Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gone Round ❯ One ( Chapter 1 )

One

Quatre was amused to move into the meeting room and see Blake Kiardane and Colonel Kiardane down the aisle. Blake looked up, and his eyes lit up. Matt, who'd been following along after Quatre messaging Heero on his phone, looked up and made an approving sort of noise before darting down to meet the other male about halfway. They were talking instantly, and Matty seemed to feel the need to show off his shoes.

Sure, they were new and he'd only gotten them before they'd headed into base, but really?

Quatre grinned—it had been an impulse gift, and evidently it had succeeded.

The colonel, who was still behind Blake, shook his head as Matt more or less posed. Matt and Blake both started laughing, not seeming to realize, or maybe care, that they were in the middle of a fairly large auditorium. The laughter was definitely a sound of youth, and the other soldiers in the room turned to look at them in confusion.

Neither had any military rank, but Matt could issue commands and get away with it.

Blake followed Matt happily back to Quatre, where he saluted and started chattering about wanting new shoes and liking Matt's. The teen was still texting Heero, though, so within moments the conversation turned into admiring the phone again, then giggling as quietly as they could manage because the thing did match Heero's car. Matty'd gotten ahold of some of his sister's glitter nail-polish.

In that same vein—Heero's car very blue—the girl had found blue face-paint, and she kept the mark on her temple. Because Matt loved Quatre so much, and Lifon loved Matt so much, the girl had picked up a tube for him as well.

It was enough to make Quatre want to pound his head against the wall...and if he mentioned to either Matt or Heero about the paint, they'd give him confused looks. Lifon, in her ultimate sixteen-year-old glory, pretended she hadn't heard him comment.

He had to admit that he liked the girl, though. She was sweet, and it was hilarious to watch her think she was manipulating Trowa. Quatre didn't know why she didn't realize he was doing it all on whim—but then again, maybe she did know it was a whim and was making the most of it. He wasn't going to pick that relationship apart, because he didn't trust what he'd come up with.

He wasn't planning on telling anyone, but he didn't particularly approve of Trowa catering to her the way he did. It just seemed to be asking for trouble.

It had been two weeks since Heero had recovered Matt, and during that two weeks, every day that Blake had a day off from work, he'd show up at the apartment. Lifon tended to show up on a daily basis, after school. It'd gotten to the point that one of the doormen, either Allen or Sean, had taken it upon themselves to make her a pass-card for the elevator.

Quatre still wasn't entirely sure what he thought of those days with Matt, Blake, and Li there—though they were much quieter than the days when Taili and Abel would show up. Matt, Taili, and Abel had a tendency to pull out the game machine and hook it up to Heero's expensive-ass tv and play it for hours. They played race games, role-playing games...and war-games. Many of those games seemed to require jumping out of your seat at random intervals and making loud disbelieving noises as your friends either shouted approval or shouted you down. At certain points, those games also seemed to require dropping the controller and turning around to pound the back of the couch in frustration while the others laughed.

But, still, the last time Blake and Lifon had shown up, Li had brought out a bottle of deep conditioner and gotten Matt to help her do her hair, then had done his, then they'd done Blake's...and tried for Heero or Trowa before latching onto Quatre with insistence that the dye in his hair had dried it out horribly.

In the end, he'd been drug into their little party, sitting around the kitchen table with towels wrapped around their head as Blake painted the nails of one of Lifon's hands, and Matt read a quiz out for their amusement.

He didn't understand why they'd made him do it, and his responses had made them giggle repeatedly because he was such a guy.

Wasn't that Heero's place? It was Heero's boyfriend...Duo'd come up at one point to observe, and made a comment that Quatre hadn't fully understood that had made all three of the others laugh with wicked delight as he looked up at his boyfriend skeptically—which, somehow, made them laugh the harder.

He'd been very happy to rinse the conditioner out and find something else that he really needed to do before supper.

It hadn't been obvious at first, but as the week wore on, Quatre'd come to realize that Matt would latch onto him and drag him into whatever they were doing—all of it but the war-games on the machine. He tended to follow Quatre to the base during the days, too, and it was becoming obvious to Quatre that the kid had no idea what to do with himself since he had no work or school.

