August 2008 
(A few days after the Soldier Boy vrs Nemesis fight)

“Thanks for giving Soldier Boy a ride home.”  Phi said to her friend as they lounged together by the pool, in the lingering August sun.

“It was fun, he was so full of stories, and so animated.  I could talk to him all day.  By the end of the ride, though, talking wasn’t really on his mind.”  Christie’s tone was good natured as she sipped her lemonade, a smile on her lips at the memory.

“He didn’t!”  Phi sat up straight, making a few droplets of water from her wet hair, splash over the exposed skin of her dry belly.  “He didn’t.”

Christie laughed then.  “Eh.  He did, but it was very endearing really and not pushy in the least.  We settled for a kiss on the cheek.”  She sighed then, one of her heavy wistful romantic sighs.  “Now, if it had only been Nemesis.  He is so dreamy.”

Phi said nothing in reply, which was unusual, because she often made fun of her friend’s overdramatic romantic fantasies.  Her silence on the matter spoke louder than any words could have.

It was Christie’s turn to sit up, this time, swinging her legs over the side of her lounge chair and sweeping off her too large white sunglasses.  “Phi?  Do you like him?  Oh my gawsh…  you like him!”

“No.”  Phi’s tone was mild as she shook her head.  “Just because I don’t like the idea of YOU with someone, does not mean that I like them.”

“You like him!”  Christie insisted.  “Oh Phi!  This is huge.”  She gushed in excitement.  “I mean…you haven’t dated since Dean, this is good.  This is so so so good.”

Phi shook her head again and her voice turned irritable.  “No Christie.  I don’t like him.  Not like that.  We’re partners.  He’s a great guy, he’s a real hero and I admire him and I hope that we’ll become good friends, but you’re wrong.  I’m not interested in a relationship with him or any one else.”

“Yeah?”  Christie’s voice was lilting, daring even.  “Well, then.  Would you please set me up with him?  I think he’s hawtt as hell, and that’s the two Ts kind of hot.  I think it’s high time for some excitement in my life, and if you aren’t interested in him, then … set me up with him.  Seriously.”

Silence stretched for a moment between them, and not the usual comfortable kind that they shared.  “No.”

“Why not?”  Christie persisted, careful to keep her smile hidden and her voice challenging.  The only way to get anything out of her friend was by challenging her.

“He’s too old for you.”  Phi replied matter of factly.  “…and he’s going to be really busy with the team.  You deserve a full time boyfriend, nothing less.”

“Maybe I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”  Christie said, her voice serious, as she lifted her legs back up on her lounger and leaned back.  Taking another long sip of her lemonade. 

Silence.

“Phi?  I’m serious.  What can it hurt?  Just see what he thought of me.  If he thought I was cute, see if you can set us up.  I never ask you for anything.  Please?”  That Danner girl tone rang out true and sweet, almost impossible to deny.

“Christie, it just isn’t a good idea.  He’s older than you by ten years… and his job is so dangerous and consuming.”

“I said I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, Phi.  I’m almost 25 years old, thank you very much and I don’t need a babysitter any more.  So…just set us up.  I just want to get to know him a bit.  Maybe figure out where the latch is to that costume of his.”

That comment broke it, and Phi started laughing out loud.  The idea of Christie Danner, always the good girl, suggesting such a thing was just funny.  “I’m not running a brothel.  It’s a super hero team!  God Christie, you sound like Jennifer.”

Christie shrugged at that, unable to keep the smile off of her face, she knew that she’d pushed the bluff too far.  “Just admit it Phi.  You like him.  …and that’s okay.  It’s a good thing.  I don‘t know why you have to be so damned stubborn, it doesn‘t suit you.”

“Christie.  I don’t have feelings for him.  I’ve only known him a few months.  I do think he’s attractive and there might be something there, the prolonged proximity might become frustrating.  Might.  …but it’s not something that either of us would be stupid enough to pursue.  We’re going to be partners…and if I ever work up the nerve to tell him, teammates.”

“He doesn’t know?!”  Christies voice was full of disbelief and shock. “Oh my gawd, Phi.  You know who he is…you have to tell him.”

