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\"

Started April 2003 ShenLong

Chapter 24

Wufei took the last of the items from the bag and placed them in the drawer that Paul had emptied out for Leith\'s things. He placed the bag under the bed and faced the tired looking youth. Paul sat perched on the edge of the bed, holding Leith\'s hand. Sally bustled in armed with a glass of water and pill bottles. Wufei moved to the side to let her attend to Leith, once she was finished he returned to the bedside.

\"Paul, can you please go and fill the plastic jug in the kitchen with water and bring it in here for Leith, please?\" Sally asked.

\"Sure.\" Paul hopped off the bed and disappeared.

I have put your medications in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. I\'ll bring them in to you when they are due to be taken,\" Sally informed Leith. \"Now, I\'ll go and get you some lunch and then you must rest after that.\"

\"Thank you,\" Leith replied. He was feeling rather weak and tired. The trip from the italital had exhausted him. He looked up to see the Chinese man still standing at his bedside, something obviously on his mind. \"Is there something you wish to talk to me about, Mr. Chang?\"

Wufei turned his dark eyes to the youth on the bed, keeping his features neutral and trying to keep his body language non-threatening. He knew that Leith was a little wary of him and he needed the teen\'s trust if he was to get the information Maxwell had requested. He thought on his choice of words before speaking. \"I had a call from Maxwell earlier.\"

Despite the fatigue, Leith\'s eyes lit up.

\"It appears that Yuy and Maxwell may be on to something but they need a little information from you if you can give it.\"

\"If I can help in anyway, Mr. Chang, I will.\"

\"Good. It concerns your father and what work he does for the company that employs him. Yuy would like to know what sort of work he did.\"

Leith thought for a moment. \"I already told them he works in the computer section, something along the lines of rewriting data and creating programs I think.\"

\"Do you know what sort of rewrites or programs?\"

Leith thought hard before replying. \"No, I don\'t. I\'m sorry but he didn\'t really talk much about his work, at least not to me. You could always call his boss and ask him.\"

Wufei gave a sigh. \"That\'s okay. Somehow I don\'t think the boss is going to want to divulge too much information on your father\'s job, especially as he has already given his statement to the police.\"

\"Wait! He sometimes brought work home with him so there may be something back at the apartment on the computer....\" Leith\'s voice trailed off. The thought of the now destroyed computer weighed heavy on his mind.

\"Don\'t worry, Leith.\fei\fei\'s voice was unusually soft. Suddenly he had an idea. \"Your father, he was very much computer orientated, wasn\'t he?\"

\"Yes, but I don\'t see...\"

\"If he is anything like Yuy, I would say he had a back up of his hard drive.\"

Leith\'s eyes sparked. \"That\'s something I never thought of. Of course he would! He was always backing up files and the like onto disc.\" Leith\'s brow furrowed for a moment. \"I don\'t know where he would have kept them though.\"

Wufei surprised Leith by giving his shoulder a squeeze. \"Leave that to Maxwell, Yuy and myself, providing we have your permission to search your apartment, that is.\"

\"If it will help to find my father then search all you want, take what you want and I hope it sheds some light as to where he is and what\'s going on.\" Leith sank back into the pillows, his exhausted state really catching up to him now.

Seeing how tired Leith was and having gotten some information that could be of use to the investigation, Wufei decided he\'d questioned the youth enough. \"You need to rest now. Sally will be back in a moment with your lunch and I think I should make myself scarce and take this information to Maxwell.\"

\"I wish I could have been more help.\"

\"You have given us plenty to work with, thank you.\" With one last approving nod, Wufei left the room and headed for the kitchen to tell Sally of his plans to fetch Paul\'s belongings and pass on the information Leith had given him.

~ * ~

Quatre guided the car along the street to the Maxwell - Yuy residence and pulled into the driveway. Turning the key to the off position he began to unbuckle his seat belt, Trowa following suit. They exited the car, Benny and Toby just a little ahead of them when Trowa called the pair to a halt.

\"I shouldn\'t have to remind you both about your behavior, should I?\"

Benny stared back, a solemn look on his face. \"We promises ta be good.\" Toby just sighed; really, adults could be so monotonous at times.

