Author: CONTACTcon-589113507 Sparkle Itamashii
Title: Fire and Ice
Warnings: Respect the rating. See profile for details
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing After Colony (AC) is NOT MINE.
Significant Note: The following happens prior to and affects the storyline of Through the Storm. Storm's storyline war lasted just over three years after the boys joined, instead of just over one.
Fire and Ice
Outside the wind howled around the stout cabin, demanding entrance. Night had newly fallen, casting grey shadows over the world. Inside all sound was muffled, muted by the log walls and the blanket of thick white snow covering the ground. The lights were dimmed but still on, creating a warm golden glow in the front room that lit the windows and reminded anyone in the area that there was still one safe place in the near deserted mountains.
Something thumped heavily against the door and the sound of voices filtered through the silence. There was a jingle of tiny instruments and the lock clunked free of the wall and the door swung inward, bringing flurries of snow and ice with it. Two boys tumbled in, laughing and shouting as they heaved duffle bags into the middle of the floor and scrambled to close the door against the freezing winds. At last they managed to seal the entrance and collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. One of them clambered to his feet and began shedding his coat, extracting a long, thick plait of hair.
"That was great!" He exclaimed, stamping slush from his heavy black boots.
The other boy shoved him lightly as soon as he was free of his own coat. "You're such a little kid, Duo. I'm surprised we made it here in one piece!"
"Don't give me that, Cat." Duo grinned, cheerfully slithering out of his winter gear and tossing it unceremoniously at his friend. "Everyone needs a good snowball fight every now and again."
"Not while they are trying to walk a mile in a snowstorm!" Quatre protested with a laugh, sorting himself out of the garments as Duo snatched up a duffle bag and began rifling through it.
"First of all it was not a mile." Duo grinned as he replied, head nearly inside the bag. "Secondly just admit you enjoy- Ah HA!" He produced a set of pajamas and held them up triumphantly. "I'm gonna go make hot chocolate!"
"Wait, DUO!" Quatre called after him, hopping on one foot as he tried to pull off his own snow pants. He toppled over, just barely catching himself from a full sprawl. Giving a light sigh, he rolled onto his back. "You have to take care of your stuff!" He shouted half-heartedly.
When he got no response he rolled his eyes and finished getting out of his snow gear as quickly as possible. He carefully hung up anything that was wet and stashed the boots by the vent. He silently thanked the makers of the gear because none of his actual clothes had gotten water on them. Placing all of their boots by the air vent to dry, he realized that the heating was just barely working. It was still freezing cold inside the cabin.
After tossing a glance around the front mudroom for a thermostat, he moved further into the house. In the main room he discovered a large, unlit fireplace and beside it was found a small box attached to the wall at just below eye level. Recognizing the thermostat, he nipped over and turned up the heat to a suitably warm level. He knew it would take an hour or more before the entire cabin were warm, and so decided to make good use of the ornate, cobblestone fireplace.
Quatre dragged several of the dry, flaking logs from the neatly stacked pile that lay to the left side of the room and placed them on the floor just outside the fireplace. He unfolded several sheets of newspaper and crumpled them, placing them into the fireplace as he glanced around for matches. Spotting them on the mantle, he grabbed the box and set it near him. It didn't take him very long to have a small fire going, the bark of the logs crackling merrily as it burned.
He had just finished replacing the matches and changing into a pair of soft, warm pajama pants when Duo entered the room from the kitchen. The little American smiled cheekily and displayed two mugs of hot cocoa. Quatre smiled, pulling off his old shirt as Duo walked over and presented one of the cups to him with a devilish smile.
"Cocoa?" Duo asked quietly.
Quatre rifled through his duffle bag and pulled out a clean top. "Thank you." He reached for the drink, intending to set it on the coffee table that stood between them and fire.
With a disapproving tsk Duo moved the mug out of reach and continued smiling. "Ah, ah. If you want it you have to pay the price."
"Shove off!" Quatre said, laughing as he made a grab for the mug with his free hand, though Duo moved quickly backwards.
"Come on, it's not high." He returned, poking out his tongue. "Nothing you'd mind paying anyhow." He purred, moving back within range.
"Oh fine." Quatre gave in, dropping his hands to his side and fixing Duo with an exasperated yet patient look. "What?"
