Author's Notes- Ok, I really do need to finish this and quick-like…. I've the whole last chapter planned! I NEED TO WRITE IT BEFORE IT MAKES MY BRAIN EXPLODE!!!!

Yami- O_O *starts backing away slowly*

Oh, don't even, you're not a writer, you don't know what it's like! The ideas that worm their way into your head.… @_@ *falls over, twitching*

Yami- Well, since Sage's currently unavailable, I guess I'll say the disclaimer….

Duo- Oh no you don't! This is a Gundam Wing story!

Yami- *blinks*

Duo- Ahem…. Anyway, Sage does not own any Gundam Wing Characters, nor the original idea for Beauty and the Beast. She does, however, own herself (she's the sorceress in case you hadn't noticed). And there will be….

No! *jumps up* I'm SICK of putting warnings in! If they've gotten this far, they KNOW there's yaoi in this thing! I mean, it's right there in the description too…. Geesh.

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Relena paced back and forth through her room, a rather unpleasant frown decorating her features. Tiring of this, she sat down on her pink bedspread. The frown stayed. To her, the reason for her foul mood was quite clear. Things were not at all going to how she had tried to plan them.

First of all, Duo had never showed any interest in her, whatsoever, despite her best attempts. The blonde girl scowled. He was the major component of her plan. She needed to have respect and power. She had money, yes, but in a small town such as this, it didn't get you much. People tended to ignore you, or at best, scurry out of your way when you walked in the streets. Money wasn't anything here without something backing it up. As of now, there was nothing. That's where Duo came in.

Again, she scowled. Why was it that the only eligible young man with some respect backing him up was an ex-thief? Sure, no one held that against him now, he was about the nicest person you could meet, but still…. To Relena, it was like a broad scar. Healed, but still there. But…. She could get over that. She would have to, there were no other options.

But that wasn't really the main problem. Nor was Duo not throwing his affections at her like she had hoped. No, the real problem was that Duo had been missing for almost a week now, and Father Maxwell refused to say anything on the subject. Absently, Relena got up and began pacing again. It didn't make sense.

Discovering this would get her no where, the girl spun on her heel and exited her room, slamming the door behind her. Walking determinedly through the halls of her large home, she called her brother's name loudly. "ZECHS!!! ZECHS!!!!" (a/n- yes, I'm terribly sorry, but that's the only part I could get the guy…. So sorry, Zechs-fans) She found the blonde young man sitting in the study, reading a thick book. "ZECHS!!!" Considering the close range, her voice was quite a few decibels above the appropriate level.

"You needn't shout…." Sighing, her brother closed the book, holding his spot with a finger. "What is it?"

"I need your help with something." Zechs made a face.

"This isn't something else about Duo, is it? When will you leave the poor boy alone?" His sister's glare didn't affect him much, he had gotten used to it by now. "Well, what is it this time? Did he not talk to you at the bakery? Ignore you in the street?"

"For your information…." Relena growled. "He has never ignored me. It's just slipped his mind that I'm nearby."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

"Shut up." The girl was now talking through clenched teeth. "Besides, it has nothing to do with his attentions to me. Haven't you noticed, he hasn't been around much lately?"

"I just assumed he was staying at the church more, helping Father Maxwell and the like."

"So did I, until I went to visit." Relena leaned forward on the desk, eyes narrowed. "Do you know what I found out?" Zechs shook his head, looking as if he didn't care. He more than likely didn't. "He's been gone. For a week."

"So? Probably just went to visit the next village over." The blonde young man opened his book once more and made an attempt to read. It was foiled, however, as Relena placed a hand over the pages and forced the book down onto the desk.

"No. Father Maxwell wouldn't have avoided the subject if it was as simple as that." Zechs blinked. "He specifically dodged saying anything whenever I brought it up."

"What, exactly, are you suggesting?"

Relena's eyes took on a determined look, a rather unpleasant smile forming on her lips. "We find out what's going on."

