No Warnings! ^__^ This is an answer to a fic challenge to write a Gundam Wing version of The Sound of Music. This is part one, since I think this will take a while. Pairings: 1x2 and 3x4. And, I don't know the numbers, a chance of a future Triez x Zechs. ^__^ This fic shouldn't have violence, but be prepared for the possibility of future lemons and minor angst. I intend to fit whatever I can in this fic. That includes a cameo appearance of Relena. I don't know if she'll be as nice as her movie counterpart yet, but we'll see. On to part one. ^_____^

A Gundam version of The Sound of Music

Part 1

Duo slipped on a large patch of wetness in front of the well in the center of the church's indoor courtyard. Flailing his arms wildly, he skidded forward barely catching himself before he crashed into the pump. //Lazy nuns//, he scowled as he washed quickly, //I get all of my chores done, sort of, and I get yelled at for taking a well deserved nap. But they leave messes like this and then get to be ordained. It's just not fair.// Tossing a handful of water at his face to wash away any dirt, he straightened quickly, drying his face with his sleeve and smearing a new streak of dirt across his cheek. //I am *so* late! Better run!// Bolting across the yard, he almost knocked down two women as he ran past them, long braid flying out behind him.

Then he stopped abruptly. //Was that. . .?// Turning, he looked straight into the eyes of one very disapproving Mother Superior. It was Mother Une. "Uh. . .heh-heh. Oops?" smiling weakly, Duo's shoulders slumped and he trudged away, head lowered. //Figures...//

Une shook her head as she watched the boy make a slower exit. "I just don't know what to do with the boy."

Noin nodded her wimple covered head as she watched the boy in question. "He tries, he really does, but...."

"Everything he does ends up a disaster," Une said sadly. "I don't think he was meant to be a priest. He's just too...hyperactive."

"He's always running around, causing mischief. The only time I really think he belongs here is when he sings."

"Yes," Une smiled. "He has a beautiful voice. But that isn't enough. I know he has his heart set on joining the church, but I can't help feeling there's more out there for him."

"Are you thinking of sending him away?" Noin's eyes grew wide. "It would break his heart!"

"Not permanently," Une said, laying a soothing hand on her friend and sister's shoulder. "I just want to make sure he's choosing the path that is best for him. He hasn't seen what the outside world has to offer. He's too wild to pin down without making sure it's the best thing for him. I know a place that would test his resolve. I just don't know if he'd be able to handle the strictness involved in the assignment."

"Are you sure you want to inflict him on some unsuspecting person?" Noin asked, doubtfully.

Une smiled again. "From what I've heard, this person could use some wildness in his ordered life. Duo just might be the best thing that ever happened to him."

* * *

"Look, Mother," Duo said quickly, eyes widened in desperation. "I know I ran off again to go sing in the fields, but don't you think you're being a bit drastic? I mean, you wouldn't really send me away over a minor slip like that, would you?" Duo looked pleadingly at the woman seated across the desk from him.

"Duo Maxwell," Une said, frowning slightly. "You know I wouldn't send you away. I just think you need to get out and see the world before you settle down. I want to make sure the life of a priest is what you really want."

"It's all I've ever wanted! I don't like people. Why would I want to see them? If anything, it would make me want to be a priest more than ever."

"Then what's the problem?" Une stood. //He doesn't like people and he wants to be a priest who leads people to God. The poor boy's more confused then I thought.// "You will accept this assignment, serve your time as any person of the order would," she shot him a look and was rewarded with his guilty expression, "Then. If you still want to be a priest, I won't stop you. I'll still make you finish your service, but I won't try to dissuade you any longer."

Duo sighed, standing to face the woman. "You promise?"

"Duo! I am the Mother Superior. Are you really accusing me of lying?"

"No! Of course not! I'll just be going," Duo backed toward the door quickly, almost tripping over the chair in his haste. "I'll telegraph you to let you know how things go!"

"Duo!"

He paused, turning back warily. "Yeah?"

Une rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't you want to know where you're being assigned?"

"Oh yeah..."

