A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates; I've been on vacation.

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CHAPTER SIX: In Which Trowa Helps Out

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"Woo hoo!" Duo shouted, watching as the last section of the base exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke.

Quatre laughed at his enthusiasm, the sound echoing clearly across their open com links. "Having a good time, Duo?"

"You know it, Q-bean! Is that all?"

Wing took a swipe at the single remaining mobile doll, and watched as it fell into pieces. "That's all," Heero's nasal tones informed them.

"You go, Hee-chan! C'mon, let's get back home!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Heero demanded. Duo had to know that Wufei couldn't possibly be back yet. Their mission was over a day earlier than scheduled, but his was going to take a week, easily, and maybe longer.

"We got revenge to plan, 'member?! 'Sides, I wanna see if 'Fei sent me any emails, yet! He won't send them to 'Sycthe - says the Gundams are for 'business, not pleasure.'"

"Sounds like Wufei," Quatre giggled.

"Yep - my koi is so anal. Just like yours."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Do you deny it?"

"No - I just resent it!" Quatre teased.

"Hey!" The word came in stereo from Wing and Heavyarms, making the other two Pilots laugh half of the way back to the safehouse.

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Wufei stood on the edge of the dock, fishing pole in hand, and gazed out at the sparkling water.

His cover was the son of a vacationing businessman, who had been called back to the city and thought he was 'mature enough' to be left on his own for a few days. Someone - one of the Doctors or someone they trusted - had rented a very small cabin and posed as his father up until yesterday.

They'd already been gone when he got to the cabin this morning; the story was that he'd had a cold and couldn't come outside until today, when he finally felt better.

It seemed to have been an elaborate plan - for nothing. He'd been completely ignored so far.

He'd forced down his unease at being so near to so much water, and established himself in this spot early this morning. He had a perfect view of his target's yacht - still moored - and the fishing wasn't too bad. He'd caught several fish already; threw most of them back and had three good-sized ones swimming in some lake water he'd scooped into a small cooler. He might have one for supper - the others he would dump back in the lake after his day's watch was over.

So now he stood here, casting his line into the water over and over, watching a yacht that had showed no signs of life for the last three hours.

Gods, he was so bored...

And he missed Duo.

At least his clothes smelled like his lover.

Probably because they belonged to him.

Duo had laughed when he'd read the cover story aloud - just the part about being a vacationing teenager, not the bit about the lake - and asked if he planned on fooling anyone in his pretty white silk? Then he'd rooted through his clothes and come up with a pair of blue jean cutoffs, a faded black t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, and some battered sneakers. He'd made Wufei promise to wear his hair down and gave him a floppy-brimmed hat that he called a fishing cap. Wufei had it pulled down over his ears and was wearing sleek black shades, the only thing Duo hadn't given him. But the sun was bright and sunglasses were a mandatory part of dumb disguises. Duo would have appreciated the joke.

If he was here.

He sighed.

"Hey!" a voice called, and he spun around, mentally cursing himself for his lapse in attention.

A tall blond boy was hanging over the railing of the dock, waving at him. "Hey! Hey, you! Kid! Come over here, would ya?"

Kid?!

Oh, well - this was a golden opportunity to get closer to that boat. He'd swallow the insult.

For now.

He braced his pole carefully between two of the wooden boards that made up the dock and strolled over to the yacht, careful not to stalk like he usually did.

Kid on vacation, kid on vacation, remember, you're just a kid on vacation...

And do not look down at the water...

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"Duo? Is something wrong?"

The braided boy looked up from listlessly stirring a bowl of soup. Trowa's gentle green eyes - er, eye - gazed back at him.

"No email."

"Ah."

They sat in silence for a moment. Trowa knew all he had to do was wait. There would be more words.

"And I hate sleeping without 'Fei."

"Mm."

"I... I kinda dream about him when he's not here. When I don't know if he's safe or not."

"Bad?"

"Usually. That damn water tank, and the way he was gasping... I thought he was going to die..."

"Ah. That explains it."

"Huh?"

"Sometimes - you yell for someone to breathe."

"Oh. Gomen..."

"You can't control it."

Duo just shrugged and stuck his spoon in his mouth.

Trowa sipped his tea.

Another quiet minute passed.

"You can sleep with us."

Huge violet eyes stared at him. "Uh... thanks, Tro, but I don't think Hee-chan and Q would appreciate that..."

