"I found him! Isn't that wonderfuaaahhh!!!" I shrieked as Hiro~ and Wu Fei went through the wall to my left. "Stop it! Oh please stop that!" I tried pulling Wu Fei off.
Bo~ken appeared with two pairs of handcuffs. About five seconds later, they where cuffed to opposite sides of the room. "I for one have had enough. You are too big to act like that."
"As I was saying, I found Duo. He can come home in a week."
"Zechs not having him is good, I don't know what he would do to get at me." Bo~ken looked relieved.
*******
I woke up to Imma giving me a rub down. I felt quite well and wasn't melting. There was only one problem with no being in intense pain. My body reacted to Imma's hands. "Sutop!" I told her as I fumbled to cover myself. My eyes opened to intense light and I forgot about covering myself and clutched my face instead.
"Duo, calm down please. After this treatment, you will no longer need them, but I have to finish this one or you'll be a very unhappy boy." She finished up my front and let me go. She tossed the sheet over me and patted me on the shoulder. "I'll dim the lights. When you calm down, lay on your stomach." I heard the sound of wood against wood. "Try opening your eyes now."
That was a very painful thing and my vision was very blurry. I squinted at her, a penguin suit and a pail face. That's all I could make out. I finally made myself relax and rolled onto my stomach. "I sori."
"Don't worry about it. You've been through a lot. I'm going to see about some cloths for you after I leave here. Agitha will come and keep you company. Martha will bring you something to eat in a little while. It's been three days sense your friend was here. We need to build back up your strength. So tonight we'll get you washed up and tomorrow we'll get you our of this room."
"Who's Weerr?"
"We'll is short for we will, it is not a person's name." She said with merriment in her voice. "We meaning you and I on the bath part and Agitha will probably take you out tomorrow. I'm sure she will gladly sacrifice her schooling to show you around. You have heard the same passages every day sense you got here. I'm surprised you don't speak in old English by now."
"No, but I rearn some thing. I think of different thing when hear in Engrish not Japanese."
"So you got something different out of a different translation. That's neat. Hey, I'm all done." She told me and I sat up. "Drink some of this."
It was that weirdly sweet stuff again. I drank it slowly, but finished off the container. She cleaned up the bowl of medicine and straitened up the room while I sipped on the liquid. "I no hot no more." I told her as I put the bottle down on a table next to my cot.
"That's good. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
I decided then would be better the later when Agitha was there. I stood up, everything inside aching slightly. She tried to help me as I tried to wrap the sheet around me. "No herp, I fine." I pulled away from her.
"Would a robe be better? I've got one in the closet and it will cover you up."
"Yes prease." I nodded as she went to get it. It was white and large. I noticed that I didn't even come up to her shoulder when she unfolded it and wrapped it around me. I dropped the sheet and stuck my arms in the sleeves quickly. Then I tied it around my waist. It reached the floor and the sleeves had to be triple rolled. "I feer rike a midgit."
"You are an extremely small man. Maybe you'll grow late."
"I tantytwo no think so."
"Twenty-two? Wow. I thought you where maybe fifteen. Agitha guessed you where eighteen, and she was the closest."
"Everuyone think I is chird! Annoy I." I muttered.
********
"Father Maxwerr..." Agitha asked softly.
"No, Maxwerr. Uh...I write." I picked up a pen and scrawled my last name in English on a piece of paper that she had carried in.
"Oh. Father Maxwell, what Church are you from?"
"Hikari Presbaterian. Hikari mean bright right, kind of."
"I thought you where Catholic."
"Nobody ask. Same God, no matter right?"
"I guess. Tomorrow, I could show you the scripture garden. It isn't far, so you wont get to tired." She smiled brightly. She had green eyes and was very dark. She was a pretty girl of about fourteen. "It's very nice there and there are benches and a fountain. That's my favorite place to pray. Where is yours?"
"In space I no distract and God and I close."
"Space? You have been in space a lot?"
"Yes. Birth near L2 Corony." That's where the conversation ended because Martha came in and brought me some food much to my stomach's delight. I was starving. Martha scared me. She was loud and boisterous. I was ready to go back to sleep after her five minutes bustle through the room. There was vegetable soup and half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I ate slowly, minding my stomach so I didn't throw up.
********
"I rook brack!" I gaped at my reflection. My skin was mahogany and my hair was bleached a white blond. My blue eyes where vivid against my dark skin. If I didn't die of skin cancer it would be a merical. I was a rich chocolate color from my scalp to the bottom of my feet and everywhere in between. I felt mildly distressed. It didn't look like my body anymore.
"You look tanned, which is what you are. Now put down the robe and come get in the tub." She told me. She was looking at the wall for my sake and couldn't tell I had already pulled off the rode and dropped it in my surprise at the black guy looking back at me from the mirror above the sink. My hair was nasty. I finished viewing myself and got into the tub. Americans wash in the tub and then rinse instead of washing off and then soaking like I've always done. There was a tremendous amount of soap in the water so all I had to do was basically run a wash cloth over my body and call it a day. While I did that Imma wet, shampooed, rinsed, conditioned, brushed, rinsed, and brushed my hair. She was about as wet as I was when she finished. She told me how to work the shower so I could rinse the soap off, then left me with two bath sheets and went to use the hair drier on her habit front.
I managed to win the battle of the shower and then to dry my body off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and took the other one and the brush to Imma. She used the hair drier on me after toweling my hair off. Then she brushed it and put it in a loose braid. "Sonk yew Imma." I told her as she went back into the bathroom to clean up the water I had dripped all over.
"You are quite welcome. There are some cloths on the table that should fit you well enough to surfice. Try and get dressed."
Easier said then done. There where the basic underwear, pants, and undershirt. They fit ok, but there where three other pieces I knew nothing about. "Imma what this?"
"Oh, here." She came over and dressed me. There was a shirt/dress thing that I suppose should have been fitted in the top but was a little baggy on me when she belted it at the waist. The skirt nearly reached my ankles and was suppose to be mid calf. Then on top went a red sash. It went around my waist and the ends hung down on my right hip. Last was a long red band that she tied in my hair.
"I not dorr." I teased as I untied the bow at the end and let it hang down loosely.
"I know you aren't a doll." She laughed. She changed my bed sheets as I sat on the edge of her chair, feeling tire. "You alright?"
"Tie red." I yawned. It took a lot of energy to bathe and walking around had basically made me ready to sleep immediately.
********
I walked slowly, stiffly, with a cane. Agitha walked along beside me, making sure I didn't get too tired. We made it to a bench in a beautiful garden and I flopped down. I leaned my head back and looked up through the canopy of trees at the vivid blue sky. I took a deep breath and relaxed, trying to identify the scents on the slight breeze that teased my senses.
My cane clattered to the brick walkway. I bent to retrieve it, but Agitha beat me to it. She handed it to me with a bright smile. I smiled back as I accepted it from her. Then I looked around. My goal had been making it to the bench and really hadn't noticed my surroundings fully.
There was a fountain of the Virgin Mary and many religious icons in little niches. Bleeding hearts of red and purple, peace lilies of white and pink, and honey suckle of pail yellow encircled the fountain. Pansies, roses, lavender, carnations, and magnolia covered most other surfaces. On the far side of the garden began a herb garden that added to the thickly perfumed air.
We sat in complete silence for a good while. I offered up little prayers and requested blessing for my helpers. Then Agitha stood up. "Do you mind going back? I have something I have to do."
"Arright. I tie red an way." I got up and tried to get my body going better then one tenth of a mile per hour. The harder I pushed my self, the longer the walk seemed. I was extremely happy to see the cottage and kicked off my shoes and fell in bed as soon as she walked away.
********
I came in with a large smile. Imma nodded at me before going over to shake Duo's arm. He sat up, blinking sleep from his eyes, then he smiled at me. "Hi. Ready to go?" He nodded. "Well, how much money do we owe these people for taking care for you."
"Alright Quatre." He nodded before speaking in English to Imma. Then he turned back to me. "She said forty-five."
"Oh, I only have twenty-five on me, but I'll make sure the rest is mailed promptly." I pulled out my wallet. It was much cheaper then if he had ended up in the hospital, but I hadn't really considered the money factor, and I felt that they wouldn't take credit cards. Duo told her and she nodded, looking slightly disappointed. I handed her my twenty-five thousand dollars. She gaped, then turned to Duo, saying something so quickly, she reminded me of a squirrel. "What is it?"
