ATE: I am really, really, really sorry for taking so long to update this story. Do you know how many pages this chap was in microsoft word document? It was a total of 24 pages long! And not to mention it took weeks to just finish this. This is officially the longest chap in this story so far. I'm gonna have to thank Zeltrax541, the kid, Zyiera, and EDITORESS for reviewing chap 6. As for who EDITORESS is, she's my editoress that I've mentioned before. She helps motivate me and makes sure I focus on writing this chap while destroying any distractions that get in my way. And I know she'll like this chap.

Declaimer: I know for certain that I don't own Gundam Wing, iPod, Spongebob, Loony Toons, Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron, Denny's, Euros, the Gundam History III soundtrack, the song 'Dreams', the Gundam Wing Episode Zero manga, Dial Soap, and Axe. But I know for sure that I own my OC Rhea.


Chapter 7

It had been four weeks since I've woken up in Quatre's mansion and my left arm was finally free of the cast it had been in. During the time I spent living with the other pilots they had warmed up to me…well, Wufei still held me in slight contempt after I punched him (no surprise there). Heero and Trowa were quiet, but on rare occasions I was able to get a few words out of them. Quatre had to be the kindest person I've met so far and Duo had been right about him being like Mom. They were so similar that sometimes it was hard for me to be around him without being reminded of her, but I somehow managed to keep it together despite the feelings of nostalgia. Whenever Quatre and Trowa played music they always invited me to come and listen, which I would agree to do so. As for Duo…well, you already know how things are between us. He spent most of his time around me and the only times he wasn't around me were when I was in the bathroom (which included everything that I did while in there) and when I slept at night (there hadn't been any more thunderstorms since that first night). I was eventually given back my walking privileges, but sometimes he would still carry me around. And here's the funny thing. It turns out that Duo had kept my iPod from me while I was still unconscious, but he gave it back to me, making me a slightly happier person at the thought of listening to my favorite songs. At one point I learned that this world (or universe) wasn't the same one that I came from. My confusion had been so obvious that they had to explain that the place we were in and the place I was from were completely different dimensions.

At the moment I was sitting on the bottom step of the grand stairs staring at the floor as I waited for Duo to finish packing his stuff and (from what he told me) some other things so that it'll be ready when we leave. Melancholy. That's how I felt right now. I bet you're wondering why I was feeling this way. I placed my face in my hands while my elbows were propped on my lap as I remembered what happened yesterday.

(~*~Yesterday~*~)

I sat next to Duo on the couch as we watched the TV in the entertainment room of the mansion. He had his arm draped around my shoulders as I leaned against him. Yeah, that's right! I was LEANING on him and doing it willingly, too! I had gotten used to him doing this, but I was still working on getting used to the other things as well (like sitting on his lap, which was still one of his many ways of making me blush). As for what we were watching on TV…it was Spongebob! I know! I was surprised too when I first started watching TV with Duo during the first week of my stay when I saw the yellow talking sponge on the screen. He laughed at my reaction but we still chose to watch it. Since I just got my cast off (I immediately made a bee-line for the bathroom to take a shower due to my arm smelling horrible) Duo had told me we'd be leaving tomorrow after lunch (knowing him, he probably wanted an excuse to have a few more meals before then).

"How are we getting to L2, anyways?" I asked when there were commercials being aired on TV.

"We'll be getting there in Deathscythe. How else?" Duo replied.

I let my gaze drop to the floor as I remembered that day when I first saw Deathscythe Hell. That was the day Mom died. I couldn't help but wonder…how could someone as cheerful as Duo pilot something so grim as his Gundam? Even if his cheerfulness was a mask most of the time I still couldn't grasp the concept.

"Wouldn't that be…you know." I started.

"Know what?"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is are you sure you should be using your Gundam as a form of transportation?"

"It's either that or using it for a battle that might never happen." If only he knew what would happen when the Mariemaia Incident took place. Talk about foreshadowing. "Besides, I can't leave my buddy here." I heard him chuckle. "Looks like Spongebob's back on!"

I looked up at the TV screen and just like Duo said Spongebob was back on. As I watched I couldn't help but think about that day Mom died and I saw the Gundams for the first time. As I continued thinking about it a sudden thought came into my head.

"Why am I here…?" I thought out loud.

"Huh?" I heard Duo say in confusion. "Rhea?"

I pulled my eyes away from the screen to look up at Duo's face.

"Why am I here?" I repeated, this time my question directed at him. "Why was I brought here?"

I noticed that Duo seemed to be a little uneasy by my question.

"Uh…that's…" It was as if he was trying to find the right words to say, but failing. "You…might wanna ask Heero about that."

Something was wrong. I could tell. There was something that Duo was hiding from me, but seemed hesitant to tell me, as if whatever he was hiding might be too painful to say out loud. I knew that if I wanted to know whatever it was he's hiding I'd have to talk to Heero. I got off the couch I had been sitting on and started making my way out of the room in order to look for the Perfect Soldier. I heard the sound of footsteps follow from behind me, but at a hurried pace in order to catch up with me.

"Rhea!" Duo called from behind me. "Where are you going?"

I stopped walking and just stood were I was, letting the braided man catch up to me.

"I'm going to talk to Heero." I told him, letting my gaze fall to the floor. "I have so many question now concerning that day. I want-" I shook my head. "No! I need answers. I need to know why I'm here. Why I'm in this dimension and not in the one I'm from. I need to know…"

I felt something warm grasp my hand and looked down to find it being held by a hand I knew belonged to Duo. I turned a bit so I could look at him and I could see the concern on his face as well as his eyes. I always felt guilty whenever he gave me that look. I know he had every right to be concerned about me, but that didn't stop me from feeling guilty about it. I felt like I didn't deserve it, but here he was showing concern.

"Are you sure you want to know the truth?" He asked. "What if it isn't what you want to hear?"

"Then I better start listening." I gave him a smile, but it felt fake to me. I wonder if he could tell it was fake? "Can you keep holding my hand? At least until we get there?"

"Yeah. Anything for the fair maiden." His voice was soft as he said this. "C'mon."

Duo started guiding me to wherever Heero was. I glance down at our hands and couldn't help but blush. It was such a simple thing. Holding someone's hand. One simple gesture that had multiple meanings to it. Some meanings being that of friendship, affection, security…those were some I could think of off the top of my head. I knew it wasn't the first one since we were more than friends. Duo made sure to remind me of that by calling me his girlfriend. But the reason why I wanted to hold his hand right now…I think it was because I needed to feel a sense of security, even if it was a small amount.

We arrived sooner than I wanted to outside the living room (which was where I first 'met' the others). As much as I didn't want to I had to let go of Duo's hand before we went inside. I could see that not only Heero was inside (on his laptop), but Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were here as well. They noticed that Duo and I had entered and everyone (except Mr. Perfect Soldier) looked up at us. The blonde pilot was the first to speak.

"Oh! Hi Duo, Rhea." Quatre greeted. "How was the TV? Anything good come on?"

"Not much." Duo answered, plopping down on the free couch in a casual manner. I sat down next to him. "But we still had fun watching Spongebob! Isn't that right, Rhea?"

"Huh?" I was surprised, but I quickly managed to cover it up. "Of course."

I was confused. Not too long ago Duo had been worrying over me and now he was cheerful and acting like our discussion in the hallway never occurred. What was he trying to do?

"Of course. Watching cartoons. Why am I not surprised, Maxwell?" Wufei scoffed.

