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

3. Conviction

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

Warnings: violence, angst,naughty language

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.

The hangar was silent, save for the occasional sound of metal striking metal and the whirr of a soldering torch. None of the regular engineers had volunteered to help the pilots with their repairs, but that was because it was the three quiet boys in there. If it had been "the blonde kid" or "the braided one" working there, they might have been a bit more willing to offer their assistance. Instead, they steered clear of the Chinese dragon, who always had his sword with him, and away from the one everyone said was a cold-blooded homicidal maniac. The tallest boy wasn't so bad, but his silence was unnerving to say the least. A few of the braver crew members peeked out into the hangar once in awhile and were startled to see him leaping across his gundam back and forth from the catwalk without hesitation. Those kinds of fearless acrobatics bordered on suicidal, and watching him was frightening.

"You do realize you're putting on a show for the crew," Heero said through the insulated wires he held between his teeth. His left hand was busy on the control panel while the other was flying across his laptop.

"I can't help it if they want to stare," Trowa said, bounding back onto Heavy Arm's shoulder with a case full of bullets.

"Could close the damn door," Wufei snapped. He threw a glare at the gawkers, most of whom disappeared. "I think you just like having an audience." He smirked when Trowa didn't answer. "Explains why you like the circus so much."

A box of bullets slipped from Trowa's hand and plummeted down to the hangar floor. He closed his eyes in mute aggravation and slammed his fist into Heavyarm's metal siding, the stress of two days' constant work catching up to him. Heero noticed and paused.

"I still think we should lay the gundams down while we repair them," he said, dropping the wires to the bottom of his cockpit. "We wouldn't be so far up then."

"There isn't enough room to put five gundams down," Trowa said, shaking his head.

"We only need to repair three," Wufei said. "Quatre and Duo will not be fighting. You know that."

Nothing was said, although the two pilots looked away.

"Unless you think they can handle the battle--"

"No!" Heero and Trowa stared at each other as they said that. They both returned to their machinery, neither of them speaking.

Wufei leaned against his gundam's head, arms folded across his chest. His repairs were all but finished. All he needed was for the diagnostics test to come back positive. He began to polish his sword, which drove the last of the spying crewmen away. "Why not? They are not weak."

"They're in no condition to fight," Heero said.

"You would fight, if you were in their place."

"They can't fight, not with those concussions." This time it was Trowa who broke the silence.

"They need their rest," Heero added.

The hangar was quiet again.

"Have you told them about the Oz fleet yet?"

Silence. That answered Wufei's question. "And what will you say when we must disappear to fight? What will they think?"

"Two of us need to stay behind to protect the ship," Heero said, not so sure of his answers now. "They're the best suited. That's all."

Trowa nodded.

"And you're not trying to protect them?"

"Of course not."

And that's when Wufei started laughing.

Heero glared at the other pilot, not surprised that Trowa had opted to remain silent. "What's so funny?"

"You two are..." Wufei smirked and kept chuckling. "You're such cold, efficient soldiers, but when it comes to those two pilots..."

Heero turned back to his laptop, not wanting to listen. "They're not up to fighting such a large force, they need their rest."

"And yet you think they can repel an attack on the ship if we're defeated?" Wufei raised one eyebrow.

Heero didn't respond.

"You don't want them on this mission?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I told you, they're injured."

"And I told you that would make no difference, if it was you."

"I don't want them getting in the way."

"Liar." Wufei was almost shocked by the amount of anger in Heero's look. "Both of you."

"What are you talking about?" Trowa asked.

"It's so obvious." Wufei put his sword away. "You love them."

Heero went back to his laptop. "No, I don't."

"I suppose you'd offer to help braid anyone's hair?"

"I don't have time for this." Heero ignored Wufei's amused looks and immersed himself in the Wing's schematics.

Trowa's gaze went from Heero to Wufei, who climbed back into Shenlong when the diagnostics were finished. Could he be right...? Is that what I feel toward Quatre? Do I...love...? He pushed the disturbing questions from his mind and jumped back to the catwalk, heading to the floor to retrieve the fallen bullets. He would need every last round for this fight.

The hangar door opened up again, and Heero glanced out of the corner of his eye at it, expecting more uninvited gawkers. Instead he spotted Sally coming in, a worried look on her face. She looked around the hangar once, then again, then leaned over the catwalk railing, searching for something.

"Um...is anyone in here?" she called out.

She can't see us, Heero thought, realizing that they were all hidden out of sight, either in their cockpits or, in Trowa's case, directly beneath her. He really didn't want to talk to her, but she never came by unless she had something important to tell them. With a muffled groan, he stood up and stepped out onto his opened hatch. "Yes?"

"Oh, there you are!" she said. "I thought you should know that Oz fleet is only five hours away now. We're moving back as fast as we can, but they're still going to catch up."

"We're almost done with repairs," Wufei told her, stepping out of his Nataku. "We can leave in a few minutes."

Heero nodded. "We passed a small asteroid belt about two hours ago. We can fight there."

