Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ What Happened to Being Perfect? ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Maxine 
Ignore most of the author's notes for any chapter in this fic, as they were written long ago when I first posted this at FF.N.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 06.23.2002 | Updated On: 08.23.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 327 | Status: Completed
Ignore most of the author's notes for any chapter in this fic, as they were written long ago when I first posted this at FF.N.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 06.23.2002 | Updated On: 08.23.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 327 | Status: Completed
What Happened to Being Perfect?
*Disclaimer* Uh, well, I don't own any of the Gundam Wing characters, duh. I do own some of their Gundams though! Models anyway...
*Warning* Hmm...language...nothing really I guess.
Ok, I know, WHY am I writing this when I have like, five other fics I should be working on? Well, I felt bad about taking so long to update so I wrote this to (hopefully) make up for it. I know that doesn't really make much sense, since you'd probably rather more chapters of my other fics, huh? Oh well, sorry about that. I also wrote this in honor of the New Year and the fact that my one-year anniversary at FF.N is coming up in February! YAY!!!
This basically is a bunch of random ideas that have been floating around in my head that have been joined together in a story form. It takes place right after the end of Endless Waltz, so our boys are sixteen years old, kay? Enjoy!!
Click-click-click-clickety-click-click...*p ause*...delete-delete-delete-delete...click-click-click...delete-delete-del ete...click-click-
Heero growled in annoyance and squinted at the computer in front of him. The words were all blurring together on the screen and he kept having to go back to redo what he'd written before. It was becoming increasingly annoying, and it didn't help that the report he was writing was due tomorrow. And it wasn't a report for Preventors or anything. No, far from it actually. It was for his English class. That's right, ENGLISH class.
**Flashback**
Though the wars had finally ended, life hadn't gotten much easier for the former Gundam pilots. Heero hadn't had anything to do really, so he'd contacted Duo and was staying with him until he found a job somewhere. Trowa was discovering that life at a circus REALLY was not his thing, so before he got too attached to anything, he left, telling Cathy he'd keep in touch. He'd gone to stay with Quatre for a while, only to find that Quatre was as unhappy with his job of running a major corporation as Trowa had been working at the circus. It was too much for a sixteen year old to do. Back on L2, Duo was becoming increasingly bored with selling scrap parts to people all day, and Heero still hadn't had any luck in finding a job that he liked. So, the two had called up Quatre, and after only a short discussion, the four teens headed to Earth to get a job doing what they did best. They went to Preventors. Quatre had eagerly handed the corporation over to his sisters, while Duo had left the scrap yard in the hands of Hilde. Soon, the four found themselves in Lady Une's office, applying for jobs, but they weren't too pleased with the answer.
Lady Une stared at the four boys in front of her through slightly wide eyes. They were everything that Preventors needed, and were definitely qualified for the job, but there was just ONE little problem...
"Uh...well guys, I um, I'm thrilled that y-you want to work with Preventors, but we just passed this new rule. Well, actually, it's a LAW now, and um..." Une trailed off.
"Wait, are you saying we can't work here?!" Duo exclaimed.
"What is this new law?" Heero asked at the same time. Lady Une shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she looked at the two.
"Well, yes I'm saying you can't work here, the reason being that you don't have...high school diplomas. The law requires that if you are to work in Preventors, you must be at least eighteen years old and have graduated high school." Duo and Quatre's jaws dropped, and Heero and Trowa actually went to the extent of widening their eyes.
"B-but...but Wufei works here!!" Duo shouted, not believing what he was hearing.
"Yes, well, it's a quite a coincidence that you happened to come today. See, we haven't TOLD Wufei yet. I actually have a meeting with him and Sally in about ten minutes," Une said, glancing at her watch. "If you'd like to stick around, you're welcome to." They stayed, and sure enough, ten minutes later Sally and Wufei walked in. Well, Sally walked in, Wufei paused at the door, looking at the extra people in the room in shock.
"What're YOU guys doing here?" he asked.
"Well, nice to see you too, Wu-man," Duo replied sarcastically. "We were here applying for a job but-"
"Wufei! It's good to see you!" Quatre cut in, rushing over to shake Wufei's hand in greeting.
"So, you guys are going to work here?" Wufei asked, looking at them warily.
"Well, we want to but they won't let us because-"
"Do you like working here, Wufei?" Trowa asked quickly, once again cutting Duo off.
"...I do," Wufei replied slowly.
"Aw, too bad, because you won't be working here anymo-"
"DUO!!" everyone in the room shouted, with the exception of Wufei. Duo just glared at them all.
"WHY won't I be working here anymore?" Wufei asked sharply. "You're not firing me, are you?" He turned to Lady Une. Une shared a look with Sally, and then turned to Wufei.
"Well, not exactly. We're just...putting you on hold for two years."
"Oh ok then- WHAT?! Two years!!"
"Wufei, a law was passed that said if you're going to work in Preventors, you must be eighteen years old and have a high school diploma. You and the others don't have either of those two things tucked under your belt yet," Sally explained calmly.
"However, you will still be guaranteed your job in two years if you have obtained a high school diploma," Une added. She looked thoughtful for a few seconds, and then continued. "Preventors plans on taking care of all expenses in order to get you enrolled in a high school. If you do it now, you will be going in as a sophomore, and will still be allowed to receive a diploma after your senior year." She turned to the other four. "Though you four do not work here, I'm sure I can find a way to get the same deal for you, and the five of you can enroll in a high school together. We'll even provide an apartment for you." Wufei looked shocked at the whole thing. The other four looked as if they were considering it.
