Disclaimer: I do not and never will own any right to Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Though I fervently wish I did. However this story, its general plotline, and the character personalities are all mine. If you do decide to sue... you won't get much.

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: Mona : Lisa :

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A few millennia ago, there were 9 girls. They did not like each other. They did not trust each other. But they were fated to fight for the world they lived upon, as a team. It was a rough start, with many endings, but in their final moments, they died together, and saved their world. I kept this on my mind in this endeavor. I might not like these boys, might not trust them. But we had been cast together by fate to fight for... something. There were no coincidences. I'd learned that a long time ago. So maybe it was time to play nice.

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: Chapter Eleven : Playing Nice :

...

"I have to go see Hota and Naru." She said this softly, partially because the warm body beside her was half asleep, and partially because her chest still ached. They no longer lay on the floor. He had carried her to his haphazardly made bed an hour before, and they had laid tangled in each other's arms for the remainder of that time, silent, and soaking in the pure presence of the other.

"No." He mumbled, and she gasped when his arms squeezed so tightly around her that it irritated her wound. His eyes flashed up, indigo on stormy grey, immediately apologetic, but she greeted him with only a smile, and he shot back a grin that made her heart melt.

"Yes." She answered back. Softly this time because she didn't trust her own voice and didn't want him to think he'd caused her much pain. "I'm sure you have things to do as well, as Quatre has informed me Wind and Fire will be here tomorrow."

"Is that so?" He mumbled half heartedly into his arm, still looking up at her from his position on his stomach. "I'm more of a last minute preparer." His stomach growled, and she raised an eyebrow. "I am however a first minute eater."

She had been so absorbed in looking at him, in drinking him in, that she didn't hear the approach of a body until three knocks sounded softly at the door. She tensed out of habit, but Duo's hand was immediately at her elbow, his eyes filled with amusement at the sight of her being startled. "Yeah Quat?" He yelled out, and the voice of the Arabian sounded from the other side of the thick mahogany door.

"I thought you would like to know dinner is being served in fifteen minutes."

"You know I'll be there." Duo called back, with a grin, and then looked immediately sheepish when Quatre answered.

"And will Miss Serenity be joining us as well?" She had to stifle her laugh, but she could not stifle her surprise, and it showed in her voice only slightly.

"Yes Master Quatre." She said, loud enough so he could hear, soft enough so not to jar her healing lung. This seemed to please the pilot, and she heard his footsteps as he continued down the hallway, no doubt to inform the others of dinner as well. She looked at Duo, who still looked very amused. He offered an explanation without her having to ask.

"Quat-man doesn't really miss anything that happens within his walls. In fact he's a little overly anal about it." She smiled.

"I don't blame him." She sat up slowly, and he followed her movements with his sharp indigo eyes before he followed her, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he did so. She moved to stand, but his hand snapped out, grasping her wrist and pinning her in her place. She turned her eyes to his again, and found all his mirth gone. It was replaced instead with a somber glow.

"I'll never forgive myself for leaving you alone." He said, and her eyes softened on his. She turned her hand beneath his, so that she could intertwine her fingers with his, and spoke.

"I forgave you a long time ago." She sighed, as she leaned into him, lying so that she could tuck her head beneath his chin, and she could speak over the sound of his heartbeat. "The hardship is not over. It never stills. It never stops. And I know that your life has been just as tumultuous as mine. Shinigami. God of Death. When we were younger, I would have laughed. But it suits you." She pulled their hands up, and splayed his own palm to his vision, cupping it with her own. "The blood on your hands. It can't be washed away. But it is not mine Duo." She sat up, so she could look into his eyes, leaning so close that she knew he could feel her breath on his lips. "My blood is not on your hands. But yours is on mine. Forget forgiving yourself. How could you ever forgive me?" The look in his eyes changed only slightly, and she fought the bitter sigh on her lips.

"Forgiving you is easy." He said in a husky tone that made her shiver. "But will I ever really understand you?" The tone of his voice broke her in ways she didn't think he'd ever understand. It answered his question without thought, but she tried to put as much meaning as she could into her words as she answered him.

"I barely understand myself sometimes. I am broken beyond repair. But I hold the pieces together. I am too far gone. But that doesn't mean I can't keep fighting. To save others from enduring such madness."