Sally had blinked in surprise when Wufei came out. "How many of you are in here?" she wondered. I had thought this place was empty!

"Only three of us," Trowa answered, coming up the catwalk with the bullets under one arm.

Startled at his sudden appearance, Sally leaned back and folded her arms. "Speaking of which, do you really believe you can push back an entire fleet?"

"We're not going to push them back," Heero said calmly. "We're going to destroy them."

I guess that answers that question, she thought. "But even all five gundams aren't going to have the firepower necessary--"

"Three gundams," Trowa corrected her.

"We will have more than enough strength to defeat them," Wufei said.

"Three?" Sally asked. "That's not what Quatre and Duo said."

"What?" Heero said.

She nodded. "I just came from the infirmary. Both of them looked like they were getting ready to join the fight."

"You told them about the fleet?" Heero asked.

"I didn't need to," she shook her head. "I don't know how they found out, but they already knew. In fact, it probably wasn't that hard for them to figure it out. You guys have been spending an awful lot of time in here."

"You two had better talk your sense into them," Wufei said to the other pilots.

"Your" sense? They both glared at him. Heero jumped down from his hatch, certain that he could finish his repairs even with this minor interruption. As he walked silently past Sally, Trowa landed on the catwalk just behind him and walked beside him to the infirmary.

"Duo, something isn't right," Quatre said, easing into his clothing. The pants had been the hardest so far, but the shoes would be worse. Laces...I don't know if I can do that yet.

"I know," Duo said, doing his best to pull his cap on with one hand. He didn't want it pressing against the sore spots on his head. "They should have told us something by now. Wufei has to be back, they must be repairing the gundams now. Why would they keep that from us?"

Quatre shrugged and focused on his shoes, using all of his dexterity and skill to accomplish that simple task. "Maybe they think we're too injured to do anything right now."

"I know Heero wouldn't have a problem fighting if he was as busted up as we are. Trowa's probably the same. No, they would have said something."

Quatre sighed. "Or maybe they think we're too weak to handle what they can. Maybe they think of us like kids."

Duo closed his eyes when he heard that. "No...I'm...I'm sure they don't...think about us that way...I mean, we're gundam pilots just like they are. We're not children." He put his shoes on, wincing as he slid the heavy material over his broken ankle. "Damn, that stings."

He had finally gotten it settled comfortably on when the door opened and the two pilots entered. Duo smiled grimly at Heero, leaving Trowa to Quatre's hurt glare.

"Hey, Heero, didja finally decide to clue me and Quatre in on the party?"

"You know about the Oz fleet coming in?" Heero demanded.

"Oz fleet?" Duo asked. "When will they be here?"

Stupid! Heero mentally kicked himself. Duo hadn't known about it and you just told him!

"Five hours, give or take," Trowa answered.

"That explains why you've been avoiding us," Quatre said.

"Then you know that you have to stay here."

Quatre looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

Trowa stepped closer, sitting down on his bed. "You're in no condition to fight," he said. "You need to rest and get better."

Heero nodded in agreement. "This is one fight you two are going to have to sit out."

No one spoke for several seconds. Finally Duo stared up at Heero, who searched the violet eyes for signs of acquiescence or sadness. There was instead a cool lack of emotion that would have sent a chill down Heero's spine if he hadn't known Duo couldn't fight right then.

"Quatre, you were right about the way they feel about us," Duo said, his voice colder than Heero's could be.

Heero and Trowa opened their eyes wide in shock. Did they know how they felt...?

Quatre nodded, knowing exactly what Duo was talking about. "Yes. We're only children to them."

Trowa shook his head. "Quatre, that's not--"

"You wouldn't hesitate to fight, if our positions were reversed."

Quatre looked away and refused to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, but we're not as strong as them," Duo all but snarled. "We would probably just get in their way. We're just a handicap."

"Two albatrosses around their necks," Quatre nodded.

"That isn't true," Heero said. "We'll need two pilots here in case that fleet gets by us."

Duo started to laugh. "Hey, Quatre, I think they think we're mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah, they keep us in the dark and then they feed us bullshit."

Despite the situation, Quatre laughed at that. "I don't suppose they thought this out too well. If we're too sick to fly, then how could we defend the ship?"

Duo carefully stood up and glared back at Heero. "On the other hand, if they think we can defend the ship, then logically we can fight with them in the attack." He started for the door.

Heero moved to block his path, and Duo's eyes darkened. "Out of my way."

"No." Heero didn't give Duo any time to respond. He slid around beside him and pulled him backward, easily sweeping him up off the floor once he'd lost his balance. "Your gundam isn't repaired and only at half strength, and you are in no shape to fly it."

He forced Duo back onto the bed and began fastening restraints over his arms.

"Let me go!" Duo yelled, swinging with his broken arm. Fortunately Heero didn't block it, which was his first instinct and which would have snapped it again. Instead he caught his wrist and pushed it back down, binding it down with the thick strap. Heero nodded at Trowa, who started to tie Quatre down as well.

Knowing it was useless to fight, Quatre watched as Trowa worked. "You can be so cruel sometimes," he whispered.

