By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
Duo moved his gaze from a still-silent Heero to stare down at the mutilated pictures. He took a deep breath. "Well, I don't know what else we can do except wait for the stalker to screw up in some way."
His words effectively shattered the utter stillness of the moment, and everyone settled back in their respective chairs, dropping the pictures they had been looking at with disgust. Heero tipped his head back and studied the high ceiling before closing his eyes. "I suppose that's all we can do," he said quietly. "He's bound to make a mistake eventually. I hope."
"But how can you say that?" Relena asked, her voice taking a sharp edge as she fingered one of the eyeless pictures. "Whoever is doing this wants you to be afraid. He wants you to lose hope. He's flaunting how much he knows and how close he can get to you. Having a defeatist attitude is letting him win by default. I'm not saying that you should go on a manhunt--that would be dangerous--but don't just roll over and give up!" She lifted her chin and frowned, looking every inch the determined and shrewd politician.
"Hey, calm down," Duo replied mildly after a moment, not looking up. "No one's giving up here, but hell, can you blame us for being upset about this? And honestly, what else can we do but wait?"
"Not much," Wufei muttered after a long silence.
Relena's politician's mask crumbled suddenly, and she blushed. "I'm sorry...it's just that..." Her voice trailed off as she searched for the right words.
"You're worried, and that's how you deal with it," Wufei said, shooting a supportive look her way.
Heero laced his fingers with Duo's. "The sentiment is appreciated."
"Well, at least you're safe here," Quatre broke in, his smile forced. "I mean, we've got the grounds under surveillance, and with all the extra staff around, it would take a lot to break in without alerting at least someone."
"Hn...Can we go and check the surveillance footage from this afternoon? I know that this latest package has a local postmark, and therefore the tapes probably won't show anything other than the mail carrier, but I'd like to have a look anyway," Heero said.
"Of course," the blond replied, removing the napkin from his lap and folding it neatly. He placed it beside his plate of half-eaten food. "Whenever you're ready, we can go and check."
"Is anyone still hungry?" Duo asked, glancing around the table. The mail had been brought in while they were in the middle of lunch. Everyone shook their heads, replying no.
"Then let's go," Quatre said as he stood up.
So they left their half-eaten meals and went to Quatre's bedroom, where his personal com center was located. They had set up a feed to record digitally on the main computer as well as the hard tapes in the security room. As the group of six gathered around the computer, the surveillance of the mailbox played, splitting the monitor's screen into several small boxes as each camera's footage played simultaneously. Sparked to life at a signal from the motion detectors, the cameras' eyes revealed nothing except the mail carrier, the same black-haired man that always delivered the mail stuffing everything, including the package, into the large box.
Dead end. No one was surprised.
"Well, shit," Duo shrugged.
"That about covers it," Trowa agreed dryly.
Quatre wheeled his computer chair backwards, away from the monitor. "Okay. So...we wait, then?"
Heero nodded, his glare still fixed on the computer screen. "We wait. He will make a mistake." His voice was pure steel, as though by exerting his will alone he could make the stalker slip up and reveal something useful.
"Seems like we're going in circles, doesn't it?" Wufei said. "You guys get a threatening package, we look for clues and whatnot, nothing pans out, and now we're waiting for him to make another move, starting the cycle all over again. The coward is playing with us."
"Us?" Duo asked sourly, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. "Since when are you being threatened?"
"Well, he did take our picture when we all went out," Quatre said, rolling his eyes and trying to look nonchalant. "Besides, it concerns you and Heero, and you're here now, so of course it really is 'us' now."
Duo blinked. "Um, thanks."
The potentially awkward moment was broken when the phone rang. The screen component flashed the message: No Video Feed Available.
"Excuse me, everyone" the blond said, flashing an apologetic smile and grabbing the handheld audio component of the phone. He spoke into the cordless receiver, his voice suddenly all business. "Hello, Winner residence."
He stood up and walked across the room as he began to talk to the caller.
Duo leaned over and nudged Trowa with his elbow, keeping his voice down. "Hey, doesn't he have people to answer the phone for him?" The American waggled his eyebrows.
Trowa shrugged minutely. "Yes, but he likes to answer it himself when he's not in the office."
Before Duo could respond, Quatre walked back to the group and handed the receiver to Relena. "Hey, Relena, it's Dorothy. She wants to say 'hi.'"
Relena took the phone and immediately started chattering away to her friend, turning and wandering around the room as she spoke. Wufei watched her, amused. The politician looked like a schoolgirl.
"Dorothy and Mariemeia are going to be here in a few days, and thus arriving two days early. She was calling to let me know," Quatre supplied after a moment.
