Over the course of the time this story was made, I finished an alternate pairing
story in RK, started a new one, wrote several RK songfics and oneshots, wrote a
Vandread songfic, panicked about med school, got into med school, met a fanfic
reader and fan of my work and became her friend, learned to love Gundam Wing, wrote
for Gundam Wing thrice, got into the student council, saw my grades rise and fall,
saw my grades plummet, and now I'm currently enjoying the first semester break as a
medical student.
And so, we come to the end of our tale. Thanks to everybody who accepted this
alternate pairing with an open mind and receptive reading eyes. Thanks to everybody
for being patient with me. For those who knew about BC beforehand, thanks for
enduring the pronouns. For those who didn't, I hope it wasn't too much of a shock to
you (it was an awful shock to me when I first found out), and thanks for still
reading. I like BC as a character, and I'm glad that, in the end, BC chose to be a
pirate. ^^
................
The snow queen had frozen.
She, and the rest of the crew, did not know this man before her.
It was a perfect gentleman. Handsome, refined, elegant. This was not the cowardly
navigator of a few hours ago. It was a completely different man. This could not
possibly be Bart Garsus.
"Barnette, how many glasses have I had?" Jura confirmed.
"None! Remember? We started with the dancing!" Barnette replied.
"So, this isn't an illusion? I'm not hallucinating? Doctor! Paiway! I need an
aspirin!" Jura placed a dramatic hand over her forehead and went hunting for
Duero.
"Where is the Pai check when you need it?" Amarone griped.
The Pai check had totally forgotten about her camera, and joined the entire crew in
just ogling the scene.
Meia was not sure exactly what she was doing. But she slowly accepted the hand the
gentleman in white offered, and stood up.
The gentleman was quite surprised she accepted. His hands shook as he held the
precious hand, and escorted the young lady to the center of the room.
"Would you mind, Miss Meia?" he asked in a tone he did not recognize from himself,
as he showed her the hand approaching her waist.
She only smiled, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
They began to move to the rhythm of the slow waltz, first hesitantly, then smoothly,
moving as one unit, circling the room, looking into each other's eyes, admiring the
changes while remembering the similarities.
Amarone gave discreet instructions for Misty to lower the volume of the music, and
for Parfet to bring in a spotlight. The music faded a little more, but no spotlight
came. Parfet was not manning the lights. Amarone had to tap one of the girls under
her to fix it.
"Has anyone seen Parfet?!" Amarone called out.
"She went out with some guy," Celtic answered. "Someone new, although I'm pretty
sure there has been no new craft on the ship."
"Tall, long hair?"
"That's it!"
"You mean you didn't recognize the DOCTOR?!"
"Oh, was that him?" Celtic scratched her uncostumed head. "They went that way, to
the park area."
Amarone smiled. "Thanks. We better leave those two lovebirds alone."
Meanwhile the waltz had ended, and a new, faster dance had begun. It did not make a
difference to the gentleman and lady; they simply continued holding each other and
gliding through the room. But at this junction, the spell on the rest of the crew
was broken, and they joined in the dancing.
As the girls all grabbed for a partner, Dita circled the periphery of the room for
her alien. She eventually found him sulking as he stared through the kitchen at the
food.
"Come on, Uchuujin-san! Let's dance!" she pulled at his coattails.
"WATCH THE SUIT!" he snapped.
She pouted. "Uchuujin-san still mad at me?" and started to walk away.
"No...no...NO! That's not it....erm...Dita!" Hibiki stuttered and faltered.
"I....I...I'm not mad at you anymore...you just caught me at a bad time this
morning, that's all.....I was afraid...um.....you.....were mad at me?" he finished
as he twiddled his thumbs before her.
"Of course not, Uchuujin-san!" she happily declared, and grabbed for his hand. "Come
on! Dita likes this song!"
The poor alien had no choice but to be dragged along to the dance floor....
willingly.
Hibiki gave full justice to the vice-captain's lessons. He did not step on Dita's
shoes; he did not forget the timing; he did not forget to be respectful of his
partner. Even Dita was quite surprised. She knew her alien was not the dancing type
of alien, but here he was twirling her like a professional.
"So this is what you taught the men last night, BC?" the okashira asked as she
approached the vice-captain.
"Hai, okashira."
"You taught those two well," she commended.
"Thank you, okashira," BC answered.
"What about you? Aren't you going to dance?"
BC pressed on the brooch hidden under the suit. "I appreciate the concern, okashira,
but these women are all too afraid of me."
"You just think that, BC," she smiled and walked away to the other girls. "Enjoy the
evening."
He bowed politely. He smoothed out his dark suit, sighed, then walked to a
corner.
Meanwhile, a third, slow dance had started, and Meia and Bart were still on the
floor. Bart could only keep his eyes on his partner's face. All of it: her deep blue
eyes, light blue hair, lovely cheeks. She in turn admired the gentleman from smooth
head to polished shoes.
"I....I....um....Miss Meia..." he began to falter again.
