In The Family

Chapter 08

If They're Green Or They're Blue

By APs

Beta read by gothic-pixel

Disclaimer: I don't own it…

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"What the hell were you thinking!" Wufei spat, though he seemed more confounded than pissed. This was fine. This Duo could handle. Yelling, anger, confusion, even the betrayal mixed into Quatre's scornful glare. It was Heero's cold refusal to react, at all, that was giving him trouble. He had expected hell when the Japanese man had pulled him from the intercom, but instead he'd silently been coerced back to the locker room, barely escaping frostbite from an icy glare on the way.

Once they'd gotten back and realized Tristiana hadn't, the boys were immediately sent to find her. Thusly, had Duo Maxwell found himself alone in a room with three very angry ex-terrorists.

He shrugged and let a lazy grin wash across his face, "I was thinking that getting all of you out of this safely was worth sacrificing one person."

"You being that person," Quatre seethed, not even able to actually look at him.

"Well, I wasn't planning on handing them you, Q," Duo was terribly aware that he was surrounded.

"I'll go," the Heero statue behind him mumbled in a perfect monotone, almost snapping Duo's far too tightly strung nerves.

Wufei pinched the bridge of his nose, "No, you won't. None of us can, we're all too tied together to not implicate the others."

"Exactly why I have to do it," Duo rationalized for them.

"No," Quatre finally met the American's eyes, burning with defiance, "There are other ways. I won't allow this."

"Quatre," Duo started hotly, then stopped. He dropped his gaze, running a hand through his cropped hair, "Let me do this."

The blonde shook his head, "No. We-"

"Damn it, Quatre," Duo shot forward and grabbed the taller man's shoulders, "Listen to me! Let them have their pound of flesh! They can't do any worse to me and you can use their brutality to stop them."

Strong arms tore him from a horrified Quatre and back against a firm body, Wufei was growling in his ear, "Don't be an idiot."

Duo shook with strain, closing his eyes as he pleaded, "Please. I've given so much, just please let me give what little I have left. If not for you, then for those who love you. For the children- For my children."

"You abandoned them." Duo's eyes flew open, wide as when he had been fifteen and absolutely stunned. He felt Wufei's grip slacken in surprise. Quatre was freshly mortified. Heero continued anyway, unrelenting and harsh, "They needed you. You left them at a hospital. You ran."

Duo couldn't turn, couldn't look, couldn't breathe, or think. He wavered on his feet and had to lean back against Wufei's chest for support. He struggled with the lump in his throat, trying to speak, to explain that it was better that way.

Heero would have none of it. He stalked up to the American, "I will not let you do it again. I won't let you hurt those that love you again."

It was punctuated with one of those poignant looks and Duo blinked in sudden, stupefying realization. "You-" he started, but the pain he now recognized in Heero's eyes was enough to bring him up short. He blushed, "I- I didn't know."

"Of course not," Heero droned, backing up a step and sliding his gaze away, "You left."

Any reply Duo might have made was cut off by echoing static from the intercom, "Mr. Thorn, or should we call you Preventer Zero Five… This is the Orphanhood. Viscount Vasska is no longer with us. Our apologies. We are monitoring all long range transmissions, so we know you were bluffing about the Preventers. Thank you for disabling the jammer, though, or else we never would have caught Mrs. Winner. If you don't wish harm to any of our hostages, we suggest you bring your 'Gundam pilot' and Mr. Winner to the lobby within the next hour. We may just let the rest of you go. And just so you know we are not bluffing…" the static crackled roughly before light panting emerged from the chaos.

"Quatre, darling," the voice tested, undeniably female, "If you, or any of your fool friends, even think about surrendering to these swine, I will kill you myself!" Undeniably Fahima. There was a scuffle over the intercom before it went dead again.

The complete lack of sound that followed could only be outdone by space itself. All eyes settled on Quatre. The blond was paler than white, but he squared his shoulders, smoothed his goatee, and licked his lips, "Well, you heard the woman. We have less than an hour. Let's get to work."

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"Despicable," Vasska gusted once the intercom had once again quieted. The adults were seated at a round table in the middle of the break room to which Tristiana had led them.

Quatrine, who stood close to him, flanked by her brothers, smiled at him, "What is, Mr. Vasska?"

He frowned at the unnerving girl, with her gentle, knowing eyes and placid smile, "That they would harm your mother, young Miss Winner."

"You wouldn't?" Trowa's tone was so flat that one couldn't have called the phrase a question really.

"No," Vasska shot back sheer ice, but relaxed when he noticed the boys looming a step closer, "I only wish to see justice done. Revenge rights no wrongs."

"You lost your family, Mr. Vasska?" The entire room was stunned by Quatrine's simple jump in logic.

The noble was too shocked to remember to be bitter, "Yes. They were murdered during the war. A fate I wish on no man."

"Perhaps you should have screened your hired help a little better," Catherine huffed as she re-wrapped Trowa's soaking bandages.

"We were all volunteers," Vasska asserted, head high.

"Mercenaries can always find someone willing to pay them to kill someone else," Trowa advised without a glance at the other man.

