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"The Rovers"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, Romance, Adventure Pairings: ? Summary: The characters from Gundam Wing find love amid the perils of war, oh… and they save the world while they're at it. The story is set in an alternative universe on earth. Part One is told from Heero's point of view. We meet the roving people with a hidden agenda, and the men hunting them. In Part Two, things go wild and…well, let's just get through these first four chapters of Part One and see how it goes. Thanks to Waterlily for reading and offering her
advice not just once but twice—and when you get through part
two you see just how long a story this is and just how much I owe
her! Hope the exchange rate is in my favor… "The Rovers " Chapter 10 -Winter's End and the Hope Springs Eternal (o) Wufei's pov The grayness settled on Bratislava. Gray buildings, gray skies, rain and mist in the long evenings. Well, Wufei noticed, not all the buildings were as dull as that-rather vibrant pops of color here and there. Maybe it was his mood? The city didn't mind its gray-found all that bright and sunny business as winter ended a little too cheerful for its comfort. So, on closer inspection, maybe it was that the city wore the grey like a favorite old sweater over its brighter undergarments. How stupidly poetic, Wufei thought, chastising his dip into whimsy. He and Zechs rode along the edge of the town, under the watchful gaze of the city castle, fresh white with red roofs on the turrets. Some of that non-gray. Khushrenada, they knew, was not in residence there tonight. The invitation to see him came from the hunting lodge further into the mountains. They continued along the Danube, and onwards into the densely forested Small Carpathians. A man in uniform matching that of Dermail's troops took their horses. A light in the window shone golden, welcoming. Wufei took that and the invitation as good signs, signs that the general was ready to give up. Wufei reasoned that all the work they have done, strengthening the colonies armaments and mobilizing troops to defend the borders, must be causing him problems. But then he didn't know the man. He was hoping things were so for Zechs' sake. Shoes off, sleeves rolled back, a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine by his side, Khushrenada stretched out on a wine-red velvet sofa and read and reread Merquise's letter. Wufei looked around him in a kind of dispirited awe-trophy heads on every wall, their glass eyes glittering in the forest light. Tentatively, he settled himself on the leather cushion of a huge wooden chair with hunting scenes carved into the high back. The old empire lived on, he thought. One of the general's pet aristocrats had agreed to loan him the hunting lodge. His eyes settled on the man his heart had decided was to blame for all the destruction they'd seen. His L5- mostly gone. Dying last words from a soldier telling him to fight on for justice and of his clan's choice to pick death over tyranny. "So very private," Treize said with a wink. It was that. His thoughts were definitely his own. Wufei didn't like the way he looked him over, or the wink, and looked away. I will kill him, he promised himself in order to feel better about not screaming. He watched Zechs control his urge to pace. The tall man settled for a stance by the double glass doors looking out into the shadowed terrace and forest beyond. Wufei walked over to join him in his observation of the scenery. "It's very wild," Wufei said. Thick with pines and a rushing brook that wound past the window and leading to a picturesque waterfall that foamed white over a dark outcropping. Spring melt happening faster and faster. He placed an arm over the broad back. If it brought Zechs any comfort, good; he didn't care what the hell the general thought of it. Zechs leaned into him. "Wild, like the art," he murmured. Wufei felt a shiver cross his shoulders. "It's getting cold again." That comment brought a nod from Zechs. "The winter that never ends." "It's a cold spring, but water is flowing," Wufei commented. Until the general was ready to talk, he simply wanted to keep Zechs occupied. "There's that." Zechs stepped back away from the glass. Wufei followed at his heels. They wandered about, gazing up at the terrible paintings. Sicilian maidens caught as they filled amphorae from little streams, Gypsy girls with tambourines, a dyspeptic uniformed statesman, Duke Dermail at his worst, with his hand resting on the ivory-carved