It Could Be Worse (4th Season)
Episode 10: More Matrimony Mania
By Sulia Serafine
[A Protector of the Small fanfic set in an alternate universe; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me. Any other copyrighted things that don't belong to me in here in fact belong to other very businesslike people. Could you believe that? I guess that's why I'm broke.
E-mail me at silverwlngaol.com okay? And you know the drill: titles or subjects of emails are fanfiction.net, s.serafine, or icbw.
Rating of this episode: PG-13. Yeah, yeah. Yet more weddings. I think it's a good way to introduce chaos into any episode. And that's exactly what we're going to get. (But you've got to love the irony. In canon, they couldn't keep it a secret. But here, they obviously could and did.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Flyn wasn't exactly sure what to make of it.
Just when you thought you knew your friends…
They'd only told him last night, explaining that they thought it had been the best course of action. After all, who could forget all the publicity that went to Alanna when she married George? Though neither of Flyn's friends were as famous as the great DJPF officer Alanna Olau Trebond, by combining both their lesser notoriety, they would be quite the headliners.
It didn't excuse them from the fact that they had hidden this from Flyn for not just months, but, they bashfully revealed, years. Now if that didn't add injury to insult, he didn't know what would. Oh, except for the painful fact that Wyldon had been told several months prior so that he could find time off to come down for the ceremony. Yes, the very ceremony that would be privately conducted at the end of the week without anyone (save for the couple, Wyldon, and Flyn) aware.
Flyn wanted to throttle them both. But that would instigate an entire investigation from Internal Affairs that he would not want to deal with… and not to mention all the fuss that comes with murder charges and the Federal Court. So he elected not to kill his two closest companions of the last decade and instead, settled on a very (as his nieces put it) lame wedding gift.
"So you haven't told anyone else?"
"Just you and Wyldon."
"Not even your Riders? Raoul, they might misconstrue that as an insult," Flyn warned.
The Mithran Marshall waved the idea off. "Pfft. They would not. I may see them nearly every day, but I'm not obligated to tell them everything."
Both men suddenly looked up when they heard a noise outside Flyn's office door. At once, there was a shadowy silhouette that disappeared beneath the opaque portion of wall below the window. Flyn narrowed his eyes. He reached underneath his desk and pressed a tiny black button.
The glass doors immediately slipped open.
"Get in here!" he bellowed.
There were several seconds of silence. Flyn cleared his throat and pounded his fist on the desk. Slowly but surely, one hand reached around the edge of the doorway and pulled the rest of the body with it. On his hands and knees, Domitan Masbolle entered the office looking as if he'd perhaps banged his head against a hard surface, perhaps the source of the noise that the two older men had heard.
"Dom, how much did you hear?" the DJPF captain asked.
"Just enough to know that my own employer—who by the way, has been like a father to me—doesn't even care enough to share perhaps the most important events of his life with those who matter!" the Rider exclaimed melodramatically, hoping that the guilt he could lay on would negate the fact that he had been eavesdropping.
Raoul didn't appear at all guilty. He sighed and gestured for Dom to stand up. "What are the chances that you won't tell the others?"
"The question should be 'what are the chances that I won't tell them in five minutes,'" Dom said carefully.
"Or, 'what are the chances that I won't make you incapable of speaking in five minutes'?" Raoul countered, smiling crookedly.
Dom folded his arms across his chest and glared at his boss. "This is ridiculous, Raoul! You're getting married at the end of the week! And you've been seeing your bride-to-be for years right under our noses! How could you not tell any of us?"
"Oh, please. I know you overheard that part of the conversation."
The younger man shrugged.
Flyn rolled his eyes. "Raoul, I think the cat's out of the bag, now. You'll have to tell the rest of them."
"But I promised Buri that it would be secret! She didn't want anything slipping to the public!" For a grown man, Flyn thought that Raoul appeared very childish, whining like a seven year-old.
