Eternal Flame

(See previous chapters for disclaimer, notes etc...)

Chapter 11

Wufei stirred slightly as wakefulness found him. He opened his eyes, confused for a moment and then all of the preceding events came back to him. He gazed down as the extra warmth registered and smiled as he realized that Sally was using his chest as a pillow, her dark honey hair fanned out to cover her face and part of his chest. He couldn\'t resist raising his head slightly and placing a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

He lay back and enjoyed the moment. The wedding had all gone well and now he was finally married to the one he loved more than life itself. Silently he blessed his good fortune and then blushed as he remembered the previous evening. While he was certainly no stranger to sex he hoped he had been good enough for Sally; although he didn\'t recall hearing any complaints.

Sally blinked open an eye as the sunlight filtered into the suite. She was warm and comfortable and lying upon a nicely muscled chest. With a wry grin she thought about what had transpired in the last twenty four hours. The wedding was over and she was now about to embark on a life as the wife of a former Gundam pilot, Preventer agent and honorable gentleman.

Feeling Sally stirring Wufei reached again to place a kiss to the crown of her head. \"Good morning Mrs. Chang.\"

Sally yawned and raised herself from her comfortable position to face her new husband. \"Good morning Mr. Chang, I trust you slept well?\"

\"Yes I did. I gather you did also?\"

\"Mmmmm.... \" Sally snuggled closer and began to place feather kisses along Wufei\'s jaw and neck. \"I slept like a log.\"

Wufei sighed softly as his skin was worshipped, tilting his head slightly before raising his hands to cup Sally\'s chin and bring her face close for a gentle kiss. \"We will need to get moving soon, we still have to shower and have breakfast.\"

Sally gave him a smile. \"How long till we have to be at the airport?\"

Wufei glanced at the clock. \"Three hours.\"

\"Would you prefer to eat in the hotel dining room or have breakfast in here?\" Sally asked as she placed more kisses along Wufei\'s chin, working her way to his lips.

Wufei caught his breath. \"I don\'t mind.\" he breathed.

Sally\'s hands disappeared under the bed clothes. \"Good, because I think I will have my breakfast in bed.\" Not giving Wufei a chance to reply she captured his lips and kissed him hungrily.

Wufei moaned into the kiss as his body came alive with sensation. \"I think I will join you...\"

Two hours later, freshly showered Wufei and Sally arrived in the lobby of the hotel, the bell hop bringing their bags. Sally went to wait in the taxi while Wufei handed in the room key and also left his car keys with the receptionist. They had opted to take a taxi to the airport, Wufei didn\'t think driving his car there with all of the *adornments* still attached was a very good idea. Besides given the crime rate and the length of time his car would have to stay parked in the long term parking at the airport he wasn\'t sure if it would still have wheels on it when they returned, that\'s presuming the car was still there at all. It may not have been a flash or fancy vehicle but it did what Wufei wanted and he wasn\'t about to risk leaving it anywhere it could get damaged. No it was much better to leave it here and Quatre would be by later to pick it up for him.

The taxi didn\'t take long to reach the airport and soon they had their boarding passes and were making their way down the aisle of the aircraft to their allotted seats. The plane taxied out to the runway and then roared its way along the tarmac and into the wide blue sky. Wufei relaxed back into his seat while Sally watched the puffy clouds disappear beneath them. Wufei was looking forward to his honeymoon in Tahiti, to relaxing on the beach and enjoying the company of his new wife, soaking up the sun and forgetting all about the pressures of work and every day life. He leaned the seat back a little and closed his eyes.

A pair of mischievous blue eyes peered over the top of the seat.

Wufei felt his seat being shoved a little and cracked open an eye. All he saw was a wisp of brown hair disappear behind him. With a grunt he settled in once more.

A pair of hands hauled against the seat, shaking it.

Wufei growled softly and turned his head in an attempt to see what had disturbed him. He caught a glimpse of a cheeky grin that would have rivaled Maxwell\'s, a pair of bright blue eyes full of mischief and a face that promised nothing but torment.

Wufei poked Sally who in turn scowled at him. \"Terrorist at six o\'clock.\" he muttered.

