We Head Towards the Future

by: a psycho chibi named Wendy

Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. The only thing I own is a Quatre plushie. *cuddles*

Warnings: Language, Shounen ai, Oneshot

Pairings: 4+2, slight 1+3, and implied 5xSally

Summary: A mission to blow up a white fang base brings a bit more than Duo, Heero, and Trowa expected. Thanks to a red convertible and a suddenly impulsive blonde.

Author Rant: Howdy! Impulsive little fluffy fic I wrote in three days. Rated M for 5 F-bombs. I have no idea how to rate things anymore. lolz

Enjoy~

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The silence that resonated in the dead of the night was almost deafening. Not a single thing stirred, but that was hardly surprising. The quiet community that stretched along the rolling hills had been evacuated months ago. Taken over by the towering figure of the White Fang base that was a scar on the otherwise peaceful landscape. Any nocturnal animals that may have lived in the wooded areas surrounding the base had fled, probably around the same time as the people did.

The base seemed to be slowly sucking up the land that surrounded it like an insatiable monster. Never satisfied with the death grip it already had on the region. It constantly needed more. More resources. More money. More land. More sacrifices from the helpless masses it displaced.

It was ugly.

It was vicious.

It was going down.

"Alright, how much longer?" Duo asked anxiously.

Ever since they had found out about the White Fang base it had been far too tempting a target. The layout was sloppy. Every day was the same routine. The soldiers moved like clockwork, never straying from their roles. Security was a joke. The perfect things to exploit for their advantage.

Something they each took on with an almost sadistic pleasure. "Five more minutes." Heero answered without having to look at his watch. He glanced towards the braided American with a slight frown. "Why did Wufei back out? He seemed more adamant that we strike at this base than anyone."

Duo coughed slightly and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Um.. He had an important... Thing... Yeah."

The weak excuse had Heero glaring at him sarcastically, but the old road they were on had no lamp posts. He knew his attempts wouldn't be as affective, so he decided to say what was on his mind for once. "This thing wouldn't have anything to do with the looks I saw Sally giving him this morning. Would it?"

"Eheh.. Quite possibly.." Duo floundered. "I didn't think you would notice things like that, Hee."

Heero would have rolled his eyes, but found it a pointless gesture in the dark. "I notice everything that goes on. I just don't make an issue of most of it." He folded his arms over his chest and gave an exasperated sigh. "If Wufei wanted to stay behind to get a piece of ass, he should have just said so instead of bailing without so much as a reason."

Duo nearly choked on his own tongue at the crass words his partner just spoke. "Oh my god... That was awesome! Say that again!"

"What? It's true. I'm sick of all the pretense and vague shit. We're in a fucking war. We shouldn't be hesitating in taking what we want." Heero muttered, scanning the trees for the signal they were supposed to be waiting on.

Even though it wasn't very eloquent, even for Heero, Duo found the truth that the soldier was telling. "Yeah... Especially us..." He looked at his partner quietly for a moment before he spoke. "Does that mean you're sick of your own pretenses?"

Heero's gaze shot to his comrade and a deep frown fell over his face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

A snort left Duo before he nudged hard at Heero's side. "Please. Ever since Trowa regained his memories, the two of you have been tiptoing around each other like a bomb's gonna go off. And Quatre.. He's still messed up from everything he's been through. I don't know what we're gonna do about him."

"Both Trowa and I have tried to knock some sense back into him. He's set on punishing himself. There's not much we can do..." Heero trailed off as a sly look fell over his gaze. "But then again, you haven't really been all that honest with him either."

Caught, Duo felt himself blushing slightly as he looked away. "I just don't know what a piece of street trash like me could possibly offer him. He's too good for all this shit. I hate seeing him suffer like this." he said in a more subdued tone.

When the light that was ever present in the jovial voice dimmed significantly, Heero knew that this was wearing on him heavily. "You're not giving Quatre enough credit. You really think he would shun you because of your past?"

"No... But we're too different." Duo muttered dejectedly.

Seeing that Duo wasn't going to follow his own advice, Heero let out a restless breath and returned to searching for their signal. "You should let Quatre have a say in that before you resign yourself to pining for unrequited love."

Another snort left the American. "Hn, you're one to talk. If you grow a pair, then I will."

