Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing and I don't claim that Zechs would seduce anyone but Noin…

Chapter 20

So. . .cold. . .where am I. . .Rachel opened her eyes weakly and stared into Quatre's blonde locks, her body softly twitching and trembling now and then. She tried to speak but found her jaw too cold to move as it chattered. She moaned and Quatre's greenish-blue eyes flittered open.

"Rachel?" Quatre stared into her eyes before saying, "Duo, she's awake!"

"She is? Rachel!" Duo sat up to look at her face as he turned her. She blinked slowly, still shivering. Overjoyed, Duo hugged her as he said, "Oh thank goodness, I was losing hope!" She stared blankly at him then at Quatre. He looked up and said, "Are you feeling better?" She shook her head and Duo lay back down, sighing.

"I can't believe this. . ." Duo said, the anger in him boiling up again. Quatre reached up, touching her cheek with his hand and saying, "At least she's not as cold as she was, her lips aren't blue anymore."

"That's good." Duo sounded exhausted as his grip on her loosened. Quatre looked concerned and said, "Duo, maybe you should sleep, you're going to be too tired to do anything if an emergency occurs. I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."

"Alright, thanks, man." Duo muttered, closing his eyes and falling fast asleep. Quatre sighed and looked at Rachel again. He smiled and said, "You'll be okay, I can feel it. Just as soon as you get all warmed up and better we can find you something to eat and you'll be fine." He nuzzled his head against hers and muttered, "You'll be better soon. . ." She guessed that he was equally as tired if not more as he started to drift off to sleep as well. She closed her eyes, letting sleep take her away with her two heaters. Just then, she heard whispers of her name calling her. They got louder and louder until she opened her eyes and looked to find herself alone. She sat up and looked around, thinking, I guess I'm all better now, they must have left to find some food. She stood up and floated over to the open doorway. As she looked out, she saw a figure standing a few feet away, an arm outstretched in her direction. The voice came again, ringing in her mind as she stared dreamily at the silhouette stepping forward.

Rachel. . .Rachel, come to me. . . She heard a deep voice play in her thoughts, luring her toward the dark person. She stepped out of the hut and slowly approached what she guessed was a man, tall and nicely shaped as far as she could tell.

Who is this? It couldn't be Duo, he's much taller than my darling. . .She stopped, her hand being taken by the man. He stepped forward and revealed his hidden identity. It was Zechs, his mask shimmering in the pale moonlight. He pulled her close, placing his hand on her waist as he swept her off her feet, turning and spinning as he waltzed with her down the walkway toward the end of the encampment, whispering in her ear the whole way.

"I need you, Rachel, please come to me. . ." He whispered in his deep voice, gently swinging her from side to side.

"You need. . .me? But I am already here. . ." She replied in a soft airy voice, her eyes barely open but set on his white eyeholes.

"Come be by my side. . .I can't live without you. . ."

"You must be mistaken, you hardly even know me. . ."

"Fly away from here, stand with me, lead me in your beautiful light. . ."

"Zechs. . .Milliardo. . ."

"You know me so well. . .you are perfect for me then. . ."

"No, my heart belongs to Duo. . .he's the one for me. . ."

"Your heart may belong to him but what about your mind? Your body. . ." He ran his hand up her back, pulling her closer as they approached the end of the railing. He dipped her back, leaning her against the railing top, leaning forward with her as her head fell back, her hair dancing in the wind.

"But shouldn't those also belong to him if my heart does? Does he not deserve them as well?"

"Your mind is no one's. . .nobody can own a person's thoughts. . .not even if they wanted to. . ." He pulled out a rose, gently caressing her lips with its petals, running it down her chin and neck.

"So I see. . .but what about my body? Should it not also be his?"

"You may give that to whomever you wish. . .it does not have to be his. . .it could be. . ." He let the rose slide down her chest and stomach before bringing it back up.

"Yours?"

"Perhaps. . .if you wish it so. . ." he rolled the blossom across her lips again.

"But I am like a rose, Milliardo. . ."

"Beautiful and soft, delicate like silk and easy to break. . ."

"I also have thorns and if you hold me to tight I'll prick you, you'll bleed. . ."

"Is it not worth a little pain to be able to hold you?"

"But I soon will wilt if my heart drifts away, if it is far from my body in someone else's hands. . ."

"Can't they survive on their own? Must they be together all the time. . ."

"You cannot have one without the other, that is how it goes. You cannot have pedals without pollen; you cannot have a stem without thorns. . ."

"Of course. So you're a rose in someone else's garden. . ."

"Duo makes my heart bloom, brings it to life. . .I'm afraid there's no other for me. . ."

"Then I shall let you be. . ." Zechs pulled her back off the railing, lifting her up and sitting her on the rail, holding her by her waist as he stared up at her. She reached up to his mask as she spoke softly to him.

