Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: Same old, same old. . .

This hasn't been beta'd yet. Any mistakes, please let me know, and I'll fix them. If anyone is interested in beta'ing, please let me know.

This chapter has a flashback, but it's different then the others, please let me know what you think of it. . . whether you like it, or it confuses you. . .

A/N #2 (02/14/04) Okay, I was rereading what I had written so that I may begin to work on the next chapter, and I found a bazillion mistakes. (Okay, maybe not that many) but there were a lot of them (And I'm sure that I didn't find them all) and I went back and fixed them. So this is a repost with the mistakes I found fixed. . . Um. . .Yeah.

Also, I would really like it if someone would read my above note and take it to heart, because really, my English skills are basically non-existent (Thank God for Spell check!)

And I could desperately use the help.

X-x

Please enjoy. (again)

^-^

Weissangel24

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Chapter six

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A.C. 197 Gundam pilot's Safehouse

Trowa was gone when the blonde woke the next afternoon. He found himself still rather tired, but forced himself to get up anyway. After a quick shower, Quatre got dressed in his usual khaki pants; however, he decided to borrow one of Trowa's turtleneck sweaters, rather then wear his trademark button up shirt and vest.

Scanning the neatly folded garments in his love's drawers, he ran his fingers over them carefully. "Trowa. . ." he murmured with a sigh. Finally, he chose a cream colored knit that Catherine, Trowa's sister, had made. He slipped it over his head and looked in the mirror. What he saw made him burst into a giggle fit. The sweater was nearly four sizes too big and refused to hang properly. The right sleeve was too fat and short, while the other was so long and thin that it covered his hand.

A light rasp on his door snapped the blonde from his musings. With a slight frown, Quatre closed his eyes and extended his empathic sense. The impatient, self-righteous, honor bound aura radiated from beyond the door. `Wu Fei.' He realized instantly. The Chinese boy was accompanied by a dark, yet cheerful presence. With a sigh, he called out, "It's open, Duo."

"I hate how you do that." The braided boy complained, opening the door and entering; Wu Fei following close behind.

The blonde turned from the mirror and eyed them expectantly. His friends, however, seemed to have lost their voices as they stared at the smaller teenager. Finally, after a brief silence, Duo recovered enough to break into a snorting laughter. The hysterical sound caused Quatre to flush with embarrassment, even before the Dragon managed to ask what the hell he was wearing.

The blonde huffed, crossing his arms, hiding the offending sleeves, "That's my business!" He snapped, "And I don't believe it has any relevance as to why you're in my room!"

"Of course." Wu Fei bowed slightly, as the braided boy struggled to restrain his laughter, "I apologize for the intrusion."

Quatre sighed, shaking his head slightly, "No, forgive me. . . I shouldn't have lost my temper. . ." The blonde stripped off the sweater and replaced it with a dark store-bought purple one. He then turned to his friends, "Was there something I can help you with?"

"Barton had called, asking us to check in on you." Chang frowned slightly.

"He was worried when he found out you were still sleeping." Duo explained, a smirk on his face.

"So, you've stopped laughing?" The Chinese boy raised an eyebrow.

"Hn. Seems so. . ."

"Um, how long ago did he call?" Quatre interrupted the impending argument.

"Ten minutes ago." Wu Fei said, "He also asked that if you felt up to it, if you'd like to join him for lunch before your appointment."

The blonde smiled gently, "Did he say what time?"

"12:30." Duo supplied. "At the café on Fourth Ave."

"Arigato."

"I'm on my way to the Preventer's HQ if you'd like a ride." Wu Fei offered.

"I would, thank you."

"I'll be leaving in five minutes."

"I'll be ready." Quatre promised.

The dark haired boy nodded and left.

Duo frowned slightly as he watched the smaller boy gather his wallet and keys, "Yo, Quat. . . Daijoubu ka?"

"Hn. Daijoubu, Duo. Why?" Quatre asked with a smile.