Heero's gaze narrowed, but he knew he really didn't have any room to talk. He was being overly cautious around Trowa. 'And what with Quatre still being in a fragile state of mind, Trowa's focus has been on him.. Quatre needs him more than I do right now..' he concluded silently. Despite how much it nagged at him. He wasn't about to come between them because he knew how much they both needed one another. Trowa was still a bit uneasy, and Quatre was a shell of his former self. He wasn't about to shove his way between them only to cause more damage.

At that moment they both caught sight of a bright flash of light that immediately went out. Barely a second, but it was more than enough to capture their attention. "There's Trowa's signal." Duo stated despite knowing it was redundant.

Heero didn't comment on it, though. "Let's go."

They silently made their way down the deserted road that was a quarter of a mile away from the base. The thick woods was the only thing that blocked them from view of the patrols that walked around the base like ducks in a row. Really it seemed too easy. It would have been suspiciously so if they hadn't researched every possible concern they had. It was what they thought. They really were that stupid.

White Fang's stupidity was their gain. They were going to pounce on it. All they had to do was locate their other two comrades.

"Over here."

Their attention was drawn to a large hedge row that was next to the road. A second later Trowa came stepping out and joined them on the road. Alone. "Where's Q?" Duo immediately asked, his eyes searching over the area quickly for the blonde.

Not surprised at Duo's obvious concern, Trowa held up a hand to calm the American. "He's fine. We split up so he could obtain transport out of here. He said to go ahead without him." His gaze turned towards Heero. "When should we detonate?"

Feeling a strange twinge in his chest under that stare, Heero turned his attention towards the woods that blocked their view of the base. "We'll wait a few minutes to give Quatre time to make his way here."

The way Heero looked away from him made Trowa frown slightly, but he made no comment. He never did.

Much to Duo's irritation. 'But I'm no better. I've been givin Q those looks ever since he found me in the desert... I doubt he's even noticed. Dammit... Why does this have to be so fuckin hard..?' he thought as a familiar pain made his stomach twist in knots.

He was such a coward. He had so many times to tell the blonde how he really felt. In the desert with the maguanacs. That extravagant home tucked away in that oasis. The moment before he left Quatre behind to escape into space.

That memory always made his heart clench painfully. Quatre was sacrificing himself to protect him. Was willing to die to make sure he carried on. 'I came so close to saying it then... Instead I cursed him and ran...' He would always look back on that moment as his greatest failure. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had stayed. If he had grabbed Quatre and took him with him to space. Would he have been caught? Would his dad and sister still be alive? Would Zero have even happened?

So many questions, but Duo had one answer to all of them. 'I never should have left him...'

"Alright, Quatre should have something by now." Heero reached into his jean jacket pocket and pulled out a detonator switch. He held up the detonator and glanced towards his two comrades. "Brace yourselves. This is going to be big."

"Ha, whatever. Light that baby!" Duo jeered, covering his hands over his ears.

When Trowa had his ears covered Heero pressed the red button.

At first there was nothing. A dead silence that gripped everything within reach. A second later dull growl seemed to come from somewhere ahead of them, followed by a tremor that slowly rumbled beneath their feet. Then a blinding burst of light shot straight up into the air, lighting up the night sky. The air pressure shifted drastically before a hard pulsing shockwave rolled through the woods ahead of them. By the time it hit them it almost knocked them back as the earth shook violently. By the time the sound of the explosion hit them they were all crouched down, covering their ears tight to avoid injury.

It seemed like an hour before the shaking finally stopped, but the entire thing took barely fifteen seconds. Duo was the first to raise his head, and the first thing he noticed was the heavy scent of smoke in the air. He could hear the faint sounds of screaming and ammo discharging, but he had trained himself to tune out those noises. 'Heh.. Pretty sure we all have.'

He glanced over to his two comrades, but paused when he saw the way Heero seemed to be shielding Trowa from the way he had moved in front of the Frenchman. It was a clearly protective gesture, and he wondered if Heero was even aware of himself even doing it. 'Doubt it. He does a lot of things reflexively.' It at least silently proved his point. At least part of Heero knew how he really felt.

