Who: Duo, Omi
When: Yesterday
Where: Hangar, Cafe
Rating: G
Warnings: spoilers and references for Gundam Wing and Weiss Kreuz
Notes: None
Summary: Duo goes to finish some of the work he needs to do on Deathscythe and recruits a certain mech fanboy to help.
Duo stood for a few moments in the middle of the village. He knew he still had more work on Deathscythe to do, but he didn't want to do it alone. Figuring maybe Omi might want some more mech-exposure, he was debating asking the young assassin if he wanted to help. He shrugged to himself and headed over to Omi's hut, knocking once he got there.
Omi was typing away on his laptop, when he heard the knock. Peeking his head out to see if anyone else was gonna answer it, he trotted to the door to open it. "Duo-kun!"
"Hey, Omi... busy?"
Omi shook his head. "What's up?"
"Well... I had some work to do... and I was hoping to find someone to give me a hand," Duo said.
"What kind of work?"
"Just some maintenance."
"Maintenance?"
Duo nodded. "On Deathscythe."
Omi perked visibly.
Duo grinned at the other teen's reaction. "So... you wanna help?"
Omi nodded fervently.
"Cool... c'mon, then, if you're ready."
Omi nodded, closing the door to the hut as he came out. No one in there would mess with his laptop, so he wasn't worried.
Duo stepped off, heading for the hangar. "I dunno what, if any, work you an' Trowa did out in the jungle... but it's no big deal... what I was gonna work on today isn't too hard."
"I can handle it!"
Duo smiled. "Okay."
Omi grinned. Any excuse to be near the mechs, really.
Duo stepped inside, already knowing what they were going to work on. He'd only run the diagnostic yesterday. He headed for Deathscythe, letting Omi look around if he wanted to since there was a new spaceship in there.
Omi noticed the ship, but he wasn't interested in that, not with the mechs around.
Duo climbed up on Deathscythe's foot, opening the top cover so they could access the workings inside.
Omi followed behind Duo, waiting to see what Duo wanted him to do.
Duo looked it over for a second. "See that?" he said, pointing to where some of the wire connections had crusted over with white. "That's from the damp salt air from being on the island," he explained. "I used to go through this all the time with the first Deathscythe when I was on Howard's boat in the Pacific," he said. "Between that and taking it under water a few times to sneak up on enemy boats, I was replacing wires almost constantly." He looked up at Omi. "Basically, I just wanna get those bad ones out and put some new ones in."
Omi nodded. "Do you have the new ones? Are we replacing them completely, or just the worn parts?" Computers and wires were something Omi knew well.
"I have some up in the cockpit," Duo said. "Just the wiring needs to go right now. The gears are still okay, despite all the sand problems we had in the desert. We can wait on those... they're harder to replace, anyway."
Omi nodded.
"We'd need some heavy equipment to do it, and that's not here right now," Duo said. "Probably 'cuz none of have needed it." He shrugged, using the remote to open the cockpit and lower the winch line.
"Get me the wiring, and I can take care of it."
"You don't hafta do all of it," Duo said. "It's still my machine. You do one side, an' I'll do the other."
Omi nodded.
Duo grabbed the winch line and rode it up to get the stuff he needed. He came back down pretty quick. "Here," he handed Omi a screwdriver and some spare wires. Then, he headed around to the other side of the foot.
Omi took the stuff from Duo, then stuck his upper body into the mech, finding the coroded wires and getting started.
Duo leaned in from his side, trusting Omi to handle that side okay on his own.
Omi unscrewed some screws, looking around for somewhere to put them before sticking them in his pocket.
Duo was doing the same thing with the screws, putting them in his pocket as he took them out to replace wires.
Omi carefully unstrung the new wire, measuring out the proper lengths to replace the worn wires.
As he worked, Duo was also cleaning off the connections, rubbing them a bit with his finger. He wasn't really worried about them being spotless, since Deathscythe wasn't coming home with him.
Omi grinned as he worked. It wasn't easy, but he was loving every moment of it.
Duo glanced up at Omi. "You okay?" he asked him.
"Hai!"
Duo grinned back. "Well, lemme know if you've got any questions about anything, okay?"
"Sure!"
Duo went back to work again. "How're things coming with the wedding flowers?"
"Good! Well, at least for my part. I have to wait until closer to the date to make the bouquets, but I have everything figured out already."
"That's good..." Duo said. "You're gettin' on okay with Nagi and Aya, right?"
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, things were a bit tense for a while, there..." Duo said with a slight shrug. "I just wanted to make sure you guys were all friends again."
"Again?" Omi was confused.
Duo glanced at him, a bit confused. "Well, yeah... you guys were friends... but then you were upset at them for something... so I wanted to make sure things were back to normal."
Omi frowned, even though he knew Duo couldn't see it. He had no clue what Duo was talking about.
Duo shrugged. "Either way, I'm glad it's over now." He went back to work.
"Y-yeah..."
Duo sat up, taking a short break. Leaning over like that always got to him, making him ache in various spots from the strain of the angle. He stretched.
