Relena and Duo were on the road again. For the fifth time, Relena asked if she could drive. "I'm bored out of my mind just sitting here!"
Duo glanced into the rear view mirror and shook his head. "Not yet."
"You said that half an hour ago!" she complained.
"Too bad."
His eyes flicked to the mirror again, and Relena noticed this and griped, "Why do you keep doing that?"
"We're being followed."
"What?!" Relena turned around and saw a deep blue car driving several car-lengths behind them. "Is that Heero?"
"Most likely. Hold on."
"What do you me- ahhh!" Relena was pressed against the door as Duo made a quick turn into a restaurant parking lot. Barely missing several parked cars, he whipped around the building and turned on to the road heading back the way they had come. They sped down the road, turning on to various smaller roads in an attempt to lose their pursuers. After several tense moments, they lost sight of Heero's vehicle. Duo pulled up next to a bar and parked the car.
"What are we doing?"
"Losing the car." He walked over to a red van and opened its door. "This should do nicely."
Relena followed him over. "What are you going to do? Hot-wire it?"
"Why hot-wire when you can simply use the key?" He pulled a key out from underneath the driver's seat. "You gotta love people with spare keys in their unlocked car."
Relena rooted through the boxes filled with clothes in the back of the van they had "borrowed." She pulled up a nice pair of jeans and light blue sweater and held them up to inspect better. Deciding these were the ones, she slipped back to her seat, told Duo where she was going, and walked into the rest room at the gas station they were parked at.
As she was returning, clad in her new outfit, half a dozen men surrounded her.
"Vice-foreign Minister Dorlian," the leader began, but Relena did not stay to hear what else he had to say.
She ducked between two of the men and ran to the van. "Duo, help!"
Duo glanced up from the atlas he was buried in and hopped out of the van, reaching Relena's side before her assailants. "Who are you?"
"Duo Maxwell, I'm with the DSS. I didn't realize you were with the VFM."
Duo nodded. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind."
"So you've managed to evade Yuy?"
"So far, but he's probably on our tail by now. Can you keep him busy for awhile if he shows up?"
"No problem, Maxwell, Ms. Dorlian." He tipped his hat to Relena and walked away, his men following.
Relena looked inquisitively at Duo. "What just happened?"
"Well, they're with an organization that wants to keep you alive."
"How many organizations are there?"
Duo shrugged and smiled innocently. "Um... two?"
"Duo!"
He sighed heavily in defeat. "There's only one. Heero's not part of any organization. He's working on his own."
"Then why did you...?"
"I thought it would be easier for you to understand if I said he was working for someone."
Relena crossed her arms. "So I'm stupid now?"
"N-no! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then what did you mean?"
"I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you he was trying to kill you. You seem to feel that he would never want to harm you. It's-"
"Oh, now I'm naive. Duo, what else haven't you been telling me? I want to know how you knew about this plot of his and why you didn't tell me or the Preventers or anyone else!"
Duo sighed. He realized that he had been doing a lot of that lately. "The DSS has been following various known terrorists and such; and, since I personally know Heero, they had me join him to save you. And, if you hadn't noticed, the Preventers tend to burst into a situation all guns blazing. They're not meant for quiet, infiltration missions like this one."
"What about the missiles aimed at the colonies?"
"They don't exist."
Relena's lips thinned to a line, and she asked, "Is there anything you didn't lie to me about?"
Duo unconsciously cringed at the cold fury in her words. "All in all, no, other than I do want to help you."
"So for all I know you could have been taking me back to Heero this entire time."
"If I've been doing that, why have I been putting so much effort into it?"
"To lull me into a false sense of security."
Duo grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer. "I only lull pretty girls into a false sense of security for one reason," he whispered.
Relena tilted her head. She felt that if she asked him what he meant, she would be falling directly into some sort of trap, but her curiosity overrode her better judgment. "And what's that?"
Duo smirked, inclined his head towards hers, and then pulled back. "You're not relaxed. Can't do it."
It was Relena's turn to sigh. She rolled her shoulders in an attempt to loosen her back muscles. "There, I'm relaxed. Lulled into a fal-" She was cut off by Duo leaning towards her again and covering her lips with his own.
The kiss lasted only the briefest of moments, but it was long enough to leave her breathless and completely confused.
Duo pulled away and winked. "Now you know never to lower your guard around me."
Relena shook her head in bewilderment and chuckled softly. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Diffuse a tense situation. Does anyone ever stay mad at you for more than two minutes?"
"Wu-man. Definantly Wu-man."
She laughed and headed to the van. "Will you agree not to lie to me anymore?"
Duo nodded. "And as an extra bonus, I'll answer any question you have truthfully. Other than where babies come from- still haven't figured that one out."
Relena laughed again. "Do you ever stop?"
"Is that your question?"
"No. Where are you taking me?"
"Well, I was headed for Preventers HQ. Even though they wouldn't be able to rescue you from Heero, they can certainly protect you better than I can."
Relena reached the van and sat in the driver's seat. "You've managed to keep him away so far."
Duo plopped down next to her. "Only because of my excellent driving skills!"
Relena snorted. "Well, you'll see my excellent driving skills in a minute."
As she pulled out of the gas station, Duo suddenly realized where he was sitting. "Hey! Who said you could drive?"