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"White Wing"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: AU, romance, slight angst, sap, and
even the plot bunnies are still sighing over the fluff lol Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x13, Rx1 (unrequited)
Summary: A studious Limo driver’s well laid life plan takes a chaotic turn when a multitude of new doors open when he meets a beautiful young man. Also I know squat about quantum physics and everything technical in this story is purely make believe so if it sounds stupid... uh... that's why! *grin* "White Wing"
Ch 2 Relena had been more than unhappy about the change of plans but he’d managed to appease her with a promise to come pick her up when she was ready to return. The impromptu meeting with the Winner heir took precedence over the Vice Foreign Ministers flights of fancy any day but as he tried to tame his tangle of hair the next day it hit him that he had absolutely nothing in his closet that suited the day. The usual custom tailored suit seemed oddly stiff after seeing how casually Quatre filled his attire. And Duo had been dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt that read ‘take a number’. A vision of himself standing in a lengthy line of hopefuls waiting to speak to the handsome youth invaded his mind leaving him feeling even more off balance as he dropped the fifth shirt he’d tried on to the floor. “Damn it,” he sighed giving up and grabbing a crisp button down that he tucked into a comfortable pair of dress slacks. It was only lunch but the closer he got to Maxwell’s the more his gut twisted up until his throat had all but swollen closed. It didn’t make any sense, he’d brushed shoulders with some of the most powerful men in the world and never felt so out of sorts as when Duo burst through the orphanage doors looking as if he’d been attacked by rapid wolves as he had children hanging all over him. It was the funniest thing to watch as he danced out into the yard with his sqeeing, giggling horde and fell to the ground rolling this way and that until he had dislodged them all then scrambled for the limo at break neck speed. For a frightening moment Hiiro thought he meant to dive into the safety of the back seat but just as he reached the car he stopped and whirled on the little beasts holding out a stern hand that stopped them cold. “Ten feet rule!” he shouted in an embarrassingly fake haughty tone. “Awwww, man!” several of the children whined but remained at a distance. “Ten feet?” Hiiro inquired with a sly smile. “Look but don’t touch,” Duo grinned. “It’s all right,” Hiiro smiled motioning the children forward. “Really?” the longhaired boy exclaimed laying a calming hand on each of them as they approached. “Wooow,” one little boy exclaimed as he stared reverently at the stylized angel hood ornament. “You can touch it,” Hiiro encouraged but all the boy could muster was a tentative brush of his fingers along the tips of the wings. “All right,” Duo suddenly announced. “That’s enough ogling Mr. Hiiro’s car. Scatter my little misfits or we’ll be late.” “Bye!” several of them called at once obeying and heading happily for the front porch. Hiiro chuckled at the idea that something so simple could bring them such joy as he opened the door for Duo but the mirth slipped away the moment their eyes met. “Thanks,” Duo smiled with eyes that shone with gratitude and Hiiro felt something large and gloriously frightening awaken inside him. “You’re welcome,” he replied uncertain why being with the longhaired youth made him feel so very complicated inside. The privacy window had been left down and the bar stocked with fresh cans of soda but once they were moving Hiiro couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Thankfully, Duo didn’t appear to be suffering the same lack of concentration and quickly struck up a conversation centered around the custom technology Hiiro had added to his car. The satellite system was only the beginning and he was thrilled to discover that Duo had not only noticed it but the extra security and comfort devices as well. He usually had to point out things like the personal fan installed in a cubby over the seat and ear phones with separate channels so each passenger could listen to whatever they liked while in transit. There was also a lap top that pulled out from under the seat