And You I Love
To SailorJfanatic I'm extremely happy to hear that I got one of my old readers back! I'm working really hard to revise the whole thing, but I think this will be that last chapter out for tonight.
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Location: the Arcade
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...After Ami had watched several games of air-hockey between Quatre and Usagi...
Ami had taken a seat at a booth in the corner when Usagi and Quatre had gotten to the fourth or fifth round of air-hockey. She watched Quatre as he moved his pucker from side to side, in awe of his speed. Of course, Usagi was pretty fast herself, so Ami figured they were good opponents for each other.
She secretly remembered how she felt when Quatre put his arms around her to help her beat Usa. A warm, safe feeling filled Ami's body then, and just the thought brought a small, barely noticeable smile to Ami's face. She knew there was something odd about Quatre, and she didn't mean odd like he was special, but more like he had secrets. Something inside Ami told her that he was more than just a plane pilot.
Ami smiled as she caught a smile-wink from Quatre. She laughed inwardly as she remembered how few guys actually knew the right way to wink, much less wink and smile at the same time. He can wink just fine. Then her thoughts turned to Friday night, when they danced.
Again, Ami was driven to smile as she remembered Rei teasing about how well she waltzed. Ami didn't know she could waltz well either, but with Quatre, she figured things just came to you. Then Ami made another decision about Quatre: He did have his secrets, but there was something special about him.
Looking down at the book she had brought with her, Ami reached for it. Then Ami decided against it. She would much rather watch Quatre than read her book at the moment. A breeze was floating in from the arcade's open entrance. Taking in her surroundings, Ami saw Rei speaking with Wufei, and Minako was staring blankly at the Area 51 screen. There was some flashing text, but from where she was sitting, she couldn't see it well.
Five handsome pilots, five pretty fighters- was it destiny? Ami almost choked on the fluffy romance of it all. She felt someone slide in next to her. Quatre.
Where'd Usagi... Ami began, then she saw Usa screaming in Minako's ear. What happened?
Out of tokens, Quatre said simply, with a shrug. She's determined to beat me.
Ami laughed, Usagi's always been a very determined person.
There was a long silence. That silence struck Ami as odd. Of the few times she had been in love before, the silence between her and her lover had been unbearable and awkward. But there with Quatre, the silence was ok. It was almost like speaking would ruin the day. I feel like I've known him for a while. She frowned subconciously.
What's the matter? Quatre asked.
Why are you frowning, he said, and shaking your head like that?
Ami turned red, and smiled. I don't know...Quatre, how come you wanted to talk with me at the dance? And how come you didn't leave after I...embarrassed myself? I'm sure that any other guy would have left me the moment I started stuttering. There were lots of other pretty girls there.
Quatre shrugged. I...don't know, Ami. When I saw you, my first thought was Wow, she's beautiful.' He took one of Ami's hands in his. There were a lot of pretty girls there. I had talked with some of them, but they weren't interesting. I wondered why you were alone, because most of the girls had dates or they traveled in packs.
My buddies were out man-hunting, Ami explained. Quatre nodded with that oh-so-cute smile of his.
As for your second question, Quatre continued, Well, I knew it was my fault you were drunk-
No, I knew I shouldn't have taken that drink.
I couldn't just leave you there. You kept asking me to tell you a joke about a donkey...and I never told you one in the first place. Anyone could've come and just taken you home...I felt responsible for you.
The warm feeling that Ami had felt when Quatre wrapped his arms around her took hold of her again, and she smiled happily.
You've been doing that all night.
You've been smiling to yourself, like you have a happy secret that you want to tell everyone but you know can't.
Ami stared at Quatre. You're not just an airplane pilot, are you?
Quatre shrugged, What makes you say that?
Ami shook her head. You're just special, that's all. It's almost like you can read me.
And again, that silence(which was ok and not awkward) overtook both of them.
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Location: the Arcade
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...Some time after Usagi had left Duo at the Tokyo Racing game...
Rei had lost twice at air-hockey. Of course, she had to admit she was having a great time. Quatre and Duo were joys, and though she hadn't spoken to any of the other pilots, they gave her a nice feeling. She was sort of wandering aimlessly, in-between conversations, and Rei found herself sitting in the right carseat of the Tokyo Racing game.
Her thoughts were wandering when Duo said, Rei jumped and turned to face Duo.
Oh. I didn't know you were there...Sorry, she said. Rei put in tokens and placed her hands on the steering wheel. I just want you to know- I'm the master at this game,
Duo smiled. I'm sure that's what Usagi thought, too. He winked, and the countdown began.
3...
2...
1...
GO!
Rei put pressure on the gas pedal and sped off. At the beginning, she was bumper to bumper with Duo. He thinks he's toying with me, Rei thought devilishly. She faked a whole lot of struggle. Duo, however, was also putting a little bit of obvious effort into it.
I know he's got way more than that...But so do I!
The finish line was drawing closer. Duo began flinching in his seat and became more aggressive with the steering wheel, and Rei was still faking loads of struggle, but she was really taking it easy. She smiled to herself as she masterfully turned the side. The back end of Rei's car clipped Duo's and spun him out of control. Rei let out a giggle that ascended into an all out laugh as she crossed the finish line.
Um, what was that you said before we started, Duo? Rei asked playfully. Duo poked her in the side and challenged her again. Rei politely declined.
Rei said, Who's he?
Duo leaned to look in the direction Rei was pointing. Gee wiz, Wu-man's meditating in an arcade! An arcade for crying out loud!
His name's...Wu-man?
