Disclaimer: This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.
Another May 13th, time for another story in my series of "Fortunate Misunderstandings".
I have to admit it is getting harder each year to come up with a funny misunderstood situation. I was almost going to skip this year's story when my friend Michalyn suggested to write something that had to do with one of my other hobbies. Well, so I did. Hope you enjoy.
Happy Treize and Wufei day!
Building a Relationship
I had just stepped out of the shower and was still trying to decide what kind of outfit I would be needing for the night when the theme song to Ironman started to ring out from the master bedroom. Milliardo always had such 'impeccable' timing. With a sigh I slipped into my robe and dried my feet by shuffling them across the fluffy bathmat, and somehow I managed to reach the phone before the song stopped.
"Hi there, Milliardo. What's up?"
"Hey Treize. I was just wondering; you got any plans for the evening?" My friend's voice came from the other end of the connection.
"Not really, no. How about you and I grab dinner and a movie?"
"Actually I was going to ask if you wanted to come over to my place. I just ordered pizza."
"Great then, pizza for dinner. I will bring a bottle of wine, and then perhaps a show afterward or maybe we can check out a club or two?"
"No, you don't understand. I don't want to go out. I have other things planned for tonight. The thing is a friend of mine canceled so we could use another pair of hands"
"Oh?" I asked in a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "You guys have a secret poker game or something going on and you didn't tell me about it? But I guess I will forgive you... this time. And I'll make sure to bring my checkbook."
"Poker? No, not exactly. Just get here and you will see."
I frowned slightly. That sounded very... intriguing. "Now you are making me curious. It's nothing illegal, is it?"
Milliardo gave a snort. "You should know me better than that."
"Very well," I agreed. "I will be there in let's say twenty minutes."
"See you then," my friend replied.
Alright! I turned off the phone and tossed it onto the bed and stepped into the large walk in closet. Sounds like a casual evening; jeans and a shirt should be just fine.
###
It was exactly twenty three minutes after our call had ended that I rang the bell at my friend's apartment building. I did have a key to the place, just as Milliardo had one to my house, but I had made it a rule to never let myself in without being asked to. For one, it just didn't seem polite, and secondly with Milliardo there was always the slight possibility of walking in on... well, something unexpected.
The buzzer sounded a few moments later and I shifted the bottle of red wine into my other hand to push open the door. The private elevator to the penthouse floor required a security code which I had used so many times, I knew it by heart.
Milliardo and I had known each other for quite a while now. After meeting in prep school we had even ended up at the same college where I was a business major, destined to take over the family company sooner or later - which turned out to be sooner rather than later - while Milliardo majored in architecture. It wasn't surprising that we had hit it off right away, but in spite of some rather persistent rumors we had never been anything else but very good friends.
The elevator dropped me off at the top floor which was shared between two large apartments. Milliardo's door was slightly ajar, and I, taking that for an invitation, pushed it open further.
"Hello there," I called out as I walked through the small entree hall into a very large and very modern kitchen.
"Hey," came my friend's voice came from the living room.
"Where do you keep your wine cooler?" I asked as I checked the cabinet above the sink. "The bottle got a little warm in the car, I'm afraid."
Walking into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of tan jeans and a t-shirt, Milliardo snorted. "Wine cooler? There is a bucket under the sink and ice in the freezer."
"A bucket and ice?" I feigned shock even as I opened the cabinet in question. "Now that's just so...uncivilized. What's next? You are going to offer that pizza you are serving without utensils?"
"God already gave you the perfect utensils to eat pizza with," Milliardo replied with a grin. "They are called your fingers."
We both laughed. This kind of good natured bantering was typical between us.
After burying my wine bottle to the neck in ice, and setting the timer on my wristwatch to make sure I wouldn't forget to take it out I followed my friend into the large living room. Or at least I was about to, but stopped in my tracks at the sight of a maze of boxes and crates filled with colorful little plastic bricks.
"What in the world is this?"
"They are Lego." Milliardo replied nonchalantly.
"I know that!" I snorted. "But what I mean is what are they doing here?"
"Waiting to be sorted," my friend explained. "That's what we are going to do tonight."
