So here it is! This was great practice! What with all the drama and humour mixed together... Sorry for anything, you and I know there's always room for improvement. Hope you had as much fun as I did. :D Or at least a little bit. :P Thank you for following and reviewing and favouriting and what not.

CHAPTER 17

She raced into the big industrial kitchen, dodging waiters, tray racks, carts, stainless steel work tables and countless pairs of white clothed legs. Laughter and chuckles and the occasional shout followed her, but she only stopped when she ran straight into dark grey trousers. "Khal!" (A.N.: Arabic for uncle – mother's side)

"What did I tell you about running in the kitchen?" Quatre's stern eyes glanced down at her. "And didn't you forget anything?" the little girl followed his gaze to her wild blonde hair and turned back to him with a toothy grin. "What did you forget?"

"Bun." She said twirling from side to side looking sheepish, though the smile never faltered.

"Yes. Why?"

"'Cause of the food."

"Because no one wants to eat Khadija's hair." He agreed picking her up. It was when he spotted Heero at the swinging door, looking nothing short of relieved. As much as Quatre wanted to be angry at him for losing the girl, he could only laugh. "She outsmarted you again, didn't she?" he asked when he reached the other man.

"Relena distracted me." He justified. The blonde merely gave him a sceptical look and a second later a forgiving kiss.

"How's traffic? The usual?"

"A nightmare." He answered with a scowl, taking the girl from the blonde's arms. "It took us forty-five minutes from the pre-school…"

"Are you serious?" Quatre's eyes widened. "Must be because it's Friday…" then he took Heero's free hand and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I'll make it up to you."

"Will you?" the man smirked.

"I'm hungry." Khadija interrupted them, her patience having run thin.

"Of course, you are." Heero glared at her and the girl giggled mirthfully. Quatre joined her.

"That glare has so lost its edge."

"It seems growing up with it makes you immune." He complained half-heartedly.

"I'm hungry." Khadija repeated impatiently.

"Alright, alright." The blonde man pinched her cheek making her giggle yet again. "I'll make you something. Do you want anything?" he turned to Heero and pinched his cheek too, laughing at the glare he received. It almost made him hesitate. Almost.

"No." he said, dropping the glare with a sigh, but Quatre could see the smallest of smiles twisting the corners of his lips. "You'll join us?"

"As soon as I can." He assured, giving Heero another kiss.

"Let me down." Khadija pleaded when they pulled apart. "Please?" she added after a long stare from both men.

"Fine, but no running around the kitchen."

She nodded vehemently. The perfect picture of innocence. "I'm going to talk to aunt Relena."

"She'll be back here in the blink of an eye." Quatre commented, smiling brightly at the little girl as she disappeared behind the swinging doors.

"Not if Maxwell's already here."

"Don't let them destroy the restaurant? Please?"

"As if Relena would stand by such a calamity."

"Okay." The blonde laughed stealing another kiss. "I have to get back to work."

Heero watched him go with a smug smile before walking back into the saloon. A waiter almost ran him over then bowed, pleading a thousand apologies when he scowled. He still thought it weird to be treated with such reverence, but his association with both Quatre and Relena earned him that respect and he secretly liked to glare at people and watch them grovel.

Khadija was already propped up against Duo's hip as Relena greeted him and Wufei. Heero headed to their table where Trowa sat alone, watching the other diners quietly. Friday meant a full house. "We should have scheduled this get together on a quieter day." The green eyed man said, reading his thoughts.

"The kitchen closes at eleven and we can stay here way after the restaurant closes." He shrugged, taking a seat.

"Yeah." Trowa smirked at the memories of many a night spent sitting at that very table, drinking wine and chatting while they watched Khadija run between the empty tables. This shouldn't be any different just because Duo and Wufei were joining them.

"Hey, Tro'." The braided man chose that moment to join them. "How's married life?"

"It's everything I'd ever hoped for." He smiled, twisting his neck so Relena could give him a kiss.

"It's only been a couple months." She chuckled leaning forward with her hands on his shoulders.

"Her mother finally stop trying to kill you?"

"Very funny, Maxwell." Trowa said not sounding at all amused.

