Wednesday 10:15pm
A rush of cold air hit her skin as Sally Po climbed out of the shower
and wrapped a towel around her body. "Gotta love those late night showers." She muttered as she wrapped a
second towel around her long, dark blonde hair. She could hear a commotion outside the bathroom, but it didn't
sound serious so she wasn't too concerned. The Preventors were inducting the new recruits this weekend, and so the
senior officers were spending some time with them to get them used to the
routine. Sally was slightly irked by
the fact that she had lost her own shower. Other than that she really didn't
mind all that much. It was only for the
weekend. The noise outside the shower
was getting louder; in fact one of those voices almost sounded like…
" Of all the injustice!" Chang Wufei hollered as he burst into the bathroom and slammed the door.
" I should say so." Sally responded, crossing her arms over her chest.
Wufei looked stunned for a moment, the fact was, he had always found his partner attractive, but he'd never admit it.
Under her partner's gaze, Sally felt a bit self-conscious, since she was standing wrapped only in a towel; her hair wrapped up exposing her neck and shoulders.
He smirked at her as if he knew something she didn't, "What are you doing in here?"
Sally rolled her eyes at her partner, " Community shower, didn't have much choice." She walked behind a divider so she could start drying off. " What are you doing in here?"
Wufei muttered something under his breath that Sally didn't quite catch.
" The new kids that bad huh?" She surmised reaching for her dog tags.
Wufei was distracted by the clink of the metal and occasional rustle of fabric; but he shook his head and attempted to dispel his own weakness. " They don't sleep and they are all obnoxious."
Sally laughed, " Wow, the recruitment speech must have improved since I signed up." She pulled on her old shirt and flannel pants, and bent over ruffling her hair in an attempt to get some of water out.
" That is very doubtful." Wufei stated; he would have said more, but
Sally caught him off guard. Her hair
was a mess, and her shirt was rather large on her, giving her the appearance of
a child. " You are out of uniform."
Sally looked him up and down, he was wearing his normal collared shirt and black slacks; obviously he wasn't planning on going to sleep tonight. " You aren't either, and you still haven't told me why you burst in on my shower. If you wanted to see me naked that bad you could have asked." Her eyes were radiating with laughter.
Wufei stuck his chin up in the air, " Woman you are immoral. My clothes are of no concern of yours, and I already told you why I was here."
Sally knew better than to push the issue; she sat down on a bench and put some lotion on her hands. Wufei snorted in disgust, Sally looked up at him innocently, " Sorry, I know it stinks, but I don't have much choice, my feet are killing me."
" I could help you with that."
Sally, who had been rubbing the lotion into her foot, looked up, a bit startled, "Are you going to acupuncture me?"
" No, but I can help you. I don't want you unable to walk tomorrow; I may get stuck training those idiots myself. Is there someplace we can talk?"
Sally had to admit that the offer was tempting; but was he doing this because he wanted to, or was he humoring her? Oh, well you only live once. " Yeah, up by the briefing room, our room should be just fine."
" I thought we were supposed to stay down with the new recruits." He crossed his arms over his chest, as Sally breezed by him.
She leaned against the door, and looked back at him, " I have a key; besides do you really want to stay with them?"
" Good point, woman."
" Thank you, I'll be up in five minutes."
Wednesday 11:00 pm
Wufei took his time getting up to the little room; he knew the one she was talking about. The briefing room, doubled as Lady Une's office, and he Sally spent so much time in the miniature living room they used for a waiting room they started referring to it as their room. He shook his head. He really was getting soft; he was actually become friendly with that woman. Women shouldn't fight; it only ended in tragedy. Although, secretly he was glad that he and Sally had been assigned together; she was one of the few people he could actually stand. He glanced in the window of the room; he could see her sitting in her usual chair. Her knees were pulled up parallel to her chest, her long blonde hair had been brushed out but she hadn't bothered to pull it up. As he walked in, she took a sip of whatever she was drinking and made a face.
She looked up at him her large blue eyes held a wistful expression, " They don't make it here like they make it at home."
Wufei knew she was drinking tea most likely something to calm her down.
" It isn't nearly as strong as I'd like it, but there is another cup and your welcome to it." She motioned over toward the kitchen.
" Not strong enough? You must mean you didn't put alcohol in it."
She glared at him, " That's not what I said or meant."
" I know. Let me see it." Wufei reached for the cup, noticing Sally was slow in handing it over, he sighed, " I am not going to drug you."
" I would hope not; I still out-rank you, for the moment." She handed the cup over and looked out the window.
