Pedestrian Again ~ Gundam Wing ~ The Lifestream

Pedestrian Again
A Surreal GW Vidfic ^_^

//Walkin' down the street with my eyes wide open
Just to pass the time.//

Duo strolls down the sidewalk, window shopping. His eyes are bright and shining as he takes in the scenery, the street vendors, the light crowd. The sun is bright overhead, casting cheery highlights in Duo's auburn braid.

//Well I was contemplatin' droppin' in
And visitin' a friend of mine.//

He has a vague idea of visiting Quatre, who's staying somewhere nearby. About to look up at the street signs at the intersection, he gets distracted by a bright cloud of colour, bobbing along the opposite sidewalk.

Quatre leans out a window three houses down from the intersection Duo is passing. He waves and calls out to him, but the braided boy doesn't notice.

//Around the corner and I missed the turning --
Preoccupied I guess
With a lack of concentration more or less.//

Staring across the street, Duo keeps walking. The cloud turns out to be a clown on a tricycle, blowing bubbles all around him as he rides. He grins, walking backwards now to keep the clown in sight.

The clown disappers around a corner, trailing sparkling bubbles, and Duo finally looks up. He's walked further then he meant to, and completely missed the street he meant to take. With a careless shrug, he wanders on.

//Walkin' down the street with my hands in my pockets
Shufflin' my shoes.//

He winks brightly at a pretty young girl on the street, grinning as she blushes a little. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he shuffles down the sidewalk, tapping out dance steps as they occur to him.

//Well I'm broke in the city
And there ain't a blessed thing to do.//

Hunting through his pockets, he turns up three lint balls, a pocket knife, a crumpled stick of (unchewed) chewing gum, a dime, and a small black feather. Sighing wistfully, he thinks about going to see the circus.

//Nothin' for it now but to live on through it
'Cause it's only in your mind//

About to cross a street, he stops, looking puzzled. Folding his arms across his chest, he watches as a circus train winds its way down the street, through the middle of town. Glancing around, he realizes that no one else seems to see it. With a shrug, he hurries after the lion car.

//And it really doesn't matter if the sun don't shine.//

Just as he reaches the lion car, the sky clouds over and rain begins to fall. The circus train vanishes behind rain so thick it seems like a sheet of water. Duo ducks into a doorway and tries futilely to wring the water out of his clothes.

//Sometimes my head wanders
Won't hold the line
Connected to the feeling
Mind out of time
Mind out of time//

Turning around, he finds that he is in the doorway of a restaurant. Perking up, he heads inside. His shoes squoosh against the carpet, and he drips a trail of water. The maitre'd scowls, but escorts him to a seat near the fire.

As he sits and sips a cup of green tea, Duo wonders what he's doing in this part of town anyway. Was there someone he was going to go meet? Was it a mission? He wouldn't forget a mission, would he? No, it's just an ordinary day -- a day off, even -- and he was just wandering. Still, as he sits watching the rain fall outside the window, he can't shake the feeling that he's forgotten something.

The falling rain and the crackle, pop of the fire beside him lull him nearly to sleep. His mind drifts away, thinking of the circus, of piloting Shinigami, of flying away. His head nods over his cup, his nose almost hitting the now luke-warm tea, as he drifts towards sleep.

//Walkin' down the street with my head full of memories
Motivations too
And all the mental baggage that makes do the things I do//

The maitre'd, tugging Duo by the braid, tosses him out into the street. Duo stumbles across the sidewalk, just barely managing not to fall on his face. Dusting his hands, the maitre'd sneers and turns back into the restaurant. Duo makes monkey faces at his back as the door closes. The maitre'd reappears long enough to shake a fist at him. Throwing his hands in the air in exasperation, Duo shakes his head and saunters down the street.

His wandering feet bring him eventually to a market square. Vendors cry their wares as people jostle in front of tables, beneath bright striped awnings. Working his way around a clump of people, Duo stops to admire a table full of apples. Without even thinking about what he's doing, he glances stealthily around, then swipes an apple off the table. Tucking it into a pocket of his jacket, he disappears into the crowd.

//Got a healthy dose of imagination
Askin' all the reasons why//

In the midst of the crowd, the clown on his tricycle reappears, still blowing translucent bubbles. Duo stops in his tracks as he sees the clown, ignoring the protests of the people behind him. Tapping the man beside him on the shoulder, he points to the clown. The man looks, shrugs as if he sees nothing, and turns away from Duo with a scowl. The braided boy folds his arms across his chest, tapping his foot thoughtfuly.

The clown's bubbles sparkle, dancing like tiny glass spheres through the cloud. Somehow they all avoid the people and drift up and away, into the bright clear sky. Craning his head back, Duo shades his eyes and watches them go.

When he looks back down again, the clown is looking at him. With a broad smile, the clown blows a bubble directly towards Duo. He grins delightedly, reaching out to catch the sparkling sphere. As it touches his hands, it bursts, and a tiny black feather - almost identical to the one in his pocket - drops into his hand.

//No use for wings if you ain't gonna learn to fly//

The sound of cloth tearing echoes in Duo's ears as a pair of black wings push their way out through the back of his shirt and jacket. Peering over his shoulder, he grins delightedly and flexes his new wings. They shimmer, blue-black and glossy, in the bright sunlight.

Owouga honk goes the clown's tricycle horn.

Duo grins at him, bouncing in place. The clown nods, blowing bubbles up and up into the sky.

//Learn to fly//

Raising himself up on his toes, Duo flaps his wings once, twice, three times, and rises slowly into the air. Hands outstretched, he chases the glistening bubbles across the sky.

~~owari~~

Vidfic copyright 29/03/00 Jeren Stardance

Back