She could not believe what she heard at the time she got off Loader Bot.
"Ah whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. I promise. That's our ride."
His voice, which was far but clear, and silly but genuine.
She found herself could not help being nervous in a sudden while strengthening the force of her left hand to hold the boot tighter. Despite being intense, she did not hesitate to rush into entering the garage before unconsciously hiding it at her back.
"They are our friends, Scooter!" There was a sense of relief in her exciting voice.
"What? Really?" Scooter cried surprisingly.
Without realising the whole situation, he turned to the entrance of the garage and had a glimpse at the shadow in bright red which became more concrete in the next second. His heart skipped a beat when her face was reflected in his eyes.
'FOUND YOU.'
It seemed time was frozen at one instant. Standing as still as mountains, both of them gazed at each other's eyes and exchanged smiles. The anger, the worry, and other sorts of complicated feelings were totally vanished all of a sudden.
Perhaps they did not know the fact that they were thinking the same thing towards each other, but it did not matter now.
"Well- thanks." Being pleasantly surprised, he slightly bowed his head before showing gratitude to her. Then he quickly approached the caravan to prevent the exposure of his subtly heated face.
When she was having a farewell chat with Scooter, there was a little affair somewhere.
"Hey!" Vaughn waved his hand to indicate the request of help to Sasha before speaking to her in whispers. "Why is Fiona holding Rhys' boot? I assume she is going to return it, but I think it will be definitely safer if she kept it in the car." Vaughn asked and expressed his opinions, pointing at the boot behind Fiona.
"Actually, she had been holding it all the time." Sasha replied with a low voice after getting close to Vaughn.
"Really? After we fell off the van?"
"Exactly. She never ever put it down or loosened her grip a little tiny bit, even when we were chased by bounty hunters."
"Hmm...I'm sorry to bring this up, but don't you think she is kinda feti-"
"No way. Not a DAMN way. And the main point is," Sasha sighed before continuing,"she had become out of conscious for a while during our trip to here. She was not in an actual coma, but just stopped responding to everything in this universe. Her eyes looked hollow and her face went pale, she kept holding that shoe, however."
"Sounds like a defected robot."
"I think your metaphor is appropriate."
"Speaking of malfunction, Rhys was not in proper situation either." Vaughn adjusted his glasses, "He abruptly yelled at me when we were talking about your sister."
"Fiona? This is too strange." Sasha perceived Fiona coming closer, "let's discuss this later."
"What are you two up to?" Fiona asked out of curiosity in a delighted tone.
"We are reviewing the atlas models we found!" Vaughn hoodwinked.
"Yes, we are! They are amazing! Heh heh!" Sasha added before dragging Vaughn into the car, "hey Fi, let me take the wheel this time."
"Sure."
Fiona got on the caravan afterwards.
"Well, they surely have a lot of common topics."
Through the window of the caravan, rocks, deserts, mountains and the sky could be seen. The journey was safe and sound. There were not any skags, rakk hives, psychos or bandits on the road. The Hyperion base, Helios, floated nearby the moon of Pandora as usual without launching moonshots.
Sasha was driving the car nearby Vaughn who was standing next to her. They kept talking with each other about vintage atlas prototypes, models and something similar, leaving Rhys and Fiona out. The hat lady and robotic man sat side by side on the couch without looking at each other. Since they did not talk much before, the silence was not really awkward for them. Instead, it was what they need now to organise their thoughts and sort things out due to the occurrence of the large amount of consecutive incidents. From the moment when they sat together, the complicated feelings, unknown emotions and overwhelming pain in their hearts completely disappeared, seeming to never exist before. After enjoying a quarter of quiet period, both of them would like to start a conversation.
"Thanks for sending Loader Bot to help." "I'm very glad to see you again."
It was not easy to tell if it was lucky or unfortunate to start speaking at the same time. They originally intended to face each other, but they turned around immediately after finding one another talking.
Seeing himself as a gentleman, he thought it was his responsibility to clear up this mess.
"Ladies first." Rhys smiled, turning to Fiona.
"It's fine. I have already said what I want. So... please go on." Fiona found herself unreasonably intense to look straight at Rhys' eyes when she faced him.
"Okay then, actually, I just want to say that ehh... we both undertook so much trouble, huh? Somebody was chasing us and want us dead, we were so desperate until Loader Bot show up. And ehhh..."
"And?"
"And what about you two? Thing's good?"
"Not really. The caravan was messed up and some people want us dead too."
"I know." Rhys switched to a heavier tone, not smiling anymore.
"What? How do you know?" Noticing his seriousness, Fiona looked into his eyes.
"Think about it. Do you know why we came to get you?"
