Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gone Round ❯ Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Ten

Jaden ran a hand through his hair as Qingfu followed him through an air-conditioned building. They'd had big plans of hanging out with their friends at the main-base, and had quite an adventure of trying to keep out of Rab's sight when he'd shown up the day after them...but it hadn't lasted. Rab had a tendency to wander around when he was lonely...and Ranger had been caught.

The first few days of avoiding had been tense until they'd been caught coming back from a little supermarket. Rab had stood there and stared at them in disbelief before running to them and hugging them both tightly...before kicking Jaden's ass.

Jaden wasn't entirely thrilled that the only thing Qingfu got for the whole thing was a backhand...and he'd had to talk damn fast to keep Rab from going off on him again. The first week had been tense before Rab had calmed down and accepted that he'd been against bothering the Williams boy anymore, and it had gotten Yuy and Barton both away from the other pilots.

He was tired of it, and so far as he could tell, Qingfu agreed with him.

His phone started ringing.

Jaden looked around, then raised the thing to his ear. "Hello?"

"Yo! Timorre!" the greeting was enthusiastic. "I just worked you a deal, baby!"

"You did?" Jaden demanded, stopping. He moved over to the window, looking out at the sweltering jungle in the distance. "How big a deal?"

"Major, precious," the guy purred happily. "You have no idea how major..."

"Who is that?" Qingfu asked skeptically.

"Armend," he returned dismissively. "What sort of...what sort of deal?"

"You miss me, don't you?" Armend purred.

"Come on, Hoxha," Jaden protested that. "You aren't seriously telling me..."

"I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think you'd be grateful," the man retorted. "If you're not interested we can hang up now and be done with it."

Jaden took a long slow breath. "I'll let you know after you tell me what you got me."

The man laughed a jubilant sort of laugh. "She's called Illicit..."

Jaden's mouth started to open.

"She's a bit big for a couple men, but I'm sure there will be more'n me, you, and that new friend you made."

"Illicit can hold fifty-five hundred men," Jaden said in a strangled voice. "It was put on the auction block to help...to help the ESA pay off some of the debt from the eve wars...bought by...by...an independent company..."

Armend started laughing wickedly.

"I don't have that kind of money, Armend," Jaden hissed at him. "I can't afford..."

"I said I worked you a deal, didn't I?" the man still sounded wicked. "Don't worry about it. I kept it in your budget by providing a few...bits of information...the man wanted....and don't even ask," he added as Jaden started to open his mouth again. "Since I was doing it for you, I stayed within your range of ethics."

Jaden snapped his mouth shut.

"She's ready when you are," Armend added quietly, "and so am I. Just let me know when you're ready to leave and I'll bring her over...me and a few guys, of course. I suggest when you leave, you convince some airmen they want to go with you, because I only have loan of his crew for a week after we leave."

Jaden looked up to Qingfu, studying his face. "When will they be ready to leave?"

"They'll get here in an hour, so any day now would be wicked love."

"Right," Jaden agreed, then closed his phone.

"Illicit," Qingfu said quietly. "You now own the...cruise...ship Illicit."

Jaden ran a hand through his hair.

"Were you planning to tell me you were leaving?" Qingfu whispered harshly at him.

"Aren't you leaving with me?" Jaden retorted.

Qingfu started walking away, glaring at him briefly.

Jaden stretched his neck a moment, then turned and followed his friend.

They had to meet with Rabid, then they could figure out how to work it—Jaden had no doubts Qingfu would follow him, just like he hoped Qingfu had no doubts Jaden would follow him.

Unfortunately, they'd have to talk about it now...and he really didn't want to do that...but if things went how he hoped, then Qingfu was going to help him with everything else. That meant they were partners...and partners had to understand each other.

Jaden glanced out the window at the jungles again, then chased after Qingfu properly.

It wouldn't due to be left behind.

