Author: PlaidDragon

Pairings: 1x2, R~1; no relenas were harmed in the making of this fic. Much.

Warnings: lots of language (from Duo), and a certain amount of violence perpetrated against stupid Ozzies. *shrugs* Some pain, some angst, some cluelessness, some dawning of understanding.

Rating: hm... PG-13? If you're under 13, you ought not to be here anyway; go play with your stuffed unicorn.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its original characters do not belong to me.

Tangled Up In Pink -- A RFO fic from the PlaidDragon (and yes, I apologise in advance for any OOC-ness; >.<). Various people are to blame for this, but I'll not embarrass them by naming names. ^.o You know who you are, (large birds and delicious vegetables) and I am grateful for the head-smacking.

Tangled Up in Pink

Drifting silently up the stairs, the young man paused to listen and examine the hallway ahead of him. The window at the end had not been touched since he went out. He eased down the balding carpet to the door of his apartment and scrutinized the outside of the door carefully.

The long burnished hair that he had left in the hinge side of the door was gone. If one of his partners had come in while he was out, they would have removed the long hair and left one of their own in its place as notice.

Therefore, someone else had been inside the apartment; might still be inside the apartment.

He set the bag with his soda and deli sandwich gently on the floor next to the door, then unlocked and opened the door. It eased open noiselessly; Trowa had made sure of that silence when he first arrived.

Weapon in hand, safety off, Duo slithered into the room, noting the light coming from the bedroom hallway.

Dammit, if one of the guys forgot the hair trick he was going to be pissed. He'd had a long day; he wanted to eat his dinner and crash, not try to work off an anger rush. Especially with Heero gone.

He slid down the hall, back pressed against the wall, determining that the light was coming from his and Heero's room. Maybe the glare that melted Tokyo was back early. Still didn't explain the lack of a chocolate brown hair in the door. Heero would have to be unconscious to forget that.

He took a two-handed grip on his weapon and swung it up as he stepped into the doorway.

"Freeze!" he snarled.

"Oh, my god!" screeched Relena Peacecraft, jumping a foot in the air.

Duo sagged against the door frame, panting, his heart racing as he safetied his weapon.

"Holy sh-- crap! Relena, what are you doing here?!" he gasped. God, he was going to be tweaking on this adrenalin surge for hours.

"I wanted to see Heero," she said, the unspoken "of course" lingering in the air between them. She smoothed her skirt nervously; Duo's eyes tracked her hands automatically. Never lose sight of their hands; street rule number five.

He sighed heavily. This was so old it was approaching prehistoric.

"Relena, if Heero wants to see you, I'm pretty sure he knows the way to Sanq." He slipped the gun back into its hidden holster. "Showing up here is only gonna make trouble."

"Heero understands," she said with a trace of mulishness.

"Right; and he wears a purple halo, too." He went back to the front door and retrieved his dinner. Relena followed him as far as the living room.

"When will Heero be back?" she asked, looking around somewhat awkwardly. She didn't seem to want to sit on the rather tacky furniture. Did not, of course, explain why she was poking around in their room.

He paused at the sink, blinking. Or maybe it did. Good lord, was she touching Heero's stuff? The only thing he left behind was his scent on the pillow that Duo had already appropriated, and a pair of... of... dirty underwear. He shivered slightly. Ewww.

"Three or four days," he muttered, arranging his food on a paper towel. If he used a plate, he had to wash a plate. If she made any noises about staying, then he was leaving. Let the pink princess sit here alone and wait for Heero, who would probably be beyond pissed to find her here.

Relena sighed forlornly. "Oh, darn. I really wanted to talk to him."

"Sorry, babe; you're stuck with me." He carried his dinner into the dining area and sat at the table. Relena came to hover nearby. Duo waved to the other chair. "Have a seat, princess." Go me, he thought; I'm being polite, and no one had to glare at me.

Relena seated herself gracefully and folded her hands on the table. "That looks... good," she said after a moment of watching Duo eat.

"Oh, it is." He opened the sandwich, ticking off its contents. "Turkey, ham, beef, Provolone, pickles, onions, tomatoes, olives, jalapenos, lettuce, mayo, mustard and salt and pepper. Little hole-in-the-wall place down the block. Made it myself." He took another bite. Nope, not offering you anything; uninvited guests are not eating my food.

She really needed to get over this thing she had for Heero. It was driving the man insane; he respected her (god only knew why) and had some crazy premonition that she would be the key in some way to the end of the war, but her constant following -- tell the truth, Duo; she's stalking him! -- was a danger to their mission, to them personally and even to her. The bad guys weren't going to hold off shooting just because she inserted her little pink self into the mix. Hanging around Heero could get Relena very messily dead.

Heero already had one little girl's death on his conscience; he didn't need another.

And don't even think about how much she annoyed him! If he found her perfume on Heero's pillow... Dammit, that would just be wrong!

She fussed with the collar of her pale pink blouse, straightening the darker pink scarf that she wore like a necklace. The thing was threaded with chunky, clunky wooden beads and looked too heavy to be hanging around someone's neck. Probably cost a damn fortune.

Duo froze then, staring at Relena. Oh shit... How did she get here? Never mind the getting through the locked door; the girl was nearly as good as him with locks, especially if she thought Heero was on the other side. He wasn't even interested anymore in how she always managed to find them. Heero had given up trying to explain to her that they were trying to hide, and that every time someone apprised her of their whereabouts, they risked being caught. She didn't get it. Duo had been there for a couple of those lectures; the whole concept just soared right over her pretty blonde head, waving bye-bye as it headed for the rainbow. That was why they moved around so erratically; a day here, three days there, a few hours somewhere else. He'd accepted it as just another fact of life. Just like her pinkness.

Still, none of that mattered, really. The question now was, how had she gotten here? Did she walk; take a cab, a bus -- yeah, right! Relena Peacecraft on a bus! -- a bicycle? Or...

A slice of tomato and two pieces of pickle slithered out of the sandwich and plopped onto the paper towel. Duo stared at the girl in dawning horror.

"Oh crap," he whispered. Shit. Shitshitshit!

"Relena," he said in a deceptively mild voice, "How long have you been here?"

She blinked, then answered. "About two hours, I suppose."

Duo sighed, rolled his eyes and wolfed down the remainder of his sandwich. Wasn't it just so true that there was no rest for the wicked?

"How did you get here? Did you walk or...?"

"Of course not," she said scornfully. "Pargan dropped me off."

Duo swallowed the pickles and the tomato; not letting anything go to waste.

"Please tell me he was driving a crappy old panel van. Please."

Relena looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Of course not! I always take the limo."

"The humongous, pink, sticks out like a sore thumb limo. The humongous, pink, sticks out like a sore thumb limo that OZ is disgustingly familiar with. That they know damn well belongs to you. That they know would not be in an area like this unless you were visiting a nest of terrorist Gundam pilots." He scrubbed his hands over his face. Nope, not gonna get any sleep tonight.

"Relena Peacecraft, you are an idiot," he snorted and went to get his small bag.

"What?! How dare you call me an idiot!" she snapped. "If Heero were here -"

"If Heero were here, he'd call you a damn sight more than an idiot! Come on; we're leaving." He reached for her arm, but she drew back haughtily.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Relena, you don't get it," he tried as patiently as possible. "You came here -- a highly recognizable person, wearing highly recognizable clothing, in a highly recognizable car -- to a lower-class neighborhood in a third-rate industrial town in the middle of North America. Do you really think OZ doesn't know by now? Do you really think they won't find that... odd?" Patience warred with the ticking down in his head of the time they had left. "Relena, OZ already knows that you have some kind of contact with us. There are snitches are all over the place; the odds are very good that word has gotten back to the nearest OZ facility that Relena Peacecraft is visiting the Gundam pilots! That means that very soon -- since you've already been here two hours -- troops are going to roll into this area and search this building from top to bottom. And then every other building in the area, maybe even the whole town, until they find us! We have to go, Relena!"

She glared at him. "Don't be absurd! I'm Relena Peacecraft; they aren't going to hurt me!"

Duo stared at her, his retort wobbling on the tip of his tongue. Well, they sure as fuck will hurt me! But it would just go right over her head.

Instead, he grabbed her arm and started for the door. "Goddammit, Relena! They will shoot you, and then use it as propaganda! 'Noted pacifist killed while consorting with terrorists.' You think that headline will help your cause any?"

Finally; finally she seemed to be getting what he was saying. Confusion replaced irritation and she stopped trying to pull away from Duo's grip.

"But... where will we go?"

"To another safe house, where we will stay just long enough to get you back to Pargan, and then we'll move again."

"But what about Heero? How will he know?"

Duo groaned, cursing the day he ever saved her blonde hide. "He's not an idiot; we have communication. He will know we've been compromised. Again."

~*~

Duo peeked out the window of the front door of the building. No sign of anything yet. That did not necessarily ease his mind; OZ was nothing if not devious. He smirked darkly; they didn't know they were up against Shinigami yet. He turned, tugging Relena after him, toward the back of the building.

"C'mon; we may have caught a break."

"But why aren't we going out?" she whispered looking back at the door.

"Because they know what you look like, but they don't know me. I'm still just a number and a big freaking Gundam. If we can give you a little camouflage..."

He pulled her into the alcove at the rear door and produced a comb and a hair elastic and reached for her neat braids.

She flinched away. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to make you look a little bit different; now be still." He unpinned the braids and picked them loose, then ran the comb through her honey-blonde hair a couple of times before combing it together and up and wrapping the elastic band around it. He studied his handiwork briefly. If you only looked at the face, it was obviously Relena Peacecraft, but most people didn't look just at faces. The high ponytail, along with the sour expression, gave her an older, slightly brittle air. Much better.

He shrugged out of his black leather jacket and held it out to her; she glared at it. "Put it on," he commanded with a sigh. "We have to hide that pink. Don't you own anything but pink?"