\".\" .\" Trowa continued up the pathway to the front door and rang the bell.

The steady sound of footsteps approaching could be heard and then the door was opened to reveal Duo. \"Hey guys! Come in.\" His attention turned to Toby and Benny and his eyes went wide, his face lighting up in mock shock. \"And who might these two be?\" he teased.

Toby pouted and fo his his arms. \"Yer remembers us donch\'a, Duo? It\'s Toby an Benny.\"

Duo made a show of scratching his head. \"Toby an Benny, eh? Seems I remember a coupla kids by those names but they wasn\'t as big as you two. Are yer sure yer\'s Toby an Benny?\"

\"Of course we\'s sure,\" Benny growled. Toby continued to pout.

\"Well, the pair I remember were pretty scruffy and inta all sorts of trouble,\" Duo continued to tease.

Toby looked him squarely in the eye. \"We is Toby and Benny and yer knows it, Duo. Yer jus teasin us, ain\'cha?\"

\"Of course I am, short f,\"f,\" Duo grinned and ruffled the brown mop.

Toby squealed in delight and flung himself at the braided man, the man who had been responsible for his now much happier and stable life.

Duo crouched and caught Toby in his arms, hugging the little boy close to his ch He He peered over the top of Toby\'s head at where Benny stood fidgeting. \"Don\'t tell me yer too big fer a hug as well, Benny,\" Duo smiled and winked. Seconds later the little blonde was also enveloped in Duo\'s strong arms.

Trowa and Quatre watched the reunion with smiles on their faces. It was Duo who had brought the two little rays of sunshine into their lives after all, and it was touching to see how much the pair of former rats still loved the American.

\"Now that\'s more like a welcome,\" Duo grinned as he continued to hug the pair.

\"We missed yer, Duo,\" the pair chorused.

\"I missed the pair of yer too,\" Duo quipped and then stood up, Benny and Toby still clinging to him. He hoisted Toby up onto a hip and stared at the little boy. \"Been behavin yer\'selves?\"

\"We always does!\" Toby replied indignantly.

\"I bet Quat don\'t agree,\" Duo snickered and looked at his blonde friend.

\"They behave themselves for the most part, Duo. But they are youngsters and somehow mischief has a way of following them around,\" Quatre replied good naturedly.

\"Nice ta know they is upholdin the tradition of keepin yer on yer toes then.\" Duo placed Toby back on the ground and gave Benny a light squeeze to his shoulder. \"Why don\'cha all come inside, I\'m sure I can rustle up some milk and cookies and I know Shane and Fayah wil ple pleased ta see yer both again.\"

\"Great!\" Benny yelled and darted inside the house, closely followed by Toby.

Trowa shook his head and entered the hall, Quatre right beside him. Duo closed the door and took the lead, the other two following him through to the kitchen where another reunion was taking place. Shane was flat on his back being assaulted by two whirlwinds, each determined to tickle the youth senseless. Fayah stood to the side watching, her mouth twisted into a smile that looked ready to burst into laughter at any moment.

\"I see yer found them,\" Duo said as he stepped over the three still wrestling on the tiles and opened the \'fridge door.

\"Help me..... save me... someone... anyone...\" Shane screamed out from underneath the pair of mini terrorists.

Duo paused as he shut the \'fridge door and glanced from Shane to Fayah. He raised an eyebrow in question and she just smirked in return. He stared back at the young man still writhing around. \"Sorry buddy, yer on yer own.\" He stepped back over them and removed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and poured the milk.

Fayah fetched the biscuit tin out and set it on the table then turned to the three.

\"Please..... Fayah. Save me?\" Shane pleaded in-between giggles.