* * *

//Seven. Seven children. How insane would a person have to be to want that many children running around in the same house?// Duo thought back to his own childhood and grimaced. //Children are such monsters...and no mother? That guy has got to be nuts. No wonder he asked for help. They must drive him up the wall. But what does Une,// he never bothered to think of her as Mother Une, it sounded too weird, //what does she expect me to do? I don't even know if children like me. I haven't been around them since I was a kid.//

Duo sighed and leaned his forehead against the window of the bus. //Man, I hope this doesn't take too long.// He glanced over his shoulder at the teenagers across from him. They were whispering furiously and looking in his direction. //Jerks. You know what, God? I really don't like people.//

Outside the window, trees rushed by and he looked longingly at the forest. Then a tall cement wall cut off his view and his eyes widened. //Wow. The place must be huge!// The bus slowed to a stop and Duo practically leapt out the door, leaving the staring people behind. Not bothering to look back, he clutched his case and stared at the huge gate before him. Finally his awe diminished enough for him to approach it, but when he pushed on the gates, they didn't move.

"Do you have an appointment?" a voice called and Duo's head snapped up.

Looking through the gate, he saw a man step forward on the other side. His eyes widened as he looked at the man. He had long, pale blonde hair that was almost white and reached to the middle of his back. Pale blue eyes watched from under arched eyebrows. Then the man smiled slightly and Duo remembered himself. "Hi. The name's Duo, Duo Maxwell. I was sent from the Maxwell church. Is this the Yuy residence?" Duo grinned as he wondered what he would say if the man said no. He didn't have another ticket, and Une would kill him if he'd gotten off the bus too early.

The blonde man's left eyebrow raised as he looked at Duo. "You? Aren't you...well, aren't you awfully young to be the children's governor?"

"Not at all," Duo said, "And I'm the only one they could spare, so it looks like you're stuck with me. Unless the captain decides to send me back." Duo stopped suddenly as a thought struck him. "You...you aren't the captain, are you?" //Surely not, this guy can't be more than twenty-three at the most. He can't be the father of seven children.//

"No, I am Zechs Marquise. I work for Captain Yuy. Please," he unlocked and opened the gate, gesturing, "come on in."

"Sure," Duo grabbed his case and entered, unable to stop himself from staring around at the expanse of the grounds, or the huge house that stood at the end of the long drive.

Zechs led the way down the driveway, glancing repeatedly at the distracted boy behind him. //Heero's going to flip when he sees him. Maybe I should warn him about Heero. And warn Heero about him.// The boy's wide eyes met his for a moment and the boy grinned before continuing to look at the grounds. //Or maybe not. This could be entertaining.//

Opening the door, Zechs led the boy into the hall, leaving him there to wait. "I'll go get Captain Yuy." He stopped when he saw Duo drop his case and move around the hall, looking at everything. "Wait here." The boy shot him a look and nodded quickly before turning back to his exploration. //Well, time to go get 'Captain Yuy'.// Zechs smiled as he made his way up the tall staircase. //I really should have warned the poor guy.//

Duo glanced up as the pale man disappeared up the stairs, then his eyes widened as they latched on to a closed door. //Temptation- temptation// He smiled, glancing again to the empty stairway. //I'm not a priest yet, and besides, what would it hurt? I just want to look.// Duo stepped to the door, turning the knob slowly before peaking inside. It was a large, empty room. //That sucks.//

No longer bothering to sneak, Duo stepped into the room and stopped abruptly. His footsteps echoed. //Wow. This room has great acoustics. It must be a music room, but...where are all of the instruments?// Duo stepped around the room, looking at the barren walls, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling that had no candles in it's holders. Then his eyes fell on a picture that sat on the window sill. A dark haired man in his mid-forties stood in the picture which must have been taken outside the mansion. He had an arm wrapped around a beautiful woman who stood beside him. They were not looking at the camera, however, but at each other. Duo's breath caught at the love evident in their expressions.

