“It’s hot,” Duo whined, adding, “Hot! Hot! Hot! H-O-T hot!” to elucidate his view on the subject.

“Thanks for makin’ it painflea clear!” Wufei growled angrily, tacking on a slight roar as he continued, “You sure it in’t sum other hot n’ not H-O-T hot.”

Quatre cheerfully looked up from his scale model of Sandrock; “There’s more’n one kinda hot?”

“No, Quatre,” Trowa patiently explained. “He’s just bein’ fa-cheeses,” and with that the red chest of Heavyarms fired imaginary missiles at the block tower, leveling the building.

The blinds were shut, the lights were off and the five chibis moved as little as possible, but movement is a necessity for little bodies and they never stayed still for long.

With his legs he formed a triangle, using the bed and wall as the edge of this three-sided shape. His long braid of chestnut brown hair dangled over the edge, nearly touching the floor. An arm spread out on either side of his body, Duo reiterated his opinion about the current weather conditions, “It’s hot!”

Heero carefully balanced his weight, crouching down, stealthily watching a fly circle before landing. With an animal like instinct he pounced on his prey before the hapless insect could even flap its wings. He clasped his hands forming a tight enclosure around the victim. Cautiously the boy lifted this makeshift cage closer to his face, slowly he moved his thumb to create a hole to which he pressed one cobalt blue eye and peered into the darkness. Heero could see nothing in the near pitch black of his cupped hands nor could he feel the bug trying to escape. Disappointed he opened his hands to reveal nothing.

“It’s hot,” Duo voiced once more.

“It’s August. It’s always hot ‘n August.” Heero spoke as though he had the experience and wisdom of living through many languid and sweltering summers.

“Is not. It wasn’t this hot yesterday.”

“Was too.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Uh huh.”

This mode of bickering went unchecked for several minutes while the other chibis ignored them, continuing with their own previous activities.

“No it wasn’t, ‘cause the ground wouldn’t fry the egg yesterday an’ today it would,” Duo concluded, convinced he had won. The chibi brightened at the hope of attempting the experiment again.

They had overheard someone use the seemingly antiquated colloquialism ‘it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk’ and took it as an invitation to try the literal meaning of the phrase. At first it seemed a success; the egg started to turn a little white around the edges but after observing it for several minutes no other changes were noticed. Wufei had declared the trial a failure. The other chibis resigned to the fact that they had used the wrong patch of sidewalk.

“It kinda fried yest’day.” Heero offered in defense, “An’ ‘sides how do you know it would work today?”

“We could try again.” Now Duo beamed at the thought of accomplishing the task and proving Heero wrong. He had the spot picked out, a small area near the driveway where the shade never cooled the black asphalt. The chibis weren’t allowed to go in the street but from this place they could lean far enough over to get the egg into the desired spot, and everyone knows the street is always hotter than the cement.

“Melody said we couldn’t do it again.”

Duo had to fold, sulkily yielding to the fact that he had no way to prove one day was hotter than the other.

Relena flung open the door, a bright enthusiastic smile adorning her round face and shining through all her features.

“You’re s’posed to knock,” Wufei admonished her in a voice more harsh than he had expected.

“Yeah, so we can tell yah we don’t want you in here.” Duo, who’s spirit was dampened by Heero squashing all his fun, decided to fume his rage on the nearest susceptible person.

Her lip quivered and she stepped back, pulling the door with her as she bowed her head of golden-honey hair. “I just wanted to tell you,” Relena paused and sniffed, then continued in a hushed tone, “I asked Melody if we can go to the park an’ she said yes. I guess I’ll just have to tell her you don’t wanna go.”

Duo looked up at the word ‘go’, which Relena had intentionally said louder than the rest. She had all of their attention now, even though they didn’t know what she had said.

“Go,” Duo’s mood improved considerably as he bounded towards the door, “Where we goin’?”

Relena pulled the door shut and it latched with an audible click. She only had to wait a few seconds before five heads popped into the hall.

“What were you tryin’ to tell us?” Duo asked in as sweet a voice as he could muster.

Playfully Relena flicked her hair and with a haughty expression replied, “I was under the ‘preshun you didn’t want me here, an’ ‘sides I don’t wanna be here eithur.” She started to walk away, “I don’t like talkin’ to peoples when they’re bein’ meanies. Good-bye.”

“Aw, c’mon, Relena,” Duo opened the door and gestured for her to enter. “You can come in and I won’t be mean no more. Promise.”

The young girl held her hands behind her back, she twisted her upper body from side to side, tilting her head. “Weren’t you lissenin’? I said I don’t wanna anymore, I’m gonna go play all by myself an’ I’m not gonna talk to you. But maybe,” she batted her eyelashes at Heero, “If you all say I can come in I might change my mind.”

Quatre readily agreed, and smiling, welcomed her into the Nursery.

Wufei grunted his assent and retreated to his bed.

With a gruff tone Heero answered, “Yes, you can come in.”

Trowa merely grinned; she was playing them like a Jewish harp, Relena need only to pluck the right strings to get the tune she wanted.

