Duo Maxwell - AC 203 Late December

Duo stretched, from his hands high above his head to the tip of his toes. It felt good to be able to move around again.

_ Hum… feels good.

It was late evening in Sank's kingdom, in the middle of winter. The air was chilly, with a sharp sting every time a breeze came by. It felt wonderful after months in the ever tempered colonies.

The passing of seasons was one of the few things Duo missed about Earth. Winter preferably, his skin and constitution didn't do well with stuffy hot summers.

_ You're totally nuts." Hilde countered, her arms wrapped around her waist and her breath puffing white mini-clouds. "It's fucking freezing there. Winner's late.

Duo grinned at her, leaned on the suitcases-full cart and offered his arms for warmth. It was unusual for Quatre's driver to be late but not yet worrisome. And Duo had to admit he wasn't exactly in a hurry to meet all of them, at the same time. Minus one.

_ I can't believe Princess Relena hired the whole circus for her party just to make sure Barton would be here this year. Rich people…" she shook her head grudgingly.

_ Hildy…" Duo chided her softly. "She's a good person. And Quatre is much richer than she'll ever be.

He could feel her shrug and her hair ruffle against his cheek.

_ He's a spacer. He understands things better.

_ At least, she's trying." Not like one Sheila 'I want this paint redone mustard yellow by Christmas' Corbin for example.

_ Yeah… she does." Hilde admitted softly while Quatre's chauffeur finally slid his sand SUV right before them. Duo shook his head as he released Hilde. Trust his best (male) friend to remind people of his Berber origins in the most various and vaguely subtle ways.

Friend because, despite him being slightly overwhelming and a rich spoiled brat tended to be annoying sometimes, Quatre was kind at core. And Duo was a goner for kindness.

Best simply because Duo didn't make friends (real friends, not mere acquaintances just there for a good laugh) that easily and Quatre had been the only one insisting on keeping continued contact after The Split Up.

They let the suitcase handling to the warmly clothed dark haired man and slid in the delightfully warm vehicle. Quatre was seated in the passenger seat and turned to them as soon as the door was closed.

_ Nice trip?

Duo's gaze crossed Hilde's with a wide sexy grin.

_ Relaxing.

Quatre chuckled and drew his hands up with a blush.

_ Don't need the details there.

_ My… why Kitty, never tried to fit two people into a shuttle closet? Or dreamed of?…" Duo teased the blond playfully. And not so much, they all knew about the blonde's teenage crush on one ex-mercenary with a borrowed name.

_ I'm not discussing this with you Duo.

_ Ow… With who then?" Duo leaned forward wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Quatre put his whole palm on his mouthy friend's face to push him back in the seat and make him shut up.

_ Who is already there?" Hilde changed subject with a pointed look at Duo. Since, for once, both Duo and Hilde had been able to take a two weeks long vacation, they decided to come down to Earth a few days before Christmas and enjoy the festive ambiance. Nightlights, Christmas market, and so on.

The colonies just didn't have the level of innocence required to fully enjoy this kind of festivities. And Relena had been only too happy to accommodate them for the whole time despite her being too busy to take the same vacation. They would mostly see her in the evenings, and at the party.

_ Milliardo, Lucrezia and the twins landed last week. Wufei and Sally are actually on a mission and might arrive at the last minute. Some tourists cruising around some Asian islands found a rebellion old hideout, they were sent to catalogue the place and destroy what shouldn't be kept.

Duo nodded, slightly relieved. His relationship with the short-tempered man had never been too good and his misguided choices during the Mariemaya incident hadn't helped. Still, Duo wasn't one to hold a grudge and had tried to bury the hatchet. Apparently, Chang Wufei didn't agree and their meetings were increasingly tense each year.

_ Trowa?

_ Is an uncle now!" Quatre advertised cheerfully. "And utterly smitten with his niece. I've never seen him smile so much. The circus will arrive the day before Christmas Eve.

Duo squinted. So far for the 'teenage' crush. Quatre was obviously still a tad smitten himself. His blonde friend huffed in annoyance, probably following Duo's train of thoughts on his face.

_ I've been over it, Duo. Doesn't mean Trowa isn't still a dear friend. And trust me, when you'll see him with little Chloe you'll get why I find it so sweet.

Trowa 'stoic' Barton smitten with a little girl. It was as difficult to picture as Heero pole-dancing. Hilde's snort by his side revealed that he wasn't the only one having trouble with the concept.

Duo wasn't a quiet guy by a long shot. But he was no competition with a Christmas Happy Quatre. As a Muslim the whole 'Little Jesus' stuff was irrelevant, but Quatre loved the joyful, childlike, atmosphere and goodwill coming with the holiday.

During the short trip from the space port to the Peacecraft mansion, the (no longer so little) blonde broached subjects as diverse as the last mining factory he was building on an asteroid near L5, his thirteenth sister's wedding with a vague cousin of Sally's, his Maganac friends having entered the third generation, how curious and well-mannered were Millie and Luc Merquise.