"Ah, okay," Duo said, for want of anything better to say. "Have you gotten word from anyone else? I mean, uh, when they're arriving?"
"Not yet," the Arabian replied, running a hand through his hair. "But I'm guessing everyone is still arriving the day we get everything started. This is just an informal get together, after all. No one's canceled, at least. Well, except for Lady Une and Sally, because of the bombing case."
"Informal, huh?" Duo teased, choosing not to dwell on the reason Sally and Une had been unable to attend. "That's why you sent out special invitations and everything?"
"You know how hard it is to get everyone together!" Quatre let out an exasperated sigh. "How else can we possibly hope to round everyone up in one place, without scheduling ahead of time and then setting everything else up? I had to start planning this almost last year."
"Bah! I guess you're right, Q, but still, you're so stressed!" The American shot back, grinning. "You know we appreciate it, right?"
Quatre just grinned back, his expression matching Duo's. "You'd better damn well appreciate it!"
Trowa snickered quietly. "Still, Duo has a point. You did send out three sets of invitations."
Relena handed the phone back to Quatre. "Yeah, the one with the gold writing was kind of over the top. Oh, Dorothy wanted me to tell everyone hello for her."
"What is this? Pick on Quatre Day?" The blond man asked as he placed the receiver back on its cradle.
"Wait...three sets? We only got one, and some emails..." Duo broke in.
"Which one did you get?" Quatre asked, raising his eyebrows. "I could have sworn that I had sent them all to your correct address. I know you guys move a lot, traveling and all, but still..."
"Well, we got the one that was forwarded three times, right before we left," Duo muttered, thinking out loud. "We had only been in that place for a couple weeks, so mail was just starting to catch up to us..."
"That's right. We got it the morning we left," Heero confirmed, shooting a worried glance at his lover.
Duo's face had darkened. Their new place, blown to smithereens less than a day after they had left, considering it had detonated after they arrived at Quatre's estate. A brush with death that may or may not have anything to do with the stalker, Duo still hadn't come to terms with the strangeness, or the lingering fear. If it hadn't been for the stalker, and if the incident had been unrelated, then they owed the psychotic stalker their lives. It was twisted, it was ironic, oh hell...it was just fucked up. The American sighed and moved to stand closer to Heero.
"That's odd," Trowa replied. "The first tentative invitation was sent out about nine months ago."
"Huh," Duo grunted, then shrugged. "Oh well. Whatever. Stupid snail mail."
So the topic was forgotten...for the time being.
~ ~ ~ ~
In a dark room, the porcelain mask waited, its pristine ivory colored surface a beacon in the gathered gloom. Preparations were being made. It would be worn soon. Somewhere, a girl stared at the mask, her eyes transfixed on the purity of it as it lay before her.
Such fools. Such brave, wonderful fools. They had no idea...
The girl smirked. They were marionettes to her will, her plan now in motion...the stage was all but set...and soon they would dance...they would dance beautifully before she broke them.
She couldn't wait to cut out his eyes.
Yes. Blood of his beloved one would flow.
Yes. Soon.
Yes.
The girl laughed softly, then calmed herself quickly. She still had things left to do.
She left the room. She'd be back before long. The mask waited patiently for her return.
~ ~ ~ ~
The next day was clear and bright, a marked contrast from the previous day's drizzle and clouds. Duo woke gradually as more sunlight managed to sneak in through the open slats of the venetian blinds at their window. He absently wished he had closed them the night before, but he hadn't really thought about it. He had been...preoccupied...
Duo felt a sleepy smile take over his face as he remembered just what he had been preoccupied by...or rather, who he had been preoccupied by. Closing his eyes, he tightened his arms around the man spooned in front of him. Heero mumbled something in his sleep and nuzzled his head back, bumping Duo's nose. The American felt his heart skip within his chest. Heero never used to make noises or move around in his sleep. Perhaps that damnable cast-iron training was finally starting to wear off.
It was one thing for Heero to loosen up and truly allow himself to feel, it was another thing entirely for him to begin to break from years of conditioning. Peace had been good to Heero, it was allowing him to slowly become the person he would have been...could have been...if he hadn't been closed away within himself, the result of years of training and pain. Those years of death, of killing, it damaged a person. Duo sighed, remembering his own troubles. He took a deep breath, savoring the scent of his lover's hair that was tickling his nose.
They had helped each other along. They would never be 'normal,' but at least they could try to be somewhat content. Having someone who understood what it all meant, well, it helped. That's why the pilots would always remain in some sort of contact, because they were the only ones who could really understand. That's why he and Heero had bonded...Duo thought it ironic, that horrible conflict and suffering had brought them together, to trust and understanding and love. Weird, but wonderful; despite the suffering he had experienced along the way, he knew it had been worth it.
