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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 got God on my side, I'm just trying to survive -Lyrics to 'Devils and Dust' performed by Bruce Springsteen] Chapter 33
Duo chewed on the inside of his cheek anxiously as he leaned over Heero's work station while the scholar paged through the green-covered notebook that had been handed over to him. "What do you think?" he asked, unable to hold back the anticipation in his tone.
Finally breaking from his read, widened Prussian eyes met the violet watching him. "Well, you were right about not just being a pretty face. This is pretty damned impressive," Yuy praised with a grin. "Your notes almost just like mine for coming up with a profile."
"Yea?" the braided agent beamed. "Cool. Meiran would be proud that I actually learned a thing or two from her." Gesturing to his roommate's notebook, he inquired, "Think we might get anywhere going over what we both have? Maybe something might have been missed since we didn't know we were looking at this the same way?"
Nodding, the intern replied, "It couldn't hurt to check. I'll start digging through and comparing." That said, he opened his own book and set aside a fresh notepad for a fresh series of memos. Glancing from one book to the next, he began writing out a check list to work off of.
Maxwell gave him the space he needed and returned to his own station next to him, at the same time Trowa and Quatre rounded the elevator column. "Well, holy shit," Agent Night snickered, "You're on time two days in a row, Duo. That's a new record. Turning over a new leaf?"
Rolling his eyes, Scythe snorted, "More like my leaf was kicked over and stomped on by someone." Yuy never missed a beat in his research, but chuckled deeply at the comment. "And don't anyone be getting used to this," his host warned as he threw a finger up in the air to emphasize how serious he was. "This little trend of being up at dawn ends after today."
Quatre booted up his computer, pouting, "Aw. And here I thought that getting to spend more time with the rest of us would have been enough to make you want to keep this up."
"No amount of guilting or pressuring is gonna help your cause, Q-ball," Maxwell retorted, already sifting through the remaining pack of files that he had retrieved from the secured safe earlier. The public relations representative shook his head in amusement.
Two minutes later, Wufei and Anna emerged. On the way to their desks in their brisk walk with a small bakery bag in their possessions, their braided counterpart smirked, "Weeeelllll. Look who finally decided to show up." Wiggling his eyebrows, he teased, "So what held you kids up?"
Extending his middle finger at him, the Preventer team leader quipped, "Sit and spin, Maxwell. You have no room to talk given your history." He lowered his quick breakfast and signed into his computer to the chorus of laughter from the others when his monitor turned on for him to note aloud, "Besides, we're still two minutes early. You're only here on time because Yuy made sure you would be." Heero grunted an affirmative without peering up from his work.
Duo was still snickering as he said, "Alright, alright. You got me there." What was more, he was aware that no amount of teasing was about to get to Chang or Downs , if the telling smiles they exchanged were any indication that they had started the day on a good note. So, he left the matter alone so that could carry on with their private happiness.
But there was someone who was still missing from the picture.
"Has anyone heard from Lady Une?" Barton was the first to ask, a frown of concern on his face as he looked from the Commander's closed office to his colleagues. "Any other day, she would have been here by-" He cut himself at the sound of the elevator bell, drawing the team's attention around.
Arm-in-arm, Middie and Treize appeared with beaming grins on their faces as they chuckled amongst themselves with a bounce in their steps. 'Damn,' Scythe mused to himself, 'looks like everyone is getting some except me. When the hell did that happen?'
Waving at the couple from her desk, Anna greeted, "Hey, Treize." She winked and giggled, "At least now we know what was taking the Commander so long to get here." The Senator and the officer came to a halt before the agents as Une responded, "Actually, there's another reason for our delay." Locking gazes with her husband, she was about ready to come out of her skin with excitement when he gave her a small nod. Quickly looking back to her team, she announced, "I'm pregnant."
Shooting to her feet, Anna exclaimed, "What?! Oh my God!" She was running around the work station cluster as the others processed the news, clapping and cheering as Wufei smirked to the parents-to-be and kicked back in his chair with arms folded behind the back of his head so his comrades had a chance to offer their best wishes first.
"Congratulations! We're having a baby!" the weapons expert cheered as she threw her arms around the snickering, expectant pair. Trowa, Quatre and Duo were right behind her to get in handshakes and one-armed embraces as well as their own sentiments.
Nodding, Chang laughed, "I can't believe you didn't! The signs were there, I just never thought I'd beat you to picking up on them."
So the psych major had been beaten to the punch of his own observation games. 'How the hell did that happen?' he wondered silently.
