Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi still owns Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and Sunrise still owns Gundam Wing. I'm trying to enter negotiations though to bargain for Heero and Rei ~_^
Dedication: To A-chan and Chibi-chan for inspiring me to write a Gundam Wing/Sailor Moon crossover and for always encouraging me in their much appreciated reviews!
A/N: I decided to backtrack a little in this chapter when I realized that I glossed over the beginning of the relationships between Rei and the GW boys. So a little background into how relationships (as friends) develop plus a little Rei/Heero tension and then full steam ahead to see how our spitfire has been faring in her new world and surrounded by 5 really hot guys (Lucky, lucky girl!).
" " – Spoken
' ' – Thought
####***
Rei wandered around the palatial mansion Quatre called home. One would never know there was a brutal war going on outside from the tranquility that seemed to reign perpetually in the Winner residence. 'Well, tranquil when Duo isn't deliberately taunting Wufei or sticking his foot in his mouth around Heero,' mused Rei, rolling her eyes at the thought of the antics that Duo had already caused during her brief stay with them.
She chuckled mentally at the remembrance of Duo's persistent mimicking of Heero the night before, down to the utterance of Heero's catchphrase, "Omae o Korosu". Of course, the ultimate had been when Duo had pulled out a gun at the same time that Heero had and then pulled the trigger, releasing a small smoke-filled bang and mini banner with a chibi Duo sticking his tongue out imprinted on it. Rei had had a hard time stifling her giggles and seeing Quatre choke on his tea had sent her over the edge. She had let loose with a peal of giggles, practically rolling on the floor. Trowa had smirked unashamedly and every time Rei tried to calm herself down, he would raise one eyebrow at her and set her off again. Wufei had snorted in disgust and turned away but Rei had caught sight of his mouth twitching before he hid it. Heero's reaction, of course, had been priceless. His stunned eyes and slightly gaping mouth were hardly comical to the uninitiated, but Rei had soon realized that Heero rarely let any expression cross his face. This sign was practically on par with a facefault for anyone else. Of course, Duo had been summarily booted out of the room, landing on his rump outside the door of the sitting room with a loud thump.
She sighed, bringing herself back to the present. She had needed that outlet desperately. Her mind still had trouble at times fathoming her new existence without any of her familiar friends. Sometimes she wondered if Duo deliberately staged these little incidents to make her loosen up. He was such a clown, but she knew he hated to see her sad. He would go to great lengths to make her smile if he caught her being depressed. He would flirt wildly, tell horrible jokes, do hysterical impressions of his fellow pilots, or just throw himself at her feet and give her puppy eyes to get her out of her little moods. He reminded her so much of Minako sometimes that it seemed almost as if she was there in spirit. Of course, he also reminded her a bit of Usagi as well, with his enormous appetite and seemingly naïve exterior that hid a remarkably keen intelligence. 'I wish the others could be here to meet these guys. I'd love to see how they interact, especially Mako-chan and Haruka-san with Wufei. They'd totally put him in his place; under their boot heels,' she chuckled. 'Hmm, I really shouldn't wish such a horrible fate for anyone, even him. He's been helpful in his own way. Sometimes I just want to scream and throw things, but that would make Quatre panic, not to mention destroy some of his valuable furniture. Instead, I fight with Wufei, whether he started it or not, and I can heave a big sigh of satisfaction afterwards. It's almost like the tongue wars I used to have with Usagi. Hmmm, those happened less and less after Galaxia. I wonder if it meant that we were growing up,' Rei wondered. She had begun to come to terms with her loss and thoughts of her fellow senshi still bought little twinges of pain but also wonderful memories.
