Warning: Cussing Quatre, Icy-cold Wufei, Proposing Trowa and eh...more missing puzzles on the way.

8th thread

April 23 198

-Block F-G Parking lot, UPA-

"You are kidding right?" Heero looked at Duo half-convinced.

"You know I don't lie."

"Duo…"

"Look Heero, you can hate me for destroying that pretty image of the princess in your mind, you can hate me for pouring all these onto your shoulders but remember, you are the one who asked, okay? On the other hand, I admit I did a bad thing. I asked Relena out because I thought she was somehow involved in it. The pub, date, thing, never should turn out this way. But all the more it goes to show she's involved."

"What do you mean?"

"I told no one about that meeting. It was obvious Relena staged the whole thing for us to be caught by those nosy people. They were good, Heero, I didn't even know they were there until the pictures came out. And I am very sure they were in that place before us."

"It could be…"

"It could be a coincidence? No, they were all prepared for us, Heero," Duo's voice carried a tone of pleading.

"But Relena wouldn't do something that reflects badly on her as well. Duo, she is not stupid and she has an important political position to keep." Heero remained unconvinced.

"Maybe you don't know her as well as you would like to think!"

Heero visibly flinched. Duo bit down his tongue. He had not meant to say that. He had not meant to do or say a lot of things since peace times too. But he had to hang on to reality, because no one else would.

He continued, "Heero, haven't you realized? She is hugely supportive of the PWRM. Even if she is against it on the surface, she is part of the deal. Don't you think there are better universities in your Colony than this University of Peace Alliance on Earth?"

"It's a top-notch institution…"

"Explain Trowa's situation then." Duo looked at Heero as though daring him to come up with an answer.

Heero kept his mouth sensibly shut. But his eyes lit up in curiosity.

"His ringmaster was almost killed in an staged accident during a performance after a PWRM member approached Trowa, in which he refused to comply to them. The ringmaster ended up paralyzed. Trowa went to Earth immediately. He was frightened, you know? That harm will continue to come to the circus if he refused to move to Earth. The circus couldn't continue without him and Trowa gone. He joined UPA when Dorothy approached him with that idea to keep the PWRM at bay."

Heero pondered over the events in his head quietly.

"He sounded supportive of the PWRM at the club meeting." Heero choked out stubbornly, refusing to meet Duo in the eye.

Duo sighed, "You think he really meant what he said? Think about it, Heero. I have to go. They are calling me back."

"What about my testimony?" Heero asked.

He stood up and walked a few steps away before he grinned and winked down at Heero.

"The police, will look into those things. See you." Duo waved smugly at his preventer id as he walked towards his car.

That conceited devil, Heero thought.

Then Duo turned his head back suddenly and caught Heero's eyes.

'I don't expect you to take in all that shit I told you. You believe in her so much. But please, trust me this time if it's the last time you would.' He mouthed. Then he strided to the car and hopped into it.

Heero stared after the disappearing car for a long time. He stared at his fisted hands that he had unconciously clenched and banged them onto the table. He walked in the opposite direction of his dormitory. There were some questions he wanted, answered.

-Ming Hor Hostel, Street 51, Tsai Har District, Hong Kong-

"Fuck. What more do you want?" the voice bellowed.

"Some answers." The other voice was firm but calm compared to his agitated speaker.

"Go away, Chang. He won't see you."

"I will see for myself he wants to see me or not." Wufei forcefully pushed the fellow aside and walked to the room unwavering, reaching for the door.

The man could only stare at Wufei's back in disbelief as he tugged violently on the locked doorknob. Cursing, he walked towards Wufei and shoved his hands aside, his other hand came up with a spare key that fit into the keyhole and turned the door inwards. Wufei looked wordlessly at the man, he had never expected that. The man brushed his looks away and prodded Wufei to step in. Wufei muttered a 'thanks' and closed the door behind him. The person in the room was more important.

"Kar Dong."

-L4, Winner's House, dining room-

"I have, no, need to go." Quatre repeated, a bit more forcefully than before. He was standing up now, his lunch forgotten in front of him.

