Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Web of Worlds ❯ A Web of Worlds:1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I ripped another sheet of paper towel off of the roll and wiped the rest of the glass cleaner off of the bathroom mirror.
It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and here I am, busying myself with the mundane task of cleaning my apartment.... for the third time today.
I looked up into the mirror to make sure I hadn't left any streaks and got caught up staring at my own reflection.
I had let my hair grow out a bit after the war. It now brushed my shoulders and I don't bother putting it up in that headache-inducing ponytail anymore. I don't bother with alot of things anymore, actually. It's funny, really. I no longer do the small things I used to do and instead replace them by repeating larger tasks I never used to bother with. I guess I'll do anything to make myself forget about the war. Not that I could ever forget the war. Perhaps "distract myself from thinking about the war" is a better choice of words.
I sigh and pick up the bottle of glass cleaner, quickly returning it to it's rightful place under the bathroom sink.
'I need to get out of here...' I thought to myself. 'This place is too suffocating. I need to get out and breathe actual air. The air in here is so full of cleaning fluid fumes, I'm risking addiction if I stay any longer.' I chuckled to myself and grabbed my coat off of the hook by the door, opening the front door as I shrugged my jacket on.
"Not that I have room to worry about addiction." I quietly mocked myself, "If I know myself, and I think I do, I'm headed straight for the gym. Then again, where else would I go?"
I walked across the living room towards the television, going to turn it off. I had left it on while I was cleaning for some background noise. I rarely actually watched it.
"....another amazing story today, as a man who was hit by a truck this week while crossing the highway miraculously lived. This is the twelfth severe traffic accident in Tokyo this week, with all victims surviving. People are calling this week 'Miracle Week', believing that the week was blessed by....." I turned the dial on the television and the picture of the falsely enthusiastic news anchor shrank until it disappeared, leaving a black screen.
I sighed again and walked out the door, locking it behind me.
"Fumes must be getting to me..." I muttered to myself, putting the keys in my coat pocket. "That's me. Crazy old Wufei..... only two years after the war and already I've lost it. God, if only he could see me now. What a sorry sight I'd be." I paused mid-step and chuckled softly before resuming the familiar path towards to gym. "Then again, to him it would probably just be 'new material'. Yet another hilarious thing to make fun of me for. Bless his heart. That's me, alright. Crazy, bitter old Wufei."
I stopped walking, realizing that I had already reached the gym. "Of course you're already there, baka!" I berated myself, "It's only three buildings away from where you live! You'd think I'd have gotten that dow...."
I stopped mid-sentence, noticing that people in the streets were staring at me.
'The fumes are definately getting to me...'
I glared at the passers by and they quickly turned their heads away, as if trying to cover up that they were looking and I smirked at their obviousness. Then, haughtily, I marched into the gym, head held high. I marched right past the check-in counter. I saw no need to check in, anyhow. I was there almost every day. They knew me. As if to prove my point, the person working behind the counter gave me a small wave in greeting, then returned to his magazine.
I headed straight for the first machine in my routine.

I left the gym sweaty, hot and tired, but I felt better than when I had went in. My head felt alot clearer, as it always did after a good workout, and I just wanted to go home, flop down on my couch and read for awhile. I was in the middle of a very interesting book that I wanted to get back to.
As I reached for the access card to my building, I noticed a large group of people out front of the restaurant across the street. The restaurant was called Downtown Lights. It was a well known place to eat in this city. Many famous people go to eat there, so there's always a lot of paparazzi lurking about. Still, this was the largest amount of people I'd ever seen gathered in front of the building. The person they're looking for must be pretty important if there are so many of them.
I turned back to my door and ran my card through the card reader, verifying my residence there. I didn't really care for the whole celebrity scene. It was too phony.
I pulled open the door to my building, and was about to go inside when I heard someone call my name. I whirled around to look behind me, but I didn't see anyone I knew.
"Wufei!"
I glanced over to the crowd in front of Downtown Lights. I blinked as the crowd parted, the reporters still ramming their microphones in front of the celebrities faces. When they finally emerged, I recognized them both instantly.
"Quatre! Trowa!" I called, waving them both over.
Quatre broke free of the crowd, laughing joyously, and ran across the street to meet me, Trowa in tow.
"Wufei! It's been so long!" Quatre beamed, his eyes glowing with happiness.
Trowa nodded at me in greeting. I returned the gesture, before moving my attentions back to Quatre. I gave him a small smile and replied quietly, "Yes. It has been awhile, hasn't it?"
"Too long." Quatre continued, "So, how have things been? Are you doing alright? What have you been up to?"
