Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Pulse ❯ Whatcha Hidin'? ( Chapter 2 )

Pulse, 2

Five Years Later: Earth: Winner Compound ( one of the many )

Duo bounced down the stairs, his long braid bouncing along with him, the tail whipping around and smacking anything in reach.

"Hiya Fei, whatcha doin? Huh? Huh?" Darting side to side, Duo tried like mad to see what Wufei was hiding.

"Back off baka!" Wufei growled at Duo.

"Fine, I see how it is. I share EVERYTHING with you, but you won't share one little-bitty secret with me. Yeah, I get it!" Wildly exaggerating the scene, he plopped himself down in a chair, folded his lanky arms and proceeded to pout. Peeking out from under his bangs, he sneaked a look at Wufei to see if his act had worked.

"Duo, if you stick that lip out any further, a bird is going to fly by and shit on it." Wufei stated in a dead serious voice.

Duo's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open, gaping. "Fei . . . did you just . . . just . . . crack a joke? Man!! You've been holdin' out on me all this time!!"

Wufei's eyes crinkled with laughter and a weak attempt at innocence. Then, a curious light entered his eyes as he gazed at Duo's chest. "Maxwell, what's that chain around your neck?"

"Wh-What chain? What're you talkin' bout?

"The one you just tucked away, baka. It has some kinda' charm on it. I saw it clearly. What are you up to Duo?"

"Ne, Wufei, please don't bring it up right now." Duo pleaded with big puppy dog eyes.

"You `share EVERYTHING' with me?"

"Wu-man!"

"Neh, Fine, I'll drop it, for now."

~.~.~

Things had become much more relaxed around the group since they had broken ties with the "Mad Five." So Wufei decided to ask the all knowing one on the team, in the vain hope that Heero would have some sort of clue as to Duo's necklace.

"Heero, have you ever seen the necklace Duo has. The one with a dangle on it?"

Heero looked up from his laptop, the usual blank mask in place. "No, Wufei. I didn't even know Duo wore one, aside from his crucifix."

"Yes, I saw it the other day. It slipped out from under his shirts. I was just curious and couldn't resist asking."

"Well, I have never seen it." Inside Heero's mind, thoughts ran back and forth as he slipped a hand into his pocket. Carefully, he spun his own ring around on his pinkie finger, reassured by the solid weight.

"Thanks anyway Heero." Wufei walked off, never knowing the hornets he had stirred up

~.~.~

Heero poked his head around the corner and observed Duo and Quatre. They appeared to be playing "Uno." The multi-colored cards spread out over the floor seemed to be keeping them entertained.

Well, whatever, as long as they aren't plotting he thought. The last time the two had plotted, he, Trowa, and Wufei had been abducted to a roller coaster park. Not that it hadn't been fun . . . but still . . . after the three captives had been force-fed cotton candy and some flavored ice drinks, they had all made three trips on each roller coaster. The shrieks of kids, the dry heaves of the other park visitors, the cotton candy, whirling noises and beeps; the memories still chased a shudder down his spine. The "Detonator" had been the worst. It was too much like his jump from the hospital building. Heero just wasn't the suicide type, not really. He just had to have some kind of front.

"Duo, mission room, now" he barked.

Quatre grinned good naturedly as the multi-colored cards settled onto the ground. Heero had barked a little too sharply and Duo's startled reaction spread the cards over the floor. .

With a quiet "eep" and a resigned sigh, Duo trudged off to the renovated and reconstructed old mission room.

~.~.~

With a falsely aggravated sigh, Duo flopped onto a worn beige couch. The old mission room had been converted into a meeting room, well kinda'. This meeting room was more the source of rebellion plotting and battle plans than any sort of business merger. The deep oak paneling on the walls blended nicely with the soft suede couches in olive green and beige. One wall was covered with computers, scanners, and other mechanical devices. The center piece of the room was a large oak table, 10' by 15', on which were many different maps and a few 3D images of planets.

"What are you gonna ream me about this time Heero? You can't still be mad about that snowman episode. I mean c'mon, Wing looked good in white." Big, sparkling eyes gleamed up at Heero, faking innocence.

"This isn't about Wing. But, touch'm again and I'll castrate you."

With a quick grimace, Duo suddenly curled up, protecting his threatened self. "Well then what's this about?"

"Wufei saw your ring."

"He said he'd drop it!"

"Well the curiosity overwhelmed him. Eventually he'll notice that we all have one. All of us but him." Heero asked the question in a considering manner, Duo knew he wasn't actually asking for his plans.

"Sometime we're gonna hafta' tell him. He's not stupid, damn, he's almost smarter than you." Duo rattled this off with a quick grin, scratching at Heero's stoic façade.

"Hn."

"God I miss her. She was like a sister. I remember that she would always brush and braid my hair for me. Then she would tuck me in and curl up between me and the door. Fuck." Duo ground his teeth with frustration. Kaylyn's sudden disappearance from his life had left a hole, almost the size of the one from Maxwell church.

Heero said nothing in reply, but if one looked closely they would notice the twitch of muscles in his jaw.

A quiet rush of memories sped through his mind, flashes of images from when Kaylyn would read to him at night. The time when she had sewn all his clothes up, especially all his ripped spandex shorts. The way she would sleep each night, on the floor if necessary, between him and the door.

