Crossover Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Crossing Barriers ❯ Transit, Arrival, and Unwelcome News ( Chapter 3 )

Crossing Barriers

 

Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed are the sole property of their creators and distributing studios. I have no financial interest in either series. Nor am I receiving any financial gain from this fan fiction work. I do however own all plot elements not part of the original and all self-created characters. Thank you. Enjoy.

 

Special note: Yaoi (homosexual pairings) is a plot element of this story. There will be NO explicit material but there will be sections where it is reasonably clear that sex is happening or has happened.

 

Beta Reader: T'Amara

 

 

Transit, Arrival, Unwelcome News

 

 

 

New Heathrow Air and Spaceport, London, England was not a place Duo Maxwell had ever expected to find himself. The crazy place was huge, full of people going every which way and babbling in more languages than he'd realized were still spoken. At least the signs were written in a language he could read, the spelling was a bit strange in a few places but he was finding his way around well enough.

 

He eventually located the blue concourse and gate seven. His plane was supposed to be loading here. A check of the board over the ramp confirmed he was in the right place. A look at his fellow passengers suggested something else.

 

Time had added a few inches to Duo. From the roughly five two he'd been at fifteen he'd gradually lengthened out to just over five five. Hard physical work in the yard and a flat muscle body type had kept him looking both lighter and slightly younger than he actually was. So when he'd mumbled something about disguises, Hilde had had an instant idea. Now he was standing in this airport dressed in the latest in colonial fashion, surrounded by several hundred people all wearing identical outfits. Talk about sticking out in a crowd!

 

“Miss,” A young woman not much older than Duo materialized at his side. She was wearing an airline uniform and smiling at him with that gentle, professional look. And she'd just called him `Miss'. He let her get away with it. That was what the get up was for after all. Nothing he had on was gender specific. Up to and including the broad scarf around his neck that hid his Adam's apple and the thigh length tunic that prevented one from seeing his crotch. The addition of four years had taken his face from boyishly cute into a truly handsome but quite androgynous phase. His fine chestnut hair, still worn in the long braid, had a lot of people expecting to see a girl instead of the young man he was even when he wasn't wearing deliberately confusing clothing.

 

“Miss,” The airline representative repeated. “Are you with the Kramer Agency Tours?”

 

The question explained why all these people were dressed alike. They were part of a large tour group. The matching clothing allowed the tour managers to be sure they could recognize their charges at a distance and round them up when it was time to move on.

 

“Ah, no, I'm not.” Duo smiled back, holding out his ticket, thinking very black thoughts about Doctor J and his bloody sense of humor.

 

The girl took his ticket and verified that he was indeed supposed to be on this particular flight. With that confirmed, she pointed out a small area of seating not occupied by the tour group. He headed for it gratefully.

 

He ended up happily sitting beside a girl with long, shimmering, deep chocolate hair that effectively hid her face. She was also dressed like a colonial except she was wearing a long formal skirt with a heavily embroidered hem that matched the work on her tunic. She was reading and didn't acknowledge his presence at all. It was ok, for some reason. She just made him feel comfortable by being there. That she was somehow sexy as all hell was just an added bonus.

 

Fortunately for him, they began to board the plane about ten minutes later. Everyone but the girl and himself got up when they called business class. Oh wonderful. He was going to be trapped in coach with the tour group. He wondered where they'd been and how many bad pictures he was going to have to look at and find something polite to say about them.

 

He suddenly realized the girl had moved. She was almost up to the boarding ramp. He snatched his carry bag and glided over to join her.

 

She had a great sense of timing, he was going to have to give her that. No sooner had they gotten to the head of the ramp than the announcement began that they were going to begin boarding the tail section of the plane, where he had his seat assignment and where he was quite sure she had hers. They were the first two down the ramp.

 

“Welcome aboard.” The stewardess offered them the usual greeting.

 

“Thank you.” The girl was very soft spoken but Duo had sharp ears. “How far back is row seventy one and where would seat b2 be?”

 

“Row seventy one is the last one on the plane.” The stewardess pointed unnecessarily down the length of the monster they would be flying on. “The b section is in the center.”

 

“Thank you.” The girl said again and walked swiftly down the narrow aisle.

 

He followed her. He had b3. So if he didn't want to be climbing over her, he needed to catch up and ask her to let him go first. He just managed it as they arrived at the row.

 

“Ah, I heard you ask the stewardess about your seat.” He said, and she turned to look at him somewhat suspiciously he thought.

 

Green eyes, she had green eyes. He could drown in those eyes. They were so dominate it made him wonder how many guys ever looked beyond them. But he was Duo Maxwell and he was trained to see past distractions like those eyes. The hair still hid a lot of the face but what he could see was all smooth planes, clean lines and those large, clear eyes. She hadn't ruined it with makeup either. Just a touch of color on the eyelids and a bit on the lips. Damn! She was as pretty as she was hot!

 

“I've got b3.” He held out the seat assignment sheet. “Would it be all right with you if I just went in first?”

 

She just stepped back by way of an answer. He flashed her a bright smile. “Thanks!”

 

“You're welcome.” She replied softly.

