Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Darker Side of Death ❯ Part Five ( Chapter 5 )

Right. Well. This is the end, and I'm happy because I'm finished and it's longer than all the other parts so that's also a good thing. Hope it's okay *worries*
If there are any odd comments in parenthesis, it's left over from when I cleaned it up after the beta, but was too half-asleep to see it. I think I got them all though...

Title: Darker Side of Death
Author: Aya
Pairings: 1+2
Warnings: Angst, Violence, Language
Disclaimers: I don't own GW, obviously.

Part Five

There was no light in this dreamscape and the distinction between ground, wall and sky was invisible. Everything was midnight black shot through with smoky red swirls that oozed along the darkness like a sentient thing. The blanket of darkness seemed to spread out far and wide for miles and it was the only thing Duo could see. He took a few steps forward, feeling extremely paranoid about walking on what appeared to be nothingness. It looked like he was walking on air even though that idea was squashed when his footsteps echoed throughout the place.

"Takai?" His voice echoed loudly and he winced at the sound.

For the first time, Shinigami did not appear when her name was said. Duo's eyes narrowed and he continued to walk on for what seemed like an eternity. It felt like he was walking in circles at first and the red swirls were making him dizzy. Suddenly, his footsteps weren't the only sound. He could hear the faint buzz of several voices not too far off and he quickened his pace to get to them.

After a few moments of jogging towards the sound, he approached what looked to be a wall full of televisions. With a confused grunt, Duo walked up to the wall and his eyes widened in surprise. They weren't televisions; they were windows to the world and colonies. In each square you could see events that were taking places in several different places. In one, grungy children were running from a group of adults in an L2 neighborhood. In another, Relena was sitting at a desk having an intense discussion with a girl with long platinum hair and shifty blue eyes.

Duo's eyebrows creased together in a frown as he looked over each window in awe. He saw soldiers resting, children playing in parks, he saw Treize Khushrenada in one and Wufei in another, sitting in a field as he meditated. Violet eyes fell on one of the last windows and Duo swore softly under his breath. It was an image of he and Heero, lying in bed at the safe house. Duo stared in fascination, knowing that the scene was going on at that very moment even though his subconscious was wandering around in Takai's dream world. He noticed that Heero wasn't asleep and that the Japanese pilot was caressing the body next to him; lips turned up in a small smile as he watched Duo's sleeping form.

"I see you finally got somewhere with Ryu-chan."

Duo did an almost comical double take and stumbled backwards when Takai suddenly appeared at his side. "What the hell, woman!? Don't *do* that!"

Purple lips twisted in a humorless smile and Takai looked at the image again. "I'm surprised he was so easily seduced. But then again, he has wanted you for quite awhile."

The blood rushed to Duo's face and he shifted uncomfortably. "Ryu-Chan? Who the hell is that?"

The dark haired Goddess tsked at him and smirked. "You don't even know your lover's real name? I'm scandalized."

"Heero isn't his real name?"

Takai made a face. "Of course not. It's a code name. His birth name is Tajirou Ryusaki."

Duo rolled the name around in his head and decided that he liked the sound of it. "Does... he know that's his real name?"

A sly smirk graced her features. "I'm afraid not. The dear boy doesn't know anything about his earlier years. I would love to enlighten you about his past, if you are interested."

The longhaired boy frowned at her. One part of him wanted to learn more about Heero. Although he and the other pilots had grown closer together, they didn't know anything about each other. However, the other part of his brain didn´t think it was right for to him learn secrets that Heero wasn't even aware of. It felt wrong somehow. "No thanks. Let's just stick to what you called me here for. Oh and you sending me that vision when Heero and me were... getting closer was not funny at all."

One thin eyebrow rose. "It wasn't meant to be funny. I didn't want you to forget about your purpose."

Duo sneered at her. "How could I?"

They glared at each other for a few moments before she turned her back on him. "I called you here to discuss what you plan to do, not to bicker."

