Onee-chan is back!!! *glomps*

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Somehow, she managed to plow her way through enough of the problem for five o'clock to arrive. Soldering was an incredibly boring topic, or at least she found it so. Maybe if she had time to go out and experiment with the different forms it might become more exciting, but just reading reports written by engineers and others with minimal writing talents was enough to make her want to scream. Or sleep. Or maybe both. With relief, she sat back and closed down her computer. Then she remembered what she needed to do now, and she wished that she had more time before the dreaded event. A year would be good, two even better. Enough time, perhaps, for Ace to come to her senses and act like a rational human being.

Anne stood and sighed, then shoved her hands in her pockets. She stood with her head bowed down for a moment, pondering the possibility that tonight might go well, then calculating the odds that it wouldn't. If she were a betting woman she would definitely avoid betting that there would be peace. Lifting her head and walking over to the door, she had to take one hand right back out again so she could open it, but she liked the scrunched over feel of her shoulders. So back into the pocket went her hand. Mark came up behind her after she reached the hallway and massaged the nape of her neck.

"You ran off on me again," he chided gently.

She leaned back into the massage. "I was with Effie," she pointed out. "I thought I had a keeper."

"I'm supposed to be the one keeping an eye on you. You keep acting like things are the same as they were last week, and they aren't. Either you get better at not leaving me behind, or the people on high are going to re-evaluate their decision to let you run around loose."

Her muscles tensed even tighter at that tidbit, and Mark wished that he could take it back.

"I'm sorry, Mark. I'm just trying to pretend everything is normal, I guess. Just so I can keep my head from exploding, at least."

"I understand. But then, I know you. The council doesn't, or at least not personally, so they aren't inclined to take as lax a view."

Anne sighed. "Do you realize what this means? You get to be a spectator at the 'Ace blows up after the news' party."

Mark stopped dead in his tracks. Anne kept walking a few paces, then turned and looked to see if he was alright. The stricken look on his face matched the one in her heart. "I know," she said wryly. "I'm not looking forward to it, either."

"Do I have to be there?" he asked, voice perilously close to a whine. He shook his head and caught up with her, but the self-pity was evident in the lines of his face and the shadows of his eyes.

"I'm certainly not going to force you to be. But, as you pointed out, it's not up to me. Or you."

"Are you going to do this at your apartment? Can I cower in some other room?"

"Yes, and if you like. Can I join you?"

He laughed, and she sighed. "Honestly, Mark, do you have any idea what I should say? Sorry that you're a conniving little twit, but we see past you now? Hi there, girl who hates me. I took Knives back."

"Isn't he going to help you out? Provide support for what's going on between you?"

"Him? Mark, this is Knives we're talking about. He doesn't provide support, and he certainly doesn't do making people feel better."

"What a way to get out of the difficult problems of life."

"I think we all know the man isn't stupid."

They exited the building and Anne stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down into the plaza. The late afternoon sunlight was etching the surfaces of the world with gold, and people moved about without any worry about how a borderline psychotic four-year-old adult would take a bit of unhappy news. She watched them for a moment, envying them, then realized as she watched then that she was just delaying the inevitable a little longer. She forced her feet to move, making them take her one pace closer to the confrontation she dreaded.

Soonest done is soonest over, she reminded herself as her stomach clenched in nervousness. Never done is best, the organ informed her, and she had to admit that it had a point. But never done would mean that she had to give up Knives, and no temper tantrum would be so terrible as to make that an even remotely possible prospect. The commute to her apartment had never seemed so long, or so short as it did that day. With each step she tried to marshal her determination, and with every breath her resolve seemed to flow out of her. The battle kept her mind occupied enough that she didn't realize how close she was getting to her place until Mark put a gentle hand on her elbow to keep her from walking past the building.

She flushed a little at the slip, but turned up the walk with a nod of thanks. Knives met them at the outside door to her apartment, saying nothing as they filed into her apartment building. The silence followed them up the flights of stairs and down the hall. It was only broken by him saying that Vash, Meryl, and Alex had all gone out for dinner.

In a way, the news was a relief, but even more it made her nervous. Mark pointed to the stairs and made his way back to them, sitting on the first few steps to the next floor. Anne looked at Knives, knowing that there would be no witnesses to whatever came next. It was just her, and Knives, and one crazy child.