Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters, Precious' mine. . My own. . .my Precious. . .oops, sorry, been watching too much Lord of the Rings, heh. . .
Chapter Two
I guess I really am on my own this evening. . .oh well, might as well get dinner started. Trowa thought to himself as he walked through the apartment after his daughter, who immediately flew into the living room.
"Homework, then TV." Trowa called to his daughter. She bounded back into the hallway and ran a circle around him as she said, "Okay, Daddy!" With a giggle, she ran over to her backpack to retrieve her schoolbooks, dashing up the stairs with her books in hand to begin her studies.
I sure am blessed, I don't have a kid that talks back! I guess most kids are like that till they turn into teenagers. . .let's see what I have to work with. . .Trowa thought as he made sure he heard his daughter in her room before he dropped his keys on the table by the door. With a yawn, he slowly strode over to the kitchen and went to the refrigerator, opening it to find barely anything worth eating inside.
"I guess no one's done the shopping this week. Now. . .do I want to go to the grocery store or just go out to eat and make Duo fend for himself? Duo'll kill me, better get this shopping over with." Trowa sighed, closing the door and turning back around. He began to walk toward the stairs to call his daughter when the phone rang. He paused and looked at the empty holder curiously.
"Alright, now where's the phone. . ." Trowa ran through the condo, picking up papers and moving cushions in his search, turning up nothing but the occasional dust bunny along the way. Finally, the ringing stopped and he paused in the middle of the living room.
"Oh well. . ." He muttered. Suddenly, he heard the pattering of his daughter's feet coming down the stairs, seeing her clumsily bound up to him with the phone cradled in her arms.
"It's no one." Precious said cheerfully, holding out the phone with a broad grin. With a puzzled expression, he took it and raised it to his ear, saying curiously, "Hello?"
"Hello, who is this?" Came a familiarly strong female voice.
"Trowa. . .is that you, Noin?" Trowa figured out his daughter's mispronunciation.
"Yes, are you visiting or something?"
"I suppose Rachel didn't tell you, we moved in with them about a month ago, my rent went up and I couldn't afford it anymore."
"Oh, and it was such a lovely place! You should have told me, I could have gotten you a job working for Milliardo!"
"Relena already offered a secretarial position, I declined."
"Too stuffy?"
"Something like that. I'd hate to sound rude but we haven't had dinner yet and we need to do shopping to actually get some food to eat."
"Oh yes, sorry. I was just calling to invite Rachel and Duo over to our apartment for dinner sometime but since you're living with them now too you're also invited."
"Is this a private thing, I wouldn't want to intrude just because I live here."
"Oh no, no intrusion, it's just a little dinner. We haven't talked in so long and they were next on our list to dine with! Are they home?"
"No, Rachel's out on business and I suppose Duo's working late or stuck in traffic, it's just me and Precious."
"I noticed a little girl answered the phone, she knew who I was too, she's a smart one. I'd say she takes after her father but. . ."
"Yeah. . .she just copies me a lot."
"I'm sure. Well, I won't hold you up, I'm sure you're starving. Have a good evening, Trowa."
"You too, I'll pass on the message. Bye." Trowa pressed the call button and looked down to his daughter who had been listening with eager eyes.
"Food?" She asked, her eyes big with anticipation.
"Yes, we're going now. Get your coat and shoes on and we'll go to the store." Trowa responded wearily, growing tired from the day's work. He slowly strolled down the hallway as his hyper little girl ran past him and grabbed her shoes, whipping them on even before Trowa could put the phone back and grab his keys. She bounced impatiently by the door and smiled happily as her father walked over and got his coat.
"Now remember to behave yourself, I don't want to be constantly watching you while I'm shopping so stay right by my side." Trowa said as he opened the door.
"Okay!" She said and bounded out into the hallway where she stopped and hopped up and down while she waited. With a sigh, Trowa shut the door behind him and walked down the hall toward the front door to get in his car. A few minutes and kiddy songs later, they arrived at the grocery store.
"I'll get a cat!" Precious chirped, running over to the rows of grocery carts by the entrance.