Trowa finished with his legs and leaned down over him, gazing into his eyes while he locked the last strap over his chest. "I just don't want to see you hurt," he whispered so that only Quatre could hear him.

"I'm already hurt," the Arabian sighed.

"Quatre..." Trowa hesitated. The information he had could only cause Quatre more pain, but he had to explain his actions to the blonde. "There were a few survivors from the ship you destroyed," he said.

"What? You said--"

"I know, but I was wrong. I must have missed a few. Quatre...they might know what happened to you...how badly they hurt you..."

Quatre looked up into Trowa's eyes. He knows he knows oh no merciful Allah, he knows... "You...know...that...?"

Trowa nodded. "I...I know they...raped...you. And I won't let you back into that kind of environment again."

Pent up anger flashed through the blonde pilot. "How dare you make that decision for me? I am not broken, I am not weak, I can do this--"

Trowa put his fingers over Quatre's lips, hushing him. "I know," he said. "You probably could. But I can't think straight when you're in danger." Wufei was right, he realized. "I...almost lost you before. I won't risk that again." Then, ignoring his better judgment, he bent and pressed his mouth against Quatre's.

All thoughts of the upcoming battle slipped from Quatre's mind as he surrendered to that kiss. He could only think of how he wanted to reach up and hold Trowa, press his stronger body on his, but the straps around his arms were more than enough to hold him. Tears sprung to his reddened eyes, stinging them, and he glared at Trowa as he pulled back. Anger and fear and confusion all mixed around in his head, bringing on another headache.

"Don't go," he whispered, furious that he was reduced to begging. "You know you can't fight them all off, let alone destroy them."

Trowa caressed Quatre's cheek. "I'll survive. You stay here and rest. We'll be back soon." He stood up and glanced over at Heero, who had finally managed to secure his own struggling spitfire down.

"Dammit, Heero, let me go!" Duo fought desperately. "Three gundams can't possibly take out a whole fleet! You need us!"

Heero raised one eyebrow as he watched him, not listening at all to what he was saying. Instead he was mesmerized by the frantic writhing of his bound captive, the way his body seemed to contort and thrash uselessly. Hn. I wonder what how he would act if I put the eyeshade back on...?

"Heero, Trowa, if you guys go out, you're even crazier than I thought you were! Are you trying to be suicidal here?"

Not bothering to explain his actions, Heero left Duo trapped there and headed for the door. Once Trowa had also left the room, Heero turned back to the two helpless pilots. "Don't bother trying to get loose. I'm going to lock the door from the outside, so you might as well just quiet down and get some sleep."

"'Quiet down'?!" Duo all but shrieked. "Heero, don't you dare--!"

The lights were flipped off and the door closed on him mid-sentence, and they both heard the automatic lock slide into place.

Duo growled deep in his throat, pissed off beyond sane levels. It wasn't just that Heero was going off half-cocked into a no-win fight without so much as a good-bye, but being tied up and dismissed like some kid you could just send to his room in punishment...

"Stupid Heero, I'll show you," he spoke to no one in particular, twisting around again. "No one does this to me. I'll get you, somehow...you're gonna wish you hadn't patched me back together...and now that I think of it, you didn't give me decent painkillers, either, so I owe you for that...and hanging around with that stupid Relena-I-can't-do-anything-but-whine-chick...what the hell's so cool about pink, anyway...?"

"Duo, what are you doing?" Quatre asked, straining to see his comrade in the darkness.

"Ranting," Duo replied, panting for breath as he paused. "And getting out of these straps, too, but that'll take awhile, and the silence is getting to me."

"Oh..." Quatre nodded. Trowa kissed me, he loves me, he wants me...he's going to die if we don't do something... "Are you sure you can get out of them?"

Duo smirked. "Doctor G didn't pick me 'cause of my good looks and natural charm," he said. "'Course, it'd been weird if he had...you know what they say about guys with big noses....eww...bad mental image there..."

Quatre couldn't help his laugh. "Why did he pick you, then?"

"Because..." There was an audible sound of fabric tearing, quickly followed by a triumphant laugh. "Nothing can hold the shinigami for long."

"Duo?"

"One arm free," the braided pilot answered. "Give me a few more minutes for the others, and then I'll get you out of there."

"Hurry," Quatre whispered. "The way they were talking, it sounded like they leaving soon."

"How much longer 'till they get here?" Heero asked, packing another asteroid with explosives.

Shenlong peeked up over a large asteroid as Wufei tried to minimize the light reflecting from his gundam. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"This area's mined," Trowa radioed.

"Then all we have to do now is wait," Wufei said. He gazed out over the asteroid belt behind him and chuckled darkly. It was a plan worthy of even Quatre's strategical skill. Normally the Oz fleet would skirt the belt, hoping to avoid possible hull breaches with the largest floating rocks, but with the bait of the gundam pilots so close, they would have no choice but to barge their way through. If we're lucky, we'll get the two main ships, and then we can pick apart the third one and the survivors.

