Eternal Flame

Disclaimer: I don\'t own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier ne? :) I do however own Shane, Paul, Colin, Mickey, Benny, Toby, Fayah and any other unfamiliar characters that crop up. I also own the plot if you can call it that.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, OC, Lemon, Lime, abuse, violence, language.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, OC x OC and maybe some more... check each part to be sure ;)

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com
http://sweetlysour.net
http://www.adult-fanfiction.org
http://www.theforsakenwk.com/

Status: Work in progress.

Beta: DBZVelena, Yami_Tai & Ryouga... *huggles*

Author: ShenLong

Authors notes: *sigh* Well here I am again caving into pressure. I know it has taken a while to get to this and for that I apologize but I could not come up with a plot I deemed worthy enough.... until now. This is yet another sequel... this time to United Hearts. I did promise I would write the wedding for you all and I intend to do that. For those that haven\'t read United or Lost Souls I recommend that you do, otherwise this sequel will not make much sense. All of your favorite characters are back and up to as much mischief as possible.
This is set fourteen months after the end of United and all the children are older now. The Gundam Pilots are all 20yrs, Shane and Fayah are 16, Paul is 15, Colin is 14, Mickey is 12, Benny is 10 1/2 and not forgetting that little rascal Toby who is 10.
Thank you to all those who supported me through the writing of United, I hope you enjoy this just as much.

\"Eternal Flame\"

April 2003 ShenLong


Chapter 23

Duo retraced his steps to where Heero was still studying the file, his dark haired lover looking up as he entered the room.

\"That was quick. What did Wufei have to say?\"

\"I didn\'t get ta call Wuffy yet, Howie called before I got the chance.\"

Heero\'s eyebrow quirked upwards. Something was up, he could tell that from Duo\'s stance and the thoughtful expression on his face. \"Care to share or am I going to have to play twenty questions?\"

\"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was miles away.\"

\"So I see. You going to keep it all to yourself then?\"

Duo gave him a smile and walked over, sitting himself down in Hero\'s lap and twining his arms around the Japanese man\'s neck. \"Howie gave me some information. Seems that the companies that are buying up all the scrap are related.\"

\"I\'m not following you here, Duo.\"

\"Remember how we found out that there was five companies involved?\"

\"Hai.\"

\"Well, accordin ta Howie, four of these companies are subsidiaries of the fifth company. This fifth company is the mother one... and guess what else,\" Duo gave a wide grin.

Heero gave him an exasperated look.

\"This company has its home base on a satellite near the L3 cluster.\"

Heero\'s face changed dramatically. \"Company name?\"

\"Automaton Industries.\" Duo sat back and watched the wheels turning in Heero\'s head.

\"Isn\'t that where the e-mail...\"

\"Yup.\"

\"And the other four companies are...\"

\"Yup.\"

\"You know what I think?\"

\"Yup.\"

Heero shook his head. \"Can\'t you say anything else?\"

\"Yup.\" Duo snickered as he teased his lover, Heero rising to the bait.

\"What else did Howard say?\" Heero decided it was best to ignore the teasing.

Duo related all of his conversation to Heero, confirming that Heero\'s thoughts were similar to his own. \"I think we should hack around, Heero, see if we can find anythin on this company.\"

\"I agree.\" Heero placed a kiss to his lover\'s lips.

\"Mmmmm... Nice, Heero.\"

\"You go place the call you were going to make earlier and see what you can find out from Wufei, I\'ll get started on this and hopefully we can get some solid evidence to work on.\" Heero gave Duo a hug. \"Ai shiteru, Duo.\"

\"Love you too, Hee-chan.\"

Heero reached for his laptop and booted it up while Duo went back to the vid \'phone to make his original call.

~ * ~

Paul was trying to keep his excitement under control but it wasn\'t easy. They were on their way to fetch Leith from the hospital, Wufei and Sally had finally sorted out the spare room enough for Paul to be able to navigate his way to the bed without risking his life.

Wufei drove with practiced ease through the traffic and was soon pulling into the hospital car park. The three exited the small vehicle and after securing it, made their way inside the building and to Leith\'s room.

Leith was waiting for them, lying impatiently on the bed, bandages still secured around his body. The cast on his left arm was sticking out like a beacon. The nurse had obviously been in and dressed Leith as best she could, given his injuries. He wore a loose pair of sweat pants and sleeveless t-shirt, items that Duo had brought in for him after checking his apartment for the investigation.

