02 The Aloha 'Oe

Beers. Snacks. Damn. The only thing missing was the nicotine! He didn't know if his smokes had gotten confiscated from his pockets  at the hospital, but he did still have some in his small duffel bag.

His eyes nearly sparkled at the sight of the Aloha ‘Oe. Whoa! It was a real ship! And it was his favorite color too. Yellow! "That’s your ship? No kidding?" 

He then noticed the two figures standing near it. 

"And you got a whole cat and a cleaning drone? Damn you really got your shit together don’t you?" He waved once he was introduced. "The drone meows too? What an interesting quirk."

–-

"Don't flatter him, he's in trouble for wrecking our ship,"  QT sighed and drove away from the group.

"That's QT.  Callin' him a cleanin' drone..."  Dandy cupped his hands to his mouth. "Is a li'l too generous!!" He shouted, waiting to hear QT let out an annoying buzzing sound.  Meow looked to JP and then back at Dandy.

"I don't think this guy's in good enough shape to fix the Little Aloha,"  Meow frowned and followed after the robot.  Dandy gave Meow the finger as the feline walked away.

"Ignore them.  I'll be sure they keep away from us this evenin'.  Buncha killjoys, trust me,"  he huffed and walked JP over to the red ship.

The alien towing the Little Aloha spoke to QT as Dandy patted the chrome sides.

"Welp! This is the ship I need looked at! It's one helluva racer too!"  Dandy smiled, wiping his hand across the new scuffs and dents.  "This is the Little Aloha, baby and that--!!" Dandy held his arms up, showing off the massive yellow ship.  

"This is my girl!  This is the Aloha 'Oe!"  The pride in his voice practically echoed.  He hit a button on his bracelet, letting the large lift platform lower.  Dandy quickly gave orders to Meow and QT to keep an eye on the ship while Dandy and JP talked inside.

Stepping on the lift, he was raised up into the belly of the massive ship.

–-

"He's in trouble? Haha~" He could relate to that way too much. "I'll give him some tough love then." He finally gave Dandy that punch on the shoulder now. 

"If that is too generous, then is QT just a drone? I would have thought..." What if he wasn't a drone? What if QT was just a cleaner with remarkably good timing with his preset reactions? Was that what the cat was doing? Writing text for the vacuum to say? "Don't worry about it. I got this under control. You know it Dandy. The Old Man knows all about nice whips and rides."

"The evening is going to be great. They don't know what's in store for them," he took a look at the Little Aloha. Despite dents and scratches, which he himself knew were normal and part of a well loved vehicle. He rather liked the hawaiian red and white paint job on its hood. Not that he knew what Hawai'i was, but he could appreciate the beauty. "It’s very beautiful. Can I have a drive in it when it’s done and fixed?"

James honestly never had his own ship. He always travelled in passenger ships and usually went by unnoticed by many. He couldn't imagine owning a ship like that. Dandy must be loaded! 

"How'd you know Yellow was my favorite color, Dandy?" He got up onto the lift and smiled as he looked up, "You gotta show me around."

–-

"You like Yellow too? No way!" Dandy smirked and waited for the lift to make it up into the ship.  

"It's got a good vibe to it," he moved ahead of JP, kicking aside any cords that were strung along the floor.  He was quick, trying to clean up a path for JP to navigate through.  "I thought I told that vacuum to clean up this room while I was out..."

Once the path was cleared, he lent out his hand to JP. 

"Watch your step, baby. There's a lotta stuff ta trip on.  I don't want you gettin' any more banged up," Dandy grinned.  Once JP was closer to him, Dandy leaned in.  "And No. No you can't drive it.  If you could see what that baby could do, you'd never wanna give it back," he said with a grin.  Oh the ways Dandy could impress this man~

He led JP up into the lobby of the ship.  A planter holding tropical plants down from the ceiling  was the centerpiece of the room and below it was pretty much the living room of Dandy's home.  The room was bright and warm, very welcoming to anyone boarding.  There was little Hawaiian memorabilia clustered on display, matching the theme of the ship.

