Beta: Jewel of Hell
Couple: 1x2 get-together, unresolved 3x4.
Cliche list: aphrodisiac, unusual sleeping arrangements (sort of...), dancing rituals (if dancing fits the category), matchmaking, vouyerism.
Warnings: lemon, sensationalism, mild language, Trowa's POV.

Scandal
by Aryam McAllyster

"Saying that doesn't actually make it fun, Q." Duo rolled his eyes, passing by.

I couldn't help myself, I looked him over. He looked damn good in a red dress shirt, hair in a ponytail and perfect fitting black jeans. He was not as good looking as my sweet blond over there, but hot enough. Enough for my experiment.

Wufei appeared, his mood not as bad as I predicted.

Then, finally, Heero showed up on the hallway. Locked his bedroom door and joined us. He also looked good, not just because of his dark blue pants and green polo, but because of this 'mysterious sexy vibe' (or something) he was famous for.

I was surprised that everyone was willing to go. I guess they were all trying their hardest to be regular young men.

"Trowa," Quatre called me.

I stood up from the sofa to follow them to the car.

My blond friend was overly excited, this was his idea. He was dragging Duo around, who looked pretty familiar with this kind of place. Wufei scanned the place as if preparing for an ambush. Heero, well, he glared at everything and everyone.

I, on the other hand, wanted to make the most of it. So I went straight to the bar, getting myself, Wufei, and Heero a drink. Mine, of course, was nonalcoholic, being the designated driver this time. I didn't worry about the other two, they were already on the dance floor.

I took my time while my two stoic friends sat at a table in a dark corner. I joined them and gave them the drinks. Wufei just glanced at his glass and continued scanning the crowd.

Heero, as I expected, quickly smelled his drink and took a sip. Even though he was still uptight, he'd decided to try enjoying life once the war was over. Or so he told me two years ago. I think he was so surprised to actually survive two wars he wanted to do things for himself for once, no one ordering him around, "Blow yourself up for the colony, Heero! For the cause!" and all that crap. I remember dearly the look on the other guys' faces when we first saw Heero eating a hamburger. It was a turning point for someone who had a strict soldier diet all his life.

That's why I was confident my silly experiment would be a success. With my guinea pig desperately trying to find himself, he just needed a push.

"Like it?" I asked Heero when sipped for the third time.

He shrugged, blue eyes on the dance floor, maybe he was looking for someone. Would I go too far theorizing that he wanted to join this someone?

"I slipped something in your drink." I said, suddenly.

He stared at me, growing pale, but no other reaction. I laughed out loud on the inside, but I knew my face was just as neutral. "Remember that talk we had last week?" I decided to explain before I ended up a dead body in a dark alley. He nodded, slowly. "You said you wanted to try feeling more... human." It was really hard to make him open up to me, I hoped I wasn't ruining that trust. I only had the best intentions, but then again, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. "It's just a... aphrodisiac. I know how alcohol doesn't have much effect on you, so I needed something else."

"Something else for what?" he asked, calmly.

But by now I knew him well enough to detect a hint of anger on his voice.

"So you can loosen up. You need to have some fun." I explained like it was completely obvious.

He took a deep breath, and it was a really interesting transformation. He glanced at me again, I saw conformation. Then, his fierce blue eyes turned to his green "poison" and swallowed it, all at once.

I allowed myself a discrete smirk, while Wufei stared at our friend getting up and going to the middle of sweaty people moving their bodies like there was no tomorrow.

"What in the name of hell did you do?" my Chinese companion demanded to know. "Did you lose your mind, drugging a psycho-killer in the midst of a crowd?"

"He's not a killer anymore, Wufei," I reasoned. "Besides, the only thing in his glass was absinthe and ice."

"Wait, then..." he stammered.

"Yes," I explained, "placebo."

I knew that look in his dark eyes. He thought I was crazy. "Who knew you were so cunning."

Oh well. What I wanted was to see the results of my 'subliminal' message.

I gave them some time, but after half an hour or so, with a drink in my hand, I wandered around. Oh, and there was Quatre... kissing away some guy... Not that I can blame him, this was partially my fault.

Finally, there they were:

Duo was dancing slowly despite the strong beat, sensually swaying his hips. Heero was right behind him holding his waist, obviously not really caring for the music at all.

My braided friend seemed to be enjoying the attention. My messy haired friend seemed to be enjoying the body contact. There seemed to be no denying the attraction between them after that.

It was about time! Thos two had been dancing around each other for a while now. It was obvious for everyone and their mother that Duo was the reason Heero never dated Relena.

I observed them for a couple of minutes, bobbing my head, pretending to be part of the party. Mission comple... Wow. Wait. Wha... But... No way.

Okay. I expected some dirty dancing, even hugging or maybe some groping, but Duo just turned around and kissed Heero.

"Whoa... That's your plan?" Wufei asked by my side. I nodded, amused. "It's working." He asserted.

We both grinned.

"Did you have fun?" I asked Quatre when he showed up for breakfast. At ten o'clock. It was a weekend, so we did not have classes.

