Reverse And Diverse

Getting Closer 3

"Everything's going according to plan," Cobra beamed as he watched everything through his tablet.

"Even the attack last night?" Chili questioned.

"O~kay, THAT part wasn't according to plan, but it'll do," Cobra admitted with a nervous laugh.

"Gotta admit, Cobra, you managed to get the family together in one sha-bang!" Zoom chuckled, wrapping a tire around him.

"Thanks!" Cobra laughed, face lightly blushing.

Chili growled and grabbed onto the yellow truck, trying to pry him from the purple truck. "Woah, woah, hold up, you criminal, what's with the sudden closeness? You just TRIED TO KILL HIM!"

"OH, and you haven't tried?" Zoom raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Gays, gays, not the time to argue," Cobra sighed and pushed the two away. "We need to go keep an eye on Dynama to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else,"

"What about Glacier?" Chili asked.

"We need to make sure that he's okay, that beat-up knocked him out bad," Cobra shuddered.

"Right," the other two nodded before they all headed out of the garage as subtle as they could.

X
X

Crusher wanted to scream. He wanted to scream so loud that he could cause an earthquake and not care less.

He wasn't completely aware of what he was doing when he was half-asleep a few hours ago, but he wasn't expecting to wake up to have Flame nearby, reading the book he had been reading and occasionally glancing over at him to check if he was awake.

He wasn't expecting anyone to care if he was up and reading. He never expected anyone to care.

Pickle cared, more than anything, he did, so he stayed up to read whenever the green truck wasn't around. Anyone else would have left him be.

But Flame apparently didn't.

He had stuck by him, kept an eye on him to make sure he was alright. To make sure he was sleeping well.

To make sure he wasn't alone.

He didn't know how to feel. Screaming was all he could think of.

But unfortunately, he felt silly if he was gonna wake up screaming because of Flame's presence.

So what he did was lay down. Lay down until he could hear that the other was gone…

"I know that you're awake, Crusher,"

Crusher groaned. 'Darn it…'

Flamr sighed and set down the book. "Come on, it's time to get up, or you'll get ulcer from lack of food,"

"Argh…" Crusher rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What… time is it…?"

"Almost noon, you've skipped breakfast,"

"Terrific…" Crusher grumbled and forced himself up.

"Easy, easy," Flame helped him up. "You might be a little dizzy from sleeping too long,"

"Erm…" Crusher grumbled as he was helped up. "Sorry, I…"

"Its alright," Flame gave him a smile. "What happened last night can usually traumatize someone, so you're reaction was very normal… but it doesn't mean it's alright to stay up for so long, though I have to admit that the book you were reading IS interesting,"

"You… like to read?" Crusher turned to the other in surprise.

"Like it? I love it!" Flame laughed, helping the other to drive out of the room. "I used to have a whole collection of books, and the library used to be my favourite place to stay in every day,"

Crusjer gave it a thought before turning away with a sigh. "I… I thought that I was the only one in the family who likes to read…"

Flame turned to him with a sad smile. He came to a stop, prompting the other to stop.

"Krisha had no interest in books whatsoever, neither did Calvin," he admitted. "But I had a passion. Phoenix had an interest on books as well,"

"Huh, no wonder Blaze and AJ like reading books as well," Crusher hummed in thought.

"Yes, I suppose so," Flame smiled.

An awkward silence came between them as Crusher twiddled with his tires. He was trying to think of what to say when the other spoke up before him.

"Hey, Crusher, I… I know that what you said earlier was… was a word that you spoke while you were sleep-deprived—"

"Which— oh," Crusher stiffened as the memory came back to him.

He had called Flame 'Dad'.

When he was half-asleep.

Oh boy.

"Yes…" Flame, though it broke his heart to say so, gave a nod. "I… I understand that none of that was your intention, so I—"

"I… What I said was… I…" Crusher felt himself stammering as he tried to think of something to defend himself.

But what could he say?

It was no doubt that saying 'Dad' was an instinct as much as it was an intention.

Should he fib? He didn't know if he could bring himself to do that.

Should he tell the truth? He doesn't know if he had the strength to do that either.

"I…"

Flame could recognize the inner conflict and sighed. He rested a tire on his shoulder and gave a smile.

"It is alright. If there's something you need to tell me, I can give you time to tell me," he told him reassuringly.

Crusher blinked in surprise as he watched the other turn around. He felt his tires began to shake as he gulped.

What should he say?

Can he say what he wants to say?

His blood father was just at his reach.

This could be one of the first and only chances he had.

Should he take it?

His mind and his emotions conflicted over and over, but in the end, his emotions won, and he broke down in tears.

"N-No… please… don't go…"

Flame turned back and was alarmed to see the other on the floor, balling his eyes out. He zoomed to his side and patted his back comfortingly.

"Shh, shh, it's alright," he told him.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I…" Crusher tried to wipe his tears. "I didn't know if I should ever accept you… I… I mean… for a long time, I… I thought you left because… you… you didn't want me, and I… I—"

"Shh, now, it's alright," Flame took him in his tires. "I'm sorry for not being there to save you from Krisha and Calvin's treatment. You deserve much more than what I'm offering to give you, and I promise that I'll do anything and everything to get back at you for the things that I missed,"

Crusher.snifflrd his tears but they kept rolling down his cheeks as he returned the embrace as his blood father continued to give the comfort he needed.

And the comfort that he might just accept from now on.

X
X

"DARN IT!" Dynama snarled as she watched the father and son from a nearby roof through her binoculars. "That's it! Time to call Mom and Dad for extreme measures…"