14-May-2004
"We've received word from the shoreline resistance forces," Cat was saying as Meiran walked in. Cat nodded absently, then turned her attention back to Une. Her face was drawn, and her shoulders slumped. "The Jersey Island Base has been out of communication for two hours now, but not because of range or equipment failure. It's... there's nothing left."
"Nothing left?" Une looked up from the documents she was sorting. "You mean---"
"Gone, as of early this morning," Cat said, flatly. "Hil just finished decrypting the report."
Une blinked, then her face steeled. "I'll notify the Captain. We'll either reroute to the Hebrides, or over to Galway."
"Another day, you mean." Cat sighed, staring at the walls.
"The teams?" Meiran looked around. "What about the teams that were to meet us-"
"Also gone," Cat said. "They bombed the base into dust."
"How did they find it?" Meiran shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling. First that attempt on Lena, and then-"
"I don't know, but I'll take a look at what we should do for security," Une said. "We definitely need to tighten up."
Meiran frowned. "How much tighter can we get? These past few mon---"
"Things were secure, but obviously there's room for improvement," Une snapped. She shut the folder with a slam, and stood up. Tucking the folder under her arm, she nodded curtly to Cat, and strode from the room.
"Hey, Tro... " Duo's whisper came through the open door, and Trowa smiled to himself, but kept his head down over the computer screen. Duo hissed, almost anxiously. "Trowa, hey, hey-"
Trowa relented. "What?" He leaned back, and glanced over his shoulder at Duo, who was nearly hopping from foot to foot. "What-"
"Doctor says we're cleared for action," Duo announced. He beckoned to Trowa, but remained in the hallway, glancing up and down as though worried someone might appear. "Come on, Tro, I---"
"I'm coming," Trowa grumbled, shutting down the screen.
He made sure to wipe the computer's history, mostly out of habit. Duo continued to make anxious sounds from behind him, and Trowa contemplated taking even longer, but decided to have pity. Turning, he opened his mouth to ask Duo, but didn't get out a word before Duo had grabbed his hand and yanked him from the ship's library.
"Wait a---"
Duo shushed Trowa furiously, and tapped his jaw. Trowa frowned, but took the hint, putting his own ‘com on mute. If anyone else spoke, they'd hear, but whatever Duo had in mind wouldn't be heard as long as neither of them bumped the ‘com. Trowa doubted that would happen, but he let himself be dragged along. They headed briskly down the stairs, past the ship's hold where sparks and high-pitched screeching from compressors indicated the Gundams were being repaired. Duo didn't stop, and didn't let go of Trowa's hand, continuing to lead them further into the ship.
At a small door in the belly of the ship, just past the engine room, Duo turned. With a flourish, he pushed the door open, and let Trowa step inside.
"Duo... " Trowa couldn't manage much else, awed.
The room was small, and windowless, but four little candles were set out, their flames too low to prompt the security systems to alert. There were several blankets in the middle of the floor, and looked like the ones from their hiking gear. Duo shut the door behind them, and Trowa turned to see Duo twisting the hem of his shirt.
"Wow," Trowa said, letting a smile widen on his face. Duo chewed his lower lip, then smiled in response, and Trowa chuckled. He looked at the little candles in the tin cans, and then back at Duo's expectant face. "Why this? What made you---"
"I've been thinking," Duo said, in a rush. "I... I know you offered, and you don't---"
"---We went over this---"
"---But I don't just... " Duo frowned, and ducked his head. In the candle's low light, his braid and his eyes both gleamed, chestnut-red strands, and deep blue glimmers. "I don't just... I mean... Chang and Winner have something, y'know? And Heero and Lena... "
"You want---" Trowa could hardly find the words.
"Maybe, I mean, if you don't, that's cool," Duo said, and nodded firmly. "It's all the same to me, cause, y'know, there's... " He tried to smile and shrug, but his shoulders slumped tellingly at the end of the shrug. "But, y'know, as long... as long... " He faltered, and took a deep breath. "I just had this idea... to do something for you."
"For me?" Trowa gave him a puzzled look, the confusion only growing as Duo pushed him around until his back was against the door. "Hey... you don't have to--- Duo? What are---"
Skillful fingers were undoing the top button on Trowa's jeans, and Duo's eyes glowed, hopeful, and mischievous. But there was a hitch to Duo's breath that told Trowa that Duo was more worried than he was letting on.
