Chapter 6- Budding Romance
Days later found Allenby and Sven standing on a cliff that overlooked a vast land of mountains, water, and trees. They had made it to Guyana, the land where warriors were born.
Allenby breathed in the fresh air and smiled as the wind ruffled her teal- blue hair. "Ahhh, the air is so clear here, huh Sven?"
"Yeah, it sure is." He remarked quietly, closing eyes contently. "It sure beats those smoky cities."
They were silent as they took it all in: the blue skies, the steep mesas and cliffs, the giant waterfall that dropped down into a massive lake. 'So, this is the place where Domon trained.' Allenby thought.
Thinking of her lost love automatically made her fist clench. 'No! Don't think about him! Not when I have Sven!'
That thought startled her. Slowly, she played it back in her mind. 'I do.I do have Sven.'
She glanced over at him as he stood there beside her, a soft expression on his face while he gazed at the beauty before them both. As she took him in, she felt her heart flutter like never before. It scared her. 'No! I can't fall in love with Sven too. Domon's the only.'
'Domon is with Rain!' she corrected, but it made her nearly choke. 'That's right.it wasn't meant to be with him, so why would it be any different with Sven Johnsone?'
"Allenby?" She felt a hand on her shoulder.
It made her jump. "What?!" she demanded, but immediately regretted it.
Sven looked as though he had just been shot. But then, he quickly shook it off and continued, maintaining his cool. "Where do you think we should set up camp?"
"Oh.uh.well, I think down by the waterfall would be good." She answered, her voice a little shaky.
"Okay then. If you want, I'll grab the supplies and meet you down there." He quickly wheeled and walked away.
"Sven." Allenby started to call after him, but stopped herself. Instead, she headed down the slope alone. What would follow was a day of endless thinking and fretting.
.......
"HAH! HAH! HY-YAH! HAH!" Allenby struck at the invisible opponent before her, pushing herself to get her fists to fly faster. It was difficult though as not only was she tired from 3 hours of this exercise, but also because her mind and heart were elsewhere. She only hoped that training wouldn't continue on like this.
"Allenby! It's dinner time!" came Sven's soft call. It was just loud enough to reach her ears, bringing her to a halt. Wasting no time, she raced off to their campsite. She only hoped she would know what to say when the time came.
He was there, sans his hooded sweatshirt. Allenby had to suppress a laugh; his oily face and jeans told that he had been working on the gundam. But he saw through her effort and quirked an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"You have all kinds of smudges on your face." She pointed out.
"What?" He reached up and tried to wipe them away, only to spread it across his face even more.
Allenby burst out laughing. "Oh Sven, you should see a mirror!"
"That bad huh? Well, I tried." He simply shrugged. "Oh well, it couldn't be worse than the first time I tried to change oil for a shuttle."
Allenby sat down on a log and leaned over to sniff at the pot over the campfire. "Mmm, smells good."
He beamed and removed the top lid. "Thanks, I made my mother's famous Beef stew." He picked up a spoon and poured the soup into two bowls. He gave one to Allenby before digging into his. "Careful, it's hot."
She blew on it for a moment before taking a sip. It was delicious. "Wow! Was your mom a chef or something?"
Sven chuckled. "Heh, heh. Nah, she learned that recipe from her mother. It's sort of a thing that gets passed down." He continued to spoon it into his mouth.
They were silent for a long moment as they enjoyed the meal. Then, Allenby spoke up. "Sven?"
He glanced up at her, his cheeks bulging a little before he could swallow. "Hm?"
She scratched the back of her head timidly. "Listen, I'm really sorry about yelling at you earlier."
He gulped the stew down and smiled that same cheerful smile. Already, she felt better. "It's okay, Allenby. You must have just had a lot on your mind, right?"
"Yeah,"
"It helps to talk about things." He suggested. "Maybe I can help!"
Allenby searched his face. Who was she kidding? She knew that she could trust him! Sighing, she relaxed her back against the log and began. She told him about how she competed in the last Gundam fight and had met Domon Kasshu in Neo Hong Kong. She said that they became friends after their match and she even helped him to train. She told him how she and Domon even worked together as a tag-team in some matches.
Sven nodded. "So, you really liked him, huh?"
Allenby gulped. "I.I fell in love with him, Sven. I thought.well.that he loved me too." She smiled bitterly. "After all.we got along so great.and he spent.a lot more time with me.than."
"Than Rain, huh?" he concluded.
