Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not, has not, and will never belong to me. I do, however, own a bar of Dove soap, which unlike our heroes, I use frequently.

Author's note: Part of this chapter is a brief account of what had happened to Relena. For those 3x4 fans that are also 1xR fans (I know there are some.), I eventually will do a series that explores her story in more detail (But first I need a break after this is finished).

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Twelve

Relena's story

The day after the play, I was exploring the surface, against my brother's wishes, of course, but whatever, when, all of a sudden, I see a bird falling from the sky. So I swim to where I think it landed and I find no bird, but Heero, who's nearly drowning because he can't swim. I brought him to the surface, and one of the first things he does is threaten to kill me, because he's afraid of, I don't know, some imaginary enemy (You're another one who worries too much, dear.) and thought I know his secret. Not that the Avians are any state secret, mind you, but they do like their privacy, just as we do, and I suppose I could've been some crazy sorceress who wanted to do experiments on him, but still. You'd think I'd leave the ungrateful bastard after that (Just kidding, honey.), but no, I stayed with him and took care of him. Since he broke his leg, although I can't see the connection, he couldn't change back into his bird form. During that time, we got used to each other I guess.

"You mean I got used to your incessant chatter," Heero interrupted, though Trowa figured he was just teasing by the way Relena lightly smacked him. It was hard to tell with that one.

Anyway, we eventual learned to trust each other to reveal what we really were (He thought I was an ordinary human, you see, because I didn't come out of the water.)

Actually, that isn't true," Heero cut in again. "It was pretty obvious that something was wrong with her," he told Trowa.

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked curiously.

"Well," the stoic young man began.

Heero's story

I thought Relena was a strange girl for a number of reasons. One, she already mentioned, the other was that the woman would never stop talking. Trowa chuckled: he sounded so much like Wufei.But the first one was the weirder one (The second one's just her personality, I found out later.) It was fortunate that I was weak for awhile from my injury, so I couldn't really move around that much. But eventually I gained most of my strength back, and I was restless. I wanted to walk around, but she refused to let me out of her sight.

"As if you could've gotten anywhere on your own," she retorted.

So I figured that the only way was to get her to come with me. But she didn't want to come out either. So, I did the only thing I could do to convince her: I picked her up and made her get out. And the same thing happened to her that happened to you.

"She had legs?" Trowa guessed, his eyes wide, though he was still unconvinced that this was normal.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that too," Heero said absentmindedly, smirking at Relena (It was the closest thing to a smile that he had), who blushed.

Quatre's face was red too. "No, he means that she didn't have any, uh, covering," he explained. "That happened a couple of times, even after she found clothing to wear."

"That was your fault!" Relena scolded, getting angry at the memory. "Honestly, you men are so nosy!"

Trowa blinked at them. "Um, do I want to ask what happened?"

"Yes," Heero said, while the other two said "No!" "It was a funny story," he said, not seeming jealous at all, "if you won't tell it, than I will."

"Have it your way," Quatre muttered.

Quatre's story

I hope that this is much easier to understand then my charades. I'd like to preface this by saying that we're a very close people, and we don't abandon our own kind. So, when Heero disappeared, naturally they sent out a scout to look for him, me. I found him all right, but I found something else too. Needless to say, it took awhile for Miss Relena and me to become friends, and we'd usually rather not bring it up. But Heero insisted, and I don't want him twisting this to make me look bad. I was easily alerted to Heero's presence, for my magic allows me to locate people through their emotions. And since there were only two people there, I had to assume that half of what I was feeling was Heero's emotions, though they were really unusual for him (He's not the romantic type.). In any case, I went to investigate and I heard someone singing. You probably don't know this, but I'm something of a musician, not a very good one "Can it with the humility, it's annoying," said Heero. but I love it. So naturally, I went to see who was singing. I couldn't see them, since they were hidden by rocks "That should've told you something right away," the princess interrupted.. So when I went to look, there was Miss Relena-"

His voice broke and he looked like he needed to douse his head in cold water.

"What?" Trowa asked, though he thought it was unnecessary.

"Well, you see, she was, she was…"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Heero said in exasperation. "She was naked. There I said it. No one turned to stone. Honestly Quatre, it's a miracle anyone wants to be your lover. I swear, you're as naïve as… as… as a baby goat!" Relena raised her eyebrow at him, wondering where the hell he got that analogy, though not bothered by his blunt manner at all. "And you have so many sisters, too. You'd think you'd be used to it. Sometimes I wonder, does anyone ever attract you at all?"