"Yes, but probably not as much as our roommates." He answered, mischievous, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Did you see Heero and Duo last night? I didn't see that coming."

"How could I not? They were making out in the car on our way back."

He laughed. "That's right. I'm so glad for them! Was Heero drunk? Duo and I just had a tequila shot." The blond one sat in front of me, not really waiting for my response, he spread butter on a toast and started eating calmly. "I just hope they don't come up with the same brilliant agreement we did."

"You didn't seem to feel any regret last night," I pointed out, trying my best not to show hurt. I had no right to.

"Would it help if I said that I wished that guy was you?" He was looking straight at me. I sighed inwardly. "Trowa, it was your idea to have an open relationship. You know I will be here when you change your mind."

I smiled at that, knowing it was true. I reflected on going steady with him, but I just couldn't do it for now. We skipped most of our youth and it was more than fair -- now that we live in times of peace -- to at least try compensating the lost time. I wanted him to make friends, have fun, experience new things with new people. And, would I be too selfish saying I wanted that for myself also? I never had a family, now that I had people whom I could trust and trusted me back, was it wrong to aim for a normal life?

Anyway, since I was so successful last night, I had another plan.

I went out for a walk, to clear my head a bit. When I got back, I looked for Heero. I needed to talk to him.

I knocked on his door and waited for the "come in". I entered, not asking permission to sit on his bed. Heero was on his desk, in front of his laptop. He didn't even look at me.

"What're you doing?" I asked, making conversation.

"College stuff." Typical vague answer.

"About last night..." I started, but I was interrupted.

"What exactly did you gave me? What was in the drink? Was it liquefied?" Then, he turned around, giving me his full attention.

My poker face in place, I held his stare, but inside, I was bursting into laughter. "Not telling."

He glared.

"You know you don't feel remorse." I was pretty sure of that.

He shuddered and averted his eyes.

"How was it?" I pressed.

Heero looked about to burst then. I couldn't help but snicker. I stared at him until he turned to me again, and waited. It took a while, but it always worked.

"All right." He yielded. "It was... great. Unexpected. Intense. He is..." The ex-perfect soldier covered his face with his hands, embarrassed. "What did you give me?" His voice was muffled.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you did it because you wanted to."

Almost a minute past before he nodded, very slowly.

"I know you like him." I started worrying, he seemed seriously lost. "There is no need to angst over it."

"But how does he feel about me?" Heero whispered.

"He kissed you!" How was that a bad thing? Why was this going wrong?! "Of course he feels something about you."

"I was drugged and he was probably drunk." I doubted Duo was drunk, and Heero probably doubted that too. Meaning he was insecure about their feelings for each other. Heero... insecure. That's not something you see every day.

"Heero," I took a deep breath. I did not anticipate this reaction, he always seemed so confident... "You have to talk to him."

"Maybe..."

"No. You have to." I knew he was not very good in dealing with people, but he needs to make up his mind. This situation was not fair for him or Duo.

On his laptop screen, there was a worksheet. Apparently, he was registering all of his obligations for the week. Heero was a very organized person -- as we all expected -- he would write down everything so he would never forget something or make a mistake. He was afraid of making mistakes. Problem is you just cannot make a 'perfect score' in life.

Paperwork on Monday 1030, monthly psychological evaluation on Tuesday 1600, speech on Wednesday 1400 (by some guy I didn't know), speech's written report on Thursday 0800, test on Friday morning 0900.

Okay, so he has homework to do, I should let him think about his problems by himself for now. I patted his shoulder in a friendly way and left.

On my way to the kitchen, I found Duo watching television in the living room, eating an apple. That made me smile. My braided friend became a little obsessed with health in these last two years. "Since I made it out of it," he told me on our first day after the official end of the Marimeia Incident, "I want to see how long I can last!" he laughed and since then, started to take care of himself.

I made myself comfortable on the armchair, glanced at the television -- nothing interesting was on -- and back at Duo.

His indigo eyes caught mine. "What's up?" He asked, sensing I was not there to watch the space-pods race. It was one of the things that made living with Duo easy. If you wanted quiet time he would just leave you alone, but when you needed a talk, he would be the first to start a conversation.

"Nothing." Way to go, Trowa! You just ruined his efforts.

He nodded and turned his gaze to the television. Where was Quatre when I needed? The two of them would be chattering nonstop by now.

"Who's winning?" Speaking of the devil. My blond half-boyfriend sat on the sofa with Duo.

"The Maganacs seems to be winning the race again this year. I hope they keep this pace until the finish line." Our braided friend said. This was a good opportunity to observe their interaction.

"Great!" Quatre replied, excited. "I really want to see the final race. I already bought the tickets."

"Awesome. When is it going to be?"

"This Wednesday night. I miss them, can't wait to give Rashid a big hug!"

"Tell them I say hi."

"Why don't you go with me?" Quatre asked Duo. Yes, I'm being completely ignored. "They would be so happy to see you."

