Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The D.C. Saga ❯ The D.C. Saga, Part Twenty-Five ( Chapter 25 )

Title: The D.C. Saga, Part Twenty-Five

Warnings: Slight 3+5+3 ahead, definite 1x2, still speculative 2+1.

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Heero had decided that he was falling hard--and fast--for one Duo Maxwell. Duo was kind, sweet, funny, intelligent, productive, quick-witted, and he knew when to keep his mouth shut. He cared for Heero more than anyway had before, and no one had ever tried so hard to be friends with one so stoic. Duo was good-looking in a way that could only be described as androgynous. He was male in most aspects, but there were some things--like his almost unnaturally long, slim legs and his large violet-blue eyes--that made him more beautiful than handsome. He was willowy, but compact. Graceful without being feminine. All in all, his looks were a strange combination of male and female, and he'd captured Heero for months now.

But there was a problem, a very big problem: Duo thought that homosexuality was evil. How could Heero make him think otherwise when he felt so strongly about it?

The answer? He couldn't. He'd just have to keep his mouth shut and keep his emotions in check. If he let it slip, Duo might flit away and never come back, and Heero would take whatever Duo would willingly give, even if it meant strictly friendship. It was better than nothing.

So when Trowa and WuFei came back sometime a few days later and decided to room together, Heero, Duo and Quatre continued staying in the large room close to the library. It was an easy arrangement for the three of them, though Heero still had trouble fighting his jealousy when he would see Quatre snuggle into Duo at night.

Perhaps the hardest thing for him was to revert to thinking of Duo as only a friend when for quite a while he'd been considering him more. He was determined not to fall any harder than he already had--at least he hadn't hit rock bottom yet, he mused. If he did happen to really believe that he was in love with Duo, then he would tell him. Duo would probably run away anyway, so it was all right. Heero reasoned with himself that it took a lot longer than just a couple of months to fall in love with a person, so he had plenty of time to fall out. Logically speaking, the more time he spent with Duo, the more time he had to find quirks he didn't care for, which meant that eventually he would stop this crush.

He tried to think of some things he didn't like about Duo and was disappointed to discover only one: Duo was free with his love and friendship to everyone. Everything he did was for kindness, even with Heero, and the Japanese boy wished he was something more than just "one of the guys." Sure, they were best friends, but even though he wanted more, shouldn't Duo at least treat him a little bit differently? Heero wasn't the average Joe someone met in school. He was dangerous, an assassin, and he had the strangest sense of humor that only Duo could really understand.

So why am I just like everyone else?

Deciding against really thinking too hard about it, Heero went downstairs for lunch and found Duo and Quatre absent. WuFei gave him a slight greeting and Trowa said a quiet hello, but for the most part, their two biggest conversationalists were utterly missing. As Heero sat down with his bowl of gumbo and side dish of corn on the cob, he noticed something odd, something he'd never seen before.

WuFei and Trowa were talking. Quite animatedly, Heero realized. And they seemed comfortable with each other, much like....

Much like Duo and me.

Trowa would answer WuFei's debate with an equally quiet but no less strong statement and they'd banter back and forth. Heero vaguely understood that the topic was politics, so they each had fierce beliefs and proof to back it up, but the fact that they were even speaking at all was a bit of a shock.

"All I'm saying is that if we assassinate Khushrenada, then we'd have no problems at all," WuFei insisted, black eyes glittering with the excitement of a combat, even though it happened to be only verbal. "He's the backbone behind everything, the brain--take out the brain and nothing functions."

"But what you don't understand is that Khushrenada has a loyal following," Trowa said, voice quieter than WuFei's but no less potent. "It's like having lots of smaller brains following the big one--take out the big one and the little ones function to a certain degree. Eventually they'd be able to gain more control and power and--"

"Barton, what you don't--"

"I wasn't finished speaking."

WuFei lowered his eyes slightly. "Excuse me. Continue."

Heero just stared in near fascination. No one had ever said something like that to WuFei without him getting prickly about it. Trowa seemed to have moved up from 'acquaintance' to 'comrade' to 'friend' in the span of a few weeks. It was a wonderful improvement.

Feeling a little left out, Heero went outside and found Duo and Quatre playing with the puppies, the one Heero had sort of stolen as his own in Quatre's lap. When Duo looked up and saw his friend, he blushed a little but gave him a big smile.

Heero felt a strange little shiver work its way warmly through his body, dismissed it as the weather, and sat down a little ways away from the pair. Duo pouted, however, and reached over to drag him closer and Heero complied with little complaint. Duo's hands on him felt--

He stopped and thought about something else, pleased with his self-control. I can do this. Falling out of love is surely easier than falling in.

Quatre gave him a slight, private smile. "Missed us?" he teased, and Heero chanced a look at Duo, who was laying on the grass with puppies yipping and climbing all over him.

"Yeah," he answered, calm and content. "I did."

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A/N: I consulted Asuka Kureru on how this part moved, because I was afraid it was going too fast, but she assured me that its pace is nice. So yay. Oh, and if anyway cares, I actually did end up getting a Brad Ausmus bobblehead doll. ^_______^ ::purrs:: Nomi is happy now...