Disclaimer: You certainly know the score.

Notes: Nine years ago, they said 'Good bye'. Now they are summoned back. Has time healed their rift? Can they ever fix their broken friendships? What does it mean to be Gundam, when a Gundam Pilot lies dying?

Warnings: I'm a slash writer; in my view some characters are not heterosexual. This may be different from your own interpretation of the characters. I hope you enjoy the story, despite our disagreement and I thank you for staying with me, despite Chapter 9 being your safe stopping point.

Song: Pendulum – Propane Nightmares

::Something's tearing me down::
::And I can't help but feel it's coming from you::
::She's a gunshot bride::
::With a trigger cries::
::I just wonder what we've gotten ourselves into::

Fade to Black

By Doctor Megalomania

Chapter 37: Burn Before You Bury Me

::In a trail of fire I know we will be free again::
::In the end we will be one::

She counted to fifty again.

Watching how the fake clouds passed by in her tea. Shifted her fork just so again, watching the cherry tomato roll over to the other side of her bowl. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Considered taking a quick peek, but decided against it. She hadn't gotten to fifty yet. Looked at her father's cuff link, considered how the light shone off it. It was something she'd need to think about maybe drawing for art class later. Thirty-four. She was aware that it was made of some material, maybe metal from the old L5. They were precious cufflinks. Rolled the cherry tomato again. Forty. There was a breeze. It ruffled the umbrella they were under. She flicked her eyes up to watch how the material shifted. Catching sight of the upside of the colony. Forty-six. Took a moment, and a breath to appreciate that right now, right this moment, people were up there walking. Forty-eight. Closed her eyes and appreciated her next breath. She never really appreciated how cleansing a deep breath could be. Forty-nine. She shifted in her chair before she opened her eyes.

Fifty.

She opened her eyes and it didn't take long for her eyes to focus on the car. On the light glinting off the lens. She made herself look harder, the camera was different somehow. The hands that held it were black, but not naturally so. Gloves maybe. She tilted her head, blinking as the light shifted again, glinting off the camera lens as it moved. Withdrew into the dark of the car.

Again.

She turned away slowly, and began counting to fifty again. Shifted her fork again. Watched the cherry tomato roll. Thirteen. Fourteen. Now determined not to peek. If it was still there after fifty, then she'd tell her father. Looked at his cuff again. Looked at his hand this time, loosely wrapped around a fork. Looked at him, engrossed in conversation with Heero. She looked at them, then at Sally. Sally was busy talking to Duo. Twenty-nine. Thirty. She looked down, Duo's finger was tapping the table. Tap. Thirty-one. Tap. Thirty-two. Tap. He was almost in time with her. A laugh to her right made her look at Quatre, he was facing Trowa as Trowa spoke low and quiet. Tap. Her eyes slipped back to Duo's tapping finger. Tap. Thirty-nine. Tap. Forty. Tap. She looked at his finger tapping gently on the table. Looked up, watching the breeze play with the hairs that weren't pulled back into his short braid. Tap. Forty-six. Tap. Blinked as she watched his strange coloured eyes stop focusing on Sally. Tap. Forty-seven. The smile on his face suddenly becoming a mask, his eyes focusing on her. Tap. Forty-eight. She dropped her eyes to his finger. Tap. Forty-nine.

She waited for the next tap, but his finger was held up. As if he'd frozen in time. She looked back up at him. His eyes were like her father's when he was focused. When he was Gundam. Nataku blinked. Turned slightly, peeking out the corner of her eye.

Light glinted off the camera lens again.

"What do you see?"

Duo's voice was low, meant for her. It looked like he hadn't spoken by the time she looked back. He was facing Sally again. Nataku licked her lips, nervous. Her teacher hadn't helped when she'd spoken about the grey car at school. Made her doubt herself. Her father would have noticed the grey car by now. It was probably just paparazzi, again, like she'd known for a lot of her life on L5. But it wasn't the same.

"Nataku, answer him." She glanced up at her father, as he continued to pay attention to Heero's tablet. She looked at Duo again, who this time was leant forward, hands clasped. He stared at her, smiling but eyes cool. She took a breath.

"What do you see that has you checking if it's still there every fifty seconds?" Duo reached for the cherry tomato, holding it up victoriously. She leapt up in her seat, climbing onto it so she could lean across the round table to grab his hands before he stole it.

"A car. Grey one. It's always there." She whispered urgently, staring into his strange coloured eyes. She felt warm, long hands wrap around her. Pulling her from the table. Righting her on her chair. Trowa reached onto his own plate, holding up a new tomato.

"And?" He said, smiling faintly, eyes as cool as Duo's. She blinked, not sure what to say.

