Avenging Angel Chapter 4: The Way things were?, a burst angel fanfic

Author Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Burst Angel.

Author's Note: The feelings extend and the feelings remain. I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible for Meg, so hence the angst. Put up with me for awhile, please.

"Avenging Angel" chapter four

"The way things were?..."

Meg waited outside the bathroom, listening to the shower run. Jo was in there, scrubbing down after her long hiatus. The redhead was still nervous, even though all of Jo's movements were second nature to her. The white-haired girl had seemed genuinely pleased she hadn't dreamed her and had gone willingly into a suggested shower.

Meg clasped a towel against her cleavage and sighed. Just like so many of Jo's mechanisms, apology was not in her vocabulary.

'Then again, Jo may not even know she had done anything wrong,' Meg thought. Her mood darkened suddenly. While she longed to just wrap her arms around the thinner girl again, there was a lot of owning up to do.

And the bad feeling of how they had parted would not just leave her. The shower stopped and wet footsteps padded across the tiles. Meg stiffened, her fingers tightening on the towel. A simple hug wouldn't fix everything. Not this time.

The door opened and Jo was there, damp and naked, dripping a puddle onto the floor. Meg's eyes scanned the small breasts and toned stomach before she could help it.

"Towel?" Jo asked simply as always and Meg smiled weakly, offering the linen. Jo scrubbed her hair viciously a couple of times and barely patted herself down before swathing the towel around her slim waist. Just like usual.

Meg shrugged out of her red coat (Jo's really) and followed her into the saturated bathroom. She unzipped her red top a little, letting more cleavage fall out with the gesture. It WAS rather warm in there. Jo's eyes flicked to the round orbs of flesh momentarily, reflected through the mirror. Meg's mind was quick to note that… she may have been faithful after all.

"What happened here, Jo? Were you okay in Bai Lan?" Meg asked quietly. Jo shrugged into a black tank top, her damp hair spiking out. Turning, she dropped the towel as she walked into the bedroom for a pair of panties. Finding a pair, Jo was covered once more. She turned placidly to Meg, her red eyes seemingly tired. Running a hand through her unruly hair, Jo sighed.

"It's alright. Sei was a real mess after that explosion…"

'But what about you?' Meg dreaded to ask.

"..And she got a lot put upon her. She's basically running the whole show, but for how long…"

It was a lot for the nominally reflective girl. Meg swallowed. "Are you two going to come back?"

'This is the only family I've really known….'

"I don't know," Jo murmured. Her deep red eyes swam into Meg's wide blue. Her arms twitched…. Why wasn't Meg leaning into her as always when she was sad? She was confused. Wasn't Meg glad to see her? She sure had seemed like it before she fell asleep.

Meg tapped a long finger against her red lips. "Then can we sign up?"

It was meant to sound light-hearted, but Jo knew when Meg was putting up a front. She gave a half smile. "It'd be great if you did…"

'Then I could still protect you.'

"Well, then. Let's go talk to Sei," Meg offered a smile on her lips. Jo was so pleased to see it, she was almost fooled. The mounting chasm yawned between them.

'I told you, we found Sei and Jo!' Amy typed furiously on her laptop.

'Oh my god! Tell Sei I hope she's okay! And Jo!' the chat box pounded back instantly. Amy grinned happily and typed several smiley faces in a row.

'Will do, Kyo! I gotta run. Chat later?'

'Ok!'

Amy shut her laptop and collected her stuffed animal casing. She had been in touch with Kyohei for weeks now, and it was a relief the gentle young man never took it to heart all the shit she had put him through. He seemed genuinely pleased to stay in touch with her, and Amy intended to continue to do just that.

'Just you watch out, Kyohei, you'll be in my reach again one day,' Amy thought, flexing her fingers. She blushed at the thought. She'd be more grown up, and maybe…

The young girl stood in the trailer's doorway, watching Bai Lan agents spill out of the metal tube in the sand. She had gotten the call from Leo to expect this, for they would drive the trailer to a structure tunnel to secure it underground. Amy tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the young men in matching suits to hurry up the ramp.

"Come on, what's the hold up?" she demanded pushily. Leo had sounded so jubilant before, that she knew he'd gotten to Sei. Which meant if these idiots moved it, she would too!

