10) Inner Thoughts

Yumi and Quatre sat across from each other on two couches in the side lounge of the arcade. They were quietly studying their English homework together.

"Tea?"

"Huh? Oh, thanks Rashid," Quatre nodded. The Arab man poured the warm liquid out of a crystal decanter and handed it to the blonde. He turned to Yumi who shook her head with a raised eyebrow.

"No thanks," she replied. When Rashid bowed and headed back out into the arcade, Yumi turned to Quatre. "Weird. Where did that guy just come from? He just appeared from out of nowhere!"

Quatre only smiled.

One month had passed since the girls' training first began and they were fast on their way to becoming pros. Relena smiled more and more as she watched them train, mostly because of the speed at which they learned everything. Cheyenne's cartwheels were darn near flawless, Yumi's bullets never missed their mark and Kaila was becoming a strategy genius. However, as each day passed, the guys seemed to grow more and more grim. They knew the mission was close at hand and they also realized that nothing could prepare the girls for the real thing.

Quatre kept stealing glances at Yumi as they studied. The two had grown closer over the month but then again, so had everyone else in the group except for Heero who was just being Heero. Quatre was a little worried about Yumi being involved in the whole mission, to tell the truth. She was supposed to be the spy of the group, the one who snuck in and did the dirty work...alone. He wasn't sure he liked that even though the guys had all snuck into places by themselves several times before. But Yumi still wasn't all that great at strategy and Quatre feared the worst for her once she penetrated the Shadow Walker's headquarters.

Yumi looked up at him and smiled, placing her pencil and notebook down in her lap. "What's on your mind, Q-chan?" she asked, smirking as if she already knew the answer. He only shook his head hurriedly and returned to writing his essay. She raised an eyebrow, set her notebook down on the couch and walked across the room to sit down next to him. He tried to slow his breathing at her being so close to him. There was no doubt that he had a crush on her and she obviously had one on him, but he wasn't ready to act on his feelings just yet.

She took the notebook away from him, set it on the table beside her and trailed her fingers up and down his shoulder. "Why don't we...take a break from studying, hm?" she asked softly.

Quatre gulped and shook his head, reaching for his notebook with shaking hands. "No…uh…you know this paper is due Friday, Yumi. Um, we need every second we can get." He tried to ignore her skin-tight leather skirt and the flimsy pink blouse that fit her just as well.

Yumi pouted and began to caress his cheek. "C'mon, Quatre, loosen up a little. It's just us." She inched closer and brought her lips near his neck.

"Yumi..." Quatre licked his lips.

"Hmm?" she whispered back, about to touch his neck with her mouth.

"ABSTINENCE IS THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT PREGNANCY!" he screamed suddenly.

Yumi's eyes opened wide and she pulled back to give him an incredulous stare. "What?" she asked.

"Um...err..." Quatre blushed very, very red. He had just said the first thing that came to his mind and now the girl of his dreams-who had just been coming onto him-was looking at him as if he were a worm. 'I must be the stupidest guy alive...'

"Um...I...nothing, Yumi," he said aloud.

A smile began to play across her rose-colored lips and she shrugged. "Oh, whatever, then." She moved closer again but he shied away.

"Uh, really, Yumi! I think we need to take this thing slow, you know? I don't want to rush into anything!" he yelped and Yumi stopped. They stared at each for a minute with blue eyes meeting reddish-brown ones. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' kept repeating over and over in Quatre's head as Yumi rolled her eyes and got up from his couch, returning to hers with a huff. Saying nothing, she began to work on her paper again. He sighed and tried to return to his work as well but to no avail. He found himself curiously tempted to finish what she'd started. After several minutes of fighting with himself he looked up at her. She was staring right back. Blood ran to his cheeks as she raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Your move."

'Oh, man, someone save me!' Quatre pleaded, fearing he'd lose his self-control.

"Can't you two just SHUT UP?"

Yumi's gaze immediately went to the door and Quatre breathed an immense sigh of relief, wishing he could just melt into the chair. Into the room burst Kaila, Heero, Cheyenne and Wufei. The last two named were both giving Kaila death glares.