"There's nothing wrong with watching cartoons, Wuffles!"

"Yes there is. They're completely pointless and a waste of time. And you're too old to be watching cartoons, anyways."

"Hey! You're never too old to watch cartoons!" I said.

"Stay out of this, onna!" Wufei warned.

"She's got a point." Duo stated. "Don't you know that cartoons can actually teach people lessons?"

"What? Like teaching people how to be idiots?"

"No! They teach lessons like morals and such."

"Hn. I fail to see how a coyote chasing a road runner and falling off a cliff can teach others about moral."

"That's because Loony Toons can be confusing sometimes." I said.

"See? Rhea's backing me up on this. You're clearing outnumbered in your opinion!"

I couldn't help but laugh at this, but my laughter was short-lived when I remembered why I was in this room in the first place. I set my gaze on Heero and took a deep breath. This was it.

"Heero. I have questions." I said.

Everyone was quiet and the only sound that I could still hear was the taping sound of Heero typing, but that too came to a halt. I watched as he gazed back at me and I knew that it was a sign for me to continue.

"Why am I here? In this dimension and not the one I'm from?"

"You know how the five of us represented each space colony during Operation Meteor?" Heero asked.

I nodded; of course I knew! What Gundam Wing fan didn't know that?

"What does Operation Meteor have to do with my questions?"

"You were supposed to represent your dimension in the war if things got out of hand."

I stared at Heero. I blinked once… twice….three times. Then I laughed. I laughed as if I had just heard a funny joke, earning the confused stares of the others (minus Heero and Trowa since they kept a straight face).

"That was a nice joke!" I managed to say as I tried to calm down my fit of laughter. "You had me going there for a minute! It almost sounded like you were serious about that!" When I managed to calm down I looked around the room at everyone, expecting to see one of them grinning or at least look as if they were caught with telling the joke. That wasn't what I saw. All of their faces were straight and I could see a sympathetic expression in Quatre's face. I turned to look at Duo's face, seeing if he was in on this joke, but I saw the same look on his face that the blonde pilot had. I turned back to Heero, not believing what I saw on the faces of the other pilots. "You're joking, right? Right?"

I knew that Heero was the last person to be telling jokes, but I wasn't sure. He just looked at me, his face not betraying any of his emotions.

"I'm not." He said.

My eyes widened! He confirmed what I hoped wasn't true. The one thing I thought was a joke was actually the truth?

"You expect me to believe that I was supposed to represent my dimension during your war?" I asked, completely baffled. "Do you realize how much that doesn't make sense? The last time I check I was a normal person, living with my mom, going to school, and watching anime for most of my life. Sure I like watching Gundam Wing and all. Who hasn't?"

"It's your knowledge of what's happened in this anime that's one of the factors."

"Well, I'm not the only one that knows about the events that happen in the show. There are actually people around the world that have watched it and know as much as I do about it."

"You were also meant to pilot a Gundam."

"Uh…Heero? In case you-as well as everyone else in this room-didn't realize this when you were still in the dimension I came from, we don't have Gundams. Sure there was that life-size Gundam they made in Japan, but it wasn't real. It couldn't even function since it was nothing but a statue. And the fact that I have no experience with guns, let alone only knowing how to punch someone, but not entirely fighting someone with my fists, doesn't help you or anyone! I'm completely inadequate for this! You couldn't have chosen someone else for this job, could you?"

"You're just making excuses." Heero stated.

"Making excuses? Making excuses? I'm merely stating that you've got the wrong person for this job! And if I remember correctly from what I've been told these past four weeks, the war is over. There hasn't been any fighting!"

'There will be soon.' I suddenly thought.

"There's actually a profile on you here stating that you're a candidate for piloting a Gundam. And the Gundam you're supposed to pilot."

"Oh, so not only am I a pilot, but I also have a Gundam that I wasn't even aware of. But what about what happened to my life four weeks ago and the fact that I was close to getting blown up? Tell me that!"

I narrowed my eyes at Heero, but the blank expression on his face never changed. Not in the slightest bit. I was getting frustrated with this!

"As I stated before: there's a profile of you. And the people inside those Mobile Suits that attacked were trying to kill you. They were the ones that sent the bomb you found in that box."

"Isn't this just great! So I have people trying to kill me and I don't even have a way to defend myself!"

"That's why we found you when we did." Trowa said. "We were trying to get to you before they figured out where you were. But they caught on sooner than we expected and we had no choice but to act. That's why you're here. We were able to get you out in one piece."

"What about Mom? Can you say the same about her? Can you?"

"She died as a casualty of war. Nothing more, nothing less." Heero said.

"Don't talk about Mom like that!" I shouted as I shot out of my seat. My hands were clenched into fists. "Don't treat her as if she were just a nameless soldier who died on the battlefield!" I bowed my head as I felt my eyes start to water with angry tears, but I refused to let them fall by shutting my eyes tightly. "She was all I had left… She was the only one I had left…when Dad died over in Afghanistan last year…!"

I heard two gasps coming from Duo and Quatre, and I knew that if I were to look up I would see the indifferent looks on Heero, Trowa, and Wufei's faces. The emotional wound that I've tried to heal after Dad died was just reopened with the reminder of my parents both being dead.

"Rhea" I heard Quatre say with a concerned tone to his voice. "We didn't realize-"

"Of course you didn't realize!" I interrupted. "It was stupid of me to think Dad was invincible before he left for war. It was only when he died that I realized how important he and Mom were. And then she dies as well."

"You baka onna!" Wufei growled. "You don't realize how important your pathetic life is, do you?"

"No, I don't, Wufei!" My head shot in the direct that Wufei was in and I narrowed my eyes. "How about you explain it so that this 'stupid woman' can understand?"

"That bomb that was sent to your home was meant to kill you, regardless if your mom was there or not! They didn't care how many people died as long as they killed you!"

My eyes widened and took a sharp intake of breath when my mind finally processed what I was just told. I placed a hand over my mouth, choking on the tears I had been trying to hold back this whole time as they fell from my eyes. What I heard was the painful truth and it created another emotional wound that was as strong as the first one.

"Oh god…" I said quietly. "It's my fault… It's all my fault that Mom died… She died because of me…"

"Rhea…"

This time it was Duo that said my name, but it was faint. I felt him try to grab my hand but I pulled it away from him.

"I…I need some time alone…"

With that I ran out of the room, running up the stairs before doing the same down the hallway. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care where I ended up, as long as it wasn't my room. When I stopped running I found myself inside the library surrounded by books and furniture. I spotted one of the couches in the room before making my way over to it and spreading myself across it as I laid down. I didn't know how much time passed since my mind was still focused on the pain and guilt I felt as I continued crying my heart out. It hurt so much. I hugged a pillow to me and buried my face in it. Over and over my mind kept replaying Wufei's last words like a broken record and only served as a painful reminder. And they expect me to be a Gundam pilot. That meant that if another war started I would be forced to kill people. I know there were those people that I was told were trying to kill me, but I didn't want to kill! Did they really expect me to do that?

I suddenly felt two arms wrap around my waist before being pulled close to a warm chest. The pillow my face was buried in was taken away only to have a hand placed behind my head that gently pushed it into their chest and allowing me to cry into their shirt. I felt the arms around me pull away, only to feel myself being lifted slightly and something warm slipped underneath me before being lowered again, the arms returning to their previous position and a hand started stroking the hair behind my head, which resulted in a soothing effect. I continued crying into their chest and eventually my tears subsided to a soft sniffle. Then I noticed something. The smell; I knew who this was.

