Chapter Thirty-Eight
Monday Meeting Blues:
Part One

Once inside HQ, Serena continued to walk ahead of Trowa at a brisk pace. Trowa wasn't sure if Serena knew where she was going at first as she continued down the hallway. Trowa was going to ask when he slowly started to realize Serena knew exactly which conference room they were heading to. Trowa wondered who told Serena, considering he hadn't mentioned anything to her. Then again, maybe he shouldn't be questioning her. Serena likely knew the layout of the whole building. All she had to do was ask Une which room and Serena would've been able to navigate her way there.

When Serena opened the door, Trowa glanced around noticing that they were the last ones to arrive. Serena quickly made her way to an empty chair between Duo and Heero. Trowa was left to take the last empty seat, conveniently located between Heero and Wufei.

Trowa had a feeling it was done on purpose when Heero glanced at him.

"Bout time you guys showed up!" Duo said as he leaned back in his chair. "Now we can finally get this meeting over with."

"Thank you, Lowell, for coming in this morning," Une said from behind her laptop. "We'll be starting shortly."

Trowa kept an eye on Serena as they waited. Duo was talking to her but Serena seemed uninterested, only replying to Duo when necessary.

Trowa started to think that maybe Serena's quietness was due in part to what was about to be discussed. None of them knew other than Une and himself what Serena had been doing. But there was also a part of him that wondered if there was something else Serena knew that she hadn't shared with him.

Heero had purposely seated himself so Serena and Trowa would be separated. The small room only allowed for a total of six people to be seated. Any more and the rest would have to stand around the table.

Heero could feel someone's eyes on him. Glancing around he saw deep blue eyes looking at him. Heero quickly looked away when Une cleared her throat. Possibly saving him from the strange look Serena was giving him.

"All right, thank you all for being patient," Une said as she stood to address the group. "As you are all aware I have asked Lowell to be here today. She has been working with us to help gather as much information as possible about ROE along with identifying any members who have worked their way into Preventer. Over the weekend we devised a plan to arrest those members."

"Hey, wait a minute," Duo jumped in. "Wasn't the President supposed to be here? He's the one who wanted to meet Serena and wanted to know what the hell was going on with all of this."

"There is no reason for him to be here. I have already briefed him on everything. As far as meeting Lowell, I promised him a one-on-one meeting with her at some point in the future." Heero glanced over to Serena. There was a questioning look on her face. Une must've noticed as she addressed Serena directly. "The longer we can keep you hidden the better."

"Too bad a lot of people already know about Serena," Duo snickered.

"Yes, unfortunately, but I'd still like to keep Lowell out of the spotlight. If ROE hasn't figured out where she is yet, we can still use that to our advantage. We'll know more once we have everyone arrested. All of you should have a copy of the list that Lowell provided," Une paused, waiting till everyone acknowledged her.

"Very good. We have agents already working to arrest those members. They will continue over the next few days. As much as I would prefer to have them all taken into custody simultaneously, the coordination of it just wasn't in our favor. All of the members we believe to be in ROE who are stationed here on Earth will be the first to be taken in. Any that are in the Colonies will be apprehended over the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. As we speak I have teams working to keep track of any members who are currently not scheduled to work during that time frame."

"How many have been arrested thus far?" Serena asked.

"So far eight have been taken into custody," Une answered Serena. "As of right now everything is continuing as planned and we haven't run into any issues. Overall it looks like this will be done quickly and as quietly as originally planned."

"So, why weren't we assigned to go after any of these guys?" Duo asked as he leaned back in his chair. "We aren't used goods just yet."

"Because the Charity Ball is this upcoming weekend. I need all of you here for security. We'll be going over that at Wednesday's meeting." Duo opened his mouth again to speak but Heero sent him a warning look, stopping him.

"I don't have anything more to report to you about the arrests. We will bring a few to our location here but the others will be interrogated at their respective facilities. All are being held until we can obtain court orders to proceed with legal actions. For now, they will not be released under any circumstances. Do any of you have questions?" Une asked.

"When will they arrive?" Heero asked. He caught Serena's eye for a moment before she turned her attention back to Une.

"By Thursday at the latest, if all goes according to plan. Once they arrive you may prepare for their interrogations."

"Wufei can handle them," Heero said. Turning to Wufei he was about to say something when Une spoke.

