"A New Ally(1)" Chapter 10: More Favors
Dive, flip, turn, kick off. Aly repeated a flip-turn as she continued her thirtieth lap across the indoor swimming pool of Heero's apartment building.
When she reached the end of the pool, she stopped, gripping the side and hoisting herself out of the water. She stood up and picked up her towel from a nearby lounge chair. She dried off her face and wrung out her hair, before covering her one-piece, black bathing suit clad self.
The young girl walked to the sauna and turned it on, flicking on the light before she stepped into the hot, wood lined room. Spreading out her damp towel on one of the second level benches, Aly stretched out on her stomach and laid her chin on her arms.
There was a creaking noise as the door opened. Aly glanced up to see a girl who looked about three years older than her walk in.
The girl was pretty, with dark brown hair and startling brown eyes. Her slender figure was accentuated by the skimpy two-piece bathing suit she wore. Aly noted that her posture and attire gave her a somewhat sultry appearance.
"Oh sorry, didn't know anyone was in here." The girl said with a smile.
"It's OK." Aly said.
"You sure?" The girl asked, her dark brown eyes staring at Aly curiously.
"Positive." Aly said as she laid her head back down.
"Thanks. I wanted to come in here to relax after my shower... Hey you're the girl who lives in 617." The girl said, brushing her damp, thick hair over one shoulder.
"Yeah..." Aly said, looking up again, somewhat concerned about being recognized. In all her time at Heero's apartment, she had never seen anyone else who lived there.
"I saw you and that one guy taking your laundry downstairs yesterday." The girl said as she spread out her own towel on the bench below Aly's.
"Oh." Was all the IceAngel pilot could think of saying.
"I've never seen you around here before; are you new to the building?"
"Yeah."
"Welcome to the building then. I'm Cherise Franklin."
"Aly Shadows." Aly replied, studying Cherise closely.
"That guy you were with, is he your boyfriend?"
"No." Aly replied. She tried to analyze the new girl as best she could. Cherise had an odd look in her eyes. They reminded Aly of the eyes of a tiger: cool, but deadly.
"Oh, too bad. He's cute." Cherise smiled to herself and laid down on her back, closing her eyes.
The IceAngel pilot laid back down, unsure of how to react to Cherise. She seemed so cool and confident; almost like a mercenary in the Mafia might be.
Aly slowly pushed herself onto her hands and knees and gathered up her towel. She stepped down from her bench, careful not to step on Cherise on her way down.
"Overheated?" Cherise asked without opening her eyes.
"Yeah." Aly replied simply before she opened the door.
"Nice meeting you. Maybe I will see you around here more often Natalya." Cherise said.
That caused Aly to freeze halfway out the door.
"Why'd you call me Natalya?" Aly turned to Cherise with an innocently confused smile on her face. Inside, her instincts were screaming at her to beat the daylights out of the older girl.
Cherise sat up on her elbows, bringing her eyes to meet Aly's.
"That is your name isn't it? Natalya Tayeari?" Cherise smiled like a tigress.
"No. My name is Aly Shadows." Aly said, never losing her award winning, false smile.
"Sorry. You look a lot like her you know...the foreign minister's daughter." Cherise smiled, that same dangerous smile.
"I get that a lot. It was nice meeting you Cherise." Aly said.
"Yeah. Take good care of that room mate of yours." Cherise laid back down and closed her eyes again.
"Of course." Aly closed the door behind herself and walked briskly out of the pool room. As soon as she was outside, in the hallway, she slowed down a bit, trying to calm her nerves.
'Take care of my roommate? Was that a threat?' Aly thought. The way that Cherise had said it, and the look in her eyes, Aly did not doubt the possibility. She had no fear of the girl. Heero could take care of himself, but the girl seemed too cocky. Perhaps she had powerful friends.
"I'm being paranoid." Aly scolded herself aloud as she stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the 6th floor.
The IceAngel pilot felt a jolt of energy jump through her as she heard a thump. Looking up, she saw that someone had caught the elevator doors before they closed. The person stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind them before they spoke to her.
"Surprise."
"Where the hell did you come from?" Aly asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Hmm...Not exactly the greeting I expected..." Quatre smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. It's been...a weird day." Aly said, frowning down at her flip-flops.
"Seems like it." Quatre said.
"I'm glad to see you, but a little confused on how you appeared out of no where." Aly offered Quatre a small smile.
"Ah, yes. Well, I was in town." Quatre said, returning her smile.
"How did you know where to go?" The elevator signaled the arrival on the sixth floor with an electronic ding. Aly and Quatre proceeded down the hallway towards Heero's apartment.
