Hi! I know it took me quite a while to get this done, but please bear with me, my past weeks have been kinda shitty. My brain was sucked dry of ideas with one heck of a horrible exam week. But I'd never forget about you, my dear readers, I really hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Just a small warning: there's some lemon content in this chapter.

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Just A Headache

Trying to make up for his moments of weakness, Wufei disappeared immediately after the tests and ended up getting his sword from his bedroom and walking to a deserted room somewhere in the headquarters. Practicing his swordplay always relaxed him and helped him forget. It was the most comforting memory he had of his past… his only connection to Treize after his death.

He started out slow just to warm up. From his first contact with the sword, he somehow felt all his worries leave him through the blade of his weapon. All the messed up ideas he'd gathered that morning about the Disease were slowly fading, replaced by the firm conviction of working hard for the rest of the day. Even though he'd just done a whole physical test, Wufei found enough energy inside him to carry out his basic training. The easiest part only raised his body temperature a bit and when he felt warn enough he knew he was ready to begin.

Exercise had always been a great way of escaping for him… it was actually the only way he'd had of escaping. The past war and his Gundam were only good to confuse him. No matter how much he liked piloting his Altron, the ideas of right and wrong, justice and injustice screamed out to him their loudest whenever he entered the cockpit. Flying away in his Altron wasn't what he needed, not when even being in contact with it made his mind fly as well with all the worries of the meaning of his actions.

Practicing like he was doing now had never stirred his beliefs. It was just moving in time with his particular rhythm and nothing else. It was like a dance, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and always with a soothing flow. He barely even noticed the increase of speed and complexity in his movements. All he knew was that he had to push himself to the limit and let all his bottled up worries be torn apart with every swish of the blade.

After a while he paused to catch a breath. He had been practicing nonstop for quite some hours. Now he could feel drops of sweat roll down his face and his body trying to cool itself down. To regulate his breathing, which was coming down in sharp gasps, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, holding the air inside his lungs for a moment and then releasing it. He supposed that training for just an hour more would be enough, but then he saw it… as he closed his eyes for the third time in an attempt to regulate his breathing, a sudden flash of the frozen girl assaulted his mind.

His eyes snapped open, wide as plates, almost frightened. He had assumed that all his training would erase those thoughts for the remainder of the day, but even the slightest pause made his mind go back to the sickbay. All color left his face and he felt his heart drop to his feet. Once again he was breathing with difficulty, but not because of the exercise. The hand tightly clutching his sword began to tremble and his mouth went dry. For some reason, the very idea of going back to such unnerving thoughts made him feel a pang in his heart. One could say he was actually scared of remembering.

Not wanting to dwell on such dark thoughts, he forgot all about resting and reassumed his training. However, he found it hard to continue. As he was performing a frontal thrust with his sword, an image of what the girl might look like when awake appeared right in front of him, and he could see how he penetrated the fragile figure, ending with her life. It had seemed so real that Wufei dropped the sword surprised.

His mind was playing him an evil prank. There was no one in there with him, it had all been an illusion. Wufei shook his head as if to get rid of the vision and retrieved his sword from the floor. This time, he tried a different set of moves, but no matter what he did, the girl always returned, and he could always feel like he was really killing her.

Finally he threw the sword to a side and turned to look at his hands. His vision was clouded and blurry, and he began to panic so much, he even mistook his own sweat for blood.

"NOOOO!"

Clenching his fists tightly, he ran back to the place where his weapon had fallen. In one swift move he picked it up and began slicing madly at the air in front of him, always killing her…

"STOP IT!" he yelled to no one in particular.

His body was now wildly protesting, little by little giving in to tiredness. He hadn't slept well the last night and now he had overdone himself. Everything ached but he still ignored it, slicing at an invisible being, hoping that by doing so he'd drive it out of his mind. Tears now burned his eyes and in the end he fell like struck by lightning. He couldn't feel his limbs, only a sharp pain coming from somewhere in his head, and a fading sensation in his whole body. Then everything blackened as he passed out.

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"Why won't you just leave me alone!"

