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"Wish Upon a Star "Written By: Waterliliylf Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. All rights
remain with Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. No profit being
made here. Rating: R Warnings: sap, angst, fluff, AU Pairings: 3x4 Summary: When you wish upon a star, it makes no
difference who you are, unless you're the heir to the Winner business
empire. So when you do find a means of escape, how long can you hold
on to the fantasy, and the man of your dreams, before reality takes
over? "Wish Upon a Star "
Two Out of Three: For Quatre, the next couple of weeks passed mainly in a blur of computer screens, ancient legal documents and meetings. He called Duo several times a day, to get news of Trowa, of course, but partly to enjoy his friend's bubbling happiness, Even Heero Yuy couldn't move a business across the universe in such a short time, but he'd already found office space in Sanque, and he'd taken a six month lease on a small house, halfway between Duo's apartment and his new office. Trowa was back at Wish, after almost a week's absence, and he'd made it very clear that he didn't want Quatre's name mentioned. Which was hardly surprising, really. Every time Quatre hung up, he permitted himself a few minutes to think about Trowa. Then he would shake firmly his head to clear any lingering thoughts, and dive back into whatever he was currently working on. In the event, the board meeting he'd been dreading turned out to be just a little anti-climatic. He'd been prepared for objections, and protests, and every imaginable sort of opposition, and had tried to cover every possible argument. But it wasn't like that at all, and he later wondered if his father had spoken to the family and major shareholders privately. No one had seemed terribly surprised, and it was all over in less than an hour. Iria lifted a perfectly plucked brow at him as they walked out of the board-room. There was a press conference to get through, and then the shuttle was already fuelled and waiting for him. 'Well? Are you sure you've made the right decision?' 'Oh, yes. Very much so. Now, I have to tell Trowa what I've done.' 'You have to speak to those reporters first,' his sister objected. Quatre tossed her a little smile. 'That's what I mean, Irry.' Trowa was still refusing to speak to him. Or about him, according to Duo. But he presumably still read newspapers and watched the news, so he'd have to hear this. He stood in front of the phalanx of reporters, wishing it felt a little less like facing a firing squad. He waited until the camera flashes had ceased before motioning to one of the journalists; a young woman in the front row. 'How does it feel to be appointed the new CEO of Winner Enterprises, Mr. Winner?' He gave her his most charming smile. 'I'm not. That's a question you'll have to ask my sister.' Quatre waited for the hubbub to die down before speaking again. 'As you say, I was appointed chairman, and then, as is my right, I immediately resigned, appointing my sister Iria in my stead. I believe you will have to speak to her about business matters.' There was, rather predictably, pandemonium. Among the questions hurled at him were the inevitable ones about his sexuality. It seemed to be pretty much an open secret now. Iria had managed to block one story being published but enough people had known about it that there were rumours. A couple of other papers had printed biographies of the man who was about to be appointed as head of Winner Industries, and there had been vague allusions to his being gay. Quatre smiled tightly, holding up one hand for silence. 'I'm sorry, but I intend my private life to remain private. My reasons for resigning were extremely personal. I have one thing to say, if I may? I wish to apologise to the people I've hurt recently, to one person in particular.' He gazed into the camera, trying to imagine that he was looking at Trowa. 'I am so very sorry. I hope what I've done today goes even a small bit toward showing that. Everything you said was perfectly correct, but fantasies can, I think, be made real if you want them badly enough, and I'm trying very hard to make ours come true.' 'What are your plans now, Mr. Winner?' a man called. 'I am returning to Earth this evening.' He took a deep breath. 'Not long ago, I made a wish and it came true. A very dear friend told me that sometimes miracles can happen, so I'm going to go to the same place tomorrow and make another wish upon a star that I haven't managed to destroy all my dreams. If that isn't to be, then I can only hope to make up for all the damage I've caused. That's all,' he ended abruptly. There was some ragged applause and much more confused muttering and more shouted questions, but by then Rashid was there, pulling him away. In the car, he called Duo. 