Well, hope you like this, and this wets your appetite for the WHOLE story. Note, I'm obviously a Non-Yaoi writer, and a person who tends to write sappy stories, so if you don't like this kind of story, then GET OUT NOW!!! Now, enjoy.

Gundam Wing: Raptures of Paradise
Chapter 6----------Split Second
By Sailor Celaeno

Sally had missed Hilde when she was gone. They had become such good friends and there was never a day where they didn't at least call each other for a few minutes. As she left the Bar & Grill, she started thinking about her friend. Then she got a phone call later that night from Duo saying how Hilde caught a bad cold. She immediately drove over after breakfast time the next day, to visit her friend. She was very relieved to see that Hilde was better AND she was even glowing with pride.
"Sally! I have SO much to tell you!" Hilde dragged Sally the rest of the way into the apartment.
Duo emerged from the kitchen after washing the dishes. "Oh hi Sally." He seemed to be beaming with complete joy despite the anxiety in his phone call the night before. "Looks like you two are gonna have some girl talk. Just as well. I'm going to the supermarket." He and Hilde gave each other a good-bye kiss on the lips. Sally simply stared at the spectacle. Duo left.
"Was that what I thought I saw?" Sally asked dumbfounded.
"Yep." Hilde fell onto the sofa with hearts in her eyes.
"I see why you're SO healed," laughed Sally.
"God! I can't believe how right you were about Duo. He loves me!" squealed Hilde with such delight.
"Tell me what happened?" Hilde promptly told her the events of last night after she left, and the funny breakfast scene. "Wow. That was very romantic." Sally had to smile. "Sounds like a movie I saw."
"Tell me about it!" Hilde blew her nose. "So, you were saying that you were dating Wufei. How'd you coerce him?"
Sally threw a cushion at her friend. Hilde was hit, but only slightly. "You are SO mean, Hilde!"
Hilde laughed. "Hmm! But seriously though. How did you end up being a couple with Wufei? I mean he is one of the most unlikely people to end up with someone, other than Heero." Hilde thought about Relena. "Poor Relena!"
Sally nodded. "Lord knows where he is. Anyways. I guess I'll tell you how Wufei and I ended up a couple."

It was a month after Hilde had left. Duo was beside himself trying to search for her. Quatre and Trowa were their usual selves. Wufei and Sally were called into Noin's office on that particular day. "Alright, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here."
"Yes. That would be the idea." Wufei fought the urge to call her 'woman', but she was his boss.
"The top guys have just sent a new assignment to our little department. It seems that Techno Space Industrials are sending a representative to attend a conference at colony 143. Unfortunately, the fastest route requires them to travel through a very seedy area of space. We need someone to escort and ensure his safety. It'll be a two-man operation, and you two are the ones."
"Me? And her?" Wufei asked incredulously.
"Yes. You've been requesting for an assignment, and Sally knows that area of space fairly well, I've heard."
"Yes, Miss Noin."
"I see." Wufei accepted reluctantly.
"Good, Wufei. You and Sally will travel to Mars tomorrow afternoon. Then Representative Jarrow and the two of you will be leaving for the conference on Thursday. He will have an entourage, but you are responsible for him."
"Yes, ma'am."

The next day, Sally and Wufei flew to Mars. "I can't believe I'm with YOU."
"My thoughts exactly."
"What is THAT suppose to mean?"
"I have no intention of arguing with you Wufei. We are partners in this assignment whether you like it or not. The least we can do is be civil with each other. The success of this mission is that vital. And how we are able to stand each other will seriously affect it." Sally was flying the shuttle to Mars.
"Very well. I shall agree with that." Then there was silence for the next ten minutes.
Sally broke the silence. "Wufei?"
"What?" he asked with slight irritation at the interruption of the silence.
"At Noin's office yesterday, why didn't you protest about having me for a partner?" Sally said very interestedly.
Wufei was silent for minute. Soon he found a way to answer her. "Because... I figured I would be able to tolerate you for three days."
Sally was somewhat pleased at the answer. "Just wondering."

