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"Cross Country"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: R Warnings: Fluff, mild angst, silliness, gross
abuse of amusement park rides *grin* Beta’ed by the marvelous Mechante! *hugs
sweets* ^-^ Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, R+all Summary: A mission to protect the Queen of the
Universe leads the five Gundam pilots on the cross country adventure
of a lifetime. " Cross Country"
Ch 2
"Bad news from home?" I chuckled, wondering what his problem was. "You should have considered that they’d need a separate room," he grumbled. I just barely stifled a laugh when I glanced in the rear view and saw Trowa gently nibbling on Quatre's ear. The blond was sitting in his lap, a comfortable position half on and half off his leg looking for all the world as if they were simply talking to one another but the distant expression in his eyes told a different story. I had a sudden pang of concern for Bella but when I checked she had nodded off. "I rented tents," I told my disgruntled companion. "Perhaps you should have rented security guards as well," he chuckled. "Any luck pinning down a suspect?" "Hiiro seems to have some leads," he sighed then chuckled as he added, "I can't imagine what. I ran out of ideas last night." "Me, too," I laughed along. "But there must be some reason Une felt it was necessary to send us all." "Maybe Relena just wanted some company," he snorted, kicking back his seat. My eyes shifted to the rear view where I could just barely make out Hiiro's knee next to Relena's where they sat talking in the back. "I'm surprised she didn't just request Hiiro on his own," he yawned and I was just as glad he had his eyes closed because I don't imagine the look on my face would have been easily explained. I drove until I started seeing signs for an RV park where we could stop for the night and informed the crew. Quatre and Trowa handled the tents while Wufei went to find a grocery store and Hiiro and I tried to figure out the multitude of hoses and couplings it was going to take to refill the water tanks and dump the sewage. You know, in a Gundam everything actually fits together, I don't think the designer of this thing had ever heard of the word `universal`. "Hand me the blue one." "Blue doesn't work with orange," I told him, searching for a coupling that would fit in both ends of the extension hose I was working on. "It's not a fashion statement, Duo," he sighed. "No," I chuckled, "But there's gotta be a color code or something. Look at this mess? It looks like a box of crayons spit up." He laughed and stretched across my lap to get the stupid blue one anyway. When he came up I was grinning like a banshee and completely unrepentant for having made him reach but he just snorted, shook his head and tried the coupling. It didn't fit of course but he wasn't about to admit it. My amusement grew and bubbled inside me while I watched him turn it over and over again twisting and turning until I finally couldn't stand it anymore and burst out laughing. "Give me the damn thing." "I've got it!" he chuckled, turning to hide it from me. "It doesn't fit," I laughed, trying to take it anyway and we ended up in a wrestling match that had us tied in a knot of noisy, plastic tubing when we suddenly heard Relena laugh. "Uh... hi Princess," I grinned, unable to separate myself from my partner quickly enough to keep his face from catching fire. "When you're finished playing," she smiled. "Dinner is ready." "We are not... playing," he scowled, trying to untangle us, but the dopey grin hiding under it spoiled the effect. I had no idea what to think when she got this little mother’s smirk and said, "Why not? Isn’t that what young boys are meant to do?" before chuckling as she walked away. We both just sort of blinked at her as we watched her go but then her approval of our strange behavior kicked us into high gear and we tumbled to the ground trying to tie each other up. It was the camper that ended up winning our little game as we soon reached the end of our length of hoses and rolled down the hill. Were it not for our training and reflexes it could have turned bad but we managed to miss dinging our heads on any rocks or trees and landed in a giggling heap with him wrapped around my back and my face not five inches from a knobby root. "I think... it won," he panted, making me laugh. "Ready to surrender already?" I giggled. He went quiet for a moment in which I suddenly felt the heat of his chest against my back. It was like someone had forced a hand grenade down my throat, just... boom and suddenly I couldn't breath. "I