'Hey, Cat,' his friend greeted him excitedly. 'You really did it?' 'I really did it,' Quatre affirmed. 'Watch the news at six! I hope I don't look as petrified as I felt!' 'How'd you feel now?' 'I have no idea, really. Terrified and excited and numb and I can't really believe what I just did!' 'Well, you did it.' He could hear the smile in Duo's voice, half way across the galaxy. 'Do you think…it will do any good?' 'Cat, you need to talk to him. You know that. What are you going to do now? Go straight to Wish when you land?' 'I want to, but no, I don't think so. I left a sort of coded message for him in my speech. I think he'll understand. I hope so anyway.' 'He'll figure it out. He's smart.' 'I know.' Smart and perfect and deeply hurt. 'It's to meet me at the nightclub where we first met, tomorrow night. Duo, do you think I could stay with you tonight?' ''Course you can!' Duo sounded a little surprised at the question. 'I'd have offered, but I thought you'd prefer to stay with Heero or Zechs.' 'Heero's not really ready for visitors yet, and I don't want to impose on Zechs. I'm not really sure how things are between him and Wufei yet. Besides, I'd rather like to be with a friend of Trowa's, if that makes any sense.' 'Cool. I'm in all night, so just show up. I don't know if I can fit in all your bodyguards, though, if you're bringing them with you. My place is pretty small.' 'They're not my bodyguards now.' Quatre suddenly realised it was true. He wasn't the heir to anything anymore. He wasn't important enough to need his own personal security. Rashid, riding shotgun beside Auda, twisted around to look at him. He obviously hadn't thought of it either. 'They're just friends.' Quatre smiled warmly at the big man who'd been a second father to him. 'And yes, they are coming but I've booked a hotel for them. 'No probs,' Duo assured him. 'You can stay as long as you want, you know that.' 'Thank you. Ah, I may also need to borrow some clothes, until I get to go shopping. What with everything that's been going on, I never got around to packing.' Duo's laughter floated into his ears, from across the galaxy. 'Role reversal, huh? That's cool, Cat. I'm not working tomorrow. We can go and get you a whole new wardrobe.' 'I'd like that. I'm warning you, though. I'm going to be a nervous wreck all day.' He closed his eyes briefly. 'I just …. I really want things to work out.' 'Me too,' Duo said sincerely. 'Look, I'll see you later. Have a good flight.' Have a good flight. The words were still blowing around Quatre's head as he boarded the Winner shuttle. It had been two weeks since the last time he'd stepped off. There was a stupid, stupid little voice in his head suggesting that Trowa would have seen him on the news by now, that Trowa might be waiting for him at the other end. Stupid. Of course he wasn't. Zechs was, though. 'Hello!' Quatre beamed up at his tall friend. 'This is a lovely surprise. What are you doing here?' 'Meeting you. Duo thought it seemed wrong for you to arrive back on Earth with no one to welcome you. He's making you dinner and Heero had a meeting he couldn't get out of.' 'How nice of him! Are you going to stay and eat with us?' Zechs shook his head. 'Not tonight, no.' 'I suppose things are a little awkward,' Quatre said delicately. 'Between the two of you.' For the tiniest second, Zechs' expression, unguarded, was achingly bleak. Then the smile was back. 'Actually, no,' he said brightly. 'He says I make a much better friend than a boyfriend, and it apparently gives him license to be brutally frank with me. He and Wufei keep ganging up on me.' 'And that's going all right?' Quatre asked, hurrying to keep up with his friend's longer legs as they walked down to the parking area. 'Oh, yes. Very much so. He's having tremendous fun bossing me about and re-ordering my life. That's why I can't come to dinner, actually. He's volunteered my services to run a charity fashion show next month; we're supposed to be meeting some prospective designers and models tonight. 'Well, once you're happy. I am sorry though. About Duo.' Zechs shrugged. 'I always knew it would be Heero, in the end. Still, I got to have him for a while. That was something. Not every fairytale has to have a happy ending.' 'No,' Quatre agreed sadly, thinking of his own. Zechs gave him a keen look. 'Are you still sure you want Barton?' 