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WarCraft	By : ElfNight Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3887 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
CHAPTER FOUR: Water Fight

The battle had been raging for days. The soldiers on both sides were tired, worried, and rapidly
losing hope. They were too evenly matched - neither was going to win. Unless one side got
reenforcements or had a sudden plague, this battle was going to rage on forever.

Colonel Gorton stood in the high command tower, watching the half-hearted fights below with a
sour look. A young Commander stood at his side, his own eyes perfectly blank as he waited for
the lecture he knew was coming.

He'd gotten the same one every day for the past two weeks.

"I can't believe you gave them permission to go."

Zechs sighed. He knew it. Stupid old man, he couldn't get it through his thick head that having
Heero's Four become a WarCraft Five was worth losing a battle or two. Good thing the higher-ups were on his side.

"I had permission from General Athar himself." He replied calmly, cool blue eyes watching as a
wave of enemy soldiers tried to attack a battalion and were slowly driven back. This battle didn't
matter - the soldiers mattered, of course, but their lives were being wasted. This was an
unimportant little holding, it was doing them no good and wouldn't do the enemy any good if
they had it, either.

He was tempted to suggest that they just let the damn opposing army *have* this outpost and go
fight somewhere important, but he had a feeling Colonel Gorton wouldn't see the brilliance in
that idea.

Stupid old man.

Stupid old man, who was still lecturing him for letting Heero and his Others go. Commander
Zechs squirmed a little and wished he could sit down. This lecture could go on for a good hour -
it got longer every time he heard it.

Which was almost daily, ever since this battle had started.

Zechs sighed. It wasn't like he *wanted* Heero to go - he knew the boy was important. Hell, he
was *very* important to Zechs, personally! But Heero and his Others were so desperate to find
their Fifth. They'd found their Fourth, little Quatre, over a year ago. Usually there was no longer
than three months between finding each talent of a Five. A year was almost unheard of.

Heero had been gone for two months now. Two months, after that night Duo had talked them
into going to visit the Oracle in Helia, and Heero had come rushing into Zech's tent, begging for
permission to go on a quest. Well, as close to begging as Heero got. His Commander had been
reluctant, not wanting to risk the Four to the perils of traveling the North, not sure if the General
would give permission, uncertain if he could deal with a long length of time away from the other
Spirit Talent.

He wondered if Heero knew just how much he meant to Zechs? Gods knew he'd never told the
boy. Proud to the point of arrogance, brave to the point he was called foolhardy, he melted into a
nervous puddle at the thought of telling Heero how he felt, at the thought of seeing rejection on
that beloved face. There was no way he had wanted to let him... uh, *them*... go, but he couldn't
say no to the hope shining in those glorious eyes. He'd sent a request to the General, who had
enough foresight to know what a powerful weapon this particular Four would be if they found
their Fire. Permission had come very speedily. And he'd watched Heero and his Others leave.

And this *stupid old man!* reminded him of that every single day!

Zechs either wanted to punch him, or cry.

He couldn't decide which.

*****(Haven Village)*****

Wufei still wasn't talking to them. He didn't say anything that wasn't necessary, sitting in front
of the small fire in their room while the others packed the few belongings they'd brought to the
inn. When they'd asked if he had anything to pack, he'd only shaken his head, gesturing towards
the tiny bundle they'd found inside his cloak when they'd brought him here from the Arena.

That worried them. If Wufei had all his belongings already packed, did that mean he was
thinking of leaving before they had shown up? It made things easier now - not that they thought
Wufei wanted to stay here - but it frightened them, too. It meant they had very come close to
missing him. If they had only come to the second day of the Gathering... would their Fire have
still been there?

It was an unspoken group agreement not to let him out of their sight. They'd all slept in the same
room last night, although Heero and Trowa hadn't actually *slept*. They'd sat up discussing the
journey back to Helia to find where their Commander was, while Duo and Quatre shared the big
bed, with Wufei choosing to sleep across the foot, near them but not too close. They'd rather
expected nightmares, but Wufei dropped to sleep like he'd been knocked unconscious, and slept
without stirring until dawn.

