Title: The Same Heartbeat

Author: Heero’s Soul

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5+no body

Rating: PG 13

Warnings: language, yaoi, implied lemon, sap, OOC

Spoilers: Heero and Duo’s episode zero

Disclaimers: Don’t own anything, if only…

 

 

 

The Same Heartbeat

 

 

 

Quatre lay on Trowa’s chest eyes wide open.  His head would slightly move up, then down to Trowa’s rhythmic breathing.  Occasionally, he seen a flash of light that would fill the room, followed by a low rumbling.

 

“It’s probably going to rain”, Quatre thought aloud.

 

 Quatre looked at the clock hanging on the wall facing him, 3:38a.m.   //Was it that late?//  Quatre was glad he was in his favorite mansion on earth.  However, with that thought, he couldn’t help but feel a little spoiled.  He slowly lifted his head up just enough to be able to see Trowa’s face.  He looked asleep, but Quatre knew he wasn’t, perhaps in a deep state of relaxation, but not asleep.  Quatre laid his head back down on Trowa and hugged the Latin’s body.  Quatre felt the hand Trowa had on his waist tighten, pulling him yet even closer to Trowa’s warm skin.  Then that same hand started moving lightly across one side of his back.  It felt good.  Quatre closed his eyes, content with the response of his hug.  //I wish moments like this would never end. // I love him so much…I want to be with him forever// Quatre thought to himself. 

 

“But I can’t just abandon my work and my colony for my own personal life.”

 

 “What?”

 

 Quatre looked up quickly and saw Trowa’s eyes open slowly and resignedly.  Trowa took his hands off of Quatre long enough to stretch them, then placed them back in their positions on the other boy’s small-framed body.

 

 “What did you mean by that?” Trowa finally asked again.

 

  Quartre didn’t realize he had said that last part aloud.  Trowa started to run his fingers affectionately through the Quatre’s soft blond hair.  Quatre could feel his eyes become moist, blurring his vision a little.  Trowa could see Quatre’s tear-filled eyes by the dim light given off from the little lamp on the nightstand beside the king size bed.  Trowa’s eyes became concerned.  His hand went to Quatre’s cheek.

 

 

“Quatre, what’s wrong?  Why are you crying?” Trowa asked.

 

  Quatre took Trowa’s hand that was on his cheek and kissed it.  Quatre had a lump in his throat making it hard for him to speak; he didn’t want to cry.

 

 “Trowa”, he began in a shaky voice, “I…I’m tired of having to wait.  I have to wait 2 or 3 years until I can see you again, then it’s only for one week, which is my only vacation…” Quatre’s voice trailed off.

 

  Trowa was overcome with compassion and understanding.  A tear fell down Quatre’s cheek, reflecting what little light there was in the room.  Trowa tried to wipe it away.

 

 “I…” Quatre began to cry a little harder, and he was trying so hard not to that he could no longer speak.  “I love you, Trowa, I want to be with you all the time.  I love you so much.”

 

  That was it, Quatre throat became soar, and he just buried his head into Trowa’s chest.  The sadness he felt was overwhelming.  He knew that in 2 days he’d have to say good-bye again for another 2 or 3 years.  Trowa would go back to his sister, Catherine, and to the circus once more.  Trowa lay there helpless; he didn’t know what he was supposed to say or do to comfort Quatre.  He wanted to wipe away all of Quatre’s tears, but there were too many for just one hand.  He felt Quatre hug him tightly, perhaps too tight, but it didn’t matter, he just wanted to be close.  Trowa put his arms around Quatre, squeezing the Arabian’s body.  Trowa loved having Quatre’s soft skin against his, and to feel the other boy’s heart vibrate his body, just a bit. Along with having their hearts so close together.  He loved Quatre so much.  He loved his deep aqua blue eyes, his cute smile, and the way his hair fell across his forehead.  He also loved Quatre’s kindness and how clever he was.  Quatre was strong, he knew, perhaps even stronger than all the others.  But now, he could feel this strong boy’s tears falling onto his bare skin.  Saying good-bye was so painful for Quatre, it was painful for Trowa as well, for Quatre was the first one he has ever loved, and he too wanted to be with Quatre all the time, to spend each day in each other’s company. // Don’t cry, my angel// Trowa thought //don’t cry my dear sweet angel//.  There was a loud thunder and it began to rain violently.

 

 “Everything will be alright, Quatre”, Trowa said, trying to get Quatre to stop crying.  “We can be together, we don’t have to say good-bye.”

 

  With that, Quatre raised his head and looked up to see a reassuring smile on Trowa’s face.

 

 In a small, low voice, Quatre asked, “What do you mean by that?”

 

  Trowa took a deep breath, happy that he had calmed Quatre down and had given him some hope.  “I mean that I’m not going back to the circus.  I’m going to stay with you.  Quatre, I love you and I want to do this.”

 

 Quatre stared at Trowa, and a strong feeling of guilt came over him.  The circus was Trowa’s life; he didn’t want to take that away from him.  Why did he have to open his mouth?  Trowa had family in that circus; he had Catherine, his only sister that he never got the chance to grow up with, now he was going to take that away? // I’m so selfish; I always have been, haven’t I?//

 

Quatre shook his head, “Trowa, I can’t let you do that.  What about Catherine?  She’ll miss you tremendously.  Stop trying to make me happy, I’m just a selfish, spoiled child.”

 

  Trowa put his hand over Quatre’s lips.  “You’re not selfish.  You disinherited yourself just to fight.  You may be rich, but that doesn’t mean you’re spoiled.  You’d give anything for peace.”

 

 Then Trowa’s voice became monotone, and somewhat cold. Quatre couldn’t help but smile, as he realized Trowa was trying to be like Heero.  “Quatre,” Trowa began, “I’m going to do what I want, and you can’t stop me.”

 

 Both of them began to laugh, “I just want you to be happy, Trowa”, Quatre finally said, between a giggle.

 

Trowa smiled and pulled Quatre’s head towards his face, and they began to kiss passionately.  Quatre could feel Trowa’s hands all over him, as they began something they finished only an hour ago.

 

________________________________

 

Duo lay in his bed, eyes wide open.  He couldn’t help but be taken aback at how big this room was, but then he remembered that he was in Quatre’s mansion, one of many.  This one happened to be on earth, and the one Quatre liked best.  In fact, Quatre was here in this one right now.

 

 “Sleeping with Trowa no doubt”, Duo said aloud to himself.

 

 He noticed a couple flashes of light coming from the windows, followed by a low thunder.  Duo turned his head to look at one of the windows with a sigh. 

 

“It’s probably going to rain”, he said unsurprisingly to himself.

 

  The American couldn’t help but feel disturbed.  He felt strange; he had so many thoughts and emotions flowing through his head.  These thoughts stole his mask of happiness // it doesn’t matter, though, its just a mask// and revealed the depressed, quiet Shinigami that was inside him.  Currently, the thought of how he got here was on his busy mind.  He had been living in Qauatre’s ‘house’ for about 3 months, but it seemed like it had only been a few days.  Duo closed his eyes, remembering everything like it had happened only a few hours ago.

 

****flashback****

 

It had been three years since the war ended, and Duo was living in his colony, doing the usual, everyday thing.  He had spent a lot of time with Hilde, going on dates and such, but he never really thought about it much, until one night.  Duo and Hilde were walking down a sidewalk after seeing a late night movie.  Hilde was holding on to Duo’s right arm, while he had both hands in his pockets.  Duo felt somewhat awkward, since she was walking him to his house, he thought for sure it was suppose to be him walking her to her house.  Duo shrugged, and thought to himself // it doesn’t matter.//  Hilde was talking about how funny the movie was.

 

 “Ron Stolack is such a good actor, and very cute.  Don’t you think so?” Hilde asked in a light, cheery voice, but quiet enough so she didn’t wake up any neighbors.

 

  Duo smiled, “I don’t know about the cute part, but yeah, he’s a good actor.  But you know what?” Hilde smiled, “I could do better”, he joked, believing it.

 

  Hilde laughed, “You really think so, huh?”

 

  Duo smiled even bigger, “Yeah, I do!”

 

  Soon they reached his house, and they both stopped in front of his door.

 

  “Well, that was fun!  See ya’ later, Beautiful!” Duo said as he reached deep into his pocked for his house key.

 

 He smiled to himself.  He always gave Hilde compliments like that; he figured it made her happy.  He liked to see her happy.  He expected her to say, “good-bye”, and start walking away, but she just stood there.  Duo turned the key and opened the front door, he looked up at Hilde.

 

  “Is there something wrong?” he asked casually, “What?  Do you want me to walk you home?  I will if you want, I don’t mind.”

 

 Hilde smiled with admiration and shook her head.  She took hold of Duo’s hands, “Actually, I want to tell you something”, she whispered.

