Standard Disclaimer #6: I'm just a poor college student who loves anime so please don't sue me.

"Arys, what is it like for you to use the Zero System?" Quatre asked.

Arys' hand tightened on his arm. She stopped walking and looked up at him, her gray eyes sad. Quatre and Arys were walking around in the gardens the day after the space battle. Quatre had insisted that they do something relaxing since she still owed him that walk from the day Heero had interrupted them.

Arys thought for a moment, her eyes clouded. Quatre stared down into her eyes, almost wishing he had not asked. Then, her gaze cleared and she gave Quatre a half-smile. One word came to her lips.

"Cold." Arys shivered in spite of the sunshine beating down on them. "Always cold..." Her voice trailed off. "I don't know why."

Quatre took her hand off his arm and put his arm around her. She was still shivering. "Are you all right?" Quatre asked, concerned. He looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I asked."

Arys stopped trembling and placed her hand over his. "No, Quatre, it's all right. Let's keep walking."

"If you're sure?" Quatre removed his arm from around her shoulders and placed her hand in the crook of his arm again.

Arys nodded. They continued walking.

They turned a corner of the walk and came face to face with...Duo Maxwell.

"Hello, Quatre." Duo's eyes were shadowed by the hat he wore. He was leaning casually against a tree lining the sidewalk.

"Duo, is that you?" Quatre stopped in his tracks, wanting to make sure that it was really his fellow Gundam pilot.

"The one and only Great Destroyer strikes again!" Duo dramatically swept off his cap and bowed deeply. He straightened and Arys saw that his cobalt blue eyes danced with merriment. "I've been looking all over the solar system for you, Quatre!"

"What for?" Quatre looked puzzled.

Duo gave Quatre a mischievous grin. "Well, before I tell you, I think you should introduce this lovely young lady to me!"

Arys flushed. No one had ever called her 'lovely' before. She wasn't used to compliments from guys. She quickly regained her composure. The flush disappeared from her cheeks and she stepped forward, her hand held out to him.

"Arys Walker."

Duo took her hand and shook it heartily. "Not much on words, are you?" He said.

Arys shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a conversationalist."

Duo let go of her hand and slapped his forehead, obviously frustrated. "Quatre, is this girl anything like Heero?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes, very much so." Quatre paused and smiled at Arys. "Until you get to know her, that is. Then, she's like Arys."

Arys gave him a grateful look.

Duo crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes as he studied her. "You're a Gundam pilot, aren't you?"

Arys nodded. "I pilot the Silverwind."

"Yeah, I watched you and Heero battle those mobile suits yesterday. It was quite a show."

Arys cocked her head, puzzled. "You were there?"

"I was using the hyperjammer on my Deathscythe so that no one could see me. Heero might have noticed something strange on his radar screen, but I think he was too psyched about the battle to do anything about it."

"Where's your Gundam?" Quatre asked.

Duo pointed over their heads. "Back there. Way back in the woods. I didn't want any girls trying to steal it. That's one thing I noticed. There are an awful lot of girls around here."

Arys could not help grinning at Duo. She liked this boy. He was a breath of fresh air in the confines of the Institution. "Quatre, shouldn't we tell Noin about this? We can hide his Gundam with ours in the storage chamber."

"Well, would it fit? Those bat wings are pretty big." Quatre jokingly pushed Duo. The second Gundam pilot stumbled away and almost bumped into a tree.

Duo regained his balance and stood with his arms akimbo. "Quatre, you know as well as I do that the wings fold!"

"Yeah, I know." Quatre muffled a laugh.

Arys was watching this little exchange between her fellow pilots with amusement. At least the stress of the war had not gotten to them. As Arys thought to herself, Quatre and Duo started a little fight, throwing rocks and such. Suddenly, a rock hit her on the shoulder. It was more annoying than painful. She looked around to see Quatre rearing back to throw another rock at her. Just as Quatre was about to release it, Duo came up behind him and tackled him. Arys stifled a laugh at the sight of the two wrestling on the ground. The shouts of "Get off me!" and name calling only added to the hilarity of the scene. She decided to join the "fun" and rushed into the fray. She jumped up and landed on Duo with her elbow digging into his back. He answered with a surprised grunt.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to get in on this!" Duo's face was dusty, but his smile shone through the grime.

"I'm as human as you are and I don't pass up a good fight!"

