Sarin: Wow… you're writing Again! Stop the presses! It's a miracle! It's unbelievable! The reign of procrastination is over!

Jem: (scoffs a little) And yet this may be more than 1 chapter… have not decided.

Sarin: NOOOOOOO!

Jem: (covers ears) Oh the joy of a happy muse for getting out.

Disclaimer: If I owned, would I be posting here? Food for thought.

Warnings: squeamish for yaoi? Very, very light, but present. Relena bashing (because it's fun). Spoilers for series, ignoring Endless Waltz.

Jem: And as always, many many thanks to my wonderful beta – NeoRyu777. LOVE YA!

Sarin: We never leave home without him…

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It had been years, years since she had seen her brother. That fool had left her to suffer the wrath of the other gods and goddesses alone; making their position look weak was not acceptable, even if it had been millennia since either of them had had a vacation. But it will not be for naught, she decided, pacing the dank, dark fortress of the underworld. She had more power than he at the moment, and it was she who had ruled this realm while he had been on the surface. Her brother surely had no idea of the wrath she could unleash, else he would have listened to her warnings. She now had to resort to following the old adage, much as it pained her; if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.

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The night felt chill; the harsh desert climate allowed the sun to smite everything it touched during the day, but now it was night, and that same climate now refused to let the heat linger. It was only by the grace of the slyly hidden safe-house that he was not freezing this instant. Duo wrapped his blanket more firmly around him as he sat on the bed; not rooming with Hiiro after the back-to-back missions – where he had to in order to live – was a little nerve wracking at times during the war. Now that it was over and they only had the leftover Ozzies to worry about, they rarely even saw each other.

The room was too quiet; there was no breathing, no gentle click-click of the laptop keys breaking the dreadful silence of the night. But more than that, there was no comforting presence of another person. Duo had been alone for too long as a child, and he didn't need the reminder now. At least there were other people in the house; staying with Quatre was always nice, even if the house was always way too big, even when it had been the five of them as well as all the Maganacs in a town nearby.

Sighing, Duo let his head fall onto his chest. It wasn't just the comfort that came from his ex-roommate's presence he missed at times like this, it was the more subtle things like the glimpses of him, the sight of the other bed, the very scent of him when it wafted out on the steam from the bathroom. It was foolish, he knew, but the other boy had stirred something in Duo the first time he saw him… even if he had shot Hiiro at the time. Stupid move, interrupting the threat to the Infernal Peaceful Pink One Who Would Never Get A Clue It Seemed And Who Apparently Maintained A Death Wish Even After All This Time By Bothering Hiiro. Oh, if only he hadn't interfered.

But he had. And now Hiiro was a bodyguard and hadn't been seen anywhere without her Highness while Duo was staying with Quatre and debating whether actually going to seminary was a good idea. Abruptly, he felt a familiar presence in his room and let his eyes slowly slide up to find the other figure. A small smile graced Duo's face briefly as he regarded her and finally the silence was broken.

"Hello, Lucia. What brings you here?"

The woman stepped out from the shadows and smiled at the young man, who had risen off his bed and come over to take her hand and kiss it gently. Her black velvet cloak flowed down around her, hood down so her auburn hair shone vibrantly in the moonlight as it flowed gently like a waterfall down her figure. When Duo took the cloak from her shoulders, she graced him with another smile before answering.

"Well, at least you have kept your manners since I have last seen you. I shall tell you in the morning why I am here; nay, you already know, I suspect. And yet, in a week is the reunion for the first anniversary of the end of the war, correct?"

Duo grimaced. Of course she would know that. He guided her to the bed and insisted she take it. He spent the rest of the night sitting in a chair nearby and thinking.

Quatre knocked on the door of his friend the next morning. Duo had come to live with him soon after the war, not because he couldn't afford somewhere else or couldn't get a job, but because neither wanted to live alone after the closeness they had all experienced during the war. But now, all the pilots would be gathering at his house for the anniversary and he needed everyone to be comfortable, that being the kind of host he was. The cheerful reply to his knock didn't come this morning and since the other pilots would be arriving that day, Quatre hoped nothing was wrong with his housemate. He carefully turned the knob and peered into the room. Duo was sitting asleep in the chair next to the empty bed for some reason… As if he could feel the weight of the other boy's gaze, Duo's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Quatre curiously.

"Morning, Q-man." He murmured, still half asleep.

