Disclaimers: All normal apply, blah blah blah.
Warnings: Yaoi! 1x2, 3x4. As of now nothing much, just implied, later that
may change ^_~
Authors Note: This wonderful fic that you are about to read is not, sadly,
all mine. You didn't honestly think I was that good did you? No, I didn't
think so. Well anyways, this was co-written by the wonderfully talented
Holly, known to most as Berrful Hunter. So half the credit for this goes to
her, make sure she receives it guys!! Go read her stuff too k ^^. On to the
fic!
A slight breeze blew through the small park, tossing Quatre's already windblown hair. He didn't seem to notice and continued to chatter away happily to his silent companion. Every now and then he would be rewarded with a slight smile or a nod, but that seemed enough to satisfy the bubbly blond.
The path they were walking on twisted and turned many a time as they continued to follow it, , occasionally pausing to merely stare at the sky on that day; there wasn't a cloud in the sky, colored a rich cerulean. The jingle of a bell reached their ears. Quatre paused in his talking, looking around for the source of the sound until he laid eyes on a slightly older man waving a bell, shouting, "Ice cream! Come get your ice cream!" to any poor, unsuspecting person who happened to walk by. He offered a smile at the man, who took the Arabian's smile as a sign of him wanting to buy something. Trowa nodded.
"I'll get you some ice cream," he said to his companion.
Quatre didn't bother to be startled, he was used to Trowa's unusual signs of affection. Actually, he found it rather cute. He grinned widely, "Thank you! That would be nice!" He watched as Trowa walked over to the vendor, cocking his head at an angle, not unlike a curious creature would. The taller boy moved with fluidity even in movements as simple as walking. Quatre stepped backwards unconsciously, and a slight sound of metal scraping against concrete drew his attention elsewhere. He lifted his sneaker and a gold band was revealed beneath. Curiously he stooped down to pick it up.
Quatre crouched down and stared at the ring for a few moments before slowly reaching his hand out to grasp it. At first, when the golden ring was in his hand, he didn't feel anything. But as he stood up straight and motioned as if to put it on, a strange feeling washed over him. //You can't hide me forever, young Quatre. My time to surface is drawing nearer and nearer, you cannot hide me any longer!// A dark voice momentarily filled his mind. He removed the ring from his finger and stared at it. 'Where did that voice come from? What did it mean, I can't hide it forever? Hide what?' wondered the blond, staggering back a little. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Trowa coming back with two ice-cream cones in hand.
He shook off the odd feeling and shoved the ring into his pocket unconsciously. He forced the thoughts from his head and smiled as Trowa handed him his cone. "Thank you Trowa!" He licked at the cold ice cream and a goofy grin covered his features, "You got my favorite!" Trowa shrugged and ate his own cream silently. All the weird occurrences from the previous moment forgotten, Quatre picked up where he left off, chattering away and only pausing every now and then to munch on his frozen treat.
Pilot 03 listened absentmindedly as his friend continued to chatter on, his mind wandering to the slight fear he saw in Quatre's eyes. Trowa knew something was wrong; he had long ago learnt how to tell if something was up by the look in Quatre's eyes. And now, if ever, he could sense something wrong. His thoughts started to wander.
"Trowa? I said should we head back now?" Quatre repeated, his eyes creasing with worry as they so often did. Trowa blinked emerald eyes once, internally smacking himself for letting his thoughts wander that far. He gave his silent apologies to the little blond and nodded, "Hai." He finished off the last of his ice cream and wiped off the bits that had melted onto his hand with a napkin, then tossed the paper into a trashcan. "Are you okay?" Quatre's voice broke through the uncomfortable silence.
Trowa looked up, being jerked out of his thoughts which had strayed once more at the sound of Quatre's voice. He nodded, something resembling a smile appearing on his face. As he and the smaller boy started walking back home, Trowa noticed something uneasy in the way his companion moved, almost as if there was something troubling him. He slowed in his tracks, silently alerting Quatre to his actions. "Is there something wrong?" asked the emerald-eyed boy quietly, hands in his pockets.
