I'm dreaming. Must
be.
In that strange half-aware state between waking and sleeping,
Duo snuggled closer to the warm body in his arms. Yep. Definitely dreaming...
I know 'Fei's not here. Relena's here, not 'Fei. 'Fei's still working. But it
feels like 'Fei...
"I don'wanna wake up," he mumbled, nuzzling the
solid chest beneath his head.
"Why not?" someone asked
softly.
Even sounds like 'Fei..."'Cause I'm dreaming.
S'nice."
"Oh?" A hand was slowly stroking his hair, and Duo almost
purred. "What are you dreaming about?"
"You. An' you're not really my
'Fei. You're Relena. An' if I wake up you'll go back to being Relena," Duo
explained, feeling fuzzy-headed but sure of his facts. "Relena's okay, but she's
not you... I mean... you're not 'Fei. So I don'wanna wake
up."
"Duo..."
"Shh. M'sleeping."
"Duo, you're not
dreaming," the dream-Wufei's voice said, suppressing laughter. "Open your
eyes."
"No-ooo! Relena, lemme sleep!"
"Would Relena do
this?"
A warm hand pushed Duo's chin up, and suddenly he was being
thoroughly kissed.
...No way in hell would Relena taste like
Wufei. No matter how good a dream I was
having!
----------
Duo's eyes flew wide open, and he stared
disbelievingly at Wufei for a moment; then Wufei discovered that he'd been
mistaken when he'd thought Duo was cuddled as close to him as was humanly
possible to get. Squirming up until he could kiss Wufei without either of them
straining their necks, Duo clung to him with surprising strength, winding one
leg around Wufei's to pull him closer.
I shouldn't have gone on that
mission, Wufei thought guiltily, wrapping his arms tightly around the
braided teen to provide the physical assurance he seemed to need. I know he
needed me to prove that I'd come back, but still... It was too soon. Too long
away. Too stressful... Duo's fingers felt like they were going to leave
bruises, but right then Wufei would rather have shot himself in the foot than
say so.
Even if he could have gotten his mouth free for long enough to
form a coherent sentence, which didn't seem to be an option right
then.
"How'd you get back so fast?" Duo gasped, breaking off the kiss
eventually. "Whatever happened to 'a couple more days'? Not that I'm
complaining," he added quickly, a slow grin spreading across his face as he
began to relax.
"Une ordered Trowa to mail me home via Manguanac
Express," Wufei managed to say dryly, reaching up to stroke Duo's bangs away
from his face. "Remind me to do something nice for her on her next birthday...
whenever that is. She also gave me today and tomorrow off, so she must have been
feeling unusually benevolent." Or worried about you. I think I can forgive
her for everything she did during the war, just for that one kind
thought...
"July twenty-third," Duo said automatically, leaning down
for another kiss, slower and less urgent this time.
When Duo pulled back
again, Wufei blinked up at him with a puzzled frown. "How is it that you
know her birthday? Her secretary's been trying to find out when it is for
months, to add her to the office birthday roster."
"Oh, I-- birthday
roster?"
"Semi-surprise birthday morning teas and suchlike are becoming a
Preventer tradition," the Chinese teen told him, grimacing. "So far, I have
avoided that embarrassment. So has Une. People have even tried to hack into her
personnel file, but nobody's managed it yet. Is that how you did it?"
"I
asked Treize."
"You asked-- you what?" Wufei sat bolt upright,
rolling Duo into his lap.
"I hacked into his email and sent him a
message, asking him," Duo said sheepishly from his new position. "He told me. I
guess he already knew I was sending her presents, and figured it couldn't
hurt..."
"Does she know you did that?"
"Well, she knows
that I know when her birthday is, 'cause I kidnapped her and took her to an
amusement park.[1] I didn't tell her how I found out, though, but maybe Treize
did..."
Wufei let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a gurgle of
laughter, slowly folding forward over Duo and gathering him into a hug. "Oh
gods. Oh, gods, Duo, that is such a quintessentially Maxwell thing
to do," he said in a strangled voice, shoulders shaking. "I would have had a
heart attack if I'd known what you were doing, but I can just imagine the look
on Une's face..."
"Oh, no you can't," Duo insisted, starting to
snicker. "Trust me. You had to be there."
"Someday, you are going
to tell me the whole story," Wufei said, trying to keep a straight face and
failing miserably. "Promise me. I will settle for nothing less than a moment by
moment description of the entire incident."
