Hey everyone! This update is a lot shorter than normal, but that's just because the next chapter after this will be massive, so get excited.
Enjoy!
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Trowa and Quatre had barely walked a hundred yards into the wreckage that was Sector Six when they were approached by three hulking teenagers that seemed to have materialized out of the very debris.
Faces stony and impassive to questions, they had led the two, curiosity piqued, into the very heart of the rubble, which, ironically, appeared to be the only building in the entire Sector with four walls and a roof.
Along the way, Quatre peered inquisitively into the rubble and felt his heart pulled painfully. There were so many children there, too many dirty faces with eyes too stony and features too sharp for their age. He had always assumed that places like this, cracks and holes where those left behind and those forgotten had fallen, had disappeared with the return of peace. With peace there shouldn't be any more orphans, any more broken families. He had never felt so embarrassingly naïve.
Without pause or explanation, Trowa and Quatre were just short of shoved through the building's lone, rusty door, which shut sharply behind them, and left standing awkwardly before an incredible mess of a room.
Quatre had already gazed around the room twice before his eyes finally caught sight of the figure sitting passively in the center of the chaos. The young man couldn't have been much older than himself, but a shocking air of importance rolled off him in waves. Quatre had seen his type before. He was someone people gravitated towards, someone they followed without question, someone who could lead men to their deaths without complaint. Quatre tensed. He was someone who had potential to prove very dangerous.
Abruptly, the young leader stood up and declared in a voice laced with irritation, "Now just what the hell could you two possibly want?"
His straightforwardness startled Quatre.
Trowa took over for a moment. "We are looking for a friend," he announced with intimidating coolness. Quatre had always marveled how Trowa, though unnervingly quiet, could demand attention with the most softly spoken of words.
"Does this look like a bloody lost and found to you?!" he shouted angrily, slamming his hands on the table, which looked ready to buckle under the blow.
He gave the two a long hard look before rolling his eyes and sitting back down moodily. "I ain't got any answers for either of you, so just leave and don't come back." He waved his hands dismissively at the door.
Ever the diplomat, Quatre moved forward and addressed the other blonde in his most agreeable tone, "I apologize for our intrusion, but we believe our friend Duo might have been…searching around this area, and we simply wish to know whether you have seen him at all," he implored, with a hint of desperation. "Please, we don't mean to cause any trouble."
He stared Quatre down before looking off again, exasperated. "That's what he said too," he announced, with a sulking air. He sighed before turning back to them. "Your friend wouldn't happen to have a three foot long braid and a serious issue with the understanding of the word 'no', would he?" he asked wryly.
"So he's been here?" Quatre responded, eagerness evident in his voice.
"Nope, never seen him," he responded impassively, staring down at his hands with mock interest. "Question answered. Leave."
"Wait-but you just said-" Quatre began, confused, before Trowa motioned him to stop.
"What do we have to tell you for you to give us the information we want?"
The brunette's question sparked some interest in the blonde. He glanced up at their determined faces and made a noise of irritation. "Jesus, you're just as hard to get rid of. There isn't more of you, is there?"
He stood and walked around the table. He appeared even more imposing from his new vantage point.
"Why exactly are you looking for this friend of yours, again?"
Quatre answered firmly, "We're here to bring him home."
He raised an eyebrow. "Bring him home? What are you, his babysitters? Not sure about you two, but I definitely got the impression the punk knew exactly what he wanted, and it sure as well didn't seem like it was home," he commented, but then added with a shrug of his shoulders, "Not that it's any of my business."
Quatre rushed to defend their mission. "Look, he's not thinking straight right now. He's obsessing over something, well something impossible, and he's forgotten that he can't just drop everything to chase after a ghost."
Quatre was aware that his somewhat callous words were not meant solely for the dark blonde.
"Didn't act like he was chasin' after a ghost. Seemed real enough to him," the young man replied, voice solemn.
"So he was here, then?" Quatre sidestepped.
"Oh yeah, he was here. Stirred up a nice bit of trouble that one." He put on a sardonic smirk. "But he's gone now and won't be back."
"Are you sure?"
He sent him a steely look. "Pretty damn. Now, your questions were answered. Leave."
"Wait, do you have any idea where he went?" Quatre inquired, desperate now that their only lead threatened to leave them back at square one.
"Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders, carelessly. "Depends if he used the information I gave him or not." He grew suddenly serious and steely. "Information I don't plan on giving either of you in this century. Now, for the last time, get out."
.:::.
The colony's sky had long since darkened since the two returned to Quatre's apartment after the rather hostile end to their meeting with Luke.
Trowa sat motionless on the large windowsill that overlooked the deserted street below, while Quatre paced restless up and down between couches and tables.
The blonde felt beyond guilty.
He had made a promise to Hilde, a promise that now seemed impossible to keep. L4 was not a small colony, and Duo could literally be anywhere. Just to add to their problems, Duo had a knack of keeping a relatively low profile when he set his mind to it. His street knowledge was unparalleled compared to any of the other pilots'. If he wanted, he could remain unfound for a ridiculous amount of time, though Quatre could not accept that he would ever be so inconsiderate as to abandon Hilde without word for such an extended period. Either way, Quatre dreaded the phone call he would have to place the next morning to the young woman. So much for being an angel…
A muffled rattle sounded.
