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"Greeting Cards"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: Yaoi, funeral practices, AU, fluff Pairings: 1+4, 1x2x1, 3+H, 5xH, 3x4, 6x9 Summary: Each chapter is based on Heero’s
greeting cards and Duo's mortuary. "Greeting Cards " Chapter 38 -- April Showers, Part 6 of 6 (o) Duo POV "I'm no doctor," Hilde said to me for the second time as Zechs placed Heero face up on an examination table. "I'll do my best to stabilize him." "I know. I know!" I was starting to sound shrill, but I was afraid. "What's he need, blood?" I opened cupboards as if I might find the answers inside. "There must be a doctor in this place that doesn't want us all dead," Wufei said gruffly. "Ah, cell phone connection, at last!" "I found an orderly to help us," Quatre said. I don't know where or even when he located the man, but there was the little blond, shoving a terrified man into the room. "You do what that lady tells you to do or I'll introduce you to some wolves I ran into." Of course, it wasn't really true, Quat would never do that, but the orderly didn't know his gentle heart, then again maybe he did. Trowa told me his sweet-faced lover blew a hole through the wolf that had attacked him, showing his tough (Trowa called it resilient and I called it brutal) side. "Y-yes, sir!" He had nowhere to run with Zechs towering over him on one side and Wufei and Quatre positioned on the other. "Look him up," Zechs ordered. He stabbed at the computer terminal. "We know all about the files you people kept on him. You can get his blood type: Heero Yuy." I petted my lover's dark hair, but he didn't move. He looked too pale and still. "He's breathing; I can tell that much," I said in a shaky voice. "I'll bring up his last physical." The man activated the computer-records scan, located 'Ro's files, and found the required information. Within a minute, he had the IV setup and dripping fluids into 'Ro's arm. "We need to keep him warm," Hilde said. "Where are some blankets?" "This way," the orderly said, leading Quatre and me to a storage locker with built-in warming trays. "Take as many as you want. More will automatically fill in. It's a continuous heating system." "Yeah, you must need that with reviving clones," I growled. As my patience ran thin, my sarcasm thickened. Heero should be in a hospital getting the best care-- Trowa and Hilde, too. We couldn't walk off the island. We had to call for help and wait. Waiting was hard. Quatre was fluttering over Trowa, and, I had to say, my business partner looked worse than before. He'd nearly fallen asleep in an uncomfortable looking chair missing most of its back rest. "Would you check his temperature and get him some water, please?" Quatre asked the orderly. "And check his wounds." Trowa's head snapped up. "I'm fine." I wrapped Heero in the warm blankets, listening to the orderly as he did cursory examinations of Trowa's wounds. "You need another round of antibiotics," Hilde said. "Those claws were just full of terrible bacteria." Trowa didn't argue that. The painkillers must have been wearing off. I know my adrenalin rush had faded, so his shoulder had to have been killing him. He didn't reject Quatre as he draped him in a warm blanket and moved his boyfriend to a softer looking chair. To my surprise, Quatre had his hands on me. He led me to the chair beside Trowa. "You sit in line here so someone can take care of you. That's why we're here. Wufei and Zechs can do guard duty." He flashed me a modest smile, showing an edge of tooth then turned on his next victim. "You, too, Hilde. I saw that dagger go in your leg." For a moment there I thought he might lap at the wound. I shook my groggy head. Oh, 'Ro, how did you implant your fantasy world in my head? Wufei perked up at the word "dagger," scowling our way while remaining in his phone conversation. I overheard a few commands, vague directions, and what sounded like a brief report to his boss, all the while moving closer to Hilde's chair. "That knife wound is deep but clean," the orderly told Hilde while tending to her stab wound. "The bleeding has been minimal, which is good. One inch more and it would have hit an artery. I've got pain killers, tetanus, and antibiotics- all in shot form. After the injections, I suggest you close our eyes and try to sleep, okay?" Hilde nodded, tearing up a little. "You've been kind. Thanks." "You're welcome." He smiled and patted her hand, then moved to 'Ro, giving his IV one last check, and then he looked me over. "Let me treat all your scratches and scrapes. Who knows what you've gotten into." Who indeed? Mostly, we all needed to scrub our hands and arms. Zechs switched places with Wufei for his