re_alignment_logs | can you teach me how to fly [closed]

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can you teach me how to fly [closed]

WHO: Kagerou & Kay Faraday
WHERE: The skies in Trion's sector
WHEN: Sometime soon after Blurr's post
WHAT: Birthday presents.
WARNINGS: FLUFF. SAP. AND ALL THAT.

[He still felt badly about all of this. He should never have forgotten the day. It was important to her, and she to him.]

[Only one way to make it up, really.]

[Someone else is handling her party -- which is good, considering Kagerou has only the basic understanding of how to put one together, let alone one so important to him. And her. This though -- this he can do. He's sure of it.]

[He just hopes it makes everything as it should be. That it's a decent enough present for the girl. Then again... it's not something he shares with just anyone. He'd done it once, here, on his own, and while Wing had looked on, it just wasn't the same.]

[Not the same as having a partner along for the ride.]

[He calls her, finally, deciding it's stupid to put it off any longer, and waits, up on the top of the temple, for her to arrive. All the while, he fidgets a little nervously in place.]

[This better be good enough.]

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... Something I don't share with just anyone.

[Shown, yes. Shared... no. Only one other person.]

[He circles one more time, before hearing her answer. Then, and only then, does he take off, straight upward.]

[He doesn't so much as slow down, climbing higher, and higher into the atmosphere.]

...You're showing me something top secret?

[There's a squeal from her, practically giddy. But before she can say anything else, Kagerou takes off for the upper sky, and she can only hang on tight.

Whatever it was, she had a feeling it'd be worth the wait.]

Yes.

[That's all he says. He knows he can't go as high as he once did -- not here. Not with that thing in the way. But he can go high enough.]

[High enough to where the air begins to thin.]

Hold tightly. Here we go.

[He pauses, just for a moment, in silence, to give her time enough to brace herself. His hands are steady around her, holding her close -- nothing will happen to her while he has her in his grip. He swears it to himself.]

[And then...]

[His thrusters cut out. His wings fold. And his optics offline.]

[They fall, dropping straight down into free-fall in the time it takes his vision to blacken out.]

[She didn't say much after that either. With the air being so thin, and Cybertron not exactly DESIGNED for air in the first place, she had to save her breath.

At the request to hold tightly, she buckles down in his grasp, holding onto any part she can get ahold of. She trusts Kagerou not to let her go, but she also trusts his advice.

But when his thrusters cut out, her eyes widen, head immediately snapping around to look at his wings. Was he malfunctioning? Did they go too high?? His optics going offline worries her for a moment.]

K-Kagerou?

[But before she can ask anything else, they're in freefall. And she wasn't even sure if she was supposed to be. That ground was coming fast. There's a scream as they pick up speed...it's really the only thing she can do right now.]

It's all right.

[His voice comes out a little breathless, despite not actually having lungs, or needing to breathe. But it's calm. Breathless but calm.]

Just hold on.

Trust me.

[They're picking up speed by now. Faster than they were going before. As calm and elated as he looks, there are scans running constantly in the background, notifying him of even the slightest change in altitude. He's ready, prepared, to kick back into flight mode in less than a moment's notice. She's safe.]

[But for the moment, all there is... is free-fall.]

[At his voice, she looks up, eyes wide. So...Kagerou was alright? This wasn't a malfunctioning. He knew what he was doing. And she trusted him, more than anyone else on this planet.

So she braces herself, peeking her eyes open from the wind only a sliver, watching the ground approach sooner and sooner.

She had to admit, her heart started to race.

[He leaves it as long as he can. He lets them fall as long as possible -- savoring this feeling. The only choice he'd ever known, for so long. Whether or not he would choose to let himself fall.]

[... Or whether or not he would fly.]

[It's not a sharp, sudden stop, like it would be, if he were doing this alone. He shifts, slowly extending his wings until the plummeting dive turns into more of a shallow arc. Only then does he kick his thrusters back on again.]

[And only then does he take them up out of the dive, into a spiral, casting long, quick shadows over the ground.]

[She could see individual rocks. The dust on the ground. It was almost scary, but at the same time, she knew they'd be okay. Like you would on a roller coaster. There was something stable holding you. And Kagerou...was more safe than that.

Still, her eyes grew, as at the very last second, they pulled up. Those wings flared, spiraling them up into the sky, away from everything. A scream of joy splits the air as she holds her arms up, letting the wind whip her hair back.

Nothing felt this great. Absolutely nothing.]

WOOOO!! OH gosh, this is AMAZING, Kagerou!!

[Once they've leveled off, he speaks with her again. There is a grin on his face -- a real, honest smile.]

I've only ever done this with one person. And... now you.

I wanted you to know what it felt like. Just as I wanted him to know.

[She probably doesn't have to guess very hard about who he's talking about. Or just how much this means to him.]

[She'll know.]

[That grin--it was nice to see. It was a rarity for Kagerou. And something she was glad to see now. Right now. While they were airborne.

Where they both belonged.]

...K-Kagerou...I...I mean--

Dad. You're the best. You know that?

[Saying 'Dad'. It felt so natural. To be shown something that Kagerou would only show to the person he valued most...

Don't cry, Kay. Don't cry. You're manly as hell.]

[... Dad ...]

[It makes something in his AI spark. Something bright, something warm. Family -- right. Maybe he needed this, too. Needed this reassurance he did belong somewhere in this place.]

[With his family.]

Happy birthday, Kay.

[He pauses, hovering in the air, now, and holding her up to optic-level. The better to tell her, this way.]

[Those were like magic words. Her eyes, usually full of pep and a little flighty, now softened... This was the best present she'd ever gotten.

She was flying. Flying with her dad.]

Thanks, Dad.

[When lifted to his face, she leans in...and places a kiss on his cheek. Only the best.]

I love my present.

[He's never going to get used to that. He should be. But all the same, his head pulls back a little in surprise, when she does it.]

[But.]

[He smiles a little. Just a little.]

Any time you want to... we can go together.

All right?

Anytime...?

[Her eyes glance up at him, practically emeralds glittering.]

I'd...I'd like that.

Who knows? Maybe one day I'll fly with you.

Any time.

[He nods, as he says it, bowing his head down over her.]

Fly with me?

[The corners of his mouth twitch again.]

I would like that, as well, little bird.

[And when he does that, she puts her hand up, running it along his cheek.]

I'd like that too, Dad.

I promise we will.

I promise, too.

[One more promise. One he will keep. For her sake.]

Is there anywhere else you want me to take you?

[And one she'll keep in return. Because he was special. You always kept your promises to your dad.

No matter what.]

I...can we go over Mr. Trion's lake? I've never seen it from above...

[His smile is very real now, very apparent.]

[Funny... how when he arrived, he thought there was only one other living thing that could make him smile.]

It's your gift. We can go wherever you like.

[He shifts, to hold her more securely again.] Hold on.

[And in turn, her smile is just as vivid, practically lighting up her face. She nods, clinging to Kagerou as he tells her to hold on, looking outwards at the sky.

She was ready.]

Let's go!

[And no matter what reality they were in, this was something she wouldn't forget.]

[He'll fly her anywhere she wants. For as long as she wants.]

[Anything for the girl who somehow, makes him feel as if he's alive -- against all odds and self-perceptions.]

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can you teach me how to fly [closed]

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