The Magician Of Mess

"Duo, how did you manage this?" Relena sighed, exasperated. She had been scrubbing at the same spot for a half hour, and had made absolutely no progress.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, 'Lena." The braided boy replied cheerfully, absently tossing his still-wet braid over his shoulder before resuming his cleaning.

"Oh, wow, the amazing Magician of mess." She muttered dryly.

Quatre giggled and grinned down at the mop he had been pushing across the floor for the last twelve minutes "Relena's right, Duo. This stuff is impossible to clean."

Duo grinned, brushed his bangs out of his face, and lounged back against the cabinets "Just wait till I make cake for you guys."

"No!" the other two said in unison. There was a second of surprised silence, and then all three of the cleaners broke up into helpless laughter.

"You're doing what?" Heero exclaimed, not sure he had heard his optic friend correctly.

"A surprise party." Trowa said simply, fighting a grin.

"Yes, but are you sure you want to get her involved? She has caused us a lot of trouble…"

"Times have changed. C'mon Heero, we need your help." Wufei whimpered, plucking at his shirtsleeve in an eerie imitation of Duo.

Heero stared at the Chinese boy incredulously, and then sighed "Fine. But you realize how mean this is, right?"

Trowa nodded "Yes, but that just means he'll be extra happy to see us."

"Either that, or he'll deck you." Wufei muttered, "Now that we've had our little chat, can we head back? I think I just heard something break, and I don't want 'Lena or Quatre to strangle Duo. That's my job."

"What makes you think it was Duo?" Wufei and Heero both looked at Trowa, their eyes brows arched in a way that sent the clear message of 'Your kidding, right?' Trowa sighed, and allowed a small smile to slip onto his face "Okay, good point."

Five Days later

Three days till Christmas, and counting.

The phone rang, echoing despondently through the empty house.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on." Quatre muttered under his breath franticly. He leaned against the door trying to keep an arm around his groceries as he fished for his keys. His khaki slacks were tailored to his legs, and his soft cranberry colored sweater clung to his chest and shoulders. His hair flopped into his eyes, giving him another problem to focus on. "Crap. Trowa's right; I really do need a haircut." He muttered as the door finally swung inwards, almost depositing him and his groceries on the carpet.

He stumbled, caught himself, and ran towards the phone, trying to convince himself that he hadn't just heard multiple large 'Crack's from the egg cartons. "Hello." He gasped, dropping into a nearby chair and hitting a button.

Une's face filled the vid screen, looking just as severe as usual "Hello Mr. Winner. Is Trowa there?"

Quatre blushed "Please, Ms. Une, call me Quatre."

"I will when you stop calling me Ms. Une." She said, giving him a slight smile, which was promptly returned.

"Alright. Trowa isn't in right now, Une. Would you like me to give him a message?"

"Yes. Tell him there was an accident."

End chapter 4. Dun dun dun. What happened? What accident? Will Christmas be ruined? Will Quatre ever get his fox? Will Duo ever make edible food? The answer to all this and more, in the next chapter! Till then, R&R!