Duo slowly got up and tugged lightly at his ringing ears. "Damn... How much C-4 did you use?" he asked loudly. He secretly enjoyed watching the deer in the headlights look Heero and Trowa gave each other when they realized how close they really were.

For a brief moment, neither of them made a move. Their faces were only inches apart. Close enough to feel the other's breath against their lips. The slightest motion from either of them was all it would take. For a moment it looked as if Heero was going to lean in, but, by the time Trowa's heart sped up, the Japanese pilot abruptly stood. Trowa bit back the urge to hit his comrade for making him feel so stupid. 'One day I'm going to bite too hard..' he thought bitterly.

Heero wasn't fairing any better. His self control was being worn away to nothing, and it irritated the hell out of him. Making a point to ignore the fluttering and stabbing sensations in his chest, Heero turned his attention to the empty road. "I used enough. Now where the hell is Quatre? This place is going to be swarmed with fire brigade and investigators any minute." he muttered while heading back down the road.

The way he was being so stubborn made Duo feel sorry for Trowa. One look at the taller pilot as he stood up without a word could show that something was eating at him. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his fluid grace was still mostly absent. Trowa needed someone close to simply anchor himself to. Someone that was strong enough to hold on while he tried to sort out all the memories that flooded him barely a week ago. 'Trowa needs Heero to pull his head out of his ass and just see what Trowa's clearly asking for.'

There was only one thing to say about it. When you had two people that were horrible with both words and emotions, it takes an act of god to get them to see the answer that was right in front of them. 'Now if you could only practice what you preach.' Duo mused to himself in a self mocking manner. He knew he was just as bad, but he was just a coward. That's all there was to it. 'Maybe we all are..' he thought as he forced himself to walk along the road behind Heero.

The three of them walked in silence, the sound of the woods slowly catching on fire the only noise that filled the air. The minutes ticked by as they walked, and it was steadily setting them all on edge. "Quatre should have gotten back by now.." Trowa said quietly as a frown began to crease his brow.

Duo tried not to let himself panic, but it was taking the blonde too long to show up. "Where did he go?"

"He said he was going to a used car lot that was a mile down the road. Most of the community has been evacuated, so no one's likely to miss anything from the lot for a while." Trowa responded as he checked his watch. "We split up about half an hour ago.."

Now feeling a bit concerned as well, Heero looked at his own watch. "That should have been more than enough time. It takes Quatre less than a minute to break in and hot wire a car."

Duo was about to speak out his concerns, but the sound of an engine caught his attention. "Guys, a car's coming..."

From the furious pitch of the sound, they could all tell that a very fast car was coming. A second later they saw headlights appear over a hill. Heero quickly motioned for the other two to take cover behind the trees that grew near the road. Neither protested, and made their way to the safety of the large maple trees that hid them from view of the road. A moment later a sleek car zoomed past going at a breakneck speed, but, to their alarm, the driver of the car suddenly slammed on the breaks. A loud squeal of tires echoed in the night as the car spun around on the asphalt and came back in the other direction. They were immediately on guard when then car stopped again right in front of where they were hiding, but their caution was ripped apart when a shout called out over the sound of the roaring engine.

"Oi! Come on, guys!"

Knowing that voice, Duo immediately peeked out from behind the tree only to gape at what he saw. "Quatre? That you?"

Seated in the driver's seat of a cherry red convertible was the infamous blonde. The top to the polished car was down, and Quatre sat on his knees in the black leather seat to wave them on. "No, it's Santa's little helper. Of course it's me! Come on! The fire brigade is closing in!" he almost seemed to snap, but there was a strange smirk on the pale face that none of them had ever seen before.

When the situation finally dawned on him, Duo was grinning as he moved to the purring car. "I call shotgun!" he declared before practically vaulting over the door and landing in the front passenger seat. His eyes greedily took in the sight of the muscle car and he was nearly giddy. "This is kickass, Q!" he chirped, his hands gliding over the detail in the custom leather seats.

The blonde chuckled and slid back down into his seat. "Glad you approve. She handles like a dream. I wanna keep it if we don't get it blown up."

At that time Heero and Trowa arrived and were climbing into the back seat. "This isn't exactly a low profile car, Quatre." Heero pointed out dryly as he settled down in the back. He felt those strange things in the pit of his chest again when he was nearly pressed next to Trowa in the small rear seat.

