A Soldier's Romance

by Goblin Cat KC

repost; 1&2,3&4; A story of love, dreams and high explosives in outer space. COMPLETE

2. Password

A Soldier's Romance 2/3
(Dreams of Love and Violence)

Warnings: violence, angst, one gratuitous Star Wars reference only hardcore Warsies will spot and a bad pun on Heero's name

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing characters belong to Mixx Entertainment, Koichi Tokita, the SOTSU Agency, Sunrise, Kodansha and anyone I may have forgotten, not to me. I make no money off of this.

Wufei sighed as Shenlong landed on the floating rock, the impact jarring his teeth. He'd almost fallen asleep during all those boring yet delicate maneuvers to keep him from crashing. Five pilots and I'm the one who ends up digging for rocks. He spared a few seconds to stare out over the dark expanse of space and the distant stars. Even their ship seemed tiny surrounded by nothingness.

"All right, Nataku" he said, breaking the silence. "Let's get this over with."

Unimpeded by any obstacles, the ship's lights cast his long shadow across the asteroid, illuminating most of the exterior rock. As he took a step, a bright shimmer ran over the rough surface from roughly a meter in front of him to half a kilometer out.

"At least this gundanium is at the surface." He smiled humorlessly. "That cuts our time in half." He took a step back to steady Shenlong before he started the intensive work, but as he shifted his gaze, something odd flickered in the distance. That's strange, he thought to himself. Stars don't shimmer out here, and we haven't seen any other anomalies...

Disregarding the gundanium for a moment, he brought up his long-range screens and narrowed in on the spot he'd seen that tiny flash of light. He zoomed in once, then readjusted and zoomed in again. Still nothing. I know I saw something, something isn't right. I can feel it. He zoomed in one more time, focusing on an even smaller area. He blinked in shock. There were several Oz enemy suits, most of them battered and charred but definitely operable. Survivors from the explosion? How on earth...? But wait, where are they heading? He stretched Shenlong's scanners to the limit, focusing even farther ahead of the apparent survivors. Something blurry appeared, and when he cleaned the image up again...

Damn! That was fast! he gasped, startled by what he saw. He could recognize the shapes of two Oz starships surrounded by smaller ships that he could hardly make out. At the rate they were moving at, it would only be a few days before they arrived. When the first ship had been destroyed, they must have come immediately, and if that first ship had been a trap--

"This was their contingency plan," Wufei realized. "If their trap didn't work, then they'd just overwhelm us."

He looked back down at the shimmering surface of the asteroid. There wouldn't be much time to get this ore out and create the alloy, especially on their small ship, but they needed to make repairs and fast. No time to waste. With a harried sigh, he started his work, knowing that the Oz fleet might be able to see the light from his sword.

Several hours after he had put Quatre to bed, Trowa walked into the gundam hangar, silent as usual, and spotted Heero up on top of his Wing, fixated on repairing a tangled mass of wires. Heero glanced down at him for a second, then returned to the machinery.

"Are they all right?" he asked, knowing already what the answer would be. Trowa wouldn't have come in so quietly if they weren't.

"As well as can be expected," was the reply. Trowa walked along the catwalk, heading for Heavyarms. He leaped up onto the gundam's shoulder, but he didn't bother looking over the battle wounds marring the metal surface. He sat down against his gundam's neck and put his knees to his chest, hugging them close as if he was a child again. His head lowered until his hair completely masked his face.

"He's crying in his sleep," he said.

"What?" Heero halted between reconnecting wires and stared at him. Duo or Quatre? The thought of those cheerful violet eyes blighted with tears made him glare at empty space.

Fortunately Trowa didn't look up to see that glare. "Quatre...he keeps crying...and after a few minutes, he wouldn't stop thrashing around."

"Thrashing?"

"Like he was trying to fight someone off."

"Is he still fighting?"

Trowa shook his head. "I...tied him down so he couldn't move."

Heero didn't respond. He went back to fixing the wires. Trowa instead closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, perfectly balanced on his gundam. It had been such a long day, he couldn't force himself to stay awake.

I drop down into the corridor with little problem. The alarms haven't gone off, so no one knows we're here yet. I stare around my environment for a moment, just to orient myself. There really isn't any need, I only do it to be thorough, but Quatre never makes a mistake with diagrams. Quatre...

Back to the task at hand. I pull my oversized backpack around to my front and unbutton the flap. Zippers would be too loud. I'm at the start of the hallway, so I take the first explosive out of the bag. The metal package is small enough to fit into my hand, but it's incredibly dense. The bag itself weighs more than two hundred pounds. Should be more than enough to do the job. I place the explosive against the control panel. Once it goes, the chain reaction should also take out the wiring and cause even more destruction.

I press a single button on the top of the cube, which makes the red light there flash. It's armed.

I leave a flashing light at every door I pass. There are two long corridors to pass through, but finally I run out of doors. There is only one bomb left in my backpack. I pull out the radio detonator and run far from the bombs, hoping to get well out of blast range.

