In For a Crazy Ride (Voltron Legendary Defender)

Hitting the Roof

Patience was certainly going out the window the moment her passenger decided to bolt from the limo. Rachel's mouth pressed together, her eyes narrowing, knowing she would need to go after him despite the fact babysitter was definitely not in her job description. Losing the client, particularly a client such as the Shirogane family, wouldn't look good for her or the company she worked for.

"So not my day," Rachel muttered to herself as she took the limo around to the other side of the block, hoping she might cut him off, thinking there might be a chance he didn't want to draw attention to himself as he headed down the center of the block. Yet, there was something that would make him stand out that he'd noted would make him stand out. So when she parked the limo on the other side of the block and got out, she quickly spotted him wearing that red jacket of his. "That red jacket stands out, remember?"

He stood there, looking at her, his eyes wide. It was then that he bolted, and Rachel let out a sigh, knowing just how much it "so wasn't her day" as she took off after him, tugging her cap down, completely wishing her job, no matter the pay, hadn't turned out to be an over-glorified babysitting job.

"I have to deal with Lance enough as it is, and he's supposed to be old enough not to be pulling this kind of stuff." Rachel followed after him to the alleyway, seeing him jump up to grab the fire escape, which to her wasn't the most pleasant of directions for him to have headed. "And he, my passenger, should be too old for this as well."

Thankfully, there was a garbage bin that helped her reach the fire escape without having to do the jump she saw her passenger make, yet seeing him make that particular jump with such ease unsettled her, and she pushed herself to move faster so she might be able to catch up to him.

Because Rachel didn't put it past him to try an even crazier jump if he made the one where he could reach the pulled-up ladder with ease, having not even used the trash bin as she did. She could also feel a slight pull in her side, making her think she'd managed to pull something when she made her jump, yet she felt the urgency in catching up to him so that he wouldn't make another reckless jump.

When she arrived at the top of the ladder, she saw him looking around as if he were getting ready to make the jump, and she lunged, tackling him to the rooftop. They landed hard, and from underneath her, she heard him say, "Let me go! Seriously!"

"And let you do what? Jump from one roof to another?" She reached out, grabbing onto his shoulders which allowed her to feel how tense that part of his body was.

He turned his head slightly, glancing to the side, his eyes narrow as his face pressed against the rooftop. "I could have made that jump."

"That's not the point!" Rachel said, her fingers tightening. "The point is I'm responsible for you, but if you hadn't made that jump you were so obviously planning just to get away from me, I would be the one in trouble with the Shirogane family."

"Not as if they'd care," he said, his shoulders suddenly going slack, as if the fight in him had just given up.

"You mean the Shirogane family?" Rachel asked.

"Who else would I be talking about?"

"If they didn't care, then why did they go through the trouble they have?" Rachel felt her jaw tense; her throat tightened while her fingers tightened even more. "Does this kid have a death wish?"

He remained silent, looking off to the side.

"I need to ask if you have a death wish or something?" Rachel asked. "And if he does, does it have something to do with Takashi Shirogane and the failed Kerberos mission. After all, the deceased pilot for the Kerberos mission would have been Ryo's older brother, right?"

"I told you. I could have made the jump," he muttered, not moving. "And are you going to get off of me?"

"Nope," Rachel snapped. "I don't have any reason to trust you should I let you go. And what's this about the Shirogane family not caring? As I said, they went through a lot of trouble to make the arrangements they did, didn't they?"

He remained silent, the fingers of one hand scraping against the roof making her think at first she wouldn't get an answer from him, but then he said, "Let me correct myself. They would care if I brought negative attention to them. But that doesn't mean they'd care if something happened to me."

"That doesn't sound right. I mean, he is Ryo Shirogane, a popular idol. Or is he referring to the trouble he's recently caused, getting into a fight over a girl? Do I really want to know, given the fact it's really not my problem?" Yet, her passenger was her problem. "And going splat on the ground below wouldn't have brought negative attention?"

"Told you..."

"Not the point. Not the point at all, whether you're able to do it or not! Doing stuff like this would definitely draw negative attention and get me in trouble!" She pushed her lips together, thinking. "And what about Takashi Shirogane, your older brother?"

She watched his eyes widen, his head turning slightly so he might get a better look at her, or as well as he could, given how she'd still pinned him to the roof. "Shiro?"

"Yes. If that's what you call him. Isn't that the real reason you're acting up? Because he's gone? And you cared about him? It was only a few months ago, wasn't it?"

His jaw twisted slightly, tensing, but then he said, "Can you let me up?"

"Don't you remember I can't trust you?"

"I promise I won't run."

Rachel frowned, her fingers tightening around the red jacket, which stood out like a sore thumb. "And your promise means something because?"

"Because Shiro would be mad if I didn't keep it," he said softly.

"Fine. That works for me." Rachel pushed herself up off of him, sitting down on the roof. She realized that her cap came off and let out a sigh at that moment. She stood up and leaned over to grab the hat, brushing it off before placing it on top of her head. She turned to look at him, waiting to see if he would break the promise and run.

Slowly, he sat up, placing his hands on his knees, looking at the ground, his mouth twisting. And then, he said, "You're right in saying Shiro cared."

"Okay. Then do you think he'd want this for you?" Rachel folded her arms.

Instead of answering, he muttered to himself. "How did you keep up?"

"What do you mean?" Rachel frowned. "And that's avoiding my question."

"No, he wouldn't. I didn't expect you to catch me, at least not this easily."

Which, of course, meant, "So you expected to be caught?"

"Eventually. It always happens."

"Yeah, and you get whoever's currently in charge of you in trouble. You do realize that?"

He sat there, frowning as if debating what he should say next. His eyes were on the ground. "Sorry," he muttered, and then—

Rachel heard the distinct sound of his stomach grumbling.

She watched the way his cheeks turned red, his hands lifting, trying to wave it off. "Sorry! So sorry!"

"Certainly not what I was expecting of Ryo Shirogane." She took a deep breath. "Are you hungry?"

His head tilted up, his mouth twisting into a frown. "But you're supposed to take me to the hotel, right?"

"Yes, well..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "If you're hungry, it can't be helped. And you are my passenger, and it's my job to make sure you're taken care of. Is there..."

"Garrison Burger," he blurted out, making her eyes blink.