Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rambo pawed the ground and bleated at his rider. Logan looked over his shoulder, lowering his spyglass.

“Jus’ a minute, ya ol’ goat. I’ll get you your treat.” 

Logan lifted his spyglass back to his eye, scanning the surrounding area for any more suspicious activity. He’d spent the afternoon clearing out some monsters aiming to take up residence too close to the town. The Civil Corps called him and Elsie in to investigate. They discovered the strange movement had been the result of some territorial disputes among the animals’ packs. 

Elsie worked her magic and got some of the more peaceful ones to leave the edge of town while he offered a disciplinary force to reinforce that order. After scaring off some of the nastier ones, he now canvassed the area to ensure no stragglers remained. 

Logan folded his spyglass and signaled Rambo, who’d taken to gnawing on some twigs. He quickly spit them out, looking at the monster hunter expectantly.

“As promised,” he said, holding out some fruity-smelling treat Elsie had cooked up. He patted the goat’s neck as it devoured the treat. Rambo looked awfully chuffed.

Logan mounted his trusty companion and they took off towards town, following the tracks that led into Sandrock from Highwind. There was something comforting feeling the wind whipping through his cloak, the gentle tugging at his shoulders rhythmic and familiar. The loud rushing air in his ears drowned out the stressful thoughts pulling at his mind. Sweat rolled off his temples and the hot afternoon sun warmed his back. Sand flew up behind Rambo’s hooves, leaving a trail of dust as they sailed across the train tracks.

It didn’t matter how often he did this. There was nothing like the freedom riding offered.

Logan directed Rambo at the reins, the goat obeying. They whizzed past the Sandrock Foundry, along the outside of the oasis and made a left turn just before Shonash Bridge. Soon, the massive steel-paneled bridge came into view. Rambo’s hooves thundered against the metal. As Logan approached the gnarled, twisted bodies of the looming dead trees, he brought Rambo to a slow stop, the animal’s chest heaving. He bleated, thankful to have a rest, and Logan dismounted. 

As Logan adjusted his hat, he caught a glimpse of something moving among the branches of one of the deadwood trees. It was far too large to be any animal. Leading Rambo by the reins, he drew closer and traced the movement. Someone tiptoed carefully back and forth along the branch, their arms outstretched to balance themselves.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Logan called out. 

Mai whipped her head around, caught off guard by Logan’s appearance. Her body wobbled, off-kilter. Mai missed a step and tumbled sideways. Logan’s arms shot out instinctively to catch her. 

His hands caught her by the waist. He faltered slightly under her fall, her hands planting themselves against his shoulders. Mai hung frozen-midair, bent over him awkwardly with her muddy boots flush against the branch. For probably the first and only time in her life, she was taller than him.

Mai stared at him with a bewildered expression, her dark eyes trembling from the shock, her lips parted in surprise. He noticed a faint scar usually hidden by her tousled bangs.

Mai carefully began pushing herself back up. He tentatively let go of her waist, keeping one hand close in case he needed to help her again. Once Mai found her footing again, she let out a weak laugh. 

“I’m gonna sit down before I regret it…” 

Slowly, she lowered herself to a seated position, keeping a hand close to the trunk for support. As she settled onto the branch, Logan noticed a few papers scattered near his feet. Mai must’ve dropped them when she slipped.

One by one, he gathered them. He shook the dirt from them as he straightened. An ornate seal drew his eye, the bold design peeking from within the stack. Before he realized what he was doing, he pulled out the page and read the contents.

It was a letter from Highwind, the first paragraph a string of lofty pleasantries. He balked reading the following line.

“Contract negotiations…?” 

Mai let out a long, weary sigh, not bothering to hide the situation. “My contract here in Sandrock is about to expire. I got a job offer back home.”

Logan’s head jerked up. “You’re leavin’?”

She frowned, pulling her shoulders back defensively. “No, I didn’t say that.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What?”

Logan coughed, his ears turning bright red. He flung out his arm, gesturing for Mai to take the papers. She raised a brow, confused, before hesitantly reaching for the papers. She held them as though they were a death certificate.

