Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Konnichiwa Minna!

I don't have much to say at the moment,

Just a reminder that I'm still looking for a Beta, if anyone is interested.

As a result of that, this story has not been beta'd yet.

If anyone finds mistakes, please let me know and I'll fix them.

Oh! I also wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed my stories!

I really appreciate the comments!

Arigato

^-^

Weissangel24

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Chapter four

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Quatre woke to the gentle fragrance of lilacs and freesia.

"Ohayo, Koi." Trowa greeted him with a loving smile, and a light kiss on his forehead.

The blonde smiled lazily, blinking slowly several times. He then took in a slow, deep breath and stretched. "Ohayo, Trowa. . ." He murmured sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to eleven." The banged boy smirked as the blonde's eyes widened and a dumbfounded look took over his face.

"You can't be serious. . ." Quatre frowned slightly, "Really that late?"

"Later." Trowa said slowly, "Today is Thursday. . . We brought you home on Tuesday."

The blonde's blue eyes widened. He was now fully awake. "I've been asleep all that time!? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You needed the rest." Trowa soothed, "Besides, I told you I'd take care of things, and I have. . ."

"But still. . ." Quatre worried, "I've never slept that long before. . . Not even when I had Mono last year. . ."

"But you weren't trying to split your focus into ten different directions either." The banged boy pointed out, as he set a tray before the boy. There was a small bouquet of Quatre's favorite purple flowers. "Here, why don't you have some tea while your brunch is sent up? And don't worry so much, it's okay. Enjoy yourself, you're on vacation."

Quatre smiled, reaching for the freesia and inhaling its fragrance. "Arigato, Koi." He accepted the tea. "Will you join me?"

"I'd love to, koi; unfortunately, I have a meeting that I must attend." Trowa replied apologetically. "Lady Une wants to fill me in on everything up till now on that mission. . . I'd like to borrow your laptop if I may, so that I may review your notes on the case."

The blonde looked disappointed, "Oh. . . okay. . .sure. . ."

"I'm sorry. " The banged boy tried to amend.

A soft smile, one that did not reach his eyes, crossed the smaller boy's face, "It's okay, Trowa. . . really."

"I'll see you as soon as I get home, but for right now, I'm late. . ." The taller boy reached for his jacket and keys and the blonde's computer. "Duo said he'd stick around if you needed anything- I gotta go-Ai shiteru, Koi. . ." He gave the boy a haste kiss, and then disappeared out the door.

"Ai Shiteru, Trowa. . ." the blonde mumbled back, wincing as the door slammed.

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A while later, there was a light rasp on his door. "Quat? You awake?"

"Hai. . ." Quatre replied warily, turning from the window at which he stood.

The braided boy peeked out from behind the door, "You're not still mad at me-are ya?"

"Iie." The blonde smiled genuinely, "Actually it should be me who apologizes. You were only looking out for me. I shouldn't have acted so poorly." He sighed tiredly.

"Daijoubu ka?"

"Daijoubu." The boy answered, moving to sit on his bed.

Duo regarded his friend for a moment. It seemed as if the blonde was lacking his usual brightness. "Are you sure? You seem down."

"I'm kinda disappointed that Trowa had to leave. It would have been nice just to spend some time with him. . ." Quatre answered honestly, "But when I really think about it. . . This feeling I have. . . it's deeper then just disappointment. . .It hurts, it really hurts. . . He must feel it every day."

The braided boy nodded in understanding, "I bet he does. . . but I think the knowledge that you'll be coming home eases that feeling."

"The idea. . . of me being the cause of this feeling. . . it makes me feel horribly ill. . . to know that I've caused this. . .I should have known. . . I should have known. . ." Quatre buried his head in his arms, "I don't know why he puts up with it. . . he could have at least said something. . .but. . .I should have known. . ."

"He understands why you have to leave, and he loves you. That's why he puts up with it." Duo stated, "And as for not knowing, don't feel bad. There's no way for you to know if he doesn't show it. . ." The braided boy grinned, "It's not like you're empathic or psychic."

Quatre wilted all the more, `But I am, Duo. . .' He miserably thought, `I am empathic, and I still didn't notice. . .'

"Oh, Hey!" The boy suddenly exclaimed, startling the blonde, "I came up here to see if you wanted to do something!"

"Like what?"

"Well, let me see. . ." He absently mindedly twirled the end of his braid between his fingers as he thought. "It's your vacation. . . there's gotta be something you've been wanting to do. . ."

Quatre blushed slightly, "Well there was something. . ." He began, "But, I was kinda hoping to do it with Trowa. . ."

Duo quirked an eyebrow at his friend. The blonde noticed and glared, "Hentai!" He accused, "I was talking about an amusement park."

