A/N – What can I say … writing new chapters is much more interesting than revising old ones. Hee hee -.-()
Here is Chapter 9 Sekkin (to get closer)
Heero gently tapped on the door to the bathroom. The sound of rushing water and the sweet humming of someone flittered through the door. No reply. Again he tried, still no counter. Heero opened the door and stepped in. There was a shocked gasp from Morgaine and the negligee she was ready to eradicate was hastily pulled back about her body. Heero was surprised as well and started to leave. She laughed. "In or out?" was all she asked.
Heero closed the door behind him. Quickly Morgaine dropped her robe with no forewarning and descended into the bath that. Heero shook his head and glanced at her with eyes that stated his disapproving thoughts.
"Oh come on Heero!" Morgaine splashed some water that was quickly turning red. "You've been through a war… this should be the last thing that would surprise you." Heero glanced up and raised an eyebrow. "Who said it surprised me?" Heero countered. Streams of pink water was running down her shoulders and neck, zenith of her breast up was all that was shown through the bubbly water. She smiled and motioned towards the steps that lined the spa/bath. "Sit. You're making me nervous and stressed." Heero did as he was commanded without a word.
"I suppose." He stated flatly. Morgaine moved again, carefully, and folded her arms across the ledge of the bath, resting her chin in her arms. Heero moved lower so their faces were level. "What brought you here?" She asked.
"Just wanted to see if you're okay," Heero answered, brushing away some of her damp bangs. Morgaine reached up and caught his hand. "Seriously that's it?" She asked. Heero then realized her eyes were three times larger and three times more stunning than any woman should have.
"Well not really…" Heero gazed out the window of the bathroom.
Angelina was whistling a tune as she slowly strolled up the veranda and glanced around the living room. It felt great to be home. "Duo?" She called. There was a crack of a billiard ball striking another. Biting her bottom lip she smiled and mutely crept towards the billiard room. Angelina slipped into the room, unnoticed by her partner that seemed intent on pocketing the number 12 ball. Just as he was getting ready to strike the ball she bumped the butt of the pool stick. "Hey!" Duo cried in protest when he scratched.
"My turn, sucker …" Angelina took her favorite cue from the wall and lined herself up.
"Why you big…" Duo chuckled and watched her. Crack. The cue ball hit the very ball he had been aiming for and sent it rolling swiftly towards the upper right pocket. "Brat…"
"So play often?" Angelina lined herself up again for a blue striped ball.
"Solo." Duo answered. Angelina glanced up at him with a wicked smile. "Just hit will ya?" Duo returned her smile. Crack. With a groan Duo watched another ball sail into a pocket. Crack! Crack! Crack! One after another he watched the colored balls roll into different pockets on the green matted table.
"Solo huh?" Angelina asked after a while, chalking her cue stick. Duo grumbled something and started to pull the balls from the pockets. "Well what's the fun in that?" She asked.
"I don't feel like a complete loser about loosing!" he shot back with a playful glare.
"Aw… I live with Morgaine… and we go to bars regularly."
"How? You're underage." Duo pointed out.
"We have friends," Angelina shrugged and watched him arrange the balls for another game. "Break?" She glanced at him.
"Go for it…" Duo stepped back and took a seat in one of the bar chairs placed in each corner. Angelina smiled at him, straight white teeth shinning between glossed lips. Lining herself up she began to hum.
"Do you always make this much noise when you play?" Duo asked, still leaning on his pool cue.
"Yep…" Angelina hulled back and slammed the cue into the triangle. Different colored balls went flying in every direction, five pocketing.
"Stripes or solid?" Duo asked. Angelina looked at the balls.
"Stripes …" She answered when she was shown that she had pocketed the least amount of stripes. Duo saw what she was doing.
"I don't need a handicap." He growled.
"Yeah you do…" Angelina hunched down again, fired and missed, sending the ball rolling right next to the pocket. Duo went next and then again two more times. The score was now Duo leading by seven. Angelina smiled and stared at the billiard balls. Duo just watched her. She looked great in a baggie sweatshirt and shorts. Her long blonde hair had been pulled up into a Japanese style bun and was being held together by two pencils, Duo could only assume that was because she couldn't find any hair sticks. All traces of make up had been cleanly washed away as soon as she had gotten home. Morgaine and Angelina looked a lot alike; Angelina's eyes and a slight difference in their bangs set them apart. He liked Angelina… a lot and he was starting to realize just how much he liked her. Nothing she could possibly do was wrong in his eyes. Nothing. Even her little attitude made Duo want to hug her or kiss her senseless. But right now he contented himself with the fact that he was getting his ass whooped at pool.
That's okay… He thought, watching her shoot another ball and tie the score. I'll get her back at one game I know I can't lose… poker.
Or at least he hoped. Hadn't she said something about her sucking at poker? That Morgaine was the master of the game and she sucked? Duo hoped so… revenge was so called for. Duo allowed his gaze to roam over Angelina once more, drinking in every inch about her. Even the way her hair looked like it was made of moonbeams in the light. Crack!
Duo's attention was brought back when he saw the last of Angelina's balls soar into its pocket.
"Sure," Angelina drawled, leaning on her cue. "I bet you didn't need that handicap." Duo just smiled at her.
"Feel better?" Duo asked; taking her cue from her and hanging them back on the wall while she replaced the balls into the center.