After three hours, they have picked up Jarrow and his entourage of three other men who were his aides. Sally and Wufei were alone in the cockpit flying the shuttle for the next twelve hours, plus a one-hour break to refuel and eat dinner. Sally was tired after flying for three more hours. Wufei took the wheel while she went to another room of the shuttle to take a nap. Things were going smoothly until the shuttle began shaking violently. Sally was awakened and quickly ran back to the cockpit. "What's going on Wufei?"
"We're being fired at woman!" he shouted as he busily tried outmaneuvering the shooters.
Sally immediately took the mic and announced to Jarrow that they were handling the situation. "Where are they?"
"Right behind us." Wufei kept flying.
"That's all I need to know." She began loading a gun. She proceeded to the back of the plane.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm taking the escape hatch and shoot them," she said matter-of-factly and promptly left.
"What?!!!" Wufei shouted as she disappeared. "Damn it woman!" He began to worry about her. He nervously waited for the next twenty minutes. He flew the shuttle as best as he could. He could hear a violent exchange of weapons fire. He could see sparks coming from the side of the shuttle. "You'd better get out of this alive, Sally."
After another few minutes, it grew quiet. Slowly Sally made her way back to cockpit. "Humph. Got rid of them."
"Good... job," Wufei had turned to look at her. He finally noticed that he her hair was undone. It was wavy from the braids. He had to admit she looked nice like that. 'What am I thinking?' He quickly focused on flying.
Sally caught him staring at her, but she preferred not to say anything. She had no intention of causing another argument from him. She promptly fell asleep in the co-pilot's chair. She breathed quietly as she slept. Wufei looked over at her once in a while. 'She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping.' A smile curled his face as he watched her. She moved a little in her sleep.

Two hours later, Sally woke up and took her turn at the pilot's seat. Wufei nodded off to sleep. Sally had been watching the flight path and casually glanced over at Wufei. 'I wonder what you are dreaming about?' She admired Wufei's spirit and his perseverance. She did wish that he would be a little easier on people, especially on her. But she did put up with him. 'Why do I put up with him?' she asked to herself. Watching him again, she smiled at him. 'You like him.' Sally sighed a little as she kept flying. Another six and a half hours to go.

After another two hours, Wufei woke up and let Sally sleep some more. 'Sally. What is it about you that makes me so calm all of sudden, yet infuriates me at the same time?' She shuffled in the chair trying to stay comfortable in the chair. 'Strange, she is pretty... What! What am I saying? I'm calling my comrade and partner pretty?!!!' He couldn't help but look over one last time. A smile curled her lips.
"I love you too." She shuffled in the chair again.
'Who is she talking to???' He starts thinking angrily. 'Who does she love? I demand to know!' Suddenly he thought about what he was just thinking all over again. 'Why should I care who she loves... unless... What? Could I be jealous?' He stared in front of him again. 'Why should I be jealous just because she's brave, resourceful, caring, independent, and kind of nice to look at, and...' He suddenly stiffened as he realized what he was just thinking again. 'Forget it Chang. This is your compatriot. There is no time for any of this romance nonsense. You have a mission to complete and someone to help you do finish the job.' He focused as best he could.
"Really? You love me?" she murmured. She sighed. "You've made me so happy."
Wufei looked a little tense again. 'Damn it, who is it she's dreaming about???'

The flight was over. Sally and Wufei escorted Jarrow to his hotel room. Then they went to the room that they were forced to share because it would be cheaper than getting separate rooms. Luckily it had two beds. Wufei quickly changed into his pajamas while Sally had the bathroom doing her 'woman things.' He went to bed and sat with the covers over his lap. He read a newspaper that he purchased when they left the plane. Soon he heard the bathroom door open. "Good night Wufei."
He looked up. "Good... night." He saw that Sally dressed into a blue nightgown that had lacy fringes, and thin shoulder straps. Her hair was still undone and she shuffled in some slippers to her bed. She got in and wrapped herself in the blanket. Wufei found himself following her as she moved across the room. He's been seeing more sides of Sally than he was used to. He attempted to read the paper for another twenty minutes.

It was another seven hours later. Wufei slowly and groggily woke up. He had heard a noise and opened his eyes. He saw that Sally had changed into her fatigues with her hair braided again. She turned when she heard a noise from Wufei. "Good morning. Just in time. Why don't you get yourself together and change? Breakfast will be coming up soon."
Wufei got out of bed and did as she suggested. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, and fixed his hair. He heard the door open and Sally mumbling. When he emerged from the bathroom, he saw that Sally opened up the breakfast tray and began setting the coffee table with the food. He walked over to her and took a seat as she finished arranging the food. "When did you order all of this?" He asked with amazement.
"When I found out what hotel we're staying at, I called ahead to time to make sure we have breakfast brought up. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I ordered your standard breakfast." She sat down opposite of him. She took some toast and spread jelly over it. He drank some coffee and began eating the scrambled eggs. He also opened the small box of cereal. The morning paper was also there and he began reading.
"Very resourceful of you." Wufei finally commented on what she said earlier.
"Thank you. My mother always said that these sorts of skills would make me a good wife," she said nonchalantly.
Wufei looked up from his paper. "I see. I suppose they would. I'd never have thought of doing something like this. I'd probably have a new wife that would be smart enough to do this." He returned to his paper.
Sally could only smile. "I'm sure you would." He had told her about his first wife and she understood him. "Anything interesting this morning?"
"Not much so far." He turned the page. "What time are we supposed to be leaving?"
"In an hour. Hopefully, the conference won't be too long."
"It shouldn't be. We're leaving tomorrow."
"I'm glad. I wouldn't want to have to do this every day for a week or something."
Wufei turned the page. "I know what you mean."