"Well?? Whaddya think? Not bad, huh?"  Dandy asked, gesturing all around.  He was practically spinning as he showed off his home.  "It's like a lil piece of paradise, I gotta admit~" He then stopped in his tracks and pointed across the room.  "OH! And there's the TV!"

–-

James noticed how attentive Dandy was being and honestly, he liked it. Especially when that hand was held out for him to make sure he wouldn't fall. The pet name too! Oh if only he weren't already holding onto Dandy's hand. He instead gave it a too tight squeeze for a short moment. 

"Aw why not?" The excuse only made him want to drive the Little Aloha even more! He needed a taste of those engines and the power beheld. Hopefully he could have a ride in it at the very least.

"It’s roomy! It’s a lot bigger than the thing I drive. Makes it almost feel claustrophobic," he took the time to take in the big picture of the lobby, since he assumed he'd have enough time to really look at all the details up close later. He set his duffle bag down. "I wouldn't mind living here for a little while. It’s...homey and nice. Personalized and I like that," he thought about his time in prison and its cold and barren walls. Straight lines everywhere and a darkness about it that he never quite got used to. "It does feel like paradise."

His attention was directed up at the large curved TV which was rather magnificent. 

"Right, set it up so we can watch the race! I got some credits on my name. I'll probably cash in at an ATM tomorrow after we visit The Old Man."

–-

Dandy watched as JP tossed that duffle bag down.  He almost didn't even notice it while the two of them were talking to the ship.  The comment about living there for a while did sound really nice to him.  Having another guy to hang around wouldn't be half bad, in his opinion!

"Yeah I gotta remember how ta set that up..." Dandy rubbed his chin as he looked at the large screen.   As he tried to remember how to use his TV, Dandy decided to make some chit-chat with JP.

"Feel free ta take a load off while I get this all set up," he pointed at the large yellow couch.  Dandy finally turned on the screen, the large picture glowing. "Also, you mentioned credits?  Whaddya mean by havin' credits on your name?"  He plopped down on the couch, his hands searching the cushion for the remote.    Once he found it, Dandy started to set up the streaming service.  "Your pops seemed like a real character on the phone, by the way," he smiled, glancing over at JP.

–-

"Oh you know money in my bank account. Probably opened it in a different area of space, but it'll convert no problem," he found himself a spot on the circular seating that was indented into the floor. Finally, some rest. He closed his eyes. 

"By pops...You mean The Old Man? He's my junk dealer and an amazin' mechanic. I broke up with my old mechanic back at the hospital. He was a bastard through and through. I should've known," he was quiet for a moment. 

"But! There's always something new on the horizon, isn't there?" He leaned back into the seat and looked up at the television as Dandy noodled around looking for the pay-per-view recording of it. "What do you use to pay for your viewings? A chip scanner?"

–-

Broke up with his mechanic?  Man, this guy had really been through some stuff. Dandy looked at the screen and then back at JP.

"I think my accounts on there or somethin'..."  Dandy glanced over his shoulder, looking to see if the guys were there.  No one was around, it seemed.  He then inched closer to JP, pointing at the screen with the remote.  "Don't worry about payin' for this, by the way,"  Dandy commented as he looked up the Yellowline race on pay-per-view.  "We had a helluva hunt before we came here. Money isn't nothin' but a thing."  He chuckled and moved his arm onto the back of the couch.

Once he found the race, he clicked to purchase.  Once the video started up, he leaned forward, ready to be on the edge of his seat.

"Man I miss racing.  The thrill of goin' fast. The fans callin' your name," Dandy said with a dreamy sigh.   He looked over at JP.  "Watchin' these kinda races really does make the adrenaline pump, don't it?"  There was that big smile on Dandy's face.  He finally had someone he could bond over racing with.

–-

Well, if Dandy wanted to pay then JP would let him. 