\"Leith!\" Paul bounded into the room and across to the bed. He clasped Leith\'s hand in his own, wanting nothing more that to kiss the youth but to shy to do so with Wufei and Sally there. \"Yer all ready ta come home wiv us?\"

\"I\'ve been ready since yesterday,\" Leith replied, his green eyes sparkling.

\"I\'ll go and find the doctor and get the instructions from him in relation to your home care, Leith.\" Sally addressed the youth, before leaving to find said doctor.

\"Is this all your belongings?\" Wufei asked, pointing to the bag resting on the chair.

\"Yes. That\'s all I have. The nurse packed it for me earlier,\" Leith replied.

\"I\'ll take it down to the car then while Sally sorts things out. I will return shortly.\" Wufei picked up the bag and left, leaving Paul and Leith alone.

Paus qus quick to take advantage of the solitude. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to Leith\'s lips, mindful of the raw skin and healing burns.

Leith eagerly returned the kiss, Paul being the only reason he had to keep up his fight to get better. The gentle brush of lips soon changed into something hungrier; demanding even. Paul trying to put his inner feelings into the act while Leith was trying to reassure with his own response.

They broke apart and stared deeply into each other\'s eyes. Paul felt his breath catch and his heart flutter. Leith looked so vulnerable lying there. Despite the wounds and bandages and the compression suit that was fitted to the burnt areas of his body to aid the healing, he was still the most beautiful thing Paul had ever seen. He gently traced his fingers over the unburned flesh of one cheek. \"I think I love you, Leith Martins,\" he whispered.

Leith\'s heart moved into his throat as he processed the words. He raised his own hand to cup Paul\'s cheek, rubbing his thumb across a high cheekbone. \"Don\'t say that, Paul. You\'re only fifteen. You don\'t know what love is yet.\" It broke Leith\'s heart to say the words but he didn\'t want Paul saying them out of sympathy for him, and like he said, Paul was only fifteen and had his whole life ahead of him to discover the joy\'s of love.

Paul looked wounded for a moment but then a fierce determination shone in his blue eyes. \"I\'ve seen more and suffered through more in my short fifteen years than yer could ever dream of, Leith. I\'ve never had anyone show me what yer have so far, other than Wufei an Sally, but theirs is a different, sorta carin. Don\'t tell me I dunno what love is,\" he said, his voice strong and thick with emotion.

Leith\'s eyes shone with unshed tears. \"I just don\'t want you staying with me because you feel obligated to. I mean, look at me.\" Leith spoke harshly. \"I\'m more than likely going to be scarred from the burns and my legs won\'t work. Who knows what other parts of me aren\'t functioning either. I\'m a cripple, Paul,; a cripple who\'s going to need constant care and attention and I don\'t want you saddled with that.\"

Paul lowered his face until he was inches from Leith\'s. \"I don\'t give a fuck if yer never walk again. I\'ll carry yer if I hafta. If yer worried about yer sexual function, then don\'t. I really don\'t give a shit if we never screw around. I didn\'t fall in love with you fer sex, I fell in love with yer fer the person that\'s inside and I dt cat care what yer say, I\'m not fucking well going anywhere.\" With that said Paul captured Leith\'s lips in a searing kiss. He didn\'t care if Sally, Wufei, one of the doctors or the flying nun walked in. He loved Leith and he knew it was love and he was damned sure he wasn\'t going to let Leith try to force him away. He broke the kiss momentaril"Don"Don\'t shut me out, Leith. I wanna help yer.\"

Leith sighed, his last resistance gone with Paul\'s strong words. \"I\'m sorry, Paul. I needed to be sure that you weren\'t staying with me out of sympathy. I couldn\'t bear it if you were\"

\"Never. I wouldn\'t do that to yer, Leith.\"

Leith smiled. \"I\'m really lucky to have you. The heavens must have lost an angel the day you walked into my life.\"

\"More like a demon,\" Paul chuckled. \"I warn yer, I got a past that yer ain\'t dreamed about, Leith.\"

\"Tell me about it?\"

Paul\'s eyes darkened. \"No. I don\'t wanna remember it if I can help it.\" He sighed as he looked at the hurt in Leith\'s eyes. \"Maybe one day I\'ll tell yer what happened ta me an the others, but not now, it\'s too depressin.\"

Leith didn\'t push it any further. He was content in the knowledge that Paul cared deeply for him and for now, that was enough. They pulled apart a little as Sally\'s voice could berd ird in the corridor, getting louder as it approached the room until the woman herself stood in the doorway, along with Dr. Stokes.

