Before the End
Small fic that takes place during the flight to the final battle. Not much outside some general fluff. Written from an idea I had at five AM after an all-night chat. XD
Disclaimer: As always, all characters belong to Insomniac, not me. I just borrow them a lot.
Ratchet growled to himself as Nefarious slipped away to his Bioblitorator. How was he going to catch him now? As if in answer, a dropship landed beside him, already opening as it touched down. "Get in!" Sasha called over a vid screen. He wasn't one to argue for once.
Inside, Ratchet paced nervously, the adrynaline in his system not allowing him to sit still. Clank, taking a moment's rest, detatched himself from the lombax's back and instead watched the screen that now showed the outside of the ship. Clouds flew by on the screen. Orange clouds, partly colored from the fading sunlight and partly from pollution.
"Ratchet?" The lombax in question looked up from the floor, pausing in his nervous scratching of his neck. His muscles were tense from the fight. Sasha stood in the doorway to the cockpit, looking none too sure of herself either. He smiled quietly. A girl was the last thing he needed on his mind during a fight, but he wouldn't refuse her company for at least a few moments. He did enjoy it.
"Who's flying the...?"
"One of the Rangers. They may be cowards, but at least they can fly." She laughed nervously, then quieted herself with a throat clear. Her tail twitched nervously; Ratchet could see the tip flash briefly on either side of her knees. "So...this is it, huh?"
"Yeah. Should be. And I guess I get to go back to being a boring old chaufur." He rolled his eyes at the thought.
"Listen, Ratchet -" She stopped. Ratchet had glanced at Clank; he thought he was listening to them. The young lombax twitched his head slightly at the other end of the ship and brushed the back of her hand with his, indicating they should move towards the hatch at the back. She followed, quietly, before continuing, "I never got to thank you for saving me, back on the Phoenix. So thanks." She paused. "Ratchet, be careful, okay?" She cupped his chin in one hand and looked straight in his eyes. "I don't want you hurt...or worse..."
"What? Sasha, I'm not going to..." He stopped as she turned around suddenly, her hands brought up to her chest nervously. She held them there, unsure of herself. Ratchet could see the tension in her arms as she tried to quiet herself, in her legs as she stood, even in her short tail that was now twitching nervously again. "You okay?"
"Yes...no...Sorry. I'm not usually like this, I know..." She turned her head slightly and glanced at him.
"It's alright. I'm...kinda nervous myself." Actually, Ratchet wasn't nervous in the usual sense of the word, merely feeling the aftereffects of an adrynaline rush and the anticipation of a tough fight at once, but it was an apt description of his outward appearance: his ears and tail twitched as well, his muscles were taunt and knotted. He did look nervous. He took a step closer to her.
"You? Nervous? That's funny, Ratchet," she said quietly, turning around to face him. "I've never seen you scared." He grinned slightly at this statement. She smiled as well, then looked slightly embarrassed with herself. "Hey, would you...would you mind if I...oh, forget asking." She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him the short distance between them.
Ratchet wasn't sure how to react to her sudden display of emotion. He never quite knew how to. Her usual cold-but-friendly exterior was easy enough, but any time she let her guard down it was a whole new game. "Um...Sasha...?"
She loosened her grip imediately and began to pull away. "Sorry, I just...just..." Ratchet wrapped his around her thin waist and shushed her. While he may not have known the right response, he did know he prefered being held over being pushed away. He leaned on her shoulder.
"It's okay. I don't mind; we've got a minute, right?" She nodded, her cheek brushing his visor. He looked up, his nose under her chin, and grinned. She smiled back and lifted one hand to rub the back of his neck. She was surprised how knotted his muscles were. He didn't look tense, didn't feel tense leaning on her, yet the back of his neck was taunt and stiff.
"You are nervous," she whispered, tucking her chin so that her nose touched his. "You're a bundle of nerves." He laughed slightly, a sound even she barely heard, and relaxed even more. He was hardly even supporting himself, he was leaning against her so.
"You're rubbing too low."
"What?"
"I'd rather you rubbed my ears," he said, lifting his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his cheek tighten in a small grin against her own.
"Alright..." She managed to find a small hollow behind Ratchet's ear that his helmet didn't quite cover, and she could feel his smile broaden as she worked her fingers into it. He sighed, nearly asleep on his feet. The hyperactive adrynaline rush had been replaced by a strange, euphoric calm.
How long they stayed there...five minutes, five hours - what did it matter? It was too soon when Clank announced, emotionlessly and without glancing at them, that they would arive in a moment. Ratchet pulled back quietly and blinked to reorient himself to reality. He could get his ears rubbed later; as much as he wished she'd continue, he had a battle to fight.
Sasha walked back towards the cabin door. She paused as Ratchet opened the back hatch, one hand on her hip. The light from outside framed his thin, surprisingly strong body with a glowing halo. "Hey, Hotshot, be careful out there, huh?"
"You know it," he grinned and winked at her, his cocky self back. Then he was gone. The final battle, the end of all their struggles together so far, had begun.