Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Peace, Love, and Family: The Story of the Vanuli Three ❯ The Past Uncovered, A Gift Discovered ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any things Harry Potter-the characters, setting, plot, everything belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling and whomever else she decides. I do not own anything Gundam Wing-the characters, setting, plot, everything belongs to (I think) Bandai and Sunrise.

Spoilers: This fic contains spoilers for books 1-5 of Harry Potter and all of the episodes of Gundam Wing. This fic does not include Endless Waltz.

Rating: NC17

Pairings: Neville/Harry, 2x1

Summary: Two years ago, the One Year War ended. At this time, the five heroes-the Gundam pilots-disappeared from the Muggle world. Three of them-pilots 02, 03, and 05-reappeared shortly after in the Wizarding world, as students at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. Now, twenty months after the fact, Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner are coming to Hogwarts, and they're bringing all of their secrets with them. The world-especially one Harry Potter-will never be the same.

Peace, Love, and Family:

The Story of the Vanuli Three

Chapter 15: The Past Uncovered, a Gift Discovered

Quatre was awake when the sun set on Saturday night. Quatre was awake when the full moon rose. Quatre was awake when Heero went into his trance, and he was awake when the first howl was sounded in the distance. Quatre was awake when Harry joined him, long after everyone else had gone to bed. Quatre was awake when Harry lost the battle with sleep and slumped over onto Quatre. Quatre was awake when Heero began whimpering on his bed. Quatre was awake when Heero cried. Quatre was awake when Heero howled, when he growled, when he begged, and when he commanded. Quatre was awake all through the night, watching one brother through the curtains and holding the other in his lap. Quatre was awake when the moon faded and when the sun rose, pink in the sky. Quatre was awake when Heero woke.

Quatre stayed up all through the night for one reason and one reason only-to protect Heero. Ten months ago, when Heero entered into the contract with the werewolves, Quatre vowed not to let Heero get hurt while fulfilling his end of their bargain. With what happened the first time they tried to form an alliance with another species, Quatre was very careful to keep his baby brother safe and sound. Quatre sighed, thinking heavily of Heero's scar and of the Drow to give it to him. Quatre would let nothing of the sort happen again! He would protect Heero-and Harry-with his very life, if need be. And if Quatre felt like Heero was risking too much, or coming too close to falling off that edge, Quatre would pull him out their faster than he could blink.

So Quatre watched him. All through the long, drowsy night. With the sound of snores around him and a warm, soft body on him and a nice, comfy bed under him. Even with Quatre's unending devotion, he wouldn't have been able to get through the night without a little help. It was a good thing that Quatre was so proficient at Potions; otherwise, he would never have been able to make enough Pervigilo tolast him through the night. It was basically Coffee With A Kick. A kick in the face that would make a hibernating bear buzz around its cave until April.

Quatre was just starting his last cup-it really tasted like coffee, too, only with a ton of sugar and cream-when he saw Heero stirring on the other bed. Quatre started and tried to rush over to Heero's bed, remembering only at the last minute that Harry was in his lap. Sighing again (because that's what Quatre liked to do), he maneuvered Harry off his lap and completely onto the comforter. Harry snuggled into the bed and grasped lightly at the bedspread. Quatre was overcome with a quiet sense of awe, before snapping out of it and going over to Heero.

"How do you feel?" Quatre asked his littlest brother, smoothing down his hair. It was a mess after all the thrashing Heero did.

"Tired," Heero said, nuzzling into Quatre's hand, "and a little scared. But mostly tired. Can you help me with that?"

Quatre handed Heero his last batch of Pervigilo. He could never deny Heero anything. He, no doubt, needed it more than Quatre did, anyway. It took Quatre a moment to figure out why Heero would be scared, but it wasn't long in the coming. Duo. Heero's meeting with Duo. He better not hurt my baby.

"You know, you don't have to meet Duo today," Quatre said in a joking voice. He wasn't joking. Heero needed his rest, even with the Pervigilo. "I'm sure Duo would understand you needing to reschedule."

