Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Back In Your Own Backyard ❯ Chapter 3

Back In Your Own Backyard - Chapter 3
~ I've got a little hunch that there is something going on now
The clothes I bought, the friends I've got, my teacher had a meltdown
Then I look at me, and I start to see, and a voice inside tells me what I must do
Wake up, who knew, it's me, it's you, get a clue
It's still inside of you (oh, yeah)
Get a clue
There's nothing you can do
And nothing's ever quite what it seems
Just look a little closer at me
Wake up, who knew, it's me, it's you, get a clue...~

--Simon & Milo, "Get A Clue"



Duo, Hirde and Heero left the pool, coming to stand behind Quatre as the one called Apollyon came to kneel in front of the blonde, pulling back his hood to reveal raven hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and eyes of deepest onyx. His name was Wufei, and he was one of the best of the King's Guard.

"I have come to take you back home, Prince Quatre."

-----

His mouth was dry. That wasn't good. Quatre had heard somewhere that the body's actual need for water preceded the feeling of thirst by several minutes.

Of course, his dry mouth may have been the effect of one of his father's best guards uttering the *two words* that totally destroyed the fragile acceptance he had felt here.

Or he may have just been thirsty. Whatever.

"PRINCE Quatre?!" Hirde stuttered, staring in amazement at the glowering blonde. The others did the same. All except Duo, who was, curiously enough, almost smirking. And it was NOT a nice smirk.

"I suspected as much..." he muttered, causing everyone's gaze to jump to him. Wufei snorted and stood up, pulling his sword from where he had sheathed it. His blade was the legendary Mortal Dread, killer of all things. It was one of the only weapons that could kill a full-blooded Sidhe, though even it took time, and many cuts, if they were not to the heart, to accomplish that great task.

"Maxwell." That one word was accusing, "I should have known Shinigami would have his devious hands mixed up somewhere in this whole mess." He growled out, glaring intently at the longhaired boy.

Duo shrugged, his expression changing to a malicious grin. "Don't look at me. I had nothing to do with your precious *prince*, "he spat that word, "coming here, Fei. In fact, my suspicion wasn't even concrete until you showed up." What was he talking about?

A light bulb went off in Quatre's brain. NOW he remembered! "You're THAT Shinigami!? Of the Sidhe?"

The braided boy spared a glance at him, though his main interest was in Wufei. "Yeah. I *was*, anyway." That seemed to be a statement concerning something of great importance to Duo. Or an old grudge.

"Wait a minute, WAIT a minute." Hirde moved to push between the two bickering youths, then apparently thought better of the idea, as sparks were almost visible between the two. Instead she just stepped right up to them, sticking her hand in the middle; as if that would keep them separated and off each other's throats. "I wanna know what's going on around here. YOU'RE, " she turned to Wufei, "the one that gave him that nickname?"

A nod.

"AND... there's actually something *to*, " Duo was now in her line of fire, "that nickname?"

A voiceless acquiescence.

"Well, then. There's just *one* more thing I wanna know before we move on here."

A pause.

"Just WHAT is a Sidhe?"

Silence.

Oh. Riiiiight.

"Sidhe are... well, they're what you would term an elf, I guess." Quatre supplied, as it seemed Wufei and Duo were too busy baring their teeth and growling at each other to notice anyone else much. "More like Royal Elves, but the term can also apply to the elf population as a whole. The English call us fairies sometimes. We don't like that much, " THAT was an understatement. Hirde nodded, accepting the explanation. Of course she would; it was Quatre. But sometimes even *he* kept secrets and twisted the truth.

Heero, seemingly annoyed with the proceedings, reached for Duo's braid, as if to forcibly remove him from the scene. Typical Heero solution to a problem. What he *didn't* expect was for the chestnut-haired boy to whirl on him before his hand even came in contact with the rope of hair, or the scathing fire alight in Duo's narrowed eyes to be aimed at him.

"Don't. Even. Think. About it. Heero." He practically snarled. This was definitely a side of Duo that no one had seen before, except maybe for Wufei, who seemed to be expecting it. It was quite a change form his usual demeanor.

"Don't waste my time, Maxwell. I have come for the Prince, and I *will* return him to his rightful home."

Duo didn't even turn around. "Go ahead. I always knew you never cared about other people's *lives*, Wu. It seems you haven't changed much in 30 or so years. You're still such an arrogant sonuvabitch."

He whirled to face the attack he knew was coming, just as Wufei growled and lifted his sword. Seeing what could occur if he didn't stop them, Quatre threw himself between the two, knowing at least Wufei would not hurt him, and seriously hoping Duo wouldn't either. He spread his arms out to hopefully keep the two at bay for awhile, just to hear him out.

