Chapter 12
Notes: Told you there'd be more. Sort of did a reference/homage to the original series at the end of this chapter with a discussion of some good old war and politics.
Day 4 2:00 PM
Quatre and Duo entered the outdoor foot court, dragging their feet behind them. When they neared Heero's table, Heero immediately got up to make some room for them, one hand on Duo's arm as he guided him to a seat; then he took off to get some food for them. Quatre wouldn't normally allow someone else to pay for his meal, but he supposed he could pay Heero back later. Besides, they could do with some food and right now Quatre was too tired to do anything about it. He smiled wanly at Wufei, who said nothing but a short greeting as they sat.
Quatre supposed this was what it felt like to be in the Twilight Zone. Disney World was such a magical place, a place of childhood dreams, and yet here he and Duo had been subjected to life-threatening accidents day after day. It was starting to wear on him, especially now that the accidents were definitely not accidents. Though he and Duo agreed upon this fact, they now were at a loss. Each of them had come to different conclusions as to why these accidents were not merely accidents, and all the facts they had so far weren't adding up. Quatre wondered if they should just go home. Of course, it was at that moment someone dropped a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, with hot and familiar breath, "You look like shit."
And all of a sudden Quatre didn't want to go anywhere. He arched back, in hopes of garnering some sort of kiss or touch, though as they were in public that was not possible.
"Thanks for that Trowa," Quatre said, "nice to see you too. I suppose you're going to tell me next that shit is a good look for me?"
"You wear it well," Trowa snickered from behind him, and began rubbing his shoulders.
Quatre looked up to squint at his…what? Certainly not boyfriend. Friend, perhaps, if friends shared stolen kisses. Well, whatever he was, he certainly looked good.
Trowa draped himself across Heero's chair, drinking from Heero's unattended soda.
"No manners," Wufei snorted.
Trowa grimaced, "Gross. It's Diet."
"Barton – move," Heero said as he came back and laid trays out on the table, "and that's Diet by the way."
"I know," Trowa shoved the soda back in Heero's direction, "it's disgusting."
"Serves you right," Wufei smirked.
"Don't you have to be somewhere?" Heero shooed Trowa out of his seat, "Running after goats or something?"
"Not for a while," Trowa attempted to squish himself into Quatre's chair.
"Well if you're going to stay, pull up a chair and stop trying to shove Watson out of his."
"I'm not shoving, I'm sharing."
Heero quirked an eyebrow. Trowa rolled his eyes and got his own seat, much to Quatre's disappointment. But to make up for it Trowa pulled his chair right up to Quatre's and helped relieve him of his French fries.
Duo, for his part, ate in silence. Besides a few words of greeting, Duo had kept unusually quiet. Quatre was sure Heero noticed, because usually Duo chatted to Heero nonstop. Quatre felt the dearth of flirting and jokes quite aptly and nudged Duo in the side as they ate. Duo flicked his eyes to him, smiled briefly, before resuming his brooding.
"So what happened?" Heero asked after Duo had finished his second burger.
Trowa looked between Quatre and Duo, as if trying to find a missing limb that he had overlooked before.
"Another accident," Quatre said after Duo wouldn't speak up.
Quatre flinched when everyone's eyes focused on him intently, gazes sharpened.
"Yeah," Quatre gulped, twisting his napkin, "on the Kali River Rapids."
There was a bit of silence, and Quatre wondered if they too had walked into the Twilight Zone.
"Kali River Rapids?" Trowa barked, "When?"
"This morning, right before we met up with Heero."
Trowa's jaw tightened, "I saw your stalker exit that ride just before I came here. I was going to tell you in private," Trowa flicked his gaze not so subtly at Wufei and the surrounding patrons.
Quatre felt himself go weak; he fell back into his chair with a thud and didn't bother to continue his story. He had not seen the blond man at all, but he had obviously been there, perhaps orchestrating the accident. Quatre rubbed at his face with his hands.
"What is this about accidents?" Wufei leaned forward, brow furrowed, "And stalkers? Are you in danger?"
"You could say that," Duo said sarcastically, "every damn day something has gone wrong. We've been in an accident on nearly every ride we've ridden."
Wufei's eyes widened, "That's impossible."
"Yeah? We have the bruises to prove it," Duo said, staring at the table as if he wanted to punch it.
"What happened this time?" Heero demanded again, his hands spread out on the table as if he wanted to reach over and squeeze Duo's hands.
"Watson's belt snapped. Someone sawed into it and then on the big drop, it snapped. He flew into the raft, thank God. If you flew into the tracks I would've-" Duo stopped abruptly.
"Have you alerted Safety?" Wufei asked.
"They made a fucking report, but what's that going to do? We have no proof that these accidents aren't simply accidents. It's just overwhelming obvious that we're involved in each and every one of them. But that doesn't count as evidence."