- -

Duo sighed as he tossed the last of the dirty laundry into the hamper, looking his and Quatre's room over. The place had become a pigsty, and it had taken him several trips to the kitchen to clear out all the garbage, dishes, and cans that had accumulated. He couldn't remember a time when the room hadn't been that messy, but it hadn't ever bothered him before.

But the bathroom was starting to get gross, too...and all the stuff he'd taken into the kitchen had thrashed that.

"What are you doing?" Quatre muttered, moving into the room and up to his chest. He leaned up and kissed him, then kissed him again. "Why are you cleaning?"

"Because it's gotten to a point that I can't stand it," Duo admitted, kissing at his ear. "It shouldn't take me long to do it...and don't offer," he said quickly. "You can run laundry if you would...but let me do the actual cleaning."

Quatre grinned at that, then looked around. "It is kind of a mess, isn't it?"

"You didn't see it before I emptied the garbages," Duo agreed.

"How did we do that?" Quatre asked blankly.

"I think the infatuation is over," Duo returned easily. "I can think when you're here now."

Quatre laughed at that and smacked his ass, then leaned over to grab up the laundry hamper.

"At least...I could for a minute..." Duo noted, considering his body.

Quatre laughed again, giving him a look. He turned, though, and left the room promptly.

"Okay, Duo?" Heero moved up to the door to study him. "I just opened the cupboard under the sink to throw some stuff away...and that's kinda nappy."

Duo laughed wickedly, moving past him. "I'll go...take that out. I just had to do something about it..." he smacked Heero's ass as he passed.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Heero asked. "I thought you were working on your OCD."

"Kiss my what?" Duo asked sweetly, turning into the kitchen as Heero started laughing.

"I should toss our garbage in there," Heero mused, moving into his room to gather up his trash. It only took a moment before they were collecting the garbage from each of the rooms.

"I'll be back," Duo noted, grabbing up the two bags they'd collected.

Heero nodded, moving into Jinli's room to gather up the dishes and cans. It had been a long time since they'd really thought about the sanitation, and it had been bothering him for some time. Whenever he cleaned the bathroom, the others complained to him about chemicals. They were unhealthy for long periods of time, but he turned the fan on, and he only ever did it once in a while. It had been a long time consensus that he not clean the bathroom. He needed to let Duo or the others do it.

The kitchen, though, was looking a little thrashed. None of them had really paid any mind to the fine details. When the dishes mounded someone ended up running a load so the pile went down...but when had the last time been that they hadn't had some in the sink?

He set the stuff he was holding down, then turned to make a run at Wufei's room.

"Oh, hey, Heero," Wufei muttered, looking up to him with interest. "What...are you doing?"

"Sorry," Heero apologized, gathering the stuff up he needed. "I'll get out in a second."

Wufei watched him skeptically a moment, then followed him from the room.

"So...I'll do the bathroom now," Duo noted as he moved back into the apartment. "Oh, you're doing the kitchen?" he nodded his approval to Heero, then made a face at Wufei as he passed.

"Oh," Wufei noted as Duo disappeared—he hadn't really thought about it when Duo'd collected his garbage. It made sense, though. The house had been a mess and Heero'd probably been itching with annoyance over it. Duo's starting gave him the clearance he needed.

"Oh?" Heero asked, disappearing into the living-room area.

"Your OCD was sparked by his," he gestured after Duo, moving down the hall. "I'll get the vacuum so you two don't kill yourselves with this crap."

"Fuck you?" Duo asked happily.

"You better not," Quatre muttered, moving into the area to give Wufei a look.

"It'd be fun," Duo retorted.

Wufei, who'd heard Quatre make the possessive comments before, almost expected the...half-blond to freak out at that, but he laughed instead and disappeared into their room.

It didn't take Heero long to have the dishes scrubbed down. The pile of recycling was spilling onto the floor, though. He gathered that up—Wufei was vacuuming the sunken area...it was sort of nice.