KRAKOOM!

One of the smallest asteroids nearby burst into billions of fragments as a bright yellow beam of plasmic energy roared into it. Shenlong and Wing backed away behind larger rocks, trying to mask their location.

"Wait's over," Heero said. "Mobile dolls coming in at twelve o'clock."

"I'll take those," Wufei said. "You get those battle ships in the minefield."

Heavyarms and Wing pulled alongside each other as Shenlong charged into the midst of the Virgo suits, dodging back and forth to grab their attention before darting to one side, luring them away from the main battle. One lunge of his left arm destroyed their command shuttle, leaving them to run on their own limited intelligence. Without thinking about a probable trap, they left the fleet and followed Wufei.

That's the first wave of MS, at least, Trowa thought. "We can lure that smaller ship into this area, then bring the other one in after," he said, already firing his boosters to get close enough to alert that ship to his presence. He sprayed the side of the ship with a few bullets, just to annoy them, and wound up with not just the ship following him, but also with another pack of mobile dolls on his tail.

"I'll get those," Heero said, coming in behind him.

The glowing streaks of energy flying around Heavyarms ceased almost at once as they concentrated solely on Wing. Trowa didn't even look back at Heero's battle as he drew the smallest battleship closer. The beam cannons, unable to lock onto his erratic flying pattern, fired randomly in hopes of a lucky shot amidst the sheer amount of rounds. Finally in range, Trowa maneuvered Heavyarms just behind one of the few asteroids that hadn't been rigged to explode, feigning a malfunctioning propulsion system. Eager for the easy kill, the ship lunged in amongst the boulders that normally would not have proven a serious problem to their hull.

Have to be careful to mask this first strike, Trowa told himself, or else they'll know it's a trap. The battleship came near enough, so he pushed the asteroid forward and darted back again. They must be laughing, thinking I'm so weak I'm attacking with pebbles. He drifted back, slowing down as the beam cannons powered down. They must want to finish me off with one shot and broadcast the pictures home as propaganda. Just a little closer now...The mined asteroids hovered around him now, turning lazily in the vacuum. He pushed himself back again. The battleship put on a burst of speed to knock the asteroids away.

Heavyarms zipped away in a blur just as the hull slammed into a rocky pack of explosives. Brilliant light flashed up around the ship as the concussive force tore a hole in its side, and while flames rushed through its insides, things and people were sucked out into the cold nothingness of space. Trowa attacked, making it seem like his gundam had done that damage. If he was lucky, he could use this mined area again.

On the other side of the battle, Wufei had finished off his pack of MS and had already engaged the largest battleship, striving to keep it from attacking the other two as they whittled away at the fleet. As he twisted and spun around the onslaught from the beam cannons, he spared a second to see how Wing was doing.

Almost every mobile doll was locked onto Wing, and for good reason. It cut through huge swaths of automated units, never losing speed despite the electrical shorts running up the left arm. Apparently a few dolls had hit their target.

Wufei grinned when he spotted the smallest ship laying demolished amongst the asteroids. Trowa was fast approaching another ship, this time tricking a few dolls into a circle around him so that the stray magnetics from their shields pushed another mine at the next battleship. This fight seemed to be going well. He dived again at the remaining battleship, eager to finish things.

That's when the underside of the ship opened up and wave upon wave of mobile dolls fell out, rushing to engage all three gundams. Wufei gasped in shock. There were hundreds of dolls there.

"It...it's not a battleship!" he yelled to the other pilots, who turned to see. "It's a mobile doll carrier!"

"Get inside the minefield!" Trowa told them. "Those asteroids will help reduce their numbers when they fly in!"

Wufei nodded, but he took a long time to head in that direction. It was better to take out as many dolls as he could on his way than to just fly straight in. After a moment, though, he realized that he was having an easier time than the other two. The dolls were after the wounded Wing or Heavyarms, who had destroyed two ships already. With a bitter smirk, he decided to show these automated troops just how dangerous he was.

Trowa, meanwhile, raced through the minefield as fast as he could, keeping a safe distance from each mined asteroid. There were three mobile dolls close behind him, but their shielding played havoc with the metals inside the mines. Those asteroids started to drift, crashing into the dolls farther back who couldn't dodge the fast-paced bombs.

Heero's Wing, however, was having a far more difficult time. For some reason, the enemy suits that hadn't gone after Trowa had all decided to attack him. Wing's electrical systems had been damaged, making him slower than usual, and he was nearly out of all his munitions, save for his energy sword. Out of Wing's peripheral vision he could see the Shenlong exploding a handful of mobile suits inside the last battleship, destroying it within the blast, but the damage was already done. They were effectively caught in a swarm of dolls. He could see Heavyarms shedding its huge rotating gun and pulling its sword, but Trowa was also close to exhaustion. Seeing no other solution, Heero dived into the minefield.

"Trowa, get out of here," he said. "I'm going to ignite all of these at once as soon as there are a majority of dolls in here."

"You'll need all three gundams in here, then," Trowa said. "To pull them in."

