2/11/18: Rewrote this chapter entirely for Shiro and Tactus to talk about the kiss from a few chapters ago.
Chapter 32: The Sea:
Caragmore
Mars
February 28th, 2841
Shiro's mind only perceived darkness around him as he slowly regained awareness. Feels like that time I got beat up by Sendak, he thought to himself as he gradually drifted back to consciousness. How long have I been out? He shuddered as he flashed back to the battle and losing his arm for the second time. While he'd been unsettled by having to constantly wear a reminder of his time as a prisoner of Zarkon's empire, he'd gotten used to it. And now it was gone, just like that. But as he looked at what he could have done differently, he ultimately realized that nothing would have changed. Even if his hand hadn't been inches from a pulseGrenade, something would surely have come along where he'd have to protect his friends at the cost of a limb.
Shiro gasped as his eyes popped open and he shot up in bed. He whirled around on instinct, hands reaching for the nearest weapon he could find without thinking. The last thing he remembered was fighting for his life on the battlefield, and as far as his mind was concerned, he was still there. He picked up what felt like a scalpel in his right hand as a firm hand gripped his wrist and shoulder. A familiar voice managed to penetrate the fog. Tactus' voice, he realized as he registered what his friend was saying.
"It's all right, Takashi," the Gold soothed, using Shiro's first name as a gesture of comfort. "You're safe now. It's all right." Shiro blinked, his mind finally registering that he was no longer on the battlefield. Instead, he was lying in a hospital bed a small, sparse room. He could smell the breeze through the window, and remembered what Mustang had told him about Caragmore, her late mother's estate, given to the woman by the ArchGovernor as a wedding present.
"Where are we?" Shiro asked as his breathing slowed and his heartbeat began decelerating to a normal rate.
"Caragmore," Tactus confirmed. "Mustang wanted you and Darrow to recover somewhere away from all the politics in Agea."
"So, we won," he replied, seeking confirmation that the battle was over for now. Tactus saw the fear in his eyes and nodded.
"We won," the man answered. As he did, Shiro realized that his fingers were still closed around the scalpel. It was starting to feel surprisingly heavy in his right hand, and there was something in the back of his mind telling him something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He turned his head examine the scalpel and his jaw dropped.
Shiro was speecheless as he looked down at his right arm and saw not metal, but genuine human skin. The scalpel clattered to the ground as he stared at the new appendage in shock. He clenched his fist and testedhis range of motion in every way he possibly could, even slapping himself in the face with his right hand just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. Once he'd finally convinced himself that this wasn't a blood loss-induced fever dream, he looked at Tactus, shock evident on his face as tears welled up in his eyes.
"The ArchGovernor's idea," Tactus explained. "Belated repayment for assisting in the escape from Luna. Mustang oversaw everything personally and made sure that the Yellow and Violet who'd helped you blend in on Luna were the only ones operating on you. This is just a regular arm. No hidden weapons, no reinforced bones, just a plain old preColor limb. Grown from your own cells."
Tears welled up in Shiro's eyes as he looked at his new right arm. He had always hated the mechanical one as a reminder of the things the Galra did to him. No matter what he did, he could never not be reminded of how far he was from home and that he'd been forced to kill people to survive in Galran hands. Slav's comment about how much more effective of a fighter he'd be with two cybernetic hands grated on him because the he things he's associated with on the team – his arm, his hair, his scar – were things that the Galra did to him, not things that were actually him. Despite his earlier wish to remain physically unchanged when he finally returned to his own era, knowing that his permanent reminder of the trauma of the gladiator arena was gone was such a tremendous weight off his chest that the floodgates opened, and he started to cry. He might never be able to hide his hair or his scar, but his biggest shackle was gone.
Clearly sensing how overwhelmed he was, Tactus sat down on the bed and pulled Shiro into a hug. No words needed to be said. Tactus simply sat there in silence and gave Shiro a shoulder to cry on. The time traveler was overcome with a flood of emotions as he took in the fact that his days as a human weapon were truly over.
Once he'd gotten everything out of his system, Tactus climbed off the bed and retrieved a set of small weights. It would take a couple of weeks' worth of physical therapy to get the muscles in his new arm synchronized with the rest of him.
The ArchGovernor was alive. When the shields fell, several Golds already inside the Citadel led one of the Jackal's lurcher squads to rescue the man. When the Olympic Knights came to take him with Octavia, they left empty handed. Imperator Bellona was killed by the Telemanuses. All Cassius's brothers and sisters were reported dead, but his mother and Cassius himself were missing. The HC Channels were calling Roque 'Nelson reincarnate', hailing him as one of the heroes of the battle. The Imperator had captured more than eighty percent of the Bellona fleet. As leader of the engagement, that gave him claim to at least a third of the ships, with the rest going to House Augustus. To create tension among the Reaper's inner circle, the Jackal's paid media stooges were feeding speculation about how long Roque's loyalty would last.
