Authors Note: The mini 'camera' changes are going to seem more coherent as we go along. And the arrangement of the rooms goes like this: Entrance, Wufei, Heero, WC, Trowa, WC, Duo, Quatre, Kitchen in a honeycomb shaped room so that Wufei and Quatre are across from each other, Heero and Duo and Trowa's is in the middle of the four.

CHAPTER TWO: IN WHICH THE BOYS WAKE UP

Duo woke at dawn, but his mind felt fuzzy and for a long moment he could not determine where he was. The room was as sterile and white as a hospital room, but he knew he was not injured. As his eyes flicked to the small window on the opposite wall, his brain finally caught up with his body, and the events of yesterday came rushing back. Oh yeah, Preventers Barracks. He smirked and slowly slid out of his bed. His bed... how long had it been since he had his own space? Marveling at this turn in his life, the violet-eyed youth carefully began unraveling his braid, de-tangling the shining chestnut strands with his long slim fingers. Mmm... time to see how big the water heater is. Smiling to himself, Duo rummaged through his duffel to find his shampoo, conditioner and wide toothed shower comb. With his hair unbound and hanging loosely to the middle of his thighs and clad only in a pair of black boxers, the lithe young man slipped out his door, into the empty common room and then into the bathroom between his and Trowa's rooms.

The bathroom was as sterile and utilitarian as the rest of the apartment. White tile gleamed on the floor and walls next to the new looking white porcelain fixtures. Beside the shower, a narrow linen closet held white towels and washcloths. Duo adjusted the temperature, stripped completely and stepped under the hot spray. Ahh... I love showers! He thought as he allowed the water to soak through his long tresses. There's nothing like the feeling of hot water running through your hair. As he carefully lathered his hair and rinsed it out he wondered what Quatre had in store for the five pilots turned house-mates today. He's up to something, I'm sure of it. He's never truly happy unless he's scheming something. Duo combed conditioner through his locks and moved his head out of the spray to let it soak in. Prolly wants to do some kinda bonding thing at the supermarket or something. Poor Wufei, I don't think he's gonna like it what ever it is. He never really struck me as the bonding type. Heh.

After showering, he combed out his long chestnut hair. Realizing he forgot his hair tie, he simply wrapped a towel around his waist and wandered back to his room, his long damp locks curtaining his face and streaming down his bare back. He didn't notice the open door across the common room as he slipped into his own room to finish preening.

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Heero awoke in the same position he had been when he fell asleep. He groaned and rolled onto his back wincing slightly at the stiffness there. Ok, so I'm not used to sleeping in soft beds. And at that thought, he rolled onto the floor landing softly on the plush beige carpet. He let himself relax until the small of his back showed no sign of discomfort while lying on the floor. But moving didn't seem like the thing he wanted to do at the moment, so he raised his arms out to the side making a T shape and closed his eyes. There was something nagging him. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but his eyes snapped open and in one fluid motion he was standing on his feet. Cobalt eyes took survey of the room. He noticed that the sun had not yet risen completely, but it looked like the storm had cleared. Storms made him think of rain, and rain made him think of water, and water made him realize that he needed to go to the bathroom. He sighed. Mister perfect soldier is still human after all. Despite his earlier sigh, he couldn't help but crack a slight smile and moved to open up his door.

All thoughts of going to the bathroom were quickly erased as the bathroom door between Trowa and Duo's room opened up. Steam tumbled out, and he found himself immediately drawn to long, wet brown tresses. He was about to call out 'good morning' but his voice got caught in his throat and all he could do was look. He found himself thinking things he probably just shouldn't. Maybe he IS the God of Death. Mortals just shouldn't look like that. He wanted to go up and touch his friend's hair. He had never seen it down, not once in their two years of working together. Heero swallowed hard and wondered what it would feel like.

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"Heero? Are you alright?" Cobalt eyes danced around the room looking for the source of the words that broke his revelry. They finally landed on the platinum blonde staring innocently at him. "Are you all right?" the blonde repeated.

"Hum?" He questioned while shaking his head yes.

Quatre looked amused and smiled knowingly to himself. "Heero I've been calling you for at least a minute." With that statement Heero panicked swearing silently to himself. "You sure you're ok?" The blonde's only response from his friend was a quick nod before the brunette swiftly made his way to the bathroom. Quatre giggled silently. Oh this is going to be fun, he thought and worked his way back to the kitchen where the smell of coffee wafted towards him.

He grabbed one of three mugs off the counter and pulled the carafe out of its cubby in the coffee maker and poured himself half a cup. The blond smiled at his ingenuity as he replaced the carafe, for it was obvious that he hadn't had filters to make the coffee with. Of course dishtowels make wonderful emergency coffee filters. He took a sip from the mug and made a face. Ok maybe they do, but they don't make the best of coffee.

