~~ Oi! This little ficcie has some self-insertion in it. Just a forewarning. I still don't own Gundam Wing, just the DevAngels and Myself. Hopefully no one hates it, just don't go expecting me to ask forgivness for this!
Oh, yeah, and the title for this ficci came from Pearl Jam's Better Man. Just givin' credit where credit is due, ya know! 0^_~0 ~~
(Stage One)
"Let's go camping!" Cherish said to her sister and Quatre. Fallyn's face broke out into a wide grin and she nodded her approval.
"Hmm. I know just the place we can do that, too. Oh! I'll go get things together!" Quatre rushed off into the house to gather various supplies. The two watched him go tearing around the house from the end of the hallway.
"Well, one down, four more to go." Cherish said with a smile.
Fallyn watched Quatre for a silent moment more then stated softly, "Two. Plus one." Cherish turned to her sister and looked at her, confused.
"Huh?" Was her intelligent inquery.
"Trowa will go wherever 'Peen goes. And I bet I can predict what Duo, and Heero, will say...."
~~~~
"YES!"
"No."
"Please Heero? If I'm forced to bribe you, I will." Fallyn stood, her gaze locked with Heero's as the two of them stared each other down. Cherish found them like that: Duo bouncing around the room chanting "We're goin' campin'! We're goin' campin'!" while Heero and Fallyn stared each other down.
"I said I don't want to go." Heero grated out. He didn't have enough battery power to last that long. But Fallyn's eyes hardened as she threw her last-resort threat at him.
"Heero Yuy, so help me, by the Goddess, I will hide your computer so thoroughly that you won't find it until I give it back to you. And if you do manage to find it, it'll be so locked down that you'll need Wufei's Katana, Duo's Lockpicks, all 40 of the Manganacs, and Cathrine's throwing knives just to be able to get into the damn thing!" Duo had stopped bouncing around the room and was slowly moving towards the doorway where Cherish stood, floored by the audacity of her sister's threat.
In her mind's eye, Cherish could see Heero leaping at Fallyn for that threat. But he surprised her.
"Fine." He conceeded! Heero Yuy had conceeded this fight to Fallyn! Cherish nearly passed out, but her sister's next demand snapped her out quickly.
"And you WILL have fun and enjoy yourself." It wasn't a question, it was an order.
Heero hesitated for a second before stating flatly, "Fine." That was it. Cherish passed out.
~~~~
They had their camp set up, and Cherish watched the group as they went separate ways to find firewood for the campfire before dark set. She had opted to stay back at the camp and start getting supper prepared for the fire.
A twig snapping behind her hearalded the approach of someone. And from the steps of the feet, it wasn't someone she knew. Slowly, she turned around and spotted a young woman who moved quickly behind a tree. Cherish raised her eyebrow, fingering her gun unconsciously.
She turned back around, waiting, her muscles tensed for action and flight. She heard cloth move slowly then quickly and guessed the young woman had peeked and either flipped back behind the tree, or raced to another tree. Cherish just hoped their 'guest' would wait till some of the others got back before doing anything.
~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~
*SNAP!*
I stopped, afraid to move. I looked down at the traitorous twig. I glanced back up and looked around, to see if I was still being followed. My eyes were greeted by one young woman with dark hair leaning over something in the middle of a triangle of tents. I watched in horror as she started to turn around slowly.
'Ohpleasedon'tseemeohpleasedon'tseemeohplease....shit!' She saw me. I jumped behind the nearest cover--a tree. 'Gods, if I didn't just give her reason to shoot me.' I waited for what felt like a long time before chancing a glance.
She was still there. I whipped myself back to my hiding spot. I knew she knew where I was. And I had no escape. If I ran, she could shoot me in the back. And the only way to run was back the way I had come, anyhow. I sure as fire wasn't going back there! I value my life, that's why I ran in the first place.
Oh, great. Now I heard more voices. I snuck a peek to see the small woman pointing in my direction and a young oriental man looked over at me. I threw myself back behind the tree. 'Oh, shit.'
~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~
Wufei saw the brown hair flip away as he looked where Cherish pointed. He frowned and looked over to Trowa and Heero. Both boys nodded when he made a motion for them to split up and take the girl's flanks. He himself would take the direct route.
Cherish laid a hand on his arm and said softly, but loud enough for the other two to hear, "Don't hurt her." He looked down at Cherish with compassion.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He stated softly. She released him and he motioned the other two to start as he walked to the tree.
He looked behind it, only to find the girl gone. Heero came up beside him and looked at him, one eyebrow raised in question.
Before he could respond, Trowa approached them, staring up at the tree. The other two young men looked up as well to see a struggling young woman in jeans that looked too big for her, and a black tank top. She was attempting to climb the tree to get away from them.
"Come down, stranger, and let us feed you and warm you by our campfire." Wufei invited. The girl froze, then slowly looked down at them. She groaned and flopped down onto the limb she was standing on. She looked down at them again, and Wufei beckoned her to come down.
