A/N: And here's part 3! Same disclaimer applies…I'm sure you guys know the drill. .

SHOUTOUTS: Big thanks to KaT, Horisont, and Yukishin! Glad you guys are liking it so far! I know it's been really fun for me to write. Reviews make it all worth it, don't they?

CHARACTER STATUS: Hilde comes in, so there's a bit of girl angst in this one, plus Sally, Relena, Dorothy, Catherine, and Noin get to know Angel a bit better. Possible catfights between Ang and Hilde in future chapters…but don't worry, I like Hilde so she won't be a shrew (I hope). Dorothy bashing? No, I think she's an interesting character…I also think she scares the crap out of Quatre…lol.

POLLS: Should start up in the next couple of chapters, so keep your eyes open.

LAST NOTE: The updates might be a little slower during weekdays, but I'll try to update fairly often. Also, I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes…once I get going, my fingers have minds of their own. All right, time for the fic…

Training Missions

Chapter Three: The Right Start

For one long moment when Quatre woke the next morning, he let himself linger in dreams he had no business having. Then, reluctantly, he shifted in order to get his arm out from under her without waking her up. Still, her eyes fluttered open and peered at him in sleepy confusion. Her blue eyes were cloudy with sleep, and she smiled at him before stretching like a cat.

"Gonna spend the day with the girls today," she told him, rolling slightly away. He nodded and sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning mightily.

"Sounds like fun. I'll bet you'll like Sally a lot. But, uh…if Dorothy has anything sharp, don't let her near you, okay?"

She tossed him a look over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

He grinned a little and shrugged. "She's good with sharp things…I think it's a blood fetish," he told her, and rubbed his index finger lightly over his scar.

"Uh…right, okay." She gathered up a fresh set of clothing and headed to the bathroom. A few seconds later, the shower started to run. Quatre stood and trotted down the stairs, then started the coffee pot and set about making omelets. A few minutes later, there was a knock and then Duo strolled in.

"Hey Q…got enough for me?" he asked, plopping himself down on a stool near the counter. He popped a grape from the fruit bowl into his mouth and grinned. "Where's Ang?"

"In the shower," Quatre replied, breaking a few more eggs to make his friend an omelet. While he let the eggs set in the pan, he diced up onions and tomatoes, tossed some bacon onto a frying pan, and grated cheese.

"Heero wants to meet later to talk about the mission. Think you could mingle with the other guests and get us some suspects?" the braided man asked, moving around the counter to help with the cheese.

"Sure, no problem. Best place for that is probably the guys' locker room next to the gym," Quatre replied, and began tossing the diced vegetables and cheese into the omelet

"Right. I'll start snooping around downstairs, too. Think there's some rich guy funding this little shenanigan?" Duo asked. Quatre shrugged.

"We'll find out. I think that's probably more than likely," he murmured, then they both glanced up as they heard Angel on the stairs. She was drying her hair, dressed tactfully in cream-colored pants and a soft champagne colored shirt. Duo grinned at the sight of her and pulled her tight against him when she reached them.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head. "Sleep well."

"Yup," she replied. "Missed you."

"I missed you too. All right, you're hanging with the girls today?" he asked, and she nodded. "Great, try and mingle with some of the rich ladies, see if they talk about their husbands dropping any large amounts of money."

"You got it, babe," she said, and tied her hair up into a bun. "All right, I've got a tea date with Relena so I'm going to get out of here. Have a good day, you two. Quatre, I'll see you at the meeting?"

He smiled and nodded. "Sure thing. See you then."

Duo kissed her one last time and let her go. "Have fun with Rel. See ya tonight."

With that, Angel disappeared again. Duo shook his head and grinned. "Anyway, I'm going to start snooping around downstairs. Trowa's already downstairs talking to the hotel security staff, if you want to join him.

"Sounds good," Quatre agreed, and handed Duo an omelet. Then he settled down with his own and dug in. "What's Wufei up to?"

"With Sally, arguing—as usual—about who gets to sit it on Rel's meeting this afternoon. You should go to that, too, by the way…you know, just in case. Heero will be there too, watching Rel's every move, though that's nothing new."

