Vacationing in Europe
By: ImmortalRain7
Summary: "No…Way! We are getting sent to Europe because some psycho killer is killing people on a cruise ship? SWEET."
Warnings: YAOI (meaning boyxboy), language, violence, Relena bashing
Pairings: HeeroxDuo, side pairing of TrowaxQuatre, onesided RelenaxHeero
Note: I have been reading Anita Blake Vampire Slayer Series lately so if my writing is a little different this is why.
Disclaimer: no I don't own Anita Blake, Gundam Wing, Holland America lines, Air Canada, or anything other than my mind and my computer.
Duo's POV
Chapter 2
Farms and little houses blurred by through the window of the bus as they made their way to the Noordam. Heero sat behind Kasey and my seat and he kept on staring weirdly at Kasey when he thought no one was watching. Maybe he likes her….nah. Besides…this is Heero we're talking about. I doubt he even liked his mother. Did he have a mother? Damn. I know less about him than I know about Kasey and I've known her for less than one day.
When we finally arrived at the port, we were all stunned to silence. This ship was HUGE! It towered over us as we were filed into the main entrance. We got checked in and an employee guided Heero and Kasey to their room while another employee took me to my room. I was led below the normal decks to deck C. (Here's how the decks go: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, A, (those are accessible to the guests) B, C, D, E, F, G, and H (those are the decks for the employees))
There was a large living room that had a Tv and an old couch. There were three other doors that led out of the living room. The employee, whose nametag read "Jon," led me through the door on the left. This door opened up to a long corridor with more doors leading off on the left side. We walked a long way, passing three more living rooms, before he finally stopped in front of door number 347c. He nodded and I thanked him. Just as I was reaching for the door, there was a huge crash in the room and then a string of colorful curses floated out from behind the door.
I reached for the door knob almost hesitantly. When it was halfway opened I slipped inside and looked around. There was a set of bunk beds on the left side of the room and on the right there were two chests with three drawers each. Bent over the lower bunk bed was a person dressed in a loose blue shirt and loose black slacks. The person was rummaging through a medium sized blue sports bag.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Tell me I didn't forget them!" The voice was oddly higher pitched than a normal male teenager.
Since the person had said to tell them that they didn't forget whatever it was they were looking for, I decided to play along, "You didn't forget them."
The person visible froze for a few seconds before turning quickly and looking with wide eyes at me. After only 2 seconds the person screamed and swung out their fist blindly. Any other time I would have been ready for it, but I had my guard down and the fist connected to my lower right jaw. I stumbled backwards and clutched my jaw with my right hand, making sure it wasn't disconnected or cracked. Once I was sure it was fine, I turned my attention back to the person who was still screaming and who was now scrambling backwards and falling unceremoniously on to the bed.
"Wait…I'm not here to hurt you…I'm your-"
I was cut off by the door slamming open and another teenager walking in. He was definitely a foot or two taller than me and his dark hair and sharp face gave him a really mean look. He took one look at the person on the bed and then turned his glare full force on me. He walked over to me and grabbed my collar in his fists, pushing me against the wall and lifting me up a few inches from the ground. I could have easily broken his arm or hurt him in many ways but I didn't, seeing as how karate chopping a fellow employee on the first day wouldn't go over so well.
"Who are you and what did you do?" His cold, hard voice brought me out of my thoughts.
"uh…Duo Maxwell….and I didn't do a thing."
"Why are you here?"
"I work here. I think I just scared her."
The teen hesitating, giving me an analyzing look. "He is a boy."
I felt my face scrunch up in confusion. I could have bet my life on it that the other person on the lower bunk bed was a girl. When I looked back at the person on the bed, I was sure of my decision. The person was trying to look manly and if I were any other person, I would have believed the charade. In my past missions, I had to dress up like a girl. As embarrassing as it is, I admit that it's fun at times. I finally got to understand the female mind. I was actually pretty popular with the girls and even managed to get plenty of love confessions from boys while on my short missions. Now that I looked at the person on the bed, I could clearly see the femininity in her. Her face was round and her eyes were bright green. Her lips were more prominent than a man's and her neck and body were smaller and more petite.
I shook my head at the teen still holding me in the air. "No. That's a girl."
