[C][AU][Future AU] Messages

"Istaal," he repeated, trying it out on his tongue.

He remembered that phrase being hissed once or twice by an Altean. he never realised the weight of the word.

Sort of like how the funny sounding quiznak was their version of fuck. Just from what Fleck was saying, a lot less severe.

"Remind me of it when we leave earth."

"Its up to you to remember it. If Dick finds out I've been teaching you this shit, I'll be skinned."

Dick was rather prim and proper, especially when it came to Galra insults, which were all pretty brutal in nature.

Fleck pushed off the wall and flopped down so he was laying in Lucas' lap this time.

"I don't think you'll be skinned," he grinned down at Fleck.

The can of shitty cider set aside, he ran his fingers through his hair, towards his bun. He started unpinning it.

"No, youre right. I'll be stranded on some stupid moon somewhere, never to be seen again."

He tilted his head so Lucas could get to the bun easier.

Lucas snorted.

"Come on, that is my trademark phrase, stupid moon, you can't go using that."

Hair unpinned, he ran his fingers through the hair to gently pull out the knots. Fleck's hair was kind of ridiculous, he had to extend his arm to run his fingers all the way through.

"Will you fight your lead Paladin for that phrase? No? Thought not."

None of them ever wanted to fight him. Most of them were scared to even try after he started to be able to floor Giacinto in training.

The fingers running through his hair had his shoulders relaxing.

"Mmm, fuck, that's good," he groaned softly.

"I'm Red. Of course, I will still try to fight you over something stupid."

He wasn't exactly known for making rational decisions. He was better. Much better since he was nineteen. He wouldn't attempt to fight Zarkon in a one on one fight anymore, which put the team in jeopardy.

"How much would you be paid to have this cut?"

He took the end of one of the strands and flicked it over Fleck's nose.

"You'd go down in seconds. let me use your stupid catchphrases, stupid red paladin."

Flekc's nose scrunched up, then he snorted.

"Not happening. It took you all over a year to get me to cut the blonde out of it. I'm not cutting any more out."

"Quiznak, those roots were awful. Pretty sure some of the crew wept when you showed off your new look."

He went back to resuming brushing his fingers through Fleck's hair. Occasionally he pulled a face when a weak strand wrapped around his fingers. He started a collection of broken strands on Fleck's chest.

"I dont ike having short hair, and fuck know whether I was gonna get bleach in space."

They all just had to deal with it.

At least now he took better care of it. No bad bleach or shitty roots. Apart from the usual few strands of hair you lose, his hair was healthy and perfectly normal.

And longer than it had ever been. He loved it.

"Space mall, duh. Might of made you grow an extra head though."

The Galran shopping centres were always a little bit uncanny with how similar they were to earth.

"I really didn't want to risk growing a second head. Or suddenly becoming Galra."

His broad shoulders rolled.

"Not like it matters now. Plain ol' brunet. With a few silver strands."

"If it is any conserlation, if you did become Glara that would have maybe made you hot."

Those Blade of Mamora guys did things to his twenty year of self. It certainly helped him get over his crush on Amr.

"Maybe made me hot?"

He mock-glared up at Lucas.

"I'm plenty hot as a human, thank you, Red." Maybe made him hot? What even?

He was hot!

Lucas sniggered at Fleck's mocking glare.

"Sorry, only a maybe from me. Although the silver does help - but only because I like an older guy."

Although, he was almost in the realm of older guy himself. Or, at least, that was how he felt.

"Please, I could floor any of those Marmorans. I have floored them." In training exercises at least.

"What's hotter than a hot guy fighting other hot guys? And women. Some of those Marmora chicks..."

And now he was fantasising about the Blades of Marmora. Wonderful.

"Black. They are Galran. They just had to be to be hot."

His own mine turned into fantasies, some long forgotten.

What he would give to be sandwiched between them.

"Also, just because you're getting sweaty fighting someone hot doesn't make you hot."

"You have a Galra fetish! Poor Nico. Does he know that you think he's inadequate? Or is that Galra-level temper enough for you?"

Fleck gave a long, low hum.

"Krolia thinks different," he muttered quietly.

That had been one of the most interesting training sessions he'd ever had.

He snorted.

"I can guarantee Nico was far from inadequate. There is just something about Galrans, man."

But that wasn't what he wanted to discuss right now.

He cocked an eyebrow at Fleck.

"Krolia? Okay, it is just you, me and inactive cave carvings. Spill the details; why does she think differently?"

Fleck hummed in agreement.

The Galra did have a certain charm.

Fleck sucked his teeth loudly. "Well, Krolia and I have always sorta had a thing. We were just... Well, there was a spark. Training sessions got heated quick with us. Especially when there wasn't anyone around. And once... Well, that thing they do with their tongue and teeth? Holy shit."

Lucas hit the back of his head against the wall, envisioning what may of happened between one of Fleck's and Krolia's training sessions, and exactly that thing they do with their tongue and teeth.

He couldn't help turning Fleck's earlier comment on its head.

"So, does Dick know?"

Fleck shook his head in Lucas' lap.

"I don't think so. I never told him. I couldn't figure out how to say it. How do you go about telling him that you had a one-training-session-stand with one of your tenuous allies?"

He let out a puff of air. "It was... seven decaphebes ago now."

He raised both his brows.

"Not to judge, but you should have told him whatever went down."

He took his can and took a sip.

"But to be honest, I'm not too sure if I could have admitted anything similar to Nico then. Not in the thick of the war."

They were all strained during that time. The chances are they all made idiotic decisions to let off some steam.

Fleck gave a strangled groan. "I know."

It hadnt been his finest hour. But nothing had been during the war. Tensions high, bad decisions were rampant in the Paladins.

"It doesn't help that it wasn't too long before Anna and I were... "

He cut off and upturned his near-full can of cheap beer down his throat.

"We could always call Krolia to pick us up," he snorted softly.

Lucas flecked Fldck right between the brows, not too nicely.

"Shit man. Again, really should have told him."

Can drained, how cracked open another.

"Sure, but one; do we have a communicator that isn't connected to the castle? And two; you know how off radar she can be from time to time. We will be lucky to catch her right now."