Title: Elemental Guardians
Author: AznSage
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4
Archived: FF.net. If you wanna archive, ask and it's always a yes.
Rating: PG-13
Part II
The blond was truly uncertain if it was a good idea to tell Trowa who had thought him to be. What could he do? Just outright say "Oh, pardon me for asking but I believe I've seen you before on the dreamscape. Yes, I'm an empath and I think we're somehow connected." Sure, that would work.
As he poked the fire worriedly, lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed that Trowa had already begun to set up an appropriate place to sleep. "Oh, going to sleep so soon? By the gods, the Moon hasn't even reached it zenith yet."
"I have a long day of journeying ahead of me, I wish to sleep soon."
"Well…I was hoping we could talk for a while, there is something I would like to ask of you."
"And what is that?" Tact. Ah, how the mind of Trowa works.
"Well…um…" Quatre was sweating bullets. How _does_ one ask this kind of question? "Wouldyouliketojoinmeonmyjourney?" He mumbled the sentence in one quick breath and averted his gaze from the tall boy. How embarrassing it was for a prince to ask such a thing to someone he barely knew.
Trowa blinked at the other boy's unexpected bluntness. It had occurred to him that this boy was of notable semblance to the one he saw in his dreams, but he had to be certain. He chuckled dryly at his own thoughts.
The prince was immediately confused by the turn of events. "What's so funny?"
The circus performer stopped laughing, but his face still held the amusement and sheer delight from his own thoughts. "So, you see me in your dreams too, huh?"
Quatre blinked. Well _that_ was certainly unexpected. "Um…how did you know that, Trowa?"
"It seems that we have more to talk about than I had expected."
"Mmmm…that was _so_ refreshing! We don't have that kinda thing back at the orphanage!" Duo stretched lazily on the large bed and grinned like an idiot. Never had he felt such extreme pleasure from just bathing.
Heero glared at him. "Would you mind being less open?" The glaring boy was referring to that fact that Duo was basically lying spread eagle, wearing only a towel that barely reached his knees.
"Oh…whoops, heheh." The long-haired boy laughed sheepishly back at the prince and immediately jumped onto his feet. "Well, I call shotgun on the bathroom!" With that he sprinted into the small room, pulling with him his clothes.
Heeo sighed. How in the world had he been conned into rooming with _that_ baka?
A light knock on the door disturbed his thoughts. "Um…excuse me, but it seems that the inn has been overbooked and I'll have to share this room with you, sir."
Heero nodded. "Well, I don't know how you can fit, sir, because I'm sleeping on the floor and my friend is sleeping on the bed."
"Aw…that's so sweet! You called me your friend!" Duo had chosen that exact moment to step back into the room and lightly teased Heero on his mannerisms. The prince just glared back at him.
"Well, then, the only other place to sleep would be the bed sir. And I'm sure your friend would not want to sleep next to a total stranger."
The same thought crossed through both the boy's minds. Ew. Yuck. No way.
Resigning to his own horrible fate, the dark-haired boy decided. Sleeping in the same bed as Duo was much better than him sharing it with that old smelly tinker.[1] "Fine, I'll sleep in the bed with Duo."
The braided boy's eyes visible threw shock in every direction. "You?! Share a _bed_ with me?! As in for the _night_?! Er…" The prince threw him a look that made no room for argument. "Fine! Just…just stay on your side of the bed okay?"Heero nodded and the three guests of the inn climbed into their respective beds.
It was quiet and peaceful and a perfect mood for sleeping.
"Geez…Heero! Keep your own leg on _your_ side!"
Okay, maybe not.
"It's not my fault! You keep hogging the blankets! I can't help if my legs are tangled in them at the same time!"
"Come _on_, man! This is NOT funny! It's…it's…disgusting!"
"No one is going to your side! Just sleep!"
"But your arm is practically over my crotch!"
"For the last time, I am _not_ touching you!"
"Ack! Heero! Cold feet!"
"Look, shut up or I'm gonna assault you!"[2]
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
Suddenly, the tinker regretted asking for the big room.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Well then, _why_ aren't we there yet, husband?"
"Because of your insipid comments, wife."
Wufei and Meiran rode side by side towards their destination, the circus in Soro. It was getting late but they had already stopped once for eating and once for using the bathroom. And Meiran was tired. And when Meiran is tired, Meiran is cranky. _Not_ a pretty scene.
"Well, with such a useless husband, I didn't expect less. You know, Chang Wufei, your cousin, the strong, smart, and witty man, was matched up for me but for some reason, my parents decided I was more suited for you. Ah, what a mistake it was. Every other man in the clan can control _their_ wife. Why can you not then, Chang Wufei?"
