Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Adjustments ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

 

Heero was not late for his appointment; in fact he was early, so he decided to stop at the Barkleys employee cafeteria to eat something. Earlier, the swaying of the bus had made him feel nauseated but now he was just plain hungry though he had remembered to grab something to eat before his medical examination.

 

The canteen for the building was underground, next to the executive parking lot, with cheerful yellow plastic tables and chairs and service girls who were pleasant looking as well as efficient. The food was passable, better than what was normally served at the Preventers canteen or fast food restaurants, and always fresh. Heero ordered his usual, sandwiches which was usually a safe choice since everyone bought it and the stocks were frequently renewed and waited while a small brunette in a Barkleys logo apron served it to him, looking as if she wanted to talk to him. They had all taken turns serving him, Heero had noted.

 

At first he had thought it was some company policy but then he realized they were all trying to get his attention. It was very disconcerting to have females flirt with him so he as usually did not do anything apart from acknowledging them with a grunt and a nod of his head. They did not even know who he was, he supposed. He had high level clearance, did not have to pay for his food and was immune to being searched once he'd swiped his id card at the main entrance. But he also came to work by bus, did not stay for more than 8 hours in the building and did not have a designated office. Why these females wanted to be intimate with a stranger was beyond his understanding. So he ignored the brunettes' cheerful `good morning' to concentrate on his food. Not that you can truly get to know a person, he thought as he bit into a sandwich.

 

Wufei for example.

 

Heero had had no idea as to how Wufei was going react to the news - perhaps he had expected Wufei to react the same way he had. When Sally had told him of the baby he had thought it over and accepted it. There was no two ways about it - either he was pregnant or he was not and since all the medical reports said so, he was. And he was going to have it. Again, there was no other option, well, apart from aborto- no other choice but to have the child. And he'd told Wufei just that.

 

“You're going to what!” Wufei's voice had been so loud Heero had been sure the neighbors were going to be beating down their door soon, sound proofed walls or not.

 

“Have a baby,” Heero had replied. Then he realized that perhaps Wufei did not know the full details so handed over the medical file with all the facts listed, and decided to enlighten Wufei on the other things that had only been verbally discussed. “Sally and I spoke about this for some time and the medical records show that I might not be able to carry it to full term. We both assume that the baby can be extracted by the fifth or sixth month and moved to an incubator-womb. Sally told me it is of no risk since most children as test-tube raised - in fact this should be easier since it's the first few months that are the hardest to replicate inside such a…”

 

“But…” Wufei had protested holding up a hand. “This…” He had added waving the medical printouts “…says you are pregnant.”

 

“I've been telling you that for the past half and hour,” Heero had informed his lover dryly.

 

“But….what…how…when.” Heero did not think Wufei was that mentally challenged so he decided to answer the questions in some general order.

 

“The how is the same way as with heterosexual couples and the when…” Heero knew exactly when, though Sally had estimated somewhere around two months. “When you handed in your resignation and Lady Une told you that a Preventer simply cannot just pack up and leave. I believe you came home angry that day and you…” Wufei had practically jumped him in the kitchen, ripping his clothes off and had him bending over the counter just like in one of his classic fantasies. From the way Wufei blushed, it was clear he also remembered the incident.

 

Heero hoped that the memory was arousing enough for another round of on-top-the-counter sex. Maybe they might make it to the bedroom this time. However, it seemed as if Wufei had problems dealing with his condition so it had not progressed favorably. That night when they had gone to bed, Heero had hoped for a discussion, at least. While he was not exactly a man of many words, Wufei found it necessary to talk things out (sometimes by himself). But there had been no words and when he'd slipped a hand over his lover's shoulder as he usually did, Wufei had stiffened and pulled away. Stunned, Heero had let Wufei slide away to a corner, unable to comprehend what had happened.

 

Of course, once Wufei had fallen asleep he had unconsciously snuggled back under Heero's arm the same way he had every other night. But afterwards, Wufei had seemed distant, though he had gone over Heero's medical file thrice.

