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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 Seven (Wufei's POV) Wufei didn't recognize Trowa at first, but when he took a bullet to his leg and saved Heero from certain death, Wufei decided he wasn't the enemy and challenged the new invaders climbing aboard. "Put that away!" shouted an older man with a grizzled beard. "Ci-an't you tell we're Sweepers? You blind, boy?" Wufei lowered his sword a notch just as another voice shouted close by. As he watched, a figure emerged from the storm in a flash of lightening. It was a woman, about his shoulder height-short, he smiled with satisfaction-- dressed quite like a bandit, in a tattered cape, black tunic and boots, a hand-axe at her side. The scruffy black bangs that fell over her face almost obscured a pointed scar that ran across her forehead down over her left temple. She bore a cunning, determined smile as she greeted them all with a wave, but the girlish-sounding voice startled Wufei more. "Yo-hai!" "'Yo-hai!' my ass! Who the heck are you?" Wufei demanded. She was too busy searching the bodies on the boats to answer. "Howard, over there! The other boat! Looks like Duo's down!" "Don't turn your back on me!" Wufei shouted. He poked her with his sword for emphasis. "You may think that petty thievery is forgivable, but in the eyes of justice, all injustices are equal!" "Hey!" she cried. "Don't you lecture me about justice! I chased those monsters all over the place, and just as I was about to finally catch them, you lot hacked them into sashimi! All my hard work gone to shit!" she complained. By this time, the rest of her crew had surrounded them. "Huh?" Wufei asked. "Yeah, those were my pirates to beat up! I still have to build my reputation, y'know." "Are you certain a reputation is what you're after? You're pretty haughty for someone who's the prisoner of Chang Wufei." Even he winced at the sound of his words emanating from his mouth, but there was no taking them back. What a blowhard! He raised his chin and swept the air with his sword. "Yeah, right. Prisoner. Unless you wanna be a Sweepers' captive, and you're pretty good looking so it wouldn't be so bad a deal, if you get my meaning, then shut up and stand aside. Oh, name's Hilde, by the way. Don't forget it!" Wufei stood, mouth agape, in awe as she gave him a flirtatious wink and hopped from Heero's broad-horn to the keel-boat of the pirates. The indignity! The rest of the Sweepers, for that's who they had to be, gave him no second glance. They swarmed the other boat, and the fighting stopped as the remaining, outnumbered pirates threw down their weapons. None of them had escaped uninjured and looked beaten hunched over and examining their bleeding wounds. Heero must have taken out the leader of the ruffians, Wufei surmised, since none of them fought as ropes secured their arms and legs. The man Hilde had called Howard, announced, "Sheriff Trant's due any minute!" while swinging his wiry arm toward the dock where men and carts lined the end. Wufei Chang, the proud inheritor of his clan's leadership, if estranged at the moment, absorbed the situation. He had been bested by a girl! Could his pride know no greater shame? A grisly death at the hands of pirates was preferable. A gallant death. A man's death! Again, her strident voice cut through his brain like a sword through butter. "Gimme space here! Who's that asshole with his grubby hands on Duo?" Hilde kicked men out of her way. "You call yourself his best friend?" Wufei hadn't heard Heero call himself anything. He hadn't said a word. How had this woman figured that? Then it dawned on him that this must have been the woman friend with whom Duo had been exchanging letters. These were Duo's past work associates! Wufei lowered his sword, sheathing it carefully. "You let him get hurt!" she shook a finger accusingly at Heero. Heero had wrestled Solo's dead weight off Duo and now sat cradling his friend's head in his lap, while examining the wound to his arm. His eyes slid her way fractionally when Hilde shouted in his face. "Hey, Charm-Fu! Gimme a hand with your shipmate here. He a moron or somethin'?" Wufei twisted his neck so hard it nearly spun all the way around. His voice quaked with anger. "Chang! My name is Chang, you cursed woman!" As Wufei shouted his voice rose to a shrill pitch. Wufei leaped to action, hurdling bodies on his way to Heero. Once there, he intentionally turned his back to the impertinent girl and stood over his fallen comrades, seething with hurt pride and alternating his attention between Heero, Duo, and the new, unknown man, who on further inspection was looking more and more familiar. "You were at the dock in Tumbletown." Trowa's head shot up. He grimaced and nodded. "Yeah," he said then continued to press a