A/N: Sorry for neglecting you all…again. For the reasons for said neglect, please refer to the last real paragraph on my profile thingy. As I say in that, family will always come first, no matter how astoundingly cool you people are. She'll be in the hospital for a while, too, so…yeah.
So! Prodigy! I'll warn you now-INTENTIONAL CLIFFHANGER. I'm sorry, but even with all those marvelous reviews you guys send me, I just had to do it. (But to make up for it, my New Year's present to you all's an Extra-Long Chappy, which is both ch.6 & 7, hence this chapter's freaky title. But 7 was extremely short anyway, so…enjoy!) And if you were curious, this IS the chapter where Wufei comes in for good. YAY!
Unusual Warnings: If I say 'em, it gives the chapter away, so I'll just put More Profanity than Normal, Muddled first two scenes, and the rest you can get yourself! Enjoy!
Prodigy
Chapter 6
UnBirthday/ Love and War
x---x
Duo woke up screaming, knives suddenly appearing in his hands as the banging on his door continued. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Fuming, he rolled out of the bed, knives still death gripped, and glared through his locks. "Heero, I sw…" His voice trailed of at the sight of a bouncy, exuberant blue-haired girl outside his door holding a box in her hands. "Oh, hi Hil-AAAAHHH!"
She launched herself at him, effectively knocking the longhaired boy back into his table. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUO!!!"
Duo blinked as Hilde continued to squeeze the life out of him. "It's not my birthday, Hilde," he said, and the girl giggled, finally letting go. Just out of curiosity, he glanced at the dusty old clock, which was flashing five thirty am. He groaned. "Shit, why are you coming here this early, anyway? School starts at eight, not SIX!"
"I know it's not your 'legal' birthday," Hilde said, planting herself on the table and swinging her legs as she began to scrounge around in the cardboard box. "But I'm pretty sure your birthday isn't January first, aren't you? So, Quatre and I decided to make today be your birthday!" Duo blinked again, frowning.
"You do know you're insane, right?" She beamed at him, and pulled out a shiny blue package. "Present!" He ripped it open, to pull out yet another simple blade that matched the ones he still held, although loosely. "Thanks, Hil!" She smiled.
"No problem. So, who were you yelling at when you didn't know it was me…?" Duo actually blushed, and immediately Hilde was right in front of him, bouncing up and down. "Ooooh, details, details! Have you kissed yet? Is she cute? Is it a she?" Duo groaned, and flopped down onto his bed, effectively storing the three knives next to and under his bed in the same motion.
"No, yes, no, now go away. I got two and a half hours of sleep, and I'm not wearing a shirt," Duo muttered through his pillow, and Hilde rolled her eyes.
"Gee, I hadn't noticed. It's not like I haven't seen you without a shirt on before! Now come on. Get dressed, and you can sleep in the car," she said, and flipped him out of the bed by pulling his foot hard. Another glare was sent her way, but Duo complied, grabbing random clothes from his dilapidated dresser and trudging into the bathroom. Without a thought, he undressed and stepped into the shower.
Of course, this was the exact time Heero decided to come, and knocked firmly on the door.
"I'll get it," Hilde shouted from where she'd been rummaging in one of the cabinets, and quickly opened the unlocked door to see angry blue eyes glaring at her. "…Hi?"
The glaring continued, and Hilde backed slowly into the room, only for a tall brunette to step in and save her from the Evil Thing. He nodded in her direction.
"Hello. This is Heero, and I'm Trowa. We're here to see Duo," he said cordially, and Hilde nodded quickly.
"He's in the shower. It's his birthday, so I…I'm here to take him out for breakfast," she said nervously, and the glaring Heero frowned. "Not his real birthday! Well, it might be, but his legal birthday's January 1st, since they didn't know when he was born, so we just choose a random…day…" Hilde swallowed nervously.
Heero quickly sized up the girl. Navy blue hair, dark eyes, nervous…and as far as he could tell, there was a tracking bug in her pocket she'd been ready to plant. His glare picked up again. "Leave."
