Pairings: Duo/Heero, Quatre/Trowa

Warnings: possibilities of later violence, supernatural stuff, kinky moments, guns...um...gundams?

Author's comment: Long time since last update...probably a good thing since this chapter's been through three rebuffs before I was satisfied, including one part being completely moved to another chapter. D:Goodness!

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Operation Blank Conspiracy 13

He hated it. He hated it but he loved it. This feeling that threatened to steal his control if he let it. He hated that feeling...but he loved that high sense of power it gave him. Wufei always looked forward to the simulations. The power the system gave him was enormous, so much so that he felt like he was invincible. But he wouldn't let that power get to his head. His pride wouldn't let him.

The dashboard computer in front of him beeped mercilessly, colors flying across the screen like a magic show. The sounds and spectacles didn't bother him, though. Maybe because he was used to it? Or maybe because his mind was seeing all the mobile suits the system made him see surrounding him.

The images were inputted through the stat readers stuck to his head. He was able to move his own generic mobile suit easily through the envisioned expansion of space. They were easy to destroy, the mindless drones. He had no problem destroying them...but disarming took more effort. At least it saved more lives in the process, which was a goal of the Preventers. They wanted to save lives not destroy them.

He'd been in battles before with his real suit. To him this was just child's play. Before he'd left on the recent mission, he'd been told of a new weapon addition for his suit. Apparently it'd been added to his simulation processor for him to test out the functionality. So far they worked well though he wouldn't know how well it worked until he got used to the real one. But considering it was made by the same guy who made his suit, he doubted there would be any problems.

He spent close to two hours in the simulation before getting up stretching. His back muscles ached with soreness but it wasn't something a little bit of walking around couldn't fix. He'd probably meditate a little later to really stretch out his body and relax him.

"Still going past the recommended hour mark, I see," a male voice said from the door to the simulation room. Wufei didn't even react as he stepped down from the module made especially for his unique system. Aside from Trowa, who was from his division, Quatre, and Heero, Wufei was the only could use the system.

They were special elitist whose psyche could handle the power of these exclusive schemes. Others that used the system went insane, from power and from the stress it put on the body. In many of those cases people were unable to function properly because of the nerve damage created from strenuous use of the system. A few had even died.

That was the past though. The systems now were a lot safer and would reject the person when the stress level got too high. The most Wufei had been able to handle of constant use was two hours. And that wasn't always the case.

"You shouldn't overdo it. You have more training to do tomorrow right? Not to mention you've just gotten back from a mission."

Wufei finally looked up to acknowledge the man talking to him. Master O stared back at him casually, literally looking down his nose at him. Despite his words, he looked like he could care less what Wufei did. Probably the only reason he'd even said anything to Wufei was because he was the best subject for the system based on Master O's design and so gave him the best results for research.

Master O designed his mobile suit also known as Shenlong. It was where he borrowed his code name from. The others were the same...and it made it easier and less confusing considering they were the only ones to fly these mobile suits which were known only as gundams. The reason being they were made from a rare metal called gundamium, a super strong metal alloy that wasn't the easiest or most accessible metal to find out.

Master O wasn't the only scientist that had worked on a gundam. There were five others, one of which no longer worked aboard the space station. He'd been the designer for the gundam flown by the deceased elitist but has sense gone missing after the gundam's creation. It was possible to say he'd been the first to create a gundam. But it was hard to find out when the man himself made sure to keep himself hidden unless he wanted to be found.

"I'll be fine," Wufei replied stopping by the printer beside the simulator waiting for his results to print out. He glanced over it quickly, giving a grunt of satisfaction before he handed it over to Master O. "The training should be over quickly enough." Both he and Trowa had been recruited into being Duo's trainer. They were going to have a little meeting themselves in the morning to discussion the plans along with everyone's thoughts on the whole Duo becoming a Preventer. Duo himself wasn't going to be part of the meeting since he'd be speaking to the colonels themselves about his decision. It wasn't like they could just force him into being a Preventer.

Colonel Po told the two of them about the plan for Duo becoming one of the Preventers. She'd said it was too good of an opportunity to let someone with so much skill and with so much knowledge about OZ just go away. They wanted to gauge his strengths and weaknesses, if any, to decide which division he should be placed in. It was also the best way to keep him from OZ's hands since it was obvious the notorious group still wanted their little pet back…alive so it seemed by 01's words.

He wasn't too bothered by the idea of Duo becoming one of them. Actually he felt like it was a good idea. They needed all the help they could get, especially after the death of their last elite agent and the crushing power that had on their forces. Gundam pilots could equal out to 100 mobile suits each in manpower. They were…powerful. It was exactly what they needed to defeat OZ. It wasn't so much the lack of gundamium that was the problem more than the fact that they needed more people who could pilot the things. Gundam pilots were a rare breed. That's why they were considered elite…well that and the fact that they actually good handle themselves even without the suits.