"Oh... I wanted to, but I can't." But, Duo, why can't you go? "I have a test on Thursday." And that's what I needed to hear.

"Trowa," Quatre called me. "You're going, right?"

He didn't have to twist my arm. "Sure. I bet Wufei will be crazy to go too." He raised his blond eyebrow and Duo snorted. Our Chinese roommate never got crazy about something, but I had to make him go too.

There was only so much I could do for these two, the rest was up to them.

"Come on, Duo." Quatre taunted. "Last chance!"

"Sorry guys, I can't." The braided ex-pilot shrugged. "I have a test tomorrow morning. There is no way I'm going to travel for two hours by space-bus to see an infinite long race and came back before classes."

"I know..." Quatre accepted. "You're right. Okay then, have a good boring evening."

Very childishly, Duo showed us the tongue and went back to fixing himself a sandwich.

"Heero?" the blond asked.

And I stared at him really hard. "Do not dare to came along," I was saying with my green eyes. His blue ones looked back at me, confused.

"I... can't."

I thing he caught on when he saw Duo coming out of the kitchen obviously not dressed to go out like us, because he glared at me. His eyes said "I'm going to kill you in our sleep."

I shrugged.

"This better work." Wufei whispered to me when the three of us bid farewell.

It was Wednesday afternoon. Quatre, Wufei, and I were on our way to the spaceport, to watch the race on the neighbor colony. I'd told my Chinese friend it was all Quatre's treat, and he would get a free meal. It was not as hard as I thought to convince him to come along.

I was going away for a few hours, but I was not going unprepared.

Our house is monitored. Some cameras and micros were scattered all over the place so the authorities could keep their eyes on the ex-terrorists. They promised not to intervene in our lives unless extremely necessary (a.k.a: if we behaved in an extremely suspicious manner like building a Gundam for a rebel attack or something). We never really cared since we are being paid to go to college and live like common people (a.k.a: not blowing stuff up). I guess we have Relena to thank for that, she stood up for us to have a second chance in living in society. So the big guys decided to put us in the same house in a nice colony with a good college and a lot of cops. The monthly psychological evaluation didn't bother us anymore, it was pretty much routine by now.

The wiring was easy to tamper with, so the guys monitoring us saw and listened basically what we wanted them to. That said, I synchronized my cell phone with the transmitter devices.

Before turning on the video mode on my mobile, I stopped to think that I didn't actually have a reason to meddle in my friends' lives (besides having nothing better to do). What can I say? College wasn't that challenging. Moreover, I am an ex-Gundam-pilot, I guess I have the right to be a little eccentric at times.

After I checked that I could see what was going on in the living room -- where Heero was -- kitchen, garage and corridors from a bird's perspective, I placed the phone back in my jacket pocket, not really expecting anything to happen any time soon. Duo was probably in his room -- I couldn't find him.

I took a nap until we arrived. We went for a walk, there was nothing interesting to see, so we stopped at a coffeehouse to grab something to eat.

"So," Quatre started while we waited for our coffee and cakes to arrive. "What do you expect, leaving them alone, Trowa?"

"It's not like it's the first time," Wufei pointed out. "They have been alone before." Our food and drinks arrived.

"I know," I said. "But this time is different, the cat is out of the bag. I just expect them to talk." Or Heero would go crazy.

"As long as this romantic foolery doesn't affect me, I'll be happy for them." Wufei stated, sipping his cappuccino.

Quatre laughed, eating his piece of strawberry cake. "Come on, Wufei, don't be like that. They're our friends. They deserve each other. I mean, I can't really see Heero hooking up with anyone else!"

"What about Duo?" I asked just for the sake of argument.

"Duo could get a date in a blink of an eye with his charisma, but he has trusting issues. You guys know how hard it is to make him talk about himself..." The Chinese guy and I nodded. "They just need someone to understand what they have been through and, what the heck, they would be cute together."

"That's a great argument." Wufei mocked.

I had to smile.

My blond friend grinned and shrugged. "I just think they would get along perfectly. They were a great team during the war."

"That's got nothing to do with..."

"You know what?" I interrupted a possible rant from our Chinese warrior. "I think so too, Quatre."

Black eyes rolled, but the other aqua ones became warm toward me. Oh, Heero and Duo, you guys better work this out.

We headed to the race track early to find good seats. We waited the advertisements, the band performance, cheerleaders, etc; the runners' presentation and the countdown. The green lights switched on and the race started, the ships accelerated -- I thought I would go deaf with the shouting crowd -- and soon they were out of sight. We could only see the pods maneuvers from a big screen until they passes us by again.

Bored now.

I covered one of my ears with a headphone and turned on my mobile's screen, just in time to see Duo walking in the living room to sit right next to Heero on the sofa. I really hoped this ended up being more interesting than the race.

They were silent for a moment, then Duo grabbed the remote control and I could see his finger changing channels.

"Do you wanna watch something?" I distinguished Duo's voice asking from the war cries around me.