Jarrow and company exited the limo. Wufei and Sally proceeded in front of Jarrow. "I appreciate the work you two are doing."
"No trouble at all Mr. Jarrow," Sally spoke on behalf of herself and Wufei. He went ahead to check that the building was secure.
"The people inside are ready and waiting," reported Wufei to Sally through a walkie-talkie.
"Check." Sally turned to the small entourage. "We'll be going to the conference room now." There was security in the building, but Sally and Wufei were in charge of Jarrow and they were leading the small security team assigned to protect him.
The conference began simply enough. They were called to discuss the new proposal of a joint venture between Mars and the other colonies. This joint venture was important because it would affect the economy and prosperity of the Earth and the other colonies. Jarrow represented Mars, who would be the largest partner in the merger. "I see that this is very profitable. I see no reason why Mars should object to it," replied Representative Decameter.
"True. However, I want to ensure the people of Mars that this agreement among the iron ore mining companies would be stable. I know that many are willing to risk, but the real money is from the average citizen that has a small amount of money set aside to invest. There are few millionaires on Mars," replied Jarrow.
"No doubt. Since there are more potential investors from Mars than the other colonies, a large part of the profits would go to the Martian investors. These projections clearly shows that," replied Representative Vente.
"That may be true, but I must assure the people that their large shares are worth the investment. If the large percentage only provides a small profit of money, then they will immediately sell out."
The other representatives nodded in agreement to his point. Just then bang! "Get down!" shouted Wufei.
Sally grabbed Jarrow and they ducked underneath the table. The other representatives did the same. The four security officers drew their weapons. A loud commotion came from the hallway directly behind the double doors of the conference room. Immediately weapons fired between the assassins and the security team. In the fight, Sally tried to escort Jarrow out of the room. "Hurry, sir. We must get out now."
Jarrow nodded. The three other representatives were close to him also followed. Sally was the last at the line. A gunman soon spotted her and the men she was herding away. He took his aim. Bang! Bang! The gunman fell dead as Wufei shot him. 'No one tries to shoot my partner and gets away with it1' he glared at the dead man for a second.
His back was turned and he quickly moved to ensure that Sally had led the men out. Bang! Whiz! "Damn it!" screamed Wufei. He began firing back and shot the second gunman that hit him. His left shoulder was in pain, but he and the other officers still had two more gunmen to get rid of. He saw that one man was down, and the other three were struggling against the men who had rifles.
He quickly hid behind the table to reload. He moved quickly, but the room began spinning a little. 'No. I must concentrate on these bastards.' He managed to get up and began firing back. The room began spinning even more, and his shirt was feeling extremely wet now. 'I have to finish them off. Argh!!!' He screamed as he kept firing at their direction. Soon, the clicks and shouts merged into blurs of noise. He felt his knees buckling and his body slamming against the ground. He breathed very slowly, and darkness surrounded him.

He felt a warm sensation on his skin. It slowly drifted him back to consciousness. He groaned like he was interrupted from a peaceful sleep. As he moved, he felt a sharp pain piercing through him "Ow! Damn it!" he shouted.
"Wufei?" called a voice. "Are you alright?"
Wufei slowly opened his eyes as the pain subsided. He looked up to see Sally hovering over him. "Sally?" he groaned.
"Yes. I'm glad you're awake." She felt his forehead to see if he was feverish.
The touch of her hand on his forehead felt very gentle and warm to him. He never really knew what her skin felt like, but he knew now. He was only silent until she pulled her hand away, satisfied that he had no fever. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital. You've been unconscious for nearly two days. The doctors took out the bullet. You'll be out in less than a week," she smiled to reassure him.
"Good. I don't like being in a hospital and weak," he grumbled like before.
"Same old Wufei." She nodded her head as she thought about it.
"What is that suppose to mean?" he demanded until the pain returned from his sudden movements.
"Careful. Your wound is still healing. You have to stay still at least another two days," Sally held onto his arms and gently leaned him back into his bed. Her skin touching his sent another shock to his system. It strangely pleased him to feel her kind hands trying to help him.
"Fine." He grumbled again, hiding the pleasant thought he just had.
"Good."