At the same time, they'd decided that Matty had been abducted and held hostage enough for one lifetime, so until further notice, they wanted to keep him with one of them. The others had to work during the day, which meant that when Quatre did leave the apartment, Matt would go with him. He'd let the guy stay behind one time, and when he'd gotten back a few hours later, the guy was still in his room, curled up in the furthest corner of his and Heero's bed.

Quatre had forgotten there were people working on the old apartment, which meant people coming up and down all day long and yelling to each other. Every now and again, one of the workers would come to the temporary door that had been set up and ask for things—usually a phone or cup.

All of that aside, Quatre was tired of being put off. He'd been able to test a goodly number of men for loyalty...and he was willing to admit that the blue mark showing up on their temples was his fault. He'd been complaining to some of them about not being able to tell by looking, and about wanting Matt to be able to tell at a glance.

"Brigadier," Colonel Kiardane greeted him, saluting as he stopped near. "We've gathered the officers, as you requested."

"Wonderful," Quatre started, then narrowed his eyes.

The man had the blue mark.

He grinned innocently. "Also, sir, the bus you requested is at the port, awaiting your guests. We've made a wing ready for them on the north end of the base. Sir? May I ask who these visitors are?"

"No," Quatre reassured him.

"Quatre," Matty protested, moving up to his side. "Don't be mean. That's Blake's dad."

"I'm not being mean. He asked if he could ask me a question and I told him he can't." Quatre gave the younger man a look. "It was nice of me to respond instead of reprimanding him."

Matty rolled his eyes and looked to Blake.

"What am I doing here?" Blake asked happily. "Dad said you asked that I come."

"Today is going to be a long day," Quatre explained. "And later on, the other Brigadiers will come—as their work day ends."

Kiardane flinched at that.

"So I figured if you came, Matt would have something to do. As long as you don't shake my soldiers, you guys can run all over the base."

"Or as much of it as civilians can access," Blake noted dryly.

"Oh, you might be surprised," Quatre reassured him. "But I want you to wait until I get things underway."

Kiardane sighed. "They're space-hearts, aren't they?" he muttered quietly. "You're bringing the space-hearts you used on 25 down to clean this base. Does that mean you're recoding our database and access keys?"

"Well, it's not going to be as drastic as 25," Quatre reassured him, stopping at the bottom of the stairs that led to the stage and podium. "We have a different situation here." He eyed Matty, who bounced passed him and up to the podium. Some of the soldiers quieted expectantly, but most recognized him as a civilian.

"What difference, if I might ask?"

"You don't have the same background ops as 25. The security level here is considerably lower. I've already cleared the men who need that clearance—I did it the first day I got back here. After I did them, they stopped cooperating so much. I'd have had this base swept clean if they hadn't."

"Ah," the man frowned, then looked at his son. "Get down from there," he muttered.

Blake and Matty gave him almost identical curious looks, then bounced away from the Podium.

Matty stopped before going far, though, and set a pen back on the thing. He smiled happily at Quatre, then turned and moved back to join them. "Where you stashing me, boss-man?"

Quatre pointed at the room. It was an office off the main room. "But I'd rather you not run off until Lieutenant Patel shows up with his men."

Matty nodded, moving to sit on the edge of the stage, then blinked at the blue mark on Kiardane's temple. He considered that a moment, then looked to Quatre. "How about him?" he indicated Blake.

"Why would I think his son," Quatre indicated the colonel, "had anything to do with the bad guys?"

"Because he's cute?" Matty offered.

Quatre gave him a skeptical look, then focused on Blake. He shrugged after a moment and nodded to Matty. He didn't see the point, but there was also no harm in reading the kid—he knew Blake wouldn't be up to no good, so why upset Matt?

The grin he got in response for that simple confirmation suggested that Blake would wear the blue mark when on base after this.

The thing was, he kind of appreciated the reasoning behind the stupid thing. Wufei insisted up and down it was because everyone liked the color of his eyes, but Quatre had a feeling it had more to do with the stupid color being his preference. He knew very well that Matt appreciated it, too. If a soldier showed up without the mark on his temple, the teen tended to hang back near Quatre, even to the point of annoying officers. With the marking on his id card reading him as Heero's espoused—that wasn't the same as marriage, and Yuy dictated special circumstances to his will—he could be in those meetings, even when people didn't appreciate it.

