So... finally onwards with the story!
The party of Terra Liluo: Chapter four: Changes and improvements.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Piper woke that morning with the sun trying to claw through the curtains next to her face. Her eyes fluttered open, the light cream colored curtains brushing against her face. The cold breeze chilled her, and she stirred some more. The window that her face was turned to was cracked open, a bit of snow settled on the sill outside the glass. Light blue sheets were wrapped around her, a peaceful aura gracing her. A slight creak from the doorway made her turn. Aerrow' eyes met hers, and she couldn't help but smile.
"With me from dawn till dusk, huh?" Piper smartly whispered, the boy quietly making his way across the room to her, making sure not to wake Rose or Saphire who were also sleeping in the light blue and white room. Heron raised his head from the floor, then saw Aerrow, and went back to his sleep, still trying to remain alert for his master.
"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, sitting on her bed, bending his head to avoid banging it on the frame of the bed above them. "I just wanted to see if you were awake. You're usually up with the sun."
"Like you?" Piper sat up as well, the two silently watching each other. "Saphire is a light sleeper. So you better be quiet. I don't want to take the wrap for you if she wakes up." Her playful smile told him all was well, but the girl above the two mumbled something and stirred. Then she fell back to a deep sleep.
"You look... beautiful." He was still shy with her when it came to their relationship. Piper blushed, remembering how the girls had curled her hair quite prettily and then she curtly refused to show Aerrow. The curls were a bit flatter, and her make up was washed off, but the wavy dark blue tresses formed a new volume to her face. The boy's eyes widened when he saw her eyes shift to the window, light glistening in the depths of the golden orbs. "Beautiful." Aerrow uttered his own thoughts, making Piper turn back to him.
"You don't look bad yourself. Except for your hair." She reached forward, her fingers lightly treading through his even messier mop of red hair. "Bed head." She snickered in a quiet tone, Aerrow lightly smiling as he tried not to show her how her hand in his hair was making his heart race. Her hand had pulled him in to her more, the two closer than Aerrow had predicted. Piper was lost in his eyes, their color mesmerizing from the first few days she had begun to know him. Aerrow's hand drew her in from her waist, the covers brushing back a bit. The next thing she knew, her lips were his.
The sudden fire that burst between the two made her become more animated, her other hand digging deep into his hair, messing it up even more. He shifted his position to bring his legs onto the bed, leaning a bit more into her. Piper used her hands to deepen the kiss, Aerrow following her wordless request. The Sky knights' lips were suddenly wild as Piper's hands kept their hold on him. The couple was loosing their air, Piper becoming lightheaded. He noticed her sudden loss of strength, and released her.
She took big gasps of air like her green eyed knight. After their breaths were relaxed again, she met his eyes meekly.
"Wow." He answered, baffled by the fire that had fire that had sent them wild.
"I know." Piper replied.
"Me too... Now I'm trying to sleep!" Saphire's voice broke from above them, and Rose laughed from her spot in the loft above her desk. She climbed down the little ladder, Piper and Aerrow blushing from their discovery.
"You guys should really find a nice spot alone if you want to..." Rose stopped, blushing a bit. "Get into it." That only resulted in a redder couple. "I'm going to go downstairs." She exited with a change of clothes under her arm, and when Heron bolted after her, the room was silent again.
"Don't you two dare start making out again." Saphire scowled from above them.
"You should go... I don't think I want to risk it." Piper smiled and pointed above the two. Aerrow smiled back and without protest, left the room.
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Aw man..." Rose's voice was light, but extremely audible. The twelve people, not including Radarr and Heron, turned to her as she made her way to the living room. The time was well into the afternoon, everyone helping in their little ways with the party scheduled to be that night.
"What is it?" Junko bluntly asked, Saphire peeking out from behind his form to look at her. Everyone could tell she was a bit distressed.
"Well... I have bad news, worse news, and the worst news." She sighed.
"Go ahead, Roseate." Saphire encouraged, placing her hand on Junko's shoulder to push the Wallop back a bit to get a full view on the girls face.
"The bad news is that I forgot to tell you yesterday that the Rebel Ducks can't come. They're celebrating Christmas in their own traditional way. The worse news is that the Absolute zeros were attacked, and just called in to say they can't-"
"Wait! They're under attack?!" Aerrow cut her off, his arm falling from Piper's shoulders. "We have to help them!" The others started to agree, but Rose kept them there by continuing.
"They WERE attacked. Suzi- Lu just told me that they won, but didn't want to risk a takeover while they come here. It's best for their home." Rose folded her hands in front of her, remaining calm. Jay-Jay whispered something in Yuro's ear, and the older boy piped up.
