Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Nevergreen ❯ Chapter 4

Title: Nevergreen

Author: Lethanon

Archive: www.geocities.com/lethanon

Warnings: AU, Australia, language.

Notes: ...hmm.....strange games, weird pets...just a usual arvo in condo.

4:

Heero was the last into the house, frowning a little as both Trowa and Duo walked straight down the hallway without removing their shoes. Heero, accustomed to rather expensive carpet, could not bring himself to do any such thing and quickly undid his shoelaces, wondering if that was why Trowa always seemed to wear farm boots. They were the ugliest, most generic shoe imaginable, but Heero assumed you could get them off in under three seconds.

By the time he got to the kitchen, Trowa was already standing by the fridge and Duo was perched on the kitchen bench, leaning over the sink to fill up the kettle. Heero couldn't help but notice the water coming out of the tap was brown. He had not noticed that before but felt compelled to take the beer Trowa offered rather than attempt a cuppa.

It was strange, in Heero's opinion. No one spoke; they just moved about the kitchen like ghosts, each holding to an afternoon ritual of their own devising. Heero went to the back door and opened it wide, leaving only the screen between him and the outside world. The air that rushed inside was hot, but at least it wasn't stale.

"I smell dust…" Duo noted quietly, twisting over the back side of the bench to look out the door.

"Dust storm coming," Trowa noted quietly, heading toward the lounge room.

"Tro, you've been saying that for two weeks straight!" Duo followed and Heero found his own feet trailing after them both as he took a long swallow from his Foster's.

"And I'm right," Trowa said as he collapsed into a chair that groaned in response. It was an old rickety thing and Heero had decided on his first night that it wasn't overly comfortable. He surveyed the rest of the furniture and decided it wasn't really worth it, sitting on the floor instead, leaning against the long couch and watching Duo rifle through the contents of their video cabinet.

It turned out Trowa had a gaming fetish as big as Heero's own, but while Heero had always stuck to PC games, Trowa was a consoles man. He had everything from the original Atari to the X-box. Sega Master systems, mega drives, Nintendo's, playstations, you name it and Duo was pulling it out of the cupboard.

"Hmm…" Heero saw Trowa studying him from the corner of his one visible eye. "Let's play Hang On."

Duo pulled a face and held up the old mega drive cover.

"Tro, its gotta be the shittest game you own!"

"I know, but its multiple players and I feel like ramming Heero with a bike."

They both paused at that, apparently considering what had been said while Heero merely sat and wondered if what he had heard really was what Trowa had said. He still wasn't sure even when Duo slammed the game into the console and switched it on.

"I'm all for that," Duo agreed, tossing a controller at Trowa then grabbing the other two and heading for Heero. Heero stared at the little black thing for several seconds before snatching it, very much aware of Duo as he curled up on the long lounge, right behind Heero. The lounge was not small, and the end Heero had chosen to sit at was not the closest to the television. Heero felt a slight smile blooming, but then Trowa chuckled and he glared at the other man.

"Heero…you planning on going any time soon?" Trowa asked politely enough, but there was something so sarcastic about the way the man was glancing from him to the TV that Heero couldn't help blushing before he even realized what he had done.

They had already started racing. Someone had paused the game. The split screen showed Trowa in the lead, Duo not far behind and Heero…still sitting at the starting line. Something warm dropped down into Heero's lap where the controlled was and grabbed hold of one of his fingers, slamming it down on one of the buttons.

"That's the accelerator," Duo breathed heavily in his ear. Another brush of lazy fingers and his thumb met another button. "That's the break." Another shift of fingers and Duo was leaning even further over him, the long plait dropping across Heero's chest. "Use this one to fire."

"Fire?" Heero questioned quietly, wondering just what he had got himself into.

"That is the idea Heero," Duo laughed, leaning back into the lounge and it was suddenly much cooler. Heero heard a light chuckle from Trowa's direction but there was no time to comment as the game roared to life, the ridiculous midi music filling the room as the battle began. Heero barely reached sixty mps before Trowa rammed him up the arse and sent him flying into a cactus. It took him a full thirty seconds to get back on the bike. This time he skirted the edge of the course until he was sitting nicely at 120. That was when Duo found him…and so did the missile. It meant war.