"Was the fact of you falling in love with me a lie?" I asked, my voice soft as I spoke.

"No." I heard Duo say, his hand still stroking my hair. "It wasn't a lie. It was real. 100% genuine."

"Is that why you didn't want to tell me?"

"Yeah. You were bound to know sooner or later, I just didn't think you were ready to hear it." I felt his arm around my waist tighten a bit in a reassuring way. "The truth ain't what it's cracked up to be. We just learn that the hard way."

"Maybe I should've listen to you. That way I wouldn't feel this…this pain." I turned my head so that the right side of my face was resting against Duo's chest. I could feel the wetness on his shirt from where I had been crying on earlier. "I know what I'm going to call myself now."

"What's that?" I could hear the curiosity in his voice.

"The Angel of Death."

I heard Duo give off a sharp intake of breath from my answer along with his hold on me tightening again as his body tensed up. I had a feeling that if I saw his face his expression would be that of surprise.

"No." He said sternly.

"Why not?" I lifted my head so that I could look at him. His face was set in a slight frown, but other than that no other emotion I could see. His eyes, however, betrayed what he really felt. There was a fierce resolution in his eyes that showed how strong his decision was and how much he opposed the idea of the title. "I lost Dad and I watched Mom die! And it's my fault that she's gone! I'll cause more death if and when I start piloting a Gundam!"

"But that isn't who you are, Rhea. Just because you lost your parents doesn't make you the Angel of Death. Far from it. You are an angel, but not the Angel of Death."

"Then what am I?"

"The Angel of Mercy." His voice wasn't so stern anymore and his facial expression became soft, along with the look in his eyes. "You know what that is, right?"

"I do, but why the Angel of Mercy?" I asked. I knew that Angel of Mercy was the opposite of what the grim reaper was.

"You know how I'm the God of Death and that if I allow someone to get close to me they end up dying. I've allowed you to get close to me and you're still alive. It's because of this that I believe you're the Angel of Mercy."

"So what you're saying is that because of this the effects of Death and Life cancel each other out or that I'm immune to Death?"

"Maybe both, but I'm not so sure about you being immune to Death. And there's the fact that opposites attract." He then smirked. "Besides, the title of Death has already been taken by yours truly."

"I guess you're right." I placed the side of my face back on his chest and closed my eyes. "Thank you."

"Like I always say, anything for the fair maiden. Although maybe I should start calling you 'my angel' as well."

"Whatever floats your boat, Duo." I said.

"My boat's always floating." He stated.

But despite Duo having been able to cheer me up it still didn't get rid of the guilt I felt for Mom's death. I knew that he hid his true emotions with his cheerfulness, but this fact left me puzzled now. How could he act so cheerful with everything he's lost? I couldn't even do that and I only lost Mom and Dad. Although, Duo had about seven to eight years in creating a flawless mask of cheerfulness, making it the perfect façade. Don't I sound angsty? I can be so pathetic sometimes… I jumped when I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder and I whipped my head around, only to find that it was Duo behind me holding a duffle bag in the hand that wasn't on my shoulder.

"Why are you so jumpy? It's only me." He said with a grin.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"You could say I was clearing some things up with Heero." He took his hand off my shoulder before descending the last few steps on the stairs. "I hope you're ready for lunch. I'm starving!"

"Yeah. Lunch."

Duo turned around to face me and I saw the slight confusion he expressed.

"What's wrong, Rhea?"

I mentally hit myself. Of course Duo would be able to pick up on my emotions, even if it were just listening to my voice or observing my facial expressions. It was likely that he was trained to do that.

"I think I'm a little anxious about leaving Earth." I confessed. "I've been used to living here, even if I'm in a different dimension."

"I can understand where you're coming from. You grew up living on Earth most of your life and suddenly you're going into space for the first time. I grew up living in a colony so I'm used to being space."

"That makes sense." I got up from where I was sitting on the steps and went over to Duo. "I'm ready to eat now."

"Good, because we're leaving afterwards."

We ate lunch with everyone and I watched as Duo went through multiple servings (I lost count at three) with wide eyes. How could he eat so much? And where does he even put it? I tried to ignore him and eat the food on my plate, but my gaze kept coming back to him and it was hard to pull my eyes away.

"Maxwell, stop eating like a pig!" Wufei said.

"What? I'm a growing guy!" Duo stated.

"I don't care what your excuse is, but you're distracting the onna from eating her own meal!"

This caused Duo to stop in place with his fork close to his mouth and looked at me. I watched his gazed went to my plate (which was far from being finished) before coming back to my face.

"Heh heh! Sorry about that!" He apologized, giving me a sheepish smile.

"It's okay." I said before turning to the Chinese boy. "But I'm surprised, Wufei. I didn't know you cared."

"Whatever. Don't think this changes anything, onna!"

'Figures…' I thought.

Well that's what happened at lunch. But then the time went by so quickly that it felt like mere seconds than the hour that we spent together. After saying goodbye to Quatre (I also thanked him for letting me stay in his place), Trowa, Heero, and Wufei I followed Duo to a door that was in an alcove to the left side of the stairs, which confused me. Weren't we supposed to leave through the front door? He must've known what I was thinking since he spoke.

"The hangar's through this door and down the stairs." He told me. "That way we can hide the Gundams while we're staying here."

"Oh."

We made our way down the stairs, where we came upon a metal door that had a keypad next to it. I watched as Duo punched in a password code on the keypad, door sliding open and allowing us inside the hangar. I was surprised to find all five of the Gundams in the huge room standing side by side. All the way at the left end was Wing Zero, followed by Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, and ended with Altron at the right end of the room. I felt a little scared and became tense when I saw Deathscythe Hell, knowing that this was the second time I've seen it up close in person. I couldn't help the memories of that night that came into my head.

'Mom…'

I felt an arm wrap around me so that a hand rested on my upper arm in a reassuring way. I didn't have to look to know that it was Duo next to me. I relaxed a bit from the familiar touch as I felt a sense of security.

"It's gonna be okay." He said reassuringly. "My buddy wouldn't hurt ya, at least not intentionally."

"I know." I told him. I sighed "Aren't I a wuss? Not even a Gundam pilot yet and I'm scared of my ally's Gundam."

"You'll get used to it. C'mon!"

Duo guided me over to where Deathscythe Hell was before pulling out what looked like the remote thingy that are always on car keys to lock or unlock the car, pressing one of the button that caused the hatch to the cockpit to open up. I watched as a cable with a foothold at the end was lowered down until the foothold itself touched the floor. I saw him walk over to the cable and placed a foot in the foothold while he grasped the cable itself with one hand before looking up at me.

"What are you waiting for, Rhea?" He asked, a grin on his face. I blushed slightly when I realized he was waiting for me and came over to where he stood. "You're going to have to put your foot in the foothold and hold onto me so you don't fall."

I did what he told me and placed my foot in the foothold before wrapping my arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly but not enough to cause him any pain. I blushed when I felt Duo wrap his free around my waist before the cable starting pulling us up until we were leveled with the hatch (which also served as a platform to stand on). He helped me get inside the cockpit (telling me to watch my head so I didn't hit it against the opening while ducking) and I was amazed to actually be able to see the inside of a Gundam's cockpit. The pilot seat (which Duo was now sitting in) was only about a foot or two away from the hatch and I stood right in front of the seat as I watched as he pressed a few buttons before it closed behind me, leaving the inside of the cockpit in a dimly lit darkness. I heard the sound of the buttons beeping softly as he continued punching them before the monitors that surrounded the pilot seat (from both the left and right side of it all the way to the one right above where the hatched opened up) lit up one by one until they all showed the feedback of the hangar outside Deathscythe Hell. I glanced back at Duo, who was now buckling the safety harness on his chair before he looked up at me with his cobalt blue eyes and grinned.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" He asked.

