Phoenix stared at the table, not even bothering to listen to her right-hand man argue with the Explosives Expert. Her mind was still on the last conversation it had been weeks since she had told him about the homes she had been in, and yet Phoenix wasn't getting bored.
"Why do I keep talking to him? We've exhausted every subject about the O-Loughlin's and Reaper possible but we still keep calling each other." And it was true, Gokudera had called Phoenix as often as she called him. "Why do I keep talking to him? I tried to kill his best friend, every instinct I have is screaming at me to distance myself from him...but I don't want to. Ah fuck...this is why I hate emotions. They cloud everything!"
Eagle banged his fist down on the table, jerking Phoenix away from her thoughts.
"And I'm telling you Raven that your plan is just plain dangerous! We put C-4 there and we'll be killed before we even have time to think about running away!"
"And I'm telling you Eagle that your plan is just plain stupid! Dress up as the kitchen staff and sneak in with bombs? Yeah right! Me and Phoenix alone would be recognized immediately!"
"Well your way would get us all killed!"
"And your way would get the Boss killed!"
"ENOUGH!" Phoenix was through with the argument, she wanted to think but these two wouldn't shut up. The girl stood and both men, who were clearly older than her, sat respectfully as she walked around to the blueprint tacked to the wall. "What's that?"
Phoenix pointed to a small tunnel that seemed to run out of the building.
"That's a swearer pipe. It's never full but it's too small for a grown man to go through."
Eagle said dismissively.
"Well luckily, we're not all grown men." Phoenix turns to the man who was lounging in the chair next to hers. "Raven what do you think?"
Raven is a handsome man, with long dark black hair that he keeps in a low pony tail, tanned skin, and serious gray eyes. Two scars crossed the bridge of his nose and form an X of pale skin. Phoenix had saved his life right after he received those two wounds and ever since them Raven hadn't left her side.
"It'd be tricky...whoever went in, I think only you or Osprey could fit, would have to have the equipment to deal with any fumes and other...ah...things they found along the way...and have to figure out a way to get the rest of us in..."
Raven stands and walks over to the blueprint, standing next to Phoenix, his gray eyes narrowed, one hand on his hip and the other over his mouth, clear signs that he was thinking hard. Phoenix gave him a moment.
"Can we do it?"
Raven sighs.
"Yeah. We can do it."
"Okay that's the plan. I'm gone."
Before either man could stop her Phoenix walked out if the planning room and into the noisy main room of her teams improvised hang out, or as she liked to call it 'Roost.2'. Phoenix stretched and walked around, checking on the other nine team members present that day and just trying to figure out her thoughts.
"We talk so much...And I never have to act with him, I can actually be myself with him. But we're just friends! Not even that! Allies! So why do I want to talk to him so often?" Phoenix grabs her staff from the weapons box by the door and hooks the small retractable tube to her belt. "And he makes me laugh like no one else can, Raven can make me laugh but it's so different with Hayato." Phoenix feels the now familiar flutter in her chest at Gokudera's name. "And then there's that."
Gokudera was also having a mental conversation about the long phone calls that went between the two teens.
"She said that she grew up in Chicago but I could've sworn I heard an Irish accent...But why would she lie? She shouldn't have a reason to." Gokudera yawns, attracting a glare from his teacher. "Damn...I still can't believe I was up all night just talking to that woman. And we didn't even fucking talk about anything important, we just...talked. And it was so easy. I can't talk like that with anyone...except Juudaime." But even as he thought it Gokudera knew that it wasn't true, he would never talk to Juudaime like that. "We were just joking around and laughing...she got me to laugh. I've never even met this girl and already she's...she's my friend." This thought worried Gokudera slightly; friends were something he never really had. Sure now there was Juudaime and, even though he was loathed to admit it, the other guardians but they had earned it. They had shown that they were trustworthy. Phoenix hadn't, in fact Gokudera should hate her for threatening Tsuna and he knew it. But he didn't and he didn't know why. "She's changed but still, she threatened to kill Juudaime! How can I just forgive that so quickly..." Hayato turned and looked at his boss. "What would Juudaime do about this..."