Pairings: to be established Heero Yuy & Duo Maxwell
Genre: action/adventure, a little angst, romance
Word count: 26.040
Warnings: PG-13 for some lime and foul language.
Summary: (AU, spin on the usual GW-universe) Five young students at the famous Alliance Mobile Suit Academy are confronted with their own choices and ideals, focusing on two of them in particular: a brash, loud-mouthed street kid and an aloof, reclusive student. Paired together for an impossible mission, they stumble upon something that will change their lives forever, in more ways than one.
Author's note: Written for Sharon's Mission Fic Contest. Feedback greatly appreciated.

Petals of Stone
by Daimeryan Rei

"It's all right, don't worry," Duo answered her, knowing that she hadn't said it on purpose. It wasn't her fault that he'd been ill, and that he'd survived and not his friend.... Solo. I'm doing this for you too, buddy. However, he couldn't help that the admiring look on his face changed into a sad one, and his suitcase suddenly felt heavier than before.
"Come on, cheer up, Duo..." Hilde said, voice soft. "You haven't talked about anything but the Mobile Suit Academy for all your life -- and look at you, you finally made it here..!"
"Yes, you're right. We better get goi... heeey!" He didn't have any time to finish his sentence, as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to one of the large admittance desks. Using her elbows to make her way through the mass of students, all carrying their own suitcases, he had no choice but to follow her, secretly glad that she already knew her way around.

Duo wasn't exactly used to crowds, except for Sundays at the church, when he helped out Father Maxwell and sister Helen; greeting people at the door, distributing bibles and helping elderly people to find an appropriate seat. The church had been his safe haven, the place he'd felt at ease and at home. He hadn't known a home until he was seven and caught shoplifting; before he ended up in an endless cycle of being shipped off to foster homes, Father Maxwell was there to take care of him. A sign of God? Duo didn't believe in God. Especially not after witnessing his home being turned into charred bricks of stone, the rubble dispersed all over the premises, the shattered glass from the windows strewn all over, as if a giant had taken a bite out of the church and spat it out... into the face of the very same God. He should've protected his home. His home. Duo owed his life to Father Maxwell and sister Helen, who taught him how to eat -- knife and fork --, braid his hair -- over, under, over --, and to take a bath, one of his favorite activities because he loved turning the large fake-golden taps open and hear the water flow into the giant tub. He didn't mind having to share his bath with two other orphans; water was scarce and he'd never been prude or self-conscious to begin with.

"Name? Name!"
"Stop daydreaming, Duo!" Hilde poked him again, this time harder in his ribs. He looked up, flashing the disgruntled clerk in front of him a large grin. "Duo Maxwell, registration number L2870-T4399, sir!"
Muttering something under his breath, the clerk tapped furiously at his keyboard to look up Duo's number in the large database. "There you are... from L2 colony cluster...all right, I need to verify you. Identification card?"
Duo handed over his card, silently glancing over at Hilde who carefully looked the other way. He really needed to ask her how she got ahead so far in line, or he'd been daydreaming far longer than he thought. In any case, he needed to pay attention so he could do this on his own next semester -- he couldn't keep depending on Hilde for every little thing; she had her own business to take care of. The young girl caught his look nonetheless and winked. "I hope you're going to be close to the women's quarters, Duo. I'm sure you'll have at least success in that department."
"Hey, quit it -- I don't need any more trouble from you!" Duo teased back, and his attention was called back by the clerk again, who'd stamped a wad of papers, shoving it back into Duo's direction.

"Take these and be careful with them, they'll be only issued once. You're assigned to dorm AD-45. Pick up your uniform and study supplies at the designated locations found on the map of the building. Make sure you're at 15:00 hours in the large auditory for Zechs Marquise's welcome speech."
"Incredible, a speech from the Lightning Count himself?" Duo refrained from gaping at the clerk, forgetting to thank him for returning the papers.
"Wait until you get lessons from him," Hilde nodded, handing her own identification card to the man. "He'll only train the best of the best, but when Zechs Marquise trains you, you simply know you're one of the best."
"Amazing," Duo merely whistled, looking at the papers and reminding himself to become one of the top of his class -- he owed that to quite some people. Hilde finished registering and took up her own bundle of papers, clutching it to her chest. Turning to Duo, she nudged him to leave the line, as other students were pushing to move forward.

"Let's go, Duo. It'll be hell to pick up your uniform and study supplies, so why don't we go to the dorms first? Which one do you have? AD-45, right?"
He checked the top list of the papers he was carrying, and nodded in affirmation. "AD-45. I doubt we can go together, of course..."
"No women are allowed in the men's dorms, and the other way around," Hilde said, mock-disappointment in her voice. "You'll get expelled if you're on the other gender's proprietary without a permission slip. Maybe when war has broken out, but even then you'll need a permission slip. Those are holy around here, as you'll soon find out yourself."
Duo shivered, shaking his head. "I don't want to be expelled so soon. I guess I'll have to contain my raging teenage hormones violently."
"Don't worry -- you'll probably be too busy surviving anyway," Hilde laughed a little before she became more serious. "I know you can handle everything yourself, but please, Duo.. don't hesitate to ask for help when it's not going the way you'd like it to be going, right? Some of the students can be mean, some of them can be vile, violent... I don't want anything to happen to you."
"It's going to be fine, Hilde," Duo said, tone of voice soothing. "I promise you that if I run into any problem growing above my head, I'll come to you."
She narrowed her eyes, slightly irritated that he didn't take her seriously. " I mean it, Duo Maxwell. I'll keep you to that promise."
"You better watch where you're going," Duo answered airily, grabbing her at the upper arm and jerking her back before she bumped into another student.

"I'm terribly sorry," Hilde was quick to apologize while stumbling back, "I wasn't paying attention!"
The blond young man in front of her showed her a friendly smile and turned towards her. "That's quite all right, I was probably standing in the way! I was too engrossed in the map of the building."
"Where do you need to go to?"
"Dorm AD-45," the student gave a puzzled look, "it's quite confusing. It's my first day here, I had to take care of some family business first before I was able to take the exam. I missed the first semester, unfortunately..."
"You have the same dorm as Duo! I'll bring you as far as I'm allowed to, then you're on your own, boys," Hilde said enthusiastically and extended her hand. "Hilde Schbeiker."
"Quatre Raberba Winner," the other introduced himself.
"Wait, wait, Winner -- as in Winner Industries? The mining company?" Duo said before shaking hands with the other.
"Ah, no, not the mining company, we hold several mining facilities," Quatre said, still wearing the same friendly smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Duo Maxwell. I missed the first semester too, so everything is new to me as well."
"At least you have someone to show you the way around a little," Quatre nodded at Hilde. "I wished one of my sisters would at least take the time to say goodbye to me, but well... the family isn't really fond of me studying at this particular Academy. However, that's another story all together. I think it's better if we go to our dorms and freshen up, before gathering our uniforms and study supplies and listen to Zechs Marquise's speech."
"Excellent idea," Duo agreed and Hilde went to walk in front of them, showing them the way to the men's dorms.

The large hallway split in several, lesser small corridors to the east and the west, all leading to other parts of the building. Up to the north was the courtyard, a large terrain where the students would attain only official parades and gatherings. Other facilities, like the athletic tracks, exercise fields and the staff's quarters were behind the main building, stretching out over a vast territory, including a large forest for hikes and survival trainings.
"It looks a little daunting at first to find your way around here," Hilde explained while passing several passages and sideways, "but trust me, within two, three days you're walking through the halls as if you've been born and raised here."
"I really wish I could've made the first semester already, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who entered a little late," Quatre said. "I don't mind the extra work to catch up with the rest of the class, but I don't like to be singled out. People are going to ask me questions soon enough."
Duo could only mutter a non-committal sound to that, as he was pretty much curious to know himself why the Winner heir would waste his time at a military academy, instead of following a top-of-the-bill business education.
"I can't accompany you any longer," Hilde pointed out and smiled goofily. "Even at the first day of the semester, sexes are not allowed to mix on the dorm floors. AD-45 is straight forward and to the left at the end. I'll see you later, Duo?"
"After the welcome speech," he said. "Are we allowed to sit together at dinner?"
Hilde shook her head. "I'm sorry, everything is strictly separated, but some of the classes are mixed -- the ones about Colonial History and discussing politics. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of opportunities to catch up, and there's always school mail. We're free two evenings in the week, as soon as we have our schedules we can set something up together."
"Sweet. Thanks, Hilde!"
"Thank you," Quatre said politely to the girl, and she waved a small goodbye before leaving to find her own dorm.

"She's very nice," Quatre commented immediately after she had left. "Girlfriend?"
"No, good friend," Duo answered, grinning fondly. "Better yet, make that 'best friend'. Hilde and I don't go a long way back together, but in the short time we've known each other we've already made up for a whole lifetime."
"Friendship is so important," Quatre said, almost musingly. "We need others around us to help us and support us, to build upon and feel loved... and giving everything in return what we receive."
"The Winner Family principle," Duo retorted, glancing sideways at Quatre. "Pacifistic, peace-loving.."
"And old-fashioned," Quatre bluntly replied, not returning the look. "My father... died recently. I couldn't make it to the first semester because I had to take care of the family business ensuing after his death."
"My condolences," Duo offered. He was wondering why Quatre was confiding to him, but for some reason, the Winner heir was very easy to talk to, as if they'd been best friends for years -- the same thing he experienced with Hilde. Quatre made a dismissive gesture with his hand, albeit half-heartedly.
"Frankly, we should've seen it coming, but he didn't want to listen to me. The rebels... they didn't want to listen. I knew my father's pacifistic ideals were nothing but that -- ideals. Sometimes force is needed to get a message or an ideal across. Going to this Academy made him disown me."
Duo whistled. "In some ways, he didn't like doing a half-assed job."
Quatre stifled a small laugh. "In some ways, no. We're almost there.. AD-45."

On their way to their designated dorm, Duo and Quatre had passed other dorms, offering room for up to six students. The rectangular rooms were all decorated in the same fashion; two to three bunk-beds, cupboards for uniforms and blankets, a small locker per student for the personal things, all decorated in boring dark gray and silver gray colors. A fairly large desk was crammed between the beds, even though the most part of the studying would take place in separate study rooms, supervised by older students, as Hilde had already explained to him. Students were flocking in and out of the rooms, greeting their friends, acting like they'd been here for their entire lives. It almost looks like a boarding school, Duo thought amusedly while he stood still for the half-open door to AD-45. Next to the door post was a little plaque with his name, amongst others -- apparently, he was to share this dorm with one H. Yuy, T. Barton and W. Chang, together with Quatre, whose name was last on the small list.

"I'm curious to meet our roommates," Quatre said a little too cheerfully to Duo's taste, and he didn't show that he was aware of the other's slight nervousness. He noticed that Quatre was genuinely interested to meet the others, and he was quite curious as well, but to him it didn't matter really much -- he wanted to live up to his vows and start his training, become a Mobile Suit pilot and then... shaking his head briefly, he forced himself to enter the room. Too early to think about it. First the training. The room turned out to be empty, and apparently this particular dorm was constructed to use the very last bit of available space. Quatre took a step forward, dropping his suitcase to the floor, and turned his head around, almost smiling ruefully. One bed stood alone in the very right side of the room, under the slanted roof, shoved into the corner with only a small path to move around. The upper bed of the middle bunk was pretty close to the ceiling as well; that would take some effort getting used to, as to avoid a forceful collision with one's head. The bunk on the left side looked pretty normal to Duo and he followed Quatre's example, dropping his suitcase to the floor.

The single bed had already been claimed; two bags and something resembling a sword -- a sword? -- were lying on top of the covers. Curiously, Duo took a closer look -- the sword was neatly wrapped, and probably more for decoration purposes than real-life use. In any case, he hoped that the wielder of the sword wouldn't get the idea to start slicing and dicing his roommates in whatever fit of hysteria. Quatre shoved his suitcase next to the middle bunk. "It seems both of the top beds haven't been claimed yet. I hope no one snores."
"You're right," Duo said affirmatively, stifling a low chuckle. He was used to sharing rooms; it would've been strange for him to have a room to his own. Snoring would be the least of his problems, if there were any -- after all, he'd been sleeping in the same room with the constant coughing and groaning of terminally ill people. He could handle snoring.
On the lower one of his chosen bunk-bed was one simple, black suitcase and Duo didn't pay attention to it. He wasn't even wondering which one of the other three would be sleeping there; he'd soon meet them all anyway. From the sounds behind him, Quatre was unpacking, clicking open his suitcase. "Are all the lockers occupied as well?"
"It doesn't seem like it," Duo said, taking a few steps to the side to observe the small gray lockers. "I think you need to get a personal code to activate them. Three are still open."
"It's only for some personal belongings. I don't think we'll be spending much time in this room," Quatre mentioned and continued unpacking, until he looked at his watch. "We better get to the large auditory -- if we miss Zechs Marquise's speech, we're not going to live through it, I'm afraid."
"Agreed," Duo said and threw his suitcase on the top bed, turning around to follow Quatre.

