24-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.
Wufei became aware of a sound. Unused to sleeping in the middle of the day to begin with, he woke and attempted to identify the sound. After a moment or two he was successful. This time he made an extra effort to get up from the bed without disturbing anyone. Looking at the clothing strewn around the floor, he shook his head. It took only a moment to collect the items and leave them in neat piles, one by each side of the bed and the last in his hand as he made his way to the bathroom for a very quick shower.
Cobalt eyes blinked open as Heero registered two things at once. The first was the absence of Wufei and the second was running water. Hn, he thought to himself and sat up slowly. Drawing his legs up on the bed, he looked down at the sleeping form of Duo and smiled at the braided pilot as he lay serenely napping.
It'd probably take an earthquake to wake him, he thought, then quietly moved off of the bed.
Duo stirred slightly at the loss of both of his lovers, a faint frown creasing his brow, until his arms wrapped around Heero's recently vacated pillow. Snuggling into it, Duo's frown smoothed away and he settled once again, the faintest hint of a smile teasing the corner of his mouth.
Wufei emerged from the bathroom, dressed, his damp hair combed back. Returning to the bedroom, he noticed Duo curled around the pillow, and Heero's bare rear end leaning over the pile of his clothes. Wufei allowed himself a moment for reflection of the view.
Heero felt a presence behind him and turned around with his clothes in his hand. "Hi," he said, quietly, looking at the Chinese pilot warmly.
Wufei smiled. "Hi," he replied. He glanced at Duo. "There's a message on your room comm," he said. "I haven't played it, but it's from the Vice Minister, and it's for him."
"Hn," Heero said, glancing at the bed. "I'll tell him when he wakes up. I'm going to put a few things together for the briefing," he added, slipping his pants back on.
The Chinese boy nodded. He was curious about the message but the idea of contradicting Heero in any way regarding Duo was not on his list of things to consider.
Instead he walked back into the larger main room of the suite and began warming up to do tai chi.
Heero pulled on his top and retrieved his laptop. He glanced over at the bed again, then walked over to where Duo was curled up and kissed his cheek. "We're in the other room," he whispered against Duo's ear.
After a few long minutes, the fact that Heero's pillow was not generating its own heat, nor was the air at Duo's back, slowly started to penetrate the braided boy's dreaming mind. With a quiet gasp of surprise, he made the leap from sleep to consciousness with no pause between, arms releasing his tight grip on the pillow as he sat up abruptly on the bed. The quiet, but familiar, clacking of keys drifted in from the open door, helping to calm the sudden racing of his heart as he slipped from the bed and peered into the suite beyond. As he turned back to retrieve his clothing, a small, relieved smile touched his lips. He looked forward to a day when the mission was over and he didn't feel like he was still living in a warzone.
With his clothes tucked under his arm, he wandered out into the suite, blowing both Heero and Wufei a playful kiss as he passed them on his way to the bathroom. "Out in a sec!" he called cheerfully.
After a quick shower, made brief only because he opted not to wrestle with his still braided mane, he dressed and returned to the main suite, plopping down beside Heero to watch Wufei with an appreciative eye.
"It's time to let Trowa and Quatre in on all of it," Heero said.
"Probably past time, but yeah," Duo agreed, turning to peer over Heero's shoulder at the information on the ubiquitous laptop. He glanced back at Wufei and smiled. "Need a practice dummy, Fei-koi?"
Wufei snorted softly, bringing his movement to a close with a graceful return to the first position. "I think I will take a rain check," he said. "You have a message on the comm from Relena."
Duo blinked in surprise. "I do?"
Climbing back to his feet, he wandered over to the com and keyed up a quick command.
Heero stopped typing and looked over to Duo.
Relena's face appeared. "Seems you aren't answering. Um, I was thinking about this evening and I just thought, instead of some boring dinner around that table that makes everything seem so formal, maybe we could do something more relaxing for the kids...?" She nibbled a finger for a moment and then continued, "Maybe something outdoors? If you think it's something you and they would like to do, call my office comm, it will ring you through even if I'm on do not disturb. Um, ok bye."