The proof was snuggled warmly in his arms.
And to think...they could have died in the explosion that had taken their apartment building. Duo suppressed a shudder, knowing it would probably wake Heero. It bothered him on so many levels. The threat of death after the war had slowly ebbed into memory, and while the reality of it remained, Duo had grown used to not actively thinking about it. Removed from major conflict, the peace had also been good to him...soothing away the constant fear of losing those he loved. Suddenly having the menace of death loom over him again had been unnerving, and had felt strangely unnatural after its absence...and yet still familiar. And Duo hated it.
If that damn stalker had been involved, then when they found out who he was...Duo would fucking kill him. Random acts of violence would always happen, it was a sad but true fact, but directed violence...he didn't want it in his life anymore. He may still be a Preventer, a job that sometimes entailed violence in and of itself, but he was no longer a pseudo-terrorist. He wasn't a soldier anymore. He wanted rid of that trap, now that peace had been found.
If he and Heero had been the intended targets...then the deaths of the other tenants was partially their fault. It wasn't fair, and they hadn't been the ones to detonate the bomb, but they still had a hand in those innocent people's deaths.
Guilt, Duo's oldest friend...
It seemed that events were conspiring to rob them of their hard-won happiness. And that really pissed him off.
Within the circle of his arms, Heero shifted. "Duo? Are you all right?"
The American noticed he had tightened his embrace around the Japanese man. "Sorry...I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay," Heero rolled over to face Duo, his eyes still slightly fogged from sleep. "Answer the question. Are you all right?"
"I guess...I was thinking about stuff," the longhaired man mumbled, avoiding the other's eyes.
"Tell me?"
"Just...stuff," Duo whispered. "...Getting all depressed again. Ya know, over all the shit that's been happening lately..."
Heero pressed a gentle kiss to his partner's forehead. "It'll all work out, it always does. We'll be fine," he paused, then stared hard into Duo's eyes. "We will be fine..."
Duo leaned in and kissed Heero hard on the mouth. "Yeah, we will."
Neither said that it was going to be easy.
They didn't want to jinx their hope.
They didn't want to lie, either.
~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the house, Quatre opened his eyes to the sound of the com center in his bedroom chiming merrily. Email. He groaned and burrowed his head underneath the light covers, ignoring the little businesslike voice in his head telling him to get up and check his new email. Since the center was set only to go off if he received an email at his private email address, chances were the mail was from one of his impending guests.
After an internal debate of epic proportions, the blond man decided to check the damn com center and then get back to bed as soon as possible. With this intention firmly, but reluctantly, in mind, he started sliding sideways, away from Trowa's sleepy warmth and out from under the covers.
However, he was thwarted when long muscular arm suddenly shot out from under the folds of covers and curled around his waist, pulling him back into the warm confines of the sheets and Trowa's company.
"Trowa..."
"Hmm?" Came a barely conscious grunt.
"I have to check my email. I'll be right back..." Quatre whispered, tapping his fingertips on the forearm still wrapped around his waist. A second later that forearm shifted upwards, brushing higher up Quatre's torso to circle his chest and pull him further back into Trowa's embrace.
Trowa nibbled absently at the back of the blond man's neck. "No. You can check it later."
"Trowa, I need to check it now!" The Arabian hissed quietly, wiggling a little, just enough to feel the heat of Trowa's body press more closely against his back. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in an attempt calm the sudden flaring of passion now coursing through his veins. "What if it's important?"
"You know that it probably isn't, though," A slow roll of hips forward, an easy grinding motion, while Trowa gently nipped the juncture of Quatre's shoulder and neck. The taller man sucked lightly at the bite, licked it, then moved his head up to whisper in his love's ear. "You worry too much."
Quatre sighed and relaxed. He hadn't really wanted to get up anyway. He snickered at that thought, realizing its slightly ironic double meaning. Then he purred when Trowa started to slowly lick the back of his ear.
The blond let a positively lecherous smile settle on his features as he began to actively rock with the movement of Trowa's hips behind him. He could feel that the other man was just as excited as he was with the slow grinding. In a sudden fluid movement, Quatre pushed backwards hard, and then rolled over so that he was half lying on top of Trowa. The blond smiled down at him and licked his lips.
The former HeavyArms pilot looked up at Quatre in mild surprise at the sudden move, then found himself subjected to a molten, absolutely searing kiss.