My head snapped around, convinced he was trying to pull my leg. But Milliardo looked quite serious. "You have got to be joking!" I exclaimed. "Tell me this is not what you are planning on wasting your Saturday night on?"
At first, back when Milliardo confessed to me that he was active in the AFOL scene I had thought it was some kind of alternative lifestyle, only to find out it simply meant my friend liked to play with colorful, little building blocks. And not just in the privacy of his home, no he actually attended all kinds of conventions and exhibitions when ever his job allowed it. Frankly, I didn't get it.
Chains and whips I might have understood, but Lego? - Yes, its LEGO, no 's' on the end as Milliardo had pointed out to me numerous times. Not that I have anything against Lego, no, I am quite sure I owned a set or two growing up. But that was just it, in my eyes it is a child's toy. Most people played with them when they were little and then they grew up. And those who didn't grow up... Well, for some reason I had always imagined them as dorky geeks in glasses, the kind that was made fun of during high school and who ended up living in their parents basement; not successful architects with multi- million dollar contracts to their name.
"I wouldn't exactly call it wasting my Saturday night. I will be out of town all week and I need those bricks sorted for a competition on Saturday."Milliardo gave me one of his disarming smiles. "Come on it will be fun"
"As much fun as having a root canal maybe," I snorted.
My friend was about to reply when the doorbell rang.
"That must be the pizza. Get some plates out while I go bring it up, will you?" With that Milliardo grabbed his wallet and was out the door.
With a sigh I shrugged. Oh well! Since I'm here already I might as well make the best out of it. I decided, but made myself a mental note to be cautious the next time my friend invited me over without fully explaining why.
I knew my way around the kitchen well enough to know where the plates and the pizza cutter were kept, and by the time Milliardo returned with the food I also had opened the wine bottle and poured us two glasses.
###
"Seriously, Milliardo..." I picked up the conversation again once we were sitting next to one another at the breakfast counter that divided the kitchen from the dining room. "You have got to do something about that Lego obsession of yours. Next weekend I will be making the plans. There is this new little club I discovered, very hip, you will like it. We can invite some friends of mine..."
"With all due respect, Treize," Milliardo replied around a mouthful of Hawaiian pizza. "I don't need you or anybody else for that matter to plan my weekend for me. To start, it's not a Lego obsession it's just a hobby and further, I do have friends of my own. Some, like you are not into Lego while others are; one of which coincidentally will be coming over to help us tonight. So be nice."
I couldn't help but raise one eyebrow at that remark. "Aren't I always?"
"You try, but you do have the tendency to come across like a bit of a snob with people who don't know you as well as I do. In any case I think you will like Wufei. He and you have quite a few things in common."
"Oh? You mean he is a snob too?" I replied tersely. Maybe it was uncalled for, but Milliardo's comment stung.
He sighed. "Sorry, that's not how I meant it. I think you know that. But why are you always so negative when it comes to Lego anyway? Have you ever even seen anything people have built? I bet even you would be amazed."
"It's a child's toy and not exactly rocket science..." I pointed out. I mean how amazing can it be to build a little toy boat or house or castle.
"Oh yeah?" Milliardo wiped his hands on his napkin and then reached over to the counter where his laptop was sitting. He almost never turned the machine off. Pushing a few links he pulled up a web page before turning the screen toward me. "Does this look like child's play to you?"
"That's Fushiwa Tower!" I looked up. The building had been designed by Milliardo, as one of his first international projects, and was currently being constructed by the Khushrenada Corporation as the new headquarters for a large electronics company in Japan. I had to admit, Milliardo was right. It was amazing and completely in scale, down to the landscaping and roof decorations. "Did you make that?"
"No, actually Wufei did. It was his entry for last year's SNOT competition at the Brick Con."
"The what competition?" I was sure I hadn't heard right.
"SNOT...S...N...O...T... You know, it's sometimes used to hold bricks together in a certain way."
"Snot... Used to hold bricks together? " Yeah right. And I was born yesterday. Oh no, my friend, you have tried to pull my leg one too many times, I thought. But I suppose, two can play that game. "Ah yes, I think I've heard about that somehow, somewhere. One of nature's great resources, I suppose."
Milliardo blinked, but before he could say anything the phone in his pocket rang.