 

While Heero was out on the job, looking at Barkleys internal security set up, i.e. talking to all the big shots who thought they knew what they were doing, there had been a vid-call logged from their flat to Sally's office. Three hour long call by the look of it. This meant Wufei had discussed Heero's thing - as Wufei called it with Sally. Heero had yet to ask about the contents of the call.

 

Then there had been the addition of reading material in their apartment. Heero had brought in a few guide pamphlets Sally had given to him and in their shared net-terminal he had found that Wufei had downloaded first time parenting guides that looked like they had been designed with Relena's tastes in mind. At least Wufei was also catching up on his reading even if it was in the form of pink web pages with painfully cheerful pictures of newborns in odd getup and even worse titles like “So You're Going To Be A Mom”

 

Still, Wufei refused to fuck him. Or touch him.

 

It had become very irritating since Heero was always horny around Wufei. So, a week after the announcement, Heero had ambushed Wufei after work as he was just about to change out of his uniform….

 

“I want you to fuck me.”

 

Wufei, in the process of taking off his shirt, had turned around, tripped over his coat and fell onto the bed. It was not a bad start as far as Heero was concerned.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I said…”

 

“I heard you the first time,” Wufei had said, sitting up with a scowl. “Heero - are you getting hormonal?”

 

“No.” Heero had thought it over. Was he supposed to? “I was just suggesting we have sex.”

 

Wufei had stood up, almost reached for him then stopped with a frown. “I need to get changed and grab something to eat. And I also have a lot of files to go over before I hand over my department to Sharine. Then …and…I have a headache.”

 

Heero knew a refusal when shoved in his face. He had nodded to show he understood then had sat on the bed while Wufei showered, wondering why Wufei even went through the motions of leaving his job in the first place. In the beginning they had both agreed Wufei could quit his job so he could start working alongside Heero but now, from the way things were panning out, Wufei could not even bear to touch Heero so he could see little point in it.

 

On the top of it all Heero might not be able to resume his normal job. At least not for a long time, if ever. He was going to have a baby - that is, if he beat the medical odds and did not fall prey to any of the complications Sally had listed out to him. He did not know anything about raising a child, only several hundred ways of killing one. And he could not do it alone.

 

He did not want to do it alone.

 

Baring his innermost feelings to Wufei had been hard but it had been one of the happiest moments of his life. After literally pining away for the stubborn Preventer they had finally clicked and it had been nice. But now… this seemed so unexpected. Heero was not sure if Wufei wanted him not to be pregnant. He wasn't sure if he could do it. He didn't know if losing Wufei was worth the unknown.

 

So he had decided to have a talk with Wufei. Since Wufei claimed to be busy that day, perhaps the next. Only, Wufei had not come home the next day, just left a short message in the vid-phone saying he was working late. Then the next day, while Heero was preparing dinner, there had been a knock on the apartment door and opening it had revealed the last person Heero had wanted to see.

 

“Yo, how's it hanging lover boy?”

 

“Sharine,” Heero had managed to grate out, knowing from her relaxed attitude that Wufei was not in any danger.

 

“I've come to collect Wufei's spare uniform.” She had pushed past Heero as if she owned the place and sort of dropped down into the couch making it bounce a little. When Duo had done the same thing it had been endearing - when Sharine did it, Heero just wanted to pull out his gun and shoot her in the forehead. She'd looked at him with a smirk and nodded towards the bedroom. “It's in his bedroom closet with his other stuff and I'd usually go and get it only now…” She'd smiled suggestively “…it's out of bounds to me, heh.”

 

Heero had contemplated killing her and then stuffing her body in the garbage disposal…or: into the wardrobe next to Wufei's spare uniform. While Wufei always asserted he had never fucked his pretty, blonde, petite female partner, Heero had found no evidence to suggest otherwise. Still, he had walked into the bedroom, taken Wufei's freshly ironed uniform along with the hanger, and given it to the annoying female who had taken it with a grin. However, she had taken one look at his face and whatever irritating comment she had been about to make had died on the tip of her tongue. Which was just as well since Heero did not think Wufei would be all that pleased with him if he'd murdered Sharine. Heero also wondered whether Wufei would react to her dead body in his closet better or worse than to the news about the baby.