She let him help her with the jacket. "I happen to like pink; I look good in pink," she muttered sullenly. "Everybody says so."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Well, doll; I think they're lying to you. You'd look much better in blue. Or maybe a nice teal. Pink makes you look sallow." He tucked his braid down the back of his t-shirt, and pulled his outer shirt out of his jeans to hide his weapon. Then he pulled out a cell phone and hit the code for "compromised". That would keep any of the guys from coming back here. They all knew the next location; they would meet there.

He eased the back door open for a quick scope of the yard and alley; all clear on this block. He opened the door and took her hand.

"C'mon, Susan," he said in a louder than usual voice, pulling her through the doorway. "Show starts at seven; we're gonna be late if you don't move that cute little butt." He could only imagine the expression on her face; he wasn't about to actually look. The hiss pretty much said it all. She followed him, though, and that was all that mattered.

Down the stairs, across the yard, through the gate and into the alley; he set a brisk pace, keeping up a running monologue as they went.

"You wanna see that classic sci fi thing or the disaster one? The sci fi has those really corny special effects, but I've heard it's a hoot and a half. The disaster thing is supposed to be really cool; buildings blowing up, shuttles crashing. Even got some mobile suit effects. I'd rather see that one, but you choose, baby. I promised and I'll never lie to you."

Relena said nothing, shooting him a confused and irritated look instead. He ignored it and kept up his rambling monologue.

They passed the first cross street and Duo dragged Relena closer, folding her arm over his. "We're gonna head toward the theaters, just in case anyone's watching," he whispered.

"O-okay," she said faintly.

If he'd been alone, he would've ducked into the theater to spend a few hours until it was safe to move, but he couldn't take the chance on getting cornered with Relena. He could move like a rat when necessary, but he doubted that Relena had ever climbed more than a jungle gym.

Crossing the second street, he glanced down the block and saw the tail end of a troop transport passing the intersection, heading the way they had come. "Show time," he muttered.

"What?" The princess looked scared; finally!

"OZ is here; let's pick it up a little, baby."

Duo led them down the cross street, only to encounter another troop carrier parked in the next intersection. He turned quickly down the next alley.

"Relena, we have a problem," he muttered. "We may have to take evasive action. I need you to do exactly what I say, no arguments, from now on. You got that?"

"But... Well, okay," she agreed hesitantly.

"Good girl. I'm gonna hope we don't get stopped --"

The words weren't completely out of his mouth when someone shouted, "There!"

"Ah, shit!" He sometimes wondered what the hell he'd ever done to piss Murphy off so bad.

Grabbing Relena's hand, he pulled her into a run. "C'mon, girl; move those feet!" At least she was wearing flats; too bad they weren't track shoes. Relena ran with the mincing steps and flapping hands of some delicate debutant. What the hell did she do in gym class, he wondered, and what century was she from?

They pounded down the alley and across a street, then a quick left took them into another alley. This part of the city was honeycombed with alleys, access ways and pedestrian paths between buildings; Duo doubted that the Oz soldiers would have any clue in this maze. He'd spent three of his five days here wandering the streets, scoping out those very alleys, access ways and pedestrian paths.

He yanked Relena around another corner. Crap! The soldier was gaining on them! Relena stumbled, recovered, stumbled again. She was already panting like a dog. Obviously, she would not be lettering in track this year...

Another corner; right, this time. The alley dead ended at a concrete block wall. Relena faltered and made a whimpering noise. A gunshot, almost deafening in the enclosed space; the bullet slammed into the wall ahead of them.

Relena suddenly dug in her heels, almost knocking Duo off his feet. She spun to face the soldier.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shrieked. "Don't you know who I am?!"

Duo blinked. The Ozzie blinked. For a brief instant their eyes met; their unspoken astonishment a common ground.

"How dare you shoot at me!"

"Shit..."

He grabbed Relena's arm and yanked her after him; the Ozzie's second shot missed her by inches. Before she could get her jaw back in place and realize how close she'd come to dying, the boom of a BFG nearly shattered her eardrums and the Ozzie collapsed in an explosion of blood.

"God damn it, girl! This ain't no fucking garden party!" yelled Duo.

"But..."

The sound of shouts and running feet in the distance reached them then. Duo growled and headed for the wall again.

"But shouldn't we go the other way?"

"And run straight into them? C'mere; I'll give you a boost."

She stared at him. "What...?"

He shook his head wearily. Damn, but Heero better be right about her; if she turned out to be just another blithering debutant after all this, he'd hunt her down and shoot her himself.

He shoved her at the wall. "Climb, girl! I ain't got time to argue!" He put his back against the wall and laced his fingers together. "Let's go!"

She managed -- much too slowly for the ticking clock in Duo's head -- to get her foot up into his hands, her hands clutching his shoulders.

"Up!" he snarled, and heaved. Of course, she didn't manage to scramble over the wall by herself, but she at least had her hands on the top. He spun and grabbed her feet. "Tuck and roll! Over!" Again he heaved. This time she squawked as she shot up and over.

So help him, if she'd broken something falling wrong, he'd damn well leave her!

He swarmed up the wall, only to be nearly ventilated at the top. Oh, joy; the bad guys had arrived. Pricks. Did any of these guys know how to frigging shoot?! Bullets whizzed around him; he pulled out his own BFG, fired two precise shots and took down both soldiers. The second one fell backwards onto the sidewalk; someone on the street screamed.

What the hell? Hadn't anyone heard the damn shooting going on for the past two minutes? What the hell was wrong with people? Now someone screams?!

Another uniform rounded the corner into the alley and Duo heard the distinctive sound of an APC approaching. He fired once at the new jackass, then threw himself backwards off the wall, to land as gracefully...

...As a snared rabbit. Concertina wire grabbed at him, ripped his shirt, stuck to his jeans, tangled around his legs, and tore into his exposed flesh, tossing him this way and that before finally flinging him hard onto the ground. Somehow, he'd kept hold of his gun without firing; that thought tried to hug him, as if knowing he was still armed would somehow make everything all better. Yeah. Right. Would've been even better if he hadn't tried to grab the fuckin' wire on the way down...

Before he managed to force air back into his lungs, he saw stars, planets and even a few comets, but didn't actually black out. Holy damn shit... So this was what it felt like to fall into a cactus... He was sorry for all the times he'd laughed at cartoon characters in the same situation.... ...oh crap...

"Duo! Duo! What do we do now?" Relena was shaking him frantically.

"We... get... the... fuck... outta... here..." he panted, struggling to his feet. He took two steps and his left knee buckled, throwing him flat out on the ground again. Wow... Pretty stars...

Shit. Shitshitshit! So much for bounding away like a gazelle... Could he at least manage to stumble like a drunk?

He tried again. His knee and everything attached to it laughed derisively.

Relena had reached the point of hyperventilation, sucking air in between whimpers.

He rubbed his face one-handed and blood smeared over his skin. God damn it, Shinigami! You don't want much from me, do you!

He grabbed Relena's shoulder to lean on. "I think I tore something," he muttered. "Let's go."

"But...!"

"Over there." He pointed her toward a poor man's condo. He lifted the lid with an effort. "Climb in."

She stared at him in horror.

"They're coming!" he hissed. The sound of boots scrabbling for purchase on the concrete blocks was as good as a cattle prod. The girl clambered awkwardly into the dumpster. Duo flung himself in after her, letting the plastic lid close silently.

"Dig in," he whispered, burrowing into the garbage. He could see the whites of her eyes for an instant, and then she was gingerly pulling bits of paper and trash over herself. By the time the soldiers cleared the wall, they were both invisible to the casual observer.

Something rustled behind Relena; Duo put his hand over her mouth. "Shh..." he breathed. "Gotta wait for them to leave." She nodded faintly, eyes wide as saucers in the almost-dark. Another rustle. Her eyes went even wider. He shook his head sharply.

Between them, a pointed and bewhiskered snout poked itself out of the trash. A pair of beady black eyes followed. Relena made a noise. "Shh! Or we're dead!" he mouthed.

The lid of the dumpster creaked, opened. The rat and another of his kin hissed at the sudden increase in light to their domain.

"Fuck!" snapped a rough voice. "Rats!"

"Yeah, well; they gotta eat, too, Gudino! Let's get moving; they can't have gone very far."

"Christ... I can't believe a couple of kids..." The voice trailed away as they made their way down the passage.

Duo counted to thirty before taking his hand away from Relena's mouth with a silent sigh. She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then her eyes slid closed.

"Relena? Relena!" he hissed. Well, shit. She'd fainted. Huh. Over a couple of rats. He shook his head in wonder. Pretty well-fed rats; a couple of these would have been good eating back in the day. Oh, well. At least she wasn't screaming, and it gave him a couple of minutes to feel around his knee and determine that yep; he sure as hell had done something. And now that his adrenalin was dropping, he noticed that his ankle didn't feel any too good either. The palm of his hand burned like fire and was bleeding pretty good, too, along with all the little stings and zings that warned of other bites from the razor wire.

Shit. He really hated pink...

Relena started to come round within a few minutes. Duo saw the exact instant that she realised where she was and why. His hand covered her mouth before she had a chance to make noise.

"Don't," he breathed. "Those two are gone, but there are others on the other side, cleaning up the bodies. We're going to have to sit tight for a while."

He took his hand away and she sucked in a shallow breath. "He... he shot at me!" she whispered.

"Yeah..." He wondered if she realised yet that if he hadn't pulled her aside, her head would have exploded just as the soldier's chest had. She probably wouldn't have had time to feel a thing. There were worse things than a painless death.

