Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Welcome Home ❯ Chapter 6

The next morning Trowa was still trying to come to terms with the fact that not only was Duo a painter, he was a famous- rich- painter. The painting part wasn't that hard to believe, he had seen many of the American's sketches during the wars and had already been aware of his talent. It was the fact that there were many people in the universe that coveted the thought of having one of his paintings and were so willing to pay the huge amounts of many to possess them.

 

Duo had laughed each time Trowa had mentioned, finally stating that the money he had earned from selling his art had not changed who he was. He explained that he was using part of the money to build several orphanages in parts of the universe that were still being affected by the wars. After Trowa had heard that, he had had to smile; it was one of the things that made Duo who he was, the never ending desire to help others that were less fortunate than himself. After deciding to call Quatre and get his support in aiding Duo in his quest, he put the conversation to rest, telling Duo he would help in any way possible, and suggesting that they request Wufei's help as well.

 

Trowa felt like something had changed between them, and that they were close to taking the next step in their growing relationship soon. The two times he had nearly kissed the other pilot, once in the kitchen and the other the previous night at the showing, were constantly in the back of his mind, causing a craving to taste the other man. The urge to pull Duo into his arms was becoming overwhelming, and he had to consciously remember to keep his hands to himself.

 

He knew the only thing that was holding him back was the coming confrontation with a certain Japanese ex-pilot, and he believed Duo felt the same, judging from the way he was being watched. At times, he wished Heero would go back to Relena and leave them alone, but most of the time he was sure that Duo needed to see Heero again so he could make the decision of either returning to him, or getting on with his life without him. Trowa hoped he would want to continue his life with Trowa as a permanent part of it.

 

Right now, though, as Trowa stood in the center of Duo's studio, he could think of nothing other than the talent of the amazing man beside him. He looked at the easel beside him with a mixture of awe and nerves. The painting was of himself walking in a field of flowers, a small cat following behind him.

 

“Do you remember that?” a soft voice questioned.

 

He turned to look at the other man, who had put his normal silver jewelry back on- including all his rings- as Duo tugged on the end of his braid. He had to smile at the nervous gesture. “Of course. The safe house we stayed at in Canada. We were lucky enough to get there while it was warm. It was one of the few times that we all managed to stay together.”

 

“I hoped you'd remember. I had been watching you that morning. It was something I did a lot if I thought I could do it without anyone noticing. A few minutes after that,” Duo pointed at the picture, “Quatre came outside and the two of you walked to the lake next to the house.” Duo paused briefly before taking a deep breath. “It wasn't long after that that Heero and I got together. I thought you and Q were together then, so I had nothing to hold me back when he came to me.”

 

He was surprised to find out that Heero had been the one to initiate their relationship, but that didn't seem important at the moment. Trowa closed the distance between them, raising his hand much as he had a few days before, caressing the cheek and ear again, before slipping his hand farther back, threading it into the hair at the base of Duo's neck, underneath the beginning of the braid. “All you had to do was ask, and I would have done anything for you. All these years, I never came for you because I thought you were with Heero, and you never said anything because you thought I was with Quatre. We have wasted so much time…”

 

Those violet eyes slid closed briefly, before popping wide open. He reached back and pulled the hand out of his hair, holding it in his own. “We have some things to talk about, Trowa, before this goes any farther.”

 

He let himself be led to the couch in the living room, where they had spent many evenings watching movies and just talking. They both sat, and he waited patiently for Duo to speak. “I'm guessing you came here after Heero showed up with Relena, right?” he looked at Trowa and received a small nod, and a squeeze on his hand to encourage him to continue. “Did you know that the reason they wanted to see everyone is so they could invite everybody to their wedding?”

 

The surprise must have shown on his face, because Duo snorted and nodded. “I still have contacts in different areas of the world that tell me things, whether I want to know them or not. They have been planning their wedding for over six months now. It was supposed to take place this December, on Christmas Eve. Now, I'm assuming Relena finally let Heero know how she really felt about me.”

 

“She let everyone know how she felt about you. She said a lot of things, cruel things, and none of them were true, Duo. You know that. She's always been jealous of you. I don't blame her really, if I had to compete with you, I'd lose every time.”

 

That smile emerged with a laugh. “Thanks, Tro. That means a lot to me, but she never had to compete with me. She always had Heero, not me, even if they didn't realize it. I don't love him anymore, Trowa. Honestly, I'm not really sure if I ever did. I cared for him, and maybe I could have loved him eventually, if I hadn't realized that I was looking for things in him that he never had in him at all. I didn`t want to be alone, and you were taken,” Duo held up a hand, forestalling any argument, “that`s what I believed. I don't know if I did love him, and if I did it was the love of a child. I don't know how I will feel about him now. I haven't seen him in so long, I just don't know.”

 

There was a long moment of silence, both taking in what had been said. Trowa frowned suddenly, a new question coming to mind. “Why did you stop taking missions with the Preventers? Did it have anything to do with this?”

 

“Not really. The last mission was hard, Tro. The people I was going after had killed children, had slaughtered them and just left them. It hurt me to see those bodies, cold and lifeless. It reminded me of growing up on the streets, seeing things I couldn't fix no matter how much I wanted to. I couldn't…I just…I needed a break from that for a while.” He trailed off and Trowa pulled him into his arms, offering the only comfort he could. “I didn't mean to worry Wufei. Honestly, I never believed that anyone would notice I was missing. I've taken long absences away from the Preventers before, but this has been the longest. I didn't mean to cause anyone to worry. I will go back to it soon. I need to be able to do something to help people, and I'm good at it.”

 

Trowa could hear the apology in his voice and had to smile. “When you do go back, maybe you would be willing to work with a partner,” he said softly, feeling Duo start at the acceptance of what Duo believed he had to do. “If you had let me know you were working as an agent, I would have went with you, or I would have come to you afterwards so you had someone to talk to. That had to be hard for you.” He rubbed Duo`s back in comforting circles, pushing the regret down, “If I had known that you were alone, I would have been here much sooner, Duo,” Trowa whispered into the soft hair, inhaling the scent of Duo's shampoo. “Even if it had been as a friend. Why didn't you ever call any of us to let us know what was going on? We could have helped somehow. Quatre was worried when Heero had told us what happened. He screamed at Heero.”

 

Duo pulled back, an incredulous look on his face. “Little Quatre screamed at Heero Yuy?”

 

Trowa nodded, smiling widely, “And slapped him. He was very angry at Heero for being an idiot.”

 

“God, that's hard to imagine,” the American snorted, then leaned into Trowa again. Trowa closed his eyes, reveling in the lean body against his own. They stayed like that for a long time before Duo spoke again, eyes closed. “I didn't want anyone else to have to fight again. Wufei chose to be an agent, but I thought everyone else was happy with what they were doing.” Duo shrugged. He was quiet for a time, and Trowa waited, sensing there was something else he wanted to say. “I care about you a great deal, Trowa,” he finally said, softly, “but I can't…” he trailed off with a small noise.

 

“But you don't want to start anything else between us until you have seen Heero again. I can understand that, Duo. It doesn't matter. Being able to spend this time with you has been wonderful for me, and even if you don't want me here, I will be happy with the memory of these few weeks. I'll remember them for the rest of my life. I have found what was missing in my life, and I will always carry this with me, no matter what.”