"Through the Furnace,
Unshrinking"
Written By: June
Rating: Serious R for language, violence and sex
Warnings: this gets pretty dark in places, but
there's always hope.
Spoilers: none
Pairings: various
Disclaimer: Don't own much of anything, least
of all Gundam Wing and snazzy song lyrics by my favorite bands
Summary: In a city not known for its upstanding
moral character, the five G-boys -- all switchblade slinging hustlers
-- must become brothers in arms to make it out alive.
Note: Takes place about two years after the final
chapter.
"Through the Furnace, Unshrinking"
Epilogue Part I
/You're my favorite thing
You're my favorite thing
You're my you're my favorite thing
Bar nothing
I think big once in a while/
“Favorite Thing” The Replacements
Duo bullied his way through the door, juggling keys, sacks of groceries
and his school bag, which insisted on sliding off his shoulder. Finally
through and into the hallway, he kicked the door shut behind him and
shuffled toward the kitchen, all the while cursing Ottawa's infrequent
but brutal heat waves, humidity, the month of June, finals, living
on the third floor, frantic preparations before a trip, having to
buy groceries on the way home from school, forgetting his phone, forgetting
that Heero had the car, his braid which was stuck to the back of his
neck, clothes in general because they stuck to his skin, and finally,
the size of their kitchen. It had next to no counter space. He left
the food in a pile on the floor and on the small bit of counter by
the toaster oven and immediately peeled off his sweaty tank top. He
took a quick sniff under his arms and made a face. He should probably
shower before they left. Then he shrugged and kicked off his flip-flops.
Their car didn't have AC anyway. He'd be sweaty almost instantly and
it wasn't like he had anyone to impress where they were going.
He strolled toward the bedroom, pulling his braid up into a knot as
he went. He stopped in the doorway when he caught a glimpse of the
view inside. Leaning against the door frame, he smiled. Wufei must
have been tired to have slept through his loud entrance to the apartment.
The dragon lay sprawled on the bed, his head pillowed on one arm,
their fan going full blast aimed at his bare back. Duo openly admired
the smooth expanse of dark skin. His lover's job as a bicycle courier,
coupled with the warmer sun, had turned his shoulders to burnished
gold over the last month. His eyes followed the indentation of his
spine and the lines of the new tattoo that curved along his shoulder
blade. It bore a close resemblance to the one that Heero and he both
had, but unlike theirs, it didn't run along his back bone, instead
curling along the inside and bottom of his shoulder blade. Wufei referred
to it as proof of his status as the third wheel, both because it was
vaguely circular and because it was different from his lovers'.
Duo thought that the dragon was a bit self-conscious of such an obvious
sign of his connection to the two of them, and honestly, he thought
that was kind of cute. He knew that Wufei lost any feeling of discomfort
when either Heero or himself had him pinned face-down on the bed,
rough fingers or a tongue tracing the lines of ink. His back muscles
would flex and bunch as he made a token effort to escape, without
really having any intention of-
Duo shivered and came the rest of the way into the room, carefully
approaching the bed. Even though they'd been in Ottawa for a little
over two years - safe, healthy, comfortable - they were all still
light sleepers.
He let his braid fall back against his spine and then knelt by the
bed, hands flat on the blankets. His lover's face was turned toward
him, gold-tinged skin flushed and shiny with the heat. The fan filled
the room with white noise and Duo felt his eyelids drooping. Maybe
he could nap with Wufei for just a few minutes, before Heero got home
from work and rounded them and their luggage into their beat up Subaru.
He probably had half an hour yet. First though... He reached careful
fingers toward Wufei's back, touching his skin with only the very
tips. He ran them along the knobs of his spine, then traced the lines
of the tattoo along his shoulder blade. He brushed stray hairs away
from the dragon's neck, the strands damp with sweat.
Wufei's hair was getting shaggy and long, though not quite long enough
to pull back. It looked good, Duo thought, though he had a strong
suspicion that the dragon would ask Trowa to chop it all off once
they arrived. That's what he'd done last year. Duo liked it longer,
but having it short meant he could rub his palm over his lover's scalp
and he liked to do that. His fingers traced lazy patterns along ridges
of bone and firm muscle. In the valleys where muscles dipped lower,
their skin stuck together. He took his hand away and tasted salt on
his fingers.
Just then, Wufei stirred, back muscles stretching under smooth skin.
Duo returned his palm to Wufei's back, pressing firmly, letting him
know who was there with him.
