Angelic Gamble Part 2
By Snow Tigra
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Pairings: 2x1, 3x4/4x3, 13x6, 13x5... am I missing any?
Author's note: This fic was inspired by the huge amount of pix there are of the Gundam pilots with wings. Being that I already love angels I only found it fair. Warning: Quatre torture. I apologize but I started this around finals, which means that I picked one character to have a really shitty time, that character just happened to be Quatre. To be honest I love the little Arabian, but he turns out to be the most hurt in this story. I apologize to all Quatre fans. Don't worry, this is not a death fic.
LIMY LEMON (which means I describe but not too much :P)
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Relena looked up from her novel toward the door as she heard the knock. Sliding off the couch she dropped the book on a table and walked over to the door. Opening it she blinked in surprise.
"Heero?"
Heero nodded in greeting to her but said nothing more.
Relena stepped back quickly to let the silent boy in, then locked the door behind him. Glancing down at the floor she spoke quietly. "I had thought..." she swallowed. Heero had made it quite clear the last time they'd met that he never wanted to speak to her again. The tip of his sword resting on her throat was a perfect sign that he wanted to be left alone. Of course she hadn't given up, that wouldn't have been like her at all. But she'd changed tactics, instead of following him everywhere she'd decided to wait until he had cooled down and then try talking to him. She had never expected Heero to show up at her door before she'd decided to make her move. Well all the better-
"Where is Milliardo?"
Relena looked up in surprise. "Nani? My brother? He's... why?"
Heero faced Relena with complete seriousness, but it wasn't the normal no-humor look he usually had on. Hidden somewhere deep in those blue eyes of his was concern, worry. Would wonders ever cease? Heero was worried about someone? But who?
"He's not here. Truth be told I haven't seen him for a long time, ever since his wings started to change..." she trailed off and glanced over by the fireplace at a picture of her and her brother standing under a sakura tree.
"Relena, what happened to Milliardo's wings, why did they turn red?"
Relena shut her eyes and took a deep breath, still remembering what had happened as if it were yesterday. She shuddered at the memory of her brother's wings changing as he cried out in pain. "I don't know... he left without saying a word. He never told me if he found out why it had happened." Relena suddenly looked up at Heero, her eyes wide. No! Not him!
"Heero... it's not happening to you now is it?!"
Heero shook his head.
Relena visibly sighed with relief. "Then who?"
"Quatre."
"Quatre?" Relena swallowed. "Heero... how far along is it? When did it start?"
"Yesterday."
"I hate to tell you this, but the red isn't the worst of it. After his feathers turn red its only a matter of time before..." Relena stopped, she couldn't. She could still clearly see what had happened to her brother after his red wings. The pain afterwards... Relena closed her eyes and tried to push the image away but she couldn't. It was too much. Suddenly a hand gripped her shoulder and shook her. Relena opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Heero, his blue eyes blazing.
"What happens next?" He demanded in a cold voice. The worry was almost written across his face.
"He'll lose... his wings. They'll break and fall apart. For my brother the pain was the worst then."
Heero's grip tightened as his body stiffened in fear, then suddenly he let go and raced for the door. Relena had only enough time to swallow as Heero burst out the door and the sound of his wings appearing filled the air. She watched as he flew past the window, careless of the people outside. It didn't matter if they saw his wings, what mattered was Quatre. Relena walked slowly over to the picture and picked it up, lightly her fingers brushed her brother's face.
"Where are you now, brother? Are you even still alive?"
Relena hugged the picture to her chest and turned to the window. She watched silently as a single white feather drifted past the window to the ground. "I hope your brother is all right Heero. And even if he isn't I'll be there to comfort you. You'll need me to comfort you, because only I know what you are going through."
*
Duo smirked quietly as the white feather drifted down into his hand. How interesting, Heero had a younger brother? And from the looks of things it seemed that something was wrong with him, which meant that what ever this thing was it would take a toll on Heero. Heck it already had.
He pocketed the white feather and pushed himself away from the outside wall of Relena's house. Red wings? He'd never heard of that happening before, but from the conversation he'd gotten the gist of what was going on. Something was causing Heero's brother's wings to change color from white to red. He didn't particularly like the idea of involving other innocents in what was between Heero and himself, but a bet was a bet.
"And I like my hair!" He muttered, fingering the bottom of his braid. Quatre's condition was just circumstance, and it would be a shame to let such a circumstance go to waste, especially if it provided the key to Heero's undoing.
Duo walked into an alley, where he wouldn't be seen. A strange snapping sound followed and two black wings shot out from his back. As he took off into the sky his mind began to concoct a plan. It was a perfect plan, the perfect way to get at Heero's weak spot.
If Heero was tightly wound now because of his brother then the disappearance of Quatre would make him even more vulnerable. Now if only Duo could find a way of kidnapping the younger brother... well the opportunity would show itself eventually, one just had to be patient. And Wufei had never said there was a time limit.
