Mission One
Chapter 10: Saving the Day
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He shivers even though L2 has bestowed upon its citizens a warm night. Wrapping his arms around himself, he stares up at the sparkling dome and waits. He hears voices coming from the spaceport hangar and shrinks further back into the shadows. Tucking his thin, bruised legs closer to his body, the diminutive figure huddles among the massive shipping containers. Something inside of him—a voice—tells him that it's not safe to move yet.
Wait, it whispers.
He obeys and watches the pilots and mechanics closing up the hangar for the night. He knows he must not be seen. The tremors rattling his body amplify. A single tear forms at the corner of his eye.
You must find the entrance, The Voice whispers, commands.
He shakes his head. He does not like The Voice. He vaguely remembers a time when the only presence in his head had been his own thoughts. "Go away," he whispers.
You will find the entrance, it counters.
"I don't want to."
You will do as I say or you will be punished.
He shudders uncontrollably at the threat.
You remember the punishments, don't you?
Mute, he nods. The tear clinging to his lashes silently spills onto his cheek. He does not feel it.
You don't want to be punished again, do you?
A small whimper escapes his throat. "N-no... no..."
Then you will find the entrance.
He nods. Panting, he promises, "Okay. Okay. I'll do it."
Good boy, it says silkily.
He shivers. He hates The Voice. He hates the way it slithers through his mind, constantly moving. Sometimes he imagines it is a great, slimy worm curling around his brain and peeking out at the world through his ears. He has tried ignoring it. Has tried complying with it. It makes no difference. It is always there, telling him what to do. If there is an escape, he has yet to find it.
He closes his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength. Leaning away from the shadows, he scans the silent yard. It is deserted.
Go.
His hands fist at his sides. He does not want to obey but he does not want to be punished, either.
Go now!
In the darkness of the pleasant June night, a small figure scuttles across the abandoned lot toward its objective.
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With precision motions, Heero attacks the mound of dirty dishes. Technically, it is Duo's turn to wash them, but he finds he cannot stand the sight of them any longer. And he is also out of clean coffee cups.
He pulls out a mug from the steaming foam in the sink and scrubs it vigorously. It is only when he is rinsing it off that he reads the handful of words scribbled across its surface: Save oxygen. Shut up. The corner of Heero's mouth twitches as he recalls receiving the item. A gag gift from Duo shortly after he'd moved in.
Holding up the mug, Heero looks expectantly at Duo who grins unabashedly in reply.
"It's your own personal motto," he says. "On consumer merchandise, no less. Who'd a thunk it?"
The sound of a door opening behind him returns Heero to the present. Placing the clean mug in the dish drainer, he moves on to the next item.
Fresh from the shower, Duo takes in the fact that Heero is doing his dishes. Again. Duo winces. Now he's going to have to clean the bathroom twice in a row. With an oh-well-shrug, Duo parts his damp hair with his fingers and starts braiding. The habit is so ingrained that Duo's mind wanders freely... over Heero.
He knows that Heero still hasn't forgiven him for whatever unspeakable acts Duo had performed at the party. For the thousandth time, Duo wishes he could remember what he'd done or said. He'd tried to pry the information out of Heero on several occasions but the man's larynx had apparently left the building, so to speak. He has thought about asking Taki, but knows that if something truly embarrassing had happened at the party she would have mentioned it to him already. Sighing, Duo wonders if he and Heero's friendship is irreparably damaged.
Duo's run out of strategies for ferreting out the truth and is getting frustrated. If he's this tense now, just what would he do if I waltzed over there and grabbed his ass? Duo grins at the thought. And Heero does look pretty damn good in that black T-shirt and old jeans...
Heero can feel Duo's gaze on him. Setting the water glass in his hand down with more force than necessary, he flashes a glare over his shoulder.
Duo grins. "Sorry about the dishes, man," he says. He reaches the end of his hair and starts wrapping the tip with a hair band. Wandering over to the counter, he asks, "What can I do to make it up to you?"
