The Final Redemption [Haruko Lawson]

[Akasha]

Akasha raised an eyebrow and looked over at him, did he just give her permission...to look in his drawer? She suddenly grinned as if this were a dream. They had been attached in the most awkward position not but ten minutes ago, he had taken care of her ear as if he were an angel, now she was in his room about to search his dresser for a picture of his family...it was all so surreal.

"Sure." She said in response, hearing him direct her what drawer. She pulled it open pushing aside a shirt that had been bundled around an object, apparently to protect the picture and frame. She pulled the edge and the face was being slowly revealed. She smiled almost immediately as she saw the boy smiling shyly at the camera. He was absolutely...

"Wow." She said lowly almost out of breath at how taken aback she was. His mother...she must've been glorious. She looked over her shoulder. "He's beautiful, Haru." She said glancing back at him. She could see the resemblence, although it took her a while, but it was apparent the boy had gotten the handomse fetures and adorable smile from his father.

"How old?" She said turning around to lean against the dresser, still holding it in her hands.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko shook his head, looking down at his feet. He suddenly realized as she pulled the picture out of Jin, how much he actually missed his son. He looked back up and nodded.

"Um, he just turned sixteen before I left Coruscant," Haruko said. He nodded again. "He got the looks from his mother I'm afraid," he said in a laugh. "She was, um, Korean. If you put a picture of her over his, they'd match nearly perfectly," Haruko said with a grin. The only features of himself Haruko could really see in Jin were his eyes and his smile. Other than that, Haruko could only see the boy's mother in him. He chewed his lip. "He'd like you. He's something of a pirate himself," Haruko said matter-of-factly, laughing a little. He waved his hand.

"The brothers are stuck behind that picture."

[Akasha]

Akasha smiled and looked at it longingly. She had never been the one for kids but she had always wanted to be a mother. But who could be a mother in a line of work such as hers? She gnawed on her lower lip and looked up at Haru and smiled.

"Do...do you have any more photos of your family?" She was wanting ot see them, wanted to get a better look at who he had left behind. Suddenly she remembered he was wanting to kill himself. She felt so sad, remorseful, and confused. He had such a handsome son and it appeared he loved him, so why would he want to leave him behind? It was just so crazy.

"I would like to see them, if that is okay?" She smiled at him. "We can compare! I have a family photo in my pants in your brothers room!"

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko laughed. He walked over next to her and dug past some more clothes to a black photo album at the bottom of his drawer. He pulled it out and nodded at her and then at the photo album.

"This has everything in it," he said nodding. "Got my whole life here," he said jokingly. He chewed his lip. He wanted to see her family. He didn't know why, but ever since he had found his own family, he had been interested in other people's just to know that they had one too. Haruko loved his family so dearly, he couldn't think of anything that could come above them. Thier safety was why he had left. He nodded at her.

"Sure, let's compare notes," he said with a laugh.

[Akasha]

Akasha laughed almost shocked that these two. who were enemies but a few days ago, were now sharing family pictures. She nodded and looked at him.

"Stay here, I'll be back." She put the picture of the boy on the dresser and jogged out of his room and headed towards the lifts where she could access her own room. She was in a hurry and on a mission. She always kept family photos with her for she felt it brought her a sense of life to her job, it kept her sane and it kept her from daring to harm anyone for she put herslef in their shoes. That was why, she figured, she had never killed a man in her life even though the times she needed to were always there. Much like when she met Mr. Lawson. She smiled as she entered the room and grabbed her pants and quickly unbuttoned the many cargos on the leg, pulling out bent photos. She knew she had at least three or four! Better than nothing, she knew.

She didn't care to unfold them she just stood up and ran back quicker than before, this somehow exciting her. Kale, even though they had dated for 3 years and almost grew up together, had never taken the mind to ask if she had any siblings or parents! She was shocked to find that she and Haru were having this conversation as if they just met while on a trip! She smiled and stopped jogging when she was a few feet away from the door. She turned and saw Haru sitting on the floor, legs in the lotus position, already flipping around. She smiled and fell right beside of him, her right arm pushing against his left, not really minding or even thinking of it.