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Duo was comfortable, more so than he had been in a long time. Even the silk-covered bed in his room could offer no competition. He was sitting next to Heero, and the two were reading a book in front of a roaring fire in one of the many parlors of the castle. He was sitting rather close, actually. Any closer, and he would have been sitting on the beast-prince's lap. "Done?"

"Mm." Reaching out, the braided youth turned the page. (a/n- yes, I'm taking this straight from the bleeding movie, but I'm sure none of you care…. What, you do? Bugger. Fine, I'll change the setting and quick-like, I don't like this idea much either)

Quatre peered through the doorway at the two, grinning mischievously. He knew he was right. If those two weren't in love, then he was a candlestick. (a/n- ooo! Ooo! Did anyone get that joke? ^_^) He felt a chin rest on his shoulder. "Hi to you too, Trowa."

"What was your plan, exactly, koibito?" The other servant asked, green eyes trained on the same two people Quatre's were. "You're being very mysterious about it…."

"Not telling, you'll have to wait just like everyone else."

"Well, that's not very nice."

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"Lift me higher!"

"I can't."

"Yes you can, you're just not trying hard enough."

"No, believe me, lifting you higher is not in the range of my capabilities."

"Fine, then let me down." Scowling, Relena stepped down from her brother's shoulders. She had been trying to spy into the window of Duo's room, but it had ended up being out of their combined reach. "All right, we need to develop a new plan."

"Why?" Zechs was getting sick of the entire thing. Not to mention his shoulders were now rather sore to boot. "What is wrong with you? Just drop it!" His sister spun on her heel, giving him a look. "Ok, fine, but leave me out of it."

"I'll need help at some point, now quit being difficult." Relena paused, chewing on a fingernail. Plans seemed to be evading her mind, no matter how she tried to grasp one. In reality, there wasn't much that she could do. Finally, she scraped something together. "All right, let me see…. We can go see Father Maxwell again…."

"We?"

"We. He'll feel more inclined to tell the truth if there are two people. Anyway, if he DOES manage to avoid the subject again, we can take more, well, drastic measures." Zechs groaned, not liking the tone in his sister's voice. "Come on." Muttering, he followed her as she strode around to the front of the house, fixed her hair, then knocked politely on the door.

"Yes?" As expected, Father Maxwell answered the door. And, as expected, Relena barged right in. Feeling a nasty headache coming on, Zechs followed, passing a rather baffled priest on the way. "Excuse me for being rude, but is there a particular reason that you have chosen to visit me?"

"But of course." The sickening sweetness in Relena's voice even made her brother want to gag. "We've come to speak to you about Duo." Silence filled the room, only broken once by a nervous cough.

"Duo?" Father Maxwell didn't look nervous, quite, just uncomfortable. Zechs even caught a hint of sadness in his eyes when the braided youth was mentioned.

"Yes, Duo. I've noticed that he hasn't been around lately, and I was just wondering if he was all right?" The blonde girl's eyebrows rose in question. "Perhaps he has been sick?"

"Er, no…."

"Oh! Perhaps visiting a friend in a neighboring village?" Relena was pressing, desperate for some sort of solid answer. It was apparent she wasn't leaving until she received one, and this made the other two in the room incredibly nervous and/or disappointed.

"Not exactly…." Father Maxwell was stalling, even Zechs could tell that. But for what reason? Surely there was nothing wrong that he was trying to hide, was there?

"Well then, I can't imagine where he has been…." Relena's expression was one of pure innocence. Too innocent, Zechs noted. It was too much, she was bound to be discovered. "Would you mind horribly if I asked outright?"

"Well, you see…." The priest tugged at his collar absently, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "It's just that…."

"Just that what?" Relena's voice had definitely taken on a demanding edge. "Answer me." Her brother was shocked; to use that sort of voice with Father Maxwell? That was going too far.

Father Maxwell looked around rather jerkily, now looking a bit scared, among other things. "If I tell you, can you swear to me that you will not spread the information in any way, shape or form?"

"Of course, I…."

"He's been taken prisoner." Both Relena's and Zechs' eyes widened at this statement. "It was…."

