Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen ❯ Ch 4 ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: lissabeth 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.18.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 380 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.18.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 380 | Status: Work In Progress
once again thank you so much lady malynn. and also i'm having problems actually being able to see my reviews. but thanks for them and i hope that they're good. if they
re asking for me to stop writing or something... then sorry for not being able to read the flame or whatnot. i hope you enjoy.
Ch 4.
A.C. 197 November
"Hey Heero." Duo said stepping inside Heeros office at work.
"Hi Duo. What's up?" still looking down at his paperwork.
"Well have you made any plans for this weekend?" Duo asked nervously.
Heero just looked up at him smiling knowing exactly what this was about. "I know Duo, and yes I will come baby sit you while Wufei is away." He said smirking. Since joining the preventers whenever the Chinese teen was away on a mission Duo always asked Heero to come over. "I don't like being home alone in that big house." And of course the puppy dog eyes did Heero in and he agreed so every time afterwards Heero went over to keep the braided boy 'out of trouble'.
"Great, thanks man. Hey you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Duo asked stopping by the door.
Looking up Heero got a worried look on his face. "Who's cooking?" he asked trying to keep a smirk off his face.
"Wufei." Duo said.
Smiling, as if in relief, he then looked back down to his paperwork before answering. "Sounds safe then, what time should I be there?"
"Cold, Heero, really cold." Duo said shivering slightly for effect. "How about 6:30? Is that good for you?"
"Yes, that'll work. I have to run home and change first." He said noticing that it was already 5:30.
"I was wondering if you would notice it was 30 minutes passes quitting time." Eyes full of laughter, Duo turned to go. "See you at the house."
Heero still looking at the clock shook his head. 'I didn't even notice it was passed lunch time.' Packing up his papers he headed out.
Duo walked towards his desk to grab his stuff. 'Something just seems off with him lately.' He stood there lost in his thoughts until a hand was set on his shoulder. Jumping he turned around. "Shit, Wufei, do ya have to give me a heart attack?" he said partially joking. Partially.
"What's wrong? You were pretty spaced out. I called your name 3 times."
"Do you think… oh never mind. Let's go or Heero will beat us to the house."
"So he said yes?" he said as they left the office. They had discussed the fact that the former Wing pilot seemed a little secluded lately.
"Yeah so let's get moving."
"Why did I say yes? This hasn't really been a good day." Sitting on his bed Heero pulled his knees up to his chest. Getting out a razor blade he began the purging process. His upper right arm almost completely covered he looked up to the clock, realizing he only had 15 minutes to get to the house. 'Shit.' Getting dressed he called Duo to let him know he'd be a few minutes late and then headed out the door.
"Heero, hey come in." Duo said pulling him into the house. "Dinner is all ready so let's go grub."
Walking into the kitchen, Heero couldn't help but smirk at the mess all over the kitchen and Wufei. "Let me guess, Duo decided he wanted to help again?" he laughed.
The very annoyed Chinese teen turned to look at him and just nodded his head. "But I managed to salvage the food so let me just get changed really quick. Go ahead and sit." He left mumbling something along the lines of 'damned instant pudding'.
Once all were seated at the table, Heero commented on how much food Wufei had prepared.
"Well, you know how much Duo eats. And besides you look like you haven't had time to eat lately." Wufei said hoping he didn't step across the line.
"Look who I work with. I don't have time for lunch I'm too busy keeping the 'God of Death' from scaring off all the rookies. Plus I have to come in early to explain to Une just why she should not fire Maxwell because his good works out weight the prank jokes and whatnot. By the time I get home at night I pass out from exhaustion." Heero tried to glare but the look just wouldn't work.
"Aw, come on soldier boy you know you don't mind." Duo said slapping Heeros arm.
Wufei swore he could see a slight look of pain cross the blue eyes but shook his head thinking he must be imagining things. "So you coming over to baby sit this weekend?" he asked.
"I guess so." The conversation carried on for a while after the food was gone then Heero said his goodnights and left for home.