The braided boy shrugged, a grin plastered on his face, "Sure, Quat - whatever. . ."

"DUO!" the smaller boy's blush deepened. He then became solemn, "I just want to forget about all my responsibilities for a while and pretend that I'm a normal teenager. . ."

"Common, Quat, I'm just playin' with ya." Duo flopped onto the bed next to the flustered boy, "So what park?"

"Canobie Park?" Quatre shrugged, "I saw a travel program on it when I was last sick. . ."

Duo thought about that, "I've heard about that park. . . It's in New Hampshire. . ." He frowned slightly, "Quat, that's in America. . . We're in Europe."

"I know." Quatre smiled and offered a light shrug, "Like I said, it was something I wanted to do with Trowa."

"You miss him, huh?" The braided boy placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

The blonde gave his friend a glance, before nodding in misery. "I know it's mostly my fault, for being so busy all the time. . . but it seems like we hardly have any time together. . . and when we do, I'm usually too tired to enjoy it."

"Hmm." Duo nodded sympathetically, "I hear ya. Hiiro works almost as much as you do. . . Oh, Hey! Let's go down to the beach!"

"T-T-the B-b-beach. . ." Quatre echoed. He suddenly became very pale. "I-I-I dunno. . ."

"Oh, Common, Quat!" Duo insisted, pulling the blonde to his feet, "It'll be a lot of fun!"

"Duo. . .matte. . ." the blonde tried to protest as his hyperactive friend dragged him along.

"I'll make us some sandwiches. . . you can dig out the radio and a blanket. . . It'll be great! We can relax, You could do some painting if you wanted, then we could go swimming!"

"IIE!" The blonde dug in his heels, refusing to go a step further.

Duo blinked in confusion, as his arm was yanked backwards. "What's the matter, Quat?"

"No swimming. . ." the blonde whispered, his face downcast, his body trembling slightly. He gripped the braided boy's arm tightly with both of his thin hands.

"What?" Duo asked, leaning closer.

"I said. . ." Quatre repeated louder, with more confidence, looking dead into the boy's amethyst eyes, "No swimming."

"Doshite?"

The smaller boy swallowed hard, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "I- I can't swim. . .I- I don't like water."

Again Duo blinked, "Jiitsu ni? Are you serious?"

"H-Hai. . ."

"Wow. . ." Duo scratched the back of his head, "I always figured you'd be someone who would love the Ocean. . ." He pondered that for a while, before a large grin spread across his face. "Ah! It's okay! NO worries! We can go to the beach, not get wet and still have a lot of fun!"

"Are you sure, Duo?" the boy looked skeptically.

"Positive! Just leave everything to me!"

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Half an hour later, the two friends were on their way towards the beach. Quatre was silently praying that he wouldn't regret going with Duo. Despite his friend's encouragements, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

"Relax, Quat." The braided boy grinned reaching across the quiet boy's lap so that he could pull his sunglasses out of the glove compartment. "This is a fun day. Normal teenager stuff." He grinned as he slipped the shades on.

Quatre also grinned, taking out his own shades and slipping them on. "Right-Normal teenager stuff."

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Trowa was having a hard time concentrating on Lady Une's lecture. `I hope Duo doesn't cause Quat to much stress. . .' He worried, `I made it clear that he's supposed to rest. . . I-` His thoughts were cut off as Hiiro elbowed him slightly. "Hn?" He looked at his stoic friend. Hiiro nodded towards Lady Une discretely. `He knows my mind is elsewhere. . .' The banged boy frowned slightly, returning his attention to where it belonged.

"We know that it's the same perpetrator who has committed each of the break-ins. In some instances, she has stolen valuable computer equipment, information, and prototypes. Other times she has left with nothing. She strikes every two-three days. . ." Une was visibly tired as she ran through the mundane points of the briefing. "We believe that it is the same person who robbed WE. Only one picture has ever been caught on surveillance. It's in your files, if you'll take it out. . ."

The rustling of papers indicated that her orders were being followed.

Trowa frowned at the image. It was hazy to say the least. The only feature that could be determined with any certainty was a long pony tail of platinum gold, a length that would rival Duo's chestnut braid. Her eyes could not be seen for she wore blue tinted shades. It was difficult to tell, but it looked like she wore a pendent around her neck.

He looked through his papers for any other notes on the picture. He found none.

"At this time," Lady Une droned on, "We have no leads and the CEO of Foxwood Shipping Industry, Mr. Xio Li, is becoming quite impatient, and rather hostile-."

