Chapter One

Duo Maxwell stood, leaning on the wall next to the fax machine. He tapped his foot impatiently. He had been sent to this little fishing village to meet the next Gundam pilot, and he was waiting for the meeting place and how he was going to recognise him.

"Finally." He said to himself as the machine started to whirr and a piece of paper came out. Duo frowned in curiosity as a blurry black and white picture came out with the writing. He picked it up and looked at the boy. He was fifteen, the same as the rest of them, trained in a very strict training facility and was described as the perfect soldier. His name, as far as he or any other knew, was Heero Yuy. Duo's brow uncrossed as he looked at the fuzzy picture of him. He was darkly and mysteriously handsome. He had messy dark hair, that, according to the description, was very dark brown. He was apparently tanned and quite tall. His large eyes were dark, very dark blue according to the words, and, even in the bad photo, Duo found himself almost unable to look away from him. They were meeting down at the harbour in…five minutes. Duo swore, folded up the piece of paper, shoved it in his pocket, grabbed his jacket and left the apartment hurriedly, shoving the key in his jacket. They always did this. He swore that it was the only way Treize ever had any fun, knowing he was rushing everybody.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was eleven at night, and the brightly coloured lights around it lighted the harbour. There were still quite a few people around; midnight fisherman, lovers being generally restless, and nerds unable to sleep. Duo was nearly invisible. His black leather pants clung to his thighs and hung heavily over his black heavy boots. He wore a deep red top with a low, round top and a black leather jacket over that. His chestnut hair was in a thick braid that reached the back of his knees, and the different colours highlighted different parts of it, the moonlight picking up the tints of gold in it. It was beautiful, he prided it. His creamy, pale-ish skin was strangely elegant and, in the moonlight, gave him a slightly unearthly look. His violet eyes passed over the various couples, resting on the single men walking past, but none of them were young enough, or, they just weren't him.

He walked along slowly, looking at everyone passing him. He was ten minutes late. Finally, his eyes rested on a figure leaning on the railing of the harbour. He could see a messy shock of dark hair on the top of the guy's head before the thick collar of the three-quarter-length trench coat, which was blacker than the night. Under that he could see very light blue jeans and dark, strangely elegant boots underneath. Here was a suspect. Duo meandered his way over to the railing next to him and leant on it, looking out at the dark sea. He flipped his violet eyes over to the guy standing next to him, and bit his lip to stop himself gasping. He was even more handsome in real life, and it was definitely him. His hair fell thickly over his tanned forehead, his straight nose leading down to his thin yet strong lips and jaw. His eyes, Duo had been prepared for dark blue, but these were the colour of the sea at its greatest depth, and yet were deeper than that. Duo felt like he was falling into them, and he had only looked into them for a millisecond. He was wearing a white top like Duo's under his trench coat. His hands were deep in his pockets, and Duo looked out to the sea whilst he controlled himself.

"Heero Yuy?" he asked, in an undertone. The boy simply nodded. Duo turned, and offered his hand.

"Duo Maxwell, I've come to collect you, as it were." He said, cheerfully. The boy turned his head and looked sternly into Duo's eyes before looking at his hand and back up again. Duo raised his eyebrows and sighed, lowering his hand. "Do you talk?" he asked, a slight grin on his face.

"Only when told to." Heero replied, and his voice was as deep as his eyes, and slightly husky, like he wasn't used to using it. Duo smiled in slight disbelief.

"Oh, yea. Perfect soldier, right?" he asked, looking past him. His eyes widened and he felt the boy frown at him as he grabbed his arm tightly. "Time to put you to the test, Yuy." He whispered, and Heero turned to where Duo was looking. Five men were coming towards them, scaring people off and staring at them, menacingly. "Got a weapon?" Duo asked.

"Always." Came the reply, and a hand came out of the pocket, holding a black handgun.

"Nice." Duo said, and took a gun out of his own inner pocket. His gun was silver, sleeker and a little longer than Heero's. He grinned a little as the other boy's eyes looked approvingly at it. He was proud of that, too. Slowly, they turned to the men approaching them. Duo scanned them. Now that people had gone, five handguns had come out. Duo let out a breath, cricking his neck.

"Looks like the new boy's fired before he's even begun." The leader growled, and, quick as lightning, raised his hand and fired at Heero. Well, would have done, if Heero hadn't been twice as fast, making Duo jump as the man was knocked backwards, a bullet wound directly in the middle of his forehead. Duo looked at him, disbelief on his face.