say we whip this puppy," I told him, quickly extracting myself. "Because whatever the girls are cooking is making me hungry as hell." He took the hand I offered but the playfulness had died so we got to work and finished the job so everyone could eat. "An excellent meal," Quatre complimented the ladies, getting up to clear the dishes. "It was macaroni and cheese with little hot dogs in it," Bella snickered. "There wasn't much of a selection," Wufei defended. "It was good," I grinned, polishing off my second plate before I asked, "What's for desert?" "How could you possibly still be hungry?" Bella laughed. "Desert does not require hunger," I explained in my highbrow tone. "Well, I'm afraid you're out of luck tonight..." she began but Relena cut her off by smiling at Quatre and asking... "Unless you and your charming partner would mind walking back up to the story to pick something up?" Trowa's face lit up like it was Christmas morning but Quatre just sort of looked... guilty. "I don't know if..." "It would be lovely if they had some ice cream," Relena smiled. "And brownies," I grinned. "You can't expect the Minister to go without her desert," Trowa reasoned, ushering his lover out the door. "Take your time!" Relena called after them and I got the definite impression she had done it on purpose so the pair could have a moment to themselves. Her smile certainly seemed to confirm it. "You don't by chance play bridge?" Bella inquired, presenting a deck of cards. "If you'll excuse me," Wufei piped up, slipping into the back to hide behind his laptop. "Oh, Bella," Relena sighed. "Isn't there something else was can do? Every garden party I attend is like a bridge tournament. There must be some other way to entertain one’s self with a deck of cards." She was smiling at me. It was sort of creepy but it made me happy so I decided to show her several different ways one could entertain one’s self with a simple deck of cards. "This game is entirely unfair," Bella chuckled as my fifteenth card sailed the length of the cab/living room area, landing neatly in the pot with the others. "It's all in the wrist," I grinned. "It's all in your head," Hiiro chuckled, tossing off three in a row that landed in quick succession atop mine. "Show off." "You picked the game," he grinned. "Is there something we might actually get a chance to play?" Relena giggled. "Umm, sure," I chirped, going to gather the cards. We sat at the table, Bella and Relena on one side, Hiiro and I on the other facing them as I dealt. "Ok," I began, picking up my hand. "In this game certain combinations of cards beat others." "Duo," Hiiro sighed miserably. "Two of a kind is the lowest you can get other than a simple high card wins..." "Poker?" Bella chuckled. "Yeah!" I beamed. "What's wrong with Hearts or Spades?" Hiiro grumbled. "I think this sounds fascinating," Relena enthused, sitting forward. "What's the highest combination you can get?" "A royal flush." "Oh, that suites me just fine, don't you think?" she giggled, blushing prettily when Hiiro gaped at her. I took a few minutes to explain the different hands and what beats what, then explained about drawing and folding. "So," she surmised. "If I have two kings and you have a full house..." "I win," I grinned. "What do you win?" she asked. "Well," I replied, "In most cases it's customary to relinquish an article of clothing." I ducked because I knew it was coming and Hiiro almost put a hole in the wall with his fist. It was worth it though because not only were the girls beside themselves with laugher but Wufei had burst out giggling, too. Hiiro didn't think it was all that funny for some reason, go figure. We played for toothpicks until Bella sat back and stretched as she asked, "What do you suppose is keeping Quatre and Trowa?" "Perhaps they got lost in a moon beam," Relena smiled secretly to herself. It took Bella a minute to work it out but when she did her face pinked and she gasped softly, "You don't mean...?" "You didn't realize they were a couple?" I asked and though I tried to sound friendly I suppose it came out a little defensive. "Well, I... no," she replied. "I thought they were just partners." "Indeed," Relena snickered. Hiiro and I were back to gaping at her again. I'd never seen her act so... so... young before. It was most becoming. "If you disapprove..." Relena began. "Oh, no," Bella cut her off. "I just didn't realize. I mean, wouldn't it be dangerous to have that sort of... distraction in their line of work?" "Believe me," our Queen smiled. "I am safer with any member of this team distracted or otherwise than I would be in my own mother’s womb." The vote of