Disclaimer: Don't own Hiiro. Don't own Usagi. But I own the rest of them! ^_____^ Kidding, kidding.
Thanks go to Ashika for beta-reading. :D :hugs:
This chapter is dedicated wholly to BunnyStar. She passed away in January.
Chapter 8: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Usagi sighed as she stared up at her bland, sunlight-dappled ceiling. Thoughtfully swinging her legs off of the bed, she glanced down at the shirt and jeans she had "borrowed" from Hiiro's closet. The semi-formal dress shirt hung loosely upon her slim frame and the pants were barely kept from falling by her own belt. She wasn't even positive whether or not Hiiro knew his clothing had gone missing … but, after all, he must have realized she couldn't wear the same outfit for the WHOLE month…
Rubbing her eyes tiredly with the heels of her palms, she whimpered and tried her hardest not to breathe in the masculine scent mixed faintly with sprits of cologne caressing her skin. Her mind reeled with pleasure.
Maybe "borrowing" Hiiro's clothing wasn't such a good idea after all…
Forcing her mind to dwell upon other, more pressing matters, she got up and walked to the door, again picking the lock, this time with the bored negligence that spoke of practice. She smiled to herself as the plate of scrambled eggs set upon a tray at her feet caught her eye.
Ahhh … breakfast.
…………………
Dropping the pen upon the table, he massaged his face, wiping off the constant frown that had marred it for at least the last twenty-four hours. At five a.m. that morning, he had been woken by the buzzing of the doorbell from a restless and worry-filled nap, not two hours after his "heart-to-heart" with one blonde Satan. He had growled and walked over to the door, wincing when his bare feet met with cold tile. A French delivery man had greeted him cheerfully and uttered a string of gibberish that sounded faintly like Pig Latin.
Of course, he wouldn't know. His French abilities didn't go past bonjour and bon-bons. Oui oui, Monsieur.
Somehow he had survived the mail ordeal and mentally ordered himself to get a French dictionary and SOON.
He hadn't been too keen on opening the package, seeing that the return address read FBI headquarters but after half an hour of staring senselessly at French news and trying his hardest to ignore the box's enticing plea of "Open me! Open me!", he cracked.
Lord had he been right about the contents of the box. A three-inch thick stack of paper greeted his narrowed eyes. Apparently Treize had decided since he now had a month of free time watching French reruns of The Young and the Restless, the agent might as well review some FBI procedures.
The gesture was a bright neon sign that flashed "Yui, you're out of the boundaries so get the hell back in".
Treize had always been too direct to be subtle.
His entire month's salary said that his commanding officer was lounging around in his New York apartment, laughing at him over his morning latte.
…………………
She opened her door a crack and peeked out into the living room, assessing enemy territory.
"What do you want?" barged into her thoughts, and she blushed, quickly stepping out into the open. Usagi grinned sheepishly but only met his grim and empty stare.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Look, Hiiro … I'm sorry about what I did earlier."
"Hn." He turned away to stare at the muted TV.
"If … if it makes you feel any better, I promise I won't tell Artemis or anything…"
She stopped when she saw his incredulous eyebrow raise up. "You miss the point. The only person for whom that information was confidential was you." At her confused expression, he sighed. "Don't you see? Of COURSE Artemis already knows that I'm part of the ESUN FBI. It's not uncommon knowledge. However, if you were never to gain access to the information, I would have the constant upper hand."
Sighing, she smiled defeatedly at his stony expression. "Knowledge is power, huh?"
"Hn."
Silence dampened the ambiance of the room.
"But I AM sorry, you know. I … I want to pay you back." She sighed loudly at his lack of an answer.
"I know! I can cook lunch for the two of us! What do you say?" she grinned.
Silence.
"Treize is out for your blood. Why?"
Sighing, she plopped down next to him. "Talking to you is SO depressing."
"Why?"
"How should I know? You're the one who can gain access to classified government files, not me."
"Fine. Be that way."
"Fine."
"Hn."
More silence as they both stared at the noiselessly flashing TV.
"But you being a Gundam Pilot IS top secret, right?"
"Guess so."
"Sorry."
"You've already said that."
Her mouth twisted in a disapproving, crooked line. "So what about lunch?"
"I'd rather not."
"Why?" she instantly demanded.
He smirked at her, turning slightly, eyeing her sideways. "I'm afraid of food poisoning."
Her jaw dropped. "Well I never! I DO believe that was a joke you just uttered, Hiiro!"
He didn't reply.
"But I'M not willing to suffer your cooking either." She made a face at the thought of the morning's scrambled eggs. "Just how much salt did you put in it?"
"A handful," he blinked at her innocently.