The directions to the large auditorium were plastered all over the building, so it was easy enough to find -- as if the crowd of students flocking together was hard to miss. Duo craned his neck looking around for Hilde, but he couldn't find her. Most of the students were already in uniform -- reminding both Duo and Quatre that they needed to collect theirs and their study supplies later --, and talking to each other, awaiting the speech of one of the most decorated and superior Mobile Suit pilot ever. Scanning the crowd again for Hilde, Duo's eyes suddenly fell on another student with a rather rigid posture. That one certainly could use some relax pills. Feeling safe in the crowd, Duo unabashedly examined the other with his eyes, this student somehow standing out in particular, determinedly looking straight forward, towards the stage. Tousled dark brown hair, nice and unruly, a lean build as far as he could see, Asian descent and blue eyes.. Duo wasn't really sure about the color as the light in the auditorium wasn't very optimal, but they seemed pretty blue and intense to him. Next to the one-with-the-tousled-hair was another student with the same dark brown hair, if only a little lighter shade, and combed over one side of his face. He was slightly taller than the other and wore a plain turtle neck and jeans, contrary to the rigid student who was already in his uniform. Duo craned his neck some more -- there was a third one next to the student with his typical hair, and he was also of Asian descent; if the slanted eyes and skin color weren't a dead give away, his traditional clothing -- with a giant dragon embroidered on his shirt -- was. Duo mused how good he would look in the uniform; the one with the tousled hair certainly was very good-looking...

Quatre brought him back to planet Earth however, by tugging at his sleeve. "Marquise is about to begin."
The auditorium fell silent as the Lightning Count walked towards the stage, taking the small steps with catlike.. no, predatory grace, and making his way towards the tall microphone stand. He was impressive, certainly when wearing that silver mask, even though it was extremely ugly -- but no one had seen the real face of the man, only building and adding to his own legend. Looking at the side, a woman resembling Hilde, if only a few years older, was fondly looking at the Lightning Count -- very fondly, and with pure, unaltered pride in her eyes.
"Lucrezia Noin is the second best instructor of the Academy," Quatre whispered, "I read that she only came in second because she wanted Marquise to have the best papers."
"Shut up runt," another student whispered harshly just before Marquise grabbed the
microphone.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you all for the second semester to the Alliance Mobile Suit Academy," his voice boomed through the large room. "Some of you start today, some of you have already been here before, and some have left the academy because they weren't up to par to our standards. Let me assure you, as I did the previous semester and I'll do the next semester: training at the Alliance Mobile Suit Academy is a privilege and an obligation to fulfill once you start. The standards are high, each and every instructor is going to ask the most and the best of you, and if you can't handle it, you're cordially invited to leave us. We won't mourn your loss if you decide to quit -- only the smartest, toughest and bravest of you all, man or woman, will make it to the finish line. No matter which year you're in, you still have infinite things to learn, and you can always do better. We're asking you to do better -- no, we demand it! The Academy only accepts the finest of the finest, and will only deliver the best of the best to ensure peace and freedom, guarding the fragile liaisons between Earth and the colonies. As long as mobile suits are needed to best conflicts and help solving trouble, the Academy will stand up to its fine tradition of training excellent pilots that will keep our name high and continue to carry out our ideals. Your honor demands it from you!"

A loud applause followed, intensified by the acoustics of the auditorium and even though he was applauding himself, Duo grimaced a little. He was here to learn and to fight, to get better education his home colony could ever offer him, and to become the best Mobile Suit pilot so he could bring back peace to his home. And if I can take a few rebels with me as well... they'll pay for what they did to the church. He didn't want to become a mindless drone of the military, slaving away orders from higher up. He owed it to quite a few people to do his best here, but he wasn't going to.... Who am I kidding anyway? You promised it when God was speaking to you, when his scythe reaped the church for those to follow him. You sold your soul to get here, now you'll answer to those who have more power than you... for now.
"Tomorrow you'll start your semester," Marquise continued, long platinum hair following his every movement with his head, "for those just starting out, I'll give you a fair warning: You'll find our exercise grounds a living hell, the piloting classes straining, the mechanical maintenance instructions hard and tedious, and you'll have to adhere to an extremely strict schedule of training, exercise and being instructed -- all day long, and you can even get roused out of bed at night to perform duties on the spot. We're preparing each and every student for the possibility of war at any time, to be on their best immediately in times of a crisis."

He turned his head more towards the audience, eyes hidden behind the large silver mask. It looked like he was staring at everyone in particular, as if to see right through each and every student, judging in one second if they were fit for the Academy or not. Duo stared right back -- no doubt the man wasn't looking at him, with the mass of students surrounding him, but he wouldn't give into his feelings of discomfort right now. He was too excited to start his training to feel intimidated by a man in a silver mask, no matter how many glorious decorations and medals he was wearing. Quatre stood right next to him, looking determined as well.
"If you can't adhere to this schedule, you're out. If you think all this is too difficult, too tedious, you're out. If you can't handle the stress of studying of one of Earth's finest Academies, you're out. You're encouraged to make friends with your fellow students, as you'll have to work together on numeral occasions, but don't get too attached -- there's a big chance that they'll leave within the first three weeks of the semester. In this world, you need only those you can build and trust upon for the full 100 %, not those who give up at the first sight of a hurdle. With this, I officially declare this new semester open; you'll have until dinner at 19:00 hours to get your supplies and uniforms -- those who fail to gather these things before dinner, are out!"

"How did you like the speech?" Duo asked Quatre as they left the auditorium, hurrying to get to the designated location where school supplies and uniforms were distributed.
"Hey, watch it!" He snarled at another student who was almost in panic to get his things in time.
"It was... impressive," Quatre answered, absent-mindedly. "The man certainly knows how to bring a good speech, and I'm sure everything he said is true -- those who can't follow the studies and schedules here, are the first to leave, of course. Seventy percent of all the first-year students leave after the first and second semester. The Academy gets enough applications, and they cut out roughly 30% from that as well."
"Yeah, high standards and all," Duo mumbled. He knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but since when had anything out of his life been easy? If he could handle death and destruction, he could handle instructors trying to mold him into a good little obedient soldier.
Quatre went silent, and Duo wasn't sure if he was so impressed by Marquise's speech that he was replaying it in his mind, or that he was worrying himself about not being able to live up to the standards.
"I think you're going for the political studies?" Duo said, keeping up the conversation.
Quatre shook his head. "No, no exclusively. I want to train for mobile suit piloting as well. However, I do want to participate in the debates and discussions, of course. Relena Peacecraft studies here."
"Are you kidding? The Princess of Peace?"
"Exactly. It'll be interesting to see how we both uphold in a discussion with each other."
"Debating is not really my cup of tea, but if you invite me, I'll come listen to you."
Quatre gave him a grateful look, smiling. "I'm going to hold you to that, you realize that?"

Gathering their supplies and uniforms went rather smoothly, waiting in line took the most time. After handing over their identification cards and the paperwork they received earlier, they were both handed their uniforms and a bunch of syllabi. "You'll get the rest in the first class you start," the employee told them rather gruff and turned around to tend to the next student before they could even blink an eye. Shrugging, Duo went with Quatre back to their dorm -- they needed to change into their uniform as wearing it was obliged during dinner. On their way back, Duo kept an eye out for Hilde, but knew there was really a slim chance of seeing her; not only were the girls' dorm room located at the opposite east wing, but there were far too many students crowding the corridors to pick her out. Quatre was muttering something about listening to more welcome speeches during dinner and how he wasn't looking forward to listening to them.

"As long as the food is good," Duo commented jokingly while they walked into their dorm room. Quatre was about to answer, but he noticed the other occupants before Duo and smiled. "Hello," he said friendly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Duo was surprised to see that the three in the room were the three he'd seen earlier at the auditorium during the speech -- the tousled-hair one was sitting on the lower bed of the left bunk. The taller kid with the hair combed to one side was standing next to the middle bunk, buttoning up his blouse, and the third one, perched next to the single bed, unpacking his bags, was the other one of Asian decent.
"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner and this is Duo Maxwell," he introduced them both.
There was a minute of silence while three pairs of eyes focused on them and Duo was about to comment on the atmosphere being like a graveyard when suddenly the taller one of them nodded. "My name is Trowa Barton. To your left is Heero Yuy, and to the right is Chang Wufei. You're both late arrivals."
"That's right," Quatre said. "I had family business to take care of, and Duo..." he looked over at Duo.
"I've been ill, otherwise I would've been able to take the admission tests sooner," Duo supplied. Heero. How... fitting? Trowa simply nodded and there was no reaction from the other two but a snort from the one called Heero.
"A weak constitution," he remarked off-handedly. Duo didn't like to give out details, not as Quatre seemed to easily share them, but he narrowed his eyes at Heero. No one belittled the situation he'd been through, fellow students or not.
"People were dying from what I had. Dropping like flies, actually. Not everyone had his fine little ass pampered, you know."
With that, he climbed onto the top bed and dumped his uniform and school supplies on the covers, not waiting for Heero's answer, should there be one.

"We're about to eat in an hour, so you'd better get changed," Trowa continued to speak as if hadn't been any interruption. "No student is allowed to attend dinner in his plainclothes, only at the last dinner of the semester; that day is unattended anyway. Showers are across the hall, towels are available everywhere."
"Thank you," Quatre said and shifted around, putting his uniform on his bed. His cheeks flared a little, not used to change in front of others, but as no one was paying attention to him in particular, he forced himself to get over it and started to unbutton his blouse.
Duo contemplated the possibility of taking a shower, but decided against it because one hour was simply too short to get his mass of hair dried in time before dinner. The thick braid that hung over his right shoulder at the moment would probably be the object of the other students' contempt or teasing; he was ready to confront anyone who was going to give him a hard time about it. His youth on the streets had certainly given him a mouth that he used to hold himself up in conversation or in any discussion. Without giving it another thought, Duo changed into his uniform, not liking the itchy feeling of this particular fabric -- but hey, this wasn't the right moment to start complaining.

Dinner was organized according to a very tight schedule, as expected from a military academy who expelled students if they didn't make it in time. Duo marveled about the speed food was served and despite the long lines, his turn was pretty fast. The next second, he marveled about the unidentified blob of... something on his tray.
"Duo, over here!" Quatre waved at him. His line had even went faster and he was sitting at one of the large tables with a bunch of other first year students; among them, the others from their dorm. Duo made his way over to the table, balancing his tray and a drink, before he sat down.
"I take it it's a worldwide hobby to complain about food served at military academies, right?" He snorted. Quatre laughed softly, as he was spooning some of the unidentified goo into his mouth. "They're just mashed potatoes, Duo. A little too flat, though -- it could've used some salt."
"Spoiled brat," Duo teased him before digging in himself; tasting the mashed potatoes with a little caution. It wasn't his fault that he didn't recognize it at first sight; he had known potatoes only served as they were, not mashed up. He looked a little to his right, noticing that he sat next to Heero who was glaring at his tray as if he wanted it to bend over and turn into something completely different instead of the bit of rice and something like beef on his plate.

"Do you like it, Heero?" Duo asked.
"Hn, what?" He answered a little brusquely, glancing over at Duo.
"Your.. food, whatever it is. Do you like it?"
"I've had better," Heero said, tone of his voice flat. "And it's tempura... healthy and nutrient, about half of the fat and grease of whatever you're having."
"Excuse me, mister diet consultant," Duo half-snorted, half-mocked, "next time I'm having dinner I'll ask for your advice on any healthy food intake and you can break it down into the right amount of carbohydrates for me."
Heero pursed his lips, blue eyes narrowing a little. "You don't have to exaggerate it."
"I thought it was rather funny," Duo retorted, winking at him to take the bite out of his words. "Don't worry, Heero. I was just teasing you a little."
"Right," Heero muttered, before looking away from him again. Duo leaned a little forward to see if he was blushing, but there was no sign of any redness on the other's face. Too bad... it would look good on him. Before he could ask himself where that thought had come from, his attention was called upon by one of the many staff members who were to speech about the right way to conduct oneself at the Academy, and what glory and honor it was to be able to study at the same Academy... Duo wondered when it would ever end, noticing that more than half of the students present were only listening with half an ear. Unfortunately, it would take almost three hours before the last of the staff members finished his speech, and by that time, Duo was convinced that the first dinner of the semester was a trial and a test on its own.

