At The End of the Day
~ Chapter Four

March 26, AC198
-- St. Tropez Beach Resort, French Riviera

The air was good. It was all he could think of as he watched the fine grains of sand lead up to the clear sea that cradled the almost too brilliant sun just in the horizon. Life was good and Wufei was a genius to suggest that they all go on a vacation during Heero's spring break. It also happened to coincide with Wufei and Trowa's annual vacation and Duo himself could leave whenever he wanted. The only problem, of course, had been Quatre, but after weeks of nagging, Duo had convinced his reticent comrade to take a break. There was only one stipulation. Everyone had to bring a date - and bring a date Quatre did.

"She's a bimbo."

"She's obviously a gold digger."

"I don't think those boobs are even real. They look like they're going to fall out of her chest anytime soon."

"Ladies, could we stop being vile for a moment?" Wufei interrupted.

While Duo did find the bashing a little humorous at first, he started to fear the repressed anger in these women's words. Their offhanded commentary was like poisoned daggers being thrown at the back of the voluptuous woman who hogged Quatre like a blood-thirsty leech. Duo looked skyward. Just what was Quatre thinking?

"But honey, just look at that," Sally said in defense of her small group of female compatriots. "She's not even human."

Truthfully, Sally had been the worst of them all. Duo feared the amount of vile that was coming out of her mouth. Even his sweet Hilde was showing a side of herself Duo had never seen. Even worse was that he was seeing the same from Relena who was supposed to be the picture of female dignity that the Earth and colonies looked up to. Instead, she was joining in on the verbal assault while sitting next to Heero. Heero didn't seem to mind the discussion as he ignored all the comments and looked far into the distance.

"I wish I could be that peaceful," Duo said, sighing quite loudly before plopping down on the large beach mat which they all shared. Perhaps leaving the comfort of the large umbrella that protected them from the sun was best. Either that, or he had to achieve the same kind of Zen Heero was in. Even Wufei couldn't seem to find his inner peace.

"I can only sense jealousy from you women," Wufei said with a dismissive snort before crossing his arms. Being as he always was, he was really asking for an execution by gunfire. Duo was wise enough to keep those kinds of comments to himself.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're attracted to her," Sally goaded him. It was a trap. Duo winced as he looked at his soon to be castrated friend.

"It's better than taking out all your insecurities on her," Wufei responded. That was when the riot started. The bikini-clad of the group attacked all at once and it was only Duo's persistence and unfound courage that helped him pull Wufei out of the fray. Seriously, talking to angry women was like playing with fire.

"Let's not all get violent now," Duo said, attempting to calm down everyone's nerves. "It's best that we ask Heero, our knowledgeable comrade, what he knows of Quatre's strange choices for the season."

Duo then shook Heero to force him out of his trance. Heero looked a bit irritated but acquiesced with the request anyway.

"He met her at a club. They've been going out for a few days," Heero stated simply and then continued to stare out into the distance.

"See girls, Quatre was just drunk on boobs and out of his mind. There's no need to take it out on dear old Wufei," Duo said, tentatively smiling while trying to judge the mood of their group. There was no sense in ruining their vacation just because some sexy woman had decided to attach herself to sweet, immaculate Quatre.

"That can't be good," Relena said, pointing at the couple in the distance. The two were walking side by side just right at the edge where the waves kissed the sand. There was nothing odd about Quatre except that the woman next to him was hanging on to his arm, obviously pressing her gigantic bosoms against said arm.

"Oh my god, she's defiled Quatre," Hilde said as they watched the scene before them. The still unnamed woman said something that made Quatre laugh. Duo almost felt like throwing up.

"Oh yes she has," Sally said next, stretching out her long, slender legs in the mat. "She's taken his virginity alright -- over and over again."

The wrong kind of images assaulted Duo's head. It was apparent that he was not the only one thinking dirty thoughts when a unified gasp was released. Only Heero continued to remain unconcerned.

"Sally! Our child is only a few feet away!" Wufei exclaimed, looking with shock at his wife. The red hot color on his face was too obvious to miss.

"She doesn't understand these kinds of things," Sally said off-handedly and then leaned back on her arms as if her statement was not as scandalous as it sounded. "Besides, I never thought that she was Quatre's type. I was thinking more along the lines of someone else."