"Are we making up the big room again or not?" Wufei asked when he moved back into the apartment. "Like, doing the barracks thing?"

"It depends if Duo wants to set up the screen-divide again," Heero admitted. "It's sort of wasteful to have that huge space over there with nothing in it, though."

"We can extend the gym," Duo suggested, appearing from the bathroom door with rubber-gloves on. "Or set up an entertainment system. I know I wouldn't mind having more parties."

"That could work," Wufei agreed. "Maybe make a dining-room?"

Heero and Duo shrugged at each other.

"We could use this kitchen for snacks," Wufei added, indicating the thing. "And then make dinner over there...and have it set up for parties, maybe make more of it a gym. There's enough room, to be sure...but to be absolutely honest, I don't like sleeping alone."

"Get your espoused in bed with you," Duo muttered suggestively, flicking his eyebrows as he disappeared.

"If you recall, the only male I was ever interested in was you," Wufei noted dryly...and realized what he said as Heero's eyes lit with amusement. "And it wasn't like I wanted you...just your mouth."

"He does have a damn good mouth," Heero agreed happily, moving back to the kitchen.

"You can have that fight with Quatre," Duo noted happily.

"What about me?" Quatre demanded, moving from their room with their bedding in his arms. "What are you idiots talking about?"

"How good a blow job would be about now," Wufei returned in amusement. There'd been a time not so long ago when the guy would have blushed scarlet.

"Can't argue that," Quatre muttered, starting away. "Hey, Duo? Meet me in ten?"

"I don't want a blow right now," Duo returned happily.

Wufei guffawed.

Quatre laughed delightedly, disappearing.

"You're lyyying," Heero called happily.

"Only a very little bit," Duo reassured him happily. "Could you toss the deodorizer to Wufei? Fei, can I get you to spray down my room?"

"Clothes and all?" Wufei asked, the notion of drenching something in the room appealing to him highly.

"You can soak anything that's not in the drawers," Duo returned airily. "But I won't admit to saying that and you will have to deal with Quatre."

Wufei started laughing as Heero tossed him the canister.

It was probably about time to really spray down his room, too.

- -

The first thing Trowa noticed as he moved into the apartment was the smell of the damn cleansers. He covered his nose, wondering if his stomach would hurt from that little bit, then headed directly for the windows. Heero was scrubbing the counters down, and had rubber-gloves on his hands.

"Oh, hey, Trowa," Heero greeted him pleasantly. "You okay...don't open those it's..."

"Damn hot outside?" Trowa demanded, leaning close to the screen. "Yes, it is. If we don't air it out in here, we're all going to die of asphyxiation."

"But...it's not the bathroom," Heero gave him a perplexed look.

Trowa had to run that through the old translator before it even made sense. He grinned slightly at Heero a moment. "Chemicals are chemicals. It is worse in a small area, but it's still bad here."

Heero huffed at him, then rocked where he was standing, blinking around a moment.

"Finish cleaning and wash off those chemicals," Trowa ordered irritably. "You're high..."

Heero laughed at that, then went back to scrubbing.

Trowa rolled his eyes, deciding to take refuge in his room for a moment...only to be hit with a floral scent as he entered. He stared into his room in consternation—he still didn't understand why the deodorizing sprays had to have a scent to them. Weren't they supposed to nullify scents? He grumped to himself about someone going into his room and messing with his stuff, but didn't really feel it. Nothing had been moved but the dirty dishes and cans. He hadn't had much of that in the room, but the few he'd had were gone. He snorted slightly, then turned and headed for the old apartment.

"Oh, hey, Trowa," Wufei greeted him from the top of the platform. "I didn't realize you were home."

"I just got in," Trowa returned, moving to the window directly across from the hall. He pulled that open.

"I almost want to tell you not to do that, but I haven't been in there since Heero and Duo pulled out the chemicals. I somehow think more than ninety-nine point nine percent of the germs in there died."

