Work Text:
“So it’s on you now,” Senku looked at Luna with calm but serious red eyes as he explained his plan. Since the first revival team, Suika and Francois were captured, they needed someone else to escape their base before everything goes down.
“Right! Sure! You can rely on me! I totally got this!” The pink haired girl blurted out. “..But why me? Is it because I’m cool headed and capable?” She asked with an uncertain tone while still trying to mask her nervousness in front of her “boyfriend” which made him chuckle.
“You’re the closest thing to a doctor we’ve got. So if our legs or fingers get blown off our petrified bodies we can count on you to stitch us back together!” Senku replied with the blunt and terrifying statement which made the poor girl scream.
“You’ll take Chelsea along as your guide,” Ryusui added while diverting his eyes. “You too, Akane. Your knowledge and skills will be useful to Luna in the wilderness.” While Chelsea replied with a little “okie-dokie”, the Kingdom of Science’s zoologist looked a bit puzzled before nodding.
“Of course, you can count on us,” Akane smiled faintly with a relatively quieter tone in contrast to her usual mannerism. Her and Ryusui became part of the team around the same time so Akane knew him well enough, he was being dead serious this time. I mean, it was obvious, there was a certain heaviness in the air. Tension, nerves, waiting for the unavoidable. Unspoken but there, so in front of your face you had to be blind not to see it.
This will be a bloodbath. The thought echoed in Akane’s head, her hands tightened on the strap of her backpack. No, she shouldn’t think like this. It will be fine. The plan will work, the petrification will save them.
Akane turned her head towards Carlos and Max, since the latter suddenly raised his voice angrily, clearly starting a fight with his coworker and friend.
“Why the hell are you letting Luna go without us?! We gotta be there to—“ he started but got quiet when Carlos silently raised his arm. He didn’t scream back, didn’t try to justify his otherwise completely reasonable decision, instead just stared at the three girls who were about to leave on their side mission.
“See ya later, alligator!” Chelsea waved jokingly while keeping a steady pace. Akane was a few steps behind, looking back at Carlos to wave goodbye.
“You guys be careful,” she murmured with a faint smile on her face, not even certain whether her words reached them or not. Akane had to restrain herself not to go back and give Carlos a big hug before their departure. She knew they didn’t have any time to waste on meaningless things like this. And not like he would really appreciate that kind of attention… not from her, at least.
Carlos and Akane’s relationship started out… rocky, to say the least.
Akane was the cheery zoologist who got revived just before the Kingdom of Science first set sail on the Perseus. They needed a member who had a vast knowledge on the fauna and flora of the Earth’s wildlife to potentially help avoid dangers and reviving Akane was the perfect choice. She knew everything there was to know about animals and clever little tricks on how to survive in the wild. Besides that she was endlessly grateful for being revived and able to witness the second stone age and everything new it had to offer.
Akane had a lot of experience thanks to all the field work she did before petrification which also helped her learn a lot of English from her non-Japanese coworkers, making her pretty fluent in the language… Well, just with the condition that the conversation topic has to be related to animals. You see, Akane has always been very passionate about the subject and this was true to nearly every zoologist she met. Which also meant that they never actually clocked out of work. Most of the conversations she had with the animal nerd group always led back to their favorite topic. This was the case with the English speaking coworkers she met during her travels. Instead of also practising some everyday conversation topics, Akane opted for staying in her comfort zone.
Well this did bite her in the ass later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Akane was tasked to accompany Taiju when he took the mobile lab to bring the tools to Chrome’s team so they could dig out the underground tunnel and ambush Xeno in his own castle.
“Make sure the idiot doesn’t get bit by a deadly snake or something,” Francois transferred the weak Senku’s words to their zoologist who nodded with a confident smile on her face.
“Don’t worry Senku, we’ll have everything under control!” Akane rushed out of the cabin that was set up as an infirmary and swung her backpack over her shoulders before following Taiju. Her jet black hair was tied in a loose bun at the back of her neck, decorated by a fuzzy hair tie and a small bird feather. She wore a dusty sunflower yellow bandana on her head, tied under the bun, her short, curled bangs sticking out in the front. She had thick eyebrows and heterochrome eyes, the right dark brown, while the left being a light whiteish blue. She had a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye and some other all over her body, like one on her shoulder, another on her back and one on her chest. Something interesting she found after being revived was not a birthmark, but rather the petrification scar in the shape similar to turtle shell pattern, down her left thigh. Akane had a round and quite youthful face, though she had some small wrinkles under her eyes, being a woman in her late twenties. She wore a pair of comfortable dark olive green shorts along with a short whitish tank top to which she pressed some flowers to paint it, and her trusty brown boots along with a backpack filled with everything she would need on her expeditions.
