Gavroche Thénardier was given a medal for bravery (howdoyoudo) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-03-21 19:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, gavroche thenardier, tenoh haruka (sailor uranus) |
“Thank you...”
Who: Gavroche Thénardier and Tenoh Haruka
What: Whilst Éponine’s off on her date, Haruka’s been tasked with distracting her little brother.
When: 8th March
Where: A racetrack, mostly!
Rating: At least PG13 for Thénardiers and Haruka. TW for mentions of abuse.
Status:Complete
Gav had been told to wait at home and only let Haruka pick him up. So he waited, bored as anything but excited! He even showered! Sweet! He ate a snack, did a few things boys did when they actually have time ~alone~ then went to the living room to wait for Haruka to show up. What was taking her so long? Not that Gavroche knew Haruka was a her. Far as he knew, Haruka was just the fastest and most successful racer of their time!
When he heard the door knock he looked out the little hole and spoke. “Password?”
Well, Haruka had been preparing things down at the track, and had just about lost track of time. The moment she’d realised, though, she’d made straight for the flat. That question did make her pause, for a moment.
“Oh, God, Scoot told me this one. Give me a moment.” It’d been something ridiculous. She remembered that much. “...It’s rubber chicken, isn’t it? Weirdest choice I’ve heard yet.”
“Yep!” Soon as he opened the door he whacked him in the face with a rubber chicken. Not hard! But it was one. “I’ve been ready to go for a while. For fastest guy alive you sure took forever!” Went to grab his shoes on from his room and headed out of the house after locking all 4 locks.
Which was definitely the weirdest thing Haruka had ever been hit with. She’d give him points for originality, at least. “I was preparing a few things at the track. I think I’ve talked them into letting you have a go in one of the cars...”
“Oh fucking sweet!” Fist pumped the air and texted Éponine quickly to say ‘Have fun sis!’. He got into the car with her, confused by it being on the other side but okay! Fair enough. “So excited! I promise to try and not crash!”
That was all the fun of import cars, and this one was definitely Haruka’s baby. Well, one of them... she’d yet to try out the Ferrari on the roads, but it looked pretty promising so far. “If you do, I’ll show you the guy to blame. He’s spent all today whining about me doing favours for kids.”
“I’m not a kid!” Gavroche exclaimed and tried messing with his phone. He needed a new one, dammit. At least one he could play app games on. “So... What does it feel like to just... Race so fast?”
Ah, one of Haruka’s favourite subjects! “Honestly? It feels like... becoming one with the wind. The outside world just melts away, and all you’re aware of is the speed.”
“Sounds like fun... It’s like when I’m drawing on a wall. Well, maybe not the same, but a sensation of being one with it is my reaction!” Looked out the window and tapped his knee out of nerves.
“When you truly love something, that’s just how it is. You get to be one with... whatever it is you’re doing. The music, the speed, the blade... all feelings I know pretty damn well.” The last one’d become especially heightened since she’d awoken as Uranus. That Space Sword had its uses. “Should be there pretty soon. I’ll have one of the guys find a racing suit that’ll fit you.”
“Sweet! Sis says I need to find a better outlet that isn’t defacing public property.” Rubbed his neck and scalp before yawned. “I don’t see what the big deal is, really.” Gavroche laughed before leaning into the seat better.
Considering doing that tended to get you arrested, Haruka had to agree with Éponine. The girl clearly had various good points! “She probably just wants to keep you out of trouble. Apparently, that’s what big sisters do.”
“She’s no fun, I swear!” Folded his arms and pouted, slumping down into the chair. When they got to the track he got the race suit on and the helmet and well... It’s so hot. “How do you deal with how sweaty this is....”
It was better that it be hot than lacking in protection, really. “You get used to it, over time. It’s one of those things that you forget when you’re going at some ridiculous speed.”
“Sweet!” He shoved his hands up into the air in excitement and jumped up and down once. They set him up in the cheaper of the cars. The one with the easiest to replace shell and he was given the how to for basics by Haruka.
Of course, cheapest was completely relative when it came to racecars. Hell, Haruka’s least expensive car was a goddamn Mustang, which probably said a lot about how insanely rich she and Michiru were. Well, that and the Ferrari, the Lambo... “Think you can remember this? There’ll be guys acting as spotters for you, to let you know if anything’s coming up you need to be aware of...”
