Disclaimer: Never owned it, never will.
"So..." said Duo, flicking a stray leaf off his black sleeve.
"So..." Trowa echoed.
Wufei turned to face his companions. "Two of us go in there," he said vaguely, motioning to the store behind him, blatantly marked with red neon letters stating ALL TOYS, "And try to locate and retrieve a console, while the other three stand guard--one in front, one at the back door, on at the side."
Heero rapped his knuckles against the brick wall of the building. "Sounds reasonable." He remarked in his monotone.
"Good." Quatre said, very pleased that no one would be crushed beneath Sandrock's foot now.
"Who goes where?" Asked Trowa in the polite tones of one suggesting that this matter should have been addressed before he had to bring it up.
All four pilots turned expectantly to Heero, who stared back at them.
"I stand guard out front," he decided, clicking the safety of his favorite handgun. Quatre eyed it nervously, but before he could speak, Heero had continued. "Quatre stands guard at the side door, Trowa at the back, and Duo and Wufei go in."
He glared at them as he finished, daring them to disagree.
They agreed.
In a remarkably short time, in which Quatre had been offered seven different guns, a wicked curved sword, and a bazooka gun (all of which he refused, saying piously that they shouldn't be fighting), the Gundam pilots got themselves sorted out, and stalked to their signed positions (well, Quatre didn't stalk, he minced).
Wufei and Duo entered the store casually together, Duo whistling something that was supposed to be reassuring but ended up extraordinarily annoying. They separated at the door, moving in opposite directions as they scanned the shelves for 'Nintendo 64' consoles.
"I found one!" Duo cried triumphantly almost immediately. He had a knack for looking for certain toys he wanted, although he wasn't sure the 'Nintendo 64' console counted as a toy.
Wufei hurried to his side, and they stared at the neat rows of boxes together.
"Um..." Wufei said after a moment, "What color do we want?"
Duo counted off their options. "Well, there is," he took a deep breath, "Gray, Blue, Black, Violet, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Gray-Blue, Blue-Black, Black-Violet, Violet-Green, Green-Red, Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow, Pikachu version, Gold, Silver, Cooper, Gold-Silver-"
Wufei cut him off with a hasty, "Just grab one. The scientists didn't specify, so they can't care."
Duo snatched one at random and clutched the box to his chest.
"So, now what?"
Wufei glanced at the cashier.
He glanced at the door.
He glanced at the detectors around the door, and then took another look.
"I have no idea."
Duo whimpered, hugging the box tighter. "We can't fail!" he protested. "Don't you have any money? We could buy the stupid thing."
"No, I haven't got any, and neither do the others."
"I'm gonna fail for the first time ever...I think!"
"We won't fail," Wufei said soothingly, another wicked gleam shining in his eyes. "I have a good idea."
"Good."
"Duo, undo your braid."
"WHAT?"
Outside, Heero paused in his pattern of glare, glare, glare, and cocked his head to one side, and then made an tsk-ing sound with his tongue. Couldn't Duo ever be quiet?
Inside, Wufei was briskly hushing Duo. "Don't worry. Trust me, this will be worth it. You don't want to fail, do you?"
Duo shot him a glare rivaling Heero's famous Say-One-More-Word-And-Die-A-Slow-And-Very-Painful-Death scowl. "I dislike you." He stated.
Wufei grinned, showing white teeth. "Trust me."
"Not if I can help it." Duo snorted. "Now, what am I supposed to do?"
Standing by the back door, nearest to the two pilots inside, Trowa heard a short, muffled scream that sounded suspiciously like Duo's. He pressed one ear to the wall, but heard nothing more, and so shrugged, and went back to his business of staring with unfriendly eyes at any passerby going by him.
Duo growled, his violet eyes tinged with fury as he looked out at Wufei from under a cloud of loose chestnut hair.
"I hate this." He muttered rebelliously. "It'll take me two hours to put back up again."
Wufei showed another quick evil grin. "Trust me."
Duo groaned. "I really wish you'd stop saying that," he complained. "What's the next phase of the mission?"
Quatre, contemplating the violent impulses of his fellow pilots, was shaken from his thoughts by a shout that sounded like, "NO WAY!" in Duo's voice. He snapped to attention, one hand flashing to a hidden pearl-handled gun tucked in the small of his back. He blushed, reminding off the secret weapon, and all it meant. The blond firmly decided it was not Duo he had heard, and went back to his musing, adding the strangeness of his own violent reflexes to the discussion in his head.
"No way, man, never." Duo said, his voice low but fervent.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
The cashier looked over at the two boys in the back of the store. They had been making some strange noises lately, and he wondered if he ought to go check on them. Then he remembered the large, bazooka gun shaped lump in the braided one's pants, and decided against it. His break came in a few minutes-let his college deal with it.