"Heero, you will be mine."
Duo grinned and pulled the white feather from his pocket as he landed atop the main school building. He watched as Heero raced out of the shadows into the building to find his brother.
"Yes. Heero, your life is mine. Shinigami awaits."
*
Quatre opened his eyes and swallowed a small cry of pain as he saw the face before him. Trowa? He blinked in confusion. The last thing he remembered was the pain, how it had hit him like a two-ton boulder and then he had blacked out. He didn't have to move to know his wings were still extended for they ached as if he'd been flying non-stop for nights. He quickly turned his attention back to Trowa before his mind began to concentrate on the pain.
Trowa. He was sleeping. The tall quiet boy had apparently sat down in a chair to watch over him and had fallen asleep with his head on the bed next to Quatre. Now, as he slept, he seemed completely calm and at peace. His face wasn't just emotionless, as it usually was; instead it held a look of contentment and innocence, the face of a sleeping child. Quatre frowned slightly and brushed his fingers down Trowa's cheek, causing him to stir slightly but not wake.
"I'm not the only one hurting am I? It's hurting you too." Quatre whispered. Quatre sat up and suddenly realized he was home, in his room. After he had gone unconscious Heero and Trowa must have brought him home. Quatre silently pulled himself out of bed and gasped at the pain. With sad eyes he walked to the other side of the bed where Trowa was. Quietly he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Trowa's cheek.
"I can't hurt you koi, gomen nasai." And he headed for the door.
Stepping into the hallway he found Heero curled up in the chair, hugging his knees as he slept. Even Heero? Quatre's brother usually didn't seem to care but in the last day he had changed completely. Quatre could even see now, in his sleeping features, how worried his brother actually was. Because of Quatre Heero was being pushed to his mental limits.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone," Quatre whispered more to himself then his brother. He sighed and headed for the coat closet near the front door. Inside he found the emergency cloaks, cloaks large enough to cover their wings in case something went wrong. Quatre pulled one out of the closet and winced as he slid it on, emitting a slight hiss as it moved over his throbbing wings. Then he opened the front door, taking only a second to glance back.
"I didn't want to hurt you. You'd both be better off if I wasn't here. Gomen, good bye brother." He shut the door and turned away from the house.
"Aren't you afraid you're going to hurt him more by leaving?"
Quatre shut his eyes but otherwise didn't respond. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, and didn't really care. "I'm only going to get worse, I can't put them through that." Quatre swallowed and started to walk away from the house.
"Matte," said the voice.
"Please, leave me alone."
A hand rested lightly on Quatre's shoulder from behind, he turned.
"Who are-!" He froze in fear and his words broke off as he saw the four large black wings extending from the boy's back. Quatre's eyes went wide and he stumbled backward, falling to the ground and landing on the ends of his wings. "Itai..."
He looked up to find one of the black angel's hands extended toward him, offering to help him up. "I want to help you," the boy said.
"Why?" Quatre asked cautiously.
The boy shrugged. "Because I know someone like you."
"Nani?"
The black angel grinned. "He showed up a while ago at my home. He had red wings too, and we let him stay with us. You're welcome to stay too."
"But you're..." Quatre lost his words and just nodded at the boy's black wings.
"Despite the color of my wings we are still of the same race." The boy knelt down beside Quatre, his grin still on his face but his voice turning completely serious. "Besides what were you going to do? Crawl into a corner and die? No one wants to die alone, and whatever is causing the red wings isn't terminal, you'll live through it. I know that for a fact."
Quatre looked away, trying to decide what to do.
"Look, why not at least talk to him? It could only help."
Quatre looked back at the boy, meeting his bright violet eyes with suspicion. "Why do you care?"
The black angel shrugged once more. "I guess that's just the way I am." He stood back up and offered his hand once more. After a second Quatre grasped his hand and the black angel pulled him to his feet. "Come on, I'll carry you, I've got enough wings for the both of us." The black angel grinned and Quatre couldn't help but smile back. He wrapped his arms around the angel's neck, holding tight. The black angel scooped him up gently and flapped his wings, taking off into the night sky.
About ten minutes later Trowa raced out the front door and looked around in mute worry. His hopes plummeted as he saw two feathers lying side by side. One red and one black. Silently he picked up the feathers and turned back to find Heero standing in the doorway. Without a single word he placed the feathers in the hand of the astonished boy. Heero wrapped his fingers around the feathers and glared at the ground.
"Baka!" He hissed as he punched the wall with his fist, the one holding the feathers. Trowa watched Heero stomp off to his room, then turned back to look up at the sky.
Why had Quatre left? He hoped the blond boy was all right. And he hoped that wherever Quatre was he would return safely.
*
"Well, well, what have we here? Honestly Duo, I never would have pegged you as a traitor."