"I'll do it!" Duo spoke up first.
"Yes, me too," Quatre said. Trowa and Heero both shrugged and nodded. Wufei blinked a few times, and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Ugh, fine. I guess it makes since. Where will you be sending us?" Lady Une and Sally smiled.
"You'll be going to a public school in the United States. That gives you a better chance of being unnoticed as former Gundam pilots. The school we were looking at is in New York. It's called," Une paused to look at some papers, "Capri Hill. They're known as the Capri Cougars, and apparently have a very good sports program. They also have extremely high testing scores, so it should be enjoyable for you," she finished.
"Why do we have to go to school anyway?" Duo asked. "We just fought through a war, and now we have to go to high school to get a job?"
"This'll give you the chance to get back into the hang of peaceful times. And you might find that you ENJOY high school. Plus, you'll be able to learn all sorts of new things," Une answered.
"I bet I already know everything that's important," Duo said haughtily.
"What's the Law of Conversion of Matter?" Sally asked, a small smirk on her face. Duo blinked.
"The law of what of what?" he asked. Sally laughed.
"See? You'll learn about that in chemistry, one of the classes you're taking."
"Why do we need to know about a Law of...of..." Quatre trailed off, but Duo answered his question anyway.
"Well, duh, Quat. If we don't know what the law is, then we could get in trouble for accidentally breaking it or something." Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre blinked, wondering if that was true or not. Sally, on the other hand, continued laughing, and Lady Une joined her.
**End Flashback**
So, about two weeks later in the middle of February, the five found themselves in a new apartment, with new wardrobes, enrolled at Capri Hill, trying to live the normal life they had all missed out on. It didn't make much since to Heero why THEY had to go back to high school when others, like Relena, were aloud to continue their jobs without interference, but he didn't have much say in the matter. He'd only been at school about a week, and he already had this stupid report on William Shakespeare due the next day. What was so important about Shakespeare anyway? Heero had greatly underestimated the importance of this assignment, and hadn't started it until the last minute.
'Grrrr...stupid report, stupid school, stupid law, stupid...stupid EVERYTHING!' he thought angrily. He paused in his typing to glance around the dark room. The only light was coming from the glow of his computer screen. Heero figured it had to be late. That must have been why everything was going slightly fuzzy; he was too tired. It was dead silent in the room, proving that his roommates had already gone to sleep some time ago...or so he thought until-
"Hey Heero!" Duo shouted, banging the door open. Heero actually jumped at the sudden intrusion and turned to glare at the blurry figure in the doorway. Blinking, Heero rubbed his eyes, clearing them up a little.
"Do you mind?" he asked grumpily. "Trowa and Wufei are sleeping." Duo blinked.
"Uh...no they're not." Trowa's head suddenly appeared over Duo's shoulder.
"We were downstairs," he said, flicking on the light switch, causing Heero to wince at the brightness. "You shouldn't work in the dark like that. It's bad for your eyes." Heero shrugged, and then stood up and stretched a little.
"What time is it then?" he asked. Trowa checked his watch.
"8:37," he replied. Heero nearly fell back in his chair.
"It's still that early?" That was good, plenty of time to work on his report.
"Yeah. Hey Heero, I need help on this math. Can you help me?" Duo asked, coming over and plopping down on one of the beds. "I don't understand ANY of this. Y varies indirectly as four times the cube of X; graph the solution? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he read from one of the books. Heero turned around in his chair.
"Can't one of the others help you?" he asked. "I have to finish this Shakespeare report and-"
"You're STILL working on that? Mine was due today," Duo cut in. Trowa walked in the room and sat down on his bed.
"I'll help you, Duo," he offered, pulling out his own math homework. "And I meant to ask you guys if you were planning on doing any spring sports."
"Yeah, I wanna tryout for baseball," Duo replied, looking up from his paper with bright eyes. "I've always wanted to play!" Trowa smirked.
"Well, I picked up some spring sports registration forms, and it looks like we need to have physicals done if we want to play. Preventors can take care of the birth certificate part, but..." he trailed off. Both Heero and Duo stared at him.
"Physicals?" Duo asked.
"A doctor's appointment," Trowa answered slowly.
"A full-fledged doctor's appointment," Heero amended, "seeing as none of us have written records of them from before." Duo gulped.
"As in...as in shots and all?" he asked warily.
"...Among other things," Trowa replied casually. "We just have to set up an appointment with the hospital."
"You already did, didn't you?" Heero stated, more than asked.
"They're next Tuesday," Trowa answered sheepishly. "With Sally." Sally had been transferred to a base located on the outskirts of the town they were living in so that she could help take care of things for the group.
"Sally?!" Duo exclaimed. "You're kidding!"
"It wasn't my idea, I didn't suggest it," Trowa said, immediately on the defense. Duo groaned.
"Aw man!"
"You'll get over it," Heero said, turning back to the computer. "Do your math." Still complaining, Duo looked at his book again. Outside in the hall, Quatre and Wufei looked at each other through wide eyes.
"You don't think he's telling the truth, do you?" Wufei asked worriedly. Quatre shrugged.
"It's Trowa, he doesn't usually lie..." He sighed. "I really want to do track though. I guess getting a physical done isn't THAT big a deal."
"But by Sally?!" Wufei exclaimed quietly. Then, "You want to do TRACK?" Quatre nodded.
"Why? Got a problem with that?"
"...Lacrosse is a much better sport. It requires the strong to play it," Wufei declared. Quatre rolled his eyes.
