Part One

"So with this new system there will be no need for you to go into cryostasis?" Relena asked as she thumbed through the massive proposal in front of her. Duo glanced at Heero, who was seated next to him at the cafe table. The other agent was sipping a cup of coffee and watching her with a surprisingly relaxed expression.

When Heero had told Duo they were meeting Relena for lunch when they had first arrived in Cinq he had expected the entire exchange to be chaotic and tense, but so far it had been completely the opposite.

"Yes. All of my skills and decision factors have been installed in the system. We performed a pilot bond test with it and it worked seamlessly." Heero finally said. Relena was still perusing the information with interest.

"I really like this proposal," she said lightly before looking up at them. "But what about the Disarmament Clause of Earth-Sphere of AC 197? Won't it conflict with the agreement that no entity shall possess or develop Mobile Doll Technology?"

Heero nodded his head. "That is the only thing that is in conflict with this proposal. That is why I wanted to talk to you."

"You're suggesting I go before the Earth-Sphere Unified Nations and have them rewrite that law?" Relena frowned for a moment before closing the file carefully with her slender fingers. Duo could tell she was conflicted. Her normally confident gaze was wavering.

"I know that is a lot to ask." Heero replied.

There was silence at the table. Duo hadn't said a word aside from a cordial greeting throughout the exchange. He had been biding his time sitting uncomfortably at the table devouring anything that came within arm's reach of him. He looked back and forth between the two as he chewed on a biscuit. They seemed to be at an impasse. Heero didn't seem comfortable pushing for what he wanted and Relena was having trouble absorbing what all of this meant.

"You don't like people to die, right?" Duo blurted, his voice cutting through the tension that had solidified in the center of the table. Relena looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I don't."

"Well the way I see it all you Pacifists got it all wrong. People are always going to act like animals. You know this. Some people can't see reason. Some folks can't understand rules and law and logic. All they can understand is a guy with a really big stick. You all banned mobile dolls. I thought it was a good idea at the time, too. Mobile dolls are fucking horrible. They are unfair. They don't sleep, they don't eat and they never rest. Someone with a mobile doll army could threaten the lives and safety of the entire Earth-Sphere. You know about what happened in space, right? The rule is no mobile dolls, but guess what? Some asshole with a pocket full of money decided he wanted to have them and fuck the rest of us. Preventer made those Taurus suits because the they understand you can't bring a knife to a gunfight. I know you think people are going to transcend this way of thinking. I know you have to set an example, but how many more secret mobile doll armies is it gonna take to attack the colonies before you guys finally wake up? Don't be offended when I say this, but you guys on the planet don't have to live with the result of your laws. You aren't the ones threatened by hidden enemies. You have whole continents of people to back you up if something attacks you. Out on L2, and jeez way out in L3 there is nobody to protect you. You've made us all into soft targets. Our hands are tied behind ours backs up there. We can't protect ourselves and by the time the Earth-Sphere police show up on our door the bad guys have already had their way with us and pushed our shit in. Isn't it time to fight fire with fire?"

Relena had straightened in her seat at his rant. "That is precisely the problem, Duo. You are still thinking violence will stop the cycle. It won't. Violence begets violence."

Duo frowned and tried to take a sip of his coffee only to find it was empty. He saw that Heero had slid his mug toward him. He accepted it, took an irritated chug from it and let the mug slam loudly on the table.

"See, here is your problem. You want peace but you don't want to sacrifice anything to get it. You gotta give something. Giving up weapons is a noble idea, but how much human life will disarmament cost?"

Heero had taken his coffee back and was sipping it casually beside him. Clearly he was completely comfortable letting Duo take the reigns on this.

"War is like an angry god. He shows up every now and then and wants his sacrifice. So every time we obediently feed him civilians and soldiers and hope he doesn't come back. Except now you are refusing to feed him at all. He's gonna come back, it's inevitable. We gotta sacrifice something. Preventer seems to think that you and Heero are worth sacrificing but it won't be enough. Why do we have to give human lives to this thing? We live in an age where everything can be done for us with technology. The bad guys know this. They don't even fight for themselves anymore and yet here we are restricting ourselves to the limitations of human ability. You guys like to pride yourselves on being morally superior, right? What's moral about giving up a human life to stop something that has no life of its own? I dunno about you, but I don't think that is a fair exchange."

Duo had never talked this much in front of Relena before. He couldn't help but feel insecure. She was regarding him with her default thoughtful politician expression. It was putting him on edge. He retreated back to the task of filling his mouth with goodies from the tray in the center of the table to keep himself from ranting on any further.

