Disclaimers: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise. Any songs or quotes belong to their respective authors listed with them.

Author’s Notes: Hey, I’m glad you’re back! I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. If you know of any Trowa sites or good Gundam Wing fanfiction sites where I can post this fic, then please email me with your ideas. Thanks! And I’d like to specifically thank Dawnwalker for reviewing me.

Averil was on the road an hour after packing, driving a jeep that Catherine allowed her to borrow from the circus. She had given Miles a tearful farewell, assuring him that he was in good hands. Catherine had given her directions to the hotel that Trowa would be staying in and the time and flight she would have to catch. She adjusted her clammy grip on the steering wheel and checked her rearview mirror for the hundredth time. She tried to shake her feelings of apprehension. There’s no one following you, Averil, she told herself. Yeah, there’s no one following me yet, her fear argued.

She had come to the decision that she would not go to Trowa’s hotel room tonight, but would wait to approach him until they were in the shuttle and it had taken off. Until then, she would just follow him. She planned on checking into the hotel, Black Rose Inn, tonight, where she would grab her own room and find out where Trowa’s was. That way, she would know that she was definitely on the same shuttle as him. It would just be my luck that if I didn’t, he would decide to sleep in and take a later flight.

Doubts began to assail her. What if he refused to let her come with him unless she told him the truth about who she was? What if he made her go back after they were on L4 anyway? What if he tried to make a pass at her? She laughed and quickly dismissed that worry. Like he even noticed her that way. He had been too hands-off. Granted, she had cringed if he was too close, but she couldn’t help it. It was like a reflex she had around men. But he hadn’t seemed to even look at her twice. There were only two times he had shown any interest in that way—when he’d called her cute when she was angry and when he had blushed when she reminded him of it. Other than that, he was totally indifferent. She wondered if he even considered her a friend. He didn’t show any sign of enjoying their mealtime talks. She thought about how he acted around Catherine, which was about the same as when he was with her. The only difference was his occasional signs of affection towards Catherine. Yet she knew that he cared very deeply for his sister. She thought back to what he had said about friendliness. Maybe Trowa was being friendly with her, but she just couldn’t see it because he didn’t show it the way most people would.

Averil’s thoughts were interrupted when she spotted the sign for Black Rose Inn. She switched on her turn signal and pulled into the parking lot. She parked in a secluded area to lower the chances that Trowa would notice the circus’s jeep. Before she stepped out of the jeep, she checked the left front pocket of her jeans to make sure that her ID was still there. It was her old one, her Lacy Kraten ID. She kept her Averil O’Hare ID in her purse. She had her first one on hand just in case she had to use her old identity in some sort of emergency. She was afraid, though, that someone might find it, so she always put it in her pocket.

Averil stepped out of the jeep and gathered her suitcase and her bag. She had enough clothes, money, and essentials to last her for a month or so. As she stepped into the hotel, she pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket, checking the notes that Catherine had given her. Trowa would be in room 337, so she would reserve her own room on the floor above him, in the 400s. She smiled politely at the lady behind the front desk. "Yes, could you get me a room on the fourth floor just for tonight?"

"Sure, what kind of room do you want?"

"Just one bed," Averil said, handing the lady her credit card.

The woman turned and typed on her computer. "Okay, here you go, room 407."

"Thank you," Averil said as she took the room key and her credit card and turned towards the elevator. After she had deposited her things in her room, she took the stairs down to the third floor. She peeked into the hallway and made sure that Trowa was not there. The stairs had taken her to the 320s, so she had only to follow the numbers until she reached the 330s. She walked along until she came to a hallway that branched off into the 330s. She poked her head around the corner. Her heart jumped a little as she saw Trowa walking down the hallway with his back towards her. She breathed in steadily, glad she had found him so easily, but still partially nervous. She crept around the corner in time to see him take a right turn at the end of the hallway. She padded as swiftly and quietly as she could down the hallway.

She once again peeked around the corner, but was surprised when she didn’t see Trowa. There was a sign outside a room verifying that it held vending machines. He must be in there, she thought and shrugged, there’s no need to follow him anymore tonight. I’ll just go get some sleep. She turned and headed back to her room.

