Bubblegum Crisis: Christmas Gifts
It was slushing in the city of Megatokyo, an irritating mix of rain and wet snow that was coming down over the sprawling city. Most of the residents were back in their homes along with their families this Christmas Eve, spending some time with their loved ones. The slick streets were mostly deserted by that time of night, only one or two vehicles still out in the rough weather.
In a part of town that might be considered bad by some Priss Asagiri left the manager's office at the nightclub Hot Legs. There was a satisfied smile on her face and an thick envelope was in her hands. She joined her four bandmates a few minutes later, handing out shares of the money that the manager had been trying to stiff them.
"Here you go," Priss said crisply, "try not to blow it all in one place."
"Hey, Priss," her lead guitarist called out to her as she walked away.
"Yeah?" Priss asked, not turning around.
The young man was actually nervous, his voice rough, "A few of us are going out drinking tonight, before going home. You want to come along?"
Priss smiled slightly, "Thanks, guys, but I got plans. Maybe next time."
"Merry Christmas, Priss," her drummer yelled, just a bit drunk already.
"Yeah, yeah," Priss grumbled, then a bit more loudly, "Merry Christmas." And with that she slipped out of the club, walking out to where her bike waited for her. 'Yeah, I got plans,' Priss thought, 'I'm going home and getting drunk.'
Her usual set of riding leathers hugged her slim body closely, all in deep red. Priss swung her leg up over her bike, letting her weight settle down on the seat. Her helmet fit her snugly, and she smiled with satisfaction as the engine revved to life, settling to a gentle hum.
Priss slid from the alley out onto the nearly deserted street, following the path through the steel and concrete towers of the city. She focused on the driving, trying not to look up at the massive tower that filled the skyline, the tower of Genom. 'Someday,' Priss vowed, 'you're going to pay.'
A flash of red and blue, and Priss softly cursed under her breath as the AD Police cruiser came up beside her on the rain slicked streets. The driver waved to her, then the brown haired man gestured towards an covered garage. Knowing that he'd follow her Priss pulled in, waiting with her helmet resting in her lap until he got the car parked.
"What do you want, Leon?" Priss barked.
Leon McNicol leaned up against his squad car, a slight smile on his almost boyish face. The AD Police officer was a big man, but he also had a softer side, one he was showing now as he mildly said, "Merry Christmas, Priss."
"Merry Christmas, Leon," Priss had to answer him. She climbed off of her bike, hanging her helmet on her handlebar as she stalked towards him. "I didn't buy you a gift," she said with a frown, "but I have something I can give you all the same." She took a breath, "There's no chance of us dating, McNicol, none at all."
"I know," Leon surprised her by calmly answering. He smiled wryly at the look on her face, "A friend of mine finally made me see reality, at least about you." He reached into the front seat of his car, tossing a package towards her, "Here."
Priss caught the gift onehandedly even as she said fiercely, "Damn it, I said that I didn't have a gift for you, Leon!"
"Then consider it back payment for all the times you and your three pals helped save the city, all right?" Leon shot back as he opened the door and climbed inside his cruiser. He left his window open as he stuck his head out and yelled at her, "Get home out of the rain, Priss! Before you catch a cold or something."
'He knows?' Priss thought dazedly, watching the cruiser pull out into the snow and rain. It shouldn't have been all that surprising to her, really, he had been there a few times where she had been caught up in Knight Sabers business. And she had always wondered if Leon had gotten a good look at her face when her visor got smashed that time...
"Now I guess we know," Priss muttered to herself aloud.
The bike started up again smoothly, and helmet on Priss slid out into the cold and wet once again. She rode well, pushing the speed a bit but being careful not to go too far. The streets could be dangerous when wet, and this mix of rain and snow could make things even worse.
Lights flashed by her on the street-lamps and in shop windows, the brightly lit store fronts all decorated in red and green for the holiday season. 'It's not even a Japanese holiday,' Priss scowled fiercely, 'just something that we adopted from the west.' It had been especially irritating having to listen to Nene and Linna over at the Silky Doll, both of the young woman going into almost nauseating detail discussing their oh-so romantic Christmas dates.
Sylia, thankfully, had the good sense not to jump on that bandwagon. The black haired leader of the Knight Sabers had coolly drank from her cup of tea, smiling slightly. "I'm holding a little party at the Silky Doll," she said calmly, "I'd like to see you all there."
Nene and Linna had agreed almost immediately, making Priss wonder a bit about their supposed big dates later that night. Despite Sylia pressing her slightly for an answer Priss had been firmly noncommittal, not promising to actually show up. Not her style, that sort of high class party.
The rain and snow continued to come down as she rode on, the streets becoming even more deserted as she made her way to her home. The battered red trailer sat on a lot that she had bought a while back, using some of the money that she had earned as a Knight Saber. It still felt a bit odd having that kind of money, but it did come in handy occasionally.
