Disclaimer: Don't own the G-boys, girls or former members of Oz. Stori and Kinetarou are mine.
Warnings: Violence, Yaoi, Language, Most charas. (probably) OOC
Pairings: 1X2/2X1, 3XR, 4X5/5X4, 6X9, Hilde + ?
"Spoken"
'Thoughts'
C&C welcome.
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Chapter One: Wish Upon A Star
After Colony 205
Relena stopped the recorded image on the face of a young girl and sighed. "Relena, you can't keep doing this. It's been three years."
The former queen of the world glanced up at the brunette beside her. "I know, Trowa. It's just so hard to imagine that my brother's only child is ... no, I refuse to believe it."
"Relena, it's not going to do you any good to keep worrying about it," Quatre replied. He stood from his seat beside WuFei and walked over to the young diplomat. "Duo and Heero are still out there looking for Stori. I'm sure they'll find her."
"They've been gone for three years, how do we know they haven't given up, or worse, been killed?"
WuFei sighed and walked over to the window. "How can you even believe that? You know that they would do anything for Stori. She is, after all, Duo's niece as well," he replied. "And besides, the day someone kills Heero Yuy, is the day I become a woman."
Quatre started laughing and looked at Relena. "Trust me, that's never going to happen," he replied.
"Well, I'm sure you would know," Trowa replied. Glancing from the Arabian to his Chinese lover, he smiled slightly. He heard Relena start laughing and smiled even more. "Good, now come on. Let's get out of here. We do have a party to get to."
Relena nodded and turned off the recording. "Right. Mariemaia only graduates from high school once," she replied. She stood and turned to her husband. "And Lady Une would give us all a hard time if we missed it."
Trowa chuckled and took Relena's hand. "You mean, she would have us in front of a firing squad. I just wish the others could have made it. It would have been nice to have everyone in the same place at the same time."
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After Colony 200
"And how much longer until we have completed our mission?"
"Just a few more days, sir. The prince will not live to see the birth of his child."
"Excellent. Once the Lightning Count is out of the way, it will be an easy task to eliminate his sister and her husband."
"What of the child?"
"Don't concern yourself with the baby. I have already taken care of her."
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"Zechs, relax. You'd think this was your wedding day, not Trowa's." Duo grabbed the blond man by the shoulders and forced him to sit down.
Milliard looked at the former pilot and shrugged. "What do you expect? My baby sister is getting married. Somehow, I never would have imagined Barton winning her heart."
Quatre chuckled as he helped WuFei with his bowtie. Relena had insisted that none of them wear clip-ons and the Chinese man had nearly strangled himself with it twice already. "Well, I guess she's a lot like Duo. She goes for the strong silent type."
The braided boy blushed slightly and made a face at Quatre. "And you go for Justice boy over there. I'm sure none of us imagined Relena and Trowa ending up married, but don't let either of them hear you say it. Relena's nervous enough as it is."
WuFei glared at Duo and was about to say something when Quatre pulled on the bowtie, nearly strangling him. One look at the Arabian reminded him to keep his mouth shut. Just then, the door opened and Heero walked in. "Yuy, thank goodness. Would you mind getting your lover out of here, he's driving me crazy."
"Hn." Heero walked over to Duo and lightly took his braid in his hand. As he walked back to the door, he glanced at the other three. "If the three of you don't hurry, Relena is going to come hunting you."
The former pilots exchanged glances as Quatre finished with WuFei's tie. "Anything's better than an angry bride on her wedding day," Quatre replied. "Believe me, I've seen enough of them."
Milliard chuckled as he followed the two sets of lovers toward where the bridesmaids were waiting. "With 29 sisters, I'm sure you know more about women than any of the rest of us." He glanced up at the six waiting women and smiled when he saw his wife standing next to his sister. "So, are we ready to start?"
"As soon as Heero quits making out with Duo and finds my fiance, we'll be ready," Relena replied.
The 'Perfect Soldier' stepped away from Duo and smiled at Relena. "Don't worry, he's in there. I'll go tell the minister we're ready," he replied, walking to where he had left Trowa and the minister.
Hilde chuckled slightly as she linked her arm with Duo's. "She's been like that all morning," she replied quietly. "I'll definitely be glad when this day is over. Maybe she'll be able to relax then."