When the first bit of daylight struggled through the windows, he'd come wide awake, sitting up
sharply and startling Heero and Trowa. The two oldest boys gazed at him without a word, and he
sat gazing just as silently back.

They didn't know what to say to him. After that Competition last night, Duo and Quatre had
praised Wufei until the boy had been tomato red and looked like he'd wanted to hide under the
table. Trowa and Heero, less comfortable with words, had settled for beaming at him, pride
obvious in their eyes. And the villagers had certainly acted differently, looking at him with awe
instead of their former sneers.

It hadn't seemed to comfort Wufei - he'd gone from quiet and mildly uncomfortable to silent and
still, not even responding to them with his eyes, ignoring the gentle touches of their Talents that
they sent him.

They didn't understand, and didn't know what to do.

Now Trowa and Heero sat watching him, both of them feeling uncertain but keeping it out of
their eyes. Wufei blinked solemnly at them for a moment, then looked to where Quatre and Duo
lay curled together like two kittens in the big bed. He blinked again, and for the first time they
thought they saw a bit of amusement in his eyes.

Surely this was a good thing?

*

Wufei could have watched the two other Talents sleep all day - he'd never seen anyone so
obviously in touch with each other as these boys. Every time Duo shifted, Quatre followed him.
When Quatre stirred, Duo murmured to him in his sleep. Wufei found it entertaining, waiting to
see who would follow the other next. After five minutes of watching them - and feeling the other
two boys watching *him* - he scraped up enough nerve to ask them a question.

"Why are they... so close?" The words were spoken so softly they barely heard them.

Heero answered. "They're Linked."

Wufei frowned, looking away from the two boys to his First. "You mean Joined?"

"No, I mean Linked. It's like Joining - except it can happen outside of your Five. It means they
share a connection, beyond us and beyond the Joining we will have."

Wufei didn't understand, and it showed. "What sort of connection?"

"They can sense each other without Calling. They can read each other's thoughts without my
help. One always knows where the other is."

"How? How did they get ...Linked?"

Trowa chose to answer him, his green eyes soft on the smaller boy. "They fell in love."

Wufei turned pink, his eyes darting back to the other boys. "They're... oh." He scrambled off the
bed and sat on the hearth, no longer gazing directly at the boys but watching them from the
corners of his pretty slanted eyes.

"Does this bother you?" Heero asked quietly, worried about the answer. If Wufei had been
treated like Duo suspected, he would probably not be open to the idea of two males being in love,
especially since they were his Others. And neither Duo or Quatre was quiet when they made love
- they'd practiced abstinence the last two nights solely for the sake of their Fifth, but he knew it
wouldn't last much longer. He nearly groaned aloud at the thought of *another* rift between
them and their Fire, beyond the ones already there - not that they understood why he was keeping
his distance, and not that they would tolerate it much longer. They *would* find out what was
bothering him, and they *would* take care of it. If this joined the ranks of his problems,
however, it would take a very long time to fix.

"No." Wufei's one-word reply settled his doubts instantly. He relaxed, and wasn't surprised
when he saw Trowa relax, as well. He knew his Third was having similar thoughts - perhaps
even a bit deeper. He'd seen how he watched Wufei... who was still talking.

"I - it doesn't. Bother me, I mean - but ...why did they let me sleep there? Wouldn't they want
to... to be alone?"

"Don't worry," Heero said rather sourly, "they'll be making up for it. And they wanted you with
them, or they would have said so. We - all of us want you close. We've looked so long for you."

Wufei flushed again, ducking his head. Sleep-mussed dark hair swung down to hide his face.
He really wished they wouldn't say such things - he'd never had many compliments in his life,
and he didn't know how to react to them. Last night he'd been so confused, between his
delighted Others and the awed villagers, that he'd just retreated. Better to do nothing, than to do
the wrong thing. He hadn't been trained in courtly manners like Alvis and Relena. No one
expected him to make any sort of match, forget being Chosen by high-ranking warriors. He
could tell by the insignia on these boys clothes that they were no mere soldiers. He wasn't
stupid. The whole village was fawning over them like they were princes, and they'd chosen a
dusty little inn boy for their Fifth! He still felt like the bottom of his stomach was going to drop
out when he thought of it.