The Arabian looked as though he was struggling with whether to say anything or not, then smiled broadly. "It's really nothing, I just found this ring." He fished the ring out of his pocket and placed it in Trowa's palm. "What do you make of it?" The metal was nicked and uneven, making it obviously very old. Or at least somewhat. It was almost cold to the point of making the flesh feel hot, but as soon as Trowa focused on this point, the feeling disappeared. He turned it over with his fingers, and in the light he could have sworn he saw a fleck of blood. When he inspected it closer, he saw that it was definitely blood. And quite surprisingly fresh.
"Quatre. Where did you find this?" Trowa's eyes locked with Quatre's, his expression serious and questioning. "We should tell the others." His tone was bland to anyone who didn't know him, but to Quatre it was intense and critical. There was something about this ring he didn't like it all- to that, he didn't want Quatre having anything to do with it. At least, not until he and the other pilots were able to ratify the band free of anything which could harm anyone.
"I, uh...stepped on it. I don't know why I kept it, I forgot I had it until now actually." He seemed quite perturbed by this fact, but said nothing about it, only continued in his questioning. "When I put it on, it felt...odd." He didn't know how to explain the sensation, nor did he feel he wanted Trowa to know, much less experience the odd feeling. Upon realizing this fact, he plucked the ring from Trowa's still open palm and pocketed it again. "Just until we can figure out what to do with it." He said with a smile.
Trowa nodded ever so slightly, but made a mental note to bring the ring up again later. He didn't like the feeling he got, and he was going to make sure he kept it away from Quatre if it was dangerous in any way. No, he wasn't going to let anything harm the angel he secretly loved so much. Many a night he would find himself staring at Quatre from across the room, barely able to control his desire to sweep the Arabian into his arms and kiss him lightly. He knew he couldn't do such things without ruining the wonderful friendship he and 04 shared. He let his mind wander once more.
Quatre looked over at the pilot of Heavyarms in concern. Trowa had fallen silent, not on occurrence from the boy, but the blonde could always tell when it was because he had nothing to say, or because he had no desire to share his thoughts.
* * *
After a ten or so minute walk in silence, the two pilots finally reached their house. Upon entering the house, they were greeted with sounds of explosions, and Quatre blinked, mildly worried, until Trowa cleared his throat and pointed to Duo playing a video game on the Nintendo 64 game system. Duo paused the game, turned, and waved at them, the ever-present Maxwell grin apparent on his face. "Hey guys! I'm kickin' major butt in this game. I think Heero got tired of watching me play, though," the American gestured his thumb towards upstairs, "so he went up to do something on his laptop,"
He wrinkled his face at the name of the dreaded instrument of doom, then resumed his game with a war cry as he attacked the demon hoards on the screen. Quatre laughed and turned and headed into the kitchen. WuFei sat at the table reading some Chinese manuscript and sipping tea. He looked up when the boy entered, nodded his hello, and returned to his book. Quatre gave silent thanks for having another member of the household that drank tea; he didn't really feel like making any right now. He poured himself a glass and sat down at the table.
Trowa remained in the living room, watching with mild interest as Duo exploded another enemy ship. A light, almost-laugh escaped his lips as Duo shouted various cries of war and pounded random buttons, each time his finger came in contact with either a red or green button another enemy being destroyed. But his small smile faded as he remembered the blood on the ring. "Duo." he said suddenly.
"Huh." Duo said, not even bothering to look up.
"Catch."
"HUH!?" his eyes went wide as he turned to catch whatever was thrown. Something hard bounced off his forehead and landed on the floor by the forgotten controller. "Itai!" He hollered, rubbing his head. He glowered at Trowa and picked up the ring by his feet. "What is this thing?" He breathed as he turned it over in his hand. The instant he had picked it up, a wave of cold washed over him. "This thing is...wrong..." was all he could manage. He stared at it in silence, only looking up when he heard a wailing of music. He turned and looked at the TV, "You killed me Trowa!" He moaned, the serious air now broken.
