Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ War Above the Clouds ❯ War Above the Clouds, Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

War Above the Clouds

He never knew the blunt muzzle of a gun could feel so sharp against his ribs.

"I won't run from you this time, I'll get it back, I swear it! Please, don't hurt my family! I just need a little time to get it!" He cried.

"So what else is new?" said Ohatsu "The Gunman" Li.

"I have connections, powerful, influential!" The gun was taken away. Was The Gunman relenting? No. He heard the cold friction of the gun being cocked and The Gunman jabbed the muzzle violently aganist his ribs.

"Idiot. How do you think you got into trouble in the first place?"

"Paperwork!"

"What?"

"Paperwork, that's what started this whole mess- and it will get me, us!, out too."

"You're not making any sense. Spit it out!" The Gunman hissed.

"Pivotal, critical, and also about the boy, Quatre. I can even lead you to Trowa Barton." He fumbled.

"You still aren't making sense, but you've got my attention." The gun eased off - slightly.

*

Wufei picked up his teacup from the saucer, leaving an incomplete ring of water.
"Quatre, your proposal sounds interesting. But I can take care of myself."

"That's so lonely." Quatre sighed and poured himself another cup.

"Living among others can be even lonelier. I have no where left to go. As a soldier, I am not needed. My wife is dead. My family is dead. My clan is dead. My home destroyed. I fit no where. Maybe I'm destined to live alone."
"But you really don't want to, do you?" They fell silent, only the sipping and clinking of teacups was audible. "I've always meant to ask; what made you decide to join us in the final battle?"

"Wing Zero showed me that my destiny was to fight with you, Trowa, Heero, and Duo."

"Well? Is that destiny any different now?"
"The war is over."

"Ah, but another still rages on. I fight that battle too and I would like for you to be by my side." Wufei looked up sharply, sunlight hit his face to highlight the delicate smile that might have been missed. He set his teacup back onto its saucer and was quiet for so long that Quatre was startled when he finally spoke.

"Very well, Quatre. With certain conditions, I will come live with you."

* *

Duo sat out in front of his shabby garage, waiting for Quatre and organizing a pile of bolts.

"Duo! I'm so glad to see you!" Quatre called, stepping out of the car. Duo jumped up and ran to hug his friend.

"Hey, Quatre! How's tricks?"

"What sort of tricks? Magic tricks?"

Duo sweatdropped, anime style. "That's just an expression. I mean, how are you?"

"Oh! Ah, I'm doing fine. You seem to be doing well, you have your own garage and a home." Quatre nodded towards the matching shabby house.

"The house, you mean. Yeah, well, they're a little run down -nothing like you're used to- but they're mine…er, someday. As soon as I can start making some profit…Hilde was going to help me, but she decided to go home and start going to school."

"So you are on your own."

"I'm an orphan, remember? Everyone I ever cared about has died, that is, I guess my luck changed this time around, but it's just the same anyway- I'm left with myself. That's just the way it is." Duo shrugged, concentrating on the bolts.

"Duo…"

"Ah, I'll be just fine!" Duo smiled resignedly. "I am a former Gundam Pilot, after all, so I really know how to take care of myself."

"Of course you can. But don't you have any desire to live with others? Belong to some sort of a family?"

Duo's eyes widened and his grin faltered.

"Nah…yeah. Sure. But it's so much trouble, and with my luck? I'm just better off where I am."

"You could come live with me."

"Like I said, my luck with family isn't great. One, all that fancy stuff makes me uncomfortable. And two, I don't accept charity."

"Luck? I think that fate can be changed. In anycase, this wouldn't be charity. This is purely selfish on my part, if putting it like that makes you feel better. I just want people around me that I care about. I love my sisters, but I've always wanted some brothers. Besides, I rarely see them, they all have their own lives. It's just me, Mombasa…god he's such a stiff..and the servants."

"Mombasa?"

"Executor of the Estate. I don't inherit in full until I'm 18. And the house, it's far too much for me and the servants to fill. But, as Wu Fei suggested, you can have your own plot of land from the Estate grounds to build your own home. You can pay me for it, if that makes you feel more comfortable."

Duo leapt up and accidentally knocked against the table, scattering bolts all over the ground. "Wufei? He accepted? No way! I thought he's be the last person to even consider your offer." DUo began to pick up the bolts and Quatre stooped to help. Duo waved him away.

"Ah, nevermind. I'll get them later. Come on, I'll show you the house… and I still need to get cleaned up a bit. I wasn't expecting you so soon. You don't want to be seen having dinner with a grease-monkey, now do you?" Duo winked and went inside before giving Quatre a chance to answer.

* * *

"Quatre." Heero downed his last shot. "You did a good job of tracking me down. Not even Relena has been able to find me."

"Is that the way you want it?"

"Yeah."

They walked out of the bar and past the shops with bright windows, smoky blues bars, neon discos, and the buildings that no one ever noticed.