"Hunt? So you… ah. I was thinking about you wrong this whole time. You're a vigilante!" Now that was brave. Damn, Dandy.

He didn't notice that inching closer that Dandy did. 

"Oooo and it gets my heart pumpin’, Dandy. It really does." He was smiling just as big, already remembering being at the starting line and behind the wheel. The engine rumbling and the vibration of the motor's power still subtle. He remembered gunning it, the motor roaring, and the tires screeching as they fought to gain traction. He fidgeted a little, thinking about it by twisting the rings on his hand that was in the cast. For some reason, he never really thought how small his Trans Am looked compared to all the other racing machines. He stretched his legs out in front of him, knees apart. 

"I'm sorry you missed it in person. Because there's one thing you can't get from this, the smells. The burning rubber or the ionization of the hovercraft engines. The heat on your skin or the whole body vibration just shaking you to your core and making your vision blur."

–-

"Hah?"  Dandy didn't have a chance to correct JP once the show started to load on the screen.

While JP passionately talked about racing, Dandy could paint the picture in his head.  The sounds, the feeling...  He rested his back against the back of the couch, feeling himself getting lost in JP's words.

"I can picture it so perfectly," Dandy hummed, noticing JP shifting his legs.  He mimicked him, feeling so relaxed around this guy.  "So, who were you routin' for when you were watchin' the race?  I don't really keep track of the racers," Dandy admitted.  "We just happened ta see an ad for it a while back and thought we'd check it out.  Not too often you get ta see races like that, ya know?  I kinda wanna catch Redline when it happens." He smiled as the footage started to play. Leaning forward again, this man was ready to see some racing!

–-

JP didn't want to tell Dandy who he had been rooting for. Considering that it wouldn't take long for the announcers to mention his name, or at least the name everyone knew him by in the racing circuit. He smiled a bit and glanced at Dandy from the corner of his eye. "I think you'll figure out who I was rooting for."

He didn't lean forward like Dandy, but that didn't mean he wasn't excited to see how everything had played out. Just how chaotic had everything been? He had focused mostly in front of him and was trying to dodge rockets and explosions. "I want to know who you are rooting for though."

The announcers started off by saying this was the Yellowline qualifier race for the the 8th Redline, which happens only once every 5 years. They also showed the layout of the track, pointing out tough spots and good vantage points to watch the racers as they zoomed by. There was a pan over the racers at the starting line, along with some close up shots that showed off the vehicles in some of their best angles.

As the race began, the announcers chattered about the cars at first. Captain the classic, the vehicle of the first redline winner. Fire Bird from planet Supergrass. 

"Ya know, Deguon wasn't half bad when you look at her," JP admitted. The following cars were then shown the Psycho Rod, Snake Head, The Missile-EP4, The Crab Sonoshee and the Trans AM 20000. "The Crab Sonoshee was pretty spectacular too."

–-

Dandy looked over the track footage, feeling him get excited as the racers flew by.

"I'll have ta see who all is racing before I pick..." he mumbled as JP started to talk about the racers and the different cars.  Dandy noticed the Trans Am 20000, his heart pounding a bit.  

"That Trans Am looks cool as hell!" He beamed.  "Outta all the things ta drive they pick that.  I gotta admit, that's pretty ballsy.  It must really have somethin' good under the hood for that guy ta be out there,"  Dandy commented.  Now he was starting to get curious about  the racers.

"It sounds like you know a lot 'bout the people drivin'. You must be a hardcore fanboy," Dandy tease, elbowing JP in the thigh.

–-

The video started showing images of the racers now to the side of the race footage, linking drivers  or in some cases, drivers with a vehicle and adding a bit of information about them if possible. Of course JP knew his own image would appear any time soon and he looked at Dandy to gauge his reaction once it was laid out.

The pair of announcers began to talk: 

"Next up we have Sweet JP in his customized Trans Am 20000 WR. Recently bailed out of prison to race in the Blueline, he has proven himself by qualifying for the Yellowline. The Trans Am carries no weapons on it, maybe that's why we call him Sweet JP."