"Lets see your beautiful family!" She suggested to him in a winded breath as she looked at his lips first then his eyes.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko laughed as she ran into the room and pressed in beside him. He nodded to her, flipping past the photos of his mother and father--those would have to be saved for later. He really wanted to show off his beautiful brothers.

He flipped to two pages that was filled with nothing b Jiro and Taro, he even thrown in sometimes. He pointed to one in the top left hand corner. It was of Jiro and Taro, both in front of thier apartment, Taro holding Jiro on his back and Jiro flashing the peace sign. Haruko pointed to Taro.

"That's the middle boy, Taro," he said, then he moved to point at the boy on his back. "And that's the littlest, Jiro. He just turned eighteen," Haruko expounded. He handed her the photo album. "Swap," he said, holding his hand out for her pictures. He smiled. "You can look at whatever you want in there."

[Akasha]

Akasha sat there watching his long beautiful fingers turn the pages of faces he passed over, either he wasn't ready to show her them yet or they were just meaningless friends. She smiled and looked at him for a moment before he pointed one out. She looked at it and then he put it on her lap. She laughed at the picture and she leaned back slightly finding the picture more entertaining up close than far away, even if it was just a few inches. She leaned down and inspected. God! They were gorgeous!

"Taro," She stated for good measure, pointing at the appropriate face. "Jiro." She said with a nod. "They are so....wow! SO beautiful." She said looking over at Haru. "Just like their elder brother." She said with a grin, feeling it was a compliment and a good time to at least give her two cents on his features. She sighed and quickly unfolded the three pictures. The first was of her mother Shanya smiling brightly with her thick black hair flying in strands across her face. It was a picture Akasha had taken for her photography class in college.

"This is my Mom. Her name is Shanya." She said handing it to him. "Sorry for it being bent and everything. It's at least four years old." She looked at her lap and grabbed the other tattered photo of her Dad sitting on the front steps of their house, his eyes slightly slit showing his deep crows feet. His gray hair slightly thrown astray from wind, as her mothers had been. Smoke was billowing out of his mouth from the cigarette he had been smoking.

"This," She said putting it in his hands. "My Dad." She said with a smile, missing him already. "His name is Lukasz." She looked up at him and smiled. This was bringing her immense joy suddenly. She grabbed the last photo and let him see that it was Her father and mother behind her as she bent down with a peace sign. "This was when I was moving into my apartment." She sighed out realizing it had been so long ago.

"They both...Russian mafia came and killed them." She raised her eyebrows realizing she hadn't really shared that kind of information with anyone, not even Kale. "We are Russian. It was a mistake. My Dad was in the mafia and technology got a mixed signal and they killed the wrong people. My last name is Zadhia." She looked at him and smiled before turning her attention to the album, flipping quickly seeing so many fun and funny pictures of the three of them.

She laughed when she saw Haru looking at the camera with his mouth wide open and a look on his face like he was not expecting that, but Jiro laying on his back legs in the air and a smile on his face showed her that he was probably tickling him to death. They were all happy pictures and she liked that.

"Mm," She said frowning. "Who might this be?" She said finding an unfamiliar woman in the picture, flipping the camera off with a squinted face. A real badass girl. Then the rock on her finger through her off gaurd. "This a girlfriend?"

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko laughed as he saw that picture. Oh, he had taken that picture of Jesimae the week before the wedding and she had not been a happy camper. He couldn't remember what her problem had been at the time, but Haruko remembered thinking it was funny so he took a picture and this was what he had gotten. He shook his head.

"No, no. That's Jesimae, she is Taro's girl--well, wife now. They got married just before I left," he said, flipping another page to show the wedding photographs. Jiro and Taro and Haruko in thier yukatas. Jesimae in her wedding dress, Orange and Asher looking smiley. Taro and Jesimae dancing, Taro and Jiro dancing, Jesimae stuffing something into Taro's mouth. Haruko tapped that page. "I left two days after all these were taken," he said to her. He smiled a little.

"They're so dysfunctional," he began, pointing to Taro and Jesimae, "that they worked absolutely perfectly."

