Thank You
Murray and Jing King. I have no clue where I got this pairing, but I love it. X3
"Murray, we'll meet you at the van! Go! We need to get out of here!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Murray saw Panda King, hunched over slightly to shelter Jing, running for the van besides the Guru. Panda King yanked open the back door and ushered his daughter inside. She slipped in, followed by the Guru, before Panda King leapt in behind them, slamming the door shut.
Thankfully, General Tsao was focused on the battle between his dragon and Sly, and hadn't noticed his prisoner/fiancée escaping. If things were going according to Bentley's plan, Carmelita would be there to ambush the General at the wedding and haul him off to jail. Murray hated to admit it, but Tsao was pretty tough, and it was just too risky for them to keep going up against him.
He jogged down to the van and jumped in the driver's seat. Guards were rushing to and fro, both trying to avoid the fireballs Tsao's dragon was shooting from its jaws, and apprehend the intruders. Murray easily plowed through their ranks with the van.
He smiled slightly as he drove. Man, he'd missed the van…But now it was back, and he was behind the wheel once again! Nothing could stand up to his awesome driving skills!
…Except for a few massive bursts of fire, that is.
A stray burst of flame from the dragon suddenly exploded right in their path. Murray yelped and turned sharply to the side. There were thuds, muffled shouts, and surprised cries as the passengers bumped against the walls.
"Sorry!" he called apologetically.
From above, they heard the dragon shriek; apparently, Sly was victorious. The thought was confirmed as he leapt down beside the van, half-carrying, half-dragging a dazed Penelope. Bentley was right behind them.
"You guys okay?" Murray asked. Penelope looked ready to faint, Sly was covered in burn marks, and Bentley's glasses would need quite a bit of duct tape.
"Fine, fine," the turtle wheezed. "We'll be fine, but floor it, Murray!"
Whenever the cautious Bentley urged Murray to put the pedal to the metal, he knew things were serious. Sure enough, Tsao's violet-armored form was coming at them over the walls of his fortress.
"Get down, you guys," Sly called to the back. Jing King crouched down, and her father put his arms round her.
"Hold on tight!" Murray warned, slamming his foot down.
The van took off in a flash, and it wasn't long until both Tsao's enraged shouts and the smoldering wreckage of the battlefield were long gone.
Murray yawned. "Where does your sister-in-law live again, Panda King?" Normally he didn't forget directions, but it was late; they were all weary and tired.
"Just…through this pass," Panda King mumbled sleepily. "Jing King will be safe with her Aunt Yume…"
"That was one heck of a heist, you guys," Sly chuckled. "Here's to another victory for the Cooper Gang!"
He weakly punched the air, and the others cheered softly, half-awake and quickly sinking into a sleepy stupor. It wasn't long until a chorus of snoring, mumbling, wheezing, and other assorted sounds filled the van.
Bentley was the last one to drift off to sleep. "Murray…" he advised, removing his glasses. "If you get tired, feel free to take a break for the night…We're well out of Tsao's territory by now…"
"G'night, Bentley."
Bentley nodded. Then his head dropped onto his chest, and he was asleep.
Exhaustion soon caught up with Murray, as well. He pulled over on the side of the dirt road and parked the van in the shadows of the trees. Then he slightly tilted his chair back and closed his eyes.
Shuffle, shuffle…Click…Thud.
Murray opened his eyes and sat bolt upright. He looked around. The others were still asleep; Sly might have had thief reflexes, but when it came to the van, Murray was the master.
And someone had just opened the door.
He did a quick headcount: Penelope (curled up in a ball, facing Sly), Bentley (one hand hanging over the side of his wheelchair armrest, just grazing Penelope's hair), the Guru (sleeping in a meditative pose), Sly (leaning against the seat), and the Panda King (his head lolling onto his chest).
Jing King was missing.
Murray's heart skipped a beat. Had they really been safe? Had Tsao somehow caught up with them and stolen Jing King back?
He opened the door slowly, careful not to disturb the others, but once he was outside, he pulled on his gloves and assumed a fighting stance. Then he began to creep through the woods.
He hadn't taken more than two steps when there was a startled little squeal.
He blinked, recognizing the voice. "Jing King?"
"Who's there?"
A shaft of moonlight fell through the canopy, framing Jing's white face in a beam of silver sparkles.
"Oh…One of my father's friends," she murmured, relaxing.
"Murray," he offered.
"Yes. Murray. What are you doing out here?"
"Uh, no offense, but I really should be asking you that."
She blushed a bit. "I apologize. I just couldn't quite stay settled…Back home, I used to head out back to the garden and look at the stars whenever I needed to calm down." She smiled up at the sky. "It feels nice to see them again."
