Author's note - Sorry this chapter took so long, but I was occupied with something else for a while. I hope it's worth the wait. Oh and I'm happy to see I've acquired a new reader in you, HopelesslyEscaflowne. Thank you for the wonderful comments, and honestly I thought about using KOS-MOS' old maintenance room for them but it didn't quite work out. So here's the new chapter for your reading pleasure. Let me know how it is.
Jr. awoke slowly, his arms tightening around the still sleeping Shion. She unconsciously nestled back against him, but she didn't stir otherwise. This gave him the opportunity to think some things over that he'd been too exhausted to worry about before he'd fallen asleep. He was able to reach an understanding with himself before Shion made a small noise to indicate she was leaving her dreamworld to rejoin him. "Hey there, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear, bestowing a kiss upon it as he did so. She turned and snuggled close to him, still half-asleep. He smiled softly and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Waking up any time soon?"
She shook her head against his chest and mumbled, "Waking up takes too much effort. I'd rather you just hold me for a while."
He shifted back enough so that she couldn't hide her face and lifted her chin up to see her blinking sleepily at him. "While I would love nothing more than to do that, I'm pretty sure you don't want me holding you while I'm still covered in that thing's blood. I must have been really damn tired not to wash this crap off before I crashed." He made a face as he took in just how filthy and blood-stained he was. "I need to take a shower."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have a certain aroma to you as well. You go ahead. I still need to wake up," she said with a yawn.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Think about this. You're telling me I stink, and I've been holding you in my arms while we slept. Don't you think it'd be wise to take a shower with me?"
She sniffed delicately at the air around her. "You do have a point. Let's go and clean up. We'll have to change the sheets too."
He hopped to his feet and held out his hand to her. "We'll worry about the sheets when we're done. I plan on taking a long, hot shower to get rid of all this. There also might be some bonuses involved." He winked, and with a flourish, pulled her to her feet so they could head for the bathroom.
Much later on, as they left the bathroom, Shion remarked, "I can tell it's not morning, because I am starving. I'm going to get dressed, head for the lounge, and whip up some curry or something. I haven't been this hungry in quite a while." She hurriedly dressed and then turned to Jr., who hadn't done more than dry his hair. He wasn't making any effort to get dressed. She stared at him pointedly. "Um, Jr., I don't think it will go over well if you enter the lounge like that."
He couldn't help but laugh. "I wasn't planning on going there like this." His face turned serious. "Can you hold off on eating for a bit, though? I'd really like to talk to you about something first."
She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. "I have no problem with talking to you, but if you want me to take you as serious as you look, I ask that you get dressed."
He gave her a wry look. "If you insist." After getting dressed, he sat down on the bed MOMO had occupied when she was aboard the Elsa and patted it. "Come and sit by me, okay?" She did so, looking slightly wary. He placed a hand on her hair gently. "You don't need to look like that. I just want to continue that conversation we were having when I discovered my unexpected stalker." His statement did not seem to calm her at all. In fact, she looked even more nervous, so he began stroking her hair in the hope his touch would relax her. "I'm going to be honest with you. Had what happened at that building not happened, I probably would be continuing in the same vein I was when I saw it was you."
Her eyes finally met his. "Does that mean you're no longer angry that I followed you?" She was starting to relax into his touch, just as he'd hoped she would.
His eyes took on a distant look. "I doubt you'll believe this, but I wasn't angry so much as scared. And when I'm scared, I tend to react a little strongly sometimes. While you were sleeping, I had time to think things over. I think the way I handled the whole issue of you remaining on the Elsa could have gone a bit more smoothly." His eyes refocused, and his hand stilled upon her hair.
She turned her face away. "I agree with that, Jr. I don't want to be treated like I'm made of glass. I understand that I'm pregnant, but that doesn't mean you have to lock me up and throw away the key."
