Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Song of the Phoenix ❯ The Calm Before the Storm ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: An introduction to more characters!!! Yippee!!! I'm also working on my other chapters for WWWY and WTTS. I haven't updated this so I decided to finish up this chapter I've been working on in my (miniscule) spare time.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em

"The Calm Before the Storm"

Trowa turned the key to his apartment door, his long straight nose sniffing the air as he stepped inside and placed his bag on the floor. Following the heavenly smell towards the small kitchen, he observed silently as a thin red-haired woman stood over a stove. Catherine, the woman, appeared to be stirring something in a skillet, something that smelled strangely like spaghetti sauce. Catherine turned to smile at him.

"Welcome home, brother," she said happily, her violet eyes shining at her younger sibling.

Trowa did not smile, but his emerald eyes lit up as he greeted her in return.

"Hello, Catherine," he said quietly, stepping up behind her so he could see into the skillet. His suspicions were proved correct, for inside the pan was red meat sauce, littered here and there with golf ball-sized meatballs. His gaze traveled to the sink where some noodles were already draining.

"How did work go?" she asked casually, testing the sauce with her finger before turning the burner off.

"Same as always," he replied.

Trowa worked as a mechanic for a car shop. His work was the only support for Catherine and him, so he did not take it lightly. He hoped to be promoted to manager when the old manager retired. Truthfully, he was one of the only likely candidates for the job. The only other option would be Jason Sprague, but Trowa doubted the job would go to him. And, though he never admitted it, he wanted that job more than anything. His pay would be much higher with the position of manager, and that was what he had been striving for.

That was Trowa's goal in life, to make enough money to bring him and Catherine out of the slums. His sister deserved so much better, so he tried to make that possible for her. It was never easy, but then again he didn't expect it to be. Under his normal salaries, Trowa would not be able to pay the apartment rent. The landlord had made them a special deal, however, and to that the siblings were forever grateful.

When his parents had abandoned them, Trowa had been fearful about finding a job and, although he was the younger, take care of his sister. So the landlord, Mr. Winner, had made a deal with Trowa, unbeknownst to Catherine. He didn't want her to know how bad off they were. They had dealt with worse and even if it killed him.

Trowa would make sure Catherine had better.

"Would you set the table please?" Catherine called over her slender shoulder.

Trowa nodded, opening the cabinet and pulling out a pair of old plastic plates. Break-proof was what Catherine always called them Personally, he preferred the term cheap. Setting them on a small table, he then placed silverware, forks on the left, spoon and knife on the right of the plate. Although they didn't entertain much, Catherine enjoyed having things proper and in their place. This suited him fine...he was never one for messiness either.

Catherine walked up to the table, setting down a big bowl in the middle. She then busied herself with pouring them each a glass of water, and then seating herself across from her brother.

The meal went on in silence. There was never much to talk about at dinnertime. Catherine stayed home all day, managing the house, grocery and such. Trowa worked all day, and never was the talkative sort. It was no matter, though. Things were quite the same. Just an ordinary day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The young blonde-haired man massaged his temples with more than a little weariness. Business in his apartment building was slow, which was quite surprising to him. Quatre personally made sure he offered the lowest prices available. Not just to beat competition, for he was actually just a kind person. This often was his downfall, for there was many people in the world who would gladly take advantage of someone like him. That is why kindness is so scarcely found. All of this, however, did not deter Quatre, and he pressed ever on; never changing himself to suit others.

His usual go-gettem attitude was lacking tonight. The number of people taking up residance at his apartment complex was slowly growing to be less and less. So far he only had three apartments rented out; one to a middle-aged man, one to a young single mother, one to a young man, and one to a young brother and sister. This was not considered good business.

Despite short profits, he was not short on money. His father ran a rich company, and had wanted Quatre to take over when he retired. Quatre had declined, choosing instead to blaze his own trail, wherever that may lead him. So far, he was going in circles, and getting nowhere really fast.

Still, something made the young landlord carry on, although if you asked him what it was he certainly could not tell you. He hoped the hardships proved to be a humbling and growing experience. He did not seem to change, however, and this baffled the young Arabian. Had he looked closer, he may have noticed he was humble and mature to begin with. Modesty was too strong in him, though, and he continued to believe he did not deserve the high living he lived. For there were people who had less, he knew...and what made him better than everyone else?

Despite these much sought-after qualities naturally born to him, Quatre did not have a steady love life. He told himself he was much too busy with the business to keep a relationship. Although this was true, he knew he was just making excuses.

Ring

Quatre glared at the desk phone. It didn't do much to diminish his pounding headache. Maybe whoever was calling would just hang up.

Ring

"Oh please just go away," Quatre whispered. He wasn't normally one to whine, but this was one helluva headache.

Ring

With a sigh of resignation, the blonde Arabian picked up the phone, trying his best to sound cheerful. Happy facades were his specialty.

"Hello; you have reached Winner Apartments. How may I help you?" Quatre said, trying to sound chirpy, but from the sound of a chuckle on the other end of the line, he knew he failed miserabley.

"Hello," said an upbeat woman's voice, "My name is Hilde Schbeiker, and I'm looking for an apartment to rent."

Quatre grinned with a genuine smile. Finally, someone new would be moving in.

