Alone

DISCLAIMER: I. Own. Nothing. The End.

~thinking~
‘actual thoughts’
*emphasis*

A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews. I wasn't too sure of what the pairing would be for this fic, so I let my bestest best friend choose. So blame her. I do - I've never written anything like this one is going to be... gulp... oh, well! I kinda think it will be fun! I do like the stories with those people together, though there aren't many. Oh, and is Heero's name spelled with one 'e' or two? I keep finding it both ways, even on offical sites... Anyhoo - on with the fun! Long chapter!

CHAPTER FOUR

Four former Gundam pilots landed in a small clearing on the outskirts of the jungle and immediately faded into the shadows. After a moment they moved together again, hidden by foliage and darkness. No one spoke, only their eyes and hands communicated. They immediately saw a large path torn through the undergrowth. It was fresh, and highly visible, and no way was Wufei responsible for that - but they followed it anyway. It might lead them to their wayward friend.

It didn’t. It lead them to another small clearing about a mile and a half into the jungle, where a youngish Preventer was cheerfully setting up house, with a tent, campfire and boxes and bags of supplies. “Hello!” He greeted them brightly, “I suppose you four are the pilots?”

They exchanged astonished glances - no one was supposed to know they were here. The agent seemed to understand their confusion.

"Oh, don’t worry, Major Hernbeck just felt I should know you were coming. Looking for the last agent, right? Good luck with that.” His rather pleasant face took on the reflective sneer of Hernbeck the way most of the agents at the small outpost did when they referred to Wufei. A Commander’s feelings were contagious - what he thought of an agent was what everyone in his post automatically thought of them. Wufei’s ‘myself-to-myself’ attitude had won him no friends among his current fellows.

Duo felt anger bubbling up inside him - he didn’t even have to guess why the man was sneering. They’d spent a day in Wufei’s office and apartment, trying to get a feeling for their friend before they came here, under strict orders from Une to do nothing and say nothing to Hernbeck to make him worry for his skin. She wanted that hide herself. They grudgingly buried their fury, only telling the man they were under orders to ‘retrieve’ Wufei, as his expertise was needed for a highly confidential mission.

The man hadn’t liked it. Hadn’t wanted to let them in the barren little pocket-sized office, hadn’t wanted to give them directions to Wufei’s small apartment. He’d done it - orders of full cooperation from Commander Une were not to be ignored or treated lightly. Things they’d found and observed in those two places had left them angrier than ever.

“He was told to keep this mission top secret.” Heero’s voice was cool, dangerous. The other agent lost his sneer and swallowed. “Just me... he just let me know, so I could be prepared if you needed help. But you know we haven’t had any information about Chang for weeks. Office pool said he was dead two weeks ago.” He didn’t understand the sudden expressions on the other Preventers’ faces - a mix of fear, anger, dread - he just suddenly wished he was anywhere but here.

“Why do you have so many supplies?” Quatre’s blue eyes had taken in every comfort in the tiny clearing, and now gazed at him in surprise.

“I’m here for at least a week. Major Hernbeck didn’t want me to be without anything I might need. He takes excellent care of his agents.” The man lifted his chin in snobbish pride, his eyes going over the sparse equipment the four carried on them. The pilots exchanged glances, remembering the incredibly short list of what Wufei had in his pack when he’d been sent here. Trowa shook his head softly, and gestured to the others.

“We should go.”

“Yes.” Heero agreed, “Dawn soon.”

Duo and Quatre melted into the darkness almost before he finished speaking, and Trowa quickly followed. The agent just gaped after them, then at Heero.

“I thought you would at least want something to eat before you go?”

“No. But...” He stepped closer, and his voice became menacing. “If you stay alive, you will keep food prepared. You will be ready to radio a copter in an instant when we return. And you will give me your medical kit.” He’d already seen the nice kit placed on a nearby stump, with two smaller first aid kits nearby. The agent gawped at him.

“My... my med kit? But what if I need it?”

