"The Pact"

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: Smut, Porn With Plot, OT5, Fluff, Mild Angst, Humor, Fivesome, Angst, Newtypes, Possessive Behavior, Alternate Universe - Dark, Non-Graphic Violence

Pairings: 3x5x2x4x1

Summary: Formerly Intervention (retitled because the story detoured and went its own way).After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Warnings for this chapter: Past child abuse and non-graphic violence.

"The Pact"

Chapter 14: Tapped Out

Trowa swatted Duo's hand away when he held another crispy slice of bacon beneath his nose. He'd already packed away enough food to make a hibernating bear jealous. "Quit it, Duo. I told you I don't want anymore."

"Whatta buncha lightweights," Duo snorted, stuffing the bacon into his own mouth instead.

Wufei's face twisted in revulsion as he lifted his tea cup. "Are you trying to eat yourself into an early grave?"

"Did you not see the intense workout I just had out there? Gotta keep the ol' fucking machine fueled up."

"Wow," Quatre muttered from his place at the counter. "In the room."

"You should take that as the compliment it is," Duo told him, scooping four heaping spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee.

Heero gave him a weird look. "How is that even a compliment?"

"Because," Duo sputtered. "Blondie over there got me so turned on, I felt like a locomotive."

"That's...actually a pretty accurate description," Quatre mused.

"See?"

"Because I feel like I've been hit by one, or...four."

Duo winked at him over the rim of his mug. "That said, you look damned good for railroad pizza."

Quatre eyed him for a minute and then cleared his throat. "Okay, moving on. We've covered the basics already, but there's a lot of information to go over still." He reached across the counter and pulled four orange folders out from behind a canister, passing them around before reclaiming his chair. "This is everything I could find along with the stuff that Iria gave me so I made copies for you to keep. Just don't let anyone else see this. Get a safe, or something. I don't know, but no one is allowed to know about this."

Heero dark brows knitted together as he shuffled through the contents of his folder. "How did you get all this? I've tried every hacking program at my disposal and even modified some of my own and I still couldn't gain access to anything useful."

"Looks like Mr. Perfect Soldier isn't so perfect after all," Duo teased.

Quatre rested his hand on Heero's arm and squeezed gently. "Relax, Heero. I didn't upstage your hacking skills, okay? My sister gave me the access codes and passwords. I put them on the last page in your folders. It goes without saying that these are also -"

"Hush, hush," Duo cut in. "Yeah, we get it."

Wufei lifted a page out of his folder and held it up as he read from it. "Symptoms of prolonged denial of intercourse with your Omega include fatigue, irritability, aggression, restlessness, insomnia, headache, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, tremors, uncontrollable muscle spasms, vivid dreams, nocturnal emissions, and a persistent erection that may, or may not be painful. Masturbation typically does not relieve these symptoms."

"Engaging in intercourse with your Omega is the most effective method to alleviate your symptoms and relief is usually immediate. If symptoms persist after intercourse and ejaculation, please contact your assigned Alpha specialist as soon as possible to avoid any long term damage." Wufei dropped the page and gave Quatre an incredulous look. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Quatre threw his hands up helplessly. "I wish I was, but I'm not. I basically had the exact same reaction."

"Alpha Exodus?" Duo asked, scanning the bottom of the same page. "What's that?"

"It's what Wufei just read. That's the...I don't know. Unofficial term? It's withdrawal, like what you experienced in the days that followed our first encounter on my birthday."

"I can't believe there are actually pamphlets for this," Trowa said, fanning out a stack of them in his hands as if they were poker cards. "Look at these titles. 'Me, Myself, and My Omega,' 'What To Expect When You're An Alpha,' and 'Alphas Are From Mars, Omegas Are From Venus.'"

Quatre's cheeks flushed pink as he fiddled with his napkin. "Yes, well. Some of those are a little outdated."

"A little?" Duo snorted, holding up a pamphlet. "Check out the mutton chops on this dude."

"The information in them is still relevant so -"

"Is there an after school special, too?"

"No," Quatre snapped impatiently. "Look, I get that some of this stuff is cheesy, okay? But it's not like I made those things and it's not like I invented this whole Alpha/Omega thing either."

"So you didn't know anything about this when we - last week?" Heero asked, eyeing the blond closely.

