Gundam Wing/AC 1. Carousel and Butterflys

The circus tent's high structure was dark. A single light shined on a lone magician, dressed as a butterfly. Her long auburn hair was twisted into thousands of tiny ringlets that were pulled up only to fall in a tiny water fall to the small of her back. The shiny, stretchy material clung to her breasts and shoulders, outlined perfect hips until it flowed out around her in a shimmering aura around her. Silk wings fluttered with her movements, the fabric stretched taunt over delicate wire, the ends trailing in the wake of the gown. The music was slow, steady. She bent herself back, the line of her body making a graceful curve, her fingers slowly stretching toward the floor, the wings coming dangerously close to floor as well. Her hands  
met the ground and she thrust her legs up and turned her body making the dress spin wildly against her long legs. The wings danced wildly and as she brought herself up, giving her the brief appearance of flight.  
  
This cued faster music. This cued the tigers. Majestically rising from the floor they stalked toward the butterfly, stopping just inches from the twirling skirts of the magician. Round and round the three courted. Suddenly, the woman jumped over a tiger, flipping through the air, taunting the predator. The tiger reared and spun to face the taunting butterfly as she continued to spin and its mate circled closer. They grew bolder, grew closer. Slowly, the magician began to pull forth black cloth, as if from thin air. It grew larger and larger as she spun pulling the two edges closer, like a cape.  
  
As she spun, the cloth shielded both the tigers and the woman at alternating times. As the music got louder, faster, she spun to keep up. Slowly, she began to rise, as if in flight, and the great black swath of fabric rose with her to cover her. Soon, she was completely wrapped in a black cocoon. The music continued for a minute more then became very soft, soothing and surreal, the cocoon hung in mid air. Lights began to flash, hold for a few minutes, then go out, showing the crowd no obvious means to hold the cocoon in mid air. The tigers still circled below, taking "playful" swipes at their target.  
  
Finally the music came to a grinding halt and the tigers, with a loud roar, both leapt at the black cloth at the same time. It burst, sending out material, both white and black, gossamer silk mixed with coarse cotton. It whirled in the air, as if caught by some colossal tornado, obstructing anything in the center ring. But in the blink of an eye, it all disappeared, revealing a pair of teenaged boys wearing all black in the ring with four panthers.  
  
The crowd went wild with cheers and the young boys grinned with pride for their fellow performer and began their act. In the crowd, four young men, three young women, and a younger girl applauded. One, a boy with lightly tanned skin, vibrant green eyes and brown hair that fell over one eye leaned over to one of his companions and commented, "That was well done. They distract the watcher without being too obvious. Not too flashy or tacky."  
  
His companion, sitting to his left, was a young woman with brown hair several shades lighter than his own and with eyes somewhere between green and grey, her skin the same delicate shade of tan. She nodded, not taking her eyes off the spectacular young men moving with the panthers. "Look at the animals. The coats are shiny, and they aren't using whips or other such tools. I can see why the colony officials allowed them to keep the animals. Nobody wants a mad animal running through the streets cause it was mistreated by its trainers."  
  
Another, slightly older woman frowned briefly at the two. Her light brown hair, bordering on blonde, was not in its usual buns, but in a high ponytail at the top of her head, as the child beside her had insisted was more appropriate for the occasion, her glasses hooked on the inside of her purse. "Enjoy the show, that's what you are here to do, not analyze it, jeez. Circus folk," she muttered.  
  
Just then the crowd let out a collective sound of appreciation as the panthers leapt through two great circles of fire and the two boys followed and tumbled to a halt in front of the crowd, bowing and winking at any young ladies in the front row. In a poof of smoke they were gone. In there place stood a woman of about medium height, pleasantly curved and about what appeared to be in her early to mid forties, judging by the white that laced through her black hair. She smiled at the crowd, mischief written into every line of her face.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she called, "Who feels like the twelve dollars they spent to get in was well worth it?" This was her stalling for time antic. Back stage, two of the parade horses had been spooked when one of the tigers had come to close. The parade horses were Model and Recluse, white and black to compliment and off set each other. Model, the white, was the one that was spooked and she had thrown her rider, who was currently with the medical technician that was always behind the scenes in case of emergency. Diolyn was now getting into the girls costume in the middle of a crowded back stage.  
  
The crowd roared there approval and she didn't try to stop them. When Diolyn was done, they'd move on. Until then, she'd let the crowd distract itself. A few minutes later, the okay signal came up and she silenced the crowd merely by raising her hand. "I heartily agree," she said slyly, causing a small wave of laughter within the stands. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a good old fashioned parade!"  
  
Carousel began to play and four large Clydesdale horses came out pulling a cage of monkeys. They jumped around from the branches within the cage and a young man, woman, and two children mimicked them, going among the audience, pretending to pick bugs out of peoples hair and eating them, jumping around and tumbling, generally acting silly. Connected to the monkey's came the seals. They bounced balls on there noses, passing them to each other and accepting treats from the trainer in the car with them. Four girls, again dressed to match their respective animals, bounced a ball between each other using only their heads, feet and knees.  
  
Other animals went by with their humans dressed to match, until the acrobats hat their turn. They jumped through hoops, made walking pyramids of people, walked on their hands, rolled on huge round balls and juggled fire, daggers, plates, and bowling pins independently and in small groups of threes or fives.  
  
Then out came the clowns. Comically dressed with expressions ranging from happy to grim, some dressed like hobos and others dressed like wealthy earth people from the 16th century. A few tiny cars came into sight, legs and arms protruding out at odd angles from the windows, one foot sticking out of a roof, as if too many people had forced it through the metal. Huge red shoes, round noses and a number of humorous skits, including a mime getting stuck in cement had the whole tent rolling in laughter.  
  
Last, the trick riders came out, some standing on the saddle, others were jumping between galloping horses. They wheeled in tight circles, did small sketches of sword play, leaned in the saddle to pick up objects scattered on the floor or on other people.  
  
For the finale a pure black horse and a pure white horse pranced into the ring, which was quickly becoming empty of the other actors. On the white horse was Diolyn, black leotards showcasing long legs, a tight vest hugging a "pirates" shirt with full sleeves pulled closed at the wrist. The girl on the black horse was wearing the same out fit, but in white. They started astride, then as one, stood, and bent putting their hands on the saddle. Again, together, they pushed themselves up until they were standing on their hands. The horses continued with their steady canter, following the letters on the inside of the ring as trained. The girls flung one hand out, balancing on their remaining limb, bending their bodies back and vying their legs to keep balance. They turned until they were facing backwards and did numerous other tricks.  
  
Diolyn, riding the white animal, watched for the red letter "g" that would signal the time she was to stand. When she saw it, she placed her feet back on the saddle, pulled herself up onto the waiting bar and started the complicated series of flips that would end with fireworks and both herself and Angela disappearing. The final flip, the fireworks, and Diolyn allowed her self to drop onto the waiting net through the open trap door cleverly hidden on the floor of the arena.


	2. MultiColored Teddy Bears

(Head's up people: first off, none of these characters are mine, I just love them to pieces. Second, in this fic, the boys have been living together for a bit and have helped rub off some of each others rufer edges, so they are different. Please, accept that in my world, they have grown and evolved. I'd like to think that living with Duo twenty-four seven would have a huge impact on the more serious of bunch.)

As the audience shoved and pushed its way to the exit, the large cast began taking off costumes and putting on their "work clothes" as they jokingly called the black jeans and black t-shirt with the Anything Goes Circus logo on the back.  
  
The butterfly magician was getting herself out of the black costume she had worn for the final act when the Ring Mistress came in and distractedly thrust a dunk tank uniform, which consisted of trunks and a spaghetti strap bathing top with the logo of the circus on the front. "Diolyn, Daori's kid is sick and everyone is too busy to take over her position, I need you to fill in for her, okay?"  
  
She left before Diolyn had the chance to say yes. 'Yeah, no problem  
Zarinthia, anything you want Zarinthia, any time.' Diolyn  
sighed and went into a small box room set aside for these kinds of changes and shut the door. After shucking the shirt, pants, bra and panties, she tugged on the suit, and pulled her long hair into a pony-tail. She gathered up her discarded costume and stepped into the bustling group of people rushing to get to their next job. Dumping her clothes into a basin marked "dark finale clothes go HERE!" she headed for the exits that lead to the games part of the grounds.

Before she reached the door though, a boy of about thirteen rushed up to the main podium and pushed a small, orange button. The lights flashed out and then on to get everyone's attention. In the deathly silence of the room, he said in a stage voice that rang clearly  
through the area:  
  
"Every seat in the house has been full for all three shows. We have now made fifty-four thousand dollars worth of entry fees to the show today. Zarinthia just wanted you guys to know that you are all wonderful, she's thankful to you all for a hard days work, and also, that she may be a slave driver, but at least all of her slaves get a decent wages, free housing, and good but cheap healthcare. Thanks."  
  
He darted out of the arena, grinning at the shocked silence he had left  
behind. As the door began to close behind him, he could hear the applause, laughter, and congratulations going around within the under stage area. Life was good.  
  
Diolyn snickered at her mother's sense of humor and exited the building, pausing to breath in the computer generated summer night's air. She could just barely see the stars over the circus lights of bright blue, green, yellow, orange and red, the flashing of the winner sign over various games and the duller signs of food stands. The air was flavored with hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, and funnel cakes. The petting zoo was just to the left of the games area, but downwind of the games and food court, which offered a greater variety of food. Diolyn could just barely make out one of the giraffes.  
  
The girl began to walk towards the dunk tank, dodging and weaving through families with youngsters and parents harried about trying to keep the kids and their wits from splitting apart in the throng of people , couples on dates, and the occasional gang of teenagers her own age laughing and punching each other and flirting with their girlfriend or boyfriend.  
  