"I was merely telling her that Nataku is safe with or WITHOUT seatbelts!" Wufei growled. "And that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Seatbelts on a motorcycle?"

Cheyenne angrily shook her pilot manual at him. After her first day of flying Blizzard-Cry, she was rarely seen without it. "Look here, Chang Wufei. I'll have you know that those things are dangerous and until you get a passenger helmet, I refuse to ride on that thing anymore!"

"Thing!" Wufei yelled.

"Wokka-Wokka or whatever," Cheyenne amended.

"It's Nataku!"

Kaila grabbed Cheyenne's arm and pulled her over to Yumi's couch. "Over here. Sit with me and leave him alone."

"We're here," Heero announced pointlessly. Yumi laughed at them and returned to her notes. Wufei leant against the wall next to the door, content with glaring at Cheyenne. Meanwhile, Heero walked across the room to buy a Coke, open it, and glance out the patio glass doors, sipping every once in a while.

Cheyenne huffed and opened her manual back up, preparing to read when she noticed Quatre's face. "Why so red-faced, Q?" she asked.

"Um...um..." Quatre stammered, looking helplessly at the floor.

Yumi cleared her throat. "We've been studying real hard," she answered coolly. Quatre nodded, his head bobbing up and down.

"Oh," Cheyenne went back to her book.

Kaila stared at Yumi, then Quatre and back. "Mm-hmm..." she murmured. Yumi shot her a death glare and Kaila stifled a laugh.

(*)

"Thanks for giving me a ride, Trowa," Duo told his friend as they stepped into the arcade. "Although, pardon me for saying so, your truck smells like horse crap."

"Comes with the job," Trowa shrugged. Duo sighed and shook his head as they walked through the karaoke crowd, around the arcade games and into the lounge near the back, but he stopped Trowa outside the door. "What?" Trowa wanted to know.

"Trowa...um...okay...um...all right...um..."

"What, Duo?"

"How do you know when you really like someone?" Duo blurted out. He asked Trowa because he seemed to know a lot about women although the guy hadn't had a girlfriend in years.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at Duo and studied him with dark green eyes. "We're talking about Kaila?" he asked.

"We're talking about Kaila," Duo confirmed.

Trowa rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger in thought. "You really like someone when you act the way you do around her."

"Huh?" Duo scratched his head.

Trowa spread his hands and closed his eyes. "The way you act around Kaila; it shows how much you like her."

"And, and the way she acts around me…?"

Trowa smiled thinly and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Go ahead and do it, Duo, the feelings are mutual between you two."

"Cool!"

Trowa only wished his current crush situation were as easily solved as Duo's.

(*)

Cheyenne looked up as Duo and Trowa entered the lounge and smiled at them. She knowingly got up so Duo could sit next to Kaila since the two had grown very close as of late. More than just teasing, their relationship was starting to take a serious turn. Duo winked at his cousin as he sat down next to Kaila. He placed an arm behind her and whispered something in her ear. She giggled a bit.

Heero sat down beside Quatre and seemed to stare at his soda can but he was really staring at nothing. Cheyenne settled herself into an armchair next to Quatre's couch, curling up in it. Wufei, for no apparent reason, walked over to her chair and, after exchanging a dirty look with her, placed himself on her armrest. Cheyenne rolled her eyes and went back to studying with him looking over her shoulder. Trowa stared at them and rested against the wall Wufei had been before. The room went silent except for an occasional giggle from Kaila.

'What is he trying to pull?' Trowa watched Wufei. 'He claims he doesn't like her, but one will rarely find him anywhere else except by her side. Granted, they're always arguing about something, but he's always there...'

He let his gaze trail to Cheyenne's pretty brown face. He took in her sunset-colored hair falling over her shoulders and the gray eyes that were hooded now from reading. He allowed his eyes to take in all of her: the bright orange T-shirt and blue jean shorts with orange and gray tennis shoes; the cocoa brown legs, slender and smooth; the petite fingers, so soft, that held the book carefully in her left hand. 'And then...always above her, always beside her...' Trowa's eyes met Wufei's. 'Him.'

