Chapter Twelve

Thank you for the words of encouragement. This story is taxing on my little brain lol but I will try to stay with it, I really will.

Being an early riser Relena was well used to being the first awake in her household, the only people who ruined her record were her adoptive father and the insomniac Heero Yuy. Today it seemed she was about to reclaim her title. Usually the sound of her hair rustling against the sheets was all it took to wake him from what could never be considered sleep. No one slept that lightly. She had day dreams deeper than his so called sleep but it was almost 5:30 and Heero, to her amazement, still hadn't stirred. It was then she made the decision to make them both a cup of coffee.

With great care she picked up both mugs from the counter and padded lightly back to her room. The warmth of the cups was a direct contrast to the slight chill she felt everywhere else. The blue silk fabric of her night gown did nothing to retain heat, despite the fact that it fell to her ankles. Worse yet it wasn't even her favourite dress and by no means her favourite colour.

Her lips tipped into a wry smile, it was just another one of those small sacrifices that a woman makes or that she made. For whatever reason Heero absolutely loved it. She had tried to coax him into favouring others by buying a few in different colours and styles and parading around the house. She had actually thought she had succeeded until one day he had asked about the blue one. She had sworn up and down that it couldn't fit anymore and had felt guilty about lying. That is, until he had taken a trip and came back with a 'gift'. A perfect replica. She knew because she checked the tag, it was the same. So what if her eyes were blue, didn't mean she had to like the colour. No one understood.

Still she wore it, because he liked it.

Once inside the bedroom, she found herself peeking around corners sure that he would be awake, but the motionless form in bed reassured her he was still asleep. Relena held her breath as she placed the cups on the night stand. Gingerly she climbed back into bed, stopping ever so often to see if her movement had disturbed him.

Using her hand to prop her head she lied on her side and watched him. He looked so peaceful. Her fingers brushed his bangs in what must have been a reflex action because she didn't remember giving them the order, and she definitely didn't tell them to trace a line down his nose.

"You're hovering." The reflexes that reached out to touch him weren't fast enough to retract before he grabbed her wrist. His eyes, barely opened still held all their intensity.

"I'm admiring." She whispered into his cheek before she brushed her lips against it. "Good morning."

He smiled and nodded. He never uttered the words and she never asked him why. Maybe it was too domestic but phrases like 'good morning, goodnight, what are you having for breakfast?' did not reside in his vocabulary. To her delight though what he didn't say in word could and would be said in action. Even now as he held her cheek to keep her in place and kissed her. If this was his version of good morning she was not about to complain.

The hand that propped her head gave way under his weight as he leaned into her. Automatically it snaked behind his neck, the other encircled his waist pulling him deeper into the kiss. Her body shivered involuntarily as the cool silk glided against her skin as he pushed the fabric up her thighs pooling the gown around her waist. All logical thought was gone, her body was on autopilot reacting to everything he did to it. She gasped, her focus divided between the feel of his teeth on her neck and the hand between her thighs. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip; it was a struggle to breathe. It wasn't until his hand retreated from her centre to her waist did air enter her lungs. Quickly robbed of air again when she felt the smooth, slow glide of his body into her.

The second time Relena woke up she was alone. She disentangled herself from the sheet and headed for the shower, slowly. Did she have anything to do today? Probably. Did she want to do anything today? Absolutely not. Nothing work related. Unfortunately the world wasn't going to stop spinning for her.

After a long shower, she took her time getting ready for work, she still had to wait for Wufei who had left last night amid grumbles of her not needing so much protection. Which she was sure was just a cover, of course Wufei would never admit to doing anyone any favours.

With every hair in place and make up complete Relena went in search of another cup of coffee. She didn't get very far. One was already waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, hand delivered by a shirtless, rather handsome barista.

"Thank you."

Another silent nod because you're welcome was also on that list of things rarely said. Relena sighed contentedly, this was a beautiful way to start the day. The buzzer at the front door snapped her back to reality but neither of them moved to answer. It wasn't necessary. The buzzer sounded whenever an access code was entered, a different sound if it was entered incorrectly.

Wufei opened the door, stopping in the entrance as his eyes fell on Heero, a mild grimace on his face. "You're still here?"

Heero grunted. "Obviously."

"Well, I'm on duty so please, no kissing, no groping and no nudity while I'm on the premises." Wufei's gaze swept over Heero. "Yuy, put a shirt on."

Never one to give away an emotional reaction Heero simply looked at Wufei before heading back to the kitchen. He might as well had told Heero to strip, because that order was not going to be followed. Just because. Relena looked on with slight amusement, it was a wonder that they were friends. She'd hate to see how they would react to each other if they were enemies. Having the two of them under the same roof, however briefly, was definitely going to be interesting.

