Part 11
Wufei slowly woke up, resting for a moment in that pleasant state between sleep and consciousness. He didn't open his eyes right away, enjoying the warmth of the body pressed against his. 'Wait a minute …'
Wufei frowned, eyes still closed. It was not normal. In fact, that bed was far too crowded, Wufei thought when he realized that he could feel two bodies pressed against his and not just one. The Chinese man finally opened his eyes and found himself entangled in lots of arms and legs, which did not belong to him. He turned his head to his left and found Quatre's head resting on his shoulder. The blond young man had draped an arm over his friend's chest and was sound asleep. On Wufei's other side, Duo was also deep in sleep, his hair falling out of his braid and one of his arms around Wufei's waist.
Wufei fought the chuckle that threatened to come to his lips. God, what would Meiran think if she could see him ? There he was, sprawled on his back in the middle of Duo's bed, with his friends using him as a pillow. Right now, Wufei was beginning to feel a little ashamed of enjoying it so much, but it had been so long since he had slept with a warm body beside him. Almost a year, in fact. He was so certain that he would never feel the same again that he hadn't even given it a try. The memory of Meiran, the trauma of her death were far too close in his mind for him to want to give another try to love. Quatre had been right all along.
Wufei took the time to study his two friends. From the first moment on, he had been amazed to see how they naturally revolved around each other. How they could anticipate the other's next move or next words. Quatre had freely admitted that they had been lovers, but the relationship they had now ran much deeper than that. Duo was treating Quatre like the little brother he didn't have, in a way. And Quatre could suddenly go all mother hen on Duo. It was strange. Wufei wondered how they could finally have come to the realization that they were not good for each other as lovers, but still remain that close.
Very slowly, Wufei pushed Duo's arm aside. He successfully managed to restore Quatre back on his pillow, before crawling out of the bed. As soon as he was out, Quatre and Duo instinctively closed the space between them, snuggling against each other. Almost naturally, Quatre locked his arms around Duo's neck, just as Duo put his own arms around Quatre's waist.
Wufei smiled and went out to practice his katas.
O.O.O.O.O
Duo woke up slowly and opened his blue-violet eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight. It was probably still early. He shot a tender look at the armful of blond young man he was holding. Wufei was nowhere to be seen. Duo frowned a bit. He just hoped Wu had not freaked when he had woken up in his bed. It's just, they were all so tired the night before that neither of them had found enough strength to prepare the spare bed and the couch.
Carefully disentangling himself from Quatre, Duo got up and went to the window …. And felt his jaw drop to the floor. Wufei, only wearing his white linen pants in the morning sun, was doing strange movements in his backyard. It looked like some kind of martial art, though Duo would have been unable to say which one. Wufei's honey-colored skin was glowing in the sun, his unbound ebony hair flowing around his face with every movement. His eyes were closed, and he had a look of concentration on his face. Duo swallowed hard. 'Have a good look now, Maxwell, 'cause you'll never touch that one', he thought with an inner smile.
"It's beautiful, isn't it ?"
Duo jumped several feet in the air.
"Cat ! Stop creeping behind me like that !"
"Sorry", Quatre said. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just, it seems to be a sacrilege to make noise while he's doing this."
"See what you mean", Duo said, turning his gaze back to the Chinese man. "It … kinda takes your breath away, uh ?"
"I can do some of it too, but I've always preferred watching him doing it. Maybe because there's something so dangerous in the way he does it."
"What do ya mean ?"
"Well, done like this, it's very slow, it looks like a dance almost. But applied with enough strength, each and every single blow can kill a man."
"Do ya think he'll kill me if he realizes I oggled him again ?"
"Probably", Quatre said with a shrug. "But if you two would please wait until after breakfast, that would be fine. I need to eat before you start ripping each other's throat, or the blood will distract me from my food."
"Is that all ya can think about ?", Duo said, whacking him at the back of the head.
"I'm tired of saving your neck. Deal with your unhealthy obsession with straight males on your own", Quatre replied with a wide grin.