"Hurry it up already!" she insisted. The agents shrugged, and set about to moving toward the driver's console, revving the trailer up. Once below ground, Amy was led by two large agents down a metal tunnel into a plush conference room. The reason why was painted all over Leo's bearded grin. Sei sat waiting in a large chair, her cast resting lightly on the table's edge. She still looked about the same as always, so Amy rushed around the table, her eyes lighting up.

"Sei! You're okay! What happened? Why'd you ditch us, huh?" Amy moved to hug Sei, and noted the stiff way she held herself. Sei smiled bravely but Amy backed off from her hug a little. She had to have been seriously hurt.

"It wasn't my intention to leave you behind. You're part of my team, Amy; you always have been," Sei smiled, stroking Amy's hair. Amy eased into the chair on Sei's other side, noting the dopey way Leo was leaning toward the Chinese woman.

"Lighten up, Leo, she's not going anywhere!" Amy tried to joke, but Leo shrugged stiffly. The words smarted herself, joke or no joke.

Sei turned to Amy, her eyes slitting with her smile. "I should have known you and Meg wouldn't give up on looking."

Amy nodded her eyes serious. "You only took Jo with you; of course we had to keep searching. And let me say it right now, you're never gonna find a tech girl better than me. Bai Lan'd be crazy to have you really break us up."

"They tried to, you know… they all but commanded it," Sei murmured. It had broken her heart to accept those orders from her higher-ups. Looking at a somber Leo beside her, Sei could see the effects those callous decisions had wrought on her group. And she HAD considered them her group, even if the inner power struggles for control of Bai Lan inhibited her from getting them back.

"They couldn't see how well we work together?" Leo asked. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose. Sei shook her head.

"No. To them, people are things they can push around and use. I chose the best team possible… but you all are not things to me."

Amy smiled. "We're friends, Sei. Aren't we?" She left unspoken she saw the older refined woman as more than a friend, or older sister. She was her family, the only one she'd ever known. Sei had come looking for her and saved her from government arrest; had taken her in, financed her needs and looked after her. Sei was more a surrogate mother than she could ever be a friend to her.

Amy knew she could get along fine on her own to a degree, but she found she liked being around the other women (and Leo). Sei mirrored her thoughts, for she stroked Amy's hair again.

"Yes, Amy, we are…"

Leo looked around, his eyes dark with thought. "I still haven't seen Jo… IS she alright?" The mechanic knew Meg would be at her side even now, but the aftereffects of learning of her lab origins, of her body's mechanisms for pure destruction…. And the excess limits Jo had put her body through before the final battle… he wondered how Jo was taking the end results, if she was still her old self… and how Meg was taking it now that they were face to face.

Leo knew at the time, there had been no room for the thought of what-after… they just had to get through then and figure it all out later. And Leo figured they'd have time to get Meg and it'd all be okay. It was another reason Jo may not have wanted to be found. What Meg could find…

From the little Meg spoke of that parting, he knew she had been betrayed by their simple bond. Hitting her like that… that had shocked even him, and he had been there. It wasn't like Jo at all. And then he couldn't even ask her why she'd done it. Meg hadn't put him through too much shit for being there for that, but still… she had pulled him and Amy out the best she could.

So when Sei looked off to the side, Leo and Amy found that to be disturbing, considering the subject matter. "She is… on surface level. She was torn up pretty badly in the explosion and yet… she wouldn't leave me," Sei murmured. She dimly could recall Jo's grunts and howls as she carried their battered bodies away from the wreckage leaving a dented Jango behind.

Leo's eyes clouded. "That's Jo alright. But is she okay NOW?"

Sei enclosed her good hand over her cast. "She's healed faster than anyone has a right to. I've had my agents test her martial prowess, and she's still on mark. The problem is that she's off by a beat. She can still lay the best of my men out flat, and they wouldn't be able to tell otherwise, but I know something's bothering her. It could be one of two things; her body structure has truly hit its limit and she is faltering because of it; or something is troubling her mentally."

Sei made a mental note to talk to Meg alone. She had to find a way to apologize to her.

