Setting: Just after the AC-195 war. Possibly AU, but it’s worked in so it doesn’t warp the TV storyline.

Pairings: 3x4, 1+2, Kreigan+5, 13x6

Rating: R

Warnings: Violence, possible OOC? lemon, angst. No NCS - you’ll see why I had to point that out. Several OCs but they don’t necessarily play a big part.

Disclaimers: The only characters here that I own are any alter egos, Kazimiriel, Machiavel, Sarrow and Malvad and a few other characters that’ll pop up. Characters I don’t own include: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Zechs, Treize and any other good ones in fact.

Also, I would like to note that I am not Christian - anybody that wants to know why can pick one of two courses of action, either accept the fact that I’m a Mahayanist or email me and prepare for a very complex credo - and I’d like to add that this is just a story. If anything in it offends anyone, I apologize very sincerely.

Rough Peace - Part 11

‘Maybe I should wake him up’ Kreigan wondered, gazing lovingly at the figure of the Altron pilot lying on the bed. ‘He could have concussion or anything. I’ve got no idea what happened to him. But he looks so peaceful… no, I really should wake him.’

He knelt beside the bed and brushed the back of his hand across Wufei’s face. “Wufei? Wufei wake up,” he said softly, feeling very tempted to add ‘sweetheart’ on the end but decided against it in case he heard.

Kreigan’s heart leapt into his mouth as Wufei stirred and his eyes flickered open. “Wufei, are you alright?”

The Chinese boy groaned quietly and re-focused his eyes, sitting bolt upright in bed on sight of the demon. “Kreigan!?” he exclaimed anxiously, “…w… what am I doing here? Where are Winner and Maxwell?”

Kreigan shook his head, “I don’t know. I just found you passed out in the street. It’s eleven thirty at night, in case you’re wondering,” he added, offering a helping hand to the obvious bewilderment he was in.

“Oh…” Wufei mumbled. He threw the blanket off and got out of bed, only to take three steps forward and collapse into Kreigan’s arms. Wufei held his head as the demon helped to steady him, “I’m okay,” he insisted. “I can look after myself.”

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t doubt that,” Kreigan sighed. “But right now you need a little help. Let me take you through to the living room and you can have a sit down and something to drink.”

Once Wufei had reluctantly had a glass of water and was sat down on the sofa he attempted to fix his stare on the floor and keep his mouth shut. He remembered Quatre saying that Kreigan was employed by an organization that was something like the Sanhedrin for Enfero and wondered if that organization had anything to do with what was going on in Niravaana.

If it did, it was fairly possible that Kreigan was actually holding him prisoner and Wufei was waiting on tenterhooks for some kind of attack.

Kreigan noticed the tension Wufei was under. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked kindly, trying to break the icy silence that was stretched between them.

Wufei nodded tersely. “Fine. I’m just not used to this place.”

“It’s not as bad as everyone says it is, you know,” Kreigan replied with a smile. “The way Enfero is portrayed on Earth leaves a lot to be desired. It’s hardly our fault that evil spirits pollute it the way they do,” he added sharply, politics was always a touchy subject for him.

Wufei frowned. “It isn’t?” he asked lightly. Kreigan glared at him as though he’d said something out of place. “Sorry. But… what do you mean? How was this an accident?”

Kreigan sighed and sat next to Wufei. “There’s a lot going on right now and there’s one huge underlying principle that angels don’t want to accept. Probably because they got the better end of the deal.”

“Deal?” the human said inquisitively. “There was a treaty involved?”

“Ha! Hardly,” Kreigan snapped. “It was… maybe five hundred years ago, which isn’t so long when you consider our life span, when the eighth dimension became a sort of afterlife.” He began the explanation to Wufei who seemed very eager to listen. “To start with, the angels and the demons just tossed the spirits into Oblivion but after a while, we felt a little bad about the way we’d treated them.”

Wufei was amazed, “So… you remember this first-hand?” he asked in astonishment. “How old are you?”

