Another starting flashback I couldn't wait to get into. I thought of it while brainstorming a future arc in PNG.
Year Four: The Wind in Their Tails
Eleven Years Ago - Somewhere Above Asgard
"Apollo, are we allowed here?"
"I am allowed wherever I please," Apollo responds quietly, peering over his shoulder before opening the sector doors.
"Then why are we whispering?" Freya asks with a grin.
"I'm not whispering," Apollo argues while whispering. "I simply did not inform anyone where we were."
"Because we're not allowed here. We're too young to fly the ships."
"No, we are not."
Apollo opens the doors and Freya follows him through the dark storage unit with an open ceiling. Ships glint in the light, panels and windows reflecting at every grasp their eyes catch. Freya's amazement exits her mouth as she spins on her heels.
They're not granted access to learn how to fly for another few years at The Learning Hall.
"We could get in trouble," Freya says.
"I know how to fly one of these," Apollo brags, patting the side of a ship before climbing on.
"Do not!"
Freya steps on after him, ogling when it lights up for them in many colours. She sits in the big piloting seats beside Apollo; however, she first crouches on her seat and reaches over to him to put his seatbelt on.
"I thought you had to be older to drive and fly on Midgard," Freya tells him. "That's what they teach us in our classes."
Apollo scoffs. "Midgardian propaganda."
"You're stalling because you don't know how to start it."
Apollo scoffs again, brushing off Freya's grin. "I know what I am doing."
Freya watches as Apollo pulls up the interface, the system asking for a key and password.
Apollo clears his throat and deepens his voice. "Thor Odinson, Strongest Avenger."
Freya laughs to herself, shrinking back in her seat to hide her giggles. Apollo looks up and holds the controls as the engine starts. He pulls them back and Freya pulls her knees up to her chest as they start moving. She and Apollo giggle like the children they are as he picks up speed and turns onto the flying ramp.
"Let's go!"
He pulls the controls towards him and the ship teeters as they turn upwards. Apollo screams for joy as Freya's eyes plaster to the night sky outside the window. The stars blur onto one another as Asgard grows smaller below them. When Apollo levels them out, he exhales shakily before relaxing in his seat. Freya cautiously unbuckles as Apollo does the same and they both look at Asgard below together.
"Hey, Freya," Apollo says, turning his seat towards her.
"Yes?" Freya asks.
"Do you know how to set the automated things?"
"The what?"
Apollo's face drops as alarms blare in their ship. Apollo grips the controls and Freya tries to buckle up but their ship lurches forwards and downwards. They scream. Apollo holds on to the controls, feet against the interface. He lets go of one hand and grabs onto Freya as they flail around.
Apollo yanks the controls back when the ship hits the ground and they let go. Dirt hits the ship as they skid. Freya slams on the floor and Apollo towers over her, holding her head against him.
Freya's head spins as her ears ring. The ship must've stopped but she can't see anything except for Apollo teetering above her. His face is close to hers, etched with worry and panic. She thinks tears are in his eyes, brimming as he says her name but she can't hear it at first.
"Freya," his voice finally breaks through the ringing and the thumping of her heart.
His face contorts into confusion when she smiles, eventually laughing.
"You're the worst pilot ever," she tells him.
Apollo exhales a laugh as he leans down and hugs her tightly. Her heart pounds in her ears, against her chest and she bets he can feel it against his body. She doesn't want to let this moment end.
"Mother will send me back to Midgard after she hears of this," Apollo whispers.
"Don't go," Freya begs.
-o-
Present Day - Somewhere in the Air - 10:26 AM
Angela and Orchid swerve their quinjet as they soar through the grey clouds. On another day of Weight Classes A and B joining forces, they're running through quinjet drills while partnered. During their flight attack drills, they have to practise flying under difficult weather and while being attacked by others in the air.
Those being their classmates.
"This was my field test, let me handle it!" Angela exclaims as Orchid points out oncoming quinjets on their radar.
"Good," Orchid exhales. "How am I supposed to fly one of these? I get a ticket every time I drive my brother's truck back home. Jesus, take the wheel!"
"Was that an expletive or a demand?" Angela grins as she heads to a higher altitude and heads north.
Orchid leans back in her seat and fiddles with her thumbs. "If we get a successful hit on Agent Magnum, do we pass the class or fail?"
" … we should've asked that before we got here. This is clearly a sign from God."
Orchid snorts. "Oh, so now you're religious?"
"I'm just speaking your language." Angela clears her throat. "With yar charmin' accent y'all."
Orchid's jaw drops entertained with a small laugh as she smacks Angela's bicep.
-o-
Xavier and Brody soar through the sky, relaxing. They played a couple of rounds of go fish since it's been a smooth ride for them. Their classmates were just firing and zipping by them but they've been untouched.
