I realize I'm kinda like the worst person in the world for everyone who's been wanting to read more of this story. I have no excuse for the wait really, except that this story needed a break to get the creativity flowing back into it. That coupled with the beginning of my junior year in high school means I've had practically no time whatsoever to do anything except homework. But I'm back now, with a brand new-chapter (and half of the next one already written :P ) for you all to enjoy. Thank you so much to everyone who's read, reviewed and thought about the story at all. I'm sure all the positive karma has really helped. As always, please enjoy, and feel free to message me with any questions, comments, or concerns. You all are the best
Disclaimer: I own nothing, or deadlines would have obviously had me finish this sooner.
They sat around the dinner table, Kyohei looking on as he put generous amounts of food on everyone's plates. "I figured you guys would all be hungry, so I made extra for tonight" He put on a smile as he glanced around the table, taking the seat nearest the kitchen. Jo and Meg sat across from each other, and as Amy took her place next to Meg, stealing a piece of chicken off the girl's plate even though hers was full, Kyohei smiled to himself.
"Thanks Kyohei." Sei smiled at him, before politely picking up a fork as she began to eat. "What did you make for us tonight anyway?"
"Well, we've been studying Italian dishes so I made some chicken parmesan with fresh pasta and sauce." He said, then grimaced as Jo reached for the bottle of hot sauce always present on the table and dumped it over, swirling it around with her chopsticks. "Generally it's not supposed to be spicy." Jo looked over at him tiredly and grunted before eating.
"Tastes fine to me." She drawled, as her hand fought to twirl the spaghetti onto the chopsticks they had. Eating was harder with one hand than it looked. Watching in what she thought was a sneaky manner, Meg noticed the struggle and wordlessly got up to the kitchen, rummaging around in the drawers until she found what she was looking for.
"Here." She said with a smile, as she placed a fork in front of Jo. Jo stared between the fork and the chopsticks for a few seconds before decidedly chucking the chopsticks to the garbage bin and picking up the fork and continuing to eat. Her mouth towards her plate, she murmured a quiet thanks and Meg simply broadened her smile in response.
Amy and Sei simply looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders comically, continuing to eat.
"Alright guys, we need to discuss tomorrow." Sei said as they sat around digesting after they had finished inhaling all the food Kyohei had cooked.
"There's nothing to discuss." Meg said testily, glaring at Sei.
"Relax Meg, I didn't mean it like that. The fact is, Jo needs to rest, she needs someone to look after her and based on what happened today we need to figure out a plan."
"Doesn't sound like we need a plan." Jo mumbled, yawning.
"We still need supplies, and we still have jobs to do. I just don't know if I can leave you guys knowing…" Sei's voice trailed off.
"Knowing what? We can take care of ourselves." Meg said, affronted. "Jeez Sei, since when did it matter to you?"
"It always mattered!" Sei's voice was angry as she stared across the kitchen. "I'm worried!"
"Well don't be. I can fight." Meg said.
"So can I." Jo mumbled again, a little agitated at being left out of a conversation that had to do with fighting.
"Look, Sei why don't we all just relax tomorrow? You can make phone calls from here. Jo isn't going anywhere, which means neither is Meg, and I can access pretty much anything." Amy suggested, yawning. "I'm exhausted anyway."
Amy's yawn proved infectious as Jo yawned widely next, too out of it to realize exactly what it was she was doing. Meg giggled as she looked at Jo, who stared tiredly back, completely content to gaze at the girl. Her previous revelation had done nothing to change her previous habits, which involved being awake enough (and generally polite and gentle enough) to deal with Meg at all hours of the day.
"We're gonna go to bed now." Meg said, still giggling as she helped Jo up, who silently went with her. Leaning on her shoulder, Jo gave in to the slightly sweet smell of Meg's hair and perfume and closed her eyes, resting on the girl.
Meg laid Jo gently down onto the bed, carefully trying to avoid putting pressure on the bruises and the ribs that were broken.
"How do you feel Jo?" She asked quietly, as Jo groaned while trying to get undressed.
"Better." She said testily as she felt her ribs groan in protest as she tried to take her shirt off. "Dammit." She cursed silently when she was unable to do it.
"Here." Meg said, taking a deep breath as she took off Jo's shirt, leaving the half-naked girl in front of her. Meg turned quickly to get Jo's more obvious choice of clothing- those oversize t-shirts that she lazed around in. It wasn't like she hadn't seen Jo like that before. She had seen those tanned muscles, the eight-pack hidden under her jacket, and the small-
Meg stopped herself as she gently lowered the shirt onto Jo. No use thinking about things like that nowadays. Jo looked gratefully at Meg, their eyes locking before Jo dragged her foot into the bed, leaving the covers thrown off in that half-askew way that Meg found her in often when she woke up before the silver-haired girl.
"Are you staying tonight?" Jo asked quietly, her eyes staring at the ceiling.
