Okay, so I already tried posting this once and the school server DIED. Grr.

Right now I am listening to Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. I encourage everyone to look it up. It's a big coral-orchestral piece. O Fortuna is the best song ever.

I was listening to Seki Tomokazu earlier. He's the voice actor for Yzak Jule, Domon Kasshu, Van Fanel, Kamui Shirou, Shuichi Shindou, Dee Laytner, Touya Kinomoto, Sousuke Sagara, Chichiri, and for a lot of other well known anime characters. (He's also my favorite japanese seiyuu. OO...he does a lot of shounen ai bishies...)

Anyway, enough chatting. Here's the chapter. Sorry for the long wait.

Thank you to psychoanalyst for editing the fic. Woo7!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Seed Destiny.

It was late at night, and Virgil did not feel like sleeping.

After a few more moments of lying awake and staring at the ceiling, he sat up abruptly. He undressed, threw on his training clothes, and headed out for the the gym.

Walking down the hallway, he could tell that most of the crew was sleeping. Even though this was the case, there were still many sounds that echoed through the steel hallways. He could hear Vana and Ezekiel chatting in the Main Operations room, the young teenager was sitting on the floor with a ruler and a pile of charts, mapping out the route of the Eternal. Cedric was sitting in his own quarters reading a novel and listening to classical music, Tess was-

He frowned, and stopped in front of her room.

His Coordinator ears could pick up what she was doing. Tess had taken to sitting on the floor, sewing up holes in a few pairs of socks, humming softly to the music that played next to her.

Virgil walked on towards the gym.

When he entered, he found himself suddenly irritated.

"Well, well, I didn't expect you to be up, Lieutenant Brooks."

Ryuo Yuji stood in the middle of the room, holding the practice staff in his hands. It was obvious that he had been practicing katas.

"Likewise." Virgil bowed slightly, "Sorry to disturb you, sir."

"Nonsense." the elite pilot shrugged, "I just felt like releasing a little pent-up energy. I heard that you are well adversed in the martial arts, Mr. Brooks."

"Yes, sir."

"How about a little match? One on one?"

Virgil came really close to saying no. He had learned early in his military life that defeating a superior officer in sparring was sometimes more trouble then it was worth. But after seeing the records, Yuji was a top competitor in martial arts tournaments in Orb. Even though Virgil himself was quite good at defense, he never felt the need to be in a formal competition. Everything he knew was mostly self-taught, except for the Jujitsu and Tai Chi that he had learned in the academy.

"I don't think that's a good idea, sir." Virgil smiled nervously, "I'm not that good."

"It's okay, I won't beat you too badly." Yuji chuckled, "Come on, I insist. I need exercise after sitting in that base at Orb for so long."

Virgil sighed, this would not end well.

"Yes, sir."

Rey sat in the helmsman chair. He was alone on the bridge.

Silence helped him recharge. It was the only time that his brain would unwind, and he would be able to avoid stress. This was short-lived, however, as he heard the elevator lift door open. He turned around to see who it was.

"Ah." the girl smiled, "Suzuka-chan told me to bring this for you."

It was the girl that Suzuka was aquainted with. She floated over to him, handing him the tea, and then sitting on the railing next to the console.

"Thank you, Miss Romenhein." he said.

"Please, call me June." she said, "Any friend of Suzuka-chan is a friend of mine."

Rey chuckled, taking a sip of tea. June smirked at him,

"So, have you kissed her yet?"

He promptly snorted in the tea he had been drinking. June laughed, brushing her long hair out of her face. She leaned towards him,

"I wouldn't be worried about anything, Rey-san. Suzuka really likes you."

He blushed, staring at her wide-eyed, "Eh?"

At this point, he was wondering what it was that she and Suzuka were always talking about. He would usually see them chatting in the mess hall, or walking down the cooridors talking quietly to each other.

"It's okay though."She continued talking, ignoring the flabberghasted look on his face, "I think you're a decent guy, Rey-san."

Rey could not help but smile slightly, "It seems that both you and Suzuka-san are conspiring against me."

"I suppose," she shrugged, "She just seems happier then usual. I'm proud of her, she deserves to be happy."

Rey detected a sense of saddness in the girl's voice. After a few moments of silence, June smiled, looking at the floor.

"Take care of her, Rey-san. She's had a hard life."

"What do you mean?"

June frowned, leaning her cheek on her left hand.

"Her family." she replied, "Sometimes, I think that after everything that has happened, it's probably Suzuka-chan that suffered the most out of everything...being left alone for so long...I'm surprised that she's alright."