Hardly a month into the new semester, Duo had to admit that Hilde had been right; after a few days already he wandered through the halls and corridors as if he were born and raised on the territory. He knew where the exercise fields were -- first, of course, as every day started with a fresh round of group exercises --, the large halls where mobile suit maintenance was instructed, the class rooms for the hours of colonial history, Earth politics and general subjects as geography and sociology, the sickbay for lessons in first aid and how to help an injured fellow soldier, and he knew where to be for each and every one of his class, where to be for the debates -- as promised to Quatre --, and where to be to find a moment for himself, or to catch up with Hilde. It was a harsh and strict life, indeed, but to his own amazement, he enjoyed every single second of it. Duo liked attending the debates, not only to see and hear Quatre talk sophistically and disprove every argument calmly and well-considered. He enjoyed the fencing classes, the laps around the large athletic tracks, even the hard physical exercise -- to become a mobile suit pilot, you had to be in an excellent condition to handle the suit itself, of course. He was excited by learning how to take care of a mobile suit, technical and mechanical maintenance quickly becoming one of his favorite subjects, as piloting himself.

Hardly a month into the new semester, and he was familiar with Wufei's habit to rise even earlier than the average student to practice his kata's and to polish his ancient traditional katana before going to bed. He could set the clock to Trowa's knife-throwing practice, Quatre running around in panic before becoming calm and composed every time he had to debate even with the littlest of preparations, and Heero's strict adhering to each and every schedule. Where students were dropping out as they couldn't stand either the regimen or simply couldn't live up to the standards, dorm AD-45 remained in its original cast. The five of them weren't inseparable, or the best of friends, safe for Quatre and Duo, still they remained steadfast, and without exception, were the top of their respective classes, or very close to the top.

There was only one person Duo Maxwell couldn't get a grip on, and that bothered him. Whereas he had already seen that Quatre was slowly turning into the leader of them all with his rational and strategic mind, that Wufei would've come to terms that working together was most of the times better than to do everything on his own, and that Trowa was opening up quite nicely to everyone around him, Heero Yuy managed to stay reclusive and focused only on his studying and training.
It wasn't that Heero was constantly in his mind, not at all. He hardly had the time to think about the other, with all the academy assignments, the amount of schoolwork and the time it took to fulfill each and every exercise. It was mostly at evenings or the scarce moments he had to himself that he thought about him. What was so fascinating about him? The way he looked? Heero was certainly good-looking, but there were other good-looking kids all around the school. It was the combination of his unruly hair with those fierce, proud, blue eyes, eyes not to drown in, but eyes that could kill and shatter your soul. It was danger, and didn't Duo Maxwell live for danger? After his... affiliation with the God of Death, what could possibly be a challenge or a danger to him?

Hurrying through the corridor, Duo realized he had an hour before his presence was needed at the athletic track again and he wanted to get a clean, fresh shirt. He barged into the dorm room without knocking, and almost skidded to a halt when he saw Heero sitting on his bed, laptop glued to his knees.
"I'm sorry," Duo mumbled, then quickly grabbed a clean shirt from his cupboard. Even though all students were obliged to wear the uniform at all times, he usually wore a white shirt under it; when the rim peeped out, it reminded him of the priest garb he used to wear back on L2. He stripped himself of his shirt carefully, minding that the silver crucifix around his neck wouldn't get tangled into the fabric. He'd almost forgotten all about Heero sitting on the bed as he suddenly spoke.
"You're religious."

Duo halted mid-movement, before continuing to take the shirt off. "You have good observation skills."
"It's not that hard to miss."
"Everyone else seems to miss it."
"Why?"
"Why? Because they're not looking right?"
"No, I mean, why are you religious? Wearing that crucifix?"
"Because I believe in God," Duo answered, lifting up his eyebrows. Of all the conversations Heero could've picked to start up with him, he chose a religious one. What was the saying again? Keep politics and religion from your friends?
"God isn't here at this Academy," Heero said, keeping his eyes on his laptop.
"What do you mean by that? There are rooms designated for prayer and meditation all over the place, and every Sunday there are services here..."
"That's not what I meant," he answered, an impatient sound to his voice. "You won't find God here. Isn't every religion against violence? That's what we're going to be trained to do here -- to exercise violence if it's necessary. Gods who bring peace and love aren't to be found here."
"There is simply more to life than just live and die, Heero," Duo said, taking up his clean shirt and putting it on. He also took his black cap and put it on, large chestnut bangs peeking out from under it. "Many of us need an extra... dimension to his or her life, a place or an entity to find comfort and consolation."

"I don't need that extra 'dimension'." Heero shrugged. "Take refuge in any God is cowardly and easy."
"That's not it," Duo objected, his violet eyes narrowing a little. "God is support, not a refuge. It's a pillar in your life, to lean onto and find support."
"Does it support you in your daily decisions?"
"Believing in God helped me through many situations."
"Does this God of yours help you with your homework? Your assignments?"
"No, but I find the strength in God to do this homework and assignments, and to keep up with the education."
"You don't need any divine instructor. Your actions speak more for yourself than you'll ever know -- you're in the top five of almost every class, and you have lots of friends and people who like you. That's a feat you accomplished on your own."
"Maybe," Duo said, not knowing what to answer. What was he talking about? "Before I came here, I was determined to end up with only the best."
"And you did. You ended up with only the best, and it was all your hard work, not your belief in some kind of phenomenon whose existence never has been proven."

"What are you saying, Heero? That my belief in God is a liability?"
He finally looked up, staring back at Duo. "If I'm going to end up with the best of what this Academy has to offer, then everyone of them has to be without fail or liabilities. We are in a period that war can break out any minute, and I want to be sure that the ones with me share the same beliefs and ideas."
"That's quite... anticipating of you," Duo retorted, baffled. However, he was pretty much sure that Heero would end up with the best; he was the best mobile suit pilot in training of this Academy, and there were rumors going around that the Lightning Count himself wanted to train him -- unheard of for a first year student. Undoubtedly, as Heero already was the best of his every class, he would make a perfect soldier. A Perfect Soldier Who Wouldn't Ask Questions. Duo frowned.
"How sad, that you classify everyone around you either as a liability, a threat or a neutral party. That's sad, Heero. Sad and empty."
"Do you think so?" Heero continued staring at him. "What's so sad about knowing who you can rely upon? Your back needs to be covered, you need to know who to count upon during a mission. You can't use liabilities in times of war."
"We're trained to be soldiers, not mindless killing machines! We're humans, you're a human too!"
"You exaggerate, just like you exaggerate everything, Duo Maxell!" Heero all but snarled. "What is this, all kind of a joke to you? You fly through your classes without apparently any troubles, you get away with more than any other student could, you're big best friends with everyone and this is an international renowned military institute, where nothing else is being done but to turn everyone into mindless killing machines!"
Taken aback, Duo was for a few seconds speechless. "I take everything seriously enough! Who are you to base your whole opinion about me on a few things you've seen of me? I study hard enough, I work hard enough, and I damn well know there could be war any moment! The relations with the Colonies are fragile at best, and I've been witness to what the rebels can cause -- I know how burnt human flesh smells because I saw them burn to death. If you think this is all a large joke to me, you're wrong!"

"You're a liability! You need to trust your comrades, not some kind of divine entity, who won't come to your rescue when you're ambushed! You don't need attachments, bonds, unities, because in this world, it's about your life and your life only, and no one will mourn for you once you're dead!"
"That's... horrible!" Duo exclaimed, wondering for a brief moment why Heero was spouting all of this -- and to him in particular. "That's horrible to think, Heero! We are in this world to protect and to support each other, and those who think differently or have bad intentions need to be corrected, or at least heard before taking any action."
"That's a fantasy world you're living in," Heero snorted.
"No, that's the truth. People care, whether you like it or not, Heero. That's what humans do -- care and take care. Sure, there are exceptions to that, as to every rule, but the majority tries to live together. We're going to be trained to deal with those exceptions -- the ones threatening peace, the ones who are power hungry..."
"No one will mourn for my death," was the soft answer.
"I will."
"What?"
"I'll mourn for your death," Duo said, voice just as soft. "Because, no matter how you regard me, I regard you as a friend. A fellow student, a comrade, a friend, yes. I would mourn."
There was a silence, as awkward and strange between them as always; Duo had never caught Heero in an anything but Academy or assignment related discussion, and everything else was just silence between them. He wanted to know if the other was going to say something, but the silence remained.
"I'm sorry, I have to go," Duo finally said. "I'm taking this education very seriously, you know, and arriving late will have me expelled. However, I'm always around if you want to talk to me about it."
With that, he turned on his heels and left the room, breaking into a jog to get in time to the athletic tracks, carrying Heero's words all the way with him.

Yelling "You're a liability!" to him. Nice going, Yuy. Staring at his laptop screen, at nothing in particular, Heero Yuy heaved a deep sigh. Duo already left the room, going back to his exercise class, and it was as if he took every bit of energy with him, leaving the room dark and cold. Heero knew it was because of the policy of no heaters in any dorm -- as a soldier, you had to be prepared to be able to sleep in any circumstance possible --, and because of the little light coming through the small window next to the middle bunk. Sure, he could reach forward and turn on the tiny tube light above his bed, but he didn't care. His schedule wasn't the same as Duo's, or with anyone for that matter, and he'd used this moment of free time to work on another evaluation report about his simulated tactics class. He also knew he was gritting his teeth; Duo Maxwell was infuriating for some reason, and grating on his nerves. Why? Why in whatever deity's name, the same deity whose existence he fought so hard to deny? Because you're a fool, Yuy. Being able to strip a gun clean and putting it back together blindfolded under five minutes at the age of six isn't something to be proud of, remember? You don't even know how to get along with your classmates. "Because they're all a liability," he said out loud. As long as people didn't come close, didn't have interest in him, he didn't have to return the favor. People close to him would only worry him. He couldn't shake his previous training, indoctrinated by doctor J; an old man who saved him for the bitter streets of L1 after he had been wandering around for who knows long. Even he had lost track of time.

He was going to be a mobile suit pilot. He heard the rumors as well, that Zechs Marquise himself had plans on training him. He didn't care that people were comparing him to the abilities of the Lightning Count himself. It was his goal to become the best, to fight for what was right... no one differed very much from each other, right here at the Academy. Every student held up his own ideal, his own belief... and Heero's was the one of working alone. Oh yes, he would accept help if a mission was too much for him alone, he wasn't as foolish as Wufei to think he could do everything alone -- he realized the necessity of teamwork. Heero moved his fingers over the keyboard of his laptop, closing every program off. Where did Duo Maxwell fit into this picture? Being assigned to a dorm meant nothing but that; they didn't have to work together as they didn't even share classes... yet. With the progress of the semester, the fall-out of the students increased. Elder students always liked to keep track of the drop-outs, placing bets on who was going to leave first. Heero had almost betted that the two new students, Duo and Quatre, were also gone within the first month of the semester. Wufei had said something about the blond Quatre being a wimp, and his opinion about Duo had just been as low. The proud warrior however, had to admit that both failed to comply with his harsh judgment, based on his first impression. Quatre was more and more demonstrating of his leading capacities, undoubtedly strengthened by his family background -- after dealing with so many business issues, he'd developed a sharp mind with an unfailing sense for opportunities, be it in a strategic defense plan or an infiltration mission.

And Duo. Why was he even on his mind? It was maddening and frustrating. It had started at the very first dinner they shared; the wink he received was etched into his very soul. Sure, it had been a gesture in jest, but it had settled the relationship between them: not serious. Heero wasn't taking Duo seriously, with his foot long braid -- a liability, even though it looked so good on him --, his gregarious nature, his ability to make friends wherever he was, the way he was standing out in the middle of a crowd, no matter how large. Duo wasn't taking Heero seriously, or at least so he thought, because he was being reclusive and worked mostly alone. He had learned so many weapon tactics, but he hardly could handle a normal conversation, that had just proven itself, a few minutes ago. Still, feeling attracted -- what he certainly wasn't, of course not --, was another liability and a dangerous one on its own. Doctor J had told him to 'act upon his emotions', only after years and years of drilling and indoctrinating his views on liabilities and how to deal with it. What did the old man have in mind, back when he told him? Wasn't he negating the effects of his training, a harsh and excessive training, by telling him to 'act upon his emotions'? Wasn't it easier to stay this way and don't deal with those pesky feelings, that could made one feel miserable, ecstatic, sad, happy? Heero closed the laptop, looking at the silver gray object. A farewell present of said Doctor, and a very powerful and optimized one indeed. It was far more better than any laptop here at the Academy, but didn't look like one; no one had said anything about him having one. Most of the students were walking around with a laptop of their own... Quatre had one, Duo didn't... and there he was, back at Duo again. Was Duo... would he think of him too? I will mourn your death... He snorted, not wanting to keep thinking about it. Duo Maxwell would probably mourn the death of a titmouse.