She continued to stroll through a long gallery filled with portraits of Winner ancestors and stopped occasionally to stare at certain portraits. She had found it easy to respond to Duo's silly antics and Quatre's gentle concern. Quatre had been so polite and sincere ever since she had come to stay with him and the other pilots. She looked forward to spending tea time with him in his study, pouring tea for him and chatting about little things, usually her asking him questions about life in this world. He was infinitely patient with her and offered her all of his resources to research her new life. She had never met anyone so generous, both financially and emotionally. He reminded her of Ami with his sweet shyness but also of Michiru and her boundless talent. She remembered the first time she heard him play the violin and had to smile when she recalled how she had burst into the room, convinced that Michiru was behind the door, playing one of her haunting tunes. She had been profoundly embarrassed to discover poor Quatre practically strangling his violin in shock. She shook her head in amusement and continued to walk down the marble gallery. 'Life is so different here. Maybe it's a good thing though. There aren't as many memories to deal with. I'll always be sad about what happened before I left, but I have to accept that they're gone and move on with my life. At least I didn't have to live in the temple and see the rest of the girls at all the places we hang out at. I wonder what they told the Outers though. Did Hotaru-chan and the rest believe I had betrayed Usagi-chan as well or did they give me the benefit of the doubt? I guess I'll never know now. I've spent the last couple of days glued to the computer trying to find anything I could on the Senshi, but it's like we never existed," Rei thought despondently, her eyes not seeing the beauty in front of her.
She continued to think about her new circumstances as she walked towards a large French window and stared out over the lush green grounds of the Winner estate. She had initially found herself feeling uneasy in a house with 5 young men roughly her age and 40 Manganacs. She was used to living with just her Ojii-san and Yuiichiro, who she had seen as a bothersome brother. She had gone to school at an all-girls school and her best friends were all female with the exception of Mamoru. She could deal with men but she had never had to live with so many men in her entire life, especially 5 young men who seemed to focus on her whenever she walked into the room, any room. She prided herself on being confident under even the most trying circumstances but quickly found that confidence to be sorely lacking under their gazes, especially one Prussian blue gaze. She had wanted to find out more about this connection she felt to him, but it seemed every time she came close to talk to him privately, a mission would come for him and the others. The missions…every time the pilots came back, she breathed a sigh of relief and sent up a prayer to the kamis thanking them for their safe return. She found herself surprised to find how much these young men had quickly come to mean to her.
She shook herself out of her reverie and made her way out of the gallery. Wandering through the house, she was aware of the almost total silence that surrounded her. 'That's strange. It's never this quiet. Maybe a mission came for them? I didn't hear anything and Quatre-kun usually notifies me so I don't worry. I think it's time to do some investigating,' she thought as she made her way through the house. Suddenly, she stopped and cocked her head. She could make out faint sounds coming from the kitchen. Grinning at her success, she quickly made her way to her destination, fully expecting Duo to be raiding the refrigerator again. 'He always makes the best snacks. Some of them are way gross, but then he'll make something completely awesome but forget what he put into them,' Rei sighed mentally. She walked through the double doors and stopped abruptly in her tracks at the sight that met her eyes. The usually pristine white and blue tiled kitchen was a certifiable disaster area. Opened canisters that had been knocked over were strewn across the counters. A large bowl with a long gaping crack down the side was slowly oozing a blackish-brown mixture onto the floor from a long oak table and broken eggs were scattered haphazardly everywhere. She walked in warily and immediately winced as something crunched under her foot. Looking down, she realized she had stepped on something dark, small, and semi-hard. She also noticed that whatever she had stepped on was currently residing all across the floor. Knowing it was Duo that had created this havoc, Rei looked towards the source of the faint noises she had heard and received the second shock of that morning. For where she had been certain she would find Duo was Trowa, who had a powdery white substance sprinkled quite liberally over his hair and trailing down his bangs. He looked at her with a resigned expression on his face, his usually calm green eyes betraying a hint of frustration. Rei reached over and brushed her fingers through his bangs, dislodging the powdery substance from his hair.
"What happened? It looks like all hell broke loose in here," asked Rei, still surveying the kitchen with a look of awe on her face. 'Even Usagi was never this bad and that's saying a lot,' she thought, her mind still trying to connect the quiet Trowa with this disaster.
"I…miscalculated," Trowa hesitated, a slight blush staining his high cheekbones. He surveyed the room as well, flinching at the sight of a dented pan and a frothing mixture that continued to bubble in the sink.
"Miscalculated? This is way beyond miscalculation. This is a warzone and it looks like there were no survivors, only casualties. Why don't you tell me all about it while I help you cleanup," Rei suggested, already rolling her sleeves up and dubiously eyeing the frothing mixture.
"I wanted to make a chocolate chip cake that my sister Catherine used to make for me when I was with the circus," Trowa said shamefacedly.
