Gundam Wing/AC 1. Daydreams

_12-2-04 Revised. Nothing major, just fixing my awful typos... Honestly, how do you guys read my earlier works? _

Update: Winner of the 2004 GW Original Character Fanfiction Contest!!! This fic won best humor!

Contest fic... finally. ;;;

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From Daydreams to Reality  
By: Memory Dragon  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and make no claim to.  
Author's thanks: Cosette, as always. Thanks for betaing.

Part One - Daydreams

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Heero Yuy. Duo Maxwell. Trowa Barton. Quatre RaberbaWinner. Wufei Chang.

Five names. Five totally different boys. All of whom have absolutely nothing to do with Jamie Satory, besides the fact that she was completely obsessed with them.

Jamie was fifteen years old, medium height. Shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes. Blood type of O. Born on February 28th, making her a Pisces. Hobbies: finding anything and everything she can about the Gundam pilots. Why? Because she was in love with them.

Jamie memorized every fact she could find about them, which happened to be quite a bit because her father was a colony politician. She had pictures (often ones she was not supposed to have) posted all over her room and her folders. She idolized them in every sense of the word.

It didn't matter that they were all fifteen years older than her and she had no clue where they were now. She had made up her mind at age ten that she would meet one of them someday and marry him. It didn't help that the only pictures she could find of them were ones from the pilot's younger years, during the wars. In her mind, they still looked her age.

Out of all the Gundam pilots, the only one commonly seen in public was Quatre. And her father had forbidden her to mention that he was a pilot to anyone else. She was just happy to know. Like she'd give away a pilot!

Unfortunately, he was the least attainable because of his status. Marrying a fifteen-year-old would be scandalous, and she wouldn't want to put him out of favor! It would completely ruin his career! Jamie wasn't so selfish that she couldn't think of others. So Quatre was out of the question.

Even though he _had_ retained his boyish good looks. There were, of course, daydreams of forbidden love affairs. It was only natural. But daydreams they would stay because Jamie realized those things never stayed secret. So she would focus on the others. There were still four other choices!

Or three really. She had heard that Wufei Chang was married even before he became a Gundam pilot. Variations of the story said she died, but some still say she lives. The Chinese sure married young!

But if she was dead... Well, she would just have to help Wufei get over her! More daydreams of herself comforting the grieving pilot. She'd hold him till the tears stopped and then he'd tell her that she was the only one who could make him happy again...

Then there was Trowa Barton. He was the quiet one. But silence meant he was hiding something. Dreams of him baring his soul out to her; how he hated killing and the loss of his memory. She'd kiss him and tell him he could leave it all behind and they'd start a new life, together... He'd smile and tell her how much he loved her.

The braided wonder, Duo Maxwell. God, that braid made him so _hot_. _Those_ dreams consisted of him coming home after a hard day of fighting (It didn't matter that there was no more fighting currently) with his long chestnut hair in tangles. He'd try to comb it for a few minutes before she'd come in and wipe the blood from his forehead. She'd comb out his hair and re-braid it. Then they'd move on to _other_ things... things she really shouldn't know about.

Last, but far from least, was Heero Yuy. Messy chocolate brown hair, persian blue eyes. Nicely built, but not too muscular to be considered a dumb jock. Did she mention those hauntingly pure blue eyes? So gorgeous. So angsty. Soooooo dreamy.

She'd be kidnaped and he'd fight a million evil bad guys just to sweep her off her feet and carry her off to some safe (naturally secluded and romantic) place. He'd then tell her that he was madly in love with her and never wanted to be apart from her again. Such wonderful daydreams-

"Earth to Jamie! Come in Jamie!"

Such a rude awaking! Jamie glared at a petite blonde, her friend Katie. Next to her, a slightly rounder red head named Colette muttered, "You and your daydreams. Can't you ever think of anything else?"

"And what would be worth my time?" the brunette retorted insolently.

Colette held up the piece of paper Jamie had been doodling on. "Your homework, for once?" She blushed slightly as she grabbed it back from her other friend.

Katie had this far away look on her face. Jamie inwardly groaned. She had a new infatuation. "That new history teacher! He's sooo hot!" Suddenly she snapped out of it and looked toward the Gundam pilot obsessee of the group. "Hey, you like older guys, right? You should check him out!"