 

  Duo felt himself become nervous.  He got goosebumps up his neck, and he felt the temperature of his body rise.

 

  “Wha…What is it?” he stuttered. 

 

Hilde took another step closer, their faces only inches apart.  She opened her mouth and whispered, “I love you, Duo Maxwell.”

 

 Duo could feel her warm, soft breath on his face.  He heard the words; he ran them through his head over and over.  He looked deep into her eyes.  They were hopeful, full of emotion.  She was waiting for him to say something back.  He just stood there, clueless.  This was not the reaction he thought he would have.  He saw Hilde’s smile fade away, and tears started to swell in them.  He realized he had been standing there like a fool for about 5 minutes.  He could see the hurt and disappointment in her eyes.  She looked around, first up, then down, then to the sides, not knowing where to look.  He knew she felt humiliated.

 

 “I’m…I’m sorry…I thought…that…I shouldn’t of…” she stumbled with her words, unable to finish any sentence.

 

 Duo was looking all over, searching his mind, trying to find the words to say, trying to find the reason for his reaction.

 

 Finally, all he could say was, “I’m sorry.  God, I’m really sorry, Hilde, I…I didn’t expect you to…you know, say something like that…” tears fell down her face, his words only seemed to make things worse.

 

// Damn it, I’m so bad at these things// Duo thought miserably.

 

  “Duo, I understand, um, good-bye”, and she ran off, heartbroken.  He sensed the disappointment and anger and confusion in her voice, he could see it all in her eyes. 

 

****end flashback****

 

“Damn her!” Duo said to the memory.  “Damn her and her emotions.  Damn her!” he cussed.

 

 He was angry with her, angry that she had to go and ruin a fine evening.  Nevertheless, guilt quickly followed his anger.  She thought he loved her, all she was doing was telling him she loved him back. 

 

“Damn it”, he cussed again, “Why am I like this?” he asked himself.

 

 That question reminded him of Heero.  He knew they were both very much alike, especially on the inside.  Duo felt he couldn’t have emotion, but not the same way as Heero.  Heero didn’t show emotion because he needed to be the ‘Perfect Soldier’ and that sticks with him, but Duo.  Why couldn’t he show and express his real emotions?

 

 “Too use to hiding them, I guess”, he answered himself aloud.

 

 He often thought about the war, even though it ended, and how he had become the ‘God of Death’.  He thought about all the people that he killed, and the painful memories of his past, how everyone he cared for died.  The thoughts just wouldn’t go away.  Duo wanted to tell someone how he felt inside, beyond the mask, he wanted to cry.  Cry?  Shinigami does not cry.  Duo sighed; Hilde was obviously not the person he could do that with.  She doesn’t really know him.  She’s in love with his mask, with that happy-go-lucky guy that made her laugh and kept her happy, the guy that was dead, at least for now.  Besides, Hilde was looking for love, love did not interest Duo.  He felt empty.  Duo looked over at the clock beside is bed; 3:38a.m.  It began to rain, just as Duo predicted.

 

 “So, how’d I end up here?” he asked the clock, knowing the answer.

 

 He came by his own free will.  He did not want to stay on the colony any longer, so he asked Quatre if he had any room to spare.

 

 “Just a whole mansion, Duo, it might be enough”, the Arabian answered with a smile.

 

  Duo rolled over onto his stomach and listened to the rain poor, slamming into the windows of his bedroom. 

 

“I wonder what Heero’s doin’ right now”, Duo wondered to himself, as he closed his eyes, thinking he might fall asleep.

 

________________________________

 

 

                Heero stood on the balcony outside of his bedroom in Quatre’s mansion, on earth.  He turned around and looked in the room, at the bed.  He hasn’t even unmade it yet.  He looked at it for a long time, it looked cold.  Then he noticed a few flashes of light behind him, followed by a far away roar.  Instinctively, Heero’s mind raced, thinking it was bombs going of in the distance, but he quickly reminded himself the war was over, he was the one that ended it.  He turned to face the front of the balcony, his back to the dark room. 

 

“It’s probably going to rain”, he whispered in the air.

 

 He closed his eyes, and not liking the images that he saw, opened them to look back at the sky.  How many times has he stayed awake all night, and see those images, the images of death, of his hard and atrocious training.  Being trained to kill, to be the ‘Perfect Soldier’.  It left him cold, inside and out.  He usually felt isolated, an outcast among his fellow species.  He soon got use to it, but after meeting the other pilots, and meeting Relena, he couldn’t help but feel out of the ordinary.  He took a deep breath, and tried to think of something else, he didn’t like that feeling.  One reason he didn’t was that it made him feel vulnerable, weak, and more lost than he already was.  These feelings made him have an overabundance of the emotion known as depression, or sadness.  Deep inside, these types of emotion wanted to make Heero cry, to call out to someone for help.  That is why he must think of something else.

 

“The ‘Perfect Soldier’ never cries, he never feels sorry for himself, he destroys all obstacles.  Heero, if there’s an emotion, get rid of it, and the obstacle that caused it”, Heero repeated to himself, remembering Dr. J’s words. 

 

                Heero turned his thoughts to the present //what the hell am I suppose to do now?// he thought angrily.  He wanted to shout the question out, he wanted to yell to the night air and receive an answer.  Nevertheless, he knew not to, it would most likely wake everyone else up. With that thought, he calmed down.  The thought of seeing his friends asleep and at peace made him relax.  He imagined Quatre asleep on Trowa’s chest with a small smile on his face.  And Trowa asleep, also with a small smile.  Then he imagined Wufei asleep, with a relaxed face for once.  Then Duo, Heero liked this image the most.  Duo lying in bed, asleep with one arm underneath the pillow his head was resting on, while the other out to the side, but down a little.  He seen him with his hair down, and spread gracefully beneath and all around him.   The covers did not go all the way up, just to his lower stomach, revealing all of his muscular chest and belly.  His face, ah his face, calm and peaceful, undisturbed.  He looked so innocent and precious. Heero didn’t think anything odd about him liking Duo the most; he just thought Duo was special.  He didn’t love him like Quatre and Trowa loved each other, he didn’t love anyone like that.  He thought he loved Relena like that, but something always stopped him.  It just didn’t feel right.  He thought of her like a cousin or something.

“Strange”, Heero said aloud.

 

 He felt a rain drop on his hand, then another on his nose.  He walked inside, and closed the French doors.  He glanced at the digital clock in the corner of the screen on his active laptop: 3:38a.m.  Then it started to rain lightly, just as he thought it would.  Heero felt hot, so he pulled his dark green tank top off, then it was too cold.  //It doesn’t matter, though// he thought // I’m use to the cold//.  He started to take the dozens of pillows from the bed and toss them to the floor until he had only one.  He couldn’t help but have a small smile.

 

 “How does Quatre stand being so pampered?  There must have been 30 pillows on this bed.  Not to mention it’s a king sized bed!” Heero said out loud in a mumble, still smiling.

 

 He pulled the covers back and laid down, a position he still wasn’t comfortable with.  He had been living with Quatre since the war ended.  He thought about just ‘disappearing’, but Quatre insisted he stay with him, at least until he knew what he wanted to do with his life. 

 

“How the hell should I know?” he asked the night air.

 

 There wasn’t anything he really wanted to do, nowhere he really wanted to go.  What did other people do?  He didn’t know.  He felt so tired, he really wanted to try and sleep this time, but couldn’t.  //I wonder if Duo is awake// Heero randomly thought // that’s ridiculous, why would he be awake?//  Then he remembered the sleeping image of Duo he had created earlier.  He closed his eyes and looked at the image slowly, he became relaxed and felt himself drifting off into unconscious. 

 

 

________________________________

 

 

“AAA…shit!” Wufei cussed as he opened his eyes.

 

  He jumped off his bed and walked over to the French doors that led to the balcony of his room.  He thought about going outside, perhaps he could calm his mind if he had some fresh air.  But then he saw some flashes of lightening, followed by a low pounding sound, nothing more than thunder.

 

 “It’s probably going to rain”, Wufei observed aloud. 

 

He looked down at the garden of Quatre’s mansion on earth.  A look of frustration was on the Chinese boy’s face.  //Why can’t I concentrate?//   He thought to himself angrily.  He had been trying to meditate all night.  He turned to look at the clock on his solid oak dresser, it read 3:38a.m.  Wufei sighed, he didn’t really want to sleep, but he thought he should try.  He turned to face the windowed doors.

 

 “Who cares if it’s going to rain?” he mumbled as he undid the latch. 