His eyes narrowed as he glared at me. Before he could say anything, the girl had gotten off the bed and slowly made her way towards me, looking at me with her head tilted to the right in confusion. She stopped beside the man and looked up at me, since she only came up to the man's upper arm. His eyes flitted to hers and they had a silent conversation with their eyes.
This was among one of the things that really bothered me. Even though it is convenient to be able to communicate with your eyes to a partner, it is just plain annoying to anyone else that has no idea what they could possible be saying. I stayed there, pushed against the wall, and watched as they talked for a few minutes. After the first few seconds, I got bored and decided to entertain myself.
One of the many things that a gundam pilot needs is patience, which I don't have. So to keep me occupied, I do random things in my mind. For example, one of the missions forced me to watch a priest, so I had to come to all his masses and listen to the same sermon twenty times. I had entertained myself by looking at other people in the church until the person I was staring at got the spine chilling feeling that they were being stalked. Usually the person would look around at the other people to see if anyone else was looking at them. Then they would spot me and even though social manners tell people to look away when they are caught staring, I would continue to stare at them. They would usually look else where and try and act like they didn't know I was staring at them. Then when they thought I wasn't looking anymore, they would glance at me only to find out that I was still staring at them. That used to keep me entertained for hours on end.
This time I didn't have anyone else to make squirm by staring at them, so I decided to use my other pastime and just stare off into space. I wonder what Heero is doing right now? He's probably turning on his stupid computer and typing some mission statement to the professors. He's probably already unpacked everything and set it into its proper place. He's so O.C.D. I bet Kasey is probably exploring the cruise ship. I would be doing the same, but I'm kind of held up…Get it? Held up. Jeez, no one appreciates my humor.
The two in front of me had finished their conversation and the teen holding me nodded and gently lowered me to the floor and let go of my collar. Although I'm kind of pissed that he had me captive the whole time, I have to give him a brownie point for having the upper body strength to hold me up for that long – even though I don't weigh that much.
"Sorry bout that. My name is Jacob." Even though he apologized, he still didn't look like he was very happy with me.
"Hello. My name Becca." Becca's voice was higher than it had been when I had walked in, so she must change it to sound deeper and more like a man's voice. "I'm terribly sorry about Jake. He meant well. It's just…there are some complications."
I nodded. I figured there was something going on because for one there was a girl in the all boys' employee cruise ship. Except for a few upper level captains and experts, there were no girl employees.
She walked back to the bed and sat down, motioning me to do the same. I sat next to her and Jake leaned against the wall adjacent to the bunk beds with his arms crossed and looking quite pissed about the whole thing.
"Well, before I explain anything, I was just wondering if you could shed some light as to how you knew I was a girl and not some feminine boy." I could tell the way she ended the sentence that she wanted to add on 'like yourself.'
"Well, because of some…past experiences I know how to tell a girl from a boy. Don't worry. Any normal person wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
She visibly sighed and then looked back at me with strong eyes. "You see, because of some complications at my home, I had to leave quickly. I didn't have a job or a home and my small money was starting to disappear. That's when I met Jake. He also was having problems with his home. His parents which are very rich wanted him to marry their pre-arranged fiancé. But Jake didn't like her and she didn't like him. She had actually fallen in love with another man and so to save her and himself from the unwanted marriage, he had took his belongings and moved to a small apartment. Jake took me in and I started at a job with him. We had a steady income and we both split the costs of food and other things in the apartment. We were…happy."
She sort of zoned out and I could tell she was reliving the memories. She blinked and startled herself out of the stupor and then continued with her tale. "And then his family finally tracked him down. They threatened me with dept and other things that would happen to my family and friends. Jake couldn't have it and we both ran away again. We were lost at what to do next but then a flyer caught our eye and we saw the ad to work on a cruise ship for a couple of months. We flew here and stayed at my relative's house for a while before coming here. Since this is the only way that I can come on the ship and still receive payment, I have to keep my identity a secret. So…please…will you not tell anyone?" Her innocence showed as she looked earnestly at me, hoping I would say the right answer.
I smiled and nodded. "Of course I'll keep it a secret. Heck, I'll even help you keep it from others."