Trowa grinned up at him, then moved to drop below the stand.

"Oh, you don't want to talk?" Wufei sounded vaguely disappointed. "I'll just...go back to meditating, I guess."

"No, it's fine," Trowa sighed. "I thought you wouldn't want to talk since you're up there."

Wufei moved to the edge of the stand to hang his chest over it and grin down at Trowa. "I got up here to get away from those psychos," he gestured back toward the other apartment. "Duo had an OCD attack not long after Quatre got off work. I think Heero's been pretending not to notice his, but when Duo goes for it, he has permission to follow suit. How was your day?"

"Not bad...they decided I get to do the interviews to hire the three other people who do what I do, Tim informed me that he'd disown me if I didn't hire him, and Li called me to let me know her and Eve picked up Ade and went to the lake..."

"Don't any of them have more than one syllable in their name?" Wufei asked happily.

Trowa grinned a bit at that. "She doesn't plan to get home before six or seven, and then her dad wants her to do something with him, which means that I had planned out some lessons and crap to go through with her today and now have nothing to do...step into the house to smell chemicals that I could have sworn we all forbid Heero to play with...and now I'm sitting here watching you act like a monkey."

"Fair day," Wufei grinned, then flipped and landed. He dropped immediately onto his rear, then turned to face Trowa with the bottoms of his feet pressed together and his hands on his knees. He bowed from that position. "I am an unworthy pupil, but if you have lessons, I will strive to meet your least-most approval."

Trowa gave him a very level look.

Wufei laughed, dropping over sideways to look at Trowa. "You know what I only just realized?"

"What?" Trowa asked, leaning over himself. They hadn't put anything but a carpet into the old bedroom-area—aside from the loft-thing for meditating.

"You like Lifon...you like...like her, like her."

Trowa rolled his head over to give his friend a very level look.

"And if you want me to," Wufei added happily, "I'll take the note for you...I'm your bro, huh?" he tapped his fist to his chest twice.

Trowa started laughing weakly.

"You can ask her to go out with you as long as the most popular boy in school doesn't like her...but she's pretty and sweet and...damn those legs."

Trowa focused on him again.

Wufei laughed delightedly, pushing himself back up again, then crawled across the floor to hover over Trowa, studying his face.

"You lied to me, didn't you?" Trowa demanded. "You were in there breathing those chemicals with Heero."

Wufei laughed at that, plopping back onto his rear. "I just feel...really good...for some reason." He shrugged. "Easiest day at work that I've had in ages, and Duo and Heero cleaned up my room for me...and I did mediate for like, an hour already. I need to go do my forms or something, but then you showed up and...you like Li."

Trowa met his eyes, though he couldn't help but grin a bit. Wufei hadn't poked at him in ages, and hadn't really been doing it since Jinli showed up. It was almost nice, or maybe would have been if Trowa didn't know it'd been a device before.

"So does she melt when you kiss her?" Wufei whispered.

Trowa snapped his arm out, knocking Wufei's. Wufei'd been leaning his weight against it, so he toppled over onto Trowa, then started laughing.

"I bet she does," Wufei added happily, rolling away with a wicked grin on his face. "I bet she swoons, just like Blake did..." he mocked a swoon, then started laughing as he rolled away again. Trowa was getting up. "But you put out a bit more effort with Blake, didn't you?" he asked, hopping to his feet with a wide grin on his face. "You actually want him, don't you?"

Trowa lunged.

Wufei cackled his old raven laugh and darted into the new apartment.

Trowa stopped chasing, laughing to himself as he looked the area over. There was no doubting that Wufei wanted him to give chase, but he didn't feel like it yet. Wufei would be back in a moment to provoke him some more...so until then, he was going to wait.