Trowa took a seat on the couch and watched silently as Duo whined and glared at the TV. His eyes fell on the ring, and the blood on it. It looked so fresh and new. "Duo. Look at the ring and tell me what you see." He had to make sure he wasn't just seeing things.
Duo sighed and turned his gaze downward. He started and brought the ring closer to his face, "Is that-"
Trowa cut him off. "Blood?"
Duo looked up, "Yah." Trowa sighed and absently brushed a lock of air from his face, "So I wasn't imagining it." Duo looked very unsettled, and set the ring of the coffee table, wanting to get rid of the cold feeling, "Care to explain."
"Quatre found the ring while we were at the park," Trowa explained, reluctant to speak yet knowing he had to. "He made it seem like nothing was wrong- but I sensed something about the ring which made him uneasy." Already he felt like he had spoken enough to last for the rest of the week. But there was more he had to say. "And now we've both confirmed there is blood on that ring. I don't like it." Silence once again took over Trowa as he sat.
"And you're worried?" Trowa nodded. Duo sighed, "You have reason to be. I don't know what it is, but that thing isn't a ring." At this point Heero walked down the stairs and found the two pilots staring at the small object at the coffee table. He stared at the two but didn't move. Duo noticed after a minute or two and looked over at him. "Heero, come look at this." He said solemnly.
Heero sauntered into the room and sat with one knee under his body, leaning his elbow on his other knee. He glared at the ring when he saw blood on it. For a few minutes, Duo and Trowa watched as Heero observed the band. "This does not seem like your every day ring." said the Japanese pilot under his breath. But the silence in the room allowed everyone to hear.
Duo and Trowa both nodded in agreement. "Pick it up." Normally Duo wouldn't have gotten away with giving Heero a command, but the pilot didn't seem to notice and was already reaching for it before Duo had the words out of his mouth. He slipped it on the tip of his finger, not allowing it to slip down any farther. His eyes narrowed visibly and Duo knew Heero had felt what they did as well. "Any idea what it is?" Heero shook his head, "Iie."
"Tro' said Quatre found it at the park." Duo said. Trowa sat back against the couch as Duo said, "He also said Quatre was uneasy about it." Heero's cobalt hues shifted to the tall green-eyed boy splayed out on the couch.
"We need to ask Quatre about this." said pilot 01, pulling himself to his feet.
Duo nodded in agreement. "I trust his judgment though. The boy is empathic after all." Trowa moved his gaze over to Duo, a little bit more sharply than usual. Quatre's empathic abilities had gotten him into trouble before, not only physically, but mentally as well. Maybe that was the reason everyone had grown so protective of him, most of all Trowa.
Duo shifted under Trowa's gaze and returned to staring at the mysterious golden band on the table. He too was protective of the sweet, angelic boy who had found his way into everyone's hearts, even that of WuFei. "So who's gonna go ask him about it?" Already Duo felt eyes on him- usually he could pry something out of anyone. But for some reason, Duo felt Trowa should be the one to talk to Quatre about the golden band.
He spoke this sentiment aloud; "I don't think my big mouth will do the trick this time guys." He looked over at his friend, "This one's all yours, man." Trowa seemed hesitant for a brief second before nodding and standing up. He plucked the band off of the table and headed into the kitchen. "Hey Tro'." The braided pilot called to his retreating back. He stopped, but didn't turn around, letting Duo know he was being acknowledged, "Good luck man, we'll be upstairs if you need us."
Trowa nodded to Duo and continued his way into the kitchen, where Quatre was now sitting alone at the table, WuFei having gone outside to practice with his katana. "Quatre." Trowa announced his presence in the room. "I need to speak with you," he hoped his voice didn't sound harsh, but the topic at hand was very important.
Quatre looked up from his tea, "Is everything ok?" Trowa shook his head in the negative, "I don't believe you're telling me everything about this ring." He held it out and Quatre flinched at seeing it again. Trowa gave him the 'you-see-what-I-mean' look. He sighed and set down the China cup gently, "When I put it on...it..it spoke to me. I can't remember anymore, no matter how hard I try..." He rubbed his temples and looked up at Trowa. The ring was still in the palm of his out stretched hand and Quatre found he had the urge to snatch it from his grasp. He felt if he held it any longer, it would hurt his jade-eyed companion, and that was farthest from what he wanted.
