16-Aug-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Special Guest Writer! Nixie the Pixie!*
Nixers - Nixerchan@aol.com
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: NC-17 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.
The door to Une's suite clicked shut behind Wufan as Mei led him over to the desk where the computer sat open and waiting. Climbing up onto the chair behind the desk, the redheaded girl's fingers flew through the commands and passcodes as she worked her way carefully through the Preventer's computer system. She hadn't spoken since they'd left everyone back in Heero and Duo's suite, and her blue eyes were distant and thoughtful. Biting her lower lip, she eased her way into the main Personnel Files for the Preventers.
Wufan watched as Mariemeia worked. His estimation of her rose as he watched the computer screen and her fingers on the keyboard. "You're looking for a Preventer?" he asked.
Her hands paused for a bare moment at Wufan's question, and she shot him a slightly dazed stare from the corner of her eye. "I kept wondering last night... I thought it might have been him, but I wasn't sure until this morning... And I kept wondering why Une would have made him a Preventer..." she said, eyes scanning the files flipping past until she stabbed the keyboard in a swift, birdlike motion and a small cry of triumph.
A file opened up on the screen, with a picture of a dark-haired man with a somewhat deliberate stare glaring out at them. "Him," she declared, pointing, "He was there. I remember him. Marcus... McCormick."
Wufan looked from Mariemeia to the man on the screen. "That's Sally Po's husband," he said.
"This isn't right," Mei murmured, still scanning the file. "This file... it's all wrong. He was in Grandfather's army. He was always working on 'special projects' and such... This says he's from L1... but he's not! That's why Une made him a Preventer," she gasped, finally turning to give Wufan a concerned glance. "He lied!"
Wufan nodded. "Grown-ups do that sometimes," he said. "Was it a requirement that he had to be from a certain colony?"
She shook her head violently, pointing out certain places on the file. "No, but there's nothing here about fighting for Grandfather. Nothing! There's supposed to be, so he must have lied and fixed the file somehow," she said, a stubborn, angry set coming to her jaw. A few swift keystrokes later and the printer hidden within the desk started spitting out sheets of paper. "He was there that day. I remember him now. He might know who took It... And he shouldn't be where he is now... We have to tell the others."
Wufan nodded. "Okay," he said, looking for the print out. "They can decide on telling Miss Po."
Then, he looked at Mariemeia again. "He couldn't have been working alone though. Was there anyone working with your Grandfather who could have made something to hold it in?" he asked.
Her brow furrowed as she carefully navigated back out of the system, doing what she could to erase the evidence of her passage in the computer as she went. "I don't know," Mei replied, her righteous anger draining out in sudden disappointment.
Wufan looked up, then moved closer to Mariemeia. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"He was trying to hurt Wufei last night. I could have made him stop sooner if I'd remembered better." She shook her head then, returning the computer back to the state she'd found it in out of long habit. "We'll tell them now. They'll make sure he can't hurt anyone any more."
"Yeah," Wufan said. He waited until she was finished, then put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "You did really good. Don't beat yourself up for not doing it sooner. Doesn't matter, cause now we have what we need, right?"
She returned the hug, sighing slightly. "Maybe. He may not know... But he might," she replied slowly. Her voice dropped into a quiet whisper, "It wasn't my fault... but I wanna help make things right..."
"Hey, you already are helping make things right. In fact, you're doing better than we are at this point. So, stop it or I'll .... I'll have to kiss you or something," Wufan said.
She blushed suddenly, and ducked her head against his shoulder. "Thank you, Wufan," she murmured. "I'm glad I can't hit hard enough to be Duan's girlfriend."
Wufan laughed, then he looked down at her. "Me too, Mei," he said, giving her a good squeeze, then taking her hand. "Come on," he said, turning to hide the slight flush to his own cheeks.
Firmly silencing the evil voice in the back of his mind, Duo denied his impulse to take a more active participation in getting Heero cleaned up again, opting instead for handing his lover one of their already dirty shirts. He couldn't, however, resist the temptation to pull Heero close for a fierce kiss.
Heero kissed back. "We'll never make it back," he said, softly.
"Just be thankful I ignored my inner hentai who was begging for me to lick you clean, then," Duo replied as he drew away and stooped down to grab up both their hastily discarded shirts. He proffered Heero's blue tank top to him with a wicked smirk.