All in all, the blue mark served the purpose of putting the teen at ease, which had been the intent to begin with. He'd told Patel he'd wished there was something...but he was thinking in circles. The man had come up with the idea of blue-paint...and hadn't mentioned it to Quatre. Actually, there was a chance that blue was the last color wherever he bought the stuff.

"Brigadier," Patel stopped near the two men and saluted them. "Colonel."

"Ah, Patel," Quatre muttered, looking around to Matty. "He might try to throw a tantrum, but I'd like you to keep him in that room until I get the stuff in swing here. It will be...twenty minutes or so." He glanced at his watch. "When will my guests be arriving, Colonel?"

"It shouldn't take more than ten minutes," the man reassured him, glancing at his own watch.

"Very well," Quatre looked back to Patel. "So when the speech starts, you can let them wander, but stay with them," he indicated Blake. "This is Blake Kiardane, Colonel Kiardane's son. He's a friend of Mattox, and I asked him to join us today so Mattox didn't completely lose his mind."

The man nodded.

"Note that the other brigadiers, especially Yuy, are allowed near him and can order you out of the room. No other officers, no matter their rank, are given that privilege."

Patel's expression soured briefly before he nodded and saluted.

"Later," Matty muttered happily to Quatre and Kiardane, then turned to bounce toward the room.

"I need to check it!" Patel protested, darting around Matty to stop him. "I need to check it, and I need to get my guys to secure it."

"Well..." Matty gave him a sour look. "Hurry?"

"Sir," the man retorted dryly. He and Matty got along in a sort of...strange way. They seemed to always be trying to annoy each other, but Quatre could tell Patel was fully intending to give up his life before letting Matty out of his sight, and Matty was completely willing to obey him. The bickering almost seemed more a way to pass the time than anything else.

He shook his head, turning and heading up the stairs as the room started to quiet again. The former-blond had to stop, though, when he realized why Matt had had a pen when Kiardane had chased them away from the podium.

The top sheet of paper which had been left there for Quatre to write on, had one sentence written in large letters.

I miss you all night long, poppi.

Quatre closed his eyes and turned the paper over...then noted laughter. He looked around to where Blake and Matty were standing at the door of the little room, looking innocent.

Quatre pulled out his phone, pulling up a text to the teen. You miss me all night long, so we play all day?

Matty guffawed and showed Blake, who started laughing as well, and the pair started into the room. Matty took a moment to give Quatre a coy look, then disappeared.

Quatre cleared his throat, muting his phone and tucking it away. He looked around the room as the various officers—some of which had the blue mark on their temple—fell silent.

"Good afternoon," Quatre greeted them happily. "As you all know, for the past month, I've been requesting a base-wide sweep by space-hearts. So far, the only answer I've been given is 'maybe tomorrow'," he looked them all over levelly. "And as we all know, tomorrow never comes...but ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow came today."

Various officers started to sit up, and some few tried to protest.

"As a brigadier general of the ESA," he noted loudly, "I have called in men to help me finish checking this base. It's too bad for you all," he added happily as people started to groan. "If you hadn't put me off time and again, I could have done this in shifts. I would have willingly worked with all of you, but you made me play my hand, so we all get to sit here and hang out until my guests arrive within the next ten minutes, and then we'll start the presentation. Think innocent thoughts, ladies and gentlemen, because any that my men find questionable will go into confinement until the matter is cleared."

The room fell silent.

"I'm done being subtle," Quatre summed, studying them all over. "And really, this way is so much faster." He looked them all over, noting the utter silence. "Seeing as we probably have twenty minutes before things are enough in order to continue, does anyone have anything they want to discuss?"

- -

"It allowed Hanager to escape to this colony," the recording of Duo pounded the podium with his hand. "To this colony. The rebels planned extensively and in secret—not throwing up any warning signs of their discontent with the hope that if their first plan failed, they'd have men free to enact any further plans they came across."

Heero smirked slightly as he moved into the auditorium, looking around briefly. Several guards were eyeing him, and he moved up to one with a blue mark on his temple. "Where's Williams?"

"Why do you want to know?" the man demanded sharply.

"Because I want to lay him on a table and fuck him," Heero retorted. "Look at me, man..."

The soldier was startled, then actually focused on Heero's face. He looked embarrassed a moment, then pointed up the wall to a door.

"Don't take me wrong," Heero said quietly. "I actually appreciate you taking care. I'm just not used to people questioning me."

"I'm sorry, Brigadier," the man saluted.

