BIG SKY

Warnings: AU, language, angst, yaoi, violence (maybe?), slight, slight bit o' fluff. Pairings to follow...

Chapter 1

"Quatre, tell me again why we're spending our vacation in the middle of nowhere," Duo said from his position in the passenger seat of the rented convertible that was currently speeding along I-15 towards Great Falls, Montana.

The blonde in the driver's seat didn't bother to turn his head towards Duo.

"Because we spend our whole lives in the City and it's nice to be outdoors, away from it all. Just think – no school shootings, no fights, no angry parents or ridiculous administrators…" Quatre delivered the list in his most convincing voice.

"No cell phone reception, no email, no daily subscription to the Wall and to the Times…" Duo tried to make it sound as though he doubted Quatre could survive without those necessities. It wasn't hard. He did doubt it.

"Good. I don't want any of it right now. The next two weeks are going to be completely amazing, just wait."

"Still waiting," Duo grumbled, settling back in his seat and staring at the lush countryside rushing past.

Duo and Quatre had met in college and immediately hit it off – becoming fast friends, roommates, and even – briefly – lovers. They came from completely different backgrounds: Quatre with his multi-million dollar inheritance and huge family; Duo an orphan with little to show for himself except for what he scraped by with. They made an odd pair, but fit, somehow. After college Quatre had gone on to a Forbes-featured career as a financial wizard while Duo had gone into teaching high school history. They both lived in New York City, but their lifestyles meant that they only saw each other a few times a month. Which made their annual two-week summer vacation all the more valuable. It had been a tradition since their freshman year of school – each year they went somewhere different, alternating who picked. This year it had been Quatre's turn.

"I still don't understand why you picked here. They don't have cell phone reception – or school shootings – in Tahiti, I bet."

Quatre snorted. "Been there – trust me, Duo, you'd be bored in two seconds."

"Because I'm not already bored here."

Quatre frowned.

"Give it a chance, Duo. You might be surprised."

Duo felt slightly guilty from the disappointment in his friend's voice.

"What are we doing again?" He asked in an attempt to smooth things over.

"First we stay at a real, authentic ranch for two nights. Then we'll ride along the Missouri river and through the mountains for ten days, camping in the woods and exploring the wilderness before we return to the ranch. And then we come home."

Duo rolled his eyes at Quatre's recitation of the brochure.

"You realize I've only ever slept outside on the street, right? I don't even know how to light a fire. What about bears, or snakes, or –"

"We'll be accompanied by two experienced guides, both of whom are well-trained in survival skills and –"

"Think they took a course in that or –"

"AND familiar with the area we'll be traveling. Honestly, Duo. It'll be an adventure."

"Yeah. I think you've been spending a little too much time with your Brokeback Mountain DVD," Duo shot back.

Quatre frowned at him.

"I have not. But don't tell me you don't imagine two cowboys as our guides – totally hot – leading us through the forest. All tanned and muscled and –"

"Probably it's two lesbians who hate men."

Duo could feel Quatre's glare, even through the blonde's sunglasses.

"Duo –"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"I went with the flow when you took us to New Orleans to rebuild houses."

"Hey! That was an awesome time, and we were helping people!"

"And we got accosted by right-wingers who threatened to kill us in our sleep for being gay."

"Yeah, that part wasn't as good – but it was a great two weeks. Remember how tan we were after? And how impressive our arm muscles were for, what, three days?"

Quatre snorted a laugh.

"Okay, look. I know. I'll try to… go with the flow. It's just… I hate nature. I'm a city boy, born and raised. I didn't have a cabin in the Finger Lakes I went to every year growing up. This is new to me."

"I know, Duo. I know. But that doesn't mean it won't be fun. Plus, we haven't gotten to spend much time together since Christmas, and I really want us to have a good time out here. We could both use a break from civilization right now, you know? And from the people we – um… from people."

Duo sighed.

"You're right about that. Here's to two weeks without any craziness. I hope they ARE lesbians, Quatre. You and I don't need any more drama in our lives."

"A two week fling is not drama. Don't wish lesbians upon me, Duo Maxwell." Quatre turned off of I-15 onto a smaller, even windier road. Duo braced himself as they took the curves at nearly seventy miles an hour.

It wasn't long afterwards that they were pulling off onto a one-lane dirt road. Quatre finally slowed as they drove for fifteen minutes, alone except for the evergreens that stretched out on either side of the road.

Finally they saw a wooden archway ahead. The archway straddled the road and hanging from the center was a sign: B&B Ranch. They drove through the archway, expecting something… but the scenery was the same.