"Because of the vault? We do share the Gortys halves anyway." Fiona replied without having any second thoughts.
Rhys felt like his heart being stabbed right in the middle. Albeit the fact that he started to get angry, he managed to cover it up so far.
"Your bounty. It rises to $38,000. That's why we decided to go to Hollow Point."
"Are you worrying about me? Hyperion?" She suddenly talked in a teasing way, wearing a seductive smile as well as leaning closer to the man in front of her.
"Y-Yes!" Shivers were sent down Rhys' spine, and his heart skipped a beat. "H-Hey. Y-You talked like this to men a lot?"
"Nope." Fiona talked normally again, without being far from Rhys.
"Even Vaughn?"
"'Even Vaughn?' Of course not. You spoke like we were some sorts of best friends. Though I have to admit there are mutual understandings between us due to our characters differences."
"Well, that's a relief."
"Why is that a relief?"
"N-N-Nothing! Just saying. And ehhh... why did you..."
"You were too stressed, so I wanted to lighten the mood." Fiona turned her face away, "Anyway, thanks for worrying about me, but it is not necessary to be worrying that much. Even I and Sasha do not set our hearts on this. Actually, I have not looked that up for a long time. I totally did not notice myself becomes this worthy. It must be the fake vault key deal."
"I don't understand! You just accept this?" Rhys was surprised by her calm.
"I have no choices." She sighed.
"Sorry, I totally forgot your situation. Sorry, I really am." He was at a loss due to his poor choice of words.
"Relax! It is not your liability to understand. In fact, I am happy that you, unlike most other people, do care about us." She could not imagine a guy from Hyperion would be so caring to Pandorans like her. She thought he was just made of kindness, but her instinct told her that's more than this. Yet, she had not figured out what exactly that was.
"No one lives forever, Rhys." Fiona continued, "I have known this fact for almost thirty years. Every Pandoran struggles for their lives day after day, every hour, every minute, every second. These days look like an endless nightmare, it never ends unless we die."
She immediately added when she felt his worrying glance.
"I'm not being pessimistic. I just want to say, I am well prepared to die all the time. I will not be sad or frightened or suffering even I am going to die in the next second. I am too busy to be afraid of dying." She had a brainstorm a second later, "after all, we are just some dregs in a crazy planet."
Her last statement stirred up Rhys emotions. This time, he did not only his heart being stabbed, but it also bled like running water. He felt painful since she hurt herself. He knew this was illogical. He knew he should not the one being this worrying. Still, this was his most realistic feeling right now.
"Please stop."He said firmly with a voice far lower than usual.
"We are nobody. We are people who don't have any value at all-"
"I said STOP!"
Rhys rapidly turned towards Fiona, grabbing tightly both of her shoulders. He pressed his forehead up against hers to ensure she could not turn her face away. Their noses brushed against each other's, which caused them directly breathing out on their faces. Fiona was shocked and stunned, being forced to look into his eyes which were merely inches away, and her reflection could be clearly identified on his pupils. She found her heart pounded like ten times faster than normal and would seem to burst at any time. Her eyes widened. The force applied on her shoulders strengthened to ache whenever she tried to struggle, so she gave up.
"Rhys, it hurt." Her voice was trembling.
"Never say things like that again. NEVER." He said in a rage.
"I don't understand. Why do you... I am just a nobody to you!"
"May-Maybe you are right. But... I cannot allow a person to demean herself!"
His tone was found a bit sobbing when she listened to it carefully, which made her even more confused.
"All people's lives are precious. No matter where they borne, no matter what they do, especially for the ones who love them! And... so are you. Fiona." His voice started to turn gentle.
"Rhys..."
"So, please cherish your life. This is not an order or a promise, but a request."
She started pitying this man as well as feeling a certain mysterious warmth growing in her heart. She knew she was happy that someone cared about her, but she could not betray her own feelings at the same time.
"Sorry, but I really don't care about that anymore. Really." She truly felt a bit sad.
"I know. So... if you don't want to cherish your life for yourself, then cherish it for ME then."
"WHAT?"
"I-I mean we still have to find the vault and there are still tons of problems ahead to be solved. I will be in great trouble if I... lose you. You see? I still cannot take care of myself on this planet, so I... need to be together with you until things are over. Understand?"
Actually, she almost did not understand a bit of this whole thing, but here came her reply.
"Okay. I-I will cherish my life... for you."
"Thank you. Thanks a lot."
Rhys finally let go of Fiona who was still astonished. Her whole body stretched due to nervousness, not moving a bit. Rhys was taking deep breath with his face in his palm. Their conversation had suspended for a short while.
"Do you feel tired?" She broke the silence this time.
"Indeed. My body is about to collapse." He said with his customary tone.
