Notes and disclaimers: Okay so I don't own Gundam Wing but I own the Satostyee family (Keiko, Nataski, Nanaskae and Akirra), and Coldblade. I also own Starlight. All the other characters I could care less about.

Chapter 7

In the morning at about 10:30 Keiko woke, her body was pressed up against someone's side. Her nightgown and whatever else she had been wearing the night before were nowhere on her body. She flexed her hand on the man's chest (it was obviously male) and lifted her head.

She was up against Trowa! Memories from late the night before came flooding back, which caused her to blush. She felt an arm around her body shift and resettle itself on her hip.

"Trowa?" she whispered softly, looking down into his face. She was half propped up on her arm looking down when Trowa opened his deep green eyes. His bangs were to the side, giving Keiko full sight of both of his eyes.

Trowa also looked deep into her green eyes, where something he saw made him say, "All I want to hear you say is that you enjoyed it as much as I did." Then he smirked at her when she blushed.

When her cheeks returned to normal color, her fingers played against the bare skin of his chest. She looked at him, her gaze grown coy and sly.

"What if I wanted to say I enjoyed it so much," his eyes narrowed, "I wanted more?" she finished.

"Only if you can tell me about your nightmare." He replied.

She looked down at his chest, her expression becoming sad and said, "I was kinda reliving some very old, very bad memories." Trowa slid two fingers under her chin and lifted her head to look into her sad gaze.

"Did you know that you screamed Mommy and Daddy while you had been asleep?" he asked softly.

"I did?" she looked somewhat surprised. He nodded and then slowly and quietly he asked, "What happened to them that would make you have such a horrible nightmare?…Or can you answer me that?" he added.

Tears welled up in her eyes and a few spilled down her cheeks. Trowa softly wiped them away as she closed her eyes and leaned into his gentle touch. He wanted her to tell him in her own time, not before.

She whispered, "I saw my family murdered while I hid in a closet…It happened when I was ten." She added almost hesitantly. She wouldn't tell him anymore, she didn't want anybody to truly know her past. She would stay safer that way, and so would everybody else.

Trowa looked sad and brought her head down to softly kiss her forehead.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" then he slightly smiled, "But since you held up your end of the bargain I guess it's my turn." He grinned evilly at her.

It wasn't until twelve that the couple actually venture out from the bedroom and also wearing clothes.

Keiko went to her kitchen and made them lunch while Trowa stood directly behind her, his hands on her hips and kissing her neck. (Her hair was in a braid, which he pushed aside to gain access to more of her skin.)

"Trowa, come one…" Keiko lightly protested. She tried to push him away, but he would switch to the other side. "I could just knock you out. Did you not forget that I'm a karate black belt and that I'm assassin-trained?"

"No," he paused his actions, "But did you forget that you know nothing about me? I could be a gundam pilot for all you know." He shrugged.

"Sure, and I'm Keiko Assassin." She retorted. "I don't think someone with your personality could ever be a gundam pilot."

Grateful that she was facing the other way, Trowa allowed himself to raise an eyebrow.

"Anyway, could you step away and go do something? I'm having trouble thinking now." She said.

"Do you really need to think in order to make lunch?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes." She replied simply. She stopped what she was doing, put her own hands on his and picked them up. She pushed them back, away from her body. Slipping his hands from hers, he quickly turned her around and kissed her.

Then he moved away to be out of her reach. He went to the table and began fiddling with the magazines. Keiko had slightly glared at him, but turned back to the counter, also pretending she didn't know what lay under the magazines. The rustling of papers suddenly stopped and Trowa said slowly,

"Syria, what exactly are these folders for?" he opened one up and skimmed through it as Keiko slowly turned to face him. He looked up at her as she silently walked towards the table. "Are you…an assassin?" he asked.

Her earlier mood vanished as she stood up straight and her eyes narrowed. She became deadly in under a minute, a little detail that Trowa did not fail to notice.

"Yes. But I am truly Relena's bodyguard." She said, her tone gone emotionless.

"Why?" he asked sharply.

"To protect her from other assassins." Keiko replied truthfully. She couldn't lie to him.

Trowa's rigid manner slightly relaxed, which Keiko took as a good sign. She walked around the table, took her folders from him, without touching him in any way, and then went to her filing cabinet to put them away properly. Then she faced Trowa again.

"Please…don't tell. I promise you Relena is not my target." She said, still deadly in her manner and in the tone of voice that lurked beneath her words.

Trowa broke the dark mood by saying, "I think your tea is more than ready." He gave a small smirk. Keiko's eyes widened and she hurried to her teapot sitting on the stove.

"Now my tea is too hot to drink for at least five to ten minutes!" she exclaimed. She quickly took the kettle off the stove, saying, "HOT! That HURT! My finger!"

She waved her right hand around as if she were cooling it off and also turned off the stove with her other hand. Trowa moved to her side, took the injured hand and ran it under cold water from the faucet.

"Don't you know better about extremely hot pots?" he lightly teased as the cold water streamed over Keiko's fingers. She gave an indignant snort as she snatched her fingers back. He turned the water off.

"You're the one who distracted me from my cooking." She retorted.

"You're right, but it was important." He replied.

She flicked excess water droplets at his face and sprinted away from him. He chased after her into the living room, caught her and pinned her down on the couch. He let her catch her breath before kissing her till she was breathless again.