"Excuse me."
He left the kitchen and I could hear him talk with someone on the phone while I continued to study the Lego model of Fushiwa Tower, feeling very smug and very pleased with myself at that moment.
A few minutes later my fried returned looking anything but happy.
"Is everything alright?" I wanted to know.
"That was my sister. She needs a ride."
"Relena? I thought she is in Hawaii."
"Was," Milliardo corrected. "Apparently got into a fight with her boyfriend, jumped on the next plane and flew home. Now she is sitting at the airport and her friend who was supposed to pick her up is a no-show. I'd better get over there and take her home."
"Wait, what about this friend of yours, Wufei? You said he will be coming by."
"Just tell him I will be back soon. Shouldn't take much longer than half an hour."
Milliardo grabbed his jacket from the hook in the hall.
"I don't even know him and I'm not sure what I should talk to him about."
"You will figure it out. You are a big boy." Milliardo grinned as he slipped on his shoes and checked for the car keys in his pocket.
I snorted.
"You guys can already get started. There are empty containers by the TV. But don't touch the big box by the door, I just bought that off a guy of craigslist. I still need to pick those bricks over and clean them."
Need to clean off the snot? I grinned inwardly.
"Oh yeah, and tidy up the kitchen, will you? But wash the dishes, don't just rinse them."
"Yes mother. Would you also like me to fluff the pillows and vacuum the rugs while I am at it?"
Already on his way out the door Milliardo looked back over his shoulder with a smirk. "That would be nice, but not necessary."
I gave another snort as the door closed behind my friend. And I could have gone clubbing. Milliardo, you owe me big time.
###
I was waiting at the apartment door for the elevator to reach the penthouse floor, somewhat curious now about Milliardo's friend. When the young man rang the bell a few minutes earlier I had offered to come down to the lobby to meet him, only to learn that apparently I wasn't the only one Milliardo had given the elevator code to. Somehow that made me wonder how close my friend and this mysterious Wufei Chang actually were.
He spoke in perfect American English, although his name clearly suggested that at least his ancestors had come from somewhere in China. By the time the elevator stopped an image of the young man had already formed in my mind and yet I was in for a surprise when the doors slid open.
Chang wasn't tall, not by western standards, maybe 5 foot 5 or 5 foot 6. He was slender but by no means skinny. His hair was about shoulder long, black and shiny as the feathers of a raven. His golden tan stood in strong contrast to the white shirt he was wearing, and his dark almond shapes eyes were slightly slanted.
Somewhat embarrassed I cleared my throat when I realized that I was staring.
"Wufei I assume? My name is Treize Khushrenada, I'm a friend of Milliardo," I introduced myself.
"Ah yes, I recognized your voice on the intercom."
Raising one curious eyebrow I stepped aside to allow the young man to enter the apartment. "I had no idea my voice was that well known and recognizable."
Wufei gave a low chuckle. He slipped off his shoes at the door. Force of habit, I assumed.
"I spent some time in Milliardo's office whilst he was working on the plans for Fushiwa Tower," he explained. "He and you talked on the phone several times while I was there."
"Of course he always uses the speaker phone when he is working." That, of course, explained everything. "Oh by the way, Milliardo had to step out for a moment but should be back soon."
The young man nodded. "He texted me. Should we get started without him?"
"Might as well," I agreed as I let the way into the living room. "But I have to warn you, I'm not a FOAL, so I have no idea what I am doing."
Wufei was certainly very gracious, making every effort of hiding his smirk. But the brief quiver of his lips didn't go completely unnoticed, and I could tell I had said something amusing.
"I got that wrong, didn't I ?"
"It's AFOL, Adult Fan Of Lego," the young man explained
"And what did I say?"
"FOAL."
"Oops." I laughed wholeheartedly. If Milliardo had been here I'm sure he would have called it a Freudian slip.
Now Wufei was chuckling as well. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, though. Unless you are colorblind you will be doing fine." He had pulled out a few shoebox sized plastic bins and arranged them on the floor between the larger containers. "We will just start by sorting by color."
"Start?" I echoed.
"Yes, this is only the first round."
"And what would be round two?"
"Next we will sort each color by category and then by item."
