Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Elven Mage ❯ Of Arrivals and Broken Hearts. ( Chapter 13 )

Warnings: Shounen-ai, strong language, angst. Dude, I think that's it… ^_^

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Gundam Wing or it's characters. If I did, let me tell you the series would be different. >:D I do, however, own Eli'iarkin, the Head Mage, Kiyl, Tia'ara, Shiakara, Mykaa'ria, Gerette, Nihrana, Kiranuy, Liraya and any other characters mentioned that don't belong to Gundam Wing. All except for Lockei. He belongs to Misty Yuy and you should go read her stuff. If you have the inclination to steal any of these characters, be warned that you shall suffer a terrible death of bishounen deprivation.

Author's notes: Kitty bought the first five episodes of Cowboy Bebop today. Kitty happy… *grins* But that's not the point of these notes. The point of these notes would be to say that I'm terribly sorry for the amount of time this has taken to get to you. I was writing a fic called "Shark" for a challenge by Rogue11, whose stuff you should read for sure. Go read her stuff. It rocks. Said fic is up on FF.Net as well if you should care to read it. It's horribly fluff-ridden, so it might serve as a cheer-up after the major angst of this chapter, which is very angsty, by the way. *evil cackle* That was the whole point of this fic in the first place, angst, because all my others were so fluffy, so expect more angst before I'm done. There was an actual point about the chapter for these notes, but now I can't think of it. -_- It's nearly 1 in the morning. Have pity on me… And ignore my prattling… The fic is better than the prattling, mostly.

~ ~ ~

"I'm bored…" hissed one creature to the other as they watched Relena sleep.

"I know. You think I'm not? But Mr. Khushrenada orders and we do," replied the second.

They spoke alarmingly fast and it was amazing they were understandable at all. Both yawned simultaneously, and looked at each other.

"It's not as if she's going anywhere…" the first murmured thoughtfully.

"And I'm hungry," agreed the second.

The two things grinned and, as one, turned to the door. They scurried over to it and through it, having been granted this small ability before they left Treize's side. They were so busy giggling to each other that they didn't notice the staff-wielding sorcerer until they ran into the side of the barrier he'd silently erected around them.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two…" Nihrana purred, and snuffed out both tiny lives with barely a thought. He closed his eyes a moment, refocusing, then sent a thought back to Mykaa'ria. ~Eli'iarkin can bring him back now…~ That said, the sorcerer took himself to where Mykaa'ria and Eli'iarkin were.

He had said he could only stay a little time, and not nearly long enough to help, but he'd managed, in the day and a bit he'd been here, to get Milliardo back and he was rather pleased with himself.

Nihrana reached his destination to find Eli'iarkin deep in trance, his brow furrowed as he put every ounce of concentration into his Translocating. The sorcerer sat himself down, out of the way and reached out with his mind to find another he knew would want to hear about this.

* * *

Lockei stalked out of the dining hall, slinging an insult - he wasn't sure of the exact wording - back over his shoulder at the mage he'd been arguing with. He'd had enough. His day had sucked and he needed a bath.

First there was that minor explosion while he'd been practicing his magic, which hadn't been so bad… He would have been able to re-grow those two rose bushes and The Master would have known nothing different, only he had been standing right there, had Treize, staring off at nothing, and had seen the entire incident, ripping Lockei's dignity to shreds with a few words and relegating him to cleaning the morning's dishes in the kitchen.

Following that was the news one of the serving maids was claiming she was with child and that the child was his. The whole idea of it was ludicrous in the extreme. Lockei fathering a child. It was idiocy, for how does one manage to father a child on a serving maid when one barely even notices women, let alone wants to sleep with them? But of course, The Master had remembered his blowing up of the bushes and was in a foul mood - probably over Peacecraft again - and had held him for three hours forcing him over and over again to reiterate why it was he couldn't have fathered the child. He had also paraded each of the lovers Lockei had named in front of him and grilled them about whether or not the mage was telling the truth. Eventually, Mr. Khushrenada was satisfied and had released Lockei.

Oh, and then came the library. All he had been doing was looking for a book to read during some spare time he had. He'd simply pulled a book from the shelf, and a whole lot of books had come crashing down on him, gaining him a glare from the two scholars working in there at the time, and the loss of his free time to picking all the books back up and putting them in their rightful places.