that was jacked into the satellite for anyone that needed to use it and he took great delight in how much Duo appreciated the multitude of music channels available. “We’ve gotta get Quat in here,” Duo chuckled switching between stations again. “This thing so blows away anything in his fleet.” “Have you been together long?” Hiiro asked feeling instantly foolish when Duo glared at him in the mirror. “I mean, you’ve known each other a long time?” Damn it! “Since middle school,” Duo replied but his tone had slipped a notch to the colder side. “I’m sorry,” Hiiro offered. “I didn’t mean to assume…” “No sweat,” Duo cut in but once said a deathly silence fell. Uncertain as to how he should proceed after his blunder Hiiro breached the only subject that seemed safe. “Where did you need to stop?” “The spaceport.” “Are we picking someone up?” Hiiro wondered feeling a tad put upon by the idea. “A friend of mine needs a favor,” Duo replied turning his attention to the company lap top. Hiiro let it lie though the silence was deafening as he drove. Duo kept his eyes on the computer tacking away at the keyboard until they pulled into the spaceport and stopped at the security gate. “Mr. Yui,” the guard nodded coming to the window to hand him his pass. “Are you picking up or dropping off?” He wasn’t quite sure how to answer the standard question but Duo took the necessity out of his hands by piping up a cheerful, “Hey, Charlie!” “Duo?” the guard exclaimed turning toward the very rear window as it rolled down. “What in the hell’re you… er… um,” he stammered flashing Hiiro an apologetic glance. “Why are you in there?” “Quat got tired of waiting for me to peddle my ass into town,” Duo chuckled. “How’s Trixie?” “Big’er than a blimp and twice as pretty,” Charlie beamed. Hiiro watched curiously while the two exchanged conversation for a moment longer then said goodbye. It bothered him that he had been speaking to the man regularly for the past two years and never even knew he was married more or less expecting a child but his lack of bantering ability paled in light of how familiar Duo was with spaceport personnel. “Do you come here often?” he asked following Duo’s instructions on where to go. “Only when one of my friends is in port,” Duo explained adding, “Dock 16,” when they approached the gate. “You have a lot of off world friends?” “A few,” Duo grinned grabbing his bag as they pulled to a stop. Hiiro watched him get out giving up on getting the door for him as he was already on the sidewalk and wondered how long he would have to wait for his return. It stuck him as odd that he had even considered waiting in the car when Duo paused before walking away and asked… “You coming?” It was out of the ordinary but his curiosity got the better of him. Then again, nothing Duo did seemed to follow any sort of rules so he fell into step beside him and followed him up a ramp and into a skiff ship that had obviously come from a much larger host that was probably still in orbit. “Duo!” “Ginny! Babe! How ya been!” Hiiro took a step back as a large woman of what seemed to be better than seven feet tall rushed down the corridor and snatched his longhaired companion into a bear hug. “Gin… must…breath!” “Scrawny as ever!” she laughed dropping him on the deck and Hiiro took another step back when she glanced his way. “Who’s he? New mate?” she grinned waggling her brows suggestively. Duo flushed crimson but shook it off. “Hiiro, meet Ginny. Where’s Howard?” “Forward head,” she chuckled leering at Hiiro in a most disconcerting way as they made their way forward. “Hey! Old man!” Duo shouted banging on a door as they passed by. “Damn it, Duo!” came the hoarse reply from within. “Give a man his dignity!” “You’ve got half an hour!” Duo countered. “Wait!” “Duo?” Hiiro questioned only to be cut off when the head door slammed open. “Did you bring it?!” an older man in a ridiculous shirt and dark glasses gasped as he pushed forward while still buckling his belt. “You doubt me?” Duo grinned holding up a little black box. “Damn, boy!” Howard beamed accepting the box. “I could kiss you,” he grinned then distractedly added, “but I’ll leave that to him,” bringing a bright pink tinge to the top of Hiiro’s ears as he passed by. Duo shrugged apologetically as he followed and Hiiro felt an uncomfortable wave rush through him when he squeezed by. “Do you need me to