"Hm. That sounds like fun. What do you guys think?" Duo asked, turning to ask Heero and Wufei.
Wufei shrugged. "Probably good. It might help keep them from becoming too anxious."
"It's a good idea," Heero replied, then turned back to his laptop.
Duo snorted softly and shook his head as he started flipping through ideas quickly. As a plan started formulating in his brain, he grabbed up his shoes and pulled them on. "Back in about half an hour," he called, walking to the main door. "Should beat the kids and Trowa and Quatre back, hopefully."
"Hn," Wufei remarked.
"Hai," Heero said.
With another snort and shake of his head, Duo pulled the door closed behind him and sauntered off towards Relena's office.
Duo just managed to return to the suite about the same time as Trowa and Quatre returned with the group of very excited kids who were talking non-stop about ponies, horses, dogs, cats, and other related subjects, looking very well exercised.
Quatre had taken the liberty of having lunch sent up to the room and the moment the food arrived it was pounced on and devoured. There followed a short quiet time of about half an hour before the briefing was to start, with Trowa and Quatre slipping off to return shortly.
"So I take it you guys all had fun," Duo observed, looking around at the children.
"Trowa taught us some riding tricks," Duan said.
"Tricks? Cool! Like what?" Duo asked.
"Like a standing dismount," Tryan said, "And Quatre showed us how to ride better."
"He's good at that. He taught me how to ride a horse once," Duo replied with a nod.
"We had to saddle our own horses, too!" Wufan offered.
"They did all the work," Trowa said.
"Mei knew more than us," Wufan said, looking over at the redheaded girl.
She blushed slightly, glancing down at her hands briefly. "Comes with the territory. I wanna take good care of Tiger when I'm here," she qualified with a small shrug and a slightly sheepish smile for Wufan.
A short pattern of rapping on the door interrupted the conversation.
"I'll get it!" Duan called out, glancing up at Duo. Then, he took off like a shot.
Duo grinned evilly as he scrambled to his feet and made the dash as well. The door shook as both braided boys hit it in the same instant. With a mock-ferocious scowl, Duo stared down at Duan.
Duan looked up at Duo and frowned. Then, he sighed overdramatically and held out his fist. "Paper... scissors... rock!" he called out, emphasizing each with a drop of the hand. His turned out to be rock.
Duo made a wide, sweeping gesture with his arm as Duan formed 'rock', emphasizing the motion with a whooshing sound effect. "And Thermal Scythe beats 'em all!" he said with a snicker, scooping Duan up into his arms as he pulled open the door.
"Good one," Duan said, then looked up at the person on the other side of the door.
Still a little wide-eyed from the unknown collision that gave the door's sturdiness a good test, Zechs looked at the two braided boys. With the barest hint of a smile, he shook his head, "I'm not going to ask."
"Probably safer," Duo agreed, stepping back to allow Zechs in, "Because we could tell you, but then we'd hafta kill ya or something and that might get messy." He paused, pondering for a long moment before adding, "Either that or whip cream bomb your room. I haven't decided yet."
Zechs pretended to give it some consideration. "Probably a waste of perfectly good whip cream," he offered as he moved into the room.
"Point. Guess you're off the hook for now," Duo agreed, kicking the door shut gently.
Wufei looked around as everyone settled into chairs and couches and on the floor. He glanced at Duo and then Heero.
"We are here to put together the information that we have about this mission," Wufei said.
Heero glanced around the room, then said, "For us, it all started with the kids and a place called Arcadia." He looked up at Zechs. "You asked the other night about it, and I feel like now is the time to tell you. It's important to you and I'm sure you're going to see how it all ties in."
Zechs nodded, settling back imperceptibly. "Any base would be helpful. There already seems to be enough ties to put the Gordian Knot to shame."