 

He swung open the doors and stepped out just in time for a raindrop to fall on his cheek.  A small shiver went through his body as it hit.  It was very cold.  He quickly wiped it from his face; he didn’t want anything to touch him.  He turned his head to the right and saw Heero standing on his balcony as well, over in the West Wing of the mansion.  Wufei came from a pretty wealthy family, but it still awed him how big this ‘house’ was, and the fact that Quatre had more than one.  Wufei stared at Heero’s back, actually.  Heero was looking into his bedroom. 

 

“I wonder what he’s thinking”, Wufei whispered to himself.

 

  A few more rain drops landed on his head, annoying him.  The cold drops made his head itch, but he did not scratch his head.  He watched Heero turn back around and decided he didn’t want the ‘Perfect Soldier’ to see him, so he quickly dashed back into his dark bedroom, slowly closing the doors back and latching them.  Wufei sighed.  He was surprised with himself, was he…bored?  Something only Duo was familiar with.

 

 “I wonder why Heero’s awake.  Is he so superhuman that he doesn’t need to sleep either?”

 

 As soon as the words left his lips Wufei cursed himself.  Was he jealous of Heero?  Not really, he just wished he knew what Heero thought more. 

 

“Why?” he asked himself, “why do I care?” 

 

He walked back to the window; just now noticing it was raining hard now.  Heero had gone back inside, to sleep?  Wufei liked the thought of Heero sleeping; it made him more human, which made Wufei more comfortable.  Normally, Wufei had thousands of thoughts running through his mind, but now, now his head was completely clear.  He wasn’t thinking about the past war, or his sorrowful past before that.  He wasn’t even thinking of the future, but he didn’t seem to be in the present.

 

 “Sometimes it feels like it was all a dream.  A vision during meditation, but I know it happened.”  Wufei realized he was talking to himself and rolled his eyes. 

 

He walked back to his bed and sat down.  “Meiran”, he mumbled.

 

 She died so quickly, then suddenly he was piloting Nataku, then the war was over, then Marimeya, another war, and like Heero, having no other place to go, stayed with Quatre.  But it has been three years, and he still has not deeply thought of Meiran.

 

 “I loved her…I really did”, Wufei began to speak aloud, in a quivering voice, “I wanted to marry her.  Why did I act the way I did?  It would have been different if I had known she was going to die.”

 

 He began to lose control.  He realized his actions were based on his regret and anger.  He was so angry with himself. Why did he have to be so stubborn?  Tears, angry tears, began to fall from his slanted eyes.  He remembered seeing her as a child, while growing up.  He would secretly watch her practice her martial arts, telling people she was Nataku.  Wufei began to smile a bit at the memories.  Wufei shivered at his tears found their way easily down his cheeks.  He did not want to cry, but he was powerless to stop it.

 

  “I miss you, Meiran.  I love you. I wish I had told you that.  It is my regret, my fault I didn’t tell you”, Wufei’s tears increased, and he just couldn’t hold them back any longer.

 

 He laid down on his belly and buried his face in a pillow, so his sobbing would not be heard.

 

 He grabbed at the pillow, squeezing it tightly, and every once in a while, between his weeping cries he would mutter, “Meiran, I love you.” 

 

Eventually, the ‘Solitary Dragon’ cried himself to sleep, to dream about the only person he loved, Meiran.

 

________________________________

 

 

                Quatre slowly opened his eyes to the sound of birds chirping in the trees.  He blinked a couple of times and found himself laying next to Trowa both of them naked.  He remembered their small conversation earlier that morning.  A big smile spread across Quatre’s face, he also remembered what Trowa said about staying with him.  Quatre decided to be happy that day and raised his head from Trowa’s chest, but keeping his hands around the Latin’s firm torso.  Quatre looked at the clock, 10:42a.m. // About 7 hours of sleep.  That’s not too bad, good enough to be rested//  Quatre thought.  He laid his head down and decided to take in the morning while waiting for Trowa to wake up.  Before the minute was over, however, Trowa opened his eyes.  He looked down to see Quatre’s golden hair.  Trowa stretched out his arms with a big yawn.  Quatre sat up and moved over off of Trowa, and onto his own belly.  They locked eyes and smiled at each other.  Their love for each other was now stronger than ever before, and now they would share that love every day.

 

 “Quatre, I’m really hungry.  Let’s get a shower and get something to eat”, Trowa announced, breaking the warm silence.

 

 Quatre showed a big, flirtatious smile with large, innocent eyes and nodded, “Ok, but I get the shower first!!” he yelled, jumping off the bed and running into the bathroom

 

 Trowa was close behind him yelling, “Oh no you don’t!”

 

                Quatre ran to the back of the marble floored bathroom, just as Trowa entered and slammed the door.

 

  “Now we’ll see who gets the shower first!” Trowa played.

 

 Quatre, pretending to be afraid for his life, whimpered sarcastically, “I’m sure we can compromise.”

 

 Trowa walked slowly to Quatre with a ‘Death Glare’ on his face until his body was inches from Quatre’s.  “Yeah, we can compromise.”

 

 Then Trowa scooped Quatre up in his arms and placed him in the shower, then stepped in himself, closing the crystal doors.  Then he turned on the water, and massaging sprays of steaming water ran into their hair and down their faces and backs. 

 

Trowa took Quatre into his arms and whispered, “We’ll just have to be in here together.  How’s that for a compromise?”  Quatre smiled, and began to kiss Trowa avidly. 

 

 

________________________________

 

 

 

Duo gradually opened his eyes, not knowing why he was awake already.  He found himself still laying in his stomach.

 

 “Oh man, this is really gonna’ hurt when I stand up”, Duo mumbled.

 

 He rolled like a dog to his back, grunting because his body felt soar.  Without moving his head, he moved his eyes to the clock beside his bed, 10:42a.m.

 

 “Damn…only 7 hours?  I need at least 15!” Duo complained.

 

 He sat up, rubbing his eyes.  He looked outside to see a bright sun and cloudless sky.

 

 “It doesn’t look like it rained last night”, he commented, not really making a big deal about his small discovery.

 

 He remembered earlier that morning, how he felt, the memories of Hilde, but he also remembered his very last thought before falling asleep.  He remembered thinking ‘I wonder what Heero’s doin’ right now.’  Duo shook his head and climbed out of bed as if it took superfluous effort to get the task done.  He walked into his bathroom and looked at the dark circles under his eyes.

 

 “Man, I knew I needed 15 hours of sleep, not 7.  A guy needs his beauty sleep as well”, he grumbled.  But that thought was suppose to take his mind off of what he was really thinking, it didn’t work.  “Why did I think of what Heero was doing?  Especially at 3 something in the morning.”  Duo continued to think about that question as he took off his black boxers and stepped into the shower. 

 

Duo realized he had forgotten to undo his braid after he turned the water on, so now he’d have to undo it with it wet.  //I never forget to take my braid out before a shower.  What’s wrong with me?//  Duo shrugged and undid his braid, then began to run through his daily shower routine: get wet, get soapy, get rinsed, use the whole bottle of shampoo (Quatre can afford it) and conditioner for his hair, and then take the next 30 minutes to rinse his hair (Quatre can afford that too).   Duo just stood under the steaming water as it gently sprayed his head and ran through his drenched hair.  Every once in awhile, he would support his head with his hands because his wet hair would start giving his neck cramps.  He couldn’t get Heero off his mind, he didn’t know why.  For some reason Duo wanted to be around Heero, to talk to him.  He felt like Heero would listen and give him comfort…give him love?  Duo shook his head.  //Heero wouldn’t love me.  He’s not like that//  Duo closed his eyes, what was he doing thinking about love?  Especially with Heero.  Was he attracted to Heero?  Of course, he knew that already, but did he actually love him?  Duo opened his eyes and felt around in his hair.  Satisfied that it was rinsed, he turned the water off and got out.  The mirror was completely covered with steam; he could barely make out his own image in front of it.  He began to ring out his hair like a towel, squeezing the excess water.  Without looking, he grabbed the thick black towel from the rack and put it around his waist. 

 

He walked out of the bathroom, with steam following him, and into his bedroom.  He walked over to his dresser, picked up a comb, and began to go through the hour routine of combing his hair.

 

 “I do love him.  I’ve always loved him.  Everything about him, he’s so beautiful, full of mystery, hidden compassion.  How could I not?” Duo whispered to himself.

 

 // How do I tell him?  Or should I even tell him.  No, I won’t.  I’ll just stay at his side, and keep my dreams to myself.//  Duo felt himself become depressed.  It did not take an hour like it usually does for Duo to comb his hair.

 

 “I’m either going bald, or Quatre finally got that expensive conditioner I asked for, too bad I used the whole thing.” Duo explained to himself. 

 

He quickly braided his hair and found some clothes laying around to throw on.  Despite the maid’s effort to clean his room, it was always messy.  He ended up wearing some tight, black jeans with a black tank top.  //Time to put on that mask of mine and show the world everything’s just wonderful//.  Duo thought as he opened his bedroom door and flashed the maid a big smile.