Chalking the answer up to how buried he was in the case, Yuy quickly rose up to join the others, heading right for the Commander. His initial start of what he had planned on being a handshake was waved off with a giggle and Middie hugged him instead. Taken aback for a second, he smiled and squeezed her back with a soft and sincere, "Congratulations. You're going to be a great Mom."
"Thank you, Heero," Une all but whispered as she pulled away. Khushrenada accepted the counselor's firm handshake and returned the gesture in kind with a nod of gratitude.
Quatre chortled to his superior, "Yea, if how you can keep this unruly bunch in line is any indication, there's nothing to raising a child that you won't be able to handle." His teammates nodded vehemently.
Entering the scene, Wufei huffed, "I've been saying for years now that the rest of you are no better than dealing with a bunch of kids on a good day." His friends chuckled and raised no argument to that and he clapped his hands together loudly to call them to order. "Alright, gang. We'll make time for a proper celebration later. But for now, back to work, all of you."
"Anytime," the pack leader grinned. He shook hands with Treize, adding, "Once things start to settle down around here, we are throwing a party. You're not getting out of at least that much from us."
The Senator smiled, "Oh, twist our arms. Thank you, Wufei. This is an incredibly exciting time for us, but neither one of us are lost to how important this case is. And this is still so new, we'll need more time of our own to have this really set in." His bride hummed in agreement, her right hand unconsciously settling over her flat abdomen and a glowing grin on her lips.
Gesturing to the cluster, Khushrenada questioned, "If I may make a request, could we all sit down so that I can be briefed on where the investigation stands right now?"
"Sure thing. Right this way," Middie urged, leading him and Chang for the conference room.
* * * *
They sent Winner.
Of course they sent Winner. Being their agent with a direct tie to the entire office's Human Resources Department, he was the one who could report any sordid treatment to the powers-that-be.
Holding his tongue, Zechs only just managed to keep his face from burning with rage as the blonde Preventer whistled a cheery tune on his way into the FBI team leader's private office.
More 'Sloppy Seconds,' as the rumor mill had come to know the agents to call them.
"Here are a few more questionable characters to be looked at," Agent Rock informed as he added his new offerings to the pile. With a friendly grin and a wave, he chirped, "Thanks. Until next time, then."
Noin appeared in the doorway at the same time Quatre was about to step out. Wearing an FBI cap on her own head, she folded her arms and leaned against the post as she stared the younger officer down. His own glaring eyes falling on his teammate, Merquise cleared his throat in warning for her.
Sneering, Lucrezia stepped aside to make just enough room for the grinning Preventer to pass.
"Have a great day, guys," Winner smiled, unfazed by what could have easily turned into an uncomfortable confrontation while he had to turn his body to the side so he could slip out of the office.
Zechs cut her off, growling, "That smug little
shit also has a lot on us, so we have to stay in line, Noin."
Instantly losing his edge, Zechs smirked. "I was hoping you would ask."
Meanwhile, a couple of floors above their heads, Quatre rounded the elevator column to approach the Preventers' work station and let out a loud rush of air. Trowa turned away from the folder he was reading through to take his lover in with a smirk. "Uncomfortable visit with the Stooges?" he asked.
Wufei looked pleased as punch to hear it as he reassured his friend, "That's what we want. It's driving them crazy that they can't overstep their boundaries right now, so take it as proof that they realize the short leashes they're on... for now. The second they stop posturing is when we need to worry about what they're up to."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Winner nodded, "Yea. You're right there." Scanning the floor for the two agents who were missing from the picture, he frowned, "Where are Duo and Anna?" "They stepped out a couple of minutes ago for their lunch date," Chang replied. Checking the clock on his screen, he suggested, "And we probably should head down to the cafeteria soon if we want any shot at getting anything good. It is Friday, so they'll be closing early for the weekend."
Barton quickly signed off his computer, stood up and stretched his long arms overhead. "Goo' i'ea," he half-mumbled-half-yawned. Rolling his shoulders back, he murmured, "Nothing like getting stuck with whatever no one else wanted." Shuddering at a very unpleasant memory of one such occurrence, he joined his partner and led the way for the elevator.
Blinking widely, Heero jolted upright and gazed up in surprise at his friend as Chang pointed over his shoulder. "Lunch. You could use a break from that for now."
"Oh," the intern murmured, sagging in disappointment as he looked back to the books he was going through. And he was just making some real headway in coming up with the profile he was looking for. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he gathered up the notes to make a short stack of them, grabbed a pen and climbed to his feet. "I'll just keep at it while we're eating."