That's when I hear the dull hum of the engines as they power down and go offline. Duo and Quatre must have finished their mission. I turn and face the corridors of explosives, now just faint red sparks in the dark distance, and activate the detonation sequence.

The ship's red alert sounds just before my explosives ignite, meaning Wufei and Heero have killed the captain and crew. The alarms drown out the screams of dying Oz soldiers. A few survivors stagger out, but they are riddled with shrapnel. Mission accomplished. I whirl to continue back up to my mobile suit--

--and come face to face with a troop of fully armed Oz soldiers.

"Freeze, rebel scum!"

They all point their weapons toward me, and I hold still, raising my hands into the air as if in mute surrender. I think my silence unnerves them. Their leader takes a step forward and gestures erratically with his firearm.

"Drop the bag, kid, then turn around!"

So they want to shoot me in the back. I can see it in his eyes. I allow the backpack to slip down my arm into my hand, and they all take aim again, as if I could launch an attack with an old, thread-bare bag.

Odd. Oz soldiers usually aren't that perceptive.

Without any warning, I whip the bag into the air and kick it into their midst. Bullets ring out, but the men are frantic and fire without aiming. The detonator is still in my hand, and knowing I am far too close to the blast, I press the button.

I feel my body thrown across the floor and up against an unyielding wall. Momentarily stunned, I watch as pieces of that troop rain down the hall, blood flowing in rivulets. Fortunately I haven't taken any hits from that blast, it was just the concussive force that hurt a bit. Careful not to slip on the remains, I run back the way I came, heading for my suit. There's another explosion that can only be the engines. I don't run into any other troops roaming around, so maybe I've killed most of the soldiers. I shake my head as soon as I think that. I've only cut the number in half. That means the other pilots are probably catching hell...

..."Quatre, please, calm down, you'll only hurt yourself if you keep fighting."

"Let me go...please...let go of me!"

Quatre pushes against me with more strength than I thought he had even though he's still asleep. How on earth can Duo still be asleep? I thought he was joking as usual when he said he could sleep through earthquakes. If I hadn't made him wake up a few minutes ago, I'd think he was dead.

"Get away from me!"

I remind myself to stay focused and keep my concentration on the blonde boy in front of me. He's struggling to escape from his nightmare. I put both hands on his shoulders to steady him, then give him a very soft shake, just enough to force him to open his eyes. His pupils have contracted into mere pinpricks so that I can hardly see them, but even though the lights are dim he still shuts them up tight.

"Wha...Trowa? Too bright...can't see..."

I spare a few seconds to turn the lights as far down as I possibly can without becoming blind. All I have now are silhouettes and layers of shadows. Quatre is a rough outline that I can hear shivering under his blanket. He sits up and tries to hold the thin blanket around him, but he can only use one hand.

"Let me get you another cover," I say, and I see his outline nod. I move to the cabinets in the corner and take out an extra thick cotton blend. I already know that his shivering isn't because he's cold, but this will still help. I carry it to his bed and spread it over him, helping him pull it up to his chest. Sprawled across his lap is his broken wrist, cradled safely out of harm's way. He slammed it against the bed frame several times, it must hurt terribly, but if I give him more pain killers, he'd be close to an overdose.

He looks at me, I can see his dark head turn, and I wonder if he can see me without light. "Trowa...did the entire ship explode?"

I hadn't noticed until now, but the room is so deadly quiet I can't help but hear how raspy and weak his voice is. "Yes, and it nearly took you with it."

"Were there any survivors?"

"You were the only one I found still alive."

"Oh..." Quatre sighs. "Good...is everyone all right?"

I nod. "Duo was hurt pretty bad, but then you know about that. And you--"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Quatre..." I sit down on the edge of the bed, just behind him, and put my arms around his body so I can draw him close. He doesn't resist, leaning back into my embrace with no resistance. He isn't showing any hostility to my touch. How strange, I've never noticed how unbelievably soft he is. His hair is just below my face, a few silky strands brush my skin. He's still nude, and his bandages make holding him tricky. His bare skin is starting to pick up the chill, so I bring the blankets up around his shoulders. He rests his head on my shoulder as if I'm his pillow, and his muscles lose their tension. Is he asleep? His breathing has become amazingly steady and deep, but then I hear him yawn and he snuggles closer to me. No, he's still awake. I catch myself steadily caressing his arm, his hair. I brush the back of my knuckles over his cheek. I wonder how coherent he is, if he knows what I'm doing or what I'm feeling.

"Are you going to be all right?" I ask.

At first he doesn't answer, but a moment later he stares up at me. "You said every Oz soldier died in that explosion?"

"Mm-hmm." I find myself smiling when he lowers his head back to my chest and snuggles closer. I hold him closer so my body will warm him up, and I gently plant a kiss in his hair. "I didn't see anyone left."