"Let me fix it." He said, and she smiled as she let her head fall to his, closing her eyes.

"You can fix it no more than I can fix you." She whispered quietly. "I am what I have become." She sighed against him as his arms came up, encircling her, and pulling her into his warmth. Gods she had missed him. His smell, the sound of his breath as it escaped his lips.

"What did he do to you Serenity?" He asked, and his voice was husky and strange as it ghosted over her face. She could sense the raw anger there, not absolved by Seth's death, but fueled by his absence of knowledge on the matter.

"Will it really help you to know?" She asked, and he nodded, bobbing her own head with his. She kept her eyes closed, and without meaning to, clenched them tight at the memories she had not let resurface in quite some time. "He…" She sighed. "He took things away from me you should never take from a young lost girl. My innocence for one. And my trust. But it is not all his work, this blackness in my soul. Not by any means." She gasped when his hands fisted in the hair at the back of her neck, and this left her mouth slightly agape when he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her so forcefully that for a moment all thoughts were lost to his hunger. When he had finally pulled away, they were both gasping. Her eyes fluttered open to his intense indigo orbs, and his gaze was serious.

"I missed you Serenity McClaine. I never stopped. Not for one moment." His voice shook with his sincerity, and her heart swelled. "I thought I was resolved to my team, but the truth is, I don't know what I would have done had they asked me to kill you." His hands traveled to the sides of her face, and she held his gaze. "I nearly died the day I found out about the accident."

"Duo-" She cut in, the words like fire on her lips. "Gods I never thought.." He silenced her with a hard kiss, and a soft 'shhh' against her lips as he pulled away.

"You were everything to me Serenity. You and the Maxwell Church. You were the reason I joined the war. And I was going to come back for you." His voice was strained, and the emotion in it made her heart ache in a way that was nearly physically painful. "God Dammit Serenity I was coming back for you." His head fell against hers again, and slowly, so not to startle him, she brought her hands up his arms, wrapping them around his neck.

"I couldn't wait." She whispered. "And what befell me is no fault of your own. There after-all, is no guarantee I would have been any safer coming with you. Duo, I had to go my own way. I had to find Hotaru. And now I am here. I am whole and alive, and you are too. Goddess that's more than I could have ever dreamed."

"You are barely whole." He whispered brokenly.

"Stop." She shot back, in a harsh whisper, and used her hands to fist in his hair, bringing his face up so he was forced to look at her. "Please. I'm so sorry. I'll never stop being sorry but Duo please. Let it go. I'm here now. I can't give you anymore than that. Neither of us can change the past."

"I want to." He said, and the look in his eyes was like that of a pleading child. This time, she silenced him with a kiss. She put every ounce of what she was feeling into it. Leaving nothing out. It was rent with her pain, her confusion, her love, and her fierce pride. When she finally pulled away, she was satisfied with the small smirk that painted his lips.

"Now I know why they call you the 'Kiss of Death'." He said, and tried to pull her back in for more. She dodged him as well as she was able, stepping backwards and off the bed, bringing herself to her feet with only a slight stumble.

"Dinner." She said sternly, because the Gods only knew how long they'd be in this room if she didn't get him moving. If she didn't get herself moving.

"Stay with me." He pouted, and she almost gave in. Almost. It was ridiculously hard not to. She backed herself to the door, and he followed with a sly grin. He pressed his body against hers, and she moaned in the back of her throat despite herself. Her hands were trembling when she wrenched the knob behind her, resulting in the unceremonial dumping of both herself and Duo to the hallway floor. He was bent over her, with one knee at her side, and the other between her legs, and one fast hand behind her neck.

"Nice save." She said with a small smirk, and he opened his mouth, no doubt to say something smart assed, before the sudden trail of her vision averted his attention. "Master Quatre." She said with the amusement clearly showing in her voice.

"Just Quatre, please." The blond said, and she was almost as amused at the red blush across his face as Duo seemed to be.

"Hey Q-man." He said, amicably and almost comically, not bothering to remove himself from their precarious position. "We were just about to.." She cut him off, honestly fearing what he was going to say next.

"Join you for dinner." Serenity said, and shot him a warning glare as she shoved him off of her, brushing herself off as she stood up. Duo stood too, chuckling.

"Actually what I was going to say is.."

