Hey guys. Sorry (again) that it took me so long in between updates. The drama that kept me from writing last time has NOTHING on the drama that kept me from writing this time. Hopefully it will all cool down soon.
Please review! I allow anonymous reviews and they make me so very happy.
DISCLAIMER TIME! I don't own the bros, sadfaces abound. Please don't sue me, I'm poor. And please don't use any of my characters (Copper, Silver, Alloy, Lani, etc) without permission. I do not own the song 'Nothing else Matters' and am making no profit from it.
"Modo! Hey, Vinnie to Modo, come in Modo!"
"Huh?" Modo looked up from his current daydream about Copper. This one had involved Copper in her work clothes, their bikes and a perfectly clear evening sky. He'd always wanted to have a picnic with her under the stars…
"Bro, you are so spaced!" Vinnie said with a cheeky grin. "It's your turn!"
Modo looked down the stretch of greased road to the bottle at the end. The object was to ride as fast as possible down the oily road then brake and slide as close to the bottle as possible without hitting it. Modo was a master at this game, habitually beating Vinnie and Throttle. But for once, Vinnie was right: he was completely spaced out. He had broken the first two bottles because he had been thinking about Copper and wasn't able to concentrate. Vinnie was practically giddy from the joy of beating Modo at this game. Throttle had watching his bro covertly, a small frown etched between his eyebrows. This was really unlike Modo. The male loved this game and was generally upset if he lost. Today he was off somewhere else, his eye unfocused as he gazed into a distant place far from where they were.
Throttle made a face as Modo revved up L'il Hoss. "Hold up, bro," he said, leaning his elbows against Lady's handlebars as he stared at his bro. "What's going on?"
"Ain't nothing going on," Modo growled. The effectiveness of the growling tone was hindered by the smile he couldn't keep from his face.
"Uh huh," Throttle drawled, not believing him for a second. "C'mon, bro, we know something's up. Vinne would have no chance against you at this game otherwise."
"Hey now, don't say it like that!" Vinnie protested. "I've beaten him plenty of times before!"
"Name one."
"Um…well, it's not like I remember off the top of my head…I mean, I'd have to check my calendar-"
"Right, Vincent," Throttle chuckled. Turning his gaze back to Modo, he quirked a brow at the big male; Modo was staring off again, head propped on his hand and he looked up at the clouds. Good Goddess, he was acting like-
Throttle's eyes widened behind his shades as the answer struck him like lightning. The only time Modo was ever this spacey was when he was around a certain red-furred female. A small grin crept onto Throttle's features. There was only one way to confirm his suspicions: a long, complicated tirade of questions meant to lull Modo into a state of confusion and slowly coax the answer out of him.
Nah, screw complicated. Biker mice questioning had all the finesse of a sledgehammer.
"So, Modo, did you have a nice time with Copper last night?"
Modo's eye widened and he tried to answer, but all his throat would produce was incomprehensible gibberish. Vinnie's eyes widened and he stared at Modo. "Bro, no way! You got back together with that spitfire?"
"How'd ya know?" Modo said.
"You're acting like you always did around her," Throttle replied, "all spaced out and grinning like an idiot."
"So you guessed," Vinnie said.
"Well duh, cheese brain," Throttle said, playfully smacking his the younger mouse upside the head. Vinnie glared at Throttle, rubbing the back of his head. Then a realization came to him as well.
"So that's why you haven't been around so much the past month! Aahwooohoo, bro, tell me she's as good as she looks!"
"That ain't none of your business, Vincent," Modo growled, his eye flashing red at the white mouse. Vinnie backed off right away, hands held in front of him in a peace gesture. He'd forgotten it was a bad idea to joke about Copper like that in front of Modo. Last time he had done it he'd ended up with a bruise on his buttcheek for almost two months. He still didn't think he had quite the same sensation there as he had before he'd crossed a gentle mouse in love.
"Cool it, bro," Throttle interjected before Vinnie got his butt handed to him by way of a blaster shot. "Vinnie's just a little excited."
"Yeah, I nothing meant by it," Vinnie said, his voice a little higher than normal. "So could you please put the blaster away? Or at least stop aiming it at me?"
