Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Preventers: The Griffin Mission ❯ Chapter 4

Training continued, just as rigorously but with fewer potentially fatal mistakes, the next two days. Then Sally Po, being the wonderful woman she was, gave them a day of grace. Of course, she promised to make training twice as killer on the final day before they actually rocketed off to Altaos Beta. Eh, a justifiable sacrifice.

But on the glorious morning, that wonderful Day of Grace, Amy didn't get to sleep in quite as long as she'd planned. Of course, it didn't help that Duo went streaking through the corridors at eight o'clock in the morning, wearing nothing but layers and layers of toilet paper. Graceful, filmy loops of the stuff streamed out behind him like long white banners. She groaned and buried her head in her pillow after he whizzed by her open door, turned at the end of the hall, and roared back toward the stairs. What was he do- Wait . . . on second thought, maybe she really didn't want to know.

Before she could successfully hide under the covers again, Kim and Stacie appeared at the door. "Hey! Wake up! You can't stay in bed forever."

"Watch me!" she yelled, her voice muffled under layers of blankets. "I thought you two weren't morning people." Then, remembering Duo, maybe they had decided it was safer to be morning people after all.

Kim poked at Amy's head. "We're gonna have a picnic for lunch. Trowa and Wufei are preparing the food. If you don't come down, you'll just have to eat whatever they pack for you."

Amy peered out from under the sheets. "Wufei and Trowa? Alone with the food?" Her eyes widened fearfully. "I'm up!"

"Trowa's an awesome cook," Kim pouted. "Maybe it's Wufei we should be worried about."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Just come on. I'm getting bored. Heero's disappeared and Duo's trying to drive him out of hiding. I think he's gonna get shot if he keeps it up."

"Yeah," Amy grumbled. "I'll shoot him."

"Ah! What?! No you won't!" Kim had to push Stacie out the door before things became ugly.

In a few minutes, Amy was dressed and heading into the kitchen. The others were already there, bustling about the big room. Even Duo had abandoned his mission and had turned, instead, to a vat of macaroni and cheese. Heero was still inexplicably missing. Come to think of it, Quatre and Dorothy were gone, too. Kim and Stacie waved from the table where they were packing plates and utensils into the large wicker basket. "Quatre says we're going to his lake! He's got boats and we can go swimming and everything."

Lake Quatre? Surely not. Amy smiled and looked around the kitchen again. She saw Wufei ruthlessly chopping vegetables and dumping them into a giant wok. She didn't realize she was staring until Kim nudged her arm excitedly. "Soooooo . . . how'd it go? Yesterday, I mean. What did you do?"

"Who cares? I just want to know why you were wearing his shirt!" Stacie interrupted, a knowing grin stretched across her face.

Amy blinked. "I told you, a simulation room accident. We were fighting in there and-"

"So how did you both end up taking your shirts off?" "You were in there alone together?" Kim and Stacie exchange a smug glance.

"Yes . . . I mean no," she scowled. "We were fighting holographic images. Some ass-wipe forgot to set the safety level and we both got shot. I used my healing power to treat myself. The blood on the shirt was all mine."

Stacie frowned. "You didn't heal him, too?"

"No, but he knows about my Elemental abilities now." And I know of his powers as well, she added silently.

The blonde woman took Amy's arm and pulled her into a huddle with herself and Kim. "Look, girl, you're gonna have to try harder than that to get Wufei's attention. From what I've heard, he's one tough customer."

Amy started, surprised. "What makes you think I-"

"I've seen you look at him, Amy." She nodded knowingly. "Now, how about I teach you how to get a guy's attention? This picnic is the perfect opportunity!" She laughed happily.

Kim giggled. "Do you have a swim suit, or better yet, a bikini?"

"Uh, no. You know bikinis are taboo." What was she getting into?

"Today, you get lessons in becoming a Wufei looooove machine." Stacie turned and hollered over her shoulder, "Oi, Duo, I'm borrowing the Jeep for an hour or two!"

The braided man whirled around, sending the toilet paper flying up around his body. "Wait! I just got it repaired from last time-"

"Oh stop worrying!" She flashed him a confident smile. "It'll be in one piece when we get back, I promise."

He turned back to the stove, grumbling under his breath. "Yeah, one small piece." But Stacie and Kim were already hustling Amy out the door and down the hallway to the living room.