Wufei thought back to his first meeting with Duo. He'd found the other annoying, frustratingly so. But now after the little awkward heart to heart back on the shuttle, they'd been bonding better. It meant Duo was even more annoying with his constant jabbering and nicknames. But instead of it being intentionally done to piss Wufei off, it was really sincere now.

Duo was, dare he say it, becoming like one of his comrades. Sometimes he'd catch Duo sitting in a meditative state back on the shuttle and would nod in approval.

It seemed like it must have helped Duo to calm down because he seemed more relaxed than usual. He'd also fall asleep really easily in that state, a small smile showing up on his face. How could such an annoying guy make such a peaceful expression?

Wufei didn't even bother to tell Master O bye as he left the simulation room. He started heading back to his room for a shower before grabbing a bite to eat. If he was going to go eat he didn't need to go all sweaty and smelly. He didn't think he could stomach the thought of smelling his own filth while trying to feed his body, especially when he had the option to take care of the problem. He wasn't sure how Heero could stand it.

As he was coming out of the training room, he bumped into Heero…literally. The impact wasn't hard but it did cause Wufei to step back at the unexpected collision. He eyed the other before trying to figure out where he was going. Division 1 was in the opposite direction and it was obvious he wasn't coming in here to train. Where was he heading to?

"…I take it you heard about the plans for Duo Maxwell." Wufei didn't state it as a question. He was pretty sure all the other elites knew about it. They were supposed to be meeting up in the morning to discuss their plans, or so Quatre had told them all via phone. Whether Heero answered his cell or not was another matter altogether. Though he would at least listen to the messages and read the text.

"Hm…" Heero frowned at the mention of the plan, eyes narrowing slightly. Well if that wasn't an indication that he wasn't too fond of the idea.

"…I think it's a good idea," Wufei said earning him a sharp look from Heero. He ignored it though. He was used to shrugging off the brunette's glares. "For one, we need all the help we can get at this point."

"We shouldn't trust someone like that so easily. It's only been a couple of weeks since we first found him."

"Says the one who was quick to trust him from the beginning." Heero glared at him again but he just returned the look with no intentions of backing down. "Now suddenly after everyone has started trusting him, you want to say not to?"

"Because…" Heero faltered then frowned looking down. He seemed troubled, and Wufei admitted that he was shocked. He'd never seen Heero falter before or even to question their higher ups. Heero always stayed dead set on the mission regardless of if there were consequences.

"Is there…some reason why you don't trust him?"

"…He's OZ's pawn."

"I doubt he works for OZ if OZ is the one trying to catch him," Wufei quoted staring at him. "Weren't those your exact words?"

"…."

"Yet now you want to change that. Why? Has Duo one something to make you not trust him?"

"…No," Heero admitted seeming to deflate even more. Usually, to him, that was an indicator to feeling guilty. How that went together with Heero, he didn't get though. What would he have to feel guilty about?

Wufei was considered one of the best in interrogation for a reason. He knew how to push buttons to make people talk. But Heero was also the most guarded individual he'd seen. It'd take some time to get into that brain of his. He was going to have to take it slow.

"We're meeting Quatre and Trowa in the morning to make our plans, correct?"

Heero seemed to relax at the purposely changed subject. It wasn't anything a normal person would notice, just the slight lowering of his shoulders that showed his tension easing out.

"Yeah."

"Colonel Po mentioned something about the three of them meeting up to talk to Duo tomorrow morning as well." Heero frowned again but he didn't say anything. Well he obviously had a problem with it. "Where are you heading to now?"

"The nurse."

"…Problem?"

"…Chest pain." Heero's expression was neutral but it didn't stop Wufei from feeling suspicious. For a person having chest pain, he sure looked fine. But again he let it slide, just putting it into his book of information for later use.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I have business to take care of myself." Heero nodded before the two of them parted ways. Wufei found himself pausing and glancing back watching Heero's retreating back before moving again.

Trust, huh? True it wasn't something you could easily read in people. Even someone you've known for twenty years could betray you. But Wufei had learned a long time ago that if you continued to live in the shadow of distrust that you couldn't live. He'd tried…and it only made him die inside even more.

That was why he felt a sort of kinship towards Duo. The other reminded him of himself only it took him finding the braided male in a vulnerable state to notice it. Duo hid behind the mask of a jokester. He was as elusive as Heero when it came to emotions. But Wufei was going to teach him about overcoming those fears of trust. Even if it took the whole week or longer, he was going to break that ice.

He stretched popping a few muscles in his back before heading to his room for a shower.

