The usual spiel: The characters of Gundam Wing aren't mine. Sorry to disappoint. Panthanaea, however, is mine, and if you steal her, I will hunt you down and peel the flesh from your bones with a wet noodle!

ALSO: The characters are 29ish in this fiction. Yes, it took Heero and Relena 'till they were almost 30 to settle down. I need to recognize a couple friends for their aid in this fic as well.

First, AmuroNT1. His help will be a bit more evident in later chapters, when things get risqué.

Also, Michimoro, who was up 'till all hours with me one night figuring out feasible futures for the cast.

AND: COMMENT FOLKS! Your comments and suggestions may end up in the next chapter! I promise I'll consider them. But no Yaoi pairings. I'm trying to avoid that, if you haven't figure it out from my 1xR pairing and my making Trowa Quatre's Brother In Law.

That said, here's chapter 2!

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Chapter 2 - The Boy From Earth

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Pan awoke and slid on her glasses. It had been a nice nap, but she wondered if she'd dreamed it. She thought she'd heard a man crash in the bushes outside, and swear. She shrugged. Probably some student being clumsy. She stood up and looked in her little cot-side mirror. She straightened her hair and re-pinned a few errant strands into the massive bun. She straightened her jacket and smiled at the mirror, scrubbing some random dried drool from her face. She then turned her attention to the window. The rain was starting, so she slid it shut. She loved the Autumn rains here. They chilled to the bone, smelled of wet leaves, and hinted at snow.

Wet. That's what she missed most about Earth. The wet and the varied colors of life. Mars was dry, quiet, and red. That ugly rust red of unrefined Iron. Once they finished starting up the mines, they'd release enough oxygen from the ground itself to bring Mars back to her former glory. Then it'd be green again.

She shuffled some papers on her desk, trying to put things in some semblance of order. The wind must've blown things about a bit. She managed to get things in stacks, then started filing things in the two tall cabinets along the wall by her desk. It was hard to be home, but Autumn made it easier. Autumn had no ties to Him, and so she could take refuge in Autumn. Her favorite season.

She glanced at the calendar. Just 5 weeks to her birthday. Not alot of time. Ah well, she was too old for parties, and didn't have enough friends to staff one anyway. Oh, sure, if she was still planet-side, the staff in the Geology department would get her a card and maybe a cake, but it was more an excuse for them not to face midterms than a celebration for her. She smiled. That intern, Josef was it? He'd probably get her something. He was sweet, and she was sure he was sweet on her, but he was too young for her, and it had nothing to do with age.

She chuckled to herself. Now, that Duo guy... If he could get past that self-righteous arrogance, he might make a wonderful sparring partner. Maybe even a good friend. She moved another stack of papers and winced.

As she had been cleaning, she uncovered an old jewelry case. She opened it and frowned painfully at the opal necklace and earrings within. They had been a valentine's gift from Him. They were Tiffany, and quite pricey. He never let her return them to Him when she left. Insisted they were a gift for her, and that she should keep them. She pulled out the pendant and put it on. It looked good, but she couldn't stand to wear it. She placed it back in the box and closed the lid, placing it in the bottom drawer of her desk.

After a few more hours of work, she had the office looking like an office again. Just as she sat at the desk, her phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello, Dr. Weridge's office."

"Hey Pan!" Relena's cheerful voice was a welcome sound for Pan's weary ears. "I hear you got in a fight with the resident egoist."

Panthanaea smiled a bit. "Oh, you did, did you? Eh, it was nothing I haven't seen before. Guys ask to see my work all the time with no interest in my actual work."

Relena laughed. "He probably didn't ask you to dinner because he was drunk, and he knew you'd say no."

Pan grinned. "And he would have been right. You know I don't date, Rere. Hell, it's rare that I even give another human being the time of day."

Relena sighed. "Well, I think you should get to know him better. He's been through much the same thing you have, only she took the kids and disappeared."