hilt of his sword. At the far end of the room, between the stuffed heads of a bear and a tusked wild boar, Zechs stood before a cabinet and tapped his fingers on the gleaming sword edge. "We're not going to play with these, are we?" Zechs asked the general, who had dropped the letter to watch the nearly-a-king stroll about. "We are not," Treize said. "For what you did, there are repercussions," Zechs told him, repeating in part what the letter said. "You understand L5 had to go, don't you?" Treize asked. "They wouldn't accept their role as a colony to us and they were far too dangerous to allow them independence." Wufei turned on him. "L5 chose self-destruction over oppression. I can't say I blame them. It saddens me." "You will miss family and friends. I'm sorry for your loss." Wufei gave him a sharp look. So, Treize had determined he was from L5 and not L1. Spies along the road? He hadn't hid his emotions, his tears, and his anger. Zechs had let him rant and rave and mourn without limits. Maybe he should have held back? Wufei sighed, forgiving them both. It had been a weak cover story, and since it served no purpose anymore, Wufei didn't call him on it and deny his origins. "It saddens me that I couldn't have been there to lead them to victory!" Wufei cried out, and then strode out of the room. "I should have thought you would have found a less excitable companion." "You clearly do not know me, then," Zechs said. "It is time for me to go." "You won't stay for dinner? The roast is boar, I am led to believe," Treize said. "I only came to see if you were ready to concede," Zechs told him. "I see you are not. All I promise is that if you remain here, you are guaranteed safety." "Your worship," Treize said with mock politeness, "is this you granting me my own homeland?" "Your life, should you stay here." Zechs turned on a heel to follow Wufei's path to the door. "Another threat," the general said to his retreating back. "You forget- I have the armies under my orders." "You forget," Zechs said, pausing. "I do not threaten, I warn you of what will occur if you fail to obey my commands. Stay, Treize, live long and grow old and fat." Back outside the gloom was deepening. Wufei could not be in the same room with that man and a case full of swords. He had not agreed with his lover- yes, lover. He made no such promises of amnesty for the general, who had over-reached his bounds; who had gone rogue. The next time he and Treize would meet would be the death of one of them, and Wufei intended to live and represent his colony with pride. He heard Zechs' quick, long strides behind him, and cast a look over his shoulder. "We'll be lucky to get back to town before it's dark," Wufei groused. "We have a dinner invitation," Zechs told him, "and accommodations here, but I turned them down." Staying in the warm house hadn't seemed too bad an idea. Just the one night. But, he knew Zechs hadn't wanted to give him the opportunity to cross swords with Khushrenada. Zechs, on the other hand, just kept giving the man chance after chance to give up with a token of his honor and property. Wufei was convinced that at one time, maybe as unencumbered youths, Treize and Zechs had been close friends. Maybe more. Wufei did not want to consider what that more could entail, but it did explain why Zechs was so generous to the dishonorable cur. "We'll stay at a good inn in the city," Zechs told him, meaning Bratislava. "Notify the others. Then in the morning we begin our travel to Sanc." "By others you mean Yuy, Winner and the two Rovers?" Wufei asked. "Of course. Who else can we trust to help us?" Who indeed? And they had access to the weapons that would win them the war. (o) Quatre's pov Three April nights. Suddenly warm, then showery, crickets loud in the fields, apple trees in clouds of white blossom. It meant to Quatre Winner, Prince of the L4 colony, that if the plan went badly, he would not see this country again-it was that strange habit of a thing to show you its loveliest face just before you lost it. At 2:00 A.M. he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The silence of the little street was oppressive. He poured a shot of whiskey and moved to an armchair, dozed off, then woke suddenly-not knowing why until a fist hammered on the first floor door a second time. He ran down the stairs to the hall and opened the heavy door. A Rover, wrapped, face shadowed passed him a note and a word or two: "Leave at first light. Showdown in Sanc." A code phrase followed that urging him to act soon. Quatre scanned the signature