Heero grabbed his top and pulled it over his head. "We'll try that later," he said.
"Is it later yet?" Duo asked, tucking his shirt back in.
"No," Heero said, and moved to the door. "Are you presentable?"
Duo sighed with disappointment, and then gave himself a quick inspection. Saluting, he replied, "Ready to resume responsibility, sir."
"Hai," Heero replied and opened the door to the main room.
Looking around as they came into the room, Heero noted that Quatre and Trowa were gone.
"Hn," he said.
Ripper patted Carter on the head and strolled over to the door. He blew a kiss towards the two returning pilots. "I'll be back... left off at the elbow, I believe," he said merrily.
Heero looked down at his arm, then shook his head.
The door closed leaving the four boys, Sallah and Wufei in the room with the two.
"Quatre and Trowa?" Heero asked, inquiringly.
"They will meet us for a briefing at three o’clock," Wufei said, absently smoothing a hand over his hair.
Heero looked at Duo.
"Mei and Wufan not back yet either," he said, less a question than a statement. "Well, now what?" he asked cheerfully.
Wufei got to his feet. "I'll go find them," he said quietly.
"Care if I tag along?" Duo asked.
Wufei shrugged. "Come on, then."
Duo ruffled Duan's bangs as he passed and headed out into the hallway.
"Bye," Duan called.
"Be right back!" Duo called back. "Don't blow anything up without me!"
"Got it!" Duan replied.
As the door closed behind the two, Kenny walked over to Heero. "You ok?"
Heero knelt down beside Kenny and nodded. "Hai," he said, "I'm fine. You?"
Kenny nodded. He tilted his head. "Rip's kinda weird," he said. "You're doing ok though."
Heero tilted his head. He let the words settle in his head. "Good," he said. "Thank you. That helps."
Kenny smiled slightly. Then he pulled Heero over to the floor where he and Duan and Tryan and Carter had been drawing stuff on a pad of paper they found somewhere. "We're designing a mobile suit, how's it look so far?"
Heero looked over the designs. He nodded at most of them and asked questions about armaments.
As he moved down the hall, Wufei glanced at Duo. "Well?"
"I gotta work on that. You always see through me," Duo replied with a grin. "Well, yourself. How ya doin'? I saw ya kinda watchin' Sallah and Wufan..."
Wufei glanced down at the floor and then back ahead. "I was hoping not to hurt them," he said quietly. Then he smiled slightly. "I've been told that I haven't." Then Wufei did something Duo could not remember hearing him do before. He sighed.
The braided pilot's steps hesitated for a second and he cocked his head as he glanced back at Wufei. "'Fei?"
Wufei glanced at Duo and then he smiled again. "Sallah is a very remarkable woman," he said.
Duo's lips curved up in a small smile. "You look... happy," he observed quietly.
"She explained some things to me. Now I'm not... worried that I have let Wufan down. Not as much, anyway. Or that my actions have hurt her."
Duo nodded thoughtfully. "I'm glad. I... I wasn't being fair to everyone last night. But I'm glad for it." Duo paused then, watching his shoes as they walked for a moment, considering his words. "You... almost left."
Wufei stopped walking and turned to Duo, reaching out to stop him as well. He frowned. "What do you mean, not fair?"
"If I'd been thinking more clearly... I wouldda found out about Sallah and Wufan *before* it may have been too late to do anything about it. I don't want to see them hurt either," Duo replied with a small shrug.
Wufei regarded Duo with a slight scowl, for long enough to be uncomfortable. "My honor is mine, to keep well or badly," he said finally. Then his expression shifted to something very penetrating. "You weren't thinking clearly? Does that mean you have regrets?"
"Only that I didn't think of it sooner," Duo replied, his lips twisting wryly.
"Think of what?"
"You. Me. Heero. Together. Everything... But mainly, finally asking you to stay," the braided pilot answered, curbing his reflex to joke for once.
Wufei stared into Duo's eyes and then suddenly he reached out and slid his hand around the back of Duo's neck. The next moment he kissed the braided boy, a quick, but demanding kiss. Moving back he said, "Yes, I think I regret that too. If it is not the only thing you regret about this, however, I think you had better tell me now."
