Strength of Friendship
Is the strength of the Gundam Pilots friendship enough to save their fellow comrade and help him in his time of depression and need? Or will anger and frustrations tear the five friends apart?
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Pilots or anything else that is affiliated with them. Pretty much anything you recognize. =) I DO OWN THE PLOT, THIS CAME FROM MY OWN CONFUSING LITTLE MIND! Psst! I also own Trowa 's girlfriend and Quatre's fiancé or anything else you don't recognize.
~*~Chapter 1~*~
The Invitations
"Dou? Dou! Wake up! C'mon, I've got something for ya!"
"Just gimme five more minutes Hilde. Please!"
"It's already noon, and you've been sleeping since 10:00 PM last night."
Hilde continued reading the "Cosmic Teen" magazine that she held in her hand. It was strange, she thought, as her mind turned away from the "Most Embarrasing Moments", column that she was engrossed in. It was a year after the war with Dekim Barton and everyone was finally at peace. The Gundam Pilots had finished their mission and gone their seperate ways. Wufei was working as a Preventer, Quatre was still running the family business that had been passed onto him after his father's death, Trowa was still with the circus troope, and Dou was now working as a mechanic at the local auto-repair shop. Heero left after Vice Foreign Minister Darlain was returned and Dekim was stopped. Most thought Heero would stay with Relena, but he disappeared and no one has heard from him since.
*Thud*
"Looks like the guy finally decided to join the land of the living," Hilde thought as she giggled out loud.
*Smack* "Owe, you stupid little......." *Bang* "...okay, that's it! I'm gonna....."
*Thud* "....OH I GIVE UP!!!!"
"I just said get up Dou....I didn't say to kill yourself getting dressed!" the young girl tried to inform the retired pilot between hysterical outbursts of laughter.
"Okay, laugh it up, but next time you try and get dressed and you're own appliances try to kill you, don't come cryin' to me," Dou retorted to Hilde's uncontrollable laughter. This only made her laugh harder, if possible. In defeat, Dou threw his hands in the air and laughed along with his girlfriend. After about five minutes the couple could finally control their laughter.
"Hey, you said you had something for me. Were you lying Hilde?" Dou asked giving his girlfriend those irresistible puppy-dog eyes and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Okay, which one do you want first? Choose, left hand or right hand?" Questioned Hilde as if it were a life or death situation.
"Which one, which one....", Dou murmured to himself, as if he were on the historic game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
"C'mon, just choose already!"
"Watcha got in your left hand?"
Dou gave Hilde a quizzical look as she pointed out the door. "In the kitchen," was all she said.
As Dou wondered off to the kitchen, Hilde held her breath in anticipation. She knew that the surprise would make him happy, something to make him feel good.
"You didn't! Thank you Lord, I've been blessed with an angel!" was the praise that arose from the other room.
Chocolate chip cookies, still warm and gooey from just an hour before awaited the famished young pilot. These were his favorite, something to help get his mind off of the nightmares she knew he'd been having. He hadn't told her, but she had been awakened a few times by his violent tossing and turning. He seemed to be loosing more and more sleep each night.
"Thanks Hilde, you're the greatest!" proclaimed Dou, walking into the living room once more, only this time he help the plate of cookies in his hands. He sat down next to her and offered her one, which she willingly took from him.
"So what was in your other hand?" the boy questioned in-between chewing.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you never to talk with your mouth full?" Hilde scolded playfully. Dou only gave her a devilish grin.
"Here ya go." she said, rolling her eyes and handing him the envelope. It had come in earlier that morning as sleeping beauty snored away. She let him sleep in today, after all it was Saturday and she just didn't have the heart to wake him up any earlier. Especially since he was sleeping soundly instead of in a horrendious nightmare.
"Hey, it's from Relena! Wonder what her majesty's got for me today?!?!" He began to open it as if it were a live bomb he were to disarm. Finally, not having the patience to continue the cherade, he tore open the envelope and read the letter out loud.
"Dear Dou, November 16
It's been a while since we last spoke. I have missed you and the others.
I wanted to invite you all to a reunion. This will allow us to spend time
together, relax, and just to see old friends.
The date is excpected to be about two weeks from now, Sunday,December 1st to Saturday, December 7th. This is because I know you are probably all very busy working and you do have lives, but I thought it would be fun to have a little reunion. Please send back your reply, and any problems you may have so that we may try and work around them. You will be notified if any dates are changed.
Your friend,
Relena Darlain Peacecraft "
"Well, do you think I should go?" Dou asked, he wanted to hear what Hilde had to say. "Why am I asking her, yes she's my girlfriend, but I'm the God of Death! I'm a Gundam Pilot! Am I seriously so whipped that I have to ask for her permission? Since when did Death need to ask permission?"
"I know you're going to go anyway, with or without my permission. I think you'd have fun and it might do ya some good. To be with your friends again, I mean. Go ahead, I know you can get the time off of work."
"Thanks Hilde!" he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.
"Well, what are you waiting for, call her!"
"Wait! I'm not gonna leave you here by yourself. You're coming with me if Relena doesn't complain, so I hope you don't have any plans."
"Are you going to let her know or what?!" chided Hilde, lightly slapping Dou in the back of his head playfully.
"I swear, I don't get any respect," he called over his should as he reached for the vid-phone sitting on the table.
"BEEP! BEEP!"
"Looks like someone beat me," he said reluctantly opening the vid-phone screen, hoping it wasn't work calling him in again.
"Dou?'
"I told you I'm not coming in tod....Heero! Heero, where ya been!? Great to hear from ya! How're things going?"
"Hey Dou," was the only answer.
"Hey man, you feelin' alright? You don't look so good. What's wrong?"
"I'm fine, just needed to talk."
Dou knew that Heero wasn't fine at all. His friend seemed to be really depressed and tired. There were circles around his eyes and he was extremely pale.
"Heero, stop lying, what's wrong."
"I'll leave the two of you so you guys can get a little privacy," Hilde suggested as she got up to leave for her room.
"Thanks Hild!" With his appreciation expressed, the God of Death returned to his interrogation.
"Have you at least gone to see a doctor?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
"No, I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep. It's nothing."
