Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Forged Together ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

A/N- thank you for the reviews people.

Chapter 9

 

The carrier came to a halt in the underground bunker. Trowa waited after he'd shut down the engine; the vehicle made small popping noises as it cooled. His back and arms were sore from non stop driving and his bladder was protesting. He sighed in relief as the flood lights blinded him and Heero, ever the solider, covered him with a hand gun.

 

“What are you doing in Wufei's carrier?” Heero asked as he kept the gun aside. “Why did you leave without informing anyone?”

 

“I left a note,” Trowa said as he pushed open the driver side door but made no attempt to get out. Heero walked around to the open door and stopped short when he saw what was preventing the taller boy from dismounting. Stretched out across the front seats lay Wufei, the back of his loose shirt soaked with blood, his head resting on Trowa's lap, either fast asleep or passed out from exhaustion.

 

Heero's face remained impassive but he reached forward and felt for Wufei's pulse, frowning at what he'd found. Wordlessly, he shifted Wufei as if he was a rag doll, and Trowa helped lower the limp form to the ground.

 

“Can you carry him?” Trowa asked.

 

“Yes,” Heero said hoisting up the other boy as if he was weightless. “Your legs must be stiff if you've been sitting like that all the way.”

 

“I can barely feel them,” Trowa answered honestly as he stretched a little to get the circulation back. “Take him inside. I'll join you,” he added, not wanting Heero to see him fall on his face the moment he tried to get off. He sat, watching Heero carry the Chinese pilot towards the garage exit, the tension of the long drive fading away into numerous aches and pains. Using most of his upper body he started to get off the vehicle, holding on to the open door for support. His arms were starting to tingle as he let go and just as his feet hit the ground he became aware of being startled. For a moment he stopped, letting go of his hold, collapsing to his knees as the shock hit him.

 

As his heartbeat returned to normal, he realized that he was feeling Quatre's shock and not his own and ground his teeth in frustration. He had thought it a freak occurrence the first time he'd felt it; his memory gone, his mind in shreds, feeling / hearing the silent crying of a boy he was strangely drawn to. It had been what had forced him to leave his sister and rush off to space. Now the feelings were intensified. He could tell when Quatre was sad or happy, without even looking in that direction and, as far as he was concerned, it was another annoyance.

 

It did not stop him from hurrying in the direction of the exit and almost colliding with Heero, who had run into Quatre. It had been the sight of their justice-raving member lying silent that had shocked the blond.

 

“We have to get him to a hospital,” Quatre was saying when he walked in.

 

“No,” said Heero.

 

“No,” said Trowa at the same time.

 

“I don't care if we're compromised,” Quatre said, his voice rising higher. “Just how badly hurt is he?”

 

“He's alive,” Heero said calmly.

 

“For how long?” Quatre's voice had risen another notch. Trowa had to admit that it looked worse than it really was. Wufei was one of those people who never stayed still and his stillness was almost chilling.

 

“Sally treated him before she let him go,” Trowa said as he looked at the Chinese pilot lying as if dead in Heero's arms. “I think the road trip tired him out. She wouldn't have let him go if she'd thought his condition was critical.” He could see Quatre relaxing under his soothing tone and Heero nodded at him silently. While he did not have the same intensity as Heero, when Quatre insisted, he usually got his way. It was probably the makings of a good leader, but it was not the time for Quatre and Heero to have a battle of wills.

 

“What's all the shouting ab…out?” Duo asked as his came to join as Trowa thought rather sarcastically, `now we have a complete set.' He stopped at the sight of Wufei and gasped. “He's dead, isn't he?” he asked in a strangled voice. “I was mean to him before he left and didn't even get to tell him about…”

 

“You are overreacting as usual,” Heero said as he stood still. “Run an I.V. and check to see if his blood type is on record.”

 

“I'm on it,” said Quatre turning around. “Bring him to the rec room. We have more room there. Duo see if you can reach Sally on a secure frequency. I want to speak with her, now.”

 

Once they'd fallen into their roles it took a few seconds for them to organize themselves. However, as Heero checked the I.V. and arranged Wufei's limbs to a comfortable positions (on his stomach) Duo unwittingly exclaimed. “Is it just me or does he seem awfully small? I mean…like as long as he was speaking he took up so much room and now…”

 

“Shut up,” Trowa said without infliction, pointing to the eyelids that were moving slightly, indicating he was about to come to. Duo blanched and shut up.

 

“Where did all the blood come from?” Quatre asked as he used warm water to ease the shirt that had stuck to Wufei's back.

 

“Some of his stitches might have pulled,” Trowa said.

 

“Oh, man,” said Duo in a voice, which announced another apocalypse. “They've cut his hair.”

