pullmeoutalive | log > what is wrong with us THE SEQUEL

It was hard to believe that only three hours ago, she and Jolt had been bar-hopping (with the best of intentions, of course) and now Naomi was soaring over a dense forest, zipping out of the way of a few directed lightning strikes, courtesy of one of Black Phantom's puppets.

She had bigger things to worry about, though. More specifically, she had one big thing who had somehow disappeared from the battle. It had been only a few minutes of leaving him to take down the other side's psychokinetic, but when she'd returned, Jolt had vanished. Hatsune and Akira were fighting on the ground, both too distracted to take the time to sniff him out. Sakaki was on hand in a nearby helicopter, but it had been made to land out of concern that the lightning would strike it. The Children could have helped, but they needed to stay together for Kaoru's cleansing ability to function properly.

That left a very frantic Naomi flying about in the hopes of locating one errant Autobot. The one controlling the other espers hadn't been very comforting, having glanced in the girl's direction earlier.

"Worried about your friend? You should thank me. I've taken good care of him."

She'd hardly been reassured-- if anything, Naomi's ire and worry had only tripled, until she'd not only knocked out the esper manipulating the lightning but picked up her speed. The fight was nearly over; she could see the bright light from The Children's area now, but she wouldn't be relieved until she knew her Autobot friend was safe.

"Jolt-san!!" She called now, skimming the tops of the trees and then flying a little lower. "Please, answer me!"

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He looked a little lost when she pulled away, not wanting this- whatever it was- to end, but only then did he realize just how out of breath he was.

And then he frowned, wondering for a panicked moment if maybe he'd gone too far, if maybe he'd done something wrong. "What?"

Immediately recognizing the look on his face, Naomi shook her head and sought to clarify her statement with a reassuring-- if highly embarrassed-- smile. She would just say it now, and hope that the fever would make him forget most of it by morning, in case the awkwardness was too much.

"I didn't want to admit it-- more that I was afraid to-- that I felt this way about you. I wasn't sure what would happen if I felt anything differently, and said something about it... so I tried very hard not to see you as anything other than a friend." She sighed, adding ruefully, "I'm pretty sure that didn't work."

The frown gave way to a smile that was somehow simultaneously relieved and warm and sincere. One hand cupped the side of her face, still with the deliberate gentleness he would have used were he ten times his current size. "I suppose that makes two of us."

Surprise and relief lit up her eyes, and Naomi allowed herself to relax and lean into his touch. This was bound to complicate things tenfold, especially when the higher-ups on both sides found out, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. The fever, however, still had her concerned.

"You know," she mumbled. "You should still be resting. At least lying down, if not sleeping."

Jolt always dove headfirst into anything without so much as a second thought to the consequences, and such seemed to be true for matters of the spark- or heart, as the case may be. The reactions of their commanders and directors and whoever else were the farthest things from his mind- save, of course, for Tanizaki's inevitable meltdown.

"Probably," he conceded after a moment. The sudden rush of... all of the things that had just happened was starting to wear off, and his weariness was making a comeback. He eased back onto the mattress, taking her with him as he had before.

She was more prepared this time and settled down with nary a complaint or protest. Her mind was still spinning from everything that had occurred, and she'd no doubt be mulling over things and developments for quite some time, but it was easier to focus on the present.

"This won't be easy." Whether she meant the new turn their relationship had taken or the fever that continued to lurk, Naomi didn't clarify. For all purposes, she very well could have meant both.

"I'm a fighter. We both are," he remarked, idly running his fingers through her hair and enjoying the sensation of it. He didn't expand upon his statement further- it was as all-encompassing as hers had been.

Eventually, his motions slowed and then stopped completely as sleep overtook him once again.

Naomi was prepared to remark on that, but the sensation of his fingers effectively turned her tongue to mush and also drew out any existing tension in her body, rendering her blissfully limp and lulling her into a comfortable, drowsy sense of complacency.

She was asleep before he even slowed down.

log > what is wrong with us THE SEQUEL

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