Heero nodded at him, then blinked at the screen as it showed the shot of Relena crying that Trowa had taken from his laptop.

"That's right," the recording of Duo added, leaning against the podium. "The rebels—or let's be blunt. The former Colonel Marshal Gerrange of the forty-first MS Unit A...A.K.A. Rabid, A.K.A. Rab A.K.A Marsh...."

Heero moved up to the door to the room, giving the soldier a speculative look when the man shifted his weapon. After a moment, he nodded slightly and tapped on the door...before moving out from in front of it.

Heero moved into the office...or meeting room...or whatever it normally was, and looked around at the soldiers who had weapons tilted in his direction. "Hi," he said.

"Heero!" Matty muttered excitedly, bouncing over the back of a couch. He wound in and out of chairs—there was a large table with chairs pulled out in the middle of the room—until he could throw his arms around Heero's neck and kiss him. "Hey...how was work?"

"Dismal without you," Heero retorted.

One of the soldiers snorted.

Heero eyed the man, who pretended to be looking at the far wall with interest.

"That was beyond corny," Matty noted, kissing him again. "When did you decide to say it?"

"At lunch, when you were telling me that the soldiers were getting you take-out."

Matty sniggered, kissing him again.

"Brigadier," Blake muttered, saluting Heero—he hadn't stood.

"Kiardane," Heero returned, nodding his head slightly. He was never quite sure what to make of the guy. Matty had told him that he and Kiardane would call Heero the perfect man, and even though Heero'd talked to Kiardane several times at Casto, they'd never really become friends. The man realizing who he was had changed the relationship even more, mainly because he persisted in saluting them all. He'd been sitting in the kitchen of the apartment with his head wrapped in a towel, and had saluted Heero just as formally as if they were in a parade.

It'd taken Heero quite a bit of commenting to get the guy to stop standing to do that, and he doubted he'd have luck any time soon with getting him to stop saluting.

"Brigadier," several of the solders muttered, saluting him properly as well.

"Who's in charge here?" Heero asked, looking them all over.

"I am, sir," the guy who'd had the paint at the airport stepped forward.

"It's always Patel," Matty agreed, giving the guy a look. "You might watch out," he added in a loud whisper. "I think he likes my butt."

Heero laughed at that.

"With all due respect," Patel retorted, "I do not like your ass, nor would I like it if you stopped shoving it in my face."

Matty laughed delightedly at that, looking up to Heero. "He was laying on the floor and I fell off the couch."

Heero grinned in response, then gave the solder a skeptical look. "What would I have to do to get you lot to clear out of here for say...fifteen minutes?"

The man sighed as Matty cackled and indicated Blake.

"I didn't say anything about him," Heero reassured his boyfriend.

Blake's cheeks flushed red as he turned properly where he sat and focused on the game.

Heero sniggered.

"You're bad," Matty informed him, pulling away. "And we are not clearing the room for fifteen minutes."

"Ooh, you want a half hour?"

Matty laughed at that and slid back over the couch.

"He's mean to me," Heero informed Patel. "You see that, don't you?"

The man grinned at him and shrugged noncommittally.

"Quatre said that no one but you and the others can chase these away," Matty indicated the men around the wall. "I was trying to get them to do a dance for me, but most of them don't know how."

Some of the soldiers snickered.

"And then no one will hold the weapons of the others."

More of the soldiers snickered at that, exchanging looks.

"I...missed a lot today, didn't I?" Heero muttered, looking them all over with interest. "Do I need to hit anyone?"

Matty tilted his head, considering the question, then shrugged and shook his head. "Nah, nothing worth it happened. Come sit with me and play a round before you go change into uniform."

"Who said I was changing into uniform?" Heero protested, moving happily to join him. "That's an interesting notion."

"You're on base, Quatre's giving the big speech, and you're going to pretend to me that you aren't going into your formal regalia? And you expect me to believe it?"

Heero snickered happily, sliding down to join him and nuzzle briefly at his ear—then noticed Blake looking at him. He grinned at the guy...which made him change focus quickly, then looked down to Matty.

"You," Matty noted, kissing him, "are bad. Go change."

"Wait, what?" Heero gave him a confused look. "I thought I was playing a round first."

"Then stop flirting with my friend," Matty muttered, "and we'll both be fine."

