The Past Visited

(Warning: Language, Slight Yoai)

(The Kingsley family comes from the book ‘The Popularity Secret’ By Cindy Savage)

Duo was drenched in rainwater and freezing. Worse yet he was alone, with no idea where the others had ended up. Heck, he wasn’t sure where he’d ended up.

Stupid Preventers, stupid scientists and their stupid time travel experiment.

Just looking around it was pretty evident he was in the past but he wasn’t sure when he was, before colony time at any rate. He sighed and begun to walk down the slippery sidewalk. He needed shelter and he saw no churches nearby. What he did find was the foster care office. A closed foster care office, with no lights on. With a slight smile he easily by-passed the security systems and hacked into the computer with ease. He might not be Heero but he was a good hacker none-the-less. Carefully he created a file, using his real name in case the others might be looking for him, and placed the file into the hands of what he deemed as a good caseworker from what he’d read up in reports, a woman by the name of Donna Shelly. Noting that he was in Canada, and the year was 2001, and accounting for that fact in his file, quickly scheduling a meeting with her at nine in the morning the very next day to be placed into a foster home.

Satisfied with the file he snuck back out and headed to the nearest mall, once again using his abilities to slip by defenses. After all he couldn’t very well meet the social worker wearing his priest outfit with nothing to his name. It’d make the whole situation even more suspicious.

He went into Wal-mart, grabbing a large black duffle bag and a black, durable backpack, pulling the tags off both with gloved hands and shoving them into his pocket. Having disabled the cameras he moved swiftly but without worry up and down the aisles.

He made sure to grab at least six shirts and pants, a couple of jackets, socks and underwear to last a week and a few sweaters as well as two pairs of black and white runners. All of these he tore the tags off and shoved them in his pocket as he neatly folded them and put them in the duffle bag. Thinking quickly he grabbed three pairs of shorts and added them to the bag. Zipping it up he slung it over his shoulder. And went to collect a toothbrush, brush, pony-tail holders, toothpaste, a wallet for the fake driver’s license he was going to make and a pair of shades. He shoved all of it into his backpack than found two good knives with sheaths and a couple of black baseball caps.

He was about to call it quits when he decided the lack of personal things would look bad so he moved over to the electronics section, grabbed a nice discman with adapter and batteries. Than he looked over the CDs and grabbed Greenday, Barenaked Ladies, Aerosmith, Metallic and a couple of anime related ones as well as one by a band called Great Big Sea. He figured at least one of them had to be good.

Next Duo went to the book section and grabbed Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet before adding to it Faulkner’s As I Lay dying and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Duo had a feeling the lack of pictures and more intimate things might be bad but in all honesty he didn’t know what else to get. With a shrug of his shoulders he went to the safe, opened it and removed $200.00. When all was done, he switched all the cameras and alarms back on and left the store as if he’d never been there.

Walking down the dark and wet street he stopped outside the Unemployment office/License Bureau, fiddled with the computers to get his SIN# and his license before leaving the building undisturbed and checking into a hotel.

It wasn’t a large and expensive hotel, but it still cost him forty dollars for the night and ten dollars for the cable, plus another ten dollars for breakfast to be served at 8:00am in the morning.

Calmly Duo entered the room, locking the door behind him. Going to the bed he tossed the bags on it and went to the window. Gazing out at the darkened city he wondered if the others were doing all right, and if they were together. Caring for them as he did it made him worry, despite the fact that they could take care of themselves.

With a sigh he turned back to the bed, chestnut braid swinging across his back as he moved. Diving into the bags he pulled the cloths out and tossed them onto the floor, than took the brush out and undid his braid, combing his hair for five minutes, making sure a few strands were stuck on the brush, than he set it aside and laced up both pairs of runners, careful to bend and break in the leather as much as he could. He broke the seal on the deodorant, put it and the other supplies in the bathroom, happy to see small containers of conditioner and shampoo on the shower and fresh towels.

Back in the main room he gathered up the cloths, including the blue jean jacket and the black leather one which he put on and locked the door behind him as he headed downstairs to the laundry, thankful that he’d remembered to get loonies and quarters for the washer and dryer. He needed to break the cloths in as much as possible and a few cycles in the washer and dryer would do that, that and leaving them on the floor all night.

Tossing everything into the two washing machines he turned them on, took out the copy of As I Lay Dying and the discman and slipped an Aerosmith CD and the batteries, then sat on a Dryer to wait for the cloths to finish their cycle.

By the time they had gone through the cycles four times it was early morning, he’d read all of the books, giving them a ‘used’ look and put a few minor scratches on the CD cases and the CD player. The only things he hadn’t tried to age were the two knives. He’d even ‘borrowed’ some bleach from a cleaning lady and lightened a pair of dark blue jean shorts, and put a couple of holes in the knees of the jeans.

Satisfied with the effects he gathered everything up and returned to his room, threw them on the floor except for a pair of black jeans, a black and white adidas shirt, a pair of socks and underwear, which he carried with him to the bathroom.

After a hot shower and brushing his teeth till his gums were numb he dressed, glancing at his watch after replacing his cross. Breakfast would be there soon. He re-strapped his browning to his lower leg and hung one of the knives across his back and the other against his upper arm, thankful that it was light. There was a knock on his door and he went to it, starring to the side of the door. I’m not sure what you’re saying.

“Who is it?”

“Room Service.”

Peeking through the peephole he double-checked, then opened the door slowly one hand on the handle of his browning as the other reached for the tray he was holding. He gave the bellhop a smile as he left and quickly shut the door, locking it and sat down to eat his meal of bacon and eggs.

After he finished he put a black hat on his head, slid on his sunglasses, DW then neatly folded his cloths and put them in the duffle bag along with a pair of shoes. He did likewise with his personal effects and the backpack before looking sadly at his priest outfit. He had to get rid of it, especially since he hadn’t heard anything on the news that sounded like the others. He added to the pile his old boots and his hair-tie. Slinging his bags over his shoulder he grabbed the pile and swung by a dumpster and tossed them in, continuing to walk towards Mrs. Shelly’s office.

…………………..

Duo waited outside in the aptly named ‘waiting’ room as the secretary relayed the message that he had arrived for his appointment.

A woman in her late thirties came out, right after the secretary, and he liked her right off the bat as she came up to him RP smiling. He shook her pre-offered hand, and returned her smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Duo. I’m Mrs. Shelly, your new social worker.”