- -

Matty started giggling helplessly as Wufei leaned over the back of the couch and whispered in his ear, eyes on Heero. There was something in his stance that made it obvious he was ready to dart away...he'd already gotten Trowa to chase him three or four times, and Jinli was sitting on the far side of Heero with an uncertain expression on his face.

He'd never seen this Wufei—he'd never seen the raven, and actually, he'd never heard tale of Wufei's nightly encounters. And Wufei had, he'd told them about the soldier girl in great detail. It'd made Matty blush and hide his face in Heero's side, but for once, Quatre just listened.

"A little tongue," Wufei added...and his tongue darted out. Matty squawked and jerked away, and Heero jumped at him. It was at about that point that Heero realized he was the next intended target.

So...put Matty through a bit more amusing discomfort or give in to Wufei's fun?

Heero decided on the latter and jumped around his boyfriend. Wufei laughed his true laugh—which they'd heard a lot of with Trowa chasing him—and darted down the hall. It was hard not to laugh as they started around the old apartment. It wasn't quite as amusing as it could have been, though. If the divide had been up, Wufei would have had more places to run. His eyes were absolutely sparkling as he pulled himself away from the edge of the half-round window in the gym-area. He was out of options...and Heero decided to give Wufei a quick try.

He darted across the intervening space...and started nibbling at Wufei's ear. Wufei was still laughing hard as he tried to untangle himself and push Heero away, but Heero'd gotten a thorough grip on him.

"Stop!" Wufei protested, deciding to stop trying to pull away, raising his knees between their bodies. "I will kill you."

Heero laughed and bit at his throat, then turned and launched himself at the edge of the gym. He nearly fell as he realized half his normal paths were gone, but Wufei hadn't hesitated in the slightest.

"Help!" he gasped, darting back into the living room and diving across Matty. "He's gonna kill me!"

Wufei came up short as Heero pulled Jinli around as a shield—his friend obviously didn't know if he should fight and run or stay put, but Wufei was rubbing at his throat.

"Heero," Matty muttered with interest, "exactly why does Wufei have your tramp-stamp?"

Heero started laughing hard, letting Jin scramble away to give his boyfriend an innocent look.

"He wanted me to chase him instead," Wufei noted in amusement. "He hasn't done that since we were in the colonies...but I'm still gonna kill him."

Matty snickered.

"What did he do?" Duo asked with interest. "Biting you was the least, I'm sure."

Wufei gave him a look and rubbed disgustedly at his ear.

Matty covered his face with his hands.

Their phones beeped.

"Fuck you all!"

Everyone turned to look at the door as Blake stormed into the room and stopped to look them all over...with tears in his eyes.

"Blake?" Matty asked in disbelief, pushing himself up. "What happened?"

"I should have just fucked you that night!" Blake railed, gesturing at Trowa wildly. "That's what he was doing! Oh..." he mimicked a falsetto voice, "but I've been with him since I was fifteen...it doesn't mean anything..."

Trowa flinched.

"I hate him!" Blake ranted on, turning away a moment, then turned back to the group. He moved instantly across the room and threw himself into Trowa's arms, burying his face in Trowa's shirt.

Trowa sighed, moving to accommodate the younger man.

Wufei flashed Trowa a wicked and meaningful grin, then moved to smack Heero upside the head.

Heero snickered and smacked back as the guy walked by.

Blake pulled his eyes away to look up and around at Heero in confusion.

"I tried to seduce Wufei in about three seconds and it didn't work," Heero explained, smiling slightly at him. "The only reason I'm not in a million pieces right now is your...timely...appearance."

Blake smiled wanly at that, then looked up to Trowa briefly. He lowered his eyes, though, waiting.

"What do we have planned this weekend?" Trowa asked the room at large, meeting eyes.

"Nothing," Wufei returned, pouring alcohol into cups. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Good," Trowa returned.

It only took Wufei a few moments to have pop poured into the cups, and he moved back across the room, giving one to Matty, then stopping next to Blake and extending the second.