"Cart, Precious." Trowa said calmly, reaching over his daughter to get the cart out for her.
"Ooooh. . .okay, daddy." She responded with a smile. They made their way through the store, browsing the selection of food while they headed for the frozen food aisle. Trowa leaned on the bar of the cart as he looked over the TV dinners, Precious on her tippy toes trying to see into the freezer bin.
"You're not much of a cook, are you." Trowa looked up and blinked at the person who spoke suddenly to him, a little startled by the comment.
"I am but I don't feel like cooking. You're. . .Hope, right?" Trowa said. Precious smiled and waved as the young woman shyly smiled back.
"Yes, we met earlier." She said timidly.
"I know." Trowa said, looking back at the frozen entrees. Hope fidgeted with her basket as the awkward silence filled the air. Finally, she said, "Did you get stuck with the shopping duties tonight?"
"I suppose."
"Nobody's home." Precious added. Trowa gave her a look and she quickly shut her mouth.
"Oh, you two are alone tonight? So am I, since my father's out of town I don't have anyone to dine with and all this food waiting to be eaten. Would you like to come over to my place? I don't mean to be so forward, we don't even really know each other and-"
"Sure." Trowa interrupted. Hope looked surprised as she said, "O-okay! Are you still. . .shopping, because I can wait. . ."
"No, just came here for dinner."
"Alright. . .you can follow me then." She said, trying to smile as she turned to walk back to the entrance. As Trowa followed, Precious bounced along beside him, whispering, "Where are we going now, daddy?"
"We're going to eat with Hope tonight, the behavior rule still stands."
"Okay. . .does she have any friends for me to play with?"
"No, I don't think she has children, Precious. . .let's go put the cart back."
"SIGH Finally! I'm home!" Duo called out as he walked in the door of the apartment. Nothing but the sound of the empty house responded to him. "Guess everyone's out. . .oh well, got the place to myself then!" Duo shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack, walking lazily out into the living room where he dumped all his belongings before heading into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, moaning in dismay to the vast void inside.
"Man, I hate when we run out of food! Where's Trowa at, he's suppose to be here. He better not have gone out to eat without me!" He wandered back into the hallway and noticed the little backpack by the door.
Well, they were here. . .I guess I'll just go out and get some grub. Better call Rach first, see where she's at. He thought as he headed toward the stairs, barely stepping up when he spotted the phone in its place.
"I thought I left you upstairs. . ." Duo mumbled as he picked up the receiver to call his girlfriend.
"Hold on, my phone's ringing." Rachel said, sliding out of her seat in Heero's office.
"Not a problem; tell Duo I need to speak with him sometime." Heero responded as he began some paper work strewn across his desk.
"Huh?" She answered her cell and said, "Hello?"
"Hey, babe, I was wondering what you were up to. Seems Trowa's ditched me and left me with nothing but crumbs to scrounge. Wanna go out?" Duo's cheerful voice rang in her ear.
"Duo, hi. I was just finishing up some work here, I'll meet you over at Giodanni's in an hour, okay?"
"Sweet, see ya then, sweet cakes, ciao." She closed her cell and turned back to Heero who was casually browsing a letter.
"How'd you know-" Rachel began.
"I just did." Heero muttered, not even looking up. Rachel's face-hardened as she said in a lowered tone, "You know about our agreement, we decided only to use our powers for emergencies and otherwise impossible situations so others don't find out."
"And your little floatation earlier was an emergency?" Heero retorted.
"It was a hard situation. Do you know how difficult it would have been to haul a ladder up there and try to draw while balancing on the steps?"
"And the comment I made was no different, saved me time calling."
"That's completely different; a luxury not necessary."
"You call it what you wish. . .if we're finished here I have a lot of work to do manually before Relena gets back and I do believe you have a dinner date. Goodnight, Rachel." Heero responded snidely. With a frown, she muttered a farewell before leaving in a huff.
