Part 5: Good Morning

"I just can't believe he didn't say anything," Duo grumbled.

He should have been glad. It wasn't any of Heero's business what he did.

Wufei looked at him, eyes narrowed.

"You didn't go alone," he said slowly. "It's not as if you were taking a risk."

"Yeah."

Duo took a large drink of coffee and got up, moving to refill his cup. It was early, but he'd slept surprisingly well and woken up before the others. Except for Wufei.

"Do you always get up so early?" asked Duo.

"Sometimes. It's nice to have someone to talk to. Usually I'd be practicing if I woke up this early."

Wufei dropped his gaze, brows furrowing slightly. He hadn't done any morning practice since joining them, and he knew better than to relax his own private training.

Duo smiled slightly, tilting his head as he looked at the brooding boy.

"Yeah," he drawled, "but I don't usually get up so early. I have trouble falling asleep."

He gave a soft laugh, an attempt to cheer up his morose friend. "Half the time I sleep till noon if I don't have a mission to do."

Wufei glanced up and a smirk twitched the corner of his lips. "There's nothing wrong with that. I usually sleep fine, but I have trouble getting back to sleep if I'm woken early."

That was safer territory; the shutters had disappeared from his friend's eyes, and Duo's smile widened in reaction.

"Want some more coffee, Wufei?"

At the boy's nod, he picked up the other mug and filled it again. He was just sitting back down when Quatre and Heero entered the kitchen, Trowa following.

"Good morning," Duo called. "I made coffee."

Quatre smiled as he sat beside Duo. "I don't drink coffee, but thank you anyway."

Heero grabbed a mug out of the cabinet, filling it before sitting across from Quatre, a seat conveniently left open next to the blonde boy.

"I'll make some tea," Trowa said softly.

He moved to do so even as he spoke. Quatre smiled in response.

"Thank you, Trowa."

"No need," Trowa said with a shrug. "I like tea."

He glanced at Duo, and nodded at the boy's raised eyebrow. "Not that there's anything wrong with coffee."

Duo smirked. "Thanks, Trowa," he said. "Next time I'll make both. Not that I expect to get up so early anytime soon, but you never know."

"Duo," Quatre said, a small smile playing at his lips. "Have you made any plans for today? I was thinking we could all do something together."

Duo's curiosity peaked and he glanced over eagerly. "What do you have in mind?"

"I thought we could do something that would let us have some fun and get used to working with each other at the same time. Do you play basketball?"

Duo's eyes widened until they seemed to fill his face. It had to be the last thing he'd expected the boy to propose, and the one thing guaranteed to get his hopes up.

"Do I!" he sputtered. "I love basketball! But...how? What if someone sees me? There are warrants out for me."

"I've already thought of that," Quatre said cheerfully. His smile widened. "I rented a gym."

"What?" asked Duo.

"My family had a lot of money," Quatre said quickly, "And no one knows I'm a mutant. Remember, I've never actively attacked OZ. I can access my accounts without any worry of attracting notice. You can sneak in, and turn visible once we're inside. Do you want to?"

Duo's eyes were wide, but he shoved the burgeoning excitement down a notch.

"What about you guys?" he asked.

He looked at Wufei, who smiled. Trowa nodded, glancing at Quatre.

Duo wasn't surprised. He had an idea Trowa would be following Quatre around until something came from it.

But he felt a little knot of irritation when he turned to the last person. He knew Heero would be against the idea, against anything that would involve the word 'fun.' So Duo was surprised to see him hosting a small smirk.

When Duo looked at him, Heero gave a sharp nod.

"It's a good chance to get used to working with each other," said Heero. "Quatre's right."

Definitely not what he'd expected, but Duo grinned at the nice surprise. He turned excited eyes on Quatre.

"Great! When can we go!"

"Uh..." Quatre looked taken back for a moment, and he smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Why don't we have breakfast first, okay?"