"But what's the worst news!?" Yuro exclaimed.
"She's getting to it, little man. Relax." Tex ruffled his brown hair, Yuro nodding to the older boy.
"Remember that band my friend Max said was coming?" Rose questioned.
"Don't tell me. They died a tragic death in this horrendous snow storm." Everyone looked to Stork, who shrugged it off. "It could happen."
"Well, the snow storm plays a part. The only ship that can get them here safely is on another merchant mission, I guess. And Max's father said he was not going risk the boy's lives for this. I don't blame him." Rose finished, Wes noticing her quite content due to this news. "It's for their safety. I wouldn't let anyone risk their butts on Christmas for a party!" She smiled as everyone relaxed from unexpected feelings that might've erupted from the brown haired girl.
"Who cares!?" Jay called out from her spot with Finn, grinning wide.
"Yeah! We got a party right here!" Crowe added, agreeing with her good friend. The others nodded and gave their "Yeah!"s in for spite.
"Why don't we just watch how the rest of the day progresses, and when the snow stops, go outside for a-"
"SNOW BALL FIGHT!" Junko and Finn cut Piper off, the two nearly bouncing off the walls with the new opportunity. Crowe shot Tex a devilish smile, the boy getting a bad feeling about this suggestion.
"Exactly what I was going to say..." Piper sighed, leaning her head on Aerrow's shoulder, the boy grinning down to her. Everyone at that moment dashed off to get things to make the night more personal and fun. Crowe, Jay, and Finn went outside to head for the Osprey, to get music. Aerrow (with Radarr on his back), Piper, Saphire and Stork headed upstairs for a closet Piper remembered had some other decorations in. Yuro, Jay-Jay, and Mikey dashed into the garage for certain things the boys were babbling about. Rose, Wes, Junko and Tex were left in the living room, unsure what to do. Heron laid on a sun spot on the rug and went to sleep once more, glad that big uproar was over.
"I think I'll go make more cookies. Mikey, and think some of you, ate all of them." Roseate smirked at the sheepish reactions. "That's fine. You guys can chill if you want." She exited, Tex pulling some cards from the coffee table in the center of the room. He looked to Wes and Junko.
"Who's up for cards?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A bit later, while Tex was easily beating them at Poker, Wes faintly caught a light humming of a song from the kitchen, the light airy voice seeping into the living room. Tex glanced up to him, smirking. He nodded in the kitchen's direction, and went back to playing cards with Junko. Wes shrugged off his comrade's reaction, heading for the warmer kitchen.
"Need any help?" Wes asked, walking behind Roseate as she mixed some cookie dough at the counter. Her face whipped around, surprised at the sudden presence. Her hums stopped, and she ran her hand through her brown hair, pushing it back from her face.
"Not really. I make these every year. I used to with my mother but after she left... I kinda took over. This will be the second Christmas I've had to do so." Rose explained, sighing. "But the only thing I need is to keep Mikey away from these ones. I need them for the party tonight. At least, what's left of it."
"Come on. Just because the Rebel Ducks and the Absolute Zeros couldn't make it, doesn't make it less of a party." Wes tried to assure her.
"Oh yeah, and I suppose that the band not being able to make it either is just a coincidence too?" Rose smirked for spite, trying to get him to understand how much just couldn't happen.
"I'm just saying!" Wes put his hands up in surrender. She laughed.
"So am I. But its okay... I bet a formal party wasn't really anyone's style anyway."
Rose turned to him, the bowl against her stomach while it was being stirred. Wes bit his lip. She might have a small smudge of cookie dough on her cheek, her face may have been a bit flustered from the warm kitchen, and her hair might have been a little messier then she would've preferred, but she just about killed him on the spot.
"Are you alright?" She walked a bit to him. "If the kitchen is too warm for you, maybe you should go out to the sunroom. It doesn't have much heating out there."
"No, no, I'm okay." The green eyed teen replied, Mikey quickly peeking in from the garage door with a smirk on his face. He disappeared. "You sure you don't need anything?"
"Nope. I just have to add one more thing." Rose sweetly smiled to him.
"What's that?" Wes asked.
"Oh... It's not a real thing. It's more like a tradition. My mother and I used to put a bit of a mistletoe leaf in the batter. Just the piece of one leaf. For love." Rose made her way to the mistletoe hanging from the nearest doorway. With one hand still holding the bowl, she reached up to the green and white plant. Her slim fingers just grazed the bottom of the plant, not able to grab a leaf safely. "Finn... I told him not to hang it so high!" She scowled. "Wes, you're tall, can you get one?" His heart skipped a beat.