\"You can leave any time you\'re ready to, Leith.\" Dr. Stokes moved over to the bed and gazed down at his patient. \"You’re one lucky man, Leith. By rights you should be dead, given the type of explosion. I\'ve given Sally here, a copy of your file and she\'s already been to the pharmacy to collect your prescriptions. I will need to see you again in a week’s time to assess your progress. In the meantime, rest, let yourself heal and if you have any doubts or concerns, please don\'t hesitate to contact me.\"

\"Thanks, Doc.\" Leith gave the young doctor a warm smile. \"I wish there was someway I could repay you for all you have done for me.\"

\"Happy to be of assistance, son. The best thanks you can give me, is to recuperate. I hope to see you walking again one day as well.\"

\"You think I might?\"

\"There\'s every chance. The human body is a strange thing and I\'ve seen all sorts of things happen that are nothing short of a miracle.\"

Paul grinned. \"Yer hear that, Leith? I bet yer will be back on yer feet an walkin around in no time.\"

Leith\'s smile grew as wide as it could, given his injuries.

Dr.Stokes laughed and patted Leith gently on the shoulder. \"Let\'s just take it one step at a time, eh?\"

\"I will. Thanks again, Doc.\"

\"My pleasure. I\'ll leave you now to get sorted out and go home. Good-bye, Leith. I\'ll see you in a week’s time.\"

\"Bye, Doc.\"

Dr. Stokes left the room and Sally approached. \"I\'ve fetched all your medications, Leith, so as soon as you feel up to it, we can get going.\"

\"I\'m well and truly ready, Mrs. Chang.nks nks again for taking me in and looking after me. I really appreciate it with my dad missing and all.\" Leith\'s voice faltered a little with the words of his father. \"I don\'t suppose there\'s been any news?\"

Sally shook her head. \"I\'m afraid not, Leith, but Wufei will be in touch with Heero and Duo later when he calls to pick up Paul\'s things. Hopefully they may have something. I know that they had fetched the file from the police but I can\'t tell you any more than that as the rest as you can appreciate is classified.\"

\"I guess I shall just have to keep on hoping then.\"

Sally gave him a smile of reassurance. \"Well, you know what they say; no news is good news.\"

Paul gave her a *look*. Wufei chose that moment to return to the room, only to be sent back out again in pursuit of a wheelchair. He returned again a few minutes later with a wheelchair and a hospital orderly. The orderly lifted Leith from the bed and placed him in the wheelchair, locking the foot supports in place and putting Leith\'s feet on them. Paul took the handles and turned the chair.

\"All set ta go, buddy?\"

\"Drive on,\" Leith quipped and then grinned at Paul. \"Home, James, and don\'t spare the horses.”

~ * ~

Toby and Benny sat staring at their guardian. They were both a little stunned by Quatre\'s language, the blonde usually remaining calm and rarely, if ever, retorting to using bad language, especially in front of children. If there was any swearing to be done it was normally Trowa who did it, but even he was usually careful around the pair. To hear the expletive coming from the mouth of the gentle Arab had pretty much rendered them speechless.

Not for long though.

\"Do yer fink it mights have somefin ta do wiv this man, Benny?\"

Benny nodded as he watched Trowa and Quatre skimming through the files on the screen. He didn\'t understand the half of it but it seemed like they had stumbled upon something of importance.

\"I need to download this and study it further but I\'d say we have some answers here,\" Trowa stated in his usual calm voice.

\"This is looking a lot deeper than I imagined,\" Quatre added, as he scanned the information. \"Seems our friend Shand was involved in something a bit bigger than we gave him credit for.\" The blonde\'s brow furrowed as he continued to read.

Trowa turned to Dr. Richards. \"Have you by chance got a spare disc around that I can use to download this file to?\"

\"I\'m sure I can find one,\" Richards replied and then disappeared into the Lab to retrieve the requested item. Moments later he returned and handed Trowa a disc.

