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"Shadow"Written By: Dùlin Fic #7 In the Thirty Kisses Arc Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission. Pairing : 4+1+4, R?1 Rating : R Warnings : Post- EW, angst, some crude words Disclaimer : Those yummy boys belong to Sunrise
and Bandai. Which are not me. A/N : This kiss is dedicated to Cozz and Ame.
I love you sweethearts.
"Shadow"
The TV is already on when I walk into Quatre’s office. “Damn, Quatre, your secretary’s a pit bull ! You’d think she’d know to let me through that door right away by now !” Quatre doesn’t even look up from the papers he’s pretending to read. The guy knows how to work a crowd. “Maybe she would if you actually bothered to use the door every once in a while, Duo,” he says, scribbling his name on the last line and taking the time to rearrange all the papers on his desk before looking at me. If I was impressionable, I’d be … well, impressed. As it is, I simply look at my watch. “When is she on ?” I ask. Quatre’s gaze flickers to the TV and he makes a face. “In a minute. As soon as the nice lady on the screen is done trying to hypnotize us into buying the shampoo she is having sex with right now.” Did I mention that Quatre’s secretary thinks I have a bad influence on him ? Trowa and Wufei come in just as I open my mouth to ask where they are. They’re each carrying two of those awful paper cups that contain what Quatre’s secretary calls coffee. As usual, they just nod to say hello. I nod back and take the cup that Wufei holds out to me. Then, we all take the customary first sip, which also happens to be the only one we’ll take. The stuff is so strong that it would wake the dead, and we kinda like our dead to stay where they are, thank you very much. We also happen to have to sleep at night, however unpleasant it might be. Usually, we just end up feeding one of the potted plants with it. The porn shampoo commercial is finally over. The screen goes through its little official mojo, blue background with silvery ESUN logo on it. And finally Relena’s on. I don’t really know when we started to get all together to watch her every time she makes a public appearance. It just happened. The four of us just got together one day and switched the TV on and watched. And the next time, we did it again. And the next. And before we knew, it had become our new little ritual. We’re pretty good to holding up the pretense in our lives, all of us. If you look at it objectively, we’re a bunch of psychos. And the worst part is that we know it, and that we don’t really give a damn. But the fucking perfect world with its fucking perfect peace doesn’t give a damn either. Thanks for saving the world, we’ll give you a call. Now be on your merry way and try not to make anything go boom. We’d like to forget all about you as soon as possible. Well guess what ? It doesn’t work that way. And for some reason, it doesn’t matter anymore when we sit down to watch her. Because if the world doesn’t care, she does. Maybe too much, some times. But she was there. She saw it. Not everything, but enough. And she stands up there in the spotlight, and speaks about that peace she wants to believe in. She’s got a way with words, too. Every time, I’m almost tempted to believe her. But I don’t. None of us do. But we still watch her anyway. At least most of the time. There’s at least one of us who never watches her. It’s not that Quatre doesn’t care about what she has to say. Hell, he’d probably be able to repeat the speech by heart the moment he switches the TV off and he spends more time on the phone with her than anyone else. I lost count of how many times tabloids claimed that they were secretly married and working to take over the ESUN. As if they actually need to take over the ESUN … It’s already in their hands. But Quatre doesn’t watch her. There’s always a shadow behind Relena. It’s almost invisible, and I don’t think anyone but us would notice it. And even then, we only see it because we know that he’s there with her. And Quatre’s eyes never leave that shadow. He’s sitting on the edge of his seat, his eyes are bright, and while he listens to every words she says, he watches him. I swear if there was a way for him to hump the TV that didn’t involve ruining his suit and making a total fool of himself in front of us, he’d do it. Took us time to realize it, too. It didn’t take us exactly by surprise, but still … “When is he comin’ back ?” I ask softly. Quatre tears his eyes from the screen, surprised. He knows we know, of course, but I don’t think any of us actually acknowledged it before. Then, he smiles. And … maybe I don’t believe in Relena’s peace, but I believe in that smile. “Next week. He’s coming back next week.” O.O.O.O The TV is already on when Dorothy knocks on the open door before coming into Relena’s office. The Foreign Minister and Head of the Sank Parliamentary Group is trying to read a report that she will sign in a minute. She spends more time watching the screen than the sheets in front of her. There is a commotion on the screen. Quatre Winner is in the middle of a crowd, microphones shoved under his nose, hundreds of questions fired his way. He is smiling and answering quietly, apparently ignoring the hustle and bustle around him. His bodyguards are doing a good job keeping the most ferocious reporters away from him. Relena is not watching him. She is watching the shadow behind him. “When is he coming back ?” Dorothy asks. Relena sighs and goes back to the report. “He’s not. Not this time.” OWARI |
