Star's Gaze
Chapter Nine: Forming an Undying Friendship
Kattie
Disclaimer: If you say I own Gundam Wing, do I? wonders Hm. holds out multiple boxes of pocky Anyone want some pocky? ^.^ innocent smile Lesse I got strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, every flavor imaginable! All you have to do is say that I own Gundam Wing!!! It's that simple ^.~ chews on chocolate pocky
Lawyers:. it doesn't work that way.
Kattie: It's worth a try! shakes box beguilingly
Lawyers:.(Can I have some?) Kattie: Do I own Gundam Wing?
Lawyers: ;_; That's just not fair! (I don't own Gundam Wing, by the way.)
Note: One break from work, just a sec? glomps all reviewers Such nice reviews last chapter! That really made my er. week ^.^ And Minako9, you're definitely NOT insignificant! I read every review I get and they all mean the world to me (except for those few in Bravest Eyes when people got angry at cliffhangers and were swearing at me ^^****). Thanks for your wonderful comments!
Note: Er. I think I end up REALLY close to shounen ai in this chapter. sweat trickling down face ano. This is still brotherly love! Nothing romantic or sexual about it! wipes face This was a really hard chapter and I haven't the foggiest why. Sorry it took so long but I spent 15+ hours writing and rewriting it ^^*. (Sorry for the antiparagraph problem before ^^* My computer hates ff dot net- probably screwed it up in uploading)
Iria was more than happy to take the pilots in. "Are these your friends, Quatre?" She asked, looking each of them over, "They're so adorable!"
Wufei, who was not used to being cooed over, stared at her for a moment in fixed horror. "What did you call me, woman?"
Grinning at the Chinese boy/time bomb Iria barely resisted the urge to embrace him. "You're so cute!" Somehow restraining himself from ripping Iria into a million pieces, Wufei managed to calm down to just a hard death glare and a mumbled sentence containing few understandable words. "Stupid."cute". women. if she wasn't Quatre's sister."
Quatre, sensing Wufei's hostility, got straight to the matter that was bothering him. "Maybe you could check up on Duo, Iria," He said, unaware of Duo's look of surprise and fear, "He was sick not too long ago. It might be a good idea to make sure the illness is completely gone."
Turning her attention from Wufei to Duo, Iria eyed him suspiciously. "He looks sick," She observed, talking more to herself than anyone else.
"No I don't," Duo argued, "I looked tired but PERFECTLY healthy."
"You turn pale from lack of sleep?" Iria questioned.
Duo opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted before ever speaking a word.
"It's not very cold and you don't turn pale from exhaustion," She explained, "Let's go inside and see what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong!" Duo yelled, beginning to panic, "It's just a cold or flu or something! Nothing big! I'll be FINE!" He shouted the last word with all of his might, which he soon regretted as the world began to spin. "Nothing's. wrong."
"Duo, are you alright?" Iria asked, sounding very concerned, "You look dazed."
Duo grabbed Quatre's shoulder for support as he began to lose the strength to stand. "I'm..fine."
Quatre winced as pain shot through his shoulder and both he and Duo crashed to the ground.
"You two," Iria signaled to Hiiro and Wufei, "Help poor stubborn Duo inside." She turned to Quatre. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Quatre replied, rubbing his shoulder gently, "He has a strong grip."
Even as he was dragged into the apartment, Duo still continued to protest. "I'm fine," he said again, "I just. tripped!"
Sighing in exasperation, Iria followed the three pilots inside, leaving Trowa and Quatre alone.
As Quatre tried to pull himself to his feet without further damaging his shoulder, Trowa extended a hand to him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He questioned.
Nodding his answer, Quatre took the offered hand and rose up. "Duo has a strong grip."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Winner Estate
"Mr. Winner," Wesley said timidly, stepping slowly into the room and shutting the door behind him, "I've informed the investigators, sir."
"Good." Mr. Winner replied, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Call Mr. Rent."
"Sir?" Wesley asked, his eyes widening in fear. "You can't mean you want me personally to call him. I mean I'm just-"
"Wesley," Mr. Winner interrupted, "I don't have time for your low self- esteem over-nervous problems. Call Mr. Rent. I want you to do this and I warn you I'm low on patience today."
"Y-yes, sir." Wesley hung his head in defeat. "What do you want me to tell him?"
"Have him come here," Mr. Winner explained, "I need him to do something for me."
