They looked stricken. Then Duo suddenly flung the cards across the room.
"She will make it. I know it!" he said, his voice low and hoarse. The others stared in surprise as he stalked out of the room and down the stairs.
"I knew things would never be the same." Trowa mumbled.
"Relana has the fighting spirit. She's not going to give up that easily." Wufei added.
"I suggest you all go to bed. Meg will watch Relana, and Duo will be back soon." Doc said. Meg gently picked up the child on Heero's lap, and put both children to bed. Meg and Doc settled on couches to wait out the night, as the pilots all headed to get some sleep.
Only Relena saw Duo come back late at night. She offered him a wan smile. He patted her hand, and disappeared into his own room. He settled down to sleep immediately, his thoughts full of Relana.
Duo woke only hours later. Light footsteps came down the hall and stopped outside his door. When the person opened it, Duo thought at first it was Relena. Then he saw the twinkling green eyes, the mischievous grin, and the pale blonde hair. She seemed to glow with inner light, almost floating across the carpet towards him. Duo's mouth hung open.
"Relana? What? I thought..." he trailed off, then swung his legs out of bed. Relana laughed.
"I came to say goodbye, Duo. I have to go." Duo's heart grew icy at her words.
"What do you mean, Relana?" he stammered. A slight flash of annoyance lit her eyes briefly.
"I mean I have to go. I don't know where... It's calling me, Duo. I had to say goodbye to you, though. You understand, don't you?" The mischief had left her face, to be replaced by a grave look. Duo grabbed her hands, surprised to feel solid flesh.
"No. I don't. You can't leave, 'Lana." He saw slight surprise in her face at the use of her nickname, then an incredible sadness.
"Why won't you let me go?" she asked softly. "I can't, not until you say I can." Duo shook his head.
"Then I'm not letting you. You can't leave, Relana! We need you! No, no, no, no..."
Duo woke with a start, still mumbling 'no, no'. He looked out the window and saw it was dawn. His dream had been so strange... Could it have been real? He jumped up and ran down the hall to Relana's room. He barged in without knocking, startling Relena, who'd been asleep.
"Think you could have made any more noise?" A voice demanded. "A girl needs her sleep, ya know." Relana glared at him from the bed. Her face was still pale, but she looked better, and her eyes still sparkled.
"Relana!" Duo yelled. "You're awake!"
"No, Duo, you're just seeing things." Relana retorted. Duo rushed over and hugged her. She gave him the evil eye. Relena just laughed. She got up and stretched.
"She's been awake for an hour now. She just suddenly woke up, muttering that she had to leave, but someone wouldn't let her." Relena shrugged. "Just a dream, I guess." She left the room.
"I know you didn't let me, Duo. It wasn't just a dream, was it?" Relana said softly. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you." Duo shifted uncomfortably.
"Now, where's Meg? I hope she's asleep." There was a hint of laughter in her voice that made Duo look at her suspiciously.
"What are you planning, Relana?" he asked.
"I'm just gonna get up." She replied, looking at him innocently, her eyes wide.
"You're not."
"I am. Try and stop me." Relana snorted, swinging her legs out of bed. She checked the bandage underneath the tatters of her shirt. "I need some new clothes." She mused, and stood.
"Relana, get back in that bed now." Duo said menacingly. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"No." She glanced at him, and the corners of her mouth turned up. She smirked, as though daring him to try something. He glared back at her.
"If you insist on staying up… Then you don't walk."
"Huh?" She looked at him warily. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just this." He lunged forward and grabbed her arm. Before she could react, he had swung her into his arms and was heading towards the door.
"Put me down, you big ox!" she yelled. "Down, Duo, down!" He just laughed at her.
"Will you go back to bed?" He asked.
"No!"
"Then I'm not putting you down until it's on a chair or your bed. You're classified as an invalid."
Relena glanced in from the kitchen, and her eyes widened.
"What are you doing out of bed? Duo, you should know better." She scolded. Duo shrugged, at least as well as he was able with a struggling Relana.