"All right Ms. Schbeiker, how many people will be living in the apartment and what size were you looking for?" he asked, his mood lightening with the prospect of a new resident. Maybe his apartment building would hold out after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A petite blonde woman chewed on the end of her pencil thoughtfully. It had been awhile since she had a good case, and the lack of business was grating on her nerves. Though she hated to admit it, she wished a nice, juicy case would come up. Nothing too violent, but something that would challenge the woman's skill and intellect. Maybe then things would pick up around here. Her office was one of the most prestigious around, and the lack of business was quite baffling.

People in need of a good lawyer most often would turn to her, Midii & Co Lawfirm. Truthfully, there was no Co, just Midii, but she thought it sounded pretty cool. She had left out her last name, however, so people would not mistake her for the head of police, Anne Une. Let people come to her because she was good, not because someone with the same last name was the head of the police squad.

And Midii was good, a damn good lawyer. But a lawyer needs a case in order to prove herself.

Little did she know, a case was about to land right in her lap.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sally walked into the police department, feeling unusually happy. As she walked by familiar faces, they grumbled jealously at her. Fellow officers cradled coffees in their hands, eyes laden with sleep. It was a Monday morning and, as far as they were concerned, the worst day of the week. The fact that Sally was smiling, her light blue eyes sparkling, made them feel even more dejected. They're whining caused Sally to grin even broader, which caused the officers to glare even more. So by the time Sally got to her office, she was smiling like she won the lottery, and almost everyone else was close to crying.

No sooner had she sat down, and then Sally was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jumping up quickly from her chair, she opened the wooden door to find Une standing there, looking particularly stoic, considering it was the first day of the work week.

"Ready to learn the ropes, Instructor Po?" Une asked, leading the blonde woman down the hall. She didn't expect a reply, so she didn't watch the young woman sign.

::Never been more ready my whole life.::

And the truth in that statement was uncanny. All of her life had been spent dealing with disrespect that was dished out to her. Her family had been a web of traditionalists, and being only part Chinese, not to mention a woman, put her at the lowest of the low. It didn't matter that Sally could beat her brother in a martial arts fight. It didn't matter that she was as smart as her other brother, who was a scholar. All that mattered was that she was a girl. Sally's family had felt that bearing a girl was some sort of curse or damnation. So, naturally, Sally blessed her femininity. Oh goodie, another reason for them to condemn her.

What wretched luck.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A youthful officer hummed tunelessly, his long chestnut braid swishing the top of his butt as he walked cheerful down the corridors. Swinging open an office door happily, the young man greeted his partner with his characteristic grin. As expected, he got a silent glare in return. Heero Yuy was so predictable.

Plopping in a chair ungracefully, the man, Duo Maxwell, studied his partner before asking a question he already knew the answer to.

"Did ya hear about Sal's promotion?"

"Hn," the Prussian-eyed man replied with a nod.

For a lack of nothing better to do, Duo shifted through some old reports that had needed "looking over" according to Une. Personally, he thought it was a load of B.S. But hey, what did he know?

Things had been so slow lately, and Duo was not one who took well to sitting around. If things didn't pick up he was going to go insane. Of course, having Mr. Stoic as a partner didn't help. The violet-eyed man smirked. He'd rather have a cute little female officer to partner with. With a shake of his head, Duo dismissed the thought. It was true he had a lot of admirers, but his love life was seriously lacking. It wasn't that he didn't like any of the girls he met, it's just...well...he really couldn't explain. Though Duo was known as a lady's man, he firmly believed in soul mates and had not been fortunate enough to meet his yet.

Duo shook his head in amazement.

"Things must be slow," he thought, "I'm thinking about that soul mate shit again."

And that's exactly how it made him feel.

Shit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason Sprague skimmed through an old car magazine, boredom weighing heavily on him. He was 48 and still working as a car mechanic. Man, did he need a promotion.

His whole life he had mostly been a bum. His dad was an alcoholic, and his mom was a prostitute. Not exactly a formula for success, that's for sure. He had ran away from home at 14 when he found out his mom had committed suicide. There was no way he was staying in that house with his old man. He could sympathize with his mom for taking her life. He had lived on the streets for some time, selling drugs and running from the police. He never took the drugs himself, just trafficked them. Finally, at 24, he left his street life and looked for cheap labor. He had learned the basics of mechanics from some small-time mechanic, and had been teaching himself ever since.

He might not be the best, but he had seniority over the young man who threatened his chance at manager. Trowa was his name. Trowa Bloom*

Jason couldn't afford to lose. Too much was riding on this promotion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Somewhere in Winner Apartments, a young man with sandy brown hair and gray eyes laughed maniacally.

Time to put his plan into action. Lester would make sure he won.

*I picked Bloom as a last name as a compromise. I didn't want to call him Triton, but I didn't want to change Catherine's last name to Barton. So I changed Trowa's to Bloom.

A/N: Ooooh, introduction to some good characters as well as some eeeeevil ones. I hope ya liked this chapter. Oh and in case you're wondering "where's Wufei?", he was in the part with Sally, although I didn't write about it. During the 'in between' scenes, Wufei and Sally learned a few new rules and expectations for their job. I didn't add that because I figured it would be pretty boring.

As always, please review!

Luvvies, KaT aka Mistress Shinigami