//That must be him. I feel so sorry for him. It must have been terrible to lose her. No wonder he doesn't mind having seven children around. If they're her children, he'd probably love having a part of her with him.// Duo sighed, leaning against the wall an looking down at the picture. //That is *so* sweet.//

"What are you doing in here?"

Duo jumped, moving away from the wall quickly. His eyes snapped up and he saw a young man, twenty-two maybe, near his own age standing in the open doorway. "I'm waiting for Captain Yuy. Sorry, I was supposed to wait in the hall, but...well, I was curious?" Duo gave a hesitant smile, despite the cold look in those cobalt eyes.

The boy took a step back, gesturing to the open doorway. "The hall is right here."

//Man. Is he one of the kids? I hope they're not all like this.// Stepping out quickly, Duo skirted past the other boy and stood in the hall next to his bag. "Is the Captain here? Zechs was going to get him."

The boy's eyes suddenly went to Duo's feet, then made their way slowly upward to stop on Duo's. "Are you really the person the church sent?"

"Of course," Duo said, slightly insulted. "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. I'm Duo Maxwell and I'm here to...I think they said govern...the children of one Captain Yuy." Duo's back straightened as he looked at the other boy. "So, if you'd go get him, we could get down to business."

Eyes narrowing slightly at the tone used, the boy took a step towards him. "I am Heero Yuy."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Heero," Duo said, smirking. //Yeah right. Are all the kids so stuck on themselves?// "I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Now, would you mind getting the Captain?"

"I *am* the Captain," Heero said, stepping up to stand directly in front of the other boy. "I am the one who requested a governor from the church."

"But..." Duo's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're just a kid! There's no way you could have seven children!"

"They aren't my children, they're my brothers and sisters. As the oldest surviving Yuy, I am their guardian." He turned away from the speechless boy and toward the stairs. "I'll introduce them." He then produced a whistle on which he blew a pattern.

Duo's eyes widened even more and his mouth dropped open as the sound of rapid footsteps came from upstairs. Then seven children appeared and marched down the steps and came to stand at attention in a line in front of Heero. //Uh, God? What's going on here? Are they all nuts, or what?// Duo turned to look at Heero in confusion. The dark brown-haired boy stepped toward the line.

"Umm," Duo interrupted as the boy lifted the whistle to his lips. "If you expect me to learn how to make some confusing noises that all sound the same, I wouldn't if I were you. There's no way I could do it, besides," Duo grimaced, "That whistle is loud. It sounds horrible."

Heero's eyes widened at his audacity, then narrowed. Slowly, he put the whistle back into his pocket, glaring when Duo let out a relieved sigh. "Introduce yourselves. I have work to do." With that, he turned and left the hall.

Duo stared after the boy for a minute, then slowly turned to look at the children. //Uh-oh.// They were watching him, two of them looked as if they were planning to do something horrible to him. "Uh, hi. My name's Duo. Why don't you--"

One of the children stepped forward abruptly, the one on Duo's left. A shockingly tall boy with dark brown shaggy hair, who looked as if he was going to keep growing, nodded sharply to Duo. "I am Rashid. I am 17 years old." Having said this, he stepped back again, lining up with the others. The next boy stepped forward.

This was a slender blonde, dwarfed next to his tall brother. "My name's Quatre. I'm sixteen." He smiled slightly before stepping back.

Duo nodded and started to say something, but the next child stepped forward and he closed his mouth quickly.

"I'm Wufei," the black haired, black eyed boy said with an evil smirk. "I'm fourteen."

A girl with long blonde hair stepped forward, strangely split eyebrows lowering as she looked at Duo. "My name is Dorothy, and I am thirteen." She smirked and Duo felt the urge to take a step backward.

A pretty girl with light brown hair then took a quick step forward. "Sally," she said, looking Duo over curiously, mouth twitching uncertainly, "I'm eleven."

Duo smiled warmly at her and nodded, not wanting to interfere with what must be a preset way of introducing themselves. Then he looked at the pretty red-head who stepped forward with a bounce in her step. "Catherine," she smiled, the epitome of friendliness. "I'm nine." Duo smiled and nodded again.