Usagi slumped back into the couch and crossed her arms after her glare had absolutely no affect on the agent next to her. "So we're back to room service?"
"Not on my tab."
"Hn." He glanced at her amusedly as she slapped a hand over her mouth and blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Oh no … I'm turning into a Hiiro clone," she whimpered.
…………………
Usagi eyed him over her slice of pizza before meticulously pressing a napkin over the greasy food object. "Artemis would have a cow if he saw me eating this," she muttered to herself but still bit eagerly into the slice.
"I see you stole my clothes."
She froze and slowly lowered the pizza and raised her eyes, chuckling nervously. "Stole is such a strong word…"
"Innocence really lives up to its reputation."
"Huh?"
"My room had two trigger alarms and four mini security cameras. And yet I never noticed the clothes missing until just now, seeing you in them. How'd you do it?"
She smiled crookedly, wiping her mouth and wagged a finger in front of his face. "Now, now. A master never divulges her secrets."
He stared at her before taking a bite of pizza and chewing it thoughtfully. "On second thought, I'd rather not know."
"Humph."
The heater hummed in the background. "So am I forgiven?"
"Hn."
"Hn?"
"Hn. I commend you on your acting," he offered dispassionately.
She smiled proudly. "I was the co-star of a film, you know … not a blockbuster or anything, of course."
"Really."
"It was a historical film."
"About?" He sounded genuinely interested.
"The wars. Of course, the producers twisted the tale a bit, adding more romance and junk to it. Human interest stuff."
He took a swig out of the can of Pepsi. "And you were?"
She ignored his question. "In fact, my co-star played … you," she laughed.
"And you were?" he repeated.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
The blonde opposite of him took another bite and mumbled something under her breath that sounded oddly like, "Petunia Hmmling."
"Louder."
Sighing, she put her pizza down and glared at him. In a very small voice, she blushed and muttered, "Relena Darlian."
…………………
"No success?" he greeted his partner. Wufei glared up at him.
"If I had succeeded, the media would be raving about it, and my name would be printed in history books by now."
"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he sighed more to himself. His gaze followed the Chinese agent as said man walked over to the TV and flipped on to CNN.
"It's odd though. Innocence hadn't made a move ever since the little stroll Artemis took a while back."
"Maybe they're mourning the loss of Tsukino," Wufei grunted.
"Hmm…" Trowa sighed and walked to slump next to his partner on the sofa. "No … it seems more as if Artemis were taking a vacation." He laughed out loud at his own idea.
"How would you know?"
"I did a little homework while you were away."
Wufei's eyebrows shot up before furrowing in resignation. "You hacked into the government's records again, Barton?"
"Well they're obviously not providing us with any news. Found out Hiiro hadn't reported any problems with people trying to reach Tsukino or anything. Innocence had been silent for longer than we think. It's been dormant for the last month or so … But what's puzzling is that there still are so many calls and mail going in and out-"
"But we can't get a single piece of that because of their anti-hacking and anti-bug programs," Wufei finished knowingly. "What have you got up your sleeve, Innocence?" he pondered into the silent air.
…………………
"Sir!" the young man saluted as he entered the room and remained at attention until he looked up from the documents set in front of him.
"Ah, good. You came." He leaned back in his chair and stretched languidly. "Did you get the mission assigned to you?"
"Yes sir!"
"And do you understand EXACTLY what you have to do?"
"Yes sir!"
The young man's energetic responses were giving him a headache, and he scowled at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Complete it by midnight tonight," he snapped irritably and turned away from the man, looking outside at the New York skyline.
"Yes sir!"
"Dismissed."
Three strikes and you're out, Yui.
…………………
The next chapter's a bit odd. Oh, excuse me. A bit odder than usual. ^^;;; It gets … a bit darker from here on but … nothing major, really. ^^
Ashika: Heh heh … you will buckle down but will I? Lol. ^___~
Crazygurl70: My favorite species of Usagi too! :D
Serena Yuy: Usagi? Kid? Nah! :D The strong bond? Hmm … that might take awhile, ne? Especially after this. Lol. (I love this. :D)
Ishtar: I'd been wanting to dedicate a chapter/one-shot to her but I wasn't sure whether or not it would be proper seeing that I barely knew her at all … but here's her chapter! :D
Ryouga Saiyuki: …twisted? That's the best compliment yet! :D Thanks for the review and … erm … I love you too? ^^;;
Celestial Moon: Hmm … you'll have to wait and see! :D
Sunshine Fia: Either she had a lot of practice or she's just really good at lying – her occupation and all, y'know. But was it her true past? That's an interesting question…^__~
Thanks for reading, everybody! :D