Omi refitted a few of the wires, then leaned out of his area as well.
"Done?"
"Not quite. Almost, though."
Duo nodded. "Same here." He smiled a bit. "Oh... are we ever gonna get that game going?" he then asked.
Omi nodded. "Once everyone finishes their characters."
"Okay. I think I might still have some stuff I need to do with you for mine."
Omi nodded. "Just come on over with your stuff, and we'll finish it up."
"Alright," Duo said. He leaned back into his spot, going back to work.
Omi leaned back in as well, intent on finishing his first.
There was a small clinking rattle on Duo's side and he cursed.
"Duo-kun?"
"Dropped a screw..." he growled. He eased himself down from the foot and went over to his toolbox. After digging around a bit, he found his small magnet on a string. Then, he went to go fish it out.
"You need any help?"
"I think I can get it... the space it's in is too small for me to get my hand in there..."
"Well, if you need my help, I am smaller than you are."
There was a clink and Duo grumbled again as the magnet stuck to the side of the space instead of picking up the screw.
"Are you sure I can't help?"
He yanked the magnet free. "I've done this before..." he said. It clinked against the other side this time. "Oh, for crying out loud..."
Omi couldn't help but chuckle.
Duo scrunched his nose a bit in determination as he pulled it free again. Clink. He cursed. "Oh, fine... think you can get your arm in there?" he finally asked Omi. "I can see the stupid thing..."
Omi climbed to where Duo was, holding out his hand for the magnet, incase he couldn't quite get it down there.
Duo handed the magnet over, then shifted so Omi had room.
Omi kept the magnet tight in his hand, while he reached down. His arms were slender, so he had no problem squeezing past the components of the leg. He couldn't quite reach the screw, but he carefully released the magnet, lowering it slowly the last few inches until it caught the screw. He pulled the string slowly and carefully back into his hand, until he had both it and the screw clenched tightly, and pulled his whole arm out.
"Thanks."
"No prob! It's an asset being small, sometimes."
Omi grinned.
"I told you growing wasn't all that great," Duo said with a wink.
"You did?"
"Yeah... just after we got here from the desert."
Omi shook his head. "I don't remember anything like that."
Duo shrugged. "It was a bad joke," he said. "It's okay that you don't remember."
"Okay..."
Duo smiled, taking the screw from Omi.
Omi smiled back, then headed back over. He was almost done.
Duo crouched down, finishing off the last few. It was definitely tighter in here now than it had been three years ago. He wasn't all that disappointed, though... especially considering the meaning behind the Gundam itself.
Omi quickly finished the last few wires he had, sliding down to the ground.
Duo winced, rubbing the back of his neck as he unfolded himself from inside. Seeing that Omi was out, he closed the top back down over the foot. "Thanks for the help," he said.
"No prob! It was fun!"
The pilot grinned. "I figured you'd like it." He slid down the sloped front of the foot, landing easily on the ground.
"What's not to like?"
"From your end of it, not much." Duo smiled.
Omi grinned.
Duo stretched his arms over his head with another wince. "I'm glad I don't hafta do that as often as I used to," he mused.
Omi snickered. "Not my fault you don't fit."
"I know... not mine, either." He stuck his tongue out. "Can't help it if I'm getting bigger."
Omi stuck his tongue out back.
"You got any other plans?"
Omi shook his head.
"Well, let's go get something to eat, then," Duo suggested.
"Sure!"
"You wanna hit the cafe or just head back to one of our huts?" Duo asked as they walked out of the hangar.
"The cafe."
"Works for me." He clasped his hands behind his head and looked up. "Thanks for the help today..." he said.
"I already said no problem!"
"I know... but I appreciate it."
Omi smiled.
Duo smiled back as they stepped into the cafe. "Whaddya want?"
"Do they have udon?"
"What's udon?"
"It's soup."
"I dunno... but we can look." He grabbed a menu and handed it to Omi before grabbing a second one for himself.
Omi scanned down the menu, searching for udon, or something similar.
Duo got himself a burger, fries, and a soda.
Omi didn't find his udon, but he found ramen, which was good enough.
"Know whatcha want?"
Omi nodded. "Niku ramen!"
"Okay." He recognized 'ramen' out of that one, but decided not to ask.
Omi smiled. "Wanna try some?"
"Nah... burger's fine... I'm not really in the mood for noodles." Duo shrugged. "Though, I wouldn't mind stealing some of yours." He smirked.
"You don't get any if you steal!"
Duo laughed.
Omi pouted.
"I'll give you some of my fries."
"Trade, then?"
"Sure."
Omi nodded.
Duo grinned and went over to get the food, bringing it back on a tray for the two of them.
"Thanks."
"Sure thing." He sat down, passing Omi his ramen. "Did you want something to drink?"
"Just some water. Want me to grab some?"
"If you want... I've got my soda, so I'm okay."
Omi got up and brought himself a glass of water, bringing a pitcher back with him.
Duo waited for Omi to settle in before he started eating.