Trowa slipped the disc into the machine and began the process of downloading, at the same time he continued to read through some of the information. The computer beeped to let him know the download was complete and he quickly removed the disc, placing it into his pocket. He turned to Richards. \"I\'m goingplacplace this file in safeguard, no one is to access it under any circumstances; understood?\"

Dr. Richards nodded. \"Understood.\"

\"I take it that\'s all right with you, Quatre?\"

Quatre looked up from the screen. \"Yes, tha fin fine. I don\'t want anyone touching the file either.\" He moved aside to allow Trowa access to the keyboard, watching as Trowa\'s fingers fairly flew over the device, encrypting and sealing the file. While Heero may have been their undisputed computer whiz, Trowa wasn\'t far behind him.

\"Done,\" Trowa stated and shut down the machine. \"I suggest that we contact Heero. He may be able to shed some light on this company and what they do, given the resources he has at his disposal through Preventer.\"

\"I agree,\" Quatre responded. He turned to face Dr. Richards. \"Please, do not say anything about this to anyone.\"

\"Mys ars are sealed, Mr. Winner,\" Richards replied.

Trowa nodded to the man before turning to Benny and Toby. \"I know I should be annoyed with you for delving into files and folders that you were undoubtedly told not to...\"

Benny and Toby looked suitably sorry, hanging their heads, eyes big and wide. It was a look that Trowa knew all to well; he\'d seen it on numerous occasions before, but unlike his partner, he\'d become immune to it.

He gave them both a stern look in return. \"But this time I won\'t punish you as it seems you have turned up something that is going to be of benefit to us.\"

Benny and Toby\'s expressions changed immediately from sorrow to happiness.

\"However....\"

The hangdog expressions returned.

Trowa tried hard not to look amused. It never ceased to amaze him just how quickly the pair could switch their emotions. \"However, if you do pull a stunt like this again, then I will have no choice but to punish you.\"

\"We promises we won’t do nufin like it again, Trowa,\" Toby answered, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.

\"Whadda\'ya mean, we,\" Benny hissed under his breath. \"I didn\'t do nufin, yer was the one ta go snoopin around, Tob.\"

Toby gave his *brother* a glare. \"I foughts yer was me mate, Benny.\"

\"I am, buts that don\'t mean I gots ta take the wrap fer yer.\"

\"Fine, in that case, yer can\'t use my teddy bear ta take ta bed wiv yer any more.\"

Benny\'s bottom lip began to quiver. \"Yer don\'t means , do, does yer, Tob?\"

Toby huffed and folded his little arms across his chest. \"I does.\"

Benny\'s lip quivered even more. \"I\'m sorry,\" he whispered. \"I was only jokin, I\'d never leave yer to be punished by yerself.\"

Toby\'s expression softened. \"I wouldn\'t take the bear from yer either.\"

Trowa had caught the quiet exchange and thought it time to intervene. \"We will say no more about this then, I think you realize just how dangerous opening files thatnot not concern you, can be.\"

Benny and Toby nodded.

\"Ready to go, boys?\" Quatre asked. He\'d missed the whispered exchange so wasn\'t aware of the little *argument*.

\"Sure am,\" Benny said and took Toby\'s hand.

\"Me too,\" Toby added as he gave his friend’s hand a squeeze.

The four left the outer lab and headed for the elevator and eventually the car.

\"I think we should go straight to Duo and Heero\'s with this information,\" Quatre stated as he drove, leaving Trowa free to contemplate the disc and the information on it.

\"Good idea. They should be home seeing as how it\'s Saturday, but I\'ll call them just to make sure.\" Trowa reached to his hip and unclipped the cell \'phone, pushing the buttons for the Yuy-Maxwell home.

The call connected after a few rings and Trowa listened as the hum of the answering machine greeted his ear.

\"Hello, you have reached thefectfect \'phone number of the perfect home of the perfect soldier and his perfect partner. If you wish to speak to the perfect soldier, please press one now. If you wish to speak to the pct pct partner, please press two now. If you wish to leave a perfect messageeaseease wait for the perfect beep........\"

Trowa\'s mouth crinkled into a grin as he listened to the message. He had to hand it to Duo, no normal message was good enough for him and it was a constant source musemusement to them to see what the American would come up with next. He was about to speak when he heard Duo\'s voice come onto the line.

