Allenby Beardsley: Wow! Alimoe read my fic and liked it!! ^_^ I'm so happy! Ne way, here's chappie 3! See Domon, I told you I'd get it out before August!
Domon Kasshu: …
Allenby Beardsley: Still mad, huh?
Domon Kasshu: …
Allenby Beardsley: Ne way, hope you guys enjoy it! It' longer than the last one, but as a notice, the chappies will probably be on an average of 3-4pgs. But I now have cooked up some ideas, so keep tuned!
Domon Kasshu: …
Chibodee Crocket: Hey Allenby, Neo-Japan! Well, just decided to stop by and make this better! ::smirks::
Allenby Beardsley: Then do the disclaimer.
Chibodee Crocket: But I did it last time!
Allenby Beardsley: Fine, fine, I'll do it… I don't own G Gundam, did you think I did? Now read and review please!
Chibodee Crocket: And vote for me as the best Gundam pilot! ^_^
Domon Kasshu: Yeah right Chibodee! I'm the best!
Allenby Beardsley: ::sighs::
When Chibodee Met Allenby
Chapter Three
Chibodee walked out of the elevator with a very large ash gray bruise on his cheek, that he was rubbing gently. A angry scowl was on his face as he growled, "Geez, Allenby, can't ya take a joke?"
Allenby only folded her arms, staring at the back of his head coolly, as she followed. "Hmph! Some joke!" Suddenly, he turned around and looked at her with that familiar smirk of his.
"Ah, but you were flattered!" She dropped her arms and looked at him shocked.
"What?" His smirk only grew, and he stepped closer to her, their bodies almost touching.
"You were flattered back there when I called ya toots. And don't you dare deny it!" Allenby scoffed at him.
"I was not!" Chibodee stepped even closer and tilted his head down to look her in the eye, now their noses were almost touching, his smirk still as big as ever.
"Yes, you were…You blushed when I said that." Allenby just stood there, frozen in her tracks by the brash Neo-American.
"I…err…" was all that escaped her lips. Her heart began racing. Why did she blush back there? Why did she feel so nervous now? And…and why did she like him staring at her? Was she so desperate after Domon left her that she craved the attention of *any* man that was close to her age??
"Heh, thought so…" he softly whispered, so she could barely hear him. He gazed into her eyes and felt his heart quicken its beat. Why was he so eager to help her? Why was his heart beating so fast now? And…and why was he drowning in her eyes? Was he so desperate after Rain refused to go out with him that he craved the attention of *any* woman that was close to his age??
Again, there was silence between the two Gundam fighters as they stared at each other intently. Both of them were confused, both of them were struggling to speak, both of them were trying to escape the other's gaze. Once again, it was Allenby who broke the menacing yet somehow spellbound silence.
She folded her arms and cocked her right eyebrow at him. "Are we going to go meet your crew tonight or not?" she inquired, a tad of sarcasm to her voice. Chibodee blinked out of his daze and nodded.
"Huh? Oh, yeah…" With that said, he turned around and walked to his door, which was only a few feet away from where they were standing. As he slide his key into the lock and unlocked the door and gripped the doorknob, his trademark cocky smile appeared back on his face.
"Girls! I'm home!" he called as he stepped him.
A chorus of three feminine voices went, "Hi Chibodee!"
His smile only grew as he stepped in to see Cath, Bunny, and Janet all smiling at him almost lovingly.
"Chibodee, you're back!" Bunny happily chimed and latched onto his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. He only laughed and nodded. She soon got off, and Cath took off his jacket for him and placed it in the closet, hanging on a hanger.
"About time you finally got back!" a familiar voice snapped. Chibodee looked up and smirked. He opened his arms up for a hug as she took a couple of steps towards him.
"Shirley, baby!" he replied.
Shirley, however, didn't smile. "Don't you 'Shirley baby' me! Where were you?! Leaving all of us worried sick about you!" she lectured.