Heero shrugged and I felt like smacking him. Talk to him, you moron!

"Hei, M.A.S.H is on!" Duo exclaimed.

What? Oh, yes. I remembered watching this show with my braided friend once. There was something ironic in seeing an ex-soldier enjoying a black comedy television series about a war.

I saw Heero take a deep breath but do nothing.

I turned my gaze to the race course. The ships were finishing another lap. Wufei watched all with a patient gaze, while Quatre cheered with everyone else.

"What's on your mind?" I heard Duo's voice again. When I looked, he shifted on the couch to face Heero's profile.

There was that gift I was talking about, I bet he could sense Heero's nervousness. Hell, I sensed his nervousness and I was miles away!

"Nothing, I..." Heero stopped, straightened up, and also faced Duo. "We need to talk."

"You sound serious, must be important." The violet-eyed one teased. "But then again, you're always serious."

"About that night, in the club," the ex-perfect soldier ignored the joke, as I expected. "I need to know if that meant anything."

I think Duo was taken aback with the straightforwardness, his mouth agape for a couple of seconds.

"Hum... Wow... I." He cleared his throat, shaky. "What do you want me to say?"

Heero's shoulders fell. "The truth."

They were looking straight into each other's eyes. Duo seemed hypnotized as Heero inched closer.

"It meant something." Duo whispered just before his lips were covered by Heero's.

By now, I had completely disregarded the race. My small screen just got more interesting.

Heero pressed Duo's body against the arm of the couch. I saw their hands groping, squeezing, searching. Should I turn off my cell phone now? I mean, I was invading my friends' privacy.

"Quatre," I called. "How many laps?"

"Ten!" He answered without looking at me, eyes glued to the big screen.

It wasn't a hard choice. I went back to my voyeurism. Things were getting pretty energetic in the living room.

Heero's hand reached behind Duo, out of my sight, but I guessed he was kneading because of the moan I heard. As for Duo, his hands went under the ex-soldier's waist, and soon started to pull the shirt off.

Kissing his way down Duo's neck and chest, Heero slowly opened Duo's shirt, button by button, until my braided friend decided to tear it off.

Now I could see Heero's bare back, but not Duo's bare chest. Come on, buddy, just move a little...

"What are you watching?" a head appeared over my shoulder. Wufei. "Holly cr..." He suddenly quieted down. I turned to see why, he looked around as if trying to be discreet, grabbed my other earpiece and placed it on his own ear.

I hid a smile and turned my attention back to the scene unfolding in our living room.

Duo's pants were halfway down his calves. Those guys worked fast! Heero was hovering just above the area where would be a -- probably aroused -- member.

I gulped down in expectation, felt Wufei breathing hard on my neck probably for the same reason.

But my dear ex-02 pulled Heero by his hair so they could go back at kissing. They ground their hips while Duo worked on undressing Heero the rest of the way.

When the ex-01 was completely nude, they stilled and parted for a moment.

"Do you really want to do this?" Heero panted. "With me?"

Wait, what? No! Don't give him time to think or he might give up!

"I understand how being naked and hard beneath you might have thrown you off." Sarcasm dripped from Duo's voice.

They stared at each other's faces for a while. Let's go, perfect lover, give us what we want.

"Heero, honey," Duo said, tone condescending, "I'm waiting."

I've never seen a man move so fast. In seconds Heero was off the sofa, running up the stairs.

I gasped and Wufei held his breath.

Duo got rid of his pants and we both finally saw him in all his glory. Should I feel guilty about lusting after my best friend's soon-to-be-lover? Let me say his healthy way of living was worth it; the good alimentation and regular gym paid off. Heero, you lucky bastard.

I was really happy for him -- for them, actually -- but I'm getting aroused in the middle of a bunch of people with a violent Chinese guy puffing on my neck. I didn't know what I would be capable of giving to be alone right then.

In a matter of seconds, Heero climbed back onto the sofa with a tube in his hands. Duo laughed and spread his legs to accommodate him.

Do not ask me if it was their first time, it was a mystery.

01 positioned himself, his hardness glistering -- coated with lube -- and slowly leaned until he barely touched the entrance. Go on with it! Duo apparently felt the same urgency. His legs wrapped Heero's waist and drew him inside. Their groans were loud.

I think I groaned too. In a eye-blink, Quatre was on my other shoulder. "What are you guys doing?"

There was an awkward silence between the three of us. Wufei and I still listened our friends' moans.

"I can't believe I bring you to the most exciting race, and you prefer to watch porn!"

The silence spread to all around us since everyone on the stadium must have heard my little blonde's outburst. I think I heard some giggling somewhere.

"Wait a sec..."Quatre observed. "Are those..."

We were motionless, the three of us paying close attention to Heero's thrusting hips, and Duo's squirming to match the frenetic pace.

That's when I noticed the murmur coming from some people near us. They said, "Are they the Gundam pilots?" "What did he meant by 'porn'?""I want an autograph!", and things like that.

I sensed that this was a very bad idea.

