18-Feb-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
Diane Davis - fenwyck@radiks.net
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Guests to be announced*
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: PG-13 for now, that will change
Pairings: 1x2, 3+4
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, Mission: Arcadia
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners.
Kenny, Duan, Wufan, Tryan, Carter, Jack and the Ripper, and everything relating to Rip & Jack's universe are ours. No money being made here.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
WARNINGS: AU (Alternate Universe), Original Characters, LEMON in some sections. Kiddie-Angst.
NOTES: In the first several installments, Heero's part was written by Kateri Marie. After that, Von will be writing Heero's point of view.
Wufei walked into the kitchen about twenty minutes late for dinner.
With the number of people in the house, they had taken to scheduling at least one meal a day, and had done a certain amount of rotating of duties. For the most part they'd managed to keep the schedule working with a few odd exceptions. They'd gotten the kids enrolled in school and managed to do a little settling down, but it was still all very new and somewhat uncertain.
Wufei unzipped his leather bike jacket and pulled a small plastic pouch out and handed it to Heero, before going to fix himself a plate so he could join them at the table.
Heero cocked his head just slightly as he took the pouch. "Hn?"
The pouch contained several data discs, the blank kind without labels that they used to use to store information on during the war.
Wufei sat down and picked up his chopsticks.
"Plans to Treize's mansion, maps of the grounds, a schedule of the Preventer guards that are keeping it sealed."
"Oh good," Duo replied with a teasing grin, "For a second there, I thought you were passing him love letters, and I was going to have to beat you..."
Wufei glanced at Duo. There was something at the back of his dark eyes that wasn't entirely in keeping with the answer he made. "You could try."
Heero let out a slight 'wuff' of breath that constituted a sigh. "Baka," he snorted at the two of them before pocketing the disks in the ever-convenient spandex-space. "Arigato."
Duo watched the discs vanish with a chuckle, before tossing a grin and a small wink at Wufei.
Wufei tucked away some of the food before looking from one to the other.
"Do you have a timetable?" Wufei asked.
Heero thought for a moment. "There's a vacation soon. That would give us time and," His head motioned towards the mini-me's, "They wouldn't have to miss."
"Sounds cool. That should give us some time to get all the data analyzed and stuff. Unless you guys don't wanna go with us..." Duo said, letting his voice trail off teasingly as he glanced at the kids.
Kenny looked back.
"We're ready to go when you give the word," Duan said.
Wufan nodded once and Tryan folded his arms.
Carter looked up, his aqua eyes very bright. He nodded rapidly.
"Geeze... I'm almost tempted to declare tonight 'Video Game Night.' You guys are too serious!" Duo exclaimed with a smirk.
"You were kidding?" Duan asked.
"Like you guys would let us get away with leaving you behind."
Duan shrugged, then winced slightly.
Duo frowned, eyeing the younger braided boy critically.
"What's up?"
"He traded punches with a girl at school," Kenny said.
Duan looked at Kenny wide-eyed, then looked down.
"Any particular reason?" Duo asked.
"Her name is Lisa and she was calling me... little.. a shrimp. I didn't want to hit her, but she socked me on the arm and... she got hit back," Duan confessed. He looked up at Duo with large violet eyes, hoping he hadn't made him angry.
Duo chewed thoughtfully, his expression carefully neutral as he considered the admission.
"She... got hit?" Duo asked, arching one eyebrow.
"Yeah, she got hit," Kenny said.
"Who?" Heero asked concisely.
"She hit Duan... Duan told her to bug off. She hit him again. I decked her. He could have done it but there's some thing about hitting girls." Kenny shrugged.
Duan looked down, then back up at Heero. "It's ok, Heero. I'm not very hungry anymore," he said.
Heero blinked before turning to look fully at the boy, "Nani?"
"He thinks you're going to take his food away," Wufan offered. "That used to be our punishment for doing wrong things at the base."
"You didn't do it," Kenny said, looking at Duan. "I told you."
"I know," Duan answered, with a shrug. "But it don't matter."
"Why not?" Duo asked, his brow furrowed with confusion and concern for Duan.
Duan looked up at Duo. "I'm still breathing. The teacher didn't notice and I'm used to it."
"I gotta admit... I'm of two minds here. The part of me that says that I should be a responsible adult type person thinks that fighting isn't such a good thing, and you should try to avoid it if you can. Course the childish ex-terrorist in me hopes you socked her a good one. Unfortunately, the childish part of me also realizes that that could possibly get you in trouble... "
"Duan did try to avoid it," Kenny said. "So he should be fine." He looked from one to the other of the boys. "We found out the first day that if you report other kids, you're a rat. So it's like back at the base. We sort it out for ourselves."
