Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Child's Love ❯ Ready. Aim. FIRE! ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimers: Yeah, like I own Gundam Wing. *Goes off to cry, but not before turning out pockets* I am poor as well. Flames will be used in one of Neko's Infamous Bonfires.

A/N: Well, I just got over another horrendous bout of Writer's Block. Not to mention that I had to move so my RP friends would let me work on something. Yes, I was *actually* without the Internet for ten whole days. *Snickers* But, the experience forced me to work on my own works, and hence you get a new chapter of ACL. *Smiles*

Dedication: To my dearest Angel, I'm sorry that I made last chapter so bad that you refused to read it until I fixed the problem. I'm trying here.

Summary of the last chapter: Duo has a reoccurring nightmare about a mission gone terribly wrong. Heero wakes him up and takes care of him in his trauma-induced panic. Eventually, Duo, who can't sleep, goes downstairs and calls his therapist. She recommends being as frank with both Heero and Wufei as possible and that he should call her again if anything happens. Duo follows her advice and talks to Wufei, but Heero gets the wrong idea when he overhears the conversation with 'Fei.

Symbols: /blah/ - thoughts
-Blah - emphasized words
_=_=_=_ - Major scene change or POV change
- ===== - - Minor scene change

Ready. Aim. FIRE!


Heero woke up at his semi-normal time of seven-thirty AM feeling rather depressed, which was a new thing for him. /Why do I feel like I just... killed that little girl and her puppy again?/ He looked around his room and noticed that his bed was empty except for himself, but there was more than one shirt on the floor. /I had company? No. I wouldn't. Not with... Duo./

Slowly, what happened the night before came back to him - waking Duo up from Allilon's room, making out before falling asleep, Duo's nightmare, waking up to find Duo gone, going downstairs to find Duo on the phone talking to a therapist, and, most importantly, hearing that Duo was too afraid to actually talk to him about something as important as... -that. And then, there was the conversation with Wufei. In a way, he felt stung and betrayed for Duo confiding in the man, but in another, Heero was quite relieved to see that they were back on speaking terms again.

Eventually, Heero sat up in his bed and moved to take a shower. Before he did that, he picked both shirts up from off the floor, putting the top to his pyjamas in the hamper and Duo's black shirt on the end of his bed. Some part of his mind registered that Duo never returned to his room, not even to retrieve his shirt, and that hurt worse than Duo not talking to him, but at least the braided man was still there.

Checking in the room across the hall, Heero found Allilon curled up in his bed, clutching a teddy bear to his chest. Shaking his head as bad memories resurfaced as he looked at the stuffed animal, he shut the door and moved silently down the stairs. Duo was laying on the couch, his braid tightly grasped in his hands and a pained expression on his face. The urge to go and comfort Duo, which was something new, grew within Heero's chest, and he had to actively fight it down.

Duo stirred, and Heero found himself frozen to the bottom step. He took a deep breath when the other man only whimpered a bit and turned over to face the back of the couch. /It's only April, but it's a bit cool in here. Perhaps he would benefit from a blanket of some sort./

Making up his mind, the Japanese man walked quietly through the living room, and he picked up the throw blanket off the back of the couch, using it to cover Duo up. He sighed in relief as Duo relaxed and his face became calm in sleep. Carefully, Heero headed into the kitchen to fix breakfast. He'd have to talk to Duo about arrangements with Allilon for however long Duo was willing to put up with his godson and himself.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

The smell of frying bacon woke Duo up. /Mmmmm... That smells good. Wonder if Tro's cooking breakfast for all five of us? Or will I have to convince him to make me some with those pictures I took last week?/ Slowly, the American sat up, moving the blanket that was lying on him around to rest on his shoulders in the chilly air. /Okay, so, this is not a safe house... Where am I? Think... Paris, France. Heero. Nightmare. Oh, shitshitshitshitshitshitshit./ He shuddered as his thoughts pieced together finally. /Wonderful way to start my day! Well, I guess I'd better get this over with then./

Shuffling along to a death march, Duo made his way into the kitchen. The sight of a half-naked Heero, with sleep-tousled hair, greeted him as the other man stood in front of the stove cooking. He could see a plate of pancakes being added to more and more, another one of bacon, and an empty plate all on the counter. /Well, at least I get nice eye-candy before he turns around to kick me out./

"Sit down. We will talk as you eat," Heero said from the stove, not even bothering around to look at the other man. Not needing another word to tell him that Heero was -really not happy, Duo sat down in one of the barstools at the island and waited. He was startled when Heero set a plate before him. Looking up, Duo nearly cringed at the scowl on Heero's face. "Do you want some juice?"

