| Betaed by Skippyscatt Warnings: Lemons, fighting, blood, explosions, swearing, slight kink. Nothing else. Parings: 1X2, 3X4, 5X6. Relena as friend to all the boys. Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights to Gundam Wing. Those rights belong to Bandai, Sunrise, and the Sotsu Agency. These fan fictions were written for fun, not profit. However, this story does belong to me. Please don’t snitch it. Author Notes: The political situation of Mina Hurr is quite legal. At this point any further explanation will be a giant spoiler. ~<O>~ Heero settled on Duo’s bed and sighed. “This is nice. You’re right, no nursing each other and hoping for the best. When you’re rested, maybe we could go to the concourse and look around. Then I’ll give you a massage.” “ ‘Ro? Can I ask you a question?” Duo knew he could but the question gave Heero warning. He was still conditioned not to answer questions. One of the things that had made his psychologist nuts. He was much better about it but he still appreciated a chance to get himself in the right frame of mind. “Sure. I’m ready.” “Why are you so worried about giving me a massage? You do it all the time.” Heero cocked his head to one side. “Well, I’ve given you massages before, but they were just stress relievers. Therapeuticmassage is completely different. It’s deeper and intended to do different things depending on the technique. So I could really bruise you if I’m not exactly right. So I had the masseuse show me. See?” “Hmmm. I do. Thanks ... you know, you should see if you can’t pass a therapists test while we’re here. I’m going to take EMT classes as soon as they’ll let me. Or see if I can’t pass the test. What do you think?” Heero sighed and stretched out. “Take the test. I will too. If we don’t pass, we can take the class together. I’m going to take my Ph. D. in astrophysics. Quatre wants us to test into as many fields as we can. I’d like a Masters in anything I can’t get a Ph.D. in.” Duo sighed. “What the hell is Q up to? I don’t get it. I know we all have Masters and Ph.D.’s in several fields. Why all the tests and secrecy?” “I should let him explain, but he’s gone through this once. You were more drugged up than we thought. I don’t think you remember more than that we were there. So ...” and Heero went on toexplain that Quatre wanted them to be a trouble shooting team for the colony. There were all sorts of problems that could be solved by people who weren’t invested in being right. It would save the colony millions of Euros. When Heero was finished Duo just shrugged. “Ok. We decide what we can get at least a Masters in then we go for Ph.D.’s in everything we think we can pass. That way we know what we need to study up on. I know what’s going on, I think. Q’s too young. He’s the golden boy of the Winner family. Yada, yada, yada. Right? Heero thought about that for a moment then nodded. “I think you’re right. All the old school engineers and contractors all know the right way to do stuff and won’t listen to him. The new guard are wanting to use the newest and best materials and construction techniques and the old guys want tried and true, whether it’s better or not. Conflict after conflict and Quatre and Trowa both running around trying to get all the crews to get along and referee everything. They’re wearing themselves out and not giving other business the attention it needs.” Duo gave Heero a satisfied nod. “Exactly. Now, massage or concourse?” Heero decided. “Concourse. Let’s go get Binky. She’ll like the walk.” “Ok, and while we walk, we can make a list of all the degrees we have and what they are. We also need to decide what else we need to have. Between us, we’ve got just about every science covered. And the maths.” Heero snorted. “Yes to the list, no to the walk. You’re still using the chair.” Duo nodded. “I am. But ... it’s still a walk. Ok?” Heero laughed. “Ok. Let’s get you into the chair then. We’ll collect Binky and head out.” So Heero lifted Duo onto his feet and helped him transfer from the bed to the chair. He didn’t like having Duo at 100 grav but the doctor had explained that it was better for his bones to keep him at full-g. He’d needed to be at zero-g until the stem cells had repaired his spinal cord, but now he needed to be at full-g as much as possible to keep the calcium from migrating out of his bone. And exercising at 30 grav was only going to last until he got at a certain level then they’d up the grav a little at a time, as he tolerated it, until he was exercising at full-g and doing everything he’d done before he got hurt. “Well, don’t just stand there with a silly look on your face. Let’s go.” Duo squeezed the bulb on the horn on his chair and zipped out the door. Heero had to trot to keep up, not that he minded. They found that Trowa had Binky with him in Quatre’s quarters, or rather, their quarters. Quatre was making no secret of the fact that he and Trowa were involved. Wufei and Milliardo weren’t trying very hard to hide their relationship either. Some people still didn’t approve of same sex relationships, but most people couldn’t care less. The few that cared were fairly vocal though. Duo honked his horn and grinned at the secretary. “Is Binky here? Heero and I are going to see the concourse near our quarters. We thought we’d take Binky with us. She could use the exercise.” The secretary