Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Black Queen ❯ Prostitutional Bartering ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Violet_Nyte 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.04.2002 | Updated On: 12.05.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 338 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.04.2002 | Updated On: 12.05.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 338 | Status: Work In Progress
LSE // 12-3-02
(The Black Queen - Chapter Six: Prostitutional Bartering)
rated: PG13 - violence, language, content
shounen-ai/yaoi
Prostitutional Bartering
"Oh. Helen," Relena calls ostentatiously, looking meaningfully towards
her trailing assistants. She has to attend some big diplomatic
meeting, I remember her telling us at dinner. "Where are you off to?"
"Heero and I are going into town for a bit," I say airily, as if I
only possess three functioning brain cells. I've discovered people,
especially jealous females, find it appealing.
"Oh, okay," Relena pauses, looking again to her assistants and then
back to me. "I won't be returning until tomorrow, late. Something's
come up in the colonies."
She leans towards me, whispering in a conspirator's voice, "Street
gangs declared mass war on authority. Four car bombings this morning
alone." Louder now, for the benefit of the assistants, "I'm off,
then. Take care!"
Car bombings? Street gangs? War. Violence. Death.
"Was that Relena leaving?"
With effort, I pull away from the bleak images assaulting my mind and
nod to Heero. "Won't be back until late tomorrow night...ish. Are you
ready to go?"
"You're sure about this?"
Kablam. "Heero!" I snap, fixing a stern glare at him. The glare is
the best I can do knowing he means well, but his concern blankets me.
It scares me, to see this cold machine warped so much by my weakness.
"Just... trust me, okay?"
He says nothing in perfect Heero-like perfection. Thank you, Mister
Perfect fucking Soldier for your confidence, grumble grumble.
"If I'm wrong, and Natasha isn't here, what's the harm? Humor me,
Heero," I say quietly, going out the door. I don't look back.
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Watching carefully at the passing buildings, I look for anything
familiar. "There, that's the bar," I announce suddenly, nodding
slightly to the grim building. I'm feeling unsure of my decision to
come back here. But I have to. For Natasha.
Heero slows down as we coast along the street. He's driving. The
broken buildings all look the same, so I ignore them. I picture
Natasha in my mind. The image that comes instantly is Natasha as I
last saw her, at the asylum. Psychiatric hospital. Loony bin.
A girl in snug jeans, gloves and a turtleneck. All black. And socks.
She had black socks. (Black socks, they never get dirty, the longer
you wear them the blacker they get. Blaaaack socks...)
"There."
"Hn."
"This is where I saw her."
The car pulls to a stop as Heero looks at the empty street corner.
The building is old and faded with a pink sign over the door. Broken
neon proclaims, "M ss Ki t y's." Lovely establishment. What the hell
is Natasha doing here?
"Shall we?" I ask Heero with forced cheerfulness, stepping out from
the car and looking balefully at the...brothel? I love that word.
"You can't just walk in there and ask for her. Did you learn nothing
in the war?"
I learned lots in the war. But I don't say that to Heero. "What would
you have us do? This isn't exactly an Oz hideout."
Heero stiffens, casting a watchful eye over the street. Checking for
danger. "Stay here."
"What are you doing? You don't have a gun, do you? Heero. Heero!" I
reach out and snag him arm. "What are you going to do?"
"Ask to see Natasha."
"You just said we couldn't do that!"
Heero looks amused. "Correction. I said you couldn't. I can."
"Heero, do you even know what kind of place this is?" I sigh in
exasperation, switching tactics.
"Yes, I do."
I blink in surprise, looking from Heero to the whore's place and back
to Heero. Studying my face, Heero continues, "It is a place where men
pay women for sexual activities. If you ask for a woman, there will
be questions. If I ask, there will be no objections."
"You're a complete bastard, Heero Yuy."
I whispered it to myself, so he didn't hear. Walking up the door, he
does a surprisingly good job of looking casual. As casual as Heero
can look. As the door begins to open, the blank look from his stoic
face fades away and is replaced by one rich with emotions. He someone
manages to simultaneously look bored, horny and rich.
