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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 5 - The Desert Rose Sally, who'd taken a liking to Quatre right from the start, had once dubbed him a Desert Rose. Zayeed had snorted at the odd nickname, not sure where, or why Sally came up with it. It wasn't until a few years later that he'd realized the name had some merit. The child was beautiful, resembling his mother more and more with each passing day. He was soft, delicate in appearance, and in mannerisms when the mood struck him. Considering his Middle Eastern ancestry, it became quite apparent that it had been a good choice. Not only for the beauty and gossamery appearance of a rose, but also for the thorns that accompanied it as it hooked itself into the flesh and drew blood. Quatre had a way of doing that. Like Duo, he was extremely charismatic, but he possessed an air of authority that was both subtle and blatantly obvious. He could be sweet as sugar when he wanted to be, but worse than a spitfire during a summer drought when he wasn't pleased. And when he wasn't pleased, everyone and their brother knew about it. His brothers doted on him like he was royalty and Zayeed was very worried that it would go to his head. For a while it seemed to as the child appeared to be a spoiled brat, first howling when he didn't get his way, then seemingly howling for the sheer hell of it. It wasn't until the child was eight years old that Zayeed began to question the reasoning behind that. His encounter the previous year with Trowa in the playroom had given him a new perspective on his biological son. As the very first of his kind, Quatre was, in a sense, a God among Gods, and as such, his abilities were on a much higher scale in comparison to his "descendants". He was, for all intents and purposes, a Phoenix trapped inside human flesh. As a result, it was often excruciating for him. Zayeed realized that as much as Quatre's behavior was painful to endure, it was a thousand times worse for the child. His brothers seemed to understand this right off the bat and Zayeed wasn't surprised considering how they all seemed to be connected to each other, right from the start. Weaved together on a loom of instinctual kinship. Though they all loved each other impeccably, Quatre was the glue that held them together, uniting them in a brotherhood of solidarity. As the boys grew older, their abilities grew stronger, branching out into other avenues. Zayeed no longer tried to push them into sharing themselves with him. He simply nurtured their abilities with unbridled support and unconditional love. He began to respect them as equals. It seemed to work and without feeling pressured to do so, they opened up to him on their own terms. He noted, feeling a sense of hope for the first time in eight years, that they'd become a little less secretive and much less hostile, at least towards him. He realized that what had been lacking in their interactions was trust. They simply didn't know if they could trust him. It couldn't have been easy to rely on someone who was lower than they were on the evolutionary scale. Zayeed realized that he had the immensely important obligation of teaching these creatures a sense of empathy and responsibility, not only for their own well-being, for the well-being of every living thing on Earth. Quatre caught on relatively quickly and what Zayeed wasn't able to communicate to the other boys, Quatre was able to get his point across. The boys listened to him. In fact, Quatre seemed to be the only one they did listen to. They respected him in a way that Zayeed found fascinating to observe. He'd been able to surmise that Trowa saw himself as a sort of guardian for Quatre. He'd said he was the only one who could "contain" him. Zayeed still wasn't sure what that meant, but he personally believed his biological son possessed abilities in his tiny little body that were far beyond the scope of anything he'd seen so far. He wondered if Trowa sometimes shouldered the burden, the way he'd seen them sitting with their heads together, deep in concentration. He wondered if all the boys did that for him. He simply couldn't imagine what kind of power the child had that it had to be under some kind of restraint, dispersed among his brothers to ease the agony of it. He wondered what would have happened to the child if he hadn't had his brothers around to help him. Would it have simply killed him? The power just too much for his frail human system? He honestly didn't know and it frightened him. Though he was curious about the extent of Quatre's abilities, he held out a sliver of hope that he'd never have to see it. The bond that the boys shared was really something to behold and Quatre often acted as an Ambassador between Zayeed and his brothers. He seemed to understand him in a way that the other boys couldn't and Quatre was the bridge, the interpreter that translated the messages between them. As a baby, Quatre had been horrifically colicky and would often scream at the top of his lungs during the long hours of night, usually prompting the other four babies to do the same. Zayeed figured that Quatre was simply waking them up with his wailing and set up another nursery for him at the other end of the house in the hopes that his screeching wouldn't wake the other boys. He realized very quickly that it was a terrible idea. Sufficed to say, it hadn't worked. The other boys not only continued to scream, they screamed louder and longer than they had before. The sound almost mournful in tone. He'd taken Quatre to Sally, hoping something could be done about the colic. She checked the baby over thoroughly, gently shushing him when he began to fuss, then lifted him onto her shoulder, rubbing his back soothingly. She looked at Zayeed and shook her head. "He's not colicky." "What?" "It's not colic." "Then what is it?" Sally looked completely stumped. "I honestly don't know. But if it's okay with you, I'd like to observe him overnight just to be sure." Zayeed's shoulders sagged in