"Yeah.but he loved her in the end." she went on, her eyes slowly filling up with tears. "At the time, I accepted it. They had grown up together and were meant to be together from the start." She couldn't believe she was spilling all this out to him. "But now.I just feel so lost."
"Is that why you agreed to fight again?" Sven questioned gently. "So you could figure out what it is you really want?"
He read her like a book! It surprised her so much that she stopped breaking down and stared up at him. He in turn, looked up at the sky. "Yeah, that's kind of why I decided to apply for the crew. See, I grew up on the colonies like you did. I had a dad at one point in my childhood, but he died in one of the gundam fights, the 11th actually."
Allenby gasped as he went on. "I still had my mother and three brothers, one being older, the other two just toddlers at the time. Mother became sick because she was so depressed and had to be hospitalized. So my brother Garth raised me, David, and Erik." He lowered his gaze towards the fire. "I figured that when I was old enough, Garth would go on to college and I would take care of the other two. My whole life had been based around making sure they were cared for and I thought things would stay that way until they were old enough. But Garth made me leave for college instead."
"He had you go in his place?" his audience of one asked.
"Yes. He told me that he thought I had something more to offer out there. So he stayed with David and Erik while I went to get my education. However." he looked towards her now, his ocean blue eyes meeting her blue- green eyes. "Now that I've gone and gotten my education, I don't know what really lies ahead of me now."
"Just like when I first became a Gundam Fighter," Allenby murmured. "It's all I have and who knows where it's gonna take me in the end."
He smiled. "Well, at least you and I both know that we don't have to travel paths like that alone anymore."
Allenby smiled back. She only wished she was sitting closer to him than she was. But just then, she noticed that one of his hands was right there beside her. Softly, slowly, she covered it with her own. To her surprise, he didn't flinch shyly, but rather sighed. For the rest of the time they sat there under the stars and beside the lake, the two were at peace.
.......
The next morning, two familiar figures had just arrived in the Guyana Highlands.
"Domon, it looks like someone's already beat us here!" Rain pointed over his caped shoulder as they trudged down the slopes to where the waterfall was impacting the lake.
The fighter from Neo Japan squinted as he spotted a gundam in the darkness. "Hey, that's Noble Gundam!"
Days later found Allenby and Sven standing on a cliff that overlooked a vast land of mountains, water, and trees. They had made it to Guyana, the land where warriors were born.
Allenby breathed in the fresh air and smiled as the wind ruffled her teal- blue hair. "Ahhh, the air is so clear here, huh Sven?"
"Yeah, it sure is." He remarked quietly, closing eyes contently. "It sure beats those smoky cities."
They were silent as they took it all in: the blue skies, the steep mesas and cliffs, the giant waterfall that dropped down into a massive lake. 'So, this is the place where Domon trained.' Allenby thought.
Thinking of her lost love automatically made her fist clench. 'No! Don't think about him! Not when I have Sven!'
That thought startled her. Slowly, she played it back in her mind. 'I do.I do have Sven.'
She glanced over at him as he stood there beside her, a soft expression on his face while he gazed at the beauty before them both. As she took him in, she felt her heart flutter like never before. It scared her. 'No! I can't fall in love with Sven too. Domon's the only.'
'Domon is with Rain!' she corrected, but it made her nearly choke. 'That's right.it wasn't meant to be with him, so why would it be any different with Sven Johnsone?'
"Allenby?" She felt a hand on her shoulder.
It made her jump. "What?!" she demanded, but immediately regretted it.
Sven looked as though he had just been shot. But then, he quickly shook it off and continued, maintaining his cool. "Where do you think we should set up camp?"
"Oh.uh.well, I think down by the waterfall would be good." She answered, her voice a little shaky.
"Okay then. If you want, I'll grab the supplies and meet you down there." He quickly wheeled and walked away.
"Sven." Allenby started to call after him, but stopped herself. Instead, she headed down the slope alone. What would follow was a day of endless thinking and fretting.
.......
"HAH! HAH! HY-YAH! HAH!" Allenby struck at the invisible opponent before her, pushing herself to get her fists to fly faster. It was difficult though as not only was she tired from 3 hours of this exercise, but also because her mind and heart were elsewhere. She only hoped that training wouldn't continue on like this.
"Allenby! It's dinner time!" came Sven's soft call. It was just loud enough to reach her ears, bringing her to a halt. Wasting no time, she raced off to their campsite. She only hoped she would know what to say when the time came.