The trio resorted to throwing some more pieces of nature. The laughter and shouting immediately stopped when they heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps behind them.

Noin looked down at the bundle of Gundam pilots and allowed a confused look to spread over her face.

"What are you three doing?" Noin crouched down and scanned the pilots' faces. Arys sat back against a tree and took a deep breath. The two guys just sprawled out in the middle of the sidewalk, breathing hard.

Arys looked at Noin. She rubbed the back of her head. She actually looked embarrassed. "Just having a little fun. If anybody needs fun, it's a Gundam pilot."

Noin was still confused. Duo and Quatre were silent, mainly because they were still gasping for air.

"Right, I just came by to tell you that Silverwind is fully loaded and ready to go. That is, if you're planning on going anywhere." Noin stood and looked from Quatre to Duo.

"Duo Maxwell, I'll bet you started this whole thing." Noin gave him a mock-angry glare.

"Quatre was making fun of my Gundam!" Duo stood and brushed himself off.

"By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Mr. Rich Boy here." Duo jabbed Quatre in the arm.

Quatre stood and glowered at Duo. "Quit the name calling!"

Arys dusted herself off, stood up and nodded to Noin and Quatre. "I'll see you two later. I'm going to check Silverwind." She extended her hand to Duo and grinned. "Nice to have met you, Maxwell. You met the real Arys today."

Duo shook her hand and returned the smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you too." Duo grimaced and put a hand on his back. "You and your elbow."

_____________________

Heero scanned the screen in front of him. His mission report to Dr. J was less than satisfactory in his taste, but it would have to do. He sighed. His first "failed" mission. Actually, Heero considered the mission defunct due to the factor of Arys' reprogramming of the datalink. He had to admit that it had been a smart move.

"If she hadn't fiddled with the datalink as soon as she arrived, I would have had to kill her."

Heero stared at the screen. For a moment, he did not see the words he had typed there, only Arys' face when she had told him about his mission. It had been full of pain. She had known even before he had that his mission would be to kill her.

Why did she stay? Heero rubbed his eyes and Arys' face disappeared off the screen, replaced by the mission report.

Heero hit Enter and the mission report vanished. It was on its way to Dr. J. He only hoped that Dr. J would understand.

He was about to get up from his chair and leave to find Quatre and Arys when a red light began blinking on his screen. It meant that he had another mission. Heero leaned back in his chair and punched the space bar.

"Already? I just sent my report a few seconds ago."

Heero read the document aloud to himself.

_____________

"Background: Subject: Arys Walker

Arys Walker has proven to be adept at outsmarting Oz. Her datalink to the Oz base was actually connected to her Gundam's core dump. The girl is now a threat only if she is captured by Oz. Romefeller has sent out a warrant for her arrest.

Mission: Protect Arys Walker at all costs. She cannot fall into Romefeller's clutches.

Footnote: If the subject is already deceased, disregard this mission."

________________

"So they want her alive now, do they? They should be glad that I was not able to kill her."

Heero tapped the Enter button. "Mission accepted."

He stood up and shut his laptop. "It isn't much of a mission though. Arys is more than capable of taking care of herself."

A knock sounded at the door. Heero turned toward it.

"Hmm?" He said as he went and opened it.

Quatre stood in the doorway, a smile stretching across his face, which was also covered with dirt. His usually neat blonde hair was mussed and covered with pieces of leaves and dust.

Heero surveyed his friend with an impassive nod. "Hi, Quatre." He ignored Quatre's rumpled state.

"Hey, Heero, guess who's here?"

Heero stared at him, not replying.

"Come on, guess!"

"Why? You're going to tell me anyway."

Quatre frowned at him. "Aww, Heero, you're no fun!"

Heero crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorjamb. He sighed. "Duo, right."

Quatre stepped backwards in surprise. "How did you know?"

Heero raised his head. "Last night, during my battle with Arys, I picked up an erratic radar signature. It's the kind of signature only the Deathscythe would put out while using its hyperjammer. I didn't even think about what it was until this morning."

Quatre waved Heero out into the hall. "Well, Duo's about to put his Gundam into the storage chamber. We're supposed to meet him there."

Heero followed Quatre down the hall. "Has Duo met Arys?"

Quatre laughed. "Up close and personal. We had a little wrestling match out in the gardens." Quatre motioned to his rumpled clothes. "That's why I look like this."

Arys wrestling with two boys? "Is she all right?" Heero asked.

