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"That Which Mends"Written By: SkyLark Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them. Pairings: 2x1x2, past 2xOC, 5xOC, 3x4 Warnings: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes, AU Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html Summary: Heero is a straight A student studying Psychology and finds his world turned upside down when he attends a Frat party.
"That Which Mends" [I've never been so deep inside a shadow Chapter 24
Quatre stirred from his restful slumber with a sigh. Finding the other side of the bed empty, he frowned in worry since he knew what that must have meant for his committed life partner.
Another nightmare must have broken Trowa's sleep yet again. And he was on such a good streak for a while. But considering how long Night had been able to stay down for a whole evening ever since he met with Heero, that stretch alone had been a blessing.
Pushing himself up from the mattress, Winner paused when his hand felt that Trowa's half of the bed was still warm as a sign that he had only recently woken. The public relations representative moved across the room to change and headed out in search of his lover when he came to a stop in the living room doorway.
Standing on one foot atop his new yoga mat with his hands folded together at chest height and his eyes closed, Barton was lost to the world in his exercise.
Over the course of the last few days, he had been to the therapy trainer to learn some techniques that would help him find his inner balance and peace. Having observed a couple of those stretches that his partner brought him, Quatre recognized this as the start of a reaffirmation.
His heart lightening at the sight of how at ease the under cover agent was, Rock let out a quiet sigh and smiled widely to himself. Trowa was learning how to medicate himself naturally, as he always needed to. Somehow, between Heero and the therapists at the Willow Grove, he was finally discovering an outlet for his demons.
The extreme relief in Winner made his eyes mist over. Sniffling, he continued to beam and silently walked off for the kitchen to begin making their breakfast while leaving Barton to his session.
~ ~ ~ ~
Anna had been awake for almost an hour before Wufei began shift in his slow climb back to the world of the living. Contenting herself to keep her vigil over him, she just lay patiently watching him, curled up against his side so that his subconscious knew she was still there the whole time.
When his onyx eyes opened, they almost immediately began to search his surroundings so that he could place where he was. Smiling warmly, the redhead shifted up to kiss him soundly to keep his fears from catching up. With a soft sigh against her mouth, the Preventer's team leader closed his eyes again and wrapped both his arms around her as he happily returned the gesture.
"Good morning," Downs smirked as they broke apart.
He cut himself off with a gasp when he opened his eyes once more to take in his lover's face. "Oh, God," he groaned.
Pushing himself up, he gently cupped the left side of the confused weapons expert's face... just beneath the long and deep bruise that ran across her cheek bone. He frowned deeply, "Anna, I'm so sorry."
Only then feeling a slight sting at his touch to realize that she must have had a mark from the hit she received in the midst of his flailing out of his nightmare, Anna's widening eyes blinked. Shaking her head, she reassured, "Nothing to be sorry about. You had no idea what you were doing." True as that was, it still bothered Wufei to no end that he had struck her. One of the few things that never failed to send his temper over the edge was a man hitting a woman. It was the reason he had a night in jail on a battery charge on his record. So, the fact that he had hurt the redhead in any way disturbed him.
Well aware of the silent berating he was giving himself, Downs sighed and punched his arm. "Get over it," she told him with a small grin. "I didn't even know it was there, so you couldn't have hit me that hard when I know the damage you can do when you mean it."
Reassured by how right she was in that sentiment, Chang quickly put his guilt aside and lightly kissed her bruise. "Okay," he murmured, a grateful smile curling his lips.
Peering out to the large windows behind them, Agent Wolf noticed that the storm the night before had given way to clear skies and the brilliant sunlight that was dancing off the surface of the lake. He met his partner's gaze, asking, "Would you be up for a swim after breakfast this morning?"
* * * *
He was not prying, he insisted to himself. It was only natural for a person to want to get to know their friends so that they might have a better understanding of each other. And he was not doing it to appease the psych major in himself, either... which was the strange part about it all.
There was little to be determined from that, since there was no definite favorite color that appealed to the agent other than the fact that he was not one to commit. That much had already been figured out.
But the pictures hanging throughout the posh apartment gave away a little more. All of the images were taken within the last couple of years- after Duo had signed onto the Preventers. There was not a single print of baby pictures, a look at his parents or any potential siblings. Nothing at all to show that he even had a family.