By ten thirty Relena was still at home. This was turning out to be a record setting day, now she was the latest she had ever been for work. She was standing in the foyer tapping her foot annoyed at her tardiness when her phone buzzed. Noin. Noin? Initial shock gone, Relena quickly answered. This conversation was long overdue. She walked back to her room as the conversation started. The view out of her bedroom window provided the perfect back drop as she and Noin exchanged stories and anecdotes of everything that happened in their lives since they last spoke. It was different to have a conversation where the other person talked back with enthusiasm and humour…. and laughed.

By the time the conversation ended though that jovial feeling was gone. Noin hadn't said anything that should cause her to be suspicious but that in itself made her suspicious. Was she supposed to believe they just came to earth for the change of scenery?

"What's wrong?"

Relena turned to see Heero standing behind her, buttoning his uniform shirt. "Maybe I should ask you."

The statement didn't faze him. He tucked the shirt into his pants and reached for the jacket on the bed. A wall, this was her life with him. Scaling walls of all kinds but she was always up to the task. She walked to him arms folded over her chest. "Is everything alright?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I can't think of many things that would make both you and my brother land on earth on the same day, and the few I can think of aren't good."

He slipped on the jacket, his eyes holding hers. "You worry too much."

She laughed "Nice try. Tell me."

The wall remained.

Relena sighed. "You get that it's my job to know these things."

Heero took a step toward her, his hand finding the back of her neck to tilt her head forward just enough to plant a kiss on her head. "And it's my job to protect you." Grabbing his keys from the dresser he paused in the threshold of the door before turning to look at her. "Try not to do anything…impulsive."

That statement, his tone, it made her bristle. "Like what?"

"Like impromptu meetings with ….questionable characters."

That traitor. Relena couldn't decide if to be annoyed or amused at the fact that Wufei had told on her. Was this kindergarten? She snapped her mouth close when she realised Heero was smiling at her shocked expression. She regained her composure, marching past him in renewed defiance. So much so that she made it to the front door before he did. Wufei was already there, waiting. Relena stomped over to him, their faces the closest they've ever been and she noted the curious expression on Wufei's face. "I can't believe you told on me."

His curiosity turned to amusement and he smiled. "Maybe now you'll think twice about doing anything stupid."

Trowa walked leisurely around the college campus trying without much effort to fit in. He was a chameleon but this had to be by far the easiest infiltration he would ever execute. If fitting in was all that was at stake he would already have to call this a huge success, if the numbers he had gotten were any indication. It hadn't even been a full forty eight hours and he had accumulated five call mes, but who was counting.

As he walked around he couldn't help but feel like colours just seemed brighter here. The sun, the grass, the clothes. Post card status. He was out of place. This setting, this place, held the hopes and dreams of young adults. Some struggling to make it on their own, others sent by loving parents, all planning for the future. A painful juxtaposition to why he was here. He shook his head bitterly; it must take a special kind of sociopath to teach the next generation all the while plotting to end it.

The first time he had laid eyes on the Doctor he had been surprised by how young he was. Tall, slightly round, hair much the same colour of Quatre's with brown eyes framed by square spectacles. Not a grey hair, wrinkle or any other characteristic one would expect. Of course no one would have imagined that the gundam pilots were teenagers at the time. Age was nothing but a number. His second surprise that wasn't surprising at all, just an ah-ha moment came when he realised under which field of engineering the Dr. taught. Bio-medical engineering. He'd had to stop himself from laughing out loud.

The lecture hall for this particular class was small, unlike the other two he had observed, the Dr. was clearly in high demand. As the class neared the hour mark, Trowa had to admit the class was thoroughly entertaining. Even without in-depth knowledge about the topic he could see why the real students would be interested and why Dr. Henley was commissioned by the others. Another half hour and the class was nearing completion. Trowa watched as students filed out of the room, some lingered behind to exchange words with the doctor. It didn't matter to him, unlike the rest of them he didn't have another class to get to. So he waited.

Trowa stepped out from behind his desk once the door closed behind the last student, walking toward the long wooden desk in the front. "Intriguing class."

Dr. Henley looked up only briefly before returning to his notes. "I'm glad you liked it, though, I'm surprised. I would figure a man such as yourself would be much more interested in," He looked up to meet Trowa's eye. "Mechanical engineering."

During the classes Trowa got the distinct impression that the doctor had recognised him, but he couldn't be sure if it was recognition or just curiosity for a face he'd never seen before. Now he had his answer.

"Tell me," Henley leaned back in his chair, pushing his glasses down to the tip of his nose. "How is Doctor S?"

"I think we both know the answer to that."

"Well I can't say I'll miss him. I doubt you will either."

Trowa ground his teeth in frustration. Doctor S was right. This man wasn't remorseful. He had hoped that the trend of regret and guilt would have continued and this man like the two previous would have caved and told all he knew. He could see now that was not going to happen.