"Well, it can still be a small ceremony. We'll limit it to the Riders and no one else," Flyn reasoned. He glanced at Dom. "Right Dom? You Riders can keep a secret amongst yourselves, can't you?"
"Secret! Oh, of course!"
Raoul and Flyn exchanged knowing glances.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Raoul's getting married?" Keladry echoed, eyes opened as wide as they would go. She stared with her mouth slightly open. She could not believe what she had just heard.
"Yeah. And Dom and the other Riders are supposed to be keeping it quiet."
She frowned. "Then how do you know, Neal?"
He opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut.
Keladry sighed. She refilled Neal's cup of coffee and her own. She had almost finished breakfast when Neal had come flying in with a contagious burst of energy. When she had finally gotten him to calm down, he quickly repeated everything that Dom had told him. Though Dom had intended to keep the whole affair a secret, he couldn't resist the temptations of the grapevine.
She secretly wondered how long it had taken the information to reach her from the moment that Dom had begun eavesdropping on their superiors. It turned out to be one hour and five minutes.
After speaking with his fiancé, Buri finally relented. She told Raoul that they would each have a bachelor/bachelorette party with only those who knew. By the end of the day, these parties would consist of the Riders' Own, Neal, Keladry, Lalasa (but shockingly, not Roald), Cleon, and Kalasin (how she was persuaded to attend a bachelorette party, no one knew).
The week passed by quickly. Buri still preferred to keep things so private that the actual witnesses to the marriage ceremony were limited to Flyn and Wyldon. The Riders were posted on security detail, to make sure no members of the press got anywhere near the building of the official that was joining the couple together. It went unspoken that Buri still feared that she and Raoul would become another tabloid topic like Alanna and George had been when the presidential advisors had married. She knew firsthand, since she had been the one that Alanna had vented her grievances to when it had happened.
Normally, Fianola would have been the one to talk the Federal Investigation Director to purchase an elaborate wedding dress. She was still smarting from the emotional stress she had undergone during Yuki's fake wedding, so the youngest Rider remained silent and distant from all preparations. For similar reasons, Yuki was not so excited either. Neither female Rider seemed to care that Raoul had kept such a secret from them for so long. They each wanted to be oblivious without seeming rude.
Lalasa sighed. She was seated on the couch in Keladry's living room, one slim leg crossed over another. It was almost a week later and they were on their way to Buri's for her small female gathering.
"I can't believe how quickly this is all happening. How in the world did they manage to hide it for so long?"
Keladry was in her bathroom, rigorously drying her hair with a towel. She could barely hear her Carthaki friend. "I don't know. I always saw them as a trio—Raoul, Buri, and Flyn. How Flyndon didn't know is beyond me."
"I should fix him up with someone. Maybe Daine and Numair know a woman who likes men in uniform."
Keladry stepped out of her bedroom, towel flung over one arm. "I'm not sure if he would like that, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. Hey, who's taking care of little Fal tonight?"
"Roald. I told him a father-son bonding night would be good so I could get a break."
"But what kind of bonding can he do if Fal won't remember any of it when he's older?"
"I said," Lalasa repeated through gritted teeth, "that it would be good so I could get a break."
"Right…"
"He thinks I've gone to a spa. I brought mud masks and a manicure kit anyway. Buri doesn't need it. Despite the fact that she's a workaholic, she has very nice nails—by the way, why doesn't that apply for you, Ms. Workaholic?—and I don't think she'll need it."
"…"
"Well, are you ready yet or what? Honestly, Kel. If you didn't take so long primping…"
Keladry looked down at her wet towel. She chose to remain silent.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There were hearty cries of salutation as the men filed through the door of Raoul's apartment. No one had any idea what was on the agenda that night. Maybe they would put on the football game. Maybe they would play cards or dare each other to do immature frat boy type stunts. In any case, Dom had one distinct objective in his mind that he decided to share with his god brother.
"Neal," he whispered, pulling him aside.
"What? Come on, let me go! Lerant and Qasim are already on the couch and I'll have to sit on the floor!"
