Disclaimer: This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.

Thanks for the reviews I received on this story.

The Well

Chapter 2

Trowa Barton raised his head and looked over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps behind him.

"What are you doing?" Quatre stopped at the open door. The young man had been in his room, reading since they came back from the Open House.

"Studying. If I'm to pass as a sophomore I should at least have the knowledge of someone who already has a year of college under his belt."

"Have you decided on what classes to take, yet?"

"Obviously, whatever classes you will be taking. The point of me going to school with you is to be able to keep an eye on you," Trowa pointed out, and then before they could get into another argument over it, he changed the subject. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not really... Not yet." The other youth shook his head. "But some tea would be nice."

"It would," the bodyguard confirmed. "The tea is in the same cabinet with the coffee; right above the coffee maker."

"Ah, right."

Quatre hesitated for just a moment before he left, and Trowa turned his attention back to his computer. He finished the article he had been reading and took a few notes about things he wanted to research further, later on, then closed the laptop and rose to his feet. He stretched his stiff muscles and walked into the kitchen where his 'housemate' seemed to be reading the instructions on a tin of black tea.

"How is it going?"

"It's…umm…going slow." Quatre turned his head and gave him a somewhat crooked grin.

"You don't know how to make tea?" Trowa suddenly realized.

"My sisters or the cook would usually do all the kitchen work," the other youth admitted.

"Well, do you want me to do it?"

"No, I'll be alright. I just have to do as it says on the box."

The body guard shrugged as he turned to leave the kitchen. "Just make sure not to burn the water."

"Are you making fun of me?" Quatre huffed. "You can't burn water."

"Are you sure?" There was a tiny smirk on Trowa's face as he looked back over his shoulder, and Quatre realized that it was the first time he had seen him smile.

####

"Alexander, take the door, would you? That must be Duo and Wufei." Treize called out from upstairs. He had been changing, and was still buttoning his shirt when the doorbell had rung.

Milliardo was out on the patio checking the grill, with Cabal by his side, guarding every move of his, in hopes that there was some food to be had. He could hear the front door open and then his friend's voices, as their ghostly housemate let them in.

Instantly the Borzoi turned on his heels sprinting into the house like a flash of furry lightning.

"Watch out," the blonde warned. "He is coming." For some reason Cabal was just crazy about his braided friend. But maybe that was only because Duo was always feeding him table scraps during dinner.

Quickly adding a few more woodchips to the smoking box, Milliardo closed the grill and went into the house to greet their guests.

A laughing Duo was trying to fight off another lick attack, while Wufei looked around then held up a small bag he was carrying.

"Alexander?! We brought you a little something. Hope you like it."

Momentarily the bag hovered in thin air before dropping to the ground to reveal a thin, square, wrapped packet; another book for his constantly growing collection of mystery novels it seemed, but only until Alexander ripped away the paper.

"A photo book?!" Treize came walking down the stairway to join the small group.

"Yes," Wufei confirmed. "You mentioned before that Alexander also went to China on his travels. Duo and I thought it might be fun if we went to the same port cities and took pictures for him to see how much they changed since he visited them."

"What a splendid idea, don't you agree Alexander?"

Apparently he did, because Duo suddenly took a slight step back. It was one thing to be pounced on and slobbered over by a dog…Being embraced by a spirit however, took a little more to get used to. His Chinese friend took the ghostly hug with composure.

"You are welcome."

"So, are we just going to hang out in the hall or will we actually go inside?" Milliardo finally asked and gestured into the living room. "You will have to excuse me I need to check the ribs again."

"Is that what I smell?" Duo asked.

"Yes, I have been slowly smoking them for several hours."

"I bet the whole neighborhood is drooling by now."

Milliardo laughed. "Let's hope they taste as good as they smell. With some arm twisting I managed to get a few of my father's famous grilling recipes out of him. But I have never tried them before."

"I'm sure they will be great," Treize gave his lover a reassuring pat on the back. "Let me grab some beer," he offered and then directed at their guests. "Make yourself a home."

On his way to the couch Wufei's eyes fell upon the dining table. "Five settings; does Alexander have his own place at the table now?"

"No," the professor replied from the kitchen where they could hear him open the fridge. "He still doesn't eat or need food for that matter. Milliardo invited another friend. The name is Yuy, he will be a sophomore just like you guys."

"Heero Yuy?" Duo asked as he settled down in one of the new leather recliners.

"Yes," Treize confirmed as he returned with a arm full of beer bottles. "You know him?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it knowing. We had a couple classes together. But Wufei and I aren't exactly in the same league with the guy."

"What league would that be?" Milliardo asked as he stepped in from the patio.

