Vacation

Kai

Waking up next to Aerrow was one of the greatest feelings I've felt in quite some time. I felt safe, I felt loved… But I was also afraid. I knew this wasn't right—Aerrow was only feeling regret. He was just righting a wrong. I couldn't be sure if it was because he cared. After all, how could he? There was no emotional attachment… We were teammates—not even close friends. I'd only known him a few days face to face, and that's not counting the days we were apart.

I looked around, seeing a blue furball lying above Aerrow's head. Had… Aerrow let him in? I reached up and scratched at his fur, feeling his slowly wake up to stretch out his limbs. When they came to rest, a paw laid softly on Aerrow's eye—and the boy noticed.

"Are you awake?" he muttered, reaching up to pet Radarr as well.

I groaned, rolling onto my back. For a small cot, my bed had a lot of room for two people. I laughed, knowing I probably shouldn't ever say that out loud. "I was hoping I wouldn't ever wake up."

"You seemed content while you were asleep, even when you started talking."

My eyes grew wide. "I… don't talk in my sleep…"

He laughed. "Which is why I won't tell you what you said.

I cringed. Honestly, there are only a few things I could've said to embarrass myself. The worst part is it sounded like Aerrow was up all night. If he got no sleep then we're all in trouble. I quickly sat up and rolled off the bed, searching for the lamp. Though my room had a nice window, I turned lights on habitually.

"Are you still tired?" Aerrow asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "Too many nightmares. I don't think I could fall asleep again even if I wanted to."

He sighed. "Don't worry," he reassured me. "I have just the thing to fix that." Rolling out of bed, Aerrow staggered across the room and looked at me. "Meet me at the bridge when you're finished waking up, all right?" he smiled, taking his leave.

I rubbed my eyes, looking around. I caught my reflection in the nearby mirror, noting I'd fallen asleep with my hair still pulled up. Giving my scalp a break, I removed my hair tie and breathed a sigh of relief. My scalp was glad for the tension relief. I continued on with my normal morning routine, sifting through my clothes. This was my home, now—I was part of the team and had to look it. I grabbed my new uniform, shaking it out. I knew it wasn't traditional attire, I knew it wouldn't match the team. I pulled off my pajamas and replaced them with the uniform before pulling a pair of fingerless gloves on. I brushed off the outfit and smoothed out any wrinkles before leaving for the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth and combed out my hair, wondering what to do with it. I was unsure if I should put it up or leave it down, or a combination of both. Finally, I grabbed a new hair tie, gathered my hair in a bunch, and pulled it all together in a low ponytail—simple and quick.

That's right… Aerrow said something about meeting him at the bridge.

I turned the light off and trudged out of the bathroom, slowly making my way to the bridge. I passed Finn along the way, grabbing onto his shirt. I began pulling him with me.

"Whoa! Hey, hey, what's going on?!"

"Aerrow wants to see us."

A moment of silence before he responded. "Maybe he just wants to see you," he laughed. "Damn, you look good."

I sighed. "Finn, I don't think this is about me," I laughed as well.

"Well, it should be!"

Passing Piper's lab, I decided not to drag her along as well. Though it seemed as if she wasn't in her lab… maybe she was already there? Making another turn, I walked into an open space consisting of large file boxes, the ship's controls, and a round table. This was the head of the ship. Large windows surrounded the room, giving way to puffy clouds and large terras just beyond the metal hull.

I caught Stork's eye as I entered the room. The Merb looked quite disturbed. I shook my head, letting Finn go. I saw Piper and Aerrow looming over the table, going over some maps.

"But if we cut through there, we'll be going through Cyclonian Territory," Aerrow argued. "That's cutting it a little close. With Kai still…" He looked up and smiled. "With Kai still recovering, I don't want to risk it."

"Recovering?" I asked, yawning. "This is nothing! You should see what happens when a mechanic's saw the two end up nothing freaks out. Dad almost lost a finger and I had a close call with my sight," I waved a hand in front of my eyes, laughing.

