Back to here and now, the parking lot...
Duo yawned and stretched ready to go to sleep but still fairly awake. Looking over the parked cars, he saw a large group of people come out of the staff exit just to the left of himself. They moved over to three parked trucks that vaguely reminded Duo of moving vans. They grouped together for a few minutes, then broke into three separate groups and loaded into the vehicles. One paused and looked over their shoulder. In the dim light of a light post, he saw the face of one of the dunk girls, the one with the brown hair.
She looked different, her clothes giving her the appearance of being slightly over weight and her hair was stuffed under a hat. But he recognized her anyway. Wondering for only a second what they were doing, he dismissed them from his mind. Quatre drove up and, climbing into the back seat and accepting Mariameia, he leaned against the plump seat cushion and napped with the child to the Hotel.
The alarm clock next to Duo's ear began to buzz softly. After a few seconds of no action from the inert form, it began to buzz louder and louder until his fist shot out and finally turned it off. Groaning and mentally complaining about lack of sleep, he rolled out of bed and grabbed the clothes he had set out the day before. Grabbing his travel bag of bathroom supplies, he stumbled out into the hall way with just enough time to see Heero calmly walk in and shut the door. Rubbing his eyes and subduing a curse in his fellow pilot's general direction, he walked down the short hallway into the small kitchen.
They were staying at a fairly nice hotel on the thirteenth floor. Their particular room was large and spacious. The door into the suit immediately brought anyone staying in the rooms to a nice sitting area, decorated in pale blues and grays. The TV was large and the plasma type, with two couches in the shape of an L around it, a coffee table in the center and a thick carpet underneath. The walls were decorated with pictures of beaches with delicate white sand and impossibly blue water stretching out into the horizon.
The kitchen was done in blues and of to the right of the sitting room. Shaped like a U, it had many cabinets along the wall and under the counter. The hotel supplied the room with a full sized refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee machine, cups, plates silver ware, and other items that allowed guests to make their own food and clean up after themselves, if they so chose.
The hall from which Duo emerged had four rooms, each of equal size and following the theme of the front rooms. In the hall, they were arranged with two rooms on the left, one at the very end of the hall, and the remaining right next to the bathroom. The beds were king sized, with mattresses that allowed the sleeper, or sleepers, to change the firmness of their bed. They were well lit, with a few dressers, a TV, and a small fridge one corner of the room.
Duo pulled out the second coffee maker that the hotel had generously delivered upon request and began making coffee. He made it black and very thick, and Quatre normally compared it to oil. Trowa and himself were the only ones who drank it on a regular basis, though sometime Heero would have some when he really needed a caffeine boost or was so preoccupied that he drank whatever was handed to him. Quatre poured cream and just a bit of sugar into his coffee and Wufei preferred tea.
Just as the coffee finished brewing, Heero came out of the bathroom, his hair slightly damp and toweling his hair dry. He was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a very baggy blue shirt. It had taken a while, but Duo had finally been able to convince his room mates to dress more relaxed. Grinning, Duo scooped up his stuff and ran into the bathroom and gleefully pulled off the t-shirt and sweats he wore to bed. The hotel they were staying at had temperature control on the water and Duo punched in the settings he enjoyed.
After ten minute in the shower, Duo came out to find Trowa enjoying cup of coffee on the couch and a mug covered with a small plate sitting on the counter for him. He grinned to show his thanks to Trowa and then turned his bright smile to Quatre, who was cooking what appeared to be an omelet. Out of the five boys, only Wufei and Quatre could cook anything worth eating and while Quatre shuddered at the eating habits of his friends, he flat out refused to cook every night for everyone. Wufei didn't need to comment on how he felt about cooking for everyone and nobody bothered to ask him to.
Quatre laughed at Duo's hopeful look. "Yes Duo, I'm feeding everyone today." Duo pulled both elbows back and hissed "yes". He loved when Quatre made him an omelet, cause no matter how much he carped about the amount of cheese Duo liked, he always laid it on heavy. Going over to the other couch, he sat and sipped his drink, leaning his head on the back of the couch. Heero came out from the back with what looked like the last bit of his home work and sat on the floor, dumping it on the coffee table. They were graduating this year and Heero could not be more eager to get out of what he called "a worthless building filled with bored teenagers who have no goal or life experience" in a disgusted tone that always made Duo want to punch him in the arm to get him to loosen up.
