Dark World

Chapter 2

By Lady Saffir

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the GW characters, but the story is mine, as
well as any new characters that pop up.

"I never knew so young a body with so old a head." - Shakespeare

******************

When I awoke, it was to a darkened room that was quite unfamiliar. I
heard someone shift to the left of me, and I turned wide, frightened
eyes in that direction.

The man that was seated next to the bed had a boyish face, his wide
violet eyes sparkling even in the dim lighting. He had been twiddling
with a braid of hair, but his fingers stilled when he saw that I was
awake. A warm smile spread across his face, and I couldn't stop the
slight uncertain one that appeared on mine.

"Good, you're awake. Heero was beginning to worry."

Heero? Ah...my brain took a second to sort through the fog that
seemed to be wrapped around it.

"What happened?" I asked weakly.

The man before me eyed me cautiously, then stood, crossing over to a
small table at the foot of the bed.

Pouring a glass of water, he handed it to me, saying, "Why don't you
drink this, and I'll go get Heero so he can explain to you."

Duo turned away and headed towards the door, but before he could take
three steps it opened inwards, and Heero stood framed in the opening.

I was glad that I was sitting down already, because the look he gave
me made my knees feel weak.

He smiled then, and crossed over to the bed, sitting on the edge gingerly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I answered cautiously. "What happened?"

"I'm afraid that someone I used to do business with was unhappy with
me, and decided to try and take me out," he answered smoothly.

"Where am I?" I asked bluntly, taking in the huge room I was in. The
walls were done in a dark blue, with what looked like flecks of silver
in the actual paint itself. A large reprint of Van Gogh's 'Starry
Night' took up a large portion of one wall, and the celestial theme
was carried throughout the room.

I loved it.

"We brought you back to my home. If you are feeling well enough
later, I'll give you a tour."

"How 'bout right now? I'm actually feeling pretty good."

With a shock, I realized it was the truth. Heero, on the other hand,
looked a bit pale, but I couldn't only compare his color with what I
had seen the two times before.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed to prove that I was indeed
fine, and threw in a few jumps for emphasis.

"See? Good as new!"

Heero eyed me unbelievingly, but held out his hand to me.

"All right, we'll do it now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On our way down the stairs (Duo on one side and Heero on the other) we
ran into a scowling Chinese man.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," he addressed me curtly.

"I'll get out of bed whenever I feel like it," I retorted.

Heero merely raised an eyebrow at this exchange, but Duo had no qualms
about snickering openly.

"Relena, I'd like you to meet Chang Wufei; friend, doctor, and all
around nag," Heero introduced, smirking at his friend.

"He's worse than a woman," Duo added, earning a death glare from Wufei.

"As many times as I've treated the two of you, you should be a bit
nicer," Wufei returned.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The house Heero showed me was actually a mansion. The rooms were
large and airy, and each one had a distinct style to it. My favorite
rooms were the music room, as Heero called it, and the kitchen. Both
were done in blues much like Heero's bedroom. The kitchen had cobalt
blue tile counter tops and stainless steel appliances, and the
contrast was wonderful.

Then Heero made the mistake of mentioning the gardens. I fancy myself
to be quite a decent greenthumb, so I just had to see what types of
plants he had.

"Can we go see the gardens now?"

Heero and Wufei, who were in the process of drinking their wine,
stopped suddenly, and all three men exchanged a loaded look. I could
have sworn they were almost talking to each other.

"Why don't you wait until the sun starts to set. In the middle of the
day, the sun might be a bit much for you, especially since you
suffered a nasty blow to the head," Wufei suggested.

"I'm perfectly fine, really. I've always been a fast healer," I
insisted, earning another 'look' among the men.

Finally Heero spoke up, not sounding at all regretful.

"I unfortunately have work that I must do, and so does Wufei. Would
it be alright if Duo showed you the gardens?"

Both Duo and I agreed to the suggestion and headed outdoors while
Heero and Wufei retired to their work.