handkerchief firmly to his leg to staunch the bleeding. He wound the scarf tightly and tied it off as he tested his weight on the leg. Wufei watched his eyes widen, his focus intent on something in the distance. He automatically reached for the unsteady man as Trowa tried to stand. "Dere!" he pointed in desperation toward the shoreline at a small rowboat disappearing into the misty haze. "Don't let dat one get away! Ya hear me? R'at away! Gotta be anudder o'da bandits! Need to move... mo' fas'er!" Duo groaned and opened his eyes as Hilde fussed over his bleeding arm. "I hear that damned Cajun," he mumbled. "He warned me of trouble. Back in Tumbletown." Heero leaned over staring into his eyes. "Duo-" "We got our hands full here, Trowclair, an' you look a mess," Hilde said. "Now, sit down before you fall down and take that dishy swordsman down with you. You know the Sheriff can handle that one." Hilde wrenched Duo's good arm up as she bent over. "You look like you've been worked over by bushwhackers, sweetie pie." "Took ya long enough," was all Duo could manage. Dishy? Wufei snorted in disbelief and shoved Trowa onto a crate. "Maxwell, do you mean you were expecting to run into this character?" he asked. When Duo closed his eyes, unable to answer him, he swallowed some pride and endured the woman's harsh glare. He recognized Hilde's existence and turned toward her. "Can you answer my questions? Anyone? Would someone acknowledge me!" But no one paid him any attention. He appeared to be unscathed and mobile, so his needs were automatically relegated to the bottom of the heap. He was left to wonder on his own. Had this Trowclair character tracked them here? Why? Had he led the pirates to them? He could be playing both sides, like a gambler. Wufei didn't trust him. "What are you doing?" Heero asked, pushing Hilde away from Duo. "I'll take care of him. He needs-" "Duo needs a doc, and I'm taking him to my place over by the Sweeper's hangout, and a doc." "You...know him." Heero's glazed eyes cleared. "You must be Hilde." "That's me. Hilde Schbeiker. You have got to be the Heero Yuy I've heard so much about. You're his, ah, boss? Roomie? Buddy? Whatever. You can bring yer boat to our berth. Far end. Can't miss the sign. Hey, Phil! Gimme a hand here!" "Tell Phil to help the other man." Heero stood, lifting Duo in his arms, rain washing over him where he covered Duo protectively, and started to leave. Wufei stopped him. "You can't leave your boat." "Chang... I'm not. I'll be the one to put Duo on board one of their boats, though. Just stay there." "There's another man here in need of immediate medical attention," Wufei shouted. He needn't have bothered, though. Another Sweeper appeared out of the gloom and half-carried Trowa-Trowclair to one of the small craft. Trowa appeared reluctant to leave his boat unattended, but Wufei wanted him in his sights until he knew what the man's role had been. "I'll see to it that your boat stays with Yuy," Wufei promised Trowa. "It's tied. We'll tow it." You aren't going anywhere until I have some answers. The sheriff's men loaded the pirates' craft with the captured men and steered over to the wharf, where they were loaded onto waiting carts. Howard negotiated with the sheriff for the keelboat, and won, Wufei assumed, since he counted three Sweepers take over poles and tiller and edge the boat away from the wharf. The older man-- the leader, perhaps-- Howard hopped onto the remaining Sweeper's boat and hailed Heero. "Bring your boat around. Follow me." "I have a load from the miller to take care of first," Heero shouted. "I'll find you. You have some firearms of ours on that pirate boat." Howard waved in acknowledgment, hopefully having heard and understood him, and then moved on downstream. Heero put his pole to work and Wufei returned to the tiller. He was impressed with Heero's fortitude and conscientiousness. He had to be exhausted, but he loyally took care of business first. Still, it was obvious to Wufei that Heero cared deeply for his partner. He recognized those adoring glances for what they really were. The docks were nearly empty of boats. None had yet arrived, preferring to wait out the storm elsewhere. One or two flatboats, which had probably been there the day before, bumped in their berths, the owners most likely waiting out the worst of the weather from the comfort of a saloon. Wufei wondered what motivation Heero used to convince the wagon master to leave his warm bar seat and drag his horse out into the elements. Neither one looked at all happy to be there. Without a word, Wufei gave Heero a hand, taking Duo's place, and unloaded the bags of flour from the boat. Only a couple bags had been damaged, lying flat, riddled with bullets, and had spilled their contents over the boat's bottom as they were moved. Another