Upon reaching the dunk tank, she groaned at the sight of another young woman about twenty-one, sitting on the board over the tank and arranging her self in flattering positions and winking at the crowd in an exaggerated manner. A seventeen year old was standing at the toss line and trying hard to hit his target. His girlfriend, a girl the same age with short black hair, was quietly urging him on. He'd hit the target twice, had missed as many, and was on his last ball. He pitched, the ball glancing off the side of the target, but did not sink the victim. He won a small/medium bear and his girl hugged it to her, smiling, and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.  
  
Diolyn grinned and joined Jessica on the board. The pretty blonde nodded to Diolyn, but wasn't overly welcoming. Jessica felt that Diolyn got special treatment because Diolyn was Zarinthia's daughter. Diolyn herself knew her mother gave everybody their own brand of Zarinthia treatment, and only really disliked Jessica because her breasts were three sizes larger than her own and her hips were far slimmer than her 32 inch one.  
  
Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, and Heero Yuy stepped up to the dunk tank throw line. Heero was first, calmly picking up one of the balls and, dark blue eyes intensely focused, threw the ball and knocked the target back. The two girls, a blonde with short hair and a brunette with her longer hair pulled into a pony tail, dropped into the water. The brunette grinned and waved at him through the glass then turned, kicked against the bottom of the tank and pulled herself back onto the board. Heero felt a vague notion to smile, and didn't try to squash it like he normally did.  
  
Diolyn watched as the attractive youth picked up the second ball and without any hesitation and barely time to aim, BAM! Down went the girls. This time, still under water, Diolyn clapped and watched the boy's mouth twitch with an almost smile. Pulling herself up she watched him pick up his third ball.  
  
Heero, again with barely any time to take aim, hit the target. The sound of the springs and gadgets giving out under the board the girls were sitting almost reminded him of the sound of a mecha getting a tune up. The darker haired girl nudged the blonde and they both stuck their tongues out at him. He felt his mouth spread up and realized he was grinning. It was weird to feel his face smiling, but it wasn't too bad.  
  
Jessica looked side long at the boy. "Y'know," she muttered to Diolyn,  
"He's not bad looking when he smiles." Diolyn nodded agreement and settled onto the board. She wasn't planning on getting too comfortable. He didn't disappoint her. Jessica and Diolyn fell into the water a fourth time and immediately resurfaced. "Maybe we should just stay in the water, hmm," Diolyn called.

The two people standing beside the guy appeared to be his friends, because the one with hair covering his right eye nudged him and the other with a long brown braid and shocking blue eyes laughed. The boys smile widened.  
  
The three boys could barely believe how carefree they were acting, but the circus was creating such a safe and relaxed feeling that it almost felt natural to be acting so. Heero picked up his last ball and dunked the girls for the fifth time. The elderly gentleman who took the money and gave out prizes showed Heero the prizes and gave him a free game ticket redeemable at any game, smiling. Heero picked a large blue bear. "For Mariameia," he explained. None of the other prizes appealed to him and Lady Une had told the group that the girl didn't have enough toys.  
  
The other two boys shrugged and Trowa stepped up for his turn.  
  
Bam, down the girls went. Bam, bam, bam, BAM! The girls jokingly teased him each time for his perfect aim.  
  
Trowa accepted his own free ticket and a brown bear. The other two looked at him. Shrugging, he said simply, "Mariameia."  
  
Diolyn was struggling not to laugh as the two boys both got a large bear in different colors. She was pleased as well that the boy's apparent gift for aim drew a crowd to watch their skill. People would try to do as their current customers did and spend money. The third youth stepped up and winked at them. Diolyn could feel herself blushing and quickly looked at Jessica, only to find Jessica looking at her. They went giggling into the tank.  
  
Duo grinned, appreciating the brunette's long legs as she pulled herself out of the tank yet again. He watched as they turned almost simultaneously and sat. He tossed the ball into the air, caught it, and then pretended to throw it. The people behind him laughed as the girls glared at him. He threw and dunked them when they weren't expecting it.  
  
Diolyn and Jessica came up gasping for air. When Jessica could speak, she playfully asked, "Found that awfully funny, didn't you? Someday that Karma's gonna come back at you." He laughed with the others around him while Diolyn helped Jessica back onto the seat. "It will," Diolyn called at him.  
  
"If it comes shaped like the two of you, I heartily welcome it," he chucked the ball at the target and dunked them while they were trying not to laugh. "Only two more shots of torture from you, Blue Eyes," Jessica called. "And thank God for that," she whispered to her partner. Diolyn nodded her agreement. "I've never been dunked so many times in one night." They were dunked twice more, each time almost in a fit of laughter by Duo's antics.  
  
"Well, guess that's it for me," Duo called to the girls as he accepted his ticket and a bright pink bear. He didn't say anything to his companions, and they didn't ask. The people around him protested. A boy with dirty blonde curls around twelve and his older brother of about sixteen and closest to the gundam gang asked them to keep shooting, the request echoed from behind and round by the rest of the small crowd. The three weren't actually going to keep dunking the girls, but they were completely surrounded by a group of people who admired their aim without any military interest. They finally agreed.  
  
Suddenly, Heero stated the obvious. "It's too easy for me. Move the target back and make it move, please?" he added, after getting poked by Duo. Trowa and Duo echoed the request and Diolyn signaled for the request to be granted. So the tank was moved back  
and the target set to moving.

Heero picked up his first shot, but before he could throw it, Duo proposed a wager. "We have to hit the target all five  
times, or the person or persons who don't have dish duty for a month, kay?" They all agreed.  
  
Heero dropped the girls five times without incident, accepted yet another ticket and a green bear. Trowa dropped them four times, but on his third toss, Lady Une showed up with Mariameia, who gave him tight hug right as he threw and it missed the target by a quarter of an inch. He picked a white bear and stepped aside for Duo to take his turn. He made four of the five.

Diolyn had noticed him checking out her legs and during his second throw, shifted stretched, straightening her legs and arching her back. It was a blatant and obvious move to disturb his aim. He missed by three inches and Jessica and Diolyn got to share a slightly maniacal laugh before being dunked.  
  
Duo accepted a purple bear and a months worth of dishes with unexpected grace. The slightly larger crowd surrounding the small group of pilots clapped and finally let them through. Jessica and Diolyn said good-bye, waving at their customers and smiling uncontrollably. Dou  
was bringing up the rear and waved back, doing one more thorough scan of Diolyn before disappearing out of sight.  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
Bam.


	3. Eat, Drink, and Entertainment

Lady Une, her charge, and the three young men left the games area behind and began to head for the food court where they were to meet up with Catherine, Relena, Quatre, and Wufei. They found their companions sitting at a table laden with different foods ranging from pizza to honey chicken and rice, tucked into a nook in the shape of a circle. The table was a circle as well and the benches backed and covered with soft material. Candles were placed in crannies and there were enough to light the entire small area. The nook opened to show the center of the room, allowing a clear view of what could be used as a stage. "How much did you spend," asked Lady Une. The amount of food was positively staggering.  
  
Relena took in Lady Une's shocked expression and laughed. "About thirty-nine ninety-five since we didn't actually buy an entire meal." As the boys came forward carrying an assorted color of bears, Relena as well as Catherine's eyes went wide and they both found themselves smothering laughs. Wufei raised a brow and Quatre moved forward to take at least two of the bears and put them on his side of the table. Mariameia was carrying a green bear, completely dwarfed by the thing. The only part of her showing was her legs and the very bottom of her shorts. "They're mine," she called. Catherine took the bear and Mariameia sat beside her.  
  
"So," Catherine asked, "What would you like to eat? We have an almost ridiculous variety to choose from." Predictably, Mariameia chose pizza and asked for two slices, one pepperoni and the other cheese. Duo joined her in her little pizza fest, both of them holding a mock-serious discussion on which was best: pepperoni pizza or just plain cheese and the merits of both.  
  
Listening with only half an ear, Relena took on of the small pastry chicken pockets and was delighted to find inside not only chicken, but parmesan seasoned with oregano and bits of ham. Lady Une began to enjoy a confetti cheese salad with bar-b-que ribs, which seemed odd to some, but they didn't feel the need to comment. Quatre joined Wufei in his feast of honeyed chicken, jasmine rice, and shrimp egg rolls. Fried chicken and with a potato covered in cheese, sour cream and bacon bits went to appeasing Catherine and Trowa, while Heero settled for a large bowl of simple beef ramen, which he ate with the chopsticks that had been set by the bowl.  
  
As they ate, Duo continued to keep Mariameia entertained and talkative, while Catherine, Trowa, and Quatre inquired about Relena's rather extensive workings. Lady Une did not participate in the discussion, but she listened intently. Wufei and Heero preferred to eat quietly and listen, without really paying too much attention.  
  
The waiter, a slender man of 35 came by every fifteen minutes and discreetly took away dirty plates and refilled glasses. When all the dishes were cleared off, and as the man was setting out left over containers, Relena asked their waiter something that had been on her mind, "Why do you have such a wide selection of food?"  
  
The waiter grinned. "A few years ago, we could only afford to have a small selection of food, and the owner decided that since we get so many nationalities, the type and variety of food we were serving was not up to par. So, she hired teachers and had our cooks learn how to cook a wide variety of foods. This became a popular idea and people soon stopped bringing their own dinners, which is, sadly, why the Picnic Park had to be closed. As we received more business, we were able to broaden our selection and please more people who wanted to either eat the food they normally eat at home or try new things."  
  
"I see. Then here's another if you don't mind?" At his nod, she continued. "We ordered a lot of different foods and in various amounts. Do you just make a lot of food, and then keep it warm throughout the day? Or do you take the order and then down size the amount made? And how many people actually cook? Do they meet safety requirements?" Relena was curious to see how such a large operation could be run so smoothly.  
  
