Standard disclaimers. Any minor characters you don't recognize, you don't recognize for a reason. In essence, I just gave them names and created them cause I needed them. To my knowledge, they don't exist in the show. If you want, write about it! (Suzaku1f@aol.com) --Kitsune-chan

Conflicting Obsessions: Part Two

Heero Yuy could not believe his bad luck. 'Of all the times! Of all the pilots! It had to be that braided baka to walk in on the Bitch Lady right then! Damn! What am I going to do?' The Wing pilot spared a glance at the cause of all this trouble. 'Damn, if only I hit girls!' Relena was sitting, drinking tea and chatting with Quatre, and kept glancing over at Heero happily. 'She just doesn't get the point! Should I just scream that I hate her? I wish I could've found Duo. Damn, he's a fast runner and he had too big of a head start. If Relena hadn't clung so tight, I could've just tossed her off and then I would've caught up to him. But nooo! She had to hold on and whisper *that* to me!'

Running over the unfortunate encounter for the millionth time that night, he once more cursed the timing of Duo's entrance and the entire occurrence of Relena's love confession.

"...Would you like some tea, Heero?" Quatre asked, looking more than a little concerned. Heero nodded and took the cup as he thought over how many times he had said the word damn ever since he saw his heart run out the door with a hint of water in his eyes.

"At least 86..." he muttered. Quatre looked up, puzzled.

"At least 86 what? And by the way, have you seen Duo?" Quatre asked innocently, either missing or ignoring Relena's smirk and Heero's twitch. He continued, seemingly unaware, "I needed to tell him that a mission has come up for him."

"A mission for Duo? Alone?" Heero questioned, a little surprised. If it were a single person mission, he or Trowa normally took it. He shrugged and settled to hear Quatre's explanation.

Oo-~~~-oO

Quatre Raberba Winner sipped his tea. 'I wouldn't survive without my 'Desert Breeze' tea!' he thought happily to himself. He chose not to notice the "Wing Zero Death Glare", as Duo called it, that Heero was shooting Relena every twenty seconds. Let's hear it for selective sight.

"Well, you see, I got a message today, saying that one of us had to infiltrate Treize Khushrenada's latest base. The thought is to get close to General Vingt-sept. It has been made clear that he is looking to adopt an heir, and if one of us can endear ourselves to him, so much the better."

"And you chose Duo...?" Heero managed to say.

"Not exactly, but I would have anyway. Duo was suggested, as he does make friends so easily. He also seems to be one of the least suspicious of us. If you went, you'd probably get your butt kicked for being such a moody, violent person, not to mention getting disinherited," Quatre said conversationally, sipping his tea. Heero sweatdropped.

Oo-~~~-oO

Relena Peacecraft giggled wickedly to herself. 'Duo has a solo mission, ne? Perfect! I get Heero all to myself without that braided moron to get in my way. I can't believe Heero has been moping about that all night. He does look cute in a pout though... But it's just not right! Why should he care for that... that... loud-mouthed *idiot*?" (Chibi Kitsune pops in and whaps Relena for saying such awful things ^_^)

Rubbing her aching head, Relena picked up her cup of tea and listened to the details of Duo's mission, trying to estimate how long he would be gone.

Oo-~~~-oO

Heero Yuy could not decide whether to be happy that Duo would be gone for at least a month or to cry. 'First, you need to decide whether or not you like the tight feeling in your chest whenever you see him, or at every expression, or at every word...' Shaking his head in disgust, the Wing pilot chastised himself. 'You're getting soft. This is a good thing. This time will give you a chance to sort out and stop this weird reaction to that baka.' He nodded to himself decisively.

"Fine," Heero retreated back into single-syllable sentences. Quatre raised an eyebrow, about to question the slightly wavery tone in Heero's voice, but instead jumped up and ran over to hug Trowa hello. Trowa smiled, ever silent, and caught Quatre in mid-air.