"Eh?" Duo asked intelligently.

"Baka." Heero scoffed, turning back around to get a glass from one of the cupboards. He filled it with orange juice from the refrigerator and set it in front of Duo.

The braided man looked down at his plate as if the contents would suddenly jump out and tell him what a horrible person he was, what a failure, what a waste. The food just sat there mildly, nearly begging to be eaten. Duo sighed and picked up the fork on the plate, spearing a bit of scrambled egg and putting the tasteless food into his mouth. In all actuality, the food was fairly decent, but Duo's current mood made everything seem bleak.

"I'd like for you to continue spending time with Allilon for as long as you stay here in Paris," Heero said, standing on the other side of the counter.

"Huh?" /Way to rack up those smart points, Duo./

"You and he have just gained your... friendship back. It would make no sense to try and rip you both apart because of... difficulties between us."

"Oh," Duo said softly, ducking his head back down so his bangs covered his eyes.

Heero went back to the stove, turning off the burners, and he walked towards the door out of the kitchen. "I have to wake Allilon up, take a shower, and head off to work. How long do you think you are going to stay here?"

/Too long, if that's all you're worried about./ "I dunno. I'll probably head back with Hilde and Mike at the end of this week. I'm sure the stuff is piling up back at the scrap yard."

"Alright. I will send Allilon down in a few minutes." Heero's footsteps sounded across the hardwood floors, and Duo nearly sobbed at the cool dismissal.

"Definitely too long."

- ======= -

Allilon ran into the kitchen, throwing himself at Duo's legs. "So, Uncle Duo, are you taking me to school?" The little tyke had a wide smile across his cute face and Duo's mood perked up a bit.

"I guess I am. After that, I have to go back to my hotel, but I'll bring Hilde and Mike to come see you. We can make a day out of the afternoon. Sound good?" The little boy nodded, pulling himself onto the barstool next to Duo's. "So, kiddo, you hungry?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, let me make you a plate then." Duo stood up from his stool, crossing over to the stove and placing two pancakes, a few pieces of bacon, and some eggs on a plate that he took out of the dishwasher. He set the plate before the boy and drained the rest of the juice from his glass. "I'm gonna go upstairs and get my shirt. You finish up, and then I'll take you to school, okay?"

"Yesh," the boy said through his mouthful of eggs and bacon. Duo smiled and ruffled his brown hair before leaving the room.

He had just opened the door to Heero's room when he stopped dead in his tracks. Heero had his back turned towards him, his towel forgotten as droplets of water fell from his wet hair and traveled down the expanse of his muscular back and ass. His eyes moved lower to see water falling down trim thighs and calves. Shaking his head, Duo quickly stepped to the side and shut the door, trying to control his heartbeat and his breathing, both of which were erratic.

He was surprised to have the hand placed on his shoulder. He let out a sharp cry, and calling on the days he used to spar with Wufei, he flipped his attacker over to see that it was Heero, in full Preventers uniform, lying flat on his back. /Oh... shit. I am -so dead./ "Er, sorry about that, Heero."

Heero glared at the man standing over the top of him. "Baka."

Duo blushed, throwing one hand down to help the prone man up off of the floor. He then pulled his arm up once the hand was taken, and yanked Heero up to his feet. "You, uhm, surprised me."

"I'll be back around dinner time. If anything happens, you can call me on my cell phone. Chang has the day off, and Barton will be assisting me at headquarters. I will bring dinner home." Heero dusted off his jacket and slacks before turning to leave. "Don't trash my house." He then walked down the stairs, and a door slamming shut followed the sounds of Allilon and Heero giving goodbyes.

"Holy shit..." Duo closed his eyes again, before regaining his senses and snatching his shirt up from the end of Heero's bed. He hastily put it back on, making sure that it was correctly done up, and then headed downstairs to take the young boy to school so he could talk to someone.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

"'Bye, Uncle Duo," Allilon called, waving from the front of his school's door with Joshua standing next to him. Duo waved back, and then he watched as both boys disappeared inside.

"Cute, aren't they?" a deep voice asked. The braided man turned around to see Zechs standing there and he relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, they are. I thought that Noin took care of school with Joshie."

