Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters. The execs at Bandai, Sunrise, Sotsu, and TV Asahi do. Yay for them.
Warnings: Mindless self-indulgence, AU, language, sap, possible OOC of certain characters.
Summary: AU, 1xH and other pairings. The cast of GW inhabit a vintage 1930's era apartment building which has fallen into disrepair. Cameos from secondary characters (like NICHOL) galore.
This is all Jilly's fault. ^_^
Dedicated to all Heero/Hilde lovers out there, but especially to Onisaur (my muse), the aforementioned Jilly (my cruel slave-master =P), and Sabacat, who made me notice this pairing in the first place. You guys rock my world.
in your eyes you've already spread my thighs
and you're rocking to the next big thing
kissing the bride, 45 minutes a side
this was my dream - played out rocking routine
who sucked out the feeling?
-Sucked Out, Superdrag
207 Orchard Ridge
Chapter Two
"If I recall correctly, Noin, you were the one telling me that we needed to find something to spice the bedroom up with."
She really loved him. She really did. She knew she did. Yet, there were days like this when she could easily give him a kick in the pants.
Perhaps if she just ignored him, he would go away. Oh, she knew it was foolish to even suggest such a thing, but a girl can dream, can't she? Unfortunately, her husband was of the breed of people that would not take a hint even when it would jump out at him and bite him on that oh-so-godly behind of his. Hence, all of the brusque looks that she had been shooting him during every one of her routine maintenance calls had fallen on platinum hair and deaf ears. Why, the whole building had to know all the gritty details of their intimate lives by now!
Gritting her teeth against the pounding migraine that had settled into her sinuses by now, Noin gave the order sheet a quick glance to see who she would be receiving a generous and unwanted cup of attitude from next. She was really beginning to regret taking on this position, a break in the rent rates or no. Of course, that feeling only expanded ten-fold when she saw the neat script of "W. Chang" on her list.
Today was just going to be one of those days.
Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate not at all unlike those such convicts on death row. Zechs, naturally, tagged along behind her as she started taking that seemingly mile-long walk down the hall to apartment 303. He continued to babble on, talking himself in circles as he tried to make his pitch. She figured that on some simple level, his futile attempts to actually help their situation could be considered as 'cute' or even as 'caring.' But the fact of the matter was that he was too wrapped up in his latest pipe dream to see that they could just not afford the massive fish tank that he was pining for.
"Of course, thanks to that correspondence course, I have all the training I'd need to be able to knock out one of the bedroom walls and install the tank…"
Somehow, Noin managed to keep from dropping the mallet in her hands. Even the mere mention of her husband attempting such a job caused a shiver of pure fear to run down her back. "Ah, are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, that's the kind of thing that you need a permit for," she supplied, hoping that he'd make the obvious connection. Requesting such services from the city had an efficiency rate of a marathon runner shooting themselves in the foot right before a race.
Zechs merely waved the notion off. "Getting a permit will be easy. I'll just ask Treize to draw one up for me."
Oh, yes. Let us not forget about Treize Khushrenada, the neighborhood drug lord with political connections the length of the Trans-Atlantic Railroad long. The same man who didn't think anything about using Zechs as an ignorant mule for his "business transactions." The man was bad news, plain and simple. If it weren't for the fact that he owned the very building they lived in, Noin would have nothing to do with him.
"Sweetie," she said moments later, trying not to grit her teeth as she bit out the word, "even with a permit, we can't afford a fish tank that large. And that's just the tank. That doesn't count for actual fish that will be living there, the gravel and little scenic tank accessories, or the costs of what it would take to have that thing cleaned properly."
Silence fell over them, and the hairs on the back of her neck responded by standing on end. Able to palpably feel the pout that she knew had to be on his face, she glanced down at the floor and decided to change her strategy.
Turning to face him, she sighed and brought a hand up to rub across her forehead. "If this fish tank is something that you honestly and truly want, then you are going to have to get a job. And I'm not talking about a small, on-again off-again dry walling job, Zechs." Suddenly feeling a tad guilty, she reached out to finger the lapel of his pastel blazer. "I'm talking about something nine-to-five. Something that is neither the part-time contractor nor the 'l337 h4xx0r' that you have been in the past. We just can't afford the tank if you don't start chipping in with the finances on a regular basis."
