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"Halfway to Sublimity"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, male/male pairings, language Pairings: 1x2x1 Summary: When Duo moves to a new town on the river,
he meets a young man running the river and a rich boy who seems nice.
Maybe he'll settle down for awhile, or maybe not. "Halfway to Sublimity" Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mostly Yuy's POV, Duo at the very end Heero woke and slept in a near dream-like haze for several days as his leg mended. Vague memories of a long bumpy ride wrapped in hot blankets clouded his mind at first, and then became confused with crawling through a cold cave tunnel. His more lucid recollections revolved around Duo's ever-present face and Nurse Po's less longed-for one. "I want to go home," Heero murmured. "You are home, babe. Remember?" came his lover's sleepy voice from one side. "Oh. Yeah." It was dark, probably the middle of the night. He was in bed. His bed. Home with Duo. He heard the rustle of bed sheets as Duo turned to his side and touched his arm. "Bad dreams again, huh?" Not so much bad as ever present, returning him to the events of the last month each night when he tried to sleep. Heero rubbed at his face to make the dream world go away. That was over. He'd been in his own home for several weeks already. "Yes. More dreams." "I'll stay home. Wufei will love taking the helm with Trowa again. I'll run over and tell him." It was the middle of a cold winter night. "No, you won't," Heero told him. "Hilde would kill you for waking them up. It's okay. I'll be fine." "I don't mind facing death for you." "Idiot. What good would you be to me with frostbite?" His lover stretched his neck to look out the frosted window. The heavy braid slid over his back and hit Heero in the face with a thunk. "It is rather chilly out there." "Yes. Now settle down. I'm fine, like I said." "Dunno," he said through a yawn, snuggling into his warm spot with an arm around his wakeful lover. And Heero was fine. The braid was moved but remained in Heero's hand to be stroked absent mindedly. He didn't know why the disturbing dreams still haunted him. He missed Duo while he was away running freight up the river with Trowa. But he wasn't alone, much. Winner and Chang both visited him daily. Besides, he'd lived alone before he'd met Duo. And his head felt clearer than it had in days or weeks. Idiotic dreams! "I feel worthless enough. Don't screw up Wufei's life over this, not more than I have already." For over a month Heero had been a dead weight everyone had had to carry around or work around. "Worth lots tuhmee," came the sleepy response. "Feet ummm...warm." Heero drifted off to sleep still thinking of his uselessness at anything but being a bed warmer. Icy cold winter rains had settled in making the roads deeply rutted, dangerous and muddy messes, but still, Sally Po had made the arduous trip from Sublimity to Zechs' outpost in order to apply her nursing skills to his injuries. Capable and kind-hearted, she had also mended Duo's numerous cuts and scrapes and tended to any other of the minor injuries the young men had suffered. She came originally at the bequest of Colonel Zechs Merquise, but fell in with the cause and aided the brave young men, accepting Winner's money in payment for the ox-cart ride, but nothing else. When he had first been injured, lying there at Zechs compound, he remembered having no idea what day of the week it was or the season. Duo, it seemed, was always near to ease his worries and ground him in reality. "Quat says he'll send his carriage around to collect us as soon as he's sure it won't break an axle getting here." "How long?" "Maybe tomorrow." "No! How long have I been here?" Heero wished Duo didn't look so sad. He liked his smile and optimism. He looked tired but clean and fed. He guessed that they had been here a couple days. "Catherine dropped us here at Zechs' river house four days ago. Everyone is fine." "The boat." Heero groaned and growled with frustration. "I'll lose every customer if I don't get back to work." When Duo sighed, he realized that once again he must have forgotten what he'd been told before. "Just tell me again," he insisted. "I'm coherent now." "Trowa and Wufei are covering our route. You aren't going out-" "Yes, I am!" "No, you're not! Not on a flatboat where you can lose your balance and fall overboard and sink like a rock with that dead weight cast on your leg." Like an anchor. Duo went on to say, "I'll trade places with 'Fei eventually, 'cause he has other things to do at home; probably soon, now that you're out of danger. But don't argue. Oh... no... don't go giving me that hang-dog look either. Quat's got plenty of work for you at home." "Paper work!" "Probably, but there's Lucifer's fur balls to clean up and Ruggles to entertain. And Ruggles' puppies! You can cook and clean." Duo cuddled close and smiled. "Indulge me, babe. Make me a proper wife." "I'm no woman!" Heero huffed then settled back on his pillows rather subdued. "After you've fussed over me for days, I suspect, you probably think I owe you." Heero felt sulky, but taking it out on Duo wasn't right, and he knew it, but couldn't help himself. "Darlin', after all you did coverin' my ass when I was busted up, there's no owin' nobody nothin'." Well, damn. Heero said mulishly, "I