a little something...
Dec. 11th, 2008 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavandarlizard2And a bit of an apology and some whinage... whineage? ...along with fic. ^___^
I'm gradually running out of postable fic; I haven't had much success in trying to write lately. Probably the whole starvation income, no job, no realistic prospects until after the new year. >_< Some anxiety (some?!) and the fear of running out all benefits before getting hired somewhere. =P Doesn't help to realise that past injuries seem to have finally caught up to me, and even my fall-back jobs in production are beyond me now. Between the degenerating disc in my back, the definitely *not* "good as new" shoulder and the stupid knee that seems to be aspiring to Sunny's level of knee problems, to the ungodly expensive pharmaceuticals and the sudden influx of religious canvassers ( I swear, the next kindly little foreign lady who bangs on my door, scares my cats and makes me get out of the Body-Sucking Recliner and stagger to the door, only to hand me an advert for her church - in a foreign language - is getting the evil eye, the 'satan loves you!' speech *and* the "my, don't those children look *plump and juicy*" treatment), I am... tired. I am tired and frustrated and if I still had hormones, I'd be PMSing worse that any Charles Whitman. Getting old sucks rotten roadkill; I don't recommend it to anyone. >_>
Aaahhhhhh...! That felt good. I believe I'll go watch IronMan again.
^___^
Walkabout
~7~
As noted, I began keeping closer track of Relena's appearances. Sure enough, there he was at every one. And there was Chang, too. Sometimes Trowa showed up on the periphery and once I even spotted Quatre in a Preventors uniform.
After about a year, though, things began to change. I noticed that more and more Duo was working the crowd while Chang stood behind Relena, glaring like a particularly grumpy Foo dog. And I noticed certain glances exchanged.
And I congratulated myself on my foresight. Chang Wufei as Prince Charming? Ha!
And then one day, Duo wasn't there. I flipped through the channels but none of the different views gave so much as a glimpse of that reddish braid.
~*~
I went to the room phone and dialed his number.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hi, Heero," he said lightly. "I guess you're watching Relena's speech."
"Why aren't you there?"
The larger viewer of the hotel phone gave more detail; he looked fine. A bit pale, but that could have been the signal.
"That's a funny story," he began with a smirk. "You sure you're up for it?"
I answered his smirk with a snort and he gave a bark of laughter that ended in a gasp as he clutched at his ribs.
"Duo..."
"Okay, okay. I was walking to the deli for lunch a few days ago, and a couple of guys on a motorcycle tried to snatch a woman's purse. She got tangled in the strap and they dragged her. So, I stopped them," he lifted one eyebrow in a shrug.
"And..."
"And I'm on two weeks medical leave. Trowa's filling in."
I stared at him. "They hurt you?" How the hell did they manage to do that? This is Maxwell we're talking about here; the man is slipperier than a damn eel.
"I tackled the bike, broke the driver's arm and nose, got kicked by the passenger and then the driver shot me when I dropped the bike on him."
"Injuries?"
"I ended up with a concussion, two cracked ribs and a minor gunshot wound to my shoulder." He shrugged insouciantly. Only one shoulder, I noticed.
I growled at him. "This is peacetime; I expect you to take a damn sight better care of yourself than that, Maxwell."
"Hey! It was a good deed! I don't see you backing me up, Yuy."
"During the war, you screamed bloody murder every time I got near one of your missions."
He blinked. "Well... You made me nervous, waving that beam cannon around."
"Really."
"Yeah..." The faintest questioning uptick.
"You thought I was going to shoot you?"
"You threatened a couple of times...."
"You're still here."
"Yeah. Not for lack of trying on your part," he snorted. Ah, much better; a return of pugnaciousness.
"Since you don't seem to be in any danger of expiring in the next 24 hours, I'll let you go back to mending," I said, reaching for the cut-off.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" he yelled. "That's it?! I'm not dying so you can go now? Some friend you are, Yuy."
"I called, didn't I?"
"Well... yeah... But it's been a few months... You could at least make small talk for a few minutes; you know, to be polite." He sounded hurt.
"I don't-" I began and he finished for me.
"-Do small talk; I know. How about a mission report then? You came, you saw, you kicked some ass?"
Hm. Maxwell on sick leave. Maxwell alone. Maxwell with nothing to do.