 

Then just as he was closing the door, Sharine had turned around as if remembering something else. “Hey,” she had exclaimed. “I forgot. Wufei said to ask how you were since you were a little under the weather.”

 

Heero had closed the door in her face.

 

Even though he was sitting in the cheerful canteen, Heero could feel the dejection he'd experienced when he'd heard those words, that he was a little under the weather. As if his pregnancy was passing thing like a common cold (not that he'd ever gotten a cold). Was Wufei just waiting it to be over with - for Heero to do something to get it over with?

 

Heero was about to order another cheese-and-chicken sandwich when his cell rang. Surprised, since very few people knew his number, Heero thumbed on the display and frowned. The caller number belonged to Wufei's office and the last thing he needed was another message from Wufei passed on through Sharine. Still, slightly curious as to the reason behind such an impromptu call, Heero pressed the `answer' button.

 

“Heero, are you…” Wufei's voice came through clearly, making Heero's heart miss a beat.

 

“Wufei, what…”

 

“Shut up, Yuy,” Wufei sounded both frustrated and harassed but not as angry as his words would suggest. “Listen to me. Are you at the Barkley's building?”

 

“Yes, I'm just…”

 

“Get out of there,” Wufei said cutting into the conversation again. “We got a call saying there's a bomb in the building. Could be a prank but you need to get out of there. Now!”

 

-- ---- --------------- -------------- ---------------

 

The Barkleys Headquarters was designed so that the entire building had a series of elevators, none of them went more than five floors. This design was thought up by some architectural genius to lessen the traffic in each elevator and therefore be more efficient. Heero found it a `pain in the posterior' as Duo would say since he had to change elevators three times to reach the office of the Head of Security, a former OZ solider by the name of Keith Walters.

 

He strode into the office scowling at Keith whom he had gotten to know on first name basis since they had started working together. “Why wasn't I told there was a bomb threat?” Heero asked Keith.

 

“Who told you that?” Keith asked back then sighed. “I didn't even know you were in the building, Yuy,” Keith managed to add another sentence which was pretty stupid since Heero was already standing in the office. “I've got the full systems scan running over the…”

 

“Can the formalities,” Heero said making. “Get rid of everyone you don't need. Evacuate the building and stop anyone new from entering.”

 

“This is an internal matter, Yuy,” Keith said a little apologetically but firmly.

 

“Anything else you've neglected to tell me?” Heero asked a little sarcastically as he walked past the former solider to reach the security console.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You do not seem the type to brave a bomb in a building,” Heero pointed out bluntly. “Nor are you that loyal to your place of employment. The fact everyone who knows about it is still in here means either the news is false or you are aware of some inside information which I have yet to be told.”

 

“What makes you think that…?” Keith started weakly when the office door was pushed open forcefully. Heero spun around in the matter of a millisecond, gun in hand and directed point blank between the eyes of the newcomer… and had to school his face into an expressionless mask.

 

In Heero's opinion, the Preventer formal uniform had been designed with Wufei in mind. The dark green and blue long sleeved shirt, tight trousers which disappeared into knee-high boots, the strips which announced his rank and the red cord thrown over his right shoulder to show that his rank had been earned under fire, the knots on it acting as a counter, made him appear extreamly dramatic. And Wufei had a lot of knots on his cord to prove his combat experience. Heero thought it a shame for Wufei to leave the Preventers if it meant he'd never see his lover in that uniform again.

 

Which made Heero wonder if Wufei was still considering leaving the Preventers, since their relationship was on rocky ground. Still, he had bothered to call Heero with the news of the bomb and Heero hoped it was not strictly professional courtesy that had led to the call. Then there was the matter of the time elapsed between call and Wufei's arrival at the main building which meant either he had been in the neighborhood or -- Heero studied the way Wufei's hair looked as if it had been through a wind tunnel -- broken every possible speed limit in the city on his bike.

 

“Yuy,” Wufei said, ignoring Keith as if he was insignificant. “I thought I told you to leave this place.”

 

Heero regarded Wufei neutrally. “Commander Chang,” he said with a small bow of his head as a sign of acknowledgment and had the satisfaction of seeing Wufei flinch at the formal greeting.

