A while back I posted a short vignette to the group.  Well, I hate to say
it didn't get much further than that.  Around the same time I was
wondering about a Leon/Linna rommance, and how it might start.  here is
what I came up with.  It is a bit slow and short, but I hope you enjoy
it.  Flames to e-mail, please; constructive C&C to the group.

Daniel


Bubblegum Crisis, AD Police and all related characters and articles
copyright 1996 AIC, Youmex, Artmic and AnimEigo.



	Leon tugged at the collar of his tuxedo as the elevator doors opened,
painfully aware of how bad the rented garment looked.  Priss, on the other
hand, looked radiant in her black evening gown.  The top floor of Ladys
633 was alive with music and conversation.  Vision, Reika Chang, was
celebrating her return to Japan.  After her attempt to assassinate
Chairman Quincy on her last visit, Leon hoped that she had put such
thoughts behind her.  Sylia Stingray, the building's owner, greeted her
guests as they came in.  Priss had told Leon that Ms. Stingray had put
forth part of the capital for the concerts.  
	Leon had wondered how Priss had gotten invited to such a fancy party
until she had told him that Vision was thinking of signing her to a record
deal.  Priss had been blackballed by Genom because the lyrics of her songs
criticized the corporation a little too openly.  Until now, no company,
even ones unrelated to Genom, had dared touch her.  The Chang Corporation,
the group that owned Vision's record label, had defied Genom before, and
was apparently willing to do it again.  Leon was glad that Priss was
getting her break, but if he had to listen to her rant about how Genom had
screwed her again, he was going to scream.
	"Ms. Asagiri, Officer McNichol, welcome.  Please, enjoy yourselves,"
Sylia greeted them, smiling cordially, gesturing toward the main room
where nearly fifty guests milled around, sipping wine.  As they passed
Sylia, Leon tugged at his collar again.
	"Feeling out of place?" Priss teased him.
	"A little," he admitted.  "I think I'm more comfortable fighting boomers
than talking with 'society'."
	"Well, just don't expect me to bail you out here, too.  You're on your
own."  She slipped through the crowd, over toward Reika, unaware of Leon
glowering at her remark.  Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile and
followed her.  For Leon, the night started out uncomfortable and only got
worse.  Priss seemed to take every chance she could to dig at the police
and the ADP specifically.  He would have sworn she actually steered the
conversation that way several times.  More than once he had been ready to
blow up at her, to defend the ADP's honor, when Ms. Stingray mysteriously
appeared, artfully turning the conversation back to Vision's upcoming
engagement.  But despite the host's valiant attempts, Priss would merely
move on to some other deficiency in the law enforcement.
	Finally, Leon had had enough.  Despite both Sylia and Reika Chang being
close by, he turned to Priss, he snapped "Would you just shut up?"
	She starred at him, wide eyed.  Then her features curled into a scowl. 
"Just what do you mean by that?" she demanded.
	"You act like you are the only one who has ever gotten hurt.  Well, I
have news for you; you aren't!" Leon said, glaring at her.  "You lost your
family in the quake.  So did a lot of people.  But they don't let it eat
at them like you do.  They mourn, then they move on.  You?  You wallow in
it."
	Priss let out an angry sigh.  "What do you know about anything?  What do
you know about loosing people close to you?  You're just a damn cop!  You
don't care about anything," she said, turning away from him.  Leon grabbed
her shoulder and forced her to turn back and face him.  She struggled, but
he was stronger than she was.
	"What do I know about it?" he asked, eyes wide, smoldering with rage. 
"Why do you think I don't ever talk about my family?  They died in the
quake, just like yours.  My older brother? He ran off and joined a
mercenary unit.  Got killed in some war nobody talks about; they weren't
even able to find most of his corpse.  My first partner, Jeena?  Killed by
a boomer, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.  I see people, my
friends, die every fucking day, Priss!" he yelled.  Some of the other
guests turned to stare at the uproar, but Leon didn't seem to care.  The
buzz in the room faded away.
	"You're right, Priss.  I am just a damn cop.  I see it every day, not
just when I decide to go out and see it," he said, trying to choose his
words for impact and subtlety at the same time.  "I know more about loss
and pain then you can imagine.  You think what happens to civilians is
bad?  How about what happens to us?" he fumed.  "I'll tell you a secret;
the officers that are killed?  In some ways, they are the lucky ones. 
What about those that survive, those that beat the average?  Last week, I
went to three funerals.  Not a single one killed by boomers."  Priss
looked at him, a little confused.  "You see other officers getting chopped
up and you get to wondering, the next time, will it be me?  Will I be the
one catch some shrapnel?  Some people can't take it.  The stress gets to
them.  So�" he trailed off, pointing his index and forefinger up, under
his chin, his thumb cocked like a hammer.  "So they eat their own gun. 
	"But you know what, Miss high-and-mighty?  Even they aren't the worst. 
The worst are the ones who make it, but get injured so bad that they have
to have cybernetics implanted.  You can see it in their eyes; the
question.  Am I going to be next?  Am I going to go crazy, like Fanward,
