In a Shower of Cherry Blossoms.
Two sets of eyes stared each other down; one set bright blue, like the ocean at midday, the other a red so dark they were often mistaken for highly polished garnets. One male, one female. Both determined not to be the one to back down.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The girl shouted, her long, knee length blonde hair catching the breeze and dancing around her slim form. The couple stood in a deserted Sherry Blossom tree grove, the trees in full bloom with the annual Sherry Blossom Festival being held the next day. Light pink blossoms fell around them in a shower of petals. They were alone. No one to disturb or interrupt them. Complete solitude.
"Hey!" The guy snapped back. "You're the one that wanted to 'get-out-and-enjoy-the-day'!" The wind tugged at their clothes. His short greyish white, almost silver hair was being ruffled and dragged across his garnet eyes. Both ignored the cold bite the wind gave at their exposed skin. He wore a tight pair of jeans that clung to his thighs nicely, accenting his long legs, a loose black tee-shirt half tucked into his jeans, half not, as well as slightly worn black boots. Only his arms were exposed to the chill, but she was a different matter. Her long legs were bared by white kaki shorts, held to her waist by a brown leather belt, a cropped yellow spaghetti strapped tank top was worn over a white cropped spaghetti strapped tank top, the straps sitting on her shoulders side by side, and more feminine brown hiking boots were laced on her feet.
"We'll somebody had to drag you out of that docking bay before you became allergic to sunlight!" An agitated hand rose to swipe hair out of her blue eyes, which were still glaring at the boy before her.
"Well excuse me if I find my training more important than wasting my time doing nothing!" Hiead snapped at her. Was she blind?! Didn't she understand how important it was to defeat the Victims?! But Hiead knew that it wasn't true. Usagi was deadly serious, bordering on psychotic when they were training. She knew how much depended on the Goddess pilots.
"That doesn't mean that you have to make yourself a recluse!! Your going to destroy yourself if you keep going on like this!" Argued Usagi. That was another thing Hiead knew about Usagi; she was friendly and cheerful to EVERYONE. Even when they were cold and mean like him.
"I never asked you to care!" He didn't. The two had met on the ship when they first started attending the Goddess Academy, or the GOA as it was called. Usagi had been sitting alone on the ships viewing deck, her mood dark and brooding for some reason, when Hiead had come up to the deck to escape Zero Enna, another pilot candidate on the way to the GOA. Neither had acknowledged the other, preferring the silence. Well, it had been silent until Zero had gotten bored and tracked Hiead down. A near endless stream of mindless chatter had flowed from the boy's mouth; annoying Hiead and pissing Usagi the hell off. It had eventually gotten to the point where, with an almost rhythmic twitching of her left eye, the blonde girl had screeched at him to shut up. Zero blinked, taking notice for the first time the incredibly GORGEOUS babe that sat not too far away. It took exactly 3.5 seconds for him to snap out of his stupor and start heavily flirting with her. Hiead had watched, half amused and half amazed at the sight of the annoying loudmouth, arm draped over Usagi's shoulder, and a sexy smile on his lips.
Seeing the boy distracted enough to make a getaway, Hiead made it to the door before an odd noise drew his attention back to the viewing deck. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but Zero Enna on his knees, clutching his stomach where the 'gorgeous babe' had landed a solid punch was definitely not it. A hand came up to flip her bangs out of her eyes in a purely feminine gesture, before she pivoted on her heel and strode past a frozen Hiead.
That was their first meeting. Hiead had found out later that Usagi was a new repairer for the goddesses. Originally she had been a mechanic at a garage on Zion and a damn good one. But a friend of hers was a strong supporter of the GOA and the Goddesses and had signed her up. The fact that she had to leave her home without even her consent was what had her so pissed off when they had first met. It had been discovered VERY quickly that although Usagi was cheerful and happy when in a good mood – pissing her off was a very, very bad idea.
"And I never wanted to care about you! God knows why anyone would; you're just a cold-hearted, lowlife, son-of-a--" Usagi didn't finish as Hiead gripped her shoulders and slammed her hard against a cherry blossom tree. A winded gasp escaped her throat as the wind was nearly knocked out of her. Another gasp nearly escaped as Hiead lowered his head so that his lips brushed her ears. His whole body was against her; thigh to thigh, hip to hip, chest to chest. A shudder ran through Usagi's whole body at the feeling.
