Shiane: Thank youFrankie the Spunky One for the review! I do love it so!
Notes and disclaimers: I don't own GW, but I do own the Saisos.
Chapter 2
Later that night after Rose had emerged from the shower and dried off, she fell to her knees as the metal gave off electric waves. Crying in pain she clutched at her neck, but that just brought more waves of pain from the collar. Minutes later, Rose just fell to the floor in exhaustion and in the aftermath of the pain. She curled into a loose ball, but came out of it the minute she heard her lover's voice.
"Rose? Are you okay!" Duo knocked on the bathroom door, pure concern in his voice. "Rose?"
Still gasping for breath, Rose slowly rose to her feet, which were unsteady. She didn't want him to see her like she was. It wasn't that she was modest, it was just that she didn't want him to be there if the collar went off again or if he started asking questions about what happened. She grabbed at the bar hanging from the wall and leaned against the wall. After a minute more she managed to say,
"I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute…"
But Duo could hear the gasping for breath and the slight cracking in her voice. He opened the door and found her leaning heavily against the wall in nothing but the metal choker.
"Duo!" Rose squeaked indignantly. She tried to reach for the towel that was out of her reach and nearly fell face first to the floor. Duo caught her in his arms and felt her lean heavily into him.
"What happened!" he demanded but in a concerned way. She had become so exhausted in such a short period of time.
"I haven't slept for more than a day and…" she started a lie. But Duo silenced her with grabbing the towel and wrapping it around her body. Then he held her close once more and fingered the hair that fell from her messily made bun. He held her tightly and then scooped her into his arms. He carried her into the bedroom and delicately placed her under the covers, after confiscating her towel from her body.
"Duo!" she squeaked but ended with a yawn. Her covers were so soft against her bare skin and she had been through so much the past week, she just wanted to sleep away her troubles. She turned onto her side and yawned again.
Duo sat on the edge of the bed, releasing her long black hair from the hair tie and then stroking her tresses softly. He patiently soothed her until she was deeply asleep before stripping and joining her under the covers.
Around ten the next morning Rose woke up to find her body curled up against Duo's side. Both of them wore nothing but the blanket, though Rose still had the much-loathed collar on.
"Good morning gorgeous. Sleep well?" Duo asked turning to his side to see her.
She stretched and wrapped an arm around him. "Yes, but you didn't have to stay. I thought you were planning to leave last night after you had a shower." She said with a small frown.
"I was going to but your…incident made me change my mind. I can't have you getting hurt and then me leaving you all by yourself. What if something happened while I wasn't here? I would never forgive myself." Duo replied, slipping an arm around her middle and pulling her closer as his hand went lower.
"But I could always call you." She said her tone a little softer.
"But what if I came too late?" he pointed out.
"Then…" she grew playful, "I will come back to haunt you as my ghost forever until you die and then some." She said.
He smiled and pushed some hair out of her face. "That's a thought."
Rose pushed him away a few inches, exclaiming, "Duo!"
He pulled her back up against him and kissed her deeply, starting something they absolutely had to finish.
Later when they finally dressed Duo took her out for lunch where they met up with Duo's friends Quatre and Trowa. Quatre was blond and just an inch shorter than Duo's 5'10 while the other young man was brunet and 6'1.
"Hey you guys!" Duo said when he saw them.
"Hello Duo." Quatre, the blond, replied. He looked at Rose, who held Duo's arm and asked, "Who is this? Rose?"
Duo looked at his girlfriend and grinned, "Yup. This is Rose Saiso. Rose this is Trowa Barton and Quatre Raberba Winner." He replied.
"Hello, I'm glad I finally get to meet you." Rose said with a warm smile as she shook hands with each of the other two young men.
They took a table arranging for Rose to sit next to Duo and in front of Quatre. Throughout the lunch, Rose got to know Duo's two friends and vice versa. The guys thought she was a perfect match for the loud gundam pilot.
When they were getting ready to leave, Quatre took Rose to the side and said, "You make him happy, you know that right?"
She nodded with a small, shy smile.
"Well, I wouldn't be too surprised if he asks you to marry him sometime in the future." Once those words came from his mouth Rose instantly felt bad about what she was supposed to do.
"Thank you for letting me know Quatre. Let's hope he does." She said masking her true feelings about the situation. She would love to marry Duo, but if she had to do what she must in order to save her family, he would never forgive her.
Later that night, Rose decided that Duo must go back to his place for a little while. She needed to do something but on her own. He assumed it had something to do with him and so he left without any protests.
When she was alone in her apartment she decided that she would do what she must to save her family. But she would wait until the time was right.
The next day Rose stayed at her apartment and at noon she received a phone call from the very ones who had given her orders.
"Hello?" Rose said when she answered the phone.
"Have you completed your assignment yet?" came the harsh voice of one of the soldiers that she had previously met.
"No. But I am making progress." She replied.
"Work harder. You won't like the consequences if you fail to complete your assignment." The soldier said. Then he hung up, leaving Rose staring at the phone. She placed it back in the phone cradle. Five minutes later Rose writhed in pain as the choker sent waves of electricity through her body. She grabbed the counter with one hand as she fell to her knees on the floor. For just a couple of minutes, though it seemed much longer than that, the electricity currents ran through her and when they finally ceased, she collapsed for awhile.
When the phone rang again, Rose was more than just cautious about answering it. She waited until her answering machine came on to stand.
"Hey Rose," came Duo's voice, "I bet you're doing something important right now, but I wanted to tell you that me, Trowa and Heero are leaving,"
Rose then answered the phone, "Duo? Sorry, I just got home." She said.
"Hey babe," he replied.
"Go on," she prompted him.
"We have to leave on a mission tomorrow morning. But we'll be back the morning of Halloween. I'm sorry that it's last minute." He told her sincerely.
"It's okay. It's happened before. And if you give me an hour to prepare, I'll make you dinner." She said, regaining her calm composure.
"Just an hour? Okay. I'll be there in an hour and ten minutes, just to give you a little more time." Duo replied happily.
They hung up and Rose went to her refrigerator and took out food to make an all American dinner—hamburgers and french fries. She hurried to make the meal, but she had all the works for the hamburgers and then when she finished she still had twenty minutes to spare. She decided to change her clothes.
She went to her bedroom and then took a five-minute shower and changed into a white sundress with spaghetti straps and that had a large strawberry print. She slipped her feet into some flat-soled white sandals and then went into the kitchen to arrange the food in buffet style on the counter. Just as she was filling glasses with ice, the doorbell rang. Rose wiped her hands on a towel and then walked to the door. As she opened it, she was greeted by the over-powering scent of roses.
Duo held a bouquet of a dozen red roses in his arms as he grinned at her shocked expression. He stepped inside the doorway, moved aside the flowers and then kissed her full on the mouth. Rose opened to him and slid an arm around his shoulders and returned the kiss.
Duo pulled away a few minutes later, his kiss lingering on her lips. Rose smiled warmly at him and took the bouquet from him. He gave her another kiss before she could turn away.
"Thank you Duo." She said as she led him to the kitchen. She set the bouquet in a clear spot on the counter and turned to see Duo's reaction to the dinner.
His eyes were wide as he slowly looked around at everything. "No wonder you only asked for an hour." He remarked as he slipped his arms around her waist. He nudged aside the hair at her neck and lightly nibbled at her skin. Rose hugged his arms to her body and pressed back against him.
"Come on Duo. Or we'll never eat dinner." She said a few minutes later.
Duo lifted his head, blinked and then replied, "You're right. And I'm hungry."
Rose giggled, took one of his hands and led him to the food.