The ramp came down from the side easily, and she carefully rolled the bike up into the chunk of the trailer she used as a improvised garage. Dropping her helmet by the bike she laid out a tarp to collect any of the rain water, then smiled wryly as she turned an older heater on. "Gotta take care of my baby," she smirked before moving into the other part of the trailer.
Priss carefully navigated through the mess, music magazines, beer cans, biking publications and other stuff littering the floor. Her leathers she stripped off smoothly, leaving her dressed in just her bra and panties as she moved towards the little shower. Panties and bra dropped by the door, and she hit the water as hot as she could stand while she stood under the spray.
A few moment's later Priss slid out of the shower, grabbing the least grungy towel sitting by the shower door. She dried herself off, pacing nude through the suite to her closet. A pair of jeans, T-shirt and fresh underwear later and Priss sat down on the side of her bed. She took in the clock mounted on the wall, noting that Sylia's party was probably over long ago.
'I'll probably get a stern lecture tomorrow about not being there,' Priss got up, walking over to her fridge and pulling out a cold can of beer. She popped the top, taking a drink, and considered turning on the television. 'Watch more of those damn Christmas specials?' she thought to herself grumpily, answering 'I don't think so.'
Priss finished off the can of beer, laying there on top of the sheets on her rumpled bed. She was just putting the empty down beside the bed when she heard it, off in the distance. The sound of a well maintained engine was getting closer and closer, a powerful throaty sound that was oddly familiar to her, one that she had heard many times before.
"Sylia?" Priss blinked in surprise. She got up off the bed and walked over to the window to make sure. Yes, she recognized the sports car that was pulling into the lot, the very same vehicle that Sylia had come here in once before.
The car smoothly came to a stop out in the lane, Sylia opening up the door to stand beside the car in the driving rain and snow. She looked as elegant as ever, the dark haired business woman, but her fine clothes were rapidly being soaked through as she stood out there in the storm.
"Shit," Priss ran to her front door, pulling it open. "Sylia!" she yelled out at her, but the dark haired woman didn't respond. Cursing under her breath Priss ran outside, reaching the other woman's side, wondering what must have gone wrong.
"Priss," Sylia's hair was already soaked, water running down her face.
"Come on," Priss dragged her forward, only pausing a moment to kick out and slam the car door shut with her foot. She half pulled, half carried the dark haired woman inside the trailer, all the while looking at her face. 'That's not just the rain,' Priss realized, 'she's crying.'
She dragged the soaking wet woman to a chair, pushing her down into the seat gently. Sylia's eyes were dark, looking up at Priss' face searchingly. "Priss," she tried to make her voice steadily but it came out hoarse, "why didn't you come to the damn party?" Her eyes flashed with sudden anger, "I was worried about you!"
"I.." Priss trailed off uncomfortably. 'I didn't know that it meant so much to her,' was what was running through her head. Sylia began to shiver in her soaking clothes, and Priss frowned. "I'll be right back," she said, walking to her bathroom.
Scrounging around a moment Priss found some dry, clean towels and brought them over to Sylia. "Thank you," Sylia softly sighed, taking the towels and drying herself off. The towel covered her face as she continued drying her hair, "You could have called."
"You sound like somebody's mother," Priss frowned. She took a breath and said a bit more gently, "I never said that I'd be coming."
"You never do. And I know that you don't care much for Christmas," Sylia admitted to her quietly, towling off the arms of her suit, trying to get the water out, "but I do." She sighed, "I used to love Christmas with Mackie and Dad, and I just wanted..."
".. to have something like that with us." Priss quietly finished. She took in the bedraggled figure sitting there in her still soaked clothes, and sighed. "You're stuck here until you dry out," she noted, "I'll get you something to wear."
"You don't have to.." Sylia started.
"Mackie would have fits if I let you go out soaked like that," Priss mentioned Sylia's little brother with a wry smile. "C'mon," she gestured Sylia towards her bedroom.
Sylia certainly looked odd moving through Priss' trailer, the slightly shorter black haired woman in the elegant formal wear, her high heels sitting there empty by the front door. They navigated through the mess, quickly reaching the bedroom, and Priss waved her towards the bed while she turned to rummage through the closet.
"It's about the same as the last time I was here," Sylia noted, looking around at the piles of beer cans, messy clothes and the occasional motorcycle part.
"I don't get much company," Priss calmly noted, her face hidden as she dug through the closet. A clean T-shirt flew out at Sylia first, then a pair of sweatpants soon followed. "Those should fit you," she stepped back from the open closet, then she looked over at Sylia thoughtfully. "So how's the underwear?" Priss asked.
"What?" the obviously rattled Sylia blinked.
"Are they as soaked as the rest of you?" Priss said directly.
"Well, yes," Sylia admitted sheepishly.