“So, uh, why do you seem so out of sorts about the offer? Ain’t it a good thing you can get a job back home?” 

“It’s…not that simple.” She rubbed her eyes, a tight expression on her face. She looked down at the letters and back at Logan, deliberating. She motioned for him to take it back. Logan shook his head in refusal.

“Jus’ tell me.”

She offered the papers again. “Read the whole thing.”

“N-no, that’s private!” 

“Oh, for all that is telesis, just read it!” Mai shoved the stack of papers back into Logan’s hands, nearly falling off the branch as she did so. 

Logan clutched the papers, stunned by her outburst. He glanced down at the letters, then back at her, silently warring between what was appropriate here. Should he really be looking at the private information of someone’s possible employment contract?

Sensing Logan’s hesitancy, Mai huffed and motioned again for him to read them. 

“I trust you. It’s not like you’re a builder or an actual bandit. It’s fine.”

Logan nodded and gingerly flattened the crinkled papers out, preparing to read.

“Read it out loud,” Mai instructed.

Logan cleared his throat. 

“Miss Mai, we have observed your exploits in Sandrock and are impressed by your accomplishments.” He glanced at Mai, who had turned away, her face dark. He continued, the stuffy wording feeling foreign. “As recognition of your capabilities, we would like to offer you a long-term contract with Highwind’s commerce guild. We have outlined our proposed contract below. If you have any requests, we are willing to negotiate. Please contact us by telegram.” 

Logan started reading off the proposal’s details. He kept having to stop and reread the terms, just to be sure he was understanding what Highwind was offering her. By the time he finished, his jaw was practically underground. If Mai took their offer, she could probably retire early. 

He let out a long, slow whistle. Logan pointed at the letter. “Damn, Mai, you really got them wrapped around your little finger. I reckon you struck gold ‘ere.”

Mai picked at the bark of the tree. A small chunk came loose and tumbled off the branch. 

“Dunno. I’ve got about two other offers just like it. One from Atara, another from Tallsky.”

Mai smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She leaned against the trunk of the tree, her shoulders slumped. Logan bit his lip, a crease forming above his brow. 

“You’re…not happy about it?”

Mai didn’t answer. She didn’t look at him either, just passively picked at the bark with a vacant expression. A decent-size chunk fell off and she toyed with it. Rambo had wandered off to chew on a patch of yakthorn in the distance, leaving the two of them by themselves. The afternoon grew cooler as they sat there, the sun beginning its slow descent behind the mountains.

After a long while, Mai finally answered. She held up three fingers. 

“Three years,” she said. “Three years, I waited for Highwind’s commerce guild to take me. I humiliated myself by showing up there every Monday, 8am on the dot, pleading for hours at a time for the commissioner to give me a job.” She scoffed as she recalled the painful memory. Bitterness seeped into her voice. “I didn’t pick up my first official commission ‘til I came here. Sandrock was the only place that’d give me a chance and not even two years later, commerce guilds across the Free Cities are falling over themselves to hire me, like I’m Peach reincarnated!” Mai tapped her head against the trunk. Her voice grew quiet, hollow, almost unrecognizable. “...I’d be crazy to turn them down...” 

She broke off another piece of bark, the wood tumbling to the ground, forgotten. 

“...so why am I not taking them?” she asked herself. She let out a dry laugh and looked up at the sky. A flock of birds passed over them. “There’s gotta be something wrong with me.”

Logan glanced down at the letter, noticing that its edges were quite worn and the paper strangely soft. It was dated a week ago but it appeared much older. Mai must’ve read it countless times. He understood why she had come out to the Bend to think. Sandrock was probably suffocating to be in right now. There were constant reminders of a life-changing choice she’d soon have to make.

Still, Logan had to admit that it made perfect sense for Mai to receive such an offer after all she’d done for Sandrock. She’d proven herself to be an extremely competent builder and Civil Corps member–he’d heard Justice joke about the Flying Pigs recruiting her. Hell, even Logan felt safer having her with him back in the starship ruins and the Portia tunnel.

