Date: November 8th 2013
Location: CHROME
As the year was shifting on, the usual English chill had begun to set in, mostly getting colder in the early days of October, the leaves beginning to stick to the floor in wet clumps, the continuous rain causing drains to flood and the streets to empty. The rain hammered against the CHROME building windows, Shadow gazing out, lost in her own world as it thought of the last few months. It had certainly been… interesting. Any feelings that Finn may or may not have held for Shadow seemed long gone, the Faultless not so much as daring to make another move toward the younger agent, their previous encounters having not ended well. Wren had returned to work in the last week or so on reduced hours, with Skipper home to watch the babies and care for them when she was away, though Wren was doing most her paperwork at home. A quiet peace had fallen across the building, save for the idle chatter that echoed across the more vacant halls, the storm clouds outside plunging the building into a dimmer light, the fluorescent lights doing little to combat the darkness. Shadow's office had moved, having impressed Angry to be moved out of her 'Beginner' office on the bottom floor, now being given a larger and more impressive office on the third floor, Finns office being directly opposite on the other side of the building. Small glass panels acted as railings on the walkways, to stop the cars from rolling off the edge and down to the floor below, the champagne carpets presenting a nice light change to the dark and dingy dark blue of the offices on the bottom floor.
The Celica had just come off of a two week mission with Finn, the pair taking the next few days to chill out a little before being thrown in again. She could tell that Finn was glancing over constantly, having noticed the Celica's absent minded staring, the new office position enabling him to keep more of an eye on her. Moments later, she was moving again, out the office and predictably moving to her right, which would lead to the Medical Bay. Finn watched her until she vanished, a gentle sigh leaving him at this point as he considered following.
The medical bay was bustling with activity, for once Shadow not being the focus of the latest explosion, several nurses and doctors rushing round with tools and appliances. Rolling past Wren's office, the plane could be heard loudly exchanging words with someone apparently not in the room, and this was enough for Shadow to prize the door open and slip into the head medic's office, glancing to the SuperCorsair as she stood over her phone, staring at it with hatred.
"It's just a couple of nights! Plus, the kids have barely seen you!" Wren spoke loudly, glancing to the Celica as she closed the door behind her. There was a sigh from the recipient on the other end of the line, as Shadow recognised the voice as Wren's mother.
"Darling, you know I can't. I just have a lot going on…"
"You always have a lot going on! These are your grandkids we are talking about!"
"I know, but you have to understand that some of us are busy Wren"
"Too busy to see family? No, you're not! You're just too occupied with living your fancy life with your dinner parties and cocktails to even consider seeing the kids! Thanks for nothing" The SuperCorsair snapped, before stamping on the lever to end the call. The plane sat for a few moments, staring to the phone once more with a scowl, before finally remembering the car that was watching her intently, slowly eating her way through a biscuit that Wren honestly didn't know how she had obtained.
"Whaaaaaatcha doing?" Came the eventual question, the SuperCorsairs cowling flaring a little. There was no answer, however, as Wren simply moved to her desk, and flopped her nose on top of it, her paperwork scrunched beneath it.
"Hmm…. Never a good sign. Come on… out with it" Shadow sighed herself, knowing this reaction wasn't normal for the plane. Wren barely glanced in her direction, flitting her gaze between the Celica and the phone again. The plane made no sound, causing Shadow to frown a little, and then slowly move to the desk and start batting at Wren's propellor blades, spinning them round and round until Wren frowned.
"Okay, Okay enough!" Wren said tiredly, lifting her nose a little, though there was a faint smile on her face.
"I've been nothing short of selling my soul to try and get someone to watch the kids for the weekend... It's all very last minute. Skipper and I have to take an urgent flight to America" She spoke again, causing Shadow to frown a little.
"America? Why?"
"Skippers mum died last night… Her funeral is in three days and Skipper is desperate to go. He was always close to his mother you know...his father on the other wing is a drunken, gambling twat" She seemed to seethe for a moment, before shaking her nose. "Skipper had a… rough childhood, but his mother was always there to protect him whilst his father was drunkenly slamming into walls and doors… It was an idea that perhaps he could go alone, but it'd be incredibly hard for him... he's made it very clear that he loathes his father… And his brother is a nasty piece of work too. He'd be VERY alone..."
A silence fell between them as the information sunk in… she felt rather bad for Skipper at this point, not even realizing he had family still around. It was here, an idea formed in her head, though she knew full well that Wren wasn't going to be crazy about it.
"Hey…. Wren…. Hypothetically speaking… what if an agent where to look after your kids? They would be in great tires, right?"
