Gundam Girls

Author: VLG

Over-all Rating: R

Series: Gundam Wing

Genre: Bloody hell, what would you call this?? Comedy, drama, adventure, insane? ^^;;

Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+13?, 6+13, plus other pairings and flirtations ^^

Spoilers: None that I can think of

Warnings: Yaoi/shounen ai (definately), yuri/shoujo ai (possibly), het (definately), lemons (maybe), citrus, mayhem, pranks, crazy cast of characters, cross-dressing, boarding school hijinx, disturbing issues, pokey author (^^;;), and more original characters than you can shake a stick at!

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of Gundam Wing are used without permission for the purpose of entertainment only. The author has made no profit from, because or due to this work. Original characters are copyright their original owners, and are used with permission.

Summary: A new, long-term mission calls for the boys to hide out at a boarding school . . . as girls!

Gundam Girls

by VLG

Part 1: Mission Received

Quatre stared blankly at the glowing computer screen. The complex mission outlined before him stirred a feeling deep within him, one he could not quite describe. His hands clenched his tan trousers, soaking the fabric with his sweat. His heart beat increased with each line read and his mouth felt as dry as the desert. Only one thought crossed his mind as he read the message for the fourth time . . .

"Oh, shit."

~*~*~*~

"Speak." Quatre couldn't help but smile. Heero always did get straight to the point.

"Heero, I need your help with our next mission." His smile had disappeared by the time he spoke those last three words. A strange sense of foreboding settled in the pit of his stomach whenever he even remotely thought of their next mission. The simple phrase became synonymous with fear and dread.

"What do you know about it that I don't?" Heero commanded rather than asked. Quatre already knew from an earlier conversation with Trowa that the others were given a rather truncated message. He could tell Heero was a bit irked at being left out of the loop. However, he was about to be pulled head-long into the whole mess, and he most likely wouldn't be happy about it.

"More than enough. Meet me tomorrow at the usual place to discuss details. What time can you be there?"

~*~*~*~

The next day proved to be an unusually hot day for the little town in Arizona, with the sun sweltering and not a breeze to be found. For once, Quatre was glad for the stone architecture of the building he was entering. He was surprised the old house was still standing after being built so long ago. He decided not to think about it as the cool, musty air enveloped him, cooling his skin as the sweat covering his skin dried slowly. Quatre checked his watch. 13:59:50 . . . Right on time, and if he knew Heero, he'd already be waiting in the living room. Quatre made his way through the dusty and dim kitchen and dinner room, then climbed the three, blue-carpeted steps into the living room. There, sitting in the middle of the dust-covered floor, was Heero tapping away on his laptop, the light from the monitor illuminating his features.

"Good afternoon, Heero. I hope you haven't been waiting too long." He greeted cheerfully, despite the circumstances. Despite continually reassuring himself that the mission shouldn't be that difficult or as bad as he fears, the large ball of ice that had settled in his intestines, formed from his doubts, still refused to be dislodged or thawed.

"Quatre." Heero replied, not bothering to look up. Several keystrokes and a few clicks later, he turned his full attention to Quatre, who had dusted a spot on the floor and sat down with his feet tucked under him.

"How much do you know, Heero? About the mission?" Quatre idly drew simple designs in the dust as every possible contingency ran through his mind.

"Only that the five of us are to rendevous at a designated safe house in Violet City in one month and to wait for further instructions. I also know that there is an OZ base located on the edge of the city."

"It's not so much as a base, per se, but rather one of Treize's mansions. OZ has soldiers stationed within and around the mansion as well as throughout the city for his protection. Because of this, we are going to have to take some drastic measures to keep from getting captured. Let me explain . . ."

~*~*~*~

"What?!?" The reaction was pretty much unanimous, though Duo was the one to give it voice. However, Quatre could easily read the expressions on the others faces. Wufei's face held a mixture of shock, disbelief, and fear, mirrored on the window's surface as he sat on the windowsill. Trowa's features were schooled to that of calm acceptance as he sat stiff-backed in the one lumpy, overstuffed, so-called easy chair, but his eyes, well, eye belied his true reaction of fear and dread. Duo was showing what everyone felt, only louder, jumping up from his lounging position on the ratty, old, foul-smelling, slightly listing sofa. Heero just blinked when Quatre had told him, a brief flash of . . . something passing in his eyes before returning to cold calculation once again. Now, he was facing his laptop across the room, doing who knows what, and leaving Quatre to do all the explaining. He didn't really mind, but some things were hard to talk about and Heero's ability to be blunt would have helped. Quatre rubbed the bridge of his nose as three pairs of eyes begged for an answer, or at least some sort of explanation.

It had been five hours since Quatre first arrived in the dismal, rundown townhouse that's acting as a safe-house for the five , young, Gundam pilots, and the sun had long since set. The building, though sturdy, was in quite a disarray, rooms filled with junk and filth, and undoubtedly infested with rodents and insects of various shapes and sizes. The only area remotely liveable was a large room on the top floor overlooking the street. The bay windows had long ago been boarded up, but a few planks had worked themselves loose over the years, letting sun filter through the filthy grime on the windows. There was little furniture occupying the capacious area, consisting of a dilapidated couch, something that resembled an easy chair, and an old school desk. The floor was covered in so much dust and dirt, Quatre first thought it was a carpet. After a bit of looking around, he found a working, albeit disgusting, bathroom adjacent to the room. Dissatisfied with the current condition of the temporary living quarters (it made his skin crawl), Quatre spent the afternoon cleaning and scrubbing the two rooms as best he could, his blue denim overalls and tee-shirt grimy from his efforts. He had just barely finished when Heero arrived, wearing a similar outfit with the addition of a red plaid shirt and a baseball cap, driving a truck full of supplies. During the last month, Heero had been letting his hair grow out and it was now long enough to pull back in a small ponytail. It was arduous, but the two of them managed to get all the boxes and trunks up to the top floor and ditch the truck before the other three arrived, though the extra hands would have helped.

Now, tired, frustrated, and nursing a migraine, Quatre began to explain, in minute detail, their new mission to the other three pilots.

"Duo, please sit back down. Believe me, it's not my idea to disguise ourselves as girls for an indeterminable amount of time. However, I see no other way around it. As ridiculous as it sounds, it makes perfect sense."

"Perfect sense my ass!" Duo exclaimed. He had returned to the couch, sitting with his arms crossed and an indignant expression on his face. "We've never had to do something this drastic before!"

"Which is why they won't be expecting it, Duo." Heero spoke calmly from behind him.

"Drastic times do call for drastic measures. Surely even you can see that, Maxwell." Wufei scowled into the window.

"You can't be serious, Wufei!" Duo had risen again, "I thought you out of all of us would be the most against this!"

"We have no other choice, Maxwell! If you'd just open your eyes and look at the facts you'd understand that!" Wufei shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Please stop fighting!" Quatre pleaded, stepping between the two boys, "It only gets worse from here on in and fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help!"

Resigning to reason, they returned to their seats, looking elsewhere than each other. Quatre gently sat down on one of the steamer trunks behind him with a sigh, running his hand through his gritty hair.

"Quatre," Trowa spoke softly, settling further into the decrepit chair. Quatre looked up at the taller boy who seemed to be sinking into the superfluous stuffing, the gaudy shirt he was wearing surprisingly blending in with the stain-saturated upholstery. Quatre would have giggled at the spectacle if the tension in the room wasn't quite so thick, "please continue."

Quatre gave a small sigh, crossing his legs ever so lady-like. He gently massaged his temple with one finger while he thought on his next words. However, it was Heero who spoke next.

"Before we continue, I think it's best to make sure we are all clear on the purpose of this mission. Duo, you start."

"Fine," Duo huffed, directing his glare at his shoes since Heero was out of his line of sight. "From what I gathered, we're here because this is the central point between several OZ bases that we are suppose to destroy. We'll be notified intermittently when and where to strike throughout an undetermined time. During that time, we are to go under cover and attend one of these private schools this city's so famous for. But, since Treize has a mansion on the city limits, resulting in OZ soldiers being stationed all over the city, we must disguise ourselves. Even though the chances of them looking under their very noses for us are slim to nil, there is still a chance we could be recognized as we are. And the odds of them even thinking of looking for us in a girls' school as girls are microscopic."

"Good."

"But why girls?!?" Everyone groaned. "Why can't we just disguise ourselves as other boys? Or some of us boys, like me, and some of us as girls?"