Dom gently cuffed him in the back of the head. "Listen, would you? Look, tonight, feel free to enjoy yourself however much you want, but I want you to help me out."
"Help you do what?"
"Keep Cleon away from the booze. I'm really worried about him. Cleon Kennan on a bender is just too weird for this universe."
Neal turned his back to the group of men crowding into the living room with bags of chips and pork rinds. He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled deeply. "Well, he hasn't been so bad while Kalasin's been here."
"And she's not here tonight, is she?"
The two men glanced over at the kitchen where Seaver and Cleon were toting six packs of beer. Dom shot a warning look at Neal.
"Oh alright," Neal surrendered. He approached the sharpshooter, taking the beer from him. With a brief and curt smile, he turned heel and chucked the box of beer at Dom. Dom caught the pack and almost stumbled into a coat rack behind him.
Raoul whistled. "Hey! Come on, boys! The game's about to start!"
Neal handed Cleon a can of soda. "Here! You'll like this."
"But I'd rather have—"
"Oh, Raoul's right! The game's starting! Let's go, man."
Cleon shook his head. Whatever game his friends were playing at, he wasn't in the mood to figure out. He joined them at the couch, sitting on the floor in front of a bowl of pretzels. His soda sat forgotten on the table.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Come on, Buri! Smile! You're getting married tomorrow," Lalasa ordered. She was holding a camera, attempting to get pictures in order to construct a wedding album for the happy (on the inside) couple.
"I am smiling."
The Carthaki rolled her eyes. "Ugh! She's just like you, Kel. Both of you, smile!"
Keladry made an attempt to smile. She leaned toward the older woman and whispered. "If you don't, we could be stuck like this for hours."
The corners of Buri's mouth reluctantly curled into a closed mouth smile. Lalasa snapped the picture and began gushing about random sentimentalities. She was generally ignored by everyone else. There was an assortment of snack foods on the table. Whereas the men had chips and beer, the women had baby carrots, cucumbers, and ranch dip. They also had an assortment of malt beverages that tasted more like apple-flavored soda to Keladry.
There were a stack of movies that Fianola had brought. It was a betrayal to her self-imposed mourning period. The movies generally included romantic comedy plots and other such feminine hi-jinks. No one, again, save for Lalasa looked particularly thrilled.
That's what you get when you stick a bunch of DJPF employed women in room, Keladry thought cynically. She sighed. "'Lasa, is there anything we can do besides watch movies?"
"Well, I would have hired a stripper, but it was so last minute that I couldn't schedule one in time."
Keladry and every other woman in the room decided to pretend they hadn't heard the last sentence.
"Oh!" Lalasa snapped her fingers. "We could tell stories! You know, about love. Like, when I had my first date with Roald… or how you met your significant other…"
"He walked in on me while I was undercover and I slapped him for staring," Kalasin announced casually, inspecting her nails as if they were infinitely more interesting.
Keladry blinked. "I never heard about that."
"No, you wouldn't have. His cheek was red for a while." The spy smirked.
"Well! I'll go first," Lalasa volunteered. If this party was ever going to start, she would have to do it herself. She settled herself down in between Buri and Keladry and flashed everyone a winning smile. And so she began her tale.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Well, we had just transferred to Tusaine with Daine and we were going to live with her in her home, sort of as live-in employees.
"You mean, as maid and chauffeur," Yuki clarified.
No! Chauffeur and personal assistant. Me! A maid! Ha!
"Just get on with it," Buri commanded.
Okay! So as we were moving into our respective rooms, we were sorting through what belongings we had acquired for ourselves in the time that we been cleared of all charges relating to the Immortals incident. We weren't fugitives anymore. And we had jobs. I didn't have much. And instead of spending my new paycheck on stupid little things, I just had Uncle Thom send me my things from his lab in Carthak.
There was a lot of rubbish I needed to get rid of. But among those things was a small blue teddy bear. My father did not give me much during my childhood, but he did give me this one thing. It wasn't all that special. Just a ratty old teddy bear with the black button eye becoming looser with time. I loved it.
