16-Jan-2002
See Part 1 for notes!
Title: Orbital Variations
Author: bonnejeanne (bonnejeanne@yahoo.com) and von (sablexo1@yahoo.com)
Category: shounen ai, AU, crossover
Rating: PG -13?
Pairings: um....
WARNINGS: Very probably OOC all over the place. Is this a GW fic? Well if you think of Kenny and Duan as alternate Heero and Duo, I guess...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and Gravitation characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners. Our stuff is ours. No money being made here.
As with all our fics, while our goal is to stay as in character as possible, any discrepancies are our mistakes.
Feedback: Any and all comments welcome, be they short or long.
WARNINGS: (for parts 4+) Psychotic Taki, Too Many Blonds...
A door to the large main lobby opened and a group of performers came through, Suguru Fujisake and Hiro Nakano noticeable in the midst of some others.
"Oh there you are!" Tohma called, waving the arm that wasn't circling Taki's.
"Uncle!" Suguru called, waving back. He pulled the boy beside him over to the NG president's small group. "Konnichiwa, Uncle! This is the keyboardist for Red Angel! Carter, this is my.. this is Tohma Seguchi."
The younger blond smiled like sunshine and bowed politely. His teal eyes met the president's and he said, "It's an honor to meet you, sir. You are one of my heroes."
Tohma laughed. "Arigato... now I feel old! I am hearing good things about your group, Carter. Have you got a contract?"
Carter smiled. "We sort of have one waiting. My uncle is Quatre Winner..."
Tohma chuckle appreciatively. "So Circus Records got you by way of being family - no fair," he said. He looked from Suguru to Carter. "You have a lot in common then, ne?"
Suguru laughed, and Carter nodded cheerfully. His eyes were drawn to the young man at Tohma's side. He'd been aware from across the room of the dark-haired young man's intense distress, but had been attempting politely to ignore the waves of emotion that poured out of him like a flood of electric acid. At this proximity, it was hard to maintain his shields, as practiced as he was at doing so.
"Hello, sir," Hiro said, coming up to the group and bowing respectfully to Tohma. He looked at little more openly at Taki, his expression reserved.
Tohma made some answer to Hiro and they continued to talk. Taki felt as if spikes of steel were slowly shooting up his legs from the floor.
Carter winced and glanced at Taki again. He made a soft excuse to Suguru and backed away from the group, seeking the comfort of distance.
With the perceptions of the guilty, Taki immediately fixated on the idea that Carter somehow knew something. He watched the little blond back away with a sense of terror. He's going to tell, he's going to tell, he's going to tell...
Then the same door opened again and something energetic and fuchsia-haired bounced through it. Taki's attention snapped from Carter to the newcomer and a wave of *hate* poured out of him, burning away his terror. Suddenly he felt cool, glacier cold.
Smiling, he watched Shuichi approach and greet the NG party. Looking into Shuichi's eyes, he made use of a brief lull in the voices to say, "Shindo... good... luck."
Shuichi locked eyes with Taki for a long moment. The two hadn't necessarily been pals, but the look Shuichi thought he saw in Taki's eyes signaled that the possibility was going to be even more remote in the future. It also didn't help that his stomach ached from all of the activity of the previous night. "Arigato!" Shuichi said, as his face broke into unfiltered sunshine once again.
"That's what I want to see," Tohma's voice broke into the exchange, his arm around Taki's tightening like an anaconda. "Everybody supporting each other in the NG family."
The president's pleasant tones sounded to Taki like the hissing of the snake in the Garden of Eden. Taki's smile widened, showing teeth, like a wild animal baring its fangs.
"We better go in to get our seats," Tohma said smoothly. He waved the members of Bad Luck off to their shared green room and pulled Taki with him on his leisurely stroll to the auditorium, pausing frequently to talk to friends along the way, since everyone knew the NG wizard of both keyboards and board rooms. The moment Shuichi was out of sight, a wave of nausea passed through Taki and he lost the cold armor, once again feeling the vengeful fires of hell sucking from under his feet.
Meanwhile Carter had retreated to the mental shelter of his bandmates. The familiar emotional fabric around him eased the leakage from the ASK frontman's mind.
Moving close to Carter, Tryan placed an arm around the blond's neck. "You look a little green. What did you eat?" he asked quietly.
Leaning into the green-eyed boy's embrace, Carter shook his head. "Nothing! It was... that guy... he's not very well stitched together."
Gently pulling Carter to one side, Tryan moved to stand in front of him to afford him a little privacy. "I get the feeling that he's a little more unhinged than usual," he said, rubbing the back of Carter's neck underneath the blond's long mane.