Maxwell bored and dangerous. We couldn't have that. Last time he got bored, he super-glued Une's office door shut. With her inside. I heard about that from everyone for weeks afterwards. Including Une.
"All right. No questions until I'm finished." He agreed with an emphatic nod and a big, glowing-eyed grin.
I'm gradually running out of postable fic; I haven't had much success in trying to write lately. Probably the whole starvation income, no job, no realistic prospects until after the new year. >_< Some anxiety (some?!) and the fear of running out all benefits before getting hired somewhere. =P Doesn't help to realise that past injuries seem to have finally caught up to me, and even my fall-back jobs in production are beyond me now. Between the degenerating disc in my back, the definitely *not* "good as new" shoulder and the stupid knee that seems to be aspiring to Sunny's level of knee problems, to the ungodly expensive pharmaceuticals and the sudden influx of religious canvassers ( I swear, the next kindly little foreign lady who bangs on my door, scares my cats and makes me get out of the Body-Sucking Recliner and stagger to the door, only to hand me an advert for her church - in a foreign language - is getting the evil eye, the 'satan loves you!' speech *and* the "my, don't those children look *plump and juicy*" treatment), I am... tired. I am tired and frustrated and if I still had hormones, I'd be PMSing worse that any Charles Whitman. Getting old sucks rotten roadkill; I don't recommend it to anyone. >_>
Aaahhhhhh...! That felt good. I believe I'll go watch IronMan again.
^___^
Walkabout
~7~
As noted, I began keeping closer track of Relena's appearances. Sure enough, there he was at every one. And there was Chang, too. Sometimes Trowa showed up on the periphery and once I even spotted Quatre in a Preventors uniform.
After about a year, though, things began to change. I noticed that more and more Duo was working the crowd while Chang stood behind Relena, glaring like a particularly grumpy Foo dog. And I noticed certain glances exchanged.
And I congratulated myself on my foresight. Chang Wufei as Prince Charming? Ha!
And then one day, Duo wasn't there. I flipped through the channels but none of the different views gave so much as a glimpse of that reddish braid.
~*~
I went to the room phone and dialed his number.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hi, Heero," he said lightly. "I guess you're watching Relena's speech."
"Why aren't you there?"
The larger viewer of the hotel phone gave more detail; he looked fine. A bit pale, but that could have been the signal.
"That's a funny story," he began with a smirk. "You sure you're up for it?"
I answered his smirk with a snort and he gave a bark of laughter that ended in a gasp as he clutched at his ribs.
"Duo..."
"Okay, okay. I was walking to the deli for lunch a few days ago, and a couple of guys on a motorcycle tried to snatch a woman's purse. She got tangled in the strap and they dragged her. So, I stopped them," he lifted one eyebrow in a shrug.
"And..."
"And I'm on two weeks medical leave. Trowa's filling in."
I stared at him. "They hurt you?" How the hell did they manage to do that? This is Maxwell we're talking about here; the man is slipperier than a damn eel.
"I tackled the bike, broke the driver's arm and nose, got kicked by the passenger and then the driver shot me when I dropped the bike on him."
"Injuries?"
"I ended up with a concussion, two cracked ribs and a minor gunshot wound to my shoulder." He shrugged insouciantly. Only one shoulder, I noticed.
I growled at him. "This is peacetime; I expect you to take a damn sight better care of yourself than that, Maxwell."
"Hey! It was a good deed! I don't see you backing me up, Yuy."
"During the war, you screamed bloody murder every time I got near one of your missions."
He blinked. "Well... You made me nervous, waving that beam cannon around."
"Really."
"Yeah..." The faintest questioning uptick.
"You thought I was going to shoot you?"
"You threatened a couple of times...."
"You're still here."
"Yeah. Not for lack of trying on your part," he snorted. Ah, much better; a return of pugnaciousness.
"Since you don't seem to be in any danger of expiring in the next 24 hours, I'll let you go back to mending," I said, reaching for the cut-off.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" he yelled. "That's it?! I'm not dying so you can go now? Some friend you are, Yuy."
"I called, didn't I?"
"Well... yeah... But it's been a few months... You could at least make small talk for a few minutes; you know, to be polite." He sounded hurt.
"I don't-" I began and he finished for me.
"-Do small talk; I know. How about a mission report then? You came, you saw, you kicked some ass?"