Even after petrification Akane was quite busy with fieldwork which made her feel proud that she was needed and valued in the Kingdom of Science. While not a fighter, Akane was capable of protecting herself and others by using tricks and skills she learned along the way.
And now she was needed to guide Taiju on this important mission.
They only just started their journey when the boy suddenly popped his head out the moving vehicle’s window, waving and shouting frantically. Out of panic, Akane quickly stepped on the breaks before they could drive into something.
“What was that?!” she asked, confused while trying to get over how dangerously the young guy acted just now, handing her the “wheel” in the blink of an eye, not even giving her time to process.
“I have to check something, you stay here, alright?” Taiju smiled before getting out of the car that was disguised to blend in with nature. He could tell they were being watched by the enemy so he didn’t want to risk Akane getting hurt too in case the negotiation went South. The young woman stayed in the vehicle, anxiously waiting for Taiju while looking out of the small window.
They had a gun. Akane gulped, staring at Taiju with a worried expression. Of course they have a gun! The first time we interacted with them was when that soldier opened fire on us!
However, the man with glasses thankfully didn’t shoot, instead just shouted at Taiju with his partner. The two of them stared at Taiju, puzzled, clearly not understanding his intentions.
But before any of them could fully process the situation, Carlos was sitting at the back of the mobile lab while Taiju sat behind the levers that controlled the car. Akane’s round eyes grew big as she looked at the man who was let in by her teammate.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” She whispered to him in Japanese with a worried smile on her face.
“Of course, don’t worry!” His laugh was so carefree it was enviable. “I checked and he doesn’t have any weapon on him. It will be fine, he won’t attack!” Akane had her doubts, glancing at the man who was supposed to be their enemy but was now sitting uncomfortably on the ground like a punished kid.
“Yeah, but he looks pretty strong and intimidating… I’m not sure about this, Taiju,” she murmured, more to herself than to him. I mean… he didn’t look like a soldier and he wasn’t the one pointing the gun at Taiju, but he was still following them. Why did he even agree to this? The two of them could have easily taken Taiju and Akane as hostage, it didn’t make sense.
Akane tried to play the responsible adult, but she did understand Taiju’s side. Carlos was clearly uncomfortable and threatened by the situation but his first words were aimed to make sure Luna was safe. While he was their enemy he didn’t really seem aggressive, rather just someone who’s worried about his friend, who’s held captive. However whatever she feels about this she still can’t trust him, it’s better to be safe than—
Akane shrieked as Taiju made the car jump in the air and almost hit a tree. Oh dear god, she almost forgot in this beautiful stone world how much she hated traveling by car! Especially when the driver was as “smooth” as Taiju.
“Woah, what the hell man?! I do not want to die with you!!” Carlos yelled at him anxiously as he quickly stood up and appeared behind them.
“My bad! I don’t have a lot of experience on the road! You must be worried that I’ll hurt myself, right? That’s so nice!” Taiju grinned, completely oblivious about what was actually said to him. “Luckily, I’m super though! So I’ll be good-“ he held up his thumb while looking away from the road that made the mobile lab do a crazy maneuver again.
“He’s more like- scared for his own life, Taiju!” Akane screamed, translating Carlos’ words to Japanese, while holding on to her seat for dear life. “Just like me! I’m gonna be sick!!”
“This is exciting, but not in the fun way!” Carlos’ cries for help made Akane snap out of it. She gulped hard and ordered Taiju to pull over.
After making sure her heartbeat was regulated enough, Akane decided to switch seats with Taiju. She nervously gripped the levers of the car while exhaling the air. It looked so complicated. Senku… why couldn’t he at least design a normal wheel that would be easier to control?
Akane really hated driving. She started learning it before the petrification but got pretty discouraged when all her instructor ever did was berate and scream at her like she was the dumbest he ever taught. It made her seriously self-conscious about it… But there was no avoiding it any further, she had to be the adult. Even without a drivers license, Akane was sure she had more experience than Taiju. …Anything would be better than letting him drive even a minute longer.