"You got it," Duo said
happily, settling into the hug with a sigh. "Including the running gun battle
and The Puppy That Saved The Day. I promise."
A faint squeak of feminine
dismay came from the direction of the kitchen, followed by a series of bangs and
crashes, and the usual end- of-disaster noise of something spinning to a
halt.
"Ohhhh... shit!"
"If it's bad enough to make Relena
swear, we'd better get out there and see what happened," Wufei said, a little
nervously.
"Well, she can't cook, but she has managed to avoid
doing herself grievous bodily harm... so far," Duo added, scrambling out of bed
and heading for the door.
Relena was kneeling in the middle of the floor
in her fuzzy pyjamas, surrounded by spilled coffee and crumbs, apparently
checking the toaster for dents. "I'm sorry," she almost wailed as she looked up
and saw them. "I didn't want to wake you up, but I thought I'd make you
breakfast before I left, so I was getting the toaster out of the cupboard and
the cord got caught behind the coffee tin and I tried to catch it but I dropped
them both--"
"Relena, it's okay, really!" Wufei interrupted quickly,
taking the toaster out of her hands and pulling her to her feet. "Accidents
happen and are easily fixed." Duo had already picked his way past the mess to
get the dustpan and brush out from under the sink, so Wufei concentrated on
getting Relena out of the way without bringing too much of the coffee with
her.
"It wouldn't have been nearly as messy if the coffee hadn't come
open," Relena sighed ruefully, dusting off her knees and feet before taking a
long step out of the spill. "I think the catch hit the countertop on the way
down and flipped open. And of course the crumb tray came off the bottom of the
toaster, too..."
"It's either Murphy's Law, Fate, or blind random chance
being annoying, depending on who you ask," Wufei said dryly. "At least it didn't
end up upside-down," he added, picking up the item in question and looking for
the lid. "About half of it is still in here, which means Duo and I will
not be caffeine zombies this morning."
"You mean I can't take
photos of you two staggering around, groaning 'espreeeeeeeeessso'?"
"I
would filter the floor sweepings before I allowed you to record that for
posterity," he snorted, taking the filled dustpan from Duo with a quick grateful
smile, and headed for the bin.
After Relena got started on her second
(and hopefully more successful) attempt at breakfast, Duo tugged tentatively at
Wufei's arm and led him out into the lounge room. "I was thinking... I mean, if
you don't mind..."
"Hm?" Wufei made an encouraging noise as Duo trailed
off, gathering the braided teen into a comfortable embrace.
"Well, Relena
did cancel her appointments for the whole week," Duo got out in a rush, "and she
could probably use the break anyway and... well... maybe she could
stay?"
Wufei didn't need to consider for more than a few seconds before
he nodded. "If she wants to, certainly. It's a good idea. Do you want to ask
her?"
Duo squirmed uncomfortably. "It's your place."
And you're
still not that comfortable with talking to her, even if you do want her
to stay, Wufei translated mentally. "Our place," he said gently,
lifting Duo's chin and making him meet his eyes, "but yes, I'll ask
her."
Duo was wide-eyed and blinking as Wufei took him by the hand and
towed him back into the kitchen.
----------
"I'm so glad
you asked me to stay," Relena said happily, buttering her toast. "I haven't had
a holiday for ages, and I never get the chance to shop without Heero and a flock
of assistants and bodyguards following me everywhere. And reporters of
course."
"...Shop?" Wufei asked, suddenly having the feeling that the
situation was no longer under his control. "I don't think--"
"Well, this
is the only way I'm going to be able to get Heero a Valentine's gift without him
having a good idea what it is," she pointed out. "I want to take you two out to
lunch anyway, so we could make an afternoon of it. Quatre's birthday is two days
after Valentine's, and Trowa's is in March, so I should get something for them
too... and then there's you, Duo, but I can't exactly buy your present if you're
going to be right there."
"Sounds fair enough to me," Duo said quietly to
his coffee cup.
"I thought Trowa didn't know when his birthday was,"
Wufei objected, abruptly sidetracked. "I thought Duo didn't...
Duo?"
"They threw darts," Relena giggled.
"It was right in the
middle of the war." Duo looked up with a crooked smile, a glint of humour
peeking out of the quiet shell he'd retreated into after the first exuberant
reaction to Wufei's return had passed. "I figured if there was no way for us to
know when our birthdays were, we could just pick dates and celebrate then. I
made H- Heero print out a year planner, and he and Trowa and I all threw darts
at it. I think you were on a solo mission," he added, "and by the time you got
back, something else had blown up... I guess nobody thought to tell you."