"I can't do that," Heero said. He drank the stimulant in one big gulp. "This could be some kind of test. To see if I'll come, you know. If I don't go, I fail the test. And if I fail, then Duo will say to himself, 'Well, obviously, if Heero doesn't care enough to even meet me, then he doesn't care about putting our relationship back together.' And then, I'll have no chance of getting him back. So I have to go."

Heero got off the bed and went to get dressed. He briefly flashed the room full of sleeping boys when he took off his pajamas. The sight of Heero's scar, once again, mightily pissed off Quatre. So many people tried to hurt his Heero, but he wouldn't let them! Then Heero put on his shirt, so he couldn't see it anymore. He calmed down immensely.

"I'm going to go now," Heero said after he finished getting dressed. He kissed Quatre on the top of the head. "I don't think I'll be too long, but if I am, take it as a good sign."

Quatre grabbed Heero's wrist before he could pull away. "Please, don't go," Quatre begged. "You'll only get hurt, in the end." I don't want you to get hurt. I don't think I could bear it again.

"I know," Heero said. He gently pried Quatre's hand off his wrist. "No matter what, I'll have to leave him. I just want a little bit more time with him, first."

Quatre nodded and let Heero go without anymore delays. He understood Heero's need to be with Duo, even if it was just for a little while.

***

Heero was glad that Quatre let him go without a fuss. He was expecting screaming and yelling and lightning bolts and Quatre wrapping around him like a giant squid, refusing to let go. Heero was nervous enough as it was-he would be terrified if he didn't have, at least, Quatre's partial support. Quatre supported Heero's happiness. Just not his happiness with Duo. It wasn't everything Heero could hope for, but it was all he was going to get. For the moment, anyway. When Heero got Duo back, and they were the epitome of the perfectly happy couple, Quatre might change his mind. Once he saw that Duo wouldn't hurt Heero.

Not likely, but Heero could hope.

Heero knew that Duo loved him. He had to-he'd said so. Throughout the course of their very short-lived affair, Duo told Heero over and over again that he loved him. And Duo Maxwell didn't lie. Much. Not about important things like love, anyway. So Duo had to love him. He was just hurt.

Heero realized he hurt Duo-in a lot of ways. In the first place, he never, not once, told Duo that he loved him. Not when Duo was awake and aware, anyway. The first and last time that Heero said it aloud to Duo was that last night they were together. Duo had been asleep.

Secondly, Heero never told Duo what he was. Quatre had insisted that they not tell anyone, not one, single soul, living or dead, and at the time, Heero had agreed. To some extent, he still did. It was too dangerous for them to be "out," so to speak. They had many enemies, just for being who and what they were. There was no telling how many creatures would try to capture them, hurt them, harvest their power, or even try to kill them. In their current state, they were vulnerable to attack. Not extremely vulnerable, but they could be hurt. So Heero understood why they shouldn't just go around telling everybody who and what they were. That would be stupid. But telling their friends, who loved them dearly? Heero couldn't see why they couldn't do that. But he promised Quatre and would abide by that promise. He wouldn't tell Duo, even if that was the only possible way to get him back.

The third way, obviously, that Heero hurt Duo was by leaving the night after they first made love. Heero could imagine the pain Duo felt because of that, and he knew his imaginings couldn't be a tenth of what Duo actually felt when he woke up that next morning. By that time, though, the wards in Heero's system had begun to reach critical mass. Dr. J hadn't emptied them in almost a year, and they had been quickly reaching maximum capacity. If they had passed it, even one micromilliter full of magic, then they would have exploded. Heero shuddered to think what would have occurred had that happened. Quatre would not have been happy scraping Heero-goo off the ceiling.