"What are you going to do now, Heero?"

"I don't know. I have no place to go and I can do whatever I want."

"I can offer a suggestion."

"No, thanks."

"Aww, C'mon! You haven't even heard me out. I'd like for you to come and live with me, Wu Fei and Duo."

"Wu Fei is living with you? Of all people…now Duo is much more believable, but Wu Fei? How the hell did you convince him? Did you put pixie dust on him to make come away with you and live like the Lost Boys?"

"Sure…I'm Peter Pan. Come away with me! Just fly to the second star on the right and straight on until morning."

Heero looked at him strangely. Quatre blushed, and blushed deeper when Heero began to laugh.

"Heero, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you laugh. I think there's hope for you yet."

"What kind of hope?"

"That you can be an ordinary man."

"The lives of ordinary people are precious. Mine isn't."

"Then become ordinary."

"Too late."

"Oh, Heero. If that's what you think."

"It is. What do you think could become of me now? The only thing I know is how to fight, to be the goddamned perfect soldier. Do you really think that going to live with you in your castle on a cloud is going to change who and what I am? Change everything? Make it all better?"

"I don't know. But what else are you going to do? At least this might give you time to sort out what it is that you want to do. Besides, we care about you."

"You just don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"That it's not that simple. Do you think that you can so easily convince me to follow the primrose path to the Happily Ever After that awaits like a will-o-the-wisp in your little kingdom?"

Quatre's mouth turned pouty. "That's not at all what I think will happen. Does it really matter that I can't understand everything? I've never met anyone that can. But I understand the pain of being human. Sometimes that's enough."

"Couldn't your family, then, understand the pain of being human?"

"Yes, they can."

"So what do you need me for? We were bound together for a short time, we worked together only through unusual circumstances. Those conditions no longer exist. We don't really need each other now."

"Life is an unusual circumstance. We all need each other, one way or another, to work together through life."

Untapped emotions flicked across Heero's face. "That still doesn't answer my question- why me? Why aren't your sisters and Duo and Wu Fei enough for you?"

"My sisters have all left home, I still haven't even met all of them, some are virtual strangers. Besides, they have their own lives to take care of, especially now that Mombasa is executor of the Estate. I'm so glad that Wu Fei and Duo are there, I really am, but to answer your question honestly, it's because I care, we all do. We just want you around."

"That's a nice sentiment, Quatre. But I'm not convinced that living with you would be the solution for me. Besides, what about Trowa?"
Quatre blushed delicately.

"I haven't asked him yet. But Heero, this is a time for kindness. I think that you're scared as hell of life as an ordinary person that just might have to intimately care about other people. No one is able to avoid that without sacrificing a vital part of happiness."

"What the hell is happiness anyway?" Heero asked, defeated.

"That's for you to figure out."
"What a cheap answer."

"It's the only honest one I can offer."

They had stopped walking and stood in front of a row of Victorian houses with brightly-lit windows, toys forgotten in the yard, flowers lovingly bedded, and the occasional bark of laughter and a dog.

"How long does happiness last?"
Quatre hesitated. A stray cat rubbed briefly against his ankles, then fled.

"I don't know. But come to my little kingdom - if you want- and there's always the chance you might find out. You are free to come, and free to go. I would never force you to stay. I can only promise you a quiet piece of land on the Estate to build your own home; and your own life."

Heero looked at him steadily for a minute.

"I'll think about it."

* * * *

Trowa's face was flat and lines of scrambled pixels separated his face into sections. The screen flickered a few times and then held steady.

"No, Quatre. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Trowa. I thought that's what you would say, but I had to ask anyway, and the offer always stands."

"Thank you, but this is my home."

"I understand. I realize that my offer is selfish."

"Love, Quatre, is selfish."

"But not all the time and…"

"…neither is your offer."

Quatre's eyes, smiling and shining, crinkled at the corners.

"Thank you, Trowa. I'll come visit soon, and anytime that you're nearby, please do come and see us."

"Us?" Trowa cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes… Wufei, Duo, and even Heero are living here."

"Wu Fei? AND Heero? I'm not sure which one surprises me more. You're really amazing, Quatre, you have again proved your ability to draw the most unlikely people together. This only reaffirms my belief that you will be an excellent heir."

Quatre's eyes faded. "I'm surprised, and I'm not, that I'm still going to inherit. But then again, who else is going to do it? That's too much money and power to simply hand over. In the wrong hands, it could do some serious damage to the lives of the colony citizens. Well, thank you, Trowa. Call me anytime."

"Sure thing." The screen went blank.

* * * * *

"Ohatsu, did I not tell you that my information was worthwhile?"

"The information may be, but in the long run, the trouble you're putting us through might not." Ohatsu pulled out his gun.

"Don't kill me!" He yelped.

"You're such a simpering coward. You're still alive, aren't you? Just shut up and go change your underwear. I don't need any distractions, I need to get to work."