[Akasha]

Akasha laughed. So one of the brothers had a wife! That ws great! She was adorable, even mad! Then he turned the page and she let out a little gasp of surprise. How cute! She looked perfect! And so did the rest of them. They looked so cute! All of them! She could only imagine what kind of chaos they could have caused considering there had only been three formal pictures followed by a butt load of photographs of all of them cracking up, throwing things, pointing and laughing, a classy one of Jiro looking as if he were humping Haru. Their outfits were something she had never seen before in her life and she had to say she was quite fond of them. She laughed as she found a few more entertaining.

"Well at least they aren't breeding outside of their kind." She said with a smile, laughing lightly as she flipped the page to literally almost be floored, if she weren't already sitting there. It was Haruko, standing tall, chin lifted, a gorgeous outfit, a piece of hair falling beside his face. He looked so elogant, so mature, so...flawless and so Asian that she wondered if this weren't a picture he was sending off to find a mail-order bride.

"I love this." She said looking at it. "You are absolutely the most attractive thing I have ever seen."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko's cheeks reddened at the compliment and his shook his head, flipping the page to a big picture of Taro, sitting on the table a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the peace sign pressed to his cheek. Haruko tapped the picture and then looked at Akasha.

"That is the most attractive thing," he corrected. Then he turned to one of Jiro standing looking somewhere else besides the camera, his extremely trim waist prominent in the picture. "And that. They are gifted in the looks department!" he said. Then he sighed and turned back a few pages to a picture of his mother. He tapped it. "That's where they get it from."

[Akasha]

Akasha looked at him not paying any mind to what he was showing her. Did he actually believe he wasn't good looking? She frowned and pushed him slightly.

"Honey! Look in the mirror once in a while, huh?" She sighed out and shook her head, glancing at the picture of the woman he called his mother. Suddenly she realized that she was probably the most perfect woman ever. What was it with this family? Did they all marry the hottest people in the universe for they had perfection written all over them

"Wow." She said, dumbfounded. "Now I know why I could never get a date! I have thsi kind of gorgeousness to compete with!" She shook her head. The Lawson family had all the good genes.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko grinned and nodded. He did think his mother was beautiful. She had always been. This was picture of her when she was much younger, holding a baby Haruko in her arms, her husband standing next to her. It had been before things had gone bad. It was his favorite picture. It was faded, but his mother was in a pink kimono, a red obi, her hair made up perfectly, her face paled slightly in the traditional look of the Japanese culture. She evern wore the tall shoes. And his father was in a dark blue yukata, a great smile on his face. They looked happy in this picture.

There were various other pictures of his mother and father with him when he was a baby, but there were none of Jiro and Taro. They had gotten the worst of the Lawson curse. Mental problems. Haruko had them--even without Mr. Lawson he would always be grappling with depression--Taro had them--his anger was frightening--and Jiro had them--his depression could somtimes be worse than Haruko's. His mother and father had both had problems, and they passed it on to thier children. It was a wonder they all turned out as well as they did.

"My mom um, she died a long time ago. My dad just passed away last year," he said, drawing a parallel between his life and Akasha's. "I think maybe Taro got all her good looks."

[Akasha]

Akasha smiled warmly, they were such a happy couple. It was so nice to see that. God! How she loved to love love! It was something she had yet to experience fully and she was absolutely ready and willing to throw her heart at someone, anyone, who was willing to take it and care for it. She smiled as she continued to stare. They looked so happy, the baby as well. They were both so beautiful. She glanced over at Haru and softly frowned hearing the sad story about the death.

"I understand." She said with a genuine smile. "Losing parents is difficult." She looked away and frowned. Taro was a looker, but she swore she had seen better and he was sitting right beside her.

"Nah," She said feeling no harm in letting her thoughts be known. It wasn't like she was going with him anywhere except to her ship where they'd part forever. Sadly. "I think you are underestimating yourself. You are the best of the two."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko laughed at her insistence and nodded, putting his hands up in a placating gesture.

"I'll take your words for it," Haruko said as they continued to flip, hitting a page with Jiro on it. There were several pictures of just Jiro then two of he and Orange and five of he and Ren. Haruko couldn't help but laugh at some of the faces Jiro was making. In one he was crossing one eye but not the other, and was pretending to lick Orange's face. He shook his head. "There are more of Jiro in here than I realized!" he laughed, noticing just how many of his brothers there were. He shook his head. "I guess I love them more than I thought I did."