"Yeah, I'm ok," Duan said. "It's taken care of at school. So, are you mad at me or what?" he added, looking from Heero to Duo.
"Why would I be?" Duo asked.
"Cause that's the way things go. You're bigger," Duan said. He then looked squarely at Duo. "Ok, so you're not mad that I got in a fight and you're not going to punish me for it?"
"I'm not saying you should make a habit of it, but no. I'm not mad, and I'm not going to punish you. Besides, Kenny already said you tried to avoid it. That makes me pretty proud actually."
"Hai." Heero agreed.
"Oh ok," Duan replied, then dove into his meal.
Kenny watched Duan and his eyes seemed to soften when his pal started eating. He looked back up at Duo, waiting.
A small smile slid onto Heero's face as he saw Kenny's look and he chuckled under his breath. "He's not going to take away your food either, Kenny," the Japanese boy said simply.
Kenny looked at Heero and then back to Duo, his eyebrows raised a fraction.
"Maybe it's just a holdover from where I grew up, but that's about as harsh a punishment as I could ever think of," Duo replied dryly, nodding down at his own nearly decimated dinner before glancing back up to meet Kenny's eyes.
"The kids you go to school with... They aren't tough like you guys. I just don't want you to get into trouble with your teachers."
Kenny nodded slightly. "I pulled it. If she hit me I wouldn't care."
"I would," Duan said.
"They call her Bruiser Brody," Tryan said. "She's tough enough. Got a good left hook. Actually, I think she likes him."
"And how many of you guys has 'Bruiser Brody' laid one on, eh?" Duo asked, glancing around the table.
Tryan took a bite of bread, then looked at Duo. "Statistically speaking, she's hit about half of the guys. That's what I heard."
"I wasn't speaking in generalities," Duo replied, once again glancing at the five boys to emphasize his point.
"She stopped at Duan," Wufan offered. "After Kenny decked her and gave her the warnings, of course. She's not dumb, just out of balance."
Duo leaned his head on one arm, resting the elbow on the table as he considered them all with a far too placid expression on his face.
"Warnings?" he asked, his voice quivering with the amusement he was trying very hard to hide.
"Don't hit Duan, don't hit anyone else, don't rat to the teacher, don't rat at home," Kenny answered succinctly.
"Covers it," Heero remarked wryly.
"Then I waited until the teacher was looking somewhere else and I bent a desk. Then I bent it back."
Duo glanced over at Heero, nodding nonchalantly.
"Yeah. Pretty much covers it."
"So. Who wants seconds?"
Wufei listened to all this with some interest. He scowled very slightly.
"Hn," he said. "One more thing. From now on Duan should train with Wufan, with me. The others too. Get better at ducking."
Tryan smiled.
Duan looked up and around the table. He nodded, then smiled as he looked at Wufei. "Thank you," he said, barely concealing his excitement.
"Excellent idea, Wu. Heck... Maybe I should sign on for that too!" Duo replied with a grin.
Wufei met the grin head on with a straight, slightly skeptical look. But he inclined his head. "Of course you are welcome," he said.
Duo grinned as he leaned back in his seat and met Wufei's eyes.
"Eh. You just want a chance to grope me, Wu-chan," Duo said with a wink.
Wufei scowled. "You over-estimate your attraction... or my boredom, Maxwell."
Duo rocked back in his seat, clutching at his chest melodramatically and affecting an exaggerated pout.
"Struck to the quick!"
"Something tells me you will get over it," Wufei said, and got up, taking his empty plate to the sink.
"Probably. But we already know what a shallow guy I am, so that's not a surprise," Duo agreed.
Wufei looked back over his shoulder, meeting Duo's eyes for the briefest of seconds. "Yes we know what kind of guy you are," Wufei said. But the look was very slightly softer than the usual. "The kind who is prepared to do what is right even at great cost to himself. Enough. Keep your pretense. Just let me know if you truly want to train."
Duo cocked his head as he watched Wufei at the sink. His expression never faltered, the smile never slipped, but there was a quietness about him at Wufei's words. Then, as if a switch had been thrown, Duo bounced to his feet and skipped over to the sink with his own plate.
"And you let me know if you ever wanna go fly a kite," he said with a grin.
Wufei rolled his eyes, but the slightest pull at the corner of his mouth betrayed a breif flash of humor.
There was a signal from the communicator that was installed in the house - the "house phone" as it were.
Carter jumped up and ran to answer it.
Meanwhile, Duan carefully and quickly arranged a small pile of Halloween treats in the spot that Duo's plate had previously occupied. He then looked at the others and nodded. Standing, he took his plate to the sink as well.