"I swear to you, I knew nothing about this. Apparently my family has been keeping this secret from me since the day I was born. The only reason my sister came clean was because I'd - you had activated the Omega."

"You'd think if your family was so adamant about not letting that happen, they would have protected the goods behind a chastity belt, or something before we got a chance to deflower you," Duo mused.

Quatre cocked a brow at him. "Duo, I hate to burst your bubble, but my cherry was popped four years ago."

He realized his mistake too little too late and shifted awkwardly when four pairs of eyes bore into him with the intensity of a gamma ray. Three were decidedly homicidal and the fourth was a combination of homicidal and crestfallen. Aw, hell. You and your big mouth, Quatre. Let's see you try to worm your way out of this one.

Trowa spoke first and Quatre instantly recognized the tone. That deceitfully quiet, but more loaded than a souped up bear trap, 'Spill the beans and maybe I won't wear your guts as a t-shirt' tone. "Was it now? And who was given that honor?"

"It's not anyone you guys know, okay? He's just -"

"Who?" Trowa insisted, leaning forward across the table.

"He's the son of one of my father's long time golfing buddies. After the Eve Wars, I went back home to begin making arrangements for reconstruction. A few days later, he spotted me at a coffee shop and we went to lunch to catch up, is that alright?"

Apparently not if the round of expectant glares were anything to go by. "We hadn't seen each other since before the first war, but we were really close back then so we hit it off right away. He asked me if I wanted to go back to his place to see the new project he was working on -"

"And you fell for that?"

He scowled, but chose not to dignify Trowa's patronizing inquiry with a response. "I accepted the invitation. We flirted some, he kissed me, then one thing led to another, and that was that."

"That was that? That's all you're going to say?"

Quatre huffed and folded his arms across his chest. Fine. If they wanted him to spell it out for them, who was he to disappoint? "We fucked, is that what you want to hear? We fucked like animals. We played Tarzan and Jane and had wild monkey sex while hanging from the ceiling rafters. Happy now?"

Okay, so maybe he was exaggerating a little, but god was it worth it just to see the stupefied expressions on their faces. "Anyway, it's not like any of you have a legitimate reason to be upset about this. Especially since I know damn well none of you were virgins when you decided to bone me on my birthday. So what makes me different? Why am I expected to stay virginal for the four of you whom, up until a week ago, showed no romantic interest in me whatsoever?"

He deeply resented the fact that he was expected to stay perched high on this ridiculous pedestal, living up to standards that were wholly unreasonable even for a saint. He resented it, but was not surprised by it. He had known since the very beginning that he'd been regarded as the "innocent" one. Pure as the driven snow. Unsullied by the filth of human corruption in the eyes of his co-pilots as well as all five of their mentors.

What a crock of shit.

Though bitter as he might be, he understood the reason behind it. His friends were oblivious, but not malicious in their intentions. Their newly awakened Alphas were doing a number on their psyches. Influencing their emotions and dictating their actions according to the ever-changing environment. They were constantly monitoring their surroundings, calculating every possible threat and their subsequent response to ensure they never lost the upper hand.

In every sense of the word, they were doing exactly what they were meant to do and it made no difference how bent out of shape he was about it.

Still, he couldn't stop the rush of shame when saw how crushed Trowa looked and he wanted to kick the other man for invoking his guilt when he'd done absolutely nothing wrong. "Trowa...I'm sorry. I didn't -"

"No, no. No, you're right. I was too afraid to show you how I felt about you and I can't fault you for trying to build a life - or a...relationship - of your own. It's selfish to demand your virtue as if it's something that belongs to us. I know that. I know it's true, but -"

"But that voice in your head tells you otherwise," Wufei finished, staring intently into his teacup. "It tells you everything you know in your heart is right is wrong. It twists everything you've ever believed and flips it upside down. It tells you it doesn't care about your principals, or -"

"It tells me I shouldn't care about my principals," Heero cut in. "It has only one objective." He glanced around the table before nodding his head towards Quatre. "Him. He's the only thing it wants and it's getting harder and harder to figure out where it ends and I begin. The stronger it gets, the more it seems like it's coming from me. That these are my thoughts and feelings and they always have been."

