Maybe Angels

Author's Notes:

Disclaimers: Boy, if I owned Gundam Wing, the things I would do. But, alas, I sit here and lament the fact that I am poor and still living in the USA. Ok, yeah, I don't own the lyrics to 'It's You' by Michelle Branch either. That's her honour. I just buy her CDs.

A/N: So, who likes Solo? Is anyone confused by the angels' *real* names yet? I plan on adding the list of names ASAP. I *do* have one, I just have to work out a few more kinks with them. ^^;;; Gomen. Now, as far as the Wufei part is concerned, TRUST ME, I plan on bringing him back shortly. I just have a few more things to get out of the way before Duo can actually interact with him on a permanent basis. Patience, please?

Dedication: To Duo-chan, for your idea about Solo and Duo's kiss and the instant taking to Solo's description. Yuki-chan, for going all gaga over Baby Wufei in chapter 3; it was adorable. To Jade-sissy, welcome back after a long time gone; I missed you, and you know it! ~_^

Symbols: *~*~* change in scene, POV, or time
*~~~* minor change in scene or flashback
~ blah ~ remembered quotes

*~~~~~~~*
If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one thing
I would tell it to the stars and the sun
I would write it for the world to see
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one wish
To kiss your quiet mouth
Trace the steps of my fingertips
And it's you
The light changes when you're in the room
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you
Oh it's you...
~ It's You, by Michelle Branch
*~~~~~~~*

*It's You*

After the exhausting scene with Solo, the subsequent crying of tears that had been pent up for over three million Earth years, and the tiring conversation with God and my friends, I could barely make it to the region of Heaven where the others were situated. No sooner had I arrived, by my own will, when I fell to my knees and let my being lay prone on the cloud-cushioned ground. There were cries of surprise from not far away, but I couldn't tell who was whom, until two sets of familiar hands picked me up and moved me over to a spot to sit up.

"Duo?" Heero said, sounding worried, which disturbed me a little. "What happened?"

"Give his some space, Heero," Quatre said, his blond hair seeming to shine and blind my blurry eyes. "He just had that confrontation with... *him*." The blond angel's voice dripped venom as he said that last word. "He may need to regain energy levels."

"Q, Heero, everybody... Just... Let me be for a while. Need some space," I managed, closing my eyes and shutting down my mind. Mercifully, they allowed me my space, and after a while, I fell asleep.

*~~~~~~~~*

A gentle, soothing presence awoke me a while later. I didn't know who it was, for it wasn't someone who I had constant contact with. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and saw long curly blonde hair and a straight back in front of me. There was only one being who would bother to sit next to me with those features.

"Sal?"

"Well, you are finally awake, sleepy head. Nice to see you alive now," she said, a smile crossing her sharp face and even reaching her deep blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Diachriel," she whispered.

"For what?" I whispered back.

"For... all the trouble with Solo. For Heero. For Quatre. For well meaning friends who put you in dangerous situations, and your new charge. I'm sorry for Wufei as well."

I shot up, fear gripping my very soul. "Something happened to Wufei?"

"Calm down, Diachriel. Wufei is fine. I was just apologizing for the way that he was threatened. Soliriel has crossed one too many lines as of late, and added a human into a personal fight between 'Good' and 'Evil' was low."

"Sasiriel?" I said after a while, using her full name.

"Yes, Diachriel?"

"Why are you here? Where's Quatre, Heero, Hilde and the other three that should be swarming around me now that I'm awake," I asked, no humour in my voice at all.

"I told them that if they even *thought* of disturbing you while you slept, I'd rip their wings off myself." She gave me a cold smile that said she meant it. "I know what it's like to break a soul-bond. It drains you..." She turned from me, and pulled out her book for Meiran, writing furiously.

Sighing, I put my head back down, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the peace, as well as the sensation of being free for the first time in over three million years. The freedom scared me a little. After being tied for a very long time to someone else's soul the way I was with Solo, being free was something I would have to get used to. There was only one other being I knew who had to break soul-bondage. That was Sally, and I had to think of a way to get her to talk about it.

"Um, Sally?"

"Yes, Duo?" she asked, not looking at me, and the sound of her quill on the parchment sheets in the book got louder.