Just at that moment, Wufei stopped moving and took a deep breath. He turned to the house, realized he was being watched, and waved. Quatre waved back, and went into the kitchen to start some breakfast. Duo followed pensively. They had to wait five more minutes before Wufei joined them.
"Tea ?", Quatre asked him.
"Yes, please."
"Uh, do ya do that every morning, Wu ?", Duo asked, trying to find a way to justify the fact that he had been watching.
"Yes. It's a basic training session. I usually do more of it, but I don't have the time now. I can't even really concentrate, it's kinda noisy here."
"Yeah, I'm in the middle of the industrial zone, some of them don't even stop at night."
"Good one, Maxwell, but that won't save your ass from explaining why you were leering at me again", Wufei said deadpan.
"Hell, I'm screwed", Duo started.
He suddenly scratched his head hesitantly.
"Actually, this is not accurate. Want to gimme a hand with that, Wu ?"
Quatre ducked as a piece of toast went flying in the air. It landed on Duo's cheek neatly. The braided youth burst out laughing, picked up the toast and began munching it.
"Not exactly what I had in mind, but it'll have to do", he sighed dramatically.
Wufei tried very hard not too laugh, but not hard enough.
O.O.O.O.O
The rest of the morning was spent cleaning up Duo's house. Duo had argued that he was 'just a bit disorganized', which had earned him his greatest pillow beating ever. Even Wufei admitted afterwards that chasing Duo around the house with the pillows had been fun. He had also made a mental note to always have Quatre on his side if a pillow fight started. The little blond could touch anything with dead accuracy once he was roused.
Once the excitement of the fight was over, Duo had to confess that his house needed to be cleaned up, especially if he was to leave it for a few weeks. So they had all begun to look for lone socks and stray cookies, occasionally throwing a very bad joke that made them all laugh silly. Just before noon, Quatre won the race to the bathroom and was the first to shower, while Wufei and Duo were left doing what they did best when together : bickering.
"I swear, Maxwell, next time you make me pick up your socks, I'm feeding them to you ! You could have made a toxic gas bomb out of them !"
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad ! Not my fault I didn't think to move the couch to check !"
"But how did it land here in the first place ?"
"Wu, if you want details about my sex life, you have to become part of it before I tell you anything !"
When the "MAXWELL!" Duo was expecting didn't come, the American looked up at his friend. Wufei was intently looking out of the window. Following his gaze, Duo looked outside and noticed a man framed in the entrance of the junkyard. A man with high cheekbones, a delicately tanned skin, piercing blue eyes and unruly brown hair.
"Hey, but …"
"That's him", Wufei said. "I wonder how he knew where Quatre is staying."
"It's because Cat told him."
"What ? And how do you know ?"
"Because Cat is kind enough to let me know when he gives out my address to complete strangers, duh !"
"Yeah, sure, sorry."
"No harm done. I'll go get Cat."
"No, not yet. It won't be the end of the world if he finishes this shower, and I'd like to have a little talk with Mr Yuy before."
Duo rolled his eyes, but nonetheless followed Wufei outside.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero took the card out of his pocket and checked the address. It was the right place, as surprising as it might seem. But to hell if Heero knew why Quatre was staying in a junkyard. Although it was probably a good thing for him to have left his hotel room by now.
The door of the little house opened and two people got out : Chang Wufei, and the other young man Heero had seen at the club, the one with the very long braid. Chang was wearing yet another white traditional outfit. The other young man, who looked a bit younger, was wearing a pair of very snug tight shorts and a black T-shirt displaying the white slogan 'Kiss My Ass !' To Heero's surprise, it was that one who spoke first.
"Can I help you ?"
Heero took out the card and showed it.
"I'm looking for Quatre Raberba Winner."
"We know who ya're looking for, dude ! What I'm asking is why should I let you see him ?"
"I am not here to harm anyone", Heero said, put a bit off-balance by the strange reactions he was getting.
"That's what you say", Chang cut in. "Quatre may trust you, Yuy, but you can't ask me to do the same right away. Are you armed ?"