A vein was visibly popping at the side of his head. "Look, onna, if you are so displeased with your life, then you can go drown in the holy river for all I care. Just be quiet so that I can concentrate on navigating us through this damn forest!"
"Fine, I guess I'll just go ahead of you then." With that, Meiran gave her horse a light kick on the side and galloped forward at full speed.
"You stupid girl! You have to wait for your husband!" Wufei proceeded to follow, yelling angry curses and screaming about justice and undignifiable acts.
"So, how'd you sleep?"
"Not well. You and your stupid braid are very distracting when one is trying to sleep comfortably. Not only do your legs somehow make their way to _my_ side of the bed but your stupid hair also smacked my face twice last night. Twice!" Of course, Heero didn't mention the fact that the stray limbs wrapped around him felt good and the neatly done hair smelled nicely of the most fragrant flowers.
"Well, my body just has a mind of its own. 'Sides, we're both guys, so no biggy. S'not like you're attracted to me, right?" Duo winked back at the prince and continued his walk down the stairs to breakfast.
"Of course not! I'm a fucking prince! If I even _liked_ a guy, I'd probably be brainwashed to like whoever the hell they're trying to make me marry!"
"So how do you stand it?"
"Stand what?" He was truly confused and his facial expression showed that well. Duo smiled back and noted how cute the prince looked when confused, so different from that usually calm and confident façade.
"Well, I'm sure being a prince has its ups, but isn't marrying someone you don't even love worth all of that? I mean think about it. Marrying means that this person is gonna be who you see first thing every morning and last thing every night. The person who you will take care of and who will take care of you for the _rest_ of your _life_. The person you're willing to _sacrifice_ _anything_ for. The person you're willing to _die_ for. If you don't love 'em, is it really worth spending the time with them?"
The dark-haired boy blinked. Never in the all the time that he had known Duo (even though it was only for about twelve hours) had he thought it was possible for him to be so serious. Secretly, he had tagged him as the braided baka. Such important words coming from his mouth. There was definitely more to this boy than meets the eye. This would make an interesting journey…
The long-haired boy caught sight of his new friend's confusion and immediately tried to break the ice. "Eh-heheheh…uh…never mind what I just said! Heheh, our little secret okay? Don't tell anyone! Uh…well, I'm off!" He immediately began to hightail it for the door when an iron grip stopped him.
"And just _where_ do you think you're going with no money?"
"Oh, crap, I had forgot about that." He sighed deeply in defeat. "So? Any ideas?"
"I'll go where ever you go. That way, you'll have a companion and some money. I case you get in trouble, I can get you out, you know like watch your back. So, deal?"
"Uh…I guess." Duo was shocked by the sincerity behind the words and began to closely study the prince's face. Immediately, Heero averted his eyes from the questing look from the large violet orbs. Giving up his search for emotion, Duo continued. "Um…shall we?"
"Let's." The prince got up and began to walk to the door.
A gruff voice stopped them. "Just _where_ do you think you're going? You haven't paid the bill yet!" The innkeeper gestured with his hands and demanded his payment. But as Heero reached into his pocket, he found that the money purse was gone.
"K'so." He gave Duo a quick look to quiet down the boy's snickering. "Where's the kitchen, I'm sure we can work our way outta the bill." Quickly following the pointed finger, he turned back one last time. "And _you're_ coming with me."
"Damn." True to his nature, the braided boy stuck out a tongue good-naturedly at the prince and proceeded to follow him to the kitchen of doom.
"So you're telling me that you're supposed to find your brother, give him that pouch, and that will tell you your destiny?"
Quatre quickly tucked the small pouch back on his belt and sighed. "Well, I suppose…but there's just something else that I think I am supposed to do…something else I am supposed to follow…something else I see in the future besides that…something else I dream of…"
"Oh? And that would be?"
"You."
Trowa blinked. So it _was_ true. He hadn't merely been seeing things. Quickly regaining his composure, he managed to stutter out. "How…how do you know?"
"Well, I am empathic and I have always felt the presence of someone wake up a strength in my soul that I never knew existed. Everytime I felt his presence, I felt warmth, strength, courage, security, and…love. May that love be brotherly or otherwise, I don't know. But it is the most I've ever felt in my entire life. I set out on this journey to find my destiny. And I believe you are it."
The tall boy nodded and smiled. This prince had described everything dead on. Everything he felt, the prince felt as well. Everything he had seen in this prince was true. He was his destiny. He _had_ to follow it. He _had_ to follow _him_.
End Part II
[1] Tinkers were people in Merry Ole England who worked with metal. I think. I don't remember, I'll just check Robin Hood later.
[2] My favorite line from my favorite doujinshi. "Kimi ni Todoke" ("Closer to You") in the W9 doujinshi anthology. Gotta love that.
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