"Wanna talk about it. If not, alright, but now you know my number so you can call here anytime you need to talk to someone, you know."
"Thanks."
This was surprising, he really had changed from the Heero he had faught along side with. The Heero he knew didn't really like to talk or ask for help, but you could see that his eyes just cried out for it. He usually didn't show gratitude either.
"Whatcha wanna talk about?" said Dou, trying to get Heero talking about what was wrong, or at least get his mind off of the subject so that he would lighten up. "Your girlfriend? Naw, probably wouldn't get a good, juicy story with that one."
A small smile spread across the somber boy's lips.
"You should talk. Hilde's probably already got you whipped."
"You crazy! I am the king of my castle and I take orders from no one," Dou boasted a little too loudly.
"I heard that Dou! For that, you're gonna do the dishes AND clean the house up! I hope you don't have a problem with that, or do you?''
"No, no problem here." He was defeated. You could hear quiet chuckling in the background.
"I think this is the first time I've ever heard you laugh, man."
"You're right, you're the king of your castle and take orders from no one." stated Heero sarcastically.
"Hey now! I was just...."
"Saying something Dou?" Hilde called from her room.
"Nothing!"
Now it was no longer a quiet chuck, but a true, audible laugh. "This is amazing, how many times have I tried to get this guy to lighten up? Then, he just threatened to kill me. Now he's laughing, he's actually laughing!" He was glad to see that his friend was no longer depressed, but actually enjoying himself.
Slowly, Heero's laughter subsided. Dou didn't dare say anything to interrupt this tiny miracle. Besides, the guy looked like he really needed it, especially since they say that laughter is the best medicine.
"Why'd you call to talk, anyway? Not like I'm complaining, actually I'm relieved. We haven't heard from you in forever and I wasn't expecting it. I thought they were gonna try and call me into work again." He immediately regretted asking because Heero lowered his eyes and the life from them seemed to disappear once more.
"I....I just can't....she wouldn't understand.....I just....I don't know!" This was tearing Dou's heart in pieces. Heero was sitting, head in hands, going into a major breakdown. What really killed him was the fact that he couldn't do much for his friend, especially when he truly needed him the most.
"Hey buddy, it's okay. Just hang in there," he said, trying to give the confused boy some comfort. "Tell me your address."
"Huh?" It was barely more than a whisper as he kept his head in his hands, not bothering to even look up.
"You heard me," repeated Dou, patience and sympathy taking the place of concern in his voice,"give me your address. You don't look like you should be alone, so I'm gonna come and get you. You can stay with us for a while."
"Why would you do something like that for me? After all of the times I've nearly killed you, or even threatened to, you would still want to have me around?" He spoke louder this time, unsure of his worth in the world.
"Of course, what else are brothers for?"
"Brothers?" There was a tiny inkling of hope in his words.
"You aren't just a friend, I've known you longer than that. You've become a part of my family now. I never knew family, except for my family of friends. You're like a brother to me, so is Quatre, Trowa, and yes, even Wufei."
"Thank you, Dou.''
"Sure, I just kinda need your address first though." Dou looked up from the screen as he heard a small creek. Hilde stood in the doorway, a gentle smile of approval playing on her lips. Dou nodded and smiled back just before Hilde went to go and prepare the guest room.
"Hope you don't mind if it's not all that fancy. It's a nice place though. It's getting a little cold, so unless you like to swim in ice cold water, I don't suppose you'll be using the pool. I just got a new spa put in for Hilde, but you're welcome to use it. Man, it really works too!"
"Where'd you get the money for that?" Heero asked, curiousity taking over as he type in his address. He was glad to talk about something else. He was a bit surprised he was actually consenting to this, after all this was Dou we were talking about. He finished typing.
"DON'T ASK! I'm still killin' myself workin' to pay for it. I'm glad Hilde enjoys it though.
Hey, get your stuff packed, I'm getting the first plane out there. Heero? Heero, whats wrong!" Heero had closed his eyes and he was rocking from side to side, back and forth. He didn't seem concious about the world around him. His breathing seemed to be forced.
"Heero! Come on, you gotta talk to me, man." Dou was just getting ready to call the hospital when his friend spoke.
"Dont'.....don't have a heart-attack. Just...just a....a dizzy spell. I'm fine.......really."
His breathing was still forced.
"Don't you have a neighbor or a friend that could come over and stay with you? I'd feel a lot better man if ya had someone with you 'till I got there. You seriously don't look too good and I don't want to show up and see you passed out on the floor. If it were a hot super model, then I wouldn't mind a little mouth to mouth. But you, c'mon, I think the police might side with me, but the law would get me for sitting back and hoping you come out of it on your own. Especially if you decide not to pull through," he teased. "Sorry, but there's only so much I can handle man!" This got yet another chuckle out of him as he got his breathing under control.
"Hey, but seriously, is one of your neighbor's home. One that could stay with you for a while. I'll leave when I'm sure you're gonna be okay."
"Fine," was his only reply. He left, went across the hall, and came back with a guy that looked a couple of years older than him. The new guy sat down in front of the vid-screen.
"Hi, my name's Jack. Heero said you had a favor to ask me?" The new guy, Jack, informed him. Heero was leaning against the back of another chair, just behind and off to the right of the one that Jack now sat in. He looked like he was having another "dizzy spell".
"Heero?" Dou called back to his friend. Jack looked over at Heero, got up, and went to help support him; he was about ready to fall over. Jack spoke softly to Heero, then lead him to the couch where he layed down.
"Ya........could you stay with the guy untill I get there. He doesn't look too well and I just want to make sure he's okay."
"Sure, can I ask your name though?"
"Dou," then aiming his question to his friend, "think you're gonna be okay man?"
Heero gave him a small wave from the couch.
"I'll be there in a little while. Just hang on and stay cool."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Catherine scanned the fair grounds like a hawk. "Where on earth could that guy have gone?" she thought to herself as she continued to search for her brother.
"Trowa. Trowa! Where are you Trowa!?!?"
Frustration now getting the best of her, Cathy spun around and nearly collided with the circus troope's manager. He was showing his young niece around, for this was her first time at the circus.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Have you seen my brother or Maria. Do you even have any clue as to where they might be?"