"She wouldn't stay." He replied innocently. He walked into the kitchen and set her on a chair. She glared at him from under the hair covering her face. He grinned impertinently at her. Quatre walked into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"Who was yelling? Hi Duo, Relena. Hi Relana." He continued on towards the fridge as Relena sighed, Duo looked at Quatre with an exasperated look, and Relana laughed.
"Nice to see I made such a big impression, Quatre." She giggled. His head jerked around.
"Relana! You're okay! What are you doing out here?" he said, obviously rattled.
"Don't start with me on my being up." Relana replied. "I heard enough about that from these two." She jerked her head at Relena, who was drinking a glass of milk, and Duo, who was idly playing with his long braid. Meg walked in too. In daylight, she looked about 15 or 16, with long, black hair, dark eyes and high cheekbones. Her eyes slanted slightly, and her skin was a light brown.
"Hi, 'Lana. I didn't think you'd still be in bed." Meg sat in the other chair. Relana looked up brightly.
"So, what do we do now?"
Three days later……
"Doc, isn't there anything I can do?" Relana complained.
"You can go find Makiko and Kenji." He replied, speaking of the two children Relana had brought with her. "Or watch Masayoshi." That was the baby. Relana made a face.
"No thanks." The Gundam pilots and Relena had gone back to school, and Meg disappeared each day, early in the morning. She came back for supper, and would only say she'd been working when asked.
"All right, if you're bored, you can go to school." Doc said. "It's about time you learnt something anyway."
"When do I go to this torture chamber?" Relana asked, heaving a melodramatic sigh. "Are you sure I have to?"
"Yes. You can go now. They've only just started, and the headmistress owes me a favor. Let's go." Doc stood up and looked at her expectantly. "You can get your uniform later. For now, those clothes will do." Relena had taken her shopping the day before. Balking at the skirts Relena had picked for her, Relana chose instead two pairs of tight blue jeans, two pairs of black leggings, and some T-shirts and midriff-baring tops. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a belly top reading 'I'm up and dressed. What more do you want?'.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the big stone building. Students outside stared at Relana, who stared right back. When they passed, she heard whispers of 'Look, that looks like Relena.' 'Relena wouldn't wear that, dummy.' Relana smirked.
Doc told her to wait outside while he went to talk with the headmistress. He soon came out, and told her that she was in room 208. Almost as an afterthought, he added that Duo was in the same class.
"Try not to get into too much trouble with him." Doc said, looking pained. He'd already heard about the morning after Relana had been injured. Needless to say, he had not been impressed. He gave Relana a slip of paper with directions, and left. Left to herself, Relana started down the hall towards room 208. She found it and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a stern-looking teacher with beady black eyes and a tight-lipped smile.
"Konnichiwa, Mrs…."
"Mrs. Yamaguchi. Who are you?"
"The new student. Relana Peacecraft." Peering into the room, she saw Duo give her a thumbs up. Mrs. Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow.
"Peacecraft? There should be only one student with that name here. Relena."
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi, she's my twin."
"I wouldn't know. I've never seen her." Mrs. Yamaguchi sniffed and stood aside to let her into the classroom. Eyes widened, and a few boys whistled. Mrs. Yamaguchi gave them a look that had the class dead silent in two seconds.
"Class, this is Relana Peacecraft. She will be joining us. Relana, take a seat next to Duo Maxwell, the boy with long, braided hair."
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi." Relana replied, with the innocent look that she used when she was planning something. Duo grinned at her when she sat down, and she made a face at the teacher's back.
"Is she always like that?" she queried.
"No. Usually she's worse. The last poor soul had to stand at the front and recite his entire life's history. It wasn't pretty." Duo murmured.
"Silence, Mr. Maxwell." The teacher snapped. Relana looked around the classroom. Heero was here, studiously ignoring her. He still hadn't forgiven her for running across the field like that. Quatre sat in the back, his head in his hands as he listened to the teacher drone on and on. Nobody else she knew was here, though a few boys were staring at her, and a few girls were sending her nasty looks. Relana shrugged and settled down to appear to be listening.
