Torment of Paradise
Chapter 3
Feeling a bit weary, Jess sank down into the soft covers of her bed, plastic bags surrounding her.
'That was the best shopping trip ever!!' Sitting up she went through her bags, putting some thing away on hangars, but a good portion of them went into her travel bag that she always had handy, in case she needed to get out quickly. 'Too bad Quatre had to go take care of that thing...whatever it was that was so important.' She pulled out the tops that Quatre had bought for her. It was actually one of those holey tops and he'd gotten her a red shirt to wear underneath the black; he said it had looked so good on her it would have been bad to not buy it.
"Not buy it…" she murmured, feeling her face flush again; it had done that the first time when he said that. "He's such a sweet guy." she hung it up on the wire hanger.
"Jess? You in here?" Duo's voice followed the knock.
"Yeah. Come on in." she replied. "Hey Duo…what do you think of this?" she held up the two tops.
He whistled. "I think you're out to get someone Jess. Who is it? Can I run them through the wringer first?" he rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"No Duo…it's no one." she laughed putting it back in the closet. "Quatre bought it for me."
"Quatre?! Bought you that?! Today?!" he looked amazed.
"Yeah…so? You make this sound like a big deal Duo." she shrugged. "It was very nice of him to, seeing as how it cost about fifty dollars. Besides, he wouldn't take no for an answer." a smile came to her face. "He got very persistent."
Duo scratched his head. "Still…Quatre you know…it was Quatre. He usually buys the pink shirts, khaki slacks and vest and he's like done."
"Not no more. He got different things this time."
"You made him? You actually got him out of his usual stuff?"
"No…he wanted to get different things. I just told him what looked God awful on him."
"I see." he paused. "So what did ya get?"
"Not much. Some stuff that I needed; necessities you know."
"Uh-huh. Since when did 'necessities' include new swimsuits?" he grinned at her after peering into a bag.
"Yes…well…" she cleared her throat. "it doesn't hurt to be prepared in case of an emergency. What if I have to go undercover in the Tropics or out in the Pacific, hm?" she took the bag away from his reach.
"Yeah we all want the mission that will send us there." Duo laughed. "But it's never gonna happen."
"Well see...I'd get my work done before going to the beach and drinking Mai Tais." she shot him a look.
"Anyways…" he looked around innocently. "I was wondering if you had that black shirt of mine. I loaned it to you right?"
"What if I said you loaned it to Wufei?" she smirked.
"I'd say that's 'wonderful' 'cause he's been acting like he has a pole up his butt again."
Jess rolled her eyes. "His 'I-am-holier-than-thou' attitude?"
"You got it. So do you have it?"
"Yup. Just washed too." reaching into the closet, she pulled out his shirt. "Thanks a lot Duo. You were a lifesaver to loan me the shirt."
"No problem. Now that you have a black shirt of your own, I expect to find mine a lot more often and not have to raid your room…"
"Yeah yeah; I know, I know. Now leave me be to put away my new stuff."
"All right then. See ya Jess!"
"Actually…Duo wait a second." she called, making him pause. "Did the phone ring earlier? I thought I heard it."
"Yeah it did. Why?"
"What did Quatre say?" she asked.
"I really don't get it. How do you always know when Quatre calls? You never even were near the phone!!"
She shrugged. "Call it women's intuition if you will. Let me try even further. He's not coming back tonight is he?"
"I swear you don't need a phone at all. I still can't figure out how you women manage to do that…like you're born with powers or something…" his mutters were cut off by the quiet whoosh of her door.
Smiling she sat down on the edge of her bed, looking over all the clothes that she had bought today. More than half of them were good for the summer that was coming up soon. If only the war would be over by then. If only… Shaking off her thoughts, she put away the rest of her clothes and headed for the bathroom, drawing herself a bath. She was well in the process of relaxing and unwinding when the door was banged on and Wufei testily told her that an hour had passed and demanded his right to the bathroom.
"Wufei…" she called out, hands disturbing the quiet waters. "I am a woman. What makes you think you can get me out of here sooner that I want? I wish you all the best of luck in your…'endeavour'." she chuckled to herself hearing his outraged splutters coming through the door.
Resting her head against the cool porcelain tub edge, she smoothed her hair back. 'I should see a hairdresser sometime…fix up my hair…Wait a minute... I don't have time to see a hairdresser. I want to see a hairdresser in the middle of a war? What the hell is wrong with me? Shopping, yes; I don't need to get vain about my appearance though.' She rose abruptly out of the tub, wrapping her towel around herself before she scurried down to her room. Changing into her pajamas, she headed down stairs, fixing herself a quick snack before going back up and crawling into bed.
"Now I know I need sleep. Talking of going to the hairdresser's. Man I really gotta get some shut eye. Maybe I should invest in buying some sleeping pills to help my insomnia."
Talking quietly to herself, she slowly lulled herself to sleep. And for the second night in a row it was free and not haunted by the past and the present.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"Go away." she mumbled, head going back underneath her pillow in an effort to drown out the noise. "Go away." the wonderful dream was slipping away; she rarely had those any more, she didn't want it to end.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!" the noise was loud, insistent and uncaring.
"Fine! You evil little son of a-"
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Stalking over to her laptop, she opened it and stopped the infernal noise. A window had popped up, with V's wizened face on it. The one who had taken her away so many years ago.
"How are you Jess? Fine I should hope?"
"Would be if you didn't wake me up." she muttered resentfully. She couldn't even recall a wisp of the dream now, but she had a warm, content feeling deep inside her; that was all that remained.
"Well there are more important things to take care of." another window popped up. "Here is your new mission. You can fly this one solo or bring backup with you."
"What the Hell do I need backup for? I'm trained, I can kick ass so well it should be a sin. What makes you think I need backup?"
"Forget I even asked." V shook her head. "Anything else?"
"No. Now let me go so I can get this done and over with." she pushed the button, terminating the connection.
She sat at her desk for a few minutes, staring at the laptop; she didn't want to move at all; the moment she stood up, she knew she would automatically take the ready bag, stick on her shoes, get Anansi and leave without looking back.
It was the rising part that really killed her. Her feet felt like lead as she moved through her room, finding the small things she'd need to carry with her. Her entire body seemed to be a lump that refused to move with her normal efficient speed. Eventually she found herself at the front door, the entire house dark and silent around her; everyone was fast asleep at this time. She opened the door and made it half way out before she paused and turned back, going up the stairs.
'Should I…or shouldn't I…' Her hand rested on the doorknob, uncertain. Then she turned it with conviction and peered in. There in the bed was Quatre's still figure; he must have come back extremely late. She felt her heart stick in her throat, seeing him there like that for some reason, all that moonlight streaming in onto his figure. One foot moved in front of the other until she found herself at the side of Quatre's bed, looking down at his face.
'Quatre……' she bent down and kissed his forehead gently; she had the feeling that this would be the last she would see of him in a while. 'I'll come back here one day.' she stood and walked out quietly, shutting the door noiselessly. 'Will you come back here one day too? Come back to this little paradise that we shared?'