"Duo . . ." Quatre held his hand to his forehead.

"Besides, the other students are bound to notice a few things are not quite right. And what about dorm rooms? And showers? And . . . and . . ."

"Calm down, Duo! All of that has been taken into consideration. We've figured out how to take care of some things, and the rest we'll just have to be extra careful. And besides, the way we'll be disguised will be so convincing, the possibility that we might be Gundam pilots won't even enter anyone's minds." Quatre tried to assure him, as well as the others. This decision had by no means been made lightly, and all possible contingencies had been considered. Between him, Heero, and Iria, they had managed to take care of just about all of the foreseeable problems. There was just one problem they couldn't take care of without an irreversible operation. Unfortunately, it just happened to be one of the biggest problems they had to face.

"How so?" Two simple words, spoken as soft as silk, captured Quatre's attention. He turned to look at the green-eyed pilot who had spoken them.

"Well, with hormone shots and practice, mostly." Quatre's cheeks began to redden. "The hormone shots will make us more feminine, but we'll have to practice acting like girls to make it more believable." He was now fully flushed and staring at his hands, which were folded on his lap.

"We should start by calling each other by our undercover names." Heero began typing frantically on his laptop, bringing up a list of names and copies of the school applications. "Trowa, you are now Tracy Barlow. Quatre, you're Katrina Williams. Wufei, you're Wanda Chan. Duo, you're Duet Maxwell. And I'm Helen Young. Everyone got that?"

"Duet?? What kind of name is Duet?!? Who picked these names anyway?" Duo received his answer through a glare from Heero, and shrank back into the couch. "I just *had* to ask," he muttered to himself.

"Anyone else have a problem with their name?" Heero dared anyone to complain. None was forth coming. "Good. It's too late to change them anyhow. The school applications have already been sent."

Everyone sat in silence for a while, digesting the new information. Heero and Quatre mulled over what they already knew and prepared themselves for the coming questions and objections.

"Alright then, Katrina, tell us more about these hormone shots. What will they do and what should we expect?" Duo broke the silence as he reclined into a more comfortable position on the couch, giving in to reason at last.

"Well, the details are rather complicated, but I can tell you what changes you should expect. For example, we'll grow breasts," Quatre's blush returned, "roughly two sizes smaller than any female relatives."

"Katrina, you, Tracy, and Wanda are the only ones who have, or even remember any female relatives." Duo reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. Your best guess is to imagine what would be accurately proportional to your body's frame. But you won't really know till they grow in completely. Besides that, body fat will be redistributed, rounding out your hips and reshaping your legs, particularly the thighs. Body hair will become finer and less noticeable, except for eyebrows, eyelashes, and such. Energy and muscles decrease, however plenty of exercise will take care of that. Skin will become softer and more supple. And . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, we get the idea. What I want to know is what's going to happen with our, you know, package?" Duo, ever blunt, got right to the point.

"I was just getting to that, Duo." Quatre rubbed the back of his neck. His blushed had deepened, creeping down his neck, and his hands became damp. This was not going to be easy.

"They'll shrink. More specifically, your testicle and penile skin. This makes your 'package', as you put it, less noticeable and easier to hide." Heero answered for him. Quatre silently thanked him. Everyone else were too aghast to say anything.

"Don't worry, everything's reversible, plus there is a way to keep your, uh, skin from shrinking too much. You just have to, um, how should I put this . . ." Quatre worried a button on his shirt as he thought of a tactful way to put things.

"You'd have to 'encourage' erections. In other words, jack off at least once a day. However, the hormone injections will also decrease the occurrence of spontaneous erections and decrease your sex drive." Heero said this without so much as flinching, his tenacity surprising even Quatre. No one made eye contact, somewhat uncomfortable with the current subject. Surprisingly, Wufei was the one to break the unbearable silence.

"What . . . what will this do to us . . . emotionally? I mean, women's emotions fluctuate often."

"He's got a point. And what about periods? I know we can't have them, but could we at least emulate them somehow?" Trowa added, speaking easily, considering.

"The hormone levels will differ from week to week specifically to resemble a menstrual cycle. Our emotions will probably be bouncing of the walls for the first week or so, till we get used to the changes, but we will be more sensitive and emotional than we're used to." Quatre was beginning to relax a bit, now that most of the details were out in the open. More or less.

"We should start taking the injections now. Katrina, where are they?" Heero turned to the blonde youth, waiting for directions.

"Oh! They're in a little fridge under the sink in the bathroom over there," he pointed to a door to Heero's left. "There should be enough for two weeks, just long enough till we get into the school."

"And once we're there? How will we get our shots without it looking suspicious?" Wufei asked.

"The school's doctor is on our side. She'll be administering the shots once we're inside." Quatre informed them as Heero fetched the supplies. He returned shortly with five syringes, each marked with a different color, cotton balls, and rubbing alcohol.

"Each shot has been calibrated to work specifically with our own body's chemistry, so remember your color and try not to get them mixed up. Otherwise, they might not work or there could be an adverse reaction." Quatre explained as Heero handed out the syringes, matching the colors to each pilot. The purple, he handed to Duo, the green to Trowa, the yellow to Wufei, the blue to Quatre, and the red he kept.

"So that's why you needed our blood." Wufei offered.

"Yes, exactly." Quatre was glad things were going so well, he had almost forgotten what was next.

"The best places for the injection are the hip or the inner thigh. I will help administer the shots until you can do them yourself or until we reach the school." Heero told them, sitting back at his laptop, but facing the others for objections. There were none. Duo, Trowa, and Wufei just sat there staring at the liquid filled syringes and tried not to think of a needle-wielding Heero Yuy.

"Who's first?" The simple question caused the room to fill with tense silence. Even Heero, who uttered the two words, would speak no further, nor move till he had his answer. After a moment, it came in a whisper.

"I, uh, I guess I'll go first." Quatre bravely walked over to Heero and handed him the blue-capped syringe.

"Hip or thigh?" Heero asked him, taking the syringe and placing on the table.

"Uh, hip, I guess." Quatre's blush had returned, making him wonder how much more he would do so once the hormones take affect. Heero opened the bottle of alcohol and wet one of the cotton balls while Quatre untucked his shirt and unfastened his pants. He turned slightly to allow Heero access to his right hip. He held his shirt up as Heero slid down his pants and boxers a few inches and swabbed an area on Quatre's upper right cheek. All eyes were on Heero as he uncapped the needle and prepped the syringe. Quatre couldn't watch as Heero inserted the needle into the meat of his hip, moving it slightly to make sure it wasn't hitting any arteries. Quatre squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the sting of the needle sliding around with each little movement. A numbness spread from the needle, as the contents were emptied into him. It was over quickly, a sigh of relief nearly escaping Quatre's lips as Heero bandaged the small hole. Quatre gave the others a reassuring smile as he returned to his seat, nearly forgetting to re-fasten his pants.

"Next." Heero called, already wetting a new cotton ball. Trowa silently approached, handing Heero his syringe and making quick work of his jeans to expose his right hip. Heero worked with precision as he quickly repeated the actions he performed on Quatre. Unlike the fair-haired pilot, Trowa watched with fascination as the needle pricked his skin and invaded his body, still as a statue. Instead of returning to the chair once Heero had finished, Trowa decided instead to lean against the wall connecting to the bathroom.

Heero didn't have to call for the next person, as Wufei was already there, ready and waiting to get the whole ordeal over with. Wufei also opted for the hip, and faced no one as Heero performed the task. He couldn't allow anyone to see his embarrassment from Heero's prodding. Once done, Wufei returned solemnly to his perch on the window sill, eyes downcast to avoid anyone's gaze.

"You guys, or should I say girls, are nuts." Duo shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, how many of you don't sleep on your side?" The others exchanged looks, but remained silent. "Thought so." Duo said smugly.

"Duet." Heero called, tired of waiting for the braided blunder to shut up and come get his shot.

"Hm? Oh, right. It's my turn to get stung by the queen bee." Duo joked as he stood. He was met with a glare from the 'queen bee', but it disappeared as Duo stripped out of his pants and stood between his knees. With a sly grin, Duo propped his right leg up on Heero's knee, and pushed back his boxers to reveal his inner thigh. "I'm all yours, Yuy. Take your best shot."