"I... I want to give you a blow-job," Duo said. "I'm not sure I'll do it right, but---"
"---That's okay, I wouldn't know. I've never gotten one before," Trowa whispered.
Cat put down the wrench and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Sitting back on her haunches, she stared up into the inner machinery of Talon's left leg.
"This damn thing is fucked," she muttered, then picked up the wrench again. Hefting it, she considered just hitting the secondary gyro-motor in Talon's left foot. Perhaps that would work better than soaking the bolts in enough WD-40 to float the entire ship.
"Here, try this," someone said over her shoulder.
Cat could see the wrench in the corner of her eye, and took it with a frown. "What's the difference?"
"Brit," the man told her, chuckling. "I had to rebuild that leg last month, and on the Jersey Island base, they seem to have a thing about metric."
"I'll convert it back, then. All my tools are metric," Cat said, grunting as the socket caught the bolt perfectly and twisted when she pushed. "Well, hell," she muttered.
"See?" The man grinned. "I'm Marco."
"Oh!" Cat paused in undoing the bolt, and reached out her hand. She made a face, seeing the grease all over her palm, and rubbed her hand on her overalls before offering her hand again. "I'm Cat Bloom."
"Heavyarms, right," Marco said, chuckling. "That is the craziest balancing you've got on it."
"It's what my brother always did," Cat said, feeling awkward. She smiled, trying to cover, and turned back to the bolt. It came out of the motor's underside easily. "Just got used to it, I guess."
"Y'know, Trowa Barton was an amazing guy, in any universe," Marco observed, sitting down next to Cat. He looked around at the pile of tools, his eyebrows raised. "You mind the company?"
"No," Cat said, shaking her head. "Just trying to pitch in. Those teams, and their familes ---"
Marco's face fell. "Yeah. I know it's war, but... "
"Long tells me you came from a world without war," Cat said, keeping her tone light, in case the man didn't want to talk. But she couldn't help it; she was curious. A brother in every world, but was there any world in which they'd both survived the war?
"I wouldn't put it that way," Marco said, somber. "Our world had war, but... I guess there's just something in every world, that instance of chance. Here, the pilots died... and in those guys' world, they were all captured. My world, they conquered."
"Really?" Cat paused, turning to give the man a hopeful look. "And peace... "
"Yeah," Marco said. He shrugged, his expression wry. "As best as could be managed. I mean, it's not perfect, but it holds together, mostly. The Gundam pilots now, in my world... no one really knew who they were - or if anyone did, they didn't talk - but turns out I knew their names all along."
"And?" Cat tried to look nonchalant.
"I know Quatre Winner is head of one of the world's largest conglomerates, and is well-known as a philanthropist. I know his husband, Trowa Barton, is in charge of most of those charities. I think he does circus stuff, too."
"Husband?" Cat couldn't breathe. Quatre and Trowa had reconciled? Or perhaps there had never been ZERO? She gave Marco an intent look, and he seemed to understand.
"I don't know," Marco said. "I know a Gundam blew up a colony at one point during the war. But all five fought in the Eve Battle, at the end of the war."
"Oh," Cat said, and gripped the wrench tightly. They reconciled in that world, she finished silently. Maybe... no, she told herself. This wasn't her brother. What happened to him was irrelevant to the memory of her brother's death. And, some small voice pointed out, the Quatre who'd murdered him... was also dead. This Quatre was a different man. Not a boy, but a man. That, in some ways, perhaps made all the difference in the world...
"I'd never heard of Heero Yuy the Gundam pilot, but I recognized this Yuy. He's the guy who's head of security for Relena Peacecraft-Darlian, the Vice Minister of the Earth Sphere Parliament," Marco continued, his voice dreamy, as though remembering things from the distant past. "Wufei Chang was some high rank in the Preventers. There were sometimes pictures of Chang in the news vids, and Yuy was always beside him, too."
"And Duo Maxwell?" Cat kept her head down.
"He's the engineer who saved L2," Marco said, then grinned self- consciously. "Okay, so he's not as well known as the rest, but us engineers think he walks on water. The man is just brilliant. Amazing. And I'm gushing, but if you'd seen his solution to L2's chronic instability, you'd be awed, too." Marco laughed.