"Did it include throwing firecrackers into the batter? You can't be that bad at cooking, Trowa-san. From what I've seen, you're usually very competent with just about everything you do. What else happened," Rei asked, dumping the foaming mess in the sink into a large garbage can and grimacing at the horrible smell that wafted from it.
"I was doing fine until it got to the part about adding baking powder. We didn't have any so I substituted it with baking soda," Trowa continued, obviously uncomfortable. "I then reached into the cupboard to get out the vanilla and knocked over a bottle of vinegar. It fell and cracked on the rim of the mixing bowl. I guess some of it poured into the bowl because the next thing I know, the bowl was foaming."
"Okay, that explains the mini volcano that used to be in the sink, but how did the rest of this happen," Rei asked, beginning to sweep the counters with a paper towel. Trowa was carefully picking up shards of glass and depositing them into the trash.
"I…panicked," Trowa mumbled, flushing profusely. "I dropped the bowl and then everything just seemed to fall apart..."
"I…understand," Rei grinned ruefully. She could very well imagine that a frothing bowl of cake batter would weird out just about anyone, even the normally unflappable pilot. She tried to picture everything happening in her mind and couldn't help but giggle. She tried to stifle it when she saw Trowa's woebegone face but couldn't hold it in any longer when he blew a large sigh, shifting his bangs and releasing another cloud of what she suspected was flour.
"Gomen, Trowa-san," sputtered Rei. "I'm not laughing at you, demo it is funny. When I first saw what happened, I was sure it was Duo-kun that had caused this. I would have never in a million years have thought this could be laid at your feet."
Trowa was very quiet and he had a very serious look on his face. Rei faltered slightly. 'Could I have hurt his feelings? Oh, I didn't mean to make him sad or angry. Baka Rei! Better apologize now,' Rei thought, angry with herself for inadvertently insulting one of her hosts.
"Gome…," Rei began, but was cut off by a quick motion of Trowa's hand.
Rei looked up in shock as she heard a very un-Trowalike snort coming from the normally serious young man. He was bent over double and tears were pouring down his face as he tried to hold back laughter.
"Do…do you think we could pass this off as Duo's fault," Trowa sputtered, his face flushed with suppressed laughter.
Rei stared in shock, disbelief written all over her flawless features. Then she too began to laugh as the ridiculousness of the situation hit her. She knew that the others would naturally blame Duo just as she had. Much as she thought it would be hilarious, it pained her to think of someone being blamed for something he or she hadn't done. 'Guess I'm still carrying that baggage around. I wonder if it will go away,' she thought, a small frown crossing her features.
"Are you okay? You looked so sad for a second," Trowa questioned, the mirth leaving his face.
"Just remembering some painful memories," Rei murmured, looking down at the now spotless counter. She went towards a small closet and idly pulled out a broom and began to sweep the black dots, which she had discovered were chocolate chips, off to one side.
Trowa picked up the cracked bowl that had held the dark sticky mass and dumped it into the now almost overflowing garbage. He turned to look at their houseguest and observed her quietly. Her graceful and economical movements suggested that she had prior experience with a broom. Over the last couple of days, Rei had slowly opened up to them, especially Duo and Quatre, who were naturally friendly, but there was still so much they didn't know about her. Trowa sensed a deep sadness in her that stemmed from far more than just the thought of being sent forward in time without her friends. He had discussed it with Quatre who had agreed. Quatre's empathic senses were never wrong. Trowa struggled internally, his desire for privacy and respect for others' privacy against this strange need to bring some comfort to this mysterious young woman. 'I guess all of the fighting in these wars has changed me,' he mused silently.
They continued their cleaning in silence, the only sounds an occasional whisper of the broom across the tiled floor or the scrape of steel wool against the metal sink. Both were deeply engrossed in their own private thoughts before Trowa finally broke the silence.
"Sometimes memories are all that we have left," Trowa began hesitantly. "Even the painful ones can remind us that we are alive. They are a legacy that we should treasure no matter how painful because we can always learn from them."
"I had never thought of it that way before, Trowa-kun," responded Rei thoughtfully, resting her chin on the tip of the broom handle, not realizing how she had slipped into the friendly form of kun. "Arigatou for making me realize how I have allowed my sadness over my friends to keep me from living. All of my memories aren't happy, especially the most recent ones, but I had forgotten the wonderful moments in my grief." She smiled sweetly at him, leaned the broom against the counter, and walked over to him and gave him a gentle hug.