"Of course," Angelina put her arm around his waist and walked with him out the double glass doors. Duo slipped his arm around her shoulders and allowed her to lead them over to a large fish tank that lined the back wall of the living room. Angelina's face became clouded with anger.
"Why that little…!" She cried in surprise. The tank looked trashed. Bits of un-eaten food floated around in the now murky water. Duo guessed that this was the tank Morgaine had mentioned as her 'prize winning possession.'
"What's wrong?" A sweet musical voice asked from behind. Angelina ground her teeth and prepared herself for the shriek of furry that would soon follow.
"Cassie didn't take care of our tank while we were gone. I don't know but it seems like she just dumped a bunch of your shrimp cubes thingies into the water and left it at that."
Duo, Heero and Angelina covered their ears when a scream of furry ripped from the blonde's chest and into the tranquil nighttime. All eyes locked on the fish tank. Duo didn't know much about fish tanks but from what he could tell this one had been nice. It was at least a four hundred gallon wall liner tank. Salt water was being pumped and recycled through a nice filter in the bottom while tropical fish darted among the murky water. Some of the fish Duo could identify as rare and expensive while the rest just seemed to be beautiful flashes of color in an under water world. Several bits of coral thrived on live rock, fans of color waving gently in the waters current. Crabs and other shell dwelling life crawled across the tanks bottom, rock and sides. Faint signs of algae on the heavy plexie glass were shown underneath the bright lights from the top of the tank.
Duo glanced back at Morgaine. Her hair had been pulled back into a tight dripping braid that reached the ground. Angelina stepped away when Morgaine came up to the tank. The blonde Keef woman stabbed her hand into the water coming through the filter and quietly screamed a sacrilege.
"She's been working on this tank for almost six years… and only just now has she begun to say she's pleased with it." Angelina explained quietly when Morgaine took a salt reading. A muffled scream of frustration sounded in her throat. Morgaine went tarring up the stairs, delicate cloth whispering softly around her; a minute later the rumble of someone running down the stairs sounded, then the thud of someone landing on the soft black carpet thudded in their ears. All turned around and found Morgaine dressed in a pair of shorts and a baggie tee shirt. Her braid was wrapped in a bun with a hair tie wrapped around the thick coil.
"The salt level is five percent over normal. The coral hasn't been feed and the waters at least three degrees over what it should be." Morgaine stated and ripped a fan's plug from the wall. "I'm going to have to drain half of it. We'll have to line the bathrooms down here with the coral I'll be taking out."
"But Morgaine," Angelina handed a stepladder to her. "Couldn't this wait till tomorrow?"
"No!" the younger snapped and flipped off the power to the tank. The soft gurgle of the flitter tank ebbed and the lights winked out. All flow in the tank ended within ten seconds of the power cut. Angelina sighed in defeat and motioned for Heero and Duo to follow her. Seconds later they returned with a bag of salt and several fifteen-gallon water holders.
"We're going to bed…" Angelina stated.
"Fine, fine…" Morgaine pulled out a large blue saddle anemone. "Just get out of my way…" She quickly walked off towards the bathroom with the dripping sea creatures in hand. She returned only to go back with another piece of rock with sea life grown onto it. Angelina shook her head and walked up to her room leaving the young men to look about them in bewilderment. The soft click of the door sounded and Morgaine returned. Duo sighed and turned the TV back on. Silently he surfed through the possible movies to watch on their TV. Heero mumbled something and joined Duo.
Back and forth, back and forth. Morgaine wouldn't say a sound, only madly scooped rock from the once handsome tank and rush to the bathroom, then come back to do it all over again.
Duo sighed and flipped off the TV. Heero had long since gone to bed leaving him to listen to the TV's soft expression of sound and Morgaine's bare feet striding on fluffy carpet and well polished wood. The tank's salty water lay in growing puddles on the fine oak wood floor that was near the sliding glass door to the backyard.
"I'm going to bed…" He declared. Morgaine just nodded. All the rock now lay in the large bathrooms on the first floor or in buckets filled with water from the tank. The past hour Morgaine had been vacating large elegant fish into bucket, cups or bowls. Now all that was left in the tank were a few snails, gravel and gloomy water that was leisurely sinking in echelon, running up the hose that led out of the house and into the backyard. Duo sighed and looked around. Everywhere some sort of life lined the floor; crabs were sheltered in drinking glasses, small fish whirling around madly in soup bowls. "Well… I hope everything goes okay…" Duo watched as Morgaine stuck a vacuum like thing into the bottom. The gravel disappeared hurriedly, was whirled around in some sort of water filled cavity and spit out again… looking clean and new. Morgaine nodded again. The vacuum was turned off and the last of the water sucked out. With startling strength Morgaine hefted two of the bottles up, one in each hand and put their necks on her shoulders, tipping them. Crystal liquid cascaded softly towards the tank, landing in the gravel in a maddening destruction. Duo watched curiously. "Whatcha doin?" He asked.
"Filling the tank…." She answered. Her voice surprised Duo. Duo decided to help. Picking up two of the bottles he copied her actions while she went and grabbed two more.
Almost twenty-six of the bottles had been emptied… with a scoop and a half of salt for every two bottles. Then Morgaine sighed, and glanced at her watch that Duo identified as a Rolex. "Two hours…" She mumbled… Duo could only guess this was how long she had to wait. Quietly he stole to his bedroom.