Realizing my standing in front of the car hurts the 'image,' I sneak
back into the car once more and peer out through the dark, dark tint.
The door only opens the tiniest bit and Heero leans forwards, saying
something to the elderly woman within. She grins, pulling the door
open wise and motioning for Heero to come in. He shrugs, gesturing
first to the car and then to the street. The woman nods knowingly and
disappears into the building.
Presently, she returns with a younger girl in tow. Natasha! Wait. No.
The girl is young, and she has short black hair, but she is not
Natasha. I can see from where she reaches on Heero that she's the
wrong height, shorter. She smiles to Heero and he in turn slips some
money to the elderly woman.
Doesn't Heero realize it isn't Natasha?
Heero opens the door for her and she gets in, looking sideways to me
and coyly tilting her head. "Is that how it is, mister?" she asks,
addressing Heero as he gets into the driver's seat. "You didn't say
nothin' 'bout there bein' to of us, mister. You know that's gonna
cost extra if ya want it that way."
"What's your name?" I ask softly, turning around in the passenger
seat to look more clearly at her. She resembles Natasha, but isn't
her. Nope. No way, I know. Her eyes are blue, but they are cloudy
unlike Natasha's clear crystal.
Heero's looking at me funny. He doesn't know.
The girl smiles, twisting a bit of her hair around a finger. The
hair's dyed black, not natural. "Amethyst, but you can call me Amy."
Heero stops the car, turning around to stare at the girl, then me.
"She's not her," I supply, smiling slightly.
"Oh," the girl says, heavily shadowed lids lifting back as her eyes
widen in an innocent look, "You're looking for Natalie."
Thump-thump. Skip. Thump-thump. "Natalie?"
She nods, "Came to me this morning and said I looked a bunch like her,
and that there're some bad folks after her and you'll not hear from
me where she run off to or nothin'. I gave my word to her I'd not
tell anyone 'bout wear she's gone. So, we dyed and cut my hair to
match up with hers and borrowed some of Misty's contacts to make my
eyes all blue. Natalie's gone left and you'll not hear from me where!
So there!" she sits back in the seat and looks smug.
She's so... young.
"Did she see you?" Heero asks, fixing his intense glare on me.
Why would Natasha run from me? I don't answer, instead addressing the
girl-whore, "We're Nata" (pause) "lie's friends, not the bad people.
Did she say who was after her?"
"Nuh-uh, I'm not sayin' nothin'. Nata's my friend. You gonna torture
me?" she asks, looking nervously excited at the prospect, even though
she hasn't the cruel imagination to know what torture is. Her eyes,
framed by thick mascara-coated lashes and dusky lids, look into mine.
"No, we're not going to torture you," I say, trying to make it sound
as sincere as it is.
"Oh. Are you gonna get what you paid for?" Amy asks, tracing the
curve of Heero's eye with one long, lacquered nail. I shift, not
liking that at all. With a shock, I realize the girl must think me
either Heero's whore or girl friend. Damn this disguise. I keep
forgetting who I am.
"Yes," Heero mutters.
"Heero!" I shriek, unable to believe I just heard him accept the
whore's suggestion. The whore in question giggles. I study her,
thinking rapidly as Heero looks flustered, suddenly aware of what he
just agreed to.
Amy might know where Natasha is, if this Natalie she knows is
Natasha. It has to be, I just know it. Natasha might be in danger.
She wouldn't run from me. "Amy, we really are Natalie's friends."
"Nuh-uh."
"Would you recognize her handwriting?" I ask, reaching into the front
of my sweater and pulling free the double gold chains, one supporting
my cross, and the other a chess piece. A black chess piece. The queen.
Uncapping the specially made bottom, I reverently pull free a small
roll of papers.
I remember the day clearly, despite the situation. Waking up to find
Natasha gone, her drawers cleared out. All except a chess piece, with
a paper underneath. "For you to remember me by," unsigned, but
unmistakably hers from the rose rubbing, created from her compact.
I thought her dead, gone... I received a letter. Post marked from
Earth. Sent by Natasha. She promised to write, and she kept that
promise. She always kept her promises.
