Pairings: Duo/Heero, Quatre/Trowa

Warnings: possibilities of later violence, supernatural stuff, kinky moments, guns...um...gundams?

Author's comment: Hot stuff coming through! No...wait...

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Operation Blank Conspiracy 16

"How is everything, Duo?"

Duo looked up at Trowa and gave him a grin. "Just peachy," he said, legs spread wide going through the motions of stretching. "Just trying to figure out when I'm going to be able to get on that thing." He pointed up past Trowa's head to the person swinging above him on the trapeze. He wanted to do it…he could only imagine how it'd feel being able to fly through the air like that.

"When Catherine says you're ready," Trowa said and reached out to help him up. Duo thanked him with a smile before looking over at the named female. Catherine was Trowa's older sister and the instructor here in the acrobatics training room. When he said the space station was big, he meant it, especially for a room of this size. Acrobatics training wasn't just for Division 3 even though it was stationed there. It was something that was vital to any and all agents that did missions outside of the compound.

It helped with control, with balance, and with getting into really tight places when on the enemy's turf. He could understand the importance in it, especially considering he was a little limber and agile person himself. He'd used that to advantage plenty of times in the past being the homeless brat that he was. But he'd admit he was a bit out of practice in this regard.

While Trowa was initially supposed to be the one training him, he was having Catherine be the one to teach him the basics. He wasn't exactly the most sociable guy but he wasn't in any way mean either. But Duo had learned that already from the long travel they'd had together. While Trowa had originally been very keen on trusting him and had really started to dislike him after finding out his secret, he'd offered up talking more to him once Duo explained his backstory of why he was the way he was. Since then, Duo was able to ask him anything without so much as a hassle.

It'd gotten to a point that Trowa would even willingly offer up a conversation to him, though those never lasted long. It was safe to say that just being in his presence was enough. You started to learn that what Trowa wanted or needed could be read through his body language. If Trowa needed something, he'd show you that he needed something. Considering how compatible he was to Quatre, whom he'd learned could somehow feel a person's emotion, it was no wonder that sometimes they seemed like they were sewn at the waist.

"So what's next?" he asked looking up at Trowa.

"We'll be learning how to do flips in midair," Catherine from behind Duo making him jump and turn quickly to stare at her, hands up defensively. When did she get there? He hadn't even heard her walk over. He frowned a bit. She was about as quiet as he was. She wasn't some kind of assassin was she?

"Learning to flip in midair?" He blinked and looked around then frowned. "Here?"

It made her giggle and smile at him which he found to be kind of cute as she reached up pushing her hair behind her ear. "No, silly. We do that on the trampolines. So no one gets hurt."

"Ah…r-right." He chuckled rubbing behind his head to hide his embarrassment. Well that had been stupid.

"It's fine. We get that all the time, right Trowa?"

Trowa nodded his head and reached out resting his hand against Duo's shoulder. "Though with enough training you can learn to do it anywhere you're standing." To demonstrate, he stepped back giving them some space before using his upper body and leg muscles to flip in the air.

"Whoa!" Duo's eyes lit up as he stared at him like a kid staring at his favorite super hero. "Teach me that!"

"That's what I'm getting ready to do," Catherine said laughing softly at his excitement. "Except that we're doing it on the trampolines. Now come on, let's get started."

Lunch break came quicker than he expected. He'd been enjoying the antics of trying, and failing, to flip midair. He'd fallen on his ass so many times that he was starting to feel the pain of it. His muscles felt sore though they were starting to get better as the healing process for him was pretty quick. And yet the pains and aches were rather dull to what a normal person would feel.

So he'd managed to find his way to the cafeteria to grab some much needed munchies. He was hungry and his stomach rumbled to make him aware of the fact. He looked down at the PA card, his Preventer Agent Card, in his hand frowning as the only thing it had on it was his name. He'd gotten it from Colonel Une on his way to get lunch.

At the moment the only thing it had on it was a little bit of cash, enough to last him for the week with food and extra clothes. She explained to him that it was important for him to keep it as later it would have extra information such as what he was allowed access to as he moved up the line of Preventers. And once they'd made him his own room, he'd use it to gain entry to it.

Needless to say, he wasn't going to be wasting too much money on clothes if there wasn't a sure guarantee that he'd have enough to eat for the rest of the week. He'd learned the necessities of survival when he'd been a street rat back on L2. What good were clothes if you starved to death?

So he took advantage of the food eating enough to fill him up but not too much in the case he'd end up doing more strenuous training. As he sat eating, staring at his plate filled with a hot dog, a hamburger, some French fries, and a number of other little snacks, he noticed a presence had sat across from him. When he looked up he almost choked on the hot dog and had to hit his chest a couple of times to keep it moving.

Heero was sitting there, looking like he was brooding though he was making it a point not to look at him at all. Well Duo didn't mind that at all as he turned his own eyes away back to his food to keep from staring. The Division 1 elitist didn't make a sound besides a small grunt as if trying to gain Duo's attention. Well it wasn't like he needed to work to get Duo's mind on him. It seemed to be a habit of his every night.