"She meant hundred."
"So she doesn't was thousands? Call it an offering." I shrugged. "Come on Jose'-sama."
"Are you implying I look Latino?"
"Yes, but the eyes are blue. Well, get yourself up Duo, it's a long way home." I yawned.
"Give me a minute. I'll meet you at the plane in a minute." He told me. I nodded and started to leave. Imma tried to give back two thousand dollars. I just smiled at her and pushed her to the side. "Tell her to keep it."
Duo chattered to her as I left.
********
I finally got Imma to keep the money but she made me quite uncomfortable with the argument. Then I gave her a hug, unable to convey my graduated into words. Then I left quickly.
Agitha about knocked me over as she came bounding up the path. She smiled brightly and held out a box. "It's for you to remember me...us all by." I opened the box and was surprised to find a simple silver cross with Saint Mary's Catholic Church written in cursive Italics on the back. "You must have lost yours in the ocean and you don't use a rosary, so I thought this would be a good present." She said hopefully.
"Sonk yew." I placed it around my neck, unsure of what else I could do. Quickly, she kissed me on the cheek and took off running like the devil himself where after her. He may well have. I grabbed the side on my face in horror. She was almost young enough to be my daughter! Why did women do such things? Why did I have to fall in love with a Nun of all the God damned twisted things. Well, Imma would never be seen again and I could forget. Agitha was a silly little girl with a crush and I could live through it.
I looked around one last time before heading home. My eyes caught on an ivy-covered wall. There was a mosaic tile picture of the crucifixion behind it. Those pained eyes looked down at me and I felt a tug at my heart and in my mind. "I promise to keep my vows from now on. I guess you really do put us where and when we need to be." I said quietly.
Then the long plane trip back I slept mostly, only taking the controls for a little while so Quatre could rest. When we landed all I got was a nod from Wu Fei, a grunt from Trowa, and a glare from Hiro~. I decided that I was in the need of a little excitement, so I threw my arms around Trowa and Hiro~ who where standing fairly close together. "Man I missed you guys! It's great to be back!" They went so stiff that I could envision Trowa shattering in horror and Hiro~ self destructing in annoyance. Wu Fei would have taken to me with his sword, so I stayed clear of him. An embarrassed Wu Fei is a murderous Wu Fei.
********
I looked at Bo~ken in disbelief. She was in a blue form fit dress with a high collar and an oriental flair to it. Her make-up and hair was completely Bo~kenish. "Come on Quatre! Wu Fei would die of dishonor, Hiro~ would kill someone, and Trowa just wouldn't make a good girl." She shoved the outfit at me.
I frowned. "What about Duo?"
"He's changing now."
"He's probably got enough experience with the cloths." I grumbled as she made me take the hanger.
"It's pants, chill."
"You chill, it's got lace and...and kiss marks and no!"
"Choice of two, you put it on, or I help." She glowered. I sighed in defeat.
"Do you have anything less bold?" She started tapping her foot and I gave up and put on the underwear and pants. They reminded me of Ru Paul with hip augmentation and special tucking qualities.
***The wonderful things you learn on pop-up videos! ~QRW~***
The jeans where just as scary with pink kiss mark patches and hearts all over the legs and one kiss on the rear. I picked up the bra and the false breasts. I managed to get it on because it fastened in the front. The shirt was a pink belly shirt. I walked out of the bathroom as sissy as I could and did a little twirl. "What cha think?"
She freaked out laughing. I glowered at her. "You look cute, I just wasn't expecting you to do that!" She smiled. "You need something...I know!" She opened a bag and rummaged through it. She pulled out a chain and wrapped it around my waist. It was little silver hearts. "Now you need some make-up and hair clips." She shoved me down and put a plastic flower hair barrette in my bangs and fluffed up the rest and about drowned it in hair spray. Then she slapped some sparkly blue eye shadow and pink blush and lipstick on me. I glanced in the mirror. I looked like a hooker. When I voiced my opinion she told me to stuff it. She found some pink high heals and made me adorn them before dragging me out the door.
********
I sat in the convertible, legs crossed and up on the dashboard. The black leather boots where awesome, reaching up to mid thigh and with mile high spike heals. I felt tall and powerful. The black mini dress was horribly short, but I had on flesh tone stretch shorts under it. I had on a garter with a knife in it just in case. I glued on red nails and my lips where surprisingly full in vivid red. I had of green eye shadow and brown eyeliner and mascara. I smoked a cigarette as I waited for the others.
Quatre fell into the car with the sissiest squeal I've ever heard from him. I giggled as I looked over at him. He looked GOOD. He did look kind of loose, but gorgeous. "Stop looking at me like that!" He protested.
"Sorry, you just surprised me. I wasn't sure you'd do it, but you look great."
"You've done this before haven't you?" Bo~ken flipped one of my banana curls out of my face. I just grinned as she continued. "You look like you bite."
"I do bite and Quatre doesn't want to hear what I might say so I'll be quiet." I teased, as I looked her long blue dress over. She had slits up both sides to her panty line. She had on silver strap shoes.
"Here is the deal, Quatre, you will sit at a table and a man will ask you if you would like a pina~ colada. Say virgin with two cherries. He'll order it and when he brings it to you he'll slip you the information.
Duo go to the dance floor and wait for someone to offer you a cigarette and accept. When he hands you a cigarette, he'll slip you a disk with his other hand. conceal it and come back to the table where Quatre is. Wait for me, then we'll leave. OK?"
"Yes ma'am." Quatre groaned.
"Hai!" I smiled as I finished my cigarette. It was mainly to relieve stress, but some times I just had to have one of the damn things.
********
I sat at a table and fidgeted with the purse Bo~ken had forced on me. The guy came back and set my drink down before plunking himself down next to me on the bench. He bent over me, way over me...sense I was about a foot shorter, and wrapped an arm around me. "Here is the disk." He whispered as he slipped something in my back pocket. He did an unneeded amount of handling me and I realized the guy had no clue that I was a man. I giggled in my drink, as I toyed with the straw. Cherries are an obsessive-compulsive thing and I ate one slowly as he backed off slightly. I smiled at him around it, wondering if I would get in trouble if I told him I was a man. I was curious as to what he would do, but I stifled myself. "Just how old are you Sugar?"
I felt naughty, and told him with a very childish look. "Eight-teen, but don't tell."
Duo sauntered up and took the other cherry. "Get lost Buck-o." He told the guy as he sat down across from me, tossing a half finished cigarette in the ashtray on the table. The guy looked at me again before leaving, copping another cheap feel. Then he wandered off. "Those where bad intentions if I've ever met them."
"Yes, but it was kind of funny."
"Hmmm." Duo looked at me thoughtfully before popping the whole cherry in his mouth, stem and all. After a few second, he produced the stem, tied in a knot. He twirled it between his index finger and thumb before dropping it in the ashtray. I frowned. How did he do that? I still had my stem in my fingers and stuck it in my mouth, wondering if I could do it. I tried for about five minutes but I finally killed the stem and it fell apart. I tossed the two halves into the ashtray. Duo leaned over the table and whispered. "You are a virgin, there's no way you can do that. You can't even kiss."
"What?"
"Only excellent kissers can do that."
"You mean liars." I glowered.
"Virgin."
"Jigalo."
"Chicken."
"Don Juan."
"Hello ladies, not fighting over me, I hope." The guy flopped back down with a double scotch and a cherry.
"Get lost bakayaro~!" Duo hissed.
"Temper, temper. Do you want me to leave Sugar?" He asked me softly.
I thought about it. Dou was annoying me. It would annoy Duo..."No, stay." I snatched the cherry out of his glass and shot Duo a nasty look.
"Qua...Quanta! But.." Duo gaped at me. "Oh fine!" He hopped up and left.
I popped the cherry in my mouth and smiled at the man. I tried to tie the stem in a knot once again. "I will figure out how to do it." I glowered at the stem as I pulled it out of my mouth and tossed it in the ashtray.
"What?" He asked me.
"Tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue." I grinned.
********
I had just been turned away from the bar for being under age. "I am not a little girl."
"Duo? Where is Quatre?" Bo~ken asked me.