 

________________________________

 

 

                Heero opened his eyes, shocked that he slept in the first place.  He quickly rolled from his left side to his right to face his laptop he left on to look at the clock in the corner, 10:42a.m.  Heero’s mouth and was open in amazement, he had slept for 7 hours!

 

 “I don’t remember sleeping that long in my entire life!”  Heero said aloud, still a bit astonished.

 

 Heero threw back the covers and walked to the bathroom.  He went ahead and took off his dark blue boxers completely to pee, since he was going to take a shower anyway.  As he peed, Heero was thinking of what he did or thought before falling asleep.  He remembered being on the balcony.  As he got done peeing, he remembered the image of the sleeping Duo in his head.  Heero shook off the remaining drops from his penis and flushed the toilet.  He got in the shower and began to wash.  He put some Arabian shampoo in his hair, then he rinsed his hair and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a thick, long, blue towel he placed on the sink’s counter.  He rapped it around his waist and started combing his hair.  He didn’t know why he bothered to comb his hair; it always fell back in the same place anyway.

 

                Heero took the towel that was around his waist and began to dry his body.  After he dried off, he walked back into his room to the dresser.  He pulled out some faded blue jeans that fit him kind of snug.  Because the jeans were so tight, he decided to wear briefs instead of boxers.  After he put on the whitey-tidies, he put on the jeans, which showed every feature of his slender, yet strong legs.  Then he opened another drawer and pulled out a short-sleeved button up shirt.  The shirt was the same color blue as his Prussian eyes.  When he buttoned up the shirt, he didn’t bother to button the first four, revealing just enough of his firm chest to tempt any soul to touch.  He thought it looked nice.  At that moment, he caught himself thinking about the tempted fingers touching his chest, and how he wished the hands belonged to Duo.  Heero quickly erased the thought.  //This is asinine; I don’t care for love, especially from Loud-Mouth-Maxwell//  But Heero knew he was just lying to himself.

 

 

________________________________

 

 

Wufei opened his eyes and was staring directly at the ceiling.  He fell asleep on his stomach, but he guessed his body was too use to sleeping on its back.  He had woken up with the same feeling he had when he began to sleep.  Empty, and missing Meiran.  He lifted his head to get a look at the clock on the dresser in front of him, 10:42a.m. 

 

“7 hours, not bad, about the usual”, Wufei observed. 

 

He dragged himself from his bed to the bathroom.  He looked at the reflection in the rather large mirror.  He could see the tears’ stains still on his face.  He never realized he could feel that way about anyone.  At the same time, he had such relief, he was finally able to mourn her death.

 

  “I know you are in a better place Meiran…Nataku”, Wufei told the image in that large mirror.

 

 Wufei felt strange…he felt happy, even excited.  He wanted to see what he was going to do with the rest of his life.  He caught himself smiling, and thought to himself // I look pretty damn sexy when I smile// and took off his dark yellow boxers and undid his ponytail to take a warm, refreshing shower. 

 

                As Wufei was taking his shower, his thoughts turned to Sally Po and her offer to become a Preventer.  But mostly, his thoughts were focused on Sally.  After he turned off the water, he stepped out, grabbed a red towel from the cabinet next to the shower, and rapped it around his waist.  He ringed out his hair as well.  From the beginning of Operation Meteor to now, his hair had grown about another 5 inches, so now his hair was just below his shoulder blades on his back.  He brushed his damp hair back and fastened it with a rubber band into his usual ponytail.  He finished drying his body and walked into his room to his dresser.  He put on dark green boxers, and some loose fitting dark blue jeans.  Then he put on a regular, baggy orange t-shirt that had A.S.S. on the front, and on the back it had what the letter stood for.  A-stood for A, the first s stood for Sexy, and the last s stood for Stud.  Duo had gotten the shirt for Wufei on his last birthday.  He promised he would wear it at least once, so he thought he might as well today.  As Wufei left the room, he saw his personal maid coming.

 

 “Pack my things and tell the limousine driver to be ready to leave in about 3 to 4 hours.” 

 

She looked at him surprisingly and stuttered, “um..ok.”  He had never really spoken to her before.

 

 

________________________________

 

 

By 11:10a.m., all the pilots had entered the breakfast area at the same time.  When they all came into the room, they each had a look of surprise on their faces.  Was it possible they all got up around the same time?  Normally, Heero was the first down stairs, either eating breakfast, or done.  Then it was usually Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa who came downstairs next, about the same time and they had breakfast together.  Duo was always last.  He would sleep in until noon and just have a very big lunch.  However, today, they were all there.  Trowa and Quatre went ahead and sat down in their usual chairs around the table, sitting as close together as possible.  Wufei sat across from them.  Duo looked up at Heero to see where he was going to sit so he could ‘casually’ sit next to him.  But Heero wasn’t going to sit down.

 

 “I’m not very hungry.  I think I’ll just go for a walk”, Heero announced in his familiar, dry monotone voice.

 

 He walked out of the room, hands in pockets.  The others just shrugged, thinking he was just too tired to eat or something, it has happened many times before.  Duo watched Heero leave the room.  For some reason he wanted to go with him. 

 

“I think I’ll go with Heero.  I…you know…to keep him company, after all, no one likes to be alone!” Duo said in his everyday cheery tone of voice.

 

“I do”, Wufei protested.  Duo glared at Wufei as if to say, “Who asked you?” and walked out of the room. 

 

Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa all had puzzled looks on their faces.  They all realized that Duo just  passed up a meal.

 

 

________________________________

 

 

                Duo opened the front door and saw Heero walking down the long asphalt driveway.  He jogged to catch up with Heero.  When he reached the silent Japanese boy, Heero looked at Duo out of the corner of his eyes, not turning his head, then gazed forward once again. 

 

Duo noticed Heero’s glare, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to join you, to keep you company”, Duo chirped, thinking he owed Heero an explanation.

 

 Heero said nothing, and kept looking forward.  They had walked in silence for about 20 minutes, when they finally reached the end of the driveway and past under the rod iron arch above the gateway that read, “Winner’s Recreational Mansion”. 

 

“Man, it still surprises me how long that thing is!  It must be about a mile and a half long.  What would you say?” Duo asked, trying to start a conversation.

 

 Heero looked at him while they turned to the right, towards a small town about 10 miles away from the mansion.  “I suppose”, was his only response. 

 

//Man, how do I get this guy to speak!?// Duo thought in frustration.  As they walked on, Heero kept peeking at Duo’s chest.  The American’s black tank top was very low cut, it was so low, it went right above his nipples.  //It figures// Heero silently complained.  Duo’s chest wasn’t the only thing Heero was looking at.  He also took short glances at Duo’s flat stomach, his gorgeous face, the way the calm wind blew through his bangs.  //Duo is indeed very magnificen//, Heero noted to himself.  Heero also noticed the silver necklace chain around Duo’s neck.  It led down to right above Duo’s stomach, but was underneath his shirt.  Heero knew what was at the end, though.  It was the crucifix necklace Duo swore he never took off.  None of the pilots knew Duo even had it until he started living with them and wore low-neck clothes to reveal the chain.  He never had it over his clothes, however, it was always underneath his shirts. 

 

                Heero felt himself become slightly aroused by the sight of Duo, so he had to consciously tell himself to stop glancing at the other boy.  Not looking at Duo, Heero decided to find out exactly why Duo was with him.

 

 “Why did you come with me? You missed breakfast.  Everyone knows you don’t miss one meal unless you absolutely have to.”

 

 Duo about choked on the spit he just swallowed, startled that Heero said something.  Duo looked at Heero, he quickly tried to think of a joke or something, so he wouldn’t blurt out the truth.

 

  “Well, I…like I said, I just wanted to keep you company.  Is that so wrong?” he replied, trying to cover up the tension in his voice.

 

 Heero finally looked at Duo, “You didn’t have to.  I would think you’d rather eat.” 

 

Duo was beginning to feel bad //do I really eat that much?//  “I just wanted to…I felt like spending some time with you, ok?”  Duo wanted to smack himself. //I can’t believe I just said that!//  He could feel Heero’s eyes on him.

 

 “Oh…ok”, was all Heero said. 

 

Heero knew there was a look of shock on his fellow pilot’s face.  Secretly, Duo was relieved.  About 30 minutes later, and another 2 and half miles, Duo was starting to wonder if Heero planned on walking the whole 10 miles to town.  He was about to ask when Heero pointed across his stomach to the right, towards the forest.

 

 “Turn here.  I don’t want to go to town, and I don’t want to go back.  We’ll just walk around in the woods for awhile”, Heero explained.