"Because they are," Quatre told him in a somber voice. "The Alpha is you. You are one in the same. I'll admit I've had trouble accepting the Omega as anything but a separate entity. A parasite, but...it's not. It's been inside me since the moment of my conception. It was passed down from my mother. It's everywhere, every part of me. It's every cell in my body, every neurotransmitter in my brain, every beat of my heart, the blood in my veins. It's part of my genetic structure. I can't kill it without killing myself in the process. If it dies, I die with it."

"Does it talk to you?" Duo asked.

"Yes. Though I still don't know if it's just me talking to myself. The more I think about it, I'm convinced it is and it only seems like it's separate because maybe I want it to be. The Omega isn't in me. The Omega is me. I didn't want to believe I was responsible for all this, but I am and I'm - I'm so sorry, you guys. I'm so sorry I did this to you."

"Quat, this is no more your fault than it is ours," Trowa assured him. "You had no knowledge of this, much less any control over it. And anyway, we seduced you, remember? If anything, the blame should be on us since we initiated it."

"Quatre, none of us blame you for this," Heero insisted. "There is no resentment towards you because it's not your fault, okay?"

Quatre ducked his head, but he wasn't quick enough to hide the quiver of his lip. "I was so afraid you would all hate me for this. I've been hating myself all week. I was convinced you would tell me you never wanted to see me again and I was so scared of losing all of you. You're the best friends I've ever had."

Heero wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders and tugged him closer. Quatre allowed himself to be pulled into the embrace and tucked his head beneath the other man's chin, seeking the comfort he hadn't been expecting, but was so relieved was being offered. He didn't cry like he thought he would. He merely released a shaky breath and let the tension in his body finally melt away like chocolate over a candle flame.

He wasn't surprised when he felt the warm press of a chest against his back. He'd sensed Trowa's approach and welcomed the feeling of safety and security, sagging between the two men as the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

"You're not going to lose us, Quat. Ever," Trowa whispered against the nape of his neck. "I for one am not going anywhere."

"We're all in this together," Heero murmured into his hair. "Okay? Because that's how it's supposed to be. We've gotten through situations far worse than this because we stuck together and worked as a team."

"Yeah, Q. There's no 'I' in 'team', but there is an 'I' in - ah, never mind. I mean, this is a cakewalk compared to the war. And we get to rock the casbah whenever we want. It's a win-win."

Quatre lifted his head to smile at Duo. "You suck at pep talks, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"I suck at other things, too, but I don't hear you complaining."

"Oh, for god's sake," he muttered, pressing his heated face against Heero's chest. A little over an hour ago, he'd been as shameless as a crack whore desperate to make a few bucks. Now that the haze of desire was satiated - however briefly - he had reverted back to his default state of disciplined modesty. One that was built on a solid foundation of rigid upbringing and indoctrination, enforced by a totalitarian father whose punishments were delivered with brute strength, merciless precision, and a conscience clear of remorse.

There were times he could still feel the excruciating agony of his grandfather's antique cane repeatedly striking his back after he'd been caught touching himself for reasons that had nothing to do with hygiene. He'd been beaten black and blue, until the pain far surpassed his ability to remain conscious. It took nearly two months for the bruises to fade, but his lesson was learned. He didn't dare touch himself again until after his father had disowned him, when there was nothing less than an entire planet between them.

The bruises had long since healed, but his mind remembered the screaming torment of his nerves as they were battered beneath the force of a grown man in a fit of self-righteous rage. Sometimes the memory manifested into physical pain, as if a perpetually unforgiving Zayeed had returned from the hereafter to make him atone for his sins all over again.

As a child, Quatre had no reason to believe the things his father did weren't a normal part of parenting. When he left to join the war, he thought perhaps his father's strictness was his way of ensuring that none of his thirty children did anything to damage his professional reputation. And to be frank, having thirty kids did greatly increase the odds of at least one of them doing something extremely stupid. Quatre couldn't exactly fault him for trying to cover his ass.

His most recent suspicion however, had been confirmed by Iria herself. Zayeed's actions were motivated by a deep-seated fear that his only son, his heir, would grow to be little more than a servant to one - or multiple - Alphas. Among the inner circles of society's most elite, Omegas were still largely regarded as chattel. Highly desirable chattel, but chattel nonetheless and that didn't bode well for a man who had a virtual empire under his thumb. If word about Quatre's genetic anomaly got out, the Winner family would have faced public shame, ridicule, and ostracization.

