Author: Tenshi-chan
Warnings: Adult language, angst, AU, shounen-ai, some sap, yaoi, lemon, het.
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xHarmony, Sally, Catherine, Dorothy... RxH
Rating: PG (NC-17 Interlude)
Disclaimer: Don't own them... wish I did.
Operation: Lost Boys Part 1
A girl with her hair in two ponytails and laughing eyes that mirrored his own. The girl became a graceful swan as she danced both with him and on her own. A song that haunted his soul played. The lovely dancing creature flew away just before his world exploded.
*****
Duo awoke with a gasp. Once again, he felt the loss as if it were a fresh parting. He clenched his teeth, vowing that he wouldn't cry this time. He wasn't aware that he was failing in his efforts until a hand rested on his shoulder and Quatre's soft voice spoke to him.
"Duo?" Quatre carefully rubbed Duo's back. He hated seeing any of his friends in pain... which was the only thing that had woken him up. The others were still sleeping soundly. "Duo... what's wrong?" He would have hugged his friend, but he wasn't sure how Duo would react to that.
"I couldn't save her!" He growled and punched the floor. "I was older! I was SUPPOSED to protect her!"
"Who?" When Duo had stated that he had been older than whoever he was talking about, Quatre knew he wasn't referring to the nun who had been like a second mother to Duo.
Duo choked as he finally spoke of the worst loss he had ever suffered. "Harmony." He broke down and let Quatre pull him into a hug that offered comfort and sympathy. True he had never found her body, but he had only been a child at the time... shocked by loss.
Quatre silently comforted Duo, feeling for him and his loss. As the long haired pilot calmed, Quatre squeezed once and released him. "Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day. Do you want to borrow my CD Player? It might take your mind off things."
"Yeah... thanks Quatre." Duo sniffled as Quatre handed the item over. He placed the headphones on and pressed the play button. They had been informed earlier that the artist of the CD was part of their next assignment. He closed his eyes as the music started. Oddly enough, the music soothed him more than Quatre's presence had. It was soft, and had an otherworldly feel to it. Mainly because it sounded like one of those old wind-up music boxes. He closed his eyes as a sweet voice sang softly.
*Kikoeru... kaze...
Mabushii... niji no AACHI
Kirei na kokoro wa watashi no o-uchi yo
Yume miru dareka no kokoro no naka yo
Kibou wo nakushita utsuro na kokoro de wa
Watashi no sugata wa kiete shimau no
Dakara... Dakara...
Douzo yume wo ne?
Kirei na yume wo mitsuzukete ite.
Watashi wa Miss Dream
Dareka no Miss Dream
Anata no... Miss Dream
*****
Duo ignored the others as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his ankles on the table. He didn't stand up when someone entered the room. To be totally honest, his lack of manners was due more to his physical exhaustion than anything else. He hadn't managed to get to sleep after his dream woke him up, regardless of how many times he played that haunting song. He closed his eyes as the others stood.
The woman smiled as she entered the room and surveyed the group. "Please...sit down." She glanced at Duo, and felt a rush of understanding when she saw the dark circles under his eyes. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I brought you here. First allow me to introduce myself. I'm Madame Heatherfield." She smiled as she took her seat. "I already know who you boys are." She opened her folder. "Now... as to the reason you're here." She folded her hands and looked around at them, pausing to return Quatre's smile. "You are all, on average, fifteen years old... children taught to kill and to accept the possibility of being killed." She scowled angrily. "There is never any excuse for ripping someone's childhood away. Each of you had to grow up fast for various reasons." She sighed. "Your mission... is to learn how to act like the teenagers you are. To aid you, we have called in someone who has learned to behave like a normal girl whenever not on stage." She pressed a button. "Send her in."
All five turned to the door as it opened to reveal a girl with her light brown hair up in an intricate braided style. She smiled briefly at them before entering. Nervousness and confidence melded together.
Madame Heatherfield smiled. "Boys... this is the Diva of the colonies. Her codename is Wendy for this operation." She stood up and headed for the door. "The bus will be here in twenty minutes, when you reach the house you will all be staying in, Operation Lost Boys will begin. I wish you all the best of luck."
Duo smirked at the girl. "So... who gets to be Peter?"
Wendy laughed softly. "Corny, I know. I didn't choose the names." Then she took a deep breath. "Okay... here's the deal. While in Château Neverland..." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I am as my codename states...a sort of surrogate mother slash sister to you guys. I think sister fits better since I'm about the same age as you guys." She tilted her head at Duo. "You okay, Duo?"
Duo opened his eyes when he realised the question was addressed to him. "Yeah... just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
Wendy frowned. "Anyways... I really don't wanna have to pull rank on you guys in this, but there are a few rules." She took her attention away from Duo and turned to Heero. "There is to be NO contact with the doctors and professors that have been giving you your missions. No letters, no phone calls... ZIP! This operation is to get you all to loosen up, and there can be no going out to risk your lives." She turned to Quatre and smiled gently. "Quatre, you and Duo seem to be able to have some fun... I'll be counting on the two of you to help me out from time to time. As soon as Sleeping Beauty there wakes up, I will go into more detail."
Quatre blinked and looked over at Duo who was, sure enough, fast asleep. "You'll have to forgive him. He's not usually this rude."
Wendy shook her head. "It's quite all right. He was obviously tired. Let him sleep."