"Er, I don't know how to ask this..."

"How did I deal with breaking my bond with Mirael? Is that what you want to know?" she asked, her voice rather sad and her face reflecting the misery in her tone. All I could do was nod. "It hurt for a while. I won't lie to you. He and I had been close before we drifted, slowly, apart. The worst part, I think, was to see him with his new companion... But, then, I became close to Cathy. The rest, you know, is history."

"Are... Are you and she bonded?" I asked, not really wanting to pry, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"Not yet, although we have talked about it." She closed her eyes and smiled. "I never thought I would be close to any being after the soul-breakage, but Cathy surprised me. All of us, really."

"Thanks, Sasiriel. I needed this."

"You're welcome, Diachriel. I need to go check on Meiran now, and I suggest you catch up with the others before they start to tackle you." She rose, putting her book under one arm and walked away, leaving me alone to think.

She was right. Underneath the feeling of relief, a sharp pain of loss was eating away at me. Soliriel and I had been bonded for over four million years, almost since we were created, and now we were as distant as was Heavenly possible. I knew that it would hurt as I said the words, but it didn't when I said them. Shock, I suppose.

And yet, something else was gnawing at me. There was something that I was forgetting, and it disturbed me. I tried to figure out what it was, and then, the Guru's words came back to me.

~ Perhaps, Duo, that this child is your new soul-companion, or what we humans refer to as a soul-mate. ~

Could he have been right, I thought. Could Wufei be my rightful soul-companion? Would I be able to bond my soul with another being again? Could I do it again?

I shook my head. Wufei was only a child, and I was his personal angel. My job was to watch over him and keep him company until the day he died, not try and force my affections upon him when he was still growing. But, some part of me felt intrigued by the new thought, and I knew that I would be in trouble if I didn't watch myself around him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I just want to see how he is doing, Aloniel. It's partly my fault for this whole mess," Noin's quiet voice said, waking me from another nap. It seems my energy supplies were lower than I had anticipated.

"Gerindial, it is *not* your fault. Soliriel is insane! He has been ever since the Division. It's just time that Diachriel realized it and got the bond-breaking over with," Zechs yelled, totally interrupting my peace.

"So, Aloniel, if I went insane, would you break our bond?" Noin asked, her voice full of sorrow.

"That's not fair, Gerindial. We are two different beings than Duo and Solo." He lowered his voice. "I... I love you, and I would never do that."

"Then you understand how hard it was for me, Zechs," I said, sitting up. "It wasn't anything I particularly wanted to do, but I *had* to do it." I looked at Noin as I stood up to my full height. "Noin, don't worry your pretty little head about it. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there." I moved over to her, and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for your concern and help, my dear friend."

A lone tear fell from her eye and rolled down the cheek I had kissed. "You're welcome," she whispered, as I caught the tear.

"Don't cry for me, Gerindial. An angel's tears are much too valuable to waste, especially not on something as unimportant as a daemon's former connection to myself. You wanted to help, and in a way, you have. Zechs, make her happy," I whispered, leaving the two soul-bonded angels alone to talk.

I walked until I was about three meters of the others, and watched how they interacted. Trowa and Heero sat back-to-back, scribbling away diligently in Relena and Wufei's life books. Sally wasn't far away, doing the same thing, only Cathy seemed to be somewhat close to her and they were talking while Sally worked. Quatre and Hilde were whispering and giggling like human teenaged girls off to one side, stealing glances at Heero and Trowa every once in a while.

I smiled warmly at my friends, and walked silently over to where Quatre and Hilde were. They were still deep into their whispering when I knelt down and placed my head on Hilde's shoulder, which caused her to jump.

"DUO!" she screamed, knocking me in the cranium with her own.

"Duo! You're back!" Quatre yelled, jumping up to give me a hug.

"Sheesh," I muttered, rubbing my sore head. "I expected surprise, but not to get beaten to near-death. Hilde, your head is harder than Napoleon's during Waterloo."

"Same old Duo," Cathy said, coming over to give me a hug. She lowered her voice and whispered in my ear. "Congratulations on your new won freedom and welcome back to us, Diachriel. Be careful, and know that I'm proud of you."