Trowa stared at her in shock. The last hug he had gotten had been from his sister, Catherine, and that had been over a year ago. He had forgotten what physical contact was like. Rei smiled at him and then scooped up the pile of chocolate chips in a dustpan and dumped them in the trash. She briskly brushed her hands together and surveyed the room with a keen eye. One would never know that the kitchen had previously been a complete wreck.
"Arigatou to you too, Rei-chan, for helping me," said Trowa. 'And for reminding me that I do have something in my life now. I have my sister who is depending on me to come back when this is all over and I have a life to look forward to. Maybe I can even try to find someone to love.'
"No problem. We'll just keep this a secret between you and me. This way no one gets blamed for anything. By the way, do you know where everyone else is," Rei asked.
"Quatre's in his study taking care of Winner business. Heero has been in his room all day. Duo went with some of the Manganacs into town for supplies and Wufei is outside practicing some katas," Trowa listed automatically. "Are you looking for anyone in particular?"
"Not really. I did want to speak to Quatre though about my going into town later today. I want to see the city in broad daylight," she smirked, remembering her introduction to this new world.
Trowa smiled and said, "I'm sure he won't mind if you interrupt him for a few minutes."
"Well, at the very least I'll give him a small break from all that paperwork he has to do. Do you need any more help, Trowa-kun," asked Rei as she made her way to the door.
"No. I'll see you later," Trowa said distractedly, already planning a short visit to his sister.
Rei smiled at the handsome brown-haired young man before walking out the door. She headed past the large sitting room with its antique carved couches and end tables and up the marble staircase. She could feel the smooth coolness under her fingertips and marveled once again at this mansion she was now residing in. 'How different this is from the temple. Once, I would have given so much to be able to live in a house like this and now I find myself missing the paper doors, the simple wooden floors and most of all, the Sacred Fire. I wonder if I could persuade Quatre-kun to plant some sakura trees in the garden? I miss the sight and smell of the cherry blossoms. They always made me feel so peaceful and serene.' Rei's thoughts cut off abruptly as she found herself facing the large oak door to Quatre's personal office. She gently knocked and waited briefly before hearing a muffled, "Come in." She pushed open the heavy door and poked her head inside around the door. Quatre sat behind a massive cherry wood desk that was piled high with paperwork. The young blonde looked dwarfed sitting in the large leather chair and flanked on both sides by twin towers of neatly stacked papers. He looked up, a harried look on his face. The look eased as he saw who was his visitor.
"Hello. I'm so glad you're not Rashid with more papers for me to read and sign," sighed Quatre, laying down his pen. His shoulders seemed to sag for a moment before he straightened and directed a gentle smile at Rei. "What can I do for you?"
"If this is a bad time, I can come back later," Rei said, flashing a quick grin at Quatre's bleary-eyed face.
"No, no. That's okay. Actually, I'm looking forward to taking a small break. I never realized how much my father had to put up with as head of the Winner Corporation. But you didn't come to hear me talk about my responsibilities, so what can I do for you," Quatre asked, leaning back against the burgundy leather of his chair.
"Actually, I wanted to see if it would be possible for you to let me go into town today. I feel a lot more secure now and I'd like to see for myself what the city is like. Not to mention that I also need to get some…personal stuff, "Rei finished, blushing slightly. She'd never had to discuss feminine needs with a man before.
Quatre also blushed before coughing slightly to hide his embarrassment. He had 29 older sisters but had never had to deal with this side of them before. Servants handled all of their needs and he had been considered too young to know about these things before the war started. When the war first started, Quatre had become caught up in the preparations of learning to fly a Gundam and all the little things had fallen by the wayside. He pondered ruefully the status of his family now that the situation in the universe had gotten dangerous again. 'I meant to get back in touch with everyone after the Mariemaia incident, but rebuilding the Winner holdings, which I had ignored during the war, and recuperating from destroying Sandrock took so much out of me that I let my family slip my mind. Have I become so caught up in fighting that I have forgotten what it is I'm fighting for? I know that we are scattered all over the colonies and Earth but it shouldn't be this bad. When I heard about this new threat, I contacted all of the old scientists and commissioned them to rebuild the Gundams, stored up supplies, renewed my contacts within the Preventers for information, and contacted Duo and Wufei. I knew Trowa and Heero would find their way back to us. But now I find that I forgot the most important thing of all: my family. Rei-chan is so lost with no one to look after her. I will be her family here and make sure she is protected even though I know in many ways she can look out for herself,' decided Quatre. He smiled at Rei as she looked at him in a puzzled fashion. He had been silent for a very long time and looked uncharacteristically serious and somewhat grim.