first "H" and then the details. "Oh, dear," he concluded. "Thank you." He climbed the staircase and tip-toed back into the room he shared with Trowa Barton, closing the door snugly behind him. There, he sat on the chair beside the bed where his lover lay asleep. "I'm sorry," Quatre whispered, but his lover didn't move. The poor man must have been completely worn out, ridden most of the night, to have slept through the knock at the door. So sweet in his sleep! Quatre couldn't stop looking at him. He had been in the apartment since the previous day, alone, had had wanted him so badly it hurt. Anyone would, he thought; man, woman, or tree. It wasn't that Trowa was beautiful. More than that. Fully competent, real through and through, and deeply caring. His body strong, long-limbed, supple, with fingers that lingered on everything he touched for just a moment longer than they should. For what? What did he learn from that touch, Quatre wondered? Quatre wanted to climb into bed with him, put his hands in the waistbands of everything he was wearing and pull down. But then, at the same time, he was afraid to touch him and wake him. Trowa Barton- he would, of course, be his single weakness-anything he wanted, Quatre would do his best to provide. "Anything," he said aloud. "Quatre?" Trowa asked, opening his eyes and looking at the figure nearby. "Come sit here." He gave the mattress a pat, and sat up, settling with a pillow behind his back. "You're up? What's wrong?" Quatre sat. Then he settled back, took Trowa's hand and put it between his own legs and held it there. Then he sighed. "We've been summoned to Sanc. Wufei is still travelling with Zechs and says we must be prepared for trouble." Trowa ran his hand along his thigh, hip to knee and smiled, showing not completely straight teeth. "That's his way of asking for help. They must be desperate." "And so proud." Quatre leaned over and kissed the other man lightly. "Instructor H annotated the message. Treize had Zechs' father murdered." "He's sure of that?" Quatre told him about the deciphering machine and only rarely could they act on what they learned lest they give away the source who'd intercepted the messages. "H says the message was from Khushrenada and that he said two kings would die this winter. He's worried about what that means." "Your father-?" Trowa began. Quatre nearly dropped the note. That hadn't crossed his mind. There were other small kingdoms, not colonies, where royalty still reigned. "I-I... don't know. Possibly, yes. Oh, I recall now how you warned me before- before we fled L3. I just don't understand why anyone could harm him! Father's no threat to him; he's an ally!" "You've been gone a long time, Quatre," Trowa reminded him. He didn't know what had transpired or changed. "True, but the Maguanacs have been in that land, protecting it since the beginning of time. They would protect him." "I'll find out what I can, then," Trowa said. "I promise." "Together we will, of course." "We will, if you insist," Trowa said with the same emphasis on the "we" and smiled, "which you do." "I do." Quatre was pleased to have gained that much of his confidence. He snuggled closer and ran a cool finger over the other man's lower lip. He leaned in and kissed the same lip lightly, teasingly delicate. "So..." "I-I have a fresh supply of weapons to collect. It's on the way. Looks like we'll be taking it south," Trowa said, swallowing hard. "Of course." Quatre suspected there would be work to do along the way. Trowa stood. "Sanc is beautiful in the springtime." "L4 is too, you'll see." Quatre reached out and pulled on Trowa's arm. "We aren't leaving this instant. Come lie with me. I need you." "Oh, priories right. In that case," Trowa whispered with the barest of smiles, and then returned the earlier kiss with more passion and kicked away a troublesome blanket for better access to the more interesting legs underneath. (o) Heero's pov Weeks had passed, and in the vicinity of the L2 colony the end of winter brought to the land a soggy dankness with a twilight gloom cast from ever-present clouds sagging overhead. Outside the window, a consoling countryside. Low hills, pine forest. Sudden rivers at spring flood, the sound of the pounding water as it passed through an open gorge. "Still think L2 is the fairest in all the land?" Duo asked him, joking. "Yes, I do. Rain is good. I don't mind it," Heero answered. "Good, 'cause that's what's gonna be what we ride through. And it's a long ride we got to look forward to." Almost from the moment they entered the