"... Depends which agent you're talking about"
"Oh come on Wren! I can do it! You can trust me!"
"It's not that I don't trust you Shadow… it's that it's a big favour to ask, babies that young are a lot of work… and there are four of them!"
"Wrem, I can handle it! Seriously! CHROME has trained me to take on the most dangerous missions possible… I can handle some babies" The Celica reasoned here, to which Wren sighed a little.
"...They are a LOT of work Shadow… Baby Corsairs are no drive in the park… and you're a car!"
"Wren…. It'll be fine. I promise"
"Well…. Fine. Okay. But… I'd rather you have someone there with you… they give both me and Skipper the run round even when there's two of us"
"Okay well…. What if Finn came to help?"
"Help with what?" Came the deeper voice of the older agent, as he had heard his name being mentioned in passing, having made the delayed choice to follow his younger partner. Shadow turned to see Finn in the doorway, her smile growing.
"Wren and Skipper need to go to a funeral in America… we can look after their kids!" She exclaimed, causing Finn to move his gaze from the Celica to Wren.
"Please, Finn. I'd feel much better if you helped her… Plus I know that you'd do a good job…" Wren seemed to say, eyeing Finn for a second. A moment seemed to pass where both vehicles looked at one another… Something going unsaid that Shadow didn't know about, before Finn nodded his hood.
"Of course Wren, no problem" He smiled to her, causing Wren to smile tiredly back.
"Thank you both…. Come by at around seven tonight… I'll give you a run down on everything"
Shadow was first up the driveway, seeing the glistening lights of Wren's hangar from some way away had made the Celica more excitable and bolt forward, Finn coming up behind her with his usual smile on his face. On numerous occasions in the journey, he had deliberately slowed his speed right down, in order for her to slow down aswell, despite the fact he was rather looking forward to seeing the kids again himself. Skipper answered the door, amazed to see Shadow actually using the front door for the second time, blinking a little before letting them in. As Finn had suspected, Wren was in a little more of a flap than usual, knowing that this was the first time she'd actually left the kids for any extended period of time. Skipper was trying his best to keep her as calm as he could, all whilst packing the last of their bits for the journey, though this was perhaps a little in vain, as he himself didn't look too great. Shadow could tell that he was emotionally torn up, not even being his grumpy self, just down, deflated and sullen. Once Wren had taken a moment to calm herself, she pulled Shadow to the side, beginning to run through the instructions of their routine.
"Okay, so, they've all had a bath, so that's sorted, and we've fed them and settled them off to sleep. There's plenty of oil in the kitchen for them, you just need to warm it up for them in warm water. Don't forget to test it first, because you don't want to burn their mouths. They will want feeding every three hours, and they must have a dummy to get off to sleep, it's good for their breathing. Don't forget to let them have a little time on the floor, as they need to strengthen their landing gear, but not too long otherwise they'll get upset. If they get in a mess with their food, you'll probably need to bath them, but only one at a time, as it's chaos otherwise. Bedtime is 8pm but they might fuss around midnight for a top up feed…" Wren instructed, the Celica nodding as she took in all the information.
"It's alright Wren, we can handle this"
"...I've left a list of numbers on the fridge to call, should you need to call us at the hotel, and there's a friends number on there from medical school, should something happen to the kids…" Wren nodded to Shadow, to which the Celica smiled in response.
"Oh, and I've written down all those instructions for you too"
"Wait… so you didn't have to just babble all the way through that?" The car seemed to smirk, though she gave Wren a reassuring smile after.
"It'll be fine…. Go and get sorted. Now. Go" Came the rare instruction from Shadow, to which Wren seemed to gladly obey. Skipper had meanwhile stopped Finn to make sure everything was clear, to which the agent assured the male Corsair that yes, things would be fine and it's all ok. It was here, as the two conversed, that Skipper found Wren lingering in the nursery, watching the babies sleep peacefully, a torn look on her face. Skipper moved slowly up to her, giving her a small nuzzle and watching them himself, both parents taking the time to stay in this moment for a little bit, Finn watching from the doorway with a small smile on his face. It must have been nice to have a complete little family… He found his thoughts were wondering, and snapped them back to the situation at hand, as Skipper slowly prized Wren away from their children's bedside. It took around 10 minutes more to finally get outside, with Wren constantly looking back to the house and bidding her farewells to Shadow and Finn, though still hesitant to leave. She was unsure, though as she looked back to Skipper finally, she knew in her heart that they had to leave…. Skipper needed her. Shadow watched them from the doorway, watching until they had both vanished, and even then not shifting from the doorway for a while, until Finn nudged her gently.