Duo looked at the window again and stared vacantly at one of the scenes from L2. "What do you think I plan to do? I'm going to go on that mission and not let her take me by surprise this time. This time, she dies and I won't be caught off guard. The problem will be solved." The longhaired teen looked at the image of Heero again and he smiled fondly as the blue-eyed boy struggled to keep his eyes open. It reminded him vaguely of a kitten, fighting against sleep so that it could stay awake and play.

"Oh Duo, if only it *were* that simple.." Takai whispered softly.

The smile immediately faded and Duo felt his chest constrict painfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Takai turned to him and for a change her thin lips were not twisted in her mockery of a smile. Her slanted crimson eyes were studying him thoughtfully and she seemed to be choosing her words very carefully. "Never mind." She turned her back on him and began looking at the screens again, her hands clasped behind her back.

Duo's frustration had been mounting over the last few days and he felt anger start to take control of him. His breath began to come faster as he clenched his hands into fists and he was seeing bright red spots as his temper began to claw at the more sensible parts of his mind. Before he realized what he was doing, his hand was closing around one of Takai's slender arms and he was jerking her around roughly. "Now you listen to me, lady -- You have totally turned my fucking world upside down in the past few weeks with your goddamn visions and I have not come this far to be jerked around. So you tell me everything or I swear I will find some way to make you pay." His words came out in a low growl, eyes flashing with black rage.

For a moment there was complete silence, besides the soft buzzing from the windows. Violet eyes dragged back to the tender image of Heero, and Duo felt his rage cool a bit. He took a deep breath before looking into Takai's eyes. It was then that he realized what a big mistake he had just made. Her eyes were practically glowing with fury and her purple lips were pulled back in a hideous snarl. She no longer looked the part of a little Goth girl playing God. She looked unearthly... and evil.

One pale, deceptively slender hand grabbed his chin and before he knew it, she was holding him about two feet off the 'floor'. "You underestimate me, boy." She growled, eyes shooting red sparks as she squeezed hard enough to gag him. "I chose to help you and my thanks is *this*?" She hissed angrily. "You disrespect me, you mock me and you dare to touch me. I don't think you understand that I could crush you --" She snapped the fingers of her left hand. "Like that."

Duo opened his mouth to speak, but wound up gagging. His hands flew up to claw at her arm as he slowly began to suffocate. "Leggo..." He rasped.

She smirked at him evilly before flinging him carelessly away from her. He landed on his back about three feet away, panting as he clutched at his abused throat. "Do you really want to know, boy? Are you sure you can handle it?"

Anger flared inside of Duo and coursed through his veins, urging him to snap at the woman and strike out. No one pushed him around, not even the damned God of Death. He took a long calming breath and closed his eyes briefly, trying to rein in his already out of control temper. "Just tell me," He whispered from between clenched teeth. "Tell me so I can get this over with and move on with my damn life."

Her lips pulled back in an unbecoming smile and she began to walk in slow circles around him. "The woman, the woman from the vision.. she bore a strong resemblance to the kind Sister Helena McCoy, didn't she?"

Duo's eyes flew up and he focused on the Goddess standing above him. Her red eyes still held the faintest traces of anger, but she seemed to be all business again. "yes, it was... disturbing. That's why I was so surprised. She was.. she looked... Sister Helen, she died and... it just caught me off guard," Duo said roughly, eyes stinging as he remembered the *real* Helen.

"They look enough alike to be, sisters maybe? Perhaps even a twin, wouldn't you say?"

Duo's lip lifted in a snarl and he glared at her. "Just where the hell are you going with this? Are you trying to tell me she's Sister Helen's sister?"

Thin purple lips pursed and once again, Takai looked unsure of herself. "What if I was to tell you that Sister Helen didn't die on L2? What would you say?"