"Yes!" The youth protested hotly. Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not, but he was looking directly at Trowa when he said that.

Fortunately, the clueless de-tailed merman wasn't paying attention. He was too focused on the thought that his new best friend saw Princess Relena in the nude. The thought made him feel oddly queasy. The princess, as mentioned before was considered a beauty and superficial males said that they fell in love at just the sight of her clothed, and not the eyeful Quatre had apparently gotten. Does he…?

Trowa mentally shook his head. Quatre didn't seem to hold her in any particular regard other than perhaps friendship, and even if he didn't, he probably wouldn't act on it because of Heero. That guy certainly wouldn't be too happy if he found out he liked her, he thought, reassuring himself a bit. But hearing it still made him feel a jealousy that he never had before. Quatre looked over at him suddenly, perhaps sensing what he felt, and Trowa could see a strange hurt in his eyes, though he couldn't imagine why.

Before Trowa could decide whether he should ask what was wrong, a flurry of footsteps was heard outside the hut. For a moment, he thought a herd of stampeding elephants was coming.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just time for dinner," Relena spoke up, noticing his alarm. "We have to go outside to eat, because that's where the fire is. It's a little crowded, but you get used to it. And the food is pretty good for cooked stuff. You can meet the king and all our friends." Without a chance to digest all that, Trowa found himself herded (more like carried) back into the night.

Trowa was seated on a log a little ways away from the fire where he could see everyone around him. He'd never seen so many humans in his life. Not human, Avians, he corrected himself. These people aren't mortals any more than I am. Relena stood next to him, balancing on her toes (which he admired though he thought it was insane) as if she were looking for someone, while Heero and Quatre were talking quietly on the other side of her. He could only hear snippets of the conversation, but he got the impression that Heero was telling him what had happened while he was away.

"Duo! Hilde! Over here!" The princess shouted suddenly, waving her hands so the people she was addressing could see her. A young couple waved and came over to them. The woman was short and petite, with short dark hair (She looks like a tiny version of Noin, Trowa thought, no wonder Relena likes her.), cute, though not a beauty. The man was also good-looking, but odd; his brown hair was tied in a braid that went down past his waist, and he was dressed all in black, except for a funny white collar. Despite his outfit, both of them were grinning cheerfully.

"Quatre, you're back!" The man, who he assumed was Duo, greeted Quatre with a slap on the back that would've knocked Trowa off his already unsteady feet. "How's Dorothy?" he added with a wink.

Quatre made a face at him. "She should be fine, better than normal in personality, in fact. But I'll tell you about that later, though," he said, in response to the question in Duo's eyes. That satisfied him for the moment, and now the energetic youth turned to Trowa.

"Who are you?" he blurted out, his curiosity overcoming his propriety. Trowa thought for a moment that he should've been a cat instead of a bird.

"This is my friend Trowa," Princess Relena explained. "My brother sent him out looking for me, so Quatre brought him here."

"Well, it's more complicated than that, but yeah," Trowa corrected her, reaching out to shake the hand Duo had offered him.

"Ah, I see." A mischievous glint shone in Duo's eye, and Trowa couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. "Well, nice to meet you, buddy," he said with a grin. Quatre shot him a warning glance, which only heightened Trowa's own curiosity.

"Is King Treize dining here tonight?" The former seagull asked, changing the subject from some unspoken topic Trowa wasn't sure of.

The alleged vulture scratched his head like a confused monkey. "Yeah, I think so, why do you ask?"

"Because I want to introduce Trowa to the Princess Mariemaia. He's from her kingdom in the ocean."

"Really? Cool!" Hilde bubbled excitedly. "And I thought merpeople were just fairy tales, now I know three! Well, technically two, Mariemaia's only part mermaid, and she looks all human, but still, this is awesome!"

Trowa smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'll be glad to tell you all you like about us," he said graciously.

"Hey! You better not be flirting with my girl," Duo said warningly, putting his arm around her shoulders. But his eyes laughed, so Trowa figured that he was just kidding.

Before Trowa could think of a response worthy of this amusing man (He liked him already, which was odd for the normally antisocial merman.), the people all fell silent. A man and a woman walked out of the largest hut, followed by a young, redheaded girl. The man was tall and regal, in a shirt and breeches covered with a cloak of brown, black and white feathers. She had soft brown hair and a kind face (Though Heero told him later that that was just one of her personalities) and wore an elegant, but light, blue cotton dress. The people knelt respectfully when they entered, the bubbly child waving happily as she shouted out the names of children she knew. Quatre helped Trowa get his legs in the correct position.