Quatre was chuckling again as he adjusted the rear view mirror to observe the pair in the back. "I was going to take an old jeep, but when I saw this baby sitting in the lot I couldn't help myself."

"Won't we be a bit obvious in this?" Trowa questioned as he tried to gauge the strange mood his partner was in.

"More than likely." Quatre replied simply. He noticed the light glare Heero was giving him in the mirror and seemed to snicker. "Come on, Heero. There's no point in hiding that we were here. We might as well let the bastards know we're still around. Dig that thorn in their side a little deeper." he added with a wink.

The words and the wink were unexpected, but it soon had Duo perking up from his previous dour mood. "I'm with Q! Let's make as big a nuisance as we can. Make them see us."

Not really surprised the Duo sided with the Arabian, Heero raised a brow expectantly. "And what did you have in mind?"

Quatre shrugged carelessly as he revved the engine. "Make it up as we go. Hope we don't get killed."

The simple answer was hardly encouraging, but Quatre's tone caught their interest. It seemed stronger. More confident than it had been in months.

However their thoughts were cut off by Quatre clapping his hands together loudly. "Alrighty! This puppy says it can go 260. I say we test that!" His gaze shot to Duo, that smirk pulling even wider over his pale lips. "Better buckle up, Duo. Don't want that pretty face going through the windshield."

'Pretty face...?!' Duo thought in alarm, but he was quick to do as told when that pale hand settled on the stick shift. The fact Heero and Trowa immediately tugged on their safety belts was a bit amusing, but Duo was too focused on the wild light in the aqua eyes. "Punch it, Q!" he called out eagerly.

Aqua eyes narrowed as the smirk turned into a wide grin. "With pleasure!" With the quickest ease, Quatre put the convertible in gear and stomped on the gas. The tires screamed as they spun out for a second, filling the air with the smell of burning rubber an instant before the car shot forward. The force of the speed had them all pressed hard against their seats, but Quatre was laughing happily as the car sped down the road like a crimson bullet.

The wind whipped their hair wildly as the night drenched landscape passed them in a hazy blur. They could see the lights and hear the sirens of the fire trucks that were barreling down a road that branched off the one they were on. Instead of slowing down, Quatre seemed to speed up, and narrowly missed colliding into one of the fire rigs that was trying to turn.

The bare miss made all their heart skip a beat, but Quatre seemed amused by it. "Ha! That was awesome!" he cheered while shifting gears.

It was beginning to worry the pair in the back how the blonde was acting, but Duo was enthralled. In the red glow of the dash lights, Quatre's expression was wild. Completely untamed and excited. He had never seen this side of the Arabian. And he had already fallen in love with it. Just the sound of the unbridled joy in Quatre's laughter was enough to send chills down his spine.

"Damn, Q! What brought on this feisty side?" he asked on a joking tone. He wanted to know. He wanted to know how he could put that expression back on that beautiful face.

Quatre let out another laugh and tightened his hold on the steering wheel. "Good memories, Duo! It was because of a car like this that I'm here today."

The answer was vague, but it piqued their curiosity. "You became a pilot because of a car?" Trowa questioned as he tried to avoid Duo's flying braid smacking him in the face.

"Inadvertently, yes." Quatre pulled a hard turn at the high speed and watched the rear view mirror in a near sadistic fashion at the way Heero was practically smashed on top of Trowa from the force. A muffled snicker from beside him alerted him that Duo knew that he was messing with the quiet pair, which only amused him further. "When I was 13, I jacked a car like this and went on an epic joyride. Had seven police cars chasing me for an hour. It was great, and pissed the hell out of my dad. I thought for sure he was going to beat me within an inch of my life after that stunt." Another gear shift at the prompting of the car's engine, and a glance at the speedometer showed he was riding at 150. "Instead, he goes into a rant and grounds me. So I decide to pull another stunt that was bound to make him explode."

"What was that, Q?" Duo asked curiously, turning in his seat to he could face the blonde better.

That smirk returned as Quatre focused on the area the headlights showed him ahead. "I ran away. Bribed a shuttle crew to take me to Earth. As fate would have it, it was that shuttle that the Maguanacs decided to hijack. They held me and the crew hostage, and, when I mouthed off to the wrong person, Rashid bitchslapped some sense into me. Thus started my path." He glanced back at Duo slyly. "I figured, maybe repeating the joyride will bring another change to my life."