Meg fought with herself for a second before climbing around Jo and placing herself in the niche between the rapidly falling asleep girl and the cool wall of the trailer. She grabbed one of Jo's shirts and put it on silently. Her back hit the cool wall, though, and she hissed. Jo's eyes immediately snapped open as she turned to stare at Meg, who grinned, embarrassed as she quietly explained.
"The trailer's cold." She chuckled, looking back at Jo with soft eyes. "I'm fine."
Jo closed her eyes, again, though not before tugging on Meg's wrist and pulling her down next to her. Her hand calmly ran up Megs arm until she heard the telltale intake of breath when she reached the spot the doctor had injected earlier. Meg's other hand closed around Jo's.
"I'm okay Jo. It doesn't really hurt at all."
"I don't care." Jo said sleepily. "I wasn't able to protect you. Not to mention…" Her other hand reached up towards Megs face, brushing the bandage wrapped on her neck. "Tonight. I wasn't able to protect you." She repeated.
"Jo now's not the time for any of this. We've been stuck in this ideal for too long. I won't just sit around and let you fight all the time." Meg snuggled into Jo, who wrapped an arm around the other girl, conceding Meg's point.
"Who was it?"
"His name is Hanacho." Jo committed the name to memory. "And you don't have to go out looking for him. He knows if you find him what will happen."
"How?"
"I told him that because I didn't kill him, you would. Because he hurt me. He seemed to get it." Meg chuckled.
"I don't understand why you're laughing." Jo said, a little angrily. "This man tried to kill you."
"Don't be so angry Jo. The two of us had a discussion, plus Takeru-"
Jo interrupted Meg with a snort as she grumbled lowly.
"What? Jo?"
"Nothing." Jo shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't go after anyone Jo. He knows what will happen if he shows up again." Meg pressed herself into Jo, lightly inhaling the fresh scent of laundry detergent and the faint traces of gunpowder and smoke that accompanied her no matter where she went.
Jo's mind went into another spiral of unknowing-ness as she felt Meg press up against her. She could feel every curve of the younger girl's body against her back, along with the warmth that came from it. She looked silently at the door in front of her, feeling a warmth rise through her body. She breathed shakily and Meg seemed to not notice the difference.
If this was love, well, Jo wasn't sure how she felt about it. Everything was so warm. Then again, she had had a fever all day and she had no idea if it had gone down or not. Meg seemed to notice Jo's unusual behavior as her request got no answer, not even a grunt of noncommitance from the stoic girl.
"Jo? Are you okay?" Meg asked quietly, sitting up and peering over. Jo sighed as the pressure lifted off her, though the warmth remained. She pressed a hand to Jo's forehead.
"Your hand is cold." Jo said quietly.
"No, Jo, I think you've got a fever. You're burning up." Meg said worriedly.
"And just what do you plan to do?" Jo yawned. "I feel fine." Meg stared at her.
"But you're not." She frowned slightly, pouting.
"It's late." Jo yawned. "I'm going to bed."
"I think you should get some medicine. I bet Takeru has some." Meg didn't see Jo scowl at the mention of the doctor's name.
"I'm fine." Jo said testily. Meg bit her lip, but knew that once Jo was stubborn about something, she would never give up.
"If you're not better in the morning, you're getting some medicine from him." Meg said, sighing as her hand trailed down Jo's face. The brush of Meg's hand made Jo shudder with a feeling unknown to her.
"Fine." Jo whispered, still feeling the after-effects of Meg's touch.
"Are you okay, Jo? With all of this, with everything?" Meg asked quietly, unsure of what Jo would end up saying.
"I'm okay with you." Jo said just as quiet as Meg had been.
And with that, there was nothing left to say. Meg's hand froze as it cupped the other girls face. She left it there for a moment, Jo breathing quietly onto it as they froze a moment in time, both of them staring deep into the others eyes.
But Jo was never one to lose a staring contest, and eventually, Meg slowly broke it, and laid back down next to Jo, snuggling the other girl as she wrapped her arms tentatively around her. When Jo made no protest, Meg relaxed into the other girl, and slowly fell asleep.
What Meg didn't see was the quiet relaxation take over Jo as she felt Meg's arms around her, and the quiet of her breaths on her back.
It was still, that night.
Meg rose before Jo, her face etched in a smile not only from dreaming, but from waking up to the familiar back of the girl in front of her. From Meg's point of view, the back of Jo was a sight she had seen many times, as she would run up to the girl from behind, grabbing her hand as she would smile at her as she peered around the slightly taller shoulder to the naturally stoic face that, to Meg, would seem to soften just the slightest.
She disentangled herself gently from the girl, and thought she would be able to make it out before Jo blearily opened her eyes and called her name softly. She turned, unable to pretend she didn't hear the girl.