The harshness of his father's methods were disturbingly similar to religious fundamentalism, intended to force Quatre into a life of voluntary celibacy by training his mind to develop a revulsion for sex. To instill the idea that sex was something only the godless engaged in. If he succeeded in convincing his son that he was above such heathenism, the odds of Quatre being exposed as an Omega were slim to none.

From the moment of conception, Quatre had been cursed. Branded as an abomination. A painful reminder that defective creatures such as himself were best left dead, or at least hidden from society like a dirty secret.

It was a hard pill to swallow knowing his father had wanted him aborted when he'd learned of Quatrine's unexpected pregnancy. Quatre was alive today only because of his mother's stubborn refusal to terminate and Zayeed's concurrence of her decision because he'd loved her that much. It was his father's love for his mother and his mother's love for him, so powerful that she'd willingly sacrificed her life for the sake of her child's on that somber night twenty one years ago when the rest of humanity was preparing for the joyful festivities in the days ahead.

"Quat? You alright, babe?"

The gentle query jolted him back to the present. He felt dazed and a little groggy as he often did after a particularly deep sleep. He rubbed his hands over his face and summoned a smile for Trowa. "Yeah. Sorry, I guess I was spacing out. I was thinking about my parents."

Duo paused in his task of building a miniature fort with the leftover bacon and raised a brow at the blond. "I thought you were artificially created."

Quatre shook his head. "That's what I was told my whole life growing up. My sisters are, but as it turns out, I'm not. Unfortunately, my mother died giving birth to me. My father decided never to tell me that I was born naturally."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because she was an Omega, too. I inherited it from her, but my father was adamant about making sure mine was never activated. Obviously he underestimated its - my - power."

Wufei scooted his chair closer, intrigued. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning, it already knew who its Alphas were. Even though it was dormant, it was somehow able to...I don't know. Attract you, I suppose. Without any of us being consciously aware of it."

"So you're saying that's what brought us all together?" Heero asked.

"Well, if you remember, we were never even supposed to know about each other, much less ever meet face to face. I felt connected to all of you before I knew who you were and don't you find it a little odd that four guys who'd never been able to work well with others in the past suddenly became team players without even thinking twice about it? The bond was already being formed back then without our knowledge. As time went on, the urgency to consummate it got stronger and stronger, at least for me."

Wufei rested his chin on his fist as he mulled the information over. "I think it's safe to say the feeling was mutual considering we just showed up on your doorstep with every intention of having sex with you, though -" he paused, face twisting in confusion "- wait. Now that I think about it, I don't remember even coming up with that idea. I don't remember any of you mentioning it either. The only thing I do remember is the four of us sitting outside that cafe last week acting like what we were about to do was previously agreed upon when it wasn't."

"To be fair, we did previously agree on visiting Quatre that day," Trowa pointed out. "Right? I am remembering that correctly, aren't I?"

Wufei looked up at him and nodded. "Visiting, yeah. I figured we were just going to hang out, maybe drag Winner to a few bars, get him wasted, maybe laid, and then go home."

"Well, you did get me laid," Quatre conceded with a smile. "I'll give you that."

"And wasted," Duo added. "Just not in the typical 'get-your-buddy-drunk' way."

"So, we're all agreeing here that none of us said, or indicated anything about sex prior to showing up here last week," Heero said, attempting to get a confirmation for the record. "Correct?"

"Yeah, I think that's what we're all copping to. I never said it. Neither did Tro, or Fei. You didn't say it and since we're being thorough, I'll also add that Q didn't either."

"Oh, we all said it," Quatre told them, dragging his fingers through his hair. "Just not out loud. Or consciously." He dropped his elbows back down to the table and rested his forehead on the palm of his hand. "I remember getting so upset at first because I thought you guys were pranking me, but I can't remember much of what happened after that. Just...fragments of things, some of which I'm not even sure were real."

"It's really hazy for me, too," Trowa agreed. "I do remember the second round though. Very clearly."

Duo tipped his chair back and rubbed his face. "Ah fuck, same," he confessed, peering at Heero and then Wufei with bleary eyes. "What about you two? Yay, or nay?"