The blonde nodded and flicked his eyes to the set of golf clubs he'd borrowed from a friend at work. "I'll see if I can set up some tee-times with some of the men around here, get friendly. Good thing you taught me how to play poker," he added with a grin.

"Sounds like a plan, then," Duo replied, and picked up his plate, still eating. "I'll catch you later, Quat. Gotta be downstairs to greet the new guests in five minutes."

Quatre waved and headed to shower himself. Twenty minutes later he was downstairs, a gym bag slung loosely over his shoulder.

--

Relena was impeccably dressed, but Angel had come to expect that from her. She smiled at the other woman as she sat down, then self-consciously lowered her gaze. Relena hid a small grin.

"You know, if you're Quatre Winner's wife, you should have more confidence in yourself. Like you did with those reporters," she commented, and Angel glanced up.

"Well, it's not like we're really married," she replied, flushing a little.

"But you are playing a part," the other countered, and she nodded in agreement.

"True. Hey, where are the other ladies?"

Relena shrugged one perfect shoulder, then idly played with a strand of hair that she'd deliberately left loose. The rest of it was piled high on her head in a nearly impossible style that made Angel envious to the core. Her own hair, just wavy enough to be unruly, barely stayed in a bun.

"Sally and Noin should be joining us, and Hilde and Catherine will meet us at the beauty parlor for our nail and hair appointments later on," the politician replied.

"Sounds good. Manicures, eh?"

"And pedicures. It goes a long way to making a girl feel really good."

Angel nodded with a laugh. "All feminine and delicate," she agreed. She opened her mouth to say more, but Sally and Noin walked in before she could. Sally, smiling warmly and smoothing her sweater down as she took a seat, looked awake, aware, and content.

"Win a fight with Wufei?" Relena guessed knowingly. Noin laughed.

"By a landslide. I don't think Wufei will recover from this one," she answered, and Sally shrugged a little, still looking pleased.

"You just have to be firm with him, that's all," she said, and Relena rolled her eyes.

"If it were that easy, we'd all be so lucky with him as you are."

Angel laughed quietly. "I take it he's a handful."

"You don't know the half of it," Relena assured her, and Noin leaned forward.

"It's like he loves to bug women, constantly reminding them that they are the weaker sex."

"With Sally as a partner?" Angel questioned, and the other ladies exchanged amused glances.

"Sometime I think she's the only one who'll ever be able to tame him," Relena answered. Noin shot Sally a mischievous look.

"I've got a few theories on how she does it, too," she whispered conspiratorially. Sally threw a napkin at her.

"Do you mind? We're in public!"

"So is he tougher to live with than Duo?" Angel asked, feeling instantly comfortable with all of the ladies at the table. She was eager to hear more about the infamous pilots.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Sally murmured, glancing Relena's way. "Duo's quite a handful, isn't he?"

"I'd say so," the other replied, and Noin smiled widely.

"I think he's crazy."

"That's funny," Angel murmured dryly, though she couldn't hide her smile, "sometimes I think the same thing." The others laughed.

"Angel," Sally managed through slight giggles a few moments later, "you're going to fit right in."

Not too long after that the four of them joined Hilde and Catherine at the parlor. Angel eyed the dark-haired girl a little nervously. While she found Hilde very likeable, she always felt a little envious of her relationship with Duo. Likewise, Hilde felt threatened slightly by the shorter woman. She'd always wanted a relationship with Duo, but somehow Angel had managed to catch his eye. Still, both women got along with each other surprisingly well, and exchanged graceful nods. Catherine beamed brightly and led them inside, where Dorothy was already getting her nails done. The six of them settled into chairs nearby and were soon immersed in lively conversation about the guys.

"Does anyone else here think Quatre's amazingly sexy?" Catherine asked, and six startled pairs of eyes turned to her. She flushed a little but didn't back down. "Come on, you know it's true. It's like, all of a sudden he grew up and man did it do him good."

"He has changed," Dorothy agreed, and Relena laughed.

"If I were into blondes, he'd be the one I'd go for," she added.

"But brunettes are more your type, right Relena?" Hilde shot, and the blonde girl turned bright red.