“I know.”  Phi snapped.  “I’m going to.  I want to…  but, it’s not easy.  Things always change once people find out.  …and I like just being a girl with him, for now.  Every time I try to bring it up, I lose my nerve.”  Just then the DiSantiago seemed smaller than usual, vulnerable, it was an uncommon sight.

“You care about what he thinks of you.”  Christie’s tone was soft.  “…and that’s a good thing.  I just wish that you‘d open yourself up more.  Allow for the possibility of romance in your life, instead of closing yourself to everything because you don‘t want to get hurt again.”

Phi pushed herself up from her chair, straightened her white bikini, and dove into the pool.

January 4, 2009

The gentle sway of the waves slid under the Anna Maria and rocked the occupant that sat inside, reading a book.  Freshly showered and still dressed in her PJs, Ophilia DiSantiago buried herself in someone else’s fictitious life for a moment.  For the last three days, her cell phone had been off and the only indication of time came and went with the sun.  Her phone, calendars and PDA that controlled her life almost all of the time, were locked in the safe hold of he father‘s yacht.

The only people in the world that could get in touch with her right now, without a specific trip to do so, was her brother Bastian and her best friend Christie.  Those two people, for better or worse, had a constant connection with her through her mental bond.  To sever that would have been like cutting off a hand.  Those two had been a distant murmur in her thoughts since she was a child and simply put, they were now a part of her.

The vacation had done much to renew Ophilia’s spirits.  It was the rest more than anything, her body was overstressed for too long, and she had been too stubborn to listen to it.  It was amazing what three proper meals and a good nights rest could do for a person.  Add to that a few enjoyable activities, like reading and watching television, and she almost felt like a normal woman again.

“Phi!”  The sound of Christie’s voice broke through a devilishly yummy spot in Ophilia’s romance novel, so she ignored it, for just a moment longer as she flipped eagerly to the next page.  She sighed longingly as the words unfolded, touch by touch, whisper by whisper.  Galvin was so amazingly hot, even though he was the anti hero, and not at all good for the heroine Lucy.

“Phi!”  This time the call was sharper and accompanied by the clipping sound of the door to the cabin as Christie Danner burst in.  “It’s so dayam cold outside!”  She said in her adorable voice, that thought all curse words were excusable as long as you found an appropriately cute way to say them.

With a bit of reluctance, Phi put down her book and stretched languidly.  “Galvin and Lucy…the first time…”

“Oh my…gawsh.  I know!”  Christie interrupted her, by far the bigger romantic of the two.  “…and Chad!  Everyone knows that she should be with him.  Everyone but Lucy, she’s blind.  Actually Phi.  That’s probably not the best book for you to be reading right now.”

“…and why not?”  Phi asked, curiously.

“…um…just cuz.  It just isn’t.  It has a sad ending and you’re too gloomy already.”  She gave her friend a big grin as she slid out of her winter coat and hat.  “But DO finish this chapter, then be done with it for now.”

Phi’s return glare didn’t give much hope that she’d follow that advice.

“So…yay for slumber parties!”  Christie gave a little dance and then crawled into the oversized chair with Phi, giving her a big hug.  “Bastian told me you just up and vanished.  You doing okay?”  There was genuine concern in her friends voice.

“I’m doing better.”  Phi admitted, there was no use in lying to Christie.  “It was just too much and I needed a break.”

Christie nodded her head knowingly, as Phi said the same words that her friends and family had been telling her for months now.  It’s too much Phi.  You need to slow down, Phi.  Take some time for yourself, Phi.

“So…?  Are you going to tell me what happened to upset you so badly at the party?  I could kind of feel it…sorta, that sinking sensation that I get over our link when you’re so very blue.”  Christie leaned her head on Phi’s shoulder in that endearing way of hers as she waited patiently.

Ophilia sighed but didn’t say anything, right away.  Christie was more like a sister to her than a friend.  Her mother had taken a special interest in the DiSantiago twins, and pretty much adopted them as her own, caring for them for years before Christie was born.  So, Phi had literally known Christie her entire life, but it had only been after she graduated from High School that they’d become such close confidantes.  “I’m just confused.”  She allowed her own head to tilt and lay softly on top of her friend’s.

