I Hate (Everything About You)

Author's Notes: I own nothing, not the people, not the song… NADA—oh, but I DO own the story! HAH!

Synopsis: If you know the song, you know the story—Wufei and Sally hate each other—or do they?

Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet

"You're the most insufferable, aggravating, absolute worst person on the face of this planet, Chang Wufei!" Sally Po screamed at the top of her lungs as she bolted across their little office to the door.

Wufei did not flinch when the door to the office slammed. The young Chinese man did not even look up from his computer when his partner, Sally, stalked from their office, screaming at the top of her lungs. "What's the big deal with names anyway?" He muttered angrily to himself. "I call every female in this office 'onna' and they all deal with it." But—logic aside—Wufei could no longer do his work. Pushing his chair back from his desk, he growled and stalked off after his hysterical partner.

"He's just horrible!" Sally complained to Noin, who hovered bemusedly over her burger, waiting for Sally to shut up, so she could eat her lunch in peace.

"Sally, if you hate Wufei that much, why don't you just ask Une to assign you both to new partners? Then you won't have to even see him if you choose not to." The raven-haired woman spoke the line for the thousandth time.

Sally hated that thought—and she didn't know why. "No. I don't even think any other person could handle that man!"

"You seem to manage, for the most part." Lucrezia replied curtly, with a knowing smile. "Why don't you two just have sex and get it over with?" She said, laughing at Sally's reaction.

"WHAT!" She screamed in disbelief, "I WOULD NEVER HAVE SEX WITH WUFEI!" But the blonde's cheeks flushed at the thought, none the less.


Every roommate kept awake
By every sigh and scream we make
All the feelings that I get
But I still don't miss you yet

Chang Wufei choked and tripped over thin air at the overheard conversation coming from Lucrezia Noin's office. He heard the muffled laughs and sighs that echoed up and down the hallway, and he knew the entire Preventer's Headquarters had heard the outburst. Wufei gritted his teeth, not understanding exactly why that statement made him angry—or even a little bit sad. His hand was on Noin's office door when Zechs clapped him on the shoulder.

"I'd give her a while to cool off before I went in there if I were you." The blond haired man said with a small smile on his face. You know how women are—especially those two."

Oh, Wufei knew. And he hated it. If Sally had a problem, why didn't she just approach him? Anything had to be better than the outrageous pity parties these two seemed to conduct on a weekly basis. Wufei shook his head and snarled at Zechs, and stalked silently back to his office.

Zechs laughed silently, then followed his fellow Preventer.

Only when I stop to think about it

Wufei snorted, and threw himself into his office chair. Turning his computer off—for he knew he would get no work done—he began collecting his things, preparing to call it quits for the day. He was madly stuffing files in his briefcase when Zechs entered without knocking.

"Tell Une I'm leaving for the day." Wufei spat, angrily.

"I will." Zechs said, striding over to Sally's desk and taking her chair as his own. "But tell me something before you go?" The blond was grinning when Wufei looked up at him.

"What?" He snorted.

"If you like Sally, why don't you just tell her?" The question couldn't have been blunter.

Wufei stared at Zechs for a long time in shock before narrowing his eyes to tiny black little slits and muttering under his breath.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Zechs said, leaning forward, his smile never wavering.

"I said I don't like that onna." Wufei finally said, setting his briefcase down and staring at the blond man across the room from him. "She's just my partner, and an infuriating one at that."

"You don't think she does her job well?" Zechs asked.

"I didn't say that."

"Because you and I both know she's the best scout in the field. And she's saved both our asses on more than one occasion." Zechs thought to go on, but saw that he did not need to.

"Injustice." Wufei closed his eyes and sighed.

"So why don't you tell her you like her?"

Wufei thought for a moment, then shrugged and replied, "Because she obviously doesn't like me."

I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?

Lucrezia Noin reared back in her chair and laughed aloud. "Sally, you're being completely ridiculous!" she spoke through her giggles.