"Nothing." She said, and shot a punch at his ribs, which he dodged skillfully while laughing. "You were going to say nothing." He raised his hands in the air, and put them behind his head, and despite her annoyance, his grin tugged at her heart. Gods he was as much a chameleon as she'd ever been. Barring the whole glamour thing.

She turned her attention towards Quatre when he spoke. "Shall I lead the way then?" He gestured at the hallway ahead of him. "The others have already gone on ahead."

"Please do." She said, and ignored Duo's disappointment. She'd ruined his fun. For good measure, she stuck her tongue out him, and enjoyed the low chuckle in his throat as they let Quatre lead the way.

….

"Took you long enough." Wufei's voice was both knowing and disapproving at the same time, but it bothered him little. There were extremely few things the Chinese warrior approved of. And he wasn't going to lose sleep over it. He looked over at Serenity, who brushed the comment off just as smoothly, taking the seat between Mollie and Hotaru at the table with a small smile gracing her lips.

"I don't think I took enough time at all." He winked at Serenity across the table, to which she shot him an amused glare.

"Injustice." Wufei spit from across the long table as he sat down in his usual chair. "If no one else is going to say something, I will."

"By all means." Serenity said from across the table, and he smirked at the pure audaciousness in her voice. He was sure he wasn't the only one who noticed that she quieted Hotaru with a soft touch to her shoulder, and behind her hand, Mollie hid a smile.

"Barely a week ago that Onna was our target. And if you, or anyone else thinks that the fact that she visits your bedroom like the whore she is, changes that, you are sorely mistaken." He watched as, again, Serenity calmed Hotaru with no words, as Quatre spoke up.

"Wufei please.." But Serenity cut him off.

"It's quite alright Master Quatre." She said, and he was pleased in a perverse and prideful way that the smirk never left her face as she spoke. "Your opinion of my time before here, is as inconsequential as your outdated chauvinist attitude. But I must say I don't disagree with you." The whole table looked mildly surprised, barring Hiiro, who he knew never gave away much of anything.

Duo opened his mouth, but she shut it with a hand in the air, and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. She was like a Queen giving a speech. It made him want to skip dinner and drag her back to his bedroom. This new Serenity was not the girl he had left behind. But he wasn't really complaining. After all, this Serenity, was a woman of a different breed. Just his kind of woman.

"You don't know me, or my charge, and that's fine. But we have been asked to join this team, and we accepted. And I expect our past to no more influence our ability to work within this team than yours does. Or any one of yours for that matter. We are not Saints, far from it. But neither are any of you. You won't find me questioning why. But if you're that curious, my past is yours to ask about. I have little to hide. Not anymore."

"Ren." Hotaru said softly beside her, but she shushed her gently. He felt his heart stir in his chest as Quatre too, tried to protest, to save what could have been a calm dinner.

"Wufei, please. Miss Serenity, you don't have to…"

"Quatre," She said, her voice strong and even. "It's ok." Duo found himself caught suddenly in her gaze then, from across the way, and he caught the soft words on her lips, words only for him. 'Forgive me.' She mouthed, and he nodded because she knew he needed her to. His eyes drifted to Hotaru, who seethed in her chair, and he caught eyes with her too. For a moment, from across the table, it was like there was a resounding click. He sat back in his chair, and she relaxed with him, following his lead. He smirked, and waited.

"By all means Onna." Wufei sneered. Had he have known what she was about to reveal, he may have stopped her. May have just slammed his fist down on the table and called for an end to the bitter argument. All he knew, was that when she was finally done speaking, his heart hurt more than he could almost bear.