Fayah placed her hands on her hips as she regarded the request. Cocking her head to one side she replied. \"And doe does, what\'s in it fer me?\"

\"I\'ll do the dishes fer a week...\"

\"Make it a month.\"

\"Two weeks...\"

\"Three and throw in cleanin the bathroom and yer got a deal.\"

\"Okay! Okay! Three weeks an the bathroom, now please help get \'em off me.\"

Fayah laughed and rattled the biscuit tin. \"Either of yer pair of scamps wants a cookie? They\'re home made choc chip.\"

At the mention of Fayah\'s choc chip cookies the pair immediately ceased their torment of their older *brother* and raced to the table. \"Yes, please.\" Benny said, his face flushed.

\"Me too!\" Toby demanded and climbed onto a chair.

/ How does she do that? / Quatre thought. \"Hey, Duo? Can I borrow her sometime please?\" he asked. \"I could really use her help with this pair.\"

\"I don\'t think Shane would appreciate that, Quat.\"

\"Too right,\" Shane growled as he stood up from the floor and smoothed his wrinkled shirt down before placing a possessive arm around Fayah\'s waist.

Fayah laughed. \"I\'m afraid I would haft\'a turn down the offer, I kinda got my hands full here wiv this lot and tryin ta train them.\"

\"I wish you the best of luck then, Fayah. We have been trying for years to domesticate Duo but I\'m afraid we have come to the conclusion that he\'s totally wild and untrainable,\" Trowa stated in his calm voice but his lips turned up into a small smile as he spoke.

\"I think I would have to disagree with you there, Trowa.\" Heero\'s voice cut through the room as he came in and slipped behind Duo, one arm enfolding Duo\'s slim waist while his chin rested on Duo\'s shoulder. \"He\'s perfectly trainable in other areas.\"

Duo smirked as Quatre reddened, Trowa hid behind his hair lest he break out into laughter while Fayah and Shane stood in shock, unused to hearing much in the way of that sort of innuendo coming from Heero. Toby and Benny took advantage of the distraction to continue their raid on the biscuit tin.

\"Thanks, oh, partner of mine,\" Duo said as he twisted his head to place a kiss on Heero\'s cheek. \"I don\'t know whether ta take that as a compliment or an insult.\"

Heero returned the kiss with one of his own before turning his attention back to the visitors. \"Duo said you have some information in regards to the employee that worked at WEI?\"

\"Yes.\" Trowa said and fished in his pocket to pull out the disc. \"This is what we found and I think you two should have a look at it.\"

\"Right.\" Heero turned to Fayah and Shane. \"Would you two mind entertaining our younger guests while we investigate this new evidence?\"

Shane screwed his face up in a grimace.

\"We would be happy to, \" Fayah answered for them both and dug her elbow into Shane\'s ribs. She glanced at the biscuit tin and seeing the depleted contents shook her head. \"How would yer like ta help me make some more cookies?\"

\"Cool!\" Toby answered, Benny looked a little dubious.

\"Would yer rather join me and play the new vid game I got, Benny? We can leave these pair ta cook by themselves.\" Shane had noticed the look on Benny\'s face. Even when they had run together as a gang back on L2 Benny had never shown any interest in cooking or food other than to eat it while Toby loved nothing more than to get his hands covered in flour, sugar, butter or anything else that happened to be included in the cooking process.

\"If yer don\'ts mind, Shane.\"

\"C\'mon, we\'ll leave these two *chefs* ta their cookin.\" Shane took Benny\'s hand and led the little boy in the direction of his bedroom.

\"Is that all right wiv yer, Mr. Winner? Yer don\'t mind if Toby gives me a hand?\"

Quatre gave her a warm smile. \"That\'s fine with me as long as Heero and Duo don\'t mind their kitchen being reduced to a war zone.\"

Heero\'s eyebrows quirked. \"Couldn\'t be any worse than when Duo\'s cooking,\" he replied.

\"Hey! I resent that remark. I always clean up afta myself.\" Duo huffed but the smile was on his face.

\"Yes, you do always clean up your mess, don\'t you...\" Heero purred.

Trowa gave a discreet cough. \"Gentlemen, if you have quite finished; may I suggest that we adjourn and take a look at this disc?\"

\"Good idea, Tro.\" Duo wriggled from his lover’s grasp and led the way out of the kitchen and towards the office, Heero following along with Trowa. Quatre paused for a moment to address Toby before following them.

