Author's Note: In order for this first part to make sense, I want you guys to think back to the beginning of the story, about chapter 11 or 12, maybe 13. There is a specific scene there, one that a few people asked questions about, questions that remained unanswered until now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: language, shounen ai

The Nature of Romafellor

"I'd like to have a talk with you Solomon," Uncle Raberba stated, "and it concerns that young man. I want you to listen to what I say, understand?"

He was not in the mood for this. First Short Stuff gets one over him, now his uncle wants to butt into his life, most likely to tell him not to do something. It was like he was being treated like a child, honestly. Yet, he could not just blow off his uncle. He was in charge here, not the other way around. He had no other choice but to do as he was told.

"I want you to be careful around Duo," his uncle said.

Now what was this? Did he think that he was going to hurt the guy or something? Jesus, did he really have that little faith in him?

"Don't roll your eyes Solomon," his uncle reprimanded. "What I am about to tell you is very important. I want you to be on your guard at all times when you're around Duo. Do you understand me?"

Wait. What? What was his uncle talking about? It was as if he was afraid Short Stuff was going to get him into something bad instead of the other way around. He let his skepticism show by frowning and crossing his arms, raising an eyebrow to signal for the older man to continue.

Taking the nonverbal cue, his uncle continued. "That boy has quite a few demons lurking around him, quite a few of which are very real and very dangerous. They are nothing like you are use to. Trust me."

If anything, this was annoying the blond. Pfft, what was it about Duo that was so bad that he couldn't handle it? He had seen a lot of shit; what could Duo throw at him besides that kick of his? The only thing dangerous about Duo was Duo himself and only because that guy knew karate or whatever the hell that Ding guy called it.

"I think I can take care of myself," he said dryly.

"Be it as it may I still what you to be careful," Uncle Raberba replied. "I am not saying you need to keep your distance or anything. You are my nephew and I want you to be safe, that is all."

"Then why are you bringing up this shit?" he demanded.

"You will watch your tongue as long as you are under my roof, do you understand?" Uncle Raberba snapped, eyes glinting in anger. "I will be telling Quatre the same thing shortly so you will not be the only one."

"What could be so bad that I need to be careful around Duo?" he exclaimed exasperatedly. "What could I possibly lose just by sticking around him?"

"Your life for one," his uncle stated, ending any argument Solo might have made.

His…life…?

"No way," he snorted. "You almost had me there, uncle. There is no way that my life is gonna be in danger. Hell will freeze over before that happens."

--

Jesus. Christ.

Uncle Raberba had really been serious. Duo's confession just now not only confirmed it but proved it.

Christ. What had he gotten himself into anyway? He must have used up all of his luck to not have an assassination attempt or anything like that happen. How close had he been to death all this time? What could have prevented any attempts from happening or succeeding? Was it him? Was it because of his presence and his presence alone that nothing was tried?

He didn't have any answers at this time but now he felt fear, real heart-pounding fear, coursing through his body. Loosing Duo was now a real possibility, a very real and very frightening possibility.

He tightened his embrace on the braided teen instinctively. There was no way anybody was going to be taking Duo away from him. If there were any attempts…

…then they would have to be done over his dead body.

--

"You know, it was quite a surprise seeing the boy there," Tsubarov commented before taking a sip of his wine.

"I imagine that it was," Dermail replied coolly.

"Of all the places to be, I would never have expected him to be with the Winners. He's just like his mother," Tsubarov added. "He draws them in and when he traps them, he'll take everything they have for his own. A bloodsucker if anything. I have a feeling though that you knew he was already there."

"You would be corrected on that assumption," Dermail confirmed. "You can thank my granddaughter Dorothy for telling me about it. It's the reason I chose you to be Romafellor's representative."

"Would you care to elaborate on that, if you don't mind me asking?" Tsubarov asked, confused as to where Dermail's trail of logic went.

"It's because your son is staying with the Winners," Dermail told him. "He will be perfect for adding leverage to our side in the negotiations. Since your son is on such good terms with them, use it to your advantage. I believe that if Mr. Winner himself will not listen to you, he will consider your son's words to have more weight and that is where the genius in this plan lies."

"You mean, you want me to use that boy to get this deal to go through?" Tsubarov asked, gulping.

"Is that a problem?" Dermail answered, raising a delicate eyebrow. While he didn't mind being asked questions, he was beginning to be irritated at how obstinate Tsubarov was being.

"No, not at all," Tsubarov quickly told him, trying not to have to face his superior's ire yet keeping a cool disposition. Inside though, his nerves were shot to Hell. He was under no certain terms on a good relationship with the boy. The boy would rather crucify him alive than sit down for a friendly chat, of that he was certain. Use that relationship? That was a key to disaster and yet he couldn't let it interfere this time around.

The benefits he would receive should he successfully close this proposal were too great for him to pass up. Higher pay, a generous promotion, clout with Mr. Romafellor himself, he'd be a moron to pass it up.

And yet it all depended on that ugly little shit with the long braid.

It would seem he was going to have to pull out the big guns on this one. He would make sure that the brat would…understand his side. In fact, he would make him a deal that he couldn't possibly refuse, not in this lifetime at least.

He could hardly wait.

