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"Multi Universes Trifecta"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: Yaoi, angst, sap Pairings: 1x2, 3x2, 1x2x3 (or combination thereof) A/N: In horse racing terminology, a trifecta is
a bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first,
second, and third in exact order. This is something like that. Without
the horses or the racing or the betting. I'm keeping the" three"
part. In that order, more or less. Thank you, Waterlily, for the fabulous editing
job while you moved across the world. This story is for Snowdragon's birthday. Best
wishes, sweetie! Summary: Duo wakes up to discover he has two boyfriends
living two different lives in two universes at the same time. When
the third one comes around, it's over. "Multi Universes Trifecta " Chapter Two - Work was never this much fun I was nearly prepared this time for being yanked out of Heero's universe and dropped down the rabbit hole to end up in Trowa's. Nearly. I had to get my bearings first. The scent of coffee sent my head spinning. I saw people seated- correct that- agents in uniform, all with their personalized coffee mugs. When had we become a hot-beverage toting society, was my question? Damn, how long had it been since I'd had a cup of coffee? Too long, obviously, and yet love it as I might, I didn't feel a craving about to drive me wild with desire. Had I detoxed along my multi-universe passage? Possibly, but I still required food to fuel this fine body of mine. I didn't see that happening here at the conference table. I thought then that I should pay attention to the buzz of voices around me, which so far had not completely distracted me from my internal ramblings, my doubts, and my questions. All hopes of lunch, followed by a little afternoon delight, were quashed by the piercing yap of Director Une's voice. I kept my hands folded in my lap and eyes focused on the reams of papers strewn in front of me. One read like gibberish: "Tertiary obstacles at reclining angles 60 degrees Tuesday with struts on mark five." Another was gibberish: "Thend offles ton of knucbabules or not fuices quit on able." I filled with quivering animal wariness; first from discovering I had not one but two boyfriends and that both were in trouble of some dire nature, and then that I'd have to save them before I could sort things out, and that I'd have to do that before I lost my mind. Concentrate. What was the purpose of the mission Heero was on, I wondered? Then I felt the hunger pangs kick in again. It was either this universe or Une's secretary was falling down on the job, but the service was definitely going downhill. Something was missing. Where were the coffee and doughnuts for this meeting? I say! "Any chance that I could get me some coffee and... (think nutrition)... a bagel?" I asked, blurted out, really, just to test the fabric of this reality for holes. "Maxwell!" Une's scorn could be felt through a Gundanium shield, I was sure. "If you had arrived on time, you would have enjoyed the catered meal. There's no time now to bring one person up to speed. Now, Agent Barton, if you would proceed?" Late?! I felt the blood drain and a cold stabbing pain in my chest brought on by one of those eerie feelings that I had just walked into a test on the last day of class, a Preventers training class I'd managed to miss all year. Everyone else was ready to go, but not me. I was still sorting out my schedule. Was this the right room? How would I make up the work? How much else had I missed? Ahhhh! ERG! How could any of this be? THINK! I must have arrived at work with Trowa, which means we came together, at the same time, and he wasn't late. Or he was and she didn't care. I always did find her distressingly captivated by Trowa, my Trowa. So, he could arrive late and pass muster, but not me. I couldn't be dreaming this garbage, could I? And yet, it was just too fucked up to be real. I pinched my arm and it hurt. Reality it was. Maybe. "He gave us an 'all clear', so we know his team landed on target." That was Trowa's voice so I cast a look his way. Trowa was sticking a pin onto a map, marking our drop-off point. I remembered that, him telling me we dropped Heero's team for some mission-which would remain pointless, apparently. "And we know the team had a day's march to get to here." Another pin marked that spot. "Agent Yuy never reported in and is currently six hours overdue. We have to assume the team never reached their destination." The director pointed to the table as if the answer could be found there. "How many facilities were they to investigate?" Again Trowa picked up a pile of pins and began fixing them into different points on the map. "Ten are scattered in the area. Six are considered 'safe', two 'unknown' but not suspicious, and the last two-," Trowa used tacks with round red heads to mark these, "-are rated 'hot' targets." "One of those unknowns is just off the path that they were heading on," I pointed out, not that everyone else couldn't see that. And I noted that my mission would probably have that for a destination. Nasty place. I did not want to go there and I was pretty darn sure Heero wasn't there. Why was I so sure? I just was. I'd just been walking on the beach with him. The universes had to be