"Then they really could just be accidents," Wufei said quietly.
Quatre simply put his head on the table. Trowa clapped him on the shoulder.
"We could follow this man," Trowa suggested suddenly.
"If you're not working," Wufei conceded, "and if you think stalking is a good idea in general."
"I'll follow him," Duo said.
"Well you'll have to find him first," Quatre said, "but you can't be obvious about it. If it's me he's after, then he obviously knows what you look like, you're around me constantly. He'll be on the lookout for you. We need someone who he won't suspect."
"I could ask around," Heero said, "We have to get back to work, but maybe Hilde will be done early."
Duo pursed his lips, "Enough people know about this already. Are you sure we should tell her?"
Wufei shook his head, "I can't believe you're going to tail some stranger."
"He's been tailing me," Quatre glared at Wufei, "turnabout is fair play."
"What proof do you have that someone is stalking you?"
"This blond man is always nearby when I'm in some strange accident. Or he's just watching me. Don't you find it a bit odd that for several days the same man has been spotted near my person repeatedly?"
Wufei steepled his fingers, "What about these accidents? Have they all happened on rides?"
Quatre took a few minutes to recount his and Duo's misfortunes, wondering what the Chinese man would make of it. He seemed to go deeper into thought as Quatre talked.
"I'll talk to Zechs," Wufei said after Quatre finished.
"He was at the scene of the first accident. No Safety report was made," Duo said gruffly, folding his arms tightly.
Wufei's eyes narrowed and asked slowly, "Is that so?"
"Yeah, get to the bottom of that," Duo snarled, "because if I knew they reported shit, I really would've liked it on paper."
Quatre was hesitant to agree. If his name came up on too many accidents reports, the information would have a greater potential to be leaked and that was something he did not want.
"It might not have mattered. Reports or not, nothing could've proved it was a deliberate sabotage unless something came up in the mechanics report."
"So if the mechanics have to make some sort of report, why didn't we have to? We were injured parties."
Wufei glared at some distant point, "I will have to ask Zechs about this, probably rather obliquely."
"I told you Watson, the whole fucking cast is in on some kind of plan to take down Disney."
"We're not," Trowa pointed out snippily.
"The very thought of a largely orchestrated plan of mutiny is-" Heero said at the same time.
"Have you heard of Improv Everywhere?" Duo interrupted.
"That's certainly not the same thing as mutiny," Heero groused.
"I have to be getting back," Wufei stood up, rubbing at his forehead, "but before we break, let me make one thing perfectly clear – we have no idea who is behind this or if there's anything to even be behind. So I suggest you keep a sharp lookout but stop the ridiculous talk of mass takeovers!"
Duo gave him a rude hand signal; Wufei delivered one right back and then left the table. Quatre watched him and thought of something.
"Didn't Treize say Sally was working today? We should pay her a visit."
Duo sighed, "And risk running into Wufei again? No way."
"I thought you liked Sally?"
"I think Wufei could take a few pages from her book."
Heero began collecting the trash, "I have to get back to work too. I think you'll be safe enough in Sally's company, but I don't think it'd be prudent to ride any other rides."
Duo snorted, "Yeah, thanks for that. We'll just mope around Disney, shall we?"
"There'll be no accidents if you aren't on any rides," Heero explained rather rationally.
"A lamp post will fall onto my head," Quatre predicted, "or a tree branch."
"An entire concession stand will tip over and crush you," Duo grinned, "are we taking bets?"
"I can't believe you're betting on your best friend's death," Heero said blankly.
"We try to have a sense of humor about these things," Quatre explained sagely.
"I'm sure," Heero's expression was all sour grapes.
Day 4 3:00 PM
Trowa had to get back to the goats, so it was Quatre and Duo who went in line for the Safari Ride.
"I wonder if we can request a driver?" Quatre asked, "There won't be a point of going on this ride if we don't have Sally as our driver."
"Maybe we can wait for her truck to pull up or something?"
But when they reached the front of the line, the employee manning the queue saw them and immediately asked, "Are you Watson and Duo? Sally's friends, right?"
They look at each other and hesitated to answer.
"Sally's just starting her second shift if you want to wait," he explained, "her truck will be up and running in just a few minutes."
They stood off to the side, and Duo kept sharp eyes upon the young employee. A cold feeling had suddenly entered Quatre's stomach and his breathing was a little quicker than normal. Having people recognize him, even if only as Watson, was a little unnerving. Especially since he was supposed to be incognito. He looked around, but the blond man was nowhere in sight.
Eventually Sally drove up, seats empty and waiting for passengers.
"Hello again!" she crowed as they climbed aboard, and then blinked at their appearance, "You guys have seen better days."
Duo managed little more than a fledging smile.
