Chapter Thirteen
Join Forces

The morning came all too soon. Serena wanted nothing more than to sleep longer. She had woken up clutching one of the pillows tightly to her chest. And with how exhausted Serena felt. She knew something had happened while she slept. Even though they hadn't gone to bed too late, she should've felt well-rested.

It only meant one thing. A nightmare had come to visit.

As Serena's mind started to wake more, she felt that Trowa had one arm wrapped around her waist. Serena wondered if she had woken him up without knowing it. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the nightmare and what had occurred. But after a few minutes, she opened her eyes. Her mind drew a blank.

Sighing, Serena turned herself enough to look over her shoulder. Trowa was looking at her with a frown on his face.

Great, he's going to ask me. Serena thought to herself.

"I'm sure you want to sleep longer, but we need to get up. The delivery people will be here in a few hours," Trowa said. Apologetically.

To her surprise, Trowa said nothing more as he removed his arm from her waist, turning so he could lay on his back. Sitting up, Serena looked at him.

"I'm not going to ask if that's what you're wondering."

"I'm not sure I like that you're in my head right now," Serena said while lifting a brow at him. Trowa chuckled as he sat up, reaching a hand to touch her cheek.

"I've been there, and there's no reason to talk about it." He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Why don't we get some java and shower before we clear out the bedroom?"

"Sounds like so much fun," Serena rolled her eyes, trying to put a smile on her face for him.

"That's the spirit," Trowa said as he got out of bed.

Serena frowned at his backside as he pulled a pair of sweatpants over his hips. Once he left the room, Serena threw herself backward, landing on the pillows. Sometimes she wished Trowa was still the stoic guy she had learned about years ago, but then again, she knew that wasn't his true personality.

After they showered, they started working on removing everything from Trowa's old dresser. Serena hadn't put away any of her new clothes. Instead, she had left them in their respective bags till she washed them. Even though Serena still complained about them. She had put off doing anything with them till she had to. Once they were clean, Serena folded them and left them in the guest room. Which was where she was currently bringing the rest of their clothes.

She had helped Trowa move the mattress off the bed frame before he got to work taking it apart. He was finishing up when she walked back into the room to get the last of their clothes.

"They should be arriving within the next fifteen minutes," Trowa said as he stood up. "Do you need any help?"

"No," Serena shook her head.

"Then I'll head downstairs to wait for them," Trowa smiled.

Serena watched as Trowa left. Frowning to herself, Serena couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about herself. Trowa hadn't said anything, but Serena knew he was looking at her differently. She had caught him several times staring at her. Trowa kept his face masked every time, but his eyes betrayed him.

He was worried about her.

Serena wondered if she had said anything while she was asleep. She knew, without a doubt, that she had a nightmare, but Serena didn't know what it was about. And not knowing if she had spoken out loud at any point bothered her.

What if I said something about-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the door to the apartment open. Placing the last of the clothes on the guest bed, Serena moved out to the living room to find Trowa helping the delivery guys bring in the new bed frame. Serena watched as they put it in the bedroom before grabbing the old one and heading back out of the apartment.

Serena stood in the living room, watching as they made several more trips. Once they finished bringing the new furniture in, they offered to set up the bed, but Trowa declined. Trowa thanked them before giving them a tip and sending them on their way. Once Trowa locked the apartment door, Serena started her line of questioning.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Trowa asked as he walked to the bedroom.

"Why did you look angry?" She asked, following after him.

"How did you know I was angry?" Trowa asked as he stood near the new bed frame.

"You were clenching your jaw." Trowa looked at her with a questioning look. "You're not the only observer, you know. You're good at masking your facial features, but you clench your jaw when angry about something."

"They recognized me," Trowa answered after a moment.

"How do you know that they recognized you?"

"They whispered to each other that I was one of Relena's bodyguards."

"Oh."

"Had they not made it known that they knew who I was, I wouldn't have rushed them. But I'm not going to take the chance and let them linger around. Not to mention they looked at you a few times," Trowa frowned.

"Have you forgotten I've already been in some article that a tabloid published as the 'mysterious woman with the FVM's man?'"

"That's another reason why I wanted them out. Heero's already angry enough about it. Luckily there was no real photo of you."

