Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Jokers Wild ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Two

"You don't have to come back," Jaden muttered, shaking hands with Duo. "Obviously you don't have to—you can take Matty and all of them, and go."

"I know," Duo reassured him with a slight grin. "We fully intend to make it look like you didn't accidentally take us to outer-space."

Jaden blinked at him.

"Qing, can you get through to him?" Duo muttered, offering his hand to his friend.

Qingfu had been staring at Quatre, and blinked at Duo as he heard his name.

"Oh wow, I know how to use dye!" Quatre's tone could be described as 'lack-luster'. "Who'd have thought? You didn't even look twice at the black."

"I thought...you were growing it out," Qingfu admitted.

Quatre tilted his head and grinned a bit.

"It was awesome," Duo noted happily. "The day he did the black was the day he decided to be my boyfriend."

"Ballsy," Qingfu noted, flashing the new brunette a smirk.

"You have no idea," Quatre agreed casually, shoving at Duo. "Hurry up. Decide if I want a suit for me, too."

Duo rolled his eyes, then grabbed Quatre and shoved him at the machine in front of him. "I'll take him with me," he informed Jaden and Qingfu. "Give you guys an hour's relief."

"We'll be gone a couple hours, asshole," Quatre retorted, though he was hanging in the door to the shuttle. "You really want me to come?"

Qingfu and Duo both got the brief flash of an almost identical expression as they looked to him.

"I never tried a threesome," Quatre noted, looking Qingfu up and down suggestively as he wiped at the corner of his mouth with a thumb.

"Wow," Jaden muttered blankly.

Quatre started laughing...and disappeared into the transport.

Duo flashed them both a grin, then ducked in himself.

"I'm riding along," Matty noted happily, tugging Heero along with him. He shoved Heero into the machine before stopping beside Duo.

"I think that just fucked with my head," Qing muttered, glancing to Jaden. "Did it fuck with your head?"

"I just have Rab going on about the blond fuck-toy," Jaden returned, making a face. "The jokes seemed fun enough, but it makes me wonder why he was so adamant that Quatre was...a whore."

"Because he's a useless son-of-a-bitch," Duo said in a very level tone. "And couldn't get over the fact that we kids bested him in every aspect. Quatre was the only one he could take a consistent stab at, so he did."

"Nothing like declaring a sixteen year old a sex-toy," Jaden noted to Qing quietly.

Qingfu made a disgusted face, then started to extend a hand.

"Wait for me!" Blake yelled happily, diving between them.

"Damn it, Blake," Trowa muttered, slowing as the teen disappeared into the machine. "I was going to leave him here," he noted dryly to Jaden. He took Qingfu's hand and shook it. "We shouldn't be gone too long. You kidnapped us," he added, taking Jaden's hand. "So you get to put up with us."

"I've...had better ideas," Jaden noted dryly.

Trowa laughed, patting Duo briefly on the shoulder...and ducked inside.

"We still seem to be missing some," Qingfu noted speculatively.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Wufei muttered, moving up to the ship and rolling his eyes. "I've been talking damn fast to get a certain husband to not try and insist we go visiting the friends here."

"You should," Duo protested. "He's been all on about it—let them know, and if they join our cause, we can have like, ten of you—then we'd really get shit done."

Wufei flashed him a grin, patting Qingfu's shoulder and winking at Jaden as he disappeared.

Jinli seemed to be swearing as he moved toward them with a bag over his shoulder. He nodded his head briefly toward Qingfu and Jaden...and disappeared into the machine.

"So that was Quatre," Duo muttered, raising a hand to tick off names. "Then Heero, Trowa...Wufei. Then Jin, Blake, and Matty. Look at that, Supreme, you get rid of all of us for at least the day."

Jaden snickered. "I can have your shit packed in ten minutes."

Duo's focus snapped onto Qingfu. The pair stared at each other, and Duo started almost giggling as he turned and moved onto the ship.

"Wow," Jaden muttered as the door started to seal. "I really just..." he slapped the fingers of his right hand into his left palm, "walked into that one..."

Qingfu started laughing as they moved backwards. "You really did...like badly."

- -

"Well," Une muttered as Trowa led the way off the ship. "You certainly like making waves, don't you?"

"What fun would life be if it was always the same?" Trowa retorted with a shrug. He moved forward to take her hand in his and bow over it as he met her eyes.

She smiled at him, shaking her head as he brushed her hand across his mouth without really touching it. "You're such a jackass," she muttered, though her eyes were sparkling.