 

 Duo did as told and turned into the forest, with Heero behind him.

 

                The forest was not as thick as forests in the north, but for being in a country like Arabia, it was doing well.  Even though it rained hard early that morning, the ground was now dry and cracked, and the bark of the trees were brittle.  Duo kept staring at Heero’s half opened shirt when he thought Heero wouldn’t notice. 

 

“What do you keep looking at?” Heero asked with an annoyed voice.

 

 Duo internally panicked, “Oh, I…like…the color of your shirt, it matches your eyes, in fact, they’re almost the exact same color”, Duo lied, but it was a truthful lie. 

 

The shirt did match, but he was looking at Heero’s chest.  After Duo’s compliment, Heero stopped walking. 

 

Duo turned around, “What?  You don’t want it to match your eyes or what?”

 

 But then Duo noticed a strange look in Heero’s eyes; a hint of astonishment and sadness.

 

 “Thank you, Duo.  I like that it matches my eyes, but…no one’s ever really noticed the color of my eyes before”, Heero choked.

 

 Duo could tell Heero had much difficulty in saying those few words.  Heero walked over to a large, very large, log.  He jumped up and sat on it. 

 

“All I remember when people look into my eyes is fear.  They were all afraid I’d kill them, except for you and the others.  And people like Relena, Zechs and Noin”, Heero continued.

 

 Duo walked over to the log and climbed up on it and sat down, one leg on each side, and faced Heero.

 

 “Duo, I was hoping you would walk with me today.  I trust you, I trust you with my life.  I have never trusted anyone like this before, and I want to talk with you.” 

 

Duo just sat there in disbelief.  This could not be happening, Heero wanted to talk, and to top it off, with him!

 

 “There was an absolute reason for me missing breakfast, I wanted to talk with you too”, Duo finally admitted.  They sat in silence for a few minutes.

 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Duo asked, breaking the stillness.

 

 “I want to know more about you, I’m interested in you”, Heero replied.  Duo quickly looked up into Heero’s eyes.  “I mean, I’m interested in your history.  I would like to know your past, how you became Shinigami, why and how you piloted Deathscythe, your plans for the future, that kind of stuff”, Heero corrected.

 

 The sparkle in Duo’s eyes faded, “Oh”, was all that came out.  Duo knew it was going to be hard for him to talk about his past, but he did want to tell someone.  Duo took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.  “Hmm…well, I don’t really have any plans for the future, for me, the future is kind of fuzzy, but always close by.”  Duo took another deep breath.

 

//Is it really that hard for him?// Heero thought.

 

 “I don’t remember how, but my parents were killed in the war when I was very young.  I ended up on the streets as a ‘War Orphan’.  I met up with a kid named Solo while trying to steal some food, he saw me running away with food and decided to take me to his shelter for a small portion.  I went with him and soon we became best friends stealing together.  When I was almost 7 years old, he died of a plague that swept through L2.  It was all my fault he died; I wasn’t fast enough getting back with the medicine I had stolen from a Federation hospital.”

 

                Heero looked over at Duo, because Duo had said that last part with anger in his voice.  Tears were already starting to form in Duo’s cobalt eyes. 

 

“I decided to name myself Duo after that, thinking he would always be with me.  I was with a small group of kids stealing from this man when I ran into a priest.  I just ignored him and ran off.  Later, I suggested sneaking into a army warehouse, but when we did the soldiers started shooting right away and we were on the run.  We managed to make it back to our shack in an ally, when some men came to take us to the Maxwell Church.  The church had decided to take us little ‘rats’ in.  He told us we should be grateful.  I wasn’t at the time, but now I am.  I remember when I got there they put me in these terrible apprentice clothes and had a doctor do a whole bunch of tests on us to see if we were healthy.  Then after having to take a shower Sister Helen tried to cut my hair.”  Heero noticed Duo smiling at the memory.

 

 “I remember yelling, ‘leave me alone!  Get away, I’m warning you!’  Finally Father Maxwell told her to leave it.  She braided it instead, and I’ve kept it that way ever since.  I gave them a really hard time.  No one ever wanted to adopt me either; they all said I was too troublesome, or I wasn’t educated enough, or I wouldn’t let them cut my hair.  I also would beat the other kids up and put them in hospitals because they’d make fun at me.  Probably because I was from the streets.  I also told them there was no God because if there was He’d stop the war and there wouldn’t be orphans like me.  Father Maxwell told me God doesn’t start wars, people do.  I told them I only believed in the God of Death because I had seen a lot of dead people.”  Duo sighed, he knew the next part was going to be hard.  He looked up at Heero, who was staring right at him, hanging on to every word as if he was telling him the meaning of life.

 

                Duo decided to continue, “We had become very close, we were almost like a real family.  Sister Helen even gave me this necklace” he took it out from underneath his shirt. 

 

He held it out for Heero to look at it.  Heero took the necklace in his hand.  It was silver, and quite big, at least Heero thought so.  After examining the necklace Heero let it drop back to Duo’s torso and watched as Duo took it into his own hans.

 

 

“We were very happy.  Like a family, a real one.  But then, of course, it all ended within one year.  Some rebels came to the church with injured men, talking about how they had to destroy the Federation’s G2 Point Base. They said they only needed one Mobile Suit, then they’d be able to accomplish their mission.  I knew it was going to start all over again.  Father Maxwell tried to talk about how they should use peace, they just hit him across the head with their rifles, and told him to shut up.  They hit Sister Helen too.  Then they thought they were Federation spies and were going to kill them, I think.  I couldn’t take any more of it so I shouted, ‘wait!’ and told them I’d steal a Mobile Suit for them if they left us alone.” 

 

A tear ran down Duo’s cheek, and Heero was confused as to why, Duo didn’t appear sad, just a bit angry.  Duo quickly wiped the tear off his face, leaving a red mark, as he talked.

 

 “I had successfully gotten one, but when I got back the church was in ruins.  I slowly walked around in the rumble.  I seen small rivers of blood and traced it to some kid’s body, or half of one.  I seen body parts everywhere and I even recognized some of them to be pieces of my friends.  I heard Sister Helen call my name.  I ran over to her and she was laying there, dieing.  She had blood all over her clothes and blood flowing from her mouth.  Father Maxwell was already dead.  I didn’t get to say ‘good-bye’ to him.  And the last I saw him I let him get hit.  I always thought I could of stopped that.  I remember the last thing she said to me, though.”  Heero could see a vain clearly on Duo’s neck, Duo was getting very upset.   “Do you know what she said?  She said, ‘May God bless you and keep you…’  I knew that last word was ‘safe’.  Then she died.”  Duo got off the log, and looked at Heero, “She died Heero, right in my arms, just like everyone else!  And the last thing she did was pray that God  would keep my safe!  I was angry, angry at the war, angry at the way my life was, but most of all, I was angry at God!”  Duo began to pace, Heero got off the log.  Duo began to shout, “Father Maxwell and Sister Helen devoted their lives to the Son of a Bitch God of theirs!  And what did he ever do for them!?  What did he ever do for anybody?!  WHAT?!”  Heero became somewhat afraid.  He had never seen Duo act this way, and he had no clue what Duo might try to do next.

 

                Then Heero stood traumatized at what Duo did next.  Duo fell to his knees with his arms raised towards heaven, looking up.

 

  He yelled at the top of his lungs, “WHY, YOU FUCKING GOD!  WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?  TELL ME IF YOU’RE SO GREAT!  I HATE YOU…YOU HEAR ME?  YOU’RE A FUCKIN’ LIAR! I HATE YOU!”, then Duo fell to all fours, crying uncontrollably.

 

 Heero had no idea Duo suffered so much inside.  He has always sensed a certain disturbance in Duo, but never to this extreme.  Heero walked over to Duo, and bent down.  He picked up Duo and tried to hug him. 

 

When Duo felt Heero touch him he began to shout, “NO!  Just leave me alone, please!  I hate you…I hate all of you!  I hate everyone!  Just go away!” 

 

 Heero knew Duo didn’t mean one word.  Duo just didn’t want to be hurt anymore.  Heero hugged Duo tightly, and the screaming, crying Shinigami calmed down and just began to sob in Heero’s arms. 

 

“Why, Heero?” was all Duo could mutter between his bawling. 

 

Heero shook his head.  “Shhhh…I don’t know, Duo.” Heero said in his most soft, compassionate voice he could.  “You can hit me, or cry on me, which ever makes you feel better” Heero said, trying to find a way to comfort Duo.

 

 Duo gave a small chuckle “I’m…I’m sorry for hitting you” he apologized, his face still buried in Heero’s neck. 

 

Heero gave a small smile of relief “It’s ok.  You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.”

 

 They stood there a few minutes before Duo gave an answer. 