Violet eyes opened wide and Duo skittered backwards on the floor, staring up at Takai. "She died!" He snarled angrily. "How fucking dare you try to.. try to *lie* to me like that! She died! I saw her die! She died in my fucking arms!" He was unreasonably angry, but the things she was saying were getting to him in the worst way. He had tried his best to shove these thoughts and memories out of his mind and here she was drudging them all back up.

"How do you know she died, Duo?" She challenged, walking towards him. "You were only a child, you could have *thought* she was dead, because she was so close to it... but what if she had survived and the ambulance and police arrived just in time to save her?"

The longhaired boy shook his head in denial and looked away from her, but she pressed on ruthlessly. "What if you were to find out that the EMT people brought her back from the brink of death and she lived in a hospital for years while in a coma? When she woke up finally, she had no recollection of anything that had happened on L2. No one ever told her the truth of what happened, all she was told was that there was a great fire in the church where she had worked and she was the only one who had survived."

"Why are you saying these things?" He demanded, voice thick with emotion as his eyes blurred with tears.

Takai crouched in front of him and stared hard into his eyes. "She was left feeling hopeless and lost. She didn't know who her family was and had nothing left of her memory. After Helen was fully recovered, she decided that there was nothing else for her to do but join the army. She became a soldier who killed with no remorse. Over the years the only thing that remained of the once sweet, caring nun was her long blonde hair and delicate features. She would go on to become a personal favorite of Une and will unwittingly become the cause of massive death and destruction when she becomes the first Oz soldier to take down a Gundam pilot."

By this time tears were streaming down Duo's pale cheeks. "It's not true! Please, don't let it be true! She was all I had... the only mother.." his sentence broke off in a ragged sob. His long bangs hung around his face, shielding his eyes as he wept. It couldn't be true, it couldn't! It would mean that he had walked away from her when she was still alive. That she had become the very thing that had been responsible for the destruction of the church.

"Duo.." Takai leaned forward and pressed clammy hands to his face, tilting his head up to look into anguished, violet eyes. She no longer looked angry. Her eyes were full of remorse and sadness, looking down on him as a mother would look at a son. "Duo, it's true. I can't change it no matter how badly I wish I could," She said softly, pushing the damp clumps of hair from his face.

"I can't do it! I'm sorry.. I.. I know everyone depends on me, but Jesus I can't! How can I?" His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, lips trembling as he stared at her pleadingly. "She meant so much to me..." As soon as the words left his lips, Duo broke down again; crying silently, but so hard that his shoulders were shaking from the intensity.

Slender arms wound around his neck and Takai pulled him into a tender embrace. Her thin fingers stroked his messy hair soothingly as she held him. "You have to, Duo. There's no other way."

"I don't care! Let the fuckin' world end! I won't do it, damn you!" His voice was muffled as he pressed his face into the crook of her neck.

"Is one woman more important to you than the lives of your friends? The life of Heero? The lives of innocent men, women and children all over the world?"

Duo let out a shuddering sigh and he pulled away from her, eyes hard and unforgiving. "Why did you tell me? If I had never known..." He let the sentence trail off as a shiver wracked his thin frame. "Did you tell me to be cruel?! To be spiteful?!"

"No!" Takai squeezed her hand in to a fist. "If I hadn't told you, you would have found out anyway. You would have looked into her background to find out who she was and why she looked like Helen and you would have killed yourself. That would result in the *same* things that we are trying to avoid! I didn't want to tell you Duo, but there was no other way!"

"I won't do it," He whispered fiercely. "I'll.. I'll avoid running in that direction, I'll get in Deathscythe immediately instead of watching Heero. I'll do *something*, but I will not kill her!"

Takai's fingers dug into his thin shoulders and she shook him fiercely. "Don't you think I have thought of that? I've played every possible scenario in my mind and they all lead to either the death of you, Heero or her. If you don't watch Heero's back, he will be killed and his survival is monumental if you are to win *this* war *and* the second war."