"You're fine anyway," Heero whispered in his ear, kissing at him again.

"I already told you we aren't clearing the room," the teen noted, meeting his eyes. "Don't get yourself worked up."

"I don't need the room cleared," Heero whispered back, grinning wickedly. "Do you?"

...and for some reason that Heero could not figure out...heh...Matty hit him.

- -

Duo yawned as he moved through the base halls toward the locker rooms. He needed to shower and get into his uniform. He could hear muttering from the auditorium, but not much else.

"Brigadier!"

Duo turned to look at the man with a rank tag moving up to him. He only studied the thing long enough to note that he didn't have to salute, then nodded his head.

"I only just got cleared," the man noted excitedly. "Doesn't that mean I can...I can get the spot?" he touched his temple. "I was under the impression that you had to be cleared to get it."

"Yes," Duo agreed—he'd had the blue spot on when he went to work, but he wasn't sure if it was still there or not.

At least they could finish the house by the next day. He was annoyed that the codes had changed while he was off saving LA. Victor had been quite irritated when he'd been doing his inspection—and demanded why Duo hadn't updated his coding rules.

Duo telling the man to shove it up his ass and do it himself had resulted in a tense moment of stand-off...for Victor, anyway. The man had looked ready to actually take a swing. Duo wouldn't have been too put off by the notion, really, but then he'd either have to start working at the base or find another job.

Neither option appealed.

"How does one go about getting this spot?" the man asked hesitantly.

Duo blinked, looking back to him. He hadn't realized the man had expected more from him—he'd just gone to Patel.

"Sir?" the soldier hesitated. "I'm bothering you, aren't I? I'm sorry, please..."

"Find Lieutenant Patel," Duo returned. "He was the one who started the marking, so he should have a clue as to where to get it."

"Thank you, sir," the man muttered. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I should be fine," Duo reassured him, shifting the hanger slightly. He had his uniform dangling down his back. "Thank you."

The man saluted, then stood waiting a moment before turning and heading off.

"There you are!" Quatre muttered, moving quickly up the hall to kiss him, then kiss him again. It took them a few moments to pull apart for air, and Duo had to smile. His day had just turned about ten times better, even with the testing going on. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to run through a shower," Duo explained. "Then come find you."

Quatre grinned at that, starting to walk with him. "How did your day go?"

"I was going to deck Victor," he noted, "but then it occurred to me that I wanted this job...so I refrained. I was going to deck Reg, but it occurred to me she'd rip my balls off...and I was going to deck the wall, but realized I'd have to replace it. How was your day?"

Quatre grinned, leaning up to kiss him again.

Duo sighed, feeling more of his tension draining away. "Are the others here then?"

He wasn't entirely sure why, but every question he asked was met with a kiss. At a certain point he stopped trying to ask questions that meant anything, and succeeded in making Quatre laugh. By the time he reached the locker room, he was in a very good mood.

"Why don't we...run through the officer's shower?" Quatre whispered, looking around. "Just in and out...no one the wiser."

Duo snickered at that. "You're in uniform, officer..."

"Don't make me say it," Quatre whispered, looking around. "It's uncouth...don't make me..."

Duo laughed happily, then turned toward the officer's area.

It didn't matter if he'd had a bad day...because that part was over.

- -

"I still don't know how I'm supposed to get on base without you here," Jinli informed Wufei happily from where he'd been leaning against the guard's hut. "The good soldiers deny me access because I'm not on any list, I don't have a visitor's pass, and I don't have a name tag. I keep thinking that I might...find the stuff ready...on the days I decide to come see if I can help...but it hasn't happened yet."

"You're a whiny bitch," Wufei informed him happily, taking a drink from his fountain drink. He looked to the soldiers standing around the hut, then pointed at his friend. "Get his damn passes made up—mark him as my espoused if you have to...but get him on base when he shows up, or I will personally rip your hair out by the roots." He leaned forward, pulling the man's nametag up to read it and the rank it was marked with, then repeated the gesture to the other soldier. He eyed them both, then turned and started for the building again.

"Bad day?" Jinli asked, following happily after. "If I'm your espoused, shouldn't we be having benefits?"

"You know, you're really asking the wrong person," Wufei retorted, passing him his fountain drink.

Jinli snickered, popping the lid off to take a drink from the cup itself. "This is good..."

"That might be why I'm drinking it—or it might be a fashion trend. What do you think?"