Sally\'s brow creased into a frown as she glanced between the seats to see what on earth it was that Wufei was going on about. \"It\'s just a child Wufei.\"

\"Exactly. A terrorist.\"

Sally laughed at him and gave him a friendly slap to the arm. \"Don\'t be silly, he\'s only a little boy.\"

Wufei glowered slightly as he felt his seat being attacked again. \"He might only be a little boy to you but the way he is attacking my seat I can see he\'s more than that.\"

\"You\'re just being grumpy.\" Sally teased and turned back to reading the magazine she had bought before boarding the flight.

Wufei scowled and adjusted himself to a more comfortable position while mumbling under his breath. \"Today i the the aircraft seats, tomorrow the universe itself.\" No sooner had he closed his eyes than the assault began again, only this time more violent. Wufei suddenly snapped around and caught the child red handed. Eyeball to eyeball with the mini terrorist he put on a glare that would have made Heero proud. \"You know what I do to little boys that persist in annoying me?\"

Wide blue stared back at him, a touch of fear in their depths as the boy shook his head.

\"I take them down below and jettison them from the cargo hold.\"

\"You wouldn\'t.\" It was barely a whisper.

\"Want to try me?\"

The little head shook vigorously.

\"Stop annoying me or I will be forced to take action against you.\"

\"Okay mister. I promise to leave you alone.\"

\"Good. I\'m glad we understand each other.\" Wufei released the boy and reclined back once more, his eyes drifting shut. The little boy sat back in his own seat and remained the model of perfect behavior for the rest of the flight.

.... Much to his mothers surprise.

~ * ~

The doorbell rang and Duo went to answer it. \"Howie!\" Duo enveloped the older man in a bear hug. \"I see yer found the place all right?\"

Howard managed to return the hug before breaking free. \"Yeah I found it okay Duo.\"

\"Come in, come in.\" Duo stepped aside to allow Howard to enter.

\"Nice place you got here Duo.\"

\"It\'s cool, suits me an Heero and the rest of the gang.\"

Howard smiled, he was pleased to see Duo so happy, the kid deserved it after all he\'d gone through in the wars, all the sacrifices, the bloodshed, the heartache. Finally it looked as if Duo had managed to find love, life and most importantly peace.

\"Heero\'s in the kitchen makin coffee, come on through.\" Duo led the way down the hall, braid swinging behind him, Howard followed.

Heero looked up as the pair entered the kitchen. \"Good to see you again Howard.\" Heero wiped his hands on his jeans before extending one to Howard.

Howard took the hand and shook it warmly. \"It\'s good to see you too Heero.\"

\"Coffee?\"

\"Love one thanks.\"

Duo plonked down in one of the kitchen chairs and motioned for Howard to do the same. As the man sat so Duo smiled warmly at him. \"How\'s life treatin yer Howie?\"

\"Could be better Duo.\" Howard sighed as a momentary shadow passed through his eyes.

Duo quirked an eyebrow. \"That don\'t sound like you Howie.\"

Howard gave him a rueful smile and took the mug that Heero offered. \"I guess it isn\'t all that bad.\"

Heero placed a mug in front of Duo and then returned with the biscuit tin, lifting off the lid he took a glance inside and his eyes rolled. Howard caught the movement, as did Duo who opted to look away, innocent expression plastered to his heart shaped face. With a glare at his braided lover Heero went to the pantry and returned with a packet of biscuits which he opened and dumped into the tin, passing it to Howard before setting it on the table and sitting down himself.

\"They eating you out of house and home Heero?\" Howard commented with a grin.

\"Something like that.\" Heero replied as he slapped Duo\'s hand away from the tin. \"You\'ve had more than enough biscuits this week Duo.\"

Duo poked his tongue out at Heero. \"I need my sustenance, I\'m a growing boy.\"

\"You can get all the sustenance you need from healthy food Duo.\"

Duo rolled his eyes. \"See what I gotta put up with Howard?\"

Howard chuckled. He\'d seen Duo on a sugar high more times than he cared to remember so his sympathies lay entirely with Heero. \"I\'m sure you two can keep each other on the right track.\" he replied non-committaly.

\"And I thought yer was an ally.\" Duo grinned.

Howard shook his head.

\"What did you mean when you said you could be better Howard? Nothing wrong health wise is there?\" Heero asked as he tried to steer the conversation back.

\"No, no. Nothing like that. Business hasn\'t been all that good lately.\"

\"Yer still runnin the Sweepers ain\'t ya Howard?\" Duo\'s hand snuck towards the biscuit tin.

\"Yes I am but I\'m afraid I\'m going to have to lay a few of the blokes off and maybe sell a couple of the ships if things don\'t improve.\" Howard stared into his coffee mug lost in thought.

