Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Quatre ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Changing Quatre
Dedicated to: Shadow Fox
Warnings: Angst; swearing.

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Chapter 2

Quatre winced as Duo flung himself onto the blonde. Immediately, the braided man felt that something was wrong, and backed off, confusion written on his face. He didn't say anything however, but just grinned like he usually would and slapped Quatre on the shoulder.

"Man, it's so great to see you again, Quatre! How have you been?!"

Quatre, still recovering from the surprise attack, tried to compose himself.

"I'm fine, thank you. How do you do?"

Wufei and Heero looked at each other in confusion; what's with this tone in Quatre's voice? He almost sounded as if he was talking to a ... stranger.

Duo, as well, had noticed it, and faced them with a strained smile.

"I'm great, thanks for asking." He gestured towards the house. "Let's get you all settled inside, how about that?"

Quatre nodded formally, and followed the slightly less hyper boy. Duo had expected that Quatre to be just the same as before, as if they'd only been separated for a day, but he had changed so much... Duo tried to muster the courage not to look disappointed, but everyone else could sense the feeling emitting from him.

"What happened?" Wufei demanded and he and Heero went towards Trowa. "He's changed so much. I don't even recognize him anymore!"

Trowa sighed tiredly, and rubbed his temple.

"Well, it seems as if three years working day and night in a big company hasn't done him any good."

Heero sighed as well, and crossed his arms.

"Well, isn't this just great? Just what Duo's been dreading."

Trowa shrugged and headed towards the house, the two Asian men trailing after him.

"None of us had expected this. All we can do is hope that he'll change back to the way he was before during his stay here."

Wufei nodded and crossed his arms as well, this time from the cool breeze.

"Let's get inside before Duo scares the poor guy off," he said, heading towards the house as well. Heero snorted and rolled his eyes.

"No chance there," he muttered. "Quatre's more liable to scare Duo then the other way around."

Trowa looked to him with a slight frown, but didn't comment on that. They all went into the house, and saw Quatre sitting on the living room couch awkwardly. Duo was chattering in the kitchen, his words cheerful, though nervous. Heero gave Trowa a pointed look, then went to sit down on the couch as well. Wufei sat down on the other couch, whereas Trowa decided to stand against the wall.

"So," Wufei started, leaning his elbows on his knees, "What have you been doing these past three years?"

Quatre cleared his throat, then laced his fingers together in his lap.

"Well, since the war, I have been helping my sisters manage the company that my father left behind." His voice took on a slightly clipped tone towards the end of the sentence, and Wufei could tell that he was still upset over his father's death.

The four men sat in an awkward silence as Duo brought back a glass of water, then went back inside for more, chattering still. Wufei looked at Heero, who looked back at him, blinking his eyes. Wufei rolled his eyes, and stood up to show Quatre his room.

"How about we show you your room?" he asked, looking at Quatre. The blonde ex-pilot stood up, then pursed his lips together.

"That would be fine, but it seems as though I don't have any changes of clothes." He looked towards Trowa, and tried not to scowl at the tall man. The one on the end of Quatre's glare shrugged; he himself hadn't remembered about clothing when he pulled Quatre away.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Heero said, trying to smooth things out after catching the look that passed the two. He stood up as well, and started climbing the stairs, Quatre and Wufei behind him. He stopped at the first door on the left of the hallway, and twisted the door open.

"You can sleep here from now one," he said, standing aside to let Quatre through. Quatre merely stood at the doorway and looked inside. Then, he nodded in agreement without any emotion on his face. Heero couldn't tell if he liked it or not, but decided to push his uneasy feeling away. He started pointing out the rooms, so that Quatre will know who slept where.

"That room across from yours is Duo's. We put him there so that he wouldn't get first claim on the bathroom in the morning, which is on the end of the hall on your side. The one next to his room is mine, and beside that is Wufei's. Trowa sleeps in the one next to yours, though you don't have to worry about him snoring or anything."

Trowa glared at the Japanese man from where he was, half-way down the stairs. Heero smirked, and shook his head.

Suddenly, the phone rang from every room in the house, causing the ex- pilots to wince at the sound.

"We really have to pull out some of the phones," Wufei muttered as he disappeared into the room, after getting a nod of permission from the Japanese man. The ones outside listened attentively to the barely whispered argument, and after a few minutes, Wufei hung up the phone and came back out. Heero raised an eyebrow in question, but Wufei shook his head to say that they'll talk about it later.

"Perhaps we should go shopping for clothes for Quatre now," Trowa suggested from the bottom of the stairs. Quatre drew himself up and pulled one hand through his hair.

"That will not be necessary. I can go by myself," he said, and they could hear a slight undertone of command.

"No, no, I insist," Trowa said, gesturing towards Quatre. He then headed down the stairs, expecting the blonde to follow him without question. Heero saw Quatre purse his lips in displeasure before heading down the stairs as well. Wufei and Heero shrugged at each other and headed down to see them off. Trowa smirked at them before grabbing his jacket and heading out the door, Quatre on his heals. The two Asian men headed towards the couch and eased down beside Duo, who'd been sitting there for a long time now.

"Well, that was interesting," Wufei said with little amusement. Duo sighed and pulled on his hair, fiddling with the end of his braid.

"I guess there was nothing we could've done to prevent that, eh?" he sighed, not really looking at anyone in particular. Standing up, he headed for the stairs and waved over his shoulder. "I'm just going to lie down for a moment. I think all this nervousness has tired me out."

Heero watched till Duo disappeared before turning to Wufei. With an eyebrow raised, he gestured for the other man to begin talking.

"Well, Hilde was asking if she and the others could come over just then," Wufei said, shrugging slightly. Heero blinked, then rubbed his eyebrow to stop himself from raising it too much.

"And I presume that you told them no?" he asked, quite sure of the fact.

Wufei snorted, and picked up a glass of untouched water. Sipping it slowly, he cleared his throat before answering.

"Oh, hell yes. I don't think Quatre's going to be pleased with a bunch of girls running all over the place."

"Though it's still surprising how much he'd changed," Heero said pensively. "We'd all expected it, though were shocked by the enormity of it. I don't think we know what we're doing here." He sighed and shook his head.

"No, actually, I think Trowa does know what he's doing," Wufei countered. "Or else he would've never brought Quatre here. Perhaps he thinks we could help him, or something?"

Heero shrugged.

"Hey, it's worth a try," he said. "I think he was hoping to get the old Quatre back. And I can't say that I don't feel the same."

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"But why can't we come?!" Hilde yelled from the other end of the receiver.

Wufei sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I told you already, he's not the same Quatre that we knew from before. He'll feel awkward with so many people here," he explained, feeling slightly impatient.

"If we come, he'll get used to us faster! I don't see how it's a bad idea!"

Wufei sighed, then looked around, spotting Heero lounging on the couch. Waving him over impatiently, he covered the mouthpiece as they spoke.

"You tell her," Wufei grumbled, handing the phone over. "You can cheat the hell out of anybody."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and smirked slightly. Taking the phone, he slid it to his ear and started arguing straight off. Wufei listened with a bemused expression, and after two minutes, Heero hung up with a triumphant look.

"Easy as pie," the former Wing pilot said. Wufei smacked his head and snorted in exasperation.

"Show off."

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(TBC)