Duo's thoughts were so jumbled that he didn't even think to ask about the end part of her sentence. "Why me?" He whispered softly, trying to fight the tears that still wanted to spill from his eyes. He squeezed them shut and tried to ignore the memories that were assaulting him. "Why do you even care about what happens to me?"

A small, sad smile crossed her face and she started to back away. "Prepare yourself Little Shinigami. Don't let everyone down." As she moved away from him, everything started to grow darker. Duo stared at her in confusion, still needing to ask questions but before he could... he woke up.

*****

"Duo!" Heero shook the boy beside him gently. "Duo, you have to wake up."

The longhaired boy bolted up, heart pounding as he stared at Heero with wild, startled eyes. "What?" He demanded breathlessly, voice surprisingly raw even though he had only cried in the dream. He wiped a hand across his face and swallowed several times, fighting the lump that seemed to be permanently lodged in his throat.

"We have a mission," Heero informed him. He leaned forward and brushed Duo's bangs from his eyes, offering a small smile to his new lover. "Are you okay now?" He was being so gentle..

//No.// "Yes, I'm fine now," Duo lied, plastering on a fake smile for the Wing pilot. "Everything's going to be fine," He added softly, heart feeling as though it would explode when Heero gave him that warm, affectionate smile in response.

"Let's get ready then, I'll send you the specs when you're in Deathscythe. We have to rush." Heero stood up after giving Duo's hand one final squeeze and began to get his gear together.

Duo wanted to scream. He wanted to scream and cry and bury his head in the sand. It was happening too soon, he wasn't ready, he wasn't even sure if he could do this.. Violet eyes stared vacantly at Heero as the other boy put on a belt that was laden with spare ammunition. Chocolate colored spikes of hair fell into Heero's eyes as he fastened the belt around his slim waist. //I have to do this..//

He got to his feet numbly and began to get ready without really paying attention to what he was doing. He bypassed his priest's outfit and told himself that he wouldn't be wearing it anymore. Before long he was clad all in black, with a heavy backpack hanging from his shoulders. Duo slammed his baseball cap down on his head, hands shaking as he knelt down to lace his boots.

"Are you ready?" Heero asked as he started for the door.

//No, God no...//

"Yes, let's go."

****

Soldiers scattered over the compound as alarms blared loudly and warning lights flashed in the corridors of the large Oz base. Duo ran fast, hard, his lungs felt like they were going to collapse at any moment. "Fuck!" He swore loudly and forced himself to run faster to catch up to Heero's sprint. The place was going to blow up in two minutes and they weren't even at the hangar yet.

"We don't have time for this!" Heero shouted over the shots that were being fired in their direction. Duo didn't bother responding as he dove to the floor to avoid a hail of bullets, rolling up in a crouch as he returned the fire. The longhaired boy felt Heero's presence behind him and realized that they were back to back. Shit. They must have been surrounded.

Duo felt more than heard Heero's rapidly drawn breaths and he quickly reloaded his magnums. This was going to get messy. They both moved at the same time, raining a storm of ammunition down on the soldiers that had them trapped.

"We don't have time for this shit!" Heero shouted again as he neatly kicked one of the soldiers in the throat; crushing the man's windpipe.

"No fucking kidding!" Duo snarled, irritated at Heero's knack for stating the obvious at the worst possible times.

The corridor was now painted with bright red blood. The carnage was enough to make a normal person sick to their stomach but Duo was used to seeing death. Used to seeing carnage. He knew that this was the mission, he knew that this was when he would have to kill... he'd have to kill...

"Shit!" Duo hissed, shaking his head even as they raced away from the corridor. He couldn't have second thoughts now, everyone was depending on him. On the entire journey to the base, he had tried to steel himself to do what needed to be done. He had told himself over and over that this wasn't the same Sister Helen who had cared for him and loved him all of those years ago. He had told himself that he couldn't let the entire world... be destroyed because of one woman and because of his feelings.

