continued to look around them. The inside was decorated with blacks and purples and vines were freely growing around the walls and ceiling. The ceiling was twinkling with shiny flecks that looked just like starlight. Their table had a single candle burning in the centre with tiny star decorations embroidered into the thin tablecloth. Van smirked as he gazed around; this place didn't look too bad.
"So," Fiona's voice brought him back to reality and he turned to look at her. She had a menu in her hands and was scanning the list. "What are you going to have?" He blinked at her for a moment before he picked up his own and started to stare down the long list. Van frowned; how many things on this list did you need another language for? Let alone know what the hell they were…
"Um…" Van mused to himself softly. He leant forward to Fiona. "Hey, uh…how do you say this?" He pointed to a random item on the list and Fiona looked at it for a second. She smiled and shook her head at him. "Say it out slowly; it sounds the way it's spelt." Van leant back and frowned, looking at it again.
*Ra-vi-o-li cab-o-na-ra… I guess that's how you say it…* he raised an eyebrow as the waiter came over. "And what would you the two of you like to partake of this lovely evening?" he asked with a practised smile. Fiona 'hmm-ed' and smiled back at him. "I'll have the herb seafood crepe with the pine nut salad please. Oh and can I have some fennel and cayenne pepper on that as well please?"
The waiter nodded with a broad smile. "The young miss has excellent taste, and you sir?" He turned to Van who looked nervously at his choice on the menu before looking up at him. "Um, just the ravioli cabonara thanks…" The waiter nodded. "And would you like anything to drink before you partake of your meal?" Fiona shook her head. "No thank you. Van?" He quickly glanced at her before looking up at the waiter. "Just some water thanks." He smiled nervously at him.
The waiter smiled and strode off quickly, leaving Van to breath a sigh of relief. Fiona stared at him. "Van? Is anything wrong?" His eyes snapped back to hers. "Nothing! It's nothing!" he laughed nervously. "I guess I'm just not used to all this class! I'm better at giving military orders than ones I can barely pronounce!" he laughed again and Fiona smiled at him. "You're so silly sometimes, Van…" she laughed quietly.
He relaxed and smiled warmly back at her. His contented expression lasted for only a short moment before he screwed up his face and sprouted a large cheesy grin. "Aw, but you love me!!" he said loudly. Fiona laughed at him so hard she almost started coughing. "You are such an idiot!" she reached across the table to ruffle his hair. He pulled back sharply. "Hey! That took forever to get like that!" he laughed again.
Fiona stared evenly at him. "You always have your hair like that, Van…don't give me that line!" She giggled again as the waiter returned with Van's water. He took it gratefully and drank down most of it; it was a good thing the waiter had also brought out a pitcher of water.
After a long while of talking and laughing, the laughing mostly done on Fiona's part, their meals finally came and Van was past famished as it was laid before him. He was just about to start gnawing on the candle wax if it hadn't of arrived soon; this also put Fiona into peals of laughter. Van licked his lips as he stared down at his food. He raised an eyebrow and picked up his cutlery with a grin.
"Bon apatite, Fiona!" he said merrily and heaped a few squares of pasta onto his fork. He stared down at it and allowed the wonderful smell to invade his nose before he tentatively raised it to his mouth and took a quick bite. His eyes widened in surprise as the taste hit him. It was a nice combination of pasta, sour cream and mushroom that, to Van at least, tasted really good. Fiona stared up at him from her meal. "How is it?" she asked. He nodded enthusiastically as he swallowed it down. "It's really great!" he practically yelled. "How's yours?" She smiled at him. "It's really nice."
Other than those few words, the rest of the meal was finished in silence. The two now sat quietly together, their plates gone as they relaxed into their seats. Van sighed contentedly. "Man, that was the best!" he said in all honesty with a warm smile. "Thanks a lot Fiona!" She giggled at him and rested her hands on her lap. "It's me who should be thanking you Van." The black haired youth raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she smiled at him. "If you hadn't of been suspended and dragged to Keron Colony by all of us, I'd never have found this restaurant in the first place," she explained.
