Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 3 Ties That Bind ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Two

The old church looked stark and oddly inviting when I finally reached the clearing, moving into the building and pausing a moment to cross myself at the door before moving forward to kneel on the ancient kneeling boards. There was the same old comfort in that building, comfort in the worn-wood digging into my knees…comfort in the bright light shining through the two windows that shone directly on the altar…one was stained-glass with a lot of green. The one that really shone on the altar, however, was plain glass. A sense of peace pervaded the sanctuary…

"I know he came this way," Lex muttered seriously. Her voice seemed very near, but oddly distant…like she was walking through the threes.

"Of course he came this way,” Lea agreed. “You know he only comes out here to be in the church.”

“Have you ever figured that one out?” Lex added quietly. By the sound of it, they were crossing the cleared area. “We should wait here.”

“I know,” Lea muttered from very near the door. “You remember coming out here in the snow?”

Lex giggled and I rose quietly from my knees. Relena had stopped the demolition for the old building and had them restore the roof the year we’d taken Deniel. Or was it the spring after? A lot had happened in those eight years, not limited to the little girls growing up.

“Did you hear what Sammy was saying about Nicholas?” Lex added after a moment of silence.

“Which? That he asked her out?”

“Yeah…”

“You know that’s a lie. He doesn’t really like her. He only hangs around with her because she hangs around with us. He took her home.”

Nicholas…I needed to talk to that boy. He was a sixteen-year-old accident waiting to happen. He was one of those “good kids” whose parents never tell them no; one of those “good kids” who wanted their parents to tell them no.

“He wants to take you to the summer dance,” Lex whispered.

Lea snorted.

I shook my head, sitting down on one of the restored pews. The floors had been re-done and a simple carpet had been added. I’d long since realized that Relena had the place dusted frequently, and it was Heero’s innovation to add the stained-glass window.

“He’s going to take forever,” Lea muttered with a heavy sigh.

“You’re so impatient,” Lex retorted. “I told you we shoulda just got our swim stuff on, but no…you had to come now, and we still have to wait.”

Did I sense bickering?

I grinned slightly to myself.

“It’s not like I thought about it…why do you think he’s here this time?”

What? Me, or…

“Probably wants a pardon,” Alex noted dryly. “He probably got caught on a job.”

“If he got caught, he’d be screamed all over the news,” Lea argued. “Did it ever occur to you that he might just be here to visit with his family?”

That got a long silence before Alex muttered something distantly. It wasn’t a pause of conversation silence, either. It was Alex being aware that her mother’s side of the family never tried to visit with her.

“Good evening, ladies,” I muttered mock-pleasantly, pulling the door open and moving down the stairs as I studied them with a raised eyebrow.

The girls were at the bottom of the stairs, and both turned widely innocent eyes onto me…the kind of caught-in-the-act look that made me wonder what they thought I didn’t know.

“Keith is here,” Lea muttered quickly. “Keith just showed up.”

…and I lost a good portion of my good mood.

- -

Duo was talking to Lex with obvious exasperation as he, Lea, and Alex moved into view from the stand of trees that led to the church. The three of them stopped when they saw me, and the conversation died out as Duo took the lead, studying me with that same interest that always sent chills down my spine.

No, he hadn’t killed me, but his threat stood true.

He could do so much more than kill me…or could have.

“Are you going to swim, or…” I turned at the voice to see Wufei moving from the castle in his swim-trunks. He stopped completely as he focused on Duo, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I were actually in danger.

“Uncle Keith,” Ashley darted around Wufei and came running up to me. “Mom gave me a pair of Dad’s shorts for you to wear…Daddy!”

“Hi, angel,” Duo muttered as his little girl ran up and hugged him.

“Uncle Keith is here,” she informed her father as if it weren’t obvious.

Duo smiled at her. “Is he, really, now? Where ever could he be?” he looked around, pretending not to see me.

I smiled slightly, looking around the yard for somewhere to change. When no wall or anything became evident, I shrugged and started to pull my shirt off.

“I know you’re not gonna strip down to your naked ass with the girls around,” Duo noted seriously. “So I have to ask myself what you’re doing…”

“Hi, Duo,” I muttered, giving him a sour look as he moved even with me. “Coming swimming?”

