See all warnings and disclaimers in the first chapter.

A/N: Okay, I had a question come up in my reviews that I thought needed an answer in case there was confusion festering in the minds of my wonderful readers. Duo is eighteen. He was fourteen four years ago (obviously . . .) when all this stuff with Relena and her brother began. Heero is about three months older than Duo. Quatre and Trowa are twenty-one, Wufei is twenty-two, Zechs is twenty . . . um, I think . . . four? I forget . . . and Treize is as old as he wants to be. Relena's a bitch. That's all I'm going to say.

Heero: And yet you won't let me kill her? Why is that again, Jewel?

Jewel: Shut up. Jerk.

For Some, Intrigue; For Others, War

In the cold, gray hour before dawn, Heero woke from a light sleep. Duo was tucked securely underneath him, and Heero found himself smiling for no reason. It was amazing how quickly he'd come to love and adore his small, human Bonded. His packmate. His soulmate. Sighing, he lifted himself off Duo with ultimate care and dropped to the floor in wolf form.

Silent as a ghost he padded down the halls of Quatre's impressively large manor, not pausing until he reached the door. With care and patience he pushed it open without a sound. Duo would be safe here until he returned. He only planned to be gone a few hours. Slipping into the yard, he faded into the darkness.

o8o o8o

Trowa came to suddenly, not sure what had awakened him. His ears strained for any sound, but after a few seconds he jumped off the bed and padded into the hall. Quatre sent him a sleepy inquiry, and he sent back a wordless pulse of reassurance. His sense of urgency grew as he half-ran down the hall to where Heero and Duo lay sleeping.

At least, where Heero and Duo should have lain sleeping. Duo was sprawled gracefully on the down mattress, but Heero was nowhere in sight. Hissing, Trowa bolted into the hallway, sending out a call to Wufei. By himself Trowa wasn't strong enough to stop an angry wolf Heero's size. But with the powerful white tiger, they could.

Wufei met him by the front door, and the large pair broke into the night at a dead run.

They took him by surprise. Being upwind, the advantage was with them. They didn't bother to cut him off and try talking. They simply sprang on him, bearing him to the ground beneath their combined weight. Jaws capable of exerting bone-crushing pressure closed around his muzzle and two warning growls split the night.

o8o o8o

For a moment, Heero struggled like a mad thing, furious and desperate to throw off their weight. Not even he was that strong. The two wildcats held him down, Wufei's jaws tightening around his muzzle until he let out a snarling yelp. That sharp sting of pain would wake Duo! He tried once more to throw them off, then finally gave up.

"I'm going to kill her!" he thought furiously. "Why are you trying to stop me?"

"We're not," Wufei replied, "we just want you to wait. Right now is not a good time. Quatre and Treize have something worked out that will bring all this to an end."

"I don't care about that!" Heero snarled, body heaving upright again. He actually got halfway to his feet before they once more bore him down.

"Well, we do," Trowa said sharply. "You can kill her, Heero. In fact, we wouldn't have it any other way. Just not yet. There will be a time when nothing will stand in your way. That time isn't now."

Slowly, Heero's body relaxed. These two had been Bonded to a human much longer than him. Wufei had been Bonded for the better part of five years, Trowa at least two. They knew far more about human dealings than he, the only difference being Heero simply didn't care. He just wanted to remove the source of suffering Duo had been forced to endure.

They seemed to sense his relenting. "I'm going to have Quatre send you two back to Tel'Mar for now," Wufei said abruptly. "We have a lot going on, and we can't be spending this kind of time making sure you behave."

Heero growled softly at the wording, but otherwise he stayed still. After a moment, the pair slowly rose off him and let him get to his feet. And while he sent Wufei a frosty glare, he otherwise 'behaved.' The two wildcats flanked him as they made their way back to the Winner estate.

Duo was, indeed, awake. In fact he was lying in Quatre's arms, looking worried and upset. Heero immediately felt overcome with guilt. He hadn't even thought to contact Duo to let him know he was okay. Jumping up onto the bed, he whined softly, ears flat against his skull.

Duo sat up, touching Heero's face to orient himself, then wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck. "I'm not angry," he whispered. He pressed a kiss to the top of Heero's head. "I'm just glad you're all right."

Heero licked his face, nuzzling him, whining. He felt so stupid. What kind of selfish thing to do was that? He was no longer free to act without consequence. And he never, ever wanted to be responsible for causing Duo pain, no matter how brief or unintentional.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. If he'd been in human form, he would be blushing from shame. "I'm so sorry, Duo."

