A/N – OK this is a long one! I hope it keeps you thinking for a while!
Footprints of an Assassin
Chapter 2
Heero stood alone in the long corridor of windows on the second floor of the Peacecraft mansion, over overlooking the large garden as the ceremony was starting. It was 9:30am and people were starting to arrive, enough to fill four large gazebos, each one holding about two hundred occupants. This fact made Heero even more nervous than he already was. He leaned silently against the wall opposite the wall of windows.
Relena had, this corridor designed by a top architect. The outside wall facing the garden had been replaced with glass, making the room lighter during the day but eerier at night. The floor had a pleasant, rich blue carpet and the walls were panels of contrasting creamy-white colours.
Heero particularly liked this corridor. It reminded him of himself in a way. He was the room on the inside looking out through the glass to the rest of the world. He often wandered along the length of the room, looking out into the peaceful garden to think. Though this time, his problem was on the other side of the window, and it was not helping his situation one bit.
Shoving his hands into his new suit he glared at the scene outside. Relena had ordered his suit to be fitted and made precisely to match her gown. Heero was lucky that her dress was white; he could just image turning up in a pink suit to his engagement ceremony.
He heaved a heavy sigh as he pushed away from the wall to watch another hundred guests enter the garden. Already a thousand cameras were flashing. He could barely make out Relena from within the new crowd of people as she directed them to their seats. His stomach churned. He did not know any of the people who had arrived recently, just like the last 500. Relena seemed to be having the time of her life, but he had never felt so nervous. It was like he was in a nightmare and could not wake up. Not only were half the people annoying reporters, one of them could be an impostor and be carrying a concealed weapon. Unconsciously, he ran his hand over the gun held in its holster underneath his shirt. Relena would flip if she found it; she had told him everything was going to run smoothly today and to let the guards do their work. Yet, what if something did go wrong? He could never forgive himself if something bad happened to Relena on his day off.
Taking in a deep breath, Heero decided to make his appearance at Relena's side. He turned to leave and made his way down the corridor that led to a large curving staircase down to the large ballroom, which was full of people, and to the main entrance of the palace, which was opened to welcome the guests. Heero let his blue orbs absorb every face in the room.
Relena often had parties in the ballroom, so the process was nothing new. Relena had the ballroom designed to mimic Victorian architecture. A large chandelier hung from the domed ceiling, he'd watched the servants light the chandelier up almost an hour ago. The floor was crafted from white marble, which reflected the candlelight. The walls were also white but had pale green wavy patterns crawling up like ivy. In the corner of the room, there was a small orchestra, while a larger one resided outside.
As he descended the red-carpeted stairs, he was instantly noticed by everyone in the room and was greeted by Relena's friend and Peacecraft party member Jonathan Collins.
"Heero, how nice of you to join us." The older man smiled before offering his hand to the young man.
Heero, nodding slightly, grasped the offered hand. He had known Jonathan Collins for over two years now, becoming a good friend, and was proud to support the man who was so dedicated to obtaining peace. Why, the man did a better job than Relena at keeping peace, though Heero would never admit this out loud. Jonathan and himself often went out for drinks together, it was starting to become a sort of tradition every Thursday night.
"You're nervous," Jonathan commented.
"That's the understatement of the century," the blue-eyed man muttered coming to stand at the bottom of the stairs next to Jonathan. The two watched as a million and one guests wandered around the large ballroom, champagne in hand, nattering cheerfully to a neighbour. "I don't know a single person."
"Don't worry, Heero." Jonathan laughed, slapping his friend on the back with his free hand. The older blonde-haired man smiled. "I know most of the people here, politicians from other countries and colonies, you know."
"Hn."
"Listen here," Jonathan leaned in closely to the engaged man next to him as he quickly took a sip of his champagne, "there are a few snobs you should avoid. Hell, I don't even know why Relena invited them."
Discreetly, he nodded over to a small man in a black suit accompanied by a tall blonde with a fur coat walking through the front door. "That's William Flamer, a complete bastard, and the Australian Minister." Heero let his cold eyes run over the short man's form. "You see his wife? She's about half his age. As you can probably guess, she's only with him for the money, and he's with her for the publicity."
The older man took a hold of Heero's arm and turned him in the opposite direction, nodding towards another funny looking politician. "That's Stan Marshal. He was caught for fraud a couple of years ago but, of course, because he had lots of money in his little bank, he pulled some strings. I believe he was training to be a mobile suit fighter for the war, but it ended before he got his chance to enter into live combat."
"Hn. Lucky," Heero muttered as a waitress walked up to them.
"Would you like a glass, sir?" She held out a tray of champagne classes. Heero silently shook his head, not really liking the fizzy drink. Jonathan, on the other hand, grabbed one, placing his empty glass on the tray.
"So, how you going to pull off this party, Heero?" his friend asked as he nodded to greet some newcomers. "You can't hide today. You're the host."
"I know that," the ex-pilot snapped irately before letting out a weary sigh. "I think my worst nightmare has come true…"
"Oh come now, Heero. It's not that bad. There are two types of people at parties: the talker and the listener," Jonathan explained. "You're a listener so all you have to do is go up to a large group and listen in. They might ask you a few questions, but they'll keep talking about themselves afterwards."
Heero snorted lightly as a small sad smile emerged his lips. "Hn. I knew someone who was like that."
"Heero!" was a call. Heero gasped as Quatre Winner with his shiny blonde hair and blue eyes was hurrying his way, a glass of orange juice in his hand. Heero felt his mouth drop in shock; he had not seen his friend for over four years. Though, he had not grown much taller, his hair was the same length and style. Suddenly someone else caught his eye and he felt himself freeze. His eyes trained on Trowa as he slowly approached.