Neither man responded verbally, but Quatre could see the answer written across their faces. He nodded and got up to replenish his coffee, both because he needed to and because this was awkward as all get-out. "Iria said that was common. The activation process uses up a ton of brain capacity. It's just like running a super powerful computer program. It consumes vast amounts of energy and even diverts what's normally used to keep the other processes going. Once it's completed the process, it...basically just runs in the background, popping up to do this, or that when necessary."

"So we inherit this from our parents, right?"

"Omegas do and it's typically only one parent. The geneticists on my sister's team still aren't sure where the Alpha comes from. You don't seem to have a traceable gene they can locate to study." Quatre snorted as he picked up a spoon to stir some cream into his coffee. "They still can't seem to crack the Omega gene anyway. They're getting bits and pieces of information from it, but not enough to paint a picture yet."

"Maybe it's spontaneous," Trowa mused. "Depending on circumstance. From what I know so far, Alphas evolved as reactionary protectors."

"Uh, could you repeat that, Tro? Preferably using layman's terms this time."

"Think about when a virus, or bacteria mutates in order to survive environments that are hostile to them. It's impossible to kill every last organism. There will always be stragglers that manage to stay alive. So...what happens to those survivors?"

"They develop immunity. They become stronger, more difficult to destroy," Wufei answered.

Trowa pointed a triumphant finger at him. "Bingo! In that regard, we're all the same. We're all Newtypes and as far as we're aware, Newtypes have virtually the same origins. Once we were deemed a threat, which in turn became a threat to us, we evolved into a "system" to increase our chances of survival. We mutated."

"Wouldn't that mean we also have a gene?" Wufei asked.

"I would think so. I mean, I'm not an expert on any of this so I have no idea, but I would think there is a gene. They just haven't found it yet."

"Or maybe they found it, but they haven't figured out what it is," Heero suggested.

"Man, there is not enough coffee in the world to process this mind trip," Duo groaned. He grabbed his mug and pushed away from the table. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to work with what I got. S'cuse me, Q. I'm gonna need some more'a that there thinkin' sauce."

His cup was only half-full when he set the pot down with a loud clunk and spun around. "Wait. What you just described sounds an awful lot like some hierarchical insect colony royalty shit. Queens, workers, soldiers, etcetera. Am I hearing you correctly?"

"I'm saying I think it's a similar system," Trowa told him. "Only there's no real "queen" calling the shots. It seems more like the queen's role is split among us."

"Explain."

"Well, Quat's essentially the central character in all this. If I'm on the right track, we're the reactionary component in the equation. The mutation, so to speak, but we're far from being mindless drones. We have just as much control as Quatre -" he paused as he remembered that first night, nudging the blond to sleep with a brush of his mind. He'd been trying to delude himself into thinking that - and what happened after - was nothing but a disjointed remnant of a too vivid nightmare. He wasn't fooling anyone, much less himself. "If not, more so."

He caught Quatre's eye across the room, but was surprised to see no sign of anger, or resentment. "I know what you're thinking about," the blond told him. "And I have a theory on that myself."

Trowa nodded, giving him the floor. He owed him that much. Quatre rounded the counter, but didn't sit down at the table again. Instead, he perched on one of the barstools and tucked a leg beneath him. "I think all of you possess the power to override any bad decisions I make. Your ability to control what I do is a protective measure in case I make a stupid decision that could get me injured, or killed."

There was more. The rest of them could feel it hanging in the air like a cloud heavy with rain. Whatever it was, it was troubling Quatre and had been for some time. Heero glanced at Trowa, observing the comforting hand resting on the blond's ankle and the expression of guileless devotion on his face. He already knew and apparently had been trying to reassure Quatre that whatever it was....whatever it was, it was going to be okay.

"You can tell us, Quatre," he prodded, careful to keep his tone soft and open. If the blond caught even a hint of austerity, he might be discouraged from sharing the information. "We won't get angry, okay?"

Quatre glanced at Trowa who nodded once and Heero read the exchange loud and clear. The, 'Can I trust him?' Followed by the, 'Yes, you can trust him. It's okay.' He set his coffee cup on the counter and carded his fingers through his hair. "Alright so...it's not just a protective measure for my benefit. It's - it's also self-preservation. Your self preservation."