Wufei's eyes narrowed when he caught Trowa's gaze. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. The group looked up, startled, and turned to Trowa who only stared back.

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked finally.

"You're looking at me as if you have something to say."

"Do you consider me your friend, Wufei?" he asked slowly.

Wufei's eyes narrowed further, remembering their earlier conversation well. 'What is he getting at?' "Yeah, why?"

"No reason," Trowa told him instantly, closing his eyes and bowing his head. "Well there is a reason. But it's too complicated to explain right now…"

'He's mocking me,' Wufei growled angrily. 'But, why? What's his problem now?'

The rest of the group, failing to understand the exchange between the two, looked at each other curiously and then returned to their work. Duo suddenly grabbed Kaila's hand and led her out the patio door to discuss something in private.

Trowa watched them go. "Ah, it's about time that two who know they are meant for each other finally come together as one to realize each other's worth," he said out of nowhere. The rest looked at him strangely except for Cheyenne who was practically drooling.

"Trowa, that was beautiful!" she purred.

"That was crap," Wufei told her seriously.

Cheyenne turned back to Wufei and smacked his arm. "It was not! Why can't you come up with pretty stuff to say like Trowa?"

"Because Trowa's gay," Wufei answered with a shrug.

"You are?" Yumi peered at the spiky haired young man curiously. "I mean, it doesn't change our friendship or anything-"

"Trowa's not gay!" Quatre spoke up for his friend and then turned to him. "Are you?"

Trowa said nothing (as usual) but simply gave Wufei a chilly stare. He then abruptly turned and walked out.

"Trowa!" Cheyenne called. "Way to go, Wufei." She placed her book down and quickly followed the guy. Yumi and Quatre stared at Wufei in disbelief.

"Honestly, you can be a real jerk at times," Quatre sighed.

"Yeah, do you have a reason for being this way or are you just crazy?" Yumi added.

Wufei grabbed Cheyenne's Gundam manual. "Leave my mental state out of this, Woman," he growled and left the room.

(*)

Duo and Kaila, completely unaware of the drama going on inside, stared up at the sky side by side. They were sitting on a patio swing and rocking gently back and forth. It was extremely peaceful outside the arcade as long as the patio door was closed. The only sounds were of the birds chirping cheerfully, the squeaking of the swing's chains and the slight whistle of the wind. Kaila smiled and laid her head on Duo's shoulder, completely relaxed.

Duo, on the other hand, was a wreck. Sweat formed on his forehead and every two seconds he tugged at his collar. 'Just do it, Trowa said. The feelings are mutual, Trowa said, but what if he's wrong...?'

"Duo?"

"WHAT?" He jumped at the sound of his name. "Er, I mean, w-what?"

Kaila didn't raise her head but hid a smile, checking her nails. "You seem kinda jumpy today, Braid-Boy."

Duo cleared his throat and wiped sweat from his forehead. "O-of-of course not! W-What would I be n-nervous about?"

"Oh..." Kaila trailed off, smiling. "I thought you wanted to ask me something..."

"N-n-n-n-no! I m-mean, yes. I mean," Duo growled. "Darn it Kaila, do you want to be my girl or not?"

"Aggressive, aren't we?" She toyed but when he didn't respond she took her head off his shoulder to look at him. Duo was, for once, looking very serious as he awaited her answer so she turned serious as well and nodded once, slowly.

He smiled in relief and leant in for a kiss.

Kaila closed her eyes in response.

Heero opened the door and sneezed.

"Wha-?" Duo drew back and turned to the reserved young man. "Hey, buddy, do you mind?"

"No," Heero went over to the rail to drink his Coke calmly. (Btw, Coke is bad for you!) Duo laughed at that but Kaila glared at him.

"C'mon, Duo. Let's go somewhere we can be alone," She grabbed his hand and led him back into the lounge. They were greeted with an almost empty room. Yumi was just packing up and getting ready to go.