"You met him?" Cat raised her eyebrows.
"Once. He gave a presentation at the school where I was getting my doctorate, after the war. Several of us got to have dinner with him... he was... " Marco looked like he was either searching for the words, or daydreaming of excellent sex, Cat pondered. Marco smiled again, and it transformed his whole face from a rather plain man into a pleasant handsomeness. "Just five words from his mouth on spatial engineering, and I needed to take three minutes to process. But he wasn't just work - he spoke five languages, because, he told us, he got bored sometimes flying between colonies. And he knew all the latest movies and music. Not your average egghead. He's the kind of person my mother would've called a renaissance man... "
"I know the term," Cat said. "So... the pilots in your world... all happy, and alive?"
"I don't know if they're happy," Marco corrected, a thoughtful look on his face. "Just the gossip about Winner, and Maxwell, and some about Chang. I do know they seemed to be successful. I remember when Winner and Barton got married, I saw the paparazzi shots in the magazines---"
"They're in every world," Cat said, rolling her eyes.
"Of course!" Marco leaned against Talon's leg and stretched out. "Anyway, I remembered wondering if Maxwell had done something for L4, that he was Barton's best man... and come to think of it, Yuy was Winner's best man."
"What about Wufei Chang?" Cat gave Marco a suspicious look. The man seemed like he was barely holding back a guffaw.
"Performed the ceremony!" Marco laughed out loud, then, at Cat's surprised look. "Yeah, now I know the names, it's clear... " He sobered, suddenly. "At least in my world... we came out of it in one piece, I guess. Mostly."
"Mostly," Cat repeated, and waited.
"I lost my fiancée in Italy. She was stationed there, when I came to visit earth-side," Marco said. His eyes were closed, and his fingers were tensed into fists. "Heavyarms took her out in some underground battle." He sighed, and slowly relaxed his hands. "It's been ten years, so it's an old loss. I guess I just eventually accepted that's war."
"I'm sorry," Cat whispered.
"Yeah, it sucked at the time," Marco said. "I won't lie about that. So I went back to L3, and stayed in school, and stayed out of the war. My father was a Colonel in the Alliance Forces, and he... "
"Didn't like your attitude," Cat guessed.
"To say the least." Marco shrugged. "I'm not a fighter. I'm someone who builds things, who wants to make the world better."
"Why'd you come here?" Cat slanted a look sideways at him, pretending to sort through her tools, to give her hands something to do.
"I don't really have much reason to stay. It's just me an' my dad, and we've not spoken since the war. My life is simple, and pretty easy, but... I lost a lot of friends, in that one year. I've always wondered if I'd done something, if I'd not insisted on staying out of it... "
"You can't bring them back."
"No." Marco smiled, sadly. "But I can make sure, in this world, that others won't die. And when the battles are over, I'll be here to help put it back together. This time," he said, standing, "I'm not going to sit by."
Cat looked up at him, nothing the width of his shoulders, and his lean, easy grace, standing by the Gundam as he stared down Talons' length. She set down the screwdriver, and settled her hands in her lap, waiting.
"Y'know," Marco said, his voice soft, and distant. "I was bored, mostly. A world of peace is a good thing... but I think I'm selfish, really. I didn't come because I wanted to fly a Gundam, or bring world peace, or anything that big. I wanted to find a place where I could say I made a difference. That place wasn't in my world. Is that bad?"
"I don't know."
"Me neither, and I'd guess Maxwell won't tell me if I ask," Marco said. He sighed. "And it's not the Maxwell I met, either. Just a shadow... they all are. Y'know, in the publicity shots for the Winner-Barton wedding, Winner had a smile that could light up a whole city. And Barton... I always was a little jealous, hearing my grad assistants gush about his sly little smile, they called it. So sexy, they'd say... but now, I don't feel jealous. I feel... "
"Sad?" Cat leaned back to look up at him.
"Yeah. Like... I want to tell them, there are versions of you... " Marco looked down at Cat, his gaze piercing. "And you, and Relena Peacecraft- Darlian... that are happy, somewhere. You could be like that, too... "
Cat didn't know what to say to that, and so she only dropped her head to stare at her tools. Marco didn't say anything else, and after a minute he walked off, leaving her alone with Talon.