Heero walked up to Duo's house after work on Friday night knowing he was in for an insanely long weekend. But it was always fun. (Even though he hated to admit it) Knocking on the door he was surprised when he didn't get an answer. Walking around to the back of the house he saw Duo out working out. 'Must be training with Wufei.' Watching him go through a couple of sets he was surprised at how well Duo was with the motions. 'God he looks good doing that.' Blinking rapidly he looked away. 'Where the hell did that thought come from.' Shaking his head he turned around and waited for Duo to get done.
Duo had not thought much about the time since he had come out and when he was closing down to the end of the set when he realized that Heero was there. Just sitting there waiting. Once he had finished the set he picked up his towel and walked towards the house. "Hey man. Sorry guess I lost track of the time." He said draping the towel over his shoulder.
"It's ok. I haven't been waiting very long." Heero said getting up and following Duo into the house. "I'll get started on dinner while you're in the shower."
"Thanks man. I'll be back down in about 30 minutes." He said heading upstairs.
Heero watched him for a few minutes. Then turned towards the kitchen.
Later that evening, they sat watching movies and the usual card game of rummy going on. Heero winning, as usual. "I just don't see how you do it." Duo said throwing his cards down. The smug look in those blue eyes across the table from him made him pout. "If I didn't know you I would say you were cheating. But I know you too well for that." He stood up. "Want some popcorn or something while I'm in the kitchen?" he asked.
"A soda would be nice." Heero said smiling up at Duo while he was dealing the cards.
"Ok be back in a few." Duo said as he left the room. Once in the kitchen, he grabbed some chips and a couple of sodas. 'Man he really has changed.' He thought, shaking his head and heading back to the living room.
The weekend went on in that fashion, just hanging out like usual. Heero had become a constant in Duo and Wufei's life. He just seemed to always be there whenever they need him and he opened up so much since the end of the war hardly anyone could believe this was the same Heero Yuy.
Wufei got back earlier than expected on Sunday night. Duo jumped in his arms kissing him passionately. Heero walked in on this scene and decided it was time to go. "Hey Wufei. Well guys I'm going to head home. I'll see you at work tomorrow." He said after he had got his duffle bag and was heading to the door.
"Ok Heero. Thanks for babysitting for me." Wufei said smiling at the Japanese teen.
Returning the smile he nodded his head. "No problem. I always enjoy torturing him in cards." Then he left.
"I missed you so much." Wufei said grabbing Duo into another embrace.
"Me too."
The drive home seemed to take forever for Heero. 'Every time.' He sighed. Finally turning into his apartment complex he sat for a minute trying to compose himself. Once he felt secure he headed up to his empty home. Leaning on the door to his bedroom he looked around the small apartment. Feeling himself losing control he found his razor and tried to transfer the pain. Tears came to his eyes and he didn't bother trying to rid his face its wetness. 'I feel like I'm losing who am I.' he laughed through his tears softly. 'I don't think I ever knew who I was to begin with.' He was startled out of his routine and thoughts by a knock on the door. Scrambling to get everything put back in order he called out saying he'd be there in a minute and checked his appearance, 'Damn, no way to get rid of the evidence of crying.' He tried cleaning his face off. 'Fuck it.'
Looking through the peep hole he saw Relena on the other side and let out his breath in relief. Opening the door he smiled. "Hey what's up?"
Seeing his tear stained face she lost her smile and a look of concern crossed her eyes. "What's wrong?"
He just shook his head. "Same as always, come on in." he moved back to let her in and she through her arms around him trying to comfort him. She hit his arm and he slightly winced.
"What's wrong with your arm?" she asked then tried to look at it.
He jerked back. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
She was about to say ok but then she saw blood coming through his sleeve. "Bullshit Heero. Cut the crap. Let me see." Blue eyes flashed as she lifted up his sleeve and saw the blood and cuts covering his arm. "Oh my God. What happened?" seeing his down turned eyes she saw the wound for what it was. "I just want to ask one thing." he looked up slightly and nodded his head. "What is the purpose of this?" she asked a look of compassion on her face.
