Raindrops

XVIII

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters.

My friends: *opens door to my room* "Man, hope Lily's doing okay..."

Me: *huddled in the corner rocking* "The prompt list for Marinette March is coming out Saturday and I haven't finished Raindrops and I still need to finish writing/editing the stuff I need to post in February and I have classwork that needs to get done and IT NEEDS TO ALL GET DONE IN LIKE THREE DAYS AHHHHHH!"

My friends: *closes door silently* 0.0

Raindrops

XVIII

Rain swept over Aphelion's cover as the ship flew through the city's space traffic.

Ratchet's hand lazily hung over the joystick, his other hand cradling the side of his head. Clank sat, content and calm, in the passenger's seat, and his optics drifting closed before blinking open. A slow jazzy tune, something they'd hear at a café or simple coffeehouse, played over the ship's radio.

The "roads" were relatively empty due to the gentle thunderstorm that had taken Meridian City in surprise. Few ships, mainly giant transport ships that needed to deliver goods no matter the weather and other creatures that found it calming to drive in the rain, blasted through the channels. They were a lot slower than the usual traffic would be; every creature content to metaphorically soak in the calming rain rather than tearing through it in a rush to nowhere important.

Clank mimicked a sigh as his arms settled against the armrests. "Thank you for suggesting this mid-afternoon drive, Ratchet. The past few days have been far too stressful with Secret Agent Clank's new film about to premiere... I am grateful for a moment to relax."

"No problem, pal." The ship leaned more to the side as Ratchet tilted the joystick. Aphelion ducked under a highway channel, the sound of the rain dipping in-and-out as the starship flew under rows of transport ships. "You've been real anxious the past few days. Figured something like this would calm you down just a bit and get you a little more prepared for the premiere Thursday."

Raindrops pattered against Aphelion's cover once again, the atmosphere slipping back to one of pure serenity. Clank's optics processed less and less, the little robot slipping further and further into sleep mode...

"HEY, WATCH IT!"

Clank jerked awake, leaping to his feet as Aphelion whipped to the side. He caught Ratchet throwing up his hand, making a rude gesture to another ship. "Ratchet! What happened?!"

"Someone just about crashed into Aphelion's wing!" the Lombax shouted, eyes peering through the thin curtain of rain. "I wasn't going too slow for someone to get annoyed, and they should have seen me!"

A red stoplight flashed in front of Aphelion, and Ratchet slowed the ship to a hover. As he pulled close, another ship hovered next to them.

It was a hot rod, clearly something that had been bought with millions of bolts. Sleek racer red stripes ran up a bright orange coat, and modified thrusters drowned out the rumble of thunder. Young adult Cazars, clearly in their early twenties, howled with laughter in their ship, flashing rude gestures at the duo. Their ship roared again, and this time, the Cazars made it clear they wanted to race the duo with their hot rod.

Clank laid a hand on Ratchet's arm. "Please. Let us let it go. They are only foolish creatures trying to gain an ego boost."

The Lombax relaxed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. As his eyes opened, his fingers stretched off the joystick, thumbs still around the stick. "You're right. You're right." The air blew through his lips as he focused back on the space in front of him. "They're not worth it." He cracked a smile as Clank slowly took his hand off the Lombax's arm. "And on the bright side, if they keep clowning around, they'll be the ones in trouble with the cops, not us."

The little robot smiled as he settled back in his seat. "Thank you, Ratchet."

As the light turned green, the Cazars blasted off, leaving Aphelion behind in the dust. Ratchet ground his teeth, not wanting to back down from the challenge, but then turned his head to Clank.

Calm filled him, and as he eased Aphelion forward, back to the speed they had been at before, Ratchet relaxed the tension from his muscles.

Karma was going to get back at them for their recklessness, but for now, Ratchet was content with just spending a calm day with his friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alternate ending: The Cazars flash an exceptionally rude gesture at Clank, and Clank joins Ratchet in his want to school the young adults. Wanted to do it, but then figured that Ratchet would be a little more level-headed after so many journeys. Not to say that he can't school them, just that he doesn't want to.

I ache for some more partners-in-crime stories, partly since Clank has a mischievous side of his own that I like seeing, but HHHH I don't care anymore this short's done and gone.

Can I post these all by the end of the 31st? We'll see, and I'm doing everything in my power to make it happen. Here's to hoping...

Thank you all for reading and commenting! See you all in the next chapter!

XD