He gently turned her face back toward him. "Just let me explain, sweetheart, and maybe you'll see why I'm acting like I am. First, I thought I would never have a child, and now here you are carrying something I can only term a miracle." His hand drifted to her stomach and caressed it lovingly. "You know I was created artificially, so all of this is simply amazing to me. I'm watching the small changes in you each day, and maybe I'm being arrogant, but I'm proud to be a part of those changes. And God, Shion," he said passionately, taking her hands in his, "all I want to do is protect the two of you from every bit of harm I can. Looking back, though, I went about it all wrong. I forced you into a corner by ordering you to stay here. You did exactly what I would have done if it had happened to me. Rather than giving in, you rebelled against me and went off to do precisely what I didn't want. I needed to talk to you like you were my lover rather than one of my soldiers. You were right when you told me you're not a soldier, but I treated you like you were."
She said quietly, "I can't say that I would have stayed if you had asked me rather than demanded it, but it wouldn't have hurt me so badly then. I felt as though I wasn't good enough to go with you. And I wanted -"
Jr. cupped her chin in his hand. "To prove me wrong. As I said, you did exactly what I would have done. I'm sorry," he said and sighed. "I'm not saying I'll stop trying to protect you, because I can't. You and the little one you're carrying mean far too much to me. I will, however, try to remember that we're in a relationship, and we need to discuss things, not just have me make the decision for you."
She slid her arms around his neck. "That's all I ask, Jr. I'm not saying you can't protect us, but I don't want to be placed under a glass dome and kept like a trophy."
His arms encircled her waist to pull her close as he nodded. "Check. No glass dome. You won't get rid of the overprotective lover, though. It comes naturally for me where you're concerned." Their mouths met in a kiss that shook both of them, and he drew back, groaning. "What was the reason you made me get dressed again? Right, you were starving. Let's quickly change the sheets on the bed and head for the lounge. Otherwise, we won't be leaving for a while." He shifted her into his lap to let her know the reason why, and she was leaning into another one of his kisses when her stomach growled. Jr. laughed. "All right, that made me feel guilty. Sheets, then lounge." They worked together to change the sheets and then made their way toward the lounge.
Jr. directed Shion to sit down when they arrived at the lounge. "Hey, you did finally manage to teach me how to make decent curry, so you just leave it to me." He disappeared after a quick kiss.
The droid who tended the bar hopped over with a glass of ginger ale for her. "Here you are, Miss Shion."
She smiled up at it. "Thank you, although my stomach isn't bothering me at the moment. Could I also bother you for a glass of plain water?"
The droid replied, "It is no bother, Miss Shion. I will return with your water momentarily." It hopped back toward the bar, and Shion drifted for a little while she waited for both the water and Jr.
She was lost in thought when the droid brought her water over, and not wanting to disturb her, it placed the water in front of her and disappeared behind the bar again. She jumped a little when she heard Jr.'s voice say, "Lunch is served, or possibly dinner. I'm not exactly sure." Blinking, she looked up at him to see he was looking back at her with concern. "It's okay," she replied to his unspoken question. "I was just thinking about things. Jr., you really outdid yourself this time. This looks wonderful!" Not waiting for him to sit down by her, she immediately set about devouring the curry.
He laughed as he watched her. "You weren't kidding. I don't think I've ever seen you eat like this. Maybe you're making up for all of the times you haven't been able to eat."
She turned her flaming face away from him. "Sorry. I don't think I ever remember being this hungry before. I must look like an absolute pig right now."
Abandoning his plate for the moment, he slid an arm around her waist. "That's not what I meant. I know you're eating for two now, and you've barely been eating enough for one lately. So seeing your appetite return with a vengeance is a good thing. Although I have the feeling mornings are still going to be unpleasant…"
She rested her head upon his shoulder. "Jr., do you think we should tell everyone about what we learned after fighting those things? It's been on my mind since not long after we woke up, but we got a little distracted for a while, and I didn't bring it up."
He was quiet for a bit before answering her. "I think for now we should keep it to ourselves. We're not positive it was even KOS-MOS, so I'd hate to give false hope. It's bad enough that we're sitting here, wondering if it was or not. I wish there was a way we could know for sure, for your sake."