"We just want our suits," Quatre informed her happily as he took Trowa's place.

"Your hair!" Une almost protested, moving forward to touch it with her fingertips. "What did you do to your hair?"

"I told him he should go red," Matty noted happily, moving around the other men. "He was bickering about it, though."

"You're so gay," Quatre informed him happily.

"For now—I haven't found an amiable woman yet to check, though."

Duo started snickering. "Heero can find one for both of you."

Quatre snickered wickedly as Une's attention swiveled around to Duo almost scathingly.

Duo laughed more.

It didn't take too long for the group of them to be following the woman down the hallways. She was telling them what orders had been given in their wake in Brazil and Peru.

"You didn't counter any of their notions," Une added. "So they're running like you gave them the go ahead for whatever plans they made."

"I don't care," Duo noted with a shrug. "As long as they don't get in my way, they can do as they will."

She shrugged her agreement to that. "Otherwise..." she turned into an office. "Lu is mad at you. She worked hard to get to Earth and you all just hop back into space like it was nothing."

"Yeah...we...didn't think it out that far," Duo admitted.

The woman shrugged, standing there so they could all move past her.

"Gerrange took a cruise ship," she added, looking them all over as she shut the door. She stopped, though, considering Blake skeptically.

"Make a big deal of it," Trowa challenged her.

The woman huffed at that, moving into the room properly. "Anyway, with Obsidian, he can stay afloat in space for a week without updating his oxygen. We have that time to be sure he..."

"That's only if he thought enough ahead to fill his tanks," Quatre protested. "He may not have—for water or air."

She stared at him.

"The man's not a genius," Quatre reminded her. "Actually, his common sense is lacking, too. We can't assume we have the full week to get him before he drops back planet-side...besides, Obsidian had a house-size hole in her side last time I looked."

"He found some way to patch it well enough to get through the atmosphere," she noted. "So we have to assume he can get back down."

"At least for worse-case scenario," Trowa noted. "Best-case is he burns up on re-entry."

"That's not funny," Blake protested at him with a frown.

Trowa met his eyes briefly, looking amused, then shrugged at the woman.

"So...what do you want?" Wufei asked with interest.

"Get this done within the month," Une shrugged. "Stop fucking around finish it. You fuck around much more and we'll lose any credibility we have as a unit. Demigod is working again. You have Deathscythe—you have Heavyarms. You five saved the fucking world, what the hell is this?"

They all gave her a very level look.

She shrugged again. "You have your assignment. Make it work."

"I love unlimited martial supplies," Wufei chirped happily. "Let's go recruiting," he added to Jinli. "Or at least to visit."

"I want to see Ranger," Quatre noted in amusement.

Matty looked away, realizing the man was on this colony.

"So you'll play for now," Une noted dryly, considering them all levelly. "Of course."

Wufei and Quatre gave her beautiful innocent-looking smiles as Duo shifted to a comfortable stance to consider her.

Une considered him a long moment, then returned her own beautiful smile. "No."

- -

"So you're...in 25," Taofa noted quietly. "As in...probably within two miles of your uncle."

"I suppose you can look at it that way," Matty muttered. "We're only gonna be here a few hours, though."

"Go see Wren."

"Dad," Matty started.

"Go see him," Taofa insisted. "Your uncle wants to see you."

"...Dad," Matty tried again, looking around.

"Go see your uncle," Taofa snapped. "You've been on that colony too many times without seeing him."

Matty huffed.

"My brother wants to see his nephew," Taofa snapped.

"Okay fine!" Matty snapped back. "It's on your head though."

The man started to protest, but Matty ended the call. He stormed from the room irritably, moving with Cardle and his group—they were his guards—to the main area the other pilots were in.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked, looking up to him in concern.

"My dad is insisting I go see my uncle," Matty returned irritably.

"He is on the colony," Heero noted, tilting his head. "He shouldn't mind the soldiers."

"We'll see," Matty agreed, rolling his eyes as he moved to kiss his lover. "I'm gonna just go do it."

"Call in a second unit," Heero ordered the Cardle.

Cardle saluted him easily, gesturing with his head to Matty. "It'll be faster if we all just go gather them up, huh?"

"I'll be back," Matty agreed, kissing Heero again, then turned to follow the man.

- -

Wren Williams opened the door to his house, wondering who'd come to visit...and froze as soldiers poured through the door.

"What is the meaning..." he started...but stopped as one soldier turned to meet his eyes.

