Chapter 9

Thinking About Him

Rivet felt her body cocooned in the soft blankets of a foreign bed. Her ears folded beneath her neck; the silver looped earrings cold to the touch. The metal of her right arm twitched from her deep slumber, something that it usually did. In the safety of her own home, Rivet never removed her bionic arm, even when going to sleep or just relaxing. Vulnerable, she always felt that way without her arm attached to her. Even if it got in the way, she just couldn't imagine going a second without the arm attached to her body. To not have it on her felt like a death sentence.

Until she felt the fluff of the warm body next to her. Fur as gold as the sun with eyes as gentle as a green ocean. Ratchet, though not as buff as her, still gave a strong presence. So strong and firm she just couldn't help but melt into it. His arms were solid, holding onto her even if just for a second, it made her feel so safe. With him next to her, it'd be the one time she wouldn't mind detaching her bionic arm to rest.

Deep in sleep, she was unaware of the darkness surrounding her.

~Rivet's Dream~

The female lombax stood in the middle of a freezing thunderstorm. Hugging herself in a desperate attempt to keep warm, she found her surroundings to be oddly familiar. The busy streets and familiar faces rang the bells of realization, Rivet realizing this was not her dimension. She was in the middle of Ratchet's home planet on Veldin.

Odd, the female lombax began to stroll the streets. Not one individual glanced her way, which seemed a little rude to her. No one smiled, just looked miserable, like the citizens in her dimension looked when Nefarious was emperor. Rivet glanced her eyes around, studying every nook and cranny of the city. The last time she was here, she helped her allies stop the emperor and even got a firework show in their honor. After that was when they had to part ways but visit each other often.

What was going on?

Rivet eventually stopped at one street corner, the rain seeming to pick up speed. Soaking her to the very bone as she grunted and took cover under an extended rooftop. "Man can this day get any duller?" she huffed while squeezing her scarf dry.

Ratchet suddenly shot past the female in an almost blur. Startling the rebel, her eyes widen as she poked her head around the corner to get a better look at passerby. To make sure her eyes didn't just see a random stranger. Sure enough, the male lombax she adored was sprinting with all his might. Not even noticing her as he focused on the road ahead.

"Ratchet?" she titled her head and proceeded to run after him. But the hero was proving to be way faster as she immediately lost sight of him. "Damn it, Ratchet!" she yelled and took off running. Every street corner she passed, desperate to find the male lombax. How could he have not seen her? He ran like the devil himself was chasing him. This scaring Rivet a bit as she shook her head to get back into focus and continued her sprint.

Just as she turned one street corner, a dark alley stood agape before her. Barely able to see anything but darkness, she took a cautious step forward. Yellow and blue lights caught her attention. Squinting her eyes, she was barely able to make out the image of Ratchet. He squatted in the rain, holding a bloody nose, his eyes glaring with much fury.

But someone stood above him, a cloaked figure with barely visible eyes staring down at the fallen lombax. A black visor hid its eyes, making them appear totally black. Rivet raised her eyebrow, dumbfounded by the scene before her. Unable to detect if this was right or wrong.

But when she tried to move towards them, her legs refused her command. Raising a brow, Rivet tried to call out to Ratchet. Even her voice refused to respond. As if frozen in ice and stuck to the ground, she could only watch through her own eyes, completely detached from her own body. The figure then moved closer to Ratchet; a long-bladed weapon being removed from a holster.

"What do you want!" He yelled with all his might, drawing his omni-wrench.

"Pieces," came a deep electronic voice.

Rivet felt her fur rise at the sound of that cryptic voice. It sounded like a robotic male speaking through a husky speaker. But upon closer examination, the rebel recognized a muffled sound hidden behind static. That was not its real voice, but a mechanical mask programmed to disguise one's voice. Something she had used several times when undercover to ambush the former emperor.

Upon seeing the weapon's spotting laser land on Ratchet, Rivet gasped and tried to move towards him. But still, her body refused to respond.

"Ratchet!" she tried to yell, to beg him to not just idly stand there. However, just like before, both were completely deaf to her voice. From the way they didn't even look her way, they didn't even see her!

As the creature got closer, Rivet took notice. Black fur stuck out from some spaced-out pieces of the steam punk-looking armor hidden beneath the grey cloak. Steam shot out of its nose like an angry bull as it got closer and closer to the hero. Its legs were bowed back, almost like a bipedal animal. The stranger's body muscular and hunched, so animalistic looking, so… un-humanoid. Opposite of the upright position her and Ratchet's bodies stood. Even its claws were beyond massive. Almost looked feline in nature.

"Need more…" it whispered out.

Upon listening to the voice closer, Rivet caught onto a feminine sound hidden beneath the deep mechanical whispers. Blue eyes widening, the rebel became more frightened. What was going on?

Till the stranger pulled the trigger. Rivet's eyes reflected the scene of blood splashing onto the ground, the blade stuck in the wall several feet back. Ratchet laid on the ground, grabbing his whole midsection in utter pain. Pieces of his torso armor just exploded and laid scattered all around him.

