Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

AN: I thought this fic was getting too serious, so here is my ‘lil attempt at humor in this chapter. ^_^ Oh and drinking is bad, kids!!! **sweat drop** Sphinx does NOT condone Duo and Heero’s past rowdy behavior as mentioned later on in the chapter. Thank you! ^_~

Beyond Betrayal: The Lavender Files

Chapter 9: The Laughter [REVISED!!!]

Duo arrived at Quatre’s the following morning as Heero had anticipated. As the Perfect Soldier, Quatre and Relena were sleepily munching on their breakfast, the sweet silence was broken rather abruptly with a loud slam of the front door. Each of the three looked at each other, knowing what was about to come.

With booming, bounding steps, Duo appeared in the kitchen doorway and gave a classic pose. The eating youths waited for one of his famous Shinigami lines, but instead, Duo’s cheerful expression dropped suddenly and he simply wandered over to the table.

Picking out a bowl, milk, and a box of cereal, Duo began assembling his breakfast, humming a little tune in his head and swaying to the silent beat, while the others stopped mid-chew with shock.

“What?” he asked, after a minute of stillness.

“No God of Death intro today?” Quatre questioned after clearing his throat.

“Eh…too predictable,” Duo said casually, and went back to nodding his head to the rhythm in his mind. He then proceeded to play some air guitar while reading the back of his Fruit Loops™ box.

The rest only shook their heads.

“Well, we are glad you’re here, Duo,” Quatre told him seriously.

“Anything for the princess,” Duo said, giving Relena a mischievous smile and a wink.

Over the years, he often saw the girl when at Preventer Headquarters. Their small talks had eventually led to a friendship, and Relena soon considered Duo to be like a brother. She frequently made trips to the L2 colony to visit her quirky, braided friend and had also grown to be great friends with Hilde, who still lived with Duo and helped him out with the garage.

Recently, Duo was slowly trying to break his ties with the Preventers, as he and Hilde were thinking of marriage and starting a family, so Relena had not seen him at Headquarters for quite some time. She was glad to see his familiar face at such a rough period in her life. Somehow, his goofy smile made the world seem less menacing, and she took comfort in it.

<><><> Later that day <><><>

“Have you got all of that?” Heero looked towards Duo, who was intently smoothing some of the strands on the end of his braid, which had grown noticeably longer over the years.

“Yeah, yeah,” Duo answered, looking up from his primping session. “Man, I see you for the first time in years and all you do is give me a briefing. You’ve not changed one bit.”

“Duo, this is serious. Do you understand your role in this operation? A day or so after Spindown purchases materials, he meddles with his transactions, committing fraud in some form or another. We’re going to catch him in the act by carefully monitoring Spindown’s actions once he purchases materials from your garage.”

“Ay, Captain! Understood!” Duo mock-saluted him. “You can count on me!”

Heero gave up. His patience was pushed past its limit when it came to Duo. The irritated man just turned and began walking down the hall, confident that Duo would not fail him. He knew the violet-eyed pilot well enough that when the time came to enter into battle, all playfulness ceased until his job was done.

Duo watched the serious man before him become frustrated and turn away. “Aw…Heero, you know I’m joking,” he called as he ran after his friend.

Having last seen Heero in person on a Preventers’ assignment about three years ago, Duo tried to engage the man in light conversation, wondering what he had been up to.

“So…what has the Perfect Soldier been doing with his time? Meeting any nice ladies?” Duo asked jokingly as he finally caught up to Heero, who only rolled his eyes at the comment.

“I’ve been working a lot at the garage lately,” Duo continued, “if you were wondering…don’t ask how your old pal is doing or anything.”

“How are you doing, Duo?” Heero said in a less than enthusiastic voice to humor his chattering companion.

“Well, since you asked, Hilde and I are thinking of tying the knot,” Duo said proudly. “And we want to have a family, a big family, with lots of little hellions running around,” he said excitedly, thinking of all the things he could teach his children.

