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"Evolution"Written By: The Plotting Housewife Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu
and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, yaoi, quasi-dark, genetically engineered
pilots, test tube babies, lab-created Gods, pseudoscience. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x13, 13xUne Summary: Zayeed Winner, founder of The Human Perfect
Project, makes miracles happen in the laboratory by creating genetically
engineered children. It's only when it's too late that he discovers
playing God can result in catastrophic consequences. " Evolution" Chapter 11: Confessions of the Heart Trowa unwrapped himself from around Quatre's back when a soft knock sounded at the door. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, glancing back at his lover as he made his way across the room. Quatre was out cold still and didn't even twitch from the knocking, or from Trowa climbing off the bed. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and spoke in a low, but firm tone. "What do you want?" "Trowa," Heero's voice carried through the door. "It's us." "Yes, I know. What do you want?" There was an awkward pause, then Wufei's grudging voice. "Duo made us come apologize." Trowa smirked and reached for the handle. He swung the door open and was met with the two blushing, contrite faces of his brothers. They looked like they'd had a thorough scolding, too. He propped his hands on his hips and raised a brow at them. "Well?" Heero peered around his shoulder. "How's Quat? Is he okay?" "He's been better." He softened a little when Heero shuffled guiltily. "He's still asleep. Probably for another hour. You can apologize to him when he wakes up." He fixed them both with a dark look. "You two need to stop fighting." Wufei looked away and glared at the wall. "Then someone needs to stop hassling me." Heero's head turned sharply, staring intently at Wufei's ponytail. "I wouldn't have to if you -" Trowa sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Guys...stop. Okay? This is why Quat's in the state he's in now. Wufei, you need to set aside your personal feelings for the Senator and realize the repercussions of your actions. You need to understand why Heero is reacting the way he is, the way we all are. Do you honestly not see that? You are literally sleeping with the enemy." Wufei shook his head, denials already on the tip of his tongue. "He's not the enemy -" "Fei, he's the reason we are in this prison. He is the reason Father and Dr. Sally are dead. He's the reason we get shocked anytime we get upset." "I know that, but don't you understand that maybe he has a reason for it?" He glanced from Heero to Trowa, his dark eyes wide. "Father meant well, but he was not equipped to handle us. He never was." "Father was doing a fine job. He did the best he could and we turned out okay -" "Did we, Heero? Are you sure? How many people has Duo killed? How many people did you and Quatre kill when they came to get us?" Trowa frowned as Heero gaped with outrage. "Are you serious? They turned our house over looking for us so they could take us away! They shot Father and Dr. Sally! Are you saying we shouldn't have defended ourselves?" "No, I don't mean it like that! I mean that when we respond to anything, emotionally, bad things happen. Quatre literally blew up five acres of land and he wasn't even trying! Can you imagine how things would be if we were out there in the real world and we responded the way we typically do? We'd probably be put in jail, or gunned down in the street! We'd be outcasts! At least here, we're safe and so is everyone out there." "Heero is being affected by the shocks," Trowa interjected. Wufei paused, glancing at his brother. "What?" Heero waved him off. "It's nothing." "It's hurting him, somehow. I'm not sure how, but it's affecting him physically. Every time it happens, he takes even longer to recover from it. I wouldn't gauge that as 'safe'." Wufei stared at Trowa, blinking wide eyes. "Then he needs to stop getting shocked." "Oh, like it's so easy," Heero muttered. Wufei shot him a condescending look. "When was the last time I was shocked?" Heero looked away, his cheeks flushing. "Says the guy who's getting special treatment." "Special treatment?! No, Heero, I don't get 'special treatment'. I fucking control myself. That's why I don't get shocked." "So you're going to deny that you are favored? That you get special privileges that we don't?" "I don't get shocked because I'm favored, or have privilege. I don't get shocked because I control my anger." "You have far less of a reason to be angry than we do," Trowa pointed out. Wufei turned on him. "You think I don't have reason to be angry?" "I didn't say that," Trowa said calmly. "I said you have less of a reason." He paused, wondering if he should even ask. "What exactly is your relationship with him? I mean, how is he with you?" Wufei shrugged. "I don't know. He's - he's wonderful to me. He treats me like...like I'm special. When we're together, he's so gentle, loving. He's attentive and affectionate." Trowa nodded. "And you don't think any of that is to try to win you over to his side?" Wufei threw up his hands in exasperation. "Why would he? Why wouldn't he try to win us all onto his side? Don't you think that would be more beneficial to him?" Heero's brows drew low over his eyes. "He may be starting with you because you're the easiest target." "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" "He means," Trowa said, "that you were the most vulnerable of us. Left out of the loop." He held up his hand when Wufei