We stay like this for several minutes, but finally Quatre sighs, then pulls away, leaving my arms quite empty. "I'm tired, Trowa. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

I can't argue with that, and I get up, helping him lay back down on the mattress. They aren't the softest beds in the world, certainly not like what he's grown up with, but I've never heard him complain once about anything. And besides, the rest of the crew doesn't bother us. Now that I think about it, the crew tries to stay far away from us. We're always going to be alone, aren't we?

His light rasping tells me he's finally drifted off again. I sit beside him for a moment and slide my hand into his, keeping him company. Reassuring him that I'm here. That he's safe. Protected.

It isn't enough.

Twenty minutes into his sleep, he starts to moan. The sounds are small at first, like a puppy's whimpers, and I caress his cheek. It calms him for a second or two, but then he cries out as if suddenly burned and backs away against the wall at the other edge of the bed. He flails at me, striking me on the shoulder, but it does more damage to his bandaged wound than to my skin. I catch his arms in my hands, and I stand up, pushing his arms down on the mattress. I hate to do this, but I can't let him hurt himself like this.

These medical beds are perfect in several respects. They're comfortable, firm, adjustable...and they have built-in restraints. I attack his good arm first, holding it down against the bed and pulling one of the long straps from beneath the mattress. I wrap it securely around his wrist, avoiding the bandages on his cuts, and when I finish securing it, he can no longer move that arm. I do the same to his other arm, only I'm careful to avoid his wrist. I couldn't bear causing him more pain. One more strap crosses his chest to hold him down firmly, and I finish off by binding his ankles down as well. His movements become small and tame although he keeps crying, but at least he isn't damaging himself any further.

His eyes snap open and he gasps for breath. "Trowa!"

"I'm right here," I say too quickly, leaning over him. "It's all right, I'm here."

"Why...? Why have you...?"

"You were fighting in your sleep, I had to quiet you down somehow."

Quatre remains silent for several seconds. "Oh. I understand."

His voice is so sad, so unlike him. "I didn't want you to hurt yourself--"

"It's all right, Trowa," he says, and I can see the hint of a smile. "It's all right. I understand. Don't worry about it. I...I'll be all right. If I can just...get...past the...dreams..."

He lapses back into unconsciousness, and he starts to twist and turn almost at once. I try to tell myself that this isn't something I can make better with the pull of a trigger, but it hurts to accept it. I squeeze his hand once more, then get up and walk toward the door. I look back before I go, just to make sure they're both okay, then turn the lights off.

Heero stared at Trowa, making sure he was fast asleep, then finished up with his gundam's wiring problem and slid down along the arm to the catwalk, retrieving his laptop on the way. No one else was nearby to see him except the occasional crewman, and they tried not to meet his eyes. Heero never tried to engage them in conversation, or even ask a rare question.

Heero knew the crew was a little intimidated by the gundam "kids," more so for specific pilots. They didn't know what to make of Trowa, always so silent. They stayed clear of Wufei, especially after the Chinese dragon had decapitated a spy on board. They'd only heard about it in rumors, likely started by Duo, but they believed it, spread it and embellished it until they expected him to bite their heads off in fanged jaws. And Wufei, in an effort to limit distractions to his work, didn't dissuade them.

The crew liked Duo well enough, but they had noticed how his attitude was capable of changing without a moment's notice, especially when he was drinking. They found out how well he could hold his liquor, that only another gundam pilot could match him, but when they discovered what he was like when he was drunk...it had taken hours to clean up the mess he left behind. Only Duo could rile up grown men into a food fight. And one poor bastard had gone and jerked his braid. That's when human flight had been achieved until he crashed into the wall.

The crew was a bit more careful around Duo after that, but it had taken more of a demonstration for them to fear Quatre. What? Fear that pretty boy, the blonde kid who smiled at everyone and drank tea and was so polite? The pacifist? The one who ignored the derisive whispers behind his back? Yes, after that drunken soldier put his hand on Quatre's shoulder, spinning him around and swinging at his flawless face. They could see that the blonde was the least physical of the five, but even so, the Arabian did a textbook job of disabling the soldier, leaving him on the floor before letting the medic know about the injured man in the hall. Of course he'd had to be flawless. His weaker strength didn't allow for any misplaced blows.

And Heero? No one got close to him. All of them were too afraid. He heard them whispering every now and then, "look, that's the one that self-destructed," "he's not afraid of dying," "I heard he sets his own broken bones," "I heard he's a homicidal maniac," "I heard he jumped out of a building once."

Damn Duo, spreading all those rumors, he thought, but he knew it was also his fault. After all, he'd allowed people to see him jump out of that building, to see him set his leg. He'd leapt out of his gundam and hit the self-destruct in front of everyone. And it was just Duo doing his best to tease him.

He came up to the infirmary and was about to go in when he heard someone running up towards him. His hand went to the gun tucked behind his back, but when he looked up, he relaxed a little. Just Sally. She didn't look happy.

"There you are," she said, pulling up in front of him. "Do you think you guys could give us a little more warning the next time you decide to jaunt off and take on a damn ship?"

"We took care of it," he said.