'Of course! Why wouldn't I? I love him!' 'Let me see.' Zechs stopped at his car and opened the passenger door for Quatre. 'You made one mistake, and he's totally cut you out of his life. He's never given any chance to explain. Do you really want to be with someone like that?' 'It's not really like that. There were so many things I never told him about myself, but when I did we always managed to work it out. I don't blame him, really, for how he feels now. I should have just been honest from the start and we wouldn't be in this mess.' 'It's hard, though, isn't it?' Zechs turned the key in the ignition, a bitter-sweet smile hovering around his mouth. 'Being that honest with someone you don't really know? So much easier to pretend. Right, let's get you to Duo's.' He flicked on the radio as he drove out of the car park. Conversation over, then. Duo's apartment was simply charming. There were stars and planets on the ceiling, and the walls and wooden floor were covered with trailing plants and imaginary animals. It also smelled deliciously of food cooking and Quatre suddenly realised he was hungry. He hadn't been eating much lately. 'This is lovely!' He gazed around, entranced, and Duo laughed. 'You're very welcome. Now, I'll dump your bag in my room. Heero's just called to say he should be here in a few minutes. Do those bodyguards you trail around need to be fed? I made a tonne of food, just in case.' 'No, they've gone straight to their hotel. It's weird, not having them.' 'Good weird?' 'Excellent weird,' Quatre told him firmly, taking the gifts he'd bought for Duo out of his bag. 'These are for you. A small thank you for letting me stay here.' 'You didn't have to do that!' Duo protested, but he was clearly delighted with the books on L4 architecture, and Arabic art. 'They're great, Cat. Now, since my dear boyfriend seems to be running late, would you like some wine before dinner?' 'How is Trowa?' Quatre waited until Duo had served them both before asking the question. Duo shrugged. 'Really? Not so good. Missing you like hell, but won't talk about it. Cat, I hate to say this, but what if this doesn't work? Will you go back to L4?' 'I don't want to. I've got a job here now, and at least I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not anymore.' 'Good.' Duo smiled at him. 'I like having you around.' He looked up as the front door opened. 'Oh, that must be Heero. Good, we can eat now.' Heero, looking as self-conscious as Quatre had ever seen him, bent to give his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, while Duo glowed up at him. They were so utterly, shiningly perfect, those two. Duo was teasing Heero about his lack of time-keeping skills, and pretending he'd made Heero's favourite dinner and it was ruined. Quatre's stoical, reserved best friend was offering apologies and excuses and promises to make it up somehow, and then blushing fiercely when Duo whispered something in his ear. Heero was clearly enchanted with everything Duo said or did. Duo was fractionally less obvious, but just as smitten. It was exactly what he wanted, Quatre realised, watching them. Not some fairytale romance, but this loving reality. Teasing, and asking little questions about each other's day, and Duo wanting to know all about the new client Heero had been meeting, and Heero producing a tub of Duo's favourite ice-cream for dessert. It was beautiful to watch his closest friend so happy, but it made his heart crack, just a little. He'd had something similar, with Trowa, and he'd thrown it away. And maybe Trowa would never forgive him, whatever he tried to do to make amends. He quashed that evil, insidious little thought, and forced himself to enjoy what he did have. A delicious meal, and two wonderful friends, who cared about him, and a lovely evening in their company. That should be enough for anybody. After they'd eaten every scrap, Heero and Duo started to bicker over whose turn it was to wash up, and whether the person who'd cooked should be the one to do it, or the person who'd just swanned in the door – late – and expected his dinner to be on the table. 'I'll do it,' Quatre offered suddenly, jumping up and starting to collect plates, over Duo's protests that he was a guest and shouldn't have to work. It was only fair that his friends should have a little time together, after all. He could give them that much. The problem was, when he had all the dishes and cutlery stacked in the kitchen, that he wasn't quite sure what to do next. Heero had taught him how to load a dishwasher, but Duo didn't have one, and he had no idea how to wash up by hand. 