"Mariemaia's forces have come down on these cities," Une said, pointing to the map. "In the course of the past forty-eight hours, they've obliterated three of our bases. Two were direct hits, and we suspect the third was a lucky guess. The other seven strikes were on cities known to be rebellious towards the Foundation."
Quatre stared at the map, noting the circled cities, his gaze moving back and forth as he looked for a pattern. Meiran stood at his shoulder, Zhiyi sitting beside him. The girl's arm was in a sling, but her chin was up, and she, too, studied the map with serious eyes. Wufei sat on Quatre's other side, his hands clasped under his chin as he watched the room with heavy-lidded eyes.
"Who among the resistance knows the location of every base?" Quatre narrowed his eyes at Une, who frowned, considering the question.
"We five," Lena answered, from the head of the conference table. "And the Fates, of course. Most of the time the locals only knew of their nearest base, if they knew at all. Some of the bigger bases are known beyond that - like Chile, Jersey Islands, and Mongolia. We've had those since the war started."
"All of which were hit," Heero murmured.
Lena nodded. "The only people who traveled between bases - other than us - were the Gundam technicians, and they usually stayed within a single region. There are maybe six or seven who have traveled with us a great deal, and half of them are on this ship."
"The rest?" Quatre didn't raise his eyes from the map.
"Dead," Lena told him, quietly. "They were waiting for us on the Jersey Island base."
The door pushed open, and Hilde and Cat strode in, grease on their hands and work clothes. They took seats by the door, with nods to Lena and Meiran. Lena offered a half-smile, wincing when she tried to raise her hand to wave. Heero glared at her, and Quatre had to hide a smile at Lena's responding sulky look.
"All five," Wufei murmured, and Quatre's head came up, realizing.
"Doro," Quatre said flatly, looking at Une.
Hilde was out of her seat in an instant. "Don't you dare say that! She'd never betray us! Just because you---"
"I didn't say she would do it willingly," Quatre snapped, coming up out of his chair, as well. "But we've not heard from her, nor those Lena said would be sheltering her, and it's---"
"It's NOT!" Hilde leaned over the table, her blue eyes flashing. "Look, you bastard, just because you waltzed---"
"Enough!" Une slammed her fist down on the table. Hilde froze, and sat down with a scowl. After a pause, Quatre did the same, his expression neutral. Une sighed, pulling off her glasses and wiping them on her shirttails. "It's a risk. But I know Doro has means to prevent any secrets being discovered. And it's only been a day, two days at most." She put her glasses back on, pushing them up the bridge of her nose with a delicate forefinger.
"Not enough time," Wufei said. He reached out, tapping a finger on the city nearest to him on the map. "This was a series of planned attacks, covering a twenty-four hour period. Moving from Europe to Asia, and across North and South America at the same time---"
"Meeting in the South Pacific," Quatre said, nodding. "No, an attack like this, of this size, you'd need at least a week---"
"---More with bureaucracy," Heero interjected.
Wufei waved on hand, dismissively. "Not in this case. It was a hit- and-run, each time."
"Bombers," Meiran added. "Moving fast."
"At least a week foreknowledge, maybe two," Une said.
The room was silent, then Zhiyi spoke up, twisting in her chair to look up at her mother. "They didn't know we were coming," she announced. "This isn't to get us back for rescuing Hil and Cat."
"No, it's not," Quatre said, bestowing a pleased smile on Zhiyi. She blushed and wriggled in her chair, darting a look up at her mother from under her eyelashes. Meiran snorted, and Quatre's expression grew bland. "This was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin."
"We're breaking up," Une said. "A team each continent."
"What?" Cat's eyes were wide, and Hilde looked shocked. Cat shook her head. "We've not done that for years, there's no---"
"How large are the teams?" Quatre's voice cut through the protests.
"Three," Une answered. "Heavyarms and Deathscythe, with Deathscythe Hell. Talon and Sandrock with Broadarms---"
Wufei frowned, and glanced sideways at Quatre, who looked over at Heero. The Wing pilot's head was down, but his blue eyes were fixed on Quatre. His arms were crossed, and the fingers on his right hand twitched, just a bit. Quatre toggled the 'com twice, and turned to Une.
"Sandstone, Nataku, and Shenlong," Quatre said, in a voice that brooked no argument. "Wing, Talon, and Deathscythe. And Broadarms, Heavyarms, and Deathscythe Hell."
