Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this,
would I?
Warning: There are boy-boy pairings and references in this fic. If you don't like that sort of thing, stop reading now. If you do, enjoy!
Time Warp, by Siren Alecto
Chapter 2 - Baggage
"Deanna..." Oops, he sounds worried there. Almost as if he thinks I'm another Heero or something.
"I'm not a machine. People just have to prove themselves before I open up to them. Besides, I'm good at pushing my emotions away that I don't want to deal with." Looking at my cereal I see that all this talking without eating has made it all squishy. I hate it like that so I take it over to the sink and rinse the bowl. Putting it in the dishwasher, I grab a plate and set out to make myself a sandwich.
"I think you could be an ancestor of ours. You act similar enough." Well, that was sudden. And even though I can see what Quatre means, the comment still makes me a little upset. Damned if I know why.
"If I was an ancestor of all of you, then you and Trowa are committing a form of incest." I know I shouldn't have said that, but on days like this --3:00 am now, so it does count as day-- I'm not really the nicest or most tactful person. Though I did kind of feel bad when his face turned white as a sheet.
"W-when did you figure out...?"
I had to flash him a mischievous smile there. "I didn't. You just confirmed a guess."
Apparently he didn't find that as funny as I did. "Anyway, there's a slight glitch in your theory of me being your ancestor. I'm never having kids."
He looked at me in almost horror, like he couldn't conceive the thought of not having lots of kids. But then again, he has 29 sisters.
"What if your husband wants them?"
"I'm having serious doubts about the husband thing as well." I confided to him and it looked like something dawned on him.
"Oh, are you--"
"No, I'm not a lesbian." I could say this with a smile on my face because I honestly found it funny. Besides, when you've been asked as many times as me, you get used to it. "I'm attracted to guys but nothing ever progresses." At this point, my sandwich making became very interesting as I precisely smoothed out the ham on one side of the bread.
"What if a guy asks you out?"
"I say no." I give him this little indignant look. "I'm suddenly not allowed to say 'no' anymore?"
"What if we're here to convince you that you should have kids?" Ok, now the boy was just grasping at straws.
"What if it was an accident?" I asked, maddeningly logical.
"I'm serious!"
Fine, if he's going to be this uptight about it, I'll give him a straight answer. "You'd have a better chance of convincing Duo to shave his head." I am very stubborn after all, besides I would be the worst mother ever to exist. "Geez, leave it Quatre. I have enough annoying brothers as it is, I don't need another one."
"You have brothers?" I have to smile at the shocked look on Quatre's face. It's so unguarded that I can see every emotion, every thought he has flitting across it.
"Yeah. Be glad they're not here. My older brother recently moved out, he's way over protective of me so there would have been a huge problem. My little brother and my stepbrother would have driven you insane. Especially their taste in music, you wouldn't like it." Cutting the sandwich in half, I grinned. Sandwich finished! Now I can eat.
Hearing someone coming down the stairs, I glanced over to see that it was Duo. He had this manic grin on his face as he came over to the table and plopped himself down in the seat next to me.
"You," He said pointing to me, "Are one bad lady."
Leaning forward over the table, I replied. "Bad I am, but I'm no lady at all." Leaning back in the chair, I grinned. Probably as manic as Duo, and just as scary to Quatre since he looked a little scared.
"I'm not going to ask."
At the sudden voice behind me, I grabbed the knife and spun around, out of the chair, ready to fight. Seeing it was just Trowa, I sighed exasperatedly.
"Will you all stop sneaking up and scaring the shit out of me?!" I threw the knife into the sink from where I was and sat back into my chair preparing to eat my sandwich in peace. Even if I had to ignore everybody to do it.
"Sorry." And damned if he isn't sorry for scaring me. How can I ignore something like that?
I turn around and give him a genuine smile, if a little small. "It's fine, I'm just a little on edge."
"Was it something I said earlier? Are you uncomfortable--" Once again, Quatre tries to take all the blame on himself. Such a selfless and wonderful person.
"Quatre, if you're about to apologize for what I think you are, shut up right now." Hopefully no one took offense at that one, but I can't help that I feel like an exasperated older sister towards him. To calm him, and let him know that nothing was his fault, I reached out with the essence that was me. The sensitivity that let me feel Quatre a couple hours ago now gave him a sort of hug, and came back to be put under wraps again.