Hilde glared right back. "YOU leave, you stupid psychopath! Duo's done with you guys," she snapped. "Three months in juvie was PLENTY, thank you very much, and I am NOT letting you idiots pull him back into that shit!"
Before Heero could growl out a response, the bathroom door creaked open, and a sleepy, slightly wet Duo stared at the scene. "Eh…hiya, guys. Meet Hilde. Hilde, Heero. Trowa, Hilde. They're from the lab."
Hilde, looking thoroughly ashamed, just uttered a frail "Oh."
Heero, however, completely dismissed her, sharp blue eyes fixed on the newly emerged high school student. "We have things to do," he stated, trying his hardest to ignore the way Duo's shirt still clung a bit to his chest. Duo shrugged, and landed back on the bed.
"After my birthday stuff," he shrugged, staring at his dilapidated ceiling. Heero grudgingly nodded, and Hilde made an aggravated sound.
"Breakfast, NOW," she snapped, and tugged Duo out of the bed again. "Quatre's meeting us there." Trowa immediately perked up.
"Quatre? Is he okay," he asked, and both Hilde and Duo rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, he's fine. Just a bit too decent for the world, is all," Hilde sighed, pulling at Duo's arm again to get him to his shoes. Finally he slapped her hand off and, muttering profanity, put his shoes on.
"How 'bout next 'birthday', you don't wake me up before SUNRISE," he growled, slipping a foot in, and Hilde chuckled. The other foot went in.
"Now where's the fun in that? Presents aren't free, you know!" Duo rolled his eyes.
"Right, and I'm a 900 year old woman," he snapped.
"You don't look a day over forty," Heero supplied, smirking, and Duo shot another glare at him.
"Shut up, Pyro."
"Make me."
"ENOUGH. Hilde, would it be okay if Heero and I joined you for breakfast? We'll pay for ourselves, of course," Trowa interjected, sick and tired of the ceaseless banter that followed the two explosion experts around whenever one of them opened their mouth. After only a moment of hesitation, Hilde nodded. "Thank you. I'll duct tape Heero's mouth shut."
"Oh, no, I think Duo's more of a problem than him. He just set himself up for that one," Hilde said, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Let's get going before they start biting each other."
"Hey!" Hilde rolled her eyes, and quickly pulled Duo out of the door.
x---x
Most of breakfast was absorbed by Heero and Duo's banter, and Hilde and Trowa holding them back from physical blows. Once Hilde had almost been too slow, and Duo was caught halfway onto the table, yelling insults.
Hilde rolled her eyes. "God, Duo, just go outside and kill each other already!" Two pairs of angry eyes glared at her.
"They're more hostile than before," Trowa commented in a hushed voice, sitting on Hilde's right. "They didn't attack each other before, I mean." Hilde nodded.
"What happened," she whispered back, and Trowa's green eyes shone for a moment.
"Heero ordered him," he replied, and Hilde chuckled.
"No wonder. If there's one thing you can't do, it's boss Duo Maxwell around," she said, barely loud enough to carry to the others at the table. "I can only do it because I'm actually his boss!" Trowa blinked. "Employer." He nodded, and the other two boys continued to eat their breakfasts, Duo doing his best to ignore Heero, and the scientist glaring at his food and nearly strangling his fork.
The bell above the restaurant's door jingled, and a flushed Quatre hurried through the door, smiling and carrying a present under his arm. A new green-yellow bruise was forming under his eye, but other than that he looked just like the young man they'd known before-a cheery, intelligent blonde who could charm the hair off an anteater.
"Happy Not-Birthday, Duo," Quatre beamed, and sat next to the braided underachiever, handing him the present in the process. When he looked around the table and saw Trowa, he was suddenly intent on Duo opening the gift, a healthy shade of pink creeping into his cheeks.
Duo chuckled. "Thanks, Quat," he said, and tore open the wrapping paper, grinning. "Shit! Thanks, Q!" He pulled out the box, and the two other boys stared as a bottle of nitroglycerine emerged, followed by C-4 and other explosives, along with two detonators and some wire. He grinned viciously. "This is gonna be FUN." Quatre laughed.