Zechs smiled fondly before looking at Duo. "She picks Joshua up since she works part-time mornings. I take him. It works in the end."

Duo nodded, felling uncomfortable standing with the blond, even though Zechs had been nothing but nice to him since he arrived in Paris ten days earlier. /Has it only been ten days? It feels a lot longer than that. More like a lifetime and a half ago./ He sighed. "Well, Zechs, I hate to spoil this lovely moment, but I have to go do some things. Have fun at HQ today, eh?"

Zechs smiled, his expression showing that he was wondering about the sudden change in subject from the American. "I will. Say hello to Hilde for us. And remind her that Noin would like to meet her. Possibly for dinner."

Duo snickered, heading back to his rental car, and he pulled off into the direction of his hotel. /First thing's first. Shower, call Hilde and 'Fei, and -then I will deal with the whole Heero situation. At least I know where I stand with Alli now./ He sighed, looking out the window, and he determined that he should probably pay attention to the road and the traffic.

- ======= -

After a shower, Duo slowly started to feel that life was sort of worth living again. Whether or not he'd spend more time in Paris... That was a different story. He dressed quickly and then rebraided his wet hair. As soon as that was done, he sat down on his bed and stared at the vid-phone, wondering if it would bite him. Slowly, he reached a hand out to call Wufei, and it rang before he touched it. A bit precautious, he looked at the number and sighed. "Oi, 'Fei, you reading my mind now?"

Sally's smiling face showed up on the other end. "No, and should I be worried?"

"Sal! How are ya?"

"Oh, I've been worse. Wufei told me he was coming over to Heero's house for lunch, but when you or Heero didn't answer, I thought I'd call you at the hotel. Good thing I did. Une's been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday, and she asked me to try you since she's so busy. Do you think you could possibly give her a call sometime soon?"

Duo blinked at the blonde woman a few times before he realized what she was saying. "Oh! Yeah, I heard that Une-babe was trying to ring me up to tie me down. Do you know why?"

Sally shook her head. "No, she didn't tell me." She looked off to the side and sighed. "Well, it's time for me to go into headquarters. If you want to talk to Wufei, I'll get him."

"Don't bother. Just tell him to meet me at the hotel for lunch, and tell him that Mike and Hilde are joining us."

Sally grimaced. "That should be an interesting meal. Thank you for making me the bearer of bad news."

"No prob, Sal! Talk to ya soon."

"Yeah, soon." Duo and Sally exchanged smiles before hanging up, and Duo collapsed back onto his bed.

"I swear someone's psychic here..." he muttered, "... and Q's not involved this time." He sat back up. "Still gotta call Hilde." He dialed the number to Hilde's hotel room and waited for the woman to pick up. "Hill, me and you gotta talk."

Hilde smiled slowly. "Oh?" She sounded extremely pleased about something, and Duo had to lean in to see why.

"You got laid, didn't you?" The black haired woman just nodded happily in response. "Good, this will make things a lot easier. Things aren't as good as I'd hoped they would be right now. You, Mike, 'Fei, and I are all gonna sit down and talk over lunch." He could see Hilde's expression change from laidback to almost predatory. "Look, Hilde, you attack Wufei, and you can consider yourself on my shit list."

Hilde sighed, her chest heaving significantly. "Alright, Duo. This is probably really important, because I -know you were really upset with Chang. For you two to be buddy-buddy again... Well, I can only think of one thing. Give Mike and me twenty minutes." Duo nodded, grateful that she understood after all.

- ======= -

Thirty minutes found the four sitting at a table in the small restaurant of Duo's hotel, with Hilde and Wufei glaring daggers at one another. Duo sighed and looked at Mike. "Aren't they terrific company?"

"The best," the dark haired man said, elbowing his girlfriend at the same time as Duo elbowed the Chinese man sitting next to him.

"Look, I didn't invite you both to lunch so you could promise pain to one another without speaking." Duo's voice was rather calm and collected, nearly lifeless, as he spoke, and both looked directly at him. "I had a nightmare last night. 'Ro talked me down, but when I couldn't sleep, I called Erin. She suggested that I call 'Fei. I did, but when we got off last night, 'Ro made it perfectly clear that he'd heard and wasn't happy. This morning he was really short with me, and I couldn't even talk to him, let alone explain. So... That's how things stand." Duo looked incredibly sad, but determined.