"My night for dishes. Everyone out. Homework, video games, training... phone... go," Duo called, taking Duan's plate and making shooing motions at everyone else, "I've got all this."
"You haven't finished your dinner yet," Duan said, quietly, then bounced off.
"Huh? Whatcha talki-" he broke off as he turned and noticed what had been carefully left for him. With a smile he shook his head and sighed with amusement. "Rationing me?"
"Yeah," Tryan said, "We got a lot and we didn't want to make you sick."
Carter came running into the kitchen where most of the adults still were.
"There's a lady!" he announced. "She wants to talk to Heero or 'the Gundam Pilots'..."
A slight smile slipped onto Heero's face, "I'll go."
"She wasn't blond, was she?" Duo asked warily as he continued gathering plates.
"Blond? Her hair was not as light as me," Carter said.
Heero hesitated where he stood then looked to Duo with a wary glance, "The phone... I can kill it, correct?"
"The dishes. You can do them while *I* answer the phone. I was a Gundam Pilot too. I'm not going to explain to Rip and Jack how their phone got disintegrated in a slag of char," Duo replied, wiping his hands and offering the towel to Heero, "If it's not her, I'll give you a yell."
"Ryoukai," Heero commented, taking the towel.
Tryan walked back into the kitchen. "Lady on the vidphone. Dorlan."
Duo tossed a smirk at Heero as he started jogging to the other room.
"Got it. I'm coming, I'm coming."
Heero shuddered at the sink as he started to wash, "Should have killed it."
---
Duo bounced up to the vidphone, affecting one of his normal carefree grins as he approached.
"Relena. How are you?"
"Oh hello, Duo," the Vice Minister said. "Heero was busy? Well, it doesn't matter. Duo, I wanted to call and make sure that you were both coming to the Anniversary Ceremony. And to ask you if you knew how I could get in touch with Wufei, I haven't been able to find him..."
"I can pass the invitation along for you. I take it you've already talked to Quatre and Trowa then?" Duo replied cheerfully, wondering how much trouble he'd be in with Heero if he accepted the invitation.
"Yes, they are coming. I really hope you two will come also. It would be so reassuring to everyone to know that all of you are well," Relena said. "I know Heero doesn't like public occasions, but this... if he'll come, I will promise this will be the last one. Things are really going well right now."
She looked at Duo pleadingly.
"We might be bringing some guests with us... would that be okay?" he asked.
Relena's eyes widened hopefully. "Why of course! Bring whomever you'd like. Duo, who was that charming little boy who answered the call? He was adorable... and there was another one about the same age who talked to me."
"They would be a couple of the guests we might be bringing with us. Well, I'm pretty sure we could make it, but I need to check with Heero and pass it along to Wufei. If there's any problems, I'll letcha know, okay?" Duo babbled.
Relena smiled. "Oh, thank you, Duo. I really hope you both come. And Wufei as well. Please let me know for certain, when you can, and I'll arrange for accommodations and have you picked up at the spaceport. Thank you, Duo!"
"No problem, Relena! Talk to you then," he said with a wave.
The Vice Minister nodded and waved back, and the connection ended.
---
Duo heaved a sigh of relief as he sauntered back towards the kitchen. Things were looking up. Relena had actually sounded... sane. As he entered the kitchen, he wandered back to the sink and tossed his partner a grin.
"Wanna go to a party?"
The p- word. Heero turned slowly, hoping he'd misheard. "Hn?"
"Party. P-A-R-T-Y. A public gathering involving merriment, mirth, tons of people, food, and typically some sort of musical-type entertainment. Surely you've heard of one of those."
Heero glared menacingly, "They called it torture."
"Heh... Yeah? Well, this party comes with a catch. Or rather, an added incentive," Duo said with a grin as he leaned back against the counter.
Still glaring, Heero's eyes focused intently on his lover. "Hn."
"She said it would be the last one she'd ask us to attend. And the kids can come too, if we decided we were going to be that cruel to them. Plus Quatre and Trowa already said they'd come, and we have to convince Wufei to go too."
The blue eyes backed off slightly, grudgingly. "Hn," Heero grunted again. He contemplated for a moment. "Wufei goes, I go." At least he wouldn't have to suffer alone.
Wufei, leaning in the doorway with arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. "Hn."
"Last one you'll ever be asked to attend. Gotta be worth something..." Duo said, his glance bouncing from one to the other and back again.
Wufei stilled. Then he shrugged. "Mariemeia will probably be there," he said quietly. He shook his head. Then he looked at Sallah. "It would be an opportunity for you to see Earth, and learn more about this world."
Sallah looked over from where she was setting her dishes in the sink. "I'd like that, very much. But there's no chance you'd go as well? It sounds like a fun group trip..."