"You will be handling at least one of them, Yuy. Chang, Barton, and Maxwell will be handling the others." Heero lifted a brow as he turned his head back to Une. "Lowell has requested that one member by the name of Christopher Edman be brought here. She believes he is our best chance at finding out any information."

"What about the list of coordinates I showed you?" Wufei asked Serena. "Have you gone over them?"

"I have and I haven't. The list doesn't lead me to believe anything substantial which is why I asked for Edman to be brought here. He worked closely with me and chances are he knows more about what's currently going on than the others," Serena said to Wufei before she turned, looking directly at Heero. "Heero, we're going to be interrogating him together."

"No," Heero growled. "I'll handle him myself and you can wait for the report." Serena tightened her eyes at him.

"He won't talk to you, but..." Serena trailed off as her lips curled up. "I can get him to talk." Une cleared her throat, gaining Heero's attention.

"I have already granted Lowell permission to do so. We'll discuss this more in detail when the time comes," Une said.

"No, we'll discuss this now," Heero said as he turned sharply back to Serena. "You won't be interrogating Edman. If he finds out that you're here then he'll just withhold any information he has."

"I never said I was going to go straight in. You can have all the fun in the world pulling teeth, but after you've had enough I'll step in. He's not going to say anything to you."

"Why do you think that?" Heero asked hotly. He was already getting annoyed by her.

"Because he knows who you are. Edman won't tell you shit," Serena glared at him. "Trust me for once that I know what I'm doing. He's our best chance and I don't want to lose this opportunity."

"That's enough!" Une yelled. "We'll have a meeting beforehand to go over the limitations I have set for Serena," Une threw him one of her own glares, a reminder that she was in charge. "Now if I may continue, I need you all to turn your attention to the screen."

Heero glanced at Serena, her body had gone rigid. Heero had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to see.

"This is the main reason why I have asked Lowell to be here today," Une paused as she hit a key on her computer. "So she can answer any questions you may have about what I'm about to present to you. I have asked her to draw-"

"What the fuck is that!? Is that Wing Zero!?" Duo blurted out. Cutting Une off.

"It's Zero you idiot, or have you forgotten what a Gundam looks like?" Wufei scolded him.

"It's not Zero," Serena said tilting her head towards Duo. "That's my suit."

"What!?" Duo spun his chair around to face her. Pointing a finger at the screen. "You're telling us that's your Gundam!?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Serena stared at Duo.

Heero looked between everyone. Wufei was staring at Serena with his jaw set. Duo's eyes were wide but Trowa… Trowa wasn't surprised in the least.

"You knew about this?" Heero asked, looking at Trowa.

"As I was saying," Une said in a loud voice. "I asked Serena to draw up the blueprints for her Gundam along with the Mobile Suits ROE has been building so we have a better idea of what we're dealing with."

Heero turned his head sharply to Serena. "You said there were none," he growled to her and her only.

"I am the blueprint," Serena deadpanned at him.

"Whoa! Let me see this!" Duo said, overly excitedly. Duo quickly stood reaching across the table to Une's laptop, grabbing it as he sat back down. Flipping through the screens, "it's just like Zero!"

"It's based on Zero, yes, but I've added to the original design and what Heero came up with when he upgraded the suit back in A.C. 196," Serena said as she leaned closer to Duo.

"This is insane!" Duo commented, clicking to another screen. "I'm not sure why you kept the wings the same but… wait what the fuck is that!? How many thrusters do you need, girl!?" Serena laughed lightly.

"The wings help with the overall function of the suit's ability to fly. I redesigned the thrusters to enhance their output and kept the feathers so they'd still act as a shield as well as help to propel the suit."

"Then why are the thrusters so big?" Duo asked.

"The bigger the better," Serena smirked at him.

"So size does matter?" Duo narrowed his eyes at Serena.

"My buster rifle is bigger too," Serena winked. Duo quickly went to the weapons detail page pulling up the one for the buster rifle.

"You gotta be fucking kidding!? Does it need to be that big!? And what the hell are these!? Are they bombs!?"

Heero was trying to remain calm. His fists clenched and unclenched as he stared straight ahead at the screen watching as the picture changed from one to another. All of Serena's Gundam.

Heero glanced at Trowa who was speaking quietly to Wufei. Neither of them seemed to be bothered by what was being shown to them. Une had sat back down, watching the screen while Duo and Serena laughed as they continued to talk and joke about her suit.