"I'm on my way," Wufei called in. "I've got the rest of them on Nataku's tail."

"Heero, move out of the asteroid belt," Trowa said, avoiding another blast of energy rounds. "You won't make it out in time if you're the one to detonate."

"No, I have to be the one," Heero argued. "Wing's not fast enough to do much damage in heavy combat. You two have to be out first to pick off the stragglers. Are most of them in now?"

Shenlong suddenly raced by him, turned, and blasted several of the dolls following him. "They are now! Quick, light the field up!"

As Wing took aim at the largest pack of explosives, Heavyarms and Shenlong burst up and out of the asteroid belt. The heat from the detonation beneath them followed at their heels, and when they turned around to look, the glare was still too bright to see through. Almost a third of the dolls had escaped the blast, but the rest had burned up and floated like slag in the dimming space.

"Trowa, can you see Wing in there?" Wufei asked as he started to attack the remaining dolls.

Heavyarms scanned the area, knowing the dolls would search out the last gundam as well. The moment he caught sighed of the gundam, floating powerless in the fragments of rock, a handful of dolls spotted it as well. He fired his thrusters as they took off, knowing full well that he wouldn't reach Heero in time.

Heero opened his eyes, trying to stare through the blood that obscured his vision. He knew he should be surprised that he was still alive, but he couldn't focus his thoughts coherently. The light in his gundam had dwindled to a backup red light and the static glow on his cracked forward viewscreen. His entire body ached, and he smiled grimly when he saw the small pack of mobile dolls approaching. He could see Heavyarms farther behind those, but there was no way he would overtake them. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, waiting for the final shot.

A dark shadow fell across his viewscreen, blotting out its light, and Heero looked up in confusion. Something...had moved in front of him? His audio had failed, so he couldn't hear anything outside, but he could feel the shockwaves of large explosions in front of him. After a minute, the shadow in front of him moved back, revealing a tall mobile suit with black wings.

"Deathscythe?" he whispered. "But that means..."

"Hey, Heero!" his radio crackled. "Good thing we got here just in time, huh? Looks like half strength is still better than sitting dead in space!"

"Duo, is that...you?"

"The one and only," the cheerful voice came back. "You sound awful. Better just sit this one out while we take care of things out here."

"But...you're injured..."

"If you hadn't noticed, so are you. Just stay put, and I'll get you out of here once this is all done."

With that, Deathscythe flew off, evading the rounds fired by the dolls. His ammunitions had not been replaced so all he had to use was his energy scythe, but it seemed to suffice. The glowing blade cut through doll after doll, visibly reducing the enemy. If Heero hadn't known better, he'd have thought Duo was at full operating capability.

Or maybe he just enjoys showing me I was wrong, he thought.

On the other end of the battlefield, Trowa found himself faced by more than a dozen suits. Without the battleships to control them, though, they'd been left to their own artificial intelligence, which told them that it didn't matter if they survived intact as long as the gundam pilots were destroyed. Choosing the best tactic to annihilate the gundam in front of them, they all began their self-destruct sequence. It was one thing for them to explode when cut apart. The self-destruct, though, would ignite every possible fuel source for a more devastating effect, powerful enough to perhaps even destroy a gundam.

Trowa gasped in shock and tried to fly out of range, but his thrusters had taken a hit, rendering him even slower than usual. Out of bullets and too far away to use his sword, he stared at the line of automatons before him. "Looks like I won't be coming back after all, Quatre."

Something flickered to his left, and before he could turn to see what it was, a slender curved blade flew into sight and cut through the row of mobile dolls. A second one followed immediately after, slicing into mobile dolls the first blade had missed. Unable to properly self-destruct, the resultant explosions were no where near as violent as they would have been. The blast still rocked Heavyarms, but it recovered with minimal damage.

"Trowa!"

"Quatre?" Trowa looked up and saw Sandrock in front of him. "But...we locked you in."

"Yeah, with the best escape artist in the group," Quatre said and smiled. "I'm glad you two forgot about that. Are there any more mobile dolls out here?"

Trowa looked around and saw that the remaining dolls were being cut down by Wufei and Duo. "Not anymore...can't you see?"

Quatre laughed. "Yes, to a point. I can see two Heavyarms, two Deathscythes, two Wings..."

"You shouldn't be out here, your concussion is still bad...wait a moment...how were you able to take down those dolls then?"

"Sandrock showed me which line of dolls was real. Its sensors still work, Trowa, they've just been taken down a few notches, that's all. And if there aren't anymore dolls left, can I ask you to do me a favor?"

Trowa nodded. "Of course."

"Can you help guide me back to the ship? The navigation's still fried, and I can't see where anything is."

Trowa smiled despite himself. "Just fly beside me. I'll take off slow so you'll have no problem staying with me."

Deathscythe, finished with the slicing of the remaining dolls, flew back to Wing and grasped it firmly in its arms. "Okay, Heero, time to head back!"

"The...others?" Heero murmured, wondering if Duo could hear him.