 

Duo finally released Heero and wiped his eyes, “No, I want to finish it.” 

 

They both sat down on the ground, now using the log to rest their backs against.  Duo began to speak in a depressed voice that was a little raspy from the shouting. 

 

“The death toll of this incident was 245 people.  The rebellion of the colony was put down by the Federation and OZ Special Forces.  It became known as the ‘Maxwell Church Tragedy.’  After this, I took on the last name, Maxwell so I’d never forget.  I met Dr. G after getting caught being a stowaway on his spaceship.  He was interested on how I got through his security system, which wasn’t easy, but it obviously could be done.  When I told him my name was Duo Maxwell, he called me Maxwell’s little demon, I told him ‘not demon, I’m the God of Death!’  The rest is obvious.  He asked me if I wanted to pilot Deathscythe and bring the colonies peace, I said ‘sure’ and my nickname was the God of Death.  Great bedtime story, right?”, Duo asked sarcastically.

 

                Heero shrugged his shoulders.  He was too amazed at Duo.  He was fascinated at how everything Duo was, was a symbol of his past.  His hair, clothes, name, and nickname.  He was also astonished at how strong Duo was.  He was able to keep all that pain inside him, and still fight.  He also could at least pretend to be happy.  Heero thought it was amazing Duo didn’t go mad.

 

 Duo looked over at Heero, “Well, Mr. Yuy, its your turn now.”

 

 Heero sighed, he felt he didn’t have much to tell, he certainly didn’t think he had it as bad as Duo. 

 

Heero began in monotone “Like you, I don’t really have any plans for the future.  And also like you, my parents were killed somehow by the war when I was very young, I never had to live on the streets, though.  A man named Odin Lowe found me and decided to keep me around.  He didn’t give me a name really, he just called me kid, boy, or just said ‘Hey’.  Eventually he started calling me Odin Lowe Jr.  I guess it humored him.  He was a strange man.  He was very strong, physically and mentally, and he was very quiet.  He was a rebel against OZ, and he took me on many of his missions.  Almost everything I know came from what he taught me.  I looked up to him, I wanted to be just like him.  I never showed it, though, I acted like I didn’t care if he was there or not.  He didn’t pay that much attention to me either.  All he did was feed me, shelter me, and teach me how to do things like load and shoot a gun, set up bombs, get passed security, etc.”  Heero paused.  He didn’t know if he wanted to continue or not, he felt he was saying too much.  He looked at Duo, he seemed interested.

 

Heero decided to go on, “As I got older, I did more, harder missions.  After a few years, I actually looked forward to the missions a little bit.  I’m not sure why.  It might have been because I knew I would do a good job and make Odin proud, or if it was because he paid more attention to me when we did missions.”  Heero pulled up one leg and rested his forehead on his knee.  “I remember when he first let me hold a gun, I was 4 years old.  I shot another man when I was 6 years old.  I remember that very well.  Odin and I had been spotted and we decided to abort the mission until a better opportunity came up.  We were running and Odin had run out of bullets, but I still had one left.  We got to a fence and he just jumped over it, but I was too little and had to climb.  Odin was yelling at me, telling me I had enough time to climb.  But I didn’t listen.  I turned around and raised my gun up”, as Heero said this, he raised up his right arm and held his hand in the shape of a gun, and his eyes closed.  “I waited until this soldier was 5 feet away from me, then BANG!”, Duo jumped, “I had shot him right in the head.  He fell at my feet, his blood pouring out and running all around my shoes.  Odin jumped back over the fence and grabbed the gun from me.  Then he slapped me across my face, knocking me down, and yelled, ‘Damn it kid!’, and started walking away.  I wanted to cry, but I didn’t.  I held it all in, I swore to myself I’d watch and listen to everything he did and said from that point on.”  Heero put his hand down.  He felt tears in his eyes, and sighed, as if disappointed in himself.

 

 “After that things went smoothly, I guess.  But when I was about 8 years old, we had a mission on the X18999 colony.  I asked Odin why we were there, and he told me he was going to abandon me.” A tear fell down Heero’s face.  “I thought I had done something wrong, but he told me to settle down and go to school after the chaos was over, to live a ‘normal’ life.  I didn’t plan to do that.  Needless to say, he ended up dieing.  I’ll always remember what he said before he left me, though.  He told me to always act on my emotions, that way I don’t regret anything, that was the best way to live life.  I’ve never forgot.  I’ll also remember him telling me, as he died in front of me, that all those years together weren’t so bad.  Inside I was happy that he actually liked me, I didn’t want him to die.  He was the closest thing I had to a dad” another tear fell from Heero’s eyes.  “That’s when I met Dr. J.  I was walking down a street and he seen me.  He told me he liked the look in my eyes and asked me if I wanted to pilot a Gundam, remembering what Odin said, I said ‘sure’.  I also figured that everybody’s gotta’ die sometime, and this would be my way of dieing.  I didn’t want to live anymore.  The first 8 or so years of my life were enough.”

 

                Duo looked at Heero, he could deeply emphasize with how Heero felt.  Heero looked terrible, he looked miserable.  But what Heero did next stunned Duo beyond belief.  Heero took both his legs up, hugging them with his arms and buried his face into his knees, Duo knew he was crying, he could barely hear Heero talk.

 

 “But that was when the training began.  The training was nothing compared to my life with Odin, it…”Heero began to lose control, he grabbed his head violently, as if he was going to go mad.  “The training was like torture.  The battle simulations, I had to shoot thousands of men, the mental training to make me think that everything was an obstacle, an enemy.  That I was alone, there was no one I could trust, and no one who cared for me, or that I cared for.  The physical training was so hard, I felt my body was going to shatter, but I had to keep going.  Each day I thought was my last, I could feel myself dieing.  I was awake for 20 hours everyday, and when I was suppose to sleep, I couldn’t.  If I heard a noise that wasn’t familiar, I thought it was an enemy, I’d become afraid, but then I’d…I’d just turn to ice, I’d be so cold, the room would be so cold.”  Heero was trying desperately not to sob uncontrollably and continued.  “They’d lock me in a small room for days without water or food.  It’d be so dark and cold.  I was told it would help if I was to ever be captured.  There was also a really big, strong man that I had to fight with.  He would beat me up so bad; He hospitalized me three times.  Over time I had gotten every bone in my body broken at least once.  They told me I was perfect, that I was invincible, but they hated me…they were so…” He took a few deep breaths, and stopped crying enough to talk again.  He let his hands fall to the ground and pulled his head up.  His face was tear stained, and some of his bangs were sticking to his forehead.  He gave a big, depressed sigh, a few tears still falling from his eyes and down his red cheeks.

 

 “Eventually, I got used to it.  I turned my heart and soul to little ice.  I became exactly what they wanted me to be, a ‘Perfect Soldier’.  I didn’t know there was any human left in me at all until I met Relena, and until I met you.”  Heero looked over at Duo, who had a look of compassion, shock, and anger on his face all at once.  Heero moved closer to Duo and put a hand on his cheek, “You were the first person to ever rescue me.  You didn’t even know my name, and you rescued me, for no reason.  Even after I tried to commit suicide, you helped me and called yourself my friend.”

 

 Duo was filled with so many emotions, he didn’t even know what half of them were, and what they were called.  Heero dropped his hand from Duo’s warm face and looked away.

 

 “And I insulted you, and stole parts from your Gundam to fix mine.”

 

 Heero got up and started to walk away, back towards the mansion.  Duo quickly got up and grabbed Heero’s wrist, keeping him from continuing.  Duo knew it was his turn to comfort Heero.  Heero turned and looked at Duo with his deep Prussian blue eyes, filled with despair.

  

Duo pulled Heero towards him and wrapped his arms around Heero’s neck, “I’m not letting you walk away, Heero.  I want to make sure you feel better”, Duo whispered gently.

 

 Heero put his arms around Duo’s tiny waist and held him tightly as he began to cry silently, “Thank you”, he muttered.

 

“That’s what friends are for” Duo smiled.

 

                Heero slowly pulled away from Duo and wiped his eyes, trying to look serious and normal again.  Duo wiped his eyes as well and put a smile on his face. 

 

“Duo, there’s something I need to tell you that I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time” Heero confessed, looking deeply into Duo’s violet eyes.

 

“Sure, Heero, what is it?” Duo gave an encouraging smile.

 

                Heero stood there for a few minutes, as if unsure how to say it or if he even wanted to.  Heero took hold of Duo’s hands and tried to keep himself from looking away.

 

“I…um…I’m not sure how to say this, but I…” Heero stumbled with his words.

 

                Duo was shocked that Heero was stuttering.  //Man, this must be some secret// Duo thought curiously. 

 

“Say it the best you can.  Do what I do, don’t think about it, just say it” Duo grinned.