Then something snapped in Heero. The over annoying voice in his head screamed at him to stop, but Heero ignored it. His anger getting the best of him.

"Enough!" Heero bellowed as he stood, shoving his chair away. Turning he looked down at Serena, a confused look on her face before he grabbed her jacket, lifting her to her feet. "You said there weren't any blueprints!"

"There aren't any," Serena narrowed her eyes as she placed her hands on top of his. "I hold them. There's no paper trail. Even if you went looking, you'd just turn up empty-handed," she said. Heero turned them, pushing Serena backward, sending her into the wall behind them.

"Bullshit! If you were capable of this all along why didn't you just fucking say something sooner!?" Heero seethed. Serena tightened her eyes.

"I couldn't."

"You couldn't!? Why do you keep lying to me!?" Heero shouted at her.

"I wasn't lying to you!"

"All you do is lie to me! How am I to believe you about anything!?" Heero saw Serena's eyes flash at him. Before he could do anything, Heero felt something hard strike him in the jaw. Causing him to loosen his grip on Serena.

"If you'd just listen instead of jumping down my throat then maybe you'd understand!" Serena shouted as she bawled her fist again. Heero had sworn that he'd never hit a woman for any reason, unless absolutely necessary, and only if the risk of injury to anyone was imminent.

But this time, he didn't care.

Heero pulled back his right arm, his fist balled before Heero threw all his weight into his arm. Hitting Serena directly in the cheek. Serena locked eyes with him when she turned her head back around. Her hand touching where he had hit her.

Heero could vaguely hear people shouting, but he was too focused on Serena. Then without warning, Serena threw herself at him, knocking him to the floor. Heero's breath left his lungs as Serena fell on top of him. Her hands grabbed at his Preventer jacket lifting him.

"If you'd just fucking listen to me!" Serena screamed at him.

"Why should I listen to you!?" Heero grabbed Serena's arms, fighting against her hold. Linking his leg around one of hers, Heero was able to flip them so Serena was on her back. "I let you be alone with Relena! I trusted you with her life!"

"I would've protected her and I'm trying to protect her now!" Serena yelled as she broke one of her hands free, balling her left fist she connected again with his jaw. Serena was able to stun him long enough to flip them back over so Heero was under her again.

Heero glared up at Serena as she pinned his arms down and locked her legs around his. No matter how he moved he couldn't break free.

"Like hell you are!" He growled as he continued to try and break her hold.

"I am!" Serena yelled, gripping his arms tighter. "I'm trying to protect the world from what he wants to do to it. What he wants to do to Relena! You have no idea the kind of horrors he would inflict upon her or all the innocent people standing in his way. If I didn't care, why would I risk my own life just to save any of yours!? I could've easily escaped and went back and fought against you. But I didn't. I stayed here to make a difference, to stop him. I've already agreed to use my Gundam to protect the ESUN and what it stands for. To protect Relena and her beliefs that the universe can truly be a peaceful place and unnecessary conflicts such as this can cease to exist!"

"Use your Gundam!?" Heero saw red then. Everything else Serena had said disappeared like the wind. There was no way in his lifetime that Heero would let Serena pilot the very Gundam she helped to create.

Pushing against her, Heero was able to push Serena back enough to sit up. Heero tried to move quickly to throw Serena against the ground again when he felt two pairs of arms grab him, pulling him to his feet. Heero saw, out of the corner of his eye, Trowa grabbing Serena off the ground and holding her against his body. But Heero kept his focus on Serena. Her eyes continued to burn with rage as she stared back at him.

"You don't give a shit what I say!" Serena yelled as she fought against Trowa's hold.

"That's because I know what you are!" Heero bellowed as he tried to lunge at her again. Only to be stopped. "You're nothing more than some experiment gone wrong!" Serena's eyes flashed at him.

"Maxwell, Chang, restrain him!" Une shouted over the chaos. "Barton, get her out of here!"

Trowa tried to move as quickly as possible. He had no idea what either Heero or Serena had been screaming at each other, but it was clear the heated argument had gotten out of control.

Serena was fighting him with every step he took as he tried to get her away from Heero. So he did the only thing he could think of. Trowa picked Serena up, throwing her over his shoulder as he moved towards the door.

"Put me down, Barton!" Serena yelled at him. She was fighting in his arms but Trowa knew Serena wouldn't hit him. Or at least he hoped she wouldn't.