"Hey guys, I was just leaving." She had a troubled look on her face. "Cheyenne went to go talk to Trowa, Quatre went to the bathroom and Wufei..." She shrugged and turned towards the patio. "I'll be back," she added and headed out to the patio.

Kaila and Duo looked at each other until Duo grinned the widest grin he had in a while and flopped down onto a couch. "You wanna be alone, huh? Will this do?"

Kaila laughed and plopped next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and leant close while she placed her arms around his neck.

This time there were no interruptions.

(*)

Cheyenne shook her head as she scanned the parking lot, looking for any sign of Trowa. When she couldn't find him, she grumbled and leant against the arcade wall. 'He's probably in the guy's bathroom or something,' she sighed, flicking some hair out her face and closing her eyes. 'Trowa... he's so sweet, I hope he's not really gay so I can…' She stopped her thoughts. 'Wait, so I can what? I'm over him, remember?'

But she'd noticed how extremely nice Trowa had been to her over the past month. In fact, the more he opened up to her, the meaner Wufei seemed to get. 'He can't be jealous...' She laughed at the very thought. 'I mean, before I thought that maybe Wufei and me could've…but no, that's squashed now too. At least I think so. Wait, why don't I believe myself...? Is it because I don't want to?'

"Woman?"

Cheyenne grunted as she opened her eyes. Her feelings were completely mixed. "What, Man?"

Wufei smirked as he approached her. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Don't worry about it, why are you stalking me?"

"I'm not. I just thought you'd want this back." He flung the pilot's manual at her.

She caught it easily with one hand and tucked it under her arm. "Thanks, 'preciate it." She quickly turned to go. When he started to walk with her, she stopped and glared at him. "Yo, you don't have to follow me everywhere, Wufei. Geez, all you do is terrorize me, yell at me and criticize me. I'm tired of it, okay?"

"Okay," he responded quickly.

She blinked. That was way too easy. "I mean it!"

"Okay."

"I really mean it!" She was practically screaming now. He seemed to be mocking her with those black eyes of his and she couldn't read anything from them.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "I said, okay."

"You are impossible!" she screeched.

"What is your problem, Woman?" He looked at her like she was insane.

"Do you even know my name?"

He allowed a brief confused flicker to display across his face just to annoy her further. It worked of course. She gritted her teeth in frustration and he smiled inwardly. 'Of course I know it, Cheyenne. I toy with it in my mind every day and I wonder-'

"Wufei, just leave me alone from now on, okay?" She was clearly pushed to her limit this time. "Don't talk to me except during training. Don't look at me except during training. Don't even breathe at me except during training! You get it? I don't feel like having any more pointless conversations with you!" With that, she turned her back on him and walked off.

He stared at her back in shock. It sounded like she actually meant it that time. Had he really been that evil to her? 'I can't help it. Nataku withstood my ravings...but you're not Nataku, are you?' "Guess you're not as strong as I gave you credit for," he spat.

Cheyenne didn't even bother turning around. "Oh ouch. You broke my heart." When he muttered some choice words in Chinese at her, she shocked the heck out of him when she answered very promptly: "Xie-xie." (Thank you.) Wufei stared at her with his mouth wide open. She turned around triumphantly and was pleased to see the look on his face. "Wo gou le," she added. (I've had enough.)

Wufei cocked his head. "Wo shuo hua ni ting de dong ma?" (You understand what I am saying?)

"Yaoshi shuo de kuai, jiu bu tai dong." (If you speak fast, then I don't quite understand.)

"I don't believe this..." he muttered.

She smirked at him. "Of course not, zai-jian." (Goodbye.) She turned to walk away but he trotted up to her.

"Wait, Woman!"

"Wufei..." she warned. But when he caught up he only stared into her eyes as he had done a month ago. She stared back, hating herself for not being able to tear away.

'Not Nataku and yet more...am I falling for this chick?' He leant forward…and kissed her. Cheyenne stared up at him in surprise but didn't dare pull back. When he gently pulled away, he smirked down at her.

