After the Dancing is Done

By, Tigerlily

Summary: A one-shot! Romance for Sally Po and Chang Wufei! Just like Eastern Dragon Western Wind this utilizes the infamous "meet at the airport" storyline.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the plot. Please don't sue me.

Author's notes: In an attempt to get rid of my author's block I have decided to write this one-shot. This goes out to KaT aka Mistress Shingami, seeing as she's my one true fan. ;) On a side note, I have a feeling that Eastern Dragon and the Western Wind is going to be scrapped and remade. I'm very dissatisfied with many of the chapters.

Also, in case you didn't notice, the title is a not so subtle reference to Endless Waltz. Seeing as how the story is set after endless waltz and all, I thought it would be fitting.

****

Chang Wufei had never been a man of emotion, but times were changing. His own boss, the unmovable Une, had broken down and cried on seeing her daughter walk. It was true though that the girl had been confined to a wheel chair after being shot by the infamous, bulls-eye shot Yuy, so perhaps her ability to walk now truly was a miracle. The fact of the matter though remained unchanged. His boss, a woman who had never so much as smiled at anyone, save Treize Kushrenada, had cried.

'I am becoming an old man.' Wufei thought bitterly to himself. 'I'm always complaining about other people changing.' That wasn't strictly true though. It would be far more accurate to say that he, in comparison to everyone else, was not changing fast enough.

As Sally Po, his partner could and would attest to, he still acted like a petulant pre-teen most of the time. That wasn't strictly his fault though. After being forced to grow up too soon it was no wonder he wasn't in a hurry to do it now.

Now that would be all well and good if not for one small problem, Sally Po wasn't going to wait around anymore.

It goes without saying that she had, subconsciously or not, been waiting around for him. Of course as convention demands, no one ever said such things in front of her.

The only one who openly spoke to Sally Po about her relationship with Wufei was her best friend, Lucrezia Noin.

****

"So when are you shipping out Sally?" Lucrezia asked as she carefully placed books into a cardboard box.

"Tomorrow."

"eh." Lucrezia bit her lip in consternation. "Have you told Wufei yet?"

Sally expelled an exasperated sigh. "Lu-, what would be the point? He's not going to change!"

"We all change Sally." Lucrezia began carefully.

She was promptly dismissed by a flutter of Sally's hand. "I'm not going to go through this again with you Lu. I mean it, stop."

Lucrezia sighed and turned to look out the window in hopes that the view would be better. Sally was giving a mean impression of Heero Yuy's death glare and Lucrezia didn't want particularly like being the recipient of it.

Sally had a plain little ranch house on Earth, and all you could see out the window was a neighbor weeding their garden. Lucrezia didn't blame Sally for wanting to get away. Goodness knows she probably should. It wasn't healthy for a person to have only Wufei to talk to for days on end. The only problem was that it is equally unhealthy, or even more so to be away from the person you desire. Although really, Lucrezia thought sadly, Sally couldn't get much worse.

Lucrezia knew what it was like to have unrequited love. Boy oh boy did she know. Her story had ended happily though; Milliardo and she had finally married last year. So why couldn't Sally be more optimistic about her own situation? Of course Sally had never been as patient as Lucrezia to name one thing.

"Sally-" Lu began again. "I know how awful it is to be in your position, really I do, but things can and do end happily! Look at Milliardo and me, I'd been waiting for ages, but he finally came around."

Sally flinched as though she had been physically hit and turned away from Lucrezia. "Well, we all can't have the fairy tale Lu. Besides," she added in a steely voice, "I refuse to allow him to be the reason I'm leaving. I'm doing this, because I need to get to a new place. My whole life I've never remained stationary for more than a year at most. I've been here for almost three years." Sally stated without explanation. There wasn't one necessary.

****

A week later and Sally had succeeded in moving out of her house. All of her things were on the way to L2 where her new job was waiting. Sally Po swung her feet lazily against the back of the plastic airport seats. She was really on her way. Intellectually she knew that she should be excited about this new opportunity, but inside she felt only uneasiness.

'Perhaps I'm not making the right decision. Perhaps I'm being too hasty.' Sally's thoughts churned irritably in her brain. Suddenly she gave an unladylike snort. 'As if you haven't been debating this issue for over three years now Sally. I think it's time you take command over your own life and stop wallowing like a lovesick little girl.

*crackle* We are now *crackle* allowing passengers with young children or disabilities to board. *crackle*

Sally sighed and looked out the window to her right. She hoped she was making the right decision.