The Free Cities were simply recognizing her heroic role in saving Sandrock from Duvos. She had the medal to prove it. Of course commerce guilds everywhere would be flocking to her door, throwing out everything they could think of to add her to their ranks. They’d be insane not to want a builder like her. Skilled, reliable, loyal, confident—exactly the kind of image Alliance politicians wanted to sell. 

Logan leaned against the branch, watching Rambo in the distance. He gnawed on the yakthorn peacefully, unbothered by the tension brewing where Logan stood. Logan’s grip tightened on the papers, and a weight pressed down on his chest.

He could only guess how burdened Mai felt with all this attention and expectations. Everyone had their eyes on her, waiting for her to ascend to the stars as the Alliance’s perfect builder. 

“You can always say no,” Logan said, searching for a solution. “Talk to Trudes and that commissioner of yours. I bet they’d happily negotiate better terms so you can stay ‘ere.”

Mai tossed more bark aside and shook her head. “Wei’s offering me much fairer terms for a seven-year contract than my previous one. He’s been more than generous.” She picked at the loose threads of her jeans. “If Trudy or Wei found out about what terms these other guilds were offering me, I know they’d offer a contract Sandrock can’t afford, just out of respect for me.”

“Then don’t tell them. Sign the contract you already have if that’s what you want.”

Mai pursed her lips into a thin line and raised an eyebrow, a thoroughly unamused look on her face. “In this town? You do know nothing stays a secret for long, right? Doesn’t matter if I burn these letters, someone’s gonna find out.”

“Ah, right…that ain’t gonna work.” 

Logan tugged at his collar, the cogs in his mind spinning. He cursed the fact he wasn’t one for strategy and he knew nothing about building. If this were about desert survival or monsters, he would’ve had an encyclopedia’s worth of advice to offer. In this case, however, Logan was the worst person Mai could’ve picked to confide in. Even ol’ Coop would have had something more useful to say.

The weight pressed down harder on his chest. It was suffocating. 

There was something else bothering him, something he wanted to avoid thinking about but couldn’t. 

Logan hated the idea of Mai leaving Sandrock. He liked being around her, and, well, it seemed he was losing a lot of good company these days. A week ago he was chasing down Grace’s train to Atara, the fiery woman stubborn right up until the end. She lied to him about the time her train departed, causing him to race halfway across town just to get in one last goodbye. The whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth, though he couldn’t blame her.

Then there was Haru, who, for almost a month now, had been finding a way to go to school in Atara, study chemistry, get a real education. 

Logan encouraged Haru to do it, and had been pestering Justice to give him any bounties that came in to help cover the costs. Logan, admittedly, lied to Haru about the state of their  finances. Things were tight after paying off that massive fine, but he had to get his brother to college if that’s what Haru dreamed of.

Logan had long since resigned himself to this harsh desert, certain he would spend his days the same as his old man did: fighting monsters and protecting Sandrock–and now raising a son while doing it. 

He wasn’t one to believe in destiny or fate, but if he did, Logan knew it liked to saddle him with tragedy. Like a tumbleweed, anything good that rolled into his life bounded away just as quickly. 

And so it was now with Mai.

She rolled in unexpectedly in a blaze of sharp wit and reckless determination, yelled at him for his impulsiveness and made him laugh at the strangest things–only to roll away just like everyone else had. Grace, Haru…his Pa.

The weight was nearly crushing him.

Wrenching himself from these unpleasant thoughts, Logan handed her the letter. Mai seemed just as lost in thought as he was. She hesitated when she saw his outstretched hand, staring at it like it was a snake poised to strike. She eventually took the letter, folding the papers and laying them next to her. 

Logan watched her stare blankly at the ground, kicking her heels against the wood of the tree. She looked about as vibrant as the withered branch she sat on.

“Do you miss it? Highwind?”

“Every day. My Ma‘s been writing about how she and my Pa miss me. She hasn’t said it, but I know she expects me to come home once my contract expires.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I don’t know…” Mai covered her face. An exasperated groan escaped her. She slammed her foot against the branch, nearly hitting Logan’s shoulder. He quickly stepped back.

“It feels…gross,” she said after a moment.

Logan cocked his head. “What does?”