"Heero, it's so wonderful to finally see you. Relena informed us of the brilliant news and invited us!" Quatre beamed as his lanky lover came to a stop next to him. "So, how are you? Are you ok? I always knew this would happen! You and Relena are getting married!"
"Calm down, Quatre." Trowa laughed clasping his arm around his lover's waist. The tall man's long hair that once covered one eye had grown even longer, and tucked behind his ear, revealing his clear green eyes. The rest of his hair was tied back in a small ponytail. "Hello, Yuy, nice to see you again."
Heero blinked slightly as he shook out of his daze. "Quatre," the blonde smiled brightly, "It's nice to see you again and," blue eyes met deep green, "you Trowa. It's been so long."
"I know. Too long for fighting buddies don't you think!" The blonde added, "It was such a surprise when Relena rang us!"
"I can only guess," the Japanese man muttered, eyeing the way the two boys stood so close together.
"So, who might your friend be?" Quatre asked politely.
"Jonathan Collins," Jonathan stepped forward, his hand extended. "I'm Relena's second hand advisor."
"Nice to meet you I'm – "
"Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton; I know who you are. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about the two of you from Heero," the blue-eyed man replied.
"Oh really? All good things I hope." The blonde smiled. "So how's everything been? Is Relena still under control?"
"Yes. In fact, she's made a few improvements on the criminal rates in the Sanq. Over the last two years, it has decreased by fifty percent." Jonathan stated proudly. "With our help, of course. Relena hired me to help her with Sanq issues for when she travels to the colonies with Heero. I think criminals will think twice now before they commit any offences."
"That's amazing," a new voice joined in. The four men turned to see Hilde Schbeiker strolling towards them. The girl had not changed a bit; she was still the small, beautiful girl they had met during the war. Though her short, dark hair was spiked up, she was dressed in a long, black skirt and a blue, fitted shirt, and had dark blue make-up on. They knew her as one of the lads during the war; she liked to keep her hair short, skirts were a no-no and make-up was out of the question, though she only had a small amount of make-up on her face today. She looked blissfully happy.
"Hilde." Quatre beamed. "This is amazing. How pleased I am to finally see you again!" The two hugged dearly. "I thought you were in France." Hilde took a step back and grinned.
"I was until Relena called me." The girl sighed blissfully. "I think I'm bunking with you and her for a while, Heero." The Japanese man nodded his head in acknowledgement, though the look on his face illustrated that he was not particularly keen on the matter.
"That's what Relena told us, too." Quatre added, "I think your future wife is planning something." There was a small frown on Heero's face, eyes trained on the marble floor, as he seemed to be immersed in deep thought. "Heero?"
"Hn?"
"Anything wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong."
"EVERYONE, WOULD YOU PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE BACK GARDEN!" Relena yelled as she tried to get more guests to their seats. Heero grimaced. How many people did she invite? His future wife strolled towards him with a beautiful smile.
"Heero, would you join me?" The ex-soldier nodded slightly.
"See ya later, Heero. We'll talk properly then!" Quatre called after him before facing Jonathan to talk other plans Relena had to maintain Peace within the Sanc Kingdom.
xXx
Living easy, lovin' free
Season ticket, on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too
I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Loud music blared from the small car's radio as it sped down a large motorway. It was a bright, sunny day, and Duo Maxwell prayed that it would not rain. He had just arrived at the Sanc Kingdom's' airport and the only rental car left was an open top one, which happened to be broken, and the hood would not pop up. The wind tossed his braided hair all over the place as he drove ninety miles per hour towards the Peacecraft palace. He had no doubt that every driver on the motorway was going to there.
Sticking a cigarette into his pert mouth, he glared at the road in front of him through large sunglasses as he reached into his small duffel bag on the passenger seat for a lighter. Pulling out a small lighter with an American flag design, he brought it to the end of the cigarette and quickly spun the wheel, sparking the flame. Flipping the lid shut over the flame, he chucked the lighter onto the seat beside him, quickly taking a drag before sighing. His partially opened white shirt fluttered in the gushing wind, letting the cool air lick his tanned skin.
It felt weird to be back on Earth after so many years.
No stop signs, speedin' limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me 'round
Hey Satan! Paid my dues
Playin' in a rockin' band
Hey Mama! Look at me
I'm on my way to the promise land
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
Duo watched the world go by through his dark sunglasses as he reflected about his destination. Heero and Relena were getting married. It was official; his best friend was getting married to the Queen of the Sanq. He drew in a deep drag from his cigarette. He had not seen his the other Gundam pilots for many years and he felt nervous.
Duo slowly pulled up along side the palace were all the other cars were. Staring up at the building in all its glory Duo felt proud. He in fact, he had helped design the large building to Relena's satisfactory. The outside of the house was painted a blaring white which shone beautifully in the summer sun. There was a mile-long line of people waiting to enter the palace and there was no way in hell he was going to wait in that.
Cutting the engine, abruptly silencing the loud music. Sticking the cigarette into his mouth, he grabbed his small duffel bag and suit jacket, swinging it over his shoulder before slamming the car door shut. On his way up to the main entrance, he noticed the numerous cars parked in a spare field next to the house. He grimaced; the Heero he knew would not like this amount of attention one bit.
"Excuse me, sir, but can't you see that there's a queue?" an irritated report snapped from were he was, about 1 metre away. Duo smirked; the poor guy had probably been standing in line for at least two hours. Taking one last drag from his cigarette, he chucked the filter onto the ostentatious white shoes of the reporter.
"I don't like queues," The loud-mouthed American grinned as he slowly blew out a puff of smoke.
"Well neither do I, kid, but we have to line up to be fair. No way am I letting you in there before me!" the reporter snarled.
"I'm a special guest, buddy; a personal friend to the hosts. I think it would be rude for you to not let me in to see my best friends."
The reporter frowned.
"Mr. Maxwell," a low rumble called from the front door and Duo recognized the voice straight away. Cheesy grin in place, he turned to face one of his war friends, Rashid.
"Rashid, you gonna bust me into this party or what?" he asked. The tall Maganac laughed, quickly making a path through which Duo could enter the large hall.
"Will you be staying at the Peacecraft-Yuy residence also, Mr. Maxwell?" Rashid asked watching as the man removed his dark glasses to reveal his beautiful violet-ripened eyes.
Duo pocketed the glasses in his top shirt pocket. "Yeah, for a while."
"May I take your bag up to your room? I think your friends are waiting for you somewhere."
Duo smiled up at the large man who hadn't changed one bit since the war. "Thanks, buddy."
Duo handed the man the small duffel bag and jacket as he took a look at the large hall in astonishment. He had left the Sanc Kingdom before the palace was completed and to see the building finished was amazing.
Grabbing a glass of champagne as it passed him on a sliver tray, Duo began his trek through the crowds of politicians remembering why he never liked business parties. His violet eyes scanned the room for someone familiar when they rested upon an old friend. He felt a small sad smile come to his lips; it had been so long since he had seen his Hilde. He eyed up the girl's slender image from the beautiful blue dolly shoes to the striking butterfly clip she had glistening in her hair. At the moment she was leaning against the wall in a very masculine way, one arm wrapped around her waist while her free hand held a glass of champagne half full. The look of boredom dulled in her eyes. Taking a quick sip of his drink, Duo took off towards his friend, his heart beating wildly. It had been years since the last time he saw Hilde; they had had a row and stormed off. He stopped just a few metres away and found himself wondering what to say.
"Hilde?" he breathed. The woman's head snapped towards him with a large smile on her face. Though, once she recognized the man, the smile disappeared and was quickly replaced with an angry look.
"Duo!" she almost spat. "What are you doing here?"
"Please, Hilde, don't be like this." Duo took a step towards his ex-girlfriend. "I came to make everything right! My best friend is getting married and is having a fresh start…and I want one too."
Her eyes squinted together as she glared at him. "You hurt me so much, Duo Maxwell." Hilde pushed away from the wall. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you." 'With that she started to walk away until halted by his strong grip on her arm.
"Yes you can," he challenged. "You can and want to; that's the real reason you came here today, Hilde."
She turned to him with a frown on her stunning face. She stared at the man who plagued her dreams ever since their argument all those years ago. He still had that wild look in his violet eyes though they had changed and matured so much. His hair was striking, the way the brown locks weaved into each other. The man was stunning. He still had his heart-shaped face and his small, pert mouth, which she pined to kiss. Yet, she knew none of this could ever be hers, but that did not mean she would not try.
"How is it you have so much power over me, Duo?" she whispered in a confused voice, smoothing her hand over his. Duo quickly withdrew his hand much to her displeasure. She searched his face noticing all the sharp edges of his chin, the faint outline of a scar that ran across the top of his brow. "Why…why did you leave me Duo? I could have given you a good life. You could have had a good job, a nice home, a wife. With me you could have had the normal life you always wanted, the one you always dreamed of!" The man dropped his gaze to the floor as she latched her hand onto the sleeve of his shirt. "Why did your dream change? What made it change? Tell me, Duo. I've been going crazy wondering what I did wrong!"
"You did nothing wrong. Hilde." Duo murmured. He slowly brought his gaze back up to her eyes. "When the war ended, I wanted a normal life. I thought working with you in the salvage yard on Earth would be enough for me to settle down, but…it wasn't. That's why I had to leave."
"I was fine with that. We saw too much of each other that we started to drive one another crazy, but…why did you tell me it was over when I came to see you? I thought you were it, the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with, Duo." Her blue eyes searched his face for an answer.
"I'm sorry, Hilde…" Duo flinched at the pain showing in her eyes. She really did love him all those years ago. "I figured…" the braided man murmured, "Yeah, I did want a normal life, Hild." Duo sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor again. "I tried, though I just realised…I'm not normal - I can't live like other people live, Hilde - No matter how hard I try, no matter how hard you try, nothing will change me. I can't settle down in one place for long, and soon you'd get fed up with it."
"Duo, I - "
"Yes you would of, Hilde. I know you too well." He added quickly before she could respond, "I'm sorry I left you. You were one of the best friends I ever had."
Hilde stared up at him before blushing. She turned her face away from him, a small smile on her lips. If she wanted to win him back then they needed to be friends again.
"I'm sorry, too, Duo. Maybe if I changed we could have been in Heero and Relena's place today."
Duo smiled softly before winking. "Hmmm. Maybe so."
"Friends?" she asked holding out her right hand.
"Yeah." He grabbed her hand and shook it firmly. They sipped their champagne quietly for a moment, which was different for the two chatterboxes who normally 'would not shut their mouths. However, it was soon broken by Hilde's thoughts.
"I don't get it, though, Duo. Why did you run away?" she asked before there was another yell from Relena to tell everyone to go outside.
Duo and Hilde's heads snapped towards the noise coming from the small woman. Next to her they could see the ex-Wing pilot who had his arms across his chest and a dangerous glare on his face. Suddenly, Hilde laughed softly forgetting the recent conversation "Heero looks like he's going to explode from all this stress." She giggled. "Poor guy's been worked up all morning."
"You've been talking?" Duo murmured as he gazed over at the couple.
