Before I forgot!! The holy disclaimer!!
Well... I only own my hamster... And he doesn't own GW either... Sob...
 
 
 

Trick-riding
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter III : First contact, full contact.
 
 
 

            "Duo Maxweeeeelll!! This will be my last warning!! I enter!! NOW!!" A passably mad Hilde shouted from outside the bathroom, where a shower could be heard running.

She had been waiting patiently (More or less) in front of the door for forty-seven, no forty-eight minutes now, and she was going to take her shower, whether the God of Death wanted it or not.

Duo was finishing to rinse the shampoo from his mid-thigh length legendary hair, when the door burst open, revealing his housemate, or more exactly an angry vixen, armed with a bottle of shower gel, which flew in his direction at lightning speed.

"Ooowch!! But... Hildie!"

Hilde made a surhuman effort to avoid laughing at the sight before her. He had wrapped himself in the shower curtain in an attempt to decency, and was desperatly trying to reach...

"Is this what you want?" Hilde grinned, waving his black towel in front of him.

"..."

A long wrestling later...

"I mean... Duo! You spend more time in the bathroom than a girl!" Hilde bawled, munching a cookie.

"Was it a reason to hit me with you sleeper?" Duo retorted, busy with a huge bowl of cereals.

"Yes... And a good one, at that!!" Hilde stated.

"But..."

"Let's change the subject, will you? Heero left a message, he said it was urgent. Do you have anything to tell me?"

"Like what?"

"Like if you have any mission that I should know about..."

"No..." Duo began, "It's not what you think... We're just... Kinda running after Trowa's chick!" Duo growled in mild annoyance.

Hilde choked on her tea. "Trowa's... CHICK????" The least one can say is that, usually, 'Trowa' and 'girl' rarely met in the same sentence, so the statement lit up an unbearable curiosity inside Hilde. "Does Catherine know?"

"Know what?"

"Duo... THAT TROWA HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!!"

"He has?"

"You just said it!!"

"No... I meant, Trowa knows the chick, that's all! besides, he didn't look exactly thrilled... I'm not sure I'd like to  be that girl when Trowa finds her..." Duo said, a bit more seriously.

"Really?" Hilde cocked a surprised eyebrow.

"I don't know... There's something weird in all this..."
 

Though Duo wasn't known to own a 'spaceheart', his intuition didn't betray him... When the clock reached her 22th hour, Heero had been stuck to his laptop for hours without finding a single valuable information, except this : When Duo's around and that you leave the laptop to have a snack, ALWAYS save...

Duo, Trowa and Quatre had been staying at the Winner mansion, trying desperatly, with the help of a few specialists, to 'question' the stubborn computer... To no avail. The night seemed already lost and Trowa and Duo were heading towards the kitchen when a faint beeping sound caught their attention.

"Quatre... What's this?" Duo asked, cocked a curious eyebrow.

"Don't know..."Quatre answered, fumbling between the various papers covering his desk. "Got it..."

"And this is?" Trowa asked, bemused by the object.

"A signal beeper, for... wait, there's a... Ah yes! This a beeper they gave me long ago, for the bank... security..." Quatre voice faltered.

Duo smirked. "Your bank is being robbed??"

Quatre had become pale, as realisation dawned. suddenly, he grabbed his jacket and ran at full speed towards the hall. "Crap!!"

"Quaaaatre!!" Duo bawled, following him as best as he could.

"Quatre!" Trowa shouted. "This is not about money, right?! What do you keep in that safe of yours?!!"

They barely caught the answer, as he was already in the garden, but it truly froze them. "Wing... Sandrock's... data..."

When they arrived at the Winner bank, Quatre's first reaction was to worry, given the number of cops in the hall. But a few explanations later...

"BWUAHAHAHAHAA!!! You mean... The alarms have gone nuts??!" Duo burst out laughing.

The cops, as well as the security experts bowed their head in sheer discomfort. Being humiliated in front of your boss was a thing, being laughed at by a commoner was a whole other one...
Trowa kept silent, but couldn't repress a smirk at their antics.

Quatre turned to them, deadly serious. "Do you two have guns?"

Trowa and Duo nodded. "Then listen, mister... Uhm... Chase! Me and my friends, here, will make a quick check in safe's room, then we'll all go to bed, fine?" Quatre stated, more than he asked.

They entered the vast elevator and a thick silence fell in the confined space. The three boys stared at each other, or more exactly, Quatre and Duo stared at Trowa expectantly, seeking an answer to the recent troubles. Trowa, however, remained impassible, partly because he wasn't talkative anyway, partly because talking about her was liable to share memories that touched something deep inside him. He hated the 'sugarness' of the word but... Midii meant feelings of joy, pain, confusion... A certain intimacy.

It was Duo who broke first, "Okay Trowa... Now I want to know what that chick was... For you."

