Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing. /salute War Room

I'd really like to thank all the people who read this. There are many reasons I'm writing this, and many reasons I was never going to post it. Thank you all for making me not regret being persuaded to put it out there. I hope you enjoy this instalment.

Delusions of Normalcy

Waiting

"What did they want, Duo?" That expression wasn't friendly and Duo gulped, before he slowly let a grin spread over his face.

"Whoa, there, Heero. Had me almost scared for a moment." Frantically Duo ran everything that had gone on in the meeting through his mind, finding what he could and couldn't say to his comrades without actually lying.

Heero wasn't being patient, though. Taking a step closer, he entered Duo's personal space, causing the violet-eyed teen to shudder and bite down on reflexes. "What. Did. They. Want. Duo?"

"Hell, Heero, give me some space. I got a lecture, a fucking long one: on how to behave here, on what not to do, on how I am not allowed to cause disruptions or distract other students, or blow up classrooms. Which really sucks. I also got told I am not allowed to intimidate people, and have to remember that we are all going to be looked up to or something despite our ages That I have to try and keep you and Chang from scaring the shit out of the other cadets with a simple look." Taking in a deep breath Duo managed to glare at Heero, who was still just short of pinning Duo to the wall. "Is that okay, your grumpiness?" Running over everything in his mind, Duo suppressed a sigh of relief. He had not lied once.

Grunting a little, Heero turned and walked into the sparsely furnished living area. Duo let out another breath, his senses tingling from the invasion of his personal space. Reactions that would have lashed out at anyone else made him realise, that in a few different ways, he trusted these four other men more than he had trusted almost anyone ever.

"Where are the others?" Duo asked as he moved over to stand next to the large window, giving him a complete view of the unit and the ten doors leading off the main living and kitchen area.

"They have gone to acquire food." Heero's face grimaced. "I chose to wait here for you, thinking you might…knock." A slight smile tugged at his lips, and he looked over at Duo. "Be happy that we have a 'nuke' machine as you call it, and an oven, as well as a rather large freezing section to the fridge. I think the food will consist largely of ready meals of the frozen variety, since we all know now to remove the plastic before putting it in the oven."

Gaping, Duo looked at Heero in a slightly different light. "Sheesh, Heero, give me a heart attack. But your personality is starting to come through nicely. I knew it was hidden there somewhere… what's brought on the change?"

A slightly pained look crossed Heero's face, and the Japanese teen looked at his hands. "Well… I don't have, missions… it's not war anymore. It is logical that there is more to me, I just need to… dig it out as you would say."

"Yeah, and if anyone can find you, Heero, it's you. Might take a while, though." Duo's eyes were twinkling, previous discomfort momentarily forgotten. Falling into reverie he was a little startled when Heero spoke again, from a little closer.

"Duo?" The voice was tentative.

"Yeah, Heero," Duo resisted the automatic urge that he had to move away and gain himself some more space.

"You said…" Heero took a breath. It was hard to speak like this, he felt uncertain. "A long time ago, you said you were my friend, that you were the only one I had right then." Another deep breath that shook a little. "Did you mean it? Are we still…I mean… are you still?"

Duo was shocked, and not exactly sure how to deal with Heero's sudden vulnerability. "Um well, I meant it back then… I haven't changed my mind… so yeah, I guess I am…you are still … you know?

A small smile played over Heero's lips. "Thank you. I thought what you said the other day meant that you had changed your mind."

Duo couldn't have been more shocked, but tried valiantly not to show it. "Heh. No worries, Heero. S'okay. I'll tell you if you piss me off enough to not be your friend anymore."

Heero smiled tightly. "I value that. I'm not sure of the friend thing, but I can only try, Duo. If you want." His offer seemed hesitant, and there was no way that Duo thought it would be healthy for the Japanese teen to go back into that shell now that he had begun to crawl out of it a little bit.

"Yeah, Heero. I want. People you trust are hard to find. Real friends even harder… lets work towards that, since I trust you already, okay?"

Heero nodded and held out his hand awkwardly. Duo's eyes widened as he realised the significance of the gesture. Solemnly he shook the chocolate haired boy's hand.

