AN: If you haven't guessed by now, I'm broke with nothing to show for it but my flashy shoes.
Where Do We Search
The storage barn wasn't nearly the size of the original Moon Kingdom palace, but it was definitely larger than it had seemed to be from the outside. For the past hour and a half, Usagi and Wufei had tried to locate the hurricane lamps Quatre had said were somewhere inside, but so far all they had to show for their work were a couple of dusty Tiki torches used for beach parties and a splinter in Wufei's index finger. "I think Quatre may have gotten confused," Wufei grumbled as he rummaged through the umpteenth box in a line of many. Usagi's inner laughter at his exasperation seemed to make his mood grumpier.
"I'll check the other half of the loft and if we don't find the lamps by then, we'll just have to deal with citrus smelling Tiki torches for the night," Usagi said as quickly climbed up the ladder that lead to the upper portion of the barn. Her quick scramble upwards dislodged some dusty insulation that sprinkled itself liberally onto Wufei's dark hair.
"Hey, watch out for that stuff," he said as he followed his blonde companion. The vision that awaited him was well worth the grime that had landed in his hair earlier. "You really are a Dust Bunny." Usagi's damp clothing had attracted all of the dust in that part of the loft, turning her into a fluffy gray thing that peered at Wufei from next to several large boxes.
"Real funny," she giggled. "You're not so clean yourself," she said as she tried to brush insulation from Wufei's head, but only succeeded in making his hair grayer.
"And whose fault is that?"
"You're a smart man, I didn't tell you to stand beneath the ladder now did I? You were probably checking out my…" Wufei's delightfully guilty blush was enough for Usagi to claim the win for this round of bantering. She decided to let up on him and changed the subject. "I think I found the lamps, and it looks like they've still got fuel in them." Light blue relief flowed between their connection as Wufei busied himself with helping Usagi get the lamps out of the loft.
"What kind of maniac puts glass objects up so high for storage?"
"The kind that can afford to buy all new ones if they break." When they finally had all of the lamps together and ready to go, the barn was completely dark. Usagi shivered slightly as the dark shadows seemed to stretch for her. Wordlessly, Wufei lit one of the lamps and placed it on the floor at their feet before he put his arms about her waist and pulled her closer to him. In the onslaught of warmth and light, the shadows and Usagi's fear slunk back into the far corners of their hiding places. Golden light flickered over their faces and amusement danced in two pairs of eyes, both knowing exactly what the other felt at that moment.
"You think the others have finally come to working agreements yet?"
"Let's give them another half hour. I imagine a few of them are having a tough time with it." Usagi hugged her mate.
"They'll assume I had to hogtie you to get you to listen to me," she giggled.
"Let them think what they will. You and I both know that we're connected perfectly." With that said, they remained cuddled while they waited for their friends to figure out their problems.
AN: That's a wrap for this chapter. I'll try to have more out soon, so in the meantime please read and review! Thanks!