He...had a blue stripe of paint on his temple.

Wren frowned.

"All clear!" someone shouted from down the hall.

"All clear!" the call worked its way down the hallway to the door.

Wren was about to demand again, what the meaning of the nonsense was—he hadn't done anything remotely illegal in at least a week—when...of all people in the world...his nephew appeared in the doorway.

Wren stared.

"Hi, Uncle," Matty muttered, moving forward to hug him. "Sorry about this—but dad insisted."

"Your dad insisted you invade my..." he trailed off, turning alarmed. "My girlfriend is in my room!" he shouted. "She's not dressed!"

There was a stifled shriek from the bedroom as the soldiers started talking quickly.

Wren turned to glower at Matty.

"Dad insisted I come visit," Matty informed him with an easy shrug. "I came to visit."

"With half the base with you?" Wren gestured to the soldiers.

"Sir, we're a very small portion of the base," the blond man noted.

"This is Cardle," Matty noted, indicating the guy. "Raymond is most likely the man checking your naked girlfriend out...Raymond," he shouted. "Leave the woman alone."

"I didn't do anything," the man protested, stepping back into the hall to frown at him. "We're checking the area for weaponry, but we won't make her..."

"I have a certified firearm," Wren snapped. "It's in my room."

"He says it's certified," the man noted into the room. "Sorry for the disturbance, miss," he tipped his hat at her, then stood back as the soldiers came from the room.

"I thought all-clear meant the house was clear," Matty added to the blond skeptically.

"We'd rather not have you in the open," the man retorted. "That means getting you to a safe-zone as fast as possible. This is your uncle's home so we haven't gotten as thorough as we normally would."

Wren considered the group of men irritably, then spun to glare at Matty.

"I tried to tell Dad I can't travel alone, but he won't listen," Matty noted, moving to hug the other happily again. "So this is all on him."

Wren snorted. "I'll be sure he knows my...uh...mind."

Matty grinned at him, then bounced toward the kitchen. "You have like, drinks for twenty guys, right?"

"Water," Wren agreed wryly.

Matty started laughing.

- -

"It's in fair condition," the colonel muttered to Quatre as they stood at the feet of a Taurus. "The pieces are all where and how they should fit...that sort of nonsense. The refit took about ten minutes, truth be told. I imagine you're gonna look it over anyway," the man glanced at Quatre. "So I won't bore you with the 'we're safe' lines."

"That's appreciated," Quatre agreed, vaguely amused. His stomach was clenched into a knot of anxiety as he actually considered using the machine—it'd been so long since he'd even entertained the idea. He wanted to have a machine, because the helplessness of man against MS...well, he had the ability to overcome that. It was probably his subconscious giving vent to his paranoia—the nightmares.

In all honesty, he wanted to dig out Sandrock and be done with the whole ordeal, and Une's month deadline. He had the idea in his head that with Sandrock he could win the shit by himself, independent of Duo and the rest. That wasn't realistic or true, but he had been trained to...take over the world...by himself.

...he wondered briefly, what Rashid was doing anymore. They hadn't talked in six months, and the last he'd known, the man had been doing space salvage.

"What are your orders?" the colonel muttered.

"Have my men look it over," Quatre gestured at the machine. "When they get back with Williams-Yuy, I mean. I have some things to take care of."

The man blinked at him.

"You're far too true for me to worry about," Quatre noted in amusement as he started away backwards. "Thank you for your assistance."

The man saluted, looking startled.

Quatre returned the gesture, turning away and starting for the exit.

Duo, who was giving Deathscythe a look-over, stepped onto one of the braces that surrounded the black metal devil to look down at his lover. He smiled, and Quatre smiled back. He held the other's eyes as long as he could manage without walking off-course, then focused on his path...

To see Heero leaning against the wall to the entrance with his arms crossed as he considered the new brunette.

Quatre tilted his head as he moved.

"You're going to Hanager," Heero noted. "We were told not to."

"Shh, don't tell," Quatre pressed his index finger briefly to his lips, not slowing.

"But what do I do meantime?" he protested happily, falling in behind. "I can't get laid, 'cause my boyfriend ran off."

"You're not coming-on to me, are you?" Quatre demanded happily. There was a dark sort of amusement in the other man's bearing. He wasn't coming-on to Quatre, and the idea had probably never crossed his mind.

"You game?" Heero asked happily, glancing back the way they'd come. "I don't think Duo'd mind—he'd probably join."

Quatre swatted at him.

