Disclaimer: I don't own of the characters from Gundam Wing. All characters and their quarks belong to their original creators. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement. Any other character that doesn't belong to the series is mine, so no takey. Understand? Good. Otherwise… Enjoy! (^-^)

Chapter Four

Early Morning

Hassles

Eliza groaned in her sleep and rolled over, kicking off the blankets that threatened to smolder her to death. She murmured in her sleep, tossing and turning nonstop, accidentally waking the other room's occupant, her sister, May. She slept in the twin bed next to hers, laying there drowsily, pondering if beating her sister to death with a pillow would finally allow her to get some much desired rest. The poor girl hadn't gone to bed until 4:30 in the morning, spending most of the night helping Heero and Trowa with signing the G-boys up for the fall semester at the local community college she and her friends were attending. It turns out the boys were around the same age as them, all of them were already, or soon to be turning, nineteen. After Heero scheduled their appointments for when they would go talk to a guidance council, he and Trowa left her alone around 2:30. She spent the rest of the night writing.

Eliza snorted in her sleep. "Very funny Mr. Leak. No, I would like a pumpkin coffee crumpet," she murmured, simpering away in her slumber as she talked about nonsense, her words slurred like she was drunk. A silver stream of salvia ran down the side of her open mouth spilling onto her pillow.

May peered over at her sister. Let me guess. That midnight snack of pretzels and cucumbers finally got to her, she thought in dismay. She groaned, rolling over as Eliza laughed over enthusiastically. It was a well known fact among the three friends, that if Eliza ate anything before she went to bed, there was a guarantee she would have weird dreams. I just wished she could dream quietly for God's sake. Why does she have to be so loud!

It was also a well known fact in the house that Eliza talked in her sleep as well. If they got really lucky, once in a blue moon, she actually crawled out of bed and sleep-walked.

May groaned, grabbing her pillow and putting it over her head trying to block the nuisance. She felt something hit her in the side. She peaked out from underneath her shelter to find her sister's drooled cover pillow on her bed. She glared at Eliza, peevishly.

The redhead cackled obnoxiously in her sleep. "Very funny, Mr. Lime. You're a regular comedian," she gurgled.

The vein on May's forehead pulsed in annoyance. Her right eyebrow twitched and her lips jerked themselves into a warped sneer. "Doh! Will you just shut up already!" she snapped, chucking the pillow at her noisy sleeping sibling.

Unconsciously, Eliza raised a hand and volleyed the pillow back at her sister, hitting her square in the face. Again the redhead let out an overly thrilled obnoxious laugh, rolling over to face the wall opposite her. Obviously her dream amused her to no end, and all at the expense of her poor sleepless older sibling. May growled underneath her breath, pulling said pillow off her face and glowered at Eliza, indignantly. Of all the stupid mornings, why did she choose this morning to be uncannily annoying in her sleep?!

"Fuck this," May seethed, giving up on trying to catch some z's and threw back her silver and lavender comforters, climbing out of bed. She guessed this meant she was up for the day. Eliza was seriously going to pay later on for keeping her awake this morning. She would make sure of that.

Grumbling in agitation, May hustled around their room, slipping into her pink bunny slippers and her favorite dark green fluffy bathrobe with a blossoming sakura branch sowed in the plushy fabric of the right side, over her baggy pink Sakura-con t-shirt and baggy silky pajama pants. She stopped to look around the room, wondering what else she might want to bring with her to the living room.

The room Eliza and May shared was a medium size one and fairly spacious for a bedroom, even thought with all their stuff, it certainly didn't look like it. The walls were painted a pale ice blue, hosting a vast collection of posters ranging from rock/boy bands, to movie stars to anime and beyond. There were even some photographs of family and friends scattered among the organized chaos. The room, itself, was divided by an invisible line starting from where the stained mahogany nightstand sat in between hers and Eliza's twin size beds to the sliding closet doors on the opposite side of the room. Each girl's bed was decorated to her liking: Eliza's bed sheets were a dark navy blue cover with a dark purple comforter embroidered with shimmering gold and silver shooting stars, while May's bed had white and lavender striped bed sheets underneath a thick lavender comforter with silver vines printed into the silky fabric.

An aqua blue carpet lined the messy floor, heaps of clothes and other belongings strewed about randomly. In the far corner near Eliza's bed was a tall and stead-fast bookcase filled to the rim with their favorite series both in manga and regular books. A short twisted white wire coiled lamp with a bright blue lampshade sat on the nightstand, along with a silver and black alarm that read 9:45 in the morning. A taller lamp with a sheer light green lampshade towered over the corner next to May's bed, occupied by three beans bags ranging in colors from neon green to sunrise yellow to a rich vibrant blue. The girls called the spot their little personal hang out for when they retreated to their room for the night.