“Getting a letter from Highwind.” She turned to him wearing a tight smile. “Y’know, before I was this celebrity builder, I was a washed-up athlete. The real reason why I couldn’t get a job back home was because the commissioner there hated me. All because of something stupid I did as a teenager.”

Logan heard about this. Grace mentioned it, once. When they’d first started looking into Mai, long before Rambo took her to the hideout. Grace had done a background check on the builder, and mentioned something about her starting a fight at a gliding tournament almost ten years ago after claiming someone cheated.

“For years I was seen as a hot-headed delinquent. I was the subject of gossip every year when the state races started. My impulsive mistake will never be forgotten, even if I do become the most famous builder across the Free Cities.”

Logan could relate. He knew the folks in Sandrock considered his past banditry water under the bridge, but the surrounding villages and tourists who passed through thought otherwise. Even if he atoned and would feel remorse for the rest of his life, there would be people who wouldn’t let him move on. Whether he did the wrong thing for the right reasons, whether he’d changed, most folks write sins in stone, not sand. 

Running a hand through her hair, Mai explained further. “So it feels like a slap in the face to get a letter from Highwind offering consolation money for the way they treated me. I won’t pretend that I never considered dropping everything and going back–because Light knows I came close many times–but I came here determined to start over. And now…” she trailed off, afraid to finish her thought.

“You moved on,” he guessed. 

Mai nodded. She dipped her head, balling up the fabric of her jeans in her hands. “Is that bad?”

“No, that ain’t bad.” Logan stepped closer, peering up at her. He offered a kind smile, one he’d shown Andy when he’d needed comforting, and one his Pa always gave Logan when he felt overwhelmed. “Mai, it sounds to me you already know your answer.” 

Mai slowly met his eyes, and he realized she was holding back tears. His breath hitched. He’d seen her stare down robots and murderers, get angry, laugh freely–all sorts of emotions that she seemed to feel with full force, always wearing her heart on her sleeve. But this was the first time he’d ever seen her cry.

It made his heart ache.

“I don’t wanna leave,” she whispered. 

Logan rested his hand on hers, squeezing it. “Then own it. The people who care about you will support you. Your folks, Sandrock–me an’ the rest of the gang.” He let go. “And if you decide to go elsewhere, you’ll always have a home with us. That won’t change no matter what.”

Mai’s eyes began to water and she quickly hid her face to wipe the tears away. She sniffled, and to Logan’s surprise, asked him, “Can…can I have a hug?”

He was even more surprised when he heard himself say, “Sure.”

She slid off the branch, her boots landing in the sand with a soft whumpf ! She kept her head low, but held out her arms shyly, waiting for him to embrace her. He swallowed the tightness in his throat and wrapped his arms around her. Her head rested against his chest and he prayed she couldn’t hear his racing heartbeat. 

It was odd how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. He’d been close to her dozens of times in all their recent adventures, but this was the first time he felt this vulnerable. Did she also feel this way?

“Thanks,” Mai murmured. She sounded muffled against his leather armor. “I know this is probably weird for you.”

His voice caught in his throat. “No…it’s fine. I don’t mind.”

He could feel her hands resting against the middle of his back. It made his stomach flutter.

“You always seem to know what I need to hear.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.” Mai pulled away, and Logan almost hesitated letting go. His arms hung stiffly at his sides. He didn’t know what to do with them now that he wasn’t hugging her. 

Mai swiped at her tears. Should he have wiped them away for her? 

No, that’s weird. He should give her a handkerchief. Only, he didn’t have one. Dammit.

Logan flinched at a puff of hot hair on his neck. He spun around, Rambo playfully butting him in the head. The goat had either the best or worst sense of timing. Logan rubbed the spot where the goat’s wet nose touched him, scrunching his face in discomfort.

Rambo bleated. Destiny had definitely sent him back to pull Logan from that insane line of thinking earlier.

Mai chuckled and grabbed the letter she’d left on the branch. She came over to Rambo, petting one side of his neck while Logan petted the other. Rambo let out another bleat, enjoying the attention. Logan watched Mai run her fingers through Rambo’s thick coat. She seemed comfortable around the animal.