just pointed at the door. “In there, just go on in.” See smiled and returned to her typing. Duo let Heero open the door for him, it was a bit hard to bend far enough to reach the door knobs. It still gave his back a twinge. “Hi, Q! We came to get Binky. Where ...” Duo broke off to laugh as Binky had scrambled out from under Quatre’s desk, where she’d been napping, and jumped into his lap. She tried to lick his face and was told, sternly, to sit. Duo didn’t mind a bit of dog slobber now, but he didn’t want her to get into the habit. There were a lot of people who didn’t want a dog licking their face, Heero included. Quatre finished his entry while Duo was greeting Binky then came around his desk. “Duo, I’m so glad to see you. How do you feel?” “Fine, Heero and I are going to go to the concourse and look around. We’re taking Binky unless you can think of a reason we shouldn’t.” Quatre shook his head. “No reason I can think of. Have fun. It would be nice, though, if you could keep her over night tonight. I’ll have one of my staff bring you her box and some piddle pads. She’s cat box trained. Trowa managed it somehow.” Duo laughed, patted Binky and crowed. “You’re such a smart, good girl, aren’t you? So good. No, no licking.” Hepatted Binky and made her lay back in his lap. “That’s great, Quat. Trowa did a good job, you can tell him I said so – after you’ve had your fun.” Quatre didn’t bother to deny it. Having Binky was fun but she did tend to whine if they shut her out of the bedroom and she jumped on the bed at the most inopportune times. They would be glad to hand her back to Duo and Heero, now that Duo was feeling better. The doctors even said it would be good for him to have her around. “We’ll see you late this evening. I’m planning a celebratory dinner. I’ll write the address down for you.” Quatre scribbled quickly and handed the folded paper to Heero. Heero glanced at it then handed it to Duo. Duo stuffed it into his shirt pocket. “The reservation is for 7:30pm. See you then. And dress up a bit.” Quatre returned to his chair and opened another file. “See you then. And don’t work too hard.” Duo turned the chair and headed for the door, knowing that Quatre was working hard now so that he could have some private time that evening. Heero held the door and tossed a quick smile over his shoulder to Quatre, who smiled back then stuck his nose in his computer again. He couldn’t wait until Duo was well again. He had every intention of delegating at least half his work to his friends. “Heero, we need to ... triage ... for lack of a better term, Quatre’s work. He’s drowning in details. He shouldn’t let them do that. But you know how he is, he’ll work himself to death to keep from arguing with people. And why does he do that? It’s not like he can’t give orders with the best of them.” Heero walked along beside Duo’s chair holding Binky’s leash. “Well, I think he realizes that people don’t see him as The Winner. He’s just Quatre to so many of them. They saw him grow up, dealt with him when he was a child. They never saw The Pilot of Sandrock.” Heero’s voice put in capitol letters. Duo nodded. “You know, you’re right. And we have to do something about it. He’s burning himself out. Why don’t his secretary’s do their jobs? It doesn’t make sense.” Heero thought about that for several steps. “I’m not sure. These people have some way to intimidate them? Not sure how. I’ll think about it.Whatever is going on, it has to stop.” When they reached the concourse, the first thing Binky did was start to bark almost hysterically. She was so excited to see all the people that she tugged at the leash, a thing she just didn’t do. Heero pulled back on the leash sharply, he didn’t what to be asked to leave because Binky wouldn’t behave. “Here! Take it easy on her. She’s just excited.” Heero turned to glare at the man. “I know that, but she can’t act up. She much better trained than that.” Binky just plopped down on Heero’s feet panting. “There, see? She’s a good girl, but she’ll bark when she’s excited. I don’t want us to get tossed out so she has to behave herself.” The man sighed. “Sorry, just, I love dogs and we can’t have them here. I think there’s maybe three or four on the whole station and they’re working dogs. Can I pet her?” Duo laughed. “She’ll be really insulted if you don’t.” He patted his leg and called Binky to jump into his lap, making it easier for the man to pet her. He petted the little girl for a few moments then apologized again before walking off, whistling. Duo started his chair up again and headed down the window side of the concourse. The windows oversaw a park on the next level down. It was a small park but very nice with several trees and flowerbeds. Duo looked down and smiled. “It’s pretty. I wish we could have Milliardo’s orchids here. I really liked that ... what did you call it?” “The solarium. Yes, it was nice. I particularly liked the fountain and the dining nook. It was peaceful.” Duo looked wistful for a moment then shook it off. “Maybe we can build one on the colony, just for us. That’d be really nice. We’ve got enough money for something like that, don’t we?” Heero shrugged. “Yes, we do. It might be a while before we can indulge, though. You know a colony has to be at a certain level before luxuries are allowed. But we can be planning for it and doing blueprints. Be