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"Rescues"Written By: Honor Disclaimer: Despite my best attempts, I have not
managed to steal the boys. I’ll let you know when I succeed.
Archived: Gundam Wing Diaries Rating: R (I think, I really don’t have a
good grasp on the rating system) Spoilers: nada Warnings: TWT, EWWT (I’m acting like the
war lasts a year and a half and Eternal Waltz doesn’t happen)
Lemon, some angst, violence, language, romance Pairings: 3x4 established, working on 5xOMC (anyone
remember Jamie?) and a 1x2 //thought// <<com or phone>> *emphasized* ~flashback~
"Rescues " Chapter Five: Nights and Days
A sharp gasp came from the opposite side of the room, followed by a curse and a grunt. “Rats!” she breathed. She recognized the symptoms of a serious nightmare from personal experience. //This is so not good. He’s got some serious reflexes. If I don’t wake him up the right way, he could very well kill or maim me before he’s properly awake.// Sliding out of the bed, she approached by carefully crawling on the floor. When she was right next to the bed she poked her eyes above the mattress. The light of a full moon settled over the bed through the window, highlighting the figure on the mattress. Wufei’s face was contorted, body jerking back and forth as if he was fighting against something. Every muscle was straining and rigid. She waited until his hand came within easy reach before grabbing it and squeezing once. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back with Wufei on top of her, his hand going for her throat. She deflected the strike with her arm. “Wufei!” The hand slapped against the floorboards. His eyes flew wide, caught on hers, breath still harsh in his lungs. They froze in position, staring at each other. Jamie saw the past minutes flash through his eyes—he went sheet white. Abruptly he jerked to his feet and ran out of the room. “Dammit!” Propelling herself to her feet she took out after him. “Jamie?” Hearing Heero’s voice she reluctantly stopped at the front door and turned to face him. Right now, instinct said that the proud Chinese teen didn’t want to face her. Heero was a better option. “Wufei had a nightmare.” His eyes darted to the figure barely visible at the edge of the forest, then back to her. “Bad?” “Very. I woke him up as cautiously as I knew how, but he was still going for my throat before I could get him all the way awake. He ran out of here like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels when he realized what was going on.” “Shimatta,” Heero growled. “Stay here.” Jamie watched in worry as Heero ran after Wufei, pacing back and forth in front of the door and rubbing her upper arms against the chill of the night. //Which bothers you more? The fact that I saw you having a nightmare? Or that you almost hurt me?// “Jamie?” She turned abruptly to see a half-clothed Trowa standing behind her. //Did we wake everybody up?// “Nightmare.” “Yours?” She shook her head roughly, turning to look outside again. “Heero went after him.” “Hn.” He went back into his room, and she could hear his voice, soothing and calm. //Ah. Quatre must have woken up and sent Trowa to see what was going on.// Another minute passed, then Heero and Wufei reappeared, heading back toward the house. Jamie hesitated, wondering where she should be. Still in the doorway? Or should she go back to bed and act like nothing happened? //Neither seems right…maybe halfway is better.// Turning around she sat on the arm of the couch and drew one knee up to rest her chin on. When Wufei entered the house and saw her, he visibly hesitated, eyes going to Heero for a moment before dropping to the ground. “…I’ll sleep on the couch.” “Your prerogative, of course,” Jamie answered agreeably. Now was not the time to yell at him for being an idiot. “But it won’t change much. I’m a light sleeper and if you have another nightmare like that one, I’m going to hear it and wake you up.” “You’ll not!” he denied harshly, glaring at her. “I’m not going to just sit back and watch, Chang Wufei!” she snapped back. Well, maybe she *did* need to yell a little. Trowa came back into the room, evidently curious about the shouting. He stayed out of the conversation however. Wufei was practically vibrating with anger as he stalked forward to match her glare for glare. “Don’t be obtuse, woman! I could have killed you tonight! That will not happen again!” “Idiot! The problem will not solve itself by ignoring it!” “You will not be hurt! Ever! Especially not by my hand!” “Damn straight!” softening her voice she deliberately relaxed. “And that’s because you’re going to tell me how to wake you up *safely*.” After a long moment he looked away. “Stubborn woman.” Was that admiration in his voice? She grinned up at him. “I have to be, being friends with you. So how do I wake you up?” There was something behind his eyes when he looked back at her that held no definition…but it was soft and tender. “Cold. Touch me with anything that is cold and I’ll be awake instantly.” “Gotcha. Let’s go back to bed.” Wufei looked to his fellow pilots and inclined his head in silent thanks. They nodded back, then returned to their own rooms. Jamie followed the grouchy man she roomed with back to bed, sinking into her cooling sheets with a sigh. “Jamie…” “Hm?” “When you do wake me up, cold or not, don’t be within arm’s reach