"Shut up!" she replied.

"I think Quatre's pretty good looking…he's not tall enough, though," Sally commented, and Angel chuckled.

"For you, maybe…they're all too tall for me. I fit right under Quatre's chin, and when I look up at Duo I get a sore neck from having to bend my head back so far," she replied.

"Speaking of Duo…they say certain things only get better with age," Sally tossed in with a mischievous wink. That comment was followed with laughter as well.

"If you ever had to live in the mess he calls an apartment, you might change your mind," Angel told her, rolling her eyes a bit. "Ages go by and the only thing that grows are the piles on his floor."

Hilde groaned. "Tell me about it. He came by to help me with the salvage place, and in less than a day I couldn't find anything. At least my piles were somewhat organized…I'll never figure out how his mind works."

"Who needs to?" Relena asked with a shrug. "He's pretty enough that it doesn't matter."

"And at least he talks," Catherine added with a small sigh. "Trowa hardly ever says anything, unless he's either really happy, really sad, or really pissed off."

Dorothy grinned. "It's probably better that way. It only ruins it when they talk."

"You speak from experience?" Noin asked, and Dorothy shrugged.

"Maybe," she replied cryptically.

"Actually, she's right," Sally said suddenly, glancing up from her nails. "If Wufei would just shut up every once in a while, we might actually get along."

"You know he likes you," Relena said, her voice taking on a singsong quality as she teased her older friend. "That's just his way of showing it." Sally rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to her nails.

"Yeah, well if he'd ever just open up and tell me, he might be surprised."

"Ahh…do I sense a pent-up attraction here?" Angel asked, though she already knew the answer. Sally flushed a little and shrugged.

"Does that really merit a response?" she asked, and the others shook their heads. Relena smiled and calmed them all down, deciding to get to business.

"The first meeting is this afternoon…I take it you'll be there, Sal?" she asked, and the older woman nodded. "Great. Angel, how's your part going?"

"Operation Marital Bliss is now in commission," Angel replied with a slight smile. "I've got a luncheon with several colonists this very morning, in fact, and Quatre's mingling with the men. Am I invited to the meeting?"

"Feel free," Relena replied with a nod. "Cathy and Hilde, I trust you're here to look after Trowa and Duo, respectively."

"You know us so well," Hilde replied, and Catherine suppressed a slight laugh.

"Dorothy will be with me…and Noin will be monitoring everything from the security room with Trowa…I think we've covered all the bases on this one," Relena said, and Sally let out a long sigh.

"Let's hope you're right, before we all get blown sky high."

"What a cheery thought," Angel muttered, and they all laughed. It was with reluctance that she parted with them to attend her luncheon, feeling for once as though she belonged. She didn't have too many female companions, since her training to become a Preventer had kept her fairly busy and her life otherwise was rather dull. It felt good to be comparing the good and bad qualities of the pilots with the other girls, and they all seemed to know each other and the guys very well. It felt more like a vacation than a mission, but the atmosphere would soon change if they turned up anything.

--

The luncheon was a huge success. Not only did Angel turn up several suspects, she had invitations to several other get-togethers such as dinner parties, Tupperware parties, and a couple other luncheons, as well. She suspected that this was because of her 'marriage' to Quatre, but a few of the ladies seemed to genuinely like her. She felt a little bad about deceiving them, but for the safety of herself and several others, it was absolutely necessary to make them believe that she and Quatre were happy paired. She found herself enjoying the roll of hostess, even if it was a rather dull event. She even found she liked being called "Mrs. Winner." She felt a little guilty about that, considering she should be admiring the sound of "Mrs. Maxwell" instead, but there was no help for it. Finally she settled into a bath and pulled out the book she'd brought along. She had just over two hours to get ready for Relena's meeting, where she'd meet up with Quatre and hopefully see Duo, before joining the others for dinner.