 

That simple civility was where the conversation stopped. As soon as she sat down and fastened her seat belt, she pulled out her book and shut the world out. He thought about trying again and decided against it. There was something intensely private about this girl. Associating with a few other very private people had taught him that respecting that privacy was a faster way inside it than banging on the door. At least he was free to admire quietly.

 

The area around them filled quickly except for the seats to either side of the girl and himself. The banging of luggage was pretty much done and the drone of voices was rising when he suddenly saw a very familiar shock of hair. Stepping carefully around someone's kid, Trowa Barton was working his way down the aisle. And there was only one seat left open for him to be headed for. Sure enough, he stopped beside the girl, checked the seat number and slid into it.

 

Duo made a snap decision. He'd recognized Trowa but he didn't think Trowa had spotted him. He wasn't going to tell him either. Then it got even more fun. Prowling down the other aisle like an angry shark, and clearing it for ten feet or more ahead of him using attitude alone was Wu Fei. His face was impassive and his Preventers uniform impeccable but irritation and `do not mess with me' rolled off him in waves.

 

In an instant when Wu Fei's eyes were focused with sharp recognition on Barton, Duo flipped his braid onto Chang's seat. The guy needed to lighten up. He found himself remembering any number of ways to unwind one Wu Fei Chang. Of course, most of them needed room to run and he was a bit short on that right now. But there were some that should do even in the tight quarters of an over-full airplane. Duo couldn't see it, but his eyes were beginning to dance. Suddenly he knew this trip was going to be fun!

 

* * * * * * *

 

 

By the Winner family's standards, the lake house Dr. J had suggested they use was tiny. It only had four bedrooms and a single kitchen. But it was less than five miles from the end of public transportation and it wasn't on the books as a Winner Enterprise property. The site was walled on all four sides with gates only on the drive and on the walk to the boathouse. The security system could be set on automatic, allowing one person to run everything. It suited Quatre's needs perfectly. Perhaps most importantly, it suited his need for privacy perfectly. He had agreed to use one of the family planes to get here, he hadn't agreed to anything else. So he hadn't felt at all bad about it when he'd managed to lose both his bodyguards in one of the biggest shopping malls in the world to slip away to this house.

 

The house was almost fifty miles out of the city. The Winner properties in and immediately around the city itself were extensive. Commercial interests aside, there were over a dozen large apartments, five true mansions, and several prime penthouse suites on long term leases. When you added back those commercial sites with safe-house capability, well, it should keep eyes busy else where for a few days. They shouldn't need more. Actually, he had a feeling they probably wouldn't be here much more than overnight.

 

He'd been here since mid-morning. Now all the beds were made, towels were set out in the baths, and a selection of cold meats and breads were available for making sandwiches along with a generous supply of sodas. There was neither beer nor booze this time and it wasn't because of his religious objections. None of them needed fuzzy heads, no matter how much any of them might want one.

 

With everything ready, time hung heavily on his hands. The rest were due in at any moment now and he was getting nervous waiting for them. He drifted back to the office and the security monitors just to have something to watch besides the kitchen clock.

 

His house stood at the end of a side street so it saw very little traffic even during the height of summer when most of these houses were open. Now, just into fall, his was the only one with any lights on. So he noticed the girl walking down the road immediately, especially since she was dressed in Colonial, not local, fashion.

 

The streetlight distorted all colors so all he could be sure of was that her blouse was light, the tunic something medium, and the skirt dark. Her hair seemed to be fairly long and the bangs needed trimming badly. She had something tossed over her right shoulder and she moved like she was used to walking long distances. She was very slender and had surprisingly broad shoulders for a girl with her build. As she passed the sign that marked the road as a dead end, he was able to determine she wasn't very tall. The bottom of the sign stood five feet eight inches off the ground and the girl had passed under it with three or more inches to spare.

 

The girl walked right up to the guard door at the gate and tried it. When she found it locked, she stepped to the side and entered the correct code on the touch pad. Quatre stared at her. Who had his sisters sent to babysit him now?

 

In the clean light of the guardroom, the blouse turned white, the tunic a soft green and the skirt black. The tunic and the skirt were heavily embroidered. Her hair, and it did tumble almost to the small of her back, was a rich chocolate brown. She was staring unhappily at the second security lock that blocked access from the guardroom to the grounds. This one required not only a different code but a retinal scan.

 

The thing over her shoulder turned out to be a backpack. She set it on the tiny table and wormed what looked like a contact lens case out of it. Her hand absently hooked her hair behind first one ear, then the other as she removed the lenses she wore. Quatre could see they were not only large enough to cover the whole eye but bright green as well. So, she had been wearing them as disguise.

 

The real color was blue, a very, very deep blue. And with most of the hair out of the way he knew who he was looking at. The very first thing that popped into his head was it was a shame Heero really wasn't a girl, because he made a very lovely one. The Arab's second thought was how unwise it would be to ever mention the first thought.

 

Quatre met Yuy at the door. “Welcome. It's good to see you again.”

 

“Thanks Quatre, it's good to finally be here.”

 

The blond used the brief exchange and the moments between getting the door shut and closing the few steps between them to study his former comrade. Yuy was too thin, far too thin. He had that oddly fragile feeling to him common in those who'd made it through a really bad case of Cotton Lung. He hadn't really recovered yet either. The problem, Quatre decided, was diet related. Whatever Heero'd been doing, eating well hadn't been included for a long time.