"Huh?" Modo hadn't even realized that he'd engaged his weapons. "Oh…sorry bro." He grinned apologetically at Vinnie. "Don't know what came over me."
"Little Miss Van Speed did," Throttle chuckled. "So when did you two meet back up again?"
"'Bout a month ago. Decided it was time to find her."
"Very cool, my man. She still runnin' around with that brother of hers?"
Modo grinned. "Oh yeah. They've got a bar over in Redrock, the Silver Star."
"Hey, I've heard of that place!" Vinnie interrupted. "Kas said it was a cool joint to hang out."
"That girlfriend number six or seven, Vinnie?" Throttle said with a roll of his eyes.
"Nine, but who's counting?" the white mouse said with a cocky grin and a flex of his chest. "Studly guys like me keep them in line."
"Good thing Charley ma'am ain't here to hear ya say that or she'd make ya eat yer tail," Modo growled. He did not approve of Vinnie's many conquests, especially when he knew how Vinnie and Charley felt about each other. Vinnie just kept trying to bury his feelings under more and more females and hadn't even contacted Charley in a year. Then again, Throttle and he weren't much better, but there was no real way to contact her without causing major trouble for themselves with the Martian military or with Earth's government. It's not like they knew how to bypass a satellite signal without alerting the whole planet. They'd figure out a way to talk to Charley again some day…
As usual, Vinnie stiffened and turned his face away when Charley's name was mentioned, his expression unreadable. Throttle sighed and shook his head, absently rubbing the bridge of his nose just under his specs. No forcing Vinnie to admit anything he didn't want to; the male was notoriously stubborn about that sort of thing. Time to change the subject.
"So how's Copper doing?"
"She's…she's great," Modo said, not sure exactly how to break the news. "Working at the bar mosta th' time. She's got a new implant in her ear, she barely has to read lips anymore."
"How'd she react when she saw ya?" Throttle grinned. "Knowing her, you probably have a new scar to show for it."
Modo grinned back and tilted his chin up to show a still-healing patch of skin right under his jaw. "Her and Alloy got me in the same spot." Throttle laughed.
"They were always good like that…"
"Yah…" Modo glanced at Vinnie, who was being unusually quiet. Vinnie was staring off into the distance, leaning back against Sweetheart with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The male looked very…sad. Like something was missing. Modo sighed, his ears drooping a little. No use hiding it from them. And Vinnie looked like he needed the distraction.
"Copper has a daughter."
Vinnie fell over, landing with a thud on his side. Throttle blinked, hiding his surprise behind his field specs. "W-whoa, bro," Vinnie sputtered, sitting up so he wasn't completely wallowing in dust. "Is it yours?"
Modo nodded. "Yeah. Her name's Silver."
"How old is she?" Throttle asked after finding his voice.
"Five. Copper found out she was pregnant just before we left."
"Whoa, a baby" Vinnie said like it was the most unusual, surprising thing he had ever heard. "So she's had your kid this whole time? And she didn't tell you?"
"I'm sure it's more complicated than that, Vincent," Throttle said.
"She thought I left her," Modo said quietly, not seeing Throttle and Vinnie's startled looks.
"No way, bro," Vinnie said.
"You'da never left your kid if you'd know," Throttle said.
"I guess…" Modo growled and rubbed his head, trying to think of the words. He wasn't really good at talking about his own feelings, especially when he had so many to sort through. "I was scared, ya know? I kept thinking maybe she'd moved on, found someone better, somebody…" he sighed and unconsciously flexed his robotic hand. "Whole."
"Nah, no way bro," Throttle protested. "Copper girl was crazy about you, everybody knew it."
"She never even looked my way," Vinnie said. "And that's just weird."
Throttle rolled his eyes at Vinnie. "Obviously she has better taste, right big guy?"
"I guess," Modo said with a sheepish grin. "Seriously, bros, despite the fear I'm just…happy. This is probably the happiest I've been in a long-ass time. And I love my girls. It's like coming home every time I see them."
Throttle grinned and clapped his bro on the shoulder. "Good for you, Modo."
"We should celebrate!" Vinnie said. "Let's go out tonight!" He looked slyly in Modo's direction. "How's Redrock this time of year?"
Modo glared at his bro. "Oh no, Vincent. No. No, no, no-"
"No, Alloy! I'm not talking about it."