mess to clean up. Later. "What does Winner want done with his bricks?" Heero asked. "He didn't say." "Use that rope and tie the handles. We'll use the chest of bricks as an anchor for the Cajun's skiff. In this wind-" His voice trailed off. Heero looked weary to the bone, but pushed off again, this time in search of the Sweepers hangout on the wharf. His eyes looked dead. Without Duo's bounce and upbeat personality, he acted like a man beaten down by life. Obviously, it had been Duo who'd set the cadence for their partnership, Wufei surmised. "He'll be all right. I'm talking about, Duo. His injury did not appear to be life threatening." Wufei said this with assurance, and then set about tying rope to Quatre's chest of bogus bullion. (o) Wufei oversaw the injured, leaving Heero to secure the boats and bring in the supplies and personal items, including Trowa's bag stowed under a seat in the skiff. Hilde forced a cup into his hands "here" as she rushed back and forth with pots of bloodied water and sodden towels. The doctor had left, but there was plenty of "mopping up to do" Hilde huffed on one return trip. He was about to sip his fresh, steaming tea, impressed with the young woman's straight forward manner and competence. When Heero finally blew in, it was with great effort that he didn't collapse on the floor. Hilde relieved him of his dripping rain gear and shoes. In a generous turn, Wufei helped Heero to a chair, handed over his own tea then went back to the kitchen to make himself another cup. Wufei stared out through the dusk, and the rain blown about by the wind, great long curtains of it, swept up against the window in waves. Duo and Trowa were sleeping. He'd supplied them both with Chinese sleeping powder. Heero appeared asleep within seconds of sitting without the drug, slumped on a chair near Duo and breathing slowly and deeply. Wufei had time to think at length. There were no books, nothing else for him to do. He thought of Treize and his hopeless, foolish attraction for the man. He reminded himself that Treize was not, by all likelihood, interested in him in the slightest, if indeed he was interested in men at all. Work seemed to encompass his entire world. Wufei sighed. He wasn't certain if he wanted sexual relations with a man. He just liked their no-nonsense company. But Treize... There was no way around it; Wufei idolized the man. Winner had introduced them shortly after his arriving for his teaching assignment. It had been a grand party, but when Governor Treize Khushrenada shook his hand his universe contracted to just Treize and him. The governor had overheard, he explained, Wufei mention how he would miss his fencing instructor, and a special bond formed. Treize was a gentleman and a fencer. How Wufei looked forward to his invitations and ensuing contests! Still, what more could he expect from a man in such a high profile position? Respect, at best. For a different kind of companionship Wufei had Winner. The young man's brilliant conversation, kind heart, and generosity made him a valued friend. He had the wealth, education, and position, but he made it clear that his interest in other men was potentially and overtly sexual. Wufei didn't believe he wanted that; his teaching position would be threatened, for one thing. Yuy was a real man. His only fault being his station in life. Wufei had to admit he found him handsome and good company, but he wasn't blind to what was building at the cabin-and he didn't limit that observation to the house construction. Yuy hadn't moved in with the new man in town for his luxurious accommodations. Wufei wasn't attracted to Maxwell at all. Far too crude. He could hardly tolerate his company at times, but Yuy's infatuation with the guy amused Wufei to no end. Would they ever figure out how the other felt about them, he wondered? He smiled and turned away from the window. Hilde's instructions were for him to choose food for dinner "while he was at it"-whatever "it" was. He didn't disclose that he was no cook. Wufei examined the contents of the pantry, unimaginably bored. The cooking equipment consisted of skillets and bake-pans which resembled covered pots without the handles; two or three iron kettles; coffee pots, frying pans, a coffee mill; and a big combination dish and bread pan. The tableware included iron knives and forks, spoons, tin plates, and quart cups. He located staples stocked with the same items he'd seen in Heero and Duo's pantry, minus the rice: liberal supplies of bacon, cheese, and sausages, flour, coffee, tea, molasses, dried fruit, baking powder, salt, pepper, corn meal, beans and crackers. Bacon was the reliable meat for storage, although fresh fish was always available living so close to the Rogue, and, if a person availed themselves of the Saturday market, seasonal