"I AM NOT!" Sally pouted, obviously not as enthused. "Wufei hates me." She said, not looking at her friend.

"Wufei does not hate you, Sally, and everyone in this office knows it but you." the dark-haired woman said. "He just doesn't know how to tell you. Or, perhaps he's afraid you hate him!" Noin, gushed, her eyes sparkling.

"If he liked me, he wouldn't treat me the way he does. And he would call me by my name!" Sally shot back, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Oh Sally, it's what we call a love-hate relationship. You know Wufei; he thinks emotions are week because they get people hurt all the time. You're just going to have to weather the storm, hun. He'll come to his senses one day." Noin said, voice still filled with mirth.

Sally muttered and grumbled and pretended not to believe a word Noin was saying to her. She said a terse good-bye to her friend, and trudged back down to the hall, begrudging every step she took.

Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet

Zechs saw Sally's shadow through the foggy glass of the office door's window, and he brought his instructions to an abrupt halt.

Wufei took the cue from him and sighed as the other man rose to leave. When sally entered, Wufei pretended not to notice, and, when she wasn't looking, he bid a silent thank-you to Zechs, who with as few words as possible, excused himself.

Sally didn't want to look at Wufei as she sat down at her desk and pulled a few files from her drawer, but looking over their titles, she realized that he had the ones she was going to take home to work on. Her stomach turned when her eyes fell upon Wufei, who was adjusting his tie, and tossing his coat over his shoulder. 'Noin's right.' She thought silently, and hated herself for it. 'I am falling in love with him.' Swallowing her anxiety, she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Wufei, I need—"

"I'll finish the files, you do too much anyway." He said, and Sally's jaw fell open. Wufei never told her she was working too hard—in fact, it was generally quite the opposite. "I'm going to leave early to day—be sure you lock this place up. I'll see you tomorrow, Sally." He said, not looking directly at her, as he strode from the room. His voice was more than calm, and it left the room in an eerie stillness.

Sally stared at the door for a long time before she remembered how to breathe and blink. "What was that all about!" she said incredulously to herself, "Wufei just said my name."

Only when I stop to think about it

Wufei's knuckles were white when he released his briefcase, allowing it to fall limply into the passenger seat. When he tossed his jacket in on top of it, he noted that his hands were shaking as well. "Shit. Weak." He muttered to himself, sliding into his car and shutting the door. "Why does she get to me?" He asked his steering wheel, and he almost expected an answer. Exhaling a deep sigh, Wufei started the engine. He looked up through his windshield at the window of the office they shared, knowing that just on the other side of the tinted glass, Sally had probably already forgotten about him. He shook himself, and pulled out of the parking lot, heading not for his apartment, but for the gym at the other end of the Preventer's Headquarters; he was in desperate need of meditation if he was going to go through with Zech's suggestion.

In their office, Sally pushed the work on her desk away from her, and stood from her chair. Reaching her office door, she ran into Une, whose hand was poised to knock. "Une, I'm taking the rest of the day off, I need some air, I don't feel so well." Sally said, and stepped around her boss before the other woman could get a word in edgewise. She headed for the opposite end of the Headquarters, where there was a punching bag with her name on it.

I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?

Wufei was in his training uniform, sitting quietly on the large, padded, gym floor. His legs were crossed and his eyes were closed, but he heard the doors at the far end open and close. He also heard the sounds of a woman crossing the floor to the punching bags behind him. He knew it was Sally.

'Oh, GREAT!' Sally moaned to herself when she saw who was in the room with her. 'Just the person I'm trying to get out of my system' she coughed in effort to alert him to her presence, knowing he probably already knew she was there. And without speaking, she strode past him to the punching bags. She reached the bags, but before she could begin her workout—Wufei rose and followed her.


Only when I stop to think
About you, I know
Only when you stop to think
About me, do you know

They stood before one another for a long time in silence. Each equally as perturbed and maybe a little bit frightened by the other's presence. Wufei positioned himself opposite her, so the hanging bag was between them. "Why don't you confront me when you have a problem with me?" he broke the silence.

