Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Secrets ❯ Hidden Secrets 5 ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: Well, it didn't go as far as I'd planned, but that was were the chapter wanted to stop, so who am I to argue? Like I promised, a bit more is learned about what the boys are. I'd love to hear ya'll's guesses, though I can't tell you if you're correct or not. ^_^ that'd just spoil the surprise.
Also, please keep in mind that I have no intention of "bashing" any of the characters. I have a loathing for following the "stereotypical" in my writing, but I do admit that sometimes it is true nonetheless.

Llannadh: Not sad at all; I've actually done the same thing before too. *blushes* I'm honored that you're enjoying this so much. I hope to continue not disappointing any of you. I loved the review you left for Mystics and Magics too. I'd planned on having it updated before HS, but it's being stubborn. As a result, chapter 6 for HS is already started. ^_^

Tsuki Doriimaa, I'm probably as much a fantasy lover as you; do hope I don't disappoint. I'd love to know if your idea turns out to be correct or not. ^_^ Chapter 4's ending was fun, if unexpected to me; but then, those two have a way of getting what they want from me, whether I'm aware of it or not. As soon shown.

Mako-chan, congratulations on the conversion! ^_~ That's so awesome.

Nelia, Harmonie Firefly, Onyxshadow, BvB, and anybody else whom I may not have mentioned; thank you all for your wonderful reviews and encouragement. Same to you too Zorra, my best friend and wonderful beta.

Key:
Thoughts are in (Italics)
Telepathy talk is in (~)
Normal talk is in ("")

Wu Fei woke up as planned, not surprised to find that neither had moved much while sleeping. Reluctantly, he released his hold on Heero and sat up, pushing the too warm blanket off. Turning around to face him, Wu Fei gently rolled Heero over to lay on his back. He was hesitant to wake Heero up, but he knew he had to.

"Heero, wake up," gently nudging the sleeping boy's shoulder, Wu Fei was only mildly surprised when he didn't wake up. Giving a small sigh, and chastising himself for letting Heero get this far gone, Wu Fei bent over and went to work getting Heero to sit up. Not an easy task given he was unconscious.

Huffing in frustration, Wu Fei laid the boy back down. Straddling Heero's legs, Wu Fei again lifted him up and leaned his body against his own chest. Laying Heero's head on his left shoulder, he kept his left arm wrapped around Heero's back to keep him steady. Bringing his right hand up to his own neck, he ran the edge of his middle finger's nail against the flesh where his neck and right shoulder met. Grateful that though short, his nails where still sharp, Wu Fei was careful to not break the skin.

After doing this until he could feel the warmth of his blood radiating from the abused area, Wu Fei shifted Heero around so his head was resting on the other shoulder. He carefully held Heero there until he could feel him stirring. Relaxing, but not removing his hand from the back of Heero's head, Wu Fei could feel Heero starting to nuzzle his neck; coming closer to the reddened flesh.

"Heero?" Wu Fei breathed, keeping himself from making any moves that may surprise his other.

He got a moaned, "Hmm?" in response, as Heero continued to nuzzle the base of his neck.

Smiling slightly, Wu Fei ran his fingers through Heero's hair, drawing some of Heero's attention. "You awake yet?" as he tightened his arm around Heero's back.

Heero stayed still and silent, letting Wu Fei play with his short locks, as he fought his way to full awareness. Blinking a few times, Heero immediately realized what he was doing, what had awoken him. Growling lowly, though not very menacingly considering he still felt drained, Heero tried to push out of his koi's hold. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Wu Fei?"

Wu Fei didn't release either grip on Heero's waist or head. "Waking you up," false innocence lacing his voice. "What did you expect me to do, let you lay there and continue to waste away?" his sarcasm came through clearly enough. "Are you awake enough now to go out?"

Wu Fei could feel Heero's body go slack for a bit before Heero nodded. "I really wish you wouldn't do that Wu Fei," exhaustion, resignation, a touch of fear; all could be heard in his voice, as well as seen in his eyes.

Meeting his eyes, Wu Fei just gave a small smile before saying anything. "And I wish you wouldn't let yourself go this far. You know I don't unless you've pushed yourself too far."

"You're fortunate my control is what it is," steering away from the usual argument, not strong enough to fight or even care for it.

Leaning forward, bringing both hands up to cup Heero's jaw, Wu Fei whispered, "I trust you." Before sealing his lips over Heero's, gently conveying not just his confidence in his other, but his love; his devotion that made him willing to test that confidence. Moving his left hand back behind Heero's neck, he gently laid them both back down on the bed, not once stopping in his admission.

Finally, a touch light-headed, Wu Fei broke the kiss, lifting his head just enough to see Heero's darkened sapphire colored eyes. Smiling languidly, Wu Fei brushed his hand over Heero's cheek.

