Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ For Myself ❯ Five ( Chapter 5 )

Five

"We are not going after that boy!" Rab shouted at Ranger. "What were you doing?"

"I wasn't doing anything!" Ranger shouted back. "He was just there!"

"Oh, it was just chance that you started moving at him?" Rab moved closer to the man. "I told you we aren't touching him!"

"I didn't touch him!" Ranger protested.

Jaden moved away from the pair running his hands through his hair.

He'd known it was a bad idea for the pair to go to the hardware store that the kid worked at. It was a definite way to get the pilots attention, sure, but Ranger wasn't all there at the best of times.

"I told you he's still obsessed with that kid," he snapped, running his hands through his hair more. "I told you."

"I am not obsessed!" Ranger snapped back angrily. "And what about you? You've been talking about him when I wasn't even thinking about it!"

"Oh, no?" Jaden demanded, rounding on him. "You didn't just offer up his store as a destination? You didn't mention scaring him would make the pilots come running? I'm telling you, Marsh," Jaden turned back to his friend. "This is a bad idea...they're going to kill you. They have a gundam!"

"And whatever that other one was," Marsh agreed.

"The Leo?" Jaden demanded.

"It had the body," Rab retorted, "but not the head...and what the hell kind of weapon..."

Jaden didn't really believe that. He let Rab go off into speculation with Ranger, looking around again. He knew that Rab would never see his point of view on Ranger. Ranger was his golden boy, his special fucking friend. The two would be lovers if one was a chick.

He grumbled irritably to himself.

"Don't you start," Rab protested, looking back to him in concern. "It's just a slight change of plans...most plans change as soon as you step onto the battlefield anyway."

"You were just complaining about him going after the boy," Jaden snapped, gesturing at Ranger. He was keeping his tone level, because if he let himself, he'd probably fly off the handle and piss Rab off on top of Ranger.

Ranger made an amused noise.

Rab and Jaden focused on him sharply.

"Calm down," Ranger muttered, gesturing placatingly at him.

"I'm going to the aquarium," he snapped, turning away. Qingfu had found the place and after a day or two of going, the people had allowed him to pay the difference of the two days for a month-pass. He'd bought Jaden one as well.

"Come on, J," Ranger started.

"Don't...just...don't," Jaden gestured the man away as he headed for the door. "Don't you two need to check for damages on your machines?"

The pair glanced at each other, and Jaden started for the bus stop. It didn't take him long to get to the aquarium. He sighed as he moved through the people, not able to help watching the water creatures.

He'd intended to go to the whale tank to find Qingfu, but he couldn't help turning into another area.

It was quieter there, and the color of the light through the water was soothing. He sighed as he moved up the way and sat on an empty bench. The tank had several large jellyfish in it, and there was something relaxing in watching them. He had to force himself to it, but finally he managed to let his stress melt away.

"Hey," Qingfu muttered, startled as he moved toward Jaden. "I didn't know you were here."

"Your friends," Jaden said through gritted teeth, "are special."

"What happened?" Qingfu asked quietly, moving to sit next to him and look at the jellyfish. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, an old god was resurrected, the sacrifice got away, and the great heroes had to run."

Qingfu snorted. "I'm almost sure, if you give me a week, I can figure that one out."

"We have the time," Jaden retorted, gesturing at the children in front of them.

Qingfu looked to the children himself, then met Jaden's eyes.

"I can't do this," Jaden said in a low voice. "I can't just sit here and wait for them to make a move that they'll realize is a mistake...we have to do something."

"Like what?" Qingfu asked quietly. "You can't tell me they don't have the rudiments of a good plan going on."

"Yes, I can," Jaden met his eyes, studying his face. "This entire endeavor has been one misstep after another. From the very start they've been going at it the wrong way."

The man frowned at him, starting to shake his head.