Heero's lips curved upwards in what could be interpreted as a smile.
"I didn't bring any weapon, but don't make the mistake to think that it makes me someone less dangerous, Mr Chang. I know about a hundred ways to kill someone with my bare hands, most of them in less that a second."
"So do I", Chang replied coldly. "Let's try to behave and not put them into practice, shall we ?"
Heero seemed to consider those last words and simply nodded.
"Maxwell, get Quatre."
The braided boy retreated back into the house, but Chang didn't move from the doorframe, making it impossible for Heero to get in. The Chinese man's eyes pierced Heero's.
"I don't know what your motives are, Yuy, and honestly, I really don't care. What happens between Quatre and you is your business, and although I disapprove of the whole thing, I know better than to try and stop him. I know you can't lie to him, just as I can't. If he says he trusts you, it means he has reasons. As for me, I will need a little more than that. For a start, you will need to come up with a very good explanation of why you tried to kill him in the first place."
Heero nodded again. That was only fair after all.
"And then, I must give you a warning. Quatre means a lot to a lot of people. Just hurt him and I'll make life hell for you."
"I'm already there", Heero said bitterly.
"It can get worse, believe me. And if you think that's just an idle threat, beware of Maxwell. He's thrice as vicious as me when it comes to people hurting Quatre."
After that little speech, Chang got inside without looking back. Heero took it as a silent invitation and followed.
O.O.O.O.O
When he came into the living-room, Quatre was sitting cross-legged on the couch. He was wearing dark blue shorts and a matching T-shirt, and his hair was still damp. The braided youth was standing behind the couch, one arm protectively draped around Quatre's shoulders. Heero was careful not to say a thing and stood there, waiting for someone to tell him what to do.
"Hi, Heero", Quatre said with a smile. "Please sit down. I think we have a lot to talk about."
"Yes, I think we do", Heero said, trying to hide his nervousness and spectacularly failing.
There was an awkward silence. Duo was glaring at the Japanese man from under his chestnut bangs. Wufei was standing like a silent guard near the door. Only Quatre seemed to be perfectly comfortable. He actually shot exasperated looks to his two friends.
"Will you two stop that already ? I know you guys are not sure about this, but give him a chance to explain, at least ! Duo, stop trying to suffocate me, I am not going to fly away ! Wufei, take a seat and stop looking at him as if he's going to throttle me in a moment !"
To Heero's surprise, neither of the two young men objected. They merely muttered excuses and took seats. Heero noticed that the braided young man decided to sit beside Quatre on the couch.
"Good", Quatre said when everyone was settled. "Heero, this is Chang Wufei, but I guess you already know his name."
Heero nodded.
"And this is Duo Maxwell, my best friend, for lack of another word."
Heero raised his eyebrows, intrigued by the strange phrasing, but did not ask questions.
"I suppose you all know my name by now", he just said.
"Yes. I know you have a lot of questions, but before I can even attempt to answer those I can answer, you will need to explain some things to us. I hope you understand."
"I do. By any means, I owe you an explanation."
"I personally would be ready to believe you right away, but Wufei and Duo need to know everything before they can take their own decision to trust you or not. They are my friends, and their opinions matter to me."
"Yeah, sure, Cat", Duo sneered. "Like ya're not going to keep on even if we say we don't agree."
Quatre reached out to Duo and stroked the braided youth's arm.
"Please, Duo, don't make this more difficult. I'm just asking you to trust me. You know it
matters to me what you think. It would make me sad if you didn't approve."
"I know, Cat", Duo sighed. "Ya remember what I told you, right ? Duo Maxwell doesn't lie. I meant it when I told you, I still mean it now. As long as Mister here comes up with a good reason for why he wanted to kill you and I can beat him up for it, then, I'm good."
Heero's eyes widened. He was not really sure he had really heard that. That lanky young man was talking about beating him up. Heero shot a closer look at the braided youth, his mind suddenly noticing small facts that it hadn't bothered to gather. The fact that this young man was actually almost as tall as himself ; that he didn't seem remotely impressed by his reputation (or maybe he just didn't know about it) ; and that he was actually thin, but well-built, and probably more than able to take care of himself if he had been living on L2 for that long.
