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Okay, so I'm running a little behind with fanfiction. You're not allowed to kill me because I can't finish the story if I'm dead! So there! :P
Seriously, though. Work takes up more time than school, I think, even if I don't have homework and I'm just always tired! But I'm trying to get in the habit of bi-weekly updates, which will hopefully work. I just can't work on more than two stories at once. Which seems all right at the moment because that's all I need to update.
We won't talk about what needs editing.
*ahem* Anyway, I did manage to get the next chapter of Flight of the Bumblebee done. Good for me, right? The chapter took a slight turn that even I was surprised for in the end, but I think it'll blend in nicely with my plan. I also wanted to hint that, if you pay attention, you'll find someone from The Dream Catcher (My "one shot" that ended up a three shot). So, if you've read that, tell me if you find the reference!
Now, before you kill me for dropping off the end of the world for, like, two months (or something. I have no idea how long it was. And hopefully life will be easier when I move out in a few months), I think I'll post chapter seventeen.
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Title: Flight of the Bumblebee Part Seventeen
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Harry Potter Gundam Wing crossover
Disclaimer: For the. . . like, seventeenth time, already! I would have a very confused gender and nationality to own these. Pity. It'd be quite fun.
Warnings: (1x2, 3x4, 5x6) Harry angst. Sap.
Summary: Trowa Barton discovers that he actually has family thanks to mandatory government testing. Since Trowa isn't eighteen yet, he's the lucky sap that gets to go live with them for awhile, to the annoyance of the rest of the pilots and Preventors.
Flight of the Bumblebee
Part Seventeen
Hot and Cold
Harry bounced excitedly from the school building. He and Trowa and the other pilots were supposed to go get Ali today, so he could stay with them until his dad got back! Trowa met him at the steps, herding him quickly to the SUV. Hiiro was behind the wheel, glancing around impatiently, and Harry hurried to buckle his seatbelt. He really wanted to see Ali! "Come on!" Harry pleaded, and Trowa chuckled softly.
"Patience, green eyes," Trowa's gentle rebuff made Harry blush, but he didn't seem to mind it. Quatre gave a mental sign of relief. If Harry continued to listen to their gentle prompting, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about him pressing his boundaries. Maybe this whole transition this would be a lot smoother than Duo said it would. Quatre stole a look at Duo, who was wearing a strange look on his face as he watched Harry surreptitiously. Quatre nearly sighed. If Duo was right, then gentle scolding or no, there was no such things as an "easy transition."
The ride to the hospital was semi-silent, with Harry gripping the door handle the entire way, almost as though he was nervous. Trowa smiled at him, putting an arm around Harry's shoulders and pulling him to lean against Trowa's side. Harry didn't protest the action, tucking himself closer when Trowa paused to see if Harry wanted to be held. Wu Fei and Zechs exchanged looks, wondering to themselves about Harry's behavior. They'd expected him to be a little more happy. When Wu Fei went to ask the child, however, Duo gave a shake of his head.
This is something he needs to figure out on his own, Duo told them in silent code, glaring until Wu Fei shifted away from the boy. Trowa just tilted his head slightly, but didn't release Harry, wondering what Duo had meant.
Hopefully it wasn't anything too serious. After all, the last thing Harry needed was even more stress.
Ali was clutching Sandrock as they entered, staring at them with wide, brown eyes. Harry tightened his grip on Trowa's hand for a moment, then he let go and bounded to the bed. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, tugging at Ali's hands. Ali nodded silently, glancing around the room.
"I don't have anything to change into," He admitted softly. "Daddy didn't bring me anything."
Quatre jerked his head slightly at the address of Ali's father, but didn't say anything about it, leaving to ask one of the nurses if they had anything for Ali to wear home. Septum had already informed the hospital Ali would be leaving with the pilots, so she only nodded and went to find some scrubs they kept around specially for circumstances such as these. "I bet you can't wait to leave," Duo sat on the bed, patting Ali's leg. "Hospitals are no fun."
Ali bit his lip. "I don't mind." His voice was still soft, and Harry moved to give his friend a hug. He looked like he needed it. Ali leaned into it, gripping Harry tightly for several, long moments.
Hiiro and Wu Fei traded looks while Trowa gave his version of a frown--a simple quirk of his lips. "Well, we have something for you to wear, at least until we get you some of your own clothes." Quatre's cheerful voice made Ali jump, nearly taking both himself and Harry off the bed. Harry gave a little giggle and Ali smiled as well, looking a little sheepish for his terrible start.
"Thank you." Ali took the offered clothing, moving to put them on in the tiny bathroom attached to his room. It didn't take him but a moment, and Harry grabbed his hand, leading him down the hall and chattering away about Quatre's house, with all it's room and secret passages. The pilots just listened to the chatter, laughing softly to themselves. Ali just kept nodding, interrupting every once in awhile to offer a comment, clutching Sandrock in his fist. It was nice to see him act a little more child-like, and when he looked like he was over exerting himself a bit, Zechs lifted him onto his back. Harry didn't say anything, just bit his lip and glanced momentarily at Trowa.
Quatre nudged him in the ribs, making Trowa hurry forward and pick Harry up as well. It was going to be interesting to have the two around if both of them refused to ask for anything. Not even Quatre could read minds, after all.
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The trip to Ali's house was uneventful, and when they finally got there Ali rushed to his room with the others close behind. The pilots and Harry were startled to see a bag already sitting on his bed, and Ali gave a happy smile. "Dad must have packed it." He grinned, picking it up while the others glanced around. There was a sad lack of toys in the room, and the entire room looked more like it was made for a grown-up than a child. The books on the shelves couldn't have been for Ali, with their tiny print and long words.
"Where're your toys?" Harry frowned, brows furrowed. Wasn't Ali supposed to have lots of toys, like Dudley did, because he lived all by himself with his father?
"In another room," Ali shrugged. "I don't keep them in here."
"Can I see them?" Harry bounced excitedly, but missed the panicked look crossing the boy's face.
