DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing.
A/N: Thanks, lots of clapping and excesses of candy go to: DarkStar02, chichi, 1x2 fan, sapphire, Amalthaea, ForeordainedDestiny (fellow Relena-not-liker), Tenshi Eleison (the 2nd time!! I love you! *glomps*), and dark-chan (your English is a lot better than any of my second languages. ^.~), as well as all that reviewed before and were previously mentioned. On with it.
~*~
Chapter 3
Heero looked up at the house looming over him as he got out of the van. A darker shadow than usual fell over his features. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was stepping into Hell. Then a smile crept across his face, the kind that scared small children. Hell, huh? I shouldn't be scared. I think I feel right at home.
His face hardened to a stony mask and he pulled his bag out of the van, determined to live out the weekend without killing Relena, however satisfying that might be.
*
Duo nearly fell out of the passenger seat onto the concrete driveway. He'd spent most of the two-hour trip asleep.
He gazed groggily up at the house. Condo, my ass. It more closely resembled a mansion. He was (almost) inexplicably reminded of old haunted houses in horror movies. While he stood there imagining ghosts floating out of doors and windows, the front door opened and the ghastliest creature of all came running down the driveway towards them: Relena.
She looked almost as annoying as his last memory of her. The stupid, inappropriately innocent braids in her hair swung rhythmically as she trotted towards the group, attaching herself to Heero's arm and looking like she planned to spend the whole weekend there.
"Hi, everybody," she said, hardly sparing four of them a glance. "Get your bags and I'll take you to your rooms."
*
Quatre frowned as he quietly followed Relena down the hallway. The walls were paneled with dark wood, hung with paintings every few feet. His footsteps were noiseless on the plush red carpet. His was the last room to be found, and he felt like they were going a long way down the hall. I hope I can still find Trowa's room, he thought apprehensively. I think I'm lost…
"Here we are." Relena opened a door in front of them; identical to all the rest they'd passed. The bedroom inside was white and breezy, the salt smell of the ocean drifting through the gauzy curtains to tickle Quatre's face.
"Thank you." He turned around and beamed at Relena as he set his bag on the bed. She smiled broadly and shut the door with a soft click. Humming carried down the hallway behind her.
Quatre exhaled loudly as he unpacked. He had an hour before dinner to go find Trowa without looking too suspicious. He changed his shirt and walked as quickly as he could back down the hallway where he'd come, counting doors as he went.
Where is he?
He practically screeched to a stop on the carpet when he heard a door open behind him. He turned around, his face a guarded, emotionless mask, but the sight of the person standing before him shattered it without a second thought. "Trowa!" He raced forward and hugged his lover. "I missed you!""I was only gone for half an hour." Trowa's voice was amused and warm as he returned the embrace.
"I don't care. I still missed you."
The 03 pilot's face broke into a huge smirk. "There's still a while left before we have to be to dinner…"
Quatre's grin lit up his face as they shut the bedroom door behind them.
***
Dinner was hell, or at least Duo thought so. The meat was chewy and the conversation was, well, it wasn't conversation, whatever it was. The whole meal had consisted of Relena chattering away at Heero about nothing of any great consequence or intelligence as she sat about two inches away from him. Wufei had stared at a blank spot on the wall as he chewed his broccoli. Duo thought he looked like a daydreaming cow, but wasn't about to say so with so many sharp utensils within reach.
Quatre and Trowa had simply sat across from each other, having what looked like a staring contest. Halfway through the soup Duo had noticed that Quatre's shirt was inside out and Trowa's hair was parted on the wrong side. The ensuing thoughts and mental pictures had been enough to keep him staring at his food for most of the meal.
"Weirdness," he muttered out loud. He was walking down the beach in the moonlight, the wind tugging at his braid playfully as he stopped to take in the ocean scene. Only two more days of this, he thought. Saturday and then Sunday, when they would finally go home. He cast his eyes heavenward, a tiny groan escaping his lips. Give me strength…
Suddenly he froze. Duo had good hearing, and his ears had just picked up a sound different from the calm rush of the waves against the beach. I thought I was the only one out here… He moved towards the source of the sound, finally stopping some hundred metres away from it and leaning against a rock, cautiously. All of his instincts were screaming at him to be silent. Then he heard it clearly, carrying towards him on the salty breeze.