"Just not of my face," Serena shrugged. "Relena's team has been working on that."

"I know. But we're still trying to keep you hidden," Trowa's frown deepened.

"And it's why I can't be on Relena's detail," Serena sighed angrily. After the article had come out, Heero informed her that she wouldn't be assigned to Relena for some time. While Serena understood, it still annoyed her.

When she signed her paperwork for Preventers, Une had placed her under Heero's department, per his request. The security department covered a wide array of different things, from the programs used to protect highly classified information in and outside the agency. The department also covered events, helping other teams when high-ranking officials were in Brussels and Relena's personal security detail. Not to mention Heero's department also was a part of the Special Opts team for missions, which all the guys had some hand in. But it meant Serena could use her skills outside of the office.

If she would ever be allowed to.

"As of right now, yes," Trowa nodded his head. "Why don't we drop the subject and get working on setting up the bedroom? Unless you want to sleep on the floor tonight?"

"Wouldn't be a first," Serena mumbled, walking toward him. Trowa sent her a questioning look, and she realized she had spoken out loud. Instead of acknowledging her mistake, Serena decided to redirect. "Let's get this bed built then," she smiled at him.

Trowa had been trying to keep his distance for the most part. He knew pushing Serena wasn't going to get them anywhere. She would shut down, and Trowa would feel like an asshole because he questioned her about things.

But as the morning turned into early afternoon, his concern was growing. Serena had been acting strange since they had gotten up. He acknowledged her questioning look that morning to an extent. But he had zero intention of asking her until he felt she was ready to talk.

Trowa was hopeful that whatever was going on in Serena's mind would release its grip on her. But by the time they finished getting the bed frame and mattress set up, Trowa wasn't so sure.

There were several times throughout the morning that he had observed her. Serena had been busy moving their clothes to the guest room, but Trowa had noticed a strange look on her face. It only lasted for a moment, but he wasn't sure what it meant.

They had been talking while they put away their clothes. It had only taken them roughly an hour to put the frame together and set up the bed with the mattress, sheets, and pillows before moving the nightstands into place. When they finished, Trowa helped Serena bring the clothes back into their room so they could put everything into their new dressers. They had laid everything on the bed, sorting and organizing as they went.

Then Trowa heard her gasp.

Turning his head sharply, Trowa watched as Serena dropped the shirt in her hands, closing her eyes tightly as she brought a hand to her head. Heero had told him what to look out for when Serena was experiencing a memory returning to her.

Immediately Trowa was by her side. Serena's jaw was locked, gritting her teeth. Trowa knew she was in pain. Gently he grabbed her shoulders.

"Serena? Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth. Trowa frowned at her, even though she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were still tightly closed.

"You're not," he said softly. "Why don't you-"

"I said I'm fine," Serena snapped fiery eyes up to him.

"Serena," Trowa said sternly. Serena turned away from him, causing him to drop his hands. Before she could walk past him, Trowa grabbed her again, spinning Serena so he could hold her against his chest. "I'm not blind. I know you have a headache now."

"It's not that bad," Serena said.

"Just sit down for a little," Trowa sighed. He didn't want to argue with her. "We can finish putting your clothes away later."

Trowa was surprised that after a few moments, Serena nodded her head. Loosening his hold, Trowa took her hand, bringing her out into the kitchen. He had Serena sit at the island while he got her some water.

"Do you want me to get you one of those pills Sally gave you?"

"No, it's not that bad," Serena looked at him. "I told you I'm fine."

"How many times has this happened?"

"This is the first in over a week." Serena frowned at him. "I was probably due for one," she sighed.

"Do you know what triggered it?"

"No," Serena shook her head.

Trowa frowned. If they didn't know what triggered the memory to resurface, they wouldn't be able to watch for specific triggers. While it seemed Serena was fine, Heero had warned him that the few he had witnessed were pretty bad. Serena would be fine, then the following minute, she'd be crippled by an intense migraine.

"Why don't we stay home tonight, and you can rest."

"No," Serena frowned at him. "Don't you think that would make Heero suspicious?"

"You're not planning to tell him, are you?"

"And have him fuss?" Serena glared at him. "He's already been bugging me about this very thing all week." Trowa didn't like it, but he didn't want to push her on the subject.

