Disclaimer: No own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. No own textbooks. No own manga. No own anime. No own nada. ;-;
Chapter 1: Fresh Roses
Duo had gone to bed feeling awful, ready to throw up what insignificant amount of dinner he had managed to keep down. It was nearly three by the time he managed to fall into light slumber and as dawn approached, he found himself caught between consciousness and sleep, alternating between seconds of semi-awareness and moments of unsatisfying dozing.
He wished morning would never come.
But it did, as always, and right on schedule.
…………………
Silence reigned supreme during breakfast. After losing so many hours of sleep when he had first heard of Usagi's death and then never making them up, Duo was far too sleepy to engage in any kind of conversation. Wufei and Trowa usually didn't speak unless spoken to and chose not to comment unless it was direly necessary. Quatre was busy scanning through a beastly looking packet of papers, a small frown passing like a shadow over his face.
Hardly anybody touched their food.
To their side, Rashid cleared his throat. "Master Quatre."
The blonde man looked up and blinked puzzledly. "Yes?"
"A young lady came by last evening and I invited her in due to the rain. Her name is Serena Lucian, I believe. She's currently in the room Miss Iria often stays in."
"Oh, I see. I'll go introduce myself as soon as I find the time." He smiled faintly at Rashid, the first smile of that morning.
Trowa studied that expression and frowned to himself. "You look pale, Quatre. How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"
The blonde stretched his smile as if attempting to reassure his tall companion, but Trowa continued to look unconvinced. "It doesn't matter. Duty called." He nodded his head at the packet of paper in his hand. "The ESUN faxed it to me at about 3:30 in the morning … It's the minutes and notes on the emergency meeting regarding Tsukino."
Duo looked up as Quatre's optimistic voice trailed off and he suppressed a yawn. "Maybe you should take a day off, Quatre. I mean … we all went to bed at like 2:00 … 90 minutes isn't sleeping! It's a nap. Besides, we don't want you getting sick and being out of commission like Hiiro."
Quatre shook his head adamantly. "Not possible." He sighed and glanced down at his untouched and now cold toast. "I have a long distance conference in the early afternoon and I have to review these papers by then." He looked down uncomfortably but smiled when he met Duo's eyes. "We need to minimize the effects of Tsukino's death as much as possible. It hasn't proven to be an easy task yet."
"Please Master Quatre, Master Duo is correct for once." The insult barely had any effect on the braided man as Rashid stepped toward the breakfast table, concern darkening his face and furrowing his brow. "We cannot have you sick especially since this is the height of the flu season and you are far from your most robust state and-"
"Please, Rashid." Rashid's booming voice faltered at the mild plea. "I understand my responsibilities and have taken measures against any possible problems."
He narrowed his eyes. "Right, by taking your daily vitamin pill." The head guard rolled his eyes. Duo turned to look wide-eyed at the tall figure. He had never seen Rashid be sarcastic with Quatre – angry, disapproving, even yelling, yes, but never sarcastic.
Quatre shrugged and glanced down at the papers again. "It'll keep me alive until this fiasco is over."
Rashid looked ready to say more but out of the corner of his eye, Duo saw Trowa shoot the tall guard a sharp look and give a furtive shake of his head. The bearded man sighed deeply and surrendered but not before muttering, "You're just as willful as your father." Though the statement was meant to be disapproving, Duo was almost certain that he heard the slightest sparkle of pride in that low voice.
"Well, I got to get to work. My fellow representatives will undoubtedly begin panicking and doing uncanny impressions of chickens with their heads chopped off if I'm late." Nobody laughed. There was the eerie ring of truth in that presentiment.
…………………
Usagi felt as if she were some savage animal backed against the wall, the sickening feeling of the impossibility of escape made her stomach churn and her fingers turn numb and cold. Her heart pounded at her throat and she was ready to lash out in a final, crazed, and delirious attempt against her invisible oppressor. The tension in her shoulders made her whole back ache.
Hiiro was undeniably close, somewhere in this house with her, but that didn't help her mood at all.
She had wavered on the decision to come to this place after leaving on her vacation and had tormented herself with a day of indecision, a day during which she retraced her steps multiple times. It felt as if there was a glass panel surrounding the mansion much like the glass panels that surrounded the experimentation labs of Innocence, and though she was able to see her goal, she was never able to step into its threshold.
Fear and low self-esteem cast a gray storm cloud over her head that followed her onto Quatre's porch and halted her there.
It had been five years since she had last seen this house. Five years since she had seen its inhabitants. At that moment, five years suddenly seemed impossibly long – a lifetime worth of ideals and beliefs could have changed in five days, let alone five years. A million friendships could have been broken and made in five years. And most importantly … a love that once made a person's heart soar could have been lost in five years.