"Good morning Jo." She smiled pleasantly at the other girl, wondering why Jo was so coherent and talking to her in the morning. Meg had far grown used to the grunts and nods that accompanied Jo from the time she woke up to about the time she went back to bed. In fact, Jo had been conversing much more like a normal person than usual, and while it surprised Meg, she couldn't help but feel calmness wash over her.
"It's early." Jo complained, her eyes watching Meg walk back towards the bed.
"Not really. It's late for you." Meg sat down next to Jo, and helped her sit up. She noticed the stiffness of her movements, and caught the edged look Jo gave towards the appendages covered in casts and bandages. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fine." Jo said quietly, feeling stupid for calling Meg over and making her stay next to her. Still, she couldn't deny to herself the calm that washed over as she felt Meg's body lean against hers, or the wistfulness that came when she helped moved her cast-covered leg, filling her with the odd desire to rip off the cast so that Meg's touch (which Jo always knew instinctively) would be felt.
Then again, there was the cool press of her hand on Jo's forehead, and the close proximity of her face as Jo recognized clear blue oceans staring concernedly at her. "You're still a little warm." Meg said worriedly. "I really think you should get some medicine." Jo blankly stared at Meg, knowing she didn't need to voice her obvious disapproval of Meg's outline for action. "At least tell him." Jo scowled in agreement, and accepted Meg's help as she walked out of their room towards the kitchen and the living room.
Amy and Sei were already out there, writing things down on a piece of paper and obviously having a detailed discussion about it as Meg walked in with Jo, who had opted to bring the crutches with her; after all, it'd be more than likely that she'd "accidentally" hit the doctor in the shins with them.
It wasn't that she didn't like doctors, after all, doctors had helped them out of a lot of scrapes before, and Jo knew that they were fairly important in the sense of the world. She didn't have a fear of needles, like Meg did, but Jo wasn't kind to the idea of hospitals. It was too white, too clean. And while being on the job all the time meant getting injured, both Meg, and more silently, Jo, were glad that most injuries involved a table in a bunker underground or sleeping on the couch as the house doctor called.
"Ah." Sei said with a smile, glancing up from the table. "Good morning you two. How are you both feeling?"
Jo's eyes narrowed slightly in irritation at the perky voice so soon after waking up, her head still turned downwards as she relied on Meg's support. She slid in after Meg onto the couch around the kitchen table.
"Jo's got a fever. Where's Takeru?" Needless to say, the mention of the doctor's name did little to put Jo in a happier mood.
"He's in the guest room." Amy said as she picked up a piece of whatever it was Kyohei had cooked for breakfast. Meg paid little attention to the words though, as she lunged for one of Kyohei's "masterpieces". Jo coughed quietly and Meg turned to her, a piece of toast half hanging out of mouth as she seemed to remember what it was she had asked about.
"I don't have a fever." Jo said quietly.
"Yes you do." Meg said, staring down Jo.
They were interrupted as Amy smacked a hand onto Jo's forehead, causing both the girls to flinch backward. Jo turned, suddenly enraged as she went to get up, only to find herself hindered by the gentle hand of Sei. She turned.
"She just slapped me!" Jo seethed.
"I was taking your temperature." Amy said in that immature voice that only served to irritate Jo further.
"Jo, Amy was just concerned, right?" Kyohei's voice broke through the tense situation, which didn't help at all.
Jo looked around from Amy, who was nonchalant, Sei, who was warning Jo with her eyes not to do anything stupid, and Kyohei, who looked like he was about to wet his pants. Jo turned to Meg sitting next to her, a worried expression on her face. Immediately, Jo calmed as she focused on the red-head.
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly as Meg snapped up in sudden attention.
"Nothing, it's just…I'm worried Jo. You really do have a fever, and I think you need medicine." Meg spoke in a quiet voice. Jo froze at the tone and paused for a few seconds. She brushed Sei's hand off of her, sent one more scathing look Amy's way, and stiffly sat back down next to Meg, refusing to look the girl in the eyes.
She was embarrassed, and she had no idea why.
"Fine." She muttered. "I'll take the damn medicine." Jo could feel Meg's eyes on her, but didn't turn her head back up until she had felt Meg's hand stroke her arm gently before running off the one of the many spare bedrooms in the trailer.
Both Amy and Sei were giving her knowing looks and she growled lowly at them to shut up. Sei took her hand off Jo's arm and gave her a plate filled with food.
"Here. Eat up, it'll help you get better." Sei said.
"I'm fine." Jo continued to say, but ate up anyway. Like Meg, she wasn't one to refuse food, not when it had been hard to find in her past.
It wasn't long before Meg came back, practically dragging the doctor alongside her. He rubbed his eyes sleepily as Meg pushed him down next to Jo, who, quietly scooted farther away.
"What's going on?" Takeru said sleepily.
