His Rival

The Passenger Through the Rift

Hello everyone, Jess here!

I'm celebrating the 4th year anniversary of "His Rival" with a long, momentous chapter (40.8 pages/ 13,949 words). So be sure to take breaks as needed.

If you have any questions or comments about this chapter, let me know; I'd like to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

A contagious warmth prickled your lungs as you caught sight of the newest visitor to Olkarion's metropolis, her signature green and orange jacket billowing in the wind as she barreled towards you.

"Pidge!" Barely a second after you extended your arms, she latched onto your waist. Your back arched as the impact hit you like a tidal wave of butterflies, heat seeping through every last vein as your knees bent, standing firm. She gasped at the whiplash, pulling away just enough to meet your gaze.

"Holy crap (Y/n), is that all muscle I'm feeling?"

"I guess?" You supposed, tilting your head at her fixation. The Blades weren't the type for vanity, so it wasn't like you had much of a chance to recognize the change in your physical appearance. You had gone weeks without seeing a mirror on Zathar-trez, but that had been the least of your worries back then.

"What were the Blades feeding you out there?"

"You can thank Krolia and Kolivan's training for that, along with all the Blades who were challenging me every other day in the arena." Pidge flinched away at that, raising a brow.

"How did that all happen?" As you walked with her along the streets of the bustling city, you explained your less-than ideal origins with the Blade of Marmora. It didn't take long for her hazel eyes to darken at all the insults that had been thrown your way, gaze drifting off towards the sleek tan architecture.

"Huh, I wouldn't expect Kolivan's newest recruits to be a bunch of middle school bullies."

"They were all descendants of Kolivan's previous board of directors, raised on Marmoran lunar colonies where they were sheltered from the war for most of their lives. Considering that they were literally trained from birth for those roles, they were prime candidates for the newest battalion Alpha-tau."

"So basically, snotty travel league kids." Your hands slid into your pockets at her snide remark, of course you couldn't expect any less from your jaded gremlin friend.

"That's one way to look at it, but they weren't all that bad. They were good soldiers, we just didn't get along. I wouldn't go as far as to call them bullies; it's not like any of their taunts really affected me anyways." She folded her arms at your nonchalance, holding her chin.

"Still, I'm surprised that Kolivan would just let all that harassment happen at his headquarters, especially towards you of all people." You shrugged at that one; it hadn't really crossed your mind before.

"He warned me that path wasn't going to be easy, and it's not like his administration was completely complacent either. Krolia kicked a guy right in the groin for trying to hit on me." Pidge's brows narrowed, inhaling sharply.

"As she should. I assume you didn't let him off scot-free either." You burst into a grin at how she was waging a finger at you; you had almost forgotten how hilarious her threatening facade could be.

"Nope! I had him knocked to the ground as soon as that pick-up line left his mouth." As you bounced on the balls of your heels, she started skipping alongside you, fist punching through the air.

"Good. If I had been there, that idiot would've been slammed into the floor with my grappling hook. No one messes with my best friend and gets away with it!" A hearty chuckle escaped your throat as her antics prodded at your heartstrings, gosh how you missed this.