"King Treize and his consort Lady Une," he explained quietly. "And that's Mariemaia. She's been with us for a year. She just up and decided to go search for her father one day, and she found Treize. I don't know exactly how her parents met, but the king may tell you, if he likes."

Trowa nodded, though he didn't think that was likely. There was something intimidating about the man, though he seemed loved by his people. Especially when his eyes fell on Trowa. The merman had a nagging feeling the king didn't like him very much.

Treize approached their group first. "It's good to see you have returned home safely. I heard you had some trouble with my cousin," he addressed Quatre.

"Rumor travels fast. A bit, yes, but it worked out, your highness," he reassured him.

Dorothy's cousin? Trowa looked him over. There wasn't much of a resemblance, though their eyebrows were almost the same, except for the fact that his were much less noticeable and not as menacing.

"Good." The man looked incredibly relieved. Trowa was to learn later that, though Treize loved his cousin dearly (and she returned him admiration and respect, if not love), she also drove him crazy.

As Treize and Quatre talked with Heero and Duo about their adventures, and Lady Une chatted amiably with Princess Relena and Hilde, the young princess was staring at him, her eyes wide.

"You're a merman, aren't you?" she asked softly, so that her father wouldn't hear. Since their reunion, he got upset when she would talk about the ocean and her old home, or see anyone associated with it. It seemed a miracle that Relena had been accepted by him so quickly (Though the fact that she wanted to be a human probably had something to do with that.).

"Yes," he replied; looking around to make sure no one was listening. Quatre caught his eye, but said nothing to them.

"Wow," she exclaimed in a whisper, and that was the end of it for the moment, as Treize finally turned his attention to Trowa.

"Quatre told me what you did for him, and what you were trying to do for Miss Relena. We owe you our gratitude and you are welcome in our home." His tone was diplomatic, but he eyed the merman warily. He would have to talk with Mariemaia later, Trowa decided.

"I thank you, your highness," he responded, shooting Quatre a grateful look.

"Quatre, may he stay with you while he is here?" the king asked, not commanded. "We don't want him to have to stay with Heero and Relena while they're on their honeymoon. It would be quite uncomfortable."

Quatre nodded, though he seemed somewhat uncomfortable himself. "Of course, your highness."

"Good," he said, and with that, his gaze softened a bit. "If I may put in a request, provided that your journey has not tired you, we'd like you to play for us. We've all missed your music."

Trowa grinned inwardly. Heero had been right; Quatre couldn't be an average musician if the king was asking for him.

"Oh, yes!" Mariemaia cried, clapping her hands in delight. If her father had been trying to keep her mind off Trowa, he had the right idea. "It's been so quiet without you," she added, her eyes sparkling with affection. It appeared that Dorothy was not the only one around who had a thing for Quatre. Competition is fierce here. The thought floated into Trowa's head and left him wondering where that had come from.

He didn't get a chance to sort it out, as the princess, the Sank Kingdom one, suddenly said, "Trowa, you play the flute, don't you? You and Quatre can play a duet. He plays beautifully," she told the monarchs. "I'll go get the instruments." After that rapid speech, the princess stood, curtsied, and scurried off down to the beach until she was out of sight. Trowa watched her run enviously, but with admiration.

"Wow, she got really good at this," he said to himself.

"Well, she's been practicing for half a month," Heero explained.

"Plus, she has extra motivation to send her running this time," Duo added, the naughty grin still on his face.

"Conspirators," Quatre muttered, giving him a look. Matchmakers, really, would've been the better word; if Trowa had been thinking sensibly, but at that point, he felt like everyone except Quatre was plotting against him, not maliciously, but still plotting against him.

"Oh, Duo, stop teasing the poor man," Hilde scolded from her place on the floor where she had started building a fire. But her smile told him that she didn't completely disapprove of what he was doing; though no one else could see it.

Relena skipped back to them in the next ten minutes or so, a violin and bow in one hand, a wooden flute in the other, which she distributed to Trowa and Quatre respectively. "Play!" she demanded, quite the authoritative princess when she wanted to be.

"Play what? We don't have any music," Trowa reminded her. "And I doubt that we know any of the same songs."

