Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Attempted Bystanding ❯ 09 ( Chapter 10 )

Nine

"Why is it raining?" Duo muttered tiredly to Quatre. It made the blond jump hard and shift very slightly away from him. It only lasted a moment, though, before Quatre relaxed back to his stance. He'd been standing, looking out the window.

He wasn't entirely sure what he thought about feeling Duo's body heat along his body, but he had to admit it wasn't all that unpleasant.

"I'm more worried about Wufei," Quatre noted quietly. "They were at the park."

"That's easily remedied," Duo reminded him.

"Can you not make suggestions at me?" Quatre half-breathed, meeting his eyes sidelong. "It's bad enough I let you talk me into it..."

"Oh, calm down," Duo retorted, pushing away and looking to the others. "For one, if you hadn't wanted me to do it you would have let me make good my escape, and for another, I wasn't making suggestions."

"What are you two muttering about?" Heero asked, glancing up at them briefly.

"Nothing," Duo returned, pushing away. "Just hoping Wufei and his friend got out of the rain. They were in the park."

"That's an easy situation to remedy," Heero noted, shrugging.

Duo shot Quatre a pointed look.

"Shut-up," Quatre returned.

Heero gave them both looks.

Duo smiled sweetly, moving to sit next to Heero at the table again.

"I think you're jumping," Trowa snapped at Raymond. It was a rare occasion when he and Cardle—the guy Duo'd been checking out before—weren't with him. The other guy, and a few more, came and went, but the two of them were with him almost constantly. Duo had a sneaking suspicions that Trowa didn't even go pee without them. He wasn't planning to say that, though. Trowa'd probably do something painful to him if he actually took the effort.

"It's easier to jump than to get mired down in the muck," Raymond snapped back. He fell silent very fast, though, his eyes raising to the others in the room to judge their reactions.

"Is he really that manipulative?" Duo asked with interest, blinking at the pair.

"Huh?" Trowa asked, looking up at him blankly. "What are you on about?"

"Raymond," Duo explained, jerking his head to indicate the soldier. "He totally just got annoyed and snapped at you, then looked to us to see how we'd react."

Raymond lowered his head.

"He his, huh?" Trowa muttered, then made a face and brushed it away. "Why do you think that they're here?"

Raymond licked his lips briefly and looked around again. "Where is the least likely place for him to turn up?" he muttered quietly.

"So just because we're not exactly expecting them here, you're assuming they are?" Trowa demanded.

"Someone is helping them on this colony. That's how Ranger made it through the blockade and disappeared."

"Hanager," Heero spat the name to the side.

"I just had an excellent idea!" Matty proclaimed, bouncing from the hall.

"Oh?" Heero asked, smiling up at him.

"Yes," Matty agreed, bouncing over to drop happily into his lap. He leaned forward for something of a sweet kiss before pulling back enough to meet eyes. "Let's not talk about him."

"Who's talking?" Heero returned, leaning forward for another kiss.

Duo rolled his eyes slightly, then noted that Raymond and Cardle were both staring at Heero and Matty in disbelief.

"You're putting on a show for the children," Quatre noted pointedly.

Heero pulled back quickly as Matty snickered.

"You ever watch one of those porns about soldiers and officers?" Duo asked the room in general. He was resting his head against his hand, and that elbow was propped against the table.

"What?" Quatre demanded in disbelief.

Duo started laughing wickedly, sitting up.

"You watch that sort of thing?" Quatre demanded, seeming offended. His cheeks were slightly pink, but aside from his ruler-straight back, he wasn't showing other signs of embarrassment or dismay.

"I also watch the ones about the cheerleaders, and the ones about the next door neighbor girl who's evidently wanted to screw you since she was ten."

Cardle started laughing and just as obviously trying not to as he covered his face with his hands.

"See? He knows what I'm talking about," Duo added happily as Raymond tried not to grin and Trowa rolled his eyes.

"You like the ones with the officers and soldiers?" Matty asked curiously, turning around where he sat so he could lean against Heero's chest. "You the officer or the soldier in those?"

Duo licked his lips with a smirk. "Depends on who's the blond or the brunette."

Quatre stayed froze that moment longer than made sense to anyone else, but Duo spared embarrassing him anymore by ignoring him.

Matty snickered wickedly, leaning forward to lean his own elbow against the table and prop his chin against it. "You like to give or take?"