Of course, that hadn't been the last of it, oh no. Three of The Master's six hunting hounds had thought, for some odd reason, that it would be ever so much fun to pounce on Lockei and cause him to fall into the mud, dirtying and tearing his favourite set of robes and the only set that wasn't being washed. Wonderful. He'd had to borrow from another mage.

And those creatures… Lockei had been brewing a spell potion for one of the stable lads. He was a pretty boy, around seventeen or eighteen, Lockei thought, and one of the horses had a limp. Lockei had promised the spell potion in an effort to get a little closer to him and increase his chances with the young lad. He had been making it, when one of those idiot creatures had come barrelling in with an ingredient he'd requested and knocked the whole potion flying - not to mention that what the stupid thing had brought to him was the wrong plant anyway!

Dinner had been horrid and then he'd gotten into that argument with that mage over whether or not it was possible to make someone fall in love with you by use of a certain combination of spells.

In short, his day had been rotten and all he wanted was a bath and sleep.

Then, as he stepped into the bathhouse, Lockei blinked, and a small smile touched his lips as he revised his evaluation of the day. Perhaps it wasn't so bad after all… for there was Milliardo Peacecraft, bathing. And vulnerable in his nakedness.

Oh, yes, everyone in the citadel knew of Milliardo Peacecraft. They had seen him numerous times and heard of him even more often. It wasn't uncommon, as of late, to see The Master pacing frustratedly back and forth muttering to himself, and they all knew why.

And - Lockei had heard from Brenda, his cleaner, who had heard from Klianaa, the washer woman, who had been told by Gyren, the farrier, who had it on good authority from Rufos, head chef, who was informed by Rik, one of the gardening lads, who had been told (honest!) by K'aa, the manager of those stupid creatures, to whom it had been reported by one of his underlings - The Master had managed only once - once! - to get Peacecraft into bed and, for Treize Khushrenada, that was some sort of a record, because he always got what (or who) he wanted, when, where, how and how often he wanted.

None of them had been allowed anywhere near Peacecraft, but here, now, there was no one to stop him and Lockei would have his taste, whether the bathing mage liked it or not.

Lockei licked his lips, smirked, and undressed before speaking.

"You know, it's strange but… I was under the impression you were tied to The Master…" His voice was a snide, teasing purr, because he knew Peacecraft would bite at that.

"Mr. Khushrenada doesn't own me," Peacecraft growled, not bothering to dignify Lockei's words by turning to him.

"Oh but he does…" Lockei still spoke in that same voice as he slipped into the water across from Peacecraft, running his fingers absently through his short hair. "He owns you, or he might as well, because you can't say no to him."

"Does everyone know about my circumstances here…?" Peacecraft wondered and, to Lockei's surprise, he didn't sound in the least bit annoyed, but only bored and longsuffering.

"Most. It's not often we see The Master denied, so word travels fast. Shouldn't you be with him now?"

Peacecraft sighed and lowered his eyes to the water, probably hiding whatever emotion lay in the icy depths.

"I have been evading him for several hours. It's likely he'll find me here soon enough."

Lockei smiled suddenly, or it appeared sudden, but every move he made was calculated. It wasn't as if he hadn't done this before.

"You could always… spite him…" the mage murmured, his smile turning to a smirk as Peacecraft's blue eyes lifted to meet his.

"Spite him?" A pale brow lifted in question.

"Yes, spite him…"

Lockei shifted in the water, then moved to seat himself beside Peacecraft, lifting one hand to trace a finger over a pale shoulder, drifting down to follow the outline of the small angel tattoo. The other mage looked at him, but didn't push him away, comprehension dawning on his face.

"Ah… I see. Only this really doesn't come out of the goodness of your heart, but out of the…" Peacecraft smirked. "… Desires of your flesh… And that is a very diplomatic way of putting it, Mr…?"

"Lockei. Just Lockei."

"Ah, Lockei. And you would have yourself castrated by your master just for a little time with me?" Peacecraft wondered, letting Lockei get close enough that he could feel the other man's breath ghost over his own lips.

"He wouldn't dare, really, because he needs me…" Lockei murmured, his hand wandering in a southerly direction from Peacecraft's shoulder to his chest, and continuing on that downward path until the blond smiled a little and shifted where he sat.

"It would be interesting, I think, to see his face…" Peacecraft purred. His lips finally touched Lockei's - and the slight pressure vanished before it was even really there. Lockei's eyes snapped open, only to find that his bad day had finally, finally hit the top of his list for the worst day in his entire life.