Duo landed among the trees and let Quatre down so he could stand; yet still held one of his arms to support him. His violet eyes glared at a figure leaning against a dark tree trunk. "Back off Hilde."
The figure pushed herself off the tree trunk and stepped out into the moonlight. Like Duo she wore an outfit of lose wavy strips of black fabric which fluttered in the wind. A belt of dark red held them in place around her waist while a matching one crossed her forehead, holding her short black hair away from her black eyes. She smiled slyly at Duo.
"You of all people? Honestly, I expected Wufei to turn tail and run before you ever did."
"Hilde, shut up. I need to speak to Treize, where is he?"
"Oh, don't worry, you'll see him soon. After all it is my duty to turn in all traitors and I don't see how much worse it could get then bringing a white angel right to our front door." Hilde pulled out her long thin blade and moved it toward Duo's neck.
"Baka!" He spit out.
"Would you rather I turn you in now and kill your little friend?" She nodded toward Quatre who had now braced himself up against a tree and was shuddering slightly. "Nani?" Hilde frowned as she saw the boy hug himself and collapse the ground, the wings under his cloak shaking.
Duo whirled around to watch. But this time the attack ended quickly and Quatre was left kneeling on the ground breathing heavily, surrounded by red feathers. Duo turned a glare on Hilde. "I need to speak to Treize. Now you either let me pass or I swear I'll go straight through you, your choice!"
"Duo..." Hilde didn't try to hide the hurt in her voice. She and Duo had always been close; he'd never spoken to her in such a tone before. She swallowed and nodded. "He's like Zechs isn't he?"
Duo nodded.
"This way. I'll take you there." Hilde turned and waited for Duo to help the other boy up. Then she led them toward where Treize was with quick steps. As they walked she glanced back several times at Duo, noting the look in his eyes. This wasn't normal Duo behavior, and yet there was something hidden. Her braided brother had a plan, and whatever it was involved gaining the trust of this one boy. Hilde's eyes widened and she quickly looked ahead as she realized who the blond was, Heero's brother!
True her kind were all brothers and sisters, that's how the black angels arranged themselves, they wished to think of everyone as family. Yet the white angels were different, they tended to pick only one or two people to live with and be their 'siblings'. That blond boy was Heero's younger brother. Hilde had heard rumors of the bet between Wufei and Duo, by now everyone had. Was this part of the plan? What did Duo have up his sleeve?
Well whatever it was it was up to him. She and the others had been instructed to stay out of this bet. She'd just have to sit back and watch as Duo's genius plan unfolded.
Hilde brought Duo and Quatre to a large old estate made of roughly cut stones. Once inside Quatre noted the place was completely lit with candles, all signs of the modern world banished from inside the halls. He'd heard many tales about the way the black angels lived in contrast to his kind but he'd never realized how far those differences went. He'd heard the black angels didn't exactly like humans but to dismiss all traces of them...
Quatre stumbled in the dim light and Duo caught him with a steady hand. In front of them Hilde came to a stop.
"Unfortunately Treize-sama is out at the moment. I have no idea if Zechs is in the room or not." Hilde tried very hard to hide her shudder. Personally she was glad Treize kept that freak locked away. She'd seen him once and even that had been too much! She never wanted to see him again! One sight of those wings had certainly been enough, luckily the disease only hit the white angels and left the black angels unaffected.
"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." Duo pushed the door open and stepped slowly into the room. From his slow and cautious movements Hilde could tell he'd never caught sight of Zechs' form before. He was certainly in for a surprise. Duo beckoned to Quatre who entered the dark room, Hilde shut the door behind them.
"Hello?" Quatre called out into the room with a small nudge from Duo. Quatre watched as a slim figure stirred from lying on what looked to be a bed. He took a step toward the bed.
"No one is allowed in this room without Treize-sama's permission." The voice was deep and thick from sleep.
"Are you... Zechs?" Quatre asked quietly, still walking toward the bed.
"Stop," hissed the voice and Quatre's steps froze. "What do you want?"
"Your wings, they turned red like mine didn't they?"
A soft laugh filled the room. "My wings were red... once."
"I don't understand."
There was a snap from the lighting of a match and light flooded the room. Quatre blinked and his voice caught in his throat. He heard a sharp gasp from Duo at the sight. Before them, perched upon a bed, wrapped in red and black silk was the very tall and thin figure of Zechs. His long blond hair fell down his back and around his face, showing off the natural tan of his skin. However the most shocking things were his wings. He had none! Or rather he had wings without feathers. Smooth and shining bone spread out from his shoulders the entire length of the bed, gleaming in the firelight. Quatre shook his head and scrambled backward toward the door.
"No," he whispered hoarsely. Duo watched as Quatre turned on his heels and raced down the hall. Duo took one look back at Zechs as the match went out then raced out of the room after the fleeing blond boy.
"Matte!"