"Katie, you should know by now that only one of a certain five guys could ever steal her heart." Colette's tone held no small amount of sarcasm. But Jamie didn't mind. A fact was a fact. Besides, she was used to this kind of thing.

"You're so lucky, Jamie," Katie went on enviously. "You get to sit in his class and listen to his heavenly voice every day. I have to schedule my tutoring sessions just right in order to even get close to him!"

The new history teacher, Mr. Mark Huit. Bringing up a mental image in her mind, Jamie decided he wasn't too shabby. Shortcropped chocolate brown hair, nice ass, finely toned muscles. Always looking sharp with a white shirt and tie. And his eyes... they reminded her of someone, but she couldn't think of whom. Such a pity that they were covered up by a pair of glasses. She almost regretted already being sworn to someone else... _Almost_ being the key phrase.

Jamie was so caught up in her thoughts that she was thrown completely off balance when she accidently collided with someone. She let out a small eep as she sprawled out on the floor gracelessly, dropping all her notebooks. "Damn-er... so sorry about that! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's alright, neither was I," a light, tenor voice said. A hand came into her line of view and helped her up. It belonged to a boy about her age with long brown bangs that fell into his nice, very pretty green eyes. He started to help her pick up her things while Jamie tried to remember where she'd seen him before.

But the boy answered her question before she could ask. "You're Jamie, right? I'm Raul. We sit next to each other in history." Oh! That's right! Didn't Katie have something for him a week ago? Glancing over at her friend, she saw that was a correct memory. According to Katie, Jamie was one of the luckiest girl in the galaxy.

"Er, thanks. Sorry again."

"No prob. Hey, are you... doing anything tonight?" Raul blushed slightly. Was he... Was he asking her out? No way! Katie was fuming next to her. She should know better by now though. After all, the answer was the same as always. "I'm sorry, but you're not my type. No offence."

"But hey, you could at least give me a chance! Hey wait!" But Jamie has already walked away.

Colette pet his head in consolation. "It's best to just forget about her and move on. You see, she has this obsession with five guys that she's never met..."

"But I don't!" Katie added coyly.

Raul was silent for a moment before a look of determination crossed his face. Colette sighed internally. Some guys just never learn. "I'll just have to prove to her that real guys are better, hm? See ya!" And he walked off to his next class.

The bell rang just then, nearly drowning out Colette's soft and sarcastic, "Good luck." Lord knows how long they had been trying.

* * *

Jamie was tired of Raul. For the past three weeks he had been trying to get her on a date, and she wasn't sure she would last much longer. Maybe if she went out with him once, he might just go away. Or maybe not. Either way, she was getting sick of it.

"Sam!"

Her sister, Samantha, was a young woman with straight brown hair that went to the bottom of her shoulder blades and had energetic brown eyes. Her clothes could be considered cute and stylish, but Sam only wore them because she found them comfortable. Sam leaned through the kitchen door, phone attached to her ear. "What's up, little sister?"

Great. She was on he phone. Obviously, her need to talk came across to Sam, for she nodded and motion her Jamie to wait a minute. "Anyway, so Tony's just supposed to catch me by the waist like that a few times, then move his hand up to my shoulder to spin me out. Evidently, he forgot I spin really fast because he just barely moved his hand before he nearly ended up grabbing something else. He was beat red. It was great. Yea, well I'll call you back, Crys. Um-hm. Talk to ya in a bit. Later." Sam then hung up the phone and looked over to her sister. "So spill."

Jamie sighed and walked into the kitchen. Pulling out one of the wooden chairs from the table, she turned it to face her sister who was sitting on a stool by the counter and sat down. "Remember that guy I was telling you about? He won't leave me alone!"

She shook her head. "I don't see why you won't go out with him. He's cute. And damn persistent." If it were anyone but her college-aged sister giggling in front of her, Jamie would have murdered her. "Besides, this obsession you have with the Gundam pilots isn't healthy. Even if you did meet them, you have never had a _real_ man before. You don't even know the first thing about love."

That. Was. It. "I do, too!" Love can't be that hard, right? He just had to look in the girl's eyes and tell her he loved her!