“I might,” Duo muttered. “But I’ll go change first.”

“I really can change right here,” I informed him as if he didn’t already know it. “I could…just ignore the fact that your girls are standing here, no problem. I don’t have issues.”

The look he gave me was murder in and of itself. I looked away from his eyes and focused on Wufei, who’d moved silently up to my side.

Some things would never change. The fact did remain that I’d killed a woman Duo loved, but he was my brother-in-law now. Ashley loved me, if all else failed, and Duo’d sooner eat his own liver than cause his baby-girl harm.

“In the house,” Duo informed me, hardly moving his mouth. “And I have smaller shorts upstairs if you need them.”

I met his eyes and sighed again, looking to Fei. “We’ll be back out in a few.”

“Just don’t kill each other,” Wufei muttered.

I grinned at him as I followed the cat into the palace again. I wasn’t so sure what to think when Duo turned left, into the royal apartments. He waved briefly at Heero, who was sitting at a table. The king glanced up at us and waved back, though his eyes followed me until we were out of sight.

“I thought you were reading the…” the queen’s voice trailed off as we emerged into her main living quarters.

“Hey, baby,” Duo purred at her, moving across the room to kiss her cheek as she giggled and smacked at him. “Sorry I didn’t knock,” he added.

“It’s…fine,” she muttered, then focused on me. She held her silence a long time before looking back to Duo—and it was the same kind of look Wufei had given him.

Duo, for his part, either didn’t see it or ignored it.

“Hi, Ace,” Relena muttered finally.

“Majesty,” I bowed slightly.

“I trust you’re well? To what do we owe this honor?”

“I just thought I’d drop by,” I shrugged. “See what was going on in the world of the royals…tell Selena that Jane got pregnant.”

“Did she really?” Relena’s tone was somewhat amused as she sat forward. “Isn’t she only like…twenty?”

“And single, with no idea who the father is,” I rolled my eyes. “I swear, if she wasn’t my sister I’d beat her.”

“Maybe you should because she’s your sister,” Relena noted.

“She’s pregnant, though…”

Relena grinned.

“Come on,” Duo muttered, starting for the door with a wave at his queen. “We’re going swimming.”

“I’ll be out in a bit,” Heero announced as he moved up the stairs with a newspaper in hand. “I assume I’m invited?”

I bowed lower to him than I had to Relena, then realized I’d done it.

He smiled slightly at me, but showed no more acknowledgment than Relena had.

“It’s your pool,” Duo noted.

“And my house,” Heero gave the guy a curious look. His eyes lit up and he grinned at his friend. “And my country.”

Relena snorted.

“Oh yeah,” Duo snickered back, “forgot about that.”

“Somehow, you always do,” Heero grinned at him, tossing the newspaper he was holding onto the couch.

“My bad,” Duo agreed, winking them both as he started for the door. He was silent as we moved into his apartment, and Selena appeared over the counter to blink a few times at both of us.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Didn’t those shorts fit?”

“Duo’s bigger than me,” I muttered, rolling my eyes and tossing the shorts she’d sent down at him.

Duo sniggered.

I rolled my eyes as he headed into the bedroom.

“Oh…”

“And,” Duo noted back to her, “he was going to strip pool-side with Ashley, Lexus, and Liana…”

“Keith!” she protested.

“Lexus and Liana?” I echoed blankly.

“Lex and Lea,” Selena shrugged slightly, then narrowed her eyes at me.

“Oh come on, it’s not like they’d have watched,” I protested.

“Go change…in a room,” Duo ordered, tossing a pair of shorts so they landed on my head. “Your sister doesn’t want to see your bare-white-ass either.”

“You know a little too much about my ass,” I noted in some amusement, moving down the hall toward him.

He laughed an evil sounding laugh as he studied my eyes, and I paused as he headed into the room and closed the door.

“What?” Nira asked, looking down the hall at me. “Just go to that room on the left.”

I blinked back at her before turning into my niece’s room and starting to strip. Either something was going on that Nira-doll had no idea about, or Duo was just in a good mood. It was hard to tell, but from the looks on Wufei and Relena’s faces…

“Ack, your ass is white!” Selena cried, turning away from the door and starting to giggle.