Ah, here we go. Nothing is ever so simple, is it?

"Meaning?"

"Meaning...if something happens to me - if I die, you probably wouldn't survive much longer after that." Quatre's voice cracked a little at the end, but he did a pretty remarkable job of getting himself back under control. "I've been talking to Iria about ways to avoid that if I do happen to pass away first. She is searching for ways to break at least that part of this bond so that the four of you can go on to live full, happy lives after I'm gone. It's not right that any of you should die just because I do."

Trowa, bless his heart, was almost hilariously predictable. "I wouldn't want to live in a world without you anyway, Quat."

Wufei rubbed his eyes irritably and then slapped his hand on the table. "Jesus Christ, Barton. Can you save the melodramatic Romeo and Juliet decrees for your broadway audition and focus on reality here? You do understand the gravity of what he just said, don't you? If he dies, we die. That's it. That's all she wrote. It's curtains for all of us. You're seriously okay with that?"

"Well, that explains why such drastic measures have been taken to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place, doesn't it?"

Wufei stared at Duo as if he'd just sprouted a set of horns. "I find it hard to believe that you, of all people, are taking this so well."

Duo shrugged as he nibbled on the tip of a strawberry. "All I'm saying is that evolution seems to have already taken this unfortunate plot twist into consideration and found a solution."

"You call this a solution?!"

"Fei -"

"No, Trowa," Quatre cut in, squeezing the other man's hand. "It's alright. He has every right to be upset about this."

"Upset?! Ha! If that isn't the understatement of the year."

"Fei," Trowa said again, though in a more placating tone. "No one is disputing your right to be angry, but going ballistic isn't going to solve anything so let's try to let cooler heads prevail, okay?"

Wufei let out a bitter laugh and pushed away from the table. "That's rich coming from you," he retorted, taking his cup over to the stove where he'd left the tea kettle.

Trowa's nerves rankled despite his best efforts not to let Wufei push his buttons. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Wufei spun from his place at the stove and waved his arms at the blond who now looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. "You're so eager to follow Winner over the edge of the cliff, you practically have one foot in the grave already! Tell me, loverboy. Why should I listen to your dick?"

Trowa folded his arms across his chest and didn't miss a beat. "You're right. You were doing a swell job of listening to your own dick an hour ago."

"Can you blame me? It sure made Winner over there sing like a canary."

"Oh, shit," Duo muttered, wisely scooting his chair back to get as far away from the inevitable war path as possible.

Trowa's expression darkened and his aura shifted from mildly vexed to something far more menacing. There was a strange ripple in the air, followed by a few cracks of static electricity. It was intangible, almost as if some omnipotent creature was plucking the very fabric of space and time. Strumming their very existence like strings on an instrument to a concerto only it could hear.

That malevolent presence returned. The one he'd gotten a terrifying glimpse of while alone with Quatre the night of his birthday. The one that told him to commit unspeakable acts...it came bubbling up from the darkest reaches of his mind and just like before, he had little to no control over it. "You'd do well to shut your mouth right now, Chang."

"Trowa, don't. Please, it's not worth it."

Unaware of the treacherously thin ice he was on, Wufei turned his ire on Quatre. "Shut the fuck up, Winner. This is between me and -"

The kitchen erupted into chaos before he could even finish his sentence. There was a split second of movement, an indistinguishable flurry of blurs and the deafening sound of cracking and shattering. It was over in moments, but in the aftermath, Wufei found himself flat on his back with the two halves of the now broken table on either side of him.

Disoriented, he wiped bits of congealed scrambled egg out of his eyes and blinked up at the feral visage of the man he'd been honored to call his friend for the past five years. Trowa stood over him, spitting curses and threats, but he was making no further attempts to attack. It took Wufei a full minute to notice that Heero's arms were locked tightly around his shoulders, winding back behind the scruff of Trowa's neck where his fingers locked together, effectively preventing him from advancing.

"Wufei! Are you alright? Here, let me help you."