 

Everyone stared at Duo as if he was out of his mind. Not everyone thought of their hair with reverence

 

“Shit,” he said. “I didn't mean it like that…You know, if Wufei heard that he'd kill me…”

 

“I still might,” came the horse voice and suddenly they stilled.

 

“You're alive!” Quatre blurted out. “I mean… awake.”

 

“You got it right the first time, Winner,” Wufei coughed as he tried to sit up and was forced down by Heero. “I'm starting to regret it already.”

 

“Stay down,” said Trowa as he checked the I.V. again to make sure there was no blood in it. “Get some sleep while one of us gets you something to eat.”

 

“You mean, you haven't had enough of me decorating your shoes?” Wufei said with an odd laugh, which ended in a gasp of pain.

 

“Not everyone's had a chance to be blessed by you,” Trowa deadpanned as he straightened and strode out. Wufei was awake and his usually sarcastic, endearing self, which meant he was going to live.

 

“What happened?” asked Heero as Wufei tried to turn over and hissed in pain. “Is Altron damaged?”

 

“This I managed to do this on my own,” Wufei said self-deprecatingly. “Sally had some whore with her who she thought she was rescuing until the worthless piece of excrement tried to blow her up.”

 

“Oh,” said Quatre. “What happened to her?”

 

“Sally?” said Wufei. “She got off with nothing more than a scratch.”

 

“No, I mean,” Quatre said, with a faint blush. “The pro…prostitute. Did they kill her or…”

 

“It was a male,” Wufei spat out, disgust evident. “Sally should have known better than to trust that despicable creature. A slut who sells his body for money has no honor. To degrade yourself to the point of bending over for…”

 

“Not everyone's like that,” Duo jumped in before Wufei could get into one of his full-blown rants. Trowa as surprised that Wufei had the energy to channel so much spite into his words when he looked like he was broken into bits then squashed by a gundam all over again.

 

“Duo…” said Quatre in an oddly quiet voice making Trowa wonder what was bothering him.

 

“People do things they won't normally do when they don't have any other options,” Duo continued. “Sometimes when you're hungry enough, you can talk …talk yourself into doing the most despicable things for a cup of tea and a hotdog. And if money isn't enough…” he stopped when he realized everyone, including Wufei who had propped himself up on an elbow was staring at him. “Soup,” said Duo in a falsely bright voice edging towards the exit. “I can do a great soup. No one move until I get back.”

 

“I'd better get washed up,” Trowa said as he also walked to the door. He did not need to look at Quatre's tear filled eyes to what exactly Duo had been talking about. He just hoped Wufei would not be as judgmental as he usually was.

 

“Trowa,” the command stopped him before he reached the door to his room. He stopped, his hand on the door knob, as Quatre walked behind him.

 

“Next time you leave, please let us know where you're going,” he said. “At least your location so we can contact you.”

 

“All right,” he said, not turning around, not wanting to see the hurt into those expressive eyes.

 

“You'd better shower,” Quatre said, his voice cold. “You smell as if someone used you as a barf bag.”

 

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

They all took turns staying awake with Wufei, starting with Trowa, who took first watch, renewing the stitches and monitoring his vitals. Despite his brief awakening, Wufei slept through the rest of the night and half the morning, under the influence of the sedatives Trowa had slipped into his soup, which Wufei had drunk in spite of his protests. (“Soup, Barton, what am I, an old woman? I have all my teeth, thank you very much.”)

 

“Still asleep,” said Quatre, who walked into the room with his laptop.

 

“I think it's for the best,” Duo said. He looked up from the boots he was polishing. “You know how hard it is to keep him still when he's up.”

 

“Good,” said Quatre as he sat down next to Duo, balancing the lap top on one knee. He opened the screen and called up a couple of figures.

 

“Whoa, man,” said Duo as he peered into the screen shamelessly. He knew that had it been a secret, then the blond would not have sat next to him “I know this is crazy but who are those chicks?”

 

“Which one do you think is prettiest?” asked Quatre enlarging three of them.

 

“Don't tell me you've switched sides?” Duo said as he stared.

 

“Market research,” Quatre said evasively. “So, which one would you pick? Come on, I know you can at least look.”

 

“Um,” said Duo, taking the task seriously. “The middle blond looks like she can bend steel with her bare hands… kinda scary with that nose of hers. I don't know, she's kinda uptight man. You won't want to meet her in a lonely night in a deserted alley.”

 

“Second one?” said Quatre. He looked amused.

 

“Nice in a bland sorta way, you know. Wouldn't get a second look on the road but maybe, with a little make up and less of those baggy pants and…”

 

“Now to the last…” Quatre said, laughing openly.

 

“She's nice,” Duo said with a frown.

 

“That's it,” said Quatre.

 

“She looks kind, I guess,” he said still frowning. “And strangely familiar. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere.”

 

“You might have,” Quatre confessed. “That's Iria, my favorite sister.”

