Just taking a Break

Aerrow

I tugged on the ends of my leather jacket, digging my toes into the sand. We were finally in Tropica. I planted myself in the sand as I watched my team set up camp. So many people were already here, I was quick to wonder how many people were actually on the face of Atmos. The shoreline of Tropica was long, stretching out all the way across the terra, so it wasn't too hard to find a spot.

Finn, not bothering to set up camp with everyone else, went straight to renting the board and hitting the waves. Of course, I would do that later, but it would've been nice for him to help out. Now that I think about it, that is asking a lot of Finn. I shook my head and let him proceed, keeping my eye on the new teammate. She seemed unsure of what to do with herself, not wanting to sit down but not wanting to set up.

"Kai?" I questioned quietly, resting a hand on her back. "It's fine if you don't wanna help, you can go and have fun. There isn't much to do here anyway."

"Huh?" She looked up, a little dazed. "Sorry… I'm just a little distracted." She gave me a soft smile before kicking off her sandals. Kai had changed out of her uniform when I told her it wasn't necessary and told her to quickly grab anything she'd need for days we would be there. "So, you really don't mind if I go and swim?"

I shook my head with a smile.

"Great!" Kai dug her feet into the sand before pulling off her shirt. I couldn't help but watch… Hey, I'm only human. She brushed her hair out of her eyes with her hand, glancing at me. "What?" she laughed.

I shook my head nervously, dismissing the argument. "Nothing…"

Gathering her hair back, she began to intricately braid it. I could tell she knew what she's doing, and doing quite well, not having to have an aide or an extra set of eyes behind her. She braided all the way down to the ends, not missing a step. She pulled a tie off of her wrist, securing it around the ends. She spun around, looking at me. "Are you alright?"

Realizing just exactly what I was staring at, I looked up, catching her gaze. "Nice, err… Nice suit," I laughed nervously.

She raised a brow, questioning if that's really what I was staring at. "Hmm… Well, I like it," she giggled.

"It really… compliments your figure…" I cleared my throat.

Smoothing off her jean shorts, Kai glanced at me before running toward the water.

I suddenly felt a bit odd. I'd entirely screwed up a perfect compliment, but I had been more concerned about why. Was I nervous?

I shook my head and planted myself on the beach, watching her run off toward the water. She joined Finn, sitting waist-deep in the water. She watched the young kids further down the beach build mud pies and dry sandcastles. Finn spoke but grabbed no response from Kai. As her eyes traced the shore, her gaze caught mine. Realizing I was staring, I looked away, though I glanced back in time to see her smile at the slight embarrassment. She gave a gentle wave, still paying no mind to whatever Finn was saying. I could hear faint yelling, but nothing distinct.

I watched as a small wave swelled behind her, and Finn began warning the girl once more. She was easily distracted today, possibly from the lack of good sleep. However, she turned around in time to see the wave but couldn't turn away fast enough. The wave crashed over her and her jaw dropped. Kai began to laugh at the scene, but when Finn decided to laugh at her and not with her, Kai stood up. Shouting something at Finn, you could tell she was going to get him back. Kai kicked water up at the boy, watching as he shook it off. When he splashed her back, it turned into an all-out splash fight.

I turned away from the scene, focusing on Piper. "Did you want to swim?" I asked her quietly, reaching for a soda she had set out.

"I might, later… Aerrow, is something bothering you?"

I looked back out toward the ocean, my gaze narrowed from the sunlight. I shook my head. "Not that I can think of…"

"Hm," she hummed in dismay. "Do you…. Have some sort of affinity with Kai? Or… or some sort of connection?"

"Why, are you jealous?" I retorted quickly with a laugh. I wasn't nervous in saying it, but the thought hadn't reached my mind before. However, I was nervous when I thought about her reaction.

She shook her head. "I'm just trying to figure out… why her? We were only there for supplies… We didn't need a new teammate, but we got one. What made Kai so different?"

I turned to look at her. "Why are you a Storm Hawk?" I asked. "Why are you a part of this team?"

"I… I was helping out at the academy… You wanted to build the team and I offered to help."