"Of course she's all right." Quatre smiled. "She took Duo out with an elbow in his back. You should have seen Miss Noin's face when she walked up and saw us all sprawled on the ground."

"I"m sorry I missed it," Heero said.

I knew Arys could take care of herself.

____________________

Arys had just finished running her simulation when the cargo bay doors across the room opened up to reveal the Deathscythe coming down on the lift. Arys slid down the haul line and lithely jumped to the ground when she was close enough. She ran over to her console and checked over her results. It had taken a bit of reprogramming to get the computer system to accept the numbers from the sim, but she had finally gotten it to work.

"Hmm... Up five percent." It did not seem like a lot on the screen, but Arys knew that it was actually a big percentage for an improvement in reaction time. Arys reached up for her transmitter.

We did it, Silverwind.

The Gundam's eyes flashed silver for a moment. Arys looked up at her Gundam and smiled in reply.

The elevator to the storage chamber opened and Noin, Quatre, and Heero stepped into the room.

"Hey, Arys! Get out of the way!" Noin yelled across the room.

Arys waved at her as she leaned against the foot of her Gundam. "Don't worry. I don't plan on getting squished by that..." Arys motioned toward the Gundam lumbering across the room, "...thing."

Duo's voice filled the chamber. "Thing? I'm insulted! This 'thing' has a name."

"I bet you can't even spell its name, Maxwell!" Arys shouted loudly, surprising Noin, Quatre, and especially Heero.

"Just you wait till I get down there, Arys Walker!"

Arys rolled her eyes. "Ooh, I'm scared."

Noin walked into the middle of the room and began guiding the Deathscythe to its spot beside the Silverwind. Duo slipped out of the cockpit and slid down the haul line, landing solidly on his feet. He was instantly surrounded by Noin and the other Gundam pilots.

"Hey, Heero, what's up?" Duo slapped Heero on the shoulder.

Heero looked less than pleased to see the American pilot, but Arys could see in Heero's eyes that he was happy Duo was here.

"Hi, Duo." Heero's expression remained emotionless.

Duo cuffed him on the shoulder. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too."

Heero's face darkened. "Don't do that."

Duo made a fist and pulled it back, getting ready to sock Heero again. "You mean this?" He was about to punch Heero when Noin grabbed his hand.

"Uh, Duo, I don't think that's a good idea. You've already been in one fight. I think that's enough for today."

Duo relaxed his fist. "Speaking of fights." Duo turned to Arys and regarded her coolly. "I recall a certain Gundam pilot accusing me of being uneducated."

Arys returned the cool stare. "Oh, I didn't say that. I just said you couldn't spell Deathscythe." Arys gave him an expectant look, as if waiting for him to say something.

"What?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Spell it."

Duo scratched his head. "Uh, D-E-A-T-H-S-Y-T-H-E." He said the letters slowly.

"Wrong."

Heero wondered what Duo was doing. He knew Duo could spell and rather well in fact. Then, he saw the teasing look Arys was giving Duo.

"You're impossible, Duo, but I like you anyway." Arys turned on her heel and walked away.

Duo shook his head, a smile on his face. He called after Arys. "It's not like I have to put it on my driver's license or anything!"

__________________

Heero was sitting in the library reading when he heard a sudden commotion out in the hallway. There were the sounds of people running down the hallway and girls screaming in fear. Heero immediately burst into the hallway. Duo whizzed past, laughing hysterically and holding a laptop tucked under one arm.

"Hey, Heero!" Duo said as he flew by.

Heero looked down the hall behind Duo to see Arys. There was murder in her eyes and a gun in her hand. She stopped in front of Heero.

"Maxwell, you moron, come back here with my computer!" She shouted after the retreating long-haired pilot.

"Arys, what's going on?"

Arys winked at Heero. "Nothing."

She took off again, hot on Duo's trail. A few girls shrieked as Arys passed them.

"Maxwell, if anything happens to my laptop, I'm going to kill you using my Shiv rifle!"

"Ha! You gotta catch me first!" Duo's voice floated back to where Heero was standing in the hallway.

Heero stood there until the two Gundam pilots disappeared around the corner, heading away from the area. He could still hear girls screaming though. It was amazing how far girls' voices could carry.

"Are you as confused as I am?" Quatre's voice came from behind Heero.

Heero glanced back at him. "I'm not sure."

"Duo said that he and Arys were going to end the chase in the library."

