"They are a little defensive... Aren't they?" Zechs reopened his eyes at last, looking at Quatre.

Quatre scowled, suddenly looking at the floor, "I don't want to sound like a bad person... But I'm almost glad... Wufei needed someone."

"True, I'd heard stories about him. Didn't seem like the actions of a person who had someone to talk to." Zechs pushed himself up the wall, considering Quatre. He was still suprized that his name hadn't caused any shock to anyone, the name Peacecraft usually did.

Quatre nodded slightly. "You don't think me a bad person for saying that do you? Wufei's obviously got some trauma going on... That's..." He trailed off. "Do you?" Quatre asked again and looked up. "Why are you looking for us anyway?" *Are you here because of Relena?*

"I needed somewhere to go. I couldn't go back where I'd come from, and I certainly couldn't go anywhere public. Staying alone was far from being a good option in my condition. You guys were my best chance. If you didn't shoot me." Zechs seemed to add on the last sentence after a considering pause, looking to Quatre through a veil of hair.

"I'm not so sure about Heero though... And Wufei looked like he was out for your blood before Duo calmed him down." Quatre smiled a tad. "But I won't shoot you." Quatre's smile grew as his eyes met Zechs icy blue ones.

"I think I could see that for myself. Thank you though. As I said, if Heero has not killed me by now, I very much doubt he will kill me next time I see him." Zechs smiled slightly to himself. He knew Trowa Barton from his time in OZ, and he knew Heero. He knew Quatre from childhood and Wufei through rumor. Really, the only person he didn't have any idea about was the mysterious braided teen who had pounces onto his chest.

"Well..." Quatre paused not knowing what to say. *How does he know us all?*

Zechs pushed away from the wall, moving carefully over to Quatre. "Yes?"

Quatre smiled somewhat nervously, still running it around his head that this person had come to them for help. He came to known enemies! "I don't know what to say."

Zechs blinked at the expression he saw on Quatre's face. "Perhaps I could help with that. I know who Wufei and you happen to be, but may I ask who that other... Up front... Fellow was? I don't think he would take kindly to me roaming the number spectrum trying to pin down his."

"That's Duo." Quatre said, as a large grin broke out on his face. "He's a pilot too, as you guessed. He works with me. And Heero. He's good friends with Heero. And me. And Wufei... Well better friends with Wufei... I'd say... and..." Quatre suddenly shut his mouth, realizing that he was babbling. He wasn't supposed to babble about these things especially.

"And?" Zechs prodded gently with his voice, though there was amusement in his eyes.

"And what?" Quatre blushed slightly, trying to get rid of his mortification.

"That's what I was trying to get out of you." Zechs extended a hand to Quatre, smiling a tad sheepishly. "Lead me to the kitchen?"

"It's right over there." Quatre pointed to the kitchen. The cottage wasn't very big and you could see the kitchen from where they were standing. Quatre was suddenly feeling strangely giddy.

"I have a serious amount of doubt I can get there without hurting myself, but I will give it a try." Zechs dropped his hand to his side, moving towards the door quickly while managing not to trip. He didn't even stumble until he was halfway down the hall, and that was because he looked up.

"Oh!" Quatre ran forward and grabbed Zechs' arm to support him in case he fell. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"Well, at least I know I'm not a complete hazard to myself." Zechs sighed, continuing down the hall, but watching his step more closely. They finally got into the kitchen in this manner, pushing the door open.

"Don't worry. I'll keep track of you." Quatre blushed, suddenly realizing what he'd said. He immediately tried to think of another topic. Zechs simply laughed, peering into the kitchen where Duo had made Wufei sit down. Quatre was still laughing nervously every few seconds and just took a seat at the table, just hoping that everyone would play nice.

Wufei still wasn't very happy. He still had a scowl on his face and was just waiting for Duo to do something. Duo glanced around from where he was making sandwiches and gestured at them both. "Sit down." He then turned back to the food, making a leaning tower of food. He had not a single problem with Zechs, the shared abuse he'd picked up on being enough to make him trust the man not to jump him. He finally brought the pile to the table, setting it within everyone's reach.