"Yes, sir." This time Wesley's self-control wasn't enough, and he did sprint out of the room. 'You know what?' Wesley said to himself, 'Maybe it would be better if he did fire me.'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Iria's apartment
Wufei and Quatre sat outside of Duo's room in silence. Trowa and Hiiro were both working on Hiiro's laptop, trying to get what parts of the next mission done that they were able. It was kind of awkward being alone with Wufei. They never had much to talk about.
"You should have her look at your shoulder next." Wufei said quietly, shattering the silence. For once his voice had, if only a hint, some compassion, but he was trying desperately to hide it with a monotone. He continued to glare at Quatre in the expression that had become the norm for him.
Quatre, in return, looked surprised that his friend had said this. Making eye contact with him Quatre forced a weak smile and said, "There's nothing wrong with my shoulder. I guess I must have pulled it or something. It's nothing to worry about," He paused a moment to give Wufei a genuine smile. "But thank you for noticing, it means a lot to know you care."
Stepping up to Quatre, Wufei extended a hand and squeezed his shoulder. Blood began to seep through his shirt and Quatre winced in pain. "You should take better care of yourself," Wufei snapped, "Don't confuse honor with stupidity."
Tears shone in Quatre's eyes as he bit his lip in pain. "I-It's fine, Wufei," He stammered as a small droplet slipped from his eye down his cheek, "It's nothing." Wufei went silent for a moment, letting his eyes burrow into Quatre's. Then, with a calmer voice he continued. "Living in pain isn't going to make Duo better."
The silence came again as Quatre sought the words to say. When they came to him, Quatre replied with a trembling voice. "I'll tell Iria when Duo gets a little better. She doesn't have the time or energy to care for both of us."
Wufei nodded in contentment and turned to leave the room. "Wufei," Quatre said quietly, causing Wufei to look back, "Thank you."
Slowly Wufei's face contorted into a rare but beautiful smile. He bowed deeply to his friend in respect. Making eye contact one last time, Wufei exited the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Winner Estate
"Mr. Rent," Mr. Winner said to the man clad in dark attire, gesturing for him to sit, "How was the shuttle?" "Fine," the other man replied immediately, not taking the slightest pause, "There were no problems." He looked Mr. Winner in the eyes as if trying to peer into his soul. "You can call me Teron."
It sounded more like a command than a request. "That's good," Mr. Winner replied, ignoring Teron's stare, "Do you know why I've sent for you?"
Teron fell silent. "No," he said finally, "I'd like to be informed as soon as possible."
Grinning slightly, Mr. Winner pulled his wallet out and removed a photograph. He tossed it nonchalantly on the table next to Teron. "This is my son, Quatre." He explained.
Teron took the picture and looked it over. "Your heir?" He questioned.
Mr. Winner nodded. "Quatre is the future president of Winner Corporation."
Pocketing the photo, Teron grinned at Mr. Winner, exposing yellow, rotting teeth. "What do you want me to do?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * Iria's apartment
Trying to be discreet, Trowa slipped onto the space on the couch next to Quatre. All four of the healthy pilots were now in the room next to Duo's. Trowa sat nervously by his friend until he finally gathered up the courage to speak his mind. "It was." he paused to think of the right word, ".Lonely. without you." Even saying this, Trowa's voice was void of emotions.
Quatre looked back at Trowa and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're still having trouble talking to them?" He questioned.
Trowa nodded slightly and moved his gaze to where Wufei and Hiiro were talking across the room. "We only spoke about you."
"Maybe," Quatre thought for a moment before coming up with an idea, "You should tell them how you feel." Taking Trowa's hand, Quatre stood up, taking Trowa with him. "I'll be right beside you."
Frowning, Trowa took a few steps towards the other pilots, before stopping again. "What should I say?" He asked.
"What you just told me." Quatre answered, pulling Trowa a few more feet until he began walking again for himself. They stopped in front of Wufei and Hiiro. Without hesitating, in case he changed his mind, Trowa spoke, "We should talk more."
For a moment they both just stared at Trowa, as if he were crazy.
"Why?" Wufei asked at last.
Realizing he didn't have an answer to the question, Trowa looked over at Quatre for help.
"Because," Quatre replied, smiling comfortingly at his friend, "We'll all get very lonely if we don't talk to each other," he explained, "If we can't even speak to each other, we'll never be able to trust each other." "You don't tell us anything," Wufei said quietly, so only Quatre could hear, "We can't trust you to take care of yourself."
Quatre's smile faded instantly and he could feel his cheeks burning. "I do take care of myself." He muttered. "What do you want to talk about?" Hiiro asked, not taking kindly to the conversation.
