Eight: Escapade

"Well? What do you want?" Raye stood with her arms crossed, staring at Wufei expectantly. She had finally given up on ignoring him and now asked him the question that had been egging her since the moment she discovered he was following her around. Wufei merely stared back at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please! You've been following me around ever since…" Raye paused and blushed slightly. She quickly regained her posture. "So what do you want?" Wufei swallowed and chose to remain silent for the moment. There was no way he could answer that honestly. Raye sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "I just don't get you. You were so quiet, and then…"

"A drink with you," Wufei said suddenly.

"What?"

"You asked what I wanted."

"And?"

"I want to have a drink with you."

"Why would you want to have a drink with me?" Raye asked. Wufei shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm thirsty."

"This doesn't have anything to do with…"

"I apologize for that," Wufei stated, humbly bowing before her. "I don't usually act that way. I want to have a drink with you, to perhaps make up for that." He stared at her with his eyebrows raised expectantly. Raye let out a sigh.

"I don't know why, but I'll go with you."

"Thank you. Please follow me." Raye complied with his request. She wasn't sure where he was taking her, and as they walked she asked herself if she really wanted to know.

The place he brought her to was not something she expected. Her mind had gone from a crowded bar full of drunkards to a garbage dump, and it was with more surprise than anything that she entered the quiet building. It had perhaps been a crowded bar full of drunkards several years ago but now only a few were occupying the tables, and none of them looked too badly drunk. Old oil lamps scattered around the tables lighted the bar. Raye felt like she was in a different time period.

"Good evenan', Wufay," the bartender greeted, tipping his bowler hat. He held a mug in one hand and a cloth in the other. Raye stared at him and for the life of her could swear she was in the Old West. He wore a brown bowler hat, a white shirt with a brown vest over it, and tattered blue pants. His accent sounded heavily from the American south.

"Hello, Boxie," Wufei greeted. He pulled a chair back for Raye and sat down. Raye sank into her seat.

"What is your name?" asked Raye nervously. The bartender chuckled and polished the inside of the mug bashfully.

"Well, shucks, missy, most people cahl me Boxie. Mah full name's Bohahrison. It sho' is hard fo' most people tah say, so they cahl me Boxie.

"It's nice to meet you, Boxie. I'm Raye."

"That sho' is a purty name," Boxie grinned. "Whut's yer pleasure?"

"I'll have the usual, Boxie," Wufei requested.

"Do you have anything non-alcoholic?" Raye wondered. Boxie pursed his lips and checked his inventory. One of the drunks got up and tottered over to an old piano. Raye was caught off-guard when the man started playing, and fairly well too. Even the music sounded Western.

"Ah ain't got nuthin' 'cept a bit o' water," noted Boxie apologetically.

"That'll be all right." Boxie beamed at her and in a flash brought the two their drinks. Wufei muttered his thanks and sipped his drink. Raye expressed her gratitude as well, but frowned when she noticed the color of her drink.

"Something wrong?" Wufei asked.

"This water is a little… dark."

"Ah'm afraid that's the best Ah can do," Boxie shrugged.

"Just drink it," Wufei told her. "You'll offend him if you don't." Raye sighed, closing her eyes tight. Curse my polite ways! She put the drink back in one go. She swallowed but it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"For some reason, that made me thirstier."

"Ah jest got a little bit," Boxie repeated.

"Okay, I'll take it."

Five drinks later…

"Are you sure this isn't alcohol?" Raye slurred, tottering in her seat. Besides drinking four of her own, she had also finished off Wufei's drink. By now they were the only ones other than Boxie left in the bar.

"Mebbe jest a little," Boxie muttered.

"Okay, that does it. Let's get out of here," Wufei decided. He took Raye by the arm and tried hoisting her up.

"I don't wanna go!" she whined.

"I have to think of what's best for you," he insisted, and without warning grabbed her up and carried her out the bar in his arms. He set her down outside and dusted her off. She giggled and started stumbling around.

"That was fun. Thanks for the drink. You're not such a bad guy."

"I told you not to drink more than two, but you just had to get greedy," Wufei sighed, holding his head in his hands. Raye flopped down on the sidewalk with a sigh. Wufei sat down next to her.