When I was rearranging my room, somehow, the teddy bear got tossed into the bin with the other things I intended to send to the local charity. When I found this out three days later, it was late at night and raining outside. I felt so much like a child then, being bothered by the thunder and wanting just my teddy bear.
I went into the kitchen and made myself a mug of cocoa. Roald must have heard me, because he came downstairs in whatever he wore to bed.
"Whatever he wore? Does that mean 'just boxers' or perhaps full cartoon pajamas regalia?"
That means I don't remember, Yuki!
"Sure. Whatever you say, princess."
Anyway, he saw how upset I was and volunteered to go to the charity first thing in the morning. Now, you might remember this time. We had only been in the city for a week or something and it had been raining hard for two days straight, almost like it was never going to end. Daine opted not to go to her downtown office that whole week and just worked from her private study at home.
I didn't expect him to follow through on his promise while it was still raining cats and dogs. So I pretended to have forgotten all about it and busied myself helping Daine organize her study. I was stuck shelving books and alphabetizing loose files. Now there's grueling work, people.
"We should tell her about the cop chase through the manure plant."
"Fia, I had finally started to forget about that."
"Sorry, Yuki."
At ten in the morning, I decided to go into the kitchen to get a snack. I passed through the hall and through the living room to get to the kitchen. Where lo and behold! Roald was sitting on the floor, covered in a blanket. He was soaked from head to toe. He was making a puddle on the carpet! His poor teeth were chattering.
And on the coffee table was my teddy bear! Perfectly dry and looking as if someone had cleaned him, too! The button eye was sewed back tight again and everything! At that point, Roald started sneezing. Four times in a row. Poor guy. I hugged him, despite the fact that he was freezing cold and completely wet. And then I fixed him some chicken soup. It was the sweetest thing he ever did.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I always figured my brother for a chivalrous romantic," Kalasin murmured. "If not a sensible one."
"Okay! So who's next?" Lalasa asked, practically bouncing from sheer excitement and anticipation.
The remaining women glanced at each other, no one wanting to come forward. No one expected Fianola to be the next one. They all knew she was still grieving. The dark circles under her eyes as well as the pale pallor of her skin all told the tales for her. Her curly hair was tied back in a simple bun and her clothing was not as bright as it usually was. She wore somber slate grays or dull blues. She hadn't tried to appear pretty with the exception of Yuki's fake wedding.
So of course it surprised the rest of them when she raised her hand a little.
"I remember some really nice times with Fal."
They stayed silent. What were they supposed to say? Keladry gave her an encouraging smile, prompting the youngest Rider to clear her throat and continue.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We had just starting dating. I knew he had been very reluctant to date me because he was several years older and it looked like I had just gotten out of high school. For some reason, Fal also believed that no girl would ever be interested in him because he can be so sarcastic and insulting sometimes. But I knew he didn't really mean it. It was just how he had trained himself to act after years of being ignored by his parents and shut up in a prep school… and then to become the witty leader of a street gang. I mean, I understood where he was coming from.
I decided to take him to an ice skating rink. I thought it would be fun. I hadn't been ice skating in years on account of the fact that I was training with my dad in the movie stunt trade. Since I had the Riders van and he had no car, I picked him up from his apartment.
"Hey, how come he got his own place and we had to live with Daine?"
"Well, you were her maid and Roald was her chauffeur. He was just an office lackey," Kalasin replied.
"I was not a maid! I folded her laundry and answered her door out of the kindness of my heart!"
Can I continue?
"Oh, sure, sugar. You go right ahead."
Well, when I picked him up, he was sitting in front of his apartment building on the steps. He had a deck of cards with him, and he was continually shuffling them. Fal's hat was tilted forward on his head, so he didn't see me until I sat down beside him. I caught him off guard, because he stumbled with the cards mid-shuffle and they went everywhere. So we played a quick game of 52 Card Pick Up and went on our way.
