Chapter 10

It was a short walk to their next destination and Linka did not have the time to reply to all that had happened. Her thoughts were messy and needed re-ordering. She hated that her doubts had the right-of-way over her other emotions and she fell into step beside Wheeler silently, tugging a little on her hair out of habit.

Wheeler took her hand as they descended down the smoky, dark hall and she suddenly wished she had brought her cardigan along. She was wearing a sleeveless fitted top over jeans and all male eyes were suddenly on her as they came down the stairs. Wheeler kept their hands firmly intertwined, his jaw set and his shoulders straight, and his confident body language sent off cool vibes.

It was mostly men who were engaged in games of pool, some were drinking sitting on stools, a few others were standing around a beaten up jukebox, where some couples pretended to dance. Linka wasn't sure why they liked hanging around such a place; she, herself, felt slightly claustrophobic without any windows to discern what the world was like outside.

They circled the place once. Linka prayed she would not need to use the bathroom because she was sure the hygienic conditions weren't up to par with her taste. She was inundated by relief when Wheeler seemed to recognize someone in the crowd. She hoped that it was indeed Benji.

"Wheeler, man!" smiled the dark-haired young man, swiftly giving the Fire Planeteer a hug.

"Benji, am I glad to see ya!" laughed Wheeler, patting him on the back. He wasted no time introducing Linka beside him. She was silently thrilled when Wheeler pronounced her his girlfriend.

The three of them sat in a booth with a somewhat sticky counter and the waitress brought them beers as if they'd asked for them. Apparently, drinking was the norm here, assumed Linka.

Benji asked Wheeler about his life and they talked a little about the past and Benji's recent wedding, before Wheeler started with Anna's tale and how Benji could be of help.

"It's risky, man" Benji shook his head a little, tucking his longer hair back as his eyes went from Wheeler to Linka.

"Have you thought about the consequences? I mean, what if the kid doesn't get adopted right away? You'll have to be responsible for her. Legally!"

"We have been taking care of her up until now," Linka suddenly piped up, wiping the condensation from the hefty beer mug with her fingers. "We think we can manage."

"She needs those papers, Benji."

"I don't know. The thing is, I don't really do this kinda stuff anymore. Hell, if my wife found out I'm still delving into that, she'd kill me!"

"You're our only hope, man," Wheeler shook his head a little, looking up at the old friend. "It would help us keeping Anna here, safe. You gotta do this for me, Benj, I swear I'll never ask for anything ever again!"

Benji seemed to be considering this as he nodded, but he added nothing more. Soon after, he had to leave and the old friends exchanged numbers before parting.

Linka sighed a little after waving goodbye to Benji, and immediately Wheeler's arm went around her in a comforting gesture. Their bodies were touching in the small booth, his knee brushing up against hers.

"Don't worry, babe, Benji's a good pal, he'll help us out," Wheeler offered, kissing her cheek delicately once he noticed her saddened state of mind. He knew she was worried about Anna and not crazy about leaving the responsibility of the child solely on the shoulders of Ma-Ti, Kwame and Gi while they were away. Their attachment to the child kept growing with each passing day, and Wheeler was surprised to discover he missed her. Her little laugh and curious eyes, her little fingers wrapped around his, the sound of her cries when something was the matter or when they put her down for too long. She seemed to thrive on their affection, and this stirred up his tenderness even more.

Linka nodded and let herself be comforted by Wheeler's nearness, although something else at the back of her mind was bothering her. She could not quite put her finger on it but was annoyed when it resurfaced clearly, like mountains after a misty morning.

"Trish is pretty," she found herself saying with a small frown, the statement an accusation towards Wheeler. She had not liked the girl's blunt attraction for the redhead, not to mention the fact that they had shared a romantic past of sorts.

"Babe, you're, like, a million times hotter," Wheeler grinned, his arm moving down to her waist as he brought her closer.

She took in the familiar scent of his skin and the loud blue of his eyes, and for a moment her thoughts became cloudy. She focused on her breathing to break the spell he had on her.

Then, with almost quiet resolution, "were you in love with her?"

"Linka, it was a long time ago," Wheeler sighed, before realizing that was not the answer the blonde girl was hoping for. He collected his thoughts and started again.

"We were young and I think what tied us together was the fact that we both came from dysfunctional families. We were similar, that's all. It was easy for us to hang out. I don't think it was love, at least, it's definitely not as strong as what I feel for you."

His eyes were sincere and Linka blushed a little as she looked away from them.

"She seems… stuck up on you."

"That's 'hung up on you', babe, and I don't care," Wheeler stated, shrugging his broad shoulders.

"I only care about what one beautiful Russian girl thinks of me," he smiled, taking her chin in his hand. In a blink, his mouth was on hers suddenly, warm and convincing, and Linka forgot her arguments. All that mattered what his closeness, his contact. She let him deepen the kiss, as one hand brushed her bare shoulders and the other tangled in her hair, and just then she was content. The world seemed perfect, the racket peaceful, and the surrounding smoke clean air. Wheeler had the ability to still all inside her, and she sighed against his lips, wondering if she was the one in love with the Yankee a little bit! She had noticed the way Trish's eyes had traveled over his attractive body, rested on his cute face and smile, and she had felt fiercely jealous of that. What else could it mean unless she was really far gone over her brave and strong Fire warrior?

But Linka did not want to focus too much on that tonight. Her heart was already full to the brim, and she needed to keep her cool.

Except, Wheeler held her close to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder, and continued to melt her defenses.

"You're very important to me, babe," he whispered close to her ear, brushing his lips over her temple, and Linka knew in that moment there was nowhere else she wanted to be but in the circle of her Yankee's arms.