Resting in bed, Relena found herself in boredom. She could get out of the bed now, but had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Wrapping herself in a sheet, she found herself without proper clothing or shoes. The factory's cold ground was hard and rough against her soft skin. Howard was kind to her; yet each time he saw her, he asked her to go back to her room. He and some men were working all the time; and she had no idea what they do.

Though Howard had worried that Relena would harm herself, it was now water under the bridge. After she took sleeping pills from Howard, she had a good sleep. A pair of arms was there providing her warmth and protection. Yet, when she woke up the next morning, she found herself alone. Staring at the pipe above her, she quietly thought about what's next for her. She had tried to kill herself, but failed at all attempts. She could try again, but had lost the motivation. Besides, why even bother? Didn't Heero promised her that he will kill her when the time is right? Between now and then, life is just life. Whatever is good, she would enjoy it. Whatever is bad, she wouldn't care about it. After all, would any of it matter when she dies?

Heero was not around most of the day. She didn't ask Howard where he went, or where Duo is. She guessed that they got missions, or acts of terrorism as Treize called it. She found it strange that Howard, such a nice person, would help Heero and Duo to fulfill their atrocious acts. But then again, it is a violent world.

If Heero, Duo, and Howard were threats from the colonies, then they are Treize's enemies.

But where does she fit in this equation?

It was crystal clear that Treize is using her. Did he implanted something in her to track Heero down? Or did he want to use her to expose Heero as a threat from the colonies, especially after she had seen his robotic weapon, or Gundam as they called it? Or, even worse, Treize could've anticipated that Heero would kill her and use it as a propaganda against the space colonies. Imagine Heero shot her in the head or heart. She was found dead. Dressed in black, Treize served as her chief mourner. A Gundam pilot had murdered Princess Relena of Sanc Kingdom. A perfect motivation for earth to declare war on the colonies.

And yet, while she knew that Treize is using her with complete disregard for her safety, Relena couldn't see him as a villain. Mentally, each time when she thought about what Treize put her through, she made excuses for him. Then, she hated herself for that.

A knock on the door and Duo appeared with a chocolate bar in his hand.

"Hey good lookin! How ya feeling?" He gave her a friendly big smile.

Relena accepted the chocolate bar but didn't know what to do with it. Duo had to show her how to peel it open. He found it strange but kept it to himself.

"What you do, is there a point to it?" Relena asked him, referring to his secret missions.

Duo fished out a deck of poker from his pocket. "Wanna play?"

Relena never played poker before so Duo had to teach her to rules. From his gestures, she saw him very different from Heero, almost as day and night. Unlike Heero, who barely spoke, Duo was outgoing and a talker.

And observant too.

"Still hurts?" He asked, noticing how Relena moved her hand.

"Yes," Relena replied. "Each time I move or breathe, it hurts."

"It's a very sensitive spot where you got hit," Duo explained. "Very close to the heart. Each nerve in your body is linked to the heart."

"Will it ever go away? This pain?"

"You'll get used to it," Duo said. "The less you think about it, the less it bothers you."

"Are you a priest?" Relena asked, noting his black outfit.

"No." Although he gave a simple reply, Relena guessed there's more to the story.

"If you are to choose between living in pain or death," Relena said. "Which one you'd pick?"

"I don't get to pick," Duo said without hesitation. "There is a god of death and he has a plan for everyone. No one can defy his plan. When he decides it's your time, then it's your time."

"There is a god of death?"

"I've seen him, many times," Duo said. "He is out there."

"What does he look like?"

"Very handsome," Duo replied. "You'd be swayed by his good looks to the point that you'd forget how dangerous he can be-"

A gun click interrupted their conversation.

"Hey chill," Duo said, knowing it's Heero. "I'll leave the two of you alone."

And he left the room.

Facing Heero, Relena found anger burning inside her. Ironically, she knew it was Heero who provided her warmth and protection while she was shivering at night. Interestingly, Treize had used her and put her in danger; and she kept on making excuses not to hate him. Heero had saved her quite a few times; and she wanted to lash out at him.

"Why did you do that?" She questioned. "He's only being nice. Can't you try to be more like him?"

Heero's face darkened.

She saw he has a gun in hand. "What's the matter? You can't use it? Can't kill me, no matter how much you want to? Time hasn't come yet, has it?"

Was he about to pull the trigger?

"Are you scared?" Relena continued to taunt him. "Or are you just too soft?"

He threw the gun aside and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Initially, his actions surprised her, but soon she knew the reason behind it. Pain from her wound intensified. His arms were made of iron. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't get away from him. It was like he knew her body like the back of his hand - knowing exactly where to pressurize to worsen the pain. Refuse to show her weakness, Relena clenched her teeth. Then, she noticed something.

No tear.

Didn't she used to cry when she's hurt?

But not this time.

When was the last time she cried?

She could feel Heero's pinching her harder. Still, no tears from her eyes.

What had happened to her?

She saw the gun he threw aside; it was only inches away. She kept her eye on that gun.

"When's the last time you cried?" She whispered against his hard muscles.

She could feel Heero's grip on her loosened. It seemed like her words had an impact on him. She quietly waited until he released her from his arms, and reached for the gun.

And succeeded.

She pointed the gun at Heero and said, "Looks like I'm going to kill you first."

"Are you aiming at me, or at the wall?" Heero said nonchalantly.

At the end of his words, the gun went off.

Gunshot was louder than she thought. She gasped when Heero bleeding in the arm.

"Heero..." Quickly she put the gun down and went to look at his wound. She noticed the dimmed scars on his body. There were some on his arms, shoulders, and legs.

"Does it hurt?" She asked with guilt. Shooting someone is more frightening than being shot.

"If it hurts, it means that you're alive," he said, taking the gun and unloaded it. He then placed it in her hand. "When you aim, you need to use both hands. Hold it high. When you aim at your target, align your sight with the gun's front sight. Use your dominant eye. Press, don't pull."

"Where is the bullet?" She asked.

He looked at her.

"When I was shot, there was a bullet and you took it out," Relena said. "Now you are shot, where's the bullet?"

"You narrowly missed," Heero replied, eyeing the wall. Now Relena saw the bullet hole on the wall. Apparently the bullet brushed against his arm and went straight to the wall. The blood from his wound stained her hands.

Now she had something in common with Heero.

"You need to lighten up," Duo commented when he saw Heero's bandaged arm. "The colder you are, the more she'll reject you."

And that's what bothered him all along, Duo thought.

"Her hair is a mess, why don't you fix it for her?" He added, and threw Heero a comb.

Playing with his long braid, Duo reminisced the last time his hair was combed. He was only twelve and an orphan. He never knew his parents or his real name. He picked up the name Duo somewhere. Living on the street, he survived by stealing until he was taken in by a priest and a nun. The nun, Sister Helen, wanted to give him a haircut, but Duo rebelled. So instead of cutting it, Sister Helen washed and combed his hair before braiding it. That moment, Duo felt loved and cared for. Perhaps he found himself a mother in Sister Helen.

Only two days later Sister Helen died in his arms from a bloody massacre.

Are people close to Gundam pilots doomed to die? He had asked himself. When Duo told Relena about "god of death,'' he did not reveal that "god of death" is actually a nickname he had for himself.

He did not know exactly how many Gundam pilots are out there. He and Heero ran into each other by chance. Despite the difference in their personalities, they had more in common than he thought. It wouldn't be surprising if Heero had similar past experience.

Maybe he should've advised Heero not to get too attached to that girl.