 

But that very same excessive leanness contributed to an impression of startling beauty. The security camera hadn't done him justice. Nor could it convey the impact he generated just standing there. Quatre found himself wondering how often people tried molesting him when he was disguised like this. The degree of pure physical attraction was something he'd never encountered before in someone who wasn't trying to draw that kind of attention. Yuy appeared to be oblivious to it. He dragged his mind out of that gutter and invited his friend into the back for something to eat.

 

The backpack accompanied them into the kitchen despite his offer to take it upstairs for the obviously tired Zero pilot. Yuy mumbled something about a computer and Quatre understood. One did not come between Heero and his computer, not if one valued their life. Instead he put protein, complex carbohydrates and simple sugars in front of his friend and let him get started on a meal. He frowned slightly when it only took one modest sandwich to blunt Yuy's appetite. No, Heero wasn't used to eating much at all any more. He made the man a second one and dropped it on his plate before he started asking any questions.

 

“Tell me, do you do this very often?” He asked, waving at the outfit the other was wearing.

 

Yuy snorted. “No. It attracts the wrong kind of attention when I'm working. I only do this when I have to travel out in the open on public transports. I usually wear a wedding band as well. Not that it stops all the would-be Romeos but it cuts the numbers rather dramatically. I could wish I made a homelier woman.”

 

Keeping his mouth shut took a major effort. Heero seemed to know what he was thinking anyway. Well, he'd looked in the mirror when he put that disguise together and he wasn't blind.

 

“Quatre, that's why I use this. No one looking for a Gundam pilot is going to give the girl I currently seem to be a second glance. We have this idiot's reputation for being some kind of super soldiers with the planet's worst case of testosterone poisoning. No one, and I mean no one, is going to be looking for a Gundam pilot in a skirt!”

 

“Well, no, I wouldn't have.” The blond admitted. “Especially not if I was looking for you.”

 

“You'd be appalled at some of the places I've been able to walk out of because I let my hair grow and don't let some ideal of manly pride get in the way of survival.” Yuy said feelingly. “The enemy sees a girl. One who says yes sir and no sir and who does just what she's told. It's saved more than me more than once.”

 

He wondered how considering the whole effect. “What have you been doing?”

 

“Watching the crumbling underworld that Relena and the rest are trying to build their bright new dream on top of.” He replied wearily. “That's where I first began to hear whispers of this Crimson Dawn. I've been tracking those whispers for just over two years and you've read the most concrete stuff I've found in all that time. It isn't much. No, it's pathetically little for all that work. But I can tell you one thing. The underworld is getting bigger all the time. Relena's reforms aren't reaching deep enough. The people down there believe in her, they can see she is trying to help them. But they can see her work being blocked and siphoned off or outright stolen too. Crimson Dawn will have a lot of early support.”

 

“I see.”

 

Heero looked up thoughtfully. “You might want to know that Winner Enterprises and the other Winner interests that have active employment down here on Earth are fairly well thought of. Your fair hiring practices have worked heavily in your favor. They'll help the companies survive word getting out that you're one of the pilots.”

 

“That, . . . , that's good to know.” Quatre replied slowly.

 

“Have the others checked in with you yet?” Yuy asked in an abrupt change of subject.

 

“No, nothing yet.”

 

“I wonder if Maxwell got them lost.”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, they were in the process of renting a vehicle when I decided just taking the train to the end of the line and walking sounded faster. Especially with Duo planning to be the navigator. Considering just how mad Wu Fei already was at him and how often Trowa will have to be peacemaker instead of driver, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't misplaced at the moment.”

 

“What did Maxwell do this time?”

 

“Well,” Heero let the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile, “let's just say I'm not the only one who realized the advantages of being taken for a girl. And he's had the hair for it for years. All he did was let Wu Fei see what Wu Fei wanted to see.”

 

Quatre could feel his heart sinking. “For how long?”

 

“The entire flight from London.”

 

“Oh no!”

 

“Oh yes.” Yuy's smile got wider. “The four of us had the center last row in the plane. Trowa on the far left, me, Duo, and Wu Fei on the far right. Somewhere between the over-sugared request for a pillow and the batted eyelash thank you somewhere over Ireland, Trowa recognized him. Wu Fei never did. They went the whole trip with Maxwell coming up with annoying little errands for Chang to run and fawning all over him until he did it. Really, it was funny.”

 

He thought about it and added, “I suppose it was even funnier to Trowa and me because so many of his `errands' were just the kind of things he used to try to get him to do during the war. You could see Wu Fei considering more and more elaborate forms of murder as the flight went on. Maxwell, being Maxwell, didn't know when to stop so just before landing, Trowa had to step in and blow his cover before Chang did something everyone would have regretted.”

 

“What were you doing all through this?”

 

“Sitting quietly, reading. Trying desperately not to laugh and blow my own cover. I think I did it well enough that none of them spotted me.”