She threaded her fingers through his thick red hair as she spoke. "I wish there was a way too, but there isn't. Worrying about that isn't going to get me anywhere. If we do manage to run across her, Tony would be the first to know, and I'm sure he would tell you. I think what you told me while we were still out there makes sense, though. We aren't going to meet her until we arrive at Lost Jerusalem, so I'll have to content myself with the knowledge that if it was indeed her, she's making her way there as well." She glanced at his plate then and said, "Do you mind sharing that? I'm still a bit hungry."
He laughed again before kissing her very soundly. "You go ahead and eat it. I'll just go get another plate for myself." He didn't have to tell her twice. As he rose to his feet to go back to the kitchen, she pulled the plate in front of her and made short work of the curry upon it.
On the lower level, Allen had been busy since Jr. and Shion had returned thinking up a way to approach Shelley. He was wondering about the look she'd given Shion when she'd seen her, and he was almost positive Shion hadn't understood it either. Although he and Shelley had become comfortable in their friendship, she had been very quiet since they'd come back downstairs. He was almost loathe to disturb her to ask her what she might see as a silly question. So he'd settled for simply working next to her in silence, praying she might bring up the subject herself. He finally decided she wasn't going to, and steeling himself, turned to her and asked, "Shelley, could I ask you a question?"
Shelley lowered the object she was working on. "You have been wanting to for quite a while now, Allen, so I think it would be cruel of me to say no." The smile she gave after indicated she was merely teasing him.
He grinned a little guiltily. "You read me right. It's sometimes a little scary that you can do that." His blue eyes twinkled at her, and then he became serious. "I noticed that when Shion came in behind Jr., you gave her a strange look. As well as I've gotten to know you, I really couldn't read what was in it. Do you mind telling me what was going through your head then?"
She sighed and took his arm to lead him out of the room. The Professor and Scott were busy arguing as usual, so neither took notice they were being abandoned. Out in the hallway, Shelley turned back to Allen. "It may have seemed as though I was giving Shion a look, but in all actuality, it was because my thoughts were focused on her. Seeing the condition she and the Little Master returned in made me question my decision to allow her to follow after him."
A look of understanding settled on Allen's face. "I know that feeling well, trust me."
She said quietly, "Even allowing her to leave with communicator in hand was not wise of me to do. Had something happened to the two of them that resulted in losing them both, that would have been disastrous. Convincing Shion to remain aboard the Elsa might have been a better choice."
He wanted to say something to her about the futility of convincing Shion to do anything she didn't want to, but first he wanted to get to the bottom of her feelings concerning Shion's departure. "Why do you think it would have been better to keep her aboard the ship?"
She lowered her eyes to the floor. "Had we lost Little Master due to his recklessness, that would have been devastating to everyone, despite how he has been acting of late. With Shion aboard the Elsa, however, we would have been left with a piece of him when the child she is carrying was born. His memory would not have died out. Due to my inability to see that I should not have allowed her to leave, we very nearly lost both of them, and I also put an innocent life at risk. That is unforgivable, Allen."
He rested a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to look up at him. "Shelley, there wasn't anything you could have done. Shion is just as stubborn as Jr., and they're drawn to one another in a way no one can fight. Had you tried to convince her what she wanted to do was wrong, you would have encountered what I've encountered too many times to keep track of. She would have gotten huffy and aggravated and told you to get out of her way. You couldn't have stopped her. You're talking to an expert on the matter here."
She gave a small laugh, which surprised him into a return smile. "I had forgotten your expertise in that area. Yes, I suppose you are right. Had I attempted to keep Shion from going after Little Master, I likely would not be standing here in one piece. I think I simply needed to have someone else verify that for me. That was very kind of you, Allen."
He winked at her. "I'm happy to have obliged you. Anyway, now that we've cleared that little matter up, how about we rejoin the slightly less sane half of the team? I'm sure our disappearance has been noted by now, and we'll be getting an earful when we get back." They rolled their eyes at one another, and then headed back into the room, laughing as the Professor started on a tirade about assistants always going missing at important times.
