Chapter Ten: We Draw the Line Here

 

            *Shade woke early in the morning. Keeping as still as she could, she opened her eyes to see green. She had laid her head on Hiiro’s chest sometime during the night. Not that he looked uncomfortable. In fact, she could see the relaxed smile that played at his inviting lips. He was warm and safe. But she knew it couldn’t last for long. They both needed to get out before Darien…

            “Close your eyes.” A voice ordered her. She complied with ease, settling her head more comfortably upon his chest.

            “It’s four thirty Hiiro. I usually get up around five. If I’m not up by then, I’ll be suspected.” She explained lightly, not really caring all that much about others worrying about her.

            “We went to bed around two thirty. You can sleep longer.”

            “Oh?” She teased in a half dreamy state.

            “Hnn.” From the corner of the room, a loud beeping startled them both from their restful positions.

            “What the devil is making all that noise?” She grumbled. “I don’t own anything that loud.”

            “My computer. Go back to sleep.” He told her, slipping out form beneath her and sliding over to where his computer was still beeping.  Instead of listening to his command, she stood after him and walked up from behind. Watching him tap into his mail, she was surprised to find an old man was waiting to speak to Hiiro.

            “Good morning Hiiro.” The old man on the screen paused seeing the woman behind his charge’s form. It was unusual, especially for Hiiro.

            “Doctor J.” Hiiro acknowledged the old man.

            “Ah yes.” The old man snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attentions back to Hiiro. “And since I see you’ve a friend with you I trust she won’t be a confidentiality problem? No, I don’t suppose you would be with someone such as that. Good morning young lady.” The doctor greeted Shade.

            “Sir.” Shade nodded slightly in an acknowledgement of the man. Confidentiality? What was the deal?

            “Now then, Hiiro, down to business. I was going to have you assassinate that leader, Darien. However, it seems the plans have shifted slightly. Darien’s been in constant contact with people around the globe looking for a person by the name of Shade. Your mission is to find Shade and hold him, her, whomever it is, until further notice. Do you accept or decline?”

            “Mission: accepted- mission complete.” Hiiro announced, smirking to himself.

            “I beg your pardon?” The old man questioned the boy.

            “Sir. I am the one Darien refers to as Shade.” Shade spoke up, clearing the confusion.

            “You’re Shade… well, of course you are. Hiiro, you kidnapped her ahead of schedule without even knowing it was a mission?”

            “I’m not holding her as a hostage. She may come and go as she pleases.” Hiiro calmly stated. “What was the objective of holding her as a hostage?”

            “We were going to trade her for information from the one known as Shin. Darien, it seems, will do anything to get you back my dear.” The doctor informed them, directing his comments towards Shade.

            “ I can give you any information you need. I know more than Shin. But I will not go back to Darien.” Shade vowed.

            “Oh? Is he that bad of a man?” The doctor asked, a smirk playing on his face.

            “Doctor J. This place is not the best place to transmit information.” Hiiro intervened before anything else was said.

            “As usual, the Perfect Soldier is correct. There is a shuttle leaving for outer space in one hour over at the Le Boeuf center. It will be shuttling supplies to Peacemillion II, which is where I and the other doctors are currently residing. Care to visit?”

            “Roger that.” Hiiro affirmed before signing off.

            “You’re leaving?” Shade questioned unemotionally.

            “Hnn.” Hiiro nodded. “Be packed in twenty minutes.” He finished. Without any reaction from her, it was hard to tell what she had been thinking while watching and listening to the conversation. Now, her face became animated and an exultant sheen returned to her once dead eyes.

            “I’ll be ready.” She replied breathlessly. It was time for her to get out of this god forsaken situation before it got too out of hand.

            “The stay here until I come back for you.” He nodded with a slight smile, then picked up his laptop and exited her room.

>>>Four Hours Later<<<

            Stepping into the atmosphere shot a slight tinge of wonder and excitement through him. Though he had never openly showed it, space had always amazed him. The vast emptiness, the miles of endless expanse with nothing but the stars to light the way filled him with a completion he had never been able to find on the Earth. Being weightless pumped his adrenaline, and his heart quickened as he helped Shade step fro the shuttle into the weightless hanger for her first time ever. Her stoic face gave her the appearance of one who did not care, but Hiiro could sense her deep amazement at the wonders that she was only now beginning to realize shared the universe with them.

            “It’s nice.” She calmly stated.

            “Nice?” Hiiro smirked.

            “Nice.” She smiled.

