Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…that's all.

Chapter 24

"Hey Rach, wake up!" Rachel woke to Duo's gentle shaking, sleepily saying, "Huh? What?"

"We were going to check out this battle wave coming this way, we think they're coming for Relena but we're not sure. Heero doesn't want to take any chances and wants you to stay here with Chang and Relena to protect her while we're gone."

"You're taking Trowa with you?" Rachel sat up, a little surprised.

"Yeah, Heero insisted upon it. I'd rather ditch him in the forest." Duo grumbled.

"Duo, I've forgiven him, he didn't really mean to hurt me or anything. . ."

"What? Are you sick or something, were you not there!" Duo put his hand to her forehead. She smacked it away, saying, "Duo, stop it! Just leave him alone, he's not a bad guy!"

"Geez, Rachel, you're defending him now! What, don't tell me he threatened you to shutup about it!"

"No! Look, just stop being such a macho big shot all the time like I can't take care of myself! I settled things with him, end of story." She got up and walked toward the door to take the discussion outside since Relena was still asleep and she didn't want to wake her. Duo followed her and stopped her outside the door by grabbing her arm.

"Is that how you really feel about me! Just some egotistical, overprotective idiot? Go ahead, say it, you're sick of me! It won't be the first time I've heard it!" Duo yelled at her. She screamed in fury, slapping him hard on the cheek.

"How DARE you! I'm tired of your pathetic obsession over being so inferior to everyone and thinking I'm going to just dump you for the next pretty face! Why can't you just accept that I love you and not have to question my motives! I LOVE YOU, YOU FREAKIN' BAKA!" She turned and ran from him, heading for one of the rope ladders, quickly jumping down and climbing to the ground. Duo stared blankly after her, gently touching his red cheek in pain. Quatre and Heero came running out after hearing the uproar and said, "What happened!" Duo fell to his knees suddenly, a horrified look on his face as he said, looking a little spaced out, "She. . .she called me a freakin' baka. . ."

"three words of sentiment and an insult in the same sentence, didn't think I'd hear that. . ." Chang said as he walked up.

"What did you say to her?" Quatre asked, a little confused by the overnight change in moods.

"Is she P.M.S.ing or something? Maybe that's why she bought those things. . ." Heero wondered.

"No. . .it's cause I'm an idiot." Everyone looked down at Duo who was staring at the floorboards, tears falling from his hot cheeks, red with shame and embarrassment.

"What are you talking about?" Quatre asked.

"I don't trust her. . .this stupid war's corrupted me into thinking everyone will stab me in the back someday! And. . .and. . .I have no self esteem. . .I don't think I'm good enough for her and I'm not enough to keep her by my side, like she'll get bored of me one of these days."

"You're a pathetic sight, you know that? Have you no pride!" Chang said, crossing his arms.

"No, I don't! I don't have anything to be proud of, all I do is bring death and devastation to this world. Everything I touch dies eventually. . .Father Maxwell, Sister Helen. . .all the OZ soldiers that had no idea what this war is truly about. . .innocent people killed in the crossfire!" Duo screamed out the last lines as his tears poured out, his hatred toward himself building inside as he balled up his fists and hit the floor. Chang stepped forward and slapped Duo's face, knocking him over a little with the power of the hit. Duo looked up at him in shock as Chang glared down at him.

"Duo Maxwell, get off your knees, this isn't the end of the world! You act as if she hates you and wants you dead, which I hardly think is the case! She loves you, whether you deserve to be loved by her or not, she still has hope in you. Are you going to let her down just because you're not willing to gather some backbone and stop crying about every little problem you happen across? If you truly love her, you'd stop acting like this! I was once to be wed to a brilliant and spirited young girl. She wasn't like all the other princesses, she was a strong girl, the strongest of her clan and I was too stuck up to realize how strong she really was. She believed so much in justice and I could have cared less until OZ came to my field one day. She took off in the Shenlong Gundam, trying to fight off OZ because she believed she was the living reincarnation of Nataku. I tried to stop her but I was too late, she was badly injured from her determination to keep my little field of flowers and grass safe. I took her back to that field and she told me how happy she was to be with me, just before she died in my arms. I never told her how I really felt about her because I was too self-absorbed and arrogant, because I thought I was better than her, she wasn't good enough for me! But I realized that I was truly the one unworthy of her love and devotion, that I was the fool in that battle, not her. My heart has carried on that battle for justice in her honor, for that is all I can do for her now, I let her down. Will you make the same mistake that I did and let that girl that loves your idiocies regardless of anything you do run away from you, possibly forever? If you dare say yes, then I think there is no justice left in this world." Everyone stared in surprise at Chang.

