Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Child's Love ❯ The Arrival of the Whirlwind From L2 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimers: The owner of Gundam Wing? Nope, not me! So, anyhoo, keep your trousers on. Money? Nope, I'm poor! NO SUING!

A/N: @_@ *is extremely happy right now, and has a goofy smile on face* Don't ask... Just be glad, because I'm finally writing, and not torturing our favorite boys, for a change. Well, at least not *just* yet. Hilde has to say a few things to Q and 'Fei though... *snickers evil and runs off*

Dedication: To Angel, of course, because she's the best muse-in-progress. To Arith-san, because she poked me to write this while I was still on my sap high, thus making it easier for me to be nice to Duo and Heero. To Jo-chan, because she's the best, whether she knows it or not, but no one tell her. We need her to fit through doorways still.

Summary of last chapter: Duo and Heero agree to go out on their first official date. Quatre finds out what transpired between Heero, Duo, and Allilon from Wufei, and goes off to find Lucrezia to tell her as well. Heero checks up on Alli through a bitter Noin. Quatre tells Lu the real story, and she the decides she needs to apologize to Heero. Duo discovers the beauty of Paris at night, with his lover by his side. Noin apologizes to Heero for her behaviour, and Heero becomes resolute to fix the issue between Duo and Allilon.

Symbols: /blah/ thoughts
*blah* emphasized words
*~*~*~* major scene change or POV change
*~~~~~* minor scene change

The Arrival of the Whirlwind from L2

Duo snuggled into his bedcovers, trying to ignore the incessant beeping coming from somewhere beside his head. /Just go away. I'm trying to sleep, you idiot,/ he thought lazily, while slitting an eye open carefully. The clock on the nightstand read quarter to eight in its bright neon-green numbers. /SHIT!/

He sat up, opened both eyes, cursed himself for not being a little slower about the wake up, and looked around for the source of the stupid beeping that was still going on. An angry red flash told him that the vidphone was the reason he woke up at all, and Duo quickly went through the *very* short list of people it could have been. /Oh, fuck. It's Heero,/ he swore, grabbing some clean clothes while hitting the 'Accept Call' button.

"Duo," Heero growled out dangerously. "Do you have any idea how long I have been calling you?"

"Um, longer than fifteen minutes, and not quite half an hour," Duo managed to look sheepish, sexy, and sleepy at the same time. He smiled when he saw the anger in Heero's face drop to something manageable.

"Are you ready yet?" the Japanese man said, suppressing a sigh.

"Uh, almost. How long will it take you to get here?"

"Twenty, considering I have to get Allilon out to the car."

Duo's eyes widened in shock. "You're... You're bringing the kid?"

"Hai..." Heero answered, worried about the sudden change in the American. "Why?"

"Uh, nothing. Is he going to behave?"

"He is under express orders from his aunt that he had better be on his best behaviour, or he is getting... a Barbie... for Christmas." Heero gave Duo a questioning look, and the braided man snorted before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"Gotta love Lu," Duo managed between chuckles, and then straightened his face. "Ok, so I'll see you in twenty minutes then?"

"Hai."

"Okay," Duo said, giving Heero an appreciative look through the screen. The glare he received made his knees feel like they were about to give out from under him. "Keep that up, and we won't even make it to the space port. Alli or no Alli," he whispered sexily.

"Just hurry, Duo."

"Love you too." He winked and hit the 'End Call' button. He had no sooner dressed, brushed his hair and teeth, and washed his face when there was a knock on the door. Duo paused in front of the door, listening to the voices on the other side.

"I dun wanna see Mr. Maxswell," Allilon's little voice intoned, sounding as if Duo's last name was sour. "I wanna go play with Joshie!"

"Joshua went home with his mother and father. You are going to spend the day with me, or you will get that Barbie that Aunt Lucrezia promised you," Heero said, voice cold, but not as cold as Duo remembered hearing it most times during the wars.

Steeling himself for a rather uncomfortable day, Duo opened the door with a smile, while he secretly wished for a hole to spring up and swallow him. What greeted him was something so utterly amusing that he ended up bent over laughing. Heero and Allilon stood side by side, faces wearing similar scowls. Their superficial resemblance stood out more, making Duo think of an old 20th century movie called 'Austin Powers', where the bad guy had a clone called Mini-Me.