Looking back down Heero answered. "Physical pain is easier to deal with than emotional pain." Looking up he saw she was very upset. 'Well of course she is.' "It's not like I'm trying to kill myself Rel' I wouldn't do that. It's just the only way I know to deal with this." His eyes pleading for her to understand.
Nodding her head she led him into the kitchen. "Heero I understand that. I won't tell you to stop. I won't yell at you. But just be careful. I won't tell any one." She saw him relax a little on that. "Just know that I will be here to talk to and to help clean you up when you're done, whenever you need me." Spoken as she was wiping his arm off with a wash cloth. "However if this gets bad and you hurt yourself seriously I will have to tell the others." He looked up quickly shaking his head. Holding up her hand she cut him off. "I'm serious Heero. So just make sure you don't do anything like that. Ok?" she said as she finished wrapping up his arm. Then lifting his chin to look into his eyes she was holding back her tears the whole time but could no longer. They crept out and slid down her cheeks. "You are too important Heero. You are my best friend."
He reached up and brushed her tears away. "I'm not important. But I do promise to be careful."
Relena looked at him for a few minutes, then nodding her head she stood up and pulled him towards the living room. "Good because I don't want to have to kick you're ass." She said smiling.
Grinning back, he paused for a minute then frowned, "Was there something that you wanted. I know you didn't come over here just to discuss my problem."
She ducked her head a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well we don't have to talk about that now. It's not important."
"What is it? Come on. Tell me." He pried.
"Well I met someone." She said almost guiltily.
"Relena," he just about yelled. "I don't believe that you would feel ashamed to tell me." He softened his voice and continued. "Look just because I'm having love problems, doesn't mean I don't want to hear about you finding someone. Besides, it gives me hope that maybe someday I'll have that." He said then began to smile. "So who is he?"
"His name is Daniel. He's tall, dark and handsome. We're going out this Friday." She said as giddy as a girl could be.
"Well big brother has to approve first." Heero said not really trying to hide his smirk. "I'm happy for you." He said with a genuine smile.
"Thank you." she hesitated for a moment.
"What?"
"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted me to stay here with you tonight. If you didn't want to be alone." She asked.
"No that's ok. I'm feeling better now. Well it's getting late and I better get to bed." He said standing up and leading her to the door. "In case I don't see you before your date this weekend, you have a good time. Ok?"
"Yeah, I'll see you later Heero. Love you." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and heading down the hallway.
"Love you too Relena." He called after her before he shut the door. Leaning against the door the tears started fresh and he slid down it to the floor.
Duo was standing in the shower trying to work through his own crazed thoughts. 'How could I do this? I love Wufei so much. But,' Blue eyes flashed in his mind. 'I just can't seem to forget about him. I want him around so much. And I know he's hurting but he won't tell me what's going on.' Leaning against the shower wall, he just couldn't figure out how to solve this problem.
"Duo, are you almost done in there? Dinner's ready." Wufei called.
"Yeah, coming."
A.C. 197 December
The phone ringing woke Duo up way too early on a Saturday morning. "Someone better be dead." Duo said grumpily into the phone.
"Hey Duo, sorry did I wake you?" Quatre asked.
Looking at the clock, Duo sighed. "Well Quatre its 7 am on a Saturday. What do you think?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, I didn't realize how early it was."
"Its ok." He said crawling out of bed, trying not to disturb Wufei. "What did you want?" he asked as he headed into the living room to sit down on the couch.
"Well you just hadn't told me for sure yet whether or not you two are coming to my Christmas party on the 24th. So I just wanted to make sure you were coming. Heero called me this morning to tell me he was, so I thought I'd go ahead and check with you. I really am sorry about the time."
"It's ok man. Yeah, we'll be there. It starts at 6, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok. So what's going on aside from that."
"Oh, nothing much." Quatre said cheerfully into the phone. "I guess I should get going. I don't want to take up anymore of your time. Bye."
"Alright. Talk to you later." Getting up he headed back to bed and curled up next to Wufei.