They stayed in bed. The email was momentarily forgotten.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Damn, I wish my hair had this kind of smooth texture," Relena muttered as she tugged the hairband from Wufei's hair and ruffled it. Since he had let his hair grow out some since the war, it fell down to a few inches past his shoulders when freed.
The pair was once again attempting to play a rack of pool in one of the rec rooms while they waited for everyone else to crawl out of bed. Both were early risers and just couldn't lie in bed for very long, even when on vacation. It just wasn't in their nature.
They were getting better at pool, though both parties were using every little psychological trick they could think of to make up for their significant lack of talent.
"Bah! Woman! I thought we had a no touching rule for when we were actually shooting!" The Chinese man scolded, trying to snatch the hairband back from the blonde woman's fingers.
"Ah, but I didn't touch you, m'dear, I touched your hair. Technically, it's not really you, as much as it's a bunch of dead follicle things that just happened to be attached to you," Relena retorted, sliding the captured hairband onto her wrist. "Besides, you weren't actually in the process of making...or attempting...your shot."
"Technicalities," Wufei rolled his eyes and pushed his fine hair out of his face. He tugged at a few strands before raising an eyebrow. "You like my hair?"
"Yeah, haven't I ever told you that before?" The woman cocked her head to the side, fingering the blonde strands of her own hair for a second. "My hair's a pain in the ass, and it's never as nice and smooth as yours always is."
"Um, thanks," He responded, blushing very faintly. He turned away and lined his cue stick up again, biting his lower lip in concentration. "It's in my genes, I guess."
"Whatever it is, I like it," Relena whispered, waiting for him to take his shot. The shiny white cue ball missed its intended target but ricocheted off the side of the table to barely brush one of his solids, thus knocking it in. "Would wonders never cease? You actually made one!" She laughed lightly and ruffled Wufei's hair again, being sure to muss it enough that it fell over his face again.
He snorted and pushed the hair back, tucking dark strands behind his ears. "Yes, I did. Now prepare to be amazed as I continue to dominate!" His voice was utterly serious despite the grin fighting its way onto his face.
"You'll miss this next one."
"No, I shall make it."
"You'll miss!" Came a quiet whisper.
"Shut up!" Wufei muttered as he leaned over the table to line up his next shot. Just as he was about to make his shot...
"Can I braid your hair?"
"What? Trying to turn me into Duo?" The Chinese man hissed through clenched teeth as he shot. He missed. Damnit.
"Naw, not one big braid...a bunch of little ones," Relena sidled up next to him and played with the ebony strands, tugging gently on bits and pieces and sliding her fingers through to massage the base of his skull. "Come on, it'd look great. And I'd get to mess with your hair! Do you know how relaxing it is to have someone play with your hair?"
"Fine!" Wufei muttered, trying to look put out, but failing miserably. He let her take the cue stick from his hands.
Relena made a little noise of happiness and grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together and tugging him towards the doorway. "Then come on, I need to get a comb and some hair ties. I have a whole pack in the room."
"What have I got myself into?" He groaned dramatically, allowing himself to be pulled forward.
"You know, that could mean so many different things," the blonde slowed her step suddenly and glanced up at her...she wasn't sure what...
Boyfriend? Lover? Certainly, both of those. But it was another thing to actively think that. How much further could they go with one another, restricted to meeting in certain "safe" places? She couldn't imagine not having Wufei around, he was her support...and being together almost constantly for the past week had only reinforced the growing need within her. But how much longer could they dodge around the media and the rest of the world? Relena was starting to want...more. But what would that mean? What had she gotten herself into? What had he? Did he even feel the same?
Wufei squeezed her hand. "Indeed, it could mean many things. But whatever it does mean, I think I like it."
She smiled, a tiny, closed mouth expression of quiet happiness. "Me too."
They went back to their room to get the hair supplies, their joined hands swinging between them as they walked.
~ ~ ~ ~
It was early afternoon before the three couples sat down to lunch at the large kitchen table. As they settled into their respective chairs, everyone looked a little uneasy. The mail usually came in while they were eating.
After a too long moment of silence as they began to dig into their food, Duo finally decided to break the strange mood. "So, Wu...what's with the hair?"
Wufei's hair had been plaited neatly into a multitude of meticulously neat little braids, each tied off with black hair tie. His cheeks tinged red and he snorted, shooting a glance at Relena. Before he could answer, though, Relena broke in. "I braided it. Doesn't it look so cool and different?"
Duo nodded, cocking his head to the side. "I like it...but that is a ton of braids. How long did it take?"
"Hours. We started this morning," Wufei mumbled before taking a big bite of food. He shook his head a little, making the little black braids slide against each other before resettling.
"And now my hands absolutely ache," Relena added, putting down her fork and wiggling her fingers. "Poor hands."