Wufei let out a silent breath. "State occasion," he said, with a lift of his shoulder. "But yes, I will come if it would make you feel more comfortable. I told you I would help."
Heero scowled slightly; he'd been half hoping Wufei would refuse and they could both escape. "Hn," he snorted and turned back to the dishes.
"Actually, it might make a good cover for our other purpose - since we'd be on Earth anyway, and in the near vicinity," Wufei mentioned, examining his nails, which were immaculate.
"Kinda what I'd been thinking, but I didn't wanna be the first to bring it up... I have a carefully crafted image of buffoonery to maintain, after all," Duo said loftily as he started drying the dishes Heero had already washed.
"Fine," Heero said curtly, his hands whipping through the dishes. "We'll go. That means the kids too." The thought sunk in and a small wicked smile started to spread across his face.
Duo noticed the smirk, frowning slightly as he contemplated his partner.
"What?"
"Nothing." Heero said neutrally. "Kids... party... Relena..." His blue eyes took on a frightening sheen. "Maybe it won't be so bad."
"Heh. Sadist. So whatcha think, kiddo?" Duo asked, turning to glance at Carter still hovering in the kitchen, "Feel like heading down to Earth and going to a huge party? Not quite like an Arcadia party, but still oodles of fun if ya want it ta be."
Carter's bluegreen eyes widened until they looked like saucers. He nodded. "That would be cool... I think," he said, glancing at Heero. The Japanese boy was giving off some interesting vibes.
"There's probably gonna be a crazy lady there who'll pinch yer cheeks and call you 'cute' and 'adorable' and all sorts of other sweet-like words... But we'll do our best to protect you guys. She actually sounded... balanced," Duo said, aiming that last at Heero.
Heero snorted in disbelief.
Carter listened seriously. "Okay... if you'll protect us, then it's okay."
Duo started to chuckle and shake his head softly as he glanced back over that the small blond.
"I forget how literal you take me sometimes. It'll be fun. I promise. She's not so bad. She just has this big crush on Heero and used to follow him around everywhere. And she already thinks that you're... I think it was 'adorable'. Sides... We'll always protect you guys. As if you need it anyway. You guys are smarter than me most of the time," he said with a grin as he nodded towards the carefully arranged pile of sweets at his place at the table.
"Is she really a princess?" Carter said curiously.
"Once upon a time she was," Duo replied, smirking at his own pun, "Now she's like a... diplomat. But a lot of people still listen to her opinions."
"Like... like an officer?"
"Hmm... Sorta. She's like a really smart messenger. She talks to the colonies, then she goes to Earth and talks to everyone there and tells them what the colonies said, and she tries to make sure everyone keeps talking to each other. That way, there won't be any more misunderstandings and wars. But she also tells everyone what she thinks about what everyone's saying, and it makes people think. She can be pretty smart sometimes."
Heero's raised eyebrow spoke eloquently enough.
"That sounds hard," Carter remarked.
"That's why I'm glad to just be an ex-thief and street urchin. I wouldn't take her job for anything," Duo agreed.
"Just?" Heero asked with a soft snort. "You were never just anything."
Duo shrugged, turning back to the dishes.
Carter looked up at Heero. "I don't blame you though, that you didn't like being followed around. My sisters used to follow me around," he said and shivered slightly. "I didn't like it either."
Heero gave the boy a look of consummate sympathy and a commissary, "Hn."
"Girls are weird," Duo agreed cheerfully, "Sallah excepted."
"Why thank you," Sallah rolled her eyes and then shook her head with a chuckle.
Wufei snorted and un-leaned from the doorway. "Tell Relena I'll go. Sallah and Wufan will be my guests." He grimaced. "They'll draw the wrong conclusions but I don't care."
"Got it, Wu. I'll call her back tomorrow," Duo replied, not commenting on Wufei's remark about conclusions.
Carter trotted off to find the other kids and tell them about the event, at least what he knew about it.
"Okay, okay. I think Heero and I can finish up here. Why don't you guys go relax or something. I promise we won't destroy your kitchen, Sallah."
"Good," Sallah replied, one eyebrow raised. "I'll count dishes later." She then giggled, and left the kitchen.
Wufei didn't bother to reply, he simply slipped away.
"It's nice to see her relaxing. That base was bad for her," Duo remarked cheerfully.
Duan and Wufan appeared in the kitchen next to Duo. "Uh, are you busy?" Duan asked.
"Won't be in just a second. Just finishing up. Whatcha need?" Duo answered.
"Well," Duan said, "Carter just told us about the party and it looks like we might have to dress up for it. So, you know what happened last time we had to dress up for something.. It don't bother me, but it might bother Kenny."