"He went over there," Amanda piped up. "He gotted me my balloon, too,'' she was sure to add, a smile illuminating her face.
"Thanks Amanda." Catherine called over her should, smiling as she walked to where the child had directed her.
"Jeff, have you seen Trowa around?" she asked the operator of the balloon stand.
"Ya, he's over there winning Maria another stuffed animal." Jack paused momentarily to hand a little boy a bright green balloon and take the money from his parents. "Big surprise, huh."
"You're tellin' me."
Squeezing through a slight break in the highway of people that wondered around, Cathy found Trowa retrieving a life sized, Siberian Tiger plush toy and handing it to a young Mexican-American girl. She was just a little shorter than Trowa, skinny and athletic looking, waist length, slightly curled, dark brown hair, and hazel colored eyes. She was really sweet and considerate, she reminded Cathy of Quatre, personality wise, and was like a little sister to her. She joined their troope as Trowa had, only she was the animal trainer. Her specialty was working with the larger, more exotic felines.
"Trowa!" The teenager's head shot up at the sound of his name, spotted his sister, and waved. Cathy jogged over to the couple.
"Hey there Trowa, hi Maria," she greated them quickly. "I've been looking all over the fair grounds for you for at least an hour now. I've got something for you. It came in just after you left. You also got a call."
"Who's the call from sis?" asked Trowa as he snatched the letter from Cathy's hand and read the address. "It's from Relena. I haven't heard from her since the battle with Mariemia. Wonder what this is?"
"It was Quatre, he said he was just calling to say hi and see how things were going, but you had already left about 5 minutes before and I couldn't find you."
"I'll have to be sure to call him back," he stated, half to himself.
Trowa read the letter silently to himself, then announced what it said to Maria and his sister.
"Well you gonna go?" Maria questioned leaning against his shoulder. "Sounds like it'd be a lot of fun.''
"Think I should go?"
"Absolutely. They're your friends." Maria assured her boyfriend.
"Especially after all of the trouble they went through to get you to fight again after the little accident in battle."
Trowa remembered. Then, he was so confused, always trying to remember memories that his mind hid; trying to make clearer the fuzzy images and facts about his life that he knew were there, but couldn't decipher. It was a real struggle to get his memory back, but finally something just had to snap, and he could remember once again. Though some of the memories he wished he could have just left behind.
"Okay, that's settled. Might as well go and tell Relena." Trowa headed back to his tent with Maria clinging to his arm, and holding her tiger in the other.
"Sis?" he called back over his shoulder just as Cathy was about to make her way to the cotton candy stand.
"Ya?''
"If you see the manager, could you tell him for me that I will be gone from the 1st of December to the 7th?"
"Sure thing little brother."
With that, Trowa and Maria weaved between groups of people as they slowly made their way to the tent.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quatre sat at his desk, mountains upon mountains of paperwork piled in front of him, waiting to be reviewed and signed. The study was a large room, which only furnishings were a small brown leather sofa, a couple of chairs, and a large mahogany desk which, at the time, could hardly be seen underneath all of the documents. Suddenly there was a small rapping on the door which surprised the preoccupied teenage boy. Quatre nearly screamed aloud when the silence was disturbed, for it was so unexpected.
Regaining his composure quickly, he bade whoever stood outside his study door to enter.
"Oh, hi Amber, can I help you?"
"Your sister, Sara, asked me to give this to you. She said that she had to leave, the hospital had some emergancy."
"Thanks,'' Quatre said as he took the letter from the girl. "It's from Relena."
Amber circled around the desk and stood behind him. Hugging him from behind, she looked over Quatre's shoulder as he read the invitation to himself. A smile spread across his face, he'd be able to see the guys again. His comrades in the war, and his friends for life. It'd been a while since they last spoken to each other. He wondered how everyone else was fareing in the time of peace. He hoped everything was alright. He'd tried to call Trowa about an hour ago, but Cathy told him that he'd just left right before Quatre called.
"What's it say?"
"It's an invitation to the Sinq Kingdom. Miss Relena's trying to get everyone together and have a little reunion. I think we'll go, if you don't mind that is."
"I thought it was an invitation to you?" reminded his fiancé.
"Well, then it looks like I'll just have to call and tell her you're coming with."
Amber bent down, as Quatre had taken a seat to read his letter, and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, then you better let her majesty know, or else you'll just be being rude." Quatre turned his head towards his love and kissed her on the lips. It lasted a few short seconds to the observer, but to them, it felt as though lasted at least an hour, at least a happy, blissful, satisfying hour.
Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from her gaze and went once more to the work that lay before him.
"You need a break Quatre," she spoke softly, massaging his shoulders and neck. He was extremely stress over the demands that were being thrown at him and he'd been in the his study for the entire day, except when he went to call his friend. He leaned back, allowing her to work her magic. His muscles were sore and stiff, but that wouldn't last for too much longer if Amber had anything to say about it. "You need to rest, these can wait untill later. After you call Miss Relena, why don't you try and call one of your other friends? One of the four of them is bound to be home, after all, it is Saturday. Then, you and I can go for a little swim downstairs, huh?"
He thought for a moment, looked at the unread documents lying upon his desk, gazed into Amber's miscievious eyes, and nodded, "Sounds good to me." And they kissed once again.
"When you're done, come and get me, I'll be in my room. Take your time and enjoy yourself, and now I shall leave you to your privacy."
When the door had shut behind her, Quatre headed for the sofa where the vid- phone lay. All the while thinking to himself of how he'd been blessed with a gift from God and that he was extremely lucky to have someone like Amber.
He quickly punched in the numbers and waited.
"Hello Mr. Winner. It's good to see you again. May I help you?"
"Hello Pegin, could you tell Miss Relena that I wish to speak with her?"
"Just one moment please." And with that Relena's butler disappeared from sight. Moments later Pegin returned, this time with Princess Relena at his side.
"Quatre, it's good to hear from you. How are you?" she asked, a smile lighting up her face.
"Hello Relena. It's good to hear from you too. Besides piles of documents and request that still cover my desk, everything's alright."
"You look tired."
"I feel that way, but they've got to be done."