"Sit down where? There's nowhere to sit." I replied.

"Oh, there is somewhere for you to sit." His grin changed into a smirk. "You're a smart girl, I think you can figure it out."

I was confused by what he meant. There wasn't anywhere to sit! Unless I'm overlooking something obvious. I scanned the inside of the cockpit with my eyes and I still didn't see somewhere to sit! My eyes landing on the seat Duo was sitting on since it was the only place to sit. I knew that a Gundam (as well as any other Mobile Suit) was designed to accommodate one person. I started putting two and two together, only to have my eyes widen I realized what he meant!

"Oh no!" I said, feeling my face heat up.

"Oh yes!" I eeped when Duo suddenly (and quickly) wrapped his arms around my waist before pulling me close and forcing me to sit in his lap. My face heated up even more as his left arm remained around my waist as he placed the right one on the joystick to his right. "You're gonna have to stay seated so I can maneuver Deathscythe out of here."

I nodded my head before he took his left arm off my waist so that he could grasp the other joystick and I watched the monitor in front of us as the Gundam moved towards the huge hatch (or whatever it's called) that was starting to open up, letting the light from outside filter in. When it was finally open Duo activated the thrusters on Deathscythe Hell in order to fly out of the hangar, the sensation reminding me of being on a roller coaster or on a plane as its just taking off after speeding down the runway or maybe even both. At least that's what it felt like to me. As we continued to ascend altitude I started to feel a little lightheaded and leaned back against Duo, not caring about the position I was in as I placed my head on his shoulder. I felt him shift around and a soft beeping sound reached my ears before feeling a hand stroke the side of my face as oxygen filled my lungs, decreasing the lightheadedness I felt. I realized that Duo must've activated something that caused oxygen to filter into the cockpit.

"You should get some rest, Rhea. Take a little nap if you need to, just remember to breathe normally." Duo told me softly. "I'll wake you up once we're in space."

I closed my eyes in order to rest a bit, focusing on breathing normally as the hand continue stroking the side of my face in a soothing way. Even if my eyes were closed I was still aware of what was going on around me and it would normally take me a few hours until I actually fall asleep (AN: It's always like this for me as well). After awhile the hand stopped stroking my face before pulling away and I heard Duo sigh in content.

"My angel…" He said quietly. "Let's see…what was that in Japanese again?" It sounded like he was thinking and I grew curious. "'Watashi no tenshi…?' I think that's what it was." It was quiet for a bit. "Huh? Looks like we're in space. Wake up, sleeping beauty. We've finally made it to space."

"I heard you the first time, Duo." I said softly. I opened my eyes and lifted my head up a bit.

"Heard me the first time? What, where you awake this whole time?" He asked.

"I actually was."

I heard Duo breathe sharply before he spoke again.

"…Just how much did you hear?"

"Everything. Including 'my angel'. Why that one?"

"Because you're my Angel of Mercy. Hence 'my angel'."

"I'll teach you something in Japanese." I told him. "The Japanese word for God of Death is Shinigami."

"Shinigami, huh? Well, if I'm called Shinigami, then you're called Tenshi."

"I guess you have a point." I thought back to earlier when I was feeling lightheaded. "Why did I feel lightheaded earlier?"

"That would be because we were getting higher in altitude. Everybody gets lightheaded the first time they go into space, and since you got lightheaded earlier I had to activate the oxygen tank in order to prevent you from getting altitude sickness."

"Thank you, Duo."

"Anything for the fair maiden. You might want to take a look at the monitors."

I looked at the monitor in front of us and gasped lightly at the sight I saw! Staring back at me was a view of Earth from space and it was so much more beautiful than the pictures I've seen on the internet, so breathtaking. To think that I grew up living on such a beautiful planet. I glanced around at the other monitors and could see some stars in the distance. My first time in space and I was seeing all these things.

"It's so beautiful…" I said breathlessly. "I never seen anything like this before."

I was taken by surprise when I felt lips lightly pressed against the left side of my neck, which caused my face to heat up. Soon I felt them open slightly before suddenly feeling something wet stroking my skin and my eyes widened when I finally realized what it was!

"What the hell, Duo?" I cried as I jerked away from his face. "What are you doing?"

"Laying claim to you, what else?" He said casually, a smirk on his face.

I had read one time on the internet about a Japanese gesture that said that if someone licked their finger then touched someone or something with it that meant they were laying claim to whatever they just touched. Did that apply when Duo was licking my neck with his tongue while kissing it? I shivered involuntarily. More disturbing thoughts…

"Well, don't do that! It's gross!"

"I won't…for now."

"Ugh… Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"I don't know, you tell me." He suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and my face heated up some more.

"What are you doing, Duo? You're supposed to be piloting Deathscythe, not holding me!"

"I thought that maybe you should try piloting Deathscythe."

"In case you didn't realize, I don't know how!"

"Don't worry about it. You happen to be sitting on the lap of a fully trained Gundam pilot who can teach you."

"Don't remind me…" I groaned.

"Remind you of what? That I'm a Gundam pilot?" He asked.

"That I'm sitting on your lap…"

Duo chuckled.

"You know you like it."

"No, I don't!"

"Deny it all you want, no one's stopping you."

I sighed at this before placing my hands on the two joysticks that I knew controlled the Gundam, trying really, really, really hard not to think of the arms Duo had wrapped around my waist…and the fact that I could feel the warmth of his chest through the back of my shirt...

'Stop thinking like that, Rhea!' I thought to myself. I took a deep breath before letting it out.

"Okay, what do I do now?"

"You move the joysticks forward in order to go in that direction and so on for the other one."

Duo continued explaining the controls to me and after a few minutes he was letting me pilot Deathscythe Hell away from Earth and in the direction of the moon. He told me that the feedback we saw on the monitors was coming from the two cameras on the head of the Gundam ("In other words, from the eyes on the head." He stated).

"How far do you want me to go?" I asked awhile into piloting the Gundam.

"When we pass by the moon that'll mean we're almost to L2. I talk over from there and pilot the rest of the way to the colony. We'll see the L1 space colony on the way to the moon." I felt his arms slightly tighten around my waist. "So far you're doing a good job piloting."

"Please try not to distract me. I know how much you like clinging to me and all, but can you keep it to a minimum? It's hard enough as it is trying to ignore where you're arms are, Duo."

"Rule number 1 when piloting a Gundam: a person must continue piloting under any distractions, regardless of how many there are!"

"You just made that up!"

"My distractions are nothing compared to the ones you might encounter during battle sometime in the future. You'll be expected to pilot your Gundam in such conditions."

"That isn't fair!"

"Now, Rhea. What did I tell you about fairness?" Duo asked, I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I sighed.

"That 'it's implied that life isn't fair.'" I groaned.

"Good girl!" I felt Duo patting the top of my heat with his hand. "You're a fast learner!"

I growled quietly at this as I refrained from hitting the braided man. Fine! If he expects me to pilot Deathscythe Hell through his distractions, then I'll show him. I felt his lips on my neck again and my grip on the controls tightened as I tried not to get irritated.

"No tongue." I warned.