“Oh come on,” I muttered, pulling the shorts up, “you know I have a sexy ass…”

Duo came out of the room, raising his eyebrows at me and looking to his wife. “Sexier’n mine?”

Selena made a mildly disgusted face and Duo rested a hand on her belly as he kissed her lightly. She smiled back at him—still as completely in love as…

“Gag me,” I muttered, moving around the pair into the living room.

Selena giggled and moved up behind me, draping her arms over my shoulders. “You need to get married and give me a niece and nephew, brother-mine.”

Duo flashed me a grin as he started for, and out, the door.

“I will,” I muttered at my sister. “I just have to find someone…crap, the most likely match anymore is Wufei.”

“You can always adopt,” she muttered with a giggle.

I elbowed her gently, then pulled away from her as I shook my head. “I think not, I’m not marrying into this lot…”

She giggled at me more, then glanced outside at a loud and very female squeal. Wufei had thrown Alexia into the pool and she was protesting somewhat verbally. “Hm…”

“I’m gonna go out now,” I muttered. “Are you coming?”

There was another squeal and splash…there went Lea, then…

She nodded, smiling at me again. “I’ll be down in a few.”

“You can get your swim suit on?”

She smacked me, giggling as she turned and headed for the bedroom.

I chuckled to myself, and headed for the pool.

- -

I sighed as I stared across the dance-floor and the music pounded in my ears. Keith was a step behind me, and I could sense from him the same hesitance I myself was feeling. I wasn’t too old for these places, but the fact that all my friends were married with children made me feel…separate. Quatre moved around Keith and up to my side, stepping against me so I stumbled, then he moved and disappeared into the crowd.

“He’s cordial,” Keith muttered in my ear with a slight smirk.

“Come on, let’s get drinks.”

“Chang?”

I looked up at a harried looking bartender as Keith and I leaned against the bar. The man’s face lit up with an excited grin.

“That’s scaring me,” Keith noted to me as Jacob moved up on my other side.

“They’re short two tends,” Jacob muttered to me. “Poor Fredrico here is manning the ship alone…and it’s sinking fast.”

Fredrico, or Enrico, gave the knight a mildly disgusted look before meeting my eyes again. “I’ll do anything if you get back here and help.”

“Anything?” Keith purred the word and nudged my shoulder, indicating the man suggestively with his head.

I snickered, knowing I shouldn’t really let the guy…lead me…into temptation, as it were. I was actually on friendly terms with Enrico, who happened to be straight.

“Anything,” the man agreed coldly.

I laughed, hopping the bar and sitting in front of the guy with my legs spread. I knew it looked like I was going to ask for a blow-job, and the expression of mild-fear on his face made the joke more than worth the effort. I leaned down and he refrained from pulling away, though he refused to meet my eyes. “Introduce me to your sister.”

He pulled away from me in disbelief, blinking a few times up at me. “Seriously? You don’t want…I mean…”

“It’s a phase,” I muttered. “It’ll pass. I suppose I can ask for something dirty if it makes you feel better.”

“No!” he exclaimed quickly, looking relieved. “No, that’s fine…I’ll…um…she’s in Newport, but…”

“I have some patience,” I muttered, hopping down beside him and studying him curiously.

“You don’t just want to…” he started, then paused.

He knew I was a knight, though the fact that I was in street-clothes with my hair down changed my appearance. I wore a suit and had my hair pony-tailed for the public eye. He also knew that I had the reputation of a slut; that always seemed to be part of my M.O., though I was happy the drug-usage bit hadn’t followed me from Deniel.

“I’m a knight, Monsieur. Do not offend me! I’d never use a woman…when it could be traced back to me.”

Keith started laughing, then pounded the bar. “Bar-tend! Get me a fucking orgasm!”

I turned and leveled him with a look as his eyes sparkled and Enrico started pulling out a glass.

“I’m working, sir,” I muttered, pretending to be stiffly offended as I stared at him in mock-shock. “Please refrain from such vulgar…”

Keith was laughing again, so I gave up my joke and took the cup from my sudden co-worker, shoeing him down the bar.