Carter's head dropped forward and he made a soft, pleasant sound. "Mmm... yes, I guess so," he murmured. Looking up, he smiled. "Thanks Tryan."
Tryan's lips pressed into a private smile and he winked down at Carter. "That's what I'm here for," he announced. "And the show must go on."
Carter giggled and nodded.
Kenny drifted over to the group from heaven knows where. "Bad Luck's last. We're just before. I think someone pulled strings," he said with a slight smile, nodding towards the tall figure of Mr. K at one side of the room. Noin was standing beside him scowling crossly.
Tryan shrugged. "Like we ever catch an easy break," he commented. "Whatever. Let's just make it tough for them. Think I'll dash over and calm down our manager before she eats Bad Luck's manager's liver."
"Oh, his liver," Kenny murmured with a slight snicker. "I figured she might have already eaten something else last night..." He punched Tryan softly in the arm. "And you -- your whole life is one long easy break, you wuss."
Tryan frowned slightly. "First of all, ouch! Second of all, I work hard! This is show business you know," he said grumpily. The next few seconds, he laughed out loud. "Prima donna lead guitarists," he said, turning to head for Noin.
Kenny threw Tryan a mocking bow, with that slight grin that usually only the 'family' got to see. After Tryan left, Kenny moved up on Carter. Locking eyes with the blond, he said, "Ok, radio-boy... give."
Looking down with a cute, slightly guilty look, Carter said, "If I'd known that darn connection would have been permanent all these years I might have changed my mind!"
Kenny smiled. "No you wouldn't," he said.
There was a slight increase in the bustle and confusion around them and then a hush as the first of the five performing bands took their places on stage. The contest had begun.
The two latecomers could hear the music coming from the auditorium. A young man with a contest staff badge stood in front of the doors, asking for their passes, which were hastily offered.
"How late are we?"
"Oh it's just the first band right now," the staff member answered.
Listening, Quatre breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not them so we didn't miss their performance," he said, tucking away his credentials as president of Circus Records. He grabbed his vice-president's hand to pull him inside.
Trowa closed his fingers around Quatre's hand and allowed himself to be towed. "Remember we're scouting," he said, "No favoritism."
Quatre looked askance at Trowa and then smiled in recognition of the 'joke'. "Uh, right," he answered brightly. "Scouting."
Finding their way in the darkened auditorium, they took seats in the back and settled down to listen and watch.
Sitting a few rows away, Taki's hands gripped the arms of his seat. Beside him, Tohma 's attention seemed to be on the stage performance, but it was as if he were watching Taki without having to turn his eyes. He could feel the president's presence like something crawling on his skin. He could only think of one plan - excuse himself on the pretext of going to the men's room, and bail. If he could get away from the devil beside him, maybe he could escape the doom he felt closing around him like icy manacles.
Just get away... and it would blow over. All be forgotten about... he'd be safe - they couldn't connect him, couldn't touch him. Even if the devil knew... he couldn't prove it...
Hearing the movement of someone in the row behind him, Taki threw a glance over his shoulder and was met with a wide expanse of a chest, with the straps of a leather shoulder holster visible. Mr. K murmured something to Tohma as he sat down but with the music going Taki couldn't catch it. His stomach twisted hard, sending pain shooting through his body, as his hands spasmed on the armrests. He felt as if he were behind a wall, watching it slowly being bricked up in front of him. Counting painful, thudding heartbeats, he lost track of the performances, swimming in a sea of building terror and tension.
Mei was standing back stage waiting for the others as she saw Duan and Kenny walk up. "Oh no," she said, looking up at Wufan. "Hell no."
"What?" Fan replied, thinking that she'd forgotten something somewhere.
"I'm not going out there with that," she said, pointing at Duan. "Chick singers don't get upstaged by guitarists with long flowing locks," she said, indicating the unusual look - Duan had unbound his braid. Sliding her arms around him, she hugged the violet-eyed young man tightly.
Kenny moved up silently and slid behind Mei, putting his arms around her waist in much the same manner as she had done Duan. Leaning close enough for his breath to tickle her ear, he said, "No one could upstage you, Red." Then he added, giving her rear a meaningful squeeze, "He's got someone he wants to impress out there. Give him a break..."
Mei's eyebrows rose at the information.
"The spotlight has your name on it gorgeous," Duan said, leaning down to kiss her neck.
I am the luckiest woman in the galaxy, Mei thought, feeling both Kenny and Duan around her. Looking up at Duan as he moved back, she plastered on a pout. "I'm jealous," she said, watching Duan blush.
Duan rolled his eyes and shook his head a little. "You are not," he said.
"Go get 'em, baby," Mei said, giving Duan a reassuring squeeze on the rear as she had been given by Kenny.