"Who was that?" the sleepy Chinese man asked.
"It was Quatre calling to make sure we were going to be at his Christmas party."
"That's three weeks away. He sure is on the ball this year." He said pulling Duo closer to his chest.
"I'm not, I still have to go and do all of my shopping."
"That's not really surprising. Do you want to go out today?" he asked running the chestnut braid through his fingers.
Turning to face his lover, Duo pushed himself up onto his elbow. "Well, I already asked Heero to go with me because I can't buy your present if you are there." He said leaning in and planting a little kiss on Wufei's lips.
Wufei smiled softly and nodded his head. "Ok. When are you two going out?" naturally all of his Christmas shopping was done, not one to be known for procrastination.
"Around noon he's going to come over and we'll head out."
"Ok. Well then that's plenty of time." Dark eyes shined.
"Time? Oh, sounds good to me." Duo said leaning into Wufei and kissing him passionately.
"Hey Heero, come on in. I just have to go and find my shoes." Duo said after answering the door and going on a mad search for his shoes.
Wufei watched him run off and shook his head. "So how has everything been?" Wufei asked as they sat in the living room.
"It's been good. I can't really say my life is exactly as exciting as everyone else's but it's nice and calm. I guess I like it that way."
Wufei couldn't help but see the wistful look in Heero's eyes. 'I wonder if he has the slightest clue as to how easy it is to read him.'
Just then Duo came bouncing into the room. "Alright let's get to the mall. Bye 'Fei. I love you. See you in a bit."
"Hey Heero, have you eaten lunch yet?" Duo asked as they walked into the food court at the entrance of the mall.
"No I haven't."
"Alright we'll let's stop and get something now. I need my energy to get this shopping done." They decided on some pizza and sat down to eat.
Duo kept looking like he was on the verge of saying something for the past 15 minutes, so Heero finally broke the silence. "What is it Duo?" he asked.
"Well I was just wondering how you were really doing. On the outside you seem to be doing so well. And everyone believes it. You seem happy and content. But, Heero, I've seen that mask before, I use to wear it. And I just can't help but wonder if there is anything I can do to help. We're good friends, right? You can tell me anything."
Heero was slightly surprised by this speech coming from Duo and shook his head a little. 'He really is amazing. Those two really do belong together.' "Don't worry about me, Duo. I'll be fine. I guess it's just a little of the holiday blues or something."
'Right. He still hides from me. I guess he always will. But if that's the way he wants to go then I'll just go along with it.' His mind made up Duo spoke up. "Well we can't have any of that. I guess you'll just have to come over to the house more and you will have to spend a lot of time with your friends. Got it? I won't take no for an answer. In fact you can come over for dinner tonight." Duo said.
Heero looked shocked for a moment at the out burst and then smiled. "That sounds good to me." He said. When violet eyes shone at him in happiness his heart flipped. 'He really is beautiful.'
Watching Duo bounce from store to store, buying presents and laughing. Heero couldn't help but have a great time. He got most of his done also.
Heero found himself constantly surrounded by Duo and Wufei after this. The holiday season was anything but quiet and peaceful, but he loved every second he got to spend with them. But in the same way he loved it, it almost broke him. He almost longed for the utter chaos of the season to be over.
When then night of Quatre's party hit it signalized that the year was almost over. 'Only a few more days left.' He thought. Standing on the balcony at the party, he finally found himself having a second of peace. 'Maybe next year will be different. Maybe next year I can…' Leaning on the railing, he looked up to the stars.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Wufei said walking out to stand near Heero.
"Yeah, it is." He said not look towards the other man.
"I know it's been insane lately. Duo's a complete nut when it comes to holidays, you know."
Laughing slightly, Heero spared a look at Wufei. The other was looking up at the sky, his hair framing his face. He left it down a lot now-a-days. "I really don't mind." Heero said turning to head back inside. Fearing that staying outside with Wufei like this could lead him to say something he'd regret. "Come on, let's go back inside the others are going to be wondering where we went to." he said heading towards the door.