 

Well, maybe not as Heero Yuy, but they would have to have been dead and buried not to have noticed him if they shared a tightly packed seat row on a plane with him. It said a few very good things about the other three that Heero still had no idea what effect he had on other men. Someone was going to have to tell him though. He couldn't be doing this kind of disguise any longer. It was far more conspicuous than he seemed to realize. He was saved from having to think of a smooth way to keep the conversation going by the chime of the security alarm.

 

Heero's reaction was automatic and instant. He was on his feet, looking for the monitors. Quatre pointed him in the right direction and followed, it was easier than trying to lead.

 

Yuy gained almost four yards on him as he dashed up the hall. In doing so, the Arab caught his friend in a near perfect silhouette. His eyes widened as he suddenly recognized where at least some of the impossible degree of sex appeal was coming from. He could practically hear that psychologist his oldest sister had imported to teach sex education to the family daughters. Some of the information had been very enlightening. Subliminal species imprinting indeed! He hurried to catch up.

 

“Duo is picking the gate locks.” Heero told him. “Fairly successfully I might add.”

 

“How? Those locks are designed to break anything as fine as a lockpick!”

 

“One made of gundanium?” Yuy asked. “He's wearing the stilettos disguised as hairsticks and the lockpicks disguised as hair ornaments he had made from the bit he salvaged from the Deathscythe. Their space black is quite striking up against that strong chestnut hair of his. People see the design work and the contrast between the colors. They don't see what else things of those shapes could be used for. The color disguises the material they're made of too.”

 

“Oh, he's cheating again.”

 

“There is no such thing as cheating in breaking and entry. The whole idea of doing it in the first place makes considerations like cheating irrelevant.”

 

He had to concede the point. Duo was going to be through the lock in the next minute or so, he needed to make a couple of quick decisions. The first one was to keep his systems unbroken. He unlocked the front before Duo could actually crack the gates. He appreciated the muffled snicker behind him as Heero watched the expression change on their friend's face when he realized he hadn't broken in, he'd just been let in.

 

“I'll let them in the door, no need to have Maxwell test his skills there. Why don't you go back to the kitchen? You haven't finished that sandwich and you can defend your chair from the others.”

 

“What you mean is I can defend my computer.”

 

“Yes, that too.” Quatre smiled.

 

“I'll start some coffee. I don't think feeding Maxwell extra sugar at this hour is a good idea. Unless there has been a lot of change, once he starts on soda, he'll go through three or four cans and be up to all hours.”

 

“Pot's in the cupboard on the lower left. The regular stuff is in the blue jar on the counter. If you want to get exotic, the more unique blends are in the airtight bins on the right hand center, third row up from the bottom in the cool room in the basement.”

 

“He'll be into the soda before I could find the cool room.” Yuy replied wryly as he headed back to the kitchen. “The house blend is fine.”

 

Quatre nodded, not sure if coffee was going to make any difference or not considering how much sugar Maxwell poured into his. But Trowa and `Fei would appreciate it and it was obvious Heero wanted some so why not? Besides, he knew he would have had it ready if he'd known just when they were going to show anyway. He hurried up the corridor to the front entry.

 

He opened the door before Duo could get his picks into the lock. “Honest, I don't mind letting you in.”

 

“Well, yeah, I know.” The disappointed American replied, sliding his `toys' back into his hair. “But your doors are a challenge Q-man! Its more fun doing it that way than it is just ringing the bell.”

 

Quatre decided not to let that topic get going and just craned his neck to stare past Maxwell. “Where are Trowa and Wu Fei?”

 

“Oh, they didn't travel as light as I did.” Duo told him cheerfully as he sauntered into the hall. “They're still struggling with their luggage.”

 

“Not true!” Wu Fei's voice shouted. “Now come back here and help with the groceries!”

 

“Two bags!” Duo yelled back. “That's one bag each. What's to help with? I didn't even buy any of it!”

 

“But you do plan to eat it! Now help!” The angry Chinese came stamping out of the darkness, travel case in one hand and grocery bag in the other.

 

“There's nothing for him to help with.” Trowa said quietly as he followed the infuriated Preventer. “Would you please just calm down?”

 

“After he humiliated me in front of an entire plane full of strangers? No!”

 

“Strangers! You don't care about the strangers.” Duo laughed. “It's that girl between Trowa and me you're all upset about!”

 

“Maxwell!” Two voices snapped together. Trowa's tone was cautionary, Wu Fei's enraged.

 

Quatre blinked. The girl between Duo and Trowa? His mind abruptly clicked over. Heero?!? He didn't know if he should laugh or start running. He settled for closing the door behind Trowa.

 

He smiled at them as Duo pretended to hide behind Trowa as Wu Fei snarled at him. They really looked good, like time was being exceptionally nice to Gundam pilots. Trowa still stood half a head above him but Wu Fei wasn't that much shorter than the acrobat now. He had become the middle one; Duo not having grown all that much in the last four years. But even at that he was taller than Heero. How odd. He'd never have expected the Zero pilot to end up the short one of the team. He'd always thought that was going to be his role eventually.

 

Neither Barton nor Chang had bothered with a disguise. Maxwell on the other hand, made almost as fetching a girl as Yuy did. Quatre decided to break up the argument before it could get out of hand so he walked up and grinned appreciatively.

 

“Nice outfit Duo.”