Several hours and many more virtual prangs later the sun was starting to set and the heat was finally lifting enough that their promises of death and destruction were being replaced with suggestions of dinner on the verandah and a few more coldies as they watched the footy. Heero was only putting it off because he didn't want to face the mozzies yet, but he knew his stomach was making just as much noise as anyone else's.

In the end it was not a final hit in the game, or a stomach that growled too loudly that finally had them turn away from the TV, but the sound of a car in the driveway. Heero didn't bother getting up, watching as Duo leaned over the couch and poked his head around the dark red curtain.

"Aww….I fink I sawd a puddy tat!"

Trowa stood immediately, headed for the front door while Duo sat back and shared a knowing look with Heero. They didn't have to wait long before they heard the distinct sound of a car door closing and the soft murmur of voices. They waited several minutes and were about to head outside when Trowa's startled voice stopped them dead.

"You can't be serious?"

"But, Tro! He's got nowhere else to go! They'll kill him!"

Heero raised a brow but Duo just shrugged so they headed outside to find out exactly what was going on. Trowa was looking in the tray of Quatre's Ute, shoulders slumped, obviously unable to tell Quatre `no'. Quatre was standing at his side and the most pleading look on his face Heero had ever seen and for a brief moment he didn't want to say no either. That was, until a certain sound came from the back of the Ute.

Baa.

Heero blinked, wondered if he was hearing things, then heard it again and groaned. Quatre could not, surely, be serious? Heero stepped closer and the little white head peered over the rim of the tray and the little black eyes fixed themselves on Heero and it bleated again. Heero groaned.

"Quatre, we can't have a lamb!" Trowa tried to explain.

"But he's sick and Dad'll just put him down and Iria's at boarding school so she can't take care of him, and he's just a little lamb!"

"Quat, lambs grow into sheep!" Duo appeared on the other side of Heero and poked the little animal on the butt. The lamb stared at him, bleated, and went back to staring at Heero.

"But…you can eat it when it's big," Quatre pointed out.

"You want us to eat it? We could eat it now then!" Heero thought Duo sounded a little too eager at that thought.

"NO! It's just a little lamb!"

"But…you eat lamb all the time!" Duo protested, watching the lamb eye Heero with distaste. "I don't like this one. I think it will taste good. We should eat it."

"But I don't know those lambs, Duo! And you're not eating Sandstone!"

They all paused, all blinked. Finally, Heero recovered.

"Sandstone, Quatre?"

Quatre blushed a dark red and wrapped his hands in the bottom of his flanny.

"Well, he keeps licking the dunny wall…and its sandstone, so…"

Duo laughed so hard he fell down below the line of the Ute tray. Trowa was laughing politely behind his hair; Heero could tell by the way his shoulders shuddered. Heero himself was merely blinking, trying to decide what to think and not quite sure he should think anything at all.

"You want to give us a lamb…that licks…your dunny wall?" Heero tried to keep his voice calm, without emotion, but it was very hard to do when Quatre was looking at him as if he had said nothing out of the ordinary and still have that pleading look on his face.

"Please, Mr. Yuy? Oh, you'll take him won't you Tro? Please? You can't let him die! He's just a little lamb, and he's so cute!"

Trowa sighed and Heero slumped, knowing they were about to get a new pet. He couldn't help but wonder if the lamb would like the taste of their bricks. Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of his thoughts, Heero nodded once to Trowa's silent inquiry and headed back inside, aware of Duo following quickly behind. Heero was very proud of the fact he did not laugh until they were back in the kitchen, then he laughed so hard he nearly choked on the dust mites.

When he settled down a bit he looked up to find Duo staring at him with wide eyes, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Heero asked, wondering if he'd accidentally stuck his face in a plate of lamingtons.