"Were you guys going to come in?" came Duo's voice from inside the room. Quatre quickly shuffled into the room with Wufei behind him.
"Uh, hey guys," Quatre said meekly. They just sort looked up in greeting.
"So, Wufei, you wanna play lacrosse?" Duo asked.
"That's what I was thinking of trying out for," Trowa said as Wufei nodded.
"What about you Heero?" asked Quatre.
"Track," he replied with a glare at Wufei, daring him to say anything. "I was thinking of doing long distance running and... shot put or something."
"That's cool," Duo spoke up. "You'd probably beat them all in shot put." Heero shrugged, and a comfortable silence fell on the room.
"Oh, Heero," Quatre said suddenly, "The reason I came up here was to tell you that it's your turn to do the dishes." Heero blinked at the computer screen and growled slightly. One of the disadvantages of living on your own: you have to do ALL the chores. Laundry, dusting, cooking, dishes, EVERYTHING (A/N: Can't you just picture this? LOL ^_^). Sally came over when she could to make sure they were all eating healthily and not living in a garbage bin, but the majority of the work was left to the boys. Sighing, Heero got up to get his job over with, leaving the others chuckling behind him.
* * *
Tuesday of the next week found the five teens being driven to the hospital by Sally, since none of them could drive yet. Well, they COULD, but not legally, as none of them actually had their license.
"When do spring tryouts start anyway?" Duo asked from his seat in the back.
"Not until the middle of March," Wufei replied grouchily. He was slouching in the passenger seat next to Sally.
"Then why are we getting physicals NOW?" asked Duo irritably.
"Why not?" Trowa shot back. Duo stuck out his tongue at him. Soon they arrived at their destination, and Sally herded them all into the waiting area. The former pilots were quiet as Sally got whatever papers they needed, and then they headed off to the examination area.
"Ok guys, we're going to start off with the basics: height, weight, vision, blood pressure, etc. Is there any order you want to go in? Or does it not matter?"
"By order of the Gundams, 01 - 05," Wufei said quickly.
"No way, alphabetically," Heero argued. The two glared at each other, until Quatre spoke up.
"I'll go first."
"Thank you, Quatre. The first part's a breeze, don't worry," Sally said, leading the blonde away. Trowa went after him, after hearing that there was nothing horrible that happened, and then Heero followed. He took a LITTLE longer than the others had.
"Ok, Heero, I need you to stand behind this line," Sally said, pointing to a piece of tape across the ground. He complied. "Good, now cover up your left eye and read the smallest line you can back to me from that chart over there." Heero looked to where she pointed, thinking it would be a cinch, but froze when he looked at all the small, blurry black...well, MARKS on the chart.
"Uhh..." he stuttered, blinking his eyes rapidly in an attempt to get them to focus better. It didn't help. Sally glanced up from her clipboard.
"Just read whatever you can," she said in a calm voice that still betrayed some of her shock. Heero just stared blankly at the wall.
"Well, the first line's an 'E'," he said sheepishly. Sally blinked.
"Um, can you read the second or third line?"
"The third is, um, 'A', wait no, 'V'? Damn it... The second line starts with a 'B', I can see that..." he trailed off and lowered his hand from his eye, glancing at Sally helplessly.
"That-that's ok, now try your left eye," she suggested. It wasn't any better than his right. "Well, heh, I don't know what to say, Heero. Being a Gundam pilot, I would have thought your sight was...better than that," she finished bluntly. Heero glared at her, but she held up her hands defensively. "Just telling you the truth. I guess all that staring at computers in the dead of the night finally caught up with you. Sorry, but you're going to have to get glasses, at least for school anyway." Heero's eyes widened.
"What? No way! Glasses, me?" he exclaimed. "My vision's fine, I just...uh..." he trailed off again, and then his shoulders slumped over. "Fine. Glasses. Whatever."
"We'll do a quick eye exam after your physical, that way you can get glasses right away. You can get contacts too, if you want." Heero just nodded, already walking back to the waiting room. "Send Wufei in next!" Sally called after him.
Heero entered the waiting area with a scowl on his face. "Wufei, you're next," he growled, jerking a thumb behind him. "And what the hell are you doing, Duo?" Duo looked up from his spot on the floor.
"Playing with these legos. They're pretty neat," he answered as Wufei walked back to where Sally was. "What's with you?" Heero turned his glare to Duo, who didn't look the least bit affected by it. Then he sighed and slouched in the uncomfortable chair he was sitting in. There was no point not telling them, they'd find out anyway.
"I have to get...glasses," Heero spat. All three of the others glanced up sharply.
"Glasses?" Quatre repeated. Heero nodded.
"I've been straining my eyes too much looking at damn computers. My eye sight sucks ass."
"I told you not to do that in the dark. And I've caught you READING with the lights off before too!" Trowa admonished.
"Shut up," Heero snapped. It was silent for the rest of the time Wufei was gone. Duo went in last, and after he passed the reading test with flying colors, easily reading the 20/20 line, Sally led him to another room.
"Ok, Duo, I'm just going to go ahead and do the rest of your physical now instead of having you go out there and then come back in again. It'll save us a little time." Duo's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at the door, looking as if he wanted to bolt. "Don't even think about it," Sally warned, glaring at the braided teen. He sighed and leaned back against the wall.
"What're you going to do?" he asked warily.
"I'M going to leave the room for a few minutes while YOU strip down to your boxers and put this on," Sally answered, throwing Duo a hospital gown.