            “Hey Hiiro! Hiiro! Up here! Jeez man, what took you so long to get up here? We almost thought you weren’t coming!” A cheerful voice filled the once peaceful silence.

            “Hello again Hiiro!” Another voice joined the first. Shade watched as Hiiro’s face went from a very brief relaxed and content one to a stoic and silent one. So he didn’t want these new comers to know he had a soft side. How sweet of the Perfect Soldier. She inwardly laughed at Hiiro’s actions. Outwardly she took the same position as he did, clam, stoic, and downright cold.

            “Hnn.” Hiiro told the two. Duo Maxwell and Quatre Winner. It was good to see his old comrades again. He just couldn’t let them know it.

            “Whoa! Babe alert at four o’clock! Hiiro, you do know there’s an incredibly hot girl with her hand in yours, right?” Duo blabbed.

            “”Does he ever stop?” Shade whispered to Hiiro, making sure her lips barely moved.

            “No.” She heard his quiet response.

            “Wonderful.” She rolled her eyes sarcastically. Hiiro knew exactly what she meant.

            “Hiiro? Hiiro? You in there? Earth to Hiiro?” The boy kept it up.

            “Excuse me.” Shade spoke. “I so not like being called ‘babe’, nor ‘hot’, nor anything along those lines. Speak another word, and I might have to kill you.” She forewarned the loud mouthed boy.

            “Duo.” Hiiro spoke. “She will follow through with her threats. I’ve seen her in action. You would not last in a fight against her.” Though he usually didn’t speak that much, this was an exception. He knew Shade would kill Duo if he got annoying enough, friend of his or no.

            “Introduce me?” Shade calmly asked Hiiro.

            “Hnn. The loudmouth is Duo Maxwell. Blonde is Quatre Winner. The two just coming in are Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton, in that order.” Hiiro quickly informed her under his breath.

            “Yui! You were supposed to bring the man Shade for questioning. I see no man.” The one named Wufei yelled.

            “I am Shade.” She stood forward, daring anyone to question otherwise.

            “A woman? Darien seeks a woman? A weaker man than I thought.” Shade’s temper was dripping away bit by bit.

            “He’s a chauvinist, always will be. Take no offense. He refers to his own girlfriend simply as woman.”

            “Perhaps I should teach him a lesson. One he won’t forget.” Shade smiled evilly.

            “After we see the doctors.” Hiiro promised.

            “Hiiro.” Trowa greeted him quietly, nodding his head in Shade’s direction.

            “Trowa.” Hiiro repeated the same action towards Trowa. “The doctors?”

            “They said you and Shade would want to settle first. Come on.” Shade and Hiiro followed Trowa, and they in turn were followed by Duo, Quatre, and Wufei, all bickering behind them. Soon they reached a corridor with many doors, presumably rooms for guests such as themselves.

            “This is your room.” Trowa opened the last door on the right. Hiiro walked in and placed his duffle bag of belongings upon the harsh wooden table. Trowa looked at Shade and then nodded, as if deciding whether she was worthy enough to acknowledge with words. “Doctor J suggested you two were sharing a room. Is this true?” Both Shade and Hiiro had the decency to blush an incredible shade of dark red before they looked at each other to decide the answer.

            Personally Shade had no problems with that arrangement. She felt safe with Hiiro and trusted him. A big step for her that had not been taken lightly. But after all of the insight at the bar, plus the night before, she had already willingly submitted to trusting Hiiro fully. She couldn’t care less whether or not they were in the same room. Hiiro had morals, unlike Darien. Hiiro also had self control, unlike Darien. He would never take advantage of her in such a manner.

            Hiiro, too, had no problems with sleeping with Shade. He was sure she trusted him, just as he trusted her. For some odd reason she made him feel almost helpless. So too, did she make him feel stronger than herself in many aspects. Being near her was always new and exciting. Plus it meant he would be able to keep an eye on her and help her if anything should go wrong. Looking into Shade’s eyes Hiiro saw the trust and longing, same as he felt in his own heart. Yes. They could not risk separation now, they had too much of a good thing going.

            “We’ll share this room.” Hiiro told Trowa. Trowa’s eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing. Duo, however, said it all for them.

            “Since when does the Perfect Soldier sleep with women? I thought he was too perfect for all the women out there.” Duo snorted laughing.

            “That was before I met the Perfect Mercenary.” Hiiro retorted quietly. Shade heard it and broke out in a hidden fit of laughter. Duo, too, heard the remark and stopped to gape open mouthed and wide eyed at the two stoic soldiers who were suddenly smirking.

            “The Perfect Mercenary? That’s your nickname?” Duo asked Shade.