Heero spared a look to his son beside him and saw that the boy was just as confused as he was. Scowling harder, he cleared his throat, which caused the braided man in front of him to stand to his full height.

"Are you ready now?"

Duo straightened his face out enough to reply. "Yeah," he managed before laughing again. Their scowls had increased in their intensity. /I should take a picture,/ he thought. "Wait, I need to find something first."

He ran back to his luggage and pulled out the slim digital camera that Hilde had gotten him for his birthday. When he reached the pair outside his room, they were still scowling at him. Before they could react, Duo snapped a picture. "For blackmail purposes later," he replied, shoving the camera into his jacket pocket and closing the door behind him. "Ok, let's get this show on the road."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I wanna go hoooooooome," Allilon whined, kicking his legs that were dangling from the stiff plastic chair that Heero had made him sit in. "This is boring!"

"Hilde's shuttle should be here soon," Duo replied, standing up from his chair to pace. "I wonder why their flight is taking so long..."

"Did you ask her why?" Heero asked, making sure that Allilon stayed in his seat.

"Not really. I had more important things on my mind," Duo said, giving Heero a meaningful look. He watched as slight red patches appeared on the Japanese man's cheeks. /Oh my God. Is Heero *blushing*?/

Without a second thought, his camera reappeared, and he snapped the second picture of the day before Heero could scowl again. Duo smiled coyly at his lover before hiding the small square. "What?"

Heero opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the PA system. "UESN Flight 1532 from L1 is arriving at Gate 5." He and Duo exchanged looks and shrugged. Hilde hadn't mentioned coming from anywhere else but L2.

Duo paced to expel some of the pent up energy he had bubbling up inside of him, and was in the middle of his self-appointed circuit when a familiar female voice cut into his thoughts.

"Your boy toy not helping you rid yourself of all that energy, Duo? Do I have to have a talk with him?"

Duo snapped his head up, and accidentally smacked himself with his braid in the process, rewarded by two familiar laughs. "Hilde? Mike? What flight did you take?" he said, running over to hug his friends.

"We had to take a layover flight from L1 to get here today," Mike replied, trying to remove the chestnut braid from Hilde's grasp as she was leveled by a possessive glare from the seemingly forgotten Japanese man. "The next direct flight was two days later, and you know Hill."

"Do I ever," Duo said, snickering as he removed himself from the crushing embrace of the German girl. "Oh, I seem to have forgotten my manners. Hilde, Mike, this is Heero, and the cute kid that looks just like him is his godson, Allilon. Heero, Allilon, this is Hilde, and her funny and masochistic boyfriend, Mike."

"Ha, ha, ha. You are so *not* funny, Duo," Hilde said around a yawn.

"Tired?" Duo asked with a semi-innocent smile.

"A bit," Mike said, yawning himself. "So, do we get an escort to the hotel, or do we have to find our own way?"

"I have my car. I will be taking you all back," Heero said, grabbing Allilon's hand, a little too roughly, which caused the small boy to cry out in pain.

Before any of the three men could react, Hilde had grabbed the boy from the ground, and was hugging his small body to her chest. "Are you ok, sweetheart?" she asked, her voice low and sounding very motherly.

Allilon sniffed, and smiled a small smile, soaking up the attention. "Yes," he said.

"Well, then, cupcake, let's get going," Hilde replied, walking briskly down the large walkway of the space port to the outside doors.

"Oh, boy, Mike, you are in *trouble*," Duo said.

"How... What do you mean?" the stunned man asked, hazel eyes glazed over in confusion.

"Hill's got those 'motherly instincts'. Next thing you know, she'll want kids herself."

Mike watched as his girlfriend and Heero's son disappeared in the crowd. "Scheiße," he swore under his breath.

"My thoughts exactly," Duo said, grabbing Heero's hand and heading in the same direction as his friend.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The small group reached Heero's car with no trouble and finally settled in, Heero driving and Mike taking the passenger seat next to him, with Hilde, Duo and Allilon in the back. Heero looked in his rearview mirror at the three chattering bodies, and his scowl lightened up. A quick glance to his left told him that Mike was doing the same thing.

He carefully pulled out of the parking spot, and started the drive to Duo's hotel. He had just made it out of the vicinity of the space port when Mike's deep whisper caught his attention.

"You don't think that Duo is right, do you?"

"I don't know. Although, gauging from her reaction, he might not be too off," Heero replied quietly.