"That sounds like we will be sitting here all night."
"It might take a while," Wufei agreed. "But it makes all the difference in the world not to have to dig through a 30 pound bin to look for a 1x1 plate or a jumper of a certain color while you are building.
"I can only imagine," I replied, and I truly meant it...literally. I had no idea what he was talking about but tried my best pretending that I did.
Wufei had taken a seat on the carpet and started by picking handfuls of bricks from one of the large bins and sorting them into the smaller boxes, one by one.
"Perhaps I should change the music," I offered rather than joining him. Earlier while I was cleaning the kitchen I had put in some classical piano concert; a CD I had found in Milliardo's music drawer.
"Not for my sake. I enjoy it," the young man replied. "I gave Milliardo the disk for his birthday last year, but I'm surprised he actually kept it."
"In the bottom of the drawer," I told him as I finally settled in between two plastic bins. "Hidden way below even his oldest CDs."
Wufei laughed. "That sounds like Milliardo."
"Yes, he does not exactly have an ear for classical music, does he? Last time I had tickets for the opera it took a lot of...um, convincing to make him come along."
"If I remember right, the word he used was 'blackmail'."
"Is that what he said? And he talked about it with you?"
The young man nodded. "Actually, he has told me quite a bit about you."
"Oh?" What a coincidence, he told me absolutely nothing at all about you. "Nothing bad, I hope. Milliardo does have a tendency to exaggerate, you know."
"No no, nothing like that. He just told me how you guys met and that you have been taking him under your wing kind of, ever since. He said, he wouldn't have been where he is today if not for your influence, and that you even went as far as insisting that the Khushrenada Corporation had an exclusive contract with Milliardo and anyone who wanted to contract your company had to consider him as the architect for the project."
How in the world did he find out about that? I've been trying so hard to keep everything under wraps. "As I said, Milliardo tends to exaggerate," I replied with a dismissive gesture. "I simply happened to recognize his potential early on. So I helped him to get his foot into a few doors because I knew, once he got into the room it would benefit him as well as me."
"He also mentioned you are building Fushiwa Tower." Wufei looked up at me.
"Yes, my company is. And I heard so did you."
The young man laughed. "On a little smaller scale, though."
"Milliardo told me you won a competition with it. Congratulations. Not that I know much about those things but it really looked like an award winning piece."
"Thank you." Wufei replied modestly. "I wouldn't have been able to get it done without Milliardo giving me access to his plans. It almost felt a bit like cheating. But there is nothing in the rules that bars you from using them."
"Milliardo showed me a picture on the internet, it was very impressive."
"Thanks, but unfortunately a picture rally can't do it justice. You have got to see the really thing to fully appreciate it."
"I'm sure of it. So, what happens to a model like this after the competition is over?"
"In most cases they go back to this..." Wufei gestured at the bins. "To be used again for the next project. The lifecycle of a Lego brick!"
"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes over and over, huh?" I laughed. "But it seems like a shame to destroy what took a lot of time and effort to build. If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you?"
"Start to finish about three and a half months. Finding and ordering all the right parts takes some time, and my class schedule was a bit heavy at that time too. So I couldn't spend more than a few hours a day building."
"Your class schedule," I echoed. "I didn't realize you are still finishing school."
He gave a quiet laugh. "Oh no, I'm not a student. I'm teaching. Political Science."
"Political science, how interesting." Milliardo was right, we do have a few things in common.
"Blame it on my parents. They wanted me to go into politics, I preferred an academic career, so we met in the middle you could say."
The sound of the apartment door opening interrupted our conversation.
"Sorry," Milliardo apologized from the hall. "It took a little longer than I expected."
"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "Wufei and I have been doing perfectly well without you, haven't we?"
"Absolutely."
"In that case..." My friend stopped at the door to the living room. "Let me at least get you something to drink. There should still be some wine in the bottle, and I also have beer or coke." He looked at us questioningly.
"I'll take another glass of wine," I nodded.
And Wufei added. "I think I'll go with a beer."
"Coming right up. I see you guys have already been hard at work."
"Yes," I replied, loud enough that Milliardo could hear it. "We were just talking about Lego models and competitions."
"Oh, really?" my friend's voice came all the way in the kitchen.