"Maybe some other time, Harry. We need to get going, if we want to eat at a reasonable time," Wu Fei broke in. "Do you have your uniform in the bag Ali?"
"Oh, no, Dad would have left that in the closet." Ali rushed to fetch it, almost tripping over the rug in his haste. Hiiro had to grab him so he didn't fall and hurt his ribs again, and Harry gave a tiny smile at the comedy.
"What're we having to eat?" Harry tugged Quatre's hand. "It's your day to cook, right?"
Quatre absently nodded, "Baked lamb and eggplant."
Duo licked his lips. "Oh man, that's why the eggplant was in the sink! Yum!"
Harry looked a little less certain, but Ali brightened a bit. "I like lamb. Have you had it before, Harry?"
The other boy shook his head. "It's good?"
"I think so. Lance doesn't like it, though. He'd say it was awful! We had him over for dinner, once, and he nearly spit it out."
"We?"
"Oh. . . well, I guess it was more like me and a few of the servants. . . Dad was on a trip, but he said it was all right." Ali shrugged.
"Does he take these trips often?" Quatre was worried. His own father had been gone much of the time, but he'd had his sisters to watch him in his father's absence. Ali didn't have that much family.
"Oh, no. Just now and then," Ali shrugged it off. "I'm ready to go, now."
"All right. To the car, then." Duo steered the two small boys out the door, mindfully locking it as they left and giving a little smirk. Trowa nearly chuckled. There was no doubt in his mind Duo was planning on returning come dark, not only to keep his skills up but also to poke around. The only real question was about what, exactly, Duo would find.
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Ali and Harry chattered non-stop in the car on the way back to the house. "We didn't have an even number of Gundams," Harry was explaining to Ali, shaking his head slightly. "So Lance and I made Heavyarms sit out to wait for his Sandrock to come back."
"His Sandrock?" Ali's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Heavyarms loves Sandrock," Harry explained. "So he had to wait for Sandrock to come back."
The gundam pilots had to hide their laughter at Harry's explanation. Harry just stuck his tongue out at Duo, the flinched a bit, grinning when Duo stuck his thumbs in his ears and waggled his hands while sticking out his own tongue. Ali giggled at the sight, clapping his hands over his mouth and then clutching lightly at his chest. "Are you all right, Ali?" Duo's concern was evident.
Ali nodded cheerfully. "It doesn't hurt nearly so bad, now. It was really bad before they gave me medicine for it. I am really hungry now, though. When will we be able to eat?"
"Soon enough. Have patience." Trowa ruffled Ali's hair and Harry nudged his friend in the side. It looked like Trowa liked Ali, too. So that meant he wouldn't send Ali away or do mean things to him. But what if Trowa liked Ali better than Harry? Fear gnawed at Harry for a moment. Maybe they'd replace him with Ali!
Harry shook his head. That wouldn't happen. Trowa was his cousin, so they'd have to keep him, even if he had to sleep in the broom cupboard again.
When they arrived at the house, Harry took off almost immediately to show Ali to the yellow room, where Harry had decided he would sleep, then show off the rest of Quatre's house. Even though Ali lived in an old castle, Quatre's house was larger, despite it's lesser number of rooms. Ali was in awe of the elegance of the entire building, and Harry felt a little smug about impressing his friend.
"Time to eat, you two!" Quatre called up the stairs, smiling as he heard their feet pounding down the stairs and catching Harry in a hug and tossing him lightly when the two reached the bottom. "I hope you like it."
"I like lots of things," Harry pointed out, hugging Quatre's waist. "What are we eating again?"
"Eggplant and lamb." Quatre pointed to Ali's seat, then settled next to Trowa. Duo just glanced at Harry and gave a soft sigh. Hopefully Harry would realize they would never get rid of him, nor would they ever love Ali more. Unfortunately, Duo had a feeling that the shit was about to hit the fan, even though Harry was Ali's best friend.
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At first, everything seemed to be going fine. Ali spent most of his time hanging near Harry, not entirely sure how to act around the pilots. Not that Ali knew they were the Gundam Pilots, but they made him nervous because his father had never let him spend a lot of time around other children, even though so much older than himself.
Harry quickly found himself growing a little jealous of Ali, though, because Ali was never afraid to hug or touch the pilots. He would often throw his arms around them, a smile lighting up his young face. Harry chewed his lip. It just wasn't fair! And what if they decided they liked Ali better, because he was so much more open with them than he was? Over the past two days, Ali had certainly been more open and friendly. And everyone hugged Ali a lot more than they hugged him! What if Trowa decided he was too much trouble and sent him back.
"Harry? Do you want to play Gundams after supper?" Ali asked, tugging Harry's sleeve.
"No!" Harry ripped his sleeve away from Ali. "I don't want to play with you!"
Hurt flashed through Ali's chocolate eyes. "Did I make you mad?" Ali asked, looking almost ready to cry.
Harry shook his head. It wasn't Ali's fault they liked him better, but Harry couldn't help being jealous. "I'm sorry, Ali. I must be tired." And he was, sort of. At least, he thought he was. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so mean to his friend, right? Ali was really nice, so Harry had to be tired and cranky to be mean to him. "Let's go play."
"You're sure?" Ali chewed his lip. "If you're tired, we could read."
"No, we can play. You like to play gundams, right?" Harry grabbed Ali's hand, leading him down the hall. "How come you like playing Gundams so much, anyway?"
"I just do." Ali shrugged. "They're heroes, so they help everyone and they'd never leave anyone alone, right?"
Harry nodded emphatically in agreement. "They're the best ever."
"Did you know they saved everyone?" Ali blushed a little. "I know you didn't get to watch much news, but Wing saved everyone twice. He's the coolest."
"Then why do you like Sandrock so much?"
"He was the nicest." Ali explained. "He didn't hurt anyone that didn't fight him, and he was always fighting for peace. I mean, they all fought for peace, but everyone always said that Sandrock was the pacifist."
