Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Matchmaker ❯ Stupid Assassins Are Annoying ( Chapter 14 )

Title: The Matchmaker 14/20?
Author: Makoto Sagara
Series: Gundam Wing
Archive: the usual suspects (ffnet, affnet, Foreverfandom, my site, mediaminer, my update LJ, and the D&DML on yahoo); anywhere else, please ask first.
Category: Supernatural, Angst, Romance, Sap

Pairings: Eventual 2x5x2, 3x4x3, and 1xRx1
Rating: T
Warnings: Shonen ai, language, angst, sap, het, supernatural dealings
Disclaimers: Yeah, like I own Gundam Wing. (Goes off to cry, but not before turning out pockets) I am poor as well. Flames will be used to amuse my muses. They are easily entertained, but highly obnoxious.

A/N: *hides from the psycho muse and tries to get Wufei to kiss Duo while no one is looking* Things are starting to improve. ^_^ Thanks to Jokes for looking this over.

Chapter Fourteen - Stupid Assassins are Annoying

It was dark and his head hurt from the painkillers. `I shouldn't have taken so many, but, God, it was abso-fucking-lutely wonderful to not be in constant pain for a little while,' Duo thought as he stretched, amazed that he was still relatively pain-free. He froze as his hand struck a body next to him and he slowly looked over to see who it was. `Wufei… I'm still not sure how I feel about that.'

`Duo, lie back down,' Wufei thought, not even opening his eyes or bothering to speak. `It's late and I'm too tired to deal with things right now.'

“Too tired to even speak out loud, I see,” Duo whispered happily. “It's okay, `Fei. Did you guys figure anything out? Where's the chick?”

`Peacecraft is with Yuy, Winner and Barton in the suite two floors up. They took the assassin with them. Evidently, I am not trustworthy enough to be left alone with her.'

“But they trust you with me, hm? Interesting,” Duo teased. “What time did you finally go to bed?”

`Two, I think… What time is it now?'

“Seven `til five,” the braided man said as he looked at the clock. “I'm going to order breakfast. You want something?”

“Coffee,” Wufei croaked, cracking his dark eyes open. “Lots of it, since you're up and I don't think I'm going to be able to go back to sleep.”

Duo smiled quietly and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on the nearly-sleeping man's forehead. “Got it, `Fei.” He wisely chose to ignore the mental spluttering from his friend and limped out into the living room with little trouble. `Guess I'm getting better then.'

Twenty minutes later, a freshly showered and grumpy looking Wufei joined Duo out on the couch. The braided man had to swallow repeatedly to ignore the obvious interest some parts of his body took in the loose and damp black hair that surrounded Wufei's face. “When will it be here?

“Any second,” Duo breathed. `Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair…'

Wufei stared at the other man carefully, his mind a lovely blank for a moment. “Duo?”

“Yes?”

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Duo croaked, blushing at the sound of his voice. His eyes grew to epic proportions when Wufei leaned over and placed a soft kiss to his jaw.

“You need to shave, Maxwell,” the Chinese man said in a playful tone. “You look rather scruffy.”

“'Fei, what… what was that?”

“I believe that it is a morning kiss, but I could be wrong.”

“So… you're not mad about… this thing?”

“Am I mad that someone tried to kill you? Yes, I am so angry about that that I could gladly forget that I am a Preventer and go on a killing spree until I find the culprit,” Wufei said with a dangerously icy tone. “Am I mad that you are now telepathic since your accident? No, and I don't think I was before. It's just… a lot to get used to at first.”

“Oh,” Duo responded, feeling oddly blank as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. “How come I can't read your thoughts now?”

“You can't?” Wufei blinked, his big black eyes seeming bigger for a moment. “I'll have to remember that keeping my mind still for meditation can block you.”

“That orderly… I couldn't read him at all,” Duo admitted, a tendril of fear crawling up his back.