The heads on my shoulders disappeared, and seconds later someone tapped my shoulder.

"Can I take a picture?" a girl asked me for courtesy, because she took one without waiting my consent. My companions were being harassed as well.

All of a sudden, we were surrounded by fans and haters. I honestly thought no one cared about us anymore. Besides, we'd sat here for more than an hour and just now they noticed us?

"Where are the other two?" a guy inquired us just before he bumped into me, making my cell phone fly down the bleachers.

Wufei, Quatre, and I watched it in slow motion, I'm sure I had an expression of disbelieve all over my face.

"No!" Quatre cried out as we ran to find what could ruin the reputation of the legendary war heroes (or the psycho terrorists as some would say).

I saw a conglomerate forming rapidly and I just knew. I ran there, forcing myself to the center where someone -- I did not care who -- held my mobile. I grasped it, not bothering to ask permission. What I saw on the screen almost made me cry: "mms sent". Somewhere, someone, right now had access to the video, and I was a dead man.

You don't have to be a genius to predict what happened on the very next day.

I waited patiently on the armchair in our living room (I really didn't want to sit on that sofa). I woke up very early, drank a cup of coffee and sat there. Yes, I was pretty nervous about the collateral effect.

Heero came down stairs seeming... smug. He acknowledged me with a nod and a small smile, then he spent some time in the kitchen -- probably eating his breakfast -- and proceeded to the office.

Quatre and Wufei should be up by now, but I thought they must be hiding in their bedrooms.

A few minutes later, Duo appeared, greeted me and went to the porch. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Duo exclaimed and stormed back inside, furious, his face red. Violet eyes searched and found the easiest victim: me. "What is the meaning of this?" He waved the newspaper on my face.

On the front page, there was a picture of Quatre, Wufei and me trying to hide our faces -- I recognized the background as being the stadium -- and a much bigger picture of Heero and Duo on the sofa... doing it. Zero One Still "Active" was under the photo.

Heero hurried in to see what was going on. Duo showed him the paper. He stared at the news, speechless for almost a minute, tightening his fist.

The headline said: Heero Yuy Replaces Pink Princess For Infamous God of Death.

When my blue-eyed friend let go of the newspaper, I snatched it before it hit the floor.

Yesterday, the world was shocked by the video posted online with explicit scenes of two of the most famous war heroes during sexual intercourse. Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell were being spied on by their own roommates (Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner and Chang Wufei) and were caught on tape, apparently unknowingly, in a very private moment.

After posing by the Vice-Minister Relena Peacecraft's side in innumerous events, Heero Yuy showed his true colors by choosing his war-terrorist-partner, native from the problematic L2 colony, the self-proclaimed God of Death, over her.

The statement went on to say how Heero fooled the world, feigning to be the prince on a white horse (more of mass killer in a white Gundam, but who understood the press?) who ended up being an exhibitionist. They suggested that he used Relena to be forgiven of his war crimes, and that was the only reason he -- and all of us -- never went to trial. When the newspaper gave up on insulting our famous "leader", they started comparing Relena with Duo. After all, how could Heero ever choose an orphaned street rat like the braided boy over a dignified high-bred Princess?

I felt ill. I couldn't imagine what the two in front of me were feeling right now.

Heero by far was the most famous of the five of us. He worked as Relena's bodyguard for more than a year, so he was all over the media for a while. There were many rumors about Heero and Relena's relationship, and everyone took for granted that it was only a matter of time for them to get married.

"Damn..." Duo cursed. "What're we going to do now?"

Heero just shook his head. "First of all, how did that happened?" His cold blue eyes glared at me.

I took a deep breath, and explained everything to them. While I did, Duo read the whole news; I could tell by his eyes and the way he avoided looking at us that he was pretty upset.

"What's the point in dragging Relena into this? These guys are sensationalists," He growled.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, pathetically.

"It would be better if we stayed home today," Heero told Duo. "Until things calm down a bit." To make a point, he turned on the television, where immediately popped up a scene with the two of them on the sofa. The anchorwoman talked about the "Gundam-love Scandal". He changed channels, and all of them seemed to only talk about one thing.

Seriously? There was nothing else to talk about? Nothing like poking the wound... with Heavyarms' finger.

"Turn it off." Duo requested and was granted.

We sat in awkward silence. I heard nothing from upstairs. If I was to guess, Quatre waited for a perfect opportunity to apologize and Wufei just wanted no involvement with all that.

I got up, hesitated a little, and climbed the stairs, leaving them alone to talk. Before I closed my bedroom door, I heard their whispered voices.

It had taken me so long to get a family, and I'd screwed everything up in the speed of light. But I was not about to sit here all day lamenting my stupidity, letting my friends be jeered.

Opening my laptop, I began to hunt down every website with that damn video posted and shut them down, making sure to delete every trace of Heero and Duo's love making. It took me hours and, of course, on the internet, you are never sure how much something is scattered, but the main sources I ruined for sure.

It was already afternoon when I heard the bell. Afraid is might be some nosy reporter, I went downstairs if help was needed.