May walked over to the old fashion English vintage desk, positioned next the tan blinds hiding their large rectangular window peering out into their backyard. She snatched a notebook and mechanical pencil off the clutter surface of the desk. The desk top, itself, was littered with all kinds of bizarre knick-knacks and unusual notebooks. Her navy blue laptop was tucked away in one of the draws, safely out of view. It happened to be one of May's favorite places in the entire house, where she could go and not be disturbed by any one, retreating to her happy place and typing till her hearts content. Quietly, she snuck out of their room, gently closing the bedroom door behind her.

Their room happened to be the last one on the right side at the end of the dark dimly light hallway on the upper level of the split-level home, that opened out into the mean living areas of the house and proceed off down the meandering staircase that made up the foyer, and going into the lower level of the house. May by-passed the closed guestroom door opposite theirs, which now served as Heero's and Wufie's bedroom. Further down the hall was Duo's and Quatre's room. Opposite them was the upstairs bathroom.

The tranquil morning air smelled of freshly brewed coffee. The smoky rich aromatic scent wafted through the narrow corridor and met May's nostril, making her inhale deeply, enjoying the stimulating smell. It appeared she wasn't the only awake at this hour so early in the morning. She patted down the hallway and took the short-cut into the kitchen.

It still bugged the heck out of her as to why the people, who built their home, felt the main support beams should go straight through the middle of the living room and kitchen, separating the two with a very annoying wall that curved and arched stopping short just before the dinning room and living room connected. Sure, it gave the girls amusement during rainy days when Eliza and Jesse would get on each other's nerves and chase each other around in circles. Not to mention, you had two ways to excess the kitchen; the short cut being just go up the stairs from the foyer and cut across entering through the rounded doorway, or take the long way and walk through the living room, and dining room to get to your destination.

"Good morning, Miss May," Quatre greeted, cheerfully, wide awake and ready to start a new day. The boy was still dressed in the over sized purple t-shirt he borrowed from Eliza and his plaid boxers. He offered her a cup of steaming hot freshly brewed coffee. "Would you like a cup?"

May nodded, staring at the blonde haired pilot, curious as to how he could be so damn perky in the morning. "Thanks," she grumbled and trudged over to the peninsula to seat herself. She set down her cup and flipped her notebook looking for a clean page. From there, she tapped the end of her pencil against her chin, brooding on what to write, while absently sipping her coffee courtesy of Quatre Raberba Winner, himself.

"Lovely day isn't it?" he chirped, making light conversation with the groggy girl.

He seated himself next to her, on the side of the peninsula facing the dining room, to enjoy the vibrant green scenery beyond the glass of the duel French doors. Rays of golden sunlight shimmered in the early morning fog that descended over night onto the sleepy seaside college town. The backyard was a haze of light green-grey shades, swaying softly in the summer morning breeze.

May's eyes flickered between the patio doors and the blank page before her. "So it is," she murmured, off handedly and took another swig. She savored the rich creamy flavor before going right to work, jotting down whatever popped into her head at the moment.

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"101...102...103...104...105..." Trowa counted as he did his daily one-handed push-ups while doing a hand-stand to maintain his upper body strength. The boy was in nothing but his boxers, showing off his well built tan muscles, glistening with sweat in the early morning sunlight that streamed down from the lone small rectangular set window into the upper edge of the concrete plastered walls of the basement. He braced one arm behind his back, tittering a little, continuing in his mission to reach 200 one-handed push-ups. His gravity defying bang jerked up and down with his constant steady body movements.

"106...107...108...109..."

The basement or lower level was constructed into three separate spaces. The first area was a large square room off to the right of the main stairwell leading into the upstairs. The girls had turned it into the game room for rainy days. A large pool table stood in the middle of the room on a long deep maroon mat. Hung on the wall, next the stairway opening was a dart board, it's bright neon darts still lodged into its bumpy surface. Anime posters from Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Naruto, Tsubasa, Gundam Wing, and Full Metal Alchemist adorned the walls. A long cozy rickety ancient dark green and red floral patterned couch that doubled as a fold-out bed, lounged up against the left wall, near the tiny entrance way indented into the wall, leading out into the two car garage. Next to the entrance way was a narrow wooden top bar equipped with five metal cushioned twirling stools and a preparation station behind the counter, complete with a mixer, fruity drink mixes(nonalcoholic of course), a cooler, and utensils hidden from view. On a raised shelf just behind the bar, sat an old fashion boom-box. A gigantic wooden sword case hung on the adjacent wall, supporting antique swords dating back to the Medieval Ages in Europe, handed down for generations in the Lonestar family tree.

The second area was a walled off region, aka the bathroom, stationed off the left of the stairway. Complete with a toilet, sink, mirror, cabinets, and a shower. There was really nothing special about it. The downstairs bathroom was rather small and cramped, but the water pressure in the shower head was a lot better than the one upstairs.

