Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Child's Love ❯ How Far Can You Run? ( Chapter 18 )

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 to amuse my muses. They are easily entertained, but highly obnoxious.

A/N: Yes, I am aware of how long it's taking me to get chapters out. Yes, I am aware that I suck, but if you want to tell me it and scream at me for taking almost 6 months to update, go ahead. I deserve it. Gomen!

Dedication: To Cole's Lover - Wow, a review for each month it took me to get the last few chapters out. I'm glad that you like this so much, and I'm really sorry that it took me so freaking long to get this last chapter out. Thanks for the encouragement.

Summary of the last chapter: Duo walks in on Heero and Wufei about to have a fist fight, and when his friend leaves, he decides that he's had enough and is going back to L2. After a tense meal with Allilon, Duo puts the boy to bed and begins to make arrangements to go back home. Heero confronts his lover about the phone calls and the past that he didn't share and then asks him to stay on Earth. Just when Duo is feeling low and is about to leave, Heero kisses him passionately.

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

How Far Can You Run?

The kiss was like the one at Quatre's party: demanding, fierce, heated, and oh-so-easy to lose himself in. Even as he returned it with equally over-whelming intensity, Duo felt as if his soul was being consumed. And, try as he could to deny it, he loved it. He loved the way Heero was all but holding him up. He loved the heat and desire that washed over him when he was being embraced by his lover.

Then, the fact that he had to breathe and move away hit him like an eighteen-wheel truck. Panting, Duo slowly opened his glazed eyes to find dark and intense blue eyes staring back. They were not helping his growing arousal, not one bit. "Heero..."

"Duo..." The Japanese man paused, as if he was unsure of what to do next. "Please." Another pause and a shake of Heero's head. "Please stay."

Violet eyes narrowed in contemplation as Duo watched Heero anxiously awaiting his answer. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity for the ex-Wing pilot, Duo sighed. "...think I can," he whispered.

"Nani?"

"I said I don't think I can. I - I can't deal with this right now. You, Wufei, Q, Une, Allilon, Noin, Zechs, all of you. I just... want to go home."

"So, you're running away," Heero deadpanned. "Just like that."

"As fast as the next shuttle can take me back to L2," Duo shot back. The flash of pain that crossed Heero's eyes made Duo ache, but he showed no indication of moving toward the other man. "I can take the fact that you didn't think you were good enough for me. I can take the fact that Allilon is first in you life, as he should be. I can take the fact that you somehow became human while away from me. All those things are easy," he said, pausing in his rant to run a hand viciously through his bangs. "Those, I understand, kinda, but this... this... jealousy shtick you've got going on... -That-, I don't!"

The braided man took a few calming breaths before his rapidly rising voice woke the sleeping boy upstairs. Heero, being the logical man that he was, waited until he was sure that Duo was finished before he spoke.

"Shtick?"

A snort and a shake of chestnut locks was his first response. "Don't try and be cute."

"You never told me anything about this, Duo. What did you expect when you woke up with a nightmare that scared everyone? What did you expect when I found you talking so freely to Chang about it, but not saying anything to me?"

"To trust me! I never gave you a reason not to." Apprehension melted into intense anger, the likes of which Heero had never seen from Duo. "I've never lied! I've lived in pretty much the same place since the wars! At -any- point in that time, you could have found me. In all the time you've known me, I have never lied to you!"

"No, you just don't tell me anything."

A low growl emitted from the American's throat, and, before Heero actually knew what he was doing, Duo had his jacket and was nearly at the door, while the Japanese man's right hand had a death grip on his braid. "Let go, right now, or I'll kill you," Duo said, his voice void of any emotion at all.

Heero dropped the silken rope quickly and watched mutely as his front door was yanked open and then slammed shut. The sound of his godson screaming followed not two seconds later. "Fuck!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Duo made it back to his hotel without crashing or getting pulled over for speeding. After parking the SUV he'd borrowed from Hilde, he got into the elevator, hit the button for his floor, and slumped against the mirrored walls. The only thought that he let occupy him was the one that involved collapsing into his bed before packing to go home. However, he should have known that he wasn't that lucky.