Sally threw the first punch, screaming, "Because you never listen to a word I say, I've tried confronting you, Wufei, but you just don't care!" She spat, angrily. "Why don't you call me by my name?" She asked back. The bag swung from the force of her punch, and as it came toward Wufei, he punched it himself.

"Names aren't important, Sally, I've proven that I know your name, and I've proven that I know who you are—why worry over such trivial matters?" he asked back.

The bag swung back toward Sally, and she fumed, "My name matters a lot to me, Wufei!" she cried, her eyes growing wide, and then narrowing, she threw another punch and asked another question. "Do you honestly think I'm incompetent because I'm a woman?" She was referring to her comment that sent her bolting from their office not two hours before.

"Why do you blow things out of proportion? And I never said you were incompetent! You know very well what I think of your abilities!" Wufei shouted, quite out of his character, he punched the bag.

Sally just screamed.

I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
You hate everything about me
Why do you love me?

"Chang Wufei, you make it incredibly difficult to be your—" Sally paused as the bag swung her way. But she didn't finished her sentence.

"Don't think you're easy either, onna." Wufei growled laying once more into his punch.

"I'm the best damn partner anyone could have in the field, Wufei!" Sally roared, punching the bag, "Anyone else would die to have me as their partner!" she closed her eyes but the tears slipped through anyway. She cursed herself, knowing how Wufei hated weakness.

Wufei gasped when he saw Sally crying. And before he could catch the bag, it hit him square in the gut. "Oof! I know you're a good partner, Sally." He said, stilling the bag's movement, and stepping around it.

Sally, after failing at getting a hold of herself spun on her heels and stepped a few feet away from Wufei. "You don't act like it, Wufei; you treat me like I'm not important to you at all. Since you hate me so much, maybe we should be reassigned."

Wufei gulped at the thought of that. He did not want anyone else for a partner. And it was apparent that he'd done a very poor job of letting this woman know that. All of the subtleties Zechs had imparted to him were forgotten as he stalked up to Sally. He turned her around in one motion, and kissed her hard. "I love you, Sally."


I hate
You hate
I hate
You love me

By the time Sally caught her breath, and recalled what Wufei had said, he was half way across the gym, collecting his things and preparing to leave. Sally shook herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming, and then called after the dark haired man. "Wufei, wait!"

His back was turned to ward her, but he stopped walking when she called his name. She came very close to him, so close, in fact, that Wufei could feel the heat from her body's exertion. He wouldn't tell her what that made him feel inside, but, he waited for her to speak.

"Wufei." She said his name again, and put a hand on his arm, asking him silently to face her. And he did so, but he did not meet her gaze. She didn't know what to say, exactly. But she knew she had to say something. If she didn't, he would be gone from her forever. "Do you mean it?" She asked, immediately thinking the question stupid.

Wufei still did not look at her. His head was level and his eyes were closed. His heart was beating very fast and very hard, and he was sure that she could hear it. "Yes I did." He said simply, stiffly.

Sally gulped as she reached a tentative hand to his face. A few strands of his hair had escaped their tether, and had lacquered themselves to his sweaty forehead. She reached up and brushed them away.

The touch forced him to open his eyes and stare down at her.

Sally's breath caught in her throat for a moment when Wufei opened his eyes and looked at her, but she did not look away. "I hated you Wufei." She said, quietly, and it was his turn to hold his breath, something in his chest fell down into his feet. But Sally wasn't done. "I hated you because it was easier than loving you. Because I thought you hated me." Sally was rambling and she clenched her eyes tight and shook her head. "I mean I love you too." She whispered, and stared at her feet.

Wufei, undaunted by her chatter, reached his hand up to cup her chin and bring her eyes back to his own. With no more words, for his thoughts were read clearly in his eyes, he drew her face up to his own, and with his other arm, pulled her impossibly close to him and he kissed her again, thoroughly.

I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?

© 2005

January 30, 2005

The Fairytale Mistress