His heart was already starting to knit with theirs - he could sense it, no matter how silent and
withdrawn he tried to be. He didn't *want* to care about them - even after he won that
Competition, he was sure they were going to realize what he was, no name and no family and no
manners and no *anything* - and they were going to want a Fifth who could match them. They
carried themselves like proud Lords, he would never be good enough to Join with them.

"Are you hungry?" Heero's question startled him out of those depressing thoughts. He shook
his head mutely.

"Well, *I* am!" came a cheerful voice from the bed, and Duo was sitting up, tossing a rumpled
braid over his shoulder and grinning broadly at them.

"You're always hungry." Heero said mildly, a trace of affection in his blue eyes as he looked at
his Second.

"True. Now where's the food?"

"I'll get it." Trowa smiled, and left the room.

"Good man, he really is." Duo said happily, stretching before pouncing on the still-sleeping
blond. "Quatre! Wakey-wakey! Breakfast is on its way! Wake up, or I'll eat it all!"

"You would, too." The blond mumbled, rolling away from the braided boy and pulling a fat
pillow over his head. "Leave me alone, Duo, it's too early to be awake."

"It's morning, and everyone else is up, and since when do you sleep later than me?!" Duo
laughed, snatching the pillow and smacking the smaller boy with it. He was out of the bed and
on the other side of the room before Quatre could retaliate.

"You are evil." The Air Talent said, sitting up and glaring at his Second. "You are evil
*incarnate*, you know that?"

"Of course. That's why you love me." Duo replied blithely, hurrying to open the door at a
muffled thump. Trowa had been amazingly quick, or Harris was trying to get on their good side -
the tall boy stood there with a steaming tray, while a small boy stood behind him with a jug of
water and a basket of bread. Duo gave a hoot of delight and snatched the tray, thumping it down
on the table before investigating its contents. His Others, knowing from long experience that
they had to move fast if they wanted anything to eat, joined him.

Wufei stayed staring at the boy, who eyed the four around the table before sidling toward him.
"Hi."

"Bannen? What are you doing here?"

"Harris hired me. Are you okay, Wufei?"

"Yes, why?"

"I heard Alvis hurt you."

"Not really. Just some bruises. Does your mother know you're going to work for Harris?"

"Yes, she said if you asked to tell you she'd be keeping a 'sharp eye out'. What did she mean?"

Wufei shook his head, his eyes going shuttered and dark. "Nothing, nothing. If she's watching
out for you, it'll be all right. He's giving you a good wage?"

"Good enough. Are you..." The younger boy lowered his voice, glancing at the seemingly-oblivious boys devouring the food, "are you really going to leave with them? Won't Harris be
mad? What about the debt?"

"Being Chosen cancels things like that out." Wufei's voice lowered to match Bannen's.
"There's nothing he can do to stop me."

"Good! So you're really going to get away?"

"I guess so." Wufei permitted himself a small smile. They had Chosen him, and even if they
cast him aside later, these Others would at least take him out of Haven. He'd be far away if
Harris ever found out. The man would never be able to afford to search him out.

Maybe he really *was* going to be free...

That thought cheered him no end, and he readily accepted the biscuit Trowa reached to him a
moment later.

*

After the informal breakfast - that left Wufei wondering slightly over the manners of these
'Lords' - he found himself alone with Duo, while the others scattered to do self-assigned errands
before their journey.

"Don't we need to do anything?" Wufei asked quietly, not wanting to let the others do all the
work.

"Oh, yes. Yes, indeed, we have something *very* important to do." He smiled an absolutely
wicked smile. "And I think you'll enjoy helping me." He laughed at Wufei's puzzled look.
"You'll see. C'mon, we've got to get some things." He grasped Wufei's uninjured wrist and
pulled him out of the room.

Wufei allowed himself to be pulled, staring at the braid waving along in front of him. What on
earth was the Water Talent up to? He followed obediently after him, quickly discovering that
Duo had learned the hidden, back way out of the inn - and indeed, all the little back ways through
the village. Wufei had them memorized, since out of sight was out of mind with these people,
but he was astonished that this boy had found them so soon after arriving.

"Where are we going?" he whispered, after making sure no one was around.

"To the village well. No one should be there this early, huh?"