"Let's go with the wind at our tail so it'll push us," Brody says, changing the gears with one hand as his other one holds his cards.
"Save fuel we could reallocate," Xavier adds.
"Exactly. So should we open fire on Angela or James?"
"Both."
They put their cards down. Xavier slides Brody the guns to aim and fire as Xavier mans the controls and inserts them into the chaos with their classmates.
-o-
Merida and James scream as they fly through rounds of rapid-fire. She controls the flight as he mans their guns and keeps an eye on their surroundings. They spent the first ten minutes in silent air arguing over who got what role since they both wanted to be the pilot but now they're here in the middle of the fire.
"You tell me to stay awake in class in the rare time you do show up, but you barely listen!" Merida yells.
"I tell you to stay awake because I'm barely listening!" James responds, flicking levers above them to alter engines and save power.
Merida swerves, circling everyone. They look out at their classmates, reflective planes glinting from gunfire.
"James-" Merida starts.
James unbuckles his seatbelt. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Which button opens the landing dock again?"
"Um…" James looks at all the buttons blankly. "This is why I tell you to listen."
Merida slides the controls to him as she opens the manual she was sitting on. She leafs through the pages, skimming each one until she pushes a button above her head. When their landing dock opens, James shrinks and flies out as Merida chucks the manual with him.
-o-
Outside Sci-Tech's Faculty Building - 14:32 PM
Daniel didn't expect to see anything when he left his office hours, but it certainly wasn't watching Keith bike down the sidewalk in the middle of the cold, skid on some ice, and fly over his handlebars. He immediately ran over to his friend who was bleeding all over his face and on the ground.
"I'm fine," Keith states, putting up his bleeding hands. "My helmet's broken but I'm fine."
"No," Daniel says, needing to stop Keith from getting back on the bike. He looks at Keith on his phone. "What are you doing?"
"I texted Naomi that I crashed my bike." Keith laughs a little to himself. "She asked me what I crashed into instead of asking if I'm alright."
"We're going to the ER," Daniel orders. He makes Keith hold tissues against his bleeding face and guides him across campus.
"Hold my phone and keep Naomi updated for me."
Daniel sighs. "Fine."
-o-
Naomi: WHAT THE FUCK, KEITH?! THIS IS NOT FINE. I GO TO GET A COFFEE AND YOU'RE AT THE ER?! THEY HAVE SHIT COFFEE HERE!
It wasn't until Naomi got the first coffee that she processed that Keith crashed a bike on campus. She read his texts, left her dorm, got a coffee, walked back, and realized he was in a fucking accident.
And didn't ask if he was okay.
So she speed-walked over to the campus ER and ducked her way through rows and rows of cadets in here after accidents either from classes, early fieldwork, or tripping over their laces. Nobody was answering her texts and she couldn't find them, but at least she found the complimentary shitty coffee machine so she got herself another cup.
"That's a lot of coffee."
Naomi turns around and sees James walking up to her in his training uniform. He makes himself a coffee, looking at the two cups in her hand.
"If there's more coffee in the cup, then I tend to drink more coffee," Naomi explains. "There's so much in here to sip. Simple science."
"True," James says as he adds cream and sugar to his cup.
"What are you even doing here?"
"My class in the next building ended and I took a shortcut through here. Why are you here?"
"Keith's here with Daniel. He crashed his bike or something."
"Naomi!"
"What?"
"Keith is in the ER and you took a coffee break?"
Naomi frowns at him. "I was already having one when he crashed his bike! What's your excuse?"
"I was in class!"
"Oh, so now you go to class."
James bites his tongue, taking a sip of the bad coffee and grimacing at the taste. "My girlfriend was there and we were flying the quinjets! Come on."
James walks down the other wing and Naomi follows. They peek in every section, even waving at some cadets they recognize. Eventually, they see Keith lying in a bed with bandages on his face and hands and Daniel standing there like a worried father.
"You're getting a Masters in med," Keith says to Daniel, "do my stitches for me. I only trust you."
"I've barely practised on a cadaver," Daniel responds.
"Do you think the cadavers here are agents who died in battle?"
Daniel doesn't say anything since it's a really good question that he doesn't want to think about too much. Instead, he decides to take pictures of Keith's injuries since he wanted some evidence of the aftermath and his scratched glasses. He notices James and Naomi in the background when they started posing in the pictures.
That's when Keith turns around.
James grins. "Hi, Keith."
Naomi frowns. "You can't tell me you're fine and then go to the ER."
Keith laughs a bit. "You're cute when you're worried."
Naomi's eyes widen, cheeks redden. "Um-"
"What about me?" James asks, not noticing Daniel rolling his eyes.
"Pain meds," Keith explains causally.
"You're not on any," Daniel says, ignoring Keith's glare.
The last part may or may not be based on true events.