The Grass is Always Greener...
Part Two
All the usual disclaimers apply.
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AN: I had originally intended for this chapter to be longer, but the remaining part could probably be a chapter on its own. So, rather than keep everyone waiting, I've decided to post this much. Now, you finally get to see the reason for the title... ^_~
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The next afternoon, Relena sat across from Sally, both eyeing their menus quizzically. They had both decided to be brave and try a new restaurant, but neither of them was familiar with Greek food. Relena glanced up from her menu at Sally, who was going over the salad section. "What are you getting?"
"I'm not sure. I think I'll try this Greek salad. How 'bout you?"
"I don't know. I wish Heero were here. He's good at deciding these things."
"Why don't you just get a gyro? I've heard good things about them before."
"Okay." Signaling the waiter, the two placed their orders. Twenty minutes later, they were eating and chatting away, mainly about the men in their lives.
"Well, at least Heero calls you by name," Sally said as the two were making a list of all they had to put up with. "I don't know how much longer I can take 'woman' this and 'woman' that."
"Yeah, but it's the way he says my name." Sitting up straighter in her chair, Relena lowered her voice to imitate Heero's. "Re-lee-na." At the sound, Sally burst out laughing, easily imagining Heero saying it just the way Relena had. Laughing along with her, Relena continued. "Really, Sally, sometimes I think I could program a computer to sound more emotional."
Laughing some more, Sally thought of another thing to add. "How 'bout this: you don't have to compete with an image of Heero's dead wife, albeit subconsciously."
Relena paused to look at the older woman. "He still thinks about her?"
"Of course he does," Sally stated. "I think it's a lot easier for him now without his gundam, but he'll never forget her." The two sat in silence as the waiter appeared to refill their glasses. Once he'd left, Sally turned to Relena. "I don't think we'll ever know which of us has it worse. I mean, you know the old saying. 'The grass is always greener..."
"Yeah, you're right," Relena agreed. Suddenly, a devilish look came into her eyes. "Hey, wouldn't it be fun if we could cross the fence? Just for a little while."
"You mean, if I were to hang around Heero while you--"
"--became friends with Wufei. Yeah. Say, for two weeks."
"What? You're not serious...are you?"
A very wicked grin was the only response.
Sally couldn't imagine Wufei reacting well to Relena. Even so, she didn't know if Relena could handle Wufei's intensity. Then again, she had managed to convince Heero not to kill her... "I don't know, Relena. I mean, how would the guys react to this?"
"Oh, who cares? We're all friends anyway." Relena missed the doubting look that Sally gave at her remark. "Besides," Relena reasoned, "it'd be like a vacation for us, not having to deal with the same headaches every day."
"Yeah," Sally scoffed. "We'd get all new headaches."
Ignoring her comment, Relena persisted. "It's the only way we'd ever find out which one of us is worse off. We could just try it, for a week."
Little by little, Relena's idea began to appeal to Sally. "Well, we can try it. But I still don't see how this is gonna work."
"Great! We'll start today. I'm supposed to take Heero to the repair shop this afternoon. He's getting his motorcycle fixed. So you can take him instead."
"Okay..." Sally was beginning to regret her decision already. She didn't realize she'd have to be at Heero's beck and call.
"Now remember," Relena said, "it's just like you're with Heero and I'm with Wufei. So spend as much time with him as you would with Wufei. Okay?"
"Alright," Sally sighed, trying to focus on what good could come from this.
"And relax," Relena chided. "Everything will work out fine."
* * *
Later that afternoon, Sally pulled up outside the small house where Heero lived. It was at the outskirts of the city, and it had taken her longer than expected to find the place. "Why did I ever agree to this little scheme?" she fumed, mentally going over a list of other things she could be doing.
Calming herself, she honked the horn to summon Heero. She had met Heero again very briefly after she had moved in, and from what she could remember about him, he had changed very little. The only major difference was that he had grown much taller; now, she literally had to look up to him.
After a moment, Heero stepped out of his front door, making sure to lock it before walking toward the car. Sally smiled at him, waving through the open window. "Hi, Heero. How are you?" If Heero was at all surprised to see her, he didn't show it. "Fine," he stated. Hardly looking at her, he walked around the front of the car and got in. Buckling his seatbelt, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked straight ahead. "Where's Relena?"
Hearing him speak Relena's name, Sally had to stifle a chuckle; he said it just the way Relena had described at lunch. "She, ah...something came up," she replied quickly. Throwing the car in gear, she ignored the suspicious glance that Heero gave her and backed out of the driveway, heading back toward the city.
* * *
Meanwhile, back on Walnut Avenue, Wufei had finally started unpacking again. After running a few errands that morning for various items, he had taken a break to do his kata and eat lunch. Then, when he had opened his box of books, his eye had caught one of his old favorites, and he spent the early afternoon lying on his couch, rereading it. It was, afterall, his vacation; he thought he might as well enjoy it. But now, he was ready to get back to work.
