Disclaimer : I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its original characters... but one can always dream, right ?
WARNINGS : Well, cross-dressing for Duo, obviously. This fic will also contain shounen ai, aka boys with boys. Don't like ? Don't read. It's as simple as that. Flames will be ignored. Also, beware of the OOCness. Can't say I didn't warn you.
Pairings : 1+2 with 3+4 as a side-pairing.
Word from the author : Hi everyone ! So, this will be a short multi-chapters fic. Originally it was intended as a one-shot, but it got way too long for that so now it's multi-chapters. It won't be very long though, I doubt I'll even reach 10 chapters... but we never know, right ? Also, since I already have at least half of this written down already, it will be one of my fics where you shouldn't have to wait long for the updates.
Raiu : Well, THAT will be one hell of a change from the usual.
Akari : Really Raiu, that's not a very nice thing to say...
Raiu : Whatever.
Just get lost Raiu. Please folks, don't listen to her and enjoy the fic !
Girl Power à la Duo
by cherry fantasy
Chapter one : New mission
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the forest was a splendid chef-d'oeuvre of autumnal colors. The weather, if not warm, was pleasant, and a few lazy clouds were making a slow journey through the afternoon sky. It seemed as if nothing could come and ruin the peace of this day…
"Excuse me ?!?! YOU want ME to do WHAT ?!?!"
In the secluded cabin the five Gundam pilots were currently sharing, Quatre Raberba Winner sighed and shook his blond head, his gaze moving toward the staircase leading to the second floor. A small amused smile appeared on his lips as he paused in his dinner preparations. He craned his neck and listened in for more…
"Necessary my ass !!! And why ME, huh ?!? Aren't we ALL going ?! Wait, it's the hair, isn't it ? (pause) Yeah, more believable, sure ! Like I didn't see THAT one coming ! You're lucky I vowed to never cut my hair, or I would rip it off right now and shove it down your- (pause) OKAY, damn it, explain away ! I'm listenin' ! Not like I have a choice…"
The voice died down after that, back to a normal volume, and Quatre lost the end of the conversation. With a pout he went back to his previous occupation of chopping some fresh vegetables. Beside him, looking after a boiling potage, Trowa Barton hid his smile and asked calmly :
"Disappointed you couldn't catch the end ?"
Quatre grinned and answered, completely unashamed :
"Quite. Duo's vocabulary never ceases to amaze me, and his ranting is always amusing to overhear"
Finally letting a small smile escape his cool façade, Trowa turned to him and said :
"He does liven things up, doesn't he ?"
"That's an understatement" Quatre replied with a chuckle.
They were interrupted by the banging of a door somewhere on the first floor, and seconds later Chang Wufei was standing in the kitchen entrance, his expression the definition of annoyance. Hands on his hips, he glanced backwards to glare at the staircase, then turned back to Quatre and Trowa before snapping :
"What in Nataku's name is going on with Maxwell ?! I'm trying to meditate but his ranting, as I'm sure you can guess, makes it practically impossible ! Who is he talking to, anyway ? I just saw Yuy in the living room, and you're both here. Has that braided baka finally lost it ?"
Trowa rolled his eyes and stayed silent. Quatre chuckled ; he had been wondering when Wufei would make an appearance. Still smiling pleasantly he answered his Chinese friend :
"No Wufei, Duo hasn't lost it. He's on his laptop right now, probably speaking with Professor G. As for what's going on, we don't know. We just caught some bits from his side of the conversation"
Wufei huffed ; apparently Quatre's explanation wasn't enough to appease him.
"But does he HAVE to be so LOUD ?!" he practically whined.
Quatre coughed to hide his laughter. Wufei's reactions to Duo's antics were always fun to observe. Those two were like cat and mouse. To be truthful, Quatre found it quite entertaining…
Trowa stepped in and quickly changed the subject :
"Dinner is ready"
As he began setting the table, Quatre looked toward a still brooding Wufei and asked :
"Wufei, would you go get Heero please ?"
The black-haired pilot let out a deep frustrated sigh and turned on his heels, heading to the adjacent living room. Done with his task, Quatre also exited the kitchen and went to stand at the bottom of the stairs. Looking upwards, he called :
"Duo ! Dinner !"
Not a second later Quatre had to quickly step aside to make sure he wasn't run over by hurricane Duo Maxwell. Clad in his black priest outfit with his long braid of chestnut hair swinging behind him, Duo passed by Quatre and was already in the kitchen before the latter had time to blink.
That was Duo alright. One was wise not to stand between him and his food.
Quatre walked back into the kitchen, followed closely by Heero and Wufei. Duo was already seated and Trowa was almost done serving dinner. When that was over Duo was of course the first to dig in, wolfing down his food as if he was trying to find out how much he could eat before actually exploding… which, to this day and to everyone's amazement, still hadn't happened.
Predictably, it wasn't long before Wufei cracked.
"For God's sake Maxwell ! Can't you at least TRY to eat like a normal human being ?!"
Duo stopped, swallowed and threw Wufei a mega-watts smile before answering cheerfully :
"I'm a growing boy, Wu ! I need nutrients !"