Violet eyes flashing, Duo ducked his head, peering at Wufei from under his bangs. "The only other regret that I can think of, is that we're supposed to be getting Mei and Wufan right now, and that there isn't a nice, convenient alcove nearby to lead yet another responsible party astray today," he replied in a husky voice.
Wufei trailed his fingertips along Duo's neck as he moved his hand away. "It's early yet," he said with a slight, odd smile, and then walked on to the room belonging to Lady Une.
"Early schmearly. When does it get to be later?" Duo muttered before shaking his head and jogging to catch up.
As the two young men rounded the corner, two small children all but ran into them.
It was a soft collision. Wufei set Wufan back on his feet and looked from one to the other, noting some rather intense expressions.
"Wufei, Mei found out who we're looking for!" Wufan said excitedly.
"Maybe. Don't know yet," Mei said, offering Wufei the printouts, "Do you see anything missing there?"
Wufei accepted the printouts but instead of looking at them, he gave both children a somewhat stern expression. Then in a tone of voice Wufan recognized from his training sessions, he said, "There is a more appropriate place to discuss the matter than in the hallway." He crossed his arms and pointed silently back towards their room.
Wufan's eyes widened, then he looked down, composing himself quickly. He nodded, then took Mei's hand. Without another word, he moved them towards the suite, remembering not to run.
Duo watched the retreating children for a moment before shaking his head and following behind.
Wufei followed, suppressing a sigh.
Entering the room, the four saw Heero on the floor, with the other kids, drawing and comparing mobile suit designs. Wufei closed and secured the door and then sat down, summoning Wufan and Mariemeia to him with a finger.
Wufan walked over to Wufei, a step or two in front of Mariemeia, and stood.
Heero looked up as the group walked in and sat up. He glanced over at Duo, then to Wufei.
Wufei looked from Wufan to Mariemeia. "Do you understand why I did that, Mei?" he asked quietly.
She nodded, keeping her eyes downcast respectfully, although not going so far as to stare at her shoes. "I think so. It's not something everyone needs to know... and it may not be safe, here... there..."
Wufei nodded. "You have become a part of this mission," he said. "You haven't had the same kind of instruction the boys have had, but it's not too late to begin. So from now on, with anything connected with this subject, it is not to be discussed where it could be overheard by someone outside the team, unless in extreme emergency. I am sorry, Mei, that you had no time to prepare for this."
"Don't be sorry for correcting me, Wufei... I need to learn. I... I am a child, like you said," she replied slowly.
He smiled very slightly. "I was not apologizing for that, but for the fact that you have become involved in this mission in such a round about way. But it is official now," he glanced at Duo, Heero and the boys, including Sallah as well.
She blinked, darting a furtive glance up at him at her acceptance, while a wash of relief flooded through her. Looking back down slightly, she nodded, trying not to smile.
Sallah leaned back in her chair, watching all of this with some interest.
Duan nudged Kenny as he watched the proceedings.
Wufan glanced over at Mariemeia with eyes only and nodded a little to himself. "Forgive me, sifu, for possibly compromising the mission," he said.
Wufei looked at Wufan and said, "My forgiveness is meaningless in such a matter. Correct your error. Mei needs a good example."
Wufan stood a bit straighter, then bowed deeply to Wufei. "I will," he said.
"Now what is it you discovered?" Wufei asked, opening the printout and scanning it quickly.
Mei took a deep breath, settling herself again before answering. "There's something missing on that file," she said confidently.
Wufei read quickly through the information, noting with some distaste who it was. He glanced at Mariemeia.
"It doesn't list his time with Grandfather's army, or that he was there that night," she supplied.
Wufei looked at her sharply and then tried to recall if he had ever encountered anyone who could have been Marcus during the time he was with Mariemeia's forces. If he'd identified the man from that time he would have certainly investigated him when he first appeared among the Preventers. He frowned and shook his head, looking to Duo and Heero to make sure they heard and understood the significance. He didn't bother to ask Mei if she were sure, he knew she would not have spoken otherwise.
"Who?!" Heero asked, simply.
Duo peered over Wufei's shoulder, scanning quickly. His brows rose into his hairline as he noted the picture. "Marcus... from last night. Sally's husband," he answered Heero. With a small frown, Duo suddenly glanced over at Carter.
"The dick!" Duan piped up.
Sallah gasped a little, then stood. She took a deep breath, then said, "Poor Sally."