don't liked being fussed over." "Mollycoddled," Duo teased. Heero prickled further. "Overprotected." "Spoiled like a baby," Duo cooed. "My baby..." And then Heero felt the bed move as his lover dove to draw his attention with a passionate kiss, leaning in and kissing him softly and deeply. He sighed. Duo had done that so many times- distracted him out of his funk with the application of affection. The touch of those lips was so sweet. He hated when the kiss was broken. Duo whispered in his ear, "You've got me. There's no one else that can make me feel as good as you. I'll stay with you and care for you as long as you need me." And Heero knew he meant it too. Everything they did together was fantastic. Even the sadness knowing Duo would be gone again in the morning was more bearable because Duo was there now and feeling bad that he was injured and unable to work alongside him. No one had ever comforted Heero like that before. He certainly had never been allowed to comfort someone either. Hugging and crying was just not done in the Odin Lowe "family"; in fact, he could still hear the words echoing in his mind, "stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about". "C'mere, love." Heero tightened his embrace and nuzzled into Duo's soft hair. How could he explain, say in words how important a part of his life Duo had become? More than an arm? A legs? All his limbs? "We oughta sleep, ya know? Unless you wanna update on what's up on the river?" "No." Heero decided he would have to show Duo just how important he was to him, work up a little sweat, and burn off some excess energy in order to go back to sleep. Heero's hand swept over his groin. "Not necessary. I can tell what's up this way just fine." His lover's soft moans nearly drove him nuts. "I need you." "O-k-kay," Duo stuttered in response. Loving bodies intertwined with moans as both young men brought the other to completion. Sleep could wait that little bit longer. But when it came, sleep brought with it more dreams. Once again, Heero replayed the events of the month before. It was as if his mind was fighting a move into the present until he had the full use of both legs. Quatre arrived, bringing with him the news of the day and his guarded, Cajun lover. Trowa seemed to be on the alert, even at a compound milling with Zech's trusted soldiers. When he was with Quatre, he acted like the young man's bodyguard. Heero could make out the bulges of firearms under his coat and suddenly missed his own. Winner, on the other hand, appeared carefree, effusive in his greetings, giving the recalcitrant injured man a breathtakingly tight embrace and Duo a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you can come home. Todd's been taking very good care of it and is waiting for us to arrive." Heero looked to Duo for confirmation. "Yes?" "Sure, let's split!" "Is dat all settled den? We takin' him back home?" "Yes," Quatre chirped, obviously delighted to take his friends home at last. "While you get Heero comfortable in the coach, I have a few people to thank for their hospitality. I won't be long." Heero knew that meant his friend had a few men to pay off to keep their mouths firmly shut about anything they may have overheard. Mostly the men and women living at the compound were soldiers under Zechs command and very honorable and trustworthy. Still, they could never be too careful. Aside from the badly rutted roadway, it was a fine traveling day for winter, considering it was only a three hour ride to home. The sun shone silver against a stunning blue sky. The air was cold but the sun's rays warming, melting any lingering ice in the sheltered shadows. It was perfect for running freight, Heero surmised, had he had two good legs to run with. Ugh! Sally had told him he wouldn't be healed for nine weeks. Considering he had slept through the first one, mostly, and that he normally healed at a faster rate than other people, Heero calculated that he would be fit for duty in two months, which was too long a time. He would cut it to one. Somehow. How could he endure a month of inactivity? He couldn't. Clearly. "I'll invent crutches with rollers. Something. So I can get around faster," Heero declared as he climbed out of the carriage in an ungainly fashion. Todd was there, Ruggles bursting from the boy's arms the moment he heard Heero's voice. Duo intercepted the eager dog before he could plow into his hobbled master. "Hey, I'm back too. Say hello to me." "Raw-oooo!" Ruggles slobbered Duo's face and wiggled and squirmed in his tight hold. There was just the one dog. The litter of new puppies were, thankfully, with the mother back at the Winner stable. "Okay! I'll carry you over to 'Ro. No jumping!" Heero watched Todd nervously waiting for his turn to greet the men. He thought the kid had grown several inches and figured he was behind paying him several silver coins. "Hello, Todd," Heero said in greeting. "I see our cabin's still standing." In fact, Heero thought nothing looked so good to him before than that old wooden house painted by his and his lover's hands. "Oh, yes, sir! I gotcher mail and I aired out the place, just as Master Winner ordered. What else? Oh, yeah... Goats are fine, and gonna drop kids in spring." One good thing about winter, the weeds hadn't taken over. "The place looks-" Heero began. Both Heero and Duo declared together, "Wonderful." Duo