"Stop! Just-... stop it, both of you!" he cried, glaring at the two. "Before you get yourselves, or any of us, killed. Stop acting like spoiled brats." He sighed, and his composure almost completely left him with that one exhalation. "This is my fault... Trowa..." a silent plea. The martial artist nodded and stood, placing a gentle but firm hand on Duo's shoulder, turning him and leading him to a nearby lawn chair, where the longhaired youth sat down solidly and got a dark look upon his features, literally glaring at Wufei.

Quatre lead the raven-haired boy over to a corner far enough away from the others so that they couldn't listen in, then began a heated discussion with Wufei.

"Why are you here?"

"You know."

"Yes, but- why *you*, specifically? Why one of the best of my father's guard?"

"You mean... you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"They all thought it was the reason why you ran away."

"*Who* did? Thought *what* was?"

"Your sisters. Didn't you hear that your parents are seriously considering naming you sole heir to the kingdom?"

Quatre was speechless. "WHAT?!"

"You don't have to yell."

"Oh. Sorry."

"And, yes, you heard me. Since you're the only *male* heir-"

"But I'm only *half* Sidhe! The people-"

"The people won't mind as long as they have a decent leader to follow. And you must know most, if not all, of your sisters are nowhere near *anyone's* terms of 'decent'."

"Ireia-"

"She's a woman." Oh. Of *course*. "And your parents have given up hope of finding a suitable mate for her. You know she refuses all of the offers. Your sister greatly dislikes the Seelie court, and you know there are not nearly enough men in the UnSeelie to go around. She would rather be disowned than go into a marriage without love, as well."

"And Kel-"

"Too young. You're parents, your father specifically, want an heir *now*. Plus, she's the only one besides you who's only half Sidhe."

Geez. You'd think he'd rehearsed the whole damn speech or something.

"Wufei. There's something my father should know. It... it might change his mind."

"I saw."

"... Oh."

"And I don't think it will change anything. Milan's very set on this."

"But Trow-"

"He'll understand."

There was that *word* again! *Why* did it make him suffer so?

OK. Time to change the subject. Stall for time or something.

"About Dorothy."

"She was sent here, obviously. My belief is by one or more of your sisters, once they found out about your father's wishes. You know she works for anyone."

"Yes."

"Most likely by Erts, maybe even Rila as well."

"Right."

Well, there goes *that* subject. Now what?

There was nothing for it. 'Understand'. Yeah, right. He'd rather be swallowed up in the oblivion that was ignorance than to 'understand' anything right now. But there were things that had to be done.

He felt rather than saw Wufei place a comforting hand on his shoulder. They may not have been the best of friends at the palace, but sorrow brings people together like nothing else.

Quatre and the lone member of the Sidhe Royal Guard made their way towards the others. Hirde looked up from her own conversation as they approached, looking overly amazed.

"Hey, Quatre, did you know that Duo was part of the King's Guard *30 years* ago? And that he's over *200 years old*?!"

The blonde managed a nod. Duo was full Sidhe, of course. He hadn't needed to hide anything because only partial Sidhe have pointed ears, contrary to popular belief about elfin kind.

"And that he was called the God of Death cuz he was so good at killing people-" she paused, stricken at the look on Quatre's face. "Quatre? What's wrong?"

"I..." he swallowed convulsively and forced the words out in a pained whisper, "I have to go."

Duo jumped to his feet from where he'd *still* been glowering at Wufei. "What?! No way, Q-"

"Duo. You... you remember what Heero told you before? Don't let some sort of past grudge cloud your judgement, okay?"

The longhaired boy quieted, looking thoughtful, then nodded and sat back down, allowing Quatre to continue.

"I *did*... tell the truth, before. I have many sisters. Twenty-nine, to be precise. Most of them are cruel and coldhearted; and full Sidhe. I never had any chance of attaining the throne, and, to be honest, I didn't want any part of it. But... my father will be naming me next in line to the throne soon, I think. I am, after all, the sole male heir, no matter that I'm only part Sidhe. You won't need to worry about Dorothy anymore; she was after me, because my sisters do not want me to have the throne. I... I didn't even know about it until now." He tried to convey with his eyes what he couldn't say aloud; he was sorry; eternally, deeply sorry; there was nothing he could do; nothing they could do.

Nothing.

-----

Home.

He was back home.

Except it wasn't home anymore.

Quatre shifted his traveling pack against his shoulder and gazed balefully at the mounds of earth lying in front of him. The entrance to the Sidhe world; the only world he had ever known until meeting Duo and the others. The only world he had never wanted to know.

Home.