"What's wrong with the car, honey?" Sally said from behind her coffee, smile hardening.

Nataku sat down. She swallowed, her heart beating so hard. She closed her eyes and thought carefully. In her mind, the rest of the world faded away and all that was left was the car. In her mind, she took it apart. The car was normal. It wasn't the car that was the problem. She took away the tinted windows. Many cars had that. She was left with the man in the shadows. She opened her eyes. She stared into Duo's strange coloured eyes.

It had been a very long time since the Gundams had properly scared her, Sally thought. It was a strange thought to have at that precise moment, but it was an appropriate one. Nataku just tilted her head, the fear draining from her face as the little machine in her head appeared to finish clicking through the answers. The little girl blinked once, her eyes fixed on Duo.

"The camera." The girl said simply. "It's wrong."

And that was it. Sally watched as the Gundam machine clicked into its beautiful motion. Duo's finger - a motion she'd taken to be restless earlier – now started tapping again. Even and steady. Either side of her the conversations started again, even though it looked like they hadn't stopped. Wufei was still looking at the thing Heero was showing him on his tablet. Quatre was still laughing at whatever it was that Trowa was whispering into his ear. Duo turned to her, and she knew he couldn't see her any more. He was listening to the instructions that Quatre started issuing.

"One, make and model. Three, get ready." Quatre stood, reaching up as if gesturing for the bill and, as he sat down, "Wrong kind of camera for taking shots at this distance." He leant forward, digging to get his wallet. "Three, approach on Five's mark."

Trowa stood from the table, wiped his lips with his napkin and turned to enter the restaurant. Quatre continued. "Two, the girl." He straightened once he got his wallet, and paid the bill with beatific smile. "Thank you very much, the salad was excellent." He turned his attention back to the table. "Sally, you're with me."

"Nataku, go with Duo." Wufei said, lowering the tablet now and handing it back to Heero. Heero's fingers began to fly over the tablet. Wufei turned to her. "When I tell you, I want you to climb under the table and move over to him." He rested a hand in her hair, and held her close. "Which car is it?"

"It's the grey one, across the street, parked by the bench." Nataku whispered, her eyes wide but her expression blank. Sally thought she sounded scared, but the girl didn't look it. Sally turned her attention to Heero, who simply continued typing.

Wufei squeezed her once, and then shifted as if his phone was ringing. He raised his phone to his ear, touching the phone as if answering. "Three, bench, grey Durban." He let go of Nataku, and nodded once. "Nataku, go."

The little girl wiggled and crawled under the table, until she was in Duo's arms. He straightened, and turned from the table. He balanced her on one hip, and started walking away, his crutch slowing him but not hindering him. Sally picked up her medical bag, and glanced at Quatre. The man left a tip on the table, and walked away.

"Sally, go." She looked down at Heero. He shook his head minutely. "Don't look back."

Trowa slipped out of the side of the restaurant and moved to the street. Looking to his right, he could see Quatre getting the others to safety, Wufei and Heero remaining behind to act as both his cover and back up. He'd exited the alley behind the grey car and waited for a moment, observing it. The camera lowered for a moment, gloved hands hesitating before the camera withdrew entirely. The window wound up. The car was idling. He looked closer at the car. It was dusty, not entirely unusual for L2 but certainly for this part of the colony. He walked closer: fine scratch marks around the lock of the driver's door were telling.

As he turned his focus on the number plate, the car shifted off. Slow at first, but getting faster as it approached the junction. Trowa stepped out into the road and stared after the car as it moved out of sight. His phone rang, and he lifted the device to his ear. "I've got a partial plate number, but nothing else." He hung up, turned and melted back into the crowd.

Wufei stared at the photo for a long time before pinning it on his board. When it was up, he turned his head to look out the broad windows of his office, looking out across the city. They'd found the car. It had been stolen months before. Now it was a burnt husk of a machine abandoned near the scrap yards. It had been an extremely thorough arson job. Care had been taken to ensure that the machine had burned hot and had burned through out. Points where evidence could have been found had been gutted.

It was a bit extreme. Wufei blinked out of his thoughts and looked at Trowa. Trowa tapped the image, "Why go to such lengths?"

"Because he knows we could get him from the evidence in that car." Wufei turned from the board, "Because we're going to get him. He made a mistake in letting us see him."

