Sorry for taking forever, but lately I've been lacking inspiration to write...
This one actually has been completed for several months, but I just never got around
to post it, so now when chapter three is in progress, I felt it was the right time to post chapter two, so here you are.
Enjoy, comments and favs are greatly appreciated.
Black and White Reunion © Lombnut
Ratchet & Clank game series and characters © Insomniac games
'You're not here...'
Ratchet sighed and turned off the vid-comic, placing the controller on the floor as he did so. He had been playing one of
those silly Qwark vid-comics, in hope of them taking his mind elsewhere, as well as making time pass a little faster.
However, not even all the fast paced action and explosive sounds could drown his thoughts; instead, it merely sedated
them for the brief moment.
Ratchet was more angry then sad, being upset for a simple reason: Clank was not here. Instead of spending the whole day
together, reuniting and having a good time with each other, Clank had chosen to go away for the evening on a date with
his girlfriend. And in secret, it burned Ratchet. He was his best friend, and he had just gotten back from the penitentiary,
but Clank just left him like this? He missed him... more then anything on this very planet, and now once more, he wasn't here for him...
"Clank..." the lombax mumbled to himself as he lay down on the couch, resting his tired body. He hated himself. He hated
that Clank made him feel this way. He hated how his whole body would shiver just by the sound of Clank's chuckle, or
how he could melt inside by merely making brief eye contact with his robot companion. He didn't want this... he just
wished things could be as they were before, it would have spared so many awkward and embarrassing moments. But then
again... there was a part of him who loved this feeling, the feeling he got by just being around Clank.
In all honesty, he didn't want to think about it. Perhaps these feelings he held would go away over time... but for the
moment, he needed to think of something else. He plugged in the headphones from his small portable music player and
started it up, to have the sound blast him and his thoughts away. His player was set on random, and unfortunately for
him, it chose a specific song much to his dismay.
'Why didn't I remove this one?' he asked himself. This song was special to him... it provoked so many feelings. As much
as he wished he could have just shut it off, he didn't. Instead he started to softly and tenderly sing along with the lyrics.
"I complicated our lives
By falling in love with him
I complicated our lives
Now I'm losing my only friend..."
This song reminded him of so many things in his life...
"Now I'm so confused
I don't know what to do...
He loves me, He loves me not..."
It reminded him of Clank, their friendship and his feeling. It was downright a song about his feeling at this very moment.
Ratchet felt so confused, how was he supposed to coup with this? He never saw it coming, he never thought he fall in
love... like this... All his life he thought he had that little perfect image in his head of his future life: A family, a loving wife
and some small children, and then this happened, he fell in love with Clank... All he ever thought of crumbled into pieces,
as he realised that he harboured such emotions towards his best friend.
"No where to turn,
No one to hold,
It's almost like I don't even know myself
Now I have to choose...
I don't know what to do...
He loves me, He loves me not
He loves me, He loves me not..."
"Clank... Please... please... come back..." Ratchet cried out, his voice cracking as he clenched the pillow harder
and buried his head in it in the hope that it would muffle his sobs.
-o-o-
"Clank, are you ok?" Venus said, her eyes flickering over her partner. She held onto Clank's hand in a worrying manner,
noticing his odd behaviour.
"Yeah, it is nothing, Venus," Clank replied, taking his hand away so fast that it almost seemed rude. Even though he was
here, she could see that his mind wasn't, and it bothered her.
"You're so absent-minded today, Clank... what's the matter?" She told him as he once more glanced away from her, only to
stare out into the black night sky, the stars reflecting in his green eyes.
He heard her rambling on about something he really didn't care about, because... he didn't even really care about her at all,
something else seemed to have replaced her in his mind. He tried his best to analyse the situation as well as his feelings,
only to fail. He was an intelligent being, probably smarter then them most other robots and humans, and yet he still couldn't
figure this one out. He just knew that for the moment he was worried, worried about Ratchet.
"Perhaps I should have stayed..." he whispered to himself.
"What?" Venus asked. "Come on Clank, this relationship isn't going to work out if you don't put any effort into it..."
"I am terribly sorry, Venus," Clank spoke. "But... it is true that I am thinking of something else at the moment. I am worried
about Ratchet, I left him so suddenly, perhaps he needed me, I mean, I did only just get him out of prison..."