opened his mouth. "It's true, Fei. You were the most likely target and for people like him, that's what they do. They single out the most vulnerable and use them to advance their own gain." Wufei shook his head. "No. He's not like that." "Are you sure? Seems to me he's a textbook case of the narcissistic sociopath." "No. He's -" "Has he ever apologized for killing Father? Has he ever expressed regret, or remorse for murdering two innocent people in cold blood?" Wufei's mouth turned down and he looked away. Trowa nodded, having his answer. "No, he hasn't. Because he doesn't care. Father and Dr. Sally were in his way so he did what men like him have done since the dawn of time. He got rid of them." "But how are we any different? We've taken lives." He looked at Heero. "You've taken lives. So has Duo. So has Quatre." A muscle in Heero's jaw twitched with irritation. "Those were accidents. We were nine years old, Wufei." "Duo was not nine years old when he killed our trainer yesterday." "It was still an accident." "It doesn't matter! Don't you see that? Accident, or not, he still took a life. He's dangerous! We all are." "So is Treize," Trowa informed him. "Treize is doing his job. Nothing more, nothing less. He's keeping us off the street because we do not belong out there." "Jesus, Fei! What has he been telling you? He's got you completely brainwashed!" Wufei turned up his nose. "I am not brainwashed. And he hasn't told me anything. I'm using common sense. Something the rest of you apparently lack." Trowa was deeply saddened by Wufei's refusal to understand, or acknowledge how dangerous and conniving the Senator was. Of course they were all dangerous, but Treize was much worse than they were and he was allowed out into the world every day. Whatever Treize was doing to his brother, he obviously had Wufei under his thumb. He also knew that Trowa and his brothers would never abandon Wufei, or give up on him. Was he hoping that Wufei would eventually convince them all that what was happening to them was acceptable, or even right? And what exactly did he plan to do if and when he managed to convince them? If he did manage to, he'd have five young men with superhuman abilities following his every order to the letter. Such was the way of indoctrination. "Wufei, you're smarter than this. You know all about brainwashing -" "That's right. I do. Which is why I know that's not what he's doing." Heero narrowed his eyes, but his expression was one of resigned defeat. "Then you are blind, my brother. You are blinded by your own personal feelings. You are refusing to allow your own logic to override what you want to happen." Wufei opened his mouth, preparing to unleash a verbal tirade when Quatre's soft voice drifted over from the other side of the room. "Trowa?" Trowa instantly turned away and strode to the bed, sitting down on the side and brushing blond hair away from Quatre's face. "I'm here, baby. You're okay." "I am? 'Cause I feel like I just got pushed through a meat grinder." The blond stretched, his face contorting as if in pain. "Ow. Damn. I think I pulled something." "Sorry about that, Quat." Heero stepped forward and stood beside the bed. "I guess we got carried away." Quatre's eyes flickered to Heero, then to Wufei who was still standing in the doorway. "You guess?" "What did you pull?" Trowa asked, his brows furrowed with worry. "My shoulder blade." "Here, sit up. Let me rub it for you." He helped Quatre into a sitting position and crawled over the bed to sit behind him. "Lean back a little. You didn't pull your blade, just the muscles around it." Quatre rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You know what I mean." His eyes drifted closed as Trowa worked his magic on the strained muscle in his back. Heero smiled. "You always had the magic touch, Tro." "He does. He's quite the healer," Wufei walked into the room, but headed over to the window, his eyes squinting slightly from the bright sun. "Among other things," Quatre said. He sighed and relaxed as the heat from Trowa's energy was channeled into his fingers and soothed away the pain. "I don't know how you do that." "I don't know how you're able to do half the things you do," Trowa murmured. He was blushing from the praise and focused on just healing his love. He wasn't fond of being the center of attention and compliments always embarrassed him. Quatre chuckled and patted his knee, then turned his attention to his brothers, his expression sobering. He cocked his head at Wufei and chewed his lip. "Don't say it," Wufei said. "Say what?" Wufei turned from the window and leveled his gaze on the blond. "Look, I know what you're going to say, okay? And...I get it. I do. But, you can't ask me to give him up. Please don't ask me that." Quatre's eyes narrowed. "You love him." Trowa and Heero glanced up sharply, their eyes landing on Wufei. Heero's mouth gaped for a moment. "Is that true?" Wufei pressed his lips together and turned away, his expression guilty. Quatre scrambled out of Trowa's arms and struggled to his feet, padding over to his brother. "Damn right it's true. Look at me, Wufei. Fei, look at me!" Wufei did, but didn't meet his brother's eyes. He stared at the buttons of Quatre's shirt instead. "You already know the answer." Quatre's eyes were hard. "I want to hear it from the horse's mouth. Tell me!" Wufei's gaze flickered up, meeting Quatre's intense stare, then looked back down. "Yes. Yes, I love him." "Fucking hell!" Heero cursed, throwing his arms up. "This is unbelievable!" Trowa stood up, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping over to his lover. His outward