"Hey, will you tell me something?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Why did you kiss me?"

"I don't know," Wufei admitted. "I wasn't really thinking straight." Raye stared at him with her head tilted to one side. He gazed into her eyes and he knew that he had kissed her for a reason, and not just on a whim. In fact, he had a strong urge to do it again. Before he could move Raye suddenly turned her head and vomited. Wufei sighed and gently pushed her hair away from her face.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?" she asked.

"No. I don't think you are."

"I feel a little more sober now. I didn't do anything stupid yet, did I?"

"You're fine. Don't worry about it." He put his arm around her and drew her close to him. She parted her hair and smiled at him.

"Hey… you know what?"

"What?"

"Your eyes have a little green in them." Wufei smiled. She was beautiful, with her hair in a mess and her breath smelling like vomit. His lips ached to touch hers again but he didn't think it right to take advantage of her. Instead he settled for her forehead. The moment was rudely interrupted by the arrival of Trowa Barton.

"Wufei! What the hell are you doing here?" Wufei blushed and tried desperately to think of an alibi.

"Uh… Well… I'm just… sitting here."

"Oh." Apparently Trowa really wasn't interested in what was going on. "Have you seen Lita recently?"

"She's probably at one of the floral shops," Raye answered.

"Floral shops? Okay, thanks." He was gone in a matter of seconds. Raye sank down and went to sleep with Wufei's legs serving as her pillow. Wufei watched her sleep, combing his fingers through her hair. How things have changed since I saw you. How things have changed…

======

Trowa didn't find Lita at the floral shop, but he did find two dozen red roses. He bought them and searched the other stores for her. It was a beautiful night with the stars shining and the moon watching over all. Trowa was in such high spirits that he felt nothing could dampen them. Of course, he was wrong. He turned a corner and there was Duo!

"Great," he growled. "Just what I wanted."

"Trowa?" Duo's face broke into a wide grin. Trowa wanted to wipe that grin off so badly his knuckles tingled. "Those aren't for Lita, are they?"

"It's none of your damn business."

"I knew it!" Duo grinned. "You like her too!"

"Why don't you go bother something that has the same brainpower as you, like a fence post?" Duo rocked on his heels like a little child. The flowers rattled in Trowa's hands.

"Lita's a nice girl. I like her a lot." He flashed an unreadable grin.

"You didn't… kiss her, did you?" asked Trowa suspiciously. Duo's smile merely widened.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he sang.

"You little son-of-a-bitch! I'll kill you!" Duo was smart enough to make a run for it with Trowa following close behind. The chase lasted about a minute before Duo tripped and fell. Trowa halted in front of him and stood there laughing at his unfortunate "friend".

"Trowa! Duo! You two aren't giving each other trouble, are you?" Trowa froze. It's her! his brain cheered. He turned and greeted Lita with a sheepish smile. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a green vest, and a green skirt. Damn, she's beautiful. She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "You guys need to learn how to play nice."

"I was just kidding with him," Trowa muttered. Duo was still on the ground, spread-eagle fashion. He rolled over and stared up at Lita with spinning eyes.

"Kidding, my ass," he groaned. Trowa gave him a "gentle" kick in the shoulder.

"Duo and I do this to each other all the time."

"I see," Lita nodded. Trowa tried desperately to keep the flowers from shaking but the noise soon drew Lita's attention. "Oh! Those are lovely!"

"They're for you!" Trowa blurted, offering her the roses. She took them and breathed in her scent.

"Roses are my favorite! Thank you."

"No problem." Trowa stared at the ground for a moment, then back at Lita. "Lita, would you, uh, like to go for a walk with me?" He offered his elbow to her.

"Okay." She slipped her arm through his. "Will Duo be all right by himself?"

"I'll live," Duo answered.

"All right then. I'll see you later." Lita cheerfully waved.

"See you, Dummo," Trowa said. He chuckled and escorted Lita away.

"Why did you call him 'Dummo'?"

"Oh, it's just a name I call him sometimes," Trowa shrugged.

"You two remind me of my friends Serena and Raye. They're always fighting with each other, and Raye calls Serena 'meatball head' all the time." Meatball head! That's perfect for that little ditz. "I have to confess something to you, Trowa."