Milliardo Peacecraft… was gone.

* * *

~Heero…?~

There was a voice in his head and he didn't want to hear it. He was warm, he was sated, he was happy and he wasn't alone in his warm, sated, happy state.

~Heero!~

He wanted the voice to piss off, and he tried to tell it so, but he was still too comfortable and too lethargic to want to wake himself enough to reply. He just lay there and hoped it would piss off of its own accord.

~Dammit, Heero!~

"Fuck… It's Nihrana…"

Wait… that second one was a different voice and he smiled, pulling its owner closer as he totally ignored what had actually been said. However, the voice wriggled, trying to escape his grasp.

"Are you always a grinning idiot for three hours after the fact…?" the voice wondered with teasing exasperation and he thought it better to just agree with it in the hopes that it would stop struggling.

"Yes…"

Duo laughed and kissed Heero's lips with enough passion that he was forced to respond and, therefore, wake a little.

~Heero Yuy!~

~Nihrana…~ Heero thought back with a sigh, a bare inch of his mind speaking to the sorcerer while the rest of him concentrated on what his tongue was doing.

~You're hopeless, Yuy. What the hellare you doing? Your brain was such a lump of goo that your apprenticefigured out I was talking to you before you did…~

~It's really none of your business,~ Heero replied, knowing just how much to block from Nihrana so the sorcerer wouldn't know what he had been or was doing. And what he was doing was making a concerted effort to get his elf to moan for him, but long-fingered hands batting him away kept rebuffing his efforts.

"No, Heero. I think it's something important," Duo said around and through kisses, listening in on the conversation between Nihrana and Heero.

"Not nearly so important as this," Heero growled to Duo, even as he listened to Nihrana.

~Well whatever it is, stop it and get your ass here. Milliardo's on his way back.~

At that last, Heero's hands stopped their exploring and he sat bolt upright, prussian eyes wide.

~He's… How did you…?~

~Never mind that, Heero. Just get here if you want to be here when he arrives.~ Nihrana backed off then, leaving Heero with an image of where they were so he could get to them. The mage's breathing had quickened noticeably and he leapt from the bed, Duo blinking after him.

~Go with him,~ advised a voice in Duo's head that could only be Shiakara.

Duo knew the OtherKin appeared, at times, frivolous and brainless, but also knew she was far from it. She knew more, saw more, noticed more than anyone else Duo had ever met and he thought it a good idea to do as she suggested. He scrambled from bed too, and threw on his nearest clean set of robes, Heero just a fraction faster than he was. The elf followed after Heero quickly, his heart beating terribly fast, and not just from running.

* * *

The gatekeeper for the night, Kiyl, muttered to himself about the ungodly hour of the night and how anyone could be out at such a time, and knocking on the door of the University. It was insanity. Nonetheless, the knocking came again and he was forced to get out of his chair and stalk over to the hatch, pulling it open to find himself looking into a pair of frightened, sea-blue eyes.

"P-please, sir… My friends and I have travelled far and long to reach here and we seek an audience with the master of the place…"

Kiyl's mouth fell open and he stared.

"At this time o' night? Young sir, I don' think yeh know what yeh askin'."

"I-I know it's a dreadful i-imposition, but we've nowhere e-else to go for the night and we must have an audience… Please, I beg you, let us in…"

"Us? How many be "us"?" Kiyl enquired suspiciously.

"Five, sir…"

"Huh… Well… I'm not a man wi'out pity… Lessee… Five o' yeh at… twelve silvers each… that makes… uh…"

"Sixty silvers?!" came an indignant voice, different from the deference of the first. "That's three gold! Do you honestly think we carry that sort of money around with us? It is dishonourable to ask such money from us…"

Kiyl grunted and rubbed at his nose with his thumb.

"Six silvers each, then, an' not a mite less…"

The second voice grumbled but was quieted by the first and a small, pale hand reached through the hatch with one gold and ten silvers glinting duly in the uncertain light of a torch burning above Kiyl's head. The gatekeeper smirked and took his money, then opened the door at the bottom of the massive gates, moving back to allow the five travellers in. Were it possible for eyes to truly pop out of one's head, Kiyl's would have that night.