Heero calmly re-wet the cotton ball he was holding, then swiftly lifted Duo's leg over his own left shoulder, holding it in place with his left hand on Duo's thigh. Duo was caught so off guard that he was speechless. Heero deftly continued his work, even with one hand. At one point, he glanced up at Duo. His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open, and a brilliant red blush covered his face as he stared at Heero. Returning his attention back to where it belonged, the corner of Heero's mouth curved upward ever so slightly. Despite his calm demeanor, Heero had been deeply affected by Duo's actions, and even now his own. His heart beat with the roar of the ocean in his ears, his temperature rose with the heat of a thousand suns, and it took all his will power to keep from blushing like a school girl who just received attention from her crush. His training kept his hands from trembling and his breath even. However, he was not able to control his sweaty palms. He managed to finish without incident, but a wet palm print remained on Duo's outer thigh once he let go. Fortunately for Heero, Duo was too stunned to notice, and the others had found something else to give their attention to during the whole ordeal. Heero patiently waited for Duo to move. He looked up at Duo, for the alternative was to stare at the crotch not ten inches from his face.

"Want me to 'kiss it and make it better?'" Heero managed to say with a straight face. Duo scoffed angrily and jerked his leg off Heero's shoulder, making him lose his balance and knock Heero forward. The two grabbed each other for support, which resulted in them landing on the floor with two 'oof!'s and a thud. This brought the attention of the other three boys. Quatre tried hard not to laugh at the position the two had landed in. Duo was on his back, his right leg had managed to get hooked around Heero's waist. His hands still clutched Heero's plaid shirt. Heero had landed on top of Duo, his ass up in the air, and his nose buried in Duo's bellybutton. He was still holding Duo's waist as he slowly sat up. As he did so, Duo let go and moved his leg to the floor, placing a hand to his already aching head. He tried to sit up, but found Heero straddling his left leg.

"Helen, get off. You're heavy." Duo said as he wiggled his leg. Heero quickly got up and offered Duo a hand, who gladly accepted. Both back on their feet agin, they noticed that the others were once again engrossed with whatever it was they found so fascinating mere moments ago.

"Think they noticed?"

"Hm . . ." Heero studied the three teenagers, who pretended not to hear what Duo said. "Yes."

"What makes you so sure?" Duo asked, playing along.

"Katrina's holding her stomach from trying not to laugh, and she's staring at the floor. Wanda is 'looking' through a boarded up window and sweating profusely. Tracy's legs are crossed, and she is staring at the holes in the wall." Heero stated, as if giving a weather report. The three now stared at them with shock and embarrassment painted on their faces. Duo laughed and flopped onto the couch once again, not bothering to put his pants back on. Heero returned to the desk to take his own shot, while the others hung their heads in embarrassment.

"What now, Katrina?" Duo asked, breaking the unbearable silence.

"Well, after Helen has, uh her shot, I figured we'd start on, uh, makeup." Quatre rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He looked up just in time to see Heero's overall's pool around his feet. He wasn't sure if he should look away or not, even as a blush crept across his cheeks. With his plaid shirt on, no one could really see if Heero had any underwear on or not. Duo stared openly, while Trowa watch Quatre instead, while Wufei simply denied the existence of anyone else in the room besides himself, his arms firmly clamped around his chest, as if warding off a chill.

Heero felt Duo's heated gaze as he propped his left leg upon the stool. He deliberately took longer than was necessary to complete his task, but the look he briefly caught on Duo's face was well worth it. Rather than bother with the overalls, he buttoned up the large shirt, which gave ample covering. He finished the top buttons as he unceremoniously sat down on the stool.

"Well ladies, shall we get started?"

Interlude 1: Meet the Dean

A pile of papers littered the dinning table as Vince tried to sort out the new students who will be arriving at the start of the new semester. Sighing, he tossed down the papers he had been scrutinizing and removed his glasses, rubbing at his tired eyes.

"Tired, Daddy?" Karen Marie walked up behind him, rubbing his shoulders like she has so many times before. Vince only grunted in response. Karen giggled, "Maybe you should take a break for a while."

"I'd love to, Sweets, but school starts tomorrow and I need to get this taken care of."

"I know, I know. But you won't any good to anyone if you burn yourself out before then, now will you?" she chided gently. She hated to nag him, but someone had to give him a kick in the rear when he needed it, and she was the only one left to do so.

"You're right, as always. What do you suggest I do, hmm?" Vince leaned back, letting his daughter's near-expert hands work their magic. She was nearly as good as her mother in almost every aspect. If only her hands were bigger . . . she got that from Marie, too . . . Despite her petite hands, Marie certainly made up for it with speed and vigor in her massages . . . something Karen had yet to master.

"A walk. Take a stroll around campus and look at things not three inches from your face. The fresh air and sunshine will do you good." Just then, Karen hit a particularly sore knot in Vince's shoulder.

"Ah! Right there, right there! Oooooh, yeah . . . that's it . . ." Vince cooed.

Karen giggled and worked on the knot as best she could. "It's a good thing we don't have neighbors, or people would talk!"

"Hush, you. And people already talk, though I can't imagine why. You're such a tom-boy - Ouch! Not so rough!"

"Talk like that won't win you any favors! Besides, make me mad and you won't have anyone to massage your shoulders for you!" She made her point further by digging her knuckles under his shoulder blade.

"Is that a threat?" He smiled back at her, playing along.

"Not a threat, per se. More like incentive to keep in my good graces!" She hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.

"No problem! All I have to do is buy you chocolate!"

Karen feigned shock, gasping loudly. "Dear sir, are you attempting to BRIBE me?!?"

"Yup!"

" . . . I can live with that! Just keep the chocolate flowing and no harm should come to you."

"Wait . . . did you say 'should'?" Vince turned to look at her, eyebrow quirked.

"Hey, I'm not offering protection ya know! Just my good graces!"

"Awww! Alright, I guess that will have to do." he sighed melodramatically.

"Hey! Don't make me sound so cheap!"

"Hardly! Do you know expensive it is raising a teenage girl?!? The cost of chocolate alone . . ."

"Alright, alright, I get it! Sheesh! So are ya going to take that walk or what?" She pokeed him in the ribs.

"Yeah, in a little bit. I want to get a few more of these taken care of first."

"Just don't wait too long, 'kay?" Karen kissed his forehead and let him go.

"I won't, Precious. I would have been done by now if the computers weren't down for maintenance. I'll leave in thirty minutes at the latest. I promise."

"Alright. I'll be in my room if you need anything." Vince watched her leave, wondering if she would do it again . . . Sure enough, Karen left her door open a crack in case he called her. He chuckled softly over her over-protectiveness. Her protective tendencies had lessened over the years, certainly, but a few quirks still remained. After Marie died, Karen was so afraid of losing Vince that she insisted on watching him every waking moment. The only time she relented is when either of them was bathing or relieving themselves. Even then she needed to hear his voice to keep from going into hysterics. It was a slow had painful process for her to regain her independence, little by little. Puberty helped quite a bit.

Shaking himself out of his revery, Vince picked up the next stack of papers.

Vince read through Wanda Chan's papers. Every thing appeared to be in order. From her records, she was a very intelligent young woman, capable of handling herself. Her extra curricular activities were quite impressive.

She might just be the one . . . I have to pick someone to stay with us anyway, since there's one too many students this year, so it might as well be her. Though I should probably wait on deciding on that until I meet her. Or at least until after I've reviewed the others.

A photograph slipped from the stack of papers he was holding, falling to the floor. Vince picked it up and took a look.

" . . . beautiful . . ."

"Did you say something, Dad?" Karen called out.

"Uh, no! I-it's nothing! Just muttering again." Vince breathed a sigh of relief as she took it at that and left him alone.

He looksed at the photo again. It showed Wufei from the shoulders up, in front of a blue curtain background. His hair was slightly tousled, cheeks flushed, eyes bright from unshed tears, and smile bright and cheerful. He had been sitting sideways and turned to look at the camera, head slightly tilted, causing some of his hair to fall forward.

"Karen? I'm taking my walk now. I have my cell phone if you need me." Standing up, he placed the photo back on the table with the rest of the papers.

"Okay, Dad! Be careful!"

Vince walked slowly down the path with no real destination in mind. He let his feet wander as his mind ran in circles.

Vince growled at his warring emotions and started jogging to clear his mind. It didn't work. He tried running.

He ran faster and faster, until all he could think about was running, making sure he didn't trip and keep his footing.