Van considered her words for a moment before his face set. "You mean if I hadn't of gone after Raven and nearly gotten myself killed…" he said with a slight edge to his voice. Fiona's eyes went wide. "No Van, that's not what I meant!" she almost pleaded, her hand reaching over the table to cover his. "That's not what I mean at all…" she stared at him and, with complete honesty, said, "You did what you thought was right Van. Nothing more…" she finished in a whisper and simply smiled at him.
He paused for a long moment, his eyes switching between their hands and her eyes before he smiled back at her. "You're right, I s'pose…" he smirked at her. "But then again, you usually are…" Her smile grew wider as she stood up, still holding his hand. Van blinked at her in complete surprise. "Come one Van, let's go dance." She nodded towards the little garden dancing area. He stammered a protest as he was dragged away from his seat. "B-but we just ate! Fiona!" She ignored his protests as they stopped at the back and she drew him closer. He swallowed hard as her hand reached up to lightly grasp his shoulder and he, albeit reluctantly, moved his hand around her waist. As he gazed around nervously, he noticed that the garden had an open roof and could be seen from the street; it was outside, built into the alley. He rolled his eyes. *Duh, of course the garden's outside; plants need sunlight, you idiot…*
They moved slowly to the sway of the music, no more than a few small steps at a time. Van inwardly sighed; it had to be a slow song they were playing… He noticed just how tense his movements were and he tried forcing himself to relax to no avail; he couldn't bring himself to relax around the Zoidian. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
*Okay then… Just think it's Irvine; you can always relax around him,* he paused. *No, no…bad idea. Don't want to start doing indecent things in a public place…* he smirked to himself as he thought of the night before. No matter what, Irvine always knew how to make him feel so…happy and secure. It filled him with a warm fuzzy feeling at the mere thought of just being around Irvine. His smirk turned into a warm smile and he sighed softly which, unfortunately, caught the attention of Fiona.
"Van? Is something wrong?" She asked softly. He snapped out of his daydream and opened his eyes, staring down at her. "Uh, no…not at all…" she stared up at him with smiling eyes. "Then why are you smiling?" she asked with a soft chuckle. Van stared down at her, wishing his brain would get off the track of Irvine and onto the track of answer. "I…" he sighed and smiled warmly at her. "I'm…just having a really great time Fiona…" he said softly.
She stared up at him for a long moment before smiling warmly at him, hands hand leaving their respective places and pressing softly to his chest. Van stared down at her in astonishment as she laid her head gently on her hands. "Thank you Van…" she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, sighing contentedly on his warm chest. Van's arms were numb for a moment before he slowly moved them to wrap around her shoulders, gazing away again, wishing privately that he were somewhere else.
*But you know she's a good friend! Let her be!* his brain argued. Van frowned lightly, *Yeah, a friend… Nothing more!* He could just picture his little conscience-angel flapping around in front of him, trying to prove a point. *You liked her before Irvine came along, and you know it!* he scowled and pressed his lips into a thin line. *And then Irvine did come along! So just drop it!*
Fiona was completely unawares to Van's little quarrel inside his head, as she stood there with her eyes closed, completely living for this one moment. She opened her eyes and smiled to herself. *I hope he really has enjoyed this night. Oh why do you doubt it Fiona? How many times tonight has he smiled that smile at you and said he's enjoyed it?* She sighed softly; a sound unnoticed by Van. *He's such a great dancer…* she closed her eyes again and breathed in deeply. *He said he was having a really great time… Hopefully, though…*
"Van?" she pulled back and whispered. "Mmm?" He gazed back down at her with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back at him as she slowly shifted her hands to the back of his neck; failing to notice how he slightly tensed at the action. "You said you were really enjoying the night?" she asked softly. He blinked at her. "Yeah, it's been really great…why do you ask?" The blonde girl shrugged lightly. "I just wanted to make it better…"
Without further warning, Fiona tilted his head down and pressed her lips to his in a long, soft kiss.