"There are routes you can take," Jaden hissed, "in a legal standing...there are things you can do...that will get you to your end...without..." he wanted to say something about hostages or mobile suits, but they weren't in a place where they could speak freely. "You can't tell me you think they're doing the right thing," he met Qingfu's eyes. "Please...tell me you're not so..."

Qingfu looked away, studying the children.

"You were agreeing with me before," Jaden added quietly, studying the jellyfish in the tank. "You were thinking about what I had to say before."

"Don't pull me into this argument," Qingfu returned quietly. "Let's just go watch the whale show."

"I need you to either agree or disagree with me," Jaden returned. "And I need to know soon."

"And what if I disagree?" Qingfu retorted. "What do you do then?"

"What I should have done in the first place," Jaden retorted, thinking back to the kid jumping between he and Yuy. He'd hit the kid, and the guy had still stood up for him.

Qingfu sighed heavily, rising to his feet. "Come on," he muttered. "Let's go watch the whale show."

Jaden rose to his feet as well, still watching the jellyfish.

His time was running out—he needed to make his move...with or without Qingfu.

- -

Anxiety had built up in Matty's stomach since he'd called Casto. The idea of what he was actually doing was new and shocking to him. He'd never had a job before this, so he'd never had to quit one.

He moved through the store, smiling at people as he went.

"Matt!" Blake slid up beside him, excitement clearly written on his face. "Are you okay? What happened after you left? Did the Brigadier...heh...nevermind. My dad said the guy with the dark hair was Winner...did you know that?"

Matty gave him a sidelong look.

"Holy shit..." he looked around excitedly. "Are you checking in? We should...you should get lunch with me. There's this place like...five minutes away. It has really good chicken stuff...you like chicken, don't you?"

"I'm quitting," Matty said quietly, looking around himself. "I'll do lunch with you, but I'm quitting."

Blake stopped, staring at him.

"I know, I'm sorry," Matty muttered, turning to look at him. "But the situation..."

"I understand," Blake muttered, moving to catch up again. "But I switched to carpeting so you could train me."

"I said I'm sorry," Matty protested. "It'd be fine if..." he glanced toward the back of the building.

"I get it," Blake sighed heavily. "Come on, don't quit..."

"It's not that simple," Matty protested. "None of them work over here, and Ranger was out there," he pointed to the corner of the building the suits had been fighting. "He knows I work here...and he's in the area," he glanced out the window again. Quatre was waiting in his car in front of the store.

"I guess," Blake muttered. "Maybe you should...give it a little more time to think?"

Matty grinned at that and rested a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Matt," Pamela greeted him, looking startled. "You're early."

Matty smiled at her, then moved through the door to the office area instead of stopping to sign in.

"Uh..." the woman started.

"Yeah," Blake muttered, moving to the window. "In a perfect world..."

Matty ignored that, moving into the office of Tremier Posen, the store manager. The man had asked him to come into the office before his shift started—probably to discuss what had happened, but Matty had decided to just do the deed.

"Mattox," the man muttered, rising quickly to his feet and looking around behind Matty. "Come in, have a seat." He moved to the door and looked around a moment before closing it. "I'm glad to see you're safe."

Matty shook his hand, not sitting. "I...I have some good friends," Matty returned quietly, tucking his hands into his pockets as he looked to the desk.

"The reason I called you in..." the man started.

"I thought I'd tell you..." Matty said at the same time, then blinked up at the man.

"I think, with the current situation in mind," the man muttered, "that maybe Casto isn't the place for you."

Matty stared at him.

"I'm not angry," the man said quickly, "I'm not...the damage, the very little damage that happened in the lot is being covered by the ESA. There's no hard feelings—but the fact remains that..."

"I came in to quit," Matty noted.

It was the man's turn to stop.

Matty studied his face a long moment. "The current situation is dangerous. I'm not nearly as secure as we'd thought I was before...so it's safer for me, and for the whole store, really, if I left. I'm not intending to endanger my coworkers, and I fully intend to let people know that I'm quitting so the suits don't come back again."

They stared at each other.