"You've read Mama's romance novels. That hardly qualifies you for an expert. You think they'd want someone as inexperienced as you?" Jamie felt a blush cross her cheeks as her sister leaned over and said, "Little Miss-I've-never-been-kissed."

Jamie was ready for murder, even if it was her sister. "Fine! I'll go out with him and prove to you I'm _experienced_ enough for a Gundam pilot!" And the girl stormed out.

Sam smiled and picked up the phone again, dialing the number with speed that only came with practice. "Hello, Crystal there? Yo. You can tell your little brother he owes me. Yea, it worked. Oh, and tell him if he wants another date with her, he'd better not kiss her! I have the feeling she'll think she's 'experienced' with just one kiss... Yea, so anyway, we had no end of fun teasing Tony after that one. He never spins anyone out by the shoulder anymore either-"

* * *

Raul was watching her. As a matter of fact, he looked smug. As if he _knew_ she was going to give in today. Little jerk.

But then the conversation she had with her sister came to mind. She _would_ date him. Jerk or no. She couldn't let her chance go if she met a Gundam pilot. Sure, she'd been saving herself, but Sam was right. Older men didn't want some girl who had never even been kissed. She had to at least be a little experienced or no one would want her. And Raul wasn't the worst choice in the world.

He was fairly popular with the girls, as far as looks went. The green eyes were his main attraction, but Raul's body was fairly decent as well. Not a body builder, but as evidence by his powerful legs, it was obvious that he was a soccer player. Very casual dress, but still neat. Never any of the designer brands, but Jamie suspected that was due to a dislike of the major brand names. Her sister was like that too. Herself, she could care less.

He was also rather charming in this youthful sort of way. Not anything like in her mother's romance novels. Maybe he was too innocent? That could be bad... but then he wouldn't know if she messed up too. Yes, innocent would be best. She didn't want him to get over zealous in showing her what to do. _That_ was reserved. The pilots would just have to deal with her virginity. Besides if she got enough experience, they wouldn't know until it came to that. And by then which ever one she met first would be so madly in love with her it wouldn't matter.

Bringing her attention back to the present, she noticed something else. He had the nerve to be smirking. Damn it! He does know! She didn't know how, but he did. Fine. She could play that way too. After class, Jamie helped with the clean up duties. Then she asked Mr. Huit to explain a few things in his office. Not that she was having problems in his class, but it was actually interesting to listen to him. So she brought up a question she had. It was more of a 'why' then a 'what.' As she suspected, it took about an hour for him to satisfy the question. And it was almost fun. Underline the almost.

So he _had_ to have left. It had been an hour. No one would wait in an empty class room for an hour with nothing to do. That was just stupid. Of course he left. Jamie felt very smug. She had won this round.

But when she arrived in the class room to get the rest of her books, she found Raul standing there. God, she wanted to smack that grin off his face when he looked up from his studies. "Hey, Jamie! Wanna catch a movie tonight?"

Hell, no man was worth this. Gundam pilot or no. Jamie would have to wing it when the time came. She felt her face flushing with anger at his smug appearance. So sure of himself, was he? Well that would change! She was going to give him a the rejection of the century! She had opened her mouth to tell him off when something cold and round clicked right next to her head.

Jamie froze. Raul stood up in panic, but stopped abruptly as she felt someone twist her arm back behind her. She gasped in slight pain. "Don't make any sudden movements, kid," she heard a deep bass voice from behind her. "Or this little lady will never give you an answer."

Jamie was in shock. She was being used as a hostage. _She_ could die at any second. Vaguely she heard Raul demand the guy let her go. He looked around frantically as more men wearing black moved in to confine him.

Then she fainted.

"You read the paper?"

Rustle of paper. "Teacher finds two students missing along with a note from the kidnapers on the chalk board. The note was addressed to the long absent Gundam pilots and police fear the kidnapers to be an insane faction bent on-"

"Enough."

Chuckle. "You're going after them, aren't you?"

Glare.

"I suppose you're going to need some help. Or you wouldn't be here."

"Are you coming or not?"

"Sure. I'll - hey! Wait up! I need some time to - fine! Jeeze, I don't know why I even put up with you sometimes!"

Slight smile.