"Hey, guys? Do you smell something burning? It's not the mac and cheese. . . ," Duo's voice wafted from the kitchen. There was a moment of confused silence, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. "EEEEIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! It's me!!"

Then they were outside and piling into Duo's black Jeep. There was a cute neon green scythe airbrushed across the hood. A custom painted vanity plate read "DTHSYTH." Interesting; she'd give it that much. Then Stacie revved the engine and pulled out, tires squealing and smoking. And they were on their way to the city.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † †

As soon as the toilet paper fire was extinguished, the guys crashed at the kitchen table. "I hate macaroni and cheese!" Duo wailed. "Why can't I make the salad?"

Wufei spared the braided bishounen a disparaging glance. "Knowing you, you'd ruin it."

"Salad?! How can you ruin salad?"

Trowa shrugged, smiling faintly. "Face it, Duo, you just would."

"Oohhhh," Duo moaned and folded his arms over his chest. "Can't you teach me to make somethin' else then? Stacie's gonna kill me if we have one more Macaroni Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. C'mon, be a pal, you two." He pouted for a while, then glanced back up at Wufei, his face brightening with a big smile. "I can make it worth your while."

Wufei snorted. The smile worried him. "I doubt it, Maxwell."

But Duo was already sitting up, his grin widening. "The Love God can teach you all about women, yo. You might have a chance with that Amy."

Wufei burst out with, "What?! That crazy onna?" while Trowa's eye blinked in surprise. "Love God?" the Air Elemental scoffed. "If he wants advice, he would do better to ask a man who has a happy, normal marriage."

Duo tapped his lips pensively, that scary grin gradually widening until it stretched from ear to ear. "Why don't we join forces, Trowa?"

Stiff cinnamon bangs bobbed in agreement. Trowa grinned and clapped the Chinaman on the shoulder. "She'll never suspect a thing, Wufei. And this picnic will be the perfect opportunity."

Duo and Trowa ducked down and began laying out their plans. Wufei got more and more worried as the scheming progressed.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † †

"I can't believe you had me buy all that stuff!" Amy hissed, clutching her beach towel tighter around her arms. Her new bathing suit was hidden under a clingy tank top and khaki shorts. Why had she ever trusted those two to pick out her style?

Kim and Stacie just exchanged a nod, pleased with themselves. The group-minus Heero-was on their way to the lake. The wooded trail they took was cool and shady, a nice retreat from the heat of the summer day. The girls took the lead, eager to reach the lake. The guys, in the back, had been put to good use and carried the picnic basket and other stuff.

"It's fine, don't worry," Kim whispered back.

Stacie peered over her shoulder. The guys had been whispering amongst themselves during the entire trip. "What are they talking about? It's really bugging me!"

"Probably sports, muscles, sex . . . you know, guy stuff." Dorothy shrugged in disinterest.

"This shirt is bugging me!" Amy complained, tugging at the soft blue fabric for the fiftieth time. "You know I'm not used to things this tight."

Stacie directed a withering glance her way. "That's not tight. You just don't have any fashion sense. Now stop it! How are you going to look sexy if you keep fidgeting?"

"Sexy? Me?" Amy snorted. "It won't make a difference what I wear, anyway. He's a born woman-hater," she grumbled. Kim giggled shrilly, redirecting the attention of all four of the men their way. The women pounced on her. "SSSSHHHHHH!!"

"Ahhh, here we are! Behold, ladies and gentleman . . . Paradise Lake," Quatre called from the back of the group.

Amy made a face and stuck a finger down her throat. Paradise Lake, eh? Gag. But as they broke through the last of the foliage, even she had to admit that the tranquil scene beyond simply couldn't be described any other way. A large lake sparkled cheerfully beneath the bright afternoon sun. A wooden dock with two rowboats was nestled into the lakeshore. There was even a large expanse of open lakeside ground. All in all, it was the ideal spot for a quiet picnic and some summer fun.

Stacie flung her hands over her head and ran to the lake. "YEEEEEE-HAW! Beach volleyball! Uh, minus the sand!"

Duo quickly followed suit, kicking off his sandals as he ran by. "Woo-hoo! Stacie in a bikiniiiiiiii!!"