"It could be that Jo just needs Meg. She's all she's had since the lab," Leo murmured. But Jo had struck Meg… And they'd all left her behind as some annoying afterthought, himself included. The thought still shamed him.

Amy nodded. "Jo acts like a total badass, but she can't function right without Meg. She never relaxes until she's got her back. Just wait, they're probably getting in touch right now."

'Never mind that Meg got captured more than a video game princess," the tech girl thought. She tried not to giggle. Meg had really worked on keeping herself out of trouble lately, so the analogy really wasn't fair anymore.

"Well, Takane took Meg to Jo's room, so they should be together. I hope they're doing okay…" Sei reflected. Leo hesitated then boldly laid his hand over Sei's, making Amy's cheeks puff out.

"It's not your fault, Sei. These events and Jo's origins were not your doing. You've done the best you can."

When Sei looked up to smile at the mechanic, Amy sighed obnoxiously. "You two ought to just get together and get it over with! I give up. Any work you want me to start on, Sei?"

Sei nodded. "My tech crew should fill you in. Now, I want you to show them how it's done."

"And I'll be on my best behavior!" Amy grinned cheekily. The return to a more normal routine picked her spirits up. Sei still had use for her skills after all. And to feel needed made one feel more than whole.

They were still family.

"Now that we're alone, is there anything I can do for you?" Leo asked with an impish grin. He didn't expect much but Sei regarded him seriously. A small flush stained her cheeks.

"Just your company, Leo… we'll take it from there."

Leo gaped at her in surprise. He flushed and scratched his neck. And for the first time in awhile, he wondered if he truly had a shot with her.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. Sei smiled.

Jo walked side by side with Meg down the twisting corridors, her red eyes trained on floating red hair. Meg walked with a more sure gait instead of just rolling her hips, and her outfit was new, tight red and… Jo noted with a hint of disquiet… Meg wore her coat and scarf very well. She made them seem a part of her instead of accessories to an outfit.

When Meg lay unconscious in her arms, Jo had covered her with that coat. It was the only way she knew to reassure her partner and instead… she wound up not coming back. Jo knew she herself looked plain next to the more confidant Meg. She had pulled on a simple tank top, panties, and her usual chaps. Instead of boots, she had opted for slippers, hinting she was in a very different frame of mind. She had been cramped up in this secret base ever since Sei's take-over and had had very little sparring practice since.

Jo knew she had come out with serious injuries out of RAPT, and Sei didn't want her to push it. But she was starting to feel caged.

And now Meg was back at her side, but it was all wrong. She walked different, she looked different, hell, she even smelled different; a mixture of soft perfume and cigarettes, Jo noted with mild distaste. Did she start smoking? She was also wearing a gun as if it too were also now a part of her.

What else did Meg change in their separation?

Meg likewise was housing disturbed thoughts. Aside from the monosyllabic responses they gave about the day, the base, etc, she didn't know much about this Jo that well. Jo had always worn little to nothing if she could help it, but the slippers made her look like a shut-in.

"Sei should be in here," Jo murmured quietly as they approached two double doors. Meg straightened as they pushed inside…. Only to find Leo and Sei side by side eating Chinese noodles and sipping wine. The scene seemed so lovey-dovey that Meg would have wrinkled her nose if she hadn't been close to Sei in months. The older woman had looked a bit on the frail side of healing, and an image of the burnt-out RAPT building humbled Meg's mood.

Jo had done good by getting Sei out of that mess. She always did what she set out to do.

'But…,' Meg thought, stealing a side long look at the object of her heart. 'She always said she'd fight for me.' Meg had had to protect herself, Amy's feelings, and Leo's moods. Jo had broken her promise..!

"There you are, Jo," Sei beckoned them closer, her eyes warming toward Meg. Meg stumbled closer and held the hand offered to her. Even if she was still pissed at her, Meg WAS glad Sei was alright.

"Sei…"

"How are you Meg?" The look in Sei's eyes said 'We'll talk later.'

"I've been better."

'You bet we will,' Meg flashed back.

Jo glanced tiredly at Meg then turned to Leo.

"Jo," the old mechanic stood, half holding his arms out, so overwrought with emotion was he. He then merely clasped Jo's shoulder and patted her. Jo halfway smiled.