Jinli snickered again. "I'm still debating if we need to discuss the finer details of that order you just gave those men."

Wufei laughed himself, moving so they were eye-to-eye. He'd seen Heero doing it to people before, and Trowa seemed to do it to Tim a lot...though why Trowa was taken into consideration was beyond him. "You wanna discuss it? In private?"

Jinli hit him in the stomach, and Wufei danced out of arm's reach before any further injury could be bestowed. Jinli passed him his drink back without looking at him, then looked around.

"Hm?" Wufei asked, pressing the lid on properly before taking another drink.

"What are we doing here? I mean...really? Shouldn't we be running around the colonies and arranging some big family reunion?"

Wufei considered his cup a long moment, then opened it again and tilted it carefully until he could get a piece of ice, starting to crunch on it.

"I mean..." Jinli went on as they entered into the building, "the rogue MS that weren't obliterated haven't shown up in...forever. There's no sign of that damned gundam...and you just told soldiers to mark me as your espoused to get me on base. Does any of that seem...normal...to you?"

"We're currently in a war," Wufei informed him pointedly. "And if I have to claim you as my damn lover to make things flow smoother, I'll claim you as my damn lover. Hell, at this point if you gave me a drink or five, I might take you as my damn lover, so stop being all morose and thinking about the deeper meanings of life and try to think of something that could help us in the immediate future."

"You're...going to make me kick your ass, aren't you?" Jinli demanded, taking the cup from him and popping the lid off again.

"I'm grabbing two straws next time," Wufei noted, glowering at that a moment. "Where is everyone?"

"I've been standing at the gates waiting for you for a half an hour. I have no idea where anyone is. It's like...five. Where the hell have you been?"

"After work I went and picked up groceries, fended off a pack of rabid paparazzi that somehow found me...picked Lifon up from school and took her home—got roped into a conversation with Taofa, and then had to find my uniform. As it turns out, Quatre brought my uniform with him so I could just come straight here, so then I had to scurry down here...and get bitched out by my nagging wife because I can't get him on base without the proper protocol."

Jinli snorted.

"So, how was your day?"

"I didn't get laid, I didn't get lunch, I didn't get the job I expected, and I didn't get onto base. I think we're about even."

"Wonderful...so who do you think has made it already? It's awfully quiet. Quatre must have pulled rank."

"That would be what he said he was going to do," Jinli noted happily. "Where's your uniform?"

"If I knew that," Wufei informed him levelly, "I'd be heading to get it on so I could look properly impressive when someone hands you a card that claims you as my espoused."

Jinli gave him a level look.

Wufei started laughing. "And that just made my day...shall we, oh fire of my heart and bane of my loin?"

If Wufei hadn't been expecting it, Jinli would have kicked him upside the head. He laughed delightedly, and started running up the hallway.

It wouldn't do to get kicked upside the head, and he had a good few minutes before Jin decided to give up on the chase.

- -

"Uncle! Uncle!" Wufei was laughing hard as he ducked and dodged Jinli's blows. He'd gotten caught up on the door when he hit it—he hadn't hit the handle just right, so Jin had caught up. Wufei stumbled backwards, still laughing, then ran into someone.

Jin froze utterly, eyes going very wide as he focused on the person.

"Watch out, idiot," Quatre muttered, shoving him off a step.

Wufei was about to apologize to his friend when he realized his friend had just pulled his slacks back on.

"We seriously need a better hot water...uh...hi, Wufei. Jin." Duo had stopped in the door to the shower room.

"Oh you didn't!" Wufei protested, starting to laugh as he realized Quatre's hair had been towel-dried, but Duo hadn't gotten to his yet.

"Uh...of course not," Duo said, grinning wickedly at him. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"And those...aren't...fading marks on your neck," Jin noted, tiling his head. The marks looked like extremely light hickies, or possibly bites.

Wufei started laughing harder.

"Shit!" Duo muttered, slapping a hand to the spot and turning to the mirror just inside the stall. "Quatre!"

Quatre laughed wickedly, dropping onto the bench. He'd pulled his undershirt on, and was uncapping a deodorant package. "I don't care right now, you realize that don't you?"

Duo started laughing himself, then moved into the room properly.

"Where is my uniform?" Wufei demanded of former blond. "And are you keeping the black or losing it? Your roots are starting to annoy me."