connected, since I was in them all, making me a link. I didn't know my universe-hopping science, but no one else even had a clue-and I was sure Heero was fine. "Would you care to explain how you know that, Agent Maxwell?" Une was glaring at me again. A roomful of eyes were staring at me, waiting. I hadn't thought I said all that out loud. Cool. Not. "It's just a gut feeling, uh, ma'am, er, sir." I sounded lame even to me. "The only man whose gut feelings I respect are Winner's," the director informed us all, telling me in particular that she didn't give a rat's ass what I felt. That public near-execution during the war should have clued me in on that-no, I never forgot that or forgave her for publicizing my face on the news all over the universe. I figured I was going to be kicked out on my ear any second, which I didn't want. I liked my job- check that- I liked having a job. I looked for Trowa. He might help me out of this? But he was mired deep in discussion with Angelica Myers or Emerson or something or other. Her new married name escaped me, but she I recognized as another agent he and I had teamed with a long time ago. Great. I was on my own. Une was staring at him. Her eyes dark. She was lusting over his nicely khaki-covered ass! Hey! That ass belonged to me! I'd never had a boyfriend until now and I damn well was going to keep this one. To achieve this goal I jumped to my feet and opened my mouth to protest loud and clear. Trowa turned his face my way. He wore this languid, perfectly satisfied expression. In fact his entire repose screamed laid-back, or just laid. Ah, okay that explained why I, we, were late coming to this meeting. Heh, heh... I'd take six-star sex over a billion-star breakfast, anytime. And apparently I had. I wish I could remember that! I was feeling a little light-headed (when had I eaten last?) when who should appear but Quatre Winner in the flesh, at my side, dragging me out of the room. "Let me see what's on his mind, Director," Quatre was saying. "There's something at work here, I can tell." Une must have given him her blessing, because she didn't stop us from leaving. We didn't go far, just the adjoining room. And we won't alone. Wufei in a dark cloud of misery was there, too. "What the hell are you doing?" Wufei said. "I thought Quat and I were going for a hush-hush little rendezvous, but with you here I guess we're not." My jest got sucked up by Wufei's black hole of a mood, and my face nearly smashed in by his fist of fury. "Wufei!" Quatre snapped. "Give Duo a chance!" Wufei clammed up instantly. Really. Pulled himself together- and in. Like a clam. All quiet and tight. "That's better. Now, Duo. Tell me what's wrong. I can feel nothing but muddle about you." Muddle. Yep. So, what was there to tell? And then it came to me like manna from heaven, what Heero had told me about Quatre's feelings for Wufei, and might-just might-hold true in this universe too. It gave me the idea that my buddy Quat might understand about my Trowa-Heero conundrum. It wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe. Of course, it had been in Heero's world that Quatre was lusting after Wufei. I had no idea if that held up in this, Trowa's universe. So, it could hurt to try. "Okay. This will be hard to believe-" I heard a noise from Wufei, but since he was practically inaudible to me, I went on to tell my story. "First, I woke up in what I think was the Preventers clinic. Then I woke up here, um, with Trowa." Another snort, and then unable to keep in inside any longer, Wufei burst out with, "Don't insult our intelligence. You bumped your head, but it was only your head, so you are fine. And everyone knows you live with Barton." "He's your boyfriend," Quatre added with delight. At this point I wondered if my comrade in arms were playing good cop bad cop with me. If Quat was sounding pleased as punch, 'Fei was there to deliver a punch. "Tell us something we don't know," Wufei demanded. "Are you done biting my head off?" I asked Wufei. His mouth opened then snapped shut. I took that as a "yes, Duo, I am done and very, very sorry to have interrupted you. Please proceed." I could script his lines better than him. "Fine. So, I was just setting the scene. I didn't want to put you both off by telling you I-I move in different worlds." I heard a gasp and a grunt and rushed on before I lost my nerve to say it out loud. "Okay, so here's where it gets weird." Wufei sniffed. "Weird-er. When I woke up the next time I was... with Heero." "And by with," Quatre asked with so much reticence I nearly laughed, "you mean-?" "In bed naked," I said ending his misery, or adding to it. "And I was his boyfriend." Wufei snorted and muttered something that sounded like "in your dreams," but I'm not sure. Look who was talking! I didn't see a ring on his finger! "And then ka-bang! I'm back with Trowa and he gets a call that Heero's in trouble and then whoosh! I'm back with Heero and Trowa's lost and then whoosh! again and I'm here and Une's arranging a search party for Heero and I know where he is and he's fine, just like Trowa's pretty okay too." "It sounds terrible, Duo. So confusing for you." At least Quat was commiserating, although I kept my eyes on the both of them in case one of my friends tried notifying the mental ward to commandeer me