"No problem, kiddo. We'll find something not too fancy. Gotta be something that would fit the bill... Maybe Heero has some ideas..." Duo's voice trailed off thoughtfully as he glanced at his partner from the corner of his eyes.
Heero glowered slightly. "Hn. If I dress up, he dresses up to. We'll think of something."
"Maybe we can find a nice compromise for the both of you," Duo sighed.
Duan looked at Wufan concerned. Then, they both looked up at Heero with wide eyes.
"It's ok, Heero. It'll work out like last time," Duan offered.
Heero couldn't sulk in the face of that. He settled for a sigh - after all Duan hadn't met Relena yet.
"Ya know, Heero... You could probably get away with wearing whatever you wanted. I mean, seriously, what are they gonna do? Scold the guy that saved the world for wearing spandex? You could probably show up naked and it wouldn't matter. Well, 'cept for that whole Relena issue..." Duo said with a grin.
Heero couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Ryoukai. We'll think of something."
Both Duan and Wufan breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to hug Heero tightly.
"So, we're gonna go and kick somebody's butt?" Wufan asked eagerly.
"Only if we have to. Hopefully, there won't be a need for that, but," Duo shrugged, "Never know."
Heero looked almost wistful for a moment at the thought of kicking a certain butt... but then the neutral mask fell into place once more. "Hn."
"Oh ok," Wufan said, then turned to Duan. "That was the proper thing to say, right?"
Duan nodded. "Ya sounded kinda normal there, Wufan. Work on it," he replied, patting Wufan on the back.
Kenny appeared in the doorway behind Duan. Duan felt something touch his braid. "What you talking about?"
"We're talking about maybe goin' out and kickin' butt," Duan said.
"That all?" Kenny asked, batting the braid so it swung back and forth.
Wufan blinked, then looked at Duan. "He means the party," he said.
Duan closed his eyes tightly. "Oh man, you weren't supposed to mention the p.a.r.t.y., cause that would get him to thinking about c.l.o.t.h.e.s. !" he explained to Wufan.
"I can spell, Duan," Kenny said, batting the braid so it swung higher.
Wufan shrugged. "But that's ok. Heero said."
Heero looked over at his name from where he'd been eyeing Kenny's actions contemplatively.
Duan nodded, or tried to. "Hey! I know you can spell... What's with the braid flying?" he asked.
Kenny batted it again, watching it swing. "...Nothing...."
Heero transferred his gaze to Duo's braid with an almost evil glint appearing in his eyes.
Duo eeped softly, his hand darting out to catch up the tip of his braid as he backed slowly away.
"One word for you, Yuy... Tuxedo..."
Heero held up his hands slightly and didn't move forward but there was an almost audible click as the idea was filed under 'later'.
"So we might have to put on nice clothes," Kenny said. He shrugged. "Don't matter. Anyway, things happen to clothes sometimes, you know, even after you get there..." He batted the braid again and watched it swing back and forth.
Duan sighed. "That's true," he conceded. "So, you're ok with this party thing..."
"Hn," Kenny shrugged again. "I guess."
"See, I told you everything would be fine," Wufan said.
Duan looked at his best friend through squinted eyes. "Yeah, ok." he said.
"Hey Duan," Bat... swing swing swing.
"Uh-oh," Wufan said, very softly.
"Umm, yeah?" Duan said, taking a step forward and marking the exits.
Kenny leaned forward and whispered something in Duan's ear that no one else could hear. He waited a second for it to sink in, then gave the braid one last bat and suddenly took off. They heard the front door slam seconds later.
"Keennnnyyy!!" Duan called, then took off a heartbeat later.
The front door slammed again.
Duo blinked. After a second, he turned and tossed Heero a perplexed glance, before looking down at Wufan, and then back to Heero.
Heero lifted a shoulder and dropped it precisely before emitting a "Hn."
A few seconds later they saw Kenny come flying around the house and swarm up the big tree outside the kitchen window, moving like a hyperactive monkey. He went up, up... out of sight of the window...
Seconds later, they saw the fleeting form of Duan go up the tree. "Not fair!" he called.
"Ah," Wufan said, "Looks like Kenny won that time."
"Won?" Heero asked, curiosity spiking his voice despite himself.
Wufan looked up and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "Yes," he said, then ran outside.
Duo shook his head and followed, intrigued and curious.
Heero followed his lover, with one eyebrow raised slightly.
When Duo and Heero got outside they saw.... perched on the *top* of the roof, two small boys.
"You need to get faster," Kenny said, perched on the peak of the roof. He looked about as smug as one could with little expression.