"At the table. The little jerk."
"What?"
"We got in a fight. He's acting weird." I remarked.
"Is he drinking?"
"No. I don't think so." I frowned. "Boy is it loud over there."
"That's where Quatre was, right?"
"Yah...Uhoh."
Quatre's high-pitched squeal came over the music, then wild laughter. Bo~ken and I ran over and found him perched on a guy's lap and surrounded by about half of the bar's male content and a few women too. Bo~ken grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the crowd. Then she frisked him for the disk. She handed it to me and produced one from her cleavage. I put them in my boot next to mine and left as she instructed. "Ay Duuoh, I gid ik!" Quatre called after me, waving a stem in the air.
I got back to base and handed a shocked looking Hiro~ the disks. I went in and began changing back into a man. I left my hair down, but brushed the curls out. I had to pop off the fingernails. Then I flopped back on the bed to pull off the boots. Wu Fei came through, stopping briefly to look at me in disgust. "Shut up, I saved you from having to do it." I guess I did look odd with only make-up, one black boot, and a pair of skin colored shorts on. I made it out of the things and then pulled on some show boxers (happy faces), baggy jean pants, and a big yellow shirt with a smiley face on it. I put on some sneakers and grabbed my skateboard before heading out the door to work my frustrations out on 'death curve'. I couldn't believe that even dressed as a woman and talking to a man I was still hit on by about a dozen women. After skating my brains out and hiking back to base, I changed and went out to get completely squandered. I took the car and drove to a new nightclub in town. It wasn't new, new because I had been on my 'honey moon' when it had opened, but it was new for me and I needed something to get me out of my mopie mood. The final insult I could take was a bouncer needing my id card and actually did a background check on it. I could have bitten him. I was nearly twenty three!!!
********
"Duo, are you sure you can handle four pina~ coladas?" Trowa cautioned me when I ordered again.
"I've had seven and made it home with out help before. I can handle four. Besides, I just completed a mission as a woman, I deserve a break." I ate the cherry off the top and tied the stem in a knot with my tongue. I stuck an end from my growing chain in my mouth and tied it to the fresh one. It was a mindless habit to make a chain out of the stems. I watched "Fire & Ice" perform. Fire was the heavy metal sounding half of the band and Ice was a little more on the soft rock side. I noticed Trowa's interest in the tall, crayon red haired chick called Fire. Her hair was long and she wore a mini dress and high heals in gold and red. They made eye contact a lot. Ice was tiny with short blue hair and silver pants and a blue shirt and sneakers.
When the song ended, Fire walked down the bar and sat down in front of Trowa. They kissed over his Vodka on the rocks with a lemon twist. "Come on, my motor cycle is around back." He pulled her off the bar and they started out the door.
"Tarudi! Give me the car keys." The Icy chick blocked them.
"In your dreams. Take a cab." Tarudi stepped around her and left with Trowa.
"I don't believe my sister! Every time she finds a new play boy, I get left here." She complained to the bar tender.
I was sitting next to where she perched. I rehearsed a thought in my head. It sounded reasonable to me, so I asked her. "Excuse me, but if you need a car, you can use mine. I can't drive so it would just sit here over night."
"What?" She turned and looked at me like I was a Martian. "You don't even know me."
"No, but I live with Trowa, and he is dating your sister and she knows you. Here, take it." I tossed them on the bar. Then I got up and started to leave. "The red mustang on the end of the second row." Then I pushed my way out of the crowded bar. I was walking up the sidewalk when she caught up with me.
"Get in the car and let me drive you home." She matched my pace with the car.
"You can drive me up to the hill top divide." I finally stopped ignoring her, figuring she was going to follow me to Hell if I didn't. She drove me up quietly, the only sound was some soft rock whispering over the speakers. "Ok, this is my stop."
She slowed down, and looked around. "It's the middle of nowhere. Which way do you want me to go?"
"I want out here. I live near by." I assured her.
"Maybe you should come home with me and sleep on the couch." She kept rolling.
I knew she meant well, and that everything would be fine for a while, but those midnight snacks where a killer. "No thanks, I'm short enough."
"What?"
"I live near by. Stop the damn car."
"Why won't you let me drive you home?" She frowned, not unlocking the door.
"Like you said before, I don't know you. You might be a stalker or something. You are starting to scare me." I told her. It wasn't true, but she let me out. I couldn't let her drive me to base. Hiro~ frowned on that kind of thing. I waved her away before I cut through the woods and up to base. When I wandered in, Hiro~ and Bo~ken where talking over the com line. Wu Fei was sitting in front of the TV "Hiro~, when did you first have sex?" I asked before I really thought about it.
"Thirteen." He answered without breaking a stroke as he typed away at a keyboard.
"But you where raped, that doesn't count." Bo~ken told him. "Hey, The R.D.B. is up 12%, I wonder what Barbie boy is up to now."
If I started having sex when I was 14...but if Hiro~ did it at 13 only it didn't count until he was maybe 15...then maybe Trowa was telling the truth? I blinked several times, before wandering off to take a shower. Wu Fei came in shortly after me and joined me in the hot bath. I had been ranting in my head over proving or disproving the strange information. And Wu Fei is...?
Wu Fei was leaned back with his eyes closed, relaxing. Slowly he opened one eye. "What are you staring at?" He asked in his most imposing voice.
"Sorry I was just thinking about something Trowa said I think it was a lie but maybe it's not and if it's not then it's horrible and something should be said immediately because no one ever said anything before and I would have liked to know does sex make you short?" I finally took a breath.
He opened both of his eyes and stared at me, then he burst out laughing. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!" He laughed so hard he had tears streaming down his face.
I turned red and started to cry. "I didn't know, stop laughing at me. Why are you being so mean to me?"
He tried very hard to straiten himself up and apologize, but he finally left the room. Hiro~ came in an snatched me up out of the bath by my elbow. "Bo~ken wants to talk to you." I was heading on towards hysterical as he wrapped a towel around my waist and pulled me into the main room. "Calm down."
"I- (Sniffle)-I- (Snuff)-I- (choak)-ca-aa-n't(Wail)!" He pushed me down into the chair I had seen him in earlier. Bo~ken was sitting there waiting patiently.
"Hiro~ please give the poor child something to calm him down." She told him.
He got out a needle of something and tried to stick me. "Nooo!" I shrieked. He just squashed me to the chair and jammed it in the vein on the back of my hand. I relaxed so much I slid out the chair about thirty seconds later. He picked me up and put me back in the chair.
"Duo, I need you to think. Did you and Quatre have anything at the bar?" Bo~ken asked me slowly.
"He had the virgin pina~ colada (sniff), I only had a cherry." I recalled. "Later at another bar I had four regular pina~ coladas and five more cherries. Then I gave my car to Trowa's girlfriend's sister."
"Thank you Duo. Now go put on some pajamas and go to bed." Bo~ken instructed.
I tried to move, but I just ended up laying half under the chair. Hiro~ fished me out and took me to my bed and tossed me in. He tucked me in and dried my hair before leaving with the soggy towel.
********
I tossed the towel into the bathroom and went back to where Bo~ken was waiting patiently.
"Well?"
"Here is what I've gathered. There is something wrong with the cherries or something in the colada mix. That's what they have in common. Quatre makes Duo look in control. I've never seen anyone that out of control. I'm bringing him over tomorrow and then going out to find some information. Mean while I'll be working in my lab. I expect you to do the same." I agreed and we hung up. I took a sample of Duo's blood and began screening it for toxins and drugs.
I finally decided I had to go to sleep and finished preparing for the long tests that would be done in the morning. Then I went to bed.
********
I woke up so angry I had to do something completely horrid to Trowa. First I went to the bathroom and then decided that would be the best place to set a trap. There where some paints in the closet for the Gundams and I sneaked into the garage and stole them. I couldn't decide which one he would use, so I filled all of the showerheads with powdered paint. There where three showers and three primary paint colors.
That just wasn't good enough. I went and got one the hypodermic needles out of the lab and filled it with liquid black paint. I injected it into every bar of soap on the counter. Then happily went back to bed.
********
"I really have to go. I'm sure you boys will be fine. Alic will help."
"What? Oh man, why did I come with you?" Alic groaned.