Until Quatre slammed on the breaks.

A young girl, no more than seven years old, ran out onto the road, her arms loaded with what looked like clothes. She paid the car absolutely no attention and crossed the road, disappearing onto a trail that led back into the woods.

"Jesus Fucking Christ," Duo muttered, his heart still thudding.

Quatre looked pale.

"It's okay, man, she looked fine. Didn't even see the fucking car."

Quatre nodded and pressed down on the gas again, more cautiously.

"God, this place is –"

Quatre slammed on the breaks again.

Now streaking out of the woods were two men.

Two grown, tanned, well-muscled men wearing cowboy hats and boots.

And nothing else.

One of the men stopped in the road, putting a hand on the hood of the car and glaring at them with deep, exotic blue eyes.

Duo swallowed hard and fought to keep his own eyes from looking downward.

The other man was scanning the road, ignoring them completely.

"Izzy!" He shouted in a deep, rich voice.

There was an echoing giggle.

"She's in the woods," the man said to the blue-eyed one.

Together they sprinted off.

Duo and Quatre shared a look.

"This is so much better than Brokeback Mountain," Quatre said as he hit the gas again.

Silently, Duo agreed with him.


The B&B Ranch claimed to have been in operation for thirty years. The ranch prided itself on it's horses, which surprised Duo, who thought the only thing people ranched were cows.

When they finally pulled up to the ranch house they sat in the car for a moment, admiring the huge, two story wooden structure. Built in the traditional log-cabin style, the house reflected modern architecture and amenities as much as it seemed to embrace its surroundings. There was a wrap-around porch, complete with rocking chairs and a few wooden barrels.

"Wow," Duo said.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Quatre agreed.

"Yeah. Kinda looks like a resort."

"It kind of is. They've been running these tours for years, you know."

"And ranching? How do they do both?"

Quatre shrugged.

"I dunno. Must have something to do with scheduling or something. Maybe one of the B's does the tours and the other one runs the ranch?" Quatre hypothesized.

"Maybe."

Duo got out of the car, glad to stretch his legs and escape from Quatre's driving. He retrieved both his and Quatre's duffel bags from the backseat while Quatre grabbed their backpacks. Duo fought to not roll his eyes as he looked again at Quatre's luggage. The blonde had bought brand new North Face equipment for the trip – including a tent, jacket, and survival gear. Duo's much used Adidas duffel bag and Starter backpack were completely outclassed.

"I hope those guys work here," Quatre said.

"Yeah, me too. It'll suck when we turn on the tv tonight, after meeting our lesbian guides, to see the news bulletin that some kid was abducted by two naked guys."

Quatre glared and Duo stuck out his tongue.

It was then that they noticed the young girl perched on the top step of the porch, looking at them moodily.

"Guess not," Duo said sheepishly after Quatre shot him an "I told you so" look.

"Hey," Quatre called to the girl as they approached.

"Hi," she said, voice betraying tears.

"Everything okay?" Quatre asked in his nicest voice.

"No. My Uncle Trowa's mad at me." She pouted, looking insufferably cute.

"Oh. Why?"

"Because I took his and Heero's clothes while they were swimming and they had to run back to the house naked."

Duo fought to keep a straight face at this news.

"Oh. Um, did you apologize?"

"Yes, but he still won't take me riding tonight! He said that I couldn't be rewarded if I did something bad!" She scowled and Duo couldn't help it, he started laughing.

Both the girl and Quatre glared at him.

"I'm sorry – sorry – it's just… those two guys… they were chasing you because you stole their clothes it's just… you got them so good!" Duo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

The front door squeaked open and a woman, about thirty years old, walked out onto the porch.

"Izzy, where – oh. Hello." She looked down at the girl, Duo and Quatre.

Quatre stepped forward, hand extended.

"Hi, ma'am. I'm Quatre Winner and this is Duo Maxwell. We're here for –"

"For the fourteen-day trail adventure. Yes. I'm Catherine Bloom. I see you've met my daughter, Izzy."

Duo shot Quatre a knowing look, and mouthed the word "lesbians."

Quatre's face went red and he looked away from Duo.

"My brother is still making dinner – it should be ready in about thirty minutes." She looked at her wristwatch. "Oh. It's already seven, isn't it? Well, you two are right on time. Let me take you in and get you settled and then you can eat." She paused to look down at her daughter. "Izzy, I just talked to Trowa and –"

"I know, I know," the girl said after sighing. "I'm in trouble and he's not taking me riding tonight."