[Akasha]

Akasha laughed.

"I never had any siblings so I am not sure what it would be like. But, I must say if they act like they do in pictures I would love them." She nodded for a moment and realized that she liked them without ever having to meet them. SHe looked at Haru and saw the smile that was falling from his laugh.

"You should do that more often, Haru." She said in all seriousness, slitting her eyes slightly. "Smile I mean."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko's cheeks reddened and he looked up at her. For a long moment, he didn't know whether she was teasing him or telling the truth. After a moment however, he grinned at her, laughing a little along with with it.

"There," he said, nodding and closing his mouth. "How was that?"

[Akasha]

Akasha laughed and shook her head.

"Looks like you are in pain! Come on!" She said throwing her arms up. "Smile! Or else!" She said pointing her finger at him with a little laugh. She was absolutely....enthralled with that man and she was just going crazy she knew! She liked him to a high degree, but she didn't need to flaunt it this obviously in front of him.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko couldn't help but laugh at her words and giving her the smile she had asked for. Haruko thought he smiled plenty, but apparently she didn't think so.

"There!" he exclaimed as he laughed. "Any better?"

[Akasha]

Akasha laughed at him, the huge smile giving her a lot to laugh about. She nodded after a moment when her laughter subsided and sighed.

"Thank you!" She said pushing a piece of her hair out of her eyes, looking over at him still grinning at the way his face had looked. "I like the way you look when you smile." She simply stated with a sigh as if she couldn't breathe. "It looks good on you."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko dipped his head in a sort of a quiet thanks, a little embarrassed by her words. He looked down to hide it and then looked back up at her.

"Thank you," he said, nodding his head again. "I'm afraid it doesn't come out that often anymore."

[Akasha]

Akasha grinned at him...so cute! She just wanted to pinch his cheeks and give him a hug! If there was anything he reminded her of it was a kitten ever since she met him she ha thought that and it just seemed to keep getting cuter and cuter.

"Anytime." She said lowly glancing away and to the pictures they had been looking at. She closed the photo album and picked it up, handing it over to him with another smile. "Here." She said kindly.

"Your family is beautiful. Wish I could have had the chance to meet them, they all look fun." She looked u pat Haru and allowed him to take it. If only she had pictures and a huge family like his she'd have more to show, but she had never been one to take pictures or be involved in them.

"I bet they are really great."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko took the album with a nod, standing straight again and pressing it back into the drawer. He picked up the picture of Jin and looked at it a moment, the hurt in his chest he felt all of a sudden was the miss he actually felt for his son.

He pushed the picture down on top of the album and sighed, pushing the drawer closed. He turned, leaning on the dresser and watched Akasha for a moment.

"They're family."

[Akasha]

Akasha smiled at his back as he stood up to go put the album back. He had a good back, a sexy back. She liked Haruko far too much and after the show-and-tell they just had, it made her like him even more. It made her feel as if they werte getting along without any tension or hard feelings and it was making her previous plan to steal the ship much harder to swallow. After meeting him and talking to him it ws a shame she had ever had such an idea to do such a thing. But she knew that it had been for the best.

"A good looking one at that!" She stated as she, too, stood, holding the three pictures she had shown him. After viewing Haruko's collection of fantastic photographs she wished she had more, but it was the only she even knew existed.

Akasha briefly looked up at the door to his room seeing out into the hallway. She really didn't want to go, but her mind was telling her it was time to go to bed and part ways for the night. She looked back over at Haruko and grinned.

"I think I am going to head to bed now, Haru." She stated sadly as she pressed the pictures against her chest, breathing in deep and letting it out slowly. "It was a good night. Thanks." She smiled at him and glanced at the door almost reluctant to even go out it, but there really wasn't much more to do or say.

"Good night." She nodded at him and stood there...why wasn't she leaving? Why weren't her feet working? Why couldn't she just...leave!?

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko looked over his shoulder at her and smiled, pushing in the drawer and turning to her. He stood there for a long moment, neither of them moving one way or the other. Like niether could decide if they wanted to go or not.