“Hello, ma’am.”

“Come into my office a moment and I’ll explain what I’ve managed to set up on such short notice. I only just received your case file this morning.”

Duo grabbed his bags and followed her into the office. Sitting in the seat she indicated he waited as she closed the door and moved over to her tidy but overflowing desk.

“I called a family who is happy about taking you in. It’s a short drive from here. I think you’ll do fine with them, but if you have any problems don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

Duo nodded. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Now I’ll just call to let them know you’ll be coming in about an hour. You’ll be right in time for dinner.” She smiled warmly and once again Duo wondered how the others were doing.

…………………..

The car stopped outside a fairly large house on its own few acres of land. Duo followed Mrs. Shelly’s example as she stepped out of the car and went to the door, both bags over his shoulder. She rang the bell twice before the door opened to reveal a tall dark-haired girl.

“Hello Frances, it’s Mrs. Shelly. I brought Duo. Is your Mother around?”

Duo didn’t need to be told she was blind, after all he’d been temporarily blind himself for a short period.

Frances smiled, “Of course, Mrs. Shelly, come in. Hello Duo.”

Duo followed the social worker into the house, shaking Frances’ hand. “Hello Frances. Niceta meetcha.” He estimated her to be about seventeen.

As they followed her into the kitchen he glanced at the rows of coats and shoes and was struck by how similar it all was to the orphanage.

Inside the kitchen a woman with sun-streaked blonde hair was talking to two girls about fourteen-years-old and a blond boy about his own age. When she saw them she got up and came forward.

“Mrs. Shelly I see you’ve brought us another young man.” She smiled warmly at him. “You must be Duo. I’m Sherry Kingsley, but everyone calls me Mom. You can too if you’d like welcome to the farm.”

Duo smiled softly but didn’t say a word and Mrs. Shelly cleared her throat. “Sorry to have to come only to run Sherry but RP work awaits. I’ll have to talk to you soon.” Turning to Duo she slipped her card into his hand and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’ll stop by to check in on you Duo, see you.”

As she turned Duo grabbed her arm RP forcing her to face him. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “You bet. Good bye.” And with that she was gone, the door closing quietly as she left.

“Biff, will you show Duo to the room he’ll be sharing with you?”

The blond boy came over to him and with a smile started up the stairs. “Follow me.” Duo watched appreciatively as Biff ascended the staircase, the other boy had quite the build, almost as good as Heero’s.

The bedroom they went to had two beds on either side but it was obvious which side was his do to the lack of decorations. “I’ll take it this is my side.” He said it with a dry chuckle.

Duo felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to look into bright blue eyes. “Did you say something Duo? I’m sorry, but I’m deaf so I can’t hear you and I can’t read your lips if your back is towards me.”

Duo smiled crookedly a slight blush on his cheeks. “Sorry, didn’t know. I was just saying that I guess this side is mine.”

Biff nodded, grinning. “I don’t know how you could possibly have guessed. Want a hand putting away your things?”

Duo set the duffle bag on the bed, “Sure.”

They were halfway done when Biff gave him a strange look, “I think I only spotted a couple of red and white shirts, and a couple of blue jeans and shorts… everything else is black… Mind telling me why?”

Duo finished piling the CDs on the nightstand with the books before turning back to him with a large grin and a slight shrug. “What can I say, I like black. ‘Sides dirt doesn’t show up that badly on black.”

Biff nodded but it was obvious the blond knew there was a lot more to it than that, but to his credit he let it slide.

Duo looked to the door. Biff following his example, just as a dark, curly haired girl peered in through the open doorway. “Hey guys. Mom says it’s time for dinner.” As she said it she signed it as well.

Biff walked towards her. “Thanks Janet; we’re coming.”

Never one to miss food Duo followed him without hesitation.

………………………….

The next day was Monday and that meant school. Duo got up at 0500 hours, in order to ensure getting the shower and as always braided his hair before leaving the bathroom. By the time he’d dressed in a pair of blue jeans, jean jacket and white shoes, complete with shades it was 0600 hours and he wandered downstairs with the binder and pencil case Mrs. Kingsley had bought him for classes. No one else was downstairs but he knew they would be soon enough because of the chores they had with the animals. So he turned the TV on and flicked to a news channel, hoping for some sign of the others. But he didn’t find anything and when Mrs. Kingsley came downstairs to make lunches he shut it off and went to help her.

“You’re up early Duo.”

He began printing names on the brown paper bags without being told. “Had to. With this amount of hair, it needs to be washed nearly everyday and I didn’t want to interfere with routine.” He saw her frown slightly and grinned. “Besides, I didn’t want to miss the sunrise. Maybe next time you’ll wake up earlier and come watch it with me.”

“I will tomorrow, I promise.”

As Duo put a drink box into each of the bags he gave her a playful wink, “I’ll hold you to it!”

Not five minutes later the house was like a zoo. And Duo already ready, leaned against the wall and watched them in amusement. He’d never really had a family, and a large family like this one was a real treat for him to see. He was still standing there a short time later when he felt a large presence behind him. Without turning he spoke softly, knowing that it would be another of those he’d met at the supper table the night before. “Morning Mr. Kingsley, sleep well?”

The deep voice sounded slightly startled. “Yep, thanks for askin’ Duo, but please call me Pop.”

At that Duo turned, eyeing him levelly. “Maybe someday, Sir, but not yet.” When he saw a sadness creep into the muscular man’s face he felt his heart go out to him. “It’s nothing against you Mr. Kingsley, I just don’t give my heart out to people without making sure it won’t be thrown back in my face. The day I say ‘Pop’ to you and ‘Mom’ to your wife is the day you prove to me that that won’t happen. Till than try to understand…”

Bob Kingsley met his gaze unwaveringly and the corner of his lips quirked up. “We’ll prove it to you Duo. Just don’t deny it when we do, okay?”

Duo’s chest tightened painfully. “I won’t promise you anything, but I’ll try…”

Mr. Kingsley squeezed his shoulder lightly. “Then that’s all I’ll ask.”

Duo watched him move through his family, taking time with each of them and for the first time in a long time he wished he could belong.

……………………

Duo got off the small bus that came strictly to pick up the Kingsley hoard and with Biff’s help found the office. He watched the other boy leave before he entered the school’s office. Behind the desk sat an elderly woman in a wheelchair who looked up disdainfully at him. Turning on the charm he smiled at her. “I’m sorry Miss. I must be in the wrong place, I was looking for the school secretary.”