"Because Quatre was to much for me to handle. Besides it would be better if you could help Trowa and Wu Fei watch the boys so Hiro~ can do the lab work for me." I grinned. "Sense the news came on that it was a poison, I'm going to go to the hospital and slip into the lab. I should be back in a few hours."
Wu Fei helped Alic drag Quatre into his room and put him in the bed next to Duo.
"Have you seen Trowa today?" Hiro~ asked suddenly from his lab.
********
Duo woke-up and went out and grabbed the loaf of bread and peanut butter and jelly. I appeared and took the knife away from him he had taken out of the drawer. "I'll make it for you."
I said it demandingly.
"Oh kay Wuffie..." Duo backed off and glanced over at where Alic was watching TV. Every five seconds he changed the channel, giving Duo's brain strange information. What his brain picked out of the chaos was something he found interesting and set out to think about it fully when Quatre appeared and wanted a sandwich too. They got them and began to eat them. I went out of the room and when I returned they had gotten into a fight and where covered in peanut butter and jelly. I tried to stop them and ended up with half a jar of very cold grape jelly inside my pants.
I stood there for a long time, my face a mixture of horror and anger until even my ears turned red. Alic had looked up in time to see that part of the fight and tried hard not to laugh, but it was a classic face and he finally gave into it and howled with laughter. I had talked myself out of killing the two men for their state of mind, but when Alic had begun to laugh I decided that I was gonna make him pay.
Hiro~ came into the kitchen to find the four of us rolling around in peanut butter and jelly and turned green, quietly deciding he would never eat the stuff again for fear of remembering the sight. "Stop." He said quietly and they all froze. "Duo, Quatre, go take a shower. Wu Fei...Alic...clean up the mess please." Then he left us, feeling no hunger after the sight.
***
Quatre and I hopped into the bathroom and after throwing our cloths in the wash basket chose one of the three showers. We each took an end. We scrubbed down and rinsed. "I'm turning blue?" I frowned as my skin turned a light blue color.
"I'm lellow!" Quatre frowned.
"No, it's the showers! We have to wash it off!" I gasped as I turned off the water and launched for the middle shower, Quatre was in the same mind set and we where both shocked when we turned two different colors. Quatre was now orange and I was a lovely deep purple. "It must be us!" I gasped. We turned off the shower and went and jumped into the tub and began to scrub with soap. There was little if any effect as we worked. Wu Fei and Alic hadn't been far behind us and suddenly both let out shrieks. I hopped up to look around the corner at a lovely yellow Alic and a pretty pink Wu Fei. Wu Fei turned off the water quickly as Hiro~ came running in, sure that something was about to end the world and slipped. He went sliding into the yellow water and then landed on the far end of the shower area. I reached up and flipped on the water. "Look, they are all different colors! Ooops!" I shut off the water and ran back to the tub and hid behind Quatre as a truly mint green Hiro~ got up angrily.
"Who's bright idea was this?" He asked sourly as he examined his skin. "This is Gundam paint. We're going to be colored for ever!" He growled and snatched me up.
"I didn't!" I began to wail. "They messed up my hair!"
"Trowa!!!!" Hiro~'s voice thundered through the base. A vivid blue Trowa appeared with an equally poisonous looking expression.
"It was not me!" He glowered at me, like I would have made myself Easter egged for no good reason.
orange=quatre blue=trowa pink=wufei green=hiro purple=duo yellow=alic
********
Bo~ken came back from the hospital with new insites into what was wrong with the two boys to find us all funny colors and trying to create a chemical to strip it off of us without harming us. "Hiro~, what happened?"
"I don't know how or who, but gundam paint ended up in the shower heads and I suppose the end results are rather obvious." I grumbled. I was trying hard to do the stuff before he got back, but what was the use now? "Well, cure them." I pointed at Duo and Quatre who where redressed as women and I wasn't sure why.
"I can only speed up the process to three days. They have had a lot of the poison, you are luck they aren't dead. I can't believe some disgruntled employees spiked the cherries with a drug. Well, hold them down and I'll shoot them up." He held up two needles.
I grabbed Quatre by the hand and pulled him over and smashed him against the wall so
Bo~ken could give him the medicine. He began screaming and hitting me with his free hand. "I'm
to young!!!" Duo began beating me in the back of the head. Alic and Wu Fei both took one of his hands and held him so I was free to deal with Quatre only. Trowa took his free hand and tried to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. "How can you?!? I thought you where my friend!!!"
"Nonononononnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooo!" Duo hollered loudly. He was crying again.
"Bo~ken, don't let them do this!"
He injected them quickly and gave them something to put them under. We took them back
and tossed them in the bed. He went back and stayed with them for a little while before coming
out with a very stupid grin. "You won't believe this, but Duo thinks..."
"TROWA!" I glared along with Wu Fei.
"What?" He looked back innocently.
"Ahem, Duo thinks that holding hands *snicker* can get girls pregnant and Quatre has convinced him they are girls *SNICKERS* and that's why they where unhappy with you. They thought you where raping them or something." He held his sides he was laughing so hard.
"THAT was NOT MY fault!!!" Trowa shook his head before laughing, "He did that by himself."
********
It was nearly a week later that we where back to normal both mentally and physically. I went to Bo~ken's apartment after weaseling the address from Duo and asked to talk to her. She let me in after a large frown. "Bo~ken, why did Zechs go after you when you where with Duo?" I settled down on the edge of her bed with the cup of tea she had handed to me. She was packing a bag and finished before even taking note of my existence.
Bo~ken sat back on her heels and looked at me for a long time before she spoke. "Alright, here is why Zechs is so blood thirsty towards me... I was ordered to get some information on OZ. I was assigned as an OZ soldier.
Captain Zechs was cocky, just having been promoted higher then his 19 years was supposed to be. I made it known that I was interested in him, but went out of my way to ignore him. He caught me alone. "Soldier, I'm lonely. You shall keep me company. Come." He ordered with cool confidence.
I followed him. I drugged his wine while he was busy undressing me. Then after we had sexual relations, I hacked his computer and stole all of the information I could get my hands on. Then I disappeared from the records. I turned the things in and they sent me to a colony, which shall remain nameless, to be with my assigned husband. There I had Zechs's baby. My husband's brother and his wife took the child in. That was five years ago. I've never seen my daughter sense the day I had her. Last year I was shown a photo. Zechs doesn't know anything except I screwed him over and stole that information."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, trying to picture her as a mother. "He knows you are on earth now."
"Yah, and he just bar-be-qued my family. Rei is being brought here. I guess I have to kill him." She frowned.
Knowing that Bo~ken was a she and looking at what appeared to be a he was giving me a headache. She looked upset. "You could get to him like you are and tell him about..."
"No! I am not dragging Rei into this. Zechs would probably kill her for the hell of it." Her eyes where fiery.
"How can you say that? Not even Wu Fei would kill a child, and it would be his own daughter."
"Quatre...He is bent on revenge. I'm not sure there is even a reason to fight anymore, but people bent on destruction are dangerous. They get so consumed with anger, there is no reason for their existence outside of war. When someone gets that way, you have to destroy them. He has hit that point. Neither of Rei's guardians was part of the war. He'd have killed her but she was with her father. It was a village of peaceful workers. Not a military outpost." Bo~ken stood up and looked out the window. "I will do it tonight, and if I don't come back..."
"You will!" I argued.
"Before they bring Rei, take care of her. Here are the papers you'll need and some cash." She tossed me an envelope she pulled out of her sleeve. "Please."
"Why me?" I asked in surprise.
"Can you imagine Hiro~ baby-sitting?" She grinned and I laughed at the very scary mental picture. "Besides, I trust you." She turned back to me with the eyes no one can say "no" to. I nodded. "Thank you." She gave me a small smile before she went to the closet and pulled out a uniform. A shiny new OZ uniform. She pulled off her jump suit, pants, shirt, and bindings. Then she put on the OZ uniform. She braided her hair tightly back and pulled on a pair of new boots.
"Bo~ken, I...Good luck." I failed to tell her again. Why was 'I love you.' so hard to say?
"Oh Quatre, you're the best!" She threw her arms around my neck. Then she let go and picked up her bags. She chuckled at my face, which had grown red. "Bye for now!" She left me alone in her apartment.