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"Everything checks out well, Heero," Nurse Sicily said looking at him as she pulled the ear tips of the stethoscope away from her ears and lowered the chest piece away from Heero. She was a nice general nurse in her late fifties that was probably spoiling grandchildren by now. In fact she already had one grandchild whose photos were all around the small office. Heero had never asked about them before but the nurse didn't mind giving out the information anyway.

She felt to him like what having a mother must have felt like. But he never had parents he could remember and the only adoptive father figure he had was killed a long time ago before Heero had ever joined the Preventers. So he didn't mind listening to Nurse Sicily talking about her family. It gave him a good perspective of what a family was like.

"So, you say you've noticed these symptoms just recently?" She asked him resting her hands in her lap watching him like how a scientist inspects a new toy.

"Yeah..." Heero said thinking back. He'd first felt this way since...well since he first set eyes on Duo really. The first time he'd seen the sporadic male with his vibrant violet eyes and smug, cocky smirk was back at Maxwell Church. Afterwards had been a long game of cat and mouse. Each encounter, each chance he met the other his body responded in weird ways...including the body part in his pants.

This all happened around Duo these weird exotic feelings. And he was learning he couldn't get enough of it, like a drug he was high on.

"When do you get these chest pains?"

Chest Pain? Yeah he wondered if it were really just that. His chest wasn't the only thing that hurt not to mention the fact that he got these urges to do a lot of things to the braided male. Urges that made him want to reach out and grab the other. Urges that made him want to keep the other close and protect him at all cost. He was a soldier. He should be able to keep his desires in check…but it was getting harder.

Was it because his mission had been to protect Duo, a person set at a higher priority than any charge he'd been left with in the past? No, he'd had similar missions like these before in the since of protecting someone from OZ. He'd protected others, for a longer time even, with no feelings attached. Once the mission was over, it was over. The only one who made him feel this way was…

"...Duo."

"Hm?" She looked up at him a look of confusion on her face as she stopped writing on the clipboard she was holding. "Duo?"

"...Someone we acquired recently on a mission. I've…been getting the chest pains our first meeting." Heero saw her facial expression change as she smiled at him lowering the pen.

"So this would be the new person who just arrived and is the talk of the space station."

"Yeah..." The talk of the space station? Already? They hadn't even been here for a full hour yet. He had to retrain himself from jumping up and rushing to check up on the other. Of course Duo was fine. Hell, if he could handle being shot point blank by a gun then having a few people staring at him shouldn't be a problem at all. Besides, with his bubbly personality he'd befriend the whole station in no time.

"I heard they have a unique set of eyes. Is that correct?"

"...Yeah." Heero frowned feeling like he was being interrogated. Well it sure felt like it with how Sicily was staring at him. Not much could faze Heero but he sure didn't like where this was going. She knew something he didn't. Being that she was a nurse, that wasn't too surprising. But the way she was looking at him smiling in amusement wasn't making him comfortable in the least.

"How would you describe their eyes?"

How would he describe them? An array of words flashed through his head at that moment. Special. Magnifying. Sparkling. Captivating. Gorgeous.

"...Different."

"Just different?" Despite keeping his guard up, she must have seen something on his face because her smile grew larger in a knowing way. "Nothing else?"

He was sure his cheeks heated up at that moment. He tried to keep a straight face as he stared at her. He could already tell that Nurse Sicily knew exactly what he was thinking. Women seemed to be able to do that for some reason. Even the queen would get him with that sometimes.

"...Beautiful," Heero said finally saying the words he'd been thinking in his head for so long. Just the word made his chest tighten and his heart beat faster. This was another feeling he got when he was around Duo or when the other just looked at him. The feeling of his chest tightened and his heart beat escalated. This wasn't normal. It couldn't be normal. Were these signs of a heart attack? Heero reached down clutching at his chest frowning feeling his heart beating fast. Could being around Duo be a hazard to his health?

"Hmmm..." She took note of his action and started writing again, the clipboard tilted up so he couldn't read what she wrote. She was good at that too. "I know what your problem." Heero nodded waiting to hear the results…as if he needed more problems.

"You have a case of lovesickness."

"...Lovesickness?" He frowned. No…that couldn't be right. Weren't lovesick people all googly-eyed and sighing all the time? "That's…not the problem."

"Did you forget I'm a nurse? It's my job to diagnose all problems." She smiled at him to soften the blow before she set herself up to write again. "Now then…answer yes or no to all of these questions involving your condition." Sicily looked up at him as if to say, "don't lie" before she looked down again. "Chest aches?"

"Yes."

"Tightness around the stomach?"

"Yes."

"Increased beating of heart rate?"

"Yes."

"Heart skipping a beat?"

"…Yes."

"….Feelings of anxiety and confusion?"

"…N-yes," came the answer when she looked up at him frowning. Heero frowned in return which only seemed to make the nurse burst out in laughter.

"Relax. I'm only asking these questions so that we can pinpoint your problem exactly."