\"You make sure to behave yourself, Toby, and do what Fayah tells you to, okay?\"

\"He\'ll be fine, Mr. Winner.\" Fayah ruffled the little boy\'s hair.

\"Thank you, Fayah.\"

~ * ~

Heero was hard at work on the computer, Trowa hanging over his shoulder while Dnd Qnd Quatre were discussing what each of them had found. Heero let a slow whistle pass through his teeth as he read the files on the disc. \"Shit!\"

\"That\'s what I thought too,\" Trowa stated. \"Seems our friend Shand was getting into something way over his head.\"

\"I\'d hazard a guess that he didn\'t have a clue to start with, was just simply a messenger and then found out a little more than he should have.\"

\"And when he started to ask questions or want more from them for his part, they silenced him.\" Heero\'s fingers manipulated the mouse with the ease of practice. "So,"So, what did yer find, Heero?\"

\"According to what Trowa and Quatre have on this disc, it seems that the guy, Shand was stealing highly sophisticated chips from WEI and passing them on to this company, Automaton Industries...\"

\"Ain’t that the one that Howie...\"

\"Hai.\"

\"Fuck!\"

\"I think we are going to need to talk to Une again on this.\"

\"What\'s all this mean?\" Quatre asked.

Duo turned to the blonde. \"Howie called, the scrap that has been disappearing faster than it should, is apparently being bought up by several different companies.\"

\"There\'s nothing unusual about that, Duo. Lot\'s of companies buy up scrap.\"

\"Yeah, I know, but.... Four of these companies have been buyin specific parts..... namely MS parts. Also they have been buyin up circuitry and the like from the other scrap companies.\" Duo sighed. \"These four companies are all subsidiaries of one mother company...\"

\"Let me guess,\" Quatre said, his eyes narrow. \"Automation Industries?\"

\"Bingo.\"

Heero took up the conversation then. \"Howard said that the company has its headquarters on a satellite near the L3 cluster...\"

\"And that\'s where we managed ta trace the e-mail from Leith\'s father to.\" Duo finished.

\"Shit!\"

\"Christ, this is getting more complicated than findin a virgin in a whorehouse,\" Duo growled.

Three sets of eyes turned to look at him.

\"Just a figure of speech, guys.\" Duo blushed.

\"You think that Leith\'s missing father may be tied into this as well?\" Trowa stated calmly.

\"Well, it certainly seems to be pointing in that direction,\" Heero frowned. \"Although...\"

\"What, Heero?\" Duo leaned forwards.

\"If Leith\'s father is working for this company, why would he stage his own kidnapping and then send a malicious e-mail to his son, knowing that Leith could be killed from it?\"

\"Good point.\" Quatre thought long and hard. \"Those chips that Shand stole, were the ones we were to use in the new project for the Air Filtration and Climatic control systems on L2.\"

\"That sounds about fucking right. Anything that\'s set ta improve things fer L2, somehow gets fucked up. No wonder the colony is stuffed.\" Duo muttered.

\"We can replace the chips, Duo, and L2 will have its new systems, of that you can be sure, but...\" Trowa paused and turned to Heero. \"Those chips were highly sophisticated and specially designed. They can be modified if you know what you\'re doing, to suit any other purpose.\"

\"Such as?\" Heero knew where this was going and didn\'t like it one bit.

\"Mobile dolls for one.\"

The silence in the room was deafening; then Duo spoke.

\"Why would anyone want ta build Mobile Dolls? All the suits, including the Gundams were destroyed after the wars. From what Howie has said and what I know from the salvage business, all the scrap from space in regards tat pat parts had ta be registered and then melted down fer somethin else.\"

Heero\'s fingers flew over the keyboard. \"There has to be something, anything that will tell us what sort of business this Automaton Industries is into.\"

\"I have a bad feeling about this, Heero.\" Quatre stared at the Japanese man. \"There\'s a vital part of the puzzle missing, I hope we can find it... and soon.\"

The chiming of the doorbell broke the conversation for the moment and Duo went to answer the summons. \"Wuffy!\"

\"Maxwell!\" Wufei warned.