@meanwhile@

*ding dong*

Wufei blinked out of his meditation and sighed loudly to himself. 'Drat those insufferable Jehovah's witnesses, I already told them twice this month that I had no interest in converting!' *

Pounding on the door began to accompany the offending doorbell and Wufei warily made his way toward the front door.

"Damn it Wufei! Open this door now!" Wufei stopped moving, as he tried to place the voice. It wasn't Sally, it was Lucrezia Noin!"

Instantly Wufei was throwing open the door. "What's wrong, where's Sally?!" Wufei demanded with an ashen face.

Lucrezia smirked and leaned against the doorway. "I don't know Wufei, where IS Sally?"

Wufei coughed and looked away. "She's on a mission. isn't she?"

Lucrezia sighed and carefully scrutinized Wufei's face. "She's gone Wufei."

Wufei's head whipped up and his ponytail snapped behind his head. "gone?" he whispered.

"gone."

An oppressive silence followed in which Lucrezia searched Wufei's face for an emotion other than shock. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Wufei certainly seemed upset about Sally's disappearance.

"What, when,.. when is the funeral Noin?"

Noin blanched and stared at Wufei in disbelief before finally speaking.

"She's not dead Wufei."

Wufei instantly glared at Lucrezia. "You don't joke around with death Noin."

Lucrezia held her hands up in mock surrender. "That's wasn't what I meant Wufei, so don't even start. It's not my fault you always assume the worst case scenario!"

Wufei sighed and tried to calm his frazzled nerves. He started again more calmly. "Noin, where is Sally right now then?"

"Right now?" Lucrezia asked with a balefully innocent expression in her eyes. Wufei sighed and Lucrezia decided to cut the poor guy some slack. "Alright Wufei listen carefully, cause you'll have just enough time if you go as soon as I finish."

"Why would I." Wufei trailed off after Lucrezia glared at him.

"She's at the airport." Wufei nodded. "She's leaving for L2 and she isn't coming back." Wufei merely blinked in reply and Lucrezia took that as a sign that he was in fact digesting all of the information. "If you love her Wufei you have to go now."

Wufei's eyes darted back and forth and finally they rested on Lucrezia. "Get off my front porch."

Lucrezia turned to give him an indignant glare, she couldn't believe how unfeeling he was being, but she was stopped by the look in his eyes. There was a twinkle there that she recognized and finally a smile broke out across her face.

Wufei jumped out the door, slamming it behind him as he ran down the front path. With a leap over his fence he landed on his motorcycle and kicked it into gear. With a roar the motorcycle tore across the pavement and Lucrezia gave a little hop and proceeded to skip down the path toward her own car. A broad smile was planted across her face for all the world to see.

Wufei hopped off his motorcycle and raced toward the airport.

Outside of the entrance an elderly man sat next to a cart, full of bundles, of fresh flowers.

"Excuse me sir." Wufei stated hurriedly. "How much for the flowers?"

The wrinkled little man smirked and waggled his eyebrows at Wufei. All the while Wufei steadfastly ignored his gestures. "Five dollars for the wildflowers., ten dollars for the roses and-"

Wufei slammed down five dollars and grabbed a bouquet of wildflowers. 'Wild flowers' Wufei murmured in his mind. They reminded him of Mei Ran, but they could equally be applied to Sally. Both of them had untamable spirits..

"Excuse me M'am," Wufei exclaimed as he butted his way to the front of the information area. Where is the interspace shuttle leaving for L2?"

The woman took one look at Wufei's haphazard appearance and the desperately clutched flowers and smiled. Here was another love story waiting to happen. Hopefully he would get there in time. "Go to the left, you can't miss it and-"

Wufei was gone in a flash.

The woman screeched after the white blur. "GOOD LUCK"

*crackle* Passengers in rows 45 through 30 may now board. *crackle*

Sally sighed and stood up.

Wufei rounded the bend and instantly threw himself back behind the pillar he'd passed. Clutching his heart in panic he hazarded another look. Sally was standing up. Now she was picking up her bag, now she was-

'Damn it Wufei. Just like you to run over here with no plan whatsoever.'

Sally took one last look around the airport, and Earth. She wasn't going to come back for a very long time and she wanted to remember this day forever, despite the pain.

A flash of white whipped by her eyes as she stooped to pick up her bag. It couldn't be, could it?

With a guarded heart she slowly walked toward the pillar. Another call for her row to boards was announced, but she ignored it.