"Aww, come on, sis," Alloy whined, leaning towards Copper with his elbows on the bar. His black hair was loose around his shoulders and he wore a white shirt that showed off his muscular shoulders and chest. His pants were equally tight and made from black denim. Yana was coming to the bar tonight and he wanted to look good for her. But for now he would amuse himself with teasing his sister. "I remember how you two used to be. Was it worth the wait?"
"Damn you three ways from next week, Alloy," Copper hissed, blushing hard under her fur and thankful no one else was in the bar yet. "That is none of your business! Not that anything happened anyway…" she muttered under her breath. Modo and her had cuddled, talked, and made out for a good portion of the night, but never once did he try anything more. She could sense he wanted her, could feel the evidence of his arousal. But the stubborn male hadn't made love to her like she'd wanted him to, saying it was too soon and they might wake up Silver, Alloy, or both. Fucking hell, the male was either a complete idiot or he had way, way too much honor.
But that was one of the things she loved about Modo. He was different from all the other males she had ever been with; he treated women with respect. Children loved him. He didn't drink excessively, he didn't waste money: the only fault she could think of was loving his bike too much. And since she was guilty of the same fault, she couldn't really make a big deal out of it. She sighed and finished cleaning off the glasses in preparation for the coming night. Once a month the Silver Star hosted a music and dance night, trying to help the biker population get back to their normal routines now that the war was over. The local band was good and played mostly Earth rock with some other songs mixed in for variety. Copper smiled to herself, hoping Modo would show up on time. She had a surprise for him…
The door flew open and a breathless Lani ran into the room, her black curls tangled around her ears and falling into her eyes. Her blue eyes searched the room and she gulped when she saw the twins standing at the bar. "Sorry I'm late, Copper ma'am and Mister Alloy." Copper sighed and pushed her hair away from her face, fighting the irritation. As often as she had told Lani to stop calling them mister and ma'am, the multi-colored mouse was still stuck in her ways, probably because of the priestess training she had received before the invasion. The religious types were always overly polite.
"You're right on time, Lani," Alloy said with a grin. "Relax, we're not even opening for half an hour."
Lani worried her bottom lip between her teeth and Alloy's eyes almost popped out of his head. While not as pretty as Yana, Lani's unique brown-and-white patterned fur and startling blue eyes made males give her a second look. Her ears and the fur around her eyes was a medium brown but her muzzle was white, as was her throat and belly. Her arms and legs were also brown but her hands and feet were white. She was a curvy female, not exactly fat but not as thin as most Martian females were. When she had started working for the twins a few months before Alloy had been charmed by her looks and shy nature. At the time, he had also just met Yana and maybe he had been thinking more with his lower head than his upper one; Yana was considered the most beautiful female this side of Mars. But he didn't believe in pursing two females at the same time and he had decided on Yana. So until she dumped him or they decided to break up, he was going to pursue the beautiful but cold female. In contrast, Lani had become all smiles and laughter once she had gotten over her initial shyness. Maybe he had made a wrong choice…maybe…
"Thank you, Mister Alloy," Lani said quietly, ignoring Copper looking from Alloy to Lani like she hoped something was going on between the two of them. Mister Alloy had a female already and it made her nervous every time Copper ma'am looked at them like that. She shoved her bag behind the bar and tried to straighten out her hair, wincing as she pulled on a particularly vicious snarl. She'd had to get a ride from her friend since her three-wheeler was in the shop. Her friend drove like the proverbial bat from hell. The wind was just murder on her curls…
"Lani, why don't you go upstairs and comb your hair out?" Alloy said kindly. "Relax a little before the rush gets here."
Lani smiled shyly at him and nodded. "Thank you, I will." She smiled at Copper then went upstairs, closing the door to the stairs quietly behind her. Alloy followed her with her eyes, unaware of the small smile tilting up his lips. He looked over at his sister, losing the smile when he saw the smug grin on her face. "What?"
"You're so into her," Copper chuckled. Alloy growled and feigned a punch at Copper, who laughed and danced away from the blow.
"You wish, brat. Don't forget I already have a girl."
"What, that frosty bitch? Any colder and she may as well be a block of ice."
