WARNING: Very High Angst Lemon, Proceed With Caution, Kleenex Warning
[Sequel to Tragic Secrets; Book 6 of the "Secrets" Arc, Final Installment of arc]
Author: Enigma
Written: October & November, 2000
Cumulative Rating: NC-17
Pairings: (1x2/2x1) (3x4/4x3) (5+S)
Category: Angst, yaoi, AU
Cumulative Warnings: Angst, lemon, yaoi, sap, AU, OOC
Be Prepared: Kleenex Warnings!! also: avoid Colas
DISCLAIMERS: I don't own Gundam Wing or any other anime or TV characters I use here, just the ideas in this story and some characters that are new are truly mine. Any reference to copyrighted material or trademarked goods should be considered an "homage" (yeah, right!) Don't sue me, even the lawyers wouldn't enjoy it, except of course for the Ashe and Jojo characters!
NOTE: Timeframe---after the war has ended and the Gundams were destroyed. //yada, yada, yada// = inner thoughts


Silencing The Secrets
Part 18

"Vash!" A child's voice reached his ears from some distance, but it was a child nonetheless and he suddenly snapped into awareness that he had nearly undressed Heero in broad daylight in the middle of the gardens. Embarrassed, Duo quickly stopped what he was doing and yanked Heero's shorts painfully back into place as another cry was heard.

"Come on, Vash!" Laurel sounded upset, but Heero was totally confused.

"Duo? Why'd you stop?" Heero nearly whined, the spandex hurt where his body remained highly aroused yet now compressed uncomfortably.

"Shh!" Duo hushed his lover urgently listening for where the children were and whether or not he was going to have a lot to explain when they got back to the main buildings. "Sorry, Heero," he kissed him apologetically, "but I just heard Laurel out here. I doubt Trowa and Quatre would appreciate us giving the kid sex education classes out here."

"Damn," Heero cursed softly, nodding agreement yet feeling extremely annoyed at things stopping where they did. "What do we do now?"

"Wait and see, I guess," Duo looked displeased with the idea of stopping, too, but there seemed to be more going on than he initially thought.

"Vash! Get up, please!" Laurel's voice held tears in it. "Come on, you're not hurt are you? Wake up!"

Another voice was added to the air, "Vash! Laurel! Hey, kids, where are you? Quatre's worried." It was Trowa.

Heero groaned. Of all the worst possible moments for his best friend to need help, this was one of them. Sighing, he got to his feet and helped Duo relocate his shirt quickly, pulling it over his head, Heero kissed him quickly before shouting, "What's up, Trowa? Laurel, where are you?"

Just then, a familiar blur of strawberry-blond hair came around a corner, ice-blue eyes wide with alarm. "Uncle Heero! Uncle Duo! Help Vash, I think he's hurt."

"Sure, honey," Duo smiled. "Where's he at? What happened?" He took her hand and let her drag him away.

Shaking his head in surprised appreciation of how easily Duo was willing to give up his own pleasure to help the child, Heero called out, "Don't worry, Trowa, we've got Laurel. She's taking us to Vash."

Eventually, it turned out the blond boy had indeed been hurt. The children had been playing hide and seek which was why they'd been quiet enough to go undetected in the gardens by the two former terrorists who should have heard them anyway. Quatre's family had tried for years to eliminate them, yet several varieties of snakes made their homes on the estate grounds and it was one of these which had stopped the athletic young teen that afternoon. Recognizing the fang pattern as being that of a specific poisonous species, Trowa had used his belt as a tourniquet to prevent the venom from spreading up the unconscious boy's leg while Heero sprinted back to get medical assistance. With snake bite an uncommon but not unexpected thing at the estate, Akheem kept a supply of anti-venom available at all times and they had the boy under treatment within fifteen minutes of the incident.

Once back inside, it took an additional hour or so before the lanky boy regained consciousness. He was actually more embarrassed that he had inadvertently left Laurel unprotected than he was concerned over his own injury. His mother, however, gratefully clutched her little brother whose special sense had now become attuned to his adopted nephew as easily as it had to Laurel. Without the extra warning, they assumed, Vash could have easily gone too long without treatment making it harder to recover from than it was. Of course no one knew there were two additional adults available for the emergency and Quatre thanked both of his friends for helping out.

"Don't worry about it, Quatre," Duo assured him. "Heero and me were just doing some, um, gardening and were lucky to be there to help, that's all." He was not about to admit what had really been going on especially since he had reconsidered it and was wondering why his self-control seemed to be eroding lately.

"Sure, Quatre, glad to help." Heero didn't look all that glad, he was of a mind to go back to "gardening", but that was pretty much a lost cause for the moment. Sexual frustration was not something he handled well at all.

"I hate to say it, Heero," Quatre was apologizing on two levels, but only he knew it. "But if a nest of those things has been stirred up out there, I'd recommend you forget going back out to finish doing whatever it was you were planning to do in the gardens. I'll get a crew to track them down for another catch and release effort to get them back out in the desert where they belong, but I'd rather not see any more snake bites today."