Kim waited for Trowa to catch up, then slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. She gave Amy a thumbs up sign and jerked her head in Wufei's direction. Soon, she had completely redirected her attention to Trowa. Quatre and Dorothy teamed up similarly and began spreading a large yellow blanket onto the grass. Amy held her breath and waited for Wufei. He hefted the giant picnic basket against his slim hip and walked right by her. She set her jaw stubbornly and fell into step behind him.

The others had already done their share of setting up for the picnic and were now turning their attention to water fun. They had stripped down to their bathing suits, discarding clothes in a few small heaps a few meters from the water's edge. Duo, clad in painfully bright blue trunks, was threatening to throw a happily squealing Stacie into the lake. Even over her over-dramatized shrieks, Quatre could be heard protesting Dorothy's attempts to lure him back into the woods. The quiet couple, Kim and Trowa, waded into the water, leaning against one another as though in need of the support.

Wufei set the wicker basket down on the blanket and began to slip out of his shirt. Amy stood a few meters back, watching the sinuous ripples of his muscles beneath his smooth tanned skin. He tossed the shirt to one side and sauntered up to the water's edge.

"Pssst, Amy!" Stacie sidled up beside her, bare feet whispering across the grassy lakeshore. Duo was occupied, checking one of the boats for leaks. "Remember what we told you. Straps. Now."

The brunette bit her lip and shot a worried look at Wufei. He was standing perfectly still, tanned arms locked across his bare chest, staring out over the lake. "I don't know. . . ."

"What?!" the other woman hissed. She scowled and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Everyone else seemed intent on their own activities. "You're not backing out, are you? C'mooooon!"

"Um. . . ," Amy said intelligently, glancing at Wufei again. "Yeah."

"Oh no you're not!" The mischievous gleam in Stacie's eyes was the only warning Amy had before the blonde woman's hand lashed out and caught one of the bathing suit straps. A quick tug and- "Oopsies. Naughty me. Oh, you'd better get that tied up soon." Humming cheerfully, she skipped over to the dock to help Duo with the boat.

Amy squeaked and crossed her arms over her chest, clasping her shoulders with a white-knuckled grip. The bright blue one-piece she'd bought had such a wide and deep-cut back that it needed to be tied to stay up. It looked like she'd be approaching Wufei after all. Joy. Well, one must do what one must do. Or whatever the hell it was.

"Ahm, Wufei? I seem to be having a little problem." She sauntered up behind him, smiling slightly to hide her embarrassment. He half-turned, silently regarding her with those dark, exotic eyes of his. The obsidian orbs fell on the death-grip she had on her shoulders, reflecting an unspoken question.

She blushed. "I sort of hand a little accident-" It took all of her willpower not to turn and glare at Stacie. "-and I was wondering if you would, ah, help me."

A thin black eyebrow arched curiously. "What?"

Amy swallowed hard and turned around. "Could you retie my straps?" She peered over her shoulder innocently.

Wufei eeped and whirled around, clapping his hands to his nose. Too much skin for his taste? Amy blinked and reached out in an attempt to calm him. Instead, he pulled away, facing the dock. It almost seemed like he was trying to attain eye contact with Duo. . . . Naw. Then the braided bishounen gave the thumbs up signal. Uh-oh. If Wufei was involved in something with Duo, maybe she should be suspicious. . . .

"All right." He sounded uncertain. He picked up the dangling straps between his thumbs and forefingers as if they might suddenly turn into snakes and bite him. She felt the straps shift on her back, softly pulled into place. "There. It's tied."

She shook her head. "Not tight enough. My suit will fall down." If that didn't give him a nosebleed, nothing would. She bit her lip again, this time in an attempt to quell her laughter.

Wufei sighed and tightened the straps, still cautious. It was like he was afraid he might tie them too tightly. Silly man. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She flashed him a grateful grin and let her arms fall to her sides. Wufei stared at her back, where her left hand had just been, his brow purled in confusion. She blinked. "Uhhhh, what's wrong, Wufei?" Silently, she prayed, Please don't let it be a zit; not a zit; anything but a zit.

The sound of her voice brought him from whatever pensive thoughts he'd been entertaining. He turned his head so that he faced her, but his eyes remained locked on her right shoulder blade. "What. . . . Why do you bear the symbol of feng?"

Feng? Baffled, she brushed her fingers across the area in question, twisting and turning her head in an attempt to see her shoulder blade. No zit; felt normal enough. After a moment of thought, realization came crashing down on her: the phoenix symbol. The strange marking she had received when her Elemental powers had been realized. But he called it . . . feng? She opened her mouth to answer.