forest they could hear the river, hidden, but not far away. Water dripped from the bare branches of the trees, the earth was soft and spongy underfoot. They walked for what seemed like a long time, because it was a long time, before they got their first view of the Snake River. Duo stopped the wagon to look. About a hundred yards wide and running at spring flood, heavy and gray in the darkness, with plumes of white foam where the water surged around a rock or a snag. "And where is this bridge?" Heero asked. This supposed bridge. Duo nodded his head-just up the path. "You said that an hour ago." "I didn't say anything and it wasn't that long either." "Just give me a fucking measurement," Heero growled. He was fast running out of patience and he wasn't having enough fun to make up for the arduous slog over muddy roads. "About a kilometer or so," Duo said. "Let's get it over with." "Right." Duo sounded too tired to dispute or agree. He clicked his tongue and slapped the reins and the horses moved forward. It grew dark; clouds covered the moon, and mist rose from the river. Midway through a long, slow curve, they caught sight of the bridge over the Snake River. "See, there it is." Duo pointed backwards. "We'll leave the wagon and check it out first." There was no reason to unload the wagon until after meeting with their contacts. "Yes," Heero agreed and tied the horses to a tree. The two of them walked in silence, and, a few minutes later, they reached the bridge. A narrow, rickety old thing, the water sucked into deep eddies around the wooden poles that held it up, the surface maybe ten feet below the walkway. As Heero watched the bridge, it moved. The far end was sharp against the sky-a broken shard of railing thrust out toward the L2 colony's side of the river. And, by moonlight, he could just make out the blackened char pattern on the wood, where the part that had been set on fire-or dynamited, or whatever it was-had fallen into the water. Three figures grew out of the shadows. Heero's hand gripped his blaster rifle; he raised and sighted it in an instant. "Shini! You're late!" shouted an angry woman's voice. Heero lowered the weapon and breathed deeply, calming and centering himself for a friendly confrontation. He watched Hilde dash the rest of the way across bridge and stride right up to Duo. She punched his arm. Duo's arms rose out to his sides in a friendly greeting. "Geez, I tried but these border guards are getting tetchy and can't seem to read legit licenses anymore." "That's not all that's going wrong." Hilde looked around. "You got a wagon load?" "Yeah. Back there." "Heero, too?" "Yeah, watching every move we make," Duo said. He grinned. "So don't get any funny ideas-" "Ooh!" Hilde said, still governing her shout to a low tone. "I wouldn't! Not with you!" She punched him harder and he stepped back laughing. "All right! There was a time you could take a joke," he chuckled. "There was a time when you were funny," she snapped back. "If you want to chow down at the best roadhouse in Elkhorn, better getcher butt over here." Heero was happy to see that the end of the mission had revived Duo, relieved his stress; he was joking again. It was like a signal to him that he, too, could let down his guard a bit. Soon. "Will the bridge hold?" Heero asked, stepping into view. "Yeah, it will," Hilde said. "We make it look about to fall apart to keep enemy troops from crossing here. Makes them go to the big one further south." They found a little restaurant in Elkhorn, ate cabbage stuffed with sausage and a plate of fried eggs. The server's eyebrow raised a fraction as he got the bottles from beneath the counter. "Yeah, one for me, too," Hilde told him. He opened one and poured the beer into a tilted glass. Hilde drank. Duo and Heero filled their own glasses. Duo looked down at the local paper, flipped the page, took a look at the headlines. "Why I keep buying this rag I don't know." "You don't," Heero said. "Someone left that one behind." They drank their beer, Duo working on the paper's puzzle, Heero watching the accordion player. Hilde talked to the other two Rovers she'd brought with her, a man, Angel, and a woman called Joe, for Josephine. Finally Duo slammed down the paper. "Enough of that! Crazy words. I'm tired. They have rooms here?" he asked Hilde. "I already got us three," she said, smiling. "You can thank me later. I'm sure you'll think of something." Heero glared over Duo's shoulder, hoping that was more of her idea of a joke. He was not a little relieved to find one room was designated