Hilde blinked a few times before looking at Wufei. "You know what these nightmares are about?"

Wufei scoffed. "Of course I do. Unlike some others at this table, I know how to keep my mouth shut when the time occurs."

Duo shook his head as Hilde retaliated and kicked the Chinese man under the table. Mike pulled his girlfriend back, and Duo restrained Wufei. "Whoa! Down 'Fei."

Wufei glared at Duo. "Let me go. It would be dishonourable to hit a woman. No matter how much she deserves it."

Duo sighed and dropped his arms from around Wufei's chest. Mike looked over Duo and then the others at the table. "Look, I know that you three were in the war more than I even want to know, but as things go, I think that Duo deserves to be happy. If Heero isn't going to take his time to find out what's wrong with D, then maybe he needs to not be around him."

Wufei nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "I agree. If Yuy fails to see what he has, then perhaps he doesn't need to be around Duo."

Duo sighed heavily, secretly wishing he were back on L2, at the scrap yard, and far, far away from this mess. "Thanks for the support here, guys, but it's not that simple."

Hilde finally spoke up. "What do you want us to do?"

Duo nibbled on his bottom lip nervously for a few seconds. "Well... How long do you two plan on staying in Paris?"

"A few more days. We can't afford any more than that," Mike said, his face twisted into a look of deep thought. "I'd say two more days."

Duo nodded, still biting at his lip while thinking. "'Fei... You have the day off, right?"

"Yes. Maxwell... Duo, what are you getting at?"

"I... I'm not sure yet... But, I think it's time that I took some of Erin's advice, instead of hiding in the 'what ifs' and 'maybes'. It's time for me to act like an adult." Duo's face scrunched up like the word 'adult' left a nasty aftertaste in his mouth.

Hilde's jaw fell as she looked at Duo. Mike cleared his throat to get her attention, and her mouth closed with a loud 'click'. After a few moments, she opened her mouth again. "Alright, so, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I, uh, might need someone to take Allilon tomorrow... I'm not sure if things will be okay between Heero and I after tonight, so... Could you do it, Hill? Alli likes you already."

"Okay, but only because I like you and the kid so much. Tomorrow? I think we can swing that, can't we, Mike?" Hilde looked expectantly at her boyfriend, who seemed to be trying to absorb as much of the conversation as possible.

"I don't see why not. There's got to be something we can take him to do." Mike didn't sound as sure as he wanted to, but Duo caught that he was doing this for him.

"Thanks guys. I owe you one." He looked at Mike. "Or twenty."

"That is fine and well, but why did you invite me here this afternoon, Duo?" The American could tell that Wufei was -trying to sound annoyed, but he sounded anything but.

"I... I'm gonna need moral support from someone who knows... And since Erin's not here, you're my scapegoat." Duo smiled a bit, and the Chinese man shook his head.

"Fine. Anything else?"

"Yeah, do you think you and Hill could make peace?"

Wufei and Hilde started talking at the same time.

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"He was a jerk to you!"

Duo sighed and held up his hands for silence as the other lunch-goers started to look over at their table. He started with Hilde. "What's between 'Fei and me is exactly that - between us. We've made up. Now, you can stop plotting to ruin his life."

Hilde deflated. "You take all the fun out of life sometimes." She looked at Wufei and nodded slowly. "Eh, sorry 'bout that."

Wufei nodded his dark head and smirked. "I must apologize for calling you a worthless, dishonourable, distasteful woman."

That caused the German woman to smile fully. "Oh, so you remembered that?"

"How could I not? Your reaction was priceless."

Duo sputtered. "That... That... was FOUR years ago!"

Wufei and Hilde both started to laugh, and after a few minutes, Duo and Mike joined them as well. Mike looked at his watch and tugged on Hilde's arm. "Time for us to go. We have to go meet Noin for a snack with Joshua."

Hilde nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing. She moved to stand next to Duo and kissed his cheek. "You let me know how things go with Heero, okay?"

"You know it," Duo said, hugging her a bit before Mike could drag her off. Duo and Wufei exchanged waves with Mike as the couple left the restaurant. "Well, I guess that means I gotta go pick up the munchkin as well." He looked down at his watch. "Oh yeah... So, Fei, ready for this?"

"As much as I will ever be," he responded, picking up the bill and moving over to pay for it.