"I doubt they'll 'relax' until long after they get back from their honeymoon, sis." Duo smiled at Hilde as the music started playing for the bridal party's entrance.
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After Colony 205
"I don't get it Hee-chan. Why would someone take little Stori and not send any kind of ransom note for three years? Don't they realize what all of this is doing to Lucy?"
Heero wrapped his arms around Duo then brushed the hair from the shorter man's eyes. "I hate to say it, but I don't think they care, Koi. They certainly didn't care when they killed Milliard right in front of her," he replied. "Duo, you have to stay calm. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to grab Stori and make it back to Cinq in a few days. Kinetarou is expecting me back tonight, so you have to stay here and get everything ready for tomorrow. Will you be okay?"
Duo nodded slightly and looked up at Heero. "I'll be fine, Hee-chan. I just don't like the plan. There's too many things that could go wrong."
"What happened to the 'God of Death' who wasn't afraid of anything?"
"That was when it was just my life I had to worry about. Not my sister's only child as well as the man I love. They've already killed once, if they think you had anything to do with her disappearance, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."
Heero nodded as he pulled Duo into a hug. "I know. That's why as soon as you have Stori, you have to get out of here. Don't worry about me. I'll catch up to you as soon as I can," he replied. "You have to promise me, Duo. Once you have Stori, don't even think about me until you get her home."
"But, Heero--"
"Promise me."
Duo sighed as he looked at Heero. "Okay, I promise. Just don't get yourself killed, okay?"
Heero smiled slightly. "I didn't survive two wars to get killed by some ridiculous kidnapper." He hugged Duo again and then turned to leave the small, one-room apartment. "Just make sure you're at the house on time tomorrow. Good night."
Duo watched Heero leave then headed for the closet on the other side of the room. As he passed the TV he caught his reflection in the dark glass and nearly jumped out of his own skin. He reached up and pulled the dark wig from his head. 'I'm just glad Heero didn't ask me to cut my hair any more.' Running his fingers through the now shoulder-length hair, he sighed, remembering the day he had cut it, only two months before.
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Two Months Earlier
"You want me to dO WHAT?!?"
"Duo, listen to me, please. They know what you look like and if they see a man there with brown hair braided to his ass, they'll know it's you." Heero quickly dodged the various items the other man was throwing at him. He slipped into the bathroom just in time to avoid the pair of scissors that embedded themselves into the door. "You know a wig won't cover that much hair. I'm just saying that you should shorten it a little. Just a couple of ... feet."
He tensed as the room suddenly became quiet and slowly moved to watch the irate American. He saw Duo sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to the doorway. "How do they know who I am? We've already killed the ones that were there that night."
Heero sighed as he walked over to the bed and sat beside the other man. "I'm not sure. But I think it has something to do with your sisters. They were able to link you to Lucy when they found a picture from her wedding."
"The one you missed."
"I was kind of busy that day. Besides, I don't think Zechs really wanted me there anyway," Heero replied. "They can't link you to me, hell they don't even know who I am. But when we do get ready to do this, you can't be you."
Duo sighed slightly and leaned against the other man's shoulder. "You said it would be how long? Two to three months?" Heero nodded. He grinned and looked at the bathroom door. "Good. It may take that long to dig the scissors out of the door. Guess we can forget about the security deposit."
Heero chuckled and looked around the room. "I would definitely say that's a safe bet. I'm surprised the cops haven't shown up yet."
"Hee-chan, this colony is still under the control of what's left of the Barton Foundation. There are no cops here. Why do you think Kinetarou brought Stori here? There's no one here that would turn him in." Duo reached down and picked up one of Heero's shoes from the floor. "Besides, you have to go back. He'll get suspicious if you don't show up two nights in a row."
The 'Perfect Soldier' nodded and grabbed his other shoe from where it had landed behind the television. "I won't be able to see you for a few days. Being this guy's bodyguard pays well, but these 'business' trips of his ... I don't know how many more times I can do this."
Duo walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You won't have to for much longer. Once we know where he's hidden Stori, we can grab her and get the hell off this colony. I say once we get out of orbit, we blow it up."
"Tempting, koi. But I would rather let Une get her hands on these bastards. Whatever she could think up would be much worse than death," Heero replied. He finished getting dressed then pulled Duo into a kiss. "Remember what I said, Duo."