Duo raised a brow and glanced back at the pair behind them. Both Heero and Trowa seemed puzzled by their comrade's behavior, but their confusion was short lived when Quatre made another hard turn. This time Trowa was practically thrown on top of Heero. Their eyes met at the close contact, and Duo found himself holding back a laugh when both of them seemed to freeze uncomfortably.

One look at the blonde told Duo that Quatre knew exactly what he was doing to their two comrades. 'He's so evil... Wish I could just tell him.. God.. He looks so hot right now...' Seeing the life that was back in that pale face made him ache. He wanted to hold onto the Arabian and never let go. He wanted to taste those smirking lips and look into those fiery eyes. But he was still too much of a coward to even attempt it. 'Dammit... Just.. Fucking dammit..' he muttered within his mind as he tore his gaze away from the vision he didn't deserve to look at.

Out of the corner of his eye, Quatre noticed the strange look of self loathing on the American's face. The sight made him frown, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he decided to think out loud for a moment. "Hey, guys? What exactly are we doing anymore?" he asked in the midst of another gear shift.

"What do you mean?" Heero questioned as he seemed to be pressing himself as tight as he could into his corner of the seat. Trowa appeared to be doing the same thing on his side to increase the practically nonexistent space between them.

"It's something I started thinking about when I was hot wiring the car." Quatre explained, glancing towards the mirror to catch Heero's gaze. "What are we doing with ourselves? Are we doing all this because we want to or because we have to?"

"We don't really have a choice, Q. It's either fight or give up." Duo pointed out with a frown.

A light chuckle left the blonde as he shook his head. "We always have a choice, Duo. We may not know what those choices are, but they are still there." He patted the dash lightly. "I could have just taken the easiest thing I could find at that lot, but instead I wanted this one. It was probably stupid of me to waste that extra time, but I didn't care. I wanted this car."

"Getting what we want isn't exactly a luxury we have, Quatre." Trowa pointed out calmly. He made a strong effort not to look towards the warm body beside him as he spoke. "We just have to make due with what we have and carry on as best we can."

"That's fucking bull shit."

The three passengers all stared in shock at the curses that just left the Arabian's lips. "Q..?" Duo questioned hesitantly. One look at the angry scowl on the pale face startled him. 'Shit.. He's really pissed.'

The blonde head shook as he pushed harder on the gas, making the car go even faster. "Why the hell do we have to resign ourselves to shit like that? Why can't we do what we want while we can?"

Finding the words eerily similar to what he had told Duo earlier, Heero frowned as a concern began forming. "Quatre, did something happen?"

Quatre was silent for a log moment as he struggled with himself. 'They have a right to know...' A deep sigh left him as he let up off the gas. "I have to be honest with you... All of you.." He allowed another pause for a gear shift and took a deep breath. "I've been running the figures since White Fang came into power... Every day their numbers grow, as does their power. With construction of that beam cannon, and the mobile dolls... We have very limited odds of survival."

Another silence filled the space between the four of them as this information settled in. "You mean we're more than likely going to be killed." Trowa stated quietly. Despite his calm appearance, a tightness still formed in his chest. He used to think he was ready for death. That it didn't matter one way or another. He glanced towards Heero only to find himself caught in that cobalt gaze. Just one look into those eyes and Trowa felt that it did matter.

Duo saw the pained looks the quiet pair had locked on one another. It stirred up his own pain that he tried to keep buried as he looked towards the blonde. "Quatre... I.."

"It's so stupid, really." Quatre mused, cutting off Duo's shaky words. "We're all still so young. We shouldn't have to be doing this. We really didn't have to do this. We all said yes to the ones that offered us this path. This was our decision. We chose to do this. We wanted to do this." His hand had a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel as he struggled to put what he was feeling into words. "When it comes down to it.. The four of us.. Right here. Right now.. We're all each other has in this fucked up world."

The moment he said it they all knew he was right. Sure, they each had others within their lives, but none of them really understood. Not like the other people inside the car did. Wufei understood, but he would always be a loner. It really was the four of them against the world.

