Author's Note: Yes, so many writers mashed together! Ah-haha, it makes me crazy sometimes! Why Can't I blend us all seamlessly together like I want? Aaa-hahaha… (I'm going crazy!)

The Finest Line… by Onions Make Me Cry

Second Chapter… The Arrival

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Chang Wufei sat in the crowded terminal at San Francisco International Airport, dressed in loose fitting black slacks and a dark blue t-shirt, his jacket, also black, tossed over the back of the chair he was sitting in. It hadn't been too hard to get some time off from Une… not that he had given her much of a choice in the matter. Simply waltzing in, saying 'I'm taking some time off with Zechs I'll be back in a week or so otherwise I will call you, not the other way around' and walking back out the door did limit the conversation… oh there would be water cooler hell to pay when he got back, but it kept things interesting. Or at least kept the normal people from getting bored and asking why a 17 year old kid was a top agent.

He was waiting outside the arrival gate for the shuttle Duo was supposed to be arriving in shortly. He had lost track of Zechs about 20 minutes ago, though not that he had minded much. The curious sidelong glances on the flight over had been torture enough, let alone questions he preferred not to answer running around in his head.

The two of them had already arrived, set up their room in a near by hotel and dropped their luggage off in time to go back to the air port and pick up Duo. After that…well he hadn't planned that far ahead just yet. But he'd get there eventually. They needed to find Yuy, and he was expecting an update from Flynn any time now. Then, after ending his annoying game of cat and mouse, he would make sure whatever baggage Duo had with Heero was dealt with before bringing up his reasons for needing to find the former Wing Zero pilot.

In the back of his mind, his inner self was telling him time was growing short. Bad omens abounded if he paid attention to them, both noticeable in his own work as well as in his meditations. The world was falling out of balance.

"Three beats make up this world…the beats of revolution, peace and war…revolution was thwarted and peace restored…so when does the last piece begin to play"…Treize would know, he mused. The general always knew that dance better then he. "What will it cost me this time?"

"three dollars and five cents."

A sudden icy burn seared across the side of Wufei's neck as Zechs shoved a cold soda into him, from his position behind the youth's seat. Not waiting for the boy's squirming to stop, the prince swooped around to the other side, and sat next to Wufei. He himself had purchased a beer, and popped the cap from the bottle with the palm of his hand.

The shout that rose from Wufei startled another few patrons of the airport near him and the glare directed towards Zechs immediately after had a few of them counting their lucky stars they weren't the blond man.

"For the drink, of course." Zechs continued at last, sounding formal. "I don't listen to children's mutterings. I also still stand by what I said about you sounding like Treize."

Island waiting areas were always embarrassingly meager. The thought came as Zechs felt a cramp creeping up along his spine. Nothing separated one from the floor here but a decidedly painful panel of dipped wooden curves. The idea of cushions had been abandoned long ago, by the atmosphere here, and with sudden a look of distaste the blonde cast a wary eye into the surrounding crowd. People on Earth had so little class now that they were convinced death wasn't imminent.

"Bah to you!" Wufei growled though a shudder, one hand pulling the cold bottle from his lap before it hurt something while the other tried to warm the now frozen spot on his sensitive neck back up. "And I do not sound like him…occasionally lapse into thinking about him and what few conversations we ever had be they brief and untimely in some occasions as they were, and when that happens I sometimes sound like him…not all the time Zechs."

"How close until arrival?" inquired the count, his unpleasant expression still lingering on for a few minutes, ignoring whatever it was Wufei had been justifying moments before. Absently, he rolled the beer cap in circles across his palm.

Though doubtless Maxwell would be a great asset in the hunt for Heero, Zechs had never been particularly fond of the ex-urchin. In fact, in the few instances the two had ever come in contact with each other, he'd received the distinct impression that 02 hated him. The image of Heero Yuy sprang to mind, and the count could guess why he was hated so thoroughly. Though an interesting phenomenon to consider, the mistrust which ran between them could potentially turn future plans sour, and for that, Zechs would have difficulty forgiving himself. The thought nagged at the prince, and he gave a little sigh.

Wufei popped the cap of his soda… not with the suaveness of Zechs, but than again he wasn't known to always be the 'cool guy'.

"Twenty minutes or so." He replied, taking a sip as he heard the prince sigh, his expression dower. "Don't tell me you're stressed over seeing them again?"

If he thought about it, Zechs had every right to be a bit stressed over the situation. Between their last experiences together in the Marimaia Rebellion, the end of Libra… hell even Siberia, Zechs had plenty to feel nervous about.