He ran, his hair flapping in the breeze he created, his heart pounding, sweat running down his face and back. His bones jar with every step, his shoes offering no comfort as they were not designed for this kind of torture. His breathing, once controlled, became ragged and harsh.

Still, he ran.

Ran from his demons and the ache of longing. Longing he thought would wan with time. Longing that grew with each passing day. The longing to be held and loved again, as his wife had before her passing.

The bitter sting from her memory no longer haunted him. It had faded as the longing grew. One pain for another.

Karen tried to get him to start dating again. Still did. Each attempt met with utter failure, but still she tried. He didn't have the heart to tell her he just wasn't interested dating again. Even with the longing, he didn't think he could handle the pressure of dating. A long time ago he decided he'd rather stay single and live with the longing than risk further pain. He never told Karen this, he didn't think she would understand. Besides, no woman had stirred even a little bit of interest in him before. If one had . . . But no, none had. Till now, till Wanda Chan, and only a photo at that.

Vince pressed harder, despite his burning lungs and aching muscles. The sun was getting low in the horizon. The dormitory loomed in the distance, a dark shadow against the setting sun. Vince headed for it, deciding to call it quits before his lungs burst.

Vince opened the door and hobbled inside, his muscles, screaming in agony, already stiffening. He let out a pain-filled groan and instantly regrets doing so.

"Where have you been?!? I've been calling and calling! Why haven't you answer your phone?!? Why are you cringing like that?!? Did you hurt yourself?!? Why didn't you say something! Here, let me help you!" Karen said all this in a flurry in the time it took for her to traverse the space between her room and the front door.

"Karen, Sweets, I'm alright! I'm just a little sore from running, that's all. I'm okay, really."

"You went running like that?!?"

"Well, it wasn't planned. I just needed to blow off some steam."

"Why didn't you answer the phone, then?" Karen crossed her arms, demanding a logical answer for ignoring the one thing that was suppose to keep them in contact when apart. Vince dug the phone out of his pocket and checked the settings.

"It's still set on vibrate. I guess with all the running, I didn't notice it had gone off. I'm sorry Sweets. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Well, alright then, I forgive you. Now go take a shower. You reek!" She pinched her nose for emphasis.

"I was just going to do that. Now, you're not going to sit outside the bathroom door and demand that I sing to you, are you?" he teased.

"Oh come on! I grew out of that ages ago!"

"I could have sworn you did that just last week . . ."

"Oh, hush you! You'd better hurry or you wont finish your paperwork in time!" Karen shoo-ed him towards his bedroom.

"Aw, do I hav'ta?" he mock pouted.

"Yes!" Karen watched him leave as he played the petulant child who doesn't want to take a bath.

"My father the clown . . ." she muttered, shaking her head and returned to her own room.

A/N: I had planned on this little development before others became available to torment Wu. Guess he'll just have to suffer! ^_~ (Me? Sadistic? Never! ^_~) Oh, and I do plan to do an Interlude between each chapter, and they may not always be in chronological order, either. This one would take place a bit before the boys get to the school. (whenever that will be! ^^;;) The Interludes will center mainly on other characters and even show some scenes that won't be shown in regular chapters. Just like this one does. ^^

Part 2: The Joys of Being a Girl

"Dammit!" Duo threw the mascara brush onto the makeshift make-up table. Snagging a tissue, he rubbed at the latest smear. "Ugh! At this rate, it will take me a week to do my make-up!"

It had been one week since they started, one week and hormonal levels were bouncing of the walls. The fact that they all progressed at different rates made things all the more maddening. Stress levels rose as they each attempted to accomplish what seemed impossible tasks.

Heero studied Duo's make-up job with a critic's eye. "You probably shouldn't use mascara, Duet."

"Eh? Why not?" Duo looked up at him quizzically.

"Because right now you look like a whore." Duo's jaw literally dropped. Was straight-faced, humorless Heero actually making a joke? Or was he serious? Duo backed away from the mirror to get a better look at himself. Damn, he's right!

"How would you know what a whore looks like anyway, Helen? Use them often, do you?" Duo sneered.

"Duet!" Normally, the shocked expression on Quatre's face would have made him laugh. Today, however, it made guilt churn in his stomach.

"Sorry, Kat. I didn't mean to snap."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Duet." Quatre looked at him pointedly. Duo cringed. Swallowing his pride, which wasn't easy, he turned his attention fully on Heero.

"I'm sorry, Helen. I shouldn't have said that. Please forgive me." Duo averted his eyes with the last, not wanting to look Heero in the eye.

Heero nodded briefly. "You're forgiven." Duo sighed with relief and muttered his thanks, turning back to the mirror to make a second attempt. "For what it's worth . . . " Heero started, taking a seat by Duo, "I should have put it more . . . delicately. I must work on my tact."

Duo grinned. "So the perfect soldier isn't really perfect after all!"

"I never said I was." The corner of Heero's mouth twitched in an upward angle . . . it could have been a smile. "Despite my obvious imperfection, would you be object to my helping you with your make-up? With the two of us, we may be able to cut your make-up time in half."

Duo couldn't help himself. He laughed. "You're alright, Helen! You're alright." He clapped Heero on the back. "So, what am I doing wrong? And don't tell me you don't know, 'cause I know you know!" Not two days after they had started their make-up training, Heero had somehow managed to perfect his technic. Duo had suspected that he had stayed up all night working on it.

"Subtlety is the key. You want a natural look, not that of a painted doll. Clean your face and I'll show you."

Quatre smiled and sighed with relief. The last few days had been hellish as tempers flared and control was lost. This time they managed to resolve things without throwing any punches. They just might survive this after all.

"Katrina . . ." Quatre startled at the hand on his shoulder, "Sorry, but you were lost in thought and didn't hear me the first time." Trowa smiled apologetically.

"Oh! I'm sorry, what did you say?" Quatre turned back to his friend, blushing slightly from embarrassment. The two had been working on clothing coordination, leaving the make-up counter for the others to use.

"I asked you whether or not you think this blouse goes with this skirt." Trowa held the two garments up to his body so Quatre could see.

"No, that blouse is a touch too orange for this skirt. Try . . ." Quatre rummaged around in the stack of clothing in Trowa's size, ". . . this one." He held up a similar blouse with a light floral print. Quatre held it up against Trowa and the skirt to see if it would work. "Yes, this one will do nicely. Why don't you try them on?"

Trowa took the clothes and walked behind the changing screen. It offered more of a semblance of privacy rather than hiding anything. The paper screening was so old and thin, it was nearly see-through and there were several small holes from water damage and bugs. They mended as many holes as they could, but the paper was fragile and could only hold up so much tape. Nevertheless, each of them had the decency to look elsewhere when one of the others was changing behind it.

Still, Quatre found himself blushing as he listened to the sound of clothing being exchanged, the rustle of fabric moving over bare skin caused a chill to run up and down his spine. These new feelings perplexed Quatre, as they only seem to appear when Trowa was involved.

He knew what Rose would say about that. The youngest of his sisters, she was also the most brazen and outspoken. She was also a die-hard "yaoi" fan. (She once tried to explain to him what yaoi was, but all he could gather from her endless babbling was that it involved two men in a romantic relationship. He was too afraid to ask about "shounen ai" after that.) After meeting Trowa for the first time, Rose would go on an on about how he and Quatre would make "such a cute couple!" Never in Trowa's presence, of course, but she would pester Quatre to no end that he should "snatch up that tall, hot, hunk before someone else does!"

"Oh, hell . . . Kat? Can you help me? I'm . . . stuck." Quatre could hear Trowa's embarrassment as he struggled.

"Stuck? How?" Quatre asked as he timidly moved around the screen. What he saw was quite humorous . . . and a little arousing. There stood Trowa, wearing naught but pale green panties and matching strapless, lace bra, which showed the top of his breasts (already up a B cup), with his arms somehow tied up behind his head with the blouse Quatre had given him to try on. He was sweating slightly from struggling and blushing from his predicament, which only added to the allure.

"I, uh . . . the blouse got caught on my bra, so I tried to take it off, but that only made it worse . . . I . . . I can't move my arms." Trowa explained. He avoided looking at Quatre, but if he had, he would have seen how alarmingly red his face was.

"Turn around and, uh, I'll see what I can . . . do." Trowa turned around obediently, then knelt, giving Quatre better access.

"So . . . just how does an acrobat get himself stuck like this?" Quatre teased as he tried to remove the stubborn garment.

"Shut up, Kat." Trowa smiled.