"Don't worry about them, they'll follow! But I need to get you back before you keel over. Hold on tight!" Deathscythe turned toward their own ship far in the distance and started off, flying at full speed and leaving the others behind.

"You still alive in there?" Duo asked.

"Hn."

"Oh, good. I'm gonna be really pissed if you die, I still have to pay you back for leaving me tied up like that. It hurt, you know, getting out of those straps. I'm not as strong as you are, tearing those things apart nearly broke my arm again. And do you have any idea how hard it is to bypass those electric locks on the door?"

Heero sighed. He knew Duo was just talking to him to give him something to focus on, but it forced him to stay awake, too. He couldn't escape the pain through sleep, although that probably wouldn't have been a good idea. Leaning forward on his viewscreen, he shut his eyes and allowed the time to slip by while he kept his mind on what Duo was saying...

Finally! Duo smiled in relief as he brought the two gundams into the hangar. He pushed Wing up against the wall so its joints would lock and hold itself upright, then set Deathscythe right next to it. Leaping out of his hatch, he had just landed on the catwalk when he saw Wing's hatch open and Heero stumble out, blood still streaming from above his eyes.

"Heero, no! Stay put!" Duo yelled. Too late, Heero collapsed, toppling from the hatch. Duo leaped forward, trying to catch him, but he only managed to snag his arm. Heero's weight pulled him forward as well, and Duo fell hard onto the catwalk, Heero hanging over the drop to the floor far below.

"D-Duo?" Heero whispered, looking up.

"Heero, reach up with your other arm!" Duo cried, straining to hold Heero with one hand while his other was wrapped around the railing. "I can't hold you up for long!"

"I...can't..." Heero gasped as he tried. He glanced at it and saw blood streaming from his shoulder. "I can't make it move."

"Oh, geez," Duo tried to pull Heero up. A moment later he gave up. "Damn...there's no way I can pull you up."

"Let me...fall," Heero said.

"You've gotta be crazy. I'm not letting go."

"It's...not a...fatal height," Heero said. "I...won't--"

"No way," Duo said. "You have a habit of falling head first, and that would kill you."

"But...I'll drag you over."

Duo shut his eyes tight, doing his best to ignore the pain in his injured arm as it held the railing tight. "If you go, I go."

"Duo...no...you can't..."

Something in Heero's voice made him look down. Duo froze in shock as he saw something sparkle in Heero's eyes and spill down his face. Tears?

"Heero?"

"I'm not...worth your life..." Heero whispered. "Don't...sacrifice yourself for me...let go, Duo."

Duo shook his head. "No." His arm was starting to go numb, and he could feel his fingers beginning to slip. He looked back at his other hand, and carefully hooked his leg around one of the railing supports. Once he had his other leg next to it, he brought his hand around and grabbed Heero's wrist, relieving the pressure on his other hand, but now he was dangling half way off the catwalk.

"Duo...please..."

"Why the concern all of a sudden?" Duo hissed, trying to ignore the imminent danger beneath them. Let's see, if we do drop, I can get under him and break his fall...maybe he'd survive...

"Because...I..." Heero stared at the far wall, unwilling to look into Duo's eyes. How had Wufei said it? Oh, yes... "I love you."

Duo's mind halted, and he nearly let go in disbelief. A moment passed in silence. And then Duo started to laugh. Heero looked up in confusion. That was not the reaction he'd expected.

"You picked...one hell of a time to admit it," Duo grinned. His tightened his grip.

"Duo?"

"If you think I'm gonna let go now, you really are crazy."

"But...we'll both fall! Let me go and save yourself!"

"I can't live in a world without you, Heero."

At that moment, the hangar doors opened up again and two more gundams came in.

"Heero!" Quatre cried out in alarm, able to make out the scene before him.

Trowa, who could see clearly, could tell how close Duo was to slipping from the catwalk altogether. Not wasting any time jumping out, he put Heavyarm's free hand beneath Heero, trying to raise it gently up towards them.

Duo's strength finally gave out and he tumbled off with Heero, both of them landing a few feet below on the gundam's hand. True to form, Heero did indeed land the wrong way, stunning himself. He could feel his body being pulled into Duo's arms and picked up.

"Can you make it to the infirmary alone?" Quatre called out.

"No prob!" Duo said, jumping from the hand to the catwalk and heading for the infirmary, floating through the light gravity that kept some of the weight off his leg. "Thanks for the lift, Trowa!"

Trowa smiled, then frowned when he saw Sandrock's hatch open up. "Quatre, you stay still and wait for me!"

"Wha--? I'm fine, Trowa!"

"I said stay put!" He rushed out of his own gundam as fast as he could and leaped across to the other hatch door. He found that Quatre had obeyed him, sitting down back inside the hatch.

"You are going back to the infirmary." He smiled at Quatre, who lowered his red eyes. "And this time, you're going to stay there until you're better."

Quatre sighed and hung his head down. "But it's so boring..."

Trowa tilted his head. "You've been around Duo for too long," he whispered. "Take my hand. Maybe once I check you over, I can...let you rest up...in my room."