Pan frowned. "Poor guy. That's gotta be tough."

Relena made an affirmative noise. "Give him a chance. I think you two'd make great friends."

Pan smirked. "Alright, but don't expect more than that. Have a good night, Rere."

"You too, Pan." With that, they both hung up and Panthanaea sat in the dark of her office, a couple scented candles burning for light. After a few moments of silence, she started as someone knocked on her office door. Maria had already gone home, so she didn't know who it could be. Standing, she went to the door.

"Who's there?"

"Chinese for the lady!" The muffled voice sounded cheerful, and she wagered Relena had sent it for her. She could smell the barbecue pork, and her mouth watered. She opened the door.

"Howdy! Thought you might be hungry!" Duo walked in carrying two large bags of chinese food. Whoever had leaked that chinese was her favorite would be strung up with tomorrow's wash if she ever found out.

Pan frowned. "What are YOU doing here?"

Duo grinned. "Well, my idiocy cost you your breakfast, you've been here working pretty much the rest the day, so I thought I'd bring Chinese and apologize for being so...well...male."

Pan closed the door. "So...who told you I like chinese?"

"That's a secret." Duo waggled his finger at her and began setting out the cary out boxes on her desk.

"Wow! That's alot of food."

"You don't think I'd let you eat alone, do ya, Pan?" Duo grinned as he pulled out two pair of chopsticks.

Pan frowned. "I'm still not quite sure about you, Duo, but I'll give ya a chance to make up for brunch." She pulled up a chair and started looking through the boxes until she found the barbecue spare ribs. "BINGO!" She picked it up and dug in. "Oh, GOD! Geeze, Duo, where's you get this? These are fantastic spare ribs!"

Duo grinned. "I got it out at Golden Dragon." He chuckled. "You sure it's not 'cause you've been without chinese for 3 years?"

Pan laughed around the mouthful she was chewing. "Aah koo be pah o ih" She swallowed. "That could be part of it. Could also be, they've improved their recipe." She set down the spare ribs in favor of some Beef Broccoli. Duo countered by snagging the spare ribs.

"WOW! You're right, there ARE amazing. They must have changed their recipe...or it just could be me tasting them for the first time sober in 6 years." Duo took another bite.

Pan squinted at him and swallowed. "You've been drunk for 6 years? Why!"

Duo frowned. It was an odd look on that usually chipper face. "Fiancé disappeared and took my kids. I haven't seen my son since he was 2. I miss them all, but it's my own fault they're gone. Shoulda just stayed home that night."

Pan frowned. Relena said that he'd had something similar happen, but she hadn't mentioned he'd been the one doing the cheating. "So you took up drinking instead of looking for them."

Duo glared; another odd expression for him. "I looked for almost a year, but she didn't want to be found. I think Relena may have found them, but she wouldn't let on where they were. Just that they were safe, and my fiancé had married her childhood sweetheart, who was a good father for MY kids." He growled and took another mouthful of Kung Pao Chicken. His face turned red and he started casting about for something to drink. Pan handed him one of the sodas he'd brought.

"Dufus. Yeah, she probably did find them, knowing her, but your fiancé probably made her promise not to reveal her location." She took a drink of her own soda and smirked. "I can see why you're so intrigued by anyone close to Relena. You're a pretty deep person, and so you're not easily fooled by anyone equally as deep."

Duo grinned. "That's ME! So, what about you? Any men in your life?"

Pan shuddered. "A few over the years, but, like I said, I'm married to my work. There was one, though... He was alot like you. We were planning a winter wedding. Everything was in place, but one night during the summer, I came home early and found him in bed with my Maid of Honor. I didn't say a word, packed my things, and left. I stayed here for a couple weeks, then I took off to Mars. Hadn't been back since." She took another bite of chow-mein noodles, then switched to some rice.

"Alot like me? How so?" Duo looked intrigued.