"And why wouldn't we?" demanded a familiar voice. Both boys looked up to see Quatre framed in the doorway. "You're our friend, aren't you? We won't mind you at all." He grinned suddenly. "Though Wufei might have something to say about you ...joining us!"

"Quatre!" Trowa tried for shock but couldn't help a little smile - after a glance at Duo to make sure the other boy realized Quatre was joking.

Duo apparently did - he was laughing so hard he was about to fall off his chair. "Quat! You hentai! 'Fei'll havta defend my honor when he gets back!"

"If you're sharing our room, I'm getting more blankets," Heero said, appearing out of nowhere and stalking through the room toward the little linen closet.

"Oi! Are you saying I'm a blanket hog?!"

"No. You're a blanket thief."

"Hey!"

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Wufei folded his arms and glared up at the boy on the yacht - not that the boy could tell, since he was wearing sunglasses, but... "What?"

"How's the fishing?"

"Fine." The twit called him over here to ask that?

"You do realize you're fishing in our spot?" The boy gave him an imperious grin and apparently expected a swift apology.

He had no idea who he was dealing with. "I asked at the office. Slot Y-A is empty and I have permission to fish there." The numbers were painted in bright red on the wooden dock - a blind man could see them.

The boy's grin faltered slightly, but he recovered fast. "Then the office is misinformed; we rented all the slots around our yacht."

"Prove it." Wufei shot back.

To his surprise, the boy's grin suddenly got bigger. "Feisty, huh? What's your name?"

"None of your business," Wufei growled, and went back to his fishing pole. What an obnoxious jerk... he grinned to himself suddenly, recognizing those words as ones Duo used to label him with, back when all they did was argue.

Footsteps sounded behind him, but he didn't turn. He knew who it was.

"You're not very polite," the boy tried for a pouting tone, but again, he didn't know who he was dealing with. Duo and Quatre had made that tone a fine art, and Wufei was almost immune to them. This guy didn't have a chance.

"I have no reason to be."

"Aw, c'mon. I just want to know your name. I'm Robert, but you can call me Robbie."

Wufei turned his head and looked at him over the top of his sunglasses, arching one elegant eyebrow in calculated disdain. "I don't plan on calling you anything."

Robbie grinned again. "Aw, c'mon! I'll take you for a ride on the yacht!"

Wufei hesitated. Really, the last thing he wanted to do was go out on the water - but this was a golden opportunity as far as his mission was concerned. He looked from the boat to Robbie and back again, obviously torn.

Fortunately, Robbie just thought it was over him. "Hey, I don't bite! C'mon, what's your name? Wouldn't you like to see the boat? I saw you watching it earlier."

Uh-oh! Cover! Fast! "I like boats." Calm, flat statement of fact.

"Then you really would like to see inside, wouldn't you? Go for a ride?"

"Maybe."

"Then tell me your name, and we'll go."

"I'm fishing!" Wufei objected, trying to stick to his cover.

"Let those go, and bring your pole! There's better fishing out on the lake!"

"...you're allowed to just take the boat out whenever you want?" Wufei asked suspiciously. If this kid got in trouble, he'd probably be blamed - he knew what most rich kids were like. Then he'd never be able to get near the yacht when the Colonel's contact showed up.

"Well, not exactly. But my dad owns it, and he's taking a friend out to see the lake, maybe do some fishing, in an hour or two. You can come along! He said I could bring a friend - but it'll be kind of weird if I keep calling you 'hey, you!' Hint, hint?" He gave Wufei a winning smile.

Wufei's brain had gone into high gear. A friend - out on the lake - could it be the traitor?! There was no way he wasn't getting on that boat now! What was that silly cover name the Doctors had picked? Something in English, when an Asian name would have suited him better. Oh, yes - "Anthony."

"Can I call you Tony?"

"If you feel you must," Wufei sighed. What was it with people and nicknames - even his cover name was getting shortened.

"Then c'mon, Tony, and I'll show you the boat!" Robbie dumped the cooler's contents back into the lake without asking, pulled the pole out of Wufei's hand - he'd already wound in his line - and grabbed a bronze arm, pulling him along as he ran toward the yacht.

Wufei followed with the ease of long practice - Robbie's grip was almost as good as Duo's - and hoped that this was a good idea.

He just wouldn't think about all the water beneath them.