Back on the fourth floor, Averil stood outside her door, fumbling with the lock. When she had finally pushed the door open, a hand clamped around her mouth and her waist and pushed her into the room. She tried to scream, but it was muffled by the man’s hand. She saw his foot kick the door shut behind them and then he twisted her around and threw her against the door.

"What are you doing here?" Trowa hissed, pulling his hand away from her mouth and clamping it around her arm to hold her against the door.

She tried to speak, but she had trouble catching her breath with his face only inches away from hers. "I-I can’t tell you," she finally blurted out in defeat.

"If you won’t tell me, then I’ll find out. So let’s just be quick about this and you tell me," he said coldly, his eyes hard like steel in the dim light of the room.

"Trowa, please," she pleaded, "I can’t tell you anything. You just have to trust me on this. I need to go with you."

His eyes softened only a little before he said, "Why were you following me, huh? Am I supposed to believe that you’re totally innocent here?"

"I was following you because I didn’t want you to make me go back to the circus. I was going to wait until we were on the shuttle to let you know I was coming with you. As far as my innocence is concerned, you’ll just have to trust me."

"I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that. Not when there’s so many questions left unanswered." With that, he began to pat down her body, ignoring the heat that immediately flooded his veins.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Averil cried in alarm.

"I’m making sure you don’t have any weapons on you," he answered gruffly. His hand stopped on her hip when he felt the ID card through the material of her jeans. Averil swallowed and prayed that he wouldn’t ask about it. Her prayers were answered as he continued his search, deeming the card unworthy of his attention for the time being.

Meanwhile, thoughts flew through Trowa’s mind a mile a minute. He was disappointed to find that Averil was untrustworthy, and aggravated with his attraction towards her that hadn’t lessened because of it. If anything, it had heightened. With her so close to him, he could smell her peach-scented shampoo and feel the heat of her body. When he was satisfied that she had no weapons on her, he pushed her towards the bed, where she ungracefully plopped down on it. "Stay here," he said sternly, his tone leaving no room for dispute.

Averil obediently stayed where he had put her. She trembled involuntarily, scared of this new, angry side of Trowa. She watched as he began to search her bag and suitcase. "What are you going to do with me?" she asked fearfully, her voice barely above a whisper.

He looked up at her, his expression unreadable. "I’m going to take you with me. There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight for a minute. You might as well call the front desk now and tell them you won’t be needing this room for the night, because you’re coming with me."

Her eyes widened and she choked out, "No, you can’t do that. Please, Trowa, I won’t leave tonight. I want to go with you." She stood and grabbed the front of his shirt, looking up at him pleadingly.

Trowa’s eyes lowered to the hands that clutched at his shirt. He raised his hands and lightly touched her arms. His eyelids lowered as he spoke huskily, "I thought I told you not to move from that spot." She was suddenly aware of how close she was to him, and she quickly dropped her hands and took a step back. Trowa keenly felt her absence, but then he said, "I can’t be sure that you really want to go with me. It wouldn’t be too unusual for someone to want to kill a former Gundam pilot, and you might be in league with an assassin. You may be the assassin. I’m sorry, but you have to stay with me." His voice was gentle again. He bent to retrieve her bag and suitcase to hide any expressions that might cross his face and give away his feelings.

Averil, of course, noticed no such thing. "You’re so paranoid," she commented, but obeyed and turned sadly towards the phone, sure that he hated her now. After she had informed the front desk that she no longer needed her room, she turned back to him. "Well," she said in defeat, "I’m ready."

Trowa grimaced. She sounds like I’m leading her to her execution. Is it really that bad that she has to share a room with me? Surely she doesn’t think that I’m going to hurt her or anything! His words revealed none of his inner thoughts. "Let’s go take your key back first." She nodded and meekly followed him out the door.

//_-

Back in Trowa’s hotel room, Averil was curled up in a protective ball on the one double bed in the room. She watched Trowa as he got ready for bed. Her stomach was doing flip-flops as she wondered whether he would try to share the bed with her. She didn’t think she could stand that. She cringed at the thought of sleeping next to a man. She’d never been caught in that position before, as she had always been able to finagle her way out of those circumstances with the men Kraten had made her escort to parties. She caught her breath as Trowa pulled his shirt off, revealing a well-muscled torso and arms. Not that she hadn’t seen him shirtless before—the costume for his high-wire act had only suspenders for his upper body. But this was different, because he might be crawling into bed beside her in the next few minutes. She rolled over and faced the wall, feeling a little light-headed.