I felt him smirk into the kiss, but otherwise he listened to me. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked it. He then stopped kissing my neck, but then he nuzzled it and caused my face to heat up.

'I really hope we pass by the moon soon. That was an unintentional rhyme.' I thought. 'I'm not sure how much more of this I can take…'

I noticed that we were approaching a huge object on the monitor and realized that it must've been the L1 colony! We're almost to the moon! I took a deep breath before letting it out. Just a little longer. You can make it. Duo let out a content sigh and I felt his warm breath on my neck, causing goose bumps to form on my skin. I wish he would stop. I started counting in my mind as we continued making it closer to the moon, anticipating the end of Duo's distractions once he finally takes control of Deathscythe Hell. I'll be so glad when that happens. When we got close to the moon I couldn't help but feel sad at seeing its rocky surface. I knew that the surface looked like that from seeing pictures of it back home, but to see it up close in person was so much more different. To think that this was what I always saw when I looked up at the sky at night.

"It almost looks like a graveyard." I remembered that that was what Duo said in the anime.

"It really does look like a graveyard…" I said softly, my voice having a hint of sadness to it.

"Almost." Duo suddenly said. "It almost looks like a graveyard. I believe you know about me saying that from when you were watching anime back in your dimension."

"Yeah. You were talking to Howard at the time."

"Wow! I guess that anime's really accurate, then. But yeah, I was talking to Howard at that time. You'll be seeing the moon like this for awhile." I felt him pull his face away from my neck. "Do you miss being on Earth?"

I was surprised by his question and the way he said it. His voice sounded serious with a small hint of sadness that would've been easily missed.

"Yeah, I miss Earth." I replied. "I'm guessing you do as well?"

"You know me too well for your own good." I heard him laugh quietly. "To be honest, I was a little envious of you when we first met. To grow up living on that planet and not realize how beautiful it really was until you saw it two hours ago." He removed his arms from around my waist before reaching out for my hands and his fingertips lightly brushing my skin, causing my heart to flutter a bit. "I'll take over from here. You'll see L2 as we pass the moon."

It didn't take us long to pass the moon and I immediately saw L2. I was so caught up in thought about what Duo shared with me that I didn't noticed we were there until I felt Deathscythe Hell land on solid ground. I looked up at the monitor and saw that we were inside a hangar that I assumed was inside the colony. Duo started turning off the monitor and everything else until the Gundam was inactive and it was dark inside the cockpit. I felt him shift around.

"Now where did I put it?" I heard him ask himself and I assumed he was looking for something in his pockets. "Aha!" A few seconds after he said that the hatch opened up and I blinked my eye when I saw the light from outside the Gundam. "You might want to get up, Rhea."

I blushed before standing up from sitting on Duo's lap and moved out of the way as I heard what sounded like a seatbelt unbuckling. He stood up and I watched as he stretched his arms above his head. He must've fell stiff from sitting in the same position for two hours straight. Now that I thought about it I felt a little stiff as well, but that's no surprise. Duo grabbed the duffle bag that he had placed on the floor left of the chair before walking towards the open hatch and…JUMPING OFF?

"Oh my god, Duo! Are you okay?" I cried, my eyes wide in horror.

"I'm perfectly fine, Rhea!" I heard him yell up to me from the ground. I carefully walked onto the platform the hatch door created and looked down at the ground to find Duo standing on the floor looking up at me. "C'mon! Jump down!"

"WHAT? Are you crazy?"

"After all the time we've spent together I'd think you'd know if I was crazy or not! Now jump!"

I looked at the ground that seemed to be miles away from me before I gulped.

"If I die, I'll come back to haunt you for the rest of your life, Duo Maxwell!"

"You're still living with me regardless if you die or not!"

I closed my eyes and counted to three in my head before I jumped off the platform. I thought that I would be falling rapidly to the ground, but when I felt that I was descending slowly I opened my eyes to find that I was actually floating down towards the ground! I mentally slapped myself for my stupidity. I can't believe I forgot about the lower gravity level in the docks and hangars on the colonies. It didn't take long for my feet to meet the ground with a grinning Duo standing in front of me.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked.

"Bite me!" I retorted. Big mistake on my part. Without warning Duo had grabbed my right arm with both of his hands, bringing his mouth close to it and literally bit me! I jerked my arm away from him and just stared at him like he was crazy. He didn't bite me hard, but still! "What the hell?"

"You told me to bite you."

"I didn't mean it in the literal sense, you idiot! Sometimes I wonder what you're thinking inside that head of yours."

"Really now?" I watched as his grin changed into a sly smile and I started backing away when I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Duo. Whatever you're thinking, don't do it." I warned.

"Too late!"

As soon as those words left his mouth Duo wrapped his arms around me before pulling me up with him so that we were both floating. I tried to pull away from him, but with the way he was holding me I knew he wasn't letting me go anytime soon.

"You wanna know what I'm thinking?" He asked.

"No."

"Well, too bad. Because I'm telling you." He leaned his head closer to my ear and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. "I'm thinking of how I'm going to take care of my angel while she's staying with me. The God of Death always has to consider these things when it comes to keeping his Angel of Mercy safe." I blushed when he said this, but I turned my head slightly before placing a kiss on his cheek. Duo pulled away from me with a grin on his face and unwrapped his arms from around me before grabbing my hand in one of his. "Let's get going. I bet you're hungry."

"Okay."

Duo pulled me along with him as we floated back to the ground and picked up his duffle bag before we exited the hangar. Once the door was shut I turned around to see him punching in a code on the keypad before placing his thumb on the small square below the buttons. When he was satisfied with his handiwork he turned to face me with a smile.

"Now we can go!"

I followed after him a we made our way down a hallway before coming into a bigger area filled with bustling people, their talking voices mingling together to make a loud incoherent noise. It took us awhile to get to the entrance but we were rewarded with the seeing the outside of the building, the artificial light inside the colony giving off the impression of a setting sun. I knew right away that it was nothing more than a pale imitation compared to the real thing.

"I know this is your first time being on a space colony and all, but try to keep up!" Duo told me.

I mentally slapped myself before catching up to Duo as we walked around the parking area. I could tell he was looking for something (I assumed it was a vehicle) but after awhile he stopped in front of a motorcycle. I put two and two together and realized…

"This is yours?" I asked.

"Yep! How else do you think I got here?"

"You walked."

Duo chuckled.

"Fat chance! It's a long walk from here to my place and would take a good amount of time to do that." He managed to hook his duffle bag on the motorcycle so that it didn't fall off before handing me a helmet. "Put this on."

"I-I've never been on a motorcycle before!"

"Don't worry! You're safe with me!" He placed another helmet on his head before getting on the vehicle. I knew that he was right about that. He would keep me safe. I put the helmet on and got on behind Duo, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

That was all Duo needed to hear before turning on the motorcycle and driving it out of the parking area. I shut my eyes tightly as I felt the unfamiliar sensation from riding something like this and it was different from being inside a Gundam. I prefer being in a Gundam than riding a motorcycle, but then again this was my first time.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Someplace where we can eat! I know this place that I'm sure you'll like!" Duo replied.

I opened my eyes and watched as we passed by buildings. It was starting to get dark and I could see the moon outside the clear surface that covered the colony. Out of everything that I've seen so far in this colony the light from the moon and stars were some of the only natural things it had (aside from whatever plant life they had), but I still felt a little sad at seeing how close it was here. A constant reminder of what I saw on the way here. I can understand why Duo said he was a little envious of me. I couldn't see Earth since the moon was in the way. I noticed the motorcycle was slowing down before coming to a stop in another parking area. I turned my head to look behind me and my eyes widened when I saw where we were! Was I seeing things? I took off my helmet and I knew I wasn't seeing things!