After her comment he had been tempted to dump the cup on her lap, but he contained the urge and walked into the kitchen.
Sally sat up to try to see what he was doing, but was unsuccessful. She noted the expression on his face; he must have comprehended her last comment.
" What do you mean for the moment?" Wufei held unto the coffee cup, to ensure that she would give him an acceptable answer.
" I mean, that you are due for a promotion, and it will probably put you over me. May, I please have my tea now?"
Wufei handed her the cup, but wasn't quite satisfied, " Are you sure?"
Sally was looking into her cup; " You put chunks in it. What did you do to my tea?"
" I made it stronger, like you said you wanted. Now, how can you be sure?"
She sipped the tea, and smiled softly, " Not as good as I've had, but it's not half bad. As for your rank it's the normal way things go."
Wufei allowed himself to smile for a moment; " Will they keep us together?"
" Yeah, who else could put up my weakness?" Sally sarcastically teased before adding, " The Preventors know better than to break up a good team."
" I suppose we work well together." He noticed her look was very far away. "Why so restless."
" Hmm." She shrugged her shoulder, and continued to look out the window. " What are you going to do next weekend?"
" What are you talking about?"
" You didn't know that Lady Une gave half the senior officers the weekend off?"
Wufei closed his eyes, " I see no reason to take a weekend off, it is a waste of time. I suppose you will be going home."
Sally laughed bitterly, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes; she and Wufei were finally have a civil conversation; she was not going to ruin it by crying. " Going home really isn't much of an option for me."
" Did you live on one of the colonies that was destroyed, or was your family killed?"
" No, I grew up China, right on the coast and they are all alive and well."
Wufei noticed the sadness in her expression, " Then why not go home?"
" I dishonored my family." Sally focused on the window with all her might; hoping and praying the next question would not be asked, but knowing Wufei…
" How?"
She couldn't face him. She wouldn't dare look at him, after what he had gone through he wouldn't understand. She took a deep breath, ' well goodbye, friendship' she thought bitterly. " I refused the marriage my parents arranged for me. I was fourteen, I forged papers, and joined the army medical program and was a Major by the time you met me when I was eighteen." Sally dropped her head into her knees. Then, unable to bear the silence, she jumped up and walked over to the window. " I almost went through with it for them, but I just couldn't."
" Fourteen is too young for marriage."
Sally jumped as Wufei joined her by the window. His presence did nothing but upset her at the moment. He probably couldn't even stomach the sight of her. " I would have done it, I really would have. He was two years older then me and I knew he had a mean streak, but I was still willing. But two days before the ceremony he met me on the road. I didn't have clue who he was, but he knew me. He made it clear he didn't want to marry a mixed girl. He punched me in the stomach, and promised a slow painful death if our first child wasn't a boy." Tears burned in her eyes. That was the first time she had told the entire story to anyone. She rushed for the door, but felt a strong hand on her shoulder.
" He was out of line." Wufei lifted her chin; she hadn't faced him since he mentioned home. Her blue eyes were filled with tears and she was struggling to get away. Surprising both of them he hugged her. For a moment Sally was stunned and remained rigid, then she wrapped his arms around him and actually cried. Sally sobbed for a few minutes, before noticed that her partner was rubbing her back and trying to comfort her. She finally quieted and pulled away quickly trying to save face.
" Sally, for whatever it's worth, I think you have some honor, in your own way." Wufei called out to her as she reached the door.
" Thanks Wufei. Ya know, I have a couch in my room. You could sleep there. Unless you prefer the recruits." She smirked.
Wufei was silent for a moment considering both sides of the problem: noisy recruits or his distracting partner.
" If you don't want the couch, we can share my bed."
" Woman, you have no shame."
" But you'll be up in ten minutes for that couch, because you won't get any sleep down stairs." Sally laughed, already walking down the hallway.
" Do you think you think you know me so well?" He growled.
" No, but I do know that you are human and that you prefer to sleep at night."
Wufei shook his head as his partner vanished, and looked over at the cup of tea that she had prepared for him. She really did confuse him, yet there was something her that kept him interested. " I can't believe I am doing this."
Thursday 12:15am
Sally had just sat down on her bed when she heard a knock at her door. She didn't bother pulling on her robe she was pretty sure she knew who it was. After opening the door she led in her guest with a concealed smile. She crashed a bit dramatically in the chair, and looked up at him, " I know you don't like the radio, but if you want it off you'll have to do it yourself. My feet are killing me."
" I know. You told me about that, then you distracted me from helping you." Wufei rolled his eyes at her display.