"There is a heart for you out there, closer than you could imagine. . ." Rachel started to lift the helmet off but he reached up, stopping her.

"You're close. . .you have a heart. . ."

"I thought you were letting me be. . ."

"Such beauty, your love had better cherish you. . ."

"He does. . ."

"But is he not jealous? Overprotective? He does not trust you. . ."

"He may. . .but he acts that way because he loves me, not because he doesn't trust me. . ."

"Are you certain? People wear masks for a reason, so does he. . ."

"Duo wears a mask?"

"You can't see it. . .he hides his true feelings from you, he does not trust you to love only him. . ."

"It's not true. . ."

"Your heart may be in his hands but is his in yours? No one is as they seem. . .not even me. . ." He released her arm and she pulled off his helmet. Underneath wasn't Zechs, but Trowa. She gasped as he grabbed her around the waist hard, saying, "No one is as they seem. . .be warned. . ." He gave her a hard shove and she toppled over the railing.

"No, it's not true, it's not. . ." She said, the air around her flying by as she plummeted to the ground below.

"Goodbye, Rachel. . ."

"No. . .no. . .he loves me. . .it's not true. . .no. . .NO!" She screamed, shutting her eyes and she felt a sharp pain in her back. Suddenly, she sat up, panting in a fit of tears and cold sweat. She stared wide-eyed at the wall, her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, as it sunk in, she realized it was all a dream. She reached up to her face, running her hand across her forehead and stopping over her face as she regained her senses.

It was a dream. . .all just a dream. . .she thought, closing her eyes.

"Just a dream. . ." She whispered, sighing and slowly opening her eyes. She glanced down to find her clothes missing except for her underwear. She slowly pulled a layer of covers over herself as her gaze roamed over to a pair of dark legs beside her. Following them up to their owner, she stared at Duo's slumbering face, soft with dreams dancing in his head. She blankly watched him, but felt a pain in her back again.

That dream was something else, making my back tense up into a knot. . .Rachel thought arching her back in as she let out a painful moan. Duo's eyes slowly eased open, and blinked wide as he looked up into Rachel's eyes. He sat up, saying, "You're awake, are you alright?"

"Yes but my back is all knotted up." Rachel said quietly, stretching it this way and that slowly. He crawled around behind her and started to gently and deeply rub her back, feeling the tenseness and working it out. She moaned in comfort as he said, "You're sweaty, I guess that's a good thing."

"I had a bad dream, I thought it was real at first."

"Oh? Bad how?" He worked his way up to her shoulders and she limply hung her head as she relaxed in his hands.

"I woke up and you weren't here, no one was. I heard someone calling to me, so I got up and walked to the door, looking out to see a shadowy figure coming toward me with its hand out. I went to it, taking its hand and finding out it was Zechs."

"Zechs?"

"Tall, blonde, gorgeous ice blue eyes, nice build. . ."

"I get the picture." Duo said, rolling his eyes.

"But he was wearing his metal helmet, covering half his face as usual. He started waltzing with me across the walkway to the end of the encampment, dipping me into the railing as he spoke to me. He was asking me to be with him, by his side. . ."

"What did you say?"

"I told him my heart belonged to you, then he went on to say that though my heart was yours, my mind and body weren't. . .he tried to convince me to give my body to him. But I told him I was like a rose, soft and delicate, beautiful in every way but like a rose I have thorns to prick you if I'm held too tightly in greed. Also like a rose, I am nothing without all of myself. Where there's petals there is pollen and where there is my stem, there are thorns. So if one part of me is spoken for, all of me is. But then he picked me up, putting me on the railing. He started telling me that you had a mask on, hiding your true feelings from me. I insisted it wasn't true but then I took off his mask. It wasn't Zechs. . ."

"Who was it?"

"It was Trowa. He told me no one was as they seemed, then pushed me off the railing. I started falling, my mind reeling with thoughts about what he had said, then I woke up."

"Wow. . .do you think it was just a strange dream or maybe part of you trying to tell you something?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Are you trying to say that it was right?"

"No. . .well, maybe. Dreams have always had meaning for me, telling me that something's about to happen or showing me how I really feel if I try to deny my true emotions."

"Do you have a mask, Duo? Are you hiding something from me?" Just then, Quatre woke and sat up, looking at Rachel.

"You're awake."

"So I've noticed. Thank you for keeping me warm, Quatre, it was sweet of you." She suddenly sneezed and coughed, sneezing again.

"Sounds like you have a cold, maybe I should see how your clothes are doing." Duo said, jumping up and crawling out of bed, walking out of the hut. Quatre patted Rachel on the shoulder and said, "Well, at least you're not freezing anymore."

"Why does he have to run off when I'm trying to talk to him." Rachel muttered, sighing as she pulled her knees up, leaning against them. Quatre cocked his head to the side and said, "Huh? What's the matter?"