Priss walked over to her dresser, pulled open a drawer and rummaged around in it a moment. "Here," she added something to the pile of clothes, "get changed before you get sick or something." With that, she slipped out of the bedroom to give Sylia some privacy.
Priss walked back to the livingroom, picking up the wet towels off the floor as she went. She felt a bit grateful that she finally had bought a clothes dryer, rather than just stringing a line across the livingroom to dry out her clothes. Not that it wouldn't be interesting to see the look on Sylia's face when she did that, but...
"No, I don't think so," Priss murmured.
"Don't think what?" Sylia asked curiously.
Priss turned around, not having heard her come in the room and her lips twitched up in a unwilling smile. The sweatpants that would have fit Priss snugly were a bit baggy on Sylia, and the slogan that was printed on the T-shirt was cutely rude. Combine that with her short black hair sticking up in bits and her red cheeks from the cold outside and you had someone who was the polar opposite of Sylia's normal look.
"I know," Sylia tugged on the T-shirt shyly, the words 'Women do it better and look better doing it!' being distorted by her gesture, "I must look ridiculous."
Priss blushed. Yes, Sylia looked oddly cute, but in no way silly. In fact, she had found herself wondering Sylia looked like that after she made love. "You look cute," Priss said firmly.
Sylia obviously must have heard something in her voice, the dark haired woman giving her a slight smile. She hefted her arm full of wet clothes, "Where..?"
Priss quickly relieved her of them, walking over to the dryer, loading it up, then hitting the switch. They sat down in the chairs in the living room, Sylia nearly falling into a overstuffed seat that Priss normally used for lounging around in. "You gotta watch out for that one," she smiled.
"Gee, thanks," Sylia levered herself to the edge of the seat. She pushed her black hair back from her face, "I'm sorry I got so upset, I just.. wanted you there at the party."
"Why was it so important to you that I attend the party?" Priss had to ask.
"Because," Sylia looked uncomfortable, a flush to her cheeks, "you were the first Knight Saber I recruited, symbolically it was important for you be there."
Priss hesitated, unsure if she wanted to ask the next question that came to mind. "And was that the only reason you wanted me there?" Priss asked.
"No," Sylia looked down uncomfortably.
Priss sighed softly, feeling remarkably stupid. Sylia had been so gentle to her, for these past few weeks leading up to Christmas. They still worked together like normal, of course, but Sylia had lingered after their Knight Sabers missions to try to draw her out. Priss had been hesitant, but slowly Sylia had been chipping away at her guard. And not once had Priss even considered why.
"I'm sorry," Priss finally said into the long, uncomfortable silence, "I can be pretty dense about this kind of thing."
"I was going to take you out to dinner tonight," Sylia said softly, "after I sent Linna and Nene on home. I had this whole romantic evening all planned out for the two of us." She smiled a bit self-mockingly, "And you didn't show up."
Priss looked down at the floor, she couldn't think of anything else to say other than repeating, "I'm sorry."
"Priss?" Sylia asked. Priss looked up, seeing Sylia looking at her worriedly, "I haven't upset you by telling you this, have I?" Priss wanted to say something, but she couldn't seem to make her mouth work. Sylia sighed, getting up out of her chair, "I'll get my close out of the dryer. I can drive home in this, give you your stuff back later."
Sylia walked by her chair and Priss reached out to grab at her arm, "Wait, please." Sylia looked down at her as Priss softly continued, "You've always seemed so unapproachable, I've never dared to say anything."
"You mean.." Sylia trailed off, unwilling to put words in the brown haired woman's mouth.
"You remember when my arm was broken?" Priss said to her softly. "You took care of me, and I so wanted to stay in your bad, continue laying there beside you once I got well."
"I wish you had told me," Sylia tugged, pulling Priss up to stand beside her, "I wanted you to stay there beside me as well."
"I'm sorry for spoiling your plans," Priss murmured softly, standing face to face with Sylia.
A soft sound, a bell, and Sylia smiled slightly as she saw the clock showing it was midnight. "Merry Christmas," she said softly, "do you know what I planned to be doing at this time?"
"Merry Christmas, and I think I can guess," Priss murmured back, leaning forward to gently press her lips to Sylia's own.
Sylia wrapped her arms around Priss' neck, both of them savoring the kiss. She drew back a bit to smile, "I can't think of a better Christmas gift to receive."
End.
Authors Notes: I'm assuming a fairly good knowledge of the BGC anime, but here are the major events that I'm referring to in this story: Leon saw the face of the Blue Knight Saber aka Priss when her visor was shattered in episode #5 of the OVAs, though it wasn't addressed in any detail later on. He's been chasing after Priss since episode one, however! The arm breaking incident occurred in OVA #7, the Vision episode. This story is set sometime after the three episode finale Bubblegum Crash. Priss is basically in character, but I think I had Sylia acting a bit too emotional. Oh, well...
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