He grumbled and waved the fussing blond off. "I'm fine, Winner. Don't give yourself hemorrhoids, or anything." He sat up, gingerly at first. When there was no stabbing pain to indicate a serious injury, he got to his feet and brushed off the rest of the food that was clinging stubbornly to his clothes, skin, and hair with the kind of dignity that only someone like Wufei could pull off under such undignified circumstances. "Well, I hope you're proud of yourself, Barton. You sure taught me a valuable lesson about the prevailing of cooler heads."

"Shut up, Wufei," Heero barked, huffing a little in his effort to restrain Trowa who'd managed to summon a second wind. "Trowa, I am two seconds from knocking your ass out. Calm down."

Duo - who had pressed himself up against the wall during the epic smackdown - was too stunned to do anything but balk at Trowa with his mouth wide open. "Jesus, I've never seen him get like that before. The fuck just happened?"

Wufei snorted and stepped over the shattered remnants of Quatre's decimated kitchen, crunching broken plates and cups beneath his feet. "It's always the quiet ones."

"Trowa." Quatre, ever the peacemaker, tentatively approached the other man whose body was tensed like coiled springs within Heero's powerful grip. "Hey. Can you see me? Do you recognize me?"

Giant black pupils contracted slightly, revealing a little more of the familiar green Quatre loved so much. "It's me, Trowa. It's Quatre. Can you hear me?"

The pupils shrunk a little more and then Trowa's heavy breathing finally began to slow down and even out. Gaining confidence, he took another step and then another.

"Careful, Winner. I wouldn't get any closer unless you have a rabies shot handy."

Quatre ignored Wufei's snide remark and continued his approach, not daring to break eye contact for fear they would lose him again. "There you go. You remember me, right? Everything is going to be okay. Just...take a deep breath for me, okay?"

He could see in Trowa's eyes the exact moment clarity returned. The fog evaporated, harsh breaths smoothed out, and then it was just Trowa again. He was pale, haggard, and sweaty, but it was Trowa all the same.

Quatre rushed forward when the other man's knees buckled, wrapping his arms around his torso to keep him from collapsing as he helped Heero get him to a chair. "Here. It's okay. Just sit here and rest until you get your strength back. I'll get you a glass of water."

Heero stood behind Trowa with his hands braced on his shoulders to keep him steady while Quatre fetched the water. Trowa was shaky and drenched in sweat and Duo was quick to notice the slight green tinge to his face. "Uh, guys? I think he's gonna -"

"Huaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"- Puke," he finished, wincing a little. "Maybe we should take him to the hospital."

"No!" Trowa wiped his mouth with a trembling hand and then leaned back against the chair, using Heero's belly to support his head while he gathered his bearings. "No, I don't need a hospital. I'll be fine in a few minutes. I already feel a little better."

Wufei stood at the stove and folded his arms across his chest. "You mind telling us what that was all about?"

"I don't -" Trowa shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm not sure. I just lost control."

"Do you remember any of it?" Heero asked.

"I remember all of it. I knew I was losing control, but I couldn't stop." He glanced up at Wufei with wide, bloodshot eyes as he realized what he'd just done. "Oh, Christ. Wufei, I am so sorry! Are you alright? Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to -"

"I'm fine, Barton, keep your tits on."

Trowa groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I understand if you hate me now. I hate me, too."

Wufei's hostile demeanor finally began to dissipate, replaced by something resembling exasperated affection. "I did hold a sword to your throat once so consider us even now. Though I have to wonder what Winner's kitchen table ever did to deserve such an untimely demise."

"Oh god, Quat. Shit, I'm so sorry I broke your table!"

"It's okay, Trowa."

"I'll take care of everything, I promise. You don't have to lift a finger, okay?"

Quatre leaned over and took Trowa's hand between his own. "I said it's fine. We'll get it taken care of. I'm just glad no one was hurt."

"This time," Heero pointed out. "What if it happens again? What if it's me, Duo, or Wufei the next time instead of Trowa?"

Duo crossed the room and took the stool next to Quatre. "Are you saying this is Alpha related?"

"It has to be," Trowa insisted. "That's never happened to me before."

"It is," Quatre confirmed, sighing when was met with blank stares. "Okay, you have to look at this in its simplest form. From a biological perspective, evolution is not perfect. Far from it, at least by our human standards. It's a system of trial and error. When something doesn't pan out, evolution discards it and tries other things until something finally takes. Over the last billion years, it has left its footprint pretty much everywhere in nature and that footprint contains countless historical records of its successes and failures."