* * *

So, how many of you out there had those kind of daydreams before? Come on, admit it! Yes, be prepared for more of the descriptionless conversations. The next part has quite a few of them. It's not that hard to figure out who they are, now is it? Anyone pick up on the teacher's name? Huit 8 in french. Couldn't help that at all...

Yes, what Samantha was talking about did actually happen to me. Actually, Sam is probably the closest I've ever come to putting myself in a fic. It's a good thing I don't have any siblings. I couldn't help it. Tried coming up with something for the older sister to be talking about on the phone... and well, you know the rest.

The next part will be up as soon as I type it up... which will be sometime before the contest ends... hopefully. ;;;

And now, what you've all been waiting for. The quote of the chapter.

"How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares if there seemed any danger of their coming true!"  
-- Logan Pearsall Smith

l8r.


	2. Reality

Thanks for the reviews! A big thank you to Hikari Rioki, Alana Quinn, Cosette and DuoDuet02! As for a connection with Trowa and Raul... no not really. Raul's just Raul. 

Warnings: Sugar sweetness. I mean, really sweet. Raul is adorable. - Oh, and there is some death. And destruction. Can't expect any less from D-chan, ne?

On with the show!

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Chapter Two: Reality

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She woke up on the floor in a small room with dim lighting. "What? Where am I?" Looking around the room, Jamie saw it was completely bare with only one exit; a door with no way to open it from this side. And next to her was a badly beaten Raul. Jamie suddenly remembered what had happened. 

Slowly, she began to shake the boy next to her with trembling hands. "Raul? Raul, please wake up... Raul, I'm scared... Raul! Raul!" He wasn't... so many bruises... What was going on?!?! Wake up! Why was this happening? Why won't he wake up? "Raul!?"

Perhaps one of her screeches woke him up. Or maybe it was her death grip on his shoulders. Either way, he opened his good eye and smiled weakly at her. "Don't think I'm cut out for this rescue/escape bit..." His voice was weak. What had those men done? "It seems that every time I try to get us out of here, I just get beaten worse."

He was hurt... They hurt him. They could hurt her too. They were really kidnaped. They could actually die at any given moment. They were going to be killed and found in a gutter somewhere, possibly even raped–

"Jamie-Hey, Jamie!" Gentle hands on her shoulders. "Snap out of it, kay? Don't go hysterical on me! We'll get out of here! You've just gotta believe that. I'll make sure they don't hurt you..."

She couldn't take it any more. Tears sprang to her eyes as her whole body started to shake. "I-I'm so s-scared.... I-I don't w-want to be here!"

A pair of arms encircled Jamie as the first sob tore out of her. Raul kept saying something, but she was too scared to really comprehend. Vaguely, some part of her noticed their torn clothing and sweaty smell. His hair was in complete disarray, and she had no doubt hers was too. There was also a small part of her that thanked God for the fact that she didn't wear make-up.

"Will someone shut that Bitch up? Pesky little brats. Almost not worth using for bait." Raul was suddenly very still. Then there was a sharp pain in her stomach causing her to cry out.

"Stop it! Don't hurt her!" Raul pushed himself in between her and the man who kicked her all before she realized that she had been kicked. His voice cracked. And as Jamie pressed herself into his back in order to stay close to him, she felt him trembling.

He was afraid too.

He was afraid too. He was afraid they would hurt him, that they would hurt her. He _was_ hurt. Why? If he was afraid, why did he try so hard?! She had to stop this before he was hurt even more! "Stop please...." she said, just barely above a whisper. Both Raul and the man (a guard?) looked at her. "I'll be quiet. Please, just stop."

The man looked very gruff, but dressed smartly. Kind of a rugged handsomeness. Jamie had thought all bad guys were supposed to be ugly. He glared at her one last time before going back out and closing the door behind him.

Another sob rose up in throat, but she forced it down. If she was loud, they would hurt Raul again. He would come back in here and probably hurt her again too. So she had to be quiet...

Once again, Raul gave her a weak smile. "So, y-you do care about me. How about a-a date after all of this, huh?"

She felt a flush run across her face. This was never how she acted in all of her daydreams. She could pull through this. They would pull though this. She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

"D-don't worry. I'll get us out of here... somehow..."

* * *

"Heero, buddy. You can't just waltz in there now! The kid has his pride after all!" 

