I might have to rethink the Monday/Thursday thing. Now that I"m working again, I can't get to it until late. I'll try to keep on track with the days, but it's going to be at night instead of in the afternoon like it was during the summer.
Part 3 of ?
Duo danced around his room, chuckling. Wufei had been so kawaii when watching the movie! His little rant over the injustice of Scar convincing Simba that Mufasa's death was his fault! And how annoyed he got when Timon and Pumbaa tried to convince Simba that "No Worries" was the best philosophy to follow! And regardless of what the other pilot said, he *knew* he'd seen a tear in his eye when Mufasa died. Duo hugged himself laughing. Fei-chan was just so, so cute!
This had been the best night he could remember for a long long time. He had the other boy's complete attention for a while, and since he had already seen the movie several times he had been able to pay more attention to Wufei's expression as he got caught up in the story. And they had talked. Well, he had talked, but still... He hadn't started the conversation. Wufei came to him after all.
Duo fell back onto the bed. He went over and over every moment of the night, engraving it into his memory. Going over it for the fourth time he drifted into sleep, a smile still on his face.
After that night, the relationship between the two pilots seemed to improve. They might not be lovers, but there was very little doubt they were becoming friends. Duo could even get Wufei to crack a smile every once in a while.
Life was going wonderful for Death's pilot. Except for one thing. Since he had agreed not to take any solo missions, those were being farmed out to others. This caused two side effects, both of which Duo considered problems. Number one, the others were going out more often, which meant they spent less time at the safe house, and therefore he was able to spend less time with Wufei. Problem number two was the fact he was taking fewer missions meant spending more time grounded and less time in his Gundam.
"Hey Duo!" Quatre called as he came into the room. "A two person mission just came in, you want to go with me?"
Duo bounced out of his chair and was standing in front of the other pilot before he even finished the question.
"I take it that's a yes," Quatre laughed lightly.
Duo was already halfway out of the room. "Yes, yes, come on, let's go!"
"Thank you," Wufei smiled at him. "He was going crazy stuck here. Much longer and somebody would have killed him just to get him to shut up." He pointed with his head to the pilot of Wing off in the corner of the room.
Quatre nodded in agreement and was about to say something else, when Duo's voice rang through the house. "QUATRE! COME ON! WE NEED TO GET GOING!"
"Coming, Duo!" Quatre called back, before throwing a wave at the pilots left behind and running towards the impatiently waiting violet eyed one.
The mission was straightforward enough. There was a convoy transporting completed Taurus' to the pilot training center. It was their job to destroy the convoy before the Mobile Suits could get pilots and become dangerous.
It was while they were fighting with the convoy guards that Duo first felt it again. He commed over to his partner. "He's here, Quatre."
The blond pilot looked at him through the communications panel. His face was fearful and his hand was pressed against his heart. "I can feel him. There's something very very wrong with him. He's deadly, Duo. Dangerous to you."
"Hey, I'm Shinigami! I can take care of myself!" Duo's expression was all wounded pride.
Quatre shook his head. "Not against him. Please, Duo, don't go after him yourself. Let's just finish this mission and go home. Please, Duo. Please!"
Duo's blood ran cold. Quatre was obviously very, very scared. Despite the fact that he was considered the weakest of all the pilots, Duo knew the strength, both physical and mental, that hid behind that sweet facade. For him to show this amount of fear...
"All right Quatre. But put your video cameras on. Maybe with both Sandrock and Deathscythe we'll get something this time."
Quatre nodded sharply and turned back to what he had been doing. The unseen observer weighed heavily on both of their minds as they dealt with the weaker Mobile Suits. Up until now, the feeling of being watched had bothered Duo only because he didn't know who it was. He had never truly felt threatened. Quatre's reaction however, fueled his own worries. Now he could feel it too, a veritable aura of danger reaching out towards him. Every moment they stayed nearby, it got worse, pushing at their minds and emotions as if it was trying to get in, casting a heavy cloak of darkness over their minds and bodies. It was all they could do to push it away long enough to finish the mission unharmed.
It wasn't until the Gundams were hidden away in their hanger that the malevolent aura finally faded. The two talkative pilots headed inside without a word. They both knew what they needed, a light to combat the dark they had felt. Quatre hit the living room first, without a word he walked over to his lover. Trowa smiled slightly at the young blonde until he caught sight of his face.
"Quatre?" he asked softly.
"Hold me, please?" Quatre whispered as he crawled into Trowa's lap.
The silent pilot didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the boy shivering in his lap.