Trowa moved down the hallway towards the elevators. People were staring at them, but at that moment he didn't care. He just needed to get Serena out of there and away from Heero. Trowa could feel how tense Serena was. Her muscles refused to relax and Serena refused to make the situation easy by continuing to fight against him.

Luckily for Trowa, they didn't have to wait long for the elevator.

When the doors opened, Trowa quickly stepped inside and hit the button for his office floor. He waited for the doors to close before setting Serena down.

"Thank you," Serena grumbled as she folded her arms over her chest, huffing as she turned away from him.

"I didn't put you down to be nice. I just don't feel like having you kick me in the groin," Trowa frowned when she refused to look at him.

"I wouldn't have," Serena said bitterly. "I'm not that much of a bitch."

When the doors opened Serena uncrossed her arms before stepping off the elevator. Serena started to head in the opposite direction of his office. Reaching out, Trowa grabbed her shoulders, stopping her.

"We're going to my office," Trowa said sternly. Serena turned her fiery eyes up to him before she pushed past him, heading towards his office.

Serena didn't say anything once they entered, but before Trowa could shut the door, Serena had already begun pacing. Her anger was still visible while she clenched and unclenched her fist.

"You knew Heero was going to be upset," Trowa said matter-of-factly as he continued to watch her pace. "That's why you were so quiet this morning."

"He's such an asshole!" Serena yelled. "Why can't he just fucking believe me!?" Serena stopped, coming to stand in front of him. "I'm trying to help. But Heero can't see that. He doesn't see me as anything other than what J created me to be! I should've never drawn up the blueprints for my Gundam or even agreed to pilot it for Preventer. This was a mistake! All one big fucking mistake!"

"You did the right thing. Une asked for your help and you did as you were asked. It was a risk either way. As far as Heero goes, that's just something that'll come in time, Serena. As much as you want him to change his mind, he won't right away and you know that," Trowa said, trying to calm her.

"The risk will be if we actually obtain my suit." Serena's shoulders sagged as her anger subsided. "And I know. I just wish Heero would understand. It would make all of this a lot easier."

"I know, but give him some more time." Trowa waited a moment before approaching her. Serena seemed to have calmed herself down enough that when he brought his fingers under her chin, she didn't fight him. Trowa knew Serena was still upset but he was more worried about her physically. "How's your jaw?"

"It's fine." Serena looked at him. "I'm okay," she said quickly.

"You both got each other pretty good." Trowa tilted her head looking at the bruise that had formed.

"That's as bad as it'll get. In a day or two, it won't be there." Serena lifted her hand, lightly grasping his. "I'm not worried so neither should you," Serena said as she lowered both of their hands.

"It doesn't mean I'm not going to," Trowa smiled softly at her. He was rewarded when a small smile appeared on Serena's face. Slowly Trowa lowered his head pressing his lips lightly to hers.

Trowa felt her arms come up around his neck as Serena pressed her lips to his in response. Her tongue slipped into his mouth as she demanded more from him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Trowa guided her backward towards his desk.

Trowa was so lost in the kiss with Serena that he never heard the knocking on his office door.

"Hey, just wanted… what the hell is going on!?" Trowa broke away from Serena, turning his head he saw Sally standing against the door. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. "Next time lock the damn door! What if someone else happened to walk in here!?" Sally took a few steps closer. "And if either of you tries to tell me that nothing is going on here, I promise that there will be severe consequences for doing so."

Trowa felt Serena drop her arms from his neck. Letting go of her waist he turned to fully face Sally.

"What are you doing here?" Trowa asked. Sally lifted a brow as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I heard someone got into an altercation and I was sent to look at the damage. Though it seems someone's mouth is working just fine."

"I'm good," Serena said as she came to stand next to him.

"I can see that," Sally looked between the two of them. "You two need to be careful. As I've already said, I won't say anything but you need to keep this out of the workplace. Whatever you do at home is your business. But I highly suggest not making anything known because certain people may find out and may disapprove of this."

Trowa frowned before pulling his face back. He should've locked the door. "Noted."

"I wouldn't worry," Serena said casually. "One too many already know now."

"If this gets out, keep all firearms away from her and Yuy. Understood?" Sally said, pointing to Trowa.

"You think I'm going to shoot him?" Serena asked Sally. Trowa glanced at Serena, her brow lifted in question.

"Yes and no. Heero will probably want to shoot someone. But with you, chances are you may just pull the trigger if the opportunity arises," Sally shrugged. Trowa glanced at Serena again. Her jaw fell open before she quickly shut it.