examination. Poor 'Fei hadn't even noticed the gash on one hand and a few deep cuts requiring stitches on his back. "There's nothing that can be done about the air we were breathing, but since that Keel man wasn't wearing a mask so we can hope the air was safe for us to breathe, too," 'Fei said, exhaustion dragging his eyes closed. I returned to Heero's side. He breathed. I watched his chest rise and fall, sometimes listening to the hubbub around me. I cradled his head in my hands, feeling entirely and completely miserable. What did it matter that I'd found what we had come for? Nothing was worth this. What made him, any of us, value our lives so little? If asked, I'd never trade Heero's life for something so stupid, so completely unimportant as recovering bones of a long dead woman. So what? Heero was lying there nearly dead for nothing. So, we stopped Treize, or did we? Maybe we just killed his clone and he was still out there? So, he wasn't going to continue some grisly experiment. Great. I would have traded it all to go back in time and do anything else that weekend. And Heero would not have been hurt or Trowa or anyone. Quatre shivered and after gazing longingly at Trowa's blanket, hopped up, exclaiming as he did, "I'm bringing us all blankets!" "That's a lovely idea," Hilde said. Stupid, stupid, stupid risks... My vision faded. I had to sit again. My ass hit the seat just as a shout shook me. "Come look what I found!" the orderly's eyes shone brightly with excitement. I was reluctant to move, at first, but when I noticed Hilde standing there with a smile I flew out of my chair and over to 'Ro's side. "What?" "Look at this." He held up a bent, palm-sized, slim, metal-clad book. "I didn't notice it before in the dark," Hilde said in a tight voice. The book of love sonnets I'd bought for Heero. "What about it?" I asked. "The blood on his chest, what we thought was a bullet entry wound, was from the sharp edge cutting into him here. See, here?" "Lemme see that." I whisked the book out of the man's hands. "You're right. You can see where the bullet hit and bounced off." "That book deflected a bullet?" Wufei said with obvious disbelief in his voice. Quatre rushed back into the room, laden with warm blankets. "What's wrong?" he asked as he distributed the welcome heat. "Heero didn't take a bullet to the heart like we thought," Trowa started to explain. Hilde pressed a stethoscope to 'Ro's chest and listened. "His lungs are clear, which means the other bullet didn't hit one or any other major organ. It's all good." "So he's gonna be okay, right? Right?!" I insisted someone tell me Heero was going to be fine. "Yes, he should be. Shock, lack of food..." the orderly looked us all over. "You all are probably dehydrated and in need of nourishment, too." Wufei snatched the book out of my hands, examining it while Zechs looked over his shoulder. "It's a book of poetry." "That's not just any book," I told him, "I gave it to Heero last month." A folded rectangle of blue cardstock fluttered out of the pages. Zechs saved it, turning it over in his hands. Wufei passed the odd book to me. "A real lifesaver. You ought to keep it for him, then." "Thanks." "This is for you," Zechs said, offering me the paper. A pen and ink sketch, obviously Heero's, suggested a grassy knoll in the rain. His careful script with beautiful lettering read, "April Showers." I flipped it open. "I strive to live up to your opinion of me. You're my confidante and rock; you're my lover and my friend." There were ink smudges, shaky lines. He must have done this on the plane ride over. My card. God, thank you, I prayed. It wouldn't be my last card, but how close had I come to losing the best thing I'd ever had in my life? I didn't care who noticed my eyes well up. Zechs wandered over. "Agents landed at several points on the island and have secured the penitentiary. Commander Une knows our location and is sending Agent Shari with an ambulance. We are instructed to wait here." "Quitratue. We promised to go to Quitratue together. That's in Chile. It's remote, on the side of the western coastal mountains," I told Trowa. I don't know why, but it seemed important that I tell him. "Sounds interesting, but I think we're going to Quatre-land," he muttered. "Or Zechs-land. Hey, Quat? Bring Duo another blanket." "No! No, I'm fine." "It's 55 degrees in here," Quatre chastised me gently. "The blanket will help." It did feel good. I don't know why I fought against accepting the comfort. I dragged my chair over to where Heero was sleeping and leaned my head back. My eyes closed automatically. I heard the voices of Wufei and Zechs as they came and went. "Preventers boats landed on the other side of the island-- and have