Hil made a face, and Quatre caught the barest movement. He guessed she'd elbowed Cat, and he waited, staring at her, to hear what she'd say.
"We'll trade," Cat said. She didn't say any more, but it was clear from the tilt of Hil's chin that she was waiting for Quatre to disagree.
Wufei spoke up first. "That's two close-range Gundams, with only one long-range as backup. Wing and Talon are medium to long, and Deathscythe will---"
Quatre raised his hand, and Wufei fell silent. His gaze was steady, and Quatre knew only he - and perhaps Heero - could recognize that single nod for what it really meant: explain to me, later.
"Then, if it's settled?" Une stood up. "We dock in two hours. 04---" She paused, and closed her eyes, sorrow visible on her face before it faded. Her brown eyes were cold when she opened them, her gaze fixed on the map. "Sandstone, your team goes west, to North America. Deathsycthe, your team heads to Asia. Talon, you're staying in Europe. That will give you the extra three days needed to repair your Gundam completely. I'll have the mission plans drawn up by the time we get to the Hebrides port. Be ready and packed."
Duo's fingers trailed across Trowa's chest, teasing and plucking at his nipples as Duo hugged him from behind. They were spooning, but with a level of intimacy they'd never had before. Trowa sighed, and shifted. He was amazed at the fact that the pain had faded, leaving only an acute soreness in it places, along with a peculiar emptiness when Duo pulled out of him. Wetness, warmth, stickiness between his thighs, but Trowa didn't bother to move or comment, intent on listening to Duo's slightly hoarse breathing behind him.
What now, Trowa thought, confused by the fact that the empty sensation wasn't fading, but growing, seeping into his chest as though the force of Duo's orgasm had blown a hole in his heart. Now, he told himself, now it's done, and now... now I get to find out if this was just once. Can I live with that?
Trowa sighed, and brought his hands up to hold Duo's arms in place against his chest.
Yeah, he told himself. I guess I would, if I had to. But that's not what I want.
Behind him, Duo sighed, and slipped his arms from around Trowa's chest. He sat up, his breathing still a bit ragged, and Trowa rolled over on his back to look up at Duo.
"Where are you going?" The words were out before Trowa realized it.
"I... " Duo shrugged, and brought his braid around, fiddling with the end. His gaze was set on one of the candles, or perhaps the clothes scattered across the floor of the little storage room. "I guessed now was when we got up and got dressed and---"
"You don't have to," Trowa whispered. "I didn't want to move anytime-- -"
"Are you hurt?" Duo leaned over, worry crossing his expression as he peered into Trowa's eyes. "I didn't mean to---"
"I'm fine," Trowa said, and reached up, pulling Duo down. He was answered with a startled yip, then Duo sighed, and lowered himself the rest of the way until his head was pillowed on Trowa's shoulder. Duo shifted closer, his legs entwining with Trowa's.
"It was... " Duo sighed, and Trowa could feel the motion of Duo swallowing, the slight head bob as Duo wriggled closer. "That was really amazing. Thank you... "
"Any time," Trowa murmured. He realized his left hand was stroking Duo's upper arm, back and forth. Duo's left hand had moved to lay over Trowa's right hand, which was resting on Trowa's stomach.
"I'd like that," Duo replied, but something in his voice made Trowa frown.
He craned his neck, trying to see Duo's expression. "What's wrong?"
"Is this... " Duo shrugged, his bare skin brushing Trowa's body. "Did you feel... I mean... I'm sure it's not you, it's probably just me but... " Duo turned his head, rubbing his nose against Trowa's collarbone. His voice was muffled. "I feel... empty. Like... like maybe sad, a little. More than a little."
