"Hurricane"
Chapter 1
Shake down you make me break
For goodness sake
I think I'm on the edge
Of something new with you.
A variety of noises could be heard as the last chords on the nameless band's guitars were struck. His was a quiet groan. But Jann-Lee was by no means disappointed. Rather, the bouncer gathered his discontent from the fact that the evening show's finale signaled the chic night club would soon be closing its doors. He would have to be heading home. To her. Lei-Fang.
It was not that he particularly minded the concept of it all. Who would? Every night -- well, in his case, early morning -- coming home to an absolutely stunning young woman who adored the very ground you walked on? That was the very dream of many young men his age.
He could not deny, inwardly at least, that the affection was very much returned. But never to her face would he admit such a thing. It was for their own good. Or so he told himself. Who knew when another Dead or Alive tournament would crop up? They could not bring their relationship into the rink, as they would be inevitably forced to. Maybe, though…Maybe one day when all this was over…Until then, the two would have to continue on in pained existence.
When at last the place had cleared out of its clientele and he was permitted to go, Jann-Lee found himself wasting as much time as he possibly could. To him, every minute counted. For despite needing to get up early to attend college, Lei-Fang tended to wait up and make sure he got home safely. The later he stayed out, the greater the chance she would conk out on the couch and he could avoid speaking with her.
He made a face. It was not like he chose these living arrangements. The tournament organizers had decided it would be for the best if all the regular participants shared an apartment building just outside of town. Of course, there were those who absolutely could not stay -- for their own safety or that of the others. For example, Helena, Hayate and the half sisters, Kasumi and Ayane.
But Jann-Lee didn't exactly have the option, what with the enormous cost of independent living in the city these days. And for that matter, neither could Lei-Fang with her tuition. It had been a mere coincidence that the two had ended up as roommates. And unfortunately, his request to switch out had been denied. The end result of this predicament being the hellish nightmare he currently lived.
But he could linger no longer. It was starting to grow obscenely late. Surely Lei-Fang had fallen asleep. It must be safe by now to return home. Still, his better judgment urged him to take it slower as he crossed the nearly empty parking lot and approached his car.
After a half an hour more, the sleek black vehicle rolled to a stop just off to the side of the curb. Taking the steps two at a time, he now felt more anxious than anything. The front door creaked open at an excruciating pace. He found himself cringing. He had to get that greased. Groping around in the dark, he finally located the light switch. Feeling his way along the hard plastic face-cover, he flicked the third switch to turn on the hall light.
He thought he had hit a lucky break; an inanimate lump lay sprawled out on the couch. He found himself fighting back a wry smile. But before he could take five steps towards his bedroom, a sweet voice met his ears. "Is that you, Jann-Lee?"
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. She didn't function well when tired. "Of course it's me, Lei-Fang. Who else would it be?"
"Oh." She yawned. "Hayabusa said he might drop by. He has a key now."
Quite suddenly, he stiffened. "Hayabusa, huh?" His tone was rather dangerous, but in her current state, she did not exactly detect the hostility. "I didn't know you two were friends. So he's got a key now?"
"Yeah!" She giggled and slapped the arm of the couch, rising unsteadily and lurching over to meet him. "Isn't it great?"
"Yeah, great…" He muttered under his breath before snapping back to attention and regarding her with a critical eye. "Lei-Fang…You're…drunk?" It may have come with a questioning intent, but it was more of a statement than anything.
"No!" Lei-Fang protested, a light flush spreading across her cheeks. "Okay, maybe a little." She admitted a few moments later, under his dubious glare. "I just had a couple…"
He growled, making no effort to mask his irritation. It would be easy now, to just brush her aside and escape to the sanctuary of his room, but for some reason, he did not want to go to bed just yet. Perhaps the lack of motivation came from this talk of Hayabusa. He and Lei-Fang might not be exactly involved, but…
Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. "You should be in bed, Lei-Fang." He reminded her. "Tomorrow is only Friday; there's still college for you."
She shot him a rather indignant look. "I'm not as drunk as all that!" She protested. "Besides…I have the day off, didn't you know?"
"No." He sighed for the second time. "I didn't."
She thrust her nose in the air, almost reprovingly. "I can see that."
"I'm going to bed." He sighed one last time, removing himself from the wall he had begun to lean upon. "Goodnight, Lei-Fang. Sleep it off…Or something."
Again, his path was obstructed by her slender form. Her deft hands darted out, lighting -- almost flirtatiously -- on his chest. "But I'm not tired!" She whined.
"…Go to bed, Lei-Fang." He repeated, a firm edge creeping into his tone.
She frowned. As she spoke, her voice became quite noticeably higher; almost hysteric in nature. "I'm not a little kid, Jann-Lee! Why can't you see that? I didn't need your help then, and I certainly don't need it now! Mmph-!"
Jann-Lee had grown weary with her complaints. He was a very private person and did not care to have his feelings pried into without his consent. He'd had to stop her somehow -- and it had seemed like a good idea at the time -- so he had leaned down, and their lips had met And from the looks of things, despite any initial complaints, she was certainly not protesting his course of action.
Pulling away after mere moments, lips still tingling from that electrifying kiss, he gently shoved her aside, muttering a brief, "I'm sorry," and hastily fleeing to his room. Needless to say, a confused and very hurt Lei-Fang stood in his wake.
A/N: Hi3! It's my birthday so I thought I'd post this 'cause you know, it'd be uber cool to see the date on the upload thing. But yeah. Obviously, this is a Jann-Lee/Lei-Fang story. Don't like the pairing, don't read. It's as simple as that. This isn't going to be too long (at least I hope -- I always say things like this and then they mutate out of control) but it won't be too short either. Anyway, yeah. Reviews are appreciated, so leave plenty. I apologize in advance for any OOC-ness. This is my first DOA fic and I'm still trying to get the hang of characterization. Hah! 1337!
Disclaimer: I do not claim possession of Dead or Alive or any of its characters. Additionally, I claim no ownership of "Hurricane" and its lyrics. Those belong to the delicious 'Something Corporate'. If you're a fan of Soco, guess what song snippet is coming next!
Please Review!