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"Need... food... NOW..." A zombie-like Sai Saici groaned as he sat at the table of the ship's small kitchen. His chin was sitting on the table, his arms dangling by his side. Cecil groaned something incomprehendable as she sank into the chair next to him. Neither had eaten since lunch the day before, and the four hours of sleep they got on the plane wasn't cutting it. Nastasha walked into the room, carrying two trays, and set one down in front of each. They both thanked her with tired and hungry voices, then started to shovel food into their mouthes.
"We come all the way from China to get here, and barely anyone's even awake yet." Sai complained after they had finished their meal. Cecil stood up to help Nastasha clean, but she smiled and shook her head.
"Why don't you two go get settled in. We don't have enough rooms to hold an extra eight people, so everyone's had to double up. You'll be in the first one on the right." Nastasha pointed to a long corridor, indicating to the hall where all the bedrooms were located. "There's only one bed in there, so one of you will have to sleep on the extra mattress I've laid out on the floor."
Cecil nodded and smiled at Nastasha with appreciation.
"Thank you for putting us up like this, Nastasha." she said gratefully. Nastasha smiled at the younger girl and waved it off.
"In times of war, everyone has to ban together." she replied. Cecil and Sai grabbed their things and took them to the room Nastasha had pointed out, while the Russian woman was left to clean the dishes.
Thoughts of the night before began to invade her head as she washed the dishes. Since there weren't many rooms to spare, Nastasha had to give her room up to Domon and Rain, and had shared Argo's room with him. The two were up late into the night, getting medical supplies to the people that needed them and setting up places for people to sleep. They finally finished around one, and both were exausted. That night was going to be strangely cold for summer, and she knew she would probably shiver for the rest of the night, but Nastasha was so tired that when her head his her make-shift bed, she was out like a light.
The sun was barely up when she opened her eyes, and she was still tired, though strangely warm despite the coldness of the night. She soon found out why when she sat up and found Argo's huge, army-green vest draped over her. Her glasses were also missing from her face, but when she squinted she found that they were sitting on his nightstand.
'That man...' Nastasha thought to herself as she pulled his vest up closer to her chin. It was extremely warm, and its weight pressed down on her and made her sink into the matress. 'I've got time still, I might as well sleep a bit more...'
Nastasha laid back down, holding the vest tightly over her shoulders. Her eyes had just fallen closed when Argo walked by the room and peeked in the window, smiled silently, then continued on.
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Marie Louise yawned lazily, regretfully opening her eyes to the soft, early morning light. She had never been so comfortable- the blankets felt warmer and softer than any she could ever remember, and the t-shirt she was wearing still held the smell of George's cologne. She shifted her head on her pillow, noticing it felt much firmer than usual. She lay still for a moment, then lifted her head in surprise when the pillow breathed.
Marie looked down at George in surprise and blushed, realizing she had rested her head on his chest sometime during the night and slept like that.
'But how'd I get in the bed in the first place?' She wondered. She looked down at George, smiling lovingly at him as he wrinkled his nose his sleep, then let his face relax again. She tenderly brushing a clump of hair from hiss face, being careful to avoid his bruised cheek and eye.
'Those bruises... if he wasn't trying to protect me and defend himself at the same time, he might not have gotten them.' she thought sadly. It seemed George was always fighting to protect her, his name, his country, or something else. He rarely fought for himself, and it was something that troubled Marie. She had been foolish enough to think he always fought for just his country, is pride, and herself once before, but when George was denied the right to fight Domon during the 13th Tournament, she was forced to see the truth...
"George, you must return the Gundam Rose now! There's still time to apologize to my father..." she had said, pleading with him to listen.
"Marie Louise, please stay out of this." was his reply. It was icy and totally serious, and even held some anger.
"But if you fight you could be faced with treason, and you would be dishonoring your family's name! Could you live with that, George?" despite his cold remark, she continued to plead with him.