"No - and most people here get their morning water from rain barrels."

"Figures." Duo's wrinkled nose told him that the other boy considered the habit of washing up
in stagnant, larvae infested water as nasty as Wufei did.

"Why are we going to the well?"

"To get water, of course. I'd just bring it to us, but someone would be sure to notice a puddle of
water floating through the streets."

"You could be right." Wufei said calmly. Duo did a double-take, then laughed.

"Oh, so you *do* have a sense of humor! Good! That'll make all this easier."

"All *what* easier?!"

"What we're going to do next. Can you get me... lemme see... a clay jar big enough to hold two
bucketfuls of water, a length of rope, a burlap sack and some sawdust?"

"...yes." Wufei said slowly, and turned toward a small storage hut. "Right now?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna hide over here, and bring the water to me. Just across the square - no one
should see it."

"Why do you need..."

"You'll see. Don't worry, you'll love this."

Wufei wasn't too sure - the manic gleam in Duo's eyes was beginning to worry him. But he
went to the hut anyway, retrieved everything but the sawdust, and brought it to the alley Duo was
in.

"I have to go by the woodshop for the sawdust." He whispered, watching in amazement as Duo
held a ball of water suspended above his hands, then shot it into the jar.

"All right," the other boy nodded absently, taking the burlap and the rope and fastening the
material around the lid of the jar, pulled tight like a drum. Wufei watched him for a second, then
shook his head and left. He still had to get sawdust for his poor insane Second.

*

"What exactly is this?" Wufei whispered again, half an hour later. The two boys were crouched
on a low rooftop, clay jar held tightly between them.

"A bit of a spell, to teach you how to have fun." Duo whispered back, his wide violet eyes
constantly searching the village below. The place was just beginning to stir, villagers coming out
into the brightening day to go about their work.

"A Water spell?" Wufei asked, his voice incredulous, curious, and eager all at once.

"Yes," Duo was pleased, "have you never seen anyone do Water calling?"

"Once. Half an hour ago, I saw this boy balancing water on his fingertips."

Duo snickered, trying to muffle the sound as a few villagers looked around curiously. "Oh, man,
Wufei, you really, really *do* have a sense of humor! This is going to make life fun - the rest of
our boys are just three stick-in-the-muds when it comes to practical jokes."

"Just don't play them on me." Wufei said softly, eyeing the jar. Duo had rubbed the sawdust
through the burlap while muttering under his breath, and he didn't trust the odd object anymore.
He could have sworn the clay had trembled.

"I promise." Duo said solemnly. "As long as you help me, I'll leave you free of my delightful
little jokes." He laughed at the look on Wufei's face. "Trust me, any of the others would *love*
for me to say that to them."

"Even Quatre?" The words slipped out before Wufei could stop them. He turned slightly pale,
wondering if Duo would be mad, but the other boy was barely paying attention. His eyes were
fixed on someone coming down the street.

"Quatre's my favorite target, besides Heero. Spirit boy needs to lighten up, and so does my
pretty blond. Ah, here he comes!"

Wufei peered over the edge of the roof, expecting to see Quatre, from the way Duo was talking.
Instead he saw Alvis strolling down the street, several of his friends in his wake. Duo caught up
the jar and crouched tensely, waiting, his whole body thrumming with anticipation.

Alvis stopped and went inside the bakery.

"Aw..." Duo set the jar down and slumped a little.

"He'll be out soon. He likes the sticky buns for breakfast. You... you don't act much like a Lord,
you know?" Wufei risked the observation, suddenly sure the other boy wouldn't be angry.

"'M *not* a Lord. Whatever gave you that idea?!" Duo turned astonished eyes on the smaller
boy.

"Well... you and the others... you all *act* like..."

"No, Fire. Yeah, I'll call you that, get used to it. I'm not a Lord. Quatre's from a fine, noble
family, and Heero... well, he might be. Trowa's - I'll let Trowa tell you. But *I'm* a street rat!"
He said the last proudly, chin in the air.

"A... a street..."

"A bum, an orphan, the best pickpocket Helia has ever had the honor of harboring! And I'd still
be one, too, if Hee-chan wasn't such a fast runner."