Quatre immediately grabbed one, hoping to shut up his overly giggling mouth with some food. Duo blinked at Quatre's exuberance then shrugged, perching on the table, his mostly revealed striped form well on display as he leaned over to grab a sandwich for himself and another that he handed to Wufei. Wufei took it, scowling all the while as he did so. Quatre was acting strange, and he didn't like having him sit so close to him.

"Wufei, cease and desist already!" Duo waved his food at Wufei before taking a bite out of it in a matter of fact manner.

Zechs reached out gingerly, trying not to over gauge the plate, and picked a sandwich off of the top of the pile. Duo was sitting nearly in the path of where he had to reach, but he didn't look at him being too focused on what he was doing. Wufei glared at Zechs but still said nothing before he glared at his own plate in annoyance.

Duo leaned over, letting his shirt droop off his shoulder as he lifted his hand to run his fingers over Wufei's cheek. "Cheer up, no need to be so upset."

"I'm not upset." Wufei was hungry, but suddenly when the food was placed in front of him, he had no appetite anymore, and he didn't know why, causing him to sigh.

"Just eat." Duo sat back up, turning to watch Zechs' careful progress with a small laugh as he slid from the table to Wufei's lap. Wufei sighed again then forced himself to eat. Duo smiled, eagerly eating his lunch as he leaned up against Wufei's chest happily. He spent the time just observing the two blondes.

Quatre grabbed for another sandwich and took a bite before suddenly getting up feeling someone's foot on his ankle. "Would anybody like some juice?" His startled question was a near shout.

Zechs blinked at Quatre, his eyes widening slightly at the violent yell. "Sure..."

Quatre got up swiftly, fetching four glasses from the cupboard and pouring some juice for everyone before he took it to the table, though he didn't sit.

"You alright Q?" Duo looked up at Quatre with mild confusion, trying to work out his strange behavior. Sure, they had another person here, but he wasn't acting distrustful, simply giddy.

"Yes. Yes. I am fine." Quatre beamed his cheeks slightly tinged with pink.

Zechs watched them all, then seemed to realize something. "Are Barton and Yuy ever going to be joining us?"

Quatre scowled at the sudden mention of Trowa. "I doubt it." His voice turned cold, his demeanor suddenly changing from happy and sweet to nearly violently mad.

Zechs finally gave in to the urge to shrink back. He felt so damn helpless at the moment and he hated it. The fact that these people seemed to go from happy to ticked off on a light switch unnerved him. It seemed only Duo wasn't eager to damage him because then he couldn't play with his weakened state.

Quatre sighed loudly and wondered if he should sit back down, or leave the room. He knew he was going from hot to cold, but at this point the memory was still fresh enough that he didn't care.

"Perhaps I was better off on my own after all, even if it might very well have killed me. Less suspense." Zechs muttered this, not even trying to make it so they couldn't hear him.

Quatre didn't hear him, but he could pick up on Zechs feelings of doubt, he swallowed nervously and guzzled some of his juice.

Wufei continued to say nothing and just picked lightly at his sandwich. *That would be a good idea in my opinion.* It was a cold thought, and Wufei made no motions to stop himself from thinking that way.

Duo drooped a little as he heard Zechs mutter, looking over at Wufei piteously. "You an Quatre are making him scared of us! You want someone to be scared of you Fei? Like you're scared of other stuff?"

"I'm not afraid of anything! He should be afraid of me..." Wufei lifted his chin on the mutter, He wasn't going to hide that he didn't like Zechs being there.

Quatre sat down again with huff. "I'm not trying to be scary. You think he'd be scared more of someone who just pounced him and called him a bird?" Quatre gave Duo a dirty look.

Duo leaned closer to Wufei, whispering in Wufei's ear. "Why?" He then turned his attention to Quatre. "He is a bird! He's got bird bones!" Duo paused sinking against Wufei. "And he smells like a hawk."