"No!" Quatre raced out of the estate onto the front lawn where he ripped the cloak from his shoulders. His wings spread out and flapped quickly, sending him soaring up toward the stars. Duo stared after him, cursing. No! He couldn't let him go! If he raced back to Heero after all that the plan would be ruined. Duo spread his wings and flew in pursuit, desperately trying to come up with a plan as the air rushed by him.
How to make the boy stay? How was he supposed to make sure that Heero's younger brother didn't return home until the time was right? Holding him captive by force would only make him want to escape more. That left two other options: killing him or...
Duo's head jerked up as he heard Quatre cry out. A rain of red feathers dropped from his wings over Duo's head, Duo quickly shielded his eyes and flapped his double set of wings harder. This wasn't good; the baka was going to end up killing himself! And that wouldn't help at all. Above him Quatre's wings stopped flapping and he clawed at the sky. Duo watched in a moment of pure horror as he saw Quatre begin to fall, feathers detaching from his wings. The feathers drifted slowly through the air, a strange lagged effect compared to Quatre's fast plummet. Duo swore and dove after him, catching the blond swiftly.
Soon after his feet touched the ground and he found the young blond quivering in his arms, tears streaming down his face. Duo took a moment to catch his breath and looked down in surprise as he found the young blond burying his face in his chest. To his surprise he actually found himself trying to comfort the trembling boy, stroking his hands through the short blond hair. Apparently the motion worked quite well and Quatre soon calmed down, yet he continued to cling to Duo tightly. Duo couldn't help but grin.
"Baka, you could have been killed," he said softly.
"I want to die. I don't want to look like that..." Quatre choked out between sobs.
Duo nodded, understanding. The sight of what had happened to Zechs was pretty horrifying. He could understand how scared the young boy was. Duo held Quatre tight and walked back into the estate, heading for his room. As he walked down the hall Quatre pulled away enough to catch a small glimpse of his surroundings.
"Where are we going?"
"Baka, it's not going to do you any good if you just crawl into a corner and cry. Besides, the others will ask questions. I have a place where you can stay, you need rest."
Quatre rubbed away his tears with a free hand as Duo opened the door to his room. Without missing a beat he closed the door with his foot, and walked over to the bed in the corner which was covered with black sheets. He laid Quatre down on the bed and wriggled out of his grip to light the candles so there was some light. Quatre watched the black angel silently.
"Why are you doing this?"
Duo frowned, his back to Quatre. Yes, he asked himself, why am I doing this? Because it is all part of the plan. Currently Quatre was the best path to Heero's weakness. "Cause I care." Duo turned and flashed his best light honest smile.
Quatre sat up against the headboard on the bed and hugged his knees. "I don't want that to happen to me. I've always loved to fly. To lose my wings and never fly again..."
Duo walked over and dropped onto the bed next to Quatre with a sigh. He almost jumped back out of the bed as Quatre rested his head on Duo's shoulder and closed his eyes. Duo swallowed, he certainly wasn't expecting to gain the boy's trust this easily! He must have stiffened or something because Quatre started to pull away.
"G-gomen..."
"Naw, it's ok." Duo reached up and wrapped his arm around Quatre, holding him close.
"Are you sure? Are you sure I can stay here?"
Duo nodded. "You can stay as long as you want. I swear they'll leave you all alone, no one messes with me." Duo smiled and laughed softly. "I never did find out your name."
"Quatre," Quatre said softly as he curled up with his head resting softly against Duo's chest. Duo stroked Quatre's hair without a thought, it had worked before to calm the boy down and it seemed to comfort him, so what could it hurt? "What's your name?" Came his very quiet voice.
"Shin- Duo, my name is Duo."
"Arigatou, Duo." The words were barely audible, and in the next second Duo could tell the boy was fast asleep. Duo sighed softly and slowly pulled himself out from under the boy. Extinguishing the candles he stepped out the room, relief visible on his face as he shut the door behind him.
"Very convincing act Duo, I almost believed it myself."
Duo jumped and whirled around to find Wufei standing behind him. He forced out an embarrassed laugh. "Geez Wu-man don't scare me like that!"
"Don't call me that!"
Duo shrugged and started to walk down the hall; his normal grin had reappeared. As he walked down the hall, followed by Wufei, he ran a hand through his long hair, undoing his braid. Wufei glared at him but he only grinned back.
"And what exactly were you thinking bringing a white angel here?"
Duo shrugged. "He's Heero's younger brother. And his condition is taking Heero to his wits end, it'll only be a matter of time before Heero breaks and I win the bet."
Wufei frowned. "There's no honor in that plan. You're just going to stab him in the back."
Duo frowned. "Hey! This deal wasn't about honor, Wu-man. My hair is on the line! Of course I'm going to win!"
Wufei couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You shouldn't have agreed in the first place."
"My hair is on the line Wu, and I'm not letting you cut it!" Duo's grin dropped back into place. "I haven't lost and I won't lose! You just better be prepared to step down."
Wufei just shook his head.