“Looks like I better be gettin’ back to town,” Logan said. With no ulterior motives whatsoever, he quickly added, “Want a ride?”

Mai peered at him from over the goat’s neck, now having to crane her neck to meet his eyes. She shielded her eyes from the sun with the paper in her other hand, shaking her head. “Nah, I’m gonna walk around here for a spell. I got some thinking to do.”

Logan tried to quash the pricking feeling of rejection. “Alright. Well, guess I’ll be off then.”

A smile pulled at her lips, and Logan’s breath hitched again. Her characteristic vibrancy had returned, even if her eyes were red-rimmed. “I’ll come find you when I sign my contract. I wanna celebrate.”

He forced himself to pull his eyes off her and ordered his limbs to grab the saddle so he could mount Rambo and escape whatever spell she’d put him under.

He tipped his hat in farewell before digging his heels into Rambo's side. Her figure disappeared behind him as he rode away.

Rambo’s hooves pounded against metal, the sounds echoing across the canyon, and Logan believed saw Mai’s craftsmanship in the bridge. Rambo took him back up the desert cliffs. The sun continued falling, bathing Sandrock in a rich crimson light. 

He was breathless, air evading him. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach.

There was no way Mai was going to tumble out of his life anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Boisterous laughter filled the air, the saloon hot from all the people packed inside and the burning stovetops in the kitchen. Cooper and Hugo jammed out on stage, a small group of tourists watching and clapping along. Various people sat together at all the booths, leaving Owen hustling between all the tables to take orders and ferry food. He maintained his friendly demeanor, skillfully juggling the growing list of tasks.

The smell of food wafted in the air, making many mouths water. Tonight’s special was hot n’ sour fish and cold cactus, both dishes being ordered faster than Owen could get them out. He was grateful Mai caught fresh sand carp early that morning to get him through the rush that night.

Rushing past the front counter, he checked on his friends he’d been forced to abandon.

Logan and Justice sat at the stools, Andy in tow. They’d emptied their plates a while ago, but patiently waited for Owen to come back around. Meanwhile, Justice spoke excitedly, gesturing wildly as he finished regaling his audience with his adventures.

“—and that’s how I, along with my corpsmen, stopped a political conflict within a mutant-rodent monarchy.”

Andy let out a groan, pushing his empty glass of sand date milk to the side. “Finally! Took ya long enough to finish yappin’.”

Justice scowled. “Geez, kid, if you didn’t like it, why didn’t you just leave? Why’re you over here?”

“Logan said I can’t get up until I finish my vegetables.” Andy looked dryly at the heap of steamed vegetables on his plate, untouched. He scrunched up his face. “Listenin’ to you is better than eatin’ this. A bandit knows when to pick his battles,” Andy concluded, crossing his arms.

Logan stared at the little kid, a sardonic expression plastered on his face. He slid the plate back in front of Andy. “A bandit eats his vegetables.”

“I ain’t fallin’ for that.”

Logan shot an exhausted look Justice’s way. “I give up, sheriff.”

Justice took a swig of yakmel milk. “Can’t help you with that one.”

Owen came around the counter, finally having a moment to spare.

“Sorry I left you guys hanging. Things turned out to be a lot busier than I expected.”

The sheriff looked around. “Yeah, a whole buncha tourists poured out of the morning’ train. It’s nice havin’ more tourists an’ all, but more tourists means more trash. Me an’ Unsuur have been on litter duty.” 

“Must be because of the Portia Tunnel. I heard from a few customers it’s popular to take a train here, sightsee, then hop on the bus to Portia for a weekend getaway,” Owen said, stacking the dirty plates. 

“Guess it’s a good sign, means things are lookin’ up for Sandrock.” Logan handed Owen Andy’s abandoned plate, a symbol of surrender. Maybe Haru could convince him to eat them during tomorrow night’s dinner.

The front doors swung open, startling two customers hanging out on the sofas. Waving a piece of paper and whooping excitedly, Mai came crashing into the saloon, rushing over to the men at the counter. She threw her arms around Logan, nearly knocking him out of his stool. He gripped the counter as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. His face burned, his body stiff. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Mai exclaimed. 