Wufei had managed to convince Duo to carry out the final stages of his plan, largely by means of bribery ("I promise to give you all the candy you can eat!"), and was now waiting for the suspicious cashier to leave, and for a newer, naïve one to take his place.
"I won't forget that promise." Duo muttered darkly from the floor.
"Neither will I." Wufei said glibly.
The first cashier finally left, shooting the boys a couple of odd looks, and another appeared as a replacement.
"1...2..." Wufei whispered, "...3..."
Immediately the store turned into a place of chaos and pandemonium. Duo, his hair led down, shielding and conveniently hiding his face, was running around screaming about water breaking, and hospitals. Wufei dashed around, pulling the confused cashier to Duo, who started crying on cue.
"My poor baby!" he wailed.
"Madam..." the cashier started, but was able to give only one swift glance to Duo's bulging stomach before Wufei turned him around.
"My wife!" He shouted.
"Quick, get her out of here!" The cashier gasped, thinking of blood on the clean gray carpeting.
Duo, the precious box wrapped with his jacket and stuffed under his red shirt, stumbled toward the exit just as Quatre, Trowa and Heero burst in. They only added to the general confusion, brandishing guns and hollering to Duo. The other, helplessly frightened customers, who a moment before had been calmly picking out birthday gifts, now cowered in corners or yelled at the cashier to do something.
In the midst of all this, Duo slipped out the door unseen, followed by Wufei, Quatre and Trowa. Heero left after them, having to shot the wall beside the cashier first. This last event pulled the poor man into a dead faint, and so it was long minutes before the ringing alarm was belatedly noticed.
The five Gundams ran away from the city, the intercoms filled with the shouts and victory cries of five boys who had pulled off a successful scam and stole their needed item.
There was a faint click sound amongst the celebration, and then Wufei's triumphant laugh blocked out even Duo's yells of happiness.
"HA HA, Duo." He waved a small rectangle in front of the intercom. "Now I don't have to give you any candy!"
The three others immediately shifted their attention to the viewing windows, trying to see the blackmail item.
Duo, however, had gone deathly pale. "You win, Wu-man," he gulped, "Just never show that picture again."
Wufei smirked. "Done." The three curious pilots received a message despite that deal, and when they opened it, they found a full frontal picture of an apparently very pregnant Duo with his hair down and a wild look on his face.
Four Gundams echoed the sound of laughter, and one the sound of a bout of embarrassed coughing.
"So..." said Duo, flicking a stray leaf off his black sleeve.
"So..." Trowa echoed.
Wufei turned to face his companions. "Two of us go in there," he said vaguely, motioning to the store behind him, blatantly marked with red neon letters stating ALL TOYS, "And try to locate and retrieve a console, while the other three stand guard--one in front, one at the back door, on at the side."
Heero rapped his knuckles against the brick wall of the building. "Sounds reasonable." He remarked in his monotone.
"Good." Quatre said, very pleased that no one would be crushed beneath Sandrock's foot now.
"Who goes where?" Asked Trowa in the polite tones of one suggesting that this matter should have been addressed before he had to bring it up.
All four pilots turned expectantly to Heero, who stared back at them.
"I stand guard out front," he decided, clicking the safety of his favorite handgun. Quatre eyed it nervously, but before he could speak, Heero had continued. "Quatre stands guard at the side door, Trowa at the back, and Duo and Wufei go in."
He glared at them as he finished, daring them to disagree.
They agreed.
In a remarkably short time, in which Quatre had been offered seven different guns, a wicked curved sword, and a bazooka gun (all of which he refused, saying piously that they shouldn't be fighting), the Gundam pilots got themselves sorted out, and stalked to their signed positions (well, Quatre didn't stalk, he minced).
Wufei and Duo entered the store casually together, Duo whistling something that was supposed to be reassuring but ended up extraordinarily annoying. They separated at the door, moving in opposite directions as they scanned the shelves for 'Nintendo 64' consoles.
"I found one!" Duo cried triumphantly almost immediately. He had a knack for looking for certain toys he wanted, although he wasn't sure the 'Nintendo 64' console counted as a toy.
Wufei hurried to his side, and they stared at the neat rows of boxes together.
"Um..." Wufei said after a moment, "What color do we want?"
Duo counted off their options. "Well, there is," he took a deep breath, "Gray, Blue, Black, Violet, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Gray-Blue, Blue-Black, Black-Violet, Violet-Green, Green-Red, Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow, Pikachu version, Gold, Silver, Cooper, Gold-Silver-"
Wufei cut him off with a hasty, "Just grab one. The scientists didn't specify, so they can't care."
Duo snatched one at random and clutched the box to his chest.
"So, now what?"
Wufei glanced at the cashier.
He glanced at the door.
He glanced at the detectors around the door, and then took another look.