"Trowa said you had a rough night."

"It was just a really bad nightmare."

"Are you sure, Quat?" the braided boy asked, "I mean, with your lack of rest, and these black outs and fainting spells you've had? I'm worried about you. . ."

"Duo. . ." Quatre sighed, "I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine."

"But. . ."

The blonde shook his head in exasperation, "Duo," He began, while reaching out with his empathy. Carefully, he wrapped an invisible blanket of comfort and calm around the other boy. The effect was almost instant as Duo relaxed. "A frown doesn't suit you. Let me worry about me. Okay?"

"Sure, Quat." The boy grinned, "Hey! Maybe when you come back, we can have a movie marathon!"

"Sounds good, Duo."

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"You are out of your freakin' mind!" She shouted at the man who sat in the shadowed end of the room, "You want me to break into the most secured building in all of the Earth Sphere and Colonies, during the Day! What? Are you trying to get me caught!?"

"Of course not." He replied smoothly. "If I wanted that, I'd send you at night when security is doubled."

"Even so, You're throwing me to the lions!" She insisted.

"My Precious, I'm not going to force you to go."

"You're not?" She frowned slightly.

"No. I could never force you to do anything against your will. Just know that if you choose to not go, our contract will be immediately terminated and your daughter will belong to me."

"DAMN YOU!"

"I suggest you make up your mind quickly. I don't like to waste time." He smirked.

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She frowned as she scanned the building for a weakness. `I'm going to kill him.' She silently promised. `A slow and agonizingly painful death.' She took a deep breath as she spied an open window. "This is going to be Hell."

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Trowa walked down the hall sipping at some luke-warm coffee, while reading the latest report about their burglar. Wu Fei had traced the necklace to the Middle East around fifty years ago. It had been made as a wedding present for a Quatrenia Kofski. The woman had then left Earth after her husband had been murdered. There were no records of her whereabouts after that.

The banged boy frowned slightly, "Quatrenia. . ." He pondered, "Why does that name seem familiar?"

"Talking to yourself, Trowa?" A bright voice interrupted, "Are you sure that Quatre's the one in need of my services?"

"You're late." Trowa replied evenly, not looking up.

"Forgive me, Lady Une needed me elsewhere." The woman shrugged, "So why did you want to speak to me?"

Trowa spared her a glance, before leading her into a secluded office, and shut the door behind him, "I need assurance that you will honor the confidentiality privileges between patient and Doctor."

"Of course, Trowa." Sally frowned slightly, "I have never disclosed information about a patent, unless it's to file an official report and those I keep under lock and key."

"Sally, there can't be any reports, any files in regard to what goes on today or anything pertaining to today." Trowa warned. "If I find one, or hear from someone else, I will kill you."

"Isn't that supposed to be Hiiro's line?" she tried to joke.

"I'm serious."

"I realize that, Trowa. You're always serious." Sally assured him, "I give you my word that this stays between us." She sighed as the boy visibly relaxed.

"Arigato, Sally."

"No problem, but I am curious. Why all the secrecy?"

"If certain people found out of this, it would mean Quatre's life."

"WHAT!" she gapped, "Who would want to kill Quatre?"

"The people in charge of `Operation Meteor'. He replied, a note of malice slipping into his calm façade. "And they'd use Hiiro to do it."

"My God. . ." She exclaimed, agitatedly, "What the Hell could be so important!?"

"Quatre's an empath." He said quietly, hesitatingly.

"A newtype. . ." Sally's eyes grew in shock, "I had no idea. . ."

"That's the idea." The banged boy glared, "I'm not even supposed to know."

The woman looked at him sharply, "Then. . . how? How did you find out? I doubt he told you."

Trowa didn't answer.

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A.C. 195 Earth

"Master Quatre. . ." Auda called as he frowned at the readings he was receiving.

"What is it?" The small blonde asked, approaching.

