A/N: Okay so. Sometimes I feel like writing 2x3 little things. At Amberlyinviolet's suggestion I am creating a fic that is really just… a universe, a catch-all for these scenes and little fics that may or not be in chronological order. I can't even promise that it will remain 2x3 - there might be some Wufei and/or Zechs or other cameos. I will try to add a running chronology to the author's notes.
Ideally, each of these chapters should stand-alone, ish. Ish. Okay. So they don't. Not really at all. I'm writing this thing totally out of order and yeah. That's what's happening and I'm sort of sorry.
A/N2: Thank you, as always, to Ro for beta reading and everything else.
A/N3: So the title "Falling, Catching" is from the Agnes Obel song. And this chapter was inspired by listening to Spoon and quite obviously stole the first two lines of "Can I sit next to you." Not ALL chapters will have a relationship to music, but if they do I will post so that you can give a listen if you want to.
One
Trowa was almost late. Was, in fact, technically late. But these things never started on time. And Trowa could think of literally anything that was more important than being early or on time to one of the perpetually dull and impressively offensive field agents assemblies.
By the time he eased open the door at the back of the largest briefing hall, the lights had been dimmed and the chatter had fallen to disgruntled mumbles while the projection screen at the front of the room flickered to life.
Trowa caught the door as it closed behind him, keeping it from slamming loudly and alerting the entire department of field agents of his presence.
He wasn't about to try to ease into a seat in the front or middle of the auditorium - he wouldn't have chosen to sit there even if he had been early - and instead, he looked down the back two rows. They were, predictably, rather full.
There was one open seat in the middle of the last row, and one other just one occupied seat in from the far left.
Trowa hugged the back wall and made his way there.
"Can I sit next to you?" he asked the dark figure hunched in the outside seat, legs sprawled out in a way that made it impossible to politely climb over.
The figure, wearing the regulation olive tactical pants and long-sleeved black tac shirt that were rather casual but still acceptable for this assembly, looked up at Trowa.
"Can you sit next to me?"
Trowa stared.
It was Duo Maxwell.
And Duo stared back at him.
Glared back at him, really; the anger, and yes - yes, definitely - hatred glinting in his eyes even in the darkness of the auditorium.
"Thank you all for coming today. We have several issues to address."
Une's voice, crisp and clear even without a mic, interrupted the standoff between Trowa and Duo.
Duo grudgingly stood up to let Trowa pass him, glaring at him all the while, his chin thrust up and out and his entire body tense.
Trowa stepped too close, bumped against Duo's chest purposefully so that the other man stumbled back into the seats, and Duo's gaze narrowed but he didn't say anything as Trowa folded himself into the chair.
He could feel Duo's glare as the other man resumed his seat, and the knowledge, the burn of his hatred, made it a little difficult to focus on Une.
"... annual performance evaluations. Your team supervisors will schedule the reviews over the coming months, and I encourage all of you to be as forthright as possible. Your cooperation is, as always, appreciated."
"More like fucking required," Duo muttered beside Trowa.
Trowa hated that he agreed with Duo, even just inside his own head.
"In the coming months, we will be stepping up our activities in the L3 colonial zone. As you are all aware, from the briefings and from the news outlets, the recent string of terrorist activity has endangered not just the local population but intercolonial trade, immigration and Earthsphere governmental activities. Last night, in an emergency meeting, the Earthsphere Parliament issued a directive authorizing Preventers' direct intervention and giving our agency autonomy to act independently of the ES Protection Forces. As a result of this, there will be some re-assignments and some restructuring of action teams."
There was a wave of muttered responses to that announcement.
"Just fucking dandy," Duo sighed as he straightened up and seemed to finally start paying attention to Une.
"Our theatre of operations will include not just the L3 colonial zone, but staging areas in the L4 and L5 zones. Operational activities will be overseen by Agent Chang. He has very, very broad authority to execute Preventers actions. Anyone questioning his decisions will be questioning mine."
Duo snorted, and Trowa couldn't tell if it was disdain or sympathy.
There had, predictably, been more than a few instances over the years when Wufei - and, to a lesser extent, the other former Gundam pilots - had had to deal with discrimination. Wufei, as Une's bureaucratic darling, took the brunt of the antipathy directed towards them.
Une gestured and Wufei, who must have been seated in the front row of the auditorium, rose to his feet and stepped up to the podium.
He looked out over the dark room.
"I don't need to remind all of us what is at stake here. I don't need to tell anyone here what will happen if L3 falls further into anarchy or, worse, is able to revitalize their military industry and form a junta that would rival the dreams of Dekim Barton."
Duo stiffened in his seat, casting a glance in Trowa's direction, and Trowa wondered if he was remembering Wufei's first-hand experience with Dekim, if he was thinking back to Wufei's decision ten years ago to join the man's army and attempt to put Treize's daughter on a blood-drenched throne.
Trowa was certainly thinking about it.
"For the past three years, we have all seen what happens when the Earthsphere fails to act, fails to intervene. Millions have died, the L3 economy has collapsed, and barbaric practices have emerged and haunted the news feeds."
"Does this bedtime story have a point?" Duo grumbled.