"Clank, listen," Venus told him in an upset tone, which surprised Clank, because he never seen her like this before. "If
Ratchet is that important to you, then fine, leave, and don't expect me to let you come back later. But if you want to give us
a chance, then stay here, with me. What's more important to you, Clank? Me?" she paused for a moment. "...Or Ratchet?"
Clank only looked into her eyes, hurt. He couldn't make a choice like this - how dare she even make him chose between both his best friend and his girlfriend?
"I... I am sorry, Venus, but I am not capable of answering that question," Clank replied, sounding defeated.
Venus shot up from her seat, placing her hands hard on the table, which made a loud bang that resulted in some unwanted
attention from their fellow restaurant customers. She stared him down for a short moment.
"Ratchet, Ratchet, Ratchet... it's always Ratchet, isn't it? You always talk about him these days, and I'm sick of it!"
She latched onto her purse in one swift movement, and left Clank stareing, speechless.
"If he means that much to you, why don't you just marry him?"she shouted back to him as she left the restaurant.
Everyone stared at him, and Clank felt deeply ashamed to the point that it hurt. He would have run after her... but
somehow his legs didn't seem to want to carry him any more, so instead he just hid his face between his hands in shame.
He tried to focus on the situation but failed, the only question in his mind being: What was he supposed to do now?
"I... what have I done? ..." he sighed.
-o-o-
Ratchet yawned as he slowly awoke. His tired eyes carefully looked around the room as he forced himself off the couch.
He was still drowsy so when his hand moved over a familiar object on the table, he froze. It made an rattling sound, and it
was hard in his hand. When he focused on it he saw that it was Clank's keys. At that very right moment he just wanted to
leap into the air out of pure happiness, but he chose not to, and only clung to the feeling that he got from this moment instead.
'How long was I asleep?' he wondered, as he went on a search for his friend. Their apartment here on Endako wasn't big,
but they still had separate bedrooms. As Ratchet snuck around in the hallway, he came across Clank's room, and as he
opened the door very slowly and softly, he noticed to his delight that Clank was safely sound asleep in his little bed.
He smiled a warm smile at the small metal being, as he noticed how cute he looked. It was appearent that Clank had been
very tired, as he hadn't even bothered to pull the blankets over himself. The robot must have just collapsed on the bed
and fallen asleep instantly. Ratchet leaned forward and grasped the blankets, and in a loving manner, he gently tucked
Clank in. When he tucking the blanket around Clank's small body, Ratchet's cheek accidentally came in contact with Clank's
head, which left him with a peculiar feeling... the bliss he got from the mere touch. As he sat there watching Clank sleep, he
couldn't help but smile once more, and think about how wonderful a friend Clank was to him. For the short moment, all the
confusion and mixed emotions he constantly felt melted away, provoked by Clank's mere presence.
"Should I...?" Ratchet breathed more heavily, as he placed his hand onto Clank's cold cheek. For once the cold felt so
good; he was boiling inside from the strong sensation that he felt, all embodied in a bright red blush on his own cheeks.
He placed his forehead onto Clank's, realising that after this, there would be no point of return.
'... I don't care...' he told himself as he proceded with his actions, shivering slightly.
Ratchet then kissed Clank. It wasn't long, loving, or even deep; it was just a quick peck. The sensation of Clank's cold lips
against his own felt so good, and for the moment, it all was euphoric. He knew he really shouldn't continue, but he
couldn't help himself as his tongue flicked Clank's lips. Most organic creatures would have found the taste of metal
disgusting and cringed at it, but for Ratchet it was the most sweetest taste he ever felt on his tongue. He wanted to savour
the taste, because deep inside of him, he knew that a moment like this would never happened again.
As he parted from Clank tears ran down his tired eyes, both from the pure ecstasy he got from the kiss, but also the
uncomfortable sadness of his realization. More then in the whole world he would have loved to lay himself down next to Clank,
and cuddle next into him under the blanket, but he couldn't... it was wrong, it was all so very wrong. Another man
shouldn't love another man, he knew that... and what made it worse was the fact that it was a romance between a living
being and a robot... they both would be shunned by their own society, the very people that they worked so hard to save.
Ratchet dragged his numb body towards the door once more, as he held his head in one hand in an attempt to hinder the flow of
tears from his eyes. As he exited the room, he took one last look at Clank before he closed the door and whispered softly to him.
"Goodnight, Clank..." he sobbed quietly, smiling sadly.