confidence swelled in my chest but it felt a little weird that she was looking at me with that affectionate gaze instead of Hiiro. Made me feel guilty somehow, so I looked away. "Here," I said dropping my cards on the table. "Try this." They watched until the house I built stood three tiers high, then Hiiro couldn't stand it anymore and had to join in. Pretty soon Bella was shoring up her quadrant and Relena was delicately constructing a garden area out back. All talking ceased for fear of toppling the precarious pile but there was a collective groan when we ran out of cards. "Is there another deck?" Relena asked. "That's the only one I had," Bella sighed. "Well," I grinned, rubbing my hands together. "There's no saying our fun has to be over." I don't think anyone so much as breathed while I strategically extracted two cards from the foundation of the house and stacked them on top. "Ohhhh ho hoooo," Bella sang sounding impressed. "You do like to live dangerously." "It's not so hard," Hiiro shrugged, repeating the feat with utmost confidence. Bella looked like she might faint as she took her turn but, with a little discrete guidance, made good choices and competed successfully. I could see Hiiro wanted Relena to have as much luck and couldn't help grinning while he openly guided her through her first attempt. Then it was back to me but the choices were getting thin. I managed but I thought for sure Hiiro was sunk. He pulled it off by some miracle and I got Bella through by sheer force of will but you could have heard a moth sneeze it was so quite in that camper. "Easy," Hiiro soothed our resident Princess. She chuckled softly, not daring to breath and retreated without a card. "You can do it," I encouraged. "Just pretend its President Gustov's MasterCard." Her eyes lit up gleefully while Bella gasped and giggled but she seemed ready for another try. "The third from the left," Hiiro gently reminded. "Steady... ease the bottom out first... easy... eeeeaaaasssy..." "What in the world...?" "AWWWWwwwwwww!" we all groaned, laughing as the whole tower came tumbling down. "Great timing, Quat," I chuckled, gathering the cards that had fallen in my lap. "Oh no," the blond moaned. "I'm so sorry. We had no idea..." "Of course you didn't," Relena smiled on a breath. "It is simply my misfortune to topple intricate infrastructures." "And thank the Heavens it is," Quatre smiled. I noticed the smile on Trowa's face was a might less tense as he unpacked a bag of ice cream sandwiches and put them in the freezer. "Toss me one." "They need to get cold again," Trowa smirked. "That's because you took over an hour to bring them back," I grinned. "And the store is less than five minutes away," Wufei added, escalating the burn on Quatre's cheeks up a notch before he added, "I am going to retire." "Wait a minute." Foolish boy. "We haven't decided who is sleeping in the camper tonight yet." "You don't expect me...?" "It is only fair to take turns," Quatre broke in. "But who gets first watch?" I knew I was being an ass but its still fun to see Wufei sulk. "How about we draw straws?" Once again Relena had stopped us cold but none of us could offer a better solution so that's just what we did. She insisted on holding the straws herself which made me feel like we were in competition for her instead of being her guard, so I was more than relieved when I pulled a long straw. Hiiro seemed disappointed when he did as well but when Wufei pulled the short one it brightened his spirits. We all turned in after that, Quatre and Trowa in one tent on the backside of the camper and Hiiro and I in the other on the front. All said and done it was as secure as she would have been in any hotel. I knew Hiiro felt the same way but it didn't take long to figure out he wasn't going to get any sleep. "She'll be fine," I sighed somewhere around two a.m. "You should be asleep." "If you'd get your bony ass out of my back maybe I could," I teased, rolling over to face him. "My ass is pointed the other way," he chuckled. "Oh," I smiled. "Must've been a dream." "Now you dream about my ass?" "Better than what Trowa's probably doing to Quatre's." My cheeks hurt I smiled so hard at all the colors he turned. "Go to sleep," I told him, batting him on the tip of his bangs. "Wufei's with her, nothing is going to happen." He looked like he wanted to say something for a second but then smiled and nodded and closed his eyes. I don't really know if he actually slept because I nodded off but he was up before me the next day. We decided to skip breakfast due to the early hour because apparently nobody sleeps past six a.m. in an RV park. Maybe it