"Generally speaking," Heero said, with a slight nod to Zechs, "The kids know about the artifact. Where they come from, one just like it nearly wiped out the entire human race. It isn't clear whether or not where they're from will make it or not, but they've got a chance now. Zechs, that's why there appear to be some gaps or oddities in what they know." He took a deep breath. "Basically, our mission is to locate the one in our world before it has a chance to wipe us out. It almost succeeded here, but that's before we knew what we were really looking for." Heero looked up at Duo. "You want to add anything?" he asked.
Duo nodded, glancing up at Trowa and Quatre. "It's called the Crown, and Treize had it for a while. He put it in Epyon, and then it was apparently stolen from the wreckage after the war, 'cause Mei says that Dekim had it during the attempted coup. After that, it vanished again, but we think Marcus McCormick may have an idea where it could be. Une's got the Preventers out looking for him now, right, Zechs?" he asked, turning to glance at the blond Preventer.
"To the fullest extent we can," he confirmed. After, a pause he unfolded a piece of paper that had been neatly creased into a small square and gave it to the person closest - Duo at the time. "I don't know how much assistance its past whereabouts might be, but both Treize and later Dorothy put together a list.... beyond those dates, perhaps the knowledge of the Dragon Clan went further..."
Wufei had been listening with arms crossed. He looked at Zechs. "We have our own names for it but it is most often known as the Serpent Crown, for reasons that would be obvious to anyone unlucky enough to have seen the cursed thing. Beyond keeping secret and forbidden records of its existence, there is surprisingly little that our history could tell you. It promises power, yet it corrupts ultimately. It was believed to have predated human history."
Quatre had been listening closely to the information and had begun to frown slightly.
Duo, who had been scanning the paper Zechs had handed him, glanced up sharply at Quatre, noting the frown, before passing the paper on to Heero. "What's up, Quatre?"
Trowa glanced down at Quatre, a look of concern in his green eyes.
The blond pilot shook his head, and then took a deep breath. "It's probably nothing. It just... my father collected things from time to time. Artifacts, relics, sometimes geological specimens. Very often things were discovered by Winner mining operations, or brought to him... You said 'Serpent Crown'... there was an object... I only saw it once. When I was.. ten or eleven, something that a man he sometimes dealt with brought in great secrecy."
Heero glanced up from the paper to look at Quatre.
"Hn," he said.
Zechs frowned slightly, his glance flickering to each of the ex-pilots before he shook his head to himself. "Your memories may not be off," he said quietly.
"How have you been, Quatre? Honestly... Any strange dreams or anything? Anything odd in your life?" Duo asked, watching the Arabian with a quiet look of concern.
Quatre looked up, his attention having gone inward for a moment. "Hmm? Odd? Um, you mean besides being taken to another dimension, ah, twice.. and having my memories of it, er, erased?" he said with a touch of wry humor. His face sobered. "No, nothing strange. Nothing... I haven't felt before. I was just thinking about it. When I was eleven... around that time, and after... wasn't really such a good time. Father and I weren't getting along very well. I found out about my sisters... I was..." he shrugged depreciatingly. "I wasn't a very nice person, Duo. I spent most of my time feeling depressed, um, worthless. It wasn't until the shuttle I was on was, um, hijacked by the Maganacs that I learned to look beyond myself."
Reaching over, Trowa closed his hand around Quatre's.
"When was that, anyway?" Duo asked slowly, glancing at the paper he'd handed to Heero with suspicion.
"AC 193," the Arabian answered. "The Maganacs made it to Earth... I didn't get a chance to join them until Operation Meteor."
Duo snorted ruefully, reaching out to retrieve the paper from Heero before passing it to Quatre. "I wouldn't beat myself up over that attitude thing then, if I were you, Quatre. Looks like there was probably something going on that was more outside of you than in," he replied with a quick jerk of his chin to the notes in Quatre's hands.
Quatre looked down and read through the hand-written notes, his expression slightly puzzled at first. His eyes widened and he reread several parts again. Almost absently, he handed the paper to Trowa. Looking up, his eyes sought Duo's, then Heero, and Wufei, and finally Zechs. "Is this... is this information true? Do you... do you believe what this.. implies?"