"I value my experience here highly," Matty added. "I'm glad that I managed to become a reliable member of the staff—but as a reliable member, I feel that my remaining a worker here is a bad idea...for myself, my coworkers, and the customers. I knew the damage would be covered by the ESA," he added, smiling slightly. "And I was hoping the damage wouldn't be bad."

"Well, that makes things less stressful for both of us, doesn't it?" the man smiled and offered his hand. "I'm proud of you. When you first started working here you were a boy...but I think you've turned into a man. You have a bright future ahead of you, and I can't wait to see how far you go."

Matty nodded his head in acceptance of that, shaking with the man, then looked around. "I guess...I'll go clean out my locker. You don't mind if Blake tags along with me, do you?"

"That's fine," the man returned.

He considered options a moment before nodding his head. He grinned slightly at the man, then turned and left the office.

"Mattox!" Rick muttered, darting up quickly. He'd obviously been in a hurry, and when he saw Matty, he joined him. "I'm so sorry," he added. "I told him that it was a rash decision but..."

"I quit," Matty returned, giving him a confused look. "It's not safe for me to keep working here—so I need to quit." He hoped that reassured the man. The people who'd dealt with the "social side" of the supposed prisoners of war had made a very neat point of letting Rick know that firing Matty for his involvement could lead to very complicated legal entanglements.

The man blinked at him. "Just like that?"

"Rick," Matty said, turning to him and keeping his voice quiet. "Two mobile suits came here yesterday because I worked here."

"There were...four," the man returned, blinking.

"They didn't come because I worked here," not entirely anyway. "They came because the other suits." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you first, but I feel like this needed done."

"Oh," Rick muttered, looking around briefly. "I guess...but, I will hire you back," he decided, meeting Matty's eyes. "When stuff finally settles down for you—if I'm here and able, I'll hire you back...if you need a job."

Matty smiled, shaking the man's hand. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

"I'll give you a reference, too," the man added. "So...you know, if you need anything at all."

Matty nodded, shaking his hand again. "I need to go clean my locker out," he added, starting for the back area.

"You quit?" Pamela asked, studying him. "Why did you quit?"

"Because my life got really complicated," Matty noted as Blake moved to follow him—evidently the guy had sat at the counter and chatted with the woman. "And keeping a job in that circumstance doesn't usually end up with a reference," he smiled at Rick again.

The man grinned at him, then turned and walked away.

"Yeah," Blake muttered, following after Matty when he started off again. "So you were serious about lunch?"

"Yeah," Matty agreed. "As long as you don't mind Jason coming with us."

'Winner?' the man mouthed, his eyes lighting up. "That's fine. My dad was telling me...saying....I guess he..." he licked his lips as he thought. "I guess I won't talk about it here, but maybe we can hang out? I have like, a million questions for you."

"I feel loved," Matty noted.

"Better not tell your boyfriend," Blake noted dryly. "I'm pretty sure he could kick my ass from here to Calcutta."

"Calcutta?" Matty demanded, giving him a blank look. "Where the hell did that come from? It's like Max and his seducing you eight ways from Sunday."

Blake guffawed.

"Sometimes I want to ask him if he could seduce me one way from Monday, but then...he'd probably do it."

- -

Quatre ran a hand through his hair, studying his reflection in the vanity mirror of his visor. He could see some roots. Not many, but any at all meant it was time to start thinking if he'd keep the black or not. Going from blond to black had been a sudden change, and in retrospect he probably should have tried red. You could dye red to brown, then brown to black. Hell, at that point, you could bleach to white.

Actually, he could bleach to white. After doing that, he could use some restoration creams until it wasn't so brittle, and zap it to a different color.

He was wondering vaguely if blue would suit him when Matty came from the building with Blake Kiardane. He had a bag in his hands and was talking amiably with the other male.

Quatre smiled when the guy looked at him, rolling down the window. "Hey, Kiardane."