*
By Snow Tigra
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Pairings: 2x1, 3x4/4x3, 13x6, 13x5... am I missing any?
Author's note: This fic was inspired by the huge amount of pix there are of the Gundam pilots with wings. Being that I already love angels I only found it fair. Warning: Quatre torture. I apologize but I started this around finals, which means that I picked one character to have a really shitty time, that character just happened to be Quatre. To be honest I love the little Arabian, but he turns out to be the most hurt in this story. I apologize to all Quatre fans. Don't worry, this is not a death fic.
LIMY LEMON (which means I describe but not too much :P)
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Relena looked up from her novel toward the door as she heard the knock. Sliding off the couch she dropped the book on a table and walked over to the door. Opening it she blinked in surprise.
"Heero?"
Heero nodded in greeting to her but said nothing more.
Relena stepped back quickly to let the silent boy in, then locked the door behind him. Glancing down at the floor she spoke quietly. "I had thought..." she swallowed. Heero had made it quite clear the last time they'd met that he never wanted to speak to her again. The tip of his sword resting on her throat was a perfect sign that he wanted to be left alone. Of course she hadn't given up, that wouldn't have been like her at all. But she'd changed tactics, instead of following him everywhere she'd decided to wait until he had cooled down and then try talking to him. She had never expected Heero to show up at her door before she'd decided to make her move. Well all the better-
"Where is Milliardo?"
Relena looked up in surprise. "Nani? My brother? He's... why?"
Heero faced Relena with complete seriousness, but it wasn't the normal no-humor look he usually had on. Hidden somewhere deep in those blue eyes of his was concern, worry. Would wonders ever cease? Heero was worried about someone? But who?
"He's not here. Truth be told I haven't seen him for a long time, ever since his wings started to change..." she trailed off and glanced over by the fireplace at a picture of her and her brother standing under a sakura tree.
"Relena, what happened to Milliardo's wings, why did they turn red?"
Relena shut her eyes and took a deep breath, still remembering what had happened as if it were yesterday. She shuddered at the memory of her brother's wings changing as he cried out in pain. "I don't know... he left without saying a word. He never told me if he found out why it had happened." Relena suddenly looked up at Heero, her eyes wide. No! Not him!
"Heero... it's not happening to you now is it?!"
Heero shook his head.
Relena visibly sighed with relief. "Then who?"
"Quatre."
"Quatre?" Relena swallowed. "Heero... how far along is it? When did it start?"
"Yesterday."
"I hate to tell you this, but the red isn't the worst of it. After his feathers turn red its only a matter of time before..." Relena stopped, she couldn't. She could still clearly see what had happened to her brother after his red wings. The pain afterwards... Relena closed her eyes and tried to push the image away but she couldn't. It was too much. Suddenly a hand gripped her shoulder and shook her. Relena opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Heero, his blue eyes blazing.
"What happens next?" He demanded in a cold voice. The worry was almost written across his face.
"He'll lose... his wings. They'll break and fall apart. For my brother the pain was the worst then."
Heero's grip tightened as his body stiffened in fear, then suddenly he let go and raced for the door. Relena had only enough time to swallow as Heero burst out the door and the sound of his wings appearing filled the air. She watched as he flew past the window, careless of the people outside. It didn't matter if they saw his wings, what mattered was Quatre. Relena walked slowly over to the picture and picked it up, lightly her fingers brushed her brother's face.
"Where are you now, brother? Are you even still alive?"
Relena hugged the picture to her chest and turned to the window. She watched silently as a single white feather drifted past the window to the ground. "I hope your brother is all right Heero. And even if he isn't I'll be there to comfort you. You'll need me to comfort you, because only I know what you are going through."
*
Duo smirked quietly as the white feather drifted down into his hand. How interesting, Heero had a younger brother? And from the looks of things it seemed that something was wrong with him, which meant that what ever this thing was it would take a toll on Heero. Heck it already had.
He pocketed the white feather and pushed himself away from the outside wall of Relena's house. Red wings? He'd never heard of that happening before, but from the conversation he'd gotten the gist of what was going on. Something was causing Heero's brother's wings to change color from white to red. He didn't particularly like the idea of involving other innocents in what was between Heero and himself, but a bet was a bet.
"And I like my hair!" He muttered, fingering the bottom of his braid. Quatre's condition was just circumstance, and it would be a shame to let such a circumstance go to waste, especially if it provided the key to Heero's undoing.
Duo walked into an alley, where he wouldn't be seen. A strange snapping sound followed and two black wings shot out from his back. As he took off into the sky his mind began to concoct a plan. It was a perfect plan, the perfect way to get at Heero's weak spot.
If Heero was tightly wound now because of his brother then the disappearance of Quatre would make him even more vulnerable. Now if only Duo could find a way of kidnapping the younger brother... well the opportunity would show itself eventually, one just had to be patient. And Wufei had never said there was a time limit.