***
Irvine frowned at he looked down his list. In his opinion there wasn't enough hours in the day to go shopping for Zoid components. He snorted and shoved the paper in his pocket, walking on. "Why the hell couldn't Fiona have gotten this stuff?" he mumbled to himself.
He'd known that the Zoidian had borrowed Moonbei's Gustav to come into town for some unknown reason and it would have been the perfect opportunity for someone else to go shopping for a change. He scowled and groaned as he walked along stuffing his hands in his pockets.
*Number twenty-three hydraulic lock for the Sykes and a new turbo wrench for the doc… Why do I have to buy his stuff? It's not like he does anything for me!* He sighed and shook his head, coming across the store he wanted. The bounty hunter slipped inside and strode up to the front counter. The lady behind the counter smiled at him, rubbing a grease spot off her cheek.
"Evening stranger! What can I do for you?" she asked cheerily. Irvine smiled down at her. "Just looking for a number twenty-three hydraulic lock for high speed use." The girl pressed a finger to her lips in thought for a moment. "You're in luck; I was just about to scrap it! We received one a few weeks back, course no one around here wanted it so it's just been a dust collector…"
Irvine breathed a sigh of relief as the part was handed to him.
"Anything else?" the girl asked with a smile that would put a thousand watt bulb to shame. Irvine smiled back, somewhat nervously. *No way can someone be this happy…* "Yeah, I was looking for a turbo wrench as well." She nodded and went out the back for a short moment, returning with the long tool and placing it on the counter. "There you go sir. That's seventy-eight credits all up."
Irvine grimaced but handed over the money all the same. "Just out of curiosity, how much was the wrench?" The girl paused for a second. "Twenty-five credits." Irvine nodded his thanks and walked out with a wave. He stepped into the warm night air and frowned. *The old man owes me twenty-five… Who am I kidding? He'll never pay me back!*
He sighed and was about to walk off when something caught his eye. "Hey, that's the Gustav…" The Zoid was parked behind a large building that, upon further inspection, turned out to be some sort of restaurant. He shrugged and walked off. *She's probably stuffing her face in that ritzy place…*
Irvine froze and took a step back, eyes going wide as he peered down the alley. A small garden was built off the side of the restaurant as some sort of dance floor and right at the back was Van. Who looked kind of tense. His eyebrows shot up as far as they could go. Van was with Fiona. Irvine's jaw had begun to creep open as he saw Van looking around nervously. *He's…looking around…to see…*
In one swift instant, he felt his heart wrench painfully – Fiona pulled Van down for a long kiss. A very long kiss. A very long and passionate kiss. Irvine bit his bottom lip as he turned away, hot tears stinging his eyes as he shook his head and bolted from his place.
*No, no, no, NO!! It can't be; it just can't!!* His mind screamed as he ran from the painful sight. He ran blindly back to his Lightning Sykes, Van's words playing in his head. *I understand that I couldn't live a single day without you…* And then he had smiled so warmly at him; the smile that only the two of them had shared…
Hot tears streaked down his face as stopped abruptly in front of his Zoid, walking over to one leg. He breathed hard for a long moment before he growled loudly and punched the cold metal hard.
"If you couldn't live without me then why are you with her right now!?" He screamed at the starry night sky as his tears continued to flow.
TBC
*Van chasing Chan around with a metal baseball bat*
Chan: WAAAH!!! I'm sorry!!! God, don't hit me!!!
Van: You sicko! How dare you pair me with Fiona!! *begins to swing wildly*
Chan: But it's ANGST dammit!! I had to make you suffer!!
Van: *screaming* This isn't angst!! This is just plain cruel!!!
Chan: Irvine! Help me!!!
*Chan runs behind Irvine who stares blankly at her*
Irvine: And WHY should I help you?
Chan: Um, um...I'll stop all the angst!!
Irvine: Kay!! *runs up to Van and hugs him tightly* Van!!
Van: *drops bat and hugs Irvine back* Irvine!!
Chan: AWWWW!!! That's so cute!! (And I got to keep my head!!) Until next chapter readers, ja ne!! *turns to the happy couple*
Chan: That is just the sweetest...