"It looks good. Do you like it, Wufei?" Quatre asked.
Wufei ducked his head slightly, a little embarrassed by the attention suddenly focused on his skull and its so-called "dead follicle things." Although having Relena spend so much time with her hands buried in his hair had definitely been fun, he wasn't used to having attention directed to him in such a manner. It felt strange. Then he realized that Quatre was expecting an answer. "I like it...although taking them out is going to be a pain."
"Your hair will be...crinkly," Duo supplied.
Wufei nodded. "I imagine so."
"Eh, well--" Before the American could finish, though, one of maids bustled in with an armful of mail.
The air was almost sucked out of the room from the collective gasp everyone took at the sight of the tall stack of mail. It seemed that distractions could only temporarily alleviate the uneasy mood the stalker had cast over their time together.
"Let's get it over with," Heero said abruptly, standing up and leaning forward to leaf through the pile of catalogs and envelopes. Quickly he located a thick manila envelope and pulled it from the stack. "Here it is. No return address, local postmark."
"Our daily dose of sunshine," Duo muttered sarcastically.
Trowa handed Heero a kitchen knife. The Japanese man took it gratefully and sliced the edges of the envelope, eviscerating it as he had the razor-lined one barely a week hence. With a twist of the knife's point under the now loose flap, he exposed the contents of the envelope.
It was a piece of cream colored cardstock, lying harmlessly among the diced remains of the envelope. It appeared to be the only thing the envelope contained, and it was completely plain. It was...odd.
"Flip it over," Relena suggested, already wincing in trepidation.
Heero did so, using the flat of the knife to avoid touching the seemingly innocuous thick paper.
So that's where the eyes from the pictures had went.
The other side of the thick cardstock was pristine, except for six little words spelled in cutout eyes, presumably cut from the eyes from the mutilated pictures they had received the day before. Around the letters formed by the small conglomerate of savaged eyes, there was no adhesive residue, as though ultimate care had been taken with the placement of the words so that the message of fanatical intent would be obvious, if only from the manner in which the words were presented. All capital letters, no punctuation. The message was clear, and yet astoundingly cryptic:
I SEE YOU I KNOW YOU
Automatically everyone's heads swiveled, taking in their immediate area out of reflex.
"What the hell?" Duo exclaimed, leaning forward to have a better look at the message. The different eyes, the familiar shades and shapes of his friends' and his own eyes, seemed to peer at him from their places within the letters, watching him move. They followed him.
"Whoa. If he says he knows you...Do you think you may know him?" Quatre asked, his eyes very wide as he too stood up to have a better look at the strangely disturbing words. The tension in the room was so thick that it was starting to effect his empathic sense. He took a deep breath and forced the feeling away, years of control coming in handy.
Heero grunted and moved slightly closer to his American partner. "Let's not jump to conclusions. This message could mean a variety of things."
"Yes, does he mean that he knows you literally, or figuratively?" Wufei wondered, reaching up to tug nervously on one of his new little braids.
"It could be either, with the clues he has thrown at us," Duo said thoughtfully. He sat back down in his chair, purposefully shifting his gaze away from the little disembodied eyes to look down at his plate. "I mean, look at it this way, he has to have been watching us for quite some time. He could mean that he knows how we think."
"But is it possible at all that he means this literally?" Quatre persisted, after taking another deep breath to calm himself. "Be sure, think carefully. He could be flaunting this in your faces on purpose."
"...Or he could be trying to make you think it's someone you know. He could be trying to make you suspicious of the people around you," Trowa added quietly.
Duo shook his head slowly. "It could be any of those things. It's entirely possible that this is just another little ploy, or it could be the literal truth. It doesn't really matter at this point, we can't narrow our options down. Not yet."
"Do you think the fact that he used the eyes to spell out the words means something? Like, well, that he's watching you even now?" Relena asked hesitantly.
"Well, he could just be making a bad pun. 'I see you?'" Duo tried to joke, pointing up at his own eyes as he spoke.
"I don't see how he could be watching you right now, not while you're here. Security is tight," Quatre spoke up, a thin line of worry creasing his forehead. He was starting to get a headache.
"Perhaps he means the 'I see you' figuratively as well," Trowa reasoned. "They is no way to know for sure."
"Yeah, don't want to rule anything out just yet," Duo nodded.
"Perhaps we should check the mailbox surveillance footage, just in case?" Wufei suggested with a minute shrug.
"It couldn't hurt," Heero agreed.
So lunch went half-eaten for the second day in a row.
The cutout eyes watched them leave the table.