Duo's words reverberated in his mind. That simple sentence tortured him over and over. Heero was sure the American pilot hadn't meant to be too harsh, but the braided idiot hadn't realized he had hurt Heero deeply. No matter how tough he looked on the outside, on the inside Heero was easily broken to pieces if the right words and actions were put together.

All of them were greatly disturbed by what had been happening during the past days, but he still had the strong conviction that this ought to be something to unite them, rather than divide them. He had hardly talked to the others in the past days like he used to, like they didn't have a care in the world. These times were even worse than the war, where at least they all tried to make the most of their time together, knowing that they might not live another day to do so.

The corridors all looked the same to Heero, so he never really bothered to check where he was going. All he could think about in those moments was Duo and his rejection. Heero thought they were already past all the secrets and barriers, that they were ready to open up to each other no matter what. Clearly he was wrong, as something made Duo feel miserable and he was not willing to tell Heero about it. Heero was feeling guilty, even though he was certain he'd done nothing wrong.

He entered his bedroom before he noticed the place where he'd arrived at. It suddenly dawned on him the identity of his present location, and the plainness of his walls were somehow screaming Maxwell's name and Heero's sin. He stared around with a lost sight, panting, his chest unexplainably heavy. His eyes landed on his laptop and he took it before dashing out of the place. Everything in there reminded him about Duo, and he had to escape. Heero feared for his sanity if he remained there any longer.

True, he had been trained to become the perfect soldier. Death was just a close friend that would whisper sweet nothings in his ear while he was alone or asleep. He was not afraid of this virus, nor about the risks that investigating it represented. For so long he had gotten accustomed to the idea that he was not meant to live long that death itself became so usual and monotone; no meaning came out of it.

But then the perfect soldier had met the motor-mouth pilot. Duo and his joy brought doubts to his beliefs and he became more distant of Death with every passing day of the braided guy's presence. Only after he realized that love was a common subject between the two, he discovered his long lost will to live. No longer did he think about dying. Now it was more about surviving by all means, even if it was just to look into Duo's Prussian eyes once more, holding him in his embrace and savoring his ever-smiling lips. For the first time in his life, after he'd accepted Duo's love, did Heero become afraid of Death, and found himself avoiding even its mention at any cost. Duo brought such strong feelings in Heero, something that no one, not even Relena (1), had managed to accomplish. That in itself was an amazing feat in Heero's eyes.

But now, the sole reason for his life was slowly fading away, willingly leaving him behind, alone and confused. Heero was not only afraid for his death, he was also terrified of losing Duo, and now he felt scared, like some sort of a lost boy, crying out in the dark even though no one can listen to him. Duo was blocking him out and Heero felt helpless. All he really wanted to do was hold the boy and comfort him, telling him everything would be all right. He wanted to escape and take Duo with him, but he couldn't. He couldn't even tell what was wrong with his lover, and that was enough to frustrate him.

The only thing he could come up with to momentarily put such troubles aside was currently tightly clutched beneath one arm. His laptop would have to become a sort of life line to support him. The only moments when he truly lost himself, apart from those he spent with Duo, were those where he was deep in concentration doing whatever in his laptop. All for the sake of his mind's well being.

Far from their dormitories, he found a dark room that seemed to have been empty for quite a long time. He reached out for the light switch and when he clicked it, a dim yellow light filled the messy room. The bed was unmade and papers lay in utter disorder all over the desk. The weirdest part of it all was that the door wasn't locked. If someone had been staying at this room, it was obvious he or she would bolt the door for the sake of their privacy. Heero had never been to this part of the HQ so he had no idea there was actually rooms here. Still, he began to back away until some of the papers lying on top caught his eye.

Eyeing the room, as if expecting someone to come and tell him off for prying, he approached the papers and confirmed his initial thoughts about them. He had clearly read something on them about the virus, half printed, half scribbled in haste. Some sort of scientist must be living in that room… but why was there such a big mess all around?

Gathering more courage, he started shuffling trough the papers, laying his laptop on the floor. Most of them had far too many graphics and scientific language Heero was barely acquainted with. He felt sort of annoyed at the fact he didn't quite understand what it all meant, and was just about to give up hope in deciphering it when he found beneath it all a black-leather-cover book. The name on it made Heero gasp in surprise.

"Sixto…" he whispered.