“Oh, thank you pum’kin.” She wrapped her arms around Heero’s as he led her into the room. Peering over the head of honey colored tresses resting on his shoulder; he gave venomous glares, silently daring anyone to make fun of him. They sat on the edge of his bed and Heero pulled his arm from her constricting grasp. Relena, swinging her legs and smiling the most triumphant grin to adorn any chibi’s face, ignored him.

“So what were you tellin’ us ‘bout goin’ sumwear.”

“Oh, that.” She grinned even wider, although it was nearly impossible to do so, at the pleading look in Duo’s eyes. Relena sat in silence as she smoothed out her clothes and scooted closer to her beloved before continuing, “I only said that I asked if we could go to the park an Melody said yes. SO I WAS gonna ask if you boys wanted to come but you must be too busy in here to wanna come.” Relena slid off the bed and added, “So now I’m just gonna tell her you don’t wanna. Bye.”

“Wait,” Duo grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving.

“Yes?” Relena tilted her head looking at him. “Do you want something?”

Finally realizing how eager he appeared and not wanting the girl to think she had the upper hand, Duo answered, deliberately choosing his words, “Well, we were busy.”

“Very busy, doin’ ‘portant stuff,” Heero corrected.

Wufei added, “Guy stuff.”

“No we weren’t,” Quatre chided quietly.

The others paid no heed to the blond as Duo continued. “If you still wanna go to the park I think we can finish what we was doin’.”

Wufei and Heero nodded in agreement.

“You really wanna go?”

The boys all replied simultaneously saying, “Yes.”

“Great! I’ll tell Melody.” The delighted girl clapped her hands. “Hilde will be happy when I tell her your comin’ Duo. ‘N you an’ Heero can push us on the swings.”

Duo’s eyes opened wide at the prospect of their neighbor joining them; he found her more of a nuisance than Relena. “Hilde’s comin’ too?”

“Uh huh.” Relena answered him and left the room saying, “I’ll haf’ta make Heero’s favorite samwich an’ ask Melody if she can put sum lemolaid in a thermos. I wonder if Hilde knows Duo’s favorite foods, there’s so many? I’ll haf’ta tell her. I know he likes biskips with strawbearie jelly. Maybe she can bring sum an’ anothur time she’ll learn to make um.”

Duo groaned; Heero smirked.

The park was cool, though the temperature wasn’t different. To the chibis the green grass and the trees and, most of all, the playground just made the heat feel less oppressive.

“Who’s that?” Quatre asked pointing to a person near the top of the slide.

Trowa shrugged and said, “Let’s go climb.”

Quatre, who loved climbing on the massive playground structure, waved to Melody and Tegan and trotted off with Trowa.

“It’s an alien come to take over the world,” Duo supplied, “Maybe it’s got laser vision.”

“If it was an alien it’d be in New York ‘stead of Minnesota,” Wufei reasoned.

Duo blurted out, “Then maybe it’s a monster!”

“Can’t be a very ‘portant monster,” Heero supplied, “Cause if it was a REAL monster it’d be in Tokyo.”

“Whatever it might be,” Treize interrupted in a flat tone, “I think it would be most prudent for the creature to start with your room.”

“But a ‘lyann or a monstur can’t take over our house,” Relena protested, “Melody an’ John wouldn’t like it.”

”It’s just a girl,” Milliardo comforted Relena.

As they looked to the slide again they saw his words were true. The girl had turned to face them, she had startling bluish-purple eyes and short hair the same color, as well as slightly tan skin. Standing on the platform to the slide she reigned as a serene Queen with a stately air.

“Gee her hair is funny,” Duo chuckled.

“Duo, how can you say something like that,” Hilde delivered the point of her statement in the form of a fist that made a solid connection with the Duo’s stomach.

“Whad’ya do that for?”

“If you don’t know I’m not going to tell you.” With that, Hilde turned up her nose and turned her back on the bewildered boy.

“A gentleman should always treat a lady with the utmost respect,” Treize reprimanded.

“She’s not a lady an’ I’m not a gent’man ‘n I don’t wanna,” Duo whined, quickly adding, “And isn’t it po’lite to answer questions when you’re asked?”

The two older boys shrugged and Milliardo answered, “Only if the question needs to be answered.”

“I think everyone here can figure out the cause for Hilde’s action.”

Duo was about to ask Treize why she had done it when the girl on the slide caught their attention. She slid down the gray surface, but that’s not why the younger chibis watched in awe. Not only was she a newcomer with unusual features and a person who looked so accustomed to this park but she was coming down the highest spiral slide standing up, holding her arms out and bobbing her body to keep balance like a surfer might.

“Wow!” Duo piped, “I gotta learn how to do that.”

Wufei grunted, “You’d just fall down a lot.”

“Will not.”

The new girl continued walking, passing the arguing chibis and giving them just barely a glance.

“Hello.” He inclined his head when she returned the simple greeting. Milliardo approached her and with a smooth gesture made his formal introduction, “My name is Milliardo Peacecraft, may I ask yours?”

She smiled coyly and he thought her bangs were reminiscent of Trowa’s. With a cocked head she announced, “It’s Noin.”

