Warnings and Disclaimers: Well, I don't own the song, which is Letterbomb by Green Day. There are several clues in this chapter as to the crossover, one or two of which are in the song.


Dreams were all but forgotten the next morning, though Maxwell didn't seem to be quite his usual energetic self as they ate breakfast. He volunteered only a few comments, spending most of the meal reading the back of the local newspaper Winner was absorbed in.

Wufei was glad for the braided boy's distraction even as it worried him, since it let him indulge in one of his favorite pastimes, studying his fellow pilot, almost without pause and without being caught at it. The morning sunlight glittered off the strands of gold and copper in Duo's chestnut braid, highlighting his pale skin and emphasizing the slight, barely-there shadows under his eyes. Those violet eyes sparkled almost feverishly as they focused sometimes on the newspaper and sometimes in the empty air over the table.

"We have a mission," Yuy finally said quietly, just as Wufei was about to ask the American if he was all right. "2300 tonight."

Around the table the other pilots sat up. "Where?" Barton asked, his voice as calm as though they were discussing the weather.

"An underground research facility, about seventy miles north of here. Doctor J says OZ is building or has built an artificial intelligence there."

There were various noises of disbelief from around the table. "AI? You're tellin' me the Ozzies made a fuckin' AI?" Maxwell stared at his partner, a look of pure incredulity on his face.

"That is what J claims," Yuy returned evenly. "The lab complex makes up most of the facility, though according to the plans there's also a cafeteria and limited living quarters." He bent down beneath the table for a moment, then lifted up his laptop. A minute more to turn it on and bring up what he wanted through undoubtedly extensive security, and the Japanese pilot spun the computer so they could see the maps on the screen.

"There are two entrances, the main entrance, an elevator that comes down directly from the city on the surface, and an emergency entrance containing a tram setup that is connected to a cover building about four miles away, just outside the city limits," Yuy lectured. "Security is surprisingly light for a facility like this, so we'd best expect some surprises. Most of those who work in the labs are civilian scientists employed under a shadow corporation, and no idea they're actually working for the government.

"We'll go in at night, when most of the civilians have gone home, and those that live in the compound will most likely be asleep. Our intel isn't sure just where the artificial intelligence is located in the facility, so once inside, after we rendezvous with our agent, we'll have to find a secure place to hack into their computer network and find it."

"And then?" Winner questioned lightly. "What do we do once we find it?"

Yuy leaned back in his chair. "We're to photograph the AI itself and everything to do with its development. If remotely possible, we bring it out with us; if not, Duo and I will each be carrying several explosives to destroy it."

There was silence for a long minute as the other four pilots absorbed the lecture, before Maxwell leaned forward to study the blueprints more closely. "Big place," he mused out loud to himself, rotating the picture with quick, sure taps of the keys. "And the entire thing's underground? Must've been hell movin' all that dirt out."

"What about our agent inside?" Wufei asked, swirling the last of his morning tea in its cup.

Yuy shrugged. "A scientist working in the lab's biomedical division, I was told. The doctors bribed him to defect, and I understand he's already smuggled out several samples for study."

"Is he trustworthy?" he pursued, and the Japanese teenager shrugged again.

Somehow, that was not reassuring.

Maxwell was frowning at the schematics on the laptop. "Seems... kind of simple. So why are they sendin' all of us? They not tellin' us something?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Barton unexpectedly offered, his single visible green eye serious. "They've done it before."

The others nodded thoughtfully, sitting in silence for a brief minute. "Well, we'd best get ready," Winner said at last, pushing away from the table. "Pack so you'll be ready for anything."

-

A couple of hours passed, during which Wufei busied himself with readying his gear. There wasn't much, certainly not compared to what the other pilots had to be bringing. Among other things, he cleaned both of the two Russian-made .44 magnums he carried with him on missions, and devoted nearly an hour to oiling his katana. But finally, there was nothing left to prepare, and with a sigh he slid the blade back into its scabbard and laid it on his bed to await the mission.

The teenager leaned back against his headboard and debated pulling out his book to finish off the last couple of chapters, but decided against it, knowing the pre-mission jitters he tried so hard to hide from the others wouldn't let him truly enjoy the book as it deserved. With another sigh he rolled to his feet and walked over to his door.

The hallway was empty as Wufei walked almost silently towards the stairs. He was just debating heading down to the kitchen to make some snacks when quiet music reached his ears. The pilot paused in front of Maxwell's door, listening absently as he remembered again the terror on the beautiful boy's face the night before.

