A/N: Here we are at the third chapter and I want to thank everyone who put this story on alerts, you keep me writing. The first part with Milliardo and Noin has actually been milling around in my mind for a while, I just haven't had anywhere that it would fit in.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and I make no profit from this.
The phone on Milliardo's nightstand rang, a shill cry. It was nearly midnight, and he could only think of one person who would even think about calling him this late. "Noin?" Milliardo clutched the phone against his head, terrified of why she would call him at this hour. Not that he would admit that.
"God, I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you but..." Noin made a noise that was probably supposed to sound like a cough, but Milliardo could tell it was sob.
"Noin, what happened?" Milliardo could feel the tension in his chest, Noin never cried. She was tough as nails, never let anyone see her sweat, and he hadn't seen her cry in their many years.
"My brother... he got into some trouble..." Another sob disguised as a cough and Milliardo flinched at the sound of it. "Sorry." Noin cleared her throat and continued slowly. "He shot someone and when the police caught him, he wouldn't put his gun down and get on the ground... they shot him and he... died."
"I'm so sorry." Milliardo murmured, trying to soothe her. He didn't want to pressure her into letting him come over, if she wanted to be near him she would tell him that.
"Can I come over?" Noin finally let out an unhindered sob and Milliardo swore he could feel his heart breaking.
"I'll come over there, I don't want you driving in your current state." Milliardo pulled some clothes on as quickly as he could, never letting the phone out of his hands.
"You're a godsend, Milliardo." Noin mumbled 15 minutes later as she heard him come in with his key.
"I'm sorry." Milliardo whispered. "About your brother."
"He wasn't... the best person in the world... but he was still my brother." Noin wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. "It still hurts, whether he was a mass murderer or the world's greatest saint."
"I know." Milliardo held her close even as the light of the morning seeped into the darkness of the room. Noin cried herself to sleep in his arms, but he didn't want to wake her. Principle Treize would understand a mental health day.
"Thank you for giving me a ride." Dorothy muttered as she climbed into the passenger side of Quatre's land rover. She set her bag by her feet and closed the door gently, but she didn't meet Quatre's eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Quatre asked as he edged the car out of the driveway.
"About what?" Dorothy didn't feel like herself today, not even the real her that she only showed to Quatre. She felt meek and exhausted and unworthy. All in all, she didn't like today at all.
"Whatever is bothering you." Quatre gave her a glance of a smile at a stoplight. "It's not good to keep everything inside."
"Relena just thinks I'm hiding something huge from her, that's all." Dorothy shrugged and ran her hands through her hair, because in reality it was a huge deal. Relena was her best friend, had been since kindergarten. "That's why she won't give me a ride is because she's pissed off at me." Dorothy withheld her apology for her bad language. "It's not a big deal."
"But you are hiding something from her, correct?" Quatre avoided her surprised look, and then added, "You haven't told her that we're friends."
"It doesn't affect her." The blonde girl shrugged. "Besides, that's not what she thinks I'm hiding."
"What is it that she thinks you're hiding?" Quatre eased the car onto the school's road.
"That... she thinks I was fooling around with someone and won't tell her who, can we not get into this now?" Dorothy refused eye contact again and as soon as the car was in park she grabbed her bag and ran for the school. She couldn't deal with this, not right then. "Thanks for the ride!" She called over her shoulder, but it was half hearted.
Quatre blinked for a minute, surprised at this side of Dorothy that not even he had seen. After a few minutes, he followed her into the school, though he still hadn't figured out why Relena would've thought that.
"Are you feeling better today, Relena?" Heero asked, though he seemed socially awkward doing it, as if he had never said anything like it before.
"A little." Relena mustered up a smile for him and sat down beside him, peering at his laptop that sat open off to the side. "Processing? What is it processing?"
"Nothing important." Heero lowered the screen so that Relena couldn't see it. "Did you work things out with your friend?"
Relena resisted sighing, Heero hadn't even bothered to remember Dorothy's name. "No. And I refused to give her a ride to school today."
Heero blinked and surprise and looked at her. Relena sure was changing, she had started out such a peacemaker and here she was, going against her friends for a mere secret.
"I shouldn't be bothering you." Relena drew her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry, Heero. I'm probably just a pain in the neck for you."
"You're company." Heero shrugged noncommittally and leaned over to type something into his laptop.
"Thanks." Relena was finally beginning to decode some of Heero's more cryptic actions and words. "You're not as big of an ass as you come off as initially."
Heero looked at her again. Usually Relena was so ladylike, and swearwords were not in her vocabulary. Something must've still been upsetting her, he decided.