"I'm not horribly picky," Duo returned. He jerked his head toward the hall. "Come on, we can go explore options."

"So you can steal him?" Heero cut that off. "I don't think so."

"Oh, you're not coming?" Duo asked sweetly.

Heero started laughing wickedly.

Matty realized that Duo was at least partially serious and sat up to blink at him.

Duo smiled sweetly at that, then looked across the room at his friend's entourage. "I'd extend the offer, but I am still in uniform and you are still on duty. It wouldn't end very well if the courts caught wind of it."

Raymond flashed him a truly appreciative grin, though he didn't speak. Cardle wasn't looking at him at all.

"You really need to go away," Trowa informed Duo seriously. "You keep work from getting done, and I'm half wondering if you do it on purpose."

"You're not still working?" Duo demanded, giving him an offended sort of look. "You're such a damn slacker."

Heero sniggered.

The door swung open to reveal...a Chinese man that Duo nearly greeted as Wufei. The man blinked around at all of them a moment before looking back over his shoulder, and in that moment, Duo realized he could hear Wufei in the hall.

"Hello, gorgeous," Heero growled in Matty's ear. "If he wants to wander off down the hall, would you let me watch?"

Matty elbowed Heero in the chest, turning to give him a look—they were both amused, though. Their expressions and reactions were those of amusement.

"Hello?" Duo asked curiously. He'd have asked if Matty would let him watch, but the younger man didn't know how to deal with his teasing offers yet.

"Hi," the guy smiled slightly at him, looking him over. "You're Duo."

"I am," Duo agreed. "You're a hot Chinese guy."

"Are you sure it's Chinese?" the man retorted. "Not Korean or Thai?"

"Fairly," Duo reassured him.

"I'm straight, anyway," he added, glancing at Matty and Heero briefly. His eyes moved on to Quatre, then across the room to Trowa and his peons.

"You're still hot?" Matty offered. "I can never tell when that sort of compliment is appreciated," he admitted to Heero over his shoulder.

The guy grinned at him.

"Hey guys," Wufei greeted them all, moving around the other. They could all see the rings under his eyes that suggested he'd been crying—but they could also all tell he'd regained his good humor. "I'll tell you what," he added, looking between Heero and Duo. "If you slip me the cash, I'll slip him the sleeping pill."

The man guffawed, turning on Wufei to hit him. It was the sort of mature response one expected from teenagers, and the fact that Wufei instantly started half-giggling and tussling suggested that this wasn't the first instance of suggestive maturity they'd experienced.

"So why don't I show him the view from my room," Duo quipped happily, rising to his feet. "Wufei can bring him something to drink."

"Knock it off!" Quatre half-hissed, pulling Duo back before he could take a step. He wasn't meeting eyes, and his cheeks were flushed again. He looked embarrassed, but his grip did not falter.

"I'm just playing," Duo protested, blinking down at him.

Quatre looked away again.

Duo wondered if he'd started something he hadn't expected with "helping" the other male out earlier in the day. He'd certainly thought Quatre would get pissed at him after having time to think—and that hadn't happened yet, and he'd been trying to steer well-clear of the blond so he'd have the chance.

"I knew you were psychotic," the new man informed Duo happily, bouncing into the room more. He stopped and pointed at Trowa. "Trowa the acrobat."

Trowa raised an eyebrow at that.

"And you'd be Quatre Winner," the guy added, looking Quatre over with interest. "Which leaves you two," he added, focusing on Matty and Heero. "You're the Williams boy—the face that launched a thousand ships?"

Matty grinned at him and rolled his eyes.

"And you would be Yuy," he added in a much more respectful tone, looking Heero over.

"And you'd still be hot?" Cardle asked curiously.

Matty started laughing at that as Cardle slapped his hand over his mouth in dismay.

"This is Wong Jinli," Wufei clarified, glancing at the soldier and grinning at Matty briefly. "He has some man-crush on Heero, so if you help me keep Heero away," he said that to Duo, "then I might be willing to do you a favor."

Duo's face split into a wicked grin, which Wufei acknowledged and ignored somehow simultaneously. He was grinning, but looking more to Heero than not.

"Don't say stuff like that," Quatre hissed at Duo.

"I didn't say anything," Duo retorted, giving the blond a look.

Quatre looked away.

"I'm not that bad," Heero added, wrapping his arms around Matty's waist. "You may or may not have noticed, but I have a guy that I'm rather happy with."