Of course nothing had changed for her in those five years – she was stuck in the status quo, surrounded by the same people day after day, but for Hiiro … she wasn't as sure.
Five years. A person could have died in five years.
…………………
"Hiiro?"
Duo sighed and knocked again, a bit more persistently this time. "You have to come out and eat sooner or later, Hiiro." He frowned when he received no reply and tried the knob again to find it immobile, locked, just like every other time in the last three days.
He made a face at the door. "Knowing Hiiro, he probably has a Thanksgiving feast worth of food in that bedroom and is just worrying us for kicks." The bitter expression on his face dissolved and he cast his eyes downward guiltily at those words.
It wasn't Hiiro's fault that he was in love with his best friend's former girlfriend and it certainly wasn't Hiiro's fault that said girlfriend loved him back. Duo turned and leaned heavily against the obdurate door hiding its obdurate occupant.
He had given her up so easily and she hadn't offered any objection. Did she love him previously? How had he lost that precious love? Had he changed? Had she changed? Or was she meant for Hiiro all along?
Meant for Hiiro.
Meant to change Hiiro.
He bit his lip harshly and forced down the lump of tears gathering at his throat. Meant. Had. Was. All past tense.
No matter how much he or Hiiro loved her, she would never be back. She would forever by out of their reach, dancing away like the melancholy tide.
…………………
Two hours had passed since she heard noises from downstairs. The digital clock on her nightstand displayed 9:00. The sky was still overcast, a clear promise of more weeping of rain.
She cracked her door open slowly and peeked out into the hall. After searching listlessly through the dresser, she had picked out a bland pair of sweatpants and a monotonous long-sleeved shirt to ward off the cold. Her golden hair, done, as usual, in its buns and streamers fashion, looked unusually colorless that day, much like her outfit. The whole world seemed to be blanketed under a stifling layer of dust, robbing colors of their vitality and robbing people of their cheer.
Usagi stepped carefully out of the room and headed toward the stairs. She peaked ahead as the stairs curved and relievedly found that the kitchen and its surroundings were deserted and silent. The muffled sound of a clock ticking barely punctured past the oppressive silence.
"Miss Lucian, there is toast and cereal. If you desire anything else, feel free to ask the cook."
Usagi started at the voice and then uneasily relaxed when she saw Rashid's vaguely smiling face.
He was about to take his leave but paused and hesitated, shooting her a probing look. "You look familiar."
Her breath caught in her throat. She was suddenly deathly thankful that the press had only managed to get half-blurred, black and white pictures of her.
"Some people say I look like Relena Darlian," she offered meekly.
Rashid cocked his head. "No, no, that's not it." He shrugged and picked up a tray of tea from the counter. "Please make yourself at home," he called over his shoulder before heading down one of the downstairs halls, undoubtedly toward Quatre's study.
"Thank you," she whispered in reply and walked the rest of the way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Pursing her lips, she quickly decided that she wasn't anywhere close to being hungry and grabbed a half-empty box of cereal before pouring a minuscule amount of milk into a bowl. Breathing out slowly, she sat down and slumped in the seat, eyeing her food blankly.
"Usagi, Usagi, Usagi," she berated, "how much longer are you going to keep this charade up?"
…………………
Duo frowned guiltily as his stomach audibly demanded food. He felt almost traitorous, getting hungry while Hiiro was starving himself and the others were too sick with worry to feel any desire or appetite for food. Was he being too frivolous as usual? He was tired of being frivolous, tired of being the comic relief, tired of being thought of as feather-brained and happy-go-lucky.
Disappointed in himself, he got up and headed toward the kitchen.
The open blinds didn't do much to brighten up the circular area the breakfast table occupied.
He halted abruptly in his steps and stared, wondering if lack of sleep was causing him to hallucinate. He netted his brows puzzledly. Usually his hallucinations involved lines of lights flashing past the sides of his head.
A memorable figure sat at the breakfast table, her back turned to him, but her blonde streamers of hair heart-wrenchingly familiar.
"U-Usagi?" he whispered in shock.
The head slowly turned around, the streamers of silky hair shifting with her movements, and the most endearing, most beloved, most painfully beautiful wide blue eyes met his.
…………………
There you go! So our Usagi gets revealed … :D Hiiro will hopefully get a life soon … lol. xD And Duo! Poor, poor, darling Duo. ;-; ::sigh:: I did mention the H/U/D aspect of this … right? :D And poor Quatre. Everything is so devastating right now … ^^; I was feeling so … numb when I wrote this. ^^; Not a good sign, mind you. P As always, thanks for reading. :D Yours, Angel.