“I know what your doing, Maxwell...” His voice was heavy
with sleep and his eyes didn't open, but Duo was smiling anyway. “...And
I like it,” he grumbled. Duo resumed tracing ribs, vertebrae,
and shoulder blades, the dragon arching under his touch. Finally dark
eyes opened, blinking tiredly at Duo. “You're sticking to me,”
he muttered. He started to sit up, peeling his arm away from where
it stuck to his cheek. “I'm sticking to me.”
Duo's grin got a bit wider as he touched the bright red mark on Wufei's
cheek. “You must have been exhausted, Wu.”
He nodded, yawning on cue. “Still am. That last paper was a bear.”
Duo rose to his feet and climbed onto the bed beside him. “Did
you turn it in yet?”
Wufei gave him a look and sniffed. “Do you think I'd be able
to sleep without first turning in my assignments?”
Duo rubbed the ridge of scar tissue on Wufei's arm, and even in the
heat, he shivered. “Yeah, dumb question, I guess.”
He slid his arm around Wufei's middle and flung him down onto the
mattress, laughing at his indignant squawk of protest. “Lay down
with me for a few minutes, lover. I need to rest up before I can face
Heero's trip-planning, car-packing skills.”
Wufei rolled over within the circle of his arms. “But you're
sticking to me,” he complained.
“Deal with it. Be happy it's not snowing like last month.”
Wufei's mouth stretched into a lazy grin and he subsided. He had no
sharp retort to Duo's statement, which led him to believe that the
dragon was even more tired than he let on. Duo ran his fingers through
fine black hair.
“You shouldn't worry so much about those papers, Wu. You're older
than most of the kids in your classes and the professors already love
your work. Cut yourself a break.”
Wufei closed his eyes and shoved his right leg between Duo's so that
they lay closer together, limbs tangled, bare bellies just touching.
“I refuse to heed any advice from you Maxwell, seeing's how it
generally encourages me to be a lazy slug.”
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Duo said
with a satisfied smirk.
“Not really, since I noticed that you turned in all of your final
projects right on time - and some of them were quite good.”
Duo's brow twitched just slightly. “You liked some of it, didya?”
Wufei nodded and stared off into middle distance. “Your portraits
are just as disturbing to me now as they were then.”
Duo could make a pretty good guess at what 'then' Wufei was referring
to. “I've had a lot of inspiration these last couple years,”
Duo murmured.
How long had it been exactly? He rested his head on Wufei's pillow
and watched him phase out, doing a little recollecting of his own.
Quatre had moved into their old flat three years ago at the end of
this summer. That's when it had all started, when Trowa had become
a real person, with real interests (mainly Quatre). And Heero decided
he either needed to move up in the family or get out. It was shortly
after that when Wufei and Duo had encountered Ralph (fucker) and then...
each other on a more intimate level. That was when Duo had first shown
Wufei his portraits. That had been early fall, and things didn't really
get going between them until maybe a month after that.
Heero and Trowa's (ballsy/hair-brained) escape plan took up most of
the fall and winter and then everything had gone to shit all at once
when Heero and Wufei took part in a job that ended up a massacre (they
had all the fun). And that was, what, February? Everything had fallen
out from under them in one night and within the week, they were homeless
and jobless. By the *end* of the week, Gael was dead, they were all
free, and all in the hospital... and under police surveillance. Their
blades had all been taken as evidence and the four of them together
(Trowa wasn't involved, having been shot before all the carnage) were
suspected of involvement in the deaths of twelve people, including
Gael and Cecile. When they'd sat together in Trowa's hospital room,
they'd figured out the numbers. Heero had three; Wufei had four counting
Gael; Duo had two; and Quatre had four, also counting Gael, since
he and Wufei agreed that the blame for that one fell on them both.
It was likely that they'd come out of it okay. Only Gael's death had
been pre-meditated, and so far, only the five of them knew that. Self-defense
was a reasonable plea for all of them, especially Duo. And with the
Winner lawyers working for them... But neither Duo nor Heero wanted
anyone else knowing anything about what they'd done - what they'd
had to do in order to have any chance at lives of their own choosing.
Wufei had agreed, and within three days, Duo had (found/stolen/whatever)
a car and had a destination in mind. Quatre had assured them that
he and Trowa would be fine remaining in the city. Really, they didn't
have much choice, because Trowa was even less mobile than Heero at
the time.
