The morning after is the real beginning.

Enjoy~

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Chapter 6

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"So what do you think happened yesterday between those two?" Duo asked his three comrades as they wandered through the corridors towards one of the many Preventers HQ conference rooms.

"It's none of our business, Maxwell." Wufei reminded him dryly while lightly elbowing him in the side.

Ignoring the American's whining over the abuse, Trowa took a look at his wristwatch. "Whatever happened, it apparently spilt over into today. They're late again."

"Let them be." Heero calmly cut in. "The details are unimportant. Sally said he sounded happy." he concluded as they reached the opened doors of the conference room.

Thinking of his best friend finally happy once more made Duo perk up. "You're right, Hee. I'm just a little wounded that he threatened to defenestrate me." he muttered with a pout.

"You get two points for the creative word usage." Sally's voice laughed from inside the conference room.

Once they entered they saw the woman doctor sitting casually on the end of the long conference table. "Hey, Sal. Think they'll get here today?" Duo asked with a suggestive grin.

Sally smirked wide and nodded. "Yes. Quatre just called about ten minutes ago saying they were half way here. Something about Zechs not liking alarm clocks made them a bit late."

"Not liking alarm clocks?" Wufei repeated with a raised brow. "What does that mean?"

"I tend to smash them against a wall."

Everyone turned to see Zechs walking in with his hands stuffed deep into his uniform jacket's pockets. Nothing seemed different about the blonde man. His normal neutral expression was in place, and there was no unusual limp in his stride. So no helpful hint to what may have occurred the day before.

Which disappointed Duo greatly. "Not a morning person, huh?" he asked with a teasing grin.

But Zechs wasn't going to be baited. "I'm not a jolted awake by an annoying blaring buzz person. However I will admit to going a bit too far. I'm going to have to fix a small dent in the wall this evening." the blonde man stated calmly.

To which Sally promptly snorted. "Whatever. Quatre told me you knocked a hole in the wall."

"Hn, semantics." Zechs muttered as he moved to the conference table.

"So where is Quatre?" Trowa questioned as he and the others sat down at the table.

Zechs gave a slight shrug. "Une pulled him away for a moment to talk to him. He should be here shortly." He folded his hands on the table casually, but it took a significant effort not to smirk at the not so subtle stares he was receiving from the others. He knew they were probably trying to figure out just what had occurred the previous day. Zechs was enjoying letting their frustration build by keeping decidedly silent.

Finally Duo couldn't take it. "Oh come on! Just a little hint! You don't even look like you scored!" he blurted out, slamming his fists on the table in his desperation.

Wincing at the horrible lack of tact, Wufei promptly swatted the back of Duo's head. "You idiot! It's none of our business!" he hissed sharply.

Duo clutched the back of his head and glared daggers at his Chinese comrade. "What the hell ever, Wu! You were just as curious! Don't play this off as just me being nosey!"

"How dare you!?" Wufei growled before the two of them immediately began bickering.

As the two threw one verbal jab after another, Trowa and Heero were making a good effort at pretending the arguing pair didn't exist. After a good minute of listening to them insult one another, Trowa heaved a deep sigh and gave a faint apologetic glance towards the blonde. "Don't pay attention to them. Whatever happened, we're glad the two of you are well." he stated quietly.

Zechs caught Heero's approving nod and Sally's smile, but responded with a slight shrug. "Sorry to disappoint you, but we didn't professed undying love to one another. Nothing really happened at all."

Stopping mid rant with Wufei, Duo snapped his attention back towards the blonde man. "Nothing? Why the hell were you guys no shows yesterday if you didn't do anything good? Ow! Wu! Stop hitting me!" Duo yelped while ducking another swat.

"No. You are a crass mentally challenged idiot." Wufei snorted in disgust.

"I'll tell you, if you really want to know."

Duo snapped his attention to the blonde man, his eyes wide with anticipation. "Tell me!"

A slow smirk curled Zechs' lips when he noticed that he had everyone's full attention. To draw out their curiosity, leaned slightly onto the table and propped his chin on his fist in a casual pose. "We woke up. Got dressed. Went into the livingroom. Got on the couch. Fell asleep."

