Relena sighed relievedly as she collapsed on to a bed. The motel they had stopped at was only a day or so's drive from Preventer Headquarters. The motel was not only so very close to safety, it was also very clean.
She heard the shower start and Duo begin to sing. Her lips curled into a smile. Duo had an amazingly good singing voice, and Relena fell asleep serenaded by Spin Doctors' "Two Princes."
"Hey, 'Lena!"
The call woke her, and she opened her eyes to see Duo's face not two inches from her own.
"Let's go out!"
Relena sat up, shoving his head out of the way. "Out? Where?"
"Just out."
"But I'm tired."
"Relena, as soon as we get back to HQ, you're going to be whisked away and locked back up in your office with fifty billion guards. I wouldn't be surprised if you never saw the light of day again. You need to have some fun. So far, all we've done is run from Heero. That's exciting, but not fun. I try to avoid it whenever possible."
Relena only paid attention to half of what her long-winded companion said. "I'm almost afraid to ask what your definition of fun is."
"Clubbing."
"Clubbing? As in caveman clubbing or night club clubbing."
Duo grinned and hefted an imaginary club. "Me Duo. Duo going to drag 'Lena off to cave to be Duo's mate."
Relena laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"'Lena don't believe Duo?"
"Nope."
Duo abruptly stood. "Duo prove it." He scooped Relena up in his arms and threw her over his shoulder. "'Lena believe Duo now?"
Relena was laughing too hard to answer, and Duo set her down.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Relena nodded and noticed something different about Duo. It was so subtle that she couldn't figure out what it was.
Duo, seeing her puzzled expression, guessed what she was wondering. "You like my new hair style?"
Hairstyle? Relena's eyes flitted to his hair, and she gasped. "Your hair's not braided!"
"Well, I did just take a shower. Had to wash my hair and all."
Relena stepped back and studied him. His hair cascaded down past his knees, and Relena noted enviously that it resembled a thick, soft blanket more than hair. She had only ever seen hair that long on Dorothy Catalonia and idly wondered why anyone in their right mind would have such a mass of hair that could tangle so easily. At least Duo kept his braided, but Dorothy...
She was broken out of her train of thought by Duo suddenly striking a pose. "Do I have the body of a god or what?"
Relena blinked. Where had that particular idea of his come from? "What?"
Duo gasped as though hurt and placed his hands to his heart. "'Lena, thy words sting."
Briefly thinking that Duo had lost his mind, Relena snorted and grabbed a handful of his hair.
Duo winced. "Ow! Why'd you have to yank so hard?"
"Because I'm jealous."
"Of the fact that I have more hair than a yeti?"
Relena laughed again. "Yes."
"Well, if you wouldn't get your hair hacked off every few weeks..."
Relena raised an eyebrow. "So you've never had your hair cut?"
"Well," Duo leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "just between you and me, I get it trimmed once in awhile to get rid of split ends, but cut? Nope, never."
Relena shook her head, disbelieving, and said, "We were going clubbing, correct?"
Duo nodded. "Yep. And I even dug through the clothes boxes and found an appropriate outfit for you."
"You did?" Slight worry gnawed at her. She had a sinking feeling about what Duo deemed "appropriate."
Her worry was well rewarded as Duo crossed to the dressers and pulled out a short, black leather skirt and a nearly transparent silver top that Relena was shy to even call a shirt.
She eyed the clothing like they were the results of the plague. "Is that the only appropriate outfit in the boxes?"
"No, I just wanted to see you in something that bared some skin."
Relena looked up sharply, trying to determine whether he was kidding or not. Duo walked the fine line between joking and seriousness so well that it was sometimes difficult to tell.
Duo grinned, confirming her suspicions that he was being anything but serious. "Help me braid my hair?"
"Only if I can wear something less.... revealing."
"Keep the skirt?"
Relena pursed her lips. She knew he wouldn't go down without a fight, but at least he hadn't asked her to keep the shirt. "I guess."
"Woohooo! Show us your legs, 'Lena babe!"
THWACK!
"Ouch. Sorry."
Duo watched Relena from the corner of his eye, while he sat at the bar sipping his first and only drink of the evening. Normally he drank more, but he had to keep his head. Relena was gallivanting around with practically every man in the room. She was as drunk as a skunk and almost completely unaware of what was going on around her.