Naturally, the blonde wasn't even listening. No, he was staring out the window, watching two pigeons fight over a crust of bread on the ledge of the neighboring building. "Relena still owes me a birthday present. You know, with her having passed out drunk and nearly drowning in a pool of her own vomit the night before and all. She still doesn't remember wearing her party hat while having her stomach pumped at the hospital, but when it's happened so many times…"
Incredulous, Noin blinked. "Zechs?" When he didn't respond to his name, she started waving her hands in his face. "Over here, Blondie. We were talking about the fish tank, remember?"
He gave her a look as if to ask what was her problem. "Well, duh. I was merely going to say that Relena still owes me something for my birthday, and since my parents entrusted her with the family funds…" Trailing off, he shrugged. "I could do some big-time sucking up to see if she'll buy me the tank."
She honestly could not believe what was coming out of his mouth. He was going to get Relena to buy them his precious obsession? He was totally missing the point! Feeling her headache suddenly contract to focus on one single point in her skull that was either a stress knot or an aneurysm, she opened her mouth, preparing to light into him about how he needed to shut up and pay attention to her otherwise she was kick him in the-
"Hey, could you two keep it down out here?"
Every word that had been poised on the tip of her tongue was suddenly swallowed. Shocked to the point of speechlessness, Noin spun around to see the stoic face of Heero Yuy peeking out of his apartment door.
"It's very hard to concentrate on getting to sleep with all the noise out here. If I don't rest, Hilde won't be happy when she returns."
With that, the young Japanese man turned back into the apartment, shutting the door behind him to leave both Zechs and a stunned Noin - who had developed quite a twitch - in the hall.
"Wow. Heero's got quite a case of the chicken pox. You know what they say is good for that? Tropical fish. They're supposed to lower the blood-pressure or something like that."
Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.
"Hmph. I knew I should have known better than to expect swift service from the 'maintenance' crew."
Snap.
She had not even heard the second door open, but the nasally tone of the tenor voice was instantly recognizable to one such as Noin. After all, she had lost count a very long time ago of just how many times she had heard that same voice taking the usual holier-than-thou attitude with her as she tried to fix whatever problem was at hand so as to beat it the hell out of apartment 303 as soon as possible.
For once in his life, Zechs was actually paying attention to her. Or rather, to the eerily dangerous maniac grin that suddenly formed over her face. Yes, it was true. With the appearance of that oh-so-familiar voice, Lucrezia Noin had suddenly felt and instant calmness wash over her. A calmness that could be likened very easily to one such before the raging storm.
If there was one thing in life that she refused it be, it was a doormat for the likes of WuFei Chang.
"Why hello, WuFei. I am so sorry that I am late," she said in an overly emphasized tone. "But as you'll see, I had a few jobs marked on the itinerary before yours. However, now I can devote my total attention to fixing whatever it is that is causing you grief."
Dark eyes, skeptic of the odd maner in which she was behaving, shifted from the smiling face to that of her blonde companion and back again. One didn't have to be a psychic to feel the waves of malicious energy radiating off the maintenance woman. "Very well. As you will find, the bathroom sink is leaking. Again."
Noin slid the mallet through one of the loops on her tool belt, willfully ignoring the condescending air in that last word. "Let me get right on that, Mr. Chang." Ha. Just let the spoiled, pony-tailed brat try to complain about her being less than curteous. Yes, this time, she was going to win their long-standing rivalry if it killed her.
It was common sense, or perhaps the crackle of malicious energy floating around her that made WuFei keep his mouth shut. He even stepped aside for her as she moved into the apartment, all the while having that same sickening grin on her face. Fingering one of the pouches on her belt in order to reach a washer necessary for this job, she heard the floorboards creak behind her seconds before the asian man's rich tenor murmured something to her husband.