"Great," Mike whispered sarcastically, dragging the vowel's sound out. "Just what we needed."

"Hn," Heero offered, trying to be comforting, but at a loss for what he could really say that would be a salve to this sort of situation.

"Don't pay attention to him, Mikey. Heero here is an *excellent* conversationalist," Duo quipped from the backseat. "Sooooo, besides sleep, did you guys have any plans for your trip?"

"Most *don't* involve you, contrary to popular belief," Hilde remarked, earning herself a glimpse of Duo's pink tongue. "Actually, I would like to see Quatre and his horde," she said, as the car stopped for a red light.

Heero shot his head around to look at Duo, who mouthed 'Motherhen Hilde'. Realizing what his lover was saying, Heero nodded and faced forward just as the light turned green.

"Horde?" Mike asked, turning around to see the occupants of the backseat.

"Yes, horde. Q has like forty henchmen, a husband, and his sister-in-law all at his compound," Duo said.

"Yes, and his 'henchmen' all have their families there as well," Heero added.

"Why so many?"

"Quatre is the CEO of WEI, and the Maguanacs are his personal guard. At least, that's what they like to think. Tro would find that offensive, seeing as how he's the head of Q's personal security. Besides, one of the Maguanacs, Auda, is marrying Cathy, Trowa's sister," Duo said.

"Fun times," Mike muttered, turning around to watch the scenery as they sped by it.

"I promise to go light on the blond, seeing as how you're happy," Hilde whispered to Duo as she placed her head on his shoulder. "But as for China-boy, I plan to rip him a new one."

"Why's that?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, I have my reasons," she replied cryptically, closing her eyes to doze a bit.

The rest of the car ride was silent as the five occupants were all lost in their own thoughts about what to do with the rest of the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"NO!" Allilon screamed. "I don't wanna!"

"Allilon," Heero said evenly.

"I don't want to spend the day with Joshie!" The little boy threw himself at his godfather's legs, latching on tightly. "I wanna stay with you!"

"I have things to do today, Allilon. I promise to come and get you in a few hours."

"NO! You're gonna go with Mr. Maxswell! I *hate* him! NO!"

Duo stood stock still, in front of the passenger side of the car as Heero stood in front of Milliardo and Lucrezia's house, trying to leave his godson there with his cousin. He felt his blood run cold as the little boy declared that he hated him, and missed whatever it was that Heero whispered to the child that made his shoulders hunch.

"Fine," Allilon declared, turning stiffly and marching inside of the house where Lucrezia moved back to allow him in.

"I'm sorry, Heero. I've never seen him like this," Noin replied, shaking her head sadly.

"You missed him after Relena died," Heero said, the color coming back to his face after the confrontation with Allilon.

"We did, and we are *really* sorry about that."

"Don't be. You were on Mars, and you came back as soon as you could."

"You know," she said, a smile across her lips. "I am *never* going to get used to you with real emotions, Heero Yuy."

Heero fixed her with a glare, and took a look at Duo behind him. "I have to go," he said.

"I know." She stood up on her tip-toes so she could see the American by the car. "Hi Duo! Tell Hilde that I look forward to seeing her!"

The voice calling to him made Duo stand up straight and smile a bit. He waved to the black-haired woman at the door. "Will do, Lu! Tell Zechs I said hello!"

"I will. You two kids have fun and run along," she said, pushing Heero towards the car, and shutting the house door behind her to go deal with the two boys currently wrecking her living room from the sounds that were carrying.

"Well, that was painless," Duo muttered as he and Heero got back into the car. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Heero said, taking a good look at the man sitting next to him. "Duo, are you alright?"

"I guess..."

"You look like a sheet of paper. Are you sure you're ok? I can take you back to your hotel room, if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine. It's just not everyday that a three year old kid says they hate me with enough venom to make even you pale," Duo said with a sad smile. "Besides, I haven't had anything to eat and it's almost eleven AM."

"Fine, we'll get you something to eat. Any preferences?"

"Food?" Duo said.

"That's really helpful. I'll pick some place, and if you complain, I'll leave you there."

"Aw, are you the sweet-talker? You're making me all hot and bothered now, Heero," Duo purred.

"Baka," Heero said, shaking his head as he started up the car to feed his lover.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I doubt they are awake yet, Duo," Heero replied, trying to stop the American from knocking on the door they were standing in front of. "It's only been six hours since we dropped them off."

