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"Defying Gravity"A Romance in Three PartsWritten By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, yaoi, some language Summary: A multi part story of romance starting
with a turning point vacation, developing throughout a dangerous UC
mission, and moving ahead through the unexpected challenges of a summer
vacation. "Part Three: It's Another Vacation"
Chapter 5
Dorothy fanned her neck. "You guys are giving me all kinds of ideas and my man is over there, flat out asleep. As a result, I shall return this conversation back to the stupid story it was. Ahem! All right. So, I brought Terry his last Mai Tai, and looked at the empty chair. 'I knew these things wouldn't help,' I said. And Heero smiled and told me it was all right. That I should just leave the drink and he'd find something to do with it. When I asked him if his friend would be back, he said, 'I trust not.' I thought you were a very cold, cold man, Heero, to show so little concern for you partner. Why, he barely touched his little shrimps! And when I so politely asked if I could put them in a bag for you, you said--" "'Good God, no.' I remember," said Heero. "Think about it now. If he didn't want them when they were hot, why do you think he'd want them later, cold and smelling up the room?" "That wasn't the only thing that smelled funny," Wufei said. "I signed my check, but didn't know what to do next. I couldn't go to the room unarmed. Once there, though, if I found it empty, I'd just lock myself in for the night. And I would have stayed in the room until Garrett came to pick me up the next day to take me to the shrine. I knew that I never should have involved myself with a man like that in the first place." Wufei stared at Duo a moment as if he were the devil himself or somehow on a first-name basis with him. "So, I got up and left." "Man, I was so pleased to see you get up to leave I almost changed my mind and said yes to the tractor-tire salesman after all," Trowa said, grinning. "You should have seen the look on your face," Heero said to Wufei. "I watched you go by and noticed the grim set to your jaw, a real mobster's." Heero and Wufei traded smirks, Wufei's being the more arrogant and Heero's being only one hair this side of a sneer. "After that," Heero said, "I was sure you did suspect something, and you'd moved to that other chair to warn us to mind our own business." "You decided that then?" Quatre cried out. "After all I'd said. All I'd said? My proof?" "Proof, what proof? You got sick to your stomach!" Heero said. "He's empathic, 'Ro, it happens when he senses stuff about people, ya know?" Duo said. "I do now. I didn't then," he said with an accompanying shrug. "Where were you when he suffered from his 'space heart' episodes?" Wufei asked. "Oh," Heero said, his face coloring and eyes aglow from enlightenment. "So that's what that was about." Amid the groans and moans, Dorothy clamored for a return to quiet so she could put the story to bed, and herself, too. "Well, we certainly would mind our own business after all that, wouldn't we?" Quatre said. "The next morning Heero and I got on the plane and left the place." "I felt Yuy's damn eyes burning into my back as I left the room," Wufei said. "Should have made me think. Who else has a glare like Yuy's?" "I think I asked for tropical fruit for desert," Trowa said, yawning wide. "I was in no hurry to leave," Heero said, "since Chang had gone, and knowing that Winner would have disgustingly passed out in the room by then, so I dawdled over the final Mai Tai, but eventually signed the check and left." "And now, so should I." Dorothy rose to her feet with the help of Trowa's strong arms. "I am so glad to be in charge of the labs, now, and away from the field work. Oh, thank you, dear. You were so polite back then, too, Mr. Barton. You thanked me and told me you'd had a lovely dinner." "Don't forget the fat tip," Trowa smiled. "So, we be cool now? I'll get my rest results back faster from now on?" he asked. "Don't push your luck." "But what about the mission? What happened?" Sally asked. Wufei groaned and Trowa laughed. "Chang tried to arrest Maxwell, who in turned tried to arrest him and they got into a fight, off came the wigs, and things sorted themselves out after that. He can give you the details in the morning. 