Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing at all. I know. Sucks to be me.
Author's Note: Here's a little something that I've been working on for a while. Not sure what direction it will take, but I will be working on it and posting new chapters pretty soon. If anyone has any suggestions for potential plot-lines, let me know. I'd love any little bit of creative insight that you all would be willing to give me. Let me know what you think please.
Pushing My Luck
"Heero..."
"Aa?"
"I'm bored."
"So?"
I rolled over and sighed. "So I'm bored."
His gaze never left the laptop. "So do something."
I punched my pillow. "There's nothing to do."
"Hn."
I rolled my eyes. I was feeling restless. I'd been cramped in this tiny dorm with Heero for a month now. School, shower, eat, take the occasional shit, sleep. No missions, no contact with the scientists, no trips around the globe with Deathscythe. This was really starting to get to me.
Then there was the fact that I'd been feeling off-key for quite a while. Like I was being watched, or observed. Trapped inside my own body.
Geez, this was becoming my very own private psychotherapy session. That only meant one thing.
Time to go out. Time to party.
Hell, it was Saturday night, and I knew for a fact that the bars were packed and the raves were pumping. I needed to get out of here, but I didn't feel like going by myself. And Heero wouldn't go for the idea. Well, I'd figure that out later. Maybe Quatre would go with me.
I stood and stretched, making up my mind in that instant that I would be going out and not returning until well after dawn.
I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, simultaneously pulling my hair out of its braid. Even over my scrubbing I could hear the laptop keys clacking away in the room. I wondered for a moment if Heero would even notice if I left. Probably not.
It wasn't a very comforting thought.
I spat into the sink and rinsed my toothbrush, replacing it upon the sink and grabbing a hairbrush. I pulled the brush through my hair and almost instantly hit a snag. Sometimes I wonder why I have such long hair. Really, it's just gives people the incentive to pull it in a fight, and boy, did people love taking that opportunity to fight dirty. God, what was next, bitch slapping?
I shook my head as if to clear it and finished brushing. Then I grabbed my hairband and began to rebraid. The swift, even movements of my fingers moving through the thick mass calmed me.
Back in the room I stripped down to my boxers after making sure that Heero's attention was firmly fixed on his laptop. It was. I imagined for a moment Heero ogling me as I got dressed in the next building with a pair of binoculars and a bag of chips resting on a protruding beer gut.
I rolled my eyes. Like he would ogle me. That was weird on so many levels. I could almost imagine it. Him approaching me with a whip in hand, dressed in a leather harness and wearing a hard hat, informing me in a husky voice that yes, the building was structurally sound, and was there anything else he could do for me?
Talk about hard core.
I pulled on a pair of well worn jeans and a rock t-shirt. I debated for a minute whether or not to take a jacket – it wasn't cold out, but it meant that I could carry a gun. I decided against it. It would just weigh me down, and being caught armed and possibly drunk on the streets, as much as it would amuse the guys, was not a really great idea. I've crashed in enough cells in my lifetime to quench my thirst for concrete floors.
I grabbed my wallet and shoved it in my back pocket. While I was pondering whether I'd forgotten to take anything, Heero spoke suddenly, causing me to flinch. God, I am such a pussy sometimes.
"Where are you going?"
I grinned. "Downtown. A lot of parties going off tonight, and this dorm room is driving me crazy."
"I'll go with you."
His response would have knocked me flat on my ass had I not been such a quick witted individual. Instead, I just managed to tangle my legs together and collapse onto the bed in undignified heap.
"What?"
"You heard me." The computer screen went abruptly black. "I'll come with you."
I struggled to stand and succeeded on the second try. Point for me. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Keep you out of trouble."
I scoffed at the idea. "Me? In trouble? Come on."
He stood and turned toward me with one eyebrow raised. "Let's go."
I sighed internally. There would be no stopping him now that he'd made up his mind. "Alright, but I don't want to have to babysit you the entire night."