The semester continued, and the pressure of the classes and the related work and assignments almost doubled. Students were groaning, working until late at night to get every report and evaluation done. Heero was the only one working ahead of his class; even after Duo had asked him to accompany him to a debate night or just an evening together with the guys in one of the recreation rooms. Even Trowa and Wufei had dark circles under their eyes; the latest week was spiced up with two nocturnal drills and every student who didn't make it into their mobile suit in time, was expelled. Zechs Marquise had personally attended the second drill, declaring this was a top priority war simulation; anyone failing it had no business at a military academy.

He didn't admit it out loud, but even Heero was looking forward to the one and only weekend of this semester. Having some time to himself without watching the clock or being on his guard the whole time would do him some good. He wasn't really surprised hearing Quatre inviting Duo over to spend the weekend with him at one of his many sisters, who apparently had a mansion a few hours from the Academy. It did surprise him when Duo declined friendly though determinedly, and he arched an eyebrow. Trowa was packing for a weekend away with his sister Catherine who worked at a circus that was traveling past the facility, and Wufei almost finished gathering his belongings. Heero wasn't sure what Wufei was going to do the whole weekend, as he suddenly realized it was him and Duo only in this particular dorm. Many students were taking the opportunity to get away for this weekend, meeting up mostly with family or friends. Why wouldn't Duo get out as well, especially with such an offer as Quatre had in mind? The Winner heir didn't seem fazed with Duo's refusal, and continued to pack until he was finished as well.
"See you all on Sunday night," Quatre said and waved at the two others. "Behave, won't you?"
"Get lost, man," Duo answered, laughing as he threw a pair of socks at Quatre's head. He ducked long before it could hit him and he laughed as well. "See you!"

Quatre wasn't gone for a second or Duo leaned over the edge of his bed, hanging upside down in Heero's view. "Hey buddy, it's just you and me now," he grinned.
"There are many others unable to travel or not in the opportunity to leave for this weekend. We're hardly alone."
"Don't start on me now, Heero," Duo said, smiling widely. "It's our first real free weekend! No drills, no exercises, no assignments for two whole days!"
"May I remind you that working ahead on cla.."
"No, you may not," Duo laughed. He rolled over, jumping off the bed and landing on his feet in front of Heero. "During this weekend, students are allowed off-territory as long as they return before curfew. What do you think -- let's get on a bus and go to town!"
"I don't have any business in town," Heero answered, as his mind processed the proposition. Getting on a bus with Duo, sitting next to him even though they always spiraled towards each other at dinner time -- he couldn't even remember Duo not sitting next to him while eating. Spending time with Duo... fraternizing between students, becoming friends... act upon your emotions.. "I can't," he said.
"You're so fucking lame, Yuy," Duo said, sounding impatient. "I don't bite, I don't kill... you, in any case. We only had one good talk, and I had to leave because you started discussion about religion while I had to be on the tracks in a few minutes time. We can get to know each other better, what do you say?"
"I'm not lame," Heero protested. "Not everyone is as fast as you in the department of socializing..."
"True, I forgot," Duo cut him off. "I'm a liability. I'm sorry I don't rank high on your classification list of your fellow students. You know what? I don't even want to go with you to town any more. Sit here on your bunk and shrivel away for all I care, Heero. I'm tired of being treated as something that's just not there."
"Duo..." Heero started, but Duo had already left the room, and as always, taken the light and energy with him. Amazed and oddly... hurt, he remained sitting on the bed.

With more than half of the students gone for the weekend, the staff was also diminished. Everyone seemed to have forgotten the normal rules of conduct, behaving and interacting rather familiarly with each other, something that irked Heero. He was more irritated and annoyed with him than everything else; he'd missed a great opportunity just because of his own stupidity. How could someone be so intriguing and infuriating at the same time, and why was he thinking about him so much in the first place? As if the other did the same... he snorted while walking with his tray to the conveyor belt for the dirty dishes. He had to get rid of Duo Maxwell in his mind; not only was he a liability, he was also distracting.

Fool. It was past curfew, and Duo still hadn't returned... at least, not to the dorm. He could be anywhere on the premises, as long as he registered himself at the entrance. Failing to comply with the curfew was reason to be expelled, and even Duo didn't risk that. So where was he? Heero turned around in his bed, knowing that this hour was extremely early to be in bed, even for him. He hadn't felt like watching TV with the others in one of the large recreation rooms, and there was only so much studying one could do in a day. His usual laps around the large football field didn't help much either... and tomorrow was another day off. Had Duo been able to slip into his life unnoticed, and making himself noticed when he was present and when he was gone? Fool. Heero wasn't so sure if he was aiming that towards him or Duo, and sucked in a breath of surprise when the door went open.

Duo entered the room, uncaring if he made any noise or not. He was mostly as silent as Trowa, who was able to walk soundlessly, really -- he'd given everyone of them a heart attack by popping up next to them without making a single sound. Duo moved through the room, shrugging off his coat.
"I know you're not sleeping, Heero," he said, to which he only burrowed his head deeper into the pillows. "Heero..."
"What is it?" he muttered.
"I owe you an apology," Duo said, crouching next to his bed to look at him. "I was overstepping my boundaries. I shouldn't have attacked you today. I'm sorry."
Off all things expected, this certainly wasn't... the thing Heero had been waiting for. Had he been waiting for something? They were soldiers, killing machines in training, told to follow orders... not human. No, not human.
"Why?"
"I don't know what came over me. I was a little upset, I guess, and..."
"No, why? Why do you fight?"
Duo frowned a little, but nodded the very second. "I fight for peace, and as long as I fight, no one else has to do it. L2 doesn't have any defense. The children... they're on the streets, without shoes, without a bed, without a home. Home is destroyed. I want to bring peace back on the colony, and make sure that prosperity will return."
His eyes... Duo hadn't turned the light on when he entered the dorm, and his face was only light by whatever moonlight the small window was allowing to pass through. Still, his eyes were as clear as daylight and Heero could see the honesty, the sincerity and the genuinely interest in them; Duo was real... as real as he could ever hope to be.
"Why do you fight?"
He closed his eyes, having anticipated the same question to be asked of him. "I fight for peace as well, and to make up for my mistakes. I was trained to be part of a rebel group, a long time ago. I didn't know anything about politics, about factions... and at one of my missions, innocent victims... a young girl..."
A silence fell.
"I also know how burnt human flesh smells," he said softly.

"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Heero. That's something no one should have to go through, especially at a young age."
"What about you? You had to be very young too, to know..."
"Yes, too young," Duo interrupted him, albeit friendly. "You know... every human here, on Earth and on the colonies, every human fights for peace, in his or her own way. Relena Peacecraft by talking, Heero Yuy by piloting a mobile suit, Duo Maxwell by stealthily sneaking..."
"The instructors are certainly very much enamored with your ability to get into everything undetected."
"And Zechs Marquise himself is planning on training you personally because you're the ace of every mobile suit pilot alive, at that tender age of yours."
He suddenly chuckled, and Duo laughed for a moment. "Hey! You laughed! I should post that on the message boards!"
"Quit it," Heero said, but his words weren't stinging. "You make a joke out of everything."
"No I don't," Duo answered, smile tugging at his lips. "The way we fight doesn't matter. It's the way we conquer that matters.. and that's hardly one on his own."
Heero turned his head more towards Duo, noticing that the other was very close. His eyes were vibrant, lively and sad at the same time. There was suffering behind it, loss... and a maturity he hadn't seen before.

"I owe you an apology too."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do. I didn't act properly around you. I judged you on my very first impression of you and never bothered to review my opinion of you... I said things intentionally to hurt you, or to provoke you, just to get a reaction out of you. The whole thing with being a liability.. you aren't. You're the top of your class, you..."
"We can't go against everything we've been taught at a young age, Heero," Duo interrupted him again. "You've been raised with certain ideas and beliefs, and you only act upon them. Something that deep inside of you takes time to change. As long as you believe something with your whole heart and know it's all right, then it's worth it."
"I don't know if it's all right," Heero pondered, lowering his eyes a little. "My instructor always told me to act upon my emotions..." The rest of his words were cut off, not by Duo interrupting him, but by Duo kissing him.
The feeling of warm lips against his own, chafed lips, tasting faintly like alcohol, mixed with the unmistakable scents and smells of a garage, motor oil, mobile suit fuel, and something resembling blood, fire, life... before he realized it, he parted his lips to respond to the kiss, but it was over as soon as it started.
"I'd say your instructor was right," Duo said, a twinkle in his eyes, "but I probably shouldn't have done it. Are you going to kill me now? I'll defend myself, you know."
Heero knew his eyes were wide open, but he wasn't seeing Duo as he used to see him. The joking response didn't even grate him on his nerves; it was as if he was seeing right through him. There was no jester. There was no clown, no one screaming for attention. There was only Duo, strong, independent Duo, covering his own feelings with his ability to laugh about things, to make everyone feel better by cracking a joke, by taking away people's pain and discomfort by smiling.
"Duo," he simply said. A soft smile spread across Duo's face, heaving a little sigh of relief.
"Go to bed," he said immediately after, not scolding, not barking, just "Go to bed". Duo nodded, understanding, and stretched, getting undressed in the shadows and climbing up on his bed in complete darkness. Not another word was spoken.

Even though it was disappointing, Duo wasn't really surprised that Heero didn't mention anything about the kiss the next morning. He seemed to be asleep when Duo got up to dress himself, preparing to attend the early church service. Sunday mornings were for most of the students the only opportunity to sleep in, but Heero never stayed long in bed, no matter what the occasion. Duo grimaced a little, thinking that Heero probably pretended to be asleep, as to avoid talking about the kiss... even though he seemed to like it.
Deciding not to dwell upon it, Duo left the room, reminding himself that one of Heero's theories about other people being a liability wasn't that bad after all... maybe it's better not to grow too close. He couldn't help but grin; it just wasn't in his nature to shy away from people and to be as aloof and reclusive as Heero. He was Duo Maxwell, one of the many cadets in training, but one of the few who would make it through the complete semester, even if it was the last thing he'd ever do -- he'd promised and he always kept his promises.

Evening rolled around far too soon, with everyone returning to the Academy, lamenting that their only free weekend was over. Duo caught up with Quatre, who surprised him with a chocolate bar that his sisters had given to him to 'share with his nice friend'. Munching on the sweet goodness, Quatre told amicably about how he'd spend his weekend. "It's back to strict discipline and structure with us," he winked at Duo. "Did something interesting happen here while the rest of us was gone?"
"Nah, nothing in particular," Duo answered him airily, seeing as Trowa was in the room, unpacking... and even if they weren't all in the same room, Duo doubted he'd share the experience of his kiss with Heero. He knew the Winner heir would be happy for him, not scolding him about 'fraternizing with students' or something like that, but... well, what was there to be happy about? He only had given Heero one small kiss and the boy was nowhere to be found. Probably scared out of his wits. Quatre tilted his head a little, looking at Duo curiously, but decided not to press the subject.
"After the mid-semester exams, Marquise's going to select those he wants to train personally," he said. "Who do you think he's going to choose from our class?"
"Heero, without a doubt," Trowa supplied, closing his empty suitcase and stuffing it under the bed. "He's scoring straight A's on every simulation."
"We don't get real mobile suit training until either Noin or Marquise deems you fit for it," Duo chimed in. "The mid-semester exams serve to determine your future career -- from their results, they advise you what to study and what field of training you need."
"Exactly," Quatre said, looking pensive. "Their advice is correct in almost 90% of all the cases. They hardly steer any student in the wrong direction."
"So, Heero will be chosen for the mobile suit training..."
"Along with the top five of every class..."
"And there'll be even a higher rate of drop-outs... mobile suit training, combat and engineering is one of the toughest educations."
"What about you, Duo?"