"Now, how many times do I have to tell you girls? I can take care of myself. Besides, I was off picking someone up." Shirley's arms dropped from her hips and hung at her side. The glare was also gone from her eyes as she now looked at him slightly confused.
"'Picking someone up'? Who was it?" she inquired. Chibodee smirked and turned his head back to where the door was.
"Hey kid! Come in!" he called.
Timidly, Allenby stepped into the room, her left hand resting on the door. She gulped slightly and smiled nervously. "Uh…Good evening," she replied shyly. The girls stared at her shocked, almost too surprised to speak. Janet let out a slight gasp in disbelief.
"Hey, you're that fighter…" Cath began.
"Allenby Beardsley…" Bunny finished.
The nervous smile on her face grew slightly as she put her hands behind her back. "H-hiya!" she chimed. She wished that she could crush the butterflies in her stomach and stop this foolish nonsense with being nervous. She hadn't been this nervous since when she met Domon's friends and Rain for the first time on their boat. And she hadn't been in the same room with that many women except for a public bathroom maybe. She hoped she would hit it off with them ok.
"Don't worry about it. She's just staying for the night, you might as well sit down Allenby," he replied and sat down on the recliner. Her nerves calmed somewhat, and before she could respond to Chibodee's offer, Bunny came up and grabbed her hand, smiling happily.
"Yay! Party time!" Bunny chimed.
"First, dinner time," Cath corrected with a small smile.
"Huh? 'Dinner time'?" Allenby repeated, a little confused. Janet came up and smiled.
"Sure, you've gotta be hungry, and besides, we almost have to feed Chibodee 24/7 anyway," she joked.
"Hey!" Chibodee fake scoffed, laughing his head off, and the other girls joined him. Allenby only smiled nervously.
"So, how about it? Do you want to join us for dinner?" Bunny offered.
"Hm?" Allenby questioned. She placed her hand gently on her stomach and thought for a moment. Her stomach did feel rather empty. Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten all day. Then, there was a loud rumble heard, and Allenby looked down and blushed a bright red, realizing that it was her stomach. Everyone laughed full-heartily at it, and Allenby finally began to laugh a little. "Yeah, I guess a little food would do me some good."
Chibodee laughed at her some more and stood up. "Well, then, it's settled! You're going to find out what it's like to eat dinner with the best company in town!" he exclaimed, slapping her back lightly. "Girls, go get her cleaned up; she looks like hell." And before Allenby could utter one word of opposition, Janet, Cath, and Bunny led her off to their rooms, giggling and talking how they were going to give her a makeover. Chibodee watched her leave and laughed, feeling better than he had in awhile. Meanwhile, he ignored Shirley's less than friendly glare at Allenby, but she finally went after them.
When Allenby returned, she was wearing a pair of hip-hugging jeans with sliver glitter on them, and a pallid blue tank top that had a *much* lower neckline than her jumpsuit, but it still covered her chest decently. Her gloves were gone, and instead of her boots, she had donned on her a pair of black slip-ons. The only thing that was still on her from before was her small necklace with its green crystal hanging on the gold chain. Allenby felt really nervous; this had to be the skimpiest thing she had ever worn in her entire life, and she didn't like it.
Chibodee looked up from his recliner when she came, and he almost dropped his paper (he was reading the sports section) when he saw her. He looked at her closely and raised his eyebrows in shock. Surely, this couldn't have been the Gundam fighter from Neo-Sweden that he had left with the girls only a few minutes ago. She looked so different; she actually looked…pretty. He looked at her face closely and could've swore that she was wearing blush. He let out a wolf-whistle, and she turned to him with her stubborn glare.
Yet, for a couple of seconds, neither said a word; they just stared at each other once again. What was this, the third time? Why did they keep staring at each other all the time?... And why did they like it? However, neither of them also noticed Shirley's somewhat less than warm stare at Allenby again. But then again, neither did the other girls. They all stood behind Allenby in the hallway, watching the two looking at each other with proud smiles on their faces.