"I'm glad you like it. Just…be careful with it, this time," he said a bit nervously, and Duo actually cackled, eyes suddenly fixing onto Heero's.
"Oh, I have a VERY good idea of what to do with this," he said devilishly, and Heero glared darkly.
"Try it."
They both lunged for each other, and Hilde and Trowa snapped them back, having more than enough practice today. Quatre smiled.
"Oh, I'm so glad you made a new friend, Duo," he said cheerily, and everyone stared at the blonde, who blinked at them. "What? When I first met Duo, we got in a fistfight. Hilde held a gun on him when they first met. We've all been best friends since." Trowa nodded, eyes still intent on the blonde. Heero continued to squeeze the silver out of his utensil.
Trowa quickly looked over at Hilde. "Can you take care of them for a moment?" She nodded, and he quickly stood up. Just as quickly, he reached Quatre's chair and tugged him gently to his feet, ushering him out the door in the process.
"Trowa? What's wro-" Quatre was cut off when Trowa hugged him tightly.
"You scared me on the phone," he said quietly. "Don't do that."
Quatre, bright red, laughed nervously. "We barely know each other, Trowa."
"That doesn't mean I don't care about you."
"It should, though. You should always know what you're getting into."
Fierce green eyes looked into Quatre's aqua. "Then tell me."
The bruised blonde jerked away, glaring at Trowa. "You don't get it, do you? I can't…" He sighed, shaking his head. "Love and war are just different expressions of passion," he quoted softly, and finally looked back up at Trowa. His mouth broke into a bittersweet smile. "Let's take a walk."
x---x
The early morning air was crisp and clean, clinging to their skin as they strolled through the park. Random trees sprung from the trimmed grass, and their simple gravel path crushed beneath two pairs of shoes. The world smelled like stale peace- the telltale sign of a quickly fleeting fall.
Quatre sighed, lowering himself onto the iron bench that stalked their path. "How much do you already know," he asked, and Trowa shrugged, sitting next to the blonde with a hesitant grace.
"Duo said something about Monday being the boss' day, and that you fight something your father does because of your morals," Trowa answered easily. "Overall, not much."
Quatre leaned his head back against the bench. Closing his eyes and breathing in the quiet of newborn daylight, he began to speak. "To begin, the Winner family is the head of Winner Enterprises, one of the most wealthy corporations in the world. Approximately three-fifths of our revenue is created from our massive oil fields back in the Middle East.
"I have twenty-nine sisters, all of them older than me, and only two of us are from the official Mrs. Winner. Those two would be me, and my fourteenth sister Iria Winner, who is currently finishing up law school. The rest are from my father's massive network of mistresses and prostitutes-who, by the way, adore me. Every time one of them becomes pregnant, he claims the child." Quatre took another deep breath.
"Anyway, there's worse things in my family than a lack of monogamy. The other two-fifths of my family's enterprise is from anything and everything illegal." He laughed softly. "Whoever said crime doesn't pay wasn't in the right business. Drugs, prostitution, bribes, fixing sporting events, arms manufacturing…Winner Enterprises does it all, and does it for over two billion dollars a year." Trowa blinked.
"That's a lot of money," he said hesitantly, and Quatre chuckled.
"It's a lot of crime. And my father gives the government enough of an 'endorsement' that they look the other way." The blonde sighed.
"Every day's a different crime. Monday happens to be the day he does the only one I can even attempt to stop. My father gets his newest shipments of drugs delivered to the mansion, straight into the living room, and I can't just sit there and know that I'm profiting from that type of business. So, every Monday, I try to stop the shipment from coming." His eyes slid open. "Even though I always lose, at least I've tried to do something." Trowa nodded, a faint smile on his lips.
"I don't seen the big problem with having you around," he said easily, and Quatre smiled at him, yellow-green bruise crinkling painfully. "Seems interesting to know the heir to an Arabian cartel." The blonde laughed.