and have to be put down?  Who am I going to kill, before the ADP can take
me out?  Those are the ones I feel sorry for, Priss.  But you; all you are
concerned about is your loss; your pain.  So, tell me, what is so fucking
rough about your life?" he demanded, starring into her red eyes.  When she
didn't answer, he let go of her arm.  "That's what I thought."
	He turned and stormed out of the room, out onto the veranda to get some
air.  Priss stood there for a moment, still in shock at his out burst. 
Finally she collected her self.  "I always knew you were a fucking jerk,"
she shot in the direction Leon had left in.  The on-lookers turned away,
the buzz in the room returning, this time to discuss the scene they had
just witnessed.  Across the room, Sylia and Linna looked at each other. 
Linna shrugged her shoulders, then nodded toward the veranda, a question
in her eyes.  Sylia thought for a moment, then nodded.  As Linna drifted
toward the open windows, Sylia excused herself from her conversation with
Reika and made her way through the crowd of guests toward Priss. 
Hopefully she would be able to keep Priss' temper under control, at least
for the length of the party.
	Out on the veranda, Leon leaned over the railing, looking out at the
city.  The Genom tower, rising like a mountain above any other structure
dominated the skyline.  Pinpoints of light could be seen all over it. 
Genom, like MegaTokyo itself, never slept.  Leon let out a long sigh of
frustration.  He hadn't meant to loose control like that, but he didn't
completely regret what he had said, either.  A while back, he had realized
that he would never get anywhere with Priss, but that didn't mean he
didn't like being around her.  Well, that was over, unfortunately.  She
would definitely hold a grudge for this.  Sometimes she could be so
self-centered, though.  He smiled thinly; at least he hadn't mentioned
that she was a Knight Saber, though he had hinted at it.  Behind him, some
one coughed politely.
	Leon didn't even bother looking around.  "Yes, I will leave peacefully. 
Where is the side door?" he asked, still looking out over the city.
	"Actually, I was only going to comment on how boring these parties are,"
Linna said, walking to the railing and leaning on it, next to Leon.
	He turned to study her.  Something about her was familiar; the way she
moved, so gracefully, but he couldn't put his finger on it.  "I guess I
made a real ass out of myself in there?" he asked, smiling slightly.
	"You could say that� if you wanted to hopelessly understate the obvious,"
she replied, unable to suppress a giggle.  "Still, sometimes, she does
need someone to remind her that other people have problems too," she
added.  She was a little surprised to realize how much she meant that. 
Priss could be a bit self-absorbed at times.
	"I'm Leon of the�" he began.
	"Of the AD Police.  I know," Linna finished for him.
	"You're a friend of Priss'?  She told you about me?"
	"A little, but someone would have to be living under a rock not to know
Leon McNichol of the AD Police.  You are almost as famous as those boomers
you fight, and as destructive.  You're also a lot more handsome than you
look on TV."  She smiled sweetly at him, and Leon smiled back innocently,
lifting one hand to rub the back of his neck.  "I'm Linna."
	"Linna.  So if you are a friend of Priss, then you probably agree with
her about cops?" he asked, a bit resigned.  Another beautiful girl who
would have nothing to do with him, he though.
	"Not really.  I just think it is a shame you all are out-gunned all the
time."  Leon brightened visibly.  Maybe there was hope.  "So... what is a
hotshot cop like you doing here anyway?" she asked.
	"Priss invited me.  I guess she didn't want to be the only one that felt
out of place here."  Leon nodded back toward the partygoers, all in formal
attire.  His own tuxedo seemed to not fit right.
	"What, are you saying you aren't comfortable around the movers and
shakers of MegaTokyo?" she teased him.  "Honestly, I feel a bit out of
place to."
	"Oh?"  Leon took a moment to study her.  He would never have guessed that
she was uncomfortable; her grace and quiet confidence made her seem right
at home.  "Priss invited you, too?"
	"No, the hostess, Ms. Stingray.  I'm her aerobics instructor, but she
thought I might be able to make a few contacts here.  I want to be a
professional dancer."  Despite her high heels, Linna performed a little
spin, and Leon laughed approvingly, his anger having dissipated by now.
	"It was nice of her to invite you," Leon said, turning to face her fully,
moving just a little closer.  His boyish smile spread across her lips.
	Linna groaned inwardly.  Was he actually coming on to her?  Then she
thought for a moment and really looked at him; why not?  He was fairly
handsome, even in a badly fitting tuxedo.  A breeze blew in, and she
shivered slightly.  Her thin, green, formal gown did little to keep her
warm.
	Before she could say anything, Leon had taken off his jacket and draped
it over her shoulders.  She started to protest, but he silenced her with a
glance.  "So," he said softly, "Do you know of anywhere two out-of-place
people could get some coffee?  Hopefully a place a little less� "  He
glanced back into the party.  "�stuffy?" he asked.
	She smiled deciding this was kind of nice.  "Why, Mr. McNichol, is this
what they call police harassment?"  Leon smiled again. "I think we can
find a place."  She glanced around, conspiratorially.  "Follow me; I know
how we can sneak out and not be missed," she said, taking his hand, a
playful smile on her lips.  "Well, Priss obviously wants nothing to do
with him," she thought.  "Maybe�"