"After I met Duo, When I was 9 years old, My father died in an exploding shuttle on his way to a job. Not long after, my mother drank herself to death. Which at the very least, was reprieve from the boyfriends she brought home, who incessantly tried to sneak into my bedroom at night. I learned never to sleep for too long, or too deeply. They however, were not my worst nightmare. I left with bruises, but I left with my innocence. At 12, after wandering the streets on my own, stealing food to eat and clothes to keep on my back, I met Seth." He watched her eyes narrow at the memory, and beside her both Hotaru and Mollie reached out simultaneously, a hand closing over each of her own. She grasped them, but did not pause. He wanted to reach out too, but found himself glued to his chair, her story reverberating through his chest like a jackhammer. "He was nice, for a time. I had food, and clothes. A bed. But then one night he came in my room, and he forcibly took the only thing I had left. He left my sheets bloodied, and then there was no where safe. For some time, he alone used me. But when he grew bored, he chained me to that bed, and sold me to others. Whoever he fancied. They used me over and over again." She clenched her teeth at this, and her voice came out strained, but still, she continued. "It took one year, two months, and three days to escape him. Not long after, I found Hotaru. And I used every bloody skill ingrained in me til then to make sure she'd never suffer my fate. Even then, I failed." Hotaru shot her a look that he did not miss. One of emotion that was so raw and real it almost permeated the space between them. But Serenity turned her gaze towards her for just a moment, and like that, it was gone. Serenity's voice was a low hiss when she spoke again. "I rectified my mistake, and faked our deaths. And since no one wanted us, no one cared to look any deeper into it. And then I vowed to use all the strength I had in my limbs to make sure the people who treated children, women, and men, the way we had been treated, found a swift and ultimate end." Her teeth were clenched when she finished, and for a moment, the room was silent. It was the kind of silence that was deafening. Quatre clutched his heart, a pained look on his face, which had at some point, prompted Trowa to grasp his arm, trying in vain to comfort him. His heart felt as if it had stopped beating. He hadn't known. He hadn't known it had been that bad. She'd said he had violated her. But sold her… Gods he never imagined.

They had seen gore in their lifetimes. Had bloodied their hands so many times the stains could never wash away. Had been used and thrown away. But never in such a fashion. He may not know all of his comrade's secrets, but this, he knew. She stood suddenly, and without words, Mollie and Hotaru pulled their hands away.

"I have suddenly lost my appetite." She said smoothly, all trace of the stress gone from her voice. She turned swiftly and exited the dining room, and only then, his trance broken, did he stand, slamming his hand on the table.

"You're a real fucking asshole, you know that Wufei?" He blasted, and followed her on swift feet, out the dining room door and down the hall.

….

For a moment, silence reigned again, until finally, Wufei's mouth opened. She watched him with eyes that blazed, all restraint gone with Serenity's departure. Beside her, Mollie thrummed fast pastels across her vision. But it helped little. "I didn't think.." He spit, and she cut him off not only because his tone angered her, but because she had no more will to be silent.

"No, you didn't, did you?" She said. Her voice was hard, but her tone was soft. This, as least she could do. It would do no good to lose her temper. "And I suggest, heavily that you stop there before you say something else without thinking." She could not stop the sneer that marred her lips. "That woman is the reason I am alive. And I warn you Wufei Chang. The next time you have something to say, should I dislike it, I will cut the words from your throat."

"Please." She looked over and realized suddenly that Quatre was withering in his chair, his voice hollow and weak, and quickly built up the wall she had let slip in her anger.

"Gomen Nasai Quatre-san." She bowed her head apologetically, truly meaning it. "You have been so kind, and we have all spoken out of turn."

"No." Quatre said, and she looked up into his eyes of azure. There was a terse smile on his lips. "No, Miss Hotaru, you have not spoken out of turn. But I fear perhaps I was hasty in trying to meld this group together. Forgive me."

"You do not need to ask forgiveness." She answered. "You have done nothing wrong. And though I detest him openly, neither really, has Mr. Chang. Though he is rude, and I believe him chauvinist, someone would have asked, sooner or later. This is why, we usually work alone." She drunk in the entire room's surprise, and turned to Hiiro's voice when he spoke.

"Then why did you agree to stay?" She sighed.

"I didn't. Serenity did." She turned her head pointedly at the blind woman beside her, who had it in her to look sheepish. "And Someone took it upon herself to make sure we were led here, no doubt with the idea in her head that she could get us to socialize. Someone who also seems to have forgotten we don't have the necessary social skills to play nice."

"Forgive me." Mollie said softly, but she brushed her off quickly, reaching out to swipe her fingers over the woman's hand.

"Please, as if I could stay mad at you Moll." She said with a sigh. Then turned her face to the crowd of Gundam pilots, and spoke to all of them at once. "I respect all of you. Or should I say at the very least I respect your accomplishments. And if you did not respect mine, or Serenity's, you would have killed us instead of letting us call this home. I am not stupid, nor am I naive, though my age belies me. Serenity has decreed I fight beside you, and I will, to the best of my ability. But I will not tolerate you jabbing into our pasts any more than you already have. What Serenity and I went through is our weight alone to bear, and it will not affect our performance on this team in any way."