He was back in his traveling clothes; Duo, after shedding the odd effects of being around Wufei, had demanded he keep the clothes he had been given, but Quatre did not want to take anything, knowing he would never see Duo or the others again.

Hirde had been a typical girl - tearful, lots of hugs and touchy-feely stuff; Heero had been silent as usual, and served the double purpose of preventing Duo from lunging at Wufei and trying to beat the shit out of him; Trowa had understood, as Wufei had said he would. It was all said and done, and Quatre hated it.

Absolutely *despised* it.

The mound Wufei had been standing in front of and muttering incantations at suddenly vanished, revealing stone steps leading into a seemingly impenetrable darkness. Yippe. His favorite part.

Wufei snapped his fingers, and a ball of orange flame burst up, hovering just over his palm. "This way, Prince," he said, as if Quatre hadn't spent his whole life locked away in this hellhole. Small wonder he was so damn *pale*. But if Apollyon insisted on leading the way, then follow he would, just so as not to cause more trouble than was needed.

And lead the way he did. Through twists and turns, and more twists and turns, and then even more of them. He had forgotten how the place often reshaped itself to it's desires; it seemed to get bored with it's shape relatively easily. Eventually, though, they reached his father's chambers, and Wufei knocked sharply, not even allowing Quatre a moment to get his bearings. There was a muffled summons from inside, and Wufei pushed open the doors, entering the room. Quatre was not far behind, though much less confident.

The stately figure of his father turned to face him, arms spread wide as if to embrace him, though Milan Winner did no such thing. "Quatre. Welcome back, my boy."

"Hullo... father." He didn't even feel like acting decently presentable; he just wanted to stay in his room for the rest of his life, locked away from the rest of the world; both human and Sidhe. So he waited for his father to speak, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer than necessary.

"Well? I supposed you've heard the good news?" there was an expectant look on the King's face, but Quatre wasn't about to act all joyful about the turn of events set upon him; not for anyone.

"Yes, father. I've heard."

"Well, don't look so sullen, my boy! Aren't you even the tiniest bit exited?"

"Of course, father. It's just... I've had a long trip."

"Of course, of course. Of course you have. Wufei."

"Sir?"

"Accompany him to his chambers."

"Sir."

Thank God it was over.

-----

Quatre flopped back on his bed, happy to finally be able to lie down.

"You lied."

He blinked and sat up. "What?"

Wufei's piercing onyx eyes were on him. "You told him you were tired."

The blonde smirked, gesturing for Wufei to sit down. When he did, Quatre continued, "No, I didn't. I told him I'd had a long trip. He interpreted it that way. Besides, who are you to know if I'm tired or not?"

"I've been watching you."

"Well, of course you have. You were supposed to."

No response. Odd. Try again.

"Wufei?"

"Yes?"

"Why you?"

"I don't know."

Answer enough, he supposed. Now for the big question.

"...'Fei'...?"

*That* earned him a glare to match Heero's. But he knew Wufei wouldn't -or couldn't- hurt him; he was the Prince, after all. So he pushed it as far as he dared.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know."

"Between me and him." It wasn't a question, but-

"Mm."

"... We... had a fight."

A fight?

"He was ranting about how I never spent enough time with him. I was arguing that we both had work to do, we both were loyal to the Kingdom. I made it up to him when I could, after all. He called it a bunch of... bullshit and punched me in the eye. Then he left. For good."

Oh.

Oh, my.

Quatre's eyes nearly popped out of his head when it all began to sink in. "You-... You were LOVERS?!" he blurted, his face turning red.

"And what do you find so humorous, my Prince?" he could see Wufei's eyebrow begin to twitch ever so slightly.

He had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Nothing! N-Nothing!" It was just... the *thought* of those two together! It must have been hell for them both! They were absolutely nothing alike.

Wufei glared at him, but thankfully continued his story. "That was the last time I ever saw him; until today, of course. Oh, I had heard he abandoned the People to go play house in the human world, and that was enough for me. I made no attempt to locate him, and so was quite surprised to find him with you. Forgive me if I acted uncouth."

Quatre waved a dismissive hand, swallowing his laughter. "Oh, it's alright. He acted worse, I have to say."

Wufei smirked, eyes glittering with some strange inborn light. "And I would have to agree with you, my Prince."

-----

"Quatre-niisan!" Kelly bounded into the room like some 4-year-old tornado, landing in Quatre's lap and grinning broadly. Wufei had taken his leave a half-hour ago, and it seemed he had notified everyone of Quatre's safe return. "Welcome back!"

He smiled a bright, sunny smile; for her sake. "Hi, Kelly-chan! I missed you!"

