Warnings: Shonen ai (3+4, 1+2), slight OOC, Humor

Five pilots stared in disbelief and horror at their new mission orders.

Quatre looked down at Alea, who looked back up at him with wide eyes. He looked at Heero and Wufei. To those who knew how to read his vague facial expressions, Heero was obviously about to bolt in fear. Wufei was looking dubiously at Alea. Alea was watching him with a similar expression on her face.

Quatre swallowed hard, seriously debating taking Alea with him. He shoved his glasses back up, something that was becoming a nervous habit as much as anything else.

Trowa seemed to notice the look on Quatre's face. He shook his head slightly. "We have no choice. It's a mission."

Quatre tightened his grip on Alea. She clung to him with tiny fists, staring wide-eyed at Heero and Wufei. Seeing their expressions turn to grim determination, she squeaked and buried her face in Quatre's shoulder. Quatre wrapped his arms around her protectively.

Duo laughed nervously. "Come on, Quatre. It's not like they're gonna hurt her." {On purpose anyway...}

Quatre hesitated, then sighed. He gently turned Alea's chin up until she was looking him in the eyes. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Alea-chan. I promise." He kissed her forhead.

Alea looked up at him with wide fearful eyes, then looked at Trowa. "Papa?" she asked, her lower lip trembling.

Trowa put his hand on her head again, hoping to soothe her. "We'll be back soon, Alea-chan." He paused, then kissed the top of her head.

Quatre took a deep breath, then handed her to Wufei. "Come on." he told Trowa and Duo in a choked voice, heading out the door swiftly. He paused for a moment, glanced back at her, then left with Trowa and Duo following.

Alea stared at the door, tears filling her eyes. She wailed.

****************************************

Wufei was fed up. Alea had been crying for nearly half an hour now. They'd tried feeding her;she'd cried. They'd tried attempting to play with her;she'd cried. "What does it take to shut it up?!" he roared.

Alea stopped crying abruptly, staring at him with wide eyes. "Unc'a Wu?" she asked in a small voice.

Heero's mouth quirked.

Wufei blinked. "What did you call me?"

"Unc'a Wu." She blinked at him, then gave him her most charming smile. "A'shewu, Unc'a Wu."

Wufei stared at her.

She blinked again, then frowned. She struggled to stand, then toddled over to him. Grabbing onto his ponytail, she carefully pulled off the hair tie, letting his hair fall loose. She smiled at him again, offering him the tie. "No' tigh' now."

"Excuse me?" Wufei demanded, incredulous.

She frowned again. "So-wo says when you tail too tigh', you mah."

Heero snickered.

"And who is this...Sowo?" Wufei asked, scowling and taking the tie.

She smiled happily. "So-wo and Ta'ara fwends. They help me get here." Her smile faded. "Papa and Da-ee be mah." She looked determined. "Bu' So-wo and Ta'ara pwomise no' to tell 'em where I am 'til they say a'sheru."

Heero looked at her oddly. "You mean you ran away from home?"

She shook her head emphatically. "No! No' run 'way! Ma' Papa and Da-ee stop figh'ing."

"Your parents are having problems?" Wufei asked, trying to figure out what she was saying.

She nodded sadly. "Figh' a wot now. Papa leave 'ometimes." Suddenly she frowned, squirming. She looked down, then back at Wufei. "Change." she ordered, pointing at her diaper.

Wufei looked at Heero. Heero looked at Wufei. "You do it." they said in unison.

"You're the 'perfect soldier'."

"You have more experience with women."

"Since when?!"

They glared at each other for several minutes. Wufei sighed. "Shall we do it together?"

"Hn." Heero replied, sighing.

They turned to Alea with the same sort of look that they had when the only option was to self-destruct. She gulped.

****************************************

The door banged open a few hours later. Quatre raced in, looking around frantically as he shoved his glasses back up again. Wufei appeared out of nowhere and shoved Alea at him. He nearly dropped her, then scooped her up in a tight hug. She clung to him, staring at Wufei with wide, fearful eyes.