A slight breeze blew through the small park, tossing Quatre's already windblown hair. He didn't seem to notice and continued to chatter away happily to his silent companion. Every now and then he would be rewarded with a slight smile or a nod, but that seemed enough to satisfy the bubbly blond.
The path they were walking on twisted and turned many a time as they continued to follow it, , occasionally pausing to merely stare at the sky on that day; there wasn't a cloud in the sky, colored a rich cerulean. The jingle of a bell reached their ears. Quatre paused in his talking, looking around for the source of the sound until he laid eyes on a slightly older man waving a bell, shouting, "Ice cream! Come get your ice cream!" to any poor, unsuspecting person who happened to walk by. He offered a smile at the man, who took the Arabian's smile as a sign of him wanting to buy something. Trowa nodded.
"I'll get you some ice cream," he said to his companion.
Quatre didn't bother to be startled, he was used to Trowa's unusual signs of affection. Actually, he found it rather cute. He grinned widely, "Thank you! That would be nice!" He watched as Trowa walked over to the vendor, cocking his head at an angle, not unlike a curious creature would. The taller boy moved with fluidity even in movements as simple as walking. Quatre stepped backwards unconsciously, and a slight sound of metal scraping against concrete drew his attention elsewhere. He lifted his sneaker and a gold band was revealed beneath. Curiously he stooped down to pick it up.
Quatre crouched down and stared at the ring for a few moments before slowly reaching his hand out to grasp it. At first, when the golden ring was in his hand, he didn't feel anything. But as he stood up straight and motioned as if to put it on, a strange feeling washed over him. //You can't hide me forever, young Quatre. My time to surface is drawing nearer and nearer, you cannot hide me any longer!// A dark voice momentarily filled his mind. He removed the ring from his finger and stared at it. 'Where did that voice come from? What did it mean, I can't hide it forever? Hide what?' wondered the blond, staggering back a little. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Trowa coming back with two ice-cream cones in hand.
He shook off the odd feeling and shoved the ring into his pocket unconsciously. He forced the thoughts from his head and smiled as Trowa handed him his cone. "Thank you Trowa!" He licked at the cold ice cream and a goofy grin covered his features, "You got my favorite!" Trowa shrugged and ate his own cream silently. All the weird occurrences from the previous moment forgotten, Quatre picked up where he left off, chattering away and only pausing every now and then to munch on his frozen treat.
Pilot 03 listened absentmindedly as his friend continued to chatter on, his mind wandering to the slight fear he saw in Quatre's eyes. Trowa knew something was wrong; he had long ago learnt how to tell if something was up by the look in Quatre's eyes. And now, if ever, he could sense something wrong. His thoughts started to wander.
"Trowa? I said should we head back now?" Quatre repeated, his eyes creasing with worry as they so often did. Trowa blinked emerald eyes once, internally smacking himself for letting his thoughts wander that far. He gave his silent apologies to the little blond and nodded, "Hai." He finished off the last of his ice cream and wiped off the bits that had melted onto his hand with a napkin, then tossed the paper into a trashcan. "Are you okay?" Quatre's voice broke through the uncomfortable silence.
Trowa looked up, being jerked out of his thoughts which had strayed once more at the sound of Quatre's voice. He nodded, something resembling a smile appearing on his face. As he and the smaller boy started walking back home, Trowa noticed something uneasy in the way his companion moved, almost as if there was something troubling him. He slowed in his tracks, silently alerting Quatre to his actions. "Is there something wrong?" asked the emerald-eyed boy quietly, hands in his pockets.