~Mmm, Wu Fei….~

~I know, just a moment more….~

Heero's eyes glittered with his silent laughter. ~Any longer and I won't have the energy to get up Koi.~

Wu Fei sighed in remorse, but obligingly rolled off. He watched as Heero slowly got himself up and out of the bed, staying close incase he needed a steady hand. Narrowing his eyes at just how slowly Heero was moving, "You so much as stumble and I'm carrying your ass the entire way to the field."

To which Heero just grunted and continued towards the door. Giving a resigned sigh, Wu Fei followed right behind his headstrong boyfriend.

They passed Quatre on their way out; he'd fallen asleep on the couch in the front living room, printouts scattered in front of him. Deciding not to wake him, both were quiet as they went down the hall to a side door.

Walking down the worn path leading to the small forest and hidden field, Wu Fei noticed that Heero kept getting slower. He'd already wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him steady, and was close to carrying out his threat of hauling the boy the rest of the way.

They were scarcely halfway to the field, yet it had taken double the time already. Scowling, Wu Fei turn in front of his other, hunched down enough to get his free arm underneath Heero's knees, and straightened up, bringing Heero with him. Continuing down the path at a pace between a walk and a run, Wu Fei ignored the glare attempting to melt the left side of his face.

Growling in frustration, because he knew he wasn't up to giving a decent fight, Heero relaxed. He felt Wu Fei slide his arm up his back, stopping just under his shoulders. The new leverage let him rest his head on Wu Fei's shoulder; he was grateful it wasn't the scratched one. About to close his eyes, he heard Wu Fei's worried voice.

~Don't you dare fall back to sleep. We're almost there.~

~…I know; I'm trying….~

Finally! Wu Fei thought upon entering the field; it was really just a modest clearing within the small forest. Walking over to the tree he'd found Heero under a few times, Wu Fei set him down beneath it so that his bare back was leaning against the trunk. "Heero?"

Heero took a deep breath, staying relaxed, but looked up at his worried koi. "I'll be fine; you should head back to the house…."

Nodding, Wu Fei re-traced the path back to the house, unaware of Heero's look of amusement at his disregard for the dark. He could see just fine, there was no need for a flashlight; the stars were more than enough light to guide him. He would have brought one to leave with Heero, but it would be well past sunrise before he was finished in the clearing.

Glancing back at the forest he had just exited, Wu Fei felt a slight pull at his essence. Smiling almost sadly, he hurried back to the house. I should probably get Quatre up into his bed…though Trowa's probably just as exhausted. …I'll just get him comfortable on the couch and let him wake up on his own.

He thought about going back to bed himself, but knew he would be unable to go back to sleep. Meditation it is….

Quatre groaned, his hand moving wildly over the table behind him, searching for the source of the constant beeping. Stupid alarm clock, why'd I have to set it for so early? Belatedly realizing that he was on the couch again, and that the beeping was constant, not gradually getting louder as his alarm would do, Quatre resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to wake up.

Blinking blearily, Quatre looked around for the source of the noise; finding that it wasn't in immediate sight, he set about shifting the papers. How did I manage to burry my laptop? And who'd be e-mailing me at this hour…ten o'clock?! After opening his laptop, the digital clock in the bottom corner of it was the first to catch his eye.

What…how did…ieeee…. Rubbing his eyes with both hands, Quatre swore to talk to Geisia about handling the budget increase, and Ira about stocks in the L1 colony. If I never see another graph chart again…. Sighing tiredly, Quatre opened the persistently beeping "new e-mail" icon.

Seeing that the sender was Une, he tried to wake up a bit more. It's been quiet for scarcely a month now, what else could have popped up?

After opening and reading the message, Quatre collapsed back onto the couch, head landing on a pillow that hadn't been there the night before. He heard the front door over his low groaning, but didn't look up to see who it was.

"Quatre? Are you alright?" Wu Fei asked upon entering the living room. Quatre was laid out on the couch, obviously awake even though he had his eyes clinched shut. Upon hearing Wu Fei's voice, he quickly buried his head beneath his pillow. Amusement drove an eyebrow up, concern made him ask again, "Quatre?"

Draping one arm over the pillow, and consequently his head, Quatre used his other hand to wave at his laptop's general direction. He didn't say anything, though it did sound like muffled groans, or maybe moans, were coming from under the pillow.

Curious, and a bit worried, Wu Fei sat on the floor opposite the couch and coffee table. Reaching across the table, he pulled the laptop over to him and turned it around; Quatre hadn't closed the e-mail before collapsing. Reading it over, he couldn't help but sympathize with the blond boy, especially knowing that he must have woken up to this.

"Well, think of it this way. At least you'll be there on Preventer business, not as a Winner representative," he offered tentatively, trying to make light of it. It was definitely a groan that came from the pillow. Followed by muffled noises that Wu Fei couldn't make out. He just looked at the pillow, unsure of what to do.