"He's been taken PRISONER?!" Relena exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "How?! By who?!"

"I was just getting to that, although I'm not sure if I should be telling you…." Sighing, the priest sat down, looking as if he couldn't explain things properly while still having to keep himself upright. "You see…." He proceeded to explain the whole event, his getting lost and trespassing, Duo's search, and the braided youth's sacrifice. He failed to mention, however, that Duo did NOT wish to be rescued in the least, mainly because he didn't know. Completing his tale, he dabbed his forehead lightly with a cloth. "But, you musn't…."

"We have to go save him immediately!" Relena pounded a fist on the table, looking for all the world as if she would be the one leading the march. "We need to go to this castle and…."

"No, no!" Father Maxwell interrupted, looking incredibly frightened. "Like I said, you musn't! You can't tell anyone, you have to leave it be! This…. This beast is incredibly powerful! He could kill us all! Don't make Duo's sacrifice be in vain! He was doing it to protect everyone!" The priest wrung his hands.

"Father Maxwell, can't you see what needs to be done?" Zechs began in a beseeching tone. His attitude towards the whole situation had changed drastically after the explanation of Duo's location. "We must rescue him and destroy this beast! If we don't, what's to stop him from invading our village, killing people?" Father Maxwell seemed to consider this. "It must be done."

"Zechs is right!" Relena began pacing back and forth through the small room. "We're going to need to rally up the men of the village…."

"We?" Her brother blinked. "You're coming?"

"Of course I am! I must help rescue Duo!" The girl grinned mentally, thinking her problems were solved. If she saved the braided boy's life, there'd be no way he could ever turn her down. All the things that could go wrong didn't even cross her mind. This was turning out very well indeed.

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"Ha!" Duo shouted, chucking a snowball as hard as he could. As soon as it left his grip, he dove behind a tree for cover, laughing. He sat still, waiting for a counter attack. Nothing came. Blinking, the violet-eyed youth decided to take a risk and peek around the edge of his cover. He saw nothing but a vast expanse of snow. "Meh?" Temporarily forgetting the danger, he stood and walked a few steps away from the tree, scanning the surrounding area. "Heero?" He was answered by a snowball in the back.

"Ha HA!" The beast prince exclaimed, grinning triumphantly. He was having fun, the most fun he could ever remember having. He and Duo had been outside for most of the morning, and both were thoroughly enjoying the experience.

The braided youth spun around, eyes narrowed. "Now that, my friend, will cost you." Bending down, he quickly scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a projectile, but as stood back up to throw it, Heero was nowhere in sight. "No way, that won't work twice!" Spinning around once again, he threw his snowball at the creeping form behind him. "Take that!"

Heero blinked through a face-ful of snow. Hm, apparently his plan hadn't helped him. A new one was called for. Finally clearing his vision of the cold, white material, he glanced around for his adversary. He couldn't see the boy, but he could hear Duo laughing. He turned, preparing for a back-attack, but fell forward as something jumped onto his back.

"Gotcha." Duo stated smugly from behind him. He was currently sitting on Heero's back. "I win."

"Mmph." The beast-prince replied. "So it appears."

"Nope, so it IS." Yawning, the braided boy rolled off into the snow. "And since I win, I say we go inside. I'm freezing."

"All right." Both young men (er, one young man and one young man-turned-beast) stood and began walking back towards the castle. Rather, Heero walked. Duo zigzagged around rather quickly, running circles around the other, until finally leaping up onto the beast-prince's back and catching a ride.

"Ha ha, got you again." Heero just laughed.

"Sure, but now you're in for it." Duo didn't even manage to get in a confused reply before his ride immediately began running at break-neck speed, causing him to have to hold on for dear life. Laughing, he wrapped both arms around the beast-prince's neck, managed to get a firm grip and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Reaching the castle doors, Heero managed to open and dash through without missing a beat, but soon collapsed in one of the main living rooms, feigning exhaustion. Still laughing, Duo let go and hopped off, crawling around to look the beast-prince in the eyes. "Hm, you all right there, Hee-chan?" It seemed to be a perfect time to try out the nickname; the other didn't seem able to immediately jump at his throat if it wasn't appreciated.

