A/N: After much deliberation on how this chapter would go, I have finally finished it and am working hard on the next. I am hoping you all enjoy.

Warning: I will say that this chapter does get a little limey which is why I have changed the story rating. I never intended to do a scene like this, but it just came to me as so much of my story does when I just let it flow. I'm sorry if this is not to your liking, but I felt it necessary for the development of later drama and angst.

A Girl Named Xero

Chapter 5

It seemed to be just another day on L3. The girl was suited up and ready to work hard on the new mobile suit the colony was secretly making. It held the hopes of every person who lived there and she was proud to be a part of it. It had only been a year since Dr. S helped her escape from SSE and brought her here to work for Trowa Barton. She developed excellent mechanic skills quickly and soon became the go-to-girl for any structural problems they had.

Her steps sounded briskly down the hall as she made her way to the main hanger. She got a few cheerful good mornings from some of the nicer crew she worked with and a couple "Hey red! When you gonna finish the suit?" She smiled at them all grateful to be alive. After all this time Dr. S still had not given her a name, so most just called her Red because of the color of her hair.

She could feel something in the air. A change would happen today. She just knew it. Whether it was good or bad she wasn't sure, but she was sure that her life would not be the same after this day. Stepping into the hanger she looked up at the halfway built suit and smiled at its promise of hope. She was working on some issues they were having with the right leg today.

Intent on getting to work she strode quickly toward her post. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the one they called NoName glancing at her. He was having a conversation with Trowa Barton who seemed to be proudly showing off some pictures. For a second their eyes met and the emptiness she saw there stunned her. She felt frozen and stuck to the spot. Such sadness, such loneliness. 'What could have caused him to be so closed off?' She watched what she saw in his eyes change to a new emotion. Terror.

"Hey watch out!" Someone yelled from above. She looked up and saw a large part of the Heavyarms' leg was falling towards her. Some idiot had forgotten to secure it and now it was threatening to crush her. NoName sprinted to push the girl out of the way, but it was too late. With a sickening crash, the piece of sharp metal pinned her to the ground. Lying on her stomach she could feel metal slice through her back. She couldn't believe the pain she felt. Nothing had ever felt this awful since her healing power had developed. It burned and shredded every muscle it came in contact with. She screamed, crying out for help. NoName appeared in her line of sight. He was attempting to lift it off of her! The thing weighed at least a few hundred pounds and was made from the strongest gundanium alloy. Others joined in and soon had the death trap off of her. She started to feel dizzy. Trowa came to her side and hauled her up into his arms. She could feel he was running, probably to get her to a doctor. Oh God, she thought, I'm going to be discovered. Once my wounds start healing…

"It's going to be ok," NoName's monotone voice sounded so far away. Why wasn't she healing? The world began to blacken around her.

"Please," she begged, "take me to Dr. S. He is the only one who I can trust. Please." Trowa turned down a hall and kicked Dr. S's door open.

"NoName? What is going on? Oh, I see." The Dr. said eyeing Xero.

"A large piece of gundanium fell on top of her." NoName explained. "It looks like she is lucky she wasn't split in two."

" Well come in hurry! We must hide her reaction from the others." He began frantically running around getting bandages, needles, and medical wire while NoName set her face down on a cot. "You must never repeat anything you see here today. Do you understand?" He nodded in agreement, interested in what could cause the Dr. to hide the girl's condition. Examining the wound Dr. S realized it wasn't closing up on its own. Something was terribly wrong. He noticed small bits of metal were still embedded in her skin and he began to extract them. With each one he pulled out, her condition bettered. "She must have some sort of critical reaction to gundanium! Don't worry NoName, she is going to be just fine. Once I remove the metal she will heal up nicely.

"I know," he said, "I saw her cut her finger the other day. It healed on its own right in front of me. She didn't know I saw." The Dr. seemed upset by the girl's carelessness, but was glad it had been someone he could trust rather than Trowa Barton. "Dr.? Don't you think people will notice when she doesn't have any marks on her? Shouldn't we leave a piece of the gundanium in her so she will have a scar?"

"You're quite right! What an idea!" And with that, Dr. S. went to work saving the girl he had come to love as a daughter. "She doesn't have a name either you know. I think I will call her Xero. She has overcome incredible odds in her sixteen years. Most would say she had no chance whatsoever. That is why I will name her Xero."

:

"Xero! Wake up Xero!" She faintly heard a frantic voice calling out to her. "Why isn't she healing? Xero!!" The fog started to clear from her brain and she opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt so heavy, she was tempted to just drift off again. "No, you have to stay with me love."

It was Quatre! She remembered where she was. Her eyes shot open and she gasped for air. Quatre was kneeled on the floor holding her up and supporting her head.

"Quatre…"

"Praise Allah, Xero what's wrong? You're bleeding from the side of your head and it won't stop. Please, stay with me. Think, why can't you heal?"