"She looked so torn up Finn…"
"I know… but that's the bond between parent and baby at work there… it's hard for her to leave them behind" He explained gently, to which Shadow closed the door gently.
"I guess I just never expected to see her like that..." Shadow spoke again, watching Finn as he moved toward the kitchen, and opening the fridge. A small chuckle seemed to emerge from him, causing her to draw in closer, having a peek to see what was so amusing. He leaned over, showing her that Wren had indeed left them some dinner… with step by step instructions on how to cook it. At this, Shadow chuckled, shaking her hood lightly.
"You know she's a complete nutter, right?" She laughed, causing Finn to smile back.
"She's just making sure everything is covered… As we were just saying, it can be hard for a mother to leave her children" Finn reminded her, to which Shadow nodded a little.
"Yeah… she is very motherly isn't she…" Shadow started, though seemed to frown lightly, dropping her gaze. "I… I've always kinda wondered what that felt like… you know, to have a close bond with my mother…" She then added quietly, causing Finn to gaze back in slight horror, having realized the emotional trauma that this conversation could present her, reminding her of her dark past and lack of family. He felt awful in that moment, knowing that he was one of the only ones to know of how deeply her past still affected her, and thought quickly on his tires to try and make it better.
"Hey, at least you're not old"
"You're not old Finn…."
"Do you wish to bet on that? I'm 48, and I think I'm going grey…."
"Finn… your paint scheme is grey. You're not 'turning' grey"
"Is someone getting smart with me?"
"Finn I don't have to be smart to know that you're being a fool" She smiled to him, laughing a little. "Age never mattered to me" She added, before she distracted him by raising her tire up, and using the other to steal the dinner from his grasp. He was quick to use a grappling and snag her back axle, preventing her from running away. Shadow then returned the gesture, her magnet activating on her tires as she swung to round to try and deter the older agent, though he only blocked the attack with his own tire. They seemed to watch each other for a moment, an unspoken truce settling on them as they grinned to one another, knowing they were rather evenly matched in this tight space. As Finn turned to start working Wren's oven, Shadow couldn't help but smile gently, noting how quickly the Faultless had managed to make her happy again… and perhaps made her feel a little special inside.
Meanwhile, Wren and Skipper were well on their way, taking the long several hour flight to America, though Wren was still rather uneasy. She was trying her best to hide her doubts and fears, knowing Skipper already felt guilty about pulling her away from the kids, plus the fact that he was in England when his mother passed, she didn't want to make him feel worse. The scenery passed below them slowly, despite their fast speed in the air, and Wren could see the distance they had yet to cover… it was going to be a long night. Not much had been said since their departure, with nothing much to say but the occasional check to the others well being. Wren would often flick her gaze over to the grief stricken husband, to see him staring straight ahead each time… paying no heed to anything around him. The SuperCorsair eventually cleared her throat, trying to get some sort of conversation out of him.
"Have you contacted your brother yet? To say that you're coming?" She asked in a gentle tone, knowing full well what he thought of his sibling. The male plane only rolled his eyes and groaned to start with, a frown forming as he continued to stare ahead.
"I called him, yes. But I was met with one worded answers and general rudeness...But that's Hunter for you" Came the reply, before both planes fell silent again. Nothing save for the sound of their props beating the air and their engines filled their ears for a little while, before Wren continued.
"I guess that means we won't be staying in the family home, huh?"
This earned a snort from the male, which in turn made Wren smile a little.
"No, we're staying with an old navy friend of mine that lives close by… I might also go out and have too much to drink with said navy friend, numb my head a little" Skipper grumbled slightly, though Wren only smiled a little more.
"It's alright…. I'll look after you" She assured him, as both planes banked a little, continuing on their long trip.
Giggles and baby chirps could be heard echoing through the hangar, Wren's two boys, Valiant and Chance were practically bouncing on the spot on their landing gear, Finn gently batting and dragging them around slowly in a mock play fight. He was pushing them back slightly, then blowing in their face to make them squeal a little, before dragging them all over again and letting them bite at his lights. Shadow was off to the side, watching with a smile on her face as Finn continued to play gently with them, having not seen Finn interact with kids that much before, but seeing a whole new side to him. It was almost as if the Agent was made to have kids… and it led her to wonder the exact reason as to why Finn never settled down. Other agents had family… would it be that he simply didn't want to risk a family, or something else? In her wondering, Finn happened to notice her watching, giving a slightly sheepish smile. Whilst he wasn't looking, Chance became slightly rough with his brother, nipping his tail pretty hard and causing Valiant to cry out, his wails filling the hangar loudly. Before Shadow had a chance to react, Finn was there, fussing over the small plane and shushing him quiet. The whole scene made Shadow's heart practically melt, not knowing that Finn was this way with children.