"Well sit down and get comfy, Sally's going to make it all better."
They sat and Quatre gripped the seat rather tightly, feeling uncomfortable even with the cool breeze hitting his face.
"Welcome to the best safari ride you will ever experience in your entire life," Sally announced, "we're going on a journey deep in the African savannah where we'll outrun lions and battle poachers. So you're going to have to buckle up real tight for me now, and whatever you do, stay in your seat! I've had people fly out of here before."
A child squalled and a mother made sure to tighten her seat belt. Quatre hid his laugh with a cough.
After she finished protocol, Sally revved up and then they were lumbering over the dirt trail. Quatre leaned back in his seat, letting her voice wash over him, when there was a rather loud pop. The car jerked to the side and he saw Sally frown in the rearview mirror.
"Hold on folks, I think we may have run into some tr-"
But a man's scream drowned out her voice. From behind him Quatre could hear a sudden crackling and he quickly turned around. The heat hit his face. The outside of the vehicle was coated with flames licking their way up to the seated passengers, crawling over the railings. Another loud bang threw the jeep into the air.
It was as if Quatre was underwater again. He couldn't register what the voices around him were saying. His fingers fought with his seatbelt, which kept slipping out his grip. Around him people began to stand up.
"Stay calm!" Sally was shouting.
Beside him he felt Duo rip off his seatbelt and then tend to his, grasping it with sure hands. People in the back were shouting and around him the world had gone fuzzy. The savannah was a blurry expanse of golden grass and the animals were merely black smears. His seatbelt was in sharp focus though, and Quatre memorized every scratch on the surface, and watched a bead of his sweat smack Duo's hand. And then the belt flew apart, relieving the pressure around his waist. He might have breathed a sigh of relief, but then Duo was shoving him against the railings, hard enough to leave bruises. Stand up, Duo might have said. Or shouted. Or perhaps he and Duo were now linked telepathically. But Duo eventually had him standing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw people congregating by the stairs, perhaps lifting an elderly woman out of her seat. A woman holding a child was trying to step over them to get to the stairs. A line! Sally might have said. But Quatre didn't have the time to really register it. He was being lifted and shoved over the railing of the window.
"Jump!" Duo screamed in his ears.
He didn't know what that meant, but he was already sitting on the railing so he let himself fall. Or Duo might have pushed him. He felt his limbs trail after him, as if head was an anchor, and he fell flat on his back, feet clanking painfully against the jeep. And then above him Duo leapt out of the window, a black silhouette against the blue sky. He felt rather than saw him land, as Duo's shirt brushed against his arm and Duo's harsh breathing hit his ears and Duo's spit fell on his face.
And then he was being dragged away, watching the jeep waver in the heat of the flames. He watched the dark, shadowy figures on the jeep. He twisted around, so that he was on his stomach, and began to crawl like his friend. They scrambled over the rough, long blades of grass and grasped powdery stones for leverage. It just made no sense to use their legs. Quatre's were shaking, neurotic with the fill of adrenalin.
They collapsed yards away, facing each other, and their eyes met across the mere few inches separating them. Duo's eyes were wild and the sun made them bright and sharp. Did that just happen? they asked. Why the fuck didn't you jump? Quatre could practically feel the accusation. Duo blinked and turned away to watch the jeep. Quatre suddenly felt very cold and he turned his face into the dirt.
The jeep hadn't blown up. The passengers had reunited after the fire was put out, and Quatre learned that everyone got out okay. The fire seemed relatively small in hindsight, but he could still remember the sudden pop and flare of heat. One man seemed to have been injured after jumping out of the vehicle, but no one was burned. At first Duo had been rather stoic after the whole incident. His eyes seemed permanently as large as saucers, and he barely moved, his jaw frozen shut. Quatre moved cautiously around Duo, but he himself was fine when Wufei arrived and had his little freak-out. Wufei soon engaged in conversation with the engineers. He was gruff, to-the-point and needed to know why. Much like Duo. After Wufei arrived he suddenly came to life, and asked his questions with screaming and death threats. Quatre couldn't find any words to say to him, so he let Duo take his frustration out on the staff.
Sally was as equally as devastated as Duo, simply because she believed she was responsible for the incident. But it turned out that a hose had failed and had set the engine on fire. No one could have known.
Quatre felt as if he was floating for the rest of the day. It felt odd being asked to leave the savannah. Quatre had forgotten that anything else had existed, that they were at an amusement park. But Quatre wondered who exactly was amused. His thoughts turned towards the blond man, but even he couldn't stay in his mind for very long. He watched his feet as he walked and felt Duo as if he existed miles away.
Duo led him to the gates and Quatre followed him without question. They sat on the bus as if they were statues made of stone. Around them people were chatting and smiling. He rested his head against the window and didn't look away.