"I'm picking up transmissions from the OZ base. They're saying that they know the location of a Gundam Pilot and are planning on a raid to capture him." The Maganac glanced at the boy.

"Have they mentioned who?"

"Just that they're in Russia."

"Russia. . ." The blonde paled, "Can we send an encoded message to the pilot?"

"It's risky." Auda warned. "Without knowing his exact location, the chances of OZ intercepting it and tracing it back to us are too high."

"I see. . ." Quatre closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly, they opened, and a new look of stubborn determination set in on his face. Without another word, the blonde turned to leave.

"Master Quatre! You're not thinking of going out there. . ." Auda frowned, grabbing the boy's shoulder. Quatre didn't answer, but shot the older man a warning look. "But, Master Quatre. . ."

"Like me, that pilot has friends." Quatre began, shrugging away the restraining grasp, "If OZ does set up a raid, all of those people either be captured or killed. I can't let that happen. . ."

"That's a good reason, Master Quatre." Auda started, "But that's not your reason."

Quatre stiffened. He could feel his face begin to blush. "It's that pilot that stayed with us before, Trowa or something-Isn't it?"

"Don't tell Rashid." The blonde ordered, his voice commanding, "I'll keep in touch. . ." He added, his tone gentler.

"Just be careful, Master Quatre, and tell your friend we say `hi'."

"Thank you, Auda." The blonde bowed slightly before running towards the hanger.

"Hey, where's Master Quatre heading in such a rush?" Abdul asked, coming up behind his friend.

"He's got a mission." Auda grinned.

"Wha-! Shouldn't we be backing him up?"

Auda shook his head, "This is a mission he has to do by himself."

"But. . ."

"Don't worry `bout it. I'm sure he'll be just fine. This is Quatre after all."

"The boss won't like it. . ."

"I'm not planning on saying anything."

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Quatre sat in the cockpit of a small one person fighter jet, going over preflight checks. `If I leave now, I can reach Moscow in three hours. . . Trowa won't be in the city. . .' He mused, `He mentioned that he was hiding in a circus. . . but Russia has hundreds of different crews. How am I supposed to find him?' Before sighing. He knew exactly how he was going to find the banged boy.

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Trowa Barton sat in the cockpit of his Gundam, Heavyarms. "There is a lot of OZ activity in the area. . ." He murmured, his mouth forming a slight frown. "Could it be that they suspect I'm here?"

A red light began to rapidly flash on the control panel, followed by a high pitched beep, catching the banged boy's attention. "OZ transmissions. . ." Trowa flipped a switch and began to eavesdrop.

//-Une, if we fire at this fighter, then it might draw out the Gundam. . ." A soldier was saying.

// It might even be the Gundam pilot. . .// came the response. // No commercial or private pilot can pull off maneuvers like those. Of course, fire on it!//

//Are you people out of your minds!?// A familiar voice demanded, //You didn't even check my ID before shooting at me!//

//You are flying in a no fly zone.// Une announced. //Trespassers are automatically considered hostile and a threat. Threats must be eliminated.//

//Allah. . .// Came the familiar voice again.

Trowa's eyes widened with recognition. "Quatre. . ."

//How is anyone supposed to know what airspace is restricted when you people change it on a whim?// The blonde demanded. //That can't be fair to the citizens that your militaristic government is supposed to be protecting!//

"Quatre. . ." Trowa grit his teeth, "Just get out of there. . ."

//And what would you know of our government?// Colonel Une countered.

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Quatre gasped sharply, grimacing as the sheer hatred radiated from the crazed woman. "I know plenty." He whispered.

//So which one are you?// Une sneered. //03? 05? Oh, I know. . . You're pilot 04, Quatre Raberba Winner.//

The blonde paled, "I don't know what you're talking about. . ."