"But pacifists don't fight. Like Relena's a pacifist, so Sandrock isn't, right?"
"Well, he's one that fights, but he thinks weapons are a last resort." Ali shrugged. "And. . . I like that. Because he thinks we should all get along and. . . and I bet he's really nice and he wouldn't push anyone away. Did you know some people think Sandrock was actually piloted by a woman?"
"No way!" Harry knew he said Quatre acted like a girl, sometimes, but there was no doubt he was a man! "Really?"
"Because the pilot was so nice. But I think he was a boy." Ali confided, reaching for Sandrock and clutching it tightly. "And he's always there for everyone and he doesn't push people away for no reason."
Harry nodded. "I bet he's really nice, too."
The relieved grin on Ali's face was enough to make Harry smile as well, and the two played with the Sandrock Gundam until it was bedtime. "I need to get my own set," Harry yawned, rubbing his face with his hands. "It'll be funner that way."
"More fun," Ali absently corrected, rubbing his own eyes.
"Whatever." Harry giggled, yawning again.
"Time for bed, you two." Duo lifted Ali easily and Harry started a bit when Trowa picked him up as well. Snuggling into Trowa's shoulder, Harry wrapped his arms around his cousin's neck and chattered a little about what he and Ali had done, with Ali breaking in to share parts Harry forgot and both pausing to yawn several times as Duo and Trowa carried them up the stairs.
"What did you yell at Ali for earlier, green eyes?" Trowa asked when Harry was finally settled in bed, snuggled up to his stuffed dog. "You sounded upset."
Harry shook his head, looking at Trowa from under his bangs. "You're not mad?"
"No. But I wish you'd tell me, so maybe I could help." Trowa offered gently, but Harry shook his head again, leaning against his cousin.
"Stay until I fall asleep?" Harry asked, closing his eyes.
"All right," Trowa agreed, kissing the child's forehead. "Close your eyes. Do you want me to tell you a story?"
Harry nodded, hair tickling Trowa's hand. "Please?"
Trowa smiled, settling against the headboard and closed his eyes, rubbing Harry's back gently with his hand. "Come, little one, and listen to my story. Listen to the tale of the porcupine and his quills."
Harry smiled to himself. Trowa and the others always started stories out so strangely! It was never with, "once upon a time," and they never really used, "once, in a land far, far away," but always they started their stories with, "Come, little one," and their stories were almost never about princesses and evil fairies, but about wild animals or music. Not that Harry really minded, because the Dursleys had never told him stories and he liked to listen to Trowa's very much, even if they weren't about normal things like princesses and frog princes.
By the time Trowa had finished the story, Harry was fast asleep, face tucked against his shaggy, black dog.
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Another two days passed calmly, and Trowa couldn't help but feel it was the calm before the storm. Harry was quiet and well-behaved, and Ali was his usual, soft-spoken self. Despite Harry shouting at Ali just a couple days previously, Ali hadn't seemed to mind. What had worried Quatre was that he seemed used to it. In fact, Ali had seemed almost comforted to hear Harry yell at him and then apologize afterward, which meant that the pilots were all keeping a special eye on their house guest.
Which was probably was finally took Harry to the breaking point.
"I don't want to!" Harry screamed, leaving Hiiro and Zechs to stare at him in utter shock. "I want to play outside!"
"It's very cold and wet out," Hiiro pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "And you cannot play outside until you have completed your homework."
"I don't want to do my homework!" Harry screamed, stomping a foot and trying to glare at Hiiro. It was unnerving, to see Harry attempting to obstinate while he was shaking with fear. Fear that he would be hit or yelled at. Or, even worse in Harry's mind, turned away.
"Ali wanted help--" Zechs started, but it seemed that was not the right thing to say to calm the hysterical child.
"I HATE HIM!" Harry finally screamed, breaking into tears. "YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP HIM AND SEND ME AWAY!" And then he flinched; still crying, still trying to be angry, still trying to have some control over his life, Harry just shrank in on himself.
Zechs shook his head, wrapping strong arms around Harry's tiny frame, and hugging him close. "Why would you think that?" Zechs asked softly, ignoring Harry as he beat his little fists against Zechs' chest. "Why would you think we want to send you away?"
"You will," Harry continued to sob. "Ali's just perfect and I'm a freak and no one wants me and I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave Trowa, or Quatre, or you, or Hiiro, or Duo, or Wu Fei! And I'm not perfect like Ali, so you'll want him here instead of me!"
"Oh, green eyes," Zechs pressed a kiss to the child's hair. "We would never get rid of you. We love you far too much."
"No--No one loves me," Harry whispered, brokenly. "I'm too bad."
Zechs shook his head, lifting Harry into his arms and going to find Trowa, flicking his fingers in code to let Hiiro know he needed to find the others. They needed a family meeting. Hiiro nodded, telling Ali they needed to talk to Harry and would be busy for a little bit, then going to find everyone else. Ali, in the middle of his math homework, just nodded.
Trowa took Harry from Zechs when he appeared at the door of his office, frowning at Zechs' explanation of Harry's behavior. Harry just sobbed harder. "Don't make me leave," He begged Trowa, sniffing. "I can be like Ali, too!"
"We don't want you to be like Ali," Duo's voice broke Trowa's uncertain silence. "If we wanted Ali, we'd adopt Ali. Since we want you, we adopted you."
Harry just gave a soft keen, burying his face in Trowa's shoulder. "I don't want to leave," He repeated, still crying loudly. "I'll be good!"
"Enough." Trowa's deep voice made Harry hiccup and wince. "We are going to sort this out. Zechs, I don't think this is about his homework."
"I will wager that as well," Zechs agreed. "I think he's just a bit confused."
"It's our lot in life," Duo shrugged. "Harry, can you tell us what's really wrong?"
"You hate me!" Harry wailed, though he managed to hold back his tears. "But I don't want to go back to Uncle Vernon's!"