The question, coming from Trowa, almost startled him. "What... what about me?"
"Yeah, you," the taller boy repeated.
"I think, based on my achievements with the simulations and classes, I'm going to be selected as well. I'm going to try to get as far with the mobile suit training as possible."
Trowa simply nodded, curiosity apparently satisfied, as he didn't ask anything else. Quatre had finished dressing himself, as every student was obligated to return before the dinner -- and, the first rule of anything pertaining to the Academy, was to wear one's uniform all the time. "I'm quite hungry, Duo, let's see what's on the menu!"
"Probably something easy to prepare," Duo grinned.
"Like those instant mashed potatoes, instant peas and instant beef?"
"You got it!"

On their way to the large mess hall, Duo suddenly waved enthusiastically to someone he spotted in the crowd. "Hilde! Hey, Hilde!"
The young girl raised her hand in response, showing a similar grin to his, and quickly made his way over to him, clasping his hand. "Duo! It's been ages!"
"Yeah, too bad life here doesn't leave much opportunity to catch up, huh?"
She shook her head, dark choppy bangs flying with the movement. "I've been studying hard all weekend, I'm falling behind on my sociology and politics class..."
Duo pulled her into a quick embrace, after making sure that no one of the hall monitors saw it. "I know you can get yourself together and pull your grades up," he said. "Don't give up, Hilde. This is a chance only given to us once..."
"I know," she murmured, "but still I'm thinking that there might be more of a career for me behind the scenes than on the battlefield itself."
"There's no shame in that," Duo said, ruffling her bangs before letting her go. "I'm sure we could use a whole network of nifty spies and secret agents when war breaks out."
She smiled. "Thanks, Duo. Don't you ever let my whining throw you off course, got that? I heard nothing but good things about you..."
"That's because I am good," he answered jokingly. "Now, let's have some dinner, shall we?"
"Separate sexes, Duo," Hilde reminded him as he went into the mess hall with her, Quatre following. "I have to go to my table. Don't forget to keep in touch by school mail, and I'll see you around soon!"

Quatre took a tray and passed it onto Duo. "Here... you have to have something to put your plate on."
"I wonder where Heero is," he mumbled, not really sure why he was mentioning it now. Quatre picked up a tray as well and joined the line. "Was he here the entire weekend?"
"Yeah," Duo answered half-heartedly.
"I'm sure he's sitting at our table as usual," Quatre answered reassuringly, craning his neck to see what was on the menu today. "Oh good, broccoli!"
Duo made a face at the thought of that particular vegetable, when Quatre turned around to look at him, blue eyes staring at him. "Don't worry, Duo. You mean more to him than you think."
"Whu-- what?" was his only intelligent answer, and Duo had to refrain himself from dropping his jaw to the floor. What did Quatre know? Why would he say such a thing?
While he was picking out one of the dishes -- beside broccoli there was also endive, vaguely resembling something snotty --, Quatre smiled softly. "Don't worry," he repeated, "I won't tell anyone, or will I ever judge either one of you for it."
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Duo answered rudely, plopping a plate on his tray, not caring that the endive almost sloshes over the border. "Shut up."
"I overstepped my boundaries," Quatre immediately replied, even lowering his eyes. "My apologies, Duo."
"Yeah yeah," he all but snarled, took up his tray and went to their usual table -- where indeed, Heero was already sitting at. He didn't want to think about his conversation with Quatre, the soft kiss he exchanged with Heero, and he quickly joined a discussion about the upcoming exams with the other students at the table.

With the free weekend over and the mid-semester exams in full swing, life at the Academy was taking its toll on the students. Dorm rooms were cleared out as those who failed assignments or couldn't handle the strict discipline and structure, left the majestic building to never return -- the Academy would never accept a student who previously flunked. Dorm AD-45 was one of the few who were still in their original occupation; even though Quatre had his eyes on one of the larger dorm rooms, he knew it was futile, as it wasn't permitted to change dorms, even though some of them were empty.
"It's not fair," he muttered and everyone knew it wasn't about the dorm -- something that trivial was hardly worth getting all worked up. Even Heero was looking a little pale, the continuous strain of the exams, tests and assignments affecting him as well. Duo, along with Trowa and sometimes Wufei, used the large exercise fields as to relief some of their stress; running an amount of laps around the field was perfect for clearing one's head. It didn't give Duo much opportunity to talk to Heero, and it stung him that Heero didn't make any move to try to talk to him.

It was time to shower, and as Trowa and Wufei had gone before him, Duo was alone in the large tiled area, pushing at the buttons for one of the shower heads to start working. There was only one advantage to so many students already having left; he'd never had to wrestle himself through the crowd or fight for a place in the shower, at the lockers, in class... the downside was, that he also lost a few who he considered friends. That was life at the Academy -- and life in general. No time to dwell upon it, Duo figured. With the current political mess going on -- relations between the colonies and Earth were more fragile than ever, the rise of new factions who were using advanced armor and weapons --, life seemed to go faster by the second, and one had to make split second decisions; in war, in friends, in time.
Duo pulled out his braid and allowed the water to soak the mass of chestnut hair -- no one had picked upon him for wearing a braid or having that much and long hair in the first place; he had shown himself to be just as good a student and cadet, or even better, as anyone else. Using the neutral scented shampoo, Duo worked his fingers through his hair. Funny how he started thinking about Heero the moment he had a little time for himself. Would Heero think about him too? Would Heero have any eye for the nicer things in life in the first place? They clashed with their opinions on so many things...

Caught up in his thoughts, Duo turned off the shower and went to the dressing room, wrapping a towel around him, whistling a non-descriptive tune. He had thirty minutes before dinner, a piece of cake if he hurried...
"Duo."
The voice in the room was unmistakable. His hand froze as he reached for the bundle of clothes on the bench, just momentarily -- then he picked up his shirt.
"Heero. So nice to see you."
He didn't have any problems with Heero seeing him half-naked. Not only was he hardly self-conscious, sharing a rather small dorm with other boys made you care less about what the other might see of you. Tilting his head a little, he looked over at Heero, waiting for him to make the first move... and couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise as the other did make the first move -- walking over to him, and standing so close that their bodies almost touched. Heero lifted up his hand, pressing his fingers against Duo's chest, and he sucked in his breath -- what the...? Lifting up a finger, Heero stared at the small silver chain with the crucifix dangling from it.

"Your God?"
He made a noncommittal sound. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm interested in you... your beliefs, Duo."
"We discussed this before."
"We can discuss it again."
Duo glanced at Heero, dressed in a sweaty tank top and biker shorts; he must've worked out at one of the many other exercise facilities.
"My God is not the one you think it is. Leave it, Heero. We've proven already that we differ too much of opinion about this."
"Which God is it, then? Tell me."
"I don't..."
"Please."
Duo frowned. He had never heard Heero use 'please' before... just never. "Fine... the God I believe in is the God of Death, because all I saw was death and destruction, from a very early age until now."
"The illness you survived, was the plague that swept over L2, right?"
"Right," Duo answered, a little sourly. It had been world news, so there was no sense in denying it.
"Did many people die? I mean... many people you knew?"
Solo. "Yes, they did. It's a part of the promise I made; to return to L2, to establish a better society..."
"Dreams and hopes..."
"Fantasies and illusions..."
"Wishes and utopias..."
"Kiss me, damn you..."

Chafed lips on his. Raw, rough... tentatively searching, nipping as if they were afraid of kissing, brushing past his lips as if they were uncertain. Duo made a little impatient sound, pressing forward, his lips fully on Heero's, capturing them for a full-fledged kiss.
The arm around his waist was another surprise, but certainly not unwelcome. Heero's hand slid over his back, fingers raking through the long strands of his hair, all the way down to the rim of his towel. His other hand went to Duo's cheek, cupping it, as he pressed himself closer -- need flaring, desire flowing, hunger exposed.
"Duo..."
"Don't..." Duo interrupted him, not giving him any chance to object, to protest. His own arms went around Heero's waist, pulling him closer. "Just kiss..."
"How..."
"Shhh..."
Touching each other, hands above their waist, Duo barely stifled a moan as he felt pure need oozing from his lips, the long buried wish for contact surfacing, and he parted his lips, offering everything he had to Heero, who hesitated only for a second before slipping his tongue into his mouth.
Duo's hand went up to Heero's hair, fingers tangling in the unruly strands, tugging a little. So many sensations were running through his body, he could barely contain himself and he felt Heero's fingers moving lower, slipping between the fabric of the towel and his semi-dry skin and delightful shivers went down his spine... and the loud buzzer rang.
"Holy fuck!" He exclaimed loudly, almost pushing Heero away, noting the same aghast expression on his face. "If we don't get to the mess hall within five minutes, we're expelled!"
"Fuck!" Heero all but yelled, tugging at his sweaty tank top. "We have to hurry!"

They hardly realized how they managed it, but barely five minutes later both boys found themselves joining the lines. Duo's braid was more than sloppily and Heero didn't really feel comfortable in his uniform without taking a shower before changing; they both looked rather ravished and it was only thanks to the inattentive hall monitors that they weren't written up for their less than stellar appearance.
Duo threw the plate in front of him as he sat down at the table, ignoring Wufei's rather disgusted look -- he was sure it was about their hurried looks and bad buttoned shirts than about anything else -- and glanced over at Trowa, who was occupied with reading some strategy book and eating at the same time. That left him only Quatre, who was smirking -- smirking! -- while he was eating, cutting his cauliflower in bite size pieces. Muttering under his breath, Duo hardly noticed Heero taking his usual seat next to him, until he felt his knee against his own. With a smile on his face, he started eating, stray strands from his braid slipping over his shoulder.

Duo yawned behind his hand, lifting up his binder filled with sheets of homework and assignments to hide his expression. The instructor was late; something that wasn't appreciated concerning the students, but apparently the really good instructors were above the law here. His eyes darted around the classroom; 'quantum equations' was one of the very few classes he shared with Heero. He certainly wanted to have a follow-up to their steaming kisses from yesterday; not too mention that his dreams had been filled completely by the grade A student and pilot in training and his beautiful blue eyes. If he really allowed himself to daydream about it, Duo could still taste his lips...
"At ease, students," a deep, familiar voice boomed through the room and a wave of excitement spread through the students; it was no one but Zechs Marquise himself! Duo, and the rest of the students, sat immediately upright, face neutral. Was the Lightning Count going to announce who he had chosen, who would be privileged to train under him?
"At ease," the man repeated, eyes scanning the room, his own look veiled by the large silver mask. "As you're all aware, the semester is closing to an end rapidly. You've taken the mid-semester exams, you're working on assignments that span the rest of the following weeks, and you're preparing for the final oral exams and tests that will determine whether you're allowed to return at the Academy next semester or not."
He looked somewhat content, Duo thought, as the man continued to scan the classroom. Scratch that... he looks more like a wolf about to devour some hapless prey.
"All and all, I'm pretty satisfied with your results so far," he continued. "This draft of students is rather promising, and I'm convinced that some of you will make it to the end."

No one heaved a sigh of relief, as Marquise had said "some of you", not "all of you". Nothing was certain at the Academy; no matter how promising you were: if you failed to comply with a rule you were expelled -- no exceptions. Duo's eyes flickered over to Heero, who sat as straight as a ruler.
"If I call your name, you have to leave the class and assemble at room YH-67," Marquise said, brusquely. "Yuy."
Heero immediately rose from his chair, saluting for the Lightning Count, before stepping away from his desk and leaving the room. With his name called, the rest of the students exchanged panicked glares; even Duo felt the pit of his stomach knot together. Why was Heero's name called out? Marquise had failed to mention why they had to assemble -- was this a drill, were they going to be expelled? Why would he call the best student at the whole fucking Academy?
Two other names were called, and Duo noticed his fingers curling. He never was one to be kept waiting; if there was bad news, he rather preferred to be confronted with it immediately than to sit through another minute of uncertainty.
"I'll call out the last one," Marquise finally stated. "Those whose name hasn't been called are to remain in this class and resume their lesson."
People were shuffling with their feet a little, restless by the increasing tension. The Lightning Count gave the students one other look over before announcing the last name.
"Maxwell," rang out through the class and Duo stiffened for a mere second, before forcing himself to get up, raising his hand as well in a military salute. He left the class, looking for YH-67; he vaguely recalled it to be one of the larger conference rooms. What was going on?