When nothing else was added, Duo felt his jaw drop. "That's it? You slept on the couch all day and did nothing?" When Zechs only answered with a little shrug, Duo felt his eye twitch. "Dammit, that's such a rip off. I was expecting raunchy details!"

"You were hoping for raunchy details." Sally corrected with a grin.

"Whatever." Duo placed a glare on the older man and pointed at him in irritation. "Your boringness better not rub off on my best friend, pal. Or I'm kicking your ass."

The threat made Zechs quirk up a brow, but he made no other move. "Should I apologize for not being a sickeningly romantic Casanova?" he asked sarcastically.

Before anyone could answer, the sound of musical laughter came from the opened doors. "I would probably have to shoot you if you ever became one, Zechs."

Zechs glanced towards the doorway and smirked wide. "Shoot to maim, I hope."

"Of course." At that moment the Arabian stepped into the doorway and smiled brightly. "I plan on keeping you around." he added while stuffing his hands into the pockets of a brand new Preventers jacket.

Everyone's eyes widened on seeing the uniform jacket, and Duo immediately leapt from his chair. "Q-man! You joined?!" he asked in excitement.

Quatre chuckled happily and gave a firm nod. "Une made it official. I've been permanently assigned to this team."

With a joyous cheer, Duo bounded towards his best friend and locked him up in a tight bear hug. "That's so awesome!" When he felt his friend return his hug Duo felt his eyes threaten to sting with tears. 'He's back.. He's finally back..' he thought with overwhelming relief.

Once Duo finally let him go, Quatre barely had a chance to breathe before Sally had him locked up in another hug. "Welcome back, Quatre.." she whispered into his ear before placing a soft kiss to his cheek.

The sentiment was unexpected, but a glance towards the conference table showed Quatre the pleased smiles that were on the faces of his three more reserved comrades. His eyes then glanced towards the older blonde. Zechs' chin was still propped on his fist, and when their eyes locked the pale blue ones gave him a sly wink. Seeing the flirting gesture made a pleased smirk tug onto Quatre's lips.

The moment Sally pulled away Quatre raised his hands to stop any other words they were wanting express. "Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate it, but Une sent me with our newest assignment. And it's really time sensitive. We should get to work on it immediately."

Sobering quickly, the group got their minds focused on task. "What sort of assignment is it?" Heero readily asked.

"It's a rescue mission. We have to infiltrate a location and take control of the situation in order to stop the suffering of a group of people." Quatre explained calmly.

Finding the description a bit vague, Wufei frowned slightly. "What location?"

The Arabian seem to smirk wide as he reached into his new jacket's pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "We have two hours." he stated while tossing the keys to Duo.

Duo easily caught the keys, but when he examined them a look of confusion fell over his face. "Wait.. These are the keys to the cafeteria kitchen..."

Quatre folded his arms over his chest as a mischievous look fell over his pale face. "Exactly. Who feels like liberating our coworkers from lunch?"

It took Duo a second to get it, but his eyes were soon wide as a maniacal grin plastered itself on his face. "I'm in! That kitchen will be my bitch! Muahaha!!" he cackled, holding up the keys like a gleaming trophy.

"Fantastic. Now for the plan. "Quatre pointed towards Sally. "Sally, you and Wufei are on diversion detail. The kitchen staff is going over inventory reports in the small conference room on the ground floor. Keep them busy. Be creative."

Sally was laughing at the instructions and gave a salute. "Yes, Sir. Come on, Wufei. We need a fire extinguisher, a permanent black marker, and a box of latex gloves!" she listed while going to the table and dragging the Chinese man to his feet.

Although the list made his eyebrows hitch up high, Wufei only smirked and followed the woman out of the room. "May I suggest making use of that box of foam packing peanuts in the mail room?"

"Oh, that's a nice touch. I'll get the gloves and marker. You get the extinguisher and the packing peanuts." Sally instructed as they stepped out the door.

Once they were out, Quatre returned his attention to the three still at the table. "You three are on guard duty. No one gets into the kitchen or cafeteria until everything is ready. Got it?"