"Whatever you want is fine with me. I should have realized you would feel cooped up here. You've been here for over a week and haven't been to town yet so you would naturally be curious to see for yourself what this world is like. Not to mention we haven't exactly been the best hosts since the Ravager attacks seem to have increased lately," Quatre said thoughtfully, his brow creasing in thought and worry.
"Please don't think that I find your hospitality lacking, Quatre-kun," Rei said politely. "After all, it's not your fault that the Ravagers have been attacking so much. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't come to resent me since I don't do anything of any use around here. Is there something I can do to help? I'm not used to being so…inactive."
"Oh, we definitely do not resent your presence here at all, Rei-chan! Truth be told, it's nice to have a concerned face waiting for us when we come back from a mission. Well, another face besides Rashid and the others," Quatre said sheepishly. The Manganacs mobile suits were unfortunately, not as well equipped to handle the Ravagers and Quatre had ordered them to guard the house or help gather and relay information during battles instead of risking their lives. The Manganacs had begrudgingly agreed after much argument and Quatre finally putting his foot down, but were smothering in their concern after each battle. "If you'd like, I can check with HQ to see if they will clear you for missions, but please don't stress yourself."
"I'd actually like to go into battle again. This is a fight worth fighting, Quatre-kun. If I can help people and defeat these monsters, I will feel so rewarded. I just don't see how you can fight in those bulky machines you call Gundams," Rei said, shuddering slightly at the thought of big metal machines going against the agile Ravagers. "You must be extremely lucky or those Gundams of yours must be heavily shielded."
Quatre chuckled lightly and shook his head. "You've never seen the Gundams, have you? If you had, you would see how we withstand and even defeat the Ravagers with them. I'll show them to you after you return from town today, barring another attack. In fact, let me arrange for Abdul to take you into town in about an hour. Is that okay with you," asked the blonde young man. Seeing Rei nod, he pressed a button on the vid-com and spoke to Abdul, arranging transportation and an escort into the city for Rei. The Manganacs had taken their cue from Quatre and treated "Rei-sama", as they called her, as if she were another Winner sister. Quatre smiled as the arrangements were made and then dug into a desk drawer, pulling out a slim, translucent black card and handing it to Rei.
"What's this," Rei asked, turning the card over and examining it thoughtfully.
"It's a cred chip. It's the currency here. Just present it when you make your purchases and the amount owed will be taken directly from the Winner account. Don't worry about watching your spending, just buy whatever you need," Quatre responded. "I had your information, a retinal scan and fingerprints, downloaded so all the stores will recognize you as an authorized user of that cred chip."
"Nani? That's too generous of you, Quatre-kun! I already feel bad about freeloading off of you as is. This is too much, " Rei protested, handing the chip back to Quatre.
"I won't take it back, Rei-chan. Think of it as a salary for when you start going on missions. In fact, think of your entire stay here as such," Quatre said firmly.
"I would never ask to be paid for protecting innocent lives," cried Rei, completely aghast. She had never in her 3-year career as a Senshi ever thought about being paid for doing something that seemed so natural to her. It went against her soul to even think of such a thing.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would take it as an insult. Rei-chan, think of it this way. Even police officers have to draw a salary and they protect the people. Think of yourself as a Preventer and that this money comes as a benefit instead of as a salary. If you want, think of it as a salary for putting up with us or a gift from a friend who cares about you," Quatre said disarmingly, smiling gently at her.
"Oh, that's a low blow, Quatre-kun. Your smile is too charming! You must know that anyone would give you anything you wanted if you flashed that smile at them," Rei teased, conceding graciously to Quatre. She knew when she was beaten and also realized that Quatre would be very upset if she continued to decline. She vowed internally to make sure Quatre was paid back in some way. She quietly accepted the card back from Quatre.