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Duo emerged from his room a few minutes later, hair tightly braided and fully dressed in black jeans, white tee, and black shirt. He followed his nose to the kitchen where the delicious aroma of coffee alerted him that he was not the only early riser. Quatre was sitting on the counter top holding a steaming cup up to his face. "Morning Duo!" he crowed cheerfully. "Have some coffee?" the blonde's eyes danced with mischief.

"Yeah, thanks Quatre!" Duo filled one of the mugs with the dark, fragrant beverage and looked around a moment. "Ah Damn! No sugar, huh? Oh well." Before Quatre could open his mouth to warn him about his unorthodox brewing methods, the long haired boy took a big mouthful of coffee, eyes closed in anticipation. Immediately his violet eyes opened wide in shock, and his expression morphed into a grimace of horror. He seemed torn between the need for caffeine and the desire to spit out the foul, gritty liquid. Steeling his nerves, he swallowed convulsively, his adam's apple bobbing as the bitter stuff went down his throat. "Gah! Man, this stuff is Nasty! What the hell kind of coffee is this?" He opened the nearest two cabinets and upon failing to find any glasses, simply stuck his face under the tap and rinsed the grounds out of his mouth. When he'd at last cleared most of the foul taste from his tongue and turned around, he saw the blond boy hunched over, sides shaking with suppressed laughter.

Quatre's face was a mix of humor and chagrin. "Sorry Duo! I'm sorry I didn't warn you!" His voice was filled with the giggles that he wasn't quite letting out. "There weren't any filters so I used a dishcloth but it didn't work as well as I thought it would and it came out kinda gritty but if you sip it slow and kinda strain it through your teeth it isn't so bad!" Quatre words came out in one long rush, and it made Duo wonder just how much of this stuff his excitable blonde friend had already consumed.

Shaking his head with a laugh he replied, "It's alright Q. At least I managed not to spit it all over this nice white kitchen... not that that wouldn't be an improvement." Picking up his mug again, he eyed it carefully before giving it a tentative sniff. Hmm, smells good. It didn't actually taste that bad. Just a little gritty. Still watching the liquid as though it would jump up and bite him, he dipped the tip of his finger in the hot brown stuff and popped it into his mouth. Hmm, not bad at all without the chewy bits. "Heh, not too bad this way!" Duo grinned as he dipped his fingers in the hot coffee again. He was sucking the third finger full of coffee when Heero wandered into the kitchen.

Quatre's blue-green eyes followed Heero's path into the kitchen and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Duo failed to notice Quatre's expression as he was busy finding a creative way to consume his interesting morning beverage.

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The brown haired boy opened his mouth like he was going to say something, and then the words seemed to get caught in his throat as he saw Duo removing his finger from his mouth. Fuck! He could feel his face heating up, and he knew without a doubt that Quatre saw him turn bright red. All Heero could do was stare at Duo with his mouth slightly agape, watching the boy with the braid do something (what he was doing didn't matter to Heero) that was, for lack of a better word, Erotic. Fuck! Why am I thinking this? He's my friend. Friend Heero! Why are you looking at him like that? Move Heero, stop staring. Quatre is looking at you funny. Despite Quatre's amused looks, he stayed glued to the spot just watching Duo be completely oblivious to how damn sexy he looked at the moment.

Room, now, go! Heero fought against the wish to stay and watch Duo do whatever he was doing and the need to go back to his room and hide for a bit longer. And then the boy with the long touchable hair looked up and saw that Quatre's attention was somewhere else and began to turn. Retreat now. Cover has been blown. With that, he turned around quickly and made his way back into his room, shutting the door forcefully.

All Duo saw was Heero's back as he quickly crossed the living room and into his room. He winced slightly as the door closed loudly and looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. He seemed about to speak when Wufei popped out of his room looking very grumpy. "The sun isn't even fully up. Can you all please refrain from slamming doors this early?" He didn't wait for a reply and stepped back into his room and closed the door only slightly less forcefully than Heero had just done.

Duo looked confused and turned his attention to Quatre who was still sitting on the counter wearing an amused smile on his face.

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Trowa had nearly finished dressing when he heard the door slam. This can't be good. He thought as he hastily pulled on his other sock. He opened the door to his room just as an extremely grumpy Wufei growled something about slamming doors and sunrise. Knowing a certain platinum blond was most likely in the thick of things, he scanned the apartment for the boy that appeared in his dreams with disturbing regularity. He was there, in the kitchen, on the counter again with a mischievous grin on his angelic face; he definitely was privy to the cause of all the ruckus, if not the cause of it himself. As he headed towards the kitchen, Trowa noticed belatedly that Duo was also there and looked as though someone had hit him on the back of the head with a two by four. His mouth worked but no sounds came out, a rare occurrence indeed. His silence was short lived, for by the time the brown haired boy withthe long bangs had crossed the threshold of the kitchen, Duo had found his voice again.

