Let Sleeping Dogs Lie (chapter 1) [FIC]

[dd]

Tessa returns to Jindai High School for another visit. She can't help but tease Kaname about some time she spent with Sousuke. It does not have the result she expected.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There were a few minutes left before the school bell would ring.

Students were rushing to get to class, bundled up against the chill weather. Large flakes of snow fell lazily to the ground, as a biting breeze tugged at hair and coat tails.

Off to one side, out of view to prevent everyone from walking over to say ‘Hello,’ Tessa stood primly, speaking with Kaname. Both of their long coats were unbuttoned, showing their nicely pressed uniforms and painstakingly chosen jewelry.

“You certainly dressed fancy today,” Tessa said. She wanted to frown. Why was Kaname wearing jewelry too? “Did you know I was coming?” She tugged at her ponytail, biting her lip. She had wanted to stand out and catch Sousuke’s eye.

“Who could have guessed that you would choose this month to visit again?” Kaname shivered, trying to look nonchalant. Kurz and Melissa had given Sousuke a heads up against orders, and he naturally told her. “You look rather fancy yourself. I guess there’s not much chance for something like that, trapped aboard that submarine.”

“No, there’s not.” Tessa shivered when the wind blew under her skirt. “Except when Merida Island throws its formal ball.” She smiled. “They held that last month. When Sousuke was called back to Da Danaan for a round of briefings.” She looked up at Kaname. “It was purely coincidence.” That was true. But, the way she said it added a great deal of doubt.

“Ball…” Kaname’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before she waved her hand and tried to seem unaffected. “You mean a formal dance, right?” Sousuke hadn’t mentioned anything about a ball. Was there anything else the big idiot had forgotten to tell her?

“Of course,” Tessa said amiably. “You’ve been to one, haven’t you?” She paused. “With Sousuke, I mean.” She left things hanging at that.

“Not yet…” Kaname said. That sounded a lot better than ‘No’.

“Melissa chose the dress I wore.” Tessa twirled her ponytail, looking down at her shoes. “I should never have worn it. The cut… it was scandalous…” She smiled. “Commander Mardukas threatened to have the MPs take me back to my room.” She looked Kaname in the eyes. “I said I’d gladly go, if my date could go with me.”

Tessa knew how Kaname felt about Sousuke. She also had a good idea how the young soldier felt about her fellow Whispered. He had told her that he cared more for Kaname than her, during the Pacific Chyrsalis mission. But, while she wouldn’t play dirty and do anything to stand between the two, that didn’t mean that she would give up hope. Kaname and Sousuke were like dynamite and a match. Could a relationship like that last?

“Date?” Kaname clenched her fists. She took a deep breath and put on a fake smile, seeing that Tessa had caught her reaction.

“Merely a figure of speech,” Tessa replied. “I should simply say ‘the boy who accompanied me to the dance’.” She didn’t add ‘under unofficial orders.’ “I’ve never seen the Commander turn so red.” He would never have OK'd her coming to Tokyo after that. As a result, had waited until he was away on leave to ask for time off herself.

“I’m sure,” Kaname said. “He’s very protective of you.” That was certainly a safer topic. “Not that anything would ever happen.”

“You never know,” Tessa said, biting her lip. Things happened in her dreams. But, as long as she was a submarine captain, nothing would ever happen in reality. “Things change…”

“That’s right,” Kaname said, thinking how things had changed for her and Sousuke. “Sometimes a lot faster than you think.” She put her hand in her pocket and swallowed hard.

“Yes,” Tessa said. “Sousuke and I talked about that during out long walk on the beach together.” She had finally mentioned his name. Kaname already knew who she was talking about. The game was past that point. “It was so warm there. Melissa picked out my bathing suit, too.” She blushed. “I thought Sgt. Weber must have…”

“Must have been pretty skimpy, then. Ah hah hah hah hah.” Kaname took a deep breath and let it out. Sousuke also forgot to mention anything about a walk on a beach.

“It was,” Tessa said. “I asked Sousuke what he thought of it. I thought he was going to die.” She smiled. It had been fun, watching Sousuke blush. But, that hadn’t been the purpose of the walk. She wanted to get a good idea of what he saw in his future, now that High School was winding down and the nasty business with Amalgam was over.

“He just might,” Kaname said under her breath. “I guess you might have to replace him anyway, right?” She turned sideways out of the wind, pulling her coat closed.

“Unfortunately,” Tessa said, sounding a little crestfallen. “You can’t hold onto someone forever.” She looked up in Kaname’s eyes. “But, sometimes change brings new opportunities.” What might happen if she was no longer Sousuke’s commanding officer? Would she ever see him again? If she did, might he view her differently?

