A/N: This one was suggested by a reader, FanFictionFiend, on Gathered. I've been debating how to do this, and then I made the split-second decision to do it this way. But I'll stop babbling now.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or make a profit out of this, but I do own Simbi Bettos and Renee Peacecraft, so please ask if you want to use her, ok?
A time had come that everyone was moving out of the safe house, and a few friends were coming to help with the process.
"Simbi." Zechs regarded her with a soft smile, his mask gone.
"Milliardo." Simbi murmured, but she stepped back automatically, towards Quatre. "I see your life hasn't turned down any dark and winding paths that left you on jagged edges."
"You haven't changed." Zechs lips perked up slightly at the corners. "This is your boyfriend you told me about?"
Simbi stepped back again to hold Quatre's hand. "Yes. This is my love."
"I have a girlfriend as well." Zechs smiled. "Her name is Brooke."
Simbi didn't say anything in response; she just gave Zechs a long look.
"You've grown up." Zechs reached out to touch Simbi's shoulder, but she shied back.
"Don't touch me." Simbi whispered, clutching Quatre's hand to the point that his hand was going numb.
Zechs said nothing, but he slipped away, towards Renee and Duo's room to help them unpack; Relena and Heero had departed long ago.
"I thought you liked him?" Quatre asked, his voice soft, like a breeze. "Why did you act like that?"
"His hands are stained with the blood of the guilty." Simbi wrung her hands, finally giving Quatre a chance to get blood back into his fingers. "But guilty or innocent, blood is blood and his soul is marred, he's not the Milliardo I knew as a child."
"You've grown apart from him." Quatre nodded. "I understand."
"No." Simbi turned, hugged Quatre and tucked her face against his neck. "No. He pushed me away."
Quatre held her, but he couldn't figure out the difference between the blood on his hands, and the blood on Zechs' hands.
Blood was blood, as Simbi said, so why was he deemed innocent and Zechs deemed guilty?
Simply, love blurred the lines, and in Quatre's case, love had made him the one that hadn't crossed a line.
A/N: This one is much shorter, but I like it. It makes a lot of sense to me, I think. Thank you to FanFictionFiend for mentioning it would be cool to see these three interact. Anyway, what did you guys think?