"I thought we had a hull breach in the hangar, and then I was sure spies had stolen five Tauros suits. I didn't think you guys would go anywhere except in your gundams."

"Our gundams would have been spotted immediately," he said, trying to keep his patience. "The smaller suits were better and expendable."

Sally sighed. Geez, you should know better than to argue with these pilots. You can't win. "Look, just tell me next time, and at least let the medics on board check up on Duo and Quatre." She noticed Heero's eyes widen. "They're the ones we haven't seen lately," she said, "and the crew knows you're using the secondary infirmary. I know you don't want anyone else in there, but--"

"Fine, as long as one of us is in there with them," he said, even though his instincts told him not to. He wanted those two pilots better as soon as possible, it was worth the risk of a spy slipping in as long as he was there. "You can tell one to come by now."

Sally sighed again, turned around and headed back the way she came. Heero watched until she was out of sight, then went inside the infirmary. He blinked in surprise. The room was pitch black so that the light from the corridor only reached a few feet inside. He felt along the wall and found the dial, turning the lights up just enough to see dim shapes.

On the left side of the room, Quatre no longer struggled in the straps wrapped around him. His sleep seemed peaceful now, not full of the nightmares Trowa had mentioned. At least he was in deep slumber now, beyond dreams. Heero stepped beside Duo's bed and stared down at him. His braid was still messy and hung off the side of the pillow, nearly touching the floor. Heero pulled it back up, and his hand touched Duo's. The skin was cold to the touch. Knowing he would wake the sleeping boy up, Heero put his laptop down and set his own hands on the cool skin, using his body heat to warm him. He moved his hands up Duo's arm, avoiding the break.

"Mmm..." Duo started to moan and turn his head. His eyes fluttered open and focused on Heero's.

"S'been anot'er hour, I take it?"

Heero glanced at the digital readout glowing red in the corner. "Yes. How do you feel?"

"I've been better," Duo said and smiled. Heero's hands were still on him, distracting him from the pain in his leg and arm. "I...thought you'd be fixing...Wing..."

"There isn't much I can do without gundanium," Heero shook his head. "Wufei isn't back yet. It should take him another hour to return." He glanced around the room, then peered at one shape in particular and found what he was looking for. In the open cabinet, next to the pile of blankets, was a box of black eyeshades. He released Duo and took out two pairs, stepping towards Quatre first. He slipped the first set over Quatre's face and made sure it fit snug. The Arabian didn't stir once.

Heero went back over to Duo and wondered how he was going to do this around that braid. He sighed and nodded to himself. "Hold still," he said, then knelt and guided the eyeshade over the braid, turning it back around before he fixed it over Duo's eyes.

"Hey, what the--!" Duo cried out, raising his hand to pull it off.

"I said hold still." He seized Duo's hand and forced it back down onto the bed. "I'm going to turn the lights back up, and I don't want to blind you."

"Coulda warned me," Duo said, and he shifted his body a little.

Heero ignored the pilot's complaint and went back to the light switch. Once the lights were back on, he stepped back to Duo's side and gazed down on him. With his eyes blindfolded like that, he looked utterly vulnerable. Not thinking about what he was doing, he reached out and touched Duo's throat, his fingertips slowly tracing up to his jaw and onto his cheek.

Duo held still, not daring to breathe as Heero's heated touch ran over his lips, then rose back up to smooth his hair back a little. He screwed up his courage and tensed his hand. If he could just grasp Heero's hand, hold it close to his lips--

The door slid open, and Heero drew away as fast as he could, as if he was a child trying to grab a cookie. Duo would have snarled and whipped off the blindfold so he could see who had just ruined one of the best moments of his life, except his ribs decided to remind him right then that they were injured. He groaned and turned his head aside into the pillow to muffle his voice.

Heero all but glared at the medic, who was not surprised by this cold reception. She'd seen the gundam pilots before, albeit never on the sick beds. They'd always been the ones to send people to her. It was strange to see two of them on their backs.

"I thought you five didn't get hurt," she said to Heero. She went to the counter at the side and started pulling out a few supplies. "You seemed indestructible."

"And to think...they almos' got the shinigami, too," a weak voice laughed from the other bed.

Duo had to grin. "Hey, I thought you were asleep."

"Your grumbling woke me up," Quatre said. "Thanks for the eyeshade, Heero."

Heero barely acknowledged him. He was busy keeping an eye on the medic, making sure she didn't use anything not unwrapped in front of him.

"Have you given them any painkillers?" she asked him, not taking her eyes from the packages in her hands.

He nodded and motioned at the white bottle on the counter. She examined the label, then looked at him. "Do you know how to draw blood?"

Heero tilted his head but nodded again.

"Good, here." She handed the proper equipment to him on a tray, giving him a knowing smirk. "I'm sure you probably don't want me to do that myself."

He didn't respond. He just placed one tube into the first tiny vial, attached the needle to the other end, and picked up Duo's good arm. Duo sucked in his breath and held it in nervous anticipation.

