Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me, but to their respective owners.

Author's notes: Hi everyone, I'm back! Thanks for being patient. Now that I'm on break maybe we'll see more updates, here's hoping ^_^. Anyways, thanks to the following people who reviewed:

Penbee of Treewood - yeah, I really didn't want to put Quatre in that position, but somebody has to make Wufei jealous, right? Thanks as always. Been meaning to ask you, how'd you come by your pen name?

Amy - lol, please do continue on with it, I love reading your reviews! I'm glad the kiss made you all better. Hm … this chapter may put you on a relapse though. I'm afraid it's not as sweet as the previous one. As for the charms, well, I'm pretty sure everyone thinks the same way you do, but finishing the fic is the only sure way to find out ^_^.

Sweetangel14 - Thanks so much! That means a lot to me. I'm just sorry I had to make you wait three weeks.

Bloody Love - Yup, Wufei and Sally also have my vote as the couple I like best. But I have to admit Heero and Relena comes in a really close second in my list. There's just something about brooding men that does it for me *sigh*.

Jessi Lynn - eek! please don't be mad. I really was trying to get her to be more aggressive, I swear. *looks up pleadingly* I don't know why my mind can't see her as anything else but how I portray her in this fic. I wish I had seen more of the series so I can study her character further. Thanks though, for always being honest on critiquing the characters.

Hydra-Star - *gasp* shame on you. (he he, just kidding ^_^) Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I only aim to please.

WW - wow, I must say, your review can't get any more positive than that. Thank you very much, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Nine: A Rocky Start

Sitting by her desk a few feet away, Relena thoughtfully eyed Sally's door. The girl had been acting weird ever since she returned from work three days ago. Nothing to worry about really. Just that the younger woman kept catching the other blond staring off into space, thinking of who knows what. Relena asked her once if something was wrong and Sally had just offhandedly answered that it was nothing. However, she had a feeling that her friend was still hiding something from her.

Hm, Relena thought. I wonder how things are going between her and Quatre.

From what she had gathered, both her friends had confessed to enjoying the other's company during their dinner date. Taking that as a positive sign, she hoped that the two had indeed hit it off and so assumed that it was the reason why Sally's mind was always preoccupied

"Excuse me," said a deep voice. "Can you tell me where I can find Sally Po's office?"

Relena swiveled on her chair and saw an unsmiling young man looking down at her. The blond woman could not help but feel a bit intimidated as she looked into the man's dark eyes. Eventhough he wore his hair in a ponytail just above the nape, she quickly noted that the man was wearing a business attire, though somewhat rumpled. Unconsciously quaking a little at the hard stare he gave her, the young woman forced her voice to remain steady.

"It's just up a head," she pointed. "It's that one right there."

He nodded curtly and Relena watched him purposefully walk up to Sally's door and open it without knocking.

Who is that guy, she wondered silently.

*******

Sally was putting away some folders in the file cabinet when her office door suddenly opened. She turned, ready to lecture the person on the etiquette of knocking, but gasped instead when she saw who was standing before her.

"Wufei … " She stared at him in a daze. All she had thought about this pass three days was him and that kiss. Now that he was right there in her office, Sally did not know what to think or how to act after what happened.

Suddenly frowning she said, "You're back early."

The young man shrugged and closed the door. "I didn't need to be there as long as I had expected." He nonchalantly settled himself on the edge of her desk and studied her face.

Before dropping by the office, Wufei had been a bit uncertain on the kind of reception he would be receiving once he saw Sally again. After three sleepless nights of doing nothing but think about the brief kiss they shared, Wufei decided that he had to see her again and tell her everything. He had kept the secret from her for too long as it is and ready or not, Sally was going to know how he feels.

"You're wearing your glasses," he said instead, his brows knitting slightly.

"Er… yeah," Sally said, her face growing warm. Feeling a bit ridiculous at her behavior, the blond gave her head a small shake. The temptation to take off the glasses slowly disappeared and she tilted her chin up. "I forgot where I put my contacts again."

All she got from him was a raised brow.

"So, did you just get back?" she asked.

"Yeah, my plane landed a little under two hours ago. I thought I'd drop this off before I go home."

He took out a small jewelry box from his pocket and handed it over to Sally. Walking closer to him, she took the box and opened it. Inside was her charm bracelet, good as new.

"Thanks, this was really kind of you to do," she beamed at him. "How much do I owe you?"

Wufei waved off her question. Trying to hide his embarrassment he glanced at his watch. "Did you have lunch yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Grab your purse then and let's go," he said standing up. "I'm starving."

It took a few seconds for comprehension to sink in and when it did, she wondered if this was to be their first lunch date. Again Sally gave herself a shake for being silly and accepted the offer with a smile.

She left the jewelry box on her desk and went to grab her purse on the coat rack. She was about to open the door when Wufei stopped her.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" he asked, referring to the bracelet.

"Maybe later. I don't want to break it again or something."

Without saying a word, the young man took the bracelet out of its container and put it on her wrist. Sally thought she heard him mutter something that suspiciously sounded like '… where it should belong…,' but did not have time to dwell on it when she was unceremoniously lead out of her office.

As they walked down the isle, Wufei gave Sally a thoughtful look. "Take off the glasses."

