08-May-2000
Rashid watched the pilots step off the plane. Wufei, Trowa, and Duo. Duo. Of all the pilots, only the American had the power to speed up the Arabian's heartbeat. His hair was still in a braid, long, reaching his knees now, and his violet eyes sparkled with light. Rashid sighed and forced his emotions down. Duo was a good ten plus years younger than him. The former pilot also had Heero.
The Japanese pilot arrived last night and was promptly followed by Relena. The young Queen had not been invited to the reunion, but that hardly fazed her. Heero set up his room as far from hers as possible and left several drawers empty. A sure sign he expected the young American to show up soon. Rashid felt a pang of jealousy. Heero seemed to take Duo for granted so often. A joyous shout brought the tall man from his thoughts.
"Rashid, my man," Duo howled in glee and flung his arms around Rashid's waist. "How's Q doing? He marry off all those sisters yet?"
Numerous questions followed, but Rashid heard none of them. His entire universe was centered on a smaller body, a pair of violet eyes looking up into his, and two thin arms wrapped around him. The contact was immensely pleasing, however, Rashid knew his body was reacting and if Duo kept clinging to him, the young pilot would find out.
"Master Duo," he began, keeping his voice very steady, "It is most undignified to hang on me like that."
Duo pulled away and smiled. Rashid smiled back, letting Duo know he was not upset. The trip to Quatre's estate was noisy. Duo kept up a constant chatter, but somehow it was soothing. Rashid let his mind wander and for once it did not move immediately to the longhaired pilot; instead, it moved to Trowa. Master Quatre loved the banged man. Everyone knew they were a couple despite their attempts to hide it. This weekend, Iria was going to take her little brother aside and demand he either commit to his lover or they stop seeing each other. So far, the two young lovers saw each other only about once a month. The sadness enveloping both annoyed the women in their families. Catherine agreed with Iria and secretly came to Earth to confront her brother with the same choice as Quatre.
A smile grew on Rashid's face as he thought of the two men's reactions. They would be so shocked. The smile died as Duo made a sweeping gesture with his arms to illustrate part of his story and the sleeves of his shirt pulled up to reveal his wrists. Dark bruises covered the pale flesh. Duo always wore long-sleeve shirts. No one thought much of it. Rashid found himself wondering if it was to cover bruises.
A terrible fury began to build in the older man. Was Heero hurting Duo? No, that could not be the answer. As much as Rashid would like a reason to break the young couple apart, he had seen how Heero treated his lover. The Japanese man never raised his voice or hand to the young beauty. Duo was the only person who could make Heero smile. All indications were that the two shared a deep, enduring love. No, Heero would not have put those marks on Duo.
Yet, a thought nagged at the man, Heero had disappeared for three months on a mission and only gotten back two weeks ago. Could something have happened to change him? But what could make him hurt the only person he truly loved? Rashid felt ice run along his spine. Something was very wrong. The tall man was not as psychic as Quatre, but he never guessed wrong. Not when it counted. Duo and Heero were in danger.
End Prologue
Phoenix
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