*************************

In fact, I didn't see Heero again until sometime that evening. Duo
had been my guide and escort for the rest of the afternoon, graciously
letting me poke my nose into every corner of the house.

I loved it. I wanted this house, with its large, beautiful
landscaping and elegant decorating.

Duo and I were in the kitchen munching (well, I was munching, Duo was
having a full-blown five course meal) when Trowa sauntered in. I was
once again impressed with how silent and agilely he moved; he had an
almost feline grace about him.

He nodded to each of us.

"Duo, Relena. I'm glad to see that you're feeling much better," he
directed at me.

"Thank you. Although...." I trailed off, having the sudden urge to
look towards the doorway behind him. Both men turned to look as well,
and it was then that Heero strode through the door, Wufei accompanying.

I felt the gaze of my two companions, and wondered at it. I had simply
heard Heero approaching, hadn't I?

Heero tsked at me when he saw my empty plate.

"And here I was getting ready to take you out to dinner, if you had
wanted."

"Actually, I'm still pretty hungry," I commented, surprised to find
that was the truth. I was hungry; in fact, I felt like I hadn't eaten
for quite a while.

The men exchanged another hooded look, then Duo offered to drive me
back to my place to pick up a change of clothing.

The thought of clothing also reminded me of something important.

"My car!" I exclaimed. "I left it at the park. Oh, I hope they haven't
towed it yet," I fretted.

"It's already taken care of, Relena. I drove your car over; I hope
you don't mind," Trowa's calm voice stated.

"Mind? Trowa, you're a lifesaver! Thank you so much."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duo went with me to my apartment, claiming a curiosity as to where I
lived. I wasn't fooled for a moment though; Heero had told him to
make sure nothing happened to me.

Sound foolish? I hadn't known Heero for that long, and I had known
his friends even less a period of time, but he commanded their respect
and their friendship. He claimed that they were all equal
shareholders in their business, but I had a feeling that when he said
jump, they asked how high.

Anyway, Duo wandered around my apartment while I took a shower and
dressed. He seemed particularly interested in the pictures of me and
Quatre, asking many questions.

"So this is your guy, huh?"

I turned around from where I was applying make-up to see him holding
the most recent picture. We were at a family reunion, and one of his
sisters had caught us as we were looking at each other intently, a
smile on our lips.

"Yeah, that's Quatre. Don't let the angelic look fool you," I
informed him. "It's all an act to disarm you with his wit and charm.
He can be quite the little hellion," I laughed, remembering fondly
some of the scrapes he had told me from his childhood.

"Some people say the same of me," Duo returned cheekily, flashing me
one of his megawatt smiles.

It didn't fool me for an instant.

"I agree," I replied bluntly. "You may smile and laugh a lot, but
anyone with half a brain should be able to see through it."

My words for some reason both amused Duo and put him on guard.

"What do you mean?"

I stared at him in the mirror while I applied my lipstick.

"I mean that you are a person not to be messed with. Any of you, for
that matter," I waved my lipstick around for emphasis. "Each of you
has a different technique, but it's obvious to me, at least, that a
person doesn't want to get on your bad side."

Duo's eyelids lowered for just a fraction of a second, but it was
enough for me to see it and understand what it meant.

I had figured out a dangerous piece of information.

************************

Dinner was absolutely wonderful. Heero, Trowa and Wufei hardly ate,
but at least I had Duo to keep me company as I inhaled twelve blissful
ounces of medium rare sirloin.

And a baked potato, and half of the appetizer, and a salad, and one of
those little loaves of bread, and five glasses of sweet tea.

Heero watched me devour my food with amusement quirking at his lips;
Trowa raised an eyebrow, then shot Heero a look I couldn't quite
understand; Wufei brooded over something, giving me several looks that
didn't seem friendly; and Duo challenged me to an eating contest. He
won, but barely.

Despite me barely knowing any of them, the conversation flowed freely,
and I found myself liking this particular group of men more with every
joke. I was sure Quatre would enjoy their company as well.

********************