trans_9 | In a Mood

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In a Mood

Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap.

If anyone asked, Paco was using the Sensorium for physical therapy with his cyber-arm. Thunk went the tennis ball against the side of Rogers C. Giffen Elementary School's outdoor ball-shed. Bump it went off the shoe-scuffed blacktop. Bap back into his mechanical hand.

As for what he was really doing...

Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap.

Yeerks. Freaking Yeerks...

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"A trip down memory lane without me?"

Brenda came scuffing her way across the schoolyard, favourite jeans, t-shirt and sneakers from back home in place.

"Yeah, well, you always pointed out that this was against the rules," Paco said, glancing up briefly before going back to his ball-throwing. Thunk-bump-bap. "'Sup? Wandering around looking for me or just bored?"

"Little from column A, little from column B." She stuck her hands in her pockets and stood beside him, watching for a moment.

"So what's gotten under your skin? There's gotta be something up or you wouldn't have that look on your face."

Paco caught the ball, but didn't throw it at the wall again. After a moment's silence, he began tossing it from hand to hand.

"You saw the comm announcement that new Jake kid made, right?" he asked quietly. "About his brother having a Yeerk in his head?"

"Yeah. I saw." Brenda shuffled her feet, swallowing. "Well, it's already got a home in somebody else's brain, at least, right?"

She was well aware that that probably didn't help but said it any way, almost hopefully.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone," Paco said sharply. "Especially not for three goddamned years."

He knew she was just trying to help, but he's not in a mood for jokes. At least he knows that Iniss-whatever-number isn't an alternate universe version of Sub-Visser 7 -- different names. Thank God.

"What gets me," he started after a moment. "What's getting me is that it was being kept a secret. There was a Yeerk on board and no one said anything. The Pool's destroyed and the Kandrona's destroyed, but there's still a Yeerk walking around and no one said anything." He clenched his fist around the tennis ball. "Keeping it quiet's how they got as far as they did last time and apparently we didn't learn a damn thing from it."

Brenda flinched when he snapped at her, knowing even before he'd verbally lashed out that she's said something stupider than intended. The way he tensed up was just...

Padding over to him she rested her hand gently on his back at the base of his neck, giving him a chance to shrug her off if he wanted before starting to knead at the base of his neck.

"Look, at least we know now. I know you're mad, I know you're scared, you've got every right to be both of those things. But it'll be alright." She takes his face in her hands for a moment and makes him look at her, stroking her thumbs along his cheekbones. "I know this all sounds like bull coming from me, I wasn't in your shoes, but... It's only one. It's alone. We can deal with just one Yeerk. YOU can deal with just one Yeerk."

Paco's shoulders twitched a bit under her hand and slowly began to unknot, just a little. He reached up with his left hand -- the one that was still the one he was born with -- and cupped her hand against his cheek.

"It's just one," he repeated quietly. "Just one. I can deal. I just..." He squeezed the ball harder in his metal fist, then let it fall to the ground. "...I hate this. I hate feeling like this."

"I know." Brenda slid her arms up further to squeeze around him tenderly, leaning her head against his.

"I know, it's not fair when something that shouldn't upset you does. Believe me I know. But it'll be alright. It'll get easier, I promise." She laid a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Just trust me okay?"

Paco wrapped his arms around her and hugged her silently, half-clinging to her while he tried to settle his mind. He was a little surprised himself how hard this was hitting him. He was so used to rolling with the punches that staying punched was kind of bewildering.

"I trust you," he murmured, kissing her back.

"Thank you."

She lingered with that kiss, keeping her arms firm around him, her fingers threading idly in his hair for a long few minutes. Nuzzling against his cheek she finally murmured. "Come on, you want to go somewhere else for a little while?"

"Somewhere else on the ship or somewhere else in the Sensoriums?" Paco asked, nuzzling back. He was happy just letting her hold him for now, so if she wanted to go somewhere else, he'd follow just for the sake of more cuddle-time.

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In a Mood

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