"I didn't hire mercenaries," Vasska countered.

Trowa reloaded his hand gun, "Someone did. There are plenty of targets: Quatre, Relena, you. All they had to do was volunteer."

"You don't know that, you're just a clown!" Vasska stood, even now a commanding figure. It was Trowa's laugh that kept the boys at bay and pushed Vasska back to his seat. The noble regarded the tall man closely for the first time, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Trowa's smile faded quickly, "Not I, Vasska."

"That wasn't Uncle Wufei's voice," Tristiana spoke before she realized she was saying anything. Violet eyes met deep questioning green. "Mr. Thorn. The Orphanhood assumed it was Uncle Wufei, but that wasn't him speaking."

Trowa nodded, still unsure where this was headed.

Tristiana swallowed hard, "We know about Hilde."

Catherine gasped. Vasska, much like little Quatrine, knew when to be quiet. The boys were too confused by now to act. Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"And Duo," she waited.

"And?" For the first time, his voice shook slightly.

"I don't know," the young woman admitted, looking away first. Thinking about the sharp, guarded man she now knew to be her father made her shiver. "Is it true?"

All he had to say was 'no' and she'd believe him, even if it was a lie. They both knew it. Trowa closed his eyes, "Yes."

It was Tristiana's turn to nod, "Did he pilot a Gundam?"

Vasska drew in a sharp breath, but Tristiana shot him a glare and his words died on his lips in a memory of violet and gun smoke.

"Finally! Tris!" a voice sounded from the ceiling. The grating swung in, letting Alex and Deucalion float to the ground. Tristiana had them in a hug before they landed.

"Deuce! Alex!" Triton went high, leaping into Alexander's arms. Tommy went low, barreling into Deucalion's stomach. The Winner children waited, no less pleased, but mindful of company and their prisoner.

"You!" Alex gasped when he saw Vasska seated at the table.

The older man gave a small incline of the head, "Young Mr. Dorlain."

Deucalion looked from his brother to the man to little Quatrine who daintily cleared her throat, "Mr. Vasska is our prisoner. His men tried to kill him."

Alex moved himself between the twins and the man, "You should have let them."

"Alex!" Catherine berated sharply, but the boy was glaring holes in Vasska.

Deucalion made his way over to the Winner children, eyeing the prisoner, then Tahir, "Have you been taking good care of everyone, little man?"

The boy smirked with pride, one of his mother's rapacious grins, "Of course."

"He's been marvelously courageous, Deuce," Quatrine added in all seriousness.

"I was brave, too," Wahid mumbled into his chest.

Deucalion smiled, ruffled Wahid's hair and gathered all three into a hug, keeping one eye on Vasska all the while.

"The others?" Trowa finally spoke once things quieted down.

Deucalion tucked a few stray strands of hair behind his ear, "Father and Wufei were tearing into- Mr. Maxwell when we left to find Tris."

Trowa's eyebrow rose, "And Heero?"

Deucalion glanced uneasily at Alex, who answered for him, "He wasn't talking."

Trowa looked away, but accepted it with a nod.

"They have mother," Wahid whispered at Deucalion's side, "They're going to hurt her."

"No they're not," Deucalion smiled down at him, "we're not going to let them."

Catherine smiled at them, too, "And your mother is with Aunt Relena and Mariemaia. If any group of women can handle themselves, it's them."

Catherine and Trowa shared a chuckle with the children. Tristiana didn't laugh, nor did Alex and the two of them shared a disturbing little feeling of dread that had wrapped about their stomachs.

"How's the leg, Uncle Trowa?" Deucalion ignored the feeling of uncertainty his siblings were leveling at him for the sakes of his adoptive family, "Think you can move?"

"Probably," Trowa admitted calmly. "Where does Quatre want me?"

The question caught both boys off guard and they started to blush furiously. Tristiana sighed, "You didn't even wait to hear the plan?"

"We didn't know that we'd find all of you like this," Deuce defended himself weakly.

Alex shrugged, "A fight that size brewing, you would have run too."

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One of the myriad burly, armed men shoved Fahima back against the base of the fountain in the middle of the lobby where the other two hostages sat waiting. Slowly, she righted herself beside Relena, who was watching her with that concerned face she only used when she felt guilty.

"Only my pride, Relena," the Arabian woman reassured her friend. The smile made her face hurt where bruises were undoubtedly forming.

Mariemaia snorted, "That's the one part of you we're not worried about."

"You shouldn't provoke them like that, Fahima," Relena whispered, her eyes brimming with fear.

"And let them focus on you, or use me to get at my husband?" A fire burned deep in dark eyes as the small predator surveyed the room full of unsteady amateurs and cocksure mercenaries, who paid the little women no mind, "Oh, I think not."

"You have a plan?" Mariemaia hissed across Relena.

"Not quite," Fahima admitted, "But we have about forty five minutes before Quatre and the others try something."

"They wouldn't," Mariemaia protested.

Fahima rolled her eyes, "It's Quatre and the others. Of course they will."

Relena could do nothing but concede the point. The redhead ground her teeth even though she knew they were right, "Aren't you worried at all?"