secured the Asylum— lab secured--- medics on the way--" An hour before dawn, Shari arrived, leading a crew of agents, two with folding gurneys. Hilde and Trowa complained, both wanting to walk out on their own two feet, but that was not going to happen. Wufei had a stern talk with his beloved about "helping him subdue Trowa," which seemed to shut her up. They both ended up strapped to gurneys like Heero and rolled out. Trowa kept saying he was alive and well, and shouted, "Not autopsy!" Not that I'm a grammar freak, but that was a very un-'Tro like thing for him to say—he loved autopsies; although, maybe not one on himself. I think he'd over-medicated himself a little. Quatre chipped away at his fears with earnest assurances that "You're alive, Trowa. No, the crematorium is not in that direction!" "Careful with him!" I shouted. No one was touching 'Ro without going through me, which meant I was getting in the way of progress. "What are you doing to him?" The Preventers paramedics probably were experts. They treated me pretty good, too, talking to me calmly and professionally. "We'll get him into x-ray for possible bone damage where he's swelling. He'll be prepped for surgery. It looks like the bullets avoided vital organs, but he's continuing to bleed internally. You did fine work here," the lead medic told Hilde. "If you are ever interested in Preventers, you might consider joining the medical group." The man handed her a card, which she pocketed with a polite "thank you." I could tell Wufei overheard that and wanted more than anything to shred that card. He didn't seem the sort to want his "woman" in a dangerous position ever again. I just bet he was battering himself over the brain-lapse he'd had letting her come in the first place. Just wait until he found out she was pregnant! Whoa, doggies! Fireworks time again! I laughed and laughed. I must have been pretty punchy on painkillers, too. "You're taking him to a hospital?" I pushed in between a medic and Zechs. "Not without me, too. We got bags with overnight stuff and clothes changes out in some cabin." "Just get them all transferred to the plane—" Zechs was telling one of the Preventers before turning on me. "Duo, everything has been packed. It's all taken care of. The Island is secured." "Oh, well, that's okay then. So, where are we going?" "Atlas City General and after that, I'd be happy to have you as my guest at my mountain villa while Heero convalesces. "Ah, thanks..." "Trowa and Quatre have agreed and Wufei and Hilde will visit for at least a day to relax and get cleaned up. This has been a traumatic event for all of us and we need to talk and decompress." "Well, a day of vacation would be nice," I said, then asked, "You have a pool at this villa?" "Yes." "Sold," I said just as we stepped out of doors. I hadn't even noticed the trip through the asylum hospital. It wouldn't have been familiar since my last time there Heero and I had taken the sewer ride out. The light of day, filtered by the clouds was the biggest surprise. "No wonder I'm dead! We were up all night." The agents shielded the three on gurneys from the rain and dashed to the awaiting medical vans. Once Heero was lifted inside, I hopped behind him. Hilde was tucked in next to the my sleeping boyfriend, and when Wufei was satisfied with the loading of the other van, he jumped in the back, closed the door and we rolled on. Although leaving sounded good to most of us, the shock of so much violence was setting in. We did need to talk about what had happened and they all wanted to be near when Heero awakened. Being as Zechs' Atlas City property would be the break we all needed. "Commander Une and agent Shari will remain on at the island," Wufei told us. "They'll be overseeing the property while the Preventers' deal with government agencies to assume control of the asylum and penitentiary. It could be a while before it is known what will be done with the laboratory and assets." I wondered what I should do with the bag of bones in my pocket, only to find it was gone. Wufei owned up to taking the important evidence when I'd been sleeping. I would have put up a fight, but the plane seat was so comfortable. It felt good to relinquish control at last and so I simply gave in and slept. (o) Heero POV Tired. Eyelids so heavy they must be weighted with sand. Damn that sandman anyway. No hands. I have no arms. Definitely no hands. I looked around and couldn't find my arms. My hands were gone! I screamed. I know I screamed but I couldn't hear it. That's all I recall of my first awakening, thankfully. The next time I woke up went far better. Cold shoulders. Quiet. Car far away, buzzing on the road. Head so thick it must be filled with sludge. "I'd do