The smile Quatre gave me after that was blinding, I think it was a novel experience for him to feel something like that. And now... what I had done was about as close to showing him my soul as I could get.
Of course, everyone else missed what I did but they didn't miss Quatre's smile. I think it's impossible to ignore Quatre just as it's impossible to ignore the sun. Trowa probably suspected something but it's impossible to read anything from his features. Or his eyes so my guess is that he'll ask Quatre about it later.
I just pray that I don't come off as sentimental as he could paint me to be. Finally, I take a bite of my sandwich as Trowa seats himself, and silence reigns at the table. Swallowing, I look up warily and can't help but ask. "What?"
"How much do you know about us?" Trowa asked, getting down to business.
"Enough to know what would push everyone's buttons. Not enough to know Heero Yuy's real name." Realizing I forgot a drink for myself, I get up and pour myself some skim milk. "Anybody want something to drink?" Never say I'm not courteous.
"Do you have soda?" Duo asks, and I'm not so sure that it would be good for him though I get out a spare glass and the Pepsi for him all the same.
Trowa indicates he doesn't want anything and Quatre asks for a glass of water, which I set before him.
"Anything else?" I ask Trowa as I slide back into my seat.
"Prove it." He says, and I know it must be serious to him indeed. So I scan my mind for something that Trowa wouldn't mind everyone knowing.
"Have you forgiven Midii Une yet for circumstances beyond a child's control?"
Immediately, I bang my head on the table. "Why can't people wait until afternoon to ask me questions? I have no tact in the mornings!"
"Like you're ever tactful?" I think I'm going to regret letting Quatre see that much of me.
"Fine. But at least I think a little more before I open my mouth in the afternoon."
I could feel a warm hand on my shoulder. "It's fine." Trowa said, gently pulling me up from the tabletop.
"No.... it's not fine. But I can't help it if I know of your past. I know something bad about everyone's past. Not to mention during the Eve Wars." Silence reigns for a couple minutes as I eat and they sip at their drinks. "Why aren't you all sleeping?"
"It's hard for us to sleep in a new place." Quatre the spokesman said. "When we came, did we wake you up?"
"No... nightmares did. So, you see? You can't blame yourself for something!" I grinned at him before I glanced at my watch again. 4:00. Then the phone rang and the boys almost jumped out of their chairs. Grinning evilly in satisfaction, I answered the phone with my usual "Hey."
"Hey, De. I managed to find a couple of time-travel stories. A couple involved vengeful fairies, 3 involved spirits of some kind and one had a witch with a spell."
"Amy, dear... none of those would work." I said, aware that my side of the conversation was being overheard.
"The last one might. You know, with your witchiness..... and your spells have worked before, right?"
Exasperated, I almost snapped back to her. "No, they didn't. Only my cards did."
"But what about the Meredith thing with her boyfriend?"
I rubbed my forehead. Remembering what happened was not a good thing. Was not a good thing at all. "Cards, remember?"
"Then you could use your cards again."
"To open a fucking vortex?! Gee, Amy, since WHEN do I have that kind of power?!" Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have used those precise words, but if I was going to have to try to send them back that way, they'd figure it out eventually.
"You never know until you try."
"Amy.... I hate you when you actually make sense about something that shouldn't. But it won't work." I really did hate it when she was maddeningly correct about something. But damn it, no one had that kind of power nowadays.
I could hear Amy sighing on her end of the line, we have that effect on eachother. "If you don't believe, it won't work."
Frustrated, I stalked over to the window overlooking my back yard. Anger turned to awe and surprise in an instant. "Well fuck me..."
"Excuse me?!" I could hear Quatre sputtering behind me but it almost sounded like it was years away. I could absently feel Duo come up behind me, and he whooped in happiness as he looked out the window, right into the receiver.
"Deanna?" Amy asked, surprised. But I was in no frame to talk because I was staring at some very life-sized Gundams sprawled in my backyard. Thankfully, they were lying down so no one could see them over the fence (which is much higher than other, standard sized fences, thank the Goddess).
When I got my voice back, I was still a little stunned. "Amy.... I have gundams in my back yard."