install it?” “Naw,” Howard replied securing the box in a safe hidden in the galley wall. “Ginny can handle it. We didn’t bring the rig with us anyway. But I owe ya one.” “You owe me two,” Duo grinned making Howard’s eyes go round over his glasses. “There’s two!?” Duo nodded gaining another big bear hug for his trouble. “How in the hell did you…? No, never mind,” Howard chuckled. “I don’t wanna know. He business or pleasure?” Hiiro balked at the question as it had been directed at him but found himself intrigued by what answer Duo might give. “He’s Hiiro,” the braided boy simply replied. “And his car’s got a better com system than the Peacemillion.” Again Hiiro was taken aback by the casual dropping of famous names. The ship he had referred to was as notorious as they came. Stories of everything from salvage to piracy revolved around the gargantuan ship making it hard for him to believe he was standing in the presence of its illusive captain. “You don’t say?” Howard mused looking him over a little better. “Ever seen a bit inhibitor?” “Of course,” Hiiro replied rather smugly. “They’re very useful in mach communications.” Howard smiled but it wavered when Hiiro added a sly, “However, I discovered in my research that bit inhibitors can only buffer a limited area causing, at best, a fifteen minute delay.” “But your’s doesn’t,” Duo smiled. Hiiro felt his chest puff up and tried to rein in his pride but it was hard with Duo looking at him like that. “No,” he confirmed bringing a sparkle to Howard’s aging eyes. “I based the components on interspatial frequencies that avoid bit contact therefore nullifying the need to inhibit interference.” “The result?” Duo prompted. “True time communications regardless of spatial warp.” “Hot damn!” Howard crowed. “How big can it be? The Peacemillion ain’t no tinker toy.” “Size is… irrelevant,” Hiiro stammered feeling unreasonably embarrassed by the comment. “Damn, boy!” Howard laughed clapping Duo on the shoulder. “You got yourself a keeper there. Ginny!” “Yo!” “Get this kids email! We’ve got a proposal to discus!” It all happened so fast the next thing Hiiro knew they were back in the car, he’d promised a proposal to upgrade the com system of one of the largest ships ever built and Duo was smiling in a way that made him feel as if his morning coffee had been spiked. There was only one question on his mind as they moved through traffic. “What was in the box?” “Diozene crystals.” Hiiro hit the breaks so fast three cars had to swerve to keep from hitting them. “Are you serious?!” “You trying to get us killed?!” Duo gasped still clinging to the arm rest. “Those are the rarest crystal known to man!” Hiiro pressed. “And highly illegal! Where did you get them?!” “Relax,” Duo sighed shaking off the excitement of the sudden stop. “Howard has a license. He needs them for his mining operations.” “Tiger claw units?” Hiiro wondered already aware of the magnitude of such specialized equipment. They were the fastest and most efficient way to mine asteroids but required the rare crystals to create the necessary energy for the task. It was the only commercial application allowed as they eventually burned out and had to be replaced. “You really keep up with the latest in technology,” Duo grinned. “But how did you get them?” “Some people say it’s who and not what you know,” Duo smirked. “I say it both now can we get going before my who of the day gets cranky because we’re late?” It hit him as he got them moving again that Duo had access to probably the single largest bank account ever contrived as they pulled into WEI. He certainly wouldn’t have any trouble getting the funds necessary to purchase the crystals but that was only half the battle. Finding a supplier was nearly impossible. He knew; he’d tried with no success. It was becoming painfully clear that his well laid plan was being drastically altered by recent events and though he was happy for the acceleration it was difficult to assimilate and adjust so quickly. Still, whatever happened he owed the boy in his back seat a great deal already and felt the need to repay him in some way. “Duo?” “Hm?” the braided boy replied gathering his bag as Hiiro parked. “You’ve helped me a lot in the past couple of days,” he began unable to look into the mirror. “Is there any way I can repay you?” “Do you eat sushi?” Hiiro glanced up in mild shock to find his