Back to Penny and Vijay!
Too Many Quakes
There are things one expects when your father catches you with a boy. Some anger, maybe some light threatening of the boy in question.
Penny had not been expecting her father to start laughing.
"Really?" Victor drawled, head dropping as he stared at John, "You're laughing right now?"
She agreed. It seemed very out of place.
"How did you know about the planet dying?" Victor focused back on her and Vijay. Arms crossing as John tried to cover his laughter.
"Observational skills," Penny said as she and Vijay scrambled to their feet.
Vijay cleared his throat, "And eavesdropping." He pursed his lips. Victor narrowed his eyes on him. Vijay shrugged, "So, Hiroki's samples have the answer or… "
Her father snorted. Victor glowered at him.
This was so far removed from what Penny expected. She was almost a little insulted.
"Yeah, yeah, the cave we hid Robot in is full of poop so we can use it to make fuel," Will cut in, pushing past his father to walk up to Vijay, "Can you really connect all the jupiters together so we can scan the planet for Robot?"
"Uh…" Vijay raised a brow, looking at Will blankly, "…maybe?"
"Good enough!" Will grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of Penny's bunk.
Seriously, did getting caught making out count for nothing anymore?
"Ah!" John's arm blocked her doorway as she tried to leave. Victor followed Will and Vijay to the main table. John ducked his head, gaze pointed and aimed at her, "We'll be talking about this later. With your mom."
"Great…" Penny said sarcastically.
She liked the laughing better.
Luckily, Vijay's 'maybe' had apparently meant 'yes,' because within an hour, Will was excitedly pointing at the screen.
"That's not far from where he went missing though," Vijay narrowed his eyes on the screen, "We searched that area before Will."
"Maybe he just got lost, or he wandered back after we already searched it," Will reasoned, head shaking. His eyes were wide and hopeful, smile reaching his eyes for the first time since Robot had gone missing, "We just keep missing him is all. Cause we're both looking for the other. That's gotta be it."
Their dad hummed, forehead creasing. He tapped on his comm watch, "Maureen? You there?"
"Go ahead," their mom's voice came through in seconds. She sounded out of breath. Penny squinted at the watch.
"We have a possible location for the robot near the cave, do you think-"
John was cut off by static and then the line going dead.
"That's not a good sign," Penny stared at her father's wrist. Victor tapped on his, trying to contact his wife. She didn't answer. Also not good. It was only when he tried Hiroki that he got an answer.
"Maureen and Prisha climbed up to check the ridges above the cave," Hiroki's voice was quiet, calm. Penny was pretty sure no one was appreciating that because Victor was now actively pacing their jupiter as he talked with Hiroki.
"Whatever happened, it was the same time something disturbed the bats in the cave," Naoko had the decency to sound a little rattled.
Victor's brow furrowed, "Bats?"
"The source of the biomass, we found them. Hundreds of bat-like creatures living in the cave."
Given the tone of Naoko's voice, Penny was positive 'bat-like' was not at all a decent approximation of how scary the creatures were.
"We'll be there soon." Victor told them, face already drawn long as her father went to grab Judy. Penny was half way out of her chair when Victor pinned his eyes on her, "You're staying here."
"My mom is in trouble and you want me to stay here?" Penny snorted. Victor's eyes narrowed.
"We don't have time to argue, you and Vijay are both injured, you're staying behind. Will too." Victor crossed his arms. His forehead creased as Will squawked.
Will had about a dozen reasons why he should go. All of them very convincing. None of them made a dent in Victor's expression.
"I'll chaperone the lovebirds," Smith came up behind Victor, a light smile on her face. She nodded towards Will, "You'll need him, for the robot."
John and Judy appeared from the med bay, a med kit packed and slung over Judy's shoulders. Victor gave Will a nod and the four of them moved to depart.
Victor walked backwards towards the door at first, brows high and gaze pointed at Vijay, "Behave yourself."
"I'm officially insulted," Penny huffed, plopping back into her chair. She crossed her arms over the table and rested her chin on top. Pouting was top of her to do list.
Across the table, Vijay was scowling at his tablet. He'd leaned back in his chair. It might've been amusing, the way he mimicked his dad's earlier expression, arms crossed and everything, but she very much agreed with the anger radiating from Vijay's entire body.
"Think of it this way," Smith sighed as she took a seat at the table between them, "Your mothers wouldn't want you in danger. Especially injured."
"My mom is significantly more qualified to rescue herself than my dad is," Vijay huffed, arms uncrossing as he rubbed a hand over his neck and into his hair.
Penny hummed, picking her head up, "Yeah, I definitely can't say that." She shrugged, "But my little brother got to go, so I'm still insulted."