"Don't stress yourself out too much Zechs. Things in the past are exactly that, in the past and nothing can be done about them. But look, let it gather dust and move forward." Wufei said, taking a long sip of his soda afterwards and snatching the bottle cap worrying a red ring in Zechs' hand away, bending it between two fingers and flicking it into a nearby garbage can. A moment later he snatched the beer bottle all together, switching it with his soda.

"I like juice better, detest the carbonation." He smirked at the look crossing Zechs' face as he got up and put the beer in the recycling bin. "You should also take better care of yourself. You'll get a gut before we know it."

Wufei didn't much fear Zechs' retaliation as he feared not having backup for when Duo showed up…or even Heero, should he chose to ever show himself at all.

And then, there was also this little, tiny part of him that worried about Zechs. It was a small part of him, true, but a part that he feared was getting bigger...

"I'm not stressing myself." Zechs idled, eyes following Wufei now with a bit of a predatory edge. As the Chinese boy continued to talk, the prince's look intensified. Mingled incredulity and allure, together, seeped from the man's expression as his gaze followed Wufei back and forth, wolf-like in his attention.

The way the boy handled everything so carelessly… the count continued, even now, to be mentally taken aback. It was in the casual motions of a normal conversation that Wufei would usurp the control, and play it to his advantage. (It was a strategy Treize had used frequently, and one Zechs had found quite infatuating.) As they grew to know each other, and continued to spend time with one another, the Asian boy's easy sieges were becoming more and more frequent, and even now, Zechs was continuing to battle the delicate line between irritation and allure. Both seemed plausible-- But upon coming to the conclusion that there was no conclusion, the prince simply resorted to staring. It was easier, and sometimes Zechs found that it made Wufei uncomfortable, which was a reaction amusing enough to trigger simply for the fun of it.

"You're adorable when you fawn like that."

The wolf's gaze cracked into the flashing white of an experienced, darkly teasing grin.

Wufei stopped just in front of Zechs, the trip back to his seat from the recycling bin, aborted by the comment. Despite the bit of outrage boiling in his belly, his face flourished into a blush. Thankfully it wasn't that terribly noticeable with his dark skin tone.

"I am not fawning…nor am I adorable. People say that to children, fluffy animals, and Quatre. Not me." He added to his little tirade by holding out a finger for each thing he listed, managing to look indignant. "People have called me a prick, stuck up aristocrat, aggressive manic depressive, aloof and a stick in the mud but never EVER adorable or any other word associated with it."

He was annoyed now, not totally at Zechs, but more at himself, since the simplest things could be said or done to him by this man and he would totally lose his composure. Simply being near the man either made him lament over the past or go off on some sort of righteous rant. Now he was making him blush and act like… well…like a teenager nervous around someone he liked…

And that was impossible…he had no time for such things. There was duty to do, a mission to finish and people to protect.

Now was not the time to throw a fit in a crowded space port. But, boy did he want to.

Wufei's eruption was more than enough fuel to supply the count with a genuine smile of amusement… one that was glowing now, openly in the man's face. Leaning back, he lazily crossed his legs and laid an arm out across the backs of the chairs to his right. At this point, Zechs could think of very few things that could get under the boy's skin quite like a carefully placed inappropriate comment. Obviously, they were a novelty that went generally un-dealt with in a world filled with constant thoughts of unrest. The poignant tinge of Wufei's cheeks suggested so, anyway.

"But you are a child." Zechs replied, still half caught up in his chuckling. "How old are you? Seventeen? Eighteen? I'm not questioning your seasoned battle experience-- just making observations, really."

The amusement died out slowly as the crowd surged around them. A thousand nameless faces came and went while they two remained, and again the impulse to stare took the prince over… though this time a hint of thoughtfulness touched his eyes as he watched the stiff-figured pilot.

"I suppose I don't mind anymore." He murmured at last, searching for something unspecific with his eyes. "That you're so young."

Silence enveloped them.

"Uhh... Yo, 'fei, I'm just gonna come back later, alright?"

The staring contest cracked as Zechs flickered his gaze across Wufei's figure and beyond. Duo Maxwell stood on the threshold of the waiting area, duffle bag over his shoulder. Even from this distance, and beyond the fact that the boy was wearing an entirely black (and more than a little frumpy) outfit, the expression on his face was enough to tell the prince it was time to quit. Skepticism and suspicion gouged dark lines in the pale youth's features, adding an element of frazzle to an already hassled looking figure. Had 02 been ill? Besides all that, the way that the braided youth was looking between he and Wufei was slightly disconcerting.

Whirling around Wufei turned to see Duo, looking a little out of sorts. He hadn't seen him since Christmas, and a tiny part of his heart fluttered at seeing his one time crush, though he quickly stamped it down. Duo was here for Heero not him.

