[FIC] That Which Mends 37/?

[skylark92]

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.
That Which Mends
Part 37
Pairings: 2x1x2, past 2xOC, 5xOC, 3x4
Warnings for Overall Series: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes
New AU
BY: SkyLark
Betaed by ShenLong Deb *hugs*
Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html

[Now I got you in my space
I won't let go of you (never)
Got you shackled in my embrace
I'm latching on to you
-Lyrics to 'Latch' performed by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith]

Heero was only aware of warmth when he clawed back to the world of the living following a particularly deep sleep. Sighing, he acknowledged the brightness of his surroundings behind his closed eyelids.

And immediately following that revelation, the scholar felt the steady rise and fall of whatever he was curled against.

With a sharp gasp, Yuy's cobalt eyes snapped wide open as he shot up to find himself in Duo's bed... which he also happened to be sharing with the long-haired agent who was in the same state of undress. Immediately, his mind raced back to the last memories he had before he'd drifted off and his heart leapt into his throat.

There was no alcohol to blame for what had happened between him and the sleeping officer this time, the counselor noted to himself. Everything that led up to their transgression came on by simple, raw need on his end. There was no point in denying that.

He had been so worried about Agent Scythe since he had to leave to arrest Sweeney that all caution was thrown to the wind the moment he saw they were together again.

But what this might mean for them and their relationship came with a great deal of uncertainty... especially since Duo wasn't exactly open to settling down or any form of real commitment beyond the friendships he latched onto.

Whatever paths Heero's mind could have done down were instantly tied up when the Preventer sighed and blinked his haunting, violet eyes open. His gaze quickly settling on the student propped over him, much to his bedmates surprise, a warm smile curled his lips. "Mornin'," he mumbled, voice still thick from his just waking.

That initial unrest calming at that greeting, Yuy felt himself grinning back as he replied quietly, "Good morning." Glancing down at themselves he stammered, "We...uh...this was...."

Snickering, the officer nodded, "Yea. My sentiments exactly." He propped himself up on his elbows, he suggested, "Why don't we get dressed, cleaned up and make up something light to eat before we go out to dinner with the others tonight?"

"We have dinner plans?" the counselor repeated in confusion. "I'm definitely up for that, but when did that arrangement happen when we've been... well..." With a shrug, he made a vague gesture to their partially linked, naked bodies.

Duo checked the digital clock on the nightstand by his head and looked back to his roommate, answering, "About an hour ago. I was on the phone with Annie and we both thought it would be a good idea for all of us to go out. She should have texted us the place and time by now."

Prussian eyes growing anew, Heero's mind processed that bit of information rapidly. Maxwell had woken up, left and come back to curl back up with him. Not only did he not run, he willingly returned to his bed... more to the point- to the person still in it.

Suddenly, the scholar wasn't panicked over the situation anymore. Not after coming to terms that perhaps what happened wasn't a bad thing in the end after all.

Getting back to the present, Yuy nodded, "Getting something to eat does sound good right now."

Modesty set in for him as he searched the floor for his boxers. When he found them, he pulled them on beneath the sheets before he stood on. In the process of getting to his feet, he dared to let his eyes roam over the pristine, fully exposed physique of his host in its full exposure and felt his throat dry up when he gazed back to the smirking face of the agent watching him.

His cheeks blushing, the intern said in a rush, "I'll meet you in the kitchen when I'm finished showering." All but running from the bedroom, he closed the door behind him.

Maxwell stared off after his lover for a while, chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought over having caught the student's lingering stare. Oh, it couldn't be denied any longer there were definitely feelings there in Yuy's part... he was attracted for certain, but still more beyond that.

'Do. Not. Hurt. Him. If you do, you and I are going to have problems,' Anna's warning replayed in his head. Keeping that in mind, he climbed to his feet and moved for his dresser for his official start of the day.

* * * *

Thirty minutes later...

"You really are a bad influence on me. I can't remember the last time I slept past two in the afternoon," Heero commented as he entered the dining room as Duo pulled out a tray of egg rolls from the oven. Running a hand through his unruly, damp hair, he snorted, "In fact, I don't think I've ever slept in. period."