“Just like their father,” Heero commented dryly, but on the inside was happy for his friend. He himself never thought of having a family…he wasn’t sure he was pure enough to do so. It was hard for Heero to think that he could create life after all of the death he was responsible for. The Wing Zero pilot was actually still trying to figure out that little feeling called Love, and an affect a certain person was having on him.

“What’s it like having Relena around again?” Duo asked Heero slyly, disturbing his thoughts.

“Oh…well...I,” Heero began slowly, but as the two rounded a corner, something else caught Duo’s attention.

“Well, lookie here, speaking of Relena…” Duo commented as he glanced forward into a room they were about to pass.

Heero stopped suddenly and fell back against the wall, unknowingly tugging at the collar of his shirt--which seemed to have grown rather tight--while looking up at the ceiling.

“Look what I have to go through,” Heero stated momentously, but there was a hint of torture in his voice.

Duo was surprised at the usually composed man’s sudden disheveled appearance. He then took a better look in the doorway next to the wall Heero had leaned upon. He could see Relena in front of a big screen TV in what appeared to be an exercise room.

“She’s doing it again,” Duo could hear Heero mumble in agony as the braided boy watched Relena go through a series of kicks and punches in a tiny tank top and way too short workout shorts.

“You watch her do this stuff?” Duo whispered.

“It is my mission to watch over her at all times,” was Heero’s only reply.

“Kinky,” Duo shrugged before being punched rather hard on the shoulder.

Duo let out an “Ow” which formed into “Rrrow” as Relena did a high kick before he turned back to his friend. He laid a sympathetic hand on Heero’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. It must be hard,” Duo said sarcastically as he took another peek at the former princess.

“You should wait until she does the stretches,” Heero said seriously as he shook his head, which caused a full-blown laugh from Duo. His poor friend was in agony!

“Who’s there?” Relena called, pausing the tape and wiping off her sweat-covered brow.

“Shit,” Duo whispered, still containing his snickers.

“We were just coming to inform you that dinner will be ready in half an hour,” Quatre said politely, coming up behind the two other pilots just as Relena came to the doorway to face them.

Duo let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Quatre had saved them from the embarrassment of being caught spying on Relena. But according to Heero, it wasn’t really spying; he was doing his ‘duty’ by watching over her.

“Thank you, Quatre,” Relena said, still breathing a bit heavy from her workout. “I’ll just finish this tape before I freshen up.”

“What is it you’re doing?” Duo asked her with interest.

“Oh, just a kickboxing tape I found in one of Quatre’s sisters’ fitness collections,” she said nonchalantly.

“One of those things? They don’t teach you anything! So many people do a tape like that and think they can win a fistfight with a Gundam pilot!” Duo laughed.

“Really?” Relena smiled at him. “Alright, Duo Maxwell, let’s see you try it.”

“Oh please…” Duo folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air.

“Come on,” Relena dragged him in the exercise room and started the tape from where she had left off.

“This will be interesting,” Heero looked at Quatre, who only gave a small, worried smile back to him.

Heero noticed this and intently watched Relena and Duo do the exercises. He noted with surprise that Relena did every kick and punch with perfect precision, while Duo was simply joking around.

Growing bored of the tape, Duo’s playful nature kicked in, and an evil smirk spread across his lips as he stopped and watched Relena continue to do some punches.

Bounding towards her, Duo grabbed Relena from behind, and easily scooped the girl up in the air.

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Duo said as he turned to Quatre and Heero with a protesting Relena draped over his shoulder. “Little Miss Kick Boxer thinks she’s tough stuff…”

By now, Heero didn’t like the fact that Duo was in such close contact with the girl, and was quickly growing irritated by the stunt. He moved to approach Duo, but was stopped by a light touch on his arm from Quatre, who gave him a “wait and see” look.

It was at this time Duo caught a glimpse Heero’s death glare, and was about to chide his friend about liking Relena, when the girl somehow managed to grab her arms around her captor’s waist and flip herself up off of Duo’s shoulder to land behind him on all fours. Still crouching, she swiftly delivered a lightening fast kick, which thrust Duo’s legs completely out from underneath him. The shocked Deathscythe pilot landed in a heap, while Relena stood up coolly.