relief. Maybe she could figure it out. "That sounds great." Sally spent the night in Quatre's nursery, doing everything she could to soothe the screaming child, while Zayeed attempted to comfort the other four when they inevitably sounded off in response to their brother. She carefully monitored him the entire night and by morning, while the babies were being tended to by their nannies, Sally and Zayeed sat down at the kitchen table together, frazzled, bleary eyed, with mugs of steaming coffee in front of them. Zayeed was anxious for the diagnosis. "Well?" Sally blinked and rubbed her eyes, her other hand wrapping around her mug. "So...it's not colic. It's - well, I think it's night terrors." Zayeed was shocked. "Really? I didn't know babies could have them this early." Sally shot him a derisive look. "You and I both know these are not typical children." Fucking hell if that wasn't an understatement. "Yeah, I know. So what do I do?" "My advice? Try putting him with his brothers at night. I mean put them all together. Like you said, the other boys are reacting to him. To his pain, or his fear. If they are close to each other, it might soothe him. Soothe all of them." "Huh. Alright." Zayeed was willing to try anything at this point. It worked. Like a charm. That night he placed the boys in the large playpen so they would all fit. He watched as they gravitated towards each other and immediately settled down to sleep. It was as if the angels had descended down upon the Winner Estate. It was quiet all night long and Zayeed wept in relief, thanking and blessing Sally in equal measure. That had been his first real evidence that the boys were far more connected to each other than he ever thought possible. That evidence continued to grow as they did. They were virtually inseparable during the first few years of their lives, though they did show increasing comfort about being separated as they got older. Maybe it was because their ability to sense each other grew along with them and they didn't need to be in such close contact to feel each other. Zayeed wasn't sure. It was all just guesswork. His encounter with Trowa a year ago had been a catalyst of a sort. It was the pivotal moment when he'd reached rock bottom and realized he wasn't as great as he'd always thought. That humans weren't as great as they'd always thought. It was when he realized that there were creatures out there that would always be greater, smarter, stronger, just plain better, and it was the first time Zayeed had come in contact with one. It made his pride sting horribly to realize he really wasn't shit on the cosmic scale, not even on a planetary scale. He realized that he'd been treating the boys like incompetent children, and while they were indeed children, they were children who were leaps and bounds ahead of him. He'd always prided himself as a scientific genius and the revelation burned like a gasoline-soaked rag. He'd spent a lot of time after that looking inward. At himself, at who he had been and who he was now. He wasn't a father, not in the normal sense. He took it upon himself to provide them with what they needed, including love and support, but he also gave them their space, and with time, they began to come to him instead of meeting his attempts with vitriol. The incidents where he'd felt Quatre pulling his energy from him had lessened considerably, though it still happened from time to time, leaving Zayeed exhausted, unable to string a coherent sentence together for a while. To his surprise, Quatre approached him one morning, looking troubled. Zayeed watched the child linger in the doorway of his study, which was odd in of itself. Typically, the boys would just barge in without a care in the world. "Quatre? Is something the matter?" The child picked at the wood of the door nervously and remained silent, though he gazed at him like something was weighing on his mind. Zayeed couldn't fathom what kind of burden this eight year old boy could possibly have on his shoulders, but he knew it was at the very least comparable to his own. At least. "You can come in, you know." There was a slight pull in his mind, but it was gone in a few seconds. Then, Quatre came in, stepping carefully over to the chair opposite his desk. He watched as the child sat down, looking around the room as he tapped his fingers on the arms of the chair. "Is there something I can help you with? You know I'm always happy to do what I can." Quatre glanced at him and Zayeed's breath hitched. God, but he was Quatrine all over again. The child opened his mouth, then closed it, hesitant. "Do we hurt you?" Zayeed was stunned by the question. "What?" "Do we hurt you?" "I - well, what makes you ask that?" Quatre's eyes shifted to the side for a moment, then back at him. "I know you cry...sometimes. When you think we aren't looking." "Uhhh..." Well, this was unexpected. Zayeed tapped his pen on the desk as he thought his answer over thoroughly. Should he reassure the child, or be honest with him? He was fairly certain that the child would know if he tried to candy-coat anything and he didn't want to insult the boy's intelligence either. Honesty was the best policy after all. "You - well, you have at times, yes." "Do we scare you?" Fuck, yes. "You have done that, too." More pulling, but only a little. He was gathering information, trying to get a feel for the effects they had on him. He backed away when Zayeed's head began to hurt. Zayeed realized he must have known that. In the past, Quatre would literally drain him until he was a drooling idiot for a few hours. Now, the child seemed to have more control of himself. Whatever Quatre found, he seemed satisfied. He nodded and leaned back in the chair, pinning Zayeed with an intense look. "I'm...sorry about that. We all are." Zayeed was too shocked to respond right away. He stared, wide-eyed at the child, trying to get his stuttering brain to work. "It's - well, it's okay." "We don't always understand the effect we have on people. Sometimes...it's hard to realize that what we're doing