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"That Which Mends"Written By: SkyLark Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them. Pairings: 2x1x2, past 2xOC, 5xOC, 3x4 Warnings: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes, AU Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html Summary: Heero is a straight A student studying Psychology and finds his world turned upside down when he attends a Frat party.
"That Which Mends" [And now we know, -Lyrics to 'Standing By' performed by Pentatonix] Chapter 25
[Flashback]
Wufei all but ran out of the men's bathroom on his division's floor. His onyx eyes wide and face pale, he shuddered and hurried back to his desk at the end of his row of stations as a pair of muffled voices laughed behind the closed door.
All but falling into his chair, the raven-haired officer dry-washed his face. "Agents Night and Rock are official," he announced, his tone distant as he typed furiously at his keyboard to dive back into his work for forget what he had just stumbled upon.
Her head falling back, Long laughed and spun in her chair. "It was only a matter of time," she smiled once she caught her breath. "They've been dancing around each other for weeks now, so I can't say I'm surprised aside from how long it took them."
Peering over his shoulder to meet her gaze, Wufei snorted, "Well, it's safe to say they're making up for lost time." He shook his head and focused back on his screen to type, grumbling, "Now to get that picture out of my head again." Meiran fell into another fit of laughter.
With their heads slightly ducked and sheepish grins on their faces, Barton and Winner emerged from behind the wall of the elevator shaft.
They were kind enough not to make eye contact, or make any comment that would make their teammate any more uncomfortable than he clearly was as they slipped behind their desks in the opposite row.
Meiran bit her lip, giving the pair a private smile and a wink when they glanced over at her. "'Morning, boys," she greeted.
"Good morning," they replied as one while they turning on their monitors and signing onto their systems to begin their work day.
Agent Night gestured to the two desks that sat side-by-side at the back of the two columns that were new additions as of the end of the past week in preparation of the latest recruits that would round off the team. "Big day today," he smiled. "I'm looking forward to meeting the newbies and breaking them in."
"Yea, about that," Wolf thought aloud. Turning his chair to face the others, he cautioned, "Let's try not to scare them off. Lady Une is pretty impressed with these two. And she's pretty confident they'll fit right in with us, but we're to be on or best behavior as they get their footing since she thinks they're likely to be a little... skittish at first. I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that, but let's make them feel as at home as we can."
The atmosphere, and his teammates, suddenly turned serious at his words. They eyed one another and nodded firmly back at him. "Got it," Quatre reassured first, a mischievous smile warming his face. "So no more sex in the bathroom."
His face instantly flushing crimson, Chang barked, "Damn it, Winner!"
And just like that, whatever possible awkwardness there could have been evaporated at his expense as the whole floor filled with howls of laughter from his fellow agents. Folding his arms across his chest, he harrumphed and mumbled under his breath when the elevator bell filled the air.
Eyes growing, the officers fell silent and dove into their assignments seconds before Lady Une appeared from her trip down to the front desk to collect the new arrivals. "Fall in, everyone," she called.
Climbing to their feet, her agents stood in a perfect line for their introductions, only to frown in concern when no one followed the Commander into the open. She noted their expressions and glanced over her shoulder as she encouraged, "No need to be shy. No one here tends to bite unless they're asked to."
At first, there was no sign that there was anyone for her to speak to until two young faces- one male and one female- finally peeked out around the column to appraise what awaited them.
Gasping when they found their would-be associates to hardly be a couple of years older than they were, they instantly relaxed and walked out to reveal themselves.
Barton whistled through his teeth. Keeping his voice low so only his friends at either side of him could hear as the new recruits approached Middie, he commented, "They must be fresh out of high school. We're just coming into our twenties, but even by those standards they're practically babies."
Right then, it was no wonder why they looked like two fish out of water about to jump out of their scales at any second. 'Skittish' didn't even touch the surface for this pair. They were downright petrified beneath the surface.
The teenage boy and girl took their time to reach the Commander's side, giving the agents the opportunity to appraise them.
Perhaps the most anxious of the two, the fair-skinned young woman had a waterfall of thick red curls that fell to her waist and caught the light as they bounced with each step she took.