“We will be back soon enough if you do. You may keep your first aid kits.” He walked past the protesting man and scooped up the small kit, vanishing after his friends before the agent could follow.

Once they were together again in the welcoming darkness, he split them up, he and Duo, Quatre and Trowa. They went in the two directions most likely to lead to Wufei, the med kit also split neatly between them. Duo and Heero were taking a southern route, toward the river, while the others headed west toward some small mountains. There were merc bands in either direction, and Wufei would probably be watching them.

~If he’s alive.~

Duo forced that thought from his mind, ignoring the sudden feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach. He turned violet-blue eyes on his friend, partner, lover.

“Heero?”

Prussian blue eyes turned to him, mute question in their depths.

“If... when we find ‘Fei...” He trailed off, a little uncertain. They’d never actually spoken of this out loud, and he wasn’t sure that what he’d reasoned out was the truth.

“When we find Wufei, we will not let him go again.” Heero’s voice was calm, certain. Duo’s heart broke through a restraint it had felt for years, and despite the dangerous mission they were on and the dark jungle they were in, he threw both arms around Heero and kissed him thoroughly. He felt Heero grin against his lips, and return the kiss with equal passion.

“I knew you felt the same way.” Duo grinned at him, white teeth flashing in the darkness. During the war he’d been hard torn between the two, wanting Heero with everything in him, coveting Wufei with a passion no less intense. Heero had taken time to break down, but finally admitted he loved Duo, too. ‘Fei had been - difficult. He’d seemed so emotional, so free with his thoughts - it had taken a while for the others to realize that was his mask. The real Wufei was the quiet boy who sat curled in the corner of the couch reading poetry, who moved through his katas and practice like the same poetry, who shared his real, shy smiles so sparingly that each memory of one was treasured.

The real Wufei had been persuaded to play Twister with them once, when it had been just the three of them, snowed in at a small safehouse. Heero and Duo had been secret lovers for almost a month, and the game had been unbearably arousing. They’d been very thankful for the loose, warm clothing the cold weather required. The third time they’d collapsed in a twisted heap, Heero and Duo had caught each other staring at Wufei - the exotic boy had been laying on his stomach, legs twisted in Duo’s, one arm pinned under Heero. His black silk hair was escaping its tight ponytail, small wisps laying lovingly against his copper skin. He’d been laughing, his real, rich, throaty laugh, onyx eyes smiling at nothing. He’d been unbearably beautiful, and their arousals had abruptly gotten worse. They’d stared at each other in amazement, and flushed and looked away at the same time, not sure if they were betraying each other or - or if something deeper, more important was happening.

Wufei had seemed to sense their sudden discomfort - he’d wriggled free of them and stammered an excuse, escaping to his room. The next morning his mask was firmly in place, and it had taken weeks for them to see the real Wufei again. They’d never spoken of that moment when the Twister game had turned into something awesome, but they’d never forgotten it. Duo’s heart knew Heero had felt the same way he did, *still* felt the same way he did, but his brain had never let him let go of fear long enough to ask.

“Maybe we’ll have to thank Hernbeck, after we beat the shit out of him.” Duo mused aloud, and Heero chuckled softly, taking his hand and squeezing it. As much as they’d both wanted to have Wufei with them, to be able to hold him and love him and know he was safe, they knew suddenly that without this mission, without that Major’s underhanded scheming, they’d never have got up the courage to ask one another, let alone the object of their hidden fantasies.

They had admittedly been caught up in one another after the war, free to let everyone know they were together, had laughed with delight to discover Quatre and Trowa had been keeping secrets as well. There had been a little relief mixed in with their delight - Quatre and Trowa together meant Wufei was still free.