“That’s right!” Kaname struck one of her Class Rep/Vice President poses. “But, not always what you might want.” She wasn’t as cheerful as she sounded. There was so much uncertainty in her life, even though Leonard Testarossa and his organization were out of commission.

The two girls were quiet for a moment. Both were thinking about Sousuke. Looking around, they saw no sight of him. That was unusual, especially since Tessa was there. When a small bit of snow slid off of the school roof, they looked up and caught sight of him. Tessa waved up at the worried looking soldier. Sousuke was sweating, even though he was not very warmly dressed.

“He always acts so nervous around me,” Tessa commented. “It’s really quite cute... most of the time...”

“I’m sure,” Kaname said. She was feeling a little nervous herself, and not just because of Tessa. Her fingers ran over the plastic thing in her pocket again.

“It was wonderful, teasing him at the dance.” Tessa spun slowly, thinking back to a wonderful tropical night. “My hair was done up rather nicely. He’d never seen anything like that. I told him I had made an announcement to the crew, that he was the reason I had changed my hair.” Of course, she would never wear her hair like that on the TDD-1. Commander Mardukas would end up in the sick bay suffering from nervous exhaustion.

“Really?” Kaname said, picturing herself at a ball with Sousuke. “I cut his hair for him, you know…” She smiled. In its own way, that was a romantic or intimate thing.

“I can tell,” Tessa said with a laugh, looking up at Sousuke again. He was dodging snowballs thrown by some of the other guys. “Maybe I should try that some time.” She had an impish look in her eyes.

“You probably shouldn’t,” Kaname said, feeling a bit defensive. “He’d probably end up in a hospital… if he was lucky…” She tossed her hair. “You are a bit clumsy, you know…” She chuckled. “I actually prefer him with ears…”

“Yes, I’m not as agile as I might like.” Tessa frowned. But, she smiled again soon enough. “It does have its benefits, though.” She took a moment to brush some snow off of her coat. “I kept falling against him while we danced. He had to wrap his arms around me to keep me from falling.” She sighed. “When we slow danced… and I closed my eyes… it was almost like I was in Heaven.”

“If only,” Kaname said to herself. She chided herself, knowing there was no reason to feel threatened by Tessa. At least, she hoped there was no reason to feel threatened by the smaller girl. In a louder voice, she said “It’s nice to have pleasant memories of the past. I prefer to enjoy the things I have in the present.” Looking to make certain that none of her classmates were watching, she blew Sousuke a kiss. Her doing that in front of his Captain almost caused him to slide off the roof.

“That’s only normal,” Tessa said. “As normal as the life of the Whispered can ever get.” Her eyes took on a faraway look. “I keep hoping for a better future.” She smiled again. “On the veranda… at the dance… we almost kissed…”

“What!” Kaname clenched her fists. Her heart was beating loud in her ears. She tried to reassure herself. Tessa was probably stretching the truth mightily. Just the same, she felt an irresistible desire to trump the other girl. She knew how. It was a matter of bringing herself to do it.

“If Melissa hadn’t been there, it would have happened.” Tessa batted her eyelids. She wasn’t about to tell Kaname that Kurz Weber had pushed Sousuke towards her when they were getting a breath of fresh air. Their lips had been inches apart for a brief moment, before a vigilant Melissa had pulled her out of the way.

“I suppose we should be heading in,” Kaname said. “The bell should be ringing, and we don’t want to catch our death of cold.” She pulled her gloves out of her pocket, making certain to bring something out along with them. “Oooo-ooo-oo-ops…”

A small salmon-colored round case fell into the snow at Tessa’s feet. Her eyes widened. While most of the girls in Jindai High would not recognize what it was… due to the fact that the product had only recently been introduced after a forty year national ban on such items… the young submarine captain had seen just that kind of thing in magazines and on TV in the U.S.

“B-… B-… Birth control pills…” Tessa brought her hand to her mouth. Luckily, none of the students heard her startled exclamation. None except Sousuke.

“Uhhh… ahhh-hh-h…” Sousuke fell off of the school roof, only barely managing to snag a rope hanging off of a scaffold used by maintenance workers.

“I was going to surprise him today,” Kaname said with a triumphant smirk.

[Weltall Elite]

Surprise!

I guess that means they're a couple and Tessa didn't know about it. Turn the knife, Kaname! Turn the knife!

[full_metal_sousuke]

that was nice. will there be another chapter