Some noise was heard outside, startling him, and in one swift motion he gathered his laptop and tucked it safely under one arm along with the book and approached the door silently. Whatever had made the noise outside seemed to be no longer there. He turned the knob as silently as he could and opened the door just a bit, enough to let him see what was going on outside without being noticed. Apparently there was no one there and the reached for the switch once more, this time to turn the light off. With a catlike move he darted out of the place and headed for a much more private place where he could investigate on his new findings.

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Quatre and Trowa seemed to be the only normal pilots left so far. They couldn't tell for sure, but they were almost certain there were some issues amongst the rest of their friends that kept them from being at ease. As soon as the tests were over, Wufei had mysteriously disappeared once more and both Duo and Heero had left to Duo's bedroom only waving a quick goodbye to the couple. Quatre and Trowa turned to look at each other, shrugged and headed, hand in hand, towards the dinning hall on Quatre's request.

The little blond pilot kept mysteriously silent all the way and Trowa, knowing his lover as well as he did, didn't fail to notice the unusual silence.

"Something wrong?" he asked chancing a quick glance at the thoughtful boy.

Quatre bit his lip without answering at first. "I just… well, I somehow feel like we're slowly distancing ourselves from all the others"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not talking about us, specifically, but I do have this feeling that nothing is how it used to be…"

"Well it can't, not with the Disease and all"

"Hmmm…"

Quatre fell into silence once more until they reached the hall and grabbed each something to eat. Once at the table, he started speaking again, intent on letting his lover understand his point.

"I haven't spoken to Duo like I used to in what seems like ages" he said, "and Wufei keeps running away from us."

Trowa sucked on his spoon looking down at the boy with interest. Quatre was staring at his food and didn't meet Trowa's gaze. Trowa took the spoon out of his mouth and sighed.

"Well, I think we all need time to think things over" the tall pilot said, "especially with the present events"

"Well yes, but lately everyone seems to be… sad, and annoyed! I mean, we don't lack reasons to feel like that, but if we keep acting so glumly this will slowly eat us from the inside. We shouldn't be so distant now, we should be together, united. Something like this is some sort of a test for us, to see how strong our friendship can be… I don't want to fail."

Trowa stared quietly at the blonde trough his passionate little speech. He reached out and took hold of one of his lover's hands and placed a kiss on it. Quatre looked at Trowa slightly surprised.

"Whatever happens" Trowa whispered, "I'll always be there by your side. Even if the rest act like real asses, you can be certain of one thing, and that's that I will never ever leave your side."

Quatre's cheeks were tinted slightly red. Trowa's dark green eyes were set on Quatre's and some silent understanding passed between the two. The little blonde was happy and there was a smile on his face to prove it. He had always felt a little bit jealous of Heero and Duo, thinking that maybe he wasn't really meant for Trowa the way the other two seemed to be meant for each other. He somehow felt like Trowa didn't deserve someone like him.

Over and over again, the tall pilot had made his greatest efforts to prove otherwise, but Quatre was still unsure. And contrasting with Heero and Duo, although unknown to him, this Disease business had served to bring him closer to Trowa instead of parting them. Ever since he found out his sister had died, Trowa had never left his side, and it was then when Quatre became fully aware of how much the cinnamon-haired pilot really loved him.

They finished their food in a much happier note than at the beginning. As soon as their plates were cleared, Trowa led the way towards his bedroom. Quatre couldn't help going back to his former thoughts of the slowly distancing pilots and was only barely aware of Trowa's hand pulling him in the right direction and that he had muttered something about resting for a while. When the lights hit him all other thoughts were immediately erased.

"Wha…?" Quatre stared around bewildered.

"Don't tell me you've been ignoring me all the way" said Trowa in a fake hurt voice.

"I…" well, Quatre now remembered Trowa had definitely said something about going there, but he wasn't sure if more had been said on the way. "I…"

Trowa chuckled and closed the door behind them, bolting it. Quatre had been about to apologize when he heard Trowa's chuckles. Instead he gave him a playful punch on one arm and made himself comfortable on the only chair in the place. Trowa took a seat right in front of him at the bed and blanked his face once more staring deeply into Quatre's eyes.