---Three months later---
Having just come out of the shower, Shion quickly grabbed her outfit for the day, quietly joyous at the fact that her morning sickness was beginning to fade. It seemed to attack her about once a week or so now, and since it had become almost debilitating for her, she was glad to have it release its constant grip on her. Jr. walked up the stairs, toweling his hair dry as he did so. "Jr., you are going to trip and fall flat on your face one of these days," Shion said, shaking her head.
Jr. scoffed. "I think I'm more coordinated that that, sweetheart." He sat down on their bed and continued to dry his hair. With his head buried in the towel, he at first didn't hear Shion's cry of despair. The second time she did it, he threw the towel on the bed and jumped to his feet to see what was causing her such distress. He didn't see anything, so he hurried over to her. He said anxiously, "What's wrong? What's making you so upset?"
She refused to turn to him, even when he urged her to. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry. He started to slide his arms around her, and she quickly pulled away from him. "No! I don't want you touching me!"
Jr. was at a loss. She hadn't reacted this way when they'd taken a shower, and nothing had happened in the time they'd left the bathroom until now that he could see, so he was failing to see why she was dodging his touch at this point. "Shion, I don't understand. You won't tell me what's wrong, and you won't even look at me! Did I do something to piss you off that I don't know about?"
Shion wailed, "I don't want you to see me! I don't want to see myself!" She collapsed on the bed she was standing by with her back facing him, sobbing.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Jr. sat beside her and began to stroke her hair. She tried to jerk away from him, but he was ready for her and took hold of her arm. "Please tell me what the problem is. I can't help if I don't know."
She threw herself into his arms, causing him to grunt in surprise at the sudden contact. "Why didn't you tell me?" she sniffled.
He replied, starting to become a little frustrated, "Tell you what? You won't tell me what you're so upset about, so how could I know to tell you when I don't even know what it is you're freaking out about?"
She pulled back and got to her feet, not facing him. Then, quite suddenly, she spun to him and cried, "Just look at me! I have nothing to wear now, Jr.! I can't go out of the room looking like this!"
He gazed at her, but he still was confused as to what had her in the emotional state she was in. "Shion, you have plenty of things to wear. You have a bigger wardrobe than I do. And what do you mean, looking like that? Looking like what?"
She put her hands on her stomach, her eyes swimming with tears. "Almost all of the shirts I have show off my stomach, Jr. That's not exactly an option now, is it?"
His eyes drifted to her stomach, and understanding flooded him. It had been very gradual, so he hadn't taken notice of it until she'd pointed it out, but she definitely had acquired a small bump indicating her pregnancy. He brought his hands up to rest on hers. "I think you look beautiful," he told her softly.
She looked away from him. "You're just saying that. What am I going to do? This renders my entire wardrobe useless."
Hoping to tease her out of her current mood, he said lightly, "I'm not seeing a problem here, you know. This just means I can keep you in bed until the baby's born." The glare she gave him told him she wasn't finding him one bit funny. "Okay, forget I said that. Listen to me. I am not just saying that I think you look beautiful, I swear that to you." He got to his feet and slid his arms around her waist. "Since the morning sickness has given you a break, you've started glowing. It makes you even more beautiful to me than you were before. It also makes me love you more, which I didn't think was even possible." He cupped her chin in his hand and pressed his mouth to hers.
After he pulled back, she still seemed inclined to argue, but then a strange look came over her face. It was a look of surprised happiness, and her hand moved to her stomach. Seeing the confused look he was giving her, she smiled softly. "I just felt her, Jr. I felt her move."
His eyes widened. "You did? Do you think I could feel it too?" When she shook her head regretfully, he sighed but gave her a smile. "The important thing is that you can. And what's this you said? You think we're having a little girl then?"
She placed both hands on her stomach gently. "It's almost like she's whispering to me. She wants me to know who she is." Her emerald green eyes lit up mischievously when she looked at him. "And I'm thinking it's a good thing she's telling me she's a little girl, because her daddy tends to get along much better with females than with males."