By lunch, Relana had been yelled at six times. Three times for falling asleep at her desk, twice for talking to Duo, and another time for being pert. Or so Mrs. Yamaguchi had said. Relana had differed with her on who was the Goddess of The Hunt, and who was the Goddess of Love. Mrs. Yamaguchi had said Artemis was the Goddess of Love, and Aphrodite was the Goddess of The Hunt. Relana had disagreed, pointed out the right one, and had been yelled at.
Relana bought her lunch and headed outside. She'd agreed to meet Duo and Quatre out there, and they'd said they would bring the others. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, thinking it was Duo or Quatre. She made a face. It was a boy from her class, one that hadn't quit staring at her since she had walked into the classroom. He slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, baby, how's it goin'?" he said, grinning at her confidently. She stiffened.
"If you don't take your arm off me, you will find yourself missing some important body parts." She hissed, looking at him pointedly. He went slightly pale, then laughed.
"C'mon, baby, you don't mean that."
"Yes. I do. Get this through your thick skull, baka, I am not a girl who likes being handled. Either you let go of me, or you kiss the ground. Got that?"
"You're just like your sister. A stiff little-" The yell could be heard halfway across the yard. The howl of pain following it made Duo, Quatre, Relena and Trowa break into a run. They recognized the yell as Relana's battle cry, and they could only wonder who was hurt. They rounded the corner in time to see a very angry Relana haul a young man up by the shirt. His eyes were wide with fear, and he was practically blubbering.
"Take. It. Back. Hear me, you little jerk? Take it back. Now." Relana's voice was soft; she was at her most dangerous. Duo and Quatre pulled Relana away, while Trowa shoved the youth away. He watched them walk away, visibly trembling with anger.
"I'll get you for that, Relana Peacecraft. No matter what, you will pay for that." He hissed before stalking away.
"She will make it. I know it!" he said, his voice low and hoarse. The others stared in surprise as he stalked out of the room and down the stairs.
"I knew things would never be the same." Trowa mumbled.
"Relana has the fighting spirit. She's not going to give up that easily." Wufei added.
"I suggest you all go to bed. Meg will watch Relana, and Duo will be back soon." Doc said. Meg gently picked up the child on Heero's lap, and put both children to bed. Meg and Doc settled on couches to wait out the night, as the pilots all headed to get some sleep.
Only Relena saw Duo come back late at night. She offered him a wan smile. He patted her hand, and disappeared into his own room. He settled down to sleep immediately, his thoughts full of Relana.
Duo woke only hours later. Light footsteps came down the hall and stopped outside his door. When the person opened it, Duo thought at first it was Relena. Then he saw the twinkling green eyes, the mischievous grin, and the pale blonde hair. She seemed to glow with inner light, almost floating across the carpet towards him. Duo's mouth hung open.
"Relana? What? I thought..." he trailed off, then swung his legs out of bed. Relana laughed.
"I came to say goodbye, Duo. I have to go." Duo's heart grew icy at her words.
"What do you mean, Relana?" he stammered. A slight flash of annoyance lit her eyes briefly.
"I mean I have to go. I don't know where... It's calling me, Duo. I had to say goodbye to you, though. You understand, don't you?" The mischief had left her face, to be replaced by a grave look. Duo grabbed her hands, surprised to feel solid flesh.
"No. I don't. You can't leave, 'Lana." He saw slight surprise in her face at the use of her nickname, then an incredible sadness.
"Why won't you let me go?" she asked softly. "I can't, not until you say I can." Duo shook his head.
"Then I'm not letting you. You can't leave, Relana! We need you! No, no, no, no..."
Duo woke with a start, still mumbling 'no, no'. He looked out the window and saw it was dawn. His dream had been so strange... Could it have been real? He jumped up and ran down the hall to Relana's room. He barged in without knocking, startling Relena, who'd been asleep.