"What?" Duo asked giving it out blandly as if he didn't care what the other wanted. But he was curious of why Heero was showing up here and now of all times.

Heero glanced at him, his eyes glaring at him as if he'd done something wrong. What did he do to even warrant that kind of look? Heero was the one that was invading his dreams at night completely naked! He remembered when he'd been following after Quatre earlier and how it seemed that Heero might have been looking at his ass. But that wasn't possible…it just must have been that wrong moment when he looked back just as Heero's eyes were looking around.

"…Don't worry about the 1500 training. We're meeting the same place and time as we did last night."

"…Any reason for why we're not just getting it out of the way sooner?" Heero didn't say anything and even though Duo tried reading some of his thoughts, he still didn't get anything in return. Well it was worth a try anyway.

In the next instance Heero was getting up and walking away without even so much as an answer or a goodbye. Duo stared at him from the suddenness and was opted to chase after him till he looked down at all the food he had left on his plate before starting to eat again. Unintentionally his eyes went down to Heero's ass and he choked on his food again before guzzling down some water. Well that was going to be plaguing his dreams tonight.

But he couldn't help feeling guilty, seeing small telling evidences of his brutal training last night. Though his shirt and shorts covered most of them, there was no denying the bruises on his legs and arms, some of which had turned a sort of blackish color.

Finishing his meal, he checked the time before grudgingly heading off to the gym to meet Wufei for more training. He really hoped this went by quickly.

Wufei sighed, sitting with his legs folded and his arms resting on his knees. He sat up straight, his eyes closed as he just ceased to exist for that moment. The sound of someone shifting beside him every so often was the only indication that there was someone else there with him.

Duo Maxwell had looked completely stressed out by the time he'd gotten to Wufei for his training. And honestly, Wufei had expected it. So much training being randomly tossed on a person could really wear someone out. Especially since the last thing he'd done was playing around in the aerobics room.

It seemed to help to though as within the past hour, Duo had really calmed himself. It was like Wufei could feel the energy around him simmering down. Duo learned a lot within the past few weeks on how to control his life force. Which was good since he'd need to learn to do that for what training Wufei had waiting for him for the rest of the week.

As time was moving closer to ending today's training with Duo, Wufei peeked his eyes open glancing at him. The other's concentration was deep, though not deep enough. Something was still bothering him. He could see the brows twitching sporadically as well as the frown that appeared on his lips every so often. Whatever was plaguing his thoughts was not helping him to relax any. Did it have something to do with the meeting with the colonel's this morning? That reminded him he needed to tell the braided male something.

"Alright, that's it for today," Wufei said pushing up to his feet and seeing Duo blink a few times before focusing on him attentively. It made Wufei frown to see such a look on the other's face. It reminded him of someone important to him…a person he didn't want to think about at this moment.

"Geez I was just getting into it," Duo said sighing and stretching making his bones pop. He flopped back on the mat resting his arms behind his head before he stared up at Wufei looking the picture perfect view of a person relaxing at the beach.

"I didn't bring you here to nap," Wufei said feeling his eye twitch. Really, just when he was complimenting Duo on taking things serious, the other had to go and mess it up with his antics.

"Relax, It's not like anyone will find out," Duo said crossing his legs now. Wufei sighed rubbing at the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. Since the two of them had interacted on the shuttle, Wufei found Duo coming to spend more and more time with him. He stayed around the Chinese male more than he did with the others. It was…well irritating but it helped to be able to keep an eye on him. He found that Duo apparently really liked his cooking too. That or he was just hungry. So the whole time they were in the shuttle was in the back either eating, cooking in Wufei's case, or mediating on the bed, sleeping in Duo's case.

He'd learned a lot of about Duo's life back at the church. He was really starting to learn the names of the kids too as well as Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. The excitement and cheeriness that radiated from Duo while he was talking about his family put Wufei at ease. It made him open up himself a bit, though not enough to talk about his previous life. That was something he liked to keep shaded in the dark, something that at this point in time Sally Po was the only one to know about. If he had a choice, she wouldn't have found out about it either. But then again…she had been the one to find him.

"Don't you still have training to do with Heero after this?" Wufei said walking over to him and standing over him with his hands on his hips. Indigo eyes opened and looked up at him and it took a lot not to look away. It wasn't that his eyes were scary at all just…odd. And he didn't mean the color. He meant how the eyes seemed to glow in a way a human's eyes shouldn't be able to. What had OZ done to this boy to make that happen?

"Nah," Duo said frowning and rolling over to his side before shrugging a shoulder. "The jerk's decided that we're going to training later tonight. It sounds stupid to me." Wufei lifted a brow at that. The jerk huh? Duo usually called their cobalt eyed friend by his given name. What had Heero done this time to warrant himself being called a jerk?

He remembered talking to Heero yesterday and the other mentioning the nurse. Was he still feeling sick? "He must not be feeling well yet."

"Not feeling well?" This got Duo's attention as he say up, the braid circling around him as he stared up at Wufei with a worried look to his eyes. "What? Did he eat something wrong?" He frowned then. "He looked fine earlier except for the bruises."