She stood, brushing invisible dust from her lap, and Mollie stood with her, taking her hand in a show of praise. "If it suits you, Quatre-san, Mollie and I will take dinner in my room. And you Wufei Chang." The Chinese man caught eyes with her, Onyx against violet, and she smirked. "You will meet me in the training room after dinner."

She was satisfied with nods from both men, and without another word, spun on her heel and led Mollie behind her, away from the ruined dinner party.

….

"Serenity." She was speeding so fast down the hallway he had to run to catch up with her, and when he finally did, he had to grab her arm to pull her to him. They ended up smashed against a corridor wall, three doors down from his own room, and next to Trowa's. He worried when she would not look at him. He pressed his body to hers, and forced her head up with a hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. He was met with a storm of emotions.

"How can you even touch me?" She whispered brokenly, and his heart nearly shattered in his chest at the tone of her voice. This, was the Serenity he knew. This, was the fragile little girl he had left on L2, to fend for herself. He scooped her up in his arms without a thought, and she trembled in his grasp as he kicked his own door open, slamming it shut behind him. It did little to mar it. These doors had been built strong by Quatre's specifications. None of his comrades were gentle. Inside, he laid her on the bed, crawling over her in much the fashion he'd fallen upon her in the hallway, though this time both hands held him raised above her. "Please, Duo don't." She half moaned, half sobbed, and he watched her with careful, sorrowful eyes. "I'm poisoned. I'm rotten. Please…" He allowed her to finish, but only because she needed to, for his patience was slowly wearing thin. "Stay away from me." She ended in a broken whisper. When he was sure she had finished, he spoke.

"Never." Her eyes snapped to his, filled with tears, and his calloused thumb to brush the one droplet that had escaped the brim of her eye. "I told you I will Never stay away. Not ever again." His voice was hard and filled with his anger now, his frustration. "You wonder why I can't forgive myself? Tell me Sere, when was the last time you cried?"

She said nothing, just blinked slowly, releasing more crystal tears. He loathed the path they trailed down her face. "How long have you been so strong? So untouchable?"

"Much longer than one would think." She whispered, and he clenched his eyes tight because the mere vision of her so upset wounded him. When he opened them again, she was still looking up at him, with soft, sad eyes. "But you were never to blame."

"So you've said." He answered, resigned. This, he could not convince her of. And maybe she was right. But he couldn't bear for her to see herself this way. To look in the mirror and see something rotten and poisonous… such thoughts led to carelessness, recklessness, and death. He knew. The self hatred he possessed would have swallowed him whole without the help of his comrades. Was it really just the small, dark girl that had kept this vixen anchored to life so long? Was the care of her charge the only thing that mattered? That, and the burning revenge in her eyes? Putting all this in words was escaping him. But she seemed to sense it, letting him search her eyes as he hovered above her. "You are not rotten." He said finally, through clenched teeth. "You are not poisonous. Though broken, I cannot deny anymore than you can." He leaned closer to her, so close he could feel the blow-back of his own breath on her lips. "You hid your true identity from me that first night. But still, not once did that thought cross my mind. I asked you to stay for a reason. I wanted to protect you for a reason." He laid on soft kiss on her lips, and could taste the salt of her tears. He licked them before he spoke again. "Let me show you Serenity McClaine. Let me show you what I really think of you…" It was harsh whisper, but he did not pause for an answer as he claimed her lips. This was not the soul crushing kiss they had shared in the hotel room. Nor the lip-bruising one they had shared hours before on his floor. This was a kiss that spoke the volumes of his soul, the depths of his want. His need for her to see herself as he had so long ago. As a beautiful soul to be revered and respected. She gasped into him, and he pressed his body to hers gently, his hands roaming up and down her soft skin. She moaned into his mouth, and he fought the urge to take her then and there. To rip the clothes from her body and ravage her. He would not be another one of her nightmares. He would prove he could just as easily be her balm.