"Leo. You're looking good. How's Jango?"

"Prepped and ready for action," Leo grinned. Just like that, the two were settled back in their terms of exchanges.

"Come sit down and we'll have some lunch," Sei suggested, ever the diplomat. "Our chef is topnotch; maybe not as good as Kyohei, but good nonetheless."

Meg smiled ruefully, despite herself. "That wimpy jerk. He was the best."

"He sure put up with us," Jo murmured.

"Maybe with you guys, but I was sweet to him," Amy strolled in, scanning her laptop readily. She clapped it shut and turned to Jo. "You okay, Jo?"

"Amy…" Meg began but Jo shrugged.

"It's good to see you too, Amy…" Everyone could see the sad look in Meg's eyes.

Amy patted Jo's arm and crooked a thumb to her laptop. "I was just chatting with Kyohei, if you all wanna pass word on! He's doing great in Europe."

"Pastry chef, huh…" Jo murmured.

"Well, lunch sounds great," Meg put in. She took a seat on Sei's other side and pulled a packet of cigarettes out. Both Sei AND Jo quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Meg?" Sei began. Jo cast a gloomy look to Leo who was known to smoke the odd cigar while in his workshop.

"Your suggestion, Leo?" she asked. Leo paused, a chopstick full of noodles halfway to his mouth. The noodles slipped free and sloshed back into the bowl.

"You know I'm against kids polluting their lungs! And you know you can't say anything to Meg," Leo groused.

"Indeed you can't," Sei said with real affection. Meg felt a royal headache coming on despite the compliment.

"Got any of that wine, Sei?" she asked. Another look from Sei and Jo.

Cigarettes AND wine?

"You're gonna get old way too fast!" Amy complained. A pair of orderlies carried in extra bowls of noodles and Amy set to happily. "Oh, and I'll have a coke. No wine," she added pointedly.

"Point made, kid," Meg said, sipping from a goblet. Half the glass went down with the first sip.

Jo blinked, watching her. Everybody noticed the riveting separation still searing the two women apart.

"I have to admit, Meg, that I'm impressed. You brought Amy and Leo through alright," Sei said, seating herself behind a massive oak desk. She had taken the redhead alone to her office because some things needed to be out, she was sure. The constant drinking and smoking were only part of the obvious implications.

Meg seated herself opposite the desk and crossed her legs. She cast her eyes to the snaking dragons entwined along the wall above Sei's head. The symbol of her grandfather's organization. Bai Lan was eternal and ever watchful; the golden dragon had risen high indeed. Meg tapped gloved hands on the chair's arms impatiently.

"I had to, Sei. I had to… you weren't there and nobody could find you." What meant to come out calmly rushed out in a flood. Meg tightened her hands into fists. "You asked Jo to come and she came for you, but she sure as hell didn't need me! She even took Takane with her and not me! I've taken care of her since we pulled her out of the docks and you pull this?"

It had actually been Shirley who had done that, but Meg was on a roll.

Sei smiled sadly. "Meg… I needed Jo's help but I never wanted her to leave you. It was the only way she thought she knew how to protect you. I'm sorry…"

"You're not the one who's sorry! I've had to drag us all along when we were down and all needed answers! We didn't know if you and Jo were dead or alive, we didn't…. we didn't…"

Stupid! Tears welled up in Meg's eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She fiercely scrubbed them away, angrier now.

"We just didn't KNOW!" she wailed and Sei stood up, leaning on her cane. The older woman came attentively closer to Meg and laid a hand on her shoulder. Meg turned and buried her face into Sei's stomach, holding onto her. The tears came freely, wetting the bare expanse of flesh and Sei stroked her long hair. Her eyes were very sad.

"Oh, Meg…I am so sorry. When I said before we had to disband the group… I didn't mean like this. Those orders came from higher ups that no longer pass word onto me, and I couldn't come back to get you all. I am truly sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make it better for you," she murmured.

"Jo…" Meg wailed her eyes squeezed shut. The tears flowed like rain. "Jo isn't like how I knew! What happened to her? Why would she DO that to me?"