He continued to rub at his knee and ankle with his good hand. He didn't dare remove his boot, he'd never get it back on, and his knee was swelling enough already to make his pants leg tight. This enforced break was both good and bad. Good, in that OZ would be widening their search and wouldn't bother with this alley anymore. Bad, in that sitting around was only going to cause him to stiffen up. He didn't even want to think of what was scuttling around in the garbage, just waiting for a chance to get into his bloodstream. His immune system was better than average, but no sense in pushing his luck.

"But... He shot at me..." The echo came out as a whimper.

Duo flicked his fingers at a rat that had poked its nose toward Relena. "Sorry, Relena, but these people don't much care who else they kill. As far as they're concerned, your name is Relena pain-in-the-butt-dammit. If you hang with us, they'll be happy to kill you with us." He looked up at the faint noise that escaped her. "That's what Heero's been trying to tell you. You can't run around butting into our business. You damn near got Heero killed last month; it took me almost two hours to clean and stitch up that wound." She seemed to be shrinking... Oh, the rats. "Just wave your hands at them; they're curious, but they have plenty of food in here."

She looked up at him, eyes wet and red. "Don't they know who I am...?" she whimpered.

He blinked. The rats? Oh. No, we're back to the Ozzies again....

"Relena," he said softly, "They don't care who you are. You are with a suspected Gundam pilot; that's all they need to know. They would nail your grandmother if they caught her with one of us." She seemed to be trying to digest the concept; frowning and blinking to chase away tears. Given her usual level of comprehension, he didn't hold out any hope for a miracle.

He did feel some small bit of compassion for her. She was a spoiled, sheltered little girl suddenly let loose into a big angry world and trying to deal with that world in the way her parents had taught her. Too bad all those genteel manners and polite civilized behaviors didn't apply here.

"Look, just accept that they will kill you as readily as they would kill me. We're gonna have to wait until they finish on the other side. I'm not exactly going to be gliding silently into the night, and I don't want to attract their attention. Just..." He looked around; one of the rats looked back at him speculatively, as if trying to decide if he was worth the trouble. He dug into the garbage next to him and came up with a discarded lump of... something that had once been on someone's plate. The rat perked up. Duo offered the gross morsel; the rat crept over, sniffing, and plucked the stuff from his fingers and scurried off to the far corner. Two more rats followed.

"Just offer them food, or whatever; they'll leave you alone as long as they eat."

He could see the trembling of her lower lip. "If you cry," he warned, feeling suddenly very tired, "Your eyes will burn and get all red and your nose will run and you'll get all blotchy, but the problem will still be there. Crying won't make any of it go away. But if you gotta do it, just do it quietly."

~*~

It took almost three hours for the bodies to be cleaned up and carted away. Somebody got yelled at for not backing the first guy up properly. Someone else got a reaming for not teaching the next two not to go bounding into a situation blind, and look where the hell they ended up. And the fourth guy, who had only been wounded, endured a fairly snarky lecture about waiting for the goddamn backup, if you please! Finally, though, a heavy vehicle backed into the alley, doors squeaked open and clunked closed and the meat wagon pulled away. High-powered torches fanned the area, searching for any over-looked clues. Again, someone lifted the lid on the dumpster, but by then the rats knew their parts cold. They squeaked and hissed angrily and the lid dropped again with a sharp curse.

Duo sighed soundlessly and waited another thirty minutes before pulling himself free of the muck and garbage and cracking the lid of the dumpster.

"Okay, Relena; we can go now."

She answered with a faint whimper and began struggling out of the mass of filth. Duo helped her climb out, then hauled himself over the rim of their hiding place to land as quietly as possible on his good leg. Relena made a futile attempt to clean up while he tested his injured leg.

The red hot wave of pain that shot straight to his brain and back again and dimmed his vision alarmingly confirmed that Shinigami would not be ghosting anywhere for at least a week.

One of these days, Murphy... One of these days.

"Relena..." She looked up, swallowing. "I can't walk on this leg; you're gonna have to help me."

She frowned, opened her mouth; shut it again. "Okay," she said finally.

She had, of course, no clue as to how to help, but he didn't waste the brain cells reflecting on that; just showed her what to do and warned her that she was going to be supporting part of his weight. It took a few false tries before she was comfortable with Duo's arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist. She kept trying to put space between them, though, as if the idea of their bodies touching creeped her out. Duo just sighed and she finally adjusted to the necessary contact. They staggered off looking like a pair of drunks.

They wandered, seemingly at random, through the back alleys for some time before Relena spoke again.

"What are we doing?" she hissed. "Why aren't we getting away from here?"

"We are, babe; we are. We're just avoiding the patrols."

"Patrols? What patrols?" She pulled away from him suddenly. He wobbled at the loss of stability, tried to catch himself with his injured leg and wound up on the ground panting open-mouthed to keep from screaming. "I don't see any soldiers!" she snapped in a harsh whisper. "I don't hear any patrols! You're trying to scare me; you're lying to me! Heero wouldn't --"

"No," he cut her off wearily, rubbing at the agonizing pain in his knee. "Heero wouldn't," he agreed softly. "Heero wouldn't have gotten hurt, Heero wouldn't have made you hide in a rat-infested dumpster, and Heero wouldn't need your help to get the both of you out of this. But I'm not Heero. I'm just me, and I don't fuckin' lie, so don't you ever say that to me again, goddammit." His intensity was not lost on her, dense though she might be.

She sniffed. Her chin puckered. Her lower lip trembled.

"Relena... There is a patrol going door to door two streets over; I can hear them. We are following the teams as they clear the streets and neighborhoods. We can't afford to run into anyone. I can't fight; I only have so much ammunition and four knives. If we get caught, we are dead." He sighed heavily and began getting vertical again. "I'm sorry about this; really I am, but let's don't forget why this is happening. C'mon, so we can get going again." He was done arguing about this. If she wouldn't cooperate, he would just have to get himself back to Deathscythe any way he could.

She glared at the ground for a long minute, delicate little hands clenched into tight fists. How it galled her to take orders from this... barbarian. But she wanted to see Heero... She had to see Heero! He would understand. He would... he would...

She took a deep breath and stepped up to draw Duo's arm across her shoulders. She didn't even shudder this time.

~*~

Duo had been on autopilot for some blocks the next time Murphy reared his ugly laughing head.

A door opened into the alley and a man stepped out, turned and spotted them. Relena stumbled to a halt with a sharp gasp. Duo registered the style and cut of the uniform before he really saw the man within it, and launched himself at the OZ soldier. The man had time for recognition to dawn in his eyes before Duo's big sharp hunting knife nearly took his head off his shoulders. His hand even went toward his holstered weapon before his body collapsed in a bloody heap.

Chinese, Duo noted automatically, wiping his knife blade on the soldier's uniform. He thought momentarily of Chang Wufei, the arrogant lone wolf of their little group.

Then his exhausted nerve endings reminded him that he was in pain, dammit, and what the hell did he think he was doing, throwing them around that way?!

He looked for Relena; she was throwing up against the wall of the building. He sighed. It wasn't like he'd planned this, after all. The shuttered warehouse that belonged to the Sweepers through a dozen layers of legal red tape and dummy corporations squatted in a maze of a few dozen other abandoned or under-used buildings left over from the city's days as a manufacturing center for this region. They only had a couple of blocks to go. He could make it and by god, so would she.

"Relena!" he hissed. "We have to get moving now. Someone's gonna come looking for this guy. We don't have far to go, another five or ten minutes."

She moaned piteously, slumped against the rough wall.

If I can do it, she can do it, he thought with a growl.

"Relena!" he snapped. She pushed away from the wall and stumbled toward him, keeping her eyes carefully away from the dead soldier.

"Was that... necessary?" she said shakily as she helped him to his feet.

"This is what a war looks like, Relena. Nobody gains their freedom without some blood being spilled; better his than ours," he sighed. He took a step; shit, it hurt even worse now.

A noxious thought wormed its way to the fore-front of his consciousness. Are you gonna be able to pilot? He swallowed the sharp fear that followed. Damn well better, hadn't I?

A Gundam wasn't like an aircraft or a shuttle; its closest cousin was a helicopter, also notoriously difficult to master. Piloting any mobile suit, and especially the larger, more complex Gundams, took an enormous amount of concentration, strength and the ability to think fast and react even faster. The yoke controls were easy; it was the pedals that could get him killed if he couldn't manage with this goddamn knee.

Goddammit! He hadn't spent half the night communing with rats, Ozzies and Relena Peacecraft only to discover that he couldn't get his Gundam outta this lousy town! Pain was only temporary; dead was forever.

~*~

He didn't even sigh when he had to plant Relena on the stirrup of the zip line, his own foot next to hers and his arms around her to reach the line. She was making those damn whimpery noises again, but he just couldn't manage to care anymore. He hit the remote and the line whipped them up to Deathscythe's opened hatch.

He vaguely registered the sound of her voice, but he wasn't listening. The cockpit was designed for one person; no jump seat, no hang straps. He couldn't have her bouncing around while they were in flight, though...

The tool locker was bolted to the cabin floor. There was room around it for someone to sit. Not comfortably, but... It could work. The harness straps went down the back of the command chair...

"Relena..." he said thoughtfully. "Sit down here." For a wonder, she did as he instructed, gathering her skirts and sitting daintily on the low chest. He had her zip up the leather jacket she was still wearing; it would help protect her. Then he helped her work her arms under the straps, smoothing the jacket sleeves so that nothing was binding. She stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't say a word. He showed her how to wrap her arms around the straps to keep herself secure.

"Is this... safe?" she asked hesitantly.

He leaned against the chair; he really needed to sit the hell down. The pain had been making him queasy for the past two hours; he wasn't sure how much longer he could contain it.

"Safe? Not particularly. But we don't have any other choice. I need to get you back to Pargan, and this is a single-seater ride. It might be easier to sit cross-legged, but whatever is more comfortable for you." He rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "Look, Relena... This is going to be a rough ride. I'm sorry. If we get to cloaking elevation before they spot us, it'll be better, but no guarantees. I apologise in advance for the next few hours. You might want to keep your eyes closed."