"Yeah, I know, but you don't know Hilde. That's enough," Duo said, smiling widely at his lover and knocking hard against the wooden obstruction. "HILL! MIKE! WAKE UP!"

There was a shuffling and a muttered curse from the other side of the door. "GOD DAMMIT, DUO MAXWELL! You couldn't have let us sleep, could you?" Hilde's sleep-roughened voice called through the wood.

"Nope. 'Sides, it's two PM, sweetness," Duo replied cheekily.

Hilde yelped, and a few minutes later, the door was opened by a very obviously still sleeping Mike, who moved to let them in. The sound of water running could be heard. "Hello," he muttered, collapsing on the messy queen-sized bed.

Duo snickered. "Look, it's Mike, the sleep zombie," he said, laughing lightly.

"Hm?" Mike replied, eyes barely cracked to look at his two guests.

"Is that anything close to 'Duo, the sleep zombie' from the wars?" Heero whispered.

"You can say it out loud, 'Ro. Mike knows all about what Hill and I did during the war, including that one time in the broom closet..."

"DUO!" Hilde screamed from behind the bathroom door, which caused both Mike and Duo to start laughing.

"Hill hates that joke, Duo, and you know it," Mike replied, slowly waking up.

"Yeah, I know, and that's why I do it. Now, get your arse up. You and Hill are gonna help me and 'Ro look at cars for your visit." He laced an arm around Heero's midsection and allowed their bodies to all but touch.

"Fun," Mike muttered, grabbing some clean clothes from his duffle bag and waiting until his girlfriend emerged from the bathroom. She made her appearance a few minutes later, resembling something living. Mike waited until she was fully in the room, before hiding himself away in the bathroom to wake up.

"So, we're going car shopping?" she said, pulling a brush through her short, wet hair.

"You have no idea how much I envy you that you can just brush and go," Duo replied, pulling on his braid with his free hand.

"You know the solution. Cut it," Hilde quipped.

"Never!" Duo said, as Heero wrapped his hand around the end of Duo's braid. A quick look at Heero's face told Hilde that she had gone too far.

"Look! I was *joking*! Relax! Besides, how would I ever find you when you bury yourself in piles of scrap metal?"

Duo blushed when Heero fixed his glare on him. He opened his mouth to say something, but was saved when Mike reappeared from the bathroom.

"Uh oh... Did Hilde say something about the hair again?" Mike said, taking in the serious expressions in the room. He looked at his girlfriend, who was putting her brush back on the bureau by the bed. "O-kay... Well, are we ready to go?"

"Yes, please, let's!" Duo said, moving towards the door and away from the intense look that Heero was giving him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An hour later, the group of friends found themselves standing in front of a car rental place, next to the space port.

"Why can't we get the convertible?" Mike asked.

"Because it's April. Unless you forgot, it tends to rain during the spring on Earth," Hilde replied.

"I didn't forget, but the convertible has a top."

"That's broken!"

"Not that bad, Hill," Duo offered from beside Heero, who had wisely decided to say out of it.

"Stay out of it, lazy!" she yelled, turning back to the matter at hand. "I don't see what is *so* wrong with the sedan."

"Besides the fact that it looks like a box?" Mike snapped.

"Just get the SUV," Duo said, trying really hard to calm the two feuding lovers down.

"Stay out, Duo!" Mike said. "Look, we can stand here yelling, making asses out of ourselves in front of God and everyone else, or we can try and act like civilized human beings and *talk* about this."

Hilde crossed her arms defiantly across her chest and harrumphed at her lover. "Fine," she said. "The SUV."

"Whatever. You win," Mike said, throwing his hands in the air and taking a deep breath. "I hate fighting with you, Hill." He ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "So, what color?"

Duo turned to Heero, while his friends made up. "I'm glad that you have a car here already, and I have one back on L2. They were worse when they got their house, and don't get me started on when I had to get a new house," he said, with a mischievous smile.

"Shut up," Heero whispered, wrapping his arms around the American, and giving him a quick kiss. At least, Heero had intended it to be a quick kiss as they were in public, but Duo latched onto the Japanese man's lips and was trying to crawl inside him by the way of his mouth.

"Excuse us, but we're done, if you two are," Hilde said, beaming at the sight of her friend looking so happy and in love, or lust at the moment.

