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"Quan Xin"Written By: Honor Disclaimers: My toys! I won’t share! Warnings: a little violence, language, twisted
humor, messed up timeline (I’m acting as if the war actually
lasted two years instead of one, and it’s a EWWT—‘Endless
Waltz, what’s that?’) switching point of views (sorry, it’s
necessary) Pairings: 1x5x1, 3x4, 2xH Rating: PG-13 Archived: Gundam Wing Diaries; honordemandoren.livejournal.com
Betas: Velvet and Caitilin Author’s Notes: This was done because…wait,
I will think of a good reason…hm… *emphasized* //vidphone, telephone// "Quan Xin" Chapter One: Pacts
(Wufei's POV) Peace. The word was supposed to inspire visions of home, family, and living one’s day to day life in relative comfort without worrying about missions, mad scientists, rebellions, gundams, weapons, explosions, or sharing a safehouse with a bored Duo—which is more lethal and potentially dangerous than the rest of those ideas combined. At this particular moment, it only inspired tension, dread, and a desperate hope for someone to guard my back. Almost before the Preventers had been created, I had been counted as one of their number. I had the idea of protecting the peace that I had worked so hard to attain. Besides, I honestly couldn’t envision doing nothing productive for the rest of my life, despite the fact that my bank account gave me more than enough money to do just that. I had a certain idea in mind when I enlisted… preferably missions or perhaps training new recruits. Playing bodyguard to Relena Peacecraft had not been an option. The Preventers were, unfortunately, too understaffed to give me much in the way of help either. Zechs—wise man that he was—flatly refused to guard his sister and Noin echoed his sentiment strongly. I couldn’t blame her, she’d already done her duty during the war. And then some. Sally was a doctor fulltime, she hardly had the energy to spare, much less the time. And no one else was truly qualified for the position. Relena had a security detail of course, so round-the-clock supervision was hardly necessary on my part, but it meant being all by my lonesome when she went out to political functions, guarding her from potential attacks. And that was something I simply couldn’t do alone. At the moment, I was on patrol—well, really I was just wandering the halls in boredom as Relena and a hundred or so other politicians sat in the middle of peace negotiations, just tidying up loose ends really. As I rounded a corner, I saw Heero standing in the wings, watching silently. I approached just as silently, coming to stand at his elbow. “Yuy.” He nodded to me. “Chang. Guard duty?” “Unfortunately.” I quirked a brow at him, curious as to his presence here. After all, proximity to Relena was usually fraught with difficulties for him. He normally stayed as far away as possible. “And you?” “I wanted to see it,” he replied simply. “I wanted to see peace being made.” “Ah.” This seemed like a pretty good opening, so I took it. “Are you interested in preserving it?” He turned to look at me, blue eyes thoughtful. “Like you?” “Yes.” “Mmm…perhaps. Not as an enlisted person, though. I’ve had enough of organizations dictating to me.” Couldn’t blame him there. “As a consultant, then.” “Perhaps,” he repeated, eyes going back to Relena. “Why?” “…I’d like your help.” It had taken almost two years of constant work on both Duo’s and Quatre’s part, but they had finally gotten me over the mental hurtle of saying the ‘h’ word. Both of his eyebrows went up, head canting a little to the side. “Hn. On?” Erg. This wasn’t going to come out right, but I couldn’t think of any other way to say it. “My job is to guard Relena.” “No.” I winced at the immediate response. “The organization is just too small at the moment. We’re trying to build up quickly, but it will take time. And until the world is completely settled, Relena must be guarded or all of our hard work comes to naught.” He grimaced in agreement, but still shook his head. “Are you crazy? I’m the *last* person you should ask for help.” “Who, then?” I demanded. “Quatre? He’s in the middle of regaining control of his father’s business and learning the ropes. Trowa is with him, and guarding his back. Duo’s with Hilde, starting up that salvage business. Who does that leave?” “Me,” Heero grumbled. “Precisely.” “I still won’t do it.” Heero gave me a familiar Death Glare, jaw setting stubbornly. “I’ve dodged that woman for two years. There’s no way I’m going to live near her.” At this point I did something low, sneaky, and underhanded. I gave him big puppy eyes. “Please?” Heero groaned. “Chang, don’t do that!” I turned the look up another notch, blinking sadly. By the ancestors, I hadn’t shared safehouses with Quatre and Duo for two years without learning *something*. “*Please*?” “Argh! Alright, alright! But if I call for help, you WILL run interference for me.” This time when he looked down at Relena, his expression was morose. “This is a cosmic injustice. I can’t believe I’m agreeing to guard the girl who stalked me for two years.” + Une’s