Meanwhile, Wufei had locked himself up in the (only) bathroom, as he did every morning the past week. None of the others knew what did in there, but ideas were running wild. The fact of the matter was he had several things to accomplish.

First, check bust size for growth. The idea of having breasts had appalled him, at first, but once they began coming in, they had fascinated him. He had been that last to "bloom" and was still astonished by them. So much so, he felt it necessary to study them. He had to do this in private, figuring the others wouldn't understand and just think he was some kind of pervert. What had astonished him the most was how sensitive his nipples had become. The slightest touch and . . .

Next, practice putting on and removing bra. He wanted to make it look like he had used one for years. Not that he planned on dressing or undressing in front of anyone, but a soldier's got to be prepared for any contingency.

After that, practice "tucking" and sitting. This was one of the most important, yet humiliating tasks. A bad tuck could cost him dearly. And when you tuck, you've got to learn how to sit all over again! Even with a good tuck, sit the wrong way and you're in for a lot of pain. Wufei learned that the hard way.

Then a shower. A nice, hot shower spent scrubbing off all the dirt and grime that had a tendency to accumulate all too quickly in that grimy townhouse they called "home". Christina (another of Quatre's sisters) supplied them with a generous amount of bath soap that's suppose to help make their skin soft and supple and smell "pretty". All liquid. The kind you need this kind of plastic loofa-type-thing to use. Wufei was starting to get use to it, but he still felt silly using the poof-y thing. Fortunately, she sent a large variety of soap for them to choose from. Wufei was partial to the chamomile/lavender mix, but he insisted he hated them all. Christina also sent a large variety of shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and other toiletries. Wufei wondered where Quatre had hidden them all, but he suspected that they were ferreted away in various rooms of the house. Wufei was fond of this one herbal shampoo/conditioner combo which left his hair soft, silky smooth, and smelling like strawberries.

After that came a difficult task, indeed. Shaving. They had hair removal cream, but for some reason it burned Wufei's skin too much to use, so he was stuck with using a razor. He shaved his legs, pits, and pubes when needed. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about facial hair, except for plucking his eyebrows when necessary. (which was too often for his tastes) Wufei thought shaving one's pubic hair is an indignity, for a man anyway, but it was regretfully necessary. Besides the demographics showing that most teenage girls in their (supposed) age range shave their pubes, Wufei was . . . a bit too hairy. It seems his body was making up for the lack of facial hair by adding more elsewhere. And to add to the insult, he had to trim what was left. Otherwise it added a bulge of it's own, especially when "tucking".

Next, lotion application. After wrapping his hair up in a towel securely, Wufei would work lotion into his skin from head to toe. The lotion not only soothed his shaved areas, but increased his skin's softness and smoothness as well. The light floral scent added to his "feminine aura," mixing with the others to create a scent the others recognize as "Wanda".

Then came the dreaded "prevent shrinkage" task. The others he had gotten fairly used to, but not this. This he hated the most, which is something, considering that he had yet to actually complete the "task." He always put it off, waiting till the last minute. It would have made more sense to do it sooner, in the shower, for instance, but the very thought made him cringe and he didn't want to ruin a good shower. One week and he had yet to go through with it. Shrinking had begun to show.

Now he sat on the toilet, which he had covered with a towel, and tried to think of a way out of it, but he kept thinking of reasons why he should get it over with already. I've waited this long, what's one more day? But they said once a day, and it's been a week! I'll do it later . . . It's already shrinking . . . What's a little shrinking going to hurt? It's no big deal . . . Now, but what about later? Just how far will it shrink? I don't think I want to find out . . . Damn . . .

Sighing, Wufei picked up a tube of lube that someone had left behind and put a little in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he gently took a hold of his . . .

**BANG-BANG-BANG**

"Hey, Wandie! You die in there?!?"

"Aaah! Damn you, Maxwell!! Leave me alone!" Wufei shouted and threw a bottle at the door, causing Duo to jump away on the other side.

"Alright, alright! Geez!" Duo walked back to the make-shift make-up counter and plopped down on the stool, his skirt flying up briefly, and crossed his arms in a huff. "Looks like we won't be getting the use of the bathroom anytime soon."

"What was that, Duet?" Quatre called out from behind the screen.

"Nothing, Wufei's just hogging the bathroom yet again!"

"Wanda, Duet!" Heero pinched Duo for his slip up. They had all agreed to this method to reduce the risk of a slip when they're in the thick of it. Such a mistake could be fatal. A painful pinch would remind them of that.

"Ooowwoo!! Did you have to pinch me there?!?" Duo cringed.

"If it would help you remember, then I will pinch you wherever necessary." Duo just didn't know how to respond to that, so he let it drop. However, his slacked jaw, wide eyes, and red face spoke more than words.

"Hold still, Tracy. I think I've just about got it. I just have to unhook your bra and . . ." Quatre released the last hook, freeing the trapped material. The bra slid to the floor as Trowa took off the blouse. Standing, he stretched his arms, groaning as stressed muscles began to relax.

"Thanks, Kat." Trowa hugged Quatre, regardless of his state of un-dress, or perhaps he just forgot. Quatre blushed brightly.

"S-sure thing, Tracy. What are friends for, right?" Quatre hugged back gingerly. "I'll, uh, I'll let you get dressed now." Quatre reluctantly pulled out of the hug, "Unless you don't think you can handle it by yourself?" he teased.

Trowa chuckled. "I think I can handle it." His cheeks reddened as he realized he was wearing nothing but a pair of panties. Quatre discretely moved around the screen, giving Trowa back his privacy. Once on the other side, Quatre was presented with a startling image. Duo was painting Heero's nails . . . pink. Not just pink, but a subtle shade that particularly complimented Heero's complection and clothes. Quatre smiled. It seemed Duo had a knack for color coordination. But what made Quatre really smile, was how the two pilots were getting along just now. Duo, as he held Heero's right hand in his, and concentrated fully on painting his nails perfectly and Heero, as he sat still and watched Duo work intently . . . It was a rather touching scene. Heero looked up at that moment, briefly locking eyes with Quatre. He quickly turned back to Duo, but the blush creeping across Heero's cheeks didn't escape Quatre's notice.

Quatre started a little when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He looked up at the taller boy behind him and smiled. The two stood there enjoying the moment. Duo all the while oblivious while Heero continued to blush a the unnecessary attention he and Duo were garnering. He didn't say anything, though, for he didn't want to ruin Duo's concentration.

After putting the finishing touches on Heero's pinkie, Duo lifted Heero's hand and blew softly on the nails to help them dry. Satisfied, he looked up to ask for Heero's other hand, but the words died in his throat as their eyes locked briefly. Heero turned away quickly, pretending to find interest in the make-up counter, his blush reaching his ears.

Duo blinked. Man, I've never seen him blush like that . . . He seems more human every day! These hormone shots really are something to melt *his* cold facade! . . . Still . . . I wonder how he's handling the change? He was never an open book to begin with, only now his cover changes color. . . . What makes Heero Yuy blush from ear to ear like that? I mean, all I'm doing is . . . A blush crept across Duo's on features as he realized that he was still holding Heero's hand. It was slightly damp, but steady. Duo's own hand had begun to sweat and his heart leapt into his throat.

Heero noted the sudden change in Duo's demeanor and risked a glance. Their eyes locked again, but it was Duo who looked away this time. Heero saw Quatre and Trowa watching them with interest, both with the same, idiotic grin on their faces. Before he could tell them to mind their own business, or something a little more befitting his mood, a strangled cry came from the bathroom.

"WANDA!!" the four shouted in unison as they raced for bathroom door. The door was locked, as Wufei had left it, causing the others to resort to banging on the door and shouting for Wufei to open it.

The noise woke Wufei from his stupor. He was just nearing "completion" of his last "task", when an overwhelming sensation overtook him, causing him to cry out. The experience had left him weak, tired, and gasping for breath. He was beginning to doze when the raucous started.

"Wha-what? What's going on?" Wufei couldn't hear what they were trying to say, but he could see that the door wasn't handling the abuse well. "Hey! Stop that before you break the-"

*CRASH!*

The door caved in, literally shattering to pieces. Wufei quickly grabbed the towel he had been sitting on and tried desperately to cover himself as the other pilots spilled through the doorway, fury and embarrassment warring over his face.

"Wuf-Wanda! Are you alright?"

"We heard a scream!"

"We were worried."

". . ."