"Well, don't stress yourself out too much over them. Did you get my invitation yet?"
"Actually that's what I called to talk about. I wouldn't feel right leaving Amber here alone. I want to see everyone again, Lord knows I do and I couldn't think of anything better, but I can't leave her alone for a week."
"Go ahead and bring her with you Quatre. You know I welcome everyone in my home, and it's not a bother." She added the last part in knowing that Quatre would probably think he was being rude.
"Thanks Relena." A familiar smile lit his face. It slowly disappeared right before he asked, "Have you heard from anyone else lately?"
"No, I haven't. You?"
"I tried to get a hold of Trowa, be he'd left the tent just before I call and Cathy couldn't find him."
Another voice interrupted them. "Miss Relena," it was Pegin, "your elder brother says he needs your assistance with an important problem."
"One moment," she called over her shoulder. Then turning to face the young man, "It appears our time has been cut short.''
"Well, then I'd better let you go. It felt good to talk again, Relena."
"It did. Goodbye Quatre!"
"Goodbye Relena." With that, the screen faded to black. "Maybe Dou's home. I think I'll try him next." The ex-pilot immediately pulled up the address program and typed in Dou's number. The phone began to dial almost at once. After two rings someone answered.
"Quatre! Hey, to what do I owe this honor?"
"Hey Hilde, is Dou there?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Quatre, his plane left an hour ago."
"Seems like I just keep missing everyone," he spoke half to himself, "do you know when he'll be back?"
"Uhm, if everything goes okay, he should be back in a couple of hours." She calculated in her mind. "Make it about three and a half."
"If everything goes okay?"
"He left to go and get Heero. The poor guy didn't looking so good when he called. He said he was just calling to talk, but I know Dou knew there was something more bothering him. He didn't sound like his normal self either."
"Heero? Do you know what's wrong? How bad did he look? Is he okay?"
"Hey, hold on a minute here. One question at a time please. Ya, Heero called. I don't know what's wrong, he said that he'd just been missing out on a lot of sleep. He looked really pale, skinnier than normal, he hasn't been eating right, that's for sure. He actually looked as fragile as glass. After I left, I heard the two talking, and a couple of times, I think I heard him laugh."
"Which one?"
"Well we all know it's not a surprise to hear Dou laugh, but I think it was Heero. It started off soft, then it grew louder. Of course, Dou does have a price to pay for helping his friend out." This time, it was a devilish grin that appeared on Hilde's face.
"Oh no, what happened?"
"He just has to do the dishes and clean the house for a week. I think I might just let the poor guy off with the dishes, instead of both. It put him back in his place though." The two laughed for a few minutes as Hilde explained the whole conversation to Quatre.
"Anyway, when I came back, Dou was asking him for his address. He was telling him about how he was going to live with us for a little while. Heero looked so much more alive than he had before he laughed. I'm not for sure what happened after that. I heard Dou yelling Heero's name, he sounded really worried. I came to see and by the time I got there, Dou was finishing his conversation with one of the guy's neighbors. I think his name was Jack? He asked the guy to stay with Heero untill he got there. All Dou told me before he left was that Heero had a, and I quote, "dizzy spell."
"If it was enough to get Dou that disturbed, something else has got to be wrong. Hmph. Can you call me when they get there?''
"Sure."
"Thanks Hilde."
"No prob."
"Well, I've got to go, I'll talk to you later than."
"Okay. 'Bye Quatre!"
"Goodbye Hilde."
The vid screen turned black once more. "Poor Heero, the guy must be in some really bad shape by the way Hilde described him. It also sounded like he practically begged for help, but didn't." His thoughts were disturbed as his vid phone rang with an incoming call.
"Hi Quatre!" It was Trowa.
"Hey Trowa."
"What's wrong?" Concern filled Trowa's eyes as he stared compassionatly at his friend.
"It's Heero. He's not doing to good by the way Hilde described him. He'd called Dou about an hour ago."
"What'd she say?"
"She told me...."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wufei stretched his arms high above his head in an attempt to loosen his stiff muscles. His shift was almost over as he monitored the colonies assigned to his team. Everything had been quiet and still, thus, the young warrior was extremely bored.
"What I wouldn't give for an arguement to start up right now. Not just a petty little arguement either." A voice surprise him from behind.
"You're a preventor. You're not supposed to hope for those things." It was Sally Po, she wasn't on shift for another seven hours. "But off the record, I agree. We need to stir things up a little bit."
"Come to keep me company or make miscief onna?"
"Both."
"Sounds good to me." Wufei had changed somewhat over the time. He and Sally fell in love and had been going out for about nine months, give or take a few days. He'd learned to relax, have fun, and and laugh. After all of Dou's and Quatre's attempt's which swayed the young man somewhat, it was Sally that finally convinced him.
"How long you got left on shift?"
"About fifteen more minutes."
"Wanna come and grab a bit to eat after you're off, then we can head back to my room and I can loosen up those stiff muscles of your's."
"What did you have planned?" Miscief sparkled in his eyes.
Sally kissed him on the lips, then spoke, "It's a surprise." Then taking something out of her pocket, "By the way, this is for you." With that she left the room, Wufei's eyes following her as she left. Maybe they would just skip the eating part and head straight to her room.
Wufei turned his attention to the letter. It was from her majesty, Princess Relena. He proceeded in opening it and read it to himself. "A reunion. Sounds like this could be interesting. If anything else, it'll give me another chance to give Maxwell a hard time." He put the letter back into the envelope, reminding himself to let Relena know that he'd accept. With the remainder of his time, he kept himself entertained by thinking of ways to give the God of Death trouble.
-Lady Stardancer
Author's note:
I seriously hope that you all enjoyed this. I tried to make it interesting, and this is my first time doing this. The first half probably sounds different from the last half, but that's because I had some help from a friend. I just needed to get a feel for writing again. I like to make things dramatic, so it gets better. If this one really bothers you, tell me in your review and I'll try and rewrite it. If you do review though, please, in the area that says name, write:
"S.O.F." (strength of friendship) This way, I can tell my reviews apart from the junk mail. ( they seem to love me, cause they keep sending me the junk) THANX LOTS!!!!