\"Glad yer could make it, \'Fei. The guys are all in the office. Tro and Quat are here as well and have some information that\'s makin this case smell worse than a sewer.\"

\"Do you have to be so..... crude, Maxwell?\"

Duo grinned. \"Come on through and yer will see exactly what I mean.\"

Wufei had no choice but to follow Duo through to the office. He nodded to each of the ex-pilots as he entered. \"Maxwell informs me that you have some new information?\"

\"Hai. Take a seat, Chang. I\'ll explain all that we have so far, as well as our suspicions as to what is going on.\"

Wufei sat and listened in silence as Heero gave him the facts. Trowa added in the bit from WEI and Shand, along with their suspicions on that. Heero finished with the summary of all the information.

Wufei rubbed at his temples, lost in thought. Then he stared straight at Heero. \"I have managed to find out a little from Leith in relation to his father.\"

All eyes turned to the Chinese man.

\"Leith couldn\'t tell me much, all he really knows is that his father does re-writes and creates programs for the company he works for. What exact type of programs and re-writes, he doesn\'t know.\"

Heero groaned. He knew the key to this mystery lay in Leith\'s father..... somehow.

\"However...\" Wufei cleared his throat. \"He did say that his father brought work home with him on occasions and that it would be logged into the hard drive of his father\'s computer.\"

\"But his dad\'s computer has kinda been blown up, Wuff..... Wufei.\" Duo saw the glare and quickly amended himself, now was not the time to tease Wufei.

\"I know that! Have you ever heard of backup, Maxwell?\"

Heero\'s eyes lit up. \"I\'m sure he would have kept a backup of his hard drive. If he was as computer orientated as Leith says, then he\'s sure to have one.\"

\"But where?\" Quatre asked.

\"In his apartment,\" Wufei replied.

\"Then what are we sittin here on our arses for?\" Duo stated as he jumped to his feet. \"Let\'s get goin back ta Leith\'s apartment and find it.\"

\"Trowa, would you and Quatre mind accompanying Duo back to Leith\'s apartment and searching for anything that might resemble a backup? Wufei and I will remain here and go over what we have, and see if we can\'t find anything more that will give us a lead as to what this company is up to.\" Heero stood and stretched his aching muscles.

\"Sure, Heero. As long as you don\'t mind us leaving Benny and Toby here,\" Quatre replied for both himself and Trowa.

\"That won\'t be a problem, Shane and Fayah will be happy to keep an eye on them for you.\"

\"What makes yer so sure about that?\" Duo asked, a cocky grin on his face.

\"If they want an increase in their allowance this week then I\'m sure they won\'t mind.\" Heero stated smugly.

Duo shook his head. \"Bastard.\"

\"Ahh... but you still love me.\"

Duo\'s eyes softened. \"And don\'t you know it,\" he growled quietly then placed a quick kiss to Heero\'s lips. \"C\'mon guys, the chariot awaits. Let\'s go do some diggin.\"

~ * ~

Two hours later, Duo was all but ready to give up. He ran his hand through his bangs in frustration, glaring at the numerous discs he\'d already managed to discount. \"Shit! It\'s like lookin fer a needle in a haystack.\"

Quatre looked up from his pile. \"I have to agree with you there, Duo. It does seem pretty daunting but it has to be here somewhere.\"

\"I think I may have found it,\" Trowa suddenly said and held a golden disc up for them to see.

\"Tro, if yer weren\'t already involved I\'d kiss yer but I don\'t need blondie scratching my eyes out.\"

\"I wouldn\'t do that!\" Quatre looked affronted.

Duo grinned and leant over towards Trowa. \"Yer sure about that?\" Keeping one eye on the staring blonde he placed a kiss to Trowa\'s lips. \"Thanks, man.\"

Trowa looked stunned and nearly dropped the disc; Quatre went a deep shade of red as the green eyed monster reared up inside him.

Duo plucked the disc from Trowa\'s fingers, his laughter echoing around the apartment. \"Let\'s get this back ta Heero.\"

~ * ~

tbc.......