It's A Hard Knock Life
Prologue:
"So, where is this new pilot?" I asked impatiently. The five of us had received orders from the docs to meet some new pilot who was supposed to be our backup. Pfft, as if we needed one, but orders are orders.
"I dunno guys, you sure we want this dude to be our backup? He's pretty damn late now. Do ya think we can rely on him incase an emergency came up?" I asked, searching the faces of the three who had accompanied me to the supermarket.
Yes, you heard right. A /supermarket/.
Two sets of glares were sent in my direction, but it was a somewhat weary voice that answered me,
"I'm sure there's a logical explanation." The fair Quatre said. "Besides, it hasn't been /that/ long. Maybe they just ran into difficulty getting here."
"Hmph. All I know is they better have a good explanation for being an hour late." I replied crossing my arms and leaning against the shelving that supported tons of cereal boxes.
People came and went down the aisle, but always patronizing us with a suspicious look. It was starting to get rather annoying, and I was sure it wouldn't be too long until some old granny, shopping for her calcium induced oatmeal no less, would go tell some supermarket security guard we were loitering. If there was such a thing as a supermarket security guard anyway. It didn't help matters that I was /really/ hungry.
To prove the point that I needed nourishment my stomach let out an obnoxious noise. I groaned. "Why didn't we bring any cash with us?"
"We came here on orders, not to food shop." Was the curt reply of Heero Yuy.
Had I not already claimed the title I'd have called him the Devil. There wasn't that much difference in the God of Death and the Devil was there? Well, maybe there was, but the details could be overlooked. For now he's just our favorite glaring fifteen year old and such joy he brought us.
I glared at him, but held my tongue. I'd rather not get into a ridiculous argument with him; he usually resorted to violence. The guy couldn't take a joke, not if his life depended on it. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've /ever/ seen him smile. He just stands or sits or sleeps with an unemotional mask. I don't even know if Heero's his real name.
Lazily I let my eyes wander, trying desperately to ignore the pain of hunger. I was not having much success however. Finally, when the other three weren't looking I stealthily grabbed a random box of cereal from the shelf behind me and opened it. Cereal was easily accessible, easy to eat, and easily delicious. Although I suppose /anything/ tasted good when you were hungry.
Deftly I stuck my hand into the box and was bringing a handful of Apple Jacks to my mouth when an irritated cry made me drop the contents back into the box.
"Maxwell!"
I sighed. I couldn't get away with /anything/.
"What are you doing?!" A Chinese teenager hissed at me.
"Lay off Wu, I'm just eating a little cereal." I replied sticking my hand once again into the box. Abruptly the box was rudely snatched away from me, leaving my hand empty of substance once again.
"Hey! Wait a min--OW!" I shouted in protest before being punched in the shoulder by Heero. "What the fuck Heero!?"
"Guys!" Quatre warned, voice slightly tense. "You're drawing attention." He replied in a softer tone.
Wufei closed up the box of now contaminated cereal and the three of us 'noise makers' scowled at each other for another moment before retreating back to our respectful spots. I glared hard at Heero while massaging the shoulder he punched. Honestly, he didn't have to be /that/ rough to get his point across. It was just a stupid cereal box.
Silence reigned upon us for about another ten minutes. I figured we probably looked more suspicious standing in the same God damn aisle silent than we did when had been fighting. True, we drew a little bit more attention, but at least it looked like we all ran into each other and were just catching up or something. Besides, I never cared much for silence. It's good every now and then, sure, but not every day, every hour, minute, and second.
"Do you think Trowa's all right?" I asked to bring about conversation.
"If it was just a headache he should be fine." Quatre replied, a thoughtful look gracing his features. His light blue eyes looked slightly worried though.
"Yeah, you're probably right." I replied more so to ease Quat's anxiety. "Think a bottle of aspirin would be nice though?"
"I'm pretty sure there's still some at the safe." Quatre replied, casting a quick look outside of the aisle. Even Quatre's patience was being tried waiting for this stupid guy!
"Nope, I used the last of it last night." I replied. "Had a pretty bad headache myself."
