Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Battle of the Heart (formerly untitled) ❯ Friendly Company ( Chapter 11 )

Author's Note: Whew. Here it is, at long last. Chapter 11. Sorry to keep everyone waiting.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Gundam Wing…but I'm working on it.

"Friendly Company"

Zechs stood in the center of an extensive, elaborately decorated corridor. He looked up and down the hall, his light blue eyes clouded over; resigning his search with a sigh, he folded his arms across his chest.

"Something wrong?" a feminine voice queried, and the prince turned to see Lucrezia leaning against the wall casually. Her expression was one of curiosity, and her raven eyebrows were drawn together. She was staring at him without blinking, pointedly waiting for an answer. Zechs ran a hand through his floppy blonde bangs, sighing once more.

"Relena disappeared again."

"Disappeared?" Noin repeated, pushing off of the wall and coming to stand in front of her friend. "Again?"

Zechs nodded. "She's always running off somewhere for the longest periods of time. I never know where she's going." Lucrezia raised a finger to the side of her chin in mock-thought.

"Hmm. Kind of like the time when you and I snuck out on those horses to the middle of the forest one afternoon?" she asked, raising one eyebrow as high as it would go. She smiled teasingly.

"Well-"

"Or the time we snuck out through the back gardens?"

"But-"

"Or the time we-"

"All right, all ready!" Zechs interjected, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "You make a valid point, Lucrezia. But she's my baby sister, and I'm supposed to worry about her."

Lucrezia leaned into Zechs's chest, smiling when his hands came up to rest on her arms. "She's probably just out exploring, anyway." She smirked slightly. "It's not like she's out with some boy or anything…" Zechs's body tensed against hers, his muscles clenching.

"That's not funny," he deadpanned. Noin pulled away, grinning impishly at him.

"On the contrary…" she trailed off.

Zechs gazed sidelong at the woman suspiciously. "You don't happen to know something I don't, do you?" She shook her head.

"I know how much you worry about her," she told him, more serious this time. "You know I wouldn't add to your monstrously large stress levels." She accompanied this last statement with a wink. Zechs smiled, allowing Lucrezia to slip her hand into his and drag him down the hall.

"At least…not on purpose…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sally pulled the warm rag off Wufei's forehead, replacing it in a clay bowl full of cool water. She squeezed out the excess, replacing the chilly, wet rag on his forehead. His normally healthy, tan face was flushed with fever, and his skin was clammy and damp. The sword wound in his stomach had been dressed and redressed, but his fever had not yet broken. His dangerously high body temperature was compromising his life, leaving his friends in a state of worry.

Duo sat beside Sally, his legs interlaced Indian-style. His arms were folded across his chest, his face unusually somber. Hilde sat on his other side, knees pulled up to her chest tightly. The trio hadn't moved in hours, and no one spoke a word. Quatre and Trowa would come and go, bringing back fresh water, or bandages. The 'phantoms' had been extremely helpful, though the shows of appreciation hadn't been overly exuberant.

"Quatre?" Sally called as the blonde-haired man once again emerged from the tree branches, climbing onto the platform. Duo and Hilde gave her weird looks, uncertain as to why she had started talking. "Is it all right if we…I mean…if we stayed here…at least until Wufei gets better?" No one missed the unspoken if. It hung in the air heavily, like a damp, musky fog.

"Of course, Miss Sally," Quatre said, his bright eyes showing his compassion. "That is why I brought you here, to help you." Sally muttered a 'thank you', returning to her fallen comrade.

"Why?" Duo asked suddenly, running his hand through the top of his braid for the umpteenth time. "Why are you helping us, man?"

Quatre looked uncomfortable, shifting his gaze to the floor. He was spared from answering when Trowa swung up onto the platform.

"It is our business why," the emerald-eyed man stated sternly, casting Duo a firm glance. "You are in no position to refuse, or to question our help."

Duo seemed surprised by this, his darkened violet eyes widening. Sally and Hilde, for their part, ignored the enigma of a man, their eyes unfocused, staring into nothingness. Quatre watched the group for a while longer, his lips closed tightly in thought, as if in a silent debate with himself.

"I'll watch over your friend," the blonde stated after a pause, watching as three pairs of questioning eyes turned towards him. "You all must be very tired; you should get some rest. You're going to need to be at your best health in order to continue your journey." His unyielding expression killed any protests they might have had. Duo accepted a blanket without hesitation, lying down and rolling up the cloth into a makeshift pillow. He watched silently as Hilde glanced at him with uncertainty, before crawling over and curling up beside him. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, sighing softly when he drew his arm around her.

Sally was across the platform, a few feet away from where Wufei was lying. Quatre was sitting beside the Chinese man, but watching Sally with concern. She offered him a weak smile, lying on her side on the floor and drawing her knees up to her chest. She glanced up when she felt a cloth being draped over her, and watched as Trowa pulled a blanket around her weary, sore body. She had time to be mildly amused-and touched-- by the gesture, before sleep claimed her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Relena grinned widely, tossing a handful of wildflowers in the air, and spinning in circles as they fell down around her. She laughed as some petals got stuck in her hair and other clung to her dress. She picked up some more flowers, which were dotted all over the wide meadow. The sun shown down upon her skin, giving her a warm feeling inside-out.

