Lady Une sighs when she sees Mariemaia. "The school called."

"They aren't that bad."

Lady Une shakes her head, shifts her briefcase from one hand to the other and presses her palm gently against Mariemaia's back, between her shoulder blades. She guides her across the atrium and towards the parking garage where Henri is waiting for them. Mariemaia's hands itch and she curls her fingers until they press against the gauze covering her palms.

"How did it happen?"

Mariemaia hesitates as they cross the echoing garage toward the car. Henri has the backdoor open for them already. "There are two girls," she says finally. "They don't like me."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"It's not…they didn't mean to. I mean, they weren't upset that I fell, but they didn't push me down or trip me."

"Mariemaia." Mariemaia slides into the car before Lady Une can continue. She hears her guardian sigh again before she climbs into the car after her. Henri shuts the door, strolling leisurely around the car back to the driver's door. "If you don't report it then I'm going to have to."

Mariemaia narrows her eyes at Lady Une. "Don't. You promised."

"I made no such promise. I told you, I'm supposed to be looking out for you and I intend to do so."

Mariemaia huffs, folding her arms and slouching against the seat. It's raining outside and the water runs in streams down the windowpanes, making the world blurry and bright. Henri has shut the radio off and the only sound for a mile or so is the hum of the air conditioner and the thwish-thwish of the windshield wipers.

"I heard Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang got into a fight today," she says finally.

Lady Une raises her eyes from the report she's skimming in the semi-dark. "Who told you that?"

"Some Preventers were discussing it in the elevator. Said a whole floor had to be cleared because of it."

Lady Une's mouth twitches into a smile. "They exaggerated. There was only a small debate on protocol. They were working on something classified and I needed the others on their floor in a training session on team building."

Mariemaia studies Lady Une's profile in the street lights. She isn't sure if she completely believes her. "What, like trust exercises?" They'd had to do that at her last school, once. It hadn't ended well.

Lady Une turns her attention back to the report. "Yes. Heero and Wufei...were needed elsewhere."

Mariemaia frowns, fiddles with the tape across her palms. Henri is pulling into the driveway, the rain still falling steadily. "Some of the girls from the swim team invited me to pizza last week, after the meet. They invited me again this Friday." She takes a breath as Henri pulls to a stop in front of the house. "I don't want to switch schools."

"Why didn't you go last week? You didn't mention this before."

Mariemaia shrugs, gathering up her belongings. Henri leaves the car running, stepping out to open the umbrella for them. "You had the meeting and Trowa and Heero were there to pick me up. I didn't want to be the weird one with guards."

"They aren't your guards, Mariemaia." Lady Une opens the door and steps out under the proffered umbrella. "Thank you, Henri. You know you don't have to, it's only a few steps."

"No need to get drenched, Ma'am." He smiles at Mariemaia as she climbs out of the car. "Have a good night."

"Tell that to the kids at school," Mariemaia mutters as they climb the steps to the front door. She waits while Lady Une unlocks and opens the door, then stomps inside. "You say they aren't my guards, but who else gets escorted everywhere they go by a Preventer? Who else is brought to Preventers immediately after school and then escorted home afterwards?"

"That is not true, Mariemaia." Lady Une trails her inside, pausing to lock the door. "You are not some prisoner being marched around."

"Why doesn't Henri ever bring me back here after school instead?"

"Because you are twelve!"

"So? I researched OZ and the Specials, they were sending twelve-year-olds on missions, not coddling them like they were glass or a bomb or something!"

"Because we had no other choice," Lady Une says. Mariemaia pauses at the tone of her guardian's voice. She isn't yelling, but there's an iron edge to it that reminds her that Lady Une is not just a politician, but also a colonel. She pauses on the stairs, turning back to see Lady Une standing there, back ramrod straight and staring at her. "We had no other choice than to take younger and younger recruits.

"Do you think your father enjoyed sending children into battle? The world was a very different place eight, ten, twelve years ago." She sets her briefcase down and reaches up to undo the pins in her hair. Mariemaia stays on the stairs, watching her with wide eyes. "Your father, Noin, Zechs, me – we never had the opportunity to be children, not truly. You do, Mariemaia. Your father understood the importance of war, of battles fought by men and women and not machines, but he also understood the need for peace."

Lady Une brushes past Mariemaia, climbing the stairs. She pauses at the top of the stairs, looks back down at Mariemaia. It might be the light coming through the windows, or a trick of her imagination, but Lady Une's eyes appear to glisten in the dim light. "You are not a prisoner, no matter what you hear or think, but you are a child. If you want to go and have pizza with friends, I wouldn't stop you. But I'm not a mind reader, Mariemaia. I don't know what goes on in your head if you don't tell me."

"I…" She trails off, not sure what she wants to say.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'll start dinner. Have you finished your homework?" Mariemaia nods mutely. "Then go ahead and set the table and preset the oven. I'll be down shortly."

Mariemaia watches as Lady Une disappears across the landing. She waits until she hears her guardian's bedroom door close before she descends the stairs again to set the table.

