Chapter Two...
(Zip back to where we left Relena with the doctor-outside her door...)
As soon as the door had shut Heero took a post beside her room and leaned against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest and he just stared ahead of him.
Miliardo stood to the side of him and glared.
"What do you think you're trying to pull with Relena?"
Heero looked at him from the corners of his eyes.
"Hn."
"Don't pull this on me. I don't like you getting close to her if all you're going to do is hurt her."
"Why would I do that?"
Miliardo shook his head and rubbed his temples.
"Listen, Yuy, get this one thing strait: If you hurt her, in any way, I won't give you that chance to make amends."
"I don't plan on hurting her."
"You're not the warmest person on the planet, Yuy, you watch yourself around her. Or else."
With that the older man turned and walked down the hallway. Heero just fixed his eyes on the railing in front of him and waited for the doctor to leave.
'I won't hurt you, Relena...no matter what Zechs says...'
"Having fun?"
A wide-eyed Duo waved at his friend as he came and stood beside him. The braided pilot put down a box and leaned against the wall.
"Hn."
Duo shrugged and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a box of cigarettes and put one between his lips, then proceeded to light it.
In seconds Heero managed to grab the little roll of paper and stomp it underneath the heel of his boot.
"Hey! What did you do that for??"
Heero glared at the other pilot.
"You know Relena's rules. She hates those things. Besides...it's disgusting."
Duo rolled his eyes and let his back slide down the wall so he could sit on the floor.
"So why are you waiting out here?"
"Relena's in with the doctor."
Duo raised his eyebrows and eyed his friend. Then, with a wide grin:
"A doctor, huh? Did you get Relena in trouble, Heero?"
Heero gave him the death glare, but Shinigami just smiled all the more.
"You really want to die, don't you, Duo?"
"As long as I can die laughing..."
"Hn."
"So...why is she in there with a doctor...really?"
"She hasn't been sleeping well. She fainted a few minutes ago."
Duo looked up at Heero.
"Fainted? Is Jou-san all right?"
"Apparently not if she fainted Duo."
"Thanks. I appreciate the cooperation." He smirked again, "Having trouble sleeping, huh? Heero, you dog."
This time Duo quickly shut up: Heero was now aiming a gun right between Duo's eyes.
"Watch your mouth when you talk about her."
Shinigami raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and sighed when Heero put the gun away.
"You know I would never say anything really bad about Jou-san...I'm only kidding Heero. Take a joke."
"It wasn't a very good joke."
"Fine, fine..."
Duo decided to keep his mouth shut for a while and picked up the box he had set down. He opened for the third time that morning and picked up a manila folder that was inside. He opened that up and looked at the pictures and sheets of information in it.
"What's that?"
Duo eyed Heero and yawned.
"It's an assignment I got this morning from Lady Une."
"Lady Une? I thought you were running that chop shop."
"Hey! It's not a chop shop!" Duo said with indignity, " It's a scrap metal dump. Don't confuse the two. And besides...business is going slow and I needed another job. What better place to work then in a position where I can bug Wufei all day long and get paid for it!"
Heero said a mental prayer for the Chinese pilot that would have to work with Duo.
"What's the assignment?"
Duo scratched his head and flopped the folders down on his lamp.
"Aren't we the talkative one today...well, actually I'm supposed to go down and check out this abandoned fort. We have reason to believe that there might be soldiers still hiding there."
"Soldiers? Oz? Barton foundation?"
Duo shrugged and looked over the picture he held in his hand. "Well...we think it might be soldiers from when Oz was just starting up. Might even be some early prisoners of war. From what little information we could gather we found out it used to be a prison. Some records even indicate there were severe interrogation rooms in this place."
"And why do you have to investigate this?"
The braided wonder pointed to himself and beamed.
"I'm supposed to be the one to tell them the war is over and welcome them back into society...or lock 'em up if they really are soldiers."
"_You're_ going to re-introduce them into society?"
Heero shook his head and said another prayer for those people Duo would be welcoming.
The door to the side of them opened and Doctor Morisato walked out. The young doctor cracked his knuckles and jumped a bit when he saw the young man within two feet of him.
"Ah...Mr. Yuy, so good to see you again. I presume you want to see her."
"Hn."
Heero just brushed past the man and slammed the door as he entered Relena's room.