Wufei shook his head in amusement, grinning, "If you insist."
* * * *
A middle-aged farmer working his sprawling fields in northern Indiana happened to stare up at the clear, blue skies when something caught the corner of his eye.
Frowning, he brought the tractor that he was riding to a stop and dismounted it as he walked in the direction of a massive ball of red and yellow, thousands of feet above. What looked like white-and-grey clouds formed to make five rings within rings that rippled out from that strange brilliance at the same time long streaks shot out in every direction as they scraped their way across the heavens.
One of those 'fingers' fell short and fast, right for the trees surrounding the farmer's grounds while what sounded like a freight train raced towards the frozen farmer. He felt the loud blast that had rained down on him from above strike him like an invisible wall that pounded against his chest with such an impact he stumbled back a couple of steps.
Regaining his balance, the pale-faced man lifted his enlarged, brown eyes back up to the cloud rings and whispered, "My God..."
Minutes later, he was racing across his fields to the trees in search of whatever it was that had crashed into his surrounding wooded area. He came to an abrupt stop when he found it in the middle of a clearing...
....the smoldering, twisted remains of a chair.
* * * *
"This was really nice, Duo. Thanks again for taking me out here," Anna smiled as she finished wiping the corner of her mouth with the fine linen napkin from her place setting at the end of her dessert. Raising an eyebrow, she said, "But you really didn't have to splurge so much for this, you know. I already forgave you for what you did."
Sitting at a private table on an outdoor deck of one of the finer restaurants within driving distance of the federal building, the two Preventers were finally able to enjoy their one-on-one company and catch up again in the open air and sunlight. The scenery was beautiful and the food was top-notch, which made it the perfect place for Maxwell to suggest for his apologetic meal.
A warm smile brightening his face, Duo eased back and replied, "Well, I still owed you big, so I had to go in big for this apology." He winked, adding, "I spare no expense when it comes to making you happy and making amends for wronging you." He was rewarded with a shy, grateful grin from his best friend for the sentiment.
The braided agent reached for his glass of water as he said, "So, big day for you coming up next weekend. I know you're things are packed, but are you're ready for the move? It's going to be a huge change for you."
Downs' smile turned wistful as she nodded, "Yea, but I'm definitely ready for it. I've been practically living with Wufei these last couple of weeks as it is, so I'm not worried about the transition. It almost seems... natural I guess is the best way to put it."
She stated, "It's pretty ironic how I'm about to move in right around the same time Heero's about move out of your place. I bet you're anxious to have your life get back to normal." Maxwell finished his drink and hesitated with the clearing of his throat before he admitted. "Actually, this week wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I even offered for him to stay with me over the summer when his semester breaks, at the end of May."
Blue eyes widening in surprise, Fire gasped. "You're shitting me," she breathed, only to bounce in her chair, cheering, "Seriously?! Duo, that's awesome news!"
"Hey, hey, put on the brakes," Scythe chuckled deeply, a hand waving in the air to stop her. "It's just to make it easier on him to keep up the act about being a Preventer. Nothing more." The grin on his face fell away and his violet eyes dropped as he swallowed hard at a not too distant conversation his mind dug back up.
There was a lot running through Duo's mind right then, most of it going back and forth as to how much of what was bothering him he wanted to share. But given how the weapons expert was the only person he could trust with any and everything, he sighed deeply as he locked gazed with her.
"In not so many words, 'Ro kinda admitted he has feelings for me," the braided agent all but whispered, still struggling with how he should react to the very notion.
Agent Scythe bit his quivering bottom lip and turned his head away from her with a small sniffle. His best friend was on her feet and rounding their table in the next blink to sit in his lap and pull him into a fierce hug. Holding onto her face, Maxwell buried his face in her shoulder to hide the tears that dampened her shirt.
* * * *
Writing frantically on his fresh pages, Heero was only partially aware of the conversation between the Preventers as they shared a long table in the cafeteria. Mechanically shoveling in a bite from his lunch every now and then, the scholar was too deep in his work to taste what he was eating... which was possibly a good thing since it was Friday and well into the busy lunch time at the federal building.
"It's about damned time you two settled on a date," Wufei snickered to the couple across from him. "Anna'll be thrilled to hear about it when she gets back."
Barton grinned as he draped an arm around his lover's shoulders and replied, "Well, I hope she'll be as excited when I ask her to stand up as Maid of Honor for me." Not about to let that go unanswered, Winner smirked, "Of course, that means I'd have to have a Best Man, if you would be so willing to accept the humble request."