"Man, I hate needles..." he whispered just loud enough for Heero to hear. He felt Heero's fingers probing his arm, searching for the proper vein even though he hadn't wrapped the rubber band around his upper arm.

The medic rolled her eyes, thinking Heero had no idea what he was doing. "It would be easier if--"

Suddenly Heero turned Duo's hand back over and pushed the needle into the top vein, filling the vial. Duo forced himself not to hiss in shock, but he knew this was Heero's way of cutting down the sting. A few seconds later, Heero pulled away and handed the vial over.

"Th-thanks," she said.

She watched as he did the same to the blonde pilot, who didn't even twitch as the needle went in. Then she saw why. "Why is he restrained?" she asked.

"His dreams were violent," Heero answered, saving Quatre the need to waste energy speaking. He undid the straps now, freeing the blonde in case the medic really was a spy, even though that was a slim chance. While Heero took the blood back to her, Quatre sat up and leaned against the pillow he'd propped up, relaxing in that position.

"Have I missed anything?" he asked.

Heero leaned against the wall just a few inches from Quatre so their conversation would be private. "No. Wufei is still out collecting the gundanium. He should be back in a couple hours or so. You should get back to sleep."

"Don't feel like it," Quatre shook his head. "I still feel a bit disoriented, but that's it."

"All right," the medic said, turning to Duo. "What's hurt?"

"His left arm and ankle, his ribs are partially cracked and he has a minor concussion," Heero said for him.

The nurse frowned as she stared down at Duo. "Hmm, you don't have much room on this pillow. Maybe we should get rid of some of this hair so you can--"

"No! Not the hair!" Duo yelled. "Heero, don't let her cut my braid off!"

"Hn."

The medic let the subject drop and instead examined the bandages around Duo's arm and ankle. "Did you set these breaks?" she asked, looking up at Heero.

Heero nodded.

"Not bad fieldwork," she admitted. She glanced up at him. "But this isn't the field."

"More than any of us usually get," Duo said. "At least we get painkillers here."

"No one in their right mind would set a break without painkillers," she said.

Duo started to laugh louder. "You wanna tell her?" he asked.

Heero only glared.

She looked at Heero in skepticism, then dismay. "So you're the one they talk about," she said.

That caught Heero off guard. He knew there were rumors, but he didn't think any of them were actually subjects for conversation. "'They'?"

"The crew," she answered, moving over to Quatre. She examined the bandages before she noticed that his wrist was also splinted. "They say you're the one who sets his own broken bones," she said to Heero. "That's never wise."

Duo held in his laugh and waited to hear what would come next. To his disappointment, Heero didn't reply.

Assured that the wrist was set properly, the medic gently lifted Quatre's eyeshade for a second and winced when she saw how red his eyes were. "That explains the bruises on your throat," she whispered. "Poor thing. Does anything else--?"

"No, that's it, really," Quatre said, edging away from her hands.

She obviously wasn't convinced, but she let it slide. "Well, you should still get some sleep. Both of you."

Duo groaned loudly. "Sorry, but I only follow one doctor's orders, and he'd tell me to get back into the cockpit."

"Stubborn," she said, but she still smiled. It was impossible not to like these two. The other one, though... "I'm going to run a few tests on those samples you drew," she told Heero. "It'll take me awhile, so if you don't mind--"

"Use the room in back," Heero said. "They're both going back to sleep."

"You're worse than Chang, you know that, right?" Duo said.

"If I leave you alone long enough you'll fall asleep again. You know that."

"Hmph. You won't let her cut my braid off, though?"

"You worry too much about your hair."

"But you're going to stay, right?" Quatre asked.

"Mm-hmm. I won't leave."

"Oh, good." Then I can go back to sleep if I don't have to worry about the medic. Now if I can just go without the dreams again.

Heero watched the blonde fall asleep, still resting against the pillow. "You too, Duo. Duo?" He looked over at the other pilot. Duo was snoring again.

He really is an annoying patient, he said to himself. He pulled the chair that Trowa had left beside Quatre's bed over to Duo's. He watched the medic take the vials to the back, then leaned against the bed frame. His hand brushed Duo's arm, which was still rather cold, and he sighed in exhaustion. They'd all been working for God knew how long, and the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with him. He left his laptop on the counter, too tired to work at the moment. He put his hand on Duo's while he stared around the room. There wasn't much to look at, all the walls are gray, except where they're broken up every few feet by lights. Wufei is beside me, sword already drawn even though there are no soldiers in sight. The bridge is only a few meters away, but we can't risk rushing and setting off the alarm before Trowa's finished his work.

"How much longer are they going to take?" Wufei hisses, looking up at the digital display at the end of the corridor. We've been waiting here for five minutes.

"Duo and Quatre must be in the engine room by now," I whisper.

"Trowa should have destroyed those barracks by now."

"There are nearly two hundred rooms to blow up."

