"Hey *huff* I just wanted to say *huff, huff* I appreciate *huff* you putting up with the old *huff* man," Brigitte panted as she ran through the park. The place was amazing! The trees stood tall and broad, giving the park just the right amount of shade. The paths were smooth and gently curving, broad enough that she could run next to the kid's brother, Brian.

"Nah, it's fine *huff* he's not so bad. Bit loud though," Brian grinned as he kept pace beside her. Seemingly with ease. Which pissed her off. Well...really it brought up that part of her that hated losing.

"You always *huff* run this early," Brigitte raised an eyebrow as she gestured with her head toward the horizon. The sun was maybe halfway up, bathing the sky with yellows and pinks.

"No, not really. *huff* Normally I go out at seven in the morning, not *huff* five," Brian answered, giving her an amused look. "You?"

"Yeah, usually *huff* I got to get it in before *huff* the old man *huff* wakes up," Bridgette frowned as she felt the stitch in her side forming. She was blinking away the sweat, growing more irritated.

"Hey *huff* hold up," Brian held up a hand as he started slowing to a walk. "I gotta *huff* catch my breath."

No you don't, Brigitte sighed in her mind as she dropped to a walking pace with him. "Giving in already?" she said aloud, putting on a patronizing smirk. "It's *huff* only been five miles!"

"Yeah, but of running," Brian laughed, lifting up his shirt to wipe at his face.

Bridgette felt herself flush as she looked at the tight abdominal muscles the young man had. There was practically no fat on him! Down, girl! You're twenty-three!

Yeah, that's only five years older than him, the evil part of her mind prodded.

"You okay?" Brian asked. He had stepped closer to her as they walked, looking up at her with a concerned look. "You got really red."

"Fine!" Brigitte squeaked before squeezing her eye shut in pure embarrassment. She cleared her throat and tried using words again. "Fine, It's just warmer here than I am used to. Dryer too."

"I get that," Brian nodded. "I came here from Oasis, but before that I was in America. The weather changes got weird. You're from...not Germany...Denmark?"

"Ha! Close!" Brigitte laughed as she slowed more, cooling down. "Sweden actually. Your german is pretty good though. I pegged your german accent more british."

"Teacher was british," Brian shrugged before frowning slightly. His mouth moved as if he were speaking, but with no sound.

"Brian?" Brigitte stopped completely. It was her turn to be concerned.

Brian walked on for a few more steps before his head came up and he looked back at her blinking with surprise. "Ah, sorry! I make fun of Timmy for letting his mind wander to random places, and here I am doing it myself, ha, ha!"

Brigitte's eyes went wide as she stared at the young man. "You know swedish?"

"Some," Brian grinned and shrugged. "I can make basic talk. No..communication? Mmmm…" Brian frowned deeply as he tapped his chin, his mouth moving silently again. This time, however, brigitte realized he was mouthing swedish.

"How did you do that?" Brigitte shook her head as she wiped her face with the towel she had in the back pocket of her running shorts. Well...running shorts would be a bit generous. Really they were former jeans that ended up without most of the legs. They, like the sports bra she wore, were soaked with sweat. As was the towel.

"Hmm?" Brian looked up, tilting his head slightly. "Do what?"

"First, how many languages do you know, and second, how do you have so little accent?"

"Fluently? I know…" Brian began ticking off fingers as he seemed to count. "Eight. I know enough to get around in….maybe eight more? And I know enough to get myself into trouble in about four after that."

Brigitte froze in place as her eyes shot wide. "Holy crap! Are you serious?!"

This time it was Brian's turn to blush. "Well, it's my gimmick. You've worked with Timmy, so you know how ridiculously smart he is. I have a thing for languages. And I'm pretty confident in my athletics!" He punctuated the last by flexing his arms like a bodybuilder.

"Well, I suppose so," Brigitte chuckled. "Tim is ridiculously smart. Smarter than me. He and Efi might be around my Papa's level."

"Come on, I'll show you a neat place," Brian gestured off the path as he started to cross a large section of lawn. "But yeah, our parents were really smart as well. It was why we were in Oasis for a while before coming here. Timmy is a bit scary smart though."

Brigitte laughed as she followed Brian around a low building and down a low hill. They came to a fence that cut off the park wall, giving a long, wide view of the plains around Numbani. With the sun fully breaching the horizon in front of them, the view was breathtaking.

"Oh, yeah...this is the best place," Brian dropped onto his back in the soft grass.

Laughing again, Brigitte followed, letting herself fall next to him. The small hill gave them just enough incline that they could see the views without having to sit up, and between it, a small hedge they passed, and the building, there was almost no sounds from the city, let alone people.

"If you need a nap, this is where you come," Brian grinned as he gave Brigite a wink. "Found this place on accident."

"It's amazing," Brigitte nodded, smiling. "Thanks for showing me. It's truly beautiful."

"You are the only person that knows about it, after me," Brian sighed, putting his hands behind his head, smiling happily. "Figured putting up with Timmy, I should show you something not quite as pretty as you."

Blushing again, Brigitte smiled as she looked out over the world. It had always seemed so big when she was little, and now that she had seen so much of it, she was just beginning to realize how much bigger it really was.

Slowly, she looked over at the young man. He was handsome, smart, funny. Short, more like her Papa than Reinhardt, but he had the old man's heart. She looked at the small space between them. And made a decision.

Sitting up, Brigitte turned and swiveled her hips, binging her legs down on either side of Brian, straddling his lap. She bit her lip as she looked down at him, giggling quietly at the startled look on his face.

Brigitte grinned as she felt Brian's hands drop onto the tops of her thighs. Then, gripping the bottom of her sports bra, she jerked it up and off with one swift movement, then giggled again as Brian's eyes shot wide as he stared.

"Let's see how much stamina you have left," Brigitte whispered softly as her face came down to his.

It turned out, quite a bit.