Trowa folded his arms and stared at the images on the board. The car had been found burnt out, less than 24 hours after Nataku had pointed it out. Two days later, he was applying for Active Duty and taking a leave of absence from his mechanic's post. Trowa raised a hand and tugged at his starchy collar. It was more uncomfortable than he remembered, but the uniform was unimportant. Being there to help Sally protect Duo was more important. It was the realisation that Duo's shooter was possibly so close had frightened all of them. Trowa sighed and looked away from the board, glancing at the other notice boards that were crowding Wufei's spacious office. IAT's notice board was colourful, full of information that was linked together with pins and sticky notes. Trowa couldn't make head or tales of the board, but didn't worry about it. It wasn't his place to worry about the whys or hows, simply that he was there to protect Duo and Sally as she cared for the injured former pilot.

He stopped by Wufei's desk. Wufei was making some last notes to the tablet he was preparing for Trowa. Trowa had his credentials and his service weapon. With a sigh, Wufei held up the small tablet. "We're going to run travel arrangements like we used to run Peacecraft's."

Trowa nodded, "I understand." He took the tablet, and flicked through the notes.

"You'll be Sally's partner on this, she'll take lead." Wufei tapped his desk computer, and pointed out a few applications. "These auto sync with IAT, so you'll both be able to keep up with updates and information we receive while you're out in the field."

Trowa pocketed the device. "I assume the sync is both ways."

"Of course, 04 will be your main contact for information. I'm transferring command to him so he can co-ordinate our unit with all the information he has. 01 and I are going to continue the investigation, following IAT's lead."

"I understand." Trowa checked his phone, and picked up his coat. "I'm heading over to the hospital now, I'll check in when I arrive and when we leave."

Wufei nodded absently, already dialling a number on his phone. Trowa left without a word.

"I'm sorry."

Trowa looked up from the tablet briefly. Duo was sat on the bed, getting changed into his street clothes. It looked for a moment like he hadn't spoken. Trowa dropped his eyes to the tablet. "Don't be." Trowa said, "I want this man caught."

"You shouldn't have to be-"

Trowa continued tapping at the screen, skimming the most recent notes about the burnt out car. "If he goes for you, he can go for Quatre. I'm not letting that happen."

Duo snorted, "So that's the reason you got back in."

"That's the reason."

Duo grunted as he attempted to pull his boot on, "That's bullshit." He shook his head, "You shouldn't have to be—"

"You're pulling on the wrong boot, that's why it doesn't feel right." Trowa said, his voice disinterested. Duo pulled the boot back off and stared at it for a long moment. Trowa put the tablet away and crouched down to help Duo with his boots. "You think I'm unhappy?" He said as he pushed a boot on and began tying the laces. "Yes, I'm unhappy to be away from the job I love at the moment." He pulled at the laces hard. "But you know that the instant this bastard is caught, this badge is in garbage and I'm walking away." He tipped his head up to look at Duo, "Don't doubt that. I'm not staying. I'm fighting for the only cause I know: Someone tried to kill you, one of us, and they're still walking free." He held out a hand for the other boot.

Duo let Trowa push on the other boot on his foot, curling his fingers into the bed. Trowa knew the frustration Duo was feeling. He sat back on his heels and stared at Duo. The other man stared at him, jaw tight with anger. Trowa stood up, and motioned the door. "Put your anger to better use. Leave your pity for me behind." Trowa nodded tightly, "We end it all, when we've completed the mission."

Duo nodded and stood up, reaching for his crutch as he did so. "Any updates?"

"None worth reporting. The car's a dead end as evidence, but Quatre's tracking the movements of the car since it was reported stolen."

Duo shook his head, "That won't lead to anything. He's far too careful. He burned his transport when he suspected he was made. No way he's going to let himself be tracked before that." Duo held up a hand to wave away Trowa's next comment. "No, I know. We gotta try."

They stepped out into the corridor. Sally and Hobbs were by the nurses' station, heads bent over the chart in Hobbs' hand. Hobbs looked harried, but nodded to the two men as they approached. She looked Duo directly in the eye, "You've had a scare. I'm putting you on a selection of vitamins and drugs. You're taking a drugs test every four days, because I don't trust you out there. You disregard any one of Doctor Po's orders, I'm pulling you right back in." She took a step forward. "Do not man up. At the first sign of difficulty, you magically-Gundam-escape your backside back to me."

"Yes ma'am." Duo answered sincerely.

Hobbs blinked, "That's it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Hobbs narrowed her eyes, "What?"

Duo glanced down briefly and then met her eye, "I want to keep staying at Heero's, it's a good place. I'm gonna heal there. If that means peeing into a cup every four days and stuffing a cocktail of pills down my throat to keep you happy, ma'am, I'm going to do it." He glanced at Sally and Trowa, "My friends are putting themselves on the line to protect me, and the least I could do is get better."