"Haha, you said it. Only an idiot goes into a warzone with no weapons! Just how many bullets and missiles can one man dodge on four tires?"

JP pouted for a moment. Idiot..? No way! He just wanted to keep true to the sport!

–-

Dandy's heart stopped when he saw what flashed on the screen. 

Sweet JP's face and the Trans Am he was praising was his ride.  Dandy slowly turned his head to JP, a look of complete disbelief.  He saw that pout JP had about the reporter's comments, but Dandy didn't care.  Right now: everything was clicking.

Front row seats.  The slick racer look.

"You're. You're the Sweet JP," Dandy moved in closer.  He placed his hand on JP's thigh as he moved in.  Then, he spoke up again.

"Why the hell didn't ya tell me you raced in Yellowline! Dude!" Dandy looked heated for a moment and then threw his head back to laugh.  "I can't freakin' believe it! A Yellowline racer! Here on my ship!  Oh, baby you just made this trip a whole lot sweeter."  He had the biggest smile on his face and then, the smile dropped as he looked at the casts again.  Then, he turned to see the screen.

"Wait... you.  You crashed in that race?"  He looked back at JP, a little pout of his own. "Why would you wanna rewatch a race you lost?"  Dandy kept his hand on JP's thigh, not really thinking about the fact that he was feeling up the fabric under his hand.  "If this race gets ta be too much, we don't have ta watch it.  I mean we could watch or somethin' else.  I can check this out another time," Dandy paused the TV for a moment, JP's face on the screen.  He looked back to JP, the JP sitting right next to him, and tilted his head a bit.

–-

"I told you, though! I told you they called me Sweet JP!" He pressed his hand to his face and dragged it down. "I didn't tell you b-because I didn't want to sound arrogant! I wanted to play it cool," he brought a hand up to the back of his neck now with a sigh. "I thought you'd just talk to me because I'm a Yellowline racer and not because of you know… me?"

Dandy's concern for his emotional well being was charming and for a moment he didn't notice the hand on his thigh. "Yea… I was the one who crashed," His eyebrows furrowed as he glowered toward the floor at the space between his cast and his boot. "I want to watch it because… I need to see it. I need to see why I crashed."

"Don't worry about it being too much. Clearly I made it out alive. I'm tough," he glanced down at Dandy's hand still massaging his thigh. His face, ears and even chest began to feel uncomfortably warm. Dandy's hand was so high up on his thigh, feeling up the leather and rubbing up his leg. He couldn't ignore that head tilt either. "What are you thinking about?"

–-

Dandy moved his hand down to JP's knee and then glanced back at the screen.

"You are pretty damn tough.  Here you are, two weeks later and you're already walkin' and ready ta watch yourself eat shit durin' a race," Dandy let out a little snicker at that and then looked back to JP.  "And I think that even if you did tell me that you raced in Yellowline, there was no way in hell I woulda believed you," he said with a little sly smirk.  His hand moved back up that thigh again.  This time, he caught it.  He pulled it back and rubbed his behind his head, letting out a little fake cough.

"Hrm, right yeah,"  he sat back, scooting even closer to JP.  His leg touched against the racer's.  Handing the remote to JP, Dandy spoke up.  "If you wanna keep this goin, here's the controller.  It's pretty basic."  Dandy placed his hands on his lap, glancing down at JP's thigh.  Why the hell was he getting handsy all of a sudden?  This wasn't like him when he was around other men.  Women? Sure, hands go all up and down the legs. But with another dude?  Not this Space Dandy.  No way.

But then again.

Dandy looked at JP out of the corner of his eye.  There was something about this guy that Dandy really seemed to enjoy.  He was true to his name by being sweet and him being a racer was something they could both relate to.  That hair was also a bit of a turn on--   wait.