Carlos sat back on the ground, a bit relieved. Honestly, he didn’t even know why Taiju was driving instead of her. I mean she’s definitely at least a few years older, she must know how to—
Suddenly the car started again with a bit more kick than Akane planned, which made her nervous from the get go as she tried her best to control the huge vehicle on the rough ground.
…Oh no, that’s why. She’s just as bad. The realisation set in for Carlos as he started to fear his life yet again.
He couldn’t take it anymore. Carlos suddenly stood up from the ground and quickly got behind the control panel, after carefully pushing Akane out of the way, taking control of the vehicle mid-drive. Akane’s eyes widened as she now awkwardly stood beside him, watching as their enemy now drove their mobile lab with such ease it was honestly impressive.
“That’s it, yeah!” Taiju shouted encouragingly. “Did the other guy call you Carlos? Cause duuude! You’re one hell of a driver, Carlos! This is freaking awesome!” he kept praising the American man in Japanese. Obviously Carlos couldn’t have known what he was saying but the young guy’s tone was pretty much enough for him to understand the gist of it.
“I was a professional driver, so it’s all good! I got this!” He "responded”, a bit of an anxious smile still being visible on his face as he focused on the unpaved “road”. Why did I let myself become the enemies’ personal chauffeur?! The thought flashed in his mind while driving but he knew he didn’t really have a choice. Either he helps or all three of them die or at least throw up.
“A driver! It’s perfect!” Akane said in English while smiling, being thankful she didn’t have to do this herself. “Carlos is a big help~” her voice oozed from the sweet relief. They had some serious luck, two unlicensed fools picking up a pro driver by accident.
“I have no idea why I’m helping—“ Carlos exclaimed nervously, only getting a genuine laugh and a bright smile from Akane as a response. She could just feel that Carlos could possibly be the newest member of their ever growing Kingdom of Science.
Even though Carlos was kept as a prisoner in the beginning, Akane’s gut feeling was soon justified, when he decided to instantly switch sides as soon as he learned that Luna already did so. It was quite the bold move from someone who was perfectly aware of who exactly he just made his enemy.
Stanley Snyder. That man was a force to reckon with and after the Kingdom of Science managed to kidnap Xeno, Stan was tailing them with his elite group of soldiers. It was a death wish, Carlos knew it, but to him and Max, betraying the American colony wasn’t even a question if it meant keeping Luna safe.
Surprisingly enough, even through all this chaos the relationship between Carlos and Akane slowly shifted as they got to know each other and became friendly.
The communication between them was anything but smooth in the beginning. While Akane tried to befriend him from the get-go, having a language barrier can easily make things awkward. It was only after a little accident that their relationship changed drastically. Just when Akane was thinking aloud to find the right word in English to translate something to Carlos, she automatically blurted it out in Spanish. It was a language Akane was more familiar with aside from her mother tongue since she has spent a lot of time in Spain doing field work. For some reason it got stuck on her more than English and she tried her best to practise it occasionally.
“Wait, what did you say?” Carlos’ eyes widened as he looked at her after hearing the familiar word. “You know Spanish?!” he switched to the language himself, making Akane’s jaw drop.
“Yes! Not perfectly, but it’s better than my English!” she smiled excitedly.
“Why didn't you say that earlier?!” Carlos asked with a baffled look. He actually spoke the language since childhood because of family members, it was basically his second native language. However, being bilingual wasn’t that helpful in the American colony, since most of its members only spoke English so he didn’t use it that often. And he doubted that someone from Japan would actually speak it.
“Well you didn’t ask!!” Akane responded, a little flustered, but a smile appeared on her face as Carlos started laughing.
Acquiring a common language was such a game changer for them. Aside from the obvious better communication it also brought them closer. Their conversations became more informal, laced with silly inside jokes, and just them being in their own little bubble, speaking in a language not a lot of folks understood in the Kingdom of Science.
It wasn’t long after that Akane fell for him. Carlos was a silly guy, but always there to help, whether it was driving, fixing up vehicles, gathering materials or just lifting the spirit. He was often the one who would assist Akane on expeditions and sometimes carry her on his back when she got tired or had a heatstroke, which she was prone to get. At first it was surprising, then familiar and comforting, but later also a bit flustering. I mean piggyback rides were necessary, they were on a tight schedule running from Stanley so losing time because Akane worked too hard and ended up getting a fever was no excuse, they had to keep going.