"You're good!" he exclaimed. Heero shrugged, and Duo grinned. For some reason, he liked this stoic, silent boy, he didn't know why. He turned back, laughing at the astonished faces on the remaining four men's faces. "Looks like the new guy's a little better than you thought, guys." He shouted. They looked up at him, and raised their guns. This time, Duo shot, a clean shot that threw a man backward off the harbour with a yell. Then, the remaining three and the two boys split. Duo ducked and dived, all guns forgotten for a minute, physical fighting preferred. Unfortunately for the men, he was the best fighter out of the five Gundam pilots, except for maybe Wufei, but that was arguable. One man fell to the floor, his neck broken, before another was battled to ground. Duo's shoulders prickled as he heard a yell, too young for a man. He crashed his knee into the man's windpipe, crushing it, leaving him to die with a sickening gurgle. He spun round, gun ready. Heero and the man were in a battle of strength. Duo swore; he couldn't get a straight shot, but the man was winning. If he didn't do something, Heero would be gone. So he shot.

There was a yell…from Heero.

"No!" Duo yelled, and sprang forward. The man was dead before he hit the floor, and Duo himself landed beside Heero. "Oh God! I…I had to do something…I…"

"Shut up." Heero said, firmly. His face was twisted in pain, and his hand was red with blood, rested on his side. He put a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Go, now. Look." He said, and Duo followed his gaze. A whole load of other men was heading for them. He turned back to Heero.

"I'm not leaving you!" he yelled. Heero glared at him, and pushed him away with amazing strength.

"Go!" he cried, louder now. "I'll be fine. Just get out, and find another pilot. My life's not worth yours, you're already a pilot, I'm not, I'm just another soldier. Now go!" he yelled, pushing Duo away again. Duo shook his head, but his stomach flipped when Heero pointed his handgun at him. "Go." He hissed, his deep blue eyes blazing. Duo sighed.

"You're not getting out of this that easily." He said as he got up. "You ain't dead yet, man."

Then he ran, hating himself. He ducked into an alley and clambered up a drainpipe onto the sloping roof as two men came flying after him and under him. He heard gun shots and yells from the harbour, and crept back, peeping over the edge. Heero was grimacing with pain and anger, shooting every man within feet. Despite himself, Duo grinned. This boy kicked ass!

Finally, Heero's gun ran out, and the men grabbed him. He yelled with pain as they hauled him up, and Duo gritted his teeth against the urge to go down there again, but he knew he was out numbered.

"Take him to the hospital." A gruff voice said. "He could be useful."

"Which one, boss?"

"White Star, it's the one with the most friends." The voice said, again, and Duo grinned as they carried the limp boy away. Minions, he said to himself, they were always too cocky.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Don't do it, Maxwell." Came the commanding voice of Treize down the phone.

"But boss, we need him!" Duo pleaded.

"No!" Treize ordered. Duo rolled his eyes and feigned a resigned sigh.

"Alright, sir. Can you put Trowa on, please?" he asked, and heard Treize call the Heavyarms pilot.

"Duo?" cam the musical, slightly Latin voice of Trowa.

"Is Treize gone?" Duo whispered.

"Yes." Came the reply.

"Fine. When's the earliest you can be ready for a beaten dude and me at the rooms?"

"Duo, it's directly against orders, you'll get thrown out!"

"I'm worth too much for him to chuck me, and you haven't seen this guy, Trowa. He's amazing! Anyway, I can't just leave him. Please? For me?"

There was a sigh the other end.

"Fine. Quatre, Wufei and I will be waiting at the back, you know the way. Keep it down, Treize should be away, but you know how reliable he is."

"You are brilliant, Trowa. I owe you one." Duo said.

"You owe me much more than that." Trowa said, but Duo could tell he was smiling.

"And I will pay you back, I promise." He said.

"Whatever. Good luck. Don't get killed. That Yuy guy was right, his life isn't worth yours, Duo."

"I'm not too sure about that, Trowa, in all senses of the word, but thanks. Over and out." Duo said, and put the phone down. He stopped for a moment. He wasn't quite sure why he wanted this guy to be all right so much, but he did. There was something about him. He wasn't the kind of guy to trust within seconds, and he certainly didn't trust Heero, but there was something about the stoic young man that appealed to him. He shook his head, replaced his now fully loaded gun and left the flat.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Heero woke to find himself in a hospital room; it could only be that. He saw the machines and he felt the hardness of the bed. His head hurt, and he remembered the beating. His whole body ached, and he felt numerous bandages all over his body. His side burnt, and he remembered the shot, he remembered Duo. He shook his head. Even though he hardly knew him, he had a sneaking suspicion that that was typical of him. He was ok, serious, very good at what he did, but so light hearted it was almost hard to believe. There was something more, though. Behind those beautiful violet eyes was a hurt that no one had been able to mend. Oh well, his problem, Heero thought, but unsure.

He looked over, and saw the men congregated outside. There was no way he was getting out. He sat up, leaning over painfully to pull the blinds down. The window had bars and he couldn't get out, but he could look around. He was still wearing his denim pants that hugged his upper legs, but his shirt had been removed due to the numerous wounds inflicted. He pulled the bandages off all his wounds gently, so they didn't start bleeding again, only keeping the one around his side on, a little worried that it could be holding him in right now. He hated bandages, he'd had too many on him to make up for the rest of his life.