"Rather happy?" Matty demanded, turning to meet his eyes again.

"You're in uniform," Trowa snapped in irritation at Heero. "You, too," he added to Duo. "I will seriously turn your asses in if you don't start showing some decorum."

"And we'll get court marshaled again," Duo noted. "We'll resign again, and this time when we move back to earth we'll leave your stuff in the lobby."

"You have to act like an officer," Trowa half snarled at him. "You're not some civilian out for a damn day hike with friends. Treat our rank with the respect it deserves."

They all blinked at Trowa blankly as his two toadies looked away as if they weren't listening—a show of respect since the others were being chastised.

"Wow," Jinli muttered, blinking at the man with interest. "You're all wound up."

"Why is he here?" Trowa snapped at Wufei pointedly.

"Because I'm not in uniform," Wufei snapped back pointedly. "I'm glad you're so welcoming to someone I haven't seen since I was thirteen."

Trowa blinked at that and looked away.

At least to Duo's ear, the words had been said on the edge of emotion. The ones who didn't know Wufei well may not have picked up on it, but his comrades did. He was acting calm enough, but his edge of...hysteria...hadn't passed. He was still just as wound up as contacting his old crowd as Trowa was about their rank.

At least Wufei's wasn't random.

"I'm changing," Duo noted. "You?" he added to Quatre.

"Right," Quatre agreed, rising tiredly from his seat.

Duo ignored the looks from the others and fell in behind the blond. Quatre pretended to ignore him, but Duo doubted the others believed that anymore than he did.

"What are you doing?" Quatre hissed when Duo shut the door to Quatre's room behind them.

"I'm talking to you," Duo hissed back, moving forward to start unbuttoning the guy's jacket. "You keep snapping at me like a boyfriend, and if that's what we're going to be," he jerked the coat off in a way that nearly knocked Quatre over, "then we're going to have a serious conversation first. You can't just expect me to give into your morals when I gave you a handjob and got nothing in return."

Quatre's cheeks flared as he looked down.

"And stop doing that," Duo persisted. "I'm not interested in the flirt-games you seem to be playing. Either commit or back off, because there is no in between, got it?"

Quatre raised his eyes to glower at that, but Duo'd removed his shirt. The American was severely tempted to rip the guy's shirt off and see what he could get away with, but that would compound their situation. He wanted to give Quatre the time and personal space to consider the implications of their actions.

He tossed the button-up shirt on the bed, then turned and moved from the room.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked Duo blankly when the door had shut.

"I needed to ask him something," Duo muttered, not quite meeting his eyes.

"And you're lying to me about it?" Heero gave him a perplexed look.

"I'm complicated like that," Duo reassured him with a smirk. "I take it that if your little lover follows you in to change, you'll both end up on the bed?"

Heero flashed him a grin and shook his head. "Not anymore. We've come to control those particular urges...I just don't need a babysitter to change. You might, though," he glanced at Quatre's room. "I'll let Matty know."

Duo smirked wickedly at him, moving across the hall to his own room. "Please do."

Heero snorted at him, but Duo closed the door behind himself, and quickly started to strip.

- -

"I guess I drink too much," Wufei summed up quietly, studying his nearly empty bottle. After having returned to the apartments, Trowa hadn't come up with any major information. Whatever mood had gripped the rest of the group had passed when they changed, and Quatre had spent a lot of time off by himself. As a whole, they were all subdued, and the rest had headed to bed early.

Wufei and Jinli had been sitting in Wufei's small utilitarian room talking and drinking for the night. Jinli was mainly staring out the window at the dark night, though.

"I guess that was hard for you," Jinli muttered, finally looking back to him. "After it happened," he looked down to his bottle as he spoke, "the rest of us mostly stayed together. It was wrenching when Trit killed himself. They kept falling like flies. I never knew if Ror would go or not...it just...it was terrifying. I could never find you," he added. "I was looking for you as a Long."

Wufei swirled his bottle and the bit of liquid left in it. He couldn't think of anything to say, though.

"When I finally realized you weren't anywhere as Long, I looked you up as Chang...and boom," he made an exploding gesture with his fingers, focusing in front of himself in a way that suggested a computer screen. "Chang Wufei saves the universe, Chang Wufei fights for Marimea...Chang Wufei promoted...and promoted again...becoming a general."

Wufei looked further down—the man was watching him.