But it wasn’t just that. It was the conversations between them, the laughs they had together, the worried glances, and the way Carlos probably treated “Miss Akane” a bit differently. While being a bit short tempered he never really lashed out on her, but was instead patient, understanding, and would never mock Akane because of her English level. Because at the end of the day, Akane was an important member of the group with impressive knowledge and skills that saved their butts many times. They had different abilities and a lot to learn from each other, and that was fine by Carlos, he respected her because of that.
As time passed Akane grew more and more aware of her feelings towards him. It was a secret crush, though a bit obvious to the more sharp-eyed individuals like Gen.
She tried very hard not to let it slip. Being professional was her motto. Always be professional, don’t let your feelings get in your head and affect your work because people need you to do your part, now more than ever. Besides… it wasn’t just that. Akane wasn’t blind, she knew Carlos had feelings for Luna and it didn’t seem like something that would pass anytime soon. I mean he even got her a ring as a present and risked his life for her god damnit, what’s that if not dedication?
Let’s just say Akane didn’t have the best of luck when it came to love. Most of them were one-sided or ended badly, and this one seemed like it could be the continuation of that pattern. So she didn’t risk it. Kept quiet. Was happy to just be around him as his friend. That was enough. It had to be enough.
It will fade. She often thought to herself every time she would even consider opening up about this to someone.
But it wouldn’t. Frankly, it only got stronger as the danger that had been following them kept creeping closer and closer. And maybe… just maybe she was still a bit hopeful. Hoping that if it ever became something more to Carlos, he would tell her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suddenly, Chelsea stopped in front of her. Akane looked up only to see her shoulders shaking and hear the sniffling.
“What’s wrong Chelsea?!” Luna asked with a concerned expression on her face.
“It’s just… You know. We all know what the deal is. There’s obviously not enough time to get the medusa ready. But still everyone’s going to work their butt’s off until the clock runs out.” Chelsea gripped the edge of her shorts while trying to regulate her tears without luck. “And that’s the real reason they are having us run far away. We can’t fight so they wanted us to at least get away!”
Akane’s eyes widened. She knew this. She knew that was the reason but hearing it said out loud from a crying Chelsea struck her. Akane slowly stepped back as tears started to gather in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she said, then started running back to the camp as fast as she could. She could hear Luna’s screaming who wanted to follow her but was held back by Chelsea.
When Akane stepped foot in their base the chaos had already arrived at their doorstep. She witnessed her friends being massacred. Carlos got a clean shot through his chest and fell back to the ground.
Akane's eyes widened in horror as she let out a bloodcurling scream that got muffled by the explosions and other shouts. Her legs moved on their own as she ran to Carlos.
“No no no, please don’t—“ her eyes filled with tears as she quickly kneeled down beside him.
“Akane? Why are you here?” Carlos looked up at her with a mortified expression. He thought she was safe. He thought they had gone far away. Why is she still here?!
“Please don’t- don’t leave me.” Akane’s voice cracked as the panic and denial slowly overcame her. “You can’t, you hear me? I’m not accepting that!” Tears started streaming down her face like waterfalls while she kept a painful smile on her face. She quickly pulled her bandana off her head to squeeze it to his wound and stop the bleeding, but it was useless, he was dying.
“Please, you can’t do this to me— You promised to teach me how to drive! And English. I still want to learn more... I want to learn more about you, Carlos…” She was only rambling at that point. Unable to process it. Unable to step away and hide. Unable to think of a future that wasn’t spent with him and the others. “I don’t want to be alone…” Just as she uttered those words a bullet went straight to her chest, making her fall backwards.
“Akane!” Carlos let out a weak cry, while trying to reach for her hand but she was just out of reach.
It was over. All she could hear were the screams and see the flames stretching to the sky.
Then… there came the green light.
Akane was petrified again. She tried to stay awake for a while but it felt hopeless, she was too tired.
Weeks, months, years have passed until she felt that weird tingling sensation as the upper layer of the petrification stone slowly broke in a chain reaction. The light was almost blinding after the years of darkness but there was a familiar head blocking the sun above her. Akane blinked as her vision became clearer and the voices beside her less muffled.
“Akane! Are you okay?” Carlos asked with a relieved smile on his face seeing that she’s alive, just possibly still dizzy from the coma.
“Carlos…” Akane quickly sat up, looking at him with wide eyes as if she had seen a ghost. “It’s you…” she hesitantly touched his face with one hand. It was real, not a dream. Her eyes wandered down to his chest where he was shot before, but not even a tiny scar remained. Like it didn’t even happen. She put her hand on that spot, as if wanting to feel that it was truly healed. “You’re alive,” she whispered in disbelief.