"What do you mean, 'It's too early for this, I'm not telling Heero.' Why are you buried under that pillow, and what aren't you telling Heero?"

Wu Fei just blinked at Trowa, who was leaning on the entrance way to the kitchen, a coffee cup in his hand. Wu Fei looked between the two, before focusing on an area away from both. "I'm not even going to ask how you understood that, Barton." Indeed, he was steering his mind away from that train of thought, as well as fighting off the rising blush. As such, he didn't realize Quatre was convulsing on the couch until he sat up and moved the pillow from his face to grip it around his stomach.

Still shaking, Quatre gasped for breath once his face wasn't buried in the pillow. His entire face was red, which was starting to spread down his neck as he continued fighting for air. He was calming down, but when he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a flushed Wu Fei, and his laughter started up even harder this time.

Wu Fei couldn't help but sit and stare at Quatre, slow in comprehending just what the boy was doing. His light flush deepened noticeably once he did, and he let his head fall forward in hopes of hiding it. Looking up moments later, once it became obvious that the blond had no intention of stopping any time soon, Wu Fei cast a side-long glance at Trowa.

"Is he always like this in the morning?" he asked once he caught the other boy's eye.

Shaking his head, Trowa only looked at Wu Fei for a moment before returning his gaze to his blond boyfriend. "Not at all. I wonder if the stress has finally gotten to him. Maybe he's finally snapped?"

There came an indignant noise from Quatre, which sounded like "hey!" before a pillow was thrown in Trowa's direction. He caught it easily, and placed the pillow between his side and the wall where he was leaning. Realizing he wasn't going to get his pillow back, Quatre pouted.

"Can I please have my pillow back?" since his hysterics had managed to further wake him, he had to put a small effort into making his eyes look pleading, in a cute sense. He'd managed to calm down for the most part, though his shoulders were still shaking and suppressed chuckles could be heard almost every other breath. He bit his bottom lip when Trowa shook his head no, completing the image of innocently longing.

"Uh uh, I'm not coming near you. How do I know you won't attack me again, or jump me even?" Though his tone was serious, the glint in his eye told the other two that he was only half-joking.

Wu Fei caught it when Trowa's eyes flicked in his direction, bringing his flush back even stronger. Rising to his feet, eyes still locked in Trowa's direction, he muttered, "Tdrasab" before making his way upstairs.

He'd been practicing his katas before coming back in the house, and he wanted a shower. Heero was still out in the woods; probably wouldn't be back for a few more hours, or any minute now, depending on how he was feeling. Realizing that gave him a sudden impish impulse.

He turned around to face the two still downstairs, though he couldn't see either because the ceiling was blocking his view. "You can tell Heero when he comes in. Thank you Quatre," he called down to them, then turning back to the hall continued to his and Heero's room for some clean cloths. Ignoring the sounds coming from downstairs, including the thud of someone falling off the couch.

"Trowa?" Quatre started. They had gone to the kitchen after Trowa read the e-mail, about an hour ago. The shower had stopped in half that time, but Wu Fei wasn't coming back down any time soon. Heero was still outside as well.

Sitting at the table, watching Quatre wash the bowl he'd used for breakfast, Trowa raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment. Drying his hands, Quatre moved over to the bar; placed his arms down and leaned on them, still facing Trowa.

"What did Wu Fei call you?"

Had he been drinking, Trowa was certain he would have chocked on it. Though he knew he should have expected Quatre to ask, that didn't make telling him any easer. Still hesitating on how to phrase it, Quatre spoke up again.

"It sounded Espherian," he tilted his head to the side. "Was it?" to which Trowa nodded. "Maybe I should start learning it. I mean, you never know when it'll come in handy. But things seem so…tense right now, and it's not like we ever run into any other Mystics…not that we realize anyways…."

"That's why you decided not to before. You know I think you should learn it, also that there is no rush. Heero hasn't started learning it either," Quatre's look clearly stated that Heero had better reasons, "and Wu Fei and I have no problem with translating for either of you when needed."

Quatre's lips curved up into a smirk, "So," he drawled, "what does 'tdrasab' translate to?" he was careful with the foreign word's pronunciation. He could almost hear the "ummm" filling the following silence.

Turning his gaze to the side, instead of Quatre's eyes, his words came slowly. "Well, the simplest translation would be something close to…'bastard,' I believe."

Quatre raised a surprised eyebrow. All this fuss over that? "I won't ask what else it means, but how did Wu Fei use it?" Quatre was, to say the least, stumped when his love actually started to go red. I don't think I've ever seen him blush before, not this obvious…. He was still staring at him when approaching footsteps could be heard. Preparing to round on Wu Fei, determined to find out what the word meant, Quatre came around the bar to face the kitchen entrance.

