Disclaimers: I don't own any of the Gundam Wing Universe. I'm not making any money off this story. It's written out of love, so please don't sue me.
Written: March-May, 2001
Overall Rating: R
Pairings: (3+5) (1x2x1)
Category: Angst Yaoi Shonen ai Friendship Sap WAFF Lime AU {Beware: Darkness Descending!}
Enigma Story Category: G-Boys High Adventure!
Warnings: Angst, yaoi, shonen ai, language, friendship, sap, WAFF, limey hints, dark themes taking control, plus "AU-OOC" for those who can’t cope
Notes: The priceless gifts of love and friendship that were exchanged by the Gundam pilots brought them closer together, but two of the team will soon be "hidden" as Trowa and Heero must infiltrate an OZ base. Wufei, Duo, and Quatre must share an apartment while the others are gone, creating a potentially explosive mixture. Are these new bonds strong enough to unite the circle in the face of the unexpected crises which arise as well as the approaching darkness?
//someone's thoughts//
<<flashback>>
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Hidden Gifts
Part 11
Morning at the apartment where the three Gundam pilots were in residence was
rather subdued.
Breakfast was a non-event compared with the day before since Quatre had no
excess energy to burn off through culinary efforts. Wufei was quietly
drinking a cup of coffee as Duo checked his e-mail on the off-chance that
there was news from Heero or Trowa.
"Hot damn!!" Duo cheered suddenly.
The new message chime had caught Quatre's attention as he wandered by and he
walked back to Duo, asking, "What is it? News from the guys?"
"Shit yeah!" Duo bounced out of his chair and went to pull Wufei over to the
computer, explaining, "There's a message for us both, Wu! Granted," he added
a saucy wink, "*I'm* the one the really good stuff is for, but there's
something here for you, too!"
"Nani?" Wufei frowned. He wasn't accustomed to the way the other pilots
handled missions as a group and this was a novel experience for him. The very
idea that either Trowa or Heero would take the time in the midst of an enemy
installation to send anything of a personal nature seemed odd. As he focused
on the screen, though, he started to smile.
"What is it? I don't see anything addressed to Wufei here," Quatre remarked
with a frown.
"Oh yes there is!" Duo snickered. "Look again and think the way that Heero
thinks, Q-Ball!"
The frown deepened as Quatre tried diligently to do just that and failed.
With a sigh, he said simply, "Okay, Duo, I give up. What's here for Wufei? I
assume that the schematics for the scanner they're going to destroy are for
you, but what's here for him?"
Wufei smiled and silently pointed to the notation that accompanied the text
of the message, it read "'RSR' contains relevant reconnaissance." Dark eyes
glinted as Wufei placed a hand in the pocket of the jeans he was wearing but
he offered no answers to Quatre's confusion.
"C'mon, guys, this isn't fair!" Quatre whined.
Duo decided they had teased him enough and said simply, "'RSR' is 'Red Storm
Rising', Q-Ball."
"And this is the 'relevant reconnaissance'," Wufei offered, withdrawing his
hand and showing him the OZ identification card with Trowa's picture on it.
"I guess this means Heero put the card in there for me to find, did he not? I
wonder why?" He glanced at his friends and wasn't surprised when Duo rolled
his eyes and grinned.
"Knowing him, this is his backwards way of letting you know how to track down
Trowa while he's on the inside if you need to, Wu. Heero never was one for
taking care of things like this in the most straight forward way."
"Perhaps," Wufei frowned. "But why would he even *have* this card in the
first place?"
A puzzled frown crossed Duo's face briefly, then he shrugged. "I don't know
why he'd have kept it, but at least we know it has nothing to do with this
mission since we're here in the States and OZ facilities don't even use ID
cards here. Why look a gift horse in the mouth, Wu? Just be glad Heero held
onto it so he had it to give to you now and enjoy it, all right?"
Wufei looked unconvinced. He didn't doubt for a moment that this was the
meaning of the message, it simply fit the evidence too well for it to be
otherwise, but the actual intent was so far afield from what Wufei knew of
Heero Yuy's personality that he doubted it was this simple.
With a sigh, the Chinese boy nodded and asked, "Did you need me for anything
else, either of you?" He offered no explanation for the question as he
watched the other two pilots.
Quatre seemed to be searching his mind for a plausible excuse to keep Wufei
there or to talk to him further, but was coming up dry.
Duo, however, was already submerged in the schematic design Heero had sent
and he just waved a hand negligently over one shoulder saying, "Nah, not me,
Wu. I've gotta get started analyzing this bad boy in case he's got a little
brother hiding somewhere. I don't want to risk getting Deathscythe scrambled
by something I had a shot at out-smarting!"
"Very well," Wufei remarked and then turned and walked away.
Neither of the other two pilots present could recognize the classic signs of
depression that the Chinese teen had been displaying. Isolationism, silence
above and beyond what was normal even for him, and Wufei's general lack of
interest in his usual concerns were all abundantly clear, but neither Duo nor
Quatre knew how to confront the problem effectively.
As the door to Wufei's bedroom closed once again, Quatre nearly screeched,
"You idiot!! You just let him go crawl back off into that little hidey-hole
of his!! Duo, didn't we agree to try to draw Wufei out more?"
Duo froze for a moment, anger and chagrin mixing in equal amounts.
Pride won out, though, and the American turned on the blond teen growling, "I
am *not* an 'idiot', Winner! Yes, we agreed to that, but this device could
mean the destruction of 20% of our shared mobile suit resources as well as my
own life! Excuse me for considering it a high priority that I find a way to
circumvent that *before* it happens!"
Duo took a breath before he went on, "Besides, why do either of us even
pretend to know what's going through Wu's head anyway? He's a damned cipher
right now and until the guys get back, at least, until *Trowa* gets back,
that's probably just the way it's gonna stay, too, so don't go blaming me for
this! You've got a mouth, blondie. If you want to talk to Wu, go ahead! Talk
to him! He isn't hurting anything being quiet like this and you're keeping me
from figuring this shit out, so either go talk to him or sit down and shut
the hell up about it!!"
Aquamarine eyes wide with pain, Quatre was thoroughly taken aback by the
unexpected torrent of words.
As Duo finished ranting and turned back to the screen, Quatre took a breath
and answered quietly, "No, I don't think this is a good time for me to go try
to talk to him on my own."
The unhappy Arabian boy walked into the kitchen and stared at the countertop
for a moment before saying softly to himself, "Since when did things get to
be this difficult all the time, anyway? When it was just Heero, Duo, Trowa,
and me, we never went through so much grief. Is this even worth it? I know
Heero wanted to unify the team and all, but this is getting too weird for me
now."
Once Quatre had fully convinced himself that it would be best if he stayed
out of the other two pilots' ways, he finally realized that there was
something useful he could do instead. Without mentioning his plans, he made a
short list of household items they needed and headed out to go buy them
hoping this small action might at least help later.
When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping, right?
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