Catherine's lips twitched and Duo fought to keep away his own grin.

"Come inside, gentlemen."

They followed her into the cabin and Duo was just as pleasantly surprised by the interior as he had been by the exterior. He had been half-afraid the walls would be covered with animal heads. Instead it was sparsely decorated with Mission-style furniture and what looked like Native American art.

"Nice," Duo whispered to Quatre, who nodded back at him.

Catherine led them upstairs and down a hallway.

"These are the guest rooms. We usually have more than just two for a trip, so there are two beds in each room. I, um, when you made reservations I didn't ask – would you like to share a room or ?"

Duo chuckled nervously.

"Are you kidding? Share a room with him? He snores way too loud. We'll take separate rooms, if that's okay."

She nodded, face stil slightly flushed with embarrassment.

"Of course. These two rooms are ready. The guest bathroom is down at the end of the hall, on the right. There's still some time before dinner, if you two want to settle in. Just come downstairs to the living room when you're ready, and I'll take you out back."

"Out back?" Quatre asked.

She nodded.

"Traditionally we cookout the first night of a trip, but since Mr. Winner is a vegetarian we're cooking inside. But we'll still eat outside."

"Will there be meat for those of us who don't care about killing animals?" Duo asked, grinning at Quatre's look of disgust.

Catherine laughed.

"Yes, there will be. We're having tacos, actually."

Duo nodded.

"Sounds wonderful. Thank you, Catherine."

"Our pleasure, Mr. Maxwell."

"Please, call me Duo."

"Then it's our pleasure, Duo."

She smiled at them again and then turned and left.

Duo waggled his eyebrows at Quatre.

"Hear that? OUR pleasure. She means her and her lesbian girlfriend."

Quatre rolled his eyes.

"No, she probably means her and her brother."

"Ew. That's gross, man."

"I didn't mean it like – oh, grow up Duo."

Quatre turned and went into his room. Laughing, Duo went into the other room across the hall and started to unpack a few things.


Twenty minutes later they were reintroduced to the naked men. This time, unfortunately, they were fully clothed.

Catherine made the introductions.

"Duo, Quatre, this is my brother, Trowa Barton," she indicated the taller of the two men, who nodded in response, "and this is Heero Yuy. They'll be your guides for your trip."

"Hi," Quatre said enthusiastically.

Duo rolled his eyes at Quatre's obvious attraction to both men.

"For the love of God, Q, they're probably straight," he hissed into his friend's ear.

"Not a chance," Quatre responded brightly.

"Besides," he whispered into Duo's ear as he moved past him to sit down on the picnic table, "I'm completely irresistible."

Duo couldn't deny the truth of that statement. For as long as he had known Quatre, the blonde had gotten everything he wanted with a combination of his wealth and charm. It would be frustrating if Quatre wasn't also a ridiculously nice, decent person as well.

Izzy, Catherine, and Heero were already seated at the table when Duo and Quatre took seats on the opposite side, leaving the last open seat beside Duo. Trowa set several plates of food on the table before he also sat.

Duo swallowed hard and fought to keep himself from remembering just how amazing Trowa's body had looked when he had been naked, running in front of their car.

Plates were traded and tacos made in silence for several minutes. Quatre had just polished off the first of his three tempe-tacos before he tried to start a conversation.

"This tempe is wonderful," he said.

"Thank you," Trowa said, smiling slightly. "It's the first time I've ever cooked it."

"Oh – um, not too many vegetarians come out here?" Quatre looked guilty.

"No. We've had to do a few kosher trips, but you're our first vegetarian," Catherine responded, helping herself to another of the meat tacos.

"This meat's great too –" Duo said. "It tastes different, though. Is it organic or something?"

"Turkey," Trowa explained.

"Never had a turkey taco before."

Izzy giggled at the alliteration and Duo smiled at her. She was cute, and seemed to have a penchant for troublemaking. Much like Duo himself.

"We'll have steaks tomorrow night – and something vegetarian for you as well, Mr. Winner," Trowa said.

"Oh, please call me Quatre. I'm sorry if it's too much trouble I –"

"It's no trouble, Quatre. It's our job to accommodate you." Trowa smiled again at the blonde, who practically melted.

Duo rolled his eyes again before noticing that Heero was glaring over at him.

"So what made you two decide to try out one of our tours?" Catherine asked into the silence.

"Well," Quatre started, "we're from New York and since Duo's never been camping before, I thought this might be fun for him."

Duo rolled his eyes.

"Plus he was sort of hoping I'd get eaten by a bear."