Morisato glanced at Duo and smiled.
"He's always fun to talk to."
"Yeah, "Duo chuckled and threw the rest of his papers back in the box, " A true conversationalist. So...is Relena all right?"
Morisato took his glasses out and cleaned them. Once that was done he put them back on.
"Well...it's nothing life-threatening...it's simply that she's overworked. And from what I've heard of these bad dreams she's being run down by stress. She just woke up a minute ago and seemed perfectly happy though. That girl always has such a cheery disposition." The doctor threw the strap of his briefcase over his shoulder and threw another smile in Duo's direction, "With any luck some of it will rub off on Mr. Heero Yuy."
Duo laughed, "Yeah, with luck."
Morisato nodded and proceeded to walk off down the hall after a quick 'goodbye' to Duo.
The god of death shivered a bit. There was something wrong about that guy. He seemed perfectly nice. There was just something in his eyes that was just creepy. It seemed like he was hiding something.
But...anyway. Duo wanted to see Relena before he had to leave. He walked over to the door and heard Heero talking to Relena. Dup turned the gold knob and walked in.
"Hey, M'lady!"
Duo smiled as he saw Relena leaning against her headboard. She was holding Heero's hand and smiling. But there were bags under her eyes, and she was just a bit paler than he had remembered.
"Hi, Duo."
"So..." he put his box down and then placed his hands on his hips, "What do you think you were doing fainting and scaring the bejesus out of me?"
Relena smiled more.
"I'm just trying to keep you guys on your toes I guess."
Heero shook his head and looked at her.
"It's not funny, Relena. What if I hadn't been around-."
"You're_ always_ around." She smiled.
"Stop making a joke of this Relena!" Heero let go of her hand and stood up. He stormed to the other side of the room and kept his back toward her.
Relena looked as though she were about to cry when Duo walked over and planted a quick kiss on her temple.
"Don't worry about him, gorgeous. You know how he is. It's sad really. He needs to get in contact with his inner child."
The princess smiled at him more and then glanced at Heero's back.
"I do worry about him Duo. That's what you do when you love someone..."
Heero, getting tired of being talk about like he wasn't even there, turned around and looked at her.
"Relena..."
"Well..."Duo coughed and walked back to the door, "I guess I'll see you guys in a week. Take care of her, Heero." He walked out the door and the two stared at each other once more. As Heero took a step towards her: the door opened again and Duo walked in and picked up his box. As he headed out the door one more time he looked at Relena, "And you take care of him too, Jou-san." He winked and then shut the door behind him.
Heero waited a few seconds as to make sure all interruptions had been eliminated and then walked over to Relena's bedside.
He sighed and picked up her hand once again.
"I just want you to be better again."
Relena shook her head and a few loose strands of hair fell over her shoulders.
"I will get better, Heero. If you can stand by me a while longer: I know I can."
"Hn." He leaned his forehead against hers' and closed his eyes, "As long as you need me, I'll be here."
Relena closed her eyes and smiled. She was tempted to keep them closed but felt Heero's lips push gently on hers. Her eyes opened and stared into his.
"Go to sleep now, Relena. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
He let her see a smirk and pulled the covers up to her chin and pushed her down against the pillows.
"Mission: accepted."
Miliardo opened the doors to his office and turned on the light by his desk. He sensed someone else in the room and turned around to face a shadowed corner.
"Come out, Noin."
The dark-haired pilot emerged into the light and smiled at him.
"It's pointless trying to surprise you."
He smiled and walked toward her.
"That was certainly a short trip you took. What did Lady Une want?"
Noin ran a hand through her lilac hair and rubbed the back of her neck.
"I have to leave immediately with Duo to check something out." She glanced up at his face and pouted when she saw the frown on his handsome countenance.
"I tried telling her I should be here for Miss Relena but she said I needed to take this mission. There might be a rebel group trying to reform itself. We figure it's a small operation. We've been watching this one area for weeks and there's been hardly any movement at all. I should be back in a -."
She found herself interrupted by a kiss on the lips. She leaned against him and gave into the sweet kiss.
Miliardo broke the kiss and looked down at her.
"Do you have to leave right this minute?"
Noin shook her head and laid her hands on his chest.
"I leave in an hour."
Miliardo nodded and immediately leaned down and started kissing her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
He led her over the couch and decided to make the best of their time together...