 

“Thanks Q-man. It was Hilde's idea. Came out pretty good if I do say so myself.”

 

“It was unnecessary.” Chang growled harshly.

 

Duo snapped around, quite clearly genuinely angry now, only to have a very familiar voice catch them all. “You don't know that Wu Fei. He may have been smarter traveling in disguise than you were going as yourself.”

 

Quatre looked up. Heero was standing quietly in the dining room doorway, green contacts back in his eyes. The sheer beauty of the `girl' hit him all over again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the stunned faces of the other three.

 

“I have coffee started. Get in here, we need to talk.” Heero vanished back into the kitchen after issuing his orders.

 

“Was that,. . . . . . . . , ah, was, . . . . . . . . . , Heero?!?” Duo asked in open shock, his huge eyes no wider than Wu Fei's or Trowa's.

 

“Yes,” Quatre replied calmly. “Just leave the bags on the stairs and bring the groceries.”

 

It was Trowa, calm, unflappable Trowa who recovered first. He wormed Duo and Wu Fei's bags out of their hands to stack them on the stairs beside his own. Then he gave them each a small push between the shoulder blades to get them moving. The Arab smiled at his friend. It was good to know he was as reliable as ever.

 

Predictably, Duo marched straight up to Heero and right into his personal space. Not so predictably, Heero tolerated it. Maxwell slowly examined the disguise from a range of scant inches. Yuy stood like a stone statue right up until the hyper American tried tugging on the hair.

“Eyouch!” Duo yelped as Heero's hand closed like a vise on his wrist. “Damn it, Hee-chan! That hurts!”

 

“So does having my hair pulled.” Yuy replied evenly. “Now stop it.”

 

The American's eyes widened again. “That's yours? All yours? Shit! I thought it was a wig. Sorry man!”

 

“Wigs have a bad habit of coming off at the wrong time.” Heero replied flatly, but Quatre was glad to see him let go of Maxwell just the same.

 

“It's a very efficient disguise.” Trowa noted as he checked to see how ready the coffee was. “I spent most of the flight half watching you and never suspected you weren't a girl.”

 

“You shouldn't use it.” Wu Fei said bluntly. “Someone's going to try to help themselves to the girl you seem to be and that won't be good.”

 

“I know.” Heero replied. “But it was the most effective disguise I had on hand when J got hold of me. Unfortunately it took him long enough to reach me that there was no time to try to put anything else together. And in all fairness to the idea, it wasn't this, ah, distracting the last time I used it.”

 

Duo grimaced as he stepped back. “Distracting isn't the word Hee-chan. Even though I know who's under there now, I still find a big part of me wanting to jump you. I'd really suggest you find something else for the next stage of the trip.”

 

“Hn.” The familiar grunt wasn't really an answer. Rather to Quatre's surprise Yuy quite deliberately caught Wu Fei's eyes and held them until Chang, now flushed a startling red, looked away. The blush raised some questions in the Arab's mind. None of which were answered as his friend repeated the performance with first Trowa and then Duo. It was only when he found himself locking gazes with Heero that he began to understand.

 

The Japanese pilot was neutral, completely neutral. But Quatre discovered his reaction was anything but. The longer he stared, the sharper it got. Worse, he realized he was responding, not to the disguise but to Heero himself. What was going on here? He jerked his eyes away and stared anywhere but at Yuy.

 

As he did, he began to notice what else was going on around him. Duo was studying the floor tiles like they were the image of his lost Deathscythe. Trowa was in some kind of shock. Chang had collapsed into a chair and buried his head in his arms on the table. Only Heero seemed unaffected. The operative word though was `seemed'; Quatre could feel the heat coming off the Wing pilot from across the room.

 

“Heero,” he asked quietly. “What is happening here? You know, don't you?”

 

Yuy nodded slowly. “I said we have to talk. This is one of the things we really need to talk about.”

 

“Wanting to jump you when you're dressed up like a girl?” Duo snapped. “Any guy alive would want that!”

 

“Can you look any of us in the eye and say I'm the only one you suddenly find yourself interested in?” Heero returned softly. “Can any of you?”

 

“No.” Trowa spoke up quickly although he didn't look up. “And before you ask, it began on the flight over here.”

 

Heero nodded slowly. “And you were attracted to all three of us about equally, correct?”

 

“Then, yes.” The acrobat poured himself a cup of coffee and slid into the seat beside Wu Fei. “But now that we're here, I'm finding myself drawn most to Quatre.”

 

Duo looked up, uncertainty and anger flashing across his face over a base of sincere embarrassment. “Ok, since we're all being so honest here, I'm more than just aware of all of you but Hee-chan better change or watch out.”

 

Yuy wouldn't meet anyone's eye now and there was a definite flush on his face too but he ploughed on. “I understand that. And I'll admit I'm drawn most to you too Duo. But if, ah, things, got out of hand, I'd probably accept any of you.”

 

“Don't look at me Yuy! I'm not interested!” Wu Fei snarled.

 

“You lie.” Heero replied dispassionately.

 

“I do not lie!” Chang shouted.