It was a fun night. He didn't know how to ice skate, so he held my hand the whole time. We fell down so many times. He would start to stumble and I would try to catch him. Even though he wasn't much bigger than me, I still couldn't hold him up so we ended up on our rears more than half of the time. It was nice though.
"Having cold and damp clothing from falling on the ice?" Buri frowned.
No, I was referring to him holding my hand the whole time. A little clammy, but that was just because he was nervous. It was a little weird to see him so anxious. You guys know what I'm talking about. The man was always so laid-back and smooth. He was so clever. It was weird seeing someone who was so… "with it"… lose his cool because of me.
It was flattering, I guess. Even after we left the ice rink, he still held my hand. He held it for almost the rest of the night.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I like your memories of him," Keladry whispered, filled with sudden nostalgia.
"Me, too," Lalasa added.
A long silence followed. In each woman's mind, they were either recalling their own memories of Faleron King or imagining the loss of their own significant others. They prayed to whatever gods were listening that they would never have to endure that same tragedy. But especially with their occupations, they knew there was a very high chance of it happening to them as well.
Lalasa broke the silence. "So! Um… Kally, dear sis-in-law, do you have any love stories you want to share?"
"Do I have any? Surprisingly, yes," Kalasin answered coolly. "Do I want to share them? No. You heard I slapped Cleon when we first saw each other. That's all you're getting for free."
"Um… okay." In these sorts of circumstances, she understood well enough that it was best not to incite Kalasin into anything unless one was prepared to accept the consequences. She turned her gaze to Yuki. "What about you?"
"I guess…"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We were at my place watching a soccer game. I don't think I've changed the channel on my Holoscreen in months. It's just stayed on the sports channel morning, noon, and night. Anyway, the other Riders were out doing something. Probably at the pool hall or doing whatever it is that they do. Karaoke bars and motorcycle races at the city raceways.
"Karaoke bars are fun," Fianola defended.
Sure they are… So Lerant and I were just watching a game on the Holoscreen, trying to figure out how loud we could possibly make it before Stefan called us to complain.
The game ended. We were disappointed that our team lost. Then began a long series of commercials for junk food. We were out of junk food. With no junk food and no game to watch, we started to get very bored. Then Lerant turned to me and asked if I wanted to make out. And I said yes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"…That's it?" Lalasa asked.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"Oh, come on, nothing romantic?"
"There's nothing romantic about either him or me. We never even said the words 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' until my parents came and I had to use the words." She stopped and frowned. "I'm not even sure we are dating."
Buri raised one eyebrow. "How can you not be sure?"
"We don't talk about it."
"And why don't you talk about it?" Lalasa pressed.
Yuki shrugged. "None of us really cared about defining anything. We've kind of lapsed into a repeating loop. Which is fine with me. If I want romance, I'll change things, but I'm really content right now."
Half of the women in the room looked at the Yamani girl as if they didn't believe her. Yuki dismissed their looks and started munching on some of the snack vegetables set on the table. Lalasa sighed and decided to move on. They wouldn't get anything else out of Yuki that night. They did, however, wonder for a long time afterwards if Lerant shared the same shortage of sentiments.
"What about you, Buri?" she asked, gently nudging the older woman beside her. "You are, after all, the guest of honor."
"Yeah, don't remind me," Buri muttered.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was a long time ago, when all three of us had climbed the ladders quickly and publicly. You could look up all the newspaper headlines we made. We went out occasionally to lead big operations like the one at Golden Lake with Alanna. Flyn and I were a year away from becoming stuck behind a desk for administrative positions we'd schemed for. Raoul would continue to go on romping around as if he were still early-twenty-something. And we wouldn't.
So Flyn was at home because he pulled his hamstring. Raoul and I went out drinking because we had nothing else to do. We got drunk, shared a taxi home. One thing led to another. Years went by. We kept it under wraps because we didn't want the press to make a big deal. Alanna was pregnant for the first time and the reporters were just all over her. It was for the best.
And that's really it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"That's it?"