The man laughed. "We can't make the food and keep it heated because too many orders come in. We make the food continuously in large amounts, and then give the desired amount that was ordered. The smaller things, such as pizza, chicken pockets, egg rolls and soup are easy to give in small quantities. We have 46 staff in the kitchens, and 7 of them handle desserts. Three of the desert staff have been trained and twelve of the other staff as well. However, all of them have passed the health inspections and exams."  
  
"Thanks for taking the time to explain, and please, have a good night" Relena smiled benignly at the man.  
  
He smiled back, wished her a good night, and went to his other assigned table. "Takes a lot of time, people, and commitment to run a circus this big," Catherine commented. "I'm impressed."  
  
Duo leaned back in his chair. "Cool. So, we've seen and eaten as much as we can without burning up too much cash. What do we do now?"  
  
"I don't know," Quatre said thoughtfully. "I really don't feel like getting up and finding all the things we haven't seen and I'd say that if Mariameia walks too much more, she'll fall asleep standing." Mariameia smiled sleepily at Quatre, both of her arms around one of Lady Une's.  
  
Heero opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted as people began to clap for a small group of people. Six were dressed the same in the stereotypical reporter's way, while a seventh reporter was dressed in brighter clothes, helping in the effort to draw more attention to himself. He was standing by a man with a baseball cap on his head obviously a coach of some sort, wearing a jacket with the sleeves rolled up, arms crossed, and noticeably chewing gum. The six less noticeable reporters had brought folding chairs with them, and were setting them up and taking seats, leaning forward in their chairs and looking anxious, pencils poised expectantly over pads of yellow paper. The bright reporter has a recorder and is leaning toward the man in the cap. They begin:  
  
The coach, ticking of players with his fingers says, "On the Saint Lois. Team we have Whose on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third..." The flashy reporter interrupts him in mid sentence.  
  
"That's what I wantah find out. I want you to tell me the names of the fellas on the St. Lois Team.?  
  
"I'm, I'm tell'en ya?" Again the coach counts on his fingers. "Whose on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third?"  
  
"Do you know the fellows names?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well then who's playing first?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I mean the fellow's name on first base."  
  
"Who."  
  
"The fellow playing first base for the St. Lois."  
  
"Who."  
  
"The guy on first base."  
  
"Who is on first."  
  
People in the audience slowly began to laugh, understanding the joke and curious to see how the skit would turn out.  
  
The reporter is now obviously very confused. "Well, what are you asking me for?"  
  
The coach replies decisively, "I'm not asking ya, I'm tell'en ya, Who is on first."  
  
"I'm asking YOU, who's on first!"  
  
"That's the man's name."

"That's whose name?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well go ahead and tell me."  
  
"Who."

Louder:  
"The guy on first."  
  
"Who."  
  
Louder:  
"The First Baseman!"  
  
"Who is on first!"  
  
Louder:  
"Have you got a first baseman on first?"  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"Than who is playing first?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
A small chuckle goes through the group of reporters and is echoed through the audience.  
  
"When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?"  
  
With conviction, "Every dollar of it. And why not? They man'sentitled to it."  
  
"Who is?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So who gets it?"  
  
"Why shouldn't he? Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it."  
  
"Whose wife?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The reporter presses a hand to his head and makes and exaggerated noise.  
  
Tucking his thumbs into is pockets, the coach continues. "After all, the man earns it."  
  
"Who does?"  
  
"Absolutely!"  
  
"Well, all I'm trying to find out is what's the guy's name on first base."  
  
"No, no, no, What is on second base."  
  
Louder:  
"I'm not asking ya who's on second!"  
  
"Who's on first."  
  
"That's what I'm trying to find out!"  
  
The little drama unfolded, with the reporter and coach yelling and running through the names of the rest of the team. Each name was as confusing as Who's name, names like Today and Why. The customers were laughing hard before the even half of the performance ended with:  
  
Reporter: And I don't care!"  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I said I don't care!"  
  
"Ohh, that's our short stop!"  
  
The reporter throws his recorder to the ground and goes into a short temper tantrum. They all freeze and this marks the end of the act. Everybody clapped and a hat was passed around for tips, the reporters and coach cleaning up their set. After placing a tip into the hat, the gundam crew stood and headed for the exit to the court. Lady Une carried Mariameia, though the girl weakly complained that she could walk by herself. The guys and Catherine carried the bears. The crowd was thinning, though the circus would be open until one. In the parking lot, Quatre went to get the vehicle while everyone else waited.  
  
Thirty minutes ago...  
  
Diolyn slipped into her non-descript street clothes and pulled a cap over her braided and coiled hair, only three inches visible hanging down. Her t-shirt was loose and her baggy jeans had to be held up with a belt. Looking into her long mirror, she looked fatter. Good.  
  
Zarinthia walked in and with her usual lack of beating around the bush,  
began her lecture. "Don't be an idiot. If it doesn't fit easily into the truck, don't take it. If the software's too new, don't take it. Make sure they can't track parts to you. Take out surveillance cameras before they see you. Do not leave any of your team behind, don't get yourself left behind. Be safe and return in Two hours, or no pizza for you. Be safe dear." Zarinthia reached for her daughter and kissed her forehead. "Good luck. Remember, two hours."  
  
Diolyn grinned and squeezed her mother's arm. "Save me a whole pizza, with extra cheese, thank you." She ran down the stairs and signaled for her team to start moving. The went out into the parking lot, excited and young, ready go do what they did best.  
  
Zarinthia sighed, missing the old days, when Diolyn had been younger and her little girl, even if they had been hard.


	4. New Mother

Eighteen years ago, winter...  
  
Zarinthia was warm despite the simulated cold that the colony's officials had said "would help us all remember our mother earth". This actually meant that the excessive amount of poor people on the colony was likely to freeze to death. Zarinthia was fine though, she had her liquor. She had her in fairly good condition old parka some rich swine had thrown out and she had claimed some five years ago.  
  
She used to be a good looking woman, with long black hair, dark skin, slanted eyes that sparked life. She used to have a large family, a loving family with brothers and sisters, grandparents and cousins. But now she lived on a colony, life taking everything but the misery of being left with nothing but looks men were willing to exploit in the crushing loneliness of losing your family. At one time she was going to have a baby, something to fill the void that had crouched like a living disease in her soul, but she'd miscarried and had never tried to have another something good again.  
  
In her musings, she missed her steps and went sprawling into a trashcan, spewing its contents into the snow. She laughed helplessly at the picture she knew she was making. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and an ache began to develop in her side. To make things seem that much worse, she began to hiccup like she normally did when she cried. Then, without warning, came the sound of another creature crying, sounding, Zarinthia decided, much more pitiful than she herself sounded.  
  
Curious and still hiccupping, she moved the trashcan and looked down to see a baby, roughly wrapped in a paper bag. It was unnaturally white and blue was just beginning to tinge it's little, pursed lips, its eyes tightly closed. The baby's fists were barely moving and its cries were now barely mews.  
  
Zarinthia turned away, utterly disgusted by the unknown monster that would abandon a child. After staggering a few steps away a thought made her lurch to a stop, like she'd run into a wall. What kind of monster was SHE to leave the child there after discovering it there? Her long silent conscience came back full force. She had found the babe; she should take care of it. Self preservation argued back; the child would just take up time, space, possibly money, it was bound to die soon anyway. Again, her conscience screamed in her mind; if it is going to die, then it won't take up too much of your time, now, will it. She stood in the falling snow, not sure how to act.  
  
Something was wrong. She cocked her head to the side, the motion making her sway heavily to her left. The infant's cries had stopped. Turning slowly so she wouldn't go sprawling again, she approached the child and realized that there were only the tiniest puffs of air coming from its inert form. Bending down, she tried to grab the baby one handed, but couldn't manage. Looking at the bottle of booze in her hand she realized she'd have to leave that or the child. Choosing the kid over the bottle, she chucked the offending object away and scooped up the bundle of paper bags covering her new responsibility.  
  
Opening her parka, she put the kid against her stomach and closed the jacket. Then, shuffling as fast as she could without crashing to the ground, she made her way to the old, dilapidated building that she "lived" in. Taking the stairs that led to the basement very carefully, she entered into what she considered her front room, bedroom, and kitchen. The place was freezing. Feeling the baby warm up a little, she decided to use what little coal she had to light a fire in her little stove to warm the place up. Grabbing one of her best blankets, she made a sling out of it and awkwardly made the thing go inside the coat and around the baby. Once the fire was started, she sat cross legged with the baby held close the other two, very dirty and very holey blankets wrapped and tucked around Zarinthia and the infant. Deciding that the paper bags weren't doing anything, she took them off and discovered the baby's gender.  
  
"So," she said aloud, "You're a girl. Fancy that. I got me a girl baby. Well." She stopped talking and started thinking, realizing again that something was wrong. Looking down at the child for some time she finally began to realize what it was. "You need a name. You might not be here for long, but everybody should have a one."  
  
For the longest time, neither infant nor woman moved for a long time, both barely breathing. Then, Zarinthia smiled weakly. "I used to know a woman. She was pretty and wealthy and eventually got a real good job. She was always pretty lucky, so I think I'll give you her name, Y'know, for luck. You're Diolyn now, kiddo."

The first few years were hell for Zarinthia, beginning with the first morning. The baby was still a bit chill, but color was back in its tiny face. She took it as a good sign, until she realized Diolyn had a fever. Wanting nothing more than a drink to stall the on-coming hang over, Zarinthia bundled herself and the kid up and went to the hospital for the poor. She waited three hours to see a doctor, then five more to wait for the medicine that ate up her half her booze money. A nurse came in with the medicine and a bag.  
  
