Disclaimer – Don't own. Don't sue.

AN: I appreciate all the feedback. You guys are really incredible. This story started as a fluke, something for me to do while I was working on something else… but it's really become my main focus. And I can't express how much I appreciate your feedback, the good and the bad. You guys make me want to keep writing!

For Richer or Poorer

It starts out like a murmur, then it grows like thunder.

Until it bursts inside of you, try to hold it steady.

Wait until you're ready. Any second now will do.

Throw the door wide open.

Chapter Nine: Wearing and Tearing

Heero shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Hastily, he looked around, trying to find the right address. He was trying to look inconspicuous, and was doing a good job. People passed him on the street as if he wasn't there. Granted in this part of New Port, people were a little scarcer and minded their own business. Still, one could never be too careful.

The reward for catching Heero Yuy had just gone up by a few thousand in the last few days. The people were hungry and hurting. Heero knew that some of these people weren't above tipping off the police, but he really couldn't blame them. He walked slowly down the sidewalk, watching a young woman across the street. She sat on the steps of an apartment building, looking dirty and exhausted. He ducked his head a little lower as he found the correct address and walked in.

The coffee shop he entered was small and quaint. More importantly, it was empty, save for one or two people. Heero immediately recognized the person he needed and sat down at the table.

"Tuck." He greeted the older man quietly, sliding into his seat.

Marquis Weyridge smiled plainly and sipped out of his cup. "Good afternoon. I trust you found the place easily?" He sat at a small table near the wall. The shop was small and quaint, with brown wallpaper and a shabby matching brown carpet. Lamps hung from the ceiling, adding tan light to the small café. Aside from Weyridge, there were two other people inside. One of them was a young woman with an apron, who obviously worked there. The other was an older man, his head on the table, looking like he had dozed off. The young girl passed by him as if this was a frequent occurrence.

"Easily enough." Heero responded. A young woman came to the table and set a cup down. She walked away, but returned quickly with a teakettle. Heero watched her as she poured some into his upturned glass.

"This place is owned by a niece of mine." Weyridge spoke softly, a kind of volume that was low, but didn't draw attention. "She has some bags behind the counter for you. They contain food and a little bit of money." He glanced towards the counter on the other side of the shop. There was a large clock stationed above it.

Heero nodded. He looked around, trying to spot the counter Weyridge was talking about. After finding it, he turned attention back to Weyridge. "The money you're giving us," Heero reached down and touched his cup but didn't bring it to his mouth. "Where is it coming from?"

"We all have secrets."

Heero stared at the older man for a minute. Weyrige returned the gaze, a far more jovial look on his face. He nodded as he realized. "All of it is yours."

"I regret that I don't have much for you, this time." Weyridge had stopped looking at Heero, and was searching the small shop. "In the way of information." He corrected, as his eyes locked onto Heero's once again.

Heero took his hand off of his cup. "Is that normal? That you've heard nothing?"

Weyridge frowned. "No." He took a sip of his tea and set the cup down. "Either there's honestly nothing going on, or-"

"Something big is happening." Heero finished for him. He frowned and shook his head.

"They say no news is good news." Weyridge offered, knowing it would sound trite. "But it is unnerving that I haven't heard anything. There's nothing. It's just silent."

"It's a bad sign." Heero said, his eyes wandering around the shop again. "But until we hear something, there's nothing I can do."

Weyridge nodded. He looked up towards the counter and sighed. "You should get out of here before they switch shifts." Weyridge watched as Heero got up from his seat, and outstretched his hand. "We'll meet there, next time." He whispered, as Heero shook his hand and received a small piece of paper.

Heero gave a short nod, retrieved his bags from the counter, and left.

v-v-v-v-v-v

Relena clutched her purse tightly as the car pulled up at its destination. She gingerly touched the car door handle.

"I'm not quite sure why you agreed to this dinner, Miss Relena." Pagan's voice cut through her thoughts. He turned his head to look at her through the rear view window.

She smiled. "Neither am I, Pagan. But I can't keep him waiting." She exited the car and entered the restaurant.

Gisborne saw her immediately and walked over to her. He offered her an arm. "You look incredible, Miss Darlian."

Relena smiled. She really did look incredible. She wore a simple black dress that shimmered in the low light of the restaurant. Her hair was worn loose, around her shoulders. She took the arm he offered. "Relena." She corrected, trying her hardest to smile and not run the other way.