Blake blinked, looking at the thing, then up to Wufei. "I'm not so sure I sh..."

"You're staying the night, I'm sure," Wufei returned dryly. "It's all sorts of illegal and bad-form, but you can have one drink."

Blake smiled wanly at that, wiping at his eyes before taking the cup. He sniffed at it experimentally a few times as Wufei walked back to the kitchen for the second round of drinks. "What even is this?"

"Wow," Duo muttered. "The color of what he just gave you? That amber shade? I was whiskey...the good stuff by the bottle...and I imagine you can't really smell it in the cup, that's why you had to ask." He flashed a grin around at his friends, who rolled their eyes. "By the time I was your age, I'd all but been to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Une was pissed when she picked us up drunk."

"We were eighteen," Heero retorted dryly. "It was legal for us to drink then and there...we were just making a public scene...evidently we weren't stumbling straight," he added to Blake. "Thanks, Fei," he took the cup he was offered.

"So set up the machine," Trowa suggested to Matty. "We can play some stupid race game for a while, then I'll...uh...do my part."

Blake snorted and smacked at him.

Trowa laughed at that, then met eyes with Matty. He indicated Blake slightly with his head, sobering. A distraction was necessary, the pain was probably still very new.

Trowa wasn't entirely sure he appreciated the startled expression that crossed Matty's face. Somehow...that seemed a little offensive.

- -

"I'm going to the bathroom," Trowa muttered as Blake lay down on the bed. "I'll be back in a minute."

Blake smiled slightly after him, then focused across the familiar space around him...and the familiar music. He closed his eyes, wondering why he couldn't smell Trowa, then blinked at the screen. The song had changed...why had the song...he closed his eyes again.

Trowa was gone.

Blake blinked as the bedroom door closed, trying to focus his eyes through the dark. He'd felt Trowa laying with him, but he was gone...and it was cold without him

Wait a minute, weren't they going to...he pushed himself up, looking around in confusion until he spotted the clock.

Six in the morning.

Wow, he'd fallen asleep...and Trowa hadn't woken him up? Trowa always woke him up...

He climbed out of the bed, stumbling slightly into the hall.

"What are you doing?" Matty whispered from the door to his room.

"I have to pee," Blake returned, stumbling that way—the only light was from under the bathroom door. "I fell asleep," he added with a grin.

"What?" Matty asked blankly.

"I fell asleep," Blake repeated. "We went to bed, and he went pee...and I just woke up."

Matty snickered.

The bathroom door opened, and they both blinked at the light.

"Oh, sorry," Trowa said quietly, closing the door most of the way behind himself. "You coming or what?" he added, running his hand across Blake's ass.

Matty snickered as Trowa disappeared back into the room.

"Why can't he want to be with me?" Blake muttered, miserable for a moment. He shook his head, though, moving toward the bathroom. "Let me go first?"

"I went already," Matty reassured him. "Trowa came in right after me and then you were here...I'd say to sleep well, but I think that part of your night is over."

"What are you two whispering about?" Heero asked tiredly.

Blake giggled, covering his mouth before darting toward the bathroom.

"Night," Matty whispered, and closed his door.

- -

"How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Blake looked up from the cup of coffee he'd been mixing.

"How are you?" Heero repeated, moving properly into the kitchen to gather his own coffee cup. "I doubt the intelligence of sleeping with Trowa to ease your ills."

"I didn't sleep with Trowa to ease my ills," Blake snapped, glaring at him a moment. "I slept with Trowa because the sex is good."

Heero raised an eyebrow.

"It helped me forget for one fucking night," Blake glared at him even more, then dashed at his eyes and walked away.

That was probably his bad. Heero watched as the younger man disappeared back into his room, then looked around the apartment. It was quiet, and had been for the morning. The place was clean, the perimeter was always secure, and had been since they moved in...so what did that leave him to do? He didn't really like playing those games anymore. They were too easy to beat.