Disclaimers: I don't own any of the Gundam Wing Universe. I'm not making any money off this story. It's written out of love, so please don't sue me.

Written: March-May, 2001
Overall Rating: R
Pairings: (3+5) (1x2x1)
Category: Angst Yaoi Shonen ai Friendship Sap WAFF Lime AU {Beware: Darkness Descending!}
Enigma Story Category: G-Boys High Adventure!
Warnings: Angst, yaoi, shonen ai, language, friendship, sap, WAFF, limey hints, dark themes taking control, plus "AU-OOC" for those who can’t cope

Notes: The priceless gifts of love and friendship that were exchanged by the Gundam pilots brought them closer together, but two of the team will soon be "hidden" as Trowa and Heero must infiltrate an OZ base. Wufei, Duo, and Quatre must share an apartment while the others are gone, creating a potentially explosive mixture. Are these new bonds strong enough to unite the circle in the face of the unexpected crises which arise as well as the approaching darkness?

//someone's thoughts//

<<flashback>>


Hidden Gifts
Part 22


"Nothing's happening, baka," Heero snorted as he watched in irritation while Duo paced from one end of their bedroom to the other.

The stars sparkled in the night sky outside their window and Heero regretted the long nap they had shared earlier in the day. "Can't we just go back to sleep or do something more interesting than waiting for an unknown crisis?"

Duo whirled around and glared at the boy who lay on the bed, cobalt-blue eyes bright with barely repressed desire peering back at him.

"Damn it, Yuy!" Duo flung his arms up angrily, "You heard Wu earlier today! He's freaking out over Trowa being late getting back and I'm pretty sure he's going to try something like going after him. And if he does, well, hell! I'm dead sure he's in no shape for it! This sucks!"

Heero sighed and dropped his seduction routine as he sat up on the bed, a resigned look on his face.

"Look, koi," Heero sighed sadly, "Wufei may be upset but he's not stupid. He's got to know he can't go in there the way he looks right now. The stitches on his face would attract all kinds of unwanted attention and he's smart enough to know it."

Duo snorted angrily at this and bit back yet another "anti-Quatre" remark that Heero certainly was sick of hearing from him, besides, he wasn't that angry with the blond any longer. Duo stood, arms crossed and glared at the bedroom door as if it might suddenly open to reveal the missing Trowa Barton standing there, one arm around his own beloved and one of his patented half-smiles that meant they could all stop worrying about pretty much everything.

Mentally, Duo noted that Trowa really was the only one who could and should try to get to the center of the mystery surrounding his Chinese friend, but that would have to wait.

The Wing pilot brought the other teen out of his reverie with, "Like I told you already, Duo, I'll go back inside that base and get Trowa out the hard way if I have to. But we need to give him a chance to handle whatever made him miss the rendezvous if he can. He's better at this inside work than I am, so give it a rest, all right?"

"No," Duo stated flatly.

"There's no way in hell that Tro would have missed getting back to Wu now, Heero, not after what you said about the way he reacted to your suggestion of trying to get him between the sheets for something other than sleep! No," the chestnut braid swung from side-to-side angrily as Duo came to a conclusion, "I'll not drop this until he's home safe and sound. In the meantime, though, I'm going to start combing the OZ computer links and see if there's any reports of prisoners being taken there."

The American was about to leave the room when Heero grunted, "Don't bother. I've got a mole program running for just that thing."

The mole program the Wing pilot had designed would monitor each and every report generated by the facility without any prejudice to keywords or other possible limits in an effort to catch even the slightest hint of their missing comrade. [1]

"You do?" Duo grinned suddenly as he plopped down on top of his lover to reach over the side of the bed for the infamous black laptop that hid on the floor beside Heero like a dog by its master. "Lemme see!"

Cobalt-blue eyes widened as Heero received a lap-full of wriggling Shinigami and he smiled.

"Help yourself, koi." He grunted as he felt the tell-tale stirrings in his loins that such intimate contact was certain to engender. With a sexy growl, he added unnecessarily, "Help yourself to *anything* you find that suits your fancy!"

Duo chuckled, fingers flying across the keyboard as he saw reports on terribly tedious things from the OZ facility that Heero had left behind that morning. He snickered at the one communiqué he found from Zechs Merquise to Treize Khushrenada where the platinum blond had asked to be removed from the base due to the fact that there was nothing there worthy of note.

"If that stupid bastard only knew!" The braided pilot chuckled to himself.

Shutting down his review of the data while allowing the mole program to keep running, Duo set the machine back on the floor before rolling over provocatively in the other boy's lap.

"So, Heero," Duo asked with a smirk as he heard a lustful groan escape his lover's throat, "got any ibuprofen in here or do you want me to just lay down on the other side of the bed and go to sleep like you suggested earlier?"