"Alright." He said giving Heero a hug. "Merry Christmas, Heero." then he walked in.
Heero's heart jumped into his throat. "Merry Christmas…"
tbc…
re asking for me to stop writing or something... then sorry for not being able to read the flame or whatnot. i hope you enjoy.
Ch 4.
A.C. 197 November
"Hey Heero." Duo said stepping inside Heeros office at work.
"Hi Duo. What's up?" still looking down at his paperwork.
"Well have you made any plans for this weekend?" Duo asked nervously.
Heero just looked up at him smiling knowing exactly what this was about. "I know Duo, and yes I will come baby sit you while Wufei is away." He said smirking. Since joining the preventers whenever the Chinese teen was away on a mission Duo always asked Heero to come over. "I don't like being home alone in that big house." And of course the puppy dog eyes did Heero in and he agreed so every time afterwards Heero went over to keep the braided boy 'out of trouble'.
"Great, thanks man. Hey you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Duo asked stopping by the door.
Looking up Heero got a worried look on his face. "Who's cooking?" he asked trying to keep a smirk off his face.
"Wufei." Duo said.
Smiling, as if in relief, he then looked back down to his paperwork before answering. "Sounds safe then, what time should I be there?"
"Cold, Heero, really cold." Duo said shivering slightly for effect. "How about 6:30? Is that good for you?"
"Yes, that'll work. I have to run home and change first." He said noticing that it was already 5:30.
"I was wondering if you would notice it was 30 minutes passes quitting time." Eyes full of laughter, Duo turned to go. "See you at the house."
Heero still looking at the clock shook his head. 'I didn't even notice it was passed lunch time.' Packing up his papers he headed out.
Duo walked towards his desk to grab his stuff. 'Something just seems off with him lately.' He stood there lost in his thoughts until a hand was set on his shoulder. Jumping he turned around. "Shit, Wufei, do ya have to give me a heart attack?" he said partially joking. Partially.
"What's wrong? You were pretty spaced out. I called your name 3 times."
"Do you think… oh never mind. Let's go or Heero will beat us to the house."
"So he said yes?" he said as they left the office. They had discussed the fact that the former Wing pilot seemed a little secluded lately.
"Yeah so let's get moving."
"Why did I say yes? This hasn't really been a good day." Sitting on his bed Heero pulled his knees up to his chest. Getting out a razor blade he began the purging process. His upper right arm almost completely covered he looked up to the clock, realizing he only had 15 minutes to get to the house. 'Shit.' Getting dressed he called Duo to let him know he'd be a few minutes late and then headed out the door.
"Heero, hey come in." Duo said pulling him into the house. "Dinner is all ready so let's go grub."
Walking into the kitchen, Heero couldn't help but smirk at the mess all over the kitchen and Wufei. "Let me guess, Duo decided he wanted to help again?" he laughed.
The very annoyed Chinese teen turned to look at him and just nodded his head. "But I managed to salvage the food so let me just get changed really quick. Go ahead and sit." He left mumbling something along the lines of 'damned instant pudding'.
Once all were seated at the table, Heero commented on how much food Wufei had prepared.
"Well, you know how much Duo eats. And besides you look like you haven't had time to eat lately." Wufei said hoping he didn't step across the line.
"Look who I work with. I don't have time for lunch I'm too busy keeping the 'God of Death' from scaring off all the rookies. Plus I have to come in early to explain to Une just why she should not fire Maxwell because his good works out weight the prank jokes and whatnot. By the time I get home at night I pass out from exhaustion." Heero tried to glare but the look just wouldn't work.
"Aw, come on soldier boy you know you don't mind." Duo said slapping Heeros arm.
Wufei swore he could see a slight look of pain cross the blue eyes but shook his head thinking he must be imagining things. "So you coming over to baby sit this weekend?" he asked.
"I guess so." The conversation carried on for a while after the food was gone then Heero said his goodnights and left for home.
