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WCCW
After the principle and several of the teachers arrived, Wufei told them in no uncertain terms that if the five buffoons were not immediately expelled the consequences to the school's reputation would be grave. Reputation was everything to these people, even over their honor. For while honor and reputation seemed the same they were in truth very different. Honor in this school had already been tarnished beyond redemption. Reputation was all the thin, cold comfort they had left to cling to.
After a few minutes of trembling, Solaris pulled back, hugging herself. He made sure to stay close, though at the first time he stepped away her fingers curled around his wrist, and something akin to fear shone in her dark eyes. She couldn't bear to be touched, but he was the only one in the crowd she trusted anywhere near her. The buffoons were led away and the students were left alone. Aya huddled into Eiji's arms the other students gathered around cooing over them with sympathies.
"Wufei, get me out of here please," Solaris whispered desperately. "Take me somewhere I can run. I need to run."
He just nodded and guided her away from the others shooing them off. They had clothes and supplies stored in the Aston Martin, so they could stay away for a while. The computers would monitor the tracking devices on Kracken. He opened the car door and waited while she slid inside. There were several hiking trails up the nearby mountains. Solaris could run to her heart's content there. The car was silent for the four-hour ride. Solaris was by no means comfortable. Her posture was tense and coiled, radiating a wounded 'don't dare touch me'. Her eyes slowly lightened over time from onyx to chocolate till they were back to amber.
He parked the car near a trail rest stop. Solaris darted out of the car while he popped the trunk. She snatched out the duffle bag with her clothes and disappeared into the woman's bathrooms to change. By that time, he had changed as well. She stood fidgeting at one of the several trailheads. "Are you coming or not?"
"You wish me too? "
"If you think you can keep up." With that, she was gone. Muttering, Wufei tossed his duffel into the car running even before the door latched shut. He hit the lock button on his key chain for a reassuring chirp. The forest edge swallowed him up quickly and he was in a different world. The trail was rough with protruding roots and encroaching vines just waiting to trip him up. Remembering the quick glance at the map, he knew they were definitely on the hardest trail. The steep stair of rocks in front of him enforced this. At the top Solaris stood impatiently.
The pattern continued. She would race ahead, give him a few minutes to catch up and then fly off again. After a while of climbing, the trail leveled out turning so they were running along the side of the mountain on a narrow trail. Here Wufei was able to keep up, as she was not leaping up rocks like a mountain cat. She just flat out ran. Completely disregarding the heights only a foot to the side should they stumble. He had no great fear of heights but the view was slightly disconcerting. The adrenaline rush, on the other hand, outweighed the heights by far.
After a while he realized that somewhere along the trail the girl in front of him had gone from meek little Sora back to his fiery teammate Solaris. Every stride she made screamed power and confidence, rather than the jumpy fidgeting she had done at the start. He quirked a smile and increased his speed to keep up.
They reached an outlook over the valley and it was here she stopped sitting on the low stone wall at the edge. "Thank you."
He only inclined his head and settled cross-legged on the wall facing her. "Are you alright?"
She snorted and smirked. "I just got felt up and never even got to knee the dude." The smirk slid away. "Not really." Solaris stared over the valley. "It was my worst nightmare. I swore once that I would never let myself get touched like that again. But I couldn't fight back." Her breath hitched.
"Again?" Wufei asked.
"You already know that my family disliked me. In truth, they feared and hated me. Their creation and they hated me. I was as strong as they dreamed and they could not control me. At first, they tried to punish me with poisons. However, then they realized I was used to them. The threat held no power over me. I was eleven then. Eleven years old and they feared me." She laughed bitterly. My brother offered to take me in hand. He took me all right. They had found the perfect leash. I step even the slightest bit out of line and the elders would lock me into his room."
Wufei just sat in stunned silence as she poured out her past. How could anyone be so cruel? Yes, he had married young, but he hadn't been broken and used like that.
"Ironically, it was my brother that freed me as well. Doctor K already approached me about piloting Nightshade, but I was scared. I would not risk it. Until the day I realized I was pregnant."
He choked, "You have a kid?
A soft smile graced her lips. "Two, actually. I was carrying twins." A hand rubbed across her stomach. "They gave me the courage I needed to get out."
"Where are they?" Meiren had never gotten pregnant, and she was older than his teammate.
"The doc set it up so they were adopted to a good family. One that wouldn't raise them to be assassins. They'll be a year and a half next month."
"You were fourteen!"
A breeze swept over them; cool still, from the clouds hovering near. "Yes. The scar from the C section is the only one I am proud of and would go through again and again." She flopped back on the wall, arm, and leg dangling precariously over.
He just watched her. She was at peace again. "So they are the reason you fight?"
"Hmm, I will help the world find peace so they can live happily."
"That is honorable."
They just rested there in the quiet for several hours while the sun sank in the sky. The sky tinged red as they started back down at an easier pace.
Tomorrow they would have to take up their roles and complete the mission, but for now, they were just friends.
TBC
And there we are. I did try to get it done sooner, but life got in the way. This is a B-Day present for Editor Yaris01. Happy Birthday!!