"Preventers was established after the Wars to ensure that humanity never again finds itself on the brink of another Earthsphere conflict that has the possibility to wipe out humanity. It is not an exaggeration to call this one step away from the brink. It has taken months of negotiations and one unanswered terrorist act after another to convince the Parliament that we must act."
Wufei paused and adjusted his glasses. It was a nervous tick, one that Trowa had pointed out to his comrade time and time again over the years. He still didn't understand why Wufei wore glasses - he could just as easily get corrective surgery and not broadcast his emotions to the world.
Duo sighed, but didn't have a snarky judgement for Wufei's tell.
"Some of the operations Preventers will engage in over the coming months will be aggressive. Our goal is to prevent an entire collapse of order on L3, and to contain the growing conflict before it can further disrupt the Earthsphere. Agents on the ground will use force; we are a military organization and it is our duty to preserve humanity's pacificism, now, more than ever."
Duo made a choking sound, and Trowa rolled his eyes at the reaction. It wasn't unexpected - Duo had made his views on pacifism, the Preventers and humanity as a whole, known on several occasions, and more than one had ended with Duo and Trowa both bloodied.
Une stepped back up to the podium.
"Your task group and action team reassignments will be sent out before the end of the day. Things will move quickly, and there is no room and no time for mistakes."
The lights flickered on, and Trowa blinked at the sudden shift. He wondered, also, why the lights had been dimmed in the first place.
Knowing Une, it was probably for dramatic effect.
Knowing Wufei and his loathing of public speaking, it was so he didn't have to look out at the sea of faces ready to question his every word and thought.
Beside Trowa, Duo stood and stretched, the hem of his shirt riding up to reveal a sliver of flesh that caught Trowa's attention.
Duo saw him looking and shoved the shirt back down with a sneer.
Trowa stood, intent on leaving the auditorium, and Duo, as quickly as he could.
But Duo was, predictably, not going to make it easy. He was standing in the aisle just enough to make it impossible for Trowa to leave without shoving him out of the way.
Trowa narrowed his eyes at the shorter man.
"Here's hoping we can continue not working with each other," Duo said, the words a taunt.
They had been paired together twice, and while the first mission had technically been successful - bad guys eliminated, collateral at a minimum - the second mission had been such a flaming disaster that they had both been put on administrative leave and, in the three years since, had never been partnered again.
Trowa arched an eyebrow.
"And here I was thinking you were ready to come crawling back to me."
Duo's sneer twitched, and his eyes, if possible, grew even more hateful.
"Being on your knees was always more your thing though, wasn't it?"
Trowa clenched his jaw, the words hitting their mark.
Getting into a verbal fight with Duo wouldn't end well. Getting into any fight with Duo historically didn't end well.
Duo grinned wickedly, and shoved his hands into his pockets.
He looked on the verge of saying something more, but suddenly Wufei was there, one hand on Duo's shoulder and his dark eyes looking at Trowa in warning.
"I need to see you two in my office."
Duo spun around, eyes flashing and mouth dropping open.
"I didn't- We didn't even do anything!"
Despite himself, despite everything, Trowa felt his lips twitch in amused sympathy at Duo's protest.
Wufei rolled his eyes.
"It's about your new assignments."
His gaze flickered between the two of them.
"This thing between the two of you - it needs to end now."
Wufei's command was met with matching glares from Duo and Trowa.
"It's been over for a long damn time," Duo assured him, without looking back at Trowa.
Trowa remained silent, and Wufei met his gaze and lifted an eyebrow.
"What do you need?" Trowa asked.
Wufei sighed, and he looked heavenward for a moment, as if for guidance and strength.
And Trowa realized what he was about to say.
"No."
Wufei grimaced.
"Wufei-"
"Trowa, this problem is bigger than you and Duo, and the Preventers needs the two of you-"
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Duo had caught on.
Wufei looked around them, at the agents mingling in the auditorium and speculating on the new assignments, on the grim, dark future Wufei and Une had outlined if anyone failed.
"There is no one else who can do this," Wufei hissed. "Now can we please go to my office and discuss this?"
"No." The one word was flat, cold and hard.
Wufei sighed and reached for Duo's shoulder again, but Duo jerked away, taking a step backwards, running into Trowa.
Trowa steadied him without thinking, hand on the small of Duo's back, and Duo immediately straightened, shoulders and spine so tense and straight they might as well have been cast from gundanium.
And Trowa - Trowa could feel the heat of Duo's body, the press of his shirt, and beneath that thin layer, his skin.
He stepped away, dropping his arm and rubbing his hand on the leg of his trousers.
"I'm not working with him again," Duo hissed. "I am not doing it again."
"So you'd rather let humanity suffer because you're not over-"
Duo stepped towards Wufei, crowding him until the other man, knowing that this was not the place for a confrontation, backed up.
And Duo fled, pushing past him and marching out of the auditorium, not even returning the waves and calls from the agents who knew him.
Leaving Trowa and Wufei to stare at each other.
Wufei sighed again.
"If there was any other way, I would have found it." The words were quiet, both an admission of failure and a plea.
Trowa drew in a deep breath.
"Give me half an hour and we'll be in your office."
-o-