Heero laughed happily, calming as he looked around. "I'm bored."

"I don't want you coming in with me."

"I know that," Heero protested at him. "You're mean to me."

"...all...night...long?" Quatre gave him a perplexed look.

Heero hissed appreciatively, starting to laugh again.

"Sorry, it's my response to your boy...friend..." he trailed off, realizing how badly misconstrued that could be.

"Hm," Heero returned easily.

"So, Heero!" Quatre chirped the words brightly, turning to smile at his friend. "How are you?"

"I want to say horny," Heero returned, giving him a thoughtful look. "But I don't really mean it."

Quatre started laughing.

Heero grinned, looking around again. "I'd let you be mean to me all night long."

Quatre guffawed.

The man laughed again, meeting Quatre's eyes. He considered his friend a long moment, then shook his head and looked away again.

"What?" Quatre demanded suspiciously.

"If I'd said that to you a year ago," Heero returned, "what would your response be?"

"I'd blush damn hard," Quatre realized, thinking back. "I wouldn't be able to speak or look at you for an hour."

"I wouldn't have said it to you a year ago," Heero noted thoughtfully. "You've changed."

"And you haven't?" Quatre gave him another interested look.

"I like being in love," Heero noted, meeting his eyes.

Quatre nodded his own agreement, glancing back the way he'd come. It was strange to think how his relationship with Duo had changed.

"Granted, a year ago we weren't part of this."

"That's water under the bridge," Quatre noted.

"Mm, on your fifteen," Heero muttered. "Act casual."

Quatre looked back at him, then nodded his head...and Heero veered off down the hall they were passing. Quatre picked up speed as he passed the thing, looking around himself. He hadn't even considered what he'd tell anyone who approached him—probably the truth, actually. He had no idea what Heero was going to say, and couldn't rightly care.

He wanted to see what Hanager was now...how he'd changed...what resources he thought he had. The man had some, and the closer Quatre got to him, the more he could feel that smoldering confidence.

He turned into the wing where the prisoners were kept, noting the various soldiers salute respectfully.

He grinned as he slid his badge through the reader, and moved past the men without a word.

They probably knew he wasn't supposed to see Hanager...but they weren't going to interfere with him if they could help it, and not talking to them put them in a form of the-clear.

The pull to the other man was almost like a siren's song...a sort of luring bait. He followed it through the various halls as the various prisoners turned to look at him. Some cat-called after him, and some just moved to look out the windows of their cells...probably in wonder.

He didn't know how many rules he was breaking, being down here with no guards.

"Good god, what are you doing here?" Hanager demanded from where he was sitting against a back wall. He had the upper part of his jump-suit tied around his waist, and a white t-shirt under it...other than that, he was a little unkempt.

"Hi, Deroy," Quatre returned happily.

"What did you do to your hair?" the man added, shifting the book he'd evidently been reading over as he considered Quatre. He set the book down finally, running a hand through his own. "I guess I'm not really one to talk."

Quatre watched him a long moment, leaning against the sill—the cells had large picture-windows to see inside them...but the glass wasn't thick. It was run through with a wire-mesh, too.

"I'm surprised they let you down here," Hanager added. "I don't suppose you've come to kill me, have you? I'm bored out of my fucking mind." The guy looked around a moment, then pushed himself up. "You're alone," he noted, moving toward the window. "How are you alone?"

"I have this pretty little rank tag," Quatre returned, tapping the star. "Very few people tell me what to do."

"But when you're naughty, you get more than a slap on the wrist," the man noted, moving right up to the glass. He looked down the hall in either direction as far as he could manage, then leaned forward. He had both his hands supporting him on the inner-sill, centered, so he was as close to the glass as he could manage without touching it.

"It's harder than you might imagine to get me in trouble," Quatre noted in amusement, allowing the sense of the other man to surround him. He wasn't sure Hanger wasn't doing the exact same thing in return, but it also didn't matter, because Quatre was free to do whatever the fuck he wanted.

"What are you doing?" Hanager asked after a long moment, looking around Quatre. "I feel..."

"Me?" Quatre offered in amusement, raising one hand so the sensation moved over his palm. "I know you, Deroy," he said happily. "I can feel your life-force, your hopes...all but read your forsaken mind," he grinned a bit wickedly. "You get to watch the news, huh?"

"I saw," the man agreed, not rising to the offered malice. "I saw what your friends did to that ship. I saw what J started...how does it feel, hm? How does it feel to have a new lap dog?"