"Oh my God," Yuy gasped as he leapt to his feet, gripping the new notepad he had been writing in with both hands as he stared at his last scribblings with wide eyes and his face losing its color.
Their attention immediately on him, the agents rose up. "What is it?" Wolf pressed as he stepped beside the scholar. "What did you find?"
Snapping his head to the side so he could lock gazes with the team leader, Heero told him urgently, "I need to see the discarded files that were handed off. Now."
"Just focus on whatever it is you have to do. We'll handle Zechs and his goons if they try anything," Trowa further reassured, his visible emerald eye glaring at the mention of the FBI agents. "No one will get to you."
Wufei consulted, "And if anyone does address you or ask you questions directly, just tell them it's Preventers' business and say it like they're beneath you. That'll should be enough of a warning for them to piss off." Only then feeling anxious about stepping into the lion's den, Yuy gulped and nodded, "Got it." before the elevator bell sounded at their arrival to their destination.
Rock took the lead and as soon as he followed the public relations correspondent, the intern was flanked by Wolf and Night on either side of him.
Purposely keeping his gaze forward, Heero took little of his surroundings in while they wove through the labyrinth of desks that were neatly spaced out in columns to line the whole floor. He did, however, catch the stunned expressions on the few officers that were lingering around their work stations and followed the new arrivals with their wide eyes.
Folding her arms across her chest, Lucrezia demanded, "You're in the wrong place if you're looking for your daycare center, kids. There's nothing for you here."
Zechs stood in the doorway of his office just to the side as he challenged, "You mean the files that you brats handed over to us?" The corner of his mouth curling up, he said, "Don't tell me you overlooked something in the most important case you've ever been dealt."
Since he had already expected such backlash, Heero was busy searching what corners of the work stations he could see. Just as had suspected, a very short stack of especially thin files were just sitting far from all of the others. Every hair on his arms stood on end in relief at seeing them.
Gesturing to them with his chin, he broke the confrontation up by asking, "Where were those folders going?" Mueller glanced in the direction he was looking and huffed, "The shredder. There's nothing but a few misdemeanors and nobodies in that bunch."
Shoulders turning rigid as he pulled his resolve together, the scholar announced, "Then they're more than fair game if you have no interest in them." He was about to walk towards them when Alex and Trent all but ran to stand in his path. Heart pounding in his chest and glaring heatedly, he hissed, "Preventer's business. Step aside."
Everyone around blinked widely at him, including the actual Preventers, who quickly covered their start with smug smiles for the pair in his away.
Already embarrassed by the attention that was being drawn their way from the other officers on the floor, Zechs cleared his throat and made a sharp wave at his cohorts to signal them to move. Once again narrowing their eyes at Wing, Trent and Mueller cleared away from the aisle leading to the discards.
Hurrying past them, the psych major went straight to work. Opening the covers of each folder and running a finger over the pages for a fast read, he tossed aside the reports that he no longer needed to examine again while the officers watched in intense curiously.
Half-way down the stack, Heero came across a folder with only two pages in it. His mouth moving with the words he was scanning, he came across exactly what he wanted to see and his Prussian eye grew. Smirking, he muttered, "Gotch ya." Closing the file, he held it up and gave his friends a wide grin and a firm nod.
Zechs and his crew frowned in confusion while the Preventers lit up with victorious smiles. Bowing at the waist with his hands folded together, Wufei told his adversaries, "Thank you for the hospitality. It's been a pleasure as always, gang." Straightening himself, he waved for his team to follow him on the way out for the elevator with their captive audience.
"Beats the shit out of me," her dark-hair comrade murmured, shaking his head.
For his part, Merquise couldn't have cared less what it was the profiler thought he had. All he could think of was how he and his staff had been publicly dismissed as peons by the far younger and more inexperienced force that continued to prod them. Staring daggers at their retreating backs, he adjusted his cap and spun on his heels to storm back into his office.
Heads high and paying no mind to the eyes following them out, the Preventers returned to the elevator column for a short wait on the next lift that came to collect them.
As they left the elevator, the intern handed over the folder that he'd maintained a firm grip on since he got his hands on it to Wufei, advising, "You're going to want to being this guy in for questioning."
Eyeing the file, Wolf met the scholar's Prussian eyes and inquired, "Who is he?"
With a deep breath, Yuy informed, "That's the man who bought the plates for Thomas Klein's killer."
TBC |