She smiled happily and I couldn't help but notice that she was really beautiful when she smiled. I smiled back and we stayed smiling at each other for a while. Jake broke the silence by grunting and shrugging off the wall. He walked to the door and left without a word. Becca looked back at me and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry about him. He just doesn't like the idea that on our first day someone else knows. He also doesn't like the idea of me sharing a room with you or any other guy."
I nodded in agreement. She was really cute and any sensible straight guy would fall for her. Even in disguise as a guy, she would be considered a cute girly guy. Fortunately for her, I'm gay so she'll be safe with me…but how do I say that to her. Hmm.
"Don't worry, Becca. You'll be safe with me." I smiled my best. I was about to add the gay part but I didn't wanna scare her.
"So what part of the ship are you working on?"
"I'm working as an extra person so wherever someone needs help, I'll be there. How about you?"
"Oh! Jake and I are working on the Lido deck in the restaurant. We'd better get dressed soon. There is a mandatory employee meeting before we leave dock, and then a life boat emergency drill after that with the entire guest."
"Oh Happy Joy!" I definitely put some sarcasm in that sentence.
I walked over to my duffle bag and grabbed some clothes and stuffed them in the unoccupied chest. After finishing that, I grabbed the set of clothes the ship gives you which will be your employee outfit. All the outfits were a blue button up short sleeve shirt with a little print on the chest pocket which will state where you work. Mine had a giant 'X' on the pocket while Becca's had a 'Lido' on her's. With the blue top was a pair of black slacks that went down to the ankle. Whoever had assigned the sizes for the clothes was very off with Becca and mine. Our shirt's sleeves went to below our elbows and our slacks were dragging whenever we moved.
"So, Becca, what do I call you when we're around other people?"
"Oh, my boy name is Nick."
I nodded and then we met Jake in front of his room, number 359c. The first thing Jake did when he saw us was glare at me. I smiled my best and then followed behind the pair in front of me. Jake and Becca were whispering to each other, trying to keep me from hearing their conversation. But once again, Gundam pilot training has come in handy. I could hear their whispered conversation from five feet behind them. Point for me.
"Did he do anything?" Jake's voice was low and angry.
"No, he was a perfect gentleman. He said that I would be safe with him and I think we should believe him." Becca's voice was changed so that it was lower in the octaves and sounding more manly.
"I still don't like it."
Becca sighed and shook her head. The hallway was starting to get crowded as more and more employees left there new rooms and piled into the hallway, all heading the same direction. We eventually got to a large room where there were already over one hundred employees sitting in the fold up chairs. There was a stage on the far end of the room and on it were about five or six dudes in white shiny uniforms that had little medals and pendants to prove their ranking. Jake, Becca, and then me filed into one of the rows of chairs and sat down. By the time everyone got into their seats, there were about six hundred people in the large room. The first man on the stage stood up and cleared his throat into the microphone to get everyone's attention.
"Now then. Welcome, newest employees. I would like for you all to do your best in giving the guests the best service all the time. Your first shift will start after this meeting. First off, I would like to go through the rules. Rule number one, follow all of the guests requests. Even if they may seem weird, they are still the customer so they are always right. Rule number two, follow your upper ranking officer's orders. That means if one of your commanding officers tells you to do something, you'll do it without any backtalk."
Damn. Are we in the military or a cruise ship? That was the same exact rule they gave us while training in the military. Psh, I didn't follow the rules there so I probably won't follow them here either.
"Up next is your captain. He will be all over the ship during this voyage and if you should see him, you should respectfully say hello to him. I am the head of the employee department so if you have any questions about anything at all, please feel free to ask me. Now before we start the life boat drill I would like to see all extra helps."
I turned to Becca and Jake. "Well, that's me. I'll see ya later."
Jake nodded and I could tell he was happy that I was leaving. Becca also nodded and then waved. I turned and made my way back out of the row full of boys. It's a damn awkward trying to get out of a row of chairs that are practically squishing each other. I pretty much had to climb on the laps of the boys to get out of the tight row. And I could swear I felt a few boys touching my ass. Back off, boys, it ain't yours.
I finally made it and walked up the rows of chairs to the stage and then off to the right side of the stage. I could feel people's eyes boring into my back as I walked there. There were only about eight people standing with me, which means that's a hell of a lotta work for each of us. The dude on the stage dismissed all the other employees and they left with a lot of voices and scraping of chairs. The dude then walked over to the extra helps after every other employee had left.