“I got it!” Gavroche nodded and revved the engine. He was guided up to the starting line and the nerves may have started but dammit this was going to be fun! At the flag to signal him to go he sped off from 0 to 60, to 100, to 120 and further as he took the turns and speeds and it’s so much fun already. He’s no where near a natural, but he isn’t doing too terrible. A little jerked around the turns and all.
Well, not everyone could be a natural... not everyone had a natural affinity for speed. In fact, Haruka was fairly sure she was one of the few people who did. He definitely wasn’t bad, though, especially for a first-timer on the track.
So far so good until a squirrel ran onto the track and he didn’t know what to do. He careened to a halt because he didn’t want to hit it and nearly crashed. But he managed to break in time and was now shaking from slight panic, mostly adrenaline.
At least he hadn’t hit anything. It was excuse enough for Haruka to steal one of the spotter’s headsets, though, just so she could talk to him. “You okay in there, kid?”
And Gavroche can’t really respond. Too scared. Too afraid that Haruka will hit him for messing up. He threw the headset off, holding onto his sides as she struggled to climb out of the car. Once out his whole posture is that of someone in a complete panic and if Haruka listens quietly, through the headset she can hear “I didn’t mean to... I’m sorry. It’s not broken. Don’t hit me.”
That was enough to make Haruka leave the relative safety of the pit to head over to him. This wasn’t something she could deal with over the headset, not in the slightest. “Hey... it’s okay. You should’ve seen the mess I made when I first went on the track...”
She rarely talked about it, really, because it didn’t do her image any good. This was one of those rare times where she’d allow herself to, though.
Gavroche shook his head, backing away. “I’ll get the money to pay it, somehow... Just don’t bring that old man back. Don’t have him pay to...” His eyes are wide with fear and his face pale. His body posture is so low and down that he can’t even see straight. But he can’t cry, crying is weakness, crying led to beating and waking up in their only bed with Éponine trying to wake him up.
From what little Haruka had heard of their father, she wasn’t letting the bastard anywhere near either of them. He’d done terrible things to his own children, and people like that had no right to be anywhere near them. “I can more than cover the damage... I’m not letting that bastard anywhere near you. Heard enough from Scoot to convince me of that.”
And he bolted, out here he was free, he could run. He held his sides, mostly because the straps had aggravated the bruises that were still there from the final beating he got. It had led to his entire left side being slammed against a wall after all.
It wasn’t much of a challenge at all for Haruka to catch up with him. Being the wind really did have its advantages. She pulled him against her once she caught up, careful not to touch anywhere that would be uncomfortable for him. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”
He flinched at first, trying get away. He couldn’t help it and could you honestly blame him. His breathing was shallow and fast paced. Gavroche was sweaty and clammy and just far too triggered to do much but stare out into space blankly. He did hear her words, but they did little to convince him.
Haruka couldn’t blame him at all. She’d work on it, though, and had some faith in her abilities... “Just breathe. Focus on one constant thing. I’ll help you through this if you need it...”
“I... Breathe...” He did that, only too quickly and he began to feel lightheaded on top of it. Little man needed to breath slower, focus on just the sound of his own exhale and inhale.
It was either that or he’d end up passing out, which would be awkward. “A little slower than that, okay? Take a deep breath in, then let it all out... just repeat that.”
Gavroche did that as best he could, trying to keep his mind clear of everything but the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It slowed to a level where his body stopped shaking and his brain was able to make reality separate from the trauma of his past. “Thank you...”
“No need to thank me, kid. Just glad I could help.” Haruka would’ve felt terrible if she couldn’t. Sure, she wasn’t trained in this kind of stuff, but the pursuit of Love and Justice kind of meant she had to help everyone she could...
And now for the macho frustration of triggering in front of another guy. He frowned and all but ripped the stupid race suit off and took for just walking off. If he had to run he would. He didn’t like being seen as weak in front of any but his sister, let alone another guys...
It wasn’t like Haruka hadn’t seen things like that before. Hell, even she’d had her moments, but those were largely down to the incredible troubles her dysphoria brought on... “Oi. Don’t. I’ve seriously seen worse than that... not weak to trigger in front of someone, you know.”