Before anyone could respond, Quatre began chuckling. "The more I think about it.. The more I'm okay with that." His grip eased on the steering wheel, but he still kept the car racing down the deserted streets. "If I'm gonna die, I'd rather go fighting along side all of you. However, until that day comes, I wanna do what I can. I've already racked up enough regrets. I don't want to add any more when I can still do something about it. I wanna go back to that selfish do or die attitude I had when I was younger." Quatre concluded as the smirk began returning to his lips.

The words seemed to stir a bit of light into the bleak future that awaited them. "You know, no matter how slim, there could be a chance that we make it through this." Heero pointed out, suddenly not making as much of an effort to keep on his side of the rear seat.

Quatre hummed as he spotted a crossroads ahead of him. The sight made him suddenly decide on an answer he had been debating for a long time. "You're right, Heero. And it's that slim chance that's going to make what I'm about to do a hell of a lot more interesting."

No one could question the blonde when the brakes were suddenly slammed hard. The three passengers lurched forward at the sudden deceleration only to be jolted to the right as the car did a full 360 spin on the road. By the time the screeching tires came to a stop, the car was in the dead center of the 4 way intersection. If it wasn't for the belts that kept them in place, all three of them knew they would have been thrown out of the car.

Gasping at the shock that had on his system, Duo stared wide eyed at the blonde. "Shit, Q! What the hell was that for?!" he yelped.

Quatre didn't answer as he placed the car in park and left the engine running. He then unbuckled the seatbelt that restrained him and turned to face the braided pilot fully. "It was for this, Duo." Both his pale hand shot out and gripped tight at the chestnut colored hair.

Duo let out a squeak of alarm when he was jerked forward, but his heart stopped when he felt a pair of warm lips crush against his. His eyes took up most of his face as he fought to remember how to breathe, but the moment he felt a wet nudge try to part his lips everything fell into place. His eyes drifted closed as his lips parted for the persistent tongue. He gave a soft moan when their tongues finally met, but it wasn't enough. His hands began tugging the blonde closer, and in a matter of seconds Quatre had settled astride his lap. Their lips never parting as they moved.

In the back seat, the pair that was still squashed together from the sudden spin were stunned. They both stared blankly at the two making out passionately in the front passenger seat. At a total loss on how to react, Trowa glanced towards the Japanese pilot that was literally on top of him at this point. Their gazes met, and, after a loud moan from Quatre, Trowa smirked slightly.

The twitch of the lips was immediately noticed, and Heero found himself returning it. He reached up to gently brush the long bangs aside so he could finally see all of the Frenchman's face. They both lingered there for a moment before Trowa moved closer to barely brush his lips across Heero's. The smooth touch made both of them shiver slightly. Trowa then gave a soft chuckle as he moved to whisper into Heero's ear. "When we get back to Peacemillion?" he questioned, nipping lightly at the other's ear.

The nip made Heero bite back a groan, but the smirk on his lips twitched wider. "Yeah. I'm not much into exhibitionism."

"Same here." Trowa mused as he peeked back towards the pair still going at one anther. "Voyeurism I have no problem with..." he trailed off, his own smirk growing at the sight.

Duo promptly flipped off the couple in the back seat as his other hand wandered under the blue long sleeved shirt the blonde was wearing. He never wanted to release the sweet lips that were pressed so desperately against his own, but he felt Quatre pulling away before he could latch on tighter. His breathing was harsher than before, broken up by more moans torn from him as the surprisingly skilled mouth began kissing and biting along his neck. "Q.. Quatre... If.. If you're not careful.. We're really gonna.. Gonna be putting on a show for them.." he groaned as the attention to his starved body was quickly beginning to have an affect on him.

"Shut up." Quatre growled, stealing another hard kiss from the weakly protesting lips. He took hold of Duo's face and kissed along the faint blush of arousal that dusted the soft cheeks. "I've been holding back too long... I have to say this before I lose this temporary insanity..." He pulled away and looked into the glazed amethyst eyes watching him in clear adoration. The longer he looked into them, the more his lips curled into a genuine smile. His thumbs ran along the curves of the warm cheeks as a soft chuckle escaped him. "I love you, ya psychotic idiot."