 

That seemed to snap Wufei back to himself and he took a quick look around the floor before settling his gaze on Keith. “I take it you're in charge,” he said, striding towards the former OZ officer forcefully. Even though Wufei was at least three inches shorter than Keith he managed to exude enough confidence to make him appear taller. “Commander Chang Wufei, I'm with the Preventers,” he added as he basically stepped right into Keith's personal space. “Kindly start evacuating the building immediately.”

 

“There's no need,” said Keith with a grimace. “We can handle it.”

 

“I take it you are all dawdling here because you think the bomb threat is a hoax,” Wufei said, a slow smile gracing his features. Heero was sure Wufei had practiced that smile in front of the mirror since it was the kind to make people back away.

 

“What is it that I'm missing here?” Heero asked as he pulled out his palm top. It was not his laptop but it was still powerful enough to give him access to most places. “It would be easier if someone just told me the facts instead of withholding information.” The fact that Preventer office had sent Wufei alone also meant that there was nothing serious. Unless Lady Une had been aware that Heero was in the building and had assumed he would act as Wufei's partner the way he always did on joint missions.

 

“The call stating there was a bomb in this building originated from the fifty-ninth floor,” Wufei said, speaking over his shoulder to Heero, still standing in Keith's personal space, probably because it was clear that Heero would find the information one way or the other. “The caller used an off the counter voice distortion plug in which was easily cleaned so we were able to get a voice match.”

 

“Whom did he call?” Heero asked. “The Preventer Headquarters or the…”

 

“Preventer Headquarters,” Wufei interrupted. “This made it easier for us to trace the call.” Heero nodded in understanding since he had had a hand in designing the automatic call trace-back program that the Preventers used. The voice was quite easy to match - the person who called was identified as one Mr. Drake Jameson, Jr.”

 

Heero had to fight back a derisive snort at the revelation. “The boss's kid,” he said.

 

“Exactly,” Wufei managed to sound disgusted. “Mr. Jameson, senior also called a few minutes later to ask the Preventers to stay away after the call came - said his son was depressed and going through some difficult times but not harmful. Said his son was …playful…” The tone made Heero look at Wufei and saw that his lips were curled in revulsion. “Lady Une sent me here in observational capacity only - I have to make a report since the first call came to the Headquarters.”

 

“Did you call for back up?” Heero asked suspiciously. “Bomb squad perhaps?” Even if there was no bomb, there were procedures to be followed.

 

“Again, Preventers do not have jurisdiction here,” Wufei commented wryly. “It's politically involved with the Barkleys being big shots and …blah, blah… you know.”

 

“No, I don't,” Heero remarked dryly. “You mean the bomb threat is an extortion scam by a spoiled child.”

 

“He's hardly a child,” Wufei said with a snort. “More like close to thirty five and just a little depressed since daddy refused back his big sales plan.”

 

“So this is a false alarm,” Heero said as he pushed past the large executive table to stand next to Wufei so he wouldn't get a crick in the neck.

 

“Not really,” Wufei said, looking at Keith instead of Heero, his voice sounding serious. “The initial scans of the building show that the ceramic shielding used it its construction also blocks probes from the outside which I think was its purpose anyway, so…” he turned to Keith slowly. “What are the chances of there being explosives inside the building? Of someone, say, sneaking a bit of plastic or the latest antimatter compound they use in the colonies…”

 

“That's impossible,” Heero stepped in. “I set up the security here myself and if anyone were to enter with even a tiny amount of explosives then the scanners placed at each doorway would have picked it up immediately.” He looked at Keith who looked alarmed and ashamed at the same time. “Unless someone decided the boss's son does not need to walk through the scanner.”

 

Keith loosened his tie and sweat drop glided down his temple-kind. Wufei and Heero looked at each other and said, "I see."

 

“Well, since the mystery is solved why don't we get everyone out of here,” Wufei said with false cheer as if he were speaking to a lunatic. “You've got five minutes to clear the building.”

 

Heero settled down in a chair by the window and looked down at the traffic below as Wufei and Keith worked together to stop the elevators, move them down and carry out an emergency fire drill in the entire building. At least that way, no one stampeded to the door though there were a lot of calls complaining about the inconvenience.