"I already told you! Jo has a fever, you need to take her temperature and find out what's wrong with her and give her medicine! Weren't you listening?" Meg huffed. "You know, for a doctor you're not all that sharp."
"Gee, give me a break, you just barged in and woke me up." Takeru grumped. There was a sudden shock as the rest of the team realized what had happened. It was common and a well known fact to simply take one of Meg's small tirade's in stride, because they all knew how easily worked up the girl got and how most of the time she was just taking out irritation. That, and no one wanted to contradict her when Jo was around, because she was the girl with the guns and the hard attitude, especially concerning her partner.
Takeru glanced nervously around at the sudden silence and happened to stare directly into the face of the girl next to him. Cold red eyes stared him down and he gulped.
"Meg woke you up because she was concerned about me." Jo said lowly. "If you have a problem with that, feel free to take it up with me." She showed her teeth in a fake smile.
Takeru decided to not go down that path but rather stuffed a thermometer in between Jo's teeth. The room froze.
"Now let me do whatever it was that I woken up for." Jo looked at Meg for permission to beat the crap out of the guy sitting next to her, but Meg shook her head slightly and smiled. Jo sighed angrily, and slouched in the chair. This guy was really getting on her nerves.
"Hmm…" Takeru hummed as he pulled out the thermometer. "You do have a slight fever. Any aches or pains?" He asked, fully in his medical mode. Jo stared blankly at him. She had gotten chewed up and spit out by a giant cybot the previous day. Her arm and leg were broken, along with some of her ribs. This guy was a moron.
"What do you think?" Jo's voice easily conveyed her irritableness and Sei and Amy sighed while Meg huffed, crossing her arms and sitting down across from Jo, forcing the other girl to look straight at her as she placed a hand under Jo's chin and turned her head.
"I know you're not happy about any of this, but please Jo, for me, just let Takeru make sure you're okay." Meg said softly, her kindness returning as she stared almost dreamily into Jo's face, her eyes locked on the red orbs in front of her. Jo stared back, her previous thoughts about Meg slowly returning to the surface as she looked into the face of the girl she had been with for so long, noticing so many more things than before.
"Fine." She said quietly, a kind tone in her voice not often heard. Amy turned to Sei and made a small cracking motion and she mouthed the word "whipped", to which Sei hid a smile. Meg, who didn't notice it along with Jo, which was a good thing, smiled and smoothed Jo's hair with her hand, running it gently down Jo's face. This made Jo shiver involuntarily, however the good doctor took it as another sign of her sickness.
"So a temperature, chills…I'm going to put you on some antibiotics. I'm worried you may be getting an infection."
"I heal fast." Jo said stubbornly. A look from Meg though, caused her to speak again. "But fine. Like I said, I'll take the damn medicine." She pushed the rest of her plate to Meg, telling her quietly to eat, and with that, the matter was closed.
After Jo had taken the medicine and everyone had eaten, Sei stood stiffly up as she announced the plans for today.
"Day off. Everyone's taking a break. No missions, no fighting. Everyone is staying here and relaxing."
Meg turned to Amy and whispered to her. "Thanks for letting Sei giving us a day off."
"It was her idea." Amy said truthfully. "I was surprised too."
"Anyway, if you two are done talking," Sei said pointedly towards the duo, "We can continue. Jo, no fighting, Amy, take a break from that computer screen, Meg…"Sei paused. "Keep an eye on everyone."
"Whaaa?" Meg complained. "Why do I have to play baby-sitter? Aren't you taking the day off too?"
"I have business to attend to." Sei said, with a weary tone. Jo looked up, mildly intrigued.
"Is it those Bai-Lan bas-"
"No." Sei's voice had taken on a hurt and depressed tone. "It is a personal matter." She paused. "Kyohei, you're welcome to stay all day, I'm sure the girls would love it if you could stick around. Takeru, if you think that Jo will be fine after giving her the medicine, you're free to leave. Just keep our location silent."
"I'll stay Sei." Kyohei chuckled nervously. "It's not a problem."
"I have matters to attend to as well." Takeru said. "So I'll be taking my leave."
"Good riddance." Jo "humph"-ed quietly. She winced as she felt Meg kick her under the table.
"Be nice." She whispered.
Sei left with Takeru, as the girls watched from the kitchen table, Kyohei standing apprehensively in the background. As soon as the door shut, Jo stared down the medicine lying on the table in front of her. Takeru had left it with Meg with very explicit directions, namely, making sure she took it whether it involved shoving it down her throat or not.
"Hey…" Meg said drawing Jo out of her thoughts. "You don't think those two have a...thing going on, do you?"
"A thing?" Jo repeated, staring at Meg like the girl had another head.
"You know, like a little lovey-dovey situation going on?" Meg's eyes sparkled, as Jo looked on, confused.
"Wait. But you two…" Jo couldn't stop the words coming out of her mouth, wondering why she had opened it in the first place. She sounded ridiculous, and besides what did she care if Meg and that medicine man got together.