By the end of March - after holing up in different towns for a week
here and there, allowing Heero to heal - they were on a plane out
of Brussels, headed for the Americas, specifically Toronto. They found
a place to stay and a restaurant that needed the help, but Wufei was
accepted to the University of Ottawa shortly thereafter, so they picked
up and went there. Heero flexed his computer network security muscles
and found an employer willing to pay for night classes in math and
science within two weeks of their arrival in the capitol. Duo found
work at an arts and crafts store (to Wufei's *endless* amusement),
and on slow shifts, he worked towards his GED. By the time that had
all been figured out, they were well into the summer.
Quatre and Trowa showed up in Toronto at the end of the summer and
stayed put while Quatre continued the treatment he'd started back
home before they left. Trowa's physical therapy was reported successful;
he had a clean bill of health and full range of movement in his back
and legs by the time they arrived. Communication during that time
had been sporadic and brief. Most of it came from Trowa who said that
Quatre was taking the drugs well, though he was sleeping a lot and
wasn't much fun to be around. The Winners were paying for the treatment,
but the two of them were on their own in terms of living arrangements.
Trowa had said that he was picking up odd jobs to pay the rent while
Quatre was unable to work. No one asked him what those were, and he
didn't offer. Duo could make an educated guess, because when his lovers
weren't looking and when money was tight, he'd fallen back on older
talents as well. Ottawa was a different sort of city, but some things
remained the same - dark, secret, and quick. Duo still spoke that
language fluently, if not naturally.
Quatre's treatment had lasted nearly six months, and when it was over,
he and Trowa had moved about two hundred kilometers closer to Ottawa,
working full-time for a family who owned a bunch of cottages as well
as a farm. In the letters they wrote, both expressed how different
it was to work for a family that was literally an elderly man, his
son and the son's wife.
All five former hustlers had lived there that summer, and they would
again this year.
Duo counted all the chunks of time on his fingers until he got to
the present. “Fuckin-a, man. Three years.”
Wufei blinked and inhaled sharply. “What? What'sit?” He
rubbed his eyes and turned to Duo. He'd obviously fallen asleep again.
“It's been almost three years since we first met Quatre. That
means you and I have been together for two and a half, and the three
of us for two.” Duo looked at him very seriously. “That's
insane.”
Wufei nodded, rolling onto his back and stretching his arms up to
the headboard. “It doesn't feel that long, most of the time,”
he said thoughtfully. “Other times I feel like I've known you
my whole life.”
“Times like when?” Duo asked, curious.
“Usually the ones when you're a pain in the ass and I feel like
I've been dealing with your shit for years. Like when you eat peanut
butter directly out of the jar, or when you leave hair in the drain,
or when you turn a relaxing jog at the end of the day into a competition.”
Duo rolled his eyes. “But when I see your artwork or watch you
sleep, it's like back when we were first with each other. It's like
you're new and dangerous.”
He grinned because he couldn't help it. He cast his eyes over the
smooth muscle of Wufei's chest, the lines of his hips where they disappeared
into dark gray shorts, and the soft dark hair that curled under his
arms where they reached over his head. He breathed in and smelled
sweat as well as his soap and deodorant. And in that moment, Wufei
was so obviously the man he'd been living with, the man he was in
love with - he was so obviously real - that Duo had to laugh and look
away.
“See something you like?” Wufei murmured, eyebrow raised.
Duo looked up. “Haven't heard you say that in a long time.”
“Haven't needed to say it in long time.”
It was such a blatant reminder of their past occupation that they
both fell silent for a moment, smiles fading, eyes growing distant.
But Duo didn't want to delve back into that time again, so he grabbed
the mood by the balls and slid on top of his lover, one leg pressed
between his thighs, elbows on either side of his chest, under his
raised arms.
Wufei looked up at him, lowering one arm to gently rest his hand along
his ribs. He spread his legs a little wider. Duo asked the question
with a tilt of his eyebrow and Wufei answered with a twitch of lips.
Verbal communication between them had not been necessary for at least
a year when it came to their bodies. Their kisses were lazy and slow,
hands roaming languidly over skin and through hair. Duo pressed his
thigh upward in a steady, unhurried rhythm and grinned into his lover's
mouth when he felt an answering push into him. He anchored his fingers
in Wufei's hair, drawing his lover's head back, letting the kiss deepen.
He kissed his way down the dark column of his neck and gently bit
the ridge of his collar bone.
Their bellies stuck together when Duo pulled back to take a breath,
and Wufei grimaced. “You're sweating on me,” he said fuzzily.