"No!" she yelled out.

~End of Rivet's Dream~

"NO!" Rivet yelled, shooting up in the bed. Clutching the sheets to her chest, she quickly scanned the room she has awoken to. A white room with clean sheets and organized furniture laid all around her. Even orange rays of a newly rising sun greeted her through closed blinds. Heart pounding, she put a shaky hand on the bed, what the heck?

"Ratchet?" she asked, feeling her head explode into a familiar headache she had the day before. Clutching her cranium, mind barely able to recall the drinks they had before arriving at this motel. "Ratch, where are you?" Rivet called out when noticing she laid alone in the bed. With the nightmare still haunting her, the rebel's heart rate shot through the roof when she continued to look around. Still no sign of the male lombax.

"Ratchet, where are you!" she yelled out, fear growing to uncontrollable levels.

"Morning!" Ratchet slid around the corner with a tray of food in his hand. "Hope you like breakfast in…" he paused, seeing Rivet drenched in a cold sweat and halfway out of the bed. Panic was written all over her face.

"Rivet?" he quickly laid the tray of pancakes and bacon on the nightstand and rushed to the scared female. "You okay?" Ratchet placed a hand over her forehead to check her temperature. "Ah blast, you're warm…" he rubbed his forehead sadly. "I knew I shouldn't have let ya drink that much… do you need— huh?"

He froze when she snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him on top of her as she laid back against the bed. Her heart pounding a million miles per hour, she rubbed her head against his cheek.

"Rivet, what's wrong?" he got her shoulders and coaxed her to put some space between them so she could see his face clearly. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Ugh, yes… i—it was awful." She sighed, body twitching in desperate want to hold him securely in her arms. Where she could protect him and not stand helpless as he was shot down. Ratchet took notice of this subconscious desire and allowed Rivet to hug him again. Feeling her muscles unclench the longer she was able to physically touch him.

"Hey hey… it's okay, I'm here." He whispered, hugging her back as she began to rock him. Patting her back in a desperate attempt to calm the rebel down. "I'll always be here, just calm down."

Taking in a shaky breath, Rivet forced her arms to release Ratchet. Immediately the urge to protectively hold him came right back, making it difficult for her to keep her arms away. But she forced herself to stay put as Ratchet slowly got up and retrieved the tray of food that was placed before her.

"You had a long night," he whispered while offering her some coffee. "Made this about fifteen minutes ago, sorry if it's not the warmest." Ratchet offered Rivet a fork which she graciously accepted. "Found these two," he held up some pain-aids. "Figured you'd need this to help with the hangover."

Rivet sat completely stunned at the sight before her. The male lombax doting over her, offering her pills to cease her headaches. The breakfast was a little burnt but still smelt good, not that she minded. Being used to Kit's cooking that was often overheated to. Food types she didn't mind but preferred.

"Actually…" she held the fork securely in her robotic hand. Feeling the hero's warmth so close to her skin oddly soothed the pain in her head. "My head does not even hurt."

"Wha— seriously?" Ratchet asked, head tilted to the side in complete shock. "Relieved to hear that, but you drank so much last night. I thought…"

"I'm sorry for drinking," she stabbed a piece of pancake on the fork's prongs. "I actually don't drink that often, just finally having downtime recently. Wanted to have a bit of fun, guess I'm just so used to going to Zurkies with the other rebels, that 'fun' to me has always been at the bar." Rivet apologized while taking a bite of the piece. Surprised at how good it was despite being a little burnt.

"You don't have to explain yourself," Ratchet smiled as he patted her back with a laugh. "I'm not one to question how another has fun! I mean, I'm hardly innocent in that regard. 'Fun' to me was once getting into constant firefights!"

Rivet raised her eyebrow a bit, surprised to hear this from the easy-going hero. "Firefights?"

"Nothing," Ratchet laughed it off as he set the pain aids by Rivet in case she changed her mind. As the yellow lombax turned his head, Rivet noticed his eye was three shades of a dark purple.

Spitting her drink out mid-gulp, Rivet brought her hand up to touch his eye. "Ratchet, what the heck happened to your face?" she got his cheeks firmly in her hand to examine the black eye accompanied by many bruises.

Ratchet froze, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Uh, d—do you remember what went down last night?"

"Uh," she paused, removing her hand from his face to think. "Remember we had drinks, I suggested we came here… we… talked a bit then I fell asleep?" Immediately she put her hand back on face to touch one of the bigger bruises. "Did someone hurt you?" she asked with teeth bared.

"Wait wait," he got her hands off his face to look her in the eye. "You don't remember anything that happened last night?"

"N—not really, did something important happen?"

Ratchet slowly lowered his ears, just as he originally suspected. Recalling Rivet's confession of being one to rush into things and being a bit tipsy simply led her to act without thought. All she said last night, it was clear… no different than his allusions. But the hero shook off the sadness and patted Rivet's shoulder to reassure her. Not that he could do what he wanted to anyway.