Was that. . .Chang saying that! Duo stared at him.

He was engaged? I never would have guessed. . .Quatre thought.

Relena's right. . .there is more to people than what appears on the surface. Heero thought as he watched Duo stand up, wiping away his tears.

"You're. . .you're right, Chang. I need to grow up and face facts, life doesn't just stop because you don't feel like facing it today. But what if Rachel-"

"Don't count on her hating you. If she can forgive all of us here for things we have done or said then she can forgive anything you throw at her. Stop doubting yourself, be a man for goodness sakes! I'm ashamed to call you a man, cause I'd be insulting myself. . ."

"Thanks. . .I guess. . ." Duo said.

"Well we don't have much time for this, we need to head to that battle wave before it gets any closer to us. Duo, you stay here and keep Relena and Rachel safe, Chang will replace you. Let's go." Heero stated, walking toward the elevator with Quatre in tow.

"But wait, I-" Duo tried to complain.

"What do you want more, a girlfriend or a part in the mission?" Chang said, giving him a stern glare. Duo shut his mouth and looked at the floor, feeling ashamed. Trowa quietly walked past Duo and paused, looking back at him. He stepped up to him and Duo looked up, slight resent in his eyes for not punching him earlier.

"Duo, please go after her, don't hurt her. I've hurt her enough. . ." He looked away and started to walk away. Duo suddenly looked up at the group and yelled, "Wait!"

"What now. . ." Heero looked annoyed. Duo ran up to them and said, "I want to come."

"Maxwell!" Chang sounded furious.

"No, listen to me, Rachel needs time to cool off, she even told me that one time. If I go after her now she'll only yell at me more and never listen to me. Chang, please believe me, it's better this way, please stay." Chang sighed and stepped out of the elevator, saying, "You better know what you're talking about, baka, or else. . ."

"Trust me, I'll make it up to her later. Right now she needs to spend some time alone and with her friends." Chang looked surprised and said, "Me?"

"And Relena, you two can talk to her and chill her for me."

"I don't think I'm exactly-"

"It doesn't matter, we have to go, now! Watch Relena for me, Wufei." Heero said, untying the rope and lowering them to the ground. Chang watched them get down safely before walking over to the railing to wait for Rachel to return.

That idiot better be smarter than he gives off. . .Chang thought as he stared at the dim horizon, pale blue but still a bit black. He saw a distance star and watched it fade into the sky.

That idiotic, self-absorbed, no good, jealous. . .Rachel furiously stalked through the forest, fuming and cursing Duo's name in her mind as she stomped along. She spotted a rock and remembered last time.

How ironic, it's me stalking off this time and I'm not even looking for anything but some peace and quiet to think. . .maybe I'll take a break. She climbed onto the rock and sat down, a view of the horizon from the boulder. She spotted a twinkling star still visible in the sky, slowly fading into the dawn. She closed her eyes and wished on it.

Star light, star bright. . .oh, who am I kidding. All that star is is a ball of gas and fire burning billions of miles away, nothing special. She opened her eyes and saw the star still shining bright. She sighed and thought, Maybe it's God watching me. . .maybe it's His way of saying I need to pray about this. . .well, in any case, I do need to have a little chat with my Father. . . She closed her eyes, praying about the burning feeling in her heart that kept her fury alive. She looked up longingly at the sky, wanting to just drift off and dance in the clouds, free from the world around her, no boundaries holding her back but her own energy. She closed her eyes again, imagining just soaring off the ground, her wings of freedom carrying her away. Suddenly, she felt light, as if her heart had let out a tremendous sigh and freed her spirit from the chains of sorrow binding it to the ground. She sighed herself and smiled, feeling the breeze on her cheek rustling through her hair. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes slowly, looking up to see the sky. But when she looked down she saw the forest, not the rock. Blinking, she suddenly realized her thoughts had become reality, wings stretched out from her back, carrying her across the treetops swiftly like a bird. She glanced around, trying to get an idea of where she had drifted to. Looking back, she saw the stand of trees where they were staying. She decided to turn back when she saw the planes take , but only two of them.