The three glanced towards one another briefly before they all stood. "Got it." Heero stated in his same serious tone. Although anyone that was looking hard enough could see the tiny smile that was pulling across his lips. 'This is how things are supposed to be.' he thought confidently.

Quatre turned towards his best friend and gestured to the door. "Let's go, Chef Maxwell. We have a lot of cooking to do."

Thrilled that his friend said 'we', Duo laughed excitedly and raced out the door. He didn't have to look to know that Quatre was running right by his side. 'Just like old times... Thank you, Zechs.. Thank you..'

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Locked away inside the cafeteria, Heero and Trowa were finishing chaining up all the doors.

Excessive? Probably.

Amusing? Definitely.

So far the building was in complete chaos as Wufei and Sally rampaged through the building. What exactly they were doing, they had no idea. However they heard several screams and laughter followed by the harsh roar of a fire extinguisher being discharged. In the kitchen they could hear Duo randomly cackling and yelling for certain ingredients. Zechs was busy securing the doors in the kitchen.

So far it was a perfect take over.

After placing the last of the chains and locks on the doors, Trowa stood back and admired their quick work. "Not bad for a rush job. How much more time do we have to hold everyone off?"

Heero glanced towards the wall clock above the serving stations at the back of the large room. "We've got another hour before lunch. Wonder if Une is considering this a drill of some sort." he mused aloud.

"I suppose it could count as one. Or as a demonstration for the rest of the staff on how a infiltration mission is supposed to go." Trowa offered with a slight smirk.

The idea had Heero snorting in amusement. "That's a thought."

"The kitchen's locked up tight."

The pair glanced back to see Zechs approaching them from the swinging kitchen door next to the serving stations. "How are they doing back there?" Trowa asked only to wince when he heard a loud clattering sound of falling pans.

Zechs glanced back towards the kitchen doors with a raised brow, but his concerns were put at ease when Quatre promptly began laughing at a cursing Duo. "I'm pretty sure Duo's gone psychotic, but other than that they've gotten the majority of everything ready." He turned his attention towards the chains that were tying all of the double doors in the space together. "Where did you get the chains?"

"I always keep a stock pile of sturdy chains." Heero stated. When he received questioning looks from his two comrades he gave a shrug. "You never know when you'll need a good chain."

Unable to argue with that kind of logic, Trowa hummed while looking towards the wall clock. "We've only had a few people try to get in, but whatever Sally and Wufei are doing seems to be scaring people off."

Recalling hearing Sally's laughter a few minutes ago, Zechs gave a low chuckle. "They seem to be having fun. I had someone that sounded like Une demanding to be let in through the back entrance in the kitchen. Said if I didn't that I would be fired."

"What if it was Une?" Trowa questioned with a tilt of his head.

Zechs snorted and perched himself on a table. "Quatre told me to let no one in. No one gets in." he concluded flatly.

Unable to stop himself, Trowa gave a laugh . "Heh... This is going to be a very interesting lunch..." He trailed off to glance briefly at Heero. When the Japanese man locked with his gaze they shared a brief nod before focusing on the blonde. "Zechs. We'd like to thank you."

The sudden statement was odd, but Zechs was intrigued. "For what?"

Heero gestured towards the kitchen. "For helping Quatre find his way back. We have no interest in prying, but whatever you did was enough to get him back to more of his old self."

The gratitude wasn't something Zechs was used to. The way everyone seemed to come to life now that Quatre was smiling was a curious thing, but some how he understood. "He's stronger than you really give him credit for. Quatre found his way back on his own."

"You helped him find the way." Trowa cut in calmly. "You may not know how, but you were able to grant him something we couldn't."

It made Zechs frown how they were crediting him with Quatre's miraculous recovery, but it made him think of a question that had entered his mind the day before. "So none of you are concerned that I may be a substitute for Davin?"

The question had both of them snorting and immediately shaking their heads. "Of course not." Heero stated without hesitation.

Trowa gave another hum and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. "You are nothing like Davin. That's what surprised us the most when Quatre began getting closer to you." He opened up his wallet and pulled out a photo. After glancing at it for a moment he smiled and held it out to the blonde. "Davin was the definition of a social butterfly. He could easily talk and joke with anyone. He would get excited over the simplest things, and was absolutely gooey when he did something romantic for Quatre."