~ ~ ~ ~
A repeat of the day before took place as the group gathered around the small computer screen to watch the footage captured. And yes, again, it was just the regular postal worker delivering the mail and one of the younger members of Quatre's staff picking it up a few minutes later, same as always.
Nothing new. Big surprise. The room was a study in silence while each considered their own thoughts.
"Oh, yeah, let me check my email," Quatre said, trying to shift some of the painful quiet away, if only for a minute. He accessed the information while the others waited.
"I thought you checked it in the mornings when you got up?" Duo asked.
Trowa coughed discreetly. "He was otherwise occupied."
Collective blush.
"Never mind," Wufei mumbled, tugging one of his little braids.
"Oh, hey, it's from Sylvia," Quatre broke in, making a valiant attempt to sound normal, for various reasons. "She's still in Italy right now, but she's going to leave tomorrow. Here's the thing, though, she wants to bring her fiancé...and his little sister. Evidently she wants to introduce us to her fiancé, but the sister is too young to be left by herself or something like that...I'm guessing that he's her guardian. She wants to know it's okay to bring them both."
"Shouldn't that be up to you?" Heero asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, it won't be too much trouble to set up an extra room or two, depending on the arrangements they want...but what I mean is, would you, Duo, Heero, be okay with relative strangers showing up at a time like this?" Quatre elaborated.
The two in question held a silent conversation with their eyes alone. "I don't see why not," Duo finally said.
"I trust Sylvia," Heero nodded, snaking his arm around Duo's waist.
"All right. Then I'll tell her it's fine and see what arrangements she needs," Quatre replied, already typing.
"Hey, I've been wondering something," Relena piped suddenly, turning to Heero. "I love Syl to pieces, don't get think I don't or anything, but how in the world did you and her end up as friends?"
"Well..." The Japanese man started, attempting to gather his thoughts to relate the information. He shot a semi-desperate glance at his lover.
"Well, it's a weird story. I know that one day the two of us just showed up one day with her in tow, and that must have been odd," Duo broke in, stepping an inch closer to Heero, placing a hand on the arm that had circled his middle.
"Yes, it was kind of strange," Trowa agreed. "Especially after what happened in Europe when Heero basically asked her to kill him."
"It always astounds me how suicidal you used to be, Heero," Relena rolled her eyes, remembering that particular story, one she had heard so many times before.
Heero grunted and tightened his grip on Duo's waist slightly. "Used to be."
"So anyway," Duo started again, trying to get back on track. "Out of the blue, at the beginning of last year, I think, we get this phone call. It was Miss Syl calling us, said that she had seen Heero in the tabloids and had gotten curious about what he had been doing since the war. Evidently she had seen the picture of the two of us...yeah, you remember the picture, right? The one from when we were in Tahiti?"
"Oh, that one," Wufei muttered, shaking his head in exasperation, making the small braids bounce. He liked the way they moved. It felt different, but in a good way.
"Yeah, that one," Duo leered at Heero for a second, who just rolled his eyes. "So she calls us, right? Well, she calls Heero, at any rate. So they decide to meet in a cafe. We were in New York at the time, and she has money, so it wasn't a problem. Prudently, Heero didn't tell her that I was also going to be there. You understand, we were a bit cautious. Last time they had met hadn't exactly been on friendly terms, ya know?"
"That's an understatement," Trowa nodded.
"Yeah, so a few weeks later the meeting time rolls around. I go early to grab a corner table and be all undercover-like. They meet, and the first thing Sylvia says when Heero sits down is..." The American paused for effect. "'So, you still want me to kill you?' It was funny, but kinda weird. Then she laughed and it was cool. After about ten minutes she gestured for me to join them. Evidently she knew I was there the whole time."
"And ever since, we've kept in touch. She's a good friend," Heero finished.
"Ah, see, I've wondered about that for the past year," Relena nodded. "Sylvia's nice. I saw her last month at one of those horrible endless dinner functions."
"Endless dinner function? If it was endless, how can you be here right now?" Wufei asked, jabbing her lightly with his elbow. She grabbed the offensive arm and held onto it. He let her.
"Funny," She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, now that's taken care of," Quatre paused, sending the email. "Oh, another one...from Zechs and Noin."
"It's about time," Trowa said, leaning forward. "Considering how you couldn't reach them earlier."
Quatre gasped as he read the email. "Oh, no! Tredici wasn't feeling well, so they took her to the emergency room."
"Is she okay?" Relena asked frantically, concerned for her infant niece.
"Yeah, they said she's fine and that you shouldn't worry, Relena," Quatre replied. He pointed at a line of text. "They actually put that in here for me to tell you. Huh...Okay, and they're leaving tomorrow, thus the reason they didn't call and tell us in person. They're going to take short hops instead of a big long shuttle ride, for Dici's sake."