"You want me to what?!" Duo exclaimed, staring at Sally in shock. She sighed.
"All part of the procedure. Calm down!"
"I'm not gonna prance around half-naked in front of YOU!"
"If it makes you THAT uncomfortable to have someone you know, then I can always get you another person you DON'T know. Male or female?" Duo paled, thinking of what it would be like to have some stranger poking and prodding at him. And what if was some old guy? He shuddered.
"Ugh...fine," he grumbled. Sally smirked.
"Don't worry, Duo, it's nothing I haven't seen. I AM a doctor you know." Duo glared at her while his cheeks flushed a little red, before practically ripping his shirt off. "You could wait until I'm out of the room," Sally said amusedly.
"Why should I? You'll see everything anyway," Duo grumbled. He swiftly unzipped his pants and let them fall around his ankles, before smiling brightly. "Like my boxers? They've got chibi Deathscythes all over them!" Sally just shook her head lightly and directed Duo to the table in the middle of the room.
Sometime later, Duo made his way back to the waiting area sporting a Batman band-aid on his left arm, some white gauze on the inside of his right elbow, and a decidedly content look on his face as he sucked on a lollipop, while at the same time managing to look pretty embarrassed.
"What took you so long?" Heero grumbled, looking up from a magazine he was reading.
"Sally decided to go ahead and do the whole thing since I was already there. She said she's going in reverse order from there so, Wufei, you're next!" Duo said, smirking evilly at him. Wufei gulped. "Have fun, I doubt you'll ever be able to look her in the eyes again," he added as an afterthought, flushing slightly. Wufei sighed and reluctantly got to his feet.
"What's with the band-aid?" he asked. Duo pointed at his left shoulder.
"Shot," he pointed at the gauze, "blood drawn," he pulled the sucker out of his mouth, "and a tootsie pop for being such a good sport about it!" he finished, smiling widely. Wufei raised an eyebrow slightly, and walked off to the room Sally was in muttering about "braided bakas" and "onnas."
Within an hour and a half, the rest of the guys were done and the group piled into Sally's car again.
"I signed you all up for driver's ed.," Sally said to the unusually quiet teens, some of whom, *cough* Quatre *cough*, now had permanently red faces from embarrassment. The only reply she got was a few grunts. "I mean, there'll be a lot of other kids your age doing it too, so it should work out fine, and then you can finally get your licenses." Still no reply. "Guys! Come on, get over it! It was NOT that big a deal!" Duo scowled.
"Not for YOU maybe," he grumbled. Then he sighed. "When do we have lessons or whatever?"
"Every Monday from 2:30 to 5," Sally replied.
"How many classes?" Trowa asked.
"Five. Then, after you take the test, you get your permit, which you'll have for a minimum of four months and forty hours of driving."
"Sounds good," Quatre said.
"Yeah, it can't be too hard," Duo added.
"Your first class is in two weeks. Oh, and Heero, I'll pick up your glasses in, like three days or something and bring them by your house, ok?"
"Yuy's getting glasses?" Wufei asked, finally speaking up.
"Yeah, I told you that already," Heero said.
"No, Wufei wasn't in the room when you told us," said Duo. "He was with Sally."
"I have glasses," Wufei said. "But I only use them for reading." Heero perked up a little at that.
"Really? How come I've never seen you with them on?" Wufei shrugged.
"I didn't use them much during the war, but I'm starting to wear them again."
"I've only seen him in them once," Duo said. "But he happened to have his hair down at the same time, so I thought he was an intruder or something." Wufei glared at him.
"Speaking of hair," Sally spoke up, glancing over at Heero, who was now sitting in the front seat, and lifting up a lock of his hair. "You guys could probably get some hair cuts too. Just trims!" she quickly added, when they all glared at her, especially Heero, who instantly leaned away from her hands. "I mean, Duo, how long are you going to let that thing grow? I can't even imagine how bad your split ends must be." Duo looked slightly offended and started petting his braid. "Wufei, your hair's getting a bit too long too, I think. Some people might start mistaking you for a girl. And Trowa! If those bangs get any longer they'll cover your WHOLE face," she said, glancing at him through the rear-view mirror. He glared back at her. "As for Heero and Quatre, well, those mop-tops are looking a bit too shabby."
"Shabby?" Quatre asked, running a hand through his hair. "You really think so? I can't remember the last time I got it cut."
"Geez, Sally, who died and made you our mother?" Duo spat. "Wait, don't answer that."
"Well you need to have some sort of an adult figure around. Or who would drive you everywhere?" Sally smirked. Duo scowled at her.
"I'm beginning to seriously dislike this whole 'living normally' thing. A normal life sucks!" he cried.
"Aw, it's not THAT bad. I mean, don't you think it's neat to sort have a...a family type thing?" Sally asked. "You know, the five of you living together?" Duo blinked.
"Oh yes, a family, right. So, brother Quatre, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Duo asked sarcastically. Quatre smiled.
"Well gee, brother Duo, I don't know. It's brother Trowa's turn to cook tonight," he replied, chuckling a little. Sally started laughing.
"You guys are impossible," she stated, smiling to herself.
"We try," Duo said, examining his nails. Sally's laughing continued, and gradually all the tension disappeared from the car.
* * *
Ok, this story's been divided into three parts, and all are already finished. My plan is to post the other two parts on the 13th and the 20th, a new part each week. It also gives you a reason to look forward to the beginning of a new week! Right? Eh-heh... BUT, I will only post the next part if you all give me at least ten reviews for each part!! Ok? That's not too much. I know for a fact more than ten people read this because I've got FF.N Support Services. Hehehe. Thanks for reading! And really guys, please review!! I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates recently. Look for more stuff soon!