a nice way to keep our minds occupied until you’re well.” Duo nodded. “That’d be nice. Oh, look! Food. I’m hungry, feed me.” Heero laughed softly. Duo loved all sorts of strange foods. “Ok, what do you want? I’ll see if I can’t get a hamburger patty for Binky. How’s that?” Duo guided his chair to a place at a table and took Binky’s leash. She barked once and settled under the table. “I really don’t care, something I haven’t had before.” Heero left to order for Duo and himself. It wasn’t but a few seconds before a woman came over. “Can I pet your dog, please? When I was a little girl I had a dog just like her. It’d make me so happy. Just for a second?” The woman’s pleading look made Duo feel bad. “Sure.” Duo leaned down and called Binky. She scuttled out from under the table and went straight to the woman who scooped her up and cuddled her. Binky wriggled and panted, happily accepting the cuddling. Suddenly, Duo realized that he was surrounded by people, people who just wanted to pet Binky. He shuddered a bit but managed to keep himself under control. Heero turned around with their food on a tray, he nearly dropped it when he saw the crowd around Duo. It was at least three people thick in every direction and they all were shifting and staring. He noticed that the mob had attracted the attention of the station’s peacekeepers. He hurried to get to Duo but was stopped by one of the Keepers. “Sorry, son, you can’t go over there. We’re doing our best to break up the crowd, not add to it. Step away.” Heero just glared at the man. “You don’t understand. If Duo freaks out, we’ve really got a mess on our hands.” The Keeper looked right at Heero for a second. “You’re Yuy. And that’s Maxwell? Shit.” the man started pushing his way to into the crowd. “Ok, people, break it up. Mr. Maxwell will be here every day. You’ll all get a chance to pet the dog. Don’t crowd him. Move along.” Heero kept close behind him, still holding the tray. “Watch out, don’t make him spill his tray.” There were some cries of denial and demands to know when they could pet Binky. Duo had to admit that he was beginning to panic a bit as the crowd had gotten fairly big and a bit rowdy. One of the Peacekeepers asked Duo if it would be alright to take names and set up some sort of schedule. Duo just nodded and asked the person holding Binky to give her back. The man handed the poor dog back with a thank you and started pushing his way through the crowd. She settled into Duo’s lap with obvious relief. She seemed to feel as mauled as Duo did. Heero put his tray down on the table and clutched at Duo’s hands. “Are you alright? I shouldn’t have left you like that.” Duo made a scoffing noise. “Yeah, and what were you supposed to do. Carry me? My chair would just be in the way. It’s ok, no harm done. Is that my food? I’m really starved now. And is there something for Binky?” Heero sighed with relief. Now that the crowd had disbursed, Duo looked fine. Binky, on the other hand, was panting heavily. Heero poured part of a glass of water into an empty bowl and set it on the floor for her. She jumped down onto the floor and lapped at it eagerly. Heero gave Duo his food, which turned out to be coconut shrimp, brown rice with steamed vegetables, and some fresh pineapple. Heero had gotten himself some steamed vegetables on soba noodles, deep fried tofu in a brown sauce and a muffin. Binky had a hamburger patty which Heero broke up and put in the other empty bowl he’d gotten from the booth where he’d gotten their food. “There. Now we can eat. Do you like yours?” Duo nodded around a mouthful. “Yeah, it’s great. I was thinking though. I’d really like some sukiyaki. Wonder if we could find some.” Heero shrugged. “I think we can get some at the restaurant we’re going to tonight. If not, I’ll make some for you.” Heero glanced up when someone cleared their throat. “Excuse me. I’ve got a list of people who want to pet the dog. I contacted my supervisor and he said, if you agreed, we can set up a place and make appropriate appointments. What do you say?” Duo swallowed then said, “It’s fine. I didn’t realize that she’d make such an impression. But I don’t want her to have to spend more than ... um ... three hours at a time. Every day would be ok. But I don’t want her left unsupervised and I can’t do it. I’ve got therapy two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. After that I have whirlpool and massage. You’ll need to make some sort of arrangement for supervision or I won’t allow it. Ok?” The Keeper gave Duo a satisfied sort of look. “That’s good. We’ve got several people who would be glad to sit in on the sessions. I’ll make arrangements for her to be here when you’re having your therapy. That’d be two, two-hour sessions and we’ll be sure that she doesn’t get worn out. I think ten minutes per person with five minutes for her to rest between would be good. What do you think?” Heero nodded at Duo’s doubtful look. “That’s good, I think. Duo, if you’re not sure, why not call Trowa and ask him?” Duo just fished his phone out of his side pocket and dialed. He explained what had happened and what the Keepers suggested, he listened for a moment then thanked Trowa and hung up. “Trowa says that’s a good plan. So we’ll do it. You can have someone come to my quarters and get her. She’ll appreciate the walk and ... oh, she’s box