Pan laughed weakly. "I dunno why I'm telling you my life's story. I guess it's because you're a good listener. He was a good listener too. He also was arrogant, good-natured, cheerful, and had eyes the same shade of violet as yours." She smirked, then put down the rice. "The resemblance is uncanny to be truthful. Maybe that's why I got mad so easily earlier."

Duo chuckled. "You're not the first to get mad because I wasn't what I appeared to be. I was stupid to ask to see your work when I didn't really know what you did. Alot of what you said went right over my head. I didn't even know they were excavating on Mars until Relena mentioned that's where you'd just come from." He grinned. "I guess I'm just stupid for a pair of pretty eyes when I'm drunk."

Pan raised an eyebrow and he balked defensively. "I haven't had a drink all day, and it's your fault. You're right, I shouldn't have resorted to Alcohol when Hilde left, but I didn't know any other way to deal with the pain aside from massive violence, and the war's been over for nearly 15 years. But, you said you wanted me sober this morning, and, as I was planning to bring you dinner, I felt you'd probably get mad if I was tipsy when I showed up. So, I put Jack away for the day."

Pan smiled. "Good. You should put it away permanently. It's not good for your body, and it kills your mind. I know a great doctor who can help with the withdrawals. I can give you his number if you want."

Duo shook his head. "I'll be fine. I'll just wean myself off. I was planning to give it up soon anyway. Time I stopped wallowing in self pity and grew up."

Pan smirked. "Good for you. What are you going to do with yourself? You gotta keep busy if you intend to quit."

Duo thought for a moment. "I haven't really given it much thought. I really oughtta go back to school. Get a degree in something so I can do something productive with my life." Duo thought a little more. "I'm not sure what I'd like to do, though."

Pan chuckled. "You could try mechanics, engineering, architecture, or even teaching. I think you might have what it takes for all of those. Relena said you used to be quite the mechanic, and you've got the analytical eye for engineering and architecture."

Duo smirked. "Yeah. I don't think I'll go back into mechanics, though. Hilde and I used to do that together. Engineering, however, that might be fun. I doubt I'm artistic enough for Architecture, though. And I'm not patient enough to teach."

Pan smiled. "Well, if you need help getting started here on campus, I can put you in touch with the right people to get financial aid, scholarships, and into any program you want. Just let me know when you make up your mind."

By this time, they had fully gorged themselves and were slowly consolidating leftovers for storage in a refrigerator. Panthanaea pulled the fortune cookies out and tossed one to Duo. "Here, have a fortune. It should be good, if you're truly intent on changing."

Duo chuckled and broke the cookie. "Beware of Grape with Wooden Mallet...Kidding, it says "Fortune smiles on you in an unexpected way." in bed!" Duo laughed. "What's yours say?"

Pan chuckled, cracked the cookie, and laughed heartily. "I always get this one. "Look for love in an unlikely friend." in bed! Been getting that one for years. Not looking, so they can just stop telling me to." She stuck out her tongue at the fortune, soliciting a laugh from Duo, then ate the cookie with a grin.

They sat and chatted idly until they both started to yawn. Pan looked at her watch and blinked. "Good Lord, it's already 1 AM. I have a 9 AM class tomorrow. You should probably go home."

Duo nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for everything, Pan."

Pan walked him to the door. "Thank YOU for the dinner and the company. Let me know when you decide what you want to pursue and I'll see what I can do."

Duo nodded and smiled as he left. "Have a good night."

"You too." Pan closed the door and locked it, then made her way back to her cot. Changing into some more comfortable clothes, she laid down and was quickly asleep. It had been a pretty good day, for the most part.

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Josef - Pronounced Yo-Seff

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COMMENTS PEOPLE...NEED COMMENTS! Also, a cookie to anyone who can identify Duo's fortune cookie joke. the "Beware of Grape with Wooden Mallet"

Also, if Pan seems to be very trusting and open, it's because she suffers from an unusual disorder called Asperger's Syndrome. Look it up. You might learn something.