"What?" asked Quatre suddenly feeling under a spotlight.

"I just need to know if you're ok"

"I'm fine…"

"Really?"

"Trowa… I feel sad because of the rest. I just wish we could all be together once more, talking and joking like the kids we are, but somehow we just can't seem to get a break. I wish I knew what was going on trough each of their heads so I could help them, but I can't, and what's worse, I can't seem to be able to approach them either"

"You can't just carry everyone's problems, let them fix it by themselves"

"Maybe I should, but they're my friends and I just can't help but feeling worried"

"Quatre they're my friends as well, but there are certain things that I can't fix. All you or I can do is make sure we're there when they come asking for our help"

Quatre crossed his arms and leaned back on the chair sighing heavily. "All I want is for them to stop being so stuck up their own asses!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will all be ok in the end…"

Quatre smiled as sweetly as Quatre can only smile. He nodded and stood up, making his way towards the bed. He kneeled right in front of Trowa and placed his head on his lover's lap, looking up with those adorable eyes of his.

"You know, these are dark times, but as long as you're here with me, I feel strong enough to take on the whole universe…"

Trowa suddenly felt a rush of unexplainable warmth to his heart. Never before had he felt so loved in his life like he did now. The blonde's confession made his head spin and, no matter how corny it might sound, he felt like floating on a cloud. It was not the first time Quatre told him he loved him, but Trowa had never realized how important and strong their bond was.

A kiss brought him back to reality. He stared at Quatre and held him in his arms, like a precious boy made out of crystal that might break at any moment. Trowa ran a hand through Quatre's golden hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. They leaned back on the bed and stood there for a while, just looking up at the ceiling.

"You know" said Trowa suddenly, "we never really had dessert."

Quatre turned to look at him, disbelief written all over his face. One moment they were all poetic and now the only thing Trowa could think about was food. He stared unblinkingly at his lover and Trowa turned around when he felt his gaze, grinning sheepishly (2). After the mention of dessert, Quatre was looking puzzled but decided to comply with the tall pilot's wishes. Maybe they really did need a break from all those profound thoughts and going down for something sweet wasn't such a bad idea.

What came next was unexpected. Trowa rolled over until he was propped against his elbows, right on top of Quatre. The little blonde stared quizzically at the guy on top and arched an eyebrow.

"What kind of dessert do you have in mind?" Quatre asked, still unsure of Trowa's actions.

"Something… sweet…" Trowa answered and leaned down to press his lips against Quatre's.

He licked the smaller boy's lower lip, timidly asking for entrance. Quatre parted his lips and felt Trowa's mouth explore his mouth slowly and tenderly. He decided that slow wasn't enough and used his own tongue to fasten the rhythm, making his own way into Trowa's mouth. While they were at it, Trowa's hand began to caress Quatre's cheek making him giggle. They pulled apart for some air and Trowa grinned sweetly and mischievously.

Quatre underneath him giggled once more. Using his right hand he pulled Trowa close for another kiss and entwined his left one with Trowa's right hand. The long set of kisses was quickly arousing the little blonde and soon he discovered he wasn't really the only one.

"Trowa… we just had dinner" gasped Quatre when they parted for some air.

"So?" Trowa eyed him mischievously smirking.

Trowa lifted himself up and brought their hips closer, making both arousals grind together. Quatre gasped in pleasure and tightened his grip on Trowa's hand. Trowa smiled and slowly and steadily began to move so as to tease Quatre's member. The little blonde was now moaning with pleasure and threw his head backwards allowing Trowa to kiss, bite and nibble on his neck.

Letting momentarily go, Trowa began to undo the many buttons in Quatre's shirt as well as on his trousers. Tracing down a path with his hand, his mouth followed soon after, licking Quatre's hardened nipples and kissing his belly button. Quatre had a tight grip on the beds sheets, panting and moaning with every touch.

Painfully slow, Trowa's left hand made his way along Quatre's chest, down to his belly and into his trousers. This time, Quatre gasped more audibly surprised to feel the warm hand encircling his throbbing cock and moving gently up and down in a steady rhythm. While Quatre kept moaning loudly, Trowa quickened the strokes and had the Arabian pilot whimpering with extreme pleasure in no time.