Duo and Trowa came in. "Oi, what happened?" Duo asked. "The hanger looks like someone turned a thermal weapon on it."

"They did." Heero growled, coming into the room. He and Wufei both looked like they'd been in the losing end of a mobile suit battle. He pointed angrily at Alea. "She crawled into Wing's cockpit and decided to play around with the controls."

"I had to use Nataku just to stop her." Wufei snarled. "Do you have any idea how much damage she caused?!"

Quatre glared at them. "She's just a baby! She doesn't know any better!"

"That *baby* nearly leveled the entire house!" Wufei yelled.

Alea sniffled. "Go'en, Unc'a Wu, Unc'a Hee-wo." she mumbled.

Duo looked at Wufei oddly. "You make it sound like she actually knew what she was doing."

"*That* is *not* an ordinary baby." Heero said flatly.

"Go'en." Alea whispered, looking sad.

Quatre hugged her. "It's all right." He shot a death glare at Heero and Wufei. "Right?" He didn't notice that Trowa was standing behind him with an even more threatening expression.

"Aa." they grumbled.

Alea sniffled, looking at them both with teary eyes. "Hon'o?"

"Hai, chibi ichi. It's fine." Wufei told her, forcing himself to smile.

Heero nodded. "Aa."

She gave them a smile, though she was still a bit teary-eyed.

****************************************

Heero was in the middle of repairing Zero when he reached for his toolbox. To his surprise, a tool was placed in his hand before he even touched the toolbox. He looked up, startled. A pair of emerald green eyes stared back at him.

"Oh. It's you." he said flatly. He turned back to working on Zero. When he reached back for the toolbox again, another tool was placed in his hand. He sighed and turned to look at Alea. "I take it you want to help?"

She nodded emphatically.

He struggled to repress the urge to smile, and failed. "All right." he agreed.

He was rewarded with one of the brightest smiles he'd ever seen.

****************************************

Wufei was practicing his katas when he noticed Alea sitting nearby, watching him intently. He pointedly ignored her for about ten minutes. Then he saw her stand, trying to imitate his movements. A smile crept over his face as he stopped, sighing. He went over to her and carefully corrected her stances, then went on, this time slower so that he could watch her for mistakes.

Though he tried not to show it, he was pleased when she smiled triumphantly at him after completing a movement perfectly.

****************************************

"Who would have thought babies would go through stuff so quickly?" Duo commented as Quatre looked through the baby food. Alea was sitting in the shopping cart, kicking her feet back and forth happily as she clutched the cheetah Quatre had gotten her. She refused to go anywhere without it now, which pleased Quatre immensely.

They were looking for diapers when Duo suddenly picked up a small box. "Oi, what about these?"

Quatre turned to look and immediately turned bright red. "Ano...I don't think she'll be needing those just yet."

Duo looked confused. "Why not?"

Still blushing, Quatre whispered something in his ear.

Duo's eyes widened and he dropped the box of tampons as if it were on fire. "EEEW!"

Alea giggled, clapping her hands. "Si-wee Unc'a Doo!"

Duo blinked, then grinned at her. "Oh yeah? I'll show ya silly!" He lunged and began to tickle her. She squealed and kicked her feet, swatting at him.

Quatre grabbed one last thing off the shelf as they headed toward the check-out line. Duo glanced at it. "A data disk?"

Quatre nodded, blushing slightly. "I wanted to take some pictures of Alea-chan."

Duo smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's a great idea. We need some pictures of the little squirt." He tickled her again, causing more giggles.

The cashier looked up as they began to unload the cart. Her eyes widened and she smiled at Alea. "What an adorable baby! You must be so proud to have such a kawaii daughter!" she told Quatre.

Quatre blushed. Alea gave him one of her brightest grins and he couldn't resist smiling back.

{I supposed she is my baby...} "Hai." he agreed, ruffling her hair before going back to unloading the cart.

Duo looked at him oddly, but didn't say anything.

When they were walking out to the van they'd been using, Duo looked at Alea, frowning slightly. "You know, I never noticed it before, but Alea-chan has your smile."

Quatre glanced at him, blinking in surprise. "You think so?"