"How about taking a nap? There is still some time before we reach there."
"Good idea."
When Rhys was leaning on the back of the couch, he saw Fiona taking off her hat. The bright red strands of her hair were shiny to keep his eyes on them for a second.
"I wanted to say this some time ago. You look better without the hat. I-I mean it is weird."
"What a cruel judgement! But I am sure it goes perfect with my outfit." She replied confidently.
After that, there was a long silence between them.
"Hey! Look at them!" Vaughn tapped Sasha's shoulder to arouse her attention.
"What?" Sasha faced the couch behind without losing awareness of the road, "ohhh ... I don't know want to say. I wish I had a camera." She spoke in a way that something cute was discovered.
Fiona and Rhys were sleeping soundly on the couch, rested against each other. Fiona rested her head on Rhys' right shoulder, drawing his mechanical arm close to her. Rhys pillowed his head with Fiona's. Both of their breath was sounded stable and peaceful.
"Does she hug dolls while sleeping?" Vaughn asked.
"Never. I think she just feels more comfortable and … safe to grab something when being asleep."
"Perhaps one day, they will be used to rest their heads on each other's shoulders." Vaughn said, "anyway, I don't have any ideas about why are they become so worn-out."
"I think it is better to leave them be. They have to find out the answer themselves."
"What do you mean?"
"Just letting these mature adults solve their own problems."
After glimpsing the faces of the two sleeping members, Sasha resumed concentrating on her driving.
Since Rhys was the one who got Echo eye which was a handy tool for scanning Atlas Tech, he naturally assumed the liability of looking for the top-secret military facility. Meanwhile, the rest of the group maintained standing by, as Fiona accompanied Sasha and Vaughn stayed with Loader Bot.
"So, is the robotic arm comfortable?" Wearing an evil smile, Sasha asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just asking. You seemed to enjoy sleeping together, like that."
"Hey! Don't put it like we have done something embarrassing. We just sleep as normal people do."
"Oh? So leaning on each other's shoulders and grabbing his arm while asleep are normal, huh?"
"We did NOT do things like that! And I did not touch his arm a bit!"
"...Are you sure you are not being forgetful?"
"No, I'm telling the truth."
Actually, Sasha wanted to tease her own sister by using this excuse. However, now she could ensure that the both of the persons involved slept so soundly or had some sweet dreams causing them forget how they dozed. It could also explain why they woke up naturally without being embarrassed. Then, Sasha was irritated when she noticed something.
"You still have not returned it? Seriously?" Sasha asked with her head pointing towards Rhys' right foot which was still out of boot.
"...Nope. I put it in the tool chest while he was not looking, and I... forget to return it." Hiding Rhys' boot behind her back, Fiona replied guiltily and avoided her.
"Oh, you are killing me, Fiona. I drove for like three hours and kept talking with Vaughn for nothing!" Sasha exclaimed, having the face in her palm.
"You were doing all these on purpose? Why?" Fiona was puzzled.
When Sasha was about to open her mouth in order to explain the whys and wherefores, she hit upon an inspiration. "Well, it's not ALL your fault after all." Then, she grabbed Fiona's left arm as fast as she could, and intended to wave it in the air.
"RHYS! YOU FORGET SOMETHING!" Shouting loudly, Sasha retained applying force on Fiona's arm. Though, Fiona was strong enough to have her arm still. Rhys obviously heard the words before took a look on his right foot, then began getting close to them.
"Sash! What the heck are you brat doing?" Fiona yelled at her, being surprised and a little resentful.
"Oh my dear sister." Sasha whispered in her ear, "no worries, your prince will not leave you even if you give his shoe back."
"You are talking nonsense."
"Oops, Vaughn seems to need me now. I better go check on him."
"Hey-" Sasha walked away on her own without turning her back to Fiona. At the same time, Rhys was almost right in front of her.
Fiona felt a bit panic at first when she witnessed Rhys approaching her but she was able to keep calm in a second as she always did. Originally, she wanted to wait for him to start the conversation. However, this idea was abandoned after she saw his right foot in the sock.
"That's a nice sock." She broke the silence again.
"Oh, r-really?" Rhys then started muttering small odds and ends relating to socks and gentlemen.
"And you surely are a fan of stars and stripes too." She adjusted the position of her hat.
"Yeah, so..." he would like to request what he had lost for a long time.
"You want your boot back." She seemed to know what he was thinking and even said whatever he wanted with perfect timing.
"Thank you. That's all I want. You are definitely a lifesaver." He squatted down to put on his boot after received it from Fiona's hand.
"Be careful next time, Hyperion boy. Though I will save you if you are in danger next time."