Jr. pulled her into his embrace while somehow managing to look down his nose at her despite the four inch difference in their heights. "You're just too hilarious," he said sourly. He covered her giggling mouth with his.
She drew back to say, "Jr., were you ever planning on getting dressed today? Usually I'm good about noticing your state of undress, but I was a bit distracted by my wardrobe problem, which still hasn't been addressed, you know."
He glanced down and then back up at her with a grin. "Oops, I thought it was a bit drafty in here. Give me a minute to make myself decent, and then we'll talk about your clothes issue, okay?" He bounded off as she struggled to keep a straight face.
He returned fully dressed, shrugging into the duster jacket she'd given him for his birthday. "Okay, now that I'm a bit more presentable, let's discuss what we should do about clothes for you. This means you'll need longer shirts, doesn't it? Oh, and doesn't that mean you'll need new pants as well?" Fashion had never been one of Jr.'s strong points. He usually just grabbed whatever looked like it might go together and was on his way. That certainly wasn't how Shion viewed fashion, and he had a feeling he was about to get a crash course in women's clothing.
She tugged on the dark purple shorts she was wearing and tears welled up in her eyes. She wailed, "I'm going to need brand new everything! Who knows how much I'll end up gaining by the end of this? And I don't want clothes that are going to accentuate how much I'm gaining! While I love that she's making her presence known to me, I can't say I'm happy about getting fat!" She was working herself into an emotional frenzy, and Jr. knew he needed to calm her down. It wasn't conducive to her or the baby's well-being for her to remain in the state she was in for long.
"Sweetheart, who said anything about you getting fat? You've only gained a tiny bit of weight, and that's normal. You're pregnant, and that means you can't expect to stay as thin as you were before you became pregnant. We'll get you a new wardrobe, and I promise you that it won't accentuate anything. I'm willing to bet, though, that you're worrying for nothing, and you won't gain all that much." He slipped his arms around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder, tears still rolling down her cheeks. He brought his hand up to stroke her hair gently, which caused her to nuzzle her face into his neck. "Are you hiding from me?" he teased.
Her lips moved against his neck, which shot through him like a bolt of lightning. Forcibly bringing his emotions under control, he waited for her to speak clearly. She lifted her head, her eyes still a little teary. "Do you really want to look at me when I look like this?" she repeated.
"When you look beautiful because you're starting to show that our child is growing? I would look at you every minute of the day like that if I could, sweetheart." He saw her eyes soften, and then her arms slid around his neck, urging him to bring his mouth to hers. "No opposition from me," he murmured before silence reigned for a brief time.
They heard the door slide open, and Jr. felt Shion try to draw back, but he tightened his arms around her, already knowing who had entered the room. "Jr.," Shion hissed, "please let go of me. Mary just came in." She looked into his eyes and realized he hadn't needed her to tell him that. There was an ugly look in those blue eyes of his that only appeared when Mary was in the general vicinity. "Please behave yourself. She hasn't said anything. Let her do what she came in to do and then she'll leave." She tapped him on the chest, and he nodded shortly, loosening his arms and allowing her to move back.
Mary passed by them without a word and stopped by her bed, grabbing something off of the shelf above it. Turning, she headed back toward them and suddenly came to a halt, staring at Shion in surprise. "My goodness, ya certainly have put on some weight, haven't ya?"
Immediately, Shion's eyes dropped to her stomach and then filled with tears. She sat down heavily on the bed, covering her face with her hands. Jr. stalked over to Mary, his blue eyes shooting sparks. "What the hell is wrong with you?! I just managed to get her calmed down, and now you have to go and say something stupid like that! Did all the testing they did on you as a child leave you completely brain-dead?"
Mary stiffened. She hated being reminded of the time she'd spent as a laboratory guinea pig, and the tone in which Jr. had spoken of it hurt even worse. Over the last few months, there had been many times she wished she could simply talk to Little Master and end the feud that had sprung up between them, but when he spoke to her as he was speaking to her now, her emotions took over. "All I did was point somethin' out! I wasn't lookin' to upset her or nothin'! I was just a lil' shocked to see that she's really startin' to look pregnant now."