She carried the plants over to a patch of trees, where a young man was resting against the trunk of a large beech tree. His tousled, chocolate hair was darkened in the shade of the leafy tree. Her breath was ragged, partially from her jumping and running, and partially from the look of him reclining against the tree.

"Heero…" she whispered as she got near, sitting down beside him. She set the flowers down; pulling out a small purple one, she began braiding the small plant in her hair. She had left her blonde hair down today, and it was rustled and tangled from the springtime winds. Heero watched her closely, his Prussian blue eyes heavily guarded.

"Here," he said quietly, taking the flower from her. "I'll do it."

Relena's lips pulled back in a brilliant smile. "All right." She leaned against his chest as he threaded his fingers through her hair, placing the flora amidst her honey tresses. It wasn't often she got to spend time with Heero, and she treasured every moment. As luck would have it, Relena was born a princess, and Heero, a lowly stable boy.

This tiny detail didn't stop the young lovers from their covert meetings. But lately it was becoming harder and harder for them to sneak away without mishap.

"I think my brother's getting suspicious," Relena said suddenly, breaking the warm silence. She felt Heero's hands cease their movements, and the young princess could actually feel the tension radiating from him. "I won't let him find out, Heero." She turned around, so she was facing him. "You could get in so much trouble…"

Heero moved one of his hands from her hair, stroking the smooth skin of her cheek softly. He leaned forward, his lips a breath away from hers. "It would be worth it," he murmured, before fully closing the distance between their mouths.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sally opened her eyes, and immediately regretted waking up in the first place. Her muscles felt stiff, and when she tried to move them the dull aches turned into throbbing pains. Her form was sore from her exercises of the other day, and also from sleeping on a hard wooden floor, with nothing padding her body. As the events of the past day ran through her mind, the young woman sat up abruptly, eyes darting frantically about the platform.

Quatre was seated where he was the last time she saw him. He turned his head when he heard her stir, and smiled encouragingly at her. "His fever broke."

Sally let out a sigh of relief, crawling over beside the blonde man and looking down at her friend. Wufei's face had lost the flushed color, and sweat was no longer running down his face. She was amazed at how peaceful he looked, compared to his normally gruff exterior.

"Has he woken up yet?" she inquired, leaning forward and touching his forehead, as if to ascertain to herself his condition. His skin felt warm, but healthily so.

"Not yet," Quatre told her, "but he does need his rest. He'll be waking up soon."

Sally had difficulty swallowing. "So…he's out of danger?" Quatre looked at her sidelong, but she was still looking at Wufei.

"He's out of immediate danger," he said after a moment, trying to placate her. "But until his wound heals, there is always the chance of infection, and reopening the wound." Sally nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He gave her the truth, without trying to sugarcoat any of the details. She appreciated that immensely.

"Thank you so much, Quatre," she said sincerely, breaking her gaze from the fallen knight towards the young man beside her.

"It's really no trouble," he assured her quietly. "No trouble at all."

Sally didn't appear convinced. "But, if Trowa hadn't of found Wufei…he would still be lying in the forest still. And he'd-"

"But he did find him," Quatre said soothingly, placing a hand on Sally's shoulder. "Now, why don't you go back to sleep. Your friend will be fine." Sally shook her head.

"No, you've done so much all ready. You get some sleep, and I'll watch over Wufei."

Quatre looked ready to protest for a moment, but he smiled and nodded, instead. He crawled over to where Sally had left the blanket she was using. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to wake me. Trowa should be back soon, too."

Sally scooted closer to Wufei. "All right."

Quatre's breathing soon evened as he fell into a deep, much-needed sleep. Sally kept watch over Wufei, waiting for him to wake up. When he remained still, she reached out her hand hesitantly, touching his hand, which rested on the wooden platform. She curled her fingers around his hand, taking it in her own. But his breathing remained even, and he still did not open his eyes.

A/N: I normally don't do this, but I thought I should respond to each reviewer individually. ^_^ Just because.

Mama-sama- Thanks for the nice comments!! ^_^ You always give happy reviews. I like happy reviews. Hehe.

Chibi Tsuki- I'm glad you liked it! I wanted to try and find a way to introduce Quatre and Trowa, and then I realized I could incorporate them into Sally's escape. =)

LuLuDucky- Well, here's more! Sorry it took so long, but thanks for reviewing!

Callisto Nicol- Here's a little bit of Zechs and Noin. There will be more of them once Sally and the others meet up at King Peacecraft's castle. If they get there…lol.

Winter's Roar- I tried to end it with some hope for Wufei. Thank you so much for your kind reviews!!

Chibi noin- I try to make them longer, I really do. This one's even shorter than the last one, I think. I'll try to make them longer, though. ^_^

Silver Magiccraft- Sorry, I know you were the only one opposed to adding Heero and Relena. I kind of agreed with you, though, since it makes more work for me. ^_^ What have I gotten myself into? Anyway, thank you for the nice reviews!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. I hope you review again…^_^ reviews make me happy!