Unpredictable

Detailed summary: Quatre has recently found out about his mother's inheritance. His father left a great deal of money to him, but it was mainly for the colonies or emergencies. Quatre's sisters want to go to college and take vacations and whatnot, only there's a certain agreement in the Will if Quatre is to use his mother's inheritance: he must become at least the Prince and take care of her palace. With the responsibilities of his father's mansion and business (mainly working with colonies), and trying to fit into the new lifestyle of being half-blooded royalty, Quatre is stuck with too many jobs, endless nights of lack of sleep, and stress that's piling over his head.

Luckily, his best friend Duo is a laid-back and fun-going friend. He has a steady job, a nice apartment, but most of all he has contacts. From being on the streets to being a friendly and very persuasive guy, Duo is able to acquire two plane tickets to a most exotic resort: the Cayman Islands. However, the most fascinating and breath-taking trip turns out to be an unforgettable vacation for the both of them. With the gorgeous lodging hotels, pools as clear as crystal, palm trees and endless miles of beach with unimaginable scenery...nothing is compared to that as getting stranded in a dreamland with two beautiful and unpredictable lifeguards at the fantasy hotel.

Warning: Yes, yes, don't you love these. ^-^ There will be yaoi and yummy goodness. This is just a 3x4, 1x2 story, no other Gundam Wing couples...sorry. You may see other characters you know though. Also included is fluff, humor, and FUN! (this is NOT an angst/tragedy/sappy story, this is more than that, it's ROMANCE with twists, fun, exotic drinks and beautiful imagery...)

Prologue:

It was now two years after the tragic war between the colonies and the earth in which the earth declared war upon the colonies for fear they had made unstoppable weapons. There was always tension in the air between space and earth, for the distance made them suspicious of one another. Mobile suits and other weapons of mass destruction were created on both sides to attack one another. If there had been an actual active war and both sides had attacked each other to the fullest, neither one might be there for the present.

Mr. Winner of the Winner Foundation stepped in and claimed the peace between the two, preventing a war that would destroy the people's lives of freedom and happiness but be ruled by military officials and live with fear. However, claiming such a peace had a cost, and Mr. Winner paid with his life.

Several years later it was known that Mr. Winner had a son, who had not been reported on any of the records because he was the heir to the Winner foundation so Mr. Winner had kept his son a secret. Quatre Winner was thirteen years old when his father died and he came forth to take over his father's business. The colonies were more than happy to see another Winner working to keep the peace between them and Earth. Quatre indeed had spent a lot of time by his father's side learning what he could and working hard even at such a young age. It was because of his fair skin, golden hair and bright blue eyes that he got all from his mother that he was never suspected to be the child of Mr. Winner.

Quatre was born into a large family, but never knew the real reason. He had twelve sisters and was the middle child. Most of his older sisters were off working and starting their own lives, but often they looked up to him and kept in touch. His younger sisters were just beginning to take the step to go off on their own. Several of his sisters wanted to go to private colleges or get special studies in which they could travel to distant areas and learn from different environments. Although his father was very wealthy he had too many sisters to give that amount of money to. It was then, when he was fifteen in a half, that Quatre decided to dig into his past and find out if his mother left them anything.

Serenity Winner (or sometimes had been called Quatrine by Mr. Winner) had died when Quatre was only five. Since his father was the only parental figure in his life, Quatre turned to growing up in his footsteps. Rashid, his faithful protector who he befriended later on (not knowing how Rashid knew who he was), helped him get the Will of his deceased mother. And there he found out that his mother had not only left him a fortune in itself, but a palace along with that. Having so many sisters, it was much easier to have a much larger home for them to come back to, even all at once for family issues. And the fortune was well over enough to pay for more than his sisters for college. Only, the Will required one thing: for Quatre to become Prince of his mother's palace and look after it as she had.