Kreigan nodded. “In all fairness, I was very young at the time. I’m only five-hundred and thirty-two, which… would maybe class me as about twenty/twenty-five as a human.”

The Altron pilot gaped, “Wow. So you’re effectively only five years older than me.” ‘At least there’s a way around the age difference.’

“I guess so,” Kreigan said, staring into Wufei’s eyes and slowly realizing why the Chinese boy was having to justify things the way he was. The demon shook slightly with nerves as their gazes stayed locked for longer than he would have liked.

Wufei suddenly ripped his eyes from Kreigan and looked away. “Kreigan, what’s going on?” he demanded uncomfortably. “I know you were the one who left those flowers in my room. What do you want from me?” he asked, looking back towards the demon. “Are you in love with me or something?”

Kreigan backed off slightly. “I… would you be too freaked out if I said yes?”

Wufei’s eyes widened as he looked at the demon. “But you don’t know me,” he insisted desperately. “How can you even like me without knowing me?”

“Wufei…” Kreigan sighed ‘I just have to be honest, don’t I?’ “I… I have loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. When I followed Renfredriel around and saw you… you’re incredible Wufei,” he said ardently, tenderly running his hand across Wufei’s face.

“Kreigan don’t,” Wufei gulped and closed his eyes. “This is just not right.”

The demon took a deep breath and stood up. “I see,” he said understandingly. “So you’re just like everybody else,” he remarked, leaving Wufei alone in the lounge and walking back through to his bedroom.

Wufei frowned and followed him, “Everybody else? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kreigan shook his head. “You can’t see past the gray skin and the black feathers. You think that being a demon automatically makes me evil, right?”

“That’s not it!” Wufei cried zealously. “You couldn’t be further from the truth!”

“Then why?” he demanded, sweeping his wings dramatically across the room. “What is making you be so harsh!”

Wufei sighed as he realized just how pathetic his reason was. “I… I don’t believe in love at first sight,” he mumbled in embarrassment. “It’s impossible to fall in love without knowing someone first so I don’t see how I’m so madly in love with you!”

There was an awkward silence as the two of them began to grasp just how they felt about each other and the fact that they both felt the same way. Wufei laughed inwardly ‘I’ve not even kissed the man and it’s already the most intimate relationship I’ve ever had.’

Kreigan stepped forward and gently wrapped his fingers around Wufei’s. “You are?” he swallowed nervously.

Wufei went to reply and found his tongue had tied in a million knots - something which, believe me, *never* happens - so he just settled on nodded sincerely.

The demon smiled and held his hand to Wufei’s cheek, “I’m not sure what to say… I didn’t expect you’d ever…”

“I know…” Wufei whispered, catching Kreigan’s other arm and pulling him closer. “I didn’t either. But something, um, about you just seems… so… I’m sorry, I’m not good at this.”

Kreigan shrugged, “Don’t worry about it,” he replied, slipping his hand around the back of Wufei’s head. “I’m not so great at it either. But I think I know what you were trying to say.”

Wufei drew in a shaky breath, “What did you think?” He felt his knees begin to buckle with nerves. ‘Since when do I get this scared?’ he reprimanded himself, ‘He’s not going to hurt me, this is completely illogical!’

The demon smirked ‘It might be the biggest cliché in the book but…’ “This,” he said simply, pulling Wufei in closer and touching their noses together.

The raven-haired boy fought off a pleasurable sigh when their lips met, savoring every last little detail of the moment as he slipped his arms around Kreigan’s waist and eagerly returned his admirer’s affection.

Wufei soon found himself wrapped up in the blond demon’s arms, kissing him devotedly and pressing their bodies together. Neither one let a sliver of daylight between them as they kissed, clamped together from knees to shoulders and running their hands over every last bit of each other’s bodies.

Kreigan moaned as they embraced, instinctively folding his meter-long wings around the two of them. Wufei smiled into their kiss as the casing of rich black feathers shut out the rest of the world, shut out the huge gap between their races and, more than anything else, shut out the other Gundam pilots… shut out Quatre. The angel that was the barrier, wedging them both apart.