Glare. "They _are_ kids and they _are_ in danger. I don't see how his pride is more valuable than his life."

"Aw, come on. You have to admit that it was sweet! Besides, weren't you complaining about the hero worship complex to me before? If she starts admiring him..."

"..." More glaring.

"It can't be too hard to make them think _they_ got out themselves. Please, Heero! We can make sure nothing happens-"

"Che. Fine."

A smirk of triumph.

* * *

Jamie woke up with her head rested against Raul's shoulder, blushing slightly. Sometime during her sleep, she grabbed his arm and had been clinging to it tightly. Now she was afraid to move without waking him up. 

He had been trying to be brave for her. Trying to protect her. And while a Gundam pilot probably wouldn't have been hurt so badly, it was everything she could have ever dreamed of. Action. Adventure. So why wasn't she happy?

Because no matter how many daydreams she had, this was life. The real thing. Reality. There was no way they could escape like Raul said. And Raul was really hurt. Actually hurt. Would be hurt for as long as those bruises took to heal. And it was possibly worse than bruises. And the hurts wouldn't go away with a kiss like in her daydreams. She was scared...

But Raul woke up anyway. She must have been trembling too much. "Hey, you okay? Don't worry, I'll-"

The door slid open to reveal two guards. Before she could stop herself, Jamie tightened her grip on Raul's arm. Startled, he turned to look down at her. Then he smiled.

"Hello there! So, are you guys finally going to tell us why you kidnaped us?" He turned his smile and charm onto the guards. What was he doing? Trying to provoke them? That idiot! No wonder he had so many bruises... His free hand covered hers and squeezed it gently. Raul...

Raul was getting better at hiding his fear. Jamie wouldn't have been able to tell if she hadn't been clinging to his arm. But the guards only sneered. She didn't recognize either of them as the guy from before. The lighting seemed to have gotten worse...

"You two are the cheese for the mouse trap. Which, if you'll come this way, we'll set,"one of the two guards said as they both stepped forward and roughly tore Jamie and Raul apart.

"If you hurt her-" Raul began, trying to break free.

"You'll what?" the guard holding Jamie asked, twisting her arm behind her back painfully. The girl gasped sharply and Raul went still. Helplessness crept into his eyes. "Move it!"

They pushed the kids out of the cell, making their hard grip felt on both teens' shoulders. Bait? Bait for what? More importantly, bait for whom? Her father could only pay the ransom, so it couldn't be for Raul. His family was too poor to even do that. He had a part time job to help pay the bills. So who were they trying to catch?

Suddenly she was jolted out of her thoughts as both the guards tripped. Letting go of Jamie and Raul. She would have just stood there in shock if Raul had not grabbed her hand then. "Wha? Raul, what happ-"

"Donno! Just run!" So she did. Her mind vaguely noted gun shots behind her. Some yelling that didn't make any sense. Something told her she should try and make sense of it because those guards weren't following for some weird reason. Were they both knocked out by the fall? But then, who was firing the guns? What was going on?

Just when she was about to run out of breath, Raul pulled her aside into one of the rooms. The stitch in her side hurt painfully. It wasn't for a few moments that she was able to look around. A storage room, with many boxes. But other then that... "Now what?"

* * *

"They're lost." 

"Well... er... Now what?"

"I told you it wouldn't work."

"Aw, come on! They were smart enough to run, weren't they?"

"..."

"..."

"Duo..."

"Okay, okay. We'll go find them... And you don't have to look so damn smug about it either! Jeeze, first smirking, then telling me 'I told ya so.' Never mind-"

"Let's go."

"Cold hearted bastard..."

"..." Glare.

"Just kidding, buddy!" Playful wink.

* * *

Raul and Jamie huddled together, unsure of what to do. Neither of them could think of a way to fix the situation, besides sitting and waiting. Which would get them captured again eventually. "What do we do, Raul? We're lost!" She was close to losing it again... 

Helplessness and desperation entered his eyes again. But before he could say anything, a slightly amused voice cut through. "You two look like you could use some help."

Raul immediately moved in front of her and faced toward the shadows where the voice had come from. What now? "Who-who's there?"