Looks were exchanged as they tried to understand Harry's logic. Quatre finally gave up and drew his hands to his heart, drawing in a deep breath and closing his eyes.
And then he dropped his shields.
Quatre knew, probably better than anyone else, what it meant to leave his heart unguarded. His empathy, powerful even when shielded, would rage almost out of control, leaving him vulnerable to outside attacks. He would rage and cry and scream, trying to put such deep feelings into words and become frustrated when he failed to find words to explain them. How does one explain the very depths of the heart, after all? There are no words to describe such absolute feelings.
And then Quatre did another thing he really knew better than to do.
He reached out to touch Harry.
Power lit up the small study. White light poured from the little boy in Trowa's arms, lighting him up like a small sun. Quatre burned a strange aquamarine, with gold at it's very center. Almost like a sun dipped in water. None of them had ever seen Quatre's power react like that, before. Harry's whimpering stopped as he turned to look at Quatre, his green eyes lit from within. "Please understand," Harry pleaded, his voice the same as every other time they'd heard him speak, but so different. "I don't know how to say it."
He voice carried indescribable sadness and happiness and pain and joy and sorrow and hope that it made their hearts ache. Quatre closed his hands around Harry's, holding them tightly even as he ignored the tears running from his eyes. "I love you," Quatre reinforced. Harry seemed to shudder at the words, clutching at Quatre like a lifeline. "We love you."
"We won't ever send you back." Duo broke in, gently brushing Harry's bangs from his face.
"And we won't ever hurt you." Wu Fei added, gripping Harry's forearm.
"We will protect you to the best of our ability," Hiiro promised, touching Harry's cheek and drawing the boy's chin up so their eyes met.
"We will always accept you." Zechs gripped the arm Wu Fei did not hold.
"We are family," Trowa hugged him more tightly. "You are our brother, and we will always love you."
And then, as quickly as it had come, the light had faded. Quatre and Harry both gasped, eyes growing wide before both went limp. The rest of the pilots caught their breath, even as Duo tipped Quatre to lean against Trowa, so the teen could hold his cousin and boyfriend at the same time.
"What happened?" Wu Fei finally breathed, his eyes wide. The five turned to glance at Quatre and Harry. Answers would, it seemed, have to wait until the two woke.
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Harry groaned and rubbed his eyes, burying his face further into his pillow. His pillow gave a tiny growl and tightened its arms around him, wincing. Harry's eyes sprang open as he stared up into Quatre's face. He gave a soft whimper, clutching his pounding head, and buried it in Quatre's chest. "You're both awake," Trowa's voice made Harry cringe. He remembered throwing a temper tantrum, but little else after that.
"Please don't send me back," Harry cried, throwing himself at Trowa and then crying out when his head felt like someone started pounding on it. "I'm sorry I was bad! Don't hate me!" He tried to ignore the pounding in his head.
"I don't hate you," Trowa smiled. "I was just wondering what that power was."
"Power?" Now Harry was confused, which only made his head hurt more.
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "What do you last remember?"
Harry frowned. "Zechs let me hit him and picked me up."
Trowa's brows furrowed in thought, and he gave a slight frown. Harry had no idea what had transpired in the study? He and Quatre had been out cold for five hours, but Harry had no idea what had occurred? Harry snuggled into Trowa's arms, body sweat-soaked. If the pilots hadn't all seen the same thing, Trowa would have through Harry had a fever that had just broken. Quatre was also soaked, but it was best to leave him under the blankets. "Let's get you a shower, green eyes," Trowa murmured.
"But the power?" Harry looked confused.
"Don't worry about it." Trowa smiled softly, brushing off the question. He could see the pain in Harry's eyes and knew whatever had happened had left a mark. It would be best to leave it be, at least for the moment. He would just have to ask Quatre later.
Harry consented, letting Trowa help him bathe, then ran off to find Hiiro. He was hungry! It was only after Harry left that Quatre sat up, groaning. "I feel like I got run over with a truck," he croaked, letting Trowa hold him. "What hit me?"
"Harry." Trowa cracked a small smile. "Do you remember? He doesn't."
"That was incredible power," Quatre went limp in Trowa's arms. "Shit. I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before."
"Any idea what it was?"
"Not empathy." Quatre panted deeply. "But I'm not certain past that. It was. . . It was more than empathy. Something else. I don't even had words to describe it."
"More powerful?"
"Not. . . exactly." Quatre chewed his lips. "It was. . . he had. . . It was a part of him, that I can tell. But it wasn't the same as my empathy. It was something more. Sort of like. . . Harry is the vessel and that power is part of him, but it stays in him. Like. . . Harry's a gun and that power is the bullet. All the same, more or less, but different at the same time." Quatre struggled to explain himself.
"But you don't know what it was?"
"Something beyond what I've seen." Quatre frowned. "If I thought it was real, I'd almost call it magic."
"You're empathic, Quatre," Trowa pointed out. "That is magic."
"Extra-Sensory Perception," Quatre argued tiredly. Trowa just smiled. It was an old argument. Quatre could argue that his empathy was scientific, but Trowa would always think it was magic. Jaci had always called it such, and she would have known. "There's no such thing as magic," Quatre, who probably should have been an expert in the matter, informed Trowa. "It's just. . . like having an extra limb."
"You're not a freak of nature," Trowa had the same argument with Quatre countless times. He hadn't survived childhood entirely intact, either, and it was obvious when he overused a power he didn't think anyone else in the universe had, sometimes.
"I know," Quatre sighed. "I'm just tired. Don't mind me."
Trowa gave a soft smile and helped Quatre up. "Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can deal with everything else," Trowa suggested, leading Quatre to the bathroom and fulling the tub. Quatre sank into the warm water with a groan. Trowa gently kneaded his shoulders, thinking.
What had happened in the study, anyway?
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Okay, I know it's been awhile since I've been on when I look at the cut portion and go WTF? When did this happen?
Yeah. Bad me. I'll try to do better. Whatever the case, tell me what you think!