Through his gate stepped a shortish lad, and Kiyl noticed nothing strange, save that the blond was dressed rather oddly. That was until the torchlight shone off the edge of a gossamer wing and that set of wings whirred a little as they fluttered to quickly get the lad out of they way so his companions could enter. Following the blond, two more people stepped through and they, too, would have been unremarkable, only their silhouettes showed pointed, cat-like ears and Kiyl swore he saw tails. Then, as their eyes caught the light, he saw, not human eyes, but those of feral cats, dangerous and wild, even in their ethereal beauty. But nothing could keep him from noticing the difference in the last two of the five. His eyes fell first on a black centaur somehow squeezing himself through the door, and then one of purple-blue, neither of them wearing a stich of clothing, and both their coats shining a little in the torchlight.

Kiyl stared, dumbfounded, until the faery shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh… we really need to see someone…" he said softly.

"What…? Oh! Yeah… I'll just go ge' 'im then…"

* * *

Nihrana looked up as Heero and Duo entered the small spell room, crystals sitting and hanging everywhere to focus a mage's energy and whatever spell he or she was casting. The elf's hair was free and flowing down his back and Nihrana knew enough to read what had happened in their stances, but he said nothing, only nodded a greeting to the two of them and motioned for them to be silent so as not to disturb Eli'iarkin.

They nodded and seated themselves, Heero in a chair and Duo on the floor, cross-legged. He was and always would be more comfortable that way. Elves didn't have much need of chairs, usually. The Head Mage in his crimson robes was there too; Duo couldn't ever remember his name no matter how hard he tried to. Milliardo was important to the entire University…

Duo shifted a little, watching Eli'iarkin.

A very large, very selfish part of him didn't want the mage's Translocation to work. He would prefer if Milliardo never returned to the University. He would prefer if there were no threat. He would prefer if- Duo cut the thoughts off, frowning a little. Since when had it started mattering to him? Since when had it become more than an experiment? More than just physical attraction?

Duo glanced at Heero and his heart wept for joy at the sight of the mage. The answer was simple - it had never been just physical attraction. Both feelings had developed together. Attraction and affection… Desire and love. Oh yes. Yes, he loved Heero Yuy and he was petrified of losing him to Milliardo Peacecraft. After all, Duo would never, ever be human…

Heero smiled at Duo as he caught the elf's eyes on him, and Duo could see that his Master was delighted to hear Milliardo was coming home. And why wouldn't he be…? Milliardo had been in Heero's life a lot longer than Duo had. A lot longer.

Duo turned his eyes back to Eli'iarkin just as there was a flash of brilliant light. When he could look again, he found that, not only was Milliardo back, but he was naked and wet, and mouth-watering because of it. Even Duo could admit to a stirring deep within his belly at the sight of the pale, long-limbed mage, the droplets of water all over his body making him glisten.

Milliardo tossed his head a little, licking his lips. Three of the five people in the room were staring at him - ogling was probably a better word really - while Eli'iarkin seemed to have found his own hands very interesting and the Head Mage preferred a spot around the area of Nihrana's feet.

"Head Mage, sir. Eli'iarkin. Heero. Duo. …Nihrana," Milliardo greeting them all in turn with a nod, the slight hesitation and catch in his voice as he spoke the final name barely noticeable.

"Milliardo," they all replied in unison.

Milliardo quickly gathered his wits, the slight disorientation of the spell wearing off quickly, along with the slight state he'd been in over Lockei just before he was pulled away. And now that he could think again, he could form a spell and he did so, drying and clothing himself.

Nihrana grinned suddenly, his playful, teasing humour coming back all at once.

"Spoil sport. We were enjoying the view, weren't we boys?" he said, glancing Heero and Duo.

The former still stared at Milliardo, the latter now stared at Heero and saw something he didn't like. Duo started to speak, but was interrupted before he'd even begun by a sharp rapping at the door.

"Enter." The Head Mage assumed control naturally and none of them protested. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, as the person who stepped in looked only for him.

"Uh… I be sorry teh bother yeh, sir, bu' there be a… a… strange group at the gate askin' for an audience…" It was the gatekeeper, Duo knew, and he wondered why the man's eyes kept flicking to him.

"Strange…?" The Head Mage asked.

Heero sighed a little. Things always happened all at once.

"Yeah… uh… I think yeh'd best come see fer yehself…"

The Head Mage nodded a little and followed as Kiyl turned on his heel, the rest of the group coming along as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Despite everything that was going on, the back of Duo's mind was still wrapped in sated warmth, the memory of Heero's hands and his body held close and tight. The elf just had to do… something. He reached out and lightly touched Heero's shoulder.