"If you're not feeling well, just let me know, and I'll come up with some excuse so we can leave," he said.

"And you think Heero will buy that?" Serena lifted a brow at him.

"I'm sure I can come up with something convincing," Trowa shrugged. "For now, just rest. Then we'll put away the rest of your clothes."

Dinner had gone over well. Serena's headache seemed to have gone away. Trowa had asked her before they left for Heero and Relena's. She had told him she was back to feeling like herself. Even though her mood hadn't changed much till they arrived at the couple's townhouse. Serena started smiling more. Trowa wondered at first if Serena was putting on an act. For his sake and everyone else's.

Trowa had watched her throughout dinner. He wasn't thrilled when she accepted a glass of wine from Relena, then another, and another. But Trowa knew he couldn't say anything, at least not yet.

After dinner, the girls sat at the kitchen island, talking about something. Trowa knew this was his chance to pull Heero aside. The two headed into another room, leaving the girls alone.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Heero asked as he sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Serena had a nightmare last night," Trowa said, sitting opposite Heero. The small coffee table separated them. Heero frowned at him. Heero's eyes tightened ever so slightly.

"Do you know what it was about?"

"No," Trowa shook his head. "I don't think Serena woke up at any point. She was talking in her sleep, though."

"What did she say?"

"I don't know. It was in Japanese. The only word she said that I could understand was 'no.'"

"Did you ask her about it?"

"No," Trowa shook his head again. "Serena seemed confused when she woke up. That and I don't think she got much sleep. She looked tired most of the morning."

"How was her mood after?" Heero asked as he sat back more, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Different throughout the morning and even into the afternoon." Heero frowned at him again, and Trowa knew the following words wouldn't sit well with Heero. "She also remembered something."

"What?" Heero asked as he sat up straight. "Do you know what triggered it?"

"No, I'm not sure what caused it."

Without warning, Heero stood, making his way out of the living room. Trowa stood quickly, following after him. Trowa made it to the kitchen when he heard Heero say something to Serena. Her eyes snapped to him before she turned back to Heero, saying something. Serena stood, walking over to Heero before the two disappeared into the living room.

When Trowa turned his head back, he saw Relena staring at him.

"Want to go listen?" Relena asked with a sly smile on her face.

"You know we won't be able to understand them, right?" Trowa lifted a brow at her. Relena shrugged as she got off the barstool.

"Maybe it's time we learn Japanese. This way, we can know what they're talking about."

"I don't eavesdrop," Trowa frowned.

"Yes, you do," Relena said as she grabbed his arm, pulling Trowa towards the living room.

"Trowa told me you had a nightmare last night," Heero said, crossing his arms over his chest. Serena kept her eyes trained in front of her. He made her sit down next to him on the couch. The only way for Serena to hide was if she turned her head away from him. "Care to tell me what it was about?"

"No," Serena said.

"What about the memory? I know you had a headache earlier."

"This is why I didn't want to say anything," Serena said, turning to glare at him.

"I gathered that when Trowa was the one to tell me," Heero frowned at her. "Now start talking." Serena sighed as she sat back more.

Heero gave her the time she needed. But he wasn't going to let her leave without telling him. If they had to sit there all night, he would. And Serena knew that.

"When I woke up, I knew I had a nightmare, but it wasn't till a memory resurfaced that I remembered what it was about," Serena frowned.

"Do you know what triggered it?"

"Yeah," Serena half laughed, half sighed. "I was putting away a damn shirt."

"A shirt?" Heero lifted his brow at her.

"It was pink, and when I was with Edwards, I wasn't allowed to wear anything colorful."

Heero racked his brain for the information. While at times he hated that he had memories that weren't his, they were starting to come in handy now. Heero could only place a handful of times he had seen Serena wear anything that wasn't black, brown, or tan. Those were the times when she was out on Edwards's orders. Heero nodded his head for her to continue.

"Ironically, it had nothing to do with the memory itself. But after thinking about it, I think I may have scared myself when it first started coming back to me."

"What was the memory about?"

"It wasn't just one. It was almost like a collection of multiple ones," Serena frowned before she turned away from him. "All the things he used to call me. The things he would say to me. It was like being hit in the face with them. Not to mention the pain from the headache. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least."