"I will see what I can do. It may take some time. Can I keep this information?" She gestured with her hand to the file. Heero nodded in response. She gathered the file between her hands and stood up. Heero jumped to his feet and hurried to pull her chair for her. Duo stood up and smiled at her as she have him a small nod and turned to leave. Heero had gone to walk her to her car. Once she was clear of the cafe door Duo groaned and slumped down into his chair and finished Heero's coffee for him.

Hearing Relena putting a voice to the doubts they had already harbored about the plan only seemed to make things worse. He had felt confident that this would be the perfect solution when they were at the Preventer sector on the Lunar Base, but now that they were here on Earth and surrounded by the nightmare reality of bureaucratic bullshit that was the United Earth-Sphere Unified Nations he was feeling pretty dismal about the entire plan.

After a few minutes Heero had returned and returned to his seat beside him. He stared down at his now empty coffee cup but didn't say anything.

"You think she can make it happen?" Duo had finally inquired. Heero shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"I have no idea. I think it may be best if we develop a plan B. She doesn't doesn't seem optimistic," Heero said quietly.

Duo felt his stomach flip. Heero losing confidence on a plan was always a bad sign. He frowned and reached over to grab his partner's shoulder with a firm squeeze.

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out, right? Or maybe you could just run away with me to Jupiter or something. You don't have to do this, ya know? Nobody is making you."

Heero glanced over at him and nodded. "Yes, I know. But I agreed to it. I do believe in the cause. Things… weren't this complicated before you came along." Duo watched as the other agent turned back to the empty cup and stared down at it expressionless.

"You trying to say I'm nothing but trouble?" Duo asked with a grin. Heero nodded. Duo playfully smacked him on the back and cackled. "You must love trouble!"

"I do." Heero said faintly down into his empty cup. "And that's my problem."

Part Two

"I can't say I'm not disappointed in you, Mister Yuy. You were the last one I had expected to disobey my direct order," Director Une was chastising them from across her desk. Duo clenched his hands around his knees and bit his tongue. There was something about watching Heero get lectured that just got his blood boiling.

"I apologize," Heero replied calmly. "But I felt that Agent Maxwell's piloting skills would greatly benefit the doctor's test and provide us with optimum results. I was fully aware of his ban against piloting a mobile suit. "

Une had frowned and was studying the data Heero had provided her on a tablet. She tapped her fingernail gently against the screen as she began skimming through the information. "You will have to excuse my ignorance, but this raw data means nothing to me."

Heero was seated at the edge of his seat with perfect posture. Duo saw his eyes narrowing with a hint of determination.

"It's an alternative to Princess Aurora. Dr. J and I have developed a combined system using the Preventer's Wing-One pilot interface and Snow White's ZERO system. The doctor has chosen to call the combined systems ARMISTICE. I have uploaded all of my skills and abilities into the system. The Gundam is enhanced with my A.I. but must be guided by a human pilot. I had Agent Maxwell bond with the A.I. and perform a series of missions. It will need some minor adjustment to the interfacing but the entire test has exceeded Dr. J's expectations. He has included his observations and personal statements within the diagnostics."

Duo watched as Director Une fished carefully through the information. "You are aware of Preventer's standing policy against the use of mobile doll technology and artificial intelligence?"

Duo bristled. Heero nodded. "I am," the Japanese agent said coolly. "I'm aware that this alternative has its controversy. However, I feel that in the long run it will be a more worthwhile alternative."

"You will allow us ten business days to put this proposal under review," the Director said smoothly as she turned off the tablet and folded her hands on top of its darkened screen. "During which time you will be required to stay within the boundaries of the Cinq Kingdom. This means no more sneaking off planet Mister Maxwell."

Duo blinked. He saw Director Une was smiling at him. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

Part Three

Duo couldn't run anymore. The stabbing pains in his sides were too intense. He stumbled to a stop and grabbed his knees and tried to steady himself. He knew stopping abruptly and holding still after running was a bad idea but he couldn't take the cramping anymore. He swallowed hard to keep from heaving and grabbed frantically for the water bottle attached at his hip.

He felt a hand take the bottle from his waist and hand it to him. He took it gratefully and sloshed the warm water into his mouth before spitting it out onto the cobblestone street. He looked up to see Trowa smirking down at him.

"Come on, you need to walk those cramps out." Trowa urged him. He had grabbed his shoulders and was trying to straighten him out. Duo saw Quatre and Heero jog up behind him. Quatre's worried expression made him laugh.