fowl and game were abundant. Last fall, he had hunted antelope and deer with Winner. That had been a nice break after teaching for three months. A very nice break. Still, Wufei favored Yuy's rice and vegetable dishes, but none of those items were in this pantry. What he found leaned more to Maxwell's cooking style. Maxwell, he knew from experience, prepared flapjacks, beans, crackers, and sour dough fried in a skillet and flooded with molasses as his most regular menu. Wufei smiled. He had become quite fond of Maxwell's bread. "Whatever it is we eat, I'm makin' bread to go with it," Hilde announced. Wufei hoped hers was comparable to Duo's. "Fish soup?" "Good choice!" she laughed. She put him to work chopping vegetables, intrigued by his fine slicing technique taught to him as a child by clan experts. She tossed the onions into the pot with salt and pepper, adding carrots and potatoes as he produced his perfectly cubed portions. Fish and broth were last. He watched as she prepared the dough by placing a large chunk into a lid covered skillet and buried it in a heap of live coals in the same manner that Duo used. "Fifteen minutes. Watch that for me, okay? I got clams to go in, special-like." Fish soup with freshwater clams was a luxury, and Wufei knew it. He nodded and remained by the fire. Maxwell employed the same method, which produced a fine looking loaf of bread browned to a tempting color, Wufei thought, remembering the tasty loaves with fondness. "Good thing Duo wrote to say y'all were comin'," Hilde said from the stove. "I made apple pie." Wufei felt an unexpected rush of joy. "Wonderful. You had time to bake a pie and chase after pirates today?" "Oh, honey!" She laughed. "A woman's work is never done, heh, heh..." (o) Hilde greeted Duo as his eyelashes fluttered open. "Hope you're hungry, sweet heart." Duo grinned, "Eh, good one there. I'm always starving. You know that." He winced when she turned away, struggling to sit up. "Damned bruised ribs." Wufei helped Trowa to the table, leaving Duo to Heero's tender mercies. When he took a seat, Hilde placed two loaves of fragrant bread on the table. Golden, salted butter, shining on a plate, steaming soup ladled into earthenware bowls-food, honestly crafted and freshly prepared, the storm raging outside-it was nearly too much for Wufei. "Oh...sweet...mercy-" Hilde fixed her bright eyes on him and smiled. "Dig in." Through the rising vapors, he thought she looked beautiful. He tore a hunk of bread for himself while it was still piping hot refusing to show pain as he burned his fingertips. What was the matter with him? He had eaten at Winner's table with fine ladies and gentlemen and finer food than this and not felt the strange overwhelming sense of comfort. He decided that the fighting must have got his blood up. Yes, that was it! He stole glances across the table, studying Hilde while they ate. She had changed into a long red tunic with lacy pantaloons underneath. He'd never seen a woman wear revealing clothes like that. He finished his soup visualizing lacy pantaloons floating in each spoonful. What crazy, madness was he thinking, he wondered? "More?" she asked, ladle poised midair. "Please," he muttered unable to meet her eyes. He hadn't even tasted the first portion! We had already been sentenced to this remote teaching position for disobedience, what would be his next punishment for unclean thoughts?! Exile to some even more remote outpost? Banishment to the far reaches of civilization?! And those clothes weren't helping either. Maybe Hilde should take them off. His eyes opened wider than clamshells and he nearly choked. Dear God! Had he said that aloud? No? His heart pounded, blood coursed through his body doing the transit in double time, breaking down his mental barriers, and flooding his brain with nonsense. "Cream with your pie?" His good sense washed away with his inhibitions. He blinked stupidly. Hilde met his eyes with a saucy smile-no-- a smoldering, half-lidded smile. "Of course you do. Here you go." A mountain-sized dollop of whipped cream (when had she made that?) melted over a slice of pie the span of his hand. His reason successfully destroyed in the earlier deluge left him with wreckage for brain material. His self-restraint was a sodden mess. He was never going to eat this lovely pie again anyway. He would never eat anything else except for brown rice and water in his lonely hermitage on the rock island off the coast of the northern hinterlands. "Thank you." He looked up, giving the table a cursory glance. It was a mistake. Licking his spoon clean of whipped cream, Duo had on his face the mesmerized look that Winner's cat got lapping its bowl of milk. If he was upset about the pirate attack, it wasn't affecting his appetite so Wufei had ignored him, up to this point. Beside