Heero stared at the girl intently, while Quatre merely smiled.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Duo said as he slowly got up from the floor, his pride wounded.

“Wufei,” she said simply.

“What!?! Are you serious?” Duo was taken aback. Wufei hardly ever gave the time of day to those he claimed weaker than himself, especially women.

“As I explained to Quatre before,” Relena said, giving a devilish little wink at her Arabian friend, “whenever I’m at Preventer Headquarters nowadays, I stop by to receive a martial arts lesson. You see, I had wanted to learn some self-defense--that kind of knowledge is good to have in my line of work. Anyway, about a year ago, Sally offered to teach me, and it turns out I’m a natural. Eventually my skills equaled that of my instructor, so she sent me off to Wufei to learn a broader range of martial arts, since I enjoyed it so much. He probably would have never offered to do such a thing on his own, but with Sally’s help, he agreed.” Relena smiled prettily. “And since I haven’t seen you in a while, Duo, I guess it never really came up that I’m a black belt in karate.”

She grabbed a towel and passed the boys, but before she left, Relena turned around and gave Duo a triumphant smile. “Oh, and Duo, remember to fully understand the skills of your opponent before attempting to engage her in battle,” she advised before strutting off down the hall.

“I can’t believe Miss Relena didn’t tell you Wufei was teaching her!” Quatre laughed lightly at Heero and Duo.

“Gawd, she even sounds like him, too,” Duo said as he rubbed a sore spot on his back.

“What else don’t I know about you, Relena?” Heero thought as the three pilots proceeded to the dining room.

<><><>

Duo, Quatre, and Heero waited patiently in the dining room for Relena to arrive. In honor of all of his guests, Quatre had made sure to bring out the fine china and went out of his way to have a wonderful meal prepared for his friends, whom he never saw as often as he liked.

The three youths talked casually, trying to take their minds off of their new mission, which was scheduled for commencement the following day. Trowa had successfully convinced Terry Spindown to purchase the last of his satellite materials from Duo’s Garage. Duo, now having the whole situation explained to him by Heero and Quatre in person—they couldn’t afford to have any transmissions picked up—would meet Spindown at the local L4 spaceport and drop off his requested materials. Trowa had given Heero the list of materials, and Heero had contacted the Preventers, who immediately set out about finding the necessary items and having them shipped to Quatre’s mansion. The only thing left was Trowa’s last minute meeting with Heero, in which he would reveal exactly how Terry would carry out his illegal actions via his current deal with Duo. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

By now, Relena had finally entered the dining room, catching the attention of all at the table.

Quatre smiled warmly, thinking of how Relena always seemed to brighten a room with her radiant, natural glow. Duo lifted his eyebrows and nodded his head in approval, noting how cute his friend looked in the little red number she was wearing. And Heero…well, his mouth just kinda fell open at the sight of her.

Heero’s mind went numb. Why did he always get like this when he saw her? Why did she always have to look so beautiful? Why was it that every time an uncooperative wisp of hair spilled over her cheek, he longed to be the one to tuck it back behind her ear? Whoa! Where did that come from!?!

Heero shook his head, trying to remove such wild notions out of his consciousness before anyone noticed how vulnerable he had become.

“Iria said that dinner was a little more formal tonight?” Relena asked the statement as a question. It was apparent she was self conscious in the dress she was wearing, which hugged her curves perfectly. The “sleeves” looked more like delicate, wide straps positioned every so slightly off the shoulder, the top was a little lower than the girl would have liked, and the bottom ended in a flare just a little higher than Relena was used to.

Quatre nodded. “I think this will be the last time all of us will be here together for a while. I wanted it to be special.”

Relena smiled shakily. Noticing three sets of eyes intensely staring at her attire, she stammered, “It’s Jennie’s…I think, or maybe Katie’s…I can’t quite put a face to a name of all of your sisters yet, Quatre. I think I may be a little too dressy, I’ll just go back and change,” Relena spoke of the dress.