Once again, her teasing words and seductive smile sent a chill down his spine and greatly raced his heartbeat to an ultimate rate.
"So... what is this for this time?" Rhys asked when he was resuming standing.
"You mean the way I speak? Well, I just think your reaction is interesting."
Although he did not dislike this style of her tone, he was not satisfied either. He always wanted more from her, such as talking with each other, doing some stuff with each other or just being together with each other doing nothing. In addition, it would be better if she did not view him as "an interesting guy" only.
"I see! And, sorry... for being so rude back there." Rhys scratched the back of his head.
"Never mind. I know you were just worrying." Fiona said in her normally carefree way.
"So, eh... I better get back to my investigation." He winked at her before leaving.
"See you." She glanced at him as response.
Rhys slowly walked away before Sasha came back to Fiona. Sasha sighed when she saw Fiona grinned while looking towards where he went.
"I always wonder what you are thinking when you smile that creepily."
"Nothing, Sasha. Nothing."
Fiona kept her smile, going on with staring at the tall and slim Hyperion.
Maybe one day, she will be managed to get him a good pair of socks as gift. Probably.
"Wow, you talked like we were some stupid teenagers." said by a man in black suit.
"Not 'we were'. You should say 'I am'. You are a stupid teenager all the time." followed by the reply from a lady wearing a black hat.
A period of time had passed since they were captured by the mysterious stranger. At the start, it was extremely irritating for both of them to review all the shameful events they undertook. The storytelling became a sort of daily routine that could be adapted by the two hostages after a short while, however. Due to their excessive quarrels, the kidnapper finally ran out of ideas to stop their fight smoothly and just let them talk whatever they want until they become too furious to continue each time.
Tonight was as tranquil as most of the other nights. The captor had already fallen asleep for about an hour because of exhaustion after being annoyed by the bickering for almost half-day. Meanwhile, the two people were sitting shoulder to shoulder near the bonfire, talked some trivial matters other than vaults, Gortys Project or Handsome Jack. This was what they did when the stranger was ensured not listening at all since most parts of the stories were far more awkward than the usual ones. Both of them agreed that talking things which seemed to be not necessary could be a way to unveil how they actually felt towards each other, and it was a more meaningful activity than barely arguing.
"Okay. I AM a stupid teenager. You are not smarter than me anyway." Looking at the centre of the bonfire, he scolded her as usual. The only difference was the little softer tone than he always had when being in dispute with her.
"I don't care. It becomes none of my business at the instant you admit it." Unlike him, she kept her cheerful talking style mixing with irony as usual. The light of the fire shone on her face and eyes.
"You know what? Perhaps you are irrational, but you are just getting more irrational bit by bit day by day."
"Unless I get rid of you, I cannot turn back into my sane self."
Albeit the cruelty in the words, the atmosphere in between was much more peaceful than it usually was. When both of them were not willing to speak or just out of topics, silence was their first option all along. The atmosphere was somewhat nostalgic.
Several minutes later, she tilted her head a little lower. He could notice that as he constantly glanced off her expression with the corners of his eyes.
"Hey, you are probably right." There was a light flavour of depression in her voice.
'Is she … upset?' He did not become aware of his own habit which was paying attention to her most of the time instead of considering his own situation.
"This planet is a giant piece of shit in this universe. The people are shitty. The creatures are shitty. Everything is a complete mess."
He decided to stay silence to let her go on.
"I have been wondering why there are still so many people fighting for their dreams here with great motivations. And my guess is..."
He peeked at her face and found her corners of the mouth rose a little.
"As long as we are together with our loved ones, there are hopes to be viewed as our reasons to carry on. Where love is, where the heaven is."
A second later.
"Puff- Haha! Ahahahahahaha!" He could not control himself from laughing out loud.
"Do you think it is funny?" She turned towards him, asking grumpily.
"Nonono! I am just… hahaha… did not believe something… romantic would come out from your mouth. Phew..."
"I am being serious."
"I know I know! And I… eh… totally agree with you. Seriously."
"Really? Well, that's a relief." She turned her face away, "and I hope one day, we can reach that place… where our loved ones are there." Although she could ensure that he would not care, she still wanted to spit this out.
"Yeah. I think so." He also thought the same and determined alleviating the atmosphere, "if we can get to there, we are also able to free ourselves from the dumb shoe, silly socks and stupid hat-"
"Pardon?"
"Ohmygawd." It was too late when he realized something was wrong.
"SAY. IT. AGAIN."
"I-I didn't say anything."
"Do you know how important that hat was for me? That was my favourite! It would have been fine if you did not screw things over!"
He got punched in the neck before he could understand the whole situation.
After all, their destination might not be far away. Still, they had a long way to go.