"All right. Break it up, you guys," Wufan said, moving up and grabbing Mei's wrist. "I swear, you guys have no sense of decorum or manners," he added sliding his arm around Mei's waist and turning to lick her neck.
Kenny gave Duan a little grin as he was elbowed out and grabbed his guitar, giving the violet-eyed boy a pinch on the butt as he went by.
Coming into the wings from the green room to watch the performance, Hiro blinked as he saw Duan under the stage lights, his rippling chestnut locks swirling around him as he played. Swallowing, Hiro licked suddenly dry lips and then felt himself blush.
Suddenly Taki looked up and realized he recognized the band taking the stage. He must have zoned through three performances... it was that Red Angel. Flashes of them coming into the lobby, chatting intimately with the members of Bad Luck tore through his head. He remembered seeing the manager of that band with Mr. K and the contest staff earlier. They had... they were involved. Somehow. His eyes tracked wildly over the six performers, skimming over the singer, drummer, bass players, guitars... and fastened on the keyboard player. He... the one who had looked at him. That was the one... again suddenly he was sure the blond knew something. He knew! He was some kind a freak... another devil... he knew, he was going... they were all going to...
Putting his hand over his mouth, Taki fought another surge of nausea.
On stage, Carter blinked, as a wave of emotion from the direction of the audience hit him, cutting through the buoying emanations from the others. His hands faltered and he exerted his concentration so as not to lose his place in the music.
In the back of the auditorium, another latecomer entered the aisles. The next thing Taki knew, there was someone standing beside his row. Looking up with a jerk, he saw the tall form of Yuki Eiri, looking down, moving to take the empty seat beside him. The last brick... they were playing with him... they were... he was...
Standing up, Taki muttered something excusing himself. He moved in front of the empty seat towards the aisle, but Yuki Eiri didn't move. Forced to stop, Taki looked into the other man's eyes unwillingly. What he saw there... or what he imagined... sent his nerves screaming even more in terror. Tohma behind... K in the next row... Eiri, not moving... the blond on stage... they were closing around him, choking him, cutting him off.... A muscle in his neck gave way to the tension and seemed to spasm, sending agony through his head. He made an inarticulate sound and suddenly pushed hard at Yuki's chest, shoving him out of the way.
At the same moment, on the stage, Carter's eyes widened and he clutched at his chest, and then his knees buckled and he dropped to the stage floor, unconscious.
Tryan's bass was off of his neck in a flash. He dashed towards Carter, at his side almost the second after he hit the floor. The singing and the drums stopped almost at once as Wufan and Mei both looked up to see what had happened. Duan stopped playing and turned to look up in the audience. His halo of unbound hair settled around his shoulders as he glanced over at Kenny.
Halting her primary instinct, Mei took a breath and turned to the audience. "Sorry folks. Little problem here," she said, through the microphone, then headed towards the little group around Carter.
In the auditorium, people were getting to their feet, with exclamations of surprise and concern. At the same time, Taki had shoved Yuki out of his way and run up the aisle, hitting the door like a bullet. The loud sound of the door banging echoed through the room.
Tohma was on his feet, reaching a hand out to steady Yuki. "Are you all right?"
Yuki ignored the question, looking after the retreating figure. He turned to go after him, to find Mr. K blocking his way.
"Allow me," K said, turning to give chase. As he cleared the door, a handgun appeared from his coat and the tall blond cocked it in preparation... just in case.
The canny manager wasn't prepared for what happened next, however. Hiding next to the door like a cornered animal going to cover, Taki waited until K began to emerge and then kicked at the door, hard. It slammed into K's outstretched arm, knocking the gun out of his grasp.
Grabbing the object, Taki fled, leaping over the body of a prostrate staff person he'd already knocked to the ground.
By the time K emerged from the door, holding his arm, the singer was no where in sight.
"Shit!" the manager swore. Now he'd really have to exert himself.
On stage, Carter had been lifted and taken into the wings. Noin was waiting there, already ordering someone to produce water and a cloth. One of the officials joined the group, waiting to see how serious this was. Carter did not immediately regain consciousness.
A pair of footsteps could be heard running down the aisle and Quatre jumped onstage and ran to the wings. "Let me through," he called, his voice carrying a snap of command that seemed to propel people out of his way.
"Uncle," Kenny said, looking up with carefully masked relief.
All the kids formed a circle around Carter as Quatre leaned over the table he'd been placed on. Touching his brow gently, Quatre examined the boy, the resemblance between the two sudden and startling to those who were not familiar with them. It was like a mirror with only a few years between them.
After a minute, Carter opened his eyes, looking a little disoriented. "Something... snapped," he mumbled.