He fell back on the bed, his arms out as he tried to work out what to do. He heard, or felt, the buzz of the speaker in one corner come on, and heard a tentative cough that sounded slightly familiar.

"Heero?" it said, in Duo's voice. Heero frowned. What? "Hey man, wave at the camera if you're alive."

Heero sat up, frowning. What the hell was he doing? "Hey man." The speaker went on, "What's with the suicidal bullshit, huh? And what's with the "I'm just another soldier" shit? I said you weren't dead yet, and I meant it."

"You shouldn't have come here." Heero said, quietly, slightly disgusted at how glad he was Duo was here.

"Well, I did. Now, in roughly…thirty seconds after I've finished talking you will here an alarm bell. The men will be forced to leave, unless they want to be found out by people who aren't their friends. Then, approximately three minutes after that I will come into your room where you will be ready and help you out of here. No arguing, no refusing to come. Remember that I'm the one with the gun now. Got that?"

Heero nodded, suppressing his slight inner smile at the boy's tone. There it was again. There was something about this Duo that he liked, he didn't know what. Sure enough, thirty seconds after silence had come over him, an alarm went off, and he heard the protests of the men, but they were won over. He counted three minutes and Duo hadn't come. After another minute, though, he burst in.

"You're late." Heero said. Duo looked a little taken aback at first, and then saw the slightly amused glint in Heero's eyes.

"Bastard." He said grinning, and came over. Within seconds, it seemed, Heero found himself carried out of the back, put into a very sleek sports car and driven off.

He allowed himself to take the other youth in. His long thick hair streamed out in the wind, as the car had no roof, glints of gold in its chestnut brown. His large violet eyes were on the road and he was biting his full lips a little, concentrating on the little roads. He was strangely beautiful, but Heero couldn't put his finger on what it was that made him so. Finally, Duo looked over at him and grinned.

"Gotcha there, huh? There was no way I was gonna let you go after saying that." He said. "No more suicide attempts, you hear?"

Heero shrugged.

"Depends if it's required." He said, looking to the front again.

"So you'd just throw your life away?" Duo asked, his eyes wide. Heero nodded. "What about family, friends, people who care about you? What are they supposed to do?"

"I've never had a family, I don't want any friends and nobody gives a damn where I came from." Heero replied. Duo frowned, a tiny stab of annoyance growing in his stomach.

"Well, you're gonna have to learn, man. Where I come from, we look after each other; we care about each other. There's five of us now, five pilots, and we look out for all the rest…"

"I never said I wouldn't do that."

"No, you just said you'd throw your life away whatever, right?" Duo asked, coldly. "Well, like it or not, if you start working for us, we're gonna end up caring. But if you value your life that low, then next time I won't bother saving your ass, I'll just let you throw it away, even if I do care."

Heero found himself tightening as Duo's voice went icy, and looked over. The usually generous violet eyes were tight and cold and he was gripping the steering wheel. For the first time since he could remember, he felt like he wanted to say something, but didn't know what.

"I…I just want to get the job done." He managed after a while, "Where I come from, we learn that the mission must be accomplished whatever the price and the others just have to deal…"

"Where I came from, we were taught that killing and maiming for release was alright so long as the cause was holy, people give you bullshit you just have to learn what's right and wrong for yourself." Duo snapped, and there was an awkward silence. "Oh, shit, I didn't mean for that to come out." He said, grimacing, and sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…I'm a little…"

"Don't worry." Heero interrupted. "All this is new to me."

Duo looked at him.

"You'll get what I mean after a while. I can look out for you if you like for a bit. Treize can be a bullshit as well." He offered, casually.

"I'll be ok." Heero replied both knowing Duo would do it anyway. There was a small silence, but not awkward this time.

"The HQ is deep in the country. Nice place, just about twenty minutes away now." Duo said after a while. "I'll show you your rooms, your stuff should be there already. They're pretty good rooms, and all the pilots are on the same floor. It may take some time to get to know your way round, I still get lost, but you know…"

Duo carried on cheerfully telling Heero about the HQ. Heero only half listened, but the boy's light heart was contagious and he felt relaxed, or would have done, if he wasn't shaking.

"Heero?" he heard Duo ask, and looked over at him. "You cold?" Heero shrugged. Duo sighed and rolled his eyes at him. "Take the wheel a minute." He said. Heero frowned, but leant over his lap and took the wheel. Duo smelt of leather and there was a sweet smell that was all his. Heero was dimly aware of what the American boy was doing, and then he felt a leather jacket being thrown over his bare shoulders and Duo pushing him back to the passenger seat.

"You don't have to…"

"Shut up." Duo said firmly, smiling at him. Heero said nothing, but Duo noticed his eyes softening a tiny bit, and smiled inwardly. His red tank top was quite loose and it was a little chilly, but he didn't care. They drove on in silence, comfortably into the night; both lost in their own thoughts.