Only her partner would describe a heart to heart conversation as a distraction. "My apologizes; I actually wasn't thinking about that pain until I got back here."
" Let me see."
Sally stuck her foot up in the air so he could examine it. " I find this humorous."
" What?" He questioned looking her foot over.
" A doctor getting doctored."
" As I recall you are a surgeon. One that wears uncomfortable shoes."
" Only when we're on base, which isn't that often."
" Seems to be often, enough." Wufei lowered her foot to the ground, walked over to the sink and filled a bowl with water.
Sally cocked her head to the side as he returned, " What are you doing?" She asked, as the bowl was set in front of her.
" It works better if your feet are wet." He informed her. " Put your feet in the bowl."
" Is the water cold?" She hesitated; was this, her partner? The same man who ignored her when he thought she was being illogical, which was most of the time and the same man who declared all emotions were weak. Were they actually friends, or was this moving forward without anyone's control.
" It isn't cold. Just put them."
" All right." Sally slid her feet into the water. The radio changed songs a few times, as the clock moved lazily ahead.
" I heard some rumors about you." He commented lifting her foot from the water.
" From males or females?" She questioned with her eyes closed.
" Does it matter?"
" Yeah. Some have a base in truth some don't."
" It was about you and Noin." He started rubbing her foot gently, carefully applying the needed pressure.
" Oh, that one. It has some truth to it, but not much."
" I think you are referring to another rumor."
" No, if it's still being discussed I'm pretty sure I know which one. Wow, it was a long time ago. I would have been seventeen."
" You're only twenty-two." He rubbed something onto his hands, then slowly massaged it into her sore foot.
" Ah, that feels good." Sally looked down at her partner, for moment, and then closed her eyes again.
" Finish explaining."
" Fine, fine, but I want you to know we were both raving drunk."
Wufei raised his eyebrow, but said nothing as he began to repeat the process on her other foot.
" We were playing truth or dare, with some other girls and I was dared to kiss her. So, I did. And if she didn't have Zechs hanging all over her, there would rumors about her preferences too." Sally laughed to hide her embarrassment.
" Actually I was referring to the rumor about you saving her life."
Sally's face turned bright red, she was very glad her partner was absorbed in what he was doing. " Oh, that one is true. She was testing a plane on the base I was stationed at; it crashed before leaving the runway. I noticed the fire and pulled her out, just before it exploded. It wasn't anything incredible I'm surprised anyone even knows about it anymore." Sally noticed Wufei had dried her feet and was carrying the basin into the kitchen.
" How interesting. Goodnight."
Sally was shocked to see him heading towards the door. " Hold it. What about the noisy kids?"
" I'll survive."
" Wufei, please come back. I really want you to get some sleep tonight; I don't mind you sleeping here. And besides I owe you two."
Wufei stood by the door still intent on leaving. Yet he asked, " You owe me two?"
" Yeah one for my feet and one for your hug." Sally walked over to him and tugged on his arm. "Just come here for a moment."
Wufei thought about pulling away as she led him into her temporary bedroom, but before he really knew what was happening, he was sitting on the edge of her bed. Sally sat behind him, he could feel her breath on the back of his neck, and he noticed a trace of her scent in the air. She placed her hands on his shoulders and methodically began to knead out the tightness. His eyes closed for a moment, before he realized how skillful her hands really were. " Woman, you are…"
" Just, paying you back one. I'm really good at this, just relax."
Wufei tried to remain stiff as possible, " This is…"
" Shhh." Sally leaned against him, and draped her arms over him; with gentle movements she ran her hands over the back of his clenched fists, then over his wrists. She worked her way up his arms until she sitting up again and again began to rub his shoulders. Her fingers flitted over the base of his neck causing him to jump. Sally skillful avoided the spot the next time by, but could barely contain the hilarity of the thought, ' The solitary dragon has a ticklish spot.'
Wufei had almost jumped up and left as her fingers brushed over that spot, but remained as the pressure didn't let up and she seemed to avoid the spot after that. He hated to admit it, but her fingers felt good, very good. He allowed himself to relax letting his arms fall slack and his fists to unclench, unconsciously his hand brush over Sally's knee. Her quiet giggle caught his attention; he may need to remember that spot later.
'Dang-it' Sally thought as she continued her work, 'he would have to find my worst ticklish spot.' She continued to work on her tense partner until she noticed that he was relaxing. She could almost sense the placid look on his face. Sally rubbed his shoulders and unfortunately her fingers danced over that spot; she winced and expected him to jump up but instead she felt his hand stroke her knee. She couldn't help but giggle again; she shifted her position and slowly massaged her way down his back. She heard him sigh and couldn't keep the smug smile off her face, but as long as he didn't see it, she was just fine. " I didn't know you were ticklish." She whispered in his ear.