Quatre shrugged. "Then we'll just have to teach each other some new ones. I'll go first, you just follow along when you feel ready." He put the instrument under his chin and started playing a cheerful melody. Trowa tapped his feet along to the beat (another use for them) and then joined in, improvising on the song Quatre had begun. The other boy stopped himself to listen for a moment, before coming back. The two switched back and forth, complimenting each other perfectly. They ended in sync, and the whole town erupted into applause.

"Bravo," the queen said, "that was lovely!"

Treize chuckled. "Well, if you ever want to live here, I think you'll be welcome."

"Ooh, will you?" Mariemaia pleaded. "It'd be so much fun if you stayed here." It appeared her affections had shifted some in the past few minutes.

"I'm afraid not, princess," Trowa shook his head. "If I'm to restore our kingdom," he slipped with that "our", "I must return to the ocean."

"Oh, darn it!" she pouted. Her stepmother patted her shoulder.

"Now dear, he can always come back and visit," the queen said kindly. "But let's enjoy him now while we have him. Play us another song, please."

Trowa did as she asked, in the hope of cheering his distressed princess (technically his queen), playing a song that Relena recognized right away.

"I just love that musical ," she sighed happily, while her future husband groaned. Trowa didn't stop; quite absorbed in the music, though his eyes smiled when he heard a violin join in behind him. They continued to play, song after song, throughout the night, much to the delight of all who heard them.

"Wait a second," Trowa panted, nearly collapsing on the ground. "I need to stop for a minute."

"Are you all right?" Quatre asked, his forehead crinkled with worry.

"Yeah, I just need a quick rest," he reassured him. Quatre helped him sit and he took a sip from the canteen Relena had sent with them for the trip to Quatre's home. It was fresh water, and tasted funny to a person who was used to salt, but it refreshed him. He had refused to let Quatre help him, preferring to walk on his own now that he had almost gotten the hang of it.

"We're almost there," Quatre said, pointing up the hill they were on (It figured he didn't live on flat land like everyone else.). Trowa could see a small log cabin at the top. "I think you'll like it; although the climb is a doozy, the view is worth it."

"I'm sure I will," Trowa said, smiling at him warmly. He sniffed the air. "Something certainly smells familiar, in a good way, I mean. What is it?"

Quatre grinned secretively. "You'll see when we get there. Ready?" He offered the landlocked fish a hand up. Trowa pulled himself to his feet.

"Thanks," he said. His palm felt suddenly sweaty, though it hadn't for a second ago.

"No problem," Quatre replied casually. He suddenly realized that they were still holding hands and pulled his hand back. "Let's go. Race you to the top!" He sped up the hill, leaving Trowa confused and wondering what the heck had just happened.

"Here we are," Quatre sang out, apparently recovered from his brief mental breakdown. Trowa gasped. Stretched out before him was the ocean, a black mass within the darkness. He could see the shadow of a tall spiral tower in the distance. "That's where Dorothy lives," Quatre said, pointing at it. "She doesn't like to associate with the rest of us, so she built that there. You think walking up here was a pain, you should go up those stairs.

"What are stairs?" Trowa asked, his eyes not leaving the water. "I can see why you told me I'd like this."

"Hmm," Quatre murmured contentedly. "I could look at it forever. I can't live without seeing the ocean. I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world, isn't it?" Trowa nodded in agreement. Completely unconsciously, the two young men had edged closer to each other until they were almost touching. "But it may be that I think so because I'm a seagull," he added, somewhat spoiling the mood his first words had created. "I share some qualities with fish, but I'm not one. I'm just a human who happens to turn into a bird who likes the water." There seemed to be an underlying, wistful meaning behind his words, though Trowa paid no attention to it.

He pushed open the door. "Welcome to my home. It's really small," He said apologetically, "but it will have to do."

"No, it's fine," Trowa said, looking it over. Though it wasn't very big, it was awfully cozy, with a bearskin rug (that someone had given Quatre as a gift) and a twin-sized bed covered with woolen blankets, a thick quilt and feather stuffed pillows. "I like it," he said truthfully. He basked in the simplicity of it, though there seemed to be something missing.

"It must be lonely, living up here all by yourself," he commented without thinking.

Quatre shrugged. "A little, but I can handle it. And I visit the village a lot. It does get really cold here, though, especially at night," he added meaningfully.

"I can imagine," Trowa responded, oblivious to what the not so innocent after all youth was possibly suggesting.