Quatre resumed his composure and beamed at Trowa, welcoming him home.

Oo-~~~-oO

Heero Yuy felt his resolve weaken. The Japanese boy watched the glitter in Quatre's eyes when he saw Trowa. Also the way Trowa's entire composure lightened. 'Duo always greets me like that...' He almost, almost changed his mind, forbidding Duo to go. But the voice that Doctor J had cultivated so well, creating the Perfect Soldier, spoke up slyly. 'Isn't that cute? They need each other so much! How cute it would be to watch them on the battle field, sacrificing themselves pointlessly for each other!' That set Heero's mindframe back to the cold, slight distaste for Duo. He couldn't let himself get weak.

Oo-~~~-oO

Chang Wufei slipped silently into the apartment, welcoming the painful wrench in his heart at the sight of the golden-haired pilot flying through the air at Trowa. Slipping off his shoes, he glanced over at Heero and the parasite known as Relena Peacecraft sitting in chairs, sipping tea. 'Probably 'Desert Breeze'... Quatre's favorite.'

As he glanced at Heero, the pained, twisted expression caught his eye. 'Robot-boy is suffering? Could it be like my suffering, watching Quatre throw himself into Trowa's arms? Or is he thinking fondly of that braided baka? Feh. More likely bad tea.' Wufei snorted.

The three standing pilots took seats, Wufei sitting across from Relena.

"Wufei, would you like some tea?" Quatre inquired. Wufei stared into those cornflower blue eyes for a minute before answering.

"Yes, please. Where is Maxwell?" Wufei asked, glancing sidelong at Heero as he voiced the question. At Heero's involuntary twitch, Wufei almost smiled. 'Gotcha, Spandex-butt. Feh, it's not as if this couldn't be expected. You treat him like crap. I bet he left your sorry ass for some nice, pretty girl.' The Chinese boy secretly took pleasure in tormenting Heero, in a more subtle and effective way than Duo's preferred method. He just didn't enjoy chattering like that; he was sure that Duo's tongue was the strongest muscle in his body.

"Well, actually, we don't know. But he has a mission I'd like to tell him about tonight, and it's late, so I hope he gets back soon," Quatre answered Wufei's question, unexpectedly, looking at his watch. The petite blonde dropped his fists onto his hips and made a little frustrated noise. Wufei stared, mesmerized.

"Actually, I have some kind of idea why he's out so late," Relena piped up, her voice grating against Wufei's ears like the sound of sandpaper on steel. He winced and waited for her to go on.

Oo-~~~-oO

Relena Peacecraft's voice came as a conspiratorial whisper.

"Actually, I have some kind of idea why he's out so late."

She waited and gauged the different pilots' reactions. Wufei looked a little pained for some reason, Quatre looked interested, Trowa looked... well... like Trowa, but she couldn't expect a reaction out of him. But Heero, oh Heero, his caught, guilty expression was priceless. 'Heh, I own you now, Heero Yuy! When I tell them that he caught us in a compromising position, they'll wonder why he was so upset. You'll have to deny any feelings for Duo, or else they'll think you like him! And once you do that, you're all mine!'

"Duo walked in-" Relena started, going slowly, enjoying the squirming of her lovely prey, but was interrupted by the apartment's door being opened. The intruder had a cloud of chestnut around him, with black leather pants and some kind of blue shirt. He stood there, wavering a bit before collapsing to the ground.

"Duo!" Heero was the first to leap up, with the other pilots quickly in tow. Heero picked up the unconscious boy, cradling him. Relena watched, furious, as the boys followed her prey to Heero and Duo's shared bedroom. Not about to let Duo steal the stage for long, Relena stormed after the small procession.

End of Part Two!

Author's notes: If you think Wufei is out of character... tough noogies... I like the idea of Wufei calling Heero "Spandex-butt"! E-mail me at Suzaku1f@aol.com please! It's what keeps writers writing! (Anything! I'm begging you!)--Kitsune-chan