A/N Dont worry haven't forgotten my other fics I should update them at the weekend. I wrote this last month as part of the march challenge for the new LJ community onecharacter. (The basic idea is that you write thirteen stories for thirteen different prompts all adding up to a total of 10,000 words on one character, and I chose Sally Po). Decided to post some of them on here as a multichapter fic, (I have written other's in the same universe but the tone, mood and wiriting style is so different they just don't go together if anyone is desperately interested they are all on my LJ).
Anyway this first ficlet in the series was written for the prompt 'Two Roads' and is set several years after Endless Waltz.
"Give that to me, woman." Wufei made a grab for the laptop, only to be thwarted when Sally turned the other way holding it out of his reach "Do you want to remain lost all day?"
"Wufei, as I have told you before my name is Sally, not woman, and I was an Alliance Major and then a rebel commander, I assure you I can read a damn map."
"If you can read the map so well why are we in the middle of nowhere rather than at the town we were supposed to be at" Wufei checked his watch "2 hours ago?"
Sally scowled "Fine here you go, mighty gundam pilot you tell us how to get there."
Wufei grabbed the laptop and stared at the map, he blinked and stared again, he pressed a few buttons to check the map ID and then scrolled through the other available maps "This is….What?
Sally grinned "So come on then mighty gundam pilot which way?"
"This map is wrong." He pointed out bluntly
"I know the map is wrong, I've been saying that for the last two hours you just didn't believe me."
"How can the map be wrong? it's the official cartographic record of the entire area, what sort of incompetent moron wrote this thing." Wufei checked his GPS "We're at the correct coordinates, but there's nothing here except a road and a dirt track."
"I know that Wufei," Sally repeated in exasperation "We knew the mapping for this area might be a little rough, but this is ridiculous. Still no joy with the radio?" She asked pulling the unit out of his hand and fiddling with it herself
"No, no change on the radio since you asked me five minutes ago all links are dead." Wufei sighed "This is completely ridiculous this is AC 201 not AD 201, how can we be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no form of communication? Who issued this damn map and radio system anyway?"
Sally froze hand still on the radio "I think I might know what happened" She sighed and leant back "Duo and Heero."
"You let Duo and Heero tamper with our equipment, are you completely out of your mind woman?"
"Heero is in charge of the Preventers computer network I can hardly refuse to let him upload the maps to our system," Sally glared at Wufei "and have you ever tried to persuade Duo to leave your equipment alone once he's decided to tinker with things, the man is like a whirlwind."
Wufei sighed "So basically what you are saying is we are stuck in one of Duo's practical jokes? I don't get it, why strand us in the middle of nowhere?"
Sally sighed wondering how well Wufei would take her suspicions, before deciding to make the most of Duo's plan to get them lost in the middle of nowhere "You remember when Duo locked himself into that bunker with Heero?"
"Of course I remember, after the initial arguments, they spent the entire time with their tongues down each others throats. They spent the next six months jumping each other at work. In public. Before finally moving in together. Allowing the rest of us to escape being further scarred by discovering them having sex on our desks."
"Well yes, it was a little more romantic than that (and I think they still have sex on your desk Wufei) but that was the general gist of it. Do you also remember when Duo rearranged the mission scheduling to send Trowa out as Quatre's only bodyguard in a hotel in the Caribbean?"
"I remember them coming back and finally dating, before handing out invitations for history's most expensive commitment ceremony two weeks later, yes. Do you have a point?"
Sally sighed again "I think Duo is trying to do the same thing here,"
"By stranding us in the middle of nowhere, who exactly is he supposed to be matchmaking this time?" Sally was silent watching comprehension slowly arrive "What?" Wufei spluttered incoherently
Sally shock her head to clear the ringing in her ears from his indignant shout "I didn't know I was such a terrifying prospect."
"That not…. You're Sally…. I mean…" Wufei took a deep breath "I've just never considered it before, you've always just been there I'm not sure I think about you that way."
"I see." Sally said shortly "Let's go back that way, if we retrace our steps we should return to civilisation."
"Sally, that's not what I meant, I…. Would you…. I mean would you like to maybe go somewhere? I mean outside of work, together, on well a date or something. I mean only if you want to."
Sally grinned "You've lost your normal eloquence Wufei anyone would think you had never asked someone on a date before." Wufei scowled "Seriously Wufei? You're 21, you really have never been on a date?"
Sally listened as he muttered about work and duties and not needing frivolous diversions, she grinned dropping an arm round his shoulders "I see now why Duo was so desperate to set you up. Stop scowling so much 'Fei, I think it's sweet, pick me up at 7 on Saturday, assuming we ever get out of here, and you can take me to dinner."