"GET OUT!!!" Wufei snapped, his face bright red and seething with anger. The others reeled back from the unexpected outburst.

"But . . ."

"Just get out!" Wufei cut Quatre off and turned away, too embarrassed to look at them further. He didn't see the hurt in Quatre's eyes, nor did he see Trowa walk him out, the other two already gone. Moments later, he heard someone move the changing screen in front of the doorway. Releasing his captive breath, Wufei sat back down on the toilet, wrapping the towel tightly around himself. The humiliation . . . the lost control . . . the hurt he knew he caused his . . . friends . . . the shame . . . He lost their respect, he was certain. There was no honor in what he had done. He was not deserving of their friendship nor respect.

He continued thinking in this vein, barely registering the fact that someone, Duo probably, had told him they were going out to find another door. He heard the door close and the house settle into quiet. It was then that Wufei began to cry.

On the couch was another boy with tears in his eyes, though he cried for other, yet similar, reasons. He was mad at himself for jumping to conclusions when he had not sensed that Wufei was in danger. He had just assumed . . . So had the others, but they're not empaths. Now he was feeling the pain they had caused Wufei. The pain that could have been avoided if he had just kept a clear head and let them know he was alright.

Right now, his own feelings of regret and self-loathing clouded those he could feel from Wufei. However, when he heard a choked sob emit from the bathroom, his head snapped up, his entire focus on Wufei. Everything became clear.

Wufei's head snapped up at the sound of the soft knocking. It was too soon for them to be back yet and he hadn't thought anyone had stayed behind.

"Wufei? May I . . . may I come in?"

"Quatre? What are you still *sniff* doing here? I thought you had left with the others."

"I didn't feel up to going." Quatre paused. "Please, may I come in? This is . . . awkward."

". . . Okay." Wufei adjusted his towel and wiped his face as Quatre parted the screen and let himself in. He had a blanket with him and his eyes were slightly puffy from crying. A small smile greeted Wufei as Quatre walked over to him and draped the blanket around him.

"Thanks." Wufei offered weakly, his own eyes red and swollen. Quatre sat on the floor in front of him, drawing his knees to his chest.

"I'm sorry, we all are, for . . . barging in on you like that." Quatre started.

"It's okay . . ."

"No, it's not! We reacted emotionally instead of logically and looked what happened! We shouldn't have . . ."

"Quatre, stop that! We're all emotionally high-strung, right now. Don't beat yourself up over it. We're all still adjusting . . ." Wufei felt himself blushing, remembering how he had been "adjusting" moments before the incident. "I . . . I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm sorry."

Quatre chuckled. "Why are you apologizing? You had ever right to yell at us! After all, we barged in on you!"

"But . . ."

"No buts! I tell you what, I'll stop beating myself up for overreacting if you'll do the same about yelling at us. Deal?" Quatre extended his hand towards Wufei. After a moment's hesitation, he took it.

"Deal." Wufei found Quatre's warm smile contagious, a smile spreading across his own face. Quatre gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go.

"Come on, let's get out of this depressing bathroom and pretty our faces." Quatre winked as he struggled to get off the floor in the cramped space. Wufei decided to help him and pinched him on the rump . . . hard.

"Yeow!" Quatre shot up. "What was that for?!?" he asked, rubbing his sore rear.

"You called me Wufei." Wufei replied as he stood up and walked past Quatre and out the door.

"I did, didn't I?" Quatre pondered a moment as he followed Wufei out.. "Wait a minute . . ."

"What?"

"You called me Quatre!" Wufei's face paled at the evil glint in Quatre's eyes. A moment passed, then the hunt was on! Quatre pounced in Wufei's direction, barely missing due to an artful dodge by Wufei. Not waiting a moment, Wufei ran around the room, Quatre hot on his tail.

"You know the rule, Wanda! You broke it, now suffer the consequences!"

"Come on! Haven't I suffered enough?!?"

"Hey! I've suffered, too, ya know! And you still pinched me!"

"Yeah, well, you needed the help up!"

"Now it's time for me to repay the favor!"

"Ack! But I'm already up!" Wufei stammered just seconds before losing his grip on the towel, causing him to trip and land face up on the floor, the blanket flying open.

"Now I've got you!" Panicked, Wufei turned over, losing the blanket, and tried to crawl away from the apparently psychotic blonde.

"Oh no you don't!" Quatre pounced on him, straddling his hips. "You're not going to get away from me that easily!"

"A-hem." Both boys turned to look behind them. There they saw Duo, Heero, and Trowa standing in the doorway with the most interesting looks on their faces.

"Are we . . . interrupting something?" Duo teased, a devilish grin covering his face.

"It's, uh, not what it looks like." Quatre stammered, blushing bright red, realizing how it must look and hoping that that's not what they were thinking was going on. Wufei had other ideas.

"Yes it is."

"WHAT?!? Wufei, how can you say that?!?" Quatre was flummoxed.

"Tsk, you did it again!" Wufei reached back and pinched Quatre inside his thigh. Quatre yelped, falling off of Wufei. Wufei grabbed the blanket he lost, managing to cover himself and regain some of his dignity. "Did you get another door?"

"Yup! It's not much to look at, but it's hell a of lot sturdier than the last one." Duo answered, not one to miss the much needed subject change. Heero and Trowa took the cue and hauled the door inside. Several layers of paint were flaking off in patches and some spots were boarded up where holes had been. The top coat was day-glo orange with dark, dark green showing through beneath. Before that was hot pink, then baby blue, then black, then white . . . Either this door had many owners with diverse tastes, or someone couldn't make up their mind. But sturdy it was. Aside from the few holes, it was a solid piece of wood, two to three inches thick, depending on where one measured. Duo theorized that it was actually just a thin piece of ply-wood under all that paint, but Heero interjected that paint could not make up for the firmness nor apparent strength of the door.

The three spent the next half hour putting the "new" door up. Heero and Trowa held the door as Duo fixed it in place. The width was perfect, but it came short two inches, leaving a one-inch gap at the top and bottom.

"There ya go, Wanda! Your new door! It's an eye-sore and doesn't quite fit, but it's all yours!" Duo wrapped an arm around Wufei's shoulders and grinned their accomplishment. The glare Wufei attempted to give him was ruined by the small smile on his face. The thought they went through all that trouble for him was heartening. Of course, Wufei knew they needed a new door anyway, but the fact that they needed one in the first place was because of their concern for him. He was getting misty-eyed.

"Hey, don't cry! It's just a door!" Duo squeezed his arm, afraid he had upset him.

"To you, maybe." To Wufei, it had become a symbol of their friendship and for some reason, that made him want to cry. He couldn't help it, tears slipped down his cheeks, making tracks in his recently applied make-up.

"Whoa, hey now. Don't . . . don't do that. Uh . . ." Duo looked around for help. Instead, ,he found Heero.

"What did you do?" Heero asked accusingly.

"Nothing! I . . . I didn't . . ." Duo looked back at Wufei, who was crying more freely, "Oh, hell! Here." Duo gave him a hanky that was in his pocket, then pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back, all the while giving Heero a nasty glare.

"Helen, didn't you say that one of us started taking menstrual shots yesterday?" Trowa asked, taking a seat on the couch beside Quatre.

"Wanda did, as did I." Heero stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, that does explain a few things." Duo muttered. "Hey, Wanda, you okay now?"

"Yeah," Wufei pulled away, sniffing, "thanks."

"Good." Duo smiled. "Besides, there's one more question I'd like answered and you're the only one who can do that."

"Hm? What?" Wufei looked at him puzzled.

"Just what were you doing in there, anyway?" The others coughed, trying not to laugh, as Wufei's face turned red and his eyes widened.

"None of your business and if you know what's good for you, you'll let it drop." Wufei threatened, poking Duo's chest for emphasis.

"So that's what you were doing! Man, Wanda, I didn't think you had it in you!" Duo winked, insistent on tease Wufei to no end.

"Wha-what makes you think that?"

"Oh, come on! If it were anything else, would you be so reluctant to tell us?"

". . ."

"HA! You were jacking off! Admit it! It's written all over your face!"

"Then there is no reason for me to say . . ."

"That's as good as a confession!"

"What is wrong with you? Why do you have to hound me about this? It's something we all have to do!"

"True, but you were the only one I wasn't sure was actually doing it. The others I over heard at least once, but you . . . you eluded me. I was beginning to think you weren't doing it at all!" Wufei blushed brighter at that, as if he'd been found out.