"I never saw the one I hoped to see—I never saw that Chang Wufei returned to L-5, I never saw that Chang Wufei searched for anyone he'd ever considered a friend."

Wufei felt the tears again, covering his face with his hands as he sobbed.

"I gave up," Jinli admitted, looking out the window. "I thought you must be having a great life...I was mad at you for so long," he whispered, looking back to his broken friend. "I kept thinking you were some big wig and probably had forgotten everything...when you called," he added quietly, looking up. "When I realized it was you...I realized I was wrong."

"I thought for sure," Wufei gritted, controlling his emotions. "I thought that everyone blamed me."

"Blamed you for what?" Jinli retorted. "For the colony?" he laughed, looking away as tears streamed down his cheek. "It never occurred to any of us that you might even consider that," he noted quietly. "We were pried apart one by one, and I'm the only one left here. They're so far away...and here you are."

"Should I not have called you?" Wufei muttered, wiping at his eyes.

"No," the man returned, looking at him. "I'm glad you did. Don't think you shouldn't have—but Wufei, it's been years."

Wufei squeezed the tears from his eyes quickly, before he could start to cry again. He looked toward the window, though he didn't have a view out of it. "I wouldn't have called you today if Matty hadn't been there. I dialed you three times, you know..."

"I thought you'd dropped the phone or something," the guy muttered, blinking at him.

"No," Wufei refused. "The second time it rang through I closed it and tossed it down—you called me back, and Duo couldn't make me answer it, so he did for me."

"We're quite the pair, aren't we?" Jinli muttered, toasting him with a grin. "We really are."

Wufei studied his face a long moment before smiling back at him and raising his own. They clinked their bottles together before downing the contents.

"Tomorrow...is going to suck," Jinli muttered, studying his empty bottle.

"I get to get up and play officer," Wufei agreed, dropping over sideways on his bed. "I don't have the stability, at this point to get you any bedding, and there's no way in hell you're driving—and I'm not making any soldiers do it for you. What do you want to do?"

The guy's eyes drifted to the bed behind Wufei and he smiled slightly. "You remember when we were little?" he asked quietly. "And I stayed over?" He pushed himself up off the chair he'd been in. "Your mom told us not to eat the cookies and you snuck them to bed with us," he laughed a little, crawling over Wufei. "And we both ate so many we got sick."

Wufei didn't respond, closing his eyes as the tears came again—he wanted to know if he'd ever stop crying.

"I leaned against your back," Jinli noted, pulling the blankets up, "and you leaned against mine. We suffered together into sleep...let's do that again. Let's pretend that..." there were tears in his voice as he spoke, "let's pretend it's a simpler time. You went away to some stupid boarding school and maybe in the morning your mom will wake us up and make us something to eat, huh?"

Wufei started sobbing silently as the blankets were pulled out from under him, then draped over him. After a few moments, Jinli had settled next to him. They weren't touching, though. Wufei slid his boots off, then rose unsteadily to his feet. He moved across the room and flicked off the light, then staggered back to drop back on the mattress. "If we tell anyone, they won't care," he noted quietly, pressing his back against his friend's. "They'll say it was our own fault."

Jinli laughed slightly, pressing back against him in return. "So let's not tell," he suggested. "And then we can see if they notice."

- -

Duo opened his eyes at the click of his door. He wouldn't have woken up if it hadn't closed, and that said to him it was a friend. Other than that, he wasn't awake enough to tell who it was—at first.

Quatre. He could smell the blonde's shampoo.

"What are you..." he started to whisper.

"I'm sorry," Quatre whispered, crawling onto the bed. "I know you don't want to..."

"Sleep?" Duo retorted, moving over to accommodate him. He wasn't sure if Quatre was going to say something about their...relationship, for lack of a better word...or if he was being random. "It's four in the damn morning."

"I know, I'm sorry," Quatre whispered, hesitantly moving in closer to him. He sounded almost like he wanted to cry.

"What are you doing?" Duo muttered tiredly, rubbing at his eyes.

"Wufei and his friend finally went to sleep," he explained, still whispering.

"So what?" Duo tried not to snap. After the day he'd had with his friend, he wasn't sure what to expect. "Good for them?"

"You didn't feel it," Quatre muttered, curling somewhat into him. "It's bad, Duo."

Duo realized there was a want of comfort in his friend and draped his arms around the other. It took Quatre a moment to figure out the positioning, and then he snuggled deeper into Duo's arms—but didn't speak.

