Alright, final chapter! I'm kinda sad it's coming to an end, but this is the second multi-chapter fic I've managed to finish so I'm pretty pleased with myself :)

WARNINGS: Language, implied sexual situations, slight sexism

Oh, and many thanks to snowdragonct for her awesome review - It was the first thing I read when I got up this morning and made me laugh! I totally agree, by the way :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or the characters

Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Rumours

Duo hummed cheerfully to himself as he strolled down the hallway towards the office he shared with his girls, flicking through the papers in his hands as he did so. He paused, however, when a female agent walking in the opposite direction gave him a filthy glare and muttered 'bastard' as she walked past. Bewildered, Duo stared after her for a moment before shrugging and continuing on his way. He was stopped again when one of the more egotistical male agents slapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You know, you fucking four babes," the man grinned. "Tell me, is that acrobat chick, the one with the green eyes, as flexible in bed as she is in the gym?" he asked with a leer. Duo's confusion slipped away into anger as he realised who the fool was talking about.

"Don't you dare speak of her or even think of her like that again," he said icily. "And it is none of your business." He shoved the man away and stormed the rest of the way to the office he shared with his girls, blood boiling. He slammed the door behind him, making the girls jump.

"Duo?" Quatre asked, bewildered. "What's wrong?"

"Has anyone said anything out-of-the-ordinary to any of you today?" he asked, concerned. Trowa shook her head, as did Heero. Quatre thought about it for a moment, and Wufei scowled.

"Some idiot made a move on me earlier, calling me 'babe'," the Chinese woman grumbled irritably. "I sent him to the infirmary."

"A woman in R&D called me a slut earlier, but I thought she was talking about someone else," Quatre said quietly, shoulders slumping. "Someone found out and told, didn't they?" she deduced. Duo nodded grimly, still angry.

"A woman called me a bastard as she walked past me, and some douche asked me if Trowa was flexible in bed after complimenting me on, as he phrased it, 'fucking four babes'," Duo snarled angrily.

"The only person who knew about us is Sally," Wufei whispered, hands clenched into fists. She saw Sally as an elder sister, so the thought of the young doctor betraying her trust like that was hurtful. Duo wrapped his arms around the slender woman, stroking her back as he cursed mentally.

"Relena knows," Heero spoke up. They all faced the blue-eyed young woman. "She might have told someone." Duo growled, eyes flashing.

"Whoever it was is going to pay," he growled. "No one messes with any of you and gets away with it."

-02x03x01x05x04-

Lady Une looked up from her paperwork as there was an angry knock at her office door.

"Come in," she called, and the door opened to reveal a furious Duo Maxwell, who stormed in and stood in front of her desk with his hands clenched into fists by his sides. "Something wrong, Maxwell?"

"Have you heard the rumours being spread?" he asked through grit teeth. Une frowned slightly.

"Rumours? Maxwell, you're going to have to be more specific, there are always rumours being spread," she stated. Duo growled.

"The ones saying that my partners are female and sluts. Those rumours," he snapped. Une's eyebrows rose.

"Whatever gave someone the idea that your partners are girls? There's no way they'd be able to hide something like that for so long." Duo sighed, slumped, and flopped into one of the chairs.

"They did, Une-lady. Hee-chan's been pretending to be a boy since she was three or four. Quat's sisters pretended she was a boy so her dad would make her his heir and wouldn't ruin the doctor that said she was a boy before she was born. Fei's twin brother died and so she took his place. And the merc that found Tro was a woman pretending to be a guy and did the same for her. I found out over the course of two months just over two years ago that they were pretending to be boys," he explained. "Sally knew but we asked her to keep it quiet, and Relena found out the other day, but I don't know how everyone here found out except you." He ran a hand through his bangs and started fiddling with the end of his braid.

"Une, I won't let anyone get away with badmouthing or hurting my girls. They're everything to me, and if someone shoots their mouth off about them then I'm gonna react. Quat got called a slut by a woman in R&D earlier, and a guy called Fei 'babe' and got sent to the infirmary when she was through with him, but the only person here who knew was Sally so Fei's really hurting. One of the lady agents called me a bastard and some dickhead asked me what Tro's like in bed. I don't want them to deal with this." Une listened to Duo, and then leant back in her chair.

"There's very little I can do except remind everyone of the code of conduct for the agency at this point, Maxwell. However, I'm willing to look the other way should you find it necessary to reprimand those who ignore the code," she said calmly. Duo gave a relieved smile.

"Thanks, Une-lady." He stood and turned to leave.

"Duo." He turned back. "I wish the five of you the best." Duo grinned at her.

"Thanks."

-02x03x01x05x04-

Later that day in the dojo – the only area in the building able to accommodate all the Preventer agents at once – Lady Une and Sally Po stood at the front of the crowd with the five former Gundam pilots behind and to one side of them. There were many dirty looks, glares, leers and sneers directed towards the four girls and their Shinigami, but they ignored them.

"I have called you all here for a reminder as to the code of conduct for this agency," Une began, her voice sharp and clear. "Rule number 21 states that an agent's personal life, including their love life, is not to have any effect on the treatment of said agent. Rule number 15 states that sexual harassment is disciplined severely. Rule number 28 states that the abuse of another agent, be it sexual, verbal, or physical, will result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Today it has come to my attention that these rules in particular have been disregarded due to the discovery of an aspect of the personal lives of five of my top agents. I am not impressed by this."

There came an outcry from one of the female agents, and soon quite a lot of the room were in an uproar. It was only Heero firing a blank at the ceiling that had them quieting.

"Our personal lives have nothing to do with the rest of you," she stated clearly, glaring at the closest person who was leering at her.

"Yes, with the exception of Maxwell we hid our gender, but only because it is what we are used to and comfortable with," Wufei said coldly.

"Them being female has nothing to do with their skills," Duo snorted. "They're still four of the Gundam pilots, they're still strong, they can still kick all your asses if they have to, and they're still themselves," he stressed, folding his arms. "And even though they're gonna kick my ass for saying this; if I hear that anyone is badmouthing them again then Shinigami will start hunting."

-02x03x01x05x04-

Later that evening on their shared bed, Trowa lifted her head from where it rested on Duo's shoulder to glare at him.

"You're such an idiot," she stated. Duo winced slightly as the others made noises of agreement.

"I know," he admitted. "But I'm your idiot, right?" he asked hopefully, and got laughter from his girls in response.

"Of course you are, Duo," Quatre smiled, snuggling against his side more from her position between his body and Trowa's. Heero made a sleepy noise of agreement from Duo's other shoulder, Wufei trapped between her and Duo's side.

"I'm glad," Duo whispered, and soon the five of them drifted to sleep, content.

(1345 words)

Well, that's it! The eighth and final chapter!

Please tell me what you think!

Ashuri