//Of course not.// She smirked. //Even so, you will be destroyed./

The blonde screamed as fire from two OZ Aries hit his small fighter. Electrical sparks shot out every which way, searing his pale flesh. The systems weren't responding to his commands as he tried to control the jet. He bit his lip as he futilely strained to stay in the air; but he knew it was hopeless.

He was going to crash.

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Trowa clenched his hand into a tight fist as he listened to the happenings, and watched his monitors. He could do nothing, or else it would alert OZ to his presence. . . but still. . . it was Quatre. . . He had to do something. . .

The banged boy started as an agonizing scream filled his cockpit. "Quat. . ." He whispered.

The image on his monitor showed that the fighter was badly damaged and was going down.

Memorizing the coordinates, Trowa grabbed his knapsack and radio before somersaulting from the cockpit to the ground, where a motorcycle lay hidden in the snowy brush. "Hang in there, Quatre. . ." He silently pleaded, as he tore off threw the powdery snow. "I'm coming."

Hours later. . .

The banged boy skidded to a stop, sending a spray of snow forward. He could feel a wave of dread cutting off his breath as he recognized a pale, lithe form, lightly covered with a powder of fresh snow. Blonde bangs fell across his ashen face amidst blood spattered snow. The blonde's lips were a pale shade of blue. He wasn't wearing a coat.

"Quatre. . ." Trowa whispered, nauseated. Hesitantly, he climbed off his motorcycle and approached the lifeless form. `Please don't be dead. . .'

He fell to his knees next to the other pilot. His hand trembled as he reached to check for life signs. The smaller boy's skin was icy to the touch, but there was a faint pulse.

"Quatre. . ." Trowa sighed with relief, shrugging off his coat and draping it over the freezing boy. "Hang in there. . ." He then retrieved his first aid kit from his bike.

Returning to the boy's side, Trowa began to dress Quatre's wound. It was a nasty gash, but it wasn't to deep, and didn't take long to mend. The banged boy then checked the blonde's body for other injuries.

Quatre began to shiver, moaning quietly in a tormented sleep.

Trowa bit his bottom lip thoughtfully. He needed to warm the other boy up before his hypothermia became fatal. `I can't build a fire yet. It's too light out and OZ would be attracted to the smoke.' He frowned, as the blonde shuddered violently. `I didn't bring any blankets, but I do have a sleeping bag. . .' Quickly he retrieved it and wrapped the smaller boy in it.

"Hang in there, Little One. . ." He pleaded, "For me?"

"T-Trowa. . .?" the boy whispered hoarsely, his face contorted in silent agony.

"I'm here, Quatre. . ." He whispered, scowling at how frigid the smaller boy was.

After a moment's hesitation, he crawled into the sleeping bag, next to the blonde, and held him as he slept.

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The smaller boy was drawn to the source of heat, and snuggled closer to it. He felt warm and safe, and he slept peacefully in that protective embrace.

After a while, the warm embrace left; though the sense of safe security remained.

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A.C. 197 On route to the Preventer's HQ

"QUATRE!" Wu Fei shouted, as his car squealed in protest to him slamming on the breaks. "WINNER!" He shouted again, shifting glances from the road to the pale boy that had suddenly slumped over unconscious. "KISAMA!" He swore as he fought to keep control of the car and prevent his passenger from getting his head smashed, "WAKE UP!"

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A.C. 195 Earth

He sluggishly found himself becoming more aware. He could faintly sense that he wasn't alone; that someone was trying to rouse him from the frozen state he found his mind to be. `Is. . .is it OZ?' He asked himself, trying to thaw out his brain enough to make a coherent thought. `No. . .' He muddled through, `I don't feel threatened. . . if anything. . . I feel a warm comfort. . .'

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Quatre let out a small moan, as he shivered violently.

Trowa looked up from the fire he was building, startled. Hopeful, "Quatre?" He whispered, moving towards the unconscious pilot.

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The blonde focused on that source of comfort. He extended his empathy, clung to it and tried to wrap himself in it. The feeling was calming; serene. It was strong and unwavering.