Now with both parents' Wills stating for him to watch over what they left Quatre, and his sisters, he had no choice but to become overly busy and trapped within his own family duties. His sisters, especially Iria, helped when they could, but most of them were studying hard in college or working full time (despite their fortunes). Quatre was usually in meetings, signing papers, looking on reports and discussing issues with colony officials. He never had time off to enjoy his youth or life...at least he wouldn't have had that until he met Duo just over six months after he found out about his mother's Will.

It had also been a couple months after Quatre's sixteenth birthday that he met Duo in a nice restaurant. His waitress had been especially kind, Hilde Schbeiker. It was nice to join in with common life and take a break to enjoy a meal for his first time in many months. A boy had walked in, his stride carefree and smile plastered on his face as if the world existing was making him smile every day. It was a peaceful world now, but there were still often times issues that needed taken care of. Quatre had immediately seen something in the violet-eyed, braided boy. Duo Maxwell was free like a bird, happy to do as he pleased and he made plenty enough to take care of himself. Quatre had watched the boy waltz in, give Hilde a hug and sit at a table smiling. Just the simple act made Hilde laugh and Quatre feel as if he'd known the boy for a long time. Quatre had listened to their conversations and found out that Duo and Hilde had been friends for a while, even sharing Duo's apartment for some time. He listened enviously to their amusing stories and life experiences and only wished he had had the same freedom they did.

Duo was nearly opposite of himself, but that was what made him such an attractive friend. Duo was an orphan with no obligated duties, whereas Quatre had parents who had more than enough obligations for him to keep him occupied through the next three generations. Duo had also been many places in his life, and often he got to go to those areas for free because of the friends he had made. Quatre's social life was limited to colony officials, royalty, or any high-ranked people, which often times made him feel lonely.

For weeks Quatre came to the restaurant around the same time just to listen to their conversations and bizarre stories. One day, however, Quatre was sitting behind them listening again and working on the several reports the head colony officials gave him, when he noticed that Hilde had gotten up from the table to go take customer orders. Sighing, he had decided that it was time to go, since he usually left soon after they stopped talking, and he knew he had lots of work to do. He had barely even reached to close his notes when a figure approached the table.

Quatre had looked up to see the braided boy who sounded so adventurous, staring at him with a calm expression. Although it wasn't a huge grin, his eyes were noticeably serene with kindness. The boy had stood there for several minutes without speaking until he unfolded his arms and leaned on the table.

"My friend Hilde told me she sees you every day. She thinks you like to listen to us blabber, which is all right with me if you really like it."

"No...I...I," Quatre was at a loss for words.

He hadn't known what to say so instead he had lowered his eyes, "I'd better go."

Quatre had begun to pack up all his work, which was difficult because of the amount of stacks of papers. Duo had sat down across from him, watching intently.

"What is all that for?" he had asked, gesturing to the loads of paperwork.

"Oh, it's my work...," Quatre said softly.

"Looks like a lot of work for one person," Duo noted, tilting his head with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah...," Quatre answered half-heartedly.

Duo stared at him for a few minutes as Quatre began packing up. Suddenly, Quatre had found Duo's hand on top of the papers he had been currently packing up and Duo's soft violet eyes gazing into his own.

"What's your name?"

"Quatre," he had answered weakly.

Duo had smiled one of his goofy yet relieving grins and stuck out his hand.

"My name's Duo. If you really like hanging around here so much, maybe you could hang with me and Hilde sometime."

"That'd be nice but I'm awfully busy...all the time," Quatre said, lowering his eyes again.

He had felt a soft hand on top of his own and looked up startled again.

"Then we'll just have to change that. Can't have you drowning in papers now can we?"

