There's No Such Word as Won't (Chapter 3)

[Rose of Betrayal]

Disclaimers: idontowngundamwing,sowhocares?
Current mood: Pretty much cheerful, but kind of grumpy.
Authoress' notes: I am not in the mood to talk today. The angst vampire seems to be drawing out my blood little by little. At the end of the day, I am sure my mood will worsen. Beware. Oh, yes, and it is getting complicated. *ponders* Should I shorten it?

There's No Such Word as Won't
Chapter 3

Quatre waited patiently as the woman counted out the change, eyeing him all the while. It was getting kind of tiring when women eye you up and down, he sighed. He had things that was a lot better than taking out women, but his sisters didn't seem to think so. They were always bothering him about different woman. One day it was Lucy, and the other day it was Beth... It went on and on and on, until finally, one day, he told them he wouldn't take out any girl, young or old, from that second on.

Instead of blowing up, as he had expected them to do, they laughed instead and said that it didn't matter whether they had his permission or not. According to them, the only thing that mattered was that he actually had 'fun' with them. Which he did not, of course. But they went on, anyway. What did he ever do to deserve such stubborn sisters?

He accepted the change and the bag the lady held out to him and pushed the glass door to the shop open. He threw the bag in the back seat of his car, slid into the driver's seat, and stayed there, waiting. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel impatiently. Then he spotted his target: a red car driving out of the parking lot. Relena's car, to be exact. He pondered. What was he doing? It wasn't like he was going to go up to Relena and say, "Hey, Miss Relena, did you know Duo is trying to put you and Heero together?"

It might earn him a few dollars in cash, but it would also guarantee a good wringing of his neck from Heero and Duo, most certainly. And, for another thing, Quatre wasn't a cheater who usually did it the easy way. No. He preferred the hard way. It would make the game a lot more interesting.

Not that it wasn't already interesting enough.

*

Heero carefully placed his gun in his pocket, preparing for the big speech conference Relena was giving this evening. She needs all the protection she can get, he thought grimly. He had been tipped off that someone might be pulling a big attempt at the young Minister's life, and he was not going to allow that, come hell or high water. But surprisingly, he had warned no one, not even his fellow Gundam pilots.

Perhaps this was a chance for him to prove to Relena how much he cared for her. More than, maybe, a symbol of peace. At least, he hoped so.

*

Relena was nervous, like she had never been nerous before. Hell, it wasn't because of the stupid conference she was going to pull off a few seconds later. She had pulled off hundreds without breaking a sweat. No, it was more likely the fact that the man she was desperately trying to ignore was somewhere up there, above her as she was seated in an uncomfortable straight-backed chair in front of the stage. How was she supposed to concentrate when the former love of her life was right there?

Former love of my life isn't the phrase, she thought, clenching her teeth in frustration. More like love of my life. Period.

She touched her neck. She was sweating. Her neck was slick, and the slender tendrils of honey-blonde hair swam around her face, tickling and irritating her sensitive, sweat-soaked skin. She couldn't go onstage when she looked like she had come out from a thunderstorm.

"Hello, Miss Relena," someone whispered as he sat down next to her. She caught a flash of white-blond hair and a gray sweatshirt before he sat down and turned toward her, aqua eyes gleaming. Quatre!

"Mister Winner," she said coolly. "What brings you here?"

"Rather urgent business, I'm afraid," he said smoothly. The former pilot smoothed his coat. "I am, after all, an important figure." He winked at her. "Ready for your conference?"

"No, I'm afraid not," she admitted, leaning closer so no one would hear. "Actually, I'm afraid."

He gave her a knowing glance and handed her a hankerchief. She accepted it and wiped it over her skin. "Thank you, Quatre," she whispered. "Are you staying long?"

"Of course." He leaned even closer. "Miss Relena, I have something important to tell you."

"Is it about Duo?"

"Maybe, maybe not." His eyes filled with amusement. "I assume Trowa told you?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Nothing. So, I wanted to warn you. About Duo."

"Yes?"

"Duo seems to..." he paused, "...to be cooking up something."

"And what exactly is that?" she asked, interested. Had this something to do with Heero and her?

"I have my suspicions only, Miss Relena. I don't have proof, nor have I thought about it that much to make an assumption about my suspicions. We will have to wait and see. But I advise you to stay away from Duo. He may have something in store."