A large black object resembling a hairball with stumpy legs came charging from nowhere. The beast bounded on to the playground sand, positioning itself between the boy and girl. It tried to appear a ferocious wretch but a string of drool was all it could muster. Around its neck was a rope and at the end of the line was another new girl. She was red in the face and it took her several steps to steady herself after she had stopped running.

This girl had golden brown tresses twisted into two separate tails that rested gingerly on each shoulder. She had turned around now and with both hands held the rope over one shoulder, much like someone carrying a heavy bag or sack. The girl planted her toes firmly in the sand and leaned forward, tugging on the rope.

“Come on you big ol’ brute,” she huffed between pulls.

Relena peered from behind Heero, where she had retreated to at the sight of the creature, she gaped in astonishment at the strange figure trying to haul the thing away. “Is it a bear?”

Noin giggled, Relena blushed, she thought no one else had heard. “That’s Snuffy.” The blue-haired girl pointed to the other girl, “An’ that’s Sally.”

Heero ventured to ask, “What’s a snuffy?”

Sally had ceased to pull seeing that Snuffy was resting on his rear haunches and wasn’t going to move. “He’s a dog. A rather stubborn dog.” The brown-haired girl scratched him behind the ear, “You wanna pet him?”

Duo looked at the dog dubiously and declined the offer. Relena and Hilde approached this new creature with fascination and caution, holding their hand out to touch the downy coat of the great dog. At first they only felt the fur with the tips of their fingers, but they soon became at ease and were beginning to really enjoy his company. Seeing the girls absorbed with petting Snuffy, the three younger boys tiptoed off.

“Noin‘s an interesting name,” Milliardo said while absentmindedly stroking the dog’s shoulder and staring at the girl.

“It’s her last name,” Sally supplied with a grin.

“What’s your first name?” Treize asked.

“I don’t like my first name so I don’t use it,” Noin sidestepped the question.

Milliardo, hoping he could get her to at least tell them, said, “It can’t be that bad. We won’t call you it if you like Noin better but you can tell us.”

Sally shook her head. “Oh, it’s that bad. Go on tell them.”

Relena giggled and interrupted the older chibi’s conversation by saying, “Look! I found his body!”

She had her arm in the fur buried up to her elbow but her hand was flat on the dog’s ribs. Hilde mimicked Relena’s action and laughed when her hand was resting on the dog as well. They nearly fell over as the giant dog leaned against them, turning his big brown eyes toward them and panting.

Noin used this opportunity to change the subject. “So what were you guys gonna do?” She eyed the box under Treize’s arm.

“We were gonna play chess.”

“Can I watch?” Noin smiled.

“Sure,” they replied in unison.

“Can I hold the rope?” Hilde asked the older girls.

In a sudden show of boldness Relena said, “An’ walk him round the park?” Then remembering, added, “Please.”

Noin and Sally looked at each other and then the brown-haired girl answered, “Yes.”

“You’d better ask Melody first,” Milliardo called over his shoulder as he left with Noin and Treize to find a nice spot to play chess.

The girls did as he said, returning with the jubilant news that their webmommie had given her permission. So with one hand each on the leash and a warning to hold tight, the girls walked the dog--or it was more like the dog walked Relena and Hilde, around the park.

Duo surveyed the playground from the top of the slide. He eyed the three chibis with the chess game, Noin congratulating Milliardo on his move. In the distance, walking along a trail, were the giant bear-like Snuffy and two young girls tripping along behind it. Sally was on the swings with Trowa, Quatre was playing in the sand, and Heero and Wufei were no where in sight.

He slipped off his shoes to be in his socks and inched towards the sloped edge, gradually placing one foot then the other on the smooth surface. The balance he carefully tried to maintain gave and he fell, landing sharply on his behind, spinning and ending at the mouth of the slide headfirst. Undaunted he stood up, tried to look cool, made sure no one saw and attempted the slide again.

Near the end of their trip to the park Wufei approached his webmommie, his face holding the appearance of a crestfallen warrior. From their perch on a grassy knoll Tegan and Melody could see all the chibis and had kept an eye on them all afternoon, which blessedly had been a fairly uneventful one.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nuthin’.”

An interesting answer, one that gave way to more questions but Melody didn’t press them any further. Heero stalked up, with the same disappointed expression as Wufei on his face.

“We failed our mission,” Heero reported, having heard her ask Wufei and knowing she would ask him.

“What was today’s mission?” Mentally, Melody added ‘Besides stay out of trouble,’ the mission she usually gave them.

“To capture the ruler of the l‘Zerds,” Wufei supplied.

“We had him too,” Heero frowned, “but he ‘scaped.”

Heero displayed the evidence of their once captive in the palm of his hand.

“Heero!” Melody gasped at the sight of a lizard’s tail.

“We wasn’t tryin’ to hurt it,” Heero explained, “It just popped off.”

Relena and Hilde bid farewell to the shaggy beast when his owners left the park and resumed their play with Duo and Heero, who vocally protested the attention but reminded themselves to not be too mean, or they might get in trouble.

When the evening grew late their fun ended with the announcement that they had to go home. Everyone returned pretty much the same with the exception of one sore Duo, who still needed to perfect his standing-slide, and one tailless lizard.