Disclaimer: I do not own and bit of Gundam Wing/AC, so no sueing me. hands off!
Note: This came from a plot bunny I got from a website who knows how long ago. I was rummaging through some old papers a while ago and found it lying there printed from notepad. I looked at it again, and thought it was an interesting idea, so I started to work on it. This is a yaoi and non-yaoi piece, just letting you know. I am not going to tell you who the pairings are, you are going to have to read on and see for yourselves. As a warning, make way for violence, strong language, and sexual situations.
Chapter 1: More than one bullet
Trowa could not recall a day that Catherine looked lovelier than at her wedding. He was there for her at all times during the planning for support, and now that the day had come, it was her vision of perfect. Her dress was simple, yet elegant, just like her personality. The ceremony was held at a chapel on the American east coast, with the reception close by.
Catherine's husband was a very successful businessman on L1 colony, where he owned several upscale restaurants, which catered to the affluent set. Trowa was so happy for her when she told him the news, but he was worried when she told him that she would be leaving the circus. Catherine's companionship was the only thing that kept him performing. He knew that she would be leaving eventually, but not as soon as she did. Helping her move her things to L1 hurt the most, because he knew that he was loosing the only thing that felt like home. Hey knew he was going to have to leave the circus too.
He got to be the best man at the ceremony. People kept commenting on how handsome he looked in his tuxedo with the green vest. Couldn't they see how upset he was? As soon as Catherine started down that isle, however, he stopped feeling upset. His sister was so radiant that he could not possibly feel poor about the situation. It was her day, and he knew that she was happy. He smiled genuinely for her, and he stopped thinking on his fate for a while.
"Trowa, you look great!" Duo gave him a hearty smack on the shoulder, which fazed him out of his dream world. He was at the reception; Catherine and her new husband had already left for the honeymoon. Now all Trowa had to do was get through step one, surviving the rest of the reception. He smiled at Duo in his usual, faltering way.
"You don't look so bad yourself, where's Heero?"
"You know, I'm not quite sure," Duo glanced around, "he has been wandering around restless ever since Catherine left."
"Be sure to tell him I said hello." Trowa glanced over Duo's shoulder to see Quatre and a very lovely Dorothy coming their way. Trowa choked for a moment when he saw an intricate diamond ring on her finger. He tried to shake the sinking feeling in his stomach, but it just wouldn't leave him alone.
"It's good to see you, Quatre, Dorothy." He managed as they came over. He received a hug from each of them and a light kiss on the cheek from Dorothy. They started telling him about how business was going on L3, and how things had been improving, and then Quatre dropped the bombshell.
"Things have been well enough that, well," he looked at Dorothy fondly, "I've asked Dorothy to marry me, and we will be doing so next May."
"Congratulations!" Duo shook Quatre's hand, and then hugged them both.
"Indeed, congratulations." Trowa replied as enthusiastically as he could. He saw Quatre again, later that night, where he gave Trowa a business card.
"That's our new address and phone number," he smiled, "I hope you will get in contact with me soon. I wanted to know if you would like to be in the wedding party?"
"I just thought I would be a guest."
"Nonsense! I want you to be a part of it," Quatre put a hand on Trowa's shoulder, "you're one of my best friends, after all." The words hurt more than Trowa thought they would. Trowa and Quatre had an on-again, off-again relationship for almost as long as they had known one another. Trowa would date women in between, but they would always break things off because they felt he was too distant. After that, Trowa and Quatre became rather serious, but Quatre ended it suddenly, saying that a same sex relationship would not be good for them in the long run. Trowa felt that some asshole in the ranks of Quatre's company scared him out of the relationship. Shortly after their breakup, Quatre began a very public relationship with Dorothy Catalonia. Trowa never really recovered from the series of events, even though Catherine was always there for him. Seeing that ring on Dorothy's finger was the final wound in his back, so Trowa hoped.
"Well," he moved away from the contact of Quatre's hand and walked toward the doors of the reception hall, "don't call me, I'll call you, and I mean that." Quatre didn't understand what he meant as he watched Trowa slip outside, unnoticed. At least the air outside was not oppressive to Trowa.
"That was a shitty thing he did to you." Trowa heard a familiar voice come from the parking lot. Heero was leaning against a white rental car, smoking a cigarette. Trowa shrugged and walked over.
"I guess his marketing department felt that gay was a poor image." Heero chuckled a little, tapping the ash and taking a short drag from his cigarette.
"Duo said you wanted to see me."
"I need a gun."
"Running away?" Heero asked and opened the trunk of the rental car, and then opened a suitcase inside. A small arsenal of handguns was revealed, and Trowa looked over them.
"Just getting away from the busy life for a while," Trowa retorted, "I didn't think you would have this many with you."
"I keep them with just incase I pick up a good sale," he smirked, "by the way, what happened to all of your guns?"
"I was a civilian in the circus," he loaded a clip into his handgun of choice, "I didn't really need anything lethal."
"So, you're not going to be a civilian anymore?" Heero smirked a little, his interest caught.
"I'm not sure yet," Trowa fished out a clip of bills and held it out to Heero, "but defense is always a wandering man's best friend."
"Don't worry about it," Heero pushed the money back towards Trowa, "I am sure you are going to need it more than I will. Just know that there are two guys on L2 who would like to hear from you time to time." Heero handed him a slip of paper and two clips of ammunition.
"What's this?"
"Our home phone," Heero flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, "I don't like handing it out to most people."
"Thanks, Heero," Trowa left for his own car, "I'm sure you will be hearing from me soon." He heard a sharp reply while he got into the driver's seat.
"Just remember what I told you about death, it's why I gave you more than one bullet." Trowa chuckled and shut the door.