"Treize had always been meticulous about details," Zechs said quietly. "And Dorothy would have double checked through her own means."
"Dorothy..." Quatre said softly. He looked around. "Why isn't she here at this meeting?"
Heero glanced up at Duo, then to Wufei. "Good question. Should we get her in on this?" he asked.
"Well, if she's the one who helped compile this stuff, then I'd say yes. Zechs was a little reticent about involving her anymore, earlier. I'd say it's your call," Duo said, glancing back to Zechs.
"I'd think she was already 'in,' the more I've talked to her. She had a guest... Jack, who might be of service as well," Zechs said.
Heero looked up at Duo. "I imagine so," he said.
Duo looked unfazed as he muttered, "Shock," under his breath. "So you've met Jack, have ya?"
The blond man nodded slightly, then a corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "With how involved he implied he was with Arcadia, I imagine the acquaintance is mutual now."
Duo shot a look at Heero, shaking his head slightly. "Well, then. Sounds like the cat's pretty well outta the bag. Speaking of which," Duo said, bouncing a look towards Quatre, Trowa, and Zechs, "From what Rip says, it sounds like he and Jack are going to be handling the actual destroying It bit."
"They know more about it," Heero said. "We just need to locate it."
There was a flash of blue steel in Zechs' eyes as he nodded to Duo, the words in the notes back in his room in the forefront of his memory. "I'm looking forward to it."
"You're not alone," Heero said, softly.
"Okay. What else does anyone want to know?" Duo asked, looking around. "We've been compiling information from so many different sources for a while now. I'm kinda losing track of who knows what now."
Duan raised his hand, like in school. "So, what do you want us to do now our mission has been scrapped? We've completed the horse riding training," he said.
Trowa looked over at Duan and smiled.
"Well, until the Preventers dig up McCormick, we're pretty much stalled for a while. So I guess we move on to the Weenie Roast phase of training tonight," Duo replied nonchalantly.
Kenny looked over inquiringly.
"What's Weenie Roast?" Wufan asked.
"A Weenie Roast is a fine old American tradition of taking processed meat products called Hot Dogs and cooking them over an open campfire. Then we eat until we're about to burst, then we make S'mores, get all gooey with melted marshmallows and generally have fun," Duo explained.
Quatre smiled. His expression was thoughtful underneath the amiable expression. He had a great deal to think about.
Wufei leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, staying quiet as he listened and observed everyone, including Quatre and Zechs.
"Processed meat!" Duan exclaimed, excitedly. "Good. You have that here, too."
Trowa nodded. "Yes," he said, "It's something I think Quatre loves best. We actually had some on the way here."
Quatre laughed. "I only love it because I'm not supposed to have it. But if you can persuade whoever is providing the food to make them beef franks, I think you'll have to beat me off with a stick."
"Already got you covered, but I think I'll leave that up to Trowa anyway," Duo quipped back with a wink.
The Arabian grinned and blushed, his fair skin showing the reaction quite obviously.
"Thank you, Duo," Trowa replied.
"Quite welcome," Duo said with a smirk before glancing over at Wufei from the corner of his eye, "And, yes, Wufei, even you have to have at least one hot dog."
The Chinese pilot made an effort to look mildly disgusted, but it was not hard to see the expression didn't really reach his eyes.
Then he smiled very slightly and said in a low voice, "I will agree to swallow at least one before the night is over."
Duo coughed, a small choking sound erupting from his throat as his eyes widened for a split second in surprise. An equally fleeting smirk, not quite a leer, yet not quite a smile, replaced the shock before it was usurped by Duo's normal cheerful grin.
Heero's eyebrow arched.
"Are we to wear uniforms to this campfire?" Wufan asked, getting as much detail as they would need.
"The uniform of the evening will be comfy clothes that you won't mind getting messy. Campfires tend to be a little on the dirty side, being as they're outside. Also, anyone planning on taking advantage of the beach oughta bring swim gear," Duo replied. "And the mission is to have fun."
Duan glanced around at Kenny and the other boys. "Swim gear?" he said.