Heero walked up to Duo's house after work on Friday night knowing he was in for an insanely long weekend. But it was always fun. (Even though he hated to admit it) Knocking on the door he was surprised when he didn't get an answer. Walking around to the back of the house he saw Duo out working out. 'Must be training with Wufei.' Watching him go through a couple of sets he was surprised at how well Duo was with the motions. 'God he looks good doing that.' Blinking rapidly he looked away. 'Where the hell did that thought come from.' Shaking his head he turned around and waited for Duo to get done.
Duo had not thought much about the time since he had come out and when he was closing down to the end of the set when he realized that Heero was there. Just sitting there waiting. Once he had finished the set he picked up his towel and walked towards the house. "Hey man. Sorry guess I lost track of the time." He said draping the towel over his shoulder.
"It's ok. I haven't been waiting very long." Heero said getting up and following Duo into the house. "I'll get started on dinner while you're in the shower."
"Thanks man. I'll be back down in about 30 minutes." He said heading upstairs.
Heero watched him for a few minutes. Then turned towards the kitchen.
Later that evening, they sat watching movies and the usual card game of rummy going on. Heero winning, as usual. "I just don't see how you do it." Duo said throwing his cards down. The smug look in those blue eyes across the table from him made him pout. "If I didn't know you I would say you were cheating. But I know you too well for that." He stood up. "Want some popcorn or something while I'm in the kitchen?" he asked.
"A soda would be nice." Heero said smiling up at Duo while he was dealing the cards.
"Ok be back in a few." Duo said as he left the room. Once in the kitchen, he grabbed some chips and a couple of sodas. 'Man he really has changed.' He thought, shaking his head and heading back to the living room.
The weekend went on in that fashion, just hanging out like usual. Heero had become a constant in Duo and Wufei's life. He just seemed to always be there whenever they need him and he opened up so much since the end of the war hardly anyone could believe this was the same Heero Yuy.
Wufei got back earlier than expected on Sunday night. Duo jumped in his arms kissing him passionately. Heero walked in on this scene and decided it was time to go. "Hey Wufei. Well guys I'm going to head home. I'll see you at work tomorrow." He said after he had got his duffle bag and was heading to the door.
"Ok Heero. Thanks for babysitting for me." Wufei said smiling at the Japanese teen.
Returning the smile he nodded his head. "No problem. I always enjoy torturing him in cards." Then he left.
"I missed you so much." Wufei said grabbing Duo into another embrace.
"Me too."
The drive home seemed to take forever for Heero. 'Every time.' He sighed. Finally turning into his apartment complex he sat for a minute trying to compose himself. Once he felt secure he headed up to his empty home. Leaning on the door to his bedroom he looked around the small apartment. Feeling himself losing control he found his razor and tried to transfer the pain. Tears came to his eyes and he didn't bother trying to rid his face its wetness. 'I feel like I'm losing who am I.' he laughed through his tears softly. 'I don't think I ever knew who I was to begin with.' He was startled out of his routine and thoughts by a knock on the door. Scrambling to get everything put back in order he called out saying he'd be there in a minute and checked his appearance, 'Damn, no way to get rid of the evidence of crying.' He tried cleaning his face off. 'Fuck it.'
Looking through the peep hole he saw Relena on the other side and let out his breath in relief. Opening the door he smiled. "Hey what's up?"
Seeing his tear stained face she lost her smile and a look of concern crossed her eyes. "What's wrong?"
He just shook his head. "Same as always, come on in." he moved back to let her in and she through her arms around him trying to comfort him. She hit his arm and he slightly winced.
"What's wrong with your arm?" she asked then tried to look at it.
He jerked back. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
She was about to say ok but then she saw blood coming through his sleeve. "Bullshit Heero. Cut the crap. Let me see." Blue eyes flashed as she lifted up his sleeve and saw the blood and cuts covering his arm. "Oh my God. What happened?" seeing his down turned eyes she saw the wound for what it was. "I just want to ask one thing." he looked up slightly and nodded his head. "What is the purpose of this?" she asked a look of compassion on her face.
