"Defying Gravity"

A Romance in Three Parts

Written 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

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3

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"

Quatre jumped to his feet, running to catch up with Trowa's receding back. "Duo was just explaining to me—"

Trowa halted. "Fuck off."

"What? I just wanted to talk. Duo explained how you might feel... like you might not feel worthy to meet my family, but that's not true! You're more than worthy for me, better than me in most ways!"

"Why don't you and Duo take some time together? You seem to have something going on still. Hey, you can take him to L4 with you, or is that what you're getting at now?"

"Trowa! No! You aren't hearing what I'm saying! Where are you coming up with all this? Duo's my friend. I just told him about my trip to L4 and why it isn't the best idea for you to accompany me."

"So was I."

Quatre watched as Trowa turned his back on him and walked off. He flung himself at the taller young man grabbing him around the waist. "Don't go! Give me a chance!"

Trowa's head fell to his chest and his shoulders trembled for a moment before tensing. "I keep giving you chances, Quatre. You want to leave. I don't care why, because it doesn't matter really, does it? You want college. Fine. You want to run your family business. Fine. I'm not stopping you. You want to go to L4. Fine, go do that. Just... just don't expect me to like it, okay?"

"You, you can come with me," Quatre said.

"Can I?"

"We'd have to be careful. Not appear to be boyfriends. I was afraid I couldn't do that, not for two months, but if I have to, to prove..."

"To prove what? That I'm okay friend material? Good company for a short trip home? Then after four years of college, four years of us living together, four years of dating, then what? You work for Winner Corp and then... what of us? You travel, go to meetings, family visits, broadcasts, interviews... and I'm still your-- what-- buddy? Certainly not your lover or boyfriend; that would look bad in the papers, and news travels fast, so it would find its way back home."

Trowa sighed before going on, as if it took all his energy to speak for so long. "Quatre, I can't be your friend, not like that, not under the same roof. So if this trip is just the start of that kind of future... oh God... shit... don't bother inviting me!"

His voice cracked and Quatre heard him gulp as he swallowed back a sob. Trowa tugged free from Quatre's hold and stumbled away. Quatre sank to his knees, and Duo, who he assumed had heard it all, caught his arm before he fell over. Duo pulled Quatre's left arm over his shoulders and half-carried him to the cottage Duo and Heero shared.

Heero met them as Duo banged into the door. "Gimme a hand, 'Ro."

"Quatre?" escaped Heero's lips as he took his weight off Duo and dumped him onto one of the beds. Quatre curled up on a side and wept uncontrollably while Duo sketched Heero a quick picture of what happened. Heero hissed a "shit" and pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers.

"Stay with Trowa," Duo said.

"That was my idea," Heero said on his way out the door.

When the door closed, Quatre keened in grief, rolling back and forth on the mattress. Duo sat at his side and patted his back. "What a mess, bud."

Quatre sucked in a lungful of air and let it out in a tortured cry. "What have I done?"

(o)

The engineer tucked a stray strand of greasy hair behind an ear and turned a dial on the photo enhancer. The enlarged picture closed in on the picture's detail. "Lucky shot this was. Too bad you haven't a video feed. I do well with video."

"You all say that. You dream of being film editors."

"Do you want me to clarify this or not?"

"You're the best. You decide."

"Okay, now look."

"At what, that blur?"

"Now watch. See that?"

"A darker blur."

"You're impossible. Look again. It's an emblem."

"If you say so."

"I do and I can match it up to a corporate logo."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"And here it is. Recognize it now?"

"Winner Corporation? Why would an Arab security guard in Marrakech, leading away a trade boy be wearing a Winner Corporation company emblem on his cufflink?"

"That... the pictures do not reveal. I can only make sense of the pictures." The engineer sat back, arms folded over his chest, pleased with his job. Someone should make a movie of his work, the thought with a widening smile, and he would edit it perfectly.

(o)

The next morning, late, Duo was awakened out of the bed he had shared with his friend by the insistent buzzing of his cell phone. "Yeah?"