Heero growled.
Carter closed his eyes and placed his head in his hands for a moment. Then he looked up at Duo. "It could have been," he said simply. "I'm not sure. If I see him again, I'll know."
"Does anyone know if he's still here?" Duo asked, "He vanished after we came back inside last night."
"Une will know," Wufei said. "Even off-duty, Preventers must make their whereabouts known to her office." He glanced at Duo and then Heero. "It might be best to let someone else make our inquiries. Zechs?"
Sallah shook her head and moved to the vidphone. "It might be helpful to ask the person in charge of the staff, Mr. Pargan? They would know if the McCormick's have left the house or not, wouldn't they?"
Wufei's eyebrows lifted and he looked to Duo.
"Yeah, they would... Might raise fewer suspicions... Then again, Zechs is already in on this. Hm.. Staff first, and if that doesn't pan out, then Zechs," he offered, glancing to the others.
Wufei assented with a quick nod.
"Hai," Heero offered.
"Then allow me? I need to earn my keep somehow," Sallah said, accessing the code for Pargan.
A moment or two later, the screen lit up and Pargan's face appeared on the screen.
Sallah smiled pleasantly. "Good morning, Pargan. I need some information, if you can? Is Sally McCormick and her husband still here? I'd like to visit them today before they leave."
The old retainer smiled back. "I do believe Mrs. McCormick is still here, although I do believe Mr. McCormick has left. He informed one of the staff last night," he replied. "Would you like for me to send a message?"
Sallah shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary. I will try and catch Sally this morning. Thank you, Pargan," she said.
"No trouble at all," he replied politely.
Sallah said her goodbyes and cut the connection. She turned back to the others and shrugged. "Sally's here, but Marcus seems to have left last night," she said.
Wufei growled.
"Hey Wu... what kind of background checks do people get to join the Preventers? Doesn't seem to me that it would be that easy to hide a stint with a rebel army..." Duo asked, voice trailing off.
"Easy, no. Possible? Of course," the Chinese pilot replied. His features were settling back into a rigid mask as he reacted to the fact that this man had been an escapee from Dekim's service and had been under his nose all the time. Implications were thudding home, leaving Wufei Chang a very unpleased person.
Duo watched the shift in Wufei's expression, guessing where the Chinese pilot's thoughts were and where they were headed. He rested a hand on Wufei's arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze for a moment. "Well... Even if he wasn't the one Carter sensed, Une needs to hear about this," he said.
"Hn," Wufei growled.
"Hai," Heero said. "And Sally?"
"And Sally," Duo agreed, wincing slightly.
Wufei went over to the vidphone that Sallah had used. He found the connection for Zechs Merquise's extension and punched it in.
"Not answering," he muttered. "Be back." Wufei went for the door.
Duan watched as Wufei left and bent down to retrieve his design. While the older people were deciding things, he walked over to Wufan and touched his arm. "Look at this," he said. "We were makin' mobile suits."
Wufan turned to look at the drawing, relaxing a little. "It's good," he said, then looked up at the violet eyed boy in front of him.
"Come on over here and we can show you all of 'em," Duan said. Then he looked at Wufan and said, "You ok?"
Wufan nodded.
Duan looked around Wufan to Mariemeia. "You too, new guy on the team," he said, with a big grin.
She ducked her head, smiling before she looked back up. "Couldn't let Wufan's mom be the only girl," she said.
"This is gonna be fun," Duan said, nodding to Mei. He then pulled them both over to where the other kids were and sat them down.
Wufei's knock was a short burst of controlled but demanding intensity.
There wasn't so much of an answer as the faint scrape of a chair moving. It was a few second more, longer than it seemed to have been necessary before the door opened halfway.
Behind it, Zechs had seemed to regain the simply tired aura that he had when they'd first met for the party, though seemed to be doing his best to mask it. "Good morning," he said quietly.
Wufei noted Zechs' demeanor but didn't spare any time for it. He gained entry to the room simply by moving forward, causing the taller man to give way out of reflex. Once inside he shut the door.
"Marcus McCormick worked for Dekim Barton," he said without preamble. "Mariemeia remembered his face. His Preventer files have no mention of this."
Zechs frowned. "The file's omission is suspicious, but quite a portion of the Preveters are from Barton, or Oz, most both," he said, trying to reason out the sudden declaration.