"It's just the warmest snuggliest thing," Quatre returned, lowering his voice as he leaned forward in a similar manner to the prisoner. "You should see how he melts when I pet him."

There was an upset sort of angered jealousy in response to that. Ranger hadn't really quit being Jaden's friend...they'd had no proper falling out or conclusion to their relationship, whatever it had been.

Quatre took a moment to appreciate the anger and how little it had taken to bring it to the fore.

Ranger glared, his demeanor relaxing.

"You've made friends," Quatre breathed, smirking slightly. "Guess who I'm going to find?" he shifted back a step with a smirk. "You're the bad guy, remember?"

The calm melted away from the other man as his expression became angry.

Quatre smirked, stepping back again. "I think I'm gonna go for general," he decided happily. "I wonder what Rabid would think of that, huh?"

The man slammed his palms to the glass, his expression beyond pissed.

Quatre laughed a little more, sliding his hands into his pocket as he started to stroll away. He started whistling as he moved, considering the ceiling as he did so...realizing it was the old revolution tune. The prisoner's wing wasn't quiet, really, but his whistle was crisp and clear as it carried it through the air...and he changed it at a convenient break to another tune...it was called 'The Emperor's March'.

That emperor had thrown down a rebellion, and it was the song played as the emperor met with the rebel leader...and sliced off his head.

Ranger was snarling.

Quatre laughed to himself as he moved back out of the area, noting the soldiers looking at him like they were deer and he was a lion. It made him laugh a little more as he met each and every one of their eyes...and walked away.

...it was time, metaphorically speaking, to sharpen his sword.

- -

"Hey, brother," Wren muttered happily.

"Wren," Taofa perked up. "Did my brat of a son stop by?"

"Oh yes," Wren agreed with mock happiness. "Him and all twenty of his personal guard."

Taofa stopped.

"He said he felt bad, but you'd insisted," Wren went on happily. "So he came to stop by...Tao? I have this girlfriend...she's...pretty young with this hot ass body..."

Taofa raised his eyebrows.

"Sexy as hell...rocks my world..."

Tao rolled his eyes.

"She was naked in my bedroom...when the soldiers came to visit...they didn't make her get out of the bed...but she's not gonna rock my world tonight."

Tao started laughing wickedly.

"You laugh..."

"Wren," Taofa returned evenly. "I have a seventeen year old daughter who's gotten more action in the last year of her life...not even having sex yet...and she's gotten more action in the last year than I have since her mother died. Do you really expect to gain my sympathy by telling me you're not getting laid tonight? Really?"

Wren snickered himself.

"Besides," Tao went on happily, taking a drink from his cup. "I only made him do it so he remembered I'm his dad and he has to listen to me."

Wren glared at him a long moment, amused and trying to hide it. "Taofa?" he muttered. "I would tell you I hate you...and hang up...but then you'd probably get struck by lightning and the last thing I'd have said to you was I hated you."

Taofa started laughing...and ended the call. He turned raising his banana back to his mouth...and blinked at his daughter.

"Uncle Wren, huh?" she asked, a wicked grin on her face. "I feel bad for his girlfriend."

"You heard that, huh?" Tao asked, making a slight face. "You weren't supposed to eavesdrop."

"I was going to ask if you minded if I went to Ade's."

"No," he returned. "Go away."

Lifon giggled, bouncing over to hug him and take his banana. "I love you, Daddy..." she kissed his cheek. "You should go on a date."

"Since it's that easy," he retorted, putting his hand on his hip as she dumped the banana peel into the garbage...and bounced from the kitchen.

"I love you, Daddy!" she said again happily from the door.

"I love you, too," he returned, rolling his eyes as he looked around for the banana he'd been eating...and realized that she'd taken it. "Little snot," he complained as the car door shut. He dug out another banana with a sigh, grinning slightly to himself as he moved back to the living room.

He...sort of wanted to hear her next conversation with Matty.

- -

Matty considered the soldier who was trying to complain to Heero with interest as he tried to focus on what about the man seemed odd. He couldn't focus on anything specifically, but it was a very distinct...something.

Quatre moved into the room with his hands in his pockets and an unmistakable swagger. He smiled at Matty as he neared them, then tilted his own head. He thought about something a moment...

...guilt. Matty could feel the man's guilt and uncertainty. There was also a growing hope or something like that in it.

Quatre snorted slightly, making the wind-it-up gesture at Heero as he turned to the door. He gestured a soldier in after him, looking back to the other man.