However, there were dozens upon dozens of images of Agent Scythe with his fellow agents including a handful that featured Meiran Long. The way most would display their mother, father, grandparents, brothers or sisters, so did Maxwell exhibit his friends... revealing how he thought of them as his family enough that they might as well have been of his bloodline.
Of course there was a sweet aspect to that... but there was also a painfully sad one as well since there was no one outside of the Preventers he was close to.
Frowning, Heero ran a hand along the marble mantle above the fireplace as he scanned over the pictures that had been placed there with care.
Over the course of a few short years, a lot of memories had been made amongst the agents. There were captures from game nights, sleepovers, concerts, outings throughout the seasons at different festive events and a couple of pictures from Lady Une's wedding.
As the scholar had expected, Anna was in most of the
shots which included one of her sleeping with her head pillowed on
the braided agent's lap on his couch as the most intimate picture
of the bunch. Duo winked up at the camera that he held overhead with
an smirk on his face as he captured the private moment.
So no matter how secure he might have felt with his established family, it was evident something that marred his past was keeping him from relaxing and settling into his new life.
Behind Yuy, the sound of cheerful humming and light footsteps padded across the hardwood floor in the hallway to dance past the living room and move into the kitchen. Turning around to follow the sound, the intern was in the process of opening his mouth to greet his host with a 'good morning' when he froze with wide eyes as his jaw fell the rest of the way.
Dressed in nothing more than a pair of black cotton boxers, Duo's eyes were closed as he continued to hum to the tune playing through the headphones linked to the mp3 player in his hand. Turning and sliding across the floor in socked feet, the agent moved through the kitchen while retrieving a plate, food from the refrigerator and a few pans from the lower shelves without so much as peeking or missing a beat.
Blinking his enlarged eyes, Heero could not tear his gaze away.
It had been weeks since the scholar had seen the Preventer in any state of undress., but he vividly remembered every detail of Maxwell's perfect physique now.
Toned with lean muscle from his shoulders to his ankles, there was not a flaw to be found. On the right shoulder blade, the tattoo of a scythe covered nearly the whole bone in a diagonal placement as the only permanent ink on him as that long, braided rope of hair swayed along with his hips.
And though the most private of areas were covered, what mental picture Yuy had in his mind for the rest filled in the gaps. With an audible gulp, he shook his head and forced himself to remind his roommate of his presence by waving when Duo spun to face his direction.
His violet eyes cracking open from the movement that caused the light behind his closed eyes to shift as he began to spin away again, Maxwell stopped himself on a dime with a sharp gasp and a yelled, "Holy shit!" Dropping the player in his hands at his start, the ear buds hooked to them fell away as well.
The immediate urge for flight kicking in, the agent all but bolted from the room until he registered who was standing on the other side of the counter. Grasping his chest over his heart, he laughed nervously, "Jesus! Sorry, 'Ro. I totally forgot you were here!"
Taken aback by the nerves that kicked in with Scythe, Wing bit his lip to hold in the amused chuckle that almost escaped him.
Certainly the last thing he wanted to do was embarrass his friend and one transgression more than he already was. Laughter would only add insult to injury... not to mention poke at Maxwell's natural urge to run from anything that made him uncomfortable.
Less than a minute later, Maxwell reemerged dressed in a red T-shirt and jean shorts. "As you can tell, I'm not used to having to keep myself decent for company very often," he snickered anxiously as he approached the kitchen again. "Sorry to have put you through that, man. I completely forgot-"
"It's alright, Duo," Heero reassured, his tone sincere. Grinning, he shrugged, "I didn't mind." Both their eyes growing at his sentiment, the counselor was fast to state, "This is your home that I'm imposing on. You have every right to carry on like normal."
That little voice in his head teased, 'Besides, you *really* didn't mind the show at all.' Silently growling at that nagging taunt, the student shut down that train of thought.
Sighing in relief, Duo walked past his guest as he shrugged, "You're not imposing at all." Happy to move on from the whole debacle, he asked over his shoulder, "So, what would you like for breakfast? I can cook pretty much anything from pancakes to bacon to sausage to omelets."
