Title: Decode
Author: Stoplight
Summary: "You jerk!" A ficlet of pointlessness to get my muse cooking [ficlet]
Pairings: Wally/Kuki
Words: 480
Time: 30 Minutes

Her fingertips were gentle as they traced the heated redness that marred his usually lightly tanned skin. It was obvious to her from the outline of bruising knuckles on his face that he had been hit purposely, and hard. "What happened, Wally?" Kuki murmured, concern dripping from her tone.

She cupped his cheek and jaw letting the smoothness of her palms be prickled by his developing stubble. The Rainbow monkey bracelets on her slender wrists jangled loudly in the quiet of the living room of the base. It gathered the taller operative's wandering green gaze to her face, to see her nearly heartbroken expression.

Wally sighed, blowing his bangs away from his eyes, uncomfortable.

The Australian wasn't blind to the tears gathering on her sooty lashes, threatening to roll down the curve of her cheeks as she looked downwards. "Kuki," he said.

She looked up at that, lids rising with her glance. Violet lenses, usually bright and shinning, were stormy and clouded in thought and something else that made the gentle stroking of her thumb against his developing bruise burn.

"Wally. . . You – that didn't. . ."

Something in her head clicked, sweeping out thoughts of butterflies, this week math tests and her new flavor of lip gloss.

The words barely made sense in her mind as they fluttered to her tongue as something twitched in her temple; annoyance. Her other hand, which had been hovering uselessly at her side during the whole confrontation, was clinging to his sweatshirt in a death grip. Kuki's emotions were in scrambles as she continued to stare up at Wally, eyes flickering from his busted cheek to the wolfish smirk that was beginning to pull at his mouth. Should she be angry? Or pleased that he cared so much to –

"This is was the only punch he got in, bloody bastard."

His sudden cockiness answered for her.

With a sudden shrill wail, Kuki shoved her boyfriend away from her before moving to punch him in the chest with tiny, yet furious fists. "You jerk!" she shirked. Angry tears were falling now, splattering the floor in insignificant shimmering puddles. "Making me worry like that – you only got into a fight again!"

Bouncing backwards like he was dodging a right hook from a professional boxer, teenage Numbuh Four spluttered a reply, "Oi! I'm already hurt here, you stupid sheila! And that guy deserved it!"

His sneakers squeaked loudly on the floorboards as he dodged another blow.

"He only talked to me!"

The blonde blinked, insult ready to use dying on his lips, as he relaxed only to tense up again – memories from earlier in the day were suddenly very sharp in his head. "Who said anything about that twit?"

Her hands, balled into fists, straightened from their clenched pose as Kuki turned her face away from Wally with a snort. "I know you, Wallabee," she turned again to face him as he mumbled something about 'attempted nicking of property' under his breath. "I know how you get."

Wally scowled – a flustered, shaky furrow of his brows – as he palmed the back of his neck, refusing to look at the Japanese girl now, "Your noggin ain't on right."

It almost made Kuki smile.

Almost.

A/N:

This started off in a complete different direction then ended up becoming a fluff-fest. What the hell is wrong with me?

If you didn't catch it – Wally and Kuki were on a something earlier and Kuki left early after a few events, leaving Wally to his lonesome. Wally, being a territorial weirdo to what he cares about and feels belongs to him about namely Kuki, decided to teach somebody a lesson then hoofed it to the TND base.

And just to note - I like to think of Wally as being in the state's long enough to have completely taken up American slang but, diverts back into his native slang terms when he's pissed of. So considering this is Wally. . . that's like 65 percent of the time.

Abby/Hoagie ficlet is next up for me to write!

--Kati.

Wally & Kuki (c) Mr. Warburton.