"Meia would be fine, Bart," she interrupted.
"Very well," he cleared his throat, "Meia, thank you for dancing with me tonight.
I...I....never thought you would."
"You're welcome."
"Although, if you don't mind too much, Me-Meia..." he took a deep breath, "could
we....could I....could you......"
"Get on with it, Bart. What is it?"
"I....um......may I please treat you to lunch tomorrow?"
Meia stopped for a few seconds, and looked at him.
Was this Talark resident for real? Lunch on a treat? But she ate alone, always! Of
course, she sometimes wished it was not so. Surely Garsus had a motive for this. If
he did, however, aside from getting to know her, she did not see it. What if....
Bart began to sweat, terrified at her unyielding stare. "But if you don't want
to, Meia, it will be completely alright...this evening is enough for me, thank
you....."
"Spaghetti."
"What?"
"Spaghetti will be fine."
Bart's jaw dropped for the second time in an hour. He
then regained composure and asked. "With meatballs, lots of cheese? The kind
Barnette makes?"
She nodded.
"Wow, you like that too, Miss Meia?" he lit up. "Call me a guy with no finer taste,
but I like her spaghetti a lot. It's something about the sauce, I guess.."
"Real tomatoes," she answered with a smile. "Dita uses tomato paste, which doesn't
give the same effect."
"And the meatballs...." he continued.
"Just the right size, without too much pepper," she added.
And on they discussed the merits of Barnette's other cooking, then went on to praise
Dita's rice casseroles. To the continued astonishment of the crew.
Because by now, majority of the crew was now wired in to an audio feed, controlled
by Amarone and Misty. One of the girls had managed to place a small microphone on
Bart, which went unnoticed. They were crowded at a laptop placed over a table.
Gascogne tsked, the boss scratched her head.
"I never thought Meia liked my spaghetti so much....I would've made it for her more
often.." Barnette sighed.
"Wow! Leader likes my casseroles!" Dita clapped.
"Don't you women have anything better to do than spy on Bart?" BC sternly asked in a
baritone, arms folded over chest.
"Um....well....vice-captain...." more than one girl gave the vice-captain sheepish
looks.
"For the last time, ladies. I have no romantic inclinations toward Garsus. And as
you can plainly see, Garsus has eyes on another woman. What he talks about with her
is not your concern. Stop spying on him."
With that, BC pulled at the cables.
"Vice-captain!" the girls squealed.
"Back to your places," the vice-captain ordered.
"But, vice-captain...we're not on duty right now!" Dita complained.
"I..um.....you know what I mean," BC ended, and left them.
The girls sulked. But the intelligence about food reminded them about it. Some of
the girls went on to the kitchen and served the food.
After ooohs and aaaahs of admiration about Barnette's cake, Celtic's punch, and
Dita's alien-inspired turkey casserole; everyone started the eating and
drinking.
Hibiki attacked the party food with full relish, much to Dita's enjoyment. She
kept him supplied and satisfied. Life was grand for those two.
Parfet and Duero had returned for the food. And no one dared bother the two
intellectual lovebirds. They did not know how to interrupt conversations on the
citric acid cycle, gluconeogenesis, transamination, and lipid metabolism.
"What the heck is the citric acid cycle, Parfet?" one of her subordinates
whispered.
"I'm not too sure yet, but it sounds interesting," Parfet blushed and answered. "I'm
humoring the doctor. I let him have it all about statics and electrical
communication a while ago."
"But have you done any dancing?"
"Well....we were talking for quite a while about the electrical and anatomical
similarities of the human nervous system and Pyoro's circuitry that....well, we
haven't. But he did say he learned a thing or two from the vice-captain, and I
intend to see it."
The subordinate shrugged and proceeded to the casseroles.
The gentleman of the evening returned to a table where
Meia was waiting. In two plates, he carried his and her dinner food. He presented
with the flair of his heritage, a good sampling of all the dishes available. "Here
we have the ever-popular turkey casserole, heated to perfection then topped with a
fine layer of cheese by my annoying roommate's girlfriend. And over here we have
Jura's long standing, forever- lasting potato salad...."
Meia giggled at the descriptions, but enjoyed his comedic relish. Of all the times
she thought he was simply annoying, he might actually be...interesting to know more
about.
"Enough description," she finished with more giggles. "Shall we eat already?"
She could not believe it. She was actually, enjoying the evening! Maybe Bart wasn't
so bad, after all! She would give him a chance. She would learn more about him, at
lunch tomorrow.
He could not believe it either. He never thought it could be possible. But Meia the
snow queen, a true woman, a woman of the type difficult to claim, had accepted him.
She had finally welcomed his advances. He was the happiest human existing at that
precise moment.
He knew who was responsible for his success.
"Um, Meia, would you excuse me for a while? I have to go find the vice-captain," he
said.
She nodded. He skipped off.
He eventually found BC staring out the windows of the rec room, leaning at a
corner.
"Vice-captain, I owe you big time for tonight," he bowed before him with military
stiffness. "Thank you very much for all the help."