Amy was interrupted by a startled eep. She whirled around just in time to see a large beachball bounce off Wufei's head. The bishounen quickly regained his balance and whirled to wreak vengeance on the person who had thrown the ball. He found himself glaring at a petrified Quatre. The empath was hyperventilating as though he couldn't find enough oxygen. Naturally large baby blue eyes rolled until the splash of color was overwhelmed in a white void. In a fleeting moment of uncharacteristicness, Amy felt sorry for him; she'd freak if Wufei looked at her like that, too.

"Oh, Wufei! I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you did I? Oh, I hope not. I didn't mean to. I tripped and fell on my knee." Quatre lifted his knee to show where a jagged stone had ripped through his tender, pale flesh. Amy's eyebrows rose in appreciation as she watched a thin waterfall of blood cascade down his leg. "But don't worry about me. I won't bleed to death-within the next 10 minutes at least." He stoically brushed Dorothy aside when she reached for his leg.

"Shut up, you dork." They all turned to see Stacie climbing out of the boat she and Duo had been rowing. Duo hopped out after her and waded over to the dock, pulling the boat behind him. Stacie was tossing the colorful beachball from one hand to the other, slowly approaching the assembled group. "Okay, who threw this out into the lake? It landed in the freakin' boat."

"Technically, Wufei was the last to touch it." Amy grinned and glanced at the Chinaman from the corner of her eye. He wasn't amused.

"Well, since we were so rudely interrupted, I'll stay around here and attempt to make your lives miserable for a while." She shot a withering glance at Quatre, who was nursing his wounded knee. "Especially you. I don't know how, but you had something to do with it."

Everyone stood and stared at each other for a few minutes. Duo meandered over and joined them as soon as the boat was secured to the dock. He attempted to occupy himself, but failed miserably. "This sucks! Look, we have a beachball, why don't we play volleyball?"

Quatre literally leapt at the suggestion. "Yes! Let's be friends. Who wants to be on my team?"

Silence.

Stacie snorted and folded her arms across her stomach. "Me and Duo and Amy and Wufei against the rest of you. K? Good."

The empath smiled bravely. "Don't worry about me. I guess I'll live through a brief game." Wounded leg all but forgotten, he trekked across the grassy lakeshore, calling for the Bartons.

The others pulled a rolled-up net from the basket and found an area which seemed to be suitable for the volleyball court. Soon, Quatre, Kim, and Trowa joined them at the net and they laid out the game rules.

"Let's kick some ass!" Stacie whooped. Duo roared-oddly enough, less than fear-inspiring-and did some primitive dance involving much stomping and burping. Amy wondered what god he was appealing to for ultimate victory in the upcoming battle.

"Play fair, now," Quatre cautioned his team in a sort of prep talk. Stacie spiked the ball at his head.

And the game was on.

The players scattered, effectively covering ground. Sadly enough, Quatre returned the spike quickly and efficiently. Despite Stacie's confident words, the teams were nearly evenly matched. As the game progressed, it became apparent that Quatre was a beach volleyball demon, a force to be feared. Amy supposed that he must have had years of practice with the Maganac Corps. Holed up in the middle of some obscure desert with an army of Arabs . . . what else could he have done? Wait, on second thought, she decided she really didn't want her question answered.

"Amy, Wu! heads up!"

Amy blinked, jerked from her speculations. With a start, she realized she'd spaced out again. Oops. A quick assessment told her that the beachball was flying in a hard beeline to an obscure spot right between Wufei and herself. Damn! She hated it when she had to enter that hazy grey area between designated "territories." Panicking, she blindly dove to her right in a suicidal attempt to keep the ball in play. She hardly noticed when Stacie sashayed over to deliver a jarring elbow-bump to her side. Turning her mind back to the situation at hand, she gasped sharply, prepping her lungs for a surprised cry. Wufei was after the same thing, hurtling across the grass in a similar dive-gone-bad. Before they collided, Amy noticed a suspiciously innocent-looking Duo meandering away.

Everything happened too fast. Amy collided with Wufei's shoulder. Their reckless speed sent her spinning away. In a desperate attempt to regain her balance, she instinctively grabbed for whatever her hands could find. And she still ended up on the ground.