(Zip back to where we left Relena with the doctor-outside her door...)
As soon as the door had shut Heero took a post beside her room and leaned against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest and he just stared ahead of him.
Miliardo stood to the side of him and glared.
"What do you think you're trying to pull with Relena?"
Heero looked at him from the corners of his eyes.
"Hn."
"Don't pull this on me. I don't like you getting close to her if all you're going to do is hurt her."
"Why would I do that?"
Miliardo shook his head and rubbed his temples.
"Listen, Yuy, get this one thing strait: If you hurt her, in any way, I won't give you that chance to make amends."
"I don't plan on hurting her."
"You're not the warmest person on the planet, Yuy, you watch yourself around her. Or else."
With that the older man turned and walked down the hallway. Heero just fixed his eyes on the railing in front of him and waited for the doctor to leave.
'I won't hurt you, Relena...no matter what Zechs says...'
"Having fun?"
A wide-eyed Duo waved at his friend as he came and stood beside him. The braided pilot put down a box and leaned against the wall.
"Hn."
Duo shrugged and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a box of cigarettes and put one between his lips, then proceeded to light it.
In seconds Heero managed to grab the little roll of paper and stomp it underneath the heel of his boot.
"Hey! What did you do that for??"
Heero glared at the other pilot.
"You know Relena's rules. She hates those things. Besides...it's disgusting."
Duo rolled his eyes and let his back slide down the wall so he could sit on the floor.
"So why are you waiting out here?"
"Relena's in with the doctor."
Duo raised his eyebrows and eyed his friend. Then, with a wide grin:
"A doctor, huh? Did you get Relena in trouble, Heero?"
Heero gave him the death glare, but Shinigami just smiled all the more.
"You really want to die, don't you, Duo?"
"As long as I can die laughing..."
"Hn."
"So...why is she in there with a doctor...really?"
"She hasn't been sleeping well. She fainted a few minutes ago."
Duo looked up at Heero.
"Fainted? Is Jou-san all right?"
"Apparently not if she fainted Duo."
"Thanks. I appreciate the cooperation." He smirked again, "Having trouble sleeping, huh? Heero, you dog."
This time Duo quickly shut up: Heero was now aiming a gun right between Duo's eyes.
"Watch your mouth when you talk about her."
Shinigami raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and sighed when Heero put the gun away.
"You know I would never say anything really bad about Jou-san...I'm only kidding Heero. Take a joke."
"It wasn't a very good joke."
"Fine, fine..."
Duo decided to keep his mouth shut for a while and picked up the box he had set down. He opened for the third time that morning and picked up a manila folder that was inside. He opened that up and looked at the pictures and sheets of information in it.
"What's that?"
Duo eyed Heero and yawned.
"It's an assignment I got this morning from Lady Une."
"Lady Une? I thought you were running that chop shop."
"Hey! It's not a chop shop!" Duo said with indignity, " It's a scrap metal dump. Don't confuse the two. And besides...business is going slow and I needed another job. What better place to work then in a position where I can bug Wufei all day long and get paid for it!"
Heero said a mental prayer for the Chinese pilot that would have to work with Duo.
"What's the assignment?"
Duo scratched his head and flopped the folders down on his lamp.
"Aren't we the talkative one today...well, actually I'm supposed to go down and check out this abandoned fort. We have reason to believe that there might be soldiers still hiding there."
"Soldiers? Oz? Barton foundation?"
Duo shrugged and looked over the picture he held in his hand. "Well...we think it might be soldiers from when Oz was just starting up. Might even be some early prisoners of war. From what little information we could gather we found out it used to be a prison. Some records even indicate there were severe interrogation rooms in this place."
"And why do you have to investigate this?"
The braided wonder pointed to himself and beamed.
"I'm supposed to be the one to tell them the war is over and welcome them back into society...or lock 'em up if they really are soldiers."
"_You're_ going to re-introduce them into society?"
Heero shook his head and said another prayer for those people Duo would be welcoming.
The door to the side of them opened and Doctor Morisato walked out. The young doctor cracked his knuckles and jumped a bit when he saw the young man within two feet of him.
"Ah...Mr. Yuy, so good to see you again. I presume you want to see her."
"Hn."
Heero just brushed past the man and slammed the door as he entered Relena's room.
Morisato glanced at Duo and smiled.