for him and Duo. A room of their own above the stables- the horses restless down below-a hard bed, and a bottle of plum brandy. "At least," Duo commented, "they didn't send along the stableman's daughter." Heero felt Duo's arms wrap him in his body's heat, and with a tug, pull him tightly to his chest. "Would have been crowded in that bed," Duo murmured in his ear. Heero chuckled, happy to know Duo wanted him too and drank some of the brandy when Duo offered it. They made sloppy, lazy, and rather speedy love and then Duo turned over and fell instantly to sleep. Heero closed his eyes and tried to rest; he sipped more brandy, but still he couldn't sleep. It was thunder that kept him awake from a storm that never rained yet never moved away. He looked out the window now and then, but the sky was all stars and tattered clouds. "I love this place," he thought. Just after dawn they were gathered around a table sipping coffees and gorging on rolls, honey, and cheese, saying little until the mugs were refilled. "So," Duo began, "What aren't you telling us?" Hilde looked up, surprised at first then sank back into her chair. "There's chaos in L4 being covered up by Sanc forces." "Chaos can be good," Duo said. "Khushrenada's entered L4, but it's not an invasion. It's a part of Sanc now, he claims. They say Princess Relena married Prince Quatre in L4 and that the king is gone-" "Dead?" Heero asked. "Some say dead, others say Quatre's taken his father and his people into the L4 caves in the Land of the Dead." Heero leaped to his feet. "That's impossible! We know where he is, and that he'd left his colony before she even arrived." Hilde nodded always looking a little bit in awe of Heero. "I know, but we can't actually say that, can we? It would give him away and you can bet that there's an all-out search for him going on." Heero paled and looked to the door. "Relena's in danger. I must help her." As deeply as he believed this was true, he looked to Duo for confirmation. What he saw instead was pain in his eyes. "You're just taking off?" Duo asked. "I vowed to protect her!" "Hold on!" Duo told him. He reached out and held him in place. "Think a minute." Heero's eyes were riveted to the other man's. He gave him a curt nod. He was ready to listen. "Think, 'Ro." Duo's voice lowered to just above a whisper. "If they wanted her dead she'd be dead, but she's their excuse for being in L4, so she's safe." "For now." "Yeah. It's Quat who's in serious shit. He's worth more dead than alive at this point. A dead Quat can't deny the marriage-" "They'll want heirs," Heero said, back to wild extrapolation. "She'll be forced... say it's Quatre's-!" "C'mon, 'Ro. Who of your guard would rape Relena? Wouldn't they all fall on a sword first? Wouldn't they protect her from anyone else trying to hurt her-just as you? And Khushrenada's not about to waste his troops in L4 where a few guards can hold it. The general's pretty spread out already. He can't run a war on every border at the same time. She'll be fine for a while, until they resolve what to do about the missing prince." Heero crumpled inside. Of course. What had he been thinking? "Yeah, you running to her would just put her in more danger and upset everything," Hilde agreed. "I promise you," Duo said. "We will go south, see what's going on, but you gotta do it the right way, with a plan and back up, okay?" Heero closed his eyes. He thanked the Gods for giving him a friend like Duo. A lover like Duo. Putting Duo in his life. "I love you," he said, his voice pitched so low only Duo could have heard. "I know, buddy, I know." Duo embraced him and released him quickly. "I don't want her used as some megalomaniac's symbolic figurehead. I mean, you know how they word that crap? Bumping her off would usher in a new era of something or other." Hilde knocked on Duo's head. "Hey, we came up with a plan while you two lovebirds are making eyes at one another. Wanna hear it?" Half an hour later, they were back on the road. Hilde and Joe rode in the wagon with the weapons. Angel sat up front in the driver's seat. Duo and Heero rode horseback, Duo taking point and Heero trailing behind watching for attackers. Things had been going so well they were practically singing rounds in the wagon. Eyes closed, Heero could detect sounds and smells better. Wet leaves from bay trees, soaking in sun-warmed puddles, steeping like tea. Birds defining territories, finding mates, testing new-found voices. Eyes open and there was Duo's braid swinging in front of him... Spring was overpoweringly sweet! And