"It's nothing too bad, is it?"

"Nothing like that. I just…" Lita paused; Trowa saw her cheeks were red. "From the moment I saw you, I liked you."

"Wow. I'm… flattered, Lita," Trowa managed, blinking in confusion. I knew she liked me, but from the moment she saw me? "I didn't think much of you at first, but I have to say that I feel the same now."

"Really?" Lita gasped.

"Yeah. Really." They stared at each other smiling. There was one thought dominating Trowa's mind. He tried to ignore it at first but it kept persisting. What the hell? I might as well. He brought his face close to hers and kissed her.

======

"Thank you for bringing me back," Raye whispered. She was now master of herself and could walk without tottering every few steps. Wufei had seen her to Relena's house. Inside he hated to be away from her after growing so close in such a short amount of time, but she did have to sleep. "I must have behaved very badly."

"No, you were all right," Wufei assured her. The quiet of the night was interrupted by the arrival of Relena and several of her girlfriends. Relena seemed in high spirits and didn't even notice Wufei and Raye. She carried kitchen utensils, several other such knickknacks being held by her friends.

"Oh, I don't know what I'm gonna do with all this stuff! It was wonderful of you to give it to me!" She noticed Wufei and Raye at last. "Oh, hello, Wufei!" she greeted, patting him on the arm with a spatula.

"Hello, Miss Relena," he returned.

"Look, the girls gave me a kitchen shower!" Relena cried, displaying her gifts. "They went to an all-night drugstore and surprised me with a kitchen shower! Look!"

"That's… great, Miss Relena."

"You know, Wufei. We're eloping to get married, Heero and I."

"Good luck with that." Eloping? What the hell is Heero thinking? Has he finally gone insane?

"Thanks, Wufei. You two have a good evening." She winked and was off, her little group of friends following close behind.

"Miss Relena certainly seems happy," Wufei noted.

"She's in love," Raye stated.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I suppose you wouldn't know much about that, would you?" This question caught him off-guard. Wufei turned to see Raye's face: she looked sad with flushed cheeks.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you said it."

"Well, things are different now." She now turned to face him. They were staring into each other's eyes and the desire to kiss her was almost overpowering.

"How so?"

"Because…" Wufei could actually hear his heart beating. He had never been so nervous or flustered in all his life. "All at once there's you." He took a step towards her.

"I've… never been in love before," she muttered nervously. He took another step towards her.

"Neither have I."

======

"They're standing right outside!" squealed Mina into the phone. She had called Quatre out of sheer boredom and soon found herself in a great conversation with the shy musician. Although their personalities clashed horribly, she found with great delight that they had a lot in common. Quatre had mentioned how Duo called him concerning Trowa and Lita, and something about Wufei and Raye, and a quick check to the window showed Mina that at least one of the couples in question was in plain view.

"You're kidding."

"No. They're right…" She gasped and jumped to her feet. "I think he's going to kiss her!"

"Wufei?"

"Of course Wufei!" She held her breath in anticipation. "I'm telling you, Quatre, they are such a great couple! Oh, look at that! He did it!"

"Don't you think it's rude to spy on them?"

"Don't be silly. We do this to each other all the time." You go, Raye! I knew you'd find a guy! Mina cheered. I guess that leaves me and Amy. "I bet you wish you could see this!"

"Not really." There was a pause as Quatre cleared his throat. "Mina, will you go on a date with me?"

"Sure, okay," she answered, not really paying attention. "Did Duo seem upset when he told you about Trowa and Lita?"

"He didn't seem too crushed… Mina, did you hear what I said?"

"Sure."

"Okay. How about we go to a movie?"

"Okay, whatever. Look at that! You should see the look on Raye's face! It's priceless!" Mina was glad she was the only one currently in the house; her friends would definitely think she had lost it.

"Mina, you're not listening."

"Sure I am. Movie. I gotta go and call Serena. She'll absolutely flip!"

"But Mina…" Mina hung up on him. She was in the middle of dialing Serena's number when it finally dawned on her. She dropped the phone, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Oh, my gosh. Did he just ask me out?"