Allenby Beardsley: WOO-HOO!!  I got another chapter up, and it hasn't even been a month yet!! Yay! ^_^  Ne way, THANK YOU for the reviews!  They boosted my self-esteem!  Or what little I have.  LOL.  Thanks shorty, and yes I do know what OOC means.  Chibodee Crocket…what do I have to say to you?…Thank you for liking my fic, but I'm not going to write a lemon in this…I think.  If I get inspired, I might.  Thanks to the others!  And to answer everyone's question, I don't honestly know if I'm going to make it a Shir/Chib/Allen triangle or not.  If the mood strikes me when I'm typing this past midnight as usual, I'll make it that.  LOL.  I'm so lazy, I know.  Well, please read and review, the ending's my fav.  Oh yeah, Domon and Chibodee won't be making a appearance in this chapter as they are both sleeping.  Well, Chibodee is, Domon is looking at some embarrassing irl pics of me that my friend posted.  Gosh, I'm abused.  Enjoy!  And don't forget to review!!! Please? ^_^

Disclaimer: See the previous chapters. 

When Chibodee Met Allenby

Chapter Four

Allenby got up from the spot she was sitting at and looked down at her watch while letting out a small yawn; it was 3:30 in the morning.  She hadn't meant to stay there that long; she only meant to stay until maybe an hour after dinner, then leave before Dr. Behluima and the others began to pitch a really big fit.  She had fallen asleep on the couch, much to Chibodee's dismay; yes, she had won that battle with him.  He originally wanted her to take his room while he slept on the couch, but she remained firm and won out in the end. 

She rubbed her arms slightly, trying to warm herself up.  She glanced around the room, frowning ever so slightly as it was quiet…too quiet.  On the boat with Domon, there was always laughing, talking, or snoring.  Domon…

The tears blurred her vision, and she hissed curses under her breath as she furiously tried to wipe them away.  "Why can't I get over him??" she demanded in her head as she once again attempted to stop the on-going onslaught of tears and rid herself of the pain and void in her life that seemed to swallow her heart whole ever since she heard him say those words to Rain.  She sighed sadly and got up from the couch and decided to go to a more comfortable spot to think.

Chibodee looked out at the city streets with a mournful small smile on his face.  He loved the nightlife and just night in general.  It was at night when he could get by himself and do some thinking.  It was times like these he could take a deep breath and remember the past.  Faint memories filled his mind.  He remembered his old boxing coach, yelling his head off at him to punch and train harder.  He remembered his mother kissing his cuts as a kid.  He remembered a long time ago his dad standing there, out in the night sky, holding his cigarette out in his hand, the smoke swirling into a small column up to the sky, a faraway look in his green eyes, talking about a life of adventure, a life away from home…

The sudden jolt of pain in his heart shocked him.  Why was he feeling sad?  His dad had left him *years* ago, and his mother and his coach had been dead a long time too.  Shouldn't he be over it?  Shouldn't he be over the feeling of abandonment?  Besides, he wasn't alone; he had his girls with him now.  Then…then why did it feel like something was missing still?  A loud sniffle, well, normally it wouldn't be loud, but since it was the dead of morning out in the open, it was, broke his train of thought.  Did it come from him or someone else?  He didn't know.  All he knew was that it alerted him to another presence.

He turned to his left and saw Allenby standing out there on the balcony as well, leaning down against the railing, alternating her gaze from the stars to the street below them with a frown on her face.  "How long has she been out here?…Has she been watching me?… Did she see me cry, if that was me crying?…" he thought, a frown forming on his face as well. 

"Nice view, isn't it?" he asked from behind her.  She jumped in shock and without saying a word, turned around, throwing a punch at him.  He tossed his head back to steer clear from the blow and caught her fist and looked at her with a alarmed and amused expression, his cocky smirk on his face to hide his earlier sad thoughts.  "WOAH!!  Easy there tiger!  I know I may be a 'sexist pig', but I *am* letting you stay at my place!  It's not a good idea to knock out your host!" he chimed, laughing slightly.  However, she didn't smile.

"…Sorry…reflex…" she responded, pulling her hand back and turning around to look back at the stars.  She folded her arms and rested them on the railing as she leaned forward, her frown still on her face.  Chibodee frowned along with her and was beginning to walk off, giving up on cheering her up when he was depressed himself.  Then, as an afterthought, she said a little louder, "Thanks."  He stopped and turned around, looking at her puzzled.

"Huh?"

"Back at dinner…when…when they were talking about Domon and Rain…you… You changed topics for my sake… Thank you…"  He smirked and jammed his fists into the pockets of his faded blue jean jacket and shrugged.