"If nobody cares then nobody will stick their nose in my business. Or so I thought. But you just won't take the hint, will you?! I don't want to be around you. I don't want to see your dazzling smile. I don't want to drown in your endless blue eyes every time we lock gazes. I don't want to care for you back." Usagi could have sworn she felt her heart stop, but she would never be sure because before she could fully register the words in her brain they were wiped from her mind by Hiead's lips pressing roughly against hers. Usagi knew Hiead was never a gentle person, too much had happened in his life. She's experienced his violent nature first hand, not too long after their arrival at the GOA.
Flash Back
Usagi's teeth ground together as she stalked towards Hiead; deadly graceful, like a hunting panther. Her vision was red from anger, and the fact that she could get expelled from the GOA for fighting with a pilot candidate was irrelevant right now. What was relevant right now, was Hiead.
The pale haired boy was facing off with Zero Enna, again, when he saw her approach from the corner of his eye. He'd barely turned to face her when a loud smack echoed the metal hallway and his body hit the ground. Hiead didn't know what stunned him more – the fact that he'd been hit, or the fact that the person who had back handed him was a repairer and a female at that. But he didn't have time to be shocked because suddenly the person who had hit him was straddling his waist, gripping his shoulders and slamming his back painfully against the ground.
"You idiot!!" Again the cold metal of the hallway floors slammed his back. "What the hell were you thinking?! Pro-ing's weren't designed to make manoeuvres like that!" Through his daze Hiead was kind of amazed that this woman was more concerned about the machine than his own safety. But outwardly he only scowled and glared at the girl
"What the hell is it to you?! What a pilot does is no concern of a lowly—" Hiead didn't finish as the girl backhanded him once more and returned her hand to his shoulder to slam him into the ground.
"I'm the one making sure those machines are functioning properly and saving your hide! It IS my concern that the pro-ing's are working and that makes it my concern what the pilot does!" Usagi glared menacingly at the boy pinned beneath her. "If I EVER find out you've been abusing machinery again I'll shove your pilot ID down your throat, got it?!" Hiead didn't answer as he glared back at Usagi, but didn't get a chance to respond before their training instructor interrupted them.
"Tsukino!" Azuma barked, towering over the pair on the floor. "What the hell are you thinking?! Get off him!"
Usagi surprised everyone present when she growled and slammed Hiead into the ground again. "Watch your step. Because I meant what I said!" With a final glare Hiead felt the pressure on his body shift as Usagi rolled off him and flipped to her feet. With a scowl, the garnet eyed boy lifted himself to his feet, resisting the urge to strike the girl now that he was in the position to do something.
"Tsukino, what were you thinking?! Do you know you can get expelled from the GOA for fighting?" Azuma's steely gaze fell on the repairer.
"Of course I do!" She snapped back.
"Then why the hell did you attack candidate 87?!" What ever response Usagi was going to give was cut off as Azuma kept talking. "No, wait! I don't want to know. I won't punish you for it this time, but if it happens again you'll be out of here so fast you'll get motion sickness. Am I making myself clear?"
"Crystal." Usagi replied dryly. "But—"
"No buts! Now, you have a job to do, so go do it!!" Usagi remained in her place, frozen, glaring, for an extra four seconds before she turned and walked off, snarling at Hiead as she passed him.
Usagi stifled a yawn as she rubbed her face to at least try to wake herself up a little. She had been awake for 24 hours, nearly 25 as she made repairs to the pro-ing candidate 87 had busted up yesterday. She had worked all through the night to fix the pro-ing and the candidates should be starting today's training in about 15 minutes. The doors to the repair bay slid open and Usagi had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Hiead Gner didn't give her a chance to do anything before he pushed her back inside and closed the door.
"What the hell--?" Hiead didn't give her time to finish her sentence as he gripped her shoulders in a vice-like grip and pinned her to the wall beside the doors.
"Let's get some things straight here." He drawled in a dangerously low, husky pur. "Never, ever even think about repeating your little performance from yesterday. EVER!! I'm a very unstable person, Tsukino. And although I didn't get the chance to demonstrate this little fact to you yesterday, I'm not going to let you get away with crossing me because you're a girl. I have no problems with hurting you to teach you a lesson," To prove his point the grip he had on her arm tightened further, knowing that large telltale bruises would form from the action. Usagi couldn't help but wince at Hiead's punishment.