He put on a shoulder holster and slipped his gun into it, putting a light jacket on over it.
I raised an eyebrow pointedly. "You're going out like that? Packing heat?"
"Yes," was his one word response. Damn, I hated it when he answered me like that. He continued suddenly. "Aren't you?" The fact that he'd not only actively participated in the conversation, but had also done so in a way that would ensure a response from me and continuation of the conversation amazed me. Maybe he wasn't such a robot after all...
I recovered from my initial shock quickly and winked. "Not a chance. Drunk and disorderly and armed does not a happy evening make."
He rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
Predictable.
I sighed and followed him as he soundlessly exited our dorm room. Creeping behind him, I was careful to "control myself", as Heero so fondly put it when I refrained from fucking something up.
Like everything was my fault...geez. Some people.
Once we reached the front of the building, it was my time to shine. I successfully picked the lock after only ten seconds of fumbling in the dark, and we crept out into the night. I looked over at Heero, who nodded without looking back at me, and we started off.
I stifled a giggle. Heero was in what Quatre and I liked to call "mission mode". We'd laughed at it over several post-mission tea parties (well, really, drinking binges), and it never seemed to get old. While "mission mode" had gotten him out of several rather hostile situations, he still hadn't quite come to the realization that, in the civilian world, it was actually pretty damn useless.
I rolled my eyes and kept my sarcastic comments to myself. And they say I have no self control. Wouldn't want to make the Perfect Solder any more pissy than he already was. Heaven forbid the one and only Heero Yuy should be irritated or made uncomfortable in any way.
Okay. So maybe I was a little pissed that he was tagging along.
After all, it was supposed to be my night out.
I sighed and grimaced, quickening my pace to keep up with Heero. The fluorescent lights in the distance were becoming bigger and brighter with each step we took. Hopefully, I'd manage to lose Heero in the crowd. He was a big boy; he'd find his way home, no trouble.
Something was niggling in the back of my mind, though. Why did I really want to lose Heero?
Because he was a pain in the ass, and was bigger, stronger and faster than me which meant that he thought he could tell me what to do. Oh, and he was really cramping my style.
A voice in my head whispered, You're just jealous that the chicks are going to like him better...
I scratched behind my ear grumpily. I was not. Why would I be? Heero had to carry a gun with him everywhere, and if that didn't scream "compensation issue", then what did? I mean, really -
My thoughts were cut off by the fact that I had just run into something unmistakably solid and unforgiving. I stumbled back briefly and managed to steady myself before I started to look even more spastic. Looking up, I saw exactly what it was that I had run into. Oh.
Heero.
Heero cocked his head at me, confused, and I held up a hand before he could speak. Not that I thought he was going to speak. "You should look before you stop in front of someone like that," I mumbled grumpily, straightening my shirt out and dusting the invisible dirt off of it. Me, jumpy? Ha.
"Sorry," he said, not really sorry at all. "Just checking to see that you're still here."
I shrugged grumpily. "Whatever. Hey man, let's just go, okay? You have your fake ID on you, right?"
He looked puzzled. Something inside me withered up and died on the spot. I sighed. "You don't have a fake ID, do you?"
He shook his head. "I have no need for such paperwork," he said, setting off again.
"Whoa...whoa! Heero," I said jumping in front of him with an outstretched arm and hoping he wouldn't just mow me down, "you can't get into bars without ID. They're real touchy about that sort of thing."
He shrugged. "I can manage myself." He pushed past me and kept walking.
I clenched my fists together. This was exactly what I'd wanted to get away from, and here he was, following me around town, ruining the only time I got to spend alone.
I sighed and jogged to catch up to him. It wasn't his fault that he sucked at normal-people stuff.
By the time I caught up to him, he was at the entrance to one of the best clubs in the city, and pushing his way to the front of the line. God, he was gonna get his ass kicked tonight.