dumped the dog on Trowa and gathered the mail, leaving Heero to settle up with Todd. Paying off the boy pretty much emptied him of pocket money. He hoped Duo was better off financially, if they were to have anything to eat. He shouldn't have worried, though. Quatre and Trowa had the pantry well stocked and plenty of dry firewood stacked high by the door. Lucifer the cat lay stretched by the fireplace, unable to relinquish her warm spot to greet her noisy housemates, so she let out a weak "meow," and fell promptly to sleep. Once Heero was situated comfortably on the couch, Trowa dumped his dog unceremoniously on his lap with a simple, "'Dere you go." Quatre made tea while Duo dashed about, checking each room and shouting out his progress to Heero. "The flowers I picked ya dried in the vase." "They were from fall and dried before we even left!" Heero shouted back, unheard. Didn't matter. "I shoulda cleaned the bathroom before we left!" Ugh! Heero didn't even want to imagine what Duo had discovered there. It had to be better than what they'd found when the outhouse had been dismantled. It seemed a life time ago that they'd been rebuilding the cabin, adding the extra bedroom, bathroom, and indoor laundry. "Anyway you can soak in the tub with a cast?" No. Heero remembered how difficult it had been for Trowa when they'd helped him bathe with his leg bandaged. Long, luxurious soak? Wasn't going to happen. "Put 'do the laundry' at the top of your 'to do' list, okay?" Heero just nodded. Exhausted by the journey home, he was maintaining consciousness, not lists, currently. God, he hated being so eternally wasted and useless. Wufei came in just in time for tea. The boat was tied up for the night and "battened down" using wooden slats to fasten the tarpaulin over the hatch in case of bad weather. He and Trowa had taken off the day from river work, but a storm warning meant someone had to care for the boats. It had been his turn, Wufei told everyone. "Besides, I'd much rather wash down the boat than push a carriage out of the mud." Heero silently agreed. He'd rather do anything than be a cripple any longer. "In that case," Duo said, "can you handle the boat one more day so I can get Heero settled in here--?" "That won't be necessary," he spoke up. 'I'll be fine after I sleep tonight. I can get around good enough to fix meals and do some cleaning." He fixed his gaze on Wufei, who looked relieved, he thought. "You've done more than enough. I don't know how to thank you and Trowa as it is." Quatre threw his arms around his neck, exclaiming, "You just did! Now let's not talk about who owes what anymore. We're all friends and friends help one another as best they can. Trowa and I have been picking up Wufei and then coming over here in the morning. Tomorrow, Wufei can get back to teaching at the school with Hilde, and I'll stay and help you. It will be fun!" "Can you cook?" Duo asked. Trowa muffled a laugh. "No, but Heero can tell me what to do. I'll be the legs!" Heero couldn't object. Winner was so... pleased with his plans. Heero's problems didn't disappear with the morning light. Duo had to rush out to do the work he, Heero, should be assisting with and not Trowa! Quatre brought a servant to help with the laundry, giving Heero a chance to teach him the fundamentals of cooking simple food for two. It also kept him from having to stare at the soaking tub, something else off limits to him for now. There was a crash in the laundry. "I'd better go tend to that," Quatre cried out and dashed in the direction of the noise. Heero didn't want to know what had happened as the cat streaked by. He chose to go out to the back where he hadn't been in months. Lucifer joined him when he tried to check on the garden and possibly add more mulch to cover the exposed rhubarb and artichokes trying to overwinter. The cat demonstrated the route to take, leaping lightly from stone to log to garden. As Heero attempted to cross the path, though, his crutches sank and became mired in mud. "Crap! You devil cat! Why didn't you warn me about the mud?" She settled just out of the reach of his crutches and closed her eyes, as much as to say, "I didn't get my paws muddy, now, did I?" "Heero are you outside? Heero! What are you do--? Oh! I'm coming!" "Go ahead and laugh," Heero told him. Even he knew how amusing a scene they must have made with the cat watching him try to free himself. Winner checked his chuckles, though, and shouldered most of Heero's weight, helping him get his feet under him, and extract his crutches. Without Quatre's help, it might have taken him an hour to hobble back into the house and de-muddify his crutches. "Thanks," he said. He was grateful, but he just hated being so feeble and needy all the time. He felt worse when they shared smiles, because Quatre had smeared mud on his ivory-colored slacks making them "twins." How much more pitiful could a guy become, he wondered? "This is so much more fun than sitting around in my house." The cheerful blond carried a shallow bucket of soapy water and some rough towels and then set to cleaning Heero's crutches. His wistful tone confused Heero. "Your place is beautiful. How can you say that?" "Because here I get to do things, useful things." Winner grinned, "but tomorrow I'll be happy to be there running the business." "Hn." Heero wished he could be satisfied with life