Pairings: 3x4/4x3 (not yet)
Disclaimer: Yeah, I guess you could say I don't own them. The GW characters belong to their rightful owners and that's not me.
*****
Miscellaneous Heirs - Part Four
by Orerinia Shaydrin
*****
Trowa lifted his hand up and gently felt the bruise that decorated his right eye as he walked along the barely used trail that went through the woods. Duo that morning had laughingly told him what an impressive shiner it was. He didn't need Duo to tell him that, he could feel it for himself.
He glanced behind him where the cause of the bruise was limping behind him. Quatre hadn't gotten away from their fight yesterday without some injuries himself. He smirked. That fact was good to know.
"Trowa, I swear if you are even thinking about going back there and getting into another fight with Quatre I will peck your damn eyes out!" Duo was exasperated to an extent that Trowa had never seen before. It was most likely because Trowa and Quatre couldn't keep their hands off each other. And not in the romantic sense.
Their fighting had forced Duo and Wufei to come to a truce of sorts. If they hadn't they would have gotten nowhere yesterday, as it was they had barely reached an inn before the sun had set after separating Quatre and Trowa and hiding his armor in the brush surrounding the mountain.
"I wasn't thinking anything like that!" He deftly avoided a puddle that had collected in the middle of the path. It had rained for some time last night, leaving tree's leaves dripping and the trail muddy and slippery--almost an obstacle course filled with large puddles and overhanging trees. He had lost count of how many times he had nearly lost his balance, though he knew it was not nearly as many times as Quatre had. That limp he had given him was upsetting the blond prince's balance enough that he found walking on the slippery ground difficult.
"Yeah, I'm really sure Trowa." Duo's voice reeked of sarcasm. Not an uncommon occurrence, but a sign that he was near the edge of losing his control.
Trowa kept quiet, glaring at the scenery around him. He wouldn't press his luck with Duo, but that didn't mean he couldn't blame this whole mess on him. He was the one who suggested traveling with Wufei and Quatre in the first place. But--a little voice whispered in his mind--you were the one who insisted on going when he had a chance to leave them behind.
He frowned inwardly, wondering why he had done that. It was a because he couldn't let a species--especially one as magnificent as dragons--die out completely, right? Never mind the fact that he had been utterly prepared to kill Wufei a day earlier. It wasn't as if he felt a need to protect Quatre, whom he barely knew. It wasn't as if his heart trembled at the thought of the blond prince possibly facing the evil queen by himself. Unlikely to happen considering how Wufei was so over-protective of him, but that was irrelevant.
SPLASH!
The sound of a large object falling into a puddle of water, followed by various curses made Trowa and Duo turn around. Trowa's eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of Quatre sitting in the puddle attempting to stand in his now soaked clothes. Wufei--not wanting to get wet--stood near the edge of the puddle reaching out with his hands trying to grab Quatre.
"SHIT! Quatre, are you all right?" Duo left Trowa in the middle of the path with his arms across his chest and an amused light dancing in his eyes to go help Wufei retrieve the blond prince out of the puddle.
"No! I am not all right, Duo! I'm cold, wet, and muddy." Quatre pounded his fists down into the puddle, sending little globules of mud flying through the air and stopping all attempts to rescue him.
Wufei backed up out of the way and grimaced as he watched the irate prince in the water. "Calm down or we're never going to get you out."
Duo had disappeared into the brush and popped back out carrying a long branch. "Here. Now we don't have to get wet getting you out." Pursing his lips, Quatre reached out with a pale hand and grasped the other end of the stick. Several seconds later he was stepping out of the puddle, covered from neck down in slimy muck.
A quiet chuckle escaped from Trowa, watching as Quatre tried in vain to rid himself of the mud that clung to his clothes. Not quietly enough though, for Quatre heard him. "Stop laughing!" He pointed an accusing finger at him. "This is all your fault."
"My fault!" Trowa's mirth changed into bewilderment. "How is it my fault?"
"You were the one who injured me in the fight you started yesterday."
For a moment, worry struck Trowa. Had he really hurt Quatre that much? He was going to ask something in a concerned manner, however it seemed that his mouth had a mind of its own. It wasn't all his fault. "Which fight? I seem to remember you starting one of them and provoking me into the second one."
"You should have more self-control then."
"Don't try to place all the blame on me. You're just as guilty as me." He glared through his one good eye. "I can barely see because of you."
"Good!"
Their companions were slowly starting to move forward, obviously placing themselves so they could intercede between the two of them.
"But I didn't fall into puddle." He knew he was pushing it with his words--taunting Quatre to fight him. This was not one of his brightest ideas.
"Guess I'll have to make the score even then."
Trowa wasn't too sure he liked where this was going. "What score?"
Surprisingly quick in water-laden clothes Quatre rushed at him, past Wufei and Duo, and he found himself falling back . . . right into a puddle. Of course his reaction was to reach out and grab the nearest object to try and stop his fall. That object just happened to be Quatre, whom he pulled down on top of him.