- -

“What the hell are you doing back there?” I demanded of Wufei as I slid between the patrons of the bar. He looked very normal in his apron with his hair pulled back into a slightly messy ponytail. Seeing him behind the bar made me want to slip into Rob-mode. I knew that many would consider his look sexy, sans the apron, but didn’t feel any particular need to announce to Jacob that I could see exactly what he was looking at in any given guy. I wasn’t attracted to it, per se, but I knew.

“What can I get ya, Robbie?” he muttered with a smirk and sparkling eyes.

“Fucking orgasm’d be nice,” I muttered back, trying not to grin any larger at him.

He let out an exasperated sigh and set the glass he was holding down with a thunk. “I meant to drink.”

I started laughing as the people around me looked between us uncertainly.

Wufei laughed as well, turning to mix up my request.

“Seriously,” I added after a moment. “What are you doing?”

“Enrico got ditched today,” he explained, setting a cup in front of me on the lower counter with flair as he turned and grabbed up a bottle of something clear that I’d never seen put into the drink before. He smirked at me as he turned and poured a healthy shot into the glass. “He offered me anything to help him out.”

“I can’t imagine what you asked for,” I noted wryly as he set the glass on a napkin in front of me…and marked something on it with a pencil from a pocket of the apron. “Do I want to know?”

His eyes sparkled somewhat evilly before he turned and moved down the bar without answering.

“He’s going to fuck you up,” Jacob noted, sliding up beside me and studying the mark my friend had made on the napkin. “You realize what he put in there, don’t you?”

“No idea,” I muttered, sniffing at the cup. Other than the general smell of alcohol and… “Peach?” I muttered, looking to my friend. “Why did he put peach in it?”

“Don’t ask me,” Jacob muttered, taking the cup from me and sipping at it experimentally. A slow smirk spread across his face and he passed it back to me, gesturing down the bar until Wufei looked at him. He gestured Enrico off with a wink before pointing at the mark on my napkin.

Wufei did a little dance-thing that he’d picked up when he was feeling particularly conceited, winked at me, then turned back to what he was doing.

I sipped at the glass, then choked at the sickly-sweet taste of peach juice…

“He’s kinky like that,” Jacob noted, snickering as he studied my expression. “Just so you know.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, then looked down to Wufei with a raised eyebrow. My old friend was smiling slightly evilly at me.

“That’s actually a concoction of Tro’s,” Jacob added. “When he had that craving for peaches because Hilde was feeding’em to Dusty.”

“Ah,” I nodded, sipping at the cup again and looking to Wufei. When he met my eyes, I gestured him to me.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, leaning across the bar to be closer to me with a frown, then his eyes widened. “It’s too sweet…crap, sorry, Q.” He took the cup from me without another word, then looked to Jacob.

“Yeah,” Jacob agreed, taking the cup back from him. “It reminds me of something…one of those nostalgic associations…”

“Duo,” Wufei replied promptly, turning and mixing up another glass.

I choked on a laugh. “Oh god, it does, doesn’t it?”

Jacob blinked at us both in confusion.

“I like the idea of some peach,” I reassured Wufei when he hesitated by the bottle. “Just not so much.”

He nodded, pouring a bit in. “I can’t believe I forgot…”

I laughed. “It’s fine, just don’t do it again…”

He gave me a look, but waited as I sipped at the drink. I nodded at him, and he disappeared up the bar.

“Holy crap,” Enrico muttered, moving up to us. “How the hell does he get so much done?”

“He’s used to one-man bars,” I explained, drinking more from my glass. “He’s always been popular.”

The man nodded, turning and starting to mix a glass. “It feels like he’s outdoing me.”

I laughed. “He hasn’t had a job that he really likes since we left Deniel.”

“When was that?”

“About a decade ago,” I muttered, blinking several times. “Nine years or so.”

The man turned to meet my eyes. “Right before her Majesty assumed the throne?”

I smirked at him. “It was, wasn’t it…”

He flushed, thinking. “It was intentional, then, wasn’t it?”

“We had some issues in Deniel,” I shrugged. “Things weren’t going so hot then.”

“You had involvement with the syndicates,” the guy noted, considering the information. “You’ve said so on television.”

“Like I said, issues,” I shrugged.

“Come on, Fredrico, get back to work,” Wufei muttered as he moved passed the guy.

“Crap,” Enrico jumped up and started down the bar with an apology thrown at me over his shoulder.

