Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.

Last Chapter:

"She acknowledged me as her husband," he thought to himself. The thought made him happy, and he bent back down to his gardening. "I should put a memorial tablet for her in this garden. Maybe one for Treize too. I should invite the others to join me, to commemorate their special dead as well.

"I guess Heero was right, and I really can see and speak with the dead. It seems they have to want to talk with me first though." The thought did not disturb him like it might have earlier however. "I have nothing to fear from the dead. They cannot hurt the living unless we allow them to."

Chapter 23:

Heero was sitting in the living room reading a book when he heard someone start knocking on the door. He immediately drew his gun and walked quietly towards the door. Although he had discarded a lot of the mannerisms he had during the war, he had not dismissed the instinctive caution that came from surviving what he had. He cautiously peered through the peephole in the door, and heaved a relieved sigh when he saw Relena. Tucking his gun back into the waistband of his jeans, he unlocked the door to let her in.

"Hi, Heero," she said cheerfully, hoisting a pair of bulging grocery bags. "I came by to make you guys dinner. I figured it was time to drop by for a visit, since you haven't gotten around to inviting me yet." Heero relieved her of the grocery bags and ushered her into the kitchen while inwardly wondering when the former Queen of the World had learned how to cook, and whether they would regret allowing her to make them food.

"Where are your bodyguards?" he asked instead, knowing it was the expected question, but genuinely worried as well.

She giggled lightly. "I knew you'd ask that. I had Zechs drop me off. He waited to see I was inside before leaving. He thought I would be safe enough with the five of you pilots in the house. If I can't get a ride home from one of you, I'm supposed to call him again."

"That's good. So what were you planning to make for us? And do you need any help?"

"I brought miso soup, some things for a salad, steak, and pie. I hope you guys have a barbeque?" At Heero's nod, she continued. "If you wouldn't mind grilling the steaks, I can take care of everything else."

Heero was about to agree when Duo bounced into the kitchen.

"Hey, Heero, who are you talking to? Oh, hey, Lena," he said happily, grabbing her in a bear hug. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going to make you supper," she replied once he set her down.

"What can I do to help?" he asked immediately. Before she could reply, Wufei wandered into the kitchen. When he and Relena finished greeting each other, Quatre walked in, attracted by the noise, followed closely by Trowa. Soon Relena found herself sitting at the table, watching the pilots cook. Duo had taken over the job of grilling the steaks, Heero was making the miso soup, Wufei had the salad, and Trowa had put the pie in the oven to warm before going somewhere. Quatre was out in the dining room, carefully setting the table.

"You guys aren't supposed to be the ones cooking! I came over here to make dinner for you!" Relena protested.

"But we can't allow a guest to do all the work!" said Quatre, popping his head into the room. Duo shouted in his agreement from outside while the others just nodded. Trowa came back with a few bottles of wine and poured a glass for anyone who wanted one. Heero was the only one who turned it down, mindful that someone needed to stay completely alert.

The kitchen was filled with talk and laughter as they prepared dinner. The food was cooked soon enough, and they moved to the dining room. Dinner was a slow, lingering affair as they enjoyed the food and conversation. Funny stories from the war were dragged out, and there were a number of laughs at the expense of one or the other of the pilots. Relena confessed to standing on a cliff calling for Heero to come and kill her, and imitated the exact way she'd said it. The other pilots laughed while Heero fought a rising blush.

They moved to the sitting room with tea and apple pie, and the conversation shifted to the present. They discussed the way their new powers were manifesting, and possible secondary abilities for the pilots who hadn't shown any yet. Wufei brought up his visit with Meiran that day, and his idea of putting memorial tablets in the garden. Everyone thought it was a great idea, and noone noticed Heero's sudden silence in the midst of the animated discussion that followed. He found himself thinking of all the people he'd killed by accident, especially the little girl and General Noventa.

"So what kind of abilities do you think everyone will have, Heero?" he heard Relena ask. He dragged himself out of his painful memories to answer.

"It's difficult to say so far. Some of our abilities seem to be related to the personalities of the pilot who has them, and others are completely random. We'll just have to wait and see."

"I hope I can see through walls! That would be so cool!" enthused Duo.

"You'd probably see some things you wouldn't want to if you could see through walls," pointed out Trowa.

"Oh yeah, you're right," agreed Duo, making a disgusted face. "Hmm, maybe I'll be able to shoot laser beams out of my eyes."

"I think you've been reading too many comics," said Quatre. "I am curious about what further abilities I'll gain though. Maybe it'll be something to improve on my empathy."

"I wonder what powers other people we know would have," mused Duo.

"Relena would have the power to turn everything pink," said Heero, grinning wickedly.

"Hey!" Relena protested, but she was cut off by Duo.