He swung around and dropped into the chair and began belting down. Once he was secure, he drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Showtime, buddy," he whispered, and hit the power switch. He scanned the displays as systems came online, and settled his headset comfortably, then swung the yoke into position and unlocked the pedal controls, freeing the gimbal rings. He tested the pedals gingerly; it hurt. Goddamn it hurt. But they weren't getting out of here any other way, so he would just have to suck it up and shove it down for a few more hours. Stealth mode became operable at 500 meters; it would take about three seconds from launch to make that. Yeah, they could do it. The g's would be killer for Relena, but this was her fault to begin with. He fired the main engines; hit the auto pilot and Deathscythe began to walk.

~*~

Yeah, it sucked, all right. Bullet wounds hurt less. Torture hurt less. Probably being blown up hurt less, but he'd have to ask Heero about that.

True to Murphy's recent form, they were spotted half a block from the warehouse, just as they left the ground. Not like they could really sneak out; the plasma engines weren't exactly quiet, but he wanted to at least keep the Sweepers' warehouse under the radar.

A couple of battle-worn Tauri fired on Deathscythe; Duo blew them out of the sky almost automatically just as the cloaking kicked in. He heeled over and headed west, gaining altitude rapidly. He switched on the autopilot and sent the coded message to warn his friends that he was en route to the next safe location.

Beyond a bit of whimpering when the g's kicked in, Relena was quiet. Duo didn't particularly care if she was conscious or not. He hoped she wouldn't throw up in Deathscythe...

There were no further encounters. He pushed the pain down, and down again, focusing only on making it to the next safe house. Heero would come there when he finished his mission. Heero would.... Stay conscious, stay alert, stay focused; nothing lasts forever....

~*~

Landing was... difficult. His touch on the pedals was less than feather-light; sweat poured off him, making the handgrips slippery and interfering with his vision. Deathscythe stumbled, staggered, righted itself and listed the opposite direction; all the while Duo struggled to keep the giant mecha under control as his knee burned its way into a whole new dimension of agony. He managed finally to come to a stop, Deathscythe clinging embarrassingly to a massive redwood tree. At least they were upright; that was the important thing. Someone else -- god, how he hated to even think that! -- would have to secure the big black Gundam.

He slumped in his chair for several minutes, just catching his breath and trying to remember what to do next. Shut down all systems. Check. Unbuckle, suggested his internal autopilot. Yeah, that would probably be good....

And get her out of here, it murmured further.

Her? Oh. Yeah. Relena.... Yeah.

His hands fumbled with the buckles as his mouth asked, "Relena? You still with me?" Almost, he wished the answer would be 'no'.

No such luck...

"Are-are we... done...?" she whimpered faintly.

Well, I'm done. But he couldn't really say that....

"We're on the ground," he sighed instead, "Near the next safe location."

"Is Heero here?"

He dropped his head into shaking hands. Motherf..... Nope, nope; remember what you're dealing with here, he told himself fiercely.

"Don't know yet... Let's go see, shall we?" he said with false brightness.

"Okay!" she answered with genuine brightness.

Except that it wasn't going to be that easy.

He levered himself out of the chair and found that as bad as the pain was, it could always get worse. Much worse. He fell back into the seat with a gasp.

"Um... Relena, you're gonna have to do this by yourself." Oh, that rankled. The other guys would be sure to point and laugh at him; laid out by a damn twisted knee. Still, why not? He was still alive; Murphy had plenty of time to twist the knife even more.

...goddammit...

"But... What do I do?" she asked faintly. "I don't feel very well... and I'm stuck here..."

He lifted his head and whacked it against the headrest a couple of times. Hmm. Seemed to have jolted something back into place...

"Unzip the jacket, slide out of it," he muttered and whacked his head once more for good measure. Please, please don't let her throw up in my cockpit... "Climb around to the front; I'll show you where the zip line is. You put your foot in the stirrup, hold onto the cable and it'll take you down."

He didn't expect unquestioned obedience and he didn't get it. He got whining and complaining, and a sudden sharp screech that made him flinch and knock his knee against the chair, which started him cursing in ways that Relena would never in her life hear again. Duo was panting against tears by the time the haze cleared from his eyes. Relena was strangely quiet.

"Relena?"

"...sorry..." she whispered. "But it's... it's sticky... my face... and-and there's blood all over my blouse..."

It's a damn pink blouse; who the fuck cares? he wondered, but kept that thought to himself. "Nosebleed," he said wearily. "It happens with the high g's sometimes." He pulled himself together. Get it over with. Get this high-maintenance mini-diva out of here... Then he could just lay here and sob for a while. Or check the first aid kit for any left-over morphine.

He just hoped to hell someone else was here; someone else who could deal with this clingy, oblivious, spoiled, whiny --

He cut that off before he could get revved up again.

"Climb out of there and grab the zip line," he growled, keying the remote for the line.

She didn't look at him as she edged around the chair. He popped the hatch and pointed to the line. Huh. Pretty damn good nosebleed, all right. How the hell did she not notice that? No, offered his conscience fairly, she's still pretty stunned by the whole mess. Cut her some slack on this one. She was lucky it wasn't a bullet would.

"I... I just..." She swallowed with difficulty; probably just noticing the nasty taste and feel of the nosebleed.

"Put your foot into the stirrup," he repeated slowly, and she shot him an irritated look.

"I've never done this before!" she snapped.

"And hopefully you never will again!" he shot back angrily. "Just get on it!"

"Heero would never be so rude," she sniffed and turned her back on him.

Duo slapped a hand over his mouth to stop the words from boiling out, and just hit the button to send her down. He even sent her down slowly. Then he curled up as much as possible and hugged himself.

Heero...

And then her dulcet screech floated back up to him.

"Where are we?! There's no house here! What am I supposed to do now?!"

"There's a path! Start walking!" he yelled back. And maybe something will smell the blood and have you for dinner, he thought spitefully. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

Heero...

~*~

Two pilots strode through the rustic terrain, both of them worried. Duo had landed; they knew that from the proximity alert, but he wasn't answering his comm, and he hadn't shown up at the location within a reasonable amount of time.

They were both moving fast, but making almost no sound, so they had plenty of warning that someone else was on the path. Weapons in hand, they split up and melted into the brush. Whoever it was made more noise than a drunken elephant.

"...cretin! Stupid, rude, damn barbarian! ...my knees... ...my blouse... Lousy little longhaired prick! When I tell Heero..."

Heero and Quatre exchanged resigned looks and stepped out of their respective cover. Relena. No wonder Duo had to leave the apartment. Dammit.

They played a quick round of rock, paper, scissors; Heero won and Quatre sighed and arranged his expression into one of forbearance. He would deflect the princess this time. No wonder Duo wasn't communicating; he probably couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Relena!" he called as she came into view on the path. She stopped, stared and burst into tears.

"Heero!" she wailed, plunging down the path at them. "Oh, Heero!"

Heero glided to the right; Quatre slid into position and caught Relena's arms. "Princess! What are you doing here?" He noted the smears of blood on her face and dismissed it; high-g nosebleed, nothing to worry about.

No Duo behind her on the path. Heero frowned; turned. "Where is Duo?"

She attempted to untangle herself from Quatre, but he was quite skilled at hanging onto squirming critters and had no trouble keeping her in place.

"Back there!" she spat out. "Heero, he made me sit on the tool chest and hide in garbage-"

"He's still in Deathscythe? What's wrong?" he demanded.

"I don't know; he hurt his leg or something. He made me help him walk!" she cried indignantly. "And he yelled at me!"

With a muttered curse, Heero spun on his heel and loped up the path.

The sight of Deathscythe in the moonlight, drunkenly hugging the sequoia, stopped him cold. If he was the sort of person who gaped, he would have done so. Instead, he just stared for several seconds.

Duo Maxwell had never made a landing that bad in his life.

~*~

"Duo!"

The shout brought his head up. Heero... Oh, freakin' gods; finally!

"Heero..." He pushed himself upright and scrubbed at his face, trying futilely to hide the tears he couldn't stop. "Heero!"

"I'm coming up," he warned and a moment later he was in the hatchway. "Damn... Duo..."

"What?" he growled. "Didn't mean to get so pissed at her, but --"

"Who; Relena? She's fine; Quatre will take care of her. What happened to you?"

"Aw geez... Murphy happened," he sighed as Heero bent to kiss his forehead.

"Again?" He knelt to feel around Duo's obviously swollen knee and nearly got punched in the face when Duo spasmed.

"No! Ah! No touch! Crap!" he gasped, digging his fingers into the armrests.

"Is it broken?" Heero asked quietly, squeezing his hand. "It's so swollen; I can't tell what's wrong."

"I think I just... twisted something," Duo gasped. "Went over a wall... Razor wire... Wound up kissing the asphalt..." He held his breath while Heero probed a bit more. When he finally took his hands away, Duo sighed. "I'm sorry I was rough on her, but..."

"You weren't rough on her; the only mark on her is the nosebleed." He blinked remembering something odd. "But what happened to her hair?"

Duo snorted painfully. "You like that? It was the only disguise I could come up with. Heero, she had Pargan drop her off out front in the limo."

"Ah, crap... I'll talk to her. Again. This has got to stop."

"I told her that she could get herself killed; don't know if it sank in or not." He sighed heavily and wiped again at his eyes. "She almost got her head blown off. Ozzie chasing us; she asked him what the hell he thought he was doing, shooting at her. Heero, if your crystal ball is still saying that she's important to ending this war, then you better get it to cough up how and give her something useful to do. I don't think I can handle another trip like this one." He sighed and then reached his arms around Heero's neck, smirking affectionately, in spite of his obvious pain. "Carry me?"