"It's Wufei ! And what you need is a lesson about MANNERS !"
Not deterred in the least, Duo merely grinned and went back to his food… without changing a thing about his eating patterns. Quatre shook his head ; really, looking at Duo now, one would've never guessed he was the same boy who'd been screaming at his laptop a few minutes ago.
Thinking about that, and seeing a throbbing vein appear on Wufei's forehead, Quatre quickly turned to Duo and asked :
"By the way, Duo, what were you yelling about earlier ? What did Professor G tell you ?"
That got the others' attention ; they were just as curious to hear the answer. They were surprised to see Duo's expression darken as he grumbled :
"Oh, yeah, that…"
He set down his spoon, squirmed on his chair, frowned, sighed and finally let out :
"We have a mission"
Immediately they were all alert, especially Heero who ordered dryly :
"Brief us"
Duo glanced at him, looked away, bit his bottom lip, glanced at the others, then back at Heero… but he stayed silent. Unusual enough for him, but even more unusual was the rosy tint on his cheeks that only Quatre and Trowa noticed…
Getting annoyed, Heero snapped :
"The mission, Maxwell. What is it ?"
With one last sigh Duo straightened up and, reluctantly, started talking :
"We are to infiltrate the famous Villefort Academy for Brilliant Minds. We will all go undercover as students of the establishment. All in all, it's a posh school for rich kids, and most of them are nothing brilliant, if ya see what I mean. Anyway, about the mission's objective… You see, Prof G was after this Oz guy… He was a high graded lieutenant, apparently, and he held all kinds of information that would've been very useful to us. Prof G wanted to capture him and make him talk… The thing is, the guy's shuttle was shot down during a fight about a week ago. Hard to question a dead man…"
"So ? Where do WE come into all of this ?" Wufei asked impatiently.
"Don't fret Wu-man, I'm getting to it" Duo told him, ignoring Wufei's glare at the nickname, before pursuing : "Prof G still wants that information, but he has no idea where the lieutenant kept it. He had the guy's house searched from top to bottom and found nothing. No papers, no disks, no computer files, nothing. Obviously our man hid his knowledge well. Anyway, Prof G found out that the lieutenant's only sibling is headmaster at the Villefort Academy under a borrowed name. The two were very close and it's possible the lieutenant entrusted his brother with his secrets. We have to get close to this man and investigate him, without looking suspicious. That's why starting next Monday, we'll all be students of the Academy. It's the beginning of the first semester so it won't look strange to get new students. We just have to come up with new identities and a background story for our presence there"
"All five of us are needed ?" Trowa wondered.
"According to Prof G and the four other lunatics, yes. Says it'll go faster with all of us workin' on it, and that we'll already have backup in case something happens. Well, orders are orders I guess. S'not like we have a say in the matter"
The others had to agree with that. They were Gundam pilots, and their job was to follow orders, no questions asked. And they all knew that Duo, although he applied to it, had never really liked that rule. With the free personality he possessed, it was no wonders…
"Is that why you were angry at Professor G, Duo ?" Quatre asked as they all resumed eating.
Duo paused again, his spoon midway between his bowl and his mouth. There was a definite blush coloring his cheeks this time. He cleared his throat and answered :
"Hum, not really… That was because of the second part of the mission…"
"What second part ?" Heero immediately inquired.
"Breathe, Hee-chan, I was going to tell you" Duo said, receiving another glare for his efforts.
He just grinned. He was pretty immune to those glares by now.
Noticing he once again had everyone's attention, he spoke up :
"That second part is mostly for me. It's… huh, well… Okay, so, here's the thing : the lieutenant was widowed since many years, but he had two sons. Twins. Coincidentally, they're both students at the Academy. They're among the few who are actually smarter than the average youth. Prof G thinks that they may know some things, so he asked me to investigate on them and to… hugh, I can't believe that old fool… You see, those twins, they're not likely to have any written information, but their father may have spoken to them, or they might have overheard something, and they're both far from being stupid, so… I'm to try and… seduce whatever they may know out of them"
The others looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. He didn't blame them. He must've looked worst when he'd heard it from G…
Wufei worked his jaw for a moment before letting out :
"What…?"
"You heard me, Wu. But wait, there's more : the twins are completely hetero and long time homophobes. What d'you think that means for me, huh ?"
Wufei's eyes got as large as plates as he started to realize what Duo meant. Duo glanced at the others and saw their own expressions change as it dawned on them too…
"Yup, guys, you got it" he told them with false cheer. "I'm to enter Villefort Academy for Brilliant Minds… as a girl !"
Quatre and Trowa glanced at each other disbelievingly.
Wufei stared at Duo, doing a perfect imitation of a fish out of the water.
And under the table, Heero finally squeezed his spoon to its limit and broke it in two.
A/N : I know, it's been done before, but the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, so there !
Seriously, I really hope you like it so far ! Please review and let me know ! Next chapter is already written and will be posted soon. And don't worry, the 1+2 and 3+4 will appear shortly !