He sighs and readjusts his sword. I know how he feels, but I keep my frustration masked. Why haven't the engines gone off-line yet? There's always the chance that they've been captured already, or even killed, and we'd have no way of knowing. No, that's not true, I remind myself. The intruder alerts would sound. The thought that they're all right reassures me for some reason.

"If we don't hear anything in one more minute," I say, "we'll go in anyway."

Wufei nods. "They've had more than enough time--"

Without warning the door to the command center opens up and two soldiers start to come out, their heads cast down. Wufei and I look around for a place to hide, but there's nothing. I suddenly realize a drawback to this plan. We exchange a brief look and nod.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the soldiers yells, spotting us finally.

I take aim and fire at both of them, killing one but only wounding the other. Inside the bridge, I can see the captain and first mate turn in shock. Wufei runs inside, leaping as he reaches the door and landing between the two. The guards inside can't risk firing amongst their own officers, who are so stunned they fumble clumsily for their weapons. Wufei's sword cuts through the first one's throat and completely decapitates the second. Blood pours onto the pristine metal surface. That's when we hear the engines power down.

I follow him in and fire at the remaining crew. Several of my targets go down instantly, but one of my bullets misses and the soldier is able to slam his hand down on a large red button before my second bullet takes him down. I run up to the console he was at, and my worst fears are confirmed as the red alert goes off ship-wide. Two explosions rock the ship, one right after another.

"Can you shut it off?" Wufei yells over the sirens. He keeps his eyes on the door to make sure no one surprises us.

I growl as I try different maneuvers. "No, it's locked me out." I bypass the main network and move to the secondary systems. "All I can do now is knock out their communications, but at least they won't be able to tell anyone we're here."

"Are you done? I can hear troops heading this way right now."

"Almost...there!" I finish the last keystroke, then fire into the main computer interface to make sure no one can fix the damage. "Let's go!" I change cartridges and run beside Wufei, who waits for me to fire at the first soldiers that come into view. As a handful of them drop, he covers for me while I reload. I hear them shoot at him, but he's only second to Trowa in the acrobatics he can perform. He easily dodges their assault and cuts down another group. I take out the last two and keep up while he leads us back to our Tauros suits.

There are few soldiers between us and our escape, and I wonder where the rest of our enemy is. Probably attacking the others. Either that or there weren't too many left after Trowa's mission. We both reattach our helmets and head back up the exit shafts, floating through space to reach our suits. As we lift away from the ship, we spot a small group of enemy suits launch from the hangar and attempt to outrun to our ship. Wufei goes after them while I notice Trowa climbing out of an escape hatch.

"Are you all right?" I ask over the radio. He's not usually this slow.

"I'm fine," he replies. "I just don't like moving through space without a tether. Go on, I'll catch up."

"I'll see you back at the ship." I'm certain Duo and Quatre will be out soon, they're probably just being cautious. I rush out towards our ship to help Wufei, who has already engaged the enemy...

...I gently ease my Tauros into the hangar and jump out. Wufei is floating next to his suit, watching as Trowa comes in.

"Where's Duo and Quatre?" Trowa asks as he climbs out of his suit.

Wufei stares at him in surprise. "I thought they were coming in after you."

Trowa shakes his head. "No, they weren't behind me. I didn't see their suits, so I thought they were already in."

I grab the suit's surface to steady myself. "They didn't come before us. They must still be on board."

"But if their suits were gone," Wufei says, "then either they left or..."

"Or Oz caught them," Trowa finishes.

"Damn it." They'll be put in restraints and interrogated...beaten is a better word for what Oz considers interrogation. Especially after they fully understand how we've destroyed their crewmates...no. Oz won't stop at beating them. They'll torture them. "We have to go back."

Trowa and Wufei seem shocked that I'm the one who said that. Not surprising, seeing as I'm startled by it myself. Once the disbelief wears away, though, Trowa nods.

"This time we take the gundams," he says. "We don't need the ore that badly. We can destroy the asteroid--"

"We don't have to forfeit the gundanium," Wufei says. "It would be an injustice to Quatre and Duo to waste their sacrifice. As soon as we have rescued them, I will retrieve as much as we need and then destroy the rest."

"Acceptable," Trowa says. "And we'll destroy that ship as well."

How strange, to hear anger in a voice that is usually so stoic.

"We'd better warn Sally," Wufei says.

I shake my head. "No time. It'll take too long as it is to get there, and the battle could take hours. There's no way to tell how long Quatre or Duo can last. We go now."

We waste no more time talking and dash off to our gundams. I watch as Trowa and Wufei climb into their suits, but when I close up Wing's hatch after me, all I can think is that whoever hurts those two is going to die with all the pain I can inflict on them.

"Heero?"

"Heero?"

Heero glanced up over Duo's still body, his gaze settling on the medic in front of him. "What?"

"Looks like you fell asleep," she smiled at him. "I think you should follow your own advice and join your friends in dreamland."

He sat up and looked over both Duo and Quatre. Both of them seemed all right, despite their injuries. "Did you find anything?"

