Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters, although I do look a lot like Duo.

A.N. - Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hope this chapter is out soon enough for you!

scotty-lass - Thanks. And you'll find out in this chapter what Relena's reaction will be.

crazy-lil-nae-nae - I'll try.

Hikaru - Yes, I like 1×2 as well. There will be more soon. Should I up the rating though? I don't know how people react to guy pairings.

Windy River - Is this soon enough for you?

Last Chapter:

"You have wings!" yelled the majority of the room.

"Well duh! We're angels, aren't we? Doesn't that normally imply that we have wings?" answered Duo; who, ever the exhibitionist, promptly removed his shirt and made his wings appear. Heero and Wufei exchanged glances, shrugged, and copied him. The reaction to that was mixed. Une, Zechs, and Noin looked bemused; Sally looked like she wanted to study them; and Dorothy, Relena, and Hilde walked over to feel the feathers.

Chapter 5:

Eventually the pilots got uncomfortable having the girls playing with their wings, and started to look for a way to get them to stop. It was Heero who finally came up with a solution.

"We can actually use our wings too, you know," he told the room.

"We can?" said Duo and Wufei. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Because I didn't want you testing them by jumping off a building," Heero replied dryly. "They work, but you have to learn how to use them first. There's a lot of new muscles that you have to get used to having."

Duo snorted at that. "Oh, so you're allowed to go building diving but we aren't? I was there for that stunt of yours, jumping out of a fifty-something story hospital. Sally and Relena saw it too."

"I survived, didn't I? And you jumped out of the building right beside me!"

"I didn't go headfirst though!"

"But are you denying that if I'd told you about our wings working earlier, you wouldn't have headed to the nearest tall object to test them? What did you think they were for anyways, decoration?"

"I - I didn't really think about it. I mean, all the angels you see in movies just kind of hover there, they don't actually fly. You know, you were easier to talk to when you DIDN'T talk!" Heero just laughed at that.

"Well, our kind of angel can't just hover there, we have to actually fly. If everyone will back up, I'll show you." He extended his massive wings, swept them through the air slowly a few times, then with a massive push took off. He flew a short distance, then touched down again. "I would have gone farther, but even in a room this size, it's hard to fly inside."

"When did you practice, Heero? You haven't really had your wings for much longer than us, unless you learned how to fly when you were five," commented Wufei.

"No, I didn't have my wings for long enough to learn when I was five. But I did go out to the roof of our hotel to practice." He gave Duo a dry look. "And no, I didn't do a header off the roof. I stayed on it. For one thing, I didn't know how well my wings would work; and for another, I don't know how well others would take the sight of a person with wings flying around the city."

Heero then turned back to Une and Sally. "We came here today to tell you all this, but also to ask for your help. Since we're immortal, we aren't going to age. The five of us wanted to join the Preventers for awhile, and then we're going to need your help disappearing. We're also going to need to be partnered to another pilot, so that we aren't working too closely with someone who'll notice when we don't look older."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," commented Sally.

Heero smiled ruefully. "I've had a lot of time to plan it out, since I've known something like this would happen for a long time. Can you help us though?"

"Of course," replied Une. "After all you've done to help us, this is the least we can do. I'll get you set up with the Preventers right away. But there's an uneven number of pilots. Did you want to have one group of three?"

"Actually," cut in Wufei, "I wouldn't mind working with Sally as my partner, if she wouldn't mind. She was the one who originally invited me to join the Preventers, and she knows that I won't age, so that won't be a problem. I'll just join up with the other pilots if they need me."

"That's all right with me, Wufei," said Sally. Wufei looked to Heero for his approval, and got a nod.

"So what about the rest of the pilots?" asked Une.

This time it was Duo who answered, "Q and Tro seem to work well together, so..."

"...they can be partners. Duo and I also work well with each other, so we'll be a team as well," Heero finished for him.

"Heero thinks we work well together?" Duo thought to himself. "That's news to me, but it's nice to hear." Out loud he said, "now that we've got that settled, I think that's pretty much everything we wanted to talk about. The rest can be settled later. Can I talk to you though, Hilde?"