"Well yeh. I had a nice little chat with Quatre, Trowa and Jonathan Collins, the politician, just before you came." Hilde answered watching the way her friends eyes were glued onto his best friend. The boy stood stonic next to Relena's side as she chatted to some more new guests. A small frown came to Duo's face as he turned to Hilde as he realised what she had just said.
"Trowa's here?" His voice had lost all tone. Slightly confused, Hilde nodded.
"Yeah he arrived with Quatre, those two are such a sweet couple," she beamed before placing her empty champagne glass on a waitress tray as it passed. "Been together since the war now haven't they"
"Yeah…"
"Were they always so close?"
"…Yeah..." Duo answered, his eyes watching the boy from afar. He found it funny how Heero was standing next to Relena, his body language telling anyone: 'Touch her and you die'. The boy's eyes swept the crowds and took in all the faces so he knew exactly who his guests were. Then they stopped on a particular face he'd known for many years.
Duo felt his heartbeat rise as his best friend stared back at him. The cold, blue eyes lost their icy glare as they realised whom they were staring at. Duo always knew Heero could be himself around him, which is one of the reasons they trusted each other so much. Heero felt like he didn't have to impress, kill or hide the real him from the world when he was with his best friend. Duo often wondered if Heero ever showed that side to Relena or if he showed her the mask of the 'Perfect Solider' – as Duo liked to call it.
"Duo?" Hilde tugged on his shirtsleeve a little annoyed that her friend was ignoring her, "Duo I just asked you a question."
"Huh?"
"Do you want to go into the gardens now?" Hilde asked with an excitement, she'd yet been out into the gardens that had been headline news in every newspaper for the the last week. It was said that the Vice Foreign Minister had spent nearly £20,000 decorating the garden etc... Duo nodded a reply quickly, before raising his head to find Heero's gaze again only to find the man gone.
With disappointment he followed Hilde into the large back garden and through the many gazebos. White and baby pink roses had been weaved up the polls of the gazebo's like ivy, while the tops were a baby pink. The grass had been finely cut and in some places light pink carpet had been set down. To Duo the whole scene screamed 'Relena' and made him want to puke. To Hilde it looked like heaven. Over the far side of the garden was a glistening swimming pool. At the moment a small red headed maid was placing pink floating candles on the water.
"Oh Duo isn't it wonderful?" Hilde cooed as she glanced at her seat number on her invitation. "I think we're all sat at the head table, this way…" She grabbed hold of Duo's arm and raced over towards a large table which was at the front of everyone else's under the largest of the gazebo's.
As they approached Duo noticed that Quatre, Trowa and Wu Fei were already in their seats. They were huddled together and seemed to be in deep conversation. In fact to Duo it looked like it was about something important, maybe top secret. He could tell by the way they were sat. It was an old tactic they used during the war. They would all lean together and tap Morse code onto each other's hands or palms when they wanted to say something too secret to say out loud in public. They were all glancing up once in a while to see if anyone could be listening in. This is how they noticed Hilde and Duo marching over. A smirk came to Wu Fei's lips as he stood from his seat.
"Duo Maxwell," he spoke holding out a hand, "how long it has been." Duo grinned naughtily at his old friend.
"Too long Fei cakes." He laughed grabbing his friend's hand and squeezing it as tight as he could. They often did this during the war to see who was (as Wu Fei would all it), the weakest. Hilde in the meantime had taken her seat next to the girls at the other end of the table.
"Still into name calling I see Maxwell."
"Only with you Wu bear, oh and love the hair." Duo grinned before letting go of the other's hand. A victory smirk came to Wu Fei's face. Looking past the Chinese boy Duo spied Trowa and Quatre. The blonde beamed up at him from his seat while Trowa just nodded silently.
"Quatre…" Duo spoke slowly, "…how are you?"
"Never better Duo," the blonde called back, "I'm so glad you made it, I can't believe Relena would do something this kind!" He turned to Trowa and grabbed his hand, "isn't it wonderful?"
The silent clown nodded his head slightly and squeezed his lovers hand in his. "Trowa aren't you going to say hello to Duo?" The boy glanced at his lover before nodding.
"Hello Duo."
"Good morning Trowa." Duo answered back quickly while taking his seat next to Wu Fei on the end of the table.
"So what have you been doing with yourself Duo?" Quatre asked turning to his friend. Duo was Quatre's best friend through the war and even helped himself and Trowa get together. Yet as he stared at the young man who sat at the head of the table, with his long braided hair, and vibrant violet eyes he could tell something was different. Though they had all changed the look in Duo's eyes seemed to have matured from the orphan child of L2 to a young man. Maybe getting away from the world and his friends made him grow up. Quatre could remember the last time he saw Duo…it was right before he had the accident, which nearly cost him his life.
"I've been living on L2 since I left," the American answered as he turned up the sleeves of his shirt. "I've worked in various places but at the moment I'm working in the Sanq."
"The Sanq?" Quatre asked surprised, "what work are you doing here?"
"I just have to fix a few cars and shit in the afternoons." Duo answered, "no biggy I just thought I'd help some people out while I'm passing through."
"That interesting," Quatre beamed his sky blue eyes glimmering in the morning sun. He smiled at his old friend as he thought back to the war and when he used to help Duo fix things they would find at the safehouses. At one they had even found an old car in a rotting shed, a week later they had it up and running – but crashed it into a tree 2 hours after. They'd been trying to do burn outs in the rubble outside but lost control and crashed it into the nearest tree. Quatre could just remember the others running out of the safehouse thinking they were under attack only to see himself and Duo climbing out of the bashed up car crying with laughter. No one was seriously hurt, Quatre thanked Allah that himself and Duo were so lucky when it came to them fooling around. He smirked, they were such troublesome teenagers.