Big, doe eyes of deep blue ran from one end of the line of officers to the other as she wrung her hands together at her middle. She was thin... too thin, but she was striking nonetheless. And if the small grin and timid wave she gave the agents was any indication, she was approachable. Unable to help but stare at her, Wufei closed his jaw just as he felt it begin to drop and breathed, "Wow." He gave her a friendly smile back and a firm nod when her eyes fell back onto him. Her chest rose and collapsed with a silent sigh of relief and her own lips curled up all the more.
Meiran caught the small exchange. Blinking in surprise at Chang, her shoulders dropped ever so subtly. Despite every attempt she had made to catch his attention, he never looked at her the way he looked at the girl across the way.
A braided rope of hair swung against the back of the thighs of the young man. His eyes were a captivating violet that pierced through the start of a veil of long bangs that fell over his brow. He was slight, but muscular in his frame. And of the two newbies, there was something... wild, untamed about him that his observers picked up on immediately. He never smiled or waved. His body was wound tight like he might turn and bolt out of the office to never be seen again at the first thing that unsettled him.
Lady Une held a hand out to the couple, beaming, "Everyone, this is Duo Maxwell and Anna Downs. Their codenames have yet to be determined, but I'm sure that I'll be able to come up with fitting ones for them before long." At that, her personally hand-picked recruits snapped their heads to face her with wide eyes. "We get codenames for this gig?" Maxwell asked.
Snickering, Middie nodded, "Yes. You would be federal agents, so codenames are par for the course."
The first real smile spread across the braided teenager's face as he replied, "Sweet."
"Awesome," the redhead beamed.
The agents chuckled with genuine grins, putting them further at ease.
Leaning towards his new lover, Quatre whispered, "I have a feeling I'm going to really like them."
"Me, too," Trowa replied in kind.
Now that the ice was breaking, Lady Une informed her team, "I came across Anna's file when she flew up the ranks of interest for her knowledge of weaponry. She is the youngest candidate to have ever been considered to serve on the board of national security specialists that head our nation's military."
Lifting her chin, the officer went on, "Miss Downs was up against some of the most experienced of personnel and came out on top in both the hands-on and written exam without breaking a sweat. In fact, her performance grates were the highest to be recorded in quite some time."
Mouths dropped open and eyes grew anew as Maxwell and the officers looked on the redhead in surprise as the other newbie muttered, "Holy shit." That sentiment resonated throughout the lot as they were all thinking the same thing.
Downs' cheeks blushed and she shrugged shyly, but there was also a sense of bitterness in her over not being chosen for the elite military board by the way she bit her lip.
Frowning sympathetically, Middie locked gazes with her, stating, "The powers that be made a terrible mistake for overlooking you because of your age and for being a girl."
The corner of her lip smirking, she declared, "But their loss is my gain and I am going to take full advantage of that. I expect that before long your former superiors are going to realize what idiots they were for not snatching you up when they had the chance."
Blue eyes widening, Anna gave her a mischievous smirk of her own and responded, "Thank you, Commander. I'm looking forward to that." Her onlookers smiled in a display that they were as well.
Lady Une moved to stand beside the braided young man, sharing, "Duo Maxwell, here, was invited in to be our potential liaison and resource expert. From what I've personally observed, his way with people, unique outlook and intuition that simply cannot be taught, I'm convinced he'll be an invaluable asset to the agency."
Visibly taken aback, Duo blinked in shock at the Commander. Giggling, she patted his shoulder and walked towards the line of agents.
Starting at the far end, Middie told the recruits, "I'd like to introduce you to Quatre Winner, Agent Rock since he holds our team together. Then there is our silent and deadly Agent Night, Trowa Barton. Meiran Long, Agent Talon for sinking her claws into the monsters we're after with her profiling skills. And last but not least, Wufei Chang who I am now dubbing Agent Wolf as he is the appointed team leader of this pack."
All attention shot to the stunned, raven-haired young man. Long's hands folded together under her chin as she bounced on her heels with excitement. Barton and Winner couldn't have smiled wider for their friend in his well-deserved promotion.
His initial shock melting into contained elation, Wolf sputtered, "T-thank you, Commander."
Une bowed her head to him, a proud grin on her face. Holding her arms out to the group, she announced, "So, this is it. This is our team- the Preventers. I'll give all of you time to get to know one another before we meet in an hour to be briefed on our next case."