Then a small girl moved forward, coming to stand next to him. She grinned widely up at him. "Mine's Hilde," she said sweetly, blinking up at him rapidly. "I'm six," she nodded. "And I think your hair's pretty."

Duo's eyes widened as the girl waited expectantly. "Well thank you. I think yours is to." And it was, black, short and waved, a two thick strands falling into her eyes. She was adorable.

Having introduced themselves, two of the children left without another word. //Wufei and Dorothy,// Duo thought. //Man I just know they're going to do something. Well, at least the trouble-makers are out in the open.// Duo smiled darkly for a moment. //I'll be ready for them.// Then he realized the other kids were still watching him.

"Well, why don't you guys tell me about yourselves." The younger children looked at Quatre and the tall boy. //Rashid,// Duo thought. //They sure found a variety of names. I think that's Arabic. So's Quatre.// The tall boy smiled at the little ones and nodded.

Hilde promptly latched onto Duo's hand, smiling up at him. "I can tell you 'bout everybody," she said. "Want me to?" Duo grinned. //She's so cute.// Duo knelt on the floor so he could meet the girl's eyes. She grinned and turned to look at the others. Following her gaze, Duo was surprised to see wariness in the others' eyes.

"Well," Hilde began, chewing on her bottom lip as she concentrated. "Wufei's a brat," she said suddenly. "He's not very nice, but I like you," she turned to smile up at Duo. "I won't let him bother you." Duo grinned. "Dorothy's a brat too, but she's afraid of Heero, so she won't do anything or I'll tell on her." She looked at the others. "Quatre's nice. He's nice to everyone." The blonde boy blushed and Duo had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Rashid's nice too, but he doesn't let us do anything fun."

"Dangerous," the tall boy said firmly, correcting her.

"Whatever. Sally's real quiet. All she ever does is read. Cathy's nice. She hangs out with me sometimes. And I'm perfect." She beamed and Duo laughed. "I don't do anything wrong."

Rashid caught Duo's eye. "Don't believe her for a minute. She's a load of trouble. But when she likes someone, she's usually better behaved."

Duo stood up, the girl still attached to his hand. "Well. Anyone want to show me to my room?" Sally stepped forward to stop him.

"You haven't told us about you."

Duo blinked. "Well, I love to sing, I--"

Sally was shaking her head violently. "We're not allowed to sing. You'll get in trouble."

"Huh?" Duo's eyes narrowed. "Why aren't you allowed to sing? Says who?"

"Heero," Quatre said quietly. "Mom and dad sang alot, and music reminds him of them. So there's no music allowed anymore."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," Duo sputtered, angry, "I'll just have to talk to him about *that*."

Hilde tugged sharply on his hand until he looked down at her. Tears were welling in her eyes, her bottom lip in her mouth. "If you make him mad he'll make you leave!" she wailed.

Duo sighed. "I'll wait until he's in a good mood, okay?"

Catherine laughed. "That'll be a *long* wait."

* * *

Zechs smiled when he saw Heero standing in the doorway, looking down at the children in the hall and the boy they were talking to. Heero turned and looked at him, scowling before he stepped back and closed the door. "Well, what do you think?"

Heero glared. "He's my age."

Zechs nodded, smile widening. "I know. But look at him. That hair and those eyes, he's magnificent."

"Don't even think about it," Heero snapped angrily. "He's the children's governor. Besides, he's a priest."

"No he's not," Zechs said quickly. "He hasn't been ordained yet. They said they were sending someone who hadn't been chosen for the church but who was trying to get in."

"Why would they send him?" Heero glared as he sat down behind his desk. "He's worse behaved than the children. I'll give him a week, then he's gone."

"I think they like him," Zechs leaned against the desk, watching Heero with knowing eyes. //And so do you.// Zechs smiled again.

"Don't you have work to do?" Heero asked angrily.

"Yes Captain, my Captain." Zechs made a mock bow and, laughing, left the room.

Heero sighed. //I don't know why I keep him around.// He glared at the closed door. //But Zechs is right. He is magnificent.//