 

“Maybe we should have told them there was a bomb in the building,” Wufei said with a roll of his eyes as Keith fielded another call from a disgruntled customer who was threatening to have them all fired.

 

“How many of them would have tired to jump out the windows?” Keith said dryly as he put down the phone and Heero had to snort in agreement. To pass the time, he calculated how much time it would take a person to reach the ground if he were to jump from the twenty sixth floor and if it would be possible to collect all their body parts. When he looked up, Wufei was studying him with a frown.

 

“What?” Heero asked standing up and moving forward towards the two of them.

 

“I want all the civilians to leave,” Wufei said with a shrug. “That includes you and Mr. Walters here, as well.”

 

“I'm not a civilian,” Heero stated firmly, getting to his feet. “Lady Une must have let you come here alone because she knows I can act as your partner.”

 

“Just how much of a threat are we talking about here?” Keith said wryly, interrupting their conversation before it could have turned into a full-scale argument. “From what I know, the boss's kid has always been just that. Not bright enough to rise up the ladder on his own achievements. If you ask me there's no way he could have rigged a bomb that'd take down the entire building.”

 

“Even if he has explosives, I don't think he'll have enough to take out more that a single floor,” Wufei agreed sounding more frustrated than anything else. “We have no idea if he had a detonator or if he is simply sitting on the stuff. Or if he even has any - I'm just operating on the first law of action, which is to expect the worst.”

 

“From what our structural experts tell me, each floor is independent and should be able to withstand a shock of major proportions,” Keith said with a touch of pride.

 

“Trust me if you haven't tried that in practice, all the theoretical speculation is worth shit,” Wufei managed to force out while holding a staring contest with Heero. “I'll go up and see if I can reason with the idiot while you and Heero…” So he was Heero all of a sudden, not Yuy. “…help evacuate the—”

 

“Forget it, I'm coming with you,” Heero said firmly, striding towards the office door. “All the elevators have come to a stop so we'll have to take the fire-escape up. Keith can take care of everything here…”

 

---- -------------- ----------- --------- -----------------

 

Heero had always known that Wufei could be annoyingly bossy. Perhaps it was his training as a Preventer with years of giving orders to people though he preferred to think it was partly due to his upbringing as a Prince. While it was an endearing trait at times, especially in bed, just then Heero found it damn irritating.

 

“Heero,” Wufei said as they walked side by side up the stairs. “Go back - at least stay with Keith.”

 

“I can take care of myself,” Heero answered with a scowl, wondering why Wufei disliked him so much now that he was not even allowed to accompany him on such a simple mission.

 

“This is a one-man job,” Wufei spoke up as he reached for the gun in his shoulder holster. “I can deal with this myself.”

 

“Is my presence that repulsive to you?” Heero asked bluntly as he looked at the floor number on one of the fire doors in the landing they walked by. They should be nearing the intended floor sometime soon. Then Heero read he number again and blinked - it read 34 which was nowhere close to what Heero had expected them to be. But the fact remained it felt as if they had been climbing forever and he was starting to become a little winded. Heero frowned; he never felt tired. All right, he did but not from something like climbing less than two-thousand steps. Heero, busy wondering if he had miscalculated the floors or if he was getting out of shape now that he was doing nothing more than acting as a security consultant - or perhaps he was just getting plain old, almost missed Wufei's answer to his question.

 

Especially since he was curious as to how Wufei would deal with such a direct question, Heero turned towards him only to discover that his lover did not look as if he was about to answer the question anytime soon. `So this is what it feels like to be disappointed,' Heero thought as his stomach churned an unexpected pressure seemed to contract his throat. He was far too busy fighting the sudden onset of nausea that he almost missed the answer.

 

“What!” Heero exclaimed, certain he had not heard correctly. Perhaps he was really growing old and loss of hearing was also a symptom of that.

 

“I said,” Wufei repeated with exaggerated emphasis on the words, “I don't want you to come with me because I don't want you to get hurt.”