"Let me tell you now, you're wasting your time. I have no intention of making any….confessions." With a slow exhale the Doctor removed his glasses completely before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Though I can't think of anything I'd like to repent. I haven't committed any sins lately. So I parked in the handy cap space. That's not exactly a crime now is it?"

The smile Henley wore was smug, twisted and irritating. Contrary to popular belief, fuelled by war stories about the gundam pilots, Trowa was not a man prone to violence but even he had his limits and this was testing all of them.

A flurry of commotion disrupted the charged atmosphere as a crowd of eager students pushed through the doors for another class. Chatter buzzed around them eliciting a triumphant grin from the man behind the desk. Trowa forced his muscles to move, he needed a different approach and this wasn't the place to do it.

Trowa didn't try to interact with the Doctor for the rest of the day. As long as he was in the middle of campus surrounded by innocent bystanders and potential witnesses he would always be at a disadvantage. He needed a distraction, something to ease his growing anger lest he do something he would regret.

He found one of the computer labs on campus. It shined and gleamed with the latest of technology. School definitely had its perks. As usual he chose a system in the back of the room, which was mostly empty. Still he couldn't be too careful. Periodically, his eyes scanned the room studying the back of the heads of the few present before darting to the door. He sighed. 'Relax Trowa.' He tried to shake off his unease before the call connected, worry was not the point of the conversation and that is exactly what he would accomplish if he didn't calm himself.

"Trowa!"

His sister beamed at him. He smiled. Despite his age she still greeted him like he was a toddler. Ever exuberant. He just sat back and allowed her to ramble and ramble she did. Somewhere in there she had found the time to yell for Ivy. Now it was a ramble times two. He couldn't think of a better way to relax.

It was dark out, still the streets were lively, well lit. Each street had a bar, a café, restaurant or a combination of each. College town. The atmosphere was contagious even to a well-trained soldier like himself. Trowa took his time meandering the streets, occasionally stopping to engage in idle chatter with students he recognised from the classes he had attended, gleaning information about Henley as best he could. It was useless, they all thought he was god's gift to the field, singing his praises every chance they got. It wasn't all for naught, he was wasting time on purpose.

He doubted anyone even noticed when he slunk away. His apartment was just on the outskirts of the vibrancy surrounding the college. In this part, there was less light, less activity. Everyone seemed much more content to be in bed by eight. So at eleven thirty he didn't have to worry about running into neighbours and the only other sign of life was the chirps echoing around him. He left early and returned late, made it less likely that his neighbours would be able to identify him should anything happen.

As he approached the building, Trowa looked at the window of his room. He usually kept a lamp on at all times. From the outside it would cast a shadow to anything or anyone that moved. With the door of the building in sight Trowa reached into his pocket to retrieve his key. He only ever carried one per chain, he couldn't count the number of times he was alerted to someone's presence just at the sound of the keys jingling in their hand. As he turned the key in the lock, his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket which he ignored until he had opened the door. "Trowa."

"You are in danger."

Trowa pulled the phone from his ear to look at the display, something he neglected to do before he answered since many people didn't have the number. Unknown caller and the voice was unrecognizable. He was tempted to hang up but whoever it was would have gone to great lengths to reach him. "Who is this?"

"You are in danger."

He kept the phone to his ear as he tried to note any distinguishable sounds either in the person's voice or background. But the only thing he heard was the click of a terminated call. The silence which he found calming was now deafening. His senses were on full alert. His heart rate came a few beats faster. He didn't believe in prank calls and despite anything to substantiate the warning he couldn't help but heed it. Especially now.

Trowa looked up the flight of stairs before him, grateful now that he was on the second floor. He took each step with the ball of his feet until he came to his door, reducing any sound his heels might make on the stone floor. Sliding the key into the lock, he watched the bottom of the door for any change in light distribution or movement. When he saw none he pushed the door open and waited. His eyes narrowed, as they landed on a small box in the middle of the room. It wasn't his and it was definitely out of place.

His bag dropped from his shoulder as he took a few steps into the room. He stopped abruptly, a few strides short of the box. It was the oldest trick in the book. The sensation creeping up his back told him he had fallen for it. He wasn't alone. A shadow in his peripheral vision caught his eye. He turned in time to see the fist hurling toward him but not in time to stop it.

Before he could react the full weight of the intruder was on him, pushing him into the wall as they drove fist after fist into his side. Trowa pushed his palm into the wall, using it for momentum. He dove forward, the sudden and unexpected force causing both men to fall to the floor. He landed on top of his attacker. He grabbed the man's collar unleashing his own barrage to the man's face.

The scuffle continued as the two traded places on the floor. Muffled grunts and curses, displaced furniture and shattered glass disturbed the silence. Trowa made a mental note of the intruder, he wore no mask, but his identity was a mystery. The only clue it provided was the fact that he wasn't supposed to make it out alive. Whoever he was, he was strong and determined. He struggled for all he was worth to escape from beneath Trowa's body. When he did, the two scrambled to their feet. Hunched over bloodied, they eyed each other waiting for the other to make a move.