"Haha," Alloy grumbled. "She'd warm up if you'd be nice to her."
"Uh huh, sure," Copper drawled. Her next comment was interrupted by the arrival of the band. She grinned and waved at the guys as they set up their instruments. They nodded in her direction but were mainly focused on setting up for their performance. Alloy went to help, grateful for the chance to get away from Copper's teasing. She could be quite relentless if she wanted to be.
The band finished their warm up just as the first customers trickled in. Copper was distracted, eyes constantly flicking toward the door in hopes of seeing a tall shape appear. Alloy smirked as she dropped her third glass of the night, this time on some rat's head. She apologized sweetly enough the rat thought he had a chance. Obviously new, the brown-pelted rat grinned in a manner meant to be friendly but, since he had a mouth full of sharp teeth, the effect was more malicious. Copper grinned back, inwardly cheering yet disgusted: she loved it when rats were this stupid. It just made her night.
She leaned toward the male on the pretense of getting him a napkin to wipe off the alcohol. As expected, the rat leered and looked down her charcoal grey halter-top. Copper gasped in pretend shock and slapped the rat's ugly face. "How dare you!"
The rat gasped and sputtered, his blood red eyes narrowing in anger. "You bitch!" he growled, rising out of his seat. Some of the regular patrons grinned and backed away; they knew what was coming. The others just stared at the scene while the band started playing Aerosmith's Same Old Song and Dance.
The rat took a step toward Copper, his arm raised to backhand her across the face. Copper ducked and came up under the rat, smacking him right across the face with the tray she carried. The rat staggered and she kneed him between the legs as he fell. The patrons cheered as the rat hit the floor. She smiled and bowed to her audience, her long hair falling in front of her face. She winked at the groaning rat and walked away, unaware the rat was rising to his feet with murder in his eyes.
Before anyone could shout a warning, a mechanical arm shot out and grabbed the rat's shoulder. Turning him around, Modo looked down at the rat with a glowing red eye. "And what are ya plannin' on doing t' my girl, ya rat?" he growled, letting all the anger and hatred he felt towards rats ooze out of every word. The rat, like all his kind, started groveling at the first sight of what he deemed real danger. Without another word, Modo lifted the rat by the scruff of his neck and threw him out the door to the applause of the bar patrons.
Dusting off his hands, Modo came face to face with a smiling Copper. "Good job, baby," she purred, her warm brown eyes meeting his garnet one. "I love it when a man takes out the garbage."
"Ya just love to make me sweat, don't you?" Modo muttered with a grin. "Ya can't just let things be, can ya?"
"Nope," she said cheerfully. "And why give up the chance to ruin your blood pressure?"
Modo chuckled and pulled Copper to him, hugging her firmly while the rest of the bar watched. He grinned and placed a small kiss on Copper's lips, ignoring the disappointed moans some of the other males. He broke the kiss reluctantly, but with so many mice watching it wasn't polite to continue. "How's Silver?"
"She's fine, she's with the next door neighbor." The sound of motorcycle engines made Copper pause. There was a distinctive rumble to one of the engines that she recognized. She looked wide-eyed up at Modo. "Oh no. Please tell me they're not here."
Modo cringed as the door was flung open and Throttle and Vinnie came into the bar. "Couldn't stop them, darlin'."
"Heeeey, Copper girl!" Vinne cried, pulling Copper away from Modo and sweeping her into a tight hug. "How are you, pretty lady?" He held Copper at arm's length, obviously checking her out. "Aawoohoo, I'd say you're looking pretty good there, sweetheart."
"Vinnie," Copper said, not so gently taking his wrist and bending it away from her. "We've talked about this. I'm not your sweetheart, I'm not your spitfire, I'm not your anything. And if you continue to refer to me as such, I will break you, starting with the head you keep in your pants." She smiled sweetly. "Understand?"
"Y-yeah, sure thing," Vinnie sputtered, trying to break away from her grip on his wrist. It felt like she was trying to snap the bones just by using the force of her fingers. "I'll be good."
"Excellent," Copper said. "I'd hate to have to hurt you, Vinnie. Hey Throttle, how are you?"
"Just fine, Copper girl," Throttle chuckled. It was such a thrill to see Vinnie held in a death grip by a female almost a third his size. "Carbine sends her regards and says to come visit."