--

As much as Solo didn't want to be, he was back out with his family and Trowa, Duo having since been put to bed, physically exhausted, mentally tired, and emotionally drained. Duo was practically a breathing doll when it was determined that he should get his rest.

Wordlessly, Solo had taken charge of that duty and had refused all offers for help. Now he was back in the living room and his first words were, "Now what do we do?"

"There isn't anything that we can do," his uncle answered.

Suffice to say, Solo was not pleased with this answer. "Can't you just tell that asshole he's not welcomed here or something?"

"I could," his uncle said, "but I still have to meet with the man. I can't just out of the blue decide to pull out without a rational reason. This is Romafellor we're dealing with, our main competitive rival. I can not refuse to meet with their chosen representative just because that man happens to have issues with one of my son's friends. Anything that I do reflects not only on myself and the family but the corporation and its reputation abroad itself."

"But we can't just let something like this go!" Quatre protested. "This is more than my friend's life at stake! That man is a criminal!"

"So is the rest of Romafellor."

The new voice started the two young Winners. Searching for the voice's source, no one was more surprised than Solo to discover that it came from not his uncle, Raberba, but his father, Ezekiel.

The man had an uncharacteristic look of severity on his face. Continuing without preamble, he said, "The actions that Mr. Tsubarov has taken against his son are ones that have been taken by Romafellor countless times in the past. Whenever somebody has tried to resist or defy them in any way, they resort to any means necessary to get what they want. They will stop at nothing, not even the law, to achieve their own ends, whether it be just everyday business transactions to major deals with world changing outcomes."

"And what the fuck does that have to do with Duo?" Solo demanded.

"You watch your mouth Solomon," Ezekiel snapped, shocking his son into silence. "Tsubarov is a typical run-of-the-mill Romafellor employee. Of course he is going to use those tactics in something as trivial as to not have to pay a measly child support check. It's the only thing he knows how to do if he's been working for them as long as I think he has."

"But Duo is his child!" Quatre argued.

"Which means nothing to a man whose career is probably more important to him than anything else," Ezekiel retorted. "You heard what your friend said. His father just wanted to relieve himself with a woman and got her pregnant. I don't mean to offend you but that's the truth, no matter how horrible it sounds."

Solo continued to stare at his father. This was not the man that he had grown up with, this was somebody else entirely. The father he knew was easy to push around, had no backbone whatsoever, but this version was just as tough and firm as his uncle was. He had no idea how to react to such a drastic change; he was that out of his element.

Where had this stranger been hiding all this time?

"So what are you going to be doing?" Trowa spoke up for the first time, bringing things back to the original topic.

"As I had said earlier, nothing," Raberba answered. "And as my brother has clarified, there is nothing we can do. We are not only dealing with one of the world's largest firms but one of the more dangerous ones as well. A simple 'no' will not placate them."

"This is nothing you should be concerned about," Ezekiel picked up. "Let us handle this."

This had gone on beyond the point where Solo was infuriated. Was his father just dismissing Duo's problems like they didn't exist or something?

"Are you saying we're not going to do anything for Duo?" he nearly snarled, his green eyes flaring with rage.

"Nothing of the sort," Ezekiel stated. "Our hands are tied here. Duo's problems encompass something greater than some high school, teen angst melodrama. There are real life consequences to anything we try to do, not only for Duo, but for us and the business as well. I'm sorry Solomon but that's the reality of the situation."

Solo grinded his teeth together as his father used his full name again. He glared at his father, the man staring coolly back at him. In the end, it was Solo who ended up looking away, a loss that he had never bowed down to before. Letting his irritation known, he stomped out of the room, heading for his bedroom with a single-minded purpose.

He may not have won this fight but he wasn't about to give up yet. Where could he start? What could he do to help Duo? As much as he didn't want to admit it, his father was right, this thing was bigger than what he was used to. Street fights, punk kids at school, those he could handle.

This sucked. He couldn't do anything, nothing at all. Was Duo suppose to go through this all alone? Damn it! If he couldn't do anything to help then what good was he? Just something to stay in the background and look pretty? Like hell he would!

His hands tightened into fists and his jaw clenched with unbearable pressure. While it was all well and good that he wanted to do something, it didn't stop his father and uncle from being right. Why'd they have to be so smart anyway? Logic was going against him this time and it was really biting him in the ass, especially since he usually didn't pay logic any mind before. However, his parental figures did and that really was not an easy thing to get around.

He found himself, soon enough, standing next to the bed that Duo was now fast asleep in. Now how could anybody hate something as precious as this? The braided one was curled up into a ball, despite being covered with the bed sheets, and hair was attempting to escape the confining braid that was imprisoning it. He looked like a puppy or a kitten. What kind of a person could hurt one of those?

Stripping down to the bare essentials, he climbed under the covers and wrapped his arms around the sleeping teen, bringing the smaller body closer to him and resting his chin just above the chestnut hair. He felt Duo unconsciously snuggle into the warmth that he provided which only led him to tighten his embrace.

He was far too awake to even begin thinking about going to sleep. Despite the much needed solace that the activity would provide him from the world around him, his mind was too active as he sought to assimilate all the information that he had receive during this fine day.

It would be quite some time until he was able to relax just enough to allow the sweet darkness of sleep to finally overcome him.