Heero snorted. "I pretty much have to; you certainly can't walk on that." He scooped Duo into his arms and turned to the zip line. "I need a free hand; you okay for that?"

"Of course. Um... Heero... Do you suppose you could...?" He waved his hand vaguely around them.

"Quatre's here; I'll ask him to stow Deathscythe after we check you out."

"Thanks," Duo muttered in relief. "I was afraid we were gonna end up face down in the lake. That would've been really embarrassing."

~*~

They heard the wails long before they came into sight of the camp.

"But it's a tent! A tent!" cried Relena plaintively.

Duo blinked. "Oh. That's right... I forgot that this is a campsite and not a cabin."

Heero smirked against his hair. "Well, it's Quatre's idea of a campsite, at least."

"Hot and cold running Maguanacs?"

"Not anymore. We finally ran them off a while ago. Quatre had some stuff for them to do. Rashid was not happy, but they went. They'll be back by dusk tonight; maybe we can get them to do something with her."

"Maybe Rashid can have a few words with Pargan. Like 'shoot' and 'princess' and 'dead as a doornail'. Which is what she'll be if she keeps this up."

Heero sighed again. "I'll talk to her."

~*~

They were almost to the elaborate multi-room tent when Duo swore softly. Heero looked down at him, one eyebrow raised.

Dawn wasn't far off; there was enough ambient light for Heero to see the blush creeping over Duo's face.

"Um... I need... you know... a pit stop..." he muttered uncomfortably. "Sorry, Heero."

Heero snorted. "Duo; if I can't wipe your ass, who the hell can?" He gave him a comforting squeeze. "I won't look, okay?"

"Now I just feel even more stupid," Duo mumbled.

"And for how long did Trowa have to wipe my ass when I self-destructed?"

"Yeah... Okay. I'll try to be quick."

Heero snorted again, shaking his head as he stepped off on a side path.

~*~

"Damn, that was embarrassing," Duo growled after their goal was accomplished. "Find me some kind of crutch or walking stick for the next time."

"I'll work something out; don't worry."

"Thanks, Heero. I'm sorry I'm being such a pain."

"You're not a pain, but if you say that again I may have to smack you."

"Oh. Uh... Right."

~*~

Heero ducked under the flap and carried Duo into the central room of the tent.

"Damn, Quatre! All the comforts of home, huh?" exclaimed Duo, looking around the well-appointed space. Relena was nowhere in sight. "Where's the princess?"

"My ancestors knew all about tent living; they did all right," Quatre smiled and pointed. "And Relena is in there, attempting to clean up a bit." He drew aside another curtained doorway. "Put him down here and let me get a look at him."

Stretched out on the low camp bed, Duo groaned at the sheer relief of being flat on his back finally. And the relief of being able to let go of the pain, knowing he was in safe hands. "You're going to have to burn these sheets," he remarked to Quatre as he and Heero began peeling his clothing off.

Quatre blinked. "Burn them?" He had no objections to playing straight man to Duo; it was usually worth while.

"You don't know where I've been," Duo explained with a sigh.

"Oh?"

"We had to hide in a dumpster for a few hours. I introduced Relena to some old friends."

The shirt and t-shirt came off fairly easy, but Quatre had to use his knife on Duo's jeans. "Old friends? What old friends would you have in a dumpster?"

"Some of the boys from back in the day. You know; rats."

"Rats?! You hid with rats?! Duo!"

Duo snickered. "We fed them; they were okay."

"Good heavens, Duo." He shook his head in exasperated amusement as he sawed at the stiff denim and Duo snorted.

"Don't you ever sharpen that blade, dude?"

Quatre held up the knife with a sigh. "I do, but I don't think any blade is up to this denim."

"Use mine."

Duo's blade cut through the denim as if it was tissue. Quatre gave him a bemused look as Heero eased the shredded fabric away from his blood-smeared legs. "How about if you sharpen my knife when you get a chance? Oh, my god! What happened to you?!"

"Razor wire," he sighed. He raised up enough to let Heero pull the filthy denim from under him. "Went over a wall without looking, got tangled in a mess of it. Twisted my knee and I guess my ankle." He looked up at the blond. "Hurts like a freaking bitch, man," he whispered. "Thought I was gonna die getting here."

"The pedals..."

"Oh, yeah..." He winced as Quatre pulled off his boots and socks. "Hey, I wasn't able to park 'Scythe the way I should've; suppose you could put him away for me?"

"I'll be happy to, Duo; as soon as we finish here. I'm flattered you trust me with him," he smiled. Duo wouldn't let just anyone mess with his Gundam. None of them would; the big machines were extensions of their respective pilots and messing with the machine was the same as messing with its pilot.

"Yeah, well; you understand how I feel. Just... don't laugh when you see him. It's embarrassing enough."

Heero turned back with a bottle of alcohol and a handful of sterile pads. "Ready?"

"No," Duo sighed, "but go for it anyway. I promise not to scream."

Relena heard the soft voices as she scrubbed at her scratches with disinfectant. At least Heero was here, even if he was in with that babbling barbarian. Wasn't fair that he got all the attention, she thought angrily. But then again... They had to take care of him so he could go back and fight. And when they finished with Duo, then Heero would come and take care of her. Heero was all about duty and practicality. And Quatre Winner had been very concerned about her. He was a gentleman; he wouldn't have made her hide in rat-infested garbage.

He had even apologized for the tent and the lack of bathing facilities; at the moment she didn't care about that. It was just so good to get her filthy ruined clothing off. She'd used a whole bottle of alcohol on her skinned knees and hands, as well as the rest of her body just on the principal that she'd been hiding in garbage.

She eyed the t-shirt and sweatpants Quatre had given her. Better than sitting here in her underwear, she supposed. Her eyes glazed slightly. But not better than sitting in her underwear with Heero... She blinked as her face heated up. She yanked on the borrowed clothing and headed for the voices.

~*~

At the opening to the smaller room, she peeked around the side, suddenly hesitant to just burst in on them. She could see Duo lying on a camp bed -- good lord! He was nearly naked! And Heero was sitting behind him... his arms around Duo and his chin resting on Duo's shoulder...

Quatre had his hands on Duo's leg; the one he said he'd injured. It was... swollen, badly swollen. Relena swallowed; she'd thought... But he really was hurt. Quatre's hands moved suddenly and Duo convulsed with a sharp noise that devolved into pained panting.

"It's all right, babe," Heero murmured as he stroked Duo's filthy hair. "All done; it's all back in place." He rubbed his cheek against Duo's and pressed his lips to that ashen skin and Duo turned towards him with a sigh.

"I'll wrap your leg, Duo," said Quatre softly. "Then I want you to take some pain pills so you can sleep. I'll shift Deathscythe for you; don't worry about him." He smiled as if at a private joke. "I'll park him right next to Wing, okay?"

"Thanks, man," Duo breathed and Relena was surprised at how weak he sounded.

"My pleasure, Duo. You went through a lot of trouble to get Relena back here safely."

"She's a little girl... not leaving a little girl to OZ..."

"I know, love," murmured Heero softly. "You did very well." He kissed Duo's hair this time and eased away from him. Relena brightened with the idea that he would soon be checking on her.

But as soon as Duo's leg was wrapped and he was comfortably situated, Heero crawled back onto the cot next to him and wrapped his arms around the drowsy and fading pilot. Quatre shook out a couple of blankets and settled them over the pair.

"I'll move 'Scythe and then take the watch. Trowa and Wufei should be back by dusk with the Maguanacs on their heels," he smiled.

Heero nodded. "I'll relieve you at noon." He looked down at the auburn head next to him. "He'll sleep the better part of the day unless we have an emergency."

Quatre brushed his fingers lightly over Duo's hair. "Sleep well, both of you," he murmured, and turned off the lamp.

Relena scurried guiltily back to her own 'room'. What was going on here? Had she fallen down a rabbit hole or stepped through a looking glass? Why was her star prince hugging, kissing and sleeping with another man?!

She curled up on the cot there and pulled the blanket up over her head, trying not to sniffle. This wasn't the way it's supposed to be! Heero was supposed to love her! She was a princess; a real royal princess. And even before she knew about her real heritage, she was the daughter of a very well-known and important man; that was being a kind of princess right there. Princesses lived happily ever after with their handsome prince; all the tales said so.

All the stories, all the tales her mother and father told her about princesses and dragons and heroes and noble knights... There had to be some truth in those stories, else why would people tell them? Why would people tell their children lies...?

She wasn't a stupid little girl; she was helping them! She was helping Heero, even if what he was doing was wrong, even if he was a soldier. She was showing him that she would stand by him even if he was wrong... And he would see the error of his ways and join her, as her prince...

Wars never solved anything; people should know that! But even in the stories there were wars and fights and crusades... and everyone thought their way, their belief was the right one... How did you sort that out? How could you get people to stop fighting and start talking if everyone was too angry to be reasonable...?

Some things should be basic... Everyone should want certain simple basic things in life; how could it be that hard to agree on those things and live together peacefully...

Relena turned that thought over in her mind for a while. Everyone wants the same things. But... but some people want more... and then they take from other people to get more...

Maybe... maybe that was the problem? Maybe all people needed to do was listen to each other. Or was it deeper? Was there more than that? For the first time, she realized that she didn't know very much about people or life at all.

Heero threatened to kill her, but didn't... Maybe it wasn't because he loved her... She sniffed and dragged her arm across her nose. Oh hell... Maybe he didn't kill her just because he didn't want to kill her. Maybe he didn't really love her; maybe he didn't even care much at all.

He called Duo "babe"; she couldn't imagine Heero calling anyone by a pet name, but he called Duo Maxwell "babe" and "love", and held him in his arms and even kissed his hair, filthy and stinking as he was.