Heero frowned at her. Edwards was a real piece of work. Heero had heard his fair share of nasty names, but Edwards took it to a new level. Whenever he was angry with Serena, Edwards would degrade her to no extent.

"I am everything he ever called me-"

"No, you're not," Heero said sternly, cutting her off. Serena swung her head towards him. "You are not any of those things he said to you."

"But aren't I? He made me that way, after all."

"No," Heero shook his head. "That's not who you are, and you know that."

"Funny. Because I'm pretty sure you called me an experiment-"

"And I shouldn't have called you that," Heero said, cutting her off again. "I'm sorry I ever said that to you."

"You didn't know," Serena frowned at him. "It's easier to judge than it is to believe me."

Heero's frown deepened then. He knew what Serena was trying to say to him. People had judged and ridiculed her for who she was and what she did. Not once did anyone ever think about how she felt. He had done the same thing to her, and even though their relationship was improving, Heero still felt guilty.

How many times had someone taken one look at Serena and perceived her for something others had told them about her? She was never treated as a human, only as an object.

"You can't keep living in the past, Serena," Heero said after a few moments. "You need to live in the present. Enjoy the life you get to have now."

"That's easier said than done," Serena chuckled darkly. "I've lived my whole life one way, and now… I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to live."

"Doing whatever you want," Heero shrugged before correcting his statement. "Minus certain things."

"And those things would be?" Serena lifted a brow at him.

"No more self-destructing." Serena erupted into laughter, and Heero couldn't help himself as he joined her.

"I'm pretty sure neither of us can do that now," Serena said once they calmed down. "Though I do believe we're both two for two now."

"Yes," Heero chuckled. "Although, I think both times you were more successful than I was."

"Yes and no," Serena chuckled again. "The first time, I had a better shot. Not staying inside the cockpit was a good idea."

"Not to mention what you said to Edwards," Heero laughed. "I think it was fitting for the time."

"Much better than what you said when you tried it a second time," Serena smiled at him. "Did you learn your lesson about not getting the detonator wet?"

"I wasn't thinking," Heero shrugged. "It's not my fault it wasn't waterproof."

"At least you didn't have fail-safes put in place. The second time worked out better for you."

"Your first attempt was better. J may be old, but he's not stupid. He knew you would try and blow yourself up one day. Wonder where you got the idea from?" Heero lifted a brow for good measure. Serena laughed as she sat back more on the couch. Her mood seemed to improve the more they talked.

"Guess I learned from the one who was stupid enough to try it first."

"Hey!" Heero said, sitting up. Serena held her stomach as she laughed more. Heero felt the corners of his lips tip up. He didn't want to agree with her, but it was true. He was the first one dumb enough to self-destruct in the first place.

Relena looked at Trowa. They had been standing, leaning against the wall next to the living room listening to Heero and Serena. Relena couldn't make out what Heero and Serena were saying until they switched to English almost seamlessly while still carrying on the same conversation.

"Heero tried to blow himself up twice?" Trowa asked her quietly.

"Yeah, when I first met him on the beach..." Relena wanted to say something else when she heard Serena start speaking again.

"You know, I still wish I had seen Edwards's face when I blew up the hangar."

"He was already pissed at you for not coming out of your suit," Heero said.

"Yeah, he was," Serena chuckled. "But I couldn't see into the observation room when I stepped out. I could only hear him still yelling at me through the loudspeaker. I remember looking up in that direction and saying my oh-so-lovely parting words and pressing the detonator."

Relena frowned when both Heero and Serena started laughing again. Turning her head back, Relena gave Trowa a questioning look. Trowa shrugged back at her.

"What happened after you woke up?" Heero asked once they had calmed down.

"Edwards was pissed," Serena chuckled again. "In all honesty, it's still blurry at best, but I remember, roughly a week later, I managed to get to his office. Had I not been high off my ass from all the drugs, I'm pretty sure my shot would've killed him."

"You were high off your ass," Heero laughed.

"I think the chip was working double time then, but after that, you know what happened next."

"Yeah, you and J got moved. And I agree, had you been in the right state of mind, I think you would've killed him then."