“I’m the secretary.”

Duo let his eyes widen slightly. “I would have taken you for a vision of my beauty-deprived mind first, but I’ll take your word on it.”

“Oh now stop with that non-sense. Now who are you?” But as she said it she was blushing slightly, adding some color to her pale cheeks.

“Duo Maxwell. Mrs. Kingsley should have spoken to you already. I’m a new student.”

“Oh, of course. Here’s your schedule.” She handed him a sheet before wheeling herself out from behind the desk. “Now if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your first class.”

As she rolled to the door he bowed gracefully to her. “I would follow a lady as lovely as yourself anywhere.”

She laughed. “Maybe I should warn the students about you. Those poor young girls don’t stand a chance.”
“Oh they have no worry of me, because though I know not your name you have stolen my heart.”

Her tone was reprimanding but her eyes were soft. “Enough of that foolishness. My name is Mrs. Andrews. Now pick up the pace or we’ll be late.”

He gave her a mock salute and followed her obediently down the hall.

She knocked on a door and a middle-aged balding man opened it. The secretary didn’t give him a moment to speak, instead stepping into what seemed to be a familiar role that she was used to playing. “Mr. Johnson. This is Duo Maxwell. He’s a new student.”

Mr. Johnson took him in and wore a look that said ‘shoot me’ when he was done, and Duo felt a strong urge to do just that. “Thank you Diane. Come in Mr. Maxwell.”

He blew Mrs. Andrews a kiss goodbye, entering at the same time, and finding himself in the wonderful world of physics.

The teacher managed to get everyone in the room to pay attention to him as he spoke. “Class, we have a new student. This is Duo Maxwell.”

Duo heard a snicker and immediately took a dislike to the cocky boy who’d laughed at his name.

“Duo, why don’t you tell the class about yourself?”

Duo swallowed the urge to punch the teacher and instead turned his charm on fully as he flashed a smile at the class. “Not much to tell. I’m just an average guy who likes sports, music and fun. Hope I’ll be able to get to know all of you better, feel free hunt me down anytime.”

………………………….

Physics class was incredibly boring. Duo was so far past the lessons being taught that it was his will power alone that held him in place. He took the time to doodle on a few pages of his loose leaf and touch the hilt of the knife under his loose pant leg with a sudden itch for some action.

The one time Mr. Johnson called on him he was half asleep and answered the question vaguely, albeit correctly, and gave the teacher a sheepish grin which earned him a very unhappy look.

During the period he had come to know the name of everyone in his class. Including the boy who’d laughed at his name. He smirked as he thought about how ridiculous the other guy’s name was; Rad

He was still smirking when the bell rang and he got up, looking at his schedule to see French as his next subject. He rolled his eyes at that thought, after all it was grade eleven French and he was already fluent in the language. His day was going downhill rapidly. Sliding through the milling students he made his way down the hall. Arriving he was happy to see that Rosemary was in the class. Introducing himself to the teacher, Madame Heschuck, he took a seat next to her, grinning from ear to ear.

“Fancy meeting you here… I thought you were a couple of grades below me.”

Rosemary smiled. “I am, but my schedule allowed me to take French earlier when I was in grade eight, so I just kept with it.”

Duo’s grin seemed to widen even more, splitting his face nearly in two. “I’m glad, at least I have one class with someone I know. Hey, what do you have next?”

“Art. What about you?”

“Math with Mr. Chenley.”

Rosemary’s dark eyes brightened, “That’s what Biff has, so you’ll have another class with someone you know.”

There was a ‘tsk, tsk’ and both looked up to see the teacher shaking her head at them. “En Francais monsieur et madamoiselle.”

Duo smiled up at the tiny woman who was standing over the two of them. “Mais oui Madame, c’est la classe de Francais, n’est pas?”

Madame Heschuck returned his smile and nodded as she went to the front of the class.

Rosemary chuckled. “I think you charmed the savage beast.”

“We can hope, anyway.”

………………….

It turned out that he not only had Math with Biff but Biology as well. All in all the classes were so below him that he used his time to try to assess his situation and come up with possibilities about where the others might have gone. Trowa was an easy guess, find a circus and he’d find the Heavyarm’s pilot. Heero would stick to routine, that would be an elite private school. Wufei would be impossible to find and Quatre… he had no idea where Quatre would go. If they were together they’d just enroll in a private school, which basically boiled down to having to get access to the Internet. If he remembered correctly Frances had a talking computer. Maybe if he was able to get his hands on it, as long as he covered his tracks, he could get his hands on the enrollments for private schools in the area.

He drummed his pen against the top of his desk and stared at Biff’s blond head. He’d purposely sat behind the other boy, feeling a slight comfort at being able to see a blond head about the same shade of Quatre’s. It made him feel less empty. Then he smiled brightly as he remembered Biff telling him about the advantages of being deaf, one of which was being able to ignore Mr. Norton, their Biology instructor. Still they had an aide in the class who translated the lessons into sign language. Duo, who knew sign language, found it more interesting watching the quickly flying hands in place of the teacher and before he knew it the young woman who was signing was using her hands to say ‘Have a good day’.

Gathering his books he stepped up next to Biff. He smiled down at the other boy who was a strange mix between Heero and Quatre. When the other boy looked up he spoke in a slow and decisive manner so that his lips would be easy to read. “Mind if I eat lunch with you?”

Biff grinned up at him. “Not at all. I usually eat with Rosemary, Janet, and David so it should be fun. I just have to stop by my locker first to get my lunch.”

…………………………..

They met the other three outside the school by a large Oak tree. There he met David, the guy who was the artist of the fantastic murals on the school walls. David was deaf too. Duo found that out when the dirty blond boy wrote hello on a small note pad and Duo had blinked his eyes in confusion.

Seeing the look on David’s face made him feel like a heel. He dropped his books and lunch, using his hands to say he hadn’t meant anything by it, he’d just wondered why he hadn’t used sign language.

“You know sign language?” He looked over at Rosemary’s quizzical face and felt his face go red as his mind went blank. Finally, as the silence drugged on he shrugged settling for a half-truth.

“It can make things a lot easier if you know how to communicate with most people.” After all it wasn’t as if he could say that it came in handy when he needed to relay information while infiltrating a military base.