After letting Duo and Hilde breath, just long enough to give some indications to his chauffeur, he swapped to how exited he was for the coming week. Relena would have a lot of work and meeting going but Quatre was really looking forward showing them all the nice places he remembered from…

_ Kitty, we've been doing those yearly things for eight years now. We kind of know a bit about the landscape." Duo laughed good naturedly at his friend's long face. "Don't worry, we'll still let you treat us with some super fancy dinner a couple times.

_ I will, even if I have to kidnap you. I made a reservation for four at The Vermillion at 8h, in two days.

Duo grinned widely while Hilde huffed in mock outrage. He had to admit that it had taken a long time for Duo to be able to joke this freely about Quatre's overwhelming wealth. Guess, turning down Quatre's offer to invest in his business a couple time before accepting a tiny office with a receptionist slash secretary slash accountant on Earth to make sure the ground-bound packages were actually going where they were supposed to go and take care of some paperwork, in exchange for a percentage of the income, was making clear enough that Duo wasn't a scrounger.

So he felt free now to occasionally enjoy his friend's largess, particularly when it was about good food.

_ And who will be the last lucky one?

_ Relena since she was nice enough to host us for the holiday, I thought it would be appropriate to return her some of her kindness.

_ Appropriate…" Hilde smirked.

_ Kind?..." Duo trailed.

_ Every year I invite our host to a fine dinner. And yes Duo, Relena might have a strong personality, she is a kind person.

Duo hid behind his bangs, Quatre had that ability to keep his voice soft and still sound disappointed. And no one wanted to disappoint Quatre Raberba Winner, it was heartbreaking.

_ Sorry Quat'." He mumbled sheepishly. "It wasn't nice. It's just…

The blonde nodded, he knew. Maybe he felt the same too.

If Relena hadn't turned her back on Heero, after everything he sacrificed for her, he wouldn't have disappeared. And the first pilot might have had an annoying personality, Duo missed him. A lot.

And from Quatre's sad eyes he wasn't the only one.

Since she was the one who knew their lost pilot the least, Hilde took upon herself to lighten the mood and stir the conversation to some more cheerful topics. She was also really excited about the circus and the promised fireworks.

Duo loved the circus where everyone had a chance to be an awed child; even those who never had been one before. He shuddered at the idea of fireworks. He had made a point forgetting about that part of the festivities. A look toward Quatre showed him that the sentiment was shared. He also remembered Trowa getting a bit twitchy during the thundering show the last time he was there.

_ Kitty, ya think you can book us a nice cozy suite somewhere far for the one night?

_ I could, but I won't. I can lend you some noise-cancelling headphone, though.

_ Id' love that; we could start a new fashion there. I want mine dirty pink.

It took one second for Duo to come from sleeping to fully awake when he realized he wasn't home. Too soft a bed, too wide.

It took him a few more to realize he was grabbing Hilde's hairbrush instead of a knife; and recognize the place as one of Relena's guestroom. He dropped the brush and flopped back down into the pillows. Hilde was already up and out.

It meant the bed was cold. It also meant he had the enormous bed all for himself. He spread all across the linen and snuggled smugly, letting the rush of adrenaline fade away and return to a comatose state. The day had been long, and the dinner with the Merquise family had dragged on for a while. Mars terra-formation was a huge and exciting subject.

A look to the bedside clock revealed it was almost ten. Duo made a face at the old fashioned hands of the dial. There was fashionably late, and there was being a maggot. Head still fuzzy, he shrugged a T-shirt and hopped in a pair of well-worn jean's before padding toward what he was pretty sure was the breakfast room.

He was about to go down some wrong alley when the addictive aroma of coffee stirred him toward a luminous area with a view over the see. At least, Hilde was still seated, so he wasn't that late. Was he?

Duo kissed her head and dropped in the nearby chair, his eyes already scanning the food covered table for the coffee-pot.

A guttural humming, followed by giggles that could only come from Quatre made him look up, a raised eyebrow as a question mark.

_ I think you might have confused your brunet with someone else's." Quatre clarified while nudging the sought out pot toward Duo.

Oh?

Oh…. Turned out, Hilde was in front of him, not just besides. He turned wide, hearted eyes to the next chair.

_ Luce, baby, I'm sorry. You are my light and I just can't hide it anymore.

Duo took Lucrezia's hand in his and peppered the smooth skin with light kisses. Raising in the process another grunt, turning full growl from Zech.

_ Thyme honey and lemon juice with black tea." He offered benevolent while prudently giving back the hand he was holding to her rightful owner. The dark coffee in his cup smelled fancy and delicious.

_ Stop talking before you got your dose of caffeine Maxwell; you're not making any sense.

_ Home recipe for your throat ache Zech. Luce, darling, you should know better than letting your man get out in the cold without a scarf.

The only male on Earth and the colonies with hair that could rival his glared, but refrained from growling some more. Quatre, Hilde and Relena, who happened to get by, were more or less efficiently hiding their laughs. Duo got his much needed coffee, and the self-assurance that his hair was still better than the blond prick.