Duo must be with them right now. . .I hope he's happy. . .She growled to herself, frowning. Her anger soon lapsed into a sad sigh as she sulked back over to the camp.

Might as well see who's still around. Rachel thought as she returned, her wings gently flapping through the air.

Huh? Did I just see Rachel flying? I could have swore I saw her. . .with wings. . .Duo thought as he looked out the window sadly. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, looking at his lap with a long face.

"Cheer up, Duo, she'll forgive you." Trowa said quietly. Duo looked over at him, his eyes still sagging sadly.

"I don't know why I am so pathetic around her, I thought I understood women." Duo said.

"There's your problem."

"Huh?" Duo looked a bit surprised.

"She's not a woman, she's a girl; innocent and pure at heart in almost every way."

"Almost?"

"I can see it in her eyes, she doesn't think such innocent thoughts. Though she doesn't want to admit it, she's not as good as she seems. I'm not disrespecting her, it's actually a good thing."

"How do you figure that?"

"She's not naïve. I figured out the difference between her and Relena, it's in their minds. Relena thinks of peace too often, it makes her naïve with her hopes and dreams of a better future, she doesn't see the big picture yet. But Rachel does, she can see the pain, see the anger that lies in all of our hearts. She's special, capable of seeing things that some of us would rather deny the presence of or don't even realize are there. She knew how Heero felt about Relena and vise versa, and she saw through Heero and that takes a strong person or just a very careful eye since he hides his feelings so that sometimes he doesn't even see them."

"Wow, and is that what they talked about?"

"What do you think they did when they went for supplies?"

"Hmm." He thought about it.

"She also knew how I felt about people, she saw through my mask into my heart, and I didn't like it."

"Is that why you attacked her?"

"No. There's a reason for that but I don't think I can discuss it right now, maybe later when I'm not so afraid of it." Duo looked curious but let it go. Trowa continued.

"Besides, I'm not good with expressing my feelings. I never learned what it meant to love or be loved. I barely got a glimpse of true love long ago but it faded too fast for me to understand it, so I don't think I could ever fall in love with someone."

"Ah, you just need to find the right girl, you'll get married and have tons of kids that run around you and tug at your pants all day, you'll see. . ." Trowa cocked an eyebrow and said, "I've never even been around children before, so how do you figure that?"

"You have this gentle way about you that I've noticed. The way you carried Rachel was a sure sign that you can feel at least something." Trowa nodded in agreement.

"I did feel my heart pounding when I picked her up, I didn't understand why I felt so compelled and responsible. I think it might have just been payback for her saving me earlier, but I don't know. . ."

"Well, whatever. Just make sure the girl for you isn't my girl." Duo winked. Trowa finally cracked a smile as he said, "She is cute. . .but I don't think so."

"Hmm? What, what's wrong with her?" Duo said, feeling slightly insulted and jealous at the same time.

"Nothing, she's perfect for you. I just couldn't be with someone who could read my every mood, that's all. I like my privacy. . ."

"Yeah, Mr. Strong and silent type. . ." Duo grinned. He glanced over at him and said, "You're not mad at me for what happened?"

"Eh, I can't be. I was already yelled at for being so jealous and 'over protective' of her." Duo said, forming quotation marks with his fingers mockingly.

"You can't help it, she's a beautiful girl in a world too big for her shoes, she could get hurt if she's not careful."

"I know, but I can't seem to get her to understand that. It's not that I'm jealous and I think I'm not enough for her, I mean yeah that's part of it, but she's. . .so special. I don't want someone to take her away, against her will. Those powers of hers are gonna get her in trouble and I want to be the one to save her, not some other guy. You get what I'm saying?" Trowa nodded and said, "You love her."