"Shall we get to the point ?", Wufei cut in.
"Yeah, like what do you really do for a living ?", Duo added.
"I thought that was quite obvious, Mr Maxwell", Heero snorted. "I am a hired killer. I kill people."
"That's all ?"
"No. I am also a good hacker and I can probably enter any secured facility, no matter how secured, and come out without a scratch. Actually, that's what I did at the Winner Mansion."
"And why did you want to kill Quatre ?", Wufei asked abruptly.
Heero turned weary eyes to the Chinese man. He knew before he had come that he would probably have to go through this, but that didn't make it any less humiliating nor any less boring. But apparently, Quatre seemed to think that was necessary. He was letting his two friends ask all the questions they wanted, just listening to Heero's answers.
"I did not want to kill Quatre, Mr Chang. Unlike some other people in the trade, I do not kill for fun and pleasure. I kill because it's the only thing I was ever taught to do in my life. I've never done anything else."
Quatre winced when he felt the pain hidden behind those words. But again, he didn't interrupt.
"I was hired to kill you", Heero said, turning to Quatre. "By a crime syndicate called The Doctors. The new charities threaten their business, it makes too many poor people out of their reach. They thought that if something happened to you, your father would stop them."
"Why did you accept ?", Quatre asked softly.
"I needed a new contract", Heero explained. "It was probably my greatest mistake. Odin always told me to choose my targets carefully. I was careless this time, but I'm not sure I regret my mistake."
"When you say Odin, ya mean Odin Lowe, right ?", Duo asked with curiosity. "So that's true, ya were his best pupil."
"I was his only pupil. He raised me and taught me everything he knew. And if you don't mind, I don't want to speak of it for the moment."
Duo's huge violet eyes looked at Heero, and a timid smile appeared on his face.
"Sure, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."
Wufei scowled a bit when he saw Duo beginning to get friendly with the killer, but he didn't let it show too much. Heero came back to this explanation.
"I must add that once it was known in our little underworld that I had been hired for the job, other crime lords voiced their support for the operation and offered to fund it. Those are Dermail, and Treize Kushrenada."
"Dermail, from Romefeller Ltd ?", Quatre asked in disbelief. "I had heard rumors about Treize Kushrenada, and Wufei here can confirm some of them were more than rumors, but I thought WEI's end of contract with Romefeller Ltd was for another matter."
"Gee, when I told ya all the big bosses are rotten and lost, Cat", Duo said dejectedly. "Except your Dad, and the Peacecrafts and some others, they all want more and more and more. And when they find out they can't, they want you dead. That's not fair !"
"Some big corporations are involved in illegal activities", Heero said evenly. "For some of them, it's just partly, and the CEO doesn't even know. But for KI and Romefeller Ltd, I'm positive. They're dealing drugs, selling weapons, and trying to take over the whole underground economy."
"Why the hell would you accept to work for people like that ?", Duo asked angrily.
"Because this is my job !", Heero snapped. "Because this is what I can do better than anyone else ! And because if I can kill a few sharks while they're trying to eat each other, it's fine by me ! I am mostly called to get rid of rivals ! The people I kill are no better than the people who hire me, but Odin taught me that accepting to work for the bad guys would help me take even worse guys out of the picture. It was a deal I was prepared to accept."
Heero didn't remember talking for so long in one breath and shook his head to calm himself. Now was a particularly bad time to lose control.
"What was so different this time, Yuy ?", Wufei asked.
"I have principles, Mr Chang", Heero answered. "I choose my targets. No one gives me orders. They politely ask me to remove someone, and I do it if it suits me. I happen to have had several big disagreements with previous employers. Especially when their notion of a 'bad guy' doesn't reach mine. And, if you don't mind me saying so, Quatre is far from fitting the criteria I have for 'bad guys'."
Heero sighed and took his head in his hands.