Biff took up the conversation. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

His grinned sitting. “You didn’t ask and there was no need to.” As he spoke he signed so that David knew what he was saying.

Janet shook her dark head. “What other things are you hiding?”

Duo waved his finger back and forth. “Not a fair question young lady, you have to be more specific. A question like that would ruin my mystery an I can’t allow that.”

With that they let it go, and the rest of the school day went without event.

………………………

Everyone had gone through what they’d learned so it was his turn and Duo drew a blank, then he smiled. “Money doesn’t grow on trees and you should never eat yellow snow.”

Everyone stared. Jones chuckled as he snapped the claw he had for a hand and Mr. Kingsley joined him.

“Alright, guess it’s Janet’s turn.” Mrs. Kingsley sighed good-naturedly.

Janet met his violet gaze. “I learnt that Duo knows sign language.”

Everyone looked back at him and he felt like squirming, but instead he shrugged. “What you see, isn’t always what you get. Guess I’m not just another pretty face after all.” He took a bite of his potatoes knowing the question that was going to come next.

Mrs. Kingsley nodded her blonde head thoughtfully, a question in her eyes. “When did you learn sign language.”

He swallowed hard. “When I was a kid.” He left it at that daring them to keep on with it. But no one did and the subject changed to something easier and less touchy.

…………………….

It was nearly two days later before he was able to borrow Francis’s computer. It was nearly an antique. Or at least it was when compared to what he was used to but that only made it easier to scan the private school’s registration. It was probably the thirtieth school he was on when a name popped out at him and he blinked in sudden surprise.

Chang, Wufei

He read the name, memorized the room number, extension, phone number and school before going through everything he’d done, erasing his tracks and reconnected the ‘speaking program’ to the computer’s main boot-up drive.

It wasn’t until Duo had gotten downstairs that he realized how quiet the house was. Walking into the kitchen he stopped when he saw James seated at the kitchen table in his wheelchair, working on what appeared to be math homework.

“Hiya James. Uh, Where is everyone?”

The blond boy looked up at him and Duo was suddenly struck by the resemblance between the eleven-year-old and Quatre. “They went into town. Well, actually Janet went to David’s and Rosemary and Biff went to someone else’s place. I wish they’d hurry back though.”

Duo’s forehead wrinkled. “Why’s that?”

James’ face went red. “Well, uh, I’m usually really good at math but they moved me up a few grades and there’s a concept that I can’t quite understand.”

Duo grinned and came around the table to look at the book. “Want me to help?”

James sounded like he was choking and Duo peered quizzically at the boy. “Well, um, Biff told me what you got on the math test and, um, 60 %… well you know…”

Sighing, Duo grabbed the pencil and notebook and quickly wrote down the answers, equations, and an explanation before handing it back to the dubious boy.

James’ blue eyes went wide as he read it and he openly gapped at Duo, who smiled sadly down at him. “I’ve learnt that if people don’t know how smart you are they expect less of you and you can get away with a lot more, learn things that they would never have said in front of you if they’d known you were smart.”

“But the test…”

Duo laughed and gently squeezed his shoulder. “James, ANYONE can score low on a test, all you have to do is purposely slip up.” He saw a knowing smile spread over the younger boy’s lips. “It’ll be our little secret ne?” He winked.

James nodded. “Our secret.”

Duo saluted him before grabbing the cordless phone. “I’m going to use the phone, K?”

James was already looking back at his textbook. “Yeah sure, and Duo…?”

Duo stopped short of exiting the room on his way into the den and gazed at him blankly. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“No prob, bro.”

………………………………..

In the other room he dialed the school’s number. The receptionist directed the line to room 402 and a couple of rings later it was picked up. A deep voice Duo recognized right away answered with a very curt.

“Hello.”

Grinning Duo fought to keep his voice calm. “Hey Wu-man, miss me?”

There was a slight pause then a hesitant but relieved. “Maxwell?”

“The one and only Wu.”

“Where are you?”

Duo’s grin widened to comic proportions. “In foster care, with the Kingsleys in Sheldon Hills.”

There was another pause and Duo thought he could hear a bit of worry in the other pilot’s voice, before he shook it off as his wishes being fed by his imagination. “Are you alright?”

“Just fine, Wufei. They’re good people. But enough about me, have you heard from the others? Are you okay?”

There was a dry chuckle. “I’m just fine. As to the others, you are the only one who has contacted me as of yet.”

Duo bit his lips thoughtfully as he pushed a cream-colored curtain out of the way so that he could look out the window. “I’d kind of hoped they had already. Any ideas where they could be. I mean, I know Trowa’s probably hooked up with a circus but, I don’t have any idea where Quatre and Heero could be, or if any of them…” He didn’t finish his sentence as an obvious thought came to him, so obvious he could have slapped himself for not thinking about it sooner.

“Duo? Duo what’s wrong?”

Duo smiled into the mouthpiece. “I just thought of a place to look. A place I should have looked a long time ago.”

“Where?”

“The hospitals and the morgues.” There’s probably more then one.

“I already did Maxwell. No one resembling them has been admitted. There were a couple of possibilities but I already checked them out. The circus is a good idea, have you had a chance to look into it?”

“Unfortunately no, I haven’t. I don’t have reliable access to a computer. After all it took me nearly a week to find you. Funny, I wouldn’t have though that you’d be the one to admit yourself into a private school. I would have thought you’d have been in isolation or something.”

“Trust me Maxwell, I was considering it. Still am in fact. Some of these… students have no sense of honor.” Wufei very nearly growled, making students sound like the worst insult he knew. “But I did come to the conclusion that if any of you were looking for me or any of the others that a private school would be the first place you’d look.”

Duo nodded absently as he watched Rosemary’s cow graze. “It was a good idea, and for that same reason I think it’s advisable that you stay put. If I found you, then the others surely will. At any rate you’d be the link.”

There was a momentary silence from the other end of the line. “Why don’t you join me here then?”

There was a sudden ache in Duo’s chest as he let the curtain fall back into place and cast an overt glance at the kitchen. “Because I’m lazy and I don’t want to go through the trouble of dismantling this life and creating another. Besides, we should keep apart for now, just in case. Who knows, maybe one of the other guys will show up here, having found me in the foster care files, or something.”

“Duo, you’re making excuses. Why?”