"Stop apologizing," Duo murmured, rubbing his cheek against Heero's. "I'm not angry. Please stop feeling so bad, Heero."

Heero allowed Duo to pull him into a reclined position, and the pair lay down curled around each other.

o8o o8o

Wufei transformed into his secondary form. "Quatre," he said when the blonde human climbed off the bed to give Duo and Heero room, "we want to send Heero back to Tel'Mar. Duo too, of course. Just for the time being. Heero's state of mind is too . . . volatile right now."

Quatre nodded, ushering the two of them outside the room and closing the door. "I agree. When Trowa told me what Heero was doing, I immediately went to check on Duo to find him waking up alone and scared. Heero's still pretty young, isn't he?"

"Yes," Wufei replied, "and they've only been Bonded for a handful of days."

The three of them walked into the kitchen where Trowa transformed, as well. "And he's a wolf," he pointed out. "They tend to stop thinking when it comes to their packmates. Especially alphas, and Heero is an alpha."

Wufei snorted. Understatement of the century . . . "You know how wolves are," he said with a shrug.

The two cats looked at each other and grinned.

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Yes. Anyway, I'll send them to Tel'Mar on my private shuttle. It will only take about sixteen hours. Did either of you see his injuries?"

"No," Trowa replied, leaning against the counter, watching Quatre make coffee. "His fur is so thick it's impossible to tell. When Wufei was . . . subduing him, he drew blood. I'm sure that upset Duo even more."

It was Quatre's turn to sigh. "Perhaps one of the older, more experienced Telmaran can explain to him his responsibilities now that he has a human Bonded. Or one of you two. Duo . . . well, he's an angel. No one likes to see him hurt. I don't know of anyone in the Imperial Court that doesn't think he's . . . well, the darling of the court."

Wufei half-growled. "Heero means well. He just doesn't think. Wolves are doers. Not thinkers. So, they almost never think about what they're doing. Heero's so young he's definitely not an exception." He snorted. "I've already contacted the clan O'Daija of the third clan, the representative of all Telmaran. Lady Midori clan Une. She's a very strong woman."

Quatre nodded thoughtfully. "She's a white deer, isn't she?"

"Yes," Wufei replied.

"All right," Quatre said. "Trowa, be a love and finish making the coffee, won't you? I'll talk to my pilot and get my shuttle ready to leave within the hour."

o8o o8o

During the flight to Tel'Mar, Heero was quiet. Duo, comfortably ensconced on an extremely comfortable couch-bed with a blanket covering his legs, was half reclined with Heero lying over his lap. He could still feel the wolf's guilt radiating off him, though it was muted now. Duo hated to feel it. He didn't want Heero to be upset anymore than Heero wanted Duo to be upset.

With one hand resting on Heero's back, the other constantly stroked his soft ears. He could tell Heero was content, happy to be with him, but he couldn't seem to shake his guilt. Duo spidered his fingers down the top of Heero's muzzle, lightly brushing over the small wounds there that still stung. A new wave of guilt swept through Heero.

Closing his eyes, Duo concentrated on simply overwhelming his Bonded with love. "Please, please stop feeling guilty, Heero," he whispered. "I'm not angry. I'm just glad nothing happened to you, and that we're together now. Nothing bad happened, and I'm all right, so stop. All right? It's all right."

Heero abruptly raised his head and licked Duo right on the mouth, making him jerk back with a surprised giggle.

"I'm sorry," Heero said quietly, sounding very subdued. "I'm making you feel bad."

At least he was talking now. Duo kissed him between the eyes. "Just a little, but only because you feel so bad. It's not like you abandoned me for years and years. It was just . . . a few minutes!"

Heero uttered a rueful little chuckle. "Put it that way and it sounds silly."

Relieved to hear the humor returning to his Bonded, the sick feeling of worry melted away. He grinned. "Maybe just a little. But we are still new to this thing."

That made Heero lick his mouth again. "I'm going to be better to you," he said. "You're my number one now, not my desire for revenge. It's just . . . well, I hate to give you excuses, but I'm a wolf. We just . . . we're really protective of our packs. And you are my packmate. And so, so much more, Duo . . ."

Duo hugged him close, showering him with kisses. "I know, Heero. I can feel it, remember? I feel the same."

"I know," Heero agreed, laying his head back on Duo's lap.

They spent the rest of the flight in silence, but this time it was a comfortable, warm one. Simply basking in each other, in their newfound closeness and love.