"I'm fine! I'm fine, just can't keep up with you guys that's all." Duo panted as he let Trowa drag him into a brisk walk. Quatre was jogging in place beside him. His pale blue shirt was plastered to his chest with sweat. Duo couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy as his companion's physiques. They had all progressively gotten stronger. Duo had stopped working out altogether once he had taken the job at the college on X-18999 and now he was paying for it.

"Who… who runs marathons* for... fun anyway…" Duo grumbled between gasps. He saw Quatre smirk.

"Sorry, Duo. I guess this was a bad idea. I didn't think-"

"Oh shut up, it's fine... Go on, keep going without me I'll meet you at the finish... okay?" Duo urged them with his biggest smile. Quatre was reluctant, but Trowa had taken the hint. He gave him a little wave and grabbed Quatre's arm and began dragging him back into the race. Duo groaned once they were out of earshot and took a long swig of water. He hadn't done too terribly at the beginning but after that twelfth mile he had felt like he was going to die. Heero had stayed behind and was walking silently by his side.

"Aren't you going to finish?"

"Why?" The Japanese agent had raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you want to win?"

"It's not about winning," Heero replied. Duo frowned and shook his head.

"Everyone wants to win, Heero. I mean, shit. Look at you, you aren't even sweating."

"I don't need to test myself. I know what my limits are," Heero said coolly. Duo rolled his eyes and returned his bottle to its clip on his waist. He put his hands on his hips and tried to ignore the now throbbing aches in his sides.

Other competitors began rushing past them as they walked. Duo was done. His feet were killing him and his whole body had begun an aggravated protest. He hadn't trained at all for this.

Things were so much different now than they had been when he was in Preventer months before. He and Heero used to run every day after work. Duo had been in decent condition then but he had lost that routine and the will to take care of himself once he moved to X-18999. He had been depressed with no extra energy to spend. His routine had developed into the typical work, eat and sleep grind most adults found themselves in.

He had missed the Cinq Kingdom**. It really was a beautiful place. He looked up at the trees flanking the marathon path. They were emerald green and hung low and heavy with broad, tender leaves. The sky was clear and the natural sun was hot against his back. He had missed feeling real sunlight against his skin. He had missed his old routine, and his old friends and the the health and happiness he had before.

It had been three days since they had seen Une about the alternative ARMISTICE plan. Heero had spoken to Relena right before they started the marathon and she had told him that so far she had amassed forty percent of the representatives in council in support of amending the law. Heero had seemed satisfied with her progress. Duo didn't think it was good enough.

They broke off of the marathon path and began walking casually down a familiar street that ran alongside a large canal. He had lived in a small apartment only a block away from the area the locals referred to as Nyhavn*** before he had quit Preventer. He took in the narrow road and smiled. Everything was the same as it was before he left. The aromatic bread shop was still on the corner with its toasted loaves out on display in the curtained window. He popped inside and bought an enormous box of various Danish pastries and devoured one as they continued their walk down the street.

"All the world's problem can be solved with raspberry filling," Duo said cheerfully as they wandered the city. They were nearing the end of Nyhavn and approaching a more modern area. The end of the marathon would be near the heart of the city by the war memorial he and Hilde had visited together when she had been there last.

He had just seen the enormous obelisk come into view in the distance when he felt something brush his fingertips. He paused and looked over his shoulder to see that Heero had stopped a few feet behind him.

"Hey what's wrong?" Duo doubled back and gave him a worried look. He saw the dark blue of Heero's eyes glisten with what he could only describe as mischief. The Japanese agent reached up to brush his finger firmly against the corner of Duo's mouth. Duo could see a smudge of red jelly from his danish on the tip of his finger as his partner pulled the finger away and popped it casually into his own mouth to suck it clean.

"My apartment is half a block away from here," Heero said in a low voice. "We should go there. I need to pay my reparations."

Duo grinned from ear to ear and slipped his hand into Heero's and chuckled. "Lead the way!"

* 1 Marathon = 26.2 Miles (42 Kilometers)

** According to Gundam Wikia the Cinq Kingdom (Sanc Kingdom): 'Going by maps shown in the series, and several other hints (such as the Royal Copenhagen Noin serves Relena with in Frozen Teardrop), Sanc Kingdom is likely located in or was once part of Denmark.' For the purposes of this fic I am going to treat its position and culture as that of Copenhagen.

*** "Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. The canal harbours many historical wooden ships." - Source: Wikipedia.