passenger grinning at him in the mirror. “Yes, but…” “There’s a great sushi bar over of Adam’s,” Duo cut in. “All you can eat on Saturday night.” “You want me to buy you dinner?” Hiiro chuckled. “You asked,” Duo shrugged slipping out the door before Hiiro could reply. Sushi. It seemed a lame way to repay the kindness Duo had shown him and certainly wasn’t enough but if that’s what he wanted it would have to do for a start. Lunch with Quatre yielded not only the best chicken salad he’d ever had but the promise of a contract with WEI that would help aid in the proposal for the Peacemillion and effectively thrust White Wing onto the top rung of the technological ladder. If things progressed well within the month Hiiro would no longer need his limo business as would be set for life in a multi trillion dollar company of his own. Despite the magnitude of the proceedings he was delighted by Quatre’s honesty and genuine affection and found him to be just damn good company. It was easy to understand how he and Duo had become so close in spite of their different origins but it still left Hiiro feeling oddly queasy whenever Duo lavished him with physical praise. The two were much too familiar with each other in his mind making him believe there was more between them than friendship regardless of Duo’s earlier reaction and it was bugging him in more ways than one. The following day was sparse enough on the driving jobs he took the opportunity to work off some of his frustration at the Chang dojo but Wufei seemed terrible out of sorts and kept misjudging landing him on the mat more often than not. “Are you all right?” Hiiro asked offering his friend a hand up. Wufei stared at it but chose to remain in his prone position when he asked. “Have you ever been in love?” Curiously, Duo’s visage came to mind but he answered in spite of the distraction. “No. Why do you ask?” “My father informed me this morning that I have been promised to the daughter of one of his oldest friends.” Hiiro paused a moment before sinking to the floor to sit in the lotus position beside him. “Are you going to do it?” “I’ll never love her,” Wufei sighed rolling to sit up. “Stranger things have happened,” Hiiro consoled. “No,” Wufei chuckled darkly turning a look on him that was so froth with underlying meaning it was impossible to miss the silent message behind his words. “I’m not capable of loving her.” “Ah,” Hiiro nodded understanding the depth of what he hadn’t said. “Does your family know?” The Chinese boy stared at him for a moment before snorting softly. “It doesn’t bother you?” “Are you interested in me?” Hiiro smirked. “Hell no!” Wufei gasped. “Then why would it matter to me?” Hiiro chuckled. “I don’t know,” Wufei sighed. “I wish my father was that easy.” “Have you even tried to talk to him about it?” “No,” Wufei groaned. “He doesn’t even approve of jeans.” “Then maybe you should try to reason with the girl.” “She doesn’t have any more choice than I do.” “You could always just refuse,” Hiiro reasoned. “Yes,” Wufei nodded gazing distantly into his hands. “But it would mean the loss of many of the things I’ve worked very hard for.” “Surely he wouldn’t disown you,” Hiiro balked. “No,” Wufei replied. “But one of my cousins would have to stand in my place which would entitle them to my position and title.” “Sounds like your stuck going along with it until a solution presents itself,” Hiiro surmised sadly. Wufei nodded once again gazing at the nothing in his hands as he confessed, “I just don’t know how to tell him.” “Him?” The Chinese boy’s ears pinked as his black eyes rolled up to regard his friend uncertainly. “He’s a man of some importance so we’ve kept it quiet,” he explained sheepishly. “But this is going to upset him so much I have no idea how to break it to him. Gods, I am such a coward,” he groaned flopping back on the mat. “Would it help if I came along?” “You’d do that?” Wufei grinned sitting back up. “If it would help,” Hiiro shrugged. “It would. You can meet us tomorrow night for dinner…” “Tomorrow?” “Is that a problem?” “Um… I already have an engagement…” Hiiro began stalling when Wufei’s face fell. “How about you join us for sushi and I’ll try to help smooth the way for the big announcement while we eat?” Damn it! He had so been looking forward to some quiet time to sit and talk with Duo but he couldn’t let Wufei down. ~ * ~ tbc... |