Smith chuckled, head tilting to the side. Her eyes focused on Vijay, gaze a little too focused, "I don't know much about your mother, she was in the military right? British?"
"No. American. My dad's the one that's British." Vijay mumbled, still scowling at his tablet. Penny watched the way Smith moved then. Fluid motions. But intentional. Leaning towards Vijay slightly as she spoke.
Her eyes widened, voice high, "That's interesting. What about you?"
"Huh?" Vijay looked up at her then, eyes fluttering. "What do you mean?"
"British Mathematician, American Soldier, must be an interesting story," Smith shrugged, light, nonchalant. Penny narrowed her eyes on Smith.
There was something just slightly off. Her tone just a touch forced.
"I guess?" Vijay shrugged, brows lowering as his face twisted in confusion.
It did sound interesting. Penny will admit that. She 100% planned to interrogate Vijay about it later, particularly about the beginning of their relationship because she had very specific questions about how two people from different continents can organize a wedding in three weeks.
But none of that was important right then because Smith had all of her attention focused on Vijay. And she was fairly positive that wasn't a good thing as the smile on Smith's face grew more forced with every second Vijay remained silent.
"My parents met because Judy threw her rattle at my dad's face in the grocery store," Penny jumped in, grinning at Smith, eyes squinting at her face. Vijay laughed. Smith's attention broke, her face fell *just* a little.
Penny had more questions than she knew what to do with. None of them askable!
And, as if the planet itself was channeling her awkwardness, now everything was shaking.
-.-.-
"Hey," John stopped Judy with a hand on her shoulder as Will and Penny paused in their steps.
The shuttle that had dropped the Robinson family at the airport was leaving. Their mother was looking at John with a raised brow and a frown.
"Before we head up, I want to talk to you all about something," John sighed, head ducking low and lips pursing. Judy shrugged his hand off, brow rising in a mirror of Maureen's.
It was an awkward half second before John looked up at them. His face was set in stone, expression almost pained.
"All of us with military service have been instructed not to discuss our history on the Resolute or in Alpha Centauri," John told them.
Maureen startled, back straightening, "What? Why?"
"Last few years have been… turbulent," John cleared his throat, "My understanding is that disclosing our history could be detrimental to the mission. So, no talking about what I use to do with anyone. Those who need to know what I use to do, know."
"That's super sketchy," Penny groaned, head falling back. John leveled his gaze on her. She raised her hands in mock surrender, "No discussion of it. Got it."
-.-.-
"Isolated quake," Penny tried very hard not to slam the radio back into its slot on the ceiling as she hung up with the chariot.
Vijay ruffled a hand through his hair, head ducked down as he leaned against the doorway, "That's probably what happened with our moms too."
"That's what the dads are thinking," Penny blew out a breath, nostrils flaring, "One of the other jupiters reported a sink hole, so we're too check the immediate area for damage and abnormalities."
"Sink holes... fun," Vijay pushed off from the wall. Penny followed him out, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She couldn't see Smith, but obviously the doctor could see her.
"I've decided I find the chaperone part the most offensive," Penny grumbled as they left the jupiter. She rolled her shoulders back, neck cracking.
The crutches had been left in the main room where they'd fallen. Judy had called it a walking cast and Penny decided it was time to test that.
"She's kind of..." Vijay pursed his lips, turning in a circle and looking up at the jupiter. There weren't many windows, just the control room really. Vijay sighed, turning back around, "...I'm going with creepy."
Penny nodded as they started to circle the jupiter, "I was thinking nosy."
"That works too," Vijay tilted his head back to check the hull of the jupiter. There were no breaks or large scratches. The landing gear had more dirt on it, but it was otherwise unblemished.
"Do you think Alpha Centauri will have earthquakes?" Penny asked.
Vijay snorted, "Not near the colony site. My dad checked." Penny raised a brow. Vijay grinned, "He hates earthquakes."
"Didn't you say you grew up in California the other day?"
"Yup!" Vijay ducked his head, hiding what was surely a beautiful smirk as he checked the next set of landing gear, "And Vancouver."
He watched Penny through his lashes as she walked a bit ahead of him, crawling half underneath the jupiter.
"I'm pretty sure the 'no earthquakes' thing was my grandmother's opening argument for this mission," Vijay knelt beside the jupiter where Penny had disappeared. He offered her a hand up as she crawled back out.
"No cracks or breaks on the bottom," Penny told him, reaching for one of his shoulders as she reclaimed her balance. Her head tilted, eyes narrowing, "Wait, your *grandmother* is who convinced your parents to leave Earth?"
"Apparently her goal is to have all of her grandchildren off the planet and married by 2050," Vijay shrugged, smile twitching at his lips as Penny gaped at him.