"This," the nurse said holding up the bag, "I filled with diapers,formula, and some clothes, a good heavy blanket." Noticing that Zarinthia was about to say something along the lines of "hell no" she said quickly, "Free of charge. I'm giving it to you because I think you probably found that baby, right?" Zarinthia warily nodded. "Well, you didn't have to and you did, so I'm helping you out a bit. Now the medicine you'll have to pay for yourself, which just can't go missing." 

Zarinthia paid, than did something she hadn't done in a while, she said thank you. The nurse smiled, then shooed them out.  
  
Back at home, Zarinthia prepared a bottle of milk. Diolyn would have to eat before she could take any of the medicine. When the bottle was the right temperature, she picked Diolyn up and tried to feed her. She drank half the contents of the bottle and Zarinthia took the bottle away and began to pat Diolyn on the back. She had a rag on her shoulder like the nurse had told her to do. After a couple of pats, Diolyn burped and Zarinthia smiled. The nurse had said if the kid burped, that was okay. Seconds later, though, Diolyn threw up the contents of her bottle and began to cry. Three hours of trying to get the baby to eat was futile and Zarinthia could feel herself start to unravel.  
  
What did she know about feeding a baby? What did she know about babies in general? Bundling up again, she went outside and to the hospital, but it was closed. What now? Walking back, she noticed old Maggie, blind with age, sitting by the side of the building Zarinthia used. Diolyn was still crying and they were getting disturbingly weaker. Maggie turned her head toward the sound. Who's that," she asked.  
  
"It's me, Zarinthia," she replied, trying to keep the fact that she wascrying, too, hidden from her "neighbor". Maggie grinned at her. "Whendid you whelp?"  
  
Zarinthia chocked back laughter. "I didn't whelp her, I just found her. I don't know what to do though. She's sick and needs to take this medicine, but she needs to eat first and she's not keeping anything down." Zarinthia sat beside Maggie and hugged Diolyn against her chest, bowing her head over the child's. "I don't know what to do; I haven't been around kids in a long time."  
  
A small, comforting hand settled on Zarinthia's head. Startled, she looked up and saw Maggie blindly smiling at her. "First, my dear, make sure there isn't too much air in the bottle, and if the medicine is liquid, which I'm gonna guess it is, feed it to her with the milk. Common dear, get me standing and I'll go with you to help, if you like."  
  
While Diolyn slowly got bigger and healthier under the combined care of Maggie and Zarinthia, Zarinthia herself began to break her need, heraddiction to alcohol. Maggie played one large part in helping her overcome something that had taken control of her life; bluntly destroying all the reasons Zarinthia said she needed her alcohol and often making her feel like a child.

Diolyn herself helped with the other by making the challenge harder as only raising a child could, but Maggie once said, "People with your problem can't stop hurting themselves because they want to do it for themselves. They do it because there's someone else who needs you more than you need your addiction. Suck it up Zarinthia, you're Diolyn's addiction."

A year to the day since Diolyn's "founding", as Maggie put it, was the day Maggie declared Zarinthia a recovering addict, having not taken a drink of alcohol in seven months. Diolyn celebrated with cheerios, a banana, and grape juice and Zarinthia and Maggie with hamburgers. Four months after Diolyn's third birthday, Maggie died of the aides Zarinthia hadn't known the other woman had carried. Six months before her death, she'd written a letter and told her "daughter" as she referred to Zarinthia, to read it after her death. Zarinthia had hugged her and told her not to be ridiculous. She'd live to be much older. The flue took Maggie four months later which left the letter to tell why.  
  
It explained that she'd never mentioned her problem because she figured Zarinthia would spend money on a so called cure to a disease that couldn't be stopped. "My death," Maggie wrote, "was pointlessly sealed long ago, and I can't change it, nor would I change it. Zarinthia, my heart's daughter, if I'd never gotten this disease, I would never have met you or my beautiful granddaughter and my very existence would have been diminished by the lack of the two of you in my life, however brief you may think it was." 

Zarinthia cried the night of the funeral, but remained dry eyed during the actual ceremony. In a way she didn't want to accept that her Maggie had been taken away by a simple cold. Diolyn waited for Maggie, and when she didn't come, she cried for a long time. But in the way of children, Maggie soon began to fade from her memory, and only the stories her mommy told her letting her know that there had been another special person in her life.

When Zarinthia was twenty-nine, alcohol free, fully employed, living in a relatively nice downstairs apartment in a semi-decent neighborhood, and with her daughter beginning first grade, Diolyn came home one day with the scrawniest little boy Zarinthia was sure she'd ever seen in her life. He had large, bright blue eyes, tangled brown hair, and cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over his body. Diolyn herself was sporting three nasty bites on the arm that was holding the boys wrist in a death grip. 

"Hey mom!" she chirped cheerfully. "I was wondering if we could have someone for dinner," she asked without batting a lash or showing any acknowledgement to the fact that the kid was desperately struggling to get away.  
  
Zarinthia eyed the boy, one side of her, the side that had gotten her a daughter, wanted to feed the poor thing, give it a bath, bandage the physical wounds and soothe the mental ones away. On the other hand, the little demon had bitten her Diolyn. But the mother in her knew Diolyn HAD dragged the boy all the way here against his will and some of the newer injuries were probably given by his captor.  
  
She repressed a sigh. 'Why did she even bother with the whole mental weighing of the options thing when she knew she was a sucker for kids?'  
  
"Bring 'im in and lock the door, he's gonna get a free meal and medical attention whether he wants it or not." Dinner was a tense affair with the boy eating carefully and sneaking peeks at his only route of escape. Zarinthia could see he was mentally figuring how much time it would take to get the lock turned and him out the door. She almost snickered. The door wasn't locked. If he tried to run and turned the lock, he'd trap himself in.  
  
She watched him finish the carrots. Watched him eat the ham casserole and drink all his milk. She mentally counted down from three after he finished the milk and when she hit one, she calmly watched him jump up from the table dart to the door, turn the key, and lock himself in the building.  
  
Zarinthia stood, scooped up the now yelling, struggling child and dumped him in her spacious, windowless bathroom and locked him in. Giving the key to Diolyn, she charged her daughter with keeping the kid in the house, but more specifically in the bathroom. "I," she told Diolyn, "am going to get the kid some clothes." She kissed Diolyn's forehead and was off.  
  
Diolyn waited by the door for the half hour it took her mom to get all the things she thought the boy would need. She also bought thick, strong fabric strips, extra medical stuff, and more food.  
  
Upon returning home, she ruffled her child's hair and requested that she go and get a wash cloth and a few towels. When Diolyn returned, she took one towel and the wash cloth and flung them over her shoulder, leaving the others in easy reach of the door. Picking up a bag filled with boys cloths, she inserted the key, opened the door as quickly as she could, opening it only enough that she could enter, and barely that. The boy was nudged back and he only grunted he fell on his butt into the soft bathroom rug. Shutting the door, she slid the key to Diolyn who locked the door again.  
  
Not bothering to get up, the boy scooted back until he was against the back of the bath tub and crossed his arms, staring mutinously up at is perceived captor. He didn't know what she wanted with him, but he wasn't doing anything she told him to. His imagination began to come up with all the horrible things this devil woman and her demon child could do to him and he waited to see which of the gruesomely evil things she would choose to inflict upon him first.  
  
He watched as she set a small bag of something in between them, slightly to the left and sat down across from him, one leg folded over the other Native American style. Watched as she put the towel and wash cloth she had over her shoulder onto her in her lap and laced her hands together on top of it. She stared at him, without blinking or moving, just watching him as he was watching her. Deciding that he would beat her at her own game, he crossed his legs as well, and leaned forward, to better stare at his adversary.  
  
After about an hour though, exhaustion began to takes its toll. Zarinthia calmly blinked, giving up one round of the battle of wills. In a quiet voice, she told him what she wanted, and he had to admit she did sound pretty reasonable. "I would like for you to take a bath, get that dirt off you. I ask this not only so you'll smell better, but also with keen interest in getting all that grime you're carrying in you numerous cuts out before you get infected. Then, I'd like to patch you up a bit. After all of that, I believe we could open negotiations for your immediate release from us hostile girls. Do we have a deal?"  
  
Regarding her with a wary eye, he spit into his palm held it out. Mimicking him, and wondering what the hell kind of ritual she was indulging in, she spit into her own palm and shook his much smaller hand. Holding out both hands for the towel and wash clothe, he asked, "Want me to wash my clothes as well?"  
  
She shook her head no and motioned to the bag. "I got you some clothes. When you're done, come out into the living room so I can give you some medical attention, okay?"  
  
He nodded, not for a minute planning on running after giving his solemn oath not to leave.


	5. Chance and Circumstance

Back to here and now, the parking lot...

Duo yawned and stretched ready to go to sleep but still fairly awake. Looking over the parked cars, he saw a large group of people come out of the staff exit just to the left of himself. They moved over to three parked trucks that vaguely reminded Duo of moving vans. They grouped together for a few minutes, then broke into three separate groups and loaded into the vehicles. One paused and looked over their shoulder. In the dim light of a light post, he saw the face of one of the dunk girls, the one with the brown hair.

She looked different, her clothes giving her the appearance of being slightly over weight and her hair was stuffed under a hat. But he recognized her anyway. Wondering for only a second what they were doing, he dismissed them from his mind. Quatre drove up and, climbing into the back seat and accepting Mariameia, he leaned against the plump seat cushion and napped with the child to the Hotel.

The alarm clock next to Duo's ear began to buzz softly. After a few seconds of no action from the inert form, it began to buzz louder and louder until his fist shot out and finally turned it off. Groaning and mentally complaining about lack of sleep, he rolled out of bed and grabbed the clothes he had set out the day before. Grabbing his travel bag of bathroom supplies, he stumbled out into the hall way with just enough time to see Heero calmly walk in and shut the door. Rubbing his eyes and subduing a curse in his fellow pilot's general direction, he walked down the short hallway into the small kitchen.

