Your Biggest Fan (Drake)

[Nineteen]

Anna felt her heart racing in her chest, and her arms were weak as she held the cherry pin tin in her hands. Kirk was next to her, and they had set off at a brisk pace towards his quarters. Already she was picturing him in her mind. They'd spent all day talking about him, cooking up an excuse (both literally and figuratively) to visit him.

Drake Blear: one of the Vegas Animorphs, and the man who'd risen to leadership while Dallas burned. Who'd lead his broken faction-mates to safety. Who'd fallen from a Bug Fighter and lived, pushing himself beyond human limits of endurance to save the faction leader from Cape Town. What a hero, and he was right here, at the Academy! Her heart fluttered again.

As she and Kirk rounded a corner, they looked both ways down the hallway. If Seiya had any idea what they were up to, they'd have been firmly sent back to their respective areas of the ship. Anna, who worked on the life support systems, couldn't take that risk. They potentially had only one shot to meet Drake, and she was not about to blow it.

When they got to the door, she turned towards Kirk. "You knock," she whispered hurriedly. "I can't, I'm too nervous!"

[Adrian]

Kirk had been absolutely torn about what to wear. He must have changed his clothes a dozen times and then a dozen times more after they had gotten dirty preparing their excuse for their visit. He, unlike Anna, had actually seen Drake from a distance when he'd arrived and he'd torn through the dregs of the Academy to find the one can of hair gel on board just so he could do his hair.

He couldn't believe Drake was here. He'd only dreamed of meeting him since he'd come to the ship. He'd heard so many things about him. He was from the legendary Las Vegas faction, survivor AND HERO of Dallas, SURVIVOR AND HERO TIMES TWO of Cape Town. It was almost too much.

"I can't," he said, almost breathless. "What if he's not here?" He was there, they had made sure of that with careful observation which was why Kirk knew what his hair looked like. "What if he is and he opens the door. Oh my god, you have to do it. You're nearer." She was maybe half an inch closer to the door but they were standing side by side.

[Nineteen]

"Okay okay okay!" Anna said quickly, waving one hand back and forth. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh." She took a few quick breaths, as if trying to calm her nerves (and failing terribly). Then, with a sudden burst of courage, Anna knocked on the door.

So quietly that even she could barley hear it. Wincing, she looked over at Kirk. She knocked again, this time at a slightly louder -- but still not normal -- volume. Finally she knocked a third time, and as if to compensate for her earlier failures, practically slammed her knuckles against his door.

Mortified, Anna went stock still, and waited. She was holding her breath, and could tell that Kirk was too.

[Drake]

Drake was spread out on his cot, hands behind his head, pretending to take a nap. Unfortunately pretending didn't really work as well as actual sleep, but actual sleep was eluding him at the moment.

Partially because of the murmurs he kept hearing outside his door. At first he thought he was imagining them because they were so quiet, but they didn't go away. Just as he was about to go see what was going on, he heard a tiny knock on the door.

Drake stretched and prepared to get up just as he heard a second knock. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He was wearing actual clothes today. A pale blue t-shirt, plain white sneakers, and khaki pants, to be exact. And they fit right, too.

Whoever it was outside the door knocked a third time, but loudly this time. He wasn't expecting it and he got a little startled by it. He was just glad nobody was in here to see it. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he said as he took the two steps from his cot to his doorway. He fiddled with the opening mechanism for a couple seconds until the whole thing slid into the wall.

"Hm?" Drake was surprised to find two people standing in his doorway, one of them holding a cherry pie. That pie smelled heavenly. He hadn't had any in what seemed like forever. "Um... Can I help you?" he finally asked.

[Adrian]

Kirk had to resist the urge to slap Anna's hand away after the second knock and by the third it was too late. He threw a look at Anna and they both held their breath as they heard a mumbled, "I'm coming, I'm coming."

And then the door opened.

Kirk's eyes went wide as his lungs tried desperately to pull in enough air to fuel the wild beating of his heart. For a second he forgot Anna was there, that anyone else in the world existed besides for Drake Blear.

His mouth was hanging slightly open but he couldn't think of one thing to say. What did you say to a hero? What could you say? What-

With the smallest of sighs, Kirk fainted.

[Nineteen]

Anna let out a tiny shriek of girlish glee when Drake opened the door. He was just as bit as wonderful as all the rumors were saying. She wondered if it was true that he'd single handedly killed a giant crocodile, or that he'd saved a whole bus load of children from a Yeerk flight training camp. They had to be true. Even if he did look really... normal in these clothes. Which just made her more excited. Your everyday young man, thrust into the dangers of war, facing all the perils...

"Hi-Drake-Blear-we-wanted-to-come-say-hi-and-see-how-you're-doing-"

Her rapid fire statement trailed off as Kirk began to sway next to her. Anna realized what was happening just as it began, but she couldn't do anything. She was holding the pie, after all. "Oh!" She sad with a quick gasp.

[Drake]

Drake tried desperately to understand the girl as she talked, but it was almost too fast to make out the words. That and he was distracted by the boy standing next to her. He wasn't looking so good. His brow furrowed in confusion, then instantly widened again as the boy started to fall over.

"What the-" Drake tried desperately to catch him, but he was too slow. He got a handful of shirt that slipped out of his grip.

Thunk.

"What in the world..." Drake said as he leaned down next to Kirk. He began to slap the kid lightly on the cheek. "What happened? Do you think we should call someone?" he asked Anna.

