Aquarius was sitting at a table in the rec room. She was deep in thought. Deckerd had kissed her on the forehead and she found herself getting excited. Why was she getting excited? She didn't want to fall in love, not again. It hurt to much last time.
She was interrupted from thoughts as Elita-1 walked up to her table.
"Is this seat taken?" Elita asked gesturing to the seat across from Aquarius.
"No, it's free." Aquarius answered motioning for her to sit down.
Sitting down, Elita noticed her daughter staring off into space.
"Is something bothering you?" She asked concerned.
"N-no, there's nothing bothering me, why do you ask?" Aquarius said a little startled.
"You were staring off into space just now, so there is something obviously bothering you, now what is it?" Elita said growing even more concerned.
"Well…..it's Deckerd." Aquarius said trying to figure out exactly what to say.
"You mean that mech from Japan?" Elita said. Aquarius nodded. "What is it about him that's bothering you?"
"Well, it's the way he's been acting, he's been staring at me, and this morning wrapped me into a tight hug and kissed me on the forehead." Aquarius explained.
"And why would that bother you?" Elita asked confused.
"It's not really that that's bothering me it's the way he looked at me when he kissed me." Aquarius continued to explain.
"I see, what look did he give you?" Elita asked.
"Like he wanted more than to just hug me." Aquarius replied trying to describe it.
Elita nodded in understanding. "Oh, I know what that is." She said.
"What is it?" Aquarius asked.
"Well that's the same look your father gives me. It's a way to tell he likes you, and I mean likes you." Elita replied with a slight smile. "And I think you like him too." She added with a giggle.
"No, I don't." She said in a huff.
"Still upset about last time?" Elita asked concerned.
Aquarius nodded sadly.
Elita sighed. She got up and looked at her daughter. "I got to get back to my duties now, but I'm always here if you need to talk, okay."
"Okay, thanks mom." Aquarius said getting up to hug Elita.
As Elita walked away, Deckerd entered the rec room. Spotting Aquarius he went over to her table.
"Hey Aquarius." He said getting her attention.
Looking up Aquarius said, "Oh, hi Deckerd."
"Umm… I was wondering if you would take a drive with me?" He said nervously.
"Sure, I would love to." She said smiling. 'Maybe a drive will clear my head.' She thought.
Getting up, they walked out of the base and transformed into vehicle mode and drove off.
Deckerd stopped and transformed into robot mode and walked through the trees on the side of the road. Aquarius stopped and ran to catch up with him.
"Wait up!" She yelled, but stopped when she saw Deckerd standing on a cliff. Walking up slowly to the edge of the cliff they were standing on. She gasped. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life. The cliff overlooked a lush forest with a river running through it, flowing from a waterfall on the other side of the valley.
"Wow…" She said admiring the view.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Deckerd said looking back at her.
"I never knew this planet could be so wonderful." Smiling she looked at Deckerd meeting his gaze. "You Earthlings never cease to amaze me."
"I found this spot a few nights ago when I couldn't sleep, and it was so majestic I just had to show it to you." He said turning back toward the valley. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about this morning." He added turning his gaze back to her.
"What about it?" She asked.
"Well, I wondered if maybe…. Y-you would consider maybe taking our relationship to the next step?" He asked rubbing the back of his helm.
Aquarius stared. She wasn't expecting this. She wasn't ready to go the next step. Straightening her posture she said. "Deckerd, I don't think I'm ready for this, not yet, not after last time."
"Last time?" He asked a little surprised.
Aquarius sighed. "A couple of months before you came, I was madly in love with a mech. We were planning to bond." She paused, tears starting to form in her optics at the memory. "I went to visit him in his quarters and…. He was with another femme, and they were kissing. As I walked out he followed me saying he was planning on telling me that he had changed his mind…. That he was leaving me for that other femme, and that he was sorry. I ran back to my quarters and cried for days. After that I vowed never to fall in love again. He broke my spark. I didn't want to suffer any more." She finished starting to cry.
Deckerd came immediately and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.
"Shh… it's okay, just let it out." He said trying to soothe her. She complied and broke down into a sob.
After a little while she calmed down and Deckerd let go of her.
"Thank you, I needed that." She said wiping the tears from her face. She turned to look at the valley. Deckerd sat next to her. They sat there for a couple more hours just staring out at the view before them before heading back to the base.