him, Yuy hunched guardedly over his plate as he watched Duo's tiny pink tongue tip sculpt the foamy while cream like a man barely able to keep his composure. And Wufei should know, his being lost somewhere on a sea of emotions. Floating. Boneless. Heero scooted closer to Duo, possibly without being aware of it, with all the stealth of Lucifer closing in on a mouse. Then Hilde was speaking again. "Y'all go on in by the fire when you've finished up. Turn your wet boots some so they dry even. I'll be right along. Mr. Chang--" Wufei's bones consolidated instantly and he was on his feet. "What?!" Heero hissed and scooted into a ridged upright position. "There's ale in the pantry. You know where, right?" No, but he'd find it. "Yes." Wufei's attention and back were required once again to support Trowa to the central meeting room of Hilde's place. As they walked through the doorway, Wufei felt immersed in a left-the-world-behind feeling. As if the fire dried away the lingering dampness of their shoes and clothes, the sounds of the storm and the voices of the other Sweepers living nearby diminished that they might have taken off with his unraveling conscience. Wufei's consciousness resided somewhere between the here and now and enlightenment. If anyone else was present, he had forgotten all about them until somehow he was seated around the fireplace, listening to the others talk, a bottle of ale warming in his hands. "By the way, honey," Hilde crooned into Duo's ear. "You're welcome." "For what? You knew we were coming! What took you so long? We had'em under control, but still--" Duo said then started coughing. "You were miles downstream from where you said they'd be!" Hilde argued. "Well, I guess the pirates planned things different from us!" Duo countered. For an injured man, he seemed perky enough. "I owe you, Miss Hilde," the green-eyed Cajun said. "W'atever I can do--" "Why thank you. At least you know a favor when you get one." "You got some conjones," Duo remarked to Trowa. "Spying on us, following us. That was you sneaking around our cabin, too." Heero, guilt ridden about killing Solo, brooded as far away from the fire as possible, on a stool as rickety and uncomfortable as he could find. Wufei bet it was his way of punishing himself. He watched Heero scrutinize Duo and Trowa's exchanges from behind his messy bangs. Trowa rested his injured leg across a log. Duo languished, stretched lengthwise on a couch, ribs wrapped, arm bound, pale and quiet (for him.) Hilde moved closer to him. Wufei breathed deeply. That scent. Floral, exotic. His mind turned inward as postcard views of his childhood home in the L5 sector transported him into the past. Ladies in silk, whispering in the evening. Jasmine. A sharp bark of laughter snapped him back into the here and now. "Befo' you moved in, I used to come 'round and hang about de cabin. Saw de barge dere one night and voices so I scrammed." "Quit mooning over Duo," Hilde said with a kick to Heero's chair and a spike of laughter. "I'm not mooning," Heero said, but his gritted teeth and stunned gaze said otherwise. He looked sideways at Duo, but Duo hadn't heard them, Wufei thought. He was engrossed in his dialog with Trowa. Trowa looked Heero deadon. "Sure you are," he said. "E'der dat or you got regrets 'bout killing pirates." Wufei jerked to full alert. He had been so caught up in his own wild thoughts he'd practically ignored Heero's troubled behavior. He did now. They had defeated the bandits, survived, kept to plan. Mission successful. So why was Yuy so obviously disturbed? What little color there was drained from Heero's face instantly. "I killed... Duo's brother." "Huh?" Duo tried sitting straighter in order to look Heero in the eye, but failed to do anymore than nearly pass out with pain. "Ugh! Not... true-" "That man tried to kill you, but when he saw your hair he recognized you. I heard him, Duo. He called your name and called you 'brother'. I... shot him, Duo!" Heero's anguish choked off his final words. "That man was holding a blade to Maxwell's neck! You saved his life," Wufei said. "I saw what happened. You fired to hit his shoulder and disarm him. Maxwell moved, you adjusted your aim to miss his head, and the shot entered the assailant's body lower than intended. There was nothing you could have done differently and still have Maxwell alive now." Heero's expression turned from haunted to grateful, unless Wufei read too much into the barest dilation of his pupils. "Don't worry 'bout dat guy. His name was Solo," Trowa commented, "wid a fifteen-year crim'nal career of horse stealing, robbery, counterfeiting, murder, and piracy." "Yeah, a long rap sheet," Hilde said. "So that was the famous Solo, huh?" Duo twisted his neck as far as it would go attempting to look at Heero. In a small voice, he