"Can you rub my back, I have this painful knot and it won't go away. . ." He nodded and reached up, massaging out the knot.

Mmm. . .he's better than Duo with his hands. . .Rachel thought, trying to relax.

"Duo, what are you doing out here?" Chang asked as he walked by.

"Oh, Rachel's awake and I think she has a cold. I was just coming out to check on her clothes." Duo said quietly, picking up her tank top and feeling it.

Dry but cold. . .better warm it up a little. Duo thought as he rubbed the shirt in his hands, using the friction to heat the cold fabric. Chang grunted and said, "Don't tell her but Trowa turned up a few minutes ago, he's in the hut with Heero getting a lecture on being dishonorable. I wanted to just beat him up and threaten him to stay away from her or else." Duo stiffened and said, "I would have just beat the crud out of him and dumped him over the railing, watching him hit the ground and hopefully snap his neck."

"I see you've been dwelling on that thought for a while." Duo grunted angrily and picked up the capris, quickly rubbing them before taking both the garments and walking toward the hut.

"Make sure Heero at least decks him once for me." Duo commented over his shoulder.

"I already did, how do you think I got him in that hut in the first place?" Duo smiled and said, "Thanks, Chang." He walked inside and closed the door, leaving Chang surprised.

He didn't call me Wu-man. . .he must really be upset. Chang thought as he walked on down to Relena's hut to give her a message from Heero.

"They're a bit cool but your clothes are all dry if you want to get dressed." Duo said, handing Rachel her pants and shirt.

"Thank you. You don't mind stepping outside for a minute while I change, do you?"

"Of course not, let's go, Duo." Quatre said, pushing Duo out the door. Rachel quickly got dressed and walked toward the door, opening it and stepping out. Duo and Quatre turned and smiled at her as she walked up to join them by the railing.

"You look fresh as a daisy." Duo said, kissing her cheek. She sneezed again and said, "A daisy that's allergic to its own pollen." They chuckled and Duo hugged her. Suddenly, they heard a door slam open and looked to see Trowa fly out of Heero's hut, looking furious and uncomfortable as he leaned against the railing, looking over the edge. Rachel squeezed Duo's arm as he put his arms around her protectively. Heero stepped out after Trowa and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him over and throwing him against the railing, making him face him as he held his collar tightly in his hands. He was talking sternly to him, giving him the death glare at the same time. Trowa glowered at him and then glanced away, finally noticing the group watching a little ways away. Heero pulled his face back and asked him a question again, Trowa nodded reluctantly and ground his jaw. Heero threw him in the direction of his hut and yelled, "And don't even think of coming out!" Trowa stalked away and went inside his hut, slamming the door.

"Wow, Heero really let into him. . ." Quatre said, staring at Heero as he turned and walked toward the group.

"I assume you're feeling better if you're up and about." Heero said calmly as he walked up.

"Yes but I have a cold." She replied, stepping away from Duo, as she felt safer. Heero nodded and said, "That's better than nothing. I think I might have to go out to get some supplies soon since we're running low from our store in the planes. Care to fly with me? I'm not sure if it's good to leave while Trowa's in his mood. . ."

"I can take care of her, don't worry." Duo said, putting his arm around her.

"I don't doubt that you'll try but Trowa listens to me, even if he doesn't look like it. He may just knock you unconscious." Heero commented.

"Hey, I'm sure Quatre and Chang will help me out if he tries anything." Duo commented, getting defensive.

"It's okay, Duo, I'll go. Besides, it might be a good idea, I might be sicker than we think and I'm sure you wouldn't disagree with me getting some medical attention, right?" Rachel asked, stroking Duo's chest with her finger while looking into his eyes lovingly. He melted and said, "Of course not. But. . .could I come too?"

"Please stay here, I think someone smart needs to keep an eye on Trowa for me while I'm gone so he doesn't try anything." Rachel cooed to him. He grinned stupidly as she kissed him on the nose and said, "Be a good boy and don't do anything that I wouldn't, okay?"

"Okay." She gave him a hug and Heero walked toward the elevator. She walked after him, blowing a kiss over her shoulder to Duo, whom caught it.

"You're really good at that whole flirting act, you know that?" Heero commented to Rachel.

"Eh, it comes naturally. . ." She shrugged, winking to Heero. He stared at her and said, "Do you honestly think it works on everyone?"

"Well, what do you think, Heero-sama? And might I add how cute you're looking today, your cheeks all rosy and your eyes happily shining every time you see a certain somebody. . ."

"Okay, stop, you've proved your point." Heero said, looking away as he blushed. She giggled and sighed at her winning flirt tactics. They made their way to one of the planes and took off to the nearest city for supplies and a quick doctor's visit.