away. "Yes and no. There were good times. Especially at that beach house of yours, Quat. That was awesome." "What house?" he asked, baffled. "The one you lent 'Ro and me." "He means mine," Wufei said. "I think, but you've never stayed there." "On a cliff, whopping big porch with two hammocks-?" I would have described it down to the number of nails in the floorboards, but he butt in. "Impossible! You have not been there." Wufei turned to Quatre imploring his back up, I was guessing. "Duo's obviously overworked and needs a vacation." Quatre shook his head. "I actually believe him. His state of mind, his confusion is so perplexing and hard to explain any other way." "Oh, Quatre, you can't be serious," Wufei scoffed. "I am! Duo, I want to help you." Clad in a three-piece, dove grey suit and crisp white shirt, Quatre didn't look ready to dive into the jungle and hunt for a missing Heero. Now that would have helped me. Normally (Ha!) Quat's job was low on feats of action hero magnitude. He ran Une's Public Relations department and acted like a Preventers goodwill ambassador all over the Earthsphere. But if he really wanted to help me, he could be running search parties for Heero, freeing me up so I wouldn't have to. I could be stopping Heero from his wild goose chase (Trowa was a guy, so maybe that would make it a gander hunt instead?) in the other universe. He put a hand on my arm, eyes twinkling. "But first tell me how you feel about Heero, and Trowa, both of them." "Um..." Now, there was the question I hoped he wouldn't ask. The Quatre I knew wouldn't have. I don't think. He interfered with the lives of political stooges, but not my friends, or me. "... that's a tough call. When I really think about it, in my universe, the one I started out in, I'm not with anyone, especially not either of them. I'd never want to jeopardize our friendships trying to choose one over the other, if either of them actually felt a thing for me, which I don't know." "Really? I should never have guessed." Wufei hadn't been cowed by the nonviolent wrath of Quat for long. Big surprise there. "And how do you suggest you do that now? But while you consider the problem, please don't underestimate Barton's territorial tendencies. He's not liable to want to share, even you- even with Yuy." I didn't like where he put the emphasis, but he had a point. "Oh. Yeah." Another pothole in the rocky road to my happy place. "Not to mention," Wufei put in, knowing I was losing ground, and rocky ground at that, "relationships within Preventers are frowned upon to begin with but one that complex and fraught with-" "Yeah, and that, too." I cut him off. I didn't want to hear what he thought my proposed three-way relationship would be fraught with. "We will figure this out, Duo. I promise." Quatre gave the impression that he could and would do exactly what he promised. No wonder Une locked him into public relations. I felt a slight tug and there was my braid in his hand. Quatre Winner was petting it like... like it was some cat! "Um..." I gave it a test jerk and he freed it, but then his hands were all over me! Not all his hands, just one and it was resting on my uniform just over my heart, and he was gazing into my eyes all dreamy-like. Oh, God help me. "Relax, Duo. I can read your emotions better this way," he purred. Now who was the cat? I made the mistake of looking up in time to catch Wufei glaring at me, murder in his eyes, messy, bloody murder. I returned what was intended to be the appearance of blamelessness. Who knows what that idiot saw? "I think you ought to ask the director for some downtime." Wufei spit out each word deliberately. "I can't imagine her turning you down." Wufei folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "It's not the worst idea," Quatre agreed. He stepped away and didn't make another grab for my hair. He smiled over his shoulder at the angry presence holding up the near wall. "He could stay at your beach house, couldn't he Wufei?" It wasn't fair of Quat to put our sour-faced buddy on the spot, but he did knowing that, I'm sure. And I didn't mind watching Wufei's face go through contortions as he tried to harness his inner angry-little-man and put on a professional mask. "I'd consider it," I said in a flight of my own whimsy. Why not add a little fuel to the inferno? I could hold my own in a fight with 'Fei and I was closer to the door. Wufei hopped to action, pushing off the wall and leading Quatre to the door by the elbow. "Duo and I need to work out the details. Would you talk to Director Une and get her approval?" Once he'd closed the door on our friend, he turned on me. "I don't know what your game is-" He held up a hand to stop me from telling him, so he never was going to know, was he? "-and I don't care, now. What I do care about it that you don't drag him into some mess." "Who? You mean Quatre? I wouldn't-" and if he meant Trowa, I wouldn't hurt him either, on purpose. "Good." He narrowed his black as ink eyes and studied my face. It came to me then that all this posturing was about protecting Quatre and that could only mean one thing-Quatre was important to him in a Big Way. Time for me to mull things over a bit. What if in this universe it was Wufei pining away for Quat instead of the other way around? Made about as much