"What's your point, Winner?"

"My point is that the development of Newtypes is still in its infancy. We're essentially still in the testing phase as evolution tries to figure out what's going to enable our kind to thrive."

"Which means there are a lot of kinks to work out," Heero mused.

"Exactly. The kind of aggression Trowa just displayed is not uncommon among Alphas, particularly when there's more than one in a single unit. But in most cases, these uncontrollable outbursts do start to subside as the Alpha becomes more familiar with himself. Or herself. It's like when we first hit puberty, our hormones are all over the place. They fluctuate from one extreme to the other, but they tend to even themselves out as we get older and our bodies adjust to the changes."

"You know, for a guy who's just casually sipping coffee in the rubble of his own demolished kitchen, you're taking all of this like a real champ, Q."

In the silence that followed, the miniature train completed another lap around the cabinets with a soft 'Woo woo' as if seconding Duo's observation.

The blond's lips quirked slightly, threatening to tip the room's bleak mood into a different direction. When he laughed a minute later, it was as though the sun had reached down and parted the clouds, bathing the kitchen in warmth and light. Not even Heero and Wufei were immune to the sudden shift in atmosphere, laughing until their sides ached and tears rolled down their cheeks.

"Why am I laughing?" Wufei asked in between gasps for breath. "This is one of the most unfunny situations I've ever been in and I've been in some real doozies."

"We've all been in some real doozies, Fei, believe you me," Duo told him. "Sometimes there's nothing left to do but laugh. And hey, look on the bright side. This pickle we've all gotten ourselves into could be a lot worse, right? I mean, at least we get to enjoy mind-blowing orgasms."

"Yeah, about that." Heero turned to Quatre whose cheeks were flushed pink with laughter. "I meant to ask earlier, but won't the sex thing be a bit complicated considering how far apart we all live? How is that going to work?"

Quatre sobered and lifted his mug to his lips, buying himself an extra minute to figure out how to put this delicately. "Well, at some point in the future, we're going to have to live together. Probably the near future...actually the most beneficial outcome is as soon as possible."

"What?!"

So much for delicate.

"But I understand that's a lot easier said than done," he quickly added. "I've already spoken to Trowa about this in depth and he knows that the last thing I want to do is usurp the lives you've made for yourselves. This is not set in stone, okay? Best thing right now is to take it day by day, deal with this at your own pace, and do what you feel is right for you. There's absolutely no pressure on my part. We'll find ways to work around the hurdles."

Duo popped a toothpick into his mouth and worried it between his teeth. "You mean like phone sex."

"That's obviously one option and we already know it works. If there are others, I'll let you know about them as soon as I do."

"Guess that will have to be enough. Beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"Speak for yourself, Maxwell."

"You really think I'd speak for you, Mr. Anal Retentive Stick In the Mud?"

"Knock it off, both of you," Heero snapped. "Quatre doesn't need us hosing his walls down with more Alpha machismo. I know the three of you are staying overnight, but I can't. I have to leave tonight because I have an obligation early in the morning so I will not be around to play referee. If I find out any of you caused trouble, I'm going to crack your heads open like coconuts. Are you reading me loud and clear?"

"Yeah, we get it. Read you loud and clear."

"Wonderful. Now, the three of you come with me. We're going to find Quatre a new dining table and then we're going to come back here, clean up this mess, and put the new table together. Chop chop. We're burning daylight so let's get moving."

Amused, Quatre watched Heero escort them out of the apartment, the sounds of petulant griping fading as the door closed behind them. He glanced around his trashed kitchen, taking mental stock of what needed to be replaced when he felt a slight tug in his mind. He threw his hands up and sighed in exasperation. "Alright. Go ahead and gloat. I know you're dying to."

I told you so.

"This is going to get...easier, right?"

Define 'easier'.

"Never mind. I'm just going to shower, pack away this food, and then take a nap before the caterers come back to get the servers."

He made his way across the kitchen, carefully stepping around the obstacle course of broken dishes, spilled food, and scattered utensils. When he reached the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder one last time and shook his head.

"Alphas."

'Woo woo,' agreed the miniature train.

~ * ~

Chapter 15

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