She was sitting on the couch up straight with her hands pinned against the cushions away from her body, while he straddled her legs and kept them immobile. While she fought for her breath back Keiko relaxed under him, her head turned to the side.

Then the phone rang.

Keiko lifted her head and blinked when Trowa released one of her hands and reached for a phone that sat on the table beside the couch.

"Hello?" he said.

"I know I dialed the right number. This is Syria Styee's apartment, right?" a woman's voice said with a hint of amusement running with her voice.

"Yes, hold on," he replied handing the phone to the girl.

"Hello?" Keiko answered once she had the phone to her ear.

"Keiko! Who was that! Trowa!" Starlight immediately asked.

Keiko switched to Gaelic and replied, "Yes. What do you want?"

Starlight figured that Trowa must be nearby, from the fact that her friend switched languages.

"After I left last night I went to fulfill my assignment, but I missed, Keiko!" Starlight said.

"You missed? That's not like you Starlight…Did your target know you were there?" Keiko asked. She absently released her other hand and threaded her fingers through Trowa's. She sensed his curiosity, but also felt that he wouldn't ask until invited.

"I'm not sure, it seemed like it, but how would he have known and how would he have known I was there to begin with? Could he have known that he's an assassin's target?" Starlight replied. She sounded a bit worried now.

"I don't know. Would you want me to go with you when you try again?" she asked, still using the language she had chosen.

"Not to help, but maybe just keep an eye on us. Like be there, but not get involved." Starlight replied.

"Sure. I'm pretty sure I can get a day off for you. When do you want to try again?" Keiko asked. She glanced at Trowa, who listened, though could not decipher what was said. She gave him a small smile and returned her attention to her friend.

"How about this Wednesday? We can leave at like seven or eight. Sound okay?" Starlight replied.

"Yes. Now since our business is past us, what are you wanting to ask me?" Keiko asked, knowing Starlight was probably bursting with personal questions.

"Why is he there? Did he stay over night?" Starlight immediately asked.

"Yes, the storm was so bad he wouldn't have been able to drive last night." Keiko replied.

Starlight read between the lines, but said no smart remarks about it. Instead she said, "Well? So what happened?" she asked slyly.

"I had a nightmare, he came to soothe me." Keiko put simply.

"Did anything happen after that!" Starlight was extremely impatient and exasperated at Keiko's modest replies. She was ready to scream at her friend's evasiveness about the subject.

"Well he kissed he twice and then…" Keiko purposely trailed off.

Starlight squealed with pure glee, "So you're finally re-entering the social world! It took you long enough!"

Sarcastically, Keiko replied, "I was waiting for the right guy." It was then that she realized what she had said was true. She had been waiting for the right guy. And it seemed that she had already chosen.

"Whatever!" Starlight retorted. "Well anyway, I have a date with Duo tonight. See ya later!"

"Bye." Keiko replied as she hung up. She put the phone down on the couch and threaded her fingers through Trowa's other hand.

"What language was that?" he asked in a soft, curious tone.

"Gaelic." She replied simply.

"So, do you always use Gaelic for phone calls or was this time just special?" he inquired. He didn't sound hurt, but Keiko wasn't sure about it.

"It was private business and she, well you wouldn't have wanted to hear some of it." She added.

He rose on his knees, looked down at her, she tilted her head back to look at him. Leaning down again he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. When he pulled away Keiko breathlessly said, "Lunch is ready and my tea should be cool enough to drink now."

Trowa released her and pulled her from the couch. As they ate together at her table, Trowa casually said, "While you spoke I was able make out one word."

"What was it?" she asked. She appeared calm but was very curious.

"Starlight." He replied.

"Yes, that was name and I didn't feel like translating it over. That was going to be your next question, correct?" she asked. He nodded. "It is my friend's name."

"Is this friend also an assassin?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes." She replied. "I again ask that you tell no one. Everyone's safety depends on you." Then she added with a small smile, "I'm sorry for sounding so melodramatic. I don't mean to."

"It's okay. At least you mean what you say," he replied.

When they finished their lunch and cleaned up, Trowa announced that he should be leaving.

"Oh, so soon?" she teased, giving him a sidelong

Trowa looked at her with an amused look on his face. Swiftly grabbing her around the waist, he embraced her tightly. Placing a quick kiss on her cheek, he left her apartment. While Keiko watched him, she couldn't help but think of the last relationship she had had. It had turned terrible and just two days before their wedding. Before she could dwell any deeper into the past, Keiko shook her head and began to straighten up her home. That was when she found Trowa's jean jacket on the floor next to her purse, where she had dropped it the night before. She picked it up, found it still a little damp so she tossed it in the dryer and turned it on.

When Keiko finished cleaning, she stepped into her shower.

She slipped into a white sundress with a cherry print. She braided her hair in two braids and wound them around her head, pinning them in place. She collected her hemp sandals and buckled them on and with a smile went to pull the jacket from the dryer. She put it on and grinned to herself. It still smelled like Trowa despite that it had gotten soaked the night before and it go put in the dryer not too long ago.

Walking into her bedroom she went straight to the little table on which she kept her usual weapons. She picked up her thigh holster, hiked up her dress and strapped her gun to her leg. Letting her dress fall back down, she had to slip out of the jacket to put on her two wrist sheaths, but when they were comfortably on place she pulled the jacket back on and grabbed a smaller gun from the table and slipped it into the jacket pocket.

"Time to go." She said as she walked through the apartment, scooping up her purse as she passed it on the way to the door.

TBC