"I already know that Duo is having problems about me and Heero," she sighed. "Trowa informed me. But I know not of any plan or action he is taking to get us together. I am assuming that he will not take action. He is too caring a person for that, Quatre."

'Good. She has the idea, even if she doesn't know Heero initiated the whole thing from the beginning. Or about the bet. But she had the idea. That's what matters. I'll leave the rest to her finely-honed suspicions and thoughts.'

"Miss Relena Peacecraft has been proposing the idea of peace for a long time, even thought of it for a long time..."

That was Relena's cue. She stood up, smoothed her skirts, and pasted on a plastic smile for the cameras. Quatre stood up, gave her a winning smile, and walked to the exit. His work here was done...for now.

*

Heero watched as Quatre seated himself next to Relena, looking happy. He adjusted the speaker in his ear and distinctly heard Relena say, "He is too caring a person for that, Quatre."

Duo? Duo wasn't a caring person. As far from it as possible.

At least, he thought so. Maybe there was a deeper side of Duo Maxwell than he could see. He listened to Quatre's outlining, and then started when Relena sighed and said she already knew. How did she know? "Trowa informed me."

What? Trowa informed her? Hadn't he warned them all not to tell them anything. His instincts pricked up, and he knew they were all up to no good. Something was there, a missing connection he couldn't understand, didn't know about. WHAT WAS IT? his mind screamed. For once, the Perfect Soldier was thoroughly disarmed by his own thoughts. He didn't know what to think of Quatre and Trowa anymore. Were they on his side or not? If they were, then why were they telling Relena all this?

He disappeared with a slight swish behind a green curtain, his mind whirling. The only reasonable explanation he knew was that they weren't on his side. But Quatre...it was unlikely he wasn't on Heero's side. Of course not. And Trowa...well, Heero didn't know much about the ex-pilot. So he couldn't assume anything. So that ruled out the explanation that they were not on his side. Then what? What about Wufei? He hadn't stuck around to hear much of their discussion in the park, so what happened? Was he somehow mixed up in this?

Heero wouldn't put it past the Chinese, who hated women almost as much as he loved to see justice being served. Well, Wufei's idea of justice was to skewer Treize, something the Chinese had been wanting to do for a long time, and breaking up into regrets. Heero snorted. What a pathetic idea.

He caught Quatre outside, who was taking a drink from the water dispenser, and as he spied Heero approaching, he tossed the cup into the trash can and wiped his lips. "Hello, Heero," he said. He smiled at Heero, who simply glared.

"What do you think you're doing?" Heero demanded, raking a hand through his messy brown hair. "I told you not to tell Relena!"

"Oh..." Quatre paused. "I've had my reasons, Heero. Perhaps, if you really want to know, you might want to pay a little visit to your dear best friend, Duo Maxwell, and tell him to spill his guts. I don't tattle, Heero, may you threaten me with death or your fists. Unless, of course, I have a good reason to do so."

Heero considered for a few moments. "Fine." He glared again. "I'll ask Duo. Just keep your mouth shut, Quatre, next time. Or you won't be so lucky." He turned abruptly and marched away. And then got the coldest feeling in his life.

*

"WHAT?"

Wufei cringed into a corner of his office as Sally cornered him relentlessly, towering like a giant. Why did she even ask for the story when she was just going to scare the hell out of him? Ye gods, help me, he whimpered. Sally was going to pulverize him into little pieces, and then kill him, and then... He whimpered more loudly as a rumbling sound echoed above him.

Then he stopped. Laughing? Sally was bent double, her breath coming in gasps, as she struggled to keep her weak knees from making her fall. Her braids framed her face, and for the first time (maybe not the first time, but you get the drift), Wufei got the impression that she was very pretty, the laughs curling her lips upward were undoubtedly making her seem even prettier.

"You-you made a bet with Duo?" Sally gasped out between laughs. "You mean..."

He nodded meekly, relieved she wasn't mad at him. But then his apprehension grew. In mirth or not, Sally could still punch him to death. He jumped to his feet and dashed for the door, but in a flash, Sally had backed up against it, her laughter dying away, but the amusement in her eyes stayed. "Oh, no, you're not, Chang," she said, smirking. "We're not done here. Give me the details of the bet."