 

“According to Master O, yes you do.” Yuy stared hard at him, the dark blue eyes peeling off layers as Quatre watched. “None of us are blind, `Fei. All of us are fairly hyper-aware of each other at the moment. I'm not Q-man but even I can read your interest. And I'm not talking about just your interest in me either.”

 

“Is the O-guy still around too?” Duo growled. “Damn! I thought having J and G back was pain enough.”

 

“As far as I know, Master O is still dead.” Heero said wearily as he slid back into his own chair at the table. “But I have read some of his records. They were, . . . . . . . . . . . . enlightening.”

 

“Where did you find those?” Trowa asked with interest.

 

“They were in with other data Oz recovered after they destroyed Wu Fei's home colony.” Heero turned to his startled teammate. “I'll show you where to find it. It's your heritage after all.”

 

“What were you doing poking through those records in the first place?” Quatre winced, Chang was really angry now.

 

“I didn't `poke through' anything. The only items I was looking for were Master O's records. I've been hunting for data from all of our teacher/handlers. There is a lot of our own history we don't know. I was searching for it. I still am.” Yuy replied calmly.

 

“Chang, please, be upset later.” Trowa laid a steadying hand on the other's shoulder. “I want to know what this is all about.”

 

“I . . . .”

 

“Oh shut up Woofers!” Duo snapped. “You want to know what `Ro found just as much as the rest of us! You can pick up this fight later if you still think you have to.”

 

The Preventer clearly did want to know. He subsided with no more than a single growl and without yelling at Maxwell for mangling his name. Trowa let his hand drop off Wu Fei's shoulder as the still irritated Chinese settled back to fume quietly and listen closely. All of them turned expectant eyes to Yuy. He did not disappoint them.

 

“We're conditioned.” Heero told them flatly, his voice suddenly empty of all hint of emotion. “It seems to have been Instructor H's idea. Makes sense really. We were kids half-way through puberty and they were sending us out with the most powerful war machines known. Turning us loose with the Gundams and unfocused hormones would've been stupid. Whatever else you may say about those five, stupid they weren't.”

 

This time it was Duo who put it together instantly although Quatre wasn't more than a second or so behind him. “They all knew about each of us even though they didn't tell us about each other. You're saying they set up to want each other? They planned on having us shag each other?”

 

“Yes.” Heero replied in the same dead tone. “They wanted us to keep our hormonal drives inside the group. They even set up the pairings.”

 

Still running on overdrive, Maxwell made the next connection immediately as he turned a curious eye on Wu Fei. “Why'd they leave `Fei out of the setup? We don't seem to have any obvious threesomes.”

 

“He had a wife.” Yuy reminded them quietly. “And she was supposed to have been the Shenlong's pilot. He would have been her balance. He didn't become a pilot until she died. When that happened, they suddenly had one too many guys in the mix. So they conditioned him to see any of us as acceptable for his needs and the rest of us were readjusted to be willing to accept any of the team at their need. G pointed out to them all that specific pairs were going to be a problem anyway. They'd be back to square one if half a pairing got killed with no acceptable substitute for the survivor. We'd have no preferences at all if the early conditioning hadn't proven impossible to completely erase.”

 

“That's fairly disgusting.” Trowa remarked to the kitchen at large.

 

“Agreed.” Heero snarled, his tone suddenly laden with more emotion than they'd ever heard from him before. “But it does make a revolting kind of sense.”

 

“Yeah, can't have us endangering the mission by laying some unknown girl!” Duo hissed bitterly.

 

“Exactly.” Yuy agreed, his tone a perfect match for Maxwell's. “The problem is, we weren't really expected to live through the first war. Truthfully, I don't think any of us expected to either and I know the rest of you weren't as suicidal as I was back then.”

 

“The conditioning is still in effect.” Quatre stated the obvious just to get it said and out of the way.

 

Heero just nodded, suddenly looking a lot more tired than angry. “Yes, no question about it. I know just how limited I've been and just looking at you I can see none of you seem to be doing any better than I am.”

 

“How does that explain Hilde and me?” Duo demanded.

 

“Simple really, we can't subtract from our original conditioned responses but we can add to those we allow inside our circle. Trouble is, they have to be people we see as `worthy'.” Heero finally reached for the coffee Trowa had poured earlier, absently adding more sugar than Duo usually used.

 

Quatre watched in fascination as the former Perfect Soldier, who drank his black, knocked back the whole cup in a few large swallows, apparently without noticing the sweetness at all. Could you say distracted? No, could you say `blind rage'. Because that was what he could see now in Heero's eyes even with the contacts getting in the way. The Japanese pilot was far more than simply resentful of what he'd found had been done to them. It was a very good thing that they weren't going to be meeting J or G anytime in the next couple days.

 

“I added Hilde?” Maxwell sounded confused.

 

“Yes, you did. But you are the only one of us who did. So you can respond to Hilde and I can't. You see her as `worthy'. I, well while I do like and admire her in a way, I don't seem to see her as `worthy' enough. And by the way, that definition is pretty tight. Whoever any of us adds to our personal circle will be someone we see, at a minimum, as being almost as good as we are.” Heero smiled grimly. “Our standards are still very high people. Hilde is inside the line for one of us but I haven't heard of anyone else making it. We are programmed to reject anyone who can't keep up with us. Even now, with all of us falling out of the training levels we were at then, there aren't all that many who can meet the criteria.”