Trowa chuckled at Quatre's obvious enthusiasm and spoke before I had a chance to respond. "Perhaps we should go someplace more comfortable. Somewhere more suited to conversation, hmm? Coffee, perhaps?"
I frowned for a moment, not being a big fan of coffee. "Well, if you want somewhere to sit, my apartment's upstairs."
Quatre and Trowa accepted my invitation and accompanied me to my apartment. I ushered them into the living room area, hanging their jackets in the closet. They both stood in the entrance way and inspected the room.
"Wow. It certainly is clean in here, Wufei!" Quatre exclaimed, smiling at me.
"Yeah...." I muttered, "Do you two want tea?"
"That would be wonderful, thank you." Quatre replied.
"Sure, thanks." followed Trowa.
I walked into the kitchen to prepare the tea, pulling out all the necessary things to make it. As I plugged the kettle in, Quatre's head peeked into the doorway.
"I thought I'd help you out, since you're making it for me..." he explained, when he saw my questioning glance.
"No need. Making tea isn't a group activity." I said a little more sarcastically than I had intended. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Quatre blushed rather prettily and hastily cast his eyes towards the floor. "You're right, of course. I didn't mean to offend you."
I raised an eyebrow at the blond and smirked, "What makes you think I'm offended?"
He risked a glance up at me and smiled weakly when he saw my expression. "Well, you sounded offended. Besides, I know it must sound pretty stupid that I'm asking to help you make tea. I'm sure you're perfectly capable of making it yourself."
I had to smile at how unsure he was around me, like he thought I was going to bite his head off or something.
"Quatre," I started to explain, "I understand why you came back here. Thank you for offering to help, but I think I've got it. Now, you're my guest, so go sit down and I'll bring you tea."
Quatre gave a small accepting gesture and walked back into the living room.
When the whistle of the kettle sounded, I quickly prepared the tea for my guests and placed everything we needed onto a tray.
As I entered the room, I noticed Quatre and Trowa quietly discussing something amongst themselves. When they noticed I had returned, they stopped talking. I was very tempted to ask them what they were saying, but restrained myself.
We drank our tea, mostly in silence, only speaking to comment on one inane thing or another. The three of us weren't really well aquainted and thus had nothing to talk about. Still, it was nice to see a familiar face, even if we really weren't the best of friends.
When they rose to leave, Quatre turned to give me a thoughtful look. He glanced at Trowa who gave him a slight nod, before turning back towards me.
"Wufei," he began politely, "Trowa and I were wondering if you'd like to accompany Heero, Duo and ourselves to a movie premier we're attending this upcoming Saturday."
I stared at them for a few seconds, not really responding.
"I have the ticket, if you want it." he said, reaching into his jacket pocket and producing a ticket to a movie entitled "The Gift". He handed it to me and looked up at me expectantly, waiting for my reaction.
I raised an eyebrow at him and his cheeks flushed. "I don't suppose," I said with a small smirk on my face, "that our meeting tonight was a complete accident then.... or did you just happen to have this on you? Waiting for us to meet up by Saturday?"
Quatre blushed even harder and even Trowa looked a little uncomfortable.
Busted.
I sighed and waited a few more seconds, making them both wait with me, before nodding my head. Quatre gave me a quizzical look.
"Alright, I'll go. Try to treat me like a fool again, though, and I'll kick each of your asses. Got it?" I said, giving each of them a peircing glance.
They nodded and hastily saw their own way out.

I sighed as I heard the sound of the door shut. Alone again. That's not so bad. I was alone for most of the war and I came out just fine, right?
It was weird to see the other pilots again, so soon after the war had ended. I knew I was probably going to see them again sometime in my life, but I didn't think that it would be a frequent event. After all, the war was only six months ago.
I wasn't complaining that they showed up, in fact, it had been quite pleasant talking to them again and it's not like I have anything better to do. All the work I do is from home and I can do it basically whenever I feel like it, so I don't have to worry about that.
I work for the Preventers, but Sally made sure I got a really cushy, or as she calls it, "independant", position. I file things and help out with the unusual or difficult cases if I want to. Not a big deal, and it pays enough to keep me comfortable.
I glanced down at the movie ticket in my hand. This could be fun. I could see the other pilots again, and I would get out of the house.
I placed the ticket on my coffee table and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth before bed.
Who knows how this will turn out? Maybe I'll have a good time, and maybe, if I'm lucky, I can see him alone and maybe, we could talk...
'That's alot of "maybe's" Wufei.' I silently scolded myself.
I scowled at myself in the mirror. Turning on my heel, I marched into my room and collapsed on my bed, not bothering to change out of my clothes.
It was a long day. I needed sleep.