"Wow. That must have been a long time ago. Isn't Thom her oldest? He's already a teenager!"
"Yes, I know how old I am. Please do not bring up the subject, Kel."
"Sorry." She pouted. Something had been on her mind that whole week. "Buri?"
"Yes?"
"What made you want to get married only now? Why not before?"
The Federal Investigative Director brushed her dark hair from her face. Her gaze was on something far away. It wasn't exactly wistful as much as it was contemplative. She finally blinked and refocused on the friends surrounding her.
"I don't know. I never thought about it before. I suppose attending Lalasa's wedding and then Yuki's got me to thinking. There aren't many men in my life. And of the select few, I find that I am most calmed and relaxed with Raoul. He makes me feel at ease in this life of crime-fighting, if you want to call it that. Even if he's always on the road."
Yuki chuckled. "Trust me. When he's on the road with us, he always complains about wanting to go back to Tusaine. I'm sure he misses you."
"And… I miss him," Buri admitted. She didn't blush. Keladry didn't think the other woman was capable of blushing. But if she was, now would probably have been the only time any of them would have ever seen her blush. However, there was some uncertainty in Buri's eyes.
Lalasa pounced on the last person to say anything about her love life. "Come on, Kel! Tell us a good one to end on!" She grinned. "Something very juicy about Stone—" She stopped when she realized what she had said and clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry! I meant…"
Keladry did feel a twinge inside. A little constriction I her chest, but she hid it well. She smiled and squeezed Lalasa's arm to assure her friend that no damage had been done.
"I don't really have any stories. For either of them. They were both sweet in their own ways. I don't think I should compare them."
She didn't know what else to say. It didn't seem fair to compare them like she used to when she had initially begun dating Ulliver. Luckily, her friends took Lalasa's bumble as an excuse not to grill her for any anecdotes. Keladry dove for the remote on the coffee table and turned the Holoscreen on.
"Hey! Let's watch one of those movies, okay?"
Eager to erase the awkwardness, everyone else readily agreed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Keladry was a little glad that she was not going to the small ceremony. She had gone home last night in a less than happy mood. She had enjoyed spending time with the other women. She had not done something like that in a very long time… or ever, actually. But all the talk about romance or the lack thereof had been a bit of a downer.
She didn't want to recall anything particularly romantic that Joren or Ulliver had done for her. She didn't want to think about love. She didn't want to think about anything at all. This was quite an impossible task, so Keladry found herself awake for half the night. Since she had spent the whole evening watching romantic comedies, she was tired of the Holoscreen. So she organized her drawers instead. She went through her closet and ferreted out the things that she would get rid of. Perhaps donate to charities, like Lalasa had mentioned.
She didn't want to think about how empty she felt.
Now it was morning and Keladry was finally dozing off in her bed. However, this did not last long. Her pager began vibrating on her nightstand. Keladry warily opened one eye and glanced at the tiny screen.
Who would call me in the morning? She thought grumpily as slid out of bed and went to her COMscreen. She was sure to only turn the audio on so no one would see her baggy eyes or her bed-head.
"Hello?" she croaked.
"Hey, Kel! Have you seen Buri?" Neal's voice asked anxiously.
It was like an injection of caffeine in her veins. Keladry snapped fully awake. "What?!"
"Have you seen Buri? Raoul called. She's late! …Really late."
She finger combed her hair as she tried to figure out where Buri could be and why she wasn't at her own marriage ceremony. Keladry glanced at her digital clock. "Okay, okay. Um, I think I know where to find her. You just call Raoul back and tell him to wait."
"You know where to find her?"
If she's anything like me… "I'm pretty sure I know. Just tell him to sit tight, okay?"
"Gotcha!"
Keladry ran to her closet and pulled on the first thing she could find. It was a jogging suit. She rolled up the sleeves of the hooded jacket and quickly tugged on a pair of running shoes. She had a sneaking suspicion she would be running to get to Buri in time. Every minute that went by would be a crucial blow to Raoul's feelings and she knew it.