"Morning, Duo. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Isn't it my turn to cook?" the boy with the chestnut braid asked, trying to shake himself awake as the blond watched, trying to hide his smile.

"Think, Duo. The others are coming today and do you really think they would eat anything if they knew you cooked it?"

"Heeey!" Duo sputtered. "I can cook. You know I can cook!"

"I know you can cook" Quatre quickly tried to mollify his friend, even if they both knew the protests were in jest. "But they don't know that and right now Wufei is in the kitchen. You know how you even going in there would set him off. Maybe in the next four days, we can convince them to give you a try?"

A quick shrug accompanied the chiming of the doorbell and Quatre looked at Duo, trying to figure out whether the other boy was okay. As if reading his mind, Duo chirped an affirmative and gestured for him to answer the door. Quatre shot a grateful look to the boy for making his life easier by not making him choose between friend and hostly responsibilities and hurried for the door.

"So that was Quatre Winner?" A soft melodious voice floated in from the doorway to the bathroom. Duo turned to face his 'guest' who had appeared in the middle of the night, nodding absently. He could now see Lucia in full detail. It was astonishing how similar they really did look. She was wearing a white corset embroidered with abstract, random blue patterns and a plain white skirt with the pattern stitched along the hem in red. Though her shoulders were mostly bare, corset seemingly held up by straps that were as thin as wire, she had sleeves that belled out slightly at the end. Her hair had been pulled back into a braid almost identical to his and her eyes glowed almost ethereally in a vibrant gray instead of his piercing violet. They were about the same height, and Lucia grinned cockily back at him when he stared at her. She looked the very picture of a vampire in white, the perfect foil for Duo's priestly outfit. It apparently had taken him longer to absorb her appearance than he thought, he realized as she began to speak again.

"Not expecting to see me this morning? Why, I wonder?"

"I thought I dreamt your arrival, honestly."

"Oh, Duo. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"You never did tell me why you were here…" he tried to sneak the answer from her. She simply grinned and began to head down the stairs and out of the room, braid swinging easily behind her. He quickly ran after her, hissing about the others and how worried Quatre would be if he knew she had gotten past the alarms. She silenced him with a wave of her hand, assuring him it would be fine as the doorbell chimed yet again, presumably heralding the arrival of the last guest's arrival. In the hubbub that ensued with the greeting of everyone, Duo lost sight of the strange woman.

Soon, the five gundam pilots had settled around the small table in the Small Dining Room adjoining the kitchen. Duo seemed rather skittish, Quatre noticed as the boy's eyes jumped from one side of the room to the other as if searching for something. All of a sudden, they seemed to lock on something and widen marginally. A shiver went through Wufei at this moment and he began a small tirade at Duo for staring at him. The unseen figure grinned in amusement, then noticed someone else staring at her. Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

Hiiro stopped Duo as the boys went off to start getting everything ready for the party next week. It didn't seem like they should be starting, most of them figured, but they were glad for the week together and Quatre had insisted everything would be perfect… Relena was coming after all. He glared at the other boy and gripped his arm so tightly that Duo was sure he would have bruises later.

"Spill."

"Spill what, Hiiro?"

"Why you were so jumpy at breakfast, why you look absolutely terrified even now, who that girl was who you were staring at… why no one else seems to be able to see her."

"… Oh look, Quatre needs help with the shopping for groceries!" Duo forced a cheerful voice out and practically ripped his arm from the other boy's grasp. He ran down the hall to find out what was needed from the kitchen, leaving a puzzled Hiiro in his wake. A gentle breeze floated by him, and he turned around to look into the Dining Room just in time to see the figure again, gliding toward him.

"Hiiro Yuy, I presume. My name is Lucia. It's been a while since I have seen you."

He glared at her. What was with this girl and how did she know his name? She was probably a spy for Relena or another random rabid fangirl. "I haven't seen you around." "Yes, well that does not necessarily mean I have not seen you. Nor that I do not know all there is to know about you."

"Omae o koruso…" he muttered; this girl was obviously a stalker. Unfortunately, instead of terrifying her like was intended, she merely laughed. It sounded like bells, he decided as he watched Duo streak back into the room at the sound, looking terrified.

"Duo, you look stressed." Lucia crooned softly, as if trying to console him. "Why don't you rest for a while? You don't look well." She began to walk off in the direction of the ballroom. At the last second, her voice drifted back to the two stunned boys. "You never told me your friend Hiiro had such a funny sense of humor."