"Yes... come to think of it, I have always fought for my country, and for the de Sand name... and I have fought for you as well!" by now the knight was shouting.
"This time, I wish to fight only for myself!"
Marie Louise was shocked- shocked that he had shouted at her, and shocked that she had been so blind to miss what George needed most. She lowered her head and quietly nodded, then left, running. It was terrible, and she promised herself that she would never be so blind again.
Marie lightly laid her head back down on George's chest, contenting herself with listening to his heart beat and feeling his lungs rise and fall. She had almost fallen back asleep when he woke up.
George lifted his head and looked down at the weight that laid on his chest, blushing when he realized he hadn't gotten up as he intended, and had fallen back asleep in the same bed as the princess. Marie felt him move and lifted her own head, smiling into his purple eyes.
"I- I didn't mean to stay, you looked so uncomfortable and I was about to get up..." George stammered as his face grew even more red. Marie smiled and softly shook her head.
"Don't act so nervous, George..." she said with a laugh. "It isn't so big a deal..."
Marie lay her head down on the pillow as George sat up, yawning. She sighed contently, smiling again as he looked down at her with a grin, his cheeks still a little pink. It amazed him how much she had grown over the years, not just physically (though, he had to admit, he had noticed those changes) but emotionally and mentally as well.
George leaned over her and playfully kissed the tip of her nose.
"If you say so, Miss Marie Louise..." he said quietly, trailing off at the end of the sentence. The two suddenly found themselves staring intently into eachother's eyes, and the smiles gradually faded from their faces. Before they knew what was happening, Marie's arms were wrapped around George's neck and he was kissing her, almost intensely, full on the lips.
"Hey French, time to get up, we have a meeting!" Chibodee's voice boomed through the closed door as he knocked loudly. The two were so surprised that George fell off the bed and Marie almost yelped, both of their faces flushed from the surprise of the knock and from the spontaneous kiss. Marie jumped from the bed and threw the blankets back on, then ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to tame it. George did the same, trying to smooth his own hair with his hands as he attempted to put on his shoes. The two clammered to the door, both still jumpy from the excitement, and nearly plowed eachother down.
"We need to calm down before we can go in there," Marie stated with a shaky voice, looking at him nervously from the corner of her eye. George nodded, pulling at his collar and swallowing hard.
"Yes, thats probably a good idea..." he said slowly, looking at the ground, then up to her. They paused for a moment, exchanging glances...
"Ummm... maybe just one more?" Marie suddenly blurted out.
"Just one..." George flew through the phrase, immediatly wrapped his arms around her waist, then brought her face to his, all in what had to be record time.
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"Domon, Rain, get up!" Chibodee shouted, opening the door to their room. His face was met with a shoe thrown by Domon.
"Go 'way..." Domon said through his pillow. He was lying face-down on his bed, his arms and legs spread out to cover every piece of the mattress they possibly could. Rain was sprawled out over him, her head and pillow on top of his back.
"But it's almost 11, and we got a meeting in an hour!" He said angrily, rubbing at the shoe imprint on his face. Neither of the two responded.
"Fine, suit yourself. Don't blame me if Argo comes in here and drags you both out." he said as he walked off, hands in his pockets.
"Well you seem to have had an eventful morning."
Chibodee turned around to see Allenby standing in the hallway, the IV out of her arm and the outfit she was wearing during the night traded in for a t-shirt and shorts.
"Hey, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked in surprise and alarm, walking over to her and laying his hands on her shoulders. She flicked a hand and waved off the comment.
"Eh, I got bored of sleeping, and I was hungry too. Plus do you know how much those IV things hurt?" she asked, rubbing the spot on her arm. Chibodee was about to speak, but she inturrupted him.
"I borrowed some of your clothes, hope you don't mind." she said as she pulled at the shirt she was wearing. Chibodee hadn't even noticed it, but she was wearing one of his red shirts with the yellow star in the center, and a pair of his blue boxing shorts. Both were pretty big on her.