Both boys turned towards the front door of the apartment. The golden handle shook, and the click of cylinders and weights shifting past one another echoed through the silent apartment.
Someone was breaking in.
With a final, heavy click, the door popped open.
"Duo?!"
He whipped around, nearly smacking himself with his own braid. "Quatre? Trowa? What are you doing here?"
Quatre felt a rush of emotions and allowed himself to speak the first thing that came to mind. "This is my apartment, Duo."
The brunette had the decency to appear sheepish, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Eh, of course, um, well about this whole breaking in thing-um-I figured you wouldn't really mind me crashing here for a few nights, right Q-man? I mean, it's not like you use it regularly or anything. So, I figured you wouldn't really care, as long as I left it relatively unscathed."
Trowa raised an eyebrow at Duo's ramble, while Quatre prepared himself mentally for the huge shift in conversation he was about to make. "Duo…where have you been?"
Duo blinked a few times, face blank, before it melted back into his cheery smirk. "Eh, just around, no where important, you know," he answered with a dismissive air.
Quatre's face hardened slightly. "No, I don't know. I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. Look, I wouldn't have interfered, except Hilde called me."
Duo's expression went from surprised to guilty. "She did?"
"Yes, she did. She's worried about you. She said you didn't even bother to give her an explanation or any sort of expectation of your return. That isn't right Duo. None of this is right. None of this is fair. To her or you."
Or to any of us, Quatre added silently.
As he averted his gaze, Duo's face became startlingly serious. He opened his mouth, as if he were going to explain, but closed it a moment later, as if thinking better of it. He finally turned back to Quatre. "You're right. None of this is right. None of this is fair." He stared at Quatre unblinkingly with an air of solemnity that made Quatre feel as if they were no longer talking about the same thing.
Then, as quickly as it came, the moment passed.
Duo let out a large yawn and stretched his arms above his head. "Well I am beat. Think I'll play some video games before hitting the sack. I'll be in the second guest room if you need me. See you guys in the morning," he announced cheerfully, disappearing down the hall with a casual wave over his shoulder.
Quatre watched him leave through sad eyes.
.:::.
He cursed loudly as he lost another life.
Duo estimated it was roughly around three in the morning, and he guessed he had been playing this game for over five hours now. He could feel the heavy pull of sleep on his unblinking eyes, a heaviness he refused to give in to. He would force himself to remain awake until he was literally at the brink of passing out. Only then would he allow himself to stumble over to the soft, fancy bed and collapse, most likely asleep before he even hit the pillow.
Duo nodded to himself determinedly before cursing under his breath again, as GAME OVER flashed brightly over the TV screen.
"That's the ninth time you've died."
Duo let out a yelp, game controller flying out of his hands. Gripping his rapidly beating heart, he whipped around to find the lanky brunette leaning casually just inside his room, staring at him impassively.
"Jeez, Trowa, it's too late for you to be sneaking around," he huffed, sulking a little, "or too early, whatever." Duo turned back to his game, selecting the 'try again' option.
He silently hoped that maybe if he simply ignored the freaky ninja boy, he might just go away. Duo was way too exhausted to deal with his ridiculous bluntness and crazy mind games.
"Quatre's worried."
Oh damn it all.
"Q-man's always worried," he replied, masking his irritation with forced lightheartedness.
"He thinks you're taking this too far."
Duo put off responding and focused on the task before him, which was beating the pixilated boss. Aggravatingly, it had taken him less than five minutes to defeat the ridiculous thing the first time he had ever played the stupid game. Currently, he was on his tenth try.
He mumbled out more curses, as he watched his avatar die on screen. He let a few more beats of silence pass before he returned his attention to Trowa.
"And what do you think?" he said, all traces of joking and liveliness gone.
Trowa waited a good while before responding. "I think you're hiding something."
Duo was lucky he hadn't turned around for the slight shock on his face would have given him away. "Really?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice impassive, "and just what would I have found? I'm chasing a ghost, right?"
There was a long pause before he countered a little more forcefully, "Are you?"
Duo finally turned and looked Trowa in the eyes. His friend's lifeless, searching eyes had always unnerved him, but just then, they didn't seem so dead.
In fact, he thought if he looked hard enough, he could see a whisper of hope buried deep in there.
"I don't know yet," Duo answered frankly.
They sat in silence, simply staring at each other. Duo had the distinct impression that at some level they had reached an understanding, a sort of empathy, a similar state of mind.
Duo broke the exchange first, turning back to his video game, back to his distraction. He reached down and plucked another game controller from a nearby basket.
"Wanna play?" he asked tossing the black controller to the empty space to his right.
It took a few moments, but eventually Trowa materialized next to him.
Duo gave the screen a bitter smile.
He knew all too well that any distraction was better than facing the torturous 'what ifs' dominating their thoughts.
So-o the next update should be sometime at the end of this week, and it'll be HUGE! Also, a lot of questions will be answered, so I'm actually a little nervous (and excited) about revealing so much, but oh well.
Feedback is welcomed!