Brave Police:A New Era

A Little Too Not Over You (Pt 1)

(Based off of the song 'A Little Too Not Over You' by David Archuleta)

(Part One takes place around the same time as "The Italian Branch" chapter)

"It never crossed my mind at all

That's what I tell myself

What we had has come and gone

You're better off with someone else"

[_-_]

King was the last person in the bullpen that night, besides Regina, who busied herself with paperwork. The fire truck Mech was lost in thought, for his work was over until the next incident came along. Being the only Brave on graveyard that night was a little hard, especially for a Mech of King's tastes, since he was still trying to get used to the fact that he would never wake up in the morning (or heck, even in the middle of the night) to the sound of a certain Mecha banging on his door about an emergency and telling him to "get his fire-proof backside out of bed before she came in and dragged him out herself". Ringo missed Jacquin, but for reasons other than the usual excuses he gave Ace or Bishop whenever they were worried. The truth, was that Ringo King had been in love with Jacquin from the very beginning, he had just been too shy and unsure of himself to tell her at first. When he did tell her, she had also been unsure, but she had been willing to give it a try. They had kept their new relationship relatively secret, though both of the twins had known about it. Thankfully, Rook and Pawn knew better than to tease them, and so, let them be. King had loved the female beastformer almost more than anything, and it had broken his heart when her creator announced that Jacquin would be staying in Japan with her brothers. Before the British Braves had left Japan, Jacquin had quietly taken King aside and gently broke off their relationship, saying that what she had felt for King had been nothing more than mere physical attraction, and that she couldn't have a long-distance relationship based on just that. Though her words had broken his heart, King had understood her reasons, but that didn't mean that he liked it. When he stood up to put some folders away, a small picture slipped off of his desk. King turned a bit to watch it flutter to the ground, before he leaned down and picked it up. The picture was normal-sized (human-sized), but it held on it a precious memory. It had been taken a few weeks before the start of the exotic animal ring case, on a fine summer day in Scotland with a little bit of fog and the sun shining over Loch Lomond. King stood with a tilt in his footing and a smiling, visorless Jacquin hugging his side, her face laying on the curved windshield of his chestplate. Both looked happy as they held hands, and Jacquin's laughing smile was infectious, even from a picture, and King couldn't help the sad little smile that graced his lips. It had been the first and last time that Ringo had seen Jacquin without her visor, and he remembered being enchanted by the beautiful green-eyed fairy (she still couldn't convince him that she wasn't really an angel sent from Heaven). Her optics were the same shade of green as those of her brothers, granted, but it was the excitement and wonder in them that made them come alive. King missed her, but he could never make her stay. The firetruck's melancholy mood would have alarmed Regina had she not already known about King and Jacquin's relationship. In all fairness, Regina had thought it sweet, the giant firetruck and the (almost) petite beastformer, but she had always known that it would not have lasted. Jacquin had only been assigned to England because she needed the experience, a different type of experience that her teammates back in Italy couldn't give her. Being able to actually drive on real asphalt roads being one of them, because her original team was stationed in Venice, and most of Venice's streets were underwater. Which made Jacquin's singular alternate form make sense, in theory. But as she watched the huge Mech mope, Regina decided to tell him something. "King," he looked up from his desk. "Yes, Regina?" The blonde woman smiled softly. "Thinking about Jacquin again?" King started horribly, staring at his creator in pure mortification. "I-I, I..." he faltered, looking for something to say. Most people didn't approve of inter-office relationships, and while King would have happily told them to shove it, he didn't know his creator's views on that, and he would never want to offend Regina. He'd known her views in the past, but Regina was different now. While he fought for something to say, Regina smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, King. I understand, and the twins told me about your relationship a week before Jacquin left for Japan. I know you must miss her." King looked down, pondering. Regina then brought up her point. "You want to see her again, yes?" The firetruck nodded. "Well, Commissioner Saejima invited us to the Policeman's Ball being held in Tokyo next month, and all of the other Braves will be there. How does that sound?" Every person within five miles could have heard King's reply, and he was too excited to be embarrassed.

This story has a few more parts, and then we get a surprise!