Is the strength of the Gundam Pilots friendship enough to save their fellow comrade and help him in his time of depression and need? Or will anger and frustrations tear the five friends apart?
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Pilots or anything else that is affiliated with them. Pretty much anything you recognize. =) I DO OWN THE PLOT, THIS CAME FROM MY OWN CONFUSING LITTLE MIND! Psst! I also own Trowa 's girlfriend and Quatre's fiancé or anything else you don't recognize.
~*~Chapter 1~*~
The Invitations
"Dou? Dou! Wake up! C'mon, I've got something for ya!"
"Just gimme five more minutes Hilde. Please!"
"It's already noon, and you've been sleeping since 10:00 PM last night."
Hilde continued reading the "Cosmic Teen" magazine that she held in her hand. It was strange, she thought, as her mind turned away from the "Most Embarrasing Moments", column that she was engrossed in. It was a year after the war with Dekim Barton and everyone was finally at peace. The Gundam Pilots had finished their mission and gone their seperate ways. Wufei was working as a Preventer, Quatre was still running the family business that had been passed onto him after his father's death, Trowa was still with the circus troope, and Dou was now working as a mechanic at the local auto-repair shop. Heero left after Vice Foreign Minister Darlain was returned and Dekim was stopped. Most thought Heero would stay with Relena, but he disappeared and no one has heard from him since.
*Thud*
"Looks like the guy finally decided to join the land of the living," Hilde thought as she giggled out loud.
*Smack* "Owe, you stupid little......." *Bang* "...okay, that's it! I'm gonna....."
*Thud* "....OH I GIVE UP!!!!"
"I just said get up Dou....I didn't say to kill yourself getting dressed!" the young girl tried to inform the retired pilot between hysterical outbursts of laughter.
"Okay, laugh it up, but next time you try and get dressed and you're own appliances try to kill you, don't come cryin' to me," Dou retorted to Hilde's uncontrollable laughter. This only made her laugh harder, if possible. In defeat, Dou threw his hands in the air and laughed along with his girlfriend. After about five minutes the couple could finally control their laughter.
"Hey, you said you had something for me. Were you lying Hilde?" Dou asked giving his girlfriend those irresistible puppy-dog eyes and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Okay, which one do you want first? Choose, left hand or right hand?" Questioned Hilde as if it were a life or death situation.
"Which one, which one....", Dou murmured to himself, as if he were on the historic game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
"C'mon, just choose already!"
"Watcha got in your left hand?"
Dou gave Hilde a quizzical look as she pointed out the door. "In the kitchen," was all she said.
As Dou wondered off to the kitchen, Hilde held her breath in anticipation. She knew that the surprise would make him happy, something to make him feel good.
"You didn't! Thank you Lord, I've been blessed with an angel!" was the praise that arose from the other room.
Chocolate chip cookies, still warm and gooey from just an hour before awaited the famished young pilot. These were his favorite, something to help get his mind off of the nightmares she knew he'd been having. He hadn't told her, but she had been awakened a few times by his violent tossing and turning. He seemed to be loosing more and more sleep each night.
"Thanks Hilde, you're the greatest!" proclaimed Dou, walking into the living room once more, only this time he help the plate of cookies in his hands. He sat down next to her and offered her one, which she willingly took from him.
"So what was in your other hand?" the boy questioned in-between chewing.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you never to talk with your mouth full?" Hilde scolded playfully. Dou only gave her a devilish grin.
"Here ya go." she said, rolling her eyes and handing him the envelope. It had come in earlier that morning as sleeping beauty snored away. She let him sleep in today, after all it was Saturday and she just didn't have the heart to wake him up any earlier. Especially since he was sleeping soundly instead of in a horrendious nightmare.
"Hey, it's from Relena! Wonder what her majesty's got for me today?!?!" He began to open it as if it were a live bomb he were to disarm. Finally, not having the patience to continue the cherade, he tore open the envelope and read the letter out loud.
"Dear Dou, November 16
It's been a while since we last spoke. I have missed you and the others.
I wanted to invite you all to a reunion. This will allow us to spend time
together, relax, and just to see old friends.
The date is excpected to be about two weeks from now, Sunday,December 1st to Saturday, December 7th. This is because I know you are probably all very busy working and you do have lives, but I thought it would be fun to have a little reunion. Please send back your reply, and any problems you may have so that we may try and work around them. You will be notified if any dates are changed.
Your friend,
Relena Darlain Peacecraft "
"Well, do you think I should go?" Dou asked, he wanted to hear what Hilde had to say. "Why am I asking her, yes she's my girlfriend, but I'm the God of Death! I'm a Gundam Pilot! Am I seriously so whipped that I have to ask for her permission? Since when did Death need to ask permission?"
"I know you're going to go anyway, with or without my permission. I think you'd have fun and it might do ya some good. To be with your friends again, I mean. Go ahead, I know you can get the time off of work."
"Thanks Hilde!" he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.
"Well, what are you waiting for, call her!"
"Wait! I'm not gonna leave you here by yourself. You're coming with me if Relena doesn't complain, so I hope you don't have any plans."
"Are you going to let her know or what?!" chided Hilde, lightly slapping Dou in the back of his head playfully.
"I swear, I don't get any respect," he called over his should as he reached for the vid-phone sitting on the table.
"BEEP! BEEP!"
"Looks like someone beat me," he said reluctantly opening the vid-phone screen, hoping it wasn't work calling him in again.
"Dou?'
"I told you I'm not coming in tod....Heero! Heero, where ya been!? Great to hear from ya! How're things going?"
"Hey Dou," was the only answer.
"Hey man, you feelin' alright? You don't look so good. What's wrong?"
"I'm fine, just needed to talk."
Dou knew that Heero wasn't fine at all. His friend seemed to be really depressed and tired. There were circles around his eyes and he was extremely pale.
"Heero, stop lying, what's wrong."
"I'll leave the two of you so you guys can get a little privacy," Hilde suggested as she got up to leave for her room.
"Thanks Hild!" With his appreciation expressed, the God of Death returned to his interrogation.
"Have you at least gone to see a doctor?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
"No, I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep. It's nothing."