"Th-thank you, Kidieal," I whispered, feeling strangely warm from those simple words. No one had ever told me they were proud of me, not even God Herself.

"Duo, no whispering to Cathy. I want to talk to you privately," Quatre said, pulling on my arm, dragging me to my feet and away from the others. "Now, tell me *everything* that happened with Solo," he exclaimed as soon as we were out of hearing distance of our friends.

I sighed, and sat down, feeling tired again. "Must I, Karemiel? I'm not entirely replenished, and well, this isn't the most comfortable subject for me."

"Duo, you *broke* your soul-bond with Soliriel," he said, cringing at the daemon's name. "Tell me *exactly* why, and I want to know why everyone is worried for Wufei?"

"He is no longer the Soliriel we once knew, and something inside me told me it was time to move on. Quatre, he was upset afterwards, and he threatened Wufei and myself. Although, he won't get very far if he tries," I said, my voice cold and devoid of any emotion, except hatred for my one time soul mate. "He is a daemon now, and hence, mine, yours and everyone else's enemy. I'd rather not talk about it."

"But Hilde said that he kissed you."

"And so he did. I reciprocated it, as a last farewell."

"You... you kissed him back?" He sounded as if he was shocked, and the expression on his face was priceless.

"Karemiel, he *was* my soul companion. That is what some of us do," I said, feeling very tired once more. "Look, Quatre, I know everyone will want to talk to me when I get back. May I please go, get glared, glomped, lectured and cried at so I can go back to sleep?"

A cute bottom lip was stuck out at me, and the blond's face scrunched up into a pout. "Fine! Go then! But I'm talking to you later!"

"I know, *mother*. I am looking forward to it, Quatre," I said, walking back towards the others where I was hugged again by Hilde, who was profusely apologizing for her role in the ordeal. "Hilde! Calm down. I don't blame you. I heard your explanation earlier, and I'm fine now." I sighed in frustration.

"Ok, Duo, I'm sorry again," she whispered, walking away to talk to Quatre again. She was replaced by Trowa, who was frowning deeply.

"Welcome back," he said lifelessly. I don't know, even now, if he actually meant what he said, but he was a bit nicer afterwards. But, there I go again, getting ahead of myself. Wufei is going to be rather upset with me when he reads this over. I promised him I would stick to the timeline, and I've ventured off. Oh, God, I've done it again. I'm really sorry. Back to the story, I swear.

So, Trowa gave me his cold greeting, and all I could do was smile and hope that he wouldn't be pissed at me because of Solo's threat to Wufei's safety. And, much to my surprise, he didn't. Trowa just stood there, running one hand absently through his awe-inspiring hair style before turning around and going back to his writing. I was shocked. He should have said... *something*, dammit!

Then, to make my day even more heart attack worthy, Heero dropped his book, swiftly walked over to where I was standing, wrapped me into a large hug, and kissed me in front of everyone. I didn't react. I couldn't. I didn't know what to do. Heero had never kissed me in front of anyone before, and I wasn't sure of my emotions after all that had transpired before all this.

When he finally let me go, the look on Trowa's face was one that would have made my blood run cold, had I had need of blood, but it wasn't directed at me. He was glaring daggers at *HEERO*! I stepped back and saw that Quatre was glaring daggers at Heero as well.

Moving away quickly, I walked away from the others, trying to find somewhere to gather my thoughts. I wasn't allowed my peace though, because Hilde followed me.

"Diachriel! WAIT!" she called, running to catch up with me.

"Yes, Hildariel?"

"I wanted to talk to you privately about some things. It's kinda hard to talk to you around Quatre, Heero and Trowa." She blushed a little as she said that.

"Yeah, it kinda is," I said, sitting down on the ground, and she followed suit.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We sat there staring at one another for God only knows how long, and after a while, I gave up on Hilde making the first move. "So, Hilde, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah..." she said, running a hand through her short black hair. "Um, do you remember the conversation we had about soul-companions, old charges, and wishes?"

"Yes... It made me go talk to Gandhi again," I said, smiling at the remembered conversation and creating a longing to visit with him once again. Then, I looked over my friend's disposition. "Hilde? Why do you ask? Is there something wrong?"