It's not over 'til you're underground
It's not over before it's too late
It's city's burnin',
It's not my burden
It's not over before it's too late

There is nothing left to analyze...

Where will all the martyrs go
When the virus cures itself,
And where will we all go when it's too late...?

Duo carefully balanced the slim throwing knife on his finger, making sure the balance point was no more than a finger's width from the hilt. He gave it a moment to settle down, then grinned in satisfaction as the blade stilled, nearly level to the bed he was lying on. He flipped the knife into the air and caught it between two fingers as he rolled onto his stomach.

The knife went back among its fellows on the well-used oil cloth in front of him as the stereo, turned down much further than he normally had it, droned quietly in the background. Duo propped his chin on his hands as he debated what to do next. He'd cleaned his guns after the last mission but another cleaning wouldn't hurt them, and it would help pass the time...

The boy nodded, decided, and snaked an arm down to pull out the duffel bag hiding beneath the bed. He'd just unzipped it when he heard footsteps come down the hall and stop outside his door.

Duo waited patiently for a minute for whoever was standing on the other side of the door to either knock or go away, and finally shook his head as they made no sign of making up their mind. "Well, are you coming in or not?" he called out, a hint of laughter in his voice.

-

Wufei couldn't help the slight jump of surprise as he heard the American's voice ring cheerfully through the door. He stared at the painted wood for a few seconds, wondering how the hell Maxwell had known he was there.

Finally he shook himself and reached for the door knob, ignoring the sudden uncomfortable, almost nervous feeling that had settled in his stomach like a flock of butterflies. He eased the door open and poked his head through.

Maxwell was lying on his stomach on the unmade bed, knees bent and his feet in the air as he cradled his head in his hands. There were several knives on a stiff, brown cloth in front of him.

The longhaired boy smiled happily as he caught sight of him. "Hey, 'Fei! What's up?"

"I... er... I wanted to make sure you were all right," Wufei managed to answer without stammering too badly. He'd thought Duo was beautiful before, but during those rare times when the American wasn't grinning, or smirking, but actually smiling... Damn. "After last night, I mean."

The teenager blinked, twisting himself until he was sitting cross-legged. "Um, yeah. At least, I don't think anything's wrong..." He absently flicked his braid over his shoulder, glancing down at the knives in front of him.

"Are you sure?" The pilot looked up with a frown, but his sharp expression faded when he saw the look of genuine concern on Wufei's face.

"What's wrong, 'Fei?" he asked quietly, his gaze for once utterly serious.

Wufei's eyes dropped to the floor, and he didn't speak for a long minute. "Last night, before you woke up, the look on your face... You looked terrified," he finally said, glancing up to meet Duo's startled eyes, and then away again. "I'd never seen that before. You... you're never scared of anything." There was a pause, as the Chinese pilot stared at the floor, and Duo stared at him.

At last, the American's voice broke the silence. "Bull."

Wufei blinked, and looked up. The braided teenager wasn't frowning, like he'd expected, but he still wore that serious, almost pensive expression. "What?"

Duo snorted. "I said, bull. Of course I get fucking scared. Everyone does. It's part of bein' human. I'm utterly terrified of needles." He gave Wufei a pointed look. "You should remember that one."

Wufei shook his head. "Yes, I remember- it was rather memorable- but that wasn't the kind of fear I meant." The American cocked his head to the side, inviting him to go on. "I meant, you're never... afraid that you'll get hurt, or even..."

"Die?" Duo finished for him. "Well... I am afraid of getting hurt, 'cause some people might like pain, but I'm not one of 'em. But dying..." He shrugged. "Not so much, I guess. There's a lot of people waitin' for me over there."

"Your family?" Wufei asked, feeling the ache of the hole in his heart where an entire colony had once resided.

The boy smiled again, this time a wry, sad smile. "A couple of 'em." He stared at the wall for a few seconds, though Wufei knew that wasn't what he was seeing. "You want to know what I'm afraid of?" Duo said abruptly, looking back at the other teenager. "I've lost two families already, and trouble comes in threes. I'm afraid..." He didn't go on, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, staring down at his lap again.

Wufei started to move towards him, wanting nothing more than to hold him and tell him everything would be all right, but he caught himself before he could make more than that abortive gesture that Duo never saw, with his amethyst eyes gazing downwards. Just because he wanted to didn't mean the American would appreciate the attempt at comfort- he was probably regretting baring his soul like that already.

