She Sang to Me
"Hey, Quatre. Hold on a second will ya." Quatre bit back a groan as he saw Duo, Heero, Wufei and Milliardo walking towards him. Duo having been the one to speak and judging by his friend's smile Duo had something big to talk about of the wild grinning kind.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Quatre said as he moved to let a cadet get by him, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was feeling very fine and he doubted there was anything that could ruin his current good mood but he just had this strange feeling he wasn't going to like whatever it was Duo had to say.
"We just wanted to make sure that you were alright." Wufei said as he came to a stop in front of him, not quite able to meet Quatre's eye. He was feeling more then a tad uncomfortable now that he knew what he'd interrupted "You feeling alright?"
"Like I said before I'm fine." Quatre said with a slight laugh, not sure whether to be relieved or not. He didn't really want to talk about what had happened but he'd rather talk about that then whatever was making Duo look the way he did. "Never felt better, there's really no need for you guys to worry." he added thinking that the only way he could be any better would be if Night were to appear in front of him.
"I'll say." Duo said under his breath so that Quatre couldn't make it out. "Are you sure, Quatre? I mean if she was one of those colony kids then she could've done a lot of damage without you even realizing it. Seeing as you work with Lady Une I'm surprised she didn't attack you and do lord only knows what."
"Like I said I'm fine. She didn't lay a finger on me." Quatre said lying through his teeth which was rare for him to be sure. She'd laid more then a finger on him and he had the scratches on his back to prove it. "Like I told Wufei I tripped over something in the dark."
"She didn't lay a finger on you?" Duo said raising an eyebrow at the big lie coming from Quatre's mouth. This day was just getting more interesting by the minute.
"I'm fine guys, really. Duo, why are you grinning like that?" Quatre said suddenly getting the feeling that he had just walked into a trap and closed the door for them.
"Well it looked to me like she had her hands on you and several other parts of your autonomy, buddy of mine" Duo said with an even wider grin splitting his face if that were possible. "Of course I guess I could be wrong. What do you think, Heero?"
"What are you talking about, Maxwell?" Quatre said as he tried his best not to show any emotion to the comment though he was itching to. Duo hadn't been there, so what did he mean by that comment?
"Well Wufei was worried about you so I went and checked the solar video cameras on your roof to see how she got in undetected." Duo said with a smirk, heading towards the punch line. "I got to say it was an enjoyable task, I never thought you had it in you."
"Video?" Quatre said then slowly felt his blood pressure soar as it sunk in. Duo had found a tape that had recorded what had happened last night on the roof echoed over and over in his head till it was like a chant. Recalling exactly what they'd been doing on the roof Quatre felt his face begin to heat up and when he finally managed to speak it came out in a near roar. "HAND IT OVER, MAXWELL!! NOW!!"
"Whhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaattttt!" Duo said automatically taking the tape out from behind his back and before anyone could comment Quatre grabbed it out of his hand with startling speed.
"Whoa Quatre." Heero said rather impressed by Quatre's show of speed. He'd never seen Quatre move so fast ever.
"I'll see you guys later." Quatre said as he marched away without another word taking the tape with him.
Later that day
"Ahhhhhhhh, Eve?" Eve quickly slipped out of a particularly vivid dream involving a certain delectable blonde and snapped back to attention to look up at Darius who was watching her with a curious look on his face. She'd come to the cafe to relax and she didn't appreciate being interrupted especially when the dream had been getting interesting.
"What is it, Darius?" Eve said letting her annoyance show. They weren't supposed to talk in public and the last thing she needed was for someone to get suspicious.
"Have you heard about what they're calling Quatre Winner now?" Darius said looking too innocent for comfort. Something was definitely up and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it one little bit. At her blank look he grinned and elaborated. "They're calling him Hot Lips and several other variations of that now." Darius said slipping into the chair beside her practically vibrating with anticipation.
"What are you talking about?" Eve said suspiciously, the fact that she was not liking that look at all clear. "Quatre? Why would they call him that? Duo maybe but Quatre? He's not exactly what you'd call a ladies man." Eve said as she moved over a bit feeling a tad uncomfortable. The again he was talented enough to be one, Eve added to herself as she recalled just how talented his hands were. And she'd thought he was talented with the violin! He was even better using his hands in other areas not that she'd ever admit it.
"Well you see Cadet Huntker was in the audio room while Duo was reviewing several security tapes from the new solar powered cameras that he'd installed at Quatre's house recently. Turns out the one from last night was a real steamer." Darius said with a wicked grin as he waited for his meaning to hit. He was already making plans to steal and view the tape and was dying to see her reaction.
"You didn't tell me there were surveillance cameras that operated on solar power." Eve said quietly, deadly quiet. That was never a good thing.
"They put them in after the elevator incident and they figured out what kind of people they were dealing with. I didn't know about the cameras, it was kept very hush hush for obvious reasons." Darius said rather glad he hadn't known now though he was likely the only one on their team that was.