"The problem is that I didn't have any means to know it before I started to get closer to carry out my plan, which meant I had to accept the contract first. I never should have. Blame me if you want, I don't care. I failed to fulfill a contract. Word spreads fast in our little community. I am a target as much as Quatre is now. Everyone will want me down."
Duo hesitated, then got up and put a cautious hand on the Japanese man's shoulder, careful not to startle him. Never good to startle a trained killer, even in your own house, surrounded by friends.
"Sorry we were such jerks", Duo said with a smile, "but I didn't even ask if you'd like something to drink. There's coffee, if you want some."
"Thank you", Heero whispered.
Duo shot a look at Wufei, who shook his head, then at Quatre, who also shook his head, but gave his friend a radiant smile before he disappeared into the kitchen. Five minutes later, he was back with two steaming mugs, and carefully put one in front of Heero on the coffee table.
"OK, break's over, ya can start again tellin' us why you tried to kill Cat !"
"I never wanted to hurt him personally. For me it was just a name on a paper."
Heero looked up at Quatre.
"But then, you did something. I don't know what you did, but …"
"I'll explain a bit later, and to you only, because Duo and Wufei already know about that part", Quatre said. "Let's just say I tried to play a little game on you. I'm not really sure how well that ended. The good point is I am still alive. The bad point is that we will both have all the killers of the galaxy after us."
"That's kind of a pretty big 'bad point', Cat", Duo said, sipping his coffee. "Ya will have to tell someone. There's no way Wu and I can protect you forever."
"I can help with that", Heero cut in.
Wufei scowled again. He couldn't really decide what to think of Heero. The little game with Quatre seemed to have messed up with his mind pretty badly, but that was something Quatre needed to sort out by himself.
"You saved his life last night", the Chinese man said. "Why ?"
Heero turned to face Wufei.
"I had plenty of time to prepare, so I hacked the Winner database. And I discovered what it was WEI was really doing. I discovered that they were cutting every links with possible terrorist threats and crime organizations. And that they were starting new charities."
Wufei raised an eyebrow.
"And that was enough to change your mind ?", he asked sarcastically.
"I am an orphan", Heero simply said. "If such a thing as WEI Charities had existed when I was a child, I would probably not have turned into a cold-blooded murderer. It's too late for me, but it's not too late for the others. My own little fight is pathetic. I sincerely hoped I could do this all by myself after Odin was executed, but I can't. I can't just kill them all. But I can prevent them from doing what they want."
"How ?"
"I have contacts. I know who they are. I know each and every one of the lame killers they will send after me. And I am scaring the wits out of them."
Heero sighed.
"That kind of association was an agreement. I agreed to kill for them when the targets fitted my criteria, they agreed to pay me a lot for it because they knew that it was best for them to have me on their side."
"And now, … whose side are you on ?", Duo asked almost timidly.
"I am on no one's side, Mr Maxwell. The only things I've been taught to trust were my abilities and my feelings. My abilities told me I could get rid of Quatre if I had the will. My feelings told me I would never find the will."
He turned a pleading look to Quatre.
"You know I can't kill you. You know why …"
"Yes, I think I know why", Quatre said. "But that can wait. Just let me sum up what you told us. You were hired to get rid of me because of the charities. Once I started feeling you and you found out about what I was really doing, I suppose something happened that made you change your mind, and you decided to work against your employers and help me. Am I getting this right ?"
"Yes. Anyway, any killer coming for you will come for me after. Either I try to protect the both of us, or we're both dead. It's as simple as that."
"I am not completely unprotected", Quatre protested.
"Your bodyguards were not particularly efficient."
"They've been fired, and I didn't need them anyway !"
Quatre took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Sorry about that. There are a few things you and I need to discuss, Heero, and then we can figure out what to do. But first, I need to ask Duo and Wufei what they think about this."
Quatre looked up at his friends expectantly. His heart sank when he saw the perplex expression on Wufei's face.
"Fei ?"