I stumbled up beside him just as he got to the two giant guards at the door. They crossed their arms and looked down at us in union. Oh boy, was I done feeling sorry for Heero and his lack of people skills. He was just downright stupid. These guys were going to kick our asses.
Then, to my utmost surprise, one of the guards nodded and let him pass. He didn't even look back toward me, or do anything to acknowledge my existence, for that matter. And when the gaze of the security guards fell upon me, I hastily pulled out my little ID card, hoping to hell that I wouldn't get beaten up or have the cops called on me.
One of them leered at me while the other studied the card. "Are you sure you're twenty-one?" the first one asked, licking his lips and probably thinking some thoughts that I didn't really want to know about.
I collected myself and nodded as confidently as was possible under the circumstances.
The guy with my ID all but scratched his head and I held back a chuckle. Look at the funny gorilla...
"When's your birthday?" he asked as if trying to catch me off guard. I promptly rattled off the date on the card he was holding.
When he saw that I was right, he looked at his pal. "He's right." I resisted shaking my head. Making them look stupid was not a smart thing for me to do. Letting them know I knew they were stupid wasn't a good move, either.
His buddy looked at the card and then looked at me. "Yeah, but what if he memorized the date? That's what they do, you know." He eyed me suspiciously. "How do we know you're not lying?" he asked.
I raised an eyebrow. "Because I'm not."
"Oh." He blinked and looked at the other guard, who shrugged. Then he nodded. "You're in."
I grabbed my ID card back and rolled my eyes. Thank God.
Pushing my way past the people blocking the dark corridor, I kept my eyes peeled for Heero. Who knew where that geek had disappeared to, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on him and tell him exactly what I thought of him leaving me to the mercy of the jolly green giants.
I shook my head and tried to relax.
Music pulsated through the floor and lights flashed as the beat of trance music left my teeth clattering.
Bodies were pressed hard up against one another, and after a few minutes, I decided to let Heero find me on his own. At the bar I grabbed a beer and joined the forest of limbs as they waved wildly in the breeze of the beat.
I danced for what seemed like hours, letting people brush up against me, sway with me. I know for a fact that at one point I started making out with some girl that I'd been dancing with. It wasn't so much that I wanted to get laid, although it would have been nice. It just seemed like the thing to do after dancing with her for a while; the next step to take without taking it too far. Anyway...she was cute and all, and I wasn't really sure how I'd started kissing her. I guess it was because she was there. It was the buzz and the music and the alcohol.
But as always, after a while she drifted off into the sea of people and I started to wind down.
Checking my watch, I decided that it was time to move on. It was almost two in the morning. The really crazy places opened around that time, and I didn't want to miss them.
Just as I began sauntering toward the door, I stopped short with an inaudible sigh.
Heero.
I spun on my heel and glared at the crowd before me. He could have been anywhere. I hadn't seen him since he'd waltzed through the door and left me to deal with Hubba and Bubba.
A mental debate ensued.
I could leave Heero and go party elsewhere, ensuring that I would feel guilty enough to put up with his shitty mood for the rest of the week.
That would suck.
Or I could find him and just go home now. It would be easier than baby-sitting him for the rest of the night.
Fuck.
Heero Yuy was not easily baby-sat.
I sighed and began to scan the room for signs of Mr. Spandex Ass. Through the tight leather asses and naked stomachs and fishnet breasts I searched, but to no avail.
He'd vanished.
I leaned against one wall to think, nodding my head to the beat of a new song that had started up. I knew that he'd eventually find me. After all, I had yet to be deserted by him for real. So I waited, and with every moment that passed I felt myself getting even more angry and more tense. I could have been out on the town by now, but no...here I was, a sitting duck, a wallflower, just waiting for my buddy to show.
Talk about the life of the party.
Suddenly, a hand gripped my shoulder and I spun, reaching for a weapon that I was not currently carrying. I yelped, but it was as manly as a yelp can get, and spun around to face my attacker.