". . . It's still none of your business!"

"Oh, come on! It's no big deal!"

As the two continued to bicker, the others watched, glad for a little entertainment. A moment later, Quatre remembered that he still owed Wufei a pinch. So, when no one was looking, he got up and pretended to head for the bathroom. Once past Wufei . . .

"YEOWCH!"

Part 3: School Daze

Vincent Lowe-Garret, dean of Violet Lillian Garret's School for Girls, stood staring out his office window, watching students arrive with luggage, families, and even moving vans. The ensuing chaotic ballet was one he was all too familiar with. People scampering about, vehicles vying for choice spaces, tempers flaring, and voices rising . . . it all signaled the start of a new year for Vince. He smiled as he recognized familiar faces and, in some cases, familiar actions.

"Dad?" Vince turned around to see his fifteen year-old daughter, Karen Marie, peeking through his door. She was already wearing her uniform, red-pleated skirt, white blouse, and blue blazer all pressed and clean. His own blue suit was already rumbled and wrinkled in some places. A mess in comparison. How she managed to keep her clothes looking so nice and pristine longer than five minutes after putting them on was beyond him.

"Yes, pumpkin?" He motioned her in.

"I need the new student rooming list. Some of the new girls are here already."

"Oh, that's right! Let me just . . ." he riffled through the papers that littered his desk, ". . . now where is . . . ah, here it is! Eh, it's not finished."

"Oh, Father, really! What have you been doing all this time?" Karen scolded. "Well, hurry up and finish it! We've got people waiting!"

"Here, why don't you finish it? There's only a few left and you'd get to pick you your new roommate will be." Vince shoved the papers to Karen with a pen, a cheerful yet apologetic smile on his face. Karen took the papers and pen, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"You, sir, are a bad influence. I'll only do it because it will be faster this way."

"Thanks, Sweets. I owe you one."

"That makes seven now that you owe me, buster! One of these days I'm gonna make you pay up!" Karen waved the papers in his face, smiling.

"Hey, don't you have work to do? People are waiting, you know!" Vince teased, receiving a raspberry from his one and only child, to which he promptly returned fire.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but I was told to come here and take the tour,"a young man, with long lavender tresses and clad in tight blue jeans and simple white t-shirt, said through the now open door. "They said they'd call-"

"Oh, that's right! You're Nick, aren't you?" Vince motioned him in.

"Yes, sir, that's right. Here are my papers."

Karen Marie couldn't help but smile as she watched the lovely piece of eye-candy that walked into her father's office. So enthralled was she in this god-like creature that she nearly missed her name being spoken.

"Uh, yes?" she asked as she tore her eyes away from Nick's shapely denim-clad ass.

"Take Nick here with you for the tour. It seems he is taking 90% of his classes here."

"Okay." Karen squealed inwardly at the prospect of seeing this gorgeous stud nearly every day. "Oh! But the tour won't be for another three hours yet!"

"Hmm, that does present a problem. Well, Mr. Treize, how would you like to help some of these lovely young ladies move in? It would help pass the time and I'm sure some of them could use the help of a nice strong man like yourself." Vince smiled knowing full and well that many of those "lovely young ladies" would gladly fight tooth and nail over him.

Nick smiled back. "Why, I would be happy to lend hand."

"Great! Karen-"

"I'll handle it. Come on, Nick. I'm sure some of those with scholarships could use your help."

Vince watched as the two left, recognizing all too well the look in Karen's eyes. He had seen the same look in her mother's eyes when they had first met, oh so long ago. It was going to be an interesting year.

"Very interesting, indeed."

*~*~*

"Excuse me, Duet Maxwell?"

"Yo!" Duo slid off the box he was sitting on, pulled his short blue skirt back down over his green tights-covered legs, adjusted his "Princess" baby-t, and walked over to the curly-haired girl with the clipboard and purple-haired boy, smiling cheerfully . That's a new one . . . I didn't know you could get hair that color! Duo thought. He had been watching people and taking note of the different hair styles and colors to pass the time. He would have just talked with one of the others, but Heero made a point of them not suppose to even have met before today, so no go. He would have struck up a conversation with one of the other girls stranded on the lawn in front of the dorms, but he couldn't leave his stuff and no one, besides Helen, was close enough.

"Hi, I'm Karen Marie Lowe-Garret-"

"Hey! Like the school!" Duo interrupted. He really shouldn't have had those Sugar Blasted Sugar Puffs for breakfast.

"Yes, well . . ." Karen blushed. She wasn't use to that particular observation stated so . . . enthusiastically.

"Sorry. I'm a bit hyper today." Duo apologized, trying to remain calm. He had, of course, already known about Karen Marie, but Duet hadn't. Still, his jubilant outburst was more than he'd planned for.

"It's okay. Many people that connection" Karen smiled. "I'm the dean's daughter and I get to help new students get settled in. Now let's see, where should we put you . . ." Duo watched as she consulted the papers on her clipboard. "You can be on the second floor . . . in suite 21 . . . in room A. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good." Duo smiled.

"Hm, there's room for one more in room B of the same suite . . ."Karen looked around and spotted Heero, sitting on a nearby bench with book in hand, white oxford shirt completely buttoned up and maroon skirt down to his ankles, as if the heat didn't bother him one bit. "Excuse me, Miss?" Heero looked up. He had been listening to the whole exchange, but had been pretending to be engrossed in a computer programming book that he had been reading until Karen had shown up.

"Yes?" Heero asked as he closed his book around his finger and took off his fake reading glasses.

"Are you-"

"Helen Young. What do you want?" Heero interrupted, not giving her the chance to guess.

Karen was getting tired of getting cut off. "I'm Karen Marie-"

"I heard."

Karen's grip tightened on her clipboard. It was going to be a long day . . . "Then you already know you're going to be in room B, then." Karen quickly jotted down names down in the selected places. "I'll be right back with your keys. Nick, please wait here." Before Nick could give an affirmative, she was gone.

"Damn, girl! I think you ticked her off!" Nick briefly wondered if Karen got interrupted all the time, or if this was a special case.

"No kidding! At least I apologized for interrupting her and didn't do it again. Sheesh!" Duo shook his head in wonderment.

"She was wasting time. I didn't want her trying to guess my name and I already knew what she was going to say after that." Heero interjected.

"She didn't know that and if you already knew what she was going to say, why did you ask what she wanted?" Nick argued.

". . . that's beside the point. She was wasting time."

"But that's the WHOLE POINT!!" Nick threw up his arms, surprised at this girl's illogic. Duo, meanwhile, was laughing while trying to keep a semblance of . . . of not looking like a . . . Hell, he was trying not to guffaw like a teenage boy! "You can't ARGUE with that!" Nick continued.

"I believe I just did." Heero stated impassively. He hoped he was portraying a female adequately enough. His research indicated that some women, though not all, would rather be thought irrational than admit an error in judgement, particularly to a male, as they could always blame it on their catamenial cycle if necessary. Those that do, however, are often capable of arguing their albeit asinine point enough to make the other person question their own logic. Heero wasn't sure if he was capable of this feat (yet), but he was going to try whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Nick, however, wasn't cooperating. He laughed. "Yeah, I guess you did!" Was this a success? He did agree to what Heero had just said, but it was not in a way he had quite expected. Duo was no help, as he was too busy trying to contain his own laughter by covering his mouth and holding his heaving abdomen, his loose braid swinging about from his efforts. Time to change tactics.

"Why are you here, Nick?" Heero asked point-blank.

Nick took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I'm, heh, I'm here for the tour of the grounds."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "You're a boy."

"Yes, thank you for noticing. A lot of people seem to have trouble grasping that concept. I'm actually enrolled at the boy's school, but they have so many students, some have to take classes here. Most of my classes are here, so they thought it would be best for me to take the tour. I already know how to get to the two classes I'm taking at the boy's school, as well as the administration offices. If I need to go anywhere else there, I can just fudge my way around. Here, though, I'd better know what door leads to where, if ya get my meaning." he winked.

"Oh." Heero felt his cheeks burn slightly. Not so much from embarrassment, not so much from the wink, and not so much from the heat, but . . . Hormones. Heero reasoned. Blushing is one of the expected side effects.

"Ooh, did I miss something?" Duo chirped, noticing Heero's blush.

"NO." Heero said pointedly, giving Duo a warning glare, which Duo chose to ignore.