 

Heero took a deep breath. “Ok…I wanted you to know that I…care about you.  That I…love you.”

 

                Duo stood still, his eyes big and for the first time in his life, he was speechless.  Heero stared at Duo //Damn it, now I’ve scared him off.  I knew I shouldn’t of said anything//

 

Heero quickly released Duo’s hands.  “Duo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Heero began to apologize, but was cut off when he felt Duo’s lips on his.

 

                After a moment Duo pulled back only a few inches from Heero’s face and looked into the other boy’s eyes.

 

“I thought I’d never hear that from you.  I love you, Heero Yuy” Duo whispered.

 

                For the first time in his life Heero smiled a genuine smile.  His eyes lit up with true happiness and hope.  Duo kissed Heero shortly then pressed his forehead against Heero’s.

 

“You look damn sexy when you smile, you know that?” Duo pointed out affectionately.

 

                Heero smiled again and surprised Duo with a long, passionate kiss.  The two put their arms around each other, exploring each other’s body and breathing heavily.  After about ten minutes the two broke apart for air. 

 

“What’d ya’ say we head back now” Duo suggested.

 

“Whatever you want” Heero said, still breathing hard.

 

“Oh, I want” Duo winked.

 

                The two began walking towards the road and back to the mansion.

 

________________________________

 

 

 

                After breakfast, Wufei had gone back up to his room to help his maid pack his things.  Wufei looked out his bedroom window to see the happy couple, Trowa and Quatre, jumping on a very large, rectangular trampoline.

 

 “Mr. Chang, the last of your luggage has been loaded into the limo.  The driver is ready to drive you to the airport”, his maid announced. 

 

He turned and walked right up to her, then placed his left hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes, “Thank you, Arandia”, he said barely above a whisper.

 

 She blushed, he smiled and walked out of the room.  He thought it was a little fun to flatter her, especially since he never paid that much attention to her before.  He headed downstairs and to the ‘backyard’ to tell Quatre he was leaving.  When Wufei was about 20 feet from the trampoline, he heard Quatre yelling, “Higher!  Higher Trowa!”  Trowa was trying to bounce Quatre as high as he could.  Wufei watched this little spectacle before continuing.  Trowa, pretending to be frustrated with Quatre, grabbed Quatre by the waist and made him fall on his back, with Trowa on top of him.

 

“How about lower?!” Trowa said.

 

 Quatre was giggling as the trampoline continued to move them up and down as the result of their fall

 

That’s fine!”, Quatre finally replied when he stopped giggling.

 

 Then they began to kiss, and Trowa put his hands up Quatre’s light blue tank top and started rubbing the Arabian’s nipples. // Ugh, do they ever stop?// Wufei wondered, and decided to continue his walk towards the two.  Then he seen Ranamah, the butler, come running to Quatre.

 

 “Master Quatre!”, he shouted.

 

 Quatre quickly stopped kissing Trowa and grabbed Trowa’s hands, making him stop his.  “What is it?”, Quatre asked with concern.  “

 

You have a phone call”, the butler replied simply.  Quatre’s concern drained from his eyes.

 

 He sighed as he scooted out from underneath Trowa enough to take the phone.  Because tomorrow was his last day of vacation, Quatre knew he would get non-stop phone calls from now until his vacation officially ended.  People would call now to try and get their appointments with him first. 

 

Pretending to be overwhelmed with happiness, Quatre answered, “Hello?…Vice Foreign Minister Darlian, how nice to hear from you.”

 

As Quatre began to speak, Trowa smiled a devilish smile and climbed on top of Quatre, kissing and licking his neck and ears.  He once again slid a hand up Quatre’s shirt and began to lightly run his hand across Quatre’s stomach.   Quatre started to breathe deeper, trying to keep his breath normal, but inside his heart was racing.  Ranamah just rolled his eyes at the scene.  Quatre looked down at Trowa, begging him with his eyes for him to stop.  Trowa just smiled, knowing he was torturing Quatre.

 

 “Oh…yes, I’m fine, Relena”, Quatre said quickly.  Relena could hear his breath become quicker.  “Anytime is fine…Mond…Monday.  The D2-1228 col…colony?  At 8:00a.m.? That’s…mmmm…fi…fine.  Yes, I’m sure I’m o…ok.  Yeah, bb…bye”, Quatre stuttered along in the conversation.

 

  He quickly hung up and gave the phone back to Ranamah.  “Trowa, stop!  Please!”, he pleaded.

 

 Trowa smiled and finally stopped his attacks on Quatre.  Quatre sat up, trying t resist his hard on.

 

 “Thank you, Ranamah”, Quatre apologized to the butler.  Ranamah bowed, and left shaking his head.

 

  “Trowa, you are so ornery!  Why did you do that?”, Quatre demanded from his lover.

 

 Trowa just kept smiling his wicked smile, “Because I knew it would make you angry.  You’re really cute when you’re angry”, was his only reply.

 

 Despite the fact that Quatre thought Trowa could be really weird at times, he loved him.  “Cute hu?  Well do that to get me angry and I won’t mind”, Quatre said with a enticing smile.

 

 They were about to kiss again when Wufei came walking up to them.  Quatre looked at the Chinese boy who was resting his arms on the edge of the trampoline.

 

 “Hi, Wufei! Wanna’ join us?”, Quatre asked politely. 

 

Wufei shook his head, “I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

 

 Both Quatre and Trowa got off the trampoline and stood beside Wufei.  “Why, where are you going?”Quatre asked like a panicked child about to lose their mother. 

 

“I’m going to the Preventers’ Headquarters in America.  I thought I’d finally take Sally up on her offer,” Wufei explained. 

 

Trowa smiled mischievously, “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Sally, would it?”

 

 Wufei blushed, “Of course not, Trowa, I just thought I should go.” 

 

  Quatre caught on and grinned, “Sure Wufei, whatever you say.”

 

 Wufei shook both their hands and said, “Good-bye”, and started to walk away.

 

 “Wait!” he heard Quatre shout. 

 

When he turned around, Quatre looked very different.  He noticed Quatre’s serious, but kind look.  And for the first time, he noticed Qautre’s muscles, and how he stood tall and proud.  Wufei had always seen Quatre as a boy, but now, for some reason, he seen him as a man. 

 

“What is it, Quatre?” he asked patiently.

 

 “Thank you for staying here.  I want you to know that I’ll always be your friend, and anytime you need something, or just need to talk, I’m here.  My friends will always come first, Wufei” Quatre said sincerely.

 

  Wufei smiled, he bowed and said , “Thank you”, and headed for the limo.

 

 

________________________________

 

 

                As Heero and Duo walked down the two lane road, they noticed a limo coming their way.

 

 “I didn’t know Quatre was going anywhere today” Duo commented. 

 

As the limo got closer, it began to slow down, then it stopped beside the couple.  The black-tinted window came down, revealing Wufei’s face.

 

 “Wufei!  Where’re you goin’?” Duo asked. 

 

  “I’m going to the Preventer’s Headquarters” Wufei explained. 

 

“Wow, in America?  You know America is the best place, everyone’s like me!” Duo chirped, almost laughing at the indescribable look on Wufei’s face.

 

 Then Duo got another idea, he smiled a devious smile, Wufei knew exactly what he was going to say.

 

 “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Sally Po, now would it?” Duo asked like he already knew the answer. 

 

Wufei rolled his eyes and sighed “Maybe…what if it is?” 

 

Now both Duo and Heero were smiling at the fact that the ‘Solitary Dragon’ was interested in a significant other.

 

 “Go get her boy!  Have fun!” Duo shouted.

 

 “Bye Wufei, I hope we see each other again” Heero said calmly, trying not to laugh at Duo’s little scene.

 

  Wufei smiled at Heero “I’m sure we will see each other soon, good-bye.”

 

 They waved good-bye as Wufei drove off.

 

 “Man, I can’t believe it!” Duo exclaimed.  Then he pretended to shed a tear, “Our own Wufei is all grown up now.  He’s off to find a job and a wife, where’d all the time go?”

 

Heero gave a small chuckle and didn’t mind when Duo put his arm around his waist; in response Heero even put his arm around Duo’s shoulders.  They walked like this all the way to the gates of the mansion.

 

  “Only a mile and a half until we reach the house” Heero announced. 

 

Duo smiled, “Race ya’.  From here all the way up to my room.” 

 

Heero looked at him “Why your room?”

 

Duo winked “You’ll see”

 

Heero smiled “Fine, count to three.”

 

Duo began to count “One…two…” but before he got to three Heero took off.

 

“HEY!!! I DIDN’T SAY THREE!!!” Duo yelled, running after Heero.

 

“YOU DIDN’T?  THOUGHT FOR SURE YOU DID!” Heero shouted back playfully.