yet... He felt the phantom sensation of something crawling on his skin-a warning. Then he heard the sound of horse hooves thundering on the hard-packed road. "Duo! Riders coming fast behind us!" Duo whirled his horse around and grabbed the lead pony's bridle. He steered the wagon to the side, and then off the road, avoiding a ditch. They wanted to appear disabled but not actually break an axle. Hilde pushed out of the wagon the broken wheel Duo had made them keep. She followed close behind, leaning the wheel against the side of the wagon and climbing behind it. Her buster rifle fit comfortably, as well as invisibly, at the center of the spokes, with an opening just made for the rifle's muzzle. "Ready!" Heero hopped off his horse, took a heavy hammer from Joe, who remained inside the wagon. He banged at a stump, mimicking the sound of pounding in a wood peg which would secure the wheel to the axle. Duo led the two horses he and Heero had been riding into the forest and poised ready to take out the first person to aim a gun at one of his friends. Angel hid on the opposite side of the road with the riders in his viewfinder, ready to defend the wagon with his life. When the riders approached, the hope was that they would see a peasant family broken down at the side of the road, a common scene with the rutted roads, and simply move on disinterested. If not, then they were ready to shoot their way out of a confrontation. The lead rider slowed but kept going. So did the next. It was one of the last that stopped and asked if Heero needed any help. Before Heero could say no, the sound of a wailing baby came from inside the wagon. Heero shrugged. "Not unless you want to take care of that," he said. "No thanks!" replied the young private. No soldier wanted anything to do with the care of a bawling baby. He dug in his heels, spurring his steed to ride fast to catch up with the others. When the last of the pounding horse hooves could be heard, everyone came out of hiding. "What a great baby cry," Hilde said, giving the other woman a friendly pat on the back. "I didn't know you had it in you." "For a minute there," Duo said, grinning, "I thought you maybe gave birth!" Joe whacked him on the head. "Idiot." Heero looked at Duo and smiled. "She agrees with me!" Duo made a face at him. "I want dinner and a bed to sleep in, maybe a bath," Hilde announced. "Then you'd better get a move on," Duo said. "Next town's five miles up, if the troops that just passed us don't stop there." "If they do, I'll regret not shooting them when they made such an easy target." Hilde slung the rifle to her back and climbed up into the driver's seat. "You are so violent," Duo told her, then laughed and rode on. The town was closer than Duo remembered and the enemy troops had ridden through without stopping for the day. Taking that as a sign that they should make it their stop, Duo led them to an inn on the far side of town where he was pretty certain, he said, they would all get rooms. And yes, there were three lovely rooms available. Dinner served at eight. It was only five, so there was time to kill. Baths were available, if they would all agree to share one, the management said. Hilde disapproved with a firm, "Hell no!" and the women secured the bath to themselves. Angel, Heero and Duo ordered tankards of the local brew, and downed them directly. After his third, the single Rover staggered away from the table. "See you at dinner, if I stay awake that long." "We'll have to be resourceful, if we're gonna stay up," Duo said to Heero and grabbed Heero by the hand. They climbed up the narrow staircase, stripping off their clothes wet and dirty clothes, so that by the time they closed the door to their room, they were in their underwear. Heero let Duo move past him, noting absently that Duo smelled of sweat and pine needles. They sat on a sprung old sofa that somebody had covered with a sheet. "Not much of a bed," Duo noted. "I'll have you thinking about other things in no time," Heero said. Heero loved to watch Duo before making love, feeling the desire welling up, building, and then filling Duo with his love... Heero also liked to hold Duo. He liked the feel of his weight in his arms. He was looking forward to some of that cuddling, when, instead, Duo hopped to his feet and hitched a leg on the window sill, posed completely naked. "I'm not sure we should stay here any longer than the night," Duo said. He turned his head and stared into space concentrating on the stars; arms clasping a knee, long, brown braid limp, sweat glistening