Chapter 15

"I'm fine, Jinpei, really." Jun insisted, gently pushing the Swallow aside. Really, it was annoying how the guys all seemed to get excited when she had the tiniest injury.

"You don't look fine." Jinpei scowled.

"I'm just going to hold this ice pack on my shoulder." the Swan explained for perhaps the twentieth time. "That's all I need. It's just a bruise."

"Are you sure, Onechan?" Jinpei asked.

"Hey, who's the Medical Officer, here?" Jun grinned.

"All right, Onechan." Jinpei appeared to give in, but his eyes looked at her suspiciously.

"Just take care of the Sultan and Agent Murfitt." Jun told him. "We'll be back at G-Town within the hour."

"Okay." the Swallow sighed reluctantly, turning back to the other 'patients'. The Sultan and Agent Murfitt had been physically and mentally drained when they had been rescued, and were presently sleeping on the two examination tables in the Medical Bay. The Swan had treated their visible injuries, and attached an IV with a nutritional supplement into their arms. After one last look to ensure that everything was all right, Jun left for the Bridge.

When she entered, she saw Ken making a report to Dr. Nambu.

"We believe that Galactor was using the base underneath the Sultan's Palace to store extracted Hypernium 600." Ken explained. "That would explain why the explosion from a few charges was so intense."

"You've done an excellent job today." Nambu replied from the viewscreen. "Thanks to you, Galactor's source of energy has been cut off, and it will take them some time to recover. You have all earned a break."

"Really?" Ryu asked excitedly.

"Yes." The Doctor actually smiled. "You can all return to Utoland after your debriefing."

"Thank you, Hakase." Ken nodded gratefully, as the transmission ended.

"Hey, Jun, you're okay!" Ryu grinned, noticing that the Swan had returned to her seat.

"It's just a bruise." Jun pointed out, shifting the ice pack slightly so that it was less obvious underneath her hand.

"Did you hear? We get to go home tonight!" Ryu told her.

"I heard." Jun sighed gratefully. "It will be good to sleep in my own bed."

"So, are you opening the Joint tonight?" the Owl asked her. "Maybe we could all come by."

Jun flicked her eyes toward Joe. There was only one visitor she wanted at the Joint that night, and it wasn't Ryu. She chose her words carefully.

"I think I'm a little too tired to open up tonight." she said quietly, thrilled to see that the Condor had a slight smile on his face. "But if you want to celebrate, I'm sure Jinpei would love to stay at your place and spend all night playing video games."

"That's not a bad idea." Ryu shrugged. "I'll ask him."

Ken noticed the Swan's brief hesitation before replying to the Owl's question. Why had she done that? Did she want to be alone for some reason?

Or perhaps… perhaps the Swan had wanted the Eagle to know that she would be alone.

Was it possible?

But of course, Ken couldn't go over there. Not when he knew that she would be alone. He couldn't afford to make another 'mistake'…

But damn, he wanted to.

88888

Exactly one hour after their return to G-Town, Jun heard a quiet knock on the back door of the Snack J. She rushed to answer it, her cheeks flushing.

"I was hoping you would drop by." she smiled shyly as she opened the door.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." the Condor replied, entering the Snack and taking her in his arms.

"Neither would I, now that you're here." Jun said, leaning up to touch her lips to his.

The couple spent some minutes exchanging slow, comforting kisses at their leisure, reveling in the freedom they were enjoying away from G-Town.

"How's your shoulder?" Joe asked, pressing his lips softly in the spot where she had been injured.

"It's fine." Jun replied. "Since I used the ice pack, I don't even think there'll be much of a bruise. And anyhow, it was a small price to pay for being saved by the Condor."

"Just don't make it a habit to require saving." Joe said. His words were teasing, but there was a serious expression on his face.

"Look, Joe, I'm not going to be performing my job any differently, because of us." Jun told the Condor, pulling away slightly. "I love you, but I'm not going to let that stop me from…"

"What did you just say?"

"I said, I'm not going to let that stop me."

"No, before that."

"I…" Jun blushed, realizing what she had said.

"I said that I loved you." she whispered.

The Condor's response was to sweep the Swan back into his arms and kiss her passionately.

"I love you, too." he said, his voice cracking slightly.

"Well, now that's settled," Jun winked at Joe, "how about some dinner?"

"Did you cook?" the Condor appeared alarmed.

"No!" Jun swatted him playfully. "I ordered in, silly!"

Joe gave an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Hey, keep that up, and I'll be wrapping my ribbon around certain sensitive places…" the Swan threatened.

"I'd rather use my feather shuriken on your sensitive places." Joe grinned wickedly.

"Oh, my…" Jun blushed to the roots of her hair. "Maybe we'd better go eat, if we're going to be expending our energy that way."

"Lead the way." Joe grinned, grabbing Jun's bottom as she turned around.

"You're the only man I would ever let get away with that, Joe." she winked.

"I'm the only man who had better try it." he growled playfully.

"There go my plans for a ménage a trois…" Jun sighed theatrically.

"Damn straight!" The Condor grabbed the Swan possessively as they went up the stairs.

The relaxed mood between them continued. The couple exchanged soft kisses and caresses in between eating and snuggling on the couch in Jun's living room. They were just contemplating moving into Jun's bedroom when they heard a knock coming from downstairs.

"Who's that?" asked Joe, slightly annoyed at the interruption.

