A/N: Okay, it has a long while since I posted anything, and I apologize. Sadly, my schedule has been hecktic after graduation, and well, to be frank, I have lost my muse. No, I still don't have my muse, but I realize that I need to start trying to update these fics regularly. Originally, I started this one-shot last year as part of jumping onto the bandwagon with Baka Tulip and Chibodee with their C/A one-shots. This took me almost a whole year to write, and it is the longest one-shot I have ever written in my life. I hope it's good enough for everyone.
Title: Only in the MoviesPairing: Chibodee/Allenby, with some mentions of D/R as well
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: Allenby is bored, wandering around the streets of New York. When Chibodee comes and offers to show her a good time, will they both find something else they've been looking for?
Only in the Movies
Allenby leaned back against the railing, looking up at the gray sky with a frown, her normally bright, shining green eyes dull and bored. It had been a year since the Gundam tournament. She was happy for Domon and Rain, but that didn't mean that she was happy for herself. Where was her happy ending? Where was her hero that was supposed to come and take away her pain? Bah, that was only in the movies.
She sighed and looked down when it began to rain. Of course, just her luck. Another sigh came from her as she didn't even bother to move. The scientists decided to take her to a new facility they built in America, and she didn't have anywhere to go. They had surprisingly and graciously given her a day off, only Allenby really didn't have anything to do. She didn't know anyone in America to go hang out with, and she was really never interested in ever visiting America, so she didn't have a place she wanted to visit. So, here she was, standing alone in a park in the rain.
Suddenly, she didn't feel any rain drops falling on her, and she looked up to see she was now standing underneath a umbrella. She spun around, and her green eyes widen in shock and confusion at the smiling face that greeted her.
"That's a good way to catch a cold," he joked, smirking at his little joke. His laughing green eyes and wild navy blue hair with its trademark patch of pink finally became familiar to her as she remembered the name of the person whose face she saw.
"Chibodee Crocket?" she asked. His smirk grew as he nodded.
"Allenby. What are you doing here? I thought you would have been training for the next Gundam fight," he inquired.
"I am," she answered. "They decided to make me train here for awhile. I just had the day off." He nodded again, then his eyes took on an concerned look.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Well, I just decided I'd go for a walk, and then it started raining…I don't mind though. I don't have anywhere else really to go."
Chibodee shifted his weight from mostly his right leg to left back to his right and looked to her. "Well, come on, I don't want to talk out here," he said, and without giving her a chance to say anything, he held out his umbrella to her. "Hold this for a sec," he said, and confused and shock, Allenby did so as he crawled under the railing and stood up next to her. "Thank you my dear," he teased as he took back his umbrella. Then, without another word, he took her hand and began walking down the street.
Allenby was shocked. She half-thought of her pulling her hand back and leaving, but somehow, she felt tired of the rain, and she was curious to see where he was taking her. She hadn't spent too much time with the Neo-American, but she knew from Domon that he was a wild party-animal and bit of a playboy. Finally, they stopped outside an old building, and Allenby looked up to see a sign that read "Casablanca" in red lit-up letters. Above that, in black letters, was written "Liberty Movie Theatre."
"A movie theatre?" Allenby whispered softly, still looking up at the sign, not paying any attention to the Gundam fighter standing next to her as he bought two tickets. She looked down in time to see him hand her one of the orange paper tickets. She felt a little bad, knowing that she had no money to pay him back and opened her mouth to say something when he smiled.
"Come on, we're going to be late," he replied and placed an arm around her shoulders and led her inside. They went to the snack bar, and after ordering a large popcorn and large Coke for himself, he turned and asked her what she wanted. Not wanting him to spend even more of his money on her, she refused. However, her stomach growled, foiling her act, and Chibodee laughed as she blushed faintly. "Not hungry, huh?" he laughed. Allenby's cheeks were aflame with embarrassment as she stare coldly at him. He merely laughed for another moment, then smiled. "So, what do you want?"
"Fine," she sighed. "A medium popcorn and a small Coke."
"Wow, that's it?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing, just that seems kinda small," he answered as the cashier handed him his order. "Oh well…hey, add a medium popcorn and a small Coke." He looked back at her. "You sure you don't want anything else?"