trained. Like a cat, she’ll use a litter box. So she’ll appreciate one set up for her. If you need anything for her, just let me know. Anything else?” The Keeper shook his head, apologized for keeping them from their food and walked off. Duo shook his head, popped a shrimp into his mouth and chewed meditatively. “Ya know? I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Heero, mouth full of rice, just went ‘hn’ and continued to chew. “Well, what if Binky bites someone. Or they’re hard on her. You know, run her too hard or something.” Heero swallowed then said calmly, “I’m sure there are laws about animal cruelty and the police will be sure to keep things under control. I’ll check on her while you’re working out. Ok?” Duo relaxed. “Ok. That’s good.” They ate slowly, talking about Duo’s therapy and how to keep Quatre from working himself to death. Binky lay on Heero’s lap, sleeping. When they were done eating they continued their tour of the concourse. Thankfully, people gave them a wide berth. Duo noticed a small notification in the window of the small Peacekeeper’s station, announcing a dog available for petting. There was a small line of people waiting to sigh up. Heero appraised the people with a sharp eye. They all looked like ‘up standing’ citizens and he was sure that there would be some sort of background check before they were allowed anywhere near the dog. Any pet, or animal, of any sort was fairly rare in some colonies, this one included, so they would be sure that Binky was well treated, or else. Duo glanced at Heero then his watch, “We better head on back. I’m about due for my next therapy session. I want to be a little early so I can get done in plenty of time to snatch a nap then get cleaned up. Don’t want to show up at Quatre’s do all smelly.” Heero laughed softly. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind but I’ll humor you anyway. I’ll take Binky with me and head back to our quarters. I’ll meet you at the gym in ...” he glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes?” “Ok. That’ll give me time to get into my sweats and check the session data. I’m not sure what they’re going to do about me having a regular therapist. I’d rather have you than anyone. At lest you know me well enough to make a good regimen. See you.” Heero thought for several minutes as he hurried to their quarters, Binky tucked under his arm. The little dog was exhausted from their walk and being handed around. He petted her and switched to thinking about taking care of her. As soon as he got to the rooms, Heero checked Binky’s food and water bowls. As they were both empty, he filled them, scooped the throwaway liter box and put more litter in it.Binky watched all this with interest, she lapped some water and crunched a bit of food. Heero showed her the box but she turned her nose up at it so Heero grabbed the duffle with Duo’s clean sweats and his gym clothing and hurried to the gym. Duo entered the gym and went to the main desk. “Maxwell, Duo. Second session. You got anything?” The little clerk that had been assigned to take over the desk blinked. “No, sir. All I’ve got is a note that your therapist is private. That and a memo not to sneak up on you, let you do what ever you need to do and a letter from Quatre Winner himself, it says you get what ever you want, he’ll pay.” Duo snickered softly. “Well, that’s good, isn’t it? Is there a new routine for this session, or do I do the same one over?” “Well, let me see. Oh, my name’s Sally, by the way.” this made Duo laugh out loud. He had to hope that she wasn’t like her name sake. That Sally would be cutting him a new one just about now. “My name’s funny? Please.” “Oh, well, I know Sally Po. So it kinda makes things funny.” Duo accepted the chip from Sally and headed for the first machine. He had to sigh a bit, even though it was only 30 grav the transfer from chair to machine was going to be hard this time. His back hurt like a bitch, he hoped the pain would fade within a few days. He was tired of hurting. Sally’s voice made him start. “If you’re hurting, I can give you something. I’ll check the notes on your chart, I’m sure the doctor prescribed something.” She tapped at her keyboard for a second then nodded. “Yup, right here. You can have two pills now and one when you leave. I’d advise taking it. All that macho crap does is make you flinchy.” Duo shrugged. “I’m not macho, I’m a big wimp. Two now sounds good. Thanks ... oh, if Heero Yuy shows up anytime soon, tell him where I am, will you?” “Sure thing, hun.” her eyes popped slightly. “Um ... THE Heero Yuy? Oh, my.” Duo snickered as he watched Sally scurry out to get his pills and recover herself. When she returned with the pills, two in one cup and one in a small blister pac, Heero was standing at her station reading something on one of the displays. She didn’t recognize him, of course, so she sort of yelled at him. His reaction to this was to turn and stick a knife in her face. Her subsequent hysterics and near faint left Duo hanging off his machine, laughing like a maniac. Heero just put his knife away, caught the pills in one hand and Sally with the other. The blister pac fell to the floor, but since it was tightly sealed, there was no damage done. Sally finally managed to get her heart rate under control and snarled, “Don’t