Before he even reached the door to his room, he could hear Hilde's pacing back forth, followed by a definite feminine growl and Mike's low voice to calm her down. With an inward groan, Duo steeled himself for the upcoming argument with his best friend.

"Duo," the woman snarled dangerously low as he approached, "how -dare- you hang up on me after saying something like that. I should smack you."

"Did you get my ticket?" the braided man asked, brushing past his friends and opening his door.

"You know I did," she snapped back.

"Then can this wait until we are on the shuttle? Or back home?"

"What happened?" He could feel her dark blue eyes looking him over for any bruises or detectable sign of harm.

"Hill, I love you, but if you don't drop this now and let me sleep, I'll be forced to yell at you, and I really don't want to do that."

"Hilde, why don't we at least let Duo get some sleep," Mike said, trying to lightly tug on his girlfriend's arm.

She shook him off. "No. Something happened, or else Duo never would have demanded to come home. I know him better than that." She lowered her voice and forced her way into Duo's hotel room. "Now, tell me what."

"Heero's an ass. Wufei came over to help me tell him something, and that moron hit first and asked questions later," Duo sighed, sinking onto his bed and rubbing at his itching eyes.

"Why in the hell would he do that?"

"He's jealous."

"Of what?" Mike asked.

"Everyone who knows me, evidently."

"So, what did you do?"

"Tried to talk to him... But... I kinda yelled. It didn't go well," Duo muttered, falling back until he was staring at the room's ceiling.

"Duo..." Hilde started, but a hand over her mouth from Mike smothered the rest of what she was going to say.

"You need to fix it, Duo, but only do it when you're ready. Unlike my lovely Hilde, I'm not going to start yelling at you about what dumbasses you and he are. You can do that yourself," the brown haired man said, releasing the German woman in his arms. "We leave morning after tomorrow. If you're coming, I suggest you say goodbye to everyone and pack. Talk to you in the morning."

"Thanks, Mike," Duo said, sitting up. "I'll talk to you later, Hill. I'm tired right now."

"Humph! You bet we'll talk later," she snapped half-heartedly and sighing immediately after. She moved to lean over her friend and kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep, darling."

"Of course, momma." She swatted him and then left the room behind her boyfriend.

When the door closed, it brought to mind a finality that pained Duo and forced him to curl up into a ball to sleep, fully clothed.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The morning came, and Duo found himself packing up his belongings quicker than he thought he would. The phone rang a few times while he was doing so, but a quick look at the vidphone's screen told him it was Heero. No way did he want to talk to him until he had to. Every time that it rang and he saw the number, he found himself mumbling about how it was that jerk's time to come chase him down by shuttle.

No sooner had he zipped up suitcase and started to try to braid his hair after a shower than the phone rang again. Quatre's name popped up, and Duo really couldn't find a reason not to talk to his blond friend. Suppressing a groan, he accepted the call.

"Why aren't you taking Heero's calls?" the Arabian snapped.

"So he's already told you what happened?"

"No, but he's worried about you. What the hell is going on? Can you at least tell me that?"

"I can, but I don't really want to, Q."

"Duo, you...." The blond looked into the room past Duo and saw the suitcase sitting on the other side of the bed. "You're going home?"

"Yes. Tomorrow morning. I was going to tell you all later, but I guess that this is the best time. Something's come up, and I've got to go back to L2." It wasn't a lie, but he knew that it was bordering so close to falsehood, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Quatre gave a look of distaste, as if he knew that Duo wasn't really being totally truthful with him, but he didn't say anything either. "Well... If you're set on leaving, please bring yourself, Mike and Hilde to my house tonight. I'll call Wufei and Sally and the seven of us can have dinner together one last time."