Something moved in the shadows, and Jamie pressed herself against Raul's back. Then the shadow chuckled. "Didn't expect you guys to practically save yourselves. You're making our job easier." The shadowed figure moved into the light to reveal a man in this thirties wearing all black and a cap that covered a mop of chocolate brown hair. The cap made it hard to see his eyes... "I'm here to rescue you guys!" he said, grinning broadly.

A small object came from a hole Jamie hadn't noticed before in the ceiling. "Just shut up and get them up here." That voice! She _knew_ that voice! Where had she heard it before... Someone she _should_ know... Damn it! Who was it?

Raul recognized the voice too. But he could put a face to it. "Mr. Huit?" he asked tentatively. They both stood there in shock for a few moments after they heard a soft affirmative. Their history teacher? Their _history_ teacher?! Mr. Huit was rescuing them? No way!

"How? Why did..." Was all Jamie could manage to stutter.

The other man simply put his finger to his lips in a devilish manner and motioned them closer. "We'll answer your questions later, but right now we gotta get you kids out of here."

"Raul... should we?"

He turned back to her, indecision in his eyes. The older man was pleading silently with his eyes, but Raul couldn't see them. But unlike Jamie, Raul had noticed the guy had a long braid... Finally, he smiled. "I don't see what other choice we have. The worst that could happen is we get captured again."

A soft sigh of relief. Then another thud as a second projectile connected with the other man's skull. "Damn it! Would you stop that? I'm hurrying! Come on kids, we don't want a cranky Hee-" Thud. "_History_ teacher who is going to be toast when I get my hands on him." Slight snicker. The man glared at the hole in the ceiling. The snicker turned into a soft chuckle.

Relief suddenly flooded through Jamie's body. Something about the two men's playful antics made her want to trust them completely. So after a reassured look at Raul, she stepped forward. The brown haired man smiled. "Ladies first!" He bowed after winking at her then grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up though the hole in the ceiling. So that was how they moved around, an air duct. It was dark, but she felt a pair of strong hands gently grab her and pull her up. She could only assume it was Mr. Huit.

"Move back a bit so Raul will have room to get up." She did, and soon she felt the boy's presence behind her.

"See ya, _Mark_." She heard the other man say, oddly stressing her teacher's first name. That was weird... wait a sec... still no where near as weird as their _history_ teacher saving them. "I'm off to take care of the ringleader."

"Be careful. They may be amateurs but they still might have a few tricks up their sleeve." Mr. Huit's voice sounded from in front of her. Amateurs? Did that make her history teacher _professional_? This was almost too much...

"You too, buddy." Then there was the sound of a door opening and closing.

Jamie started trembling again. This was _way_ too much. It was so cramped in here... they'd have to crawl... Not only that but- "S-sir," she started weakly, "it's really d-dark in here."

She felt a hand much bigger then hers cover her right hand. "It'll be alright. It's not too far out."

There was something about the two of them. Something that just screamed 'trust me.' Jamie could tell Raul was much more relaxed now too. If Mr. Huit said it would be alright, she instantly believed him. She wasn't sure how or why, but there was just something about him that she'd never noticed before. Or maybe she had. Maybe that was why she enjoyed his class.

The farther they crawled in that tiny space, the less fear she actually felt. Mr. Huit seemed to know exactly where they were going; his voice directing them whenever there was a turn or fork. How he knew his way around the maze, she couldn't say.

When they got out of the building, Jamie realized it was night time. They made it. They were safe. It was all okay now. She looked over to Mr. Huit. He looked the same as always, except instead of a business like white shirt and tie, he wore a faded pair of jeans and a green shirt under a denim jacket. And a pair of glasses that obscured whatever Jamie thought looked familiar about his eyes.

Then she saw something that didn't belong in the picture. A man sneaking up behind her teacher. "Mr. Huit! Look out!" But she was too late. The guard landed a punch on his face with enough force to send even the strongest man down. But he didn't go down. The only sign the punch affected Mr. Huit was that it had knocked off his glasses.

"Mr. Huit!" Raul cried out behind her.

Three seconds later, the man was knocked out on the ground. "No way..." she heard Raul say softly. Jamie didn't believe it herself. How could someone move that fast? No, wait a sec. How could their _history_ teacher know how to do that?

While her mind was trying to process what her eyes were telling her, Mr. Huit straightened up with a wary look on his face. He looked around carefully. "Guards usually comein pairs..."