"Heero, you will be mine."
Duo grinned and pulled the white feather from his pocket as he landed atop the main school building. He watched as Heero raced out of the shadows into the building to find his brother.
"Yes. Heero, your life is mine. Shinigami awaits."
*
Quatre opened his eyes and swallowed a small cry of pain as he saw the face before him. Trowa? He blinked in confusion. The last thing he remembered was the pain, how it had hit him like a two-ton boulder and then he had blacked out. He didn't have to move to know his wings were still extended for they ached as if he'd been flying non-stop for nights. He quickly turned his attention back to Trowa before his mind began to concentrate on the pain.
Trowa. He was sleeping. The tall quiet boy had apparently sat down in a chair to watch over him and had fallen asleep with his head on the bed next to Quatre. Now, as he slept, he seemed completely calm and at peace. His face wasn't just emotionless, as it usually was; instead it held a look of contentment and innocence, the face of a sleeping child. Quatre frowned slightly and brushed his fingers down Trowa's cheek, causing him to stir slightly but not wake.
"I'm not the only one hurting am I? It's hurting you too." Quatre whispered. Quatre sat up and suddenly realized he was home, in his room. After he had gone unconscious Heero and Trowa must have brought him home. Quatre silently pulled himself out of bed and gasped at the pain. With sad eyes he walked to the other side of the bed where Trowa was. Quietly he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Trowa's cheek.
"I can't hurt you koi, gomen nasai." And he headed for the door.
Stepping into the hallway he found Heero curled up in the chair, hugging his knees as he slept. Even Heero? Quatre's brother usually didn't seem to care but in the last day he had changed completely. Quatre could even see now, in his sleeping features, how worried his brother actually was. Because of Quatre Heero was being pushed to his mental limits.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone," Quatre whispered more to himself then his brother. He sighed and headed for the coat closet near the front door. Inside he found the emergency cloaks, cloaks large enough to cover their wings in case something went wrong. Quatre pulled one out of the closet and winced as he slid it on, emitting a slight hiss as it moved over his throbbing wings. Then he opened the front door, taking only a second to glance back.
"I didn't want to hurt you. You'd both be better off if I wasn't here. Gomen, good bye brother." He shut the door and turned away from the house.
"Aren't you afraid you're going to hurt him more by leaving?"
Quatre shut his eyes but otherwise didn't respond. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, and didn't really care. "I'm only going to get worse, I can't put them through that." Quatre swallowed and started to walk away from the house.
"Matte," said the voice.
"Please, leave me alone."
A hand rested lightly on Quatre's shoulder from behind, he turned.
"Who are-!" He froze in fear and his words broke off as he saw the four large black wings extending from the boy's back. Quatre's eyes went wide and he stumbled backward, falling to the ground and landing on the ends of his wings. "Itai..."
He looked up to find one of the black angel's hands extended toward him, offering to help him up. "I want to help you," the boy said.
"Why?" Quatre asked cautiously.
The boy shrugged. "Because I know someone like you."
"Nani?"
The black angel grinned. "He showed up a while ago at my home. He had red wings too, and we let him stay with us. You're welcome to stay too."
"But you're..." Quatre lost his words and just nodded at the boy's black wings.
"Despite the color of my wings we are still of the same race." The boy knelt down beside Quatre, his grin still on his face but his voice turning completely serious. "Besides what were you going to do? Crawl into a corner and die? No one wants to die alone, and whatever is causing the red wings isn't terminal, you'll live through it. I know that for a fact."
Quatre looked away, trying to decide what to do.
"Look, why not at least talk to him? It could only help."
Quatre looked back at the boy, meeting his bright violet eyes with suspicion. "Why do you care?"
The black angel shrugged once more. "I guess that's just the way I am." He stood back up and offered his hand once more. After a second Quatre grasped his hand and the black angel pulled him to his feet. "Come on, I'll carry you, I've got enough wings for the both of us." The black angel grinned and Quatre couldn't help but smile back. He wrapped his arms around the angel's neck, holding tight. The black angel scooped him up gently and flapped his wings, taking off into the night sky.
About ten minutes later Trowa raced out the front door and looked around in mute worry. His hopes plummeted as he saw two feathers lying side by side. One red and one black. Silently he picked up the feathers and turned back to find Heero standing in the doorway. Without a single word he placed the feathers in the hand of the astonished boy. Heero wrapped his fingers around the feathers and glared at the ground.
"Baka!" He hissed as he punched the wall with his fist, the one holding the feathers. Trowa watched Heero stomp off to his room, then turned back to look up at the sky.
Why had Quatre left? He hoped the blond boy was all right. And he hoped that wherever Quatre was he would return safely.
*
"Well, well, what have we here? Honestly Duo, I never would have pegged you as a traitor."
Duo landed among the trees and let Quatre down so he could stand; yet still held one of his arms to support him. His violet eyes glared at a figure leaning against a dark tree trunk. "Back off Hilde."