Heero regarded him with darkened eyes and grabbed the playful mouth in front of him for a searing kiss. As they broke for air, he commented dryly, "Oh, I've got some in here, koi, but I thought that *you* usually liked Aleve better."

"Ah ha!" the long-haired boy grinned, "So you want to be on top? Why didn't you say so?"

"I thought I just did," Heero snickered and proceeded to prove that was exactly what he wanted.

The two lovers spent a few hours wearing each other out and sooner or later they'd both sneak a few painkillers but that wouldn't stop them from doing it all over again just the same.

*****

Trowa awoke the following morning stiff and sore but slightly more calm finally.

//I'll just go with the flow today and keep an eye open for a convenient time and place to walk out of here. If I keep worrying over Fei I'll just screw up and be stuck here even longer and that won't do him any good at all.//

The slender teen shrugged into the OZ uniform and ignored the way it hung more loosely now than it had on the first day of the mission. He hadn't been eating again, but the food wasn't particularly tasty and he needed someone to remind him to eat when he was worried.

As he headed down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, he allowed his thoughts to travel outwards to "talk" to the boy he loved.

Trowa had to smile to himself as he did this, he knew there was no such thing as telepathy between the two of them, but it made him feel better so he gave himself permission to indulge such a whimsical desire in the first place.

//Ah, koi, how're you holding up? I certainly hope Quatre is behaving himself. If not, Duo's there and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to kick his ass for us both! Granted, before too awfully long, you'll be back up to snuff and then you can kick blondie into next week if he gets out of control, right?//

He rounded a corner and faced a small gathering of low-ranked officers, he saluted crisply and kept walking. Trowa ignored the voice that wanted to complain about this minor indignity, as he returned to his "conversation" with the boy he loved.

//Just another few hours and I might find a way out of here and home to you, my dragon.//

//I'm worried about you, love, but you'd probably not appreciate that, would you? I know that you should be able to handle this minor snafu, but if I'm this jumpy about getting back to you, then you're probably twice as concerned about me. I keep forgetting that *I'm* the one "behind enemy territory" here and not you. No biggie, though, these guys couldn't find their way out of a paper bag!//

Trowa sighed happily as his mind played with thoughts about his upcoming reunion with the Chinese teen as he drank a cup of coffee and unintentionally even ate some breakfast. Wufei might not have been there in the flesh, but thoughts of the sloe-eyed boy made Trowa act as if he was with him and his subconscious knew Wufei would not be pleased if he insisted on starving himself, so he ate.

Trowa was rather shocked by his own actions, though. By the time he had finished eating, he'd consumed some scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and two glasses of orange juice. He felt stuffed as he left the cafeteria, but the mental image of Wufei that he carried with him seemed to have gained a slightly broader smile.

Eventually, Trowa found himself on guard duty outside yet another meaningless set of doors but this time he was more vigilant to opportunities to escape and those thoughts made the time pass much more quickly.

*****

In another part of the base, Zechs Merquise was far less satisfied with his own lot in life than Trowa was. He sat at the desk in his rooms and read the message he had received from OZ headquarters in Berlin.

Lady Une, a woman the man distinctly disliked for a wide variety of reasons, had been the one to answer his request to be allowed to return to Treize's side.

In a few clipped sentences, she had informed him in no uncertain terms that he was not to question the assignment from "His Excellency" and that Zechs was to stay until the inspection was complete *or* Treize told him he could return and not before. She made no effort to blunt her words or make the obviously unpalatable assignment the least bit easier to take and Zechs wondered if she was being vindictive or just her usual bitchy self.

With a groan, Zechs sent an acknowledgement to Une's orders and shut down the computer terminal.

The elegant man stood and retrieved more drugs for the headache he was beginning to think wouldn't leave him until he was able to get away from the mind-numbing environment he was trapped in, swallowing them with a cup of Earl Grey tea he'd received with breakfast.

//Hmm? The tea is better than I might have expected. The rolls are fresher than yesterday, too. I wonder if they're trying to make up for the bad impression that I've gotten of this place so far just by feeding me a nice breakfast?//

A slight chuckle bubbled up in his throat as the blond prepared to leave his quarters.

//Ah well. Let them give me better food and drink if they like. It eases some of the pain, so why not?//

With an unexpected smile, he walked from his room and headed towards the appointed location for a demonstration of some new device for the Taurus Mobile dolls.







[1] A nod to Tro & Fei's favorite TV show of the winter 2001 season: "The Mole"! Bet you didn't know the boys watched that during "the Game", now did you?



Full Author's Notes to Run at Conclusion.

on to part 23

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