Zechs gave Duo another considering glance before looking to Quatre and decided to try and mention something to explain. "Duo has yet to change how he is acting towards me from one extreme to another."

Quatre just smiled slightly, trying to ease the tension and change the subject from everyone accusing each other. He was still grumpy from his earlier fight with Trowa but was trying not to let it affect him too much.

Duo turned, glaring at Quatre. "Don't you even act like you aren't causing part of the problem!" Apparently, Duo had taken it upon himself to defend Zechs, considering the bird as his pet of sorts. He loved Wufei, but he liked being around others, and another in their situation pleased him immensely, so he wasn't about to scare the clumsy blonde away.

"I'm not!" Quatre yelled back more than slightly annoyed. He was the one who had brought the 'Birdie boy' here in the first place and then Duo pounced on him. He would've growled if he were a meaner person.

"Actually. As kind as you have been to me, I fear you have a rather horrid temper that I'd prefer not to bear the brunt of." Zechs settled back into his seat, trying to relax.

Quatre ground his teeth together and glared at Zechs. "Stay out of this!" He hissed the words, pausing for a long moment before adding to them. "I do not have a temper."

"Then what, might I ask, is that?" Zechs inched away; the idea slowly fixing in his mind that perhaps he should just hole up by himself...

"Is what?" Quatre hissed again, his hands gripping the edge of the table fiercely now.

Duo huffed air, glancing at Zechs then to Quatre. "Yes Quatre, why don't you try and break the table while you're doing that, I'm certain that would make him feel better about staying here."

"Why don't you?" Quatre turned his glare on Duo now, but really, he wasn't angry with either of them. It just needed somewhere to go and the bastard he wanted to kill wasn't there at the moment.

"He knows things that I want to remember, and I happen to think he's better off staying put than wandering off on his own. He's our responsibility." Duo cuddled against Wufei, tucking the side of his head under the darker boy's chin as he watched Quatre. All the while, Wufei was just enjoying having Duo so close to him, raining little kisses over his hair and hugging him close while ignoring the others.

Zechs blinked in shock. *Since when did I become their 'responsibility'?*

"Yeah... He is." Quatre crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at Zechs for a moment before just shutting up and fuming silently.

"So if you an Fei'll stop scaring the poor bird, we won't have to worry about him trying to fly away. It's not like he'd leave without a reason if he hasn't already." Duo closed his eyes partially; pleased with the attention Wufei was giving him.

"I am still in the room you know." Zechs' voice was quiet though, uncertain if he should interrupt.

Quatre thought about making a smart assed comment, but shut his mouth at the last moment; it wasn't like Duo to be the peacekeeper, since he usually was. That finally broke though to Quatre.

"Ne? Let's retire to our room?" Wufei whispered softly to Duo, suddenly wanting to be away from the others. Duo nodded slightly, not bothering to move. If Wufei wanted to go to the bedroom, he'd make him carry him for being such a pain. "Well?" Wufei prompted and licked Duo's ear as he hands tightened on Duo's ass and squeezed a little.

"Carry me." Duo twined his arms around Wufei's neck, ignoring his admiring yet blushing audience though he'd been defending him seconds before.

"If you insist." Wufei smiled and kissed Duo's cheek before lifting him and without another word to the other young men in the kitchen, carried him down the hall towards their bedroom.

Zechs was watching Quatre from the moment that Duo and Wufei left the room, his ice blue eyes speculating as they considered him. "I'm sorry." Quatre apologized to Zechs without even looking up. "I'm just having a really bad day. Bad night too for that matter... Couldn't sleep." He sighed loudly and buried his head in his arms on the table.

"I know how that can be. But... If you let it get to you no one ever wins." Zechs maneuvered out of his chair, wavering slightly, before moving to the door. "I need to see what I can't do about my problem now, I can't sleep again anyway."