He gulped hard. He wasn't going to escape any time soon if he didn't answer her questions. He took the risk. "Maxwell says fifty if he gets Yuy and the onna together by the end of this month (which is Christmas, by the way), hundred bucks from Barton saying that it takes him till next month, two hundred from Winner saying that the onna finds out, and I say three hundred."

"For?" Sally looked at him curiously.

"For the fact Maxwell can't do anything at all."

"Hm." She slumped back against the wall, looking at him, studying him. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable under her blue-eyed gaze when she said finally, "High stakes, huh?" He nodded in response. "And you want me to help?"

"Yes."

"What's in it for me?"

He was startled. He hadn't expected Sally to ask for something in return. He had assumed he would take the bargain for free. "But..."

"I won't help you until you say what's in it for me," Sally told him, folding her arms over her green uniform. "Hell, I want those two together, but all the same, I'm interested in your price."

He smirked. So, she wanted the two fools together, did she? "Name your price," he said coolly. He heaved himself onto a chair.

"You say it."

"Fine." He paused. "How about half the prize?"

"Fifty bucks? Twenty-five?" Sally paused. "Does Duo get the three hundred from you if he wins?"

"Along with Barton's one hundred and Winner's two."

"So I get twenty-five." She smirked. "A small price to pay for breaking someone's hope to get two people together. How about if we throw in a kiss?"

"Nani?" Wufei spluttered, his cheeks turning pink. "Excuse me?"

"I meant a kiss. A kiss added or the deal's off."

"NO!!!"

"Fine." She towered over him. "Mission..." She leaned closer, until she was about a centimeter away. Wufei felt flushed. "...Denied." Then she kissed him.

*

Relena looked calmly over the people, the staring faces, some hostile, some encouraging. She took no notice of either as she went through her speech. She was a walking talking robot, designed for speeches. She felt no fear. Her palms were dry. She was calm. But she knew someone was usually watching her, and his presence, to her, was like the sixth sense. She needed the sense as much as she needed her other five senses.

And it was missing today.

She scanned the crowd, puzzled, as her mouth continued to babble on, but her mind was whirling in confusion. Did he stop watching her already? Well, it wasn't really much of a surprise, considering that she had been pretty cold to him the last few days. But she knew Heero Yuy. He did not back down from a mission, difficult or not.

So what happened?

Suddenly, she had forgotten her lines. She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the people assembled in front of her. Her mouth went dry. Something else was watching her. And it wasn't Heero Yuy. Her hands clenched at her side. Something was happening she did not understand. Danger was nearby.

Whispers exploded in the room. She fought the urge to clap her hands over her ears to stop the din, but there was a crack. A bullet whizzed past her ear, and she screamed silently. Lord, help me! Pandemonium exploded. People rushed for the exit as more bullets were shot, each one resounding with a thwack on the wall behind her. Screams, shouts, and yells were heard. One of them was her own.

Suddenly, a weight hit her, and she stumbled to the ground. Someone landed on top of her, muffled her next scream with a rough hand over her mouth, and grunted, "Relena."

She stopped struggling at once. It was Heero. He held a cocked gun in his hand, and he aimed it, a split-second before his gun fired and hit the balcony above. He fired another. "Only grazed him," he cursed under his breath. He hauled Relena to her feet. Then another shot was fired. This time, it hit the wrong target. Maybe it was the target the assassin was trying for. It was hard to tell. All that Relena knew was that it hit Heero Yuy.

-----------------------------
Oh, dear. Weekend's over already and only one chapter done during it. I wonder why weekends are so short. Hmph. Oh, well, another cliffhanger! *giggle* Sorry, guys, but it looks like this'll have to wait! Thanks for everything!

[Kari]

*grumbles* Why did you have to stop??
I'm waiting. *grumbles* Cliffhangers who invented those??

[Wingnut]

*grumbles* Cliffhangers who invented those??

Really! If I wasn't so sure that they were dead already I'd hunt them down myself.
Poor Quatre, haveing his sisters throw all those girls at him like that. And WuFei, well he has had that comeing for a long time. Oh no Heero! Looks like WuFei is the only winner if Heero tells Relena when he recovers from the shooting.

[Kari]

Really! If I wasn't so sure that they were dead already I'd hunt them down myself.

Hey Wingnut!!!Need some help???

[Morrighan]

Ahhh...!!!!!!!!! Evil!!!!

More!!!