Heero answered the door -- checking the intercom to make sure who it was -- and Relena Peacecraft appeared, flustered. Outside, agitated cameras and paparazzi tried to take a peek over the huge bodyguards guarding from our door to the pink limo.

"Hi, boys," she said. "Time for a grown up conversation."

Inside, Relena waited while everyone gathered in the living room and stood in front of us.

"First of all," she started, looking at Duo and Heero, "guys, no condom? You guys are role models for a bunch of teenagers out there." I'm pretty sure she tried to make us laugh, although Heero's eyes widened and Duo blushed. "And you," she looked at me, Quatre and Wufei, "how could you do this to them?"

"It wasn't on purpose," Quatre hurriedly explained.

"Yeah, well, the damage is done anyway." The Vice-Minister sighed, "Did you apologize?" she asked like a mother.

I nodded; Quatre and Wufei murmured "I'm sorry" to the other two.

"If it was me," she continued, "I would probably sue you guys for this if I didn't know all you have been through together, so I'm sure it was a freaky accident."

I was glad she was so understanding. I didn't know what to expect from her. Relena sat on the table, visibly dropping the careless pose. "I came to see you, Heero and Duo. How are you faring?"

Heero shrugged, Duo shook his head.

"Could you please talk to me?" her voice had a hint of begging. "Please? Because I've never been so humiliated in my life." Her teal eyes became watery.

"Relena..." Heero whispered.

"I'm sorry." Duo apologized for no reason and hugged her. She hugged back, but then pushed him gently.

"You shouldn't be sorry!" she uttered. "Those media bastards should be!"

Relena Peacecraft, ex-Queen of the World, Vice-Minister extraordinaire, just cursed. Shocking.

"How could they treat you like that?!" she faced Duo, looking like she was about to cry any second now. "You're a war hero, for Christ's sake!"

"Relena..." Duo tried, but was cut off.

"So what if he chose you over me?" Relena blabbed. "As long as you make him happy, that should be enough for me." She burst out crying.

None of us knew what to do. Relena held on Duo's wrist tightly and did not let go as she wept.

We accompanied Relena to the door, overwhelmed by camera flashes the moment we opened the door. The Thors in suits did a good job securing the Vice-Minister in her car.

As she drove off, the telephone rang and Duo, sighing, picked it up without turning on the video option.

"How nice of you to invite me to your talk show." He said faking sweetness. "There is nothing else in this world I want more than talking about being screwed on TV!" he shouted at the mouth piece, smashing the phone on its base.

"Hey, check this out," Wufei called us holding the remote control.

On the television screen, a march -- of mostly girls -- shaking sighs saying things like "Heroes deserve respect!", or "I *heart* Gundam-Love", "Lemonade FTW!" (I didn't get this one), and my favorite: "We support 1x2x1 action".

Quatre hid his smirk behind his hand, respecting Heero's tense pose. He looked like he was about to break the TV. Instead, he went for the ever-watching cameras, turning them to pieces one by one.

The phone rang again.

"This is absolutely out of control," Duo backed away to the telephone's general direction, watching the ex-Zero One's rage. I made sure to get out of his way too.

"Hello?" the braided one answered. "Oh, well, after a very careful consideration, we all decided it would be better to deactivate the surveillance." A couple seconds of silence. "No, no. We had a meeting and thrashed the problem out. And by that, I mean go to hell." This time, he unplugged the phone.

We tried to keep our cool, to act normal, ignoring the noise outside. Wufei switched on the stereo with a music CD; it helped to relax -- at least for me.

I grabbed a book and sat in a corner in the living room. Quatre made tea and sat beside me to drink it, Wufei joined him. Heero went to the office, but left the door open. Duo turned on the video game where he could freely blow things up. It was like we all wanted to be close, I guess we just needed the company.

It was already evening when our door bell rang again. We shared worried looks, trying to silently decide who would answer that, but Heero settled that, coming out of the office and verifying the intercom.

When he opened the door, Lady Une appeared. Men in Preventer jackets by her side guarded the perimeter. She strolled in, confident. She had her glasses on which were a bad sigh.

Again, we gathered on the living room, on the sofa, like kids who did something wrong waiting to be scolded.

"So you decided it would be a good idea to wreck the surveillance cameras." She started slowly.

We nodded at the same time.

Lady Une sighed and stared at us.

"We agree," She finally said.

I looked up, without showing my real surprise.

"At the Preventers, we scheduled a meeting about our vigilance on you," Une explained, "and it was reasonable," she coughed uncomfortable, "with all that's been happening, to review your situation, but Yuy facilitated our decision."

I smiled inwardly, imagining how it must have looked like at the other side of the camera to see a furious beast-like ex-Gundam pilot trying to reach you through the lens.

"What happens now?" Quatre asked.

"There will be no more close surveillance..."

"Finally!" Duo interrupted her.

Lady Une cleaned her throat and continued, "But you will all attend the psychologist twice a month."

I could live with that.