Hobbs sighed and put a fist on her hip. "Okay. I'll be doing the testing myself, so I'll book an appointment with Po. You won't need to come here every time anymore." She glanced at Sally, "As long as you're satisfied with the prescription, I'm happy to release him to your care."

"Thanks," Sally held up the prescription. "I'll get it filled downstairs and I'll call you after first check." She glanced at the two men, "Let's go guys, our ride's waiting."

The link was grainy, but it was a mobile link. Noin looked exhausted, but she carried on flicking through the pages. "I can only give you the headlines right now." She said finally, closing the folder. "Ketchin was sectioned voluntarily after the war, he left when he wanted to. I see a lot of the regular post-war disorders, PSTD and other injury related trauma. Improved with medication..." She flicked through another folder of information. "One doctor makes an initial recommendation that Ketchin begins management treatment for a condition similar to bipolar disorder. Another notes that he seems especially fixated on Gundam pilots. There's some mention of treatment after New Edwards, it seems he was a survivor."

Noin took a moment to pause, breath and rub her neck tiredly. Wufei glanced at the clock and then back at the screen. It was late here, and the time difference to Earth meant that Noin was already pushing 4am. Wufei sat back. "Let's continue this tomorrow."

"No." Noin shook her head, "I'm not going to be able to sleep." She sat back. "After New Edwards, it's clear he wasn't decommissioned, but like all survivors of a Gundam attack, he was pushed into service again." Her lip curled, "His skills were too valuable as a pilot who'd seen action with Gundam and lived." She motioned the paperwork in front of her, "That's all I've got so far. I don't even have a post-war image."

Wufei nodded, "I understand Treize insisted on meticulous records. I can see how that would be one of the first things to give way after his death."

Noin rolled her shoulders, visibly angry. "So many soldiers just lost in the system, like their service meant nothing." She glanced off screen, "Zechs is still at the hospital going through their files. I'll be able to update you in the morning."

"Make it the afternoon." Wufei said, "You both need sleep and rest. We need you sharp."

Noin nodded, her voice reluctant. "Agreed." She looked at a note, "The last thing of note is that he definitely came back to Earth after Duo was shot." She sighed and shook her head, "But he left the hospital again. There's no trace of him here."

Wufei nodded, adding the note to his computer. "We'll see if we can't track him from the hospital to here, he must have some kind of trail." He nodded tightly, "Thank you."

Noin shook her head, "Don't thank me until we've given you a solid lead." She stared blankly at the folders in front of her, "This is a fire of our own making."

Wufei disagreed but didn't voice his thoughts. "Get some sleep."

Noin picked up a folder and flipped it open, "Sure." She reached forward and closed the link. Wufei sat back in his chair and linked his hands together. He stared out into the darkness of the city.

"Do you need anything?"

Duo looked up from his book and shook his head. Sally tilted her head and folded her arms. She glanced out the door, looking down the corridor where she could make out Heero unfolding the sofa bed. She quirked a small smile, "Got to go through the motions?"

"Huh?" Duo looked up from his book again, frowning slightly.

Sally shrugged, "I think we both know Heero's not really going to spend the night on that bed."

Duo opened his mouth to protest, but paused as he thought. He shook his head and looked out the window. "I don't make it through the night without waking him up." He shrugged a shoulder, "It's easier if he's here already."

Her smile was just shy of a smirk. "You boys." She stepped closer and sat on the end of the bed. "Okay, ground rules: No sex. You're not cleared for that kind of intense activity. I'm not going to stop you from sleeping together, but the instant either of you whip it out..." She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, "You know what I'm saying."

Duo looked unimpressed, but nodded. "Yeah." He rolled his shoulders in an uneasy expression. "Look, him and me, there's... there's a whole bunch of stuff to work out, okay?" He scratched his head awkwardly, "Sex isn't even on the cards."

Sally reached out to take his hand, "You need to talk, I'm here for you to talk to." Her lips quirked, "but I'm betting Heero would be the better person to talk to. At least you're both going to be fumbling around in the same dark."

He snorted softly, not really meeting her eyes. "Sure thing, Doc P."

Sally shook her head and reached further forward to slap him softly on the cheek. "I'm not one of your doctors." She stood and moved to her bag, "At least I care about your welfare."

"Don't ever think they didn't care." Duo's voice was soft, but cool at the same time. He picked up his book, "It took me a while to see it, but G cared."

"Sending some poor fifteen year-old kid into a war?" Sally scoffed, "Forgive me but that's not my definition of caring."

Duo glanced up from his book, his strange coloured eyes staring calmly. "That poor fifteen year-old kid was armed to the teeth and trained better than any solider on Earth... If they didn't care, we wouldn't have been so dangerous."