The Arabian looked as though he was struggling with whether to say anything or not, then smiled broadly. "It's really nothing, I just found this ring." He fished the ring out of his pocket and placed it in Trowa's palm. "What do you make of it?" The metal was nicked and uneven, making it obviously very old. Or at least somewhat. It was almost cold to the point of making the flesh feel hot, but as soon as Trowa focused on this point, the feeling disappeared. He turned it over with his fingers, and in the light he could have sworn he saw a fleck of blood. When he inspected it closer, he saw that it was definitely blood. And quite surprisingly fresh.
"Quatre. Where did you find this?" Trowa's eyes locked with Quatre's, his expression serious and questioning. "We should tell the others." His tone was bland to anyone who didn't know him, but to Quatre it was intense and critical. There was something about this ring he didn't like it all- to that, he didn't want Quatre having anything to do with it. At least, not until he and the other pilots were able to ratify the band free of anything which could harm anyone.
"I, uh...stepped on it. I don't know why I kept it, I forgot I had it until now actually." He seemed quite perturbed by this fact, but said nothing about it, only continued in his questioning. "When I put it on, it felt...odd." He didn't know how to explain the sensation, nor did he feel he wanted Trowa to know, much less experience the odd feeling. Upon realizing this fact, he plucked the ring from Trowa's still open palm and pocketed it again. "Just until we can figure out what to do with it." He said with a smile.
Trowa nodded ever so slightly, but made a mental note to bring the ring up again later. He didn't like the feeling he got, and he was going to make sure he kept it away from Quatre if it was dangerous in any way. No, he wasn't going to let anything harm the angel he secretly loved so much. Many a night he would find himself staring at Quatre from across the room, barely able to control his desire to sweep the Arabian into his arms and kiss him lightly. He knew he couldn't do such things without ruining the wonderful friendship he and 04 shared. He let his mind wander once more.
Quatre looked over at the pilot of Heavyarms in concern. Trowa had fallen silent, not on occurrence from the boy, but the blonde could always tell when it was because he had nothing to say, or because he had no desire to share his thoughts.
* * *
After a ten or so minute walk in silence, the two pilots finally reached their house. Upon entering the house, they were greeted with sounds of explosions, and Quatre blinked, mildly worried, until Trowa cleared his throat and pointed to Duo playing a video game on the Nintendo 64 game system. Duo paused the game, turned, and waved at them, the ever-present Maxwell grin apparent on his face. "Hey guys! I'm kickin' major butt in this game. I think Heero got tired of watching me play, though," the American gestured his thumb towards upstairs, "so he went up to do something on his laptop,"
He wrinkled his face at the name of the dreaded instrument of doom, then resumed his game with a war cry as he attacked the demon hoards on the screen. Quatre laughed and turned and headed into the kitchen. WuFei sat at the table reading some Chinese manuscript and sipping tea. He looked up when the boy entered, nodded his hello, and returned to his book. Quatre gave silent thanks for having another member of the household that drank tea; he didn't really feel like making any right now. He poured himself a glass and sat down at the table.
Trowa remained in the living room, watching with mild interest as Duo exploded another enemy ship. A light, almost-laugh escaped his lips as Duo shouted various cries of war and pounded random buttons, each time his finger came in contact with either a red or green button another enemy being destroyed. But his small smile faded as he remembered the blood on the ring. "Duo." he said suddenly.
"Huh." Duo said, not even bothering to look up.
"Catch."
"HUH!?" his eyes went wide as he turned to catch whatever was thrown. Something hard bounced off his forehead and landed on the floor by the forgotten controller. "Itai!" He hollered, rubbing his head. He glowered at Trowa and picked up the ring by his feet. "What is this thing?" He breathed as he turned it over in his hand. The instant he had picked it up, a wave of cold washed over him. "This thing is...wrong..." was all he could manage. He stared at it in silence, only looking up when he heard a wailing of music. He turned and looked at the TV, "You killed me Trowa!" He moaned, the serious air now broken.
Trowa took a seat on the couch and watched silently as Duo whined and glared at the TV. His eyes fell on the ring, and the blood on it. It looked so fresh and new. "Duo. Look at the ring and tell me what you see." He had to make sure he wasn't just seeing things.