“Yeah, I am.” Carlos smiled, putting his hand on hers, squeezing it lightly. “We all survived.”
As the realization set in, Akane’s eyes got filled with tears. Suddenly she embraced Carlos in a tight hug while screaming and crying, letting out all the built up grief and desperation. He was startled by it at first, got a bit tense under her arms but slowly hugged her back, drawing circles on her back with his palm to try and calm her down. Akane weakly gripped his shirt, while laying her head on his shoulder.
“…Are you okay?” As Akane’s crying became quieter, Carlos tried to push her away to look at her, but she wouldn’t let go of him.
“Please stay. Just a bit more,” her voice was barely audible and she most likely looked like a mess because of all the tears. It felt so desperate and pathetic but she didn’t care. “Can you stay like this just a bit more?”
“..Yeah, sure,” Carlos gently tightened the hug, letting her calm down a bit in his arms.
The sun already went down and the Kingdom of Science set up a bonfire to eat and celebrate their victory. Surprisingly, Akane was not really in the mood for that. She was a bit separated from the others, leaning on the stone wall with her elbows, eyes still red and puffy from all the crying. She was just… still processing. Naturally she was glad everything worked out somewhat as it was planned, but that didn’t mean the mental scars were healed as well. She just couldn’t erase those dreadful memories. The cold crept up her spine that made her hug her arms. Just when she was thinking of joining the others by the fire, a warm blanket was placed on her shoulders.
“You want to catch a cold?” Carlos asked with a cynical voice as he stepped next to her, leaning to the wall. Akane’s cheeks heated up a bit as she looked up at him.
“Ah Carlo, sorry.” she mumbled with a hoarse voice, closing the blanket in front of her to keep her warm. “I zoned out,” she chose to avoid his gaze, since she could guess how embarrassing she looked at that moment with cried out eyes.
“..Why did you come back that day?” Carlos murmured, breaking the silence between them.
“I was worried… and scared. I wanted to say goodbye before it was too late.” Akane muttered, looking away sheepishly. “…I know it was stupid, you don’t have to tell me.”
“Stupid as Hell,” he doubled down but there was a mischievous smile on his face.
“I said I know that!” Akane groaned while her cheeks turned pink which made him laugh.
“The point is, everyone’s fine now.” Carlos concluded. Even if he himself got traumatised from getting shot and nearly dying, it was not the time nor place to unpack that. Let’s just be grateful we’re still alive.
“I guess…” She sighed, trying to get herself together. In the meantime Carlos took something out of his pocket, handing it to Akane who looked down with surprised eyes.
“I wanted to give it back,” he murmured as Akane unraveled the neatly folded dirty yellow bandana adorned with small flower patterns at the edges. “I washed it for you. But we can make you a new one, it’s already a bit worn…” He added a bit awkwardly.
“No, it’s okay,” Akane responded with a soft smile on her face as she wrapped it over her head like usual. Well except that she lost her hair tie so her black hair was resting on her shoulders now. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Carlos nodded, looking away with a small blush on his face which was barely visible in the dark. “…You know you could keep your hair like this more often, it looks nice,” he smiled down at her a bit teasingly which made Akane’s cheeks heat up a bit.
“Yeah right, as if I would want it to get stuck on every branch. It’s so annoying,” she giggled, rolling her eyes. She couldn’t really take the compliment seriously but while turning away to make her way towards the others sitting by the bonfire she gently ran her fingers into her let down hair, smiling stupidly. Maybe I could keep it like this sometimes. She thought to herself, possibly already knowing the answer.
As the two of them joined the celebrating group, trying some of Francois’ delicious kebab they could feel the tension slipping away. They were tired and possibly scarred by the events but they knew they could take on anything life throws at them after a good night’s sleep. New day, new possibility as if nothing had happened. Well you learn from the past but you also have to keep going, right? Especially if you’re part of the crazy group called the Kingdom of Science whose leader is ever so determined with his plan of taking mankind to the Moon in the Stone age.
However, things did change, but some for the better. Since what could possibly bring two people closer to each other than a near death experience? Life is short as they say and it’s important to make the best out of it. No time to hide your feelings forever or be too blinded by an old crush to not realise someone great has been by your side the whole time.