As they let go, Duo heard noises in the hallway outside and a grin spread across his face. "No telling people I was soppy though. Else I'll tell them you're secretly human."

Heero actually laughed. "Deal," he said.

By the time the others came through the door, Heero and Duo were no where near each other, and Duo bounded across to help them unpack, chattering away at the top of his voice. He was glad that Heero had had something else on his mind and hadn't pushed him too much to answer the query of why Une had kept him in the office.

#*#

The smoke alarm just wouldn't stop. At least it wouldn't stop until Heero aimed at, and shot it. The shouted argument between Duo and Quatre stopped immediately and the loud beeping was gone… or wait…was it? Heero's head was pounding.

The peace didn't last for long.

"Come off it, Quatre. It makes sense."

"It does not, Duo. The instructions are there for a reason."

"How was I supposed to know that 225 degrees for 40 minutes wouldn't do the same as 150 for 60? It's a logical mathematical equation!"

"Maxwell. How would your turbos react if you turned them on overdrive for a third of the time you would normally use them."

Duo blinked. "Well, I didn't think of it in the means of fricking engine mechanics did I?"

Quatre sighed. "Can you get it off the shelf, Trowa?"

"I'm trying."

Duo grumbled. "Its not like we can't just use another shelf. I mean hello, we have three and a spare."

"Duo, that's not the damn point!" Quatre raised his voice again.

Heero had had enough. Calmly drawing a second gun he walked over to the kitchen and pointed a gun at each of his comrades' heads. "Be. Quiet!"

Duo gulped, and Quatre looked like he was going to faint.

"I have a headache. I do not like headaches. They make me cranky. The guns are not cocked; I just wanted to make a point. But they will be, if you yell again." Pocketing the guns in the blissful silence, Heero returned to the living area and began picking up the pieces of the broken smoke alarm.

"Um, need help getting that off the shelf, Trowa?" Duo's voice was soft.

"It's okay. Duo. I think its pretty much… well…" He frowned. "…fused. Sorry, can't think of another way to describe it."

"Oops…" A slightly forlorn look spread across Duo's face. "Guess we really need a little help with this crap, hey?"

Quatre snorted. "You could say that. And I have to admit, your idea did have logic."

"Yeah, heh, I think I'll leave the, um …cooking to you guys for tonight. I'm going to go and get my shit unpacked." Duo straightened and walked to his room, head down and face a little pinched. He wasn't really feeling too good. Probably came from being that stressed that there were the beginnings of a stress headache. "Shit, just what I need." He murmured as he walked passed Heero, who looked up from what he was reading with a curious expression on his face.

Walking into the room that he was glad to see the others had let him keep after all, Duo plopped onto the bed. It was a comfortable bed. The sheets were a little too starched and stiff for his liking, but that wouldn't last long. His preference was for black, but the blue sheets would suffice until he could get out and manage to get some supplies for himself. Idly he wondered, as he unpacked his few belongings, if they had any access to funds. He had a little himself, hidden away, that he could access, but really didn't feel like using it. Realising that there were a lot of questions that they had not asked, he came to the conclusion that he would have to remedy that. They needed to know just what they could do to the apartments, rooms, and just what they were supposed to live off.

Picking up the package on his pillow, he ripped it open. As the contents fell onto the bed, he realised that his headache had gone, and that his schedule had been sent over to him. His face fell as he read through the schedule and realised that they had been serious in saying that they would have a hefty one. His eyes narrowed, and he burst out of his room.

"No fucking way! They have to be kidding." Four faces turned to look up at the longhaired man, from where they were studying their own timetables. "I don't know why they warned me about causing trouble, I'm not going to have enough energy to move after all this shit." Letting himself fall onto the dreadfully cream couch, he pouted at his printout. "If any of you have less than seven hours worth of special training two interviews and a doctors appointment I am going to cry Judas."

"That reference has no relevance, Maxwell." Wufei was scowling at his own timetable.

"I guess this is what we get for missing out on going to school for most of our lives." Trowa's voice had a slight hint of humour in it.

Quatre chuckled. "Yeah, we should look at it this way. At least we're not considered hunted war criminals."

