Cafe Au Lait

She suddenly had the desire to smack him across the face until that she could be sure that she would never hear that haughty laugh from him again. Ever. But his figure retreated too quickly and soon all he was to her was a red cloak, wagging slightly with his walk.

"Of course not," she muttered to herself in a mocking voice that sounded nothing like him, "you're no princess." And when he was through with his little joke, he got up, laughing all the while and said he was off to Russia. Just so sure she'd follow soon behind.

"All right, buddy," she muttered menacing into her rapidly cooling coffee, "you think I'm just a little lap dog or something and just run at your beckoning? Well, you've got another thing coming!" She continued her ranting about the arrogant jerk who went by the name of Domon Kasshu, her anger not stemming from his leaving or his laughter-he nearly always moved on to the next challenge before she and the Shining Gundam were ready to continue and hearing him laugh, even at her expense, was nice.

So she was still miffed at being locked in the bathroom for her grand crime of having common sense. And maybe a little sore about the Eiffel Tower nearly crushing her. Perhaps the apology for neither added to the implication that she would follow him to the ends of the Earth and then some, which Russia nearly was as far as she was concerned, had Rain Mikamura in less than a stellar mood.

"Maybe," Rain paused to take a sip of her coffee and made a face at the taste. It had cooled off quickly. "I'll just take my time getting to Russia. I wanted to be there a few days ago, but if you can't take a moment to be considerate or follow our orders, why should I?" Too bad for Domon that annoyed women don't cool down as quickly as a cup of coffee with milk.

"Mademoiselle?"

When Rain faced the speaker, she expected to see the waitress that had filled the order of the Japanese pilot and his partner earlier. She was wrong, to say the least.

"Princess!" Rain exclaimed, leaping from her seat and bowing. "Please," Rain gestured to the chair vacated by Domon, "sit."

Maria Louise, princess of Neo-France, and Domon's latest client in Charity Of The Insane took a seat. Self-consciously, she adjusted her cap and jacket.

"If you're looking for Domon," Rain said before the princess got a chance to speak, "you just missed him."

"Oh," Maria Louise breathed.

"I can take a message," Rain said wryly. Might as well, she mused. Being his secretary was probably the only thing left she hadn't done.

"I wanted to thank him. It didn't go as I had hoped, but I should extend gratitude anyway. I'm grateful he went along with my idea." The princess smiled a bit awkwardly, no doubt remembering how adamantly Rain had protested. "Sorry about the bathroom."

"Not your fault," Rain waved it off.

"There was one other thing I wanted to talk to him about," Maria Louise said cautiously after a short pause.

"What?" Rain asked.

"Well, after the battle, I spoke to George and he said he couldn't figure out why Monsieur Kasshu took his finishing move back instead of crushing the head of Gundam Rose. It just doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would do."

Rain smiled half-heartedly. "I'm afraid I can't help you there; I'd been wondering the same thing myself. I had one theory, but it didn't pan out."

"So you asked him? Or not?"

"No, just tested my theory." Rain shrugged. "I was wrong."

Maria Louise had been raised to be polite, so she didn't press the issue further, though she was still curious. Then again, she had also been taught not to dress in street clothes and run around Paris without any bodyguards, but she certainly did that enough. She opened her mouth to speak again, but once again Rain did so before she could.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to the palace? We don't want you getting kidnapped."

Maria Louise blushed and scowled, an expression similar to one Rain had worn just a few minutes ago. "Of course not, you're no princess." The Japanese woman scowled at the memory. She could almost hear his voice echoing in her ears.

"It would be worth it if it made George fight for only me," the princess said as she stood and pushed the chair in. "But I'll have to think of something else." She smiled.

"I should walk with you," Rain began tossing a few Neo-Francs on the table to pay for the cold coffee.

"It's okay," the princess said, shaking her head. "I come here all the time, I'll be fine getting back on my own." She began walking away, but stopped and turned. "You'll tell Monsieur Kasshu I said thank you, won't you?"