Carefully lowering the their light meal onto the kitchen counter, the braided agent chuckled, "Better that than no influence at all." Quickly plating their food, he set the offerings down onto the dining room table so they could sit and eat across from each other.

Not at all sure that he was ready to discuss the elephant in the room, the intern asked, "How did the mission go?"

Scythe reached to take a couple of servings as he answered, "Like clockwork. We got into Sweeney's house, took a few dozen shots, Annie kept us from being blown into smears by a wall of C-4 she found under his front porch and Trowa disarmed the suspect when he tried to detonate the explosives himself. Pretty standard procedure for us and no one got so much as a nick."

Wrapping up his nonchalant recanting of the early morning's events, Maxwell brushed his hands clean and peer up to the stricken face on the other side of the table. "Oh," he snickered sheepishly, "Maybe I should have just left it at 'like clockwork.'" Shaking his head, he assured, "I know it sounds bad, and maybe it was, but really it wasn't a big deal for us."

Heero let out a nervous huff of a laugh and said, "I'll take your word on that." Taking up his first egg roll, he dipped it in the bowl of sauce and shrugged, "The most important thing is that everyone's safe and Sweeney's behind bars. I'll bet it's a relief to have your first big mission in a while behind you and for it to have been successful."

Leaning back in his chair, Duo washed down his food with a chug from his tall glass of milk and nodded, "Yea, it is. Fei came up with a great strategy that got us in and out of there, which I'm sure he needed. It was a good way for all of us to dust off the cobwebs and do what we do."

In a rare moment of voluntarily wading into sensitive waters, the Preventer folded his arms behind his head and inquired quietly, "Were you up all night waiting on me by the time I made it back?"

Taken aback by the question and his roommate's sticking his neck out by bringing it up, Yuy cleared his throat and cleaned his own hands as he lowered his gaze to the table. "Well, I wasn't pacing the floor the whole time," he muttered. "I did try to sleep, but I couldn't. When I got Lady Une's text that everyone was safe, I just figured I'd wait up until you were home to make sure..."

Growling at his conflicting feelings that he had never had to tap into before, the scholar's eyes narrowed as he peered back up at the officer and shouted in frustration, "Damn it, I needed to see for myself that you were okay! I was really worried about you, even though I clearly didn't need to be!"

Heero pushed aside his plate and continued to unload his troubles by frowning, "I'm not used to any of this. I never had time for friends or anything other than my responsibilities and now I'm getting more and more wrapped up in..."

Gesturing to the braided young man with his hand waving in the air, he sighed, "you and whatever the hell this is that's happening between us. And that's only *if* there actually is something beyond our obviously being physically attracted to each other and-"

Beside himself over how the normally reserved counselor was going on about them, Duo cut him off with a firm but soothing, "Easy, Ro." Gulping, he confessed, "This is just as confusing for me, too, okay?"

When his lover blinked widely at that and relaxed into his chair so that he could continue, Scythe let out an exasperated sigh and slid his last serving of lunch away since he no longer had an appetite. If there was going to be any progress, he realized that he was going to have to open up... no matter how unsettling the prospect was.

Shoulders slumping, he shook his braided head and shared, "I admit I'm getting wrapped up in this same as you and to be honest, it's scaring the shit out of me. I never wanted anything more than sex with any one person before you came along. For the first time in my life, I'm actually considering it instead of running the way every instinct in my being would otherwise be telling me to do."

"O-oh," Heero heard himself breathe, his Prussian eyes still enlarged at the end of his friend's confiding something so private with him. Biting his lip, he took the time to really mull over their scenario and declared aloud, "I don't have any regrets about last night... or the first night."

The air rushing from his lungs at his relief in hearing that, Duo grinned. "Me neither," he replied quietly. "And I don't want the alternative to not going forward like nothing's there..." Dry washing his face, he grumbled, "Shit. I'm going to fuck up at times with this, I know it."