"Alright. You boys will be all over the ship working your ass off in all the departments. Since there is no real good way to contact you, we are handing out walkie-talkies which will be used to contact you and tell you where to work. The cruise ship is on channel 3."
A box was brought out with some pretty new looking walkie-talkies. We each grabbed one and turned it on to channel 3 and then hooked it in our pant's waist line.
"Keep it on at all time – even while you are sleeping. I have a list of your names so I will first call your name and then you will report to the assigned duty immediately. You are dismissed."
I walked with the other boys towards the rooms again. Most of them were in their mid-twenties but there was another boy about nineteen who walked next to me.
"Hey, I'm Duo."
"Hi, I'm Pete."
The boy was about three or four inches taller than me and a little bit larger but he had a sort of puppy dog attitude. After a few minutes of talking with him, he was really excited and open with me. By the time I got to my room, he was practically bouncing while he walked. I said goodbye and entered the room to find Becca rummaging through her stuff and throwing things all over the place.
"Uh, Nick?"
"Huh? Oh, Duo. Sorry about the mess. I'll clean it up soon as I can."
I shrugged. "No rush. Whatcha looking for?"
Becca seemed to freeze. She slowly looked up at me and put her shoulder's up in a position that screamed that she was guilty of something.
"Can I ask a favor of you?"
"Yea of course."
"Well, do you think you could bring something from one of the guest supplies?"
I narrowed my eyes. What could be so important that she had to get it from the guests? Wait a second…She is a girl. That means…
I could feel my eyes widen the second I realized what she was asking for. I shook my head like there was no tomorrow.
"No Way! I can't do that. What if someone finds out?"
"Please. You're the only one that has access everywhere. I really need your help. Besides you said you would help me when I needed it."
I grumbled. She had me there. I said I would help her and I never lie or break promises.
"Alright. Here's how it goes: I will get you into the supply closet, and then you will grab…them."
She squealed. "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!"
She was jumping around the room and then jumped on me and almost knocked me over. She hugged me and then danced back around the room, picking up the mess that she had made. So that's what she was looking for when I first came in here. I sighed. What have I gotten myself into.
"Listen, Becca. I gotta go see these two guests and then I'll probably be exploring the ship, so I'll hopefully see you around."
"Wait, you already know guests?"
"Yea, they were on the plane I flew over here on."
"Cool. You have to introduce us when you can."
"Ok. Peace out."
I grabbed my wallet that had my card key that would get me access to any place on the entire ship. I walked up to the elevator and then went straight to level 5, the Verandah deck. There were two hallways, one on the right and one on the left. They each had rooms on each side. I went to the right side first, watching the numbers pass. By the time I realized that the right side only had even numbers, I was three-fourths of the way to the back of the ship. There were three sets of elevators on the entire ship, one in the front, one in the middle, and one in the back. I had rode up to level 5 on the front elevator. Now I was at the back elevator. I crossed to the left side and then backtracked until I finally found room 5039, Heero's room.
I slid in my card and then entered the room. I turned around and saw the barrel of a gun pointed straight at my head. I immediately put up my hands in surrender.
"Don't shoot. It's me, Duo."
Heero scoffed. "You should have knocked. I was prepared to blow your head away."
"Nice to see you too, Heero."
"What took you so long to report in?"
"Sor-ry, Heero. I didn't know you were worried about me." I grinned evilly. "We had to report for an employee meeting. Man, this place is like the navy or something. We were told to report to our commanding officers and stuff. Anyways, I met a nice…boy."
I was about to say girl but I quickly caught myself. Unfortunately, Heero noticed my pause.
"What do you mean?"
"Uh….nothing, Heero. It was nothing. Anyways, my roommates a boy, Nick, and he's pretty cool. Kinda girly, though. And he has his best friend, Jake, who hates my living guys already."
I was about to mention the whole 'slammed into a wall by jealous boyfriend and then held there for a few minutes while they made out with their eyes' but I decided not to.
While i was lost in my thoughts, Heero walked back over to me and put his hand on my right cheek.
"What happened to your jaw?"
"Huh?" Realization hit me. "Oh, i just...ran into a...wall...no biggy. Hey, Heero. I'm gonna go say hi to Kasey. I'll see you later."