Raul cried out and her heart nearly stopped. Raul!? No! He was being held back by a guard with a gun to his head. "Raul!" The cry escaped her throat before she could stop it. She was helpless! There was nothing she could do, there was nothing Mr. Huit could do! He was in danger... he could die...

"Let him go." Jamie felt her eyes widen and her mouth go dry as her teacher- her _history_ teacher -was pointing a gun at the guard. But what if the other man pulled the trigger first? What if Mr. Huit missed? He had lost his glasses for crying out loud, how can he see to aim? What was he _thinking_?

The guard sneered. "I'm the one with the hostage here! You can't do anything-" Silent gun shot. The gun the guard had been holding was now several meters away on the ground. The three of them stood in shock at Mr. Huit's accuracy.

"Let the boy go."

Something in the guard snapped. "No way... You're not real." Cool persian blue eyes started calmly back, gun ready to fire again. "I-I'll break the kid's arm! I'll do it! I can kill him even! I don't need a gun! Just stay back! Stay away from me!"

Raul gave out a sharp yell of pain. Jamie was frozen in her tracks. His eyes... Mr. Huit's eyes.... they had changed...

They weren't cold and calculating anymore. They weren't calm like they had been a minute ago. Now they held infinite sadness and pain. She had never realized someone could feel an emotion that intensely... What? No, Raul!

Another silent shot. Raul yelping and jumping away from the dead man when the grip that ha been hurting him let go. The teacher lowered the gun and sighed, closing his eyes. Jamie just stood there in shock.

Raul was okay. He was fine. But Mr. Huit just... That man... He was _dead_... She had just watched someone _die_... And-

Blackness came once again as she fainted a second time.

* * *

Raul jumped away from the dead man, yelping. He suddenly felt very, very sick. The man who was just pinning his arms back was now dead. A man who had just been very much alive, now very much dead. Looking back to see the bullet wound in his head was a bad move. There was just enough moonlight to see the color of the blood... 

A few moments later and what little he had had in his stomach now on the pavement, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Drink this." A water bottle was thrust under his nose.

Raul took a sip and got the bile taste out of his mouth. Finally he looked up to see a slightly concerned Mr. Huit. Damn, stay focused on Mr. Huit! Don't look back at... "Are you alright, Raul?" It was a good thing there was nothing left in his stomach, because when he nodded weakly, he was lying through his teeth.

The teacher helped him up and looked around for his glasses. Cracked. Sighing, he tossed them aside. Then he picked up the unconscious Jamie. There was something different about her... What was it? Come on Raul! Focus! Now was not the time to fall apart! There's the difference. She had Mr. Huit's jacket wrapped around her...

"Come on. It's dangerous to stay here." Raul had to remind his feet to move. It was a good thing Mr. Huit was patient and understanding. He kept the pace slow enough for the mind- numb Raul to keep up. Just like when he patiently explained history, though Mr. Huit seemed much more world weary at the moment.

Despite the fact that the man next to Raul had just shot someone, the boy had no mixed emotions toward him. He felt safe in Mr. Huit's presence. Somehow, he trusted the older man completely. They were going to make it. There was just one piece to the puzzle that didn't make sense. "Sir?" The older man nodded, acknowledging the boy's question. "Who are you, really?"

A very slight smile. "I'm just a man who's trying to find his way."

"You were a Gundam pilot?" Raul stated more then asked. He received a soft affirmative. "They used us to get to you... I... I'm sorry Sir." Remembrance of the sadness in the teacher's-no, the Gundam pilot's eyes at times during class... and just before he shot the guard. The sadness that might even be there now...

"Do you really need those glasses to see?" That chuckle was a definite negative.

Silence as they walked on. A thought came to Raul. "Sir? Are you- Does this mean you'll leave?" Another soft affirmative. "Please don't! I want you to stay! I mean, you're a great teacher and all... I'm sure Jamie thinks so too! I... Please don't go..."

Silence.

Raul hung his head, even though he was sure it was too dark for Mr. Huit to see his flushed face. The teacher motioned for him to stop and then set down Jamie. The teacher pulled a small communicator out of his pocket. "Duo, the kids and I are a safe distance from the base."