"Good bye Bo~ken." I stood and watched her walk down the street. I washed the cup and put it away before I slowly walked back to the base. I decided to call my guards and tell them I would stay at base until Bo~ken got back or Rei came.
Bo~ken appeared with two pairs of handcuffs. About five seconds later, they where cuffed to opposite sides of the room. "I for one have had enough. You are too big to act like that."
"As I was saying, I found Duo. He can come home in a week."
"Zechs not having him is good, I don't know what he would do to get at me." Bo~ken looked relieved.
*******
I woke up to Imma giving me a rub down. I felt quite well and wasn't melting. There was only one problem with no being in intense pain. My body reacted to Imma's hands. "Sutop!" I told her as I fumbled to cover myself. My eyes opened to intense light and I forgot about covering myself and clutched my face instead.
"Duo, calm down please. After this treatment, you will no longer need them, but I have to finish this one or you'll be a very unhappy boy." She finished up my front and let me go. She tossed the sheet over me and patted me on the shoulder. "I'll dim the lights. When you calm down, lay on your stomach." I heard the sound of wood against wood. "Try opening your eyes now."
That was a very painful thing and my vision was very blurry. I squinted at her, a penguin suit and a pail face. That's all I could make out. I finally made myself relax and rolled onto my stomach. "I sori."
"Don't worry about it. You've been through a lot. I'm going to see about some cloths for you after I leave here. Agitha will come and keep you company. Martha will bring you something to eat in a little while. It's been three days sense your friend was here. We need to build back up your strength. So tonight we'll get you washed up and tomorrow we'll get you our of this room."
"Who's Weerr?"
"We'll is short for we will, it is not a person's name." She said with merriment in her voice. "We meaning you and I on the bath part and Agitha will probably take you out tomorrow. I'm sure she will gladly sacrifice her schooling to show you around. You have heard the same passages every day sense you got here. I'm surprised you don't speak in old English by now."
"No, but I rearn some thing. I think of different thing when hear in Engrish not Japanese."
"So you got something different out of a different translation. That's neat. Hey, I'm all done." She told me and I sat up. "Drink some of this."
It was that weirdly sweet stuff again. I drank it slowly, but finished off the container. She cleaned up the bowl of medicine and straitened up the room while I sipped on the liquid. "I no hot no more." I told her as I put the bottle down on a table next to my cot.
"That's good. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
I decided then would be better the later when Agitha was there. I stood up, everything inside aching slightly. She tried to help me as I tried to wrap the sheet around me. "No herp, I fine." I pulled away from her.
"Would a robe be better? I've got one in the closet and it will cover you up."
"Yes prease." I nodded as she went to get it. It was white and large. I noticed that I didn't even come up to her shoulder when she unfolded it and wrapped it around me. I dropped the sheet and stuck my arms in the sleeves quickly. Then I tied it around my waist. It reached the floor and the sleeves had to be triple rolled. "I feer rike a midgit."
"You are an extremely small man. Maybe you'll grow late."
"I tantytwo no think so."
"Twenty-two? Wow. I thought you where maybe fifteen. Agitha guessed you where eighteen, and she was the closest."
"Everuyone think I is chird! Annoy I." I muttered.
********
"Father Maxwerr..." Agitha asked softly.
"No, Maxwerr. Uh...I write." I picked up a pen and scrawled my last name in English on a piece of paper that she had carried in.
"Oh. Father Maxwell, what Church are you from?"
"Hikari Presbaterian. Hikari mean bright right, kind of."
"I thought you where Catholic."
"Nobody ask. Same God, no matter right?"
"I guess. Tomorrow, I could show you the scripture garden. It isn't far, so you wont get to tired." She smiled brightly. She had green eyes and was very dark. She was a pretty girl of about fourteen. "It's very nice there and there are benches and a fountain. That's my favorite place to pray. Where is yours?"
"In space I no distract and God and I close."
"Space? You have been in space a lot?"
"Yes. Birth near L2 Corony." That's where the conversation ended because Martha came in and brought me some food much to my stomach's delight. I was starving. Martha scared me. She was loud and boisterous. I was ready to go back to sleep after her five minutes bustle through the room. There was vegetable soup and half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I ate slowly, minding my stomach so I didn't throw up.
********
"I rook brack!" I gaped at my reflection. My skin was mahogany and my hair was bleached a white blond. My blue eyes where vivid against my dark skin. If I didn't die of skin cancer it would be a merical. I was a rich chocolate color from my scalp to the bottom of my feet and everywhere in between. I felt mildly distressed. It didn't look like my body anymore.
"You look tanned, which is what you are. Now put down the robe and come get in the tub." She told me. She was looking at the wall for my sake and couldn't tell I had already pulled off the rode and dropped it in my surprise at the black guy looking back at me from the mirror above the sink. My hair was nasty. I finished viewing myself and got into the tub. Americans wash in the tub and then rinse instead of washing off and then soaking like I've always done. There was a tremendous amount of soap in the water so all I had to do was basically run a wash cloth over my body and call it a day. While I did that Imma wet, shampooed, rinsed, conditioned, brushed, rinsed, and brushed my hair. She was about as wet as I was when she finished. She told me how to work the shower so I could rinse the soap off, then left me with two bath sheets and went to use the hair drier on her habit front.
I managed to win the battle of the shower and then to dry my body off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and took the other one and the brush to Imma. She used the hair drier on me after toweling my hair off. Then she brushed it and put it in a loose braid. "Sonk yew Imma." I told her as she went back into the bathroom to clean up the water I had dripped all over.
"You are quite welcome. There are some cloths on the table that should fit you well enough to surfice. Try and get dressed."
Easier said then done. There where the basic underwear, pants, and undershirt. They fit ok, but there where three other pieces I knew nothing about. "Imma what this?"
"Oh, here." She came over and dressed me. There was a shirt/dress thing that I suppose should have been fitted in the top but was a little baggy on me when she belted it at the waist. The skirt nearly reached my ankles and was suppose to be mid calf. Then on top went a red sash. It went around my waist and the ends hung down on my right hip. Last was a long red band that she tied in my hair.
"I not dorr." I teased as I untied the bow at the end and let it hang down loosely.
"I know you aren't a doll." She laughed. She changed my bed sheets as I sat on the edge of her chair, feeling tire. "You alright?"
"Tie red." I yawned. It took a lot of energy to bathe and walking around had basically made me ready to sleep immediately.
********
I walked slowly, stiffly, with a cane. Agitha walked along beside me, making sure I didn't get too tired. We made it to a bench in a beautiful garden and I flopped down. I leaned my head back and looked up through the canopy of trees at the vivid blue sky. I took a deep breath and relaxed, trying to identify the scents on the slight breeze that teased my senses.
My cane clattered to the brick walkway. I bent to retrieve it, but Agitha beat me to it. She handed it to me with a bright smile. I smiled back as I accepted it from her. Then I looked around. My goal had been making it to the bench and really hadn't noticed my surroundings fully.
There was a fountain of the Virgin Mary and many religious icons in little niches. Bleeding hearts of red and purple, peace lilies of white and pink, and honey suckle of pail yellow encircled the fountain. Pansies, roses, lavender, carnations, and magnolia covered most other surfaces. On the far side of the garden began a herb garden that added to the thickly perfumed air.
We sat in complete silence for a good while. I offered up little prayers and requested blessing for my helpers. Then Agitha stood up. "Do you mind going back? I have something I have to do."
"Arright. I tie red an way." I got up and tried to get my body going better then one tenth of a mile per hour. The harder I pushed my self, the longer the walk seemed. I was extremely happy to see the cottage and kicked off my shoes and fell in bed as soon as she walked away.
********
I came in with a large smile. Imma nodded at me before going over to shake Duo's arm. He sat up, blinking sleep from his eyes, then he smiled at me. "Hi. Ready to go?" He nodded. "Well, how much money do we owe these people for taking care for you."
"Alright Quatre." He nodded before speaking in English to Imma. Then he turned back to me. "She said forty-five."
"Oh, I only have twenty-five on me, but I'll make sure the rest is mailed promptly." I pulled out my wallet. It was much cheaper then if he had ended up in the hospital, but I hadn't really considered the money factor, and I felt that they wouldn't take credit cards. Duo told her and she nodded, looking slightly disappointed. I handed her my twenty-five thousand dollars. She gaped, then turned to Duo, saying something so quickly, she reminded me of a squirrel. "What is it?"