Heero drops the soapy dish in his hands. It lands in the full sink, splashing sudsy water all over the counter and him. On any other occasion, Duo would be sniggering. But tonight, he eyes Heero sharply as he passes him a kitchen towel.
"You alright, Heero? You've been dropping a lot of stuff lately. Something on your mind?"
Wiping at the dark spots on his shirt, Heero growls, "No."
Duo's brows arc. "That sounded like a 'Yes' to me."
"Get your hearing checked," he suggests grumpily.
Ignoring Heero's grouchiness, Duo jokes, "Maybe if we sang a song it would make you feel better." Duo pretends not to see the second glare Heero throws at him. "How about 'Puff the Magic Dragon'?"
Heero's stare doesn't waver.
"No, you're right," Duo continues, "that's Wufei's theme song. How about 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'? I suppose you've had enough of Christmas music for a while...?"
As Duo chatters on, Heero discovers his attention wandering over Duo's snug, white T-shirt and boxer shorts. Heero hears something about the Easter Bunny as his eyes skim the black print across Duo's chest. It would have read:
100% Home-grown, All-American, Prime Beef Sandwiched Between Two Soft, Lightly Toasted Kaiser Buns. Go Ahead and Sink Your Teeth In. Satisfaction Guaranteed.
But Duo had crossed out "Beef" with a felt pen and had written "Boy" above it. Heero stares at Duo's suggestive shirt, thinking that he should have learned by now not to look at Maxwell's clothes too closely.
"Uh, Heero? L2 to Heero," Duo says, waving a hand in front of Heero's gaze and startling him back to the conversation.
"What?" he mutters.
Duo frowns. "I was just offering to teach you how to moonwalk like Michael Jackson." He leans forward and gives Heero a once-over. "What is up, man? I think Yokaze's right; you do need to get laid. Unless that spandex really did stop the circulation..."
"I know something that'll stop your circulation," he growls back. But instead of envisioning a weapon (say, a gun) held to Duo's temple, Heero imagines backing Duo up against the counter and covering his mouth with his own.
Seeing the dark look on Heero's face, Duo feels his pulse leap in response. He doubts he's ever seen Heero look so... dangerous. "Okay," Duo says carefully. "No moonwalk. Hey! How about I paint your toenails? That'll cheer you up."
An indistinct sound rumbles from the back of Heero's throat.
"Great!" Duo says, interpreting the noise for an affirmative response. "We'll put a movie on, I'll nuke some popcorn, grab some Peaches'N'Cream Super Sparkle polish, and meet you in the living room! It's a date."
Heero stares after Duo as he disappears into his room in search of the nail polish. Only belatedly does he realize that there are words emblazoned across the back of Duo's shorts as well.
Bite me.
Heero's hands fist in the soapy water as a vision of Duo bracketed against his bedroom door takes shape. Heero imagines running his hands down Duo's sides to play with the waistband of those shorts as he leans in to taste the skin over Duo's throbbing jugular vein...
Abandoning the dishes, Heero strides across the kitchen and down the hall to stand in the open doorway to Duo's room. Silently, he watches Duo sorting through various drawers. His gaze follows the way his damp braid sways with his movements. Heero watches Duo and remembers the warm hand that had caressed his back, the muscular hips beneath his own, the taste of that mouth...
Sensing a gaze on his back, Duo straightens and turns... encountering Heero framed in his doorway with that blacker-than-pitch look in his eyes. Normally, Duo would say something flippant and carefree, but that look... He stops a shiver from advancing up his spine. Barely.
Heero opens his mouth and says very quietly, "No nail polish."
It takes Duo a moment before he sees the tiny sparkle of humor eclipse the darkness in those cobalt eyes. He releases the breath he'd been holding and informs him, "You're really missing out, man."
