CH. 5

"..."

"..."

"..."

Quatre whispered, "...he's gone."

"Why do you gotta scare me like that Q!" Duo pretended his voice hadn't cracked, "Saying fucked up shit like that!"

"Sorry... I...It's just a feeling i have..."

Wufei gave Quatre a suspicious look, "Mother hen-senses tingling, eh?"

Quatre looked very lost suddenly, "something like that.."

Trowa wrapped a concerned arm around Quatre's small shoulders.

"HEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!", Duo's voice reverberated throughout the house.

"That has NEVER worked!" Wufei shouted, but Duo had left.

Shortly a pissed off looking Duo returned. "He's gone," the American boy growled.

Quatre gasped, and Trowa smiled his little knowing smile.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Wufei was also wearing a look of betrayal.

"That stupid fucker!" Duo yelled, "What the fuck gives! Leaving us? After all that BULLSHIT about how there were/too many unknowns! Goddamn him!"

"Duo!" Quatre scolded, "Calm down. I'm sure Heero wasn't trying to trick us."

"Oh yeah?" Duo threw his hands into the air with frustration, "You think he just went out for milk and took the fairy kid with him? He fucking abandoned us Q! That's the just the kind of guy he is! He just leaves!"

"Duo!" Quatre tried to sooth the American pilot, "Heero's not like that. You know that. Stop saying those things."

"Quatre, please," Duo hissed, "get the fuck over yourself. Alright, get the FUCK over yourself. I'm so fucking sick of this "Little bit of good in everyone" bullshit! Okay? Sometimes people are just on a mission, only looking out for themselves. Sometimes they leave without you, cause they don't give a shit what happens to you! They aren't watching your back! You cant' fucking trust anyone."

"Not everyone's like that Duo," Quatre explained, "We're all looking out for each other, it's what friends are for."

"Oh really!" Duo was shouting now, "Clearly no one sent that memo to Heero Yuy. Sometimes, all I wanna fucking do is get some sleep, and let my guard down for a bit, and ALL i ask is for someone to keep an eye on shit for me. Is that so much to ask Q? How the fuck am i suppose to rest now, with my "Friend" who had my back, leaving without a word? HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSE TO SLEEP, NOW Q?"

"It's okay, Duo," Quatre continued, "We've got your back too. Maybe he's not far away."

Duo glared at Quatre, "It's NOT FUCKING OKAY." Duo hung his head, "Goddamnit! Fucking...hell...that bastard!"

"Well where would he be?" Wufei asked skeptically.

Trowa approached Duo silently, and put a hand on the other boys shoulder and spoke softly, "We'll find him." Duo unconsciously cringed at Trowa's touch and looked away.

"What happened here?" Wufei called from one of the bedrooms, "Duo, did you make this mess?"

The four remaining gundam pilots reconvened in the room that Duo and Heero shared. Wufei was cautiously poking thru a pile of black laundry with his katana.

"That's Heero's spandex drawer," Duo explained while giving the pile of clothing a hurt look, "It's been pulled out and dumped on the floor, it was like that when i found it. Heero clearly packed in a hurry."

"..." a silence fell over the room as the boys waited for Quatre to find a way to explain this one. Quatre noticed Duo staring at the clothing and gestured to the others as if to say: i've got nothing...

"Did Heero keep anything else in this drawer?" Wufei finally asked.

Duo shook his head and admitted, "I dunno."

"It's strange that he would only take spandex," Wufei continued, "Not tank tops too."

"True." Quatre agreed.

"What about the shadow?" Trowa asked casually, "the spandex drawer would be an excellent hiding place."

"Yes," Wufei's eyes lit up, "The fairy boy got loose, and went looking for the shadow, Heero caught him. Somehow the fairy boy was able to gain the upper hand, and force Heero to hand over the shadow. That big fairy must have abducted Heero. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Keep talking, Fei."

"Well," Wufei continued, "If Heero had been in control of the situation he would have calmly opened the drawer and removed the shadow. This drawer is pulled out to tell us that something's wrong."

"And the window is wide open!" Quatre pointed out.

"This is just too fucking weird." Duo said with a sigh.

Murmurs of agreement were heard all around.

"I think right now," Wufei spoke with authority now, "The best we can hope for is that the fairy boy returns tonight."

The boys fell silent, considering staying put and waiting for Pan to return, dead or alive, with Heero.

Turns out Gundam pilots aren't very patient. Almost immediately Wufei tackled Heero's forsaken laptop, "Peter Pan he called himself?"

"Right" Quatre confirmed.

"Well don't just stand there" Wufei growled, "Help me build up some intelligence!"

Trowa was perusing the bookshelf (although no one seemed to recall seeing Trowa actually walk over there... it was like he had appeared beside the bookshelf..it was sort of unnerving...but i digress ). Quatre joined Trowa, and Duo tried calling Heero's phone.

"Duo?"

"Heero!"

"'sup?"

"Where the fuck are you!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Tell me."