Alex on the last train home from god knows where
A million miles away from where he thought he'd be
He's got his suit, his tie, his drink, his MTV
He's trading all his life away
You can't escape we're all infected now
I know you can feel it
You're already there
Asleep underwater
Just screaming for air
I know you can feel it
You're already...
Don't you know we're freaks and creatures?
Wake up, I can almost see the light…
It was singing. And the lyrics and voice sounded very familiar. Peeking out from behind his rock, Duo saw a Japanese boy perched on top of his own huge boulder, several metres out and surrounded by water. He was singing quite loudly, obviously thinking he was safely alone. For a full two minutes Duo felt bad for spying like this. Then he decided Heero needed some company, mostly because if he had to stand there any longer listening to that spine-chillingly beautiful voice, he was going to go crazy.
He crept up the beach well into the rocky part, beyond where he could hear Heero, before coming back as loudly as he could. He whistled for extra effect. In the distance he could see Heero's silhouette freeze and turn around to watch him. Duo stopped at the water's edge to take off his clothes (he was wearing his swimming trunks underneath) and waded in without hesitation.
When he was submerged up to his chest, he allowed himself a quiet curse at the cold water and then plunged in to swim to the rock. He climbed out of the water, wrung out his braid quickly, and scaled the rock to plop down next to Heero. He sucked in air through his teeth as the chill wind hit his wet skin, but tried not to show it.
There were a few minutes of silence before Heero spoke up. "Why are you here?"
"I was walking along the beach, coming to take a swim, and I saw you and decided to come say hi." Duo was glad for the darkness to hide his red face. At least I'm getting better at half-truths, he thought with chagrin.
"Thanks, but I didn't need the company."
Now Duo was pissed. "Right, because everybody who sits on a rock halfway out to sea in the middle of the night with his chin on his knees doesn't need a little company." He instantly felt sorry for lashing out, but was a teeny bit amused to see Heero suddenly change positions.
"If I apologize for being rude will you go away?" The moonlight glinted in the Japanese pilot's eyes as he spoke.
"If you don't apologize I can guarantee I'll never leave at all," Duo countered.
Heero smirked. "Then I'm profusely sorry."
Silence fell again on the pair. The wind picked up and Duo's goosebumps were getting goosebumps.
"You're freezing. Go back inside, you baka."
"I'm fine." Now Duo was lying outright, and his chattering teeth weren't helping.
Heero looked directly at him, and Duo felt his heart leap unexpectedly into his throat under the other boy's penetrating gaze. "You're a horrible liar. Get back in the house before you get pneumonia."
Duo wilted. "All right, all right. Are you sure you're fine?"
Heero rolled his eyes. "No, I think I'll cry my eyes out on your shoulder while you put my hair up in pigtails."
A grin crept across the Shinigami's face. "I don't think I have any extra hair elastics, but I could paint your toenails." A muscular, tanned arm reached out and pushed him into the water. When his almost-dry skin touched the cold waves again Duo let out a whoop to hide the discomfort and swam slowly back to shore, his long, smooth strokes cutting through the water before him.
As he threw his clothes on and trudged back up the beach, he thought he could hear the faint strain of singing wafting up to him on the salt breeze. He shivered, but it may or may not have been from the cold.
That night he dreamt he was a sailor on a ship headed for a bright little island in the middle of a deep, dark ocean, where Sirens sang their sweet, seductive song on the beach.
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A/N: Well, that's the end of that one, then. I got stuck in the middle of the chapter and it took a while to get unstuck. FYI, if you didn't know, Sirens are creatures from Greek mythology. They sat on their island and sang beautiful songs for sailors, who would come closer and then crash in the rocks around the beach. Or the Sirens ate them. I can't remember which anymore. ^^; Anyway, please review! And read The God of Death, my new GW short story.