has something to do with the million kids running rampant, I'm not sure but we got under weigh in record time. Trowa drove, which meant Quatre got shotgun by default so the rest of us nestled down to spend the next couple of hours passing the time. Bella and Wufei attempted another house of cards but the motion of the road kept knocking it down. Hiiro had retreated to the back with his laptop, which left me and Relena to chat. It was odd, I'd never thought of myself as her favorite person. We certainly had the least in common of anyone aboard but she just kept smiling at me until I felt comfortable and relaxed, curled in the couch next to her. "What was it like?" she asked after a time. "What?" I replied, nibbling on a bit of dry cereal because the store had been out of chips. "Growing up on L2." My first inclination was to slap on a grin and quip something stupid that would make her smile and forget she asked but somehow, for some unknown reason, I just didn't want to. "Ever been to hell?" I chuckled wryly and she joined me tactfully in my false mirth. "You never knew your parents?" "No. First thing I remember is running the streets with a pack of other war orphans." "My God," she sighed softly, leaning closer as if to speak more gently. "How in the world did you survive?" "Pure tenacity," I grinned. She laughed lightly and I wondered if she could even comprehend what she was asking about. "I can see you succeeding in that quite easily." Her tone was filled with a quiet respect. It was sad but not in the least patronizing and left me with the feeling we had just stepped a little closer to actually becoming friends. "How did you end up becoming a Gundam pilot?" "Stowed away on G's ship." "I imagine he was less than please," she chuckled. "Actually, it impressed him enough to start my training. Then, once me and Deathscythe got together there was no separating us." "It was special to you." "Yeah," I smiled, thinking back. "He helped me change the world." "I think you would have found a way to do that with or without a Gundam," she smiled and my mind ground to a slow halt. She had such faith is us... in me. There was no doubt in her mind that we... that I would accomplish my goals whatever they might be and when she smiled at me like that it was almost as if... "I should probably see what Hiiro's come up with," I told her, making a hasty retreat. I know I confused her but I had to get away and ducked in the bathroom on the way to the back of the camper. My heart was beating so hard my vision was blurring. It couldn't be. No way. But the way she had looked at me... the way she was talking... it was almost as if she had... feelings for me? I suddenly felt ill and had to sit down. I couldn't let that happen, it'd kill Hiiro. What was he going to think if his true love all of a sudden announced she was head over heels for his best friend? Not to mention the fact that I sure as hell didn't love her! Not that she wasn't a fine catch but she was Hiiro's girl. We all knew that so when had the world gone crazy? "Duo?" "Be out in a minute," I replied to Hiiro's inquiry. This was not going to happen. I'd have to find a way to deal with it, beginning with staying as far away from Relena as possible, so I did as I had said and joined Hiiro when I came out. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Too many cookie crisps," I replied through a sour smile that wasn't all that hard to conjure up. "You having any luck?" "There's been another note," he told me, showing me the scan. "Just like the others," I nodded. "Any patterns or clues in this one?" He shook his head, glancing up front to check on Relena, who had found a magazine to read. "You two seem to be getting along well." "She was just curious about life on L2," I shrugged, pushing the panic aside. "What's next on Wufei's sight seeing list?" His eyes shifted to Relena again but he pulled up the list in his inbox and I groaned. "The Washington Museum of Hubcaps? What in the hell is that?" "You wanted to see a giant ball of twine," Wufei scowled from the swivel chair just beyond the back wall. "That takes about ten minutes," I grumbled. "This place is three stories." "You have a better idea?" I think I scared him when I smiled. It was time to do a little work on my laptop now that I had a mission I could work with. I left the others to do whatever while I researched our route and what was available. We skipped the hubcaps in favor of stopping early for the night, which put us within two hours of a righteous day off. I closed my computer, having made the arrangements online just as we pulled into... Tex Handy's Slumber Bump? ~ * ~ |