"Is that any more surprising than Gundam pilots in your house?" Hearing the confusion in her voice, I snap myself back to reality. Even though reality seems more like the Twilight Zone to me right now.
"Not really, but this just brings everything home to me."
"So what are you planning to do today?" Amy asks, just because. She's as curious and as nosy as I am. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why we're friends.
"Go to the library, do some more research. See if I can't find a way around what you suggest. Hey, speaking of that, is Andrew planning on doing anything today?"
"How the Hell would I know?" I can kind of understand why she got a little flustered at that one; Amy and Andrew used to go out. Sickeningly sweet they were, made me almost lose my lunch a couple of times.
"Because you see him more than I do." I love making her mad this way.
"No he doesn't have plans today."
"Good, I was planning on making him and Brian watch the boys while I go to the library."
"De...." Amy said hesitantly. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Frowning, I racked my brain for anything that stood out. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"You're sending homophobic Andrew to baby-sit them?"
Shit! "He wouldn't say anything rude would he?" I dread the thought of Quatre going Zero System because my friend couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"I don't think so. But why can't I baby-sit them instead?"
I had to snicker at her for that one. "Amy, I wouldn't let you within ten feet of these guys. For all I know you might ravage them or something."
"I wouldn't do anything they don't want me to do." God I hate it when she takes that innocent tone with me. Like I don't know what she's thinking.
"Sure. But you're not baby-sitting them. If I have to make Brian do it alone, he will."
"If you're that set on having only boys, why don't you invite Carl over?"
Oh, I wish Amy was in the same room with me so I could strangle her. "Because then Carl would know where I live."
"He's not a stalker. Besides, he annoys the rest of us constantly asking about you."
"That's not my fault! And he might as well be a stalker, so he's not coming here." Amy needs to figure out that she can't matchmake me. Especially not with guys like him.
"But it's so cute." Amy said in that annoying voice that people take when they talk to babies.
"That's the thing. I don't do cute. And I definitely don't go for guys that.... innocent like Carl." When will she give up on trying to find me a guy? Oh yeah, when I'm married and have kids. Of course this would also be the day that the apocalypse comes...
"Shrew, you really need to get tamed." Amy said, in our ritual argument. Of course, that just means that I have a ritual comeback.
"Good luck finding a guy that could tame me." I laugh at her like so many times before. "Besides Wench, you need to find a guy that can curb your appetite. Or at least keep you from roving." I grinned evilly as Amy stewed on the other end of the line. We always joke around and make fun of eachother like this. And I really needed the normalcy of it today.
"I bet one of the Gundam pilots could tame you." Amy rejoined, and I rolled my eyes at her comeback.
"They're leaving in a week, so I don't think so. They go back to the future, I stay here. That's the way it's supposed to be." I told Amy sternly, in case she was for playing with some of them. "Which means you can't touch them."
I could almost hear Amy's pout after I said that. "You're no fun."
"That's not what you said last weekend." I replied leeringly over the phone and we both laughed lightheartedly. "Ok, I'll talk to you later. Call me if you find anything else that looks promising."
"Will do, captain!" She replied sarcastically and we laughed again.
"Alright. Bye." Clicking off the phone, I placed it back in the receiver and turned around to curious stares. "Uh... That was my friend. She called to let me know she came across some solutions but they don't exactly fit. So, I'll go and scan the internet until the Library opens." Then I raced up the stairs with three pairs of eyes staring at me curiously.
I'm so embarrassed, and I don't really know why. Actually, yeah, I know why. It's because I actually care how these people think of me, since I know them so well. It's strange that I think of them as people I know well, and they don't know a thing about me. That might have been what made me open up to Quatre and Duo today.
Mulling this over in my mind, I logged back online to see if I could maybe find some information on time travel or dimension travel. Good luck to me, I'm definitely going to need it.
Siren Alecto: Once again, I am responsible for cliffhangers! Mwahahahaha. And isn't it great that I got this part out so quickly? Thank Eiryn for being such a wonderful muse.
Eiryn: Aww.... ::blushes:: It's nothing. Anyway, remember to tell us what you think, we value all opinions.
Siren Alecto: Definitely. So until next time, ja!