"I have no idea."
Duo whimpered, hugging the box tighter. "We can't fail!" he protested. "Don't you have any money? We could buy the stupid thing."
"No, I haven't got any, and neither do the others."
"I'm gonna fail for the first time ever...I think!"
"We won't fail," Wufei said soothingly, another wicked gleam shining in his eyes. "I have a good idea."
"Good."
"Duo, undo your braid."
"WHAT?"
Outside, Heero paused in his pattern of glare, glare, glare, and cocked his head to one side, and then made an tsk-ing sound with his tongue. Couldn't Duo ever be quiet?
Inside, Wufei was briskly hushing Duo. "Don't worry. Trust me, this will be worth it. You don't want to fail, do you?"
Duo shot him a glare rivaling Heero's famous Say-One-More-Word-And-Die-A-Slow-And-Very-Painful-Death scowl. "I dislike you." He stated.
Wufei grinned, showing white teeth. "Trust me."
"Not if I can help it." Duo snorted. "Now, what am I supposed to do?"
Standing by the back door, nearest to the two pilots inside, Trowa heard a short, muffled scream that sounded suspiciously like Duo's. He pressed one ear to the wall, but heard nothing more, and so shrugged, and went back to his business of staring with unfriendly eyes at any passerby going by him.
Duo growled, his violet eyes tinged with fury as he looked out at Wufei from under a cloud of loose chestnut hair.
"I hate this." He muttered rebelliously. "It'll take me two hours to put back up again."
Wufei showed another quick evil grin. "Trust me."
Duo groaned. "I really wish you'd stop saying that," he complained. "What's the next phase of the mission?"
Quatre, contemplating the violent impulses of his fellow pilots, was shaken from his thoughts by a shout that sounded like, "NO WAY!" in Duo's voice. He snapped to attention, one hand flashing to a hidden pearl-handled gun tucked in the small of his back. He blushed, reminding off the secret weapon, and all it meant. The blond firmly decided it was not Duo he had heard, and went back to his musing, adding the strangeness of his own violent reflexes to the discussion in his head.
"No way, man, never." Duo said, his voice low but fervent.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
The cashier looked over at the two boys in the back of the store. They had been making some strange noises lately, and he wondered if he ought to go check on them. Then he remembered the large, bazooka gun shaped lump in the braided one's pants, and decided against it. His break came in a few minutes-let his college deal with it.
Wufei had managed to convince Duo to carry out the final stages of his plan, largely by means of bribery ("I promise to give you all the candy you can eat!"), and was now waiting for the suspicious cashier to leave, and for a newer, naïve one to take his place.
"I won't forget that promise." Duo muttered darkly from the floor.
"Neither will I." Wufei said glibly.
The first cashier finally left, shooting the boys a couple of odd looks, and another appeared as a replacement.
"1...2..." Wufei whispered, "...3..."
Immediately the store turned into a place of chaos and pandemonium. Duo, his hair led down, shielding and conveniently hiding his face, was running around screaming about water breaking, and hospitals. Wufei dashed around, pulling the confused cashier to Duo, who started crying on cue.
"My poor baby!" he wailed.
"Madam..." the cashier started, but was able to give only one swift glance to Duo's bulging stomach before Wufei turned him around.
"My wife!" He shouted.
"Quick, get her out of here!" The cashier gasped, thinking of blood on the clean gray carpeting.
Duo, the precious box wrapped with his jacket and stuffed under his red shirt, stumbled toward the exit just as Quatre, Trowa and Heero burst in. They only added to the general confusion, brandishing guns and hollering to Duo. The other, helplessly frightened customers, who a moment before had been calmly picking out birthday gifts, now cowered in corners or yelled at the cashier to do something.
In the midst of all this, Duo slipped out the door unseen, followed by Wufei, Quatre and Trowa. Heero left after them, having to shot the wall beside the cashier first. This last event pulled the poor man into a dead faint, and so it was long minutes before the ringing alarm was belatedly noticed.
The five Gundams ran away from the city, the intercoms filled with the shouts and victory cries of five boys who had pulled off a successful scam and stole their needed item.
There was a faint click sound amongst the celebration, and then Wufei's triumphant laugh blocked out even Duo's yells of happiness.
"HA HA, Duo." He waved a small rectangle in front of the intercom. "Now I don't have to give you any candy!"
The three others immediately shifted their attention to the viewing windows, trying to see the blackmail item.
Duo, however, had gone deathly pale. "You win, Wu-man," he gulped, "Just never show that picture again."
Wufei smirked. "Done." The three curious pilots received a message despite that deal, and when they opened it, they found a full frontal picture of an apparently very pregnant Duo with his hair down and a wild look on his face.
Four Gundams echoed the sound of laughter, and one the sound of a bout of embarrassed coughing.