Duo took a step forward, draping his forearms gently over Quatre's bare shoulders, mindful of the mugs still in his hands. He moved in close, gently moving down to touch his nose to the hollow of Quatre's throat. He pressed a quick kiss to his skin and pulled back just enough to look his friend in the eyes.
Quatre smiled softly and leaned forward, bringing their lips together for a brief touch. Duo smiled, curling one arm around Quatre's shoulder and pressing the warm mug against his chest with the other. Quatre brought his hands up and closed them around the cup, smiling. Neither moved for a long moment, merely studying one another features.
The moment was broken by a howl of wind outside the cabin. Quatre shivered, seeming to remember that he had yet to don a shirt. Duo chuckled and withdrew his arms, leaving the other holding one of the mugs.
"You're cold?" He asked.
"A little." Quatre shrugged, watching as Duo left his own mug on the table and pulled the quilts off the backs of the couch and armchair.
"Well, it'll be a little while before the place warms up all over. Isn't there a radio or something?" He threw a glance around the room, looking for something that would play music, but found nothing.
"You've usually got one in your bag. Will it be able to pick anything up in this weather?" Quatre asked dubiously, taking a wary sip of the steaming cocoa as he sat on the couch. He set the mug down for a few seconds while he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Ah! You're right!"
Duo dropped the blankets next to Quatre and agilely leapt the couch and pounced on his duffle bag. He chattered nonsensically to the bag as he dug around in it, finally producing a small radio. He held it tightly as he rolled over the back of the couch and practically dropped into Quatre's lap.
"Hey, watch it!" He complained lightly, raising his mug to rescue it from Duo's bouncy movements.
Duo neatly arranged himself so that he could snuggle up to Quatre's side, and pulled the quilts up over both of them. He dialed the radio, trying to find a station that would broadcast that far out in the wilderness. The first station was a faintly playing classical station, but he made a face at the piano's tones and continued searching. Aside from endless white noise, all he found was a quiet station that appeared to only be talking.
Just before he was able to turn it off, Quatre stayed his hand. "Wait. Listen…"
"What?" Duo twisted slightly to see his friend's face, curious when Quatre closed his eyes and listened intently. With a pout he quieted his breathing and turned up the volume all the way.
The light tenor of a storyteller's voice filled the room. After listening for several minutes, Duo closed his own eyes. It wasn't long before the broadcast was interrupted for a commercial break. He turned the volume down a little, but didn't open his eyes as he enjoyed the warmth of the blankets.
"How long before we can get back, do you think?" Quatre inquired sleepily, resting his chin lightly on the top of Duo head, fingers tracing over the plaits in his braid.
"Couple days." Duo responded, yawning. "We can phone someone in the morning to let them know we didn't die."
"Shouldn't we call now?" He sounded concerned as he leaned forward and placed his mug on the coffee table.
"Quatre, if you get up I'll kill you." Duo growled jokingly. "It's warm. We'll call tomorrow. We had to leave the fight, who knows where they are now? We should at least give it a day."
He kissed the top of Duo's head with a grin. "I guess you're right. We should probably give it a couple of days. Even Heero can't get himself out overnight any more. Do you think they're okay?"
"Yeah, they'll be fine. They always are."
"Was there food?" He asked, trying to change the subject. It always worried him to think about where the others were. He didn't want to have to imagine all the ways they could have died. It was easier to try and ignore the war when he wasn't fighting.
Duo sighed, his jaw clenching before he attempted a smile. "Some. There were some canned stuff in the cupboard I searched. I didn't make it through the whole kitchen though. I'll see what I can find later."
"You don't think the owners will come back soon, do you?"
"No one's crazy enough to travel in this weather…"
"We were." Quatre pointed out quietly.
"Okay, civilians aren't crazy enough." Duo smiled. "We'll leave them some credits and take off as soon as the storm lets up again. I can probably fix the lock. Maybe…"
"Turn it up."
"What?"
"Turn it up, the story's back on the radio." Quatre nudged Duo and motioned to the radio in his hands.
Silence fell between them as they listened to the drama, sinking further into sleepy incoherency. Neither of them was awake by the next commercial break. The fire burned quietly in front of them, red and gold light dancing merrily around the room as it warmed the area. Though outside the wind howled and freezing sleet replaced the light snowfall, inside there was finally a moment of contented peace for those who most needed it.
/End Fire and Ice/