again. He stared at his cast and found another glop of mud to remove. All in all, he was not a happy camper. Housekeeping chores when Duo wasn't around were next to nothing. The cat wanted nothing from him but fresh water. Ruggles ran back and forth freely between the Winner property and their cottage, requiring little from Heero than the occasional "good boy" head scratch. Even when Quatre had brought him ship plans to review, Heero had wondered if his markup and suggestions were ever noted back at the construction site. He missed the river work and the feeling of power and worth that it gave him. For six weeks, Sally' Po's directions had be closely adhered to. He didn't think he could bear waiting another three for the cast to come off. Maybe Winner sensed his gloomy mood, because the next evening he arranged for the friends to share a dinner and catch up on the current reports. "And I'll make the whole dinner!" the winsome blond declared. Heero wouldn't argue; he couldn't possibly win against the "Winner," and he couldn't watch, so he lounged on the couch. When it came to the cooking, he'd move to the bedroom while Quatre used the fireplace. "What do I do first? I brought beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms the caretaker found just this morning. Isn't that nice?" Swell. Heero directed him to cut up the meat into bite-sized portions and brown them in the cast iron pan and stumped off out of sight. Quatre, he discovered, could work and talk at the same time, just like Duo, concentrating on both equally well. "I'm so glad you're doing better, Heero." "Hn." "You've come around very fast. Looks like Duo was the best medicine you could have." "Yes." "Of course, I'm sure you let him know how much you appreciate him." I will, I will, Heero promised himself, but said, "Yes," to satisfy his friend. "Good. Okay, the meat is brown. What next?" "Cooking the meat slowly. You have to cover the meat with water, add a spoonful of salt and put over the fire. After that, you'll be chopping vegetables. All of them. Bite-sized, then add to the pot." Heero moved to the couch again and dosed off to the rhythmic sound of chop, chop, chop... and roused to the sound of Quatre's voice in the room. He was carrying a bowl brimming with vegetables and the smell of herbs and some other unusual seasoning he didn't recognize at first. "I just add these now, right?" "Yes, then move the pot to the back where the coals are cooler." "There. This wasn't so hard. Won't everyone be surprised that I made the dinner?" Heero looked up, nodding. His friend looked proud of an achievement the others could have pulled off in half the time. Well, everyone but him, the gimp. His eyes dodged to the window, feeling no more wanted than a rock in the road or a wart--. "Are you all right, Heero? I'm sorry if I said something to upset you." "I feel like a wart on a frog. No, the warts probably serve some purpose." "Oh, pooh! Remember, I took care of Trowa during his convalescence and no one can be less useful than him." Heero looked up sharply to see Quatre grinning at him. "It's true, but it was also fine with me. It gave me a chance to pamper him." Covering his face with a hand, Heero groaned. "Duo likes it too. You and he are rather alike in many ways." "You know," Quatre stopped as if to put all his thought into what he was saying. "When we were growing up, you and I should have been best of friends. If father wouldn't have isolated me from the other children in town, we would have spent more time together. I can't help but wonder that if things had been different, would have been you and me living up in the big house together?" Which would have left Duo to fall for the charming Cajun trader and gambler. Not on his watch! No, that would not do. "I can't visualize that," Heero said, meaning he wouldn't try and hoped the blond sunbeam would get the hint and drop the subject. But no. Heero was to learn just how unalike he and Quatre were when it came to maintaining conversation. "Just think for a moment. Pretend, Heero, just for fun! Odin Lowe was wealthy, if he hadn't died and left you penniless-," "And if Barton's gang never existed!" Heero blurted. "What's your point?" A look of disappointment flashed across Quatre's face. "Nothing except it's just funny how things turn out." Heero owed this house, its comforts, and his current state of affluence mostly to this man's generosity was how things turned out, but he knew Quatre wasn't thinking of any of that, he was just making friendly conversation and Heero was letting his sour mood twist the meaning around. He tried to put himself back into the past a moment and play along. "I see what you mean, possibly, about us. After Relena told me why you turned down the marriage proposal, and I confided to her about my own...preference for boys, there was an opportunity for us that was lost. We might have been friends anyway." "Friends at least... maybe more." Was Quatre suggesting something now? He couldn't possibly be flirting with him. That would be absurd! No, he was certain it was just Quatre's attempt to keep him amused, however, this form of society small-talk bothered Heero. "I, I can't see Duo with Trowa." "Oh, well, I can, heh, heh, which is why I'm glad things turned out the way they did." He shot Heero a dazzling smile. "I think we did well in the companion department. Variety