"I'm glad you're back, Releena," Arisugawa Juri said softly as they walked the halls of the colony, the taller orange haired woman positioned protectively by her side while she escorted her to her temporary quarters. "Me, too," Releena Peacecraft agreed, having exchanged her formal suit for a simple jumpsuit. The brown haired woman looked faintly amused as she murmured, "You don't have to be so protective, you know." Juri backed off a bit, looking sheepish. "Sorry," she smiled, "I just keep remembering the times OZ tried to kill you." Releena reached out, gently taking Juri's hand. "At least here I'm probably safe," she said softly, "at least from OZ." "That sounds ominous," Juri noted. "Not quite that bad," Releena made a face, "the politics of the situation are just so fluid right now.... My brother Zechs has christened himself Miliardo, Treise is in exile and some say a new power is running things behind the scenes at OZ." "Dorothy Catalonia?" Juri guessed. "No, she's a servant too, I think," Releena frowned. She gestured, "What's bothering me is that no one I contact seems to be able to get a bead on who's really running things on Earth right now. It's almost as if their being led by a ghost." "Maybe your father can help shed some light on it," Juri mused. A figure was making his way up the hall and she softly muttered, "Uh oh." "Hmm?" Releena looked away from Juri to see who was coming and almost instantly understood Juri's reaction. Wu Fei Cheng strode towards them with a scowl on his handsome Asian face, quite deliberately not giving way for them. When Juri moved to let him pass he gave her a look of disdain as he coldly muttered, "Arisugawa." "We Fei," Juri nodded politely, "lovely day, isn't it?" All she got in answer was a grunt, the young man walking away, back stiff and shoulders straight. "That was polite," Releena blinked as he moved off. She gave Juri a curious look, "What was that all about?" "He doesn't approve of a Earth born pilot in command of the Wing Gundam," Juri said calmly as they started off down the hall, "and just between you and me the rumors say he's also sympathetic to the White Fang." Releena made a face at the name of the colony terrorists organization, the same group that had once taken a shot at killing Lady Une and nearly gotten her and Juri. "Didn't the colonies officially repudiate the Fang?" she asked. "Officially yes, but there's still a large faction within the colonies that approves of taking that kind of direct action," Juri shrugged. "Especially with all the dirty tactics OZ used in the colonies over the years," she added with a grim smile. "True enough," Releena acknowledged, having been the target of some of those dirty tactics herself over the past few months. They reached the room designated for Releena's use and hesitated there before Releena smiled shyly, "Would you like to come in?" Juri hesitated, "Releena, I...." Releena put a hand on the arm of Juri's simple gray uniform, her eyes gentle. "I thought we got over this months ago," she said softly. Juri blushed faintly and cleared her throat. "Maybe we should talk about it inside?" she conceded with a smile. "Of course," Releena used her pass key and opened up the room, revealing a simple two room suite. Even with just a bedroom and small living room it was still bigger than most colony residents had, befitting her status as a diplomat. She waved Juri to one of the seats as she asked, "What's going on?" Juri stayed on her feet, looking down at Releena tenderly. "You're a diplomat for the space colonies, one of the two heirs to the Peacecraft monarchy and also the daughter of Earth's leading representative," she said to her softly. Juri sighed softly as she confessed, "I don't want to complicate your life any farther, Releena." Releena gave her a look of fond exasperation, "Didn't we just talk about your over protectiveness?" She stepped up beside Juri and looked into her eyes as she added huskily, "Maybe I want that complication, Juri." "I don't want to hurt you," Juri confessed hesitantly, "most of the people I've fallen for have come to bad ends." Releena quickly closed the gap to rest her head on Juri's shoulder, gently sliding her arms up and around the taller girl. "I'm not Shiori," she murmured to her softly, "or Utena, Juri. I can take care of myself." "I...." Juri fought the urge a moment, then brought her arms up around Releena, savoring how she felt against her body. Releena looked up at her compassionately, her brown eyes shining slightly then she closed then, tilting her face up for a kiss. They came together, lips touching once gently, then again more hungrily. Juri's hands slid down possessively over Releena's form even as the smaller girl tangled her fingers in Juri's hair, prolonging the kiss. *Bing bong* the door chime rang out. "Fuck," Releena pulled back with a choked groan. "Whoever that is I'm going to kill them," Juri muttered as the door chime rang again, both taking a step apart and tidying their clothes. Releena sighed as she fixed her hair, "Better wait and see who it is first." She strode over to the door and pulled it open barking, "What?!" The blonde haired man blinked in surprise, his eyes widening a little. "I'm sorry," Quatre Winner said mildly. Releena looked at his innocent expression and sighed. "Never mind," she said in gentler tones, "how can I help you?" A bit apologetically Quatre said, "I was actually looking for Juri, Wu Fei mentioned she was with you?" Juri smiled wryly at Quatre's sense of discretion, tactfully giving her a chance to compose herself after the kiss. "How can I help?" she asked him, her manner and appearance hopefully as cool and composed as usual. "I just finished running this by Commander Hilde," Quatre pushed his hair back, "We've finally got a lead on what happened to some of the Gundam scientists." "Why do I get the feeling this is not good news?" Juri asked with a sigh. "Treise has them," Quatre said flatly. Juri began to curse even as Releena looked back and forth in confusion. "Okay, what's going on?" Releena had to ask. "It's not something we've released widely," Juri revealed, "but several of the scientists who created the Gundams disappeared when we lost a colony to the Earth forces. We thought they'd been killed but apparently not." "How bad is it?" Releena asked. Quatre sighed softly. "To be honest we're not too sure," he admitted, "our contact didn't have much more information than that." Juri paced a moment, a frown on her face, "We'd better assume the worst, that they're developing Mobile Suits for OZ and the Earth forces." "They wouldn't," Quatre started. "OZ could have some leverage on them," Releena cut him off gently, "and I hate to say it but if your life is on the line, you can do things you might never consider before." "Maybe," Quatre shrugged. He looked over at Juri and said, "I came to get you because a group of pilots and tactical officers are getting together to try and prepare contingency plans. Would you mind joining us?" "Of course," Juri nodded. Quietly she added to Releena, "I'm sorry." "You have to do you duty," Releena agreed gently. A faint smile, "Could you stop here after you're done? I'd like us to continue what we were doing earlier." Juri blushed faintly, "Right."
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