"Would you like some company?" Quatre offered, more for his own sake, he didn't want to be in the house when Wufei and Duo went at it again. *You'd think two times in one day would be enough for those two!*

"You can come with me, though I might advise bringing bandages, I have the worry that I might not walk back inside in one piece." Zechs' voice held an edge of humor, and he pushed open the door, looking outside warily. Quatre smiled at the humor and grabbed the bandages from the bathroom before running outside after Zechs. Zechs had managed to get to the middle of the little clearing that was out in front of the cabin, but the expression on his face was far from optimistic. "Damn, first I must learn to walk again!" Quatre laughed but tried to cover it up with his hand, it was rather amusing. "Well, I suppose it's just a matter of getting used to it, like Zero Grav..." Zechs sighed, flexing his wrists a little in bemusement before striding forwards, eyes closed as he tried to get used to his body again.

"Yes. I'm sure you'll get used to it in time." Quatre encouraged him and just took a seat in the grass. *What would Milliardo be talking about Zero Grav for?*

Zechs was again baffled that his comments were met with no questions. No matter the circumstances, he expected them to at least be curious! He didn't pause his careful pacing though; his eyes flicking open to see how far he was from the trees.

"Don't wander too far! I need to get to you in a hurry in case you hurt yourself!" Quatre shouted to Zechs, eyeing the blonde. *And we don't need you running off. You are as good as our prisoner for the moment.*

"I'm not that breakable! Honestly, I've experienced far worse than falling on my ass." Zechs spun, wavering badly, but managing not to fall before he started to walk back obediently.

Quatre laughed again. "I just bandaged you up! I don't want to have to do it again." His tone was rather playful but he was serious.

"Well you'll have to do it more if I cannot even walk properly, don't you think?" Zechs sounded rather amused this time, halting briefly and keeping his eyes closed.

"Well then you need to learn fast." Quatre teased a bit, but they couldn't afford Zechs to be a liability.

"Yes I do. I cannot afford to be defenseless." Zechs replied to the teasing tone with a dead serious one as he spun carefully on his heel, striding again for the tree line. Quatre didn't know what to say to that. He'd been defenseless before and he knew it was a terrible feeling. Instead of answering he simply sat and watched, ready to run to his aid should he trip. "The reason I'm even in this predicament is because I became defenseless, and this is a far more permanent thing than that was." Zechs managed to turn this time without wavering as badly.

"I wouldn't worry. You seem to be getting the hang of it already. At least the physical stuff is easily adaptable..." He added the last softly, but trailed off thinking of how Wufei was this morning when he crushed his teacup.

"I would worry, in fact I am worrying. I could never fight like this, and that is absolutely unacceptable." Zechs shook his head once, sounding for a brief instant amazingly like Heero. This person claimed to be a Peacecraft?

Quatre laughed lightly. He wasn't sure if he was laughing because it was amusing to hear such a Heero-like phrase, or because it would be useless to cry over Zechs' determination that he was alone. "Oh lighten up. I'll--We'll protect you if the need arises."

Zechs visibly winced at the words. "Must you remind me that I would indeed need such a thing?"

"I'm sorry." Quatre apologized swiftly looking away back towards the house as he realized what an error he'd just made.

"No, no, you remember how Duo put it, correct? I am your responsibility. In essence I belong to you all until I am strong again."

"If you say so." Quatre didn't like the bitter cast to Zechs' words, though he couldn't refute them. Quatre leaned back in the grassy field staring up at the sky above him as he rested his hands on his stomach and entwined his fingers together. He then closed his eyes after a moment, trying to figure out how to fix the mood and failing dismally.

Zechs opened his eyes to the comment and simply shook his head. "I don't, and that is everything in a nutshell." Zechs then turned back to his pacing.

Quatre sighed from his place on the forest floor and just listened for sounds. He was sure he'd sense Zechs' anger if he fell, so rather than upsetting him further by opening his mouth, Quatre held his silence. Zechs knew that Quatre couldn't answer that tactfully and was glad his point was made, so he allowed the conversation to end.