"Denny's? You guys have Denny's in this dimension?"

"Sure do! I knew you'd like it when you saw it." Duo took off his helmet and gave me a grin. "At least it's something you're familiar with."

With that we went inside Denny's and to make a long story short we had gotten our seats and ordered our drinks and meals. So here we were sitting across from each other as we talked and occasionally sipping at our drinks. I thought back to what happened back in the hangar when Duo was using the keypad and I couldn't help but feel curious about it.

"What was it you were doing when we were outside the hangar?" I asked.

"That hangar was appointed to me by the Preventers since I work for them. So in a way you could consider it my private hangar and whatnot." He explained. "As for what I was doing when we were outside the hangar, I was literally locking it up so nobody breaks in. It opens from the inside, but you can't get inside without using the keypad."

"That I can understand."

Sometime later our food came and I watched as Duo ate his burger and fries. I had to keep reminding myself to eat my own burger as well, albeit at a slower rate than how he was eating. By the time I was almost finished with my burger I noticed that some on the fries on my plate were missing. Strange… I glanced up at Duo and saw that he was looking at me with a grin on his face.

"Okay, what's with the grin?" I asked, feeling suspicious.

"Nothing. I'm just watching and making sure my fair maiden is eating her food."

Okay then. I returned to eating my burger, keeping my eyes on my plate to avoid Duo's gaze. I finished the burger off and grabbed one of the fries on my plate when I noticed a hand taking a few fries from my plated. I looked up just in time to see Duo eating them. So that was where they were going!

"Hey!"

"Nothing more than fair game!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Not because of what Duo said, but at the fact that he was stealing my fries.

"My Dad would do the same thing. He used to steal fries off my plate when I was little." I smiled before pushing my plate closer to Duo. "You can have the rest of them."

"This is the first time I've seen you laugh and smile all day, Rhea." He stated. "I was wondering where it went to."

"I probably lost it, but I think you helped me find it again."

I watched as Duo smiled at me.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

The waitress came by with the bill and I watched as Duo pulled out his wallet to pay. Instead of pulling out what I was expecting to be U.S. currency I was surprised to see something different. They were dollar bills, but these were different than the ones I've used. Their appearance reminded me of the Euros back in my dimension, but instead of saying 'Euros' printed on it, it had… I had to move my head a bit to see what was written and from what I was able to make out I saw 'Cre' while the rest of it was being covered.

"What are those?" I asked.

At this Duo stopped counted to look up at me before smiling.

"Oh, these! They're called 'credits'. These are our currency in this dimension, which everyone uses in the colonies and on Earth."

"In other words, your currency here is universal. Like the Euros from where I came from."

"'Euros'?"

"It's the currency that most of the countries in Europe use. But that only applies to Europe."

"Yeah! Credits are like Euros, then! But as I said, this type of currency is used by everyone."

"It definitely makes things easier when it comes to buying stuff." Duo pulled out the amount of credits needed to pay for our meal and placed it on top of the bill. As he was putting his wallet away a sudden thought came into my head. "But if credits are the currency here, then how was it that you had U.S. dollar bills?"

"I have my ways."

"No, seriously. How did you get them?"

I watched a Duo looked around us to see if anyone was nearby before leaning over the table to get close to me. Seeing this I did the same thing and leaned closer to him.

"I stole it. Pickpocketed if you wanna be specific." He whispered into my ear.

My eyes widened when he said this.

"You stole it?" I whispered back.

"I didn't take a lot of money from a single person. I only took a few bills from one person before doing the same to the next person."

I pulled away from him and just stared as he returned to his seat. I blinked a few times as we were both quiet and I could see Duo shifting around uncomfortable in his seat.

"Not exactly what I thought, but I can understand." I said, trying to break the silence. "I'm not mad or anything, it's just wasn't expecting that. Thanks for dinner."

Duo let out the breath he must've been holding, sounding relieved that I wasn't mad at him.

"Oh, good! You're not mad at me! And you're welcome."

A few minutes later we were leaving Denny's and heading towards Duo's place via his motorcycle, which I finally got used to being on. He told me that he lived in his own apartment after saving up enough money to buy it. Then he told me about his job at the scrap yard and the fact that 'the pay was good', as he phrased it. It wasn't long until we stopped in the parking area outside an apartment building, taking off our helmets and Duo grabbing his duffle bag before we started climbing the stairs. We reached the second floor and I followed him down the hall as we passed a few door until we came the fourth door near the end. I offered to hold onto his duffle bag as he searched for his key, but he said he had it before he finally found it and opened the door.

"Welcome to your new home!" He said as he held the door open for me.

I walked inside the apartment and flicked the light switch on, only to have my eyes widen in horror at what I saw with the lights on! The living room (at least what I assumed it was with the way it looked) was a total mess with a pizza box and some Chinese take out containers on the coffee table that stood between the couch and TV, soda cans (or whatever they were) littered the carpeted floor here and there, and blankets and pillows all piled up on the couch. I took caution as I walked further into the living room and I could see the kitchen from where I stood, and I'll tell you right now that its condition was no better than the living room. There were dishes piled up in the sink with some on the counter next to it and (you guessed it) another pizza box on the table. I turned to look at Duo, who was giving me a sheepish look.

"Oh my god, Duo. This place is a mess." I said. "I can't see how you're able to live here in the state this place is in."

"I kinda forgot about that."

I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to find that there was no food inside. So not only was the place a mess, but there was no food! That would explain all the pizza boxes and Chinese take out… And this is the place I have to live in?

"Okay. I'm not going to freak out. I'm going to remain calm and rational about this." I took a deep breath before turning back to Duo. "Okay. Since you're letting me live here with you I have a proposition. I'll take care of keeping this place clean, buy groceries when needed so that there is actually something inside the fridge, and cook."

"You don't need to do that, Rhea! You live here now."

"You're right. I live here now. And that means that I have to help out around here as well. You have a job at the scrap yard, I don't. So while you're away I won't really have anything to do. Do we have a deal?"

I watched as Duo sighed, both of his eyes closed as he did this.

"Fine. Fine. You win." He said in defeat. "There's no way I'm going to change your mind."

"And we've come to a mutual agreement."

"Yeah. An agreement that just might change my life."

Duo started walking down the alcove in the upper left corner from the now closed front door and walked through the open doorway. I followed after him and found that the room he walked into was his bedroom, seeing that his duffle bag was at the end of the double bed as he was unpacking it. Unlike the kitchen and living room Duo's bedroom was actually clean and very tidy, making me come to the conclusion that he either didn't spend a lot of time in here aside from sleeping or that he spent more time keeping it clean than the rest of his apartment. I walked inside his room and just stood there watching him put his things in drawers and inside the lit up bathroom connected to the room, and I couldn't help feeling guilty for not doing anything. Instead of just standing here I could be helping him unpack, but then what was stopping me from doing so? What was stopping me?

I took a deep breath, trying to dismiss that thought.

"Is there anything I can help with?" I managed to get out.

Duo stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me.

"Not really." He said. His gaze went up to the ceiling and he looked to be thinking. "Hmm, maybe there is." His gaze returned to me. "Do you think you could take my Pjs out of the bag and lay them out on the bed for me?"

"Sure."