[Nineteen]

Kirk hit the ground and Anna's eyes went as wide as quarters. "Oh! No, um, don't call anyone! He'll be fine!" The idea that someone would catch them down here and tell Seiya was too much. "He uh, he does this all the time!" It wasn't really true. Sure, Kirk had a flair for drama, but she hadn't seen him faint before.

"He was just, really excited to see you is all, I mean we both were - are! We both are! And we wanted to ask how you were doing. How are you doing? Are you okay? You were so brave yesterday, saving that other guy, and well, you're our hero." Not knowing what else to do, Anna extended her arms, holding the pie out towards him to show that it was all for him. "We made you this."

[Drake]

Drake wasn't sure he should just leave the kid lying on the ground, but the girl assured him enthusiastically that it wasn't an unheard of occurrence. So he stood back up, careful not to step on the poor guy.

But then the girl proceeded to tell Drake why he had fainted, and Drake could hardly wrap his head around her words. Partly because there were so many, but mostly because they were unexpected.

Drake absently took the pie that was offered to him. He didn't know how to react. Hero? Him? Pie? "Wait, wait, wait. What? Did I hear you correctly? I'm your hero?" Drake batted his eyes quizzically. "What?"

[Adrian]

Kirk had hoped that Drake would catch him. If he had that would have been the ultimate fantasy fulfilled. Saved by Drake Blear, the arms that had wrestled a crocodile into submission holding him, Kirk. Anna would have been so jealous and there would have been nothing she could ever do or say that would have topped that.

But instead he hit the ground. Which wasn't so bad he told himself as the air got knocked out of him. His pride kept him from jumping back up immediately and he stayed on the ground, pretending to be completely senseless. That's when Drake leaned over him and actually touched him. Kirk did his best to remember what Drake's hands felt like. Anna would want to know later.

If he wasn't inclined to jump up before he certainly wasn't going to move when Drake was giving him individual attention but then Anna offered Drake pie and Kirk didn't want her to take all the credit for it. He'd helped too. Not that Anna had said any different but he just wanted to make sure Drake knew.

"Oh my," he said, allowing his eye's to flutter open. He sat up with a dazed expression on his face. "What happened?"

[Nineteen]

Anna wasn't really listening to what Drake was saying to her. Instead, she was just watching his mouth move, completely mesmerized by his lips. Eventually, though, he stopped talking. Which left her wondering what he was saying in the first place. Oh no! He would think that she wasn't listening! And she wasn't!

Wracking her brain for the last few things he'd mentioned, Anna was saved when Kirk came back to consciousness. "Oh! See, I told you, he's fine! Nothing at all to worry about!" She bit her lip deeply as she watched Drake hover over Kirk. With nervous energy she wrung her hands, not even aware as she did it.

[Drake]

Drake forgot his questions almost immediately as the guy on the floor started to come through. It seemed he wouldn't need immediate medical attention after all. Which was definitely a relief.

"I think you fainted," Drake said, answering his inquiry. "I tried to soften your fall, but it didn't work. Sorry." He offered an arm to help pull the guy up.

"So, did you guys just want to drop off the pie and you got over excited? Or was there something else? What are your names, by the way?" He would have offered his own name, but it seemed they already knew it. The girl did anyway.

[Adrian]

"Oh, it's ok," Kirk said, waving his hand a bit too dramatically. "You tried," he said in a long drawn out way with a huge smile on his face to let Drake know just how much he appreciated it. Even if it had stretched out his favorite shirt. But that was hardly something to get upset over in times like these.

He took Drake's offered arm with a grin he couldn't suppress and a bit of a crazy gleam in his eye. He glanced at Anna just to make sure she was taking note of all the personal attention he was getting before turning back to Drake and answering his question. "My name is Kirk," Kirk volunteered quickly, putting out his hand for Drake to shake. He had already decided he wasn't going to wash for at least a week. He now had Drake Blear all over his body. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Blear."

[Nineteen]

Anna's jaw dropped open, jealous and indignant as she watched Kirk cling to Drake's arm and be pulled from the floor. Luckily, Drake's back -- his wonderful back and shoulders, that carried the burden of the whole war! -- was turned towards her, so he couldn't see. Kirk, on the other hand, might have. She hoped he did! They were supposed to be in this together, and he was hogging all the attention! See if she helped him find all the nice clothes when the shipments came in every month.

Pouting a little, Anna watched as Drake shook Kirk's hand. Which turned into Kirk holding Drake's hand. And holding. And holding. Finally, once Drake was free, Anna inserted herself. She threw the quickest of smirks towards Kirk. When Drake turned towards her, Anna promptly stood on her toes, and moved to kiss him on each cheek, in a style that she hoped was like, European. "And my name is Anna. We're so happy to have you on board our ship, Mr. Blear. You make us all feel so much safer." She batted her eyelashes at him.

[Drake]

Drake stood with a "dear in the headlights" look upon his face as Anna butted in between him and Kirk. And then she kissed him. On the cheeks, but still. The way she went about it seemed a little out of the ordinary to Drake. In fact, these two just seemed a bit out of the ordinary all together. He couldn't quite put his finger on a reason why though.

"Um," Drake said as he wiped the look off of his face. "Good to meet you Anna. Kirk." He nodded to each of them as he said their names. "Uh, I think I'm going to go find a place to set this pie down in my room..."

Drake said his next sentence almost reluctantly. "You can come in if you want. Not that there is much to see." Then he backed into his room and searched for a good place to stow the pie.