is the spice of life, don't you think?" Was it? Heero decided to agree and hope that was enough to satisfy his chatty friend on that topic. "Yes." The reference to spice turned Heero's thoughts back to the stew and that funny smell. Cinnamon? Certainly the novice cook wouldn't have spoiled a stew with cinnamon, his expensive cinnamon. "Why don't you just close your eyes and rest while I check on the laundry. Where do you dry things?" "We set up the drying racks in here near the fire." "Oh, of course. We can move them into that new guest room later when our friends arrive, which reminds me," Winner muttered on his way out of the room, "I ought to make up the bed in the guest room, just in case." "Guest room--?" Heero started to ask, but then remembered the new room, yet to be initiated since the bathroom addition was put in, did have a mattress on the floor, thanks to Winner, again. "In case of what?" he wondered next, but before he could voice his concerns, he fell under the spell of rain drumming on the roof and the sound of the wind outside lulling him to sleep. Heero woke up to the orange glow of flickering light from the fire reflected everywhere off the expanses of sheets. Alarmed, he sat up abruptly to find the front room dark and draped in sheets and clothes drying on racks. No emergency. From someplace out of sight, he heard Winner's voice directing traffic. Duo and Trowa must have arrived, he reasoned, which meant he hadn't dozed off long at all. "Just move them to the guest room-- that was what Heero said-- and then let's move the table around so he doesn't have to move from the couch. Careful, Duo, don't smack the cat!" The cat let out a demon howl and skedaddled to the far reaches of the house. "Nice job, mon ami," Trowa chuckled. "I've been dying to get even for that animal for puking fur balls on the only rug in the house," Heero heard Duo whisper, "but don't tell Kitty-Quat." "Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back, in mo' ways den one." "Oooh, more of that Cajun logic. Ha!" Duo laughed. "You didn't hurt that beautiful cat, did you Duo Maxwell!" he heard Quatre cry out from far, far away, from the "guest room," he guessed. "Lord, no! Not me! The rack did it." Then Duo's voice was very near, his breath light on his cheek. "Hi, love. You ready for us to invade here. Hungry?" "Yes." He had nothing to do except smile and let his lover wait on him. Life was tough. He even smiled when Quatre gave him a wink and said, "And I made the stew, so let me know how it is. Be honest or I won't get better." Duo froze in place fork in hand, mouth partway open. "Uh-" Trowa, who had about to take a bite of the meat, hesitated to say, "You did?" His eyes shifted to Heero for confirmation. "I instructed him from the living room," Heero replied carefully avoiding meeting anyone's eyes, including his boyfriend's. "You test it, babe?" Heero shook his head to the negative. He dared not look Duo directly in the eye. Winner had tried hard to prepare this meal, but he'd made a mistake and Heero wasn't a good enough cook to know how to correct it. Duo nodded. "Okay, then." He stabbed at the meat first and chewed, eyes widening as the unexpected flavor struck. When he swallowed he told Trowa, "Try it and see what you think." Heero noticed that when the attention was on Trowa, his boyfriend surreptitiously fed Ruggles a forkful of meat under the table. "Well?" Quatre asked. Heero wouldn't have wanted to be in Trowa's shoes at all. "You trying fo dat spicy curry dose Maguanacs cook?" The blond head bobbled. "I tried, but it's not right, is it?" "'Es close, real close, but not right." Trowa collected the plates, scraped the stew back into the pot and took it to the fireplace, all the while explaining, "You need special herbs fo dat." Trowa proceeded to add a few "tings" from his L3 spice collection, plenty of pepper and even some beer while the others watched. He tasted it then offered a taste to Quatre, then Heero, then Duo. "This is very like Rashid's curry!" "Whew! Hot! Hot, but good!" "This is interesting," Heero said. "Where did you learn to cook?" "De circus and wit the mercenaries. Circus folks liked it spicy, an' Cajuns spicier." The dinner was portioned out again and the eating resumed. Quatre was satisfied with his doctored stew, swabbing his plate with a hunk of bread just like an L2 street rat. "So, how is Zechs these days?" Duo asked through a mouthful of food. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since we moved back here." "Glad you asked," Quatre said. "I wanted to share some news, and waited until you all were here." He set back and sipped some water to clear his throat first. "Colonel Merquise has been observing his bridge and traveling north to see for himself what the situation is there. He's verified that Tsubarov built another prototype engine and there's a large ship in construction up north. More importantly, the word is that Dekim Barton's angry!" Trowa put down his knife and fork. "Aw, now ain't dat juss too bad?" "If he's in with Tsubarov's people, and I think he is," Quatre went on, "then there's no way they can pass south to Serendipity, because of that bridge. Zechs was delivered an ultimatum. Take down the bridge, or Barton will. He's accusing Colonel Merquise of blocking the trade routes illegally and all kinds of other allegations." "And