"Hey...Wire," the guy returned with a grin. "What are you doing here?"

"Pretending to be pretty," Quatre returned, popping the trunk.

"Pretty is not a word I'd use to describe you, Wire."

"I take it your dad told you?" Quatre demanded. "The colonel should know better than that."

"With how you were ordering everyone around yesterday?" the man gave him a skeptical look. "I figured most of it out because he," he indicated Matty, "was talking about Max."

"Wow, you suck," Quatre noted, looking around to Matty with interest.

"And nibble, if you want," Matty retorted, sliding into the car.

Blake sniggered. "If your boyfriend wasn't like...ten times bigger'n me, I'd totally try and make arrangements."

Quatre stared at him in disbelief.

"You wish," Matty retorted easily, buckling his seatbelt. "We have a couple things we have to go take care of," he added. "So I'll try to get here by one. Don't wait too long for me. Considering traffic and stuff, it may just have to wait until after work. But then you could just come hang out at the house."

"I'm in a meeting from one to two," Quatre noted, studying Matty. "Didn't I tell you that?"

Matty blinked at him.

"Damn," Blake muttered, looking around. "So I guess not today?"

"Yeah, no," Quatre agreed, then looked around to Matty.

The younger blinked a few times, then shrugged slightly. "So...give me your cell..." he started.

When Blake offered it, Quatre grabbed it, flipping into the contacts and starting to type as Blake blinked at him.

"Or...hand him...your cell," Matty muttered, not quite sure if he was amused.

Quatre flashed him a grin, then passed the thing back over. "I added me, Max, and Matty."

The man stared.

"That way you can tell when Max starts sending the death threats," Quatre explained, a wicked grin flashing across his face as he started the engine. "We've gotta get going."

Blake laughed, stepping back, then looked over to Matty with a grin. "If you don't tell, I won't tell."

Matty grinned back at him and Quatre pulled from the spot. He waved toward his friend, then sat properly in his seat, pursing his lips. He wasn't sure if he wanted to mention his irritation to the former-blond, or if he should let it go.

"Yes, I know I totally overstepped myself," Quatre muttered, not looking around. "Don't try and not be annoyed with me."

"You want me annoyed with you?" Matty demanded, not looking around either.

"No, but I don't want you to pretend you're not. I'm sorry about that—I know this situation has to be annoying for you..."

"I don't think annoying is the word," Matty cut him off, looking out the window. "And the thing that annoyed me was you just stepping in on me. I don't think I'm going to be able to do the whole...not-alone thing."

"If Hanager is after you," Quatre said quietly, "then you have to."

Matty shrugged slightly.

"I'm sorry," Quatre added, looking around to him as they stopped at a light. "I didn't think about what I was doing when I did it. I won't do it like that anymore...and maybe we can find you a new car in case they have tabs on your old one."

Matty met his eyes.

"The idea of Hanager getting ahold of you terrifies me," Quatre added, still studying his eyes. "Knowing you were at the hardware store with those MS there terrifies me. The idea of something happening to you..." he looked away, shaking his head. "I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe," he added, looking back to Matty. "You're like a brother to me, and I don't want to think what it would be like without you there...so bear with me. Bear with all of us."

Matty smiled slightly, looking sidelong at the man, then shrugged. "If I have to."

Quatre gave him a very level look.

Matty snickered, and shifted back in his seat, pulling out his phone. "I'm telling Heero you were all mushy."

"Then I'll tell him about Kiardane."

"He knows about Blake," Matty retorted happily. "He thinks it's kinky."

Quatre snorted, starting the car moving again. "He would."

Matty started laughing—he really hadn't expected that to be the response.

- -

"Yo," Harpid greeted Rab happily. "Just thought I'd give you the latest heads up. That Williams boy just showed up on the base with Winner and is all proud of himself. I guess he quit his job."

"Okay?" Rab asked blankly.

"I just figured I'd let you know so the next time you get a wild hair up your ass to go tearing around the city in a MS, you don't go back to that hardware store."