of me.” She rose up on an elbow, wishing there was more light so she could see his face. “I promise to throw ice cubes at you from the doorway.” “…good.” Hearing the smile in his voice she finally relaxed and went swiftly back to dreams of cute Chinese guys with sexy voices and bad attitudes. + Duo was propped up on an elbow in his bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as Heero came back in. “’Ro? What’s going on?” “Chang. He had a nightmare.” Duo’s face crinkled into a frown. “Bad?” “Very. It woke up Jamie—and almost got her killed.” Heero sat on the edge of the bed, struggling to hide a yawn. Even he had problems staying awake at three in the morning. “Urk. That’s not good. How’d our grouchy dragon take it?” “…not well. I talked to him. He was more afraid of hurting her than ashamed of having a nightmare.” Duo’s brows shot up. “And that’s sayin’ something. Last time I tried to talk to him about a nightmare he had, I almost got my head torn off. How’d Jamie react?” “She informed him that she was going to wake him up regardless of the danger.” Duo fell back to the mattress, hooting with laughter. “That’s our girl! ‘Fei didn’t like that, I bet.” “No,” Heero admitted, admiring Duo’s face as he laughed. He was so beautiful when he was open and smiling like he was now… “They compromised by Wufei telling her how to wake him up safely.” “Good,” Duo declared, rolling over to look at Heero. “She’s good for him, y’know? He’s actually been in a friendly mood the past three days or so. He’s acting *human*.” “Hn.” Duo rolled onto his back, stretching and settling more comfortably on the blankets. “…night, Ro.” “Good night…Duo.” + “No way!” “Duo—” “I said no way, Heero!” Wufei snapped his book closed, irritated. The yelling had been going on for some time now, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. Getting off the couch, he went out onto the front porch to confront the pair. “What are you two arguing about?” “Jamie,” Heero growled. Wufei’s eyes narrowed. Ever since it had been decided that Jamie would stay with them, he had felt the most astonishing urges to protect her. Even now, those instincts were coming to the fore, demanding that he keep her safe, happy…despite the fact that it was his comrades and brothers in arms that were in front of him! “What about Jamie?” “Cool it, Wu,” Duo ordered with a weary sigh. “Damn, man, but do you realize how you react when any of us suggest something that’s the least bit dangerous? You look like you’re going to brain us if we don’t handle her like glass! We won’t hurt her, y’know?” “It’s that we’re arguing about,” Heero grumbled with an annoyed look at Duo. “We have no idea of her training in hand to hand combat. We can’t know how well she will respond in a fight. I need to test her.” “And I say no flippin’ way! You’re too rough, ‘Ro.” “If I don’t test her properly, what’s the point?!” “She’s a girl! You don’t have any kind of consideration for that! I know women are soldiers and all that fun stuff but the fact of the matter is a girl is just not as physically strong as a guy! You could hurt her if you ‘test’ her the same way you do me!” “*I’ll* test her,” Wufei growled. “I am experienced in sparring with women, and I know how to temper my blows.” “You’ll be too gentle with her!” Heero snapped. “Duo’s right, you treat her as if she were fine china!” “Cut it out!” Trowa’s voice cut through the air. The other three whirled to him, astonished that they hadn’t heard his approach. “You’re agitating Quatre, which he doesn’t need right now. And none of us need this kind of tension between us. Why are you discussing such a thing without involving Jamie?” Duo threw his hands up. “THANK you! That’s what I said in the very beginning!” “Fine.” Heero turned on his heel and went into the house. “I’ll ask her.” Trowa looked after him, distinctly unhappy, then after a beat followed him. Duo caught Wufei’s arm, keeping him from following. At this time of day, Jamie was usually in the basement gym they had set up. She had to remove most of the weights, but most of the equipment she could use to keep her own personal fitness up. She looked up as they came in, setting down the bar bell on the bench beside her. “Uh-oh. Whatever it is I didn’t do it, I don’t know anything about it, the body’s buried where you can’t find it AND I burned the negatives.” Trowa snorted. Sometimes, Jamie’s humor reminded him of Duo’s—or Cathy’s for that matter. It always tickled at his own dry sense of humor when she made such statements. “We have a question.” “Okay…shoot.” Heero shifted into a parade stance. “What training have you received in hand to hand combat?” “Urm…standard mercenary training. I was up to a level three when I stopped training with the corp.” Heero looked to Trowa for interpretation. He knew very little about how mercenary groups worked. “I was a level six, but then I am unusual,” Trowa murmured thoughtfully. “Not many went as high as a three. She can handle herself.” Heero grunted, not entirely satisfied with that assurance. “She was a three at *that* time. She has stopped training against opponents since she left; there is no guarantee that her skill level is still that high.” Jamie watched this conversation with piqued amusement. “I take it that this is a cause of concern?” “Hn,” was Heero’s elaborate reply. “Ah-huh.” She popped up and came closer