Quatre blushed again and ducked his chin disarmingly. "Rei-chan! You shouldn't tease me like that. I get that from Duo-kun already," he protested.
Rei giggled slightly. "It's just the truth, Quatre-kun. But I do want to thank you for everything you've done for me. I especially want to thank you for having a fire started in my bedroom's fireplace each day. It's wonderful to wake up to and it reminds so much of home."
"Hmmm, I haven't given any such instructions for a fire to be set in your fireplace. Maybe Rashid has done it, though I don't know why since it's the beginning of summer. If it makes you happy, I won't ask to have it stopped," Quatre said, his soft blue eyes reflecting his confusion.
"Well, I better let you get back to your work before it starts to breed and multiply. I'll see you after I get back from town and then you can give me a tour of the Gundams," Rei said brightly before walking out of the Winner heir's office.
Rei walked briskly toward her room on the third floor of the east wing, already mentally listing the things she would need to buy while in town. She shook her head at the thought of Quatre's generosity once again and then smiled to herself as she realized how at home she felt here. Quatre treated her like a little sister and, to her surprise, she found herself liking it. 'Being an only child was very lonely growing up. When I met the other Senshi, it was like getting a bunch of sisters. I didn't realize how much I needed that until I lost it. Now, I have brothers. What a thing to have to get used to! Quatre-kun is so sweet and he spoils me horribly. He's the kind of brother every girl wishes for. Duo-kun is the kind of brother who makes me roll my eyes but laugh uncontrollably. Wufei is the brother that I can get into huge screaming matches with. He's that facet that Usagi says is Shingo 100% of the time. Trowa-kun is the experienced brother who gives great advice. Heero is…I don't know what Heero is to me. He hasn't said more than a couple of words to me a day, but I find myself drawn to him for some reason. Every time he comes into a room, I find that my eyes stray to him when no one is looking. I think I could stare at him all day long and not get bored. Geez, I sound like Minako-chan and Mako-chan when they get all boy crazy,' thought Rei, smiling and shaking her head. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she never noticed a certain black-haired boy rounding the corner rapidly.
WHAM!
Two bodies went flying in opposite directions and landed with small muffled thumps on a richly decorated rug. Rei gingerly picked herself up and was just about to see who had bumped into her when a harsh voice instantly notified her of her assailant.
"Onna! Watch where you're going! Only a baka onna would walk around and not look to see if anyone else is around," snarled Wufei, getting to his feet quickly.
"What is your problem, Wufei? I didn't deliberately run into you and it takes two to bump into each other unless you like being knocked down and were just waiting here and hoping someone would run into you," Rei said, trying to maintain her temper. She was still excited at the prospect of going into town for the first time and she wasn't about to let Wufei ruin her good mood.
"My problem is an onna who doesn't look where she's going and an American braided baka who has no respect for my katana. It is an injustice having to live with the both of you," Wufei exclaimed, flushed with anger.
"First, I don't know what Duo-kun did to your katana, but I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. Second, I don't appreciate you taking out your frustrations on me for something so silly as us bumping into each other. Third, I would love to stay and chat and get all riled up so I could really take you on, but I have an appointment with Abdul to go into town. So, I'll see you after I get back and we can get into a screaming match later," Rei shot over her shoulder, walking away from Wufei and towards her room.
"Grrr! I know you and Duo are good friends! He attracts onnas like flies to a garbage heap! He has probably already told you about how he used my katana to slice cheese for his morning meal and you are pretending not to know to protect him," Wufei railed, stalking after Rei and preparing to get into another fight. He knew Duo was out doing errands so he couldn't punish the American like he wanted. However, Rei was a good substitute, and unlike Duo, would stay and fight. 'I'll never admit this to anyone out loud, but this onna actually gives as good as she gets. Not to mention, it's good to see her get riled up and mad. It proves I'm not the only one to get mad around here since the others are either too quiet or too dense to ever get really upset,' Wufei thought silently.