Trowa's confidence wavered. "I don't know."
Standing up, Hiiro walked towards the door to Duo's room. "Tell me when you do know." He disappeared into the room without another word, closing the door behind him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Inside Duo's room
When Hiiro entered the room, Iria was hunched over the bed in deep thought. She didn't seem to notice Hiiro's presence at all.
"Is he alright?" Hiiro asked, causing Iria to nearly fall over in surprise.
"I don't know what he has, yet." She explained, attempting to regain her composure.
Something was troubling Iria and Hiiro could tell. "What's wrong?"
"I need more equipment if I'm going to figure out what's wrong with him," Iria blurted, looking more stressed than ever, "but my hospital is on another colony. We could take a shuttle but I don't have enough cash on me to get us all there," She explained. "Father's frozen my account and Quatre's so neither of us can get money out. There's nothing I can do unless we get to that colony. but shuttles are very expensive."
"I can get the money." Hiiro said, interrupting Iria's spoken thoughts.
She looked up at him with a mixed hope and disbelief. "You have that much money with you?"
"No," Hiiro said automatically, "But I can get enough if I sell my laptop.(1)"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A few minutes later Hiiro exited the apartment through the back door of the building in search of a computer store.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Meanwhile... Coming through the front door
Naihu slid her sunglasses off as she reached the correct apartment in the large building. She couldn't help but grin at the prospect of getting her revenge on the stuck up Winner boy. Just thinking of him lying lifeless on the floor covered by a Persian carpet only he could afford with two bullets planted firmly in his chest made her giddy. It was difficult to keep from giggling out loud.
Slowly approaching the door, Naihu clicked the safety on her gun off, leaving it ready to fire. She gently rapped her fist against the door as she licked her lips in anticipation. 'Ready or not, Rich 'un,' She thought, 'here I come.'
(1) With all of that high tech stuff on Hiiro's computer, including the voice password, etc. his laptop would probably be worth a ton of money. ^.~ In't Hii-chan sweeeeet?"
End Notes: So, what'd ya think? Anyone feeling warm inside? Does Kattie's life have meaning? No flames please! hides under bed I'm really nervous on how this turned out so please review and tell me what you think. even if it's not good .
Reviews= Inspiration= Quicker Chapters. unless of course. those reviews are flames. ^^*
Chapter Nine: Forming an Undying Friendship
Kattie
Disclaimer: If you say I own Gundam Wing, do I? wonders Hm. holds out multiple boxes of pocky Anyone want some pocky? ^.^ innocent smile Lesse I got strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, every flavor imaginable! All you have to do is say that I own Gundam Wing!!! It's that simple ^.~ chews on chocolate pocky
Lawyers:. it doesn't work that way.
Kattie: It's worth a try! shakes box beguilingly
Lawyers:.(Can I have some?) Kattie: Do I own Gundam Wing?
Lawyers: ;_; That's just not fair! (I don't own Gundam Wing, by the way.)
Note: One break from work, just a sec? glomps all reviewers Such nice reviews last chapter! That really made my er. week ^.^ And Minako9, you're definitely NOT insignificant! I read every review I get and they all mean the world to me (except for those few in Bravest Eyes when people got angry at cliffhangers and were swearing at me ^^****). Thanks for your wonderful comments!
Note: Er. I think I end up REALLY close to shounen ai in this chapter. sweat trickling down face ano. This is still brotherly love! Nothing romantic or sexual about it! wipes face This was a really hard chapter and I haven't the foggiest why. Sorry it took so long but I spent 15+ hours writing and rewriting it ^^*. (Sorry for the antiparagraph problem before ^^* My computer hates ff dot net- probably screwed it up in uploading)
Iria was more than happy to take the pilots in. "Are these your friends, Quatre?" She asked, looking each of them over, "They're so adorable!"
Wufei, who was not used to being cooed over, stared at her for a moment in fixed horror. "What did you call me, woman?"
Grinning at the Chinese boy/time bomb Iria barely resisted the urge to embrace him. "You're so cute!" Somehow restraining himself from ripping Iria into a million pieces, Wufei managed to calm down to just a hard death glare and a mumbled sentence containing few understandable words. "Stupid."cute". women. if she wasn't Quatre's sister."
Quatre, sensing Wufei's hostility, got straight to the matter that was bothering him. "Maybe you could check up on Duo, Iria," He said, unaware of Duo's look of surprise and fear, "He was sick not too long ago. It might be a good idea to make sure the illness is completely gone."