"Oh," Haruko said, just reminded. "Let me code into Jiro's room for you so that you don't have to sleep in that god awful pilots chair, yeah?" he asked, smiling at her and moving forward to stand next to her. "I am sure that it will be messy when you go in there, I haven't touched it since Jiro got off so, if there is stuff in your way, just move it."

[Akasha]

Akasha smiled brightly when he finally said something after t he stifling silence that made her heart beat quickly and her stomach twist and turn into knots. She was going nuts just standing there staring at him withtou either one of them moving or even saying anything. Having him move and talk again was like a breath of fresh air. She nodded and bit her lower lip, trying her best to keep her smile minimal, but she figured it wasn't working.

She walked beside him, jogging slightly to catch up with his long strides from his even longer legs. She felt her arm bump against his and she was suddenly exhilirated and ready to go for the night, Haruko suddenly having this huge impact on her bodily functions and emotions. It was quite an appealing thing for Akasha, not that she'll ever mention this liking to the man beside her.

"Thanks." She said to him again, unsure how many times she had even said between the room and the lifts. She was just thinking of Haruko, everything about him, the way he smelled, the way he felt when they bumped, the back, the face, the hair, the piercings, the uniqueness of him...it was all too appealing! It was danergous territory and she was toying with bad ideas.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko walked silently beside her, regarding her carefully out of the corner of his eye. Haruko couldn't help but admit to himself that he liked the woman. She was smart, and tough, and Haruko knew that she wouldn't ever need a man to take care of her. She wouldn't ever need anyone but herself to take care of her.

And that was interesting to Haruko.

Haruko's past lovers had all generally been women who needed him. Orange, she had needed love. Asher, she had needed care and consideration. It occured to Haruko as he thought about his interest in the woman beside him, that he had never had a lover that had just liked him for him, not because they needed something from him that they had never gotten from anyone else. Like protection, which he knew instinctively that Akasha would never need.

It was a strange feeling.

"Code four, six, eighty two, nine," Haruko said as they came to Jiro's room door. "Open."

[Akasha]

The door slid open and she was bewildered by the scent that never seemed to fail or go away. It was funny how a few minutes ago Haruko was to take her to Jiro's room, when they had already gone through this process. She just realized they had done this before, but somehow she wasn't minding it a second time around. It had never actually occurred to her that she didn't care if they did it a thousand times, just as long as it gave her a few more minutes with Haruko she'd let him do it all night.

"Woot." She said lowly, not really realizing she had used such an old expression that most people had let die out. She grinned and looked up at Haruko, finding his features strikingly perfect, as always. "Thanks again. Tonight was fun. I don't think I've ever enjoyed someones company as much as I did yours." Akasha wondered if this was overkill, making her point be known that is. She just wanted him to know that she really liked him a lot, really enjoyed him, and really hoped that he'd not forget her after all was said and done.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko smiled, and gave her a wave. He stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Sleep good," he said, giving her another wave and heading back down the hall towards his own room. He glanced once over his shoulder before he pushed back into his room and the door slid closed behind him.

He flopped down on his bed and rubbed his blue eye. It itched like a mother, and it kind of ached too. But he had been doing as the doctor had told him, cleaning it extra as it healed, taking the medication only when he absolutely needed it. He blinked hard a few times as he watched the door to his room as if he expected it to open and Akasha to come through. He smiled as his naivite. Once he had her back to her ship it was goodbye and go. She wouldn't ever give him a second thought.

It saddened Haruko a little, considering she had most literally saved him from himself, and he had more in common with her than most. He wished that there was a way to stay in touch with her, but he knew that she would probably never want to see him again, since he had caused her so much trouble.

[Akasha]

"Would you like to....no...god." Akasha laid in bed staring at the dark ceiling, shadows and colors being thrown about the room due to the nice viewing window of the galaxy. She had seen a few bright stars pass by and it was almost a dream to see, she never being able to see the galaxy so close before! Haruko was a lucky man to have been blessed with all of this, now she was beginning to realize that perhaps this ship was not for her afterall. It had good tastes and good customized things and if she had the money and means she'd do it all as well, but this ship was too personal for her. It said Haruko everywhere she went, even the smells of his brothers were resembling Haruko. He was just everywhere. Which was why she toseed and turned.