"So what exactly are you doing?" Relena didn't try to look at his laptop again, if he didn't want her to see, she wouldn't look.
"Hacking the school security system to see if there's such a thing as a permanent record." Heero said after a moment of silent debate.
"Ah." Relena nodded, she wasn't going to reprimand him for it, and after all, she was curious too...
"You've been avoiding me, Sally." Wufei eyed his best friend with annoyance. "I think we both know why."
"My Mom was pissed off last night." Sally didn't want to resort to having to tell him this, but she didn't want him to think that she was avoiding him because of that almost kiss, although she kind of was. "Guess who she just found out Dad's having an affair with?" A pause. Neither of them said anything. "Her best friend. I was caught in the middle, being forced to take a side. I heard my phone ring and was told that if I answered that, I would either be grounded or have my cell taken away."
Wufei locked eyes with her as they sat in the parked car. "That's the truth?"
"I don't bullshit you, you know me too well." Sally hugged her backpack in her lap and hoped like crazy that he didn't know her well enough to know that wasn't all of it. None of that was a lie; it just wasn't everything, such as how she didn't want to believe that she had feelings for her best friend. She hated that things had to change.
"Fine." Wufei jumped out of the car and shouldered his bag. "I'll see you in class then?"
Sally felt a pain somewhere in her chest; everything was falling apart. Aching, she told him, "Yeah."
Wufei headed for the school doors and Sally stared at the shine in her windshield, trying not to let her eyes tear up.
She didn't even see Wufei turn back once and give her a worried look.
"Duo!" Hilde shoved him back towards his room. "You're sick as a dog. You're not going to school."
"Aww c'mon, Hilde, it's just a little fever." Regardless, Duo's eyelids started to flutter and he crumpled to the ground, half-conscious. "Damn, that is some fever."
"Were you able to convince him?" Mr. Maxwell asked from the hall. "I really need to get to work and I don't want to leave him alone."
"I can handle it." Hilde headed for bathroom and wet a washcloth with cool water, then came back and wiped Duo's face down. "If you can handle calling me and Duo in, I can take care of him."
"Thank you, I can call you and my son in." Mr. Maxwell turned and went into the kitchen to make the call.
"Come on, Duo, you need to at least make it into your bed." Hilde sighed as Duo groaned. "Couch if you can't make it that far."
"You have nice eyes, Hilde." Duo grinned fever-drunkenly at her. "You're a good person. You're kind of bitchy sometimes-"
"I'm going to disregard that..." Hilde muttered, attempting to help him up.
"But you're a good person." Duo continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You know why I'm telling you this?"
"Because you've got a fever that's making you loopier than cheerios." Hilde managed to get him onto his feet.
"Because you're a good person, and I l-" Duo paused and glanced around.
Hilde practically threw Duo onto his bed and sat on the floor at the end of the bed. Her heart was thudding wildly in her chest, and not just from the exertion of getting Duo onto his bed.
"I'm leaving now, take good care of him for me, Hilde." Mr. Maxwell called as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him.
"Will do!" Hilde called after him.
"Because I love you." Duo stumbled over the words, and within seconds after saying them, he was asleep.
Hilde hung her head, wiped her eyes and wondered if that was the only time Duo would ever say that.
"Trowa, we don't have a tutoring session today, why are you..." Catherine peered up at Trowa, obviously confused. "Why are you here?"
"I had a question to ask you." Trowa's heart was fluttering in his chest, he had never asked a girl out before. He fought down all his nervousness.
"Yes, it's ok if you don't tutor me anymore, I know I'm a bad student." Catherine flashed him a smile. "You probably have better things to do than hang out with me anyway, right?"
"Actually," Trowa couldn't fight down the tiny smile that had overtaken him. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing the two circus tickets. "The circus is in town in a week, and I want you to come with me." Trowa inwardly flinched at how demanding that had sounded.
"Of course, I'll go with you!" Catherine half-tackled, half-hugged him. "Wait..." She murmured, and stared him down as if debating.
"What's the matter?" Trowa's smile disappeared and his heart hammered harder. Could a 16-year-old have a heart attack?
"Is this a date?" Catherine's brow creased with worry.
"Yes." Trowa nodded.
"Perfect!" Catherine squeezed him tighter, and Trowa couldn't help but laugh.
A/N: I actually wanted to do bonus material with Principal Treize and Secretary Une, but I had no clue what to call Lady Une in this story! If anyone knows if she has a first name or if that is her first name, or... anyone with information, please come forward. I would love to do a little bonus scene with them, but I just don't know what to call her... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed I would love to hear from you.