Duo blinked. "If that was a joke, Quatre, it was in really bad taste." And he threw one of the rather stiff cushions at the blonde, who managed to duck and avoid it only because he fell off the couch. Duo started laughing and was only saved from Quatre's wrath by the ding of the oven bell.

"What's for dinner?"

"Pizza." Trowa said as he stood up to go and get the food.

"Again?" Duo looked puzzled. He knew he loved pizza but had thought no one else did.

"Yeah. It's one of the few things we can just put in the oven and cook without causing any permanent damage." Quatre looked a little perturbed and Duo had to laugh. Pizza every night would be fine by him.

#*#

The next day dawned prettily and Duo sat at his window looking out over the Preventers Headquarters Grounds that spanned a very large distance. He needed fresh air. He hated being couped up. It was very early and he decided he needed a little strength and concentration in order to focus on the day at hand.

Silently, he padded out of his room, through the unit, and up to the roof. Tea in hand, he let the wind wash over him. There was nothing like earth for the elements; their unpredictability calmed him, as he tried to ignore the other things that he didn't particularly like about being on the natural planet. Setting his mug down, Duo breathed in, slowly calming his entire body, brain, and involuntary functions, until it was only him and what he was focusing on. Muscles relaxed, it was much easier to move himself into the positions he was aiming for.

It was something he had been doing for years, progressing until it was a type of Yoga from what he could gather. But then, a thief couldn't be successful if he couldn't be silent and move with the shadows. It was his secret that assisted him in being so good at infiltration, and it was part of him, that he wasn't really planning on sharing with anyone else. He moved through the exercises that had become a part of him.

They had been developed out of need for specific muscles to be maintained. If he had seen someone else execute a move or exercise, and figured that he could do with those muscles being limber as well, his routine was adapted. He calmed himself, readying his mind to take in the days and months that were ahead of him; coming to peace with the decision he had made yesterday. There was no regret, because there was no way that Duo was going to let anyone destroy what he had worked so hard to achieve.

The apartment was already alive with the others when he ventured back down shortly after seven in the morning. He moved quickly to wash his mug out and pour himself some coffee. Leaning against the kitchen divider, he observed his roommates as they went through their own morning exercises.

Heero was stretching by the window. Quatre was desperately looking for something to pull over the milky expanse of his chest that was currently bare. Trowa was fighting with his hair and, as usual, it was shortly before he would resign himself to it falling the way it always fell regardless of whether he wanted it to or not.

Wufei was in the far corner, away from the others, practicing his Kata. Although Duo had never seen the man practice it during the war, he didn't doubt that he had. Those movements and skills were far too well honed for Wufei not to have. Shrugging his shoulders, Duo just watched the others, taking in the sense and level of security he felt around them. While it wasn't quite friendship in all cases, it was trust. He couldn't help think that if even Heero was willing to become a friend, then the others couldn't be that far behind. Maybe everything would turn out for the best.

Heero turned around, a scowl on his face. "This is frustrating and I'm getting annoyed."

Or, thought Duo, maybe not.

"What's wrong, Heero?" Everyone looked at the ex-thief, not really having noticed him there before.

"This, Duo!" And Heero pointed out the window to the parking places below. "There are people…arriving! Une said this would not happen until Sunday night. How can her information be so inaccurate?"

Suppressing a laugh, Duo moved forward to peer out of the window. Heero was indeed right. There were young people getting out of cars and making there way into the lobby of the apartment buildings. Cursing mildly under his breath, Duo noticed people making their way over from the main building, and was fairly certain that Une and Gray would be amongst them. Skulling what was left of his coffee, Duo deposited the mug on the sink, and pushed his hands in his pockets. "Settle, Heero. They won't be living in the same apartment as us. I'm going to go and take a look around." Somehow those words visibly relaxed the others in the room, who turned to continue what it was they had been doing. Heero was the only one who nodded his head at Duo, before turning back to the window.

Smile spreading across his face, Duo left the apartment just as all hell broke loose.

"Oh, stuff it. Stupid frigging hair never does what it should."

"Great!" A happy exclamation issued from Quatre as he held up a shirt in triumph and bounced a little. "Finally…"

Wufei grunted and growled. "It is impossible to concentrate with this infernal racket going on." A door slammed, probably Wufei's bedroom door.