Duo\'s fingers paused in mid thievery as Howard\'s words sunk in. Heero took the opportunity to pluck the two biscuits from his lover\'s hand and drop them back into the tin. \"Huh?\" Duo looked at Heero who smirked before returning his attention back to Howard. \"Surely things ain\'t that bad are they?\"

\"I don\'t know what to think Duo. After the wars as you know there was a lot of salvage to be done, tons of scrap metal, MS suit pieces and loads of other stuff just floating around out there needing to be cleaned up.\"

Duo nodded. He remembered only too well. A shiver ran down his spine as he recalled the many battles he had been a part of in space and the amount of debris he had created with his own destrun.
n.

\"Several companies were granted licenses to salvage what they could and given the number of companies out there doing the work there should have been enough to last several years.\"

\"So what exactly is the problem Howard?\" Heero took a mouthful of his coffee and waited.

Howard adjusted his sunglasses before continuing. \"There isn\'t much left out there. Most of the bigger scrap has been cleaned up, there is only the odd pocket here and there and most of that is out in deep space, risky at the best of times.\"

Duo nodded at that, he knew how dangerous deep space could be, only certain ships could handle the distance and keep the crew comfortable, not to mention make the jaunt out there viable. \"So yer sayin the scrap has all just gone?\"

Howard nodded. \"Even if you take into account piracy there still should be more out there than what there is. Several companies have already been forced to close down, there\'s only the sweepers and two other companies still operational and we don\'t know how much longer we can keep operating for.\" Howard sighed.

Heero ran his hands through his hair as he thought about Howard\'s words. It didn\'t make sense. So locked in his thoughts was he that he didn\'t see Duo\'s hand sneak back to the biscuit tin and return triumphant.

Munching on the stolen cookie Duo scrunched his face as he thought. \"Certainly hope yer don\'t haf\'ta lay off any of the guys Howie.\"

\"I don\'t want it to come to that either Duo but I\'m not sure what else I can do.\"

\"Are you sure you didn\'t miscalculate the amount of salvage there would be Howard?\" Heero said as he reached for a notepad and pencil.

\"Nope. I rechecked the figures several times. I mean I know we can\'t put an exact figure on these things but given the sizes of the various battles, especially the final one, and the number of suits sent out, not forgetting the suits that have been de-commissioned and awaiting scrapping there should have been enough out there for another three years give or take six months.\"

Heero frowned. \"Something doesn\'t fit right.\"

\"Tell me something I don\'t know.\" Howard replied.

Duo snuck a second cookie as he thought. \"I wonder...\"

Heero and Howard both turned to the braided boy, expectant looks on their faces.

Duo glanced up to see them both staring at him intently. That\'s when he realized he had been thinking out aloud. His eyes darted from one to the other.

\"What do you wonder Duo?\" Heero asked quietly.

Duo lowered his eyes as well as his voice and a shiver escaped him as he spoke. \"I was wonderin how Hilde was copin, I mean she does run a salvage yard an all. If Howie\'s havin problems findin the stuff then it stands ta common sense that the scrap yards have either got a glut of parts or.....\"

\"Or what?\"

\"If the parts ain\'t in the scrap yards then where are they?\"

Both Heero and Howard paused to think. What Duo said made sense. If the parts weren\'t out there in space it was obvious someone had scavenged them up. But what for? And where were they?

Duo swallowed hard. \"I can give Hilde a call and see how business is going fer her.\" He really didn\'t want to do that, but if it would help put an end to this mystery then he would do it. He had managed to forgive Hilde for what had happened in the past, put it behind him and begun to live.

It didn\'t mean he had forgotten though.

Heero stared at his lover. He knew how much those few words had cost Duo and once more a lump came to his throat as the depth of his love was revealed yet again. He placed his hand on Duo\'s slightly trembling arm. \"I\'ll call her Duo.\"

Duo looked up into the cobalt blue of his partner and smiled weakly. \"I should really make the call Heero.\"

\"No Duo. It doesn\'t matter, I\'ll make the call for you.\"

Duo sighed and placed his own hand over Heero\'s, giving a light squeeze of gratitude.

\"Thanks.\"

Heero flashed his lover an understanding smile before returning his attention to Howard who had been watching the exchange with a small look of amusement.

