Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine.
Quatre's POV.
Hey, A.S., you asked for it...
Don't get me wrong; family is the best thing in the world. However, in my opinion, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. I certainly do. 29 sisters- all of them older than me, all of them determined that their 'little brother' is their special responsibility.
Of course, I don't have exactly 29 sisters, not anymore. Only 28 since Irea died, but it seems wrong somehow to leave her out. When people ask me how many siblings I have, I always say 29. Irea is still here in my heart and that counts.
I love my sisters, truly I do, but they can drive me crazy. But they're all I have, so I try not to show how much I sometimes wish I were an only child.
Ever since the wars ended and I've been heading up WEI, the company has taken over my life. Of course, a bunch of my sisters work with me at WEI, but the company is so huge and I have so much work to do that it kind of eats up everything else.
The Mariemaia incident was over 4 years ago. I haven't really seen any of the other pilots since. I had to jump right back into WEI with both feet. Oh, I get an occasional email from Duo- and I always try to write him back, but those emails of his have gotten more and more rare as time passes. Through him I learned that Wufei had quit the Preventers and joined Trowa at the circus, and that Heero had also quit and joined Duo in the salvage business on L2. Duo hadn't said why they quit, and I hadn't felt like I had the right to ask. They had all tried to keep in contact with me- invited me numerous times to visit, but I had failed them miserably. Duo was the only one who tried anymore, and like I said, even his enthusiasm seems to be fading. These four men who were once closer to me than my family are now no longer a part of my life.
It's depressing to think about, and usually I didn't. I simply don't have time to dwell on things like that. I prefer it that way, actually.
But this had been an awful week. Duo had sent me an email telling me that the circus was coming to my city, and that he and Heero would be visiting Trowa and Wufei there. I was welcome to come meet them - they'd all love to see me. I wanted to, but knew I couldn't.
My schedule was booked for me weeks- months in advance and I didn't have the time. How sad is that? They were in my damn city and I had no time to see them. Even worse, I knew if I truly wanted to I could've just said 'the hell with it' and canceled my appointments. But I didn't. I knew that there was one of them who wouldn't 'love' to see me. I had sent off my usual apology. On top of that WEI had all the usual horrible stuff that happens in a large business during the week, most of which was manageable, but stressful. The topper of my week was the check-up with Sereh, my third- oldest sister.
Sereh is a doctor, and despite my schedule she always manages to give me a 'checkup' once every six months or so. Usually by just barging into whatever meeting I have going on and dragging me off. At my one this week, she had run some tests on me and she had not been pleased with the results. Well, I wasn't pleased with the results, but I wasn't surprised either. I knew my body well enough to know that something was wrong even before the checkup. Sereh was the one who was unpleasantly surprised.
I had known what was coming. Back during the war, before Operation Meteor, Instructor H had made me an offer. I took him up on it. I thought his device would help me- and it did. I came to rely on my 'spaceheart'. But, he had warned me that it was an experiment. I was the only test subject. Even then I had known the risk I took. It had seemed worth it at the time. Now it was killing me.
I couldn't really bring myself to care.
By the way, 'doctor confidentiality' flies out the window when your doctor is your sister. Every single one of my sisters would know soon that my spaceheart had developed a malfunction. I wanted to scream at the thought of what they all would do when they found out. One over-protective big sister would be manageable. But 29 of them?
If it hadn't been for the thought of all those women hovering over me for however long I had left, I don't think I would've been as upset. Death seemed friendly to me- hell, it should've- his earthly incarnation was the only one of my old friends who I retained. It would be a chance to rest at the very least.
I had just gotten to the office on Thursday morning and was trying to distract myself with the piles of work on my desk when my secretary led 3 of my sisters into my office. Crap, it was starting already!
"Quatre," my sister Amah walked around the desk to kiss my cheek gently.
"Amah, it's good to see you. How can I help you?" Amah, Harah and Chani ran a successful 'makeover' business. It had been awhile since I had seen them. They were always busy.
"Sereh called us." Chani replied leaning over the desk to brush a hand across my hair. I groaned internally. "We've come to give you a break, little brother."
"A break?" I looked at the piles of work on my desk and thought of the day's full schedule. 7 am to 10 pm- every second was full. Just like I wanted it. "I can't..."
"You will," Amah said firmly pulling me to my feet as the door opened and four more of my sisters came in. "Judith, Rhys, Naka and Mairi are here to take care of all this." Judith grinned at me.
"Just give in, sweetheart," she advised. "We've all conspired to give you the weekend off."
"The weekend?" I repeated. Did I mention it was Thursday? "Isn't the weekend Saturday and Sunday?"
"Not for you," Amah also grinned at me. "It's a Thursday to Monday kind of thing."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You're going to get away from all this," Amah answered. "You're going to spend some time away from WEI and all the hooplah that goes with it."
"I can't 'get away'" I responded wearily. "You know that I'm recognized anywhere I go. Not to mention that I have to take the bodyguards with me thanks to that whole little corporate warfare incident..."