anything, anything, to help." It was Duo's voice. Alive, he was alive. "The doctors all say he'll wake up when he's sufficiently healed." That was Quatre, I determined. "What if—" "Duo, don't do anything stupid." Hn. Trowa's voice this time. "I'll tell him—okay, I'll marry him if he opens his eyes right now." "What did I say about stupid?" Trowa asked. "He doesn't want that." Yes, I do! "Trowa's right. Heero wouldn't want a promise drawn from desperation." Shut up, Winner! Who's to say I wouldn't? I know time must have passed, so I probably had drifted off to sleep again, but not for long. "I want you back!" Duo's voice cracked moist like spring ice. "'Ro, listen, I can commit. I'm all yours you know that. You gotta knoooow how I need you now." Duo needed me. He had wanted me, but never said he needed me. Nice. I felt a warm hand wrapped around mine, which meant I had a hand after all. He squeezed and I mentally returned the pressure. I tried. "You're waking up!" a voice shouted excitedly, Duo's. "'Ro, can you hear me?" Yes. I could hear rustling fabric. I willed my eyelids to budge. "I promise you... whatever you want, just open your eyes." I opened my eyes a splinter's width. All I saw was Duo's smiling face, skin clean and smelling of antiseptic soap, or I was. Duo was talking in a very animated way, and I tried to concentrate on hearing, but caught only snippets of what he was telling me. "-- Atlas City... hospital... Zechs' place-- What's that?" I moved my lips, but no sound issued. Duo could read my lips through the oxygen mask, past the IV hoses. He could read "I love you" through anything, and I knew it because he smiled. "Yeah, me too. I mean, I love you too, so you better not pull a stupid stunt like that jumping in front of flying bullets again." I could read his heart and that meant more than any words he said. He was safe, he was mine, and knowing that I slept again. (o) When I woke up the next time I found Duo's braid wrapped around my wrist and the tip pinched in my fingers like a paintbrush. I wondered if I had arranged his hair that way or if he had, but the thought passed with the realization that where Duo's braid rested, so lay his head. And there it was nestled on his arms which were crossed on the hospital bed. So close! I was safe and loved. The wonder of it all took my breath away. I could not see more, but I supposed he was on a chair pushed up close. He stayed with me. My chest swelled and I could hardly breathe I felt so happy that he would show his love for me that way. I could see hair shining clean, meaning he had had a shower, making me too aware of itches I couldn't scratch. I was bandaged near my neck, over my upper chest and under my right arm. I felt bandages on my back and left shoulder. Had I been hit there? I remembered bullets whizzing by. In spite of all that, I felt all right. Oh, Duo, my love... He promised to marry me. I heard him declare that aloud. It had not been a dream. I woke up for him; at least, in a way I did. Now, everything would be wonderful, right? No. Even I could see a problem with that line of wishful thinking. Trowa had warned me not to compel Duo into making the choices I wanted. He had to decide for himself. But he made that decision on his own, right? No. He said what he did-- for me. He must have been very scared. Aw, rats. I smiled, thinking Duo would have said that. I knew I could not hold him to that impulsive commitment. He wanted me and needed me, but I still had to prove that I was not a mental case needing Duo as a crutch. "Mr. Yuy? Hi, I'm nurse May and I'm here to check the bandage on your back." "What happened to it?" "A bullet grazed your shoulder blade and chipped the bone. That was repaired and the skin mended with endo-synthe." "Then why are you looking at it?" "To be amazed by your quick healing," she said, chuckling to let me know she was joking. "Instructions are to check for infection because you were injured in a contaminated place. That's why you required an oxygen tent when you were first admitted." "I...did?" "For a day. You had an allergic reaction to some material in the air. There. You are healing magnificently. I'm going to examine your chest wound now." "I was shot." "Yes, but something protected your heart from injury. The impact broke your clavicle and you sustained deep bruising and lacerations. The bone was mended. You'll be sore for some time from the bruising and the rest is... let's see... clean and healing very well. Most importantly, your hands weren't hurt." She left me wondering why she said that only a second. "So you can go on painting? You are that Heero Yuy, the famous artist?" "Famous? Not really. I only had the one show. I make greeting cards." "Well, if