"I always loved working on my mobile suit, that I wanted to be a mechanic when the war ended…I guess my fathers business took that dream right from my grasp." He sighed
"Speaking of which, how is the old business going?" Duo asked as he slumped in his chair. A maid slowly came up and quickly replaced their old champagne glasses for new ones.
The Arabian prince smiled, "very strong, I think I'm finally on top of all my work now."
"That's great Q, I'm happy for you," just as Duo said his last words everyone turned to watch the main hosts make their way up the long aiale between the gazebo's to the head table. Relena had her arm protectively hooked round Heero's and was smiling like a lunatic. Heero however looked pissed.
"Relena looks so happy," Quatre breathed, "i always knew they would end up together…he's never looked at anyone else the way he looks at her…" Duo glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention onto the hosts. Though this time it looked like his best friend was ignoring him. The two quickly took their seats at the front of the table before Relena ordered for the breakfasts to be served.
The orchestra struck up a new song as hundreds of waitresses and waiters entered the garden pushing silver trolleys containing English breakfast's for everyone. Chatter stuck up between the different tables under the beautiful gazebo's, that shielded them from the burning hot sun. Duo listened in quietly, for once, as his friends chatted about this and that. However, once Quatre had asked Wu Fei about names , they just couldn't get the man to shut up. It was funny to see Wu Fei talk so fondly over his soon to come child. Once breakfast was finished people began to get out of their seats and socialise again. Quatre and Trowa excused themselves out of their seats and disappeared off into the gathering crowds as Sally joined him and WuFei at the bottom of the table.
"So Duo where about are you living on L2?" Sally asked as she settled into her chair. She laced her fingers with Wu Fei's and placed their hands on her large bump. Her sparkling blue eyes gazed at her braided friend. To Duo, the girl hadn't changed one bit, apart from she looked more beautiful than the last day he saw her. Her spiralled hair had gotten longer and she had a look of content in her eyes. Duo could tell she and Wu Fei were intensely happy with each other. She sat proudly next to her husband, as straight as she could. Duo silently felt a spark of sadness and guilt. He'd missed their beautiful wedding 2 years ago.
"Near Fireman's Kennel," he answered finally. "Relena found me while I was on my way back from my weekly junk food shop."
"So you're still into that sugary crap." WuFei snorted
"Sure Wu, you know me, I could never resist a chocolate bar," he grinned showing his perfect white teeth, "so what about you two, when's it due Sal?"
"About a months time," the blonde beamed. "In 1 month Wu Fei and myself will be the proud parents of Sam Chang."
"…Sam…" Wu Fei frowned, turning to his wife he glowered at her. "Wait a minute woman, we didn't decide on the name Sam! We agreed that it would at least be something Chinese!"
"Well we were supposed to decide last night…"
"You know I couldn't help last night, I had a late night call," Wu Fei snapped. "Besides we don't know if it's a girl or a boy."
"Why not?" Duo asked in interest
"We didn't want the surprise to be ruined," Sally replied with a smile. "But I have a feeling it's a boy." She rubbed her hand over her large lump affectionately.
"So what happens if it isn't, what happens if it's a girl? Are you still going to call it Sam then Sally?" WuFei almost growled
"Well…I like the name Sam, it's a nice girls name to, don't you think Duo?"
"Sure I think it's a great name for both a girl and a boy." Duo grinned; WuFei glanced between the two before realising that his wife was indeed pulling a practical joke on him. Duo burst out laughing at the expression on WuFei's face while a giggle erupted from Sally's mouth.
"Ah man, Wu you really fell for that one!" Duo laughed, as the Chinese man scowled.
"Damn it Maxwell."
"Sorry Fei Cakes, but we couldn't help it!" Duo chuckled just as a Relena's voice boomed over the garden through the many speakers. The three friends turned their attention onto the girl from where she was standing in the middle of the ciaos on a chair. In one hand she held a microphone and in the other a glass of champagne. By the way she was struggling to stand on the chair, they could tell the girl was already drunk. Out of no where Heero appeared at her side and placed his hands on her hips to stable her. Relena wisped a strand of her shoulder length blonde hair from her face and smiled revealing her perfect white teeth to the crowd of guests and reporters.
"Looks like someone's had one too many this morning." Sally laughed quietly, as the two boys nodded silently.
"Hello everyone!" Relena called down the microphone, her voice a tiny bit slurred, "i'd like to say thank you for coming to mine and Heero's engagement party. We are so happy that you all made it." Everyone clapped, "i'd like to say thank you for all the lovely engagement presents we've had this morning, it was a surprise as we weren't expecting any."
"Lair." WuFei mumbled in his seat
"Anyway, I hope you are all having a good time. Have as much champagne as you like, I know I will!" She giggled for a second until Heero shook her to carry on.
"Errr, Yep that's all so...Thank you!" She giggled as she jumped off the chair and latching herself onto Heero. Grabbing herself a fresh glass of champagne, she pulled the man off into the nearest crowd of people. The three laughed as they watched the way Heero was trying to pull away the glass from her hand.
"Poor Heero!" Sally laughed
"Ah well, at least they're having a good time, right?" Wu Fei turned to his wife with an amused look on his face
"Yeah…"
xXx
The morning drug along and soon the sun had set and stars were glistening in the cloudless sky. During that time Duo had made a few rounds around the groups, talking to some politicians about what they would like to do to help maintain peace. At one stage he'd even had a little chat with Jonathan Collins. However, there was one word he could describe the evening, boring.
Heero and Relena were constantly surrounded by a mob of people asking them questions about the wedding, that he couldn't get near to the couple. Wu Fei and Sally had retired to their rooms early as the pregnant woman was getting tired, and Wu Fei wouldn't leave her side. Luckily they said they would be back down for the reunion after all the guests had left. Wu Fei had muttered when they were leaving that they both had to have a debate over what the baby was going to be called.