"Oomph!" Muddy water splashed up around them and Trowa landed on his back with Quatre right on top of him. Bright blue-green eyes blinked down in surprise at him and a smile slowly grew on Quatre's face. He sat up some, leaving him practically sitting on Trowa's lap. It wasn't an entirely an unpleasant situation. Who wouldn't want a beautiful blond prince sitting on their lap, even if they were at odds most of the time--all of the time since they had met? "What was that for?"
Seemingly not caring about the condition of his clothes--perhaps because they were already wet and muck-filled--an impish expression stole over Quatre's face. "I fell into a puddle because of you, you fall into a puddle because of me. I start a fight, you start a fight."
"You two! Get out of there! I am really not in the mood to break up a fight!" Duo's voice; Wufei was keeping quiet. Neither Quatre nor Trowa paid attention to him.
Looking at the mud-streaked face in front of him, Trowa found that he didn't have the will to object to Quatre's reasoning. In a way it was correct, so why argue? Besides he was more distracted about how the smaller prince's body seemed to mold itself to his own and how Quatre's pale-gold hair--relatively clean after his first spill--reflected the faint sunlight that filtered through the trees into his eyes. Definitely a distraction and there was only one way to be rid of it.
He sat up, sending the blond prince tumbling to the side of him, that mischievous grin never leaving Quatre's face. So, he thought this was funny did he? Well, Trowa would show him. Reaching underneath the murky water he grabbed a nice handful of gooey brown mud in his hand. "Your hair's blinding me." With that said he calmly placed the mud in his hand on top of Quatre's hair.
Quatre blinked at him--wide-eyed with disbelief and shock--before he retaliated. "Fine!" A glob of mud was thrown on Trowa's hair, "Your bang is blocking my view!"
"Your view of what?" He asked incredulously, while at the same time grabbing the calf of one of Quatre's legs and pulling the blond prince flat on his back. Quatre sputtered, latched on to Trowa's shirt and pulled him back down into the water as well. Needless to say they were soon rolling around in the water--battling each other--while Duo and Wufei argued who was going to risk breaking them up.
"Hey! You guys, stop this! We're on a quest . . . into an evil queen's territory. Do you guys even care that if you keep this up, you're going to end up getting all of us in trouble?" Duo shook his head as he watched the two combatants still rolling around in the mud. "Wufei, why don't you go separate them?"
"Why should I separate them? Can't you do it?"
"Umm . . . you're better at it than I am?"
"That's a pathetic excuse, bird-brain. You just don't want to get dirty do you?"
"Geez, how did you guess? It's a pain to get mud out of my braid."
"Cut your braid off then."
"Humph . . . Someone should break them up though, I think they're trying to drown each other."
Silence came with only the sounds of muffled curses and the splashing of water.
"FINE! You owe me, scavenger."
Trowa heard the entire conversation, but it didn't quite register within his mind--he was a bit preoccupied with Quatre. They were fighting--that was for certain--but it was different from the times before. No punches were thrown and there was no hostility in their actions. They rolled in the mud and water, attempting to be the one that won. How they would determine who won puzzled Trowa to no end--if that's what this was truly about. He didn't care, however--he just reveled in the delightful feeling that what they were doing seemed slightly wrong . . .
Wrong in the way that two princes of their age shouldn't be rolling around--fighting--in mud. It was something he never had the freedom to do before--it was too undignified for a prince.
Splashing around in the muddy water, Trowa felt someone clasp the back of this shirt and pull up and away from Quatre. The same person lifted Quatre to his feet and placed his body between them in case they attempted to lunge at each other again. Slowly raising his eyes, trying not to breathe too heavily from his little excursion, he grimaced when he saw Wufei's outraged face.
Wufei's pristine white clothes were now splattered in mud and errant strands of his black hair were plastered to his forehead and cheeks. "You two are being ludicrous! I don't know how you think we are going to survive if you keep doing this, but we aren't!" Wufei still had a hold of them and shook them, as if it would help emphasize his words . . . and it did. Trowa made a mental note that while in human form, Wufei was much stronger than any normal person had a right to be. "Clean up your act. Both of you! Or I will take care of you myself."
He released his captives, tucked the strands of hair behind his ears, glared at his companions, muttered inaudible words underneath his breath before he stalked forward down the trail with the declaration, "We are finding a lake or stream to clean up in. In your state you would attract too much attention . . . and I refuse to walk into the next village looking like this."
And like that the matter was dropped. Wufei didn't need to say anything else, his vague threat was enough. Especially since he could turn into a dragon.
"Ha! Maybe you'll behave now and keep your hands off each other." Duo stalked past them, still clean and in good-shape being the only one who wasn't covered in muck. "I swear if I didn't know better I would assume you were a newlywed couple who can't keep their hands off each other."