I recognize your name here in Atlas City, you must be famous. The paper had a huge spread covering your gallery opening, but then the gay community is very big up here." Ah... No secrets any more. "So, I can get up?" "Yes, but ask for assistance to the bathroom. You wouldn't want to fall on legs that haven't been used in a few days. And no showers until the bandages come off." "Can I have a friend help me, ah, get clean?" "Would you prefer that? I'll let the orderly know and he can bring in the supplies." "Yes." She knew. I could tell. She knew Duo had been here and was the "friend" I had in mind. She knew, and why blood felt the need to flood my face, causing me to blush furiously, I had no idea. "The one with the long braid, right? He's pacing outside the room," nurse May told me with a "knowing" smile. "I'll send him in when I'm done." "Thank you." "So, what's your friend's name so I don't have to call him 'Hey, you'?" "Duo." "That's an unusual name. He's cute." He's mine! I was certain I kept that in my head, but she smiled as if it slipped out. "I'm a professional," she assured me, "and happily married." Then she laughed as she completed her examination. She buzzed the orderly from the monitor in the room, put in her bath order, gave me a perky wave "bye", and left. Duo appeared in the next instant, grinning. "So, I get to give you a bath, eh?" (o) 'Ro looked so much better after his hour in regen; he, in fact, looked damned delicious in that skimpy little hospital gown. I kissed his cheek, since he turned his face away. "I need to brush my teeth," he explained, "To start." I found a way to wind our arms around each other to give him support and at the same time not aggravate his injuries. "Ready to try walking?" I asked. "Hn." He stood a few seconds, testing, I guessed then we shuffled without incident to the bathroom, where I had stowed a few practical hygiene products I'd absconded with from the Peacecraft mountain villa. "Missed this," I said. He rolled his eyes, mute with his mouth filled to capacity with brush and paste foam. "I mean, being with you and doing the ordinary things we do." He rinsed his mouth. "I am glad you are all right." "Yeah, everyone got a little banged up there at the end, but you got it the worst. Trowa's been up and about after some shoulder work and a steady diet of antibiotics. He won't be rolling around bodies at work for a few days, something he seems to be able to deal with." "He's not here?" "Just you an' me, babe. The rest are at the villa, poolside, or in Trowa's case lounging in a mineral bath." "Sounds...nice." That little hesitation while he searched for a polite word meant my love was envious. Aw, he looked a little hurt. Time to show the love. "And you'll be outta here tomorrow, tops, is my bet, then you an' me will have some down time together and enjoy the place. It's like a resort. Food's great. No matter what name the guy goes by, where he lives, or what he does, he's got class." "He has old money and family lines that go back to the earliest recorded history of Sanc." His expression changed. He looked resolute as he asked, "Keel, he tried to kill you. What happened to him?" "Zechs tried to blow him away and clipped his hand," I told him. I grinned darkly. "I threw a knife and got him here," I stabbed a finger at my throat at the side. "Cut the carotid and pinned to him to a beam." "He is dead then." Heero let out the breath he'd been holding. "Thanks." Our eyes met. I studied his and he looked okay. He'd be okay. "You're welcome, babe." "So... I'm, ah, going to use the, ah... alone. I can do this without falling. I'm feeling fine." I knew enough to know when a guy needed his privacy. When I went out into the hospital room, there stood the woman I knew from the Sanc General hospital, the Zodiac Island resort, and a commander in the Preventers organization, Lady Une. I waited, listening as she finished her conversation with the nurse and hearing nothing about Heero's improving health than I already knew. She thanked the nurse and closed the door behind her. "Duo Maxwell." "In the flesh, Lady Une, er, commander." "Une is fine," she told me. "Where's Heero Yuy?" I did a little incline of my head toward the other door. "I was about to help him take a bath." I could hear Heero coming out of the bathroom behind me. "Ah, very good," she said. "I just wanted to check on your health, Heero. I wanted to see that you were getting proper treatment and bring you up to date on a few events. Oh course, I'd like to begin by thanking you personally for all your help." Heero nodded mutely. "I can answer any questions you might have," she said. "What happened to Treize?" he asked. "Wufei brained him with a skull," I