Looking back down Heero answered. "Physical pain is easier to deal with than emotional pain." Looking up he saw she was very upset. 'Well of course she is.' "It's not like I'm trying to kill myself Rel' I wouldn't do that. It's just the only way I know to deal with this." His eyes pleading for her to understand.
Nodding her head she led him into the kitchen. "Heero I understand that. I won't tell you to stop. I won't yell at you. But just be careful. I won't tell any one." She saw him relax a little on that. "Just know that I will be here to talk to and to help clean you up when you're done, whenever you need me." Spoken as she was wiping his arm off with a wash cloth. "However if this gets bad and you hurt yourself seriously I will have to tell the others." He looked up quickly shaking his head. Holding up her hand she cut him off. "I'm serious Heero. So just make sure you don't do anything like that. Ok?" she said as she finished wrapping up his arm. Then lifting his chin to look into his eyes she was holding back her tears the whole time but could no longer. They crept out and slid down her cheeks. "You are too important Heero. You are my best friend."
He reached up and brushed her tears away. "I'm not important. But I do promise to be careful."
Relena looked at him for a few minutes, then nodding her head she stood up and pulled him towards the living room. "Good because I don't want to have to kick you're ass." She said smiling.
Grinning back, he paused for a minute then frowned, "Was there something that you wanted. I know you didn't come over here just to discuss my problem."
She ducked her head a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well we don't have to talk about that now. It's not important."
"What is it? Come on. Tell me." He pried.
"Well I met someone." She said almost guiltily.
"Relena," he just about yelled. "I don't believe that you would feel ashamed to tell me." He softened his voice and continued. "Look just because I'm having love problems, doesn't mean I don't want to hear about you finding someone. Besides, it gives me hope that maybe someday I'll have that." He said then began to smile. "So who is he?"
"His name is Daniel. He's tall, dark and handsome. We're going out this Friday." She said as giddy as a girl could be.
"Well big brother has to approve first." Heero said not really trying to hide his smirk. "I'm happy for you." He said with a genuine smile.
"Thank you." she hesitated for a moment.
"What?"
"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted me to stay here with you tonight. If you didn't want to be alone." She asked.
"No that's ok. I'm feeling better now. Well it's getting late and I better get to bed." He said standing up and leading her to the door. "In case I don't see you before your date this weekend, you have a good time. Ok?"
"Yeah, I'll see you later Heero. Love you." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and heading down the hallway.
"Love you too Relena." He called after her before he shut the door. Leaning against the door the tears started fresh and he slid down it to the floor.
Duo was standing in the shower trying to work through his own crazed thoughts. 'How could I do this? I love Wufei so much. But,' Blue eyes flashed in his mind. 'I just can't seem to forget about him. I want him around so much. And I know he's hurting but he won't tell me what's going on.' Leaning against the shower wall, he just couldn't figure out how to solve this problem.
"Duo, are you almost done in there? Dinner's ready." Wufei called.
"Yeah, coming."
A.C. 197 December
The phone ringing woke Duo up way too early on a Saturday morning. "Someone better be dead." Duo said grumpily into the phone.
"Hey Duo, sorry did I wake you?" Quatre asked.
Looking at the clock, Duo sighed. "Well Quatre its 7 am on a Saturday. What do you think?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, I didn't realize how early it was."
"Its ok." He said crawling out of bed, trying not to disturb Wufei. "What did you want?" he asked as he headed into the living room to sit down on the couch.
"Well you just hadn't told me for sure yet whether or not you two are coming to my Christmas party on the 24th. So I just wanted to make sure you were coming. Heero called me this morning to tell me he was, so I thought I'd go ahead and check with you. I really am sorry about the time."
"It's ok man. Yeah, we'll be there. It starts at 6, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok. So what's going on aside from that."
"Oh, nothing much." Quatre said cheerfully into the phone. "I guess I should get going. I don't want to take up anymore of your time. Bye."
"Alright. Talk to you later." Getting up he headed back to bed and curled up next to Wufei.
"Who was that?" the sleepy Chinese man asked.
"It was Quatre calling to make sure we were going to be at his Christmas party."