It figures that he would have something to say behind her back. Thankfully, she knew the ears of Zechs Merquise were quite deaf to anything Chang might have to say about her.
Warnings: Mindless self-indulgence, AU, language, sap, possible OOC of certain characters.
Summary: AU, 1xH and other pairings. The cast of GW inhabit a vintage 1930's era apartment building which has fallen into disrepair. Cameos from secondary characters (like NICHOL) galore.
This is all Jilly's fault. ^_^
Dedicated to all Heero/Hilde lovers out there, but especially to Onisaur (my muse), the aforementioned Jilly (my cruel slave-master =P), and Sabacat, who made me notice this pairing in the first place. You guys rock my world.
and you're rocking to the next big thing
kissing the bride, 45 minutes a side
this was my dream - played out rocking routine
who sucked out the feeling?
-Sucked Out, Superdrag
207 Orchard Ridge
Chapter Two
"If I recall correctly, Noin, you were the one telling me that we needed to find something to spice the bedroom up with."
She really loved him. She really did. She knew she did. Yet, there were days like this when she could easily give him a kick in the pants.
Perhaps if she just ignored him, he would go away. Oh, she knew it was foolish to even suggest such a thing, but a girl can dream, can't she? Unfortunately, her husband was of the breed of people that would not take a hint even when it would jump out at him and bite him on that oh-so-godly behind of his. Hence, all of the brusque looks that she had been shooting him during every one of her routine maintenance calls had fallen on platinum hair and deaf ears. Why, the whole building had to know all the gritty details of their intimate lives by now!
Gritting her teeth against the pounding migraine that had settled into her sinuses by now, Noin gave the order sheet a quick glance to see who she would be receiving a generous and unwanted cup of attitude from next. She was really beginning to regret taking on this position, a break in the rent rates or no. Of course, that feeling only expanded ten-fold when she saw the neat script of "W. Chang" on her list.
Today was just going to be one of those days.
Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate not at all unlike those such convicts on death row. Zechs, naturally, tagged along behind her as she started taking that seemingly mile-long walk down the hall to apartment 303. He continued to babble on, talking himself in circles as he tried to make his pitch. She figured that on some simple level, his futile attempts to actually help their situation could be considered as 'cute' or even as 'caring.' But the fact of the matter was that he was too wrapped up in his latest pipe dream to see that they could just not afford the massive fish tank that he was pining for.
"Of course, thanks to that correspondence course, I have all the training I'd need to be able to knock out one of the bedroom walls and install the tank…"
Somehow, Noin managed to keep from dropping the mallet in her hands. Even the mere mention of her husband attempting such a job caused a shiver of pure fear to run down her back. "Ah, are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, that's the kind of thing that you need a permit for," she supplied, hoping that he'd make the obvious connection. Requesting such services from the city had an efficiency rate of a marathon runner shooting themselves in the foot right before a race.
Zechs merely waved the notion off. "Getting a permit will be easy. I'll just ask Treize to draw one up for me."
Oh, yes. Let us not forget about Treize Khushrenada, the neighborhood drug lord with political connections the length of the Trans-Atlantic Railroad long. The same man who didn't think anything about using Zechs as an ignorant mule for his "business transactions." The man was bad news, plain and simple. If it weren't for the fact that he owned the very building they lived in, Noin would have nothing to do with him.
"Sweetie," she said moments later, trying not to grit her teeth as she bit out the word, "even with a permit, we can't afford a fish tank that large. And that's just the tank. That doesn't count for actual fish that will be living there, the gravel and little scenic tank accessories, or the costs of what it would take to have that thing cleaned properly."
Silence fell over them, and the hairs on the back of her neck responded by standing on end. Able to palpably feel the pout that she knew had to be on his face, she glanced down at the floor and decided to change her strategy.
Turning to face him, she sighed and brought a hand up to rub across her forehead. "If this fish tank is something that you honestly and truly want, then you are going to have to get a job. And I'm not talking about a small, on-again off-again dry walling job, Zechs." Suddenly feeling a tad guilty, she reached out to finger the lapel of his pastel blazer. "I'm talking about something nine-to-five. Something that is neither the part-time contractor nor the 'l337 h4xx0r' that you have been in the past. We just can't afford the tank if you don't start chipping in with the finances on a regular basis."