            “On my good days. On my bad days the enemy doesn’t have time enough to catch a glimpse of my face before I murder them; let alone my name.” She smirked again. Toying with this Duo character was fun.

            “Is Shade your true name Miss?” Quatre asked.

            “She is who she is.” Hiiro intervened. Where are the doctors?”

            “Jeesh. Touchy Gundam pilot at four o’clock! I’m out of here.” Duo said as he left.

            “They’re conducting an experiment in the dark. It could take them all day.” Wufei informed Hiiro.

            “Hnn. Out.” He pushed Wufei, Trowa and Quatre out of the room. “Knock three times when the doctors are finished.” With that, he slammed the door in their faces.

            “Well. That was fun.” Shade giggled slightly.

            “I lived with them for two years. It’s not fun, it’s routine.”

            “Hiiro Yui. You never told me you were a Gundam pilot.” Shade declared.

            “Slipped my mind.”

            “You still work for the Gundams though!” She accused him haughtily.

            “Yes. The doctor on the vid screen was the one who trained me and built my Gundam. I was pilot 01, of Wing Zero.”

            “You’re the one that saved Earth! And that doctor is the one who beat you and trained you… isn’t he?” Her voice had gone to a quiet whisper.

            “Yes.” He replied in the same tone. No more words were needed. Stepping closer to him, Shade put her arms around Hiiro’s net and pulled him down into a hug. He held her just as tightly back, wishing the painful memories would subside soon.

            “Just like Darien. He can’t hurt you any more. You’ve beaten him. Come on Hiiro! We need to stand up for ourselves! All our lives we’ve fought for those who raised us badly. We’ve fought because it’s the only thing we knew how to do to survive, we did it because we thought we were alone. But we aren’t alone. I’m just like you, and you’re just like me. We both once dreamed of making better lives for ourselves, and we both tried it and failed the first time. This is our chance to start over. We kill Darien and destroy the Specters. Then we blow off that Doctor of yours and we’re home free! We can make things better for ourselves!”

 Hiiro looked down at Shade’s wistful and hopeful face. She was right. For all he had thought she was a misguided child, so too was he, and he knew it. But here someone was, offering to start over the right way with him. Someone who knew about trail and error just as much as he, someone willing to help him just as he was willing to help her. She had the best idea he had ever heard. Start anew. Yes. He liked it very much, very much.

“Serena.” He moaned into her neck as he nuzzled her for another hug. She submitted and hugged him again. “I think it’s a great idea. We finish Darien. I cut my ties from the Doctor, and we can make a fresh start.” He lifted his head and peered into her shining eyes. Liquid silk flowed from them in tiny beads down her smooth creamy cheeks. They held deeper emotions than either of them knew how to say with words yet they understood them just fine without them. Hope and passion flickered where once nothing but anger and hatred had once filled the void. Now for once Hiiro was seeing her true, raw emotions as they resurfaced through her eyes. Moving his mouth to hers, he kissed her gently.

Still, the gentle kiss evoked a passionate fire between the two none had ever been able to kindle before. Each sensation heightened to full awareness and heart beats quickened. Blood rushed, enraging and feeding the small sparks. Now their one innocent kiss had become an intense blaze neither could put out. Soft lips explored each other as they crashed mercilessly together in a rush to prove the power each held upon the other. Hiiro left her mouth and trailed a tiny set of kisses down her check bone, stopping only to move to her neck and finally her shoulder.

 All Serena could do was moan as Hiiro continued to give rise to newer, hotter feelings than she had ever thought she was capable of feeling. The madness was spreading through her body and would soon infect her very soul. And there was nothing she could do to stop it… nor did she wish to try so. Another surge of pleasure rose and she moaned softly again. But they had to stop.

Both knew they had to stop. Moving to her lips one last time, Hiiro tempted her sweet kisses out of her until he knew it was time to end. Pulling away, both were spent simply from the experience of releasing so many pent up emotions all at once. Pulling away, both of them looked away from one another, still flushed from the rush of passion. Soon they were able to face each other again, but it was in vain, for three knocks heavily pounded on the door, signaling them the Doctors were ready for them.

“We should go.” Hiiro told her.

“You lead.”

“Hnn.” With that they smiled, then stepped out of the room together.*

 

~~Everyone hanging in there? It’s getting hot and heavy, but I’m not a hentai, so it stays innuendo and lime. Sorry folks! Other than that, though, how’s the plot? Complicated/ Boring? Should I end it in, say, another ch and an epilogue, or should I drag it out more?