"Yeah, exactly. . .love makes ya do crazy things that even you might not understand, but ya still do it. Like singing loves songs. . ." Duo remembered his song for her, grinning.

"Hmm." Trowa looked thoughtfully out the window at this comment. Duo looked over at him and smiled, saying, "Hey, you know, you're really talkative! I thought I was the motor mouth around here but you're pretty chatty yourself." Trowa looked over in surprise and said, "You're right. Normally I don't talk at all, I wonder why I seem to be so. . ."

"Well voiced?" Duo winked. Trowa nodded and sighed, saying, "See, it's all your girlfriend's fault. She brought me out of my shell." Duo laughed.

"That's right, blame it on the girl. . ." They glanced at each other with mischievous eyes and burst out laughing.

"So Heero, do you think it's a good idea to leave Duo and Trowa alone in that plane together?" Quatre asked, looking worriedly at the radar as the blip of the other plane floated behind them. Heero didn't take his eyes off the sky as he said, "Don't worry, they're mature enough to keep their immaturity inside while in flight." Quatre didn't seem convinced but he showed his agreement with a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess so. But this is Duo we're talking about here. . ." Heero just grunted. They remained silent for a few minutes. Quatre glanced over at Heero and said, "Um, so. . .you and Relena are. . ."

"Yes?" Heero glanced back at him. Quatre looked at his lap as he smiled. Heero frowned and said, "Why the dumb smile?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking. . .how much of a fuse you made over nothing going on between you two and now you walk around holding her hand like a giddy schoolboy. Not that that's bad, I think it's kind of cute."

"Cute?" Heero didn't seem to agree.

"Well. . .yes?" Quatre asked, looking afraid for his life.

"Why are you asking me, it's your opinion." Heero grunted.

"I just don't want to get killed. . ." Heero looked over at him and said, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No. . .just what you might do if I tick you off." Heero blinked and said, "Really. . ."

"You do give people the death glare a lot, you should paten that thing. . ." Quatre joked. Heero looked back at the sky, saying, "I guess I do lose my temper. . ."

"Frequently?" Quatre added timidly.

"I guess so. Am I really that. . ."

"Touchy?" Quatre finished for him.

"Why don't you talk for me, Quatre, you seem to know what I should say." Heero looked annoyed.

"Nice example of 'losing your temper', Heero." Quatre pointed out. Heero sighed and said dully, "Sorry."

"It's okay, I guess I know you mean well. . .after all, you haven't killed me in my sleep yet."

"The key word being 'yet', huh?" Quatre laughed dismally and said, "Uh yeah. . ."

"Hmm. . ." Heero, deep in thought, stared blankly at the clouds floating by them, his normal stern look on his face. Quatre looked sadly at him and asked in a quiet voice, "Can't you ever look happy?" Heero looked over at Quatre suddenly and said, sounding confused, "What do you mean? When I'm around Relena? I thought I did. . ."

"I didn't say anything about Relena. . .I meant just in general, you always look depressed or ticked." Quatre answered, turning his chair to face Heero seriously.

"I never noticed. . .always?" Heero said, sounding serious as well.

"Even when you're somewhat happy you still look less than thrilled to be alive."

"That's not true. . .I smiled at dinner last night. . ." Heero said in his defense.

"That's right, you did, and you laughed." Quatre said, remembering the brief happy expression on Heero's face, "But it was only for a moment before you sunk back into your morbid stare when Trowa came."

"I'm still upset with him, I thought he was better than that."

"I don't know the whole situation but she seems to. . .so if she says it's okay to be friends with him again, I'll trust her judgement."

"Hmm." Heero looked down at the steering wheel. He sighed and rubbed his finger boredly over the rim, watching it trace over the black plastic slowly. Quatre watched him and smiled, saying, "You're thinking of Relena, aren't you."

"Maybe. . ." Heero said, not showing the giddy feeling he was feeling as images of his love floated through his mind. He finally smiled and said, "It feels. . .good."

"What does?" Quatre asked in a wondering tone. Heero looked up at him and said, "Being in love."

"Oh. . ." Quatre said with a chuckle.