said. "We thought it was a cloned version of Treize at the time, 'cause he was a bit loony, but he turned out to be the real thing." "He is dead?" Heero asked, looking for confirmation from Commander Une. I wasn't insulted. "He's dead, yes. The Khushrenada in the tombs wasn't the man he'd been, which is why he was so easily defeated." "Oh, 'Fei wouldn't like the sound of that," I said. She smiled. "He discovered too late that the drug, when given to normal human beings over an extended period of time, damages the brain permanently. Agent Chang did kill the real Treize, but his mental state had degenerated terribly." "Why were we part of the program as children?" Heero asked. "They collected one sample from each part of the kingdom. Some of you had already been there for other reasons, like Quatre, Trowa, and you. Wufei had been the head of his clan so tests were conducted on him in secret and sent on. I don't know why they chose Duo specifically, but all of you had key characteristics they were hunting for. Your immune systems were enhanced, your health in general was improved, and then your DNA was collected and used for creating the clones." "The clones... they were to become the perfect soldiers?" "That was the scheme. All their reasoning and information will be in a report." "I'd like to see that." "I don't see why a copy of the relevant data can't make its way to you. For your information, all the clones have been processed and destroyed. The damage has been rectified. The asylum and penitentiary hospital and labs re-staffed. The Sanc hospital connections are continuing to be reviewed—" "--Which was partly why you, Hilde, and Trowa were brought here to Atlas City PeaceHealth," I filled in. "Hilde? You said nothing to me about her getting hurt, Duo." "She got stabbed in the leg, but she's all fixed up fine now. Walking and talking like new." Heero frowned at me. "That was flippant." "Hey!" I was a jokey kind of guy at times. Bad timing? Guess I needed to defend myself. "I flitted from room to room when Trowa and Hilde and you first arrived for treatment so I really had been concerned for my friends. So, Trowa is doing fine. He and I have been in contact with Howard and the business is fine. Who else? Oh, yeah, Wufei and Zechs have been going back and forth finalizing reports. See? I'm on top of them all." When Heero eyes widened and glittered with interest, I rewound what I'd last said, "... on top... oh." I couldn't help but grin. "You're just special." "How special is that?" he asked pulling me closer with those deadly blue eyes darkening and a kiss forming in the air we shared. Une shuffled her feet noisily to break up our sap-fest. "I have just a few more minutes before I must leave." Before Heero told her to "just leave then," I remembered what I wanted her to tell him. "What about the Leia remains I found? Have they been taken care of?" "Yes. Leia Barton's remains have been moved." She looked at me with what I'd call a bit of wonder in her eyes. "That was...quite a tight spot you found her in, Maxwell." "It was crazy," I agreed. I liked the way Heero squeezed my hand at that moment. "Zechs Merquise requested that she be put to rest on his property with Mariemaia and Dekim Barton," Une said. "There will be a formal observance and ceremony next week at the Sanc palace." "Ty told me..." 'Ro's voice cracked, "... he confessed," Heero spit out the last word reveling a bit of the hatred he must have felt, "that when Treize Khushrenada discovered Leia transferring evidence to her father and White Fang, he sent Odin Lowe to kill her." "But not before she managed to get a letter to Zechs," Une commented. "An important one." Her eyes focused into the distance in a way I figured meant she was piecing together parts of a puzzle. "I believe we have the entire story now. How sad." "Sad for lots of folks," I reminded her. "Yes." The commander's eyes turned back to us and searched Heero's face a moment. "I'm glad you are on the mend. And Ty Keel-- I'm sorry he got away from us. Agents Noin and Shari thought they had him on another part of the island." "There are secret tunnels all over," Heero said. "I wanted to apologize for leaving you in that kind of danger and let you know all your medical expenses are being taken care of by Preventers." Heero nodded slowly. "Thank you." She shook his free hand. "Thank you, Mr. Yuy. Agents Chang and Merquise can answer all your other questions, but you can contact me at any time, if they can't." "Just one thing," Heero said, surprising us both. "Yes?" "Where's Wing, my, ah, Datatron?" (o) Later on, they let Heero go, he was doing so well. Also, we weren't going far. Zechs villa was only a mile or so away where Heero could rest