As if by reflex, the whole group turned their eyes toward Trowa. He was building sandcastles with little Lina in the distance. The two seemed to be in a world of their own, diligently working on what was beginning to look like a grand castle complete with flags and rock walls. Duo thought that Trowa was rather good at building those. It made Lina giggle with glee. Now that was a pair he never expected.

When he'd asked Trowa where his date was, the tall teenager merely pointed to the bundle sucking a bottle in his arms. It had been a good excuse, so Duo let it pass. What made him wonder was Quatre's appearance a few minutes later with a larger bundle sucking on his face. Times really did change. Duo's mind just couldn't comprehend the turn of events. He was half-expecting Quatre and Trowa to come together.

Needless to say, Quatre's little surprise gave way to a few problems. The exclusive residence he had reserved for their group was a four room villa and four rooms meant four couples. That meant that Trowa was now going to take residence in the living room. Duo almost felt sorry for him if not for the fact that he looked to be one of the few people enjoying their vacation. Everyone else was too hung up on Quatre's new girlfriend.

Sighing again, Duo decided to follow Heero's lead and stared out into the distance. The chatter started to become a distant distraction that was fading away by the second. While he did hear Sally and Wufei's little banter, he heard them being swallowed up by the waves that kept on coming. Perhaps he was going to swim later, but he just couldn't resist dozing off for a little while.

When Duo finally came to, the sun was already starting to set and the group had finally come together. Everyone was in pairs, including himself who had his cute girlfriend dozing off atop his stomach. Relena seemed to settle down as she talked quietly with Heero. Even Wufei and Sally were calm. Unexpectedly, it was the new girl that disquieted their group.

"But Quatre, I don't want dinner. Let's go shopping instead."

Duo rolled his eyes while remaining in a reclined position. He didn't want to wake Hilde up by sitting up abruptly. The rest of the group seemed to twitch at that statement.

"But I'm tired," Quatre responded. Indeed, after having one hundred something pounds of flesh and bone constantly hanging on to you, getting exhausted from the haul was inevitable.

"You promised," she whined.

Duo could feel himself gag. He looked around, trying not to disturb Hilde. Trowa was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Trowa?" he voiced out.

"Out getting some fruit juice with Lina," Heero answered. "They should be back soon."

Meanwhile, the odd couple continued to make the crowd vomit.

"I don't really feel up to it," Quatre said again. Just what part of 'he was tired' did the woman not get? It was frustrating Duo more than it was frustrating Quatre. "Let me tell you what," Quatre continued. "Why don't I give you my credit cards and you could go shopping however long you like."

It was convenient. The shopping spots around that area were open really late, sometimes even into the early morning to accommodate tourists.

As if smelling a gold-digger actively working within the vicinity, Hilde's head shot up immediately.

"Where's the gold -- mph, mph?"

Only Duo's inhuman reflex stopped her from continuing.

"Really?" the unnamed woman squealed. "You're the best Quatre!"

"More like you're the richest," Hilde muttered.

Duo thought Hilde was tame because Sally was already starting to itch for a physical attack. It was Wufei's muscled arms that stopped her from doing anything that would disrupt the peace. Only Heero and Relena were left busy and talking.

"Ok then. Could I borrow your rental?"

It was Duo's turn to lose his composure. Quatre's rental was rated the most expensive car of AC198. If Duo drove one of those, there was no way he was going to let anyone touch it, much less someone who looked like she was going to crash it just for fun. Duo loved cars because it was the next perfect machinery he could tinker with. Number one would always be mobile suits. He'd always wanted to pop open the hood off one of those cars.

"Sure. Let me get the keys," Quatre said.

To Duo, it was agony when Quatre handed his girlfriend the keys with no regard to the car's safety.

"It's ok, Duo," Hilde consoled him as she lead him away. They were the first to reach their private villa in time for dinner. At least the food they ordered a few hours before was delivered just in time for his awaiting stomach. Not long after, Duo had forgotten about the year's most recent soon-to-be tragedy.

Dinner, thankfully, was more enjoyable with the absence of Quatre's girlfriend. The chatter seemed endless as the lot of them discussed business, politics, and life after the war. Heero had been particularly more lively than usual although Trowa remained as reserved as he usually was. Dinner's discussion turned into late night chatter. They'd divided into groups and talked to the late hours of the night. By the time it hit 12 o'clock, Duo was just about ready to drop dead and so he did.