Twenty minutes later and a lot of hard thinking found her pulling up outside the DJPF station. She parked her motorcycle and ran up the steps. She ran straight past security, eliciting an undignified cry from her fellow officers at the desk. At least they recognized her and wouldn't chase after her to get identification. The fact that she was in her jogging suit and sprinting at top speed seemed to signal to everyone to let her go without warning.
She skidded to a stop in front of the elevator and pushed the down button. When she saw that the elevator was at one of the top floors of the station, she growled softly and decided to take the stairs. Keladry shoved through the stairwell door and practically fell down the stairs at the rate she was taking them. She started jumping steps two—almost three—at a time in order to get to the lower levels of the station.
At last, she burst through the door leading to the shooting gallery. She could hear one gun going off at the very end. All the shots hit the target at the opposite wall dead on. Keladry tried to look past the stalls to see who was there. She ended up running again, continuing to work up a sweat.
Well, it's the best run I've had in a while. Maybe I can talk the next girl I know getting married to jilt so I can run to talk her out of it.
"Hey! Buri!" she hollered over the noise of the gunshots.
The stocky Kmiri woman lowered her gun and turned to see who was screaming at her. She took off her gear, including protection for her eyes and ears. Buri was also wearing a simple sleeveless white dress that came to her knees. It seemed completely out of place with her surroundings.
"Kel?"
"Buri, ma'am, why aren't you at the Justice's office with Raoul?" she asked breathlessly. She finally stopped and leaned against the stall to rest.
"I…" Buri began. "I don't know. It's just… it's just this feeling that I have. I don't know if this will really work. I mean, look at us! We're just too workaholics who—"
"Been sneaking around in janitor's closets for something close to fifteen years?"
"I object. We never used janitor's closets."
"Okay. Vans with tinted windows. Whatever. Buri!" Keladry scolded her. It felt weird talking so boldly to a person of superior status. "There is a man waiting for you who loves you with all his big heart! Just go! There's nothing to think about!"
"I know."
"Then go!"
"I…"
"BURI! He loves you! You love him! That, in my mind, is more than enough reason to go through with it!"
Buri gazed at her wordlessly for a few moments. Had she actually yelled at Buri? Screamed at a superior member of the DJPF? Buri handed Keladry her gun and nodded. There was a hint of humor and mischief in the other woman's eyes that Keladry had never seen before. She smiled at Kel, an open mouth, toothy smile that was almost a grin.
"Alright, Mindelan. Whatever you say. You give some pretty good advice. Good, basic advice." She laughed. "I suppose I just needed someone to yell at me. It's been a while since someone did that, me being a boss and all. Thanks. For the yelling and the advice."
"Good advice? Me give good advice about love?" Keladry pouted.
"Yeah," Buri replied. "And I'm sure you'll have a wonderful love life."
Keladry's gaze softened. Maybe someday. I'm not sure what to make of it now. It's… so… Her eyes widened slightly when the realization hit her. One-sided.
Buri was already walking toward the door. Keladry blinked in confusion. She exhaled deeply and picked up the headgear that Buri had discarded. She fitted the set over her ears and the safety goggles over her eyes. She lifted the gun up and decided that this would be the perfect time to let off some stress.
Bang.
I work too much.
Bang.
I don't know how to be romantic and he has to do all the charming himself.
Bang.
Have I seen him all week, let alone talked to him?
Bang.
A relationship with Joren wouldn't be much better.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Keladry cursed when she discovered her magazine was spent and threw the gun on the floor in a fit of annoyance. Her face remained blank and emotionless.
But I would still choose him if he came back.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Author's note: Oh wow. We are two episodes away from the end. Hmm. Now that's weird. I know the season has been one long suffer-fest with every character feeling some sort of anguish now and then… but I think it comes with the maturity of relationships. Whether they like it or not, they are not the young adventurers they used to be. They have to deal with things. With lots of things.
Hope you enjoyed reading! Tell me what you think!
-Sulia S.