on his bare chest. "I agree," Heero said slowly, "We should leave first thing in the morning, and avoid the bigger villages. Not that we have a plan where to run to next, do we?" "Only vaguely." Duo rubbed at his face. "Damn, it would be nice to be someplace where we weren't everyone's target, ya know?" "Yes, that would be nice. We'll get that sometime," Heero said. "Some. Time." Duo closed his eyes, moved his hips a little to get more comfortable, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, a sorrowful sound. "You know what it is, Heero? I like to fuck. It's that simple. To drink a glass of ale. Just to watch the day go by in the most pointless way." "Really? You like those sorts of things?" Heero chuckled. "Yeah. First of all, understand that I am in love." "Bravo." "No, Heero, don't make light of it. I am, just don't, all right?" Heero examined his friend's face carefully. "You're drunk." "I am." "But you are smitten as well," Heero said. Heero knew Duo was making light of a serious subject, but he felt a bit light-headed from the extra drinks at dinner and didn't care deeply, as long as Duo smiled at him. "Smitten? Yes. It's true. Cupid's arrow-it was an ambush, completely a surprise. This man shows up and then . . ." There was a rap at the door. One hard, two quick. Heero lit off the couch, yanking a blanket around him, and was at the door. "What?" "Get dressed!" Hilde shouted and stuffed a note in Heero's hand. "Completely screwed with my bath time." He took the damp note and read. "Fuck!" "Yeah, well, I'll go tell the inn keeper to pack our dinners." She combed the bangs from her eyes and shook out a trickle of water. Duo was at his side, not bothering to cover up at all. "What is it?" "Read the note. By the way, you could use a little more meat on your bones, Shini." Hilde left a trail of water drops in her wake. "Zechs... needs us in Sanc now." Heero smiled grimly, but his conspiratorial smile was not returned. "Does he now?" Duo said. He closed the door harder than necessary. "I need a good night's sleep." "Don't you think I'd rather stay here? This is serious. If Khushrenada's there will be a confrontation." When Duo didn't immediately agree, Heero pleaded with him. "C'mon, Duo, I've been helping you with your assignments. Haven't I earned... something? Your trust! And then Trowa-? "-Yeah, yeah... you got me with your trust, though, figuring my bud into the equation... man... yeah, he's probably got the same call-to-action and is dragging his sand-prince with him. Have to show up just to lend him a hand." Duo flashed him a quick smile that fell into a thin line. He stepped back into Heero's arms and rested their heads together. "But there's more... Just between us," Duo brought his lips close to his ear, "if it should happen that we are betrayed by those who claim to be our friends, we may not be so quick to give our lives in their service. That sort of business is bloody, 'Ro." "It's not a set up," Heero said, sure of it. He found the moist lips of his dreams and pressed his into them. He didn't linger. He had more to say. "Zechs is trustworthy when it comes to valuing his friends." "Hope you're right. 'Cause I hate when I'm trapped. There is always interrogation, always reprisal-you can only create a resistance movement when people don't care about their lives, and I value yours and mine." "Me, too." Heero said. In spite of the interruption in what was going to be a fun evening, he was happy. He wanted to get back a bit of what they'd had before Hilde disturbed them. He drew Duo into his arms, dropping the blanket, found the braid, and wrapped it around his wrist. "You really love me?" "I said I did," Duo said, melting into the embrace. His warm breath tickled Heero's ear when he whispered, "And I don't lie." "I love you, too." "Yeah, love, you told me before, not that I'm complaining." Duo smiled. "I'm complaining," Heero whined. "I want you again." "Yeah, well, not gonna happen, unless...?" Heero shook his head and released his hold on the hair and Duo's waist. "Damn, we got bad timing." Duo sighed. "I hate to put on these dirty clothes." He leaned over and groaned. "Can you ride?" Heero asked. Duo could hardly stand straight. "I'm game to try." Heero remembered the pounding he'd just given Duo and shook his head. "You ride in the wagon with Hilde. I'll take point and Angel can bring up the back." "'Sokay." Duo smile looked a little askew. "God, I hate Sanc, just so you know." "It's all right. I love L2." TBC...
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