For the first time in Quatre's life he had found a way to relieve all his stress. At present, almost two years later Duo and he were best friends. Together they went every Friday night to the restaurant where Hilde worked and sometimes the three of them hung out afterwards. For Quatre's seventeenth birthday Duo had taken him on a trip to New Zealand on Earth with Hilde and her family. It had been the best trip Quatre had ever taken, and the best birthday he ever had. The three of them were allowed to explore the beautiful scenery of New Zealand and had a blast shopping, horse-back riding and other activities Quatre had never experienced. They had a beautiful lodge-suite that they stayed in and Quatre had a cake and presents as well. Although he had always had a family birthday with cake, presents and more, it felt much more relaxing with friends.

Now it was nearing Quatre's eighteenth birthday and work was piling up again because his birthday was near the anniversary of the peace brought to the colonies and Earth. He had just finished attending a meeting with all the colony representatives, in which they had constructed a new shuttle design to depart from the earth to the colonies and vice versa. That was the small notebook in his hand, but the large folder containing more than a hundred different sheets contained the plans for an enormous colony that would be built as a shelter or escape. That if something happened to the colonies it would fit all the people from each or several colonies to live until more colonies were reconstructed. They were fearing that in the later future meteor showers might become a threat. Earth too was in the process of designing something underground for the people to escape to in times of threat of natural disasters out of anyone's hands.

Quatre sighed heavily as he slumped into the restaurant, now his favorite eating place to come since nearly two years ago, and sat at his original booth. He dumped the two folders onto the table and closed his eyes as he leaned back. When he opened them again he saw Hilde coming toward him with her kind smile on her face. Her bright blue eyes often cheered him up along with her smile, but he had been under stress for the past few months with no sleep and barely any food that he just couldn't bring himself to produce a smile to satisfy her concern.

She approached bringing her tray and set a glass of ice tea in front of him, knowing that was Quatre's favorite drink when he needed to be relaxed.

"What's the matter, Quatre? Work isn't eating you up again, is it?" Hilde asked, sitting across from him with a worried expression etched into her features.

Quatre leaned forward, his bright blonde hair covering his eyes for a minute before he looked back up.

"I wish I could lie to you, but I can't," he answered tiredly.

Hilde reached over and placed her hand on his, rubbing it gently.

"Don't worry Quatre, cheer up. After all, this was the last meeting for some time, right?" she tried to soothe him.

Quatre's eyebrows furrowed with exhaustion but he nodded in recognition.

"Yes, that's it for now. Hopefully I can take nearly a year off from doing anything remotely this stressful. Iria can't help me much anymore because she just got a letter in the mail from the professional photography company and they loved her work."

Hilde's face lit up, "That's incredible. What company?"

"McGowen's," Quatre answered with a weak smile.

At the mention of the name Hilde's eyes bulged out with surprise.

"No way....That's the most incredible photography place out there, isn't it? At least on Earth. I heard it's the head of many areas like it, some more focused in the graphic department, but their magazines are famous nationally!" she exclaimed, practically leaning out of her seat toward him.

Quatre couldn't help but smile at her acknowledgment. He knew Iria was exceptionally talented with taking pictures ever since she was young. She often had taken professional pictures of their father with his company, yet even Iria thought that she wouldn't get into such a big department. They were starting her off as an amateur to take pictures of some known actors, but not widely famous, and such. It was still a start though and she was more than happy to take it. That left Quatre with most of the work though, even with Rashid and his men helping out it was still too much.

The papers were moved aside as Quatre lay his head on his arms, sighing deeply. He didn't want to think about the paperwork ahead or the late-night editing of the plans for the emergency colony. He just wanted to forget it all, for a while. He knew he had plenty of time, no doubt years before it was built and maybe about a year before they ever discussed it again, but he'd rather do that and have an excuse to miss Relena's peace celebration bash.

Relena Peacecraft was a pacifist, hence her last name, but she was a social butterfly. She was known to most as Princess Relena, but unlike Quatre she was born a princess and raised into it. She inherited her mother and father's palace and though they never officially met until Quatre became prince of his mother's palace, her father had helped his father during the war. It was only natural for her to invite Quatre to all her formal parties with other royal families. She intended to get him involved in the royal lifestyle, but Quatre, even if he had been full blood royalty, was still born into a different life. He enjoyed some of the parties but most were boring with kings and queens, princes and princesses just trying to hook up with each other, make more money, talk about peace treaties and show off their new expensive garments and accessories.