Undeniably excited about what was being presented, Yuy smirked, "If you're actually suggesting that we proceed exclusively as a couple, I'm new at this while thing, too. So, I'm not going to be perfect by any means."

Dropping his hands at his sides, Maxwell closed his gaping mouth. "Holy crap," he breathed. "I guess that is what I'm proposing." With a huff of a laugh, he muttered, "Well, I never thought I'd see this day."

Heero knew that he had to tread gingerly as to not scare off the agent. Smiling, he said, "I'm willing to give it a try if you are. Since I'm just as clueless when it comes to dating someone, we'd both have to take it one day at a time. That seems the most reasonable course of action."

There needed to be more. He was aware of that. Trust was an obvious issue with Duo and he needed to have a showing that the utmost faith was being returned.

"I was jealous of Anna when I didn't fully understand your relationship," the scholar confided, though coming forth with that much was nerve-wracking as he had no idea how it would be taken. Not to mention it showed that he had shortcomings that he didn't like to reveal when it came to how he dealt with sentiments he was only now coming to terms with after his previous denial on the subject.

But the gesture did not go unrewarded as it was the Preventer's turn to blink widely. Then, a grateful smile curled his lips. "Alright," he said with a small grin, "I guess this means we're dating, then."

Hearing those words, Heero sat back and pondered over what they meant in every aspect of the person he was at that space in time. Had anyone told him even a month before that he would be involved with someone, let alone be in a serious relationship with them, he never would have believed it. Had anyone told him he would be with someone like Duo Maxwell he would have laughed.

But he believed it now. He wasn't laughing now. No, this was very real and he was surprisingly at ease with the arrangement. There was something... natural about being with the Preventer. Something had drawn them together and there was nothing pulling them apart.

Smirking, the intern nodded, "Sounds that way to me. This might be a more formal way of setting this up compared to most dating couples, but it works for me." He folded his arms across his chest and questioned, "So... if we were ever asked, are we going to call ourselves lovers? Boyfriends? Partners?"

Maxwell's eyebrows raised while he ran over the inquiry. "I'm good with being called a 'boyfriend' or 'partner,'" he responded rather quickly, going only with his instinct in how to answer. "To me, 'lover' is a lot more personal and something I think is more fitting for pair like Anna and Wufei or Trowa and Quatre with their history. We're just starting out and anything with the word 'love' kinda makes me nervous at this point."

"Fair enough," Yuy concurred. "I'm fine with that, too." Rubbing the back of his neck, he stated, "I guess the only other thing we should sort out is whether or not we're going to announce this to the others. I'll go along with whatever you decide on that, since you've been friends with them longer."

Barking out a laugh, the agent informed, "Knowing Annie and the guys, they'll have it figured out on their own soon enough. I don't see the harm in waiting for however long it takes for that to happen. I like this being between us until then."

Heero chuckled, nodding in agreement then extended his hand. "I suppose we should shake on this to make it official."

With a roll of his violet eyes, Duo grunted and stood up to round the table in a couple of long strides. "If we're going to seal something like this, we're not sealing it with a damned handshake," he growled.

Before his roommate could react beyond turning his wide eyes towards him when he reached the counselor's side, he bent down at the waist and pressed their lips together. His eyes growing and drifting closed, Yuy leaned into the touch as the kiss deepened. Like every other kiss before it, he was left breathless and numb to everything else in the world.

"There," Scythe smirked when they came up for air. "Now it's official."

Smiling, the intern nodded firmly, "So it is."

It was uncharted territory they were heading into together. And yet neither one of them were particularly nervous about what may or may not be in store for them.

* * * *

"Cheers!" six voices chorused as their glasses clinked over the middle of the round table they shared at Charlie's at the end of the toast to their being able to safely bring a very dangerous man behind bars.

Sipping from their celebratory drinks, the band of friends had just wrapped up their meals and continued on with their light banter after filling Heero in on more of the details around the takedown.

Almost choking on his beer, the intern turned to the weapons expert at Duo's other side and shouted, "Jenga?! You compared what you had to do with all of that C-4 to just a really intense game of Jenga?!"