"Relax, little brother, we have it handled." Chani pulled my chair away from the desk. "Why do you think the 'makeover experts' are here?"
"Oh no," I wondered if I could make a break for it.
"No one will recognize you when we finish," Amah informed me gleefully, tugging me on my feet and towards the bathroom.
They were right. An hour later I was looking into the mirror and I didn't recognize myself. They had dyed my hair a light auburn- the only other color that wouldn't look odd with my skin tone, according to Harah. They had given me a dusting of freckles, green contacts and switched my suit for jeans with a t-shirt and a flannel. As a final touch, they had presented me with a pair of glasses- to disguise the shape of my face, Chani explained.
I blinked. I had gotten taller since the war, and broader in the shoulders, something that was hard to tell in a suit, but obvious in the clothes I was wearing now. Chani whistled at me.
"You are downright gorgeous, little brother," she teased, making me blush. They led me out into the other room, where the other four were swarming busily around. Sereh had joined them. She grinned at me and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Perfect," she said, undeterred. "Now get going."
"And where am I supposed to go?" I countered.
"I don't care. I don't want to see you until Monday morning." She handed me a set of keys and a wallet. "The keys go to the blue car in my spot. There's a duffle for you in the trunk. The ID is fake; so don't get into any trouble, all right? Now scram."
Considering that the rest of my sisters had also crossed their arms and were glaring at me too, I complied. Leos and Taureses were one thing, angry older sisters were quite another.
The blue car was older than any of the others I owned, but inconspicuous. At first it was a relief to just be away from work. I drove aimlessly, listening to the radio. Then I began to wonder what to do with myself. The last 4 years of my life had been nothing but WEI. My mind drifted to the work I knew was on my desk for a brief moment before I snapped myself together.
I swore angrily. Damn it, my sisters had gone to a lot of trouble for me- I was not going to waste their gift. I should go do something daring- something that I had been wanting to do...
Then I remembered Duo's email. Of course it was for last weekend- he and Heero would've gone back to L2...
But, the circus should still be here. I could at least go and see Wufei and Trowa. Of course- I knew they wouldn't want to see me. Like I said, Duo was the only one who tried anymore- he was the one who had sent the invite. However, the thought of seeing Trowa was very tempting. I glanced up at the rearview mirror and blinked at the stranger there.
Trowa wouldn't recognize me if by some strange quirk he even looked my way. But I could see him. I could sit in the audience and watch the show. That would be good enough. I headed towards the circus.
Don't get me wrong; family is the best thing in the world. However, in my opinion, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. I certainly do. 29 sisters- all of them older than me, all of them determined that their 'little brother' is their special responsibility.
Of course, I don't have exactly 29 sisters, not anymore. Only 28 since Irea died, but it seems wrong somehow to leave her out. When people ask me how many siblings I have, I always say 29. Irea is still here in my heart and that counts.
I love my sisters, truly I do, but they can drive me crazy. But they're all I have, so I try not to show how much I sometimes wish I were an only child.
Ever since the wars ended and I've been heading up WEI, the company has taken over my life. Of course, a bunch of my sisters work with me at WEI, but the company is so huge and I have so much work to do that it kind of eats up everything else.
The Mariemaia incident was over 4 years ago. I haven't really seen any of the other pilots since. I had to jump right back into WEI with both feet. Oh, I get an occasional email from Duo- and I always try to write him back, but those emails of his have gotten more and more rare as time passes. Through him I learned that Wufei had quit the Preventers and joined Trowa at the circus, and that Heero had also quit and joined Duo in the salvage business on L2. Duo hadn't said why they quit, and I hadn't felt like I had the right to ask. They had all tried to keep in contact with me- invited me numerous times to visit, but I had failed them miserably. Duo was the only one who tried anymore, and like I said, even his enthusiasm seems to be fading. These four men who were once closer to me than my family are now no longer a part of my life.
It's depressing to think about, and usually I didn't. I simply don't have time to dwell on things like that. I prefer it that way, actually.
But this had been an awful week. Duo had sent me an email telling me that the circus was coming to my city, and that he and Heero would be visiting Trowa and Wufei there. I was welcome to come meet them - they'd all love to see me. I wanted to, but knew I couldn't.
My schedule was booked for me weeks- months in advance and I didn't have the time. How sad is that? They were in my damn city and I had no time to see them. Even worse, I knew if I truly wanted to I could've just said 'the hell with it' and canceled my appointments. But I didn't. I knew that there was one of them who wouldn't 'love' to see me. I had sent off my usual apology. On top of that WEI had all the usual horrible stuff that happens in a large business during the week, most of which was manageable, but stressful. The topper of my week was the check-up with Sereh, my third- oldest sister.