"Gundanium," she choked out the word. "Is there anything made of gundanium I could have come in contact with?"

"My ring," Quatre showed her a large university style ring on his right hand with. His expression was confused. "It's made from scrap metal we got off of SandRock. I must have nicked you when I touched your hair earlier. But Xero why would that do this to you?"

"Ask Duo," She was starting to feel better. "He knows so much about superheroes. It's like my kryptonite. I have some strange reaction to gundanium that diverts my ability to heal for a period of time." She sat up and let him support her. It seemed some of the glass from the vase had cut into her temple in the same area the ring must have nicked her. "Don't worry Quatre I've had much worse happen to me. Just help me up so I can wash it clean. The effects will ware off soon." Quatre lifted her into his arms carrying her like precious cargo and lay her on the bed. He went to the bathroom and came back with a damp cloth and some disinfectant.

"It's starting to clear up," he said as he wiped away the blood. "You had me so worried. I was walking down the hall to my room and I heard a crash. When I came in your were on the floor bleeding from your head." He was visibly upset.

"I'm ok now Quatre." Her mind was completely clear now. "I just need to be more careful." She scooted over snuggling to his side wanting to comfort him.

"You need to be more open with me in the future Xero. If I don't know these things, I could hurt you without knowing it like I did today. Please," he said cupping her face in both hands, "don't hide from me Xero. You can tell me anything and it wouldn't make me love you any less. I just want to know you." The statement rang true in his eyes and Xero found herself wanting to share everything with him. She knew by the way he adored her that she could trust this man. Inhaling deeply she decided that she would not keep anything from him any longer.

"Quatre, I'm so sorry. I haven't been fair to you." Tears began to well up in Xero's eyes. "I just, I'm afraid you'll run away. I'd like to tell you the reason why I'm having such a hard time making this decision."

"Xero, you don't have to…"

"No, it's only fair that you know Quatre. I'm not hesitating to marry you because of any lack of feeling. I have cared for you since I met you and now I'm falling in love with you. Very easily I might add." She smiled up at him and saw utter joy in his eyes at finally knowing how she felt. Her expression darkened. "I'm hesitating, because when I lost Trowa, I didn't just lose a friend. I lost someone I was very much in love with, whether he returned my love I will never know, but it was still very difficult. I want to give you my whole heart, but the truth is part of it will always belong to him." She searched his expression for disgust, for rejection, but she only found complete understanding.

"Thank you for telling me love." He seemed happier than he had been in months. "It must be very hard for you and I understand it will take time for your heart to heal. But I promise you I will be patient and I'm not giving up." He bent to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"There's one more thing I think you should know." Quatre moved back to let her speak. "I would like to tell you about my birthday." He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers ready to hear what she had been hiding. "I almost died building the gundam Heavyarms." She confessed. Xero began to tell him the story of that fateful day when Trowa had saved her life. "The damage was so bad, my spine was almost severed. And after that happened, Dr. S made sure I had a scar by keeping a few scraps of gundanium embedded in my skin so that it wouldn't raise any suspicion." She placed her feet on the floor and stood in front of him. "To this day I never had the scraps removed. I wanted to keep my scar to remind me of my mortality and how fragile human life can be. I want to show you Quatre." She took the damp wash cloth he had brought her to mop up the blood and she wiped her right shoulder clean of the make up she used to cover the beginnings of the scar when she wore tank tops. His eyes widened as he saw in front of him a vicious looking scar.

"Xero…" His voice trailed off as he reached up to touch the mark.

"Wait Quatre, that's not all of it." She turned her back to him completely. "Now I'm trusting you to be a perfect gentleman." Xero looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. She couldn't believe she was about to do this or that she trusted him enough to. Slowly she grabbed the bottom of the top and pulled it over her head. A thick angry red scar stretched from her right shoulder and crossed diagonally to her left hip. It was truly one of the most brutal scars Quatre had seen in his life. He knew showing him this scar was an act of trust. Here she stood before him half-naked, exposed, and willing to share her emotional and physical scars with him. At that moment, his heart ached from how much he loved her and how much she was willing to share with him. He was overcome with love, love and desire for the woman who stood before him. "Quatre, please say something, you're making me nervous."

"I'm sorry," Quatre said standing up from the bed. "There's nothing I could possibly say at this moment to describe what I'm feeling, except that you are so beautiful, scars and all." He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, still being a gentleman and not attempting to look at more of her body than she was willing to show him.

He placed feather light kisses across the top of the scar on her shoulder and she shivered. Xero crossed her arms over her chest nervous about him seeing her completely topless. "What are you so worried about?" he laughed. "See it's not so bad," he declared as he removed his own shirt. He turned her around and held her tightly in his arms. "There you are my love," he whispered locking his eyes with hers.