As Quatre finished everyone's breakfast, Wufei walked out of his room in loose white pants and a tight, sleeveless shirt in a light grey. Going to the kitchen, he found his morning tea already brewed and at the temperature he enjoyed. Catching Quatre's eye, he nodded his appreciation and grabbed his omelet. Sitting to the right of Duo, he began to eat. Quatre skillfully brought out four more plates and his cup of coffee, handed them to their respective persons, and then sat down by Trowa, pressing his hip to the other boys, and reached for the remote and turned on the news.
The weather report was on and the only person truly paying attention was Quatre. The colony was to expect a very light rain and a warning about the possible flood conditions of a certain area that was experiencing troubles with their sewer system.
"In other news, a major robbery has just been reported by the leading manufacturer in machine parts." Duo looked up, finally interested in the news, especially in this report, being a mechanic and all. A spokesman for the company appeared on the screen.
He was a tall man, with thinning blonde hair and apparently in his mid fifties. He was dressed in a nice charcoal colored suit, his posture perfect and his eyes a light, almost golden colored brown. "The type of equipment that was stolen can be used for mecha. Unfortunately, technology that was to be destroyed in three days was also stolen. What was stolen equals up to millions of...," everyone was staring at the television now, as the screen split and pictures of the items were shown. They recognized parts that could be found in their Gundam units.
A reporter on site came on. "Now, most of the cameras were apparently taken out during the heist, but the suspects did manage to miss one. The footage you are about to see was taken at about two o'clock last night at the M.D.S.C., Morchanson's Development and Storage Center. It shows at least twenty five people working together, very organized, and going after only specific targets." The video played and Duo stared in wide eyed horror as a set of familiar clothes came into view. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the screen. 'No way,' he thought. 'No frickin' way.'
The video was shown twice more, the reporter reviewing the information again. The screen switched to the anchorman at the studio. "The M.D.S.C. is offering a reward of fifty two thousand dollars to anyone who may have information on the either the heist or the perpetrators. And now in other news..." Quatre hit the mute button and sat with his friends in quiet astonishment.
Heero was the first to move. Turning back to the table, he began to do his homework again. Quatre's startled gaze settled on him. Heero was normally the one to take action without being prompted to do so. Then Wufei began to eat again, Duo to thoughtfully sip his coffee. Looking at Trowa, he found the other boy reading a newspaper. It hit him, right then. They were all living new lives and this was the way it was supposed to be.
Pleased with his revelation, he undid mute, snuggled closer to Trowa, and watched a rather amusing commercial about cat food that the company was reusing from about 1998 A.D. A bunch of digitally automated cats were running around and singing meow over and over in a tune he realized would probably be stuck in his head all day.
Duo watched another hour of television, trying to appear calm and unperturbed. Sipping his coffee and wishing that Trowa had poured him less so he could get out of the hotel faster; he glanced at the two boys on the couch. No body mentioned their relationship and frankly, he doubted anyone really thought about it. They complimented each other so well, no one really minded. Catherine was a bit surprised, but she liked Quatre and he liked her and they'd found that if they both wanted the same thing of Trowa, they could always double team him.
Looking into his coffee cup, he grinned to see that he had about three sips left. He drained hit, bounced up from the couch, and washed his cup out in the sink. Grabbing a baseball cap, light jacket, and his work boots, he went to the landing and pulled on the boots. Quatre briefly looked over with a brow raised. Duo grinned. "Shopping," he explained. Then remembering that he hadn't grabbed his wallet, he went over to a small table by the door and, with a little difficulty given the slight tightness of his jeans, stuck his wallet in his jeans. Pulling on the jacket and zipping it, he pulled his braid through the back of the cap, settled it on his head and headed out the door with a jaunty wave behind him.
He walked down the hall and into the elevator, pushing the Lobby button. The elevator moved up slightly, then began it's down word descent. It stopped on the tenth floor and a couple, obviously newly wed, ducked in, holding each others arms as the doors slid silently behind them. They moved to a corner and hugged each other. The thing stopped at the eighth floor, admitting a lone business woman. She stood on the opposite side of the couple and slightly forward, completely ignoring both them and Duo. The final stop was on the third floor and an elderly woman was pushed in by a younger woman who was obviously her nurse. The wheelchair had an oxygen tank connected to the back and the mask covered the frail woman's face almost completely.
Finally at the lobby, Duo managed to be the first one off the stuffy elevator and managed to get halfway out of the lobby before the elevator had emptied out.