And lost his voice when Heero came in. A shirtless Heero, sweating from spending most of the morning in the humid forest.

Ruthlessly suppressing a smirk, Heero walked around the reddening blond. He went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. He also grabbed a tangerine before the door closed, and made his way to the bar. Setting the bottle down, he started peeling his breakfast. Careful not to look at the other two until he heard Quatre sit down.

Settling himself on the nearest barstool, he turned to face his friends while peeling the slices apart. He looked to Quatre, who was decidedly avoiding his gaze; still red too. Looking at Trowa, he noticed the russet was also slightly blushing, but was at least meeting his gaze. Heero raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking at the redness in his cheeks.

Trowa shook his head slightly, flicking his eyes towards Quatre, before speaking. "We thought you were Wu Fei." He took note that Heero was, though flushed from the heat outside and the sudden coolness in the house, looking much better than the previous evening. The exhaustion wasn't evident in his every move any longer, and his eyes were clear again.

"Oh?" he knew what Trowa was doing, and gave him a reassuring, if small, smile. He started in on his tangerine once he received a nod in return. He was fine, and though grateful for Trowa's concern, he was glad he didn't make a production about it. Not that that was something Trowa would do. More along the lines of something Quatre would do; thankfully he seemed otherwise preoccupied.

Duo might…would have too, if he ever knew what had happened. …If he sticks around after he finds out…that's something else we need to talk about. Do we even tell him once we find him? If he's still a friend, can we honestly keep it from him? We did during the war, but the circumstances were somewhat different; we couldn't afford any strife between the five of us. It very well could drive him away now just like it might have then. But then, would whatever relationship with him be false if he doesn't know? We do have reasons for keeping it from him, but how do you justify doing so after a relationship is formed? How far is too far; how long should one wait?

There's always the possibility that he doesn't want anything to do with us anymore. If so, then there's no need to worry about all this. …I really should talk to Wu Fei about this, he's dealt with this mess far longer than I have…maybe not the same exact situation, but the basics of it…. Heero sighed, finishing his breakfast without realizing it. Doesn't help any that the same thoughts have been going around in circles in my mind since dawn….

~Wu Fei? Are you busy?~

~Not particularly, why? You sound like you're feeling better.~

~Much; I know I shouldn't let it go for so long, I'm sorry.~

Wu Fei could almost see Heero blushing at this. ~As am I. I should have realized how long it had been as well. Have you showered yet?~

He was grateful for the change of subject, and a little miffed that Wu Fei had done it to avoid any argument about who was to blame. ~Not yet. Just came in a few minutes ago. Decided I should eat something first. …And it was hot out there.~

~Aa.~ Heero could hear Wu Fei's amusement, and imagined the smile he'd have. ~Well, Quatre has something he needs to tell you, so you might want to take care of that before you shower.~

~Right. Um, any reason that Quatre would be waiting for you to come in here?~

~Not that I'm aware of.~

~Alright.~

Opening his water bottle, Heero looked over to Quatre. Relieved to see that he seemed to have calmed down, Heero decided it should be safe to draw his attention again. "Quatre?"

Looking up when he heard his name, Quatre kept his eyes focused on Heero's face. "Yes?"

"Wu Fei said you had something you needed to tell me before I go shower. What is it?" He saw Quatre's eyes widen before he let his head fall onto the wooden table. Heero was taken aback; that was certainly not the response he'd expected.

Trowa shook his head at his boyfriend's antics before hiding a smirk at Heero's obvious astonishment. Lowering his cup once he had control again, Trowa looked over at Heero. "New orders from Une, the e-mail should still be up on Quatre's laptop. It's on the coffee table in the living room."

Heero, his gaze still on a now muttering Quatre, nodded his acknowledgment before cleaning up his mess and going to the living room. What could be bad enough to have Quatre in that kind of mood? I'm sure some of those were curses….

Kneeling on the floor in front of the laptop, still where Wu Fei had left it, Heero dissolved the screensaver, and read. It was a short message, as was typical with Une. Short and to the point even with a secure account. He could suddenly sympathize with the blond, and wondered what Quatre had done to Wu Fei to leave it up to him to pass the message along.

At least it's on Une's orders. It says nothing about requests. …But then, she might be concerned one or more of us would decline. Heero snorted at this thought. Yeah right, like she'd let us. Nothing to do but wait. That bit about Duo…guess she's had no luck hunting him down this time either. …She never let us know if there was a voice match; something to ask her about after the briefing. Not something she'd divulge in an e-mail either.

So deep in thought, Heero didn't notice the pair and a half of eyes on him; even so, they didn't take chances and linger for too long. Amused and concerned emerald, and apprehensive hazel-green. Even after they'd left, he continued to just sit and stare at the screen, his thoughts once again running rapid.

To Be Continued….