Oof! The air was forced from her lungs as she skidded and rolled to a stop. For a second, she just lay there on her back, her eyes closed against the curious stares of her colleagues. I think I sprained my butt, she bemoaned silently, not yet daring to move. The crushing weight on her chest didn't help much either. Wait-my chest? Baffled, she opened her eyes, blinking dazedly. Large obsidian eyes peered back into hers, no more than a centimeter away. Embarrassed, she tried to stop breathing, tried to shrink away from his firm, tanned body, but his chest still pressed against her. Absently, she realized that if she just pursed her lips, the merest twinge would result in a kiss. . . .

The beachball collided against Wufei's head for the second time that afternoon. This time, it provided the force necessary to bump his head forward that extra centimeter. Amy's eyes widened as their noses clumsily bumped and their lips met. It wasn't a kiss-nothing that meaningful-but their lips connected, meshed together, enacted a gesture more intimate than business partners would presume to effect. For a few seconds, neither of them moved; two pairs of eyes stared into one another, masking the whirlwind of thoughts that quickened to a dizzying crescendo.

Then the laughter reached her ears. Her face burned with embarrassment as she realized that the others were all staring at them. She realized that her arms still gripped his torso and jerked away as if she had been burned. Wufei started to lift himself in a slapdash pushup. Scowling to hide the hot flushed tones which stained her face, Amy rocked back, slipped her legs between his chest and hers. Pushing herself into a backwards somersault, she flipped him over her shoulder-something she knew she couldn't have done had he not been disoriented.

She rolled over and rose to her feet, giving a nice healthy dose of the Evil Eye to everyone. None of them seemed to be properly abashed . . . loosing brownie points fast (tsk tsk). A forced smile twisted her lips as she approached Stacie. "Heyyy, Stace, good buddy. . . ."

Unfortunately, the blonde woman saw the punch coming and ducked down to avoid her due pain and suffering. Quatre happened to have the great misfortune to be standing directly behind Stacie. Before he could react, Amy's fist connected solidly with his jaw. The force behind the punch spun him in a perfect 180° arc.

Dorothy gave an outraged cry and tackled Amy before her husband even hit the ground, sending her flying backwards across the makeshift volleyball court. Though airborne, Amy scored a solid kick to the blonde witch's shins. Dorothy yowled and came hopping after her, prepared to wreak her vengeance. Focused on the screaming mad-woman, the Fire Elemental swung another punch. This one went wide, opening her up for Dorothy's counterstroke. Amazingly, Dorothy's claws were intercepted by Stacie, who whooped and dragged Duo into the scuffle, lashing out blindly, not caring who she struck as long as her fist solidly connected with flesh.

Soon, a good old-fashioned slug-fest was underway. The four hyped-up Preventers duked it out in true Gundam style. Well, maybe not the style, but the spirit was there. Amy just wished she could use her Fire powers and innocently claim "stray beam cannon ray." No such luck. Anyway, she couldn't get her bearings on who was who in the all-out battle. Just when she was considering breaking a random leg, a strong tanned hand caught Amy's shoulder, pulling her up short. Growling under her breath, she turned to bite it; what use was an oft-used threat if one wasn't prepared to carry it out? Before she could latch onto it, another hand descended on her waist and she was yanked off her feet. By the time she had reoriented, she had been placed well away from the fight. Wufei was standing before her, laughing. She stared at him for a few moments, dark chocolate eyes wide with shock. Chang Wufei laughing? Too weird. . . .

Shaking her head, she turned back to check on the rest of the group. Stacie and Duo had gleefully launched an all-out attack on Dorothy, who was still screaming bloody murder and seemed to be missing one eyebrow. Kim and Trowa were in the process of sneaking off into the woods while Quatre mournfully nursed his bleeding mouth. Once he seemed to convince himself that he wasn't going to die, he redirected his efforts to breaking up the fight.

Amy whirled around to face Wufei again, this time stifling her own laughter. Finally, her mirth won over and a loud snort erupted from behind her clasped hands. She was drowning in a helpless bout of laughter when Wufei turned and headed back to the picnic blanket. Her laughter died down to amused chuckles as she trotted after him.

"So, have you missed them?" Amy began to laugh again at the confused look Wufei directed her way. "I mean: do you miss the guys when you're off on your own? There's no way you can be part of this group" -she motioned toward the others- "then leave and feel nothing."