"Hn," Duan remarked, coming to sit down beside him.
Kenny reached out and gave the braid a swat. Then he pointed to the people on the ground looking up. "It worked."
"Yeah," Duan said. "What worked?"
Kenny looked at Duan and smiled. Then he leaned over and said, "Double or nothing... last one on the ground..." and jumped up. The next thing the people on the ground saw was Kenny, flying from the peak of the roof to the top of the tree like a small flying squirrel.
"Oh," Duan said, smiling. He then took off and jumped to the treetop with a yell.
From behind them in the next yard over, Heero and Duo heard a woman scream. "My god! Those kids! They're going to die!!"
The two boys were swarming down the tree neck in neck.
Leaves were flying...
Kenny dropped from the limb about 15 feet from the ground effectively winning the contest. He tucked and rolled, coming to his feet with a small, smug grin.
Duan followed and came to stand with leaves and sprigs sprouting from his hair. "Next time," he said to his pal.
"Hn," Kenny acknowledged. "Wonder how high the roof will be."
"No. Absolutely not," Duo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered down at the two, "There will be no kamikaze leaps from where ever she sticks us."
"Kami...huh?" Kenny said, looking up at Duo.
"Crazy death wish stunts. Or Heero-ese for 'business as usual'," Duo replied.
Heero spared a glare at his partner and a slightly growled, "Hn." And then he turned to investigate the source of the scream.
Kenny blinked. "Death wish? Huh?"
"Kamikaze... he's talking about those Japanese guys who flew into the ships in that war book," Duan said.
Kenny looked at Duo puzzled. He did not get.
Duo threw his hands up in the air and sighed explosively, caught between laughter and exasperation.
"Never mind."
"So it's okay?" Kenny asked.
"Iie." Heero put in, shaking his head and turning slightly back to the boys. "He's right," he said, tilting his head at Duo.
"How tall is a Gundam?" Duan asked.
"Good one!" Kenny said, intensely interested.
"Eighteen meters," Duo replied automatically.
A slight look of dawning horror lit his features as he turned back to the younger boys.
"Which is a little high for you guys to be starting out at. Besides... We had lines to get in and out of those things!"
Duan looked up at the roof then back.
"Bet you didn't always use em when you were in a hurry," Kenny remarked.
"Ya ever jump from one of em?" Duan asked.
Heero sighed slightly. "Not the point." He said concisely. "We got blown up in them as well and you're not going to be allowed to do that either."
"Hn," Duan replied, looking up at Heero.
"Not till later, right?" Kenny said innocently.
"So you did jump out of em? ... or got blown up?" Duan asked.
From the next yard, they heard a voice say, "Mom, are you alright?!"
"Yes," the woman said, "I... I think so. Did you see that? Those little boys?!!"
"Huh?" the little girl said. She helped her mother stand then peered over. Then her eyes widened as she saw whom her mother was pointing towards.
Quickly, she grabbed her mother's arm. "C'mon mother. Come inside! You didn't see anything... not those guys anyway. They're in my class."
"But," the woman said. "Don't they have a mother?"
"We don't know. We don't ask. Come on, Mother!" the girl said, insistently as she herded her mother quickly back into the house.... and locked the door behind them.
Duo winced slightly as he heard the door click locked at their neighbors.
"Speaking of extra lessons... Stealth. Mental note to self... add stealth lessons to the curriculum."
"I can do stealth," Kenny said immediately.
"Me too!" Duan offered.
Heero looked calmly at the roof, then to the tree to which they'd recently flown - in full view of their new neighbor. And then he turned placid blue eyes to the boys.
"There's a difference between knowing how to do it, and knowing when to do it. Just like there's a difference between knowing how to fight, and how to duck," Duo replied.
Kenny lowered his head slightly. "Hn." He looked from Duo to Heero. "We did something wrong."
Duan's brows knitted together in a deep scowl, then the expression dissolved at the mention of doing something wrong.
Moving back to face the kids fully, Heero shook his head once. "Not wrong." He corrected. "Just... careless."
Kenny blinked. "But..." he began softly, then his mouth closed and his face shuttered. "Hn. Acknowledged."
"Got it," Duan said, tightly. "Won't happen again." He looked at Kenny, then nodded sharply to the house. "Let's move out."
"Hey guys?" Duo called before they could get out of earshot.
Kenny stopped immediately. With a snap.
Duan stopped as well, turning to Duo and Heero.
Duo knelt down and beckoned to them both with a crooked finger.
Kenny approached and stopped about two feet away. His body was very... upright. Formal.
Duan came to stand next to Kenny, eyes alert and focused on Duo.