"WoOOoo! Looks like little miss bookworm has a CRUSH!" Duo teased. Heero's blush grew to encompass most of his face. Heero decided to just ignore him and return his attentions to his book.

"You're not even going to deny it?!?" Duo gasped dramatically. "It-it-it must be TRUE then!"

"Not necessarily. A clear denial would only convince you the opposite was true, even if it isn't. By saying nothing, either could be assumed. Like they say, it's better to remain quiet and let people think what they will anyway, then to speak and remove all doubt. Or something to that affect." Nick conjectured.

"Or she's ignoring me."

"That's also a possibility." Nick smiled. Duo then felt his own cheeks burn.

"Now who has the crush?" Heero ribbed.

"Shut up!" Duo covered his face in embarrassment.

Nick laughed. "Don't worry about it. I've been told that my smile could make old men blush! I've actually seen it happen. To be honest, though, he probably thought I was a girl at the time." His own cheeks reddened at the memory and his laugh became tinged with embarrassment. "Oh, hey! There's Karen!"

Sure enough, Karen trotted up to the trio, keys jangling. "Hey, sorry it took so long. I grabbed the keys for the others to save time." Heero, Duo, and Nick exchanged looks, then started laughing.

"What? Did I miss something?" Karen was puzzled.

"S-sorry! Inside joke." Nick managed as he started to regain his breath. "You were saying?"

Karen watched Heero and Duo as they calmed themselves. "Well . . . if you're all done laughing now, I can give you your keys. But first . . ." she handed Heero and Duo each a piece of paper. ". . . signs these. They're basic contracts, kinda like the ones you signed for the rooms, only these are just for the keys."

"A $50 fine for just losing a key?!?" Duo exclaimed.

"It used to be more, but now all we have to do is deactivate the code of the lost key and make a new one, instead of changing the locks and supplying new keys to everyone. Still, these coded keys aren't cheap." she supplied, holding up the key-ring.

"Coded keys?" Heero queried.

"Yup. They're like a cross between old fashioned keys and key cards. These will work on the front door as well as suite door. Each key has it's own code, so don't lend your key to anyone. The front door is always lock and the security computer keeps a log of what key is used and when. This is done for security reasons, but it does little good if you share your key with someone. You can let someone in, but you have to use the key yourself. These key can't be replicated, either."

Nick whistled. "Wow! You sure are lucky to get such security! We at the town house only get a regular key and a sign-in sheet!"

"Oh, that's because you boys can take care of yourselves. Besides, you don't have to protect against panty raids!" Karen quipped.

"Maybe not, but we did have clothing thieves at my last school. I remember waking up one morning and not only was everyone naked, but all the clothes in the entire compound was missing! The security guards were the only ones with clothes and only what they were wearing. I still think they'd been bribed by the thieves so they could pull off that stunt. The clothes were found around noon in the pool. Everything was soaked! But we did get out of classes that day." Nick laughed.

"Man, everyone? Even the teachers?!?" Duo asked, surprised at the lengths it would have taken to pull of such a prank. Impressed, even.

"Yup, everyone who lives at the school and many of the teachers did since it's cheaper that way."

They stood there in silence for a while, absorbing the rather interesting tale. Then Heero brought up a very good question.

"Are you going to give us our keys now?"

*~*~*

"Well, that's two." Karen mused to herself as she crossed Duet Maxwell and Helen Young off the list. Just moments before she had left Nick to help Heero and Duo move their things up to their respective rooms. "Now for the other nineteen . . ."

Two hours later, Karen found herself with one last name on the list . . . and no more rooms. "Damn, now what? Oh wait, now I remember! I'm suppose to share my room this year. Well, there's only one girl left. I certainly hope she's nicer than some of those other girls . . . and less perturbed. Now, Wanda Chan, where are you?"

*~*~*

Wufei was mortified. Not only did he have to squash his masculinity in order to pretend to be a girl for the sake of a mission, but he had to suffer stereotyping on top of that! There he was, wearing a white "traditional" style Chinese dress (one more befitting a waitress than a teenage girl on her first day of school and just barely long enough to be decent), white thigh-length stockings, and hair in buns on both sides of his head with white ribbons. Never mind the lingerie. He tried telling the others that white was a color of mourning and therefore inappropriate for the first day of school. He relented, however, when it was pointed out that considering his cover story, white was all too appropriate. After all, she was sent away from her family against her wishes, a disgrace to her father. She was all but disowned. Why was never decided. Wufei would have to come up with something if it came to that.

Right now, he sat on a bench with his luggage nearby, and watched over by two "bodyguards." They were actually undercover agents there to help promote Wufei's cover story. Others were used for Quatre's, acting as servants of a large, wealthy family. The agents were only there long enough for them to get settled in, and none were from the area.

Wufei was also bored. They'd been out there for hours waiting for someone to come around and show him his room. Or at least give him a key and a room number. Waiting is no fun, especially when you have an itch you can't scratch because it would be "unladylike." He couldn't even chat with "Jun" and "Lee" because "that sort of thing just isn't done" in her family and everyone else stayed clear because of them. All he could do was wait.

Then finally . . .

"Miss Chan?" Wufei looked up to see a somewhat frazzled, curly-haired girl holding a clipboard. "Jun" and "Lee" reached into their jackets simultaneously, as if reaching for a gun.

"Yes?"

"I'm Karen, the dean's daughter? I'm here to show you to your room." Karen eyed the two bodyguards wearily. The two men relaxed after she announced her identity.

"Oh, good! I've been waiting for so long, I thought I might have been forgotten!" Wufei joked as he stood, relief crossing his features.

"Yes, sorry about that. We had a bit of trouble getting everyone settled in." They shook hands. "I'm afraid, however, that there's a bit of a problem."

Wufei's heart sank. "What is it?"

"At this moment, all the dorms are full, so you'll have to share a room with me. The good news, though, is that you'll only have to share a bathroom with two other people." Karen smiled.

Wufei sighed with relief. "You had me worried there for a moment!"

Karen giggled. "What can I say? I'm like that." Karen winked.

Wufei smiled. "So, where is you-our room?"

"First floor, last door on the right as you go in. Before we go, I need you to sign this and-" Suddenly, "Jun" (or was it "Lee"?) snatched the paper from her hand. After a moment of scanning the paper, he handed it to Wufei with a slight nod. "What was that about?" Karen asked.

"Oh, he was just making sure it was safe to sign." Wufei stated, signing the paper after quickly reading it himself. "It's their job to protect me, even from myself, until I've moved in here. Then I'm on my own."

"Oh. Must be . . . different."

"Yes, well that's one way of putting it." Wufei smirked. "Difficult is more like it."

Karen giggled. "Oh! Damn, we gotta hurry! We've only got fifteen minutes 'til the tour starts and I'm leading it! Come on!"

*~*~*

"This-*huff*-this is it! Last door on the right." Karen fought for her breath as she fumbled with her key-ring while juggling some of Wufei's bags. She wasn't used to sprinting with fifty pounds worth of luggage. Geez, what's in there, weights?!? "Ah, here we go! Just put your stuff anywhere, for now."

Bags and suitcases were deposited on various pieces of furniture and on the floor, some none too gently. After unloading their burdens, "Jun" and "Lee" bowed briefly to Wufei and quickly took their leave, their job completed as far as they were concerned.

"Wow, such an emotional goodbye." Karen was surprised at their abrupt departure.

"Yeah, I thought they'd never leave." Wufei added, somewhat peeved at the rudeness displayed. Sure, they bowed, but it was very brief, barely more than a nod. Perfect . . .

"We have time for a brief tour, if you'd like." Wufei nodded. "As you can see, the living room, kitchen, and dining room are pretty much all crammed into one room. To your left is Dad's room, which is connected to the bathroom, and to your right is our room."

Wufei opened the door to her, now their, room. It was a fairly good sized room, smaller than what "Wanda" was used to, but definitely big enough for two people to share. There was just one "little" problem . . .

"There is only one bed. Where will I sleep?" Wufei asked, suddenly nervous.

"Oh, that. We ordered some furniture for you, but they haven't come in yet. Sorry about that. You'll just have to share with me until everything gets here." Karen rubbed the back of her neck, somewhat embarrassed about the situation.

"But where will I sleep?" Wufei asked, more insistently.

"With me, silly! The bed's big enough for two to share." Karen smiled cheerfully. "Oh, crap! The tour! Let's go!" Before Wufei could utter a word, Karen grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door in a mad rush.

END PART 3