*~Maxine~*
*Disclaimer* Uh, well, I don't own any of the Gundam Wing characters, duh. I do own some of their Gundams though! Models anyway...
*Warning* Hmm...language...nothing really I guess.
Ok, I know, WHY am I writing this when I have like, five other fics I should be working on? Well, I felt bad about taking so long to update so I wrote this to (hopefully) make up for it. I know that doesn't really make much sense, since you'd probably rather more chapters of my other fics, huh? Oh well, sorry about that. I also wrote this in honor of the New Year and the fact that my one-year anniversary at FF.N is coming up in February! YAY!!!
This basically is a bunch of random ideas that have been floating around in my head that have been joined together in a story form. It takes place right after the end of Endless Waltz, so our boys are sixteen years old, kay? Enjoy!!
Click-click-click-clickety-click-click...*p ause*...delete-delete-delete-delete...click-click-click...delete-delete-del ete...click-click-
Heero growled in annoyance and squinted at the computer in front of him. The words were all blurring together on the screen and he kept having to go back to redo what he'd written before. It was becoming increasingly annoying, and it didn't help that the report he was writing was due tomorrow. And it wasn't a report for Preventors or anything. No, far from it actually. It was for his English class. That's right, ENGLISH class.
**Flashback**
Though the wars had finally ended, life hadn't gotten much easier for the former Gundam pilots. Heero hadn't had anything to do really, so he'd contacted Duo and was staying with him until he found a job somewhere. Trowa was discovering that life at a circus REALLY was not his thing, so before he got too attached to anything, he left, telling Cathy he'd keep in touch. He'd gone to stay with Quatre for a while, only to find that Quatre was as unhappy with his job of running a major corporation as Trowa had been working at the circus. It was too much for a sixteen year old to do. Back on L2, Duo was becoming increasingly bored with selling scrap parts to people all day, and Heero still hadn't had any luck in finding a job that he liked. So, the two had called up Quatre, and after only a short discussion, the four teens headed to Earth to get a job doing what they did best. They went to Preventors. Quatre had eagerly handed the corporation over to his sisters, while Duo had left the scrap yard in the hands of Hilde. Soon, the four found themselves in Lady Une's office, applying for jobs, but they weren't too pleased with the answer.
Lady Une stared at the four boys in front of her through slightly wide eyes. They were everything that Preventors needed, and were definitely qualified for the job, but there was just ONE little problem...
"Uh...well guys, I um, I'm thrilled that y-you want to work with Preventors, but we just passed this new rule. Well, actually, it's a LAW now, and um..." Une trailed off.
"Wait, are you saying we can't work here?!" Duo exclaimed.
"What is this new law?" Heero asked at the same time. Lady Une shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she looked at the two.
"Well, yes I'm saying you can't work here, the reason being that you don't have...high school diplomas. The law requires that if you are to work in Preventors, you must be at least eighteen years old and have graduated high school." Duo and Quatre's jaws dropped, and Heero and Trowa actually went to the extent of widening their eyes.
"B-but...but Wufei works here!!" Duo shouted, not believing what he was hearing.
"Yes, well, it's a quite a coincidence that you happened to come today. See, we haven't TOLD Wufei yet. I actually have a meeting with him and Sally in about ten minutes," Une said, glancing at her watch. "If you'd like to stick around, you're welcome to." They stayed, and sure enough, ten minutes later Sally and Wufei walked in. Well, Sally walked in, Wufei paused at the door, looking at the extra people in the room in shock.
"What're YOU guys doing here?" he asked.
"Well, nice to see you too, Wu-man," Duo replied sarcastically. "We were here applying for a job but-"
"Wufei! It's good to see you!" Quatre cut in, rushing over to shake Wufei's hand in greeting.
"So, you guys are going to work here?" Wufei asked, looking at them warily.
"Well, we want to but they won't let us because-"
"Do you like working here, Wufei?" Trowa asked quickly, once again cutting Duo off.
"...I do," Wufei replied slowly.
"Aw, too bad, because you won't be working here anymo-"
"DUO!!" everyone in the room shouted, with the exception of Wufei. Duo just glared at them all.
"WHY won't I be working here anymore?" Wufei asked sharply. "You're not firing me, are you?" He turned to Lady Une. Une shared a look with Sally, and then turned to Wufei.
"Well, not exactly. We're just...putting you on hold for two years."
"Oh ok then- WHAT?! Two years!!"
"Wufei, a law was passed that said if you're going to work in Preventors, you must be eighteen years old and have a high school diploma. You and the others don't have either of those two things tucked under your belt yet," Sally explained calmly.
"However, you will still be guaranteed your job in two years if you have obtained a high school diploma," Une added. She looked thoughtful for a few seconds, and then continued. "Preventors plans on taking care of all expenses in order to get you enrolled in a high school. If you do it now, you will be going in as a sophomore, and will still be allowed to receive a diploma after your senior year." She turned to the other four. "Though you four do not work here, I'm sure I can find a way to get the same deal for you, and the five of you can enroll in a high school together. We'll even provide an apartment for you." Wufei looked shocked at the whole thing. The other four looked as if they were considering it.
"I'll do it!" Duo spoke up first.
"Yes, me too," Quatre said. Trowa and Heero both shrugged and nodded. Wufei blinked a few times, and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Ugh, fine. I guess it makes since. Where will you be sending us?" Lady Une and Sally smiled.