"Huh?" Wufei stared at him blankly.

"How long will Alvis be in there?"

"At least a half-hour."

"Good." Duo settled down, laying back on the roof tiles. The sun was beginning to warm them
nicely. "That's long enough to tell you. Sit back and listen."

********(Helia, Five Years Ago)**********

Festival days, Duo thought happily, had to be his favorite days. Lots of food to snatch, lots of
sights to see, lots of fat purses on the belts of naive country folk. He'd already lifted enough to
feed his little group of children for the next week. His goal was enough coin for a month, and he
would need at least three more purses for it.

He crouched in the shadow of a fruit-vendors stall, watching for a likely target. He let two well-guarded nobles go by before his gaze settled on another man. Tall, well-dressed, with a plump
purse, and the only person with him was a boy no older than him, with messy chocolate-brown
hair.

Easy pickings.

"Yeah, you'll never know what hit you." Duo smirked to himself, letting them move closer. Just
as he was about to spring, he felt something well up inside his chest, a sudden intense feeling of
warmth and companionship that nearly threw him back against the wall. He huddled down,
breathing hard, never noticing that the brown-haired boy had stopped and was leaning against the
vendor's stall looking as shocked as he felt. The tall man bent over him solicitously, his purse a
mere three feet from Duo's eyes.

The young boy shoved the weird feeling away as hard as he could, beating it down with thoughts
of his hungry younger followers, and dove forward. He snatched the purse, ignoring the shouts,
and ran like a startled deer. He hadn't gone three yards before he heard footsteps pounding after
him. He turned up the speed, ignoring the fact that his legs were oddly shaky.

'Didn't eat enough this morning... thought that loaf of bread would be enough... *should* have
been enough...' thoughts ran desperately through his mind as his feet ran desperately through the
crowd. A loaf of bread would normally keep him going strong all day, though he never missed
an opportunity for more. He reached a corner and spared a quick glance back.

To his vast surprise, he didn't see the group of pursuers he'd expected. He'd thought a
guardsman had seen him, and was rushing after him with his companions - yet the only person he
saw was that same boy, coming on quickly, bright blue eyes fixed firmly on him.

Well - he'd never been outrun by another kid yet!

He took to his heels again, and was a little disconcerted when the boy kept up easily. "Damn!"
he muttered, "what did *he* have for breakfast?!" He put on yet another burst of speed, though
he felt his ankles wobble dangerously. He had to keep going...

Had to keep going...

Long enough to reach the fountain. Duo dove into the water, splashing through the knee-deep
cistern. 'Safe, I'm safe! He can't reach me now!' He heard the other boy splash into the
fountain behind him, and laughed out loud.

Stopped.

And turned.

"Bad move!" He said cheerfully, sending his hand in a scooping motion through the air. A
chunk of water the size of a wagon wheel lifted from the fountain and hurtled toward the other
boy, who was barely able to dodge it.

"Not bad!" Duo was willing to give credit where credit was due. "Try for two!" He waved both
hands, and two water-wheels shot toward the boy. He ducked them, getting one arm wet, and
Duo went all out, flinging bolt after bolt of water at him. The other boy leapt, ducked, dove and
dodged, and never got more than his sleeves wet.

Finally, Duo had to stop for a breath, panting hard. "What... the *hell*... are you?" He gasped,
staring at the boy. He was shocked to see that the blue eyes looking at him were pleased, happy...
proud?"

"I'm your First. You're mine."

"Am not!" Duo shouted, staring. "I'm *nobody's!* Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm Heero. I'm your First. Your Spirit Talent. You felt me earlier - we Spoke to each other.
Remember?"

Duo swallowed, backed away. "But you're... you're a noble."

"Not really." Heero took a step forward, and had to dodge a half-hearted toss of water. "Come
on, my Second. You know, inside, that I'm speaking the truth." He heard a strangled sound
from behind him, knew Ellegran had caught up. His keeper wouldn't be pleased about this - he
knew his so-called father had plans on binding him to a certain noble's son, whether they felt a
Call to each other or not.