Hearing a car door slam he went over to the window to see the Kingsley family exiting their van. “Wufei, I gotta go. I’ll call you again soon.”

“Duo, don’t hand up on me! I want your phone number and address, just in case.”

Duo swallowed hard, feeling torn and not quite sure why. “Sorry Chang, I can’t just now, but I’ll call you soon… I promise.” With that he hung up the phone as Mrs. Kingsley, her husband, Francis and Jones burst through the door loaded down with bags. Without hesitation he darted forward, lessening their burdens by taking a bag here and there and helping them into the kitchen, casually putting the phone back in its cradle as he helped them put away groceries.

……………………

Duo didn’t really sleep that night, knowing that he should call Wufei back. Maybe move these two sentences around. Something like “It was Friday and the nagging in the back of his head had kept that insisted he call Wufei had kept him up all the night before.’ Then go on to Jones. There’s a huge time jump between your first sentence and the second one. It was Friday and he could see Jones was acting a little strange, which in itself wasn’t so suspicious, but the dark skinned boy seemed withdrawn which was extremely unusual.

As they left the bus he kept back and to the shadows, following him from a distance. The younger boy had just crossed into a shaded area when the boy Duo remembered as Rad and a few of his buddies shoved him back against the wall.
It took everything he had to remain standing still as Rad sneered at Jones’s claw-like mechanical hand and his fake leg. “You aren’t going to chicken out of the fight after school today are you crip?” Jones, to his credit, kept his voice steady.

“A herd of wild bullies couldn’t keep me away Rad.”

With a shove Rad grinned evilly and turned away from him. “Don’t forget. In front of the outside bleachers at the bell.”

As Duo slide away to go to class he made a mental note to be there as well.

…………………………

Duo skipped his last class and leaned against the wall in the shadows, waiting. At the bell Rad and three of his friends arrived. A short time later Jones limped into sight. Waiting a couple of minutes as they talked he bided his time and then stepped forward just before Rad could move, a large, bright smile on his face that he knew didn’t reach his suddenly icy eyes.

“Jones! There you are. Man, I’ve been looking all over for you. You’re going to miss the bus.” He blinked innocently at the older boy as if he’d just noticed him. “Oh, hi, you’re Rad aren’t you? Pleasure to see you I’m sure.” Then he turned his attention back to Jones, his back to Rad he let his smile slip away, though his voice was still idiotically jovial. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you. I want to chat with Rad for a second. Tell them to wait for me, kay? I wouldn’t want to be left behind!”

Jones wasn’t stupid and took the hint. “Uh, sure Duo. I’ll make sure they don’t leave without you!” He hobbled off moving his legs and cane a little faster then normal but not so much as to be misconstrued that he was running away.

When Duo was sure he was far enough away that he couldn’t hear, he let his voice drop the joker’s tone and become as deep and dark as Death, though he didn’t turn right away.

“You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to be picking on my little brother like that. Tell me, which is it?”

There was a pause as his tone seemed to sink in and Rad spoke, his voice a little uncertain. “This none of your business Bitch. But I’ll be glad to show you what happens to people who interfere with my plans.”

“Is that a challenge Rad?”

The other boy’s temper flared. “Damn straight… DUH-O.”

Cold fury burned inside Duo but he didn’t move quickly, instead he moved incredibly slow. He turned to look Rad in the eye unflinching, his manic grin plastered on his face and his eyes devoid of any emotion.

“Mission accepted.”

Rad’s friends backed up, they weren’t used to their prey having claws and teeth. But their leader remained glued to the spot unmoving, and Duo moved forward, now completely Shinigami. Rad raised his fists and moved in, obviously angry at being afraid of someone he thought helpless and weak.

Duo blocked the punches easily and with a solid blow to the ribs Rad was down, air knocked out of him and at least two ribs badly bruised though not broken. He gasped for air and stared at Duo who was standing above him. There were tears sliding down his cheeks from the pain and real fear shone in his dark eyes.

Duo heard his name called but didn’t turn, bending down he spoke loud enough for anyone within twenty feet to hear yet making it seem like a whisper at the same time. In his eyes was a threat worse than death. “If any of you should try this crap on any of the Kingsleys again, I’ll make sure that when I get through with you, you won’t be able to stand up let alone think straight. Understand?”

Rad swallowed hard. “Why?”

Duo stood back up. “Because they’re mine. My family, not yours. I protect my own always. Come near any of them again, including David and I’ll tear you apart. And yes, when I hit you I was holding back.”

Seeing Rad’s face go white, Duo gave him a chilly smile before swinging around to face all of the Kingsley children, his face slipping easily into the mask he knew so well.

“Funs over guys. Let’s go home.”

It was fifteen minutes after they had gotten on the bus before anyone said anything. It was Rosemary who spoke and all she said was one word.

“Why?”

Duo, who’d been looking out the window from the back seat met her gaze and didn’t look away, knowing full well the others were all paying attention. “I won’t loose anyone else to stupid battles like that one. You use what you know to do the right thing, even if it is unorthodox. I’m not very diplomatic, but I DO know how to fight. I did what I knew how to do to prevent someone I care about from getting hurt. If you don’t like it, fine. I can deal with that. At least I know that you’re safe.”

Jones cleared his throat. “Did ya mean it when you said we’re your family?”

Duo ground his teeth together and turned back to the window. “I don’t lie Jones, I don’t ever lie. But I…”

Janet laid a gentle hand on his shoulder but he didn’t look at her. “We know Duo. We’ve all been there at one time or another. It’s hard to care about people again when you’ve been hurt by doing so in the past. We can wait till you’re ready. We won’t push you.”

And with that the subject changed and it was as if nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary routine.

………………………..

He knew he should call Wufei back but he ended up helping with supper.

Halfway through eating the meal the phone rang and Mrs. Kingsley answered, and a moment later, handed it to Duo. With a sinking feeling he plastered a smile on his face as he spoke into the receiver, never forgetting that the others could hear every word he was saying. “Duo here.”

“Omae O Korosu Maxwell.”

“It’s good to hear from you Wufei. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you what’s up Maxwell! IF YOU EVER HANG UP ON ME AGAIN, I’LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!!!!”

“I guess you finally found my phone number, huh?”

There was the very distinguishable sound of grinding teeth through the phone. “Found it? FOUND IT?!?! It took me nearly an entire day to hack through everything and narrow it down! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY KINGSLEYS THERE ARE?” There was a sound of many deep breaths. “I am not a computer expert like the rest of you, you know.”