"Who? What?" Meg said, dumbstruck. "Me? And who? Takeru? Eww, Jo, no, I hate doctors, they freak me out.
"But you. And him." Jo continued to ramble. "And…everything…"
"Jo, where are you getting these ideas? I swear, you're watching way too much late night T.V" Meg smiled kindly at Jo, who was still mildly bewildered. She sputtered out, not really knowing why her mouth had chosen that of all times to disobey her mind.
"I just…"
"Jo. Relax." Meg said simply, taking advantage of Jo's open mouth by stuffing medicine down it. Jo swallowed it, grimacing as she narrowed her eyes at the red head smiling in front of her. Meg smoothed the top of Jo's head. "You're too cute." She bubbled. "C'mon I know you want to go watch T.V." She stood, helping Jo up. She passed her the crutches while aiming a well placed kick at Amy, who was sneakily trying to trip Meg and in the process Jo.
"Ow, that hurt!' She complained, lying back down on the seat melodramatically. Kyohei poked his head out of the kitchen at the sudden development, but returned to the kitchen when Meg shot a look in his direction.
"Well quit trying to trip people then!" Meg bickered, nearly dropping Jo onto the ground, who turned, shocked towards the girl above her. Meg looked down and smiled apologetically, to which Jo merely scowled.
Amy ran to the kitchen and spun Kyohei around so he could see the other two from out the opening. "Aren't they just adorable together?" She asked sweetly. Kyohei, sensing a trap, answered gently.
"Well, I mean, I guess. They finally did it then, huh?" He asked, getting more pleased with himself for not being the last to figure something out.
"No. They're not together." Amy said bluntly. Kyohei quickly shushed her, alarmed.
"Amy! Jo will freak if she hears us saying this stuff!"
"Nah, relax Kyo, she's way too engrossed in Meg to pay attention to us." Amy laughed. Kyo looked towards the girls only to find the conclusion that Amy was right. Meg was gently laying Jo on the couch and subsequently sitting next to her as she handed Jo the remote control.
Both Amy and Kyohei knew what would happen in the span of about five minutes, and sure enough their ears were greeted with a piercing scream from Meg as Jo chuckled lowly under her breath.
"Oh, Jo, couldn't you put something else on other than horror movies?" Meg complained, hiding her eyes.
"I could." Jo teased, something she rarely did. Half of the enjoyment she got from watching the movies wasn't the slight scare factor, even though it didn't really scare her at all; but actually watching Meg react to the scenes somehow put Jo in a relaxful, almost pleasant mood.
"At least something with a little less mutant creepiness, we get enough of that working."
"And?" Jo asked, not seeing the point.
"Today is supposed to be a day off! God we haven't had one in forever!" Meg whined to Jo.
"Fine." Jo clicked the channels around until she stopped on the beginning of a movie she enjoyed.
"What is this?" Meg asked, suspicious. She warily watched the screen, before recognizing the landscape in front of her. "Wait, is that what I think it is?"
"The old stomping grounds…" Jo muttered, watching the screen.
"Where'd you get an expression like that?" Meg amusedly asked. "Still…" She fondly looked at the screen. "New York. Back where we first met. Wow. This movie must be old."
"It is." Jo said.
"You've seen it before?"
"A couple times."
"Well, what's it called?" Meg asked, settling in as she leaned on Jo, practically snuggling. Jo found herself with no objection to the nearness of Meg, rather, she admitted almost embarrassedly to herself, she enjoyed it. Caught up in her own moment, it took a gentle prodding from Meg to realize she hadn't answered the question.
"The Godfather." She looked at Meg, eyes questioning. "Want to watch it?"
"Oh look Jo." Meg sighed dreamily, watching the movie. "A wedding…isn't it pretty?" Jo just sighed in response.
For one who had never seemed into any sort of physical sort of affection, save for her cuddling nature with the silver-haired warrior, Meg seemed to be drawn instantaneously to anything with a happy ending, in Jo's view. Of course, Jo thought that any ending where you didn't die would turn out to be a happy one. Still, Meg's innocent view was sometimes endearing, though mainly annoying, considering its interference with her normal habits, which consisted of fighting, killing, and watching horror movies where a good ending would be considered making it back until the next B-rated sequel was made. It had happened on more than one occasion that she would be right in the middle of a killing spree with cornstarch syrup flying everywhere when Meg would plunk down next to her, complain for a few seconds while hiding her eyes (never seeming to hear her mutter that it was faker than the action they saw everyday) and either leave or continue to pester her to turn it off and put on some romantic comedy of sorts that bored her enough to warrant a nap in the middle of Meg's mindless rambling.
However, Jo reflected, it was more often than not that she would simply hand the remote to Meg and sit contently through the episode of Magic Sparkle Land or some other crap that Meg enjoyed.