Seriously, though. Work takes up more time than school, I think, even if I don't have homework and I'm just always tired! But I'm trying to get in the habit of bi-weekly updates, which will hopefully work. I just can't work on more than two stories at once. Which seems all right at the moment because that's all I need to update.
We won't talk about what needs editing.
*ahem* Anyway, I did manage to get the next chapter of Flight of the Bumblebee done. Good for me, right? The chapter took a slight turn that even I was surprised for in the end, but I think it'll blend in nicely with my plan. I also wanted to hint that, if you pay attention, you'll find someone from The Dream Catcher (My "one shot" that ended up a three shot). So, if you've read that, tell me if you find the reference!
Now, before you kill me for dropping off the end of the world for, like, two months (or something. I have no idea how long it was. And hopefully life will be easier when I move out in a few months), I think I'll post chapter seventeen.
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Title: Flight of the Bumblebee Part Seventeen
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Harry Potter Gundam Wing crossover
Disclaimer: For the. . . like, seventeenth time, already! I would have a very confused gender and nationality to own these. Pity. It'd be quite fun.
Warnings: (1x2, 3x4, 5x6) Harry angst. Sap.
Summary: Trowa Barton discovers that he actually has family thanks to mandatory government testing. Since Trowa isn't eighteen yet, he's the lucky sap that gets to go live with them for awhile, to the annoyance of the rest of the pilots and Preventors.
Flight of the Bumblebee
Part Seventeen
Hot and Cold
Harry bounced excitedly from the school building. He and Trowa and the other pilots were supposed to go get Ali today, so he could stay with them until his dad got back! Trowa met him at the steps, herding him quickly to the SUV. Hiiro was behind the wheel, glancing around impatiently, and Harry hurried to buckle his seatbelt. He really wanted to see Ali! "Come on!" Harry pleaded, and Trowa chuckled softly.
"Patience, green eyes," Trowa's gentle rebuff made Harry blush, but he didn't seem to mind it. Quatre gave a mental sign of relief. If Harry continued to listen to their gentle prompting, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about him pressing his boundaries. Maybe this whole transition this would be a lot smoother than Duo said it would. Quatre stole a look at Duo, who was wearing a strange look on his face as he watched Harry surreptitiously. Quatre nearly sighed. If Duo was right, then gentle scolding or no, there was no such things as an "easy transition."
The ride to the hospital was semi-silent, with Harry gripping the door handle the entire way, almost as though he was nervous. Trowa smiled at him, putting an arm around Harry's shoulders and pulling him to lean against Trowa's side. Harry didn't protest the action, tucking himself closer when Trowa paused to see if Harry wanted to be held. Wu Fei and Zechs exchanged looks, wondering to themselves about Harry's behavior. They'd expected him to be a little more happy. When Wu Fei went to ask the child, however, Duo gave a shake of his head.
This is something he needs to figure out on his own, Duo told them in silent code, glaring until Wu Fei shifted away from the boy. Trowa just tilted his head slightly, but didn't release Harry, wondering what Duo had meant.
Hopefully it wasn't anything too serious. After all, the last thing Harry needed was even more stress.
Ali was clutching Sandrock as they entered, staring at them with wide, brown eyes. Harry tightened his grip on Trowa's hand for a moment, then he let go and bounded to the bed. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, tugging at Ali's hands. Ali nodded silently, glancing around the room.
"I don't have anything to change into," He admitted softly. "Daddy didn't bring me anything."
Quatre jerked his head slightly at the address of Ali's father, but didn't say anything about it, leaving to ask one of the nurses if they had anything for Ali to wear home. Septum had already informed the hospital Ali would be leaving with the pilots, so she only nodded and went to find some scrubs they kept around specially for circumstances such as these. "I bet you can't wait to leave," Duo sat on the bed, patting Ali's leg. "Hospitals are no fun."
Ali bit his lip. "I don't mind." His voice was still soft, and Harry moved to give his friend a hug. He looked like he needed it. Ali leaned into it, gripping Harry tightly for several, long moments.
Hiiro and Wu Fei traded looks while Trowa gave his version of a frown--a simple quirk of his lips. "Well, we have something for you to wear, at least until we get you some of your own clothes." Quatre's cheerful voice made Ali jump, nearly taking both himself and Harry off the bed. Harry gave a little giggle and Ali smiled as well, looking a little sheepish for his terrible start.
"Thank you." Ali took the offered clothing, moving to put them on in the tiny bathroom attached to his room. It didn't take him but a moment, and Harry grabbed his hand, leading him down the hall and chattering away about Quatre's house, with all it's room and secret passages. The pilots just listened to the chatter, laughing softly to themselves. Ali just kept nodding, interrupting every once in awhile to offer a comment, clutching Sandrock in his fist. It was nice to see him act a little more child-like, and when he looked like he was over exerting himself a bit, Zechs lifted him onto his back. Harry didn't say anything, just bit his lip and glanced momentarily at Trowa.
Quatre nudged him in the ribs, making Trowa hurry forward and pick Harry up as well. It was going to be interesting to have the two around if both of them refused to ask for anything. Not even Quatre could read minds, after all.
<>*<>
The trip to Ali's house was uneventful, and when they finally got there Ali rushed to his room with the others close behind. The pilots and Harry were startled to see a bag already sitting on his bed, and Ali gave a happy smile. "Dad must have packed it." He grinned, picking it up while the others glanced around. There was a sad lack of toys in the room, and the entire room looked more like it was made for a grown-up than a child. The books on the shelves couldn't have been for Ali, with their tiny print and long words.
"Where're your toys?" Harry frowned, brows furrowed. Wasn't Ali supposed to have lots of toys, like Dudley did, because he lived all by himself with his father?
"In another room," Ali shrugged. "I don't keep them in here."
"Can I see them?" Harry bounced excitedly, but missed the panicked look crossing the boy's face.