He was there, sans his hooded sweatshirt. Allenby had to suppress a laugh; his oily face and jeans told that he had been working on the gundam. But he saw through her effort and quirked an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"You have all kinds of smudges on your face." She pointed out.
"What?" He reached up and tried to wipe them away, only to spread it across his face even more.
Allenby burst out laughing. "Oh Sven, you should see a mirror!"
"That bad huh? Well, I tried." He simply shrugged. "Oh well, it couldn't be worse than the first time I tried to change oil for a shuttle."
Allenby sat down on a log and leaned over to sniff at the pot over the campfire. "Mmm, smells good."
He beamed and removed the top lid. "Thanks, I made my mother's famous Beef stew." He picked up a spoon and poured the soup into two bowls. He gave one to Allenby before digging into his. "Careful, it's hot."
She blew on it for a moment before taking a sip. It was delicious. "Wow! Was your mom a chef or something?"
Sven chuckled. "Heh, heh. Nah, she learned that recipe from her mother. It's sort of a thing that gets passed down." He continued to spoon it into his mouth.
They were silent for a long moment as they enjoyed the meal. Then, Allenby spoke up. "Sven?"
He glanced up at her, his cheeks bulging a little before he could swallow. "Hm?"
She scratched the back of her head timidly. "Listen, I'm really sorry about yelling at you earlier."
He gulped the stew down and smiled that same cheerful smile. Already, she felt better. "It's okay, Allenby. You must have just had a lot on your mind, right?"
"Yeah,"
"It helps to talk about things." He suggested. "Maybe I can help!"
Allenby searched his face. Who was she kidding? She knew that she could trust him! Sighing, she relaxed her back against the log and began. She told him about how she competed in the last Gundam fight and had met Domon Kasshu in Neo Hong Kong. She said that they became friends after their match and she even helped him to train. She told him how she and Domon even worked together as a tag-team in some matches.
Sven nodded. "So, you really liked him, huh?"
Allenby gulped. "I.I fell in love with him, Sven. I thought.well.that he loved me too." She smiled bitterly. "After all.we got along so great.and he spent.a lot more time with me.than."
"Than Rain, huh?" he concluded.
"Yeah.but he loved her in the end." she went on, her eyes slowly filling up with tears. "At the time, I accepted it. They had grown up together and were meant to be together from the start." She couldn't believe she was spilling all this out to him. "But now.I just feel so lost."
"Is that why you agreed to fight again?" Sven questioned gently. "So you could figure out what it is you really want?"
He read her like a book! It surprised her so much that she stopped breaking down and stared up at him. He in turn, looked up at the sky. "Yeah, that's kind of why I decided to apply for the crew. See, I grew up on the colonies like you did. I had a dad at one point in my childhood, but he died in one of the gundam fights, the 11th actually."
Allenby gasped as he went on. "I still had my mother and three brothers, one being older, the other two just toddlers at the time. Mother became sick because she was so depressed and had to be hospitalized. So my brother Garth raised me, David, and Erik." He lowered his gaze towards the fire. "I figured that when I was old enough, Garth would go on to college and I would take care of the other two. My whole life had been based around making sure they were cared for and I thought things would stay that way until they were old enough. But Garth made me leave for college instead."
"He had you go in his place?" his audience of one asked.
"Yes. He told me that he thought I had something more to offer out there. So he stayed with David and Erik while I went to get my education. However." he looked towards her now, his ocean blue eyes meeting her blue- green eyes. "Now that I've gone and gotten my education, I don't know what really lies ahead of me now."
"Just like when I first became a Gundam Fighter," Allenby murmured. "It's all I have and who knows where it's gonna take me in the end."
He smiled. "Well, at least you and I both know that we don't have to travel paths like that alone anymore."
Allenby smiled back. She only wished she was sitting closer to him than she was. But just then, she noticed that one of his hands was right there beside her. Softly, slowly, she covered it with her own. To her surprise, he didn't flinch shyly, but rather sighed. For the rest of the time they sat there under the stars and beside the lake, the two were at peace.
.......
The next morning, two familiar figures had just arrived in the Guyana Highlands.
"Domon, it looks like someone's already beat us here!" Rain pointed over his caped shoulder as they trudged down the slopes to where the waterfall was impacting the lake.
The fighter from Neo Japan squinted as he spotted a gundam in the darkness. "Hey, that's Noble Gundam!"
