Hope From the Past

Disclaimers: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

Notes: Quatre wakes up. Duo takes a walk with Heero.

Hope From the Past

//Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real//

“Crawling” by: Linkin Park

Part Twenty-Two

Quatre blinked his eyes open slowly. He looked around, his sleep-muddled mind taking its time to catch up. Trowa's quarters. He was in Trowa's private quarters. There was the familiar picture of Catherine there on the bedside table.

Trowa's bed. He smiled, snuggling back into the tantalizing warmth pressed along his spine. Not just Trowa's bed, but Trowa as well. He traced his fingers across the tanned hands that embraced him, one curling from underneath and crossing over his chest to grasp his arm and the other hand placed gently on the swell of his belly.

Every night for the past month since he had woken up to find himself heavily pregnant, he had spent the night curled up safe in Trowa's bed. And every morning he would wake the same way, ensconced in the heat of the man he loved.

This was as intimate as they had ever been, other than a few kisses and heated caresses. But he supposed it was enough for now. He didn't want to rush things, especially for himself. He trusted Trowa's words when the man said he would wait for whenever he was ready, no matter how long it took. Quatre was beginning to think that maybe he would like to try going a little further than those sweltering kisses. Such thoughts usually came to him at this time of the day, before he had any time to consider his dreams or dwell on memories of the past.

Trowa groaned, his nose nudging against Quatre's bare shoulder as he pressed a clumsy kiss to the skin there. He shifted slightly and something decidedly stiff pressed against the small of his back. Quatre shivered, his fingers tightening briefly against Trowa's skin at the unexpected - yet pleasant - sensation.

"Sorry," Trowa mumbled sleepily, shifting his hips back away from Quatre's body.

Quatre pressed his hand over the one on his stomach. "No, no it's okay." He felt his ears getting warm. "I-It feels ... nice, actually."

"You sure?"

Quatre turned to look over his shoulder as best as he could. "I'm not saying I want you to screw me into this mattress, but ... well, I think I'd like to do something."

"Stop me if you change your mind." Trowa's voice had taken on a strangely alluring husky tone. "One word, that's all it'll take. Promise me you'll tell me if it's too much."

"I promise," Quatre responded. Just the thought that they were about to go further than they had before, had Quatre's blood aflame. He wasn't fully aroused, but he was quickly getting there with every gentle kiss pressed to his shoulder and neck, with the feel of Trowa's calloused hand sliding from his stomach to move in a slow crawl to the blonde's clothed thigh. His other hand sneaked up underneath the T-shirt Quatre had worn to bed. It was easy considering how the garment had bunched up over the mound his stomach now was.

When one of Trowa's finger barely brushed against one of his nipples, Quatre nearly bucked completely off the bed. "Sorry," was breathed into the back of his neck.

Quatre let out a rough breath of his own. "No, it's okay. They've just been unusually sensitive recently."

"Ah, I'll be careful." He settled for caressing lower.

Quatre wasn't so distracted by the hand on his chest, nor by the mouth that now sucked on his earlobe, to miss the fact that Trowa's other hand had managed to drag Quatre's pants and underwear down around his thighs. He moaned happily, feeling as Trowa's fingers slipped from beneath the waistband and began trailing in a deliciously slow trail up along his freshly bared skin. He detoured a bit as he came to Quatre's rear, easing around to cup and fondle one cheek.

"Feels good," Quatre sighed appreciatively.

"I'll make it feel better."

He could almost swear he heard the smirk in Trowa's voice.

*****

Duo was humming as he walked along the corridor. People that passed him smiled, as if the happiness he exuded was contagious. Heero, who walked beside him, was no more immune than anyone else it seemed. He had to consciously remind himself not to smile. It wouldn't be seemly for a soldier to be grinning like an idiot.

Quite suddenly, Duo froze in his tracks and a wide smile spread across his face. Heero stopped next to him, frowning worriedly. Was something wrong? That wasn't likely with the ridiculous smile. But then, what was it that had stopped him?