"My grandmother had like, a huge fit, when she found out we were leaving."
Mostly because she was outside the age range being accepted to go with her skill sets, which Penny thought was a valid reason, but the point remained.
"Did all of your family get accepted then?" Penny asked, pausing to rest her foot and leaning back against the jupiter.
Vijay shrugged again, forehead wrinkling, "They hadn't finished the tests when we left. But, that's why my dad ran for colony representative I think, so he can make sure they all get accepted in to a mission group."
That... explained so much.
"I'd wondered why a math professor would get involved in politics," Penny drawled, smiling broudly.
"Hilariously..." Vijay sighed, wincing a bit, "...probably for the same reason your sister isn't a fan of me right now."
Penny rolled her eyes, "Alpha thing? Or older sibling thing?"
"Both," Vijay chuckled as Penny started walking again, circling out from the jupiter in a spiral.
"We should play a game," Penny spun around, walking backwards so that they could face each. She smirked at him as Vijay's brows lowered skeptically, "A question game." The brows rose up. "Then we'll get to know each other better and I can tell Judy to shove it."
With a snort, Vijay nodded, "I'd ask who goes first, but..."
"Hey, it was my idea, so I get to go first," Penny shrugged, tilting her head to smile sweetly. Vijay waited, head shaking. "Where were you born?"
"London," Vijay stated, raising a brow, "You?"
"Kansas," Penny squinted at him, "I don't think your voice got the memo that you're British."
"*Born* in London," Vijay reminded her, finger rising as if to physically point it out, "My dad took a job in Vancouver and then California, so it'd be easier for my mom to see us between deployments."
She stopped walking and they nearly collided. He caught her around the waist as they stumbled.
Eyes fluttering, Penny grabbed at his arms, "Do you think it's weird we're not suppose to talk about our parents being in the military before?"
"I don't know... I guess," Vijay cleared his throat, eyes lowering to the ground as he stepped back. He'd put that damn foot of distance between them again. Penny narrowed her eyes on him. "Isn't it my turn to ask a question?" Vijay kept walking, eyes rising to survey the area.
There weren't any fallen trees or other changes to the landscape. A few fallen supply boxes still left over from the big flashlight debacle.
Penny hummed, taking a few long strides, "What's your question then?"
"You want to be writer, so... favorite book?" Vijay looked at her, eyes wide and curious. Penny smiled.
"Suppose I can't say all of them?" Vijay shook his head, lip twitching up. She shrugged, "I really like memoirs and adventure novels." She knocked her shoulder with his, "Started Moby Dick recently. Not a huge fan, but it's interesting."
Vijay slid his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together, "I like poetry, it reminds me of music. All the different styles and the rhythm of the words."
"Oh! You said you speak three languages right? Which ones?"
"English. Kashmiri, with my mom, and then Hindi," Vijay listed them off. He chuckled, glancing at her sideways, "My Hindi's not that good though."
"Really?" Penny turned to face him, pressing into his side. She narrowed her eyes playfully, "I sense a story."
"Well..." Vijay dragged it out, laughing softly, "According to my uncle, my dad only started speaking Hindi with me when I was 3 because granny heard me and my mom talking in Kashmiri and got jealous." He rubbed at his neck lightly, eyes flicking over to the jupiter, "I don't think she ever realized my dad basically only uses Hindi to curse and I mostly only use it with my cousins. My mom uses it more than either of us."
Penny glanced back at the jupiter. It was quiet. The whole area was. Which... kinda suspicious. Birds never shut up, even alien ones.
"Hey," Vijay tapped her shoulder. Penny turned her head back to him and he kissed her. Light. Soft. Chaste. It was barely a peck really.
A spark of blue arced between them as he pulled back. Her lips felt numb. Tingly. Penny tilted her head, pressing her lips against his shoulder.
"For the record, I don't like you because you're an omega," Vijay told her. Penny blinked. His throat bobbed, "Earlier, you said you were worried about why I like you... well, there's a lot of reasons. But, you being an omega isn't one of them. Or your scent. I kinda tried to avoid it, if you remember. So. You shouldn't worry, at least not about that."
He was rambling. His eyes fluttered and his cheeks flushed. Vijay locked eyes with her.
"You're... amazing," he breathed out, lips clamping shut as his brain caught up with his mouth.
"You surprise me a lot, you know that?" Penny asked him, brow creasing. With one hand in his and the other on his shoulder, Penny leaned closer. Their noses knocked against one another and she kissed him again. Slowly.
Neither of them noticed the electricity arcing in the air, cracking around them like lightning. But Smith did. Her and the camera in her hand.
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