It was familiar.

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"What the. . ." Trowa gasped, his eyes going wide. `What the Hell with that?' he asked himself, looking at the pale boy that lay next to him. He couldn't describe it. . . it was as if something. . . `No. . .' he amended, `Someone. . .' Had touched his soul.

The blonde shuddered again, a soft whimper on his lips.

Trowa reached over and gently stroked the boy's ice cold cheek. The boy tilted his face into the touch, and his eyes fluttered open. He turned and smiled faintly at the banged boy, "T-Trowa. . ."

"Hey." Trowa said in his monotone, his face an empty mask.

They stared at each other in an ackward silence.

"You're angry." The blonde whispered, looking away first. He wasn't asking a question. Trowa watched, slightly amused, as the blonde flushed and began to stumble through an apology, "I-I'm sorry, Trowa. . . b-but. . . I-I couldn't let OZ get to you. . ." A shiver ran through him, causing him to wince in pain.

Trowa frowned at this. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, trying to calm him. Again he felt a slight pull on his soul. "I am angry," He began, "But not about what you think."

"Huh?" Quatre looked up at the other pilot, confused.

"I'm actually grateful that you did. . ." He moved to poke at the fire. The blonde grimaced as he pulled himself to a sitting position. Trowa scowled at him, "You should rest."

"I'm too cold." The blonde answered, crawling closer to the welcoming heat of both the fire and the other pilot.

Noting how the boy's bottom lip quivered with his shivers, Trowa retrieved his fallen coat and draped it around the smaller boy's slender shoulders. "You probably saved not only my life. . . but also the lives of those who treat me like family. . . those who are my family. . ."

"Trowa. . ." Quatre offered a small smile, but it quickly melted into his previous confusion, "I don't understand. . . If you're grateful, then why are you angry?"

"That you'd be so stupid."

"WHA-!?" The blonde gasped.

Trowa stared at the smaller boy evenly, "It wasn't to smart of you to come to Russia, in the middle of winter, without a coat."

The blonde blinked several times, stunned. His mouth opened several times, but no protests were voiced. "That's what you're angry about!?" He finally asked, flabbergasted. "That I forgot my coat!?"

"Quatre, You could have frozen to death." The banged boy pointed out. "I. . . I would be very sad. . . if anything happened to you. . ." He hesitantly reached over, and gently caressed the other boy's cheek and jaw line, before drawing him near and kissing him.

The smaller boy was in a state of utter shock. This was not what he was expecting. Hoping for- Yes; but expecting. . . definitely NOT!

Even so, the smaller boy seemed to melt into the kiss, and whimpered slightly when the banged boy pulled away. ". . . Devastated, really. . ." he threw in as a haunting whisper of breath against the blonde's ear, "But you already knew that."

It took Quatre a moment to recover from the kiss and grasp what the banged boy was saying. When he did, he grew frightfully pale and appeared as if he might be incredibly ill. "Don't. . ." He whispered, his head shaking in denial, his voice pleading, "Don't go there, T-Trowa. . . please, don't go there. . ."

The brunette frowned at this, but pressed on. "How did you find me?"

Quatre's thoughts were racing at a speed which he was barely comprehending them and then they were past. `He knows. . .' Kept resurfacing, `They'll kill me. . . He'll hate me. . . turn from me. . . but I can't lie. . .' He found that his breath was caught in his throat and he couldn't breathe. "T-Trowa. . ." He gasped out, his voice wild and panicked, "Don't. . . Don't ask me that. . " He begged, "Please, don't. . ."

"Quatre." Trowa said, taking hold of those thin shoulders and turning the boy so that he may look at him. "It's alright. I'm not going anywhere. Just tell me."

"I-I-I. . . He stammered, his azure eyes filling with tears.

"How did you find me?" Trowa asked again.

"I felt for you. . ." He whispered, his head sagging in defeat; his small frame shuddering as a sob escaped him.