"Sir?" the soldier muttered, saluting Quatre uncertainly.

"This man is not to get closer than a hundred meters of Deroy Hanager for the duration of Hanager's stay," Quatre noted pleasantly.

The soldier who'd been complaining stared at Quatre, his jaw starting to drop.

"That is a complete non-contact order," Quatre went on pleasantly. "Be sure that people are advised."

The soldier looked blankly to the other man, then saluted again and looked around a moment. He finally spotted the computer console, moving to it and scanning his own badge.

Ah, MP.

Matty shifted to move behind Heero, giving him an upset look.

The man was a friend of Ranger.

"You can't..." the man in question started.

Quatre raised a hand, palm out as he smiled at the other man. "Please, you can file a formal complaint and appeal. My order stands."

"But, Sir..." the man started.

Quatre gave him an interested look, glancing at Matty. He smiled, though, focusing back on the other man. "I'm sorry, I'm being dictatorial. At the very least I should explain my reasoning, shouldn't I?" He glanced back at Matty again.

What was with him?

"You see," Quatre looked back to the other man. "I'm what's commonly called a space-heart. The term implies a paranormal ability to sense the emotions and motives of people around me—empathy, if you will. I've been trained by the government, and my abilities have been manifest and documented in all of their forms. As a Brigadier General of the Earthsphere Alliance, and a space-heart, I can make this sort of...uh... subjective? ...order." He glanced at Matty. "Upon your appeal, a panel of space hearts will weigh my orders and decide if I was out of bounds in making such a decision. If you go directly to the central processing area, and I will give you such an order if you'd like, you can have a hearing arranged tomorrow afternoon."

The man stared at him.

Quatre smiled sweetly.

"Under what grounds do you give this order?" the MP guy asked, looking back to Quatre.

"Suspicion of fraternizing with the enemy," Quatre returned.

"And what evidence would you have stated?" the guy was typing.

"As a space-heart, I can sense the connection between the two men. I spoke with Deroy Hanager a brief time ago..."

"You were ordered by Une not to approach..." the man started, turning to stare at him.

"I was," Quatre agreed. "I ignored the orders. That's not the point at this moment. Finish with this before approaching that."

The man rolled his eyes expressively, turning back to typing.

"...I spoke with Deroy Hanager a brief time ago," Quatre repeated. "And found that he had an unwarranted hope, and connections to people on the base who were not confined. I am searching out those men at this time in order to prevent any possible inconvenience to all those involved."

The MP shook his head, starting to click through other things, then turned and extended a preemptory hand toward the soldier in question.

The man frowned, moving across and giving his badge without hesitation. That was scanned, then a second time.

"And mine," Quatre added, extending his. "To verify the originating orders."

"Matty and I are witness," Heero noted, also moving over to extend his badge.

Matty hadn't expected that, and moved around nearer to Quatre as the soldier they were dealing with blinked at him. Matty couldn't meet the man's eyes as he fumbled his own badge out, meeting eyes with the MP nervously...and blinking at the blue streak on his temple.

The MP-guy smiled slightly at him, scanning his badge and passing it back before saluting Quatre...and starting to sign out of the program.

"I'd like to find the other contact," Quatre informed the man calmly. "Before you broach the orders I ignored."

The man nodded tersely, starting away. "I expect you to return to me as soon as your business is finished."

"Of course," Quatre agreed sweetly.

The other soldier saluted them all, lowering his eyes.

"There's no shame in friendship," Quatre noted quietly. "Or personal attraction. The orders are to prevent mischief on Hanager's part—to protect you from such mischief should he decide to use you in some form. I apologize."

The man saluted again, then hesitated and looked to Matty.

Matty stepped back quickly.

"Why are you afraid of me?" he asked quietly.

"He's a special. I couldn't do what he wanted me to...so he used his training. He scares me, and he's tried to abduct me."

The man considered him a long moment, the nodded his head and started silently from the room.

Quatre sighed, looking back to Heero and Matty. "How pissed you think that MP'll be when I take off with you guys before presenting myself?"

Heero flashed him a grin as Matty slid into his arms, glancing down briefly. "He didn't give you his name...or try and make sure you knew it."

"What?" Quatre asked blankly.

"The MP. He said for you to turn yourself into him...but didn't say who he was or where he'd be. Do you know him?"

Quatre smirked very slightly, meeting Matty's eyes. "No idea."

Heero snorted.

"Wow," Matty muttered, leaning more into his lover. "That's just...special."