The girl, Amy, looks at the note warily. "Yeah, that's Natalie's
handwriting."
Thump-thump. Skip. Thump-thump.
She looks from me to Heero cautiously, "You're really her friends?
Honestly?"
"Yes."
She chews her lower lip. "All right. I'll tell you where ya can find
her. If," she interjects, grinning, "you help me out."
"How?"
"Get me out."
"Out?" I glance to Heero, or more precisely, the back of Heero's head
as he starts driving again.
"Out of the loop. Away from Madame Kitty's. Get me out of the Sanc
Kingdom. They got those government houses and stuff for people like
me, but that only works if you don't value your head or neck. No
one's gonna give a whore like me a chance doing nothing. I gotta get
outta here before I can have a life. Soon as we're 'cross the border
I'll tell you where to find Natalie."
Before I can say anything, Heero speaks up. "Take us to Natalie and
then we'll let you go."
"That's kidnapping!"
Heero shrugs. Amy slumps down in her seat, crossing her arms and
glaring out from her thick lashes. "Fine. But you gotta get me outta
here and pay me good for my troubles. Fifty a day for helping ya get
Nata, plus my standard rate for anything extra you might have in
mind," her eyes dart from Heero to me, waiting for our response.
It's a good deal for her, but not so good of a deal if she's lying.
She recognized Natasha's handwriting, but... She could be tricking us.
For some reason, I trust her.
Because Natasha might be in danger.
"Acceptable," Heero says, closing the deal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: I'm about to the end of my pre-written story! When I
started typing, this was as far as it went, but I have chapter seven
all written. So, I'll just type it and hopefully you'll have another
chapter before the weekend starts.
There's ice everywhere. I hope they cancel school!
*edit* That was written Tuesday night. Promptly afterwards power went
out. Just about 24 hours later, I have power once more.
Oh, before anyone points it out, I'm aware the brothel's name is Miss
Kitty's and Amy refers to the mistress as Madame Kitty, not Miss, but
that's just a conflict of titles, not an error.
Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
copyright 2002 - Gundam Wing and characters copyright other people.
LSE - "Violet" (ManzokuBiscuit@aol.com)
Email me to join my Update ML!
http://violetnyte.fallenweb.net
(The Black Queen - Chapter Six: Prostitutional Bartering)
rated: PG13 - violence, language, content
shounen-ai/yaoi
Prostitutional Bartering
"Oh. Helen," Relena calls ostentatiously, looking meaningfully towards
her trailing assistants. She has to attend some big diplomatic
meeting, I remember her telling us at dinner. "Where are you off to?"
"Heero and I are going into town for a bit," I say airily, as if I
only possess three functioning brain cells. I've discovered people,
especially jealous females, find it appealing.
"Oh, okay," Relena pauses, looking again to her assistants and then
back to me. "I won't be returning until tomorrow, late. Something's
come up in the colonies."
She leans towards me, whispering in a conspirator's voice, "Street
gangs declared mass war on authority. Four car bombings this morning
alone." Louder now, for the benefit of the assistants, "I'm off,
then. Take care!"
Car bombings? Street gangs? War. Violence. Death.
"Was that Relena leaving?"
With effort, I pull away from the bleak images assaulting my mind and
nod to Heero. "Won't be back until late tomorrow night...ish. Are you
ready to go?"
"You're sure about this?"
Kablam. "Heero!" I snap, fixing a stern glare at him. The glare is
the best I can do knowing he means well, but his concern blankets me.
It scares me, to see this cold machine warped so much by my weakness.
"Just... trust me, okay?"
He says nothing in perfect Heero-like perfection. Thank you, Mister
Perfect fucking Soldier for your confidence, grumble grumble.
"If I'm wrong, and Natasha isn't here, what's the harm? Humor me,
Heero," I say quietly, going out the door. I don't look back.
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Watching carefully at the passing buildings, I look for anything
familiar. "There, that's the bar," I announce suddenly, nodding
slightly to the grim building. I'm feeling unsure of my decision to
come back here. But I have to. For Natasha.