Open as he seemed, Duo was one of the most private people the teenager knew. And this conversation, well-intentioned as it was, was a major invasion of that privacy.

But still, he couldn't just stand there, looking at that bent head and knowing Duo was suffering. "You're not going to lose us," he said instead of the hug he so desperately wanted to give, even though he knew it was a foolish thing to promise. They were Gundam pilots; there were thousands, if not tens of thousands of people out for their blood. Danger was a part of their everyday lives, and the chances were good that someday soon, one of them wasn't going to come back.

For a second, Duo didn't seem to have heard him, but then he moved ever so slightly, tilting his head until Wufei could just see the glimmer of violet eyes. "Thank you," the boy murmured, so softly that it only just reached his ears. Wufei simply nodded, unable and just the slightest bit unwilling to force words past the lump in his throat.

The low music played gently in the background as the tableau grew, until what could have easily turned into an awkward silence was forestalled by an abrupt knock at the door. Duo looked up, obviously startled, and after a moment Wufei was both surprised and disturbed to see him paste a cheerful expression on his face before calling whoever was at the door in.

Yuy poked his head through the doorway, messy hair falling into his face. He blinked to see Wufei standing there, but quickly recovered, glancing towards the boy on the bed. "Duo? Do you have any spare detonators?"

The American's lips quirked. "Let me guess, ya ran out again?"

Yuy nodded, looking annoyed. "A bullet went through my bag on that last mission without my realizing."

Duo grinned, shaking his head. He bent at the waist over the edge of the bed, and reached out to pull a duffel bag from beneath it. "All right. How many do you need?"

"Two."

The longhaired boy rummaged around in the bag for a second, before pulling out two small detonators. "Here," he said, tossing them over one at a time. Yuy easily snatched them from the air, even as Wufei winced. The Japanese pilot gave his partner a tiny nod of gratitude, and stepped back out, closing the door behind him.

"Do you always toss around explosives like that?" Wufei couldn't help but ask in disbelief.

Duo smirked. "Sure. Makes life interesting." Then he snorted. "'Sides, detonators aren't explosives. More like popguns. And it takes a lot more to set 'em off than you'd realize."

The teenager shook his head. "I'll take your word for it, thank you." He shifted uncomfortably, knowing he should really be leaving, since there wasn't any viable reason for him to still be there.

The American chuckled, diving back into his bag. "Dunno why everyone's so nervous 'round explosives," he complained into the bag, voice muffled. "I mean," he added, popping back up for air, "Yeah, they're dangerous, but if you're careful, and respect 'em right, they'll take care of you."

"'Respect them'?" Wufei repeated dubiously, shifting again. Standing around for so long was making his feet hurt.

Duo must have noticed the movement, because he slid over on the bed, and pointed towards the space left free. "Sit." The marital artist gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, almost painfully aware of how close the movement put him to the other pilot.

"Alright…" The braided boy looked thoughtful for a moment, one hand tugging absentmindedly on his hair. "I guess it's kind of the same way you feel about your sword. I mean, it's not a toy, right? Not something you'd just whip out and start wavin' around whenever you felt like it. But at the same time, you're not scared of it."

Wufei nodded, starting to understand. "And explosives are the same? Just tools?"

"Well, they are really dangerous tools," Duo admitted with a quirked grin. "But that just means ya need to respect 'em even more than most things."

The Chinese teenager nodded again, and again relative silence filled the room, but this time it was a more… comfortable silence. The kind that meant they had reached a sort of understanding with each other, and with the various truths shared and hinted at. The kind Wufei would be perfectly content to remain in until it had run its course…

Or was interrupted, something that was inevitable in a house full of teenagers. This time it was Quatre who stuck his head through the door after a polite knock. "Duo, Wufei, it's time for lunch," he informed them with a cheerful smile.

The two pilots rose to join the others downstairs, filing past the little blonde in the doorway, who regarded their backs with an inscrutable, yet somehow amused expression.


A/N: Well, it's certainly been long enough since I updated on this story… Maybe now that I've gotten it out of my subconscious, my muses will let me start working on Akuryou again… I'd gotten the next chapter not quite halfway done when that terrible, horrible writer's block struck. However, I don't believe I will be testing the block tonight, as it's currently… 2:30 in the morning. –yawns- I think I'll post this and then go to bed. Ta.

Our most sincere gratitude to Mithros, no one's friend, and Shino Ryu (I swear, Akuryou and then Door…), for reviewing.


25 March 2005