demeanor was calm, but inside he was seething. It made perfect sense now. Wufei wasn't willing to see the truth because he was in love with the Senator. He stood behind Quatre and wrapped his arms around him, but his attention was focused on Wufei. "Your judgement is clouded." Wufei's fists clenched at his sides. "It is not!" "It is. You just admitted that you're in love with him. You are refusing to see what he is doing to you because you don't want to. Your feelings are getting in the way of your logic." Wufei rounded on him. "And what would you know about that, Trowa? Any time Quat so much as gets a damn hangnail, you lose your shit." Trowa's patience was wearing thin. He spoke around clenched teeth. "Quatre is not the Senator. He is our brother." Wufei scoffed. "That doesn't mean you're immune to lapses of judgement. Or you," he said to Heero. "Both of you are guilty of that so don't be throwing stones at me." Heero stepped closer. "I can't believe you're even comparing the two. It's ridiculous!" Wufei's face was getting red again, the air in the room warming up. Quatre raised a hand, his voice laced with authority. "Alright, enough. Both of you. I'm sick of you two fighting all the time." Trowa sensed that Wufei wanted to mouth off to the blond, but didn't dare. It wasn't the threat of Trowa retaliating. Wufei's powers were far more potent and dangerous and they were an even match in physical strength. It was Quatre he feared. As the first of their kind, the tiny blond possessed unimaginable amounts of power and endurance. In a battle of wills, a battle of powers, Quatre would always win, hands down. Zayeed Winner may have been speaking metaphorically when he'd once said Quatre was a god among gods, but he'd hit the proverbial nail on the head without even realizing it. Trowa had shouldered that power enough times to know how massive it was. Quatre's abilities went far beyond the scope of human imagination and his brothers knew the extent of that. Trowa was positive Treize did not. He'd sensed as much in his own interactions with him. The Senator thought he knew how powerful Quatre was, but he really didn't. One couldn't appreciate how much control the blond had over himself until they knew what kind of energy he carried within him at all times. If Quatre ever saw fit, he could annihilate humankind in one fell swoop. And he would easily take the entire planet down with them. "Fei," Quatre placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I understand how you feel. But you need to stop lying to yourself about who the Senator is. We are not here for our own safety. We are not here for the safety of others. We are here because he wants to use us. He wants to harvest our capabilities and use them to gain power. I know you know this. Please, do not let him fool you." Wufei's face was pained and Trowa was sure then that he did know that. He just didn't want to admit it. "I love him." Quatre's voice was soft and understanding. Sympathetic. "I know you do. And I'm not going to judge you for that. I don't want to see you get hurt and I don't want to lose you. We don't want to lose you. I hope you realize that we will always love you and we will never walk away from you. When the time comes, he will not be there for you. He does not love you as we do. He never will. He is not capable of the love you crave. You deserve better. You deserve someone who will love you for you, not what they can gain from you." Trowa could see that Quatre was finally beginning to break through the strong front of denial. Encouraged, he said, "Listen to him, Fei. Please. He's telling you this because he loves and cares about you. We all do and we're scared for you. You know we wouldn't be telling you this if we honestly didn't believe it." Wufei took a deep, shaky breath and turned his head towards the window. He pulled his lip into his mouth, biting down hard as the words sunk in. "I don't - I don't know how to..." He huffed and fidgeted with his fingers. "I don't know what to do." Quatre stepped forward and pulled the conflicted boy into his arms. "It's okay," he whispered into his ear. "We're here for you. It won't be easy, but we'll do everything we can." Wufei's arms closed around the blond and he buried his face into Quatre's shoulder. His voice was distraught, almost a whisper. "I love him." "I know. It's okay. And hey," he pulled back and looked into his brother's eyes. "I'm not telling you to break it off with him. I just want you to be careful and not get caught up in anything he might tell you. You cannot forget who and what he is. And you can't forget that we are not your enemies. We're your brothers and we love you." Quatre tipped Wufei's head down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Wufei glanced up at Trowa and Heero. Trowa gave him a reassuring smile though he was still uneasy. He knew Quatre was, too. What he really wanted to do was forbid Wufei from having a relationship with the Senator, but he knew why Quatre wouldn't do that. Doing so would only drive Wufei further away and cause him to resent them. It was important that Wufei figure out on his own that Treize was not a good candidate for a mate. He only hoped it wouldn't take something irrevocably harmful for him to realize it. They still had to be careful around him. Trowa wasn't sure he could be trusted quite yet. Love made people do irrational things, stupid things. As much as they loved Wufei, they couldn't risk their tentative rebellion being exposed to the one man who could and most definitely would make their lives a living hell.
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