'Nite, Mrs. Chang." (o) Herr Sieger straightened his collar and rang the doorbell. He wasn't expecting an answer and didn't get one. He peered through the picture window, attempting to see through the gap in the shutters, but seeing nothing, decided no one was at home and took a walk around the house. He returned to the front walk minutes later then approached the car. "Nobody home. No cars. Been empty a while." Herr Spitze grunted with the effort of climbing out of the car. "Then we do it the hard way." He waited while Sieger opened the trunk, and then hauled out a worn, black leather tool bag. The two men circled around to the side, disappearing to the back of the house. General Sparks remained in the car, watching for the possible arrival of Gunter or any other inmate of the house. He checked his wristwatch, and noticed that it was time for a manicure. A car drove down the street, slowing as it passed, but turned the corner at the end of the block. Half and hour later, Spitze and Sieger returned to the car, the bag noticeably heavier, unable to close properly at the top. Sieger dumped it onto the floor of the car and fell in with a groan, arranging the bag between his undersized feet. Sieger ground his teeth, lit up a cigarette, and settled into the driver's seat. "What have you got for me, Herr Spitze?" "Nothing too easy, I have ta say. The place was bugged all over, but not live, so who was ever listening in isn't any more. I pulled some files off a computer. But the most promising find, was this appointment/contact book. Says here... Ra-ul somebody. Under the sofa cushion." General Starks nodded and waved for the other man to handover the tiny book. "Phone numbers without names. Just a moment, don't drive away yet. Here's an address right across the street and a phone number. Wind, it says." "Bingo!" "You want that we check out the other place?" Mr. Sieger asked. "Yes." Spitze dumped the materials removed from the Gunter house from the bag, and with a grunt exited the back seat of the car with his bag of tools. He took his turn at the door to the house across the street. As before, no one answered the bell. He shook his head, indicating that no one was home. Sieger joined him and they took a jaunt around to the back of this new house. General Starks waited. He could be a patient man. He flipped through the address book and glanced at his watch. He watched for cars pulling up, but the two that drove by, drove on. No nosy neighbors. Where had Merquise been hiding himself, he wondered? Starks no longer wanted to count the years that had passed since he had disappeared, taken on another identity, and built up a new empire, which was been threatened by this new Preventers organization. And to think Zechs Merquise had done the same thing? Even into the boy trade? My, how the mighty have fallen, he thought ruefully. "Damn but whoever was in this place had the money to spend on high class shit. I'll bet this was Gunter's place and he was spying on that other house with your Wind and his boys. This little piece of equipment has memory attached. All I have to do is get the proper interface and we'll be recovering its last data flow." Spitze grinned and showed General Starks a notepad with two phone numbers printed neatly in the center. "I got the house numbers for both places. Run a few numbers through the phone company records. Don't you worry. We'll find Scythe, and his handler, too." Sieger jerked his head around from the front seat. "Don't promise something like that. There's no guarantee any of this crap will get us anywhere." "Further than you have gotten identifying those Arabs hustling Scythe out of the hall," Spitze lashed out, crossly. No one would belittle his data collection abilities. He was big and brawny, but he was clever, too, and he'd prove it to this data-hungry, results-driven, General Starks. (o) "It is time to move on." Wufei rose unsteadily. "Come, wife. The honeymoon begins now." Sally took his arm and their blanket and together they hobbled to the other side of the volleyball net where it was dark. Wufei swayed. Sally tossed the blanket over the sand and stretched it out moments before Wufei collapsed to his knees. "Far enough," he said then fell face forward onto the sand, missing the blanket completely. "How romantic," Heero said flatly, to everyone's amusement. "I'm turning in," Trowa announced as he stood. "Good idea, while you can still walk," Heero agreed. "What you say?" "Hn. Duo, you coming?" "Yeah, inna minute. I'm gonna help Quat shut things down." Quatre turned to Duo. "You don't have to do that, but thanks." He hadn't much to do, really, not with all the paid help doing their jobs. Still, he rushed to thank the caterers personally, whom he had allowed the use of his facilities for preparation and cleaning up, because he was a Winner and generosity was a Winner trademark. He was grateful Duo helped Sally and him cart Wufei to their cottage, then instead of walking the short distance to his own place, he was surprised when Duo took him by the elbow and led him back out to the boardwalk. They walked and talked, settling finally on edge near where the wedding altar had been. "You still haven't told me what's the problem," Duo pressed. "And, bud, don't tell me there