But Heero couldn't tell Duo any of that then. Not without explaining everything else. He hadn't had the time then. Heero had meant to write Duo and tell him what was going on-the basics anyway, that he was sick but recovering-but he had been so weak. He wasn't able to do much of anything until his sixteenth birthday party. And he collapsed in the middle of it, just after thinking he had his second wind. By the time Heero was healthy and coherent enough to explain things to Duo, he felt that too much time had passed for him to be forgiven. After all, if Duo was even open to hearing an explanation, he would have contacted Heero somehow. He wasn't that hard to find.

Not that any of that mattered now. Duo wanted to see him, and Heero would tell him everything-well, not the Vanuli thing. Duo would be angry for a little while, but then he would forgive Heero. They would kiss, and everything would be all right between them. They would be the perfect couple again.

Heero sprinted up the last couple of steps to the Owlery. He was early, he knew, but he was too excited to stop himself. Soon, he would have most of his family and his Duo, all in one place. One big, loving family. The only way to make it better would be for Relena, Milliardo, Lucy, and Tashpi to join them. Then all of his family would be together. It would be perfect.

Heero took a deep breath and tried to wipe the grin from his face. It wouldn't do for Duo to get angry with him for something as simple as that, which-according to Harry-he was now prone to do. Heero opened the door to the Owlery, and he didn't have to worry about his grin anymore. His face fell of its own accord, his happiness gone.

There was only one other person in the Owlery.

It wasn't Duo.

It was Daemon Rosencrantz.

***

Quatre didn't hate Duo. Not really. He didn't even dislike Duo. Quatre just wanted Heero to be happy, and he knew that Heero would never get that through Duo. Not for long, anyway. By the triplet's next birthday, they would either be dead or kings. More correctly, a king. Neither future allowed for a human lover. Heero knew this, but he wouldn't admit it. Heero didn't want to admit to any future without his amadaya. Quatre knew this, and he knew that both Heero and Duo would end up being hurt through any relationship the two of them had.

So Quatre didn't hate Duo. He actually felt a little sorry for him. After all, he knew nothing about what was to come. He knew nothing of the Vanuli, nothing of the prophecy, and nothing of Heero's inevitable departure from the human world.

But Quatre couldn't bring himself to feel too badly for Duo. After all, Duo could have had a fulfilling long-distance relationship with Heero, had he bothered to pick up pen and paper and write to Heero. He had, to Quatre's knowledge, at least two options to contact Heero-he could have written to the address of Heero's fake" school," or he could have owled Heero to just his name. Quatre and Heero made sure that the address for his school was in fact real-they had bought the plot of land where the address was and activated it for mail service. It took effect one week after they left Earth. And Heero had gotten several owls over the years addressed to just his name.

So Quatre didn't feel too sorry for Duo. He didn't hate him, didn't love him, didn't dislike him, didn't like him. The only thing Duo was to Quatre was an object of potential happiness, and potential despair, for his little brother. Heero deserved to be happy-he'd had so little cause for joy in his life. As long as Duo made Heero happy, Quatre would attempt to stay out of it. As soon as Heero was unhappy, Quatre would pull the plug on their relationship. Heero had been unhappy for so long, and he deserved to have someone who would do anything for him.

Quatre sat down on Heero's bed, curling the comforter up around him. And that was all his Sight needed-touching something of Heero's while thinking about him. Quatre felt the room around him growing dark, then getting steadily, steadily brighter. He was in the compound. In Heero's body. Talking to himself.

***

To say that Heero was a little upset at seeing Daemon would be an understatement. To say he was pissed as hell would also be an understatement. To say that, if he could do so with impunity, he would carve out Daemon's entrails with a plastic spork and make him eat them, spork and all, would be closer to the truth. But still an understatement.

"What are you doing here Rosencrantz?" Heero snarled. He advanced on his brother-turned-nemesis. "Go away. I'm meeting someone."

"Yeah. Me," Daemon said, giving Heero a confused look. "You agreed to meet with me. Don't you remember?"

Daemon reached out to Heero, but he was too slow. Heero jumped back, reviled at even the thought of being touched by that traitor.