"Think you could have made any more noise?" A voice demanded. "A girl needs her sleep, ya know." Relana glared at him from the bed. Her face was still pale, but she looked better, and her eyes still sparkled.
"Relana!" Duo yelled. "You're awake!"
"No, Duo, you're just seeing things." Relana retorted. Duo rushed over and hugged her. She gave him the evil eye. Relena just laughed. She got up and stretched.
"She's been awake for an hour now. She just suddenly woke up, muttering that she had to leave, but someone wouldn't let her." Relena shrugged. "Just a dream, I guess." She left the room.
"I know you didn't let me, Duo. It wasn't just a dream, was it?" Relana said softly. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you." Duo shifted uncomfortably.
"Now, where's Meg? I hope she's asleep." There was a hint of laughter in her voice that made Duo look at her suspiciously.
"What are you planning, Relana?" he asked.
"I'm just gonna get up." She replied, looking at him innocently, her eyes wide.
"You're not."
"I am. Try and stop me." Relana snorted, swinging her legs out of bed. She checked the bandage underneath the tatters of her shirt. "I need some new clothes." She mused, and stood.
"Relana, get back in that bed now." Duo said menacingly. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"No." She glanced at him, and the corners of her mouth turned up. She smirked, as though daring him to try something. He glared back at her.
"If you insist on staying up… Then you don't walk."
"Huh?" She looked at him warily. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just this." He lunged forward and grabbed her arm. Before she could react, he had swung her into his arms and was heading towards the door.
"Put me down, you big ox!" she yelled. "Down, Duo, down!" He just laughed at her.
"Will you go back to bed?" He asked.
"No!"
"Then I'm not putting you down until it's on a chair or your bed. You're classified as an invalid."
Relena glanced in from the kitchen, and her eyes widened.
"What are you doing out of bed? Duo, you should know better." She scolded. Duo shrugged, at least as well as he was able with a struggling Relana.
"She wouldn't stay." He replied innocently. He walked into the kitchen and set her on a chair. She glared at him from under the hair covering her face. He grinned impertinently at her. Quatre walked into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"Who was yelling? Hi Duo, Relena. Hi Relana." He continued on towards the fridge as Relena sighed, Duo looked at Quatre with an exasperated look, and Relana laughed.
"Nice to see I made such a big impression, Quatre." She giggled. His head jerked around.
"Relana! You're okay! What are you doing out here?" he said, obviously rattled.
"Don't start with me on my being up." Relana replied. "I heard enough about that from these two." She jerked her head at Relena, who was drinking a glass of milk, and Duo, who was idly playing with his long braid. Meg walked in too. In daylight, she looked about 15 or 16, with long, black hair, dark eyes and high cheekbones. Her eyes slanted slightly, and her skin was a light brown.
"Hi, 'Lana. I didn't think you'd still be in bed." Meg sat in the other chair. Relana looked up brightly.
"So, what do we do now?"
Three days later……
"Doc, isn't there anything I can do?" Relana complained.
"You can go find Makiko and Kenji." He replied, speaking of the two children Relana had brought with her. "Or watch Masayoshi." That was the baby. Relana made a face.
"No thanks." The Gundam pilots and Relena had gone back to school, and Meg disappeared each day, early in the morning. She came back for supper, and would only say she'd been working when asked.
"All right, if you're bored, you can go to school." Doc said. "It's about time you learnt something anyway."
"When do I go to this torture chamber?" Relana asked, heaving a melodramatic sigh. "Are you sure I have to?"
"Yes. You can go now. They've only just started, and the headmistress owes me a favor. Let's go." Doc stood up and looked at her expectantly. "You can get your uniform later. For now, those clothes will do." Relena had taken her shopping the day before. Balking at the skirts Relena had picked for her, Relana chose instead two pairs of tight blue jeans, two pairs of black leggings, and some T-shirts and midriff-baring tops. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a belly top reading 'I'm up and dressed. What more do you want?'.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the big stone building. Students outside stared at Relana, who stared right back. When they passed, she heard whispers of 'Look, that looks like Relena.' 'Relena wouldn't wear that, dummy.' Relana smirked.