Hilde, meanwhile, was sitting in Duo's room at the hotel, which he'd graciously allowed her to borrow while she crashed at the hotel. He, being an insomniac, hardly used the room he'd been given, anyway. All the employees had a room, none quite so grand as the suite Quatre was staying in, but nice just the same. She stared at her surroundings for a while before wandering over to the bed, touching the linens that draped over it softly. She felt hopeless. She really liked Duo, but he really liked Angel. The two weeks they'd spent working together had been really amazing for her, and she thought that Duo felt the same way. But then Angel was back and it was like she didn't even exist anymore. It was, all in all, starting to get a little frustrating.

"Since when," she muttered aloud, "did best friends forever become a curse rather than a blessing?"

And, off in her own room, Sally was trying to puzzle out Wufei. He'd been particularly moody lately, often snapping without much reason. She'd chalked it up to stress, but that seemed like a feeble explanation. And with the mission taking up most of time, and considering that he was prone to bite her head off for any little comment these days, it didn't seem likely that she'd get a chance to talk it out with him, either. Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her pants suit for the meeting, then hesitated. Wufei had told her once that she looked much better in skirts, much more feminine. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why the urge to acquiesce to his desires came from, but she found herself pulling out a skirt anyway. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Maybe he's on to something with all that weak women garbage," and pulled on the skirt.

Relena was also preoccupied with a pilot. Then again, for the past seven years he'd been on her mind more often than not, and it was something she'd grown used to over time. Heero Yuy's distance made him that much more memorable, and she found herself remembering all of the times their paths had crossed. He was illusive, unreachable, supposedly unfeeling, and wasn't around most of the time, and yet she was drawn to him like a moth to flame. It was dangerous, she knew it. She was supposed to be looking into sensible, practical marriage prospects, but every time she'd pictured a family, he was a part of it. She'd even considered Quatre—it made perfect sense, considering his family name and talent for politics—but she couldn't bring herself to go through with it, even in her head. With a sigh, thinking herself crazy for the trillionth time since meeting Heero, she set about fixing her makeup.

Catherine's thoughts were on both Trowa and Quatre. She was concerned for Trowa's welfare, and helplessly attracted to his best friend. She hadn't thought much of Quatre at first, but as the years passed and his visits to the circus to see Trowa started to include her more, she found herself taking a liking to the heir. He wasn't at all what she'd expected him to be. And then of course, he'd changed as time passed as well, becoming handsome and tall, and she'd developed a little crush on him.

"Oh yeah, like that's possible…the Winner heir and a circus act," she said with a frustrated groan, and flopped down on the bed, desiring a nap before facing the others at dinner.

--

Quatre stood nervously next to Dorothy, waiting for the meeting to start. His eyes scanned the doorway as ambassadors, representatives and politicians poured into the conference room. He hoped he'd be able to pick Angel out, since she was a good deal shorter than everyone else. Sally had taken a position at the far end of the room, her chair a little elevated so she could keep an eye on everyone. Relena was arranging things on the podium, looking as put-together and calm as always. Duo was setting up the refreshment table toward the rear of the room, and Heero was standing ominously behind Relena's chair. Wufei agreed to let Sally attend, but not one to sit out himself, he was guarding the door with a scowl that had most people looking nervous as they came in. He took in all of this in one glance, and was starting to get worried when he saw Angel stroll in like a breeze of fresh air. She took her place at his side with a small smile, and Relena motioned for everyone to take their seats.

The meeting went much as they always did, covering many of the same issues. Naturalists from Earth stood to argue that the colonists didn't understand their way of life, and the colonists came back with comments stating that the naturalists didn't understand their day-to-day struggles and were only interested in the natural resources space had to offer. Relena argued that both sides had something to benefit from if Unification came into being, but her critics said that due to distance and prejudices on both sides, her project was little more than an overly-idealistic dream. All the while, Heero kept constant watch, hardly even blinking. Sally prowled slowly up and down aisles of chairs. Dorothy took questions and made notes. Angel turned to Quatre.

"Things tend to get worked up, don't they?" she whispered.

"Oh yeah. Both sides are very passionate. I'm for Unification, myself, but a lot of colonists aren't."

Angel nodded. "I'm a mutt, myself, so I guess I can't really be against Unification," she replied, also scanning the crowd.

The meeting wrapped up without incident, but this only seemed to trouble Heero. Relena took it all in stride, calling out good-byes as everyone left the way they'd come in.