That was partially true. The real reason was because I was in so much God damn pain from our previous mission, but I didn't want Wuffers or Heero to know. They'd probably think I was weak and unfit to be a Gundam Pilot. I don't seem to fit any of their other standards since I try to be optimistic and am a bit loud once in awhile. They really need to lighten up.
"Really? Huh." Quatre responded. "Well, Trowa would probably appreciate it, but we don't have any money for it."
"Not a problem." I replied with a smile. "You're forgetting who you're with."
"Duo, you can't steal it." Quatre stated frowning in disapproval.
"Sure I can!" I replied cheerily. The blonde frowned, but didn't say anything.
I liked Quatre, he was real and seemed to have some moral. He was a generous and caring guy. I don't think there was a mean bone in his body, but if that were so then there would be no reason for him to run off and become a Gundam Pilot. I didn't know him well enough to ask what his deal was getting caught up in the war, but I knew I could probably ask him and he'd just be truthful and easy going. He nurtured us four, and whether Heero, Wu, or Trowa noticed, we needed him in order to stay sane and keep the peace between us.
"I still don't think you should Duo..." He murmured.
"He's not going to." Heero replied in his monotonous voice, his steel blue eyes fixed on me in a glare.
I sighed and leaned back against the shelves and ran my hands down my face. I was tired, sore, and /extremely/ hungry. I hadn't ate anything since yesterday morning and that had been a cruddy ration. Damn mission kept us out from the wee hours of the morning till the darkest hours of the night.
"Fine, fine, I won't." I muttered letting my hands drop defenselessly to my sides. "Just hope Trowa pulls through."
I waited around another fifteen or twenty minutes lapsed in silence once again. My stomach made another obnoxious noise that sent a little four year old running down the aisle crying. I glared after the kid who ran to the legs of his mother who stared at us skeptically. I then pushed myself away from the shelf I was leaning against irritated.
"I'm going back to the safe house." I stated wearily annoyed.
"Duo, I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Quatre tried to persuade as I began walking down the aisle.
"Sorry, Quat, you've been saying that for two hours now. I'll meet him when you guys bring him back to the safe." I responded over my shoulder before disappearing from their view and out near the cash registers.
~*~
It was hard walking back to the safe house. I cursed every minute of it. My limbs ached and I really wished I did swipe some aspirin or Tylenol-- anything to numb the pain. But I couldn't go back on my word. I may run and I hide, but I never tell a lie.
I was only thankful that is was pretty nice out. The sun peeked out behind the clouds every now and then and it wasn't /too/ cold, but still pretty damn chilly. I think that mainly had to do with the wind though. Oh, and the canopy of trees blocking out the majority of light. Damn trees.
The trail was hard to see which proved to be both good and bad. Good because no one suspected a tiny house (more like an overlarge shed actually) to be in the heart of the woods; bad because, well, I couldn't figure out where the hell I was going. Five times I think I had to turn around and go the other way. Stupid Heero; he wouldn't allow me to leave markings so we wouldn't get lost. Excuse me for not being perfect.
I was starting to feel slightly dizzy from lack of food and ready to call it quits when I reached a rather steep hill, but the hill signified that the safe wasn't too far off so I sojourned on. I came up to the rear of the wooden safe house we called home for the time being. It was pretty run down, but it was only for another day or two-- then we moved to /another/ safe house located in some /other/ woods.
I walked to the front of the house and turned the doorknob only to find it was locked. I can't say I was surprised but I cursed and jiggled the knob anyway. This went on for a minute or two before I realized I had the keys in my pocket. Chuckling to myself I unlocked the door and creaked it open. The temperature inside didn't change much from the outside, maybe just a degree or two warmer.
The cold was welcoming though since I had such a workout walking all the way up here. I threw the keys on the kitchen table and proceeded to the fridge. To my great disappointment and frustration the fridge was practically bare. Half a carton of milk, some containers of left overs that even /I/ was afraid of, and a few other scarce items were all that remained from last weeks shopping. I groaned and shut the fridge and opened the freezer. There wasn't much in there to improve my mood either. Some ice and blood packets incase of an emergency happened were all that greeted me.
Or was it?
I pushed away some of the blood packets to see a carton of ice-cream. The question now was 'is it full'? I opened it only to be disappointed again. There was only enough for another two spoonfuls-- three tops. Still, it was /something/ so I opened a drawer and grabbed a spoon before finishing off the carton.