Immediately letting go, she slammed a paper on the counter and pointed at it. Her face shone gleefully and she announced, “I’ve renewed my contract!”

She laughed and spun around, relishing in her victory. She grabbed Justice and Logan by the shoulder, looking between them excitedly. Her grip made their shoulders sting, but they hardly noticed. They hadn’t seen her like this before.

“And I promise, by the end of this year I’m gonna be the owner of a five-star workshop. I’m gonna dominate the workshop rankings too! You’re looking at the future Builder of the Year!” 

Owen calmly picked up the paper. It was a copy of the last page of her contract, her signature scrawled out boldly next to the Mayor’s and the Commissioner’s. “Wow, congratulations, Mai! I’m happy to have you here for a while longer.”

Mai grinned and straightened, moseying back over where she’d laid the paper. She breathed a sigh of satisfaction. 

“It feels so good to finally be able to settle down here. I’ve already made a list of things I’m gonna do.” She started rattling things off, going down her fingers. “I’ve gotta write to my Ma to send me some stuff from back home, like my books and photos. I’ve gotta renew my contract with Eufala Salvage and the moles, and I can finally renovate my house!” She squealed. “Ah, my house! I have a house here!” 

The four of them stared at her, agape. 

Andy scratched his head. “I’m confused…yer excited…to work?”

Mai finally relaxed a little, still beaming. “Yes, Andy, I’m excited to work. But it’s more than that,” she grabbed the paper, clutching it like a prize. “I’m officially stayin’ here forever!” She paused. “Er, for the next seven years anyways! Point is, you’re stuck with me!” 

The front doors swung open again, this time the other builder in town making her appearance. Mi-an locked eyes with Mai and ran over. 

Out of breath, she stared at her associate. “I-is it true? You really signed the contract?!”

Mai tapped the paper and nodded proudly, showing her the evidence. Mi-an gasped, embracing Mai. “Oh Peach! I’m so happy! When Commissioner Wei told me I almost didn’t believe it!”

Mai squeezed Mi-an back. “We’ll get to keep working together, and we can hang out more with Yan gone—“ Mai grasped Mi-an by the shoulders, staring intensely. “And we have to go Portia together for my birthday. I’m bringing Elsie and Heidi and Grace if she comes back and we’ll have a girls’ trip, finally .”

Mi-an nodded vigorously.

The four guys still watched, growing more dumbfounded.

Justice looked at Logan and Owen. “Uhhhh….girl power?”

Mai started furiously scanning the room for someone. “Mi-an, have you seen Heidi? I gotta talk construction with her.”

The two of them got sucked into their own conversation, hurricane Mai finished passing through. 

“Well, that was…unexpected.” Owen ventured.

“Downright frightenin’,” Andy quipped.

Justice added, “Yeah, definitely wasn’t expectin’ her renewing her contract to be such a big thing. I thought she’d settled down here the first time ‘round.”

Logan cleared his throat, avoiding the eyes of his buddies. “Let’s jus’ say she had some soul-searchin’ she had to do before signin’ this one. Let her celebrate a bit.”

Justice narrowed his eyes, a cunning glimmer in them. His mouth curled into a knowing grin. 

“Say, Logan, what was that earlier? She seemed awfully eager to show you her signature.”

Logan’s face flushed. He tried to look everywhere but the sheriff. “She showed it to us, her friends ,” he answered, trying to make things extremely clear. 

Owen leaned against the counter, the saloon owner already latched onto potential gossip like a fish to bait. He hovered over Logan, Justice taking the hint and moving closer. They cornered him. Even Andy got in on the action.

“Didn’t you invite ‘er to the hideout for Haru’s goin’ away party?” the boy asked, mischief written all over his face.

Justice shot an approving look towards Andy, the two of them suddenly thick as thieves.

“Oh, really? What an interestin’ piece of information you got there, kid.” Justice looked back at Logan as if interrogating a criminal. “What do you have to say to that?”

Logan cowered before the three sets of curious eyes bearing into him. 

He felt like prey amongst a den of predators. He was nothing more than a cornered beast.