"…It sounds more like you're trying to insinuate that I'm attracted to Duo." Well she didn't deny it, only smiling in response before looking down and writing on her clipboard again. Why would she be asking such questions that sounded more on terms with being lovesick? He wasn't lovesick! He wasn't love anything. He was a soldier. And that's how he planned on keeping it.

"I'm not lovesick," Heero said out loud as if to make it clear for his own ears. "I am not attracted to any part of Duo." Except maybe every part of Duo…he really needed to work on keeping his thoughts enact.

"Fine…of course I wonder if this person could have some kind of bodyguard crush in return. I really think I should-"

"Nurse…"

"Mmm well I see you're a bit on the grumpy side today." At the look Heero gave her, Sicily wrote something else on the clipboard before looking at him again looking completely amused. "In the case that it's not lovesickness, these symptoms can also be caused from stress, maybe from the suddenness of experiencing something different and unfamiliar."

Heero nodded his head frowning and thinking of her words. Yeah it sounded more related to his case, definitely more than being lovesick. Duo was…something different. He was a superhuman who couldn't die easily, he was super strong as well as fast. Not to mention he could talk a mile a minute without a break in between. He'd been shot during Heero's care, even if he couldn't die from it, and literally was able to tap into all of their electronics with ease.

Duo wasn't normal…and Heero was finding himself attracted to that. It wasn't something Heero was able to handle easily.

"Do you have anything you have to do this week?" She asked continuing to write not even looking up.

"…Training…" He frowned again. "…I have to train Duo this week."

She paused in the middle of writing at his words before a mysterious smile appeared on her lips. "I see." She wrote down some more but didn't say anything else. The silence stretched on to the point that Heero just couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there some reason that-"

"This will be perfect," she interrupted him. "What kind of training are you going to do with him?"

"…I don't know yet." And he was telling the truth when he said that. Duo didn't need training…not with the amount of skills that he had. It was stupid to even bother training him. "He's good at everything."

"Then why not spar?"

"…He's good at that too."

"Then…use it as a form of training, both for yourself and your condition."

"…Why?" He didn't really see where this was going…or maybe he did but he wanted to ignore it.

"By being around a person that causes you anxiety, you can grow used to them. If you do that, the aches might go away. Also if Duo really is that strong, maybe you can use that to sharpen your own skills."

"…I'll think about it." He looked up at her as he slid down from the table, his gaze steady. How come he couldn't look at Duo in this way? It must have been because of the uniqueness of his eyes, something unfamiliar to him. 01 had been the same way too…though 01 didn't make his body react this way. Heero was heading to the door before her last few words caught his attention and made him freeze in his path.

"Remember to follow your emotions. That's what you used to say when you were first brought here so long ago."

It was like a punch in the stomach. He remembered the words because they were the last words he'd heard from the man he considered his mentor and father figure before he died. He'd used it as a sort of boost back when he'd first appeared on the ship. That was until another certain event happened that changed his life and made him into the person he was today.

He shook his head quickly and looked back seeing the nurse looking at him worriedly before he frowned. "I've given up on emotions a long time ago."

"Heero-"

He didn't want to hear anymore as he left out of the nurse's office. Other nurses and workers looked at him as he left out, some already starting up the gossip ring and whispers. He'd had offers before, of young ladies and older women stating they wanted to give him a checkup. But he ignored them to the point they stopped asking or approaching him.

Nurse Sicily was a special case, only because she'd been one of the first people he trusted after being brought aboard the flying fortress so many years ago. He didn't lie when he said she reminded him of what a mother would be like.

However, having those words used against him was a bit much. He hadn't expected to hear them after so many years. So…he needed to follow his emotion? Psh…and what emotions were those anyway? Sure he trusted in his comrades but that was as far as things went with that. Once the mission was over he went about his own business. There was no reason to follow emotions when you did just fine following orders.

But the idea of training, of getting stronger did entice his interest. He might try training…in fact he'd try it tonight to see if he'd go through with it. Just one victory…if he could just obtain one victory against Duo Maxwell then he'd stick to the training idea and learn to adjust to the man naked Duo Maxwell. He'd also see for himself if it was lovesickness or just anxiety and stress.

"Heero, one more thing," the nurse said appearing behind him. He turned around looking up at him having calmed from his sudden exit thanks to his mental pep talk. "Just to make sure things are going ok, come back in a couple of days for another checkup."

"…." He moved starting to walk off heading for the door.

"Make sure you come, ok? For me." He gave a slight nod of his head before he left her, walking towards the door. He'd come back. He'd come back and he'd prove to her that he didn't have lovesickness. Then he could move on with his life and leave these weird feelings behind.

TBC…

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I've been doing a bunch of work on the backstory x.x I can honestly say I think it'll get more interesting further down the line.