The figure pushed herself off the tree trunk and stepped out into the moonlight. Like Duo she wore an outfit of lose wavy strips of black fabric which fluttered in the wind. A belt of dark red held them in place around her waist while a matching one crossed her forehead, holding her short black hair away from her black eyes. She smiled slyly at Duo.
"You of all people? Honestly, I expected Wufei to turn tail and run before you ever did."
"Hilde, shut up. I need to speak to Treize, where is he?"
"Oh, don't worry, you'll see him soon. After all it is my duty to turn in all traitors and I don't see how much worse it could get then bringing a white angel right to our front door." Hilde pulled out her long thin blade and moved it toward Duo's neck.
"Baka!" He spit out.
"Would you rather I turn you in now and kill your little friend?" She nodded toward Quatre who had now braced himself up against a tree and was shuddering slightly. "Nani?" Hilde frowned as she saw the boy hug himself and collapse the ground, the wings under his cloak shaking.
Duo whirled around to watch. But this time the attack ended quickly and Quatre was left kneeling on the ground breathing heavily, surrounded by red feathers. Duo turned a glare on Hilde. "I need to speak to Treize. Now you either let me pass or I swear I'll go straight through you, your choice!"
"Duo..." Hilde didn't try to hide the hurt in her voice. She and Duo had always been close; he'd never spoken to her in such a tone before. She swallowed and nodded. "He's like Zechs isn't he?"
Duo nodded.
"This way. I'll take you there." Hilde turned and waited for Duo to help the other boy up. Then she led them toward where Treize was with quick steps. As they walked she glanced back several times at Duo, noting the look in his eyes. This wasn't normal Duo behavior, and yet there was something hidden. Her braided brother had a plan, and whatever it was involved gaining the trust of this one boy. Hilde's eyes widened and she quickly looked ahead as she realized who the blond was, Heero's brother!
True her kind were all brothers and sisters, that's how the black angels arranged themselves, they wished to think of everyone as family. Yet the white angels were different, they tended to pick only one or two people to live with and be their 'siblings'. That blond boy was Heero's younger brother. Hilde had heard rumors of the bet between Wufei and Duo, by now everyone had. Was this part of the plan? What did Duo have up his sleeve?
Well whatever it was it was up to him. She and the others had been instructed to stay out of this bet. She'd just have to sit back and watch as Duo's genius plan unfolded.
Hilde brought Duo and Quatre to a large old estate made of roughly cut stones. Once inside Quatre noted the place was completely lit with candles, all signs of the modern world banished from inside the halls. He'd heard many tales about the way the black angels lived in contrast to his kind but he'd never realized how far those differences went. He'd heard the black angels didn't exactly like humans but to dismiss all traces of them...
Quatre stumbled in the dim light and Duo caught him with a steady hand. In front of them Hilde came to a stop.
"Unfortunately Treize-sama is out at the moment. I have no idea if Zechs is in the room or not." Hilde tried very hard to hide her shudder. Personally she was glad Treize kept that freak locked away. She'd seen him once and even that had been too much! She never wanted to see him again! One sight of those wings had certainly been enough, luckily the disease only hit the white angels and left the black angels unaffected.
"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." Duo pushed the door open and stepped slowly into the room. From his slow and cautious movements Hilde could tell he'd never caught sight of Zechs' form before. He was certainly in for a surprise. Duo beckoned to Quatre who entered the dark room, Hilde shut the door behind them.
"Hello?" Quatre called out into the room with a small nudge from Duo. Quatre watched as a slim figure stirred from lying on what looked to be a bed. He took a step toward the bed.
"No one is allowed in this room without Treize-sama's permission." The voice was deep and thick from sleep.
"Are you... Zechs?" Quatre asked quietly, still walking toward the bed.
"Stop," hissed the voice and Quatre's steps froze. "What do you want?"
"Your wings, they turned red like mine didn't they?"
A soft laugh filled the room. "My wings were red... once."
"I don't understand."
There was a snap from the lighting of a match and light flooded the room. Quatre blinked and his voice caught in his throat. He heard a sharp gasp from Duo at the sight. Before them, perched upon a bed, wrapped in red and black silk was the very tall and thin figure of Zechs. His long blond hair fell down his back and around his face, showing off the natural tan of his skin. However the most shocking things were his wings. He had none! Or rather he had wings without feathers. Smooth and shining bone spread out from his shoulders the entire length of the bed, gleaming in the firelight. Quatre shook his head and scrambled backward toward the door.
"No," he whispered hoarsely. Duo watched as Quatre turned on his heels and raced down the hall. Duo took one look back at Zechs as the match went out then raced out of the room after the fleeing blond boy.
"Matte!"