“When I find him, I will use his carcass as a stepping stone for Altron,” Wufei promised, placing another soft kiss to the American's jaw.

“Who knew you were so affectionate?” Duo teased, wrapping his arms around the other man's neck and leaning in for another kiss. A knock on the door sounded just then, and both men groaned as they pulled apart for food, especially since Duo's stomach chose then to grumble like it sometimes did while they were still teenagers. “I'd apologize, but I'm pretty sure I haven't eaten since yesterday's depressing lunch with Q and Lena.”

“Once you are fed, showered and dressed, we're going up to the suite where the other four are. It's time to get some real answers from our little guest.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heero rubbed at his eyes blearily, staring at the assassin they'd tied to one of the dining table's chairs. The woman was slumped forward awkwardly in an attempt to sleep. She'd been like that for the last three hours, and if it wasn't for the fact that she shifted every five minutes or so, he would have worried that she'd managed to commit suicide. `Isn't that what cowards do? Or is that ninjas? They kill themselves when caught by the enemy to avoid spilling secrets? Too bad this killer didn't count on Duo and Quatre's… quirks.'

“Good morning, Heero,” Relena said as she came from the bedroom she was sharing with Quatre. They'd decided that it was far too dangerous for her to return to her own suite and had moved her up to the large suite with the three former pilots since Wufei had moved down to the other room with Duo. Since Relena and Quatre were practically brother and sister, Heero found no reason to fight the fact that they were sleeping in the same room. In fact, the only other person Heero would have trusted to keep Relena safe - aside from himself and Quatre - was Duo. The braided man had shot him to protect her upon their first meeting.

“Good morning, Relena,” he said, surprised at how scratchy his voice sounded.

“Have you been up all night watching her?” she asked, coming over and staring him fully in the face. He stared back at her, holding back a glare for interrupting his guard duty. “You have, and you look like something a Gundam stepped on.”

“Thank you, Relena, for your compliment,” he deadpanned. His attempt at a joke was rewarded by a shocked look on the woman's face.

“Alright, who are you and what did you do with the real Heero Yuy?”

“He's channeling his inner-Duo today, I believe, Relena,” Quatre mumbled behind the blonde woman as he made his way to the small coffee maker in the kitchenette area. “Although, I wish he'd save it for when Duo's here. That would be more enjoyable.”

“You just mean that you'd get to see Duo speechless, Quatre,” Trowa replied as he joined the others in the main room of the suite. “Why didn't you come get me for my turn, Heero?”

“I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway, so I left you and Quatre alone.”

“Well, she's still alive, so perhaps it was for the best,” the banged man said with a dark look.

“Do you mean to tell me that if you had been left alone with her, she would be dead, Barton?” Heero asked his friend. That kind of comment from the former Heavyarms pilot was unusual. He was the most reserved of them all, and if he was having difficulty in holding himself back, it didn't bode well for the others, especially Quatre.

“Let's just be thankful that I wasn't tested,” Trowa said cryptically.

“As wonderful as this line of thought is,” Relena interrupted, sounding very uncomfortable. “I think it's time that we finish getting answers out of our `friend' here.”

“That is true. No matter what or how we asked her, she refused to answer any questions put to her,” Quatre said. “I hate to do this to him, but we need Duo here.”

“We should have dinner first,” Heero said sleepily.

“Heero, honey, it's morning time,” Relena whispered softly in his ear. “Why don't you go take a nap and we'll order breakfast? Between Quatre and Trowa, I'll be safe, and Duo and Wufei will more than likely be up here in a little while.”

“I don't trust her. Besides, if we don't intend on killing her, we should attend to her needs.”

“Oh, you're absolutely right,” she said. “Well, that shouldn't be too difficult between the three of us. You can still go take a nap and we'll handle the rest.”

“She's right, Heero,” Trowa added. “You're no good to anyone so tired you're about to fall over. This isn't the war, so we don't have to stay awake for ungodly amounts of time. Go rest. I'm sure that Quatre will fill you in on everything once you wake up.”