"Excuse me. . ." The banged boy cut in. She paused, not hiding her irritability nor the annoyance she felt at being interrupted. "Has anyone ever tried to identify this piece of jewelry?"

"What jewelry?" She hissed impatiently.

"The one the suspect is wearing." Trowa said evenly, circling the area with a red marker before sliding the paper towards his boss.

Une scrutinized the marked area, as did Hiiro and Wu Fei. "I don't see anything." She announced at last.

"I do." Hiiro said, circling his own photo.

"So do I." Wu Fei shook his head with self-disgust. "I can't believe we didn't see that before."

Agitatedly, Une took a second look. "It's just shadows." She dismissed.

Trowa ignored her as he turned to the Chinese boy, "What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure. . ." Wu Fei scowled. Hiiro handed him a magnifying glass, which the Chinese boy accepted. "At first glance, I'd say it's an oval Topaz set, with twin diamonds on each side, in silver. . .Custom piece." The boy looked up, a grin on his face.

"Traceable." Hiiro nodded.

"A lead." Trowa noted.

Without any dismissal, the three Gundam pilots gathered their things and left the conference room. Lady Une was left sputtering about the lack of respect and the irresponsible behaviors of the teenagers.

"I'll have it enlarged and cleaned up so we can have an accurate depiction." Wu Fei said, taking off towards the Photo lab.

"Hn." Hiiro acknowledged, sitting at his desk with his laptop. Trowa followed suit.

`I might actually be able to get home early. . .' The banged boy thought as he ran the description through the Preventer's data base.

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Quatre and Duo were sound asleep on the couch, by the time the other three pilots found their way back home at a quarter to three in the morning. The little blonde was using the braided boy's chest as a pillow, while the latter had one arm support his nodding head while the other arm was draped lightly around the smaller boy's shoulders. A half eaten bowl of burnt popcorn rested in Duo's lap and the fuzzy static of an ended movie waiting to be rewound filled the TV screen.

Both Hiiro and Trowa's eyebrows quirked at the sight. If they hadn't known that those two were the best of friends, they might have been really jealous. As it was, they still felt a light pang of the wicked emotion.

Quatre stirred slightly, a soft moan of discomfort escaping his throat, before he settled deeper into his best friend's embrace.

On the chair, next to the TV, rested three new oil paintings. They featured children playing in the ocean surf, a man chasing his dog, and the same children burring Duo up to his neck in sand. Trowa and Hiiro chuckled lightly at the painting.

"They went to the beach. . ." Trowa whispered, admiring the skill of which Quatre had captured the images.

"It looks like they had fun. . ." Hiiro agreed, his voice just as quiet.

Wu Fei came out of the kitchen, "Hey, Guys. . ." He beckoned in a hushed voice, "Check this out. . ."

Trowa and Hiiro filed into the kitchen, and stopped suddenly in their tracks.

The kitchen was dimly lit. The source of the faint light came from twin candles that where down to their last bit of wick. A ravishing meal, that had long gone cold, was laid out, awaiting to be eaten. The table was exquisitely set for six.

"Six?" Trowa frowned, "Who's the sixth?"

"Sally." Wu Fei explained, a light flush on his cheeks.

"Where?" Hiiro asked, doing a scan of the living room.

The Chinese boy sighed warily as he noticed a note hung on the refrigerator. Walking over he read it:

Morning, Koi.

Long day at work-huh?

Duo and Quat went through a lot of effort to prepare

this meal for the three of you.

They wanted to make you happy.

They were even sweet enough to invite me.

I'm sorry, but it gotten really late, and I need to go home.

I have early shift ~-~;;

I'll call you on my break, and don't forget about Saturday.

luv-

Sally

Wu Fei stood at the fridge fingering the note for a long while, a slightly dazed look on his face.

The other two pilots went back to the living room to rouse their respective partners enough to get them into their pajamas and into bed.

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Trowa looked down at the smaller boy for the longest time, just appreciating who he was. The moonlight was shining on him just right, so that the banged boy could see his koi clearly. Brushing away some of those lovely blonde locks, the banged boy smiled. Content in his sleep, Quatre had curled himself closer to the taller boy.

"Ai shiteru. . . Trowa. . ." Quatre mumbled in his sleep, a small smile on his peaceful face.

"Ai Shiteru, Quatre. . ." He whispered, planting a light kiss on his love's forehead, before settling down next to him and allowing sleep claimed his tired mind.

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To be continued. . .

Author's notes: Yey! Another chapter complete. ^-^

Syaoran-Lover: Arigato! I've gone back and fixed the errors you found in the last chapter.

Also thanks for clearing up my Egyptian info. Like I said, I had just recently begun to research the subject.

Please keep reading!

^-^

Weissangel24