Letting the door click closed softly behind him, Duo couldn't help the smile grow as he decided to run down the stairs instead of taking the lift.

Not even out of breath when he arrived, Duo propped himself up against the wall and watched the proceedings with interest from the shadows. Une had approached the group, her usual demeanour showing and very little change to it once she had asked the question that was obvious, namely: What are you doing here a day early?

Curious as a cat, Duo slunk his way closer, not being as careful as he would usually, fairly sure that Une would pick up that he was there. Her eyes wandered briefly in Duo's direction and she bit down a smile. She should have known that very little would escape them, and she let Duo listen to the explanation.

"Sorry, Director. Our shuttles were mixed up and arrived a day early. The flight plans had already been proven and it would have taken forty-eight hours to get others approved. We would have been late had we taken those. We tried to radio ahead, but the comms system didn't seem to work properly. Please excuse our presumption, but we knew there were accommodations here for us, and we didn't think that it would be too much of an inconvenience to you."

The young man finished talking. Duo barely managed to suppress a laugh at the expectant look on his face.

Lady Une observed the young man in front of her. "It is not me that you should be worried about inconveniencing." Pausing she looked directly at Duo. "Come out, Maxwell. I know you've probably heard every word so far."

Strolling out, Duo's face was shadowed as he mock bowed in front of her. Stopping a short distance from the group of men, Duo simply nodded in their direction. "Naaah, Une, we're not inconvenienced." He had decided to do away with any formalities. Glancing at the men as he spoke. "Just stay out of Heero's way. He is a little, shall we say, highly strung. Wouldn't want you to get knee capped by accident." A smile spread across his face. "But seriously, he's worse than his bite. One day soon, he may even grow a personality. Not sure what floor you're on, but we're in this building on the tenth. Just so you know… just in case." His smile was disarming, and despite the warning he was giving the tone discharged the tense atmosphere.

"Thank you, Duo…" Une was still trying to figure out if she should be flattered or not that Duo has chosen to give out so much information.

"No probs, Lady! Oh, by the way, we need to chat. Got time around ten? Great! See you at our place!" Turning to leave, Duo grinned back over his shoulder. "Oh … I'd say the food here sucks, but since I haven't had the displeasure yet, I'm sure you'll find out on your own." Absently waving his hand he headed inside the building and made his way up to the apartment.

The men left standing, looked after the youth quizzically, certain that he was far younger than them, but it was obvious that he was well acquainted with the director.

"Um, Director, who is that?"

Une smiled a tight smile. "That, Mr Davies, is someone that you will be seeing a lot more of. Now, let us see about your accommodations. I have no idea where the housemaster placed you, but the rooms for all of you are ready so placing the twenty-five of you won't be a problem. Each apartment block has a list in the foyer, so it should be easy enough. I'll hand out the keys once you have it figured out." Idly she was wondering what it was that the ex-Gundam Pilots needed to speak to her about.

#*#

Arriving at the apartment again, Duo walked in to find it nothing like he had left it. Wufei had very obviously locked himself in his bedroom. Quatre was looking down his shirtfront, a little dismayed at the very obvious tea stain that found itself there. Heero was still scowling out of the window, and Trowa was doing his best to glare at the bang obscuring half his face.

Turning to look at Duo, Trowa grimaced. "Should I just cut the damn thing Duo?"

"What?" Duo was truly shocked. "Cutting hair is sacrilegious…"

Wufei's door opened and his head poked out. "You have no religion, you heathen." And it slammed shut again.

"I do so! It's my hair! Anyway, no way, Trowa. That hair is your… your… well… it defines you. All of our hairstyles define us. Heero's gives away that he is really confused under all of that rough exterior." Heero chose to scowl more. "Quatre's lets us know just how sweet he can be by having an extremely touchable hairstyle. Yours makes us remember there are sides to you that we don't see often, and Chang's just means he is stiff and unbendable…because having a stick up your ass will do that to you!" Although Duo finished it off rather brightly, an indignant snort could be heard from Wufei's bedroom.

"I heard that, Maxwell."