"A friend gave me directions. And, I wanted it to be a surprise, so... here I am."
"Hm. Remind me later to kill him." Aly grumbled, wrapping her towel closer around herself to ward off the cold breeze from the air conditioning units.
"He was keeping a promise. You can understand that." Quatre laughed, his eyes twinkling with his cheerful mood.
"Yeah...sure. I can understand him allowing someone to make me think I was going to have to fight a person off on an elevator, in a bathing suit..." Aly said sarcastically.
"Glad to see you're doing well." Quatre laughed again.
Turning away from him, Aly knocked three times on the door. She had not bothered to bring a key, knowing Heero had not planned to go anywhere.
There was no answer for several minutes, so Aly knocked again, more loudly that time. In the back of her mind, she hoped that Heero had not changed his mind and run off somewhere.
The door was jerked opened to reveal Heero wrapped from the waist down in a towel. His hair hung limply on his head, weighted down by the water dripping from his brown locks.
The sight was amusing for Aly. Heero's hair always looked untamable, and for once it was flat. It was an eccentric look for him.
Aly simply quirked an eyebrow at Heero's appearance. Since her stay with Heero, Aly had taken a long time to get used to Heero's post shower, towel clad self. It was hard for her to try not to stare at his bare chest and well developed arms.
Aly stepped past him and walked inside, followed by Quatre.
"Nice to see you again Heero." Quatre said, nodding towards Heero.
"Yeah..." Heero said, brushing his sopping bangs out of his face. "How long have you been here?"
"Only a few minutes. I found Aly at the elevator and followed her up." Quatre explained.
"Heh...found..." Aly mumbled.
"She is a little upset that she did not know I was coming." Quatre said in response to Heero's sideways glance at Aly.
"Are you done in the shower? I'm cold and I need to get this chlorine off." Aly said, shivering as her damp hair dripped water down her back. Her towel was also wet, so it did not help her much.
"Yeah, go."
"K. Thanks." Aly dashed off in the direction of the bathroom. She was glad Heero had just showered so the bathroom was warm and steamy.
"I'm going to get dressed. Have a seat." Heero said.
"All right. Thank you." Quatre said as he sat down on the living room couch. Heero nodded and walked back into the bedroom.
Fifteen minutes later, Aly stepped into the living room. She found Quatre and Heero both sitting on the couch, watching the evening news.
"Did I miss anything important?" Aly asked, staring at the screen with disinterest.
"Just local news." Quatre replied.
"Oh."
"Are you two hungry? I thought it would be nice if the three of us went out for dinner tonight." Quatre said.
"You two go." Heero said, staring at the T.V.
"You sure?" Quatre asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you want us to bring you back anything?" Aly said, trying to read Heero's far away expression.
"No, I will be fine." The WingZero pilot looked away from the news and glanced between the two.
Quatre stood from his seat and joined Aly by the door.
"Well, I will bring Aly back by eleven." Quatre said with a friendly smile.
"Fine."
The two males did not exchange any more words before Aly and Quatre shuffled out the door. Closing it behind them, Aly stared at the door for several seconds before she linked her arm with Quatre's and began walking down the hall.
"So where are we going?" Aly asked, smiling up at the blonde boy and clasping his hand in hers.
"Feel like Italian?"
Around 8:30 p.m., Standard Time, Quatre and Aly had finished eating, and had wandered into a small park in Sector 3 of the L1 colony, near Quatre's hotel room. The pair sat down on a wooden bench near a water fountain and watched the rushing water.
"I finished organizing all of your legal affairs." Quatre said, trying to start some form of conversation.
"Thanks...I appreciate it a lot. I doubt I could have handled it all by myself." Aly said with a small smile.
"It was quite a bit to go through. You inherited several different estates scattered around Earth... an estate on L3, one on L4, and the insurance alone from the house that was on L7 was enough to cover the taxes for most of them for the next four years..." Quatre shook his head in wonderment.
"Damn..." was all Aly could think of to say.
"That's what I said." Quatre laughed lightly.
"What am I supposed to do with it all?" The brunette furrowed her brow in thought.
"Who knows...maybe it will all prove useful someday." Quatre shrugged.
"Yeah..."
"Oh, and, I have a message for you..." Quatre trailed off.
"From who?" Aly looked at him in curiosity.
"A man who said he was Am�'s father..."
"What did he say?" The IceAngel pilot was at full attention then.
"He said...that his daughter had gone somewhere a few months ago. And, she had told him; he should contact you if he did not hear back from her. He was unsure how to reach you though...so he gave me the message, knowing somehow that I was responsible for your legal affairs." Quatre explained.