" I'm not." He tensed up just a bit.
Sally rubbed his shoulders again trying to relax him again. " What about here."
Wufei almost let the laugh pass over his lips, but he managed to hold it in. When he heard Sally snickering at him, he got an idea. He turned around suddenly, and ran his fingers along her sides; just as he had expected she squirmed and started laughing. Instead of stopping immediately and mocking her he kept it up for a bit, and she began to retaliate. Eventually Sally was laughing hysterically and Wufei was actually laughing. They yielded simultaneously and crashed onto the bed. They looked at each for a long moment; the only sound in the room was two people, both trying to catch their breath.
Sally couldn't believe how wonderful his laugh sounded, or how beautiful he looked when he smiled. She hadn't felt this young in a long while, then again her partner probably hadn't either. "It's too late for this." Sally finally stated.
"For what?" He questioned.
"This. I'm too tired. I have to get up in a couple of hours."
" You started it."
" I did not. You did."
" I most certainly did not." He snorted.
" You came here." She reasoned.
" You invited me." He countered.
" You wanted to talk." She objected.
" So did you." He insisted.
" You walked in on my shower." She asserted.
" As I recall you were already out." He pointed out with an arrogant smirk.
" Don't change the subject. You still started this, and I won't take the fall for it. But on the other hand, if I start something I claim it. " Sally couldn't believe her own actions as she leaned over and kissed him tenderly. Her first thought was how incredibly warm he was; her second thought registered that once she pulled away he was probably going to slap her. She really wasn't prepared when he responded running his strong hands up her back. Shaky from lack of air Sally pulled away and turned her face, only to have it directed back by her partner's hand, which was cupped beneath her chin.
" Don't start something you don't intend to finish." Was the only response Wufei gave before he kissed her deeply, as his hands once again moved up and down her back.
Sally could feel his lips moving over hers as she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck ensuring that he wasn't moving. She opened her mouth and let him taste her; she shivered at the sensation of his tongue in her mouth. Out of breath again she reluctantly pulled away but Wufei continued his assault; kissing her cheeks then trailing down her neck. Tears formed in her eyes, she tried to blink them away, but she wasn't able and one slid down onto Wufei's forehead.
His dark eyes met her blue ones, as he brushed his fingers over her cheek to catch the tear. " What is it?"
" I was just remembering." Her voice wasn't really sad-just disconnected.
" Remembering what? It's obviously bothering you."
" I've only been caught emotionally breathless seven times."
" Why consider that now?" He wrapped his arms around her again.
" You just upped the tally by two." She sighed
" Tell me about it."
" Are you sure? I'm gonna sound like typical woman."
" I'm used to it by now. I don't mind."
" All right, but don't say you weren't warned." Sally closed her eyes
and moved a little closer to the person holding her. " The first time was when I six, my father let me go out on the
boat with him; the sight of the ocean just amazed me. The second, and no comments on my sentimentality, was at my
cousin's wedding, I remembered looking at how beautiful and happy they all
looked." Sally sighed and glanced up at Wufei, he still seemed to be paying
attention. " The third time was when that same cousin died a little over a year
after her own wedding. It wasn't her
death that shocked me; it was her husband's comment. He was holding their baby boy, and he said, 'at least the woman
did her job and gave me a son.' He never even cried."
Wufei clenched his jaw, knowing that a few years ago, he may have agreed with the comment. Although he still believed women were weak, he knew now that every person mattered, in their own way.
" The fourth was when I left my village the day of my wedding. I was on the road and I glanced back at my
home, when this woman came out and looked at me. She realized what I was doing and turned her back on me; I ran
all the way to the next town. The fifth
isn't really that important." Sally squirmed a bit at the memory, but shook her
head and continued. "The sixth was the
first time I went into space. And the
seventh was when I saw the gundums for the first time, I knew the military was
in for major change."
" I brought you up to nine?" Wufei arched his eyebrow as he asked the question, but was more curious about what she wouldn't tell him.
" Yup, first the hug, then that kiss, which by the way I really enjoyed." Sally looked up at him and caught him staring back. They were a breath apart when someone started pounding on the door. Sally cursed as she jumped up and grabbed her robe. " I'll be back after committing murder."
Sally swung the door open to reveal Zechs Merquise; he breezed in without a word and sat on her couch.