"No, that'll be fine," she quickly answered. He shrugged slightly.
"Okay," he simply said as her order came, and Chibodee paid the man and handed Allenby her order.
Without saying another word, he gently took her hand in his and led her to the theatre. Allenby's eyes widen slightly at their jointed hands. First, he was willingly holding onto her; not even Domon did that. Second, her hand seemed to fit perfectly in his, even with her glove on. Finally, his touch was gentle and as odd as it seemed, she could feel his warmth even through her glove. Slowly, she clasped her hand around his and watched in wonder as he linked his fingers with hers. She looked back up at him, but he didn't seem to notice her, as though he had done that out of instinct. When they finally reached the theatre, there was hardly anyone there besides the two, and he let go of her hand when they sat down in their seats.
That's odd, Allenby thought sitting there, I feel bad that he let my hand go… Why? Little did she know, Chibodee was thinking the same thing. Oh sure, he had been with other girls before, but he never felt bad before about letting them go. That wasn't the case with her. It confused the hell out of him. However, he pushed the thought aside, concentrating on the movie fixing to play.
"What is this?" Allenby asked in a whisper, looking over at him out of the corner of her eye. He leaned over to her slightly.
"It's Casablanca. It was a classic movie made WAY back; it used to be my mother's favorite movie to watch when I was little," he answered back in a whisper. "In fact, when she first made me watch it, she took me to this very theatre. Now, every time it's playing, I come down here to see it. Don't worry, you'll like it."
She was shocked he told her something as personal as that. Why would he? It didn't make any sense. "But why did you—"
"Shh, the movie's about to start," he said, cutting her off. Truth was he didn't want her to finish her question; it would mean that he would have to answer it, and he didn't know how to. He didn't know why he brought her or why he told her that. Maybe it was because he didn't want to be alone while watching this movie and since she was there was the explanation for it. But if that was it, why didn't he bring along just one of his crew? Or maybe because he was as others had said a "playboy" and he only wanted to have a good time. But he didn't feel like that though; he felt no real sexual desire for her, he just seemed to want her company. Seeing that the movie had started, he stopped his thinking and focused on the movie.
Allenby was spellbound by the movie. She had heard of others talking about how great it was, and finally, she saw why. Normally, she would have never picked this movie to watch, since it just seemed to be a romance flick, but it was so deep and rich in story, and the actors were so perfect for the characters they played, that she couldn't help but fall in love with it.
Midway into the movie, she felt warm and protected, and without even realizing it, she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Chibodee didn't seem to fully notice either as he sat there, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, a small smile on his face. It was only when his hand slid down and began to curl around her stomach that the two saw their close position and quickly back away, both fighting back a blush. Neither knew what was coming over them or why they were feeling like that. The rest of the movie went smoothly with no more awkward moments between them.
"The ending was so sad," Allenby replied as they walked out of the theatre.
"Yeah, it is… Hey! It's stopped raining!" Chibodee remarked.
"Yeah, it did," she commented, looking up at the bright blue sky and smiled.
He looked over and couldn't help but slightly smile as her saw how bright her grin was or how her eyes were now shining. He cleared his throat, catching her attention, and he shrugged slightly. "Um…Hey, if I remember right, you like video games, huh?" he asked hesitantly. Caught off-guard, she merely nodded, not saying a word. "…Wanna go play some? There's an arcade nearby."
Allenby instantly perked up at the idea of going to play video games again. It had been awhile since they let her play some. She smiled and nodded. "Sure!" she chimed.
Chibodee's green eyes lit up with joy as a wide grin spread across his face; he looked like an excited little kid that came down on Christmas morning and found that Santa had been there. Quickly, he grabbed hold of her hand. "Well, come on slow poke! It's this way!" he exclaimed and began running off to the arcade without giving Allenby a chance to utter a single word or without seeing Allenby's blush.