Weathering Hiiro's glare, Duo threw his hands in the air. "Hiiro, I didn't say anything. I swear. And you know me, I never tell a lie. Are you alright?"

"Fine. Why?" The boy ground out. Ah, the master of the single syllables strikes again, Duo thought with a frown as he tried to think of the proper answer for the question.

"She's… different."

"She looks like you." And there went the suspicious part of the Perfect Soldier that never had quite left the psyche of the quiet boy. Duo just walked away, letting Hiiro think about that as he began the search for aspirin… this was promising to be a long day.

As he reached for the bottle in the bathroom, Duo saw Lucia reflection in the mirror as if she was standing behind him. Knowing instinctively what she wanted, he shook his head. "No, Lucia." She simply shrugged and walked away.

The next day was not much better. Duo had been on his guard all day for another surprise appearance by the female, but she had not reappeared. Maybe she went away, he wondered as the sun graced the sky once again and woke him. He proceeded through the day and it was not until just after lunch when the preparing for the party activities were about to start up again when the next disturbance arose.

"MAXWELL!" Duo cringed as the glass of water he was holding crashed to the floor and bounced. Plastic was a wonder today, he figured, affording himself that brief joyful thought as he trudged to the back porch where Wufei was waiting angrily.

"Yes, Wu-man?" he asked, letting his fingers float to his temples and gently rub them before forcing them down as he opened the door to the outside.

"What is a woman doing here this week? Party isn't for three days and Quatre said it was only going to be the five of us until then setting up."

"And this is my fault how?"

"You obviously invited her; she looks a lot like you."

Deciding the most honest answer was the best before fleeing the scene, Duo shot back "She decided to show up on her own. I really can't do anything about it."

"You could ask her to leave!" The cry fell on deaf ears. When Duo had rounded the corner, he found Lucia laying luxuriously on the chez-lounge. She cocked an eyebrow at him as if to ask the question again. Again, he shook his head and whispered, "No, Lucia."

The next day seemed quieter. The ballroom where the party was officially being held and the balcony next to it were nearly done. The boys got to do things that were a bit more fun now that they were nearing the end. The food they could start making this far ahead was worked on and everyone had been stunned at the aptitude of the "braided baka" as Wufei was constantly pointing out. Going to culinary school this past year HASN'T been a waste of time, Duo proudly thought to himself as he whipped up another batch of mixture for sourdough bread, feeding yet again the yeast culture that he and Quatre had had growing in the refrigerator for the past six months. The results were finally starting to be just the right flavor.

And yet Duo knew there was going to be another appearance; sure enough, he turned to see her opening the fridge to grab a snack a little later that afternoon when most of the boys had disappeared to make sure the light bulbs were working, leaving him alone with Trowa in the kitchen. Trowa had chosen that moment to decide to get some other items from the fridge and froze, stunned.

Duo sighed, knowing the quiet boy wouldn't ask directly but also would not give up until he knew what was going on. It was an ingrained habit for all of them left over from the war. "Yes, she's really here."

She spun and grinned the same way Duo always did, looking more and more like him every day. "Trowa Barton… nice to meet you. I'm Lucia. I'll see you later, I suppose. Umm, you guys didn't need the oatmeal and pickled eggplant for anything, right?"

Trowa grimaced at the combination and quietly answered, "I don't think so."

Duo followed her into the hallway, knowing he would have to answer questions later and waited for her to turn around as usual. When she did, he shook his head and said "No, Lucia."

A vase crashed in the ballroom. It was the night to be putting final touches on everything for the following day. Everybody responded to the loud crash and ran to the room to see a completely pale Quarte standing in the middle of the room with shards of china around him. Duo groaned at the sight, knowing exactly who and what could have caused this. He realized her tactic by now. It was like holding a detonator and not letting up the button. He shook his head… he was resolute not to give in.

"Hey, Q-man, you alright?" he asked, gently guiding the obviously frightened boy over to a chair in the parlor. He noticed the silent boy was staring at something and turned to see her simply smiling at them. Quatre began shaking like a leaf and asking a barrage of questions.

"Who is she? How'd she get in here? Why can't the others see her? Is she a ghost?"

Duo sighed in frustration. "I'll explain later, okay Quatre? And the others have already seen her. She's just being annoying."

"Hello, Quatre. I'm Lucia…" she glanced at Duo, who was fuming. "… and that's another no, isn't it?"

"Lucia…!" he growled, not in the mood for this game.