"You were meant to, Chang!"

"Anyway, don't cut it, Trowa. Just get even. Oh, wait, that's something you say to enemies…and well since your hair is attached to your head I guess it isn't an enemy."

Quatre was looking at him incredulously. "How do you do it, Duo?"

"Do what?" Duo wasn't quite sure where this was leading to and was therefore being careful.

"I mean, I can talk, and I can talk quite well, but I eventually need a breath in there somewhere. You just seem to keep going and going…"

"Like the Energizer bunny." Heero's quiet observation came at exactly the right moment to drop neatly into the break in conversation as Quatre was trying to think of an analogy.

"A what?" Quatre looked a little confused.

Startled that he had actually said that out loud, Heero looked a little uncomfortable at first. "It's an old television advertisement. There was this bunny rabbit with a drum, that wouldn't stop, and it kept going and going because it had an Energizer battery." Shrugging his shoulders he turned to the window again. "Duo just reminds me of it, because he never stops, talking or otherwise."

Duo had a slack look on his face, because that was an analogy that he would never have expected Heero to come up with. Yet here he was standing and listening to it. "Well! Now your asking me if my battery had run out makes sense to me."

A smirk spread across Heero's face as he watched whatever it was that he was watching. "I thought you would already know that reference. I'll clarify myself a little better next time."

Duo just shrugged and walked over to where Heero was, keeping space between himself and the other pilot so as to not startle any part of Heero into action. "What are you looking at so intently?"

Gesturing out of the window, Heero vaguely included the entire compound. "That…"

"I don't understand, Heero." Duo was honestly trying to puzzle it out. Hs joker's attitude was gone for the moment.

"The… lack of explosions, screaming, military enforcement… the greenery, upright buildings. The things that we helped achieve, Duo. We did do that, did we not?" It was almost as if Heero was pleading for it to be the case, waiting for Duo to reassure him, that this was what life was supposed to be like.

"Yeah, in a way we did, Heero."

Tension seemed to leak from Heero's body, leaving him looking a little more relaxed than Duo had ever seen him. "No more senseless killing, Duo?"

"No more senseless killing, Heero. Not anymore. We won the war, it's over and I for one plan on making sure that it stays over."

Heero looked at him, almost through him, as if he could see something that other people couldn't see, and it made Duo shiver. "We will all make sure of that Duo. No one is going to go through that again. We will not let it."

And for some reason, that made Duo feel just that little bit better, that little bit stronger and that little bit more at ease for making the decision that he had made the previous day. So he just stood with Heero at the window, watching the grounds below as the activity of the day started to get underway.

Of course that would have just been a little too perfect right then. It was no surprise that a knock sounded at the door, sending all five ex-pilots onto alert mode at once.

Duo let out a laugh. "Oh forgot to tell you, didn't I? I invited Une to our apartment."

Wufei's door flew open. "You did what, Maxwell?"

"Oh, can it, Chang. I invited Une to our apartment because there are some questions that I think we forgot to ask her, and I didn't particularly feel like going to her office and being on her turf yet again."

Seeing the looks directed his way he glared right back at them.

"Hell." He made his way over to the door to open it. It's not like we have any thing to hide, or any bodies in the cellars." Pausing before he opened the door he considered that. "Do we even have a cellar? I mean, hmmm, that's a good question." Swinging the door open, it was obvious that Une had just been about to knock again.

Ignoring that fact, Duo smiled brightly. "Do we have a cellar, Une?" He motioned her inside, and laughed at her confused look.

"A cellar, Duo?"

"Yeah, you know. Dank, dusty, that place you keep wine… a cellar?"

"Why would you want a cellar, Duo? Do you drink?"

"Naaa, Une. Alcohol dulls the senses, don't you know. No, I wanted to know where we hide the corpses."

Une looked shocked. "Corpses?" She almost choked it out and wondered if maybe she should go and check on the students who had just arrived.

"Give me a break! Will someone on this planet get a bloody sense of humour before I fall into a premature grave?" Duo threw his hands up dramatically, and flopped himself down on the singular lounge chair.

Une managed a tight smile. "I believe that your brand of humour takes a little getting used to, Duo. Anyway, you said you had some questions?"