–-

He fought back the desire to laugh which caused him to make a slight snort of a noise. "I felt like I ate shit and half the track," his voice's tone changed for a moment as Dandy slid his hand from his knee and up his thigh again, a tinge of that was too fast. But he hadn't exactly told Dandy to stop. Infact, he wanted to know just how bold Dandy could be. He wasn't one to flinch at the thought of playing with fire, even if it burned him. He wondered if he was rebounding from his 'break up with his mechanic'.

He picked up the controller and looked up at himself on the television. He pressed play and leaned against Dandy, his left arm resting on his lap close to his body. Effectively creating a bit of a barrier for the other man's hand, but not a difficult one. "I think you'll still enjoy it and I have a question that needs an answer."

–-

Dandy felt JP rest against him, but didn't recoil.  He moved his eyes to the screen, watching JP hit play.  Dandy noted JP's comment about the question that needed to be answered.

"I take it you wanna see what you hit that made ya crash?  I get that,"  he moved his arm to rest on JP's.  "It's kinda like gettin' closure,'' Dandy felt himself lean against JP as well.  This felt really.... really comfortable.  It had been so long since he had been so close to someone.  Not only physically, but in a deeper sense.  They might have just met not long ago, but there were just a lot of things clicking for him.  His hand started to slowly feel JP's sleeve, his thumb rubbing against sleek fabric.   The way that Dandy talked made it really seem like he didn't realize what he was doing.  Oblivious to the fact that he was, once again, feeling up JP.  Even if it was just his arm.

"I betcha it was another racer.  These death races are nuts like that," Dandy commented.  "I've watched a few in my time, even joined a couple.  Some of them really drive like they're out for blood.  It's a bit of a thrill."  And speaking of thrills, he was starting to get lost watching the race.  His thoughts trailing off as he watched the chaos on the screen.

–-

"Yea...I don't remember hitting anything though," he assumed it was memory loss from the crash. "It could very well have been another racer." He moved his right hand, his dominant one, to touch Dandy's thigh in retaliation while they watched the race unfold.

James never really knew the kinds of faces and wild expressions while he sat behind the wheel. It was clear the adrenaline had saturated his veins.The wild grin and glint in his eyes as his recorded image laughed to himself. He expertly shifted gears, braked, accelerated, and swerved to evade debris from explosions. Sometimes he maneuvered even his Trans Am beneath the other vehicle's structures. It was all playing back in his head at the same time in first person. It was all still so vivid in his memory. He leaned forward and unzipped his jacket to shrug it off. It was getting hot or at least he felt like it was.

–-

Dandy side-eyed that hand and then looked at JP.  This man was getting revenge by touching his thigh, wasn't he?  Dandy moved his hand to JP's thigh, a little cocky smirk as he returned the focus to the race.

Seeing those moves, the way that JP drove and seeing the passion in his eyes as he raced.  That race was really taking Dandy back, remembering the feeling of blasting through races with his own ride.  Doing anything and everything to try to win.  When JP shifted to unzip his jacket, Dandy moved his hand away.  He reached out for it.

"Want me ta put it over here, baby?  It can get kinda hot here," Dandy commented. He was so used to the heat that he didn't even notice.  With JP all in black, those lights would be pretty hot on him.

–-

JP nodded and handed Dandy his jacket. 

"So it isn't just me getting all hot? Nice to know," he tugged on the center of his shirt a little and leaned back once again. He had lost awareness of what he had been doing with his right arm, treating Dandy's leg as his own and even tracing the inseam. He finally realized that wasn't his leg and pulled his hand back. "Huh, sorry. I thought for a moment that was my leg."

He moved his right hand where he had said it belonged and continued the movements from before. He stopped when he knew his crash would come up. Once they reached that moment, he sat up; alert and searching for the cause of his accident.

–-

"Uh, whaddya doin'?"  Dandy felt that hand moving along that inseam and watched as JP pulled his hand back.  That apology made Dandy shake his head and give JP a look.  To Dandy, that was almost stroking energy by the way he was tracing.  He watched that right hand move back to JP's leg.  Looks like he wasn't the only one getting handsy this evening.