To the chorus of her teammates' snickers, Anna shrugged, "Well, that's all it really was when you think about it. If a block fell and disturbed the tripwire because another piece was shifted or pulled out wrong, game over."

Dumbfounded by the basic logic of two drastically different scenarios, Yuy shook his head and laughed, "Okay. I can see your point." Shaking his head, he grinned, "Your way of looking at things is always... refreshing, Anna."

"It's all part of her charm," Wufei smirked as he gave the redhead a wink when she looked over at him. Rubbing the small of her back, he stated, "We all knew Anna would handle it, so no one was worried." The other agents nodded to second the sentiment. Smiling, Downs leaned up against her boyfriend with a warm smile.

Quatre glanced over at the bar just as another news report on the airplane accident flashed across one of the suspended flat screen televisions. Keeping his voice down so none of the other patrons filling the place could hear, he frowned, "Anyone else wondering if whatever happened to that flight was just a coincidence or related to the case?"

Instantly, the mood in the air turned somber as the Preventers exchanged glances. "I don't think anyone here believes in coincidences, but we won't know anything for sure until the black box is retrieved or it can be determined exactly what happened through the investigation that's going on," Chang replied. "I already confirmed with Lady Une that all the channels involved in that search have been informed that we're to be kept in the loop on any and all findings."

Nudging his lover, Trowa raised an eyebrow and asked, "Happy? Now can we go on enjoying our victory without having you spoil the fun again? Say something again and you'll be the one who's walking a little funny the next time we're home." The others fell into fitful laughter as the public relations representative grinned sheepishly and ducked his head.

Violet eyes growing, Duo cut in, "Whoa, wait a sec. You mean Quatre's the one who tops with you two?"

On autopilot, Anna spoke from personal experiences with the pair as she chirped brightly, "More often than not."

At the same time she spoke up, Wufei was speaking automatically as well when he shrugged, "Yes, if what I saw in the bathroom is any indication..."

His brain catching up with his words, a horrified expression watched over the team leader as the lot turned their surprised attention onto him. He slammed his drink down onto the table to rub his face with both hands and hissed, "Damn it! Just when I got rid of that mental image! I hate you guys so much." His friends howled with laughter at his expense.

Once he caught his breath, Maxwell arched his eyebrows as he looked to Winner and Barton. "Well, I just learned a hell of a lot about you two," he snickered. Reaching for his cup, he began, "And here I was sure that-"

Agent Scythe stopped his train of thought abruptly as soon as he peered over at the main entrance of the pub when the door opened to a handful of new arrivals. Glaring heatedly at the band that filtered through the crowd to reach the bar while scanning over the faces filling the space, he grumbled, "Asshole sighting, gang."

Turning around in their chairs and following his line of sight, Heero and the officers spotted Zechs and his cronies lining up at the bar as they talked amongst themselves and continued to look over the patrons in a clear search for someone... or someones.

"Do they typically come in here or is this one of those coincidences that's not exactly a coincidence?" the intern questioned, his Prussian eyes narrowing on the FBI team.

Night snorted, "If they came here regularly, we wouldn't have picked this place to be our watering hole. Since we took that file off their hands, I'm willing to bet anything they're dying to know if we've made a break in the case."

Across from him, Wolf nodded, "Yea. Which is exactly why we're going to make as much of a ruckus as possible just to get under their skin."

On that cue, his comrades fell back in their chairs, pounded the table and made every other possible sound they could as they laughed as though they had heard the funiest joke ever to have their commotion rise over the rest of the crowd. A little behind in what they were doing, Heero was fast to join in and acted like he was wiping a tear of mirth from his right eye.

As they had all hoped, their rivals shot their heads in their direction. "A toast to another one for the books, guys!" Duo cheered, raising his tall glass while the FBI officers tried to inch closer in their direction for a chance to overhear more information as to why they were celebrating until there was no way of concealing what they were up to.