“It's only gonna get worse, Wu,” he murmured with a wicked
smile.
***
Duo rolled onto his back when he heard the front door shut and familiar
footfalls head into the living room. He drew the sheet further up
on his hips and covered Wufei as well. The dragon was fast asleep
again, one arm above his head, the other curled across his abdomen.
Duo shoved his bangs out of his eyes, yawned and propped himself up
into a semi-sitting position. He glanced sleepily around the room
at the complete lack of packing he'd done. By the time Heero stepped
through the doorway, he'd decided not to worry about it and had fallen
back down onto the bed, curling up against Wufei's side. He feigned
sleep but knew that Heero wouldn't buy it for a second.
He cracked an eye when he didn't hear any of Heero's customary greetings
and found his lover silently removing his work shirt and tie, returning
the tie to the closet and the shirt to the hamper. His undershirt
clung to his skin, damp with sweat. He took that off too and then
turned when he felt Duo's eye on him. Duo smirked at his appraisal,
watching Heero take in his and Wufei's state of undress.
“You missed the party, Ro,” Duo said quietly.
Heero raised an eyebrow. “You mean the packing up and leaving
the apartment for the summer party? Clearly I haven't.” He cast
his gaze around the room, noticing all the clothes, books, and toiletries
that were conspicuously not in suitcases and bags. Duo shrugged with
a sheepish grin.
“It's not like we were gonna be able to make it for dinner anyway.
And... I got groceries! Did you see all the food I got for the trip?”
“I did see. It was all over the counter and the floor.”
Duo huffed a laugh and reared up onto his knees, reaching across the
small room to grab Heero by the belt and drag him down onto the bed.
“Lose the work, persona, man. We're on vacation! These awful
pleated pants must be what's causing your foul mood. Why don't you
wear the ones without the pleats? Pleats give you hips, Heero - fake
hips. I like you because you *don't* have hips.”
Heero tried to fend off Duo's skilled fingers for all of five seconds
before he let himself be stripped of the offending pleated garment.
Wufei awoke briefly, saw that Heero was now in bed with him and scooted
over to make room, then rolled onto his side and fell back to sleep.
Heero, now naked as they day he was born, slid under the sheet with
Duo. “You must have really worn him out,” he murmured, eying
Wufei's bare shoulder.
Duo chuckled. “Nah. I found him like that. He hasn't slept much
over the last few days. If he did, it was on the couch in the office.”
It was a courtesy they all gave each other that, when one of them
had a project or assignment due, they slept in the office so as not
to wake up the other two with a late bedtime. For the past three nights,
Duo had missed Wufei in their room.
He watched Heero stare up at the ceiling and frowned. “Is something
wrong?” Heero turned to look him in the eye and smiled. Even
though Duo'd known him for over fifteen years, he still felt his heart
slip down between his lungs to land on his stomach every time he saw
that smile. There'd been quite a stretch of time - years - when he
thought he'd never see it again. The past year-and-a-half, almost
two years, had been good for him.
Heero shook his head slightly and lifted a hand to run it along Duo's
bare chest and abdomen. He traced the lines of old scars. Duo, in
turn traced a few of Heero's. He had many more. The scar from Cecile's
knife, from that last night, was still a hard ridge of numb tissue,
even though Duo had bought him vitamin E to put on it. The railroad
tracks were still there from the many stitches he'd needed to hold
his insides in.
“I'm fine,” he murmured eventually. “I'm just ready
to leave town for awhile. I'd like to see the others.”
Duo nodded. It'd been since Christmas that they'd seen Trowa and Quatre.
They were all looking forward to it. He yawned one more time and then
rolled on top of his lover, kissing him soundly on the mouth. Then
he rolled off his other side and right onto Wufei. “Wake up,
biker boy, we're hittin' the road!” Wufei groaned and tried to
shove Duo off. He succeeded but Duo didn't let go, so they both ended
up on the floor.
Two hours later, they were in the car - Duo in the driver's seat,
Heero next to him with the map (even though Duo knew the way, he insisted),
Wufei in the back already inquiring about when they could stop for
food and a bathroom. As Heero and Duo had learned over the course
of their flight from Europe and their subsequent travels back and
forth across Ontario, Wufei was a poor traveler. He had a large stomach
and a very small bladder. Occasionally, Duo reminded himself that,
in the grand scheme of their lives thus far, a small bladder really
wasn't that big of a deal.
~ * ~
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