do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack. Sneaking up on a girl like that isn’t smart. Don’t you know any better?” Heero couldn’t help it. “Sorry, one, I have absolutely no tact at all, two, I’m gay.” Sally had to laugh at that. Heero turned to Duo. “And you’re not helping the situation any. Sound like a coyote caught in a trap. Idiot.” Duo snorted. “And who’s the one who sneaked up on someone and made them scream, jump a foot and fall over? Not this boy. Come here.” Heero went over to see what Duo wanted, taking the pills and some water with him. Sally went to the lady’s room to finish settling her nerves. Duo punched Heero in the arm and started laughing again, Heero snickered. “What did you want?” “Just to show you where I am and give that poor girl a chance to get herself together again. Her name’s Sally.” Heero whooped and nearly fell off the stool he’d sat down on. Duo finished his work out and groaned. “Man, that’s not good. I hurt. Sally said I could have another pill. I think I really want it. Heero?” “Hn. What?” Heero pulled his attention away from his computer. “Are these addictive?” Heero took a moment to consult his copy of Duo’s chart. “No. Just glorified acetaminophen, it’s got a booster in it. Not an opiate, though. You’re allowed two every four hours as needed.” Duo sighed. “Well, I need. Ow!” Heero just got up to get the blister pac, his slight smirk hidden by the motion. By the time Heero was back, Duo was in his chair. He took the pill and pulled a water bottle out of a pocket on the chair. He swallowed the pill with a gulp of water. “Drink the rest of that, you need it. Whirlpool and massage now. I wonder why the rooms are so far apart, it makes it very inconvenient to get from one to the other. They should have a complete series of machines, whirlpool and massage table in one room.” Duo shrugged. “Maybe because some people are really sensitive about taking off clothing and getting into a whirlpool in front of other people? This room is usually occupied by enough people that each machine is busy. I don’t know why it’s empty now. Find out?” “Ok. Maybe Quatre had something to do with it?” Duo snorted, realizing that that was probably exactly what was going on. “Ya think? I don’t like it. I like people and noise. It would be better if I had ... companions in pain. You know?” Heero shrugged. “No, not really. I always preferred to recover on my own. But you’re just the opposite, aren’t you? I’ll see what I can do. But we need to get your massage done and get back to our quarters. You’ll need to wash your hair before we head out to the restaurant.” Joe greeted them with a smile and a motion to the table in the corner. “I’ll be with you in a minute. I need to get another man out of here.” Duo cleared his throat. “Um ... that’s not necessary. I really don’t mind having people around. In fact, I like it. I don’t like being alone. And I hate the idea that I might be putting someone else at a disadvantage. So, please, don’t rush the other patient off.” Joe nodded. “That’s good. I don’t like it when a patient doesn’t want others around. It’s ... not natural. Most people need others around them when they’re sick or hurt. The one’s who crawl off like some hurt animal usually have depression problems, or worse. There’s very few who are really happy going it alone.” Duo poked Heero in the ribs with one sharp finger. “See, see? I told you. Lone wolf that you are.” Heero batted at Duo’s hand without rancor. “So? I’m different.” “Yeah, sure.” “Idiot.” Duo made that sound usually referred to as a raspberry. “Ok, you two, break it up. You...” Joe pointed to Duo. “On the table. You...” he pointed to Heero. “You’ll be doing the massage, under my supervision. If you have any questions, no matter how silly they seem, feel free to ask.” Heero nodded, took up the bottle of warm oil and poured some into his hand. “Massage first, then whirlpool? Why?” Joe grinned. “Because it’s better to alternate them. The morning he’ll be stiffer and the whirlpool will soften the muscles so the massage is more effective. In the after noon it’s better the other way around.” Heero nodded his understanding and started the massage. Duo just groaned softly in pleasure. His whispered, “Too bad we’re not at home,” made Heero snarl. Duo settled into the whirlpool with a sigh. “Oh, man, that’s nice. Heero? Why can’t you join me? It’s big enough.” Heero adjusted his jeans. “Not a good idea. Excuse me.” Heero headed for the small men’s room. Duo watched him with a faint frown on his face. He knew exactly what Heero’s problem was and also that he couldn’t do anything about it, yet. Joe wandered over to the bath and glanced around. “Where’s Heero?” “Men’s room. He’ll be back in a few minutes.” Duo blushed a bit. Joe raised an eye brow but refrained from comment. “How’d the massage go?” “Good. Heero’s a real quick study.” Duo sighed. “And speaking of that. What’s the url for the college on station?” Joe gave it to him. “Why? You thinking of taking classes?” “No. Quatre wants us to get our degrees from a college here. Our paper from Earth isn’t as well respected. I’ve got ... I don’t remember ... Ph.D.’s out my ass. So does Heero. But we need to retest for them. Paper from here means something.” “Um ... honorary degrees don’t mean much.” “Um ... yourself. Gundam pilot here. Wrenched mine myself. So did all the others. You