"But you don't understand dear, the company needs you here. Any meeting on Earth can be taken over by one of us." Maya Winner, his 17th sister pleaded. She rubbed the right side of the sleeve nervously with her left hand.

"This meeting is as important as what I need to do here, perhaps much more. It will reflect the company in good light if the president himself steps into the Peace and Global Trading talks."

"But…"

"You know as well as I do that anyone of you could take charge of business here for the week or two that I am gone."

"So can we for the talks."

"It's about our sincerity, not our ability, Maya."

"This isn't…"

Quatre cut her off, "What are you so adamant about keeping me in L4! Trowa's circus was in dire straits and I had learnt nothing of it. This shit with Duo and Relena came up and I couldn't even get a hold of him!" He was close to shouting now, but held back with sheer willpower and balled-up fist at his sides. "Now, the Peace and Global Trading Talks came up and I am not allowed to attend? It's a damn global trading talk, Maya, and we are running a goddamn global business here. Give me a fucking good reason I have to stay here all the fucking damn time!"

She flinched at his vulgarities; he hardly used them unless he was driven to the edge. He knew, Maya realized. Oh god, he knew it all along.

And he was pushing the limits to see how far he can go.

"I need to make a call." Maya wiped her palms on the napkin and left the table hurriedly.

Quatre slumped back in his chair taking in deep breaths. These fears, suspicions and animosity from people he felt, the same ones who would do anything to keep the present peace intact, kept gnawing him.

"This isn't how peace is meant to be…" he whispered to the empty room.

-Ming Hor Hostel Rm 205, Street 51, Tsai Har District, Hong Kong-

Kar Long was feeling high, lying at the foot of his bed, grinning himself to death.

Wufei could make out the drugs he had been feeding himself before he came in. It was all in powder, melted liquid, syringe and burnt wax mess on the floor.

"Wufei… Care to join me?" he slurred his words, waving the finished needle in his direction.

Wufei shot him a disgusted look. "I could have arrested you for possession of heroin, Long."

"But you wouldn't, cause' I am just to important to have around!" His smile got wider. But Wufei's got darker in introspection.

"Lei ji tou ji kay hai meh yan." Wufei hissed in his native dialect, his entire pose riled up and ready to punch the damn lights out of the drug addict, "Dan hai lei mm ji tou ji kay say lor yat tiu!"

The smile on the addict disappeared as though what was said had drained the drugs out of his systems. His face went even paler when Wufei hands appeared out of nowhere ready to snap his neck.

"You should have died when you had to." Wufei breathed coldly, promptly removing his hands from Kar Long.

He would not get decent answers out of a drugged individual today. He left the room without a second glance.

(Note: Wufei was speaking in Cantonese. It roughly and literally meant 'you know who you are, but you don't know the dead road you're stuck in.")

- USA, Catalonia House -

"Has my cooking improved?" Dorothy flopped down onto the couch beside Trowa who was paying attention to the flickering television screen.

Trowa turned to her and wrapped his arms around Dorothy, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Marry me." He breathed into her ears.

She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Trowa within his loose embrace.

"I didn't know the meal was that good." she drawled. Her expression was a mixed of slight bewilderment and humor.

"I mean it." Trowa looked straight into Dorothy's eyes, voice firm.

Dorothy blinked once, and twice. She laid both of her hands on the both of Trowa's cheeks.

"You don't mean it." she said.

"You know I am serious."

"You don't mean it." she repeated.

"Why do you keep insisting we don't carry our relationship further than it is now!"

Trowa released his hands around Dorothy and brushed her hands off his face. He stood up and walked towards the balcony, leaning at the pillar. Moonlight illuminated his chiseled profile.

Dorothy had no answer to his accusations. She sucked in her silent tears.

"It was like this then and it hasn't changed a bit. Is this just another interesting fling to you?"

"No!" Dorothy exclaimed.

She stood up and walked towards Trowa and cupped his face towards her but he would not meet her eyes.

"I love you." Trowa whispered into the air.

"I know." She replied, resting her head in his chest.

That's why I can't afford to have you hate me, Trowa.