 

“How about Relena?” Duo asked quietly.

 

Heero hesitated, then answered slowly. “I'm not sure. There never was any chance to test anything and I couldn't have done that to her anyway. I'd like to think so, but I have no proof and I'm not going to try. I have nothing to offer her.”

 

The Arab gave a silent sigh and poured his troubled friend a fresh cup of coffee. That relationship was full of knots and wasn't likely to ever lose many of them. Even if they could somehow set her position aside, they couldn't set his life on the shelf beside it. Heero was far too conscious of being who and what he was for that to be possible. Until he could fully accept himself as a human being, there was no hope for anything between them but friendship - and even that would be hard-bought given his mindset. Quatre was almost shocked when Heero, apparently not noticing what he was doing, once again put something close to a quarter of a cup of sugar in coffee he would normally have drunk black and again downed it all in a few scalding swallows.

 

It was Trowa who forced the conversation away from that problematic topic without opening any new cans of worms. “So we're all bi then?”

 

Yuy grabbed the change instantly. “Not really. We're whatever we were born to be. The conditioning just sits on top of our natural base. What it does though is block any expression of ourselves besides the one it wants. We, . . . . . ., we can't act on anything else. It makes what we should have been pretty irrelevant.”

 

He nodded at Duo. “He can function with Hilde. He wants to. So chances are he's not a natural homosexual. But in this group, he'll be stuck with being one since none of us are women.”

 

“That . . . . . . ., that's wrong!” Wu Fei cried. “No one has the right to do anything like this to another!”

 

“No,” Quatre agreed softly, a bit shocked at just how angry he found himself. “But it seems they did anyway. I think I want to speak with J and G about this.”

 

“For what it's worth, those two seem to have gone along with the idea fairly reluctantly.” Heero said neutrally. “They agreed because it was so practical. I'm not excusing them, I just want it noted that of all the things they did to us, this isn't one they did without real soul-searching. Although I'm not sure how much soul either has. I've got the data copied on my computer. You can read the letters they exchanged for yourselves and decided how you want to think of this after you have the facts.”

 

“That's fine.” Trowa said. “But, where does that leave us right now?”

 

“Well, given what I'm seeing and feeling, almost certainly sharing rooms tonight.” Heero replied bluntly. “We haven't seen each other in years. Unless I'm getting this completely wrong, we're all under pretty significant pressure. I, . . . , I doubt we'll be able to ignore it very long.”

 

And he wasn't looking forward to it, Quatre could tell. Duo and Wu Fei weren't happy about this but they weren't nearly as upset about it as Heero was. He exchanged one fast look with Trowa and knew there wouldn't be any real problems there. `Fei seemed to have half an eye on Duo already too. Maxwell was going to be busy tonight.

 

With a small sigh, Trowa got up and saw to it everyone had fresh coffee. Determining that this conversation had hit at least a temporary end, Quatre began to pile meat, cheese, bread and cookies on the table. The American took the food and saw to it that everyone had the sandwich they wanted. Heero set up his computer and Wu Fei took it over to read everything he could that Yuy had on the subject. The Zero pilot sat quietly in his chair and nibbled on his food. No one really had much to say as the meal progressed. Even Maxwell, who could talk through anything, was eating in introspective silence. This time, Heero was aware enough of what he was doing to not add anything to his coffee either.

 

Taking a long sip of his own coffee, Quatre considered the information. In a way, it was a relief to know this now. Trowa had attracted him from the very first. It had been a strong attraction and a very sexual one. He'd never understood it and it had made him very uncomfortable back then. The very few times it had overwhelmed them and they'd acted on it had left them both uncertain even while it had soothed the physical issues. It was good, very good, to have a rational explanation.

 

In some ways, despite the sordid nature of the true source of the pressure, it was actually liberating to understand the whys and wherefores of the pull. This was not something going, well, wrong, with either of them at all. It was imposed from the outside. He could live with it. No, more than that, he could let himself enjoy this now that he knew the truth.

 

They cleaned up after the meal on autopilot, falling back into patterns left over from the Eve Wars. Yet once the kitchen was spotless, no one seemed to want to pick up any conversational threads. Heading upstairs was something of an unspoken but common consent. It was late after all and all of them had had long days. Still, the tension was there.

 

Trowa settled at least one issue by immediately moving himself into Quatre's room. The other three refused to look at each other as they each grabbed one of the three open rooms. No, there was nothing settled there.

 

Duo was the last one out in the hall when he tapped the Arab on the shoulder before he could disappear into his room with Trowa. “Q-man, if Heero is right and this is gonna get out of hand here, what kind of supplies are available?”

 

Quatre turned at the softly spoken question and smiled a bit wanly at his friend. “This is a small house Duo. It is usually used by family looking for privacy. You'll find everything you need in the bathroom. Since we never know who is going to be here or which rooms anyone is going to have, they are all fully stocked. Oh, and it might help to know that my father had the whole upstairs heavily insulated and fairly well soundproofed. He knew what was going on, he just didn't want to have to be aware of it at the same time.”

 

“Smart man, your dad.”

 

“Americans aren't the only pragmatists in the world you know.”