When he arrived at the designated room, he saw to his relief not only Heero, but also Trowa, Quatre and Wufei there, along with several others -- counting himself, their number came to a mere sixteen. There was simply no way that Marquise would expel them all -- after all, Duo knew that the others were the top of their respective classes. Shifting closer to Heero, he was about to ask him if he knew what was going on, when the door was slammed shut and Marquise strutted through the room, followed by Lucrezia Noin.
"Welcome," he said, his voice void of any familiarity. "I'll get right down to business."
There was a silence in the room, as he swept his gaze again over the students present, before finally showing a small smile.
"Each one of you has been selected as the best and finest of your class, based on your performance at several levels: psychological and physical, not only taking your grades into account, but also your participation in extra curricular activities and your involvement with the Academy in general. You're the top sixteen of this year's draft -- however, much can change, still, and disappointments are easier to cause than to forget."

He pointed at Noin, who was holding thin, dark brown files. "Officer Noin will help me with this next part of your training, which will involve an important part of your career, no matter which discipline you'll be taking or studying. After all the simulations and theory it's about time you brought your knowledge into practice."
A wave of excitement rippled through the students; Heero even seemed to tense up more, an eager look on his face. This could mean nothing else but that the time had finally arrived to start training with real machines, real mobile suits, and not to act out simulations and scripted battles.
Noin stepped forward, files still resting on her arm. "I'll be giving you your mission orders. You'll be teaming up with someone else, also designated by me. Solo missions are for second and third years only. These missions are to be taken very seriously, as the execution thereof will consist two third of your final grade, determining whether you'll continue your training at the Academy or not. This isn't a drill, but not a 'real' mission either -- it's a special assignment to finish your first year here. Failure to comply with the mission, its specs or execution, will result into an automatic expel. The people involved in the mission you're about to receive are unaware, so any consequence is for yourself to face if you botch it, and will also result in an automatic expel. This is about working together on a mission, how you handle yourself and your teammate in a straining situation."

You could hear a pin drop in the room, and every student was standing upright, hands beside their bodies, each and every thought focusing on the mission and who they were going to be teamed up with.
Noin picked up the first of the files, slender fingers brushing the surface of the paper. "You can approach your instructor or even me for help, but keep in mind that these missions have to be executed as independent as possible -- with other words, with every time you ask me or another instructor for help, some points will be deducted. Don't come complain to me if you can't get along with the partner you've been teamed up with. Don't come complain to me if you think you're not going to make it, if something's bothering you or if anything of this makes you feel uncomfortable. The door of the Academy is always open for those who want to leave, and if you want to forfeit your chance to a glorious career, it's your choice. In wartime, you'll have to work with whatever crosses your path, and you'll have to form alliances with people you don't like or won't ever like. This is all about flexibility, your training, how you cope, how you handle. Don't disappoint us."

She started handing over the files, each and every cadet mumbling a stunned "Thank you" when accepting it. Her face softened a little, and a small smile even graced her lips as she continued: "If you have attended all your classes, if you trained well and paid attention to everything that has been taught here, you all should be able to accomplish your mission. We are very curious and looking forward to see how you're doing. Remember, after this the real training in the battlefield awaits, and you'll receive that either from me or from Zechs." She nodded at the masked man, who simply nodded back.
"Let me add," He suddenly took over, "that discussion of these missions is prohibited, unless with your teammate, of course. We will find out if someone blabbed, so be cautious. It's no use staying at a military Academy if you can't keep your mouth shut about mission details. Dismissed."
After a firm salute, the cadets left the conference room, files clutched to their chest. The most of them had already peeked at the top sheet which indicated the pairings. Some cadets were already searching each other out -- Duo saw Quatre walking next to Trowa. Quatre always walked beside Trowa -- to his amusement --, but from the look on Quatre's face, this time it was different. It was the mission; they must've been teamed up.
Duo flicked open his file and peeked at the top sheet as well. Yuy, H. For a second, he wasn't sure if he should jump in the air for joy or cower into a corner. They had kissed. There was something... 'more' brewing between them. They were cadets on the most prestigious military Academy of all Earth and the colonies. Duo didn't want to give that up... he had a promise to fulfill. He looked to the side; straight into Heero's eyes -- was he thinking the same? Would he kill that had started to bloom, or would he deny there was something to begin with?
"We're teamed up," he mouthed, and watched Heero mouth a number back to him -- the number of an empty dorm room.

The large hallways of the Academy were more silent, with this semester and the first year running to its end; the building would probably be crowded again with the next draft. Commercials and campaigns to attract new sign-ups and recruits were running all over the place; if you made a friend or family member enlist, you could even earn a free afternoon. It was much easier to find a room to discuss or to retreat to now that more than half of the dorms were empty. Duo found the dorm Heero had mentioned quickly, not surprised the other was already waiting for him, paper file on his lap.
""Here I am," Duo announced lamely, as Heero got up from the stripped bunk and walked over to him, and he wondered for a brief moment if he was going to be kissed -- but Heero took out a wedge and secured the door so no one could bother them.
"Did you already read over the mission specs?"
He swallowed another disappointment. What did he expect anyway? He had to ask himself anyway if whatever he was feeling for Heero wasn't simply lust, instead of love. They were in training to be soldiers, they were already soldiers, and at the moment war would break out every bond of friendship would cease to exist. There would be only enemies or allies, no love or bonds. Heero had been the one to valiantly preach that everyone was a liability, that no one could come close, that no...
"Yes or no?"
"No! And if you think you can use me for a simple mind-fuck, you're wrong!" Duo blurted out. The other's expression would've been funny in any other circumstance but this one. It was a mixture of shock, amazement, surprise and just plain... baffled.
"What are you talking about?"

"The kiss," Duo said. "When you kissed me in the dressing room... remember?"
"Yes, I do," Heero answered, lowering his voice. "I... I don't know..."
"Never mind," Duo sighed. "We'll be starting this mission on the wrong foot if we continue like this. Forget it ever happened, okay? I'm just a liability, and you were a... ehmm... a distraction. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Yes, the mission," the other was quick to answer, moving his head lower to stare at the file, not looking directly at Duo. He heaved another sigh. Quick and easy. It would've been too good to be true anyway.
"Do you mind me sitting next to you?"
"What? No, not at all."
"Thank you."
Duo plopped on the bed, ignoring that little voice in the back of his mind that told him that nothing really had changed. No matter how firmly he'd told Heero to 'forget it', Heero hadn't answered affirmatively to that. Just shut the fuck up.
They both opened their files at the same time and started reading the specs together.
"Holy fuck on a yankee doodle," Duo whistled. Heero's eyes grew substantially wider as well.
"They want us to steal data from Mobile Suits Chief Engineer Tubarov?"
"We're fucking fucked," was Duo's intelligent answer.

There wasn't that much time for the realization to sink in. The mission was bound to a time path, and failure to comply meant an automatic expel... something they both didn't want to risk, because they knew that even despite their high ranks and good grades, they could be expelled just like any other.
Heero turned away from Duo, leaning over the bare bed to pick up his laptop that lied next to him. "Tubarov... I don't even know where the man is."
"Wasn't he supposed to be visiting the Academy anyway for lectures on history and development of mobile suits through the last decades or something?"
He started tapping at the keyboard, pulling up windows and screens with schedules and information. A picture of Tubarov popped up and Duo grimaced.
"God, that guy is ugly."
"Primary base he works on is the Lunar Base. Chief Engineer, Head of Development, responsible for the designs of the Taurus, Aries, Leos..."
"The standard suits of the simulations."
"Exactly. The last news on the development front is that Tubarov is currently occupying himself with a model called 'Virgo'."
"Does the mission specify which model's data we have to steal?"
"Hmmm..." Heero peeked at the file. "Mobile Suit data, it says. It doesn't specify an exact model, so anything goes."

"Wait a minute... it'd be a piece of cake if Tubarov is coming here for a lecture. We'd only have to sneak into his room, crack the codes on his laptop and download the files. Hell, if he'd put some of his data on the network here, no matter how encrypted, you'd be able to pluck it off the network and decipher it."
"What do you mean?"
"Where's the challenge in that?"
Heero frowned. "The chief engineer is normally stationed at the Lunar Base. Even though we have a lot of leeway to perform these missions, I doubt they'd appreciate it if we'd hijack two mobile suits and take off to the moon. After all, only second and third years are allowed to fly real mobile suits."
"You know we can both pilot a Taurus. We aced every simulation; those suits have no secrets for us at all."
"It's too risky," Heero objected. "The staff wants to test us, not to get us in trouble on purpose -- and no matter if we can pilot the suit or not, using two mobile suits unauthorized will get us expelled."
Duo rubbed his chin pensively. "There must be another way. It's far too easy if Tubarov is coming here for some lecture and we only have to break into his room."
"I think it's pretty much risky for a first year cadet... after all, if Tubarov catches you, you're expelled. The objects of all these missions are unaware, and the variables are impressive -- we have to find out where he stays, how to get there, how to steal it from him.."
"I was cracking and hacking laptops when I was three," Duo boasted, though the stealing part wasn't that far behind the truth. "I can steal it under his very nose and make him believe that it was his entire fault to begin with."

Heero looked at him a little incredulously, before tugging his lips into the smallest of smiles. "I'd love to see that... Duo."
"Yeah," was all he could answer in return. Damnit, Yuy. Your smile can break down walls...and I... the laptop beeped.
"Tubarov's schedule," Heero murmured. "Apparently, he's to arrive here on the sixteenth."
"Final date of our mission is the seventeenth, 12:00 hours."
"That's going to be close."
"You'd have to hack the academy network, at least the secretary accounts, to find out what room they've assigned Tubarov and where he can stash his gear."
"That wouldn't be a problem. Let's see... he'll arrive late in the afternoon, and there's a special staff banquet with welcome speeches and the like."
"That'll probably take up to midnight," Duo mused, remembering the dinner at the first evening of the semester. Even Quatre, used to longwinded speeches at whatever business lunch or dinner, had complained about it. "All that time, his stuff is unguarded in his room."
"I doubt that the Chief Engineer would leave his equipment and luggage unguarded. There must be at least two guarding his room and everything within."
"Agreed. So, our whole plan of action depends on which room they assign to him..."
"If it's going to be one of the west wing's ones on the third floor, that's going to be tricky."
"I guess there's where the challenge comes into view?"
Heero laced his fingers together. "I take it lots of missions in wartime even leave less room to work with. This calls for our wit and flexibility, remember? Own initiative, working independently..."
"And being crafty," Duo said, pointing at a large picture of Tubarov, taken at a spaceport just after his arrival on another colony.

"Being crafty?"
"Exactly," he grinned. "See those two in the background? Yes, those two lackeys who carry his bags and his laptop?"
"Duo, the man comes here to..."
"Oh yes, he comes here. But what if we go to him first, steal whatever we need, and then travel back with him?"
Heero shook his head. "That's far too outrageous, Duo. A plan with holes and lots of risk, and you forget the simple fact that we need to go to the Lunar Base if we want to accompany him, and I doubt that was what the mission intended..."
"The mission specs never specify that we're not allowed to go see the man first. As long as we deliver the requested data before the deadline and Tubarov doesn't notice a thing, we're safe. We write up our mission report and we get graded -- and enroll in the next year, of course."
"We don't have much time."
"We have opportunities -- and if we don't have them, we create them. Com'on, Heero, we have to show what we're worth for. Now it's not the time to pussyfoot around anything."
"Pussyfoot?"
"Yeah, pussyfoot... like, being extra careful?"
"I see." He closed his laptop. "All right, we have to break up here. You have tactics class, and I have to be at the tracks in half an hour."
"All right. We talk about this after class... say, before dinner time?"
"All right," Heero repeated. "Before dinner time."
"Don't worry about it," Duo said before leaving, remembering at the last minute to remove the wedge before opening the door. The hallway was empty and he made a beeline for his locker, to grab his binder before hurrying to class.

"Don't worry about it?"
"About what, Duo Maxwell?" Heero said softly, putting the laptop next to him, sliding it into its protective hard case. Don't worry about the mission? No, he wasn't worried at all about the mission. They both were the top of their class, this mission shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. I worry about you. He was relieved that Duo hadn't noticed that he knew the other's schedule on top off his head. He could have, however, smashed his head hard against the metal railings of the bunk bed because of him not saying outright what he'd wanted to say.
For lowering his eyes, for avoiding eye contact. He, Heero Yuy, with almost a patented glare of doom, had avoided to look into the other's eyes.
Every cell in his body had protested against Duo's too airily "Forget about it", and even though he lacked in the department of people's skills, Heero recognized disappointment and hurt when he heard it. Hadn't he seen through Duo before? Wasn't he as naked before him as Duo was to him? They didn't need to uphold any mask, image, or pretension for the other. As much as he was the perfect soldier and the top of his every class, he was himself, Heero Yuy, with all his faults and imperfections, to Duo Maxwell.