"I don't mind at all..." he said, smiling at her but still looking at her cautiously. She frowned at him when he did so.
"Geez, I'm fine now!" she insisted, not liking the look he was giving her. "Really, I am. And also..."
Allenby leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Chibodee's chest, giving him a tight hug. He looked down at her with surprise, forgetting that his arms were still stretched out in front of him as if he were still holding her shoulders.
"I want to thank you, for saving me back there." she looked up at him and grinned, so he smiled back widely, and Allenby could have sworn she saw something flicker behind his eyes...
"Anytime."
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"Alright, let's get down to business." Domon started. Everyone had finally gathered at the kitchen table, awake (more or less), fed, and ready to start. Rain sat at his side, holding his hand tightly in hers. "Sai, go ahead."
Sai cleared his throat and looked nervously at Cecil, who nodded for him to continue.
"Yesterday, I ran into Cecil's brother Hans while I was on the way to get place." He started, staring down at his fisted hands with a serious look. "He told me to get Cecil away from him, then his eyes began to glow red. We started to fight, and when he finally knocked me down and started running, I saw DG cells on his shoulder."
No one was very surprised that the DG cells had, in fact, returned, but the fact that Hans had been infected was alarming.
"Whoever is controlling the DG cells has something against us, all of us." Domon piped in. "It wasn't a coincidence that Hans was infected, it was strategy. Not only is Hans a gundam fighter, making him strong already, but he had easy access to Cecil."
That comment got some strange looks.
"This whole situation has nothing to do with the next Tournament. The only reason the Tournament matters is because it's a key time for us, when we need to be in top shape. We're most vulnerable right now."
"What are you gettin at, Domon." Chibodee asked, leaning forward on the table with his forearms supporting him.
"I'm saying that the person, or people, that sent the DG cells to earth and have been controlling them are doing it for just one reason- revenge."
Everyone was quiet for a moment, contemplating the statement...
"That does make sense." George spoke up after a moment. "It's no secret that we have all gathered a following of people with reason to dislike us. But who would go to such a great extent?"
"Mirabeau would." Marie's voice softly said. George looked at her with alarm, then realization.
"She's probably right." Argo said with his usual low voice. "And I am sure there are others, one for each of us. I've heard word that Andrew Graham of Neo Canada has suddenly gone missing."
"And Michelo Chariot somehow escaped from prison last month." Domon added. "And I'm sure there are more."
Everyone sat silently, reflecting on the people in the past who they had defeated, and who had reason to want revenge.
"So what now." Allenby said after a moment.
"We do the only thing we can do, we wait." Domon replied. "None of us are fully recovered from the attacks we suffered, making a move right now would be foolish."
"I tried calling some of the buildings next to the warehouse last night, but no one answered at any. Those guys probably scared all the people in the area off so they could set up an HQ." Chibodee added.
Nastasha frowned as she spoke. "The Bolt Gundam, Gundam Maxter and the Nobel Gundam are all still inside the warehouse. When we do plan to strike, we must get the pilots safely inside. No doubt the enemy has called their own mobile suits to Neo America by now, so we will need every person we can get."
Everyone sat quietly for a moment, then Chibodee broke the silence.
"Well hey, we know why were were attacked at least. Since we've got some time on our hands, why don't we all try and unwind?" he said as he stood up. Allenby stood up too.
"That's right, there's no use freaking out over this when we can't do anything about it yet. Let's just try and relax a bit." she said in agreement. Cecil stood up and grabbed Sai's hand, pulling him up as well.
"Good idea, you too." she chimed in. By now everyone was standing and dispersing from the room, feeling a bit better about the situation, but more worried at the same time. As everyone walked out, Chibodee elbowed George in the side.
"You French devil you." He said with a grin, then looked from George to Marie Louise and winked. George turned bright red, and Chibodee couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't think you had it in you, young master!"
