Duo Maxwell was known for many things; causing explosions, eating like a starved man, hoarding shiny objects and doodads, and

Duo Maxwell was known for many things; causing explosions, eating like a starved man, hoarding shiny objects and doodads, and of course, annoying Chang Wufei. But Duo the things that Duo was NOT known for were the most intriguing, at least in the eyes of Heero Yuy. But I'm getting ahead of myself and have forgotten the title and Intro to this story… and here it is…

Wufei: Are you Serious? THIS is your fanfic to end all fanfics?
Quatre: That IS a bit sad…
Trowa: Incredibly so.

Fire: SO WHAT DO I DO?! Write the bloody fairy tale that everyone's so fond of?
Quatre/Trowa/Wufei: Yes.
Fire: Sighes Fine. Here goes… Ladies and gentleman, Fireside Entertainment Presents Fairly Correct Tales (or as I like to call it "How Storytelling Saved My Friend's Kid" ). Heero disclaimer.
Heero: Fireside owns nothing. Not one iota of Gundam. We all belong to our respective creator and she is in no way making money off of this. She's dirt poor really. She only owns the ideas, the plot, and the stupidity.

Chapter One: In Which We Meet Our Storyteller and His Protégé.

Duo Maxwell was good with children of any age, race, or upbringing. He never raised his voice in anger to them, never lost his patience, and always told the best bedtime stories. So when he was called up in the middle of the night by none other than Lady Une and Sally Po, he knew what was needed, but he didn't realize at first the severity of the situation. But, regardless of severity he sat up, pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, picked up his Preventers' jacket and keys, and, barefooted, drove down to the Kushrenada Estate. The idea of something actually being wrong didn't hit him until a red-eyed Sally met him at the door, and when it did it hit hard. Soon Duo found himself sitting in a chair next to Mariemaia as she wheezed on the respirator.

"Hey there, Mimi. How ya holdin' up kiddo?" His soft tenor had a soothing quality to her as she struggled against pneumonia, or so the doctor assumed.
"It's a cough is all, Duo." The girl was still as stubborn as he remembered. Her blue eyes were outlined with black and her skin seemed sallow. The poor kid was wasting away on that bed.

"Well, Uncle Duo is gonna make you feel better, okay?" he grinned widely and stood to look at the bookshelf, "Huh, War and Peace, Lolita, The Complete Works of Poe, Eighteen Ways To Annoy Your Parents With Garlic… Hm…slim picking. How about I tell you an original story tonight?" he asked as he spun to look at the ginger haired nine-year-old. Her widening eyes were all the answer he needed, so he plunked himself down in the chair and began.

"Once upon a time, 'cause it ain't a fairy tale if it don't got that at the beginning, there was a young princess. The princess's name was Mariemaia and she was a very precocious and bright girl. She lived in a faraway kingdom called Oz. Everyone in Oz was very happy and they loved their ruler, Emperor Treize, because he was always very fair to them and treated his people with a lot of respect instead of acting like a Machiavellian bastard. Oz was a prosperous nation and…yes Mimi?" He looked expectantly at the girl as she raised her hand.

"Is this going to be another one of those stories were the princess marries the prince and they live happily ever after and they never do anything else? I'm bored of those."

"Well, actually, in THIS story the princess doesn't get married to any princes or wizards or anyone at all! THIS story is about the princess's friends. Okay or do you want a different one?"

She shook her head lightly, "No, I like it…tell me about the princess's friends. Please, Uncle Duo?"
"Okay then, well…. Now where was I… oh yeah! Her friends! Her first friend was a young jester in her court, his name was…uh…"

"Duo!"

"Okie doki then, his name was Duo. He was very funny and exciting and he LOVED to tell the princess a lot of stories. He was a very nice guy and he loved the princess very much. Now, the second friend was a young man of the court, he was a…a prince from another land! And his name was Quatre. And Quatre was kind and gentle and always helping people. And he was very nice to the princess and always brought her pretty clothes from his travels across the world. Now, Duo and Quatre and the princess were very close and always had tea together and lunch and they played hide and seek and… yes Mimi?"

"What about her friend the stable boy?"
"The…uh…stable boy?"

"Yes! The stable boy who had light mouse brown hair and eyes like fresh leaves and who could tame any animal?"
"AH! YES! HOW could I forget about the stable boy? Trowa the stable boy who had light mouse brown hair and eyes like fresh leaves, who could tame any animal and who would, every day, teach the princess the ways of Terra, mother to us all and all the creatures and plants! Well, Duo, and Trowa, and Quatre, and the princess were all very close and always had tea together and lunch and they played hide and seek and…YES…Mimi?"
"What about the Dragon? And the Lady and The Doctor? And what about the soldier who saved Mariemaia so many times from so many dangers and… um…" She stopped as Duo sighed and shook his head, trying to quell his laughter.
"We get to them in a bit. 'Kay?"
"Okay."
"Okay. So, Duo, and Trowa, and Quatre, and the princess were all very close and always had tea together and lunch and they played hide and seek until they had to go to bed. They were very happy with each other and never truly had a care in the world until ONE day when the …uh… the princess and prince from the next kingdom over came for a visit! The princess's name was Relena and she was very annoying and mean to common folk and she always wore pink. Pink gowns, pink shoes, pink bows, she even had an obnoxious pink carriage pulled by horses that had been dyed, you guessed it, PINK! Now, the prince was her big brother, Milliardo, and he was very nice and sweet and kind and he had a nice butt. Stop giggling."
"I'm not giggling, I'm yawning, Uncle Duo."
"Maybe we should leave off here for tonight. You need your sleep Mimi." His smile turned sad as he watched the poor girl cough. "How about this, you get some shut-eye and I'll stay RIGHT HERE and when you wake up I'll tell you more of the story…okay?" She nodded sleepily and yawned as she nestled down into her quilts.

"Tuck me in with a kiss, Uncle Duo?" she yawned again and her eyelids drooped.
"Course Mimi." He leaned over her bed and pulled the cozy cover up to her chin and kissed her fevered forehead. "G'night, Mimi. Love you muchly."
"Forever an' always?"
"Forever an' always. Sweet dreams."

He smiled and sighed as he saw her breathing even out and deepen. He waited to ease himself onto the chaise, pulling his jacket over his shoulders, and letting his own eyes close and his dreams take him.

The Story Continues On Another Night…