to Heero’s face so she could grin at him from a closer distance. “Are you worried about me?” A very slight hint of pink tinted his cheeks. “You are!” She laughed in delight, wishing that she knew him well enough to press a kiss against one of those pink cheeks. “You’re just a teddy bear, Heero Yuy.” He flushed even more with that statement. The more charitable part of Jamie’s psyche decided to give the guy a break, so she diverted back to the subject at hand. “If sparring with one of you guys on a regular basis will ease your worrying, then I’ll not complain against it. Who’s closest to me?” “Quatre, probably,” Trowa answered thoughtfully. “Er…no. Not for a while yet,” Jamie told him firmly. “I know. Wufei said that he was ‘accustomed to sparring with women’. I think either he or Duo would be a good choice, for now.” “…the grouchy dragon, who thinks most women aren’t worth the air they’re breathing, is used to sparring with women?” Trowa shrugged. “Right. Well, I’m all warmed up from the weights. Let’s hunt down my new victims, shall we?” + Jamie dropped to the grass, thanking any god, goddess, demi-god or saint that came to mind that the day’s sparring was done. Duo wasn’t really more advanced than she was (although he knew more dirty tricks than she did)—the boy was just too damned *fast*! And the brief amount of time she had sparred against Wufei had told her plainly that he was MUCH better than she was and he was toning everything down to her level—which was just humiliating. “Not bad, Jammi,” Duo congratulated her. “Duo, do me a favor.” “…what, tote you inside?” “No.” She cracked open an eye to glare at him. “At least *pretend* to be breathing hard.” Bright laughter spilled out of his mouth. “Next time, I promise.” “Thank you. Being whooped by the both of you is bad enough, but you’re not even breathing hard! It’s…ridiculous!” Wufei couldn’t join in their laughter. Jamie was better trained than most women, it was true…and he’d seen men that couldn’t hold a candle to her. But there were enough soldiers in the field that were strong enough to take her down and it was eating at him that she might just run across one of those people and not be able to defend herself. Jamie caught his scowl and groaned. “Wufei, relax. I know I’m not up to your level—frankly, I don’t think that will ever happen either. I’ll spar with you both until I’m back to where I used to be, maybe better, and we’ll move on.” “And if you meet someone more advanced in combat?” he challenged harshly. “I’ll shoot him,” she returned calmly. “And if you are unarmed?” “Then odds are, he is, and I’m dead meat anyway.” Wufei tensed, frown going into a full glare. “I am not amused.” “Whoa, Wuffers. Chill man, she has a point. I mean, how often do we actually fight someone hand to hand? Sure, we use what we know to take people out, but I’ve yet to really fight someone.” Duo silently challenged him to contradict this view. And Wufei found he couldn’t. Only once had he faced someone in equal combat, and even then they had been armed with swords. “…hn.” “Now that we’ve chewed that bone to death, can I get a drink? I’m shriveling into dust, here.” “Sounds good to me!” Duo responded cheerfully, giving her a hand up. “And a nice cold shower.” “OH yes. A shower is definitely in the picture.” Jamie took two steps toward the house when she realized that Wufei wasn’t following. With a sigh she stopped and leaned sideways to catch his hand. “Come on, grumpy.” The small hand grasping his so confidently stunned him enough that he didn’t offer a protest as she led him to the house. It had been so long since someone had taken him by the hand…had anyone ever done such a thing? Hesitantly he closed his fingers around hers. She squeezed back, flashing him a warm smile over her shoulder as she chattered with Duo about what they would eat for lunch. Ridiculously he felt warmed by the gesture and smiled back at her as he lengthened his stride so that he was walking beside her to the house. + “Trowa! Come here!” Quatre waved his lover over to the window frantically. Quirking a brow, the brunette came closer and looked out. Ever so slowly his jaw dropped. “…am I hallucinating?” “Oh good, so it isn’t just me. He really is holding hands with her.” Quatre’s eyes were glued to the scene outside the window as they came in. “I mean, I’ve felt the change in attitude he had for her. At first he was so hostile, and then he slowly grew comfortable with her…but it’s so hard to get a reading from Wufei! I hadn’t realized it had progressed to this stage.” “I’m not sure if it has,” Trowa murmured thoughtfully. Quatre pouted, eyes full of reproach. “Sorry, love. I hate to burst your bubble but I don’t think they are there yet. The body language is all wrong. He’s not sure of his place right now.” Quatre took a second look with eyes and ability, then sighed. “You’re right. He isn’t. Drats, and here I was hoping…” “Sorry,” Trowa repeated with a soft smile. “Well, Jamie will sort it out. She’s certainly set him straight on everything else! I think she will find a way to let him know.” Trowa nodded, turning away as they went out of sight. Yes, Jamie had a way of setting the record straight. She’d find a way of telling Wufei he was wanted. He just hoped, for all their sakes, that she would do so *soon*. ~*~*~*~
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