Wufei's face smoothed out. Dark, obsidian eyes became contemplative pools. "I never was part of this group. We had the same goals, the same general mission, but they knew nothing of my methods, of the code of honor and integrity. I couldn't fight alongside them."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Her question was valid, her tone soft.

Wufei grimaced and opened his mouth, prepared to affirm his previous words. They exchanged a glance-Amy's earnest, smooth face turned up to his closed, dark one. He quickly looked away, intently focusing on the picnic basket. As they neared the basket, he let his almond-shaped eyes flicker toward her again. "I suppose I miss them once in a while. It's like white noise. You get so used to it-"

"Hn," she mused, quoting Heero perfectly. "One question answered out of the two asked; not bad. The lesser of two evils?" She grinned crookedly.

After a moment, he nodded and situated himself on his beach towel, which he had retrieved while she was talking. In one fluid motion, he stretched out on his back, hooking tanned arms behind his head. Amy sighed and plopped down next to him, smoothing her own towel across the grass.

Stacie looked up from shattering Dorothy's shins, catching sight of the awkwardly silent team. Grinning, she grabbed Duo and raced across the lakeshore. Duo, who managed to score one last punch in Dorothy's gut, didn't mind the diversion. Soon they reached the picnic area, leaving Quatre and Dorothy to tend to each other's wounds.

"Hey, Duo, help me with this lotion," Stacie purred as she stretched out on her beach towel. The former Deathscythe Hell pilot immediately grabbed the nearest bottle, eager to . . . help her. Stacie shot a triumphant grin at Amy, the meaning of which was perfectly clear: see how easy they are to train?

Amy grinned back, turning to Duo just in time to see his own silent message to Wufei. She didn't speak the male language, but he seemed to act just as victorious as Stacie was. Her grin slowly slipped off her face as she blinked at Duo. Was she missing something here?

Duo squirted a generous measure of suntan lotion in his palm, then tossed the bottle across the grassy expanse, winking at Wufei. Now if that wasn't scary, she didn't know what was. But Wufei's hand lashed out at the last possible second, snagging the bottle. This was followed by more male eye-language. Greeeeaaaaat. Amy, feeling very lost, whipped her head from Wufei to Duo and back again, squinting as though she might catch the words in midair. She promised herself that she would take a course in this strange foreign language once she found the spare time. Key words: spare time. . . . Heh. She closed her eyes in an attempt to ignore the strange tribal communications.

Wufei rolled over, breaking eye contact with Duo. Hesitantly, he gathered his legs beneath him and scooted closer to Amy. She opened an eye and slowly looked up. Whatever the little boy-chat had been about, she wasn't she sure she wanted to know. It seemed remarkably akin to Stacie and Kim's own "teaching" methods.

"Aren't you afraid you'll burn?" he asked casually, almost off-handedly.

Amy half-turned and squinted up at him-a dark shadow backlit by the blazing sun. "Naw; I don't really- OW!" She shot an accusing glare at Stacie as the blonde tried to look innocent-as if she hadn't just tried to snap Amy's fibula in half. Riiiiiiight. Amy made a grrrrr face and turned back to Wufei, message received. "Yeah, I guess I could use some of that lotion. But," -she continued, shooting another annoyed look at her maestra- "I can't reach my back to put it on. Could you-?" She smiled innocently at the Chinese man, as if intentional physical touch was the last thing on her mind.

Following Stacie's lead, Amy pretended not to see Duo as the young god of Death gave Wufei visual pointers. Soon, she surprised even herself by letting every muscle in her body relax as his nimble fingers worked at the ties of her swimsuit. Here was a guy she had known, what, two days and she was this comfortable around him? Sure, she had gotten much more comfortable around him during the training exercises yesterday, but this was still the most out-of-character thing she had done in a long time.

Well, you're gonna have to trust him tomorrow, girl, she reasoned with herself. That planet sure as heck won't be all kicks and giggles. We'll be trusting each other . . . with our lives. Whoa. That was a sobering thought.

By the time she finished pondering the peculiar situation she had gotten herself into, Wufei had the brushed the loose straps aside and was smearing lotion on his palms. Both Stacie and Duo began nodding enthusiastically as he began working the lotion onto her back in slow, circular caresses. Amy let a small smile tug at her lips and hid her face from their excited eyes.