Aerrow sighed, looking toward the map. He seemed a little tired himself, and I wondered if he could survive through the day. How long had he been awake, anyway? Did you really not get any sleep last night? Maybe being in a strange room and caused his insomnia… Maybe it was my fault.

Great… One more thing to blame myself for…

I closed my eyes and shook my head, shaking the bad thoughts from my mind. I didn't need the stress. My fault or not, I knew I shouldn't blame myself for it. Aerrow would understand. He's already worrying so much about the incident before at the academy, neither of us really needed the stress. Aerrow was already the leader, if he wanted more stress he would switch to Cyclonia.

"What are we doing today?" I asked quietly, still trying to wake up.

Looking around the room, Aerrow paused. Pressing his palms to the tale as he loomed over the map, his deep green eyes looked into my own. "Three words."

"Let's kill Finn is not an option," the blond boy laughed.

Aerrow glanced over his shoulder, his brows tugged together. "No…" Looking back toward me, he continued. "Va-ca-tion."

Piper sighed. "Finally… It's about time we went on vacation."

I could imagine how stressed they were being cooped up on the ship together. Who else did they see? Every morning it was the same faces—Aerrow, Piper, Finn, Junko, Stork… They all knew each other, they'd see each other every day; the day-to-day must get dull, no doubt a vacation would do everyone some good.

However, I assumed the place he had in mind was not entirely the place everyone wanted to be. Did everyone had a say in where they went? I knew they would take what they could get, but everyone would be happier with the unanimous vote. Even I would, though I couldn't base an opinion off of much since I haven't been anywhere special. Sure, I've been to Tropica once, but that was before I had the chance to absorb everything. We had a race, everything passed by in a blur… I knew I couldn't win, but I wanted to. Lying in the sand wasn't absorbing, it was hiding. I was avoiding Aerrow then, I didn't get the chance.

Of course, wherever we went would still hold just as much of a vacation as anywhere else. To me, Aerrow was taking his own time to plan this, could we really shove it back in his face? He was trying, what else could he do?

"Where are we going?" I asked with a grin, trying to hide the exhaustion. It was the least I could do.

Suddenly, it seemed like they were watching something else. Following their gaze, it was toward me. What was so interesting? I heard someone stand up, walking towards Piper, Aerrow, and I. I assumed it was Finn, but it could have been Stork or anyone else.

I looked down at my feet, but my eyes were quickly drawn to a short skirt. Did this have something to do with my new outfit? I sighed. "Guys…" With no response, I repeated my words before shortly after speaking each of their names. "Aerrow… Finn…? Guys?"

"They can't hear you. Kai, they're boys. Once one of them realizes you're actually dressed like a girl, there's no hope for them," Piper snickered.

I snapped my fingers, waving my hand in front of Aerrow's face. When his eyes became reactive, I smiled. "Welcome back," I laughed. "Now are you done staring at me?"

The boy found it difficult to tear his eyes off of me, but slowly found the will to return to the maps. "Uhh… Piper? Where do you think is best?"

"We are closest to these Terras… Stork, if the route isn't an issue we can go just about anywhere… You didn't have anywhere in mind?"

"I wanted to go to Tropica, but I don't know if that is the best place to go," he sighed. "Kai, any thoughts?"

"Aww… Don't listen to her, we're going to Tropica no matter what she says!" Finn interjected.

I laughed, "It's fine, we can go to Tropica. I really don't mind."

"Yeah, Aerrow, if she wants to go, then we'll go," Piper rolled her eyes.

"I want to go to Tropica!" Finn repeated, over and over again.

"Is he always this immature?" I whispered to Aerrow and Piper. Their silent responses confirmed my suspicion. Finn is a kid and always will be. I told myself that I needed to remember that, however that didn't help me stay out of trouble with him in the future.

Aerrow sighed, scratching at his scalp. "Looks like we're going to Tropica."