"I'm aware of that," Wufei tried to keep the snap out of his voice with a exertion of rather frayed willpower. "Listen to what I said... *Mariemeia* remembered him. I did not. He would not have been a rank and file soldier but someone with access to Dekim and to her. I need to know if the omission is something done to cover an amnesty or if Une simply does not know. If he was in the fortress, he had access to It," he said, his enunciation crisping on the last few words.
At the first tone, blue eyes narrowed as Zechs' temper flared to match, then slowly drained away as the Chinese man elaborated. "You think that's what Carter felt last night," he said more than asked. "I'll talk to Une about it, if the omission isn't something authorized she can have him detained."
"It's no secret that I have no love for the man or he for me, but beyond that, I have a very bad feeling. Very bad. He has already left the grounds, though apparently Sally is still here. Carter said we were running out of time... It would be watching us soon." Wufei said, staring into the ice blue eyes with a combination of suppressed fire and an almost hidden pleading. "Don't waste time."
Zechs returned the regard for a moment before nodding, turning away from the ex-pilot, he spoke over his shoulder. "There's a sheet of paper on the desk that might be of use to you. I'll call Une. If you don't want to be in the viewing range, it is more secure by the door."
Wufei nodded, plucking the aforementioned paper from the desk and moving to lean against the wall by the door.
The phone only rang once before a woman with neat black hair and a Preventer's uniform answered. Sitting straighter suddenly, the secretary turned all business as the video connection opened on her side of the line. "Preventer Wind?" she said, half a greeting, half a question.
"A secure line to the Director please," he said brusquely. The woman nodded and the screen clicked blank for a moment.
A second or two later, Lady Une's face appeared on the screen. "Zechs," she said, quick scanning his image.
"Lady Une," he returned, looking into the viewer seriously. "I have reliable information that we may have a serious security breech. Do you recall authorizing any deletion or omission of information pertaining to Preventer McCormick?"
Lady Une's face registered surprise. "No I do not," she answered, instantly. "What's this about, Preventer?"
"McCormick was apparently in the inner circle of Dekim Barton after the war, unrecorded by our records. The blank itself is suspicious but I have reason to believe he might be of personal danger to some of the guests at the Manor."
"Hmm," Lady Une replied, "If you mean Chang Wufei, then I am already aware of it. I spoke to Marcus myself last night after the altercation. What type of danger and to whom?"
"What type I'm not sure, but it is possible that it may evolve into a full emergency." /I wouldn't expect less from It, anyway, no matter who has it./ "As for to whom, Chang Wufei is more than capable, it is the children and Sallah that I worry about."
Lady Une thought for a moment. "We could have him picked up on the document falsification charges. I assume you have tangible proof, but other than the being oafish and obnoxious, I would say we will need something a bit stronger. This isn't just about the fight, is it, Zechs?"
Zechs shook his head, then smiled slightly at her. "I may have to ask for a little trust on this, but I think it goes beyond his usual foolishness in public. If it's possible, stretch out the detainment period as much as you can so if there is something behind the other accusations we can get the proof needed."
Une lifted one eyebrow. "Oh I can put him where the sun won't shine on him for a year, if it comes to that. I'm issuing a detainment order now. I'll inform you when we have him. In the meantime, I'll need a report and a meeting with you as soon as possible," she said, then smiled a little. "Looks like you're getting your wish for a short vacation after all."
"I've had it under good authority that I'm nothing if not stubborn," he replied, a bit wryly. With an incline of his head he said in a softer tone, "Thank you. I'll have the former to you tonight and the latter when your schedule allows."
"Excellent," Une replied, "I will send you word and don't expect it too soon. Consider it my streak of stubbornness and a concession to your health. Une, out," she added and cut the connection.
Standing and turning towards the doorway. "Satisfactory?"
Wufei was waiting with arms crossed over his chest. "Barely adequate," he said, but there was no sharpness in his voice now, only disquiet. "But perhaps the best we could get without something more to go on. You might want to interview Mei, I suspect she can supply more information about what he did for Dekim which might enable you to increase the urgency level." He rubbed his temple for a moment and then stopped himself. "Someone will need to talk to Sally."