There was defeated sigh on the other side of the phone, "Second star to the right and straight on till morning."

"Baby," Duo sounded like he was choking, "It doesn't matter what they've done to you, you can get through this."

"Don't worry, Duo, it's not so bad. Pan's boyish arrogance is sort of endearing once you get past how annoying it is."

"What?"

"Pan. The fairy guy."

"What have you done with him?"

"He...are the others in the room with you? Say 'okay' if you're not alone."

"Okay."

"I'll tell you what happened later."

"Heero...what are you doing?"

"Uh...improvisational reconnaissance. Quatre'll understand."

"Honey, you're breaking up!"

"Can you hear me now?"

"Sort of."

"Tell Quatre."

"Tell Quatre?" Duo cocked the phone away from his mouth,"Quatre! Heero says he's on improv recon."

Quatre gasped, "Oh god! He's been abducted!"

"Hey Heero," Duo spoke into the phone again, "Have you been abducted?"

"NO! I HAVE NOT!"

Duo turned to Quatre once again,"He says, No."

Quatre rolled his eyes, "Oh of course he does!"

Duo covered the phone with his hand now and hissed, "He sounds stoned out of his mind."

"Ask if he can pick up some eggs on his way home," Trowa piped up.

"Trowa!" A very distraught Quatre frowned, "Now is not the time!"

Trowa shrugged Quatre's glare off, "Eh, consider it a vote of confidence."

"Duo!"

"...uh, 'sup 'Ro?" Duo returned his attention to his phone.

Heero's voice crackled out of the phone, "My battery is dying."

"I told you to plug it in! But NO you said...IT"LL BE FINE you said NO ONE EVER CALLS ME you said!"

"No.. I DID plug it..."

"...Heero?"

"..."

Duo glared at the phone,"His phone died."

"Did he take his charger?" Quatre asked.

Duo perked up, looking around hopefully before pointing to the charger on the beside table.

Quatre frowned,"Oh."

"Guess not," Duo clarified.

"I think that the fairy guy choosing Heero after careful study, is further testimony to Heero being the model soldier."

"Now is not the time, Barton," Wufei snapped, "Did Heero ask for reinforcements?"

Duo flung himself across the bed,"No."

"Did he," Wufei continued, "have any idea where he was?"

"No."

Wufei cursed,"Goddamnit you are useless, Maxwell."

"..."

"What? Will no one defend me?" Duo furrowed his eyebrows and pouted, "I miss Heero."

"We're all upset, Wufei" Quatre explained, "Taking it out on Duo wont bring Heero back."

"Yeah, Fei!"

"Maxwell, SHUT UP!"

"..."

"..."

"Go fuck yourself, Wufei."

"Good comeback Maxwell. Very mature."

"Trowa..." Quatre noticed Trowa was being especially unnoticeable.

"Hi."

"What's that you've got?"

"Nothing."

"Looks like something," Quatre ventured,"a card?" Quatre scooped up the paper Trowa had discreetly been disposing of in the bedroom wastebasket.

"Oh that, I dunno."

"It's a ransom note from Peter!"

"What?"

"Oh right. THAT note from Peter. He's demanding that if we ever want Heero back we need to bring him Quatre."

"Oh my god! Why were you throwing it away?"

"Prolly because of that stupid bet," Wufei sneered, "Pan demanding Quatre completly shoots down the whole idea of Heero being chosen after careful study."

"HA!" Duo jumped up, "BITE ME BARTON! AFTER CAREFUL STUDY PAN DETERMINED HEERO TO BE THE WEAKEST LINK"

"NO! Heero was taken because he was clearly the most valuable to us! Who knows why they want Quatre!"

"TROWA!" Quatre looked like he might cry.

"Not now, Honey."

"Trowa Barton, sometimes words hurt people!"

"When I win the $200 I'll take you to dinner,"

"Like a real date?"

"Like a real date."

"But do you have to be so mean to me? Would it kill you to defend me? Like Heero defends Duo!"

"Heero doesn't always say nice things about Duo."

"Soldiers! Focus!" Wufei shouted, "Quatre, please read the note."

Quatre cleared his throat, "If you ever wanna see Heero Yuy again, put Quatre Winner in the gundam and send him to the second star to the right and straight on till morning."

"Is that all? No conditions? Nothing like: no police, or come alone, or bring money in brown bags?"

"No..nothing like that."

"Well he is a lil fairy boy," Trowa observed, "Maybe none of those things occurred to him."

"It'd doesn't even specify which gundam to send." Quatre turned the note over just to double check.

Duo scoffed,"So much for careful study. Alright boys! Let's get our shit together and go get my baby!"

The pilots rushed from the room...only to pause in the kitchen engaged in debate about which gundam was most appropriate for the mission. It was a long and involved debate. Finally they decided that they should each bring their own and escort Quatre. The upside to having such a long "Discussion" was that by the time they were finished it was nightfall, and the boys had no trouble finding the stars that were needed to navigate their way to the rendezvous point Pan specified.