"Don't mention it," BC replied without looking at him.
Bart smiled and turned to leave, when a thought stopped him. "Um, sir, if you don't
mind my asking, why DID you agree to help me?"
BC remained silent for a moment, then answered. "You were pathetic, hopeless,
annoying, and overly dramatic."
Bart sighed.
"But you were sincere. Sincerity, in the end, wins most women. That's the
reason."
"I understand," Bart replied.....then pumped BC's hand. "Thank you, thank you, thank
you, vice-captain! You won't regret what you did. I'll use it well!"
"You better, if you want to keep Meia," a shaken BC smiled slightly. "Now go on and
get back to her."
Bart saluted and obeyed.
As the party moved along, as birthday songs were sung, food eaten and dances danced,
BC continued to stare at the moon rocks outside the window.
"So, we all live happily ever after, right?" Gascogne
approached BC at the corner.
"I suppose," the vice-captain answered absentmindedly. He looked wistfully at the
white tuxedo and blue evening dress enjoying their evening together.
"Never knew you had it in you to be a matchmaker," Gascogne further teased him. He
only smirked in reply.
They both looked at the lovely pair, as Gascogne put a hand on BC's shoulder.
"You know, Tenmei, you don't have to keep proving yourself to us. We all know what
you can do, and we all know that you're one of us. So stop trying to be extra nice.
Doesn't suit you," she grinned.
The vice-captain smiled at this, in spite of himself.
The music had looped, and it returned to the first waltz.
"Come on, stop moping," she slung an arm across his back. "How about a dance, you
and me? My waltzing needs practice, care to help out?"
"I...um...."
"What's a waltz between friends, aye, BC? I'm the oldest friend you've got."
"But that's..."
"Don't say you didn't enjoy building up the Nirvana even a little? Come on, let's
talk about the good old days."
BC smiled, and offered an elegant hand. "Shall....we dance?"
"It'll be my pleasure, old friend," Gascogne replied.
........
If you don't know why that's possible, remember it was mentioned once that BC and
Gasco-san are Magno's longest-standing crew members. BC was already around when Meia
was first recruited. Rhesus A-I hope this chapter answers your question.
Supreme thanks to everybody who read......um, what was that long-named fic about
Meia? ^_^ I know a lot of you had trouble remembering the long title. Thanks so much
for reading! I like misunderstood characters, and I hope this little comedy helped
you to better appreciate the three most misunderstood people in Vandread. ^^
Thanks first to everybody:
Sabbie-ShadowD-Megane-san87-USSKenji-The Untalkative
Bunny-AoiKachina_KWT-Martina-Unproductivity-BKM2K3-MarekVII-Cinderella_semantan-Mister
kungfu-Zauriel-Sir G-Gundamhardcore-Alien freak-Bringer of Death-Misty Cornwell-
Beko-Man-Lord Mick-Iudex Acerbus-Fanfic reader-Stizzo-Reiven-
CardCaptorHikari-Rx79guntank-Cat H-Dragon-Wing-Master-Eros4-Rhesus A-Stizzo-
Metajoker-Genjyo Sanzo-and several anonymous reviewers
Thanks much to Spike and the Vandread Fanfic Library for archiving my work. They're
at www .angelfire. com/anime4/spike558
Final review replies:
Eros4-Thanks. Sorry for the trouble about those quotes. I hated that happening,
too.
Stizzo-Thanks for liking the pacing!
Megane-san_87-Klingon mating ritual?! Now that is way creepy... ^^ I'm not sure if
this chap is romantic enough for you, but I hope you like it.
Iudex Acerbus-Yup, you have your ending. ^^
Sabbie-I'd really like to know what med school program Duero got into, to be such a
cool doctor at 17!! He's a practicing doc at 17! ^^
Gundamhardcore-Cartoon Network in my country (finally!) has GW at weekends. When the
previous chappies were written, GW was shown on weekdays.
Sir G-Thanks much for liking it!
Metajoker-Really? Thanks a lot!
CardCaptor Hikari-Oh, sure those words can be used! Those words actually got me
going after the long hiatus. This fic requires a certain mindset I haven't had for a
long time, and those magic words put me back in gear. Thanks for enduring
everything...including David Anders insanity. ^^
Fanfic reader-Sorry you came at the second to the last chappie. Hope you liked
it!
Cat H-Thanks for the reviews! Ranma and Akane fight in another way from Dita and
Hibiki, because resistance in D/H is one-sided but in R/A in runs both ways. ^^ No,
no. Jura has been linked to Bart in the series, not the vice-captain. As a partner
in crime, mostly, not exactly romantically. Oh, yeah, Duero's such a prince charming
if he wants to be.
Genjyo Sanzo-Yes, I'm ending it here. Why? Because it can't go any further. ^^ Hope
you liked it all the same.
Once again, thank you so much for all the support and patience with How to Impress a
Girl 101. It was a blast making this fic, thank you for reading!
EK out.