Howard? Have you talked to him? What's his progress?" Heero asked. "He'd assigned his top notch people to complete a ship based on the earliest designs and others to revise what they built when the demonstration engine arrived. He's made his own modifications after testing it housed in a ship." "That's the Peacemillion?" "I think so. He's built several now." "Do they work?" That was most important to Heero. "The steam engine works and so does the ship powered by it. The mockup version in the hidden harbor just north of Serendipity is very exciting, and fast, although, is hasn't gone far. Howard is taking it out for short jaunts then making modifications. He has another team of men building a huge metal-clad ship for battle and several smaller, fleeter ones, or so he says." "Sounds like Howie's building an armada," Duo said. His chuckle carried to the rest of the group around of table. "I want to see one." And since he couldn't, Heero settled on staring a hole through Quatre's forehead. "Well, maybe Duo and Trowa can take us to the docks; leave us there for a day while they do deliveries?" "As long as you sit and not wear yourself down," Duo warned. "I don't know if I can trust you not to try and do too much." "I promise," Heero said in all seriousness. They toasted the plans, their good luck, progress, clean sheets, and Heero's cast. At some point they started drawing pictures on the cast and Trowa fell asleep, lying by the hearth with Lucifer on his back and Ruggles at his feet. "Oh, dear, isn't that precious," Quatre cooed. He reached down and yanked on his lover's arm. "Wouldn't you rather bed down with me?" Heero turned away, embarrassed when the two men embraced and kissed on the floor. He and Duo kept their affection more private, but Winner was very forthright about getting what he wanted, and right now what he wanted was Cajun ass, or so he was saying. "Hey, that's what the other room's for!" Duo shouted. "I'll even move the drying racks, but geesh!" "I'll need a hand with Trowa." "I see." Duo wrapped one lanky arm over his shoulders and hauled while Quatre slid under the other, bringing the slightly tipsy and totally exhausted Trowa to his feet. "Be careful with him," Duo warned his friend. "The dude worked real hard all day on the river." "Okay. I'll tuck him in and let him sleep," Quatre said, "like a baby. I promise." Heero listened as they shuffled the short distance to the spare room, shoved about the racks of damp clothes, and then heard the door close and on pair of footfalls return. Duo stood over him, offering a hand up. "Your turn. Take me to bed, babe." Heero did, but he was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillows. He hadn't had a beer in months and it knocked him out. Unfortunately, he still dreamed of running from Barton's mercenaries that night, but it was mercifully brief for a change. (o) The next day proved to be both perfect in that Duo and Trowa had goods to pick up in Serendipity and the weather was dry. Heero and Quatre caught a ride south with them past Tumbletown and on to the Tallgeese River Post, which overlooked the delta of the Tallgeese River, feeding into the mighty Rogue. Going inland past the post was the hidden Winner corporation property, purchased in preparation for his steamboat building; it was the same place Heero and Duo had visited while hunting for Middie. Getting Trowa out of that tight spot seemed a long time ago, but it had only been the summer. Heero and Quatre were helped off the flatboat, handed over to a troop of waiting Maguanacs on the dock. Howard and a Sweepers entourage appeared from an adjoining block house, rejoicing loudly about the "long-awaited maiden voyage of the Peacemillion." The test run "should take a couple hours and be back before dark," Howard had said. Duo and Trowa watched as the steamer slipped out of the hidden firth. The plan was to maintain a relatively slow pace past any curious eyes in Serendipity, head south toward Serenity and then crank up the engines and see what they could do, put her through her paces until they entered the narrow channel. They waved goodbye and repeated their promises to be back to collect them before sundown, and then the little flatboat took off, pacing the steamer a minute until catching the southern current and zipping past. But when Duo and Trowa showed up at the Tallgesse outpost, the steamer wasn't there. And as it became dark and the ship had not yet returned, Duo wasn't sure whether to be hopping mad or frightened to death. Trowa was ready to take the flatboat downstream and start searching, but Duo stopped him. "Just hold on. Someone here might know something. There's Rashid now." "Rashiiiiiid! Hey! Where's Howard? Ship's late!" Duo shouted, waving his arms to get the big man's attention. Trowa set out full tilt aiming to find Quatre or kill someone if he didn't. "W'ere are dey?" Rashid explained that the Peacemillion had run into a problem, "Very small, very minor, nothing to worry about, nothing serious, but because of the size and weight of the war ship, more than one tug had to be sent for to bring it in. They are due in late tomorrow morning. Why not take a couple of guest bunks and rest? Have dinner." After convincing Trowa that there was no way they could locate the ship in the dark, much less be of any help, they tottered off to have dinner. Duo ran