Sally visited him everyday. She insisted on staying the night in his room again, and fell asleep in the chair. Wufei woke up to the sound of murmuring. He slowly got up enough to look over at Sally. 'What are you dreaming now?' he thought irritatingly at the interruption of his sleep.
"I love you too!" Sally smiled and shifted position in her chair. Then she stopped murmuring and completely went back to sleep.
'Damn it! Who is she talking to in her dreams? Why do I even care? I mean it's not like I love her or anything. I mean just because it felt nice when she touched my forehead or put me back to bed and made me feel all warm and comfy... Warm and comfy? Since when did I ever call anything warm and comfy? I mean, why should I even care? Just because she looks nice with her hair untied, and she treats me so respectfully like I'm her husband doesn't mean that there's anything between us. Come on Wufei, she's your partner. You took a bullet for her because she's your partner. It's not like I did it because I didn't want her to get killed and leave me alone with no one to talk to. If she ever got killed, it's not like I'd miss her because she understands me or because she treats me so well despite my gruffness. I'd miss her because she's a good agent and good fighter. Yes, that's it. I'd miss her because she's a friend. A good friend, like the best friend I have searched for." He glanced over at her.
'Who do you think you're kidding?'
'Who are you?'
'I'm your conscience, Wufei.'
'What are you doing?' Wufei asked himself irritatingly.
'Please, Wufei. Let's not fool ourselves.'
'I'm not trying to fool anyone!'
'Look. I'm your conscience. I know you pretty well. You love Sally.'
'What? Are you mad? Me in love with Sally. Ha! You are SO absolutely wrong!'
'Oh yeah? If you're not in love, then why did you have to convince yourself just five minutes ago that you were NOT in love with her? If you really aren't, then why did you need to go into such a long speech to convince yourself that you don't love her? Eh????'
Wufei simply stared into outer space for a moment. 'Damn you!' He finally realized how right his own conscience was. He did love Sally. 'Okay smart guy. If you're so smart, then when did I start loving Sally? hmmm???' he asked teasing his own conscience.
'Simple. When you saw her with her hair down.'
'Then. How did you know it wasn't before?'
'OHHH! So you admit you've loved her before then?' his conscience snickered at him.
'Grrr! No that's not what I meant you damned onna!'
'Hey! I'm your conscience. You need me and NO insulting! Seriously though. You've always loved her. Not romantically at first, but it kinda grew on you. The Romance thing finally hit you when you saw her with her hair down.'
'Fine. I fell in love with her when I saw her with her hair down. You happy?'
'Yes.'
'Now, to prove how smart you are... why did I fall in love with her then?' Wufei thought he would some how win one last round with his conscience.
'Simple. It's because you'd know what she looks like when you wake up in the morning after you two made...'
'SHUT UP!!!!' he yelled at his conscience. He soon fell asleep to the sound of his conscience laughing at him. (That darn little onna!)

Wufei woke up again about six hours later. He saw that Sally was re-entering the room. "Morning. I just went to get some coffee." She stretched her arms as she yawned.
Wufei simply looked at her quietly. He sat up and was a little less tenderized than the day before. He was looking at her thoughtfully.
Sally walked closer to him. "Is something wrong?"
Wufei kept his eyes on her face. "No." He was meditating a deep thought as he replied.
"Then what is it? You look like you have something on your mind." Sally was a little worried now.
Wufei stopped for a moment. "Yes. I have something to tell you." He moved a little closer very slowly.
"Oh. Here I'll move over. It'll be easier on you." She moved her chair over. He nodded as she sat right next to him.
"I just wanted to say how much I really appreciate you being my partner and putting up with me."
Sally's eyes widened. "Wow, Wufei. I didn't think you'd ever say that to me."
"There's more I wanted to say."
Sally cocked an eyebrow. "Really? What else is there to saymmmph...." She barely got the last word out as Wufei leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. He tilted his head a little to meet her lips without knocking heads.
When they parted, Sally looked at Wufei. "What was that for?" She stared in amazement at the Lone Dragon.
"I guess, what I wanted to know most is whether me loving you would make you care?" He replied sternly, but not in the way he normally spoke.
"Oh." Sally looked at him with some reflection on my face. "It's funny you know, you asking me whether me knowing that you love me would make me care."
"What's so funny about it?" He started to look a little hurt.
"I was kind of dreaming about it..." she said a little quietly.
"You what?" Wufei stared at her in amazement. "You mean that... you..."
Sally only smiled good-humouredly.


"...and well the rest was history," finished Sally.
"Wow, Wufei actually said he loved you," sighed Hilde. She was amused at the change of heart that Wufei had.
"Well, in his own way of course," Sally said amusingly. "I know. I never thought I'd live to see the day."
"That was still kind of sweet."
"That's the funny thing about love, you know Hilde. He takes a bullet because of me, and then in a split second, he realizes that he loves me." The two women laugh at how they ended up dating two Gundam pilots.

THE END
Author's Note:
Okay, that was a little sappy and had some humor. What can I do? That's the kind of writer I am. Hope that I still maintained the characters with their original personalities.