Trowa's green eyes met Quatre's blue-green ones and they came to a silent agreement. They could insult one another, but no one was allowed to insult them. Two sets of hands pushed Duo face first into the nearest puddle and two nearly identical smirks appeared on two faces as a shout rang throughout the forest.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!!!"
*****
The queen tapped her fingers on the parchment she held as she read the words drafted on to it. Before her, the scroll's messenger stood ram-rod straight--her dark brown eyes waiting for the queen to say something. The queen smirked, leaned over to one of her assistants and sent him off to run an errand for her. Sitting back she rolled up the parchment and tapped the end of it in one of her palms. "You say that your king sent you with these in hope that they might help form an alliance between our countries?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The young woman bowed her head, "My king wishes for our kingdoms to become allies. He believes that it will strengthen both our kingdoms."
"Hmm," the queen sneered and gestured to the six guards that had just come into her throne room, "I thought so. Guards, arrest this woman!"
"WHAT?" The messenger shouted in incredulity as two guards constrained her arms behind her back. "What are you doing? Let me go!" Her legs kicked out, striking one of the approaching guards, while her eyes searched the queen's for an answer.
"Why I'm arresting you and throwing you into one of my dungeons. I would never accept these terms that your king has given me, and he is a fool if he thought I would." The queen giggled, "Of course, seeing as who he sent as his messenger I do have to take advantage of the situation. You're from a reasonably prestigious family and I'm sure they would pay a very handsome ransom to get their hands back on you."
"YOU DISHONORABLE BITCH!" The young woman struggled, screaming and kicking her feet up in outrage.
The queen just waved her guards off--smirking--and called out after them, "Put her into the cell next to my mother-in-law. I'm sure she would enjoy some company."
As the messenger's shouts died down and advisor caught the queen's attention. "Don't you think, Your Majesty, that it is a bit peculiar that someone of that young woman's class would be sent to deliver a treaty between our kingdoms?"
"Perhaps, but it might have been a gesture of good will."
"I doubt that, My Queen. I have heard of this woman's family--and while she is not royalty, she is from the upper class nobility."
"Heh, interesting. Maybe something will come of it, maybe nothing will come of it. We will just have to see if her family will pay the ransom and if they do not, I'm sure I can find a use for her." She frowned and placed the scroll in the advisor's hands. "Burn this. My kingdom does not need allies."
*****
"Duo, are you sure that we will be safe traveling into this queen's kingdom?" Quatre asked as he pulled his shirt over his head, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the condition of the fabric.
"Nope!" Duo with his hair out of its braid and floating in the blue lake water, glanced up from where he knelt, trying to scrub the last of the mud out of his chestnut strands. "But we should get by. Traveler's and merchants are allowed to travel where they please, so there are inns to stay at despite the queen's coldness towards guests. I guess all kingdoms need some outside business."
"I suppose so." Quatre grimaced as he stepped into the water still wearing his pants, "It's freezing! How can you stand it, Duo?"
"It's because he has thick skin . . . along with a thick skull." Trowa entered the water after him, shirtless and hissing at the contact of the cool water against his skin. For a moment Quatre's eyes were glued to Trowa's well-muscled chest and the way the sun glinted off his bronze tanned skin. He jerked his eyes away, blushing slightly, and waded farther into the water. He didn't like Trowa . . . right?
"HEY! I am not that bad!" Duo threw his head back sending a glittering cascade of water droplets through the air. He looked over his shoulder at the only person that had yet to join them in cleaning up. "Wufei, aren't you coming in? You look like you could use it."
"Yes, I am, but before I do I want to make one thing clear. If either of you," Wufei pointed at Trowa and Quatre, "do anything to set me back in my quest, I will personally take care of you in any means that I see fit. Understand?"
"When you say that you're going to take care of them, Wufei, does that mean you're prepared to eat them?" Duo's mouth turned up in a sadistic grin, "I thought you didn't eat people."
Wufei ignored Duo's remark and stood at the water's edge before transforming into a dragon. The wind came up in a swirl around him, its bitter chill making the water seem warmer to Quatre. Stretching massive wings up into the sky, Wufei slithered into the lake, careful not to disturb the water too much. That was until his tail came close to Duo. With a swift movement Wufei's tail slapped down into the water, spraying Duo and once more soaking his braid. "That was for the eating people remark, scavenger."
"Why you-"
Quatre bit back his laughter and ducked his head under the water. Running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to loosen the mud that had dried in it, he lifted himself back up through the water's surface. Not surprisingly, Duo was still ranting. "-not all of us are scavengers!"
"Could have fooled me."
Quatre shook his head and chuckled. They all seemed doomed to fight and disagree with one another in some way.
Feeling eyes on his back, he turned to see Trowa gazing at him. Was he checking him out? "What are you looking at?"
Trowa abruptly turned his head, "Nothing. I was looking at nothing."
*****