"Duo?" he asked cautiously, setting a gentle hand on the long-haired youth's shoulder.

Duo's smile only seemed to widen further. He laughed, twinkling eyes turning Heero's way. "Quatre's getting laid. About damn time, too. They've been skirting around each other like a couple of prudish virgins since Wufei and Meiran's wedding."

Heero blinked. He hadn't known Duo was that attuned to his friend. But beyond that, he was worried about how Duo would handle this news. Duo hadn't seemed all that willing to go forward with their own intimacies. How would he feel knowing that Quatre was experimenting with Trowa? "And you're okay with that?"

He shook his hand in the air dismissively. "Okay, they aren't actually having sex. It's more like ... well, now I can't tell. Quatre dimmed the link. It's like trying to peep through a keyhole now." He slouched back against a wall and crossed his arms across his chest, his lips turning into a pout. "That's no fun."

"Duo?"

The long-haired youth turned, and as if seeing Heero for the first time, he smiled. "Oh, oh you asked me ... no, I'm okay with what they're doing. Quatre's an adult. If he feels ready to go further with Trowa, then I'm with him all the way. If Trowa hurts him, well, I hope he's not too attached to all of his anatomy." He grinned again, jokingly, but Heero didn't doubt that Duo would protect his blonde friend if he had to. He reached out and gripped Heero's shoulder, pulling him closer. "Look, I know Quatre loves Trowa and vice versa. If Quatre says stop, I know Trowa will stop. I don't know how I know, I just do and so does Quatre." He stepped closer still, easing his arm around Heero's waist with a shaking hand. "Just like I trust you."

Heero's breath was frozen in his throat. He swallowed audibly and felt a bit annoyed when someone giggled at the two of them. He was starting to feel warm and not in a good way. This was too out in the open. People were watching. He didn't like that. But what Duo was saying was nothing less than great. He didn't think he was interpreting it right, but it made his heart skip nonetheless.

"What are you saying?" he asked cautiously, feeling insecure in a way he hadn't felt before. When he'd bared his soul to Duo before, there had been mostly fear of rejection. This though, it was too much to hope for that Duo was actually feeling something in return for him, or that he might want to further their relationship in any way.

Duo leaned in and pressed his forehead to Heero's. "Let me be perfectly clear." His lips brushed the soldier's ear as he began to whisper. "Heero, I want you to take me back to your room, and ... I don't know. We can make out. Maybe more if you get me in the right mood."

Heero's throat sealed shut. All he could do was mutely nod and dumbly smile as he took hold of Duo's hand and led him back through the corridors.

He didn't know for certain what to expect, but he was sure to enjoy every instant, delight in every exploration of Duo's body that he was allowed. Even if it was only above the clothes petting and a lot of light kissing, he couldn't wait to get started. He wanted Duo to be happy, to love him just as much as he loved Duo. Any opportunity to show his adoration was welcome.

*****

In the darkness of the forsaken wilderness that had once been a busy industrial area, two figures crouched patiently behind a pair of bushes growing out from the cracks of the ancient shattered pavement. They had been there since dusk and would remain until the first touches of dawn broke the horizon. They had arrived at the location and would now keep watch on things until further action was required.

One activated a communication device on their wrist and spoke in a foreign warble to their alien employer. "Human base located. No further updates will be reported until targets are acquired." The device was quickly switched off before anything could come through from the other end.

One looked to the other and nodded. No words were spoken between them, for no words were needed. They had been together since birth and raised by their Talthean betters. They knew each other inside and out. A single twitch of a finger or the narrowing of a single eye was enough to communicate an array of knowledge that no one but them would be able to pick up on.

They wouldn't infiltrate tonight or tomorrow, but would await the perfect opportunity. For now, they would wait and watch. They would observe the patrols and the habits of the guards. When the time was right, they would strike. And when that happened, the two humans that their masters sought would be in their custody and on their way back to the icy prison they were meant to be in.

It wasn't their place to care what happened to a pair of sex toys.

To Be Continued ...