He returned her smile, his being genuine. He led her to a table in the back of the restaurant, a perfect gentleman the entire way.

They were both silent for a moment. Gisborne, because he had so many thoughts flying through his head but couldn't settle on what to say. Relena, however, couldn't think of a single thing to say.

She spoke first, settling on "This is a very nice place."

"Yes, it is." He agreed.

Relena was thankful for the interruption as a waiter arrived at their table. They ordered drinks, and the waiter quickly walked away, leaving Relena without a distraction.

"I asked you to dinner for a reason." Gisborne said, reigning in Relena's attention.

Her eyes snapped to his. "Oh?" she tried to fight the flush that had risen to her cheeks. Her heart raced and she nervously folded her napkin in her lap.

"Things are about to get difficult, and I want to," he paused for a moment, searching for the right word. "protect you from them."

The waiter returned with a bottle of wine. He poured a modest amount of red wine in each glass before making another silent exit.

Relena watched the waiter, trying to sort out her words on borrowed time. They caught in her throat. "Protect?" she forced the word out.

"Yes." Gisborne confirmed. He interpreted her body language as flattery. He allowed himself a small smile.

A rush of pity filled her senses. Gisborne was looking at her with such earnestness. Her hand reached out and rested at the base of her wine glass. Even if it was a façade, she had to placate him. "Guy," she used his name, knowing it would please him. "you really don't have to protect me. I can take care of myself."

"That's not the issue, Relena. You've made a pretty powerful enemy in John Prince."

"I really don't think it's that serious."

"Relena," his tone was warning.

Relena sat up a little straighter. "No, Guy, really. I can handle it myself."

"You can't handle it, Relena. You really can't."

"Excuse me?" Relena let go of her delicate grip on the wine glass and sat back in her chair. She had known Gisborne's view of woman had been chauvinistic, but not until that moment had she realized they were also archaic. Insulted, she folded her hands in her lap.

"He's serious about you." He leaned in closer, his voice lowering. He was carefully ignoring the indignation that had crept into her last statement.

"He's wasting his time." Her tone was clipped. The sting of the insult was still prevalent in her voice.

"Things are changing." He said, his eyes narrowing. Relena pressed her lips together and looked away. He shook his head. "I should even be telling you this." He muttered, looking around the restaurant, trying to avoid looking at her. Guilt ate away at him, and for the first time, he felt like a fool.

She sighed softly, watching him deflate. Her anger dissipated. "I appreciate everything you do for me, Guy."

He looked at her, his heart rate increasing at the look of sincerity in her eyes.

"I can protect you from him. Relena, I have a plan." He said quietly, as if he was whispering a great secret to her.

"What kind of plan?" She sounded tired.

"I can't tell you right now. Suffice to say, it'll take care of all of your problems."

"Guy-"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Why won't you let me help you?"

She sighed, fingering the stem of her wine glass. "It's not that your help is unwanted." Her eyes finally rested on his. "I just think with Heero Yuy on the loose, I'm a much less interesting target."

Guy nodded. His silence at Heero's name did not go unnoticed. She watched his reaction and swallowed thickly, her anxiety returning and bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"Relena, I'm holding a press conference in two days. I want you to be there with me."

"Where is the conference?"

"The Getz Theatre."

"A theatre?"

"I asked for a large venue," he waved his hand, swatting at her question like an insignificant fly. "The point is that I'd like you to be my guest. I'd like for you to accompany me." He let his nervous energy direct his movements. His hand slid forward meeting hers across the table. He let his fingertips brush against her grip on the wine glass.

She didn't pull away. His touch was too light to feel her heart pounding. "The last time I went anywhere as your guest, Heero Yuy showed up." She said, nearly breathless.

A satisfied smile crept onto his face. "I'm counting on it."

V-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

Hilde ran a hand through her hair as she entered the meeting room. The place was full to capacity today. The entire New Port force was called in for a meeting. She walked into the traditional meeting room where assignments were given. Tacked on the wall were different maps of New Port, and different pictures of criminals. There were also random APBs and informational sheets. There were six rows of folding chairs facing a worn, but sturdy podium.

She was surprised to see that it wasn't Gisborne standing at the podium tonight, but his lieutenant, Bishop Hereford.

Hereford was a stocky, stubborn man, with little to no neck. His uniform was worn with much pride, and he took the time to decorate it with as many medals as he could earn, or in most cases, buy.