Duo nodded. "Odd, ne?"

Alea giggled, looking up at Quatre with a strange grin on her face.

****************************************

The five boys found themselves staring in dismay at another set of mission orders. This time however, all of them had to go. Which left one problem...

"Who's gonna watch Alea-chan?" Duo asked.

"..."

"..."

"...I...know someone who could..." Heero spoke up.

Quatre's eyes widened in horror. "Not Relena-sama!" he cried, clutching Alea.

"...He has a point, Quatre." Trowa told him.

"I'm not leaving my baby with Relena!"

Unknowingly, the other four pilots were having the exact same thought. {This is not good...}

****************************************

"I can't believe I left her with Relena." Quatre groused. He shoved his glasses back up again.

"We know, we know!" Duo snapped. "That's all you've been saying since we left her there! Give it a rest already!"

"Duo, when you have a baby and have to leave it with *Relena*, then you can tell me to stop. Until then, lay off." Quatre replied angrily.

"Quatre, she's not even really your baby."Duo told him.

Quatre resisted the urge to punch him. He settled for muttering something under his breath in Arabic. Trowa raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

At last Wufei pulled the van into Relena's driveway. Quatre was out the door before he'd even come to a stop. He raced the the door and knocked, then shifted impatiently from foot to foot as he waited. Finally the door opened and he was let in, the others following.

All five of them choked back a cry of horror at the sight that awaited them. Relena was sitting on the couch with Alea popped up on some pillows next to her. They wore matching pink dresses with pink shoes, the skirt on Alea's covered with lace and ruffles.

Alea's hair had been put in spiral curls and tied back with a large pink bow. Her eyes lit up with relief when she saw the five pilots.

Relena looked disappointed. "Oh. Konnichiwa minna. I was just about to give Alea-chan a make-over."

Duo resisted the urge to shudder violently.

Relena perked up. "Maybe she could spend the night?" she asked hopefully.

Alea visibly paled. She looked at Quatre pleadingly.

Quatre went over and picked her up. "Gomen nasai, Relena-sama, but we already have plans for tonight."

Relena sighed. "Oh, all right. But she's welcome back anytime!"

Alea shivered in Quatre's arms. He hugged her tighter, nodding politely at Relena. "Arigato for watching her. Sayonnara." They left as quickly as they could without running out the door.

****************************************

Alea whimpered pitifully, tugging at her dress. "Off."

"Poor Alea-chan." Duo said sympathetically. "She looks like a pink marshmellow."

Quatre glared at him as Alea sniffled. "Duo!"

"Unc'a Doo wight." Alea said sadly, tugging at her dress again. "Wook wike a 'mallow."

"You do not." Quatre told her firmly. "You look like..."

"A porcelain doll?" Trowa suggested. Quatre gave him a dirty look as he carefully untied the bow from Alea's hair and attempted comb the curls out with his fingers. "Pink's just not your color, that's all."

Alea sighed, scowling. "Gwown-ups are we'rd."

Quatre frowned as his fingers got tangled in the curls. He stuck the tip of his tongue out of his mouth in concentration as he tried to untangle himself without pulling her hair. His frown deepened as his glasses slid down his nose yet again. "What makes you say that?"

Trowa's lips quirked into a tiny smile at the picture they made. {Kawaii.} he thought. {What is it Duo says? A kodac moment?}

No one seemed to notice the light flashing under Duo's coat.

"They ac' funny. Li' when they wook at someone they wike, bu' onwy when they thin' no one ewse is wooking." She frowned again, trying to pull off one of her shoes.

Heero, Duo, Quatre, and Trowa struggled to hide their shock at what she said. {Is she talking about me?!}

In the driver's seat, Wufei surpressed the urge to snicker.

****************************************

Duo watched Alea sigh and roll over in her sleep. Quatre had helped her out of the 'marshmellow dress' as they'd come to think of it, and had brushed out the curls before laying her down on the couch for a nap. He was leaning over the back of the couch, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What are you thinking about?"

He jerked in surprise. He looked up to see Heero watching him intently. He blinked, then shrugged. "Nothing much. I was just thinking...nevermind."