Duo's eyes widened at the confession. It wasn't real. He had to be dreaming. "You.. Love me?" he nearly stammered.

That blonde head nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I have for a long time. I've been fooling myself into thinking that I couldn't. That it wasn't right to toss up those kinds of emotions in this dangerous existence." Quatre paused to gently press their foreheads together as his arms wrapped around Duo's faintly trembling shoulders. "But now I've forced myself to face the truth of everything. Right or wrong, I'm not going to let this chance slip by me... You mean more to me than I could ever express in ten life times, Duo..." His right hand tenderly caressed the side of Duo's face as his eyes slid closed. "It's okay if you don't feel the same... But I refuse to face my end regretting that I never told you."

For a moment, all Duo could do was stare at the closed eyes right in front of him. Everything that he had ever wanted to say... Every thought he had ever had about the Arabian... Every scenario that he had dreamt of for this moment all flew out of his head. Suddenly none of that seemed to even come close to what he was feeling in that moment. None of it was a worthy response to what was just said to him.

After a silent eternity, Duo slowly moved his head to whisper into the blonde's ear. "No matter what happens.. You can face it knowing I love you, too..." He felt Quatre's body stiffen in surprise, and was soon looking back into those brilliant aqua eyes as Quatre stared at him in astonishment. Duo smirked wide as he took hold of his love's pale hands and laced their fingers together. "Whatever happens, we're gonna face it together, Q."

Quatre knew the American was being honest. He always was. It never occurred to him what would happen if his feelings were actually returned. Now that he was faced with the new possible future his expression brightened tenfold. He held on tight to Duo's hands and hummed in contemplation. "Hm.. Suddenly I'm inspired. Forget what I said earlier. We will make it through this. I don't care if I have to con Howard into ramming Peacemillion up Milliardo's ass. We're going to win."

The bold words had the other three smirking in approval. "Now that's an idea." Heero mused on a snort, still pressed tight against Trowa.

"So you really think we'll somehow kick White fang's ass?" Trowa questioned as he smoothly hooked his leg over Heero's knee. A possessive move that pleased Heero to no end.

"Pfft, of course." Quatre looked back at his newly acquired love and beamed. "I have a future that I want to see. I'm going to make that future happen." he purred before leaning in to catch Duo's lips in another kiss.

Duo was quick to respond and nearly giggled when Quatre's tongue tickled the roof of his mouth. He was still tempted to say this was a dream, but he really didn't care. 'If this is, then I don't wanna wake up..' he thought as Quatre nibbled at his lower lips before pulling away. He held tighter to the hands twined with his and let out a deep content sigh. "You have no idea how happy I am right now, Q.."

The dreamy tone made Quatre chuckle and nip at the tip of the American's nose. "No more than I am. Now, what say we continue this train of thought when we have the luxury of separate rooms with locking doors?"

"I second that." Heero readily commented as his hand absently stroked along the thigh resting in his lap.

"Indeed." Trowa chuckled, confidently wrapping his arm around Heero's shoulders.

"Fantastic." Quatre stole one more kiss from his braided love before moving to return to the driver's seat.

Duo instantly missed the warmth that had been in his lap, but he kept himself focused on reclaiming it the moment they were behind closed doors. "Well, this was far more productive than I thought it would be." he mused on a laugh.

Quatre snickered to himself as he pulled his seatbelt back on. "I know. I should steal red convertibles more often. Something awesome always happens when I do." Once the buckle clicked into place, he glanced at his three passengers expectantly. "What direction should we take from this point?"

Somehow Trowa knew that the question wasn't pertaining to just the crossroads anymore. 'I think we've reached more than one crossroads tonight.' "Any direction will do. I believe our destinations are now the same."

Quatre looked into the rear view mirror to see the pair in the back seat holding one another close. His attention then moved to Duo. The warm loving gaze that his love so readily showed him made everything seem right with the world. Smirking once more, Quatre turned his attention to the road that stretched out beyond the headlights. "Alright then. We head towards the future."

One rev of the engine and a quick gear shift had the tires spinning once more. Burning rubber and dust filled the air before the car shot off into the night. Whisking four pilots off to the future they were determined to make for themselves.

fjfjfjfjfjfjfj The End fjfjfjfjfjfjfj

That made me feel better.

How bout you?

Later~