"Just wait until winter. That's when the assassins roll around and I go into hiding," he said, and Trowa's smile widened, eyes turning comfortably back to the somewhat cloudy sky.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
x---x
(A/N: Just so you know, we're skipping a bit of time here, 'bout twelve hours or so. Yes, the school day was skipped, but you hear all about it eventually, so no worries.)
Duo chuckled at the fuming scientist as they walked back to Base Zero (as he'd named the Destruction Experimentation Lab, since it was both Headquarters and Ground Zero for anything and everything that went on in his suddenly far more complicated life). "You were the one who said I could make up your excuse," he reminded, and Heero's back tensed.
"I. Know," he growled, slamming the lab door open so hard it bounced back on the wall and nearly slammed them back into the hallway. Furious blue eyes glared the door back into its usual position, and he strode over to his desk. Practically hurling himself into the padded rolling chair he usually occupied, his chocolate head slammed down against the top. "I hate you."
Duo grinned, settling himself down onto the usual countertop and lounging, just to annoy the doctor that extra nudge. "Mutual, shnookums," he cooed, and a piece of broken glass was launched at his head. The underachiever dodged easily, batting his long dark eyelashes at Heero. "Awww, come now, pet. Play nice."
"I'm going to stuff rabid jellyfish down your pants," Heero stated. Duo blinked.
"That'd be squishy," he confided. "Squishy, and uncomfortable. And wouldn't that just ruin my cute little ass you admire so oft-"
A beaker of…something crashed millimeters from his head, and with a yelp Duo dove to the floor, barely avoiding a small, lethal explosion.
He winced. Okay, so maybe his excuse had been a bad idea, Duo admitted. "Shit, Heero, can't you take a joke?!" Another beaker sailed straight for him, and Duo rolled to the side just as the floor he'd been crouched on began to hiss.
Honestly, it had started out as a simple joke. Principal Heller had always been a sucker for a tragic romance…
x-x
"We were happy together, until his family came in to the picture," Duo said truthfully…just, not about Heero. But the fool behind the desk didn't have to know he was talking about him and Quatre's first year as best friends. "So, he came to live with me." He switched back to Heero. "I just can't abandon him! He's protected me for so long" -Too long, Duo's brain supplied- "and now it's time I repaid the favor." Also known as revenge.
Principal Heller looked with heart-felt eyes at the "young couple" of Heero (who was glaring a hole through Duo's foot) and Duo (who was busy looking as pathetic, desperate, and wimpy as possible). "Of course he can study here with you when he's not working."
Duo had forced his eyes to start to tear. "Oh, thank you, Principal Heller! I won't forget this." Yeah…won't forget your stupidity, you emotional, over-promoted twit, Duo thought, as Principal Heller handed them the forms with a magnanimous smile.
"I'm always happy to help those in need," she said, her eyes starting to tear up.
Duo barely restrained his laughter as she handed him a tissue.
"Welcome to Saparta High, Mr. Yuy," she said.
Heero glared, and walked out the door.
x-x
So what if they'd had to carry the act out all day? It got Heero what he wanted, didn't it? All it had cost was a bit of humiliation…Besides, almost every single human in that school was scared stiff of Duo Maxwell the Ex-Con. They wouldn't dare mess with him or his 'boyfriend'.
Duo's thoughts were interrupted when he found himself pinned against the wall, a fuming Heero Yuy glaring at him. Duo glared right back. "Let go of me!" His voice could barely escape, the scientist's grip on his neck was so firm.
Surprisingly, Heero backed up a bit, giving Duo enough room to breathe, but still keeping him firmly locked into the corner. He took a deep breath, barely containing his rage. "Why?" His voice was dark, riddled with both suppressed anger and a hint of something the braided boy just couldn't understand. And his eyes…they screamed at him.
Duo shook his head violently, clenching his eyelids tightly. "You crazy bastard! What do you mean, 'why'?! You were fucking CHOKING me! Not to mention throwing explosive shit at me! Damn it, He-"
"Why." His voice rang clear and deep like an abandoned bell. Duo's eyes snapped open, glaring venomously.
"Why the fuck not?" Heero blinked. "Why shouldn't I, Heero?! Why do you get to command me into all this crap, and I can't destroy your life two days out of the week?"