Heero jumped a little at the light touch, eyes fixed on Milliardo. The certainty of his feelings towards Duo had fallen apart and he was sure no longer. The certainty had been there up until the knowledge of Milliardo's imminent return, and then it had been swamped in a rush of confusing feelings towards the other mage.

~Heero…?~ Duo thought privately, catching the mage's eyes only with great effort.

~Mmn…?~ came the absent reply.

~You okay?~ It was plaintive and lame and Duo knew it, but Heero didn't even seem to notice the anxiety threading Duo's mental touch.

~Fine, fine.~

~You just seem… quiet…~

~No, no. I'm alright.~

~Is it… I mean… Do you… I mean… uh… Oh, forget it…~

Heero finally stopped walking and turned to look at Duo as the rest of the group kept walking. When Duo dropped his eyes to somewhere around Heero's stomach, the mage urged his face up and looked hard at him.

~Are you okay, Duo?~

~Y-yes. Fine…~

~Liar. I've told you before you're a bad liar. Tell me what's wrong.~

~I… It's just that… I…~

Duo shook his head and glanced over Heero's right shoulder, then began to speak aloud when he saw the others were too far away to hear him.

"You love him…" he murmured, violet eyes haunted.

And Heero didn't reply.

It was the worst thing he could have done, to turn and just follow after the others without saying anything. Duo stood, staring at his retreating back, not allowing the tears burning at his eyes to spill over. He lifted a hand to the back of his skull, hovering a few inches above the hair, and drew it downwards. The hair braided itself as his hand passed, notably devoid of the gold chain. Another simple wave of his hand and his clothes were the dappled green slacks and shirt of the elven kind again, plush black robes gone. His quiver of arrows rested across his back and his bow hung over his shoulder.

"I'm an elf… not a human… and no matter the power I hold, I can't change that…"

With a tread softer than that of a mouse, he turned and moved off through the University, keeping to the shadows and remaining invisible as only an elf can.

* * *

"You!" The second Heero was through the door, Quatre was pointing at him, eyes snapping with protective anger. The mage only raised a single brow, unperturbed.

"Me what…?" he asked calmly.

"What have you done to Duo?!" Quatre cried.

"He's right…" Heero had been about to say "here", but he suddenly realised that, no, Duo wasn't right there.

"Where is he?!" Quatre demanded, waving his wand about in agitation.

"Well you've certainly sent the plan right out the window…" Wu Fei observed dryly, striking the stoned floor absently with a front hoof a couple of times.

"I… uh… oops…" Quatre said meekly, blushing lightly.

"Oops indeed…" Trowa murmured, eyes alighting on each of the faces before him and noting varying degrees of disgust, boredom or amusement. An interesting mix, really, when he cared to think about it.

"I was under the impression you wished for an audience… I didn't think that meant accusing one of my mages of "doing" something to your… friend…" the Head Mage said aloofly, though he was well aware of who Duo was and the circumstances surrounding his arrival at the University.

~"Doing something to"…? Interesting turn of phrase, that…~ Nihrana's voice whispered dirtily through Heero's mind, accompanied by a mental picture of Duo crying out his name in ecstasy.

~You have such a vivid imagination, Nihrana,~ Heero replied calmly, then closed off his mind, nothing about his outward appearance telling Nihrana just how much the image had affected him. Where was Duo?!

That thought fled his mind suddenly as Quatre realised Heero had heard nothing of the short tirade he'd just delivered that consisted of a lot of "how dare you"s and a lot of "If I find out you've…"s. At the realisation that he'd been ignored, the normally quiet faery saw red and a sharp flick of his wand set Heero's hair on fire along with the hem of his robe.

Heero sighed and waved his hand, dousing the flames, which only seemed to make Quatre angrier. Static electricity crackled from the end of his wand, arching up and avoiding Heero's attempts to block it, even slipping straight through his shielding somehow to dance along his nerves and make him flinch at the pain.

"Enough…" he murmured and with a flick of his wrist, he had Quatre's wand and the faery couldn't tap into his power without it. "Why are you here…?"

"For Duo!" Quatre cried, hand clenching and unclenching where the wand should have been.

"I think…" Nihrana said softly, breaking into the tension with his silky tones. "That we all need to sit down somewhere warm and talk about this…"

And since his was the only voice not frozen in his throat or laden with anger when it came out, they all obeyed, the only thing breaking the silence as they walked to the food hall the ring of the centaur's feet and Quatre's wings whirring in agitation every once in a while. They ignored the few gaping maids and Heero had the absent thought that it was lucky everyone was sleeping.