"Hmm? Oh no, nothing to worry about." Knowing he wouldn't take her word, she handed him the clipboard with the report and the test results, along with the diagrams.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked, masking the wonder in his voice. If she'd had time to draw all this up...

"At least three hours," she replied. "Look, there's nothing else I can do for them unless you want me to put them in casts or..." her voice trailed off when she saw his glare. "No, I didn't think so. Somehow, you don't look like the type that would approve of the luxury of modern medicine. I can't force you to have them treated properly--"

"They're gundam pilots," he all but growled. And Duo would kill me if I made him walk on a cast and a crutch. And I wouldn't give a depressed Quatre anything he could use as a weapon, not even plaster. "If you're finished, you can go."

Her eyes fired up in rage, not only that she was being dismissed like a servant but that he would allow these two to go without decent treatment. "You are the cruelest and most reckless person I have ever met!" she hissed, then turned on her heel and escaped his cold glare.

"Thanks, Heero," Duo said. "That's the last time any of the doctors will come see us."

"Good." Didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. "Go back to sleep."

"Wufei isn't back yet?"

Hmm...good question. "Go back to sleep." Heero turned off the lights and locked the door behind himself, forgetting his laptop as he went.

When Heero reached the hangar, he found not just Trowa but Wufei as well. The Chinese pilot had just jumped out of Shenlong, one arm slung around his helmet. Both of the pilots were locked in conversation and didn't see him at first.

"Did you get the gundanium?" he asked as he came closer, noticing the scuffing on Shenlong's hands.

Wufei turned to face him. "Yes, but we don't have much time. I spotted an Oz fleet fast on its way here."

"How long?"

"Three days, at the most. Maybe only two." Wufei sighed wearily. These battles were taking a toll even on his iron nerves. "And there's more."

"More?" Heero asked.

This time Trowa responded. "There were survivors from the ship Quatre destroyed. Not too many, but they'll know for certain about us, and how damaged our gundams are. And how badly they hurt Duo and Quatre." He looked away, his dark eyes staring at the iron grid of the catwalk.

"Then we have to fix those gundams fast," Heero said.

Wufei motioned to the bottom of the hangar, where the workers were already gathering what he had collected. "Once it's ready, we can start. When the fleet gets here, though, we're the only ones who'll be able to fight."

Trowa nodded. "It would be best not to tell Quatre or Duo."

Heero didn't respond, reaching down to get his laptop. Then he remembered he'd left it in the infirmary and he groaned, heading back. If Duo decided to check his files...

Standing next to Duo's bed, a thick blanket wound around his body, Quatre stared into the glowing screen. He looked up nervously at the door. "Duo, you shouldn't...be doing this."

"No, I shouldn't...but I see you were curious enough to get out of bed and look." He typed in another word. A little window popped up again and flashed ERROR. "Dammit, what the hell could Heero use as a password?"

"Did you try Relena Peacecraft?"

Duo grunted with a shudder but he typed it in anyway, using a couple variations. "Nope, not that." His frown turned into a smile.

Quatre wondered what he was so happy about, and his analytical mind started to wander. Now why would he be so happy about that? There's no reason not to like her...except that Heero seems to tolerate her more than most people...but that would mean... He put his good hand to his mouth to muffle his startled gasp.

Duo, however, was oblivious. "Hmm, hadn't thought about using names, though..." He typed in various other names that might be of interest to Heero.

"Duo," Quatre whispered, knowing this could hurt the pilot if he was wrong. "Try your name."

"Huh?" Duo gazed down at the screen as if it might bite him. "My name? No way..." But the way he touches me, sometimes, when we're alone and I'm perfectly still...maybe...D-U-O-M-A-X-W-E-L-L.

ACCESS GRANTED.

Oh, Heero... Dark thunderclouds of skepticism rolled in. But then maybe he just rotates our names as passwords, and this just happens to be my turn. Still...

Relieved that he'd been right on both counts, Quatre suddenly groaned and grabbed the edge of Duo's bed. Duo closed the laptop and pushed it to the end of the bed, then turned and put his arms around Quatre, steadying him.

"What's wrong, man?"

"The room's...starting to spin..." Quatre leaned into Duo's embrace, his head slumping onto his shoulder.

Duo swung his legs over the side and put his good foot on the floor, following it as lightly as possible with the other. "C'mon, we gotta get you back into bed." As he wobbled on one foot, his hand brushed something leaning just behind the head frame of the bed. He looked over and saw a crutch there.

"Self-righteous medic," he said even while he was thanking heaven she'd had that foresight. He pulled it under his left arm while holding Quatre upright with the other. Somehow he managed to guide Quatre the few feet over his mattress and help him into it, but as soon as Quatre was safe on his back, Duo accidentally slammed the crutch into his ankle.

Now I remember why I hate these clumsy things, he gasped. Damn bitch of a friendly nurse making me rely on this when I didn't need the damn thing... The pain overrode his equilibrium and he started to fall backwards, knowing if he knocked his head again, the concussion could get worse.