"Boy, you cleaned up!" he finally remarked with a smirk on his face as he stood up, tossing the paper onto the chair.
"What's that supposed to mean??" Allenby snapped, feeling somewhat offended by his previous comment.
"Nothing. Just for once, you actually look nice," he answered smugly. He turned to the girls standing behind her with a dashing smile and gestured to them. "Girls, you've outdone yourselves!" They all giggled and murmured their thanks except for Shirley, who had now folded her arms and was staring intently at the two Gundam fighters, especially Allenby.
Allenby was incoherently growling under her breath, glaring at Chibodee, her nails cutting themselves into her skin from tightening her fists too much. "And just exactly what do I look like the rest of the time??!" she demanded to him. At that point, the girls stopped giggling, Cath let out a small gasp in shock, and they now watched the two almost as closely as Shirley.
"Like you've been through hell."
"Why you…you…you…sexist pig!!!" Chibodee's jaw dropped in shock.
"What??"
"You heard me!" His face turned red with fury; for once since this whole trip had started, Chibodee was as mad as Allenby. Cath jumped out in between them before Chibodee had a chance to snap back and waved her arms in front of her defensively.
"Now, now you two!" she began. "Let's not fight…not before dinner! Come on! We can act like civilized adults for at least one meal…right?" Allenby relaxed her fists and nodded, her face softening somewhat. Chibodee let out a deep sigh and smiled faintly and murmured a yes. Cath smiled. "Good. Now, let's go!"
They were all seated in the dining room table, Chibodee at the head, the girls in the middle, and Allenby at the end. Cath sat across from Shirley, who sat to Chibodee's left, and Janet sat next her and was across from Bunny. Chibodee said grace, and they began eating their meal. There was roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. Allenby dug right into her food, eating as quickly as she could with manners. Bunny giggled.
"Enjoying it?" she asked, still giggling as the rest of the crew watched with a small smile, even Shirley. Allenby looked up with a happy grin on her face and nodded.
"Yes, very much! This is a *lot* better than the slop they serve at the military base!" she chimed and went back to eating.
"Well, good," Shirley said, finally speaking after lecturing Chibodee. "Everyone deserves at least *one* good meal in their lives." With that said, the girls began picking at their food, talking amongst themselves.
"Hey, did you see how happy Rain was when Domon carried her out?" Cath asked, stars gleaming in her eyes.
"Yeah," Bunny chimed and sighed lovingly. "When do you think they're going to get married?"
Allenby stopped eating right then and there. She flinched at Bunny's question, but none of them paid any attention or even saw it.
Except for Chibodee.
He sat from across the table from her and frowned slightly when he saw the hurt in her eyes. He knew that his girls didn't know what they did; otherwise, he would've yelled at them. They didn't know she was in love with Domon, or they would've kept quiet about that. He probably should say something, but what? Allenby probably just get mad at him again if he told them her feelings for Neo-Japan, but he had to do something to cheer her up.
"I don't know, but don't they just make the cutest couple?" Janet inquired zealously.
Allenby flinched again and lower her eyes to her plate and gulped silently. Her fork dropped from her hand and fell onto her plate. She couldn't be mad at them; they didn't know she loved him, and she didn't want them to know. The pain was swelling up in her chest again, and it felt like it was getting harder to breathe as she was struggling to keep her tears from filling up her eyes again.
"Hey, Allenby?" a masculine voice asked.
She looked up and saw Chibodee looking at her with a concern glint in his green eyes. "Y-yes?" she stuttered, trying to hide her pain, but not really succeeding.
"What are you going to do, now that the Gundam fights are over?" he asked, a small reassuring smile forming on his face. She smiled back, realizing that he was changing the topic on purpose for her. She would have to thank him later.
"Well, I got to go back to Neo-Sweden to train, but…"
They all began chatting about different things and laughter was heard throughout the rest of dinner.