"Indeed. What did you say the competition was called Wufei had won..." I pretended to remember. "Ah yes, snot competition, wasn't it? You mentioned something about the use of snot?"
"That's right. It was actually the first SNOT competition I entered." Wufei nodded and my jaw nearly dropped.
"And you really used..." Gulp "Snot in the design?"
"Oh yes, of course. A building like that, you just can't build without it. I mean all the facade work and the details, how else to attach them, right?"
Here I was, convinced that Milliardo had been trying to pull my leg and I was eager to turn the gag around on him. But now it appeared the joke really was on me. They couldn't be serious, could they? But Wufei sounded so sincere.
Milliardo returned with my glass of red wine, a bottle of imported beer for Wufei and a second one for himself.
"Did Wufei tell you..." he said as he set the drinks down on the coffee table. "The Fushiwa company has bought his model to display it in one of their European branch offices?"
"They bought it?" I exclaimed. "Snot and all?"
Wufei exchanged a glance with my friend, then looked at me, confusion clearly written across his face and after a brief moment suddenly there was something like a flicker of understanding in his eyes. "You do know what SNOT stands for , don't you?" he asked.
Stands for? An acronym! Suddenly I felt very foolish. "Umm...well...I take it then it doesn't really involve ...snot."
Milliardo nearly choked on his beer as he burst into laughter. "You thought...I'm sorry but this is just too funny! Good thing I didn't mention anything about the use of POOP."
"Poop?"
"Parts Out of Other Parts," Wufei translated. "Just building technique where you use pieces for something they were originally not designed for. Like using a lattice fence as a window pane or making stained glass windows out of turntables."
"Alright." I asked. "Then what does SNOT stand for?"
"Studs Not On Top, another building technique. The Lego scene has something like its own language. And sometimes we forget that 'normal' people don't speak Lego," the young man explained.
I was sure it was meant to make me feel better, and I truly appreciated it. And I was more than ready to change the subject as I turned my attention back to the plastic bins and colorful bricks. "I assume the two of you met at some kind of Lego event?"
"No actually, Wufei went to the same school as us," Milliardo replied. "He and I had a few classes together."
"I was taking a few advanced Algebra and computer classes they didn't offer at my high school," the younger man added. "After Milliardo graduated we lost contact and then we ran into each other at a Lego convention last year."
"We met for a drink to catch up on old times and ended up talking about the projects I was working on. It was around the time when you were having second thoughts about the security pillars we were going to use for Fushiwa Tower."
I nodded. I remembered that. It was shortly after the large Earthquake in central Japan and I was worried that the building might not be able to withstand anything much stronger than that.
"In any case, Wufei was the one who actually came up with the solution."
"It wasn't that big of a deal," the young man replied modestly. "I had just read about a company using a similar technique on a building in Mexico and figured it wouldn't be too difficult to adapt the concept for your needs."
"He makes it sound so easy, doesn't he?" Milliardo grinned. "I guess that's why I am an architect and he is the engineer."
"Wait." I was confused. "I thought you were a teacher."
"I am," Wufei confirmed. "But I also have an engineering degree. Let's just say I wanted something to fall back on."
"Wufei also speaks three languages, in addition to his native Mandarin. And he has two black belts in martial arts," Milliardo added. "I tell you, he makes you and I look like underachievers."
"Very impressive." I nodded. "Very impressive, indeed."
The young man looked almost embarrassed. "All right," he threw Milliardo a glare. "Now, can we talk about something or someone else? Like ...who is going to be your brick monkey next weekend?"
"Actually I'm not sure yet," my friend admitted. "I was going to ask you, but you are going to be out of town, aren't you? So maybe..." He slowly turned his gaze toward me.
I shook my head. "Absolutely not! I don't really know what it means, but I am not going to be anyone's monkey," I declared firmly and then the three of us burst out into laughter.
##
We sat for another few hours, talking and joking and sorting Lego. I will have to admit it was not as boring an evening as I feared it would be.
It was shortly after midnight when Wufei looked at his watch and declared. "I'm sorry to leave early, but I'd better be on my way. If I miss the last bus it will be a very long walk home."