"Itadakimasu!"
Duo stared at him for a moment. "Wha'?"
"Ummm..." Omi tried to think of a good translation. "It's sorta a 'thanks for the food'."
"Oh... okay." Duo grinned. "Well, you helped me, so consider this my thanks."
Omi smiled. "Thanks."
"Sure thing." Duo happily bit into his burger, smiling when it was good.
Omi picked up his chopsticks, and started slurping his soup.
Duo chuckled a bit.
"What?"
"You're slurping."
"So?"
"So... that's generally frowned on in some cultures."
"How else are you supposed to get up all the noodles?"
"You could use a fork to twirl 'em like spaghetti," Duo suggested.
Omi looked at him curiously. "What's spaghetti? And why wouldn't I use chopsticks?"
"Spaghetti is the Italian noodle, I guess..." Duo said, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "Italians don't use chopsticks, either.'
"Eating noodles with something other than chopsticks?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah... a lotta people outside Asian cultures do it."
"Weird..."
"Have you ever been outside Japan?"
Omi shook his head.
"Ah..." Duo nodded. "Yeah... most people in western cultures use forks instead of chopsticks. I dunno why..."
"No clue."
Duo shrugged. "Oh well. Though... for soup, we usually use spoons."
Omi pointed to the large-bowled ceramic spoon sitting on the edge of the plate his bowl was sitting on. "That's for the juice."
Duo nodded.
"How do you get the noodles out if you just use a spoon?"
"That's what the fork is for."
Omi shook his head. "I think I'll stick with chopsticks."
Duo laughed.
Omi shrugged.
"Sometimes, you're better off with finger food." He smirked.
Omi stuck his tongue out.
Duo did it back, never one to act mature when he had the chance to have fun. "Oh... almost forgot. We were gonna swap bites of food."
"Yeah... But can you use chopsticks to get some noodles out? You don't have a fork with your burger."
"I can," Duo said. "Between Wufei and Heero, the rest of us figured'em out."
"Heh."
Duo shrugged. "It was okay once we got the hang of it... and fried rice never works quite as well as white rice. White stuff's sticker and easier to pick up in a clump."
Omi nodded.
Duo turned his plate. "Fry?"
Omi grinned, offering his chopsticks to Duo as he snitched a fry.
Duo took the chopsticks, fidgeting with them a bit until he got them right, then snagged some noodles. He used his other hand hovering underneath to keep from dripping on the table as he brought it back to his side to try a bit. He nodded. "Pretty good," he said, handing them back.
Omi nodded, happily munching on the fry.
Duo leaned back in his chair once he finished. "That was good," he said, looking pretty satisfied. He sighed. "The island popped up a message to anyone teaching classes that they start again after this weekend," he said softly. "I kinda liked having nothing to do for a while."
Omi looked down. "I miss school... I was about to graduate..."
"I never went officially... Well... I did... for about a year..." He shrugged, looking off to one side as he daydreamed a bit. An odd look crossed his features.
"Duo-kun?"
Duo shook his head. "Just thinking..." he said. "When the Church I was living at was destroyed, I was out on the street again... so I had other things to worry about. School wasn't exactly important."
"Oh..."
He shrugged. "It's okay..." he said, giving Omi a quick, if somewhat forced, smile. "Not much I can do about it now."
"Yeah..."
"That's why I was kinda surprised I got assigned to teaching... but... it's not like it's something academic," Duo said. "It's just basketball."
"That's still fun."
"Yeah, it is. Don't need to know a lot to play, either." Duo rubbed the back of his head.
Omi smiled.
Duo smiled back. "I guess I should head back... got plans tonight." He grinned.
"Oh?"
He nodded, cleaning up his dish and glass on to the tray. "Yup. Hilde an' me are hanging out."
Omi smiled. "That's great!"
Duo actually blushed. "Yeah..."
Omi grinned, snickering.
Duo stuck his tongue out.
Omi stuck his out in return.
"It wasn't easy, yanno," Duo said defensively.
"At least she's not your sister."
Duo blinked. "I don't think she is..." he said. "She's never mentioned having a missing brother." He frowned a bit. "That could make things really awkward."
"Ouka-san..."
"Hm?" Duo blinked.
"Ouka-san was... she was the first one I ever thought I liked... And I found out she was my half sister..."
"Oh..." Duo looked uncomfortable for a moment. "I... I'm sorry... that could get weird.'
"Yeah... but she was killed."
Duo looked down. "Oh."
"By Schuldig."
"I don't know what happened to any of my family," Duo said. "I was too young."
"I... I don't remember my family, but I wish I still didn't know who they were..."
"Your family doesn't make you who you are," Duo said. "Just ask Quatre."
"I know..."
Duo smiled at him. "Anyway... I gotta get going or I'm gonna be late..."
Omi nodded. "Thanks for letting me help."
"Sure thing... it goes better when there's someone helping."
Omi grinned. "Any time!"
Duo nodded. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Ja ne!"
Duo waved and headed back to his hut.