"Beach?" Carter said, his eyes opening wide. He took a deep breath and then said bravely, "I'll go to the... beach with you, Duo."
Tryan looked at Carter and then took a deep breath. "Me, too," he said, ignoring the rumble in his midsection.
Duo met Carter's eyes, concentrating on projecting confidence and warmth to the boy as he nodded. "I'd like that a lot, kiddo. They really aren't here, and we're going to keep them from ever coming here. I promise," he said softly but firmly.
Carter nodded. He crossed the room and climbed into Duo's lap. "I believe you Duo," he said firmly, looking up with trust.
Duo hugged the small boy tightly, looking down to give Tryan a reassuring smile as well, offering him part of his lap. "Good. 'Cause I believe in all of us," Duo declared to Carter before defusing some of the intensity with a quick tickle.
The little blond giggled and squirmed on Duo's lap.
Duan looked over at Kenny, then nodded. He was trying to work some things through and finally decided that the beach would probably be a good deal. Still, he would have to wait and see.
Kenny met Duan's look and nodded back. They had snuck out of the base against orders when the General said there were still greenies outside, so he was willing to go see this ocean for himself. He figured if one of the monsters did show up, they had a good chance to kill it, with Heero and Duo along, as well as himself and Duan.
Wufan looked down for a moment, then squared his shoulders. "I'm in," he said, then looked up at Kenny and Duan. "I'll take point."
"Gotta beat me to it, Wufan," Duo advised with a small grin, though his eyes shone with a quiet understanding of the boys' bravery.
Mei observed the entire exchange quietly, her initial excitement over the beach trip tempered somewhat by the boy's subdued reaction. Vowing to ask later, she edged slightly closer to Wufan and continued observing.
Carter looked over at Zechs from his spot on Duo's lap. "Are you going to come?" he asked.
Zechs paused, and then shook his head slightly. "After this past party, I think I might have used up my allotment of social," he said, a bit of humor returning to his voice. "Another time."
Carter met the tall man's clear blue eyes with a very serious regard. "That's the best choice for you," he nodded. "But next time, you'll come."
After a long look triggered by the boys unusual cast, Zechs gave the boy a casual, half-salute. "Yes sir."
The little blond boy smiled charmingly and ducked his head, small hands reaching for the end of Duo's braid to stroke shyly.
Wufan reached down and took Mei's hand, then moved closer to Kenny and Duan.
Quatre stood up and nodded to each of the older ones and said, "I guess I should go see what I brought that would be suitable for a picnic! I'll see you all later then!"
"Wait a second," Trowa said, rising. "Maybe you can find something in my stuff that'll work for beach wear as well."
Quatre nodded, then grinned slightly, "Not counting those jeans, which I couldn't fit into if I skipped hot dogs for the rest of my life..."
Trowa smiled. "Oh, you're just not trying hard enough," he teased. Looking back at the kids, he bowed. "We'll see you guys later. And you all work well together. Circus bow," he said.
The kids all stood up straight and then bowed as if being applauded.
"Perfect," Trowa replied then followed Quatre.
In the wake of the two ex-pilots, Zechs nodded to the room en mass and followed their example.
When the door clicked shut again, Duo glanced around to the kids, flickering a look over Heero and Wufei as well. "Well... Any other questions, guys?"
"You get in the water, don't you?" Duan asked.
"You can," Duo agreed, adding, "But you don't have to. It can be a lot of fun... It can also be a little scary with that much water."
"It's not so much the water, it's big, but, we were taught not to go into the water because of the greenies.. but... here is different," Wufan said.
Wufei looked down at the kids. "Do you remember when you saw the Earth from space?"
Kenny nodded.
"Yes," Duan replied.
"Remember all the blue you could see everywhere? Those are the oceans and seas. They are an important part of this planet. The... monsters where you come may have come out of the sea, but all life came out of it a long time before. You should see it. I think you will find it an interesting experience," Wufei said.
Duan nodded.
"I'll be honest with you," Tryan said, "I don't know how to swim. I've heard of it, but I don't know how to do it.
