L2's Child
Chapter Eight
by Nix Winter
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.
Note: cheers wildly I get to do a book signing at yaoi con this year! For my original books, of course, but still. Very exciting!
Archive: yaoihearts./l2'schild
And on , of course, under pinkwhirlwind
Marrow purred, really almost purred. Money was everything. It made a person god. His little celebrity guinea pig was on one of Winner's ships and a bit of money was all it took to get the data flowing. In return, he'd give some information on how to keep the pregnancy viable, keep Saint Maxwell alive.
"Well, didn't I tell you it was going to work perfectly," Marrow glowered. "You have everything you need to continue to monitor him. I'm going to have a waiting list a mile long for this."
Dr. Cynthia Wong rubbed her face, slowly pressing out the tension. As long as she rubbed, she wasn't chained to a computer desk wearing nothing more than a black bikini and an over large white tee-shirt. She had been the lead researcher on the Kitty Hawk, which had been doing work with mutations in colonists. During the war, her ship had been attacked by Marrow's crew.
When he'd brought in Duo Maxwell… she'd hoped somehow that would result in her freedom. Marrow couldn't have been serious about creating a male pregnancy in the young man. He just couldn't have been. She had been the one to open his bruised body, separate tissue, add and reorder, recreate, and she had sworn to do all she could to keep him alive, and the baby suddenly growing within him.
He'd figure out a way to get her out of here.
"What the hell is on your mind, woman," Marrow growled. "You thinking he's gonna come back here and save you? Maybe carry you off and give you a great happily ever after? You know why that will never happen right?"
"I think you will underestimate him and his friends," she said, head bowed, almost as if she were giving him a warning for his own good, as if she had his best interest at heart.
Marrow snorted. "You take care of his body, get a good understanding of what's going on, cuz we will be doing it again. I took care of his mind. If he works his way through the brainwashing that I gave him, if he starts remembering, ain't no amount of anti-depressant in the Earthspere going to keep body and soul together. He'll take out my problem for me. I'm gonna build my own colony, then I can give you a whole house to run around in. You'll like it a lot better there."
"Thank you," she said, plotting how to keep one Duo Maxwell from either remembering or killing himself.
"Oh there is no way," Duo said, piece of pizza half way to his mouth. "I did not dye my hair pink and run naked through a mall. There is just no way." He chomped into the pizza, violet eyes glaring at the other two in the airshaft.
Quatre's laughter echoed around them, and he clutched his sides, leaning against Trowa. "But that's the great part! You did. It was one of those temp dyes and it washed out, but it was a sight at the time."
Duo took another bite of pizza, violet eyes looking innocently up at the ceiling. "Why would I do such a thing? Where were you at the time?"
"He was being held at the security office," Trowa said, poker face on. "I was in Spain playing with incendiary devices. Quatre was very ill and you were supposed to stay with him."
"Did I let you guys down," Duo asked, the crust of his pizza tapping a nervous rhythm against his leg.
"No, no," Quatre said, "Not at all. You saved me. If it hadn't been for the crazy disturbance you created I would have been turned over to OZ."
"Sooooo," Duo asked, picking up another slice of pizza. "Trowa… Truth or dare."
"Truth," Trowa said without hesitation.
"What is your favorite thing to do to Quatre?" Duo grinned into another bite of pizza.
"I enjoy making him happy." Calm as peas on Sunday afternoon, Trowa smiled peacefully, one hand brushing over Quatre's hair.
"Oh, come on, that's hardly juicy at all. I mean, sexually," Duo complained.
"That is not what you asked. You did not say, 'What kind of sexual action do you like to perform with or on Quatre.' You said, 'What is your favorite thing to do to Quatre?' Truth or Dare."
Duo swallowed, grabbed up the bag of pop and glared. "Dare."
"I dare you to take off your shirt and throw it back down into the room."
"What kind of pathetic dare is that?" Duo was already peeling his shirt off, revealing the long pink scar over his belly, shiny in places because of the insta-heal that had been used on it. "Quatre, truth or dare."
The shirt fluttered down towards the floor.
Heero's blue eyes fluttered open. Duo had moved. Without looking, he knew that Duo had moved.
Like living gundanium, he rose, cautious and hunting. "Duo?"
The glass door moved silently, Heero stepping inside cautiously. No location was every completely safe. That attack on Duo that had left him carrying a child, which did not really settle well in Heero's thoughts, had been strange enough that Heero was feeling very vigilant.
As soon as Duo was well enough to defend himself sufficiently, Heero had plans to hunt some attackers. Pausing just inside the door, observing the fallen tee-shirt and the scent of pizza, Heero decided Duo had made an escape attempt, which had been failed by Quatre and Trowa. They were good friends. It was just the slight nagging guilt over not having been fully awake to prevent such an escape on his own.
"Ro!" Duo said, head dipping out of the ceiling, braid falling down a moment later. "Come up! We have pizza!"
"I doubt the ceiling was designed for extended utilization," Heero said rationally. "Why don't you come down here."
"Too much surveillance down there," Duo said, nose wrinkling.
"Quatre, turn off the surveillance and come down here."
Trowa's voice echoed a bit where he sat. "You are so bossy, Heero Yuy. Truth or dare?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's a game," Duo said, coming down out of the ceiling like he was a gymnast, lowering himself slowly.
Heero moved quickly, arms going around Duo, instinctive need to catch and protect Duo. "What kind of game," Heero asked, a little shy and embarrassed by his need to protect Duo.
Duo, innocent of all the difficulties their relationship had had before, wrapped his arms around Heero's neck, leaning close to kiss Heero's cheek. "Well, first I ask, 'truth or dare', and you pick one, then I either ask you a question or give you a dare."
"Actually," Trowa said, dropping easily to the floor and holding his hands up to lift Quatre down. "I already asked."
"Fine," Duo said, slightly pouty, playfully. "So which is it, Heero? Truth or dare?"
Heero tried to set Duo back down on the bed, but the braided man was off as soon as Heero let him go. He caught his shirt up, putting it back on, even as Trowa looked at him half challengingly. Duo pulled the shirt down hard, on the side of his belly that had the scar.
"Truth," Heero said, cautiously.
"You've been in love with Duo for a long time."
"Define 'long time'." Heero moved closer to Duo, a hand reaching cautiously to Duo's shoulder.
Duo turned though, grabbing Heero's hand. "So you are in love with me, really?"
"I said I was," Heero said, letting Duo take hold of his hand. "We should not worry about these things until your memories are more intact."
"Uh, your turn, Heero," Duo said, smiling, shifting closer so he could slip an arm around Heero's back. "You get to pick one of us and ask, 'truth or dare'."
"Duo," Heero said, "Truth or dare."
"Truth," Duo asked, already thinking he was being unfairly targeted.
"What will you do when you regain your memories and decide that you do not love me?"
"Dude, that's not going to happen, but if it did," Duo said, a hand fisting in Heero's shirt, "Then I'd be someone I'm not now. So, if I'm really someone else, I'd better enjoy you and loving you now."
"Well said," Quatre said, resting his head on Trowa's arm, "Besides I know Duo's been in love with Heero for years."
"Well, that's settled then, isn't it," Duo said, smiling smugly.