Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Angel and the Assassin ❯ You're Beautiful... Oops! ( Chapter 3 )

i do not own Gundam Wing! however, any and all original characters and ideas belong to me. please do not steal them!

 

 

 

The Angel and The Assassin

 

 

It was a beauty that I saw --

So pure, so perfect, as the frame

Of all the universe were lame

To that one figure, could I draw,

Or give least line of it a law:

A skein of silk without a knot!

A fair march made without a halt!

A curious form without a fault!

A printed book without a blot!

All beauty! -- and without a spot.

 

 

- A Vision Of Beauty by Ben Jonson

 

 

 

Chapter 3: You're Beautiful... Oops!

 

 

 

 

Laya quickly slid her gaze to her brother as he took a step towards her. Apparently, he had regained his breath, and from the murderous look on his face it seemed murder itself was definitely an option. "You try something like that again, and it sure as hell will be the last," Heero ground out in a gravelly voice, which accompanied by that look, would have made Quatre sweat if it were directed at him. Narrowing her eyes, Laya seemed to take that as a challenge, tensing up to attack.

 

"Enough!" Sally spoke sharply. "There will be no more fighting. You two are on the same team from now on. Is that clear?"

 

Twin Yuy 'Death Glares' were directed at her, but other than swallowing Sally did not show any signs of backing down.

 

Heero took a step back and Quatre could tell that he was forcing himself to do even that much. Laya didn't seem to be even that willing. "Do you always do what you're told?" she taunted in a low voice.

 

Her words hung in the air like a noose awaiting its victim. Quatre watched as Heero's fists clenched and before he realized he was moving, Quatre was beside Heero and placing a calming hand on his shoulder. Heero's eyes jerked to his in mild surprise that was quickly masked with a glare, and Quatre was suddenly aware of everyone's attention focused on him. Especially Laya's. His mouth went dry and his mind was suddenly blank.

 

Just great. Why had he stopped him again? Where was the voice that was supposed to offer a pacifying suggestion and keep everyone calm? Why was it failing him now? Why was she so distracting? No! Now wasn't the time to think about that! Heero shifted as though he were about to shove Quatre's hand off and his mind instantly snapped back into action.

 

"I'm sorry, Mis-... ah! Laya," he quickly amended. "But I don't think this is the time for fighting. We're here to deal with a threat and since you're now on our team, we should be working together. I think we should focus on the mission, don't you?" Quatre smiled gently and dropped his hand from Heero's shoulder.

 

Laya stared at him intently for a minute and then nodded and moved towards the meeting table. "If you insist... Quatre." The way she said his name made his skin tingle. Quatre couldn't understand it. They're were so many women just as beautiful as Laya, but none of them caused sensations in him like she did. There was something about her that drew him to her and he just couldn't place his finger on what it was.

 

Sally cleared her throat and walked to front end of the table. "Well, now that we're all here, I'll have Heero brief you on what has been found out so far." She motioned for Heero to come up as the others took their seats.

 

"The name of the organization is unknown. Other than traces of an illegal weapons purchase it doesn't seem to exist. Their intentions are unknown except for one thing. Relena is their target and they've hired someone else to do it."

 

"You don't know who they hired, Heero?" Quatre asked when he paused. Heero shook is head and Quatre frowned. This was bad. If they didn't know anything about the orginization or who was even going to try to kill Miss Relena there wasn't much they could do to prepare for an attack.

 

"It's possible they have a legitimate corporation to hide behind but if we can't even figure out what they're called then it's next to impossible to find out what they're hiding behind. I've increased security around Relena. She won't be going anywhere without an escort. She will also be using an office here at headquarters instead of at ESUN's Diplomatic Embassy," Heero continued.

 

That was certainly logical. It would be much safer for Miss Relena to be in a building full of Preventors even if the Embassy had security guards there already. Quatre's eyes widened slightly when he felt a wave of anger coming from Laya's direction. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but she showed no hint of the emotion Quatre's empathy allowed him to feel from her. She was staring impassively at Heero seemingly completely focused on the briefing. Quatre was confused. Was she upset that Relena would be coming here? That didn't make sense. Did she not like Miss Relena? He couldn't understand that either. He was fairly certain they had never met, so why was she angry?

 

So focused on Laya, he nearly missed that Heero was assigning them jobs until Duo nudged him under the table with his foot. He looked over and saw that Heero was staring at him expectantly.

 

"Ah! I'm sorry, Heero. Could you repeat that?" he asked a little sheepishly.

 

If Heero was annoyed at having to repeat himself, he didn't show it, and Quatre was glad that no one seemed to notice he had been staring at Laya. He forced himself to forget about her and focus on the rest of the meeting.

 

As soon as it was over, Duo wasted no time in bouncing over to the newcomer and trying to make friends. Unfortunately, Quatre could tell that his chatter was quickly becoming a hazard to his health and begin to make his way over to them before Laya decided to end things violently.

 

"Hey, Quat! Don't you think it's kinda creepy how much she looks like Heero? She even has the same glare," Duo spoke up when he arrived.

 

"So I'm just his double. Is that it?" Laya spat out in obvious annoyance.

 

'Uh-oh! I've got to fix this quickly or we won't be much of a team at all!' Quatre thought in a slight panic. Laya looked ready to pound Duo's head in. But what could he say? Laya's fists clenched and suddenly, for the first time since his childhood, Quatre blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

 

"Not at all, Laya. You're beautiful!"

 

The sudden silence in the room was deafening and Quatre felt his face overheating with embarrassment. What have I done?

 

Laya's eyes had widened slightly and she seemed more than a little surprised at Quatre's outburst. Then without warning, her mouth twitched and her whole face seemed to soften slightly. "You're very... Interesting, Quatre. And perhaps not as bad as I first thought," she said almost thoughtfully. Then with the slightest of bows, she said, "Dozo yoroshiku ne," and walked out the door.

 

Quatre was shocked. She hadn't been the least bit bothered by his words. And her last sentence! It was almost as if she wanted to be friends! He suddenly realized he was being stared at and looked up to meet Duo's amused violet eyes. "What?" he couldn't help asking.

 

"Nothing, man. Just wondering how the hell you do it."

 

"Do what?"

 

"Defuse potentially dangerous situations with a few sentences and a smile."

 

"I do no-...!" Something clicked in his mind and Quatre couldn't help but look at his friend in annoyance. "You were teasing her on purpose!"

 

Duo shrugged. "I was just testing her a little. Besides," he added with a small shudder, "she seems to be more prone to hurting me than Heero so I won't be doing that too often."

 

Quatre hoped he wouldn't do it at all.

 

 

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Japanese Translation:

 

"Dozo yoroshiku ne" = usually used when greeting or meeting someone but literally means "Please give favors to me" or "Please treat me kindly". In this case, Laya is trying to convey to Quatre that she wants him to treat her as a friend or think of her in a nice way.