"I will," Copper smiled at Throttle. At least the tan mouse was respectful and never tried to hit on her. She hated it when males hit on her when they knew she was already attached. Giving Vinnie's wrist one last painful squeeze that made the white mouse whimper, she winked at Modo and picked up her tray, having dropped it at one point during her scuffle with Vinnie. "Make yourself comfortable, boys. But trash my place without permission and I trash you, ok?"
"Ok, Copper darlin'," Modo said, smiling at her. She smiled back and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going back to work, an extra swish in her light blue denim-clad hips now that she knew Modo was watching. Vinnie watched Copper's walk with a rueful shake of his head. Shame she'd never been attracted to him.
Throttle, Vinnie and Modo took seats at the bar and exchanged greetings with a smiling Alloy. They had a nice conversation reminiscing about their days in the Resistance while Alloy mixed drinks and gave them to either Copper or Lani to be served to customers at the tables. Every time Copper walked by she brushed against Modo, sending little electric shocks through his fur to his skin. Soon he was tingling and wondering how much longer her shift was. Almost an hour after he had arrived Copper nuzzled his neck and set down her tray. "Got a surprise for you, baby." Before he could ask what the surprise was she was gone, sending him a smoldering look over her shoulder as she made her way to the stage. Briefly speaking to the musicians, she took the place of the male singer.
"Goddess," Alloy breathed, drawing the bro's attention to him instead of his sister. "She's going to sing."
"Doesn't happen often?" Throttle asked.
Alloy shook his head in response. "She hasn't sung in public since Dad's funeral. She sang his burial chant."
Modo's eye widened. The burial chant was usually sung by professionals since it had such a variety of complicated ranges, tones and melodies. He had not known that Copper could sing like that.
"How we all doing tonight?" Copper said into the microphone. The patrons whooped and hollered. Copper smiled at them all, her eyes a little wide as she took them in. if she had no fur, her cheeks would have been pale. She hadn't realized there were so many males in the bar. "Got a little treat for y'all," she continued, fighting to keep her voice even. Just breathe, they wouldn't eat here, and this would mean a lot to Modo. "Gonna sing a song for ya, dedicated to my very own hunk of burning love." Now it was Modo's turn to blush as every head turned to look at him, some of those looks not too friendly.
Copper nodded to the guitarist who let out a string of beautiful notes that managed to sound mournful but hopeful at the same time. Copper took a deep breath and, at the right moment, began singing.
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Copper's eyes sought out Modo's and found them, locking on to the familiar garnet red shade. Right then, there was no one else in the bar. Her nervousness disappeared and she smiled, letting all her feelings pour out to Modo through a song they had shared when they were first together.
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
Modo stared at Copper, his jaw almost hanging open as he watched her sing. While the song was originally written for a male voice, Copper's husky low contralto was perfect. He had no idea she could sing like this. Every individual in the bar was captivated by her; no one could look away. One male had even spilled his drink and was letting it drip into his lap, not even noticing it was creating a mess on his pants.
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters
Copper closed her eyes as she sang the last note, opening them once the music died away. The bar patrons were silently staring at her, including the musicians who had just played for her. Then, like a spell had been broken, they began to applaud so loudly dust was shaken from the rafters. She couldn't hear the thunderous applause from her audience, couldn't see anyone else but Modo. His expression was so open, so loving it made her feel weak at the knees. Like he was in a trance, Modo made his way to the stage area and, in front of everyone, grabbed Copper up and kissed her deeply. Many of the patrons whooped and hollered, Vinnie and Throttle being the loudest ones. Copper smiled against Modo's lips and kissed him back just had hard as he was kissing her, her tail twisting around his and her arms clutching his shoulders.
They pulled away reluctantly, Copper shyly ducking her face when the cheers got raunchier. Modo chuckled and nuzzled her ear, whispering a soft I love you he hoped she could hear. When she smiled up at him, he knew she had heard. She kissed him again before reluctantly pulling away.
"Well, that was sweet," a sweetly sharp voice said from a few feet behind Modo, loudly enough so it was heard over the still cheering crown. Modo spun around, completely breaking away from Copper, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. He knew that voice.
"Yana…"