They finally made it to the hangar and Duo slashed his way towards Deathscythe. Trepidation filled his heart but he didn't stop himself from taking the same course of action that he had taken in the vision. He had both his guns blazing as he ran towards the hulking mobile suit. Duo delayed jumping in the cockpit just as he had before, ensuring that Heero got in Wing's cockpit safely.

His heart clenched painfully as he ran towards Deathscythe, knowing what was going to happen next. He didn't hesitate as he spun around just in time to catch Helen, no... not Helen, the soldier, with a swift kick to the head. Once again, the helmet bounced off and Duo was assaulted with the sight of her pretty, once kind, open face. But this time, Duo didn't freeze. This time, he saw her hand going for the knife and before she could strike, he aimed his magnum at her head and pulled the trigger.

The gun dropped from his hand and his knees buckled as he stared at her body. Her head was completely obliterated, pieces of shattered skull littered the ground around her. A low whine escaped Duo's lips and he felt the tears try to force their way passed his eyes. "God, forgive me," He whispered.

"Duo! Get in the fucking Gundam!" Heero's voice roared impatiently.

Duo's head snapped up and he saw Heero hanging precariously from the cockpit, barely missing bullets as he ducked back inside. The Deathscythe pilot swore under his breath and tried to ignore the pain that was making his chest clench. With one more grief-stricken glance at the body, Duo wrenched himself away from the spot he had been grounded to and forced himself to clamber up Deathscythe's side. Once inside of the Gundam, he cut all visual and audio communication so that he could cry to his heart's content, without anyone interrupting.

*****

Heero stared at the pale, tear-streaked face and felt his heart ache in response. Duo looked so miserable and there wasn't anything he could do to help. Ever since the mission two days ago, the boy had been a wreck. He barely spoke and hadn't eaten anything at all. Heero sighed and pressed a soft kiss to one rounded cheek, rubbing the boy's back in soothing circles as he slept.

He didn't know what could have happened to upset the boy so much. Yes, the mission had gotten out of control very fast and they had nearly lost their lives, but that had happened several times before. Heero recalled the look on his lover's face moments before they had left the base. The horrified, anguished look that had crumpled his features as he had stood over the body of a dead Oz pilot.

The Japanese teen gently pulled away from Duo and placed the comforter over his slender form. Heero sat at the edge of the bed and leaned forward, putting his head in his hands as he contemplated the last few weeks. Duo was obviously going through something, something that he wasn't ready to share with his partners. This was the second time he had fallen apart after a mission and it was only the second time Heero had seen the other boy cry. He was so used to Duo being in good spirits and trying to keep the rest of the team happy, that the sight of the longhaired boy in tears was enough to leave him feeling helpless. Helpless and scared, because he didn't know how to fix it.

Heero wanted so badly to put the smile back on Duo's handsome face, but he didn't know how. He didn't know how to comfort people, in fact he didn't know how to do a lot of things. Things that came to normal people naturally. It left Heero feeling inadequate and ashamed that he couldn't even make his friend feel better.

Friend?

What were they anyway? That one moment of passion had left Heero feeling more than he had ever felt in his whole life. He didn't regret it at all, it only gave him hope that in the future after Duo was passed this ordeal, they could have a real relationship, the way Heero had always dreamed they could.

With a heavy sigh, he stood up and moved towards his laptop. Maybe if he went through the OZ database and looked at the profiles for the day's causalities, it would give him some insight on who the pilot had been.

As soon as he sat down in front of his laptop, once again, he had the inexplicable feeling of being watched. His head whipped around and dark blue eyes scanned the room and the darkness outside the window, but he saw no one. The fine hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end and he knew someone was there, somewhere. "Who are you?" He demanded, feeling decidedly foolish. "Who are you and what the hell did you do to Duo?" The last sentence must have triggered something because suddenly he was hit with vertigo and he had to clutch the end of the desk to keep from falling over. He struggled to keep his eyes open but before long, his vision dimmed and everything went black.