_ Hi princess! Came to join the party?

_ Good morning Duo. Glad to see you finally woke up, so I won't have to send a maid for you.

Duo wasn't sure how serious the smartly dressed woman was; so he decided to take the threat and slight haughtiness as playful banter of sort.

_ What? I'm relegated to maid's service? Don't I deserve Pagan's wake-up call anymore?

He whined with an Oscar-worthy crestfallen expression.

_ Pagan is retired now.

Duo had to admit this took him by surprise. Not that he should have; the butler had been old when Relena was still in diapers. Change was just not a thing Duo liked to think about. And he liked the old man, his driving was almost as entertaining as his old special forces and the Peacecraft childhood stories.

_ He… is still around? Can we visit once or something?

That must have been one of the few occasion Duo saw Relena sincerely smile at him. She reassured Duo could visit the old man anytime, Pagan was still living there, and swept out of the room. Probably heading to another boring meeting with boring old coot trying to imagine what the young woman in front of them would look without her high neck collar.

Duo shook his head to get rid of his own, too fertile, imagination and started digging in the display of food offered in tribute to his appetite.

It was promising to be very good holidays. He would just have to survive the Christmas party and Chang Wufei.

Nothing an ex-pilot turned doll-maker couldn't do.

Trowa Barton - AC 195

Turned out, Wings pilot was older than it seemed, about his own age, and pretty blunt. It was refreshing to say the least. But really… what was it with Gundam pilots and their emotional turnmoils? First the Chinese called WuFei and his nonsense about being or not being worthy of piloting his MS. Now that kid who'd rather stay dead. Not that he didn't get that particular feeling. He simply never had gotten as far as doing it to himself.

Quatre at least had been quite a cheerful and optimistic guy. Too sweet for the task in his mind, but he must have found the resolve somewhere.

This guy was of an entirely different wood. And he had been right, the boy was mostly riding on his emotions, even if he didn't seem to understand them half the time.

Except for that, they were quite similar; determined to take down OZ and protect the colonies, no matter what. The only difference was the brunet had gone the extra length he never undertook. Dispassionately speaking, it was making sense; it would be a waste to die uselessly.

What he hadn't taken into account was Catherine's reaction. He didn't think he had ever gotten chewed out like that. It was… unsettling to have someone care for him, selflessly. To cry for him.

The last one who claimed to care had decimated his company.

Having the young kamikaze approve of his ultimate choice of staying alive, was even more of a surprise. Had he misunderstood the other pilot?

Then he realized. There had been a difference between them.

_ The scythe's wielding pilot wasn't with you this time.

The other boy spared him a look and went back to gazing at the scenery. He frowned disconcerted, was it a touchy subject? More kilometers went by before the brunet spoke up.

_ He chose to target the land route.

_ I think Quatre was onto the land convoy too. They might have come into hiding together." He added after a few kilometers. The petite brunet nodded.

_ Good. I don't think he likes being alone.

he raised an eyebrow at this, still too little intel but he was reluctant to outwardly ask. Some people tended to confuse questions with inquisition and he didn't want to take the risk to antagonize the other boy.

_ Why is that?" He dared venture.

The deadpan answer was shot back almost immediately: "He stuck by me". He didn't think the self-deprecation was totally warranted, he quite liked the direct personality of his newest companion, but he had no business nosing into whatever kind of relationship the two other pilots might have had.

_ How is he?" He still couln't help but ask, just before he bite his tongue. Only this time the brunet answered right away, with an amused snort.

_ He takes a lot of place.

_ That big?" Trowa asked surprised. He didn't expect a pilot to be fat. There wasn't that much space in a MS cockpit.

_ Chatty. Attention drawing. Most of the time I can't tell if he gets how serious this fight is or if it's all a game for him. He's a good pilot, though.

He noticed that his companion called 02 'attention drawing' and not 'attention seeker'. From previous observations, 01 tended to be quite precise with his wording. It still didn't give much to conclude whether the Scythe's wielder would cry over his death like Catherine did for him.

They spend a while in silence, the wounded boy listing more and more due to fatigue and his still healing side. They would have to make a stop and get some rest soon; the gas tank was near empty anyway.

Eventually, he stopped the truck in a small village, almost too small for the size of the engine, and searched his backpack for a wallet.

_ I'll fill the tank, there is a grocery store across the road, you want anything in particular?

The other boy shrugged, he had no particular distaste or allergies. And apparently, no particular taste for anything… Saying he would have to choose their next meal himself. Bothersome.

He was about to recommend his companion to lie down in the meanwhile, but the petite brunet was already making himself comfortable on the large front seat. As comfortable as possible with a heavily bandages torso.

So. Groceries…

When he finally came back to the truck, some canned soup, snacks, fruits and food easy to reheat on a portable stove, Heero was already fast asleep. Or pretending. He didn't stir in the slightest when he leaned over to store the bags under the head board or draped a plaid over the thin shoulders.

The bench was wide, the pilot was short, so he only bothered to push a little the feet, let them drop over his lap once seated and kept driving west.