Izzy giggled again.

"Bears don't eat people," she said. "They bite you, but they won't eat you."

"Yeah, well, I'm scared of snakes too."

Izzy shook her head, obviously disappointed in Duo.

"Uncle Trowa and Heero aren't afraid of snakes, or bears, or wolves, or –"

"Wolves? There are wolves out here?!" Duo turned to glare at Quatre.

On his other side Trowa chuckled, and the rich sound made Duo pause.

"Not too many. We just need to make sure to keep the campsites clean, and we should be fine." Trowa's assurance sounded amused.

Mentally Duo kicked himself. Just because the guy was ridiculously good looking didn't mean that Duo had to make an idiot of himself. He looked over at Quatre, noticing how the blonde kept shooting glances down at Trowa.

Great. That made the tall brunette completely off limits to Duo. Even if he did want to compete with his friend (and he didn't), Quatre would no doubt be Trowa's first choice.

"…spend the first full day. Sound good?" Catherine was speaking.

"What? Sorry, I, um… zoned out," Duo mumbled, flushing when Heero glared at him again.

Catherine smiled kindly.

"We usually spend the first full day giving you riding lessons and letting you explore the creek. It's about half a mile from here."

"It's really fun to go swimming there!" Izzy joined in, eyes gleaming as she looked between Heero and Trowa.

"Yes," Trowa agreed, refusing to rise to her bait. "There's a walking trail as well."

"A swim sounds wonderful," Quatre said.

Duo glared at him and Quatre shrugged.

"I'm sure you could try the walking trail instead," he whispered.

"Traitor," Duo muttered back.

Catherine gave them patronizing looks.

"I'm sure that Izzy wouldn't mind going swimming tomorrow. I'll take you to the creek, Quatre. Duo, if you do want to try the trail, then Heero or Trowa could take you."

"Oh, it's fine, I don't want to trouble anyone –"

"It's no trouble," Heero said, his first words. Judging from his tone of voice, Duo was willing to be he had only spoken after being kicked under the table by Trowa.

"Okay. Great. Um, what time should we head out?"

"It's not too long of a trail. You could do it in the morning and be back for lunch, and we could have the riding lessons that afternoon," Catherine suggested.

"Okay. Sounds great."

Duo looked over at Heero, noticing how very unhappy he looked with the arrangement.

"Finished! Can we go for a ride now, Uncle Trowa?" Izzy pushed her plate away and turned big, blue eyes on Trowa.

"Izzy. Didn't Trowa tell you he wasn't going to take you riding tonight?" Catherine's "mom" tone seemed to have zero effect on the girl, who simply blinked and continued to look adorable.

Trowa sighed.

"Yes. I'll go saddle Heavyarms."

Izzy clapped her hands excitedly, then grabbed her empty plate and sped away inside.

Duo chuckled at her speed.

"She really wants to go riding," he said.

Trowa nodded.

"We usually go every night when it's summer. She likes to look at the stars."

Duo couldn't help but grin at the obvious affection between Trowa and his niece.

He saw the dopey look Quatre wore and forced his mind away from Trowa. Again. He looked over at Heero and saw that the man was glaring at him. Again.

Great, he thought, one of them already hates me and Quatre's in love with the other one.


It was after ten p.m. when Trowa and Izzy returned from their ride. Duo had decided to read on the back deck instead of joining Quatre and Catherine in watching Larry King interview President Obama. He didn't know where Heero had wandered off to after dinner, but Duo suspected the anti-social tour guide was in hiding.

One of Duo's greatest passions was the written word and for as long as he could remember it had been his one weakness. He was addicted to the library and during college had practically slept there. Quatre had warned him not to bring too many books on this vacation – on their trip to Key West two years ago Duo had read a record seventeen books in between jaunts to the bars – so he had only packed three books. He had finished one on the plane ride out and was now half-way through Lonesome Dove. He had read the book before, but there was something to be said for reading it out here, in Montana, instead of cooped up in his New York apartment.

Duo put the book down when he heard footsteps coming up the path to the deck.

It was Trowa, carrying a sleeping Izzy in his arms.

The guide nodded at Duo as he passed him, then disappeared into the house.

Sighing, Duo picked up his book again. But this time he was completely uninterested. He reread one paragraph four times before setting it down again.

"Book not very good?"

Duo spun around, almost falling off of his chair.

Trowa was leaning against the porch railing, half in shadow.

"Jesus you scared me."

"I'm sorry. Did you want me to leave you alone?" Trowa moved towards the door.