Day 4 6:30 PM
The sun traveled overhead, flaring in the smears on the window. Quatre sighed, and released the covers that had been clenched in his grip. He looked over his shoulder to see Duo sitting on his bed, elbows resting on his knees. He faced away from Quatre and a slight tremor occasionally ran up and down his spine. Quatre grabbed a pillow, and his muscles twitched with the desire to throw it at him. Growling, he stuffed it back beneath his head and lay down. He curled up tightly and resumed watching the world outside.
A pillow hit him in the back of the head. Quatre ignored it. He heard Duo get up and then a newscaster's voice from the TV erupted into the silence. Duo, sighing annoyingly loudly and obviously, flopped down on his bed with a gigantic squeak. Quatre burrowed deeper into the pillow.
"War is meant to be fought by machines, not soldiers. Mister Winner can hold onto his romantic notions of sacrifice, but I'll tell you the facts. The way of the future is robots. The ones I'm currently designing will replace soldiers entirely!"
"Can you please shut him up?" Quatre said, running a hand through his hair, gripping the locks, "For the love of-"
The TV suddenly went on mute. Quatre looked back at Duo, who snorted and threw down the remote. Quatre grunted, not sure what to say. His teeth hurt from clenching them so much.
"He's full of shit," Duo said, pointing at Tsubarov, Quatre's father's rival who dominated the screen.
Quatre accepted the peace treaty for what it was, "Yeah. And fugly too."
"And a coward."
They both released a long sigh, and Quatre felt his agitation slowly drain from his body. He was left with a large headache.
"Quatre," Duo turned onto his stomach, almost completely hidden by his bunches of hair. Quatre could make out one blue eye. He stared at it as Duo talked, watching it quaver.
"Would you go to war if you had to?" Duo asked.
Quatre wet his lips, "Would you?"
"I asked you first."
"I'm not – I mean. Do I look like a solider to you?"
"But would you? If you felt like everything you had was being destroyed, would you fight to protect it?"
Quatre gulped, closing his eyes. It was difficult for him to contemplate losing everything. He tried to image men with guns running up to his home, breaking in, striking down Rashid, his father, Duo-
Quatre scratched his palms, wondering what a gun would feel like in them. Could he raise it and shoot the men who hurt his family? Could he really pull the trigger?
"Yes," he answered, because he knew that he would defend Duo at all costs, "would you?"
"Of course," Duo answered immediately. Quatre blinked in surprise.
"What brought all this on?" Quatre asked. Surely a sound bite from Tsubarov's speech hadn't caused all this mental anxiety.
"It's just…I was thinking about today. I mean, I know you're the son of an important man in the political world, and I know these accidents are just accidents. But if they weren't…I was asking myself how far I would go to keep you safe."
Duo cracked his knuckles, watching the ceiling, "And then I wondered if I would go and fight in a war to protect you and Howard and Father Maxwell. And maybe Quatre, I mean maybe, maybe Solo is fighting in a war right now. And maybe my parents died fighting or something."
Quatre sat up feeling brittle and his eyes were sore as if he had been crying. He stumbled into Duo's bed and they lay there while Tsubarov's image flickered on the TV. Was it wishful thinking to hope that Duo's parents hadn't abandoned him, but instead had gone off to fight to protect him? Quatre supposed it was, but Duo would do exactly that for his family. Maybe Duo's family had once done the same for him.
Either way, Quatre was glad they weren't soldiers. Rashid had been one once. He had shown him his pilot goggles. Quatre didn't envy him.
"You won't have to do anything drastic to protect me," Quatre laughed.
Duo suddenly reached out and grasped his shoulder, "Your regular body guards aren't here, Quatre. But I am. I'll be your bodyguard."
Quatre grasped Duo's shoulder in return, feeling something cement inside of him. Something was happening between them, but Quatre wasn't sure what.
Later on they ended up tossing popcorn at Tsubarov's image on the TV, and came up with theories (sometimes completely outrageous), about how he had avoided the Draft when he was younger.
When Duo fell asleep hours later, Quatre could feel his hand as if it was still on his shoulder. He couldn't sleep. Duo's devotion to him was nothing new, but today's brush with death had made it rather visible. Quatre sat up suddenly, replaying the accident on the safari in his head.
"You idiot," Quatre whispered to the slumbering figure in the other bed. You pushed me out first.
Quatre lay back down and curled around a pillow, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Duo was terrified of losing another person. He'd rather die fighting than lose someone he loved. He'd rather become a killer than lose the people closest to him. Quatre's throat went dry, realizing the full impact of today's conversation. Duo would die to protect Quatre, just as he would kill to keep him safe. And the way this trip was shaping up to be…Quatre feared seeing either of those possibilities becoming a reality.
Author's Notes: More Heero and Trowa in the next chapter…whenever that will decide to write itself :D