Duo and Heero moved away slowly, not really wanting to part from the other. Duo reached a hand up to scratch the nape of his neck, a slight blush rouging his cheeks. "Um, yeah, so what's the game plan for the rest of the day? I called Q today, and he invited the three of us to dinner," Duo said, looking at Hilde and Mike before looking at Heero. "Sorry, 'Ro, but you kinda have Allilon to deal with."

"It's understood. Besides, I have to go to work in the morning," Heero said, sparing a small smile for Duo's sake.

"Yeah, there is that," Duo said sheepishly.

"Imagine that. Someone who actually goes to work, Mike," Hilde teased. "Oh, so Blondie invited us to dinner. Great. It means I won't have to hunt him down to talk to him." Her smile took a hard edge that made both Duo and Mike look a little uncomfortable.

"Well, that's not for a little while yet, since Q and Tro don't eat until about eight, and it's only four... So, how about we go do a little sight-seeing?" Duo offered to take Hilde's mind off her self-appointed mission.

"Sounds fine to me. Are you coming, Heero?" Mike asked.

"No. I have a child to deal with, who is rather angry with me," Heero said, extending one hand. "It was nice to meet you, Michael. I will see you all later."

"I'll call you, Heero," Duo called after Heero's retreating form, moaning at the loss.

"It's so cute to see you with him, Duo. I'm glad things worked out well for you, but I still need to have a talk with a few of your other 'friends'," Hilde said.

"Just relax, Hill. I don't think you can do anything worse to Q than me up-chucking on the poor guy."

Hilde made a sour face, and soon the three friends were caught in a fit of laughs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Duo took Hilde and Mike around a few places he had discovered on his own in Paris, making sure to keep an eye on the time. At around six-thirty, they headed back to their separate hotel rooms for a quick change and met in the foyer in the main lobby.

"Wow, Hill, you look amazing," Duo said, giving her a wolf-whistle for added effect. She was dressed in a black pants suit that hugged her every curve, with a white blouse to finish the look. She had black heels on and a minimal amount of makeup. Mike had on khakis and a blue oxford shirt, with brown loafers to complete his comfortable Yuppie look. Duo was dressed in black slacks, a blue button down, and non-descriptive black shoes.

"I've only told her that about twenty times since she got dressed, but she never listens to me," Mike said, shaking his head and kissing Hilde's cheek.

"Nah, you're biased because you're sleeping with her. She needed another guy's opinion," Duo said, clapping the hazel-eyed man on the shoulder.

"Can we leave? People are starting to stare at us now," Hilde said. They all headed out to the hotel's parking lot to the black Chevy Tahoe that Hilde and Mike managed to agree upon earlier that afternoon. "So, who's driving?"

"I will, since I know where it is, and you say I give horrible directions," Duo said, sliding comfortably into the driver's seat. Mike handed him the keys, and the automobile started purring like a kitten. "Oooooh, this car is loved... Listen to that engine."

"It *does* sound rather nice, but can we get going?" Hilde asked as she took a seat in the back.

"What's got your garter in a twist?" Mike asked.

"I'd like to talk to Quatre. You know, just a little heart-to-heart."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Duo asked, pulling the SUV out of the lot and onto the busy streets.

Thirty minutes later, Duo was driving the monstrosity of a vehicle through Quatre's front gates and up to the house. No sooner had the car stopped when Hilde stepped out of the car, her face a mask of cool civility. Duo turned the Tahoe off, and met up with Mike on the way to the door. "You take her left, and I'll take her right. No sense in blood before dinner," he muttered, receiving a curt nod from the other man.

They flanked Hilde as she knocked on the door, and waited until it was answered by Quatre's butler, Hamed. "Master Duo, how nice of you to come for dinner this evening. And you've brought guests, I see," the older man said politely.

"Yeah, Hamed. This is Hilde Schldebeiker, and her fiancé, Michael Richards," Duo said in an equally polite tone.

"Very well. Master Quatre did say something about more guests than just yourself for dinner. If you will follow me, Masters Quatre and Trowa are in the parlor."

"But of course they are," Hilde said snidely, following the older gentleman to the large parlor, as Duo and Mike stayed one step behind her.

"Duo. How nice to see you again," Quatre said, running over to hug the braided man. "And this must be Hilde and Mike?"

"Yes, Quatre, and we have a *lot* to discuss," Hilde replied, her eyes narrowing into slits and belying the smile that was plastered across her face.


TBC...