"Not... exactly..." She lowered her head, and started staring at her nails. "Duo, what did you feel when you met Solo again?"

"I... I don't know. I was... in disbelief at first. He was so changed, and yet, there was something there left of the old Solo. It was like looking at an abstract version of him, I guess."

"Did... did the old feelings rekindle?" she asked tentatively, the fear showing in her eyes, but fear of what I couldn't tell.

"For a moment, yeah, they did. Hilde? What are you beating around the bush about?" I took her hand and made her look at me again.

"I want to break bond from Olga! I've spent as long as you have sulking over my loss, and..." she broke off, shoulders shaking in near-tears. I tried to comfort her the best I could, even if my reserves were rather low.

"Hildariel, if you are going to do the soul-bond breaking, do it now. Meiran and..." I caught myself before I called Wufei my own, "Wufei are already close to two years old now. I don't know how long it's going to take me to get my energy levels back to proper levels, and if it's this bad for me, I'd hate to see what it's like for you."

"I know that the charges are growing rapidly... but I'm afraid," she cried, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm just so afraid."

"Hilde? Why now?"

"Because... I think I want to be with someone else now," she whispered. I smiled. I knew who she was talking about, and the thought made me happy for her.

"Talk to God, and let me know so I can help you, okay?"

"Thank you, Diachriel."

"No problem, Hilde, but do you think I could have some time to myself?"

"Oh, wait, I was going to check on Meiran. Do you want to check on Wufei at the same time?" Her head popped up, a bright smile plastered across her face. I tried to reject her question in my mind, but it had been too long since I'd seen *my* Wufei.

"Why not?"

The other angel wasted no time in preparing a viewing pool for our use. All it took was for our collective thoughts for the surface to swirl and then clear, leaving us with a perfect view of our charges, playing with a curly-haired blonde girl and a black haired boy, who I had never seen before.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to the other boy.

"I have no idea. Maybe we should ask Heero, Sally or Trowa," Hilde said, watching Meiran as the little girl scrunched up her face, and starting screaming 'no' in Cantonese at the top of her lungs at the blonde girl. "No, Meiran, don't do that! Relena didn't do anything!"

"I don't think Meiran likes Relena very much," I said, snickering while I watched Wufei and the other boy play with a puzzle that was supposed to be for children more than three times their age.

"You don't say," Hilde said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Not that I really blame her. Relena is forever giving Zechs a headache. I think it's because she is an only child."

"No, it's because the child is spoiled rotten. See how quickly her mother runs in to calm her down."

"Yes, and just imagine her when she's older," another voice cut in. Looking up, I saw Noin, smiling once more and looking as if she and Zechs had had a nice long talk. I raised one eyebrow in a silent question, and she nodded once. They had. "Well, you two are lucky. I think, anyway." She sat across from us, on the other side of the pool. "Or, Duo is lucky. Wufei's such a sweet child."

"Yes, he is," I whispered, watching my charge with the other boy. Their dark heads where close together as they slaved over the puzzle pieces that surrounded them. Silently, they worked well, knowing exactly what the other was doing. It scared me. I had heard of twins doing that, but never totally unrelated children, especially that young.

My attention was drawn from Wufei from Meiran's sharp voice calling out to her 'Baba', which is Daddy in Mandarin. I was amazed that she was able to switch from one dialect of the complicated Chinese language to another, but remembered that the father, Xu, was a language professor at the university near their house.

/And think of the devil,/ I thought as I saw the tall Chinese man sweep into the room. I was about to comment on spoiled children when an all too familiar tug pulled at my being, and my eyes snapped onto the form of Wufei, who was staring up at the ceiling. His dark eyes were extremely thoughtful and intent, sending a shiver throughout my body and resulted in a shifting of my wings.

"Duo! NO!" Hilde yelled, snatching my hand back from where it was poised above the pool, almost touching the slightly cloudy surface. I shook my head, and rose, walking away from the temptation.

"What is *wrong* with me?!" I yelled to myself. I ignored the calls of the other angels, walking until I didn't know where I was exactly. Looking around, I found a few familiar faces. It was then that I realized that I had wandered back into the realm of the deceased human souls, and staring at me was the Guru.

TBC...