"Uh... okay." He cautiously made his way over, Rose stepping out of the doorway to his relief. The sixteen year old easily took a leaf off, and handed it to her. Their hands brushed, and Rose jumped a bit when a sensation like electricity shot up her hand.
"Th-Thank you." She lightly said. Her hand ripped it up, and dropped it into the bowl. Her blue eyes watched the little green pieces disappear into the tan colored mix. Rose walked by Wes in the doorway, her ocean smell bombarding him. Tex whistled from the couch with Junko, who was laughing a bit. Wes hid his face, and went back into the kitchen with Roseate. She opened the oven, a simmering pan with cookies almost ready to go meeting her. Wes leaned in as well, loving the smell of the cookies. It reminded him of his own mother. Her face turned and watched him with a smile.
"Doesn't it remind you of your mother?" She asked, Wes jumping a bit from her mind reading sentence.
"Yeah. I don't have a mother anymore." Wes said as he pulled back from the oven, Rose shutting it. He leaned on the island counter in the center of the kitchen. "I don't know how Jay and I got over that."
"It must be hard. I still have hope in my parents returning alive someday. It's a bleak hope, but it lasts." The fifteen year old girl looked down, setting her bowl by him and continuing to mix it. He sympathetically smiled to her. "I still hope so my brothers don't stop waiting for our mother and father. Sometimes I just wish they would answer us."
"You don't know if you're always doing the right thing, huh Rose?" Wes added, remembering how he had to take care of Jay when they were younger.
"Yes. And now that my parents are gone, my brothers are the most important thing in my life." Roseate was a bit gentler with this statement.
"Jay's the same with me. I couldn't imagine life without my sister. She did save my life, as I did for her." Wes stopped leaning on the counter.
"Jay probably isn't the only one you've saved. You and your team saved my brothers, you know. I'm still grateful for that." Roseate picked up the bowl to put it in the oven. The passageway to the oven was past Wes, and she picked up the bowl to squeeze by. At that moment though, Jay-Jay and Yuro raced behind her, knocking the bowl out of her hands, and knocking her foward. They disappeared, quite loudly, from the kitchen, Yuro holding something in his hand. Mikey ran past the two by going around the island, calling after the boys.
"JAY-JAY! YURO!" Rose yelled; her face turned from Wes. His hands had caught the bowl that was only thing from keeping her from crashing into him. "Jeez, sorry about that, I-" She swiveled her face back to him. Then her heart began to beat wildly as she grasped how close she was to him.
Wes didn't know what to do. But he knew what he wanted to do. Did this kitchen get warmer? He thought.
His face leaned in towards hers, her heart beating so fast in her chest. Rose was a bit thankful that his eyes were closed as she blushed like crazy. His hand rested on the side of her face and he pushed her upwards. Wes couldn't explain his sudden actions, a wild urge the only thing driving him on. A wave of energy flew through her body as the crystal in her arm burst with heat. Rose's breaths became ragged, their sound filling his ears.
A sudden DING made Wes halt, Rose shutting her eyes tight. Wes kept his shut, too embarrassed to look her in the face.
"The oven..." She lightly whispered, his hand falling from her face. He felt Rose's body slowly move from his, the bowl which had been pressing against his stomach leaving with her as well. Wes finally opened his eyes, watching her replace the finished cookies with the new batter as she spooned a bit to create each one. He noticed her shoulders heaving with the same ragged breaths that had drowned his mind moments ago. An awkward tension built in the kitchen, the oven closing with its new cargo. Roseate's face was revealed to him, flushed and almost disturbed. "I uh... don't need anything more... Thanks Wes." She couldn't bring her eyes up to meet his, the blue orbs desperately searching for something else to look at. He cursed himself in his mind, damning his urge for ending this friendship between the girl who left him in mystery still. Her sleeve fell down a bit from her hand as she ran her fingers through her brown hair, and he noticed a blue glow from right behind the cloth. But when Rose's eyes accidentally met his, he felt his face flare up like a wildfire and he forgot all about it.
"I'm gonna go...help Tex..." Wes motioned to the living room behind him, and Rose forced a smile and let him leave.
"What is wrong with me?" She leaned against the counter, tilting her face up to the ceiling. Rose then rubbed the crystal on her arm, the heat dying down. She sighed, and started to clean up the supplies that she had used to bake with.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That took forever! Whew! But I'll still be here tomorrow! Thanks to Jazzy Pony and DevilsAngelSaphire! And don't worry, Jazzy, next chapter is Finn and Jay's!