They reached there in a matter of a couple of minutes; it was about five blocks down, and the place looked huge. Off to the right, there was a lavish restaurant area, and on the left was the actual arcade. Allenby was paying so much attention to taking in the details of this place, this being the only third arcade she had ever been to and her first American one at that, that she didn't realize that Chibodee went ahead to get their tokens to play the games. When he returned, she snapped out of her train of thought, and he placed ten gold coins in her hand. "C'mon, let's go!" he replied and led her into the arcade.
The room was dimly lit with different colored lasers shining off in the place, and loud rock/techno music was playing in the background. People stood at various games, clicking on buttons to pull off special combos, laugh at others' failures, or watched the flashing colored images coming from the machines. All in all, it was a fascinating place to Allenby, having this to be different from the one in Neo-Hong Kong as well as the one in her nation. She turned to him. "Well, what first?" she asked.
He grinned at her and patted her on the back. "Lady's choice," he answered, and Allenby blinked in shock, surprised he was showing her such courtesy; not even Domon had ever been that generous to her. However, she didn't want to keep gawking at him, afraid that she might blush from embarrassment, and she would die if he saw her blush like some little schoolgirl! She scanned the room and smiled when she saw a familiar and popular game.
"That one!" she exclaimed, pointing at it. Chibodee looked in the direction of her finger to see Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). His eyes widen in shock when he realized what it was.
"That one!" he demanded, and Allenby turned to look at him, puzzled, her right eyebrow cocked. She could be mistaken, but it almost sounded like the proud Neo-American was afraid. Chibodee caught her gaze and quickly put a cocky grin on his face; he couldn't let her know that he was scared to play this game with her. He was horrible at it, and his ego and pride would shatter if a girl beat him at anything. "Okay! That one!" Allenby looked at him doubtfully for a moment longer, then turned to walk over to the game. Chibodee sighed and shook his head before following her.
I'm going to kick myself in the ass for this one… he thought.
Thankfully for them, there miraculously wasn't a line for the game, and the two hopped onto the dance pads and plopped in their tokens. Chibodee quickly pressed the Light Mode icon, wanting to have a chance to save his pride…Too late. Allenby smirked sadistically at him as she clicked on Heavy Mode, flashing him a smile that told him that she was going to wipe the floor with him. Then, came for the dancers; Allenby chose a girl with long, dark-blue hair named Alice, while Chibodee picked a man with black hair, wearing a suit, and called Akira. Finally, it came to the song selection.
She smirked over at him. "So, your choice, or is it still 'ladies' first'?" she teased.
"Hey, I was being a gentleman!" he protested before laughing, and she joined in softly. She took that as her sign to pick a song, and she flipped through the different songs, listening briefly to a couple, before skipping onto the next one. Finally, one caught her eye, and she stayed on it, humming along with it.
"This one okay?" she asked, looking at him with a small smile. Chibodee looked away from her cute face and focused onto the screen. The song was entitled "Pink Rose," and it was a Japanese pop-styled song. Eh, he never cared for those, but it didn't seem that hard on Light Mode. Why not?
"Sure," he answered.
"Great!" she chimed and jumped on the start button, selecting the song.
The song was fairly upbeat and was actually a pretty good song. Allenby sang it softly on-key, scoring perfects on every step, while Chibodee kept having to try and slow himself down to hit the arrows at the right time. In all fairness, he was doing fine; it just took him awhile to learn that on freeze arrows, he had to keep his foot down the entire time to get full credit. In the end, Allenby scored an AA star, while Chibodee got a C. Without even saying a word, she flashed him a Chester cat grin, while Chibodee scowled.
"That was just a warm-up!" he snapped.
Allenby laughed. "Fine, same here!" she chimed, smiling at him so innocently that Chibodee couldn't stay mad at her for him losing to her; he grinned back and began laughing. Deep down, he didn't know why he didn't feel sore about losing to her, but he just felt like it didn't matter. Oh well. He could think about it later; right now, he had more important things to think about…like how to keep her smiling like that…
What the hell? What did I mean by THAT! he demanded in his mind, barely aware of himself scrolling down the list of songs until he landed on "Dream a Dream." He shrugged and glanced at her. "This one okay?"
"Sure!" she answered, keeping herself on Hard Mode, and Chibodee swallowed his pride as he kept on Light Mode as well.