Heero's Bunny: Ackack! I really hope this sequel doesn't become boring and redundant. :P I was pretty uncertain about making a sequel … but Gray Matter set up the scene for this idea almost perfectly and I really didn't want to take the time to start anew with the idea … the idea that you still don't know much about … ::cackles:: So if it's boring … lol. Well. I was being lazy. xD
Himeno Midori: I am so veryvery incredibly flattered that I can … even come close to inspiring obsession. ^^; Frankly very few fics actually make me obsessed … lol. Mostly animes do that. ^^; But wow … I just hope I can fulfill your expectations in this sequel … ^^; And to compare the writing of this sequel to your friend's move back from California … o_o!!! But I hope to update once a week … at worst maybe once two weeks. ^^; I've definitely encountered problems with updating before. Lol. But thank you so much for that review! And your use of the word "uncanny" stuck in my head … it appears in this chapter. :D
Gackt Camui: Midterms … o_o ::nightmares:: Tormenting Hiiro is one of my favorite pastimes. :D Hmm … how much torment will be in this fic … lol. Maybe less than Just Love. Though … probably more. ;D [will not say anymore … will not say anymore] And pleaseplease don't read Gray Matter again … lol. I might die of embarrassment. P
Dreamertwin: You'll see, you'll see! :D As for the questions regarding Hiiro's … easy belief in the newspaper … I'll explain it more later. As well as Usagi's … ahh … knowledge of the current matters … ; If that made any sense whatsoever. :D
Faith: Thank you! Actually this was started about one week after Gray Matter had ended … lol. I had just been so uncertain about the plot, etc back then that I didn't post. ^^; I hope I live up to your expectations … o_o ::gulp::
Rambling Naiad: Lol. Yesyes, as you can see, Usagi and Hiiro are indeed in the same house. :D Along with everybody else. ; Well … Duo found out … one down and four more pilots to go. :D
Kae: o_o! So undeserving of those compliments … lol. But what an ego boost. xD Thank you so much!
Angellus Lee: I-it's confusing? Ack! Not again! Lol. Doing a jig, eh? Lol … I'm very honored. :D
Anne: Wow … you sound a lot more excited about this fic than I am … lol. ; But that's good. :D I just hope I don't disappoint. ^^;
Pikachu3: Lol … I hope you keep feeling that way. ^^
Kylarachan: Thankyouthankyou! :D Here's the update … ! Is it still interesting…? Lol. x3
Serenity Angel: ::dokidoki:: Thank you! And you sounded incredibly sweet in that review … lol. Just a thought. :D
Dragon-wing3: o_o … Hmm … maybe I've been out of touch with the fanfiction world … but which fics ended in suspense…? ?-? I'm curious … just to not commit the same mistake … lol. ^^; And *_*! To you too. :DDD
The Desert Fox: In one of Quatre's other houses? Hmm … I always thought Rashid followed Quatre almost everywhere. ^^; But I figured since it'd be quite a large house, its occupants wouldn't know exactly what's going on in all parts of the house. ^^; As for the last review … ::link back, link back:: Ack! Resurfaced memories of Bob Hope … ::sniffle:: Gray Matter was short…? o_o!!! Lol … It's Just Love was 7 chapters shorter than Gray Matter … ^^; And I feel uneasy that you're dissatisfied with an ending that doesn't end with Usagi and Hiiro being together … ^^; I … am now willing to make any promises at this point. Lol. Hmm … the waiting until Usagi grew up to make her a princess probably would've worked … but the readers/viewers might get a bit impatient. Lol. Ack! More Robin Hood linkage … ! ^^; Serena handle 12 kids…? O_o … it might shorten her life a bit but I'm sure she can do it. Lolol. And that location of the gun makes much more sense than various … other ideas. ^^; And I'll be keeping my eyes open for that report on NASA's Pluto mission. :D
Hiyayaka: Here's the update! :D How was it…? :x
OtAkU: Lol … I had to reread Gray Matter too before I wrote this chapter … :D [last chapter was written almost directly after Gray Matter ended so no problems there. ;] I hope it doesn't become a stereotypical sequel … :x In fact … I truly hope to make this better than the previous one … mainly because I was cringing through half of the rereading. ^^; But I don't know. It's not a fresh idea anymore … ; And I have this feeling that I'm going to ruin Gray Matter with this … lol.
Michi Hatabaki: Update, update. :D
Thank you everybody for being so enthusiastic about this sequel! ::sniffle:: I'm so … uplifted … and awed. :D Soso … leave more incentives to write, ne? :D Lol … shamelessly propagandizing … ;