"I… can't really explain it." Ratchet partially admitted it. Really, he could barely recall anything. But unlike Rivet, he did remember last night's assault. The wound beneath his chest burned from being punched around like a useless rag doll. "I'll try to remember more and tell ya later."

Rivet nodded to him; at least thankful he didn't hit her with the usual 'its nothing' comment. "Okay, well, long as you're okay." She felt soothed enough to return to eating her breakfast.

Ratchet sighed, still remembering her efforts to get him naked last night. Hand placed to his chest; he knew Rivet didn't recall seeing the bandages. In a big sigh of relief, Ratchet had never felt so thankful in his life. He watched the female lombax scarf down the breakfast, knowing he'd have to tell her eventually. But how could he possibly explain it to her when he himself does not even understand?

"One sec, need to go wash my face." The hero dismissed himself to the sink only a few steps away. Turning on the water, he cupped his hands beneath the steady stream. Once a deep puddle formed in his palms, he splashed it into his eyes. He couldn't help but glance back to Rivet, this was something he couldn't keep from her. Ratchet splashed another round of water over his eyes. No, he was not a liar, he decided he was going to tell her. But… was right now a good time? Eyes darting back to the rebel one last time, something hit him.

"Hey Rivet," Ratchet turned off the water and recovered a towel to dry off his face. "You said you had a nightmare this morning, may I ask what it was?"

Rivet paused, her fork centimeters away from stabbing the cut-up pancake. "Um," she looked at Ratchet awkwardly. Her eyes slowly trailed down to his torso, feeling the familiar cold touches of fear poke at her heart. The awful sight of Ratchet lying on the ground clutching his chest while being drowned in his own blood left hideous goosebumps on her arm. It felt so real, but clearly, it was not. The male lombax seemed mostly fine.

"It was just a nightmare," she waved him off as Ratchet put the towel back on the rack.

"Are you sure?"

"Yea yea, I'm a pretty detailed dreamer. This stuff happens quite a bit. Probably just from a movie I watched." She took another big sip of her drink, "No big deal."

"Ok—ay, if you insist." He turned back to the kitchen to find something to eat himself. Maybe an apple as he dug through the fridge. "I got a message from Clank and Kit; they hope we're okay."

"We probably should've asked them to come get us or something," Rivet finished her breakfast. Rubbing her arm, a bit guilty for worrying their friends.

"Yea, well we can explain ourselves when we get back."

Rivet nodded while moving the empty tray onto the nightstand. Looking back to Ratchet, she stared at his back. The male lombax wore a tightly fitted white tank top, showing the beauty of his chiseled back and V shape as he rummaged the kitchen for food. The rebel could barely contain the blush as she couldn't fight the urge to look at his waist and tail. His tail was just so nicely colored with defined markings. A sign that he was in good shape.

Ratchet still didn't catch Rivet's gawking as he finally found the apple he wanted and took a big bite out of it. "Maybe we could do something until we're ready to leave," he offered through a mouth full.

"Yea, we could," her eyes lingered up to his shoulders, feeling her tail sway a bit in happiness. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, anything sounds—why are you staring?" he asked, turning around just in time to catch the rebel red-handed.

Rivet shot her eyes away and quickly brushed her bangs aside to look innocent. 'Sorry, i… noticed a stain on your shirt" She smiled sheepishly.

Ratchet raised a brow and looked at the back of his shirt, spotting a small stain on his lower back. "Ah, guess it's my fault for choosing to wear white when we go out for drinks."

"I was right?" The rebel tilted her head, when Ratchet looked at her oddly, she coughed to clear her throat. "I—I mean yea, come on man, everyone knows you don't wear white on such occasions. Stains so easy," she laughed like a nervous loon while refusing to make eye contact.

"I… guess so," he chuckled awkwardly along, thinking maybe the female lombax was still a bit drunk. Deciding to let it go, he went back to eating his apple. Second his back was turned to her, Rivet went right back to start.

"How about we watch a movie?" she offered while holding up a remote control. "This motel has some DVD rentals we can order online."

"Hey, not a bad idea." He finished his apple and discarded the core into the trash. Walking up to the bed, he sat at the foot, keeping a certain distance between him and Rivet. "I'm not too picky, how about something like A Rose's Moral?"

Rivet frowned when Ratchet refused to sit next to her, she sighed. "Wait, you want to watch a chick flick?" she cut him a funny look, trying to hide the laugh that threatened to come out.

"Why does shows with a good storyline always have to be for girls?" he huffed with arms firmly crossed. "Last time I checked; you don't have to be a dude to enjoy a good story."

"No no, you're absolutely right!" she turned on the TV and begin flipping through the choices to find the movie Ratchet suggested. "I just… didn't think that stuff was your cup of tea?"

"Hey, you know what they say, people can always surprise you."

"Especially you," she grabbed his arm and strongly drug him up till he was seated next to her. "Thanks for breakfast by the way," she nuzzled the male briefly, smiling a bit shyly before looking away from him.

Ratchet blushed hard as he rubbed his neck, looking in the opposite direction. "S—sure no problem."

They sat in awkward silence as the movie finally began to play.