Not that she enjoyed watching it. She just…well, Jo had to say it was she enjoyed the girls company.
Amy and Kyohei both looked out of the kitchen when five minutes had gone by without a scream or complaint from Meg about Jo's viewing choices. Amy had to hold back laughter as she saw Jo practically snuggling on the couch next to Meg, both of them talking in low voices.
"It's like they forgot there are other people here." Amy said laughingly. "Their own little private date world."
Kyohei studied them more carefully for a moment before answering Amy. "It's always been like that though. Those two have always had that idea of separation from the rest of us."
"Well duh, come on Kyo, they've been together since Jo can literally remember!" Amy laughed quietly. "I wonder what it was like for them when they were back in New York…" She wondered aloud. "It must have been lonely."
"I doubt those two ever felt lonely around each other." Kyohei said.
Sei knelt gently down in the long grass surrounding the gravesite. The peaceful park and calming nature of the area had always done wonders on the young girls' troubled mind before, when she had ventured to seek solace and comfort from the smooth ivory and ebony of the gravestones. She rubbed a hand slowly over the sleek surfaces, her fingers tracing into the memorized arcs and curves of her parents names. She had memorized the words written there so easily when she was younger, but they always meant nothing to her. The memories of her parents were few and far between, blurry faces and murmuring voices and a warmth that no blanket could replace.
Sei couldn't remember why she had gone, and what had made her leave the trailer. She thought only of Jo and Meg as she sat in the grass. She thought of them and how close they were to being something Sei had experienced all too briefly. Something her parents had experienced all too briefly. As Sei grew up, she knew the changes in the world, she knew the difference between all the dreams she would have and the realities that would be. Sooner than she wanted, she would lead the organization that had crushed nearly everything she loved, and the sense of tradition would permit her no changes in the way things were run.
Her grandfather had never been cruel, had never been violent, but he was never kind and never warm like Sei remembered her parents to be. He had instilled in Sei many of her values, and she knew she was grateful for that. She liked her morals. She liked her sense of duty and loyalty to her family.
It was her family that was the problem though. All her life, she had called the man grandfather, she had lived the idea that blood was thicker than water and she didn't realize why she had always deferred to the man. She realized suddenly, that over all the years of running and fighting, her entire ideal had shifted into the mindframe of her trailermates. Amy. Jo. Meg. Those three girls had lived with Sei, had been with her, talked, joked, survived through all situations with her. They had done more for her than her grandfather had ever promised. So why did she feel such a strong attachment to the company that she had worked for all her life; the people and faces were nothing more than strangers to her, yet, they had always been her family. Or that was what her grandfather had always said. Still, Sei thought, if it came down to choosing between one side or the other, what could she do? Would she throw away everything she had ever known for the sake of those smiling (or in Jo's case, mildly interested at best) girls faces waiting for her? Or would she leave them in her wake as she moved on to lead her company with an iron fist over all, dictating tradition and boundaries and rules like her grandfather had, something she had dreamed of doing ever since she was little?
She looked towards her parents graves for advice. They had chosen each other, and they had chosen their company. They managed to find a balance and a harmony between the two, though it ended in death. Sei had known firsthand the price to pay for loving someone. She was lucky her fate hadn't been the same as her parents.
She got up from the grave with a sigh, coming to the realization that almost nothing had been achieved since she left the trailer. She supposed, for the first time in a long time, she just needed to get some air and fresh perspective. She heard a voice in her mind speak quietly to her, "Sometimes, kid, you just gotta sit back and breath." Sei looked up towards the sky.
"Guess you're right about that one Satsuma."
Sei looked out towards the rolling hills marked every so often by silent reminders of all the pain in the world and she walked confidently among them as she returned back to the main roads. She had walked there in a sour, damp mood, but she returned with a realization of what she needed to do. Amy was right. It was time to come clean. It was time to share everything with her family about what had happened and why everything happening now made her feel so out of control. She would not lie about what she did not know. She would be scared with them as they all watched Jo fight. She would laugh with Amy about Meg and Jo and she would wait so hopefully for the moment they prayed for. She would give in to Amy's pleas that maybe the rumors were true.
Sei had made her choice. She would choose her own path from now on.
Meanwhile, Jo was starting to regret her choice in movies. After listening to Meg go between gushing, hiding and pointing out odd things that no one else would never notice, Jo came to realization that she should have stuck with a movie with one genre so that way she would know what reaction to expect out of the girl sitting next to her.
"I wonder if Sei's grandfather does that…" Meg mused, looking over at Jo. Jo shifted her attention towards the screen, watching the part. Don Corleone sat at his desk, stroking a huge cat.
"He sits at a desk?" Jo asked in return.
"No, I mean the cat! Do you think he's got a cat? It seems like a typical mob boss sort of thing."
"I don't think it's quite like that."
"We should get one."
