Two halves of a whole Chapter 11: Racing the Shadows, a gundam wing/ac fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Hey people, another chapter done. Hope you enjoy ;)

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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.- Jim Elliot

Racing the shadows

She was going to meet Quatre. He had invited her to come and visit him and she could not refuse. She knew she had seen Quatre in one of those meetings before but she never would have guessed him to be a Gundam Pilot. Then again looks can be deceiving, a saying she was all too familiar with.

And of course her bodyguard had to come too, just like that bodyguard happened to be Heero Yuy. She was enjoying the unnerving silence already.

"Heero…"

"Hn."

"About that night…"

He ignored her, staring ahead with his arms crossed. How was she going to get through that thick head of his?

"Trowa was a mistake…" 'One I most certainly do not regret.' "I…" She took a deep breath. "I was just trying to make you jealous."

Heero's eyes narrowed carefully watching her every move. He seemed to be processing the information.

She was fidgeting with her skirt. The next thing she felt was his breath on her skin. He was so close and she almost got lost in his eyes. Entranced her eyes were locked with his. 'Now I see why Lena fell for this guy.'

His face coming closer to hers; she nearly held her breath.

"Don't do it again." He whispered in her ear before pulling back smirking. "We're here." Then he got out of the car.

She was furious. 'Oh how she would love to put a couple of holes in him. It would be a waste of such a particular fine specimen of a man though. Almost too bad he was Relena's man. But he had challenged her. She never backed down from a challenge. Quickly wiping her smirk off of her face she accepted the hand held out to her. Only to find herself face to face with a certain blonde individual.

"So good to see you Miss Relena." Quatre exclaimed smiling.

She smiled. "I'm glad you invited me Quatre."

Her bodyguard stood a couple of feet away, leaning against the car.

She followed Quatre into his house and one of his servants poured some tea for the both of them.

"How have you been doing, Miss Relena?"

'Knock it off with the Miss Relena already.' Kat sipped her tea. "I've been good, very busy though. How about yourself?"

"Very good." Quatre replied smiling somewhat. He looked a bit uncomfortable.

"So Miss Relena… Have you heard anything of Miss Dorothy lately?"

Kat laughed. Someone has a crush. D hadn't told her anything about that; she would get her for that later. "As a matter of fact I have."

Quatre inched closer. "Really?"

"Why Quatre, one would almost say you fancy her."

Turning red he nearly choked on his tea.

"That is quite alright Quatre. You would make quite a pair."

Blushing furiously he stared at his cup. Then a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

"Like you and Heero?"

Now Kat turned red. "I do not know what you're talking about."

"Of course not."

Kat refrained from glaring at him. She remained silent, stirring her tea. She hated tea.

"And how are Duo and Trowa doing these days?"

"Duo is with Hilde. The two of them seemed to be made for each other. And Trowa is my bodyguard as you know. He still visits Catherine every now and then occasionally performing."

The door opened.

"Quatre, I… Excuse me; I didn't know you had company."

Getting up Quatre excused himself and followed the woman out of the door.

Kat sighed, studying her nails out of boredom.

"Is she your girlfriend Quatre?"

"No Irea, she is a dear friend of mine."

"She would make a good match."

"Irea! Don't you start as well. She is a friend, nothing more."

Relieved when his sister finally decided to let it go and left, he went back into the room.

Deciding it might be better to get out of the house (in case one of his sisters was going to try to spy on him again) he waited for her to finish her tea.

"If you would like I could show you my stables?"

"I would be honoured Quatre." Her face lit up.

Quatre smiled. "And perhaps we could even go for a ride later on…"

Kat smiled even wider, her eyes shining.

"I believe that is a yes. Let's go then. Allow me to escort you Miss Relena." He offered her his arm which she gladly accepted.

They strolled along, her bodyguard following her like a shadow. She petted a beautiful mare which had been nudging her to get her attention. They passed through the stable and went outside again. A black horse stood alone, grazing. Then its ears perked up as he appeared to be studying them, a defiant air upon him. Kat was sold.

"Quatre can I ride that one?" She gave him her sweetest smile.

Surprised he turned to face her. "I'm afraid no one can ride that stallion Miss Relena. The very best of my men have tried."

Kat had a defiant look in her eyes. "Maybe he just needs a woman's touch.

"Heero." He looked at the other man, hoping for support.

"If she wants to ride, let her ride."

Stunned Quatre stared at him. "But Heero… Well, in that case…" He turned back only to find Kat was already heading for the stallion. "Miss Relena!"

The stallion watched her every move apprehensively. Kat slowly approached him, Quatre and Heero watching with interest. She managed to get close enough to pet him.

A crowd had gathered to watch. When she managed to climb on his back in one swift motion all hell broke loose. She had found a rope on the fence and tied it around his neck to have something to hold on to. The horse broke into a run, staggering and trying almost everything to get her off. Tightening her grip she stayed put and forced him to move forward. Every time he would be slacking off she would push him further. After what seemed an eternity his head lowered and he gave in. Kat smirked victoriously. Letting him slow down she steered him towards Quatre and Heero.

"That was amazing Miss Relena." Quatre praised her.

Heero just stared at her with an unreadable expression.

She looked down at them from the stallion's back, gently stroking his neck. "What's his name?"

"He doesn't have one yet."

"He doesn't have one yet!"

"My men always simply refer to him as the Devil. However you may give him a name Miss Relena."

'I guess we have a bit in common, this horse and I.' She smiled, continuing to stroke his neck. "I'm going to name him Kage."

Heero took in the pitch-black horse, which had a faint dark blue glow in the light of the sun. Quatre nodded. "Kage will suit him well, he is like a shadow."

One of Quatre's men arrived bringing two more horses.

Kat got a mischievous look in her eyes. Kage tensed up, as if sensing what she was planning. "Anyone care to… race?"

"Hn."

"If you insist Miss Relena."

Kage wanted to take off right away but Kat held him back a little while longer. Quatre and Heero had stormed away, with Quatre in the lead and Heero closing in fast.

She had now waited long enough. She let Kage go. He shot away almost reaching the speed of light, or so it looked like. Soon she had almost caught up with them. Casually jumping a fence or two she let Kage run free. She knew how much horses hated to be left behind, let alone this one.

Heero was riding up front and it nearly shocked him to see Relena was riding right next to him. Quatre had given up, not wanting to put too much strain on his horse. He shook his head at the two that just seemed to keep going. All that remained of them was the cloud of dust where they once were. Quatre calmly waited for them to return, curious as to who would win. Noticing something, he peered into the distance, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands. He couldn't quite make out the figure. He didn't have to wait long for a second figure to show up. Finally the one riding ahead of the other had come close enough for him to see who it was. It was… Miss Relena!

Once she was near Quatre she slowed Kage down, breathing heavily. Heero soon followed her lead and rode up next to her.

"Now that's what I call a race." She exclaimed enthusiastic. After she got off she led the stallion into the stables to take care of him. Heero and Quatre gave their horses to another one of Quatre's men who had come to get them.

He frowned. Something wasn't completely right. There was something off about Miss Relena. Though he wouldn't voice his suspicions, after all he didn't know her well enough. If something was up he was confident Heero would find out on his own.

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