Bruises?

"…Strange. He told me he had to see the nurse last night because of stomach pain." Ah that reminded him. "That's right…I'm supposed to tell you that you're supposed to meet with the head nurse after your training with Heero today." Duo made a face that seemed to get darker and darker the more he spoke.

"No freaking way!" Duo yelled out not even caring who heard it. He was up on his feet in an instant trying to glare but looking more apprehensive as his eyes kept glancing towards the door. "They didn't say anything about going to the nurse!"

"It's just a routine checkup," Wufei said frowning at the sudden hostility. What in the hell just happened? All from the word nurse? "They're not going to do anything just check on your heart and blood pressure."

"That was NOT part of the agreement! I don't care what they're supposed to do, I'm not going!" He literally looked like an animal trapped in a small cage at that moment. Wufei couldn't help swallowing as he stared at him. He remembered feeling this before, this sense of dread and danger. He looked like he was ready to attack…and probably to kill if he wasn't careful.

"It's fine, Duo," Wufei said swallowing his fears and walking over resting both his hands on Duo's shoulders and staring into his eyes. He forced himself not to look away, waiting on Duo to focus on him before he spoke again. "Just calm down. We won't make you do anything you don't want to do." He'd have fun telling that to Colonel Po later since she'd been the one to make him tell Duo to go see the nurse.

Wufei heard the softest of a whimper escape Duo's throat. He saw the other's eyes calming before they glanced away from him. "S…S-Sorry," Duo said, his voice quiet as he spoke. If Wufei weren't so close he wouldn't have heard it. "Doctors…nurses…scientists…I can't stand them. They just…they like to experiment…and open you up...and-"

"Calm down," Wufei said again with more force, watching the indigo eyes turning back to him. This was the second time he'd caught Duo in such a vulnerable state. He wondered how many more nightmares, how many more of these problems did Duo have to face? He was surprised to not see any tears in those eyes though he did see a good amount of fear. Nurses…were definitely going to be out of the picture in this case.

With the hopes of making him relax, Wufei reached up resting his hand on top of Duo's head sort of petting him. It was almost like he owned his own little pet though mentally made him laugh at the thought. Really…Wufei owning a pet? That was just completely out of the question. Besides, Duo was as human as they could be…though just a really strong human. He was looking forward to seeing how Duo could work one of the mobile suits. But he guessed that it'd be a while till he got to see him in action.

The petting seemed to calm Duo down as his shoulders sagged and he shut his eyes briefly. Good, at least he knew that could do something. Did humans even like being petted? He wouldn't know…he'd never had it happen to himself anyway.

"You should go rest until it's time to meet up with Heero." Duo nodded to that, looking at him with very calm, if not blank, indigo eyes. He looked tired suddenly. Not that Wufei blamed him. He was tired too just from seeing that mental breakdown. He was definitely getting him some green tea before bed. "Remember to meet up again here same time tomorrow. I'll let the colonel know that the whole nurse thing is a giant no go." She wouldn't be happy about it but she wouldn't push it either. Colonel Une on the other hand though...

"I will." Duo said smiling at him before he headed to the door. Wufei watched him and blinked when he saw the other pause with his hand on the door knob and look back at him.

"Something wrong?" Wufei asked lifting a brow at him.

"No just uh…"Duo rubbed behind his head looking at him with the most embarrassed expression on his face. It was…really cute actually. He never thought he'd put Duo and cute in the same sentence, but really the guy was just endearing.

"I won't tell anyone about what happened here," Wufei said nodding his head with assurance.

"Not that…" Duo shook his head quickly. "I just…you know…t-thanks and all. For being there." He didn't wait to receive Wufei's reply as he slipped out of the room quickly leaving Wufei staring after him blankly. Wufei felt a small smile appear on his face and literally reached up to cover it with his hand. Seriously, Duo was going to be the death of him. He was known to be the grumpy old man in a boy's body. He didn't smile…let alone laugh. And yet he found himself starting to do these things more easily around Duo.

It didn't exactly make him feel bad but it didn't make him feel good either. He wasn't the type to get attached to people. He learned from the past that attachments meant heart break later down the line. It got in the way of your missions, made it hard to concentrate on anything, and literally just became a nuisance. And yet when he thought about Duo he didn't feel bothered by it at all. It was strange…but it was something he was willing to fill out a bit more.

Stretching himself he walked to the edge of the mat grabbing up his shoes before looking to the side and seeing the braided boy's own shoes still left in the room. Interesting…so he was running around barefoot now huh? Well he'd bring it to him tomorrow. When his feet got cold, if they did, it'd be a lesson to him to remember to wear his shoes.

Wufei smiled slightly picking up the shoes to take back to his room. He was going to enjoy this training tomorrow. Something deep down was telling him that. And he was just itching to see what Duo was capable of.

TBC…

UGH! I love this story! DX Some dramas and stuff next chapter. Lol, I actually have chapter 17 written already and most of 18 but I'll wait until next week since that's always the possibility of me changing something…things. Hoping you guys enjoyed this.