Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Sacrifice
Dedicated to: Flaming Venom
Warnings: Angst; slash.

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Chapter 2

Swirling my full glass of champagne, not having touched it before, I took a glance around the large ballroom. I recognized many of the diplomats that were present today, mostly because I'd been introduced to them before. Relena was there, chattering happily to Heero. So was Dorothy, whom seemed to be occupying all of Quatre's time. Sighing disgustedly, I turned away from them and took a sip of my champagne. I turned my eyes back on Heero again, partly to avoid looking at Quatre, and partly to find amusement in his predicament.

As if having heard my thoughts, Heero turned towards me and caught my eye. He hastily excused himself to Relena, and then walked slowly towards me, totally unaware of the longing looks that Relena threw towards him. He came to stand in front of me, and looked into my eyes.

"You seem lonely. Do you want to go home?"

I bit my lip, then shook my head, downing the rest of the glass.

"I don't think we have a choice. Incoming - 2 o'clock."

Blinking, Heero took a discreet look over his left shoulder. Tensing visibly, he turned back towards me and placed a hand on my arm. Putting the glass down, I pulled closer towards me and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry," I murmured softly. "I've got your back."

Suddenly, I looked up, as if having seen Duo and Wufei approaching for the first time. Taking a step back, I gestured for Heero to turn around, and he did so, taking his place by my side. I smiled as Duo and Wufei stopped in front of me, and held out my hand.

"Long time no see," I said, smiling at them.

Duo grinned at me and clasped my hand firmly with his. Pumping slightly, he let go a few moments later to shake Heero's hand.

"It's so good to see you again!" Duo said, beaming. "We were afraid that you'll skip this party as well."

I shook my head and continued smiling at him.

"I said we would come, didn't we? Anyway, I couldn't avoid you guys forever. You would've hunted me down sooner or later."

We all laughed at this, though I could see that both Heero and Wufei were feeling a little tense. Keeping that in mind, I carefully slipped a hand into my pocket and pressed some buttons on my cell phone. Instantly, Heero's phone started to ring, and he excused himself to "answer" it.

"So how have you two been?" Duo turned his untroubled eyes towards me. "We haven't heard of your exploits for the past year. What have you been doing?"

My lips curved into a small smile, and I ran a hand carefully through my hair.

"Nothing's been going on in our lives except for work, eat, and sleep. I'm surprised that we even have time to, erm, live."

Faking embarrassment, I blushed as Duo laughed maturely at my slip, and punched my arm. I grinned back at him, not letting on that I'd intended that reaction.

"But what about you two?" I asked, gesturing at them. "How are things going?"

Duo looked at Wufei with warmth in his eyes, then grasped his hand.

"Everything's still strong," Duo replied, eyes shining. "These past few years have been the happiest years of my life, and I have Wufei to thank for that."

Duo looked down at Wufei, who bowed his head, smiling in a reserved way. Duo squeezed his hand, but didn't let go. Unnoticed by the couple, Heero stood a few metres away from them, looking at them with an unrecognizable emotion in his eyes. My eyes narrowed slightly, and I excused myself, striding towards Heero. I turned him around with an arm around his waist, and pulled him towards the doors.

"Are you okay?" I murmured as I leaned Heero back against the wall. My arms slipped around him protectively, and I looked down into his eyes. Heero sighed tiredly, then buried his head my chest.

"I think we should've gone home," he said, voice muffled in my shirt. "But yeah, I'll be alright. Just hold me for a while."

I obeyed silently, and held Heero closely as he tried to calm down his emotions. It was rare for Heero to break down like this; it was usually me who needed the comforting. But this was not a new thing to me, however, so I understood the feeling of protectiveness that welled up inside of me when seeing him like this. He seemed so fragile at these times, and I'm always afraid of breaking him with a single touch.

Finally, after taking a few big breaths, Heero leaned back and smiled wearily up at me. I smiled back, and smoothed away his hair, giving him a chaste kiss on the forehead.

"Come on," I said softly. "Let's go home."

As I turned towards the elevators, he caught his arm and pulled me back.

"Wait," Heero said, looking deep into my eyes, as if waiting for something. He'd slumped up against the wall, which made him seem shorter then he was. "I think we should say goodbye to Quatre. After all, we are his guests, and it would be expected of us."

My mood turned anxious then, and I bit my lip at my conflicting emotions. I knew that it's expected of us, and if we didn't go excuse ourselves, he'd probably think that something was wrong. But I didn't know if I could stand facing him now, not like this.

"Come on, Trowa," Heero said, squeezing my arm. "I'd be there; don't worry."

Sighing, I nodded in assent, and followed him back into the ballroom. Heero made a beeline towards Quatre, having spotted him when we first came in. He must've been preparing this the whole night. I shook my head, and sighed as we stopped behind Quatre. We waited until Quatre noticed us, though my heart was pounding in my chest.

"Oh, Heero! Trowa!" Quatre cried when he finally saw us. He turned towards us and grasped our hands in his. "It's so good to see you! I'm so glad you came."

Heero smiled at him.

"Of course we'd come; we wouldn't have missed this for anything."

Quatre laughed softly, then looked up into my eyes. He shifted his glance away quickly, however, and turned back to Heero. I felt my heart beating loudly, wishing that he wouldn't avoid my glance like that.

"So, how are you guys?" he asked, his clear blue eyes evading mine. "I haven't heard any news of you since around a year and a half ago."

"We're pretty good," Heero answered. "Although life's mostly work, we do manage to squeeze in some fun here and there."

Heero turned his eyes up to me, his lips forming a smirk, and I had to smile at his talent for making something so simple sound so wrong. Quatre must have noticed as well, since he blushed abashedly at the innuendo.

"That's, ugh, very good," he said, shuffling his feet.

Before Quatre could make anymore small talk, Heero cut in that we had to leave then. Quatre's smile seemed a bit relieved, but he tried to keep his emotions from his face.

"So soon already?" the Arabian asked, eyes still on Heero. I gave up trying to meet his then, and bowed my head slightly.

"I know," Heero murmured. "We're really sorry. But there's an important meeting we have to be at soon, and we can't miss that. We promise to visit you soon, alright?"

Quatre nodded, and didn't protest like I wanted him to and we said our farewells. Heero led me out of the room, then stopped at the exact same place we'd been earlier.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" he murmured softly.

I sighed heavily, answering his question without words.

"Let's go home."

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(TBC)