"No." Jo said sternly, looking over at Meg, who had donned her puppy eyes and sad face.
"We should get one for Sei."
"No." Amy said, walking in the room. "Sei doesn't want any pets around here. She thinks they're smelly."
"But kittens are so cute!" Meg protested.
"They're smelly." Jo and Amy said at the same time.
"And a hassle to take care of, especially with moving around all the time." Amy continued. "We had a dog once, before we had to move around as much." She mused, thinking it over. "He was a stray, but loyal enough nonetheless. Sei really liked him."
"Aw. See Jo, Sei's a big softie after all." She looked back at the screen. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they all watched it. Amy, disinterested in anything not involving a large amount of technology, left the room to head back to her computer. Jo, thinking it was safe, relaxed and shut her eyes quietly.
"I'll change it if you fall asleep." Meg teased quietly. Jo's eyes snapped open as she stared blankly at the screen.
Jo became unable to keep her head up and longer. She laid on Meg's shoulder, sniffing in the smell of her shampoo. It had been a while since they had genuinely relaxed and Jo felt as ease sitting next to the girl.
As if by some sort of magic, she felt a rush rise to her cheeks as her mind went back to all the previous thoughts she had been having about the younger girl nearly glued to her right now. Jo felt like Meg would never leave her mind; there was always something in everything that reminded her of the girl or something she did or even something she said.
Meg dictated her actions and her thoughts. And yet, she acted as she always had, before whatever powers that had been had revealed all these feelings to her. Nothing had changed, except for the fact that Jo was faced with one very startling and mind-altering idea. She was in love. In love with the girl sitting next to her, in love with the girl since the day she saved her, always living her life to protect and care for Meg, for that face and smile and warmth of a human being Jo had never had before. But there was no change. There was no waking up one morning and deciding that it was how she felt. It was words to a feeling she had always had.
And Jo had no idea what to do about it. In normal life, in any other life, she would…what? Woo the girl? Court Meg? Take her on dates and shower her with flowers to prove her affection? She wanted to feel something more. She liked it when Meg would take her hand and pull her along. She liked it when Meg would embrace her in her arms. She liked drying the tears off of the girl and reassuring her that everything would be okay. She loved that part of her life as much as she did fighting.
And fighting was so much easier than all of this. Fighting took guns and targets and shots and lined everything up and in a second, boom, everything was done, taken care of, have a nice night and see you tomorrow. But Meg was all those little moments. Meg was the glow of the after battle; Meg was the warm shower afterward and comfortable bed. Meg was the reason for it all.
Jo wanted to kiss her. That thought scared her for the smallest amount of time. But it was normal, she reasoned. You want to do that with the people you love. She had watched enough TV (and she had none other to thank than Meg for providing the outlet to real world for her when they had been trapped in houses hiding from people) and she had seen the real world through her observational eyes.
But still. There was the chance of making Meg leave by doing that. Jo knew that relationships between two people who were the same gender were not as accepted as other relationships. She knew that it wasn't normal to feel that way. She knew Meg might not be the same. Then again, Jo would be dammed if she lost Meg to some wuss like Kyohei or the doctor simply because she didn't try.
Because when it came to Meg, Jo would never give up.
Thunder crackled and Meg jumped, though the noise was low and far away, a rumbling reminder. "Oh no. I really don't want it to rain tonight." She complained.
"Why?"
The pause was awkward to say the least. Meg's face blushed red and Jo looked away embarrassedly.
"Don't be worried or anything." Jo muttered. "I'll be fine."
"I know, I mean, you're the best there is," At this Jo felt a warmth rush through her of pride. "But," Meg continued, "It won't make you any better."
"I'll take care of it quickly." Another peal of thunder crashed and Meg jumped again. Jo looked at her, mildly amused. "I thought you weren't scared of storms anymore."
"I'm not! I was just…taken by surprise, that's all." Jo gave her a look that clearly showed her disbelief but, in a move that shocked the both of them, took her good arm and stretched it over the shoulders of Meg's back, drawing the girl close to her, their sides touching. Meg's head instantly landed on Jo's shoulder as she automatically reacted to the comforting gesture.
"Don't worry Meg." Jo said quietly.
They sat in silence and waited for the storm to come, watching the movie as much as they were secretly watching the other person.
Amy and Kyohei sighed from their spy hideout in the kitchen.
"This is boring." Amy complained. "Can't they just do something already?" She heard sniffles and looked over to see Kyohei dabbing at his eyes with his apron. "What the….are you crying?" She asked, her face breaking into huge grin.
Kyohei scowled. "No, I'm not," He protested as he sniffled. "It's just nice to see something like that." Amy broke into quiet laughter.
"You're such a girl Kyo." She said between chuckles.