He trailed kisses down her neckline, and slowly, carefully, peeled the tube top she wore up and over her shoulders. She bent to help him willingly, and when her arms were free again, one cupped his cheek, the other running a soft trail down the side of his neck. She tugged at his shirt, and he removed this too, allowing her to then trail her fingers over the skin of his chest. He moaned with the sheer ecstasy of it, and again, had to remind himself to slow down. Shinigami it was so hard. Her eyes followed his every move as he grasped the edge of her tight bandages, and slowly, carefully, unraveled them. She arched her back, patient as he did so, and when the last strip fell away, he could not keep the gasp from his lips. He didn't realize his mistake until she was drawing away from him, covering the blood red scar, eyes guarded, but he was quick to fix it. "No." He whispered softly. "No questions." He truly hadn't gasped because of her obviously accelerated healing. He had gasped because.. "God dammit you're fucking beautiful." Her eyes widened in surprise, and again, he had to remind himself to slow down as he swirled his tongue around her nipple, satisfied with the moan that escaped her mouth.

There had been alcohol and a rushed sense of satisfaction in the way of really exploring her, the first night he had held her in his arms again. It was something he reveled in and regretted simultaneously. If he had known… Gods he would have taken his time. "Duo…" She moaned his name, and he nearly broke, biting down on her nipple in a show of mild impatience. He wanted her so badly. But he forced himself to blaze soft kisses down her chest, over the scar she'd tried to hide, and down. He removed the pants she wore without removing her panties, though he wanted to. He wanted her body splayed before him, but he took his time, unbuttoning his own pants, and kissing down each thigh as he threw the clothing aside. He moved back up her body then, trailing kisses on his way, before capturing her lips again in a deep kiss, and moaning deep in his throat as she arched against him. "You are beautiful." He whispered softly, kissing her again. "You are strong." With each break he showered her with these truths, making sure to knead his hands along the soft flesh of her breasts, carefully, sensually. "I can mend you together Sere, please let me." His voice was a rough growl at the end, and she caught his eyes, a soft, sexy smile on her lips.

"I have always been yours Duo." She whispered back, and the moan deep in his throat could not be stopped. That was what he had been aching to hear since the moment he'd found out she was alive, whether he denied it or not. "There was not a moment I didn't long for you. That I didn't wish you were beside me." Tears gathered in her eyes, and he slowly kicked off his jeans as he kissed them away, letting them fall where they may as they left him bare.

"I am here now, love." He said softly, as he pressed his body to hers and knew she could feel his arousal against the thin fabric of her panties. She moaned beneath him, and it was all he could take. She was driving him to madness. Madness he was not sure he could ever return from. Madness he welcomed with open arms. He moaned with her as she reached down, and moved her panties aside, and finally, he sheathed himself inside her.

Her gasp in his ear nearly drove him wild, but he kept his senses, slowly withdrawing and returning again. The moans that elicited from her mouth were too much to bear, and soon, the rhythm of their love-making was a steady shifting of the bed beneath them, littered with his own gasps and growls. He nibbled at her ear, and whispered between each thrust, her body molded so perfectly to his it was heaven. "I love you." A gasp, and deep moan. "I love you Serenity McClaine. I always have."

Her hands came up and fisted in his hair, and she all but shoved his ear to her mouth, licking along his lobe before she said the words he had waited to hear since he'd met her. Since he'd taken her to the Maxwell Church what seemed like eons ago. "I love you Duo Maxwell. Gods. I love you."

Their climax was simultaneous explosion, that left his body trembling over hers, his energy spent, his emotions a storm of passion and need that would need many more trysts such as these to be satisfied. He pulled away from her but did not move far, letting her nestle in the crook of his arm as he lay on his side, breathing in the scent of her hair, reveling in the sweat that dotted her skin from their passion. She breathed slowly and calmly in his arms, and he realized with a warm smile that she had fallen into sleep in his arms. Reaching with one hand, he covered them with a blanket, and in usual dim light of his room, he fell to sleep with his angel finally in his arms.

…..

It had taken more work that she'd thought to get Mollie to stay behind. But she needed to do this alone. Her steps were quiet as she navigated to the large training room of the Winner Mansion. It hadn't been hard to find. All you really had to do to find something or someone in this large space was pull a Maguanac aside and ask. They were all such lovely people. Kind and rough around the edges. It said a lot about the nature of Quatre Reberba Winner that such people gathered around him. She supposed sooner or later, she would find the good qualities of the others he kept in his circle. Eventually, she would understand the true nature of every one of the Gundam Pilots. Wufei would be first. Because if she didn't try to understand him soon, she might just kill him.