The blond man rolled his eyes at their friend but nodded. “Don't worry, Heero. You'll be briefed as soon as you are ready to assist.”

Heero took a long look at his Arabian comrade, searching for any warning signs that he was relying on his time with the Zero System to push through. However, he could find none. It was just the blond's own devious nature at work, and that in and of itself was enough to worry the Japanese man. A quick peek over at Trowa told him that he wasn't the only one observing Quatre for any signs of instability, so he stood up.

“Fine, I will go rest, but I want to be in on any plans we make and you will tell me everything that's said and done while I'm gone.” He could hear the other three sigh as he headed into one of the bedrooms to crash.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wufei knocked on the door and waited patiently for it to be answered. He was surprised to see that it was Quatre who answered, his hand positioned suspiciously over his inside jacket pocket. “Where is Yuy? I was expecting him to answer the door with his gun in my face.”

“He decided that he'd take guard duty all night, so Relena sent him to bed once the rest of us were awake,” the Arab said quietly.

“And what do you have in your pocket, Q? Doesn't look like it's a gun. A knife? Throwing stars? A bag to throw over my head?” Duo asked happily, ignoring the growl that Wufei gave.

“It's Trowa's gun, actually,” Quatre said, moving out of the way to let his two friends into the suite.

“Luckily I am off-duty and I will forget that I heard that,” Wufei grumbled, helping Duo to sit down on the couch. “Otherwise, I would have to confiscate the weapon.”

“I have a permit for it, Wufei,” Trowa said, looking up from where he was reading a book.

“Yes, but Winner does not. However, as I said, I'm off-duty, so I don't care.”

“Where's `Lena? And the chick?” Duo asked as he stretched his left leg with a grimace.

“Relena is making phone calls in the bedroom,” Quatre answered. “Our `friend' is in this bathroom.” He knocked on a shut door. “I hope you're finished because I'm coming in there.” There was a muffled sound from behind the door, and it stopped as soon as it started. Quatre opened the door and they all stared at the female slumped on the floor, grimacing in pain.

“You could have removed the handcuffs, 04, if you were going to allow me the opportunity to use the facilities,” she snarled up at the blond.

Duo burst out into loud guffaws. “You didn't even take the handcuffs off and you expected her to be able to use the restroom that way?”

“I did suggest that it would be difficult for her, but Quatre refused to listen,” Trowa said evenly.

“I'm not particularly worried about her comfort level, seeing as how she took money to kill one of my close friends,” Quatre snarled, snatching the woman up by her bound hands.

Wufei watched all of this with newfound respect for his comrade. It had been a while since he'd seen this side of the blond, and since it wasn't directed at anyone important this time, he didn't feel bad about not stopping him. `Perhaps now she'll be reasonably intimidated to answer our questions.'

“As amusing as I find her predicament, Winner, perhaps we should be focusing on finding out who is paying for her time,” Wufei asked calmly.

“Oh, of course,” the blond replied, shoving the assassin into the chair next to Trowa's. “You have a choice here, miss. You can either tell me what you know, or we can rip it out of you and not lose anymore sleep than we already do.”

“Go to hell, 04,”she responded, spitting a huge glob of saliva into his aristocratic face. No one had time to react before Trowa backhanded her across her cheek.

“You are a prisoner, and if there's anything that the war taught us, it was that it's okay to abuse prisoners,” he deadpanned. “Do that again, and I will break your jaw.”

Wufei blinked when he felt Duo curl up next to him. “Duo?”

“Trowa's mind… It's a swirl of black and red and hate. He's totally serious,” the braided man whispered.

“And what is she thinking, Duo?”

“She's scared shitless and totally regretting taking this job in the first place now.”

“Who hired her?”

The American blinked and sighed heavily. “Noventa…”

TBC