"Fine. But I'd hate to start having to take them with me. They obviously mean a lot to you... but now the decision is who. I'll leave that to you." Duo paled.

The night of the Anniversary bash was a complete success. The gundam pilots were recognized, much to their embarrassment. The Pink Leech was of no help to the contrary once she saw Hiiro. The two famous figures were forced into picture opportunity after picture opportunity and it was only after she was called away to visit with a gaggle of her friends to compare and admire dresses and jewels that Hiiro got blood circulation back into his arm.

The punch had somehow gotten spiked between the kitchen and the first of the various speeches the important delegates had to give, which was not of great help as it was the only vaguely nonalcoholic thing they had thought of to serve. It did lead to many interesting photos that would later have to be purchased for well above regular price to keep away from anyone else and many other funny moments. More than one speech was given in a completely slurred speech and one was found dancing with a rose in their teeth on a table in their underwear with a lampshade hat. Needless to say, these situations were covered over as best as possible.

Perhaps it was fortunate that the alcohol content was high because it gave the opportunities for confessions all around and four of the gundam pilots would later be seen leaving in pairs with one another and the last would be flirting rather ferociously with two other figures, one with white hair and the other with ginger. A few minutes later, Relena began to sob as she realized that Hiiro had never loved her and that her brother was now gone from the party… but quickly cheered up as people began to complement her on her dress and ask how being Queen of the World was. She didn't leave alone either, it was soon leaked, but who the lucky person was may never be known… unless the one who had leaked said information with pointy eyebrows was the culprit. Hmmm…

The next night, after everything from the drunken revelry was cleaned up and sorted out, a meeting was called between the pilots and Duo was forced into the spotlight to answer all the questions the others had about the secretive and illusive Lucia. Duo sighed and decided to start where all good stories start… the beginning. There was only one problem with that idea: he had no idea how to start there, and so was left fielding their questions.

"Duo, who is she?" was the most common and the one he decided to start with.

"Lucia is my sister." A gasp rose up from the four audience members. He continued bravely on in the shocked silence. "And I guess you could say she's my right hand at work, though she usually does the opposite thing technically. The explanation for Lucia's visit is rather simple. I took a vacation and decided I didn't want to go back yet and so have ignored her requests for me to go back. So, she came to get me herself and essentially drag me back by the looks of it."

"What do you do? Duo, you've been here the entire year. If I had known – " Quatre started, trying his best to be supportive.

A sudden burst of wind shot through the room and the figure of Lucia walked through the window, cool as night. "I believe I can answer that. He's always prided himself because he doesn't lie… and it's been more than the past year, so have no fear, Young One, about harboring him."

"Young One?" Quatre asked, slightly annoyed. "You don't look much older than we do!"

She waved the objection away. "Time is relative. Duo just needs to come and take his job back so I don't have to do everything. It's been such a pain to keep up with you all on my own. And with him helping you in the war… it's been a nightmare."

The other boys looked shocked as the realization sunk in. Duo really was Shinigami, the God of Death after all?! And they had a Goddess of Life in the building as well?

"I don't want to go back, though."

"And I need a vacation and all the rest of the minions are not responsible enough! …Unless…" She snapped her fingers and in a flash, a shorter woman with waist length black hair and an outfit similar to Lucia's but in black appeared, folding her black angel-like wings behind her as the smoke from arriving appeared.

"Yes, Lucia?"

"Hello again, Bella love. I have decided we are going to have a vacation."

"Vacation? But… but…"

"Boys, this is Bella, the head Shinitenshi. Are you going to stay Bella or are you going to go back to work and I'll see you again when it is time for Duo and I to return?"

Bella sighed. "And I'm the only one you could think of to take over while you're both on holiday?"

Duo quickly pointed to Lucia. "It's all her."

Bella laughed. "I think I'll pass this time, but when you go back to work full time, Duo, I'm going to take you up on the offer and keep Lucia." Then, she bent in and quietly whispered so only she could hear, "I'll give you all this time if you check in once and a while, deal? You were stressed and going crazy… I can't do this forever by myself. And if you don't check in…"

Lucia shivered. "Deal. Once a year check-ins."

"Don't be late."

"You have no worries there…" And Bella decided to take her leave at that and vanished again.

"So… do you guys have wings?" Duo grinned and unfurled ones that resembled a bat's – which no one was surprised at – and Lucia's looked like the white angel she was supposed to be, except the feathers were gray at the bottom. "It's for being related and hanging out with Duo," she explained after receiving a few curious glances.

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