Heero 'hn'ed and I left. I crossed the hallway and knocked on Kasey's door. A few seconds later, she opened the door.
"Oh, Duo. Hey! How's your new employment job going?"
"Oh, you know. The usual. Hehe…anyways how's your room?"
"It's huge! And the Verandah is so pretty. Come on, I'll show you."
She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the room. To the left was a tiny bathroom and to the right were three huge closets. We walked more into the room and then to the right was a queen sized bed that took up a lot of the room. There was also a couch next to the bed and a medium sized Tv hanging on the top corner of the room. At the end of the room, there was a glass wall with a glass door on the right side. She opened the door and stepped out to the Verandah. She walked over to the balcony and leaned out over the ledge. I followed right behind her. The Verandah was far up from the ground seeing as how we were still docked at the Rome dock until we finished the lifeboat drill. I looked over and down and saw that there were two other verandah decks below us that were jutting out a little more than the higher up ones.
( this is what it looks like:
highest verandah
higher verandah
Kasey's verandah
higher verandah
lowest verandah)
Below us there were only a handful of people that were on their verandahs. Kasey nudged me and then pointed to a verandah that was down one level and to the right. She giggled and I joined in. There was an overly chubby man sitting on his chair and he was so big that he was practically falling out of the too small chair. He had white all over his face where he had put on sunscreen and hadn't rubbed it in. He was snoring so loud that I'm amazed the ship didn't rock every time he breathed in. Kasey and my giggling was interrupted by my walkie-talkie buzzing to life.
A scratchy voice came over the channel 3 to all extra employees. "Duo Maxwell, Duo Maxwell. Report to the tenth level observation room with Captain James Peerson. Once again, Duo Maxwell report to the tenth level observation room with Captain James Peerson."
I looked apologetically at Kasey. "Sorry. I gotta go. Duty calls."
She giggled and said goodbye. I left the verandah and turned to the closest elevator and up to the tenth floor. From the elevator, I took a left and entered the 'Staff Only' observation room. Captain James Peerson was standing at attention with his arms behind his back and his legs spread shoulder width apart. He was barking out orders to the scrambling employees. He turned when he saw me.
"You. Do you know anything about an engine or how to pilot advanced machinery?"
Um…DUH. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Start the V-17 engine and check the pressure points of the ship. Also prepare the cylinders for push off." (Note: I know shit about engines and mechanical stuff like this, so all of these parts are just random words taken off of Wikipedia. If you know what's good for you, just ignore the next paragraph because it's all B.S.)
I nodded and walked over to the gauges, checking each of them. Oddly enough, this ship's gears looked a lot like the Gundam's controls. The pressure gauge at the back end of the ship was off so I flipped the air switch and leveled out the pressure. I could feel the captain's eyes following my every move but I ignored him and finished leveling out the ship. I walked over to the opposite side of observation deck and pulled the watering lever which cleaned out the cylinders. Next, I pushed the pre-oiled button which sent the oil down the cylinders. I noticed that the combustion chamber was too far open so I let some of the air out of the chamber but still keeping it in regulation. When I had finished, I reported back to the captain who nodded in satisfaction.
"You have good knowledge about engine's and mechanics." Even though he said it as a statement, I still nodded. "For now that is all but I will probably request you to help in some of the docking and leaving ports. That is all."
I nodded. At least I get to play around with huge mechanical engines. Sounds fun to me. Just as I was leaving the observation room, I heard the lifeboat drill sound, signaling that it had ended. Good thing. I hate those drills. I watched as people flooded into the elevators wearing giant life jackets that were way too big for them. Among the throng of people, I found Heero. He had taken off his life jacket and was carrying it effortlessly in his right hand. I walked up next to him and he nodded his greeting.
"So how was the drill?" I couldn't help but snicker at him. He ignored me, like usual. "I'm kinda sad that I missed you in that giant over sized orange life vest. Will you put it on for again for me?" I smiled sweetly at him. His face darkened and he walked past the elevators and to the stairs.
"Hey, Heero. Aren't you gonna take the elevators? They're way easier."
"No. They are giant metal death traps that are way too crowded. I couldn't defend myself easily if I were in one."