Wufei slipped the right shoulder strap halfway to her elbow and extended the slow circles to encompass her shoulder blade. She felt his hand hesitate, and wondered what strange things Duo was trying to get him to do now. Wufei's hand deliberately twisted at the wrist, rolling his hand across her back. As if he were conducting a delicate experiment, he let the tips of his fingers trail over her right shoulder, across the phoenix mark.

"It doesn't bite," Amy pointed out helpfully.

"I know that." Great; she'd wounded his pride.

Duo snickered loudly. Amy and Wufei simultaneously shot him twin glares. He quickly swallowed his laughter.

"Hey, Stacie. I thought I saw a nice, secluded glade back there. . . ." Amy could imagine him waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"If you can find it, I'll give you a treat," Stacie purred. She jumped up and gathered the beach towel around her waist.

"Mee-yow! You're on!" The pair scampered across the lakeshore, heading for the wooded trail.

Wufei shook his head and continued to apply the lotion to her back. Amy closed her eyes and focused on the leisurely circles his hands traced across her back. She thought of those hands wrapped around a sword hilt, minions to a cool and methodical mind. And before she had met him, they had gripped the controls of a Gundam, delicate yet firm and unyielding. Servants to justice, to the Chinaman's resolute sense of integrity. How many had died at his hands? These strong hands that seemed so gentle, careful.

"Why do you bear the mark of feng?" Wufei's voice startled her. Somehow it sounded like she'd done something to offend him personally. Oh goody. . . .

"I told you yesterday, Chang; I'm the Phoenix. I got this mark when Master Ling told me about my dormant Elemental abilities. Sorry if it doesn't meet with your approval. I really didn't have much of a choice-it just sort of . . . appeared on it's own."

He murmured something inaudible, but his tone sounded slightly awed. Oh boy, she'd impressed someone. Mark! When he spoke again, he seemed to have accepted her explanation and was regarding her as . . . equal? Had he been anyone but Chang Wufei, she'd have believed it. Heck, she had been impressed for a while-at least until Lord Azrael and his demons started trying to kill her. "Why has the phoenix shown herself? In this time of dissonance?"

"Um. . . . Wufei, ya lost me there." Amy propped her head up on her arms, angling her face back to look at him. "I take it this is a Chinese thing. . . ?"

An expression of pure self-satisfaction passed over his face as though someone had just drawn a curtain across it. "Yes. Feng is a symbol of peace, power, and prosperity. She hides in times of disharmony and strife."

That made her think. . . . Ow. "Hmmm. Have you ever seen a phoenix?"

"Well. . . . No."

"Then how do you know they hide?" She continued before he could answer. "Maybe your ancient texts have been misinterpreted. Or maybe my phoenix is of another origin."

Wufei proffered his hand, brushing gentle fingertips across against her phoenix mark. "No-it's Chinese." A long, thoughtful pause later: "Strange . . . how life has thrown us in together. Your feng compliments the long-wang."

"Ner?"

"Let me show you." Wufei scuffed up the grass with his heel, then bowed over the loose dirt. He poked his finger into the damp soil, tracing a large circle that soon transformed into a yin-yang symbol. As a final touch, he etched something bordering the outer edge that resembled a dog with mustaches and a long squiggly neck.

Now the tutelage began. "You are familiar with the yin-yang? It shows how the two forces-which underlie all of creation-must exist together to create harmony. Opposite extremes, or polarity, exist in the bosom of unity. The concept is the same as . . . pedaling a bicycle. You can't go forward by pressing both pedals forward. To advance, you must simultaneously push one of the pedals and release the other one. `Pushing' is the consequence of `releasing' and each of them becomes in turn the other's cause."

It sounded like a lecture he had heard so many times before that it easily rolled off his tongue. Amy stared at him as intelligently as possible.

"Feng, the phoenix, is another symbol of this unity." Now he let his hand block out the yin-yang, wresting her attention toward the funkified dog-beast. "This is a long-wang."

"A long what?!" She couldn't be entirely sure, but the term sounded more than slightly dirty. But he sure had her attention now.

"A dragon," he growled irascibly. "In the ancient texts, a long-wang dragon completes the outer border of a yin-yang. Without the dragon, the symbol is not truly complete, nor can the perpetual `push' and `release' be contained. When an etching of feng replaces the yin-yang, it intertwines with the long-wang." He shot a wry look in her direction. "I'm not going to attempt to draw that."