For a second, Wufei could forget the happy couples he’d been so jealous of. Yes, jealous. Even the way they handled life in general was something he resented. Heero, who would keep quiet and never let his anger show. Trowa who, after everything he’d ever had to suffer, could still see an argument clearly and calmly from someone else’s perspective. Quatre, an endless fountain of compassion who would be affected so overwhelmingly by other people’s suffering, but keep fighting despite whatever life threw at him.

And, of course, that braided Deathscythe pilot who stirred bitter envy up inside Wufei every time he saw him. His ability to show the rest of the world that he wasn’t going to be beaten down, and not just to grit his teeth and push everyone away, but to actually go out of his way to be nice to other people just to show how much he could cope with.

He forgot that he was stranded in the middle of a place that could qualify as hell and separated from the only person that could get him out alive. †

Quatre knocked for the third time on the teak wood door to his ‘friend’s house and started to wonder at the possibility of the demon ignoring him.

“Quat, maybe we should go find somewhere else to stay,” Duo suggested, shifting his gaze warily around the street, watching for any hint of various supernatural dangers that he wasn’t used to. “Look, this guy’s obviously not in. We should just go.”

The angel clenched his fists. “Go *where* exactly?” he snapped in exasperation. Duo backed up a step. “No, Duo. Seriously, where do we go? Sleep on the street? Visit an embassy? This is not like Earth! Not even like L2! This place is as good as the underworld and we’ll get eaten alive if we so much as *look* at somebody wrong!”

Duo stared at Quatre for a second as he broke down into tears and shook violently. “Oh Quatre, come here,” he said kindly, taking the angel into his arms and stroking his head.

“I’m sorry Duo,” Quatre sniffed, “so *incredibly* sorry. I didn’t mean… This just brings back so many memories of my home and… and I’ve dragged you all into this shit and now I’ve lost Wufei, Heero and Trowa are stuck in Niravaana and you, when any normal person would have deserted me hours ago, have stuck by me through this whole mess… I never wanted to do this again. It’s just too painful!”

“Quatre, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here for as long as you need me,” Duo said sincerely, hugging his friend for all he was worth.

Quatre looked up at him timidly through tear-stained eyes, “Really?”

The braided boy smiled and ruffled the little blond’s hair. “Really, really. I thought you’d know that by now…” he trailed off as the door behind them opened and a little chocolate-haired demon poked his head out.

“Sorry I took so long, I was in the shower,” he said before noticing the pure white wings and golden aura of his visitor. “Renfredriel? Wow… uh… I didn’t expect to see you here. Come in, you’d better get off the streets.”

Quatre nodded and followed the demon inside, “Thank you Sarrow.” He paused awkwardly for a minute, “I know we’ve not had a great history together… to say the least, but I didn’t know where else to turn and you’ve always been so good to me over the years.”

Sarrow shrugged and shook his head, “I appreciate the compliment, but I’m just being a good Samaritan. Any half decent guy in my position would do the same.”

By their tone of voice and general fidgeting, Duo could tell that whatever relationship they had had been through the mill a few times. Whether it had been a romantic thing or not was something the Deathscythe pilot just wasn’t sure of. The demon seemed both pleased and discontented on seeing Quatre at the same time. It was very obvious that something, Duo didn’t know what, had made the situation very uncomfortable.

“What are you doing down here then?” Sarrow said after a while, trying his best to stop the awkward silence, “Especially at this time of night. Unless this is about-”

“Yeah… uh, yeah it is,” Quatre mumbled. “We’ll get out of your hair first thing in the morning. We just needed somewhere other than a back street to sleep.”

Sarrow nodded tensely again and lead them out of the front room. “That’s fine, there’s a spare bedroom through here. It’s just got a double bed though, hope you don’t mind sharing.”

“You’re kiddin’ right?” Duo said happily, “I think we’re just glad not to be sleepin’ outdoors. Thanks a lot, you’re being more than helpful.”