They were all soon seated, each with a steaming cup of something warm before them. The centaurs had knelt at the table as though it were something as natural to them as walking and, when he thought about it, Heero realised it probably was. There wasn't anything different about them aside from the fact that they had horses' bodies where he only had legs.

Why was it, then, that the University seemed so averse to letting these different people in…? Why was it? Quatre was excitable, yes, but Heero didn't think he had a bad bone in his body. Trowa and Tia'ara were very quiet, but they didn't seem bad or evil either. And Duo…

Heero didn't let that thought get beyond the name. He instead let his eyes drift to Milliardo, studying the lines of his face, his chest, his shoulders, the graceful curve of his neck, his ice-blue eyes… which were performing just as detailed a study of him as he was of Milliardo. His own eyes widened and a slow smile spread across Milliardo's face.

~I dreamed of you, Heero…~ came a soft thought, despite the subdued conversation going on between the mismatched group of otherlings and the Head Mage.

Milliardo was well aware of what he was doing with Heero. He was trying his best to forget that Nihrana was sitting across the table from him, talking softly with Trowa in particular of his kind.

Heero didn't reply, but he did look down at his lap and fidget a little. This was all just too confusing and where was Duo?

That thought had a verbal echo as Quatre lost his grip on control and nearly sobbed out three words.

"Where is Duo?!"

"He's around…" Shiakara said softly as she padded in, jumping lightly up onto a seat beside Noin with a respectful half-bow when she noted the beaded band around the centaur's tail. The OtherKin said nothing further, though everyone looked expectantly at her and the silence stretched until it became uncomfortable.

"Around?" It was Trowa who prompted Shiakara, not liking that he couldn't feel the Change anymore because of her presence. Tia'ara seemed to take it in her stride, and Trowa wondered what at the things he still had to learn of his kind.

"Yes, around… He's not left the University," she said, something veiled in her stark white gaze as her eyes lit on Heero. He could only meet her eyes for a few seconds before he looked down at his lap again, knowing he'd done the wrong thing by the elf, no matter his confusion. He should have said something…

Suddenly, all he wanted was to find Duo and apologise, tell him he'd been wrong and he'd made a stupid mistake. The elf was so sweet, so kind and gentle, demanding nothing and giving everything, now that he trusted Heero.

Heero had been an idiot to not give him the same courtesy. Duo had given Heero himself. He'd been afraid and unsure, but willing to let Heero take charge and show him the way… and Heero had brushed him aside.

The mage jumped to his feet suddenly, murmuring something as he strode quickly out of the room, all eyes fixed on him in astonishment.

"How rude…" Shiakara murmured, though her voice was happier than the comment warranted.

Nihrana smiled a little and none of them noticed how troubled Milliardo looked as they dealt, for the moment, with the otherlings.

* * *

"He… they… what?!" Treize snarled, glaring at the mage in front of him.

She didn't know how it was she'd ended up being the one who had to tell him of Peacecraft's disappearance. She had a feeling she'd been Compelled into it. She knew Kiranuy had that ability and she wouldn't put it past him. The only reason they didn't leave Treize's service was the fact that, staying in it, they got the cure to his spell and a handsome amount of money. Liraya didn't have a problem with killing off her fellow mages. They'd never treated her right…

Her thoughts snapped back to the present as Treize literally growled, fingers flexing as though he wished he could throttle her.

"I'm sorry, sir… We don't know how, but they found out about the watchers and killed them off before they Translocated the mage. There's nothing we can do, they've finally shielded the University. We've scared them into taking precautions."

Treize let loose with a string of curses, losing his composure almost totally. Liraya didn't protest when he motioned her out with an almost violent flick of his hand. She fairly fled the room, thanking every god she knew of that he hadn't actually throttled her.

Treize watched the young mage go, fuming. How could he have lost Milliardo? How could the mage have been stolen right out from under his nose? And why? Why was it that he always suffered? What higher being had decreed that he, Treize Khushrenada, could never be even remotely happy? What had he done, before Gerette, that had earned him such fearful punishments?

Treize went over to his bed and simply fell onto it, closing his eyes and swallowing a fresh flood of painful tears. He curled up around himself, alone and, therefore, free to be vulnerable if he chose, which he did. He didn't want to cry, he didn't. It hurt more when he cried, but he couldn't keep the tears at bay and they began to troupe, single-file, down his face.