Hm. Maxwell on sick leave. Maxwell alone. Maxwell with nothing to do.
Maxwell bored and dangerous. We couldn't have that. Last time he got bored, he super-glued Une's office door shut. With her inside. I heard about that from everyone for weeks afterwards. Including Une.
"All right. No questions until I'm finished." He agreed with an emphatic nod and a big, glowing-eyed grin.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-12-11 06:10 pm (UTC)Though I love those stories when Duo is medical leave of some sort. hehe Pranks all the way around for that boy. :D
Can't wait for the next chapter! ^___^
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Date: 2008-12-12 02:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 03:30 am (UTC)I think he would be a cute hummingbird. :D
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Date: 2008-12-12 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 03:50 am (UTC)OMG! I can totally see the picture -laughs- ^___^
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Date: 2008-12-11 07:02 pm (UTC)Sorry you're feeling bad and stressed out, hon. I've gotten rather used to the problems of getting older but I know what you mean. Hope things look up for you soon.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 02:41 am (UTC)I'm just feeling whiny and frustrated. I used to be able to cashier and work retail and production jobs - hell, I used to be able to toss 70-pound banker's boxes without a thought - and since last summer when I wracked up my back again, all those things are out. Three hours on my feet and my spine is trying to crawl out of my skin and slither away. =P
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Date: 2008-12-11 07:27 pm (UTC)And a bored Duo is a veeeery dangerous thing. Go home and keep him *ahem* occupied, Heero! Also, I like the hinted-at 5+R.
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Date: 2008-12-12 02:44 am (UTC)Heero may have to resort to bribery... ^____^
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Date: 2008-12-12 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 02:14 am (UTC)And what'dya mean my knees suck? They're just... uh... flexible
in ways they should not be>_>Heero really needs to work on that whole social skill thing... 'You're not dead; good bye.' *snort*
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Date: 2008-12-12 02:50 am (UTC)Bah! Social skills are for wimps and Ozzies, not Wing Zero pilots. ^___^ Duo is the notable exception.
I have beeswax-dipped hamsters all set to go. ^___^ And the gargoyles are arguing over recipies.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 05:47 am (UTC)Sounds like Heero's going to have his work cut out for him keeping a cooped-up Duo out of mischief. :-)
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Date: 2008-12-12 05:00 pm (UTC)I'm thinking bribery... ^___^
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Date: 2008-12-12 07:37 am (UTC)My parent company has had poor holiday sales, so we can expect to see project cancellations and consolidations next year as they slim down their portfolio. This on top of the 6% layoffs from a couple of months ago. And this coming from an industry that's by all accounts booming right now. Ain't nobody getting off the hook around here...
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Date: 2008-12-12 05:11 pm (UTC)No kidding. And anyone who thinks they can't be laid off, fired or 'business decisioned' out of a job is deluded. =P
I keep hearing about 'bulletproof' job sectors, but the only thing that seems to be bulletproof right now are the big salaries and bigger bonuses for all the CEOs of tanking industries. *huffs*
I'm just frustrated and I have no idea who to smack. So I bang my head on the keyboard and admire the keyprints on my forehead. ^__^ It's either that, or find a tower. And I really don't think anyone would be impressed by me throwing spitwads. >_>
no subject
Date: 2008-12-14 06:32 pm (UTC)The job situation sucks all the way around. With the state running out of money in two months, I'm not quite sure how they are going to manage with the schools. IOUs? Who knows? *sigh* It's tough out there right now! *hugshugs*
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Date: 2008-12-14 07:24 pm (UTC)No kidding. I was wondering about the schools when I saw that crapawful headline the other day. >_< Crud.
And I already know about the retail goo. At least product specialists are higher on the food chain than cashiers. O.o Right?
(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)
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Date: 2008-12-15 12:02 am (UTC)We're buckling down big time. It's a 'if you ain't tenured, don't count on the job, and if you are, better hope you're really really good.'
Oh yes. Bri's been in his dept alone, but he's still got hours!
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Date: 2008-12-15 02:14 am (UTC)That's good. One of the reasons I never wanted to cashier full time; you are replaceable in a heartbeat. If you've got product knowledge, though, you're pretty safe. ^___^
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Date: 2008-12-16 04:57 pm (UTC)(O)(O)(O)(O)
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Date: 2008-12-16 08:38 pm (UTC)