Meanwhile, Darrow had managed to reach the landing pad and scramble aboard Octavia's shuttle before it took off. But despite managing to kill Karnus au Bellona, he'd ended up trapped aboard the Sovereign's ship with no weapons and no escape. Fitchner, Sevro's father and the current Rage Knight, had been ordered to execute Darrow on a system-wide broadcast, only to betray the Sovereign and escape the ship with the young warlord in tow. Darrow revealed that before he lost consciousness, Fitchner had revealed his identity as none other than Ares himself. Shiro let out a low whistle in surprise when Tactus revealed that Sevro had confirmed his father's identity as none other than Ares himself. The time traveler was stunned at how thoroughly the revolutionary had fooled everyone. No Gold would ever suspect that one of their own would be running a lowColor resistance movement.
"Anyway, Roque, Quinn, Victra, and Sevro have been in here constantly while you and Darrow recover," Tactus finished. "The Jackal tried to crash the party a few times, but I kept him out for the sake of your secret."
"And Lorn?" Shiro asked. Now that there wasn't the immediate threat of dying in battle hanging over their heads, he was eager to spend more time with Hunk's descendant. There were so many questions he wanted to ask the old Rage Knight.
"He's with our darling friend Victra," Tactus answered sardonically. "Lorn's taken her under his wing. Seems he's comfortable allying his family with the Julii. Victra's mother has agreed to the pact. Three of the most powerful houses on Mars united under the family Augustus. A triumvirate against the Sovereign. The Governors of the Gas Giants are on their way to Agea for a summit. So too are the Reformers. Reaper was right. We take Mars, we have a chance against Octavia. This isn't just a battle any longer. It's a civil war. The ArchGovernor is making talk of giving the Reformers a chance at the table, which will be a tremendous help for Darrow's mission."
"And you believe him?" Shiro asked. The ArchGovernor doesn't seem like the type to change so easily, he thought to himself.
"Goryhell no", Tactus spat with an amused chuckle. "I've heard more convincing lies from Tharsus and Appolonius." Shiro laughed at that, glad to see that the others hadn't fallen for Augustus' obviously fake change of heart. As the laughter died down, Tactus finished getting him caught up on everything else he'd missed while he was recovering from the surgery. As they talked, Shiro remembered the kiss Tactus gave him before heading off to battle. His cheeks flushed at the memory, and the tension rose exponentially.
"I guess we should finally talk about what happened before the battle," Shiro finally said, breaking the awkward silence. He laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised we ended up falling for each other."
"Who says I fell for you?" Tactus retorted. But it was an empty gesture. They both knew Tactus was just being coy.
"Come on, Tactus," Shiro replied. "You haven't even looked at a Pink since you came aboard on Europa. Then you kiss me on the lips right before a battle and expect me to believe you didn't have a crush on me like you did with Darrow?"
"Fair enough," Tactus admitted with a chuckle. "It's funny. Roque always told me at the Academy that one day I'd find someone who made me laugh at the person I used to be, and then I'd somehow learn there are more important things than drugs and Pinks. I kept telling him that sounded resolutely miserable, and then you came along and proved him right." Shiro got a warm feeling in his gut.
"Are you sure you want to come eight-hundred four years back in time with me?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" Tactus asked teasingly. "I've already packed a travel bag and everything." Shiro wasn't sure whether Tactus was being sarcastic or not with that last comment.
"I don't want to force you to choose between me and your life here," he said. "What right do I have to separate you from our friends for the rest of our lives?"
"I know the consequences of that," Tactus replied. "And I'm willing to make that sacrifice. There's very little left for me in this era. Victra and the others are more sociable around me, but I don't think I'll ever be able to shake the edge in our conversations every time we go out together. We may be on friendly terms again, but it'll take some time and distance before they'll ever fully forgive me. Darrow's still worth following, but I don't think there'd be a place for someone like me in the world he's trying to build."
Shiro sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like the idea of Tactus come back to the past with him. He did. He wanted Tactus to come with him. But he also knew it was Tactus' choice. And it sounded like Tactus' mind was already made up.
"Alright," he replied as he leaned over and kissed Tactus back. "But once we're back on the Castle of Lions, you've got to keep all your booze and demonDust away from the common area. I don't want half my team in a drugged stupor because your stash leaked into the food."
"Awww," Tactus pouted jokingly.
"Hey," Shiro said with a knowing grin. "I'm already fighting a war for the fate of the universe to make sure the gens Rath survives long enough for you to be born, I don't want you to paradox yourself out of existence because my team got blown up flying while high."
"I know, I know," Tactus replied with a smile as he climbed up from the chair onto the bed. "I can manage, just as long as I can still lounge around shirtless when there's nobody to fight."
"Keep your pants on outside the bedroom and you've got a deal," Shiro commented teasingly.
"Fair enough," Tactus laughed as he leaned his head against the older man's shoulder. As the two men cuddled together on the hospital bed, Shiro reflected that, as bizarre as it was, this relationship could work.