Dandy then noticed JP sitting up, his eyes focused on the screen.  He followed suit, keeping his eyes on the screen. Dandy moved his hand to JP's, placing it on top.

"Is this where the wreck happened?" He asked, his hand gripping onto JP's.  His eyes were glued to the screen by this point.

–-

"Yea..." he watched as not only did he not hit anything on the road: nothing had hit him from the sides or from behind. However, something happened to the rear left tire of his car and from there everything fell apart. He had been so close to winning and the moment that had felt like forever only lasted a few seconds in the recording.

"I knew it! I didn't hit anything!" He gripped the fabric of his pant leg. "-Rrrrggh… You saw that didn't you!?" He let go of his pant leg to pick up the controller and search frame by frame. He pointed at the screen.

"Look! I wasn't me! I was sabotaged," oh he was angry. More than angry.... he was furious! He lost his chance at Redline because of a sabotage. He lost because of Frisbee. "That bastard is never going to see me again!"

–-

Dandy moved his hand away as JP was enraged.  He knew all too well how it felt to be like that.  To feel cheated like that.  What added insult to injury was that the two of them could watch the shit go down frame-by-frame.

"Yeah I saw it.  They made it look like ya blew out a tire back there," Dandy rested his elbows on his knees and looked over the footage again.  JP shouting about some bastard made Dandy perk up.  "Ya mean that mechanic you broke up with?  Yeah! Screw that guy!" He cheered and got to his feet.  The passion for racing started flowing through the man as he stood before JP, blocking the screen.

"You woulda totally won that race!  Look at how you drove!" Dandy snatched the remote from JP's hand, moving from scene to scene to point out the great moments in the race for JP.  "You are a natural born racer, baby! Look at those moves!  You were soarin' through that course and ya didn't even need ta use a weapon ta blast past all those losers!"  Dandy turned back to JP, his heart pounding.  He leaned down, his hands on JP's knees.

"Forget that bastard, baby.  You are a winner in my book, no doubt about that.  You woulda won that race.  I know it in here,"  Dandy pointed at JP's chest.  "Deep, deep down I know that you woulda won."

–-

"Yes, him! I should have punched him while I had the chance at the hospital! I should have beat his ass for that! I just.." JP vaguely crossed his arms. "I couldn't do it. That's not me, no matter how upset I get."

He watched as Dandy moved to block the screen and listened to his words as well as seeing the great moments he had during the race. He bit at his bottom lip and he felt an ache in his throat. 

"You're right. I- you're right..." Dandy was so right and no one had talked to him this way. Frisbee never did, he was too busy with the mob to even show up most of the time. Not to mention that Frisbee had left him to rot in prison until he was needed to get behind the wheel again. Not only had he been used, but he had been seen as utterly disposable at that moment in time. He closed his eyes when he saw Dandy point at his chest.

He opened his eyes, looking right at Dandy before reaching out to get a handful of his shirt and part of his jacket and pulled him closer to wrap his arms around him. "What are you doing to me, you idiot?" He said mostly as air by the collar of Dandy's jacket.

–-

Dandy felt JP pull him close for an embrace.  He moved his arms around JP, holding him close.

"I'm bein' a friend,"  he said sweetly, moving his hand to the back of JP's head. "It really sounds like you need one right now."

Dandy looked behind JP, seeing QT and Meow staring in shock at the scene.  He mouthed the words 'get out of here NOW'.  Without another word, the two quietly tip-toed toward the hallway, opening the door and then racing to their rooms.

He pulled away from JP and took a seat next to the racer once again.  "I'm here for ya.  Anything you need to help you feel better, baby.  Vent, blow off steam, just whatever," he rested his arm on the back of the couch, his eyes staying on JP. Then, he glanced back at the race.  "So I guess that's pretty much where it ended, huh.  We don't need ta see the final bit.  We all know you won," Dandy winked with a little smile.