Fic: Complications [Joe/Luka]

[gekidasa]

Title: Complications
Fandom: Gokaiger
Pairing: Joe/Luka
Rating: PG13ish
Summary: There had never been any expectations or illusions about this thing between him and Luka.
Notes: Happens after episode 28. This whole thing is because of Joe's epic reaction to seeing another man hitting on Luka. An older, attractive man.

Comments

[etapa]

I read this one not long after it was posted, and only now I comment! Bad, bad me.

First of all, I absolutely love it. It was such a fun, fun read. And I admit that I'm a sucker for stories that have the guy falling for the girl first (or at least shows his side of the story).

There are so many different directions that one could go with this pair! The beauty of Joe/Luka stands on the matter of a comfortable friendship and sense of equality that they seem to share in canon, and this could totally go either the way of them actually being together (the "quiet relationship" kind of thing) or really being friends, only with benefits. And your choice of the latter fit like a glove for this story :D

Joe's characterization was very well-done. He is that brooding, cool type, but in reality has hot fire burning inside. I like how you described his struggle with his developing of feelings for Luka, something that he realizes in a very strong way (then again... this is Yuki Gai we're talking about, LOL. It wasn't some random loser :P). It was new for him, certainly, and probably quite frustrating, for the lack of a better word. And as a former soldier, there really was only one way that he knew to work out said frustration: training. That was a spot-on.

The other way that he would know involves company. Except said company was the cause so there would be that :P

I wonder if Luka has any idea that Joe can no longer assure her of no promises or strings. Upon seeing the story itself, she doesn't give anything away. Then again, this is Luka, who despite looking one of the most straightforward characters, is also one of the most full-of-layers type. Full of walls, too. She's not that different from Joe in terms of setting up a personal wall, through which very few, if any, can go through. Her teammates included.

Not that I think Joe would give her up, should he hit said wall. He let her go "that time". That sounds like a promise to me. He's fallen for her, and my guess is, he will want her to fall along with him. Oh, how I would love to see that unfold!

Thanks for sharing!

[gekidasa]

Sorry I didn't get back to you before! I was travelling and even though I had online access, I sort of disconnected from everything. :D

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and seriously, thank you for taking the time to write such a great comment!

I really do love JOe and Luka's dynamic, precisely for the reasons you mentioned. They're so evenly matched, and you get the feeling that Joe actually enjoys the fact that she can and does get the best of him sometimes. He likes that she's clever and tough and independent. I love how his default response to Luka's antics is that smirk of his, like he's proud of her and (my interpretation) really really wants her when she pulls that stuff.

I do think that the fact that he is the one to brood and to spend those long trainign sessions being introspective and whatnot means that he probably would be the first of the two to realize things have progressed and to struggle with the realization. Luka comes off like she's very skilled in evasion, including evading to examine the nature of her own feelings. Which doesn't mean she doesn't have them, just that she'd tried to ignore them.

I wonder if Luka has any idea that Joe can no longer assure her of no promises or strings.

I think she probably knows in her back of her mind, but hasn't actually given any conscious thought to it, you know? Like, if her were to actually talk about it, she probably wouldn't be surprised... but she also probably wouldn't be happy to have to examine them if he did. Not initially anyway. I also think Joe wouldn't just talk to her about it, it'd come out in some sort of confused, maybe half angry outburst, so... yeah.

He let her go "that time". That sounds like a promise to me.

I didn't actually write that with your interpretation in mind, but now that you've brought it up I really like it. This is exactly why getting feedback is awesome.

Anyway, thank you again for commenting, you brought up some great points!