'Too bad. This is my Second. The first of my Others... I want the rest of them!' He felt the
sudden ache in his chest for the rest of his five, for his Earth, Air and Fire. He heard his Water
gasp, saw him clutch at his chest and knew he was sharing the feeling. He couldn't help it - he'd
been content without any of his Others, but finding this one had woken the desire for the rest.

"You're nuts!" The other was still trying to deny him, backing away. A street child - ragged
clothes, long tangled hair - probably no training at all as far as the way of Others. Probably had
very little idea what was happening, what was going to happen.

Didn't need much training, though. He knew Water Talents who had been Trained for years,
who couldn't do what he'd just seen this boy do. He felt that well of pride again, and shared it
with the boy even as he gently probed the other's mind for... for...

"...Duo. My Second. You have to come with me."

"Like hell! How do you know my name?! Is this some kinda joke? I don't have to take this!" he
turned and tried to run again. Heero put every muscle in his legs into a giant leap, and managed
to grab two handfuls of long, tangled hair, yanking the other boy to a sudden, yelling stop.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Hands off the hair, Heero! That *hurts*! ...how in any given hell do I know
your name?"

"I told you." Heero followed his instincts, completely unlike his usual behavior, and pulled the
ragged boy into a hug. As soon as his arms went around the shorter, slighter figure, Duo sagged.

"Oh, man. Don't do that." Heero had sent his Talent to him again, Spoken more gently than
their mutual recognition earlier.

"Speak back." he pleaded softly, ignoring the sound of Ellegran's squawking protests behind
them.

Duo had no idea what he was talking about, but something deep inside him apparently did. He
felt the coolness of Water well up in his soul, and felt the other boy shudder and sigh.

"Beautiful."

"Heero! You can't... this boy is a thief! You can't Choose him! This is wrong!" Heero might
have been ignoring the man, but Duo's head jerked up as he finally registered the words. He'd
gone from fear and suspicion to anger in a split second. He didn't understand what was
happening, but in Heero's embrace he knew they belonged together. Like he was friends with the
others kids... only deeper. Special. The man was still saying nasty things.

"He's beneath you! You can't seriously consider him! A dirty little beggar! You must come
away at once! This - EEYOW!"

Heero jerked around just in time to see one of those wagon wheels dissolve over Ellegran's head,
soaking the man from head to foot in the dirty water of the fountain.

He snickered.

******(A Rooftop in Haven Village)******

"I think that was the first time poor Hee-chan ever laughed. He's still not good at it." Duo shook
his head, grinning a little. Wufei sat with his chin in his hands, gazing at him.

"Is that true? You're not really a Lord?"

Duo sat up sharply, giving him a reproachful look. "I'll let that slide, 'Fei, since you don't know
me. I may do a lot of things, but lying isn't one of them."

"Sorry..." Wufei would have cringed if he didn't have a little pride left. "What happened to the
kids?"

"Huh?"

"The kids you were stealing for?"

"Oh!" Duo went from scowling a little to beaming. "You're a good guy, too. Nice."

"What?"

"Never mind. Just that most people don't ask that. They're all fine - I know where each one of
them is. Heero's - family - helped find them all homes or jobs. They're doing great."

"That's... there's Alvis!"

Duo shot upright again, once more catching up the jar.

"Are you going to soak him?" Duo was pleased to hear some eagerness in Wufei's voice.

"Naw, that's mild. Kid's stuff. This is a Spell - more than just Calling. Shh."

Wufei obediently went silent, wide dark eyes watching the other boy's every move. Duo waited
until Alvis was almost directly beneath them, then flung the jar at the redhead, shouting out a
word no one there understood. Wufei winced, expecting to see the clay shatter on his head, but
instead it upended like a huge salt-cellar, water pouring through the burlap to form a cloud above
the boy's startled head.

Alvis shrieked like a girl as rain began to fall on him.

The clay pot fell to shatter on the ground behind him, Wufei put up a hand to smother a laugh,
and Duo grabbed his Fifth's arm and dragged him away over the rooftops. Wufei went willingly,
still trying not to laugh, calling out to the Water Talent in strangled gasps of his own.

"What... that was rain... how long...?"

"Let's just say - ol' Alvis won't have a lot of friends for a good week. No one likes soggy
playmates, ya know!"

They headed for the inn, wearing matching grins.
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