sense as anything else did. If it was so, and Heero thought he could bring match-making skills to the table, then maybe it meant I had bargaining space, too. Boo-yah! I was so incredibly kick-ass I could happy-dance myself across the room and lay one big smacker of a smooch on Fei-fei. Instead of basking in my brilliance, and throwing away my life for that kiss, though, I took a chance and asked, "Does he know?" "Wha?" "Quatre. Does he know you're hot for him?" "I'm not..." But since he was, denying it would be a flat-faced lie, and he knew it was a lie and knew I'd know it was a lie. That would be unjust of him, so there. "I won't tell. Cross my heart!" I once wore a cross on a chain like a proud symbolic reminder that I never told lies. Sadly, I lied on occasion now, so I didn't wear it, but Wufei was quick on the uptake about symbol-type things, so I knew he'd know the drill and make the necessary connections and trust me. "Yes, I'm... attracted, but he doesn't know." Winner! Finally, I was getting the hang of this multi-universe trifecta I was stuck in. Too bad no one was keeping score. And so, he and I worked out a little scheme whereby I'd hook him up with Quatre, if the dude was willing, and Wufei would sell me his beach house after I checked it out. It had to be the right place, or else no deal. It was the first time he and I had ever chatted like old friends that I could remember. There was no telling how we got along in Heero's universe, but in mine and in this one I was the tolerated comrade at arms, at best. I was feeling a bit of the old warm and fuzzy for the guy, practically ready for some slap-on-the-back, arm-and-arm, I'll-buy-you-drinks-type chummy stuff. Our private little tête-à-tête was abruptly ended, as one would come to expect living the tumultuous life I was, when Trowa stormed into the room shouting. It was for the best, breaking up our little party before either of us had made a total fool of ourselves. "Duo! I've been hunting all over for you. We got to move fast. We can drop by the lockers for our packs and make it to the tarmac by oh-four hundred-just!" "Tro', um, babe," I tried that out on him and he stopped dead in his tracks and stared slack-jawed at me, well, almost. He was surprised. I struck while the Gundanium laser sword was hot. "I got a better idea. I think I know how to find Heero and it's not in the jungles of Brazil. Quatre and Wufei agree (I was tempting fate and stretching the truth all in one blow)-" I cross-checked if Wufei was about to go ballistic, but he wasn't in the room, and I hadn't even noticed his leaving? "That this is the best course of action." There! Said. "Duo? Are you sure?" he asked. "And one more thing I gotta do. Don't move!" I dashed out the door sweeping by him like a hound hot on the tail of...well, after a fox or a cat ...or a mouse. Quatre was gabbing with the director, hopefully getting me a reprieve from duty as promised. I dashed up and pulled him away in a rude manner I wouldn't have dreamed of doing in my world. "That hand thingy, where you read my feelings?" "Duo! What are you doing here?" "Listen to me and stop sputtering, will ya? That's better. Now, putting your hand over my heart helps to read me?" He gave in at last and contributed to the conversation. "Skin to skin contact is even better." "Really? Well, that is even better. Try that on Wufei." "Oh, I'd never!" "Be bold. You know you'd love to be the brazen hussy for once. Just do it! Slip those paper-shuffling little fingers of yours under his shirt and ask him how he feels about you. Do it for me, and I'll love you forever. Just do it!" I said the last part running backwards, heading for the room containing my patient boyfriend, I hoped, and nobody else, I hoped even more. I also held out hope for a meal. Me and Hope were tight, believe me. Trowa'd be down with eating soon, I guessed, having missed out on breakfast, too. The director's last words, launched in my direction were: "Straighten out your head. You have three weeks!" If only... Trowa was standing alone in the room as I'd wished. Maybe looking a little less calm and a bit more ruffled, but he had waited, and Wufei hadn't returned. "Duo, what's all this about? We have a timetable if we want to find Heero." "About that, we just have to get to that vacation house-" We reached out for one another about the same time. When we touched, I could see the hair on my arms stand upright. Not now! No universe leaping now! I was looking forward to some happy Trowa-time, the kind I remembered having with only one universe between then and now. And lunch. But I knew in the time it took to note the water carafe beyond his shoulder and realize I was thirsty, that it was too late. Or was it? Focus, Maxwell! Possibly I had some control over my leaps and bounds. Was it the timing or the destination-? My eyes landed on a framed painting. No! No ships on a stormy sea! There, a nice calm river picture. Water flowing beneath an arbor of green... was that a kayaker fighting through raging rapids? No! Ramparts of spray-slickened black rock sprang from the creamy office walls and I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans-no uniform. There was shock plastered all over Trowa's pasty face. TBC
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