Disclaimer: Santa didn't bring me Duo, Trowa, Heero, Quatre or Wufei for Christmas, only a pair of socks. So no, I don't own them, so no, you don't have to call your lawyers.
gundam gurl: haha I agree… you can always add more sugar! Haha! And Dani will most likely attack you in an alley or somethin if you go after Tro. Haha! Actually, I'm serious… watch your back! Glad you liked last chapter, hope this one will be just as good or better!
Kitten KC: that's awesome! I have an international reviewer! (does happy dance) Thanks! I try to make my story as awesome as possible
sockpup: three words. Go to hell. To harsh? Oh, I don't think it's harsh enough…
Super Duck-chan: Thanks! I think I'm gonna go with that pairing too… I LOVE JELLO TOO! I just suck at making it… I think I made the neighbor's dog sick when I put it out in the trash… but I totally don't mind the randomness! I'm probably the most random person you could EVER meet…
Sutoomu: Thanks! The thing is, I don't even try to make it funny… it just ends up that way! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!... sorry bout that… spasmodic outbursts like that usually happen while I'm doing my homework… creepy…
ON WITH CHAPPY 8!
Don't Mess with Fire
Part 8
Saki sat on the floor looking dully up at Rallon, who had been pacing since he discovered the gundam pilots were staying in the sleeping quarters. "…We can't stand for this… Outsiders coming in here is the worst idea of all that Kaida came up with. She's going soft. Just because one of them was her old running-buddy, all five of them get to stay here! I've got to do something about her…"
The redhead's ears pricked up at the last thing her friend had said. "Rallon, are you nuts? She's the lead Pyronic! Everyone supports her! You might think if you cut off the head, the rest with die alone with it, but that's not the case here! If that happened, Keahi, Zach, Heba and Helen will take control and sort things out before you could even lift a finger!"
"Do you think I don't know that?" the blonde snapped, violet eyes flashing. Saki rolled her eyes. Usually he was so happy and considerate, that is, until Kaida riles him up. She stood and walked to the fluming teen, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, regret for yelling at her evident in his eyes. "Sorry. She just pisses me off so much! I just wanna… GAH! Never mind..."
"Then why don't you?" she purred, glancing up at him through her eyelashes, sending a shiver down his spine. She had a tendency of doing that. "If you want to so much… then why don't you?" She brushed past him, leaving the ghost of a kiss on his cheek. He turned around, but she was gone.
…then why don't you?
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Keahi and Kaida walked back from the circus with Duo and Trowa, talking and laughing on their way back to the hideout. The former Pyronic felt her back tingle whenever the clown directed a comment towards her, but was determined not to blush.
The brunette suddenly cut out the laughter her comrades were making, focusing on the sounds around them. There it was again…
"Keahi."
"Yeah?" the blonde turned to a very serious Kaida, eyes flickering between blue and red constantly. She stopped and listened, eyes narrowing at the results. "There're fifteen this time."
Kaida sniffed, earning her a few strange looks from Duo and Trowa. "P-Squad. About three new recruits."
By that time, the two pilots had opened their senses, listening and looking for the ambushers. Duo caught sight of something leaping between the buildings, Trowa hearing movements in front of them.
"Side attack from the alleyways."
"There's a blocking line upfront."
Almost as soon as the clown finished his statement, the small group found themselves surrounded by men and women in police uniforms, guns trained on the teenagers before them.
Keahi smirked. "What a way to end the night!"
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Quatre leaned against the wall, talking with Zach, ignoring Heero's glares at the small radio, which only issued forth "golden oldies" by this time at night.
"Zach… it was mentioned before that you and Rallon are brothers… is that true? I mean, you look so different." The blonde asked, finally relieving himself of the burden that had been weighing his mind for the past 24 hours.
Immediately he regretted bring up the subject, as Zach's face darkened at the name of his sibling. "Yeah. We're brothers. Twins, in fact, but fraternal. He takes after our father, me our mom," he mumbled, playing with his thin ponytail that lay silkily down his back. "We had an older sister, too, by three years, but she and mom died of pneumonia when we were five. Our sad excuse for a father left Rallon and me at home the day after, catching a shuttle back to earth himself."