Heero shook his head, backing up to sit back down in his chair. "Why did you choose that, Duo?"
He froze. "Umm…" Frantic violet eyes scanned the lab for another exit. Broken window…nope, two stories up. Side door…no, led to the Vacuum Chamber of Doom. That left the main door, the one Heero had a trigger for on his desk. Could he make it?
Heero's head slammed onto the desk, and Duo bolted for the door. As it snapped shut behind him, he continued to sprint down the hall, mute to all but his violently beating heart.
So, it wasn't very surprising when he crashed into an intern, hurling them both onto the floor roughly. "Owwwww," Duo groaned, getting up and rubbing his aching head.
Angry black eyes glared at him, and then blinked, astonished. "What are you doing here?!" Duo frowned…ohhh, right, the 'spy' Heero pummeled. Chang Wufei. The black-haired biochemist seized him by the shoulders, looking almost frantic. "He's visiting the Peacecraft onna, right? He's not here?" Duo frowned. What the hell was an onna?
"Peacecraft-oh, the princess crazy," Duo nodded, and Wufei breathed in deeply, arms lowering back to his sides. "Nah, Heero's in the lab…what?" The unstable young man had frozen again. In a jerky movement, he stared at his watch, then glared at Duo again.
"IDIOT!!" he yelled, and tore off towards the lab, Duo not far behind. Wufei then stopped after another glance at his watch, grabbing Duo and throwing them both to the ground, screaming "SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!"
And just as the second hand clinked cheerily 3:04 PM, the world erupted into searing flames that roared through the halls, all emanating from the Destruction Experimentation lab.
x---x
A/N: Muwahahahah…Now, on to clarifying some stuff:
Why doesn't the principal remember Heero? Come on. My mom used to work for the school district, and my principal has no idea what my name is. You think Heller'd remember someone she met a couple days ago just for a few minutes? My answer's no.
Did the lab really blow up?! Damn right it did! (insert maniacal laughter) SO HEERO'S DEAD?! …Could there possibly be any 1x2 goodness if he was? Wait. No, let's not think about that…(shudder). Ick. Have a little faith, please…
And just for fun: MY VERSION OF WHAT HAPPENED TO 7, 8, 10, & 12!
Cue the cheesy 60's "Dating Game" background music!
Meet pilot 07. He likes croquet, tennis, and his mobile suit, The Bunny. Oh, wait, what's that little thing flying to earth like a meteor from L5? Pilot 7 goes to investiga-AAAAH! IT'S A GUNDAM!!! (insert battle with lots of lasers, 'cuz I like that "bweee" sound). And he dies. I mean, come on, The Bunny vs. Shenlong?
Meet pilot 08. She's Noin's little sister, and also likes croquet. In fact, she's all smoochy with Pilot 7. So, to avenge 7 & The Bunny, she goes off in the Pretty But Pathetic Angel to kill Shenlong (& poor 'Fei). (insert battle). Oh, no! She's dead, because she never went to military school and isn't nearly coordinated enough to see through hair like her sister's!
And, pilot 10. One of Q's sisters, she steals one of the Manganac's MS. They find out…(insert battle, this time with lots o' explosions.) Poor Winner girl…never stood a chance without the Goggles of Desert Dominion…
And finally, Pilot 12! (Annoyed yet?) Pagan's son gets sick and tired of rolling around in a hideous pink limo, so he turns the spare into a hideous two-seat pink MS and flies it around instead. Trowa saves humanity from the horror by gunning it down over the Pacific.
But, then they decided to cut 'em out for brevity's sake and just let the numbers (and their much-neglected memories) fade away. How sad.
Okay, that's done now. What can I say? I got Endless Waltz for Christmas, so I've watched that waaay too many times. It's 2:57 AMon New Years Day! Happy 2005! (And don't think I'm pathetic for being home on New Years. I did go to a party, but ugh. Society boys hitting on me and feeling like they're better since they got to Harvard on Daddy's Money is NOT fun…well, to me at least. I prefer a brain, not a walking 1800's thesaurus, thank you very much. Philosophy is one thing, but belligerent pigheadedness is another. Uh, I'm done ranting now, by the way. Sorry…blush)
Sorry this A/N is so long. I'm so tired I'm awake…if you know what I mean.
