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one_characterPrompt: 7. Inner child
Title: A trip to the circus
Rating: PG
Words: 835
Pairings: Implied 1x2, 3x4 and possible 5xS
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None really
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a copy of the series.
Beta: none
A/N: Post series pre EW occurs after Missions, Quatre and Sally visit Trowa.
Sally was pleased she had managed to squeeze the time into her schedule for this. She had always loved the circus as a child and it still held a fascination for her now as she sat next to Quatre Winner watching each of the circus acts with an open eyed curiosity.
Sally watched Trowa Barton dance across a tightrope, as he performed another flip there was a quiet but noticeable intake of breath from Quatre which he released as the acrobatic boy landed safely without a hair out of place. She grinned slightly restraining herself from teasing the boy sitting next to her, familiar herself with the stomach lurching experience of watching someone you care about taking risks, even when you believe in their abilities. Trowa was taking a bow as Sally and Quatre stood up quietly making their way backstage to talk to him, Sally sneaking surreptitious glances at the different costumes and props as she walked past them.
Sally waited out the initial star struck expressions as Trowa and Quatre greeted each other without words. She rolled her eyes discreetly at the prevaricating couple wishing for once that the boys acted less like teenagers, she coughed lightly to remind them of her presence. Trowa narrowed his eyes and nodded at her in greeting, she grinned back too used to him to expect a more vocal welcome.
“Hello Trowa, that was a wonderful show, thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome any time Sally.”
“So do you come and watch often Quatre?” She asked teasingly
“I’m usually pretty busy running the company, but I like to come out to the colonies and visit everyone as often as possible. I take the trip out to L2 to visit Duo pretty often too.”
Sally grinned “But not as often as Heero does I bet.” She joked winning a gasping laugh from the blond billionaire
“No for some reason Heero makes it a habit to drop in on L2 quite frequently, strange he doesn’t comes to L4 to see me anything like as often.” Sally and Quatre shared a grin.
“So how have you two been anyway? Are you enjoying peacetime?” She asked “I saw Heero and Duo just a few weeks ago, they both have a tendency of turning up occasionally during a mission before disappearing again. I see you two much less often.”
“Honestly Sally the company keeps me so buried in papers I sometimes wonder if they make them up just to stop me running round the Earth sphere.” Quatre smiled wryly “I have to sneak out of my office and hide from my bodyguards if I want to visit friends.”
Trowa smiled “You should leave them a note next time, the Maguanacs always look fraught when they ring me up to ask where you are.”
Sally laughed at the image of the worried men who she remembered following Quatre round during the war. Quatre smiled with that gentle expression that invariably led people to dismiss the brilliant strategist as a child and laughing lightly
“So now you’ve checked up on all of us except Wufei, I’m sorry I don’t know where to find him, he’s sure to be keeping his own counsel but we’ll have to trust he can take care of himself.”
“You don’t hear from him either Quatre?”
Quatre’s eyes turned serious and searching and Sally was sure he was looking straight through her “Don’t worry about Wufei, he’s one of the strongest people I know, he just needs to get settle some things for himself, we’re all looking for our way in this new peace.”
It was easy to underestimate Quatre with his easy smile and gentle words, but Sally could see the sharp mind and nerves of steel that once allowed him to pilot and now were used to lead a massive corporation like WEI, so even as they shared jokes and chatted about old friends Sally could feel the assessment and judgement.
“Sally, I know you only want to help him but don’t go looking for Wufei, let him come to you when he’s ready.” So saying Quatre signalled his driver pulling out leaving her standing outside the Preventer Headquarters shaking her head over Gundam pilots who gave cryptic advice before disappearing.
Prompt: 10. Daydreams
Title: A crazy fairytale
Rating: PG
Words: 620
Pairings: implied onesided Sx5, hinted 1x2 (if you squint)
Warnings: Slightly strange
Spoilers: For throughout the series
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a copy of the series.
Beta: none
A/N: Post series pre EW, Sally takes stock of her life
The reports and political manoeuvring that went along with her job always left Sally envying the Gundam pilot’s part time status, the boys would crash their way into the centre of a mission, fight and overcome a series of opponents and then leave behind the mess and the paperwork for someone else to take care of. She had never been sure when the decision had been made that she and Noin were in charge of clearing up after them but she supposed it was a habit that dated back to the war, finishing things, tying up loose ends and ensuring nothing too dangerous (like fully operational Gundams) was left lying around.
Flicking to the next report she wondered how to file the expense form for the repairs necessary after Duo strapped high explosives to a bridge whilst blocking an escape route for another terrorist cell, or the fine from Heero’s unscheduled shuttle launch to L3. Taking another sip of coffee Sally wondered how she had ended up here filling in paperwork and chasing wayward teenagers.
When Sally was 7 her best friends had been Lucy and Thomas children from school with whom she would hide in the woods behind her parents' house telling each other stories. Lucy had wanted to be a Princess with a castle and a pony when she grew up, she would tell fairy stories about Princesses being rescued from Dragons by handsome Princes. Thomas had always wanted to be a hero, to rush in and save people from certain death gaining both fame and fortune, his favourite stories had been tales of soldiers and battles, brave knights or conquering heroes. When Sally was seven she had wanted to be a thousand different things, a hero, a princess, a pilot anything so long as it was exciting and glamorous. As she grew older she had cast aside those dreams for more practical ones as she decided that she wanted to help people by becoming a doctor and that she wanted to protect people by becoming a soldier.
It seemed strange to think that now she worked alongside Princesses and Princes and Heroes and Knights, she’d even been friends with a Dragon, as if her life was a crazy, mixed up, shattered fairy tale. The Princess had been fearless and stood her ground, protecting her people even now, organising peace talks and forging new laws. The Prince had gone mad during the war and tried to destroy the world before changing his mind and dying to prevent the destruction he had begun. The heroes and knights had appeared without applause or welcome at the beginning of a war. They had been five boys that fought bravely and overcome all adversaries but they had killed and bled and suffered for their victory . At the end the hero had not been interested in the Princess and had instead faded into the background with his friends reappearing occasionally bringing explosions and paperwork. The Dragon, well the dragon had been a broken child, a deadly warrior, a murderer and a hero all wrapped up in one man, the Dragon had slain the villain, who may not have been such a villain after all, and had disappeared in bitterness and regret, unwilling or unable to accept a world with no wars or warriors, displaced and forgotten.
Sally sighed wrenching her thoughts back from the subject of the still missing Wufei, returning to the thankless task of expense forms and arrest warrants. The heroes may be offstage for now but she and her friends kept the world running with their paperwork and details, the backstage crew who changed the scenery and ensured that the heroes had their props and the show continued smoothly.
On to next three stories