I finally had someway to help him out. I went over to where the duffle bag sat on the bed and started looking through it for his Pjs (which consisted of a gray tank top and black sweatpants). After awhile of searching I eventually found them and placed them on the bed. Even if this was a small thing I was helping Duo with I was still able to help him. At least I didn't feel guilty anymore.

"Well, I'm planning on getting a shower." Duo said once he finished unpacking and placed his duffle bag in what I assumed was his closet. "Do you want to get one first?"

"No. I'll wait until you're done." I told him.

"Okay, then! I won't take long!"

I watched as he walked into the bathroom before closing the door behind him, hearing the shower start soon after. I looked towards the nightstand next to the bed, where a lamp and a alarm clock sat and showing the time in glowing red digital numbers. I went over to turn the lamp on so there could be some form of light in the room before sitting down on the side of the bed. I pulled out my iPod and decided to listen to 'Dreams' from 'Gundam Singles History III'.

Wasurekaketa yume ga ima ugokidasu
Mune no sukima
Sukoshizutsu umeru yo ni

Kooritsuita kioku ga mezameru shunkan
Hajimaru mirai dake wo ima negau

Itsuka mita ano yume wo
Ryote de dakishimete
Hanasazu akiramezu ni
Shinjitsuzuketai
Itsuka mita ano yume wo
Kono te ni tsukamu made
Omoi wo wasurenai de
Oitsuzukete yukitai kara

Hito no nami ni kujikesou na toki ni mo
Wasurenai de
Hitorikiri janai koto

Atatameta te no hira ni nokosareta yume wo
Itsuka hikari ni kaeru hi no tame ni

Itsu no hi mo kono mune ni
Omoi wo dakishimete
Kagayaku toki no naka de mamoritsuzuketai
Itsuka mita ano yume ni
Tadoritsuku toki made
Kono te wo hanasanaide
Oitsuzukete yukitai kara

I found myself humming to the song as I continued to listen.

Kooritsuita kioku ga mezameru shunkan
Hajimaru mirai dake wo ima negau

Itsuka mita ano yume wo
Ryote de dakishimete
Hanasazu akiramezu ni
Shinjitsuzuketai

Itsu no hi mo kono mune ni
Omoi wo dakishimete
Kagayaku toki no naka de mamoritsuzuketai
Itsuka mita ano yume ni
Tadoritsuku toki made
Kono te wo hanasanaide
Oitsuzukete yukitai kara

When I was finished listening to the song I turned my iPod off before placing it on the nightstand. After sitting on the bed for a few more minutes I heard the shower turn off, but I didn't pay it much mind. I heard the door open and looked in that direction, only to feel my face heat up to 100 degrees when I saw Duo coming out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist while his long hair was down instead of being in its usual braid. I covered my eyes with my hands but the damage had been done and the image was already stuck in my mind. I heard him chuckle at my reaction.

"Oh c'mon, Rhea. It's not that bad." Duo said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. I heard his footsteps on the carpeted floor as he came closer to me and felt the bed sink a bit on my left side. A warm yet slightly wet arm was draped around my shoulders as I felt him leaning closer to me and I could feel his warm breath on my ear. "You know you like it." He whispered.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I…did like it and the sad thing was he knew he was right. I pulled my hands away from my eyes and dared myself to open them, looking out the corner of my eyes to see Duo close to me that my heart started to beat harder. I could smell whatever he used to clean himself with, but even now I couldn't tell what it was. I know that I've seen him wear tank tops before and all, but I was seeing his bare chest for the first time and I could feel my face get warmer and warmer as I continued to stare. It was… It was so…

'Oh god, does he even realize how this is affecting me?' I thought.

"A-are you trying to tempt me?" I asked quietly.

"Now what gave you that impression?" He asked innocently.

"Gee, I don't know. The fact that you came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around your waist and that you're sitting close to me."

He chuckled.

"You might wanna start getting used to it. You'll be seeing this more often now that you're living with me."

That's it. I've reached my limit. I quickly got up and made a beeline for the bathroom. I was about to close the door, but I stopped myself and glanced back at Duo.

"Can I braid your hair after I'm done?" I asked.

"Sure you can! Of course, that's after you've taken a shower." He grinned.

I blushed before closing the door behind me, making sure to lock it. I'm not taking any chances, not with what happened back there. I looked around the bathroom, its appearance simple with the usual sink, toilet, and shower. The shower itself was a walk in stall with a sliding glass door, the glass being most obscure for privacy. I opened the cabinet and pulled out a clean towel and wash cloth before placing the former on top of the toilet seat. I turned the water on in the shower and got in after stripping myself, making sure that I closed the sliding door.

I stood under the warm water so I could get used to it before a sudden thought popped into my head. I remembered how Duo always smelled nice and I started looking around the stall to find out what he used. I saw a few bottles sitting on the shelve and looked at the labels. Looks like he uses Dial soap with the Spring Water scent. I looked at the other bottles and my eyes widened when I saw what they were! No way! He washes his hair with Axe! And it was even the Dark Temptation scent! No wonder why he always smells nice! Since there was nothing else to wash myself with I settled with using Duo's stuff. I don't think he'd mind that. I quickly finished up before turning off the water, grabbing the towel to dry myself off before stepping out of the stall. It was when I closed the sliding door that I realized something. I had nothing to wear and I don't think sleeping in my clothes would be a good idea.

'Why does this situation look familiar?' I thought, already knowing the answer as I wrapped the towel around my body.

I walked over to the door and unlocked it before cracking the door open a bit. I spotted Duo sitting on the bed with his legs crossed while brushing his long hair. This time he was wearing the tank top and sweatpants I laid out for him earlier. Oh, great! I'm already having second thoughts about this. Deep breath, Rhea, deep breath…

"Duo?" I called.

Duo looked up and smiled when he saw me hiding behind the cracked door.

"What is it, Rhea?" He asked, coming over to stand right in front of the door.

"I don't have anything to wear." I started blushing.

"Okay, just a sec!" He left my line of sight and heard another door open, followed by a shuffling noise. He soon came back holding something black in his hand. "Hopefully you won't mind wearing any of my clothes." I opened the door a bit wider and I caught the look in Duo's eyes when he me with the towel wrapped around my body. "Personally, I was hoping to see a bit more, but this isn't so bad."

My face heated up in embarrassment from his comment. But then I got a bit annoyed and snatched whatever he got me to wear out of his hands, before closing the door shut.

"Usually thoughts like that are supposed to stay in your head, Duo!" I told him from behind the door.

"If I remember correctly, you were checking me out not too long ago as well." I heard Duo lean against the wall outside the door (at least I assumed). "I was only returning the favor."

"That was completely unintentional on my part. You could have at least warned me, you know?"

"Where's the fun if I did that?"

"I'm going to ignore that." I held black cloth out in front of me and blushed when I saw that it was a long sleeve button up shirt. I know that it would be big on me and all, but that didn't make it any better. "Duo. You only gave me a shirt to wear."

"I know. It's the only thing I could find on such short notice. It's going to be big on you, anyways. I'm gonna wait on the bed for you."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. I put any undergarments I had back on before slipping the black shirt over my head. The shirt itself was big on me that the sleeves covered my hands. I felt like I was wearing an extra, extra, extra, extra large shirt. I soon came out of the bathroom carrying my clothes as I closed the door behind me.

"Is there anywhere I put these?" I asked, referring to my clothes.

"Yeah. I'll take those." Duo said.