"You obviously believe that something's up," Quatre commented as he and Angel joined Heero. The other man nodded, his eyes flicking around the room once more.

"Yeah. Why pass up such a golden opportunity? I think they're up to something big."

Sally shook her head. "That's precisely what I didn't want to hear, but I guess it's my job to take care of it anyway." She nodded to her raven-haired partner as he joined the small group.

"Let's head up to Winner's suite and see if Trowa and Noin noticed anything we didn't catch," he suggested, and Heero grabbed Relena's arm, urging her toward the elevator. She made a comment too low for the others to hear, but from the mildly amused/annoyed look on his face, Angel assumed that Heero had just been made the butt of a personal joke. Everyone regrouped and was on the elevator up mere moments later.

--

When they arrived at the suite, several others were waiting. In addition to the meeting group, which had consisted of Relena, Dorothy, Sally, Wufei, Quatre, Angel, Duo, and Heero, there was Trowa and Noin who'd been watching from the security room, and Catherine and Hilde, who appeared to be along for the ride. They all settled down around the table.

"Did you notice anything from the cameras, Trowa?" Quatre asked. Trowa shook his head and sighed.

"Nothing amiss there."

"It all seemed pretty normal," Noin agreed.

"I'll prowl around in the basement tomorrow and see if the hotel's got a rat problem," Duo told them, and Angel smirked at him.

"Or an extermination problem," she agreed, and he smiled at her.

"Do that," Heero said, nodding to the braided man.

"A good idea from Maxwell? Absurd," Wufei commented teasingly. Duo stuck his tongue out at his comrade in response.

"None of that…you might start a food fight," Relena warned, and Hilde playfully flicked a carrot Duo's way.

"See what you've done?" Angel said accusingly, and Duo gave her an innocent look.

"It's not my fault that Wufei can't help but snipe at me."

Dorothy sighed. "Be serious. If we can't find these guys, then what?"

"Then we comb the area and see if there are any other places for terrorists to be grouping at. If not, we write it off as a bad tip and move the search elsewhere," Sally replied with a shrug.

"Frustrating job," Catherine murmured, and the older girl rolled her eyes.

"You have no idea." That was paired with a pointed look at Wufei, who appeared indignant.

They shoved aside any more mission talk for after dinner, resolving to enjoy each other's company while they ate. After dinner and a lengthy discussion about their next step, Angel and Quatre were left alone in their suite again.

"How was your day, dear?" Quatre asked with a smirk as they did the dishes side by side. Catching the joke, she played along.

"Just fine, darling. I met the most delightful lady at my luncheon. She told me all about the finer points of gardening and caring for children. Fascinating, really," she replied, and he laughed.

"So you were bored out of your mind?"

"Utterly." She grinned. "But it was worth it. I've got some leads."

He nodded and dried off his hands, then tossed her the towel so she could do the same. "I'm exhausted…let's got to bed."

"What a romantic," she replied sarcastically with an eye-roll, but allowed him to tug her up the stairs. "You could at least spice it up a bit. No wonder you're still single."

"Okay…let's go to bed, love-errrr…" he said, drawing the last bit out in a sensual purr. She laughed at him.

"Oh yeah, very sexy," she told him, and tweaked his nose. "Can I borrow another shirt?"

"Help yourself," he agreed, and stripped down to his boxers again. He followed her into the bathroom to brush his teeth, then left her to change. A few moments later, she slipped into bed beside him.

"Mm…well, goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight, Angel," he replied, settling down into the bed and drawing her close. She hesitated for a moment, then allowed herself to be tugged against his chest.

Think Duo, she chanted to herself. Think Duo.

A few minutes later, she was fast asleep in Quatre's arms, and he toyed with her hair gently. Then he closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling absurdly happy just to be keeping someone safe and warm. Dreams took him then, and he couldn't be bothered until morning.

A/N: Too much Angel in that chap? I hope not. I wanted to focus on the others, too…I really like the thought of all the ladies discussing the guys and their qualities, the good and the bad. Please keep reviewing, you guys are awesome! Ciao!