"The only thing I remember is that I'm supposed to meet someone here," Heero said icily. "Someone important. Someone that makes me happy. Someone that's definitely not you." Heero turned to leave. "As he's not here yet, I'll just wait for him outside."

"No! Please!" Daemon screamed. He grabbed Heero from behind, preventing him from leaving. Heero struggled but couldn't get out of Daemon's vice-like grip.

Heero gave up. He felt all the emotions he thought he buried coming back up to the surface. Daemon used to be his comrade, his partner, his brother. Heero never really got over the fact that the person he trusted most in the world had been the one to betray him so quickly and so ferociously.

"What do you want?" Heero asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. Daemon didn't care about him, and he would not give the bastard the satisfaction of knowing that his mere presence cut through Heero like a knife.

"Y-you said you let me explain. Yesterday, you did," Daemon said. "Please, let me explain. You said I could explain." Daemon put his head on the back of Heero's neck. Heero could feel him crying.

Heero tried once more to get away, and this time, Daemon let him succeed. "So explain," Heero said, turning to face Daemon. "Explain to me how you could do that to me. Explain to me how you could-" Heero broke off and looked away from Daemon. He couldn't face him now, not with the tears on both their cheeks.

"You were my best friend," Heero started over, trying to keep calm. "You protected me, as much as you possibly could, from the older kids, and from the other Omegas. You were always with me, and I was always with you. The only time we were ever apart was when our mentors would take us on individual missions. I loved you, and I thought you loved me."

"I did love you. I do love you," Daemon said. He tried to embrace Heero again, but Heero sidestepped him, staying out of reach.

"Shut up, Daemon," Heero said. "This is my time to talk."

***

"Please, kill me," the boy said. He begged, he pleaded, but his brother would not fulfill his wish.

"No," the other said, shocked and horrified at what his little brother wanted. "I won't let you die. You're going to get better. You are getting better."

"I'm not," Heero said. "You know I'm not." He was weak, and he was tired, and he just wanted it to end. But Quatre couldn't see that. Quatre couldn't ever see anything bad. "The treatments aren't working. I'm not getting any better."

"Yes, you are," Quatre insisted. He never knew when to just give up. "You're looking healthier, you're more active. Hell, you even got out of bed today. And I'm sure that, soon, you'll even be able to use your magic."

Heero scoffed. He wasn't going to be able to use his magic. It was gone, taken by Dr. J and those "Healers" of his. The ones who put the wards in Heero in the first place. Heero pushed Quatre away, not being able to stand his optimism.

"Quatre, we both know that the only way I could even get out of bed was with you and Dorothy and Maddy helping me. And even with that, I was only able because Dr. Kafka was sick this week. Without my treatments, I feel a lot better." Quatre hugged him, but not too tight-after all, he couldn't break the invalid. Heero didn't have the strength to shrug him off. "I'm dying. You know it, I know it, Dorothy knows it. Hell, even Dr. Kafka knows it. The only reason he continues the treatments is because you and Dot will kill him if he doesn't. And the treatments are just killing me faster."

"That's not true!" Quatre shouted. "You're not dying. You're getting better."

"Bullshit!" Heero yelled.

***

"Bullshit!"

Harry jerked awake at the yell. What was that? he thought. He poked his head out of the curtains to find Quatre in the middle of the room, having a disagreement with the air.

"I weigh 87 pounds-you can see my ribs from the back! I can't keep food down! It all tastes like metal!" Quatre yelled. "Every day is a new torture! I can't do this anymore, Quatre!"

Harry stumble out of bed, trying to get to Quatre before he woke up the others. Harry had no such luck, as four head were poking out of four curtains by the time Harry got halfway there.

***

"Please, just let me die. Be merciful, Quatre. It hurts to live," Heero said. And it did. It hurt to live, to breathe, to move, even to think. The treatments weren't curing him, they were just prolonging his suffering. He was getting weaker with every treatment, with every piece of Gundanium that left with body-whether it was cut out or he vomited it up. Quatre knew this, but he refused to see it.

