Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cult Characteristic ❯ Chapter 8

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

EIGHT

Wufei kept one eye on Heero and the other on the chess board as the silent man slunk into the room and slumped wearily against the bench. He wanted to focus completely on Heero, but knew that the moment his concentration left the board Quatre would move and there was no way Wufei would be able to figure out how. Wufei wasn't even sure how he had been maneuvered into playing a game against Quatre in the first place. Something to do with Trowa staying locked up for an hour in his wing of their house…

"Everything's alright?" Wufei asked nonchalantly, doing his best to make it look like he wasn't really interested in the answer and not fooling anyone.

"He's asleep."

Wufei was curious about the undertones that came with the terse reply but knew now was not the time. Heero was tired. Heero should have been resting while Duo was, but the man was a stubborn fool…And weren't they all?

Quatre seemed to have picked up on things, and moving one of the white chess pieces without glancing at the board, as if he hadn't just spent the last ten minutes deciding on that move, he leapt from the floor to the kitchen bench and pushed in the button on the kettle. Wufei just stared at the indented button, wondering if he had imagined the chess piece moving as Quatre hurried to the cupboard and grabbed four mugs.

Staring at the board, Wufei tried to concentrate and remember which piece he had seen Quatre shift, but it had blended in with the rest of the board and he couldn't for his life see any difference in the layout. How can it be so hard to keep track of thirty two little pieces? Wufei wasn't sure, but he decided one against thirty two was much easier and wondered, for the first time, why there wasn't a gundam sized chess piece…

"There should be another team. Just one piece," Heero said wearily as he slumped into the lounge beside the small coffee table Wufei had knelt beside well over two hours ago, knees now numb. Wufei just stared at Heero, wondering if the man really could read minds. Maybe they all had little computers stuck in their heads and everything they thought got downloaded to Heero.

Wufei decided he was tired and that he had spent way too much time around Fiona and her weird sense of humour. Her father dropped her off every morning at five am so she could watch him do his katas, then picked her up at eight to take her to school. Fiona then caught the school bus back to their house and stayed until after dinner. Her parents didn't seem to mind, satisfied that Fiona was happy and her presence was not annoying. Wufei didn't mind either, but the small girl seemed to be rubbing off on everyone.

That small girl also knew too much about everything. No matter how much she divulged on the case she seemed to always hold something back, and sure enough, the next time she showed up at their door she would give them another piece of the puzzle. Subsequently at least an hour after every one of her visits ensured the four gundam pilots would still be sitting around the pool table which was smothered in every file even remotely related to the case. Duo's case.

Wufei shook his head and stared at the warm cup of tea Quatre had pushed into his hands. Wufei had been so deep in thought he had completely missed its making, and now, Quatre was sitting there, across the table, expectantly awaiting his next move. Some people think Quatre is innocent. Wufei thought those people should play chess with the little…

A hand swept over the board and shifted a piece. Wufei looked up at Trowa, saw the cup in his hand, remembered Quatre getting four mugs from the cupboard, and wondered when the man had actually entered the room. Deciding it really didn't matter, Wufei stared at the board and his eyes went wide in surprise. His King and Castle and swapped places, the king now out free from the confining square of check mate Quatre had almost boxed him in, and his poor little castle was now the sacrifice. Not that it mattered when the King was free again. Besides, if Quatre did take the rook, Wufei could snatch his queen…

"What move is that?"

Trowa made a strange sound in the back of his throat that was probably his excuse for laughter and pointed at Quatre.

"He does it to me all the time. Its called Castling. You can only do it once in a game, but it does have its moments."

It did indeed! And Wufei dearly wanted to know why Quatre had `forgotten' about that move when telling him all possible ways the pieces could interact. Even Heero seemed surprised at the move. Wufei decided it was time to grab Heero's damn laptop and find out the real moves and rules of chess. He had a feeling there were more reasons than they were aware of as to why Quatre kept winning. Innocent…Bah!

There was a familiar beep as Quatre began contemplating the board once more. They listened only half heartedly to the messages, all eyes on the board. There were two from Une, telling them to stay away from the office. Wufei recalled getting one of those calls as his hand had been on the door knob of the front door….he had only intended to check his computer for viruses and updates on old cases he had not completed….

Apparently the second had been for Trowa. Wufei smirked when he realized the message had been around an hour ago; the same time Trowa had been `sent' to his `room'.

Then the inevitable happened.

"Heero! I've been looking everywhere for you! I finally found your new number, sorry it took me so long. Anyway, there is a party at the Devourjac house tomorrow night. Pick me up at eight, and don't be late. Love you!"

Heero groaned and his head thumped loudly against the table. A little too loudly. In fact, Wufei was sure the sound hadn't really come from the table at all. His thought was confirmed when Heero's head came up again immediately and he turned completely to face the doorway that led to the hall and the answering machine.

