Pilot Candidate Fan Fiction ❯ Candidates for Goddess ❯ Chapter 1

Candidate for Goddess

A Fanfiction by Andrea Readwolf

<andrea_readwolf @ hotmail.com>

February 2003

Karl was an ass.

There you have it. His professional opinion, special abilities and all.

Karl was an ass.

Alistair could still recall the first day they'd met, vividly, and each encounter there after. Even back then, back at GOA, Karl had been an ass. Cocky, so full of himself with his long aqua-like hair that hung down his back. Teal space pants that outlined his young adolescent body, and a grin that could melt the stars...

And he thought he was so great. He was a natural. Was there really any question of him piloting an Ingrid?

Ah, but there was a glitch in Karl's cosmic plan--or maybe it was Providence.

Alistair and Karl were on the same team, assigned the same apartment: Candidates ## and ##.

Teammates, enemies, rivals, the only other person they could really trust at their back.

The two were constantly battling each other. Or, rather, Karl insisted on challenging Alistair two or three times a day. It seemed he couldn't stop harassing and making fun of the blond boy.

He could still remember the day he had had enough and retaliated against Karl. The other boy had been teasing him about the gloves Alistair constantly wore.

Alistair ripped off his gloved and reached out to Karl with his ghostly white hands. The blue-haired boy had recoiled, but not far enough away, because suddenly a clammy hand caressed his face and a voice spoke inside his head.

::Would this be better? Would you prefer me to--::

But Chun had stepped into their corridor and called out to them. Alistair had pulled back quickly, replacing his glove before Chun could reach them, and then the pair walking away, discussing their Pro-ing.

Karl didn't speak to him again for another four days--it was strangely quiet. And then Karl cornered him in the same corridor.

"Why didn't you just say so?" the blue-haired boy growled.

"Excuse me?"

"Why didn't you just say you needed to wear those gloves cause... because... well, because you do."

Alistair stared at him with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Because it's none of your business, and when I *did* tell you so, you didn't believe me."

"But, I mean, you didn't have to--you could've just said--you know." Karl wouldn't look at him, even though he placed his body in a position to prevent Alistair from leaving. The blond young man just brushed pass Karl, though, disgusted.

That night, after lights out, Karl reached over and touched his roommate.

::can you hear me::

::no::

::how does it work::

::it::

::what you're doing now how does it work::

::you're touching me::

::and::

The was something like a mental sigh as Alistair twisted around on the bed so his body was facing the blue-haired boy's even though his eyes were still closed.

::its sort of like you're transmitting your thoughts from you into me and vice versa::

::cool::

::excuse me::

::you're pretty cool--for a blondie::

Karl rolled away, severing the link between them before Alistair could mentally reply.

Aloud, the blond snorted and rolled away as well.

~~~***~~~

Karl seemed to find excuses to casually touch him now. Brushing into him during physical training and 'saying' "This sucks" or at lunch "can you believe this slop they're serving us" while reaching for some seasonings.

Unwittingly, Karl and Alistair became friends--there was still a rivalry between the boys, a burning competition that left both the top of GOA. One day Karl would be up a couple of points, the next day Alistair would be running ahead. There was no question of whether either boy would be chosen as pilots.

Alistair was sent from GOA first.

"It's unfair, man," Karl gripped, shrugging into his dress suits. "I'm the one who should be going."

"You take too many risks," the blond returned, shedding his GOA uniform for good. "You'd probably break any Ingrid you piloted."

"Hey!" the blue-haired boy shouted, but just as suddenly, he was engulfing Alistair in a big hug.

::be careful::

:: i will::

::I'll be there too soon::

::I'll be waiting::

And then Karl walked out of their apartment, leaving Alistair behind to pull his things together and prepare to leave his home for the last two years forever.

It was strange having no one to "talk" to, but Alistair didn't have long to wait. True to his word, Karl was the next Goddess pilot replacement.

Karl was still an ass.

As Goddess pilots, they had a freedom never experienced by candidates--they could go where they wanted to, where ever they wanted, with no questions asked on one condition: when it was time to go out and fight VKDM, they'd better be in their suits, ready to go.

Alistair wasn't sure what provoked the matter, but after a particularly grueling battle against VKDM, he pushed Karl back against a wall and kissed him.

Luckily, they were both behind closed doors and no one else saw.

It took Karl a moment to respond, but when he did, he pushed at Alistair's chest, breaking free. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted, but his chest was heaving and the hand that Alistair was holding tingled.

The blond twisted the hand back behind Karl, effectively using the wall and his body to pin the blue-haired boy in place. He deliberately looked at Karl's lips, daring the other teen to move away, before slowly lowering his lips back to his.

There were many days of kissing and touching after that first kiss. It wasn't long before one or the other could casually brush against a certain spot to catch the other's attention. It wasn't long after that before they both found themselves together, naked in bed.

And, unfortunately, it wasn't long after that before Alistair lost his life saving Karl's.

The scream tore through the galaxy. Those who were unlucky enough to have heard it, flinched.

"Nooooo!"

~~OWARI~~