“…and hurt.  …and angry.  …and probably somehow wrong.”  Phi’s tone was soft and candid, obviously speaking without thinking.  She felt Christie’s head nod under her own, encouraging her to continue.

“I kissed Nem at the party.  …ow!” Christie’s head shot up at that and bapped Phi’s chin rather hard.

“No…?  You did?  Oh…”  Phi felt a wash of alarm come off of Christie but she wasn’t sure what it meant.  “…but.  Mason?  I saw you with Mason, and Phi, that was like a for total realz kiss.  What were you thinking?  Did you kiss Nem before or after Mason?”

“Before Mason.”  Phi’s eyes narrowed at the interrogation, but she waved it off as curiosity and continued.  “ …I know this sounds lame, Christie, but Mason was an accident.  I had no idea, none…it just happened, and was a lot more intense than I had imagined it would be.  I thought he knew it was just a date.  Hi did know it was just a date.  …I don’t know what happened there, but I think he’s mad at me.  I don’t know why he’s angry with me, but I felt him clam up.”

Christie didn’t say anything, she just nodded her head and swallowed.

Phi gave her a concerned look and prodded her.  “What’s wrong?  What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m your friend Phi.  I tell you everything that I think you should know.  So, are you confused because you don‘t know if you like Mason or Nemesis better?”  Her tone was thoughtful as she tried to help her friend work through this.  “Cuz, Mason is your Chad.”

“Don’t be silly.  Just because someone looks good at the bottom of an account ledger does not mean that you’re destined to be with them.”  Phi rolled her eyes a bit.

“It’s more than that Ophilia.  …but I shouldn’t have said that.”  Christie’s tone was sincere when she apologized.  “What is it?”

“I’m confused because Nem and I shared a moment.  It was an honest to god, moment.  I was shameless, I came onto him like…like…hell, like Celeste Frazier.  I gave him the key card to my room and we were suppose to meet there afterwards, and he never showed up.”  There was a bit of misery in her voice as she admitted that. 

“What kind of damaged goods must I be, for him not to show.  He just hates my family and my last name and it just sucks.  It’s not fair.  …and now I have to work with him.  I have to see him every single day and know that I came onto him like a floozy and he’s not interested.  I just hate him for that.  Hate him.  He said he was going to be there and he didn’t come.”  Phi’s voice was drenched with self pity.

Christie nodded her head sympathetically as she picked up some of Phi’s long black hair and began playing with it.  “Well…what are you going to do?  You can’t stay on vacation forever, you’re going to have to face him sooner or later.”

“I know.”  Phi admitted.  “I’m just talking myself down.  I’m over him.  He’s disappointed me one too many times, and I’m over it.  I just need time to…to…let it sink in.  I don‘t know why it‘s so hard.  We don’t even know each other, not really.  This is all just annoying chemistry.  I don’t know anything about him that I didn’t read in his file, and visa versa.”  She bowed her head into her hands and let them slide over her temples.  “I just need to get over the bigger than life idea of him.  This stupid school girl crush of mine.”

Christie continued to play with Phi’s hair but she didn’t say anything, she was too quiet.  Their moment stretched on, a comfortable silence and the dim murmur of the link between them.  “You know.  You don’t really hate him.  You just feel like he wasn’t there for you.  You’re blaming him for every wrong thing that everyone else has done to you.”  Her voice was as gentle as the fingers that were running through Phi’s hair.

“I know.  …but it helps.”  Phi’s voice was defeated.  “I should have known better.  I just.  …I just…wanted to be with him.”

Again the gentle nod of Christie’s head under her own.  “You should talk to him, Phi.  You are assuming the worst, what if he has a good reason for not coming?”

“Even if he had a good reason for not coming, there is no good reason for not telling me why.  No message, no phone call, no note, no apology, no explanation.  No opportunity to fix things if I messed up.  No opportunity to understand if he came to his senses.  It’s just doomed.”  It was a barely whispered rant.

“So?  You like him then.”  Christie asked, picking up a conversation from months ago, but nothing about her tone was triumphant.

It was Phi’s turn to nod her head, the gentle bob causing her long dark tresses to tighten between Christie’s fingers.  “It hurts.  So much so, that it hurts.”

“You need to talk to him, Phi.  We both know that he had a good reason.”

