Chapter 8

After that incident, it was incredible how much Heero changed. He was still an extraordinary soldier, but he didn't fit in those confining restrictions J had placed in him anymore; he was no longer their Perfect Soldier. No, he was better.

He smiled with increasing frequency, sometimes even gracing the other pilots with that gorgeous grin. I always took great pleasure in watching their reactions and picking their jaws from the floor.

He didn't always sound like a robot anymore either; I even caught him using slang every once in a while.

His voice gained texture…emotion roughened it and smoothed it and made it beautiful.

Hugging became natural to us, but we were kind of shy at doing it around anybody, even the others. It was a pretty private thing for us. The other pilots gained an unexpected privilege, unforeseen, I think even by Heero. They gained the privilege of touch, and Heero was surprised as anybody when he didn't take off Wufei's head for inadvertently crashing into him one day. That marked another historical day in the process I termed, "Heero's Metamorphosis."

I watched him grow, and I was so proud, so freakin' proud of him I couldn't figure out how people couldn't see me practically glowing with it.

But, you know, I was kind of sad too. It wasn't really the melancholy of a mother knowing her children would leave, but more like I was sad that I didn't have Heero all to me anymore. Selfish beyond belief, right? But then, Heero's been making me feel things from the beginning I've never felt before: bone-chilling fear that actually wasn't fear at all – I'm still not quite sure what the hell it was, the funny little shivery feeling my whole body gets when he smiles, that sensation of flying and crashing jumbled together, and now this…this almost overwhelmingly crushing feeling of loss.

Depression weighed on me far more than I would've liked, but seeing him smile and chat normally with the other pilots…it was a precious gift I could never refuse, whatever the cost.

We were friends. Friends. Sometimes, I was afraid I was dreaming, and I'd wake up to find out that a teasing Wufei, a droll Trowa, an open Heero, a mischievous Quatre…didn't exist. The pain of that blow would probably have killed me.

I don't think the scientists knew how well they'd chosen when they brought the five prodigious Gundam pilots together.

The road to friendship was probably one of the most slippery I'd ever walked, but once I got through Quatre's initial shyness, Wufei's hot anger, Trowa's blistering silence, and Heero's harsh training, we just molded together seamlessly into a whole.

As a unit, we worked better than ever, though that might've been the training Heero put us through to make sure we didn't accidentally bash each other's brains out on a mission.

But we cared, and it showed.

Injuries were always first priority, and I think everyone took a turn soothing each other's nightmares. As I'd suspected, we all had our own personal demons, though I think Heero's really took the cake.

Coming back from missions, somebody, either Quatre, Trowa, or me, always had food warm and ready, and Heero made an obvious effort in choosing safehouses that housed more than one shower.

If we thought someone was totally overworking and on the path to burning himself out, we made it our job to lighten their load and get them rest. For example, if Heero was going on way too many solo missions, Wufei and Trowa'd offer to take a couple in his place, while Quatre and I would make sure he accepted. If Quatre appeared heavy-eyed and listless, all of us would swoop down on him like mother hens and ensure that he wouldn't take a strenuous mission for days. If Wufei's light teasing and ready laughter dwindled, Trowa and I would request that a few of his missions be spread out among the rest of us until the light was back in his eyes. And if I started losing weight, or disappearing at odd times to look at the stars, the others were on me before you could even say what the hell; Quatre would watch me at dinnertime like a hawk, making me force down every single morsel, Trowa'd somehow maneuver me into letting him accompany on my moments of contemplation, Wufei would act even more outrageous than usual, trying to entice a laugh or spirited argument, and Heero would drag me off to bed a lot earlier than usual to just sit and hold me for the night, keeping the nightmares away.

It was a very…satisfying arrangement, being able to take care of the others and have them watch over me. None of us were really subject to the devastating dejection that so many soldiers fell prey to during times of war.

We had our own little sets inside the group too, though. Heero and I…firm best friends. Quatre and Trowa were like bees and honey; you couldn't find one without the other, while Wufei was split evenly between Trowa and I as 'almost brother.' In fact, he was kind of like everybody's next best friend…you had to feel kind of sorry for the guy; whenever any of us got into a disagreement with each other, we always unerringly sought him out to mollify ruffled feathers and calm hot tempers. I really think that, after the war, he would make the perfect peace negotiator…with certain people. Chang Wufei, who proclaimed to hate women, thought that strength ruled the world, and had the worst temper of all of us, wouldn't have seemed the type of guy who could halt a downward slide from irritation to anger with one spoken word, but then again…he never does things by halves. It was always 'all or nothing' for him, and when suddenly thrown into position of peacemaker, it was like his personal mission to make sure things never got out of hand.

We all heeded him without question, though surly looks were a common thing on bad days.

Everything was pretty much going on marvelously, except for two things. First, that the war hadn't finished yet, and second, Relena Peacecraft.

Relena Peacecraft. I don't really know why I don't like that girl…she just rubs me the wrong way, I guess. Okay, I kind of know why I don't like her. I saved her from Heero and all, and she totally flips me off. It's like I don't exist…or I do exist but she'd rather pretend like I didn't. Besides that, she's always chasing after Heero. Does the girl have any…dignity at all?