"In your locker," Quatre met his eyes a moment, then went back to tucking the under-shirt into his slack. He sighed after a moment, rising and stretching, then buttoned the pants.

"I should so tell Trowa," Wufei noted, eyeing the guy skeptically. "Because not only is that a serious breach in acceptable protocol...your afterglow makes you a dick, and I haven't gotten laid in an age."

Quatre chuckled wickedly, looking up to him with an expression that Wufei had to call evil.

He wouldn't win an argument. He knew he wouldn't, so he turned instead toward his locker.

"I put your slacks and shirt in there, too," Quatre noted to Jin. "We need to finish getting you set up around here."

"You might have to mark him as espoused," Duo noted thoughtfully, pulling his slacks up. "You realize that, don't you?"

"Yeah, he did," Jinli agreed dryly, then turned to follow Wufei into the main locker-area.

Wufei sighed. "It's either that, or you stop coming—or you only come when we come." He shook his head. "I guess you don't really have a reason to be here without us, but if shit goes down...I mean, it is a war, even if it's not constant fire-fights and battle-lines. I would prefer you to get on base without questions asked, and to be able to relay orders if shit starts crashing and burning."

"I get it," Jinli reassured him, accepting his outfit and moving to another bench. "You really need to never call me a wife again, but I get it."

Wufei smiled slightly at him, pulling the slacks on. He hesitated when he got to his jacket, though, studying the tags and honors that indicated his rank and past. He'd won the right through fire and blood. If he decided he wanted to, he'd probably be raised to an actual general with no questions asked.

"What?" Jinli muttered, butting his overshirt. "What's wrong?"

"I spent years hiding from this," he said quietly, studying the front of the thing. "I spent years wishing I had my friends back...and the only reason I found you is because some discontent war-rick veteran forced my hand..."

"Wufei," Jinli muttered softly, moving around the benches to take the jacket from him. "What does it matter how it happened now?" he asked quietly, holding it so Wufei could slide his arms in. "It doesn't matter now, because we're both here, and we can find the others...and..." his voice constricted. "We can."

Wufei didn't look at him, staring into his locker a moment, then slammed the door shut and moved toward the exit.

"Oi," Duo muttered, moving from the shower-section as a hair-dryer ran. "Look at me."

Wufei stopped, not looking at the other.

"Wufei," Duo said, moving forward and grabbing his wrist. "You keep your promises, don't you?"

"I try," Wufei admitted, feeling his own throat constrict.

He knew where this was going—and he didn't want it to.

"Then promise me something," Duo jerked on his arm.

Wufei met his eyes slowly.

"Promise me that after tonight, you won't drink...not alone."

"There are times when I want to be alone, Duo," Wufei noted, starting to pull away from him.

The grip on his wrist tightened.

"Why are you giving me tonight?" Wufei snapped, meeting his eyes sharply. "You never did before."

"Because you haven't been drinking," Duo returned. "I probably shouldn't give you tonight, but...you're just getting it under control. Please, Wufei...I don't want you to become any more an alcoholic than you already were."

Wufei studied his eyes a moment, then nodded, pulling away.

Duo watched him go, crossing his arms.

"What did he say?" Quatre asked, clicking the dryer off. "I couldn't see him."

"He agreed," Duo muttered with a sigh.

"He told me he was drinking too much," Jinli said quietly, looking between them. "But he didn't...didn't say..."

"That's the first time anyone's actually said it," Quatre shrugged, running the brush through his hair. "Uh, Duo?"

Duo turned to look at him a moment, then saw the thing he was holding.

He blinked.

Quatre sighed, tossing the tube over. "It just makes things easier. You and Wufei don't need it—but Jinli isn't as well known."

"Right," Duo muttered, turning to face Jinli and give him a momentary wide-eyed look, then showed the tube.

Blue face paint.

Jinli blinked himself.

Duo grinned after a moment, squeezing a small amount onto his finger, then reached forward and marked Jinli's temple with it. "With this paint, I herby initiate you into our world...no matter how fucked up it may be."

"Oh joyous tidings," Jinli retorted, then sighed, starting for the door. "But if I'm Wufei's espoused, I may as well enjoy the full trappings."

"It's funner than you might think," Duo informed him mischievously.

Jinli gave him a very level look, then left the locker-room.

That conversation was very over.