Title: The Red Shoes
Interlude #1- Nen
PG-13
Characters: Catherine (Gundam Wing), Shiori (Utena), Nichol (Gundam Wing)
Summary: An Interlude to explain the history between Catherine and Shiori.
A/N: Nen by Stevan Pasero
It could have been anyone, and it nearly was as Catherine took her frustrations out on the dance floor. She was half intoxicated, but sobered up as she began to find a physical voice for what she was feeling. She nearly ended up in the arms of some boy half her age, but something intervened. Something tugged at her and she looked at the bewildered youth and said, "No, not you."
Her body moved and she was lost in the throng of the club again. Lost and wanting, and wanting most of all to take without being afraid she'd accidentally break someone.
There had been too many games being played at the theater. Too many risks being taken, and she had gotten jumbled up in the middle of some of them. She hated it, and hated that she allowed herself to be swayed by such things. All she wanted to do was dance, and dance well. Dance until the stars faded away and she found her self the brightest thing on the stage. She was so close to her goal.
The music took a turn as the DJ left the stage for the next round of karaoke. A decent singer found her way to the stage and allowed Catherine to keep her momentum on the dance floor going. She spun around and spied something that wasn't breakable.
She found Shiori.
Shiori who looked a little more afraid of her than she usually did, but was eager to at least stand her ground.
"You're a fluttery thing," Catherine whispered as she pulled Shiori close. "Don't you hate it?"
"Only when I don't have a say in where I go," Shiori replied, trying to sound vicious but failing.
Catherine shut her eyes and swayed with her arms loosely tangled about Shiori's shoulders.
"Oh, dear girl," she sighed, "you always have a say."
They weren't nearly as rough with each other as they thought they were going to be. All the vitriol wore off by the time they stumbled into Catherine's tiny apartment. They didn't hate each other. They weren't in any competition. They just happened to collide at the exact moment they needed to.
"Nichol's gonna hate you," Shiori whispered when she felt Catherine stirring.
"He can't hate me. He likes me too much. He'll hate my choice." She brushed her lips against Shiori's neck.
"We aren't-"
"No, Shiori, we absolutely are not," Catherine replied.
"Your being sensible is going to ruin everything."
"But this is the opposite of being sensible. This is clearly asking for trouble." She shut her eyes and smiled. She needed some trouble. She felt something burning within her, something she could use when she danced. It was something that had been missing.
Nichol scowled and then tried to smile as he entered the hospital room.
"I told you," he said without much consideration. "She ruins everything."
Catherine leaned back into her pillows and covered her face with her hand. Then she sighed and said, "I don't recall Shiori running up on stage and dislocating my knee. I believe I did that all on my own."
"That's not what I meant."
"I'm on too many pain meds to argue with you," she replied and looked at him.
"Has she even visited you?"
Catherine shook her head and then smiled. "It's okay though."
"It's not okay."
"Nichol, I know under that gruff exterior you are a hopeless romantic. You want it all to be love for your friends, but that isn't what we wanted from each other."
He huffed and took a seat in one of the vacant chairs. He crossed his arms over his chest and muttered, "Liar." Then he looked over at the bunch of roses next to her and asked, "Are those from your husband?"
"Don't get me started about that. Tell me something pleasant, Nichol."
"Like what?"
"Like how you and my brother are getting along," Catherine said with a smile.