“Never though you were. Anything else?”

An exasperated sigh echoed in his ear. “I’m coming to see you Maxwell. We need to talk.”

“Um, if you want to stay the weekend I think I’ll have to clear it with the Kingsleys first. Just give me a couple of seconds to ask.” Lowering the phone he looked at the two adults. “Um, a friend of mine, Chang Wufei… he, uh, wants to know if it’ll be okay for him to stay the weekend.”

Mr. Kingley met his gaze levelly, “Do you want him here?”

Duo felt his cheeks burn as he thought of the ‘things’ he wanted to do with Wufei but nodded. “I do.”

The two looked at each other but it was Biff who made the decision for them. “I’ll sleep in Jones and James’ room, and Duo’s friend can have my bed.”

Mrs. Kingsley smiled. “Sounds like it’s settled. When is he coming?”

Duo lifted the phone back to his ear. “Wu?”

“I heard Maxwell.” There was a pause. “I’ll be there by ten in the morning tomorrow with word to have any calls to me directed to your number, and when I get there Duo we WILL talk.”

“Of course.” He gave Mrs. Kingsley a wink. “He says 10 in the morning.” She nodded in assent. “Okay, it’s all set.”

“Don’t forget what I said Maxwell. I want explanations.” With that the line went dead.

“See ya soon Wu.”

………………….

Duo did his best to answer the questions the Kingsley family had concerning his ‘friend’. Answering in honesty that he couldn’t remember when he’d first met Wufei, telling them what Wufei had put in his file, trying not to lie or ad. Lib.

And all night he laid awake, trying to keep his heart from pounding every time he though of seeing Wufei the next day.

But after being woken from a light sleep by a dream which left him sweaty and shaking he distinctly knew why his body was behaving unusually to thoughts of the Chinese boy. Slightly embarrassed, and muttering curses about hormones he went to the bathroom and suffered through an icy shower.

So he was up before everyone else, sitting outside when the sun rose. He wasn’t surprised when a large hand landed on his shoulder.

Glancing up he gave Mr. Kingsley a slight smile. “Hey.”

“Good mornin’ Duo. I was wondering, would you mind giving me a hand with the chores this morning? I try to let the gang relax on weekends by taking up the slack, but I have some things that need to be done at the store today.”

“Sure, no problem. Lead me to the work!”

Together they walked to the chicken coop, Mr. Kingsley slinging an arm over his slim shoulders. And Duo felt as if he belonged, as if he was wanted for the first time. And in truth, he wasn’t sure he could give it up.

……………………..

Duo laughed as a nasty old hen pecked savagely at Mr. Kingsley’s hand when he tried to get her eggs. Yelping like a girl he jerked his hand back and nearly fell as he lost his balance. He gave Duo a mock glare as he hugged his injured hand to his chest.

Gasping for air Duo managed to croak out. “That was priceless Pop!”

The laughter died on his lips as he realized what he’d just said. Worse, he realized that he meant it.

He lifted his violet eyes to look at the older man who looked so happy he seemed to have tears in his eyes. It took Mr. Kingsley a couple of tries before he found his voice.

“Duo… Sherry and I… well I’m glad you finally decided to call me Pop… We’ve been talking about adopting you if you’d have us as your family…”

Duo kept his features schooled but in his chest he felt like his heart was both swollen and shattered.

He wasn’t sure if he felt relieved when Mrs. Kingsley shouted to tell them Wufei had arrived. A quick glance at his watch and Duo knew the other pilot was early, an hour and a half early. Which meant Wufei was mad, REALLY mad.

He sensed Mr. Kingsley moving to the door, smiling apologetically. “We can talk about this later. Right now we should go meet your friend.”

Duo hesitated slightly before following him. Briefly wondering if it wouldn’t be better to tackle the nasty old hen and risked being pecked to death then to face a mad Dragon.

……………………

To anyone who didn’t know him, Wufei would appear polite, kind, reserved, and charming. That’s what the family saw, but Duo knew him better than that. No, what Duo could see was a very unhappy swords master and martial artist. He arrived on a black motorcycle wearing faded blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a blue and black jacket and sunglasses. In short he looked good and Duo found himself in sudden need of another cold shower.

When Wufei saw him there was a slight smile that curved his lips and a very curt nod. “It’s good to see you Duo.”

Duo threw everything he had behind his mask in order not to show his worry or uncertainty. “You too, but enough chit chat. We should go inside and get some breakfast.”

“Actually I was hoping you’d be able to come with me to the Circus. There’s one not far from here, and I know how much you enjoy them. Especially the clowns and the Arabian knife throwers.”

Duo felt dumb-struck. “Circus?” He cast a wistful glance at Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley not because he really wanted to go but because it was like he was suddenly waking from the nicest dream he’d ever had.

That’s not how Mr. Kingsley took it though. “Sure you can go Duo. I’ll just get some money.”

“No need Mr. Kingsley, I’ll be glad to pay Duo’s way and lunch as well. We’ll be back before dark.”

Duo laughed slightly. “Thanks Mr. Kingsley. I’ll go get changed.”

With that he ran to his room, put on black jeans, a red t-shirt, and his leather jacket. He was just checking his braid when there was a knock at the door. He took a quick glance around the room to make sure there was nothing he’d need or want that wouldn’t look suspicious if it suddenly disappeared, knowing full well he might not be coming back. When nothing caught his eye he bid the person who’d knocked to enter.

When he saw Mrs. Kingsley beaming at him it was all he could do not to let his grin slip and to let the tears that were burning his eyes to fall.

“Duo, I wanted you to have this… I noticed you don’t have any real personal effects so I figured you might like one. Here.”

She thrust a small wrapped box into his hands and he blinked swallowing hard around a sudden lump in his throat.

“Nobody’s ever given me a gift before.”

Her smile turned softer. “We’ll change that Sweatheart. Now go on and open it.”

Slowly he peeled off the paper to reveal a dark, blue velvet box. With trembling fingers he opened it and stared at the heart-shaped locket lying cushioned on the velvet. It was the same silver as his cross.

“Go on honey, open the locket.”

Gently removing the necklace he opened it and had to blink tears away as he gazed down at two pictures, one of Mr. And Mrs. Kingsley and the other of all six kids. “I-I… th-thank you.”