 

“Why would you think I'm more prone to getting hurt than you are?” Heero inquired, stopping so he could rest his legs a little. It was true that he was feeling tired all of a sudden but it did not mean he was weak. “I believe I am more than capable of surviving any physical threat…”

 

“You might be near invulnerable,” Wufei interrupted with fervor. “But your … our … the …” Wufei seemed to struggle for words, his face as red as the knotted cord on his uniform, as he searched for the proper way to express himself. As Heero watched with mild amusement, Wufei threw up his free arm and pointed towards Heero's middle. “…thing isn't.” Whatever amusement Heero might have felt at his partner's loss of words was lost at the terminology used.

 

Almost without thinking, Heero wrapped a protective hand around his middle and practically snarled, “This isn't a thing.”

 

“I know,” Wufei admitted, his face turning purple, his eyes flicking down, unable to meet Heero's eyes. “I know it's …it's a baby.” Heero felt a prickle of satisfaction that Wufei finally acknowledged it but he was not about to let Wufei off that easily after the way he had acted. “All right,” said Wufei, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away and muttering, “I'm sorry. I've been a bastard to you these days…”

 

“Weeks,” Heero corrected.

 

“Weeks,” Wufei agreed readily before he remembered that it was only a little over a week, but for a change he did not haggle about the petty details. “I'm just not used to you being …”

 

`Yes?' Heero's glare prompted.

 

“… pregnant.”

 

Finally.

 

“But,” Wufei ploughed on. “You have to admit that while you might survive a bullet to your middle the b - baby might not.”

 

Heero froze in mid-sentence as he realized the implication. Unlike before, he was not indestructible. He might be able to walk away after self-destructing his Gundam but the baby might not make it. It was different before, even when he had to protect people - he had not cared what happened to him as long as he got the job done -[or new sentence] but now the thing worth protecting was inside him; that meant he had not just to survive, but survive unharmed.

 

Some of his confusion might have leaked through since Wufei stepped up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Heero,” he said softly. “You know, I might not have been that supporting and all that but that's …uh… our baby.”

 

“I take it that means you don't want me to get rid of it,” Heero said seriously enjoying the body contact even if it was just a hand on the shoulder and it was sort of a relief to hear Wufei actually say those words.

 

“WHAT!” Wufei exclaimed drawing back. “No…No… I might not have exactly made myself clear here but no.” He took a deep breath and took a step back making Heero want to reach out and grab him. “I'm sorry I made you feel that way.”

 

“You should be,” Heero said with feeling. “You made me feel as if I've got leprosy.”

 

Wufei wordlessly turned around and started up the staircase motioning Heero that he was going to climbing. “I've made my point, Yuy,” he said as he walked up and Heero frowned. “You should stay back.”

 

While all that Wufei had said was nice, it was also hard to overlook that Wufei had not touched him anywhere but his shoulder and he had not reacted to his comment either. Did that mean Wufei found him physically repulsive now that he was pregnant? And he didn't think it even showed. His waist size was the same and he had not gained any noticeable weight. Apart from his nipples becoming unusually sensitive, he did not think he had changed outwardly.

 

He scowled at Wufei's retreating back and said, “I'll cover your back, like I always do. You go up and cuff him and I'll stand in a corner and point my gun at him.” It was the best he could do under the circumstances. Even if Wufei insisted on behaving like an ass, Heero was not going to stand by and let him get hurt. After all, that ass still belonged to Heero.

 

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A/N- first of all thank you for the reviews. I did not expect anyone to review, mostly because this is not the sort if fic I usually write.

 

Thank yous to ff.net - Kris, ab, dimonyo-anghel, geka0taitsume0taikaiyou, alzilur(1st review),

Mediaminer - GrayPheonix and sylenctone (jess) who has been nice to me all the way. :)

 

I know Wufei is being an ass. He is my fav character by the way, But I do hate perfect characters so they all get flaws. I'm sorry if Heero came out wimpy in the pervious chapter - my beta actually suggested I name this Heero and the Hormones.

 

I'm writing it under the assumption not everyone is overjoyed at the announcement of a pregnancy. I know, even married couples have difficulty in dealing with unplanned pregnancies so just wondering what happens in an mpreg.

 

Thank you for reading, and yes, I do appreciate reviews. So, feel free comment.