___

When Heero opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room with Duo. Everything was jet black with streaks of red and he knew immediately that he was dreaming. He took a step forward and winced as the movement echoed through out the room dramatically. He was still being watched, he could feel it, but he didn't see anyone. "Show yourself, damn it!"

"I'm right here," A female voice drawled from behind him.

Heero spun around, hand automatically going for a gun that wasn't there and stared at the girl before him. She was small, clad all in black and had a gaunt, slender face. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

Her lips pulled back in an unpleasant smile and she clasped her hands behind her back. "You can call me Takai."

He narrowed his eyes at her, automatically translating the word in his head. It meant death. "Okay, Takai, what the hell have you done to Duo?"

Slender eyebrows arched up and she gave him a bemused smirk. "What makes you think I did anything to the boy?"

A dark scowl settled over his face and he balled his hands into fists. "Over the past few weeks something has been wrong with him and over the past few days I've been feeling... something watching him. Something that I couldn't see. Obviously that something is you. Now tell me what you've done to him, or else."

A bark of laughter escaped her lips and she actually looked amused. "Or else what, dear child? What could you possibly do to me? I don't even exist in your realm."

At this, his eyebrows shot up and he filed that information away for later use. "Then what realm do you exist in?"

She smirked mysteriously. "The underworld."

A disgusted look crossed his face and he sneered. "Right."

Takai rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Fine! Don't believe me. I'm not going to try to convince you either."

"Just tell me what's wrong with him, damn it."

She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment before a small smile crossed her lips. "You asked for it."

Then the strangest thing happened. Images flitted across his mind. Horrifying images of death.. Duo getting gutted by a female pilot, the same pilot he had killed on the mission. Heero killing Relena as she spoke in front of a large audience. Heero and Wufei being killed by soldiers, with Zechs Marques watching the whole thing. A large beam of light slamming into the Earth...

"That's what would have happened if he hadn't killed that pilot. That's how important he is to the cause. You and your fellow pilots like to take him for granted, especially Chang." She crouched down so that they were face to face and it was then that he realized his knees had given out. She smoothed a hand over the side of his face in an almost affectionate gesture and Heero shuddered. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to push the image of Duo's dead body out of his mind. "But why --" He cleared his throat when his voice came out hoarse. "Why was he so upset after he killed her? He's killed scores of other soldiers before... why is this getting to him so much?"

"It's not so easy to take a life ---"

"I know that, damn it! You know what I mean!" He cut her off, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest again, trying to get himself together.

She stood up as well, face set in a pensive expression. "It's not so easy to take a life, especially when it's the woman who was the only mother figure you had ever known." When Heero stared at her blankly, Takai made a face. "The girl, the pilot, she had been a nun at the orphanage where Duo spent some time when he was a child."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh shit..."

Takai smirked tightly. "Exactly."

"Can't you do something? He's not going to just get over this, you know."

Her smirk turned into a frown. "What can I do? I've already stepped way out of bounds by even showing you two your future and I've broken many rules by *telling* you to change it. I've done too much already and I'm not doing anything else."

His lips curled in a snarl and he resisted the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake the shit out of her. "Don't you care that this is killing him inside? You said his survival is important! You think he's going to do anyone any good in the condition that he's in? He's a wreck! He can barely function because of the grief! Don't you *care*?"

"Of course I care!" She snarled back, eyes spitting out crimson sparks.

He took a deep breath and tried to get his anger under control. "Why are you doing this, anyway? What does it matter to you what happens to us?"

Takai scowled at him and turned her back. "It's not of your business, boy."

"Fine. It's none of my business. But Duo is my business. I care about him and I want to help him. If you cared about him, you would want to help him too."

"I've already done everything I can do!" She shouted angrily, spinning around and glaring at him.

"Well do something else!" He roared back, hands clenched into fists so tight that his nails were cutting into his skin.