"Aw, it was nothin'.  Besides…"  He paused a moment and looked down at his feet for a second before looking at her back again.  "Look, my girls aren't bad.  They didn't-"

"I know they didn't mean any harm."  She leaned forward even more and rested her head on her hands.

"Yeah…"  He looked out onto the city for a moment, watching the glowing lights of the neon signs, the headlights of the cars, and the lighted windows of other buildings before looking once again back to her.  He noticed that she was back in her original jumpsuit and vest.  Out in the moonlight, he had to admit…she did look rather nice with her pallid skin glistening like ivory and her hair shimmering as though it had glitter in it. 

She looked down, trying to think of something to say.  This wasn't like her, shy, depressed, and quiet; then again…the only person that really saw *her* was the one person that couldn't love her.  The pain was still as sharp as a knife, and she fought back another sniffle, although it sounded like a tiny whimper.  Then, she let out a hysterical laugh, dabbing at her eyes gently with one of her glove-clad hands as she turned to look at him, tears now staining her face again.  The tears in her eyes only seemed to make them more emotional and glossier in the nightlight.  "I guess I *am* just a pathetic kid…" she mumbled hoarsely with a sad smile on her face.  He shook his head from where he was standing and leaned against the railing on his side while still looking at her.

"No, no, you're not…You've been through more in your short youth than most people go through in their whole lives…"  The smirk was gone from his face; he had instead now a small frown on his face.  His eyes were staring at her as though they were searching her for something, something he lost.

A part of her wanted to run; she hated being stared at as though she was some experiment for inspection.  Hell, her whole life, she was raised and treated like she was some lab rat that had to run in one of those mazes to find the one speck of cheese at the end.  Yet…she wanted him to look at her; it was so weird.  Here was a man she hardly knew that had flirted probably with every woman of age that she had met in the Shuffle Alliance, and he was studying her, and she…*liked* it??… 

"What are you doing out here?" she asked innocently, trying to break the silence.  Chibodee shrugged.

"Oh you know, the usual…stare at the stars, think about world problems, figure out my emotions, trying to see if I can spy on any hot chicks stripping…" he answered with a sneer, winking at her on the last part.  She couldn't help but slightly giggle as she play hit him on the upper arm.

"Chibodee!"  He merely only laughed loudly, and she slowly began to laugh along with him.  Truly, it was a wonder they didn't wake up everyone in the hotel.

"Well?"

"Hm?" she asked, starting to calm down.

"What's your reason?"  She bit her lip, trying to hold back her melancholy emotions as she remembered the reason she had come out onto the balcony.

"I…I couldn't sleep…" she lied.  He looked at her for a moment, as though as he was questioning her answer.  She looked down to her feet, expecting at any second for him to yell and call her a liar and demand for her to leave. 

"Heh.  Couch wasn't comfortable?" he finally asked, and she looked up at him shocked.  He smirked.  "I told you it wouldn't be.  Now, why on Earth don't you ever listen to me?  Don't you know that I'm the smart one of the Shuffle Alliance?"  She stifled another giggle, trying not to wake the others.

"Then we're all in big trouble…"

"Hey!"  They both laughed again, happiness coming back into their souls.  Chibodee stopped and looked at Allenby, who was still trying to stop laughing, and mentally frowned.  He knew she was hiding something.  Maybe she couldn't sleep, but that wasn't the main reason, and he knew it.  Why did everyone assume that he was the dumb one of the group? 

She put her hands behind her back and offered him a small bright smile.  "Thanks again….for everything."  He smirked and nodded.

"Yeah…let's see… I saved you from a drunk, I took you back to my place, I treated you to dinner, and most of all, I lent you my pleasurable company!  It's going to cost ya!"

"C-cost?"

"Yeah, you owe me one kid, and don't you forget it!"

"I'm not a kid!"  He laughed and leaned down close to her, his smirk growing.

"Then prove to me you're not…"  At first, Allenby looked horrified, then she smirked at him slyly. 

"Alright…" she purred, leaning closer to him, her eyes closing.  He closed his eyes too as he gently laid his hands on her shoulders and puckered up, preparing to capture Neo-Swedish fighter's lips.  However, right before their lips were about to touch, Allenby opened her eyes, grabbed hold of his shirt and threw him over her shoulder, landing him on the title-like floor of the balcony right behind her.  He laid there, sprawled out on the ground, panting for air, staring up at her wildly.  She leaned over him and smirked, placing her hands on her hips.  "Predictable," she replied and walked back into the room to fall asleep on the couch.

"Okay…" he panted, still laying on the ground, "She won that round…but the match is *far* from over…"