"Missed you, too." She giggled up at him.

"*That* much was obvious. She bawled for days. I think I still have the ringing in my ears." Came the sarcastic voice of his oldest sister from the doorway.

Erts actually looked strikingly like Quatre, only her golden blonde hair was finer and longer; her was almost down to the back of her knees. Their personalities, though, were entirely different. She loved to kill; enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

"Welcome home, brother dear. Heard you had some trouble out there in that big, bad world." She smirked maliciously, leaning against the doorframe. She was so much taller than he was! He was so short. Sigh.

"Um... not anything major, really. Not anything we couldn't handle."

"'We'?" he got a raise eyebrow for that one; she knew he hadn't had any company when he started out.

"Yeah. I met quite a few remarkable people out there… Including Shinigami." He said that just to see his normally collected sister flustered, of course. She practically worshipped the legend of Shinigami; in the stories and legends, he killed with no mercy. He was like her idol or something. Wouldn't it burst her bubble if she found out that the legendary Shinigami acted like such a class clown most of the time?

Nah. He wouldn't do something like that, even to Erts. She was already speechless as it was.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was pretty cool."

"'Pretty cool'," She muttered, turning and heading for her own quarters, "'Pretty cool', he says! Shinigami!"

Someone just outside his door giggled. "That was good, little brother," Ireia acknowledged, entering and setting herself down at the foot of the bed. Quatre's eyes softened.

"Ireia..."

"Welcome back, Quatre. I won't presume to call it home, for I know that's not how you see it."

He nodded, smiling shyly. "You've always known."

"Home is where the heart is!" Kelly interjected, giggling madly as they both glanced at her. Quatre flashed a lopsided grin at his little sister. She was right, of course.

Ireia patted their little sister on the head and turned back to her brother, "So, how was it?

At this, he perked up a bit. "It was great! I met these amazing people in Tokyo; we went rollerblading and swimming and dancing through the park..."

"You mean you really *did* meet Shinigami?" Hm. Seemed nobody believed him when he said something.

"Yeah. Oh, and Ireia? I didn't want to tell Erts this, but he's... well, his name is Duo, and he's the biggest joker I know. Most of the time, anyway."

His big sister just laughed. "It figures, you know. Erts is so psyched up about him, and he's the total opposite of what she imagined."

"Yeah..." he had to wonder about that. Was it possible that Duo's joker personality was only a mask put forth for the world to see? Interesting concept.

"Quatre? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just... there was someone there that..."

"You liked?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

Kelly seemed fit to interrupt them as much as possible, "See, neesan! I told you he'd get a Bond!"

"Oh, no, no, sweetie, he's not Quatre's Bond. He's just someone Quatre likes. Quatre will get bonded later, when he gets married,"

Wait. How did Ireia know about Trowa? "'He'?"

Ireia actually looked a bit guilty, "Wufei told me, though I really think he should have let you say it on your own. Trowa seems like a nice person..."

"Like I'll ever see him again."

"Oh, Quatre. I'm so sorry. I can imagine how you feel, but I also think you need to make the best of a bad situation." She leaned over and hugged him. Ireia hadn't done that since he was little. It made him feel safe; comfortable and loved. She probably knew it, too.

"I know, it's just… It's so hard. I thought I would finally get some time to be *me*, you know?"

"I know, Quatre. I know."

-----

Duo was in trouble.

Wufei was gone, thank the gods; he had left the braided boy with one *very* irritated Heero, however. And Duo knew from experience never to stick around the Japanese boy very long when he was mad. He was liable to blow something up or something. Literally.

"H-Heero? You okay, buddy?"

No answer.

It was bad. Really bad. Usually he got at least a customary 'Hn'. Now the Prussian-eyed youth was just... well, *glowering* was the word that came to mind. Duo preferred to refer to it as 'Trying to stare a hole through your head so he won't have to go to any trouble to bring out the guns to kill you'.

Not good. He was *so* dead.

"Heero?" he tried again.

Still nothing. Gulp. He was doomed; they would find his body splattered across the pavement when the workers came to clean out the pool. Or worse, when some little kid fresh out of elementary for the day came for an afternoon swim.

He caught a glimpse of Heero from underneath the bangs that hung in his eyes. Yep, still glaring. Heero would make a good Sidhe.

Maybe he should try to make a break for it. He knew Heero would eventually catch him, but maybe he could lengthen his life a bit.

Yeah, by a few *seconds*.

It was better than just *standing* here, waiting for the inevitable, he supposed.

Duo had just made up his mind to take his chances at running, when Heero's hand shot out and caught hold of his braid, pulling him towards Heero. Ah, the boy knew him too well.