"You should laugh more often…although…you kinda sound psychotic when you do. I know! I'll take you to Bloomfield and they'll pay my a hundred bucks to admit you for doing such a wonderful public service!"

Heero was beginning to think Duo had a rather sick sense of humour, but the fact he laughed at it; laughed at Duo making fun of him, told him he must have liked it.

"Nah," Heero finally replied. "A hundred won't even pay for the petrol. But we could take Quatre and the lamb…"

"That still won't pay for petrol…" Duo pointed out, a mischievous look in his eyes that Heero matched easily enough.

"No, but it'll get rid of the lamb."

Duo's laughter rang out in the kitchen and Heero couldn't help hearing the small echoes as the sound reverberated off the cool tiles. He liked it; liked the way it was warm without the blistering heat of everything else. Liked that it was there at all, and that it failed to remind him of anything else.

"Look at it on the bright side, Heero," Duo pointed out, leaning on the long bench and looking Heero in the eye. "At least you won't have to mow the lawn."

Heero didn't feel like moving, but Duo had somehow gotten very close and some small part of his brain knew that really wasn't allowed, so he backed away, mind racing for a reason, eyes slipping sideways to gaze out the door and he had it.

"If we had any grass."

And there was laughter again as the side gate opened and Trowa and Quatre marched through, the older man dropping the lamb he had been carrying and watching it bounce around the yard as they moved up to the verandah. It took three minutes before the lamb went to the wall and gave it a lick. Heero grimaced, Duo just looked at it calculatingly as they moved onto the verandah to join Trowa and Quatre.

"You know Heero," Duo whispered conspiratorially. "I reckon we could get two hundred for that one."

"Do you think he's lonely Trowa? Maybe I should have bought two?"

Heero stopped dead, thankful to see the slightly pained look on Trowa's face.

"Which one?" Heero whispered in Duo's ear and they both laughed as they walked to the steps, leaving Trowa and Quatre to the chairs. The sunset had spread across the horizon, lighting the sky on fire. It looked to Heero to be in its death throws, the scarlet tones in the centre giving way to the dulcet tones of purple and indigo as daylight gave way to twilight. They all sat there in quiet contemplation of the day's end, none daring to break the quiet comfort of one another's company even when Trowa got up, grabbed the steak off the bench and started up the Barbie. Quatre's voice was a soft murmur as they spoke in dull tones, and it was a nice background noise to Heero's thoughts.

Heero watched Duo from the corner of his eye, watching the way the sunlight slowly seeped from the golden strands of hair and left them darker, somehow more mysterious but no less full of life. His eyes were the same colour as the sky at that moment when the moon first rises after the sun has just set; you only get that colour a few times a year but it was every second of every day, right there in Duo's face. The skin was paler after the sun went down, still tanned but somehow lighter, as if lit by some internal light, like a switch had been flicked. The clothes were loose. Heero hadn't really noticed that before, but it was the same with all his students. He assumed it was the fashion. The shirts were easily four sizes too large, the pants loose and baggy. It should have looked stupid, and he supposed on some people it would. But the excess fabric folded its way around Duo's body and rather than looking stupid it seemed somehow…alluring. You could hide anything under there.

He was snapped from his thoughts when Trowa banged on the bbq with a spatula and announced dinner was served. Duo reacted immediately, leaping to his feet and rushing over to grab bread and toss some meat on it. Heero followed at a more sedate pace, content to just let the cool evening breeze settle his thoughts and the presence of friends soothe a soul unexpectedly weary. And listen to the not-so soft bleating of a lamb that had somehow become partially his.

*

They were just getting Quatre to the Ute when yet another vehicle pulled up in the driveway, and while it wasn't a Ute, it was still a V8 Falcon with all the gear and Heero still felt like an idiot when he glanced over at his BMW still parked safely behind the garage doors. He noticed Mr. Black still sitting on his verandah and waved politely, wondering if the fat fuck had seen the latest addition to the family, before turning his attention back to the V8 and its owner. He was not overly surprised when Wufei got out.