Throwing back the remainder of her drink at the end of their toast, Anna peered from the corner of her eye and put on a bright smile of shock. "Oh, look who's here, boys!" she giggled. "Merquise and his bumbling entourage. What brings the likes of you here?"

With the last of the hair dye that had plagued them washed out to reveal the natural shades of their locks, the other federal agents masked their disappointment at being caught by climbing the short stairs up to the deck and closed in on the table where the Preventers and the counselor were standing.

"I do hope you're all reveling in whatever little victory you think you've had in your investigation," Zechs opened with a smile on his lips and a snarl in his tone. "You're only here to reward yourselves of it because you ripped that file you passed onto us from right under our noses. We would have eventually discovered whoever that guy was you were after-"

Heero retorted, "That's more than doubtful since you had no idea what we were even looking for. I do recall your own stooges admitting that they had tossed that same file aside to be destroyed. So, it was no longer yours to claim."

It surprised the student that he was so quick to interject as he had, but more and more he was coming to despise the smug man and his cohorts. Simply hearing Merquise try to brag up their efforts had churned Yuy's stomach to the point that he simply couldn't keep quiet anymore.

Dim as the lighting was in their corner of the pub, there was no mistaking the hint of red that highlighted Merquise's face as he snarled in pent up frustration. For their parts, the young agents he loathed bit their lips and only just managed to hold back their snickers.

"Well, as nice as this little get together is, I'm going to the bar so we can get some refills," Anna announced.

Making a move the second the weapons expert began to turn, Noin purposely stepped in her way so that they would crash into each other when they were face-to-face. "Watch where you're walking, you little slut," the taller young woman bit out.

The air seemed to suck out of their corner the moment that harsh title left the FBI agent's mouth. Gripping the edge of the table and firing threatening glares at her, Wufei, Duo, Trowa and Quatre tensed up ready to spring in a blink in their lover's defense. Gulping, Heero hung back a step, but was no less stricken by the nasty taunt... he just also happened to not know how to handle a physical altercation.

Batting her blue eyes, Downs smiled up at her aggressor, "I'm sorry. What was that, dear?"

The short-haired woman sneered, "Oh, you think you're so cute, don't you? And why wouldn't you since everyone in the federal building knows that you've slept with everyone on your team except for your socially inept new guy back there." It wasn't until that turn against Yuy that the redhead's body turned rigid.

"Oh," Lucrezia chuckled at the clear mark she had hit against the younger officer. "Or have you already fucked him, too?"

A low growl escaped Duo at the end of his nerve and he was only stopped when an equally irate Wufei grabbed his bicep to hold him in place... but only holding onto the last thread of his own resolve. Every bit as ready to strike, the veins in Trowa and Quatre's temples were beginning to budge in their own fury. Still, none of them were about to step in until Anna had her chance to stand up to her challenger first.

Zechs flanked his partner as his only play to try and settle her down without making a scene of correcting her in front of the others. Alex, Mueller and Trent, on the other hand, quietly cohered over the distress on the weapons expert.

Meanwhile, Yuy was sinking further and further down below the table in anticipation of whatever was about to come.

Finally, after a long and apprehensive silence, the corner of Anna's mouth curled up in a lopsided smirk with a dark giggle. "Better to be a slut than a whore," she sneered.

Gasping, Noin's eyes opened widely but Downs went on before she could respond further. "Remember that rumors flow upstream, sweetheart. That means no one is above having things said about them." There was a dramatic shift from the taut restraint in the Preventers to the FBI officers now turning rigid.

Captivated, Heero straightened himself and closed his gaping mouth as he soaked in the verbal spar intently. At either side of him, the agents that had been ready to jump into the scene were easing so they could take in what was unfolding in front of them.

"Yes, I used to sleep around out of fun but you did it for something in return, namely your position," Anna stated without pause. Fists balling at her sides, Lucrezia's fury was building so that her body was beginning to shake.

Not the least bit afraid, the redhead pushed her buttons further by saying, "So while I got where I am on my own merit, you fucked your way up the FBI's ladder to secure your spot." Her head tilting, she murmured, "And I'd be willing to bet I know which one of us sleeps better at night." At that, a rush of air and an unintelligible sound broke from her enemy's slacking jaw as though she had been punched in the gut.