Sarrow smiled genuinely, “You’re welcome… um…”

“Oh right,” Duo said realizing he hadn’t introduced himself and offered his hand. “Duo, Duo Maxwell.”

“Sarrow Xoto, nice to meet you,” he said, taking Duo’s hand and nodding in a much more relaxed way. “I didn’t know human beings could be so pleasant. They don’t have a very good image here.”

Duo pursed his lips and frowned. “Why not? We’re basically a nice bunch of guys and gals.”

“My political views are no use to you right now,” Sarrow said dismissively flapping his right wing. “If you need it, there’s a bathroom down the hall. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thanks Sarrow,” Quatre shouted after the demon as he left them alone in the bedroom. The two Gundam pilots slipped exhaustedly into bed, grateful for the demon’s sympathy and the soft bed they could sink into.

Duo lay awake for a while, thinking over their encounter with Sarrow and decided to speak up as Quatre showed no sign of getting to sleep anytime soon. “Quatre, how do you know him?”

“Who?”

Duo frowned. ‘I’m sure that was obvious’ “Sarrow. He seems nice but… I dunno. Something about the way you’re acting around him got me suspicious.”

Quatre sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to explain a lot of experiences in painful detail. “Well, when I… if I tell you this, do you promise not to think I’m pathetic?”

“Why would I think that?” Duo asked kindly. “You’re a Gundam Pilot. Gundam Pilots are anything but pathetic. We all did some cowardly things during the war but I’d never call you pathetic.”

“Okay. When I said I ‘lived’ here for a few months, that wasn’t exactly accurate,” he said ashamedly. “When I was about ninety, I started to realize what life in Niravaana was really like. When I was growing up, my older brother sugarcoated life and I didn’t understand the way the Sanhedrin ran things. Of course, like the ridiculously idealistic person I was back then, when I found out what went on, I actively challenged their decisions.”

Duo took Quatre’s hand as the memories began to hurt him. “I take it that didn’t go down well?”

“That’s about right,” Quatre replied lightly. “I got labeled as an infidel and a heathen. Even got locked our cellblocks a few times. When they started to really hurt me I ran away. I knew they’d find me in Lymbo or Oblivion so I came here and while I was on the streets in my human body, I was terrified. I was completely alone and not even Kazimiriel could protect me… you understand that, right?”

Duo nodded and lay closer to him. “Street life’s hard enough without being in hell too. I remember living on L2 really well. You’re right, I do understand. I probably would have died if it wasn’t for Solo and me helping each other out.”

Quatre smiled half-heartedly, “My Solo was Sarrow. I met him when I was on the streets, he let me stay with him for a while and gradually he fell in love with me. Unfortunately, I’d already seen Trowa’s personality and it was either him or no one at all. So I had to turn him down. We tried being friends but eventually I had to leave. The second I did, the Sanhedrin caught me…” he trailed off as he felt tears sting his eyes.

Duo put an arm around his friend and rested Quatre’s head on his shoulder. “You can cry if you want to, you know,” he whispered. “I won’t think any less of you.”

“They literally dragged me back home,” Quatre continued, his voice breaking under the emotional strain. “They beat me, hard. Bruised me, stabbed me and shut me in a solitary confinement cell. They thrashed me and starved me to within an inch of my life and after about two hundred years of abuse, they decided to get rid of me by dumping me on Earth as Quatre Raberba Winner. And… I guess you know the rest.”

“Wow…” Duo whispered in awe. “I had no idea. Considering all that, you’re a pretty well adjusted guy. You’re one hell of a strong person, Quatre… what is your real name?”

“Renfredriel. It translates loosely as Rough Peace. Like gaining peace through a harsh battle, this is what I was sent to Earth to help with-”

Quatre cut off abruptly as the window next to them shattered and glass flew out into the room. He and Duo leapt out of bed and whipped to face whatever had caused the breakage. There was a sickening click of a pistol hammer and three demons stood before them, Sarrow included, holding revolvers ready to shoot.

TBC…

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