"Anything on his background might help with the perjury charges, but the Preventers haven't been overly fickle with past offences. To up the status, we'd need something current he's involved in, unfortunately, in order to pursue the matter through Preventer channels," he said, considering. "I believe Sally was staying with Noin for the night, it still may be early enough to catch them there."
Wufei had been glancing at the sheet of paper in his hand and his attention was caught by something. "Winner?" he muttered. He looked up at Zechs. "We are to meet at three o'clock for a mission briefing. You should be there, I think. Can you come?"
Zechs nodded. "I can't foresee any problem with that."
Wufei turned to the door, stopped, handed the paper back to Zechs. "Bring this," he said. He turned back to the door, having recognized the handwriting on the sheet. He placed his hand on the door, and paused. Then he shook his head almost unconsciously and left.
The door closed behind the Chinese pilot as the kids' heads drew together over the mobile suit designs and improvements were considered.
Prussian blue eyes scanned the small group. Heero focused on Wufan for a long moment, then looked up at Duo. Catching the braided pilot's attention, he jerked his head slightly then moved to the table.
Duo's gaze lingered on the children for a heartbeat longer before he followed, dropping into a chair beside Heero. Before he settled fully, he scooted the chair closer, until their thighs touched; only then was he satisfied enough to assume his usual sprawl.
"So what was that all about?" Heero asked, looking up at Duo and folding his arms across his chest.
"Mission integrity. They were excited because Mei found something," Duo replied quietly with a small shrug. "Unfortunately, the hallway is not a secure area."
"That, I understand. What did they do?" Heero asked, further.
"Just tried talking about having found the person we're looking for and waving about personnel files before we got back here," Duo said.
"Hn," Heero said, nodding a little in understanding. "I get it." He looked back at where the kids were. "It bothered me," he said.
"What part of this so far utterly bland and unnoteworthy morning would that be, Hee-chan?" Duo asked wryly.
"The look on Wufan's face," he said, looking down. Then, he looked up at Duo. "He's looked like that before and so has Kenny and Duan, only worse. It was when I was... back on L2," he added, remembering the recent past.
Duo sat up a little straighter, nodding thoughtfully, before he rested a hand on Heero's crossed arms. "I don't think this is the same," he said slowly. "Wufan... respects Wufei a lot. Any sort of disappointment will... have a greater impact, I think. Mei, too. They don't want to disappoint us, any of the children... But I think Kenny and Wufan might be the worst when it comes to that."
"Hai," Heero replied, then sighed deeply. He sat back in his chair and placed his hand over Duo's. "This is starting to feel like the last time, like the war all over. But it's different."
"Damn right it's different. 'Cause we're not going to let it get that far this time. We know exactly what we're up against this time, and we have one hell of a back-up team," Duo said, glancing over at the huddle of kids.
Heero nodded, then raised Duo's hand to his mouth, kissing it.
"Taking lessons from Rip now?" Duo observed with a grin, something flashing darkly in his violet eyes for an instant before he forcibly stuffed it away again.
Heero glanced up at his lover. A small crease appeared between his eyes. "I did something wrong?" he said.
Blinking in confusion, Duo took Heero's hand in his own, gripping it firmly. "No. No, koibito. Why do you say that?"
"Your expression," Heero said, looking at Duo directly.
Duo shook his head slightly, meeting Heero's stare. "No. You didn't do anything wrong," Duo repeated, pausing for a small sigh and a disarming shrug. "Not you. It's me. I'll... I'll deal."
A eyebrow arched as Heero locked eyes with Duo. "What about you?" he asked. "And you'll ... deal? Thought we were partners. So, what's wrong, partner?"
Duo snorted and grinned ruefully. "Sometimes you are too smart for my own good, ya know that?" he sighed, standing. "Let's go out to the balcony."
Heero stood.
As the two older boys left the room, Duan raised his head. "Ok they're gone," he said, "So, how did you compromise the integrity of the mission, Wufan?"
Wufan sighed. "After we found some stuff, we ran into Sifu and Duo in the hall. I yelled out that we had found something. Insecure area," he said.
"Yeah, that would do it, alright," Duan agreed. Then he patted Wufan on the back. "Don't worry about it. There was probably no one there anyway."
Kenny made a soft noise. "Never count on that," he said. He looked at Wufan. "Feel bad?"
Wufan shrugged. "A little, but I know what I did was not correct. It's like you said, you can't count on no one being there."