READER RESPONSES! WOOO! You guys are great!
Kaaera: IT'S STILL BROKEN! Arrgh. The stupid repairman told me to basically screw my current compy and get a new one, which I can't afford. Anyway, it's always a pleasure to read your reviews! So glad you like Prodigy.
Ms trick: Cookies are good, aren't they? See, I think it's all about the chocolate, personally. Yum. Thanks for reviewing again!
DK-Adeena: Company property? Ooooh, scary. Yeah, not something to blow up. And I like fire too, as pyromaniac-ish as that sounds. But hey, it's pretty!
ZaKai: Thank you! Sorry to have made you wait for more.
Choco-penguin: I already talked to you! YAY! And you reviewed again for Ch. 5! YAY AGAIN! You're fun. Thanks for reviewing THREE TIMES! Hooray!
Memeal: I really hope you're not the mule in the metaphor…And thank you so much for liking what I write/do/all that. How do you get Novembered out, by the way? (Just curious.) Thanks for reviewing!
Windy River: I try, I try…
Destirinity: Raberba? Thank you SOOOO much! I've been agonizing over that for a long time. And you LOVE ME! Awww! (glomp).
Shadowsong rules: Thank you! I tried to update quickly, but life just hates me some times.
Oli: I personally believe that all of the pilots are geniuses. After all, to pilot a vehicle that is a weapon, airplane, AND capable of space flight you'd have to be. Duo just doesn't show it. I think it's just another part of the ever-pointed-to Jester Mask. Sorry if this sounds ranty; I'm trying very hard to not be.
Scotty-lass: Awww! You think I'm brilliant! Thank you very much!
Ahanchan: Precious is still broken! Uh…that's Compy's pet name. But hey, I updated anyway! YAY!
TKM: Thank you! As always, a pleasure to hear from you.
Lolly sister: Oh! Someone who likes my humor! Thank you!
Mistress Koishii: (glomps right back). Oooh, a stabbing. That might actually work for something else later on…Oh, and Mongolia's Ninja Army of Science refers back to in the Biker Beatnik bar when they're talking about why Heero's following Duo around. And don't worry about William Carlos Williams. He writes short poems that are about concrete, everyday things that everybody thinks are referring back to some deep meaningful thing.
Shinimegami-025: …Eep. Flamethrower…(backs away) I'm sorry to make you wait even longer. I try, I really do, but sometimes life just decides to smash your face into asphalt. And no, Q is NOT a prostitute!
Ink2: Although I can see where you're getting this prostitution thing from, no. Wait, this chapter had the explanation…(blushes) sorry.
FreakOfImagination: Wow, I get thanked for updating QUICKLY! You're a gem among people and muses! Thank you!
WhiteRaven6: Ooooo…interesting interpretation. You're close on some points, but overall, no. (I'd point them out, but then I'd be Spoiling you.) Thank you very much for reviewing!
ZmajGoddess: I hope you liked my little version of what happened to the Missing Numbers. And as always, I try to update as quickly as possible! Thanks for reviewing again!
KawaiiTenshi27: Aren't they?! AH! I just love 3x4! So…cute…! And hey, not speedy, but it's quality over quantity, right? (hopeful smile)
Oh Slashy One: You know, this is pretty funny. I'm just as chatted out as you are now. So, thank you very much for reviewing!
That was a LOT of responses…(faints)(Dante pops out, slaps Lu-chan upside the head)(Jerks back awake) AHEM!
THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!
HAPPY 2005! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! (glomps everyone in a tired, happy stupor.)
(Oh, and if anyone's looking for rabid plot bunnies, I'm your gal. My Pet Project (which Mistress Koishii and Mlaine were kind enough to be betaing for me) is officially dead, since I just don't feel up to writing the damn thing. So, want a beautifully depressing plot bunny to bite you? Email me, please. luchia9293 without the spaces, but we all knew that.)