Then there was the final major area of the basement: Jesse's room. A off limits type of deal for the 03 Gundam pilot who happened to find himself sharing the living space with. Jesse's room was made up of the wall that protrude out into the middle of the spacious basement, opposite the mini bar, and a blue and red sliding papier-mâché Japanese door that connected the wall to the bathroom's right wall. Trowa had gotten a brief glance into the strange bizarre world of Jesse Lonestar during the grand tour before he was introduced to his living quarters for his stay. From what he gathered from observance, the room was as colorful as the tiny girl's personality and just as chaotic.

"121...122...123...124...125...126...127..."

The obnoxious sound of a alarm clock going out filled the air. Trowa paused in mid-thrust, craning his neck slightly so he could looked over toward the sliding door. A loud crash echoed off the basement walls and a distinct thud came from the other side of the door. Groggy cursing soon followed, along with some shuffling, indicating that Jesse was indeed now up.

The screen jerked back violently, revealing a ornery halfway awake Jesse. The tiny girl's baggy sea-green tank top that went down to her thighs and her black and red striped boxers were ruffled from sleep. Her normally straight blonde locks were in a upheaval, resembling a haystack. She blinked the sleep from her deep blue eyes and glared at Trowa, straining to focus her blurry vision. Mornings were not kind to the five foot five midget.

Trowa stared at her, awaiting for her to say anything. She looked like she was drifting between consciousness and lulling off into dreamland again. When she didn't say anything, he decided to end the awkward moment. "Uh…Morning?" he said.

Jesse yawned and stretched, grumbling a quick "morning" back and then lumbered over to the bathroom. Trowa flinched as the girl ran head on into the closed door.

"Fuck," the tiny girl hissed taking a step back, holding onto her now bruised forehead. She let out a long line of curses as she angrily yanked the bathroom door open. "Got to be shitting me. Who fucking closes the mother fucking damn door when nobody's fucking using the pisser? Son of a bitch."

Trowa sweat dropped, heavily, in dismay, listening the door slam shut behind her with more force than necessary. He could tell somebody wasn't a morning person. Hearing the shower water running, he went back to his morning routine aiming to reach 200 before Jesse was out.

Jesse turned off the shower head, feeling wide awake. A nice hot shower helped stimulate the senses. She stretched her stiff arms above her head before rummaging through the white painted cabinet built into the wall next to the shower stall. She pulled a clean towel and dried off her hair. She wrapped the towel securely around her body after fully drying off and then went about her daily hygiene. Once finished she existed the bathroom to discover an upside down Trowa, dressed in only his boxers, displaying his perfectly sculpted body. He just reached 200.

She whistled appreciatively, startling the ex-Gundam pilot into doing a somersault, pulling himself into a crouch to stare wide-eyed at the practically nude girl. The towel being her only piece of clothing.

Jesse winked playfully. "Nice view," she commented and then went into her bedroom and said before sliding the door shut, "The bathroom's all yours, Trowa."

Trowa groaned, the cheeks on his face heating up. He shook his head embarrassed, grabbed his clothes from yesterday and headed into the steamy bathroom, wondering if she left him any hot water.

***************************

The familiar sound of footsteps marching up the stairs, reached Quatre's and May's ears in the kitchen. The two of them turned just in time to see Jesse come waltzing into the kitchen, fully dressed in her work clothes: a flowing velvet opal skirt and an orange bejeweled tank top. A beret sat lop-sided on her neatly combed head of hair and a deep red silk scarf was wrapped loosely around her slender shoulders.

"Morning Miss Jesse," Quatre said, beaming as he was putting his dirty mug into the sink. He pondered at why she was fully dressed. "What's the special occasion?"

"There's coffee in the coffee maker, Jess," May reported from her spot at the peninsula not looking up from her writing.

Jesse nodded to her best friend and went to pour herself a cup. "Thanks." She turned to Quatre, blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip. "Nothing too remarkable. Just work."

Quatre's eyes brightened, interested. "Oh? Where do you work at?"

She grunted. "A little place called The Poet's Corner. It's kind of a combination between a book store and a coffee shop." She glanced at the digital clock on the microwave just above the stove top. The blue numbers read 10:23. "I have to be there in a little over a half-an-hour."

"So I take it you won't be joining us when we go shopping today?"

"Nope."

Trowa stepped into the kitchen, wearing his usual attire, joining the trio. Quatre smiled and poured his fellow Gundam pilot a piping hot cup of coffee. "Morning Trowa," he greeted merrily. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Alright. Mattress was a little bumpy, but rather than that, pretty good," Trowa replied, grateful for some caffeine to jog his system. He raised the mug to his mouth. His gaze wandered around the room until his eyes landed on Jesse's slender form leaning against the peninsula. Color flushed into his cheeks as their eyes met. He looked away, avoiding eye contact, the memory from what happened earlier still fresh in his mind.