[2]
And you didn't think I would care... gods, I was so blind,
Wufei thought.
"Trowa got March twelfth, Duo got March eighteenth, and
Heero got June twenty-first. --That's right, isn't it?" Relena asked, turning to
Duo for confirmation. "Heero didn't write them down or anything, but that's what
he told me."
Duo nodded.
"So, it's settled. We'll go shopping!"
she declared.
"No, no, wait!" Wufei protested. "Relena, you're
very recognisable. I hardly think Duo and I constitute a proper security
detail for you! And you wouldn't want a reporter to get a photo of your black
eye before it's had a chance to fade, would you?"
"I'm recognisable when
I'm wearing designer clothes and have my hair up the way people are used to
seeing it," Relena argued. "I'll... I'll borrow a pair of jeans from one of you.
I've got a plain jacket and loafers, and I'll put my hair in a ponytail or a
plait like Duo's. As for the bruise, I do have makeup here. I can cover
it up."
"Well enough to pass inspection if you do get
spotted?"
Relena smirked. "I may not have any experience at covering up
black eyes, but it's the same principle as hiding a pimple, only on a larger
scale." Seeing Wufei and Duo's incredulous expressions, she let out an
unladylike snort. "Did you honestly think I made it through puberty with perfect
skin? I wasn't that lucky, but nobody ever saw anything."
Duo
snickered quietly and got up, grabbing at her hand. "C'mon. Let's find some
jeans to fit you..."
They had to go through five pairs of jeans before
they found one that Relena could wriggle her hips into, and she had an uncertain
look on her face as she eyed her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Trust Wufei
not to bother with a full length mirror in his bedroom," she muttered, standing
on tiptoe and craning her neck, trying to get a glimpse of regions south of her
belt buckle. "Just like Heero. It's almost criminal... they look so good, and
they don't even care..." Unable to find an angle that would let her see
her rear, either, she made an irritated noise and threw the door
open.
"Those ones fit?" Duo asked hopefully.
"Duo, I've never
thought I'd have to say this line, and I really hope you aren't going to laugh,"
she said unceremoniously, turning around to face away from him. "Do these make
me look fat?"
Duo blinked in surprise, then let his gaze drop to her
bottom. "Um... no?" he hazarded, raising an eyebrow at the tight, worn
denim.
"That's not a very reassuring tone of voice."
"You don't
look fat," Wufei said flatly, walking over to lean on the wall next to Duo. "You
look like you're proud of your figure, and have decided to show it
off."
"I can live with that," she sighed, turning around. "Why do
men have to be the ones who get trim butts?"
"Somebody had to," he
responded, briefly grinning sideways at Duo.
"Hilde once complained that
we got better eyelashes, too," Duo grinned back. "Something about hormones, I
think."
"Better living through testosterone," Wufei murmured. "The search
is over, I take it?"
"Yes. My temporarily deficient wardrobe isn't going
to save you from this shopping trip," Relena said smugly. "I have a chance to
act like a normal eighteen-year-old girl for once, and I'm determined to take
it. So there."
"I see you've already begun," Wufei snorted. "I don't
think that 'so there' is part of your normal debating
repertoire."
"Neither is 'nyah', but I'm considering it," she laughed.
"Come on, let's go!"
----------
The
shopping trip was a magnificent success.
Wufei gradually relaxed as it
became obvious that Relena and Duo were right, and nobody was recognising the
former Queen of Sanc in her 'normal girl' disguise. He was glad it worked, even
though it would make it harder for Relena's usual minders to argue her out of
dangerous ideas in the future; it left him free to wander around, hand in hand
with Duo, watching the braided ex-pilot enjoy the day.
His enjoyment
wasn't as obvious as it would have been during the war. He was still quiet and
withdrawn, especially when other people were around, but every so often
something would catch his attention, and he would seem to forget his diffidence
as he explained some new delight to Relena, eyes glowing and hand waving. One of
these bursts of enthusiasm led them into 'A Touch of Glass', the shop where Duo
and Wufei had found Une and Sally's New Year's present, and it required threats
of violence to get Relena out again. Wufei finally dragged her out when
he heard Duo's stomach gurgle audibly, and marched their small party off towards
the restaurant area.
"Yes, sir, Officer Wufei, sir!" Relena giggled,
bouncing into a booth and sitting down primly, surrounded by packages. "We'll be
good and eat all our veggies, won't we, Duo?"