Howard knew something bad had happened to Duo after the wars but he didn\'t know what and he figured it wasn\'t his place to pry. If Duo wanted him to know then he would tell him, until he did then Howard would respect his privacy. He was pleased to see though the obvious depths of caring and love that passed between the two young men. He could tell that Heero made Duo happy and vice versa. He only hoped they would stay together permanently.

His attention was drawn back to more pressing engagements when Heero began to speak.

\"I\'ll give Hilde a call and see how the business is going up there and let you know what I find out Howard, until we have some information there isn\'t much more we can do.\"

Howard smiled. \"I\'d just be happy to know where it\'s all gone, I mean if there are another couple of companies out there that have been involved that we don\'t know about then that would explain a lot of it. Or maybe like you said Heero, I could have miscalculated the amount of scrap given the number of licenses and the ratio of such; but I don\'t think so.\" Howard shrugged. \"There has to be some explanation though.\"

Duo gazed fondly at the man that had been like a father to him and impulsively reached over and squeezed Howard\'s arm. \"There is a logical explanation Howard, we just gotta find it.\"

\"And we will.\" Heero added. \"Do you know of any other scrap companies that might be able to shed some light on this?\"

Howard thought for a moment. \"I\'ll go back to the ship and get my list of contacts and we can go through it.\"

Duo rubbed his hands together as a manic grin slipped into place. \"I still have a few contacts out on the colonies from when I was workin with Hilde, I\'ll look \'em up and see how they are doing.\"

\"Good idea Duo.\" Heero looked at his watch. \"I\'ll give Hilde a call in a moment, she should be back at the yard in the next fifteen minutes or so given the time difference.\"

\"Well I\'ll head back to the ship and get my contacts book, I should be back in about an hour or so.\" Howard stood and prepared to leave.

Duo and Heero followed him down the hall and to the front door where they paused for a moment. Howard dipped his sunglasses and looked over the top of them at the boys. \"I really appreciate the help guys, It may be nothing but I can\'t just sit back and let my business go to the wall and see my guy\'s all laid off, not without a fight or a damn good reason!\"

Duo gave Howard a quick hug. \"We\'ll do everythin we can ta help Howie.\"

Heero extended his hand and shook Howard\'s firmly. \"We will see you soon.\"

Heero stood behind Duo as they watched Howard depart. He wrapped his arms around Duo\'s waist and pulled him back against his chest, resting his chin on Duo\'s shoulder he spoke softly. \"We won\'t let Howard\'s business falter, we\'ll find out what we can and then help him wherever possible.\"

Duo sighed as he leaned back into the embrace and placed his hands over the top of Heero\'s. \"I hope we can o.\"o.\" He turned around in the security of Heero\'s arms and placed a tender kiss to those sweet lips. \"Thanks Heero.\"

~ * ~

Paul took Leith through to the lounge room where Shane was still lying on the couch with his head resting in Fayah\'s lap. \"Shane, Fayah, yer both remember Leith?\"

Shane raised himself from his comfortable recline and stood up to greet Paul\'s guest. \"Nice ta see yer again Leith.\" Shane extended his hand and shook Leith\'s one firmly.

\"Good to see you too Shane.\"

\"Hello again Leith.\" Fayah also offered her hand but Leith surprised her by raising it to his lips and kissing the back of it. Fayah blushed.

\"Lovely to see you again too Fayah.\"

Still standing beside Fayah, Shane growled softly and placed his hand possessively around Fayah\'s waist. He wasn\'t normally a jealous person by nature but he couldn\'t help himself when it came to Fayah. After all they had shared back on L2 when he had been kidnapped he was a little more protective of her and determined to keep her for himself. Fayah elbowed him lightly in the ribs by way of telling him he didn\'t have anything to worry about. He knew he didn\'t as Leith was obviously smitten with Paul but he couldn\'t help his male pride in staking his claim on Fayah and letting all other males know she was his.

They sat down and Shane returned to his previous comfortable position, Paul looked carefully at Leith and wondered how best to bring up the topic of Leith\'s missing father. He wasn\'t sure whether Leith was comfortable with talking in front of Shane and Fayah or if he would prefer to go somewhere more private. \"Would yer like a drink or somethin Leith?\" Paul asked in an attempt to start off some form of conversation.

\"Yes please.\" Leith replied.

