Alone

AN: It's Friday again, dear readers. That means my horrible busy weekend looms ahead of me. That means no updates until Monday. Ah well... KOMIKITTY: Why, yes, I LUV that movie. I love that part! It's my total fav, especially the look on Miss Scarlet's face when the doorbell rings. Awesome! I wore my VHS copy out, good thing it came out on DVD last year!!! Whee! Now I can irritate everyone again! What was I doing? Oh, yeah, the chapter...


CHAPTER SIXTEEN:


Duo said some words Wufei had *never* heard him use before - and that was saying a lot. Heero snarled and pulled his hand back. Wufei swallowed his heart back down into his chest, tugged his loose pants up until the waistband rested across his bellybutton and tightened the drawstring ruthlessly. He snatched up a tank top off his dresser and tossed it on, stalking down the hall to where Quatre was opening the door.

~Get a grip on yourself!~

They didn’t really think about it, but all five of them expected to see Une or Sally at the door. It was a good thing Heero was paranoid enough to grab his gun, then, when Burks strongarmed Quatre aside and stomped into the little apartment. Glasheld and another man he didn’t recognize were hard on his heels, and all three headed straight for Wufei. They stopped short when Heero, gun held casually in his hand, stepped in front of him, blue eyes ice cold with his death glare.

They nearly wilted.

“Burks? What are you doing here?” Wufei’s voice was calm. He wouldn’t have been too worried if he’d been home alone - Burks and Glasheld were more brawn than brains. If they wanted to start something... well, he was tired enough to want to avoid it, but not so tired he wouldn’t finish it.

He didn’t have to. Trowa, after assuring himself that Quatre was all right, had retrieved his own gun and moved to flank Heero. Burks was smart enough to know when he was out-maneuvered. “Hernbeck wants you back at HQ.”

“I already had a debriefing.”

Burks shifted nervously, eyeing the two teenagers with guns, watching while Duo walked in and leaned casually against the kitchen counter, his whole body loose and ready. There was a faint trace of Shinigami in his eyes - enough to start Burks sweating. “He... uh, has some other questions for you.”

“Can’t it wait until morning?” Quatre’s voice was mild as he moved to Heero’s other side.

“Uh...”

“And surely a phone call would have sufficed? Why did he need to send *three* Agents?”

“Umm...”

Quatre was relentless. “Commander Une gave a direct order that Agent Chang was to be sent home to rest. Does Hernbeck know he’s countermanding the C.O.’s orders? Does Une know anything about this?”

Burks was definitely sweating now, his eyes going desperate. The two large agents behind him didn’t look much happier - they started easing back towards the door. Burks’ overwhelmed brain finally selected an out. “Uh... guess the Major don’t know about those orders. I - I’ll report that back to him.” His pride gave a last desperate scramble - his next words were cool, imperious. Directed straight at Wufei again. “You better stay near a phone, Chang. He ain’t gonna be happy you ain’t comin’ in.” Wufei scowled hard, and Quatre opened his mouth for another barrage.

Heero spoke.

One word.

“Out.”

And away they went, as dignified as they could manage, each secretly wondering why one tall teenager had that effect on them.

The door closed behind them.

Wufei swore. Very fluently, in Mandarin, so the others had no idea what he was saying, only his tone of voice giving away the fact that he was cursing. Duo grinned. ‘Fei reach for the phone, snapped the ringer off and turned on his heel. “Let him call. I’m going to bed.” He strode away, and the bedroom door banged shut.

Quatre went straight to the phone, turning the ringer back on and setting the volume to low. Trowa dug through a bag and handed him a small black recording device. He hooked it into the handset and nodded to himself. “There. I’m sure Une has made the Major completely aware of her orders. If he calls, it’ll be just one more nail in his coffin.”

“She’s supposed to let him have it tonight.”

“He probably sent them after Wufei before she got him in the conference room. Either that or he has a serious death wish.” Quatre suddenly whirled away from the phone to stare at Heero and Duo. “What are you two planning?”

“What do you mean?” Duo tried for innocence.

“You know exactly what I mean. What are your intentions towards Wufei?”

Duo snickered. “You sound like the father in a Victorian melodrama.”

Quatre wasn’t buying it. His stare became a glare, and Trowa added his own to it, standing tall and solid behind his shorter lover. Duo and Heero exchanged glances, and both faces turned solemn. “We aren’t playing with him, Quat. We just...” Duo trailed off.

“Want him.” Heero finished.

“For how long?” Quatre asked sharply. “Because Wufei’s not as strong as he thinks he is, and he doesn’t need...”

“Forever.” Heero cut him off.

Quatre gazed at him for a long moment, then turned sapphire blue eyes on Duo. The braided boy nodded softly, his eyes hungry and vulnerable. Quatre smiled, and Trowa echoed him. “Good. Guess we should all go to bed now, then. Tonight’s probably not a good night for getting very physical, Duo.”

“I *know* that. We don’t want to *hurt* him!”

“And guys - you don’t know for sure. I mean, about what Osborne said - the psych could have been wrong, or they could have just been trying to give Wufei a hard time.”

“We know.” Heero’s voice was calm. “But we will try.”

“Have to.” Duo echoed his lover’s short speech patterns. Trowa’s smile became gentle, and he finished off the short debate.

“Good luck.”