"It's probably Jinpei." Jun shrugged. "He's always forgetting something when he goes to spend the night at Ryu's. Maybe this time it was his key."

The Swan got up and went downstairs, blowing a kiss at the Condor as she left the room. Joe smiled to himself, admiring the way Jun's hips swung as she walked. He replayed their earlier conversation in his mind.

She loved him.

Damn, he was a lucky guy.

88888

Jun was surprised to see Ken standing at her door. Her first thought was that she had to get rid of him, fast. She didn't relish the idea of a confrontation between the Condor and the Eagle tonight; or any night, for that matter.

"Can I come in?" Ken asked after she had opened the door.

"It's not a good time, Ken." Jun said, yawning dramatically. "I was about to get some sleep."

"I just wanted to talk, if that's okay." the Eagle said, a pleading note in his voice.

"All right." Jun sighed, letting him in. She was a soft touch, and she knew it. She had a hard time turning down anyone, but especially Ken.

She slid into a booth, making sure that she took the side that faced the stairs, in case Joe should come down. She indicated that Ken should take the seat opposite her.

But the Eagle sat down next to Jun.

"What's wrong, Ken?" she asked, to cover her surprise.

"I…" The Eagle looked at her, his blue eyes brimming with emotion. "I had to see you, Jun… to convince myself that you were all right."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jun asked.

"Today… on the train tracks." Ken tried to explain. "I had Gel Sadra… I had her in my hands… and then she showed me an image of you on the tracks, with that train coming toward you…"

"I left Gel Sadra there." the Eagle confessed. "I had to try and save you."

"Oh, Ken," Jun was overwhelmed, "I'm touched… But you shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

"The only thought in my mind was making sure you were okay." Ken continued, barely hearing her. "I almost lost you before, and I couldn't let it happen again…" his voice trailed off, and the Eagle took The Swan's hands in his.

"I can't live without you, Jun." he said simply. "I need you."

"What?"

Jun's exclamation of surprise was cut off as the Eagle pulled her toward him and kissed her. His hand reached up to stroke her breast through her t-shirt.

"Ken! What are you doing?" Jun cried, as she pushed the Eagle off of her.

"I… I thought you…" Ken was taken aback. He hadn't expected this. "You were so concerned today, when you thought I was injured…" he tried to explain. "I thought that you still cared: that you would…"

"That I would fall into your arms, just because you asked me to?" Jun finished for him. She pulled back, crossing her arms angrily.

"Well…" the expression on Ken's face told her that that was exactly what he had expected.

"I thought you felt that this kind of thing was a mistake?" the Swan said viciously.

The Eagle gestured helplessly, unable to answer her question.

"Ken," Jun hissed, "I asked you, weeks ago, if we had any obligations between us. You told me, in quite condescending terms I might add, that we didn't. I took you at your word."

"I know." The Eagle hung his head, then looked up hopefully. "There are no obligations, Jun, but I would very much like to…"

"No, Ken."

The words hung in the air between them, lingering by virtue of their shock value. It was the last thing Ken had expected to hear, and something Jun had never expected to hear herself say.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Ken asked, confused.

"I mean, you've taken advantage of me for the last time! Every time, I swear I won't let it happen again, and then it does! I hate it, Ken! I hate the guilt, I hate the humiliation, I hate myself, I hate…" Her voice trailed off.

"You hate me." Ken said quietly.

"I don't hate you." Jun sighed heavily. "But I hate the position you put me in, Ken."

"I… I didn't realize that it affected you that way." Ken muttered as a form of half-hearted apology.

"There are a lot of things you don't realize, Ken." Jun said quietly. "I think you should leave, now."

The Eagle stood, shell-shocked, still trying to figure out what had just happened. The Swan rose gracefully and walked over to the door, opening it.

"Goodbye, Ken." she said calmly.

There were no more words between them. The Eagle gave the Swan one last stricken look, before departing.

The moment he had left, Jun closed the door behind him, then slid to the floor, her back pressed against the wall. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and bent her head as tears began to flow.

"Damn you, Ken." she whispered to herself.

A strong pair of arms embraced her, and Jun raised her head to see Joe staring at her with an expression that was a mix of tenderness and anger.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked quietly, as he rocked her in the cradle of his arms.

"Too long." Jun sighed, grateful for the Condor's compassion.

"This is what you never wanted to talk about." Joe's words were a statement; not a question.

"I just wanted to forget…" Jun said, "but he wouldn't let me forget. Every time I got over Ken, he'd just show up on my doorstep, and pull me back in. The worst was right after you… after we thought you had died."

Joe's arms tightened around her, and Jun sobbed quietly into his chest. The Condor was silent for a moment.

"This explains a lot." he said finally.

"What does it explain?" Jun sniffed, looking up curiously.

"It explains your… reaction… when I first touched you."

"Oh." Jun appeared thoughtful. "I guess you're right. Ken… I don't want to say that he doesn't… well… there were just too many terrible emotions mixed up in it… for both of us. Every time he touched me, there was this overwhelming sense of guilt: a feeling that we shouldn't be doing these things. It ate me up inside."

"But you always helped me through it, Joe." she continued, looking at the Condor gratefully. "Every time Ken did this to me, you were there. You were my shoulder to cry on. That's what made it so much harder for me, after you had… gone."

"I wish I had been there." Joe said regretfully.

"You're here now." Jun pointed out. "That's what's important."

"And I'm not going anywhere." he promised.