"Excuse me?" Rabid demanding, noting the disrespect in the tone.

"I'm keeping my mouth closed," the man returned, "but I'm out. Don't expect any more information from me."

"You can't just..."

"I just did," the man cut him off. "And if I even think you have goons coming after me, I'll go running right to the brigadier fucking general you hate so bad."

Rab fell silent, and after a moment, there was a click.

"What?" Ranger asked, moving into the room.

"Harpid just quit on us," Rab returned, looking around to him.

"I'll kill him," Ranger started, turning for the door in annoyance.

"He said he'd keep quiet if we left him alone," Rab snapped. "He might come back to us if we don't act hasty...he also said that the blond-ass was going around base with the Williams boy. Congratulations, you made him quit his job with your foolishness."

Ranger turned to stare at him.

"Let's go to lunch," he added, rising from his seat. "I'm not intending to sit here and wait for those other oafs to get back from ogling goldfish."

- -

"I want a bike," Heero noted thoughtfully, studying the model Wufei and Duo had. "One for speed."

The attendant narrowed his eyes at Heero.

"Hm?" Heero asked, looking back to him. "Is there a problem?"

"Do you happen to know Mr. Cambell, or Mr. Temblar?"

"Yeah, they're my friends," Heero agreed easily. "Why?"

The man sighed, gesturing at the bike. "That's the last one in the shop. Will it be cash or credit?"

Heero stared at him in confusion. He didn't understand why his knowing Wufei and Duo meant an end to courtesy.

"Do you want me to bother running a credit check so you can embarrass the hell out of me?"

"I don't know what happened with my friends," Heero said firmly, raising his eyebrows at the man. "But that gives you absolutely no right to be an asshole to me."

The man started to set himself, looking a little contrite.

"Save your breath," Heero retorted, turning and starting for the entrance. "I won't bother you with my business."

"Wait..." the guy darted forward.

Heero walked out the door, annoyed deeply. He knew well enough that Wufei and Duo could be dicks. They both would get annoyed with people easily. They also repeatedly claimed that they hated people. The open rudeness directed at him by the man was a bit strong though.

If they had to deal with people like that all the time, he'd understand their sentiments. Then again, if he had to deal with people like Wufei and Duo all the time, he could understand the attendant's sentiments.

The annoying outcome of walking out on the man was that he had to find another bike shop. He'd seen enough of Duo and Wufei's bikes to know he wanted one like that...so maybe...

"Sir...I'm sorry," the man said, catching up with him as they neared his car. He stopped as he looked the machine over, then raised his eyes back to Heero's. "Please...forgive me. I've had a long day and everyone seems to think I'm doing something wrong."

"If you've decided not to like someone because you dealt with their friends already, I think I understand why."

"I'm sorry," the man insisted, moving closer. "That's the floor model," he added, gesturing at the thing. "It has an automatic ten percent off...and I'll give you a fifteen percent discount for my rudeness. Please. I didn't mean to offend you."

Heero considered him a long moment, then sighed and moved out of his car, closing the door.

"Do you own this?" the guy added, studying the machine.

Heero nodded.

"Damn fine piece of work," the man muttered, looking it over. "I like that blue, too."

"It catches a certain amount of attention," Heero agreed, studying the man.

"You know the color name?" the man asked, meeting Heero's eyes. "I bet we could find it on the books—get the detailers to match it," he indicated the bike.

Heero blinked at that, wondering slightly. "Customization is a bit expensive..." for a bike he'd probably end up using as a weapon.

"Free of charge," the man offered. "A visible apology from me."

Heero snorted at that, considering the sapphire blue of his machine a long moment. It'd be nice to have the bike in order, but he intended it to weave between traffic and take sidewalks if he had to. "No," he decided after a moment. "No...maybe some time, but not now."

"You sure?" the guy asked. "The color seems to suit you."

Heero grinned at the man, starting back for the store. "Maybe some time...but not now."