Duo had had to step in on more than one occasion when a grubby hand had begun to wander up her skirt. He kicked himself. Why had he made Relena wear it? Yes, he could see her legs- and what a fine pair they were- but so could all the other men in the club.
Relena twirled around again in time to the music and, dizzy, fell into the lap of a particularly drunk, burly man.
The man, although momentarily surprised, grinned. "Hello, gorgeous."
Relena giggled and hiccuped. "You really think sho?" Her eyes fell on the beer in front of him. "Can I have shome?"
Without waiting for an answer, she picked the glass up, her hand missing on the first few tries, and downed half the amber liquid.
Duo groaned. Now she was probably going to pass out, and he would have to carry her away from the horde of drunken men. Why did he have to bring her here? He sighed and stood, crossing over to the table where the burly man had suddenly fallen into an alcohol-induced sleep.
On the way, Duo caught sight of the door swinging open and admitting a tall man with a choice of hair style identical to Trowa's. Duo did a double take. There was no way anyone would have hair like that other than Trowa. He cursed. It was Trowa!
Duo reached Relena, pulled her to her feet, and murmured, "We've gotta leave. Trowa's here."
Relena swayed unsteadily and wrapped her arms around Duo's waist, giggling. "Good. He can join the part-eeey."
"No, 'Lena," Duo picked her up and searched for Trowa who had left the entryway, "we don't want Trowa to find us, remember?"
Relena snuggled against his chest. "'Kay, Duo." She suddenly grabbed his braid and pulled it over his shoulder to inspect. "Hey, Duo?"
Duo spotted Trowa making his way around the shadows of the room and started in the opposite direction. "Yes, 'Lena?"
"Your braid'sh pretty. I like your braid. I like you too. You're pretty. I wish I were pretty like you."
Even though they were in danger of being spotted by Trowa, Duo couldn't let a comment like that pass without correcting it. "'Lena, you are pretty."
"I am? Am I...." She crinkled up her nose trying to recall what the burly man had called her. "Am I gorgeoush?"
"Yes, you are. Beautiful too. Now, Relena, can you please be quiet now? We're still trying to get away from Trowa."
Relena nodded and contented herself with playing with his braid, while Duo hurried to the door. He was nearly there when it opened again, and Wufei walked in. The Chinese man was looking away from Duo and his burden, and Duo took the opportunity to duck into a dark corner.
Wufei continued to stand by the door, unknowingly preventing the fugitives' escape. Trowa soon met up with him, and the two conversed in low tones.
As Duo's ears strained to catch a snatch of their conversation, Relena began to hum softly. Duo covered her mouth with his hand. "'Lena babe, can you stop that?"
Relena pulled his hand away and flashed a smile. "Okay, Duo!"
Duo cringed. The inebriated woman had called out loud enough for someone on the other side of the city to hear. And those nearest to them most certainly had.
Wufei and Trowa turned towards the hidden pair; and Duo, realizing that fleeing would be a better choice than staying and hoping to talk himself out of the situation, ran, dodging tipsy drunks and somehow managing to keep a grip on Relena.
He barely noticed as he left the room, racing down a short, dark hallway and flinging himself against a door he instinctively knew led outside. The cold night air hit him; and, glancing around quickly, he headed down the alley.
A car abruptly pulled in front of him, and the driver's window rolled down. Pale blue eyes set in a face that belied its owner's true age stared out at Duo, and the braided man gaped in astonishment.
"Quatre?! What are you doing here? Never mind! We have to go to Preventers HQ!"
Quatre nodded. "I know. Get in."
Duo complied, keeping Relena- who had finally been overcome by the excessive amount of alcohol she had consumed- tucked against his chest. When Quatre didn't immediately start driving, suspicion wormed its way into Duo's mind. "Quatre, we need to leave!"
Before Quatre could answer, the passenger side doors opened, and Trowa and Wufei slid in, Wufei next to Duo.
Duo cursed and reached for the door, but was stopped by Wufei's gun pressing against the side of his head.
"Maxwell, I suggest you come with us."
Duo released the door handle and leaned back into his seat, tightening his hold on Relena. He leveled a glare at Wufei that rivaled Heero's on a bad day and promised many slow, agonizing deaths.
Wufei, although unflinching on the outside, inwardly gulped.