into a couple Sweepers fellows he knew, and who recognized Trowa from his shot up leg incident, and settled in for a long wait. As it turned out, the ship didn't make it in to dock until noon the next day, by which time Trowa had once again taken to chain smoking, and Duo had nervously picked away the threads holding up the hem to his shirt. There was a short chaotic scene at deportation, where Trowa reassured himself that Quatre wasn't injured and Duo made certain Heero hadn't added to his, and they both descended upon Howard to give him a piece of their minds. When the smoke cleared, Heero agreed to tell them the story of why they were so very much overdue, but it had to be over lunch and immediate. "First off, a sheriff's vessel stopped us at Serendipity. That was the first delay, but not the worst. When the ship pushed off at last, I discovered that we had in our wake a barge, a low-built thing with a sort of iron barred cage running the entire deck." "A convict ship," Duo surmised. "Yeah, in which prisoners for the dreary town of Saghalien south of Serenity were taken down the Rogue. There were no prisoners on board this on, but apparently this new Sweepers merchant company owning the Peacemillion had a contract to haul the barge." "That's the truth," Howard put in. "And they claimed it was an emergency. Nothing I could avoid, but I wish I had. Nothing but trouble-- that damned boat." "No kidding." Heero shook his head. "The sun was already low and falling behind the trees tops ending the short day already, and there we were waylaid by that. But that was just the start." "The river south of Serendipity was depleted and full of trips to keep to the channel even in broad sheets of water," Howard grumbled, sounding tired and irritated by the mess as much as everyone else. "Now and then we felt the ship jar and quiver as the vessel touched and scoured the river bed." "I should have gone north to bring her up to speed," Howard complained. Heero commiserated. "Not worth a chance run in with pirates. Besides, this was unusual. Once or twice when the water has been low in late summer, I've had to land part of my freight to lighten the ship enough that I could force bumping over the rocks for five or six miles," he told them. The old Sweeper nodded. "It says a lot about how heavy a craft Peacemillion must be to set that low in winter." "At least there was no fog so the steamer journeyed all right. There was starlight, but the deep shadows of the enclosing hills seemed to bulge out banks where there were no banks. Unless extinguished by storms, there were twinkling little oil lamps for guidance - blinking white on the starboard and dim ruby to the port." "By steering from light to light there was a greater certainty of being in the channel," Howard explained. "Yet I should note a word to the wise-- not always." "Just at 'the witching hour,' unfortunately, a red lamp on the port side had gone out or was nonexistent. The consequence was that going full steam from white light to white light the ship road up and onto a bank of shingle, making a terrible scraping, crash." "Then came some excitement," Winner commented for the first time and frowning at the cigarette dangling from Trowa's lips. "No doubt," his lover muttered as he tossed and ground out the cigarette with a heel. "The engines were reversed and the steamer dragged herself off, but she was tugging the convict barge, and--," Howard interrupted Heero's tale to point out the necessary details, "This barge with considerable way on, came tilting her nose right into the stern of the steamer." "I heard this awful crunch of broken wood and ripped iron plates a very few feet from where we sat. It was terrible to hear!" Quatre cried. "But in the darkness we couldn't see what had happened to the Peacemillion, but Heero, he could see the barge moving away, and informed Captain Howard." "'The convict ship's swung off!' he yelled," Howard shouted, getting into the act. "What I noticed when I lowered a lantern over the side," Heero said, "was that the rudder was located too far back on the ship, impairing the steering. I had marked that change on one of the earlier plans, I was certain; implying that I'd been correct when I'd thought my work at home had gone largely ignored." "Well, that was a mistake, as I said before," Howard murmured into his cup of hot tea. "Damned stupid one, I'll admit." "So after that," Quatre went on to say, "Captain Howard gave orders for the helm to be 'put over on the starboard side', isn't that how you said it? I got that right? Good. And he ordered the engines to go 'full steam.'" "The engines did go full steam. But," Heero glared at Howard again. "The rudder had gone, and this was not known till the steamer, as a sort of revenge, went furiously into the convict ship, which she did not injure, though she smashed in her own bow." "We had a really lively quarter of an hour." Quatre smiled. "Well, we did! It was pitch dark, and the lamps on the ship accentuated the darkness." "Everything was at sixes and sevens," Howard complained. "No discipline." "I heard everybody shouting orders and cursing the captain, and for a minute or two I was certain we'd all drown." Winner wrung his hands and took a deep breath. "The two boats, however, got alongside the bank, and there we hung till morning light came." Howard set down his tea and