He stood at the podium, watching the police officers file into the room through narrowed eyes. Hilde tried not to shiver as she felt his eyes rest on her for a moment before moving on.

Every seat was filled, so she stood in the back of the room, leaning against the wall. She heard the soft hum of people talking around her.

"Any idea what this is about? Damn near the entire force is here." Will Scarlet asked as he leaned against the wall next to her. Hilde smirked at him. He was one of the few men she trusted there. He was a rare find, joining the police force to actually do good and stop the evil that had infiltrated his community. He wasn't much younger than Hilde, but somehow he seemed like he was. He was unconcerned with politics and schemes. He was more interested in the well being of his neighborhood, and making sure his father, an old mechanic, was taken care of. She envied his commitment.

"No idea." She said as he settled in next to her. "But Hereford looks pissed."

"When doesn't he?" Will asked with a smirk, as he tried to flatten his dark brown hair.

Anything Hilde would have said was drowned out by the sound of the butt of a gun slamming against wood. The entire room looked up to Hereford, who was the perpetrator of the sound. The room immediately went silent.

"I'll make this meeting short. Most of you have shifts to run." Hereford scanned the room with his dark eyes. "Friday is blacked out. Every single one of you is either scheduled or on call."

The room collectively groaned. "Everyone of us? What if we've already got the day off?" the question was shouted from the back, someone standing a few feet away from Hilde. She didn't turn her head to look.

"If you have a badge and you're employed by the New Port City Police Department, you're on call." Hereford growled, growing angrier by the second. "There are no excuses, no whining and no screwing around. We need all hands on deck."

"For what?" someone else in the front called out.

"The Chief is holding a press conference." Hereford said, not even bothering to try and seek out the person who had asked the question. "Now if there aren't anymore questions," the room erupted with talking. Officers were throwing questions to Hereford, who was ignoring them. He let his voice raise above the shouting. "You'll get your assignments from your commander. Dismissed." He left the podium and walked out of the room, disregarding all of the disgruntled officers.

Hilde watched him leave and then turned to Will, who was shaking his head. "All hands on deck for a press conference?"

Will ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Must be some hell of a press conference."

Hilde shook her head and bit her lip. "Something's going on." She murmured.

V-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

The door to her study flew open, the knob hitting the wall with a resounding crack. Relena breathed heavily, as if she'd been running a marathon. Still dressed from her date, she rushed to her desk.

She picked up the phone and hastily dialed. There were two rings, and then "Hello?"

Marquis Weyridge answered the phone, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Grandfather, I'm so sorry to wake you."

"No, no, Relena." He yawned. "You would not have called for something trivial."

Upon hearing his voice, Relena was somewhat calmed. She sat down behind her desk, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Something is wrong, Grandfather. Something is happening."

"You've gotten that feeling too?"

"Yes. Well," she paused for a moment. "I had dinner with Guy Gisborne tonight."

On the other side, Marquis Weyridge was silent for a moment. "I see."

"It's not what you think, Grandfather."

"I just worry that you're getting in too deep, Relena. That's all."

"I wish people would see that I can handle things on my own." Her comment was a little more biting than she had meant it.

"Just an old man's worry, Relena." He had taken no offense. His voice was tired, but having nothing to do with lack of sleep. "I suppose though, that you did not call me to expound upon your date."

"No," she sighed, putting her hand across her forehead, suddenly feeling very hot. "No, I didn't."

"Well?"

"Gisborne is having a press conference in two days," she looked over at the calendar on her desk. "Friday."

"Did he give any inclination to what it would be about?"

"No." She licked her lips, suddenly realizing they were very dry. "But when I told him I thought Heero would show up, he told me he was counting on it."

He was silent again, breathing deeply into the receiver. "Did he say anything else?"

"No. After that, he didn't bring it up again." Relena sighed deeply. "He's planning something, but I don't know what. Whatever this press conference is about, he's expecting Heero to show up."

"Then we must make certain that he doesn't."

"Can you reach him? You have to get this message to him, Grandfather. You can't let him come."

Marquis Weyridge heaved a sigh. "This will be difficult, Relena. I only meet with him at pre-arranged times."

Relena nodded, her eyes closing. "I understand."

"And I do believe I'm being watched."

Relena's heart sank. "Oh, no. Grandfather-"

"It isn't serious. They've just planted some sort of tail on me. They'll remove him once they find I'm just a boring old man." The humor had meandered its way back into his voice.