"That was an accident." Relena reinforced. True her mother hadn't been too pleased about her choice, but she had never tried to physically harm her – at the time – fiancé in any way, just stress him out a bit… She had been worried about her daughter's starting business and upcoming wedding and Trowa had happened to be the closest stress reliever. "They reached middle ground after the restaurant got that incredibly positive review from that world renowned critic."

"She wasn't really all that bad…" the green eyed man tried to amend. "Not like Quatre's sisters anyways."

Heero cringed at the mention of the blonde's sisters. Duo turned to him with a sympathetic look. "That bad, huh?"

He sighed as Khadija climbed onto his lap. "I'm hungry." She whispered.

"I know. Quatre's making you something so be patient."

"Let me tie your hair so you may go into the kitchen." Relena offered an inviting hand, pulling the little girl towards the WC.

"So?" Wufei prompted, standing behind Heero with arms crossed. He had not even seen the Chinese man approach.

"There are 28 of them… We have 5 backing us up, 10 that accept us, 10 that call me Quatre's friend and 3 that won't even take his calls. If it were only me I wouldn't mind it much, but it really upsets him."

"Well…" Duo scratched his nose. "I think you're on the right way… I mean… Divide and conquer, right?"

"I'm not sure Winner would approve of that strategy." Wufei commented taking a seat.

"Of course not." Trowa agreed.

"The way I see it, there isn't much we can do." Heero shrugged, reaching for the bottle of wine they had ordered earlier.

"If they won't even pick up the phone and talk to him…" the green eyed man seemed to agree.

"Does he even know all of them?" Wufei sounded somewhat horrified. "28 sisters?"

"They're not intimate, but you know Quatre…"

"He loves them all just the same." Duo grinned.

"Who?" the blonde himself asked, placing a plate of risotto in front of Khadija as she climbed on an available seat.

"Hey! Why does the kid get to eat first?" the braided man gave him a hug.

"Sorry, Duo." Quatre chuckled. "But she got here first. How have you been? How's the salvage yard going?"

"God, Quat', you make it sound so fancy. It's just a junkyard. Really."

"Well, it's your business… Shouldn't it sound fancy?"

"Yours surely does…"

"So, how's it going?"

"It's great, though it's much more Hilde's business these days than mine. I've been working for Preventers unofficially." He smirked and Wufei snorted.

"I needed someone trust worthy to back me up after that double agent incident." The Chinese man explained.

"I heard." Quatre's eyes narrowed. To think of being betrayed by a comrade whom you were supposed to trust… Then someone called for him from the swinging doors and he excused himself.

"Should we order?" Trowa asked, menu in hand as he watched Relena greet customers.

"I s'pose so." Duo agreed taking a seat. "And what have you two been up to?"

"I went back to university, as you already know, and have been working here or there… Mostly with wild felines." He shrugged. "It's not like we need a lot of money… It's just the two of us, after all…and Hope."

"No plans for kids?" the braided man asked with a smirk.

"No kids. Not yet."

"Good old, Trowa." He laughed. "Never fond of kids. What about you, Heero?"

"I thought Quatre kept you updated."

"How's med school, Yuy?" Wufei cut in .

"I still don't know why you chose medicine." Trowa commented.

"It's thanks to Maxwell."

"To me? Ya' serious?"

Heero smirked. "Some comment you made to Quatre about my setting back my own bones… I figured I could start doing that to other people's bones as well."

"You okay, Duo? You're looking a little pale." Relena commented, laying a hand on his shoulder before taking a seat. They all laughed at the braided man's expense. "Well, as for the in-law hatred dispute… I believe I win." The woman met Trowa's eyes. "Catherine simply despises me."

"She likes you, Relena. That's just her awkward way of showing it."

"She did look quite happy at your wedding." Quatre returned, finally pulling himself a chair with a sigh.

"Khal! Can uncle Duo braid my hair?" Khadija asked him.

"If that's okay with him…" the blonde man smiled patting the girl's head. Her big green-blue eyes shifted to the American who smiled.

"Come 'ere, brat. Just don't call me 'uncle'. I'm not that old."

"We're all old to her, Maxwell." Wufei teased.

"Yeah, right." He dismissed the comment, his attention already focused entirely on Khadija as he deftly braided her shoulder length blonde hair.