There were boys at school... People snickered behind their backs and whispered... but Heero wasn't like those boys! He was nothing at all like those boys...

But he called Duo "babe"....

Heero did save her... from other people who tried to kill her; people who claimed to have her best interests in mind, she realized. From people who knew who she was and still tried to hurt her.

Tonight... Tonight Duo had saved her. That soldier had shot at her, and Duo had saved her. Duo... God... Duo had saved her life several times; once even from Heero!

Wheels turned slowly, reluctantly; gears began haltingly to grind. Facts crawled into alignment and feeble, flickering lights came on, one by one....

Oh. Oh... crap!

God, he's right! I am a silly, stupid little girl! I haven't been helping Heero; I've been in his way... All this time... I've just been in the way....

She buried her face in the pillow and wept.

~*~

"Relena?"

She twitched awake at that voice and peeked out from under the blanket.

It was Heero, crouched next to the cot.

Maybe it was just a bad dream... maybe her star prince did love her...

"Relena," he said softly. "We need to talk. Or rather, I need to talk and you need to listen; really listen, not wander off into daydreams and fairy tales."

No, it wasn't a bad dream. She sighed heavily and sat up, wrapping the blanket around her. It was rather chill, even though it seemed to be midday, but the blanket also acted as a shield from what she expected would be a tongue-lashing.

Heero didn't wait for any complaints or explanations from the girl; he jumped right in.

"Relena, you've been following me for months now. You've been interfering with my missions and distracting me and you've come very close to getting yourself killed. I realize that it seems 'romantic' to you, to stand on a cliff and scream for me to come kill you, but to me it's just irritating. We've all been patient with you, but last night was the last straw. That was a good location for gathering intel from a very large area; thanks to you, we lost that. We won't be able to go back there until it cools off, and given how much trouble Duo had getting you out of there, that will not be soon." He paused with a frown, expecting the usual denials or justifications. She had practically made a science out of convincing herself that showing up on their doorsteps or in the middle of battles was 'helping' them.

She cleared her throat hesitantly. Good; maybe he was finally getting through to her. He didn't want to yell at her; he made a great effort to keep his temper in check at all times, because out of control anger annoyed him, but at this moment he was perilously close to raising his voice.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, barely audible from the protection of the blanket.

"So am I, Relena. I don't like talking to you this way, but you just haven't been listening. Your unexpected arrival a couple of months ago startled Quatre so; he nearly took out a hospital. My godawful error with that shuttle was bad enough, never mind the deception behind that. Would you like something like that on your conscience? And I damn near got killed when you showed up last month. It is only by the grace of Duo's skill that I didn't. And you nearly got yourself blown to bits in the process." Huh. He hadn't intended to bring that up, but dammit, it was the truth! "And Duo had to take his eyes off the enemy during another battle to avoid squashing your damn limo like a tin can, and took some serious damage to Deathscythe." She seemed to be shrinking inside her cocoon. He hadn't realised how angry he was at her antics; how dangerous she was to all of them. He hadn't intended to be a part of a team, but now he was, and he liked this feeling of having people to rely on. He did not intend to lose any of them to the stupidity and romantic nonsense of some silly little girl. ~Especially not Duo.~

Definitely not Duo.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Heero..." she whimpered. "I thought... I found you... and you're so different... I thought you would love me, because I found you... because I'm a princess... and... and you're a knight..."

Heero groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. Obviously, he was not handling this correctly. But the girl just didn't get it!

He opened his mouth with no idea of what would come out, and then shut it with a snap when she continued.

"Heero... do you... love Duo?"

He stared at her for a long moment. How did she figure that out? More importantly, why now? What was different now?

"Yes," he said firmly. "I do love him." He could just see the glimmer of her eyes beneath the shadow of the blanket.

"Like... like a brother... or like... a boyfriend?" She nearly choked on that word, he noticed. Had Duo said something to her? She hadn't managed to figure it out in all these months. Never mind; it wasn't important right now.

"Like a boyfriend," he agreed. How easily that word came out; "boyfriend". How utterly juvenile. He smirked to himself; another bit of his lost childhood peeking through. J would have an aneurism if he thought his perfectly trained soldier was behaving like an ordinary adolescent. Or maybe not. He was an odd old guy; you never knew what was going on behind those beady eyes. "I have never felt any inclinations towards women, Relena; I love Duo."

A sniff from the vicinity of that wet gaze.

"And you didn't kill me because...?"

"You are a non-combatant, Relena, as well as a child. I would never deliberately kill either one." This might be a good time to suggest... "Relena, you are very naïve right now; you have led a very protected and closely monitored life. You need to learn about the world and about the history behind this conflict. It's all very well and good to run around screaming about peace, but no one is going to listen to you, unless you can prove your arguments. Peace is not just the absence of war and it does not mean complete abdication of the need for self-preservation. Go back to school, Relena; stop giving your poor mother a coronary every time you disappear like this. Stop using your rank to bully people into helping you behave like an idiot."

"I don't -!" she exclaimed, but he cut her off.

"You do, Relena," he growled in exasperation. "You are a fifteen-year old girl, still grieving the loss of your father, still reeling from the shock of discovering your true past. You bully and wheedle and issue orders you have no right to issue and people do your bidding because you are Princess Relena, heir to the throne of the Sanq Kingdom. You have no idea what you're doing, what you are asking other people to do. You come chasing after me, your current crush, as if we were students together in some boarding school. This is not a game; it's not acceptable for you to play with other people's lives this way. What if OZ decided to take Pargan in for questioning? How long do you think an elderly man would last at the hands of their interrogators? How long do you think your mother would last? All the people who care about you, who love you, are in grave danger every time you set out to find me."

Silence. Then a snuffling sound.

"Oh, god; you hate me! I'm so sorry, Heero... You're right; you're right...!" And the blanket slipped down to reveal Relena sobbing into her hands.

Okay, apparently he had gotten a little too stern with her. Great. Wonderful. He now had a crying female on his hands. Terrific.

From behind him a soft voice said, "Need a hand, Heero?"

"Thanks, Quatre," he sighed in relief. "I think I've over-reached my capabilities. Dammit." He combed his fingers through his bangs irritably.

Quatre sat beside Relena, arm around her shoulders patting gently. "Shhh... Come on, princess, don't cry. Heero's not trying to hurt you; he just worries about you. And you have been very foolish lately."

She turned to the sympathetic voice. "I just wanted to make everything right..." she sniffled. "I just want everyone to stop fighting and get along... My father... my real father... he didn't believe in war..."

"And look how that ended," Heero muttered under his breath.

"I know, princess," Quatre soothed. "My own father disowned me because I chose to fight for the rights of my people instead of letting them be ruled by despots and dictators... Fighting is never a good thing, but sometimes there really is no other way. There are no good wars, dear, but without people willing to stand up and say 'no' to bad people, where will the bad behavior end? This is a complicated war, many years in the making; you can't just say 'I won't fight you' and expect the other side to agree; it's gone way beyond that." He sighed and lifted her hand in his. "You have a great deal of potential, Relena; why not put that potential to good use, instead of making yourself a target for every Ozzie with a loaded gun?"

She snuffled and wiped at her nose; Heero handed her a tissue. Quatre thought of everything.

She looked at Heero, as if for his opinion. "He's right, Relena. Go back to school; study your history. Not just the comfortable history approved by the Alliance, but the old history, from the pre-colony times. Study the causes of this war. People forget the past, and in doing so, they keep repeating it. Find a way to break that cycle. You're an intelligent girl; you have a position, doubly so as the daughter of Vice-Minister Darlian and the heir of the Sanq Kingdom. Make the most of that; don't throw everything away by acting like a silly little girl. Help us end this by making people listen to you, as a leader."

She took another tissue and wiped her eyes. "People would listen to me?" she sniffed hesitantly.

Quatre nodded. "If you make sense; yes. If you have reasons and plans and can show people how to end this fairly, they will listen. Become a problem-solver, Relena. That's what people really want; someone to recognize the problem and help them fix it, not some screeching harpy making unreasonable demands."

Relena winced. "I am... I am that screeching harpy, aren't I?" she said unhappily.

"Right now?" said Quatre. "I'm afraid you are." Heero just nodded, not wanting to start her crying again, now that Quatre seemed to have her in hand.

"And... and it's my fault that Duo... got hurt..."

"Yes, it is."

"He was just trying to keep me from harm..."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry... I didn't even think..." She puckered up again and Heero gave Quatre a "Do something NOW" look, but it was too late.

"I've been so jealous of him... because he's always with you..." she whispered guiltily. "And I wished something bad would happen to him and it did and I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Heero!" And there went the tears again....

"Relena, Relena... It'll be all right. Yes, Duo was injured helping you, but he's not going to hold it against you; he's a very good person and he doesn't want anything to happen to you." Quatre gathered her into his arms, rocking her gently as she slimed his last clean shirt. He rolled his eyes at Heero, who threw up his hands in exasperation.

He got up and went out of the room. Better he wasn't there when she stopped crying again. Or maybe a cup of tea would help her. He raked his hands through his hair in frustration. Demon-spawn, that's what women were; J was right about that, if nothing else. Totally illogical! Well... he caught himself. Civilians, at least; female civilians were totally illogical. The techs and scientists on J's team... they were the sort of females he understood.

He found and popped the tab on a can of tea -- Quatre really did think of everything -- and carried it back to where Relena was just managing to get the tears stopped. She accepted it gratefully and drank the whole thing at once, in spite of the heat.

"Oh, god... I'm so sorry... I thought... All the stories... Oh, I have to apologise to so many people... I feel like such an idiot! I never even thought about any of this! I just... I just wanted you to-to love me." Her eyes filled up again and Heero drew back, alarmed.