- -

Jinli sucked the last bit of juice from his juice-box. He'd picked up a bunch of them at the store, and was amused to note he wasn't the only one who drank them. They were kids drinks, sure, but they tasted pretty good.

He flipped the page of the newspaper, crossing out another job he'd thought to sign-up for. He'd looked online, and the thing was already gone. He hadn't thought it would be that hard to find one, but he was so tired of paper-pushing he really wanted almost anything else.

He was half-tempted to go apply at the store Matt had just quit from.

His cell started ringing.

He sighed, raising the thing to his ear without looking at the face. "Hello?"

"Jin?"

Jinli closed his eyes.

"Don't hang up on me," Cassidy said quickly. "I'm sorry, all right? You'd just made me so mad...but...but I don't really want to break up."

Jin snorted slightly.

"If you just wouldn't do that sort of..."

"Cass?" Jin cut her off before she could go on blaming him. "I'm gonna stop you right there and..."

"What?" she protested, sounding sad. "Jin..."

"You know how you were all dismissive of my friend being around again? The one I grew up with?" she started to respond, but he ignored that. "He's still around, and actually, I've moved in with him."

"You're gay?" she demanded in flat tones of disbelief. "Wait, you moved out of our apartment?"

"No, I moved out of my apartment," he returned evenly. "So no matter what you think, you're not moving back in with me."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" she snapped irritably at him. "Alex kicked me out, and I don't have enough money for an apartment."

"That wouldn't Alex Mirfand, would it?" he asked, shifting back in his seat and crossing his free arm over his chest. "You left me and got with that piece of shit? And you want me to care now?"

"What do you mean by that?" she snapped.

"I think I mean I'm blocking your phone number," he returned easily. "Better yet, I'm getting a new phone."

She stared crying. "I thought you loved me?"

"I did love you," he returned. "You were a cry-baby, hyper sensitive, refused to take responsibility for anything...but I loved you. You left me, remember? Good luck with your fucking life," he slammed the phone shut and tossed it onto the table.

Of course she'd try pulling that shit now...of course she'd gone after Alex.

The woman had no brain.

He rubbed at his temples.

"What's up?"

Jinli jumped hard, turning to look at Wufei in disbelief. "You get off early?"

"No," Wufei gave him an interested look. "It's four...I usually get home at four."

Jin blinked at that, looking to his watch, then up to the computer.

"No luck with the jobs, then?" Wufei added, moving to the fridge—they were in the second apartment. He dug out a juice box, turning to give Jin another interested look.

"I applied for a couple," Jin returned, rubbing at his arms. "There's some hope."

Wufei grinned at that, tossing him another juice box as he dug to get something from the bottom of the fridge.

"How'd your day go?"

"Pretty normal...where're Quatre and Matt?"

"Matt went to quit his job, and Quatre had some weird thing going on at the base. I haven't seen them all day."

Wufei nodded, closing the fridge and starting to open a package with a cupcake thing in it.

Jinli's phone started ringing again, and he turned to look at the face, then groaned.

"What?" Wufei asked as Jin silenced the call.

"Cassidy," Jin spat bitterly, glaring at the thing. "Stupid bitch."

"Your ex?" Wufei asked, excitement crossing his face. He darted across the room and took the phone, making a wait gesture to Jinli as he opened it. "Listen bitch," he said in a tone that sounded flamboyantly gay—he had the head motions and everything. "I don't know who you think you are or what you think you're doing, but I do not appreciate you talking to my man."

Jinli started laughing, quietly leaning off to the side.

"What? Oh no...oh no," Wufei turned sparkling eyes on Jin. "I will cut you, bitch. I will go get my blades right now and cut you..."

Cassidy exploded as Jinli started laughing.

Wufei himself started laughing, ending the call. He smacked Jinli's shoulder briefly as he continued laughing, turning back to find his juice-box. "So," he muttered happily. "What do you want for dinner?"