"And the ability to find Heero, no matter where in the world he is," was his suggestion.

"The power to make people stop fighting," said Quatre, joining in on the teasing. Relena couldn't help but grin at the abilities they were suggesting, and decided to take part in the fun.

"Zechs has the power of perfect hair, no matter what he does," she added.

"And the ability to bring people back from the dead, because they didn't finish their duel," Trowa surprisingly suggested.

"When did that happen?" Wufei asked.

"After Heero self-destructed. He found him and challenged him to a rematch," he replied.

"The Heero-detector seems to run in the family," Quatre commented. The others considered this and burst out laughing at the idea of Zechs chasing Heero around the world, yelling 'duel me, Heero'.

The six of them had a fun evening suggesting random powers for each other and other people they knew. It was Duo's idea to make up super hero names for them all. Heero was 'Rubberman', Duo was 'the Shadow'. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were 'Jaguar', 'the Businessman', and 'the Warrior of Justice' respectively. Relena and Zechs were dubbed 'the Siblings of War and Peace'. Noin and Sally got named 'the Instructor' and 'the Onna' (Wufei's suggestion), and Une was 'Colonel Lady' in reference to her dual personalities during the war.

By the time the super hero naming was done, it was fairly late. Relena looked at her watch and regretfully excused herself.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go. I have an early meeting tomorrow. I had a lot of fun though, we should do this more often."

"You have to go so soon, Lena? That's too bad," complained Duo, getting up and giving her a warm hug goodbye.

"It was very nice to have you, Miss Relena," said Quatre. "Thank you very much for the dinner." He also hugged her goodbye. Trowa gave no verbal acknowledgement, but he nodded and to her surprise, pulled her into a quick hug. Wufei thanked her formally, and shook her hand. He had loosened up somewhat, but not enough to give anyone a hug.

She turned to Heero, expecting a hug and a goodbye from him as well, but he had already shrugged on his coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a ride home. Do you want to take my motorcycle or the car?"

She hesitated a few moments, unsure whether she should accept. Eventually she decided that it was Heero, and if he had minded, he wouldn't have offered.

"I'd love to try your motorcycle," she replied, grabbing her own coat and saying a last goodbye to the other pilots. Once outside, she slid onto the bike behind Heero and grabbed his waist tightly as he started it. He handed her a helmet, and took off as soon as she had it on her head. The twisting ride through the streets was a bit faster than she would have liked, but she was with Heero, and she'd trusted him through far more dangerous things than that. Once she got used to the speed, she found she enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her face. They pulled up to her house far too soon for her. Heero pulled her into a tight hug before giving her back into the care of her bodyguards.

"Thanks for dinner, little sister."

"Thanks for the lift, big brother." They both grinned at each other, and headed back to their respective homes.

Mystical-Maiden - Glad to hear you're still enjoying it. You know, writing this fic is really changing my opinions of some of the characters. I have to look deeper in order to understand them, so I can write them well. Wufei is one of those characters. I like him a lot better now that I have to see things from his point of view. Sure, he has some issues with women, but you're right, China is ultra-patriarchal.

Lady-Friselle - Thank you for your suggestion. I may just do it that way, but I'd have to think of a reason to have Quatre go with Duo and Heero instead of his usual partner, Trowa.

dk-joy - I'm glad you like my fic. It must've taken you a while to read all in one day! There will definitely be more 1×2 in the future.

darkinuyasha - I apologize that it took so long, but I'm updating as fast as I can.

Lord Aries Greymon - Yeah, Predators may look at everything curiously, but somehow they do it differently. Don't mosquitoes suck?

gaelan - Thanks for your ideas. I'm glad you like the way I write Heero. I know some of the ways I have them talk are kind of awkward, I intend to fix that at some point. I'm not trying to be mean to Quatre, and I hope I'm not suggesting that he's weak, but I feel that he does have street toughness. I know a lot of people who are tough, but who wouldn't last five seconds in the slums. That's kind of the idea I'm trying to get across and I hope to develop in more in future chapters.

The Chaotic Ones:

Angel - Thank you for leaving Wufei alone long enough for me to write him in that chapter.

Jef - All I will say is 'maybe'. And teary eyes don't work on me.

Aaries - Well, this was as soon as I could write more. Thank you very much for restraining your muses. I will try and have the next part include more Wufei and Duo. It wouldn't have fit well in what I had planned for this chapter. Oh! Idea! You gave me an idea!

Chaos - Thanks for giving me back Relena for this chapter. She was a lot easier to work with than usual.

PR - Umm, maybe? Sorry, the idea of Kreatur and Dobby kind of disturbs me.

shinotenshi(at)shine/com - Thank you. Well, he is an angel boy in this fic too... (laughs) I know what you mean, I've had the same problem with other fics.