\"Water, soda or a hot drink?\"

\"Soda would be fine thanks. I\'ll come help you if you want.\"

Paul smiled and stood up, Leith followed him to the kitchen where Paul fetched two cans of soda from the \'fridge and handed one to Leith. \"I dunno if your wanted ta talk in private or share what yer worried about with Shane and Fayah. They\'re like family ta me anyway so anythin yer says ta them won\'t go any further.\"

Leith took a sip of his soda and thought. \"I guess it\'s okay if they know, maybe they can help or suggest something.\"

\"Okay.\" Paul led the way back to the lounge room and motioned for Leith to take a seat. As Shane and Fayah were still occupying the lounge Leith sat in the large armchair. Paul perched on the arm and let his hand drift down to entwine with Leith\'s, letting him know he was there for him.

Leith squeezed Paul\'s hand in acknowledgment and took another pull from the can.

Paul opened the conversation, taking it upon himself to bring Shane and Fayah into it. \"Shane?\"

\"Yup?\"

\"Leith has a bit of a problem, may be nothing but we dunno yet.\"

Shane sat up as his eyes narrowed. \"What sort of problem?\" His mind began to supply all sorts of things that Leith could be hiding and none of them were complimentary. He still wasn\'t all that sure of Leith and opted to reserve his judgment of the guy and his intentions until he knew him a bit better. He\'d spent a lot of time with Paul, good times and bad times and knew how fragile Paul\'s psyche still was. He didn\'t want to see Paul taken advantage of.

Paul looked expectantly at Leith. With an audible sigh Leith began his tale. He explained how he had left home to go to work on the Friday, bidding his father good-bye, how he had returned and his father wasn\'t home. The next day and still no sign of his dad, also that his father obviously hadn\'t been home as none of his things in his room had been disturbed that Leith could tell. \"I rang his cell phone this morning but it was switched off or out of range or something so I left a message for him but he still hasn\'t contacted me. I know he\'s a little eccentric at times but it\'s unusual for him not to return home or at least leave me a message of some sort to let me know he\'s okay.\" Leith ran his fingers through his reddish hair. \"Frankly I\'m beginning to get really worried about him.\"

The room was quiet when Leith finished, each person digesting the information Leith had just given them. Shane\'s brow furrowed as he thought. \"I dunno what else ta really suggest Leith. I guess yer could wait until tomorra and if he still ain\'t home give his work a call, he may have gotten caught up with a job or somethin.\"

\"I don\'t think so.\" Leith replied. \"He\'s a computer programmer and while he quite often works back he\'s not required to go out in the field.\"

\"Yer never know though Leith, Wufei, Sally, Heero and Duo all work fer Preventer and they sometimes get sent inta the field without much notice.\" Paul responded.

\"I guess you could be right, but I know my dad, he would have left me a note or called me to tell me if he was going away for a few days.\"

\"He coulda found himself a nice dishy piece and be having a dirty weekend, OW!\" Shane was cut off as Fayah whacked him one.

\"That\'s enough from yer warped mind Shane Yuy-Maxwell. Leith\'s obviously worried sick about his dad and the last thing he needs is fer ya ta be teasin him.\"

Shane looked sheepish. \"Sorry.\"

Leith smiled. \"It\'s okay, I can\'t say I hadn\'t thought about that myself but even if he was he would have called and left me a message to say he would be away.\"

The four sat in silence once more, each contemplating where Leith\'s father could be.

\"I suggest yer wait until tomorra and if yer ain\'t heard anythin from yer dad by the mornin yer give his work a call and see if they know where he is.\" Fayah said as she smiled at Leith. \"I mean there\'s no point in tryin ta hunt him down now, if he is on business fer his job then he ain\'t gonna appreciate yer buttin in.\"

\"I guess so.\" Leith said, \"But I still can\'t help this feeling that something isn\'t right.\"

Paul squeezed Leith\'s hand again. \"Why don\'t we go fer a walk and try ta take yer mind off it fer a bit, then come tomorrow yer can ring his work and if he still isn\'t around then we can let Heero and Duo know and see what they suggest.\"

\"Okay.\" Leith stood up. \"Thanks for trying to help, it means a lot to me.\"

\"No problem Leith, just wish there was more we could do.\" Shane replied.

Leith gave them all a smile and allowed Paul to lead him by the hand from the room. \"Let Heero and Duo know I\'ve gone fer a walk will yer Shane, I\'ll be back in about an hour or two.\"

\"Will do. Behave yerself.\" Shane snickered.

Paul blushed and shook his head. \"C\'mon Leith.\" The pair headed out the door and down the street.

~ oOo ~