Sally paused by the door, "Like I said, not my definition of caring. Get some sleep." She nodded her head toward the living room, "I'll send Heero down the corridor."

Duo picked up his book again and flicked a page. He sat there, idly re-reading the same sentence. He could hear Sally talking softly to Heero and wondered if she was giving him the same speech. Duo glanced at the door as he heard the front door opened and close. Heero came to the room minutes later. Duo finished the page and flicked over the page. He wasn't sure how to be, casual or disinterested or cool. He felt the bed dip as Heero sat on the edge. Duo didn't even know where to begin.

"Maybe we should compare the mission specs and our personal plans." Heero's voice was low and dry.

Duo blinked and looked up from his book. Heero wasn't facing him, and had his hands casually gripping his knees. Heero glanced over his shoulder. "Sex ..." A frown flitted over his face, "Wasn't in my plan to help rebuilt our friendship."

Duo held Heero's hard blue eyes for a long moment before the laugh bubbled up. It felt good to laugh for that moment, and Duo enjoyed it. He put his book aside and shifted on the bed to fold his legs under him. "There are mission specs for rebuilding friendships?" He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously. Buddy..." Duo leant forward on his hands, staring intently into Heero's eyes. "We're gonna be best of buddies for life, you think a stupid little thing like 10 years without each other's gonna change that?" He grinned, "No way."

Heero's hard blue eyes dipped for a moment, seemingly lingering on his chin. His eyes flicked up for a moment before Heero began leaning forward. Duo felt his lips part in surprise as he felt the tentative brush of Heero's hard lips on his own. It was a strange feeling that flickered through him, it was hot to watch Heero's hard blue eyes lose focus and flutter shut. Heero's scarred hand rose up to cup Duo's cheek, and Duo felt something like amazement as the hand touched him delicately. Heero's breath was alternating between hot as he exhaled over Duo's lips and cool as he inhaled. It made Duo's own eyelids slip shut, and he just focused on how it felt.

In the warm darkness, his knees protesting while his fingers spread over the blankets. His lips too dry, cheeks too warm, heart beginning to race. He dipped his tongue out to wet his lips and opened his eyes when he heard Heero's breath hitch and the other man pull away. He stared at Heero, oddly pleased to see that Heero seemed also off kilter. He tilted his head as Heero seemed to force himself to look away. Duo swallowed, "Not in the plan?"

Heero shook his head. He breathed for a moment, closing his eyes briefly and then looking at Duo hard. "But not unwanted." He turned away again, clasping his knees again. Heero seemed to stare at the wall for a long time and it took Duo a long moment to twig why. He sat back on his heels and raised a hand to brush back his fringe.

"We, uh..." Duo closed his eyes and swallowed, "We gotta get some sleep. Sally'll be pissed if I can't get up tomorrow."

"Duo."

Duo blinked and looked at his friend. Heero's head was half turned toward him. It seemed for a moment like he was going to say something, but he turned his head away again. Duo nodded as if Heero had spoken, shifted and wrapped his arms around Heero's stiff shoulders. He rested his head on Heero's tense back, listening to the faint, steady heart beat. "I don't know how it works either, buddy." He chuckled at himself, "I mean, hooking up is easy... it's the hanging on I've always found pretty difficult."

He opened his eyes as he felt Heero's scarred hands wrap around his forearm. Felt a little of the tension slip from the other man's back. He stared down Heero's spine, watching the fabric of his t-shirt shift. He smiled as he felt rather than heard Heero's familiar grunt.

Duo smiled, feeling warm. As uncomfortable as the position was becoming, he felt like he could sleep like this. Sleep with Heero's scarred hand on his wrist, with the faint, steady heart beat. He began to doze, slipping away into dreams.

"Duo?"

"Hmm?" Duo didn't want to shift, but felt Heero move. He felt the other man move, and gently shift him into a lying position. Felt the bed dip as Heero lay down beside him. Smiled when he felt Heero's scarred hand wrap around his own. Kept his eyes closed as he turned his head away.

"Oi, Heero."

"Go to sleep, Duo."

"Yeah, yeah... but hey..."

Duo squeezed Heero's hand.

"Don't let go."

::In a trail of fire I know we will be free again::
::In the end we will be one::
::In a trail of fire I'll burn before you bury me::
::Set your sights for the sun::
::Bring it on home::

A/N: I am truly sorry for the delay. Life asked itself what more could it throw. (the answer was a lot). However, one upshot is that I've finished writing the whole story. Apart from some editing, that's it. We're almost done and this should mean weekly(ish) updates. I plan to finish updating by December. Thank you for reading this, and as always I thank you for your review.