"Maybe some other time, Harry. We need to get going, if we want to eat at a reasonable time," Wu Fei broke in. "Do you have your uniform in the bag Ali?"
"Oh, no, Dad would have left that in the closet." Ali rushed to fetch it, almost tripping over the rug in his haste. Hiiro had to grab him so he didn't fall and hurt his ribs again, and Harry gave a tiny smile at the comedy.
"What're we having to eat?" Harry tugged Quatre's hand. "It's your day to cook, right?"
Quatre absently nodded, "Baked lamb and eggplant."
Duo licked his lips. "Oh man, that's why the eggplant was in the sink! Yum!"
Harry looked a little less certain, but Ali brightened a bit. "I like lamb. Have you had it before, Harry?"
The other boy shook his head. "It's good?"
"I think so. Lance doesn't like it, though. He'd say it was awful! We had him over for dinner, once, and he nearly spit it out."
"We?"
"Oh. . . well, I guess it was more like me and a few of the servants. . . Dad was on a trip, but he said it was all right." Ali shrugged.
"Does he take these trips often?" Quatre was worried. His own father had been gone much of the time, but he'd had his sisters to watch him in his father's absence. Ali didn't have that much family.
"Oh, no. Just now and then," Ali shrugged it off. "I'm ready to go, now."
"All right. To the car, then." Duo steered the two small boys out the door, mindfully locking it as they left and giving a little smirk. Trowa nearly chuckled. There was no doubt in his mind Duo was planning on returning come dark, not only to keep his skills up but also to poke around. The only real question was about what, exactly, Duo would find.
<>*<>
Ali and Harry chattered non-stop in the car on the way back to the house. "We didn't have an even number of Gundams," Harry was explaining to Ali, shaking his head slightly. "So Lance and I made Heavyarms sit out to wait for his Sandrock to come back."
"His Sandrock?" Ali's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Heavyarms loves Sandrock," Harry explained. "So he had to wait for Sandrock to come back."
The gundam pilots had to hide their laughter at Harry's explanation. Harry just stuck his tongue out at Duo, the flinched a bit, grinning when Duo stuck his thumbs in his ears and waggled his hands while sticking out his own tongue. Ali giggled at the sight, clapping his hands over his mouth and then clutching lightly at his chest. "Are you all right, Ali?" Duo's concern was evident.
Ali nodded cheerfully. "It doesn't hurt nearly so bad, now. It was really bad before they gave me medicine for it. I am really hungry now, though. When will we be able to eat?"
"Soon enough. Have patience." Trowa ruffled Ali's hair and Harry nudged his friend in the side. It looked like Trowa liked Ali, too. So that meant he wouldn't send Ali away or do mean things to him. But what if Trowa liked Ali better than Harry? Fear gnawed at Harry for a moment. Maybe they'd replace him with Ali!
Harry shook his head. That wouldn't happen. Trowa was his cousin, so they'd have to keep him, even if he had to sleep in the broom cupboard again.
When they arrived at the house, Harry took off almost immediately to show Ali to the yellow room, where Harry had decided he would sleep, then show off the rest of Quatre's house. Even though Ali lived in an old castle, Quatre's house was larger, despite it's lesser number of rooms. Ali was in awe of the elegance of the entire building, and Harry felt a little smug about impressing his friend.
"Time to eat, you two!" Quatre called up the stairs, smiling as he heard their feet pounding down the stairs and catching Harry in a hug and tossing him lightly when the two reached the bottom. "I hope you like it."
"I like lots of things," Harry pointed out, hugging Quatre's waist. "What are we eating again?"
"Eggplant and lamb." Quatre pointed to Ali's seat, then settled next to Trowa. Duo just glanced at Harry and gave a soft sigh. Hopefully Harry would realize they would never get rid of him, nor would they ever love Ali more. Unfortunately, Duo had a feeling that the shit was about to hit the fan, even though Harry was Ali's best friend.
<>*<>
At first, everything seemed to be going fine. Ali spent most of his time hanging near Harry, not entirely sure how to act around the pilots. Not that Ali knew they were the Gundam Pilots, but they made him nervous because his father had never let him spend a lot of time around other children, even though so much older than himself.
Harry quickly found himself growing a little jealous of Ali, though, because Ali was never afraid to hug or touch the pilots. He would often throw his arms around them, a smile lighting up his young face. Harry chewed his lip. It just wasn't fair! And what if they decided they liked Ali better, because he was so much more open with them than he was? Over the past two days, Ali had certainly been more open and friendly. And everyone hugged Ali a lot more than they hugged him! What if Trowa decided he was too much trouble and sent him back.
"Harry? Do you want to play Gundams after supper?" Ali asked, tugging Harry's sleeve.
"No!" Harry ripped his sleeve away from Ali. "I don't want to play with you!"
Hurt flashed through Ali's chocolate eyes. "Did I make you mad?" Ali asked, looking almost ready to cry.
Harry shook his head. It wasn't Ali's fault they liked him better, but Harry couldn't help being jealous. "I'm sorry, Ali. I must be tired." And he was, sort of. At least, he thought he was. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so mean to his friend, right? Ali was really nice, so Harry had to be tired and cranky to be mean to him. "Let's go play."
"You're sure?" Ali chewed his lip. "If you're tired, we could read."
"No, we can play. You like to play gundams, right?" Harry grabbed Ali's hand, leading him down the hall. "How come you like playing Gundams so much, anyway?"
"I just do." Ali shrugged. "They're heroes, so they help everyone and they'd never leave anyone alone, right?"
Harry nodded emphatically in agreement. "They're the best ever."
"Did you know they saved everyone?" Ali blushed a little. "I know you didn't get to watch much news, but Wing saved everyone twice. He's the coolest."
"Then why do you like Sandrock so much?"
"He was the nicest." Ali explained. "He didn't hurt anyone that didn't fight him, and he was always fighting for peace. I mean, they all fought for peace, but everyone always said that Sandrock was the pacifist."