Shion's small wail went through Jr. like a knife. "And you don't even know when to shut up about it either! Why the hell did you even need to come in here?" he snapped.
Mary snapped back, "All I wanted was to get my bracelet! I didn't even think the two o' ya would still be in here! I try to stay outta here as much as ya seem to want, but it still ain't good enough! Whether ya like it or not, this is still my room too, so ya'd better just deal with me showin' up when ya ain't expectin' it!"
Jr. drew himself up to his full height. "I don't give a damn about it being your room too! All I care about is that you can't keep your damn mouth shut when common sense would tell you just by looking at her that Shion was already upset about something!" He waved a hand toward Shion, who was now watching the proceedings with her mouth open.
Mary cried, "When I walked in, the two o' ya were stuck together like glue! I couldn't see anythin'! And when I started to head back out, she had her head turned the other way! So don't be yellin' at me just 'cause I said somethin' I didn't know was gonna upset her so! She's wearin' a shirt that shows her tummy off, so how could I not see it?"
Jr. was about to make a scathing reply, but Shion's hand covered his mouth before he could do so. "Mary," she said quietly, "I think it's best if you go. I'm just a little sensitive right now, and Jr.," here she gave him a discreet poke in the back, "is picking up on it. I don't want things to degenerate anymore than they already have."
Mary didn't bother to reply to Shion; instead she turned around abruptly and nearly ran from the room. Jr. removed Shion's hand from his mouth and spun to face her, eyes flashing. "Why the hell did you stop me, Shion? I had plenty more to say to her!"
Shion answered hotly, "I know you did, and I'm tired of it being a battlefield in here every time Mary sets foot in the room! You talk about common sense, but you don't have enough yourself to just stay quiet when you need to! Yes, what she said upset me, but she had no way of knowing that it would beforehand. I want you to stop antagonizing her!"
Jr. walked away from her for a moment, trying to bring his temper under control. He had promised himself after the last fight with Mary that he wouldn't allow his anger to get the best of him, but it seemed that wasn't possible. He said quietly, "I'm sorry, Shion. It's just there are issues I have with Mary beyond how she acted when I moved in."
Shion came up behind him to take his hand and lead him to their bed to sit down. "Then please tell me what they are. I'm ready to move out of this room myself because of all the tension floating through it."
He slid an arm around her waist, and after a minute, she lowered her head to his shoulder. "I've been keeping something from you, Shion. It's only because I wanted you to have the chance to deal with it yourself. I try not to be overprotective every minute of the day, although I find it pretty damn difficult." She moved her head to look at him and he kissed her forehead. "It would be just one of the issues I have with Mary, but it does have to do with you, so I think you should hear about this one first."
She said quietly, "I'm listening. I'm very interested in knowing what exactly you've been hiding from me." Her eyes were slightly wary.
"I wanted you to think that I didn't know, to give you a chance to take care of things without me stepping in for you. I thought you deserved that much from me, even though all I wanted was to open my mouth and give her a piece of my mind. The fact that she had the nerve to treat you that way…" Jr.'s eyes met Shion's, and in hers he read dawning realization. "Yeah, I knew almost from the beginning how she was treating you, sweetheart. I just wanted you to have the time to take care of the problem. I knew if I were to step in, you would never forgive me, so I played ignorant. If it makes you feel any better, you did do a good job of hiding what was going on. If I didn't know Mary so well, I don't think I would have guessed from how you acted."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Shion said, exasperated. "Knowing that I put on that whole act of everything's okay and having it be a waste of time is rather annoying, you know. Yes, yes," she waved him off as he opened his mouth, "I understand you wanted me to actually take care of things, but still…"
He squeezed her around the waist. "It wasn't a waste. I told you that Mary was the one to give it away. I saw her eyes when she looked at you, and she made her feelings painfully obvious when we announced you were pregnant. But you, oh love of my life," he said, eyeing her sternly, "didn't do a damn thing when I gave you plenty of time to confront Mary and let her know it wouldn't keep happening. And I want to know why." She bit her lip and turned her head away. Jr. allowed her to remain silent for a slight length of time and then he dipped his head to nuzzle her neck. "An answer would be nice," he said in a playful tone, but she heard the seriousness underlying it.