"Duo! Hello!" the Chinese boy greeted his friend.

" Maxwell." behind Wufei, the older Preventer sent a greeting.

Zechs sighed inwardly, returning to the formality of office and rising to his feet. "You're early." the words could have been tainted with sarcasm, if they hadn't been so forcefully bland.

"Yeah, well… I decided to come a little early, you know?" a wran smile briefly touched the corner of Duo's mouth as he looked the count up and down. "Got connections and all that jazz. I get around a lot."

Zechs arched an eyebrow. Or was he twitching? "So I hear."

The long moment dragged on.

Rather then let the silence continue, Wufei walked over and gave Duo a hug… very un-Wufei, but he was being that as of late.

"Don't mind him." Wufei said nodding his head towards Zechs. "I'm glad you made it here so quickly, Duo. It's been a while…" he added with a small smile. Deftly he took the duffel from his friend, to lessen his burden. "Do you have anything else that we have to grab? I was thinking that we should go back to the hotel and talk, give you a chance to rest a bit it had to be a long flight from L2."

It was good to be near one of the others again, even under the circumstances. He only hoped that everything went more or less well between Duo and Heero, between himself and Heero, and overall everyone with Zechs… especially if this little tension was how the lightning count would be met by everyone in the coming days.

At Wufei's unreserved embrace, Duo felt himself relax, falling into the drag of exhaustion. The trip itself hadn't been a physically taxing one, but, then again, he had been sleeping very little—not to mention the stress of the entire situation was enough to grate at anybody's defenses. With a grateful arm, Duo pulled the other young man close, glad for the contact of an old friend.

Zechs stood silently aside, allowing the greeting to unfold in peace. Folding strong arms across his broad chest, the prince settled on looking slightly surlier than average. Of course Wufei should greet 02 in this fashion. They were war companions, weren't they? Practically surrogate families of one another. And yet, an unpleasant tingling insisted on tickling the insides of his stomach as he watched Maxwell wrap weary arms around his young business partner. A tingling which increased tenfold as he observed the braided pilot lay a kiss on Wufei's forehead as they broke apart. The friendly shoulder slapping which also followed did nothing to abate the ruminating jealousy either. Jaw tightening, the lightning count narrowed his eyes.

"Man, it's good to see you." Duo sighed at Wufei, smile mingled with weariness. "Though I always forget just how fucking HOT it gets here... heh. It's like a god damn sauna inside this shit."

"Always so eloquent." Wufei commented with a little smirk, the same smirk he always wore during the war, that annoying little amused one. It seemed to suit the occasion. Wufei scratched the back of his neck as Duo complained, feeling like he was being watched. He glanced back at Zechs for a moment, then back at Duo. No one in the area seemed to be paying them too much attention. Where was that coming from?

Pausing for a second as he collected his thoughts, Duo ripped the black hoodie over his head, preceded by a wave of his scent- gasoline mingled with something earthy, and the sweetness of individual musk. He was sweating, it was true… the white undershirt he wore now did little to cover his shining shoulders, or to hide the mocking birds which curved just barely to the nape of his neck. Maybe he really had been ill—or if not so, soon would be. A strange unhealthiness seemed to dog his features, and a shadow fell under the bags of each of his smiling eyes.

Seeing what seemed to be left of Duo twisted Wufei's gut. Had he not been taking care of himself? When he hugged him he seemed a little more substantial then what he saw before him now, but perhaps that had just been his sweatshirt. This would also warrant tending to.

"Yeah, fantastic." Duo hummed, balling his shirt up into a basketball sized clump that he tucked under his arm. "Let's get going."

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Cobalt eyes flashed electric and the jaw set more firmly. Hacking into the surveillance camera network at the airport had seemed like the easiest way to track his quarry, but this scene displayed on his laptop was not what he had expected. Had he missed something? He had tapped the communications for the others long ago, setting filters to search for key words, but none of the messages he had screened had hinted at affection between 05 and Du…Pilot 02. Training and conditioning be damned, Heero slammed a stiffened hand sideways, cracking the cheap wood instantly. The adrenaline rush helped bring sense back to the perfect soldier, and he quickly closed the laptop, and casually but purposefully strode away as if nothing had happened, leaving splinters as the only evidence of his one time presence.

(tbc in part three)
Author's Note: Hmmm… cranky Heero. Sickly Duo. And… hmmm. an unlikely romance between the prince and the (not quite) crankier pauper? So many lines. So many arcs all mashed up together. The monster mash!

Ps- thanks to everyone who reviewed so far… your comments inspire me to keep working!