"But pacifists don't fight. Like Relena's a pacifist, so Sandrock isn't, right?"
"Well, he's one that fights, but he thinks weapons are a last resort." Ali shrugged. "And. . . I like that. Because he thinks we should all get along and. . . and I bet he's really nice and he wouldn't push anyone away. Did you know some people think Sandrock was actually piloted by a woman?"
"No way!" Harry knew he said Quatre acted like a girl, sometimes, but there was no doubt he was a man! "Really?"
"Because the pilot was so nice. But I think he was a boy." Ali confided, reaching for Sandrock and clutching it tightly. "And he's always there for everyone and he doesn't push people away for no reason."
Harry nodded. "I bet he's really nice, too."
The relieved grin on Ali's face was enough to make Harry smile as well, and the two played with the Sandrock Gundam until it was bedtime. "I need to get my own set," Harry yawned, rubbing his face with his hands. "It'll be funner that way."
"More fun," Ali absently corrected, rubbing his own eyes.
"Whatever." Harry giggled, yawning again.
"Time for bed, you two." Duo lifted Ali easily and Harry started a bit when Trowa picked him up as well. Snuggling into Trowa's shoulder, Harry wrapped his arms around his cousin's neck and chattered a little about what he and Ali had done, with Ali breaking in to share parts Harry forgot and both pausing to yawn several times as Duo and Trowa carried them up the stairs.
"What did you yell at Ali for earlier, green eyes?" Trowa asked when Harry was finally settled in bed, snuggled up to his stuffed dog. "You sounded upset."
Harry shook his head, looking at Trowa from under his bangs. "You're not mad?"
"No. But I wish you'd tell me, so maybe I could help." Trowa offered gently, but Harry shook his head again, leaning against his cousin.
"Stay until I fall asleep?" Harry asked, closing his eyes.
"All right," Trowa agreed, kissing the child's forehead. "Close your eyes. Do you want me to tell you a story?"
Harry nodded, hair tickling Trowa's hand. "Please?"
Trowa smiled, settling against the headboard and closed his eyes, rubbing Harry's back gently with his hand. "Come, little one, and listen to my story. Listen to the tale of the porcupine and his quills."
Harry smiled to himself. Trowa and the others always started stories out so strangely! It was never with, "once upon a time," and they never really used, "once, in a land far, far away," but always they started their stories with, "Come, little one," and their stories were almost never about princesses and evil fairies, but about wild animals or music. Not that Harry really minded, because the Dursleys had never told him stories and he liked to listen to Trowa's very much, even if they weren't about normal things like princesses and frog princes.
By the time Trowa had finished the story, Harry was fast asleep, face tucked against his shaggy, black dog.
<>*<>
Another two days passed calmly, and Trowa couldn't help but feel it was the calm before the storm. Harry was quiet and well-behaved, and Ali was his usual, soft-spoken self. Despite Harry shouting at Ali just a couple days previously, Ali hadn't seemed to mind. What had worried Quatre was that he seemed used to it. In fact, Ali had seemed almost comforted to hear Harry yell at him and then apologize afterward, which meant that the pilots were all keeping a special eye on their house guest.
Which was probably was finally took Harry to the breaking point.
"I don't want to!" Harry screamed, leaving Hiiro and Zechs to stare at him in utter shock. "I want to play outside!"
"It's very cold and wet out," Hiiro pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "And you cannot play outside until you have completed your homework."
"I don't want to do my homework!" Harry screamed, stomping a foot and trying to glare at Hiiro. It was unnerving, to see Harry attempting to obstinate while he was shaking with fear. Fear that he would be hit or yelled at. Or, even worse in Harry's mind, turned away.
"Ali wanted help--" Zechs started, but it seemed that was not the right thing to say to calm the hysterical child.
"I HATE HIM!" Harry finally screamed, breaking into tears. "YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP HIM AND SEND ME AWAY!" And then he flinched; still crying, still trying to be angry, still trying to have some control over his life, Harry just shrank in on himself.
Zechs shook his head, wrapping strong arms around Harry's tiny frame, and hugging him close. "Why would you think that?" Zechs asked softly, ignoring Harry as he beat his little fists against Zechs' chest. "Why would you think we want to send you away?"
"You will," Harry continued to sob. "Ali's just perfect and I'm a freak and no one wants me and I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave Trowa, or Quatre, or you, or Hiiro, or Duo, or Wu Fei! And I'm not perfect like Ali, so you'll want him here instead of me!"
"Oh, green eyes," Zechs pressed a kiss to the child's hair. "We would never get rid of you. We love you far too much."
"No--No one loves me," Harry whispered, brokenly. "I'm too bad."
Zechs shook his head, lifting Harry into his arms and going to find Trowa, flicking his fingers in code to let Hiiro know he needed to find the others. They needed a family meeting. Hiiro nodded, telling Ali they needed to talk to Harry and would be busy for a little bit, then going to find everyone else. Ali, in the middle of his math homework, just nodded.
Trowa took Harry from Zechs when he appeared at the door of his office, frowning at Zechs' explanation of Harry's behavior. Harry just sobbed harder. "Don't make me leave," He begged Trowa, sniffing. "I can be like Ali, too!"
"We don't want you to be like Ali," Duo's voice broke Trowa's uncertain silence. "If we wanted Ali, we'd adopt Ali. Since we want you, we adopted you."
Harry just gave a soft keen, burying his face in Trowa's shoulder. "I don't want to leave," He repeated, still crying loudly. "I'll be good!"
"Enough." Trowa's deep voice made Harry hiccup and wince. "We are going to sort this out. Zechs, I don't think this is about his homework."
"I will wager that as well," Zechs agreed. "I think he's just a bit confused."
"It's our lot in life," Duo shrugged. "Harry, can you tell us what's really wrong?"
"You hate me!" Harry wailed, though he managed to hold back his tears. "But I don't want to go back to Uncle Vernon's!"
Looks were exchanged as they tried to understand Harry's logic. Quatre finally gave up and drew his hands to his heart, drawing in a deep breath and closing his eyes.
