Second Hand

Summary: The Gundam pilots learn a valuable lesson about communication. Can they get their stories straight before people get hurt? 1xR, 2xOC, 3x4

A/N: Speaking of miscommunication, this story is based on the assumption of a sixth gundam pilot who represents Earth and those who want to live in peace with the colonies, but who aren't part of the Sanc Kingdom. Her name is Sexta – though Duo likes to call her Sexy as a joke – in accordance with the pilots' names meaning numbers. She's technically like an official 06, and her gundam is called The Avenger. It also is only loosely based on the series, so it can almost be considered AU since it takes place at a school I made up. If you get confused, I'm really sorry. I have a prequel rolling around in my head that would better explain, but this thought was more definitive so you get it first.

Don't kill me please! Kay here we go.

Chapter one: Ladies' Choice

They'd only been at the Weyland Private Academy for the better part of a month, but the gundam pilots had already fallen into routine at their latest boarding school. They'd made sure that none of them were in more than one class with another comrade, but it quickly became a ritual for the six teens to share their lunchtime together. Given the large number of Oz related buildings, bases and facilities in the area, they had plenty of missions to split between themselves without needing to move for a while, which was a nice quasi-break that even Wufei found himself enjoying.

Sexta had recently paired up with Duo, leaving Wufei and Heero as partners, and naturally Quatre and Trowa worked together as well. It was a comfortable alliance that they'd fallen into now that nearly all their missions required two men on the job. Quatre thought it was great that everyone seemed to get along and that he was able to spend so much time with the five other people that understood what a difficult life they were all living. Sure, they were all just as lethal alone, but it was better for their sanity, not being completely cut off from everyone.

Lord knows what Duo was talking about this time, but he filled the silence that otherwise would have over taken the lunch hour, and Sexta had to admit that his gesticulations were more than amusing, even if she was only half paying attention to him. In fact, she nearly missed the quiet female footsteps approaching from behind her because Duo was waving his arms around like a mad man in a highly distracting manner. "Incoming," she whispered to Heero, warning him of Relena's proximity. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Heero's annoying friend since no one else would have the guts to come up to a group as – intimidating – as theirs.

"Hello Heero." Wufei noticed that he wasn't the only one at the table trying to keep his eyes from rolling at the overly sweet voice. It wasn't that he didn't like Relena, he just had issues with how dramatic she could be at times. He could tell, though, that she genuinely had feelings for Heero, and to him that was definitely on her list of saving graces.

"Relena." Heero made sure to keep the emotion from his voice as he gave the shortest response possible without seeming rude. He wasn't sure he enjoyed what Relena tended to do to him, but regardless of the fact that he caught himself hoping to see her, he couldn't deny the confusion that set in when she was around.

Relena wasn't the least bit surprised with Heero's short greeting, and was actually quite pleased that he'd chosen to say her name instead of some generic salutation. Her heart sped up a little now that the ball was back in her court, but she steeled herself, not allowing the anxious feeling in her stomach to deter her. "I was hoping that you'd accompany me to the Ladies' Choice Dance next Saturday."

It wasn't hard for Heero to notice the slight gleam of sweat on the girl's forehead, but he couldn't understand its presence. It was only seventy-three degrees outside, and with the slight breeze floating through the courtyard, her body temperature should have been at a pleasant equilibrium with the environment. Despite not understanding, he quickly answered her, knowing what it would be almost before she finished forming the question. "Of course."

Relena did her best to hide how truly elated she was, although she couldn't help the smile that spread across her features. "Wonderful. I greatly look forward to it." she curtsied, probably a little too quickly, and made her way back towards the library. If she was going to be out Saturday evening, she'd have to make sure her studies wouldn't be hindered by it.

Duo grinned and shook his head as Heero watched her go. "Sheesh. You guys should have been born centuries ago with the way you two talk to each other."

Heero averted his eyes and pretended to return his attention to the book in his lap. After a moment of rereading the same sentence three times, he set it down and turned back to Duo, who was still grinning madly. "She's just formal is all," he stated, which apparently satisfied his friend.

Duo's grin turned to a frown as he began to think about what had just happened. "And since when was there a dance next weekend? I didn't hear about it in the announcements." Granted, he hardly listened to them, but in the case of a dance, he was sure they would have registered on his attention meter.

"I heard talk in the locker room," Quatre interjected. It surprised all five of them that he had joined track instead of a music program, but he had insisted that it would be more conducive with their missions, keeping him in the best shape possible. "It's an unofficial school activity," he continued, "that's why they didn't announce anything. It's supposed to be a big deal though.

Duo's grin returned. This was exactly the thing he'd been needing the last few weeks; a chance to really show off, and where better than the dance floor? "Cool; dances just so happen to be my expertise." He ignored the snort from Wufei as he leaned over to Sexta, who had quickly taken the opportunity to steal Heero's book while Duo and Relena distracted him. "Hey Sexy, wanna go?"

Quatre nearly choked on his drink, blushing as he sputtered incredulously. "Duo! It's Ladies' Choice! That means the girl has to ask you." Trowa shook his head. Duo may be a chatterbox, but he needed to work on his listening skills. It was a wonder that he hadn't botched any missions because of it. Sexta just ignored him, finding that was the easiest way to move the conversation away from her.

Duo blinked. "Oh," he said as the idea sunk in and threw him off for a moment. He never really considered having to wait for a girl to ask him. But Sexta wasn't really a girl, she was one of them. In his mind, that should have been obvious to everyone else. "Well, are you gonna ask me or aren't ya?" he asked once he realized that no one was going to insist that she didn't count as a girl.

Sexta finally looked up from the book and stared at him for a few moments. If she was going to the dance, and apparently she was now expected to, she probably would have asked Duo, but as a rule, she didn't let Duo take the lead, on or off the mission, since he tended to get a little full of himself. Kind of like right now. "You're ridiculous," she said.

"What?" Duo asked indignantly. "It isn't as if you have any other friends to go with." Of the five guys, Duo knew that he was closest to her. Yeah, she didn't mind sitting quietly with Heero, Trowa or Wufei, and she chatted easily with Quatre, but he was the one that she opened up to the most when they were alone. Shouldn't that get him a date to a dance?

Sexta flushed and stood up quickly, sending him a glare as she slammed Heero's book down on the lunch table. Without another word she picked up her bag and left, furious that he'd actually said something so – so – untrue! Well, she thought to herself as she made her way back into the school building, she'd show him.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at either Duo or Sexta's retreating form, and then Heero picked up his book, taking his cue to head off to the other end of the building where the dorms were located. The other three packed up quietly while Duo continued to look slack-jawed at the doorway Sexta had disappeared through. "And they say Heero's tactless," muttered Trowa as they began to walk away as well.

Duo finally looked back to the now empty table and then confusedly at his comrades. He grabbed his pack, shoving the remnants of his sack lunch in the trash, and ran to catch up. "What'd I say?"

A/N: _ one down, x amount to go. Should be around six more chapters. Hope y'all can handle it!

FMD~