"Who was that?" Heero practically hissed. Well, at least he was talking now.

Duo wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"W-Who? You mean... Wufei?"

"Hn." Great, back to one-word sentences. He supposed he deserved it.

"Well... it's really a long and complicated story, Heero, pal, and I'm sure you have a lot of schoolwork to finish..."

"Tell it."

"Yeah, Duo," Hirde interrupted. He had forgotten she was even there; she had actually been quiet. "Heero has a right to know, I think, as do Trowa and I."

"Um..." Duo glanced at the taller boy. He hadn't moved since Quatre left. "I don't think Tro's all here right now, Hirde. I can't blame the guy, either. In fact, why don't we all just relax and-"

A sharp tug at his braid. Ow. Duo cast Heero a pitiful look. No sympathy there. So he was stalling a bit. So what? He really didn't feel like telling his life's story right now.

"Now."

Oh, alright. Alright, already! "Wufei's part of the Sidhe King's Guard."

"I gathered as much."

Whoo boy! Sentences longer than two syllables! Now he was getting somewhere.

"He and I worked together when I was also part of the Guard. We were... pretty close." Yeah, that didn't even *begin* to describe it.

Another tug. "How close?"

"Eh? Whaddaya mean?"

"*How* close?"

Oh. So he wanted to play *that* game, did he?

"Lovers, actually." He stated, almost smirking, but knowing he could be seriously hurt if he actually did. He didn't know if there was a way to surgically attach hair violently ripped from his skull, and he didn't particularly want to find out.

Duo had actually succeeded in rendering Heero speechless. Huh. Interesting day.

"WHAT?" Hirde wasn't as much so. He speared her with a sideways glance.

"You heard me. He and I were lovers, but we broke it off right before I left the Sidhe court."

"Who broke it off?" that was Heero. Boy had the recuperation skills of a worm.

"Uh... Me. Why?"

"Good." Heero was smirking and leaning forward. Oh God, he was planning something, and if Duo knew him, it was something malicious, involving a detonator and-

Heero kissed him. Kissed him! On the lips, full on the mouth!

-and handcuffs. Mm...

Oh, that was nice...

-----

Kelly Ilanna Winner was on a mission. She had to find her big brother and give him a letter her big sister had given to her. It was really pretty, written on pink and purple paper with little roses and butterflies. Too bad Kelly couldn't read and find out what it said. Oh well, Quatre-niisan would tell her what it was once she found him, she was sure.

That's right, she had to go to his room. She remembered being told to leave the letter on his pillow, then leave. She wouldn't leave, though. She'd put it on his pillow, but then she'd hide under his bed, so she could find out what it said after Big Brother read it. That's what she'd do! Mm- hm.

Ah, there it was! Her big brother's room! She slipped inside and carefully placed her delivery on Quatre's pillow, the giggle mischievously and crawled under his bed. The sound of her own breathing was the only thing she heard for several minutes, until finally Quatre-niisan came back from wherever he'd been.

"Kelly-chan? Are you in here?"

Oh! He was looking for her! She had to suppress a fit of giggles as he approached his bed, apparently spotting the letter.

Crumpling was heard as she imagined him picking it up, then silence for a moment as he read.

Oh, c'mon, he *must've* finished it by now! What was he doing?

Little Kelly had just begun to crawl out from underneath the bed when she hear Quatre mutter something that sounded like "Toe-a?" in something akin to amazement.

Then her big brother collapsed to the floor.

-----

"Kelly-chan? Are you in here?" Quatre glanced around his room. No sign of her, but the servant had said she'd seen her around this part of the hall.

Hm. What was that, on his bed?

A letter, it looked like. On pink and purple stationary. Ugh.

But from who? Who would send him a letter? He made his way over to his bed, all the while feeling like *something* was going to happen soon, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. His head felt a bit fuzzy, but not in a bad way. He nervously picked up the piece of elaborately decorated stationary and read the brief message held upon its surface.

'Quatre,

One drop is all it takes.

Dorothy.'

... What in the world-?

... No.

Oh, no.

Oh God, no. She couldn't have. There was no way she could have-

The fuzziness in his head! It was-! He was-!

God, no.

Then he felt something. Something touched his mind, curious. Something that felt frighteningly familiar to Quatre.

~... Quatre?~

Oh, God.

"... Trowa?"

~... What..?~

It was. It was.

Pain. He felt Trowa's mind cry out in pain. Such pain. It wasn't even muffled by the fact that it wasn't his. Quatre felt it as if it were his own, and collapsed to the floor.

Oh, God, no. It couldn't be! Dorothy...

Dorothy had Trowa!

-----