"No, no. I just didn't hear you come back out."

Trowa settled against the railing again. He nodded towards the book and Duo turned it so that he could see the cover.

"Are you a fan of westerns?" Trowa asked, one eyebrow arched.

Duo shrugged.

"Not particularly. But this isn't a typical western. I've read it before – thought it might be nice to reread out here."

Trowa nodded, thoughtful.

"I really read everything I can get my hands on," Duo went on. Babbling like an idiot. He forced himself to stop talking.

"We've got quite a few books here, in the office. If you want, you're more than welcome to read them while you're here."

"Thanks – Quatre made me promise not to bring too many."

Trowa smiled slightly.

"That was probably smart. The pack mule is going to be weighed down enough with your friend's luggage as it is."

Duo chuckled and a comfortable silence filled the lull in conversation.

After several minutes, however, Trowa shifted, and the movement caught Duo's eye.

"So… you ranch horses? When you aren't taking ignorant city people through the mountains?"

"Yeah. It was my father's ranch. When he died my sister got the idea to lead tours through the mountains. Been doing that ever since."

"Oh." The way Trowa spoke about his father made it clear that there had been no love lost between the two.

"And you? When you aren't roaming the wilds what do you do?" There was a grin in Trowa's voice and Duo laughed at the slight teasing.

"I teach high school history."

"Have any luck with that?"

Duo shrugged.

"With some. And with others… not so much."

"What about your friend?"

"Quatre? He's a stock broker. A real wizard."

"Does he invest your money?"

"No, a friend of his does. Quatre doesn't want to be responsible for me going bankrupt." Duo wondered why the conversation had shifted to Quatre. Of course, he realized, Trowa was fishing for information about the blonde.

"That's smart of him."

"Yeah," Duo agreed, refusing to elaborate.

"I get the impression you don't spend much time out of doors,"

"Well, I spend time outdoors. Just not in the woods."

"And you hate it already."

"No, not really. I mean… it's tough to look around and be able to see so much. All these stars are disconcerting. But the air feels nice out here. And it's quiet. I haven't had quiet in a long time."

"Was that a hint for me to leave you alone?"

"No – sorry. I mean, if you want to go, don't let me keep you out here –"

"No, I'm fine where I am."

Duo wasn't sure how to take that comment, afraid to read too much into it.

"So… you grew up here?"

Trowa shook his head.

"No. My mom and I moved around a lot. I never set foot on this place until my father died."

"Oh. Ah, I'm sorry I keep bringing that up."

"Don't be. It's nothing to be sorry for." Trowa's voice was hard and Duo wondered what had happened between him and his father to have estranged them so badly.

There was a crunch of dirt on the path leading to the porch and both Duo and Trowa turned.

Heero approached, still wearing a hat even though it was dark out.

"Everyone's in for the night," he said to Trowa, completely ignoring Duo.

Trowa nodded and Heero turned to Duo, his blue eyes piercing.

"What time did you want to head out tomorrow?" He demanded.

"Oh, ah. What time do you want to? I don't want to interrupt your schedule."

"You make my schedule for the next two weeks, Mr. Maxwell." Heero didn't sound very thrilled at the prospect.

"Right. Um, if we leave here at eight, will we be back in time for lunch?"

"If you're in good shape." Heero looked Duo over.

"Okay. Then eight?"

Heero nodded, gave Duo one final glare, and walked into the house. Duo looked over at Trowa as soon as Heero was gone.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

"No. He's always been like this. It's nothing personal."

"Must be a real hit with the tours…" Duo muttered under his breath.

Trowa chuckled and Duo flushed, unaware he had spoken that loudly.

"Shit – I'm sorry. I really shouldn't say –"

"No, it's fine. Heero's amazing on the tours, you'll see as soon as we set out. It's here that he seems out of place. He's never been good at staying still."

" Have you two been together for a while? I mean, working together?"

Trowa's eyes sharpened at the comment.

"Heero and I met eight years ago."

Duo knew he had somehow gotten too personal with that question.

He sucked in a deep breath, preparing for an apology.

"It might be wise to turn in soon, Mr. Maxwell. If you plan on hiking the trail in four hours, Heero's gonna work you over." There was a distant formality to Trowa's force.

"Oh. Ah. Thanks. G'night Tr – Mr. Barton." Duo watched the tall man walk back into the house.

"Great job, Duo.," he muttered to himself. "Piss off both of your tour guides." Visions of being left alone in the woods, surrounded by bears, while Trowa, Heero, and Quatre rode away to safety filled his mind.

TBC...