"Chang," Trowa nodded and Wufei grinned in return. Heero did not think it had taken him the usual thirty minutes to get to Condo from Yarrabandi. "You're a bit early aren't you?"

Heero blinked, recalled that tomorrow was the art class Wufei was assisting to teach and he himself was expected to attend, and decided Trowa's brain made strange leaps he would rather not think about. Quatre was there to do that.

"Funny, Barton. I feel like drinkin'. This way it don't matter if I can't walk before mornin'."

"You're stayin' here then, I take it," Trowa observed dryly, leaning over to close Quatre's door subconsciously. Quatre smile slightly then the engine spluttered to life and he was backing out, waving to Wufei and spinning the wheel theatrically as if he really did want to run the Asian man over. Heero wondered about that but really couldn't be bothered stressing his brain cells over it.

"I don't mind sharing my bed, since it's obviously taken now…" Wufei sniffed, heading for the front door while Duo snickered and Trowa chuckled and Heero simply wondered if that really thought what he thought it did.

The kitchen was not in the middle of the house, but Heero was starting to think of it as the hub; everyone who entered headed there first. Usually to the fridge. Heero didn't blame them and he even took the beer Wufei offered him, raising a brow as Duo did the same.

"Well, you see, Mr. Yuy. By all laws I'm legal. I only have to behave at school, on school grounds. Technically." Heero thought Duo and the government's concept of `technically' differed a little. Actually, if he was honest he knew from first hand experience that it did. Nothing was that simple, and yet, at the same time…maybe here it was.

"So what's on the cards for tonight?" Wufei looked from one blank face to the next and Heero shrugged. He was not in a decision making mood. It was too hot, too late and too soon after watching the Galah beat itself up repeatedly.

"Beer, footy…the usual?" Trowa suggested, not really sounding all that enthused. Heero thought he was just opening the possibilities, getting the ball rolling…or burning the stick at both ends. It remained to be seen.

"I wanna play slam-ball."

Heero blinked at Duo, but the others were nodding as if they knew what he was talking about and they were all heading for the door, beers in hand, so Heero followed them outside. Trowa went to a large wooden box and began pulling rackets and balls from inside while Wufei grabbed a bottle of Aeroguard and started spraying, spraying Trowa as he did went before passing it on to Duo. Heero had a sneaking suspicion he knew why Quatre would like to run Wufei over. It was odd to realize it amused him as he watched Duo spray all visible pieces of flesh before turning on him with the ordinary looking little blue bottle.

Duo's face split with a mischievous grin and Heero took an instinctive step back. It was all he managed before Duo was in, spraying like mad and he had no choice but to clench his eyes shut and grin and bare it. It felt odd to have no control over the mozzie repellant; to feel only the cool spray with no idea where it was coming from or where it would go next.

"Wouldn't want the mozzies to get you," Duo's voice whispered against the back of his neck, breath a gentle caress that would have sent Heero into a spluttering mess if he had any way of gathering that kind of energy. Instead, he just shivered slightly, letting his eyes flicker open as he turned around. Duo still had that damn grin on his face.

"Hn."

"I'm serious!" But he was still grinning like a loon. "I might get jealous," Duo winked as he slipped past Heero and grabbed a weird looking tennis racket off Trowa. Heero followed quietly, still feeling the lingering touch of the air Duo had breathed running over his neck. He took the racket Trowa proffered and studied it as he followed them all down into the yard and toward the large back wall.

It was a tennis racket, once. The top of the wooden frame had obviously been snapped over time but rather than getting rid of the broken tool someone had taken all the broken strands and attached them to the sides, leaving a decent sized hole in the middle of the racket. The strands down the sides of the racket were still sprung well and would be more than capable of sending a ball flying, but if it went through the hole…that could hurt. Heero looked up at the back wall and realized it had no windows; it was just one large expanse of creamy brick with a basketball ring in the middle.

"It's easy, Yuy," Wufei noted Heero's lack of comprehension. "You hit the ball as hard as you can at the wall and yell someone's name. They've got to hit it when it rebounds. If you miss you lose a point. If you get it through the hoop you get a point. If the ball goes through your racket the person who hit it gets a point. It's the first to fifty."