Heero slows down as we coast along the street. He's driving. The
broken buildings all look the same, so I ignore them. I picture
Natasha in my mind. The image that comes instantly is Natasha as I
last saw her, at the asylum. Psychiatric hospital. Loony bin.
A girl in snug jeans, gloves and a turtleneck. All black. And socks.
She had black socks. (Black socks, they never get dirty, the longer
you wear them the blacker they get. Blaaaack socks...)
"There."
"Hn."
"This is where I saw her."
The car pulls to a stop as Heero looks at the empty street corner.
The building is old and faded with a pink sign over the door. Broken
neon proclaims, "M ss Ki t y's." Lovely establishment. What the hell
is Natasha doing here?
"Shall we?" I ask Heero with forced cheerfulness, stepping out from
the car and looking balefully at the...brothel? I love that word.
"You can't just walk in there and ask for her. Did you learn nothing
in the war?"
I learned lots in the war. But I don't say that to Heero. "What would
you have us do? This isn't exactly an Oz hideout."
Heero stiffens, casting a watchful eye over the street. Checking for
danger. "Stay here."
"What are you doing? You don't have a gun, do you? Heero. Heero!" I
reach out and snag him arm. "What are you going to do?"
"Ask to see Natasha."
"You just said we couldn't do that!"
Heero looks amused. "Correction. I said you couldn't. I can."
"Heero, do you even know what kind of place this is?" I sigh in
exasperation, switching tactics.
"Yes, I do."
I blink in surprise, looking from Heero to the whore's place and back
to Heero. Studying my face, Heero continues, "It is a place where men
pay women for sexual activities. If you ask for a woman, there will
be questions. If I ask, there will be no objections."
"You're a complete bastard, Heero Yuy."
I whispered it to myself, so he didn't hear. Walking up the door, he
does a surprisingly good job of looking casual. As casual as Heero
can look. As the door begins to open, the blank look from his stoic
face fades away and is replaced by one rich with emotions. He someone
manages to simultaneously look bored, horny and rich.
Realizing my standing in front of the car hurts the 'image,' I sneak
back into the car once more and peer out through the dark, dark tint.
The door only opens the tiniest bit and Heero leans forwards, saying
something to the elderly woman within. She grins, pulling the door
open wise and motioning for Heero to come in. He shrugs, gesturing
first to the car and then to the street. The woman nods knowingly and
disappears into the building.
Presently, she returns with a younger girl in tow. Natasha! Wait. No.
The girl is young, and she has short black hair, but she is not
Natasha. I can see from where she reaches on Heero that she's the
wrong height, shorter. She smiles to Heero and he in turn slips some
money to the elderly woman.
Doesn't Heero realize it isn't Natasha?
Heero opens the door for her and she gets in, looking sideways to me
and coyly tilting her head. "Is that how it is, mister?" she asks,
addressing Heero as he gets into the driver's seat. "You didn't say
nothin' 'bout there bein' to of us, mister. You know that's gonna
cost extra if ya want it that way."
"What's your name?" I ask softly, turning around in the passenger
seat to look more clearly at her. She resembles Natasha, but isn't
her. Nope. No way, I know. Her eyes are blue, but they are cloudy
unlike Natasha's clear crystal.
Heero's looking at me funny. He doesn't know.
The girl smiles, twisting a bit of her hair around a finger. The
hair's dyed black, not natural. "Amethyst, but you can call me Amy."
Heero stops the car, turning around to stare at the girl, then me.
"She's not her," I supply, smiling slightly.
"Oh," the girl says, heavily shadowed lids lifting back as her eyes
widen in an innocent look, "You're looking for Natalie."
Thump-thump. Skip. Thump-thump. "Natalie?"
She nods, "Came to me this morning and said I looked a bunch like her,
and that there're some bad folks after her and you'll not hear from
me where she run off to or nothin'. I gave my word to her I'd not
tell anyone 'bout wear she's gone. So, we dyed and cut my hair to
match up with hers and borrowed some of Misty's contacts to make my
eyes all blue. Natalie's gone left and you'll not hear from me where!
So there!" she sits back in the seat and looks smug.
She's so... young.
"Did she see you?" Heero asks, fixing his intense glare on me.