"You'll be going to a public school in the United States. That gives you a better chance of being unnoticed as former Gundam pilots. The school we were looking at is in New York. It's called," Une paused to look at some papers, "Capri Hill. They're known as the Capri Cougars, and apparently have a very good sports program. They also have extremely high testing scores, so it should be enjoyable for you," she finished.
"Why do we have to go to school anyway?" Duo asked. "We just fought through a war, and now we have to go to high school to get a job?"
"This'll give you the chance to get back into the hang of peaceful times. And you might find that you ENJOY high school. Plus, you'll be able to learn all sorts of new things," Une answered.
"I bet I already know everything that's important," Duo said haughtily.
"What's the Law of Conversion of Matter?" Sally asked, a small smirk on her face. Duo blinked.
"The law of what of what?" he asked. Sally laughed.
"See? You'll learn about that in chemistry, one of the classes you're taking."
"Why do we need to know about a Law of...of..." Quatre trailed off, but Duo answered his question anyway.
"Well, duh, Quat. If we don't know what the law is, then we could get in trouble for accidentally breaking it or something." Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre blinked, wondering if that was true or not. Sally, on the other hand, continued laughing, and Lady Une joined her.
**End Flashback**
So, about two weeks later in the middle of February, the five found themselves in a new apartment, with new wardrobes, enrolled at Capri Hill, trying to live the normal life they had all missed out on. It didn't make much since to Heero why THEY had to go back to high school when others, like Relena, were aloud to continue their jobs without interference, but he didn't have much say in the matter. He'd only been at school about a week, and he already had this stupid report on William Shakespeare due the next day. What was so important about Shakespeare anyway? Heero had greatly underestimated the importance of this assignment, and hadn't started it until the last minute.
'Grrrr...stupid report, stupid school, stupid law, stupid...stupid EVERYTHING!' he thought angrily. He paused in his typing to glance around the dark room. The only light was coming from the glow of his computer screen. Heero figured it had to be late. That must have been why everything was going slightly fuzzy; he was too tired. It was dead silent in the room, proving that his roommates had already gone to sleep some time ago...or so he thought until-
"Hey Heero!" Duo shouted, banging the door open. Heero actually jumped at the sudden intrusion and turned to glare at the blurry figure in the doorway. Blinking, Heero rubbed his eyes, clearing them up a little.
"Do you mind?" he asked grumpily. "Trowa and Wufei are sleeping." Duo blinked.
"Uh...no they're not." Trowa's head suddenly appeared over Duo's shoulder.
"We were downstairs," he said, flicking on the light switch, causing Heero to wince at the brightness. "You shouldn't work in the dark like that. It's bad for your eyes." Heero shrugged, and then stood up and stretched a little.
"What time is it then?" he asked. Trowa checked his watch.
"8:37," he replied. Heero nearly fell back in his chair.
"It's still that early?" That was good, plenty of time to work on his report.
"Yeah. Hey Heero, I need help on this math. Can you help me?" Duo asked, coming over and plopping down on one of the beds. "I don't understand ANY of this. Y varies indirectly as four times the cube of X; graph the solution? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he read from one of the books. Heero turned around in his chair.
"Can't one of the others help you?" he asked. "I have to finish this Shakespeare report and-"
"You're STILL working on that? Mine was due today," Duo cut in. Trowa walked in the room and sat down on his bed.
"I'll help you, Duo," he offered, pulling out his own math homework. "And I meant to ask you guys if you were planning on doing any spring sports."
"Yeah, I wanna tryout for baseball," Duo replied, looking up from his paper with bright eyes. "I've always wanted to play!" Trowa smirked.
"Well, I picked up some spring sports registration forms, and it looks like we need to have physicals done if we want to play. Preventors can take care of the birth certificate part, but..." he trailed off. Both Heero and Duo stared at him.
"Physicals?" Duo asked.
"A doctor's appointment," Trowa answered slowly.
"A full-fledged doctor's appointment," Heero amended, "seeing as none of us have written records of them from before." Duo gulped.
"As in...as in shots and all?" he asked warily.
"...Among other things," Trowa replied casually. "We just have to set up an appointment with the hospital."
"You already did, didn't you?" Heero stated, more than asked.
"They're next Tuesday," Trowa answered sheepishly. "With Sally." Sally had been transferred to a base located on the outskirts of the town they were living in so that she could help take care of things for the group.
"Sally?!" Duo exclaimed. "You're kidding!"
"It wasn't my idea, I didn't suggest it," Trowa said, immediately on the defense. Duo groaned.
"Aw man!"
"You'll get over it," Heero said, turning back to the computer. "Do your math." Still complaining, Duo looked at his book again. Outside in the hall, Quatre and Wufei looked at each other through wide eyes.
"You don't think he's telling the truth, do you?" Wufei asked worriedly. Quatre shrugged.
"It's Trowa, he doesn't usually lie..." He sighed. "I really want to do track though. I guess getting a physical done isn't THAT big a deal."
"But by Sally?!" Wufei exclaimed quietly. Then, "You want to do TRACK?" Quatre nodded.
"Why? Got a problem with that?"
"...Lacrosse is a much better sport. It requires the strong to play it," Wufei declared. Quatre rolled his eyes.
"Were you guys going to come in?" came Duo's voice from inside the room. Quatre quickly shuffled into the room with Wufei behind him.
"Uh, hey guys," Quatre said meekly. They just sort looked up in greeting.