Quatre and Trowa were of course the centre of one crowd or another. They were both professions at party business, the amount Quatre had to go to over the years were unimaginable. While Trowa was often the listener of the conversation. Duo knew that most of the people here were big talkers. However it was mostly bull shit that left their mouths. Hilde had been drifting round the different groups of people all day, that by 10pm she settled herself next to Duo on the main table drinking champagne.
"How many bottles of this stuff do you think she had to buy?" She wondered out loud staring at the bubbly liquid in her glass, she sat swaying in her seat to the soft music playing through the garden.
"More importantly how much did it cost," Duo mumbled dropping his head over the back of his chair, he stared tiredly up at the darkened sky. "You know I'm kinda getting sick of it, it's all I've been drinking all day and it's the one thing that can't get me drunk."
"Dido," she laughed. Duo frowned slightly as her use of words before giving out a long sigh.
"What time is this gig finishing anyway?" He asked his words slightly slurred as he ran a hand through his bangles. "You know I don't think I've ever been this bored in my whole life."
"I think it finishes at 11," Hilde answered, "they've still gotta have the fireworks." Just as she finished her words a loud bang erupted in the sky as a rocket exploded into a million coloured diamonds scattering over the night sky. Duo watched in silence his head tilted to one side.
"You know…" he murmured, "fireworks often remind me of the war, they look exactly like the explosions a mobile suit would give off when blown up."
"Duo!" Hilde rolled her eyes slapping her friend on the arm. "Stop thinking like that and enjoy them, the war is over and we have peace now just remember that." Duo let his head drop to one side to stare at his friend a drunken smile on his face.
"Hmm…it's good having you back Hild, I missed you a lot," he smiled, reaching out a hand towards hers he caught hold of it and squeezed it tight.
"Same here Duo," she squeezed his hand back, as an explosion went through her and hit her heart sending it to beat a million times a minute. A second later Duo's hand was removed as he crossed his arms behind his head. A yellow firework blew up within the sky as a loud 'Ooo'came from the crowds of people.
"I think Heero will be scarred for life after tonight," he muttered.
"You never know Duo, Heero might have changed, he could be a right partier now." Hilde answered in amusement. They both turned to see the man standing with his arms crossed next to Relena as she waved her arms around as she talked to the reporters surrounding her. The two burst out laughing as a new song began. The swing music erupted through the speakers as Duo turned to Hilde with a large grin on his face. Hilde could see that the drink was finally getting to the boy.
How lucky can one guy be?
I kissed her and she kissed me.
Like the fella once said:
"Ain't that a kick in the head?"
"You remember this song Hild?" he smirked, nodding his head to the music and clicking his fingers.
"How could I forget?" She laughed, "it used to come on the salvage yard radio all the time." She watched him get out of his chair before turning to her.
"How about a dance my lady?" He grinned; she giggled as he bowed like a gentleman. Clasping her hand in his, she slowly got out of her seat. The two of them wondered off down to the dance floor next to the swimming pool. The pool had recently been topped up with new floating candles. In the dark they looked incredible romantic. Placing one hand on Duo's shoulder Hilde let the man lead them round the dance floor.
The room was completely black,
I hugged her and she hugged back.
Like a sailor said quote:
"Ain't that a hole in a boat?"
They laughed as they waltzed round the dance floor, which many people had decided to avoid since the start of the day. Duo spun her around as he sung the song to his friend. To Hilde the whole scene of Duo singing while having a drunken look on his face cracked her up. Especially since a few minutes before he was telling her: 'it's the one thing that can't get me drunk.' She laughed hard as Duo himself twirled round, his braid spinning around after him.
"My head keeps spinnin', I go to sleep and keep grinnin," Duo sung loudly as he nodded his head to the music, "if this is just the beginnin', My life is gonna be beautiful!"
He twirled Hilde outwards, and then she twirled herself back in, coming close to his chest. With her back pressed against his chest they swayed to the music for a second before going back to doing a simple waltz. Being the only two on the dance floor caused many of the people to stop their talking and turn to watch the couple. Hearing the obvious noise of someone else singing in a drunken manner had also caught many peoples attention. A few reporters began to take pictures.
I've sunshine enough to spread,
It's just like the fella said.
Tell me quick,
Ain't that a kick in the head?
Heero looked up from where he was stood crossed armed next to Relena to see the two on the dance floor. A frown came to his face seeing that Duo was obviously drunk as he sang. The two of them were laughing as they danced and Heero couldn't understand why they were making fools out of themselves on an empty dance floor. He knew that he would never be able to stand the attention like that, but then again Maxwell was always a show off. He growled to himself as the talking within his group came to a stop and everyone turned to watch the couple having fun on the dance floor. Quatre laughed at his friends, before pulling on his lover's hand.
"Come on Trowa," he beamed pulling his lover towards the dance floor and joining his two friends
Like the fella once said:
"Ain't that a kick in the head?"
Like the sailor said quote:
"Ain't that a hole in a boat?"
Duo and Hilde waved to their two friends as they joined them. As soon as the two boys joined the dance floor, a few other couples began to join in. Relena glanced up at her future husband who gave her the most deathly glare that said: 'ask me and you're dead'. She sighed and instead began to tap her foot to the music, finally glad that the people had begun to use the dance floor. Heero's eyes monitored Duo's every move, from the way the boys braid swished as he danced to the movement of his feet.