jaw was dangling somewhere around the core of the earth, eyes as wide as saucers. “I think I need to get Sally to check my hearing. I *know* I didn’t hear that right.” Surprising Une, I’ve discovered, isn’t easy. It takes timing, skill, and a lot of effort. It’s why I enjoy it so much when I manage to pull it off. “Yuy has agreed to help me guard Relena, with certain conditions,” I repeated blandly. “Ahh.” Her eyes went to the teen sitting next to me, idly taking her glasses off and cleaning them with the bottom of her shirt. We’d barely managed to catch her in her office, which was located in a building on the Sanc Palace grounds. It was really the only building that the Preventers could secure in a hurry, but now it kind of made sense to keep the organization stationed there. We were right in the middle of all the action that way. “And what did you promise him to pull *that* kind of agreement off?” “Lifetime servitude,” I deadpanned. “Be serious, Chang.” “Okay, fine. I promised he could shoot her if she got out of hand.” Une Death Glared me. I smirked back. Heero rolled his eyes and took over, apparently deciding that I was in too good of a mood to be serious. And he was right, I was. “I will be a consultant, not a permanent employee. My contract will say that I can drop the assignment whenever I wish, and I will ONLY accept the assignment to help Chang. You can ask if you need help in other ways, but I am in no way obligated to give it.” Une replaced her glasses on her head, looking far more composed. “Considering your history with Relena…those demands are more than agreeable. Actually, circumstances being what they are, I think they are prudent. Very well. I’ll get the necessary paperwork drawn up. You do realize that you’ll be three doors down from Relena’s room?” Heero grunted sourly, shooting me a warning glare that stated quite plainly that I was *not* to get any enjoyment out of this situation. I kept my face bland, but internally I was laughing at him. I couldn’t help it, the irony of the situation was getting to me. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Chang, you have the rest of the day off in order to help Yuy acquaint himself with how things are done.” I nodded to her in acknowledgement, standing as it was clear the meeting was over. Heero was right behind me as I led the way to the door. “Oh, and Yuy?” I looked over my shoulder, mirroring Heero’s posture as we turned to Une. “If you must shoot her, try to aim for a place that isn’t vital.” + (Heero's POV) //This is great!// Quatre beamed at us from over the screen, Trowa nodding in agreement at his side. After we had moved my things—which wasn’t much—into the room next to Wufei’s, I called Duo to tell him of the change in plans, and then Quatre and Trowa. Wufei was just listening in, curious as to how I would answer the multitude of questions that the blond was surely going to ask. //I was rather afraid that you would disappear on us when everything settled. You were making noises to that effect.// I shrugged noncommittally. The other four had made a conscious decision to settle near each other. Since Wufei would be near Sanc Palace, and Quatre was so heavily involved in politics, they had chosen to stay near the palace. Duo and Hilde had opened up a scrap yard nearly an hour away from the palace itself, leaving him within driving distance. I hadn’t been sure what I would do with myself during this new peace…at least, until Wufei had nabbed me and guilt tripped me into helping him. //What made you change your mind?// Trowa asked, head tilted a little in curiosity. “Chang. He gave me the puppy eyes look.” The couple on the other side of the screen blinked. Then they stared at Wufei incredulously. His face was as neutral as usual, and the shrug he gave them entirely innocent. “What? It worked, didn’t it?” //Apparently, but Wufei…you *never* give anyone puppy eyes.// Quatre obviously was having trouble picturing the grouchy dragon using the blond’s favorite technique to get his way. “Desperate times calls for desperate measures. And I haven’t spent the last two years with you and Duo without gaining a few tricks.” It had been a little too well done to come just from observation, in my opinion, but I wasn’t going to stir anything up by mentioning that. “He agreed to run interference as necessary with Relena as well, otherwise I would never have agreed to this.” Trowa snorted. //Good luck with that. She’s proven to be an excellent stalker.// I growled under my breath. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t get carried away.” + (Wufei's POV) “Heeeerrrrrooooo~!” I gritted my teeth, shooting Heero a sympathetic glance. He looked like he was about to be condemned to a lifetime sentence in prison. I felt guilty just looking at that expression; after all, I had been the one to drag him into all this. Relena had been delighted when I informed her that Heero would help me in guarding her precious hide. She showed that delight constantly—following Heero around like a lost puppy whenever possible, calling him when he barricaded himself in his room, and generally making a nuisance of herself. In the past week that he had been here, I had been forced to threaten her twice in order to buy him some time to himself. We had been with her all day, dragged from one political function to the next, and we were both beat. Heero especially, since he had dodged Relena all day on top of guarding her hide. I gave him a gentle nudge toward his room. “Go ahead. I’ll hog tie her and toss her into a closet.” Heero gave me a thankful look, then trudged ahead wearily to his room. I put myself directly in Relena’s path, glaring venomously. She stopped short at that expression, casting uncertain glances over my shoulder to watch Heero, bottom lip caught between her teeth. “You are *not* going to bother him anymore today, Relena.” She frowned at me petulantly. “I am *not* bothering him.” “You’re being a nuisance,” I told her flatly. “He’s tired, and wants nothing more than a break from dodging you. Leave him alone tonight.” “He didn’t tell you that!” “Actually, he did.” She went rigid with shock. “Go to bed, Relena.” I jerked a thumb to indicate her room. “If I hear that you did anything *but* go to bed, I’ll let Duo into the garage and spray paint your limo however he wants.” Stamping her foot in fury, she marched past me in a huff. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for a job well done, then went to my room with thoughts of a hot shower and a long, quiet night’s sleep. + (Heero's POV) I don’t know how Wufei managed it, but apparently he had scared Relena into behaving herself for the night. This was the first uninterrupted shower I’d taken all week. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I covered a yawn as I opened the door— “Hello Heero.” --the door slammed shut again. I leaned my weight on it just in case she tried to barge in. What the hell was she doing in my room?! I locked the door! There was a light knock. “Heero? I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean to catch you in…ah, your state of undress. I just wanted to talk to you.” Sure, and I’m Marie of Romania. My eyes flashed to the uniform I had discarded on the counter. My cellphone was in the pants pocket. Still leaning most of my weight on the door, I stretched out and caught the pants with a few fingers, quickly digging out my phone. *knock, knock* “Heero, please come out.” “Go away Relena.” My thumb hit speed dial five. Pick up, Wufei…don’t be in the shower or asleep already— The phone picked up with an irritable, //What?// Yup, he had already been asleep. Thank god he’s a light sleeper. “She’s in my room.” A beat. //She’s what?!// “She’s in my room, and I’m wearing nothing more than a towel.” //Zao goa!// *click* Assured that help was coming, I climbed back into my duty pants (it was infinitely better than the towel) and waited for the calvary to arrive. I heard the door slam open, then— “RELENA! What by all the ancestors do you think you’re doing?!” Assured that it was safe to come out, I opened the door and stood just inside, watching the show. Wufei was fit to be tied, black eyes snapping, hair loose, and nothing more than a pair of pajama pants on. Wow. I’d forgotten just how gorgeous he was. Of course, it’d been at least three months since I’d seen him without a shirt on. Relena was glaring right back at him, the idiot. “I want to talk to Heero!” Wufei’s eyes narrowed. “Obviously you do not believe that I am a man of my word.” Stalking forward, he gestured imperiously at me. “Give me your phone.” Oh, now this is going to be good. I handed it over without protest, watching with avid interest as he punched in a number and put the phone to his ear. “Duo?” I let a small, anticipatory smile cross over my face. Yup, this is really going to be good. I might need to take pictures. “I know what time it is. Shut up and listen. You’ve been wanting to paint Relena’s limousine, correct?” A pause. “Yes, I’m really going to let you do that. She’s pissed me off for the last time today. I’ll look at the schedule and tell you when tomorrow. Feel free to invite Hilde in on the fun.” *click* We both turned to look at Relena, who was turning a very interesting shade of purple. Wufei raised an arrogant eyebrow. “Good night, Relena.” She screamed in inarticulate rage, spinning about and slamming out of the room. I let out a breath of relief. “Thanks.” “This is ridiculous,” Wufei muttered, staring at the door with a murderous gleam in his eye. “You can’t even take a shower without worrying if she’ll come in or not.” “I know. It’d be a different matter if I was in…your…” I tilted my head to look at him in consideration. Now why hadn’t I thought of that before? We’d shared a room before, on several occasions. And if there was one person that Relena thought twice about crossing, it was Wufei. Wufei studied me in equal consideration. “Share a room, you mean?” “Why not?” “It would get her off your back at least part of the day,” he acknowledged thoughtfully. “And I have an extra bed in my room. Grab your stuff.” ~*~*~*~
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