Flux

Flux's intergalactic gang was on top of their game, until they were betrayed from the inside.

Timmy’s here. He’s here. Safe. Alive. Waiting for me.

Timmy’s image pervaded Aero’s thoughts. Tanned skin stretched over fine cheekbones, decorated by soft black stubble, gray-blue eyes like a foggy sky framed by thick, dark lashes. He was wearing his favorite jeans�"those poor things were nearly worn to the death�"ragged seams, fading dark blue, the back left pocket hanging on only by a few threads that he had never bothered to repair. Atop that, a tight, black, long-sleeved polo with the collar thrown entirely out of whack.  A rude mop of brown hair, tousled by a slight breeze, graced the crown of his smooth forehead, unadorned, un-brushed. A pair of dark gray Aviators hung from his shirt neck, exposing a stretch of that sinfully beautiful flesh.

“Aero!”

Aero jumped a few inches into the air. Caught in the act. “Huh?”

“Stop�"”

The ship rolled hard to the starboard side. Oh, right.

“�"dozing off at the wheel!”

Everything seemed to return to normal in time with his equilibrium, but he scanned the horizon once more for good measure. All clear. “Sorry, Flux, I was just…” His voice sputtered out like an old engine.

Flux understood. “Thinking of him?”

“Yeah.”

She put her hand gently on his shoulder�"keeping the other on the wheel. “You’re forgiven, Aero. We’ve both got something�"someone�"on our minds.”

“Yeah.”

“Excited?”

“Nervous.”

She smiled fondly. “Don’t be, he’s fine.”

“I know, but it’s not that… it’s… it’s…”

For once, Flux couldn’t seem to read him. “It’s…?”

“What if he… doesn’t… want… me… anymore?”

“Oh… oh!” Flux reached out and slung her arms around him. The ship had never been farther from her mind. “Don’t think like that! You know Timmy would never do that!”

“I know�"or at least, I used to. We’ve been apart for so long… you can never be sure.”

“Aero.” Her voice had turned hard and commanding. “I asked Timmy why he was alive�"what he was living for. He said you. I asked him what he would do if you died. He said he would kill himself because it wouldn’t be worth it anymore. His last words to me were ‘keep my baby safe, Flux, please’. He was about to throw himself into a battle�"to save us, mind you�"and the only thing he was concerned about was whether or not you would be okay. Timmy’s not going to leave you because he hasn’t seen you in a few weeks.”

Aero’s eyes flooded and his vision began to swim. “Timmy,” he whimpered. He collapsed onto Flux’s shoulder, eyes dripping onto the hard floor. Soon, even Flux shed a few tears of her own.

 

Timmy pressed a kiss to Aero’s lips, but something was off. It was too soft, too gentle, too calculated. Flux had been wrong. “Aero,” he whispered, “can I talk to you in private?”�"too formal.

“Of course, Timmy.”

He let himself be lead into a large room in the back of the building. The only furnishings were a single long meeting table with a line of chairs on each side. Timmy pulled out a chair on one of the long sides and sat opposite it. Reluctantly, Aero sat�"too far away.

Timmy heaved a long sigh�"regret? For what?

“Aero, we’ve been apart for a while.”

I know, and I’ve missed you.

“And it’s given me a lot of time to step back and think about us.”

No, Timmy, you’re mine. You can’t do this.

“And I think this conversation is long overdue. That’s why we’re having it now, before I find a reason to put it off again.”

Let’s keep stalling, let’s stall forever! I was happy how we were, I thought you were, too!

“I’m sorry, I should’ve done this earlier.”

Timmy brought his hands up onto the table. Aero’s eyes went instinctively to Timmy’s left ring finger. There was a band there, but not in the form of a ring, rather in that of a tan line. The ring that they had given each other was gone. Aero took a moment to reflect. Timmy used to shower with that thing on. He slept with that ring�"Aero realized that Timmy even had sex with that ring on. And now it was gone.

“Can I see your hand for this, Aero?”

Don’t cry, don’t cry. I won’t cry, I won’t.

He reached out and laid his hand over Timmy’s proffered one, trying to quell the way his fingers shook. He must’ve been successful because Timmy didn’t seem to notice.

Timmy suddenly couldn’t meet his eyes, and settled instead for staring at the matte black ring stretched around Aero’s finger. His lips slowly began to form words, but he remained spellbound.

“Aero, I love you.”

Don’t, just don’t.

“I love you more than anything.”

Please, just do it, you’re only making it worse.

“Marry me.”

“Timmy, don’t�"what?!”

“Aero, marry me.”

He became aware of the velvet box tucked in Timmy’s other palm and watched in awe as it popped open to reveal a pair of silver rings.

Oh.

Tears were falling down his face before he could stop them. Immediately, Timmy’s eyes went wide with concern and he leapt to his feet. One hand and two feet hit the tabletop and he was on the other side, arms already around Aero’s neck. Aero realized that he had never before seen Timmy afraid. At least, never like this.

“Aero, what’s wrong?” No response. “Baby, it’s okay, what is it?”

“I… I thought…” He choked and sobbed harder. Timmy’s face, held close to his, began to fall in and out of focus. “I thought you were leaving me.”

“A-Aero.” He forced a laugh, but it came out more like a gasp. “I-I can’t believe you thought… of all things, I never… I just love you so much.” He tightened his arms around Aero’s shoulders and nuzzled his head closer. “I would never do that. Never.”

Aero whimpered quietly, “Tim…”

Timmy didn’t respond, he was too busy wiping the tears from his face.

“Timmy, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t b�"”

“I should’ve never doubted you. You of all things.” He sucked in a calming breath. “Do you still want to…?”

“Of course” was the immediate response.

Aero’s eyes traced over his sturdy shoulder to the box on the table. “Yes.”

Author's Note

I'm only going to post certain excerpts, so don't expect a full story. If you randomly opened a book from a shelf and read this, would you keep reading the rest of the book?

Reviews

[Louisa]

Yes, I would!