"I won't," Quatre said, releasing Heero and backing away from him. It was like he thought just being near his brother might kill him. "I can't let you die. You're all I have.

***

"Ha!" Quatre barked at nothing at all. "All you have? I'm not even half of all you have. You have Dorothy, and your sisters, and our cousins. You have so many. You would barely even notice I was gone."

Harry watched in shock, as did the other boys in the room. He didn't know what to do-he was frozen to the floor.

***

You're everything to me, and I won't let you go so easily," Quatre said.

"You're selfish!" Heero screamed, his calm demeanor leaving him. He was desperate. He couldn't live like this anymore. It wasn't even living at all. It was barely surviving. "You're selfish and you're greedy. If you won't kill me, I'll do it myself!"

Heero grabbed a scalpel from the tray, one of the ones Dr. Kafka used during the treatments. Heero sliced at his skin, hacking away at any piece of flesh he could find.

***

The opening cuts on Quatre broke Harry from his paralysis. He ran to Quatre and tried to make him stop hurting himself. It didn't work. Even when Harry had a hold on Quatre's hands, more wounds kept appearing.

"Go get Madam Pomfrey!" Harry yelled at the others. Quatre needed help, more than Harry could give him. There was so much blood, so many injuries. "And Heero. Somebody find Heero."

***

Quatre knocked the the scalpel from Heero's hands. It didn't stop Heero, instead only making him even more furious. He scratched at himself, tearing chunks of flesh from his face, his neck, his chest, anywhere he could reach.

Quatre grabbed Heero's hands, stopping him from hurting himself. But Heero didn't stop. He couldn't. He could feel more cuts, more bruises, more wounds being put on his body even as Quatre dragged him over to the hospital-type bed.

***

Harry didn't know what to do. No matter what he did, Quatre wouldn't stop hurting himself. The only way to get him to stop would be to restrain him, Harry decided. But he didn't want to put a body bind on him. Who knew what it might do to him in the state he was in. Harry decided that he would have to physically restrain Quatre. He dragged Quatre over to his bed because it was closest. He threw his brother on it and climbed on top of him, holding him down.

***

Quatre strapped Heero into the ankle and wrist cuffs. Heero knew he couldn't break free from them anymore, but that didn't mean he couldn't try. Heero gnawed at the leather, thrashed on the bed, did any and everything he cold to show his displeasure at being restrained.

Heero ignored his brother's cries, ignored the pleadings for him to stop hurting himself.

"Heero, please!"

***

"Quatre, please!" Harry begged. He straddled Quatre's legs and held his hands firmly in his own. He didn't know what else to do until someone came to help him. Why wasn't Poppy here yet!

***

"Heero, look!" Quatre shouted. He pointed to Heero's bare arms. He rubbed his hand over the drying, sticky-wet blood. "No wound! Look, Heero, no wound!"

Heero stopped fighting Quatre, sure that it must be some kind of trick.

"What?" he asked warily, not wanting to hope. Hopes were always, always crushed.

"Look, Heero," Quatre said, running his hands over Heero's arms, down his chest, across his face, "there are no wounds. They're healed." He looked up at Heero in awe. "You healed them."

Heero looked down. Quatre was right. There wer no wounds, not the teeniest, tiniest scratch. Heero didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he did both. He looked up at Quatre, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. Maybe, he thought, maybe I'll be okay.

Heero tried to sit up. His stomach rolled at the action, and he threw up all over Quatre, the taste of metal overpowering in his mouth.

Or maybe not.

***

Quatre threw up all over Harry. Surprisingly, it was silver and didn't feel like anything that should have been inside anyone's body. Harry didn't think about it too much, though, because Quatre woke up.

"Oh, thank God!" Harry cried. He threw his arms over Quatre and sobbed, not worrying about the silvery vomit smushing between them. "I was so worried!"

"So was I," Quatre said so quietly that Harry could barely hear him. "So was I."

Selune