Turning her attention from Wufei to Duo, Iria eyed him suspiciously. "He looks sick," She observed, talking more to herself than anyone else.
"No I don't," Duo argued, "I looked tired but PERFECTLY healthy."
"You turn pale from lack of sleep?" Iria questioned.
Duo opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted before ever speaking a word.
"It's not very cold and you don't turn pale from exhaustion," She explained, "Let's go inside and see what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong!" Duo yelled, beginning to panic, "It's just a cold or flu or something! Nothing big! I'll be FINE!" He shouted the last word with all of his might, which he soon regretted as the world began to spin. "Nothing's. wrong."
"Duo, are you alright?" Iria asked, sounding very concerned, "You look dazed."
Duo grabbed Quatre's shoulder for support as he began to lose the strength to stand. "I'm..fine."
Quatre winced as pain shot through his shoulder and both he and Duo crashed to the ground.
"You two," Iria signaled to Hiiro and Wufei, "Help poor stubborn Duo inside." She turned to Quatre. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Quatre replied, rubbing his shoulder gently, "He has a strong grip."
Even as he was dragged into the apartment, Duo still continued to protest. "I'm fine," he said again, "I just. tripped!"
Sighing in exasperation, Iria followed the three pilots inside, leaving Trowa and Quatre alone.
As Quatre tried to pull himself to his feet without further damaging his shoulder, Trowa extended a hand to him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He questioned.
Nodding his answer, Quatre took the offered hand and rose up. "Duo has a strong grip."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Winner Estate
"Mr. Winner," Wesley said timidly, stepping slowly into the room and shutting the door behind him, "I've informed the investigators, sir."
"Good." Mr. Winner replied, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Call Mr. Rent."
"Sir?" Wesley asked, his eyes widening in fear. "You can't mean you want me personally to call him. I mean I'm just-"
"Wesley," Mr. Winner interrupted, "I don't have time for your low self- esteem over-nervous problems. Call Mr. Rent. I want you to do this and I warn you I'm low on patience today."
"Y-yes, sir." Wesley hung his head in defeat. "What do you want me to tell him?"
"Have him come here," Mr. Winner explained, "I need him to do something for me."
"Yes, sir." This time Wesley's self-control wasn't enough, and he did sprint out of the room. 'You know what?' Wesley said to himself, 'Maybe it would be better if he did fire me.'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Iria's apartment
Wufei and Quatre sat outside of Duo's room in silence. Trowa and Hiiro were both working on Hiiro's laptop, trying to get what parts of the next mission done that they were able. It was kind of awkward being alone with Wufei. They never had much to talk about.
"You should have her look at your shoulder next." Wufei said quietly, shattering the silence. For once his voice had, if only a hint, some compassion, but he was trying desperately to hide it with a monotone. He continued to glare at Quatre in the expression that had become the norm for him.
Quatre, in return, looked surprised that his friend had said this. Making eye contact with him Quatre forced a weak smile and said, "There's nothing wrong with my shoulder. I guess I must have pulled it or something. It's nothing to worry about," He paused a moment to give Wufei a genuine smile. "But thank you for noticing, it means a lot to know you care."
Stepping up to Quatre, Wufei extended a hand and squeezed his shoulder. Blood began to seep through his shirt and Quatre winced in pain. "You should take better care of yourself," Wufei snapped, "Don't confuse honor with stupidity."
Tears shone in Quatre's eyes as he bit his lip in pain. "I-It's fine, Wufei," He stammered as a small droplet slipped from his eye down his cheek, "It's nothing." Wufei went silent for a moment, letting his eyes burrow into Quatre's. Then, with a calmer voice he continued. "Living in pain isn't going to make Duo better."
The silence came again as Quatre sought the words to say. When they came to him, Quatre replied with a trembling voice. "I'll tell Iria when Duo gets a little better. She doesn't have the time or energy to care for both of us."
Wufei nodded in contentment and turned to leave the room. "Wufei," Quatre said quietly, causing Wufei to look back, "Thank you."
Slowly Wufei's face contorted into a rare but beautiful smile. He bowed deeply to his friend in respect. Making eye contact one last time, Wufei exited the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Winner Estate
"Mr. Rent," Mr. Winner said to the man clad in dark attire, gesturing for him to sit, "How was the shuttle?" "Fine," the other man replied immediately, not taking the slightest pause, "There were no problems." He looked Mr. Winner in the eyes as if trying to peer into his soul. "You can call me Teron."
It sounded more like a command than a request. "That's good," Mr. Winner replied, ignoring Teron's stare, "Do you know why I've sent for you?"