"Oh, Gerette… My love…" he whispered, sapphire eyes shining with still more tears as he looked to the window and the stars outside.

They twinkled merrily back at him and he thought it hugely unfair that they were so merry while he was so heartbroken. They only seemed to wink and blink even more at that thought, taunting him, and he buried his face in his pillow, still able to smell Milliardo there. He wasn't Gerette, but he was a distraction. Treize needed that. Because when he didn't have that, he ended up like this, a crying ball in the middle of his bed, no matter how hard he tried to keep his emotions in check. When there was no one to see, he couldn't keep up the façade of strength at all.

And it hurt.

If there were a way to bring Gerette back, Treize would give up everything to make it happen, but there wasn't. All he could do was make his lover's murderers suffer, and he would. He would, and no youngling mage by the name of Yuy would keep him from it.

He must strike and strike soon. He couldn't give the elf anymore time to further complete his training and he couldn't give Heero the chance to strike first. Now was the perfect time to put his plan into action.

He would wait but two days, until the next full moon, and then he would strike and the mages would suffer. They would die in agony as his Gerette had and they would burn for what they had done to him. They would suffer even after death for what they had done and the pain would be with them for eternity.

Treize wiped his eyes, and smiled.

* * *

Duo sighed as he sat on a windowsill in a room seldom used where he thought it was likely no one would look for him. Certainly, no one had seen him come in here, silent and swift as he had been in his native clothing. Everything was covered with a thin layer of dust and motes danced in the air where he'd disturbed them him with his passing.

He was high up, in this room, and could see all the way over the tops of the Jy'rakid Mountains to the ocean, which was barely a glint of moon on water from here, even with his elven sight. If he looked down, he could see the odd maid scurrying back and fourth on errands for the few mages who still worked, even at this time of the night.

You're an idiot, you know that, right? Duo's mind sneered nastily, and he could really do nothing but agree with it. So stupid a thing to do, fall in love with a human. You've done some stupid things in your time, elf, but this? This definitely takes the cake. And you slept with him. You let him fuck you like the milkmaid from round the corner, believing his tender words when the onlyreason he said them was so you'd spread. Surely you have just a littlemore sense than that?! But, no, you mustn't have, because if you did, you wouldn't be sitting up here crying. Crying?! Oh now you've reallyfallen, Duo my boy. Tears for a human. A useless, worthless, waste-of-space human! You. Fell. In. Love. With. A. Human…

Duo closed his eyes, swallowing hard around the lump in his throat as the tears streaked down from under his closed eyelids. He hadn't cried so hard in his life, he thought. The sobs tore through his body, leaving him gasping for air and shaking, but he couldn't even calm them a little, let alone try to stop them.

He felt as though someone had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out by force then left it at his feet so he could watch the beats slow and finally stop. It hurt so, so much and he didn't think he would ever recover. He wished he could hate Heero for loving Milliardo, but he couldn't stop loving the mage, even if he tried. And some walled off section of him could see how it was Heero did love Milliardo. He was certainly a beautiful man, and intelligent. Powerful too. Heero had known him since he was a baby and had been attracted to him for almost as long.

And he's human… Duo's mind whispered, driving a dagger through that slowing heart.

"Yes, I know… I know…" Duo murmured. And that was the crux of the whole messy thing. Duo wasn't human and he never could be. No matter how powerful, no matter how well-known here, no matter how well-liked, no matter how important, no matter how kind, no matter how skilled, no matter how influential, no matter how good, no matter anything… He would always be an elf… Always. And Heero would always be a human.

"And I knew that… But I love him… I do love him…" Duo whispered chokingly, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on them as the sobs took hold of him again.

~ ~ ~

Author's notes: Gah! I'm evil! Heh… nekkid Milliardo. O_o What's going to happen? Is Heero going to find Duo to tell him he loves him, or is he going to find Duo to tell him he loves Milliardo? Or is he going to find Duo to tell him he's too confused to make any sort of definitive decision yet? I shall tell you when I know myself! ~_^ Note, by the time I finished reading through this, it was 1:20 in the morning and my eyes were falling shut so if there happen to be typos, blame it on Mr. Sandman. *grins* And I hope you liked it! OH! I remembered the point of the notes at the start. -_- I was going to say a huge thankyou to everyone who've written reviews. I love looking at my account and going "hey! I've got another review!" It makes my day, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!