A/N: Been a while! Yeah, um. I have the flu, I think. So. ::cough:: All inspiration goes to the lovely little microbe floating in my guts. :B No, this is not meant to be romantic in any way, though I suspect it may have come across like that in parts. But hey, if that floats your boat… heh, rock on! I truly fear how teh cute Ormi is. Also, I thought I should take this time to thank you all for your support. I really really really appreciate it times infinity and all that irritating bubbly stuff. Keep it up and so will I! Oh, yeah. Listen to "Joost Leave it Tae Me!" and "The Troupe Performs" or something.

Nostalgia

Leblanc would have loved so very much to rasp out a few choice words of… shall we say criticism, if she could, to the disjointed line of underlings debriefing her at the foot of her bed. Instead she glared, puffed out her cheeks a little, and swung a decisive finger to the door with a grunt of displeasure that she instantly regretted. A Fem-Goon lingered for a second, framed left and right by heavy wine-colored curtains.

"Boss, it wasn't our fault, really! If the old praetor hadn't recognized us it would've gone off without a hitch!" Then, with a touch of scandal, "We didn't want you to be prosecuted or anything…!"

Her hand tightened around the empty glass at her side. Prepared to throw. Fem-Goon backed away a little. Not enough.

"We'll do better next time, Boss, we promis—"

"Aw, get outta here already, will ya? Can't ya see the boss needs her beauty rest? G'wan," Ormi barked somewhere to the right, and the Fem-Goon saluted and vanished. Leblanc felt like she could kiss him. In lieu of that, she clapped her hands twice— loudly— and waited until his helmless head finally poked through the solitary gap in an otherwise impregnable cocoon. He took in her sour face, bare of makeup but pink with fever, and just barely managed to hold down a bright smile because he knew she wouldn't appreciate it and he didn't want to make her any unhappier than she already was. An unhappy boss was… well, she wasn't happy. What was good about that?

"What can I do ya for, Boss? Curtains, right? No problem. Thought ya could use some fresh air after all. Ain't no good to sit in there all day breathin' in germ-air, ya know? Eh… talkin' still hurts, huh?"

Deadpan, she nodded.

"I gotta say, though," he prattled on, seemingly oblivious to her growing weariness, "it sure has been a while since we seen ya this quiet. Not since, uh, well, y'know. That whole Vegnagun thing, I guess, but— that don't count cuz that's not what I was talkin' about! Not since I met yous guys, probably. Not Logos, ya know, cuz we was still buddies way back before we met you, but ya know what I mean." He grinned as he drew back the curtains. "Yeaaah, I remember: I thought you was all silent and mysterious the first time we met. Sure got my interest fast."

Leblanc stared on, incredulous and not sure that she shouldn't be feeling indignant right now.

"Asked me if I had enough of all that Yevon bull, remember? Man, those were rough times. I'm glad I got rid of that damn beard before ya met me, though. Didn't suit me one bit, but I had to do it. Part of the uniform and all. Logos got by cuz he was kinda special or somethin'; all those assassinations and stuff that nobody ever heard about— well. You know. But anyway, it's a good thing, cuz I don't think he could grow a beard even if he wanted to. Heh. Hey, how's about I go track down that Tromell guy and get ya some crazy Guado medicine or somethin'? They're good at that kinda stuff."

Leblanc shook her head wordlessly. Ormi blinked, then ran his fingers through unkempt dark hair in puzzlement.

"Huh? No?"

She nodded again, and this time her hand fell to the edge of the bed at her hip and patted twice— insistently— and waited until he worked though his confusion and sat there. The fact that she had to shift further away so the sudden dip in the mattress wouldn't tilt her down almost did something to brighten her mood. Something unexplainable. Almost.

"So ya want me to—" He stopped and guffawed. "What, this is story time now?"

Leaning back against her mountain of pillows, she folded her arms and gave him the most authoritative look she could muster before saying in a hoarse whisper: "Yes."

fin