“You like it?” Her voice sounded uncertain.

Then Duo did something he rarely did. He let his guard down completely and hugged her tightly. “I love it!”

She returned the hug fiercely. “It’s so that no matter what, you’ll know we’ll always be here for you.”

He buried his head in her shoulder. “Thanks Ma.”

Then just as quickly he pulled away, slipping the chain over his head and heading downstairs as she called after him. “Have fun son.”

He paused at the door. “I will. And thanks again.”

With a heavy heart he went to Wufei and climbed on the back behind the other pilot.

As they sped off he let the wind dry the tears that finally fell.

………………………….

Wufei had yet to say a word to him, and silently paid their admission fee and walked to their seats. And for his part, Duo didn’t think he could say anything without his voice cracking, so he was uncharacteristically quiet. It was only after the lights had dimmed and the crowd had settled that Wufei chose to lean in closer to his ear and speak.

“What’s bothering you Duo?”

Duo pasted on a too-bright grin and switched the subject. “Nothing. Now you said Trowa and Quatre are here, that true?”

Wufei sighed but let it go. “Yes. We will meet them after their performance. And to answer you before you ask, they called after I had talked to you and made arrangements, so we worked around them.”

“When are they on?”

“They are one of the opening acts.” He stated just as the Ring Master announced the ‘flying daggers of the Noble of the Desert and his daredevil partner the Silent Clown’.

Duo watched as Quatre threw knives with a precision he’d never seen anyone but Catherine display with the use of knives.

He was so entranced that only when Wufei elbowed him did he realize they had to go meet them.

Wufei spoke briefly with a member of the circus troop down by the arena and they were lead to Quatre and Trowa’s trailer.

They only had to wait five minutes before the two pilots entered. Quatre smiling warmly, and he might have imagined it, but he could have sworn there was a flicker of a smile on Trowa’s usually sullen lips.

“Great, we’re all together now.”

Duo did a double take at Quatre’s statement. “What do you mean? Heero ain’t here, is he?”

Quatre’s eyebrows rose in Wufei’s direction, “You didn’t tell him?”

Duo felt suddenly angry. “Tell me WHAT!?”

Trowa’s cool emerald eyes met his gaze. “Heero’s at the safehouse, attempting to reconstruct the device from the plans he’s seen.”

Duo’s mouth went dry. “He is?”

Quatre nodded, eyeing him a moment. “We’ll be joining him as soon as we acquire transportation.”

His voice was little more than a whisper and the locket around his neck burned into his chest. “We’re leaving? Now?”

Trowa’s head tilted to the side. “Yes.”

Duo knew when his face went as blank as a statue’s because Quatre gasped and Wufei called his name questioningly. Even through he’d suspected he wouldn’t be going back to the Kingsley’s he’d never really allowed himself to believe it. Now he felt like he was in a tornado of emotions. He couldn’t go back. He knew that. He was needed in the future and he couldn’t stay and maybe make a mess of the lives of those around him. He found himself speaking in monotone despite himself.

“I’ll acquire the transportation. Meet me out front in ten minutes.”

“Duo are you alright?” Wufei’s voice was full of concern.

But Duo didn’t let that get to him, answering in an extremely dead voice. “In ten minutes, not a second later.” With that he was gone to steal a suitable car.

……………………

He’d relinquished the driver’s seat to Trowa and now sat behind the silent pilot, staring out the window as they drove away. It was already an hour since he’d nabbed the car and he felt like he was both on fire and numb all at once. For the first half-hour Quatre and Wufei had tried to get him to talk but he hadn’t been able to do anything more than monosyllables and he’d caught Trowa watching him in the rearview mirror.

It was another twenty minutes before Trowa pulled into a forgotten gravel road that was slowly being taken over by grass and weeds. The safehouse was a rundown cottage and parking the car out of view they got out and went inside where Heero was putting what seemed to be the finishing touches on the machine.

Turning the Wing Pilot nodded. “Almost Complete.”

That was it. Those two little clipped words caused an explosion to occur in Duo’s head and before anyone could react he twisted on his heels and started to walk away. Someone grabbed his arm effectively stopping him, and he turned towards the person his fist raised, but he stopped mid-punch when he saw Wufei and in a split second decision he shot his fist at the wall with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The sound of breaking bones and splintering wood echoed in the room. The pain felt so alien, so real that he focused on it. Sending his fist at the wall, trying desperately to drown the pain inside.

He couldn’t remember how many times he hit the wall. What he did remember was lying on his back, all four of the others holding him down. He blinked making his tense body relax and Trowa, who was closest to his face, looked at him with more naked concern than Duo had ever seen in his face.

“Duo?”

Duo squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m calm now.”

Slowly, reluctantly they pulled off of him. Taking a good look at them he felt his jaw drop and his mouth go dry. Trowa had what appeared to be the beginning of a large black eye under his band, Quatre was holding his left arm gently, Heero had a cut above his right eye and Wufei had a bleeding lip, and all at once he knew he was responsible. Something must have flickered over his face because Quatre suddenly had a hold of his wrist.

“No Duo, don’t hide from us. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong! Talk to us Duo. I hate seeing you like this, it isn’t you…”

He chuckled dryly as he sat up. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Wufei crossed his arms over his chest, the look on his face gentle but stubborn. “How can we if you do not tell us anything?”

Duo might have said something but Heero, glaring at him, spoke first. “Baka. Don’t you think if we didn’t care about you that we would have let you die long before this? I even had an opportunity to kill you.”

In all his days he’d never once thought he’d ever hear the word ‘care’ in reference to HIM come out of Heero Yuy’s mouth. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

Trowa was cradling his injured hands. Somewhere during the exchange he’d gone and found a first aid kit and was bandaging both of Duo’s hands. He didn’t look up as he spoke quietly.

“You should always be true to your emotions Duo. Quatre is, as am I. Heero is learning to accept them and Wufei has finally come to terms with his, but you…”

Duo stared at his hands. “I suppress mine because that’s what I’ve always done.” He sounded lost and alone. “What’s the point in REALLY crying or laughing if no one around cares. And no one could care about a no-good street rat like me, except… but no, they don’t know me either. It was all just a joke. God was playing a joke on me. I’m alone. Always.”

During this there had been a blackness on the edges of his vision and finally he stopped fighting it, letting it claim him totally.

…………………..