"Wanna talk about it. If not, alright, but now you know my number so you can call here anytime you need to talk to someone, you know."
"Thanks."
This was surprising, he really had changed from the Heero he had faught along side with. The Heero he knew didn't really like to talk or ask for help, but you could see that his eyes just cried out for it. He usually didn't show gratitude either.
"Whatcha wanna talk about?" said Dou, trying to get Heero talking about what was wrong, or at least get his mind off of the subject so that he would lighten up. "Your girlfriend? Naw, probably wouldn't get a good, juicy story with that one."
A small smile spread across the somber boy's lips.
"You should talk. Hilde's probably already got you whipped."
"You crazy! I am the king of my castle and I take orders from no one," Dou boasted a little too loudly.
"I heard that Dou! For that, you're gonna do the dishes AND clean the house up! I hope you don't have a problem with that, or do you?''
"No, no problem here." He was defeated. You could hear quiet chuckling in the background.
"I think this is the first time I've ever heard you laugh, man."
"You're right, you're the king of your castle and take orders from no one." stated Heero sarcastically.
"Hey now! I was just...."
"Saying something Dou?" Hilde called from her room.
"Nothing!"
Now it was no longer a quiet chuck, but a true, audible laugh. "This is amazing, how many times have I tried to get this guy to lighten up? Then, he just threatened to kill me. Now he's laughing, he's actually laughing!" He was glad to see that his friend was no longer depressed, but actually enjoying himself.
Slowly, Heero's laughter subsided. Dou didn't dare say anything to interrupt this tiny miracle. Besides, the guy looked like he really needed it, especially since they say that laughter is the best medicine.
"Why'd you call to talk, anyway? Not like I'm complaining, actually I'm relieved. We haven't heard from you in forever and I wasn't expecting it. I thought they were gonna try and call me into work again." He immediately regretted asking because Heero lowered his eyes and the life from them seemed to disappear once more.
"I....I just can't....she wouldn't understand.....I just....I don't know!" This was tearing Dou's heart in pieces. Heero was sitting, head in hands, going into a major breakdown. What really killed him was the fact that he couldn't do much for his friend, especially when he truly needed him the most.
"Hey buddy, it's okay. Just hang in there," he said, trying to give the confused boy some comfort. "Tell me your address."
"Huh?" It was barely more than a whisper as he kept his head in his hands, not bothering to even look up.
"You heard me," repeated Dou, patience and sympathy taking the place of concern in his voice,"give me your address. You don't look like you should be alone, so I'm gonna come and get you. You can stay with us for a while."
"Why would you do something like that for me? After all of the times I've nearly killed you, or even threatened to, you would still want to have me around?" He spoke louder this time, unsure of his worth in the world.
"Of course, what else are brothers for?"
"Brothers?" There was a tiny inkling of hope in his words.
"You aren't just a friend, I've known you longer than that. You've become a part of my family now. I never knew family, except for my family of friends. You're like a brother to me, so is Quatre, Trowa, and yes, even Wufei."
"Thank you, Dou.''
"Sure, I just kinda need your address first though." Dou looked up from the screen as he heard a small creek. Hilde stood in the doorway, a gentle smile of approval playing on her lips. Dou nodded and smiled back just before Hilde went to go and prepare the guest room.
"Hope you don't mind if it's not all that fancy. It's a nice place though. It's getting a little cold, so unless you like to swim in ice cold water, I don't suppose you'll be using the pool. I just got a new spa put in for Hilde, but you're welcome to use it. Man, it really works too!"
"Where'd you get the money for that?" Heero asked, curiousity taking over as he type in his address. He was glad to talk about something else. He was a bit surprised he was actually consenting to this, after all this was Dou we were talking about. He finished typing.
"DON'T ASK! I'm still killin' myself workin' to pay for it. I'm glad Hilde enjoys it though.
Hey, get your stuff packed, I'm getting the first plane out there. Heero? Heero, whats wrong!" Heero had closed his eyes and he was rocking from side to side, back and forth. He didn't seem concious about the world around him. His breathing seemed to be forced.
"Heero! Come on, you gotta talk to me, man." Dou was just getting ready to call the hospital when his friend spoke.
"Dont'.....don't have a heart-attack. Just...just a....a dizzy spell. I'm fine.......really."
His breathing was still forced.
"Don't you have a neighbor or a friend that could come over and stay with you? I'd feel a lot better man if ya had someone with you 'till I got there. You seriously don't look too good and I don't want to show up and see you passed out on the floor. If it were a hot super model, then I wouldn't mind a little mouth to mouth. But you, c'mon, I think the police might side with me, but the law would get me for sitting back and hoping you come out of it on your own. Especially if you decide not to pull through," he teased. "Sorry, but there's only so much I can handle man!" This got yet another chuckle out of him as he got his breathing under control.
"Hey, but seriously, is one of your neighbor's home. One that could stay with you for a while. I'll leave when I'm sure you're gonna be okay."
"Fine," was his only reply. He left, went across the hall, and came back with a guy that looked a couple of years older than him. The new guy sat down in front of the vid-screen.
"Hi, my name's Jack. Heero said you had a favor to ask me?" The new guy, Jack, informed him. Heero was leaning against the back of another chair, just behind and off to the right of the one that Jack now sat in. He looked like he was having another "dizzy spell".
"Heero?" Dou called back to his friend. Jack looked over at Heero, got up, and went to help support him; he was about ready to fall over. Jack spoke softly to Heero, then lead him to the couch where he layed down.
"Ya........could you stay with the guy untill I get there. He doesn't look too well and I just want to make sure he's okay."
"Sure, can I ask your name though?"
"Dou," then aiming his question to his friend, "think you're gonna be okay man?"
Heero gave him a small wave from the couch.
"I'll be there in a little while. Just hang on and stay cool."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Catherine scanned the fair grounds like a hawk. "Where on earth could that guy have gone?" she thought to herself as she continued to search for her brother.
"Trowa. Trowa! Where are you Trowa!?!?"
Frustration now getting the best of her, Cathy spun around and nearly collided with the circus troope's manager. He was showing his young niece around, for this was her first time at the circus.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Have you seen my brother or Maria. Do you even have any clue as to where they might be?"