They were staying at a fairly nice hotel on the thirteenth floor. Their particular room was large and spacious. The door into the suit immediately brought anyone staying in the rooms to a nice sitting area, decorated in pale blues and grays. The TV was large and the plasma type, with two couches in the shape of an L around it, a coffee table in the center and a thick carpet underneath. The walls were decorated with pictures of beaches with delicate white sand and impossibly blue water stretching out into the horizon.

The kitchen was done in blues and of to the right of the sitting room. Shaped like a U, it had many cabinets along the wall and under the counter. The hotel supplied the room with a full sized refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee machine, cups, plates silver ware, and other items that allowed guests to make their own food and clean up after themselves, if they so chose.

The hall from which Duo emerged had four rooms, each of equal size and following the theme of the front rooms. In the hall, they were arranged with two rooms on the left, one at the very end of the hall, and the remaining right next to the bathroom. The beds were king sized, with mattresses that allowed the sleeper, or sleepers, to change the firmness of their bed. They were well lit, with a few dressers, a TV, and a small fridge one corner of the room.

Duo pulled out the second coffee maker that the hotel had generously delivered upon request and began making coffee. He made it black and very thick, and Quatre normally compared it to oil. Trowa and himself were the only ones who drank it on a regular basis, though sometime Heero would have some when he really needed a caffeine boost or was so preoccupied that he drank whatever was handed to him. Quatre poured cream and just a bit of sugar into his coffee and Wufei preferred tea.

Just as the coffee finished brewing, Heero came out of the bathroom, his hair slightly damp and toweling his hair dry. He was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a very baggy blue shirt. It had taken a while, but Duo had finally been able to convince his room mates to dress more relaxed. Grinning, Duo scooped up his stuff and ran into the bathroom and gleefully pulled off the t-shirt and sweats he wore to bed. The hotel they were staying at had temperature control on the water and Duo punched in the settings he enjoyed.

After ten minute in the shower, Duo came out to find Trowa enjoying cup of coffee on the couch and a mug covered with a small plate sitting on the counter for him. He grinned to show his thanks to Trowa and then turned his bright smile to Quatre, who was cooking what appeared to be an omelet. Out of the five boys, only Wufei and Quatre could cook anything worth eating and while Quatre shuddered at the eating habits of his friends, he flat out refused to cook every night for everyone. Wufei didn't need to comment on how he felt about cooking for everyone and nobody bothered to ask him to.

Quatre laughed at Duo's hopeful look. "Yes Duo, I'm feeding everyone today." Duo pulled both elbows back and hissed "yes". He loved when Quatre made him an omelet, cause no matter how much he carped about the amount of cheese Duo liked, he always laid it on heavy. Going over to the other couch, he sat and sipped his drink, leaning his head on the back of the couch. Heero came out from the back with what looked like the last bit of his home work and sat on the floor, dumping it on the coffee table. They were graduating this year and Heero could not be more eager to get out of what he called "a worthless building filled with bored teenagers who have no goal or life experience" in a disgusted tone that always made Duo want to punch him in the arm to get him to loosen up.

As Quatre finished everyone's breakfast, Wufei walked out of his room in loose white pants and a tight, sleeveless shirt in a light grey. Going to the kitchen, he found his morning tea already brewed and at the temperature he enjoyed. Catching Quatre's eye, he nodded his appreciation and grabbed his omelet. Sitting to the right of Duo, he began to eat. Quatre skillfully brought out four more plates and his cup of coffee, handed them to their respective persons, and then sat down by Trowa, pressing his hip to the other boys, and reached for the remote and turned on the news.

The weather report was on and the only person truly paying attention was Quatre. The colony was to expect a very light rain and a warning about the possible flood conditions of a certain area that was experiencing troubles with their sewer system.

"In other news, a major robbery has just been reported by the leading manufacturer in machine parts." Duo looked up, finally interested in the news, especially in this report, being a mechanic and all. A spokesman for the company appeared on the screen.

He was a tall man, with thinning blonde hair and apparently in his mid fifties. He was dressed in a nice charcoal colored suit, his posture perfect and his eyes a light, almost golden colored brown. "The type of equipment that was stolen can be used for mecha. Unfortunately, technology that was to be destroyed in three days was also stolen. What was stolen equals up to millions of...," everyone was staring at the television now, as the screen split and pictures of the items were shown. They recognized parts that could be found in their Gundam units.

A reporter on site came on. "Now, most of the cameras were apparently taken out during the heist, but the suspects did manage to miss one. The footage you are about to see was taken at about two o'clock last night at the M.D.S.C., Morchanson's Development and Storage Center. It shows at least twenty five people working together, very organized, and going after only specific targets." The video played and Duo stared in wide eyed horror as a set of familiar clothes came into view. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the screen. 'No way,' he thought. 'No frickin' way.'

The video was shown twice more, the reporter reviewing the information again. The screen switched to the anchorman at the studio. "The M.D.S.C. is offering a reward of fifty two thousand dollars to anyone who may have information on the either the heist or the perpetrators. And now in other news..." Quatre hit the mute button and sat with his friends in quiet astonishment.

Heero was the first to move. Turning back to the table, he began to do his homework again. Quatre's startled gaze settled on him. Heero was normally the one to take action without being prompted to do so. Then Wufei began to eat again, Duo to thoughtfully sip his coffee. Looking at Trowa, he found the other boy reading a newspaper. It hit him, right then. They were all living new lives and this was the way it was supposed to be.

Pleased with his revelation, he undid mute, snuggled closer to Trowa, and watched a rather amusing commercial about cat food that the company was reusing from about 1998 A.D. A bunch of digitally automated cats were running around and singing meow over and over in a tune he realized would probably be stuck in his head all day.

Duo watched another hour of television, trying to appear calm and unperturbed. Sipping his coffee and wishing that Trowa had poured him less so he could get out of the hotel faster; he glanced at the two boys on the couch. No body mentioned their relationship and frankly, he doubted anyone really thought about it. They complimented each other so well, no one really minded. Catherine was a bit surprised, but she liked Quatre and he liked her and they'd found that if they both wanted the same thing of Trowa, they could always double team him.

Looking into his coffee cup, he grinned to see that he had about three sips left. He drained hit, bounced up from the couch, and washed his cup out in the sink. Grabbing a baseball cap, light jacket, and his work boots, he went to the landing and pulled on the boots. Quatre briefly looked over with a brow raised. Duo grinned. "Shopping," he explained. Then remembering that he hadn't grabbed his wallet, he went over to a small table by the door and, with a little difficulty given the slight tightness of his jeans, stuck his wallet in his jeans. Pulling on the jacket and zipping it, he pulled his braid through the back of the cap, settled it on his head and headed out the door with a jaunty wave behind him.

He walked down the hall and into the elevator, pushing the Lobby button. The elevator moved up slightly, then began it's down word descent. It stopped on the tenth floor and a couple, obviously newly wed, ducked in, holding each others arms as the doors slid silently behind them. They moved to a corner and hugged each other. The thing stopped at the eighth floor, admitting a lone business woman. She stood on the opposite side of the couple and slightly forward, completely ignoring both them and Duo. The final stop was on the third floor and an elderly woman was pushed in by a younger woman who was obviously her nurse. The wheelchair had an oxygen tank connected to the back and the mask covered the frail woman's face almost completely.

Finally at the lobby, Duo managed to be the first one off the stuffy elevator and managed to get halfway out of the lobby before the elevator had emptied out.


	6. Old friend: New Conflict

Duo sat on his bike in front of the Anything Goes circus and waited for his "prey" to show up. She didn't seem inclined to accommodate him. He'd been sitting there for two hours and it was almost 11:30. He sighed. The simulated weather was cold with a brisk breeze. He rubbed his hands together.

'Damn it,' he thought, 'I should be doing more today than just sitting around, out in the cold freezing my ass off.' He sighed. He was hungry too. Still grumbling mentally, he decided to get some coffee and a sticky bun from the gas station he'd seen a little ways down the road. Crossing the street and still keeping an eye on where he thought the girl would exit, he entered the store and immediately headed for the coffee. It was weak, but coffee just the same. Duo also grabbed two sticky buns. Setting them on the counter, he realized he also wanted some gum for later.

After telling the proprietor to wait before ringing up the merchandise, he went into the candy section to find the gum he wanted.

Diolyn stepped out of the employee entrance and wrapped her trench coat tighter to herself. She was still slightly steamed at Zarinthia for digging into her. How was she supposed to know they had missed a camera? And none of them had been identified either. Shit, what was the big deal?

Turning the opposite direction of her shop, she went into her favorite corner store/gas station. The owner had once worked at A.G. with her and Zarinthia, but had saved up his money to own the little store he'd always wanted.

"Yo," she said by way of greeting, waving at him as she walked over to the cappuccino machine and getting herself a large French Vanilla. Grabbing a donut with chocolate filling, she walked over to the counter in time to see a boy with long brown hair set down four different packs of gum next to coffee and two hot buns. 'Wow,' she thought. That used to be what she bought before Zarinthia had caught her and given her hell about her poor choice in food.

The boy paid for his items and turned, almost knocking her down. They both apologized at the same time and laughed. He looked startled when he actually looked at her for a second, but he grabbed his stuff and walked out after saying good bye. She smiled and waved at him, then set her own things on the counter and leaned forward to talk to the old gentleman.

Duo walked calmly out the door and turned toward the ladder he'd seen attached to the side of the building. Climbing it, he sat toward the edge and tore open the plastic wrapping on one of the pastries. Biting into it, he figured he'd have about five minutes to wait for the girl to come out.