"She meant hundred."
"So she doesn't was thousands? Call it an offering." I shrugged. "Come on Jose'-sama."
"Are you implying I look Latino?"
"Yes, but the eyes are blue. Well, get yourself up Duo, it's a long way home." I yawned.
"Give me a minute. I'll meet you at the plane in a minute." He told me. I nodded and started to leave. Imma tried to give back two thousand dollars. I just smiled at her and pushed her to the side. "Tell her to keep it."
Duo chattered to her as I left.
********
I finally got Imma to keep the money but she made me quite uncomfortable with the argument. Then I gave her a hug, unable to convey my graduated into words. Then I left quickly.
Agitha about knocked me over as she came bounding up the path. She smiled brightly and held out a box. "It's for you to remember me...us all by." I opened the box and was surprised to find a simple silver cross with Saint Mary's Catholic Church written in cursive Italics on the back. "You must have lost yours in the ocean and you don't use a rosary, so I thought this would be a good present." She said hopefully.
"Sonk yew." I placed it around my neck, unsure of what else I could do. Quickly, she kissed me on the cheek and took off running like the devil himself where after her. He may well have. I grabbed the side on my face in horror. She was almost young enough to be my daughter! Why did women do such things? Why did I have to fall in love with a Nun of all the God damned twisted things. Well, Imma would never be seen again and I could forget. Agitha was a silly little girl with a crush and I could live through it.
I looked around one last time before heading home. My eyes caught on an ivy-covered wall. There was a mosaic tile picture of the crucifixion behind it. Those pained eyes looked down at me and I felt a tug at my heart and in my mind. "I promise to keep my vows from now on. I guess you really do put us where and when we need to be." I said quietly.
Then the long plane trip back I slept mostly, only taking the controls for a little while so Quatre could rest. When we landed all I got was a nod from Wu Fei, a grunt from Trowa, and a glare from Hiro~. I decided that I was in the need of a little excitement, so I threw my arms around Trowa and Hiro~ who where standing fairly close together. "Man I missed you guys! It's great to be back!" They went so stiff that I could envision Trowa shattering in horror and Hiro~ self destructing in annoyance. Wu Fei would have taken to me with his sword, so I stayed clear of him. An embarrassed Wu Fei is a murderous Wu Fei.
********
I looked at Bo~ken in disbelief. She was in a blue form fit dress with a high collar and an oriental flair to it. Her make-up and hair was completely Bo~kenish. "Come on Quatre! Wu Fei would die of dishonor, Hiro~ would kill someone, and Trowa just wouldn't make a good girl." She shoved the outfit at me.
I frowned. "What about Duo?"
"He's changing now."
"He's probably got enough experience with the cloths." I grumbled as she made me take the hanger.
"It's pants, chill."
"You chill, it's got lace and...and kiss marks and no!"
"Choice of two, you put it on, or I help." She glowered. I sighed in defeat.
"Do you have anything less bold?" She started tapping her foot and I gave up and put on the underwear and pants. They reminded me of Ru Paul with hip augmentation and special tucking qualities.
***The wonderful things you learn on pop-up videos! ~QRW~***
The jeans where just as scary with pink kiss mark patches and hearts all over the legs and one kiss on the rear. I picked up the bra and the false breasts. I managed to get it on because it fastened in the front. The shirt was a pink belly shirt. I walked out of the bathroom as sissy as I could and did a little twirl. "What cha think?"
She freaked out laughing. I glowered at her. "You look cute, I just wasn't expecting you to do that!" She smiled. "You need something...I know!" She opened a bag and rummaged through it. She pulled out a chain and wrapped it around my waist. It was little silver hearts. "Now you need some make-up and hair clips." She shoved me down and put a plastic flower hair barrette in my bangs and fluffed up the rest and about drowned it in hair spray. Then she slapped some sparkly blue eye shadow and pink blush and lipstick on me. I glanced in the mirror. I looked like a hooker. When I voiced my opinion she told me to stuff it. She found some pink high heals and made me adorn them before dragging me out the door.
********
I sat in the convertible, legs crossed and up on the dashboard. The black leather boots where awesome, reaching up to mid thigh and with mile high spike heals. I felt tall and powerful. The black mini dress was horribly short, but I had on flesh tone stretch shorts under it. I had on a garter with a knife in it just in case. I glued on red nails and my lips where surprisingly full in vivid red. I had of green eye shadow and brown eyeliner and mascara. I smoked a cigarette as I waited for the others.
Quatre fell into the car with the sissiest squeal I've ever heard from him. I giggled as I looked over at him. He looked GOOD. He did look kind of loose, but gorgeous. "Stop looking at me like that!" He protested.
"Sorry, you just surprised me. I wasn't sure you'd do it, but you look great."
"You've done this before haven't you?" Bo~ken flipped one of my banana curls out of my face. I just grinned as she continued. "You look like you bite."
"I do bite and Quatre doesn't want to hear what I might say so I'll be quiet." I teased, as I looked her long blue dress over. She had slits up both sides to her panty line. She had on silver strap shoes.
"Here is the deal, Quatre, you will sit at a table and a man will ask you if you would like a pina~ colada. Say virgin with two cherries. He'll order it and when he brings it to you he'll slip you the information.
Duo go to the dance floor and wait for someone to offer you a cigarette and accept. When he hands you a cigarette, he'll slip you a disk with his other hand. conceal it and come back to the table where Quatre is. Wait for me, then we'll leave. OK?"
"Yes ma'am." Quatre groaned.
"Hai!" I smiled as I finished my cigarette. It was mainly to relieve stress, but some times I just had to have one of the damn things.
********
I sat at a table and fidgeted with the purse Bo~ken had forced on me. The guy came back and set my drink down before plunking himself down next to me on the bench. He bent over me, way over me...sense I was about a foot shorter, and wrapped an arm around me. "Here is the disk." He whispered as he slipped something in my back pocket. He did an unneeded amount of handling me and I realized the guy had no clue that I was a man. I giggled in my drink, as I toyed with the straw. Cherries are an obsessive-compulsive thing and I ate one slowly as he backed off slightly. I smiled at him around it, wondering if I would get in trouble if I told him I was a man. I was curious as to what he would do, but I stifled myself. "Just how old are you Sugar?"
I felt naughty, and told him with a very childish look. "Eight-teen, but don't tell."
Duo sauntered up and took the other cherry. "Get lost Buck-o." He told the guy as he sat down across from me, tossing a half finished cigarette in the ashtray on the table. The guy looked at me again before leaving, copping another cheap feel. Then he wandered off. "Those where bad intentions if I've ever met them."
"Yes, but it was kind of funny."
"Hmmm." Duo looked at me thoughtfully before popping the whole cherry in his mouth, stem and all. After a few second, he produced the stem, tied in a knot. He twirled it between his index finger and thumb before dropping it in the ashtray. I frowned. How did he do that? I still had my stem in my fingers and stuck it in my mouth, wondering if I could do it. I tried for about five minutes but I finally killed the stem and it fell apart. I tossed the two halves into the ashtray. Duo leaned over the table and whispered. "You are a virgin, there's no way you can do that. You can't even kiss."
"What?"
"Only excellent kissers can do that."
"You mean liars." I glowered.
"Virgin."
"Jigalo."
"Chicken."
"Don Juan."
"Hello ladies, not fighting over me, I hope." The guy flopped back down with a double scotch and a cherry.
"Get lost bakayaro~!" Duo hissed.
"Temper, temper. Do you want me to leave Sugar?" He asked me softly.
I thought about it. Dou was annoying me. It would annoy Duo..."No, stay." I snatched the cherry out of his glass and shot Duo a nasty look.
"Qua...Quanta! But.." Duo gaped at me. "Oh fine!" He hopped up and left.
I popped the cherry in my mouth and smiled at the man. I tried to tie the stem in a knot once again. "I will figure out how to do it." I glowered at the stem as I pulled it out of my mouth and tossed it in the ashtray.
"What?" He asked me.
"Tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue." I grinned.
********
I had just been turned away from the bar for being under age. "I am not a little girl."
"Duo? Where is Quatre?" Bo~ken asked me.
"At the table. The little jerk."
"What?"
"We got in a fight. He's acting weird." I remarked.
"Is he drinking?"