At around two in the morning, his eyes shot up like an owl's. There was a thirst that reached to the deepest reaches of his throat that needed relief. A bit groggy and still disoriented, Duo headed for the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. That was when he noticed that Trowa had left the living room couch, his bed for the night. He shrugged, getting himself the water he'd been thirsting for. Thinking that now was a great time to see the beach at night, he decided to walk out to their porch to catch a view. Only, he wasn't alone.

Out in the porch was the missing Trowa who was talking quietly with someone on the other lawn chair. Duo wondered who it was so he shifted to get a better angle. Much to his surprise, he found Quatre on the other chair with his legs pulled up to his chest. He looked comfortable as he placed his head atop his knees and watched Trowa talk. The two seemed to be engrossed in their discussion because they never noticed his presence. Quatre's smile as he lifted his head off his knees was genuine against the moon's minimal light. Duo could only identify it as a look of adoration as he stared at Trowa's talking visage. A light laugh followed before Trowa nodded and pointed to the distance.

Duo blinked, having been witness to something he knew he should never have seen. Unfortunately, Quatre's girlfriend took that moment to come home from her shopping spree only to see what Duo saw. Dozens of shopping bags together with Quatre's keys dropped to the floor as she stared at the two. Quatre noticed her and waved in her direction.

"How was shopping, Cindy?" he asked.

Duo thought he saw a deep look of sadness on the face of the woman everyone had decided was evil. For once, he felt truly sorry for her.

July 2, AC198
-- Preventers Colony Headquarters, Colony L3-X18999

Wufei paced back and forth in the break room, thankful that Trowa was the only other person to see him at his most vulnerable. The news he'd received earlier that day was more or less grand, but still, he couldn't get the frustration out of him. He should have been told earlier. They should have talked it out, but instead she decided to keep it a secret. There was no reason for her to.

"Congratulations," Trowa said as he chewed on a half-finished sandwich. His words reached Wufei's ears, but he had yet to process it. He was too caught up in his pacing.

"If it's any consolation, at least she told you."

"Of course she told me!" Wufei nearly bellowed. "It's becoming obvious from the size of her stomach. I knew something was going on. I don't know why she couldn't just go ahead and tell me."

"She must have been concerned that you would prevent her from continuing to work," Trowa suggested.

"She told you that?" Wufei inquired. If Trowa knew, why didn't he?

"It was a guess," Trowa said with a shrug.

Wufei continued pacing. He supposed that a lucky guess was a lucky guess. Sally couldn't have told his partner before him. She hadn't told anyone else, not even him. He didn't find out about it until early that morning when he commented on how she seemed to be bloating up recently. He should have known. She's been having morning sickness for the past few weeks.

"In any case," Trowa continued. "I think it's great that you guys are having another baby. That should at least keep you satisfied."

Stopping mid-step, Wufei looked at Trowa as if the other had grown a second head.

"Of course I'm happy!" Wufei said with a dramatic raising of his arms. "This is one of the most amazing things that could ever happen to us. Lina is going to love having a new brother or sister. It's just bothering me that Sally never told me about it."

He sat, trying to think more rationally. It was true that Sally had postponed telling him about their baby, but she had to have had a good reason. He forced himself to think. A new baby was very important news, but there must have been something equally important or even more important to prevent the news from being delivered. He thought harder and as the clock struck ten minutes before the end of their break, it hit him.

"She didn't want to stop working," Wufei said, repeating what Trowa suggested earlier. He realized that before the birth of their first child, Sally had insisted that she didn't need to take a leave of absence until absolutely necessary. Home life must have been too dull for her. After all, she was a woman who thrived on action. She always needed a good adventure.

"She probably needed you to take it easy. It's big news after all," Trowa added.

"Big news? This is great news!" Wufei said with a passion that had been forcefully contained all day. "I want another child. In fact I want ten more," he said. An image of the ideal Chang household came to mind.

All wedged in the middle of Sally and himself were twelve darling children, all in varying degrees of weight and height. Each little counterpart had either their mother's sultry features or his own sharp ones. On holidays, they would all go on a vacation with six children following on either side of him. The youngest ones would be in a carriage, giggling adorably as their mother made sure they were well fed. He was practically shaking with excitement.