"Grandfather,"

"Please don't worry about me, Relena." He said, his tone soothing. "It will be difficult for me to reach Heero Yuy, but this is indeed a case of life and death. I must do my duty."

V-v-v-v-v-v-v

Hilde let her hands rest on the back of her head, as she paced around the alley outside the Sherwood building. She waited until she heard the quiet sound of footsteps before she made her way towards the street.

Four men passed the alley at a slight jog, without much more than a second glance. "Duo." She hissed, hoping to be as quiet as she possibly could. She got the attention of all four of them, as they stopped in the middle of the street. She exited the alley so that they could see who she was.

Duo looked at Hilde and shook his head. "It's not safe for you to be out here, you know." He warned. He looked back at Heero, Quatre and Trowa. He gave them a quick nod. "She's okay."

Heero stared at her for a moment before entering the Sherwood hideout. Quatre gave her a smile and Trowa a small nod as they entered the building behind Heero.

"Really, Hilde, you shouldn't have come. It's dangerous." Duo said, watching his friends leave before turning his attention to Hilde. In the dark, he looked devilishly handsome. He had let the hair on his face grow out a bit, making him look even more roguish. She stopped herself from staring and concentrated on why she'd come.

"Look, Duo, I had to talk to you. Something's going on."

"Yeah, Heero thought so too. He talked to Tuck today-"

"Tuck?"

Duo shrugged. "An informant. The point is that something's going on. That's nothing new, Hilde. I could've saved you the trip. We know that."

"Well did you know that every single police officer in New Port is on duty Friday?" Hilde asked, frustrated. She brushed her bangs out of her face with undue force. She had successfully pushed the thought of how attractive he was and replaced it with how annoying he was.

Duo was silent. "No." he said quietly. "No, I didn't know that. Why is every officer on duty?"

"There's a press conference. Gisborne's holding it in the Getz Theatre."

"What, is he expecting a huge crowd?" Duo asked, treating the statement as if it were some sort of joke.

Hilde wasn't laughing. "No, he's expecting you."

"Me?"

"Heero, at least. Duo, it's a set up. It's got to be."

Duo's expression turned serious. "Why do you say that?"

"I met with my commander a few minutes ago and he gave us the details. Every single patrol is assigned to a different zone in the city, or a different person. My patrol is assigned to Prince's security, another patrol has got the west end of the city." She took a breath before continuing. "And a friend of mine is assigned to Relena Darlian's personal security detail."

Duo exhaled and closed his eyes. "Relena Darlian," he repeated. "She's going?"

"She's the personal guest of Gisborne."

"She's the bait." Duo said quietly, almost to himself. He placed his hands on his hips and turned his body from her.

"The rumor is that the conference has something to do with her." Hilde said, folding her arms across her chest, suddenly very cold. "I don't know that for sure, but a lot of guys on the force think so."

"I'm sure." Duo muttered, shaking his head. He looked up at her. "Thanks for the intel, Hilde." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" she said, a little louder than she'd intended. He stopped, but didn't turn. "Duo, I can help."

"You've already done enough, Hilde. If you keep putting yourself in this situation, you're going to get caught. And if I were to be the cause of that," he trailed off, not allowing himself to finish.

Hilde didn't need him to. She nodded. "Yeah, ok." She whispered.

He turned and gave her a small smile, before leaving.

V-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

"Where have I seen that girl before?" Trowa asked Quatre as the two lounged on the cot, which was barely a foot off of the floor. Heero sat at the table, quietly typing. Quatre stretched for a moment before answering.

"On Libra." He said, bringing his hands behind his head.

"She was the girl who had gotten the technical plans." Trowa said, the memory coming back to him. His arm was outstretched, resting lazily around Quatre.

Quatre nodded. "She was unconscious for two days." He recollected. "She takes some awful risks for Duo."

"Perhaps she's in love with him." Trowa said plainly.

Quatre smiled. Leave it to Trowa, he thought, to always say what everyone was thinking. "Perhaps." He agreed.

"Or maybe she's just trying to be helpful." Duo said, coming up the stairs, throwing a meaningful glare at Quatre and Trowa.

Trowa didn't react, but Quatre merely smiled. "What did she want, Duo?"

Duo sat down next to Heero, as if he'd asked the question. Heero looked up from the computer. "Well?" he asked, a little annoyed.