The song started up…And ended with the same results, except this time, Chibodee got a B star. Allenby laughed lightly as Chibodee cheered for his new score. He was happy about it, until he caught what Allenby's score was. However, he didn't feel mad or annoyed this time; instead, all he did was laugh with her.
"Cheater!" Chibodee yelled at her, still laughing. Normally, Allenby would have kicked whoever dared to call her that in the chest, but this time, she kept her joyful mood.
"Sore loser!" she replied back.
After they laughed for a moment and calmed down, Allenby looked over at him. "My choice again?" she asked.
"Sure," he answered.
After "Look to the Sky" was finished, Allenby's overall score was an AA, and she was declared the winner. They stepped off, and it was now Chibodee's turn to choose the game.
Both the shooting cop game and the motorcycle racing game looked interesting, but he ended up choosing a fighting-styled game called Final Combat. He chose a character named Tom, who was fairly muscular, had brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and wore jeans and a white tee shirt with the sleeves torn. Allenby picked a female character called Juni, who had long black hair in a braid and wore a bright blue jumpsuit with white wavy sleeves and a pair of black knee-high boots. The announcer yelled for them to begin, and so the match did.
With barely any life left, Chibodee won the round and just smirked over at Allenby as she glowered at the screen in frustration. However, Chibodee's victory was short-lived as in the next round, it was Allenby that was the winner. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating, his hand gripping the joystick, Allenby doing the same. "Double KO!" the announcer voice chimed as the two stared in shock as they watched their characters fall to the ground. Now, it was serious; the two Gundam fighters gritted their teeth, glared at the screen, focusing all their mind power and energy into the last round…. And it ended as another tie, and since the game only went to four rounds, it declared them both losers.
"That's lame!" Chibodee exclaimed, stuffing his hands into his pockets as they turned away from it.
Allenby shook her head, almost laughing. "Well, YOU were the one who chose it…I guess that makes you lame too!" she teased.
"Hey! I was the one who bought you your tokens!" he reminded the aqua-haired teen as she laughed.
"Yeah, I know," she replied, her laughter slowly dying down. "Now what do you want to—" Allenby started but was interrupted by a loud rumble. She looked over at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise, for a moment before she smiled and caught a fit of the giggles. "You're hungry AGAIN?"
"Hey!" Chibodee scoffed. "You can burn off a lot of energy playing that DPR—or whatever you call it!"
"Well, if you know of a spot, then we can eat," she offered.
"As a matter of fact, I do! Let's go!" he declared, grabbed her wrist, and ran out of the arcade with her, almost pulling her arm out of her socket, but Allenby didn't fight him. He stopped right outside the restaurant area that was next to the arcade and smiled at her slightly. "This place serves great food…I'm sure you can find something you'll like," he told her.
The floor was covered with black and white checkered tiles that were cleaned to a shine, and there were dozens of black plastic tables with chairs set up throughout the room. There was a counter in the back that had stools to sit on, for those that wanted to eat at the bar, with the cashiers as well. Colorful garlands of glass beads hang from the ceiling, the colors of the beads sparkling all over the restaurant as modern rock music played at a decent volume in the place. On the walls were signed pictures of various celebrities that had stopped by…one of them at the far side of the room being that of Chibodee Crocket himself. All in all, it was a nice looking place.
Chibodee walked over to the cashier, with Allenby following behind him, and he talked with the cashier for a brief moment, catching up on old times, before he placed his order. "Uh, yeah, I'll have two double cheeseburgers, a large order of fries, a large Coke, and a banana split." He looked over at Allenby. "What about you, babe?" The Neo-Sweden gave him a look that read drop dead. However, Chibodee just laughed. "Okay, okay then! ALLENBY, what do you want?"
She smiled oversweetly at him. "That's better!" she chimed and looked at the menu. There was quite a variety here. They served it seemed like everything from apple pie to turkey sandwiches. "Umm…I'll have a slice of pepperoni pizza and a small Coke."
"What? THAT'S it!" Chibodee demanded, laughing.
"Yeah. What's wrong with it?" Allenby snapped back.