more comfortably; at least, he'd be more comfortable. I wasn't so sure about the resting part, heh, heh. He did get back his beloved "Wing." We all got our stuff back, but only 'Ro seemed to have spawned a new appendage from his hand. I would have held it otherwise as we all made our way to the dining hall. "Big place," Wufei commented, a smile growing. "Plenty room to swing a sword." "Damn! I knew there was something this hallway was good for. Sword fighting!" Zechs laughed and stabbed at a gloomy landscape painting with a pretend blade. I could imagine Heero fencing with Zechs and how sexy that would look. "You ever learn fencing, 'Ro?" "No," Heero said and shook his head, never once lifting his eyes from the glowing screen of Wing. Shucks. "He can walk, talk, and..." Quatre paused, grinning, "and type at the same time." Quatre laughed. "He's a fucking genius," Trowa commented, "if you call single word responses talking." "I do when it's you." Touché Quat! Hilde joined in. "Wufei coached his own fencing team in high school, I mean there was a teacher there, but Wufei knew everything." Wufei beamed a smiled her way. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face now that he knew he would be "satisfying his familial duty by contributing an heir to the clan," I think was how he put it. "I thought at the time that as a whole we were a very good team." Wufei said. I wasn't the only one getting hot over their boyfriend. She cozied up to him, purring, "Oh, you were, with you their master swordsman. And you still are. Different sword." She grinned, illustrating that the "smut" gene does not ride exclusively on the Y chromosome. "Chang," Heero said, looking perturbed. He halted, blocking the hallway. "I can't eliminate at least ten superfluous processes." "Then they are not superfluous." Wufei's face took on one of the most arrogant, superior expressions of all time. Oh, here it came. Something he'd been dying to say, I just knew it. "I already explained that. YOU weren't listening. None of you listened when I was instructing you on the use and care of your datatrons. Now, you'll just have to suffer poor performance." To deflect the dark-weather front building between the two guys, I knew I'd have to blow a lot of hot air and fast. I clapped a hand over my lover's shoulder, telling him, "Here, Heero, I'd like to return your lucky steel-coated book of poetry." I handed over the small, but heavy, metal-clad book, and Heero snapped shut Wings' cover and took the book. He opened it and flipped through the pages. "Did you find your card?" he asked me. "Yeah," I said. "It was really nice, but as nice it was, I'm glad they weren't your last words to me." Trowa added, "Yuy, you were real lucky you had that in your shirt pocket under your coveralls. The 22 ammunition couldn't penetrate it, or you wouldn't be here today." "Indeed. You are very fortunate that bullet wasn't from a 44 magnum," Wufei said, "because one of those could have pierced just about anything." Heero layered the book on top of the datatron and lowered them to his side. He kept his eyes glued to mine, that penetrating stare etching his image onto my retina-- permanently. "Famous last words." Zechs folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "Dinner waiting for us just fifteen more feet down the hall." "Yeah, famous last words, like 'I can do that with my eyes closed,'" I said, smiling. Trowa caught on real fast. "How, 'bout, 'Are you sure the power's off?'" he said. "Correct, and 'Rat poison only kills rats,'" Heero added. Quatre laughed, "Oh, I get it! Like...ah... 'Pull the pin and count to... what?'" "Or," Hilde giggled, "It's probably just water retention!" She leaned into her soon-to-be husband, bumping him and making him laugh along with her joke. Heero leaned close and whispered so only I could hear him. "Love you." I smiled and blushed. I felt light-headed and happy. I couldn't believe how fast my life had changed. One minute I thought it was over, my friends and lover dying for nothing. Then, miraculously, Heero's wounds turned out not to be as serious as first thought. Trowa and Hilde were going to be completely fine in no time. Hilde kept her promise to me and told Wufei that she was going to have his baby. He very nearly, well, he did faint, but he claimed he didn't—not really. None of us spoke of that again, heh, heh... sure. What was important was that everyone came through. All my friends were saved and here we were recuperating in the lap of luxury at one of Zechs' villas. "Hey, 'Fei! If I told you I was going to have a baby would you faint?" "Only if you said it was mine," came his riposte. "Oooh, point for 'Fei!"
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