Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and I don't make any profit off of this... I just write for fun... And for the challenge XD lol

Of Frills and Duels

Blue eyes scanned over the contents of the box, committing everything to memory. Strong, elegant hands reached into the container and delicately pulled out some of the photos from within. The pictures showed obvious signs of both age and hardship, and that's what made them all the more precious to the man that held them.

They were the last remnants of his family. The few pictures that had survived the massacre, along with the suffering that had followed. They were pictures of the past, of peaceful times, and reminders of what they had lost.

'So much time…' The blond sighed, which caused his almost white hair to slip over his shoulder and pool in his lap. 'We lost so much precious time… I didn't even get to watch her grow up.'

That's what hurt most. The loss of his parents had hurt, yes, but not being able to be there for his sister was devastating. He hadn't been able to watch her grow, or even be there for her like a good brother. He had never been her pillar to lean against, or her shoulder to cry on. She'd grown into a kind and strong woman and…

He'd had no part in her life.

Heck, until a few years ago she hadn't even known of his existence. But that was understandable, right? And after what he'd done to Heero…

Yeah, she'd had every right to be mad at him. Challenging your sister's "male friend" to a duel was not the best way to earn brownie points… Actually, doing that would cost one any, and all, brownie points they had ever earned and then some!

Sure, the whole duel thing had made him feel better, he had been protecting his sister after all. The blond had just been making sure that his little sister's love interest was worthy of her… as well as make sure that the little bastard Heero knew that if he ever did anything to hurt Relena, Zechs would kill him. And unlike most guys that make that threat Zechs proved that it wasn't just a threat, it was a promise.

Too bad Relena hadn't seen it that way. Nope, she just saw some random Oz guy "picking on" her Heero… all puns on the name intended.

Luckily for Zechs, Relena was a very kind and forgiving young lady even back then. And once she'd found out that they were siblings… Well, she couldn't stay mad at him.

'Thank God.' Milliardo thought as he shivered mentally.

Being on Relena's bad side was never a good thing. Passive or not, that woman had connections! And said connections could tear a man into pieces without actually killing him.

Yeah… Passivism didn't mean "defenseless." If he didn't know better, he'd swear that Relena had been given lessons in "passivism" from Lady Une. That, and behavior. Either way, that was a scary thought, but Zechs really had to wonder how far from the truth he was.

"What happened to the good old days?" He sighed aloud, knowing no one would answer that question.

He was the only one in the mansion at the moment, after all. Everyone else was on holiday. Or rather, the Gundam boys were coming to town and Relena was letting everyone make preparations for the celebration. The G-boys were real celebrities in the Sanc Kingdom and whenever they came to visit it was a big deal…

Of course, it was usually Relena that made it such a big deal. She really loved those guys like brothers, which slightly perturbed her REAL brother.

'Honestly, you'd think she'd spend a little more time with me…'

"Brother! I need your help!" Relena cried from the hallway before she burst into the library where Zechs had been reminiscing.

Zechs was to his feet, weapon drawn, in a heartbeat. Before another beat could pass, he had grabbed Relena and pushed her behind him, ready to take on any threat.

"Um… This isn't the type of help I meant, Milliardo." She laughed sheepishly.

Zechs looked at her and, at seeing her embarrassment, sighed before placing his weapon back in it's holder.

"You scared me, I thought someone was out to hurt you."

Relena looked at her brother with sad eyes. She knew what war had done to him, that he could never fully trust that things would always be peaceful, and this saddened her.

'Will there ever be a time when we can go back to the way things were supposed to be?' She asked herself, and made it her goal to at least try to get things back to they way they should have been… to the way things were before they'd lost their parents.

"You needed my help?" Zechs… no, Milliardo, asked as he turned to face his sister.

"Huh, oh…um, yes. You see, I accidentally got something on the dress I was going to wear today…"

"You want me to do your laundry?" The blond inquired with a raised brow.

"No, no, of course not! Silly, I was hoping you could come out and help me pick out a new dress. There are a few shops that I want to check out and…" Relena blushed. "Sorry, you probably have better things to do than…"

"I'd like that." Milliardo cut in, a smile on his face. This was a chance to spend some "sibling bonding" time. It was what normal siblings would do, after all, right?