"Stop…" gasped Quatre.

Looking down at his lover's eyes Trowa was worried he'd done something wrong, but the sweet smile coming from Quatre's lips enticed him and he allowed himself to be pulled into another kiss while the blonde undid his buttons in turn.

Quatre quickly took a hold of Trowa as well, startling the taller pilot. Nudging himself up, the blonde now pinned Trowa underneath. He let himself slide down off the bed and removed Trowa's trousers. He lifted both Trowa's legs a bit, lowered his own pair of denims, and entered his still startled lover. It was usually Trowa the one to take such initiative, but now Quatre was pressing up his spot sending his brain spinning with pleasure. All the while, Quatre kept his hands on Trowa's member, following the quickened rhythm until it was time for both of them to come with cries of a reached orgasm.

Panting, they leaned side by side on the bed, smiling with smug satisfaction. "Well, that definitely was sweet" said Trowa after recovering his breath. Ignoring the sticky mess they'd just made, tiredness overwhelmed them and they both fell asleep on each other's arms. (3)

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Duo's eyes were already red and puffy from all the crying. Everything in his room lay about smashed and broken to little pieces, product of his fit of rage, and now he was curled up on the floor, tired of banging his fists against it. Apparently the only thing still in one piece was his laptop. He had tried to throw it away, but when the tears cleared from his eyes, the sight of the white artifact brought an image of a typing boy with a black spandex short and a green tank top. His courage faltered and after dropping the thing on his bed, he himself dropped on the floor, yelling and pounding on it till his hands were bloody.

After Heero had left, he had fallen, crying, on the bed. He had punched the stuffing out of his pillows, but the anger wouldn't leave him. He had been an idiot… no, wait, a fucking asshole. The only one he deeply cared about more than anything else in the world had just left because of him. Duo was feeling desperate, like he had reached an impenetrable barrier made up by his feelings, fears and inability to communicate without losing his temper.

His life was downright shitty at the moment and the only way of escaping had been pushed away mercilessly in nothing more but a childish tantrum. For a while now Duo had been feeling useless, like he wasn't really doing anything to help his friends. Those thoughts exasperated him and put him in a very bad mood. And then, right when he was hoping he could forget about it all, resting next to his beloved Heero, he had been unable to express his calls for help. Duo knew that he could always trust Heero, and that he could talk to him no matter what, but he had been too busy playing the martyr that he let the opportunity escape him when he most needed it.

Duo desperately fought for recalling Lady Une's words from that morning, in an attempt of making him feel better. She had said that he had the amazing power of bringing happiness to others, not just by his own cheerful mood, but because he was one of the few that could actually say he was really doing something against the Disease.

"A lot of people wish they were where you're at right now" she had said moving up to the capsules at the sickbay. "Can you imagine what people are feeling like right now? Most of them feel powerless, helpless, because they know there's nothing within their reach that they can do. You are here now, Duo, with us. You are a Preventer and you're fighting against the Disease. Don't falter now, millions of people need you and your friends, there's no reason to feel like you're just on the way"

But despite her wise words, Duo still felt bad.

After most effectively wreaking his whole bedroom, and by doing so hurting himself along the way, he felt no better nor satisfied. The only thing he wanted, he said to himself as his body slowly began to protest, was to be with Heero. Forget about anything and anyone at the moment. The only thing that could make him happy was Heero.

Duo tried to get up, but his whole body was aching. He dropped back to the floor and tried to ignore the sensation of having just being trashed. To no avail, though, as his legs were numb, his arms tired and his fists bloody, his heart feeling heavier than the sun and his head pounding so hard, it obscured his vision. He vaguely wondered if crying as much as he had just done could have such side effects…

It didn't matter now, tough, he just fell into darkness, not sure if he was passing out or just giving in to sleep.

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A/N: He, he… he, he, he… MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I love this... Eeeep!:runs away from angry mob: Please don't kill me!

(1) I'm sure Relena encouraged death wishes in Heero... I would have dearly liked to point that out, but I didn't want to ruin such an emotive moment, he, he.

(2) I'd kill to see Trowa grin sheepishly.

(3) Now that's something I never thought of doing… my first ever 3+4 lemon!