Zechs took hold of the picture and looked at it. In it he saw Duo and Trowa sitting on a park bench next Quatre and another man he had never seen before. He was almost petite with shaggy black hair and caramel colored eyes. A bright grin was on his delicate tan face as he hugged Quatre to him close. 'He was beautiful..' He could tell Quatre was infatuated with the man by the way he held him so lovingly. There was a gentle smile on his face and in his eyes that he was able to get a glimpse of the day before. He liked that smile.

After a moment of silently committing the man's face to his memory, Zechs handed back the picture. "Sounds like he was a bit more like Duo."

"Exactly." Heero readily agreed. "We thought, if anyone, he would go to Duo for support since he is his best friend. However that seemed to have an adverse affect. I suppose Duo just reminded him more of Davin, so he shrank back. Kept Duo and the rest of us at a distance."

"Sally thinks it's because he could only remember all the things he had done with Davin around all of us." Trowa added as he replaced the picture in his wallet. "That's why he went to you. He didn't have to be reminded of him at every second around you because you had never met Davin. Never shared any experiences with them."

"In short, you were a safe place. Someone he knew he could trust without reminding him constantly of Davin." Heero concluded.

Zechs took in this new information carefully. It made sense. 'Quatre was able to give himself time to heal around me because I never brought it up. Because I allowed him to take his time.. And he did the same for me.' It made a slight smile form now that everything fit together. "We helped each other, really. I was going through something unpleasant as well. Got to the point where we trusted one another to talk it through. Things simply seemed to clear up after that." he explained as best he could. Neglecting to mention the part about the cuddling and the hot tub. 'Can't give away everything.'

"Then that's all it took." Trowa said with a nod. Suddenly a strange gleam shone in his visible eye as he calmly placed a hand on Zechs' shoulder. "However, you do realize that, if you hurt him, we'll have to kill you. Correct, Heero?"

A wide smirk pulled at Heero's lips as he folded his arms over his chest. "Indeed."

Zechs quirked up an eyebrow at the threat, but smirked in return. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Damn, guys. You go right for the throat."

Glancing back towards the kitchen, they saw Quatre walking towards them with a highly amused expression on his flour smudged face. His new jacket was missing, but he had flour streaks all over his black jeans and dark blue shirt. The way he was moving with such a careless grace was a bit stunning. He was confident. Sure. Himself.

The three watching couldn't have been happier. "Well, you know we can't just let you run off with anyone." Trowa stated in what could be considered a strange impression of a fatherly tone.

"We were merely stating facts." Heero added with resolute nod.

Zechs gave an unimpressed look between the two before glancing back at the younger blonde. "Are they always going to be like this?"

Quatre gave a slight shrug. "Pretty much. It's like having four older brothers from hell." he mused as he came to a stop next to the table Zechs was seated on.

The older blonde's expression turned less than thrilled when he noticed the pleased little smirks of the two normally stoic men. "That's encouraging." Zechs muttered sarcastically.

"It's not that bad..." Quatre trailed off for a moment as a memory struck him. A laugh suddenly left him as he ran his hand through his flour dusted hair. "You should have seen the horrible things they put Davin through. Poor guy was scared out of his mind the first week."

Heero and Trowa suddenly froze when the name was spoken. An uneasy silence fell over them as they carefully watched the Arabian, but the smile was still on the pale face. It didn't waver. In fact it seemed to grow wider.

Quatre noticed their tension, and his expression readily softened. "It's okay. Really. Davin was a lively and highly outspoken guy. I don't think being all brooding and somber does any justice to his memory." he stated with that gentle smile.

On seeing the smile, both of them relaxed. "You're right, Quatre. As always." Trowa added with a small smirk.

The Arabian grinned and placed his hand to his own chest with a bit of a dramatic flare. "Naturally. Now could you two please help me tone Duo down? I think all the power has gone to his head in there." Quatre added while giving an uneasy glance back towards the kitchen.

There was a sudden 'Fwoomph!' noise soon followed by streams of smoke leaking through the cracks around the swinging kitchen door.