*****
Duo was jostled awake when the bus hit a bump. "Wha?"
Heero glanced back. "We're almost there."
Duo sat up and looked out the window. 'Snow...' He smiled. "Look at this place! There's snow everywhere!" He frowned as a wave of déjà vu hit him. 'Have I been here before?'
"Is something wrong?"
The soft voice beside him startled him. He turned to Wendy. "Don't sneak upon me like that." Then he turned back to gaze out the window. "I've just never seen so much snow! With everything happening in my life, I never really got to play in the snow when I was little."
Wendy nodded as she sat down and motioned to Quatre. "First thing we do when we get there is get the other three into a snowball fight. The girls are already there. By girls, I mean Relena, Catherine, Sally and Hilde. They're helping me out... and they each said they wanted a vacation. There's a change of clothes and some hot cocoa waiting for us when we finish."
Duo grinned. "Do I get to dump a shovelful of snow down Wufei's back?"
Wendy giggled. "If that's what it takes to get him involved!"
Quatre smiled at the two of them, getting into the spirit of the activity. "This is going to be fun!" He was kneeling on the seat in front of the pair and looking down on them from over the back. "I didn't see much snow growing up... and whenever it did snow, I was kept inside. They couldn't let the heir to the Winner fortune die of pneumonia, could they?"
Duo glanced up. Was that... bitterness... in Quatre's voice?
Wendy, however, nodded. "That's the precise reason they chose this place. Nothing made me happier as a kid than the winter holidays." She smiled happily. "Making snowmen, sledding, ice skating, a cup of hot chocolate and a warm set of clothes after a long day of playing. This... operation... coincided with my annual hiatus from concerts and recording, so I happily volunteered! How many girls get the chance to teach their heroes how to have fun?"
Duo turned to look out the window... away from the chatty girl. 'Heroes? What a laugh! I'm the Shinigami! Anything I touch dies!' He sighed sadly. 'Some hero.'
Quatre blinked. "Waitasec! YOU'RE Medly Starr? I LOVE your music! I knew that you had something to do with this operation, but I never expected to be interacting with you on a day to day basis! Wow! So... Château Neverland is actually Melody Manor, huh?"
Wendy nodded. "For the purpose of this operation, my name is Wendy. If you feel more comfortable calling me Medly... go right ahead." She grinned up at the Arabian. "But understand that Medly Starr is only my stage name." She giggled as Quatre's head disappeared and he leaned over the seat in front of him.
Duo had to smile when Trowa's head popped over the back of the seat so the normally stolid pilot could ask the singer for her autograph.
*****
"There it is, guys! Melody Manor... aka Château Neverland." She had to return the grins that Duo and Quatre were openly giving her. 'So they're looking FORWARD to this, are they?' As the bus stopped, she nodded. She watched as the three more serious pilots disembarked first.
Heero looked behind him to see that Duo was helping Quatre get bundled up. He almost smiled at Duo's thoughtfulness. Of course Quatre wouldn't be used to the frigid weather. Wendy was staying behind... probably couldn't get off until they were all off. He turned back to look at the mansion looming up in front of them. He never saw it coming.
Wendy, Duo and Quatre followed the other three. As one, they each bent down to scoop up some of the snow. They patted their ammunition into neat balls and tossed the projectiles at their targets.
Quatre's snowball, a little off target, hit Trowa in the small of his back. Trowa paused and turned around. One look at Quatre's faked innocent expression almost made Trowa laugh. "Quatre..." He casually bent down, packed a handful of snow in his hand and tossed it at the Arabian, hitting Quatre in the chest. "THAT'S how you throw a snowba..." He was cut off by a snowball hitting him in the face. "This... means... WAR!!!" He bolted after Quatre, who was laughing up a storm.
Duo's snowball was packed a little harder than the others. And it hit Wufei on the one place he hadn't covered.
Wufei yelped as he felt something cold hit the back of his neck. He knew who it was without turning. "MAXWELL!!!! CUT THAT OUT!" He clenched his teeth as two more snowballs hit the exact same spot in rapid succession. 'Snowballs are weak, BUT...' Without warning the long-haired pilot, Wufei spun and tackled Duo. Wufei growled and began to wrestle with Duo in the snow. After a moment, he discovered an interesting fact that made him smile. Duo was ticklish! In no time, he had Duo finding it hard to breathe between fits of giggles.
Heero, however, ignored the snowball that hit him on the back of the head. He also ignored the three snowballs that followed the first. He could not ignore, however, a face full of snow as he was tackled. Acting on instinct, he grabbed his assailant and had Wendy pinned to the snow-covered ground. Surprise and disappointment were conflicting in her eyes. He sighed as he stood up. "Sorry... just not my thing." With that, he resumed his trek to the house.
Duo managed to get Wufei off and walked up to Wendy... who looked oddly dejected. "Hey... don't worry too much about Heero. Guy can't handle being fun." He ran his hand through the tangled mess his hair had become. The braid had come undone at some point during his match with Wufei. "Look at it this way! Two out of three isn't bad for the first ten minutes."
Wendy glanced at Duo's tousled condition and giggled.
Duo grinned at the girl, and found that her laughter was contagious. In no time, the two of them were laughing hysterically for no apparent reason.
TBC...
* "Miss Dream" from the Sailor Moon Ss live play. Only song in the whole thing I like.
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