'Oh just go out there and do it, ya damned pansy!' With that last angry thought. Wufei turned with a determined step, right- into Sally.

Wufei's eyes became as large as dinner plates and Sally fancied he was quite possibly scared. He nervously wrung his hands. Sally looked down and saw a pair of hands, with impossibly white knuckles, grasping a bouquet of ragged wild flowers.

Wufei followed her gaze and instantly became ashamed. The flowers were utterly repulsive. He had probably whacked them into every person he's encountered since the vendor. He couldn't give her these flowers!

"Are these for me?" Sally asked in a soft tone. The same sort of tone one would use when confronting a frightened deer in the forest.

The tell tale blush that rose in Wufei's cheeks was enough of an answer and Sally smiled.

"Thank you Wufei, their beautiful."

Wufei snorted in disbelief. "You don't have to lie to me Sally, never to me."

Sally smiled at his antics. "You know Wufei, I've never gotten flowers before." Wufei merely blinked in confusion.

"I'm sorry Sally." Wufei didn't provide an explanation and Sally didn't need one. "Your plane is boarding now."

"I know."

"Aren't you going to go?"

"I don't know there are a lot of reasons why I might not want to go. I mean my best friends live here."

"You're closer to your family too." Wufei supported eagerly.

"And I like the food here."

"And the climate."

"Not to mention the bagel shop down the street from HQ."

"Your friends from the resistance are here too!"

"But-" Wufei's heart stopped. It had all been going so well! "-I promised Une." Wufei didn't reply. "And I think I've been in one place for too long. Relena wants more forces to be stationed out on L2 anyway. She doesn't need as many bodyguards as she used to. Not to mention the fact that Lu is getting married so she doesn't need me either."

Wufei gulped, took a deep breath of air and spoke.

"I need you Sally."

What had it costed him to say that? What would it have costed him to keep it to himself?

"Oh Wufei."

"I mean it Sally, I don't want you to go."

"You don't mean that Wufei, truly you don't. You just don't like it when things change. I've always been in your life, but you'll live don't worry. I'm sure your next partner will be just as capable as me, if not more so."

Wufei merely shook his head.

"That's not what I mean Sally. Sally I, I mean, that is to say." Wufei bit his lip and looked at his feet. He couldn't believe how stupid he was acting. All those years learning how to cope with unpredictable settings and he was at a complete loss here.

Sally looked on in wonderment. Never in her life had she seen Wufei so flustered and confused. He had always been the one with the plan. Now here he was blubbering like a baby.

Wufei looked up with a determined glint in his eyes. He was a man of action, he'd never been particularly great with words. Maybe this wasn't a time for words.

Sally barely had time to blink before his mouth descended on hers. The kiss was fierce, possessive, as though Wufei was trying to claim her as his own. Then in an instant, it was gone, and Sally was left confused and disoriented.

What had the kiss meant? Should she leave? She had been serious when she had said she should leave. She also had believed Wufei was only there because he was in fact a creature of habit and didn't like anyone messing up his predictable little world. But the kiss had changed everything. Perhaps she had been wrong about Wufei. Perhaps his words had been empty, because in fact words were not his mode of expression.

Wufei's body wanted to run, but he wouldn't let it. This had to end now. He would not be a coward any longer.

"Wufei. I, what was-,"

Wufei allowed himself a tiny smile. Sally was adorable when she was confused. Then the frown returned. "Your shuttle really is leaving Sally. You'd better go."

"Yes, yes, of course." Sally turned distractedly, picked up her fallen bag, and headed toward the entrance of the shuttle. Halfway there she turned around to look at Wufei. He was standing there, rigidly, his back set impossibly straight. His mouth was a thin line and his eyes were steely. But Sally knew what his body language was saying. This was the way he got whenever he was about to cry. When he was fighting the emotions that wanted to burst forth.

He really did love her.

Two steps down and she was in his arms.

The crowd that had gathered about the two, instantly broke out into applause.

Sally pressed her lips to Wufei's and murmured, "I love you Chang Wufei."

And elsewhere on a cloud up high, Mei Ran turned and smiled. It had taken him so very many years, but he'd done it; Wufei had finally found home.

* Sappy I know, but I'm a hopeless romantic. Hope you enjoyed the story! Please review if you liked it, or if you didn't. Feedback is always appreciated.

* Nothing against Jehovah's Witnesses, really. It's just if a person doesn't want to convert none of your arguments will matter. So just let it be already!