Duo was vaguely annoyed about that. "So?" he muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Quatre jumped very slightly. "Oh, sorry...today?" he thought a moment as Duo tried to translate that into common-man's language. "It was...definitely interesting." There was a sort of commiserating acceptance to that, and a bit of a confession.

...today?

Oh.

Duo blinked and grinned slightly. "I..."

"I think I can kinda see what Heero's always going on about," Quatre added quickly. "I always thought he was just making things up...but that was just your hands."

...that's totally not what I was talking about. Duo wasn't exactly sure what to say, but correcting his friend probably wasn't the best idea.

"Could you do it...again?" Quatre whispered very fast.

Wow.

"Not without some sort of retribution," Duo retorted. "I really thought you were going to chase me off, so it started out as playing."

"I know," Quatre admitted, looking away.

"So you'll stop scolding me?" Duo asked curiously.

"You say a lot of really bad things," Quatre chided. He hadn't moved out of Duo's arms in the slightest, and from what the American could tell, he was completely relaxed. "You even say them to subordinates when you're in uniform. That's not okay, Trowa's right about that. You need to have some decorum."

"I act one way with my friends and another way in public. My jokes..."

"You would totally take that Cardle guy to bed if he wanted to," Quatre protested instantly, moving back to glower up at him. "Don't even pretend like you're just kidding. It's just like when you came into my room earlier. You say it to test for reactions—it's just like you were saying before...before you did it," Quatre looked away slightly. "Butter'em up for more fun later."

Duo smirked slightly, realizing the truth in that. "I can admit to that," he noted. "I don't need you scolding me, especially in front of strangers."

"Oh, like they matter to you," Quatre returned glumly, rolling over.

The American was mildly bemused to be spooning with Quatre. Out of all his friends, he'd never thought Quatre would be the one to give into his mild attempts at seduction. Hell, the things he said to the group of them could never be considered seduction. It was the tease to get the reaction without expectation of the fulfillment of the plans.

"What?" Quatre asked, sounding suddenly nervous. "What are you thinking?"

"We're...spooning," Duo explained, amused to say the words. "I never thought I ever would with you—hell, I thought Wufei'd give over before you did."

Quatre fell silent.

"Besides," Duo noted, shaking the confusion off. "I wanted to know what you were feeling from Wufei and his friend."

"Huh?"

"You said they were upsetting you," Duo explained. "I'm all ready to curl up and go to sleep, but if they're bad..."

"They're sleeping," Quatre returned quietly, then snorted. "Passed out is more like it. They drank a lot."

"So why did you come in here?" Duo asked blankly.

"They upset me," he noted thoughtfully. "But...I kinda just wanted to be with you."

Oh.

Duo blinked again, then squeezed him slightly. "You're going to drive me mad, aren't you?"

"What?" Quatre asked, rolling slightly to look at him.

Duo grinned to himself and shook his head. "Nevermind. They're okay? They'll be all right?"

"They should be," Quatre agreed uncertainly. "What do you mean, drive you mad?"

"You're going to make me nuts," Duo repeated, kissing at Quatre's throat.

"Hey..." Quatre pulled away slightly.

Duo laughed a little, mildly amazed to be proven correct so very quickly. "Let's go to sleep," the American suggested, settling back. "Just be prepared for everyone to freak out on you when we wake up."

"Yeah, huh?" Quatre made an amused noise, starting to relax again. "Don't do that anymore."

Duo snorted, focusing on the very white wall that almost seemed to glow red from the light of his alarm clock.

He'd done it to himself. He couldn't expect any sympathy from anyone—he'd just have to leave it...and see how long it took everyone else to notice.

- -

"They said they're sending Winner around," Matthew said in a low voice to Cruz. "Watch your ass tomorrow. If he shows up, you need to focus on your job."

"Winner?" Cruz demanded nervously.

"He's supposed to be a space heart, too," Matthew agreed, looking around again. "Just be careful what you think and feel tomorrow. That guy that's been with them...from the two-twentieth. He was saying something about it earlier. I don't think he realized I was listening, so just keep your cool."

"He'll feel my plotting," Cruz muttered.

"Just focus on your job," Matthew snapped at him, shoving him toward the hall again. "Get back to your barracks before anyone realizes you're up."

Cruz nodded, biting at his lip, then started down the hall.

Matthew watched him go, then looked toward the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

It was going to be a very long day.