"I need to think, Quatre. It seems like everyone has agreed that I didn't need a brain, since you all are trying to destroy it with some efficiency lately. I just am confused about that whole thing. I hope I'll make things clear, Yuy. You sent a decoy attack on me and Quatre. I burst into his room to find you all but pointing a gun at him. The only reason you're still free and alive is because Quatre prevented his bodyguard from shooting you down. If I was able of normal reasoning, there's no way I should trust you."
Wufei paused for a moment, trying to find his next words.
"However … You didn't actually shoot Quatre. You helped us last night. You've come here unarmed and Maxwell makes coffee for you. If nothing else, I think Quatre can read people quite well. And I don't think you're lying about your intentions. I'm not saying that I trust you from now on, but if Quatre tells me everything is okay, then I see no objection for you to join the team. You just have to know that I'll be watching you."
"I guess that's only fair", Heero sighed. "I didn't really expect you to trust me right away anyway. Respect's no given, it's earned. Give me a chance to win your respect and I'll prove you you were right to trust me."
Wufei's expression softened.
"I can do with that kind of deal", he said calmly. "But only on one condition."
"Which one ?"
"If you try to win my respect, Heero Yuy, you'll have to let me try and win yours. There's no reason you should trust me either. We'll have to learn how to work together."
Heero nodded, swallowing his nervousness back. That was better than he had imagined it. He knew that the Chinese would need to be convinced, but at least, the man had honestly voiced his opinion and was ready to give him a chance. No need to say that if he failed to convince him, he would probably end up with his neck broken anyway. Apparently, Chang Wufei wasn't treating promises and things such as honor and respect lightly.
Quatre turned to Duo. The braided young man was actually scowling.
"Duo ?"
"I just realized one thing !", Duo whined. "He said he didn't really want to kill you ! That means I can't beat the crap out of him for trying, because you messed up with his head and so it appears he didn't even really try to kill you, and I'm sooo frustrated !"
Everyone gaped at Duo. The young American grinned widely.
"So what ? Can't I get some fun too ? Anyway, as I told you Cat, if you trust him, that's enough for me."
"Thanks, Duo."
"However …", Duo started, in a mock imitation of Wufei.
He stood up and his face grew more serious. His eyes even went a little cold.
"I spent far too much time gathering the pieces of Cat's heart because some bastard had just thrown it away. For your own well-being, I hope you don't intend to do the same, because that, buddy, is something that could piss me off. And I don't care that you're the Perfect Soldier or whatever, but if you do that to Cat, I'll rip your chest open with my bare hands, take out your own heart assuming you have one and feed it to you with pepper. Am I making myself clear, pal ?"
Heero found himself unable to do anything but nod.
"Good", Duo said. "As long as you make Cat happy, Heero, there's absolutely no reason you and I won't become good friends. Oh, and if you need a hint as to where Blondie is ticklish, feel free to ask", he added with a wink.
Heero suddenly turned a very attractive shade of lobster pink. Quatre couldn't help laughing softly, but he flushed a little too.
"Duo, don't start that", he said between chuckles. "We haven't even worked things out, for Allah's sake. Maybe I'm wrong after all, we don't know."
"Well, you better not be, Cat ! Or if you are, then hand him down to me, I could do with a cute guy in my bed, it's been far too long !"
"Maxwell, as you reminded me sooner, no one needs a detailed account of your sex life or lack thereof", Wufei said dryly. "So if you're done embarrassing Quatre's guest …"
"I'm far from it, I'm just starting."
"Duo", Quatre said, "thanks for trying, but this isn't helping, I swear."
"It's just because it's you, Cat. Ya know I wouldn't stop for anyone else."
"I know. Now, if you two don't mind … I don't want to throw you out, but since you have reluctantly agreed that Heero is no longer a threat to me, could we have some time alone ? We have to discuss some things."
"Sure, Cat ! I'll just get Wu to help me finish that last job I got so I can leave with a quiet mind."
"What in space makes you think I would help you on my own free will, Maxwell ?"
"Who said you still had a free will, Wu ?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Maxwell", Wufei said as they both left the room.