The man, his short hair mussed, smiled. The red stain on his teeth added to the sadistic twist of his lips. He lunged.

Trowa braced himself for the impact, his eyes fixed on the target. His brain analysed the movement of the man's body trying to anticipate what he was going to do next. It was a split second before they were in range of each other again. A split second for him to register the late move of the man's hand behind his back. A second too late for him to stop the blade from piercing his side.

Trowa's hand went instinctively to the wound. He didn't have time to think about it. He had seen his own blood before and that of enemies. He caught the hand which held the knife and used his ever weakening strength to push his attacker to the side. He didn't need that much space, he just needed enough time to reach the bag on the floor.

Trowa lunged for the bag, behind him he could hear the man's steps coming toward him. He pulled his gun from the bag rolling onto his back as a shadow enveloped him. He squeezed the trigger twice. The knife fell first, the metal hitting the floor with a clink, followed by the louder thud of the man's body.

Trowa laid his head back, his breaths becoming more laboured as blood continued to seep from his wound. He forced himself to stand. The neighbours might not have heard the scuffle but they would have definitely heard the gunshots. He needed to leave and leave now.

He made it to street light at the corner of the street in front of the building. His vision began to blur and he wasn't sure if he was going to make it to anything resembling help. His body sagged against the metal pole and his brain struggled for coherent thought when a hand touched his shoulder. If it was an enemy he wouldn't have the energy to fight. The voice asked him if he needed help, and of course he did but he didn't like it. This person had impeccable timing, at this time of night who on earth was out here?

In his haze he was aware that his help came in the form of a woman, but she too was a mystery and he couldn't help but think of the call he had received. He allowed the woman to usher him into a car. As they drove he couldn't help but wonder if this was perhaps his last day, his call home now held deeper meaning.

Consciousness returned to Trowa's body, painfully. Bright lights shone through his closed lids pulling him faster back to reality. He was alive; he opened his eyes and sat up as best he could. And in the hospital. The wound to his side was no longer bleeding. Instead, as he brushed his fingers against it, he was greeted with the soft padding of a dressing but his elation of being alive was short lived.

He cursed himself, his sloppiness. He might as well be just another college student. His actions were not one of a seasoned veteran. Getting stabbed was one thing, but he fell unconscious which meant he lost time. Worse, he left everything at the scene. He went over a list of what the authorities might be able to link to him. His phone, a burner, the room was registered under an alias. The only thing he could think of was the gun, his bag carried nothing else of value. He needed to leave but first he needed to change.

On his way out the door Trowa removed a duffel bag from the floor beside a sleeping patient, one who was thankfully close to his age and size. Hopefully the guy didn't have anything vital in it. In the bathroom he rummaged inside the contents until he found something that was decent enough to wear. Not only was he stealing but he was also judging. Karma was going to be a bitch.

Once changed he headed toward the nurses station. Not that he needed to check out but something was gnawing at him. As he approached he could see the nurse's face change, her hands went to her hips. "Where are you going?"

Thanks to her response he didn't have to ask if she was there when he came in. "I'm sorry I just wanted to know, what happened to the woman that brought me in?"

The nurse relaxed her posture and smiled. "She left, I asked her if she wanted to stay with you. I assumed she was family but she said she didn't know you and left. Just a good Samaritan I suppose."

Even more suspicious but he smiled not wanting to make the nurse uneasy. "Thank you." He gave the nurse one last smile then turned to leave. This was not how he had planned his day or this trip. He walked idly to the stairs, when the dull ache of his side prompted him to take the elevators. He was still slightly groggy from whatever they gave him and he didn't feel like making the extra effort to take the stairs.

He walked slowly toward the metallic double doors. He wasn't in any hurry, not anymore. He pushed the button to summon the lift and waited. Resting his back on the wall he replayed the events of the night. The voice in his head reminded him of every mistake, highlighted everything he should have done differently when a sharp high pitched sound interrupted his self-abasement. He looked up to the elevator but it hadn't yet arrived. The sound repeated, this time louder. He turned in its direction and was greeted by an image in a glass. It was like looking into a distorting mirror but even with the distortion the object was recognizable. Long wavy white hair, two black circles where the eyes should be and that tell-tale metal claw raised to his face.

Trowa watched the claw open and close, creating the sound that he heard just seconds earlier. And he knew.

"Doctor J."

A/N

So in case you were wondering about that scene between Heero and Relena or if you thought it ended kinda abruptly it's because it did. I was writing and writing, then I was like wait….this is a T-rated fiction. So yeah, had to throw some cold water on it. Hope you still enjoy it.

:)