"Oh, good. I was worried about how they were going to travel with her. She's only a month old, after all," Relena sighed, hugging more tightly to Wufei's arm. "I can't wait to finally see her! She's so cute in the pictures Milliardo has sent me!"
Wufei looked slightly nervous.
"So, they should arrive a day early, then?" Heero asked, ignoring Relena's baby-induced gooey state.
"Uh-huh," Quatre nodded, typing up a quick reply, just in case they checked their email at some point. Sending it on its way, he rolled his shoulders backwards. "So, now what?"
"Now, we...do something else," Duo supplied, trying to keep the mood upbeat. The last thing he wanted to do was let the stalker ruin his day...even though those unpleasant thoughts would be lurking in the back of his mind. That didn't mean he couldn't try, though.
"We could watch a movie, or hang out in one of the rec rooms, or maybe even swim in the pool?" Quatre suggested hesitantly, trying to think of things they could do.
"Oh, let's play table tennis!" Relena jumped in.
"You just say that because you're good at it," Wufei scolded her.
"Of course," She sniffed and raised her chin. "I am the Queen of Table Tennis. Ping pong balls everywhere fear me."
Heero raised his thick eyebrows and nodded his head in a slow, deliberate gesture. "Sure."
"Is that a challenge?" Relena asked, making her voice sound haughty, despite the little grin on her face.
"Mission accepted."
Duo groaned loudly and smacked his forehead. "Ack! Will we never escape that damnable phrase?"
"We already have," Heero said, his manner completely serious once again.
"If we're going to play table tennis, I declare myself the official scorekeeper," Wufei proclaimed, sensing that the conversation was about to falter.
"That's because you suck at playing," Trowa said.
"I do not deny it," The Chinese man agreed.
"Ahem. So let's go?" Quatre suggested, starting to leave the room.
"Oh, yeah, playing table tennis would require us being in the same room as the table and equipment," Duo added, pulling Heero along by his hand.
So they made their way to one of the rec rooms and started a mini-tournament. Three games into it and Duo was already out, so he decided to play announcer to harass the player of his choice. He successfully distracted the hell out of Trowa, causing him to lose to Quatre. Before long, however, it was down to the final game between Heero and Relena.
About half way through a rally, the phone rang. Quatre groaned and walked over to the phone in the corner, flipping the screen and the speaker audio feed on at the same time as he composed his face and voice. "Hello, Winner residence."
"Hi, Quatre!"
It was Hilde. The young woman was obviously using a pay phone from the quality of the picture. Static kept rolling over the top of the screen, partially obscuring the top of her head every few seconds. Her shoulder length hair was dyed a light mossy green, with navy blue tips. She was grinning madly.
At the sound of Hilde's voice chirping over the connection, Duo had turned his head in that direction. He couldn't see the screen from where he was sitting. "Is that Hilde?"
The blond man glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, it is," He turned back to the screen. "Hi, Hilde. How are you?"
"I'm great! I just got up, though, the concert last night was killer, but it lasted till midnight...then we went out," Her grin widened even more. "Hi, Duo!"
The American had wandered over to peer over Quatre's shoulder. "Hi, Hilde. Have you been having fun? When are you showing up here? Your hair is very green."
"Yeah, I love the color. It makes salesclerks follow me around when I go shopping, though, which is annoying but funny as hell. I've been having a blast. I'll tell you all about it when I get there," Hilde wrinkled her nose as she mentally tallied her replies to Duo's questions. "Oh, and I should arrive on the day we were supposed to, I guess. That's in, uh, four days, right?"
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, but if you want to come early, that's fine, too."
"Oh, great! Okay, maybe I'll be a day early. The band we've been following is about to hook up with a larger, multi-stage tour, and although big concerts rock, I prefer the small venues. More intimate and intense, you can get closer to the stage and all," Hilde rambled. "So, uh, yeah. We'll see. Can I just show up?"
"Sure," Quatre replied.
"Hey, what band are you following this time? Didn't you and those other friends of yours do this last year following Kronolite?" Duo asked, trying to remember if she had told him already.
"Oh, we're following Monolith's 'Element of Chaos' tour. They're a retro pre-colony metal group, and they're absolutely awesome live. When they hit it big, and I know they will, I can say that I listened to them before they were famous," Hilde answered. She looked off screen, slightly to the right. "Uh oh. I'm running out of time. I'm at a pay phone and I don't have any lower denomination credits, and this thing doesn't give change."
"So, you gotta go?" Duo asked.