"As long as I don't end up
with brussel sprouts," Duo muttered, making a face, then half-grinning. "I won't
be held responsible for the consequences if they turn up on my plate. Those evil
green blobs don't deserve to be called vegetables."
"I think we can make
an exception in their case," Wufei snorted, passing around menus. "I've never
been able to see why some people like them, myself. Did you have anything in
particular in mind for lunch, Relena?"
"I'm buying," she reminded him
firmly, "so I should be asking you two that question. I want to eat something
messy, what about you?"
"'Messy'?" Duo asked doubtfully.
"I'm not
wearing white, or anything expensive," she said happily, scanning the menu. "I
don't have fifteen cameras focussed on me, waiting to take pictures of spots and
dribbles. I can eat something messy, or sticky, or finger-food, and concentrate
on enjoying it instead of worrying about how I look. Ooh-- spaghetti bolognese!
And I can eat garlic or smelly cheese without offending people in meetings all
afternoon... this is wonderful! I hope you're both enjoying yourselves," she
added, looking up over the edge of her menu, "because I am!"
"It's
certainly better than being shot at," Wufei teased, and Relena hit him with her
menu as Duo grinned and nodded.
----------
That evening, Relena
suggested a game of cards. "This is a proper holiday for me now," she pointed
out, "so I don't really want to do paperwork. Besides, I've finished it
all."
"I don't think I have any cards," Wufei started, only to
break off with a laugh as she stuck a hand into one of her shopping bags without
looking and came up with a new pack. "I might have known," he chuckled, shaking
his head. "All right, if Duo wants to. What are we playing?"
"Poker?" she
suggested innocently, stripping the cellophane off the cards and beginning an
elaborate shuffle. "I'm really only a beginner, but I think I'm getting the hang
of it..."
"The last time I fell for a line like that, I was six years old
and Meiran had just told me that she wouldn't hit me too hard if I sparred with
her," he muttered, watching her hands with a jaundiced statement. "And just
where did you learn to play poker?"
"Duo taught me," she replied,
starting to deal as Duo came back from the kitchen with a bag of M&Ms for
stakes.
"I should have known."
"What else was I supposed to do?"
Duo shrugged, sitting down and ripping the bag of candy open. "The war was
nearly over, and bits of OZ and Romafeller were getting desperate. G got word
she was being targeted--"
"I remember that," Wufei nodded, picking up his
cards and scowling at them. "You two vanished for just over a week, until Heero
and Trowa had removed the problem."
"The safehouse we went to was rather
a minimalist affair," Relena nodded, picking up the thread of the story as Duo
passed M&Ms around. "No TV, no radio, hardly any furniture, and I'd left too
quickly to pick up more than a couple of changes of clothing, so no books,
either. Duo found a pack of cards-- missing the three and ten of clubs, I might
add-- and he taught me to play poker."
"Should I be
afraid?"
"Well, I did teach her to play poker properly," Duo
murmured. "Ante up."
"In other words, the laws of chance will have
nothing to do with this game," Wufei sighed, holding onto the pair of queens
he'd been dealt and using the three discards to push half a dozen M&Ms into
the middle of the table. "Oh, well. At least you'll be able to tell if she
cheats."
"Heero couldn't tell," Relena said smugly, flicking new cards
out around the table and taking two for herself. "He was awfully surprised when
I literally beat the pants off him."
Duo just looked at her; Wufei
looked up from his hand (four queens now) and blinked. "You beat Heero at
strip poker?"
"It was a similar situation to the one when Duo
ended up teaching me to play," she explained calmly, one dimple making a
fleeting appearance. "Bodyguard duty, boring hotel, nothing on TV... he had to
be very, very nice to me to get his clothes back."
Duo almost managed to
keep a straight face, but Wufei nearly choked at the mental image that
produced.
"Are you going to stick with that hand, or would you like some
more cards?" she inquired sweetly after the sputtering had died
down.
"I'll stick with these," he coughed, pushing out enough M&Ms to
match the last round of bets. "Call." Smirking inwardly, he set down his four
queens... then stared as Duo put down four kings, and Relena revealed four
aces.
"You were right when you said I could tell if she was
cheating," Duo grinned as Wufei turned to look incredulously at him. "You just
never asked me to say anything about it."
"Ah. Right," Wufei
sighed, hand going up to cover his eyes briefly. "My mistake. I'll have to watch
more carefully myself."
"Would you care to make the next few hands a
little more interesting, then, if you think you can catch me?" Relena asked
slyly, passing the cards to Wufei.