"Relena --"

"You will find someone, princess; at the appropriate time in your life," Quatre intervened gently. "Now is not that time. You have not lived enough yet to know what you want." Relena glanced at him with a slightly stubborn look, but it crumbled when he smiled at her. Quatre just had a way with women... Must be all those sisters. "Heero and Duo have already lived enough for several lifetimes; they are sure of what they want." He plucked the tea can from her hand and reached for the blanket. "Now, why don't you lie down for a while and think about this. You have plans to make for your education. We will make arrangements for you to return home once the others arrive. Have a little nap and then we'll have some lunch. And we'll set up some facilities so that you can bathe and wash your hair." He shook his head in amusement. "Hiding in a dumpster! Only Duo..."

Obediently, she lay down as the smiling blond spread the blanket over her. She really did need to think; she felt like the world's biggest idiot. Like her whole world had turned completely upside-down. Just like the day her father was murdered...

Grow up, Relena, said a little voice inside her head. It sounded oddly like Duo.

~*~

Duo blinked into the subdued light. He felt like he'd been tap-danced upon by a whole herd of mobile suits. And... he stank. Oh, yeah...

Heero...?

He turned his head, expecting to find his partner and found instead...

"Relena?!" he gasped and tried to sit up. That didn't work too well and he flopped back down again, even as the pink harpy loomed over him.

Shit! Is she gonna kill me?!

"Duo! Do you hurt? Do you need a pain pill?" she asked anxiously. She patted awkwardly at his pillow, even as he tried to scoot away.

"Where's Heero?" he croaked. "What's going on?!"

"Um... Heero and Quatre are talking to Quatre's men and..." She hesitated before continuing. "That other pilot... Zero three?" Her face colored slightly. "Heero called it a 'debriefing'..."

Slowly, Duo relaxed, as much as he could with his knee throbbing angrily. She didn't sound the way she usually did... She didn't even look the way she usually did... Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she had on sweat pants and a t-shirt. What were the odds that he was dreaming, seeing Relena Peacecraft in sweats? Even the looks she was giving him -- hesitant, embarrassed, even ashamed -- were not something he'd ever seen on the girl's face before.

And he was pretty sure she'd never heard the word 'debriefing' before, the way she blushed when she said it. Pretty sure also, that she wasn't thinking of the transfer of knowledge.

"Trowa's back? What time is it?" It looked light out, still; there was no lamp on in their little space.

"It's..." She glanced at her watch, then frowned. "I don't know what time zone we're in. It can't be this late." She looked up and essayed a small smile. "It feels like dinnertime..."

Whoa. Relena "I'd like to disembowel you and feed you to Trowa's lions" Peacecraft smiled at him. And it wasn't a polite, nasty, drop-dead-and-go-to-hell smile either. Apparently, Heero really had managed to talk to her... Wow.

"Do you need a pain pill?" she asked again. "Quatre left some; he said you'd probably still be in a lot of pain." She picked up a triangle-folded bit of paper and offered it. "He said to tell you it won't make you sleepy this time."

He took the packet and the water bottle she opened for him. Checked the two pills; yep, they were the usual painkillers they all used when they couldn't quite emulate Heero. He popped the pills and washed them down with half the bottle of water. They would start to work in about five minutes. In the meantime, though...

He needed to not be lying flat on his back with Relena Peacecraft sitting within striking distance, regardless of the new and hopefully improved attitude she was sporting at the moment. He wadded up the pillow and shoved it behind him and then tried to drag himself a bit more upright. The pillow un-wadded itself and flopped on the ground. He growled, and reached for it, but Relena beat him to it, holding the pillow up as if she planned to try smothering him with it.

"I can help," she said quickly, but trailed off doubtfully, looking at the pillow as if expecting to find instructions written on it somewhere. Shinigami's scythe... The girl didn't even know how to fluff a pillow?! He closed his eyes and counted to ten, slowly. When he opened them again, Relena was watching him warily, still trying to knead the pillow into some usable form.

"It's okay, Relena," he said gently. "If you could just stick it behind my back... Yeah, that's good. Is there another pillow around? I don't think just one will work."

Geez, how can you grow up and not know how to fluff a pillow or how to fold it to make a support? He knew that even before he ever saw a real pillow...

She found a second pillow in an open footlocker and brought it to stack on the first, giving him enough support to quiet his paranoia.

"Thanks, Relena," he said nicely. Damned if anyone was going to accuse him of being nasty to her now.

"You're welcome," she said in a small voice. "It's the least I can do," she continued hesitantly. "After I caused you so much trouble." She was looking down at her clasped hands as they worried a tissue and didn't see his jaw drop.

An... apology?! From Relena Peacecraft?! To him?! Holy shit! The world is coming to an end!

"Trouble?" The word came out rather strangled, but then he hadn't intended it to come out at all.

"All these months," she whispered. "All the times I've interfered and gotten in your way and caused you problems. All the terrible thoughts I've had about you... the awful way I talked to you... I'm so sorry for all of that. For... for being so stupid and so... so... childish. I'm sorry for being so rude and so mean to you... when all you've ever done is help me. I'm sorry for acting like such a... a... princess!" She sniffed and blew her nose softly, not looking at him.

She's not going to cry...?! Oh, please, no! Oh, shit...!

He couldn't deal with crying females; could not handle the watery, reddened eyes and the sad, disappointed looks...

"Uh... Relena... don't cry... C'mon, it's okay; I'm not... I'm not mad at you." Okay, that was a lie, but he suspected that neither Father Maxwell nor Sister Helen would fault him for that one; not when the alternative was to agree with Relena that yes, indeed; she had been a perfect pink princess bitch to him. Nope, didn't think that would earn him any points.

Obviously, someone, probably Heero had had a very enlightening talk with her. And this time, he'd gotten through to her, so even though Duo was stuck on the cot with his knee wrapped and immobile, he managed to dredge up enough compassion to feel sorry for her, at least a little bit.

Maybe he would feel a little less compassion once he put some weight on his leg, but for now he could enjoy occupying the moral high ground. It wasn't a place he was very familiar with, what with the Shinigami thing and all.

She rubbed at her already-reddened eyes with another tissue -- gotta love Quatre's quartermaster instincts -- and managed not to leak all over the place.

"That's... that's very generous of you," she stammered. "I don't deserve it... I think my father would be very disappointed in me... In my behavior since his death," she clarified. "I'm going to try to be a better person, though, so that Heero and you and Quatre and everyone else will want to be friends with me."

Duo blinked at her. Hm. O~kay... Somehow, this apologetic, real-human-being Relena was almost scarier than stalker Relena. But it was a kind of improvement; mustn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and all that crap.

"Um... I think that's really great, Relena." What else could he say? "It would be safer if you stay away from us... You know; find your own way of helping?"

"Quatre says I should study history and then work out solutions to our problems," she offered hesitantly.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea; Quatre's pretty smart about that kind of thing."

Wow, he thought; I'm having a civilized conversation with Relena Darlian-Peacecraft. What a hoot!

He covered a sudden yawn and Relena jumped up to pull the blanket up. "Oh! You're tired! Here, you should rest some more."

Well, at least she knew how to do the blanket thing....

"Not really sleepy," he protested, but yeah, resting did sound like a good thing. "Would you mind telling Heero that I'm awake, please?"

She lit up like she was thrilled to have something to do. "Oh! Oh, of course! I'll go tell him right now!" She scampered out under the 'door' flap.

Duo glanced around the cloth-enclosed space. Shouldn't there be a camera somewhere? And some garishly dressed 'host' jumping out to yell 'Surprise!' about now? Nothing unusual or out of place, though. Maybe he wasn't dreaming after all.

He sat up enough to feel around his knee. Still swollen, but that was to be expected. It'd be a couple of days before it was back to normal, and then he'd have to be careful for a while. No wall jumping for at least two weeks. And from now on, he was checking what was on the other side, no matter who was shooting at him. Concertina wire just plain sucked.

Relena popped back in then, startling him. She was talking almost before she was in the room.

"Heero says he'll be here in a few minutes; they're almost done. He also said it's about 2000, whatever that means, and I smelled food, so someone must be making dinner," she said eagerly. "Are you hungry?"

Duo blinked. He supposed he was, although he tended to lose his appetite when he was injured or stressed.

"Um... I guess so..."

"I can go find something for you to eat."

No, this was too much. Relena Peacecraft offering to serve him? This was just making his head hurt.

"No, that's okay. I'd rather wait for Heero." He rubbed at his face. He felt so... grubby. He needed to get cleaned up, get the smell of garbage off of him and out of his hair.

Relena sat down again with a thoughtful expression and looked down at her hands.

"Do you love him?" she asked softly.

Huh? WTF?! His eyes popped open and he bolted upright, oblivious to the protests of his knee. Where the hell had that come from?!

"What?!"

"Do you love Heero?" she asked again.

Duo opened his mouth, shut it; opened it again, shut it again. Relena wasn't looking at him; rather she seemed intensely interested in her clasped hands.

Holy shit...!

He stared at her for a long moment, then threw away all caution with a mental toss of his hands. "Yes," he said firmly. "Yes, I love him. He is the best thing that's happened to me, at least since I was a kid; maybe ever."

Okay; let the hysterics begin.

But to his surprise, Relena merely nodded. A tear fell onto her hands.

"He loves you, too," she murmured. "I didn't understand... before. I'm not sure I really do now... but... I'm not going to act like a fool anymore." She looked up and wiped at the tear track on her cheek. "Heero and Quatre explained... things to me... And this time I listened... I'm not going to be a shrieking harpy anymore. I'm... I'm going to... fix things. I'm going to learn to solve problems."

She held out her hand; after a brief hesitation, Duo took it.

"Hello," said Relena brightly, with a brave smile. "My name is Relena Peacecraft; I'd like get to know you. What's your name?"

Duo blinked. "Uh... I'm Duo Maxwell; pleased to meet you, Miss Peacecraft."