"So, Wufei, you wanna play lacrosse?" Duo asked.
"That's what I was thinking of trying out for," Trowa said as Wufei nodded.
"What about you Heero?" asked Quatre.
"Track," he replied with a glare at Wufei, daring him to say anything. "I was thinking of doing long distance running and... shot put or something."
"That's cool," Duo spoke up. "You'd probably beat them all in shot put." Heero shrugged, and a comfortable silence fell on the room.
"Oh, Heero," Quatre said suddenly, "The reason I came up here was to tell you that it's your turn to do the dishes." Heero blinked at the computer screen and growled slightly. One of the disadvantages of living on your own: you have to do ALL the chores. Laundry, dusting, cooking, dishes, EVERYTHING (A/N: Can't you just picture this? LOL ^_^). Sally came over when she could to make sure they were all eating healthily and not living in a garbage bin, but the majority of the work was left to the boys. Sighing, Heero got up to get his job over with, leaving the others chuckling behind him.
* * *
Tuesday of the next week found the five teens being driven to the hospital by Sally, since none of them could drive yet. Well, they COULD, but not legally, as none of them actually had their license.
"When do spring tryouts start anyway?" Duo asked from his seat in the back.
"Not until the middle of March," Wufei replied grouchily. He was slouching in the passenger seat next to Sally.
"Then why are we getting physicals NOW?" asked Duo irritably.
"Why not?" Trowa shot back. Duo stuck out his tongue at him. Soon they arrived at their destination, and Sally herded them all into the waiting area. The former pilots were quiet as Sally got whatever papers they needed, and then they headed off to the examination area.
"Ok guys, we're going to start off with the basics: height, weight, vision, blood pressure, etc. Is there any order you want to go in? Or does it not matter?"
"By order of the Gundams, 01 - 05," Wufei said quickly.
"No way, alphabetically," Heero argued. The two glared at each other, until Quatre spoke up.
"I'll go first."
"Thank you, Quatre. The first part's a breeze, don't worry," Sally said, leading the blonde away. Trowa went after him, after hearing that there was nothing horrible that happened, and then Heero followed. He took a LITTLE longer than the others had.
"Ok, Heero, I need you to stand behind this line," Sally said, pointing to a piece of tape across the ground. He complied. "Good, now cover up your left eye and read the smallest line you can back to me from that chart over there." Heero looked to where she pointed, thinking it would be a cinch, but froze when he looked at all the small, blurry black...well, MARKS on the chart.
"Uhh..." he stuttered, blinking his eyes rapidly in an attempt to get them to focus better. It didn't help. Sally glanced up from her clipboard.
"Just read whatever you can," she said in a calm voice that still betrayed some of her shock. Heero just stared blankly at the wall.
"Well, the first line's an 'E'," he said sheepishly. Sally blinked.
"Um, can you read the second or third line?"
"The third is, um, 'A', wait no, 'V'? Damn it... The second line starts with a 'B', I can see that..." he trailed off and lowered his hand from his eye, glancing at Sally helplessly.
"That-that's ok, now try your left eye," she suggested. It wasn't any better than his right. "Well, heh, I don't know what to say, Heero. Being a Gundam pilot, I would have thought your sight was...better than that," she finished bluntly. Heero glared at her, but she held up her hands defensively. "Just telling you the truth. I guess all that staring at computers in the dead of the night finally caught up with you. Sorry, but you're going to have to get glasses, at least for school anyway." Heero's eyes widened.
"What? No way! Glasses, me?" he exclaimed. "My vision's fine, I just...uh..." he trailed off again, and then his shoulders slumped over. "Fine. Glasses. Whatever."
"We'll do a quick eye exam after your physical, that way you can get glasses right away. You can get contacts too, if you want." Heero just nodded, already walking back to the waiting room. "Send Wufei in next!" Sally called after him.
Heero entered the waiting area with a scowl on his face. "Wufei, you're next," he growled, jerking a thumb behind him. "And what the hell are you doing, Duo?" Duo looked up from his spot on the floor.
"Playing with these legos. They're pretty neat," he answered as Wufei walked back to where Sally was. "What's with you?" Heero turned his glare to Duo, who didn't look the least bit affected by it. Then he sighed and slouched in the uncomfortable chair he was sitting in. There was no point not telling them, they'd find out anyway.
"I have to get...glasses," Heero spat. All three of the others glanced up sharply.
"Glasses?" Quatre repeated. Heero nodded.
"I've been straining my eyes too much looking at damn computers. My eye sight sucks ass."
"I told you not to do that in the dark. And I've caught you READING with the lights off before too!" Trowa admonished.
"Shut up," Heero snapped. It was silent for the rest of the time Wufei was gone. Duo went in last, and after he passed the reading test with flying colors, easily reading the 20/20 line, Sally led him to another room.
"Ok, Duo, I'm just going to go ahead and do the rest of your physical now instead of having you go out there and then come back in again. It'll save us a little time." Duo's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at the door, looking as if he wanted to bolt. "Don't even think about it," Sally warned, glaring at the braided teen. He sighed and leaned back against the wall.
"What're you going to do?" he asked warily.
"I'M going to leave the room for a few minutes while YOU strip down to your boxers and put this on," Sally answered, throwing Duo a hospital gown.
"You want me to what?!" Duo exclaimed, staring at Sally in shock. She sighed.
"All part of the procedure. Calm down!"
"I'm not gonna prance around half-naked in front of YOU!"