"Oh, my God, Duo, you have a gift." Relena complimented him, leaning over Trowa to inspect his work in awe.

"Nah. Just a lotta practice." He smiled smugly. "There."

"Khal look! Heero look!" she ran back to them.

"Hatha Jameel." Quatre smiled and the girl beamed. (A.N.: supposedly the Arabic way of saying that something is good or beautiful, I'm no expert)

"Do you wish me to get the colouring books for you?" Relena asked her with a smile.

"No. I know where they are."

The table went silent as they watched her cross the restaurant, smiling at the 'aws' and 'ohs' of the dining customers on her way to the office.

"Ever thought we'd end up here?" Duo asked smiling quietly.

"I don't think any of us did." Heero answered, taking Quatre's hand with a small smile.

"Isn't that what life is about?" Relena beamed at all her friends, her family.

"A box of surprises." Surprisingly, it was Wufei who agreed and with a smile to boot.

"Are you ready to order, boss?" a young cheerful waiter asked the blonde woman.

"Oh, I guess we're ready for anything."

OMAKE – BOX OF SURPRISES

After three long hours, the meeting of Preventers' top officers had finally ended and Wufei could not wait to get home. He stopped briefly by his office to retrieve some paperwork that needed to be finished and drop the files of the cases that had been discussed during the meeting and was on his way to the elevator when he ran into Sally Po. It had been nearly a year since they had broken up, but they still hadn't restored the friendship they had once had… He was starting to believe that might be impossible.

"Hey, Wufei." The doctor greeted him with an easy smile.

It immediately reminded him of his late wife and the reason why he and Sally had broken up. The blonde doctor deserved better than to serve as replacement for a woman that was long gone.

"Sally." He greeted, but though he tried to smile all he came up with was a grimace.

"Late night?" she asked and he could see her smile grow dimmer at his unfriendly response.

"You could say that." He nodded.

"I'm on my way to see Une… Do you know if she's in her office?"

"She should be in the boardroom. Officers' meeting's just ended."

"Oh, I see… Thank you for the info. Have a good night." She was still smiling. He thought it was quite civilised of her not to mistreat him after all they had been through.

"You too." He said, face blank, and walked past her towards the elevator. He was far too tired to dwell on such things, not to mention what a horrid waste of time it was.

The elevator chimed and he stepped in. It was only when he raised his eyes from the files he'd been staring blankly at that he realised Duo Maxwell was there with him. Talk about luck… Or lack thereof. Of all the people to meet in an elevator on a late night going home after a stressful day at work… It had to be Deathscythe's former pilot.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped when he saw the braided man's mouth open. And all he had wanted were a few hours of silence…

"Nice to see ya' too." Duo replied. "I came here to visit my old work buddies. I did stop by your office too, despite you being an ass, but you were in some boring meeting somewhere."

"You needn't have bothered." He said though the thought of any one stopping by his office merely to see him was as touching as it was ridiculous. It bothered him that Maxwell would do such a thing.

"That's just me." He shrugged. "I like to visit my friends." Wufei snorted, counting the numbers until they reached the lobby. Headquarters really did have too many floors… It was all he could do to hope the braided man would stay quiet and not call him 'friend' any more. It was way too sentimental. "So how've you been?"

And that's why he did not hope. Ever. Because there was clearly no point in it.

"Busy."

"Figures." Duo was glancing at the files he held. "Taking your work home."

"It's none of your business, Maxwell." He informed, managing to sound quite civil.

Before the braided man could reply though they were jerked violently and the elevator's lights went out. "Great…" Duo muttered after pushing the emergency button enough times to accept the fact that it wasn't working. "Trapped in an elevator with a grumpy Chinese man…"

"I heard that, Maxwell." Wufei pushed past him to press the red button himself. "I'm not pleased about this either, especially with your big mouth so close to my ear."

Pressing the button was no use. It probably needed power to work and the fact that the small emergency light was all that illuminated the insides of the metal box proved that power was exactly what they did not have. Stupid worthless emergency button.

"So…" Duo's voice was suddenly so close to his ear, all the hairs in his neck stood on end. "How're things between you and Sally?"

"There is no me and Sally." Wufei retorted putting some decent distance between him and the braided menace.