Yet another surprising bit of information on the braided agent. Storing that one in his 'file' that he was mentally creating, Yuy smiled, "Whatever you were about to make up for yourself works for me."
* * * *
Not only was Duo a cook, but he was a damned good one at that.
Working on his third slice of stuffed French Toast drizzled with fruit syrup and garnished with strawberries, Heero shook his head in wonder. "How did you learn to make food like this?" he asked when he finished his next bite.
"I taught myself over the last couple of years," the Preventer smirked, genuinely pleased that he was impressing his company. "That doesn't mean I don't have a mishap now and then if I try out something new or have some fun adjusting a recipe I already know."
Gesturing to the luxurious room on the other side of the dining room table, he said, "I thought it'd be a shame to have a nice enough kitchen like that and not put it to good use."
He sighed in content after his last helping of perfectly crisped bacon and stretched his arms high over his braided head. "I'm happy with my efforts this morning," he snickered.
Yuy rose to his feet and collected their plates as he chuckled, "If this is any indication of the meals you can put together, I'm going to hit my Freshmen fifteen and then some this week." Just when his friend was about to argue against his getting the dishes, he insisted, "I need to earn my keep somehow. I know my way around a dishwasher."
Setting the last of the dishes into the machine, the psych major peered over to the agent and frowned, "What are you talking about?"
It was Heero's turn to frown as he sealed up the dishwasher and turned it on. "Actually, I've never played a single videogame. There was never any time since I-" "You never played a video game!?" the Preventer cried in shock. When his former bedmate shook his head, Maxwell closed the gap between them to grab onto a waist. "I cannot let you go on another day without experiencing this in good conscience," he decreed, pulling the surprised intern towards the living room.
Once there, the braided officer pulled two tall game chairs out from the side room and set them up side-by-side before the large flat screen television. Opening the glass case that protected his entertainment system, he removed two control panels and brought the gaming system to life along with the monitor.
"Sit," Duo ordered as he pointed at the chairs. Raising his eyebrows, Yuy followed his instruction and took hold of the controller that was handed to him. While the opening sequence of a wasteland that had once been a major city played on the television, the Preventer fell into the other comfortable seat.
Facing his guest, the agent grinned, "I'll give you a crash course on how this works." With a wink, he said, "Trust me. You're going to thank me for this intervention."
Heero snorted, a small smile on his own lips as he made himself relax a little and took this as an opportunity to see the world through Duo Maxwell's eyes. It was about the only way he could see himself getting any enjoyment over a time-wasting video game.
* * * *
"Okay, so we know late May is still a little too early for a swim in Lake Michigan," Anna giggled, pulling herself from the water in nothing but a green, two piece bathing suit. She pulled her long beach towel around her shivering body as her snickering partner draped his own towel around himself following their quick, chilly dip.
Soaked from head-to-toe, the couple huddled close together on their private dock while taking in the warm air and sunlight that was beaming down on them. With a sigh of content as Downs rested her head of red hair on his shoulder, Wufei kissed her temple. "Blank you," he murmured into her damp curls.
The weapons expert smiled, "Blank you, too." A fresh shot of cold rushed down her spine and her entire frame shuddered again. As Chang rubbed her arm and held her closer against his side, she grinned up at her lover and asked, "Feeling better?"
Wolf nodded, "Yea. Much better now." Looking to the angry bruise on her cheek that he had tried to ignore, he winced, "Though I am worried about my safety if that mark doesn't start clearing up before Duo and the others see you again. "Hell, even by now I think Heero would have words for me if he jumped to conclusions that I might have done that on purpose." "Oh, none of them would think the worst of you like that and you know it," Anna retorted. "I'm more concerned with Zechs, his goons and pretty much everyone else around the office spreading rumors."
His skin paling, Wufei's eyes grew. "I hadn't even gone that far," he commented. "You're right, they would be the ones to be worried about."
Fire smirked, "Nothing a little concealer shouldn't be able to cover. I'll pick some up later today."
Knowing how much she didn't like wearing makeup, the Preventer team leader smiled and all but whispered. "Thank you for looking out for me." Downs just giggled and pecked his cheek in response.
Like so many other times between them, the happy pair fell into a relaxed, companionable silence as they simply enjoyed their being together.