Wufei looked at his watch. It was only two pm. School finished at three and the bus didn't reach the house till four. Fiona hadn't pressed the button to hear the messages. Trowa was in the room with them, so that left…

"Duo…" The strangled whisper barely escaped Heero's lips before the man was on his feet and flying out the door. Wufei was right on his heels, head already spinning out of control as he imagined the ways Duo could interpret Relena's message. Damn that onna!

Wufei almost bowled straight into Heero. The man had halted in the middle of the hall and was staring at the floor. When Wufei moved past him, he did the same thing. Why? He had no idea what else to do.

Slumped on the floor, fists curled around the floor mat, was Duo. His hair was loose and flared over his shoulder, down his back, trailing on the floor. His legs were sprawled to either side of his body, the white plaster cast sticking out at an awkward and probably painful angle. The matching white cast on his arm was resting in his lap while his free hand was at his side, limp. His head was down, chin against his chest, bangs hiding most of his face from view. Only the lips were visible, quivering slightly. No words escaped. No sound.

Heero suddenly woke up and moving faster than Wufei's mind could register he was suddenly kneeling in front of Duo, hands resting on his knees a little too stiffly. Wufei couldn't blame him. If he were in Heero's position, if that were Sally…Wufei wouldn't be able to keep his hands off!

"I'm her bodyguard. She thinks I feel more than that, but it's not true. It has never been true. I believe in what she stands for, in what she believes in, and I want to protect that. She is a good person, and I want to protect her because of that. But beyond that? She doesn't register Duo."

Silence. Quatre appeared behind Heero, Trowa at his side, wringing his hands nervously. Wufei wondered what his heart was telling him. What had his heart told him in the past year? Wufei knew Quatre had always been nervous, and had never quite believed Duo had run away. Had he known anything? What had he felt? Wufei wanted to know, but knew it was not his place to ask. It was no one's place to ask such a thing.

"Duo, please…look at me…"

The head didn't lift at Heero's plea, but Wufei was not surprised. Duo had always been stubborn. Duo had always survived on his own. Faced with what he perceived to be yet another loss, it was only natural that he would block them out, forget them, ignore them, pretend they had never existed. Only No one in the hallway was going to let Duo do that.

"Duo, you know Heero doesn't like her…like that…" Quatre whispered. Wufei wasn't sure why. Maybe he thought it would help. Maybe he knew it would. "Relena just likes to think he does. She's almost delusional about it all."

Duo's head came up like lightening and Wufei actually stepped back when he saw the agony in those eyes. He thanked every god that had ever existed that that gaze was not on him. He was grateful it wasn't on Heero. However, he was not exactly pleased Quatre had to face it.

"People think things for a reason, Quatre. They think things because we give them reason to."

Wufei swallowed dryly. He had known, on some level, that this day would come, but he had hoped it wouldn't. Fate, it seemed was determined to destroy such futile hopes, and here was the evidence of his original fear. When he had first realized it was Duo in the pit, and he had imagined the recovery, he had not feared what needed to be done physically. But mentally…

People think things for a reason.

"Heero hasn't given Relena any reason to think he is in love with her!" Quatre exclaimed, losing his control fast. He couldn't see what was behind the hurt in those eyes, Wufei realized. Quatre couldn't see the pain or the blame.

Because we give them reason to.

Wufei moved forward, knelt beside Heero, grabbed hold of Duo's chin and forced the cobalt gaze to meet his own. He wished he could look away, but this was not the time for cowardice. He made sure Duo knew whatever he said was nothing short of the coldest truth that ever existed; the hard, frigid justice like truth he had always fought for. He waited for that spark of recognition, then he plunged in.

"The people who did this to you had no reason to think anything of you. What you named yourself and what they named you are not the same thing. You are not to blame for what has been done. You have given no reason to these people to think what they do, to do what they have done. You are merely a focus for them to vent their madness. If you didn't exist, they would have found something else. Everyone's mind is their own, Duo. You don't have the power to make them believe anything. They do that on their own."

Wufei watched the emotions run through Duo's eyes, watched the body shake in rage, pain, defiance, and he saw the moment when the body and mind caved together, giving into what they knew to be truth, even though that truth hurt even more. Even though it meant accepting that he had done nothing wrong and this had still been done. Wufei waited for that moment, then pushed Heero forward, pleased as the hands unfolded from their white-knuckled position on Heero's knees and wrapped around the shaking form.

Wufei felt oddly pleased with himself. He had handled the situation. In fact, he thought he had done it quite well. He was about to push Quatre and Trowa out of the room when the phone rang. Wufei let it ring until the answering machine came on.

"Heero…"

Wufei snatched it up and glared at the wall as he spoke. He had a very strange idea.

"No, Wufei. Yes, we got your message, but I'm afraid we are all on holiday from Preventers. However, Une called me earlier and requested I escort you to the Devourjac party tomorrow night. I will pick you up at eight thirty. Please be ready!" He hung up the phone, a malicious grin on his face.

As he turned to face his companions, he almost laughed at the guppy gaping mouths. Then he locked gazes with Duo and a smile broke forth instead.

Mirth bright in his eyes, Duo was laughing.