"Alrighty, Rachel should be here soon. . ." Duo said to himself as he walked up to the Italian restaurant, a broad grin on his face in anticipation of the scrumptious feast awaiting him. As he opened the front door, he heard a scream from across the street and quickly turned his head to the bank adjacent to him. A fire was leaping from the building and people scattered in all directions as a mysterious figure leapt out into the street with a bag in one hand and a machine gun in the other.
Woah, that's some heavy weaponry, that kinda stuff shouldn't be available to just anyone! Wait a minute. . .Duo's eyes widened as he focused on the thief, noticing his colorful disguise and half hidden face.
"What the-Trowa?" He gasped as the figure let off a few rounds of bullets to scare off the few people still around before slinging the weapon over his shoulder and doing a cartwheel to the next door building, jumping up and grabbing an awning covering the front door. He swung himself up onto it and did a flying leap up to a pipe running the full height of the structure. Reaching the top, the figure quickly disappeared on the roof as he escaped.
"Where's the police! The secret service, ANYBODY! Somebody has to stop him!" A woman shouted from the street, crying insanely as she stared at the last place he was seen.
I only know one person who does that kind of jumping. . .and he seems to have suddenly disappeared tonight. . .but why. . .why would he do this. . .Duo pondered in slight discomfort, feeling betrayed by his own friend. He quickly pulled out his cellphone and began to dial Trowa's number, hoping, for his sake, that he'd pick up. It just rang.
"Trowa, if you know what's good for you, you'll answer your freakin' phone!" Duo cursed under his breath as he hung up, turning to run to his car just as Rachel pulled up in hers. She stepped out and stared in surprise and shock of the burning building.
"Duo, what's going on!" Rachel asked over the roar of the blaze.
"We need to get this fire put out, the nearest fire station is miles away!" Duo shouted as he ran up to her.
"Than we have to do it, quickly while there's no one to catch us." Rachel said, turning to the fire. She raised her hand to it while Duo kept watch to make sure no one saw her. Suddenly, the flames crept back inside the building and the dull roar ceased. The fire was out. Rachel began to swoon and Duo caught her, easing her to the ground as he touched her cheek.
"Rachel? Rachel, wake up! Oh great, not again. . ." Duo picked her up and set her in her car, quickly jumping into his and using his powers to drive her car home with him as he headed back to their apartment.
"I've been calling his cellphone for hours, he's not picking up!" Duo said, his voice filled with the irritation and frustration he felt inside.
"Calm down, Duo. I'm sure it wasn't him; what reason would he have to rob the Sanc Kingdom United Bank?" Heero asked, feeling the strain of too much work to finish while he was delayed by the uprising.
"Well, I don't know! I mean, he's not doing so well financially, ya know! And it was his costume from the circus, even his mask! And hair!" Duo shouted.
"Lower your voice, you're giving me a headache." Heero groaned impatiently.
"Well I'm sorry but this guy's not the most unlikely of people to pull off something like this."
"If he really needed so much help, why would he have turned down Relena's offer for a better paying job?"
"I don't know, pride! Look, we have to find him before someone else does and he gets in a lot of trouble, more than he already is! Hey, I gotta go, Rachel's waking up." Duo quickly hung up the phone and walked over to Rachel's bed, kneeling beside it and taking Rachel's hand. She moaned and slowly looked over at him. With a half smile, he said, "Hey, sleeping beauty, what happened? I thought you were over your little swooning phase."
"I. . .I haven't used my powers to such a degree in a long time, maybe I just wasn't used to the surge of energy. . ." She slowly sat up and felt her head aching, quickly laying back down as she moaned.
"Just relax for now, okay? I'm gonna check around to see if anyone else has seen him recently."
"Seen who?" Rachel asked in confusion.
"Trowa, he robbed the bank and set it on fire."
"What? Are you kidding me, why would he-" She groaned again as a sharp pain hit her in the head.
"I don't have all the answers but I will soon, just stay here and rest, I'll be back." Duo stood and walked toward the door.
"Duo. . ." Rachel muttered.
"Yeah?" He glanced over his shoulder.
"Where's. . .Precious?" With a pause, Duo said solemnly, "I don't know but wherever she is, she could be in great danger."