Quatre's eyes widened. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up-"
"No, it's fine. I have a better life here than I ever would with that son of a bitch," he said, watching Helen walk into the room. Quatre smiled as he saw his companion's eyes glint and his lips turn up into a smile as he greeted her.
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The ambush, for the ambushers that is, was unsuccessful. However, for the ambushees, it was, indeed, very successful.
"Hey! It's a Rolex!" Keahi smiled triumphantly as she held up the watch, inspecting it critically. "It has two scratches on the face… but we can still get a lot for it at the black market!"
"Leave their pants, Duo! Give them some dignity!" Trowa yelled at the braided pilot.
"I'm not stealing their pants!" the God of Death replied indignantly. "I'm checking for extra ammo!"
"Right…"
Kaida noticed an attacker waking up, groaning as he rubbed his head. Scrambling back as he noticed the Pyronic stalk up to him, unable to escape his inevitable capture, he closed his eyes as her hand tightened around his collar, raising him to eye-level.
Her eyes blazed with an unknown fire, mouth set in a grim line. "One: who sent you? Two: why did you come? And three: what the hell possessed you to wear those socks with that outfit?" she looked at the disgusting neon yellow socks with bright pink happy bunnies bouncing around the edging.
"W-w-well…"
Kaida shook him furiously. "OUT WITH IT MAN!"
"I DON'T KNOW! IT WAS SOMEONE FROM INSIDE THE PRYONICS!"
Duo popped up next to him. "The person that sent you or the person that forced you to wear those socks?"
"Both. They're toe socks too! And SO comfortable!" The attacker said, suddenly unaware of the fuming teen who was still holding him by the shirt.
"Ok, you were lots of help," Kaida mumbled, dropping her preoccupied captive to the ground, he not noticing due to the fact he was discussing the brand of socks he liked most with our favorite braided pilot.
"OHMYGOD! OHMYFUCKINGOD! MY EYES! MY VIRGIN EYES!" the Pyronic turned, seeing her best friend, hands clapped over her eyes, plus a certain green eyed clown, who was in a similar situation.
"BURN IT! QUICK! BURN IT!" yelled Trowa, for once in his life scared shitless.
The magazine in front of them shriveled into embers almost instantly, the two horror-stricken teens relaxing and letting out a sigh of relief. "Never… we will never go digging in that soldier's pack again… no… never again…"
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Duo stumbled his way through the tunnels until he found the sleeping quarters, were he discovered a mob of rabid fan girls attacking the one known as Heero Yuy. The Perfect Soldier was actually afraid, and Duo didn't blame him. He would be too.
"OMG YOU ARE SO HOT! AND YOU'RE THE PILOT OF WING ZERO?"
"BACK OFF, HE'S MINE! I SAW HIS PERFECT BODY FIRST!"
"DO YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?"
"DO YOU? DO YOU? DO YOU?"
Their chants of "do you?" were broken by the Shinigami laughing. They all turned to glare at him, wondering what was so funny. "Oh, boy, does he! Ha ha!"
Their incisive gazes turned back to the pilot they were glomped to, hypnotizing stare only frightening their prey further.
"Duo… don't anger them…"
"She's smart, pretty, caring, and I guess you could say popular," Duo began counting off his fingers, causing Heero to pale considerably.
"…Duo…"
"WHO IS SHE!" the girls screamed furiously, faces twisted with such predictable scorn, the braided pilot had to keep from laughing.
"…not to mention she's funny and outgoing…"
Slowly the girls detached themselves from Heero, migrating towards the horrid Duo who claimed their precious Heero had something as despicable as a girlfriend.
"…Maxwell…"
It was too late. The stalkers had surrounded the boy, stealthily closing in for the kill.
"…and her name is pretty well-known too…"
They pounced.
"…Relena Darlian."
Everything seemed to stop. The fan girl's eyes widened as a blood curdling screech left their throats, falling to the ground in a dead faint.
Duo clapped his hands together, surveying his beautiful handicraft. "Well, now that that's out of the way…" and turned to a grinning Heba in the corner, who had been watching it all with Wufei. "Have you seen Kaida?"
The Pakistani's grin left her face, eyes dropping to the floor. "She went to the training hall. She's pretty much pissed that there's a mole in the gang."
"Ok thanks," Duo said, turning to leave.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
A dark blonde stepped from behind her curtain separator, letting it slide closed behind her. "At least, not alone."
