A/N: Another VERY long-delayed update. I've been concentrating considerably more on my Vandread fic. Still, managed to get this written.
October Autumn - Here 'ya go...sorry for the monstrously LATE update...
This is sort of another, well, filler I guess. Basically just stuff before the rest of the gang arrives. Enjoy!
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CHAPTER 7
Day Out
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"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
'When did my alarm clock learn to talk...?' I thought groggily. It read 07:52 before I realized the sound didn't come from it; in fact, no sound seemed to come from it today.
'I forgot to set my alarm last night?!' I was a bit more awake this time. Mornings usually started for me at four or five, when the others were, more often than not, still sleeping. To have woken up at almost eight in the morning was truly bizarre!
I scratched my head, feeling a little hazy. 'What the heck could I have done that I'm...' And then understanding dawned slowly, like walking into a glass wall in slow motion. Still, it was like walking into a glass wall; that's what mattered. '...the espresso must've had something to do with it, or something. Should've checked it for excess caffeine...' But that didn't make any sense either; I couldn't have fallen asleep as quickly as I did last night had there been too much caffeine in the drink. I was still NOT thinking straight.
Thankfully, moving to a sitting position and ultimately getting out of bed after a few minutes wasn't all that difficult. Milfeulle's cheery announcement that "breakfast is ready" helped motivate me; I found that I was a tad hungrier than in usual mornings. I bathed, dressed, and made my way to the dining room as quickly as I could manage; it was to my surprise, and satisfaction, that I found I moved faster with each activity, as if the earlier sluggishness was ebbing away.
The three were already gathered at the table, happily munching away at a sort of salad probably prepared by Vanilla. There was also some apple pie left over from yesterday; there always seemed to be apple pie at the table these days, no matter what the meal or time of day. Even more surprisingly, there always seemed to be something different about it every time – a touch more cinnamon, a little less sugar, thicker or thinner filling; things that were just barely noticeable – each variation had its own appeal, its own unique charm, and none was inferior to any other; in fact, they were all excellent.
No doubt Milfeulle had been practicing...and doing a good job at it. I had expected no less.
"Anybody have any plans for today?" Milfeulle asked cheerfully.
Roen was the first to answer; he was still dressed in sleeping clothes. "Yeah, actually, I'll have to keep a close eye on the systems for another twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I've found some discrepancies in the O.S. performance since yesterday, which is ticking me off. Can't seem to put my finger exactly on what the problem is…"
Knowing his expertise, it was either a very complicated matter or something to do with Lost Technology being exceedingly unpredictable.
Vanilla only nodded and, having finished her breakfast, cleaned up her plate and walked towards her room.
"Oh," Milfeulle looked disappointed, "how about you, Jai?"
I thought for a moment; there were no tasks outstanding for the day...though it could still just be my not thinking straight. "No, I believe I'm free for the day," I ended up saying.
She brightened up almost instantly. "That's wonderful! You could come with me and get welcome presents for everyone!"
"Welcome presents...?" I asked pensively; the idea was a little confusing. "Shouldn't they be the ones bringing stuff for us instead...like a souvenir or something from where they've been?"
"That's fine too, but I'd at least like them to have something nice waiting for them when they get back."
Again I set to mulling for a while, and replied, "That's thoughtful of you..."
"Isn't it?" She had a big smile on her face. "So, you'll come along? Please?"
I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
I could've sworn my morning idiocy was all but gone by the time I said those words.
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"Hey Jai, could I ride in the Avatar with you?"
The hangar was empty save for the two of us, and her voice echoed throughout the area even though I was only a few steps ahead of her, right in front of the ship being referred to.
The question was puzzling. "Aren't you taking your Lucky Star like the last time we went out?"
"Oh, I thought I'd feel what it's like with you piloting a ship. I've watched you practice all those maneuvers some time back, and your ship looks like it moves very differently from mine, and, well, I wondered what it'd be like..." she sounded more and more embarrassed as she went on with her explanation, her voice shrinking with each word.
I was pleased at the praise she was giving the Avatar and my skills, but I didn't really execute barrel rolls and convoluted turns regularly on leisure transport flights.
Still, there was no reason for me not to...
"Okay," I assented. Her face brightened up immediately; she looked ecstatic.
"Really?! Oh thank you! You're so wonderful!" She flung herself at me in a big, warm embrace.
"Wh-!!!" I caught her easily, but the situation was not one I was readily accustomed to; I could only stand paralyzed in surprise.
'Wonderful...?"
At that moment, Roen was walking past the hangar, and just happened to peer inside. I noticed him stare for a moment then wink and give a thumbs-up, as well as an impish grin.
'That idiot genius is so going to get it later...' I thought, in a strange moment of clarity.
Milfeulle pried herself away from me, seemingly with an effort. "Thanks again...I hope it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience..."
"It's fine..." I replied.
Though normally a one-person ship, the Avatar's interior could be adjusted to accommodate two people; both persons would be seated beside one another – one on the main seat, and the other on an extension to the right.
"Well, there we go," I said after adjusting the seat. "Uh, make yourself comfortable."
She climbed inside after me, trying to look at everything at once. "Wow; this is so much different than in the Angel frames..."
"I'd imagine it might be, since the Avatar is custom-built by me and the hangar crew at Spec-Ops," I explained, reaching past her to close the aperture. The extension seat also had a backrest and safety harness, so it was secure as well.
"This is so exciting!" She exclaimed as the launch sequence initiated.
Though I didn't say anything, I had the exact same sentiment.
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"Oh! Mint would just adore this! And this one would look so good on Ranpha!" Milfeulle was as giddy as...well, as the proverbial kid-in-a-candy-store. Only that this was the women's fashion department, and we were not kids...anymore...me, at least.