"What?" Rey was staring at her now, a concerned look on his face.

"It's a long story." June sighed, "One that is best told another ti-"

The door whisked open, and Ezekiel leaned in.

"Hey, Rey-san!" he called, "Virgil and Yuji are fighting each other in the gym! I think it's getting a little out of hand!"

Rey made a face, he was not in the mood to break up fights. June seemed to be thinking the same thing he was.

"Oh Ryou..." she sighed, shaking her head, "...must you always be so hot headed?"

There was already a crowd of people in the hallway and in the gym watching. Rey was surprised to see so many people out. Looking in the room, his mouth fell open.

Both officers were in full offensive mode. Sinking quickly to the floor to avoid being hit by Virgil's staff, Yuji prepared to hit the larger officer point-blank in the chest. Virgil dodged it, planting the end of his staff in the floor, he rolled over Yuji's back and landed gracefully on his feet.

"You're too good to be a lieutenant." Yuji glared at him, "Who the hell are you?"

Virgil turned around, and Rey frowned as his glance fell on his commrade's eyes. Virgil's eyes had turned a solid brown. He twirled the staff in his hands, stopping it abruptly, and slamming the end into the floor with a thunk. His black hair was wild and messy about his face, and he stared at him with an emotionless, nonchalant expression.

"Are you still going easy on me?" Virgil glared a moment, "You think just because I'm only an officer, that makes me less of a solider? Just because I'm not some damn elite?"

"You-"

"I would rather be shot then stoop to being some military dog." he said, "You saw my records, yes? You should know...that only three people in the entire Orb military have defeated me. I'm sorry...but you don't measure up to any of them."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm afraid..." Virgil raced towards him, "...I can't be defeated by you-"

"VIRGIL BROOKS!"

He froze, just as the staff was about to hit his opponent. The voice still boomed throughout the gym as Tess walked it, still dressed in her robe and nightclothes. Vigril stepped back as she walked up to him, staring at his eyes.

"It's been a while, Hayate." she replied, "I thought you said you were never going to fight people like this anymore."

Virgil stepped back from her, "I..."

"Forget it." she shook her head, "For you to pick on someone like this...you should be ashamed of yourself."

"But-"

Tess glarred at him, and then walked past him towards the fallen solider on the floor.

"I'm sorry." she apologized, "Lieutenant Brooks has somewhat a violent personality occasionally. Sometimes, he can't control himself."

Virgil stared at the wall in shock. What...

Rey glanced between Tess and Virgil, then at Ryuo. Tess helped Yuji to his feet, letting out a sigh as she noticed the bruises on his face. She frowned,

"Oh my, we should get you looked at." Tess, then looked at Virgil, whose back was turned to her, "Come on, you need medical attention too."

There was silence in the room. Rey could feel the tension rise for a moment, and he could swear that Virgil's hair began to levitate slightly. The taller man's hand tightened around the staff, and he said through gritted teeth,

"Is that all?"

"Hm?" Tess looked at him curiously.

"Is that all you have to say to me?" he replied, "Lieutenant Reiah?"

She frowned at him, he almost always called her by her name. It was the first time in a while that he had addressed her by formal title.

"Virgil-"

"I think I can take care of myself, thank you." he snapped coldly at her, "I don't need your sympathy."

"I wasn't giving you sympathy, I was simply saying-"

"Lieutenant." Yuji glarred at him, "You shouldn't speak to a lady like that."

Everyone jumped as the staff sailed out of his hands, across the room, and stuck fast into the wall with a crash. He clenched his fists and then turned towards the exit. Rey watched as Virgil walked past, a furious aura seemed to radiate off the Lieutenant. Just before he left, Virgil stopped,

"I apologize." he said, "Please, take Yuji-san to the infirmary. I'm turning in for the night."

"Virgil! Wait!" Tess called as he left the gym, "Tell me what's wrong!"

Rey sighed as she ran past him,

"Okay, shows over." the blonde pilot said, "Everyone, back to your rooms! Yuji, please report to the infirmary."

Rey stood in the doorway as everyone evacuated the gym. Ezekiel sighed,

"He really must be stressed. To turn into Hayate like that."

"Hayate?" Rey replied.

"His other ego." Ezekiel said, "He gets really cold and violent. It was actually through special training from Kira-san that he learned how to control it. Something must really be bothering him if he's this stressed out."

"Rey-san!" Vana's voice came over the com, "Please report to Captain Kiriyuhi's office."

"Ah." Rey said, "Please take care of this, Ezekiel. We are running a ship here, not a fight club."

