December 9, 2000
Sequel to 'Have You Ever...'
Standard Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
Quatre had been surprised when he returned to Peacemillion and found Duo already there.
"Q-man! Great to see ya! Whadaya been up to, huh? Better yet, what took ya so long? the braided 02 pilot began the minute Quatre stepped free of the shuttle.
"Duo! the blonde had responded immediately, engulfing the other boy in a huge hug that left both laughing. "When did you get here? I thought you were still on L2? Have you heard from Trowa? Is he here too?
"Whoa! Whoa! *I'm* the one asking questions here! Duo grinned, dragging his friend down to the cafeteria so they could 'catch up'.
The animals were settling in for the night, but some were still restless. He scratched the large house cat behind its mane, a soothing action for them both.
"I miss him, he told the lion, "but I know I shouldn't. I shouldn't get too attached to him. Especially not now, when we are fighting a war. Either one of us could die at any moment, I know. But...
The boy sighed, leaning his head against the bars. "I should leave, he said standing up.
"Oh, but, Trowa! You just got here, Catherine cried, coming up behind him.
"I know, Cathy, but there's a war going on. He turned and looked down at her. "I am needed somewhere else.
She looked ready to yell at him, but then bit her lip. "I understand, she said in a small voice. "Please--please be carefully, Trowa. I would be--very... sad, if something were to happen to you...
He studied her face, knowing she was saying the truth, but not understanding why. Why did she care so much for him? He was nothing but another soldier, a good acrobat, and an unemotional clown.
"I will, Cathy, he said, leaning forward and brushing his lips across her forehead.
He sat in the darkened room, in absolute silence, the screen before him bright with the view of Earth. His mind raced, his body was cold, his heart was contracting painfully in his chest.
'So beautiful...' he thought sadly looking upon the image of his home. 'So beautiful, and yet, so deadly...'
'Zechs... what are you thinking? You know you can tell me anything...'
"Trieze... I don't want to be your enemy..." the blonde man whispered hoarsely to the empty room, the image of Earth burning into his retinas.
Heero had returned to the cockpit to find Wufei gone and the autopilot on. He wasn't worried. It wasn't like there was too much they could run into in space, and there weren't too many places the Chinese boy could run to on the small ship.
They were about half an hour away from Peacemillion's current position, but Heero knew the old man in charge over there would have peaked their sensors past normal and the shuttle he was on would soon catch their notice.
"Unidentified shuttle, this is the Peacemillion."
He loved being right. He smirked and flipped the switch to com unit. "This is pilot 01," he said calmly, his voice not betraying his smile.
"Heero? Heero Yuy? Is that you?"
"Howard." Heero nodded, his smile dissolving the minute the view screen flared to life.
"Well, by gods! Look it that! And here I thought you would've gone and self-destructed yourself again! Hey kid, how's that gundam of yours? You bang her up yet?"
"Nothing that can't be repaired," Heero answered, knowing the old man loved to repair things--even if Zero *was* in perfect condition. "I have Gundam 05 with me as well. It's in need of repair."
"What? That Chang kid's with ya? Banged up his Gundam already? Damn! And I just repaired that thing! Jeeze! He must have more of a death wish than you do!"
"It must appear so," Wufei said from over Heero's shoulder, slipping into the co-pilot's seat again.
"Hello, Wufei!"
"Greetings, Howard," Wufei replied, nodding his head. "And how are you this day?"
"Not too bad, not too bad!" Howard returned. "Been quiet around this way lately, but with Duo arriving last night and Quatre coming in this morning, and now you two droppin' on by, things look to be picking up!"
"Duo and Quatre are there?"
"Yeah, like I said, came in this morning," Howard said, mopping his forehead with a dirt rag. "Now, all ya need to do is find that tall boy of yer's and you'll be a complete team again!"
Both boys were quiet, digesting that.
"Oiya! Hold on! There's another shuttle comin--"
"Peacemillion, this is Trowa Barton," Heero and Wufei could hear from over their connection.
"Oiya! Trowa! Was just wondering where you were at boy!"
"Howard," Heero called the older man's attention back to him. "Tell Trowa that we will meet after we dock."
"Sure thing, Heero, hey! Is it important? You look all serious."
"Yes," the Japanese boy replied before closing the link.
End of Part 13: Return to Peacemillion
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com