"I am not going to play strip
poker with you," he said firmly, starting to shuffle. How did that trick go?
Catch the card you want with your thumb, and..."You've already tried to get
me out of my pants once."
It was Duo's turn to choke as Relena blushed
bright red. "What?! When did that happen?" he yelped.
"Last
night," Wufei said serenely, working to stack the deck while his opponents were
distracted.
"Relena..."
"I only took off his shoes after he ended
up in bed still fully dressed!" Relena protested. "That's all!"
"Only
because I objected when she went for my belt," Wufei sniffed. "Who knows where
she would have stopped otherwise?"
Relena was saved by her mobile phone
ringing, and made a hurried retreat to the living room. The caller ID showed a
familiar number, and she was smiling as she answered. "Heero, hello. How are
you?"
< < Fine, > > came the reply. His voice was as bland
and calm as usual, but she'd had a lot of practice interpreting the subtler
shades of emotion he was capable of, and the faint warmth that meant he was
smiling came through clearly. < < How about you? > >
"Oh, I'm
having a wonderful time," she said happily, stifling a giggle. Apart from the
occasional moment of squirming embarrassment, that is...
"I've--"
"Don't be too long, Relena!" Duo called, laughing. "'Fei's
trying to deal off the bottom of the deck, and he's not getting it
right!"
"Well, teach him to do it properly, then!" Relena called back.
"Sorry, Heero."
< < You're still at Wufei's apartment? > > he
asked, sounding surprised. < < What's up? > >
"I'm having a
holiday, a proper one. Wufei invited me to stay, but--" she turned farther away
from the table, lowering her voice, "-- I think Duo asked him to."
<
< That's... good, > > Heero said slowly. < < How is he? >
>
"Much better," she said quietly. "He... he sort of blossomed
when he woke up and found that Wufei was back. He's still very quiet most of the
time, but you can tell he's much happier. Physically, too. I don't think I've
heard him cough more than once or twice today."
< < That's good,
> > Heero repeated, a little more firmly this time. He changed the
subject, telling Relena a little about the progress being made at setting up the
new Preventers branch office on the satellite, and then ended the
call.
Well, at least Duo's starting to open up towards me again,
she thought, looking a little sadly at the silent phone. Maybe it won't
be too long before you can get back something of your own friendship with
him...
* * * * *
The rest of the week, and Relena's holiday,
passed quickly. Wufei managed to avoid another shopping trip-- the first one may
have been a success, but he still felt his scalp crawl whenever he thought about
what could have happened if just one person had taken a good look at the
slim blonde hanging onto Duo's arm-- and before he went back to work on Thursday
he quietly took Relena aside and made her promise on her honour that she would
not go out with just Duo as escort.
"Normally, I wouldn't even
have a second thought about it," he explained uncomfortably after she had
promised. "If anybody can manage one-man crowd control and bodyguard duties, Duo
can. But... the situation isn't normal, yet. Is it?"
"No," she
agreed, patting his arm, "but it is getting better. Now, shoo! Go to work
and don't worry. We'll look after each other."
----------
Even
though most of the agents he knew personally were away, still involved with the
mission he'd just come back from, Wufei was surprised by the number of cheerful
morning greetings he got on his way into the building.
About to turn
towards Une's office to submit his report, he stopped and turned back as a
strained voice called out his name. "Uh... Agent Chang... sir? Could I, uh, talk
to you for a moment?"
"Agent... Petrov, isn't it?" Wufei said slowly,
looking up at the large man. Normally, he wouldn't have had to guess at the
agent's name, but his cast and sling were obscuring his nametag. "Ivan
Petrov?"
"Yes, sir," Ivan said miserably, ducking his head. "I, uh,
wanted to apologise for my part in what happened on Christmas Eve. It was really
stupid of me to just accept what Ray said about you without checking. Uh... is
Mr. Maxwell getting better OK?"
"Yes, he's recovering well," Wufei told
him, smiling despite himself. "I'll tell him you asked. I won't accept your
apology, though." As Ivan looked up with a dismayed statement, Wufei gestured
towards his cast, smile twisting slightly. "Since you saved me from a broken
arm, at the very least, and got your own broken in the process, I don't think
you have anything to apologise for." And it was your warning that made me
duck and turn just as Anders tried to break my spine... so, no, I don't want an
apology from you.
"If I'd shown a bit more intelligence and checked
the facts, you might not have been attacked at all," Ivan mumbled, ducking his
head again.