Rain nodded.

Maria Louise smiled. "Sorry again about the bathroom."

"Don't mention it," Rain said amiably, though on the inside she was wondering why everyone seemed to think she was so damned helpless. She was certainly capable of taking care of both herself and Domon, was a decent shot with a gun (though even she had to admit she was more apt to shout "Help, Domon!" than shoot to kill) and it wasn't as if getting out of the room labeled 'Toilette' had taken her long. For a mechanical engineer the lock did not present much of a problem.

"Perhaps we'll meet again," the princess was saying. Rain stood and bowed again. Maria Louise, uncertain how to respond to the Japanese custom curtsied in reply. She hoped that was acceptable.

"Maybe," Rain said. "Will you be in Hong Kong when the time comes?"

"I'm not sure yet," the princess replied. "I hope to be, to cheer for George. I know he'll make it that far. He fights for Neo-France and won't let us down." It seemed to Rain that Maria Louise was making an effort to sound pleased that the would-be knight fought for the entire nation. "If you fight in the name of something you love," she continued, "you can't lose. Life is not that cruel."

It wasn't the first time Rain saw how young the princes truly was in her words and actions. She pushed in her own chair as she asked "What would happen if two opponents both fought in the name of something they love?"

"The one with the greater love would triumph," the princess replied.

"See you in Hong Kong," Rain said softly with an amused smile. By the princess' logic, Domon fought with strong love. She hoped the adoration he had once held for his brother somehow remained within him in such a case. No love she could imagine was capable of eclipsing that.

"But if you'll excuse me, Princess," Rain continued as she took a few steps away from the cafe, "I'm under orders to go to Russia."

"Of course. George is to depart soon as well and I would like to see him off. Good-bye."

"Good-bye," Rain echoed. She reached into her purse to pull out a tracking device and check Domon's progress. He was still had nearly the entire journey to go and Rain fully intended to leave him waiting while he was in Russia. That should teach him not to interrupt fights simply because it suited him. While she was at it, there were a few other lessons he could stand to learn...appreciation, humility, sportsmanship. And that was the short list.

Being as she had a few days to kill by her count, Rain stopped by a small stand and picked up a novel. She had a thing or two to show George about the Japanese people and the 'beauty of the French language' as well.

Book in hand, she made her way back to the bunker the Shining Gundam had been stored in by foot. Paris, even in the sorry state humanity had brought it to, was a sight to see in and of itself. The conversation with the princess had Rain's mind on other things though. Domon's attitude had taught her once the battle begun, it was all that existed to the warrior. Yet George believed if the warrior is too focused on the battle, then he loses sight of that for which he fights.

The fact that Domon had not destroyed the head of Gundam Rose was a point of interest as well. Maybe George's philosophies had taught the thick-headed martial artist something. Battle was the only thing Domon understood, perhaps sparing his opponent was his way of saying 'thank you.' Then again, maybe he just wanted to face the French fighter without the liability of falling national monuments. Distracted adversaries made for unfulfilling battles, Rain supposed. After all, it couldn't have anything to do with her. She scowled.

"If I was kidnapped, would you save me?"

"Of course not, you're no princess."

"I may not be a princess," Rain muttered to herself, "but you're not really a king, either."

Sore de wa...Gundam Fight! Ready? Go!

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

Author Notes: 'Cafe au lait' translates from French as 'coffee with milk,' for those of you who took Spanish or German in high school.

And about the fic placement thing, AC is the accepted abrivation for 'After Colony,' ie the Gundam Wing timeline, not the accepted term for all the non-Universal Century Gundams, which is AU. So, technically, both Gundam sections are wrong for a strictly FC (Future Century) fic, but the UC section is smaller and G fics won't be buried under thousands of repetive romance fics. (Though, I must admit I contributed rather heavily to that sometime ago.)