He just wasn't that kind of person. In fact, he never liked being rich because he was judged wrongly, much like most rich people were, and sometimes people tried to take advantage of him because he was still young. And when he became royalty many people who had known him before began to treat him differently as if he was much more superior to them and it made him feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. He really wanted to just blend in with everyone else, but that had yet to come true for him.

"Poor birthday boy," Hilde patted his arm. "Duo will cheer you up, he should be here any minute."

Quatre lifted his head and nodded slowly. Duo was usually a temporary solution when he was miserable, but he always made him feel so much better, which was why Quatre looked forward to Fridays every time. He loved hanging out with his two best friends and hearing what ridiculous things happened to them.

Hilde smiled as she got up and gave him a hug before she had to turn back to her waitress duties. After she left, Quatre's eyes fell onto the packets in front of him and the memories of having so much work every day came forth. He was about to sulk some more when the door of the restaurant jingled, signaling someone's presence. Quatre looked up and to his joy found it was indeed Duo, right on time as usual.

"Hiya Hilde!" Duo called waving.

Hilde smiled and waved back as she carried drinks on a tray on one hand. Duo then turned and spotted Quatre, his smile growing bigger. As he approached though, Duo's smile wavered into large, wide eyes at the stack of papers sitting before his friend. Duo sat down, groaning.

"What did they give you to do this time?"

Quatre smiled slightly but handed him the folder. Duo opened it right away and scanned the plans quickly, trying to take in as much as he could in two minutes.

"You've got to be kidding me! An emergency colony that's so big we might as well fit the earth in it!" Duo snapped the folder shut. "I thought they were planning a nice little peace celebration and now they're all ready worried an apocalypse is coming?!"

A soft, rich laugh left Quatre's throat as he inwardly sighed, relieved to be able to find such comfort.

"Yes, I know. It's ridiculous but I guess it's better to be prepared."

Duo rolled his eyes, grabbing Quatre's cup of ice tea and taking a sip.

"They're only doing this because they know you'll do most of the work," he remarked.

Quatre lowered his chin to rest on his hand.

"I know," he sighed. "The meeting won't be for another 8 to 12 months so at least I have plenty of time to look into it."

"Oh no you don't," Duo scolded, grabbing the papers and sliding them away from him. "You're going to have an unforgettable birthday with no work whatsoever. They won't notice that you've taken time off because they'll be celebrating peace for months to come, taking time off with their families. Come on Quat, the colonies and Earth are at peace, have been for four years now. Maybe they expect you to take a break too and stop worrying. These projects will eventually get done, but you can't make up years of your life you know."

"I know, Duo," Quatre said lowering his eyes. "You're absolutely right, but if I put aside this work and let them know I'm taking time off, I'll have to go to Relena's royal peace celebration. She sent me an invitation weeks earlier and she called me. I don't know what pleasure she gets in taking me to these parties, but I'd rather do work than go to one."

Duo chuckled, "I know what you mean. Relena probably wants to impress some prince she wants to marry and thinks that the famous Quatre Winner will win their heart over. It's so low what some royal people will do for more money."

"Tell me about it," Quatre replied, smiling with amusement.

The two of them laughed together just as Hilde approached their table.

"Hey, no telling jokes without me," she winked.

Duo turned to her and slapped on a serious expression, "But Hilde, how can we do that when it's you we're talking about?"

"Ha, ha," she glared playfully at him.

Quatre try to stifle a laugh but Hilde caught him.

"And you too!" she slapped him playfully on the arm. "Now, what can I get you future gentlemen to eat?"

Duo snorted, "Nice try Hilde."

"I'll just have the usual," Quatre smiled, his blue-green eyes sparkling with laughter that he hadn't felt in a while.