"Sure, Duo," she replied, following him to a small alcove at the side of the room.

"Hil, I know you kinda like me, but with me being immortal, I don't think it can go anywhere. It wouldn't be fair to either of us, but I still want to be friends with you. You're kinda like the sister I never had."

"Oh, Duo, I understand. I'll always be your friend. You and the other pilots can be my honorary big brothers, k?" she said, giggling.

"Thanks, Hilde. I knew you'd understand. And you'd better be careful. Making us your big brothers means that you're going to have all of the Gundam pilots inspecting anyone who wants to go out with you," he threatened playfully.

She laughed in return. "I guess that means that anyone I date will have to be able to stand up to Heero's glare then. Don't worry, I'll manage. If the guys I date aren't good enough for you guys, then I don't want to date them." She hugged him tightly. "It's got to be hard for you though, knowing that you'll see almost everyone you know now grow old and die."

"It is hard, but the reality of it hasn't fully sunk in yet. It's just something I'm going to have to get used to though, we all will." The two stayed in the alcove awhile longer, lost in their thoughts about what life was going to be like from now on. In another part of the room, Relena and Heero were having a similar sort of conversation. She had pulled him aside when the main discussion was finished, and it was soon apparent that the reality of the situation hadn't yet sunk in with her.

"Heero, this means we can be together forever now!" said Relena excitedly.

"No, Relena, it doesn't. I'm not going to age, but you are. I'm never going to die. A relationship like that would never work, even if I did think of you that way," said Heero as gently as he could. "I can't be with someone that I know will get old and die while I still look the way I do now. I'm sorry Relena, but I think of you as a sister, not in a romantic way at all."

Even though Heero had worded it as carefully as possible, Relena's eyes still welled up with tears. "Does this mean that you don't want to be with me?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry, but you're right. I don't want to be with you. It would never work between us. I can't give you the kind of love and attention you want. I'd like to be your friend still, but that's all."

"I...I think I understand. It'll just take me awhile to get used to. I would like to be your friend, but I need to adjust to all this first."

"I'm glad you understand. When you're ready, give me a call, little sister." She gave him a soggy smile.

"Little sister, I like the sound of that. I'll definitely get in touch with you soon. Goodbye, Heero," she said, giving him a small hug that he returned before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Be safe little sister. I'll always be here when you need me." Heero suddenly grinned impishly. "Just think of me as your guardian angel." She laughed at that before turning to leave. When she was gone, soft footsteps approached him from behind before a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.

"I heard what you said to her. You did the right thing, Heero. She'll get used to it soon enough."

"Thank you, Zechs."

"If Relena's your little sister, does that make me your brother?" Zechs asked. Heero looked a bit startled.

"I guess it does," he replied finally. "You seem to be taking all this pretty calmly."

"What choice do I have? If you pilots can be so calm about it, and you're the ones it's happening to, then what right do I have to get upset?" Heero laughed.

"You have a point, big brother."

"Big brother?" Zechs raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if Relena's my little sister, that makes you my big brother, doesn't it?"

"You're right, little brother. It feels weird thinking of it that way though, considering just over a year ago we were trying to kill each other."

"True, but we haven't been enemies for awhile now, and the last war we fought side by side. It doesn't matter what side you were on then, it matters what side you're on now." That ended their conversation momentarily, and Heero surveyed the room. Dorothy and Relena were talking with Noin and Une, Duo and Hilde had just joined them, and Wufei was talking to Sally.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry," Heero said to Zechs. "Why don't we move the group discussion to a restaurant?"

"Sounds good to me," agreed Zechs. They managed to get everyone's attention for the announcement, and soon the group was on their way to a good restaurant in the area.

A.N. - That's all for now. I know I wasn't as mean to Relena as some people would like, but it fit better with the story. I personally don't like her, but it seems that she's not that bad, just immature. Since she grew up a bit in Endless Waltz, she reacted more maturely that she would've during the series. And for anyone who was waiting to see if they could actually fly, there's your answer. I promise there will be more flying in the future.