"I know you guys are all 'sposed to be 'in training', but," Duo hesitated for a second, his expression slightly pained as his gaze bounced away for a second, "It's okay to be a kid before a soldier... You've got the rest of your lives to be soldiers..."
Kenny's eyes flickered to Heero. Back to Duo. It wasn't that hard to figure out. He was trying to reconcile what he thought were conflicting instructions.
It was the word 'careless' that had flipped a switch in Kenny, bringing back something from before he'd met the two pilots.
Heero sighed mentally at the quick look. Then he focused completely on the two kids, crouching down beside them. "I meant careless in..." He paused for a moment. "You don't have to be soldiers all the time." Heero spoke slowly, trying to make it make sense. "And you don't have to be perfect." He turned blue eyes on them both, "There are just people here who may not understand... how special you are."
"Hn," Duan replied.
Kenny looked at Heero steadily. "I got it," he said. "I forgot to think about civilians."
Duan's face fell a bit, but he took a deep breath to steady himself. "Ok, so we're special. That means the tree is out and no more roof, cause it might upset people," he said, then shrugged. "Ok, we'll stay inside unless you say so. It's kinda confusing, but we can handle it."
Kenny reached over and snagged the braid, not tugging just holding. "It's no big deal. We stayed inside all the time at the base. Most all the time."
Duan shrugged. "That's true."
"No. That's not what we meant. I don't want you guys to stay inside all the time. I don't want you to give up the tree or the roof. I just think it might be a good idea to be careful about who sees you guys trying to fly, that's all," Duo replied.
"But we didn't know they were looking," Duan said.
This time Kenny did give the braid a little tug. "That's the point," he said quietly. "We forgot to pay attention. No more challenges outside of stealth mode," he looked at Duo. "Right? No more forgetting."
"It sucks, but ok. No more forgetting," Duan said, then looked up at Duo and Heero. "If you want, we could be like the rest of the kids, or the Arcadia kids. We got them down."
Duo shuddered violently.
"Dear god. What would be the point in that?"
Duan looked up at Duo. "Arcadia kids act more like kids at school. Camouflage," he said
Kenny tugged Duan's braid and then dropped it. He looked from one to the other of the older boys. "We got it. Was there more?" His eyes looked uncertain for a second and he said slowly, as if offering an explanation, but not sure if that was right either, "I didn't get the rules. I thought it was different here. Just tell me. I'll get it."
"I didn't get the rules either. I'm making this stuff up as I go along. And I'm making tons of mistakes. I'm sorry. You guys... You have to help me get it right, too," Duo said, rocking back on his heels to collapse to a seat on the ground.
Heero nodded in agreement with his lover, feeling a sting of self-recrimination at his own clumsiness.
Duan looked at Kenny and then back to Heero and Duo. "You didn't get the rules, but you got some idea of what we're not supposed to do. Like we're not supposed to go in the tree or the roof when people are around. It's stuff like that we need to know. That way we can get a plan together and act like that. And nobody gets upset and we do what we have to do," he offered. "So kids don't jump off roofs here. What else?"
Heero blinked a few times. To be honest, he had very little idea of what kids did... His brow furrowed slightly and he turned to Duo, his eyes clearing asking.
Kenny watched Heero's face and looked back at Duo too. His stiff posture shifted just a bit and he said softly, "I thought we were... playing... like you said to. But... is it... are we... are we too hard to teach?"
Duo's face fell at Kenny's words. He opened his mouth to answer, then snapped it shut again, his normal glibness deserting him for a moment.
"No. That's not it at all. I- Okay. Kids here? They have fun. They play. Some of them do jump off roofs, but typically, they fall and break delicate parts of their anatomy. No, that isn't a request. I like the way you guys do it much better than normal kids. The tree is not off limits when people are around. Neither is the roof. Just be careful, and be careful who sees you ... flying. I did tell you guys to play, and I thought you were doing a great job. It was the thought of you guys trying to leap Gundam type distances right now, before we work our way up to that, which got my knickers in a twist. And no, I didn't always use the lines to get out of my gundam," Duo spouted off in a rush, clearly frustrated with himself for confusing the boys.
Kenny's eyes widened a little and then he sort of... relaxed a bit. He nodded. Then he bit his lip slightly, and suddenly lunged forward and hugged Duo around the neck.
Duo's arms came up and fiercely wrapped around the younger boy.
Duan sighed, seeing his friend switch back to people mode. He fell backwards on his rear on the grass and put his head in his hands, breathing deeply for a few moments.
Heero smiled slightly as he saw Kenny relax and then cocked his head curiously at Duan. He moved over and settled on the grass beside the boy, offering a questioning glance.
Duan looked up at Heero. "He's like you. He's a soldier, but he's not, too. He's a person and that's new to him," he said softly.