"Yeah. That General Tsao had you locked up for a while, didn't he?"
"Yes…My imprisonment was a trying time. But thankfully, my father saved me…With your help, of course." She smiled at him.
He hadn't seen her face before, and now Murray couldn't help noticing that she was pretty. Very pretty. No wonder Tsao had been so determined to keep her in his custody.
She was, of course, a panda like her father, but rather small and delicate-looking, with large, dark eyes. Her ebony hair was pulled back from her face, and she was wearing a pale lavender gown. And her voice…It was a lilting, soft voice, like the wind moving through the trees.
"Aw, it was nothing," he mumbled. Then he realized that his face felt very hot. Was he blushing? Horrified, he hoped she couldn't see the red tinge to his cheeks in the darkness.
She didn't seem to notice anything. "I'm very grateful for what you and your friends did for me. I regret that I haven't been able to properly thank you yet. So, please…"
Murray was never exactly sure what came over him at that moment. But he found himself leaning in, and his lips pursing- as though he expected a kiss.
"Thank you very much, Murray. I am in your debt." Jing King bowed, and when she came up, she saw his odd look and frowned at him.
"Er, what are you doing?"
He jumped and fumbled for an explanation. "I- uh- You- um- I was just-"
There was his chance- a leaf had fallen into her hair, and stuck to the dark tresses.
"You have a leaf in your hair," he offered, gently blowing it away.
She smiled again. "Oh. Thank you."
There was a moment of silence. Murray shuffled a little, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. The only girls he had ever really been around were Penelope and, when she was chasing them, Inspector Carmelita- although he certainly wasn't on friendly terms with the cop. And Penelope was usually working on something; save the times she'd helped him recover the van and rescued him from being blasted into bits by Tsao's fireworks, he hadn't really spent that much time with her.
Which brought him to a conclusion: he knew absolutely nothing about girls, or how to act around them, especially one this gorgeous and sweet. What to say? What to do?
Jing King ended up starting the conversation. "My father admires you greatly, you know. From what he's told me, you are very strong and valiant- and your aiding in my rescue all but proves that to me. I am in awe."
"In awe? Of me?" he wondered, trying not to let his chest swell in pride.
"Yes. My father has rarely encountered any individual as strong as you- except for the General, that is, although he is a failure when it comes to loyalty and respect."
"Yeah." Murray felt his fists clench. "That guy was a real jerk."
Jing King made a thoughtful noise, then continued. "I wish I was more like you, Murray- not so timid and meek. It's what gave Tsao so much power over me, that I could not fight back. Perhaps, if I had been as strong as you, I would've been able to save myself and spare all this mess. I deeply regret that you and your friends had to go through so much, all for my sake."
Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "It's nothing. For you, I'd do anything at all."
With her face framed in the moonlight, he could clearly see her blushing furiously. She gazed at him with dark eyes.
"You…really mean that?"
"Yeah. And don't worry- you're not meek, just…just gentle. Tsao, he's just a downright bully to everyone. Even if you could've fought, it might not have done you any good. Besides, your dad never would've forgiven himself if you'd gotten hurt. He really cares about you."
He wanted to add, "And I do, too", but that would've been going much too far.
There was another long silence.
Murray looked over his shoulder, remembering the others. "Maybe we should go back to the van. Your dad might wake up, and if he sees you're not there…Well, he would really freak out."
"Yes. We should go back."
He gestured toward the van, feeling a little foolish. "Uh, ladies first."
She nodded and started through the grove.
But right as she passed him, she stopped suddenly and turned around. Standing on her tiptoes to reach the taller hippo, she planted a light kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Murray...Good night, and sweet dreams."
He touched his cheek with shaking fingers, and stood there a long time after Jing King had left, staring into space.
Finally, he, too, headed back for the van, knowing his dreams would indeed be sweet.
After they had dropped Jing King off with her aunt, the team headed for Blood Bath Bay to repay Dimitri for his assistance in Holland. Murray wasn't really sure about the details. He'd paid even less attention to Bentley's slideshow this time than any of the others, and not because the turtle's technical talk confused him. No, he'd been in a dreamlike stupor since that faithful night in the woods.
As they drove to the harbor to meet the cruise Dimitri had booked, Sly looked over at Murray curiously and asked why he'd been so quiet.
Murray didn't answer. He wasn't sure how to, especially in front of Panda King. He simply shrugged it off, and Sly went back to staring out at the rolling scenery, his query forgotten.
That night, as the stars twinkled overhead and the others were sound asleep, the hippo quietly crept outside and gazed up at the heavens, running his fingers over that blessed spot on his cheek.
He knew, somewhere out there, that Jing was staring up at the stars, too. Somewhere out there in the velvety blue-blackness, her thoughts and her heart were still with him.