Fahima slid her eyes closed and rested her head back against the fountain, "Not in the least. I will see my family soon and these idiots will pay for their crimes."

"You can't know that, Fahima," Mariemaia crossed her arms.

"But I do," Fahima bared her teeth in a Cheshire cat grin. "Have a little faith."

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"Alright, so we just need a way of getting someone to the hostages," Quatre frowned as they finished laying out their plans. It was nothing fancy, but why tango when a two-step would do the same thing. "I suppose I could surrender."

"We already have a volunteer," Heero reminded him.

Duo looked up to see all three of them eyeing him, "Oh, hell."

Wufei and Heero let a significant glance slide between them and the American felt a small pang of jealousy. Heero shifted his weight slightly, "Your idea."

"When I was figuring on dying, yeah. You stay the hell away from me, Heero Yuy," Duo warned as he hunched into a defensive stance.

Quatre was confused, "Everyone just calm-"

Wufei shot a palm strike into Duo's jaw so fast and just so that the American never even felt himself fall back into Heero's arms. A smirk traced across Wufei's placid face, "Never did get to try this."

"Wufei!" Quatre squawked as the other two were laying Duo out and cuffing his hands behind his back. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Handing him over unconscious is the better tactic. He will be underestimated and unquestioned. He understands that," Heero explained as he tucked one or two things into Duo's clothes.

Quatre raised an eyebrow, "Was this a common practice?"

"I'd seen it once or twice," Wufei admitted.

"He's going to raise holy hell when he wakes up," Quatre sighed. Heero grunted, Wufei nodded, and the blonde got the distinct impression that that was also part of the intended effects of this particular tactical decision.

An awkward moment passed where the men had no more planning to do, but no one was willing to start a discussion. Wufei was watching Heero overcompensate, too obvious in his not fidgeting and not looking at Duo to effectively hide his desire to do either. Quatre seemed to notice the silence all of a sudden and drew a breath to break it.

"I'm going to prep and take position," Heero beat him to it. He slung an improvised pack they'd scavenged together onto his back, stalked to the vent, leapt, and was gone with a flex of liquid muscle and catlike grace. There had been no time for objections, questions, or farewells. Quatre sighed.

"Some things don't change," Wufei tried to sound comforting. He had figured out a while ago that Heero never said goodbye, especially not before something dangerous. Wufei found that respecting such customs cost nothing.

Quatre frowned, but tried to cover it by kneeling to check Duo's condition. His fingers lingered on the pale flesh of the man's neck as his eyes wandered over his face. The blonde almost didn't notice as his hand moved, tracing the familiar features that sleep smoothed until he could almost make out the edges of the person he'd once known so well. The hand drifted over the sheared and bleached hair, but curled closed rather than touch it, "He's different."

"It's still him," Wufei reminded him gruffly.

Quatre rose, "Yes and no. It's…" He didn't know how to explain exactly. There was a shifting, restless feeling about Duo ever since he'd reappeared. His ability to gage people seemed at a loss. Now that he thought about it, he'd only felt it once before. "It's like you… before Mariemaia."

Wufei felt himself stiffen a little, but seemed to agree, "He's unbalanced."

"I didn't mean-" Quatre back peddled, offended by the insinuation.

Wufei seemed equally affronted, waving away the dispute while searching for a clearer explanation, "No, he's… out of sync. He's fighting himself. Only a harmonious soul finds peace."

The Arabian man blinked and stroked his beard. He had never thought of it like that. Wufei was watching the gentle rise and fall of Duo's breath. Quatre wondered why the Preventer looked so odd, so young, with his hair up and no glasses. He wondered when he'd started taking the other man's calm strength and poet's soul for granted and whether he'd missed that note of sorrow growing, or if it had simply always been there. Just as the blonde was about to ask, Wufei's large eyes shot wide open and he let loose a barrage of curses as his left hand clasped over his ear.

"Wufei!" Quatre was by his side in a flash.

The Asian man's eyes were watering, but he thrust out a tiny earpiece toward his fellow ex-pilot, Preventer's issue communications device, "Sally. She's on my ship."

The blonde took it in bewilderment and started to put it to his ear, but he could hear Sally's voice through a hissing squeal inches away, "Zero Five! Dammit!"

"Sal- Water?" Quatre remembered to use codenames at the last second.

"Zero Four?" Sally came back, puzzled.

"Zero Five's here," Quatre placated her.

"Ask him who smashed his comm station," Sally's frustration managed to make the trip intact. Quatre looked to Wufei who indicated the American sprawled on the floor.

The Chinese man snatched the earpiece, apparently recovered enough to start giving directions, "Listen, sync the comms on beta settings to bypass the bad relay." Sally's voice shot something back and Wufei sighed, "No, you don't. Just patch through the hard systems."

Deucalion and Alex dropped back into the room and landed like puppies attempting to be wolves. They took their bearings gingerly and straightened after seeing Duo cuffed on the floor and Wufei ranting to himself off to the side.

Alex raised an eyebrow, "What'd we miss?"

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So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

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A/N – Let me know what you think, people. I just recently found the reply function for the reviews (yeah, I'm unobservant).

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