"Felt for me?" Trowa lifted the boy's chin. He wiped away the tear streaks that stained the blonde's pale cheeks.

"I'm a newtype, Trowa. I'm empathic."

"You can read my emotions?" Quatre nodded, slowly; adverting his gaze away from the banged boy. Trowa pressed on, "Then what am I feeling now?"

The smaller boy was quiet for a moment before looking up into the serene emerald eyes. The blonde looked confused and slightly bewildered. After a moment of thought, he replied, "I sense a great deal of patience. . . curiosity. . . concern. . . satisfaction. . . and . . ." Quatre bit his lip, thoughtfully.

"And what?" Trowa pressed.

"And. . . longing. . ."

The banged boy smiled faintly, "Is that all?"

"Yes. . . and no. . ." Quatre cryptically replied before explaining further, "Those are all your dominate emotions for the moment. The rest of your emotions are there. . . they just aren't active at the moment. The rest of your emotions are there. . . they just aren't active at the moment."

Trowa nodded, and poked at the fire again, "So there are no negative emotions right now?" The blonde nodded. The banged boy continued, "So, why are you afraid?"

"I'm not. . ." The boy began, "At least. . . not of you. . ."

"Then who?" Trowa frowned, "And why?"

"My instructor told me that my empathic ability is both my strongest and weakest point in my ability to fight." Quatre explained, "He said that if OZ found out about it, I would become a liability to our entire operation and a danger to the colonies." The blonde became quiet.

"Go on." The banged boy encouraged.

"He warned me never to tell anyone. . ." the smaller boy whispered, his gaze returning to the fire, "That if I did. . . and his superior found out. . . they'd kill me. . ."

Trowa's breath caught in his throat as the blonde's words rang in his ears, and he knew them to be true. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Quatre. I shouldn't have pried."

The blonde shook his head, "You didn't know>" He looked up when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. A wave of comfort and protectiveness washed over him, "Trowa?"

"They will not find out from me." The banged boy promised.

"I know. . ." Quatre said with a smile, leaning in towards the boy. "I trust you."

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AC 197 On route to Preventer's HQ

"DAMN it, Quatre. . ." The worried Chinese boy swore, as he flicked water from his water bottle onto the blonde's face. "Wake up. . ."

Quatre moaned, and his eyes fluttered open, "W-Wu Fei?" He asked weakly, his vision focused on his friend. Numbly, he looked around. He was still in the car, but the Chinese boy had pulled over to the side of the road, and was now kneeling in his open door.

"Daijoubu ka?"

"What happened?" the blonde asked.

"You gave me a freakin' heart attack!" The raven haired boy fumed, "You suddenly passed out again! You were barely breathing, and you were shivering real bad too!"

"Wu Fei. . ." The boy whispered, rubbing at his temple, "Gomen ne. . . I. . . I'm fine now. . ."

"Winner, You are not fine!" He hissed, causing the smaller boy to cringe, "You need to see a doctor."

"I have an appointment." Quatre whispered quietly.

"When?"

"After lunch."

"Don't miss it." The boy glared, as his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. "Hn. Maybe you should be the one to explain to Barton why we're late." He said, thrusting the phone into the blonde's face.

Meekly, Quatre took it, "Konnichiwa, Koi. . ."

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To be continued. . .

A/N ::sighs:: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. You guys have been really patient with me. I'm going to be going to my parent's next week, and for some reason, I get inspired when I use Otusan's computer (Maybe it has something to do with my custom made GW Wallpaper? ^-~) anyways, I'm hoping to get a lot typed. No promises, But that's what I'm aiming for.

Please review. I need encouragement and inspiration.

A/n #2 I also forgot to mention that the Idea of a flashback of when Trowa discovers Quatre's secret was based on a suggestion from Syaoran-Lover in her review on ch. 5.

::glomps::

Arigato!!!!!

^-^

Weissangel24