I smiled. "…For the same exact reason I picked you," I answered her question. "She had nowhere else to go…"

Hours of lying on the beach in the sun had gotten to me. Sure I needed sunscreen and food—which were the only reasons I had to get up, but that was once or twice—but I also needed to join my team. Piper stuck it out in the shallow waters while Finn and Kai hit the bigger waves. The boy taught her the ropes of surfing and in no time, she had it down.

The two hit a wave together, the first one Kai successfully survived. However, about ten seconds in, Finn lost balance and fell, his surfboard eating the tide. Kai laughed at the slip-up, but managed to surf it out and ride the wave until it blended in with the tide.

Junko kept to the greener parts of Tropica, hosting a barbecue for anyone who passed by, or rather, dared to stomach his dishes. I got up once to check in on the big guy, finding that Stork had been there but quickly retreated to the ship. After seeing Stork in the ship, knowing I could make him leave and that it would need to be his decision, I left for the beach once more. This was my last chance to do anything today; the sun was setting and the water was losing its warmth. Bonfires were being set and people were retreating to their campsites. For those that actually had rare housing on the terra, they would stay longer on the beaches before heading home. Anyone who hadn't set up camp would leave, keeping the beaches partially neat-looking at night.

For the tropics, Tropica was quite cluttered… and not entirely with litter.

Kai returned from the water, calling the end of my opportunity to swim. I scooted over, giving Kai some room. "You're not burned, are you?" I asked.

She laughed. "Nah, Finn came back with some sunscreen Piper had given him… He gave me what could quite possibly be the worst line ever to get me to use it."

I glanced over toward Finn, who was being egged from the tide by Piper.

"But no, I'm fine. You'd think I'd get burned with my skin being so light…"

"Being a red-head doesn't help, either," I added, agreeing.

She nodded. "Definitely. I wouldn't think you've had any fun…," she looked at me. "You were up here all day. Didn't you want to swim?"

I contemplated the correct answer. "…I think I just needed to rest today. As fun as it would've been…"

Kai laughed. "I understand." Catching a glimpse of our neighbors starting a fire, Kai suggested something. "We could start a bonfire, you know. I mean, you did nothing today. Thought that may have been hilariously fun…," she rolled her eyes.

"Why not," I smiled.

After getting the fire started, I noticed Finn had left the water… only to start another problem—I quickly became unsure if Piper could pull him away from unwilling girls he was flirting with. That being said, I knew Kai and I had some time alone… and that meant I was free to interrogate her… or at least try to get to know her.

"Tell me the truth," Kai began. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

I shook my head, hovering my hands over the growing fire. "I tried… I really did. But I was genuinely worried about you. You had at least three nightmares… one of which you woke up from crying. It didn't take you long to fall back asleep, but by then I knew insomnia wouldn't let me. I managed to get off the bed and get something to eat and Radarr followed me back when I was done eating. He instantly crawled up and fell asleep with you. I sat up at your desk for most of the night. When the sun rose I was pass-out tired, so I laid down. You woke up just as I had fallen asleep and woke me up as well."

I could tell she felt bad, the silence putting a chill in the air. "At least you'll get some sleep tonight, right?"

I shrugged. "I'm a little afraid having a new team member is impacting my sleep…" Looking up, I could see her eyes lower, her skin became flushed. "Look, Kai… None of this is your fault. I've always had trouble sleeping when I'm stressed and I'm just a little more worried about my team lately."

With no response, I continued. "I'm glad you're on the team… It gives me something to look forward to every day."

She smiled, looking at me. The glow of the fire reflected off her eyes. Kai leaned over and kissed my cheek before returning to her spot, facing the fire.

I brought a hand to my face, the burn from her touch still emanating in my skin. "What was that for?" I asked quietly.

"For keeping me sane," she smiled.

I returned the soft smile, scooting closer to the girl.

Almost the instant things got quiet Finn rushed in and ruined the moment. I sighed, watching my chances swim down the drain. Piper was not too far behind him, taking a seat opposite Kai and I next to Finn. "It's getting pretty dark… I suggest we keep the fire going at night."

Only moments later, Junko walked up. "You guys don't mind if I sleep in the Condor… do you? It's… kinda creepy out here."

I nodded.

"Thanks, buddy." Junko turned around, heading off toward the air docks.

Kai sighed. I could tell something was wrong.

I sighed. With conversation picking up around the fire, my chances were definitely over.

Oh well, I doubt Kai had any interest in me anyway…