With agonizing slowness, she resigned and began to climb down the tree with ease and grace. Wufei looked over at Trowa, whose eyes were glued to the girl. "Remind you of anything, Trowa?" He asked the young man, a smile playing his lips.
Before Trowa could respond, the young woman dropped down before them. She stood and dusted herself off, then placed her arms before her, wrists together. The glasses on her face were nearing the tip of her nose as she kept her head bowed, her hair parting to reveal that it was pulled halfway up and held by a barrette, leaving the ends loose. Her forelocks fell just in front of her face, shielding it from view.
Wufei looked at Heero uncertainly before all three men had to react and catch the mysterious young woman.
~~~~~~~**~~~~~~
I awoke to aqua-eyed concern. I bolted upright and looked around myself frantically, scrambling back and away from those eyes.
"We won't harm you." Gentle words, said with only an undertone of emotion. I looked towards the voice. One green eye peirced through my barriers that I was hastily erecting and I gasped softly.
"Where...where am I?" I remembered running away for my life but not the details of my arrival here. Before either young man could speak, the tent was entered.
"I see our mysterious guest has awakened. Would you like to eat?" It was the young oriental man. I nodded as slowly my muddied mind finally began to piece together the memories.
The harrowing escape that nearly killed me. The exhausting run for my life. My near carelessness. Dark hair. Black slanted eyes. Climbing the tree to escape again. Resigning to my fate. Surrendering. Collapsing.
In a nutshell, that's what I remembered. The young man held out his hand, his eyes never leaving mine.
"My name is Chang Wufei. This," he indicated the being whose aqua eyes I awoke to, "is Quatre Winner and that," he pointed to the emerald eyed being whose hair covered half his face, "is Trowa Barton."
I stared at the three of them dumbly before realizing they were waiting for my own name. Oh.
"I'd rather say it just once, if you don't mind." I said softly. The three of them nodded and Chang -- 'Wufei,' my mind corrected, 'Asiatic names are backwards to our own.' -- and Wufei lead us out of the tent to sit by the fire.
~~~~~~~**~~~~~~
Fallyn and Duo looked shocked as an unknown girl emerged from the tent, following Wufei. Her ruddied dark blonde hair pulled up and bleached blonde forelocks hanging over her glasses. Hazel eyes flickered up to glance, but quickly lowered to the ground.
Fallyn and Duo exchanged a glance, then turned their attention back to the new arrival and Wufei.
"So, Wu'ei," Fallyn paused to reconsider her remark and decided against it, "who's the new arrival?" Wufei rolled his eyes at her and glanced at Cherish.
"Is there no keeping her under control, my love?" he asked of the shorter DevAngel. Cherish grinned up at him and merely shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. Trust me, I've tried." Fallyn stuck her tongue out at her sister who pointedly ignored her. "Though I must admit that I, too, am curious as to who our newcomer is." Cherish stood in front of the girl, her slight form still commanding the girl look at her.
"I'm Cherish DevAngel. This rascal is my sister, Fallyn. The demon beside her is Duo Maxwell and the silent one on the perimeter is Heero Yuy. I take it you've met the other three?" The mystery girl nodded slightly, fear and curiosity warring with shyness in her eyes.
"Marelle Aprie Johanaston." It was too soft to be a whisper, but to loud to be just mouthed. And yet, it reached even the ears of Heero.
"MAJ." Fallyn breathed. Marelle's head snapped up and she furrowed her brows in a thoroughly troubled expression.
"No. How did you...? Please, I didn't..." Marelle looked ready to bolt, but Wufei put a comforting hand on her arm. She startled and looked at him.
"We mean you no harm, and none will come to you while you are in our presence." He said soothingly.
Duo bounced up from the rock he had been perched on. "Right!" He glanced over at Fallyn, who was watching the new arrival warily. "So, Cheri, whatcha got for us? I'm starving!"
This seemed to bring a response from the dazed Fallyn as she let out a chuckle. "Duo, you're always hungry!" Duo just grinned at her.
"So're you!" He retorted.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are t--mmhhhmmpphhttt!!" Heero had stepped between the two and silenced Duo with his lips. Marelle just stood there, her jaw on her chest, for a moment before she began to stutter.
"Uhm. Both of you do realize that a: you have an audience and b: I'm sure the tent would be a much better place for that. Less bug bites in odd places." They broke the kiss and just looked at her. So did everyone else. Marelle blushed and averted her eyes to her feet. "What?" she asked meekly, "It's true..."
Wufei was the first to burst out into peals of laughter, startling everyone but Cherish, who gazed approvingly at Marelle. Soon they were all giggling and laughing.
Cherish finished the preparations for their meal. When she handed Marelle her plate, she leaned into the girl.
"Not everyone can make 'Fei-Cha laugh like that, let alone on their first try." She patted Marelle on the shoulder as the poor girl blushed and looked down into her plate.