"Great!" Relena cheered happily. "Would you like to drive, or shall I?"

"I'll drive." Milliado answered quickly. He loved Relena dearly, but that woman had one hell of a road rage problem. 'They should have never given her a license.' He sighed mentally, while outwardly he was smiling. "It's been a while since I've had the chance to drive anywhere." And there was his excuse.

~.~.~.~ ~*~*~*~ . . . ~*~*~*~ . . . ~*~*~*~ ~.~.~.~

The drive went well. Luckily for him, Relena wasn't a backseat driver… and she only raged when she was the one driving.

Yes, driving Relena there rather than vise versa had been a good call on Milliardo's part. Though he had to wonder…

"Baby, The Stars Shine Bright… isn't that kind of, I don't know, LONG for a shop name?" He asked and looked over at the woman beside him.

"Oh, but it fits it so perfectly! A unique name for a unique shop." Relena giggled and started toward the front door.

'O… kay…' Milliardo thought and looked around him. People stared and whispered to each other while they pointed. 'Should I be worried?'

"Ah, that's so sweet!"

The tall blond was able to make out a comment here and there, but that one had a little color rising to his cheeks.

"Can you believe that? He's actually letting his girlfriend drag him THERE?"

"Can you say, Whipped?"

Okay, he was ready to kill the guys on the other side of the street. Milliardo… No, Zechs in this case… was sure he could get over there, off the two, and be back before Relena knew it.

"They make such a perfect couple."

That one had the blond turning red from embarrassment and he quickly followed Relena into the shop. He would worry about revenge on those guys later, the sooner he got out of the public eye, however, the better. After all, he couldn't yell at the people that they were siblings. No one really knew that Milliardo had survived the massacre, and to blatantly throw it out there where a possibly an enemy can get their hands on the information and use it to…

No, he wouldn't allow anyone to know the truth, besides Relena and the gundam boys of course. It was a need to know basis, and no one needed to know.

Though the thought of incest really did turn his stomach, no offense to his sister.

'Can't those people at least realize that we might be related?' He thought, then froze as he got a good look at the store's merchandise.

"Holy shit."

"Milliardo!" Relena chastised, but he couldn't help himself.

Everywhere he looked there were frills, and bonnets, and… were those bloomers? And, oh God, there was even a maid looking outfit in the corner.

"Relena, I don't think this store is… appropriate. I don't want to know what you wear during… THAT." He put emphasis on the "that," complete with hand motions.

"During…" Relena blushed. "Oh, no, these dresses are for everyday wear not… um… that…" The usually composed woman very much resembled a tomato by this point.

"Can I help you?" A pretty young woman dressed in a Victorian style dress, complete with headdress, stood a few feet away from them with a bright smile.

"Oh my, you look amazing!" Relena said in wonderment as she stared at the woman.

"T… thank you." The brunette blushed and suddenly seemed interested in her platform heels, which barely made her as tall as Relena.

"She looks like a little doll." Milliardo commented with a smile. 'A shy little doll.' He added mentally.

"Y… you're too kind."

Two for two!~ Milliardo was scoring left and right in the "make the girls blush like tomatoes" game.

"Um… Do you have any Gothic Lolita designs?" Relena asked the woman shyly.

'That's not like her.' He might not have grown up with her, but he was enough of a big brother to know her personality. "Re…"

"I've never bought one before, so I'll need to look at petticoats, bloomers, stockings, and shoes as well." The blond woman said confidently.

'That sounds more like my Relena… Um, kind of…' He wasn't sure what to think of all this, but he just shrugged and decided to go with it. 'If this is what makes my little sister happy.' He thought and prepared himself for the weirdness that was sure to follow.

~.~.~.~ ~*~*~*~ . . . ~*~*~*~ . . . ~*~*~*~ ~.~.~.~

The experience, as a whole, wasn't nearly as bad as he had feared it would be. In fact, it had been kind of enjoyable… Minus the girls trying to get him to dress up as well.

No offense to those two, but it would take an act of God, or a very fine piece of ass, to make him wear a maid's outfit. That was just out of the question. He loved his little sister, yes, but he didn't love her like that…. And, quite frankly, he wasn't afraid to admit that he didn't love any female like that.

The outfit Relena had gotten was really cute though. It looked good on her, true, but there was just something off about it. It just wasn't her style and would look better on someone else honestly.