"It's better if you *do* feel bad," Kenny said. "Use it to remember. That's what I was taught." Then he shrugged and nudged Wufan slightly. "But don't worry about it."
Wufan nodded. "I'll take your advice," he said.
Mei nodded as well, shifting a bit until she was just barely touching up against Wufan's side.
Wufan looked over and smiled at Mei.
"At least you know Heero and Duo won't starve you, or put you in the hole like at the base," Duan offered.
Wufan nodded. "Yeah," he said, gratefully.
Mei frowned, cocking her head as she asked, "That's how they punished you there?"
"That's a couple of the ways. They used to make up things too. We had to be very careful and stay out of the way," Wufan answered.
"This base of yours sucked," she said matter-of-factly. "I wish none of you had had to be there."
"Yeah, but that's okay. We blew it up before we left," Duan said, then dropped back down to the floor and his mobile suit design.
Carter had been drawing during this conversation but the picture was not a mobile suit. It looked like something out of a late night horror movie, with a wide split mouth full of teeth and cold fishy eyes on a nightmarish head. He scribbled over it quickly.
Mei glanced over at the flurry of motion, watching the young blond carefully. "You okay?" she asked softly.
Carter nodded quickly. "I had it better than they did," he said. "I never went without food. Only sometimes, if Instructor said I wasn't trying hard enough, I had to sleep in the lab next to the tank -- that's all."
"That's not having it better, Carter," Duan said. He reached over and patted Carter on the hand.
Carter reached up abruptly and wiped his cheeks. He kept his eyes on the floor. "We have to stop It," he whispered. "We have to keep It from bringing them out of the ocean. And I felt something last night but there were too many people and I couldn't make it come clear... and I don't think he's here any more. I didn't try hard enough."
Tryan wrapped his arms around Carter, pulling the little blond against his chest. "It's okay, Carter. You did good. We'll find It and It'll die. We're working with Heero and Duo and Wufei and they saved this world before," he said, holding on tightly.
Carter trembled a little and then relaxed. He nodded silently.
Duan looked up at Kenny. He felt like they all were working really hard and it was kinda getting to them. He made a mental note to watch out for the others.
Carter took a big breath and then sat up straight. "It's okay," he said, looking up. His smile was a little tentative but it got stronger. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it... SS," Tryan said, then looked down at his paper real hard.
Kenny smiled at the initials and Carter smiled, reaching up to tug on Tryan's hair.
"Bang boy," Carter said softly, in a teasing tone.
"Not in public," Tryan replied.
Carter giggled and nodded.
Wufan leaned over and whispered what the initials meant to Mei so she wouldn't feel left out.
She flashed him a grateful smile, nudging him with her shoulder before a soft flush crept up her cheeks and she busied herself with reaching for a fresh sheet of paper.
Heero leaned against the edge of the balcony as he looked up at Duo. "Okay, what is going on?" he asked.
Duo had been staring down at his hand as Heero started speaking. The quiet demand seemed to catch him somewhat off guard, making him twitch as he ordered his thoughts forcibly. "What's going on? Let's see... Some ageless object, older than god, is trying to destroy the world, while we, at the same time are trying to destroy It... The guy who may know where the damned thing is seemed to have it in for Gundam pilots in general and Wufei in particular... The kids are running themselves as ragged as we are, only they don't have two wars worth of experience to be used to it... We haven't gotten to blow anything up in at least a week.... And I'm a hypocrite," Duo replied flippantly, counting each item off on the hand he'd been studying. "Other than that? Not much."
"Hn," Heero replied. He moved closer to Duo and placed his hands on the braided pilot's shoulders. "Let's keep it short and just talk about that last one. You being a hypocrite? How does that work?"
Duo snorted again and laughed despite himself. He pulled Heero closer, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist and resting his forehead on Heero's shoulder. "It works by me saying one thing and ending up thinking and acting in the total opposite."
"Ok," Heero said, quietly. "You want to tell me... no, let me put it another way. Tell me what thing you're talking about."
Duo sighed, turning his head so that his cheek lay on Heero's shoulder now, while he gazed out past the balcony to the distant ocean. "Rip." His grip loosened slightly, before firming again, as if he'd been about to let go, but couldn't force himself to do so. "I... I wanted to break his hands this morning. For starters," he admitted in a low, self-recriminating voice.