With that, he walked out of the apartment. Duo waited until he was sure he was gone before walking over to the bathroom door and pulling the scissors from the wood. Taking his braid in his other hand, he looked into the mirror and sighed. 'He is right, I guess. Besides, it will be easier to take care of this way.' He watched as the gleaming metal sliced through the thick hair, finding himself calmer than he ever thought he would be. "The things I do for my family," he replied. Holding up the nearly four foot long braid, he found himself actually smiling. "Hilde's going to kill me."
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After Colony 202
"Don't worry, Luce. I'll pick up Stori from Relena and Trowa's and be home in half an hour," Duo replied.
Lady Une glanced up from her seat beside Sally's desk and smiled as Duo hung up the phone. "Noin still worried about your driving habits?"
Duo shook his head and leaned against his desk. "No, not my driving habits, she's still worried something's going to happen to Stori."
"Can you blame her? I mean, after what happened to Zechs -- No one can blame Lucretzia for being overprotective," Sally replied. She stood from her desk and walked over to the braided man. "I'm surprised she even let her come all this way without mother in tow."
"She wasn't alone, believe me. Relena, Trowa, Quatre, WuFei and the Maguanacs had to go to Mars and get her. Heero and I had to make sure no one knew she was coming here, except the Preventers," he replied. Sighing, he reached for his cup of coffee. "Whatever that guy said to her when Zechs died has really gotten her worried about Stori. It's been two years, you'd think she'd have relaxed by now."
Hilde smirked slightly from the next desk. "And since when has our elder sister ever been able to relax?"
"Her bachelorette party," Sally and Une replied at the same time. All four Preventers laughed for a few moments before falling into an uncomfortable silence.
Duo put down the coffee cup and grabbed the jacket from the back of his chair. "I guess I had better get going. Lucy will kill me if I'm late picking her up. Are you sure this vacation's not a problem, Anne?"
Une shook her head and motioned at the other two women. "I think the three of us can run things for a few days. Besides, Lucy would kill me if I made you work."
The former Deathscythe pilot smiled and left the office. Sally sighed as she watched him walk to the elevator. "Poor kid, ever since Zechs was assassinated, he's taken over the role of father as well as uncle."
"It's better than the 'God of Death' persona," Hilde replied. She stood from her desk and moved to join the others. "I just hope this little trip will get them both to relax. How am I supposed to tell my only family 'I'm pregnant', when they're too worried about death threats to even pay attention to the rest of the world?"
Une looked at Hilde curiously. "Death threats? What death threats?"
"That's what the guy said to Luce when he killed Milliard. He said he would be back for the baby."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Sally demanded.
Hilde shrugged and looked at the picture of her sister's family on her desk. "She doesn't remember she told me. It was right after Stori was born, she was delirious. She said a lot of things that night that she can't remember. I never told Duo. If he had known, he would have made Heero move to Mars." She sighed and then glanced at the others. "Any bets on when she'll show up?"
"Well, if she's not already en route, two weeks," Une replied.
Sally shook her head slightly. "Ten days."
"A month." The three women shook hands before returning to their own desks to finish the day's paperwork.
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"Wook, Unca Duo!"
Duo glanced out of the window to see what the small child was pointing at. "Yeah, I see it, Stori. It's a shooting star. All you have to do ... is make a wish." He smiled at his niece as she closed her eyes and concentrated on her wish. "What did you wish for sweetie?"
"That Momma had come wif' me. She'll be sad wif' out me," the little girl replied. She curled up in her uncle's lap and looked toward the kitchen. "Where's Unca Heero?"
Duo chuckled and hugged the little girl. "He had to work late tonight. Plus, he had to find chocolate chip peanut butter ice cream, remember? We can't have a slumber party without the ice cream." Suddenly, the lights in the apartment went out and several hands grabbed the two occupants of the chair.
"Unca Du--"
"Let go of her, you bast--"
Duo felt something hit him in the chest, followed by a sharp pain. Moments later, the hands let go and he fell to the floor. In the dim light from the window, he could see several men in black hoods, tearing up the apartment. He tried to force himself up, but the pain in his chest was too great. The last thing he saw was the still form of Stori among a sea of black.
'It's a shooting star. All you have to do ... is make a wish.'