Why would Natasha run from me? I don't answer, instead addressing the
girl-whore, "We're Nata" (pause) "lie's friends, not the bad people.
Did she say who was after her?"
"Nuh-uh, I'm not sayin' nothin'. Nata's my friend. You gonna torture
me?" she asks, looking nervously excited at the prospect, even though
she hasn't the cruel imagination to know what torture is. Her eyes,
framed by thick mascara-coated lashes and dusky lids, look into mine.
"No, we're not going to torture you," I say, trying to make it sound
as sincere as it is.
"Oh. Are you gonna get what you paid for?" Amy asks, tracing the
curve of Heero's eye with one long, lacquered nail. I shift, not
liking that at all. With a shock, I realize the girl must think me
either Heero's whore or girl friend. Damn this disguise. I keep
forgetting who I am.
"Yes," Heero mutters.
"Heero!" I shriek, unable to believe I just heard him accept the
whore's suggestion. The whore in question giggles. I study her,
thinking rapidly as Heero looks flustered, suddenly aware of what he
just agreed to.
Amy might know where Natasha is, if this Natalie she knows is
Natasha. It has to be, I just know it. Natasha might be in danger.
She wouldn't run from me. "Amy, we really are Natalie's friends."
"Nuh-uh."
"Would you recognize her handwriting?" I ask, reaching into the front
of my sweater and pulling free the double gold chains, one supporting
my cross, and the other a chess piece. A black chess piece. The queen.
Uncapping the specially made bottom, I reverently pull free a small
roll of papers.
I remember the day clearly, despite the situation. Waking up to find
Natasha gone, her drawers cleared out. All except a chess piece, with
a paper underneath. "For you to remember me by," unsigned, but
unmistakably hers from the rose rubbing, created from her compact.
I thought her dead, gone... I received a letter. Post marked from
Earth. Sent by Natasha. She promised to write, and she kept that
promise. She always kept her promises.
The girl, Amy, looks at the note warily. "Yeah, that's Natalie's
handwriting."
Thump-thump. Skip. Thump-thump.
She looks from me to Heero cautiously, "You're really her friends?
Honestly?"
"Yes."
She chews her lower lip. "All right. I'll tell you where ya can find
her. If," she interjects, grinning, "you help me out."
"How?"
"Get me out."
"Out?" I glance to Heero, or more precisely, the back of Heero's head
as he starts driving again.
"Out of the loop. Away from Madame Kitty's. Get me out of the Sanc
Kingdom. They got those government houses and stuff for people like
me, but that only works if you don't value your head or neck. No
one's gonna give a whore like me a chance doing nothing. I gotta get
outta here before I can have a life. Soon as we're 'cross the border
I'll tell you where to find Natalie."
Before I can say anything, Heero speaks up. "Take us to Natalie and
then we'll let you go."
"That's kidnapping!"
Heero shrugs. Amy slumps down in her seat, crossing her arms and
glaring out from her thick lashes. "Fine. But you gotta get me outta
here and pay me good for my troubles. Fifty a day for helping ya get
Nata, plus my standard rate for anything extra you might have in
mind," her eyes dart from Heero to me, waiting for our response.
It's a good deal for her, but not so good of a deal if she's lying.
She recognized Natasha's handwriting, but... She could be tricking us.
For some reason, I trust her.
Because Natasha might be in danger.
"Acceptable," Heero says, closing the deal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: I'm about to the end of my pre-written story! When I
started typing, this was as far as it went, but I have chapter seven
all written. So, I'll just type it and hopefully you'll have another
chapter before the weekend starts.
There's ice everywhere. I hope they cancel school!
*edit* That was written Tuesday night. Promptly afterwards power went
out. Just about 24 hours later, I have power once more.
Oh, before anyone points it out, I'm aware the brothel's name is Miss
Kitty's and Amy refers to the mistress as Madame Kitty, not Miss, but
that's just a conflict of titles, not an error.
Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
copyright 2002 - Gundam Wing and characters copyright other people.
LSE - "Violet" (ManzokuBiscuit@aol.com)
Email me to join my Update ML!
http://violetnyte.fallenweb.net