She sighed. "Because things are already bad enough without me confronting her and making it that much worse. It's easier to just avoid the situation as much as possible."
He said with acuity, "Since when did you start avoiding things again, sweetheart? There must be more to it than that. Be honest with me."
She brought her hands to her face. Jr. was nearly always able to read her feelings upon it, and she didn't want him to do so now. She thought if she just refused to answer him this time, he might give up because she was being stubborn. She felt him take his arm from around her waist and then he took hold of her shoulders. He didn't say anything, but she could feel him waiting, and she sighed even more heavily than before. "All right, it's because I've never been close to Mary and you know that. If it were Shelley, I might try to talk things out with her, but Mary is just different. I wouldn't even know where to start with her."
He pointed out, "You are having problems with Shelley, because of me. So I'm kinda failing to see where you're going with this."
She looked into his eyes, knowing it was time to reveal a secret of her own. "I tried talking to Shelley, quite a while back. I couldn't get a thing out of her about why she's avoiding you, but I could tell it was something very upsetting to her. She apologized for including me in the avoidance, but she said she couldn't look at me without seeing you. I think she started to cry, but she turned away and walked off before I could even reply. With Shelley, I could do that, because we had been close before. With Mary, it's impossible because we've never spoken much. So I let things go because it was the only thing I could do." She lowered her head.
He placed a finger under her chin and tipped it up so he could gaze into those green eyes he adored so much. "Now you're making sense to me. But why didn't you tell me what was going on so that I could take care of it for you then?"
She slid her arms around his waist and, snuggling close to him, laid her head upon his shoulder. "Because I didn't want to come between the two of you. I know you were always close to her, and I also know this war you're having must be killing you now. I wish I weren't the cause of it," she told him sadly.
He rested his head on hers. "It's not your fault. Mary chose to make you her enemy, and that leads into the other reason why I'm so pissed off with her." He heaved an angry sigh. "Do you remember back before we started this relationship, sweetheart?" He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Yeah I know that it was a dumb question, but it's leading somewhere, I promise. Mary was the one who actually got on me about admitting my feelings for you. Everyone else used to just joke about it, because they knew, but one look from me and they shut up quick. Mary wouldn't take that crap from me. She forced me to open my eyes to what you meant to me. When you finally looked my way, I was willing to kiss the ground she walked on for making me face reality."
She said very softly, "You would never know that from how she acts toward me." Immediately after she said the words, she wished she could take them back. They made her sound childish, and she liked to think that during the journey, she'd grown up a little. She also didn't want to make Jr. feel worse than he already seemed to. Hoping he hadn't heard them was too much to ask, though…
He had indeed heard what she'd said, even spoken in the low tone she'd used. "She changed almost right away. The instant she heard we had entered into a relationship, it was almost like she became distant with me. I expected her to be happy for me, and when she wasn't, I got a little pissy. Okay, a lot," he amended when she lifted her head to shoot a disbelieving look at him. "She was there for me when I was struggling with it, Shion, and then when I expected her to be there as a friend, she wasn't." He turned his head from her and made a small noise. Shion realized he was trying hard to cover the fact that he had begun to cry.
She reached a hand up to touch his face and he jerked reflexively away from her touch. "Jr., I'm so sorry. Oh, I wish there was something I could do for you!" she whispered fiercely.
Abandoning all thoughts of hiding his emotions from her, he turned back to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her to drag her close. He buried his face in her chest, and knowing she could do nothing but let him cry, she stroked his hair gently and spoke nonsensical words of comfort to him. They stayed that way for quite a while.