"Please; call me Relena. I just know we're going to be great friends."

He nodded faintly, a smile creeping up on him. What the hell; might as well go with it. "I'd like that, Relena."

~*~

"Thank you offering to return Relena to her home, Wufei," said Quatre warmly.

The Chinese youth lifted a negligent hand. "It is only reasonable; it is on my way." He slapped the magazine home and set his hand weapon aside while he put away his cleaning kit. "I am still in your debt for the repairs to Shenlong."

"Oh, no; Wufei! We help each other; it's the only way we can succeed."

Wufei smiled faintly. "And I am helping you by returning this young woman to her proper environment."

Quatre grinned at him. "Indeed you are! You can extend the favor just a bit, if you don't mind...?"

"Oh? And that would entail...?"

"I know you were a student of history, before... all this."

"Yes; I have a certain interest in the history of our world, warts and all."

"Relena needs to learn more about our history. She wants to become a force for peace in this time of trouble, and I've explained that nothing occurs in a vacuum; that she must study the history of this conflict as well as the history of previous conflicts. I hoped that you might be able to offer her some suggestions of where to start."

Wufei considered the request carefully. "I can do that. I have seen what passes for history in the schools here; Alliance propaganda and sheer unadulterated drivel," he sneered. "I will give her some proper references."

Quatre bowed. "Thank you, Wufei. She really is a good person; just terribly naive."

"As were we all, once upon a time," Wufei murmured.

~*~

Heero carried Duo in his arms this time. He was adamant that the injured youth was not going to over-stress that injury, and for a wonder, Duo had agreed. Once again dawn was sidling over the mountains to the east. The morning fog was thick, though and would make an excellent camouflage for Wufei's departure, even though there wasn't a human habitation for miles.

"Hi, Wufei!" Duo called brightly as the pilot and Gundam came into view. "How's your lady doin'?"

The Chinese youth raised one eyebrow in amusement. Maxwell personified everything he got near, although Wufei couldn't argue with the perception of his Gundam as having a female spirit.

"Nataku is ready for whatever the mission demands," he replied serenely.

"Did the guys get that hydraulic thing fixed? Because, if they didn't I have some suggestions for working around it..."

"The hydraulics are now in excellent working order; the Maguanacs very generously worked through the night."

"Ah, they're a great bunch of guys, aren't they?" Duo grinned. Heero just rolled his eyes; the Maguanacs seemed to dote on Duo as much as on Quatre, and Duo soaked it up.

"I understand you have agreed to return Relena; thank you for accepting that task." Heero tilted his head in gratitude; strictly speaking, the girl was his problem and his responsibility, but as she made him crazy, he was happy to be able to off-load that responsibility for once.

"Winner has requested that I offer her some suggestions for her study of history; I am happy to do so. One should always know one's history," he replied with a tiny smirk.

"Even if it is written by the winners?" asked Duo slyly.

"There are always traces of the other side to be found. Nothing is ever completely eradicated, regardless of how hard the victors may try. It is human nature to talk, after all." A raised eyebrow; Duo and Quatre were good proof of that.

Duo cocked his head, listening. "I think I hear Quatre and Relena coming. Man, that guy is so good with females; all those sisters." He glanced at Wufei, but decided to keep his question to himself. "Hey, Wufei, did Quatre tell you that she's a princess? You know, royalty?"

"He may have mentioned that." He gave Duo a tiny indulgent smirk. He had read that the inhabitants of the former United States, and their subsequent colonies, had a particular fascination for royalty, having none of their own. Amusing to see that L2 Duo had absorbed some tiny bit of that fascination. "I believe I know how to conduct myself in the company of royalty."

"That'll be a change for her, since I sure don't!" Duo laughed.

Quatre and Relena appeared a moment later out of the fog; Quatre his usual perfectly-groomed self and Relena wearing a pair of snug-across-the-butt jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her hair was still in a ponytail, pulled up high this time, the way Duo had arranged it for their attempted escape. On her feet, a pair of neon pink sneakers. Duo knew damn well no one in their little band wore neon pink anything; he suspected that a Maguanac had been dispatched with the proper shoe size to acquire the proper footwear. He wondered if the shoes and clothing would go into the trash as soon as Relena arrived home.

Quatre went to speak to Wufei, while Relena stopped to say goodbye to Duo and Heero.

She swallowed and blinked a couple of times, then held out her hand. "Thank you again, Duo, for rescuing me from my own stupidity. I will try to make this the last time you need to worry about me."

He took her hand, grinning. "Nah; we'll all worry about you. You're the girl; we have to worry about the girl. It's in the heroes' handbook. Just... you know... Try to keep a low profile. If you can; okay?"

She nodded. "I really will try." She touched Heero's hand where it curled around Duo's legs. "I should have listened to you sooner, Heero. I really am sorry to have been such an idiot. Thank you for all the times you didn't kill me..." She bounced up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You take care of Duo and yourself," she whispered quickly.

Heero looked at her, somewhat nonplussed. "You are welcome," he said slowly. "Chang will give you the means to begin your studies," he added, at a loss for anything else to say.

Relena smiled at him and nodded, then turned away and went to join Quatre.

"You think this will last?" whispered Duo.

Heero shrugged. "I hope so, but..."

"Yeah. Girls are kind of... mercurial," he agreed.

Quatre took Relena's hand and drew her closer for introductions. "Relena, this is Chang Wufei, of the Clan Dragon of L5. He has agreed to both return you to your home and to give you a reading list of histories that should be helpful to you. Wufei, this is Miss Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, heiress to the throne of the Sanq Kingdom."

Relena stared as Wufei took her hand and lifted it as if to kiss, but didn't. He inclined his head in a tiny bow. "Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, and an honor to be able to offer my assistance at this time," he murmured smoothly.

Lost in the depths of those ebony-dark eyes, Relena almost failed to respond. Quatre's discreet nudge saved her just before her silence would have become rude.

"Oh!" she squeaked, and blushed brightly, dropping her eyes for a moment. "I am delighted to meet you, Mr... Chang." Surely that was the correct title; she had learned these things in school, hadn't she? "Forgive my... startlement; I've never heard myself described as the heiress to Sanq before. The whole concept is rather..." She found herself at a loss once again, gazing into those intense eyes.

"Daunting?" supplied Wufei with an arched brow and a tiny smile. "I can imagine it so. I am aware of your father's passing; my sincerest condolences, Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. He was by all accounts a good and able man; he will be missed." He released her hand at last and her fingers felt oddly... bereft.

"Thank you," she replied faintly. Was it getting... warm all of a sudden... or was it just... her...?

"It is time we were away," Wufei said then, all crisp business once again. "I thank you again, Winner, for your assistance and that of the Maguanacs; I am in your debt." Quatre shook his head with a deprecating smile, but didn't argue.

"Miss Darlian-Peacecraft," Wufei began, holding onto the zip line. "If you would be so good as to put your foot here... please excuse my proximity," he murmured as she took her position and he moved close to ride the line up with her.

Yes, it was definitely getting warmer....

"Please Mr. Chang; do call me Relena," she begged breathlessly as the line whipped them up to the open hatch of his Gundam. "Darlian-Peacecraft is rather unwieldy in conversation."

"As you wish, Miss... Relena."

How interesting her name sounded coming from those lips....

"Goodbye, Relena!" called Quatre, waving.

Oh my! She'd almost forgotten! "Goodbye Quatre! Thank you so much for all you've done! Goodbye Duo! Goodbye Heero! I'll do my best to... to..." Be a good, grown-up girl.

The men on the ground waved back at her and then moved off to be out of the launch area. Relena followed Wufei inside the cockpit, wondering if she was going to be perching on a tool chest again. She was rather startled to find a jumpseat waiting for her behind the command chair.

"Winner's people were kind enough to arrange the proper seating," he murmured as she was settled in and the harness fastened. "I have no wish to return you to your family with fresh bruises."

"Thank you..." she said faintly, wishing she could take the sweatshirt off; it was really getting warm.

He then placed a book into her hands with a printed list on top. "I will not be able to follow a direct route due to OZ activity, so this will be a good start to your new studies." She blinked up at him. "I was a student of history, before. I shall not lead you astray."

What a kind young man.... How dignified... how... courtly he was...

"Thank you," she said again, with more conviction, and opened the book.

Wufei settled into his seat, buckled in, and began the start sequence. An interesting female... Brave enough to trail Yuy all over the world, intelligent enough to change... Interesting.

Duo, Heero and Quatre watched as Shenlong moved out of the camouflaging trees and into a clearing for launch.

"Think she'll be okay?" Duo asked at large.

"I'm sure she will be," Quatre replied. "She's a bright girl; she just needed some direction."

"And something other than me to occupy her fantasies," Heero snorted.

Quatre shot them a sidelong glance. "Oh, I think that's been taken care of."

A rising rumble and a wash of heat signified Shenlong's liftoff.

"Duo, I believe you were grumbling about wanting a shower?"

"Oh yeah! I need to get this smell off me, Quat! Those wipie things are okay for spot cleaning, but..."

Heero stuck his nose into Duo's still-nasty hair. "I say you need a bath and a shower. Maybe two."

Duo laughed. "You offering to help, big guy?"

"You would prefer me to Rashid?" he teased.

"Rashid?!" Duo yelped. "Crap no! He'd use that big damn scrub brush on me and scrub me right down the drain!" He poked Heero in the sternum. "Nope; your girlfriend caused this, so you get to clean me up."

Heero leaned in to catch his lips briefly. "I think I can handle that. Ninmu ryokai," he smiled. He followed Quatre back to the camp and the eagerly-awaited mission of Clean the Shinigami. To be followed shortly by the Tease the Shinigami mission and then the Make the Shinigami Scream mission... His absolute favorite.

OWARI

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