The cobalt eyes flicker down Duo's body before meeting his gaze again. Heero replies, "I know. But I have a reputation."
"Yeah, we can't have the perfect soldier wearing Peaches'N'Cream nail polish," Duo muses, wondering if they're still talking about nail polish. "But Deep Red Passion, on the other hand..."
"Maybe later," Heero says, eyes on Duo's mouth.
Okay, now I know we're not talking about nail polish anymore, Duo thinks. He stands there returning Heero's stare, feeling that a bit of vitally important information is just beyond his grasp.
Then Heero steps back into the hall and says, "Pick a movie," before disappearing back into the kitchen. Duo is left in his chaotic room wondering what in the hell had just happened here.
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On the edge of awareness, Trowa turns toward the center of the bed. His eyelashes flutter and a frown pulls at his brow. The warm presence he had expected to encounter is absent. He opens his eyes. Yokaze's side of the bed is vacant. He runs a palm over the sheets. It is also cool to the touch.
He sits up in bed and surveys the room's contents. When he spots her shoes in their usual place, he relaxes marginally. She hasn't gone off on one of her missions. Not yet, anyway...
As he pulls the covers back, he notices a small bit of paper pinned to her pillow. He smiles at her reply. Yesterday he'd taped a note to her laptop screen. In response to the one he'd discovered in his pocket, he'd written: You learn something new every day. A good ride was I?
Her newest note reads: I give you two palms up. Squeeze. Squeeze.
Chuckling silently and feeling his face warm, he stands and heads for the living room. He pauses and leans a shoulder against the hall when she comes into his view. As he'd begun to suspect, she is behind her computer. Trowa says nothing to disrupt her. He listens to the tapping of her fingers on the keyboard and observes her dark eyes as they scan page after page of information. After a minute or two, she finally leans back in her chair and looks up at him.
"I was just about to go wake you up," she tells him.
A brow arcs. "I should have stayed in bed then." The tenor of his voice suggests that he wouldn't have been alone in that bed for very long.
She laughs. "And miss breakfast with Quatre?"
"He'd understand," Trowa assures her.
She tilts her head to the side, acquiescing to the point. Yokaze types out a final command and reaches up to massage her neck. Moving away from the hall, Trowa heads for the other side of her desk and brushes her hands out of the way replacing them with his own. Yokaze leans back into the pressure against her neck and shoulders.
"A mission?" he asks casually.
"Mm," she replies vaguely. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Is that the data Luke sent?"
"Yeah. He was right, too. It is really boring."
Trowa is glad to hear it, but he does not tell her so. Even though he knows the missions she orchestrates are important, perhaps even life-saving, he doesn't want to see her go.
After a short pause, Yokaze leans her head back and looks up at him. "We ought to go downstairs," she says half-heartedly.
"We ought to," he agrees. Neither he nor she move. Then, slowly, Trowa bends down and brushes his mouth over hers. Yokaze opens her mouth inviting him to really kiss her. He obliges willingly until her stomach asserts itself with a loud growl. Trowa leans away reluctantly.
"Well, let's feed you, then," he says.
Reading the laughter in his eyes, Yokaze tells him with a lopsided grin, "I know. I'm jinxed."
A few minutes later, they enter Quatre's apartment. Aside from George and Kathy, they are the first to arrive.
Yokaze takes a seat across from Quatre and inquires, "So, what's the plan for today? Where are we going?"
"Are you sure you're not busy, Yokaze?" he replies.
She shakes her head.
Quatre smiles. "Well, in that case, it's a surprise." He watches Trowa pour two cups of coffee and take the seat beside Heero's sister. "I heard you went on a date," Quatre says to them, remembering seeing them at L'Cour.
Yokaze and Trowa offer him matching small grins in reply.
"So, what was that about Seduction Pants yesterday?" Quatre asks adding sugar to his tea.