"We can teach you," Heero said. "Now you should know that there are fish in the sea and few other things as well. None of them are Greenies. If you feel something in the water, it's not one of them."
"Got it," Tryan said, satisfied for the moment.
Wufei turned to Wufan and Mariemeia. "Mei, let Lady Une know that you are coming. Wufan, if your mother is not in the suite, write a message to her."
"Yes, Wufei," Mei replied with a respectful nod. "I should probably change before we go, anyway," she continued, glancing down at her borrowed, and very white, clothing.
"We can see if Ma is in the suite and I can walk you, if you want?" Wufan asked.
"Yes, please," she replied, glancing up at Wufei for permission to 'borrow' the younger boy.
"If that is all right with you, Sifu?" Wufan added, with a respectful bow in Wufei's direction.
Wufei nodded and then smiled. He knelt beside Wufan for a moment. "You have had a very full day so far, young dragon," he said quietly. "I think I may have forgotten to tell you that I am very proud of you."
Wufan looked at Wufei sharply. His dark eyes widened a little, then he bowed once more. "Xie xie," he said. "I am aware that I need further training. I will work harder."
Wufei looked into the boys eyes. His smile faded. "Wufan, you work hard. There will always be further training. But you are already far ahead of others your age. Not just in training but in thoughtfulness, kindness and even wisdom. Please hear what I am trying to tell you: I am proud of you. And... and I love you very much."
Wufan looked down for a moment, then looked up into Wufei's eyes. He smiled suddenly. "I love you, too," he said, softly, attempting to keep the conversation between them so as not to embarrass Wufei.
Wufei looked at the little boy and offered his open arms. His expression was of someone asking for something hoped for.
Wufan felt his heart beat fast in his chest. He took a few steps forward and hugged Wufei tightly.
Wufei held the little boy for a long moment before letting him go. "Xie xie, Wufan," he murmured in the child's ear. Then he gave him a pat on the back. "Off you go."
Wufan nodded, then turned to look at Mei. "Ready?" he asked.
She nodded, reaching to take his hand again.
As Mei and Wufan left the room, Duan leaned against the back of a chair. He glanced over at Duo and Heero, then back to Kenny. "I don't think you'll have any problems with clothes this time," he said, noting Kenny's attire.
Kenny smiled.
Leaving the suite, Quatre's expression became thoughtful as he walked through the hall to the suite he and Trowa were sharing. He was silent, walking into the room where his luggage had been unpacked and absently looking through the items there to select a casual shirt and a pair of plain, white jeans, finding a new-looking pair of sneakers someone must have packed for him. He began undressing in the same thoughtful quiet.
Trowa found the room where his clothes had been unpacked and looked for a black t-shirt and jeans he had brought along. He quickly re-dressed and moved to Quatre's doorway. For a moment, he leaned against the frame and watched silently as the blond pilot put on his clothes.
"This is going to get very old, very quickly," he said, softly.
Quatre looked up, startled, and blinked at the green-eyed boy. "Trowa?"
"The very same one," Trowa replied, moving closer. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it, or should I leave it alone and let you dress in peace?"
Quatre tied his sneaker quickly and sat beside the other boy. "Please don't leave. I'm sorry. I was thinking, that's all." He reached over and pulled something from the pocket of the pants he'd changed out of. It was the timeline. He'd quietly put it in his pocket.
"I was thinking about this. And about something else. I'm just not sure exactly how to put it into words," he said softly.
Trowa glanced at the timeline briefly, then back to Quatre. "No rush," he said. "I'm more concerned about how you're doing right now. That news couldn't have been easy to hear."
"Not easy... but it seems to fit. Too well, in fact," Quatre said with a momentary shadow over his face. "Father was a good man. But he loved puzzles, and power. He wanted to use it to help people, but he definitely preferred having it over not. So it seems I may have been touched by this thing, that's what Duo was implying, don't you think?"
"Possibly," Trowa replied. "I think if anyone had greater contact with it, it would have been your Father, though. So, what if you have? What do *you* think about it? That's what is important," he said.