Heero nodded slightly, watching the other boy for a moment, and then leaned over until his shoulder brushed Duan's. "Very new," he said softly, turning his head so his eyes met Duan's. "But he'll learn. We both will."
"You don't have to learn to be a person, Heero. A person is what you are. It's you gotta learn not to be too much a soldier, like Kenny," he said, then hugged Heero tightly.
Heero barely hesitated this time before hugging the boy back fiercely. "Hai," was the best response he could think of.
"Hey, Heero," Duan whispered against the older boy's ear. "I hope you don't think I'm a coward, but sometimes I think we might not make it, you know?" he said.
Heero nodded against the boy, tightening his hold for just a moment. "I don't think you're a coward. But you know what?" He whispered back.
"What?" Duan asked.
Heero drew back just enough to look the boy straight in the eyes, "If we all work together..." His eyes gestured to the others quickly, "We're a lot stronger than before. We can survive anything."
"Yeah," Duan said, nodding.
Kenny sighed for a second, feeling Duo's arms around him. He could hear Duan and Heero talking but the words were lost as he tried to figure out why sometimes he had such a hard time getting out of the box in his head. He was just grateful that he was making it out sometimes now.
Duo shifted a little, pulling Kenny that much closer to him, until he could whisper into the smaller boy's ear.
"I- I'm sorry I'm not so good at this being older thing. I'm not used to... to being older," he said with a lame chuckle, "But I'm trying. I'm making mistakes, and I'm gonna make a lot more... will you help me learn? Can we learn together?"
Kenny's arms tightened. Then he whispered back. "I dunno, Duo!" he quivered for a second and then got control of himself. "I mean... we can, sure... but I dunno how to help you... I think... I think I'm making it harder somehow. Because of the t-training. And I don't know what to do about it." He sniffed, and then took a deep breath. "It's not you, Duo. It's not Heero. I looked in books. You guys are too young to have kids, most people are older and they start with babies, and that has to be easier, huh? I mean they're... blank.... but you took us anyway. Don't you know... no matter what you do... it won't ever be wrong because you took us..."
"I'm wrong a lot," Duo disagreed gently, "Just ask my stomach after I've eaten one too many burritos... But... If they weren't gonna let us take you... I was gonna find a way back to steal you. You mean that much to me, just so you know. I- It's okay to not be right all the time. It's how we learn. And it's nothing that anyone should be ashamed of, or upset about..." Duo said softly, as much to himself as to anyone else.
Kenny relaxed his chokehold on Duo's neck slightly. "I hear you," he said softly. "I'll try. Just so you know... cause I forget you don't sometimes... I was supposed to learn things fast. Real fast. I... get mad when I don't. It feels... hollow inside. Duan... likes to get stuff right but he... he can... miss sometimes and it's not so bad."
"I'll remember that. And I'll try harder to be less confusing. It's new," Duo said with a half grin.
Kenny took a deep breath and then tentatively smiled a little bit.
Duo nodded and then shifted to glance over at Heero and Duan.
"I hereby declare tonight to be movie night, how's that sound?"
Heero chuckled and shook his head slightly in amusement. The corners of his lips turned up in a smile. "Kami help us," he commented dryly.
Kenny poked Duo gently on the arm. "Duo... are there any movies about Gundams?"
Standing near the door, Wufan breathed a sigh of relief, then walked into the house. He looked in the kitchen first for Sallah, then went to her bedroom upstairs and knocked on the door.
Sallah peeked out into the hallway, opening the door wider when she saw Wufan. "Hi there! What's up?" She ruffled his hair, then smoothed it again, affectionately.
Wufan took a deep breath, then looked up at Sallah. He raised his arms up to her. "Can I have a hug?" he asked.
Kneeling, Sallah immediately swept Wufan up in a bear-hug. "Bunches. You can have all you want!" She snuggled him a bit extra, then pulled back slightly to gaze at him. "What brought this on? Everything okay?"
Wufan looked down thoughtfully, then shook his head. "Lots of stuff," he replied, softly. "It is different here, not bad, but different. I'm glad you came with us," he finished, then hugged Sallah again.
"I'm glad I came with, too...I give thanks every day that I was given the chance, and took it." She stood a moment, just enjoying the feel of her son in her arms. "It is different...but I think we'll get used to it in time." Cocking her head to the side, she smiled brightly at Wufan. "I brought home new books. Want to read?"
Wufan smiled and then kissed Sallah's cheek. "Let's read!" he said.
TBC
End of Part 4
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ravynfyre@hotmail.com,
fenwyck@radiks.net,
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bonnejeanne@yahoo.com.