"That's three weeks away. He sure is on the ball this year." He said pulling Duo closer to his chest.
"I'm not, I still have to go and do all of my shopping."
"That's not really surprising. Do you want to go out today?" he asked running the chestnut braid through his fingers.
Turning to face his lover, Duo pushed himself up onto his elbow. "Well, I already asked Heero to go with me because I can't buy your present if you are there." He said leaning in and planting a little kiss on Wufei's lips.
Wufei smiled softly and nodded his head. "Ok. When are you two going out?" naturally all of his Christmas shopping was done, not one to be known for procrastination.
"Around noon he's going to come over and we'll head out."
"Ok. Well then that's plenty of time." Dark eyes shined.
"Time? Oh, sounds good to me." Duo said leaning into Wufei and kissing him passionately.
"Hey Heero, come on in. I just have to go and find my shoes." Duo said after answering the door and going on a mad search for his shoes.
Wufei watched him run off and shook his head. "So how has everything been?" Wufei asked as they sat in the living room.
"It's been good. I can't really say my life is exactly as exciting as everyone else's but it's nice and calm. I guess I like it that way."
Wufei couldn't help but see the wistful look in Heero's eyes. 'I wonder if he has the slightest clue as to how easy it is to read him.'
Just then Duo came bouncing into the room. "Alright let's get to the mall. Bye 'Fei. I love you. See you in a bit."
"Hey Heero, have you eaten lunch yet?" Duo asked as they walked into the food court at the entrance of the mall.
"No I haven't."
"Alright we'll let's stop and get something now. I need my energy to get this shopping done." They decided on some pizza and sat down to eat.
Duo kept looking like he was on the verge of saying something for the past 15 minutes, so Heero finally broke the silence. "What is it Duo?" he asked.
"Well I was just wondering how you were really doing. On the outside you seem to be doing so well. And everyone believes it. You seem happy and content. But, Heero, I've seen that mask before, I use to wear it. And I just can't help but wonder if there is anything I can do to help. We're good friends, right? You can tell me anything."
Heero was slightly surprised by this speech coming from Duo and shook his head a little. 'He really is amazing. Those two really do belong together.' "Don't worry about me, Duo. I'll be fine. I guess it's just a little of the holiday blues or something."
'Right. He still hides from me. I guess he always will. But if that's the way he wants to go then I'll just go along with it.' His mind made up Duo spoke up. "Well we can't have any of that. I guess you'll just have to come over to the house more and you will have to spend a lot of time with your friends. Got it? I won't take no for an answer. In fact you can come over for dinner tonight." Duo said.
Heero looked shocked for a moment at the out burst and then smiled. "That sounds good to me." He said. When violet eyes shone at him in happiness his heart flipped. 'He really is beautiful.'
Watching Duo bounce from store to store, buying presents and laughing. Heero couldn't help but have a great time. He got most of his done also.
Heero found himself constantly surrounded by Duo and Wufei after this. The holiday season was anything but quiet and peaceful, but he loved every second he got to spend with them. But in the same way he loved it, it almost broke him. He almost longed for the utter chaos of the season to be over.
When then night of Quatre's party hit it signalized that the year was almost over. 'Only a few more days left.' He thought. Standing on the balcony at the party, he finally found himself having a second of peace. 'Maybe next year will be different. Maybe next year I can…' Leaning on the railing, he looked up to the stars.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Wufei said walking out to stand near Heero.
"Yeah, it is." He said not look towards the other man.
"I know it's been insane lately. Duo's a complete nut when it comes to holidays, you know."
Laughing slightly, Heero spared a look at Wufei. The other was looking up at the sky, his hair framing his face. He left it down a lot now-a-days. "I really don't mind." Heero said turning to head back inside. Fearing that staying outside with Wufei like this could lead him to say something he'd regret. "Come on, let's go back inside the others are going to be wondering where we went to." he said heading towards the door.
"Alright." He said giving Heero a hug. "Merry Christmas, Heero." then he walked in.
Heero's heart jumped into his throat. "Merry Christmas…"
tbc…