"I don't think so. You might have convinced the other agents
that Anders had duped to leave me alone, but D-- Maxwell was just an excuse to
him and his friends. They still would have come after me sooner or later, and
you wouldn't have been there to help. I take it that Major Po is satisfied with
how you're healing, since you're back in uniform?"
"Kind of," Ivan
grimaced, accepting the change of subject with a relieved sigh. "She and Lady
Une finally let me come back to work this week, 'cause I was going nuts without
anything to take my mind off-- without anything to do. I'm helping Amanda out--
she's still on light duties, too-- by looking after the file
room."
"Hopefully McKenzie's influence is still lingering," Wufei
snorted, "or else that won't qualify as light duties for long."
The other
agent managed a weak grin. "I'm not quite as forceful as she is, but I can use
this--" he waggled his cast "--to guilt-trip people into putting their own files
away where they belong. It seems to be working so far."
"Good. If all
else fails, it looks like it would work as an acceptable bludgeon to beat the
rules into people with," Wufei said dryly, glancing at his watch. "I have to get
this report to Lady Une, so--"
"I won't hold you up any longer," Ivan
said quickly, backing away. "I just wanted a quick word. Thanks."
"Thank
you," Wufei told him, meaning a lot more than just the conversation, and
walked off.
----------
"Chang, sit down," Une sighed, slapping a
bulging folder shut and pushing it to one side of her desk. "I know perfectly
well that there can't be anything in your report that urgently needs attention,
or you would have told me already, so just put it on that stack and I'll
get to it later."
"Good morning, Lady Une," he said politely, responding
as if she'd said a normal greeting. "Fine, thank you, and yourself?"
She
eyed him sourly for a moment, then gritted out, "Morning. Trust me, Chang, it
isn't a good one."
"Anything I can do something about?"
"No," she
said regretfully, rubbing her forehead and giving the folder a venomous look.
"Unfortunately, this doesn't fall into your area of specialisation, though you
may get saddled with it yet, if I can't find time to handle it properly. If
McKenzie were back from that resource satellite, I'd give it to her; it's
right up her alley."
"The problem requires threats and physical
intimidation to solve it?" Wufei inquired blandly, and was rewarded with a
laugh.
"Her attitude towards sloppy work and incompetence would be an
asset, yes. Never mind that now. I wanted to talk to you about how we're going
to handle any further away missions that come up for you."
He stiffened.
"Oh?"
"You're not going on them, Chang, so don't give me that
look," she snapped.
"I thought the Preventers were so short-handed that
you couldn't avoid sending me out," he retorted, eyes narrowing.
"That
was last week and that particular mission. It required your diplomatic and
negotiating skills, overrated and never used as they are. This week, and
for the foreseeable future, I only have reconnaissance and neutralisation
missions coming up, and I have a commitment from Yui and Barton that
they'll make time to take any missions that would otherwise be assigned to you,
until Duo is completely recovered. Is this acceptable?"
"...Yes," he said
grudgingly, half relieved and half annoyed that he wasn't going to have to argue
for this result as he'd expected. "But-- "
"Do me a favour and
don't argue with me!" she interrupted hastily. "Winner phoned me and
volunteered Barton's services, then spent a quarter of an hour telling me all
the reasons why it was a good idea. Then Barton phoned, essentially told me
'What Quatre said', and hung up. Then it was Yui; he took about as long as
Winner had, only he was more forceful about it. Sally got into it, too-- why am
I telling you this?"
"Because you're tired," Wufei said bluntly. "I
recognise the symptoms from my own experience. Have some coffee."
"If I
have any more coffee, I'm going to make sloshing noises when I walk," she
grumbled under her breath. "I'll be fine."
"I do think that going on that
mission was the right thing to do," he said slowly. "He needed to know that I
will come back... but now that the point has been made, I don't think
anything would be gained by repeating the experience. It's too stressful."
For both of us!
"That's essentially what Sally said," Une told
him, smiling thinly. "So, do we have a deal, so that I can get through the day
without another email reminding me that this is a wonderful idea?"
A
faint smirk quirked one corner of Wufei's mouth. "We have a
deal."
----------
[1] Miko no Da wrote a fabulous sidefic about
this, called 'Happy Birthday Une-chan'.
[2] Naturally we used a far more scientific and logical method to work out the G-boys' birthdays than mere darts. Well... we threw dice. But they were cool, glittery role playing dice with weird numbers of sides, so that makes it okay.
This Web Page Created with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor / Web Hosting