“You’re right..”  Phi agreed in a very uncustomary show of compliance.  “I will.”

Christie was too stunned to reply, so she didn’t.  If there was a win with Ophilia, this would count as one.

February 14, 2009

“I hate him!”  Phi growled in frustration as she struggled with the straps of her costume.  “There are too many buttons.”

“You said him…?  Is your costume a him?”  Christie asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to poke the beast or not.

“I did not!”  Phi spit out emphatically.  “I said it.  I hate it.  My costume, it’s ridiculous and not practical.”

“You really look good in it though.  Two Ts kind of hot, truly.”  Christie said helpfully. 

Ophilia continued to tug and button, tug and button, obvious anger in each motion.

“Phi?  Nemesis and Soldier Boy both think you aren’t ready.  You really shouldn’t be doing this.  You said you were going to listen to Nemesis when it came to the field.  You SAID that you weren’t going to be your ‘don’t tell me what to do’ self, when it came to taking orders from him.  Remember.  Because you were the one that put him in charge.  Or some such.  It seemed to make sense to you at the time.  And, Nemesis said…”

“Fuck Nemesis.”  Phi exploded. 

“Okay…”  Christie shook her head, seriously at a loss as to how to calm down her friend.  She was hard pressed to remember the last time she had seen her best friend this angry.  And she knew it had more to do with Phi finding out that Nemesis was seeing another woman that it did with his request that she stay out of the field.

Tug.  Button.  Tug.  Button.  Tug.  Button.  “She’s a blond.”  Tug.  Button.  “Blue eyes..”  Tug.  Button.  “How many fucking buttons does this costume have?!”

Christie nodded and went to get Phi’s boots out of the corner of the room.  “A lot.  There are a lot of buttons.”

Tug.  Button.  Tug.  Button.  “And she’s just…so…clean.  …and… pure and friendly looking.”  Tug.  Button.  Tug.  Tug.  Tug.  Button.  “She’s like the antithesis of a DiSantiago.”  Tug.  Grunt.  Button.  “Like…you would have to look the world over, to find someone so damn pure looking.  Tug.  Button.

“I love these boots, Phi.”  Christie’s voice was low and hopeful as she tried to direct the conversation elsewhere.

“Jen.”  Tug.  Tug.  Drop.  Phi finally fell into the bed behind her, grabbing a pillow and forcing it as hard as she could over her face as she screamed into it.  Then she flung it aside.  “Jen.  He called her Jen.  What a stupid lousy normal name.”

One boot in each hand, Christie sat down on the edge of Phi’s bed.  She really shouldn’t have been at the Cathedral at all, especially not the living quarters…but she knew that her friend was going through a crisis of some sort and had snuck in.  “Yeah.  That’s just a.  …a.  …stupid name.”

Ophilia just laid there, each breath accentuated by the too tight bodice of her costume, as her chest rose and fell, the elastic around the diamond studs expanding and then cinching back closed.

“Phi.”  Christie said quietly.  “You knew he was seeing someone.  You told me that’s why you didn’t talk to him.  Why all of this?  Why now?  You told me he’d moved on.”

A sigh followed by more silence was Phi’s only reply.

Christie slid her hands down the soft leather of the boots as she tried to understand what her friend was going through.  “Phi.  I know that you’re angry, but going out and playing hero, isn’t going to help anything.  You aren’t ready.”

Phi pushed herself up reluctantly and took one boot and then the other from her friend, sliding them on to her feet.  “These are great boots.”  She finally said.

“Phi!”  Christie had lost her patience by this point.  “What happened today?  Why are you going postal?”

“Nothing really.  I just saw them.”  Fate could be cruel that way.  “I knew he had a girl.  …it just didn’t feel real until I saw her.  She was beautiful and seemed to be just what he needed.”  With that Phi stood up and put on her long trench coat, sufficient to cover the full length of her costume.

“Phi.  Please don’t do this.  If you find trouble you can get hurt, and you’ll find out what else is real out there.”  Christie remained sitting, there was no reason to go after her, she knew that there would be no changing her mind.  The only reason that she even tried was to keep from getting a guilty conscious. 

There was a palpable pause at the door, like Phi was going to say something, but instead she opened the door and left quietly.