“I’m almost ready to go,” I muttered to the Chinese man. “How much longer will you be?”

“I don’t need an escort anymore, Quatre,” Wufei noted as he mixed up a drink in front of me. “You can leave at your leisure.”

I set my glass down hard so he looked up to me. “That’s not what I meant.”

He shrugged slightly at me, moving away again.

I shook my head slightly as Jacob moved up beside me again. When he’d left was beyond me, but he was definitely back. He studied my face a moment, then sighed. “We should go.”

“I was just asking Wufei when he thought he’d be done.”

“What’d he say?”

“He doesn’t need an escort.”

Jacob blinked at me several times, then looked down the bar where our friend was mixing another drink.

“He’s having fun,” I added quietly, finishing off my drink. “He hasn’t been able to work in years…at least not at what he likes to do. I’m ready if you are.”

“Where’s Keith?” my friend turned to look over the dance-floor, then spotted the guy moving up to us.

“There he is,” I noted helpfully.

Jacob snorted and smacked me, watching Keith as he gave us curious looks.

“We’re just about ready,” Jacob explained. “You?”

Keith moved between us and slammed his hand on the bar—it wasn’t the normal practice of the place, so it was attention getting.

“You ready to blow or not?” Keith demanded when Wufei joined us.

Wufei smirked at him, bit his lip as he considered the question, then looked around at Enrico and made a curious gesture.

“You’re ditchin’ out on me?” Enrico demanded as he neared us. “Why?”

“My friends are ready to leave,” Fei explained. “I’ll miss my ride if I don’t.”

“I can take you back.”

“But you can’t get clearance onto the grounds, and Duo might get annoyed if he has to come out.”

“Duo?”

“Maxwell,” Wufei agreed. “Security.”

“Oh yeah,” Enrico frowned slightly, thinking. “I forgot about that bit of it all.”

“If you want to…stay over, though…” Wufei’s tone got extremely sly. “I mean, I don’t mind helping you out, and if you just come up with me, no one will question you.”

The guy actually considered the question, then remembered who he was talking to. It was obvious by the look he suddenly cast my friend.

“You coulda done better than that,” Ace noted, raising an eyebrow. “What’s with the half-assed?”

Wufei snickered, studying the guy a moment before shaking his head almost imperceptibly. He looked back to his…attempt. “I do have an entire apartment, and you could tour the grounds…”

“Try and be subtle some time, Fei,” I grumbled. “Might do you wonders.”

“Oh god, Quatre,” Wufei muttered, turning to give me a disgusted look. “I’m not really trying to seduce the man. Jesus, you’d think all my intentions were sexual…”

“You were just…” I started.

“Offering to let a friend check out my house,” Wufei snapped, annoyed. “Why do you always think the worst of me?”

Keith snickered slightly. “You know why…you know exactly why…”

Enrico, who’d been watching us talk with interest, focused on Wufei with an obvious wariness.

“I’ve gotta go,” Wufei added, offering his hand. “Thanks for the entertainment tonight, I hope it’s not too bad for you here.”

“It’s died down,” the man agreed, shaking the hand easily. “I’ll catch you some other time, maybe take you up on the offer for a visit when it doesn’t involve you and a bed.”

Wufei laughed good-naturedly at the words, then pulled off the apron and gave it to the guy. “I’ll catch you around some time.”

“Night, thanks for the help…I’ll let you know when my sister comes to town.”

“Great,” Wufei agreed with evilly sparkling eyes. “Hopefully it’s not too long, or I might end up making some…other…request.”

Enrico winked at him, then moved off down the bar.

“That was fun,” Wufei noted, vaulting the bar and landing beside me to stretch and pop his neck. “God I feel better.”

“Why didn’t you really try?” Keith asked as we started enmasse for the door. “You were telling me last time…”

Wufei smirked. “He’ll let his guard down when talking to me from now on. The fact that it’s not all really about sex with me will make him more likely to hang out.”

“You still said…”

“Ace, please,” Wufei muttered, glancing sidelong at me pointedly.

Keith shook his head.

I looked to Jacob with a raised eyebrow and he avoided my eyes entirely…so what did I miss?

Or, more pressingly, did I really want to bother finding out?