"It's not just you," Trowa confessed. "You want to know why I never tried again? Because this is how you feel after sex. I don't know about Winner and Chang - never asked - but that time, afterwards, I felt like... " He closed his eyes, holding back the unexpected sting of threatening tears. "Just like I do, now. I'm not saying it was bad. It was good. Amazing. I think I saw stars... "
Duo chuckled. "I think I saw the entire galaxy." He sobered, and his left hand trailed cryptic designs across the back of Trowa's hand. "But why now do I feel like... I don't know. The closest would be that time I did that prank on Heero and he didn't take it the right way, and he gave me that look---"
Trowa knew that look well, although he'd only seen it perhaps three or four times, maybe a handful more. Heero, caught unawares, could be amazingly vulnerable and childlike. One misfired prank from Duo on the wrong day, and Heero was clearly devastated. It had been enough that Quatre came raging out of his quarters, gun in hand, ready to defend or fight as needed. Afterwards, Quatre had admitted he'd assumed something had happened to Duo or Trowa, to prompt that reaction from Heero. But that look, Trowa reminded himself. It was one that made you wish to undo every cruel thing you'd ever done, just to protect the little boy...
"And it's kinda like that, but not quite. I just don't get it... " Duo fell quiet, and pulled his hand back, curling his arms against his chest, his fists under his chin. "I mean, people around us talk about getting laid like it's so great, and I was really... " His voice hitched. "I guess we're not supposed to get that, too, are we."
"I don't know." Trowa stared up at the ceiling, the shadows dancing in the candlelight. "Maybe... I don't know if it goes away. But it's not like it's only one of us, right?" He turned to look down at Duo's stricken, anxious face. "We both feel it. So... maybe eventually it just goes away."
"Or maybe what we're missing comes back," Duo answered. He frowned, and shook his head once, twice, his lips brushing Trowa's skin. "Or we just learn to grow something to replace what we don't have. Like... normal lives. Or brains. Or chances... "
"Something like that." Trowa let his hand still, resting it on Duo's hip, pulling Duo closer. "Hey... do you think we should... "
"I don't know," Duo whispered, knowing immediately what Trowa meant. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him, and I'm not sure what to say." He exhaled noisily. "Hey, so, like, have fun with Lena, we'll be fine over here, for a little while!"
Just contemplating saying that made Trowa's chest hurt, exacerbating the strange loneliness. "I guess," he offered, tentatively, "we just give Heero more time to figure out whether he can make it work with Lena."
"He'll be pretty out of control afterwards," Duo said. "We have to let him know."
He repeated what Quatre had told him, and Trowa frowned, contemplating that news. He paused, reaching out to hear the thoughts of any workmen down on this lowest level, then farther, up through the ship's levels.
"Absolute silence," Trowa said, and smiled. "Holy shit... I can't hear anything."
"Nothing?" Duo grinned. "Me neither. Can't see a damn thing."
Trowa blinked a few times, amazed he hadn't noticed it before. He'd gotten so used to always having a murmur of voices in the back of his awareness, and ignoring them when needed. It hadn't even occurred to him to realize those voices were gone.
"There's one benefit," he told Duo.
"Yeah." Duo made a face. "Maybe that's why Winner and Chang---"
"You said they didn't know beforehand," Trowa pointed out.
"Technicality," Duo replied, off-handedly. "Those two probably read twenty volumes of research and treatises before even kissing for the first time. They can't go to a grocery store without planning for three days."
"And you can't go without at least six knives," Trowa pointed out. "And a set of lock-picks, and a few explosives."
"At least I don't require four guns and sixteen extra magazines like you and Heero," Duo retorted, but he was grinning. The smile faded quickly, however. "I guess we should tell Heero. If he does anything with Lena, we need to be around to ground him, afterwards."
"His control seems to be getting better, as long as he gets a break," Trowa agreed. "But maybe... when this is all... done, maybe there's a way to undo what those scientists did."
"Do you think... " Duo hesitated, and pulled away, rolling over onto his back. "Should we tell him what it's like, after sex? Or should we... I... I don't want him going into it alone---"
"He'd have Lena," Trowa said. "So really, he wouldn't be alone." He frowned. His chest hurt again, and he wondered if the poison gas were producing some lingering effects.
"Yeah, and Hil told me Lena's dated her share of guys, so maybe she knows about... this sort of stuff." Duo's voice brightened, but it sounded strained. "She'd better explain, too, if he ever feels like this. Or I'll kick Talon's ass, and hers." There was a rustle of fabric, which Trowa interpreted as Duo's emphatic nod.
"Or maybe he won't feel it," Trowa suggested, softly. "Maybe if they're in love, then... "
"But... " Duo rolled back over, propping his head up on his chin. "I love both you guys. I mean, you're like part of me. Not having either of you around would be... y'know." He shrugged, unable to find the words, but Trowa understood.