Yokaze's grin widens. Trowa, reluctantly, explains. He stops the story, however, just before Duo's inspection of his underwear drawer. He prefers that bit and the events that transpired afterward to be kept between himself, Yokaze, and Duo. But Quatre is not disappointed by what Trowa does tell him. Kathy and George also find the tale distinctly amusing. Kathy has started narrating Yokaze's transformation the night of the Date when a knock on the door interrupts the part when Yokaze had accused Kathy of being a sadistic troll obsessed with tweezing her into the next life.
Chuckling, Quatre moves to answer the summons at the door. Heero and Duo enter and greet everyone before helping themselves to coffee.
"Oh, Duo," Kathy says, reaching for the packet beside her plate, "you forgot this yesterday at breakfast."
"Thanks, Kathy." Duo accepts the packet of photos. "Do you know I haven't even really looked at these yet? When I got home and realized I'd forgotten them I could have kicked myself. I promised Bisho I'd scan the best ones in and send them to her." Taking his seat, he starts to shuffle through the stack. Occasionally, he flashes one to the others at the table.
Taking a seat on Duo's left, Heero sips his coffee and offers a nod in Trowa's direction by way of greeting. Yokaze, noting this, feels a bit encouraged. Quatre disappears into the kitchen and George fidgets in his seat. Placing a hand on her husbands' Kathy silently assures him that Quatre does not need any help with breakfast.
"So what are the mystic vibes telling you today, great Guru?" Yokaze asks Heero, deadpan.
His mouth pulls into a small grin. "Not a damn thing." But the look in his eyes speaks volumes.
Yokaze gets the impression that Heero has finally but tentatively accepted the situation between his sister and "Barton." She picks up her coffee and indulges in a healthy sip.
Beside Heero, Duo pulls out a photo. "Hey, here's that one we got that sweet, little, old woman to take for us."
Heero glances at the photo of himself and Duo. At first glance, there is nothing strange about the image, but after Duo continues to stare at it in heavy silence for much longer than necessary Heero looks at it again. After a moment, he sees what Duo must have spotted. In the background stands Bisho and Quatre, arms locked around each other. And the look on Quatre's face...
The photograph trembles in Duo's fist. Heero sets his coffee on the table, out of the way.
"What is it?" Kathy asks, seeing Duo's shocked expression.
At that moment, Quatre enters the room with a platter of meticulously sliced fruit.
Duo looks up and glares at his old friend. In very precise English, Duo says, "You rotten bastard!"
Quatre looks up, startled at the outburst. He sees Duo is on the verge of leaping over the table and attacking him. Platter held out before him, he manages, "Duo? What is going on?"
Brandishing the incriminating photo and shaking with rage, Duo growls, "What's going on with me? What about what's going on between you and my sister, you pedophile!"
Duo doesn't wait for an answer. He launches himself over the table right at Quatre and the plate of fruit. The three of them land with a crash on the pristine carpet. Crouched over Quatre, Duo has his hands wrapped tightly around the other man's neck.
"I trusted you!" Duo bellows.
Quatre struggles to breathe, his hands around Duo's wrists.
"You lousy, pathetic, son of a bitch! How dare you?!"
Managing to get a gulp of air, Quatre croaks, "Duo..."
"How long, huh?" Duo demands.
"Duo..."
"I'll kill you, you hear me, rich boy? I'll freaking kill you!"
Black spots start to dance at the edge of Quatre's vision. He tries to talk, tries to explain the misunderstanding, but he is incapable of speech. He can feel his grip around Duo's wrists loosening...
And then, suddenly, he is gulping lungfulls of air and coughing. Quatre struggles to sit up. One hand massaging his abused throat and the other supporting his weight, he looks up and sees both Heero and Yokaze holding Duo back. Two hands on his own shoulders alert him to Trowa's presence. Out of the corner of his eye he can see George and Kathy attempting to rescue the fruit tray and restore order to the table.
"Duo," Quatre forces out in a gravelly whisper. "It's not like that."