Perhaps it was an utter obliviousness to the situation then that I was able to stand in the store without feeling any embarrassment. Sure, all the other customers were female – but that was to be expected. Shirts, jackets, blouses and even underwear and lingerie of all colors and sizes were on plain display – of course, this WAS a clothing store. I was the one holding the basket of the things we were going to buy – it was only right since I didn't want Milfeulle to have a hard time; I wasn't the one going around and choosing stuff anyway.
Still, I got the feeling that male passersby were giving me either strange, envious, or disgusted looks.
I pushed all those inconsequentialities to the back of my head, and concentrated on the task at hand – welcome home presents for the rest of the Angel Brigade.
The short flight from Angel H.Q. with Milfeulle seemed a little awkward for me, not being used to having another person in the Avatar. Even then, the complicated corkscrews and maneuvers she had me do were exhilarating for both of us, though more so for her. The fifteen minutes that it supposedly took to reach the planet-with-the-awfully-big-shopping-district (as Milfeulle called it) stretched to an hour and a half.
"Jai! Hello? Are you there?"
"H-huh?" I realized I was daydreaming again.
She laughed lightly, but had an apologetic look on her face. "Silly, you're spacing out. I'm not boring you, am I?"
"Well, not really..."
"I know!" She exclaimed. "You could help me choose some outfits when I try them on. How does that sound?"
"That's fine, I mean, I don't mind..."
"Great! Come over here."
And so she dragged me deeper into the store, towards the fitting room area.
There have been many overwhelming and daunting situations during my Spec-Ops missions, but nothing in all that time has ever fazed me as much as what I had just gone through. In the end, I was literally struggling to breathe.
The clothes Milfeulle tried on at the start were casual dresses and outfits. But as she went on, they became more and more extravagant, then more and more ridiculous, then more and more daring. The last one almost made me faint.
"Is...there...any more...?" I asked, regaining my composure.
She was back in uniform once more. "Nope, that's it I guess."
'Good,' I mentally sighed. Milfeulle was smiling contentedly as I took the hefty bags of newly-purchased clothes. It looked like she bought more for herself than for the others.
"Let's have lunch before going back to HQ," she suggested, "that is, if it would be okay with you..."
I replied, "That would be nice."
We had lunch at a rooftop café. There weren't many people there, though the air was cool and refreshing – a welcome change to the air conditioning inside the mall.
Milfeulle noticed as much. "This is one of my favorite places to eat, or sometimes just hang around...the breeze is just heavenly. And the food is good too."
"That so..." I was looking at the menu. The establishment was a café in the strictest sense, serving only an assortment of cappuccinos, lattes, pastries, and other beverages and sweets. It was a wide selection of the sort, so I couldn't complain much.
Milfeulle ordered a tall mocha java with extra cherries and a strawberry cupcake; I requested for a butter croissant and a cup of Planet XOXO Coffee.
"I was surprised they serve that here," I said after the waiter had left.
"You're a coffee connoisseur?" She asked.
"Well, I used to drink the stuff on a semi-regular basis in Spec-Ops...lots of different kinds too; whether staying up all night planning missions or on reconnaissance. It's a wonder I'm not addicted to it by now," I replied.
Milfeulle nodded. "Then what makes the coffee from Planet XOXO so special? I haven't tried it yet," she pondered.
"Well, it tastes just right, I suppose...it's kind of difficult to describe; and it doesn't have much caffeine, making it a very relaxing drink. You know, there was one mission back in Spec-Ops that investigated that very concern..."
"Then? What did you find out?"
"It wasn't my mission, so I'm not really sure. Anyway, the report from our agent read simply that 'there's a lot of XOXO going on there'."
A pause set in as we both took in what I had just said...
Then, at the same time, we both erupted in laughter.
"Must've been classified information," she said through tears of amusement.
The waiter arrived and found us in such a state of hilarity that he even chuckled a little.
We had both calmed down and were eating when I offered her a sip of the coffee.
"May I? Then, thank you very much," Smiling, she received the warm cup from me with both hands and sipped a little of the steaming black liquid, taking a moment to savor the taste.
"Wow; that's really...hard to describe somehow..." she marveled, handing it back to me.
"Didn't I tell you? Good, huh?" I said, taking a sip myself. I was a little surprised when a strawberry tinge met my tongue, and much more surprised to find a smudge of strawberry frosting on the cup.
'This is...!'
"Well," Milfeulle said, interrupted my train of thought. "I guess after here, we could head back already, unless you'd want to stop by anywhere else?"
"N-no..." I answered rather feebly. She didn't seem to notice, fortunately.
The rest of the meal was uneventful. During the trip back to Angel HQ, however, I was again doing high-speed complex flight sequences for the benefit, or perhaps for the delight, of my passenger. And I was even moving faster this time, getting used to the additional factor of someone else being in the craft – especially since it was this person in particular.
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It was already late in the day as I hefted eleven shopping bags to the lounge area; Milfeulle carried four others to her room.
I was stretched out on the couch when she returned. "Oh dear, did I tire you out very much? I'm sorry..."
"No, I'm fine; just having a little break..." I said, closing my eyes.
She approached and I thought she patted me on the forehead. Fleetingly, more like a slight touch than anything.
"I really appreciate everything you've done for me today." I was surprised at how close her voice was, and how her breath tickled my forehead. But when I opened my eyes, she was already standing upright. "Thank you so much; I had a lot of fun," she added, before flashing me a smile and then walking back to her room.
It seemed like she looked a little...red in the face.
And I felt I was too.
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A/N: Okay, I think this chapter had more than its fair share of cute moments.