Naturally, the blonde wasn't even listening. No, he was staring out the window, watching two pigeons fight over a crust of bread on the ledge of the neighboring building. "Relena still owes me a birthday present. You know, with her having passed out drunk and nearly drowning in a pool of her own vomit the night before and all. She still doesn't remember wearing her party hat while having her stomach pumped at the hospital, but when it's happened so many times…"
Incredulous, Noin blinked. "Zechs?" When he didn't respond to his name, she started waving her hands in his face. "Over here, Blondie. We were talking about the fish tank, remember?"
He gave her a look as if to ask what was her problem. "Well, duh. I was merely going to say that Relena still owes me something for my birthday, and since my parents entrusted her with the family funds…" Trailing off, he shrugged. "I could do some big-time sucking up to see if she'll buy me the tank."
She honestly could not believe what was coming out of his mouth. He was going to get Relena to buy them his precious obsession? He was totally missing the point! Feeling her headache suddenly contract to focus on one single point in her skull that was either a stress knot or an aneurysm, she opened her mouth, preparing to light into him about how he needed to shut up and pay attention to her otherwise she was kick him in the-
"Hey, could you two keep it down out here?"
Every word that had been poised on the tip of her tongue was suddenly swallowed. Shocked to the point of speechlessness, Noin spun around to see the stoic face of Heero Yuy peeking out of his apartment door.
"It's very hard to concentrate on getting to sleep with all the noise out here. If I don't rest, Hilde won't be happy when she returns."
With that, the young Japanese man turned back into the apartment, shutting the door behind him to leave both Zechs and a stunned Noin - who had developed quite a twitch - in the hall.
"Wow. Heero's got quite a case of the chicken pox. You know what they say is good for that? Tropical fish. They're supposed to lower the blood-pressure or something like that."
Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.
"Hmph. I knew I should have known better than to expect swift service from the 'maintenance' crew."
Snap.
She had not even heard the second door open, but the nasally tone of the tenor voice was instantly recognizable to one such as Noin. After all, she had lost count a very long time ago of just how many times she had heard that same voice taking the usual holier-than-thou attitude with her as she tried to fix whatever problem was at hand so as to beat it the hell out of apartment 303 as soon as possible.
For once in his life, Zechs was actually paying attention to her. Or rather, to the eerily dangerous maniac grin that suddenly formed over her face. Yes, it was true. With the appearance of that oh-so-familiar voice, Lucrezia Noin had suddenly felt and instant calmness wash over her. A calmness that could be likened very easily to one such before the raging storm.
If there was one thing in life that she refused it be, it was a doormat for the likes of WuFei Chang.
"Why hello, WuFei. I am so sorry that I am late," she said in an overly emphasized tone. "But as you'll see, I had a few jobs marked on the itinerary before yours. However, now I can devote my total attention to fixing whatever it is that is causing you grief."
Dark eyes, skeptic of the odd maner in which she was behaving, shifted from the smiling face to that of her blonde companion and back again. One didn't have to be a psychic to feel the waves of malicious energy radiating off the maintenance woman. "Very well. As you will find, the bathroom sink is leaking. Again."
Noin slid the mallet through one of the loops on her tool belt, willfully ignoring the condescending air in that last word. "Let me get right on that, Mr. Chang." Ha. Just let the spoiled, pony-tailed brat try to complain about her being less than curteous. Yes, this time, she was going to win their long-standing rivalry if it killed her.
It was common sense, or perhaps the crackle of malicious energy floating around her that made WuFei keep his mouth shut. He even stepped aside for her as she moved into the apartment, all the while having that same sickening grin on her face. Fingering one of the pouches on her belt in order to reach a washer necessary for this job, she heard the floorboards creak behind her seconds before the asian man's rich tenor murmured something to her husband.
It figures that he would have something to say behind her back. Thankfully, she knew the ears of Zechs Merquise were quite deaf to anything Chang might have to say about her.