"No!" Quatre raced out of the estate onto the front lawn where he ripped the cloak from his shoulders. His wings spread out and flapped quickly, sending him soaring up toward the stars. Duo stared after him, cursing. No! He couldn't let him go! If he raced back to Heero after all that the plan would be ruined. Duo spread his wings and flew in pursuit, desperately trying to come up with a plan as the air rushed by him.
How to make the boy stay? How was he supposed to make sure that Heero's younger brother didn't return home until the time was right? Holding him captive by force would only make him want to escape more. That left two other options: killing him or...
Duo's head jerked up as he heard Quatre cry out. A rain of red feathers dropped from his wings over Duo's head, Duo quickly shielded his eyes and flapped his double set of wings harder. This wasn't good; the baka was going to end up killing himself! And that wouldn't help at all. Above him Quatre's wings stopped flapping and he clawed at the sky. Duo watched in a moment of pure horror as he saw Quatre begin to fall, feathers detaching from his wings. The feathers drifted slowly through the air, a strange lagged effect compared to Quatre's fast plummet. Duo swore and dove after him, catching the blond swiftly.
Soon after his feet touched the ground and he found the young blond quivering in his arms, tears streaming down his face. Duo took a moment to catch his breath and looked down in surprise as he found the young blond burying his face in his chest. To his surprise he actually found himself trying to comfort the trembling boy, stroking his hands through the short blond hair. Apparently the motion worked quite well and Quatre soon calmed down, yet he continued to cling to Duo tightly. Duo couldn't help but grin.
"Baka, you could have been killed," he said softly.
"I want to die. I don't want to look like that..." Quatre choked out between sobs.
Duo nodded, understanding. The sight of what had happened to Zechs was pretty horrifying. He could understand how scared the young boy was. Duo held Quatre tight and walked back into the estate, heading for his room. As he walked down the hall Quatre pulled away enough to catch a small glimpse of his surroundings.
"Where are we going?"
"Baka, it's not going to do you any good if you just crawl into a corner and cry. Besides, the others will ask questions. I have a place where you can stay, you need rest."
Quatre rubbed away his tears with a free hand as Duo opened the door to his room. Without missing a beat he closed the door with his foot, and walked over to the bed in the corner which was covered with black sheets. He laid Quatre down on the bed and wriggled out of his grip to light the candles so there was some light. Quatre watched the black angel silently.
"Why are you doing this?"
Duo frowned, his back to Quatre. Yes, he asked himself, why am I doing this? Because it is all part of the plan. Currently Quatre was the best path to Heero's weakness. "Cause I care." Duo turned and flashed his best light honest smile.
Quatre sat up against the headboard on the bed and hugged his knees. "I don't want that to happen to me. I've always loved to fly. To lose my wings and never fly again..."
Duo walked over and dropped onto the bed next to Quatre with a sigh. He almost jumped back out of the bed as Quatre rested his head on Duo's shoulder and closed his eyes. Duo swallowed, he certainly wasn't expecting to gain the boy's trust this easily! He must have stiffened or something because Quatre started to pull away.
"G-gomen..."
"Naw, it's ok." Duo reached up and wrapped his arm around Quatre, holding him close.
"Are you sure? Are you sure I can stay here?"
Duo nodded. "You can stay as long as you want. I swear they'll leave you all alone, no one messes with me." Duo smiled and laughed softly. "I never did find out your name."
"Quatre," Quatre said softly as he curled up with his head resting softly against Duo's chest. Duo stroked Quatre's hair without a thought, it had worked before to calm the boy down and it seemed to comfort him, so what could it hurt? "What's your name?" Came his very quiet voice.
"Shin- Duo, my name is Duo."
"Arigatou, Duo." The words were barely audible, and in the next second Duo could tell the boy was fast asleep. Duo sighed softly and slowly pulled himself out from under the boy. Extinguishing the candles he stepped out the room, relief visible on his face as he shut the door behind him.
"Very convincing act Duo, I almost believed it myself."
Duo jumped and whirled around to find Wufei standing behind him. He forced out an embarrassed laugh. "Geez Wu-man don't scare me like that!"
"Don't call me that!"
Duo shrugged and started to walk down the hall; his normal grin had reappeared. As he walked down the hall, followed by Wufei, he ran a hand through his long hair, undoing his braid. Wufei glared at him but he only grinned back.
"And what exactly were you thinking bringing a white angel here?"
Duo shrugged. "He's Heero's younger brother. And his condition is taking Heero to his wits end, it'll only be a matter of time before Heero breaks and I win the bet."
Wufei frowned. "There's no honor in that plan. You're just going to stab him in the back."
Duo frowned. "Hey! This deal wasn't about honor, Wu-man. My hair is on the line! Of course I'm going to win!"
Wufei couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You shouldn't have agreed in the first place."
"My hair is on the line Wu, and I'm not letting you cut it!" Duo's grin dropped back into place. "I haven't lost and I won't lose! You just better be prepared to step down."
Wufei just shook his head.
*