Quatre perked up immediately and smiled at Trowa, who had offered that rather tentatively. "I'd like that."

Outside, Shenlong was finally coming closer to the ship. Taking care of the last dolls had taken longer than he'd thought, and he could just make out Heavyarms and Sandrock heading into the hangar. With a tired sigh, he prepared to slow down to a reasonable speed until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his attention to it and guided Shenlong away from the hangar. Something was jutting out from the ship's normally streamline shape.

Oh no, he gasped when he recognized it. One Tauros suit firmly locked onto the hull, near one of the maintenance shafts. Its body was badly mangled, but the cockpit had remained intact. How did I miss one? It must have left the fight early and headed straight here. Wasting no time, he flipped on his communicator and radioed the ship's main deck.

"Wufei, is that you?" Sally came back.

"Sally, there is intruder on board. His suit's up here on the hull, he could already be working his way through the corridors."

"Hell," Sally muttered and turned to the crew. "All right, go to red alert. Wufei, can you bring that suit in? It'll at least replace one of the suits we lost."

"Once I'm certain it is not rigged to self-detonate," he answered, and he cut transmission.

Inside the ship, Sally sighed and closed her eyes. "Would it kill him to finish off one damn conversation? All of them are nuts..."

The red alert caught Trowa and Quatre off guard, the scarlet sirens going off around them. A small group of crewmen came up from behind them, about to pass them by, when Trowa reached out to hold one back. "What's going on?"

"You don't know?" one asked, staying back just long enough to tell them. "There's an intruder on board! He could be anywhere, so keep your eyes open!"

As he caught up to his comrades, Trowa looked down at Quatre, who had half closed his eyes. The flashing lights, though faint, were enough to hurt his vision. "We'd better get to the infirmary and make sure Duo and Heero are all right."

Quatre nodded, and they both started walking again. "I guess we missed a few again," he whispered.

Trowa lowered his eyes. It was going to take time reassuring his little one that he would keep him from being hurt--

His thoughts were cut off as something heavy slammed into his head, pushing both of them to the left. He saw Quatre stumble back, his slighter weight pushed farther, and felt strong arms coming around his body. His own hands moved towards the unknown person and brushed a handgun in a holster. Acting on instinct, he snatched the gun out, but it slipped from his fingers and skidded across the metal floor. A cruel punch hit his stomach, then jerked him back up for another vicious strike to his head. Whoever held him was stronger than he was, with the added advantage of surprise on his side.

Quatre turned and froze. He recognized that face, with the patch over the eye and that evil smirk...his legs refused to obey him and went limp, forcing him to the ground. Not again not again no no no! Trowa, stop him! but that thought faded when he saw Trowa handled like a puppet. That last hit must have dazed him.

"Hold still," the familiar voice growled, this time at Trowa, "or I'll blow your damn head...off--?" His spare hand fumbled for the gun that was no longer in his holster.

Quatre would have laughed at that shocked face if it was anybody else. He made a move to get up and his hand fell on top of something cold. His fingers curled around the handgun, settling into the trigger and holding it up at the enemy in front of him.

The Oz soldier held still when he saw the gun in his hand, then relaxed and chuckled once he recognized who was holding it. "Well, well, it's the little pretty one," he sneered. He pulled Trowa's limp body up farther, using him as a shield so that only his head showed. "Go ahead and shoot."

Quatre swallowed and tried to aim, but this time there was no Sandrock to tell him which was the real soldier. If he shot wrong, he might hit Trowa. No, if I am wrong, I will hit Trowa. He struggled to focus, but there were still two soldiers and two Trowas in front of him. If he didn't hurry, that soldier might be able to snap Trowa's neck. The crew is never around when you need them! "You are a coward," he said.

"Put down the gun," the soldier snarled.

Please, Allah, please, Quatre whispered in his mind. Without allowing himself time to change his mind, he raised the gun, aimed, and fired.

Time froze for one instant as both Trowa and the enemy collapsed. Quatre cried out in fright and scrambled forward, tears streaming from his eyes. Blood filled the corridor from the exit wound, but who had he hit? He climbed up on top of them and stared down. Trowa's eyes were still closed, but the soldier's eyes were wide open, with a little hole between them and a gaping exit wound out the back. I've never been so relieved in my entire life thank you thank you thank you--The door next to them opened up and Duo's head appeared.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" Duo asked, then looked down at the body. "Oh, gross! Quatre, you okay?"

Quatre smiled and nodded. "Yes, but I think Trowa's unconscious. Can you help me get him in here?"

"I'm not unconscious..." Trowa mumbled, turning to his side.

"Hang on," Duo grinned, giving Quatre a hand up before they both guided Trowa to the free bed.

Once Trowa had a chance to sit down and catch his breath, he smiled at Quatre. "And I thought I would be helping you in here."

Quatre's smile grew bigger and he threw his arms around him. "I'm just glad you're all right, I was so terrified I would hit you!"

Trowa shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't."

"Was that was the red alert was for?" Duo asked, sitting back on the other bed. "The guy with his brains in the corridor?"