"It was enough for him to go into hiding, though. So at least my point got across to him," Serena said. "And he has a permanent reminder of how I almost took off his head."

"Yeah," Heero said as he started to laugh again. Serena joined him before the two settled before the room fell into silence. Relena looked back at Trowa, wondering if Heero and Serena had finished talking.

"What about all the other times you tried?" Serena asked after a moment. "I think you were just as hellbent as I was on destroying myself."

"At the time, yes," Heero said. "Though we were doing things for two different reasons. Should we discuss all of your other attempts?"

"Nope," Serena said. "I'm good. I don't think I need a reminder of all of those times."

"That's what I thought," Heero chuckled.

"We should probably go back. I'm sure we've been here long enough," Serena said.

"Probably," Heero said. "If this happens again, you need to tell me."

"Don't," Serena groaned. "Don't ruin the good mood I'm in."

"I'm being serious, Serena. You need to tell me when you get those headaches."

"I think I may get another one," Serena grumbled. "Especially if you keep this up."

Relena heard them stand. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Trowa. Relena knew there wasn't enough time to make it to the kitchen before Heero and Serena came out into the hallway.

"Get used to it." Heero's voice sounded close to the doorway. Relena turned to see Heero standing, looking at her with a disapproving look.

"Hi," Relena said.

"Were you two to listening?"

"Maybe…" Relena bit her lip.

"I don't appreciate that," Heero deadpanned.

"I'm going to go get myself another glass of wine," Serena said as she stepped out from behind Heero.

"You don't need anymore," Heero said.

"Right now, I'd have to disagree," Serena said as she headed back toward the kitchen. Ignoring the look Heero sent her.

"Both of you," Heero said, looking at Relena and then at Trowa before his eyes landed back on her. "Don't do this again, do you hear me?"

"Yup," Relena pressed her lips together. She knew she was in trouble. Heero gave them each one last look before heading towards the kitchen. Relena waited till Heero disappeared before turning to face Trowa.

"We need to learn Japanese."

"You know we're both on his bad side right now, right? And possibly Serena's?"

"Yes, but I still think we need to learn Japanese. They're going to make sure they keep their conversations more private now," Relena said. Trowa gave her a look of disapproval. "Oh, come on. You know damn well that you want to know how they know so much about each other," Relena said, pointing a finger. "Especially after tonight. There's no way Heero knows that much about Serena. I know she knows a lot about everyone because of the ZERO system. But I'm not buying anything they said in the past anymore. Something happened while Heero was bringing Serena back."

"I don't think listening in on their conversations is the best way to find out," Trowa frowned at her.

"You're no fun, Barton," Relena huffed as she turned away from Trowa. "Maybe you should've drank more this evening."

"Why?" Trowa asked.

"Because you haven't had enough for me to convince you to join forces with me," Relena said as she started to make her way back to the kitchen. A smile tugged at the corners of Relena's mouth as she heard Trowa chuckle from behind her.

"We're going to go down in flames with this idea, you know that, right?"

"At least we can go down together," Relena threw over her shoulder. "Just think about it."

A/N

Happy Monday!

Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates!

I know I took last week off and while I would love to say that my laptop is fixed... it's sadly not. But I figured regardless that I would at least try and upload a chapter. I will say, that taking some time off and having had at least one day to look over the chapters I have, I made some decisions and we're just going to start speeding things up. We have some events that need to happen because the good stuff keeps me up late into the night.

What I'm saying is we're going to start time jumping a bit here. Dates are going to start coming into play, if there is no day, just assume the chapter is based on the same day/week. We might also start seeing some of those flashbacks... or hints of things that may or may not be important. I'm telling you all, I've been up late thinking things over. Either way, we're going to time jump a bit, some interesting things are going on and I'm going to work on getting to the middle of this damn story as quickly as possible, without skipping certain things, because the good, meaty stuff starts happening then. Who knows, maybe instead of working on my novel, I'll spend the whole month of November writing this story!?

Who else signed up for NaNo? Is anyone else changing their mind about what they're planning on working on? No? Just me? Regardless, happy writing to everyone who's doing NaNo!

I hope everyone is doing well and I will see you all next week!
-MM