When they’d come down from the high of being openly in love, they’d realized that ‘Fei had distanced himself. At first they’d thought - had discussed between the four of them - that perhaps Wufei was uncomfortable with the idea of his male friends being together. But he’d never seemed that way when they deliberately invited him to places that encouraged intimacy, holding hands and occasionally sharing chaste kisses. He’d seemed happy enough for them - just distant. Before they’d had time to work out what was wrong, he’d been sent to a temp post and never came back. Their emails had often - too often, they realized now - been replied to with the standard, automatic ‘sorry, this agent is unavailable’ message, the one that meant ‘Fei was on a mission. The few replies they *had* received they’d treasured, although they’d been short and to the point.

One by one, they had discovered that their emails came straight back, that any attempt to communicate with Wufei was given the run-around. Phone messages were replied to by a bored assistant, who informed them ‘Fei was ‘out of the office, in a meeting, on a mission.’ Email just didn’t work - nothing but ‘error - undeliverable’. They all felt stupid now, but at the time they’d still been so busy with missions and each other that they’d let it slide. When they realized they hadn’t seen Wufei in almost nine months they’d planned a surprise visit, asked Une for simultaneous leaves - and got the information that had blasted their calm world.

At the memory of some of Sally’s information, Duo increased his speed. Heero didn’t need to ask why. The same thoughts were galloping through his head, too. He had less experience with emotion than Duo - it had taken him a long time to work out exactly what he felt for the Chinese pilot. When he’d realized the feelings were nearly identical to what he felt for Duo he’d been astonished. Now that he knew Duo felt the same, he wanted nothing more than to find his Wufei - their Wufei - and drag him home to keep him safe for the rest of his life. If they found nothing but a corpse - he refused to let his mind go there. Murder and mayhem lay in that direction of thought. They *would* find Wufei, maybe sick, maybe injured, maybe perfectly fine - but he’d be alive. A sudden thought occurred to him, and apparently to Duo at the exact same moment.

“‘Ro - what if he doesn’t want to be with us?”

Heero growled. “I don’t plan on giving him a choice.”

His partner laughed softly. “Me, either. We’ll just beat down any objection he might have. Even if he’s... straight...” That was Duo’s current deepest fear. He loved Wufei, could be happy with him as a friend... but he *wanted* ‘Fei, too. Wanted him desperately. “Even if, we’ll keep him with us. Right, ‘Ro?”

“Hell, yes.” Heero grunted, and Duo laughed again.

“I’m getting sudden visions of handcuffs and leg...” He stopped abruptly and vanished into undergrowth as they heard movement ahead. He didn’t have to look to know Heero was gone on the other side of the faint trail they were following. He crouched down in the darkness, watching, wishing for it to be ‘Fei, already knowing their friend wouldn’t be making such a racket. Two mercs emerged from the foliage, talking together in carelessly loud voices.

“Stupid patrols. Nothing out here.”

“Somebody’s sabotaging us.”

“It ain’t Preventers. They blow us up, they don’t do little things like’s been going on. Somebody with no supplies is doin’ this. Probably some left-behind villager.”

“Reckon it’s that pretty little thing we saw couple weeks ago?”

“Little Asian boy?”

Every muscle in Duo’s body stiffened.

“Yeah. I’d like to find him again. He wouldn’t get away from me twice.”

“Me, neither. Keep that tucked away in my tent. Reckon he’s a villager?”

“What else would he be? Too young to be a Preventer. Too smart, too. Got away clean as a whistle. Didn’t know there was Asian villagers, though.”

“Think there was a few. Japs, mostly.”

The other man grunted in reply.

“Wanta go look for him?”

“We’re on patrol.”

“So? We can patrol over at the river. Marcus’ seen him twice over there.”

“Catch him?”

“No. Little boy’s slicker ‘en a weasel.”

The other man laughed, a deep, ugly laugh. “*I’ll* make ‘im slicker ‘en...” Their voices trailed off as they vanished in the distance. Duo slid from cover and stared at Heero, who’d emerged as well. Without a word they headed for the river, forsaking the winding trail the mercs were following in favor of a straight shot through the undergrowth. They *had* to get there first - *had* to find ‘Fei first.