"...after having announced not too long ago that he will be taking over his father's company. In light of recent changes, all L4's colony clusters are set to vote for the colony's new representative. It is speculated that..."

"Wait, is this news about L4?" Wufei inquired, having now only noticed the news program Trowa was watching. His partner only nodded in response as he continued to consume his sandwich.

"There's no doubt that they'll vote unanimously for Quatre," Trowa said as he pointed with his thumb at the footage being broadcasted. Wufei paid attention.

A crowd of people were gathered in what looked like a town square, cheering loudly for Quatre. A few dozen banners were being hoisted in the air, showing their support for the Winner heir. An anchor woman was saying something about the support he was getting before a picture of Quatre at last week's colony press conference was flashed.

June 29, AC198
-- Renaissance Complex: Apartment Unit 6DE5, Colony L3-X18999

"I don't think I'm ready."

"You never will be."

"Will you wait for me?"

"Probably not."

July 2, AC198
-- Preventers Colony Headquarters, Colony L3-X18999

With his hair slicked back in a professional look, the former adorable looking Quatre was replaced with a handsome young man. Once fluffy tendrils that used to frame his chubby face were gone. They were replaced with a more structured face that was illuminated by the bright flashes of cameras. What became more evident was the similarity of his facial structure to his father's. With all his hair combed back, it was easy to see what Quatre was hiding under all that. Wufei could imagine the number of squeals Quatre had been receiving after he'd been passed the torch his father once held.

"They'll vote for him for his looks," Wufei said with disgust although he knew that Quatre was capable of the job being forced into his hands. Since last year's Christmas party, he had spent a lot of time talking to the other about politics and the like. Quatre was surprisingly sharp for a guy who was always protected under his father's wing.

"That's what I was thinking," Trowa responded, continuing to stare at the images that were being flashed on the television screen. "I don't blame him for not wanting any exposure by the press."

True, after Quatre was presented as the new head of the Winner Corporation at the eve of his eighteenth birthday, many a soul became obsessed with him. It was strange to note that Quatre's face had never previously been publicized. He'd always been hidden during the years he was growing up, only to be callously thrown into the pit of hungry lions when he was old enough. It sure was tough being the Winner heir.

"And that, I'm afraid, is the end of his life as he knows it," Wufei said, shaking his head with pity. The pressure must have risen tenfold for Quatre.

"Not that he's helping himself either," Trowa said as he pointed again at the television.

Pictures of Quatre with several different women were flashed on the television screen accompanying explanations of who they were and what their connections were to him. It seemed that Quatre himself was becoming one of the typical examples of popular culture and Wufei thought it was unsightly.

"What's new? Duo tells me he has a new girlfriend that replaced the three others he's had in -- what? -- I don't know -- four months maybe," Wufei said, not understanding where it was all coming from. It was a completely different side of Quatre he couldn't quite understand.

All of a sudden, the TV went dead.

"That's enough trash TV for one day," Trowa announced quite uncharacteristically with his finger still on the power button. "Let's discuss something more relevant, like your newest child for example."

Wufei raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask. There were some things he would rather not discuss with Trowa and this topic seemed to be one of them. Trowa was usually calm and collected, the ideal mature person to talk to, but there were just times when he became a little extreme. He could be hateful if he really wanted to.

"I don't know the details," Wufei said, finally picking up his cup of now cold coffee. It had been waiting for him for more than ten minutes already. "I'll be taking her to the doctor after work. It's been at least three months so we should be able to find out the gender."

"Three months?" Trowa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your child didn't happen to have been conceived in St. Tropez?" he inquired.

"How.. How did..." Wufei said flustered.

"Simple math," Trowa answered, tapping a finger on his head. "It's not that hard to figure out."

"I suppose," Wufei replied.

The room suddenly turned silent as Wufei contemplated the good news for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. It was exhilarating. He felt proud of himself and his lovely wife. Soon he was going to create a clan of his little ones, a clan to outdo the one he'd lost. With that in mind, he finished his coffee and stood. Work was still waiting for him for the rest of the day. He'd have more time to celebrate with Sally later.