"Please Trowa... It makes things harder..." Quatre pleaded.

Trowa found that he had no way of escaping anymore. "She was a spy."

"And..." Duo answered, his patience fading quickly.

"That's all."

"I..." Duo was about to let his anger and his curiosity have the best of him but Quatre stopped him with a gesture. They will have to content themselves with this.

"Spies and murderers..." Duo muttered under his breath, "Great..."

Trowa's mind cringe at the crude but realistic description and he wanted to believe there was a misunderstanding somewhere, but...

When they entered the white metallic and cold corridor that led to the safe, Quatre frowned. "Wait... I think if there is anybody here, I know better than them where to hide... We'll split here. You two go directly to the safe, I'll make a little walk in the offices, just to be sure..." He said, handing them a handful of various passes and security cards. "You'll need this..."

"Okay... But you know, Q-man, it seems pretty quiet..." Duo yawned, "I think we came here for nothing."

"I hope so... Go, now." Quatre answered, almost grimly.

Trowa simply nodded and followed Duo.

"If somebody manage to enter, I bow to them!" Duo jocked, as he passed another locked door.

"You have no idea..." Trowa mumbled, confused. He couldn't tell if he hoped to find Midii or not.

"Wah! I'm so talented... It's almost unfair!" Midii grinned as the heavy door finally gave up.

"Cool..." Shaolin cheered, eyeing the impressive amount of bills lustfully.

"Look at that... I beat my own record!!" Midii said, smiling smugly.

"How long?" Shaolin inquired, as she began to unlock the many drawers on the wall, looking for what they have risked their life for.

"2 hours, 19 mn and 4 seconds!" She answered proudly.

"No safe should have to suffer through you..." Shaolin sighed.

Meanwhile, Midii had started to fill a small black bag with bills and the various valuable things that she could find. "This..." She began, showing happily the bag to her partner, "Will be the cherry on top of our cake!!"

"And... I think... I... Got the cake!!!" Shaolin said, grinning from ear to ear, holding a small blue data disk.

"Okay... Now we better fly away before anybody decides to check the..." Midii's words got caught in her throat as Shaolin gestured her to keep silent, pointing the video surveillance of the corridor, which gave them a perfect view of the two preventers approaching.

Midii swallowed painfully as she recognized Trowa, along with the other man. "Fine, " she whispered, "Now, we let them catch you."

"Pardon?!" Shaolin hissed.

"Shut up and trust me..."

Trowa and Duo entered the safe room and immediatly aimed at the person standing in front of them, hands up, with a sheepish look on her features.

"Don't move." Duo said coldly.

"Is this what you were about to take with you?" Trowa asked, gesturing to the black bag.

"Where's your partner?" Duo snapped, feeling somehow uneasy.

"I dodged her... I went alone." Shaolin whispered.

Trowa caught a sceptical eyebrow, but Duo found her explanation only natural. after all, it was her job to cheat, right? It was his downfall, as he failed to notice the shadow detaching itself slowly from the ceiling to land without a single noise behind them.
A vicious kick in the neck knocked him out immediatly and Trowa turned in a fraction of second, only to stare at a gun, and moreover at Midii's eyes.

His daze didn't last and his reflexes took over, as he immediatly grabbed the gun and attempted to disarm her. He was surprised to find that she was no amateur, as she spun around and pinned him to the ground in a swift movement. he barely had the time to think, before finding himself straddled by a pretty proud Midii, under the bemused gaze of her cherry haired associate, and with a gun right before his nose. How comfortable. How funny. Life is a circus, he thought.

"D'ya think you can handle your semi-god?" Shaolin asked with a devilish grin.

"Yeah..." Midii answered, her eyes never leaving his.

"Then I'll go and clean our exit, I don't wanna find cops the minute we leave..." Shaolin said, leaving after having 'borrowed' Duo's gun. She looked down to the weapon she held and whistled happily, "Desert eagle, 44*... If it wasn't for the fact that I beat him up, I could come to appreciate that guy..."

Shaolin ran as fast as she could through the vast offices, hoping to find anything that could ease their escape. She had dismissed the elevator, finding that they could stop it with the security system, and was now busy installing various traps in the stairs, when...

"I knew I would find you here... I could feel it..." She turned  immediatly to find herself facing a pair of concerned blue eyes. Wait a minute... Concerned? She was robbing his bank, for God's sake!

"... I suggest you drop this, now." She said coldly, gesturing to his gun.

"I'm not gonna hurt you... Trust me!" Quatre said, realizing that the weapon he held did nothing to confirm his statement.

:: I'm not gonna hurt, Shao-chan... We're friend, aren't we? You know can trust me...::

That same nauseaous sugary tone... She felt tears of rancour and rage well up in eyes, but supressed them successfully. Thanks God, Midii and her had learned their lesson long ago. Learned it the hard way...