Heero, defeated, agreed. He mentioned rather pointedly that he was going to go take a shower but Duo didn't seem to notice and he left the room *very* frustrated.

//That baka is driving me insane!// He growled to himself all the way down the hall. //First he's not interested, then he's all over me, and now he's not interested again? And I thought being stuck in solitary confinement was irritating!//

What he didn't know was that someone else was having the same arguments with himself right then.

//Now that was decidedly unfair! I know my kharma is shot to Hell for about a million reasons, but I get *that* close to having my memories back as well as having a damned nice time, then we get interrupted? Geez, I know it's not his fault, but honestly! Does Heero even realize he's driving me crazy here?!?//

They say great minds think alike, but who knew how true that was?

By that evening, things had calmed down substantially. Vash was going to be fine thanks to the quick intervention and Laurel was half-frantic fussing about his being hurt.

Wufei found the situation rather amusing. "So, Laurel, are you upset with Vash for getting hurt or are you upset that he's getting all of the attention?"

"Hmph! Uncle Wufei, that isn't very nice," she pouted at him.

"Actually, Wu, she's right," Duo grinned. "It's not nice to accuse a lady of seeking attention even when she is obviously doing just that."

Two sets of eyes practically skewered him for that remark.

"Don't call me 'Wu', Maxwell."

"And don't call me, well, whatever you called me!" Laurel looked angry at not knowing just how she'd been insulted even if she knew she'd been insulted to start with.

Duo chuckled at both of them. "Sorry, sorry! Geez, everybody's so touchy around here! Lighten up all ready."

"Chang Wufei 'lighten up'?" Heero commented wryly, "That's mutually incompatible."

Even Quatre couldn't avoid laughing and adding, "Yes, that would be an oxymoron, wouldn't it? But before any more verbal wars break out, would anyone care for ice cream? I asked Sadeema to get some toppings for sundaes." He smiled hopefully. Trowa, better at reading Heero's expressions than he was, had let his fiancé in on his observations from the gardens that the other pair had most likely not been busy with plants at the moment they were interrupted. Committed to several objectives himself, Quatre included getting Heero and Duo back together before the wedding as a high priority and thought it would be good to reset things for the fumbling lovers.

"Thank you, but no," Wufei remarked stiffly. "I'm calling Sally to get her travel plans back out for the wedding. I'll see everyone later." With as much dignity as a man with two broken legs can manage, and for Chang Wufei that was quite a bit, he excused himself and vanished.

"Geez, sorry, Quatre," Duo looked crestfallen. "I didn't mean to annoy him so much that he'd up and leave."

"No problem, Duo," Trowa smiled. "He's not exactly sociable when Sally's not around lately. Wonder what's up with those two anyway."

"You got me," Heero remarked puzzled as well. "They never said anything in particular, but you'd have to be blind not to see there's something either very wrong between them or very right. Wonder which it is."

Before any further speculation on the state of the Chang-Po matter could continue, ice cream was brought out. Chatting happily, the group prepared sundaes. Laurel went first making a huge monstrosity to share with Vash and headed down the hallway with it.

Celcia smiled at the child's retreating back before quietly mentioning to her brother, "By the way, Quatre, there's a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with myself and Sakura Kinomoto to discuss Laurel's situation. Would you be available to attend?"

A huge grin broke out as he rushed to agree, "Sure thing, Sis! What time? Any chance they've decided on the adoption issue yet?"

"Maybe, but don't count on it," she cautioned. "I've been through this before myself and if you get your hopes up you'll most likely get disappointed."

"Too late for that, Celcia," Duo smiled gently. "If your brother doesn't get an answer soon he'll probably start thinking of ways to bribe the adoption board!"

From here, the conversation devolved rapidly and ultimately left no room for the romantic mood Quatre had originally hoped for. It wasn't until several hours later when everyone had split up that he was reminded of the original plan.

"Koibito," Trowa remarked gently as they sat on the patio staring at the stars. "Did you realize we forgot Heero and Duo this evening?"

Yawning, Quatre nodded sullenly, "Yes, Trowa, I realized that after Heero left to go to bed when Duo wandered off to check on the kids. I meant for them to have time together, not get distracted that way."

"Don't worry, Little One. They are certainly responsible enough to find their own happiness." Trowa slipped an arm around his fiancé and kissed him soundly. "After all, if someone as obtuse as myself can find happiness then those two can as well."

"'Obtuse', Trowa? Since when are you 'obtuse'?" Quatre was annoyed at hearing his lover denigrate himself. Trowa, however, found it highly amusing.

Smiling, he kissed Quatre again more deeply feeling the tension run out of his lover's frame as he held him close. "I am 'obtuse', my love, for waiting as long as I did before getting that ring on your finger." Reaching around him, Trowa easily touched his engagement ring to Quatre's in their silent vow, bringing forth a happy sigh.

"Well, at least you can add another ring to it on Saturday, koi." Quatre smiled.

"I fully intend to, angel. I fully intend to!"

on to part 19

back to fiction

back to enigma fiction


back home