"He's always fun to talk to."
"Yeah, "Duo chuckled and threw the rest of his papers back in the box, " A true conversationalist. So...is Relena all right?"
Morisato took his glasses out and cleaned them. Once that was done he put them back on.
"Well...it's nothing life-threatening...it's simply that she's overworked. And from what I've heard of these bad dreams she's being run down by stress. She just woke up a minute ago and seemed perfectly happy though. That girl always has such a cheery disposition." The doctor threw the strap of his briefcase over his shoulder and threw another smile in Duo's direction, "With any luck some of it will rub off on Mr. Heero Yuy."
Duo laughed, "Yeah, with luck."
Morisato nodded and proceeded to walk off down the hall after a quick 'goodbye' to Duo.
The god of death shivered a bit. There was something wrong about that guy. He seemed perfectly nice. There was just something in his eyes that was just creepy. It seemed like he was hiding something.
But...anyway. Duo wanted to see Relena before he had to leave. He walked over to the door and heard Heero talking to Relena. Dup turned the gold knob and walked in.
"Hey, M'lady!"
Duo smiled as he saw Relena leaning against her headboard. She was holding Heero's hand and smiling. But there were bags under her eyes, and she was just a bit paler than he had remembered.
"Hi, Duo."
"So..." he put his box down and then placed his hands on his hips, "What do you think you were doing fainting and scaring the bejesus out of me?"
Relena smiled more.
"I'm just trying to keep you guys on your toes I guess."
Heero shook his head and looked at her.
"It's not funny, Relena. What if I hadn't been around-."
"You're_ always_ around." She smiled.
"Stop making a joke of this Relena!" Heero let go of her hand and stood up. He stormed to the other side of the room and kept his back toward her.
Relena looked as though she were about to cry when Duo walked over and planted a quick kiss on her temple.
"Don't worry about him, gorgeous. You know how he is. It's sad really. He needs to get in contact with his inner child."
The princess smiled at him more and then glanced at Heero's back.
"I do worry about him Duo. That's what you do when you love someone..."
Heero, getting tired of being talk about like he wasn't even there, turned around and looked at her.
"Relena..."
"Well..."Duo coughed and walked back to the door, "I guess I'll see you guys in a week. Take care of her, Heero." He walked out the door and the two stared at each other once more. As Heero took a step towards her: the door opened again and Duo walked in and picked up his box. As he headed out the door one more time he looked at Relena, "And you take care of him too, Jou-san." He winked and then shut the door behind him.
Heero waited a few seconds as to make sure all interruptions had been eliminated and then walked over to Relena's bedside.
He sighed and picked up her hand once again.
"I just want you to be better again."
Relena shook her head and a few loose strands of hair fell over her shoulders.
"I will get better, Heero. If you can stand by me a while longer: I know I can."
"Hn." He leaned his forehead against hers' and closed his eyes, "As long as you need me, I'll be here."
Relena closed her eyes and smiled. She was tempted to keep them closed but felt Heero's lips push gently on hers. Her eyes opened and stared into his.
"Go to sleep now, Relena. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
He let her see a smirk and pulled the covers up to her chin and pushed her down against the pillows.
"Mission: accepted."
Miliardo opened the doors to his office and turned on the light by his desk. He sensed someone else in the room and turned around to face a shadowed corner.
"Come out, Noin."
The dark-haired pilot emerged into the light and smiled at him.
"It's pointless trying to surprise you."
He smiled and walked toward her.
"That was certainly a short trip you took. What did Lady Une want?"
Noin ran a hand through her lilac hair and rubbed the back of her neck.
"I have to leave immediately with Duo to check something out." She glanced up at his face and pouted when she saw the frown on his handsome countenance.
"I tried telling her I should be here for Miss Relena but she said I needed to take this mission. There might be a rebel group trying to reform itself. We figure it's a small operation. We've been watching this one area for weeks and there's been hardly any movement at all. I should be back in a -."
She found herself interrupted by a kiss on the lips. She leaned against him and gave into the sweet kiss.
Miliardo broke the kiss and looked down at her.
"Do you have to leave right this minute?"
Noin shook her head and laid her hands on his chest.
"I leave in an hour."
Miliardo nodded and immediately leaned down and started kissing her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
He led her over the couch and decided to make the best of their time together...