"For how long this will go on? Can't you people just let us live?" Duo complained.

The Preventer director seemed a little taken aback. I guess she just never really looked at us like real people, just as dangerous terrorists.

"Well, you have to understand our concern, Duo."

"It just seems unfair," Quatre stepped in. I was pretty lost with their complaints; I mean, they -- the Government -- sustained us, why would I rebel against them? "We fought for peace, the war is over, the Gundams destroyed, but we have to live under your scrutiny."

"You make the population fear us," Wufei completed. What was this? Mutiny?

"We know you're making sure we do nothing wrong so when we attain the right age, you can integrate us in the Preventer organization."

Et tu, Heero? Yes, I suspected this as well, but I did not care. They couldn't force us to join and even if they did, it couldn't be so bad.

Maybe I was just taking things too lightly.

The woman in front of us looked at each one of us and took a deep breath.

"If that's how you feel," she considered, "I'll suggest to the board that we drop the overseeing completely when you finish college."

Duo opened his mouth but I cut him off. "Thank you."I understood why we were not trusted completely, so I did not want my braided friend pissing this woman off.

"All right. Now that this is settled, first thing we have to worry about is that video." The room became deadly silent. "We have get rid of it."

"Done," the five of us said at the same time. I was not the only one who spent the day sorting out the mess apparently.

She took off her glasses and gave us a small smile.

"We'll do our best to contain the media and fans' harassment. Please, don't worry about the scandal, just try to live your lives normally."

Oh, I get it. She was worried that Heero and Duo could become violent (or do more than destroying the cameras) or run away.

She turned to the door, but before opening it, she said, "Turn the TV at 2000." Lady Une left leaving us to ourselves again.

We didn't have to wait long. It was Wufei's turn to make dinner, so I waited for his customary yakisoba. I grabbed my portion and went back to the living room where the television was already on, and the other guys sat on the carpet around out our small table. I accommodated myself on the sofa.

As we waited, Relena appeared on a press conference about to make a statement.

She saluted everyone and started answering questions. Political questions. I didn't listen closely, but I waited, I knew it was coming.

"...about the Gundam-Love Scandal." That picked up my attention. "It was common to associate you with Heero Yuy, now how is your relationship with him?" a reporter asked.

There was a sad smile on her lips. "My feelings towards him are purely platonic, as they always were. I admire Heero greatly for who he is and for all he's done for us to live in peace today, but I don't think any less now than I did a couple years ago. We are very good friends."

"What about Duo Maxwell..." Relena raised her hand to stop the other reporter's question.

"The scandal was unfortunate. If it had happened to anyone else, no one would really care, but they are icons of resistance, perseverance and hope. They weren't supposed to be this real, they shouldn't be anything less than perfect." The Vice-Minister took a break to sip her water. "Duo Maxwell is a great man. I personally don't know how deep their relationship goes, but Heero could not have a better companion." From my position, I could see Heero reaching under the table to touch lightly the braided boy's hand. I saw Duo getting embarrassed, but he tried to contain a smile. "They deserve to be happy." She faced everyone in the room as if daring them to say otherwise. "Now, does anyone have a pertinent question about the Reconstruction Project on L2?"

Some journalists raised their hands, but the conference ended soon after that.

A couple of days passed, and things started to go back to normal. There were some policemen guarding our house so no one without permission could come inside, but we still got some weird letters.

Some letters bad mouthed Heero and Duo, calling them names and flaming without justification. But most of them supported their getting-together with lots of hearts and cute drawings all over colorful notepapers. A bunch of fans asked -- and that made me laugh out loud -- if the video would ever be released to DVD.

You know what? I would buy it! The way Heero acted at that time, like it was the end of the world, was just too funny.

We never talked about the scandal again, not after Relena's press conference, so I wasn't sure how we stood. Heero and Duo barely talked to me, but they had other things to worry about (letters, reporters on their way to college, classmates making fun of them, and not killing me in mad rage).

In the afternoon, when I got home, I made myself a sandwich and looked for Heero. He was in his room, so I knocked on the door and waited for his typical response, "come in".

I entered and sat on his bed eating my peanut-butter, ham and cheese snack. He typed away in his laptop.

"How's everything?" I asked.

"Fine." He shrugged.

"I mean, for real." I took another bite, waiting his response.

He shrugged again. "Not so bad. My classmates are scared of me so they don't have the guts to confront me."

"Good for you."

"As for Duo..." he stopped typing for a second, and resumed. "He was always good at laughing at himself, so it's not so awkward for him when his friends touch the subject. He's still a little upset with you though."

"Not surprising." I finished my sandwich. "Can't blame him... What about you?"

"I chose not to hate you."

"Oh. Thanks...?" I shook my head. "I'm sorr--"

"I know." He said lightly.

"My intentions were good, I just wanted to see the results."

"That's fine, Trowa."

"I never expected you guys to be so fast." I tossed my napkin in the basket under his night table. He had a night lamp, a book about programming, and his cell phone.