"I never knew you were this good with kids… you'd make a great dad one day" Shadow spoke gently, causing Finn to look up suddenly. Despite her compliment, Finns face had fallen, and he didn't seem so happy to hear this. Shadow became a little confused, and couldn't understand why what she had said would seem like a bad thing, beginning to feel… like he was almost upset? She hesitated now, unsure what she had said, before Finn resumed his smile, glancing to her with a reassuring look.
"Thank you… It means a lot to me" He responded finally, though Shadow looked away at the point… She wasn't sure anymore. A glance at the clock revealed that it was actually time for another feed for the kids, to which Shadow found a large pillow to settle herself on with the two girls, Finn helping arrange the boys next to her before warming up the oil as Wren instructed. It was amusing to see Shadow lined up with the baby Corsairs… there would be a time when they were just as big as her… and probably only a few months old. She glanced up as Finn came back in, handling four bottles with ease by balancing them on his hood.
"Remember to test the temperature… I really don't fancy another lecture off Wren" She smirked a little, causing Finn to smile and then test it on his tire. Without thinking, he licked it off, to which Shadow stared for a moment.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Finn…. That's stuff that came from my friend…. She produced that… Why would you lick it off?" She exclaimed, causing Finn to laugh at her a little.
"It's fine Shadow… we all used to do it" He assured her, moving to the two boys at her side and beginning to feed one of them, the other squeaking and opening his mouth to also be fed. The girls reacted too, making Shadow turn her attention to them and using the newly warmed bottles to feed them too. Juggling four Corsairs between the two of them was difficult, though they finally managed to get all babies fed, despite the fact that they were probably half wearing the oil they should have given them. Four very splashy baths later, and the kids were once more settled in bed, dozing and chirping lightly. Shadow seemed to hang by the bedside for a little while, watching them snuggle together in a rather large baby pile, before Finn came to coax her away, suggesting that it was time for them to sleep aswell seeing as it was nearly 2am. With reluctance, the Celica agreed, being led away and closing the door quietly, before following Finn to Wren's bedroom, though almost running into him as he abruptly stopped. It was a thought that had only just dawned on him, as he stared at the one bed that inhabited the hangar…. Of course there was only one bed. Wren and Skipper were married! Shadow also spotted this, and there was a moment where both cars seemed to decide what to do, before Finn cleared his throat.
"I can stay in the front room… you'll be nearer to the kids here-" He began, before Shadow waved a tire at him.
"It's a bed made for two planes… we'll be fine!" She assured him, causing him to smile in response. She made it sound easy. With little words left, the two vehicles went about settling into the bed, Shadow laying on the left, with Finn on the right, a considerable gap between them. The thought of sleeping in the same room as Finn tickled Shadow for a moment, but they would sometimes have to sleep close together on missions, so this was really no different. Sleep came easy enough, both cars settling down for the night despite the cold, with it being outside, the hangar walls were slightly less insulated than their nice warm flat 30 minutes away. It was for this reason, that Shadow seemed to get chilly through the night, subconsciously moving closer and closer to the nearest source of warmth in her sleep… which happened to be Finn.
The Faultless awoke early the next morning, to see that Shadow had infact snuggled right into his side, breathing evenly as she slept peacefully. The older agent froze, unsure as to how to deal with the situation, not wanting to disturb her sleep, knowing how hard it was for her sometimes, and trying to put his professional outlook. In the eyes of CHROME… this probably wouldn't be most appropriate… though his own feelings for the Celica were coming into play as he felt her stretch out against him, her engine giving a small contented purring as it did so, which softened his expression and allowed her to stay put, leaning against her gently as he continued to doze himself.
They stayed like this for a while, until the shrill cry of a baby Corsair shook the hangar, causing the Celica to awaken with a small jump, taking a second or two to work out where she was, before realizing she was essentially cuddled into her boss, suddenly springing away, her engine revving as she did so startling Finn awake also. The Toyota had flushed a deep red, looking to Finn rather awkwardly as she hesitated at the side of the bed, wondering if he had noticed her there… he'd been asleep as she'd woken up… so perhaps not….
"Shadow? Are you alright?"
"...Uh, yeah…. Yeah… " She answered, looking away rather embarrassed. Finn seemed to avoid her gaze for the moment, slightly cursing himself for not having moved her…. Though inside, he was feeling a little more dismayed at her own reaction. She had clearly not meant to do that…. Who was he kidding? She'd never like an old car like him anyway.
So for now…. Decided to keep quiet about his feelings