My head keeps spinnin',
I go to sleep and keep grinnin'
If this is just the beginnin'
My life is gonna be beautiful
Fireworks continued to spark within the sky as the music continued. To the crowd it looked like Duo and Hilde were having the time of their lives. The two drunks spun each other round in circles as Hilde took over the male lead and Duo took the girls role of being twirled. The two would burst out into laughter each time. To Hilde it felt just like old times when the song would come on the radio within the salvage yard and the two would get up and dance to it randomly. That was the good old days before Duo left for Earth…before everything changed.
She's telling me we'll be wed,
She's picked out a king size bed,
I couldn't feel any better or I'd be sick.
Tell me quick,
"Oh, ain't life a kick?" Duo sung his heart out and he twirled towards Hilde. "Tell me quick, ain't that a kick in the head?" The music came to a finish as the couples on the dance floor broke out into hysterical laughter. Duo took a step back from Hilde, grabbing her hand he turned towards the audience and bowed. Out the corner of his eye he could see Quatre running over to him with a bright smile on his face, while Trowa entered the crowds of people.
"Well done Duo, I was wondering if I was going to be the one to break the ice on the dance floor," he chuckled as a slow song began.
"Hey Q, I'm proud to be of service, this party needed a lil kick start, shame we didn't get up earlier." Duo winked before turning to Hilde, "thanks for the dance Hild."
"No problem Duo, that's what friends are for," she answered, slightly sad that the song had finished.
"Say why didn't Heero and Relena get up and dance?" Duo asked in a slightly slurred voice.
"You know Heero, he never dances," Quatre sighed.
"Sure Heero dances…" Duo stopped in his tracks, "Q I'm gonna go inside and lie down for a bit, I feel a bit…drunk."
"Sure Duo I'll wake you up later." Duo nodded a thanks to his friend and waved them goodbye as he entered the house. The bottom floor corridor was just like the top. It felt weird to Duo as he walked down the window corridor, it was so noisy outside yet none of the sound was travelling through the windows. Settling himself in a wicker chair he intended to stay there and watch the fireworks go up into the sky for a while but found his tired lids falling over his eyes.
"Damn drink…makes me tried," he murmured resting his head on the arm of the chair and falling asleep.
xXx
A few hours later Duo felt himself being gently woken up. He opened his tired eyes to see Wu Fei crouching in front of him. His long dark black hair had been let down and was framing his oval face. He smirked at his friend who looked a wreck.
"How much did you drink Maxwell?" he asked, as the braided boy groaned reaching up to rub his eyes.
"I'd been drinking through out the day on odd occasions…I guess it kinda built up," he murmured.
"You know most people stopped drinking the champagne after 4, it was only you, Hilde and Relena who continued." WuFei informed handing the boy two headache tablets and a glass of water.
"What time is it?"
"Its Midnight, it took an hour for Relena to get rid of all her guests" Wu Fei answered, "There all in the lounge at the moment, you ready to go and join them?" Duo nodded his head sleepily, getting out of his chair he took a glance out into the garden to see everything was still up but all glasses, plates and food had been collected.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep Wu-man I bet Relena thinks I'm a right bastard now." Duo yawned
"Don't be stupid", Wu Fei rolled his eyes as he guided the boy through the long corridors of Relena's mansion, "your luckily you missed the mad rush to get everyone out."
"Yeah…" he murmured as they both reached a large golden painted door. Wu Fei pushed it open to reveal the large lounge, containing 5 big deep red couches. All were currently taken up by the Ex-Gundam pilots and girls. Duo's feet sunk into the deep cream carpet as he made his way over to his seat next to Zechs, who he hadn't noticed was even at the party, and indeed next to Zechs was Noin. Duo had heard the two had bared a child over a year ago named Jamie. It felt weird to him to be sat next to the man who had tried so many times to kill him and the rest of the pilots. Over the 5 years since the war had ended Zechs's frame had gotten even bigger, however he still kept his blonde hair the same length. The man looked as hard as a rock and Duo silently made a note not to get on the wrong side of the man.
On the other couches were Relena, Hilde and Heero on one, Quatre, Trowa and Katherine on another, Sally and Dorothy on the couch next to his while on the last was Une and her new husband Rally who was also also the head of the Preventers.
Rally was a tall man, about the same height as Trowa. He had bulky muscles, which hinted he obviously worked out. He had light brown hair, which was neatly cut short and spiked, his deep brown eyes were current laid on the girl lay across him and his wife asleep. Mariemaia, the puppet of Dakem Barton, Duo recalled, was taller than he last saw her, while her hair and grown and was taken back into a low ponytail. She was now a young teenager of 13, to Duo it seemed like life was going to fast. Everyone had changed so much in the last 5 years. The big red couches were all placed in a pentagon while behind Relena's couch was a large fire, which was crackling away happily.
"Now that we're all here," Wu Fei spoke as he followed Duo into the room. "I have some important news to announce."
"What is it Wu Fei, what's up?" Noin asked as laced she fingers with her husbands.
"I worked out a theory last night to a case I've been working on for the last few months." He perched on the edge of his seat next to his wife, who gently rubbed his back and urged him to continue, "for many months now, you may know members of the Peacecraft party have been…well murdered."
The room was silent as the guys nodded their heads, remembering how the members of Relena's parliament group had been knocked off one by one. Over the last few months Relena had been going crazy just trying to find people to replaced her lost members. Not only were they employees to Miss Relena but they were also her friends. However, it was not just Relena's peace party who were being murdered. A few years before a well known peace politician was also assassinated along with many of his members. James Fuku was the leader of the Fardo party and was a well respected man upon Earth and the colonies. He had a sense of charm and leadership and had such great ideas to promote peace that Relena had often wondered if the public preferred him to her. It was such a tragedy when he was killed, Relena had to do all she could to stop another war from breaking out.
"Every member that has been murdered has been left with a lightening symbol shaped like an S," WuFei continued, "we can only guess its an assassin."