"Who has the tape?" Eve said with a touch of anger, her control over her boiling hot rage slipping by the second..
"Quatre has it now. Or at least one copy of it." Darius said with a touch of irony not lost to her. He obviously thought this was all very funny. He wouldn't be thinking it was funny when she shoved the tapes up his scrawny ass. "Seeing as Duo found it first there's probably more then one copy now."
"Well then I guess I better see that those tapes disappear." Eve said with a voice so cold there was a noticeable chill in the air.
Later on that evening
"What did I ever do to deserve this kind of life? I baby-sat for mom, did my homework, chores and went to church every Sunday. Or at least I did when I still had a soul. God, if you can hear me then I suggest you start cutting me some slack before I start thinking about becoming an atheist." Eve said as she turned the door handle carefully and hoped for the best. She had Duo's extra copy and a warning against repetition to be delivered tomorrow, now it was time to get the original copy from Quatre. " And of course he couldn't put it anywhere in the house, he had to take it to his room." Eve said under her breath, her voice more then a touch peeved off. She'd finished searching everywhere else and Quatre's bedroom was last on her list for obvious reasons. It didn't help that he was in there either. She should have probably waited but she couldn't risk anymore copies or actual video footage of her running around. There were a few of Keyda's grandfather's spies in Preventers and the last thing she needed was for one of them to get a hold of a copy of it. Or to put it online for perverted middle aged nerds pleasure, Eve thought darkly. Gentle pressing on the door Eve quickly slipped inside soundlessly. She'd slipped a load of sleeping pills into his coffee before he'd left work so he should be dead to the world but just in case. Hand on the gun strapped to her side she crouched and waited to see if anything would happen. She could just make out a male form under the covers which presumably was Quatre and staying perfectly still Eve waited for four minutes before moving. Slinking around Eve carefully closed the door behind her and straightening up walked noiselessly over to the bed. Standing over him Eve looked down and staring at the still form of her newest thorn in her side with an odd fascination. Do all men look like that when they sleep? Eve wondered. She'd seen her brothers and dad sleeping and they had looked just like Quatre did now. Like sleeping angels, Eve thought as she grinned at the fanciful thought. When they were sleeping was the only time anyone could've called her brothers angels in any sense of the word. She'd slipped into other male bedrooms to get information but she'd never bothered to look at her victims. Then again she didn't think she'd ever had a victim with such a nice ass, Eve thought as she admired Quatre's fine form. Damn but I'm getting weak in the head, Eve thought as she turned away from him to search his desk.
Thirty minutes later she was ready to shoot someone and she couldn't decide between Duo and Blue eyes, well in truth with Quatre it was more appealing to think of other things to do to him. "Where did you put it?" Eve muttered under her breath as she relocked his safe. "You must have been awesome at hide and go seek when you were a kid you know that."
"Irisaaaaaaaaa." A tortured voice yelled out as if in response though the answer didn't fit the question. Turning her head Eve flinched as she watched Quatre roll over and call out another woman's name with such anguish. Irisa? Who was she? Wasn't that the name of Quatre's sister? The one that was killed during the war? She'd read up on him after all and knew that he'd lost his mother as a boy and his father and sister Irisa during the war when their home came under attack. Understanding now Eve walked back over to the bed where Quatre had begun to roll around and with her superior vision Eve could make out the pain twisting his features even in the darkness. "No, Irisa! You can't die. Noooooooooooooooo!" Quatre screamed and very nearly threw himself off the bed in the process. Instinctively Eve grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him from rolling off and with a strength that surprised her Quatre latched onto her wrists and yanked her hands off of him. "No I have to save her."
"Quatre, it's just a dream." Eve said quietly as she once again got a hold of him, this time anticipating resistance and putting more of an effort into holding him down. "Everything's all right, go back to sleep."
"I've got to save her." Quatre replied rapidly, sitting up and blinked around him as though searching for her, expecting her to be there.
"It's okay Quatre, she's safe. No one can hurt her now." Eve said as she gently pressed him back into the bed. "She's safe. She's in a place where no one can ever hurt her, Quatre." Eve said as she tucked the covers in around him with care. "I swear that to you."
"Angel? Is that you? Irisa, she's alright? You promise?" Quatre said as he looked pleadingly up at her as he let her press him back into the bed. "Don't go, Angel. I don't want you to go." Quatre said latching onto her arm as she made to leave. "Stay."
"I have to go, Quatre." Eve said as she placed a hand over his. "I don't belong here."
"I want you to stay. You chase the nightmares away. When I'm with you everything else goes away." Quatre said looking pleadingly up at her. He's not even fully awake Eve, Eve thought to herself as she tried to ignore the pleading looks he was giving her. She was a thief and assassin, not a nanny, Eve continued as she tried to slide her hand out of his without success. What was she supposed to do?