He thought he'd learned that lesson, but apparently not enough. What was it again? They were human... humans with all the faults humans made. He was perfect in soldier mode, and imperfect in human mode, and Duo seemed to accept his human side more and easier than any other side. He needed Duo; it was as simple as that. It wasn't only his almost uncontrollable urge to bury his hands in that mass of hair, to kiss him completely senseless and every deity in existence knew that he had come this close to throwing Duo on the bench in that dressing room and have his way with him, right there and then. It was about... life. He needed Duo to live. Why didn't he say that immediately when he came into this room? Heero gritted his teeth. This couldn't be love, this couldn't be care. It was nonsense, plain nonsense! It was his greatest fear -- Duo was his greatest fear that had come alive: liability. He buried his hands in his hair, not wanting to see through the jungle of stray thoughts and frazzled emotions that was battling in his mind.

As no one was allowed to discuss mission details, every topic of conversation at the dinner tables carefully avoided everything that had to do with 'mission' in the first place. The separation between those who had been selected for the missions and those who hadn't made the cut was even larger, as the two groups were pointedly sitting far away from each other. The non-mission group was dutifully sulking; they knew that active fieldwork wasn't meant for them.

Duo merely shrugged at Quatre's remark about the other group. "Fine, so they don't become active field agents or mobile suit pilots. There's plenty of work for engineers, mechanics, and mission planners. There's more work to be done behind the scenes than they think. It's not all Hallelujah and Heaven when you get to work in the field."
Trowa snickered a little, cutting his French beans into half. "For such a religious type, you certainly mock your own nest, Duo."
He made a dismissive gesture. "You don't know a thing about it, tall guy. Besides, if everyone kept taking himself so seriously it'd be a graveyard around here."
"Agreed," Quatre said, smiling a little. He glanced at the others, even at Wufei who was sulking to the extreme; the Chinese cadet not liking that he had to work together with another person. Duo didn't know the one Wufei was paired up, but pitied the guy -- not Wufei, but the other one. If he'd made it out alive without being sliced into two with a katana, Duo would recommend him for a medal.
Quatre turned his head back, the same smile still on his face. "Guys, I've been thinking about something. I'm sure we'll succeed accomplishing these missions, but even so, with all the possibilities this Academy has to offer, our paths are going to be different. Who knows what the future will bring and all that... it could be that we end up on totally different sides of the spectrum."
"Your point being?" Wufei muttered grumpily, still not too thrilled having to work together -- being forced to work together.
"I want us to stay in touch, no matter what," Quatre said, ignoring his grumpy undertone. "Because I have the feeling that the five of us.. the way we are, the way we have been around here, the way we're going to be.. is going to be pretty important. Even though we'll probably be separated, going into different directions... I want us to exchange ways of contact, secure contact -- that we can use to reach each other in any way possible, no matter what the circumstances."
"The five of us... going to be important?" Trowa frowned slightly, but not in a disapproving manner. The look on Heero's face was blank at best, and Duo looked from Quatre to Trowa and back again; it seemed that Trowa had already accepted Quatre's words as if there was no doubt about it they would end up to be pretty important to whatever the future might hold.
"You can mock me all you want," Quatre said, not directing his words at Trowa, but at Wufei and Heero. "I simply wish for us all to do this -- a simple gesture."
"Fine," Wufei grunted and Heero said the same, focusing his attention back to his food. Duo grinned a little. No matter how angelic Quatre looked, it was deceiving for his hard-to-talk-back-to character.

As everyone obeyed the rule not to discuss their mission details, Duo and Heero were unaware of the orders the others had received. Even though their dorm was one of the last in its original and full occupation, and they'd describe themselves as 'friends', they didn't have that much interaction as life at the Academy was hard and time-consuming enough. Trowa and Quatre spiraled towards each other just as Duo and Heero had done, and Wufei didn't mind being the outsider -- unbeknownst to him yet, he'd have a difficult time facing that working alone wasn't the solution to everything. Duo wasn't sure if Quatre was feeling more for Trowa or vice versa, just as he wasn't sure about Heero. While they worked hours together on mission details, optimizing and perfecting their plans, they never exchanged anything more personal, and Duo feared that he, after all, had to accept that Heero didn't return the feelings... and he certainly didn't accept being a quick lay, no matter what.
The kiss was probably just to test him, how far he'd go... Duo wasn't mad about it, or disappointed. These kind of things happened, and he was proud that he hadn't allowed himself to be taken advantage of -- not that Heero seemed the abusing type to him. He tried to push every thought of the kiss and its implications to the back of his mind, but it was difficult with the center of his attention sitting right in front or next to him.

So far, they figured out that the next shipment from the Academy to the Lunar Base with snail mail, technical supplies and some other bulk goods, was to take place the fifteenth. It was a simple move to hack into the school's administrative system and change the names of cadets Mueller and Alex to Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy. Shipments were always accompanied by two adults and two cadets; officially such a task was for elder students only, but they both were counting on hardly any objections. Anyone accompanying a shipment to the Lunar Base had been complaining about boredom -- and it was a public secret that first year students were often taking the place of their elders for just the right price. Still, it was a traditional procedure, in case someone would try to steal the goods or hijack the flight.
While preparing for the upcoming flight, Duo took out his lock picks from the hidden compartment in his suitcase, looking at the tools of his trade. Even in this modern time filled with electronics, old-fashioned lock picks often came in handy, and he rolled them into a roll of film, wrapping a black bandana around the small package, as to prevent it from being picked up by the scanners at the spaceport.

Heero prepared his laptop, checking up on all the ports and cables to make sure it was in perfect condition -- changing the battery for a full charged one and packing an extra just in case; this was serious business. The only thing that was 'missing' was that it wasn't war; but that could change any moment as the political scene was changing drastically, especially after Relena Peacecraft seeking out the publicity and declaring herself Queen of the World. For some reason, Marquise and Noin had been absent, leaving instructions for the other trainers and teachers should a student need their help. The world was changing, lives were changing, and he was worrying about a fictional mission. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the laptop. Fictional or not, it was a mission and he was going to accomplish it. He had Doctor J. to thank for this special laptop, and the man hadn't prepared and trained him for nothing. War was inevitable; and he was the one going to make a difference. It wouldn't matter if the burden was on his shoulders alone. His choice. His decision. His emotion.

"Ready?"
He startled, almost throwing the laptop off his lap to scramble for a gun. Duo stood in the door opening, black cap on his head, withdrawing his eyes from sight.
"Sheesh Heero, that's the first time I'm able to startle you."
"Stop sneaking around," Heero snarled, but his voice missed any impact. He didn't like being surprised like this, but it had been his own fault. Daydreaming. Me.
"I'm the stealth expert around here, how can I not sneak?" Duo replied, and walked into the room. "We have to report in fifteen minutes for our guarding duty."
"You finished packing?"
"Yes, I'm all set, oh lord and master."
"Quit... ah, never mind." Heero shoved the laptop into its protective case and picked up the small bag. It wasn't really clear how soon they'd be returning to the Academy, as there wasn't a return flight planned on the same day. Heero had searched every agenda and schedule possible, and Duo hadn't seen the problem. Tubarov was leaving the sixteenth; even if that was the only flight back, there should be plenty of opportunity to catch it. His ears had itched at hearing Duo's light-hearted comment -- he rather planned the mission into every bloody detail, to the very second.

"All right, let's go," Heero said and flung the bag over his shoulder, his other hand gripping the laptop case hard, and his knuckles almost turning white. Duo nodded, picking up his own overnight bag and swaggering on his way out.
"Our flight is being announced," he said with a wide grin on his face. Heero heard the announcement via the intercom system as well. He wasn't nervous in the least; this was where he'd been training for.
"Right on time."
"Identification card ready?"
"Ready," he said. There was always plan B if they were denied access, but as Duo had predicted -- with more conviction than Heero had wanted to believe at first --, no one of the two adults glanced more than a few seconds at their identification cards, not mentioning anything about their status as first year cadets.
"Welcome aboard to an extremely dull flight," the taller one of the two said. "It's a late flight, and we'll be staying at the Lunar Base to return in the morning."
"Not together with Tubarov?" Duo asked, rather bluntly.
The shorter man barked a short laugh. "The Chief Engineer doesn't travel with us commoners, the lowlife scum of the Academy. You'll only get to catch a glimpse of him if you're a lieutenant-colonel or higher."
"Bastard," the taller man gritted between his teeth. "Space suits on, kiddies. You're familiar with the procedures, don't make me repeat myself."
"Yes sir," Heero and Duo echoed and quickly suited up, adjusting their helmets and gear. They'd be traveling with a freight ship of course; slower than a commercial flight, but the travel time was limited to four hours; technology had progressed rapidly the last decades. It would leave them some time to reflect on their mission plans and coming up with even more alternatives.

It didn't surprise Heero that Duo nodded off as soon as they cleared the launching platform, leaving Earth behind them. How he could fall asleep in that uncomfortable suit -- no matter how good the material looked on him -- was a mystery, but he decided to follow Duo's example -- a soldier should get rest at every opportunity available. There was nothing to do on this flight but to listen to the others gossip anyway; apparently this Alex and Mueller had accompanied supply flights like this one before and they weren't the easiest characters to deal with. It was pure gossip, nothing was any useful information and Heero slowly but surely dozed off as well, waking up every now and then to check up on his surroundings -- but after two hours, the two adults were either silent because they'd ran out of gossip or were simply napping too.

Touchdown, following necessary procedures when landing, unloading the supplies -- it went all by Duo and Heero as in a trance. The two adults hardly made an effort to do any work, leaving it to the two first years to unload the supplies, check the packing lists, store the wrapped crates and boxes in the designated areas... it took a lot of energy and time.
"I'd kill for something to eat," Duo grunted as he finished placing the last of the crates on top of each other. "At least they won't have to worry about their stock in dried soup and beef jerky for another couple of months."
Heero checked the boxes off the large list he was carrying. "Fortunately, that was the last one. We only need to give these lists to the respective persons, to let them know their shipment has arrived."
"Can we get something to eat then?" Duo whined.
"Yes we can," Heero nodded, feeling rather hungry himself. He checked his watch as well; it was about dinner time and they hadn't had anything since breakfast this morning. He'd leave a scathing remark about the lazy 'adults' in his mission report later -- they probably would be celebrating their afternoon off while the two cadets were doing their tedious, menial work.

They were in luck -- after delivering the supply list to respectively a cranky doctor in the medical ward and a gruff mechanic in the large hangars; they encountered the woman in charge of the kitchen, who was very friendly and good-natured.
"Look at you! You're two small sacks of stick and bones! Really, those Academy officials aren't looking after you boys well enough! Sit down and eat! You're not going away before you have at least had two helpings!"
"Wow, real recognizable potatoes," Duo said out loud, winking at Heero, which elicited even more indignant cries from the woman, who didn't even take one look at the supply list.
"You can't be serious! What do they serve you anyway?"
"Slosh," Duo answered, putting on his most serious face.
"Muck. We're happy if we can recognize two things every week. It's all pre-made, pre-boiled, pre-chewed, perhaps. Not much vitamins and minerals... I think half the cadets are snacking on extra preparations."
"Horrible," the woman exclaimed, close to throwing up her hands in midair. "How dare they? You youngsters are the backbone of the military! You should have good, nutritious food!"
"Like that, over there?" Duo suddenly pointed out, attracting Heero's attention, who had been listening in half-heartedly, concentrating on his food.
The woman turned around to follow the direction he was pointing to, seeing the silver dishes placed at a small trolley.
"Chief Engineer Tubarov has a very exclusive taste," she finally said, grimacing. "I'm not even allowed to touch it. We have a special chef here, just working for him. As if my cooking isn't good enough!"
She snorted dangerously loud, and Duo had to stifle a small laughter before he continued. "The man doesn't know what he's missing out on! It tastes wonderful!"
"Thank you dearie," the woman smiled widely, immediately providing him with another round of meat and potatoes. Heero only had to move his plate a little to receive a second helping as well.