"No. I don't think so." I frowned. "Boy is it loud over there."
"That's where Quatre was, right?"
"Yah...Uhoh."
Quatre's high-pitched squeal came over the music, then wild laughter. Bo~ken and I ran over and found him perched on a guy's lap and surrounded by about half of the bar's male content and a few women too. Bo~ken grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the crowd. Then she frisked him for the disk. She handed it to me and produced one from her cleavage. I put them in my boot next to mine and left as she instructed. "Ay Duuoh, I gid ik!" Quatre called after me, waving a stem in the air.
I got back to base and handed a shocked looking Hiro~ the disks. I went in and began changing back into a man. I left my hair down, but brushed the curls out. I had to pop off the fingernails. Then I flopped back on the bed to pull off the boots. Wu Fei came through, stopping briefly to look at me in disgust. "Shut up, I saved you from having to do it." I guess I did look odd with only make-up, one black boot, and a pair of skin colored shorts on. I made it out of the things and then pulled on some show boxers (happy faces), baggy jean pants, and a big yellow shirt with a smiley face on it. I put on some sneakers and grabbed my skateboard before heading out the door to work my frustrations out on 'death curve'. I couldn't believe that even dressed as a woman and talking to a man I was still hit on by about a dozen women. After skating my brains out and hiking back to base, I changed and went out to get completely squandered. I took the car and drove to a new nightclub in town. It wasn't new, new because I had been on my 'honey moon' when it had opened, but it was new for me and I needed something to get me out of my mopie mood. The final insult I could take was a bouncer needing my id card and actually did a background check on it. I could have bitten him. I was nearly twenty three!!!
********
"Duo, are you sure you can handle four pina~ coladas?" Trowa cautioned me when I ordered again.
"I've had seven and made it home with out help before. I can handle four. Besides, I just completed a mission as a woman, I deserve a break." I ate the cherry off the top and tied the stem in a knot with my tongue. I stuck an end from my growing chain in my mouth and tied it to the fresh one. It was a mindless habit to make a chain out of the stems. I watched "Fire & Ice" perform. Fire was the heavy metal sounding half of the band and Ice was a little more on the soft rock side. I noticed Trowa's interest in the tall, crayon red haired chick called Fire. Her hair was long and she wore a mini dress and high heals in gold and red. They made eye contact a lot. Ice was tiny with short blue hair and silver pants and a blue shirt and sneakers.
When the song ended, Fire walked down the bar and sat down in front of Trowa. They kissed over his Vodka on the rocks with a lemon twist. "Come on, my motor cycle is around back." He pulled her off the bar and they started out the door.
"Tarudi! Give me the car keys." The Icy chick blocked them.
"In your dreams. Take a cab." Tarudi stepped around her and left with Trowa.
"I don't believe my sister! Every time she finds a new play boy, I get left here." She complained to the bar tender.
I was sitting next to where she perched. I rehearsed a thought in my head. It sounded reasonable to me, so I asked her. "Excuse me, but if you need a car, you can use mine. I can't drive so it would just sit here over night."
"What?" She turned and looked at me like I was a Martian. "You don't even know me."
"No, but I live with Trowa, and he is dating your sister and she knows you. Here, take it." I tossed them on the bar. Then I got up and started to leave. "The red mustang on the end of the second row." Then I pushed my way out of the crowded bar. I was walking up the sidewalk when she caught up with me.
"Get in the car and let me drive you home." She matched my pace with the car.
"You can drive me up to the hill top divide." I finally stopped ignoring her, figuring she was going to follow me to Hell if I didn't. She drove me up quietly, the only sound was some soft rock whispering over the speakers. "Ok, this is my stop."
She slowed down, and looked around. "It's the middle of nowhere. Which way do you want me to go?"
"I want out here. I live near by." I assured her.
"Maybe you should come home with me and sleep on the couch." She kept rolling.
I knew she meant well, and that everything would be fine for a while, but those midnight snacks where a killer. "No thanks, I'm short enough."
"What?"
"I live near by. Stop the damn car."
"Why won't you let me drive you home?" She frowned, not unlocking the door.
"Like you said before, I don't know you. You might be a stalker or something. You are starting to scare me." I told her. It wasn't true, but she let me out. I couldn't let her drive me to base. Hiro~ frowned on that kind of thing. I waved her away before I cut through the woods and up to base. When I wandered in, Hiro~ and Bo~ken where talking over the com line. Wu Fei was sitting in front of the TV "Hiro~, when did you first have sex?" I asked before I really thought about it.
"Thirteen." He answered without breaking a stroke as he typed away at a keyboard.
"But you where raped, that doesn't count." Bo~ken told him. "Hey, The R.D.B. is up 12%, I wonder what Barbie boy is up to now."
If I started having sex when I was 14...but if Hiro~ did it at 13 only it didn't count until he was maybe 15...then maybe Trowa was telling the truth? I blinked several times, before wandering off to take a shower. Wu Fei came in shortly after me and joined me in the hot bath. I had been ranting in my head over proving or disproving the strange information. And Wu Fei is...?
Wu Fei was leaned back with his eyes closed, relaxing. Slowly he opened one eye. "What are you staring at?" He asked in his most imposing voice.
"Sorry I was just thinking about something Trowa said I think it was a lie but maybe it's not and if it's not then it's horrible and something should be said immediately because no one ever said anything before and I would have liked to know does sex make you short?" I finally took a breath.
He opened both of his eyes and stared at me, then he burst out laughing. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!" He laughed so hard he had tears streaming down his face.
I turned red and started to cry. "I didn't know, stop laughing at me. Why are you being so mean to me?"
He tried very hard to straiten himself up and apologize, but he finally left the room. Hiro~ came in an snatched me up out of the bath by my elbow. "Bo~ken wants to talk to you." I was heading on towards hysterical as he wrapped a towel around my waist and pulled me into the main room. "Calm down."
"I- (Sniffle)-I- (Snuff)-I- (choak)-ca-aa-n't(Wail)!" He pushed me down into the chair I had seen him in earlier. Bo~ken was sitting there waiting patiently.
"Hiro~ please give the poor child something to calm him down." She told him.
He got out a needle of something and tried to stick me. "Nooo!" I shrieked. He just squashed me to the chair and jammed it in the vein on the back of my hand. I relaxed so much I slid out the chair about thirty seconds later. He picked me up and put me back in the chair.
"Duo, I need you to think. Did you and Quatre have anything at the bar?" Bo~ken asked me slowly.
"He had the virgin pina~ colada (sniff), I only had a cherry." I recalled. "Later at another bar I had four regular pina~ coladas and five more cherries. Then I gave my car to Trowa's girlfriend's sister."
"Thank you Duo. Now go put on some pajamas and go to bed." Bo~ken instructed.
I tried to move, but I just ended up laying half under the chair. Hiro~ fished me out and took me to my bed and tossed me in. He tucked me in and dried my hair before leaving with the soggy towel.
********
I tossed the towel into the bathroom and went back to where Bo~ken was waiting patiently.
"Well?"
"Here is what I've gathered. There is something wrong with the cherries or something in the colada mix. That's what they have in common. Quatre makes Duo look in control. I've never seen anyone that out of control. I'm bringing him over tomorrow and then going out to find some information. Mean while I'll be working in my lab. I expect you to do the same." I agreed and we hung up. I took a sample of Duo's blood and began screening it for toxins and drugs.
I finally decided I had to go to sleep and finished preparing for the long tests that would be done in the morning. Then I went to bed.
********
I woke up so angry I had to do something completely horrid to Trowa. First I went to the bathroom and then decided that would be the best place to set a trap. There where some paints in the closet for the Gundams and I sneaked into the garage and stole them. I couldn't decide which one he would use, so I filled all of the showerheads with powdered paint. There where three showers and three primary paint colors.
That just wasn't good enough. I went and got one the hypodermic needles out of the lab and filled it with liquid black paint. I injected it into every bar of soap on the counter. Then happily went back to bed.
********
"I really have to go. I'm sure you boys will be fine. Alic will help."
"What? Oh man, why did I come with you?" Alic groaned.
"Because Quatre was to much for me to handle. Besides it would be better if you could help Trowa and Wu Fei watch the boys so Hiro~ can do the lab work for me." I grinned. "Sense the news came on that it was a poison, I'm going to go to the hospital and slip into the lab. I should be back in a few hours."