Amy afforded the dirt-engraving a considering look. "Nice dragon."

Wufei scowled. "If you wish to be difficult, onna, here is a `professional' rendering."

He extended his right arm, effortlessly angling it so the golden scales shimmered, winking cheerily beneath the midday sun. Captivated by the exotic sight-can you say Kiki?-Amy let it draw her hand like a magnet. Since she'd first seen the strange tattoo, she'd wanted to touch it; but since it wasn't considered polite to walk up to strangers and start fingering their tattoos, she'd refrained from doing so. Now hesitant fingers traced the roiling, snakelike body, gliding up his arm to rest on the back of Wufei's hand. He sat back in silence, allowing her to stroke the dragon's red, gilded head.

Amy let a small smile tug at her lips as she ran gentle fingers across his hand. She could almost sense the creature's sinuous movements as if it were only laying dormant and would soon continue along on its slithering way. Then the dragon's wild, golden eyes caught her own. She gasped softly as the eyes came to life, shimmering, dancing with a merry vitality. Beneath her hand, it shifted. Not Wufei's hand, the dragon's body. She felt each individual scale, cool and undulating, as it brushed by her hand.

"Holy cripes! What was that?" Amy gasped, snatching her hand away. She clenched the hand into a fist, willing the feeling of cool, reptilian skin to fade from her fingertips.

Wufei jerked his head up, startled obsidian eyes searching hers. "You felt that?"

"He-yeah! What the heck was that?" She stared at the tattoo as if she was expecting it to leap off his forearm and lunge at her. Truthfully, she couldn't be much more shocked if it did.

He continued to stare at her. "I called on my power." She could almost see his thoughts sliding behind his eyes like dark clouds. "That's impossible. How could you have felt that?"

Eyes dark and pensive, he put his arm around her. Amy tensed, expecting to feel the cool, smooth scales writhe against her back. But all she felt was his skin, warm and muscle-hardened, brush her own. She relaxed slightly. Then he rolled his hand against her shoulder-blade and she knew what he was going to do.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Amy twisted away before the two marks could touch. Her reaction surprised even her. True, she had always valued her personal space, but somehow even this seemed too . . . intimate-if that was the right word. Too familiar, maybe? Which was especially weird considering how thrilled she'd just been to have him rubbing her back.

Wufei frowned, puzzled. "What? I won't hurt you; I just wanted to see-"

He was abruptly and rudely interrupted by a godawful noise that sounded like the Gundam Wing theme song, only tapped out on a touch-tone phone. Amy made a face and whipped her head around, orienting on the source. It was coming from the picnic basket.

As if summoned, Quatre came racing across the lakeshore, skidding to a halt between Wufei and the picnic basket. He started to dig through the basket before his eye fell on Wufei's hand, still resting on Amy's bare back. Hesitantly, cautiously, his eyes rolled up to search their faces and a heated blush washed over his face. Several stuttered apologies later, he whipped out a pink cell phone. (I kid you not; pink.)

Amy quickly hid her face before she burst into laughter. When she came up for air again, Quatre was handing the phone to Wufei. "It's Sally. She sounds a little stressed."

Curious, she adjusted her swimsuit straps and scooted over to press her ear to the other side of the cell phone. Wufei afforded her a fleeting scowl, but let it slide. "Hello, Sally Po."

"God, I'm so glad I finally reached you!" Sally's voice sounded distant, heavily laced with static. But her urgent tone came through loud and clear. "There's been another terrorist attack . . . an entire colony lost, no survivors. President Asano told Une that he will fully fund this mission, but only if you act now. Of course, Une's been after me to find you for the past twenty minutes. Where are you? No, never mind. Just drop whatever you're doing and get over to my office. Now. Immediately. As in right now." She hung up.

"Okee then. Gotta love that woman, eh, Wufei?" The cell phone dropped into Amy's lap. "Hn?" She turned to see him on his feet, gathering his towel and shirt.

"Get moving, onna," he called over his shoulder as he headed toward the path to Quatre's house. "Unless you want Une snapping at your ass for a week or two."

Amy swore a silent "arg" and leapt up, awkwardly fumbling with her straps and gathering her clothes at the same time. "Wait for me, yo!"

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