To Vwolf Youjutsu- W00t, and thank you. You're welcome. I just got a bunch of new books while thrift store-hopping. Thrift store-hopping is fun. Yes, Trowa is a farseer. Beki didn't mention him because one, Trowa was sitting right there, and two, Treize and Quatre were looking for foreseers. A foreseer has the ability to see the possible paths the future might take, while a farseer is a kind of organic spy cam, able to see great distances without mechanical aid.
To Nikkler- You're reviewing, you're reviewing! I love Dorothy, too. It's one of my dreams to meet her in person and dump ice down the back of her dress, then hug her 'til she can't breathe, then take her to McDonalds. Yes, that's an actual dream. I have very weird dreams. Huggles and smooches to you, too!
To Tsuchi- Unfortunately, you're number three, not number five. Fortunately, I'm not going to wait for five reviews.
"One good thing about not being famous- nobody's obsessed with you."
"Where did that come from?"
"Never watch Perfect Blue alone in the dark, with the lights off and nobody home." Beki said by way of answer, plopping down on Duo's bed with a heavy sigh. "It'll scare the living daylights out of you, and confuse you besides."
"I'll keep that in mind." Duo agreed, rolling his eyes. "So, how'd your date with Trowa go?"
"It was not a date!" She exclaimed, pouting. "But that empath I met the other day came, and he brought a friend with him. Do you happen to maybe know what happened to Dorothy, that uber-strong foreseer we met all those years ago?"
"The blond chick with the freaky eyebrows that you were also not dating, no matter how often I caught you two sitting on the bed trying so hard to look innocent?"
"Duo!" This time it was definitely a shriek, and she hit him with a pillow for good measure. "Yes, her, and for the last time, nothing happened!"
"Yes, because your reaction is so very convincing."
"Ima murder you, boy."
"You look happy." Quatre said, smiling. "Are you that happy about this guy?"
"Trowa Barton is unbelievably well-suited to us," Heero shrugged. "He has the perfect combination of talents, good instincts, an open mind, and an intellect to be reckoned with. I'd hate to have to let him go."
"And admit it- it doesn't hurt that he'll be able to help us with our other business, either."
"That, too," Heero agreed, closing his laptop. "How does dinner out sound?"
"Don't you have work?" Quatre asked. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'd love to stuff myself silly on food I didn't cook, but not if it means cutting into your job."
"Quatre," Heero said softly, standing and pulling the blond into a fierce hug, "I love you."
"You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that." Quatre smiled, leaning against Heero's chest with a contented sigh. Sure, he could feel Heero's love, but for his stoic lover to actually say it out loud put a whole extra level of emotion on it. "I love you, too. How about we forgo dinner, and get a hotel room for the night instead?"
Heero actually laughed softly at that. "This Talent reader is a bad influence on you, isn't she?"
"Maybe,"
It was nearly midnight when Trowa heard someone tapping softly at his door.
Snippets of the Raven came to him as he stood up, stretched, and walked to the door, idly wondering who else could possibly be awake this late.
It was, of course, Beki, wearing a nightgown and an oversized hoodie, and dragging a white stuffed rabbit by one ear.
"Daddy, can I sleep with you?" She asked, grinning tiredly up at him. "A big bad monster tried to scare me witless through my shields, and I'm afraid the boogieman might be hiding in my closet."
"Tried to scare you witless?" Trowa repeated, picking out the important bit.
"Uh-huh." She stepped into the room so he could close the door, wandering over and sitting down on his bed. "Projective empathy, and strong. Level 2, at least. If we hadn't built my shields the way we did, he probably would have gotten to me."
"What was it, exactly? Just fear?"
"Nope." She said, shaking her head. She blinked at him, and he noticed she wasn't wearing her glasses. "Pure, concentrated terror. Unshielded, it would have reduced me to a gibbering nervous wreck. Trowa, I don't like this."
"I don't like it, either." He said quietly, sitting down next to her as she drew the rabbit up into her lap. "Let me look at your shields."
She obediently closed her eyes, willing the shields they'd built together into the range of human visibility. They were a dark silvery purple, the color of her aura, touched around the edges with the deep, vibrant green that marked his hand in their making.
Now, there were ugly black tracks across the outer surface, glowing bright yellow in places. The shields were designed so that attacks would flow around them, like water around a river boulder, and that was all that had saved them from cracking wide open. Had they been ordinary shields, designed to absorb impact rather than divert it, they would have been useless.
"How bad is it?" She asked, easing her eyes open. "It's hard to tell from in here."
"We won't have to totally rebuild them. Do you have classes tomorrow morning?"
"Nope; I wrapped up Creative Writing, so tomorrow starts at noon."
"Good; you're going to be exhausted by the time we finish modifying these."
Beki watched with weary satisfaction as the elegant green patterns on her shields faded, becoming barely noticeable among the lazy swirls of purple and silver.
"Pretty," She commented around a yawn, flopping sideways and blinking up at Trowa. "You sure it'll work?"
"No." Trowa said, sounding just as tired as she felt. "But they should hold now, even if you can't control the energy flow. Can you make it back upstairs?" He asked.
"I can try…" She said dubiously, propping herself up on one elbow. "I'm pretty sure I can make it to your couch, though."
"Stay where you are, then; I'll take the couch for tonight."
"Y'sure? I don't wanna kick you out of your own bed."
"You need it more than me." Trowa assured her. "You worked more."
"If you say so…" She yawned hugely and curled up around her bunny, not even bothering with blankets. The mysterious attack on her shields kept her awake for all of three seconds before she dropped off to sleep.
Morning came much too soon to Trowa's mind. It seemed he'd barely gone to sleep before he was awake again, blinking against the bright midmorning sun out his window. He debated rolling over and going back to sleep, but decided against it. He didn't really need more sleep, and it would be a bad idea to skip breakfast.
He sat up, glancing towards the bed to see if Rebbekha was still there. She was, sprawled across the covers, smiling in her sleep and still hugging that stuffed rabbit, looking like nothing so much as an overgrown child.
He'd seen Rebbekha asleep on more than one occasion in the past, and each time, he'd made the same observation. She really did look like a child, never mind that her body was undeniably that of a woman grown.
Not wanting to wake her up, her went to the closet and got a spare blanket, draping it over her. The sun probably wouldn't hit her until three in the afternoon, or thereabouts, so he saw no reason to adjust the blinds. If she still needed sleep by then, he'd just take her back to her own room.
Beki yawned and stretched, feeling wonderfully rested, and smiled to herself as the last of her dream faded into obscurity. She couldn't remember what it was about, but she knew it had been a pleasant one, full of bright colors and music. Those dreams always meant something good was going to happen soon.
She shifted, reaching for her glasses on the nightstand, and hit a wall instead. She came completely awake, shaking the drowsy comfort of just-now-waking-up in an instant, and turned the other way.
The stark cleanliness of the room beyond the bed confused her for a moment, until she finally recalled what had happened the night before.
"Wow, that was scary," She said around another yawn, sitting up and stretching again.
"You look remarkably like a cat when you do that." Trowa commented, startling her into jumping.
"You scared the shit out of me, Tro," She said, pouting, and slid to the floor. "What time is it?"
"1:30,"
"Shit," Beki muttered. "I'm starving. Lemme get dressed and take me out to eat?"
To her surprise, Trowa laughed, shaking his head at her. He had a pleasant laugh, soft and gentle, and it reminded her of the music in her dream.
"Why not?"
Yawn. All done. Please review.