Sereh is a doctor, and despite my schedule she always manages to give me a 'checkup' once every six months or so. Usually by just barging into whatever meeting I have going on and dragging me off. At my one this week, she had run some tests on me and she had not been pleased with the results. Well, I wasn't pleased with the results, but I wasn't surprised either. I knew my body well enough to know that something was wrong even before the checkup. Sereh was the one who was unpleasantly surprised.
I had known what was coming. Back during the war, before Operation Meteor, Instructor H had made me an offer. I took him up on it. I thought his device would help me- and it did. I came to rely on my 'spaceheart'. But, he had warned me that it was an experiment. I was the only test subject. Even then I had known the risk I took. It had seemed worth it at the time. Now it was killing me.
I couldn't really bring myself to care.
By the way, 'doctor confidentiality' flies out the window when your doctor is your sister. Every single one of my sisters would know soon that my spaceheart had developed a malfunction. I wanted to scream at the thought of what they all would do when they found out. One over-protective big sister would be manageable. But 29 of them?
If it hadn't been for the thought of all those women hovering over me for however long I had left, I don't think I would've been as upset. Death seemed friendly to me- hell, it should've- his earthly incarnation was the only one of my old friends who I retained. It would be a chance to rest at the very least.
I had just gotten to the office on Thursday morning and was trying to distract myself with the piles of work on my desk when my secretary led 3 of my sisters into my office. Crap, it was starting already!
"Quatre," my sister Amah walked around the desk to kiss my cheek gently.
"Amah, it's good to see you. How can I help you?" Amah, Harah and Chani ran a successful 'makeover' business. It had been awhile since I had seen them. They were always busy.
"Sereh called us." Chani replied leaning over the desk to brush a hand across my hair. I groaned internally. "We've come to give you a break, little brother."
"A break?" I looked at the piles of work on my desk and thought of the day's full schedule. 7 am to 10 pm- every second was full. Just like I wanted it. "I can't..."
"You will," Amah said firmly pulling me to my feet as the door opened and four more of my sisters came in. "Judith, Rhys, Naka and Mairi are here to take care of all this." Judith grinned at me.
"Just give in, sweetheart," she advised. "We've all conspired to give you the weekend off."
"The weekend?" I repeated. Did I mention it was Thursday? "Isn't the weekend Saturday and Sunday?"
"Not for you," Amah also grinned at me. "It's a Thursday to Monday kind of thing."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You're going to get away from all this," Amah answered. "You're going to spend some time away from WEI and all the hooplah that goes with it."
"I can't 'get away'" I responded wearily. "You know that I'm recognized anywhere I go. Not to mention that I have to take the bodyguards with me thanks to that whole little corporate warfare incident..."
"Relax, little brother, we have it handled." Chani pulled my chair away from the desk. "Why do you think the 'makeover experts' are here?"
"Oh no," I wondered if I could make a break for it.
"No one will recognize you when we finish," Amah informed me gleefully, tugging me on my feet and towards the bathroom.
They were right. An hour later I was looking into the mirror and I didn't recognize myself. They had dyed my hair a light auburn- the only other color that wouldn't look odd with my skin tone, according to Harah. They had given me a dusting of freckles, green contacts and switched my suit for jeans with a t-shirt and a flannel. As a final touch, they had presented me with a pair of glasses- to disguise the shape of my face, Chani explained.
I blinked. I had gotten taller since the war, and broader in the shoulders, something that was hard to tell in a suit, but obvious in the clothes I was wearing now. Chani whistled at me.
"You are downright gorgeous, little brother," she teased, making me blush. They led me out into the other room, where the other four were swarming busily around. Sereh had joined them. She grinned at me and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Perfect," she said, undeterred. "Now get going."
"And where am I supposed to go?" I countered.
"I don't care. I don't want to see you until Monday morning." She handed me a set of keys and a wallet. "The keys go to the blue car in my spot. There's a duffle for you in the trunk. The ID is fake; so don't get into any trouble, all right? Now scram."
Considering that the rest of my sisters had also crossed their arms and were glaring at me too, I complied. Leos and Taureses were one thing, angry older sisters were quite another.
The blue car was older than any of the others I owned, but inconspicuous. At first it was a relief to just be away from work. I drove aimlessly, listening to the radio. Then I began to wonder what to do with myself. The last 4 years of my life had been nothing but WEI. My mind drifted to the work I knew was on my desk for a brief moment before I snapped myself together.
I swore angrily. Damn it, my sisters had gone to a lot of trouble for me- I was not going to waste their gift. I should go do something daring- something that I had been wanting to do...
Then I remembered Duo's email. Of course it was for last weekend- he and Heero would've gone back to L2...
But, the circus should still be here. I could at least go and see Wufei and Trowa. Of course- I knew they wouldn't want to see me. Like I said, Duo was the only one who tried anymore- he was the one who had sent the invite. However, the thought of seeing Trowa was very tempting. I glanced up at the rearview mirror and blinked at the stranger there.
Trowa wouldn't recognize me if by some strange quirk he even looked my way. But I could see him. I could sit in the audience and watch the show. That would be good enough. I headed towards the circus.