might be harmful, or frightening." Zayeed suddenly felt so elated, his stomach doing somersaults. Is this actually happening? This was something he never thought he'd hear. Maybe he was doing something right. "I know it can't be easy for you boys, but I just want you to know that I'm not your enemy. I never was and I never will be. I want you to know that I am always on your side, no matter what and I'd do anything for you guys." Quatre seemed confused. "But...why?" "Why?" Zayeed laughed, he couldn't help it. "Because I love you boys." "Love...like I love my brothers?" "Yes!" Oh, this was an incredible breakthrough that he never thought he'd get to experience. "Yes, that's exactly it. You would do anything for your brothers, wouldn't you?" "Of course." "Well, that's how I feel about you guys. Do you understand?" "Yes, I think I do. I know you know this won't be easy for us, but we will try. For you. I realize we've never thanked you for anything. I want to thank you now. For everything." He smiled, a rush of happiness thrumming in his system, vibrating every nerve ending in his body. He wanted to jump on top of his desk and do a victory dance. "Well, you are so welcome. I hope you boys can learn to trust me and you know you can always come to me if you need anything. Anything at all." Quatre nodded, looking a little more at ease. "We'll try not to hurt you, or scare you. I hope you know it was never intentional." Zayeed held up his hand. "I must say, sometimes I wasn't sure, but I feel much better now knowing it wasn't. I will be much more understanding in the future if and when that happens and instead of getting upset, can I - I can just tell you what's happening?" "That would be sufficient." Zayeed laughed, despite himself. "Good. Thank you, Quatre. Thank you for coming to me with this and I'm so happy we had this talk. I hope we can have many more to come." Quatre cocked his head, observing him. "Yeah. I hope we can, too." He smiled and Zayeed held his arms out. The child was hesitant when he went to him, but Zayeed was too thrilled to notice. He took his son into his arms for the first time since he could walk. Oh God, but it felt like magic. Tears brimmed behind his closed eyelids as he was finally able to hold his child. "I love you, son." Quatre pulled away, giving him an awkward smile. "I'd better get back to my studies." Delighted, Zayeed grinned. "Yes, I suppose you should. You boys can come down in a half hour and if you'd like, we can get ice cream." "Duo would love that." He laughed, feeling light as air. "I'm sure he would." Damn, but that boy loved his ice cream. Quatre left the room and Zayeed could only sit in the wake of this new and amazing development, completely gobsmacked, the grin on his face permanently etched there as tears streamed down his cheeks. How many times had he done this exact same thing, only it had been in pain and fear? Now, the unthinkable had happened. A connection. He'd connected with his child for the first time since he pulled him from the incubation tube and with any luck, he'd be able to do the same with the other boys. Unable to contain his excitement, he picked up the phone and called Sally. "I think the Desert Rose is retracting his thorns." Movie night began as it always did. With the boys arguing over whose turn it was to pick the video. Zayeed held the disks up out of their reach as he tried to remember who'd had last pick. "No, Duo. You picked last time. It's Trowa's turn." Duo's mouth turned down in a pout, though he continued to bounce on the balls of his feet, his system still saturation with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. "But, he always picks the same thing." Trowa was unperturbed as he slid the disk into the player and Killer Clowns From Outer Space flickered to life on the big screen. They may have been an advanced human species, but they were still, in essence, eight year old boys. "Well, you can play whatever you want when it's your turn." Duo folded his arms over his chest and shot his brother a dark look. Quatre caught it and sent Duo an even darker one. The boy relented immediately and sat down to watch. Zayeed turned to leave the room, as he always did, when Quatre's small voice rose up over the introductory music. "Watch with us?" He was shocked. Apparently so were his brothers as they stared at Quatre as though he'd lost his mind. He gave them all a look and they backed off, turning back to the movie. Zayeed stuttered, "Are - are you sure?" The boy said nothing, but Zayeed felt the answering pulse in his mind. Quatre wanted him to watch the movie with them. Would wonders never cease? Feeling awkward, but ecstatic, he walked over to the couch and sat down. After a few minutes, Quatre got up from the floor beside Trowa and climbed onto the sofa, tucking himself against Zayeed's side and Zayeed nearly wept from the overwhelming feeling of joy. It didn't take long before Trowa was getting up and situating himself next to Quatre, followed by Duo who snuggled into Zayeed's other side. It took a little longer for the other two, but eventually, Heero crawled in next to Duo. Wufei watched from the floor for a few more minutes, but a silent communication between him and Quatre made him stand and walk over to the couch, climbing up next to Trowa. Quatre smiled at the boy and lightly tapped his foot in reassurance. Together, they watched the film and Zayeed couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so happy. It had been before Quatrine died, he knew that much. He suddenly felt a sense of peace and home that he never thought he'd feel again. He was sure the other boys would come around with time. He wouldn't push them. This...this was enough. Finally being accepted, even if it was cautious. That was okay. It was enough. "Father?" Zayeed looked down at Quatre who smiled up at him. "I'm glad you're here." He choked down the lump in his throat and whispered, "So am I." "Quiet. Watching movie." Zayeed chuckled. "Sorry, Duo."
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