"I was thinking about that time. I remember having dreams, and sometimes in them I was talking to Father, sometimes to other people. They always said things that left me feeling powerless and like there was no point in trying to do anything." Quatre took a deep breath. "After I met Rashid and the others, they didn't seem to come back. But I had other dreams. And I started hearing another voice. A voice I haven't heard in two years. And I find myself wondering about it."
Trowa listened carefully, storing the information away. "What did it say?" he asked.
"It wasn't so much what it said, as the way it felt," Quatre said slowly, looking at his hands. "It gave me hope. It helped me believe in what I was doing. But when Father died... I stopped hearing it. I haven't heard it since."
Trowa wrapped his arms around Quatre's shoulders. "Perhaps, when this is done, you'll hear it again. I think that explains to me some of the sadness, too," he said, squeezing Quatre a little.
Quatre slid his arms around Trowa's neck and turned his face to press his lips to the green-eyed boy's mouth. He kissed Trowa tenderly, with a sweetness that reminded the mercenary pilot of the first time they met. After a little while, he leaned back just a little and looked at Trowa. "I don't know if I'll ever hear it again," he said softly. "But that doesn't matter. It led me to you, to all of us. To the only other four people I have ever known who I could really understand. This is what is important, Trowa. This is what I was missing from my life. I'm not going to let this understanding go to waste."
"Hn," Trowa sighed. He looked down into the teal colored eyes for a long moment. "Sometimes, I have those moments when I think I don't have a heart, and always I see this face in my mind and remember that I do. We will do what we have done before. We'll make sure the job gets done."
Quatre nodded. He looked deeply into Trowa's eyes. "Don't ever think you don't have a heart, Trowa. You have mine. You are my connection to my own heart. You reached it when I couldn't. And it wasn't whole until I found you again. Perhaps I was only meant to hear it until I found you all... especially you. You are my uuchi no kokoro, Trowa."
Emerald eyes widened for a moment as Trowa looked down. Leaning forward, he kissed Quatre deeply, expressing with touch that which he could not find words for or which no words existed. A short time later, he moved back, looking at the innocent face that had seen far too much. "I'll try to be worthy of it, and if I'm not, I'll keep trying anyway, Quatre."
Quatre reached up, tracing Trowa's face delicately with his fingers. "You don't need to try to do anything," he said with steel firmness. "It's what you are that completes me. That will never change."
Trowa nodded, slowly. "I was wrong," he said. "If you need that clown at Winner Corp., let me know. I'd like to apply for the position."
Kissing his lover's face tenderly, Quatre said, "I'm sorry, the position is filled." He smiled. "Winner Corp has a clown... he's blond. But maybe you have an opening at the circus, because I've heard recently that he is looking for a new position."
"Oh, I think I can get you in, easily," Trowa replied. "Just show up and I'll get you trained... personally."
The Arabian blushed deeply. "Okay," he said nodding. "And you can start the... training... any time you want to," he added, resting his forehead on Trowa's shoulder.
"I think it's already begun," Trowa said, softly. "Last night was especially... umm, headed in the right direction. I think you're really getting into the feel of things."
Quatre laughed. "I think *you* were getting into feeling things," he mentioned. Reaching up to brush his fingers through the thick sweep of Trowa's bangs, he said, "I'm going to make a call before we leave to join the others. But I think we have some time... is there anything you'd like to do to while it away?"
Trowa shrugged. "I'd love another... circus lesson, but I'm not sure we'd make it to the beach party," he said.
"Just think of it as a show, and I'm sure we won't be late," Quatre said, grinning slightly. "Of course, I could spend the time calling the office and catching up on all the boring meetings and deals and what have you... if you'd rather..."
"Make your call, Winner. One call, no office. We've got a show to do," Trowa said.
"Right!" Quatre nodded, jumping up to go to the com. He tossed a rather guilelessly sexy look over his shoulder at the other boy and sent a message to the headquarters of the Maganac Corps.
TBC
End of Part 42
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