She stared at him with her mouth open. "Wufei...what the heck was that for?" she asked bluntly, not meaning for it to come out that way.

He frowned darkly. 'Wait, what the heck am I doing?' He clutched his head.

"Woman, you'll be the death of me! You are not Nataku! Toikakete mo toikakete mo kuzurenai nara, sore ga seigi da!" he screamed in Japanese and ran off towards his motorcycle, completely flabbergasting Cheyenne..

"What? Wait! Wufei!" She called after him. (Alliteration!)

"Ore wa mada arukitsuzuketai, mitsumete iru no ha yami no kanata dake!" Wufei screamed, dashing as fast as he could go (which was pretty fast), hopping onto his bike and peeling out of parking lot before Cheyenne had a chance to think.

She ran after him but to no avail. She tripped and fell to her knees on the ground and sat in the parking lot breathing heavily and clutching her book to her chest. After a moment, she touched her lips lightly; still faintly feeling his lips on hers.

"Wufei...why...why did you do that?"

'Yes, Wufei...why?' Trowa asked inwardly from behind Cheyenne. He leant back against the arcade and watched the Chinese guy speed off. 'What are you trying to do...?'

(For the Japanese impaired, Wufei said-more or less-first: "If it does not crumble no matter how I question it, that is justice!" and second: "I only want to continue walking, only gazing at the darkness!" Yup, he's a pret-ty weird guy...but aren't they all? Lyrics from his songs are anyway...)

(*)

"Heero?"

"…?"

"I've got a couple of questions for ya," Yumi walked up with her backpack over one shoulder.

Heero didn't look at her but continued to sip his Coke. "I might answer, I might not," he replied.

"Fair enough. Easy question first, this is February right?"

He nodded at her. "Next question."

"I wasn't done, Psycho," she huffed and continued. "If this is February and we're in Canada, then why the heck is everyone walking around in shorts and T-shirts?"

He continued to look ahead at the grass beyond the patio fence. "Who said we were in Canada?" he asked finally.

Yumi was completely confused by that. "Um...my plane ticket?"

"That's interesting, considering if you asked Kaila and Cheyenne where we were, they would answer 'somewhere in Europe'."

"Europe? Wha…oh…" Yumi trailed off, slowly understanding.

"Yes, our location is secret, but we let students think they're going to another country for obvious reasons."

"So where are we then?"

He looked at her from the corners of his eyes. "Somewhere on Earth."

She narrowed her eyes and held up two fingers. "Question two, smart mouth."

"Is?"

"You're from Tokyo, right?"

"Why?"

"Your accent...it's different from mine, but I know you're from Japan."

"I'm not, Yumi."

"You're not what?"

He shrugged. "I'm not from Japan."

"But...you're Japanese...aren't you?" She was utterly confused. She hadn't intended for her questions to be this complicated.

He turned to look straight into her eyes. "Listen well, Yumi. Everything that you're training for is not intended for earth combat. Cheyenne learning how to fly a Gundam, Kaila learning how to tap into "foreign" computers and your non-gravitational training bouts are not just things we made up." Yumi could only stare as he continued. "We're preparing you for outer space, Yumi. We're going into outer space to fight the Shadow Walkers. We'll be in outer space soon. Outer space...is where I'm from."

Yumi's mouth opened in shock and she took a couple of steps back from Heero. "You…you're an alien?"

He stared at her. It was as if he wanted to roll his eyes, but couldn't. "No, Yumi, I'm from a space colony."

"I don't understand, Heero."

"Relena will explain it all soon."

"Soon?"

"You will face the Shadows soon."

"Heero…"

"Third question?" he cut her off abruptly and turned back to look out over the rail.