"Fuck yeah! Now THAT'S a flambe, bitches!! Muahahaha!!" Duo cackled near psychotically.

When more smoke began pouring through the cracks, both Trowa and Heero felt their eyes twitch. "Duo, you idiot! We're not supposed to burn the place down!" Heero growled as the two of them hurried towards the kitchen.

Zechs stared at the plume of smoke that flowed out as the growling pair pushed their way into the kitchen. Once he heard a distinct thwack and Duo's wining voice, he chuckled and shook his head. "Well, at least I wasn't assigned to a dull team." He turned towards the amused hum he heard and was looking up at Quatre's smudged face.

Without hesitating, he reached up and gently wiped away a streak of flour from Quatre's left cheek. "I don't remembering you getting this messy when you cooked back home." Zechs teased with a little smirk.

The teasing was a bit unexpected, but Quatre found himself liking the almost playful side that Zechs gave him a glimpse of occasionally. "Hm, there's a whole new level of involvement when Duo's playing head chef. If you're not covered with something by the time you're done, you didn't do it right." he explained while making a weak attempt to dust himself off.

When he only made a bigger mess of himself, Zechs chuckled and pulled him closer. "Don't bother. You look unfairly attractive all messy like that."

The chiding words combined with the loose embrace he was caught in made Quatre raise a brow. "Unfairly attractive?"

"Yes." Zechs had the younger blonde move in closer so he could steal a quick kiss. He noticed a vague hint of sugar on the warm lips, and it made him hum in approval. Pulling away, he smiled at the bemused look that was fixed on him. "I can tell I'm going to be driven to distraction a lot by you."

Quatre blinked for a moment, but he was soon giggling softly as he wrapped his arms around the older blonde's shoulders. "Good. Means I have your attention." He dove in for his own kiss, but turned it into a trail of kisses that led to Zechs' ear. "Don't worry about the others. If they didn't trust you, they wouldn't have told you." he murmured before gently nibbling on the soft lobe.

A little groan tried to escape, but Zechs managed to hold it at bay as he pulled Quatre closer to him. "I know. I don't mind it. Just going to take some getting used to."

The fact Zechs was being so understanding placed a great deal of Quatre's concerns to rest. He had briefly worried how well the normally isolated man would take to the way the others were involved with his life. So far none of it seemed to bother him, which only proved that Quatre was right in his choice.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Quatre was looking forward to his future. "Remind me later that we need to pick a day to get you stocked up on more things. Need to fill up that space I cleared for you." he thought aloud as his hands absently threaded through the long tresses.

Pleased that the word 'shopping' wasn't used, Zechs gave a faint nod. "I've been thinking.. Perhaps we could get a pool table and put it in the spare bedroom.." he suggested carefully.

The hesitance made Quatre chuckle as he pulled back. He cupped the older man's face in his hands and smiled brightly. "Game room?"

The improvement to his idea made Zechs smirk. "Sounds like a project."

"We can plan it out later." Quatre let his hands down to rest on Zechs' thighs as a devious look formed on his pale face. "There's a very comfortable couch in my new office... And I haven't given out the access code I chose for the lock yet.."

Zechs snorted in amusement at the silent offer. "Subtle."

"I thought so. After lunch?" Quatre seemed to purr as he gently ran his hands along the jean clad thighs.

"After lunch." Placing his hand at the nape of Quatre's neck, Zechs pulled in him for another kiss.

As their lips locked together with a now practiced ease, Zechs found himself at a new chapter of his life. All his troubles seemed insignificant. All the bad memories were faded. Unimportant

He had no clue where this would lead. If this strange intense spark between him and the Arabian would last. He wasn't even sure if he finally managed to beat that bastard called happiness into submission.

Only one thought went through his head as Quatre's arms wrapped tightly around him.

'This silence... Feels right.'

fjfjfjfjThe Endfjfjfjfj

There you have it.

I've humored the idea of writing an epilogue, but you'll have to tell me.

If enough people tell me to, I'll do it.

However don't expect one of those smut filled ones.

If I write an epilogue, it'll be to tie up the remaining loose end.

Noin.

*Dunn dunn dunn!*

Haha

Later~