"Well, how the hell is it then?" he practically shouts, ignoring the two pairs of hands clenched in death-grips about his person.
"Friends," he says coughing. "Just friends. We have Sunday brunch. That's all. That's all."
"I bet you wish it were more than that, don't you, you perv?!"
Quatre leans on Trowa, accepting any assistance he can get. Slowly, he gets to his feet. He shakes his head at Duo's accusation. Weakly, he admits, "I... I don't know what I want, Duo."
Incensed, Duo struggles to break free from Yokaze's hold. "I think I can guess what it is you want. It's written all over your face!" he shouts, nodding to the photograph laying on the floor.
Following Duo's gaze, he glances at the discarded image. Suddenly, Quatre is tired—very tired—with all of the lies. His hands fist at his sides as the brutal truth rises up from his heart.
"Alright, fine!" Quatre shouts, surprising everyone in the room, including himself. "I love her. Are you happy now, Duo? Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Duo stares at Quatre, mouth agape. But his shocked state quickly fades in the wake of a resurgence of raw aggression.
Ignoring the thunderous expression on Duo's face, Quatre takes a step toward him. His own face creased with the lines of anger and pain, he informs Duo, "Oh, and I know something else you'll want to hear. How about the fact that I cannot bring myself to tell her? Do you think I want her to be hounded by the press? Do you think I want all of her friends to abandon her? Do you think I want her to know what it's like to go through life being completely marooned from every other living soul by a sea of money? Do you think I want her to spend her days in charity meetings and business negotiations when she could be having a life?" Quatre glares into Duo's violet eyes and says firmly, "I do know what I want. I want to be a normal guy. Then, in a few years maybe... But the fact is that I'm not a normal guy, that I have responsibilities, obligations, and a life that is not my own. I never want Bisho to know what that's like." Quatre backs up a step, feeling raw all of a sudden. Exposed. His throat works to keep the pain down and to force the truth out. "I want her to be happy."
The silence that follows Quatre's confession is so complete that a pindrop on the plush carpet would have been audible. In Heero and Yokaze's grasp, Duo finally relaxes.
Everyone starts as a sharp rapport echoes through the room. Sweeping past Trowa, Quatre opens the door to greet Taki and Wufei. The arriving couple take in Quatre's reddened throat, disheveled hair, and stained clothes before settling their gaze on an equally battle scarred Duo.
Taki turns to Wufei and glares. "I told you Quatre said 9:00 sharp! Now just look at what I've missed!"
Yokaze's mouth twitches at Taki's abominable bad luck.
"Shall we eat, everyone?" Kathy ventures.
Quatre sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "How's the fruit, George?"
"Sa-salvageable."
He nods. "All right." With a deep breath, Quatre gathers his composure. "Please have a seat Taki, Wufei."
Haltingly, breakfast resumes. To accompany the diminished selection of fruit, Quatre produces a covered tray of warm Belgian waffles. Relative peace descends.
"Waffles," Duo says, spearing one for himself. "Bisho's favorite."
Seating himself, Quatre replies automatically, "I know."
Beside Heero, Duo tenses. Sensing a second and equally violent round two approaching, Heero slides his hand over Duo's thigh and gives him a small squeeze. Knife clenched in his fist, Duo blinks. Disbelieving, he looks at Heero. Taking a bite of melon and appearing somewhat interested in something Yokaze is saying, Heero strokes his palm up Duo's leg nearly all the way to the other man's crotch before removing his hand.
"Duo?"
Duo's head snaps around to Kathy.
She inquires, "Would you like the syrup?"
"Um, yeah. Thanks." Duo accepts the bottle of maple syrup and glances sidelong at Heero who continues acting as if nothing odd had just happened.
