Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ V Lucid Engagements ❯ What is Left ( Chapter 8 )

What is Left

It was strange that almost as soon as Trowa had come, he was gone...but even stranger when Lucien informed me I had a meeting with Acton. I made an effort not to annoy him, and he seemed to be offering me the same favor. Our conversation was careful and controlled on both ends...and when I realized the extent of it, I began to worry that maybe I was being too careful.

Lucien had given me some tips on keeping my annoyance under control...he'd reminded me that I was human and noted that my relationship with Duo would probably never improve. It seemed pretty dire until I'd met up with he and Natalie that evening. Our conversation was careful as I realized that he was being just as delicate with me as I was with him...and that made it a lot easier.

There was going to be stress in my getting out, there was no way to avoid that. I still had to process my guilt, but things would get easier...they had to get easier.

I shook my head, shoving the last of my clothes into my bag, turning to sit on the bed and look around.

I could sort of understand why I hadn't been allowed to decorate the place to my liking. It wasn't supposed to be my home, it was supposed to be where I got help. I didn't need to stay there, and as such shouldn't get too connected to the room I slept in. It made sense, for all that it had bothered me—it had seemed like such a sterile place.

Whoever got the room next could have it.

I grinned slightly, rising to my feet.

Hopefully, I could escape from this hell...

My paperwork was done, everything was arranged, including my meeting with another therapist in a few day's time. All I had to do was walk down the hall, sign the release form...and then I was vaulting the damn wall at the end.

I didn't have to wait for anyone anymore.

- -

Duo's nerves were fried as he stood with the others in the foyer. Wufei was crossing t's and dotting i's on some paperwork...and Natalie was to one side of him bouncing where she stood...with both Juki and Amelia.

It had never been explained to him why Juki was present, but he wasn't horribly worried about it. It could of just been that she, Amelia, and Natalie got along.

Nassaiya, meanwhile, had resigned herself to her husband's nonsense, and had even suggested Quatre and Natalie changing places once in a while until the loose ends had all resolved themselves.

It was strange that everything had worked out, but the stress was true enough.

There was a fuss in the hall, which had Wufei focusing instantly toward the end of the thing and the divide between the hall and the foyer.

Heero appeared a breath later, sailing smoothly through the air with a wicked grin on his lips before he landed in a crouch and looked up at the group of his friends.

Duo stepped back slightly, more a shift of his weight—he'd been greeted with that same jump before, when trying to get away. Natalie, Juki, and Amelia were laughing as Trowa rolled his eyes and Wufei raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?!" Natalie protested, darting forward to hug him.

"I just wanted it damn clear that his isn't a barrier," he retorted, smacking the wall as she moved into his arms.

"You are absolutely impossible," Lucien noted, jogging through the visitor room and moving into the foyer to give Heero a look. "Do you know that?"

Heero smiled at him, holding the girl even tighter.

"Here's this," Wufei muttered, passing the clipboard to the man. "Is that good?"

Lucien studied the thing perfunctorily and nodded his head, looking around at them all again before rolling his eyes slightly. "We'll be well rid of you, Mr. Yuy."

"I'll miss him," the woman worker retorted. "He gave us just enough chaos to make work amusing."

"I did nothing of the sort," Heero protested at her good-naturedly.

"Sure...sure...make your escape, Mr. Yuy...the door is there on the left," she pointed toward the exit.

Heero flashed her a grin, then turned and nodded his head respectfully to Lucien...and turned to spin around the group and dart out the door.

"We should go run him around the block," Wufei muttered dryly to Quatre, sidelong. "Have a good day, Dr. Bastor...take care of yourself."

"Of course, Mr. Chang," Lucien agreed, nodding his head specifically at Duo. "Have patience...maybe even some faith."

"Sorry, I'm a cynic," Duo retorted, then turned to follow Amelia from the building. She and Juki had darted after Natalie.

"Bye, Dr. Bastor," Quatre muttered, flicking a salute at the man as he followed Wufei and Trowa. "Hope to never see you again."

The man grinned at that, then turned to head back for the office.

- -

"We should go somewhere with people," I muttered, looking around the apartment. It was a nice thing with space. It was probably going to fall short of the six of us living in it, but that was only going to last until I could get my own place. That would probably be three months, as long as I kept my ducks in a row.

"With people?" Duo asked dryly, considering me from where he'd flopped on the couch. "You're kidding, right?"