He came over to me and took my clothes before leaving the room. I didn't know where he was taking them but I went over and sat down on the bed. I spotted the hair brush Duo had been using earlier along with a hair tie as well. So he had everything ready for me for when I got done with my shower. I glanced down at the oversized shirt I had on, aware of the fact that I was wearing Duo's clothes as a small smile came on my face. During the time we've spent together he's done so much for me, even going as far as to take care of me. One example of this was that night when there was the thunderstorm and he let me stay with him because of my astraphobia. Now it was my turn to take care of him in return. My turn…

I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear the footsteps coming into the room until I felt the bed sink behind me and warm arms wrapped around me, holding me close to a warm body. I leaned back slightly and brought my hands up to place them over the arms, enjoying the warmth I was surrounded in. I felt him bury his face in my hair, hearing him give off an audible sigh as he smelled it.

"You smell nice." He said.

"That's because I used your stuff." I told him. "No wonder why you always smell good."

"I knew you would admit to that someday."

"Come on, lover boy. Time to braid your hair."

I turned around to face Duo and for the first time I was able to get a good look at him without his hair being in a braid. It was strange seeing his hair like this and the only time I've ever seen his hair down before was when I was reading the 'Episode Zero' manga of 'Gundam Wing', where he was only a 7 year old boy still living on the streets before being taken in by the Maxwell Church and having his hair braided for the first time. But since his hair was mostly dry there was a slight wave to it from being in a braid most of the time. I watched as he grinned.

"Whatcha looking at?" He asked.

"Your hair. It's really pretty." I gently grabbed a bit of hair and brought it close to me. I was surprised at how soft it was. "Not to mention it's strange seeing you without it being in a braid. I've never really seen you like this."

"What? Not even in the anime?"

"No. They never showed you with it down. That's why it was sometimes hard for me to image it like this until now."

"Well, I guess you're in luck today. Or tonight." He started to turn around so his back was facing me. He made sure that he wasn't sitting on any of his hair to make it easier for me. "Okay, do your worst!"

"You make it sound like I'm about to cut your hair!" I then hugged him from behind. "I'd never do that to you!"

"That's because you love me."

"No, I just love your hair."

"Then who do you love more? Me or my hair?" He asked.

"Your hair."

"Great! I lost my girlfriend to my hair! I feel so unloved…"

The way he said the last part sounded as if he was starting to cry. My eyes widened and I hugged him a little tighter to try and reassure him.

"Don't cry, Duo. I didn't mean it. You know I love you."

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"Good."

He twisted around a bit to look at me before pecking my lips. I saw that he hadn't been crying at all!

"You weren't really crying at all!" I said.

"You too easy to trick sometimes."

"Okay. Let me do your hair. I don't think we want to stay up all night like this without getting any sleep."

"Yes, Tenshi." He said before turning his back to me.

I couldn't help the warmth I felt in my face but I smiled as I started braiding his long hair, taking extra care as I wove each section together. That's the first time he's called me 'Tenshi', which was Japanese for 'angel'. I'll tell you right now that it take awhile to make a three foot long braid, but I finally finished it.

"I'm done."

"Thanks-" Duo stopped himself, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "I mean…arigato." He said, sounding out the words.

"You're welcome, Duo." I told him. "What is that anyways?"

"A piece of paper with a few Japanese words Heero wrote down for me. I don't really know Japanese, except for what's written here."

"You went through all this trouble for me?"

"Yeah. You seemed to know some Japanese, so I wanted to make an effort to impress you."

"You've done more than enough to impress me. I'm just glad you try." I yawned a bit. "I'm starting to feel tired."

"Okay. Let's get to bed."

We both stood up from the bed before getting under the covers, Duo taking the right side of the bed while I took the left side. I was surprised at how comfortable the bed was and closed my eyes. I felt Duo wrap his arms around me before pulling me close to him and his warmth surround me. I suddenly felt his lips on the left side of my neck as he kissed it gently. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He pulled back slightly before his mouth came close to my ear.

"Laying claim to you." He whispered. "Just let me finishing what I started earlier today."

My eyes widened a bit, but I relaxed. I knew something like this was going to happen.

"Okay…"

Duo placed his lips back where they had been on my neck and soon felt them part before his tongue starting running across the skin he was kissing. Even though I told him not to do that I didn't try to stop him, shivering slightly as he continued. His tongue pulled away and he started sucking a bit. My eyes widened when I felt him nibbling on my neck as I felt a bit of pain and only one thing came to mind: love bite. The spot where he had been biting my neck felt a little sore when he stopped and he kiss the spot softly before bringing his lips back to my ear.

"Aishiteru, Tenshi…"

'I love you, Angel.'; that was what Duo said. I felt my face heat up as, but I closed my eyes, smiling as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Aishiteru, Shinigami…"

I fell asleep just like that, completely comfortable in Duo's arms as he held me close.


ATE: I know what you're all thinking right now. The idea for calling the currency in their world 'credits' came from a video game called 'MS Saga: A New Dawn' (I don't own it), which is a Gundam rpg game for the PS2 (don't own either) and the currency in the game were 'credits'. I used this name since it's never mentioned what currency they used in Gundam Wing. It has to do with the reason why Rhea's in the Gundam Wing world. Believe me it was hard trying to think something up, and that's what took up most of my time with this whole chap. And the fact that a certain Gundam pilot is starting to get ideas. *Dodges random Gundam Wing manga being thrown in my direction* Alright, Duo! We all know that the God of Death is back from hell and all that stuff! Just stop throwing my stuff at me!

Duo: Well, excuse me for being a mere mortal!

ATE: *Stares* ...You do realize that what you said had nothing to do with the fact that you threw one of my mangas at me.

Duo: *Looks around* Uh...oops...?

ATE: Just leave before I do something I know I'll regret.

Duo: Okay! *Waves at readers* Heyeverybody!Byeeverybody! (Hey everybody! Bye everybody!)

ATE: Now that he's gone, I'm going to post the english translations of the song 'Dreams', which I got from animelyrics dot net:

The forgotten dream is moving.
The crevice of my heart
Is beginning to fill up.

In the moment the frozen memories awaken,
We begin to wish for the future.

Until the day I see the dream
I will catch with both hands,
I won't let go or give up.
I want to keep believing.
Until the day I see that dream
That I'll catch with this hand,
Don't forget the memories
I want to keep chasing it.

Even when you feel like breaking down inside the crowd,
Don't forget
That you are not alone.

The dream left in the palm of my warm hand
Will someday change into light

Someday, in this heart
I will embrace the memories.
I want to continue protecting those shining times.
Until the day I see that dream
I will continue struggling
And not release this hand.
I want to keep chasing it.

In the moment the frozen memories awaken,
We begin to wish for the future.

Until the day I see the dream
I will catch with both hands,
I won't let go or give up.
I want to keep believing.

Someday, in this heart
I will embrace the memories.
I want to continue protecting those shining times.
Until the day I see that dream
I will continue struggling
And not release this hand.
I want to keep chasing it.

ATE: I would also like to mention the poll I started last chapter about changing Estelle's name to Rhea, and so far there's only been 1 vote for the name Rhea. I'm thinking of letting everybody continue to vote and I'll make the decision once I post chap 10 or 11 in the near future. Please remember to review, share any ideas you want to suggest to me to use in future chaps (I'll give credit to whoever give me any ideas if I use them), and/or vote if you think I should change Estelle's name.

(*) IMPORTANT UPDATE: Estelle's name has officially been changed to Rhea.