Heero blinked. "You wanted... oh," Heero said, then sighed. "You're attracted to him and he was... um.. flirting with me, right?"
"I'm attracted to him, yeah... But I love you, and he was flirting with you, and you're *mine*," Duo said, his voice dropping into a hiss at the end before he stiffened, realizing what his mouth had just uttered without his permission. "S-Sorry... That was... I-"
Heero was very still for a moment, then he looked over at Duo. "So you were jealous," he said, turning the concept over in his mind.
Duo sagged, defeated, before pulling away and turning to lean forward on the balcony. The quiet breeze almost washed away the single whispered, "Yeah."
Heero moved behind Duo and wrapped his arms around him. There was a smile on his face, and he resisted the urge to ask Duo to speak louder. Pulling Duo back up and against his chest, Heero kissed his lover's neck. "Good," he said, "That makes me feel... better."
Duo turned in his arms, a look of baffled perplexity creasing his brow. "It does?"
Heero nodded. "Yes," he said, "Because you were feeling the *exact* thing I was feeling when I saw you with Rip the first time. Now, I don't feel so ... alone?"
"You're not alone, though..." Duo said quietly, then frowned at himself. "But I guess that's what you're telling me, huh. I just... After what I said..." he drifted off, affecting a small, helpless shrug.
Heero shook his head. "Let me say it better," he said. "You just said that I'm yours. Earlier I said you were mine, so I guess that means we're together. We are each other's. That, by itself, takes away the one thing that would really threaten us... fear. I've been trying to be like you, because I was afraid that what I was wasn't enough. Now I know it is," he said.
Leaning forward, Heero kissed Duo's lips with a light kiss. "Your jealousy makes me feel wanted."
Duo wrapped his arms tightly around Heero, pulling him tight, as if he was trying to climb into his lover's skin. "Don't be me. One of me is enough. Be you. I love Heero. I don't think I could love Duo if it meant killing Heero," he whispered urgently, trying to will away the wetness welling up in his eyes that was making his vision waver. "More than want. I need you."
Heero tilted his head, then looked up at Duo. "I need you too, Duo. My koibito," he said, then kissed Duo deeply. As he released him, Heero then said, "So, I guess that does it. Even if Ripper or anyone else for that matter is attracted to either one of us, and we to them, it won't change the fact that we're both claimed."
Duo smiled, a quiet, warm sort of joy floating in his violet gaze. "Maybe more than we know," Duo replied wryly, contemplating their morning wake up with a hint of a wicked smirk.
As if reading Duo's mind, Heero nodded. "Hai," he said. "I'd like to talk to Wufei soon. I get the feeling things are gonna start flying and I want him to know that he's with us. What do you think?"
"I think that's an excellent idea," Duo replied, relaxing into Heero's arms as the last of his earlier tension drained away. "He spoke to Sallah while we were... busy."
"That's good. He seemed to be a little more.. there. That's also why I want to talk to him too. I think that little Rip moment made him uneasy. I could feel bad about it, but I want to wait and see what he says," Heero said.
Duo tilted his head, casting an odd, bemused look over his lover. "Have I told you yet today how wonderful you are and how proud I am of you?" he asked before pressing his lips to Heero's for a gentle, searching kiss.
Heero's eyes closed as he kissed Duo back. Moments later, he lifted his head. "Wonderful, hn," he said. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. You do that," Duo replied, sighing happily. He shifted a little, keeping Heero's arms around him as he peered through the balcony doors back into their suite. He could make out the tops of a couple of small heads around the edge of the sofa. "It was nice seeing them acting like kids," he mused. "We need to do something for them."
"Hai," Heero replied. "We could start by acting like obnoxious adults and tickling them when they're not expecting it."
"Obnoxious, I can do... Adult?" He graced Heero with a dubious look, "I'm not so good on that part, but I like the sound of your plan."
"Mission accepted," Heero said, "Come on. We can think of other things to do with them as well. And we can also think on how bad we're going to break Marcus McCormick's legs when we see him next, too."
Duo's eyes flashed with dark fire. "I like the sound of that even better." He leaned in for one last kiss before winking at Heero. "Shall we commence infiltration of the enemy forces?"
"Hai," Heero said, moving towards the kids.
TBC
End of Part 40
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