"Did he leave any contact information?" Aly asked.
"Yes." Quatre reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.
"Did you do a check on the number?" Aly asked, taking the slip from him.
"Yeah...I found out that he is the head of this new organization called 'Preventors' they are a group that tries to stop possible war threats."
"Alliance-affiliated?"
"Not sure."
"Hmm." Aly slipped the piece of paper into her own pocket.
"You think your friend is OK?"
"Not sure. I am going to contact him tomorrow." Aly said, trying not to think of what problems Am� may have gotten into.
Silence fell between the pair of gundam pilots for several minutes. Aly was wrapped up in memories of Am� and Quatre was not sure what else to say.
"I missed you." Quatre finally said, breaking the silence.
"I missed you too." Curling up on the bench, Aly leaned into Quatre's side, snuggling close to him while he put his arm around her.
"Will you come with me to L4?" Quatre asked, looking at the fountain in front of them. Aly looked up at him, meeting his gaze. She saw the hope in his eyes and felt unsure what to think.
"I don't know...If Am� is in trouble, I may have to go away for a long time. I can't promise anything."
"I understand." Quatre smiled warmly at her, but she could see the disappointment in his eyes. The IceAngel pilot felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was not the first time she had brushed him off.
"Maybe when I get back. The media is sure to have died down by then...and, maybe you could even help me with my Foreign Minister duties." The brunette offered him a weak smile.
"All right. I will look forward to it." Quatre flashed her a genuine smile.
Aly turned away and looked at the fountain. She remained quiet, content with her decision.
The following afternoon, Aly was in the room she shared with Heero, hastily stuffing various items into the open duffel bag on the bed. Ignoring the fact that Heero was watching silently beside the doorway, Aly stepped over to the closet and pulled her thin black jacket off it's hanger.
"I thought your father was the one who gave you your missions." Heero said. The WingZero pilot was in the dark as to why Aly was leaving so suddenly. After she had gotten off the phone, the IceAngel pilot had only informed Heero that she was going on a mission before she had rushed to the bedroom to pack.
"He was. This is a self-instituted mission." Aly said, her eyes narrowed in a look of determination. She tossed her jacket on the bed and zipped the duffel bag shut.
"How long?"
"Three months, maybe four. No contact." She pulled on her jacket before picking up her duffel bag and slipping the strap over her shoulder. Without speaking to him, Aly breezed past Heero, out of the room.
"Then what?" Heero asked, following her out of the room. Aly stopped halfway to the door and turned on her heel to face him. In her rush to make her shuttle flight and get to Earth, she had not bothered to consider what came afterwards.
"Quatre wants me to stay with him." Aly replied, adjusting the strap of the duffel bag to sit more comfortably across her chest.
"Does he know you are leaving?"
"I told him it was a possibility." Aly frowned.
Heero was a bit troubled. The girl before him had been his roommate for over a month. It was strange to find her leaving so unexpectedly. The WingZero pilot felt he should say more, but was unsure what.
When Heero did not speak further, the brunette turned back around and headed for the front door. Her earlier anxiety was returning. She knew her shuttle would depart in less than an hour.
Reaching absentmindedly into her jeans pocket to check for her ID, Aly paused when she felt a crumpled slip of paper there. Fishing the paper out and examining it, her brow furrowed in thought.
Aly felt guilty, realizing what she was doing. Heero had taken her in, and she had been about to leave all of the sudden without even thanking him for all he had done for her. She turned back around to face Heero once again, knowing what she had to do.
"Heero, I appreciate everything you have done for me. And, I know it seems inappropriate of me, but I need to ask you for another favor." The IceAngel pilot looked back up at Heero with a strange mix of emotions on her face.
"What?" Heero asked, curiosity flashing briefly in his eyes.
"If you don't hear from me, in four months. I want you to contact this person." Aly held out the same slip of paper that Quatre had given to her the previous day.
"Why me?" Heero asked, staring at the paper in her hand.
"I don't want the others to worry." She replied. Heero took the paper from her and nodded once to show his acceptance. Aly turned around and opened the door, stepping outside.
"Four months." Heero stated. The IceAngel pilot looked back in the door and nodded. She gave him a small smile of appreciation, and with that, she was gone.
Heero stared at the closed door for a long time. It signified that he had been shut off from the world again, left inside with his only solitude.
-End of Chapter 10-
Author's Notes:
Please Review! It means so very very much to me. I get all excited and tingly inside when I find out I have reviews. Make my day, gimme a review. I need it to live! Well, not really...but they're very nice to get.
-AlyRain