Duo smiled when Wufei left, picking his jacket up from off the back of the chair and moving towards the door. "Thanks a lot, 'Fei." His voice was barely above a whisper, and the Chinese man was not near him as he said that. "It's nice to have all my friends back."

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

After the second day of running around in circles to find the hacker, Heero shoved his chair back with great force, knocking his chair over and startling Trowa and the other workers, who had to stand, in the cramped room. "Kuso."

Trowa shook his head and stood up, reached out with one hand to grab Heero's arm, and escorted him outside. "Okay, Heero, what's wrong?"

Heero shrugged Trowa's hand off, a glare plastered across his face. "Nothing." Trowa raised an eyebrow in question, as if telling the other man he didn't believe him. The Japanese man sighed. "This is frustrating. It should have been done yesterday in a few hours. Not take three of us thirty plus hours to track him down." Trowa nodded, waiting for Heero to continue. "This... This requires Duo's assistance."

"Ah... But don't you have Duo watching Allilon for a while?"

"Hai." Heero's tone was clipped and nearly nasty.

"I won't ask, but..."

"It's nothing."

Trowa opened his mouth to say something else, but he clicked it shut as Une came walking up to the pair. "Yuy, Barton. Maxwell called me, and we've discussed the possibility of him coming to work with us on a consulting basis, or as a computer expert. He said he would call and let me know his answer tomorrow." She looked them both over and sighed. "Nothing?"

"No."

"Well, unless you want Quatre and Duo coming down to drag you to your prospective houses, I suggest you hand over your materials to the next team and deal with them." Une sighed again, running one hand through her dark hair. She saw both men nod and disappear back into the computer lab, and thought over the fleeting expression Heero had had when she said Duo's name. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn he'd flinched like she had hit him. But... This was Heero. /Clearly, I've been overworking lately. Perhaps Marie is right and I should take a break.../ She shook her head. /No, that's insane. No one can do this job. Later./ She shrugged and walked swiftly back to her office.

- ======= -

Heero got into his car about thirty minutes later, after leaving very explicit instructions for the next team to come in behind Trowa and himself. He pulled out his cell phone and placed an order at the pizzeria close to his house. Driving like a madman, Heero made it to the tiny restaurant in one piece and without being stopped by the police.

/Yes, I could see Une's reaction if she found out that I got another speeding ticket. I bet she'd take me off active duty and shove me behind a desk for six months./ Heero shuddered at that thought, stepped out of his car, and walked inside to pick up the two pizza pies for dinner with Duo and Allilon, or the baka and the brat as he'd thought about them all day.

He paid and left, driving a bit more cautious on the residential streets than he had on the busy commercial roads. He blinked as he saw two other vehicles in his driveway. One was Duo's little black sports car; Heero'd seen that the day before. But the other he was at a loss to place until he took a few minutes to think. /Wufei./ His mood soured even more, and he got out of his car, slamming the door behind him forcefully.

He opened the door with one hand, the other holding the pizzas and his Preventer's jacket. He could hear sounds from the back of the house that actually sounded as if there were people outside in the rear yard. /Must be Duo and Allilon. Where is Chang?/

His question was answered as he stepped into the living room on his way to the kitchen through the dining room. The Chinese man was sitting on the couch, silently talking in a quick string of Mandarin over his cell phone. The only word that Heero caught was 'Sally.' Straightening his back, Heero tossed his uniform jacket over the back of the stuffed blue armchair, and continued on his way towards the kitchen. He ignored the call Wufei let out to him and vaguely saw Duo and Allilon streak past the glass doors of the dining room.

He had just taken out a few plates for dinner when Wufei's steps rang off the tile floor. "Why did you ignore me?"

"Why are you at my house?" Heero's tone was to the point, although it held no emotion whatsoever.

"Duo asked me to come over. He also asked me to speak to you." Heero could feel the strong glare of Wufei boring into his back. "I was unaware that you were upset with me."

"I'm not. I just wanted to know why you are here, since I hadn't invited you." The Japanese man turned around to look at his unwelcome guest. He saw the brief flicker of anger cross through Wufei's eyes before he calmed himself.

"As I said, Duo asked me to come over and speak to you."

"If he has anything to say, he can tell me himself. Not send you to do it."

"You're behaving like an ass. I'm surprised that he's even willing to still be around you with this sort of treatment." Wufei never saw the punch that connected with his jaw and set his whole face on fire.

TBC...