"He went over there," Amanda piped up. "He gotted me my balloon, too,'' she was sure to add, a smile illuminating her face.
"Thanks Amanda." Catherine called over her should, smiling as she walked to where the child had directed her.
"Jeff, have you seen Trowa around?" she asked the operator of the balloon stand.
"Ya, he's over there winning Maria another stuffed animal." Jack paused momentarily to hand a little boy a bright green balloon and take the money from his parents. "Big surprise, huh."
"You're tellin' me."
Squeezing through a slight break in the highway of people that wondered around, Cathy found Trowa retrieving a life sized, Siberian Tiger plush toy and handing it to a young Mexican-American girl. She was just a little shorter than Trowa, skinny and athletic looking, waist length, slightly curled, dark brown hair, and hazel colored eyes. She was really sweet and considerate, she reminded Cathy of Quatre, personality wise, and was like a little sister to her. She joined their troope as Trowa had, only she was the animal trainer. Her specialty was working with the larger, more exotic felines.
"Trowa!" The teenager's head shot up at the sound of his name, spotted his sister, and waved. Cathy jogged over to the couple.
"Hey there Trowa, hi Maria," she greated them quickly. "I've been looking all over the fair grounds for you for at least an hour now. I've got something for you. It came in just after you left. You also got a call."
"Who's the call from sis?" asked Trowa as he snatched the letter from Cathy's hand and read the address. "It's from Relena. I haven't heard from her since the battle with Mariemia. Wonder what this is?"
"It was Quatre, he said he was just calling to say hi and see how things were going, but you had already left about 5 minutes before and I couldn't find you."
"I'll have to be sure to call him back," he stated, half to himself.
Trowa read the letter silently to himself, then announced what it said to Maria and his sister.
"Well you gonna go?" Maria questioned leaning against his shoulder. "Sounds like it'd be a lot of fun.''
"Think I should go?"
"Absolutely. They're your friends." Maria assured her boyfriend.
"Especially after all of the trouble they went through to get you to fight again after the little accident in battle."
Trowa remembered. Then, he was so confused, always trying to remember memories that his mind hid; trying to make clearer the fuzzy images and facts about his life that he knew were there, but couldn't decipher. It was a real struggle to get his memory back, but finally something just had to snap, and he could remember once again. Though some of the memories he wished he could have just left behind.
"Okay, that's settled. Might as well go and tell Relena." Trowa headed back to his tent with Maria clinging to his arm, and holding her tiger in the other.
"Sis?" he called back over his shoulder just as Cathy was about to make her way to the cotton candy stand.
"Ya?''
"If you see the manager, could you tell him for me that I will be gone from the 1st of December to the 7th?"
"Sure thing little brother."
With that, Trowa and Maria weaved between groups of people as they slowly made their way to the tent.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quatre sat at his desk, mountains upon mountains of paperwork piled in front of him, waiting to be reviewed and signed. The study was a large room, which only furnishings were a small brown leather sofa, a couple of chairs, and a large mahogany desk which, at the time, could hardly be seen underneath all of the documents. Suddenly there was a small rapping on the door which surprised the preoccupied teenage boy. Quatre nearly screamed aloud when the silence was disturbed, for it was so unexpected.
Regaining his composure quickly, he bade whoever stood outside his study door to enter.
"Oh, hi Amber, can I help you?"
"Your sister, Sara, asked me to give this to you. She said that she had to leave, the hospital had some emergancy."
"Thanks,'' Quatre said as he took the letter from the girl. "It's from Relena."
Amber circled around the desk and stood behind him. Hugging him from behind, she looked over Quatre's shoulder as he read the invitation to himself. A smile spread across his face, he'd be able to see the guys again. His comrades in the war, and his friends for life. It'd been a while since they last spoken to each other. He wondered how everyone else was fareing in the time of peace. He hoped everything was alright. He'd tried to call Trowa about an hour ago, but Cathy told him that he'd just left right before Quatre called.
"What's it say?"
"It's an invitation to the Sinq Kingdom. Miss Relena's trying to get everyone together and have a little reunion. I think we'll go, if you don't mind that is."
"I thought it was an invitation to you?" reminded his fiancé.
"Well, then it looks like I'll just have to call and tell her you're coming with."
Amber bent down, as Quatre had taken a seat to read his letter, and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, then you better let her majesty know, or else you'll just be being rude." Quatre turned his head towards his love and kissed her on the lips. It lasted a few short seconds to the observer, but to them, it felt as though lasted at least an hour, at least a happy, blissful, satisfying hour.
Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from her gaze and went once more to the work that lay before him.
"You need a break Quatre," she spoke softly, massaging his shoulders and neck. He was extremely stress over the demands that were being thrown at him and he'd been in the his study for the entire day, except when he went to call his friend. He leaned back, allowing her to work her magic. His muscles were sore and stiff, but that wouldn't last for too much longer if Amber had anything to say about it. "You need to rest, these can wait untill later. After you call Miss Relena, why don't you try and call one of your other friends? One of the four of them is bound to be home, after all, it is Saturday. Then, you and I can go for a little swim downstairs, huh?"
He thought for a moment, looked at the unread documents lying upon his desk, gazed into Amber's miscievious eyes, and nodded, "Sounds good to me." And they kissed once again.
"When you're done, come and get me, I'll be in my room. Take your time and enjoy yourself, and now I shall leave you to your privacy."
When the door had shut behind her, Quatre headed for the sofa where the vid- phone lay. All the while thinking to himself of how he'd been blessed with a gift from God and that he was extremely lucky to have someone like Amber.
He quickly punched in the numbers and waited.
"Hello Mr. Winner. It's good to see you again. May I help you?"
"Hello Pegin, could you tell Miss Relena that I wish to speak with her?"
"Just one moment please." And with that Relena's butler disappeared from sight. Moments later Pegin returned, this time with Princess Relena at his side.
"Quatre, it's good to hear from you. How are you?" she asked, a smile lighting up her face.
"Hello Relena. It's good to hear from you too. Besides piles of documents and request that still cover my desk, everything's alright."
"You look tired."
"I feel that way, but they've got to be done."