Doc told her to wait outside while he went to talk with the headmistress. He soon came out, and told her that she was in room 208. Almost as an afterthought, he added that Duo was in the same class.
"Try not to get into too much trouble with him." Doc said, looking pained. He'd already heard about the morning after Relana had been injured. Needless to say, he had not been impressed. He gave Relana a slip of paper with directions, and left. Left to herself, Relana started down the hall towards room 208. She found it and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a stern-looking teacher with beady black eyes and a tight-lipped smile.
"Konnichiwa, Mrs…."
"Mrs. Yamaguchi. Who are you?"
"The new student. Relana Peacecraft." Peering into the room, she saw Duo give her a thumbs up. Mrs. Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow.
"Peacecraft? There should be only one student with that name here. Relena."
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi, she's my twin."
"I wouldn't know. I've never seen her." Mrs. Yamaguchi sniffed and stood aside to let her into the classroom. Eyes widened, and a few boys whistled. Mrs. Yamaguchi gave them a look that had the class dead silent in two seconds.
"Class, this is Relana Peacecraft. She will be joining us. Relana, take a seat next to Duo Maxwell, the boy with long, braided hair."
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi." Relana replied, with the innocent look that she used when she was planning something. Duo grinned at her when she sat down, and she made a face at the teacher's back.
"Is she always like that?" she queried.
"No. Usually she's worse. The last poor soul had to stand at the front and recite his entire life's history. It wasn't pretty." Duo murmured.
"Silence, Mr. Maxwell." The teacher snapped. Relana looked around the classroom. Heero was here, studiously ignoring her. He still hadn't forgiven her for running across the field like that. Quatre sat in the back, his head in his hands as he listened to the teacher drone on and on. Nobody else she knew was here, though a few boys were staring at her, and a few girls were sending her nasty looks. Relana shrugged and settled down to appear to be listening.
By lunch, Relana had been yelled at six times. Three times for falling asleep at her desk, twice for talking to Duo, and another time for being pert. Or so Mrs. Yamaguchi had said. Relana had differed with her on who was the Goddess of The Hunt, and who was the Goddess of Love. Mrs. Yamaguchi had said Artemis was the Goddess of Love, and Aphrodite was the Goddess of The Hunt. Relana had disagreed, pointed out the right one, and had been yelled at.
Relana bought her lunch and headed outside. She'd agreed to meet Duo and Quatre out there, and they'd said they would bring the others. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, thinking it was Duo or Quatre. She made a face. It was a boy from her class, one that hadn't quit staring at her since she had walked into the classroom. He slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, baby, how's it goin'?" he said, grinning at her confidently. She stiffened.
"If you don't take your arm off me, you will find yourself missing some important body parts." She hissed, looking at him pointedly. He went slightly pale, then laughed.
"C'mon, baby, you don't mean that."
"Yes. I do. Get this through your thick skull, baka, I am not a girl who likes being handled. Either you let go of me, or you kiss the ground. Got that?"
"You're just like your sister. A stiff little-" The yell could be heard halfway across the yard. The howl of pain following it made Duo, Quatre, Relena and Trowa break into a run. They recognized the yell as Relana's battle cry, and they could only wonder who was hurt. They rounded the corner in time to see a very angry Relana haul a young man up by the shirt. His eyes were wide with fear, and he was practically blubbering.
"Take. It. Back. Hear me, you little jerk? Take it back. Now." Relana's voice was soft; she was at her most dangerous. Duo and Quatre pulled Relana away, while Trowa shoved the youth away. He watched them walk away, visibly trembling with anger.
"I'll get you for that, Relana Peacecraft. No matter what, you will pay for that." He hissed before stalking away.