It was mainly black, a dull color that didn't suit her personality. Sure, there were lots of frills and lace to make it look less like something one would wear to a funeral, and more like something worn everyday. The laces in the "corset" design on both back and front were white to give it more appeal… and the bottom of the skirt, as well as the edges of the collar and sleeves, were trimmed in a delicate white lace to compliment the "strings" of the corset…

But he still thought it was more a dress for an angel of death rather than his sweet Relena. He had noticed her longing looks as they passed the "Sweet Lolita" side to get to the accessories. He would have to talk to her about that… Or he could just go back and buy her something. That would work too. But if this was something she enjoyed and wanted, he should talk to her about it and let her know he supported her decisions…

Even if they were a little strange to him.

Milliardo glanced at the bags in the rearview window. At the top of the one bag be could see the puffs and frills that indicated the dress and petticoats, whereas atop the other bag's contents rested the "accessories" Relena had purchased for the dress.

To make the outfit complete, she had said she needed gloves and a headdress. One could tell that the accessories were made for the outfit, too. Quite literally. The gloves were of the same black material as the dress and had white ribbons crisscrossing to meet at the middle, much like the dresses corset design. And the headdress, much like the dress and gloves, was black with the same crisscrossing action going on.

And last, but not least, she had purchased a black lace choker with the same ribbon and design, but the silver cross hanging from it is what set it apart from the rest and reminded Milliardo of something…

'Or someone.' He added in his mind as he tried to pin point who he was thinking about.

A nun! It reminded him of a nun! His sister was dressing up as a Lolita-fied nun.

'I can only hope.' Honestly, he didn't want to think about his sister being with anyone.

Like… EVER.

It really irked him to think that someone would be seeing her when she's most vulnerable. There were just certain things he couldn't protect his sister from. If she became a nun, even an elaborately decorated one, it would be an answer to his prayers!

"Great! We still have an hour to prepare for the party!" Relena exclaimed cheerfully as they pulled into the drive.

She went about grabbing up the bags, and mentally made note of how she would go about dressing. They walked toward their home and Milliardo looked over at Relena as he opened the door for her.

Hey, chivalry wasn't dead as far as he was concerned.

"What do you mean?" He asked as they entered the mansion and… he froze.

Milliardo had to admit, he was stunned at the house's appearance. There were decorations everywhere and whoever had done it had done so very quickly. He had Relena hadn't been gone but a few hours and the place looked like it had been put together by a professional.

"Relena… I thought you said you gave everyone the day off to get ready for the Gundam Pilot's arrival…" He was pretty sure that's what she had said earlier.

"I did. But I also told them they could use our home and ballroom for the party tonight." Relena's voice came from upstairs and Milliardo followed it.

When had she gone upstairs? Must have been when he was standing in the doorway like a statue.

"So, all this was to greet the guys… You bought the dress for the party." Dawning realization was a wonderful thing, but the hope that his sister wasn't into boys yet was even better.

"Yep." The voice was coming from Relena's room now, but Milliardo dared not enter. Instead, he stood in the hallway and continued the conversation.

'And with a dress like that, it'll put off any guy.' He thought happily. "Good, I…"

"I heard that Duo's into Gothic Lolita dresses… or Gothic Lolita's rather… and I thought I'd give it a try."

Milliardo's eyes widened, then narrowed as he glared at the door.

"Is that so?"

"That's what I heard… now I have to finish getting ready, and so do you! I'll meet you at the top of the stairs when I'm done!" Relena called through the door happily.

'I'll get ready alright… Wonder what type of duel I should challenge the little bastard to…' Milliardo thought while he turned to head toward his room, his mind going through different scenarios. "Meet you at the stairs." He called over his shoulder as he made his way into his room.

He had plans to make.

~*~*~*~

A/N: Just to be on the safe side, I'm rating this "M"… This is actually a Oneshot for my "Drawn from a Hat Challenge", but the Relena x Duo story I'm working on for my challenge follows this sooo… I don't know if I should add that as another chapter or post it as the Oneshot it is XD lol

If you want more information on my Drawn from a Hat Challenge, you can find it on my profile, along with links~ *huggles*

I'd really like some feedback if you have the time *hugs* Thank you!