"He sliced cheese with it?! Oh Kami, I had no idea he had that much of a death wish," Rei laughed, mentally imagining Duo carefully slicing a block of cheese with Wufei's long sharp katana. Her eyes crossed with the effort it took for her to not roll on the floor laughing hysterically. 'That Duo! He never changes! He's going to be the death of us all someday. Either Wufei will finally really lose it ad blow us all up or we'll die laughing,' Rei thought, wiping the streaming tears from her eyes as she controlled her laughter. "Well, Wufei, I really didn't know about Duo but thanks for the laugh. I really needed it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get changed to go into town. So, unless you want to come in here while I'm naked to continue this one-sided argument, I suggest you leave," Rei said, smiling wickedly before abruptly closing the door on Wufei's shocked face.
Wufei stood shocked at Rei's door, a nosebleed beginning to slowly trickle out of his nose. It had taken quite a while for him to get used to having a woman in the house. He and Heero had been moved out of the east wing of the house so Rei could have it all to herself at Quatre's insistence of propriety. 'Not like I would want to be living in the same wing as an onna anyway.' He was still a bit miffed at having to move all of his belongings to a new room just for the sake of one woman. The only bright side was the arguments, as he took out his frustration over Duo's slipperiness on the feisty young woman. 'Hmm, I would love to spar with her but I would defeat her too easily if she is not in her transformed state,' he mused, ignorant that Rei retained some of her upgraded abilities even while not henshined. He walked away quickly when he heard rustling coming from behind the door, afraid the onna would open the door half dressed.
Several doors down, at the beginning of the west wing, a certain brown haired young man resumed his research on his laptop, having paused when he heard the soft sound of feminine laughter. He tried to continue his work but after typing the same sentence four times, he shut down his computer in disgust. He got up and stretched, his muscles aching after having been in the same position for several hours. He idly walked over to his window and sat down in the window seat, his gaze focused on the distant horizon. Ever since Rei had moved in, he had felt jumpy, an unusual feeling for the normally icy cold soldier. He caught himself staring at her at the oddest moments, watching the candlelight from the main room highlight her hair or the sun give her a glowing halo as she strolled through the rose garden. He would listen to the sound of her amused laughter at Duo's antics or hear her softly humming when she thought no one was watching. Her fluid movements captivated him and he was drawn to her for a reason he couldn't name. He struggled every night with these strange feelings and had finally decided he would see as little of her as possible until he resolved what was going on with him. That decision had come two nights ago and he had shut himself away from the rest, coming out to eat meals occasionally before retreating back to his room where he would type on his laptop for hours one end or read a book on military strategy from Quatre's immense library. He would come out in the middle of the night to exercise if he wasn't on a mission. Internally, he was disgusted with himself for running from her but he couldn't seem to keep his mind off of her, thoughts of her popping into his mind at the weirdest times. 'It's only been two days and you act like a drug addict without his fix! Relena never caused this much turmoil and she threw herself at me every chance she could get. Rei doesn't act any different towards me than she does the other pilots and I can't stop thinking of her! Get it together, Yuy,' he mentally berated himself. He would never admit how her violet gaze would cause his heart to make a funny jump in his chest or how her voice caressed his senses or how great the urge was for him to sink his hands into her long silky hair. 'How do I know her hair is silky? For all I know, it could be coarse and wiry. But somehow, I know. Just as I know that if I let her in, my life will change forever,' he continued to think as he ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. He continued with his chaotic thoughts until a flash of red caught his eye. It was Rei, wearing slim black jeans and a red off the shoulder top. She was running across the lawn towards Abdul, where he stood next to a hover jeep. He watched her gracefully hop into the vehicle and laugh at some remark of Abdul's before the jeep started and raced down the long driveway leading away from the Winner mansion, her hair flying like a silken banner behind her. He watched until the jeep drove out of sight before turning back to his laptop, his mind still a chaotic mess. "She's just going into town. It's no big deal. Quatre's already okayed the trip if Abdul's taking her. Maybe I can get some work done before dinner starts. But maybe I'll just see what Quatre's doing first…," he trailed off, his hand already on the knob of his bedroom door.
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And that's it for this chapter. Not as exciting but I wanted everyone to get a feel for how the pilots see Rei-chan and how Rei-chan sees the pilots. Next chapter: Rei and the City (Cheesy and it's a rip off from 'Sex and the City' but this fic is PG-13 so don't even think about it. I don't write lemons! I leave it to your imagination.) Please give me some feedback on this chapter as I need it desperately.