I vaguely noted how uncomfortable he got with my last statement. I knew from previous conversations that Duo, in fact, had the habit of driving him mad.

But now I was curious. After that clumsy sex, what happed between them? Were they dating or was it just a one night stand thing? I needed something to confirm my expectations. If they broke up, then my efforts were for nothing! I'd seen Duo leaving Heero's room late last night, but that hardly proved a thing. It wasn't that uncommon for my braided friend to annoy the blue-eyed one when he couldn't sleep.

"So, Heero, what about you and Duo?"

He continued to type for almost a minute until I thought I would not get an answer anymore.

"We are... taking it slow."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We are going on a date this weekend."

"A date? Sounds promising."

"Well, actually, Duo invited me to a basketball game, but he called it a date, so..."

I chuckled; that sounded like Duo. That was charming and all, but... I needed The Proof. I grabbed his phone and pressed a button to light up the screen. His wallpaper was a picture of him and Duo; half of Heero's face was cut off, Duo's arm was stretched like he held the phone in front of them to take the picture of themselves.

"Hey, what're you..." He turned to see why I was quiet.

"That's cute." I teased. Yes, my friend, I am not your chicken-hearted classmates, someone has to make fun of you.

In a second he was in front of me, seizing The Proof back, and hiding it in his jacket pocket, away from my evil hands.

"You're too nosy," he complained, seeming embarrassed.

"How can you be shy with me after all I saw?" I teased again, hoping not to cross any line.

"I'm going to kill you," was his answer. Old habits die hard. I smirked.

We stared into each other's eyes. I saw in them that he was happy, I felt his serenity.

"I'm glad for you," I offered.

He looked away, drew his phone and looked at the picture there.

"Thanks."

Quatre and I promenaded on the central square holding our snow-cones talking about nothing. It was mildly crowded for a weekend, but it was a nice and warm day.

"Heero and Duo, huh?" Quatre brought up the subject. "They finally hooked up." He smiled warmly.

"They seemed happy, all things considered."

"I guess they just don't have any more excuses with the whole world pressuring them to be together." We laughed. I was so glad to be able to laugh at that stupid scandal now. "They are pretty cute together, right? Cute couple."

I got the impression my blond companion wanted to tell me something else.

"Yes... adorable," I agreed, a little bit sarcastic.

"You know, they have been through a lot together. They live in the same house, are really good friends, are attracted to each other..."

"Very much attracted," I added.

"It seemed only natural for them to end up as a couple."

"Right. And you mean they are just like us."

"Well, aren't they?" I assumed it was a rhetorical question. "Trowa," he stopped, and I faced him. "I want to go steady with you."

I think my heart actually skipped a beat.

Maybe it was influence of my roommate's romantic cheesiness, but I had to smile and kiss him. I think it was time to stop playing it safe and assume a serious relationship if I loved him. And I did. It was, after all, a valid new experience to both of us.

Quatre threw his arms around my neck to deepen the contact. I felt something uncomfortably cold on the back of my head and tried to get away from it.

"Oh, sorry!" he apologized taking his snow-cone out of my hair.

I only smiled, more amused than upset. Looking around, I tried to find a place where I could arrange a napkin, and found a store with a bunch of squealing girls.

A smirk crossed my lips. I think I knew how to make it up to Duo.

Quatre laughed all the back to our house. We saluted the policeman guarding our yard gate, and sauntered house.

"In a good mood, I see." Duo blinked at Quatre, and I realized that my blond boyfriend must have talked to him recently about the conversation we had today.

"Yes," Quatre agreed. "We're in a very good mood, and we have a gift for you." And his green eyes looked at me full of mischief.

"Oh?" Duo was defensive, but curious; he hesitated in stepping forward. "What is it?" The bag in my hand drew his violet eyes.

I handed it to him, and before I processed that the bag was not in my hand anymore, he was already opening the package.

He lifted a black shirt and stared at the stamp.

His face was priceless. At first, he blushed, and then he started cracking up. Quatre and I could not help but to laugh with him, it was contagious.

Duo discarded the shirt he currently wore to don his new one, and hugged us. I took that as an 'I forgive you' sign, and happily hugged him back.

"That's ridiculous," he said, wiping the tears of his face. His cheeks were red from laughing so hard. "Hope you guys don't feel offended if I only wear this to sleep. No way I'm walking around with this."

"I don't think Heero will mind." Quatre teased.

"What don't you think I'll mind?" Heero come down the stairs.

Duo turned to show him the stamp and my blue-eyed friend did something I never expected to see: he giggled. He jumped the last two stair-steps, wrapped his arms around Duo's waist, and kissed him.

We were all taken aback, even Duo, who took a while to embrace his boyfriend.

Heero withdrew a little to look at the shirt again. What he saw was a stylized drawing (I think it is called 'chibi') of him and Duo's profile with their lips pressed and under them, between Wing and Deathscythe's drawings (also in chibi version), it said "1x2 forever".

"I surely hope so," Heero smiled, and Duo hugged him tightly again to never let go.