"What the hell was that all about?" The braided boy looked at Quatre with such a bewildered expression that made the blonde, for a brief moment, feel a little sorry for the violet-eyed youth.

"Maybe Heero didn't like the way you were drinking your coffee? Or maybe he went back to get a tea bag and closed the door a little too hard." He shrugged his slim shoulders. "Don't worry about it too much." The aqua eyed boy grinned at Trowa and hopped down off the counter. "Morning Trowa!"

Duo shook his head, his braid swishing behind him. "Man, I don't get that guy." he muttered into his cup. Frowning at the coffee, he set it aside. "So are we gonna have to live on Quat's crappy coffee or do we have a plan?"

"Yes I do have a plan! Mission 1: Food. This is imperative as there isn't anything here worth eating here." The excited blond pulled a slightly crumpled paper from his back pocket and produced a pen from another. He placed both of them on the table with exaggerated care and then stood back beaming proudly.

Trowa moved closer, standing next to Quatre, so close their shoulders were touching, to look at the paper and frowned. "What is this?"

"It's a Grocery List silly!" Quatre grinned looking into Trowa's green eyes. "Everyone adds what they think we need to it and then we go get it!" Duo leaned over to read the list as well.

Trowa blushed slightly when Quatre looked into his eyes, but recovered quickly and raised an eyebrow as he read the list aloud. "Cookies, Chips, Chocolate, and Ice Cream?"

"Ooh and salsa! Gotta have a veggie!" The violet eyed pilot added, his earlier confusion forgotten. "And Sugar and Coffee filters!" Duo leaned against the kitchen sink, amused by Trowa's flushed face. He was actually quite pleased with himself. Months ago, he'd come to the conclusion that those two belonged together and it seemed to him that he'd just had his theory confirmed. Ah good for them, maybe this place with give them a chance to talk instead of running away and blushing... Running away and blushing... The braided boy froze. Could that be why?... No way... He's just weird. Duo's mental voice seemed unsure. "Well fine then, we'll just wait and see." Realizing he said that last aloud, violet eyes scanned the room. It appeared that while he was woolgathering, his two friends had decided to adjourn to the showers. Trowa had stopped on his way to the other bathroom and was staring at Duo like a deer trapped in the headlights. "What? Can't a guy think aloud? Geez!" Trowa relaxed a little and closed the door to the bathroom.

"Man I'm hungry!" He was about to go check on the contents of those cans of soup Quatre found when he remembered his emergency pack. Scampering to his room, the braided boy practically tore open a knapsack he had thrown in the corner. Among bomb triggers, assorted wires, and timers was a brightly colored cardboard box of Sugar Coated Chocolate Corn Pops. Crowing with delight, and carrying his prize, he ran into the common room, snagged the remote as he passed the coffee table, and took a dive onto one of the big armchairs next to the sofa. He sprawled on the chair sideways, with one leg over an arm, one on the floor and his back against the other arm. He flipped through the channels until he found some retro cartoons. The Deathscythe pilot sat munching on sugar cereal, watching a coyote chase a roadrunner and was a happy as he'd been in a long time.

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Meanwhile, somewhere not where the boys were, but not that far away either, sat a woman with short, blue-black hair. This woman sat in a room lit only by the wall of monitors in front of her. Her blue eyes darted from monitor to monitor and then stopped on one of them. The expression on her face changed from one of horror to frustration. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her bangs, momentarily pushing them out of her eyes.

The door to the monitor room slid open, but she didn't bother to look at the person who walked in. She already knew who it was, that and she wasn't going to take her eyes off the monitor she was looking at.

"Noin?" The deep voice of the man who had just entered asked.

"Hum?" She didn't look at him. "What's wrong Noin." All she did was point to the monitor she was focused on. The man stood behind her and looked over her shoulder. What he saw was a feed being picked up by the camera in Heero Yuy's room. The young man had successfully destroyed his bed. It looked as if he had used the box spring as a punching bag at first, but that obviously had not lasted all that long as pieces of the box spring were scattered across the room. The man couldn't quite tell where the bed frame was, but he was sure it was somewhere. What he saw now was Heero Yuy destroying the mattress. Springs had started to come through, and the man could see blood on the fabric where Yuy hit it.

"Well this is going well." The man said and sat down next to the woman. "What started that?"

Noin shook her head. "I wish I knew, Zechs. Winner and Maxwell were standing in the kitchen drinking coffee that Winner made with a dish towel." She turned to him abruptly. "Why the hell didn't we give them filters with their coffee?" He just shrugged and she continued with the story. "And Yuy came out of his room. From what I can tell only Winner saw him and then Yuy froze in place and bolted for his room when Maxwell finally looked at him. Those are the events leading up to this." She motioned to the monitor.

Zechs looked at the monitor again and repeated the motion Noin had done just before he walked in, which was to run his hand through his platinum blond bangs. "You want some coffee? I think I need some." He stood back up, not waiting for her answer, knowing full well what she wanted and left the room.