After our brush with those girls back at the high school, Heero and I kind of avoided girls who look at us with that scary glint in their eye. If they were on the same side of the road we were on, we crossed the road. That's how freaked out we were.

Relena Peacecraft doesn't just have a glint; it's a freakin' bonfire.

And when Heero saw that, I could just see panic rising behind his eyes, but he's the Perfect Soldier still, remember? So, he gritted his teeth and endured all those stupid bodyguard missions.

I can't believe that girl is practically our hope for peace after the war. She's just so…dense. She doesn't get it, doesn't get that Heero really doesn't want to deal with a girl totally fixated on him.

Damn it, we're fighting a war here! None of us really want to get…involved.

Yeah, so to be honest, I don't really like anything that puts that look of dread in his eyes; I don't think he's ever going to get over being groped on the butt by one of those girls. Having Relena Peacecraft close by and sending him those faintly obsessive looks is just…not good for him.

And, well, it sort of feels like she's trying to steal him away. That selfish feeling? It's gotten worse…whenever someone even so much as looks at Heero with interest, which is a lot, I feel like growling, Mine! So stay the hell away from him!

I never knew I could be such a possessive best friend.

I really, really hope Relena Peacecraft gets over Heero sometime soon, because if she doesn't, he'll probably just snap someday and say something really blunt and definitely not what she wants to hear.

Swearing, I tore after Wufei, wondering what the hell happened to make such a simple mission almost blow us sky-high.

We'd been in our Gundams, when we stumbled on a good ten or fifteen Leos lounging about, obviously guarding the building we'd just infiltrated. It had only called for us to sneak in, leaving Deathscythe and Shenlong behind, and retrieve some documents that had been…misplaced.

I have no idea why the hell they'd have so many Leos guarding the place, and at the time, I hadn't really been worried about why's of anything at all.

It's kind of flattering, in a way, that when anybody sees one of our Gundams, (our descriptions are probably posted everywhere in the whole damn universe) their first instinct is to aim their guns and bombard us with everything they've got. Flattering, but damn frightening.

We took several solid hits, right at that moment; even Wufei couldn't dodge everything they were throwing at us, so we just fought blindly until the flurry of whirling Leos gave us a little room to breathe and then, wildly tearing a path through them, took off. Wufei wasn't very happy about that. He's definitely going to be punishing himself later for being 'cowardly.'

I'm resisting the urge to roll my eyes right now, you know?

Chancing a look behind, I swore again. The Leos were in hot pursuit, and though they weren't gaining any, we weren't losing them at all.

I looked at Wufei's Gundam and frowned concernedly. Seemed like he'd taken worse damage than I thought, because his Gundam was actually listing a little to the side.

"05! Status!" I called to him over the intercom.

"Fractured ribs and a possible concussion," he said in a strained voice.

"Well shit," I said stupidly.

He gave a sharp chuckle.

I thought quickly, running over the possibilities, and then, still loping along with his drunken-looking stride, I said commandingly, "Okay 'Fei, you know that lake a few hundred meters away?"

"Uh, yeah." I got the feeling that he was squinting.

"You're going to run there like you've got the devil on your heels, and sink Shenlong in the water. Then, you're going to hide somewhere and wait for me, got it?"

"Wait for you?"

His concussion must really be doing a number on him if he couldn't figure out what I was going to do.

"I'm going to stay behind and take out those Leos." He made a sound as if to protest, but I overrode his voice, and said, "I can engage the stealth shield, and I'm not injured. Just a few bruises."

He mumbled an affirmative and I spared a blessing that he was too dazed to argue with me.

"Now move your ass, Chang!"

He put on a burst of speed and I turned around.

I could see the Leos falter; they were obviously surprised to see their prey running at them and not away.

"Let's do it, Shinigami!" I grinned. This time I had the advantage of surprise, and I wasn't about to waste it.

While they were still adjusting to the situation, I had my scythe out and swinging at them. It devastated them and I whooped madly.

Then, because I could see the glimmer of damn reinforcements on the horizon, I hauled ass and had my Gundam on the shores of the lake as fast as I could drag Deathscythe's metal body. I fired up the intercom, and prayed that someone was in his Gundam right then.

"Duo?" Trowa's voice crackled and I almost slumped to the ground from relief.

Quickly explaining the situation, I unbuckled myself from the Gundam, and he assured me that one of them would be here in four hours.

Right before scrambling out of the cockpit, I heaved the bag of emergency medical supplies that we all had in our Gundams, courtesy of Mr. Always Ready Yuy, onto my back. I was damn glad he'd insisted now. I'd have to remember to thank him if-when we got out of this mess.

Then I scuttled down to the ground and sent my Gundam into the middle of the lake along with Wufei's.

Now, about that, where was the guy? Scanning the flat planes of sand a bit frantically, I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. I hoped he hadn't fallen and bumped his head or fainted or missed the lake entirely because of his warped vision.