Heero's voice brought him fully into awareness. "Duo, I'm on the road taking Barton back to our house in Sanc. I recommend you keep Winner at the beach for the duration. If he insists on coming here, call first."

"Yeah, okay. I'll do what I can. Tie him up if I gotta. How are you?"

"I can perform well with less than minimal sleep. You?"

"Like crap."

"Hn."

"What are we gonna do?"

"For now, nothing. Let them think. It's not for us to decide the paths our friends must take."

"Now you're sounding like Wufei," Duo told him.

Heero was silent a long moment. "I remember it from a fortune cookie, yours, I believe. You read it aloud."

Duo chuckled, thankful he had a sense of humor and for the brief respite from the problems. "You gonna stay with him or come back?"

Again, Heero was quiet for a long time. "What do you think?"

"I don't think Trowa should stay alone and nor should Quatre, and I wouldn't dream of asking 'Fei to give up his honeymoon time. Rashid could take care of Quat. I'll come back to the house and meet you there then."

"Zechs, um, Milliardo can help him, probably both of them."

"Yeah, and he's right here," Duo said. "I forgot. Funny how that slipped my mind."

"It's temporary, Sally says. Your short-term memory will improve and be back to normal soon."

"Yeah, you all keep telling me," Duo said. He couldn't help feeling discouraged by his diminished capacities. If he didn't show some improvement soon, he wouldn't be able to go back to his new job.

"Duo, you will get better. Now, I think you should stay there with Quatre today. I will call you again tomorrow morning and we'll discuss what to do, but until then, stay put. I left the notepaper by the bed. Write it down."

"What about Mill?" Duo scrambled for the paper and pen and jotted the note to himself. It was better than finding he'd forgotten what he'd promised to do and disappointed everyone, well, Heero.

"I will call and inform him of the problem and let him decide. He knows both of them, Duo, and is a competent psychologist, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll stay here, watch Quatre, and wait for Mill or you to take the next step."

"Correct."

"I'll miss you, babe," Duo whispered as Quatre came out of the bathroom. "Bye."

"Who?"

"Heero. He and Trowa are heading back to Sanc. He thinks..."

"A little space will help," Quatre said sadly. "I understand. You should go stay with Heero. I'll be okay here with Rashid and his men. Besides, there's Wufei and Sally and Milliardo and Lucrezia and their daughter and Jimmy to look after me."

Duo stood and pulled his buddy into an embrace. "And me. I'll stay today then we'll see, okay? Me and Heero, we gotta lifetime; you and me can have a day at least."

(o)

"General Starks, Herr Sieger here. I have interesting news. Yes, I think it is progress. The Arab security guard was wearing cufflinks with Winner Corporation emblems. I have found photos of Winner officials in the company of other of these guards."

"But what does that mean?"

"I have been researching the news releases following the Marrakech conference, looking for relationships between the Winner Corp and any syndicate activity."

"What have you found? You have found something, haven't you, Herr Sieger?"

"Yes, General. News releases on an Italian Count, linking him with the boy trade and insinuating a drug-boy trade ring involvement with Alric Gunter, were written by one Quatre Winner."

The handsome man gasped. "The Gundam pilot?"

"Ex-Gundam pilot."

"Contact Herr Spitze. I want a link from this Winner kid to Wind."

"On it."

"About Alric Gunter," Sieger paused to light his cigarette, "he was arrested. Part of that huge sting few weeks ago, before we returned to town. Head of Jade Pharmaceuticals. Name was hard to come up with. Some kinda cover up going on there."

"Another Preventers action?"

"Yeah," Sieger drew a lungful of smoke, "which explains our sources drying up everywhere. Without those drugs, my boys are losing their edge."

"Get the phone numbers. Find them. Actually, get me the number for Wind first."

(o)

Later that afternoon, Duo and Quatre sat with Milliardo and Lucrezia to talk over Quatre's problems. Milliardo preferred to have his wife present. He was certain the boys still thought of him in a "master" position, although they would deny it if asked. With her present, the dynamics would be different, for him as well. They didn't get far before Quatre closed up, fell apart, and had to be escorted back to the house with Duo. He wouldn't eat or talk. He crawled into bed, wrapped up, and pretended to sleep.