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"
"Let's put it this way… do you like Popeye's Chicken?"
"Yeah."
"Well you'll be put under the 'crisp' part of the menu." Her brown eyes revealed no humor, as Duo would have expected. It was the hard, cold truth. O crap. "She isn't one who likes to be undermined. And she doesn't have the mildest temperament in the gang, either."
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Red eyes glared ruthlessly at the air in front of her, slicing through an invisible opponent with her blade. The whistle of the katana fell upon deaf ears, mind working endlessly with the dilemma at hand.
Someone is trying to eliminate us! If they had gotten us tonight, only Keahi and I, not to mention two of the legendary gundam pilots, would be rotting corpses in some dark alleyway! Unless… they're just after me… she clenched her blade tighter at the thought. Dammit! What have I ever done wrong?
You brought Outsiders in… a voice, a very small voice, said in the back of her mind.
No… they can be trusted! They haven't done anything to prove they're-
YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE! it yelled, volume rising in her ears.
No! They aren't bad! They wouldn't-
Haha! You really think that the infamous gundam pilots, who destroyed thousands, if not millions of lives, freed us from the Alliance AND Oz, not to mention single-handily preventing yet ANOTHER invasion, wouldn't turn us in? Naïve child, you can't see the truth! The laughter echoed through her body, causing her to tense up every time another mocking syllable issued forth from the now roaring voice.
No…
YES! YOU BROGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!
No it's not…
YES! YES! HAHA! YES IT IS! YOU BROUGHT THE OUTSIDERS IN, YOU LET THEM ROAM AROUND, AND YOU GAVE THEM THE TOUR OF THE HIDEOUT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!
"NO IT'S NOT!" she jumped, the sword flashed lethally as the girl brought it down on her taunting enemy.
As she landed gracefully, she brought her katana to her eyes, inspecting the edge before letting it soar, burying it in the cement of the doorframe. Not even glancing up, she addressed the figure in the shadows. "I know you are there."
"Just as a good thief should," said Duo, emerging from the dark into the room.
"This whole thing is fucked up," she sneered, still not looking towards the braided pilot. She tramped past him, easily sliding the katana from its prison hold. Oddly, Duo noticed, the blade wasn't nicked or scratched.
"Oh, that? We experience that a lot."
Kaida mumbled something incoherent, but the boy decided it better not to ask.
"Why is there such thing as peace?"
The sudden question startled Duo, if not the semblance of serenity surrounding the Pyronic before him.
"Why is there such thing as war?" her voice wavered, fury causing her red eyes to squeeze shut. "WHY MUST WE FIGHT, STEAL, KILL EVERYDAY, JUST TO LIVE THE TRANQUIL LIVES OTHERS DO!" flames sprouted from her feet as she paced to the other side of the room. "FIGHTING, STEALING, KILLING TO MAKE OUR LIVES 'PEACEFUL', EVEN WHEN FIGHTING, STEALING, AND KILLING ARE NOT CERTAINLY PEACEFUL THEMSELVES!"
"Because life is pointless. It's a cycle of endless turmoil. At least, that's what I used to think."
"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW?" Kaida turned to face him, blazing crimson eyes burning into his own cobalt.
"I think you're supposed to live life day by day." He stepped towards her, mouth set in a grim line. "I think you are supposed to live in a world with no expectations. The turmoil's just for fun." He was suddenly in front of her, his eyes ever staring down into the rage-filled pits of hell. Slowly, her gaze softened, turning to a soft indigo.
She chuckled as the flames beneath her feet disappeared, resting her forehead on her friend's shoulder. "How is it that you can do that to me?"
"…I'm told a lot that I'm 'special'."
She laughed outright at this, relaxing as he brought his arms around her waist.
"You know, you're not really mad." He said gently giving her time to reply. Not that she needed it, that is.
"Yeah, I am. I'm so pissed off it's not even funny."
He brought his head down, his breathe tickling her ear. "No you're not. How do you feel right now?"
"…"
"Why do you think you're mad?" Kaida dropped her katana to the floor, ignoring the clatter as she wrapped her arms around Duo's torso, burying her face in his chest.
"…I'm scared."
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From outside the doorway in the training hall, three figures watched this, grinning madly as they backed into the recesses of the tunnels. "I don't think we're needed here anymore."