Quatre caught the blush on Trowa's face and quirked an eyebrow, looking from him to Jesse. "Did something happen, Trowa?" he asked concerned.

Trowa coughed, embarrassed. "It's… nothing," he muttered.

A over exuberant yawn could be heard as Duo stumbled into the kitchen looking like a tornado hit. "Damn. Is everybody having a pow-wow in the kitchen and forget to invite me?" he demanded, grinning a lazy grin, dark purple bags hung underneath his usually brilliant violet eyes. His hair wasn't in its trademark braid, hanging in a loosely snarl-mass over his shoulders, resembling a rat's nest.

The shinigami collapsed to floor, tired as hell, and crawled over to where Quatre was making a fresh batch of coffee.

"Coffee," Duo whined, pitifully. "…Need caffeine...So tired…"

Quatre laughed, smiling down at his half awake friend's antics. "Oh Duo. Take a seat and I'll make you a fresh cup of coffee."

Duo smiled idly and climbed to his feet and stumbled over to the peninsula. "That would be great, Quatre." He plopped in the empty chair next to May, who instantly blushed at his almost naked, boxer clad body. "Morning sweet stuff."

May blushed even more. She averted her eyes, shyly. "Morning to you too."

"Shit!" Jesse cursed noticing the time and startling everyone with her outbursts. She hastily gulped down the rest of her coffee. "I gotta go. I'm supposed to clock in at eleven sharp! May, I can trust you and your sister in making sure the guys get everything they need, right?"

"Huh?" Duo looked from the frantic blonde to her brunette friend confused. "Go where?"

May waved off her concern, nonchalant. "Yeah. Sure. You better hurry it up or else you're going to be late. Drive safe."

"Okay. Sure. Thanks. You guys have fun and remember to make sure all five of them at least get a couple of applications from different places so they can get a job while they stay here," Jesse instructed, hastily and disappeared from the kitchen in a flurry. "You see when I get home!! I'm taking the car so you guys can have the Tahoe! You'll need it."

Now Duo really was befuddled, staring at the doorway where Jesse vanished from. "Uh… What was that all about?"

Trowa shrugged equally puzzled by the tiny girl's hasty departure. "Dunno."

"Jesse has to work," May explained, casually, catching the two boys' attention. They turned to her, promptly. "She works at a local pub called, The Poet's Corner. It's off the main drag near the pier. It's a pretty cool place. You can order a cup of coffee or a cappuccino while you're browsing for a book, so it's like a book store and star bucks all in one."

"I don't mean to sound rude, Miss May," Quatre said sitting down at the peninsula, "but what about you? Don't you have work too since all of you girls are paying rent for this place?"

May smiled and laughed. "Not today I don't. It's my day off," she explained, happily. "I don't have to be back to work until tomorrow and as for Eliza… Well… she has work today too, but she won't have to be there until six."

"So you all have jobs?" he inquired, smiling softly.

May smiled back. "Yep. I work at Game Stop. My sister works at Arbys'. I like my job. My manger is really nice and some times when it's a slow day, he lets us play video games. The two guys who always are on shift with me are kind of nerdy, but cool. They're regular bunch of super dorks. Really funny too. It's awesome. Eliza grumps about her jobs, but she's like it. Especially since it racks in the dough, that why we can buy the video games on our wish list."

"Sounds like fun," Duo replied, smirking, now holding piping hot cup of Joe in his hand. He blew on the steam rising off of the murky brown surface. "I guess I'll have to put in application at this Game Stop place. Sounds like a blast."

May's eyes lit up like fireworks. A light delighted blush blossoming in her cheeks. She gawked at him. "Really?! That would be so wicked!"

"Wicked?" Trowa echoed, unfamiliar with the twenty-first century slang for 'neat or awesome.'

May laughed, seeing his friends mirror his confusion. "Jeez, we gotta get you guys up to speed with the modern day lingo. We can't let you loose on the public and make complete fools of yourselves. Especially if you're going to be here awhile."

A/N: Another chapter done and just in time for the Fourth of July weekend too!! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!(^_^) I hope everyone has a fun time at their family picnics and see lots of beautiful colorful fireworks!!! YAY!!!!!!!

Any who… I would like to give a huge fat "Thank you" to our two wonderful reviewers:

- Cakezloveanime2- Yay! I'm glad you love it and I'll keep pumping out the super awesome goodness. You'll have to let me know if you have special requests for predicaments that the Gundam pilots will eventually find themselves in near future chappies. Thank you so much for your support!! XD

- Roxas is mine!! :D- Glad you're liking it, amiga!! I'll continue on working on this particular fan and my twilight fan fic. Stay frosty, my friend!! Lol. Yeah, I'm a dork. (^^)