Quatre looking into his eyes closely. After a minute, he stroked Carter's head and then looked around, finding Noin. With his lips pressed together, he simply shook his head. Noin nodded, and turned to the contest official. She explained that, regrettably, Red Angel would not be able to complete their performance today.
Carter sat up, protesting, to find his appeals met by the formidable will of his 'uncle'. Without much further ado, Quatre arranged for Carter to be taken to the green room and for a cot to be made available there instantly.
Duan watched the proceedings intently. His focus was split between Carter and what might have caused this reaction. He knew Carter to be very sturdy and he didn't pass out because of low blood sugar. Arms folded across his chest, he felt relief wash over him as Carter opened his eyes. The face of Hiro Nakano came unbidden to him and he sighed a little. The contest meant little compared to Carter's well being and the regard of Hiro as well.
"Somethin's not right," he said, quietly to Kenny as he watched Mei slide her arms around Wufan for comfort.
Outside the auditorium door, K was frowning. This was not good. As he made his way towards the injured staff person, he heard a quiet sound behind him and spun around.
"Are you alright?" the young man with the emerald green eyes asked.
"I want my gun back," K said, looking towards the exit significantly.
Trowa smiled. "Pursue?" he asked, ready to move.
K assessed and summed up the young man before him. He had looks, but there was something in the green depths that K recognized. "Don't waste your energy. He won't stay gone for long. He's under contract," he said.
On the stage, the contest official made the announcement that unfortunately, Red Angel would not be able to finish. They would take a fifteen minute break and then have the last entry perform.
In the green room, a cot had been placed and Carter was being kept on it with some difficulty. "But I'm ok!" he protested for the fifth time. Seeing no give in Noin's face or his uncle's, he looked at his bandmates unhappily. "I'm sorry, guys," he said softly, his eyes downcast.
Kenny reached out and took Carter's hand. "Don't worry about it," he said simply, his indigo eyes meeting Carter's steadily.
Duan found someone coming up quietly beside him. A hand placed itself gently on his shoulder. "What happened?" Hiro asked.
Duan turned feeling a little electricity flow through him. "Carter... Carter's a little sensitive. He passed out," he said, feeling a little guilty at not being able to say more. "What's goin' on out there?"
"They're taking a break and then we're up," Hiro said, his expression troubled. "I don't like this, it isn't fair to you guys."
Seeing the expression on Hiro's face, Duan reached up and touched his face, more on instinct than manners. "No, don't worry about it," he said. "I wanna hear you guys play again. Go out there and win it for us. We'll do this again sometime."
Hiro stilled under the touch, feeling a warm tingle run down his spine. He nodded, unable to say anything else.
A fuchsia colored head appeared in the green room. "La-li-ho!" he called out softly. Spotting Hiro, he glanced around to where Carter was lying on the table. Appearing at Kenny's elbow, he looked down at the young blond. "Hi Carter," he said, "Are you ok?"
Carter smiled, still distressed and having caused the cancellation of their performance but trying not to cause any more trouble. "I'm fine," he said. "Don't worry, I'm gonna make 'em let me watch your song."
Suguru appeared on the other side. "You should be careful," the little keyboard wizard said, with a slight frown.
"Oh he will be," Mei piped up. "If he knows what's good for him." she added with a wink.
Carter had opened his mouth to say he would be and stopped as Mei jumped in. He shrugged, with a slight blush. "You see, I don't have any choice," he said with resigned cheerfulness.
Noin moved to the little group. "Ok, Bad Luck, you need to get ready. Red Angel, at ease." She turned to Shuichi, Hiro and Suguru. "I'm going to go check on your manager but I'm certain if he were here he'd be shooing you off to your places, so vamoose!"
Shuichi's face broke out in to a wide smile. "Ok!" he said, then quickly hugged Carter. "We play for Red Angel," he announced, then turned to go. As he passed Kenny, he hugged him quickly as well.
This time Kenny didn't stiffen, just patted the other boy as he left for back stage. "Knock 'em dead," he called after them.
"What he said," Duan said to Hiro as he brushed his hand against the guitarist's cheek.
The moment the other band was out of the room, Kenny grabbed Duan's wrist and pulled him over to one side. "Carter didn't ditch for no reason," he growled softly. "Somebody out there.... flipped. I have a bad feeling about this. After last night..."
Duan nodded. "I'm with you. I caught K ducking out of the door as well. Let's keep an eye on Bad Luck," he said.
"Yeah and uncle number two - or three, depending on how you're counting - where's he ducked off to?" Kenny added. "You have the idea but I got something more proactive in mind. Come on."
TBC
Please feel free to direct feedback to the authors!
sablexo1@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com.