She sighed and closed her eyes. So much was going on that she didn't understand and right when she thought she'd grasped it… "Heero, why are you acting so funny, that's my last question."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard that you didn't want to fly Blizzard-Cry but Quatre told me that you were once the leader of the Gundams or something like that. You were the best. So why have you given up flying now?" Heero didn't respond, but her words seemed to get to him. The knuckles on his left hand were white as they gripped the railing. For once, Yumi's heart softened towards the aloof young man and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Heero, what is it? What's wrong, huh?"

"And you care because?" he half-growled.

She narrowed her eyes and removed her hand. "Whatever, you're right, I shouldn't care. See you at training. Bye." With that, she walked back into the lounge, more confused than ever.

Heero continued to stare at the grass beyond, looking inwardly at himself. Flying…he'd promised himself that he would never fly a Gundam again. After That Day, he'd continued to help the guys with their missions but always from behind the scenes and never in a mobile suit.

He raised his face to the sky and closed his eyes. Would he be needed for this mission? Would Wing-Zero be needed? "Relena…" he whispered as the wind blew.

(Why did he whisper her name? I dunno.)

(*)

"Do you need help, Cheyenne?" Trowa asked, coming up behind her.

She was still on her knees in the arcade parking lot, looking completely lost and disoriented. "Oh…Trowa…yes."

He reached down, gently gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. "Been talking to Wufei, huh?" he said, attempting to make a joke. She glanced at him finally, meeting him with the soft gray eyes that he found himself wanting more and more as the days passed. 'But Wufei is in my way…why?'

"Yeah, he's succeeded in confusing me more."

"He's good for that," he nodded. She laughed a little and he smiled at her. 'Man, I just want to hold her…'

"Trowa…" She moved closer to him, making his heart beat faster.

"Yes?" he asked quickly, not showing his inner feelings.

"Who is Nataku?"

His heart dropped. 'Why do you care about him, Cheyenne? All he does is torment you.' "Why?" he asked aloud.

She spread her hands. "I don't know. I mean, all this time I thought it was just a nickname or something but the guy names EVERYTHING Nataku. His motorcycle, his Gundam, his pencils, his CD player, his combs, his socks…I mean, come on now, his SOCKS?"

"Perhaps it is better if I don't disclose this information to you, Shy," Trowa started slowly.

She frowned at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"It will not help you."

"What?"

"You won't like the answer."

"Trowa, what are you getting at?" she asked in frustration. Trowa closed his eyes and held her hand in his, thus making her very nervous. "Is Nataku his evil twin or somethin'?" she ventured.

"Nataku's his wife, Shy."

Cheyenne was speechless and her eyes widened. Then she looked at the ground, not knowing how to react.

He squeezed her hand. "I know. He doesn't talk about Nataku the person much, but they were married when he was thirteen or something."

"THIRTEEN?" She tore her hand away from his. "Is that even legal?"

"Shy…"

"And all this time I thought he liked me."

"Cheyenne-"

"And he's walking around with a wife!"

"She's dead," Trowa said.

Cheyenne stopped ranting and glanced up at him, her eyes becoming soft. "Dead…how?"

Trowa closed his eyes. "During battle-"

"Wait, is that why he's so adamant about not letting me fly?" she asked excitedly, feeling things click in her mind. "Is that why he always pushes me to fight to the best of my ability? Why he's always following me around?" She looked at him for confirmation. "Right, Trowa…?"

"You do…resemble her…" he answered reluctantly. "I saw a picture of her once a while back, but you're nothing like her."

"Oh Wufei, why didn't you tell me before?" Her eyes narrowed in firm resolve. "I gotta talk to him! I mean for real. About us."

"Cheyenne." 'Is this destiny? Can I never reach her?'

"I gotta get home! How do I get home?"

"Cheyenne…" 'I saw her first. It's not fair. He said he didn't like her…'

"Oh that's right! Quatre!" She was off and running back towards the arcade. "Thank you, Trowa! For everything!"

"Cheyenne!" he called. 'Please, give me a chance. I can treat you so much better than this!'

"Call me!" she replied and entered the doors.

Trowa stared gloomily in the parking lot with his hands to his side and his eyes straight ahead. "I like you… a lot…"

His words fell on deaf ears.