For a solid minute, Quatre focuses on his plate. Silently, he berates himself for exploding like he had. He should have had more restraint. And now the truth is unavoidable. As is the pain. Raising his eyes to the others and his first bite to his mouth, Quatre pauses. His gaze moves over Duo's shoulder to his laptop. He'd turned the sound off earlier, but the screen is blinking with a message. Putting his fork down, Quatre excuses himself and heads for the desk in the connecting room.
As soon as Quatre acknowledges the call, Rashid's anxious face fills the screen. Quatre frowns. "Is everything alright, Rashid?"
"No, Master Quatre. You need to leave L2 immediately."
"What is it? Has someone been hurt? My sisters...?"
Rashid shakes his head. "No, Master Quatre. I have just been informed that there has been a threat on L2. We must get you out of there as soon as possible."
"A threat? What kind of threat?"
Impatient, Rashid hurriedly explains, "An unidentified person has barricaded himself in the colony's environmental control room. Police fear he will disable the oxygen or disengage the carbon dioxide filters. They've been attempting to negotiate for over an hour with no luck. The police may have to revert to force. If that happens, the environmental computer could be considerably damaged..."
"I get the point, Rashid. This is, indeed, serious. What are the colony officials doing to plan a mass evacuation?"
Rashid shakes his head. "I was not privy to that information, sir. But I'm arranging to have a shuttle made available for you. In thirty minutes, one hour at most, we'll have you out of there."
Quatre nods. "Right. Make sure there are enough seats on that shuttle for eight more people, Rashid."
"But... Yes, Master Quatre."
As the screen goes dark, he turns back to his guests who, by the looks on their faces, had heard every word.
Taki is the first to speak. "Someone has control of the colony's environmental systems?"
Quatre nods.
She swears. "Well we can't just sit here doing nothing..." Taki's voice trails off as she scans the pale faces of everyone at the table. And then: "Where are Yokaze and Heero?"
Trowa turns; the seat next to him is empty. He starts for the door but Quatre manages to catch him before he steps out into the hall.
"Don't go," he says.
Trowa's voice is just as quiet and mellow as ever. "She's gone to stop it."
"We have to stay here and wait for word on the shuttle, Trowa," Quatre points out gently.
A muscle along Trowa's jaw ticks. "I'm not leaving her behind."
"You won't have to. She'll be back in time."
From Trowa's other side, Duo snorts derisively. "Get real, Quatre. They've gone to save the goddamn day." Glancing at Trowa, Duo says, "Make up your mind, Trowa. Either lead the way or get out of mine."
Trowa measures Duo's intent in silence before telling him, "Just let me get my laptop."
For a long moment, Quatre looks from one face to the other.
From Duo: "Well, Quatre? What's it gonna be? Stay or go?"
Longing presses against Quatre's sternum, urging him to join the impromptu mission. He quietly informs them, "Stay."
With a look, Trowa silently slips out into the hall to fetch the equipment he believes he will need.
Looking back into the room, Duo says, "What about you, Wu-man?"
"Going," Taki replies for him, standing. "Definitely going."
Wufei opens his mouth to persuade Taki to stay behind and wait for Rashid's call, but the look on her face forestalls any such attempt.
"Duo, wait," Quatre says as the other man moves toward the hall. "Take this."
Duo stares down at the small cellular phone that Quatre had just forced into his hand. By way of explanation, Quatre tells him, "I'll call and let you know where the shuttle is when it's ready."
Duo nods once in thanks.
"Ready?" In Trowa's voice, the word is not a question. Laptop case in one hand and leather carry-all over the opposite shoulder, he precedes everyone down the stairs.
Quatre watches in silence as the room empties with the exception of himself, Kathy, and George. He offers them a reassuring smile then, reluctantly, he moves away from the door. He does not resume his seat, however. Quatre paces into the next room. He slows as he passes the only window with a view of the colony's maintenance and performance building. For a moment, he simply stares blankly out over the rooftops wishing, longing, aching for the freedom to be out there with his friends and saving the goddamn day.
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~End of Chapter 10~