Duo sighed and turned his gaze downward. He started and brought the ring closer to his face, "Is that-"
Trowa cut him off. "Blood?"
Duo looked up, "Yah." Trowa sighed and absently brushed a lock of air from his face, "So I wasn't imagining it." Duo looked very unsettled, and set the ring of the coffee table, wanting to get rid of the cold feeling, "Care to explain."
"Quatre found the ring while we were at the park," Trowa explained, reluctant to speak yet knowing he had to. "He made it seem like nothing was wrong- but I sensed something about the ring which made him uneasy." Already he felt like he had spoken enough to last for the rest of the week. But there was more he had to say. "And now we've both confirmed there is blood on that ring. I don't like it." Silence once again took over Trowa as he sat.
"And you're worried?" Trowa nodded. Duo sighed, "You have reason to be. I don't know what it is, but that thing isn't a ring." At this point Heero walked down the stairs and found the two pilots staring at the small object at the coffee table. He stared at the two but didn't move. Duo noticed after a minute or two and looked over at him. "Heero, come look at this." He said solemnly.
Heero sauntered into the room and sat with one knee under his body, leaning his elbow on his other knee. He glared at the ring when he saw blood on it. For a few minutes, Duo and Trowa watched as Heero observed the band. "This does not seem like your every day ring." said the Japanese pilot under his breath. But the silence in the room allowed everyone to hear.
Duo and Trowa both nodded in agreement. "Pick it up." Normally Duo wouldn't have gotten away with giving Heero a command, but the pilot didn't seem to notice and was already reaching for it before Duo had the words out of his mouth. He slipped it on the tip of his finger, not allowing it to slip down any farther. His eyes narrowed visibly and Duo knew Heero had felt what they did as well. "Any idea what it is?" Heero shook his head, "Iie."
"Tro' said Quatre found it at the park." Duo said. Trowa sat back against the couch as Duo said, "He also said Quatre was uneasy about it." Heero's cobalt hues shifted to the tall green-eyed boy splayed out on the couch.
"We need to ask Quatre about this." said pilot 01, pulling himself to his feet.
Duo nodded in agreement. "I trust his judgment though. The boy is empathic after all." Trowa moved his gaze over to Duo, a little bit more sharply than usual. Quatre's empathic abilities had gotten him into trouble before, not only physically, but mentally as well. Maybe that was the reason everyone had grown so protective of him, most of all Trowa.
Duo shifted under Trowa's gaze and returned to staring at the mysterious golden band on the table. He too was protective of the sweet, angelic boy who had found his way into everyone's hearts, even that of WuFei. "So who's gonna go ask him about it?" Already Duo felt eyes on him- usually he could pry something out of anyone. But for some reason, Duo felt Trowa should be the one to talk to Quatre about the golden band.
He spoke this sentiment aloud; "I don't think my big mouth will do the trick this time guys." He looked over at his friend, "This one's all yours, man." Trowa seemed hesitant for a brief second before nodding and standing up. He plucked the band off of the table and headed into the kitchen. "Hey Tro'." The braided pilot called to his retreating back. He stopped, but didn't turn around, letting Duo know he was being acknowledged, "Good luck man, we'll be upstairs if you need us."
Trowa nodded to Duo and continued his way into the kitchen, where Quatre was now sitting alone at the table, WuFei having gone outside to practice with his katana. "Quatre." Trowa announced his presence in the room. "I need to speak with you," he hoped his voice didn't sound harsh, but the topic at hand was very important.
Quatre looked up from his tea, "Is everything ok?" Trowa shook his head in the negative, "I don't believe you're telling me everything about this ring." He held it out and Quatre flinched at seeing it again. Trowa gave him the 'you-see-what-I-mean' look. He sighed and set down the China cup gently, "When I put it on...it..it spoke to me. I can't remember anymore, no matter how hard I try..." He rubbed his temples and looked up at Trowa. The ring was still in the palm of his out stretched hand and Quatre found he had the urge to snatch it from his grasp. He felt if he held it any longer, it would hurt his jade-eyed companion, and that was farthest from what he wanted.