have to have the knowledge, even if you don’t have paper. You know?” Joe did. “You guys are all amazing. I’m boggled every time I think of someone sending five 15 year old boys to fight in those things. And realizing that you have to have extensive knowledge of hydraulics, electronics, metallurgy, engineering, computers and ... now I’ve really scared myself. Geeze.” Duo laughed and added, “Yeah, and spatial navigation, ballistics, trajectory configurations and ... the math alone should take a fairly powerful computer. Would you believe ... I can do it all in my head? Really scary.” They shared a companionable laugh. Joe handed Duo a bottle of nutrient drink and moved on. There were four other people in the room, at different stations and several staff members as well. Duo felt a lot better with more people around him. Heero returned, looking flushed and distracted. Duo laughed and held up his arms to be helped out of the bath. After drying off, Duo settled into his chair and let Heero help him into new sweats. He really didn’t need that much help but Heero liked it so Duo didn’t object. Heero helped Duo settled more comfortably in the chair and they headed back to their quarters. “Heero?” “Yeah?” “How am I doing, really?” Duo looked up at Heero, doubt evident in his brilliant eyes. “Great. The only one of us who heals better than me is you. You’ve crammed four months healing into two. You should still be in zero-g, floating around while your spinal cord knits. You’re only feeling weak because you’ve spent too much time either flat on your back or floating in zero-g.” Duo opened his mouth to say something but Heero held up his hand. “Duo, love, think. We all spent a lot of time in zero-g, learning to move in it. But when did any of us ever spend more that three or four days at a stretch? And you’ve been in it for two months solid. It’s going to take some time to get you’re muscle back, finish healing your back and start you back to full strength. Don’t rush it.” Duo brightened visibly. “Well, I didn’t think of it that way. This’ll give us both time to take whatever tests Quatre wants us to take.” “Right. Now come on, hurry up. I’m looking forward to that sukiyaki.” So Duo pushed the speed control on his chair to the last stop and made Heero jog all the way back to their quarters. It just made Heero laugh as the chair wasn’t capable of more than three kilometers an hour. Heero helped Duo wash his hair as it still hurt him to hold his arms over his head that long. Duo sighed happily at the attention. He loved having Heero wash his – well, anything. Duo managed to get to the bed on his own but couldn’t get on it. He just didn’t have to muscle to lift his weight from the floor onto the mattress. Heero helped him up without comment but Duo couldn’t avoid a rather snarky, “Thanks so much. I hate being this weak.” Heero just handed Binky to him and said, rather flatly, “Nap. I’m going to shower, now that you’re clean. Love you. Don’t sulk, ok?” Duo made a rude noise but settled down to rest, even if he didn’t actually nap. Heero made quick work of his shower as he’d gotten mostly clean helping Duo. All he really needed to do was wash his own hair and dry it. He ran a hand over his chin, decided that he didn’t need to shave and went back out to the main living area. “Are you going to be ready soon? I’d like to get an early start as the restaurant is 20 degrees around the section.” Duo looked up from gently pulling Binky’s ears. “We’re at eighteen degrees in section 20 level 4. The restaurant is at 38 degrees, section 40, level 6. That’s a way to go.” Duo patted Binky and lowered her to the mattress. “Ok. I want to wear that pair of black linen trousers and dark blue silk shirt. And those zippered boots. What do you think?” “I think you’ll look great. I’ll wear my black trousers and that dark green cotton. But I think I’ll wear those shoes with the sticky soles.” Duo smiled. “What? You’re expecting a grav accident? On a hospital station?” Heero smiled back but shrugged. “Don’t know. I just like those shoes. They’re really comfortable.” Duo nodded. “Oh, and it’s not like we’ve never had comfortable shoes before.” Heero ducked his head a bit. He’d had to admit, on a mission, that he found combat boots comfortable only when they were broken in, for several months. New boots gave him blisters. Duo had agreed with him, announcing that the only boots that were comfortable for him were nearly worn out. Quatre and Trowa had laughed at them and Wufei had called them ‘fools’. They reached the central corridor without incident but had some trouble getting Duo’s chair onto the slide way. It was wider than a normal chair and they had to squeeze it through the gate. Duo rubbed his face. “Well, that was fun. This chair is exactly three inches wider that a regular chair. Why didn’t they make allowances for something like this? This is stupid. If I didn’t have you with me, I’d have had to take the long way around. Not so good.” Heero nodded. “You’re right. Engineers and designers sometimes don’t make allowances for ‘might happen.’ We’ll have to keep an eye on things like that.” “You’re right.” Duo beeped his horn, laughing merrily at the people who jumped at the sound. Most of them grinned or nodded, a few looked a bit disgruntled. After some travel on the slide way, they changed to an elevator. The drop shaft was nearby but Duo couldn’t use that with his chair. The elevator dropped ‘down’, a relative term on a station, through the hub and ‘up’ making a turn in the zero-g center of the station and moving into the proper section. Heero grumbled as they had to leave that elevator and board a different one. Duo just sighed. “Sorry, ‘Ro. If it wasn’t for this chair we could take the drop shaft and do a switch at the hub, take a different shaft into grav and then take a slide way and walk the rest. Take ... fifteen minutes at most.” Heero shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. Itdoesn’t make any difference. I planned for it. When you get well enough I’ll play a game of station tag with you. How’s that?” Duo gazed at Heero over his shoulder, a bit wide eyed with glee. “Really? Promise?” Heero nodded. “Promise.” The restaurant was one of those eclectic things where you could have a small room to yourself, if your group was large enough or you were rich enough. Quatre was rich enough. Duo grinned as they were escorted to the side room with much bowing and scraping. Duo got situated with Heero’s help, moving chairs and finding the right spot was a bit difficult. Heero’s help made life much easier for the still crippled Duo. “Thanks‘Ro. I really appreciate it.” “You don’t have to thank me all the time.” “Yeah, I do. Sister said once that we should thank strangers once, parents twice and lovers three times. She said that a lot of relationships are spoiled by taking things for granted. Wise lady, Sister.” Heero smiled gently and gave up, it seemed that Duo was going to thank him whether he wanted him to or not. They sat drinking tea while they waited, it wasn’t long before Quatre showed up with Trowa in tow. “Hiཀ Man,am I glad thisday’s over. I’m exhausted, starved and I want my tea.” Quatre’s last words were said with a dramatic whine that made all three of the others laugh. Tea was duly brought. “Great, my favorite Jasmine.” Quatre raised his cup to his lips and sipped in evident enjoyment. “Ahhཀ Great. Wufei and Milliardo should be here soon. We’ll wait for them, unless there’s an objection.” There wasn’t one so they settled in to drink tea and talk about the news of the day. The server had just brought the second pot of tea when Wufei and Milliardo walked in, looking very self-satisfied. They took their seats and accepted cups from Quatre. “Well?” Milliardo managed to look proud and smirk at the same time. “He passed.” “Yes, third in my class. I couldn’t get first or second because of my attendance record.” Wufei smiled, a small mysteriously cold one but full of satisfaction anyway. Duo bounced in his chair. “Ok, ok. Kill me with suspense. What the hell is going on?” Quatre just smiled at Duo. “Patience. Champagne is coming.” Just then a server entered with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. “Yes, here it is.” Quatre waited patiently as the server opened the wine and poured it into glasses, a very small one for Duo who just nodded and accepted that, due to his medicines all he got was a big sip. “Now, raise your glasses to the first judge of my colony. The Honorable Chang Wufei first justice of Mina Hurr. The beginning of a real legal system. Saluteཀ” “Saluteཀ” Five glasses rose in salutation. Wufei bowed from the waist while still seated. “Thank you all. It was a hard test but well worth it.” Duo looked puzzled. “What test was it? I didn’t know there was a test for judges.” “The ESUN Bar Exam. The test you have to take to be a lawyer. I took it then found out that I had to pass the gradation test at some university. Luckily they took the Bar exam as good enough.” Duo scowled, “Exactly what is going on. Quatre, I want to know exactly what you’re expecting of us. I know you explained it all once but I think you left something out of it.” “I’m having trouble with everything. You remember right after Heero got out? We all had jobs with WEI. What happened to them? You wound up shuffled off into corners, doing crap work. I moved you to Security, now you’re my ‘hit men’ there’s trouble all over the colony. The kind of stuff that I can’t handle myself, I’m too far up the line. I can tell my secretary to do this or that, but by the time it gets to the rank and file, it’s lost its force. So, I need you to get degrees in anything you can pass. The more paper you have the more you’re respected. I don’t have the time to test into hard sciences. I’m locked in on Business Admin. So’s Trowa. Wufei is the legal expert and Milliardo is Public Relations with a capital PR. So that leaves you, Duo and you, Heero, to be the science guys.” “The testing starts as soon as you can figure out what you need to test in.” Heero cleared his throat. “I think we should put this off until a bit later. We don’t need to rush this much. Let’s just celebrate Wufei’s good news tonight and worry about the rest tomorrow, Ok? Quatre flushed a bit. “Yes, you’re right. Sorry Wufei.” Wufei just shrugged. “That’s fine. We’ve given them fair warning. Now. Food.” Heero glanced at Wufei. “You should choose. It’s your celebration.” Wufei considered for several moments. “I’m in the mood for sukiyaki. I’ve been thinking about it for several days. Anyone have any objections?” No one did, in fact, Heero smiled so happily that Milliardo raised an eye brow. Duo confided to Wufei, sottovoce. “Heero’s