Clearing his throat nervously as he neared the redhead, Chang smiled as he offered a hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Anna," he greeted.
A few feet away, Meiran watched with her heart finally breaking at how drawn the object of her affections was to the new girl. Quick to conceal her sadness, she put on a smile and politely welcomed the redhead that had turned towards her.
In the middle of his meeting Trowa and Quatre, Duo's widening eyes fell on the other half of the floor. Pointing at the track and ramps that wrapped the entire, gutted out middle of the room, he asked, "Is that... for skateboarding?" Laughing, Winner answered, "Yep. And we have a couple of video games coming in over the next week, too. Pretty much anything we need to unwind, Lady Une's open to getting for us so long as we earn it."
[End Flashback]
* * * *
Sighing in content as when he pulled a fresh, blue T-shirt on following his shower, Heero emerged from the bathroom adjacent to his guest bedroom. On his way out into the hallway, he ran a hand through his damp hair as his socked feet padded along the hardwood floor.
It was going on two full days of staying with the mysterious, alluring Preventer that had forever changed his life. And if ever asked, Yuy would have to admit that he was actually enjoying the experience so far. There was just enough interaction and private time between them that the whole live-in situation was easygoing.
On this particular lazy Sunday, the psych major had gone out for a long drive to take in the picturesque fields and hillsides surrounding the area along with the newest city with stores fifteen miles out of the way where he enjoyed a private lunch in a quaint little diner.
Upon his return to the complex, Heero changed into his running gear and appeased his need to visit the lake for a run along its beach. Over the course of his young existence, this was the first time he'd had the opportunity to be anywhere near water, let alone a Great Lake. He had not been let down by the time he had taken for himself to soak in the majesty that was Lake Michigan. With a newfound appreciation for his roommate's taste for where he went on to settle down at this stage in his life, he returned to clean himself up and relax for the remainder of the day before he and his friends returned to bury themselves into their case the next day.
Pushing that thought aside so that he could take in what little time away from the harsh, scary reality that was the world as he now knew it, the counselor followed the sound of his host's voice so that they could catch up.
In the living room, Duo was stretched out on the main couch with his eyes closed as he listened to whatever tunes were playing through the ear buds of his MP3 player. Arms folded behind his braided head and his right foot tapping, he quietly hummed along to the upbeat song until he caught movement from behind his closed eyelids that opened to take in the scholar that was walking into the room.
"Hey," the Preventer smiled as he pushed himself up and shut down his handheld player. removing his ear buds, he asked, "How was your run?"
Lowering himself into the recliner across from him, Yuy grinned, "Really nice. I didn't want to leave the beach and would still be out there if I'd thought ahead and taken sun block with me. Next time, I'll prepare better so I can enjoy the views longer."
Finally, he shrugged, "If you want, it's supposed to be a clear night tonight. We can take a couple of beach chairs and hang out to see it since I know the best spot."
His eyebrows lifting at the invitation, Heero nodded, "Thanks. I'd like that."
Checking his watch to move on from the discussion, Duo announced, "Well, I've gotta take off for a little while. I'll be back in time to cook up something for dinner."
"Take your time," the student replied. "I have a few meals up my own sleeve that I can make." He snickered, "I have to start earning my keep somehow." Holding up a hand when his host was about to argue that he didn't need to worry, he reassured, "Really, it's no bother. I actually enjoy cooking and know my way around a kitchen, too."
At that, the braided agent settled with an amused smirk and a firm nod that he was letting go of the reins to one of his pastimes. "Alright," he resigned while standing up to stretch. "I'll be back in a couple of hours, then."
On his way out of the room, Maxwell dug into the pocket of his khaki shorts to remove his cell phone. Quickly dialing up a number, he forwarded a text that simply read, 'Sorry I'm running late. Lost track of time. Be there soon.'
* * * *
Folding the orange, quilt blanket that he and his friends had covered the grave with before the snows of the last winter began to fall, Trowa commented, "And you won't need this for a while again." Setting the cover aside, he took up a small bag of fertilizer to help along the small grass buds that he had exposed grow in the sunlight that they drank in.
Anna was on her knees arranging the colorful bouquets along either side of the tombstone and grave when a familiar voice called, "I'm here. Casually late as always, but I'm sure you already expected that, Meiran." Peering over her shoulder, the redhead smiled as Duo walked around a nearby blossom tree and hurried towards her.