He actually waited for fifteen minutes and had already devoured both coffee and pastries when she finally came out. He'd just stuck some cinnamon gum into his mouth and he almost choked on it in his excitement. Finally, she was moving. She walked casually down the street, sometimes taking random turns and back tracking. Duo followed, leaping across building tops and sometimes jogging to keep up. After half an hour of this, she finally came to a stop in front of a large, dingy looking ware house. She knocked on the door and a slit opened. She said something and pulled out a piece of paper, sending it through the slot.

The door burst open and a tall man came out, grabbed her into a bear hug and spun her around, her trench coat fluttering in a meek trail behind her. She laughed and flailed her arms weakly pretending to try to escape. He set her down and tugged on one of the two pony tails she had high on her head. She lightly punched him in the arm, and then followed the stranger into the building.

Duo jumped across the roof of a few more buildings and finally to the building the girl had entered. He snooped around the roof of the building and finally found an entrance near the far left part of the roof. It was a trap door with a ladder that led into the building. Climbing down, he asked himself how he'd find her in such a large building. Shrugging, he figured he'd just have to be very quiet and search the entire building. His feet hit the ground and he began his search.

Diolyn followed Alex through the semi-dark interior of the ware house she used as her auto shop for Gemelo Lámina. She looked up at the gundam and smiled. This was the fruit of all her work. Its armor was till bare, with no paint and the left arm still couldn't move. But now that she'd stolen the part, Diolyn would finally be able to exercise both of Gemelo's special weapons. Sighing with pleasure, she took off her coat and threw it over on of the chairs in the room and rolled up her sleeves.

Alex turned on the lights and Diolyn thanked him, already starting the finishing touches to her mecha.

Duo grinned when he heard the noise of a large power tool being put to use. He liked that sound cause it reminded him of his own business. He followed the noise as best he could, but ran into three dead ends before coming to a door that was definitely were the sound appeared to originate. Looking around for a better entrance than the door, he spotted a conveniently large air duct and decided to check out his little scoop in that way.

He made short work of the ventilation cover and pulled himself up and in. He heard his shirt rip and cursed. Admittedly, the shirt had been cheap. He shrugged it off and looked at the very large rip starting at the collar and ending at the hem. He dropped it and started crawling towards his destination, all the while cursing his bad luck and the tightness of the space he was forced to crawl through. He sighed with great relief when he finally hit his destination.

The cover of the ventilation duct had blessedly large slits and he could see quite a bit of the very bright room. He felt his jaw drop and knew he must look very comical. The girl was working on a mecha. But not just any mecha, but by the design and armor, a gundam. Leaning forward, he noticed that she was finishing up her job. The large tool she was using was connected to suspended arm hanging and she pushed to the side and stood up.

"Yo, Alex, would you help me down?" She walked carefully down the left arm and the tall boy that she'd entered with reached up and grabbed her waist, lifting her up and set her on the ground. Thanking him, she walked over to one of the three lap top computers and sat. Rooting through the cluttered desk it was resting on, she grabbed a disk and inserted it into the slot of her lap top.

Duo leaned forward to get a better look at what she was doing, but the boy, Alex, was in the way. He leaned against the cover....

Heard a horribly loud creak and fell through. He cursed when his shoulder hit the guard and he rolled quickly to his feet. Looking up, he saw that both the girl and Alex were standing defensively and not at all pleased. "Hey," he said weakly.

The girl arched a brow. "Uh-huh."


	7. Battlefield Reunion

(First, if you're still reading this, thank you for putting up with me. Second, I apologize for some of the grammatical mistakes I have made. Third, I'm sorry about how my story some times appears weird in its formatting, and I'm not taking responsibility for that. Fourth, there is some mild language usage in this chapter. Fifth, sorry about how short chapter...oh yeah, six was. It was, sadly, supposed to be longer (and it was) in the original draft. And last, but not least, please enjoy!)

Diolyn looked down at the boy staring up at her. Something was so familiar about him. Two things made her inner alarms go off.

"I saw you at the mini mart just now!" He smiled angelically at her. The second alarm went off and she scowled. "You followed me," she shouted.

Alex gave her a pat on the shoulder, trying, but failing, to not grin. "Its okay love, we're not all perfect, y'know." She turned and scowled at him. Putting his hands up, he pointed to the boy and said, "Don't look at me like that, and look at the intruder with those eyes, he followed you!"

Duo winced as she did as her friend suggested. She really did look kind of mad. Her anger appeared to be that he followed her without her knowing. He debated about whether or not he should tell her that she'd almost lost him, but decided she wouldn't be overly impressed. He also thought about getting out of the room ASAP, but the other, larger person looked like a person he didn't want to mess with.

Alex could practically see the thoughts going through the intruders mind. His gaze went first to Diolyn, then to Alex. Most people decided not to mess with Alex, and for once, he was thankful for his height. This guy wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. "So," he drew out the word, "what exactly do you want to do with him?"

Diolyn pulled on one of her ponytails thinking. "First, you could sit up." She stared down at him until he pulled himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs. Satisfied momentarily, she herself crouched down to about his level, still high enough, though, to have him look up at her. "Watchya doin' here and why'dya follow me?"

Duo looked up at her and grinned. "Well, I was watching the news this morning and the managed to see the most amazing thing. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Last night I went to the circus with some friends and when we left, I saw this girl that I had royally dunked dressed kind of weird."

Diolyn felt the blood drain from her face. He knew.

"Then, as you know, I was watching the news and I recognized her. I thought to myself 'Wow, I think I've seen that girl before' and decided why you needed parts and systems that would normally be found in a mecha. Here I am!" He waved his arm grandly and waited for her reaction. He was a bit concerned about how pale she'd become.

Diolyn took a deep breath. "So, now you know what I was doing, how do you plan on acting next?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Can I ask a question?" She nodded. "Why have you built this mecha? I mean, the systems and parts that you've chosen are all used in gundams and not considered compatible with almost anything else. Are you planning on attacking any organizations?" His tone was joking, but his stomach muscles tightened painfully.

She shot him a look that she hoped conveyed she thought he was paranoid. "No, I've built it to make sure nothing can harm this colony. Sure, it's peaceful now, but no one knows if what happened years ago will happen again. I have no reason to want to start anything."

She propped her chin in her hand and stared at him. The boy stared at her, going over her features. Suddenly, his mouth dropped open.

Duo stared at her right wrist. On her skin was a scar that ran from one side to the other, stopping before it reached her palm. "Where did you get that scare? The one on your right wrist," he emphasized his question with a gesture. She looked down at her wrist.

"When I was younger, my friend and I decided to become blood friends." She shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

Duo held up his own right wrist. The scar on his wrist was in the same place, and the slight jagged edges on his scar matched those on hers. He finally took a closer look at the girl. Brown hair and light brown eyes, pert nose. "Diolyn? That you? It's me! Duo and you're Dio!"

Diolyn blinked. Nobody had called her by that nickname for a long time. She stared down into laughing light blue eyes and took in the long brown braid. "Duo?" He nodded enthusiastically. She stood. "You. Stand up, I wouldn't feel right about beating the shit out of a sitting boy." She backed up a few spaces.

Duo scrambled to his feet and stepped forward, one hand reaching for his child-hood friend. She knocked it away.

"What do you want, you stupid dumb-ass? A nice, happy re-union, where everyone is happy to see you alive," Diolyn asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She could feel her temper rising. Alex placed one hand on her shoulder and she resisted the urge to shrug him off. "Answer my question, what do you want?"

Duo took another step forward. "Look, I just wanted to see why someone was stealing the parts used in a gundam. That's all! But I've just found you again and I want to know what you've been doing for the past, what, eight years or so?" He took yet another step foreword. "Why are you so angry?"

Diolyn forced herself to breath. She counted up to ten, then down to one breathing with each number. "I'm upset," she gritted out, "because my best friend left, without a trace and without warning for 'eight years or so' and finally shows up again like nothings changed! You left Duo. You didn't even leave a note. Like a freakin' vanishing act, one minute you're there and the next you're not. We did every thing we could think of to find you. We called the police, but they said there was no need for people unrelated to you to worry, that they could do nothing. We put out missing person fliers and paid a private detective to try to find you." She stepped forward, so that her face was inches from Duo.

Using one hand, she shoved him back and continued. "We kept all of your stuff." She pushed him again. "We cried." Another shove. "Every time the body of a boy was found, our hearts stopped beating." She used both her hands and pushed harder and he finally stumbled a bit. "Hell, we even prayed for you." Diolyn lashed out with her left foot and caught him in the stomach. He doubled over and dropped to his knees, gasping.

Alex watched as Diolyn, who was normally in control of her emotions unraveled in front of him. She'd told him about her friend who'd disappeared a long time ago, but she'd seemed like she'd accepted that they'd never been able to find him. Sighing, he realized that this particular wound was still tender.

Diolyn made a sudden move. He watched in wide eyed fascination as Diolyn pulled her gun out from the holster on her back. She cocked it and pointed it straight at the other man's forehead. He started to move up behind her, slowly so as not to startle her, and he heard her speaking as if he was under water.

"I should shoot you now," she stated quietly. "I should shoot your ankles, or your knees. I should make you physically show all the pain you've put me and Zarinthia through. I..."

Duo watched as Alex gently caught Diolyn as she collapsed. He looked at the taller youth and waited to see what was going to happen. His stomach hurt like hell and he wasn't sure he wanted to get up. "What'd you do to her," he asked.

Alex glared. "She's merely unconscious.  I've gently taken her down for a bit to keep you out of a hospital." He carefully took her gun and put it in a box, which he locked. "Get up, you're coming with me. I think you should probably talk to Zarinthia."

Duo, in the process of standing, jerked at the mention of Zarinthia's name. "She's alive?" Alex nodded and motioned for Duo to go ahead of him. Duo complied, but kept looking over his shoulder. 'Oh yeah,' he thought, 'definitely Dio. And Zarinthia's alive! This is too good to be true.' His happy feeling diminished slightly as he recalled all the things she'd flung at him. 'Damn, looks like I messed up big time.'