She was wanting to figure out a way to keep things going with him, to stay in touch. She figured she could offer him a job watching out for ships nearby that she could purchase, not steal, so she could settle into retirement, for she was almost positive that her felooow members were going to want to throw her to the dogs. She groaned at that thought. Her ex was a mean spiteful guy and he never really returned for friends for his rules followed the 'Every man for himself' phrase. Although she was more along the 'Leave no man behind' lines.

Akasha sighed out and turned onto her side to look out into space. She was still trying to find reasons to stay in touch with Haruko, for she wasn't sure if the whole 'hey lets be friends and stay in touch' would be a flattering idea for him .She had caused him enough grief and parel already she didn't think he'd want to see or be with her anymore than he could have, plus she had already experienced things that most normal people wouldn't have.

"Tell me..." She groaned when her thinking aloud did not work. It was making things harder. She just wanted a good reason, excuse, to see Haruko after all was said and done.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko was reading a book. He couldn't sleep, his eye ached too bad. And his mind was restless. He had never had a restless mind like this before. He had always had a Mr. Lawson restless mind, but not a mind that was just bothered by thoughts, and not a malicious voice looking for his destruction.

He shifted on the mattress, his knees drawn up to support the book on as his eyes scanned over the Japanese characters. He had read this one sentance fifty times. He couldn't move on, because by the time he got to the end of the sentance he had thought of something else, and once he was finished thinking about that, he had forgotten what exactly the sentance had said. It was maddening.

He snapped the book shut and tossed it on the bed next to him, crossing his arms poutily over his chest.

[Akasha]

Akasha wasn't dressed too inappropriately, a pair of Jiro's boxers that were literally short shorts on her and a very baggy white button up shirt. She hadn't been able to sleep for she was too busy wondering what Haruko was doing. She knew it was a bad thing to be occupying her minds times, but she couldn't help it! Her attachment to him was overwhelming and she was actually worried about him.

She walked down the hall, her feet freezing from the cold flooring in the hallways. That was the only thig she hated about the ships, the floor was very cold to walk on in bare feet. She bit her lower lip as her right hand traced along the wall, making her way to the Captain's room where he was sleeping. She didn't know why, perhaps its was her want to see him, hear him, smell him, whatever...she wanted to check up on him. See how he was doing.

She found his door and lightly knocked, not wanting to do it so loud that he'd be stirred awake yet not so low he wouldn't be able to hear her. She put her right foot behind her left, her toes propping it up as she leaned her left hand on the door frame and put the other behind her back. She glanced down at her pose and realized this looked more like a sex offering. She rolled her eyes and stood up straight and put her hands in front of her. She was just checking up on him...that was all.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko glanced up from his bed, cocking his head. Sliding forward, he got up, grabbing a wife beater and pulling it on as he headed towards the door. Was it Akasha? Of course, it had to be. She was the only other living thing on this ship. But why would she be coming to his room?

He reached the door and pressed a finger to the small pad by the door. It slid up and he saw Akasha standing there in a button up shirt and a pair of short shorts. She looked anxious about something. Haruko gave her a warm smile, leaning his shoulder against the frame, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Hey," he said. "What's up?"

[Akasha]

Akasha watched the door move up, his feet and legs being revealed to her. She couldn't help but feel slightly exhilirated by the sight, it was more flesh she had seen in a while. She heard him and she glanced up at him and smiled warmly in response to his own. How she loved having him smile it was such a good thing to see, especially on such a beautiful face.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" She said with a slightly frown, hoping not. "I couldn't sleep and I was just thinking about you." Oh, bad wording. He was definitely going to think she was wanting to finish a task that could have been started much earlier that afternoon. Suddenly her ear began to pulsate from acknowledging the pain that had been inflicted on her earlier. She reached up and touched it, feeling that it was hot. She shook her head with a light laugh.

"I was wondering how your eye was. I was so silly to not ask you before. It's recomended that someone monitor the other in case anyhting were to happen, black outs, seizures, bleeding. You know, the usual." She bit her lower lip and glanced at his eye, seeing it was a tad bit red, but not looking very bad.

"Looks good." She stated after the quick survey. "Just, hoping you were doing okay."