“Sit down! You look hot!” Duo exclaimed, as blunt as ever.

“Come, Relena, why don’t you just relax and have a seat?” Quatre’s gentle voice and kind eyes coaxed her towards the chair beside him.

Relena’s embarrassment in wearing such an outfit didn’t go unnoticed by Heero. It was obvious she felt uncomfortable by the way she bowed her head slightly and looked up at the three men with a questioning glance. Heero could never understand why she, of all people, this perfect creature, would ever feel self-conscious. Her innocence—no, her ignorance of the beauty she always was…the goddess she had become, was astounding.

Heero’s breath caught in his throat as she gracefully sat down at the seat next to Quatre, positioned directly across from him. He wanted to tell her all of what he had just told himself, yet he said nothing.

The girl looked up at Heero for a moment, catching his stare with hers. They held each other’s gaze for a brief, though intense, moment before her eyes fluttered downwards and then to the other faces around the table.

Did she see? Heero gasped in his mind. In that moment, it was like she could read his soul. Did she see that she was his heaven?

Freeing his mind from his reverie, Heero listened in on the conversation that now filled the room as a variety of delightful-looking food dishes were being passed around the table.

Duo was doing most of the talking, probably telling one of his garage stories they all had heard about a million times, Heero thought to himself.

“…And so he says, ‘But I already have a monkey wrench!’” Duo shouted the punch line and Relena and Quatre burst into laughter, although they were really just trying to humor him, while Heero groaned inwardly. It was going to be a long night…Duo’s stories coupled with Relena looking irresistible….it was a little too much for the Perfect Soldier to handle.

“Goodness me, I think I may be getting a little tipsy already,” Duo said after the laughter ended. But when a servant came around with another bottle of wine, Duo was the first one raising his cup for a refill. “Aw, hell, let’s have some fun tonight,” he exclaimed merrily.

“Wine, Heero?” Quatre asked politely.

“No, no…doesn’t work,” a slightly-drunk Duo laughed giddily.

“I’ll pass, thanks,” Heero answered for himself. What was the point?

“Afraid you’ll get drunk? Let down that cool exterior?” Relena teased him.

“No,” Heero stated. “And believe me, I’ve tried.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean by ‘tried’?” she questioned.

“You haven’t heard this?” Duo piped up. “Heero can’t get drunk…the poor guy. It must have something to do with when they made him super-human or some shit like that. I mean, alcohol’s got no effect on him…and we wonder why he’s such a hard-ass all the time,” Duo laughed and Quatre and Relena fought to contain their giggles while Heero growled and his glare turned menacing. But Duo, being used to such tactics of intimidation, merely brushed off the famous death glare and continued on with his story.

“Yah, back a few years ago when we had a lot of missions together, I would take him out to the bar scene. He could down three times as many drinks as me without getting wasted, while I’m sitting there totally plastered. It’s amazing.”

“I’m sure,” Relena muttered, unimpressed. She never was one for drinking.

“I mean, it’s basically impossible for this guy to get drunk. That’s why he doesn’t drink anymore. I mean, why bother, right?” Duo nudged Heero playfully on the shoulder. “But at least now with you around, it’s sorta like the same affect,” he told Relena with a smirk.

With that comment, Duo promptly got a whap on the head from all three of the other youths.

“What’d I say?” Duo asked pitifully, and they all couldn’t help but break into a smile.

And so the night continued on with laughter, good food, and good friends.

<><><>

I hope everyone enjoyed this little break from the normal plotline. ^_^

Next time, it’s back to your regularly scheduled programming. And BTW, I’m in college right now, and engineering is not the best major for the life of a fanfic writer, therefore, this is a head’s up that chapters will be few and far between in the future. Hopefully, I’ll try to get as much as I can done during my breaks, so don’t expect this to be over before the winter. I thank you all for your continued patience and support. I truly appreciate every one who was kind enough to give me some feedback. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are the ones who keep me going!