"Come on! This is our dinner! You need to eat something more filling! Order a dessert! Come on! You're not at the military base now!"
Her green eyes rolled heavenward as she sighed heavily. "Fine, add a slice of chocolate pie to it please," she told the cashier, before turning her eyes to the Neo-American, glaring at him slightly. "But that's it!" Chibodee put his hands up in defeat, and after the cashier told the amount owed, Chibodee paid him.
"We'll be at table three, okay Bob?" Chibodee replied.
"Sure thing, Mr. Crocket," Bob assured him. With that said, Chibodee stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked with Allenby over to table three, which was next to a window that had a perfect view of the arcade.
Silence. The two sat there in the awkward quietness that had developed between them. Then again, what should they even say to one another? Before today, the two had never really interacted and didn't know much about each other. Chibodee idly drummed his right fingers upon the tabletop, and Allenby looked down at her gloved hands. They were both being uncharacteristically silent, but neither could think up of anything to say. Finally, Allenby decided to ask something that had been on her mind their whole time together.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you taking me to these places?" she asked, looking at him.
Slowly, Chibodee brought his eyes up to her, staring at her quietly for a second before he shrugged, leaning back slightly in his chair as he looked away. "I don't know," he answered truthfully.
Allenby's eyes widened in shock and confusion. That definitely wasn't the answer she was planning to hear, but then again, what answer was she hoping for? "What do you mean you don't know!" she demanded. "How could you not—"
"Order for Table Number Three!" a voice interrupted, and the two turned their attention to the waitress standing beside them, holding their order on a tray. She handed them their meals and left after Chibodee gave her a tip. Allenby was fixing to re-ask her question, when Chibodee smiled at her.
"Food's here!" he chimed and began eating, and seeing that he wasn't going to answer her question, Allenby started on her meal as well. "So," Chibodee began, his mouth full of a bite from his cheeseburger, "How long have you been training to be a Gundam fighter?"
Allenby swallowed her bite of pizza and looked up at him. "Almost my whole life," she answered. She took a quick sip of her Coke and nodded towards him. "You?"
He devoured the rest of his first double cheeseburger before answering. "About ten years now, before I became a pro boxer."
She nearly choked on her drink when she heard him and almost started laughing. "You were a professional boxer?" she inquired before eating the rest of her pizza.
"Hey! I still AM a boxer!" He sighed and took a huge bite out of his cheeseburger, then a swig of his Coke.
"But then, how do balance both jobs?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink and starting on the pie.
"Well, after the tournament, I go and do boxing for about three years, helps with training for Maxter as well, and then, once the tournament starts, boom! I'm back in the MTS suit!" He had finished his last cheeseburger and starting digging into his banana split. "So, what's a kid like you doing in the military anyway?"
"I'm not a kid!" she snapped. "I'm eighteen!"
"But I thought Neo-Japan said you were just a kid like Neo-China…" he replied.
Her green eyes widened in shock as she almost winced from his statement. "A kid?" she repeated softly. Dazed and hurt, she looked down, now playing with her slice of pie.
They made idle, pointless conversation after that, and Allenby did seem to cheer up a little, but that comment Chibodee had made still put a damper on her spirit. Suddenly, they heard a bunch of people cheering and shouting, and they looked out the window to see people gathered around a game in the arcade. Allenby frowned when she saw it was the game that Domon and her had played that one night in Neo-Hong Kong. Her eyes went back down to the table, and Chibodee caught her sad look.
"Hey, hey Allenby, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice gentle. She looked up at him and flashed him a fake, happy smile.
"Nothing's wrong," she lied, and he could see right through it.
"Allenby, something's bothering you…What is it?" he continued. However, she kept silent and looked down again. "You miss him, don't you?…"
"Who?" she asked, looking back up at him, trying to make her voice sound cheerful.
"Hey, I grew up in New York…I KNOW when people lie. Now cut it out with this innocent bullshit. You know I mean Neo-Japan." He didn't mean for his voice to sound as harsh as it did, but he was tired of listening to people's lies, and for some reason, when he saw her in pain…it reminded him of the pain he suffered with the lost of his mother, and it hurt him.