"Quatre..." Eve began but Quatre only responded by tightening his grip on her arm and pulling her closer. "What am I suppose to do?" Eve finished as she allowed Quatre to pull her closer, becoming his security blanket of sorts. "How do I get myself into these situations?" Tugging a couple more times Eve finally gave up. The only way to break his grip would be to break some fingers, which would wake him up completely and that was the last thing she needed. What she needed was for him to fall back asleep so that she could get away but how? How did her mom use to get them to go to sleep? "Quatre, would you like me to sing you to sleep?" Eve said hesitantly not sure what he'd think of that comment. She rarely sang anymore but then she hadn't had a reason to in a long time.
"You'll stay?" Quatre said loosening his hold slightly.
"For a while." Eve said sitting down on the bed. Happily Quatre fell back on his pillow though he continued to hold onto her wrist. "What would you like to hear?"
"Your favorite, Angel." Quatre said sleepily.
"Okay then." Eve said with a small smile. Her favorite song. He sure wasn't asking much. She hadn't sang her favorite song for years. But somehow it seemed right to sing it here to him. Taking a deep breath Eve smiled at Quatre then closing her eyes allowed the words to flow from her mouth as the beautiful sound of her voice quietly filled the room.
"He called her on the road
From a lonely cold hotel room
Just to hear her say I love you one more time
And when he heard the sound
Of the kids laughing in the background
He had to wipe away a tear from his eye
A little voice came on the phone
Said "Daddy when you coming home?"
He said the first thing that came to his mind
I'm already there
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
I'm your imaginary friend
And I know, I'm in your prayers
Oh I'm already there
She got back on the phone
Said I really miss you, darling
Don't worry about the kids they'll be alright
Wish I was in your arms
Lying right there beside you
But I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight
And I'll gently kiss your lips
Touch you with my fingertips
So turn out the light and close your eyes
I'm already there
Don't make a sound
I'm the beat in your heart
I'm the moonlight shining down
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there until the end
Can you feel the love that we share
Oh I'm already there
We may be a thousand miles apart
But I'll be with you wherever you are
I'm already there
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there until the end
Can you feel the love that we share
Oh I'm already there
I'm already there." Eve said quietly, finishing the last verse then turned to look at Quatre. His breathing was once again soft and steady and when she moved her arm her hand slide from his with minimum reluctance. Tucking the covers more tightly around him Eve placed a chaste kiss on his forehead then slowly exited the room, unaware that the pillow Quatre slept on hid a small, black video tape.
The next morning
Quatre walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. "Well someone's in a good mood." Relena commented as she took a sip of orange juice she'd just poured into her cup, glad to see him in a good mood.
"I don't know what it was but I slept great." Quatre said taking a glass out of the cupboard and sat down beside Relena. "Then again I did nod off pretty quick last night, was dead tired for some reason."
"Well maybe you should keep listening to music while you're sleeping, it obviously helped you this time." Relena said passing him the pitcher of orange juice when he started to reach over for it. When he asked what she was talking about Relena didn't know quite what to think. "But I heard music coming from your room last night. I couldn't sleep so I went down to get some water and I heard Eve Tenchi's voice coming from your room. I'd know her voice anywhere." Relena said with a puzzled look on her face.
"Who?" Quatre said in surprise as he blinked at the certainty in her voice. He didn't recognize the name and he definitely knew that he didn't have any music by her, whoever she is since then logic dictated he'd know the name.
"Eve Tenchi was one of the "Angels", Quatre. They were a family singing group that were really popular before the war." Duo said walking into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Now there was one good looking babe."
"DUO!" Relena yelled as she caught sight of her husband's best friend, unable to quite believe her eyes as she completely forgot all about Eve Tenchi. "YOUR HAIR! What did you do to it, Duo?"
"Oh my God!" Quatre said dropping his glass onto the floor where it splintered into a hundred pieces though no one seemed to notice. "What did you do, Maxwell? And for that matter why did you do it?"
"What is it, guys? You're scaring me, what about my hair?" Duo said looking nervously from one to the other. When all anyone seemed capable of doing was gap at him Duo started to get really worried and could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. "What are you two gaping at?" Duo demanded quite beyond a little worried now. Not even waiting for an answer he ran back the way he came and headed straight for the hallway mirror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!! #!%#!!!!! #%#!!"
"I don't think he dyed his hair on purpose." Relena said dryly as she winced at the swear words and phrases echoing off the walls.
"IT'S RED! SOMEONE DYED MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR BRIGHT RED!!!!! Son of a friggin bitch. #% ###% %!!!!"
"Hey, Duo. What's the idea with the yelling and screaming huh? Some of us prefer to sleep in on a Saturday morning." Heero said walking down the stairs with a bad tempered look on his face that quickly turned into a look of complete and utter shock. "What the Hell did you do to your HAIR?"
"I didn't do it." Duo cried in a voice similar to someone who had just lost someone or something they loved deeply. "Someone else did it to me AND when I find out who did it heads are going to roll. My poor beautiful hair!!!" Duo added with a cry close to agony.