"Jeeze, what took ya so long, Heero?" Came the voice of the man with the braid. Heero. Mr. Huit's real name was Heero. "Time these guys learned not to mess with the God of Death! See ya, buddy!" God of Death? The pilot of the second Gundam? Of course... Who else could that man have been other than another pilot?

He jumped as a big explosion boomed behind him. The building they were just in and everyone in it... Raul gulped and kept his gaze on his history teacher as he picked up Jamie again. Raul wouldn't look back. He would only look forward.

* * *

Raul watched Jamie out of the corner of his eye. She had insisted on coming to school today. Well, he probably shouldn't have been here either. But they both wanted to be there. It would be the last day of Mr. Huit teaching. There was a chance they would never see him again. 

She had never connected Mr. Huit with the pilot Heero Yuy. He guessed she never noticed the other man's braid either. As it was, it seemed as if Jamie was trying to forget everything that happened, including her previous obsession with the Gundam pilots.

Jamie had changed. She was quiet now. More thoughtful, but less off in the clouds. He still loved her though. And he thought she might even be starting to love him back. She certainly spent as much of her time in his company as she could.

They both sat through the lecture in a gloomy silence, waiting for the announcement that he would be leaving. But instead, Mr. Huit assigned homework and dismissed class for the weekend. But... Wasn't he supposed to be leaving? The two teens silently agreed to stay behind after class.

"Mr. Huit?" Jamie began uncertainly. He looked up from his paper work, a new glasses hiding the intensity of his blue eyes. "Are you- are you going to leave?"

Heed looked sternly at both of them. Raul was suddenly very nervous. He watched them fidget for several minutes before asking a question that surprised them. "Do you wish me to leave?"

"No!" They both cried out in unison. Raul looked away blushing. He was pretty sure Jamie was doing the same thing.

"What I mean, Sir-"

A tiny smile tugged at the teacher's lips that stopped Jamie from going on. "Then I'm afraid your homework is still due Monday. And don't think you can get out of it." They both gasped in shock as he put the files he had been looking through in his brief case and prepared to leave. "You two rest this weekend and don't exert yourselves too much on your date."

"Date?!" Again, blushing. How... how could he have known about the promise? "I-uh, yes, Sir."

Another small smile. A very rare thing that seemed to be happening more and more lately. Because lately, Raul noticed it reached Mr. Huit's eyes a lot more. "Good. Now," slight frown, "are you two going to leave and give me some peace or are you going to sit here and plague me all weekend?"

They mumbled apologies and both rushed out of the room. They then looked at each other and smiled. "Come on Raul. My father wants me to come straight home today. And _you_ have to walk me there!"

He chuckled and looked back at the door to the history classroom. "I hope, Sir... I hope you find your way," he whispered inaudibly before Jamie dragged him off.

Because when he saw Jamie smile, Raul certainly had found his own way.

* * *

"Aw, aren't they cute." 

"..."

"I saw you smiling too. Admit it."

"Duo..."

"Stop growling and let's go get some pizza or something! I'm starved!"

_WHACK!_

"Ow! HEY! What the hell was that for?!?! Jeeze! You just get more and more violent every year!"

"If you don't shut up, I'm not paying."

Chuckle. "Anything you say, _Heero_-sensei. Lead on!"

Small smile that made Duo's even bigger.

Fin

* * *

Okay, yea. Star's been watching too much Glühen... I should have kept Duo's last comment the same... but... The sickness took away any resistance I had to Sena-kun's cuteness. Hence, the Mr. Heero got changed to Heero- sensei for the final draft, even if it doesn't make much sense. (For those of you non- Weiß fans out there -shame on you!- Aya is basically the same type of character as Heero, a CHB. Cold Hearted Bastard. And he goes uncover as a history teacher in Glühen... -;;;) Besides, Mr. Heero just doesn't sound as good for some weird reason. 

As for Heero's OOC, it's been fifteen years people. It's a good bet that he's lightened up a bit. And there is evidence in the series that Heero does have a very wicked sense of humor. -

Quote of the chapter:

"Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it."  
-- Jane Wagner

Hm. No wonder I'm never stressed out. I completely lost touch with reality years ago.


End file.

Gundam Wing/AC, Drama, Humor