And then he dropped his shields.
Quatre knew, probably better than anyone else, what it meant to leave his heart unguarded. His empathy, powerful even when shielded, would rage almost out of control, leaving him vulnerable to outside attacks. He would rage and cry and scream, trying to put such deep feelings into words and become frustrated when he failed to find words to explain them. How does one explain the very depths of the heart, after all? There are no words to describe such absolute feelings.
And then Quatre did another thing he really knew better than to do.
He reached out to touch Harry.
Power lit up the small study. White light poured from the little boy in Trowa's arms, lighting him up like a small sun. Quatre burned a strange aquamarine, with gold at it's very center. Almost like a sun dipped in water. None of them had ever seen Quatre's power react like that, before. Harry's whimpering stopped as he turned to look at Quatre, his green eyes lit from within. "Please understand," Harry pleaded, his voice the same as every other time they'd heard him speak, but so different. "I don't know how to say it."
He voice carried indescribable sadness and happiness and pain and joy and sorrow and hope that it made their hearts ache. Quatre closed his hands around Harry's, holding them tightly even as he ignored the tears running from his eyes. "I love you," Quatre reinforced. Harry seemed to shudder at the words, clutching at Quatre like a lifeline. "We love you."
"We won't ever send you back." Duo broke in, gently brushing Harry's bangs from his face.
"And we won't ever hurt you." Wu Fei added, gripping Harry's forearm.
"We will protect you to the best of our ability," Hiiro promised, touching Harry's cheek and drawing the boy's chin up so their eyes met.
"We will always accept you." Zechs gripped the arm Wu Fei did not hold.
"We are family," Trowa hugged him more tightly. "You are our brother, and we will always love you."
And then, as quickly as it had come, the light had faded. Quatre and Harry both gasped, eyes growing wide before both went limp. The rest of the pilots caught their breath, even as Duo tipped Quatre to lean against Trowa, so the teen could hold his cousin and boyfriend at the same time.
"What happened?" Wu Fei finally breathed, his eyes wide. The five turned to glance at Quatre and Harry. Answers would, it seemed, have to wait until the two woke.
<>*<>
Harry groaned and rubbed his eyes, burying his face further into his pillow. His pillow gave a tiny growl and tightened its arms around him, wincing. Harry's eyes sprang open as he stared up into Quatre's face. He gave a soft whimper, clutching his pounding head, and buried it in Quatre's chest. "You're both awake," Trowa's voice made Harry cringe. He remembered throwing a temper tantrum, but little else after that.
"Please don't send me back," Harry cried, throwing himself at Trowa and then crying out when his head felt like someone started pounding on it. "I'm sorry I was bad! Don't hate me!" He tried to ignore the pounding in his head.
"I don't hate you," Trowa smiled. "I was just wondering what that power was."
"Power?" Now Harry was confused, which only made his head hurt more.
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "What do you last remember?"
Harry frowned. "Zechs let me hit him and picked me up."
Trowa's brows furrowed in thought, and he gave a slight frown. Harry had no idea what had transpired in the study? He and Quatre had been out cold for five hours, but Harry had no idea what had occurred? Harry snuggled into Trowa's arms, body sweat-soaked. If the pilots hadn't all seen the same thing, Trowa would have through Harry had a fever that had just broken. Quatre was also soaked, but it was best to leave him under the blankets. "Let's get you a shower, green eyes," Trowa murmured.
"But the power?" Harry looked confused.
"Don't worry about it." Trowa smiled softly, brushing off the question. He could see the pain in Harry's eyes and knew whatever had happened had left a mark. It would be best to leave it be, at least for the moment. He would just have to ask Quatre later.
Harry consented, letting Trowa help him bathe, then ran off to find Hiiro. He was hungry! It was only after Harry left that Quatre sat up, groaning. "I feel like I got run over with a truck," he croaked, letting Trowa hold him. "What hit me?"
"Harry." Trowa cracked a small smile. "Do you remember? He doesn't."
"That was incredible power," Quatre went limp in Trowa's arms. "Shit. I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before."
"Any idea what it was?"
"Not empathy." Quatre panted deeply. "But I'm not certain past that. It was. . . It was more than empathy. Something else. I don't even had words to describe it."
"More powerful?"
"Not. . . exactly." Quatre chewed his lips. "It was. . . he had. . . It was a part of him, that I can tell. But it wasn't the same as my empathy. It was something more. Sort of like. . . Harry is the vessel and that power is part of him, but it stays in him. Like. . . Harry's a gun and that power is the bullet. All the same, more or less, but different at the same time." Quatre struggled to explain himself.
"But you don't know what it was?"
"Something beyond what I've seen." Quatre frowned. "If I thought it was real, I'd almost call it magic."
"You're empathic, Quatre," Trowa pointed out. "That is magic."
"Extra-Sensory Perception," Quatre argued tiredly. Trowa just smiled. It was an old argument. Quatre could argue that his empathy was scientific, but Trowa would always think it was magic. Jaci had always called it such, and she would have known. "There's no such thing as magic," Quatre, who probably should have been an expert in the matter, informed Trowa. "It's just. . . like having an extra limb."
"You're not a freak of nature," Trowa had the same argument with Quatre countless times. He hadn't survived childhood entirely intact, either, and it was obvious when he overused a power he didn't think anyone else in the universe had, sometimes.
"I know," Quatre sighed. "I'm just tired. Don't mind me."
Trowa gave a soft smile and helped Quatre up. "Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can deal with everything else," Trowa suggested, leading Quatre to the bathroom and fulling the tub. Quatre sank into the warm water with a groan. Trowa gently kneaded his shoulders, thinking.
What had happened in the study, anyway?
<>*<>
<>*<>
Okay, I know it's been awhile since I've been on when I look at the cut portion and go WTF? When did this happen?
Yeah. Bad me. I'll try to do better. Whatever the case, tell me what you think!