By nightfall, Duo had exhausted his reserves. He fell into a deep sleep and didn't awaken until he heard a strange noise in the room. It was dark, the rising sun barely illuminating the sky. He cracked open one eye just enough to make out a form moving in the room, looking through his bag. It took him a few seconds to register Quatre as that form, and a few more to see the glint of metal in his hands. He sprang from his bed in the next instant, aiming to disarm his friend, but Quatre had already moved aside. In his single-minded, desperate mind-set, he drew the weapon to his temple and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Duo roared as he launched himself in the air.

He tackled Quatre and brought him down hard, but Quatre hadn't dropped the gun. It hadn't gone off. He was skinny and strong and successfully struggling out of Duo's grip far enough to bring the gun up to his friend's chest.

"Let me go!" he shouted.

"Dammit, Quat!" Duo growled. "Cut it out! The fuckin' gun's not loaded!"

That news stunned Quatre long enough for Duo to flip him over, knocking the air out of his lungs, and wrestle away the gun. Duo rolled over his friend, opening the magazine and spilling out the cartridges across the floor.

"Wha...?" Quatre gasped. "It had bullets! You lied!"

Duo jumped to his feet, stashed the handgun into his bag, and pulling from it a pair of manacles. Quatre likewise scampered to his feet and toward the door, but this time Duo was faster. He had him cuffed and flung onto the bed less than a minute later. They lay there, Duo half on, half off Quatre, pinning his legs.

"You lied!" Quatre repeated between heaves.

Duo could feel his heart pounding as he moved, centering himself over his friend. "Meet the new Duo. I lie and save lives. Can't have it all, I guess."

For some reason, that took all the starch out of Quatre. Duo felt him go limp under him and he allowed his head to sink onto his friend's back. They were both still panting from the exertion, when Duo raised his head.

"You gonna stay put the rest of the night or do I gotta cuff you to the bed?" Duo asked. His intensely serious expression melted into a lurid grin. "'Cause I came equipped with a set for each arm and leg."

Quatre twisted his head around and met Duo's gaze, eyes round. "You what?"

"I think all us ex-pilots have a playful side and need to act out some of our worst nightmares in a safe way. Mill told me so and same with my shrink, though I think she meant I should do group therapy with her."

While he was talking, Duo was sliding off his friend and lying beside him. He didn't really want to trigger a sexual game with Quatre, just give him time to calm down. It seemed to work, too, because his friend's breathing slowed and the remaining fight drained from his limbs.

"I can't imagine Heero letting you restrain him to a bed in that way."

"Haven't tried," Duo admitted. "I don't know... he could snap these in a heartbeat so they'd be more symbolic than anything."

When he looked at Quatre's face, tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes and trickling onto the mattress. "I-I ruined everyone's nice vacation."

Duo couldn't argue with that. "We all brought our problems to this place, Quatre. You just needed time alone with Trowa to discuss all your plans, but instead you were planning a wedding and worrying about us."

"It was nice..."

"The wedding? Yeah, it was great. Fei-man was thrilled, in his own way."

"And the goodbye party for me. Mr. Peacecraft did a nice job on that, I thought. It was very sweet."

"Everybody came, too, because they all love you." Duo paused to let that sink in. "And you were about to take that all away a minute ago. Quat, you tried to kill yourself. And it woulda worked, except that when I load up I leave the first chamber empty."

Quatre pressed his eyes closed, holding back another flow or tears. "Trowa... I've lost him."

"No, you pushed him away, Quat. You walked away from a life he understood, and are about to move on to one where there is no place for him. That's not losing, that's leaving. I hope the job's worth it, that's all. Wouldn't be for me. I'd rather be a grease monkey in a garage than lose 'Ro, but then I don't have the option of running a multi-billion dollar family business, either."

When he looked over at his friend, he noticed Quatre's steady deep breathing. He was asleep. Duo unlocked the handcuffs and pulled a blanket over them to get a few more hours sleep until the next crisis hit.

Chapter7

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