I sighed. That's Heero for you. Perfect soldier 24-7. I was about to follow him up the steps but stopped when I heard my name on the walkie-talkie for the second time that day.
"Duo Maxwell, Duo Maxwell. Please report to the Lido deck restaurant. Please report to the Lido deck restaurant."
Man. The elevator would be way better than this. Now I have to climb six flights of stairs to get to the ninth deck Lido restaurant. But on the lighter side, that's where Becca and Jake are working. I arrived at the ninth floor without even breaking a sweat. The Lido restaurant was full of guests moving this way and that way grabbing food and carrying trays. The dinner chefs were cooking and filling orders as quickly as possible.
The head of the restaurant walked over to me. He had that French look and even had the moustache to go with it. When he walked he had a sort of prance that made it look like he sashayed his way through the crowds. Definitely gay.
"Well…I guess you're my help. Just go pick up some trays or something." His talk was also screaming out 'GAY.' His 's' were slurred and he barely pronounced the 't.'
I nodded and walked away towards some abandoned tables that were piled high with empty trays and dirty plates and cups. I piled the trays and put the dirty cups and plates on the trays. I was so engrossed in my piling adventures that when I turned around with my hands piled high with dirty clothes, I bumped into some guest. The trays tipped from the disturbance and they splattered to the ground, breaking a few cups and plates in the process. The guest, which happened to be a prissy teen that obviously couldn't get over himself, sneered down at me.
"How dare you bump into me and spill dirt on me? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm terribly sorry, sir. Please allow me to get you some towels." Ugh, I hate sucking up to people but I couldn't lash out at the customer.
His eyes narrowed in thought when he looked down at me closer. He 'hm'ed and then nodded his head but it wasn't in answer to my question.
"Well, I guess I can forgive a pretty little girl like you. Why don't you and I go hang out in my room for a while."
"I'm sorry, sir. But that is against the rules."
"Come on, girly. Play hooky with me. I'll make it worth it."
The bastard reached up his hand and cupped my cheek, stroking it slightly, as if that was enough to make me change my mind. I was about to tell the guy to back off or I'd kick his ass, when another arm reached in between me and the guest, separating us.
"Touching the employees without their permission is against the rules. I will have to ask you to leave."
For a second I thought that one of the other employees had come to my rescue but when I looked at my savior, I tried really hard to not fall down. Standing in front of me was none other than Heero himself. He had a completely emotionless face that definitely had some authority in it. The bastard sneered but turned away anyways. I was about to say thanks to Heero but he turned to me faster than I could say anything.
"What do you think you're doing? Letting yourself get caught off guard like that. What if that had been the killer? Stay on guard at all times."
"Gee, Heero. Thanks for saving me. I owe you one." That was definitely sarcasm. How dare he lector me about staying on guard. "Besides, all of the deaths have happened at night when there is no one around."
Heero and I glared at each other in an unspoken battle for dominance. I finally broke it with a shake of my head and bent down to pick up the pieces of the broken dishes. After a few seconds, Heero also bent down and started gathering pieces. When we had finally got them in two piles, I grabbed them both and left Heero standing in the dining area. 'Mr. Gay' head of the restaurant walked up to me and tsk-ed.
"Broke my beautiful plates on the first day. How terrible. You're now on cleaning duty. Have fun scrubbing those dirty plates."
I set to work washing, drying, and stacking the dirty dishes that had no end. It was past eleven o'clock by the time I finished my work. I shuffled back to my room and saw that Becca was fast asleep on the lower bunk bed. I quietly got ready for bed and then climbed into the top bunk and closing my eyes for some well earned rest.
IM7: Jeez...for some reason i couldn't come up with any good characters for Duo's roomate.
Duo: Yea well it took you long enough. Anyways, from now on, she is going to try and upload a chapter every week.
IM7: yep...anyways, i was completely sad this past week because i had like 130 people read my first chapter and only three people reviewed. It made me wanna cry.
Duo: Cry baby
IM7: Shut up!
Duo: but it is true none the less. I also have a question for all those fanfiction viewers: Are there any boys that write Fanfics? I mean...all of the profiles i have viewed are crazy fangirls (Cough IM7 cough) that write fics.
IM7: true that...so if there are any boys that write fanfics...please review so i can like...read ur stories!! See ya next week!
Duo: PLEAZ Review!!