Allenby abruptly pulled him away from George.
"Leave the poor guy alone, Chibodee!" Allenby said. "Besides, you've got training to do."
"What?! But we're supposed to be resting!" He protested in a whiny voice.
"You look totally healthy to me. Now go get changed, I want to see 500 push-ups by the end of the hour!"
"F-five hundred?!" he stuttered as she dragged him down the hallway to the room they shared, slamming the door behind her.
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"You can't be serious!" Chibodee complained when they got inside, collapsing on the floor-bound mattress that he had slept on. Allenby grinned and sat on the mattress next to him.
"Well, maybe I'll go a little lighter on you." she said with a grin as he sat back up. "You did save me, afterall."
Allenby smiled at him, but was almost startled when she saw that Chibodee's face looked serious.
"And I just wanted to... to thank you..." she continued quietly. He looked at her intently, and something shone behind his eyes that Allenby wasn't used to. It was softer and more serious than anything Chibodee usually showed. Both of them leaned forward, paused for a moment to look at the other, then met in a kiss.
It was different than anything either had expected it to be- it was gentle and full of emotion that neither knew had even existed. Chibodee set his hand on the back of her head, entangling his fingers in her hair.
'I always thought that Chibodee was a girl-chaser, coming home with someone different every night... can this really be him?' Allenby thought as their quiet kiss deepened.
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George walked by Chibodee and Allenby's room, and happened to glance in the small window. His eyebrows raised with surprise, but he soon grinned and shook his head as he continued down the hall.
"And he thinks that I am bad..."
He next passed by Cecil and Sai's room. Both were sound asleep on the bed in the corner, Sai with his arms and leg's spread out much like Domon's had been, save the one arm that was wrapped around Cecil. She was resting her head on his chest, and George was amazed that she could sleep through Sai's loud snoring. George laughed to himself as he continued down the hallway.
'Ah, l'amour jeune...' He thought with a smile. He finally made it to the last room in the hallway, his and Marie Louise's. She smiled at him and patted the spot on the bed next to herself, motioning for him to come over.
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Nastasha was already in the room, hanging Argo's vest back on the closet door, when he walked in.
"You were shivering..." he said as he walked up to her, his huge footsteps not as loud as they usually were. She nodded quietly and turned to face him.
"Yes, thank you..." she replied quietly, then turned to leave the room. She had forgotten about her injured ankle and set in hard on the floor when she turned, gaving a sudden yelp as she started to slip towards the ground. Argo caught her in his huge hands before she hit the ground, and she looked up at him in surprise. He lifted her up in his massive arms, then hesitated slightly before carefully setting her back down. He kept a hand on her back, just to be careful.
"Can you do something for me," he said abruptly. She looked up at him with a bit of surprise and a bit of interest, and nodded.
"Next time you need help, don't be afraid of asking me. I don't want to see you get hurt again."
Nastasha's eyes flashed with surprise- she had never heard him say anything like that to her, especially with such a serious voice. She looked up into his grey eyes, expecting to see them staring back at her with their granite-like surface. But instead of a rock-hard stare, it was a softened and worried look. Almost a plea.
She stepped forward and let herself fall into his torso, placing her hands on his chest as he wrapped his huge arms around her tightly, one of his hands resting on the back of her head. She closed her eyes as he curled his fingers in her hair, and took a deep breath. The embrace was probably the most intimate thing that had ever happened between them.
"I promise."
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FLUFF!!! Guess that's what happens when you try to write a fanfic while listening to 'Just Breathe' by Faith Hill. Well this is turning out to be the longest fanfic I've ever written (mostly because I've only ever finished one fanfic before o_O) and so far I think it's going alright. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! my reviews died down a little at the end of the last chapter, so I delayed the posting of this one... and it was also delayed because I didn't write this chapter all in one sitting like the other three. On a side note, l'amour jeune means young love. Hope everyone enjoyed it, and I repeat, REVIEW!!!!