"Aye, Rey-san."

"Virgil!" Tess ran to catch up with him, she reached out to grab his arm, but he yanked it away from her.

"Tess, don't touch me." he told her. His voice was quiet and monotone, and his response only served to anger her further.

"What is wrong with you?" she yelled, "You're always acting like this! Why don't you stop being so childish?"

"Can you leave me alone for awhile?" he said, "I need to rest-"

"No! I'm not going to leave until you tell me what's wrong!" she roared.

Tess gasped as his eyes snapped open and he grabbed both her arms, pinning her against the wall of the deck.

As the ship drifted through space, the moonlight cast rays through the windows of the observation deck were they stood. She watched, a look of shock on her face, as the moonlight spilled through the room, and over his face. He looked like a different person with the look he had in his eyes.

"Virgil?" she whispered, not trusting herself to speak.

He was strong. Tess and had never known that he was this strong. She could not move an inch under his grip, or the gaze that he was giving her.

"Who do you think you are?" he murmured at her.

"Wha-"

"You think you can just pluck me out of the crowd and tame me?" he said, "You think that I can ever be a different person that who I was when we first met?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I will not change into a person that I am not just to get you to notice me!"

She gasped, her eyes staring at him in horror. He hung his head, looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Tesslia." he said, "Ryuo Yuji is a better person then I am. I guess...I guess I let my mind get out of control again. I should have declined his offer to a fight. It was my fault, and I overdid it again."

"Virgil..."

"I guess...I was just furstrated and angry." he said, "Two emotions that I've always tried to avoid because they bring out the worst in me. I came to the military to try and control them, and all that it has done is add gasoline to the fire in my mind."

She stared at him, forgetting that he was still holding onto her arms.

"Is that what you really want?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you really want me to just get up and walk away from you?"

"It would be the for the best."

She shook her head, "That isn't what I asked. Is it what you want?"

"What I want doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does."

"No."

"It matters to me-"

"DAMMIT!" he roared, taking her by surprise, "Do you think I want you to leave me? I'm in love with you!"

Suddenly realizing what he said, he let go of her and floated backwards, his back hitting the other side of the room. Tess stood there, frozen where she stood.

"Shit." he murmured, running his hand through his hair. Looking up, his eyes gew wide as she floated towards him, "Tess-"

All that he remembered seeing was her smooth hands running over his face. She brushed her lips over his, smiling back at his shocked and confused face.

"Tess..."

She kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His eyes slid closed, pulling her closer to him. He jumped as he heard voices down the hallway. She heard him utter another curse and grab her hand, pulling her down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"We can't stay there."

He punched the code in for his quarters, and pulled her in as the door closed. She found herself pressed against the door as he kissed her back. He tilted her head back, trailing his lips down her neck as he pulled the sash on her robe off.

Tess glanced over at the clock on the stand and chuckled.

"What?" he smirked, looking at her.

"We have 6 hours till our shift starts." she told him.

"Oh?"

She pulled his shirt over his head, "I guess that means we've got time."

It was his turn to laugh, "I guess..."

Rey sat at the desk with Suzuka, staring at Kira from the computer screen.

"So let me get this right..." Suzuka frowned, "...are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's the only way." Kira replied, "It's dangerous. Normally, I would do something like this myself, but I can't leave the Archangel at this point. Shinn-san is not here and neither is Athrun, so you two are the next best candidates."

Rey sighed uneasily.

"It's your choice." Kira said, "This mission has a low survival rate. Twlight is still after both of you, and it's very dangerous."

"Infiltrate the base." Rey repeated, "Pose as a Twilight solider, break into the facilty, and then rescue the princess while sabotaging the base?"

"That's basically the whole thing." Kira shrugged, "A rather blunt way of putting it, though."

"We'll do it, Kira-sama." Suzuka replied.

"Eh?" Kira seemed slightly surprised, "Rey-san?"

She glanced at Rey, who suddenly looked a little paler then usual. The whole idea of dawning the red elite uniform once againand return to an organization that had basically tried to turn him into a fighting, mindless, mercenary did not sit well with him. But in truth, there really was not anyone else to do this job. Suzuka was well adversed with the security codes, and Rey would be able to infiltrate the base easily with his skills.

"Ah." Rey nodded, "We will do it."

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Tommorrow he would have to face his past.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

The next update will hopefully be soon. I've been quite busy, so I don't want to set a date because I know I'll miss it.

Finals weekis comming up, and everyone who is in college knows what I mean. Ganbatte!

Arigato

Lilith