She looked outside the window at the game. "The first night I met him…we played that game," she said, her voice having a faraway quality to it. "He…He…" Her voice failed her, and she kept staring outside.
"I know you loved him," he replied, nodding his head.
"It still hurts a little, I guess," she commented.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," he murmured, looking down at his hand. Hearing his words, she turned back, looking at him gently with her green eyes. Feeling her eyes on him, he brought his eyes up to look into hers.
"Your mother?" she asked, and he nodded.
"And Kacie," he answered before he could stop himself.
"Kacie?" Allenby asked, raising a brow. "Who's Kacie?"
Damnit, you moron! Why did you mention HER to Allenby! his mind yelled at him.
He sighed. "Kacie was an old girlfriend of mine…" he began. "It was before I became a Gundam fighter. I thought she was going to be the one…" His voice trailed off, and he stopped, and the suspense was almost too much for Allenby. She leaned forward slightly, looking at him curiously and concerned.
"Did she die?" she asked almost in a whisper.
At hearing her question, he burst out laughing. "What? No, no. She didn't die," he corrected, smiling. Then, after a moment, his smile faded. "She cheated on me."
"Oh, Chibodee, I'm—" However, he waved her off.
"Though…I supposed it would have been good if she had died," he replied.
"Chibodee!" she exclaimed, trying to be serious and not laugh. "That's horrible!" she snapped and hit his arm.
"Ow! Hey, come on, I'm serious! Just think, I could have then ran for office and used the sob card! I would have won!" he explained.
"Then your country would have been in serious trouble," she stated in a matter of fact tone. They started laughing loudly at that.
Soon, the two were finished with their dinner, and Allenby looked at him with a small smile. "Well, I've had fun Chibodee, but I probably should head back to the hotel now, so I can finishing packing and make my flight," she said. Chibodee's face filled with confusion.
"You're leaving!" he demanded, and the Neo-Sweden Gundam fighter nodded. "But I thought you said you were here for training!"
"I was…I was here for two weeks," she explained.
Two weeks? She was here for two weeks! She was here all this time, and I missed her? he thought frantically, so deep in thought that he almost missed her next sentence.
"They decided to give me today off since they were doing last minute check-ups on some equipment," she finished.
"When's your flight?"
"Midnight."
"Today?" She nodded, and he sighed. "Allenby, why didn't—"
"Chibodee, I should go," she interrupted, standing up.
"Here, I'll walk ya to the hotel," he said, standing up as well.
"No, I'll—"
"Come on, let's go," he said, walking slowly to the door, and she sighed before following him out the building.
Night had already came upon the city, and the lights from the numerous buildings and street lamps had their way lit perfectly though. They slowly walked side by side on the sidewalk as cars zoomed by beside them.
"Did you have a good time?" he asked her.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, a real good time, Chibodee," she answered, before a slight laugh escaped her lips. "I already told you that."
He smirked, looking off for a moment. "Just wanted to make sure you weren't lying," he teased, causing her to laugh.
"Chibodee Crocket, you're terrible!" she exclaimed jokingly.
"You just haven't seen my charming side yet," he countered, smirking still.
"Yeah, that'll be the day," she dryly agreed.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see she was slightly shivering in the chilly night, and he took off his heavy demin jacket and plopped it down on her shoulders. "Here, you're going to freeze," he said.
"No, I'm fine," she corrected, trying to give it back to him, but Chibodee refused.
"Keep it."
"Aren't you going to feel cold?" she asked, looking over at him, noting in the back of her mind with surprise that he did look nice in just his jeans and sleeveless shirt.
"Nah, I'm used to this weather."
They walked in silence a couple of minutes, just staying the quiet, calm company of one another. A peaceful feeling settled in both of them, and though it was confusing to have that feeling around each other, it was comforting.
"So, I guess the next time we'll talk will be at the Gundam fights," she thought aloud, deciding to break their silence once more.
Chibodee stop in his tracks. "No, it won't," he corrected.
Allenby realized he stopped, and she turned and looked back at him. "It won't?" she asked.