Wu Fei helped Alic drag Quatre into his room and put him in the bed next to Duo.
"Have you seen Trowa today?" Hiro~ asked suddenly from his lab.
********
Duo woke-up and went out and grabbed the loaf of bread and peanut butter and jelly. I appeared and took the knife away from him he had taken out of the drawer. "I'll make it for you."
I said it demandingly.
"Oh kay Wuffie..." Duo backed off and glanced over at where Alic was watching TV. Every five seconds he changed the channel, giving Duo's brain strange information. What his brain picked out of the chaos was something he found interesting and set out to think about it fully when Quatre appeared and wanted a sandwich too. They got them and began to eat them. I went out of the room and when I returned they had gotten into a fight and where covered in peanut butter and jelly. I tried to stop them and ended up with half a jar of very cold grape jelly inside my pants.
I stood there for a long time, my face a mixture of horror and anger until even my ears turned red. Alic had looked up in time to see that part of the fight and tried hard not to laugh, but it was a classic face and he finally gave into it and howled with laughter. I had talked myself out of killing the two men for their state of mind, but when Alic had begun to laugh I decided that I was gonna make him pay.
Hiro~ came into the kitchen to find the four of us rolling around in peanut butter and jelly and turned green, quietly deciding he would never eat the stuff again for fear of remembering the sight. "Stop." He said quietly and they all froze. "Duo, Quatre, go take a shower. Wu Fei...Alic...clean up the mess please." Then he left us, feeling no hunger after the sight.
***
Quatre and I hopped into the bathroom and after throwing our cloths in the wash basket chose one of the three showers. We each took an end. We scrubbed down and rinsed. "I'm turning blue?" I frowned as my skin turned a light blue color.
"I'm lellow!" Quatre frowned.
"No, it's the showers! We have to wash it off!" I gasped as I turned off the water and launched for the middle shower, Quatre was in the same mind set and we where both shocked when we turned two different colors. Quatre was now orange and I was a lovely deep purple. "It must be us!" I gasped. We turned off the shower and went and jumped into the tub and began to scrub with soap. There was little if any effect as we worked. Wu Fei and Alic hadn't been far behind us and suddenly both let out shrieks. I hopped up to look around the corner at a lovely yellow Alic and a pretty pink Wu Fei. Wu Fei turned off the water quickly as Hiro~ came running in, sure that something was about to end the world and slipped. He went sliding into the yellow water and then landed on the far end of the shower area. I reached up and flipped on the water. "Look, they are all different colors! Ooops!" I shut off the water and ran back to the tub and hid behind Quatre as a truly mint green Hiro~ got up angrily.
"Who's bright idea was this?" He asked sourly as he examined his skin. "This is Gundam paint. We're going to be colored for ever!" He growled and snatched me up.
"I didn't!" I began to wail. "They messed up my hair!"
"Trowa!!!!" Hiro~'s voice thundered through the base. A vivid blue Trowa appeared with an equally poisonous looking expression.
"It was not me!" He glowered at me, like I would have made myself Easter egged for no good reason.
orange=quatre blue=trowa pink=wufei green=hiro purple=duo yellow=alic
********
Bo~ken came back from the hospital with new insites into what was wrong with the two boys to find us all funny colors and trying to create a chemical to strip it off of us without harming us. "Hiro~, what happened?"
"I don't know how or who, but gundam paint ended up in the shower heads and I suppose the end results are rather obvious." I grumbled. I was trying hard to do the stuff before he got back, but what was the use now? "Well, cure them." I pointed at Duo and Quatre who where redressed as women and I wasn't sure why.
"I can only speed up the process to three days. They have had a lot of the poison, you are luck they aren't dead. I can't believe some disgruntled employees spiked the cherries with a drug. Well, hold them down and I'll shoot them up." He held up two needles.
I grabbed Quatre by the hand and pulled him over and smashed him against the wall so
Bo~ken could give him the medicine. He began screaming and hitting me with his free hand. "I'm
to young!!!" Duo began beating me in the back of the head. Alic and Wu Fei both took one of his hands and held him so I was free to deal with Quatre only. Trowa took his free hand and tried to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. "How can you?!? I thought you where my friend!!!"
"Nonononononnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooo!" Duo hollered loudly. He was crying again.
"Bo~ken, don't let them do this!"
He injected them quickly and gave them something to put them under. We took them back
and tossed them in the bed. He went back and stayed with them for a little while before coming
out with a very stupid grin. "You won't believe this, but Duo thinks..."
"TROWA!" I glared along with Wu Fei.
"What?" He looked back innocently.
"Ahem, Duo thinks that holding hands *snicker* can get girls pregnant and Quatre has convinced him they are girls *SNICKERS* and that's why they where unhappy with you. They thought you where raping them or something." He held his sides he was laughing so hard.
"THAT was NOT MY fault!!!" Trowa shook his head before laughing, "He did that by himself."
********
It was nearly a week later that we where back to normal both mentally and physically. I went to Bo~ken's apartment after weaseling the address from Duo and asked to talk to her. She let me in after a large frown. "Bo~ken, why did Zechs go after you when you where with Duo?" I settled down on the edge of her bed with the cup of tea she had handed to me. She was packing a bag and finished before even taking note of my existence.
Bo~ken sat back on her heels and looked at me for a long time before she spoke. "Alright, here is why Zechs is so blood thirsty towards me... I was ordered to get some information on OZ. I was assigned as an OZ soldier.
Captain Zechs was cocky, just having been promoted higher then his 19 years was supposed to be. I made it known that I was interested in him, but went out of my way to ignore him. He caught me alone. "Soldier, I'm lonely. You shall keep me company. Come." He ordered with cool confidence.
I followed him. I drugged his wine while he was busy undressing me. Then after we had sexual relations, I hacked his computer and stole all of the information I could get my hands on. Then I disappeared from the records. I turned the things in and they sent me to a colony, which shall remain nameless, to be with my assigned husband. There I had Zechs's baby. My husband's brother and his wife took the child in. That was five years ago. I've never seen my daughter sense the day I had her. Last year I was shown a photo. Zechs doesn't know anything except I screwed him over and stole that information."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, trying to picture her as a mother. "He knows you are on earth now."
"Yah, and he just bar-be-qued my family. Rei is being brought here. I guess I have to kill him." She frowned.
Knowing that Bo~ken was a she and looking at what appeared to be a he was giving me a headache. She looked upset. "You could get to him like you are and tell him about..."
"No! I am not dragging Rei into this. Zechs would probably kill her for the hell of it." Her eyes where fiery.
"How can you say that? Not even Wu Fei would kill a child, and it would be his own daughter."
"Quatre...He is bent on revenge. I'm not sure there is even a reason to fight anymore, but people bent on destruction are dangerous. They get so consumed with anger, there is no reason for their existence outside of war. When someone gets that way, you have to destroy them. He has hit that point. Neither of Rei's guardians was part of the war. He'd have killed her but she was with her father. It was a village of peaceful workers. Not a military outpost." Bo~ken stood up and looked out the window. "I will do it tonight, and if I don't come back..."
"You will!" I argued.
"Before they bring Rei, take care of her. Here are the papers you'll need and some cash." She tossed me an envelope she pulled out of her sleeve. "Please."
"Why me?" I asked in surprise.
"Can you imagine Hiro~ baby-sitting?" She grinned and I laughed at the very scary mental picture. "Besides, I trust you." She turned back to me with the eyes no one can say "no" to. I nodded. "Thank you." She gave me a small smile before she went to the closet and pulled out a uniform. A shiny new OZ uniform. She pulled off her jump suit, pants, shirt, and bindings. Then she put on the OZ uniform. She braided her hair tightly back and pulled on a pair of new boots.
"Bo~ken, I...Good luck." I failed to tell her again. Why was 'I love you.' so hard to say?
"Oh Quatre, you're the best!" She threw her arms around my neck. Then she let go and picked up her bags. She chuckled at my face, which had grown red. "Bye for now!" She left me alone in her apartment.
"Good bye Bo~ken." I stood and watched her walk down the street. I washed the cup and put it away before I slowly walked back to the base. I decided to call my guards and tell them I would stay at base until Bo~ken got back or Rei came.