As she rounded the corner she spotted him, waiting by the door of the training room with his hands in the pockets of his loose gi-like pants, and his head turned down to the floor. At the very least he had enough sense to know he'd crossed a line at the table. If he hadn't at least shown that bit of humanity, she might have slit his throat right there. She didn't slow as she passed him, but spoke softly.

"Ready, Wufei-san?" She knew he was behind her when they entered the room, and the door closed behind both of them.

"You still use an honorific for me Onna?" He asked. She turned around, and caught his onyx eyes with her deep violet.

"Let me tell you a story." She said, as she backed away, breaking his gaze as she perused the walls, her fingers brushing against a sai, a katana, nun-chucks. She continued to pick through the vast array of weapons as she spoke. Picking up a short sword and spinning it to check its weight. "Many millennia ago, there were 9 girls, destined for battle." She replaced the short sword, and picked a staff from the wall, twirling this too, letting herself get lost in the memory. "But these girls were from worlds apart. If not forced to fight together, you'd never see these girls socialize. They were far too different. In the beginning, some of them even hated each other. But there was no choice in the matter. They were chosen." The words came out harder than she's meant them to, and she sighed as she replaced the staff on its setting, walking further along the wall. Wufei was not following her, but standing in the doorway still, watching her with sharp eyes. She could feel his gaze on her. "That's what fate does. It throws people together from completely different worlds. And it gives them a choice." She turned to look at him again, feeling the tiny dagger in her hand that she had picked from a wall of smaller weapons, and with a flick of the wrist, sent it flying at his forehead. There was the soft 'thunk' of it lodging in the wall behind him, as he dodged it with ease, and she smiled. "Adapt or die."

She was pleased in a way she could not name when he smiled back, still standing there with his hands in his pockets. "What happened to the girls in your story?" He asked. And she looked away from him because she didn't want him to see the hurt in her eyes. It hurt still, after all these years. She was careful to keep the emotion out of her voice, but the words came out hard once again.

"They all died." She said. "But they died saving the world." She caught his eyes again, and there was something new there, a level of respect that she gathered wasn't given often by the Chinese man.

"I underestimated you Onna's from the start." He said, and she walked slowly towards him. She passed by him, and reached up to rip the dagger from the wall where it was embedded.

"Most people do." She said as she fingered the blade. It was well made, as were all the weapons in the training room. "It's an advantage. If you know how to use it."

"And you do?" He said, she turned to find him smirking.

"What man or woman that you know would ever expect someone as tiny and fragile looking as I am, to decapitate them?" She asked with a sly smile, and was rewarded with his soft chuckle.

"So that was your work. I was admiring your weapon."

"Serenity had it made for me." She said as she returned the blade to its spot on the wall. "Serenity does pretty much everything for me. It's all I can do to keep up on my debt to her."

"We all have our debts." He said, and sounded far away. She let him ride away on his thoughts for a moment, before she spoke.

"Wufei-san, I don't expect for one moment for you to trust us. Because I don't trust you. Trust is earned. Thing is you have to give us a chance to earn it."

He nodded. "We were never here for actual training were we?"

She shook her head. "No. Not today. Today we were only here so I could tell you a story."

"You still haven't explained why you still use an honorific for me, when I have been less than honorable." He said, and she found the more he talked, the more she reminded him of someone, someone she missed fervently.

"I did explain. 9 girls. They didn't always like each other, but they died together." She walked back towards the door, opening it as she continued. "You may not like me Wufei Chang. But I'm not afraid to die by your side. And I can tell, you're not afraid either." She left him with this, letting the door close behind her as she traveled back to her room for the night.

….

Serenity has finally let her walls down, and let Duo begin to heal the wounds time has sewn into her. But does he have enough strength to heal them all? Or enough time, for that matter? Hotaru makes a move to give the Gundam team a chance. But can they really ever trust each other when so many secrets still hide in the shadows? Will the girl's ultimate plight come to life? Find out in the next chapter of Mona Lisa.