"Yeah, before the stupid operator comes on and asks me for more money," She nodded, slipping on a pair of sunglasses. "So, I'll see you guys in a few days?"
"Awesome," Duo grinned. "Bye!"
"See you soon," Quatre added.
"Bye, guys! Oh, and say hello to everyone for me!" Hilde laughed, waved at the screen, and terminated the call at her end.
By the time Quatre and Duo rejoined the rest of the room back at the ping pong table, Relena and Heero had given up on their game, declaring it a tie. Evidently they had been playing a tiebreaker for the entire duration of the phone call. When Duo and Quatre returned to the group, they relayed the basic gist of their conversation with Hilde. After a few minutes, the topic wandered in another direction, following the course of random comments leading to long dialogues typical amongst them. About an hour passed.
A tentative knock came from the doorframe. A maid with unnaturally coal black hair stood in open doorway holding an envelope in the hand that wasn't raised to knock. When the six people turned to look at her, she jumped slightly, her hand twitching at her side. "Um, Mr. Winner? I know that you were distracted earlier when opening the mail, so the staff separated the rest of it for you. This came for Mr. Yuy and Mr. Maxwell. Mrs. Jessam sent me to find you all and give it to you. She said you'd probably want to see it."
She lifted the small white envelope, then walked quickly across the room and handed the envelope to her employer. The maid smiled shyly and ducked her head, turning to leave immediately, moving as though fire was licking at her heels.
"Miss?" Quatre asked, looking down the envelope with suddenly wide eyes.
The young woman turned at the doorway, startled. "Yes, sir?" She squeaked.
"You said this came in today's mail, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you for bringing it to us. And what's your name? Are you part of the temporary staff?" The blond man asked, his voice very polite.
The maid folded her hands in front of her. "Yes, sir, I'm part of the temp staff you had hired for the upcoming festivities. My name's Samantha."
"Thank you, Samantha," Quatre replied, glancing back down warily at the envelope she had handed him. "You can go now, if you'd like."
She nodded vigorously. "Okay, thank you, sir!" Then she was gone, out the door in a split second.
"Give, please?" Duo asked, gesturing the envelope still in Quatre's hand.
The blond passed it to his American friend. "Careful. I think it's been tampered with."
"What makes you say that?" Duo asked, examining the envelope carefully. Heero leaned close and also peered at it. One of Quatre's city apartments was the return address.
It was immediately apparent what Quatre had been talking about, however. Not only was the small opening flap taped down neatly, but one look at the front of the envelope was enough to make Duo's and Heero's blood run ice cold.
It had been addressed to them... at their old address. Someone had taken the time to forward the envelope manually, writing "forward to:" followed by Quatre's address. But that wasn't what was so terrible, it was clear that this had not been the first time the envelope had been forwarded in such a manner. It had been done so many times that white labels had been placed over the old writing several times, but the edges of addresses were still clearly visible on the worn surface of the well-handled envelope.
The writing of the forwarding addresses matched the writing on the envelope they had received at the pizza place in town. All capitals, letters nearly engraved into the paper from the force of the pen. Black ink.
The implication was clear: The stalker had been following them, and had access to their mail, for quite sometime. He had forwarded this letter several times, just to spite them when they finally received it. It was a carefully orchestrated, disturbing message.
"Shit," Duo whispered. He looked up at Quatre when he noticed the return address. "You sent this to us, do you remember when?"
Quatre nodded reluctantly. "It was probably about nine months ago. That's the style envelope I sent the first tentative invitations out in."
Duo dropped the little white envelope onto his lap and stared at it. "Well."
Heero picked it up and held it carefully up to the light. After scrutinizing it for a few moments, he tore the side of the envelope open and very cautiously removed the small white paper inside. Sure enough, it was an invitation to the very gathering that was coming up in only a few days. The dates and the details were slightly different, of course, since it had been the first, unconfirmed invitation. Heero felt Duo's arm slip around his waist as the American leaned into him, also peering at the paper.
"The back," Wufei said. He had been sitting with Relena, on a couch across from Duo and Heero's. Trowa and Quatre sat on a sofa perpendicular to the other couples, forming three sides of a square,
Heero turned the paper over. It was the same style as the message received earlier that day, words spelled out in all capital letters and formed with cutout eyes. Their eyes, manipulated on the paper to spell out a message.
SEE YOU THERE
"Oh, God. Do you think...do you think he means it?" Duo whispered.
Heero sighed, found Duo's hand and squeezed it. He set the invitation down on the small side table beside their couch without breaking the contact. "I guess we'll find out."
The disembodied eyes seemed to watch them.
There was nothing to do but wait.
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