"I wouldn't shoot him," Serena said after a moment.

"No guns for either of you. I don't want you two killing each other," Sally wagged a finger at Serena before turning back to Trowa. "I suggest you bring her home. Heero's still pretty angry and Une canceled the rest of the meeting. There's no point in Serena staying here."

Trowa nodded his head. Sally was right, there wasn't any real reason for Serena to stay any longer. Not to mention it was probably safer if Serena left before Heero and her went for round two.

A/N

Happy Friday!

Well for us at least. For Heero and Serena, not so much. Plus it's Monday for them anyway. Hopefully, by their Friday they'll be better.

There's a lot going on in this chapter, and I have some explaining to do. I know it was a risk with this "fight scene," but I left it in because I still felt it was important to the storyline. Heero is at his breaking point with Serena. Do not forget that Heero knows more about Serena than anyone else. Even if he's not admitting it out loud, he knows her strength and even though he punched her, Serena technically punched him first. They're equal in that regard. I want to move away from that for a moment and focus on the things that were said. (I know I threw in some humor with Duo and Serena talking about her suit, that was to lighten the mood before shit went down.)

Heero and Serena's private agreement had a lot going on. On Wednesday I reminded you all to pay close attention before there was some important information that was going to be said. Before the fight broke out, Serena tells Heero that she is the blueprint to the Gundams. Remember this. We already know that she's capable of rebuilding them because she told Trowa that, but she also told Trowa that she had them memorized. If you haven't figured it out yet, I like to play around with words. Serena also tells Heero that "she holds" the blueprints. All of this is important info. Next, Heero and Serena go at it. Yelling back and forth. Both of their emotions have gotten the best of both of them. Heero's angry because he feels Serena has been lying to him this whole time, and Serena's angry because Heero isn't understanding her. He's not listening to her. Because Heero isn't listening to Serena, she tells him what she's trying to do and what she plans to do. Now the question is, is Serena telling the truth? And who is this "he," she's referring to? Lastly and probably the most important, Heero yells at Serena that she's an experiment gone wrong. That probably stung. I mean if I was in Serena's shoes, I'd probably try and hit Heero again, but luckily, they were pulled apart by then.

Speaking of that, I know I should've had them separated before more hitting and throwing each other around on the ground happened, but where's the fun in that? At least Une ordered the fight to be broken up. Wonder if they'll receive any kind of punishment for throwing down while at work? Haha. I make terrible jokes sometimes. At least Serena showed some restraint when it came to Trowa. She didn't hit or kick him, so that's good. We now know she isn't going to hurt him... at least we can hope she doesn't. Now we're on the topic of Trowa and Serena, I want to point out a couple of things. Trowa figured things out pretty quickly. Serena's distress was related to the fact that Heero was going to learn about her Gundam. Trowa isn't blind to the fact that Serena's trying to earn Heero's trust, if anything Trowa knows how important it is for Serena to have that acceptance from Heero. This could be why he fights so hard for her, or he's just completely blinded by his feelings and isn't thinking straight. I mean it wasn't the smartest idea to make out with Serena in his office. I want to also point out that Serena tells Trowa not to worry about her bruised face because it won't get any worse and it won't be there in a day or two. We know Serena can heal fast, but that's a little too fast. Something is sus with that one.

As far as Sally goes, she half meant what she said to Trowa about keeping all firearms away from Heero and Serena. But was Serena being honest when she said she wouldn't shoot Heero? I will say that Sally is slightly worried about what's going on between Trowa and Serena. For the most part, we can see that Sally likes Serena in some way. She's teasing her like she would anyone else. I think Sally's concerns are valid. If Heero found out, and I think anyone could figure that one out, Heero is likely going to lose it. Everyone knows where Heero stands in regards to Serena, so Sally isn't condoning the relationship but more making sure Trowa and Serena understand that they really need to be careful. If Sally could catch them, chances are others will find out... sooner or later... possibly the former, possibly the latter.

Last thing, because I know my notes are getting longer each chapter, Heero's inner thoughts and feelings will be in Monday's chapter, which is obviously part two. Maybe Heero has some reflection and regrets over his actions? Maybe he's so angry that he goes looking for Serena for that round two? Who knows? Wait... does Relena find out about this fight?

Enjoy your weekend and I will see you all on Monday!
-MM