A smirk came to Duo's face. No, but he likes it when you call him that." Something in Duo's eyes told Rei different, but she smiled and got up. She waved goodbye to Duo, who was inserting more tokens into the game.
Rei sat down next to Wu-man. He was in the standard position, eyes closed. Rei studied him. He's handsome. Not the wild, sexy handsome that Duo is, or the cutesy type that Quatre is. He's more the subtle handsome. His hair was pulled neatly to the back of his head, and there was a teeny-tiny ponytail there. He was obviously Chinese.
Not bothering Wu-man, Rei wondered how the five plane pilots got to know each other. There was definitely something strange about them being together. She could understand if they were all Chinese or if they were all Japanese- even American. But their ethnic backgrounds were so diverse, she wondered how they ended up together.
Rei figured that when they said pilots', they meant private planes, or even fighter planes. She doubted they flew commercial jets. Again, she looked at Wu-man. Hmm...Wu-man, huh?
She closed her eyes in thought and rubbed her temples.
Who are you? a voice said. Rei's eyes popped open, and she saw Wu-man looking at her with a coldness.
She straightened herself up. I'm Rei. Wu-man?"
He closed his eyes. A vein near his temple seemed to pulse, and Rei worried that he was angry. And of course, her worry was perfectly justified. Wu-man opened his eyes.
With a firm tone, he ordered, "Don't call me that."
"Mmm, sure. But you are a friend of Duo's, right?"
That's insulting.
Why? Duo's a nice guy.
Nice, maybe. Loud, yes. Annoying, definitely, Wu-man snorted.
"What's your name?" Rei quizzed.
"Do you start conversations with people you don't know on a regular basis?" Wu-man asked curtly.
...silence...
Rei smiled. You're not the outgoing type, are you? She wanted to find out as much information as she could on these guys. Though the five boys did give off good vibes, there was definitely a strangeness about each of them.
I choose not to be.
You wouldn't understand.
Why not?
Do you ever say more than Wu-man asked sarcastically.
Rei ignored that. Do you meditate a lot?
Why would you want to know?
Is that a yes?
Wu-man nodded his head. Whenever I can find the peace and quiet.
...silence...
There's...a Shinto shrine I know of. It's a nice quiet place, in the city though. It's kind of away from the hustle and bustle of things. I go there often when I'm having trouble finding the quiet. I've actually been going a lot lately. Don't know why, it's just sort of becoming more peaceful than it is home. Rei caught herself. She had practically told a complete stranger she was having problems at home. Usagi interrupted them before Wu-man had said anything in reply.
Rei turned and saw Usagi.
Rei shook her head. How embarrassing is Usagi? Always ruining everything...
No. I don't care what it is, but you're not getting it from me.
Rei repeated. She was thoroughly embarrassed. She saw Usa's lower lip grow, and her head fell. Not the crying act...!
Please? Oh Rei please?! You've always been so horrible to me and all I want are a few-
Rei's head jerked, almost like she was slapped. She shook her head, If I give you one token will you go away?
Take it. Or leave it. Usagi looked around, and then declined. She left. Rei's eyebrows furrowed in thought.
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Location: the Arcade
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Something that the blonde said had upset Rei, Wufei noticed. When the blonde one was talking, Rei snapped like she had suddenly realized something.
While she was having her conversation with the blonde one, Wufei studied her. She had mentioned a shrine that she visited a lot. He was surprised when she told him all that she had- Telling so much to a stranger was a sign of weakness. Wufei decided she was probably having problems at home, like she had implied, or within her group of friends. She needed someone on the outside to confide in. But it sure as hell isn't gonna be me.
Rei turned to him now. I'm sorry, she said.
So she doesn't like...Usagi?
As if she read Wufei's thoughts, Rei added, It's not like I don't like her...She really is one of my best friends...All of them are... Rei continued to talk about all the girls, and what she thought about them.
Something in Wufei's stomach uncurled. He really wanted to end the conversation. He didn't want to hear that Ami was the most intelligent or that Makoto was definitely the most mature. Wufei didn't really care that Rei was sort of a pyromaniac, and he certainly didn't want to hear that Minako was a cheater at everything. He didn't even care that Usagi was really from the moon-
Wait. Was he listening?
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Location: the Arcade
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Night had fallen, and five girls and five guys finally managed to introduce themselves to all of each other, even though Duo and Quatre had to do a lot of pointing. The girls left the arcade, but the guys stayed behind. Duo practiced several more rounds of Tokyo Racing, Quatre was reading the book that Ami had accidentally forgotten, Heero was playing Area 51, Wufei was looking through the phone book and Trowa played pinball.
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Location: 5th street
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Ami, Makoto, Usagi, Rei and Minako were all walking in a line. Even though each of them stayed silent, four of the girls were thinking the same thing: Thank you, Ami!
Gradually, they came to the street where they all had to part.
I think I speak for everyone in saying, thanks Ami! Makoto said. Lucetta purred happily.
No kidding! My name, Minako, is on the #1 spot...Thanks to Heero...Thanks to you! Minako cried, giving Ami an over-enthusiastic hug. I owe you...
The girls went going their separate ways after saying a few goodbyes. Makoto, Ami and Minako had already gone, but Rei and Usagi still had some way to go together.
So what were you and Wufei talking about? I mean, what were you talking about? He did alot of listening, I saw... Usagi asked. Rei shrugged.
She answered, Not much. He's more the quiet type. I don't think he's boring though, like Duo describes him. They came to the point where Usagi and Rei had to part. Usagi waved and turned, but Rei called her.
Usagi whirled back around to face Rei.
Rei hesitated for a moment, opened her mouth and shut it. Catch ya later, she said finally.
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END
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