"Sure. Just call them. I'm sure you and Hill can plot up something." Sighing again, Duo shook his head. "Sorry, Q. Just frustrated. See you tonight."

"Until then," the blond said, waving, before the screen went black.

"That was the easy part." Looking up at the ceiling, Duo cursed under his breath. "Tonight's gonna be hell. You hate me, don't you?" Since he hadn't expected an answer, Duo just curled up and went back to sleep, determined to make the day go by as fast as he could.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Duo's just barely this side of lying to me, Trowa. Heero and he are such stupid asses," Quatre snapped, his temper flaring a bit after explaining everything to his lover.

"Quatre, you know how they both are. We will find out what happened in due time. However, I suspect that Wufei may know a bit more than we do."

Aqua blue eyes latched onto Trowa's partially covered face. "Why? What makes you think that?"

"Because he casually mentioned that he and Heero got into an argument last night and that was why his left jaw was a particularly stunning shade of purple."

"What?" That just didn't add up. "Heero hit Wufei? Why?"

"He didn't say as to why, and I'm not sure if it's any of our business as to what happened either." Trowa stood up and hugged his lover. "As it stands, you still have to invite Wufei and Sally to dinner. I'd suggest calling Sally so he can't refuse." His last comment was rewarded by a small smile from the blond.

"That was my plan all along." Quatre untangled himself from Trowa's embrace. "Okay, I'll call her, and then see what I can do for food at tonight's very interesting dinner."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dinner that night was pleasant enough. Wufei, Duo, Hilde and Mike avoided talking about what happened the night before, and everyone tried to act like the left side of Wufei's face was normal looking. Conversation was focused on how close Sally was to having the baby, how the nursery was coming along, and other baby related topics. Occasionally, Duo could feel eyes lingering on him and when he'd look up, either Quatre or Hilde would quickly turn their heads and return back to the conversation they were having with the others.

Thankfully, it was over, and Duo could leave not too long after that with the explanation that the shuttle left at 5am, and Hilde backed him up. Giving their thanks for the lovely meal and company, Hilde dragged both Duo and Mike out of Quatre's house and to the SUV. Duo shouted out that he'd call both Quatre and Wufei when they arrived back on L2.

"You weren't kidding when you once told me that getting hit by Heero Yuy was no picnic," Mike said conversationally on the way back to the hotel. "Wufei spent half the night grimacing when his wife wasn't watching."

"Honey, then you don't know Chang Wufei," Hilde replied. "He always looks like that. I've known him for about seven years, off and on, and I think I've only seen him smile twice. Both times I thought he was going to kill me."

"Nah, when 'Fei's about to kill someone, he gets real quiet and then gives this lovely battle yell, which is normally my last name," Duo joked from the backseat, yawning at the same time. All taking ceased after that comment, as neither of his friend's could think of anything to retort to it with.

They didn't speak again until they reached the door to Duo's room, and then it was only to exchange wishes for a good night's sleep and a warning from Hilde that she was going to call and wake him up at 2am so they could leave on time. Closing the door behind him, Duo took one last look at the room he'd called home for the last few weeks and sighed. As much as he wanted to get away from Heero, he knew that he'd miss Allilon and Paris.

Then, right before he climbed into bed, a thought crossed his mind. Impulsively, he complied and then went to sleep with a slight smile on his face.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Heero came home late from work that night, carrying Allilon's sleeping form up to his room and putting him to bed. The day had been slow, and he'd been preoccupied all day by the last look Duo had given him. As if he was lower than scum and didn't have a place in his world. And, much to his displeasure, part of Heero agreed with that look. With a grunt, he pitched his jacket on the back of the couch and made his way into the kitchen for something to eat. As a last minute thought, he hit the messages button on the vid-phone.

"You have... one... new message," the mechanized female voice said, before it was replaced by a voice he thought he wouldn't hear again for a while. "How far are you willing to chase me, Heero? It's your turn to play cat."

TBC