"Well, don't stress yourself out too much over them. Did you get my invitation yet?"
"Actually that's what I called to talk about. I wouldn't feel right leaving Amber here alone. I want to see everyone again, Lord knows I do and I couldn't think of anything better, but I can't leave her alone for a week."
"Go ahead and bring her with you Quatre. You know I welcome everyone in my home, and it's not a bother." She added the last part in knowing that Quatre would probably think he was being rude.
"Thanks Relena." A familiar smile lit his face. It slowly disappeared right before he asked, "Have you heard from anyone else lately?"
"No, I haven't. You?"
"I tried to get a hold of Trowa, be he'd left the tent just before I call and Cathy couldn't find him."
Another voice interrupted them. "Miss Relena," it was Pegin, "your elder brother says he needs your assistance with an important problem."
"One moment," she called over her shoulder. Then turning to face the young man, "It appears our time has been cut short.''
"Well, then I'd better let you go. It felt good to talk again, Relena."
"It did. Goodbye Quatre!"
"Goodbye Relena." With that, the screen faded to black. "Maybe Dou's home. I think I'll try him next." The ex-pilot immediately pulled up the address program and typed in Dou's number. The phone began to dial almost at once. After two rings someone answered.
"Quatre! Hey, to what do I owe this honor?"
"Hey Hilde, is Dou there?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Quatre, his plane left an hour ago."
"Seems like I just keep missing everyone," he spoke half to himself, "do you know when he'll be back?"
"Uhm, if everything goes okay, he should be back in a couple of hours." She calculated in her mind. "Make it about three and a half."
"If everything goes okay?"
"He left to go and get Heero. The poor guy didn't looking so good when he called. He said he was just calling to talk, but I know Dou knew there was something more bothering him. He didn't sound like his normal self either."
"Heero? Do you know what's wrong? How bad did he look? Is he okay?"
"Hey, hold on a minute here. One question at a time please. Ya, Heero called. I don't know what's wrong, he said that he'd just been missing out on a lot of sleep. He looked really pale, skinnier than normal, he hasn't been eating right, that's for sure. He actually looked as fragile as glass. After I left, I heard the two talking, and a couple of times, I think I heard him laugh."
"Which one?"
"Well we all know it's not a surprise to hear Dou laugh, but I think it was Heero. It started off soft, then it grew louder. Of course, Dou does have a price to pay for helping his friend out." This time, it was a devilish grin that appeared on Hilde's face.
"Oh no, what happened?"
"He just has to do the dishes and clean the house for a week. I think I might just let the poor guy off with the dishes, instead of both. It put him back in his place though." The two laughed for a few minutes as Hilde explained the whole conversation to Quatre.
"Anyway, when I came back, Dou was asking him for his address. He was telling him about how he was going to live with us for a little while. Heero looked so much more alive than he had before he laughed. I'm not for sure what happened after that. I heard Dou yelling Heero's name, he sounded really worried. I came to see and by the time I got there, Dou was finishing his conversation with one of the guy's neighbors. I think his name was Jack? He asked the guy to stay with Heero untill he got there. All Dou told me before he left was that Heero had a, and I quote, "dizzy spell."
"If it was enough to get Dou that disturbed, something else has got to be wrong. Hmph. Can you call me when they get there?''
"Sure."
"Thanks Hilde."
"No prob."
"Well, I've got to go, I'll talk to you later than."
"Okay. 'Bye Quatre!"
"Goodbye Hilde."
The vid screen turned black once more. "Poor Heero, the guy must be in some really bad shape by the way Hilde described him. It also sounded like he practically begged for help, but didn't." His thoughts were disturbed as his vid phone rang with an incoming call.
"Hi Quatre!" It was Trowa.
"Hey Trowa."
"What's wrong?" Concern filled Trowa's eyes as he stared compassionatly at his friend.
"It's Heero. He's not doing to good by the way Hilde described him. He'd called Dou about an hour ago."
"What'd she say?"
"She told me...."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wufei stretched his arms high above his head in an attempt to loosen his stiff muscles. His shift was almost over as he monitored the colonies assigned to his team. Everything had been quiet and still, thus, the young warrior was extremely bored.
"What I wouldn't give for an arguement to start up right now. Not just a petty little arguement either." A voice surprise him from behind.
"You're a preventor. You're not supposed to hope for those things." It was Sally Po, she wasn't on shift for another seven hours. "But off the record, I agree. We need to stir things up a little bit."
"Come to keep me company or make miscief onna?"
"Both."
"Sounds good to me." Wufei had changed somewhat over the time. He and Sally fell in love and had been going out for about nine months, give or take a few days. He'd learned to relax, have fun, and and laugh. After all of Dou's and Quatre's attempt's which swayed the young man somewhat, it was Sally that finally convinced him.
"How long you got left on shift?"
"About fifteen more minutes."
"Wanna come and grab a bit to eat after you're off, then we can head back to my room and I can loosen up those stiff muscles of your's."
"What did you have planned?" Miscief sparkled in his eyes.
Sally kissed him on the lips, then spoke, "It's a surprise." Then taking something out of her pocket, "By the way, this is for you." With that she left the room, Wufei's eyes following her as she left. Maybe they would just skip the eating part and head straight to her room.
Wufei turned his attention to the letter. It was from her majesty, Princess Relena. He proceeded in opening it and read it to himself. "A reunion. Sounds like this could be interesting. If anything else, it'll give me another chance to give Maxwell a hard time." He put the letter back into the envelope, reminding himself to let Relena know that he'd accept. With the remainder of his time, he kept himself entertained by thinking of ways to give the God of Death trouble.
-Lady Stardancer
Author's note:
I seriously hope that you all enjoyed this. I tried to make it interesting, and this is my first time doing this. The first half probably sounds different from the last half, but that's because I had some help from a friend. I just needed to get a feel for writing again. I like to make things dramatic, so it gets better. If this one really bothers you, tell me in your review and I'll try and rewrite it. If you do review though, please, in the area that says name, write:
"S.O.F." (strength of friendship) This way, I can tell my reviews apart from the junk mail. ( they seem to love me, cause they keep sending me the junk) THANX LOTS!!!!