With his back toward his living room window, he looked to his left at the stout bookcase he had set against the back wall. It was currently resting toward the far corner, and he decided to move it to the center of the wall.
Walking over to it, he wrapped his arms around the wooden shelves and hefted it toward the center of the room. He had a precarious grip on it, however, and as he moved to set it down, it slipped, landing on his toe. "Oooooooooooooowwww!!!" Yanking his foot back to free it from the bookcase, he lost his balance. He quickly shuffled his feet, but they couldn't move fast enough over the carpeting. Without his usual grace, he fell backward, landing on his behind in the middle of the floor. His face turned a deep shade of red--a mixture of anger and embarrassment--before he clutched his foot to examine his toe. "Hmm. Doesn't seem to be broken..." Cautiously, he moved the bruised member around before tenderly rubbing it.
He thought to put some ointment on it, but his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Scowling, his pulled himself up and half hopped, half limped over to the door. Throwing the door open, he was shocked to see Relena standing there. Her smile faltered slightly at the darkened expression on his face, but came back full strength when his eyebrows shot up, showing his surprise. "Hi, Wufei! Mind if I come in? I brought you a housewarming present!" Looking down, he noticed that she was carrying a small basket, wrapped up and tied with a giant bow.
"Sure, Relena." He stood back to let her in, closing the door behind them. "I was just rearranging a few things..."
Relena looked around, taking in the battered looking sofa in one corner, the bookcase in the other next to a box full of books, and the other various things that still cluttered the floor. "I see. Well here, open it." She handed the covered basket to Wufei. "If you don't like it, I'll understand, really."
Wufei gave her a doubting look before going over to the sofa to set it down. He and Relena sat at opposite ends of the sofa with the basket between them. Relena watched with a smile as Wufei carefully began to remove the wrapping. Again, his eyebrows rose as he revealed several boxes of different kinds of tea, in the middle of which was a small stuffed panda and a cardboard tube. He picked up the panda bear and looked at Relena, his eyes asking her, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Oh come on, Wufei. Everyone needs some kind of stuffed animal in their household, even if you once were a gundam pilot."
"Does Heero have one of these?"
Relena thought of the black and tan teddy bear that she had gotten him seven months ago, when he had moved in to his current house. "Something like it, yes."
"Hn." Setting the bear down, he glanced over the different boxes of tea, noting a few that he would consider for after dinner, before picking up the tube. "What's this?"
"Well open it and see, silly."
Wufei scowled at her slightly, but he refrained from saying anything. Opening the tube at one end, he pulled out a paper scroll. It was an oriental scroll, used for decorations. Slowly, he unrolled the scroll. When he saw the design, he froze for an instant, then let out a sigh.
"Like I said, I understand if you don't--I mean--"
"It's beautiful." Relena stared at Wufei, whose gaze was still directed at the scroll. His voice seemed so different, she wasn't sure it was him who had spoken. Wufei turned to look at Relena. His eyes were a little bit softer than normal. "Thank you, Relena." He gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to the scroll. Slowly, he let his eyes trace over the lines depicting a Chinese dragon, spitting fire against a background of white, fluffy clouds.
* * *
At the mechanic shop, Heero and Sally listened quietly as it was explained to them why Heero's motorcycle wasn't ready yet. "Like I said, Mr. Yuy, we had to order a special part for it, and it hasn't arrived yet."
"When should it be ready?" Heero asked calmly.
"Uh, the part should come in either later today, or early tomorrow, so, uh, I'd say tomorrow about this time?" Even though Heero had a calm exterior, there was something about him that made the mechanic uneasy, and he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
"Okay. I'll come back tomorrow then."
The mechanic gave him a sheepish grin, happy not to be yelled at. "Great. Uh, I'm sorry about the inconvenience..."
"It's fine. Until tomorrow." With that, Heero turned and left the shop, with Sally close behind him. She looked at Heero with a somewhat amazed look. If that had been Wufei, she thought, he would have ranted and raved about their ineptitude. Heero's quiet assertiveness was a nice change for her.
Back in the car, Heero spoke to Sally. "Sorry to drag you all the way out here for nothing."
"That's okay, Heero." As she started the car, she remembered her deal with Relena to spend her time with Heero instead of Wufei. "Heero..."
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to come back to my place for some dinner?" Heero looked at Sally, surprise vaguely showing in his blue eyes. Sally blushed a little, realizing how much it sounded like a date. "I mean, it's getting late, and I thought you might like a home-cooked dinner."
He considered her for a moment before finally answering. "Okay."
Sally smiled at him and put the car in gear. "Great. It's been so long since I've cooked for others. I hope I can remember how."
As Sally turned her head to watch for a break in traffic, she missed the sideways glance that Heero gave her, accompanied by a small smile.