"That's logical Wu Fei, I'm sure even a 5 year old would have worked that out by now," Heero spoke. "Get to the point."
"Yes, Heero I am," WuFei snapped glaring at the boy for his lack of patience. "If you look at the way these people have been murdered, they run up in importance, Harry Dickson, Sarah Tardy and so on…the last being John Governor." Relena gasped, her hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock.
"No…when? How?" She stammered, tears coming to her eyes. Heero grabbed her free hand to comfort her. Wu Fei sat with a stony expression on his face.
"Last night, he died from a stab to the neck," he wasn't willing to tell the girl he'd found the man was in the middle of committing a sexual act with a stranger when he was killed. The papers had the job of doing that for him.
"Oh god," Relena muttered turning so she could burry her head into her soon to be husbands shirt, her whole body shaking.
"There's something else," Wu Fei continued, "i think Relena's next." The shaking girl suddenly stopped. She pulled her head out of her lovers chest and turned to Wu Fei her face as white as a sheet.
"How do you know?" Heero asked his eyes glaring at his friend to answer instantly.
"She's next in line Heero, its rational sense," WuFei muttered.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" The 'Perfect Solider' snapped, "she could have been killed today!"
"I don't think the assassin would be willing to try and kill Relena in the middle of a engagement ceremony where she is surrounded by people, guards and indeed accompanied by her fiancé, who is in fact a Gundam pilot, every where she goes." WuFei answered, the room was left into a tense silence afterwards, which was just begging to be broken.
"Do you think it's the same person who killed James Fuku?" Quatre spoke quietly, remembering the kind young politician.
"...We don't know, but we are not willing to rule out the possibility." Wu Fei answered
"We need to set up a security system." Zechs spoke, his arm locked round his wife's shoulders. "We need to inform all the guards now and check the house hasn't been broken into while we've been sat here. All doors and windows need to be firmly locked."
"Good idea Zechs," WuFei got out of his seat, "could you take the women upstairs and keep them all in one room while we check the house over?"
"Sure thing," Zechs nodded helping his wife out of her seat. He and the girls exited the room, leaving the 5 Gundam Pilots alone for the first time that evening. All on separate couches except for Quatre and Trowa they all stared at each other in silence.
"Well…" Duo scratched the back of his head as he stood up, "how is it that every time I come there's trouble?"
"Shut it Maxwell", Heero barked, Duo glared at the boy on the couch.
"Nice way of greeting me Heero. I'm fine how are you?" The braided boy snapped
"Guys this is no time to fight," Quatre spoke up as he got up from his couch. "We need to secure the building, Heero you take the dinning room, gym and library. Trowa will take Hammam, kitchen and washing room. I'll check the downstairs bathrooms, Heero's office and music room. Duo and WuFei can check all the bedrooms upstairs."
"Roger," all the boys chimed in.
"Lets go and meet back here as soon as possible, I'll inform the guards and Rashid of the matter." After that statement the boys exited the room and crept round the house, trying to see if there were any intruders. Wu Fei and Duo made their way up the grand staircase and into the long glass corridor.
"You know this is kinda spooky," Duo murmured tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear.
"Shut it Maxwell, if you don't want the intruder to hear us." Wu Fei barked back, his hand lightly running over the gun hid under his dining shirt.
"Well sorry," Duo muttered, "I'll go this way," he pointed down the left corridor.
"Fine, we'll meet back here in 7 minutes." Duo nodded and raced off down the corridor, disappearing into the shadows on his way. Wu Fei stared in amazement. It always impressed him how the boy could blend into the shadows so well. Duo was in fact brilliant of sneaking round places during the war. He could remember the time when Duo and himself had to break out of an OZ cell and reach their new Gundam's. The young boy had run along the corridors with stealth melting into the shadows around him as soldiers ran past them. Wu Fei's onyx eyes glanced off into the darkness, looking out for any movement within the shadows. For all they knew the assassin could process great talents of sneaking round, hacking into systems etc such as the Gundam Pilots themselves.
10 minutes later the boys met up down stairs again. The last two coming in being Wu Fei and Duo. The three other pilots were all sat on the nearest couch next to the fire, silently discussing the problem at hand.
"All clear guys." Duo informed, "all windows locked also."
"Same here," Quatre told his eyes watching the two boys. "I've informed Rashid and the other guards, they've set up guards to go on patrol around the gardens and perimeter of the house every half hour."
"Good," Wu Fei yawned, "So all we can do now is sleep."
"I suppose," Quatre murmured while in deep thought, "say, Wu Fei have you got any idea who has done these terrible crimes?"
"I thought we had a lead yesterday," the long black haired boy sighed sitting on the arm of one of the settees. "I thought the hotel security camera system would have something, but the assassin got there before us. When the assassin and John were supposed to enter the building the tapes had been blanked out."
"Damn, were there any eye witnesses?" Duo asked with a frown from where he stood by the lounge door.
"Not really, sure the staff saw her but she had her face covered up." WuFei informed
"So it's a girl?" Heero mumbled in his seat
"Yeah."
"At least we know which sex we're looking for," Duo added, before letting out a long yawn. "God I'm beat, I'll be going to bed now, see you guys in the morning." With that he went to leave but stopped in his tracks "Ermm…. which room is mine?"
"Go to the top of the grand stairs and turn right, it's the last room at the end of the corridor." WuFei answered
"Great," Duo exited the room glad that he was finally gonna get some sleep. He instantly felt relieved, the tension in the lounge had been so great between them all. After everything that happened, he thought the reunion was going to be a blood bath.
TBC...
Still kinda plot setting, the next chap gets into the story! Anyway Review if you want some more! Still looking for a Beta if anyone is up for it!