When he next opened his eyes he was laying comfortably on a bed. Looking over at the only other piece of furniture in the room, a battered orangey-yellow stuffed chair, he saw Wufei curled up on it, a holey blanket over him and sleeping soundly.

Duo felt a rare genuine smile curl his lips as he eyed the boy sleeping like an angel. It was so rare when Duo got an opportunity to watch him sleep. Duo wished he could be held by him, that someone, somewhere out there would love him, not the mask he wore.

His mouth twisted into a mocking grin. That wasn’t likely to happen.

Wufei sat up and looked at him. Seeing that Duo was awake he’d have figured the Chinese pilot would have left to ‘report’ to the others. Instead he got up, came over to the bed, and sat down next to Duo.

Dark eyes stared into his own for what felt like an eternity before Wufei spoke. “Duo, talk to me… heck, talk to ANYONE, just don’t let this eat away at you like it is.”

Duo shrugged. “My past is my own.”

Wufei leaned forward, their lips only inches away, and Duo’s heart pounded. “It doesn’t have to be.”

Duo swallowed hard. “I…”

It was hard to figure out what he was doing, but he leaned forward covering the distance between them, kissing Wufei in an almost desperate need to fill the yawning canyon of emptiness inside of him.

When the kiss broke Duo felt suddenly uncertain. He’d thought Wufei had returned it, but he wasn’t sure with the way Wufei was looking at him. He flinched instinctively as the Chinese boy raised his hand. A deep sadness entered the ebony eyes as the tapered fingers gently caressed his cheek, coming away wet. Duo blinked as he realized they were his tears.

“Duo please…” He pulled Duo into a tight embrace. It was like a dam broke and Duo cried for the first time since he was six, nearly ten years before. When he had no more tears he waited to see if Wufei would let him go in disgust, and when he didn’t Duo started talking like he was telling a story he wasn’t apart of.

He told Wufei about living on the streets, killing his first man when he was six, Solo and the gang, the plague, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, the Maxwell church massacre, Doctor G, the experiments and training, the sweepers, being captured when he was nine, the torture and rape, no one wanting to adopt him, being scorned and unwanted, and he ended with the Kingsleys.

“They, want me… they want to adopt me, to have me be their son. I’d finally have a family… finally have people who REALLY care about me… It’s just no fair… And I know life isn’t fair… trust me, I know. It’s just that for a moment there I was able to forget about the war… Forget about fighting and I had peace and I belonged and they wanted me…”

His voice cracked painfully but Wufei only held him closer. It wasn’t until he looked over Wufei’s shoulder that he saw the other three standing there. Quatre had a hand over his heart, a pained expression marring his face. Trowa’s eyes held a knowledgeable sympathy and Heero’s face seemed a bit more cold and dangerous.

Duo found himself laughing, not hysterically but mockingly. “I know Heero. I ask myself the same question everyday… how on Earth did I become a Gundam pilot?”

He was startled to see Heero’s eyes widen before ‘the perfect soldier’ shook his head decisively. “That’s not what I was thinking. I was wondering how, after all you’ve been through, can you manage to fight for people who caused you so much pain.”

Duo pulled back a little, happy when Wufei moved to keep him in his arms but allow him to see the others. “Because it isn’t right. If a person can avoid having others suffer he should. Besides, I’m not important, if I die it won’t matter. The world won’t be effected…”

Heero covered the two meters of distance separating them before he could blink and though his face didn’t change, Duo saw something flicker in his cobalt eyes. “It WOULD matter to US Duo.”

Somehow Quatre and Trowa were by his side as well and he suddenly felt like he was suffocating. Quatre’s face was determined.

“You’re part of our family Duo. It took Trowa and myself a while to convince Heero and Wufei of this truth but I never thought YOU’D be difficult to convince. That’s why we left you to last.”
Duo looked up at him wide-eyed, not sure whether he liked or disliked the way the conversation was going. “What…?”

The blond looked suddenly uncertain. So Trowa took over. “We care about you Duo. All of us, and a family is what we are but not a family of brothers… more… a family of lovers.”
Duo felt his cheeks flood. True, he had his fair share of thoughts concerning the others but he’d never have thought… Quatre and Trowa sure. Maybe even Heero and Quatre but not all four of them… He said as much, feeling off-balance.

Quatre smiled softly, “It was easier to pretend as we had been all along. That’s part of why you’re so important. You wouldn’t be afraid to tell the whole world at the top of your lungs. We need that, we need you.”

That was what made it suddenly hard to breath, like the walls were closing in on him. He very nearly jumped out of bed, and would have if Trowa hadn’t put a hand on his leg. Duo me the cool emerald eyes and felt himself calm down slightly.

“But that can’t… how could all of us… Me? Why me… you have each other… why on Earth would you need me?”

He wasn’t able to see Wufei’s face but from the look on the other three faces… well, it was as if he’d slapped them, as if he’d said something they’d never have expected. Quatre had tears slipping down his face, “You really don’t believe that anyone can care about you.” It was a statement, not a question so Duo didn’t say anything.

He shifted slightly and felt the locket slide against his chest, just under his shirt, than he smiled slightly. “At one time, I did believe that. I believed I was born just so that I could die… but…” He stared down at his bandaged hands. “But now I know that I have as much right as everyone else to look forward to the future… and maybe… even I can have a family one day, it’s just… this is a little too much to digest all at once. I feel like I’m suffocating.”

Trowa nodded and stood back up, making as if to leave. “We’ll go. The device is almost done.”

Duo sighed heavily as they all started to leave. “Wait. I don’t want you ALL to go. If one of you could stay…”

Quatre smiled. “I’ll stay. The others are needed to do the adjustments. That is if you don’t mind?”

Duo’s hand hovered over where the locket was a moment. If he’d opened up earlier he would have had more time with the Kingsleys and he would have had a real family for a lot longer. Now he had another chance and he wasn’t going to throw it away. With a playful wink he met Quatre’s baby blue eyes.

“Get your cute little bottom over here Quatre before I get cold.”
Quatre beamed at him and with a quick look at the others he felt his heart stop as they actually smiling.

As the Arabian climbed into the bed and held him he felt himself smile. It was nice to be wanted for a change. He’d have to make sure that he sent the Kingsleys a note to tell them thank you for everything they’d done for him. He felt Quatre pull him close and he smiled sadly, he owed them everything.