"Nani?" Heero persisted.

He sighed. "Ano...I was just thinking how nice it's been lately. You know, with a little one around?" He glanced at the expression on Heero's face and sighed again, his shoulders sagging. "Forget it." he muttered.

"Unc'a Doo..." Alea mumbled. "Tew Unc'a Hee-wo a'shewu."

Duo stiffened, turning to look at her. She was still asleep.

Heero watched him, his eyes unreadable and face blank. "Do you?"

Duo silently cursed his honesty. "H-hai." he mumbled, his face turning bright red. He looked away quickly, bracing himself for the punch that had to be coming.

Instead, he found his chin being gently but firmly pulled until he was looking Heero in the eyes. He stared in shock at what he saw. Heero's eyes had softened considerably, and his mouth formed the tiniest smile. "Baka." he murmured. "Aishiteru." Warm lips pressed against his own.

When the lips pulled away, Duo fainted. Heero caught him before he hit the floor and carried him out of the room, the smile widening ever-so-slightly.

As soon as they were out of the room, one of Alea's eyes cracked open. She sat up slowly, looking around. A mischievious smile crossed her face. "Ni'mu ka'wyou."

****************************************

Quatre sat in a window seat, holding Alea in his lap as they both stared out the window. Their new safehouse was nicer than their last one, and had an excellent view of a beautiful valley below them. He sighed, running a hand through Alea's hair. {My Alea-chan...}

Alea sniffled suddenly.

Quatre frowned, looking down at her. "What's wrong, Alea-chan?"

"So-wo and Ta'ara ta'ing too wong." she said sadly. "They shou'a been here by now." She looked like she was going to cry. "I mi' my pawents, bu' I do' wa'a go home!"

Quatre hugged her, rocking back and forth gently. "It's all right, Alea-chan." he murmured. He brushed her bangs back and kissed her forehead.

She leaned back against him, sighing softly. She wiped at her eyes with a fist in a rough, almost harsh movement.

Quatre sighed, too. He rested his chin on the top of her head, still rocking back and forth. "Demo, if you don't go home, you parents will be worried, ne?"

She sighed again. "Hai." she mumbled.

"And you're always welcome to come back and visit."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Hon'o?"

"Of course." another voice replied.

They both looked up at Trowa as he walked into the room. He gave them both a small smile. He was instantly rewarded with indentical bright, cheerful grins. It gave him a warm feeling inside, one that he decided he liked.

Alea looked up at Quatre with shining eyes. "A'shewu, Da-ee!" she squealed in delight, giving him a hug.

Quatre chuckled softly. "Aishiteru, Alea-chan." He frowned as his glasses slid down his nose and shoved them back up hastily. He muttered something under his breath. "What's taking those contacts so long?"

"Actually, you look good with glasses." Trowa said casually.

Quatre looked up at him, startled. He frowned. "Don't try to make me feel better."

"I'm not." Trowa replied.

Alea glanced from Trowa to Quatre and back again. "Down." she announced. Quatre set her down and she toddled out of the room, calling "Unc'a Wu! Where are 'ou?"

Quatre chuckled softly. "She's so kawaii."

"Just like you."

Quatre stiffened, looking at Trowa wide-eyed. "Nani?!"

Trowa blinked, then cursed himself silently. {Did I say that out loud?!} "Gomen." He turned to go, struggling to hide his blush.

"Matte." Quatre called.

Trowa stopped.

"Did you mean it?" he asked softly.

Trowa paused, turning back to look at Quatre. Quatre was watching him, fear and hope apparent in his eyes. He took a deep breath, letting it out again with a soft sigh. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." he told him quietly.

Quatre stood and went over to him. "A-aishiteru, Trowa." he said nervously, blushing. His glasses slid down again, and he reached up to push them back up on his nose.

Trowa stopped him, putting a hand over his. He smiled down at him, gently pushing the glasses back up. Then he leaned down a closed the gap between them in a kiss.

Alea peered around the doorway, a triumphant smile on her face. "Ni'mu Ka'wyou." she whispered.