Then I saw a hand waving at me from behind a group of trees, and hurried my little butt there quick as I could.

Turns out he was actually hiding in one of the trees, the middle of which was carved hollow, like some giant had went at it with a spoon and scooped out the middle. "Damn, 'Fei," I said admiringly. Grabbing some branches, I arranged them over the opening, and it looked practically invisible. Perfect cover as long as we kept quiet.

"How did you find this place?" I sat up, the thing was actually tall enough to do that if you hunched a bit.

"Um," he said, blinking, "I saw the trees and just kind of stumbled into the hole."

"All right, let me see your eyes." I checked them. Yep, definitely a concussion. Probing around his head, I found the bump where he'd obviously banged his head, and lugging the bag forward, I opened it and searched out some bandages to wrap around his head, along with a water bottle to wash his wound clean.

"Ribs?" Gently I prodded at his ribcage, and decided I'd have to bind the whole thing. After I'd finished, I laid him gently on the…er, tree.

We sat silently, listening intently for our pursuers, but only heard their shouting in the distance. Only after even that faint yelling had faded away did we feel secure enough to talk.

It started out with him asking me if I was hurt, and eager to turn our thoughts away from his own injuries, I steered the conversation towards lighter subjects, like what exactly was going on with Trowa and Quatre. I opined that there was definitely some spark between them, while he, I think just to spite me, stuck obdurately to his belief that they were nothing more than best friends. After trying to make him see reason for nearly half an hour, I changed the subject. Wufei with a concussion is actually more stubborn than one without. I hoped he wouldn't have occasion to obtain another concussion.

I launched into a tirade against Relena Peacecraft, and he answered with an aggressive attack on the horrors of my meatloaf. I affected pure outrage at his rudeness, and we were parrying each other's insults just like old times.

After a while, our conversation grew too ridiculous, and laughing, we agreed to end it.

The companionable silence was…uplifting, and I found myself relaxing instead of worrying incessantly about when our rescue would come.

"You know," Wufei chuckled, "you're nothing like I thought you were like when I first met you."

"Really?" I said. "What did you think I was like?" I really was curious; his enmity had always seemed irrational, to me at least.

"Far too feminine, and thus, weak," he tossed at me glibly.

"Hey! I'm not weak," I said indignantly.

"Yes, I know that now," he said somberly, "and I'm truly, deeply sorry for my behavior."

"Hey it's alright, man," I said, wanting that tortured look out of his eyes, "you got past that and that's what matters."

"But that doesn't excuse my blindness and refusal to look past your appearance to a person I would be proud to call a friend," he said passionately.

"Wufei," I said seriously, "I'm not going to say that you didn't hurt me," he winced, "but when all's said and done, I don't really mind that small pain in the face of getting something better."

"What?" he said, looking at me warily.

"Your friendship, of course."

"What?" I had the feeling that if he'd been sitting, he'd have reared back. "But, but I acted so atrociously…"

"'Fei," I leaned forward, "I forgive you for being a sexist idiot. Now stop sputtering and get that through your head."

He looked at me, still with that annoying doubt in his eyes, and I said, smiling, "We all have our little quirks. I couldn't believe you'd guys still want to be even near me after I told you about Shinigami, but you did. I still can't quite believe it," I said, giving him a sheepish grin.

"Maxwell," he said frowning, "we're not going to turn away from you just because there's a part of you darker than the face you usually show."

I pounced on that, saying, "Exactly! So tell us why I should not be your friend just because you acted stupidly for a while. We're all human, 'Fei; we're allowed to make mistakes, and you, of all people, our peacemaker, should know that it's not wrong to forgive a guy for being an idiot."

I watched any qualms he had disappear and grinned, relieved.

Then he said, gazing at me intensely, "You really are our treasure, Maxwell."

What?

Then, as if trying to impart some kind of wisdom, or something, he said, each syllable clear and carefully molded, "We all care about you a great deal, especially Yuy." He stared at me piercingly, and I gave him a slightly confused, slightly embarrassed look, urging him to go on.

"That day you were hurt so terribly, and they were going to execute you," neither of us could help a small shiver at my near-death experience, "it took five men to drag him out of the hut."

Five men? How the hell did I miss that? Oh yeah. I was unconscious. That was really…warming, but I really had no idea where this was going.

"When we thought they'd killed you…" He looked at me, an echo of that horrible sorrow he'd felt still lingering, and I patted his arm.

"Yuy's face…it was almost crazed…he looked like the type of man who'd throw himself off a building the first chance he got."

Oh, Heero…no wonder you were so mad when I stayed behind to take out the snipers.

I waited for more, but nothing else seemed forthcoming, so I flashed him my best grin and said cheerfully, "Well, that's what best friends are for." Behind, in the back of my head, Other Duo had a coughing fit.

Wufei stared at me really weirdly and then started laughing. I wasn't quite sure what we were laughing at, but I joined in, chuckling.

"So…" I ventured, "What was that all about?"

He gave me a roguish grin and said, "I give up. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Wufeeii…"