. . ... . .

"You look like death," Kenzie announces, when she sees her during morning practice. "What happened to your hands?"

"Loose cobblestone."

"Ouch." Kenzie scoots over on the bleacher and Mariemaia hesitates a moment before sitting down next to her. On Kenzie's other side Julia and Yen are chattering about a concert they want to attend. Kenzie nudges her lightly. "So, what's up, Khushrenada? "

"Nothing, just a long night. And I'm not looking forward to practice today," she admits. She glances over to where Minerva and Larissa are sitting. "Coach says I'm benched until my hands heal enough not to bleed into the pool."

Kenzie rolls her eyes. "That sucks. How bad are they?"

"I keep reopening the right one when I use it."

She toes at the floor and pulls her sweatshirt tighter around her. She feels exhausted. Dinner had been a quiet affair, the topics neutral once again. It had reminded Mariemaia of when she'd first gone to live with Lady Une and neither had known what to say to each other. After, she had escaped upstairs and fallen asleep while flipping through the photo albums once more. She had paused on a photo of her father, only a few years older than she is now but he'd seemed so much older. He had been staring at the camera, fencing helmet under one arm and foil in the other. Dorothy was seated next to him, looking serious and almost regal in her fencing attire. She'd fallen asleep with Lady Une's words echoing in her head. Your father, Noin, Zechs, me – we never had the opportunity to be children. Looking at that picture, she could see it.

"Well, just because you're a klutz doesn't mean you get to skip out on pizza night again, right, Jules?" Julia looks over at the sound of her name, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Pizza, Friday night. Khushrenada's not allowed to bail on us again, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Julia offers her a bright smile. "Definitely not."

Mariemaia offers them a small smile. "Pizza does sound good."

Coach Maes appears then, blowing his whistle, and Mariemaia offers a small wave as they get up to begin practice. Across the pool room Larissa and Minerva sit with their arms folded, looking displeased. Idly, Mariemaia wonders what would happen if she told Coach that Minerva was indirectly responsible for her injured hands. Would it do anything? Or, would it just be an accident?

. . ... . .

Mariemaia climbs into the back of the car, careful of her hands as she closes the door behind her. Henri has the classic rock station on low again and Mariemaia smiles as she hears it. He glances at her in the review mirror as he pulls out of the school's car loop.

"Where to, Miss Mariemaia?"

Mariemaia pauses in buckling her seatbelt, blinking at Henri in surprise. "Pardon?"

"Where to?" he repeats patiently. "Am I taking you home, or to Preventers? Or somewhere else?" Mariemaia stares at the side of Henri's head. She hadn't expected Lady Une to actually offer her a choice of afterschool location. Henri clears his throat. "I'll need to know which way to turn at the light," he reminds her gently.

"Oh, uh…" She doesn't relish the idea of being in the house by herself, and she doesn't want Heero Yuy to think she bailed on training, even if he ends up benching her like Coach did. But, she also isn't sure if she wants to run into Lady Une at Preventers or ride back to the house with her afterwards either. The car ride to school this morning had been nail-bitingly quiet as it was. "Preventers is fine."

Henri glances at her, bushy eyebrows raised but he's smiling. "Of course, Miss Mariemaia."

Mariemaia leans forward before she can stop herself. "You knew my father as a child, right, Henri?"

"Yes, I worked as a mechanic for the Khushrenadas for a number of years," he agrees. He has a small smile on his face at the memory. "I taught your father his first lessons on engines."

"Did you teach him about the mobile suits?"

Henri's smile turns more pained. "Yes, though he never quite took to the actual mechanics of mobile suits. He preferred to design prototypes rather than tinker with engines. Why fix something broken when you can make something new, something better? That's what your father used to say. Young Master Zechs on the other hand, he could spend hours tinkering with a piece of equipment, trying to get it to work, trying to improve it by pure will alone."

"What was he like as a child?" She rests her chin against the seat in front of her. "My father," she clarifies, in case he misinterprets and thinks she's asking after Zechs. "You said he had few friends."

Henri takes the turn toward Preventers and Mariemaia notes he's driving slower than normal. "Somber," he says after a moment. "There were quite a few expectations placed on your father's shoulders, particularly after his own father passed away. But there were good times too." He slows further as he approaches the Preventers garage. "When your father got together with Zechs Merquise and Dorothy Catalonia they were like children ought to be – loud, boisterous, mischievous… It was always good to see them together."

"Were they close?"

"Oh, yes. Very," Henri replies, nodding. "Thick as thieves for years." He stops the car by the entrance and half-turns to give her a warm, sympathetic smile. Mariemaia blinks furiously, trying to suppress the sudden urge to cry. "You've had a difficult life, Miss Mariemaia, but you'll find your way. I've no doubt of that. Go on, then. Don't be late."

Mariemaia pauses, hand on the door handle. "Thank you, Henri." He gives her another smile and she pushes open the car door, hurrying out before she does cry.