Guess who.
I grabbed Heero's sleeve and began to lead him out of the club like a parent who just caught their kid eating elephant crap at the zoo.
Oh boy, was I pissed.
Once we got back outside I let go of his sleeve and cursed.
"Where the fuck were you?"
He shrugged. "I was inside, observing."
I stopped short. "Why?" I asked.
His expressionless eyes caught mine. "I'm here to keep you out of trouble, remember?"
I threw my hands up in the air, exasperated. "Great. Just great! So, you were there watching me the entire time while I was there, thinking about how I'd lost you and wondering how many of your bullets my skull could hold. Fantastic!"
Facing him again, I saw that he hadn't moved. I did, however, notice the corner of his mouth twitch just a little bit, and if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought he was trying not to smile...like he'd been fucking with me...God, give me patience...
But hell. No one really knew Heero. Maybe he just had a facial tic or something.
I shook my head, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Let's go back to the school. I'm tired of partying." It wasn't entirely true, but really, what had sucked the energy out of me was being mad at Heero. It takes a lot of effort to stay mad at someone if they don't throw you back any energy to work with.
We began the long trudge back to the school and I remember thinking that this night had been one of the weirdest as far as Heero-shit went. Then again, he was one weird dude.
I snorted at the thought of Heero being labeled as "weird". Most people would have described him as anything but. An outstanding student, excellent marksman, intelligent young man...but then again, that was most people.
Most people wouldn't have added Gundam pilot to the list.
And being a Gundam pilot was what made us all weirder than most.
Damn it. I shifted my hands around in my pockets as I walked. That brought be back to thinking about Deathscythe, and the fact that there were no missions. And that just made me feel uncomfortable. Like something was very off-key.
Something was missing...
Suddenly, something bolted out in front of us. I flinched, and so did Heero. We looked around wildly for one confused moment before relaxing a little bit. Nothing was there.
"See that?" I asked quietly, calmly. Something was here, and it was watching us.
He nodded, obviously seeing no need to reply aloud. He was probably thinking along the same lines as I was.
My eyes searched the darkness before us, lingering on every shadow and dark patch of air. A dash of movement in my peripheral vision caused me to swivel my head, but I missed whatever was there.
Heero seemed to be having the same problem. After several minutes of trying to sort out the dark shapes around us, I took his hand and squeezed it. Time to go. He understood. We began to walk forward together, steadily. We both knew that whatever was there would probably stop us if it really wanted to, but hell...can't blame us for trying.
We hadn't taken ten steps when a large, tall form swept out in front of us. I nearly had a heart attack but held my ground; I assumed an attack position and Heero already had his gun out and aimed at whatever was in front of us...but it was already gone.
Before I knew it, it was behind us. Damn, it was fast. Like, super-human fast. I felt myself break out into a sweat as I spun around, only to find an empty space behind us. What was going on?
It was as if all of my fears had converged into this one moment of horror. This was what all those nights of worrying had been leading up to...all those tingly moments of uncertainty as we'd waited week after week for a mission to come through.
This was it, and I had no idea what it was.
I felt it moving in on us, closing in on us.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
I was powerless, and I hated it.
Heero was beside me, saying something in that low-pitched growl of his, but I couldn't hear him. I could only hear the blood rushing in my ears and the sound of my heart pumping ever so slowly. I turned to face him and saw his facial expression change to one of surprise as his eyesight focused on something right behind me, right over my shoulder.
I turned to look as if in slow motion and felt a sharp pin-prick in my neck.
Damn it.
I shook my head and whipped around, but the world was moving entirely too slowly now to be real. Something was very, very wrong.
My vision began to fade out and I lost sight of Heero, but little bits of my hearing came back in between the steady rhythm of my pumping blood. I could hear little words that Heero was uttering but I couldn't string them together in an order that made sense.
I was lost.
I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into oblivion and a hand resting heavily on my shoulder.
And it was dark.