\"Yuy-Maxwell residence. Sorry about that, we are home.\"

\"Hello, Duo.\"

\"Trowa! Great ta hear yer voice. What can I do for yer?\"

\"Is Heero home as well?\"

\"Yeah, he\'s here.\"

\"Good. Would it be all right for us to call around? We have some information relating to Shand, the WEI employee that went missing and then turned up...\" Trowa remembered the little ears in the back. \"He turned up with an overdose of sunburn.\"

\"Yeah, I know what yer talkin about.\"

\"I would appreciate it, if both you and Heero could take a look at it and see what you think.\"

\"Sure, buddy. Drop \'round, we ain\'t plannin on goin anywhere, we\'re investigatin some other stuff that came ta light.\"

\"Thanks, Duo. We\'re on our way now.\" Trowa glanced at his watch and back to the road to see where they were. \"We should be there in about twenty minutes.\"

\"I\'ll keep an eye out for yer. See ya soon.\"

\"Bye, Duo.\" Trowa pushed the little button that disconnected the call and clipped the cell \'phone back on his belt. He turned to Quatre who was still concentrating on the road. \"They\'re both home and sai said to call round.\"

\"Right.\"

\"Apparently they have found something as well.\"

\"Oh, what?\"

\"Duo didn\'t say. I\'m sure they will fill us in when we get there.\"

The rest of the trip was passed in relative silence.

~ * ~

Wufei had just finished carting Leith\'s bag and other supplies inside their home when the vid \'phone rang. With a grumble to himself, he went to answer it. The screen fuzzed and then cleared to reveal a grinning Maxwell.\"

\"Hey, Wuffles. How\'s it goin?\"

\"Maxwell,\" Wufei responded, the irritation clearly in his tone. \"What do you want?\"

Duo pouted. \"Why, Wuffy, you offend me. Since when do I need an excuse ta call yer?\"

\"You only ever call me when you want something,\" Wufei replied. \"Why should this time be any different?\"

Duo grinned at him. \"Actually I\'m callin fer Heero. Were turning up some interestin stuff here.\"

\"Oh?\"

\"Yup. We needs yer ta try and find out from Leith what sort of work his father did fer the company he works fer. We know he does rewrites and programming but it would help if Leith could tell us exactly what sort of rewrites and programming.\"

Wufei frowned. \"I\'ll see what I can find out.\"

\"Thanks, man. Yer comin over soon ta pick up Paul\'s stuff?\"

\"Yes. I will be there once I\'ve finished putting Leith\'s things away. We have just returned from the hospital.\"

\"Great. I\'ll let Heero know and we\'ll fill yer in when yer gets here.\"

\"Okay. I\'ll talk to Leith and see what I can find out.\"

\"Bye, Wuffers.\"

\"Maxwell!\" The growl was too late though; Duo had already disconnected the call. Wufei glowered at the fuzzy screen before switching it off and retrieving the items he\'d been carrying before the call came through. He took them through to Paul\'s room where Leith was now safely in residence, thinking how best to tackle the subject of Bob Martins and his work.

~ * ~

Bob Martins found himself hauled roughly to his feet and pushed out of the small room. His eyes squinted at the bright light of the hall after the dimness of the room. He shuffled along, running his hand over the thickening stubble on his chin. He itched and longed for a shower and a shave. A change of clothes would be nice too; he must certainly be getting a little ripe by now.

He was escorted through a maze of corridors, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the metal clad walls. He was brought to a halt outside a set of double doors, which his escort opened with an ID card. They passed inside through into what looked like a large hangar and Bob recognized it as the one that had stored the mobile suits. But it was empty now. /Where hee hell had the suits gone?/

He wasn\'t permitted to linger though. A pair of magnetic cuffs was placed on his wrists and he was pushed, unceremoniously towards a shuttlecraft that occupied the far end of the hangar. \"Where are we going?\" he asked his escort.

The escort ignored him, choosing to shove the butt of his rifle between Bob\'s shoulder blades instead and causing Bob to nearly fall. Needless to say, Bob didn\'t ask again.

He was herded into the shuttle and placed in a seat, the seat belt done up and his \'cuffs attached to the arm of said seat. When the guard left him, Bob tried to pull his arms away. He couldn\'t. The arm of the seat was obviously magnetized to hold him there. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate.

Moments later he observed several people filing into the shuttle and taking seats. Roland Grant came down the aisle towards him, pausing at Bob\'s seat and leaning over. \"I\'m sure you are interested to know what all this work you have been doing has been for?\"

Bob swallowed.

\"You are about to find out.\"

~ oOo ~

tbc.......