No Need For Romance Z embla, Zenda, Xanadu: A ll our dream worlds may come true. F airy lands are fearsome too. A s I wander far from view R ead and bring me home to you. -dedication at the beginning of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie Tenchi sank down heavily onto the couch; it had been a very trying day. Ryoko and Ayeka had been at it again, tooth and nail-- unfortunately for Tenchi he kept getting in the way of those teeth and those nails. The overstuffed couch was nice and comfortable-- cozy even. The worst was the tug-of-war match, with Tenchi standing in for a rope. If it weren't for Sasami coming to the rescue-- Tenchi shuddered to think of what might have happened. Luckily for Tenchi, Sasami wanted him to help get something from the top shelf for dinner: a particular spice the smaller girl could not reach. Ryoko and Ayeka acted instinctively, volunteering to do it; it would not do for cute little Sasami to be alone with Tenchi, kitchen or not, young princess or not. The night sky had descended hours ago, cloaking the outdoors like a shroud and making the lighted living room feel even more inviting. Everyone else was asleep, so it was peaceful right now, something Tenchi had always treasured but especially now because it was so rare anymore. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about the next day and then pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the sofa. A small clatter of plates behind him tipped Tenchi off that thre was somebody else awake. He looked behind him to find Kiyone with a tray and a tea set on top of it. Tenchi smiled slightly, mimicking the quiet one Kiyone wore. He had forgotten that her and Mihoshi had visited for dinner and were spending the night; Mihoshi tried to officiate in a drinking contest between Ryoko and Ayeka, but ended up becoming a participant and drinking both of them under the table. Three drunk women might not have been a problem to some, and Ryoko was in fact not too bad-- on her own. Ryoko turned out to be a rather mellow, but extremely sensitive and emotional drunk. Ayeka had a sharp, almost mean side to her when drunk. Mihoshi though, Mihoshi turned melancholic to the point of becoming lugubrious. Ayeka made some remark to Ryoko, who started bawling while Ayeka just looked on and laughed. Mihoshi, on the other hand, cried and cried and cried and cried, holding onto Kiyone's waist and not letting go for dear life, regardless of Kiyone's attempts move or pry Mihoshi off of her. Mihoshi would only cry more and try to get Kiyone to promise she would never leave Mihoshi: that they would be partners and best friends forever. Kiyone was trying to do just that, but could not get a word in edgewise-- she had to have had at least as hard a day as Tenchi's. Kiyone sat the platter down on the table in front of the L-shaped couch. She poured two glasses of tea, setting one down in front of Tenchi. She sat down on the other side of the couch and looked at Tenchi. A small half-grin crept across her face as she raised her glass towards Tenchi in a kind of toast. Tenchi knew what it was about and followed suit, a tired smile on his face. Two warriors, saluting each other for surviving another day of battles. Tenchi and Kiyone sat in utter silence as they slowly drank their tea. --Finis-- Comment if you will, criticise if you will. No author's notes, no need for them, I think (wow, I _must_ be tired to say that!) :) Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis is: InDefinitelyso on IRC See him on FFIRC [bachman.newberry.edu fanfic] Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck maybeso@ican.net Playing the fool in a foolish world ____________________________________________________________ Sheen watched his flight. "I forgot to mention the most important thing," he murmured. "If there's one thing a mind can't avoid, it is its automatic aversion to evil. The moment he lets it into himself, he places his feet on the road to demolition." -excerpt from A Billion Days of Earth by Doris Piserchia ____________________________________________________________