"That's different. They're *in* love, maybe," Trowa said.
"Oh."
Duo was quiet after that, and they said nothing for several more minutes, just lying on the makeshift bed, thinking their own thoughts. At some unspoken point, both got up, searching in the darkness for their clothes, neither turning on the overhead light until both were dressed. Then they blew out the candles, wrapped up the blankets, and left the room, still silent.
"I don't like it, either," Quatre said, in a low voice. Duo was positively vibrating with fury, and Quatre didn't want to make it worse. "But the Gundams have ranges---"
"---Then have those three together, and us three together, damn it," Duo spat. "The 02s are short-range, Talon and Wing are mid-range, and Heavyarms and Broadarms are long-range. I don't see why you decided---"
"---You want to look, for me?" Quatre made his words cold, shoving back. "I know it's a risk to have Yuy away from you two again, but it'll be for a week, and he won't be rearranging any more court rooms."
Duo glowered, and crossed his arms. The wind coming down the hallway from the open door to the ship's deck caught Duo's braid, twisting it behind him like an angry tail.
Quatre sighed. "Just call it a gut sense, Maxwell. The two Deathscythes have skills none of the rest of the Gundams have, and you'll be working in closer quarters when you hit the Asian bases. There's not as much room to maneuver, which means you'll have the advantage over the Foundation's mobile suits."
"Sounds like a load of bull to me," Duo muttered, but his shoulders relaxed. Quatre knew his teammate was standing down.
Behind them, Zhiyi was chattering with Lena. The Talon pilot was still moving stiffly, but Heero was supporting her on her other side. Behind them were Wufei and Meiran; Quatre turned to see them approach, smiling a little at the sight of Meiran's shy smile in his direction, and noting the mere inch distance between Wufei's and Meiran's shoulders as they trailed Zhiyi and Lena.
Duo grinned down at Zhiyi as the three came alongside, and knelt down, whispering something into Zhiyi's ear. She giggled, her smile turning wicked, and nodded. Zhiyi strode forward to the doorway of the ship's deck, stopping with her back to the deck, her hands planted on her hips. She waited until Heero and Lena were directly in front of her, and stared up at Heero, a challenge on her face.
"I bet my scars are bigger than your scars," she announced.
Quatre glanced over at Duo, to see the man's face almost red from suppressing a laugh. Heero, meanwhile, was giving the girl a pole-axed look.
Zhiyi snorted. "Really! Don't believe me? Wanna see?" She grabbed the hem of her shirt, and yanked it upwards.
Duo blinked, and Quatre knew that wasn't in the plans. Meiran made a strangled sound. Wufei shook his head. Lena was giggling quietly, while Heero was wide-eyed, staring at Zhiyi's skinny body and the white bandages wrapped around her shoulder and chest. The thin strips of cotton were just barely keeping her decent despite the raised sweatshirt.
"Ah," Heero finally said, and glanced over his shoulder to glare at Duo. Lena elbowed him, and he made a choking sound when Zhiyi stomped her foot. "They are," Heero finally managed.
Zhiyi yanked her sweatshirt down, and pushed between Heero and Lena, giving Duo a broad grin as she scampered back down the hallway. Quatre watched her go, and then turned back to see Heero's bewildered face.
"Shit," Quatre murmured. "So Yuy finally admits he's outgunned in at least one area, and by a ten-year-old, at that."
"Women have some dangerous weapons at their disposal," Wufei intoned.
"Yeah, and considering Zhiyi's arsenal's still got a few years to develop... " Quatre shook his head, and grinned sideways at Meiran, a sly look. "Is it too late to back out?"
"Yep," Meiran said, and grabbed the hem of her own shirt. Yanking it up, she flashed the entire hallway. Quatre could see her teasing eyes over the hem of her shirt, before he caught sight of her breasts, gentle curves with dark nipples, the skin marred by scars but no less beautiful for it. Then the shirt was jerked down and Meiran was moving to the deck, laughter trailing in her wake. "Men," she was taunting.
"Women," Wufei muttered, and Quatre had to agree.
Behind them, Lena and Duo were discussing the efficacy of smelling salts for dumbstruck Gundam pilots. Quatre laughed, and followed Meiran and Wufei to their waiting Gundams.
End Part 20
(:./sol/tetra20)