"The rich and popular guys. They don't even acknowledge us."

Wufei forehead furrowed slightly as he looked at his friend. "That's a rather stupid assessment to make. Milliardo and Treize didn't exactly grow up in the poorhouse either, and we are friends, are we not"

"They are the exception," Duo insisted. "Face it Wu, the rich kids like to hang out with their own. That Yuy guy for example I don't think he has spoken more than 3 words to me all year."

"Not everyone talks as much as you," Wufei countered.

Treize smirked slightly. "Wufei might have a point. You have a very cheerful personality which allows you to talk to people and make friends easily. Not everyone is that lucky. Some people don't talk to others not because they don't want to, but because they don't know how to."

"I agree," Milliardo nodded. "From what I can tell Heero is a very nice guy, so give him the benefit of the doubt. By the way, he should be here any minute, Alexander would you mind…?"

He had talked to the ghost earlier and asked him to keep out of sight for the evening, since Heero had no idea of his existence.

Alexander, who had been sitting in his favorite armchair flipping through the photos, got up and retreated up to his attic, or so they could tell by the book slowly floating up the stairs.

"Seems as though he really likes his gift." The professor remarked. "That was very nice of you to put that book together for him."

"It was quite interesting to visit those ports knowing that more than a hundred years ago he might have walked those same streets. Wouldn't it be something if he could actually go back to those places and see them again?" Wufei mused. "And I don't mean just the foreign counties he visited but places nearby like the park where he and Octavian liked to walk their dog…"

"We could make a video diary of sorts." Duo suggested.

"Yeah, but it's not the same as being there in person."

"No it isn't," Treize admitted. "But it's the next best thing, and I think he would enjoy it."

###

"Tea is ready." Quatre announced as he walked into the living room with a tray of steaming teacups and a plate of sweet flaky pastries filled with almond paste, courtesy of his sisters who had sent him a large 'care packing' via overnight express.

"Thanks." Moving aside a couple of magazines, Trowa made room on the coffee table for him to set down the tray. "I called the Sheriff and set up an appointment for tomorrow."

"Good. I'd like to go with you." Quatre reached for his tea cup and settled down in one of the brand new arm chairs. They had been delivered only the day before, like most of the furniture in the house, and still had the smell of new leather to them. Staring down in his cup thoughtfully for a few minutes, he suddenly raised his head and looked at his bodyguard. "Your boss called earlier while you were out running."

"What did he want?"

"It was nothing important he said; he will call back later. But we talked for a moment….Trowa, why do you do what you do? He told me you had been shot at your last assignment. You took a bullet meant for the man you were protecting."

"Yeah?!"

"You could have died!"

"The thought crossed my mind," the brunette admitted and took a sip from his tea. "Hmm…pretty good for a first try."

Quatre's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance as he felt like Trowa was trying to change the subject. "Would you do it again? If someone would try to shoot me, I mean."

"It is part of my job, Quatre," the other youth replied. "Ideally a bodyguard will prevent any attack before it happens, but sometimes that's not possible. So yes, if that's what it takes to keep you safe… I'd shield you with my body."

Quatre's mouth changed into a thin line as he turned his head and looked out of the window.

The other youth gazed at him from the side. "Did I say something wrong?"

As Quatre turned toward him again his blue eyes sparkled with underlined fury. "How can you care so little about your own life? Is it worth so little to you that you are willing to give it up so easily for another person? And not to mention, have you ever considered how that person would feel… Do you think I want you to get killed for my sake? I don't. I don't want anyone else to die for me."

"Quatre…" Trowa exclaimed quietly and somewhat surprised about the sudden outburst.

"Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose someone you cared about?" Apparently the last was meant as a rhetorical question only, because the young man rose to his feet and put down his tea.

"Quatre, wait. Don't walk out now."

"I have a bit of a headache; I'm going lie down for a while."

The bodyguard signed inwardly as he watched him leave the room. When his father told me he could be difficult to deal with at times, I thought nothing of it. Spoiled, smug, rich kids who think the rules of this world don't apply to them I can deal with … but he keeps me on my toes, and I'm never quite sure what to expect next.

###

Luck had it that a car drove off, leaving a perfect parking spot just across Milliardo's house when Heero arrived. He pulled into it, grabbed the bag that was sitting on the passenger seat, and locked the car as he climbed out. For a brief moment he studied the house in front of him. It was quite different from the large, contemporary estate the rest of the Peacecraft family lived in, but it was appealing and welcoming in its own way.