Fifty…Heero blinked. Surely that would take…forever? He was still not really sure how it worked, but there was no more time to think about it as Trowa served the ball and called Duo's name, the ball going through the hoop, ricocheting off the bricks and then slamming into the side of Duo's racket, heading back to the wall as Duo called Wufei's name…

It didn't really take that long to get the hang of it. The hardest part was figuring out ways to ensure the ball hit the right part of the racket. Especially since even the ball had been modified to weigh more than a normal ball, red dirt put inside to make the rotation of the ball erratic and its flight far from straight. It was, quite possibly, the most ridiculous game he had ever seen, but he was up to thirty when Wufei was close to winning, Trowa coming in a close second, and they had not been playing more than two hours. It wasn't taking forever, just a nice evening of fun. Heero liked that. That he could still have fun. That he could find pleasure in just being with friends. Even if it was stinking hot and he could feel his pants sticking and chaffing his legs like glue.

Wufei looked ready to win when he called Heero's name and Heero tracked the flight of the ball as it rebounded and leapt to the side…And missed the ball. Scowling, sure that he had guessed the trajectory right, he stood up and glared around him, all too well aware of the dead silence all around him.

Movement caught his eye and he looked down at his right side and had to blink. Several times. There, staring up at him with big black eyes that looked even darker in the starlight, the ball stretching its gob wide, was the lamb.

"You can't be serious…" Trowa laughed. "Who the hell gets that point?"

Duo was laughing too hard to answer, Wufei was scowling at the little animal that had dared steal his victory. Heero didn't know what to do, still trying to process the fact the lamb was playing with them; had in fact played fetch as if it were a dog. Finally, the lamb butted his leg and he reached down, grinning stupidly as it dropped the ball into his hand.

"My point," Heero suddenly decided, moving down the side to serve.

"What!" Wufei bellowed. "How do you figure that Yuy?"

"It's my lamb," Heero shrugged. "Besides, it's obviously on my team."

"There are no teams, and I own half that lamb too…" Trowa pointed out, glaring at the lamb as if blaming it for not taking his side. It was, after all, his gift.

"Duo." Heero served the ball and Duo raced off to the side, but Heero didn't see what happened next. He was watching the lamb, who watched the ball but did not chase after it, remaining at Heero's side until Trowa called Heero's name and he moved. And the lamb moved with him.

Wufei lost seven points very quickly and Trowa won the match. Wufei scowled at the lamb all the way back to the verandah as they packed away the racket and balls. Duo was grinning from ear to ear as he held out a handful of grass and the lamb ate it as if it were a little kid with chocolate. Heero watched them, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Duo…you going home?" Wufei asked, nonchalant, a darkness in his eyes as he waited quietly in the doorway for a reply.

"Hmm….Can I stay?" He looked over at Trowa for a response. Heero wondered why he had not asked him, but decided that really wasn't something he should think about. Trowa had lived here longer and Duo was just used to having to ask him. Which made Heero wonder just how often Duo stayed over…at a teacher's house…He wasn't sure what he thought of that. He knew what others thought of it.

"You're always welcome, Duo. Stop asking. Wufei doesn't." Trowa slapped Wufei up the side of the head as he shouldered past and disappeared inside, already heading for the linen closet to grab some sheets. Heero stood on the verandah with his lamb and just stared up at the stars, trying to think but unable to form thoughts that made any sense. Something in the very air scrambled everything and he was beginning to like it. Very much.

"It's okay…isn't it?"

Startled, Heero turned and looked at Duo, who was still standing there with him, waiting nervously, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Heero wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded. Duo's eyes twinkled in the night-light as he turned and headed inside. Heero glanced one last time at the sky and smiled. It was like Duo; that same dark bastard mix of cobalt and violets drenched in shades of mystery.

It took three poorly aimed kicks and damn near slamming the door on Sandstone's nose to convince the lamb it would not sleeping inside.