"May I help you?" Sally asked indignantly, as she shot a quick glance toward the bedroom, but she didn't see Wufei anywhere. 'Where did he go?' She thought as she turned her attention to the black box shoved in front of her face. " Good thing you don't get this upset often. It ruins your manners."
He shot her a good-natured smile, " What do you think of it?"
Sally opened the box and looked at the ring. " It's exquisite, she loves sapphires. Adding them in with the diamonds was a nice touch. Of course it must have cost a fortune."
" You really think she'll like? Relena helped me pick it out."
Sally sighed, " This low confidence thing does nothing for you. She has loved you since we were recruits. Just go talk to her. But you should probably wait until a descent hour."
" I'm sorry Sally, but I wanted to check with you before tomorrow. You are her best friend."
Sally snapped the box closed. " Proposing on her birthday, very smart, but make sure she's having a good day. Don't worry she is a morning person."
" Unlike you." He teased, while standing up and taking the precious box back into his possession.
" Yes, unlike me. Now leave so I can get some sleep."
" Has anyone ever told…" Zechs began before watching her right eyebrow twitch. "On second thought, goodnight Sally. I'll talk to Noin and we'll take the early training, you and Wufei and start around noon. Lord, knows you are the only one who can work with him." Zechs gave her brotherly kiss on the cheek, then walked out the door.
" Goodnight Zechs." Sally called after him before looking around the tiny room, "Wufei? Are you still here?" She wandered into the bedroom.
" Of course I am." Wufei came up behind her quite quickly.
" Jeeze, you scared me half to death." Sally tore off her robe and climbed under the covers. She looked at him over the blankets and smiled. " You are welcomed to join me, with my promise to keep my immoral hands to myself." Although, she fully intended to keep her promise although it was going to be kind of difficult, since he had thrown his shirt in the chair beside the bed. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before, but that didn't mean he seemed any less inviting.
Wufei climbed into bed next to her. " Just go to sleep." His voice was so calm and soothing, Sally couldn't help but oblige him.
Thursday 2:10am
Wufei watched Sally sleep, his fingers idly playing with strands of her gold colored hair. His mind had been wandering for some time, mostly focusing on his recent descent into insanity. Although his climbing into bed with her had simply been a way to get her quiet so that he could leave without argument, he couldn't get over the fact that he was still lying there. As for helping her with her feet and listening to her, that he would attribute to the fact that he wanted to keep his partner moving and on good terms with him. But that kiss he couldn't make sense of; hers was excusable, for despite all her good qualities, she was still a female and ruled by emotions. His response, on the other hand, was unjustifiable; he had to control himself and his actions. He sighed. Now Sally was going to be impossible; she was going to push for a relationship; and when he said no, she was going to intolerable. He kept trying to get up, but something seemed to just hold him there, seemed to keep him staring at her features. She shifted slightly and curled up closer to him, draping her arm across his chest. "Injustice" he cursed at his partner, now he was stuck there until she moved. Wufei never did get that chance to leave: in less than twenty minutes, he fell asleep.
Thursday 3:00am
Wufei stirred in his sleep, the
announcer on the radio had changed, and this one had a high-pitched voice. The Gundum pilot had sensitive ears and was
a light sleeper. To top off the lovely
situation Sally was now using him for a pillow and unless he wanted to wake
her, he was still stuck. Thankfully
the announcer had almost stopped speaking, and music would soon be playing,
playing country music, but anything
was better then that woman's voice.
The
announcer finished her observations, " As I said folks looks like the Winner
family has another success story in the making, with the youngest Winner girl
involved in music. So here is a remake
of the LeAnn Rimes hit, 'Can't fight the Moonlight' performed by the group:
Star Goddess."
Under
a lovers sky gonna be with you
And
no one's gonna be around
If
you think that you won't fall
Well,
just wait until the sun goes down
Underneath
the Starlight, Starlight
There's
a magical feeling so right
It
will steal your heart tonight
You
can try to resist
Try to hide from my kiss
But
you know,
But
you know that you,
Can't
fight the moonlight
Deep
in the dark
You'll
surrender your heart
Don't
you know,
Don't
you know that you,
Can't
fight the moonlight
No,
you can't fight it,
It's gonna get to your heart
Wufei arched his eyebrow, one of the singers almost sounded familiar. After to listening for another minute, he threw a pillow knocking the radio to the ground successfully shutting it off. He smiled with the satisfaction that he had beaten the radio before that woman had started talking again, and Sally was still sleep. In the morning he would explain what a mistake this whole night had been, and that she shouldn't expect him to ever be weak again. He brushed a lock of hair away from her face and stared down at her a moment longer before closing his eyes.
End of Part 1