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"The Preventer Special Ops Vignettes"Written By: Dùlin
Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission. Disclaimer : Gundam Wing ? Not mine ! Not mine
! *whines* Why ? Rating: Mostly PG for the moment, for bad words, ratings may come up in future vignettes. Warnings: Original Character POV, bad humour, some yaoi implications, and slaughter of a paramilitary organization. Probably some violence and language as the arc develops, but nothing too heavy. A tad angsty too, but really, I'm doing this for fun and relaxation so be prepared for anything. Pairings : rumored, hinted at, implied, drooled upon 1x2, 3x4, 5xS and 6x9 Spoilers: probably some for the whole series Notes: This story is set as a canon continuation beginning in AC 201. The five G-boys, Zechs and Noin are all Preventers and elite members of the famous Special Ops. They are also instructors for the newest members of that elite team. The series will not really deal with personal relationships strictly speaking. It will follow the point of view of several OCs, with some exceptions, and mostly deal with how people would react to working with the boys. And mostly, it is supposed to be at least a bit funny. *runs away from her angst muse* Thanks : Karina, Cozzy Bob, Winged Kitty, MORgan,
Deb, Sakusha, and everyone who reads.
The Preventer Special Ops Vignettes Vignette # 3 - Locker Room
“God I’m dead”, Dinah says, slumping down on a bench near her locker. I smirk. “Lucky you”, I say. “If you’re dead, then you can’t feel the pain.” Pete wholeheartedly agrees with me, which means he lets out a pitiful moan from under his towel. “No, seriously, I’m whipped”, Dinah insists. “I really wonder what I did in my former lives to deserve this.” “I guess it’s the price to pay to become the best”, I say philosophically, taking my towel and soap and going to a shower stall. The Preventer Special Ops locker room is mixed. I guess those agents have better things to do than checking out people of the other (or same) gender while they’re in there. Not to mention it saves room, meaning it saves expenses and credits for more important things. I myself don’t care. I have never been body-shy, I might even go to the extent of saying that I like showing off my body, but I’m not quite so vain yet. Or maybe just a little. It’s a wonder why I am still single. The room in itself is quite gigantic if you consider that more than three quarters of the lockers are unoccupied. The Special Ops were started three years ago. On the far right side of the room, three rows of ten lockers have names on their doors in white, with a number. Those are the agents that came before us, the ones who are already in the business. We caught a glimpse of them doing some training with Maxwell and Yuy as we ran our ten laps around the compound. Again. Chang told us our time was pathetic when we finished the first round, and Barton had this way of agreeing with just a look. In a way, they’re right. The second time they ran with us, and they did it in less that twenty minutes. I think I have a pretty fair idea of who’s going to be thrown out at the end of this week now. Well, at least for two or three. The lockers that stand against the wall on the right are those of our trainers. They do not have names on them, just numbers or code names, or both. Yuy is ‘Ice’ and ‘01’. Maxwell is ‘Shadow’ and ‘02’. Barton gets ‘Shifter’ and ‘03’. Winner is ‘Lightning’, I have no idea why, and ‘04’. And Chang is ‘Dragon’ and ‘05’. The next three lockers have ‘Water’, ‘Fire’ and ‘Wind’ on them, and the last one has nothing. Somebody told me it was Une’s locker. Our side of the room has red lockers. We were given some tape to write our names on it and glue it on the door. Most of the doors still bear the mark of old stickers that were ripped off. Dinah, Pete and myself have chosen lockers as close as possible from the black ones. I said I didn’t want to carry my things a long way once I moved on to the other side. **** “So what do you think ?”, Dinah asks, showering in the stall next to mine. “About what ?” She’s my other best friend, not like Pete. I’ve been knowing her since grade school, and we kind of drifted apart in high school, then there was war … and we found each other again at the Academy. We were even partners at the beginning of our careers, but curiously, it didn’t work out so well. “Everything … the training … the guys …” “Which guys ?” “Oh come on !” “Don’t even think of it, Dinah”, I said in mock-indignation. “We’re just scum for them, and besides, it’s against regulation to sleep with your superior.” “Yeah, I know”, she says, sounding a little disappointed. “And what do we know after all, they probably already have someone, don’t they ?” “Who ?”, Pete asks, coming into the shower stall to my left and opening the tap. “Our trainers”, Dinah says. “Aren’t they gorgeous ?” “Right you are, miss”, Pete answers almost dreamily, and I smile. Pete’s been drooling on Yuy like forever. I tried to tell him once that Yuy didn’t even know he existed, but it’s not like he cared anyway. And, as he told me, I’m one to talk, drooling on Maxwell. Mmph. I least I know my crush will remain a fantasy. Not that I would say no if Maxwell asked me out, let’s be clear, but I know he never will. I don’t really mind. Drooling is healthy, and having someone to drool on makes your boy jealous. When you have one. I am pathetic sometimes. “I heard something about Barton and Winner”, I mutter distractedly. “WHAT ?!?” “Oi, don’t scream in my ears, I’m right there ! Itai (1)!”, I protest. “You’re not serious, Minako !”, Dinah says. “Yes, I’m serious, in the way that I heard someone saying that those guys were seeing an awful lot of each other outside of the office. That’s all.” “Of course, they had to be gay !”, Dinah moans. “And involved with each other”, Pete moans right back. “Oh, come on !”, I huff. “Those are just rumors. You know how people are, they would make a fuss about anything. I personally think spreadin’ that kind of thing is a proof of your lack of personal life.” Dinah looks at me pointedly, and I glare right back. I know perfectly well I have no personal life. But it’s hard to find a man when you’re in my job. Most guys feel threatened in their masculinity if you’re handling a gun better than them, or they think they’re no good because you earn more than them. The hours are awful for family life. The good thing would be to be dating an agent, but things are awfully messy when you do that. First, you can’t work in the same department as your lover, and then there is always the risk that one of you can get hurt or killed in the line of duty. It’s kinda stressful, if you ask me, but a lot of people here do it anyway, and it seems to work. “I should turn bisexual, it would be easier to find someone”, I mutter under my breath. Dinah smiles and so does Pete. I always say that every time the urge to find someone seizes me. And I mean it. I’m not picky and rather open-minded. If a lady wants to take care of me and not a lord, I say why not ? **** The locker room is virtually empty when we get out. The truth is that we let everyone have their shower and run out exhausted to their beds, because we wanted to be here alone. I like to do that, just to get the feel of place and make it a bit mine. On my first day of work, I requested a night shift. I spent it wandering around Headquarters, just … feeling the power that came from that huge building, that power made of all the wills of those who work here. I let it go through my blood and awaken my senses. That’s what I am doing now. This room has so much energy gathered in itself that it makes me tingle. Those guys are the best of the best, and it shows. I feel ready to burst, even if my body tells me it’s exhausted from running and exercising all day. We change, discussing all the while where we’re gonna go after that. None of us feel like going home and we’ll probably end up at Cubanistos for a last drink before the weekend. Lucky us, that first day was a Friday and our classes and training programs start on Monday. I will spend those two days in bed with my remote and a tub of ice-cream. The only thing missing is someone to cuddle with, but it’ll have to do. As we make our plans, two people come in. They go straight to some black lockers and open them, rummaging through things while talking quietly. I watch them with interest, curious to see what ‘real agents’ look like. Pretty normal, except that … I don’t know, there’s that strange kind of energy around them again, like nothing could resist them. There is a man, and a woman. They’re both extremely beautiful, I can’t help noticing, and very athletic but not in that Mr. Muscles way I can’t stand. Finally they spot us, smile, and come towards us. I smile nervously. “Hey there”, the man says. “You new ?” “Yeah”, I answer. “Does it show that much ?” “A bit”, he laughs. “Believe me we all still have nightmares about that training ! And somehow, it’s still the best moment of my life in the same time. You’ll see !” “I am Dinah Silver”, Dinah says offering her hand to the guy who shakes it. “Marco Colombani”, he answers. “This is Anna Watson” he says, indicating the woman. “Nice to meet you guys”, she says with a smile. “I’m Pete Simmons.” “And I am Minako Isozaki”, I finish. “Whoah”, Marco says, “you’ll have to write that down for me, ‘cause I get a feeling you’re here to stay, and I hate mangling other people’s name.” “Thanks”, I say smugly. “Just call me Minako.” “Alright ! Are you from around here ?” “Yup”, Dinah says. “A hundred percent Sank, even her!”, she jokes, pointing at me. “My parents are from L1 - D567”, I explain for the hundredth time of my life, “but I lived all my life in Sank.” “And I’m from the US”, Pete says. “All Earth-born.” “I wish you good luck”, Anna says. “We have too few of you guys around us, you know. I am from the L2 cluster, and that guy here’s from the L3 cluster. But anyway, … had a nice first day ?” “You can say that”, Dinah groans. “Twenty laps around the compound, weight lifting and all. Is it always that bad ?” “Twenty laps ?” Marco says. “My year, it was forty.” “And mine thirty. You guys must be pretty good if they didn’t torture you much.” Yeah right ! We didn’t feel that good when Chang told us it was better, but still not enough, and we’d have time to improve. “It’s not always that bad, not everyday”, Anna keeps on. “They get hard on you the first day to make you understand why you’re here, that’s all.” “Really ?”, I ask suspiciously. Anna looks at Marco and cracks with laughter. “No. It’s that hard every day, and it only gets harder”, Marco says, laughing too. Pete’s shoulders slump. “I can hardly keep up like that”, he says dejectedly. “Hey, don’t worry man !”, Marco slaps him on the shoulder. “They’re hard on us, but that’s because they don’t want anyone to get hurt or killed during a mission. Believe me, you get used to it, and every minute is worth it. Every pain, every drop of sweat.” They both smile and begin to make their way out. “We’ll be seeing you here next year, I hope”, Anna calls before going out. “Thanks”, I call back. **** As we make our own way out to Cubanistos, I think about what they told us. It only makes sense that training would be intensive and hard now would it ? And when I think back at how they look … they seemed to be very happy with their job, and ready to follow their officers anywhere. I have made up my mind, I want to be part of them. I want to feel that same thing, that same pride. But first, I need a vodka and a bed. ~ * ~
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