"Oh, yeah. What do we do for money?"

Lady sighed. "I am taking it that you only got as far as your timetables, almost had a coronary, and then decided not to look any further. If you had looked further, you would have seen that there are bank account details in there, as well as your income information. The Preventers is an organization that is run on government, private and donated funds, as well as those that pay their own tuition once they have been accepted here. The organization has established something akin to scholarships. To be honest, it was the only way that we could get you into the programme and leave you a few benefits. After everything is paid for, there is, of course, surplus. It is from this surplus that you will be paid. It isn't a huge amount as you are not yet full agents, but it will provide you with some pocket money. Other students will be able to get part-time employment. We understand that this would be difficult for you, given your history. Your part time work will come into being when we require your assistance. You already have a little money in your accounts, and your payments will be every two weeks."

She looked over them and realized that they had all been listening intently. That meant, she figured, that they had all probably been pissed off enough with their timetables that they had not thought to look any further. "That answer the question?"

"Definitely, Lady Une." Quatre looked a little thoughtful, but then Une thought that she probably couldn't really blame him at all. It was a lot to take in at once, though considering that they were Gundam Pilots, they should really be okay with that amount of information. Perhaps that meant that Quatre had something else on his mind.

"But I have another question."

"Yes, Duo?"

"These are our rooms yes?"

"For the duration of your stay, yes." Une was eyeing Duo intently, curious as to what he was thinking.

"Soooo, if they're our rooms, are we allowed to decorate them the way that we want?"

"Depends on what you mean by the way that you want, Duo." Une answered cautiously.

"I promise not to disturb the structural integrity of the building, and not to, um … explode anything. That good enough?"

She thought about it. It was very likely that this was the first proper home that most of these five had ever had, and so she was reluctant in impeding anything that may cause their lives to be a little more normal. "Just don't go… overboard."

"Great! You heard that didn't you, guys? I mean, she said I could redecorate my room!" Duo jumped up and ran into his room, grabbing out the package that had had his enrolment information in it. Glancing up at Une as he pulled out the account information, his look was a little peeved. "Oh, we'll talk about this stupid schedule at a later date. Right now, I do believe the shops are still open, and I for one want my room decorated before I have to spend all my days in jails disguised as classrooms."

Quatre laughed. "Well, I have to admit. I wouldn't mind making a little difference to mine. It's so… militaristic."

Trowa had gotten up to get his jacket and details, as had Heero, and Wufei was pulling his white overcoat on. Duo as per usual, was dressed in a priest's garb, his hair tightly braided and his brain obviously distracted by ideas of what he would buy and what he would do with the things that he bought.

Une took it as the dismissal that it was, and exited the room just before the boys. Trowa locked the door behind them. Heero was glancing at the lock, frowning. "Insufficient and inefficient security. Something needs to be done about that. We will need an electronics store as well as a…" He pursed his lips.

Duo's face gleamed with understanding. "You want a locksmith's too, if I'm not mistaken, Heero. And we could probably do with one of those chips."

Heero's eyes were glowing with the thought that he would get to fiddle again. "Yes, a computer store should be on the shopping list, too."

Une just shook her head. No, they were definitely not normal teenage boys. She followed them to the lifts making sure that she didn't come too close to their personal space. Knowing the type of reaction that she herself could give, she knew theirs would be far worse. "Try not to make too much of a spectacle, please."

Duo winked cheekily. "Sure thing, mom!"

"Maxwell!" Although it was a little exasperating, he always managed to get people to smile. That was a gift that she hoped the duty that they had forced upon him wouldn't sour.

She guessed they'd just have to wait and see.

#*#

It was almost hard to keep up with him, but they managed it. Wufei, however was not graceful about managing it at all.

"The next person that leaves enough coffee for Maxwell in the mornings is going to be a head shorter. He has too much energy as it is."

"Come off it, Wufei. You don't think he's that bad at all." Trowa looked out from under his hair, a small smile on his face.

"Perhaps I do not, but he still is inordinately energetic all of the time. It's unnatural." The Chinese man shrugged as the black clad body wove itself out of the checkout line, arms full, and a smile on his face.