"Sit, you must be tired. I'm sorry I don't have chairs," he said, motioning for Trowa to take a seat on the bed. He looked at it skeptically (It seemed awfully high.) and stayed put where he was. Quatre lit a candle that was on the windowsill, and dove under the bed, looking for something.

"I have to go somewhere in the morning, so sleep late okay? -Where on earth is my soap? - Duo will come here to bring you to the wedding in the afternoon, all right, and I'll meet you there."

Trowa nodded, though he couldn't see him, trying not to laugh at the funny picture Quatre made, half of his body sticking out, the other half covered. And trying not to blush from the view.

"What?" Quatre asked, emerging from the bed triumphantly, holding a bar of some hard white substance that had a picture of a dove on it (Apparently the Avians created that product). Trowa hid his face behind his hand.

"Nothing," he said through his muffled laughter. Quatre approached him, worriedly. Though his powers were pretty powerful, he'd warn them out that day, and that might have been the reason that he was getting mixed signals. Or, it could be that human beings are thick and once they get set on an idea, they believe it, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. "What's the matter? Are you upset about the wedding?"

Trowa looked up at him in surprise, the laughter knocked out of him. "No, why would I be?"

"Oh, well, I just thought that-" He mumbled something incoherently.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Well, it's just, I was worried that maybe you- that you were in love with Relena," he blurted out.

Trowa cracked up again, one of those rare occasions when he actually did so. "Where on earth would you get that idea?"

Quatre looked slightly hurt by his laughter. "Well, I heard you and your sister talking that one time-"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "That was just Cathy's delusions," he explained, sobering quickly. "I never told her about Middie, remember?"

"Yes, I know that," Quatre said defensively. "But you could've loved Relena too, and just been in denial about it. You might have repressed your feelings out of loyalty to Middie. If you want to, there's still time. She could change her mind. I'm sure that if you talk to Relena…"

Trowa put up a hand to stop him. "No, no, and no. I told you, I'll never fall in love with another woman again."

Quatre nodded. "I know. But I was afraid that you… I was wondering if…" He stumbled over his words and murmured something under his breath that Trowa couldn't hear.

"What was that?" Trowa complained, "Why is it that even when you speak my language I can't understand you?"

"I said," he repeated nervously, "Even though you said you'd never fall in love with a woman, would you- would you ever fall in love with another man?"

Trowa's jaw dropped. And suddenly, all the pieces fit together like a puzzle: the weird thoughts, the jealousy that he felt when Quatre was around Dorothy and Relena, and Quatre's own strange habits. So that's what this was all about, he said to himself. It made perfect sense now. "Well, I never really thought about it before," he began.

Quatre shook his head. "Forget I said anything. That was stupid of me." He turned away to gather some of his clothing.

Trowa frowned. He wasn't letting him get off easy. He grabbed his wrist, with more force than he meant to, and spun him around. "But," he continued, making sure Quatre (who was frozen in shock at that point) was listening, "I think I already have."
"Wha-" Quatre began, but he was cut off when Trowa's lips pressed firmly against his. He gradually relaxed and returned the sign of affection for a moment before pulling away.

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked, afraid he'd been mistaken after all. "I thought you…"

"Yes, yes, but-" He held up the soap and the clothes, grinning awkwardly (though Trowa would've preferred the word "adorably"). "I've been trapped in my bird form for so long, that I haven't bathed in days. I'll be right back in a second, okay? Promise."

He hurried out the door, Trowa staring after him. And though it seemed a long time to the waiting, hormone-driven young man (who strangely wasn't turned off by that revelation), he really was in and out very quickly, and returned nearly out of breath, his hair wet and flat against his head. When he entered, Quatre finally realized something that he'd been too flustered to notice before.

"You're still standing? I told you to sit down an hour ago," he exaggerated.

Trowa shrugged sheepishly. "It's awfully high. I couldn't get up there. These new body parts confuse me. I don't know what half of them are used for."

Quatre said something unintelligible as he pulled down the covers so that they could finally get to sleep.

"Now what did you say?" he asked, slightly exasperated.
"I said, 'I'll teach you what they're used for,'" he repeated, blushing furiously. "If anyone asks, don't tell them I said that." He helped Trowa into the bed and, blowing out the candle, curled up next to him under the covers.

To be concluded in the next chapter…

The musical that has been referred to repeatedly in this fic, is yes, a (made-up) theatrical version of Disney's The Little Mermaid.