'Need some help?' Heero was leaning against the door jamb, grinning. 'Yes, please! I'm sorry; I wanted to do this, and let you and Duo have some time alone.' His friend shrugged, crossing over to the sink. 'Don't worry about that. Now, first you need to scrape off the leftovers. Like this.' 'Oh, right. Thank you.' Quatre sighed. 'You know, I lived with Trowa for days, and I never once offered to wash up or help out with the chores. It never even occurred to me. No wonder he doesn't want to be with me.' 'I'm sure that's it,' Heero agreed amiably. 'He dumped you because you never made the bed.' 'Ha ha,' Quatre muttered. 'It's true, though, and I never thought about it 'til now. When I told him who I really was, Trowa said I just wanted to live a fantasy of a normal life, and in some ways he was right. I don't think I ever truly thought it could ever be real. What we had, yes, it was wonderful, but it was rather like a holiday romance. A lovely little interlude but one that was going to have to end eventually.' It was true, the more he'd thought about it. They'd talked about the future, once or twice, but never in specifics. Never any definite plans about how they could make it happen. 'I want what you and Duo have,' he said finally. 'You love each other, but you're friends too. Anyone can see that. It's real, what the two of you have.' He shook his head. 'I keep using that word, but it fits. I think Trowa and I both felt we were in some sort of magical fantasy bubble, a lot of the time. Something that wasn't going to last.' 'But you want it to?' Heero questioned, turning on the tap and rinsing the glasses. 'More than anything, yes.' Heero turned to look at him. 'If you want that, then you have to make it happen, and convince Trowa it's what you really want.' 'I know.' They finished the washing-up, while Quatre told him about how things had gone on L4, and then Heero said it was time for him to go home. Duo walked him to the door, and from the sitting room Quatre could hear them laughing together. 'You know, he didn't have to go just because I'm here,' Quatre said when Duo came back. 'Hmmm?' Duo split the last of the wine between their two glasses and settled on the sofa with him. 'Oh, I get you. No, we talked about a lot of stuff, that first night, and we agreed we want to take it slowly, you know? Do the whole dating thing and get to know each other first.' 'I think that's a wonderful idea. I wish Trowa and I had been able to do that. I wish we'd had time to get to know each other properly.' He sighed. 'I wish I'd just been honest with him from the beginning.' 'Yeah.' Duo settled comfortably back against his cushion, cradling the glass of wine in his hand. 'But you're going to fix it, right? So, what's the plan for tomorrow?' 'Um, on-the-hour panic attacks?' 'I can imagine.' Duo took a sip of wine. 'Cat, it's not going to be easy. Even if he turns up at Stardust in the first place. I love the guy, but he's a stubborn jerk and once he makes up his mind on something, that's usually it.' 'I know. I just want to see him. I just want to ask him to let me explain. It's up to him after that.' 'Hey.' Duo leaned over to squeeze his shoulder. 'Don't look like that. I said it won't be easy, that's all. And you seem to have pretty amazing powers of persuasion when it comes to him.' 'I don't know about that.' Quatre grinned suddenly. 'Your advice to offer to be his sex slave worked last time though!' He drained his glass, thinking about it. 'I can open another bottle if you like?' Duo offered. 'If you don't mind supermarket plonk.' 'No, it's fine. It's just ….the other times, I'd never actually lied outright. Not as such. I just hadn't told him things, and he was always willing to listen when I tried to explain. Well, eventually he was, after he'd shouted a bit. But that night, he actually asked me, straight out, if I was hiding anything else, and I said I wasn't.' He tapped his fingers on the stem of his empty glass. 'And then Heero came up with that radio report.' 'Not great timing,' his friend agreed. 'He's kind of black and white where honesty is concerned. As you've possibly noticed. And the fact that you hadn't told him about an engagement, well, that was the worst thing ever, for him. He probably wouldn't have gone quite so ballistic about anything else. I didn't know him after Treize, but from what Wufei and Cathy told me, he just shut down for months.' Quatre nodded. 'And then I came along and did exactly the same thing. More or less. God, Duo, do you think he'll be able to get past this?' Duo dropped his gaze. 'I dunno, Cat. I really hope so, for both of you.' ~ * ~ |
