"Gundam Wing" and the characters belonging to that show do not belong to me. I am just borrowing them to play with them for a while. I will return them eventually. perhaps a bit worse for wear, but I will still return them.

feb 2002

Heero looked down at the young man seated in front of him. He was taller than he remembered, somewhat skinnier, and had changed his hair. It was shorter and white. Pure snow white at the roots and yellowish for the rest. Like it had been died and the colour was almost faided. But the eyes were the same color violet. The shape of the face the same. He knew without a doubt that this was Duo Maxwell sitting in the chair before him looking confused and bedraggled. Duo, after three years of being "missing in action", was alive and working at a local supermarket. A Gundam pilot a check out chick. It was almost rediculouse. "Please be gentle with him." The other one, Sally, had all but begged Heero. Gentle. Yeah, right. They had kept him here to question and requestion him about the hold-up insident for several hours. 'Peter' kept looking at his watch.

"I'm surprised to see you." Heero said, placing his cold mask persona back on.

Duo, being now called 'Peter', furrowed his brow in confusion. "Probably not half as surprised as I am." He looked down at his watch and frowned. "Um... is there something else you wanted to ask me? I kinda have to do some things soon."

"Prior engagement?" Wufie asked, sceptical. 'Peter' nodded.

"Something like that." He sipped his tea.

"Shouldn't be too much longer."

There was a few moments of silence before Heero spoke again.

"You changed your hair." Heero said out of the blue.

'Peter' raised an eye brow. "No I haven't." An alarm on his watch went off, and he hastened to silence it. "You have a problem with it? I've had my hair like this for as long as I can remember. What is this really about? Do you think I'm one of the guys who tried to rob the store, because if you do then you're wrong. I saved the store." He was starting to get aggitated.

"That's not exactly what we wanted to talk to you about, no." Wufie was talking again.

'Peter' grunted and rolled his eyes, then rubbed his temples.

"There is something that happened in there that concerns us. You see three years ago a coligue of ours went missing. No body was ever found."

"I feel for you, truely. But what has that got to do with me?"

Heero leaned forward. "He liked to call himself 'the God of death', like you did in there."

"Yeah? So? So does every guy my age. There's no law against that, is there...?" 'Peter' searched Heero's torso for a name badge and frowned when he found none. "How do I know you guys are special agent's anyway? I don't even know your names. Aren't you guy's supposed to have badges or something?" Both agents flashed their badges, allowing 'Peter' time to read over them.

"Have you been here all this time?" There was something in Heero's voice that Peter was unsure about. Anger? Hope?

"What do you mean, 'All this time'?" He asked slowly, leaning forward in his chair with curiosity.

"Since the war." Heero said.

Something drained from Peter's eyes and he looked away from them. While he was searching the wall for something to say, his watch beeped again, and he shushed it. Finally he was able to find his words. "Every one tells me there was this big war. And that it was really recent. But I don't remember it. The doctors say that I was badly injured. Really badly injured. They say that I'm lucky to not be a vegtable, let alone alive. They say I may recover some of my memory eventually, but they are not holding their breaths." He wrapped shakey arms around himself.

Heero and Wufei exchanged glances.

"So, yeah. I suppose." Peter shrugged. "I guess I must have been here since the war. I don't remember being anywhere else." He wouldn't meet their eyes and say that.

"How do we know that is the truth?" Heero crossed his arms over his chest. Peter leaned angrily across the desk top and yanked his fringe up, revealing a long silver scar that started above his left eye brow and continued back into his hair. Violet eyes flashed with fury.

"How the fuck to do you explain that, huh? Go ask my doctors if you don't believe me. Right now I'm out of here." He shoved against the desk top to push himself up and headed for the door. Wufei was a solid block in his path. "Right. Fine. That's how you're going to be then?" 'Peter' dropped into a defencive stance, one that resembled a cat in mid spring. Heero and Wufei raised their eye brows as they looked at each other from opposite sides of the room.

"I do not wish to fight you," Wufei faltered in calling 'Peter' Duo. "That would acheive nothing."

"Then get the fuck out of my way!" 'Peter' screamed, for some reason sounding paniced, the whites of his eyes dominating over the violet. Heero inclined his head and Wufei stepped to the side. 'Peter' all but ran from the room with the two agents on his heels. He ran directly to the room where they had been keeping his back pack while he was being questioned. The lady behind the desk gave it to him with a dissaprooving look, and 'Peter' immediately crouched on the floor under the counter and began to rummage through his bag. Books, pens, food of various kinds, all were flung over his shoulder, obviously not what he was desperate to find. Heero and Wufei watched from a few meters away as 'Peter' finally tipped his bag upsidedown, completely emptying its contents. Then he bagan to sift through the bits of stuff so franticly it was scary to watch.

"Nooooo..." He began to whine when he couldn't find what he was looking for. "Oh no no no no noooo...."

Heero moved to 'Peter's side when 'Peter' curled in on himself and began sobbing and rocking. Muttering things to himself. Heero placed a hand gently upon 'Peter's shoulder who flinched away from the contact.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" 'Peter' screamed getting all panicy again. Heero raised his arms, palms forward to show he meant no harm.

"It's okay, Du- uh, Peter." Heero tried to sooth him. "I want to help you. What are you looking for?"

'Peter's expression crumbled from violent to helplessness. "My pills." He sobbed again. "I need to take my pills. But i can't find them! Where are my pills?" He yanked at his hair and fell to the floor in search through his things again.

"Could you have left them at home?" Heero suggested. 'Peter's head shot up at that and he gave Heero a shearching look. Heero saw something in 'Peter's eyes shifting. 'Peter' closed his eyes with a grimace.

"My head hurts." He said softly.

"Where do you live?" Wufei asked slowly, helping distract 'Peter' as Heero looked through a black diary from his bag. 'Peter' gave Wufie an utterly bewildered look. Like Wufei was speaking another language or something. Heero found the address, and then scooped everything back into 'Peter's bag.

"Come on." Heero said grabbing hold of 'Peter's arm and pulling him to his feet like so much dead weight. Heero hefted the back pack over his shoulder. "I'll take you home. Okay?"

'Peter' just stared at Heero, and allowed himself to be dragged along.

Wufei watched the two leave. "I'll call you when we get there." Heero turned his head to call back to Wufei. Wufei gave a dismissive little wave and watched them go.

to be continued...