"If it makes you THAT uncomfortable to have someone you know, then I can always get you another person you DON'T know. Male or female?" Duo paled, thinking of what it would be like to have some stranger poking and prodding at him. And what if was some old guy? He shuddered.
"Ugh...fine," he grumbled. Sally smirked.
"Don't worry, Duo, it's nothing I haven't seen. I AM a doctor you know." Duo glared at her while his cheeks flushed a little red, before practically ripping his shirt off. "You could wait until I'm out of the room," Sally said amusedly.
"Why should I? You'll see everything anyway," Duo grumbled. He swiftly unzipped his pants and let them fall around his ankles, before smiling brightly. "Like my boxers? They've got chibi Deathscythes all over them!" Sally just shook her head lightly and directed Duo to the table in the middle of the room.
Sometime later, Duo made his way back to the waiting area sporting a Batman band-aid on his left arm, some white gauze on the inside of his right elbow, and a decidedly content look on his face as he sucked on a lollipop, while at the same time managing to look pretty embarrassed.
"What took you so long?" Heero grumbled, looking up from a magazine he was reading.
"Sally decided to go ahead and do the whole thing since I was already there. She said she's going in reverse order from there so, Wufei, you're next!" Duo said, smirking evilly at him. Wufei gulped. "Have fun, I doubt you'll ever be able to look her in the eyes again," he added as an afterthought, flushing slightly. Wufei sighed and reluctantly got to his feet.
"What's with the band-aid?" he asked. Duo pointed at his left shoulder.
"Shot," he pointed at the gauze, "blood drawn," he pulled the sucker out of his mouth, "and a tootsie pop for being such a good sport about it!" he finished, smiling widely. Wufei raised an eyebrow slightly, and walked off to the room Sally was in muttering about "braided bakas" and "onnas."
Within an hour and a half, the rest of the guys were done and the group piled into Sally's car again.
"I signed you all up for driver's ed.," Sally said to the unusually quiet teens, some of whom, *cough* Quatre *cough*, now had permanently red faces from embarrassment. The only reply she got was a few grunts. "I mean, there'll be a lot of other kids your age doing it too, so it should work out fine, and then you can finally get your licenses." Still no reply. "Guys! Come on, get over it! It was NOT that big a deal!" Duo scowled.
"Not for YOU maybe," he grumbled. Then he sighed. "When do we have lessons or whatever?"
"Every Monday from 2:30 to 5," Sally replied.
"How many classes?" Trowa asked.
"Five. Then, after you take the test, you get your permit, which you'll have for a minimum of four months and forty hours of driving."
"Sounds good," Quatre said.
"Yeah, it can't be too hard," Duo added.
"Your first class is in two weeks. Oh, and Heero, I'll pick up your glasses in, like three days or something and bring them by your house, ok?"
"Yuy's getting glasses?" Wufei asked, finally speaking up.
"Yeah, I told you that already," Heero said.
"No, Wufei wasn't in the room when you told us," said Duo. "He was with Sally."
"I have glasses," Wufei said. "But I only use them for reading." Heero perked up a little at that.
"Really? How come I've never seen you with them on?" Wufei shrugged.
"I didn't use them much during the war, but I'm starting to wear them again."
"I've only seen him in them once," Duo said. "But he happened to have his hair down at the same time, so I thought he was an intruder or something." Wufei glared at him.
"Speaking of hair," Sally spoke up, glancing over at Heero, who was now sitting in the front seat, and lifting up a lock of his hair. "You guys could probably get some hair cuts too. Just trims!" she quickly added, when they all glared at her, especially Heero, who instantly leaned away from her hands. "I mean, Duo, how long are you going to let that thing grow? I can't even imagine how bad your split ends must be." Duo looked slightly offended and started petting his braid. "Wufei, your hair's getting a bit too long too, I think. Some people might start mistaking you for a girl. And Trowa! If those bangs get any longer they'll cover your WHOLE face," she said, glancing at him through the rear-view mirror. He glared back at her. "As for Heero and Quatre, well, those mop-tops are looking a bit too shabby."
"Shabby?" Quatre asked, running a hand through his hair. "You really think so? I can't remember the last time I got it cut."
"Geez, Sally, who died and made you our mother?" Duo spat. "Wait, don't answer that."
"Well you need to have some sort of an adult figure around. Or who would drive you everywhere?" Sally smirked. Duo scowled at her.
"I'm beginning to seriously dislike this whole 'living normally' thing. A normal life sucks!" he cried.
"Aw, it's not THAT bad. I mean, don't you think it's neat to sort have a...a family type thing?" Sally asked. "You know, the five of you living together?" Duo blinked.
"Oh yes, a family, right. So, brother Quatre, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Duo asked sarcastically. Quatre smiled.
"Well gee, brother Duo, I don't know. It's brother Trowa's turn to cook tonight," he replied, chuckling a little. Sally started laughing.
"You guys are impossible," she stated, smiling to herself.
"We try," Duo said, examining his nails. Sally's laughing continued, and gradually all the tension disappeared from the car.
* * *
Ok, this story's been divided into three parts, and all are already finished. My plan is to post the other two parts on the 13th and the 20th, a new part each week. It also gives you a reason to look forward to the beginning of a new week! Right? Eh-heh... BUT, I will only post the next part if you all give me at least ten reviews for each part!! Ok? That's not too much. I know for a fact more than ten people read this because I've got FF.N Support Services. Hehehe. Thanks for reading! And really guys, please review!! I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates recently. Look for more stuff soon!
*~Maxine~*