Two rigid arms coiled around his waist and shoulders, holding him up only halfway through his fall. He looked up and found Heero's deep gray-blue eyes boring into him.

"My Heero," he whispered before he could stop himself.

Heero scooped him up off the floor and carried him back to his bed, carefully situating him on the mattress and dragging the blankets up to his waist. "What were you doing out of bed?" he asked, examining Duo's ankle to make sure it was no worse for wear.

The American pilot shrugged. "I had to help Quatre back to his when he started to faint. I don't think his concussion is much better. Maybe--"

Heero wouldn't let him rattle on and change the subject. "And why was he out of bed?"

Duo bit his lip like a naughty child mindful of punishment might. "We were trying to get into your laptop."

Heero glared at him, making Duo wilt and look away. As his head snapped to one side, though, his braid flew around and landed in his lap. Heero picked the end of it up and inspected it, forgetting about his laptop for the time being.

"When was the last time you brushed this?"

"Um...four missions ago?"

"It's all disheveled. Turn aside a bit."

"No."

Duo watched Heero undo the band holding the braid and toss it away somewhere, and then slowly begin to unravel his hair. His fingers caught at times, jerking in the tangles and loops that had formed over time. Duo winced at one particular pull that seemed to bite at his skin. He shot a glance at Quatre and was pleased to see the blonde boy was fast asleep. He was all alone with Heero running his fingers through his hair. Grazing the skin on his back.

Once Heero reached the top of the braid, Duo heard him open a drawer beneath the counter and pull something out. A moment later, he felt it. Heero was brushing his hair out. He swallowed his contented groan and closed his eyes in absolute comfort.

"I never knew you had so much hair," Heero said in a sotto voice. "Have you ever cut it?"

"Only once. That's several years worth of growth there. I'd hate to cut it."

"Why?"

Duo's smile faded. "We...didn't have very much...at the orphanage. My braid...it was one of my few real possessions. Plus," he forced himself to sound cheerier, "it's gotten me through some rough scrapes. It's saved my life a few times."

"Hn." There was no sound except that of the bristles gliding through his long hair and Quatre's light breathing.

" No one ever expects to get strangled with a braid," Duo started to ramble, filling up the silence. "It makes a good pillow at night, in Deathscythe's cockpit. And sometimes, when the weather's super cold, it keeps me warm. And--"

"Duo," Heero said. "You're rambling. Calm down."

"Does it show?"

"You're trembling."

"I...am?" Duo stared at his hands. Sure enough, they were shaking ever so slightly. "Oh..." He shook his head to get rid of these odd feelings he was getting and groaned in pain as his head started to pound. He put his hand up to his forehead to cool himself down, but he still toppled backward as the pain blotted out his balance.

Once more Heero caught him, bracing his body upright. "These spills are starting to become a habit. Just hold still and relax."

"H-Heero, I'm...starting to...feel dizzy," Duo whispered. "I-I-I n-need to...l-lay..."

Before he could say another word, he found himself being guided down to the mattress and his head and shoulders positioned just right on the pillow. The blanket was pulled to his throat and tucked in, and then he felt Heero resume braiding.

"Better?"

"Mm-hmm," Duo mumbled, not trusting his voice to remain steady. Not only was the sick feeling washing over his body threatening to make him cry in front of Heero, but he'd also had the other boy's hands on him, holding him. He allowed his eyes to close, and a moment after that he was fast asleep. Heero finished tying off the braid and leaned onto the side of the bed, intending to rest for a few seconds.

The door whooshed open, startling Heero, who was afraid it would be that medic again. Instead it was Wufei, arms folded and looking down at the floor.

"Some of the gundanium is ready," he whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping pilots. "We can all begin making repairs now."

"That was fast," Heero responded, blinking rapidly.

Wufei shook his head. "No, you've been in here for awhile. Look at the clock."

Heero looked up at the readout. "I didn't feel that tired...seven hours?"

"Are you all right?" Wufei raised one eyebrow.

Heero snorted and nodded, rising up out of his seat. He scooped his laptop up and gazed down at Duo one more time. "Have they improved any?"

The Chinese pilot nodded once. "Trowa came in and checked after them every hour." And stroked Quatre's hand each time. And you have no idea that Duo was squeezing your hand when he woke up. "You slept right through it."

Heero shrugged it off and walked past him. When he arrived at the hangar, he didn't return Trowa's questioning look and instead jumped up onto Wing. He settled into the cockpit and plugged his laptop in, then opened up the top. He was about to type in the password when he saw that the screen immediately brought up a window informing him that access was still granted, despite the number of hours between log ins.

What? Password already entered...? he wondered. But then...Duo and Quatre must have guessed...then Duo knows...no, he didn't say anything. He doesn't feel anything...then why was he trembling...he's injured, that's why...but he guessed the password..

A major headache was coming on, he could feel it. He leaned back in his seat, screwing his eyes tight. This was not going to be a good battle, he just knew it.

TBC...