#jake armitage

[escuerzoresucitado]

Shadowrun (1993)

[pigeonrocks]

Mael “Vanger” Gunner

[ Mimi Evangeline, Excerpt From Deus Mortis / Tony Kushner, Angels In America / Banks, Lincoln / The Moths, Mary Oliver / Whelks, Mary Oliver / The Crane Wife, CJ Hauser ]

[reformedvillain]

Shadowrun Returns - Crew

[pigeonrocks]

he means. so much to me

[undyingembers]

#37 for the kiss prompts?

37. …without a motive.

Thanks! The pairing I'm choosing is Flyby/Jake from Shadowrun: Returns

The Mitsuhama run had gone off without a hitch, a rare thing in the shadows, and now the crew was celebrating their payday at the Seamstress's Union.

Except, instead of having to spend money like Jake expected, he and Flyby were greeted with music, strobe lights, and free booze. While Jake and Flyby were gone, Mrs. Kubota, the Union's owner, had decided to throw together a little shindig to celebrate the fall of Seattle's branch of the Universal Brotherhood. Indeed, the people here had many grievances with that insect-worshipping doomsday cult. The death of Shane, the near-destruction of the city by insect spirits, and, of course, the murder of the beloved, yet contentious Sam Watts, resident friend, jokester, and all-around drekhead. While everyone here had many awful stories about the guy, they all had a soft spot for that particular regular.

At the very least, no one had wanted him to die the way he had.

Mrs. Kubota wasted no time popping the cork off the champagne bottle and filled the glasses of her inner circle. Flyby took her flute with a grunt of thanks. Jake smiled and thanked the lady of the establishment, though he would have preferred an ice tea.

"A toast to the Emerald City Ripper, may he rot in hell," said Mr Kluwe. Everyone toasted.

"A toast to Shane." Cherry Bomb said no more. No more needed to be said.

"A toast to Jessica Watts and the Universal Brotherhood," said Johnny Clean. "May those bastards be buried forever.

But when Mrs. Kubota toasted to Sam Watts, their dearest friend, Flyby angrily downed the rest of her flute while everyone else raised their glass. Jake did not blame his new acquaintance one bit, though he was hardly surprised at the turn of events. Jake didn't believe for a second that Sam had the nuyen to purchase such a ludicrous life insurance policy, and he believed that his old friend had the responsibility to keep up with the premiums even less. Flyby had been close with Sam longer than anyone else here had known him. And after all the work she did to avenge him--track down a serial killer, break into a megacorp, and take down a dangerous toxic shaman cult--and it turned out the 100,000-nuyen she had been promised as a fail-safe had turned out to be a bust.

Jake spent the next few hours chatting with the others, getting in as many free drinks as Mrs. Kubota would allow, and even dancing. When it was time for him to take his leave, he spotted Flyby in the corner, nursing a beer and clicking away at the keys on her cyberdeck. She had her visor over her eyes so that others couldn't see that she was deep in thought.

Jake smoothly slid into the seat from across from her. "Well, madame mastermind, you looking at cat vids?"

"Just catfishing the CIO of a mid-level corp," Flyby responded. "Let's see how long this dumb ass realizes he isn't talking to the chief inspector at Lone Star."

"Not enjoying the party when you practically made all of this happen by yourself?" asked Jake.

Flyby snorted in response.

"Still sore about the whole life insurance flop?" asked Jake.

Flyby stopped typing, her fingers resting over the deck. "I bet you think I'm a sucker. Look at me, the bakebrain coming to Seattle for a big payday gets suckered into doing thousands of nuyen worth of free labor for her deadbeat of an ex, isn't that right?"

"Sam did have a way of making himself feel like a best friend even when mooching off of people and getting himself and others into the worst kind of trouble," Jake said delicately.

'Perhaps,' said a voice at the back of his head, 'because in his own way, he was a best friend.' Even after all Jake had put up with with Sam, even he found it hard to say no to the poor bastard. He was a flake and an asshole, but there were some things he could be depended on that most others couldn't.

"The truth is even dumber," Flyby continued, almost as if she hadn't heard Jake's response. "I think deep down I knew he was bullshitting me, but...I don't know. It wasn't so much about the money. He was lousy in every other area, but when he and I ran the shadows together, he was the only person I could trust with my life. He always had my back when I needed him. Even though every instinct was telling me he was lying, after all this time I was just hoping he wouldn't let me down again, that for just this once, he would come through for me, like he used to."

Jake could sympathize. Loyalty was a rare thing in the shadows. Beyond the fringes of self-interested corporations and corrupt laws, everyone was only in it for themselves. You don't get close to anyone in the shadows; everyone either dies or finds a new agenda to follow. Jake had experienced true loyalty and trust only once in his career as a runner, and he'd do anything to experience it again.

Maybe what Flyby did for Sam wasn't so dumb or nonsensical after all. Even if Sam didn't deserve it.

Flyby's face lit up. "Son of a bitch, the idiot actually gave me his credentials!" She started typing furiously. "Let's see how the CEO likes an army of bots digging around company files..."

"I guess I'll leave you to it then..."

"Armitage wait." Flyby pushed aside her cyberdeck as Jake was about to get up.

"Yeah?"

"Look, I think you're charming, and funny, and you seem like a good guy, what do you say to us going off and finding someplace to stay for the night?" asked Flyby. "And before you make a joke, yes, I am propositioning you."

Jake was stunned, but he supposed that this was not completely unexpected. He and Flyby hadn't spent much time during the Sam debacle; their paths had only brushed up against each other once or twice. But each time was a high-intensity romp where each of them had to rely on the competence and loyalty of a relative stranger in order to stay alive and reach their goals, keeping each other's objectives in line so one still had reason to help the other out. It was easy to form an intense, if short-lived bond between two people.

Also, in the short time they've spent together, Flyby had both intrigued and impressed Jake. She may have been ruthless and mercenary, not caring if others get hurt for her payday, but she was a wizard on the cyberdeck and the fastest gunslinger he had ever met, just the kind of person he had needed to take out the Halloweener gang when it was just the two of them. Plus, she was drop-dead gorgeous: small and plump with a heart-shaped face, cobalt hair, blue nails, full lips which she always painted dark blue, wires running through skin that made Jake wonder where they all went, and--though Flyby would kick his ass if he ever said it to her face--under her visor were the most precious blue eyes he'd ever seen.

And there was the whole thing with Sam. Despite saying she only takes jobs that pay, this woman really came all the way to Seattle just to avenge the death of a friend, putting faith in their friendship that he would have been there for her like she had been for him. She even went the whole mile and tracked down who hired the killer when perhaps she could have technically collected her pay when she geeked the man who'd held the knife.

Trust and loyalty. Very rare things to find in the shadows. And they came from unexpected places.

Jake slid into the seat next to her. "Well, I think you're pretty, hyper-competent, and dangerous in the best way, so why not?"

Flyby grabbed his lapel and pulled him into a kiss. Her lip rings pressed a cold tingle against his, their hardness a contrast to her soft warm lips. When he held her, the wiring on her skin felt electric under his touch, like a tingling web over her inviting body. It was easy to get lost in the intensity of it all.

Jake supposed he won't be sleeping in a morgue slab tonight.

[searching4rinoa]

Shadowrun (SNES) FINALE [Drake Is Cake]

And now to wait for Shadowrun II... T_T *sniff*

[searching4rinoa]

Shadowrun (SNES) Pt. 4 [Jake's Taking This To Corporate]

Time to make a deal with a dragon, chummer. A deal in it’s IMMINENT DEMISE!

[searching4rinoa]

Shadowrun (SNES) Pt. 2 [The Matrix...Systems]