Indeed, Heero just opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Hee-chan?" The braided boy laughed nervously.

"Eh heh, yea…." A very small part of Duo's mind was wondering why he had made up an endearing nickname for the other, but it was just the part that hadn't caught on to the scheme of things. Every other part told it to shut up, and promptly decided to ignore it. Finally catching on, it realized what a stupid question that had been, and decided to keep its mouth shut from now on.

"Oh." Heero blinked again. "Right…." He raised an eyebrow, considering. "Du-chan." Violet eyes widened in amazement, and the owner nearly squealed in delight. He desperately wanted to hug the other tightly, but knew that would probably get some odd looks and a few awkward questions. Well, awkward to answer anyway. Heero surely didn't feel the same, so it shouldn't be awkward for him…. Then again, he had made up a nickname, hadn't he? Hard to believe that it was just for the heck of it. Not to mention a number of other occasions and events that could not be merely coincidental. His thoughts were chased away as a lock of loose hair fell into his vision.

"Hm." He tugged the rest of his hair in front of his shoulders. Not only was it falling out of its braid at a rapid rate, the parts that were already unraveled were tangled. Sighing, he undid the rest. "Great, now I need a brush…."

"Quatre!" The statement was barely out of the violet-eyed boy's mouth before Heero shouted the command. Soon, a brush appeared to float through the air towards them, and Duo took it after shaking his head a bit. He thanked the servant before setting his attention towards his long chestnut locks. Watching intensely, the beast-prince fell into a sort of hypnotic daze, and therefore didn't catch the request before it tumbled out of his mouth. "May I?"

Duo blinked once before replying. "Oh, sure…." Inching over slightly, he handed Heero the brush before turning his back on the other, pulling his hair back over his shoulder. Remembering the delicacy with which the violet-eyed youth brushed and took care of his hair, the beast-prince went very slowly, never tearing at the tangles, but working through them methodically. Running the brush through the chestnut curtain, he nearly sighed in pleasure. Duo did.

After each of the tangles had been gently worked out, Heero continued brushing out the soft hair. The owner didn't seem to mind much; in fact, he was quite encouraging the process with the soft sounds he occasionally made without realizing it. Eventually, however, the beast-prince realized that he was going to have to put a stop to this sometime soon, or there was a very real danger that he never would. Mentally sighing, this time in regret, he placed to brush down on the floor, and re-wove the chestnut locks into their customary braid, fastening them with the black hair-tie Duo had placed beside him.

"Thanks…." Duo exhaled heavily, a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Well, he hadn't been holding it very long, that was for sure, so no big deal. Turning back around to face Heero, he realized just how close they were. A blush threatened to creep up his cheeks, but he managed to keep it down, just barely. He could feel his chest heating up. Or was that his heart, beating much quicker than usual? Whatever it was, that small part of his mind that had questioned things earlier certainly had no remaining doubts. The other parts promptly congratulated it on catching on, and quit ignoring it.

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Author's Notes- Whee! Done with another chapter! Well, how did ya like THAT one? I even gave Zechs a part! Yes, yes, don't worry, Relena will be pushed off a cliff….

Yami- Pushed off a cliff?

Well, or something similarly painful. ^_^

Yami- Oh, I was just wondering if we could push Anzu off too.

Don't see why not, maybe she could be one of the idiot villagers that runs madly off the balcony, mistaking it for a room filled with things she needed to run at. ^_^

Duo- *blinks*

Hey, it made sense to me. SO! Once again, I find myself needing suggestions…. I still have no idea what Quatre's planning. Should it be a little ballroom dancing like in the Disney movie, or something totally different? Come on, I'm sure your ideas are much better than what's running around in MY head! Mainly because NOTHING'S running around in my head…. ^_^ Well, anyways, be a dear and review, would ya?