said, "'Ro, we weren't related. He'd been an old....acquaintance. Long time ago." Hilde folded her arms over, no, under her pert little bosom. There were a few water marks here and there where sudsy water had splashed. Her short, dark hair looked a little less windblown. Her blue eyes tender, perhaps... come hither? "God, Duo, that wasn't the guy you been running from? The one who turned you down-?" she asked. Duo groaned loud enough for Hilde to drop the subject and Heero to fawn over him with pillows and another blanket. One peek of lace as Hilde leaned over, a wisp of jasmine, and Wufei's cheeks heated again. "Any friendship we'd had was gone long ago. Ancient history," Duo muttered. Heero looked like he wanted to say more, a lot more, but backed away instead. Wufei found that he was a private man who was used to hiding his feelings, and now was no exception. Trowa patted his side, located his smokes then leaned slightly toward Wufei. "Hey, mon ami. Get me a light?" Wufei had no intention of waiting on the lay-about any more, but the tranquil-looking man's friendly attitude was softening him up. He held the cigarette against a hot coal until it smoldered then returned it to the outstretched hand. "Merci." Trowa drew in a deep breath of smoke and let it out slowly. "Ah, so much de better. Now, you may grill me for information." "Why would I do that?" Wufei asked. "You haven't been spying on me." "You don't dink so?" Trowa smiled. "Well, I'm curious," Hilde declared. "You can both tell me what it is you do for a living. Mr. Chang, you first. You're not a riverboat man, that's for sure." "No, certainly not. I'm a--." Wufei's mind ran through the possibilities: scholar, educated man, head of my clan, pompass ass, before settling on the humble,"School teacher." Hilde walloped him good on the back. "Wow, an awesome studmuffin with an impressive sword and a brain. I am so--." Studmuffin? He choked and sputtered. "Uh-h-" "Blown away, yeah. Oh, for cryin' out loud... Fei's the bomb, fer sure," Duo drawled. "Then there's Mr. Sneaky over there." "Ummm... another dishy guy," Hilde purred. Duo demanded, his tone cold, "What do you do when you're not spying on us, Cajun?" Heero's flinty eyes bore through Trowa, while fingering his revolver in plain sight. Dishes full of holes couldn't hold water, not could dishy guys. In a voice as brittle as a wafer of ice, he said, "Answer him." Trowa must have noticed the fall in temperature. His eyes skimmed the room suspiciously, possibly calculating his odds of escape, and then he sighed abandoning the idea. "Name's Trowa Barton. As in de Barton gang, but I'm not Dekim's son." "What a novel story," Wufei said. "You have one second to start explaining, or I'll kill you," Heero growled, gun in hand. "Give me a chance!" Trowa spread his hands out in supplication. When it no longer appeared Heero was going to pull the trigger, he stated to explain. "To de nord, I'm known as Nanashi, a gambler runnin' de river and skirtin' de law-part of Dekim Barton's gang. I'm on de run after partin' ways wid de Barton mercenaries. De man kidnapped me, killed my fam'ly, gave me his name, but des evil men." "That they are!" Hilde yelled. "They're already taking over lots of the Sweepers business! But you're still our little Trowclair the trader, aren't ya?" "Yes, I'm also known as de Cajun trader, Trowclair, by de Sweepers. I hide out way far soud by de by-yu (spelled 'bayou") in winter and Tumult most de summer-" "And our cabin in between," Duo said. "Dat's right." Trowa sucked on his cigarette, drawing strength from it, it seemed, and then uttered a short aborted laugh. "It's not empty now, doh." "What're your intentions? Why did you help us today?" Heero asked. "Friendship? You look like de good guys. I know dings, bad dings." "Like?" "Dekim is expanding into de shipping business. Competing with Howard's folk for de salvage business is only de beginning. Der's more." He tossed his cigarette into the fire and watched it flame up and burn to ash. "He's in cahoots wid de Duke." "That's nonsense!" Wufei said. "You dink? You heard of boats powered by steam? No? Dink of it. Dem boats hauling up and down de river in no time. Big ones." "They would put us all out of business," Heero said. "Steam boats!" Hilde hacked out another laugh. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of!" "It's de future. It's all 'bout who's in control." "It ain't me tonight," Duo muttered. Duo yawned near enough to split his face in two, so Hilde announced an end to the evening. "That's it! I nearly fell in that time. Find yourselves a comfortable spot on the floor and I'll bring blankets-not you Duo! Stay put!" Trowa was drained, having bared his soul. Wufei wanted so many diverse things he agreed to call it a night just to avoid all of them. Heero looked the part of the living dead and said nothing. So, Duo was left to sleep on the couch, while blankets on the floor made beds good enough for the rest of the young men. Hilde bid them a good night and departed, smiling at Wufei over her shoulder on her way out. The rain pounded, the wind blew, thunder rumbled and lightening crackled, and the boys slept the whole night through in spite of it all. (o) The next morning over a delicious breakfast with bowls piled high with flaky biscuits smothered in bacon-rich gravy, the boys agreed to hang around town and rest. Trowa couldn't walk and Wufei didn't trust him on his own. Heero didn't trust Duo to stay put whether he was alone or not. "I have a freight load to pickup and take back," he told Wufei. "We'll take turns going out then." "Nonsense," Hilde butted in. "I can handle two gimpy guys. You go and give Mr. Yuy a hand with his freight, and then you and I can go out later. I need a thing or two in town." Wufei was about to point out that if she was tough enough to fight pirates and guard to street-smart young men, then she could go shopping alone, but bit his tongue just in time. Maxwell and Trowa should be good enough to travel the next day, which meant today would be the last time he'd see Hilde for awhile. When opportunity knocks, only a fool runs out the back door. "Very well," Wufei said with a curt bow. "I shall return shortly." He raced out the door before he had to listen to Maxwell's guffaws, hoot and hollers. At least he was feeling better, which meant Heero would liven up. A freighting terminus was a busy place. Riverboats arriving and leaving, while others at dock discharging great quantities freight, kept the river hopping. Crowded warehouses lined the wharfs where the big prairie schooners loaded for their long westward journeys. The stench of livestock, oxen, mules, and horses concentrated downwind, washed somewhat cleaner by the big storm. They dashed out of the path of wagons filling the streets. Wufei admired the storefronts they passed. "It appears that the merchants do a lucrative business here," he commented to Heero. The terminus had a special section that was set aside for the overland freighters, which Heero purposely avoided, leading them to the wharf on the long way through town. Outfitting stations, workshops, dwellings, warehouses loomed in the distance. "There are blocks of the city where there were only men's clothing shops, fitting-out houses, and outfitting establishments. A delightful situation for the merchants," Heero smiled. "Prices are very high and there's not much price competition." They passed saloons, gambling houses, dance halls and all manner of rough amusements to extract the wages, laboriously earned, from the hard-working boatmen and trail men. The greater portion of the night before a start on a long slow journey was often spent by many of' the men in dissipation. "Who gets to keep the boat that attacked you?" Wufei asked. "Sweepers. I could argue some rights, but it's not worth the effort. I should find Howard and get Duo's revolvers back. They belonged to Winner." Heero frowned and plodded forward. Wufei sensed what he wanted to talk about was what he was avoiding. He didn't know why he bothered to care about what happened between Heero and Duo, but he did. Wufei stopped, hardly cognizant of the traffic wheeling around them. "You heard what Hilde said." "About what?" "About Maxwell, that man you can't share airspace with without sighing?" Wufei could see Heero's brows turn down into a frown and his mouth open to defend himself. Wufei was faster. "She said the dead man had turned Duo down. That means Duo pursued him. And that means he is attracted to men, like you. Oh, and please don't pretend you haven't noticed." "Hn. He might have turned down a business deal." "Dear Buddha above! Maxwell wouldn't have run away from that, and you know it. He might run away from a failed love affair, though. I think you have all the confirmation required to make your move." "My...move?" "If you want to do more than sleep on that huge mattress you two share, you'd better make some move immediately. I say this with the proviso that I read that Cajun correctly." Heero's jaw dropped, his face colored a dyspeptic green. "You think Trowa likes men-er-Duo...romantically? Wait! You think I do?" "Don't you?" Wufei's lips curled upwards at the corners, slightly. Before Heero could answer, Wufei added another jab. "Well, if I was wrong, my apologies. Perhaps having Trowa around won't be so bad then." "What?" Heero seemed completely perplexed. Wufei couldn't imagine why. It all seemed so simple and obvious to him. Not like his personal affairs. "You do realize you have to take Trowa back with you," Wufei told Heero, "don't you?"
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