"What?" Heero said, turning completely around. "Did they plan this?"

Duo came running from the other side of the hallway again.

"Outta the way!" He shouted, barrelling through Heero, Quatre, and a few girls. He shoved open the door to the library and stumbled inside.

Heero watched as the door banged shut behind Duo. He spun around just in time to find Arys heading straight toward him. She ran into him, grabbing his arm in the process, and dragged him into the library.

"Wha..? Hey!" Heero staggered in after her. He could not believe how strong the girl was. Quatre followed them in, a curious look on his face.

Arys walked over to where Duo was standing and playfully bopped him on the head with her gun. Then, she bent over and began to laugh. Duo joined her. Heero and Quatre just watched them, totally confused.

"Did you see their faces?" Duo said in between laughs. "It was great!"

Arys covered one of her ears. "I don't think I've ever heard screams so loud. I bet they were scared of you, Duo."

"No way, Arys. It had to have been you with that crazed look in your eyes and all that gun-waving."

"I guess the girls here aren't used to seeing a gun-toting girl yelling bloody murder."

"Yeah, what's up with calling me a moron?"

"Hey, it was the only name I could think up on the spot."

Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmph, well, next time, think of something better."

Heero stepped between the two and turned to Duo. "Just what is going on here?"

Duo pointed around Heero at Arys. "It was her idea."

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Hold it right there!" Heero put up his hands. "What's the matter with you two? Relena's going to have a fit when she finds out about this."

Arys waved off the statement indifferently. "She'll forgive us, being the kind pacifist she is."

Heero glared at Arys. "Please don't make light of..."

"Her ideals are impossible. I've told you that..."

Heero's voice rose a bit. "Haven't we had this discussion already?"

"Yes!" Arys planted her hands on her hips and glared right back at him. "And that time you weren't yelling at me!"

"I'm not yelling!"

This time Quatre stepped between them. Duo just looked on with an amused smile on his face.

"Heero, Arys, calm down." Quatre put out his hands placatingly. "Heero, Arys and Duo were just having some fun. Of course, I don't really approve of the gun-waving part." Quatre gave Arys a stern look. Arys withered slightly. "But I'm sure Relena won't kick them out or anything like that. And Arys, Heero deserves an apology. You just insulted a friend of his. So, I think both of you should just apologize to each other."

Heero and Arys just looked at each other for a few minutes. Finally, Arys put out her hand. "You forgive me, and I'll forgive you. Deal?"

Heero reluctantly shook her hand. "Deal."

Arys turned to Duo. "And I forgive you too, Duo." She had a serious look on her face.

Duo pointed a finger into his chest. "Me? You forgive me? Wait just a second! I think it should be the other way around!"

"Yeah, right!" Arys walked toward the library door.

The librarian came over to their group. She was so timid, it had taken her all of fifteen minutes to get up enough courage to ask them to quiet down.

"Excuse me, could you please...?" She was interrupted by Duo.

"Don't worry. We were just leaving." Duo followed Arys out the door. His voice rose as soon as he left the library. "Where do you think you're going, Arys? You owe me an apology."

"Shut up, Duo." Arys' voice drifted in through the closing door.

Quatre and Heero glanced at each other and sighed.

"What is it with those two?" Heero shook his head. He couldn't believe he had just yelled at Arys like that.

Quatre shrugged. "Maybe it's because they're both Americans."

Author's notes: Hmm... This chapter ended up being all about Duo and Arys... um... having too much fun. Hope it didn't bore you all too much. The story has been pretty serious up till now though, and you can consider this a light-hearted break from all the fighting. Hey, I had to kill some time (one day to be exact) and this chapter fits in perfectly with my timeframe. Cuz tomorrow, Arys (without her Gundam) goes off to the summit meeting with Relena, Heero goes off to save the Treize faction's HQ, Quatre and Noin have to save Relena when she's coming back from the summit meeting, and Duo goes off to Luxembourg and has to deal with a crazy Heero piloting the Epyon. Sound like fun? Oh, and yeah, I know that bringing Duo in is totally out of the episode storyline, but the guy's so funny, I had to bring him in early. Don't worry though. He and Quatre go back to the circus to see Trowa and from there they'll get to Noin. So we don't lose Duo in the scuffle. :-)

Quick credit: My brother wrote the wrestling match scene when Arys and Quatre meet Duo in the gardens. Hope you all liked it.