"What?" she asked, a bit confused.

"I said take off your glasses," he repeated, not looking at her. "It just screams 'four-eyed freak'."

"What?!" she asked, this time yelling in indignation.

Wufei ignored her outburst and kept on walking. It was too easy to goad her and it was certainly entertaining to watch her lose control.

Trying hard not to let his amusement show he said, "Just take them off, it doesn't suit you."

"Did you ever stop to consider that I can't see anything without them?!"

"So what? I'm here. I'll tell you if you're about to bump into something."

Sally fumed. Though it may be true that she also wanted the glasses off, pride made her keep it on. Passing by Relena's desk, the social worker heatedly told the other blond that she was going out for lunch. The younger woman just watched in awe as the bickering couple walked away.

********

"Oh, don't tell me you're still mad," Sally exasperatedly told Wufei as they surveyed their menus.

Wufie just glared at her from across the table. He had tried to snatch the glasses off her face earlier, but did not expect to have his hand be smacked stingingly by Sally. The idea had come to him as soon as they stepped out of her office. If he can get her to take off the glasses, then it could mean her walking closer to him and maybe taking his arms for assistance. So, he had goaded her on, but was not prepared for the plan to backfire. Now, he grumpily sat at their table with a wounded ego and a smarting hand.

The black-haired man stole a glance at his companion and caught a tell-tale quiver of her lips. "I'm so glad you find this amusing."

Sally gave up pretending and chuckled softly. "It was kind of funny. I don't know why you want me to take them off. You know how bad my eyes are the last time I -"

The girl quickly shut her mouth when she remembered exactly what had happened the day he tried to gauge how bad her eyes were. This time it was Wufei's lips that quirked up at the corners. He too was fondly remembering that incident.

"It's simple really," he began to explain. Wufei slowly leaned forward and gently removed the glasses from the now immobile Sally. "Without them on, I have your undivided attention. Comes really handy whenever I want to kiss you (1)."

Sally's breath caught in her throat, not quite believing what she just heard. Her gaze unconsciously dropped down to his lips and though his features were still a little blurry, she definitely had no problem focusing only on them. Almost against her will, Sally felt herself lean in for a kiss before a voice snapped her out of her daze.

"Sally, is that you?"

The startled couple drew apart as a blond man walked over to their table. Wufei turned to scrutinize the stranger as he approached from behind Sally. The young woman squinted at the figure now standing beside her.

"I thought that was you," the man said cheerfully. "How have you been?"

The blond woman absently groped for her glasses as she tried to place the familiar voice in her mind. Wufei handed her the glasses without taking his eyes off of the other man.

"Quatre?" Sally said with a mild surprise as soon as her vision cleared.

The blond man gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Yeah, it's me. Hey, I didn't know you wear glasses?"

"Uh … yeah," she replied absentmindedly . She quickly introduce the two men to each other and thought of a way to resolve the awkward situation.

Quatre greeted her stoic companion pleasantly, though somewhat confused at the curt nod he received. Turning back to Sally he offered her another smile and said, "I've been meaning to call you, but things just kept coming up. I hear the Katina Brothers are playing at The Lounge and I remember you talking about their music that one time. Maybe we can go check them out tonight."

Not knowing what else to say, Sally gave Quatre a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Quatre, but I'm sorta busy tonight. It was nice of you to offer though." She felt bad about lying to the guy, but she did not want to hurt his feelings by saying she was not interested. Or available for that matter, even if what she had with Wufei was not quite official yet.

"That's alright. Maybe we can just meet up for lunch tomorrow and catch up."

Wufei watched Sally struggle to come up with another excuse and felt annoyed that she does not just say the truth. And apart from that, jealousy was starting to boil up inside him. Before Sally can open her mouth, the silent young man turned to face Quarte.

"She isn't interested," he said rather bluntly.

"What?" came the shock reply from both Sally and Quatre.

"I said, she's not interested," Wufei repeated calmly. "Save yourself the time and trouble and just leave."

Quatre found himself staring with an open mouth at the other man in disbelief. He then turned to Sally and apologized before excusing himself.

"No, wait," she called out after the other blond helplessly. Sally refocused her attention on Wufei and angrily hissed at him. "Why did you do that?!"

The dark-haired man glared back. "I was just trying to help."

"Help?!" she repeated indignantly. "You were downright rude to him!"

"You know what you're problem is, you're too nice to people."

Sally forcefully swallowed some not 'too nice' words that threatened to spill out from her mouth before calmly taking a deep breath.

"You know, you're right," she told Wufei in a cool tone. She picked up her purse and stood up from their table.

"What are you doing?" he asked, startled.

"Not being 'nice' to somebody," she replied frostily, before purposely walking away.

A dumbfounded Wufei remained seated in shock as he watched Sally leave the restaurant.

Author's notes:

(1) Again this is referring back to what I mentioned about the manga Yasashii Akuma.

Well, another chapter done. I hope you guys weren't disappointed or mad for that matter at how this chapter ended. I promised all will be put to right in the end ^_^. I'm typing up the chapter ten right now. So if all goes well with the editing, it should be up by next week.

Next Chapter: Something unexpected happens. Will Wufei be too late to apologize?