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Keahi held the map against the wall, taking the thumbtacks from between her teeth and pinning it up. Ever since Kaida's decision to play "fire in the hole" in headquarters a few days before, she had been debating when would be a good time to set stuff back up again.
"Hey."
The dark blonde turned, acknowledging the newcomer with a smile. "Hey Trowa. I could use some help putting the maps up."
He shrugged. "Sure. Have you seen Duo or Kaida at all lately?" the brunette asked, picking up a map and tacks from the ground.
The question caused a sparkle in the Pyronic's eye. "Yup. Boy, have I."
The clown raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but dismissed it with the shake of his head. "I won't even ask." Keahi laughed.
"I don't blame ya, I wouldn't either."
She gathered the rolled chart in hand, grabbing a couple of tacks while she was down there. "Almost done. Then, I can show you the tape I recorded for blackmailing Heero. Too hilarious. I don't even see why girls hang all over him though…" She started back towards the wall, only noticing the floor pillow in front of her too late. The map and tacks fell to the ground, as Keahi prepared to hit the cold, hard cement and the shattering pain that followed.
But the pain never came.
She opened her eyes to find her partner holding her up, map hanging and tacks strewn upon the ground, forgotten in sheer seconds. She blinked a couple of times, sighing with relief when she realized she didn't have to have a meeting with the floor anytime soon. "Wow, thanks Tro-" she looked up, eyes catching his; her breathing slowed when she noticed mere inches separated their faces. Time seemed to stop as the two gazed at each other, never minding their awkward positions. It unfroze as Trowa slowly closed the gap.
He gently brought his lips down upon hers, caressing hers ever so lightly, drawing away brief moments after. She responded, not liking the loss of warmth, softly embracing his mouth in a tender kiss of her own. Keahi's entire spine tingled, far worse than earlier that night, forcing her to use all of her power to keep from shivering. Nothing prevented the butterflies in her stomach from flying around when the brunette subtly cupped her chin, kissing her back once more. Slowly, they slipped away, meeting each other's eyes. Chocolate locked onto emerald…
They suddenly sprang away from each other, eyes widened in surprise.
Please don't tell me I just… Keahi glanced back at Trowa, who seemed to be in the same stunned position as she. Oh my God… I did. Dammit, Keahi! This was not part of the plan. Kissing your best friend's childhood friend/ lost lover's friend is not part of the fucking plan!
I can't believe I just did that… that was completely out of line! Unless you consider kissing your friend's childhood friend/ lost lover's best friend is inside the god damn lines. Trowa mentally kicked himself. Why did he have to have super reflexes? Because I'm a gundam pilot and I would probably be dead right now if I didn't. Dammit.
"Oh, hey guys," Zach said, walking through the passageway. He looked up to two hormonal teenagers of opposite sexes a yard apart, eyes as wide as dinner plates and mouths slightly red. He quickly assessed the information, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
Keahi's eyes widened even more. "You wouldn't."
"Oh I would," the ice man replied, light grey eyes dancing with delight.
"…how much?" the dark blonde asked, regretting the question instantly after it left her lips.
The black haired teen tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Oh, I'd say, about seven bucks?"
Trowa instantly thrust the money at him, and the two quickly ran into the tunnels before the moocher could get anymore money out of them.
They walked quietly down the tunnel, not a word passing between them, only glancing until the other looked up, turning away instantly.
The Pyronic started. "As far as anyone's concerned, that never happened, deal?" She was determined not to wince, no matter the twinge she felt. It… hurt.
Nodding in reply, Trowa felt a strange pang in his gut. He dismissed it instantly when Saki and Helen walked by, nodding a greeting to them as well.
It didn't hurt physically, and she wasn't even quite sure mentally. It just hurt. The thought of dismissing the kiss as nothing saddened her, and even that thought made her breath catch in her throat.
The two glanced at each other at the same time, instantly meeting each other's gaze and looking away. The kiss traveled through both of their minds as they slyly looked at each other unintentionally.
…did I actually like it?
A/N: hey! I'm back! Sorry this one took so long. I hate high school. Anyway, that was kinda like my first fluff moment, ever, so I kinda need opinions. Really badly. So ya. I'll come out with the next one ASAP! I made another batch of 3x sugar snickerdoodles!
--DML