"And you sir?" Hilde smirked at Duo. "I'm afraid only seafood for you."

Duo scrunched up his nose and disgust as she smiled victoriously. He then stuck up his nose and turned away.

"Fine, I'm not coming here anymore."

"Good riddance," Hilde muttered, writing down Duo's usual as well. "Oh yeah, don't forget to show Quatre the surprise."

Duo snapped out of his act as she mentioned that, smiling brightly. Quatre stared questionably from Hilde to Duo.

"What surprise?"

A large grin spread across Duo's face and turned into a wicked grin. It was an expression Duo wore when he was hiding a secret. Hilde too looked just as excited.

"Well...," Duo began, leaning over the table. "Since your birthday is in three days I decided long before, when those colony guys stuck you with most of the work, that I would get you something extra special this year."

"Duo....I told you not to go all out for me," Quatre said.

"Do you really think I'm going to listen to you? I know what's best for you, and you need something stronger than a simple week off away from the colonies. You need an actual vacation," Duo smiled.

Hilde was practically jumping up and down as Duo slowly reached into his pants and pulled out something.

"Close your eyes," he said and Quatre obeyed, hesitating only slightly.

He felt the light weight in his hand and peeked one eye open before both of them. Suddenly, Quatre's eyes widened as he realized what he was holding.

"Plane tickets?"

Duo nodded, "To the earth...keep reading."

Quatre opened them and suddenly he couldn't keep from choking. Finally, he looked up wide-eyed at his best friend who was staring mischievously at him.

"The Cayman Islands?"

"Best exotic beach resort there is," Duo grinned. "Fancy restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, the beach, beautiful scenery and crystal clean water, the beach."

"Okay Duo, he gets it," Hilde smiled.

Quatre's mouth was slightly open as he kept staring at the tickets as if he couldn't believe he was holding them. He couldn't imagine going to a fancy hotel, swimming in clear ocean waters by beaches with palm trees and eating from fancy restaurants. He finally found his voice after much silent mouthing.

"H-how long is it for?"

"That's the best part, it's for three weeks."

Quatre couldn't help but smile.

"Duo...it must've cost a fortune."

Hilde shook her head, "No, Duo knows a friend down there who got you in for free."

"Free?" Quatre choked out.

"Yeah, he seems to respect you a lot," she winked at Quatre.

Quatre turned abruptly toward Duo who had turned away to look outside the window.

"You told him who I was?"

"Relax Quatre, you won't know anyone else there. Besides, it was the only way I could get them for free. Well, we'll have to pay for the hotel rooms and anything we eat or buy, but that's it."

Quatre sat back, still in shock that he would actually get a vacation. Not just a vacation, a dream vacation. A wonderful place that many people dream of going to: an exotic island with your heart's desire.

"When do we leave?" Quatre asked.

"Tomorrow evening of course," Duo smiled. "So, you better get home and pack."

Quatre jumped up quickly, "Oh no, I don't have a bathing suit, or warm clothes, or anything for a vacation!"

"Call Rashid, he'd do anything for you at any time," Hilde reminded him.

"Yeah, and I'll come with you. I need to get a few things myself," Duo smiled.

Hilde stopped Quatre from jumping up from his seat.

"Relax hun, I'll go call Rashid and tell him to pick you two up in forty-five minutes. Until then, both of your meals are cooking and should be out shortly. And don't forget a camera!" Hilde reminded.

"Wait, you're not coming?" Quatre asked.

Hilde laughed, "No, I'd love to but I have other things. Besides, you guys should spend some quality time together. Now have fun and take lots of pictures!"

Quatre turned to Duo as Hilde walked to go phone Rashid.

"Duo, I don't know how to thank you...," he began.

Duo shook his head, "Quat, just as long as you have a blast."

"Thank you, Duo," Quatre smiled softly, "Thank you."

TO BE CONTINUED....