Teron fell silent. "No," he said finally, "I'd like to be informed as soon as possible."
Grinning slightly, Mr. Winner pulled his wallet out and removed a photograph. He tossed it nonchalantly on the table next to Teron. "This is my son, Quatre." He explained.
Teron took the picture and looked it over. "Your heir?" He questioned.
Mr. Winner nodded. "Quatre is the future president of Winner Corporation."
Pocketing the photo, Teron grinned at Mr. Winner, exposing yellow, rotting teeth. "What do you want me to do?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * Iria's apartment
Trying to be discreet, Trowa slipped onto the space on the couch next to Quatre. All four of the healthy pilots were now in the room next to Duo's. Trowa sat nervously by his friend until he finally gathered up the courage to speak his mind. "It was." he paused to think of the right word, ".Lonely. without you." Even saying this, Trowa's voice was void of emotions.
Quatre looked back at Trowa and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're still having trouble talking to them?" He questioned.
Trowa nodded slightly and moved his gaze to where Wufei and Hiiro were talking across the room. "We only spoke about you."
"Maybe," Quatre thought for a moment before coming up with an idea, "You should tell them how you feel." Taking Trowa's hand, Quatre stood up, taking Trowa with him. "I'll be right beside you."
Frowning, Trowa took a few steps towards the other pilots, before stopping again. "What should I say?" He asked.
"What you just told me." Quatre answered, pulling Trowa a few more feet until he began walking again for himself. They stopped in front of Wufei and Hiiro. Without hesitating, in case he changed his mind, Trowa spoke, "We should talk more."
For a moment they both just stared at Trowa, as if he were crazy.
"Why?" Wufei asked at last.
Realizing he didn't have an answer to the question, Trowa looked over at Quatre for help.
"Because," Quatre replied, smiling comfortingly at his friend, "We'll all get very lonely if we don't talk to each other," he explained, "If we can't even speak to each other, we'll never be able to trust each other." "You don't tell us anything," Wufei said quietly, so only Quatre could hear, "We can't trust you to take care of yourself."
Quatre's smile faded instantly and he could feel his cheeks burning. "I do take care of myself." He muttered. "What do you want to talk about?" Hiiro asked, not taking kindly to the conversation.
Trowa's confidence wavered. "I don't know."
Standing up, Hiiro walked towards the door to Duo's room. "Tell me when you do know." He disappeared into the room without another word, closing the door behind him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Inside Duo's room
When Hiiro entered the room, Iria was hunched over the bed in deep thought. She didn't seem to notice Hiiro's presence at all.
"Is he alright?" Hiiro asked, causing Iria to nearly fall over in surprise.
"I don't know what he has, yet." She explained, attempting to regain her composure.
Something was troubling Iria and Hiiro could tell. "What's wrong?"
"I need more equipment if I'm going to figure out what's wrong with him," Iria blurted, looking more stressed than ever, "but my hospital is on another colony. We could take a shuttle but I don't have enough cash on me to get us all there," She explained. "Father's frozen my account and Quatre's so neither of us can get money out. There's nothing I can do unless we get to that colony. but shuttles are very expensive."
"I can get the money." Hiiro said, interrupting Iria's spoken thoughts.
She looked up at him with a mixed hope and disbelief. "You have that much money with you?"
"No," Hiiro said automatically, "But I can get enough if I sell my laptop.(1)"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A few minutes later Hiiro exited the apartment through the back door of the building in search of a computer store.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Meanwhile... Coming through the front door
Naihu slid her sunglasses off as she reached the correct apartment in the large building. She couldn't help but grin at the prospect of getting her revenge on the stuck up Winner boy. Just thinking of him lying lifeless on the floor covered by a Persian carpet only he could afford with two bullets planted firmly in his chest made her giddy. It was difficult to keep from giggling out loud.
Slowly approaching the door, Naihu clicked the safety on her gun off, leaving it ready to fire. She gently rapped her fist against the door as she licked her lips in anticipation. 'Ready or not, Rich 'un,' She thought, 'here I come.'
(1) With all of that high tech stuff on Hiiro's computer, including the voice password, etc. his laptop would probably be worth a ton of money. ^.~ In't Hii-chan sweeeeet?"
End Notes: So, what'd ya think? Anyone feeling warm inside? Does Kattie's life have meaning? No flames please! hides under bed I'm really nervous on how this turned out so please review and tell me what you think. even if it's not good .
Reviews= Inspiration= Quicker Chapters. unless of course. those reviews are flames. ^^*