Duo headed straight for his love, but stopped in front of him, hesitating.
"Duo?" Wufei asked in confusion.
Duo just stood there, his eyes begging for something, but the Chinese pilot didn't know what.
Wufei looked around, hoping for inspiration. He looked into the deep green glaring eye of the banged pilot. "Hold him, stupid!" Trowa mouthed.
Shenlong's pilot decided it couldn't hurt, and reached towards the pilot of Deathscythe. He hadn't even gotten his hands totally raised when he found himself with a lap full of silent, shivering youth. Instinct took over, as he wrapped his arms around the trembling bundle in his arms. He started stroking his hair and murmuring soothingly.
Duo couldn't believe where he was and what was happening. Fei-chan was actually holding him. Too bad it had to be because he was scared out of his mind. He decided not to think about it and just snuggled in closer, allowing the comfort and warmth he felt in Wufei's arms to chase out the last of the cold the watcher had left.
"What happened?" Heero asked, since it seemed that every one else was busy.
Quatre pushed himself deeper into his koi's lap even as he raised his head to answer. "The watcher, Duo's watcher. He was there. He's... evil!"
Duo nodded his head where it rested against Wufei's neck. "It's never been like that before. Always before it was just watching, it didn't really seem bad. But this time," he shivered as his voice drifted off.
"We could feel him. It was awful, really truly awful. I don't think I've ever been that scared. Whoever it was, I don't think he was human. He felt more evil than... than..." Quatre tried to think.
"Than Lady Une in her "Bitch of the Universe" personality," Duo suggested.
"Exactly," Quatre replied.
"This really disturbed you, didn't it?" Wufei asked softly. He was trying his hardest not to think about how nice Duo felt in his arms and how soft his hair felt as he stroked down the braid. Duo was here for comfort and did *not* need any more than that. Wufei managed to keep his body under control by thinking of nothing but the danger Duo seemed to be in. After all, if he let it do as it wished at the moment, Duo would be in the perfect position to tell. /And that is quite enough of that kind of thinking,/ he commanded himself.
Duo drew back and made as if to get up, but Wufei tightened his arms. "That was not an insult, Maxwell, it was simply a request for information." He sighed silently in relief as Duo settled back down. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally insult Duo. He had seen the fright in the two pilots eyes, and knowing what they had gone through before without a whimper and he knew the state they were in now was worrying all of the pilots. They needed information if they were to get to the bottom of this.
"Yeah, it did. I've never felt anything like that before, Fei-chan." Duo didn't notice Wufei's eyes fly open in shock at the nickname. "I've run across plenty of people I would consider evil. I've had them look at me, too, and known it wasn't for any good reason. But this... if it wasn't so crazy, I'd say it was a demon or something."
Quatre nodded in total agreement from his seat across the room.
"Demons don't exist," Heero remarked.
"I know that, that's why I said 'if it wasn't so crazy'," Duo put up his head long enough to stick out his tongue at the cobalt eyed boy, before ducking back down into his safe haven.
"Sandrock and Deathscythe both had their recorders going, we should go over the video," Quatre said with a sigh. "But not until after I get a shower. I feel like I'm tainted or something." Reluctantly he stood up, grabbed Trowa's hand and led him out of the room.
Duo felt an overwhelming need to get clean as soon as Quatre mentioned it. There was only one problem. Going to take a shower meant getting off his very comfortable seat. Who knew when he would get a chance like this again? Then again, Wufei was probably getting impatient and was just too polite to tell him to get off. With another soundless sigh, Duo started pulling back. For a moment, it seemed the Chinese boy wasn't going to let him go, before his arms released and Duo stood up.
Not letting himself think, Duo bent down and brushed his lips against those of the other pilot. "Thank you," he whispered.
He almost ran out the door, refusing to look back and see what expression was on his friend's face. If he had, he would have seen Wufei sitting, completely stunned, with one hand raised to his lips, as if to try to touch the kiss he had just been given.
Heero snorted in amusement as he passed by the glassy eyed, shocked still teen.
Shinigami was shocked as well. Not from the kiss, though that had stunned him, he would *deal* with it later. There were slightly more important things to handle at the moment. No, what shocked the God of Death was the description of the watcher. *He* was the only one who was supposed to watch his Duo like that, but he had been nowhere near the battle. That meant someone else was wanting his priest. Someone beyond human to scare the two pilots that way. And that would *not* be allowed. No mortal could ever truly be a threat to his claiming of the youth, and no immortal would be so stupid. At least, not again.