Sei walked home through the now pouring rain with dedication to the task at hand. First, prep Jo for tonight and the likelihood of her opponent, who, she reckoned, would be very big and strong and much more likely to use her injuries to their advantage. Not that Jo wasn't smart, but, she would need to be reminded that rushing into this blindly would leave her very open since her injuries would require her to stay stationary. With a broken leg, broken ribs and broken arm, it would be difficult to maneuver around, nevertheless participate in the close quarter contact that Jo excelled in. Then, she would open up all the folders Amy had made filled with information. She would tell Meg the truth about what her grandfather had said about Jo and her chances for fighting. She'd tell Kyohei he could have a vacation after coming out on such a short notice. She'd thank Takeru for saving Jo.
And she'd find Satsuma.
Her hair was plastered to her face as she swept it out of the way to look down the crowded city streets she walked upon. The rain fell steadily in a rhythmic, soothing pattern and she increased her pace as she thought of the warm trailer where hopefully Kyohei would have something hot to eat made up when she got back.
She bumped into someone as they hurried past her and she stopped and turned to look at them. Sei froze in horror and shock as she realized who it was. That hair, brown and choppy that flowed to her shoulders, the walk that seemed so graceful and easy, loping and carefree….she could see a hint of her face, the gleam of green-blue eyes that she had gazed into little over a year ago.
"What…Satsuma!" She yelled down the street, clearly hearing the desperation in her own voice. "Satsuma, wait!" She chased her down, trying to keep sight in the crowd. She could see her face turn slightly and saw that bemused half-grin, so cocky and sure grace the edge of her visage. Sei felt tears run down her face, confused as to all the feelings she was experiencing at the moment. She ran down the street, pushing people over as she barreled through.
But it was for naught. Sure as she had been there a second before, actually touching her, Sei thought with a gasp and heavy heart, she was gone now. "Satsuma…"Sei whispered as she stood alone in the middle of the sidewalk, searching for her past that had managed to always be her present, and her future.
Her mind working under the pretense of shock, she turned around abruptly and sprinted home towards the trailer. She banged the door open and looked in the living room to see Meg and Jo jump apart. At another time, she would have felt bad for interrupting, but as she struggled to throw her shoes off she hurriedly brushed past Meg, who had gotten up at seeing the alarm on the older girls face.
"Sei, you look like you've seen a ghost…" Meg said quietly, following Sei as the girl pealed through the house searching for Amy.
"Amy!" Sei yelled. "Amy?!"
"Sei?" Amy said as she peered out of her room. "You're soaking wet. What happened? What's going on?"
"I saw her. Amy. I saw Her." Sei said dazedly. "I touched her. I…she…we bumped into each other. Amy, I know it was her. The hair, the eyes. She smiled, god, Amy, I know it was her." Sei's voice was oddly toned and she panted slightly, out of breath.
Sei didn't get the reaction she was looking for. Instead of seeing a look of joy wash over Amy's face, she saw the girl's face fall slightly as disbelief showed through. "Sei, are you sure it was her? I mean, there are a lot of people out there…"
"Amy, how could I not know?" Sei asked, her voice breaking. "I know it was her. She's out there, Amy, she's been out there doing god knows what, for who knows how long…." Sei's eye's teared up again. "Why hasn't she tried to find me, to find us?"
"Maybe she just got into town, we don't know for sure if it was her-"
"It was!"
"Alright, it was. Sei…" Amy's face broke into a smile. "She's alive. Sei. Satsuma, she's…" Amy started to cry as well as she hugged Sei tightly. "She's alive." Amy said as they laughed giddily.
Jo stared confusedly as the scene in front of her, finally making it from the couch over and down the hallway. Even though she was only using one of her crutches, it still took her a while to maneuver around.
"What's going on?" She asked in her I've-just-woken-up/been-disturbed voice. It wasn't everyday she regained the ability to function as a human being to see Sei and Amy hugging each other and crying like they had won the lottery or something.
"I have no idea." Meg said back to her. "Someone named Satsuma is alive apparently. I've never heard of her before though." Jo sighed impassively.
"As long as it's not an enemy that's getting those two all upset…." She muttered silently.
"Satsuma's the furthest thing from an enemy." Sei said, releasing Amy as she wiped away the last remnants of her tears. "She's our former teammate."
"Well, what happened to her? Why isn't she with the team anymore?" Meg asked.
Sei looked to Amy, who nodded back at her. "It's a long story," Sei said with a sigh. "One I never thought I'd have to tell you guys. But you deserve to know."
"Then let's hear it." Jo said to the surprise of everyone. "I want to hear about this." She spoke honestly, looking directly at Sei, who was obviously intrigued by Jo's openness about it.
"Where to begin…."Sei said, reminiscing. "Where to begin…"
And that's it folks. I hope you all enjoyed it :) Like I said earlier, feel free to let me know about anything (good stuff, bad stuff, anything in between) I do all this myself, editing and such, so please excuse me if there are any grammatical/spelling errors. Thank you all so much for reading :)