 

Duo spluttered, letting his boot fall with a muted thud. “Please, tell me the other two aren't your sisters as well.”

 

“They are,” Quatre said with a smile. “Jane and Charlotte.”

 

“Jane,” Duo said before he could help himself. “Isn't that a little tame for a person who looks like Lady Une out of her uniform but with her psychotic personality?” Then he crammed a fist into his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

 

“What do you expect?” said Quatre as he tried to pry the fist out of his friend's mouth with his free hand. “Dad had 29 daughters. He couldn't afford to get imaginative with names.”

 

“Come on, man,” protested Duo. “What did you do that to me for? You put me in a spot where I came out looking like an idiot.”

 

“Because you are one,” Quatre teased. “Well, what do you think? I'm trying to marry one of them off to Rashid.”

 

“RASHID!” said Duo. “The guy with the `Master Quatre' complex and the…the...beard and those pants you can hide a camel in and…ok, shutting up so I can pull my other leg out of my mouth.” He tried to keep quiet for a moment but failed. “But why?”

 

“Because I need a man to run the family business when I'm not around,” Quatre said patiently. “We might live in a colony but we are so tradition-bound that most of the people would not take orders from a woman. Why else do you think my father left everything to me when he has all those older children? I mean, Cassandra and Laura were helping him with business before I was even born. If I get Rashid to marry one of my sisters, he becomes my bother in law and that gives him the right to give orders. And since my sisters are familiar with running the business they can give him advice.”

 

“And you trust him?” Duo said finally.

 

“With my life,” Quarter said solemnly. “And he would make a good leader and good husband. I know for sure.”

 

“So you're going to toss one your sisters at him, just like that,” Duo said. “That sounds so cold.”

 

“I'm certainly not going to force them,” Quatre said with a shrug. “Those three have always been the most interested in Earth and the Maganacs, and I thought I'd let them come, and introduce them to Rashid. See if there is a spark as you would say.”

 

“All three of them?” Duo said.

 

“I was hoping for Iria,” Quatre said reluctantly. “She's a little younger than Rashid but she is rather nice, without Jane's…” he looked at Duo under his lashes “…Lady Une personality…” and smiled when Duo blushed. “…and she has been advising father for a long time, since mother died, I think and she can do it. She's not really into giving orders, but is the heart of everything. I think my father knew it since he had her placed in a remote mining outpost during the war.”

 

“I can see your reasoning but it sounds so cold,” Duo argued, looking at Quatre as if seeing him for the first time.

 

“Duo,” said Quatre patiently. “I run a multimillion dollar company; I have to think like that at times. And it's not like I'm forcing anyone to marry. Even I'm not that old-fashioned.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Well,” said Quatre awkwardly. “I've gone and really done it haven't I? You look shocked.”

 

“You didn't do anything,” Duo replied. “I just don't understand the way you rich people tick, that's all. It's a side of you I haven't seen before. It's like…” he gave an odd bark of a laugh. “It's like coming across an angel and finding out its wings are black.”

 

The moment he said it, he knew he had made a mistake. Quatre looked as if Duo had kicked him in the middle and run him through with one of Wufei's swords. Startled, Quatre stood up, letting the lap top fall to the floor with a crack. The screen flickered and a small crack ran through the middle but the blond was unaware of it. “Oh, Duo,” he said in a hurt voice, looking for the word as if Duo had landed Deathscythe on his pet kitten. “I'm not innocent enough to be an angel and … you made me sound so…tainted. I'm not …not…”

 

“Bad analogy,” Duo said standing up as well. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to…”

 

“Never mind,” said Quatre still looking hurt.

 

“Uh, so, when are we expecting your sisters?” Duo asked trying to force the conversation.

 

“It was supposed to be this week but I called and canceled,” Quatre said, still looking hurt. “I didn't want to leave with Wufei hurt.”

 

“We can look after him,” Duo said, looking around as if wishing he should be elsewhere.

 

“I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to him while I'm away,” confessed Quatre. “And I was hoping you'd come with me. I know you won't leave Wufei in this condition but I didn't want to go alone. Jane intimidates me and treats me like and kid and …you seemed to be having a nice time when you were there in the desert with all those girls giving you flowers and stuff.”

 

Duo did not answer. Instead he stepped forward and hugged the blond hard and after a split second Quatre hugged him back, squeezing him for all he was worth. “No more surprises, ok?” Duo murmured.

 

“I promise,” Quatre answered. “I'll leave you now. I think Wufei's about to wake up.”

 

“But…”

 

“I think you have a lot to talk about,” Quatre said, picking up his broken lap top. He walked out, leaving Duo with a dry mouth and a pounding heart.

 

A/N- No, Quatre isn't a blushing angel. He kills, for shouting out loud.