His footsteps made soft sounds in the plush carpet as he walked over to the bed. Averil held her breath as he leaned over her and paused for a second. What was he doing?

Trowa had simply given into an impulse and inhaled Averil’s sweet-smelling hair before he retrieved a pillow and blanket.

She let out her breath as she realized that he was going to be a gentleman and sleep on the floor. Unbidden tears filled her eyes at his consideration.

"Trowa?" she said timidly, after he had turned out the light and settled himself on the floor.

"Yes?"

"How did you know I was following you?"

Surprisingly, he laughed. "You can’t follow a Gundam pilot, don’t you know that?"

She quickly leaned over the bed to try and see his smiling face. "I made you laugh!" she said incredulously. Then she whined, "But I can’t even see your face because the light’s not on!" At that, he laughed again.

//_-

Trowa and Averil stood in line for the shuttle, waiting to hand in their tickets. Trowa hadn’t let her out of his sight the whole morning. He had been acting even more aloof than normal, and she figured that he’d stay that way until she told him her whole story. But she wasn’t about to tell him until she was good and ready. She had to know that she could trust him, and that he would accept her earlier weaknesses. Would he understand that she just wasn’t strong enough to stand up for herself? Or would he be even angrier with her? She couldn’t bear having him mad at her. She hated how he was standing so rigid next to her and how he refused to talk. Last night, after she had made him laugh, he had clammed up right away, as if he was determined not to open up with her anymore. And things had been going so well back at the circus! Although she wasn’t sure if he had liked her even as a friend, she did feel that in time he would have. Now it was all ruined, just because she was too afraid to trust him.

I’m so screwed up, she thought in despair, lowering her head and clenching her fists at her side. Noticing her change in demeanor, Trowa looked down at Averil, dreading the vulnerable form that he had caught glimpses of before. And there she was, looking so needy. He hated the sudden surge of protectiveness that threatened to overwhelm him. And it did, because he couldn’t stop himself from turning to her and lifting her chin up with his hand. She looked up at him with watery eyes. "What’s wrong?" he whispered, unable to make his voice any louder.

She reached up to take hold of his hand that had moved to cup her cheek. She struggled to say something, but she felt like she was drowning in his deep green eyes—concerned eyes. Surely she could trust him if he was concerned about her? "I-uh-I—," she began, but was interrupted by a delighted sigh.

Trowa and Averil broke out of their reverie and turned to see the ticket lady, a sweet little grandmotherly type, smiling with a hand over her heart. Apparently, it was their turn in line. They quickly dropped their hands and fumbled in their pockets for their tickets, feeling the heat rise to their cheeks. The ticket lady sighed again. "Oh, you two must be newlyweds. I can see it in your eyes. Where are you going on your honeymoon?" she asked eagerly yet innocently, clasping her hands beneath her chin.

Trowa looked up quickly. Averil dropped her purse. The ticket lady just kept on smiling sweetly, until Trowa finally found his voice. "No, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. We’re not married." She looked shocked and a little confused. Realizing how she must have interpreted that, Trowa hastily continued, "We’re not like that—I mean—we’re not going on anything like a honeymoon or anything and we-um—"

"We’re on a business trip," Averil cut in, saving them from further embarrassment. By now she had gathered her wits and her fallen purse, and stood confident and seemingly unaffected by it all.

Trowa stared. There she goes again. I swear, she must have multiple personalities, he thought.

The lady nodded wisely as she gave them a knowing smile and took their tickets. "Well, you have a nice trip, and remember," she said, winking slyly, "save a little time for play." Averil nodded and smiled weakly before turning to Trowa, who stood slightly dazed. Somehow, she managed to calmly take his arm and lead him through the doorway.

//_-

You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door.

-Henry Ward Beecher

Even More Author’s Notes: If you have any comments or flames, review/email me. I can take criticism and I love compliments. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

To Be Continued