Again, there was a stunned hush in their corner of the pub as the whole exchange set in. At the weapons expert's back, her teammates and the scholar calmed and their mouths stretched into small, proud smiles over how she had conducted herself.

For Yuy, it was a schooling in social confrontations and how they were won. Noin might have thrown the gauntlet at her feet, but Anna had just become the decisive victor of their verbal battle.

Patting the stricken FBI woman's shoulder as she began to pass her, Downs leaned towards her ear and offered, "Just a bit of advice from a weapons analyst. Don't bring a knife to a gunfight unless you want to get hurt." Still smirking, she walked towards the bar as she had originally intended.

Lucrezia's entire frame vibrated with her fury. Spinning around, she unleashed a furious scream and dove for Downs to knock her to the ground without having the time to look back and see the danger she as in. Growling deeply, the redhead turned onto her back and kicked at the flailing FBI woman who had begun to scratch and claw at her as they wrestled along the floor.

"Cat fight!" someone from the lower deck shouted excitedly, calling the other patrons to turn around and watch the vicious altercation. Leaving the girls to battle it out, Zechs and his remaining teammates turned their ire onto the Preventers with threatening glares.

Tossing back the last of his drink, Agent Scythe cracked his knuckles and grinned, "Well, this party needed a little livening up anyway. I'm up for spending a night in jail."

Wufei shrugged nonchalantly, "You know what, it's actually not as bad as you think. I'm game just to be able to get a few shots in."

Heading into the fire, Trowa and Quatre were right behind Duo in meeting Alex, Mueller and Trent in the middle of their descending upon them. They immediately become a knot of fists and kicks thrown around to do as much damage as possible in the release of the tension that had been building between their units.

Completely ignoring everything else that was going on, Merquise had set his sights onto the weapons expert that had slighted his lover.

While the female officers continued to wrestle each other on the floor, Anna got the edge by straddling her opponent when the tall blonde lunged forward to grab her ponytail of long curls. He was about to close his fingers around her hair when another hand gripped onto his extended arm and hauled him back.

In the next blink, Zechs was face-to-face with the Preventer team leader's livid face. "Good," he snorted. "This is what I really wanted, anyway."

"Me, too," was all Chang replied as he sent a fist screaming for his nemesis's face. Both agents made direct contact at the same instant and threw each other around, knocking over tables and sending people running out of the way.

Swallowing hard, Heero kept his distance amongst the crowd that remained stuck on the elevated deck to stay out of harm's way. Torn as to whether or not he should stay out of the fight and maintain his preference to not get involved in any trouble, he could see that a handful of bouncers were pushing they way towards the intense brawl...

...and that was when he also caught that Duo was easily winning his turn at Alex but was about to be ambushed by Trent as Quatre pushed himself up from the floor, shaking his head after a blow that caught him off guard.

Quickly aware that there was no time to warn his braided partner of the danger, Yuy rushed in. Hurrying past one of the tables, survival instinct kicked in and he grabbed an empty beer bottle. "Hey!" he shouted a breath before the dark-haired officer took Maxwell by surprise.

Trent hesitated to peer over, but not the entire way before the scholar slammed his weapon atop his head. The FBI agent collapsed to the ground unconscious as the bottle shattered into hundreds of splintered fragments.

Wide-eyed, the intern dropped what was left of the nozzle in his hand and stared up at the bloodied faces of both friends and foes that were gazing back at him in disbelief while the clamor from the bar rose up in cheers and hollers. Easily the most shocked of all, Duo breathed, "Holy shit."

Outside, a wail of cop sirens came into earshot and grew rapidly in their approach as the bouncers arrived to clear the deck with their focus set on the student in particular since he was the last one to strike with a weapon other than his hands.

Shoulders falling with a sigh, Heero raised both hands with a nervous smile and shrugged to the burly men stalking towards him.

"Um... do I get off light if they started it?" he questioned in genuine curiosity.

TBC