::wipes away sweat:: OKAY! Part 8 is here. ONE MORE PART TO GO!!! (I think… O.O) Well…plus the epilogue of course! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me. Belong to those who made the series.

WARNING: SAP and ANGST

Hope you like it! Feedback is always loved! Mail me at [email protected] All mail WILL receive a reply! Thanky! ^_~.

-->Ray-Chan

Quatre awoke the next morning with a sigh. He was warm, very warm for some reason he could not identify. A glance down at the boy he held tightly in his arms told him everything though, and the memories of last night washed over him. Careful touches, a warm embrace, the feel of Heero’s skin against his was electrifying. He breathed in deeply, the scent of Heero reaching him, and Quatre smiled.

Feeling the Japanese boy shift slightly, Quatre turned his attentions back to the creature he held tightly and was met by a sleepy pair of cobalt blue eyes.

"Good morning, Heero," Quatre kissed him lightly. "Sleep well?"

Heero shifted around in Quatre’s arms, a slight grunt of pain escaping him as Quatre’s limp member slid from him. He rested his head on Quatre’s chest and once again closed his eyes.

"Best sleep I’ve had in years."

Quatre smile quickly turned to a frown when he reached for the bed sheets to pull them up and caught sight of the spots of blood. He turned to the boy resting in his arms, Heero’s attention was on the stains as well. The blonde boy tightened his embrace.

"Heero, you didn’t tell me I was hurting you."

Silent tears escaped him at the though of hurting the boy he loved. Salty paths traced down Quatre’s cheeks and Heero leaned up to gently kiss them away.

"I’m okay, Quatre," he murmured softly, pulling the stained sheets up to cover them both. "You didn’t do anything wrong. I-I’m a little sore, but it’s okay." He kissed Quatre’s nose lightly. "I love you."

The tears stopped and Quatre sighed, content just to be there now with the Japanese boy. They both closed their eyes and were on the verge of a blissful slumber when the pained beeping of Heero’s laptop caught their attention.

Heero sighed and began to rise, but Quatre pulled him back into the warm embrace, kissing him firmly in protest to the abandonment. Heero returned the kiss but his resolve remained.

"I’ll just check and see what it is," he promised the blonde. Quatre sighed and finally gave in, letting Heero leave the bed to check the offending laptop.

He waited patiently for Heero to return to bed, but when ten minutes had passed and the other boy was still absent, he rose as well, clutching the sheet around his nude body and walking over to where Heero sat at his desk, the laptop displayed before him.

"What’s wrong, Love?" Quatre worried at the blank expression Heero now had. Looking dazed and without turning his attention to the blonde, Heero pushed the computer over so Quatre could read. The Arab paused, then skimmed over the message.

Quatre was in shock.

"You…You mean after all he’s done to you he STILL thinks he’s worthy of your FRIENDSHIP?" Heero remained impassive, staring blankly ahead at the wall. "Heero! He’s insane! A madman! You can’t honestly be considering seeing him again, CAN you?!"

"But he’s right, Quatre." Heero hung his head sadly. "I can’t give up on the colonies and their hopes for peace just because of my problems."

"NO! Heero, what if he tries to hurt you? What then? What will you do? I know you’re set on going, you were always stubborn about those things, but at LEAST let me go with you. Please!"

"No, Quatre." Heero turned to face the blonde boy, frowning at the new tears on his face. He rose silently and grabbed his clothes, shed from the night before, and dressed quickly. "I have to go alone. It’s not like I lost all my training when I removed the computer chip." He leaned over to give Quatre a kiss before moving to the door. "I’ll be back, Love. Promise. And please don’t worry. I still know everything I did before, only now Doctor J isn’t in control of me."

And he exited the room leaving Quatre alone, draped in the stained bed sheet with a worried frown on his face.

"Heero, can’t you see? He still DOES control you."

But no one heard him save the empty room and the hated laptop, glowing profusely.

* * * * * * *

Quatre was still frowning when he joined the others in the living room an hour later. Trowa put down his book and looked at the blonde questioningly.

"Quatre, is everything all right?"

Quatre turned to the others, startled at the voice that suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh…Um. No. Actually there is something bothering me. You see, earlier this morning Heero got a letter from Doctor J asking him to meet so they could have a talk, and well…Heero left about an hour ago to meet with him."

The others jumped up from their respective seats.

"WHAT?!?" Duo cried, grabbing his newly polished gun from the coffee table. "We have to go after him! Who knows what that psycho will do to him!"

"No," Quatre shook his head. "I already told Heero that, but he insisted on going anyway. He asked me to trust him and just wait here until he comes home."

The others showed no signs of believing him.

"Why would Heero do that?" Wufei wondered aloud. "And why wouldn’t he tell the rest of us?"

Quatre blushed as all eyes turned to him.

"Well, I was kinda there when he got the message and I guess he didn’t want me to worry so he…"

"But you said he got it EARLY this morning, right?" Duo insisted on pointing out. "Why were you there with him if it was….ohhhhhhh." Duo flashed a wicked grin that made Quatre flinch and blush even brighter. "Quatre got a little last night, didn’t he?" Duo poked the blonde roughly in the ribs.

"That isn’t the point!" Quatre sputtered, now beet red. "I’m saying that Heero is out who-knows-where with that psycho who planted the computer chip in him in the first place!"

Trowa nodded.

"But how do we find him?"

* * * * * * *

Heero knocked lightly on the door to the lab.

"Doctor J?" His voice sounded faint, echoing off the massive walls and disappearing behind the many rows of mechanical devices and chemicals displayed neatly on shelves and tables about the room.

Heero entered the room cautiously, his heart beating rapidly as he glanced around, searching for the mechanical man he knew must be somewhere within.

"Doctor J, are you h-"

A blinding flash of light, and a sharp pain in his head was the last thing Heero felt before crumpling to the floor.

* * * * * * *

Wufei glanced at his watch.

"It’s been four hours since you said he left, Quatre."

The blonde sat on the couch, wringing his hands nervously.

"I…I hope he’s okay."

The door to the safe house flew open and the pilots were instantly on their feet, guns pointed to the silhouetted intruder. Mouths dropped open in shock as the figure entered and light fell across his face.

"HEERO!" Quatre cried in relief. "You really scared us! Are you…" he trailed off when Heero entered and could be seen completely.

A thin trickle of blood dripped from the newly made stitches in the Japanese boy’s right temple. The blank look on his face soon changed to one of pure hatred, marring the once perfect features, as he caught sight of the four boys within the room. He raised his gun in one fluid movement.

"Mission : Dispose of Gundam pilots. Mission Accepted."