They both glared at each other under she released a long sigh and the anger seemed to seep out of her. Her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes. "There is one thing I can do." He relaxed visibly and looked at her eagerly. "I can.. wipe his memory completely of the last few weeks, allowing him only to remember things that are essential to the war. He wouldn't remember me, the visions, Sister Helen or..." She hesitated and slanted a look at him.

The feeling in his chest was one that he had never felt, but he knew right away that it was his heart breaking. "He wouldn't remember that we are together now.."

She actually looked sympathetic. "Are you sure you want me to do it?"

For a second, selfishness gripped him and he almost said no. He had cared for the other pilot for so long.. he had wanted him and yearned for him and now that they were actually together... Heero shook his head and closed his eyes, reminding himself of Duo's pale, miserable face. "Yes," He whispered. "He's more important than my feelings."

Takai moved over to him and patted his back awkwardly, making it obvious that she wasn't used to comforting people either. "At least he'll be alive, ne?"

He nodded tightly and shrugged off her hand. He had the oddest pricklign sensation behind his eyelids... "I can't - I mean, there's no way I can.. try again with him?"

She hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure. You could try but there is no guarantee that it wouldn't jog his memory. There's no sure way for you to know."

"Ok.. Just do it, before I change my mind." His voice was thick with emotion.

She smiled and unexpectedly pulled him into another awkward embrace. "Good luck, Ryu-Chan..."

Then everything went dark again....

____

....and he was back in his room.

Heero stared vacantly at his laptop and swallowed the lump in his throat. With a shuddering sigh, he slowly turned around and stared at the boy who was curled up on his bed. Duo's face was relaxed and peaceful, the tear stains were gone and his lips set in a small smile as he slept. He was snoring softly, his long bangs partially hiding his eyes.

The Japanese youth slowly got up and stood over the lithe figure. "Duo.." He gently shook the boy, trying to awaken him.

Violet eyes popped open and Duo rolled over, yawning hugely. "Mmm.." He blinked sleepily for a few minutes before his brow wrinkled in confusion. "What am I doing in here?"

Heero's mouth went dry. She had really done it... He didn't remember. "You.. fell asleep when we were talking."

Duo raised an eyebrow at him and sat up, stretching and looking utterly adorable in the process. "*We* were talking? Whoa.. I don't remember *that*." He smirked mischievously at his partner. "Since when do you have conversations, dude?"

Heero looked as though he might cry.

The smile faded and concern blossomed on Duo's handsome face. He got out of bed and stood up beside Heero. "Are you okay, man?" His brow creased and he put an arm around Heero's broad shoulders. "Is everything all right?"

Without realizing what he was doing, Heero spun around and threw his arms around the other boy, burying his face in the crook of Duo's neck. The longhaired teen tensed for a moment, before he slowly returned the hug. His slender hand rubbed Heero's back and he murmured soothing words in his ear. "It's okay, Heero. You'll be all right."

After awhile, he led Heero to the bed, not really knowing what was wrong with the other pilot but comforting him anyway. It was obvious that he was in distress and even though they had problems, they were still friends. Duo gently pushed Heero onto the bed and crouched on the floor in front of him so that they were eye level. He didn't know what had caused this sudden change in Heero's demeanor, but it was a little scary. Normally, Heero didn't outwardly express his emotions at all. The fact that he looked down right vulnerable was enough to throw Duo completely off balance.

Heero's eyes were suspiciously bright, but Duo chose to ignore it, not wanting to embarrass his usually macho friend. He pulled the Wing pilot into a loose, friendly embrace and he hesitantly began to stroke the unruly spikes of hair. "We're friends Heero, you can tell me what's wrong."

Heero stared at Duo for a moment before closing his eyes. He allowed the smaller boy to hold him, trying to take comfort in the fact that Duo still cared for him even if it was only as friends. At least he was alive... and maybe some day, maybe they could try again...

-End

AN - *cough* Yes... well.. there will be a (short) sequel.. thing where they do get back together.. so stop looking at me like that.. Is it me or do my fics always end up having sequels? Or planned sequels. *rolls eyes at self*