"Why would she turn her ring off? WHY?! She knew we would come for her, when we broke ties. I can't believe she just up and disappeared." Duo rambled his feelings aloud, trying to express his frustration.

"I tried tracking it before it faded out." This quiet admission came from Heero. "Whenever I would get close, I THINK I got close, the pulse would be stronger. I could tell. But then . . . she turned it off. And I had nothing left to follow."

~.~.~

Two days later the subject was still itching in Duo's mind. He had begun to reminisce with Quatre, albeit where Wufei couldn't hear. No one knew what Trowa thought, although Duo had a sneaking suspicion that Heero was talking it over with him.

"Quatre, I wonder if I should just corner Trowa and find out what he thinks. I mean damn, I've been trying to quietly talk this over and all he does is give me a look and then walk away. Maybe the answer's in his other eye. Do ya think I could cut off his bang and see before he kills me?" The radical idea brought forth a smatter of giggles from the Winner heir.

"D-chan, I think if you cut off Trowa's bang, he'd make the Libra explosion look like a firecracker. Don't try it. He'll talk to us when he's ready."

~.~.~

Later that day, all the boys were sitting down to dinner, nicely prepared by Trowa, when Duo started fidgeting in his chair. He opened his mouth and as soon as Heero saw, he threw a roll into the gaping hole.

"Mmphf! Heeho!! Has ha' hor?" He rapidly chewed and swallowed "Look ma, no hands! Now what the hell was that for Heero?"

"Duo, leave Trowa alone."

"Why, it's just a simple question!!"

"Maxwell, no."

Wufei's eyes sped back and forth across the table, tennis style, wondering to himself what the hell that was all about. He had just opened his own mouth to ask when Duo sat bolt upright in his chair and Quatre suddenly squeaked. Both boys looked like they had been poked by a cattle prod. On the other hand Trowa and Heero continued to calmly eat away.

"'Scuse me guys, I-gotta-go-to-the-bathroom-right-now!" and with that rushed statement, Duo jumped up out of his chair so hard it skidded across the floor, and then rushed out of the room.

With a dazed look in his eyes, Quatre stood up also and said "I think I'll go help him." Then wandered unsteadily after Duo.

"Wh-" was all that Wufei got out before Trowa stood up, and with a quiet "I'll go correct Quatre," ambled out of the room.

"Heero, uh, the bathroom is the other way. What's wrong with them?" Wufei wondered aloud.

At this opening, Heero stood and followed after the three, tossing over his shoulder, "I'll go get them. Just finish eating and we'll be back."

Wufei took one long look around the now empty table and yelled "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING?!"

No answer.

~.~.~

Old habits die hard. Due to this unavoidable fact of life, the four boys naturally gravitated towards the mission room. Sitting down in an olive green love seat, Duo carefully pulled his chain over his head. Staring at his palm, as if it might explode, he felt the tiny but distinctive `bump ba-bump-ba.'

"Kaylyn." Quatre whispered the name, staring at his own ring, pulsing gently against his chest.

Heero, cautiously placing his ring on his right hand, stared as he closed a fist around it. "I'll be back, soon." Though no one saw a thing, they all knew that the Japanese pilot strode swiftly to his Gundam.

Trowa sat down at a computer console and began running checks and setting up basic plans, for when Heero returned with a location.

Duo had the audacity to ask the question, the one on all their minds. "Where the hell's she been?"

"What the fuck are we gonna tell Wufei?" was Quatre's eloquent response. A large sweat drop swelled, then tipped Duo over, bursting on impact with the ground.

~.~.~

Heero returned with all due swiftness. There was a fine hum to his body, a suppressed rage. The only time he had been angrier was when he and Duo had almost suffocated, their enemies taking the cowardly way to execute them.

Plans were swiftly made. Wufei was told that Heero had discovered a base in which the Mad Five had begun creating new Gundams, only these were designed for assassins, ones sent for the boys. They convinced Wufei to sweep and cover the air to ground strikes, while the Heero went in and set explosives. Duo would be gathering all computer information, while Trowa and Quatre would take the ground fighting. Then the boys set off.

~.~.~

Well, there's chapter two. Again, not many descriptions, and a lot of convenient "coincidences," but I didn't want to drag out the story too far, I already expect to reach ten chapters or so. Spending a "week" in their time, dragging things out, just to make it more believable, would be boring and pointless. So, we get great fate influences.

I know, we don't get any real flashbacks or anything, but I think they might add some flavor. Maybe if I add them later? ( yes, there will be a chance for them later ). I'm pushing this part of the plot forward quickly, `cuz I think its pretty much just filler, and I have better stuff I want to get to.

I tried to keep the timeline somewhat plausible, if you figure that Kaylyn left just a few months before Wufei arrived, giving him just enough time to start and finish training, have them all go through Operation Meteor, and then the boys split/rebelled, and left the Docs.

Those're all my little ( or not so little ) notes for now. Thanks, c&c are welcome, close minded flames will be fed ritual style to my puppies. Should not the literary arts strive towards the destruction of barriers, and not towards the creation thereof?

Don't own `em, will never have enough money to.