been wanting some too. So have I. Order lots of beef and tofu ok?” Quatre turned his head to look at the server who just nodded and started to turn away. Heero’s voice stopped him. “And bring enough. I hate having to reorder.” The server gave Heero a puzzled look so Quatre had to explain. “We all eat a lot. Bring enough for at least twelve servings and extra rice too.” The server just nodded and left. If a customer like Quatre Raberba Winner wanted, he got. The food arrived soon as it was cooked at the table. All the ingredients were cut up and placed on trays, the pan was mounted on its heater and a cooker of rice was plugged in. The server started to put ingredients in the pan but Heero motioned him away. He just bowed and walked out the door. It wasn’t that unusual for oriental guests to do the cooking themselves. Heero arranged the beef, tofu, mushrooms, noodles and other ingredients in the pan, mixed his sauce and put the top on the pan. While he was doing that, Wufei checked to see that the rice was rinsed properly and had enough water on it. While they were waiting for the food to cook, they continued to talk about everyday things. It didn’t take that long for the first pan to finish cooking, so everyone took a bowl and helped themselves from the deep frying pan. As soon as the pan was empty, Heero filled it again. Duo glanced around the table. “Heero? Where’s the egg?” Heero’s eyes darted around the table. “I’ll ask for some.” Heero went to the door and spoke to someone outside. “They didn’t realize that we are so traditional. The eggs will be here soon.” A sharp bing made them all jump then laugh. The rice cooker had chimed. The rice was finished. More bowls were passed around and the eggs came. Wufei cracked four of them into bowls and beat each one until it was frothy, using several chopsticks to do the job. He handed bowls to Heero, Duo, and Milliardo, keeping one for himself. Quatre and Trowa didn’t care for the egg dip. It didn’t take them long to, as Duo said, Hoover down the food. Although they enjoyed it as much as any bunch of young men could. They drank tea and finished off the rest of the rice. When they broke up to return to their various quarters, Duo hugged Wufei. “Congrats, man. Well done.” Wufei bowed slightly. “Thank you. Hurry up and get well.” Duo grinned bid Milliardo to take Wufei off and ‘see to him’ which made Milliardo blush a bit. Heero swatted Duo on the shoulder. “You’ll embarrass him.” Duo nodded, braid bouncing. “That’s the idea.” Trowa snorted and dragged Quatre away before Duo could embarrass them too. Duo scowled when he realized that he’d missed an opportunity. Heero snickered and took him out the door. “Man, that’s so not fair. I don’t get to have any fun. Sucks.” “You get to have all kinds of fun. Just behave yourself for a while. I think Quatre is under a lot of stress right now. We need to speak to him as soon as we can manage.” “I think I’m off tomorrow. Joe said something about having three days on, one off. Sounds good to me. Maybe we can talk to him, say, in the afternoon?” Heero nodded, easily keeping pace with Duo’s chair. “Good idea. We need to find out what he expects from us. I don’t understand why we need to take more degrees, other than the reason I suggested the other day.” Duo frowned for a moment. “Well, some spacers don’t trust Earth schools. They think the schools just hand out paper like it’s nothing. If we take tests and get degrees from Colonial universities we’ll get more respect. And it’s not like we haven’t done it before.” Heero nodded. “It’s not going to be that hard up here. All we have to do is sit down at a computer and start. I’ll look into the procedure tomorrow. I’m too full and too relaxed. I don’t want to spoil it.” Duo yawned widely. “Me neither. And I’m glad to be in space again, in more ways than one. Take me home and let me sleep.” Heero nodded. “Me too. Maybe we should take the outer train?” Duo thought about taking a train that went around the outer curve of the station instead of going through the core. It took longer, but all they had to do was get to the station via an elevator, get on the train and take another elevator down into their section. It took longer but it wasn’t as tiring. “Train it is.” It took them nearly an hour to get back home. They entered the rooms with grateful sighs. Heero dumped his jacket on the couch while Duo headed for the bedroom. “I’m bushed. Did I actually fall asleep on a train?” Heero grinned wearily then nodded. “That’s a bit unnerving. Oh, well. I’m for bed.” Heero stretched and followed Duo on into the room. “Me too. Need help?” Duo shook his head, making the shift from his chair to the bed easily. He was getting stronger by the minute. “I’ll need help in the morning, though. I can manage chair to bed but bed to chair, or floor to bed, I just can’t quite manage. My arms are too short.” Heero turned with a pair of pajamas in his hand. “I’m wearing these. You want?” Duo nodded. “Please.” Heero dressed in pajamas, which he wasn’t fond of. Duo let him help him into some and they both settled on the bed. “‘Ro?” “Hn?” “I think I’m going to like the job.” “Me too.” Heero started to say something else then realized that Duo was already sound asleep. He snuggled Duo and went to sleep himself. |
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