Throwing the spoon into the sink and the carton in the trash I wandered down the very small hall to the stairwell. The house was awfully quiet and I wondered if Trowa had maybe gone out.
"Trowa! Hey, Trowa! Ya home?" I called up the stairs. The thump I heard up above my head and the creaking of the floorboards upstairs announced someone's presence.
Shadows cascaded most of the room since no lights were on, but to the far right there was a window that allowed a little light from the cloudy day. A tall figure emerged from the steps and one sparkling emerald orb could be seen clearly amidst the shadows. Trowa always seemed to have a dramatic way of entering.
"Hey Trowa, how ya feelin'?" I asked as he came down the last few steps rubbing his eyes.
"I've felt better." Was his nonchalant response. I nodded and made my way back into the kitchen. The taller boy followed me, massaging his temples in a circular motion. "Any aspirin around?"
"Nope." I replied. "I told the guys to get some, but I'll be damned if they do."
The brunette sighed before sitting down at the table. "What are you doing back anyway?" He asked.
"I got sick of waiting." I responded opening the fridge hoping that food would magically appear. "The guy could at least have the courtesy to be on time for his first meeting, don't ya think?"
Trowa didn't respond, but I didn't expect him to. He was another one of the quiet ones, though perhaps a bit more friendly. I figured that had to do with Quatre since they seemed to be relatively good friends. Not to say that Heero and Wuffers aren't nice-- well actually, they /aren't/ nice-- but as I've said before and will say again, they need to lighten up and join the group. Bunch of loners.
"Why didn't the guys bring money with them!? There isn't anything to eat here!" I whined.
"There are things to eat here. You just need to co-co-chu!" The uni-banged boy sneezed before finishing the sentence.
"You just need to sneeze?" I joked. Trowa turned a stony gaze at me and I put my hands up in defense. "I know, I know, but I'm such a horrible cook!" He smiled in satisfaction.
Quite suddenly a loud bang was heard, startling the both of us. It didn't seem too far off...
"What do ya think that was?" I asked skeptical. Trowa stared off towards the window before getting up and walking quickly to the door to investigate.
I followed suit, grabbing the black hand gun on the kitchen counter. As we stepped outta the house I noticed night was starting to descend and the air had gotten pretty crisp. We wandered around back and through the forestry there since that's where we thought the noise to come from. It was silent except for the crunch of dead leaves under our feet (which sent a shivers up my spine) and before we knew it we had come to a small clearing.
In the clearing was something very unexpected and surprising; a black Taurus stood immobile in the middle of the place.
"Don't move." Trowa warned me, considering we were merely feet away from the Taurus. "Give me your gun." I gave him the gun and he edged into the clearing a bit more as the cockpit door of the suit opened.
He stopped abruptly and the both of us glued our eyes to the figure who stepped forth. They were dressed in a black space suit and had long golden hair that was straight till it got to their waist where it curled slightly. Trowa and I moved back into the shadows of the wood as the person took the suit grappling hook and jumped off the platform, descending to the ground. They looked about their surrounding soberly-- or they did until Trowa sneezed.
Suddenly they whipped around in search of the noise. I stood stalk still waiting for them to turn back around, but they didn't. Instead they started walking towards us, but I was certain they couldn't see us. I looked up at Trowa for a plan, but he kept his eyes locked on the predator.
"Trowa!" I hissed finally. He turned a deadly orb on me and I shut up.
I looked to the ground littered with stones and a plan came to mind. Quietly I leaned over and gathered a few rocks before scampering off, throwing them at random into the clearing. This would take the person's attention off of Trowa and onto me... It then struck me that that had been a bad idea. Damn it! I gotta learn to think things through!
"Duo!" Trowa hissed alarmed, but I ignored him and continued my antics. It'd be pretty pointless to stop now.
A few gunshots were heard as the intruder tried to spot me. Out of rocks and now out in the clearing, behind the Taurus to be exact, I now looked to see where they had gotten to. Edging to my left I looked out into the clearing to find it empty.
"Damn it." I muttered frustrated and nervous, "Where are they?"
A gun clicked behind me, "Right here."