It was very difficult for Xero to think like this. Quatre was much more muscular than he appeared under those button-up shirts of his. His arms, chest and abdomen were well defined. She was becoming increasingly more nervous by the second. Xero had never been this intimate with anyone in her life and wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Quatre seemed to read her thoughts and leaned in brushing his lips over her ear. He whispered, "Please trust me." Heat scorched through her body and her mind became fuzzy as his lips traveled from her ear, across her jawbone, and finally to her lips. He took her mouth fiercely this time crushing his lips to hers. She felt her body go limp and then melt into his. Xero took the last step of trust and unwrapped her arms raising them to encircle his neck. She was completely surrendering to him.

Quatre's passion ignited and he pressed her against his body feeling the amazing warmth of skin on skin. He wanted more. Slowly he slicked his tongue across her teeth demanding access. Xero opened herself up to him allowing him in like she never thought she could. He explored every part of her hot wet mouth and then coaxed her to explore his. Xero softly moaned into his mouth and granted his request her tongue following his. Enjoying her response he slid his hands down her spine and in one swift movement Quatre picked her up by her seat and dropped her on the bed. She was spread out before him, her hair fanning out around her like wildfire. Her pale skin flushed pink with slight embarrassment. Xero attempted to cover herself and was met with protest. Quatre pinned her arms to her sides coming nose to nose with her. He was trying to show her the hunger in his eyes. "Don't hide from me please."

The next thing she knew, Quatre's body covered hers like a protective barrier between her and the world that had hurt her so much. "You have no idea how beautiful you are," he breathed in a husky voice. His hands and lips explored as much of her skin as they could until they reached the barrier of her pajama shorts. Xero gasped for air entangling her fingers in his white blonde hair.

He placed a hand at her hip and came back up locking his eyes with hers. "Xero, if you want me to stop, you need to tell me now. I don't think I can hold out much longer." His eyes were glazed over with desire and his breathing was heavy. Quatre was going to hate her for this, but she really wanted to do things right. Pushing her own need for him aside she took a deep breath.

"Quatre, I think we should wait until our wedding night. It would be the proper thing to do." She couldn't believe she was saying this.

"To hell with proper… Wait, did you say wedding night?" He had been caught off guard. Xero nodded confirming what he thought he had only imagined. "Does this mean you'll marry me?"

"Yes Quatre, I'll marry you, but on one condition."

"Anything love."

"If you tell me where you learned how to kiss like that."

"Easy, I'm a bit of a book worm." He leaned down to whisper in her ear again. "I've studied the Kama Sutra." Xero's eyes went wide. What have I gotten myself into? She was completely in awe of how this sweet, gentle, bookish, pilot had just proved that he was by no means to be underestimated as a lover. He rolled to the side lying beside her. The bulge in his khaki pants was obvious and in sympathy she went to find her shirt as to help him clear his mind. When fully clothed once again she returned to him cuddling up in his arms.

"So, when should we have the wedding?" Xero asked smiling up at Quatre.

"As soon as possible," he sighed. "We need to convince Romefeller that you are who we say you are. Plus, I don't know how much longer I can keep my hands off of you." Xero laughed and patted him on the chest.

"How about a month? I think if we rush into it, it would seem like we were trying to hide something," she suggested.

"I would have to agree with you. I will just have to control myself until then." Quatre sighed. "A month isn't very long to plan a big wedding though."

"Wait a second, how big of a wedding are we talking about here?" Xero propped herself up on an elbow to stare down at him. Her expression was incredulous.

"Don't you want a big wedding love? I was under the impression it was every girl's dream." Quatre seemed confused by her reaction.

"I guess I never thought about it. I was in that facility my whole life up until I was sixteen. I never expected that I would get married at all." She absent-mindedly brushed some of his blonde locks off of his face. "I think a smaller, private wedding would be better. It would help keep certain questions from being asked. For example, why my so called family would not be present."

"That makes sense. We want this wedding to make OZ leave you alone, not cause more problems. Ok," he said smiling at her, "In one month, we will have a small private ceremony and you will be Xero Winner."

"The papers will say I'm Victoria Winner." She sounded disappointed.

"Hey," he said wrapping an arm around her waist, "All that matters is that you will be safe and my wife. No matter what that paper says, you will be Xero Winner."

"It will be nice to belong somewhere for once." She said tears welling up in her eyes. She had never belonged anywhere before. She had never had a family and now she would. Xero's heart was full of happiness, but there was still a part of it that ached despite all she was about to gain.

A/N: Don't give up hope all you Xero/Trowa fans! This doesn't necessarily point towards the final pairing, but I think it makes for some juciy drama when Trowa returns! Please R&R I would love to hear what you all think. Thank you to the three of you who have reviewed so far I really appreciate your imput and am considering your preferences.