The Queen of Spades walked to her and looked down. "No. Look, if you're ever bored or just want to talk, you can call me. Here's my…" He paused as he searched his pockets, even his wallet and realized that he not only did not have a piece of paper to write her number down, but he didn't have a pen either. "Shit!" he hissed and looked at her. "Do you have a pen?"
She blinked in shock. "No, why?"
"Just wait here!" he ordered, and he looked around, looking for someone else roaming the streets as they were. Thankfully for him, there were a few people coming out of a bar, and he ran to them, asking for a pen, and again thankfully for him, one lent him theirs. Triumphant in his "quest", he came back to Allenby and gently took her hand into his.
He removed her glove and just held her warm hand for a moment, and she almost blushed at the gesture. They stared into each other's eyes, a warm feeling sweeping over them, that made them both happy and confused at the same time. Time almost seemed to stand still as they stared at the other's green depths, but growing nervous, Chibodee cleared his throat. "You have nice hands," he complimented.
"Thank you," she said softly, still looking into his eyes.
Chibodee took the cap off the pen and wrote ten numbers on her palm, which almost tickled her. "There. That's the number to my apartment, so yeah…"
She looked down at her hand then back to him with a small smile. "Thanks," she began, "…for everything, Chibodee."
"No problem." He glanced down at the ground before looking behind her and finally returning his eyes to her. "That's where you're staying?" he asked, pointing to the tall hotel behind her.
Silently praying for it not to be, she turned around and saw that indeed it was the hotel she was staying at. "Yeah, it is…" she answered. She looked back at him, and she was surprised by the sudden sadness that consumed her mind at the thought of saying good-bye to him. "Well, I guess this is it then…"
His eyes looked off to the side. "Yeah…" he mumbled. He brought his eyes back to her, and he felt the urge to hug her as he looked into her beautiful green eyes, but he shoved the sudden impulse out of his mind. Instead, he held out his hand. "Bye Allenby."
She had been hoping for a hug, but maybe this was for the better. The Neo-Sweden forced a smile on her lips as she grasped his hand and shook it firmly. "Good-bye Chibodee." Then, as abrupt and short their day together had been, she returned him his jacket and turned and quickly walked back into the hotel.
Chibodee stood outside the hotel for a moment, looking forlornly at where she had gone to, holding his jacket awkwardly in his hands. He was half-tempted to run in after her, but he sighed, put on his jacket, and started walking back to his hotel.
Allenby walked up to her room after checking in with the scientists. Thankfully for her sake, Dr. Behluima was the one to greet her, and he didn't lecture her but had asked if she was okay. She had mumbled that she was fine, but the truth was that she didn't know. Even though she had a great time with Chibodee, she now felt sad and depress with him gone. It didn't make sense.
Sluggishly, she began packing up all her clothes, which weren't too many, into her suitcase, and she paused after closing, shocked to find that tears were in her eyes. She hadn't cried in almost a whole year now, since Domon had left with Rain, but she was crying now. She was now over losing Domon, but she still craved finding that one person to make her happy. Could Chibodee mean that much to her, even just after one day? Was it really possible to fall in love in just one day?
She wiped at her tears and sat down upon her bed. He made her forget about training, about the Gundam fights, about…Domon. He made her so happy today, and he could always make her smile and laugh; he knew how to cheer her up when she got sad. When they were hanging out today, she felt like she really connected with him.
Do-Do I…LOVE him?… she thought.
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Chibodee stopped outside his apartment building when he looked up at the stars and sighed heavily, his hands still in his pockets. What was going on with him? Why the hell was he so depressed? He had only known her for one day. ONE day! There was no logic in his emotions. Then again, when was there logic in many things, especially matters of the heart?
There weren't many things Chibodee Crocket knew in the world, but one of the things he did know was love. He knew the love his mother and him shared and the close bond he shared with his crew, even the brief infatuation he had with Rain and the short-lived love he had for Kacie. But Allenby…it was different with her.
Around her, he felt free to joke around as much as he wanted, and it was great having someone that would tease him and make jokes right back at him as well. She was so strong, yet so gentle and alive at the same time. He wanted to take care of her, he wanted to make her happy when she was sad… Couldn't that all be described as love?