"Who do you think you are?! I. Trust. No. One!!" She snapped.

She shouldn't even have listen to him, nor answered... She knew perfectly that you must keep a safe distance with the 'job'... Oh well! She would have plenty of time to blame herself for this weakness later. She closed her eyes a fraction of second as she pulled the trigger. Fine. They could leave now, The corridor was clean.

Midii was still straddling her prey silently, not trusting herself to get up and face him.

"Nanashi... It's you..." She whispered, loosing herself in those green pools for an instant, drowned in her memories, their memories.

"I do have a name, now." He replied, as coldly as he could, but he felt that she would see through any of his masks, as she had before.

"Strange way to meet..." She murmured, unconsciously leaning closer, but still threatening him with the gun.

"You disappoint me." He said, hurt and disdain obvious in his voice.

She felt something shatter in a billion of small pieces inside her. How could he say this? She just did what she knew best. Who was he to judge her? A terrorist, nothing more... The blurry hopes she had kept fell on after another at his words. That was so unfair, and it hurt so bad to hear this from him... She felt her chest tightening and fought the tears that threaten to fall. She leaned even closer, praying silently for him to say something, anything, that he didn't mean it... But nothing came. just two icy and severe green orbs. "Nanashi..." She whimpered.

She was stopped by an audible cough. "Am I interrupting something?" Shaolin asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow. "Midii-girl... we can leave now, I took good care of the Winner brat."

Trowa's eyes widened at her last statement, along with Midii's, but before any comment could be made, she pressed her soft lips against his for a tiny seconds, cusing his mind to loose all track of time or sanity.

"I'm sorry... Trowa..."

That was before she raised her fist, and everything went black.

Quatre stared at the ceiling for what seemed an eternity. She hadn't killed him. She could have. He was certain that we wasn't the sort to miss her target in a closed corridor, so it meant she had spared him. Well... Spared was a bit strong, even if he knew he wouldn't die, having a bullet in the thigh was a rather interesting feeling, and, somehow, he was itching for a cup of tea to ease things.

She hadn't killed him. But still... What a vixen.
 

"Oh my god!" Midii sighed, plopping herself on the couch and opening a can of apple juice, "I still can't believe you shot the Winner brat..."

"You are the one talking!" Shaolin growled, "As far as I'm concerned, Miss Une was ready to get laid when I went back..." She finished slyly.

Midii blushed a bright cherry red. "I... I..."

"Don't try... I'm not blaming you..." Shaolin murmured sprawling herself on the old couch too.

"I messed up... Sorry... I don't know what took over me..." Midii answered sheepishly.

"Yeah yo do... But, anyway, we succeeded, eh?" Shaolin said, her tone lighter.

"We did..." She answered absentedtly.

"And you know what?" Shaolin giggled.

"Not Yet..." Midii sighed.

"You were right... Sexy, sexy green eyes... Definitely..." She said sleepily.

Midii became once again the twin of a tomatoe, but couldn't help but laugh along with the nutjob.
 

Dorothy poured quietly a cup of sweet, steaming orange-flower tea, before handing it to Quatre who was resting silently on the sofa, staring at the flames dancing happily in the fireplace. As her hand grazed his, handing him the hot cup, he turned his gaze towards her. She was beautiful, enlighten only by the firelight, her pale and smooth feature held a different expression, as the orange and golden reflexion caressed them. He found that he had never really taken the time to observe her attentively.
Once the war had been over, they had slowly become close friends, overcoming together the difficulties of living, once again an ordinary life, the painful memories and the guilty ones. She seemed to understand him like no one did... Actually, the only thing that had remained a sheer taboo between them was the painful subject of war against peace. He could tell sometimes, only by the faintest flickering of her eyes, during a mundane conversation, that she still thought that this peace wasn't meant to last. She was utterly convinced that human nature was deepest and strongest than any government...
They had never really touched the core of the problem, maybe by fear to stain such a precious relationship. He couldn't help but think that there was a certain cowardice in their silence, sometimes.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked absently, sitting near him.

"Not really... The pain killers Iria gave me are very efficient." He lied, playing with the corner of a huge plaid spread on the green sofa.

"I wish I could meet the girl who did this... It seems we have a lot in common, don't you think?" She said half-jockingly.

"Dorothy... Don't say that..." He sighed, "It's been so long, if I remember well, we had agreed to forget this incident..."

"I know... I just don't understand how you forgave me... I still can't, you know..." She whispered, her voice somehow strangled.

"Stop it... Please. Besides, if it can reassure you, you're absolutly not like her..."

"Which means?" Dorothy cocked a suddenly interested eyebrow.

"She... I thought she did this for a reason, I really thought I had caught something deep inside her... But I was wrong. Her only god is money." Quatre said, shaking his head sadly.