"She found out why it's so quiet." Duo stared at Heero, willing him to find the answer through his stare.

Heero was unfazed. "Why is it quiet?"

"There's a press conference on Friday. It's at the Getz. Gisborne and Prince will definitely be there."

Heero took his eyes off of Duo and returned them to his computer. "So what."

Duo closed his eyes in anticipation of Heero's reaction. "Relena's going to be there."

There was a slight pause in the speed of Heero's typing. Duo only picked up on it because he was listening for it. His typing continued at normal speed, without Heero speaking. Duo shook his head, a little annoyed. "Did you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Hilde says the rumor is that it's going to be some kind of announcement concerning Relena."

This time Duo got the reaction he was looking for. The typing ceased, but Heero didn't look up from the laptop. "What kind of announcement?"

"Does it really matter, Heero?" Duo said, anger along with his volume, rising. "They're using her to get to you." He was losing his patience.

"What kind of announcement?" Heero repeated, staring at Duo, his eyes burning holes into him.

Duo wasn't wounded, and returned the stare. "It doesn't matter." His voice was cold and threatening.

"What kind of announcement?" Heero's voice was steadily getting louder.

"It doesn't matter!" Duo matched it, nearly standing. His voice was exploding with pent-up emotion. "Don't you see?" he continued, nearly yelling. "This is a trap, Heero. They're trying to lure you out, and they're using her. They've pegged you. They've got you. They know your weakness."

"She isn't my weakness." Heero growled.

"Whatever." Duo scoffed. "They're deploying every police officer to this conference. The place is going to be crawling with cops. Use your brain, Heero. They're begging you to show up."

Heero gave him a determined look. "If that's what they want, that's what I'll give them."

Duo threw his hand up in the air, turning his back to Heero. Silence blanketed the room, but Duo swore that everyone could hear the grinding of his teeth. He could feel Heero's gaze, hot on his back. Indignantly, he turned around to face him. "How can you be so smart, but so stupid?" He cried.

"Stupid?" Heero snarled.

"She isn't in danger, Heero. Her life isn't in jeopardy. She's fine. Just let this one go."

"You know that for sure, do you?" Heero's voice started to get louder. "Along with being a genius, you're also clairvoyant now too?"

"You don't need to be clairvoyant to see this is a goddamn set-up!" Duo shouted, whipping his body towards Heero with such force that his braid slung itself over his shoulder.

"We're going." Heero said, his voice returning to a manageable volume, but losing none of its anger.

"Just because it involves Relena, you want all of us to risk our lives? I followed you to Mars, Heero. I risked my own goddamn life for you once. I'm not doing it again." Duo said, matching Heero's deadly calm.

Duo wasn't sure if he expected Heero to or not, but he wasn't backing down. Duo stared at him for a moment, his eyes bright and shining with anger, but mostly betrayal. Heero couldn't hold his stare for very long, the weight of the emotion in Duo's eyes causing him to break away. Disgusted, Duo turned on his heel, walked down the stairs and out of the building.

Heero watched him leave. He stood there in the excruciating silence without saying a word. As Duo left the building, the room seemed like a vacuum; the force of his words and the abruptness of his departure had sucked all of the trust and companionship out. The room recovered from the shouting with an eerie sort of calm. Trowa and Quatre sat silently, waiting for Heero. They weren't intimidated, or afraid. It would be more correct to say they were observing. Quatre watched Heero's movements closely, trying to get a read on how the pilot felt. He was getting nothing but anger from Heero's rigid posture. Anger at Duo's words, or his actions, Quatre couldn't tell.

"Heero," Quatre started to speak, but trailed off as he felt Trowa's hand on his back, trying to get him to stay silent.

After a few moments, Heero spoke. "I don't expect anyone to go with me. But I'm going to the conference."

"It's not a good idea." Quatre said, trying not to be combative, but calming. Heero didn't turn around, or make any indication that he was listening. Quatre nodded. "I just wanted to make it known that I thought that."

Heero nodded. "I understand."

Quatre got up off of the cot and walked up to Heero. He stood in front of him and outstretched his hand. "Then I'm in." He looked over Heero's shoulder to Trowa.

"I'll go as well." Trowa answered. "Only to keep you two out of trouble."

Heero didn't say anything as he let go of Quatre's hand and walked out.

V-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v

I hope everyone had/has a safe and wonderful Holiday season. Thank you for reading!