Warning: There are boy-boy pairings and references in this fic. If you don't like that sort of thing, stop reading now. If you do, enjoy!
Time Warp, by Siren Alecto
Chapter 2 - Baggage
"Deanna..." Oops, he sounds worried there. Almost as if he thinks I'm another Heero or something.
"I'm not a machine. People just have to prove themselves before I open up to them. Besides, I'm good at pushing my emotions away that I don't want to deal with." Looking at my cereal I see that all this talking without eating has made it all squishy. I hate it like that so I take it over to the sink and rinse the bowl. Putting it in the dishwasher, I grab a plate and set out to make myself a sandwich.
"I think you could be an ancestor of ours. You act similar enough." Well, that was sudden. And even though I can see what Quatre means, the comment still makes me a little upset. Damned if I know why.
"If I was an ancestor of all of you, then you and Trowa are committing a form of incest." I know I shouldn't have said that, but on days like this --3:00 am now, so it does count as day-- I'm not really the nicest or most tactful person. Though I did kind of feel bad when his face turned white as a sheet.
"W-when did you figure out...?"
I had to flash him a mischievous smile there. "I didn't. You just confirmed a guess."
Apparently he didn't find that as funny as I did. "Anyway, there's a slight glitch in your theory of me being your ancestor. I'm never having kids."
He looked at me in almost horror, like he couldn't conceive the thought of not having lots of kids. But then again, he has 29 sisters.
"What if your husband wants them?"
"I'm having serious doubts about the husband thing as well." I confided to him and it looked like something dawned on him.
"Oh, are you--"
"No, I'm not a lesbian." I could say this with a smile on my face because I honestly found it funny. Besides, when you've been asked as many times as me, you get used to it. "I'm attracted to guys but nothing ever progresses." At this point, my sandwich making became very interesting as I precisely smoothed out the ham on one side of the bread.
"What if a guy asks you out?"
"I say no." I give him this little indignant look. "I'm suddenly not allowed to say 'no' anymore?"
"What if we're here to convince you that you should have kids?" Ok, now the boy was just grasping at straws.
"What if it was an accident?" I asked, maddeningly logical.
"I'm serious!"
Fine, if he's going to be this uptight about it, I'll give him a straight answer. "You'd have a better chance of convincing Duo to shave his head." I am very stubborn after all, besides I would be the worst mother ever to exist. "Geez, leave it Quatre. I have enough annoying brothers as it is, I don't need another one."
"You have brothers?" I have to smile at the shocked look on Quatre's face. It's so unguarded that I can see every emotion, every thought he has flitting across it.
"Yeah. Be glad they're not here. My older brother recently moved out, he's way over protective of me so there would have been a huge problem. My little brother and my stepbrother would have driven you insane. Especially their taste in music, you wouldn't like it." Cutting the sandwich in half, I grinned. Sandwich finished! Now I can eat.
Hearing someone coming down the stairs, I glanced over to see that it was Duo. He had this manic grin on his face as he came over to the table and plopped himself down in the seat next to me.
"You," He said pointing to me, "Are one bad lady."
Leaning forward over the table, I replied. "Bad I am, but I'm no lady at all." Leaning back in the chair, I grinned. Probably as manic as Duo, and just as scary to Quatre since he looked a little scared.
"I'm not going to ask."
At the sudden voice behind me, I grabbed the knife and spun around, out of the chair, ready to fight. Seeing it was just Trowa, I sighed exasperatedly.
"Will you all stop sneaking up and scaring the shit out of me?!" I threw the knife into the sink from where I was and sat back into my chair preparing to eat my sandwich in peace. Even if I had to ignore everybody to do it.
"Sorry." And damned if he isn't sorry for scaring me. How can I ignore something like that?
I turn around and give him a genuine smile, if a little small. "It's fine, I'm just a little on edge."
"Was it something I said earlier? Are you uncomfortable--" Once again, Quatre tries to take all the blame on himself. Such a selfless and wonderful person.
"Quatre, if you're about to apologize for what I think you are, shut up right now." Hopefully no one took offense at that one, but I can't help that I feel like an exasperated older sister towards him. To calm him, and let him know that nothing was his fault, I reached out with the essence that was me. The sensitivity that let me feel Quatre a couple hours ago now gave him a sort of hug, and came back to be put under wraps again.