"Quatre... You can't save everybody, moreover, you can't save her from herself..." Dorothy stated gently, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I guess I rely to much on empathy sometimes..." Quatre sighed in frustration.

"No. If it wasn't for you... I... Would never have found myself..." Dorothy murmured, her voice quivering and barely audible.

Quatre gazed at her, trying to find her eyes. And it happened. He couldn't tell if it was the mood of the night, the sweet aroma of orange-flower tea melting with her own perfume, added to the soothening warmth of the fire, or just maybe that it was meant to happen since the very first day they had met, but he didn't find the strenghth to fight those strange and overwhelming emotions. He took the hand which had been resting on her shoulder and held it to his lips, kissing it gently, from the palm to the fingertips. He let his free hand roam in the silky and shimmering locks that were her hair and they stayed like this for what seemed a small eternity, boring in each other's eyes, sharing their soul. Quatre, with his lips still brushing her fingertips, and Dorothy, with a noticeable and unusual blush coloring her cheeks.

She made no attempt to stop him when he started to lean closer and closer, until his lips were brushing hers. There was a silent plea in the way his fingers entwined with hers and in that insistant, but never daring, grazing of their lips. She answered it by closing her eyes and parting her lips slightly, letting him deepen the kiss and allowing his tongue to fondle hers slowly, sensuously, fuelling the warmth that was progressively spreading in her whole body.

They were both panting softly when they finally parted, and Dorothy found that, while she had been debating with herself about how far she could go, she had, somehow, lied on the couch, with Quatre on top of her, not to mention the curious and talented hands which had slid under her blouse. She gasped, feeling him so close, and shyly wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes slid shut as his right hand began to work on the first buttons of her blouse, while the other grazed intently her innerthighs. She felt his warm breath caressing her ear as he burried his face in her neck, and she could have cried when she heard him whisper it.

"Dorothy... I think I lo..."

"Ssshhh... Tomorrow..."
 

A long black limo stopped silently under the barely standing bridge. Midii and Shaolin shivered slightly as a cold wind blew softly between the ageless arcades. Clichés obviously died hard, and when a rich person hired someone to do the dirty job, they always seemed to decide to meet them in the worst slums of the city...
The door opened silently to reveal their employer, or more exactly a pair of legs, the rest of the body being hidden by the obsurity in the car, comfortably sat in the black leather seat.

Midii sighed in exasperation. "When you'll be done with the Al Capone revival, send us a mail..."

"Did I ever mention that what I despised the most with you two was that permanent insolence?" A silky voice hissed.

"No. But this is about our deal, not about your 'feelings'." Shaolin snapped disdainfully.

"... Do yo have it?"

"Of course!" They answered, two simultaneous proud grins appearing on their faces.

"Then, may I ask you what you're waiting for? Give it to me." The voice demanded, exasperation obvious in the tone.

"The money first..." Midii chuckled.

"Yeah... We're not the Sisters of charity..." Shaolin added.

A 'friendly looking' bodyguard handed them a black suitcase, and the next minutes were spent in a religious silence. They were counting.

"I guess that's it..." Shaolin said, laying the last bill.

"It's all yours, may the force be with you..." Middi chuckled a she tossed them the small data disk.

"Well... Bye now!" Shaolin yelled, waving hastily a 'sincere' hand.

"Wait..." The cold voice purred, "There IS a detail we didn't consider..."

The two girls sighed in annoyance and waited for the 'boss' to continue.

"Mr Winner...", the voice began, quivering, "Mr Winner Winner wasn't supposed to be shot."

"Does it upset you? I did as I could you know, and I just neutralized him... coulda shot between the eyes!" Shaolin shrugged

"Yeah... Besides, that doesn't make sense... You steal him... You said yourself that you 'didn't care about the methods' as long as you 'get to see results'... But you do care about his health?? Crack or marijuana, Honey?" Midii added cynically.

"I don't allow you to adress me in such a tone... I'll leave now. And you too." The voice barked.

"Okay... Bye!" The young girls giggled impudently, as the large vehicle faded away.

"Whew..." Midii sighed, "That woman was... Toxic!"

"I kinda liked her pumps..." Shaolin shrugged.
 

Quatre awoke on the floor of his library, half wrapped in the vast plaid... alone. He immediatly feared that she had come to hate him for what had happened the previous night, until he found a small note, on the cushion that had been her pillow.

Gone for business, be back soon, can't live without you...

D.C

His smile grew wider as he spotted an interesting breakfeast that had been disposed on the table nearby. He couldn't help but wince a bit as he stirred, maybe he had overrated ever so slightly his body, and his recent wound was now reminded him it very clearly... However, no, last night hadn't been a mistake... Sure you don't usually start your lovelife by making love to your best friend... But, still, he knew they would manage, together. Lulled by those euphoric thoughts, he eyed the french toasts lustfully. Today was gonna be extremely hard, but he had her...
 
 
 
 
 

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