"Why don't you just stay over?" Milliardo suggested. "You know, there is the guestroom."
"I know, but I have a lot of things to do tomorrow. Thanks for the offer, though. "
"Where do you live?" I wanted to know. "If you wish I can drop you off on my way home."
"Out in Woodbury, the new neighborhood. It probably would take you far out of your way."
"No problem," I insisted. "I like to drive at night to clear my head before going to bed."
"Fine then. If you don't mind."
"Great, then maybe we can even get this finished tonight. Anyone want another beer?" Milliardo asked.
"Actually I would prefer a cup of coffee or tea if you have some?"
" I second that," I nodded.
"Alright. Anyone else getting hungry? I think I will heat up the leftover pizza."
"Sounds good. Do you need help?" Wufei asked.
"I'm fine," my friend assured him.
"So," I inquired after Milliardo had left the room "who was the other person who was supposed to come over tonight?"
"Other person?" Wufei replied. "I'm not sure. To tell the truth I didn't know anyone else was coming. Milliardo only told me that it would be you and him and me."
"When did he tell you that?" I wanted to know.
"A few days ago when he called me."
"Oh really?" Interesting, considering that he didn't ask me until a few hours ago.
"Something wrong?"
"No no. I just thought he had said another friend of his was supposed to be coming but canceled at the last moment. I guess I must have misunderstood."
"Yeah, sometimes it can be difficult to make sense of Milliardo. I could have sworn his sister came back from her vacation yesterday."
####
Two months later.
I returned home from work to find an unfamiliar pair of shoes sitting in the hall, along with a leather jacket I didn't remember owning either.
"Milliardo?" I called out.
"In here!" His voice came from the living room. It sounded like he was speaking with his mouth full.
And sure enough there he was, sitting on my couch with his feet on my coffee table eating chips right from a bag. In his defense I will have to mention it was the vinegar and sea-salt kind that I kept around especially for him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought you were still in Europe."
He was working on a few new projects which had taken him to Italy for a couple of weeks and then to Germany - or was it the other way around?
"Got back this afternoon. And I realized my fridge is empty. Want to go out for dinner?"
"Sure, why not? Give me some time to change. And take those feet off my table, you know I don't like it."
He groaned and muttered something I didn't understand, but complied. "So how are things going between you and Wufei? I hear you guys are seeing each other."
"We went out a few times." I admitted, and that was the truth.
After dropping Wufei off that night at his place I had asked for his number and when I called him a couple of days later he wanted to know if I would like to see the Lego Fushiwa Tower before it was packed up for shipping... Snot and all, how he put it. I agreed and we ended up having lunch together that day. Since then we had meet several more times over a glass of wine or a meal just to talk about music and politics and sometimes even about Lego.
"Come on, tell me. I want to hear all the juicy details." Milliardo followed me into the bedroom.
"There is nothing to tell," I said. I liked Wufei and I could tell he was feeling the same about me, but we had agreed that we would be taking it slow. A relationship is like building a house, Lego or otherwise. Without taking the time to build a solid foundation it can easy fall to pieces.
"Not even a little something?"
"No!" I told him firmly. "Now get out of here so that I can change."
"You guys are boring." Milliardo turned with a theatrical sigh, and then noticed the large shopping bag with the Lego store logo on the chair by the window.
"Oh, what do I see there?" He was at the chair with two long strides and pulled out a large Lego set. "The Tower Bridge? You know that set is quite an undertaking for a beginner like you."
"It's for Wufei. His birthday is coming up." I took the toy from his hand, slipped it back into the bag and took out a much, much smaller set. "This one is for me." 14 pieces it read on the box , ages 5-12 along with the picture of a green clad wizard and a tiny green dragon next some kind of table or shelf."
Milliardo's lips quivered as though he was trying hard not to burst into laughter.
"Don't say it," I warned. "I asked the sales clerk for something suitable for someone just starting to use Lego. That's what he gave me, and that's why I purchased it. And of course because ... I like cute little dragons "
My friend patted my shoulder in a mock gesture of encouragement and smirked. "14 pieces, even you should be able to do it. And if not, maybe they will let you exchange it for a Duplo set."
"Don't worry," I replied dryly. "I got one of those, too."
The end