Quatre winced, but his smile turned into a grin. "You have such a way with words."

"Maybe we should let the crew know the guy's dead," Trowa said. "At least it would stop the sirens."

"Nah, I'm sure they'll find him in a minute." Duo glanced over his shoulder at Heero, fast asleep with a few bandages swathed around his head and shoulder.

"Will he be all right?" Quatre asked, motioning towards Heero.

Duo grinned and nodded. "Just a little blood loss. And he won't be using that arm for awhile, but otherwise, he got off easy. And you two?"

"Nothing an ice pack won't fix," Trowa answered. "But you two still need a lot more bed rest."

Duo grumbled at him. "Spoilsport."

Heero woke up to warm hands brushing back his hair and gingerly removing the bandages. "Duo?"

"Yup, it's me," the lively voice came. "You're lucky I'm taking pity on you, or else I would have brought that nurse in to treat you."

Heero didn't reply, but that didn't phase Duo. "You've been out for a couple hours, and I figured you probably didn't need these bandages anymore. I'll leave the one on your shoulder for a few days, but this should come off now. I'll need to wash that blood out of your hair."

"Don't bother with that."

Duo chuckled. "Believe me, I know exactly what'll happen if you let the blood stay in there. It just gets messier and messier until you can't stand it anymore. Don't worry, I'll give you a nice hot shower and put you to bed in my room."

"No, my room," Heero said, closing his eyes again.

Duo's shoulders drooped with disappointment. "All right...your room," he whispered.

"It's larger than yours," Heero added. "It'll be easier for you to sleep there than the other way around."

Duo's grin returned, and he bent down and gently kissed Heero. "I love you...hey, wait a sec, why is your room bigger than mine?"

"You wanted the one closest to the mess hall."

"Oh, that's right," Duo said. "Well, how about that shower, huh?"

Before Heero could protest, Duo scooped him up into his arms and carried him toward the shower. "Don't worry, I promise I'll be gentle."

"Duo, you should be the one resting."

"Then you oughtta let me finish this so we can both get to bed, right?"

Quatre yawned and pulled the side of their heavy blanket back around his shoulders. "Warm?" he asked.

Beside him, Trowa smiled and drew the top end of the blanket over both of them. Quatre's smaller body disappeared beneath the thick cloth. "I'm all right. How does your head feel?"

Quatre snuggled closer to Trowa, glad that he had an oversized chair that they could fit in comfortably. "Better. I can see you clearly now."

"And your wrist?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Quatre lay his head on Trowa's shoulder, closing his eyes. "This is wonderful."

Trowa eased his arms under his boyfriend's body and gathered him onto his lap, holding him tight. His fingers ran through Quatre's hair, lingering to brush a few stray strands from his beautiful eyes. Quatre's good hand slid under the blanket and onto Trowa's waist, and with a tiny smile he tilted his head up and lay a soft kiss on his companion's jaw.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know, and I love you. I'll always take care of you, little one."

"Will I always be your little one?"

"Forever. Someone to treasure and cherish."

"Even though..." Quatre's voice trailed off, and he huddled against Trowa's larger body.

Trowa sighed and put his finger beneath Quatre's chin, making him look up. "Quatre, you aren't broken or damaged or degraded. No matter what that soldier did to you, he can't hurt you anymore. You're safe..." he took a quick kiss between his words, "you're warm..." one more kiss, "and you're in the arms of someone who loves you with all his heart."

And the next kiss lasted long into the night.

"I thought I might find you in here."

Wufei turned from Nataku and glanced at Sally, who was coming towards him along the catwalk.

"Everyone else has had the good sense to go to sleep," she said with a smile.

He smirked. "They may be in bed, but I doubt they are asleep."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. What are you doing here?"

She leaned against the railing and folded her arms. "Just to make sure you were all right. I figured that if you'd been injured, none of the other gundam pilots would be around to get you to the infirmary."

"I am fine."

She shook her head. "No, you're tired, I can tell. When was the last time you got some sleep?"

Wufei shrugged and considered. "Four hours, last night..." he paused as he realized that he'd been running rather hard these last few days. There was the day of the battle, then getting the ore, then repairing the gundams without much of a break, and then this last fight..."Perhaps I have been awake too long," he conceded.

"But you're not going to go to sleep just yet?"

He raised one eyebrow, as if to ask Can you tell?

"It's fairly obvious."

He stared back up at Nataku and answered her question. "Not just yet. I have just returned from a battle, and it will take a long time for me to sufficiently relax."

Sally nodded. A moment later, she looked back at him. "Well, since you're going to be up for awhile, wanna go get some coffee at the mess?"

This time both eyebrows rose, but a tiny smile played over his face at the same time. "I suppose so, woman."

"Wufei, why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Call me 'woman'?"

"You are a woman, right?"

"Yes, but...I mean, why do you make it sound like an insult?"

Wufei sighed, but he still moved beside her as they headed for the mess hall. "Ask me that later." As they passed through the door, he flipped off the lights in the hangar, then shut the door.

The End