 

“Guess not.” Maxwell grinned. “Extra bedding?”

 

“There is a linen closet for each room in their respective baths. Oh, and because of that, uhm, privacy thing, the mattresses all have soft vinyl cases on them. Making the bed neat again won't be a problem.”

 

Both Duo's eyebrows rose on that bit of data. “That's a bit more than pragmatic even for an American! I'm kinda surprised someone with your dad's money bothered.”

 

“One does not amass or keep a fortune by wasting money.” Quatre pointed out calmly.

 

“Probably not.” He agreed. “Never had one so I couldn't say for sure. Still, I appreciate the info.”

 

“Good night, Duo.”

 

“I should be so lucky.” The American grinned. “I kinda think I may be up `till all hours here.”

 

Quatre grinned back, then slipped into his own room and shut the door. That wasn't a conversation he wanted to get too deeply into. Besides, Trowa was waiting for him. And this time, there wouldn't be any guilt issues in the back of either of their heads.

 

It was a bit past midnight when they got out of the shower, for the second and final time. The tensions that had dominated them ever since Trowa had gotten to the house were gone, at least for a while. Quatre's experience was limited true, but it still had been the best evening of his life. Amazing what understanding a situation could do for your outlook on it. Even more amazing was what an improved outlook could do for how you handled the situation. Kicking guilt out of their bed had done wonders for them both.

 

“Pajamas?” Trowa asked as he paused by the dresser.

 

“I don't see any reason to bother.” Quatre replied happily. “They'll only be in the way in the morning.”

 

The acrobat just smiled. “You have a point.”

 

Quatre tugged the fresh sheets down and scrambled into bed. “Come on, we need some actual sleep if we're going to enjoy the morning.”

 

“I suppose.” The one bright green eye he could see was laughing at him as his partner joined him.

 

The conversation was interrupted by a muted but still shrill shriek. Trowa rolled instantly toward the side chair and his gun sitting there. Quatre however, twisted around to start slapping the headboard.

 

“No! We can check from here! The security monitors are built into the bed.”

 

“Check then but I'm still getting the gun. If we need to move quickly I'd rather not be wasting time fetching it.”

 

By the time he had the weapon in hand and had turned back to the bed, Quatre had the system opened and was checking the various monitors. The external units were clear, as the Arab had expected. In fact, only one showed anything that could account for the cry they'd heard. The small blond stared at the screen, then began to snicker.

 

“Heero seems to be in a, well rather unexpected position.” Trowa said with amusement.

 

“You mean you never expected him to be the center of the sandwich!” Quatre laughed.

 

“Very true,” he agreed, leaning closer to study the image. “Duo behind, Wu Fei in front; efficient. Hey! Have they, . . . . . .?”

 

“Keeping Heero's hands out of it was actually smart of them. I'm a bit surprised he agreed to it though.”

 

“Chang better let him breath before long.”

 

Quatre grinned. “I would guess he's doing that to keep the sound down.”

 

The gun was set quietly on the nightstand beside the bed. “I don't think I'll need this. I must admit I'm a bit surprised by what you seem to have around for people to use.”

 

“Not my handcuffs.” Quatre denied. “They're probably Wu Fei's. He has his full kit with him.”

 

“Ah, makes sense. They do look like they're having fun. Well, I'm not so sure about Heero. He's looking more stunned than anything else.”

 

The blond sighed softly. “He may be. He isn't the only one who's been looking for those records by the way. We seem to have found some different ones too. I doubt Heero'd appreciate what I've learned. I'm not sure I should share with him for a while either. It would probably upset him badly.”

 

“Do I ask?” Trowa enquired politely, making it clear he would take `no' for an answer.

 

Quatre shrugged. “It's simple really. Think about the war. How many opportunities did we really have?”

 

“Damn few.”

 

“Right, and what I've found suggests Heero had far fewer chances than we did. Duo's remarked more than once on how rigid he was when they were both at those boarding schools together. You've never mentioned anything happening when you traveled with him while he was trying to get the Noventa family to kill him. And nothing happened between us when we escaped Oz and fled to Sanq. After that, there wasn't much else that was more than overnight or while in Oz prisons.”

 

There was a long silence, then a soft, incredulous question. “First time? Now? At nineteen? After all he's been through?”

 

“It's very possible. Nothing I've found indicates Oz ever stepped over that line while he was their prisoner and aside from one of us, they are the only other people to have had the chance. The records I've found, the Oz records that is, are very clear. They were far too afraid of him to chance getting him that angry. If they'd thought they could have managed without getting slaughtered though, they certainly would have. Sometimes, a murderous reputation can actually be protection.” Quatre reached up and closed the headboard. “If this is it, you must admit it's a very educational first time.”

 

“Yeah!” Trowa rolled over, looking rather like he'd been smacked in the head. “But I don't think I'll be stupid enough to ask him.”

 

“Me neither.” The Arab grinned wickedly. “I might ask Duo though.”

 

“Never let Heero find out if you do.”

 

“I won't.”

 

“Quatre?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I think you may be right about the wisdom of keeping his hands controlled if your guess is correct.”

 

“Ah. Well, I'm not going to ask about that either.”

 

“No!”