"Let me go." The blonde tried to make her voice sound firm, but Hiead caught the slight waver and almost smirked. His body pushed closer to hers and he lifted the girl till her feet were barely touching the ground, effectively proving to Usagi just who was in control. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
"Remember this talk of ours. Remember what I've said. And remember that I'm fully prepared to carry out any and all threats I make." A long silence filled the room as Hiead paused to make sure Usagi absorbed what he was saying. A cold, almost cruel smirk lifted his lips as Hiead was satisfied he'd gotten his point across, before he abruptly released her and walked out.
And Flash Back
Oh, yes. Usagi had seen how violent and rough Hiead could be. So that was why she was totally surprised when the kiss turned from harsh and powerful… to gentle, teasing, almost pleading brushes of his lips against hers. Usagi couldn't stop herself as a low moan of pleasure slipped past her lips and she started to kiss him back, Coherent thought was nowhere to be found as the two moved purely by instinct. One arm shifted from Usagi's shoulder to take Hiead's weight as he leaned against the cherry blossom tree he had pinned Usagi against, while the other was wrapped around he waist to hold her in a crushing grip against his body. Usagi couldn't resist running a hand through Hiead's silky silver hair, her head spinning as waves of ecstasy crashed through her. Her stomach twisted in knots as she pressed herself against the boy holding her, not being able to get close enough. The taste of his kisses intoxicating her and making her giddy. Another shudder ran through her as the arm supporting them slowly gave way so that Hiead had her pinned against the tree again. Now that his hand was free the vacant appendage slipped under the barrier of Usagi's tank tops to rest against the flawless skin of her abdomen.
Another groan escaped Usagi's lips as the action cause the impassioned feeling within her to intensify, and she arched into the touch. Hearing such a positive response, Hiead began to gently fondle her stomach, revelling in the dazed knowledge that he had the power to elicit such responses from the girl while at the same time haphazardly sketching every detail in his memory. Lips brushed, tongues danced, hands caresses; both participants trying to elicit as much response as possible from the kiss until they broke apart abruptly to gulp in much needed air. Chests heaved as they struggled to breath properly, sapphire hues locked with crimson orbs as the duo did little more then breath.
"I didn't want to fall in love with you." Hiead whispered out his last sentence. Usagi was a little stunned at the events that had happened in the last few minutes, but after a few seconds the blonde grinned and giggle, still slightly out of breath.
"Well, this is something I never thought I'd see; the day Hiead Gner admits he's human." Those beautiful garnet eyes narrowed again, but Usagi only giggled again and pecked him on the lips.
"Don't look so worried. I won't tell if you won't." Her blue eyes sparkled, not in anger as they did before, but in mirth. Hiead frowned cutely at her, as if miffed that she was taking this so lightly.
"I was being serious, Usa. I love you."
Usagi only smiled knowingly at him. "I know you were, Hiead. I love you too." Usagi closed her eyes and tilted her head up so that their lips met again, not in a desperate passion, but in compassionate acceptance as they sealed their vows, quite traditionally, in a kiss.
Usagi giggled as they pulled apart for the second time. "Definitely not how I expected today to end." Her sapphire orbs locked on the sun that was just starting to travel towards the horizon and causing the highest clouds to tint pink.
"Are you complaining?" Hiead arched an eyebrow in her direction. Another cold breeze swept over them, causing Usagi to shiver and snuggle closer to Hiead as he brought his arms around her to warm her.
"No. But while we're on the topic, we need to discuss your insanely reckless piloting of the pro-ing's." Hiead couldn't suppress the groan that escaped as he rolled his eyes to high heaven.
"Dear, GOD!" What have I gotten myself into?!" The blonde in his arms giggled again.
"I'm thinking a date to the movies Saturday night, AT LEAST a lifetime commitment, and right now a chocolate milkshake from the Crown Arcade." Her eyes sparkled with amusement again and Hiead couldn't help but smile as he leaned down to smother her lips in light, teasing butterfly kisses.
"Promise?" He managed to asked softly as he moved from her lips, along her jaw, and over the column of her throat. Usagi laughed at his teasing assault, and Hiead felt a shudder run through him at the vibration under his lips.
"Promise." They didn't get those chocolate milkshakes for quite a while.
For no goo reason, I decided to type this up (Bad me, more important things to do (like sleep since it's 6:46 am and I haven't slept yet^.^)). But screw it. Hope you enjoy!!