This had become a monthly tradition for them ever since
they had lost their friend. She might have been gone, but she was
far from forgotten and they were not about to go without acknowledging
her in every way they could.
One-by-one, the rest of the group bowed their heads
or made signs of the cross in the conclusion of their own 'conversations'
with God and Long. Together, they walked for their cars that were
parked on the side of the road that wound through the cemetery a few
feet away. Leaning against him, Downs shrugged, "Still coping on his terms. I imagine it'll still be a while before he feels he has the right to be here for these visits, but I know he pays his respects in his own way. I'm not about to push him beyond reminding him he's always welcome here." "His nightmares must be coming back if whatever is underneath that concealer on your cheek is any indication," Trowa frowned deeply .
To the wide, blue eyes that snapped over to stare in
horror at him, he draped an arm around his life partner's shoulders
as he explained, "Quatre and I have a little experience with
nightmares, so we know the signs." with a lopsided grin, he added,
"That and you never wear makeup." Nodding, Winner reassured, "Not another word about it. I'll give you a couple of pointers on blending since I've been there. The last thing anyone needs is for Zechs or the others around the office to be spreading rumors."
With her jaw dropping, Fire looked to her former lovers and breathed, "Holy sh.... you guys really have been through this." Night and Rock gave her shallow nods as they smiled encouragingly.
They all came to a stop when they reached their vehicles.
Wrapping her up in a hug from behind, Duo kissed the weapons expert's temple and told her quietly, "Don't worry about Fei's honor. We'll protect it just like we protect each other. Every one of us here knows he would sooner take his hand off before he would ever willingly use it to hurt you."
Moved by that, the emotions Anna had been holding in since the prior morning bubbled over and her eyes welled up with large tears as her bottom lip quivered. Throwing her hands over her face, she sobbed into them as Scythe tightened his hold around her when her knees buckled.
Shaking her head, Downs sniffled and dropped her hands. "It just... hurts me when Wufei's hurting like this and I can't do anything about it," she murmured brokenly while her tears continued to fall. "I can bounce back from a lot, but the second I know he's suffering in any way I feel it with him." As Duo fended off the sting in his eyes, he squeezed her as she went on, "He puts on a good front, but I know that he's still dealing with what happened with Meiran, but there's more to it than that. I can feel it like there's more... and I don't know what it is, but I do know that it's holding him back from letting it go."
Barton and Winner glanced each other, both hating how little help they could be when Chang was as stubborn in reaching out for help as he was.
Maxwell chewed on in inside of his cheek in deep thought. He wasn't one to get involved in others' lives... however, few things got to him more than seeing Anna upset. Then he had a good look at the deep bruise on her cheek that was peeking through her running concealer.
His mind was made up right then without a second thought. He was going to have to break his personal rule and intervene where he didn't think he belonged up to that moment.
A plan already forming in his mind, Scythe gently turned his best friend so that they were facing each other, he rested their foreheads together and gently brushed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs.
"It's going to be alright, Annie," he promised. Holding in the knee-jerk reaction of a wince that he nearly made at the full view of the mark on her face, he forced a smile as he said, "One way or another, it'll be fine."
Drawing a deep breath that she released slowly, Downs righted herself and nodded. "Yea," she agreed, although a bit hesitant in her response. "I know it will be eventually. Sorry about that meltdown, guys."
Trowa chuckled deeply and pulled her into a fierce hug, commenting, "Don't ever apologize for that. For the first time, I'm starting to realize that it's better to just let things out instead of holding them in. We can only be strong for so long."
"He's right," Quatre concurred, giving his partner a proud smile and a wink. Holding the redhead at her free side, he kissed her head. "If you ever feel the need to unload like that again, you know how to find us." Anna giggled and returned their hug as Duo smiled and worked out how he was going to fix this for her.
Several more words and offerings of 'good nights' were passed along amongst the tight band of agents. Then, parting ways for their vehicles, they left the cemetery taking different forks in the road on their way out to enjoy what remained of the weekend.
Before they pulled out of sight, a vibrant red cardinal landed on atop the orange veil draped over Meiran's grave to watch their departure.
TBC
Author's note: I have heard that a visit from cardinal is a sign of a lost loved one checking in. |