The smile Quatre gave me after that was blinding, I think it was a novel experience for him to feel something like that. And now... what I had done was about as close to showing him my soul as I could get.
Of course, everyone else missed what I did but they didn't miss Quatre's smile. I think it's impossible to ignore Quatre just as it's impossible to ignore the sun. Trowa probably suspected something but it's impossible to read anything from his features. Or his eyes so my guess is that he'll ask Quatre about it later.
I just pray that I don't come off as sentimental as he could paint me to be. Finally, I take a bite of my sandwich as Trowa seats himself, and silence reigns at the table. Swallowing, I look up warily and can't help but ask. "What?"
"How much do you know about us?" Trowa asked, getting down to business.
"Enough to know what would push everyone's buttons. Not enough to know Heero Yuy's real name." Realizing I forgot a drink for myself, I get up and pour myself some skim milk. "Anybody want something to drink?" Never say I'm not courteous.
"Do you have soda?" Duo asks, and I'm not so sure that it would be good for him though I get out a spare glass and the Pepsi for him all the same.
Trowa indicates he doesn't want anything and Quatre asks for a glass of water, which I set before him.
"Anything else?" I ask Trowa as I slide back into my seat.
"Prove it." He says, and I know it must be serious to him indeed. So I scan my mind for something that Trowa wouldn't mind everyone knowing.
"Have you forgiven Midii Une yet for circumstances beyond a child's control?"
Immediately, I bang my head on the table. "Why can't people wait until afternoon to ask me questions? I have no tact in the mornings!"
"Like you're ever tactful?" I think I'm going to regret letting Quatre see that much of me.
"Fine. But at least I think a little more before I open my mouth in the afternoon."
I could feel a warm hand on my shoulder. "It's fine." Trowa said, gently pulling me up from the tabletop.
"No.... it's not fine. But I can't help it if I know of your past. I know something bad about everyone's past. Not to mention during the Eve Wars." Silence reigns for a couple minutes as I eat and they sip at their drinks. "Why aren't you all sleeping?"
"It's hard for us to sleep in a new place." Quatre the spokesman said. "When we came, did we wake you up?"
"No... nightmares did. So, you see? You can't blame yourself for something!" I grinned at him before I glanced at my watch again. 4:00. Then the phone rang and the boys almost jumped out of their chairs. Grinning evilly in satisfaction, I answered the phone with my usual "Hey."
"Hey, De. I managed to find a couple of time-travel stories. A couple involved vengeful fairies, 3 involved spirits of some kind and one had a witch with a spell."
"Amy, dear... none of those would work." I said, aware that my side of the conversation was being overheard.
"The last one might. You know, with your witchiness..... and your spells have worked before, right?"
Exasperated, I almost snapped back to her. "No, they didn't. Only my cards did."
"But what about the Meredith thing with her boyfriend?"
I rubbed my forehead. Remembering what happened was not a good thing. Was not a good thing at all. "Cards, remember?"
"Then you could use your cards again."
"To open a fucking vortex?! Gee, Amy, since WHEN do I have that kind of power?!" Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have used those precise words, but if I was going to have to try to send them back that way, they'd figure it out eventually.
"You never know until you try."
"Amy.... I hate you when you actually make sense about something that shouldn't. But it won't work." I really did hate it when she was maddeningly correct about something. But damn it, no one had that kind of power nowadays.
I could hear Amy sighing on her end of the line, we have that effect on eachother. "If you don't believe, it won't work."
Frustrated, I stalked over to the window overlooking my back yard. Anger turned to awe and surprise in an instant. "Well fuck me..."
"Excuse me?!" I could hear Quatre sputtering behind me but it almost sounded like it was years away. I could absently feel Duo come up behind me, and he whooped in happiness as he looked out the window, right into the receiver.
"Deanna?" Amy asked, surprised. But I was in no frame to talk because I was staring at some very life-sized Gundams sprawled in my backyard. Thankfully, they were lying down so no one could see them over the fence (which is much higher than other, standard sized fences, thank the Goddess).
When I got my voice back, I was still a little stunned. "Amy.... I have gundams in my back yard."