As he climbed up the three little stairs to the front entrance he could hear voices from inside and smell the smoky aroma of BBQ-ed meat. A dog started barking as soon as he rang the bell but stopped instantly when someone told him sharply: "Enough!"

Milliardo opened the door moments later, at his side a white dog with silky hair and a long pointed muzzle. "Ah Heero, we were beginning to wonder if you had changed your mind."

"I'm sorry, I was doing something totally lost track of time," the young man apologized.

"Well, you are here now. Come in."

The dog curiously sniffed his bag as Heero stepped into the hall. Through the open door to what seemed to be the living room, he could see Professor Khushrenada. It created quite some buzz in school when people found out their history teacher was living together with a former student, a male student to top it off, but things quieted down almost as quickly as they had flared up.

The professor was talking to someone out of his line of view, but then that person laughed. "What's wrong with that?"

That voice. Heero almost stopped dead in his track. His head snapped around and he gave Milliardo an accusing glare. "You set me up."

"I have not the slightest idea what you are talking about." The older youth blinked innocently. "Are you coming in or not?"

It wasn't like he had much of a choice. As he followed Milliardo into the living room he gave his teacher a nod "Professor?!"

"Please call me Treize."

"Thank you." Heero greeted his fellow students as well with a nod. "Wufei…Duo."

"Hi Heero."

"Hey there."

Suddenly remembering the bag in his hand Heero turned to Milliardo. "I brought something for dessert."

"Let me put it into the kitchen. Do I need to refrigerate it?"

"No, it's just cheese cake. I think it will be fine for a few hours. Personally, I like it best at room temperature."

"Sounds good."

The blonde took the bag and retreated into the kitchen while Treize gestured for their guest to come closer. "Come on, sit down, Heero, have a beer," he encourage the young man. "You are already behind."

"I didn't realize you are having a contest."

###

Kicking off his shoes, Quatre flopped onto his bed with a frustrated grunt. He didn't mean to get that angry. He is right; this IS his job and I should try to accept that. Besides, having a 24/7 bodyguard around me was the only condition under which Father agreed on to let me go to this school. So, there is no way around it. If I want to stay I'll have to learn to deal with it. It's not like it is something completely new, either. Father's bodyguards were always around for as long as I can remember. It was part of growing up I never thought much about until…

Quatre rolled onto his back with a sigh and raised his arm to cover his eyes. The throbbing in his temples was getting worse. For a moment he considered getting up to take something for the headache, but then he decided to wait. Maybe all he needed was a short nap.

His mind wandered back to the morning and his visit at the Open House. Just what happened there, he wondered. It must have been something terrible to affect me in the way it did.

As he drifted off to sleep Quatre found himself back at the house again, looking into the backyard from a window at the second floor - which seemed odd really, considering he never even made it upstairs.
He could hear music, nothing familiar, but it sounded like something his eldest sisters would listen to. Down on the patio area, a handful of young people, in their late teens early twenties maybe, were talking, arguing and laughing with one another. The music was coming from a huge boom box sitting on a small round wrought-iron table between them.

Finally one of the young men looked up and waved at him. The first thing Quatre noticed were those prominent sideburns and that the long, combed over bangs reminded him a little of Trowa. Only, his hair wasn't brown but sandy blond.

"Hey, Mike," he yelled up. "Are you going to come or not? I have been saving a couple of beer for you but if you don't get your ass down here soon I might drink them myself."

"Don't even think about it," Quatre found himself answer. He too had to yell to drown out the loud music. "I'll be there in a minute."

"What are you doing anyway? You got a babe hidden up there or something?" One of the other guys asked, but before he could say anything yet another one answered.

"He is probably working on his MUSIC again."

"Sure, keep laughing about me, man. Let's see who will be laughing when I sell those lyrics and become a big- ass song writer."

"Keep dreaming, Michael. Keep dreaming."

He smiled as he stepped away from the window, knowing that he and his friends always teased one another about stuff like this, all in good humor. He threw a quick look at his paper littered desk before heading downstairs. His hand reached for the doorknob but the moment he opened the door he was suddenly swallowed buy complete darkness… darkness and cold and fear. He couldn't breathe; around him was nothing but water, muddy frigid water, as though he had been thrown into a bottomless pit. Somewhere far above him he could see a faint light, indicating the water's surface. As he began to panic he kicked and splashed trying desperately to make his way toward that light. But the more he struggled the deeper he seemed to sink and then the last hint of light was gone.

No! Help… Please someone help me….someone…anyone….

In his mind he was screaming as loud as he could. Why didn't anybody hear him; why didn't anyone come…?

________________________________________________________________________________________

TBC

Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Next time we will learn a bit about Heero and Quatre.

Author's Note: