When the ocean meets fire

~~~~~~~~~~~~Distress~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello! I'm so sorry about the huge delay with this chapter! I've just had a whole week of exams, then I was ill, and it's summer so I've been outside a lot and UGH. Sorry. Really. I think this is the penultimate chapter, and thank you for continuing to vote, follow and read!

Thank you so much for reading,

ThoseSunsetEyes

Xx

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“No.”

“Aw, come on Tazzy! Please?”

“Uno: never call me that again, y dos: no.”

“Uh...Specs what did she say?”

“I-”

“The lieutenant Taz stated the following: ‘one: never call me that again, and two: no.”

“Thanks Megagirl! But Tazzy-um Taz, why not? It’s only for one night! And who knows it might be for the next morning too...”

“HEY! ¿CÁLLATE, ENTENDER? I AM NOT GOING TO GO TO THAT ESTUPIDA AWARD CEREMONY IN A DRESS!”

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Up was happy to say the least. He’d got his confidence back, his team’s last mission had been successful, he was friends with Taz again, he’d just seen the woman who’s ruined the past year of his life get a taste of her own medicine and he’s been told that his entire team, including himself, was going to get a medal in the award ceremony that he was headed to at that moment. The only thing that was causing him...well, a certain distress, was the fact that a: he hadn’t asked Taz about that kiss before she went on the mission, and b: he’d just turned the corner into the main hall where the award ceremony was being held, and he couldn’t see Taz anywhere.

Concluding that she must’ve been in her room, Up walked over to where he’s spotted Krayonder, who was stuck in the middle of two people he was trying to ignore: Bug, who, after he’d been asked to accept a medal for his participation in the mission on Bug World, had delightedly obliged, but was now in excitement overdrive and kept pointing out random objects in the room and asking in wonder what they were, like Krayonder’s shoes and the girl in front’s hair band; and Tootsie, who was reacting to everything in pretty much the same way, except relating every answer poor Krayonder gave to Farm Planet.

Up sat down next to Tootsie, and Krayonder gave him a relieved look, all too happy to pass the talkative chap over to him. Luckily Up could tune out the boy’s happy ramblings about his various cousins who were all members of the squash family, and instead he turned his attention to what was happening up on stage. It was nothing much, as they still had a few more minutes before the ceremony was due to start, but looking up at the familiar podium brought back images of a dream he’d had while Taz was away. Up confidently shook them away, but the idea still lurked in his brain, and there was only one thing that could flush it out.

The doors behind them opened again with a loud whack against their frames. Taz stalked into the room, meeting as many peoples’ gazes with her death-glare as possible. The ‘clomp’ of her boots rang out in the now silence of the hall as she marched proudly towards Up and the other guys with her head held high. Attention was taken away from the Lieutenant when the doors which were still swinging from the impact reopened and a rather distressed-looking February tumbled into the hall. She was followed by Specs, who had flushed a deep pink the moment she’d realised that all eyes were on her and the other two.

Up was the first to snap: he very obviously turned back around in his seat to face the stage, returning his expression to normal. Taz always made this kind of entrance, so there was no need to openly gawp when she turned up late for a ceremony. Krayonder and Bug, after receiving more than stern glares from their Commander, followed suit, and so did the surrounding people who caught a glimpse of Up’s expression. Soon the hall was filled with the low murmurs it had been filled with before and Up sat in wait for the girls on his team to arrive at their seats.

Surprisingly, Up heard the quick trotting of high heels approaching their seats, and when he turned to his right he saw that February was the first to reach them. She quickly realised that she wasn’t quite looking her best (panting and red-faced from running, and with a few hairs out of place) so she shook her hair out, blinked a few times and smoothed down her uniform- wait: that wasn’t February’s usual uniform. She’d kept the usual royal blue theme, but her slightly baggy jumpsuit was replaced with one that was rather tight-fitting, with the collar open and a wide silver belt around her waist. Up hadn’t noted the shoes until now, which were lifting her heels about four inches off the ground in sparkly silver, matching the belt and, Up noticed, the various sequins sewn around the collar and cuffs of her new outfit. Up rolled his eyes and smirked at Bug’s expression as she sat down beside him.

“Wow February!” exclaimed the astonished insect as his girlfriend smoothed out the fabric over her arms, “You look just like the time me and Roach saw star 18Z04 in its supernova stage!”

“Why thank you Buggy!” she replied, and Up assumed that she hadn’t heard him, otherwise her expression would have been one resembling a baffled goldfish at his complicated words. A moment later he heard heavy, strained breathing and the clunk of flatter shoes, and Specs plopped herself down in the seat behind Krayonder.

“February...” she wheezed, and Up noticed that her face was still a light pink, “how do... you walk so fast in... heels?” He looked down to find that Specs’ feet had been squeezed, or rather, forced, into short-heeled shoes which were ever so slightly too small for her. She’d discarded her heavy bullet-proof Galactiv League jacket and was simply wearing her pale khaki shirt and brown trousers.

“Well, you just need practise my girlfriend!” Replied the girl in front, who was now inspecting her fingernails, “And they’re only, like, one inch!” the engineer ignored her comment and set about reading figures from a small device which she had produced from her pocket.

Up felt the seat next to him move and he turned back around to find Taz, slightly pink-cheeked, but as normal: red bandana, camouflage combats, white tank top and her beloved black boots. He smiled at her and she shot him an eyebrow-raise back.

“Vale, let’s just get this over with.” She said gruffly, crossing her arms and looking up at the stage where they were almost ready to start. Up smirked- he knew she always hated the ceremonies. He looked down at her expression, her eyes focused and her mouth in a determined frown.

“Hey Taz...” he said, concentrating on her lips as he moved towards her slowly.

“¿Si?” She turned and shot him a confused look as he wasn’t looking at her eyes, but her lips.

“...Are you wearing lipgloss?”