"Well, I've got most of the things that I need, they'll be delivered this afternoon. I just thought I would take this stuff with me now."

Wufei grunted. "Can we go now?"

"No." Heero steered his way out of that particular shop and made his way to a shop front that clearly showed electronics and computer parts. "I have shopping to do yet, Chang. The way you complain about the tea in our apartment, I would have thought you would take this opportunity to procure a variety that you yourself enjoy."

Wufei looked a little abashed. "You know…Yuy, you should speak more. Sometimes you even make sense. I will find you." With that he headed off in the opposite direction, Quatre looking after him with concern on his face.

"He needs to let some of that aggression out. It's eating him up."

"Who, Chang?" Duo pursed his lips. "Naa, Quatre. He likes the aggression, deals with it every morning from what I can tell. Give him a while. He isn't used to people, hell, I don't even think he likes people."

"Be nice, Duo."

"I try, Quatre, but sometimes I just fail abysmally." A huge grin threatened to split Duo's face as he looked at the blond.

Deigning to laugh, Quatre poked Duo. "You are incorrigible."

Barely flinching at the touch, Duo managed a laugh himself. "That's what they all say, Quatre, that's what they all say."

#*#

Having gathered all the materials that they needed, the five youths walked back into their building, only to find Duo's delivery guy waiting out the front with a rather awed look on his face.

Walking up to him, Duo smacked a hand onto his shoulder. "Hello, there. That the delivery for Maxwell?"

"Um, yeah…"

"Well, since that would be me, I'll sign, and we'll take it from here, thanks." The smile on Duo's face was sincere and the guy seemed to relax a little.

"Sure thing… sign here, please."

After signing the board, Duo waved goodbye to the delivery guy. "Trowa, can you give me a hand?"

Drolly, Trowa began to clap his hands.

Quatre lost it, and started laughing, even Heero and Wufei cracked a smile. Duo grinned like an idiot. "Oh, stop horsing around, and just help me get this crap upstairs, please."

"Oh," said the green-eyed youth, feigning innocence. "That's what you meant."

"Geez, yeah, Trowa!"

Quatre's chuckles followed them all the way up in the lift.

#*#

A couple of hours later Duo stood back and surveyed his room. He had chosen a corner room because he wanted as many windows as possible. He liked looking at the Earth's night sky. Quite satisfied with what he had accomplished, he catalogued the decorations. Black chiffon hung from the walls in waves, and each time it was fastened to the wall it was fastened with a black scythe. There were minutely sprayed Mobile suit cut outs that he had slightly modified to get to look a little like deathscythe sprayed wherever you could see the wall, blending nicely with the normal blue that the walls had been painted. Not even the windows had escaped. And blessedly, his bed had black sheets.

Happily, he ventured out into the living area, to see Wufei brewing tea with a look of concentration on his face. Heero was nowhere to be seen, so Duo assumed that he had retreated to his bedroom, and Quatre and Trowa were both reading on the couches.

"Wow, we sure are a happening group." He raised his eyes as he saw the front door open. Heero was testing the handle. It was now a locking mechanism of sorts. Obviously satisfied with what it was that he had accomplished, the former Wing pilot walked over, handing each of them a pass card.

"These are the keys for the doors now. I have the ability to replicate them should you break one. Just don't break them."

Quatre let out a sigh of relief. "Amazing how much more secure a simple lock can make you feel, isn't it?"

"It's not just a lock. No one can enter this apartment without me being alerted to it, no matter how good they are. There is no way I am living with anything less than excellent security."

Duo sighed. That was typical Heero. And Duo, as usual, was bored. He knew he might be inviting trouble, but seriously didn't care. Restless and bored were never good states of mind for him to be in, and the dash of curiosity wasn't helping any. "Anyone want to come and check out that games room with me downstairs?"

~~**~~

Chapter Five

For those that don't know, skulling is knocking back a drink very fast, or in one gulp ;)

These chapters are a little different and more difficult to write than anything else I've tackled before. The gap in posting them will therefore be longer. Probably around the ten day mark, unless I can churn them out faster.

I hope they're worth it in the end though. Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading.

~Arith