Then, after a while, Anna brushed back a few wet curls over her shoulder and faced her partner to smirk, "So, how do you suppose Duo and Heero are getting along now that they've been staying together for almost a whole day?"
"Oh, I think it's safe to say that if they haven't killed each other by now, they'll probably make it through the week," Chang laughed. When their snickers died, he grinned, "I'm sure they're just fine. Much as I tease Maxwell, I know he can be very hospitable when he actually opens up enough to trust someone in his home."
Nodding, the redhead hummed. "Very true."
Lightly nudging her, Wolf chuckled, "You're really hoping somehow things work out between them. And even though I understand why that is, I just don't want you to get your hopes up if it doesn't happen. You know better than anyone how dead set against commitment Duo is."
Her grin drooping, Fire sighed, "Yea, I know." Staring out to the lake that stretched out so far ahead of them that they couldn't see the other end on the horizon, she stated softly, "It's just... something's different about Heero with him, whether either of them are aware of it or not right now."
Tilting his head, Wufei stretched his arms back behind himself to prop himself up as he inquired, "Different how? They only got together because of Maxwell's libido from hell. Yuy was just another conquest like dozens of others before him."
"Yes, but Duo stayed with him as opposed to bailing out before he woke up," Downs corrected with the return of her smile as she met his onyx eyes again. "If Heero really was just another notch on the belt, he wouldn't have seen hide or hair of him again." A thought coming to her, she shrugged and snorted, "Well, at least not until Duo realized what happened with the chip he was sent to collect."
Eyebrows raising, her lover said, "You're right. I never took that into consideration and I admit that actually is a big deal."
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he opened, "There is one thing that I was always curious about... why is it you refuse to give up on Maxwell finding someone, anyway? After all the trouble and heartache you went through to finally get him to stop pushing you away after he first signed on, why didn't you just turn your back on him and let him keep his distance from all of us?"
Anna didn't pause to come up with her answer when she grinned sadly, "Because it's been my experience that the people who run from love in their lives are typically the ones who need it the most."
Taken aback at the new outlook on the braided agent and his ways, Chang blinked widely. And with a smile tugging his lips, he leaned in and kissed the redhead deeply. Their lips slightly swollen and their eyes slowly opening when they parted at last, he breathed, "Thank you for reminding me of one of the reasons I'm so damned proud to be with you. You're an incredible person, Anna."
Beaming, Downs pounced on him as they both tumbled onto the dock laughing and kissing until their bodies headed up enough that they no longer needed their towels... or swim suits.
* * * *
Seven hours later...
Two voices were yelling and cheering as their 'characters' maneuvered through as they fought off herd after herd of grotesque flesh-eating zombies. "Oh shit!" Duo shouted as his person took a hit. "I'm going down, man! There's too many of them!"
Chuckling as he climbed up onto his feet, Duo nodded, "Told you you'd be thanking me." He leaned back with a wide yawn and a full-body stretch, groaning quietly at his stiff muscles that had to work again. "Well, we probably should work out what we're doing for dinner in a little while here," he stated. His head of unruly hair snapping to the clock on the wall beside him, Yuy's eyes widened in realizing the late afternoon hour. "Wow," he muttered. "have we really been playing that game for that long?"
The intern stood up, snickering, "I will admit that this whole playing video game stuff might not be as bad as I figured it to be," he allowed. Twisting and turning at the waist to loosen his body, the smile on his face. "Do you think maybe we could try clearing that level after dinner?" he asked, staring back up at the television.
Duo huffed, "Damn right we're getting back at it. Who else is going to save the world besides us?"
Oh, Heero had some expectations when he came to stay with Maxwell. And so far, as he snickered with his friend in their heading towards the kitchen, he realized that had greatly underestimated just how much he was going to like it.
* * * *
The following evening, Lady Une threw a hand over her gaping mouth with a stifled gasp. Her hand shaking, her stinging eyes stared down in disbelief at the long indicator in her hand.
She had had her suspicions of what had been happening to her body over the course of the last three weeks. She had tried to explain away her nausea and mood swings to the stress of the mission that she and her team were working on.
But the Commander had the undeniable proof that there was something else causing those symptoms... and it came in the form of a small positive symbol on a pregnancy test.
TBC |