"Why?" I asked, stopping to actually consider him.

"You realize that I have to be around people all day, don't you?" a hint of a grin appeared on his lips. "Going to the mall doesn't entirely appeal to me, especially since my wife and boys will get upset."

"Bring them?" I offered hesitantly. Duo's wife hadn't come up much in conversation with him—at least no more than it took for him to reference her. I'd definitely gotten the impression from the others that she didn't forgive me.

The one person with the reaction I'd expected was the one person I didn't know.

I didn't even really want to meet her, I had the feeling she'd tear me a new asshole if she got the chance...but I didn't want Duo knowing that, and I did want to meet his boys.

"You're not serious," Wufei protested, moving in from the kitchen to stare at me. "I love Nassaiya to death now...but she's got a grudge against him," he pointed at Trowa, "and you're the devil incarnate," he indicated me.

Duo wasn't looking at anyone when I glanced at him.

"She reamed me out for an hour when I first showed up, and she understood that I didn't have the means to stop the shit going on..."

"It just seemed like the thing to do," I noted, looking down. "I mean..."

"For all that she had me bring Nat back," Duo muttered, sitting forward, "that was for Nat, not for you...I think it's a bad idea."

"I'm going to have to insist on the bad idea," Wufei noted firmly, moving to stand behind the couch. "Duo can head home and we can drop Quatre off tonight so you two can have the room."

"Nice of you to ask if I care," Quatre noted from where he was looking out the balcony window.

"Do you care?" Wufei asked him half skeptically.

"No," Quatre retorted.

Wufei rolled his eyes, moving around the couch to plop next to Duo. "We want to barbecue tomorrow," he added. "I figured your boys can go play and hopefully Nas won't tear into any of us."

"I'll see what she says," Duo noted skeptically.

"I can...talk to her...alone," I offered quietly, not looking at either of them.

"Yeah, the whole alone thing," Duo noted, meeting my eyes pointedly. "Not gonna happen."

I looked away from him.

"Don't be an ass," Wufei elbowed him.

Duo shrugged, then sighed and sat forward. "Nat?"

"Yeah?" Natalie moved from the kitchen.

"I'm gonna head home for the night...Wufei was saying they could just have Quatre at the house, so you can spend the night."

She laughed a little.

"I'll bring Quatre over tomorrow and some clothes for you...I'm sure Juki has underwear she hasn't worn you can borrow."

"I don't lend underwear, Duo," Juki retorted happily.

"I have some!" Amelia called.

"I have lots!" Juki agreed.

"Why?" Wufei asked, turning to look at the woman curiously. "You don't wear them under the kimono."

All three females started laughing.

He grinned, looking back to Duo.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Duo muttered, rising tiredly and pulling out his wallet. He dropped a few bills in Wufei's lap. "Get her what she needs..."

"You don't have to do that," I protested, blinking at the money.

"You don't have access to your accounts until you can call in and verify them. It's five now...if you call really fast you might get it, but I'm thinking you're stuck until tomorrow, and if you're all going to the mall..." he blinked, then pulled his wallet out.

He dropped a sizable note into Wufei's lap.

"I'll pay you back," I muttered as he started for the door.

"Don't bother," he muttered, then looked around. "I'm going to order us some pizza," he noted to Quatre. "The boys probably won't go to bed until eleven...try to get in before that."

Quatre nodded in response, and Duo disappeared out the door.

"Why do I get the distinct impression he just walked out of my life?" I muttered quietly to Wufei.

"Well..." Wufei rose to his feet as well, tucking the money into his wallet without looking at me. "We should go shopping if we're going."

For some reason...that wasn't a very reassuring response to my question. "Hey, guys? Want to go to the mall?"

"Yes!" three women squeaked in unison.

"If we must," Trowa agreed, moving from his bedroom.

"Yeah," Quatre agreed, looking back around the apartment. "You can drop me off at Duo's on the way back from shopping."

"All right," Wufei muttered, turning to look around the apartment. "All right...let's go."

End

E/N: Okay...so this story's escape was Heero getting out...not nearly so great or fanciful as I'd have preferred, but sometimes that's how my stories go, lol. I do have one final story intended, but at this point it's not more than a few unconnected ideas that have as yet to make a whole picture. I'll try to get that up eventually, and it'll be a summation of all the pilots and their hereafter...so yeah.