Yes, yes, it all could.
It just hit that moment. The truth he had been struggling with for the past few hours, was the truth he just now realized was in fact true. He looked down at his sports watch and saw that it was 11:30. If he hopped into his car now, he would just make it in time at the airport to explain to her how he felt. Maybe he couldn't stop her from leaving…but there might be a chance he could, and that chance was all the reason he needed to try.
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Allenby sat down in plane seat, waiting for the ship to take off back to Sweden before she would make the trip back to the colonies, with a small frown on her face as she looked out the window. She finally broke her eyes away from the twinkling lights of the city, and she took off her glove and looked at her hand. The sloppy handwriting in dark blue ink was still there and just looking at it brought a small smile to her face.
I'm going to miss you, Chibodee… she thought sadly, swallowing the lump in her throat that was starting to form.
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Chibodee gaped in despair and shock as he went running up and down the different terminals, frantically searching for her flight. Finally running out of ideas and time, he went to the information desk.
"Look, I have to find the hanger where the flight to Sweden at midnight is leaving!" he demanded.
The woman clicked the information into the computer and looked up at him. "Sir, I'm sorry, but there's no flight here that departs to Sweden tonight," she replied.
"What!"
"I'm sorry, sir. You can see for yourself," she repeated, showing him the screen that show indeed that there was no flight to Sweden at midnight.
But how is this possible! he demanded in his mind. She said she was leaving tonight! Allenby couldn't be wrong, unless… His green eyes widen in horror as realization dawned on him.
Unless she was going to the OTHER airport, the one on the other side of the city!
He looked down and checked his watch again. 12:15. He missed her. She was on her way now back to her home. He lost her.
After the initial shock left him, he swallowed the painful lump in his throat, thanked the lady, and left.
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Chibodee walked into his apartment and left the door open, not caring about anything really at the moment. He dropped his keys upon the coffee table and was fixing to walk into the kitchen to grab himself a beer, when he saw a red light flashing. Curious, he walked over towards it, discovering it was only his answering machine. He pressed the play button with a sigh, walking over to his kitchen.
"Hi Chibodee…" the message began to play. "…This is Allenby."
He was back in there in a flash. Gaping in shock, he couldn't utter a word as he stood, looking down at the answering machine intently.
"I know this is late, and I'm sorry for calling…" she continued.
"Don't be, don't be Allenby, just stay on the phone," he murmured.
"I'm calling from the plane; we're leaving in just a few minutes. I just wanted to thank you again for taking me out on a great time…It was a lot of fun Chibodee."
The twenty-one year old Neo-American felt himself smile as he continued listening to it. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun…" he mumbled.
There was a pause, and for a second there, Chibodee thought that she had finished, when she started talking again, making him sigh in relief.
"Chibodee…I've been thinking about today…actually, about you…"
His green eyes widened in surprised slightly as he stood there, listening intently still, but now speechless.
"I…I don't know how to say this…but what I'm trying to say is—"
BEEP!
He gaped in shock. "No! What were you going to say, Allenby?" he yelled. "What were you going to say!" Chibodee grabbed the machine and almost began shaking. "You can't stop there! You can't!" However, he knew there would be no more, and with a sigh, he put the answering machine back down and clicked to save the message. At least, he would have that of her.
"So…that's it then…" he sighed in defeat. "I'll never figure out what she was going to say, and by the time I'll see her again, she'll have found someone else…"
"Only in the movies," a voice from behind him said.
Shocked, Chibodee turned around and gaped at what he saw. "A-Allenby!" he demanded. She smiled, standing there, and nodded. Quickly, he ran to her and pulled her into a hug, which she returned. "I thought you were flying back to Sweden!"
"I couldn't leave things just like that," she explained. She pulled back from the hug and looked up at him. "Chibodee…Chibodee, there's something I have to tell you."
"Me first."
"Okay."
Before she even had a chance to blink, Chibodee kissed her suddenly, and after awhile, he pulled back and smiled down at her. "I love you," he told her.
Allenby was so happy, she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. However, she did neither. She smiled brightly at him and hugged him tightly. "I love you too," she whispered to his heart.