"They also said that he didn't want low-ranking soldiers traveling with him," he mentioned as he cut a rather large potato. The woman nodded, meanwhile busying herself with some dirty dishes.
"I know the man is very important, with those mobile suits and thingies and all, but he has an ego the size of twice this Base. He even had special quarters for himself build here, right on the Upper Deck, with two guards at his door!"
Heero quickly glanced at Duo, who was eating with gusto, but he knew the other was filing this useful information away as well. The woman scrubbed the dishes, waving her large brush around. "Everyone is relieved to see him go for this weekend. Let him hold his precious lecture at the Academy and bore everyone to death."
"I'm getting full," Duo mentioned, shifting his last potato around on his plate.
"Oh no, you don't," she immediately turned around. "I don't know of any teen boy who doesn't have room for desert!"
"You really should come with us to the Academy and teach the cooks there," Duo smiled, shoving his empty plate towards her. She probably could make any wonderful dish from all the pre-made foods there, making dinner time something to look forward to instead of dreading it in fear.
The woman laughed softly and placed two large plates with desert in front of them. "Eat up, boys. I've got my hands full with the staff here; I doubt I'd be able to handle all those kids."

After they finished their deserts, Heero and Duo said their goodbyes to the kind woman and left the kitchen, looking for someone who would know enough to tell them where they'd spend the night... or at least, pretend to spend the night.
"Two guards at the door, and the Upper Deck," Heero said softly. They both had memorized the detailed floor plans of the Base, and knew that the Upper Deck was the most difficult to reach.
"We can't go outside, that would take too much time and preparation," Heero mentioned. Duo nodded affirmatively. "We have to pass these guards and gain access to Tubarov's room."
"Without him being there, preferably."
"Yeah, preferably."
"Hey you too, Maxwell and Yuy, right?"
They both snapped their heads to the left, having talked at such low volume that no one would've been able to overhear their words. The adrenalin was running through their system, as they recognized the one speaking was the taller of the two adults on the supply ship.
"Did they assign you your room yet? There's a return flight at 06:00 hours tomorrow, and you'd better not miss it."
"We were hoping to carry the Chief Engineer's suitcases on his trip to the Academy," Duo answered and the man snickered.
"Right... you're nothing but a grunt in his eyes. Nice try, but that... ehm.. privilege is only reserved for those in his service -- and trust me, carrying that man's suitcases is the last thing you want to do, really."
"Fine, fine," Heero said gruffly, "where's our room?"
The man waved behind him. "End of this hallway. You can't miss it. Report back on time tomorrow."

The 'room' was indeed hard to miss; it was nothing short of overgrown cupboard where two beds were made. Heero snorted when seeing it and Duo shook his head.
"Wow, they're really equipped for extra visitors, right?"
"Don't worry -- those other two won't sleep much better, I guess. The Lunar Base is for scientists and technicians only; they don't have any accommodation for military personnel here -- or they think that soldiers can sleep everywhere."
"We're supposed to be able to do that," Duo remarked dryly and put his bag down, zipping it open. He proceeded to change into a perfectly black outfit that covered his entire body. With a dark pin he fixed his braid into a position where it wouldn't move; adding his black cap as finishing touch.
Heero changed into a black outfit as well, making sure that his equipment -- a small flashlight, among others -- was black and not easy detectable either. He took his laptop out of the protective case, waiting for Duo to finish stuffing their bags and belongings under the ratty covers of the beds. No one was probably going to look for them, but two empty beds would be extremely suspicious. With a bit of luck, anyone checking up on them would buy the bulges under the covers as the decoy it was supposed to be.

"We still didn't discuss how we're going to create a diversion," Heero whispered to Duo as they made their way out of the large corridor, hardly making a sound. "We need to take the guards out..."
"Maybe we don't," Duo suddenly said, holding still before a large, illuminated lay-out of the Lunar Base attached to the wall. They had looked at it when searching for their 'room', matching it with the lay-out they already had memorized. Nothing had changed at the Base and Heero frowned, not understanding what Duo was hinting at.
"We don't have all the time of the world," he said, "remember Tubarov's schedule?"
"Yes, I remember," Duo answered, slightly irritated. "How much of a chance do you think we stand at taking out two armed guards before Tubarov's bedroom, in the hopes of finding some data on mobile suits in his bedroom?"
"This isn't the time to question our mission parameters, or the plans we..."
"Heero, the man is a Chief Engineer. We won't find plans in his bedroom! We have to be here!"
"Lower your voice!" Heero chastised him, eyes flying to the location Duo was pointing to at the bottom of the lay-out. "The sub floors?"
"We'll have more luck and chance at finding data at the place where the man's working, then his bedroom," Duo said, confident. "Besides, we're both good at sneaking and snooping around, and this way we'll avoid dealing with diversions and guards."
"You're just lazy," Heero said, but didn't mean it in the least. Duo was right about the data, but the original plan had been to search for it in the Chief Engineer's bedroom and not in the technical facilities on the Lunar Base's sub levels. Their plan had focused on claiming Tubarov's laptop, downloading all the data on it, an 'in-and-out' job in mere minutes. He didn't like deviating from the initial plan; and he didn't know whether to slap himself for forgetting on how impulsive Duo could be or to praise himself for being partnered with someone like Duo who was impulsive, but managed to concoct a new plan within the minute.

"Sub levels are this way," Duo whispered, motioning Heero to follow him. They went down with the emergency staircase, rubber soles on their shoes perfectly dimming every sound on the metal steps. The elevators could be monitored, and extra activity after the curfew -- even the Lunar Base had one -- would be suspicious.
"Technical facilities are at -2," Heero remarked, voice just as low.
"What's on this level?" Duo asked, holding still for a moment and trying to peek through the small window in the door.
"Laboratories, I believe," Heero answered, almost absent-mindedly.
"Looks like holding cells to me," Duo muttered, and his hand went to the door knob.
"What are you doing? This isn't -2..."
"Why the hell does the Lunar Base need holding cells for?"
"I don't know, maybe for wayward staff? Duo, we need to... Duo!" Heero hissed. Liability, liability... and while his mind was focused on the mission, his body moved on his own, following Duo into the cold and empty corridor of sublevel 1. There was nothing but a row of doors, with electronic locks mounted on a right panel. Curious, Duo moved forward, but Heero finally grabbed his elbow.
"Enough! Duo, mission!"
"I thought I heard something," he snapped back.
""No!" Heero made an irritated move with his head. "Get back on track, Maxwell!"
He got a fiery glare in return, and then Duo almost pushed him to the side and stalked past him. Heero turned around to follow him, when he suddenly heard a cough coming from afar. A familiar cough... as if someone was dying, a rattling and low throaty sound. It couldn't be...

"Heero!" Now it was Duo, holding the door open for him, irritation audible in his voice. He shook his head and quickly followed after him, making sure the door wouldn't make any sound when closing. Forcing himself to focus on the mission again, Heero descended after Duo to the second sublevel.
It was after 23:00 hours, curfew for the staff and military personnel on the Base, but apparently Tubarov and his crew were working a late shift. The Chief Engineer was reported to hold a rather strict schedule, retreating to his quarters at exactly midnight, which meant that he was still here at the technical facility, together with gods only knew who... Heero tried to squelch another wave of irritation that they didn't execute the mission according to his first plan. Creating a diversion for the two guards wouldn't have been a problem, and they would've had at least a full hour to find something in the man's bedroom.
"R & D, design..." Duo muttered softly as they passed closed doors, all sealed with electronic pads. There were muffled voices behind the doors, but no guards in the hallway. As long as no one would step out of one of the doors right this moment, everything would be fine... Heero felt the adrenalin pumping through his body, and knew Duo had to feel the same -- he could see it, see how alert the other was. Duo moved with the same feline, predatory grace as Marquise did, using every shadow to his advantage to make himself invisible.
He felt like an elephant compared to Duo's stealth techniques, and the only comforting thought was that he, Heero, was better at cracking codes and hacking into particularly encrypted networks.
"Test lab," Duo grinned and pointed forward. A large window with soundproof and bulletproof glass offered a large view into the test laboratory at another sublevel, brightly lit with clusters of large bulb lights. To the left was a large metal skeleton of a mobile suit, legs already encased in armor, a prototype of an unidentified weapon attached to the lower left arm.
"Judging from the colors, that must be the Virgo," Heero commented. Duo pressed his gloved fingers to the glass, as if testing. "Our camera won't work here -- this glass will reflect the flash, no matter what."
"If only we had access to more sophisticated equipment..."
"Hey, elder students only."

"We better get to work. Duo?"
"Right here, buddy."
Heero arched an eyebrow, but Duo already had moved away, going further down the hallway. After inspecting the large corridor -- no one behind them -- Heero sank to the ground, kneeling and opening one of the many pockets of his outfit, taking out a small device that was designed to fortify receiving points of wireless networks. He tossed it to Duo, not even checking if the other caught it; he proceeded immediately to set up his laptop, fingers flying over the keys and only pausing to hook a small hearing aid behind his left ear. If there was any conversation in the laboratory down below, the receiver would pick it up as well. Doctor J. might've been a rather strange person, never mind that Heero owed his life to him, the man was a pure genius. Duo had already been given the other hearing aid that came with the set. Attentively watching the screen, it depended on Duo placing the receiver and how strong the signals were going to be.
Heero's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the screen, contrasting with the relative darkness of the hallway. Lots of windows were popping up as the equipment was trying to make contact to the network. It was a matter of seconds now, to mask his hook-up to the network; no doubt some computer at the Lunar Base would automatically check every appliance or device connected onto the network. At this moment, he had to trust Duo to be perfectly safe on his own, and trust him to guard his back as well -- he needed all his concentration right now. Suppressing a triumphant smirk as he was on the network, undetected as for now, he started logging the data as the little program he wrote himself was sifting through the massive files, separating useful information from the useless clutter.

The receiver seemed to work perfectly, and Duo watched Heero work; it wouldn't take long to gather data on the mobile suits. All he had to do was to keep an eye out for anyone approaching and to recognize a change in the situation as potential danger and act upon it. Rather boring, actually, as Heero was having all the fun -- well, as much as going through boring files on mobile suits could be fun in the first place.
Finally, the receiver also picked up something spoken -- a conversation in the laboratory down below, but the height difference seemed to disturb the signal. Duo listened intently, but he couldn't make much of it -- the nasal voice that grated immediately on his nerves had to be Tubarov's -- the Chief Engineer was also renowned for loving to listen to himself talk. He made sure to memorize bits of conversation, as he doubted that the receiver would also record and Heero was too busy to listen in right now.
Duo regretted not having brought his own laptop, but had agreed with Heero's plan to only bring his one; not only was Heero's laptop better equipped, it also would've raised questions if both of them would've brought a laptop along a simple guard task.
Checking their surroundings again -- the late shift would end at midnight exactly; at least when Tubarov would retreat to his quarters --, Duo stifled a yawn. Maybe the others would continue to work, even pulling double shifts... looking at the bare skeleton of the new type of suit, there was still a lot of work to be done. Duo felt excitement besides the adrenalin; excitement about the day that he would be able to pilot a similar suit. No more simulations, but a real suit -- maintaining control over tons of titanium alloy, mastering every piloting skill in existence. He lifted up his sleeve to take a peek at his watch. 23:30 hours... it wouldn't take Heero much longer to download the right data, would it? Looking up, he saw Heero crouched down at the window, completely concentrating on his work. Duo stifled a yawn again and took out his lock picks, sifting through them. It didn't look like the situation was about to change anytime soon, and maybe he could occupy himself by trying to pick the lock on the only door he'd seen without an electronic lock. Not that electronic locks held any secrets for him -- sometimes it was just fun picking an old-fashioned one.

It was satisfying to know that he still was able to get it done under three minutes; Duo grinned to himself as he opened the door without any difficulties. He shone with his flashlight into the small room. It looked like a simple office: an oval table with five seats, a telephone and a few paper notebooks. Apparently some meeting had been held here, either that or the cleanup crew had forgotten about this room. Empty coffee cups, small packets of sugar and full ashtrays were but a few signs of the mess the previous occupants of this room had made. Curiously, Duo went to the table to pick up one of the notebooks. Someone had been doodling on the front cover, and when Duo opened it, a small bundle of paper fell out.
"Fuck!" He hissed to himself, and quickly moved to pick it up, intending to stuff it back into its original place, when his eyes noticed the writings on the first page. That was a familiar handwriting. A very familiar handwriting. It was the same handwriting as on almost every Academy speech when published in the paper journal and reference books. It was tradition that, even in this era of electronic mail and paperless communication, the major part of the speeches was written out by hand. Zechs Marquise had a very distinctive handwriting when it came to his spirited declamations and speeches, and Duo had no difficulty in recognizing it. What the hell was Zechs Marquise doing at the Lunar Base? Was he still here? The man wasn't tied to the Academy for the full hundred percent; he spend most of his time there for the special trainings and to select the right candidates for the right education. Was this just something simple and was he thinking the worst of just a meeting? After all, Marquise had more obligations than just being an instructor.

His watch beeped softly,