A/N: Onto the second chapter we go. I'm probably going to add to this quite a bit, since I have five hours before I have to be somewhere. Who knows, maybe I'll even finish it. Anyway, lets get on with it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam and I make no profit from this, but I do own Simbi Treva Bettos, so please ask if you want to use her, ok?
"Did you ever sleep?" Quatre asked as he studied Simbi. She stood at the window, eyes half closed and watched the birds outside on Sandrock.
"A little." Simbi turned and gave him a gentle smile. "What do you fight for?"
"Justice. Fairness." Quatre moved over beside her, studying the birds for himself.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a world where everyone was happy?" Simbi did a little twirl to indicate the whole world and every colony around it. "Of course, there's people so terrible that they wouldn't be happy if everything was good." She sighed and opened the window, doing a birdcall. A small sparrow flew to her and landed on her hand.
Quatre blinked. How could he ever have perceived this girl as a threat?
"Here." Simbi let the bird hop onto Quatre's shoulder. "Animals are such good judges of character, don't you think? They don't like people who are truly cruel or unnecessarily violent. If an animal trusts someone, then so can you most of the time, unless the animal is violent or cruel."
"Who are you?" Quatre opened the window further so the bird could fly back out to its friends. "Where did you come from? Why do you trust me so much?"
"I'm a good judge too, generally." Simbi laughed, but it was sad. "Well, usually. I'm from a ways away, you know."
"Not really." Quatre smiled at her, an attempt to cheer the girl up again. "Why won't you tell me about yourself?"
"Because when I get too close to people..." Simbi clapped her hands once, loudly and shrugged. "The less you know, the better off you'll be, honey. That's just how it works."
"Is someone after you?" Quatre gave Simbi a worried glance as she strode across the room to peer out the other window. "Are you in some sort of trouble?"
"I've been in some kind of trouble my whole life, sweetheart, but I can manage it." Simbi brushed her dark brown hair over her shoulders and smiled. "I can take care of myself, I just..." She looked down for a second, but when she tipped her head back up to look at him, she smiled. "I get lonely. Even when I'm around so many people, I feel so desolate. But when I find people who are like-minded and alone in a crowd, well..." Simbi clapped her hands again and shrugged. "I need someone who isn't afraid to defend what's important, even if it's only themselves."
"What does this-" Quatre clapped. "Mean?"
"Bad. Something bad happens to everyone I love." Simbi twirled and her dress tangled around her, causing her to fall. Still, she smiled at Quatre, like nothing bad had ever happened to her. "I need someone I can trust not to die on me, is that so much to ask for?"
"No." Quatre helped her up and smiled. "You can stay here if you want, we've all got each other's backs."
"Thank you, honey!" Simbi kissed his cheek and hugged him. "You just be careful, alright?"
"Yes." Quatre nodded, but couldn't help asking, "Why do you call me all those nicknames when you barely know me?"
"Because you deserve to be called those nicknames, you're the sweetest boy I've ever known." Simbi kissed him quickly, just a peck on the lips. It easily could've been called a family kiss, but Quatre's face went red anyway. She had kissed him after all. Not even his sisters tried that, even though they were family.
"Master Quatre?" Rashid asked from the doorway, eyebrows raised. "May I speak with you alone?"
"I wouldn't intrude, kind sir." Simbi smiled at Rashid. "I still owe you for not pulling the trigger, after all."
"Right." The man nodded and led Quatre out as Simbi turned back to watch the birds.
"What is it, Rashid?" Quatre asked when they were down a floor; far enough away that Simbi couldn't hear them.
"I ran her name into the database of runaways." Rashid glanced towards Quatre's room, as if worried that Simbi could still hear him. "And there was nothing. But I ran her name through the Internet in general and her name came up as presumed dead. Her blood was at a crime scene where the rest of her family was killed. She isn't a person of interest, and they believe they found the person who killed her family, but she was presumed dead." Rashid paused. "Someone's after her, Master Quatre. Do you really want to take on that responsibility?"
Quatre thought of the girl, bright eyed and always smiling gentle with everything living.
"Yes." Quatre nodded. "I do."
A/N: This chapter took longer than I thought it would, probably because it was longer than the last. Anyway, will you please drop me a comment? I love hearing from my readers, and thank you for reading!