looked at Heero and Quatre both. Heero took over the end to the storytelling. "Meanwhile a horse had been got from somewhere, thanks to Quatre's exhaustive plans and backup plans and trusted Maguanacs, and Abdul was sent off a thirty-mile ride back to Serendipity to secure a tugboat and bring it back to take us in tow. This caused a delay of five or so more hours." "So much fo' de maiden trip," Trowa summarized drily. "The good news is that Howard's going to make the changes Heero suggested," Quatre cut in to say. "It will probably save him hours of analysis to fix the steering and make it more reactive." "If he'd done it in the first place, it would have save us hours, too." Heero was not smiling when he said that either, Duo noted. "Who was the idiot that decided to ignore 'Ro's suggestion in the first place?" Duo asked. "Some new-hire fresh out of de ship design school, you can bet on." Trowa sneered and reached for a cigarette, remembered he'd stopped smoking, then dropped his hands. "Who ya want is de idiot dat hired de foo'." "That... would be me," his boyfriend said, with a sigh. "Consider it all a learning process. You can assume no one will ignore any suggestions marked 'Yuy' ever again!" Heero settled back on in his chair looking well fed, and pleased for a change. Duo hoped his feelings of self-worth had upgraded to near-normal for a change. Duo caught his eye. "Better?" "Yeah. I really want this cast off, but if I have to wait a few more weeks, I will. Without complaint, too." "Okay, well," Duo leaned over the table and whispered, "How about getting something else off back at the room they got for us?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and was rewarded with a smile. "Let's go." "Hey, Quat? I'm taking 'Ro to our room for a nap. Been a long night for him." "Good idea. I could use a nap, too. Go on ahead. We have a few bits of business to clear up then I'm heading to our room." Duo grabbed the crutches and helped his lover to the main house, stopping just short of the ground floor door. Outside, he looked around them, but on this chilly, winter afternoon, there was no one in sight. The grounds appeared deserted with everyone still gathered to talk and eat, or working near the docks. He crossed the space between himself and Heero in two steps, threw his arms around his man, and kissed him single-mindedly. He felt Heero stiffen for a moment, also trying to look around. Silently praying there were no on-lookers to disturb the moment, he held on tight until Heero surrendered to his embrace and returned his kiss. "Hey," Heero said, pulling back a fraction of an inch. "Holy shit," Duo said as he drew a shaky breath. When Heero looked askance, Duo also sneaked a guilty look over his shoulder. The brief survey of their surroundings confirmed what he'd thought-- they were alone. Duo nudged with a knee, parted Heero's legs a few inches, and pressed closer. "Out here in the open like this kinda makes me want you big time." That got him a swift reaction. A blush swept up from Heero's neck. "Ah, as exciting as that thought is, we'd better take it inside." Within the privacy of their room, they crushed together with hands groping at taut bodies under loose clothing. Duo moaned into a kiss as arms like steel band tightened around him. "Mmm..." Hands ran up and down his back, across his shoulders, and down over the rounded muscle leading into his thighs, squeezing and gripping at them hard. He let the stronger man support his weight as he leaned in dizzy from the earthy scent of their skin and lust. "You..." He growled in warning before attacking his lover's mouth with his own, suckling on Heero's tongue and nibbling at his lips. When Heero loosened his embrace, Duo licked his lips and moaned softly to the feel of Heero's hands massaging his muscles. "All systems go," Heero moaned. "Want you." Heero tugged on his braid, coaxing him toward the narrow bunk bed. "All systems go? You been hanging 'round engineers too long." Duo tore off his boyfriend's shirt, stripping his lover as if he were in a race. When he pushed him onto the bed to drag the pants off his legs, Heero said, his breath coming in short bursts, "Hey, careful with the cast!" "Got it covered," Duo said, leaving him naked the next second. "Er, uncovered, heh, heh... Hold still. Let me savor this moment." His eyes raked over his Asian lover lying stretched out and panting, but only for a few seconds, and then he shucked off his own clothes. He knelt between Heero's legs, lowering himself until their flesh connected from chest to groin. Heero instinctively raised his knees, wrapping one thigh around Duo's torso, and leaving the heavy cast-clad leg out of the action. The smell of the river, heavy on their skin, combined with the scent of musky arousal. They slid against each other on a slick of sweat, aching with need. Heero lifted his head slightly, his lips against Duo's ear. "Now." Duo made love to the man that was his life. He knew that was the case, because he'd died a little inside when he'd had to wait for Heero to show up, not knowing absolutely that he would. He made certain to let Heero know just how important he was to him. And that night, Duo's lover slept a deep and dreamless sleep, and the next, and the next. After that, new adventures haunted the nightscape.
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