"Is that any more surprising than Gundam pilots in your house?" Hearing the confusion in her voice, I snap myself back to reality. Even though reality seems more like the Twilight Zone to me right now.
"Not really, but this just brings everything home to me."
"So what are you planning to do today?" Amy asks, just because. She's as curious and as nosy as I am. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why we're friends.
"Go to the library, do some more research. See if I can't find a way around what you suggest. Hey, speaking of that, is Andrew planning on doing anything today?"
"How the Hell would I know?" I can kind of understand why she got a little flustered at that one; Amy and Andrew used to go out. Sickeningly sweet they were, made me almost lose my lunch a couple of times.
"Because you see him more than I do." I love making her mad this way.
"No he doesn't have plans today."
"Good, I was planning on making him and Brian watch the boys while I go to the library."
"De...." Amy said hesitantly. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Frowning, I racked my brain for anything that stood out. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"You're sending homophobic Andrew to baby-sit them?"
Shit! "He wouldn't say anything rude would he?" I dread the thought of Quatre going Zero System because my friend couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"I don't think so. But why can't I baby-sit them instead?"
I had to snicker at her for that one. "Amy, I wouldn't let you within ten feet of these guys. For all I know you might ravage them or something."
"I wouldn't do anything they don't want me to do." God I hate it when she takes that innocent tone with me. Like I don't know what she's thinking.
"Sure. But you're not baby-sitting them. If I have to make Brian do it alone, he will."
"If you're that set on having only boys, why don't you invite Carl over?"
Oh, I wish Amy was in the same room with me so I could strangle her. "Because then Carl would know where I live."
"He's not a stalker. Besides, he annoys the rest of us constantly asking about you."
"That's not my fault! And he might as well be a stalker, so he's not coming here." Amy needs to figure out that she can't matchmake me. Especially not with guys like him.
"But it's so cute." Amy said in that annoying voice that people take when they talk to babies.
"That's the thing. I don't do cute. And I definitely don't go for guys that.... innocent like Carl." When will she give up on trying to find me a guy? Oh yeah, when I'm married and have kids. Of course this would also be the day that the apocalypse comes...
"Shrew, you really need to get tamed." Amy said, in our ritual argument. Of course, that just means that I have a ritual comeback.
"Good luck finding a guy that could tame me." I laugh at her like so many times before. "Besides Wench, you need to find a guy that can curb your appetite. Or at least keep you from roving." I grinned evilly as Amy stewed on the other end of the line. We always joke around and make fun of eachother like this. And I really needed the normalcy of it today.
"I bet one of the Gundam pilots could tame you." Amy rejoined, and I rolled my eyes at her comeback.
"They're leaving in a week, so I don't think so. They go back to the future, I stay here. That's the way it's supposed to be." I told Amy sternly, in case she was for playing with some of them. "Which means you can't touch them."
I could almost hear Amy's pout after I said that. "You're no fun."
"That's not what you said last weekend." I replied leeringly over the phone and we both laughed lightheartedly. "Ok, I'll talk to you later. Call me if you find anything else that looks promising."
"Will do, captain!" She replied sarcastically and we laughed again.
"Alright. Bye." Clicking off the phone, I placed it back in the receiver and turned around to curious stares. "Uh... That was my friend. She called to let me know she came across some solutions but they don't exactly fit. So, I'll go and scan the internet until the Library opens." Then I raced up the stairs with three pairs of eyes staring at me curiously.
I'm so embarrassed, and I don't really know why. Actually, yeah, I know why. It's because I actually care how these people think of me, since I know them so well. It's strange that I think of them as people I know well, and they don't know a thing about me. That might have been what made me open up to Quatre and Duo today.
Mulling this over in my mind, I logged back online to see if I could maybe find some information on time travel or dimension travel. Good luck to me, I'm definitely going to need it.
Siren Alecto: Once again, I am responsible for cliffhangers! Mwahahahaha. And isn't it great that I got this part out so quickly? Thank Eiryn for being such a wonderful muse.
Eiryn: Aww.... ::blushes:: It's nothing. Anyway, remember to tell us what you think, we value all opinions.
Siren Alecto: Definitely. So until next time, ja!