The brighter outdoor light made both boys wince. Alex gestured at a light blue car and walked over to it with Duo following. Alex stopped at the passenger side of the vehicle. Turning, he held Diolyn out for Duo to take. Duo stared at him, then at the unconscious Dio and back. "Yeah, right."

Alex grinned. "Look, I know what you mean, but she'll be out for another half an hour and it only takes fifteen minutes to get to Anything Goes." Putting her against Duo's chest, he dropped his arms. Duo immediately grabbed her. Opening the passenger door, Alex made little motions with his hands to get Duo in the car.  He laughed when Duo glared at him.

The car itself was fairly wide and Duo had no trouble getting in, even with Diolyn in his arms. Alex closed the door and sprinted around the front of the car, sliding into the driver's seat with obvious pleasure. The short drive was completed in silence.

When they finally go to their destination, Alex parked in the employee section and opened Duo's door. Handing his burden to Alex, he got out and, for the second time that day, nearly dropped his old friend. He glared at Alex, but the taller youth just grinned and started for a large, two story building. They circled to the back and stopped when Alex came to a bright blue door with a plaque that had Main Office written in gold on it. Alex knocked.

Zarinthia, sitting at her large desk looked up from her paper work and grumbled something about working in peace just one day out of the year. "Come in," she called. Standing, and going around her desk to welcome whoever it was, she smiled at Alex.

"Hey, I thought you were working with Diolyn today." She hugged Alex and stepped back. She heard another pair of foot steps and looked around the much taller person blocking her view.

Duo stared at the astonished face before him. Zarinthia was older, but she was exactly as he'd always imagined she'd be. She was plumper than he remembered, but that was probably because she was eating more. Her hair was streaked with some grey hairs, but it was still fairly long. He wanted to scoop her up into a big hug.

Zarinthia stared at Duo, recognizing him despite the years and his obvious changes. He was so much taller and he'd kept his hair long. There were some shadows in his eyes and he had lost all of his extra childhood weight. He was lean now, and apparently active. Then she noticed Diolyn in his arms. She looked at Alex. He shrugged and looked at his feet sheepishly, confirming what she was beginning to suspect. Diolyn had a bit of a temper, and she well knew it.

Looking Duo straight in the eyes, she asked, "She didn't shoot you, did she?"

He laughed.


	8. Remembrance

(Yay! Another chapter is finished and it's only 2:33 in the morning. Once again, thanks for putting up with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. There is some mild language. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but the story has drastically changed from the original, now missing, draft. See you (hopefully in the near future) in the next chapter!

Ps. I'm sounding really pathetic, but please review. It can be one word. Or it can be many in the form of an opinion or suggestion.)

Diolyn woke up slowly with a pounding headache and on Zarinthia's office couch. Zarinthia herself was sitting across from Duo holding both of his hands and talking softly. A box of Kleenexes was half empty and a trash bin sitting beside her was full. Duo was smiling and apparently listening to Zarinthia catch up on year's worth of news. Diolyn wanted to beat the smile off his face, but was currently feeling weaker than a newborn kitten.

Alex came over and handed her a glass of water. She accepted it with a glare. She knew what he'd done. Winking at her, he helped her sit up then leaned her against him. "Sorry, I didn't want to add murder to our little list of crimes," he whispered. She made a rude noise and gesture at him and drank the water.

From the corner of Duo's eyes, he watched Alex help his old friend. And she accepted that help, albeit with little grace, but she'd never actually accepted and kind of help from him in the past. Zarinthia was telling him about how they'd actually gotten the idea to start their current means to an end and how they'd gotten the cash to begin in the first place. He could feel the pride his once foster mother had in their achievement.

"And here we are!" She finished with a grand wave of her hand ten minutes later. Releasing one of Duo's hands, she cupped his cheek with one of her own. "You've grown so much and become such a handsome young man! Tell me, after you left, were you safe? I had hoped so bad that you were okay and I was dreadfully worried about you. How have you been doing the past few years?"

Alex and Diolyn had been quietly listening to the two talk, and Alex could now feel tension positively flooding the girl leaning into him. He stood and helped her to her feet. Smiling at the two still sitting, he explained Diolyn and his own departure, "Diolyn has a killer headache right now and I'm going to get her some aspirin."

Duo didn't miss how Dio smiled up at the tall youth and he was shocked to feel jealousy towards the other guy and his easy and affectionate relationship with Diolyn. "Oh, would you like for us to come with?"

Diolyn bared her teeth at him in a mock smile. "Not necessary, really, the infirmary is quite small and too many people make it very cramped." She walked to the door and before she left, she tossed in an extra verbal barb, "Besides, we've learned to adapt to changing circumstances, such as deserters. I've found that such people are not to be depended upon and have no idea as to what happens to the people around them. Adam and Zarinthia aren't those kind of people, and I would gladly stay with them till the end of time." She turned and left, completely ignoring Zarinthia's gasp of dismay.

Zarinthia stared after her daughter. Diolyn could be a real bitch sometimes, but she never actually set out to hurt someone's feelings. Facing Duo, she barely caught the look of pain flash across his face before he expertly hid it behind a cheerful smile. Shrugging, he admitted sheepishly, "I guess I deserve that. I did just disappear without telling you were I was or informing you that I was okay."

"Well now, that all depends on what your reason's for leaving are. If they're good, I just might take your side. So, young man, why did you leave us?" She let go of his other hand and leaned back into her comfortable chair. Folding her hands on her stomach, she gave him a nod that clearly told him to begin.

Duo sighed and rubbed his temples. "You know how when you first found me, I wouldn't tell you what happened to me?" Zarinthia nodded, her eyes troubled. "But later you told me that you had been at a church orphanage and that it had been destroyed and the priest and nun that you cared for were killed." Duo's mouth tightened. "Yes, that's true. I wasn't there when the church was destroyed. I was trying to steal a mecha when it was crushed by the Alliance. You may have heard of the incident. It was called the Maxwell Church Tragedy."

Zarinthia's mouth almost dropped open in shock. He was a survivor. Then she began to frown. 'Why had he been stealing a mecha?' Duo smiled bitterly. "I was trying to help the very people my actions destroyed. What I also failed to mention was that I found Sister Helen alive, but barely. She begged me to be good, and not to hate the people who had ordered a church full of innocents destroyed. She asked that God give me his blessing. She died after saying this to me."

Duo took a deep breath. "I stayed by her body for a long while after that. The only thing that finally shook me from my stupor was a drunken soldier who took a shot at me with his pistol. He missed, but alerted his not so drunk comrades to my position. I ran at the guy who shot at me and tackled him. He was so drunk he went down easy and knocked his head against some rubble. I didn't know if he was dead or just knocked out, but I didn't stay to see if he ever woke up. The other soldiers chased me, but I managed to get just far enough ahead of them to hide. They searched for me for a long time."

I was still hiding when Dio found me." Duo grinned at the memory. "I was in a trash can, thinking that I'd been so clever about where I'd hidden myself. Apparently, I'd left a little bit of blood somewhere close by, cause it led her straight to me. She asked if someone was hurt and kept repeating that she was a good girl and she'd help whoever needed it. I didn't believe a word of it and tried to stay as still as possible when I heard her start rummaging through the things around the trashcan. When she lifted the lid to my can, I launched myself at her. That's why she had that bruise on her back, I pushed her into a crate."

Zarinthia raised an eyebrow. She remembered every bruise and cut on both the children and the large bruise on her daughter's back had definitely caught her attention. Diolyn, at the time, claimed to have slipped on something before meeting the boy and falling on a crate. She snorted now. Her suspicions had been correct.

Duo continued. "As you remember, we both came to you that day with a lot of scrapes and bruises. We had a…" he paused searching for a word that would adequately describe what happened, "short fight which ended with me in a head lock I couldn't break. I don't really recall how she got me to your house, but I remember that it was painful when I tried to escape. Any way, things happened as they did and life was good until one day, I met a rather interesting doctor." Duo rested his elbows on his knees and put his face into his hands.

"This is the part you are really gonna dislike. I snuck aboard a ship that was going to depart and having a good time toying with the guards when I bumped into a man who introduced himself as Professor G. Somehow, he knew almost every thing about me since my time at the Maxwell church and what I'd done to the alliance. He wanted me for a special project. And Zarinthia, I was going to say got to hell and take your project with you, but then I saw what it was."

He took a deep breath. "It was a new typed of mecha, one that was made of gundanium, as opposed to titanium alloy. It was strong and fast and in it I saw a way to redeem what I'd done when I messed up bad enough to cause the deaths of so many people. I just left with him. I didn't think about what I would be doing to you two at the time. And after that first step, it was training and missions, the other pilots, the war and finally peace. When I finally did try to find you guys, you weren't where I'd left you and I couldn't find out a god damned thing about either of you."

Zarinthia couldn't quite suppress a grin. Duo noticed and tilted his head to the side, his long braid swinging with the movement. "Diolyn," she explained, "learned a ridiculous amount about computers and decided that we didn't need people butting into our personal life. She practically erased our actual history and made us a new, more "respectable" life. When she was finished and I read over, I laughed so hard, I was tearing up by the time I managed to stop." She chuckled now in spite of herself. Sighing, she asked, "So what brought you to my humble abode?"

Duo shifted nervously in his seat. He wasn't sure Zarinthia was going to like this part. Sighing and surprised at how he wanted to put off the inevitable, he forced himself to get it over with. "I was here with the other pilots of the Gundams. We had just seen the tent show, which was awesome, by the way," Zarinthia smiled with pleasure, "and after we decided to play some of the games that were offered. We ended up playing at the dunk tank were I first saw this blonde and brunette. We got some bears and went to eat and left the park. While waiting for our car, I watched the brunette get into a truck with a bunch of other people, all of whom were dressed in black."