"Oh, come on, 'Fei! We're your friends! You thought we wouldn't figure it out?"

"Stop saying we're friends."

"What are we then?"

"Allies." He answered promptly, but then remembered that the war was over and that Maxwell had left Preventers to work at a scrapyard. "Former allies."

"Ew, harsh!" the braided man whistled. "If ya' didn't wanna talk about it… You could have just said so."

Wufei sighed, recognizing that feeling as the same one he usually felt around Sally… Guilt. "There is no me and Sally." He repeated and this time it was quiet and meaningful. He sat down on the floor, too tired to remain standing.

For once, Duo respected his need for silence. At least for 60 seconds or so.

"I've always wanted to have sex in an elevator."

"Maxwell… Spare me the details of your nasty bisexual life."

"Just can't believe what a wasted opportunity this is…" he lamented and Wufei could not supress a snort. "Come on, 'Fei. When was the last time you enjoyed a decent kiss?"

"It's none of your business."

"I know, I know. Your life's none of my business. I was just trying to cheer ya' up."

"You were propositioning me."

"Heh… Don't flatter yourself, pal."

The emergency light blinked then and a second later they were in the dark. "Happy now?" Wufei could not help saying. Their verbal sparring was strangely invigorating and he didn't really want it to end. The eerie silence that followed though was unexpected and disconcerting. "Afraid of the dark, Maxwell?" he teased again, irritated at being ignored, but still there was not answer.

"Doesn't…" the braided man started shyly almost hesitantly. "Doesn't this remind you of that time when we…"

"When we almost died?"

"Yeah."

It did. It was true and suddenly the darkness combined with Duo's accelerated breathing and tense silence almost had him panicking. He felt something hard and cold wrap its arms around him.

"How long do you think we're gonna stay here?" he still sounded hesitant. The Chinese man did not like it one bit.

"Not long, I hope." He didn't dare lie. It was late and there weren't many people left in the building… The emergency button wasn't working… Their only option was waiting for the power to return and hoping that would get the elevator working again. How long that would take was impossible to tell though.

Duo tittered. "You're taking pity on me. How nice."

"Just breathe, Maxwell."

"Isn't that the exact opposite of what you said last time? 'Save oxygen, Maxwell.'."

"That's not what I said." He replied more gently than he had intended to. Truth was he didn't really remember what he had said. "How about that kiss you wanted?"

The braided man snorted. "Okay. Taking pity was nice, but you don't have to go that far."

"You said you didn't want to waste the opportunity… Besides I'd really like you to shut up."

Duo glared at him, and though Wufei could not see it in the darkness… He could certainly feel it. "Yeah, but I wanted sex. Not a kiss. The kiss I was offering you."

"I'm not having sex in an elevator."

"So it isn't me you object to?" Duo sounded surprised, and Wufei couldn't blame him. He was surprised himself. So much so he didn't even know what to say.

"I was offering you a kiss, Maxwell. Nothing more, nothing less." He managed to speak after an awkwardly long pause. "And this… story… does not leave this elevator."

"Yeah, yeah… Whatever. So… Is the offer still up?"

"If it makes you shut up…"

"If you like the kiss do I get a date?"

"You said you weren't propositioning me."

"When you were being a jerk, no, I wasn't. I do think you're hot though and I've got tickets to a concert next week and no one to accompany me."

"I don't date men."

"Fine, don't call it a date then. It's just two bros going to a concert together. When was the last time you went out? Not for work! Just, ya' know, for fun?"

"It's none of your business." Wufei repeated the same phrase he'd been using all night and, though Maxwell couldn't see it, smirked widely.

Duo snorted. "So? Do we have a deal?"

"Fine. I'll kiss you and accompany you to this concert as long as you promise to shut up for the rest of the night or as long as we're trapped here."

"But that could be an awfully long time!" the braided man whined.

The Chinese man shrugged. It did not matter that his companion probably couldn't see it. He figured it was too late to escape from the kiss, after all he had been the one to offer, but he could still make Maxwell break their deal and then he would be free from attending the concert. There were only a couple things he did not consider… The possibility that he might actually like the kiss and that Duo might succeed in being quiet for the rest of the night. That elevator would turn out to be quite a box of surprises…