It was a long while, but Sei let Meg cry her grief out. Meg truly didn't know what to do with Jo and she needed to express her frustration away from the others. Sei lifted Meg's face and ran a thumb along her wet cheek. "You love Jo still, don't you?"

"I…" Meg looked away, her eyes doubtful. "I do…I think so… but…"

"It will take some time, Meg, but you'll get to know each other again. You've both been through a lot and you just need to find your place again. I don't think Jo can do without you; she does need you."

Meg wiped her eyes, her heart weighed by crushing sadness. Before, it was always Jo she ran to, but now… she wasn't sure if there was a place by her side.

"Yeah, well, you can say the same of Leo. You know that big baby took over your room in the trailer, he missed you so much?" Meg asked.

Sei grinned. "Did he now? I'll have to bring that up to him."

Meg sighed. "I find Jo and who gets a break? Frikkin' Leo."

"Well, maybe I've come to terms of what I really see in him," Sei leaned on her cane and walked slowly to her desk.

"So is he staying in your room or what?"

"That is none of your concern."

"So… do I get a room?"

"Amy gets one in the tech quarters. You will stay with Jo."

Meg's jaw dropped and she frowned at Sei. "What are you trying to pull?"

"I've watched Jo locked inside a mental pit for months. Now that you're here, you need to be close to her. She does need you, Meg. Believe in that."

Meg stalked out of the office, pissed off to hell. "I don't believe this…"

Sei quirked an eyebrow. Aside from the emotional outburst earlier, Meg had grown quite a bit since last she'd seen her. A few months ago, she would have yelled and hollered on her way out. Now only a string of cigarette smoke followed her with a muttered expletive. Sei waved a hand to clear her office. She'd really have to talk to Meg about designated smoking areas. But first…

Sei set her desk in order and shut out the lights. She tapped her way carefully along twisting corridors toward her lush chambers. When she closed the door behind her, Sei took in the sight of Leo seated nervously on the edge of her bed. He was twiddling his fingers when she cast her gaze upon him.

"When you said I could use this room, I had no idea it was yours," Leo confessed sheepishly. Sei leaned her cane against the nightstand beside the bed and slowly pulled her layered coat off. Her under cleavage bounced in her revealing top, and Leo stared up at her.

"Sei..?"

Sei touched his face with her good hand. She took his calloused palm and pulled it to the tie of her top behind her. Round white breasts seemed to ripple free when the top fluttered to the floor. Leo's face was as red as a tomato, his glasses fogged. Slowly, he stood and moved his hands up under those mounds, his mouth agape. He may have been in awe, but he was no fool to an obvious hint. Sei held the back of his head, thinking that gaping mouth would move to one of her large nipples, but Leo moved his hands around her waist and held her closely to him instead. He cupped the back of her head and tugged her hairpins out.

Sei flushed as her hair fell down around her shoulders. Leo studied her, his face serious. He leaned down and slowly claimed her mouth with his own. Sei's breasts squished up against the fabric of his shirt. Slowly, other articles of clothing littered the carpet. Leo clapped his glasses onto the nightstand as they moved onto the bed.

Meg stopped at Jo's room and sighed. She turned the knob and went in. Jo was sitting on the floor, apparently waiting for her.

"You're back," she said.

Meg sighed. "Well… Sei wouldn't assign me a room. So here I am. Which means one of us will have to stay on the floor."

Meg was angry; as to why, Jo couldn't tell. She was confused and watched Meg take blankets off the sole bed and fluff them on the floor. Before, she would have made Jo sleep there, no questions asked. But she was going to lay there instead?

Jo put a hand on Meg's arm, halting her. Meg looked up into deep red eyes.

"It'll be me, then," Jo said. Meg regarded her for a moment as she shrugged out of Jo's red coat and fell onto the bed with a sigh.

"Alright…"

Jo settled onto the blankets and silence reigned. A moment later, Jo heard the metallic clinking of a lighter and smelt the acrid smell of cigarette smoke. She leaned up and watched Meg exhale a stream of hazy fog.

"Must you do that?"

Meg's answer was another slow exhale of smoke.

End for now

Endnote: Wheeee! Finally it's up! I wish I had more time to type this earlier, but school's a bitch.

Penpaninu

2/20/11