Taking a deep breath, he pressed on. "I didn't think anything of it until this morning when I was watching the news and the same girl was shown on tape stealing mecha parts. Not just any parts either, but Gundam compatible parts only. I decided to find out what I could and followed the girl today. I trailed her for a while and she finally led me to her shop, where, needless to say, I was caught. From there I found out that the chick was Diolyn and that you were both doing fine. Here I am."

He waited for her to get mad.

She waited for him to continue. When he insisted on being silent, she guessed he was waiting for her to say something. "So, what did you do to make her dangerous enough to try to kill you?" At his surprised look, she finally saw what he'd been worried about. "You thought I'd be mad that Diolyn stole those parts, am I right?" At his nod, she laughed. "Honey, I taught her everything she knows and I give her a lot of warnings before she goes out each time. What I'm curious about is what you're planning to do now that you know who the thief is and why she was out to get your blood?"

Duo answered slowly. "I don't know what I'm going to do about the mecha, but if she's now planning on trying to oust the government or start another war, I don't really care. And as far as I'm concerned, I think that she wants to hurt me cause I left and hurt her. I don't really know cause she was going to shoot me and ask questions later when Alex knocked her out." Duo ran his hands through his hair before remembering that it was in a braid. Looking up at Zarinthia, he asked, "What the hell am I going to do with this mess?"

She looked down on him with a mixture of love and pity. "Walk quietly, carry a big stick. Wear Kevlar, and bring back up. My boy, you are going to clean up your mess. But don't worry," she said, pulling him into a hug, "I'm here to help."


	9. Seeing You Again

(Woot, I found the first draft but…it's a little late now. Oh well. Tell me if you're still reading this PLEASE!) ((About, oh I don't know, nine months later, I've found this chapter and will hopefully finish this story. I'm also not taking any responsibility for grammatical or spelling errors. I edit my chapters like a Squirrel possessed. Any mistakes are due to errors with posting. 3))

Diolyn got her aspirin from the on duty nurse and took it without water. The nurse glared at her so she filled a small paper cup and gulped it down. Throwing the cup away, she smiled at the other woman and retreated out of the office.

Alex shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. "Sorry we didn't get any work done; I know how excited you were to finally get the parts that would complete the project."

Dio looked up at him through her lashes. "Why are you sorry? As far as I know, you just took the rather pointless satisfaction of shooting Duo. You didn't stop me from finishing her, so don't sweat it." She stretched. "So, what do you want to do? I don't have any work tonight, what about you?"

Alex shook his head. "No work tonight either. But you're not going to work on Gemelo Lámina. Sorry, but a hit to the back of the head means no work for you." He held up his hands in mock defeat to stop her protest. "I know it's my fault, but you can take payment with work, we'll get her done ahead of time, okay?" When she smiled at him angelically, he had to squash the urge to kick himself. He wasn't a fortuneteller, but he knew he'd be pulling some all niters for the rest of the week.

They strolled together towards one of the hotdog stands that were always open. "I'm famished, what time is it?" Alex ordered two hotdogs before answering guiltily. "A little past three." She raised a single brow, but said nothing as she bit into her late lunch. Without bothering to swallow, she asked for two bottled iced teas. The young boy who was helping to run the stand giggled.

Alex and Dio strolled to a bench and sat, enjoying each other's company and their food. Alex noticed that his friend's eyes continuously strayed toward Zarinthia's office. He found himself following her gaze. To break the silence, he brought up something he'd been thinking about for a while.

"Diolyn, the program that you have developed is pretty complex, it'll take at least three days just to upload and to run a virus scan of the entire system. And I've been thinking; I'm worried that the offensive program is too aggressive. Maybe we should use a simpler version of the program you designed, just to be safe?" He didn't mean for the last part to sound like a question, but she was looking at him like he was mad.

"You're telling me this now? There isn't a simpler version. I made the E.S.A.R.S. program to be perfect. I have all the software ready, I was going to install it today, the system has two state of the art fire walls, a virus scan that's so sensitive, I'd have a hard time foiling it, and coding that's taken me years to create." She took a deep breath. "When did you start worrying?" She didn't like how sheepish Alex was looking. His shoulders were slightly hunched and a light reddish glow was staining his cheeks.

"Well," he scuffed the toe of his well-worn sneakers into the dirt. He picked at the fabric of his light green shirt, finally resting both palms on his faded jeans, "Since you started finalizing it." He muttered the entire thing and Diolyn leaned forward to hear what he had to say. "What!" He shrugged. "I didn't say anything while you were brainstorming E.S.A.R.S., cause I honestly didn't believe you could create such a good program…"

"Well, I was going to surprise you, but the programming I was supposed to do today would have been done in four hours tops." She grinned at his startled expression. "In my excitement, I also developed a program that would load everything quickly, she should be done four hours from whenever we start the beginning of the end."

Alex sighed in relief. All the years of hard work were going to pay off. He smiled. He was still a little worried about E.S.A.R.S, but his Dio was a little computer genius. He was sure nothing would go wrong.

Duo and Zarinthia stepped out of the office and into the evening air. The weather was nice and Zarinthia had to resist the urge to rub her hands together in delight. They'd make a killing tonight. Good weather always put customers in a spending mood. She looked over at Duo and noticed that he was taking in his surroundings. He spotted her daughter and Alex sitting and talking together, but otherwise continued to keep tabs on his surroundings.

"So," she said cheerfully, "are you planning on trying to talk to her again? I think that she's cooled down a bit."

Duo shook his head. "I have to go." At Zarinthia's stricken look, he pulled her into a hug. "I'm not leaving this colony for another week. When I leave again, I'll say good-bye and leave a contact address so you can tell me to visit you, kay?" She nodded, feeling old and clingy for the first time in a long while. He pulled back slightly, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

"The other pilots will be expecting me to check in." He rubbed his forehead. They were definitely going to notice that he was wearing a shirt with the words "you say I'm 'unique'" on the front and "But I know you mean 'special'" on the back. "I'd like for them to meet you sometime this week, if it's okay with you?" She smiled and nodded, happy to have him want for her to be in his life, even in just the small things.

Movement had her looking at the other two youths. Alex helped Diolyn to her feet. They spoke briefly and Alex trotted off towards the main tent. Diolyn turned and walked less cheerfully over to Zarinthia and Duo. Zarinthia squeezed on of Duo's hands with her own, then pulled away when Diolyn was standing at her side. She slipped an arm around her daughter's waist.

"Duo has to leave now, but he said that he'd be back later." Diolyn looked blankly at her mother. "So," she asked. Zarinthia suppressed a sigh; Dio wasn't going to make things easy. "I'm just telling you that he's coming back and I don't want you shooting at him when he does, kay?" Dio sighed, but agreed when Zarinthia applied pressure.

Duo wanted to wince. He seriously doubted that if Zarinthia hadn't said anything, Dio would have tried to shoot him again. Risking a small wave and a grin. He walked casually until he turned a corner out of both women's sight. Then he sprinted for his bike. He pulled it out of the shadows and got on. Turning on the motor, he revved it a bit before heading to the hotel. He sighed. He just couldn't wait to get back to the guys.

Duo rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor, frowning down at the shirt Zarinthia had given him. He had to admit, it was funny, but he just knew that Wufei would have some sort of comment about it. The doors slid open and he stepped out, checking the hallway for anything out of place as all the boys did. Pleased that it was clear, he knocked three times in quick succession and then once more a few seconds after before inserting the key to the rooms and entering.

Wufei, he was pleased to note, wasn't in the room and neither was Heero. Quatre was finishing up his math and helping Trowa with his English homework. Trowa still wasn't much for words and needed help in that one subject. They were all thankful that none of them had been forced to take a public speaking class, though Duo personally thought Quatre would have been fine. When Duo had had told Relena, she'd started laughing at the relieved look on each of her friend's faces.

Quatre looked up and smiled. Then, taking in Duo's clothes, he frowned slightly. "Weren't you wearing something different when you left?" The blond haired youth brushed a lock of hair of his forehead. Duo grinned. Quatre did that whenever he was unsure.

"Yeah, but the shirt snagged on some metal and tore right down the center, so I had to get another shirt." He was glad that he didn't have to lie about what happened to his shirt.

The Quatre tilted his head to the side. Trowa looked up and, without realizing it, mimicked the other boy. He pointed to Duo with his pen. "Does it say something on the back?" Duo rolled his eyes, but turned looking over his shoulder to watch them read what it said. He saw Trowa's lips quirk and Quatre smother laughter into his hand.

"Okay," said Trowa, looking down at his paper. Letting him-self smile a bit wider, he added, "felt like being a target today, huh?"

Quatre laughed and playfully punched the brunette in the arm. Duo pulled his wallet out and put it back in its spot. When he was done, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a soda. He opened it and finished the thing in one breath. Quatre watched him do this and shuddered. "So, do you need any help finishing up your assignments?" Duo shook his head and grinned, crushing the soda can between his hands.

"I finished it before we left." Quatre gave him a skeptical look. Duo smiled wider. "Seriously, I did. That old battle axe, also known as our teacher Miss Patricks, said she wouldn't let me work at my shop if my work wasn't done before this holiday weekend." He grimaced. " So I got it all done and turned in, correct too."

He tossed the can into the recycling bin and headed for his room, calling goodnight to the two other boys. Wufei's door was open and he was sitting on the floor meditating. Heero's door was closed and it sounded like he was talking on the phone. Going into his own room, he pulled out boxers and a new T-shirt, changed, leaving the dirty clothes in the middle of the floor, and crawled into bed. He wasn't going to worry about the next day. He'd worry about that when his alarm went off.

(The shirt that Zarinthia gave Duo is not a real shirt, just one that I made up)


End file.