ain't a problem. Zechs got us an extra two weeks off so you and Trowa have time to fix things, right?" Quatre smiled and looked away. "I suppose." "You don't have college right away, do ya?" "No." "Then what?" Quatre shook his head. "It's the family business. They want me to get right down to work." "Heh, heh... that all? Hell, Quat, you put'em off for years, what's a couple weeks?" "I have a lot to learn in order to be productive, Duo. I'll be working part time while in college, and to do that I need training." "And?" "And I have only a couple months to squeeze in some intensive sessions before I have to get back for classes." "Get back? Get back from where? Oh, no...you aren't leaving?" Quatre nodded. "I leave next week to corporate headquarters." "On L4." "Yes, on L4." "And Trowa?" "He's...not, obviously. He's got his job." "He could travel with you. Stay on L4 with you over the rest of his vacation, that's two weeks," Duo said. Quatre rolled then unrolled the edge of his shirttails with the palm of his hand. "It's best he not." "The hell it is!" Duo blurted out. "I've never seen him so angry and depressed. Didn't you invite him?" "No." "Are you insane? You should be screwing in bed every chance you get after that last mission. Show him your estate on L4. Give him the colony tour. Take him to meet the family. Oh-oh... problemo?" "You might say that," Quatre wasn't certain if he wanted to explain the differences in culture that night. "I got all night," Duo told him, making up his mind. "It's complicated." "Probably not. What is it, your sisters not like tall, good-looking boys from L3?" "Oh, I'm sure they'd like Trowa, just..." "Just...?" Duo's eyes widened. "Is this a gay thing?" Quatre nodded. "Yes. L4 culture is based on that of Arab society on Earth, to a point. Homosexuality for Arabs contradicts and even undermines the male, patriarchal image as 'macho' in Arab societies. Once you decide to explore your identity beyond sexual activity, once you decide to reject your patriarchal role... that is when you get in trouble." "I do not follow you, bud. I know guys do guys there. You got your first experiences there." "Just because you sleep with a member of the same sex does not mean you are gay... it just means that you are engaging in homosexual activity. Once a relationship develops beyond sex—that is, 'love'-- this is when the term 'gay' applies." "You're telling me that the gay guys on L4 limit their activities to sex and just don't explore feelings beyond that?" "Yes. Homosexual behavior may be overlooked but experiencing feelings of an emotional nature beyond sex makes a man 'gay' and hence, a potential outcast. In a society where the family bond, honor, and image are extremely important, many tend to follow the dictates and norms of society, even if this means living in conflict with their inner feelings." "So, men don't cross into the realm of being gay in order not to morally hurt themselves or their families," Duo summarized. "Man, that sucks, but I get it. I really had to overcome my personal barriers to get to where I am, but they mostly had to do with survival. On L2, gay men are common enough; they just don't live long." He put a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "But that doesn't mean Trowa shouldn't go with you." "I'm not good at hiding things, you know that." "They gonna peek into your bedroom? Your bathroom? They got cameras taping you?" "No, of course not! But at dinners and other activities we might touch inappropriately and not even be aware because it's so natural." "Well, bud, I agree it's a problem, but leaving Trowa this way, at this time, is just plain a bad idea. I know if Heero left me now after this last mission, while we both have some precious time off we could spend together...mending... at a time I'm most vulnerable, and told me it was because I might embarrass him in front of his family? I'd be pissed, and hurt, really hurt, Quatre. Like I didn't measure up. And Trowa's like me with a bit of an inferiority complex already." "A what?" "You are like royalty and he's...not. Some could say he's after your money. Some could say you think it's possible so you're not taking him to L4. Some could—" "That's not true! I'd never—" Duo put both hands on Quatre's shoulders. "Well, if I thought of it, you can bet Trowa has." Quatre groaned and leaned into Duo; heads together they sat. "So, tell him. Talk to him. He deserves to know how you feel. Only then can you decide what to do," Duo said. "Tell Trowa the truth." Quatre heard the scuff of a calloused foot on the sandy wood moments before the soft rumble of a throat being cleared. He twisted around to face the newcomer and Duo's hands fell away. "Don't bother," Trowa said. "Consider it said."
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