 

“I’LL GET YOU BACK!!” Duo screamed, catching up to Heero.

 

                The two ran up the driveway and burst through the English oak front doors, which banged into the wall, and both dashed across the wooden-floored entryway to get to the stairs first.  They ran up the stairs, skipping 3 steps at a time, they reached the top and ran down a small hallway before turning a corner to the hallway that lead to Duo’s room.  Then suddenly, Duo slammed into his maid.

 

 “OOW!” he yelled, while his maid screamed in horror and both landed on the floor.

 

 Heero stopped and looked back.  He walked over to the maid and helped her up, while Duo slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his head. 

 

“Geez, I’m sorry Hanrassa, I’m really sorry.  Are you ok?” 

 

“I’m fine, sir, it’s ok”, she mumbled.

 

 Duo felt really bad.  “Is there anything I can get you?  Anything I could do?” Duo asked. 

 

She turned to Heero “Thank you, sir” then walked over to Duo “Yeah, there is something you can do, Duo, you could keep your room a little cleaner!” she said.  Duo’s face flushed.

 

 “Good day”, she said in a bitter-sweat tone, and walked off.

 

 “God, it’s not like I did it on purpose” Duo said in defense.

 

Heero looked at Duo as they walked to Duo’s room.  “Just how dirty is your room?” 

 

Duo opened his bedroom doors and walked in.  He went over to the tall windows and started to pull the ropes to close the black curtains.  As he did this, he started to explain.

 

“My room isn’t dirty, just messy.  You know how they only come every other day?  Well, by time she comes again, I have clothes all over the floor, wet towels hanging around in the bathroom, hair everywhere, and I don’t bother to make my bed.  I don’t see anything wrong with it, I figured it’s her job.  It’s like a hotel, you leave it messy, and when you come back everything’s perfect again and you even have a chocolate mint on your pillow.” 

 

As Duo was explaining away his maid’s comment, Heero looked around the American boy’s room.  Duo had black everywhere; he had black curtains, a black, silk comforter, both lamps on each side of the bed were black, with black lampshades.  His bed was black rod iron, and Heero peeked into the bathroom to find that the towels were black, Duo’s brush was black, the toothbrush holder was black, and so was the toothbrush.  Then he realized most of Duo’s clothes were black.  Duo was done explaining and walked over to the side of the bed and took off about 28 pillows, leaving only two, then pulled back the covers to reveal, to much surprise, black sheets.  Despite looking around the room, Heero had heard everything Duo said.

 

 “I think I understand her point of view.  Don’t you think you’re being a little cruel?” Heero asked.

 

 Duo smiled an evil smile and walked over to Heero and put his arms around Heero’s neck, and Heero put his arms around Duo’s waist.

 

 “Cruel?  God of Death is my first name, but Cruelty is my middle name” Duo explained.

 

 Heero smiled a adorable smile that he never showed to anyone and put his forehead against Duo’s.  “So, what’s your last name?” he asked in a deep voice.

 

 Duo laughed at his own joke before he said it “Maxwell” he replied.  

 

Heero laughed, he loved Duo so much.  Then Heero kissed Duo’s forehead, then his cheek, then his lips.

 

Duo’s evil smile widened “This is where we start to have fun” then suddenly he pushed Heero onto the bed and landed himself on top of the Japanese boy.

               

________________________________

 

 

                [1] 35 minutes later, Heero lay on Duo’s chest where he collapsed, still panting still somewhat audibly.  Both their bodies shivered slightly at the wave of sensations they experienced just moments ago.  Heero looked up to see Duo smile a loving smile, and for the first time, Heero smiled back a genuine smile and let the love he had for the other boy shine brightly in his eyes.  Duo entangled his fingers in Heero’s dark brown hair tenderly.

 

“I love you, always and forever” Duo said in a low whisper.

 

Heero’s smile widened “I love you, forever and always.”

 

                The couple gave each other another long, compassionate kiss before getting up and taking a long, hot shower.

 

 

 

                ________________________________

 

 

 

                After Wufei left, Trowa and Quatre decided to play some basketball.  Quatre had the ball and Trowa was behind him, trying to steal it away. 

 

“You know you can’t get it from me!”, Quatre threatened.

 

 “Oh yes I can!  I’m the one that let you have the ball, to be nice!”, Trowa lied.

 

 “Then how come you can’t get it back?” Quatre protested.

 

 Both knew they were just messing around, but Trowa really couldn’t get the ball.  Suddenly, Ranamah came back outside with the telephone again. 

 

“Master Quatre!” the butler shouted.

 

 Quatre looked up, and before he knew it, Trowa grabbed the ball and slam-dunked it into the basket.

 

 “I told you boy!” he said, jumping down from hanging off the rim, and walking back over to Quatre.

 

  “Yeah, yeah.  You’re about as good as Heero” Quatre complimented. 

 

Ranamah reached Quatre and handed him the phone.  “Hello?…Oh yes, I remember.”  Quatre walked off the pavement court and onto the grass.

 

  He sat down, and Trowa chose to do the same.  Ranamah just about fainted when Quatre did this.

 

  “Master Quatre, I beg you, get off the ground, I shall bring you a chair”, he whispered in an urgent voice. 

 

Quatre held up his hand and shook his head.  “I already have three appointments on my first day back and they are very spread apart concerning their locations, so I don’t think I’ll be able to meet with you on that day, I’m terrible sorry.” 

 

Both Trowa and Ranamah could hear the man on the other line now, he was very upset and insisted Quatre had promised to meet with him the first day he got back from his vacation.  Quatre laid completely down in the grass and put his arm over his eyes.  Ranamah looked like he was about to have a heart attack and was sure he’d die from it.  Quatre mouthed to the butler to pull out his planner that had all his appointments in it.  Ranamah quickly took it out of his inside pocket of his uniform coat and handed it to Quatre.  Quatre then flipped to the page that had all his promised appointments and the man on the other end of the phone was not there.

 

  Quatre sighed, “I’m very sorry, but I don’t believe I’ve scheduled you for that day.” 

 

The man became furious and started raising his voice.  Quatre didn’t want to put up with this any longer so he finally came to a compromise.

 

 “How about we meet tomorrow instead?  Around 6:00p.m.?…Ok then, I’ll see you at the R9-3284 colony…I look forward to it…Yes, good-bye.”

 

 Quatre hung up the phone, and held it in the air for Ranamah to take.  The butler bent slightly down and picked up the phone from Quatre’s hand.

 

 “Master Quatre, you’re going to waist your last day of vacation for him?  It takes almost 10 hours to get to that colony, then you’ll have to fly 6 hours to meet Relena” the butler disapproved.

 

 Quatre stared at the sky “I know, but to him it was very important.  Besides, I’ve discovered Relena will be on that colony tomorrow at that time as well, I’ll just have my meeting with her there” Quatre explained “I can get a head start on my work anyway” he tried to sound positive to save face with the butler. 

 

Ranamah bowed and walked back towards the mansion.  Quatre purposely didn’t look at Trowa, he knew Trowa was disappointed.  But he turned his head to look at his partner anyway.

 

                //Damn it, he has that sad look on his face, I can’t stand it// Quatre complained to himself.

 

 “Trowa”, he began, “I really am very sorry.  I didn’t know what else to do.  You’re not mad at me, are you?” 

 

Trowa looked at Quatre’s angelic face and sighed.  “No, I’m not.  But I think you should of persisted on the second day.  You can’t please everyone” Trowa indicated. 

 

Quatre’s face had a look of failure “I know.  I’m sorry.” 

 

Trowa laid down next to Quatre and put his head on Quatre’s stomach.  “You do a great job.  Please don’t start blaming yourself and apologizing for everything.  I hate it when you do that, you get so sad, I hate it when your sad.  One of the things I love most about you is your wonderful smile.”

 

 Quatre was touched with Trowa’s words, but he knew Trowa couldn’t stay, he would be miserable because this would constantly happen.  And Quatre would not be able to live if he had to look at that disappointed face of Trowa’s all the time.  He knew what he had to do.

 

 “Trowa, why don’t you go pack your things and go back to the circus?  We’ll see each other again in two years, it won’t take that long” Quatre tried to sound optimistic. 

 

Trowa immediately sat up, and so did Quatre.  “Why Quatre?” Trowa sounded so let down.

 

 Quatre hated this, he felt so angry and helpless, he just wanted Trowa to be happy.  “Trowa, we can’t possibly live like this.  I’ll be busy all the time, I’ll be tired when I do get to rest.  It’s just not possible” Quatre explained, sad and aggravated. 

 

Trowa felt as if he was putting too much pressure on Quatre.  He moved closer to Quatre and put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

 

“I’m sorry” Trowa apologized. 

 

They both sat there, quiet, for many minutes.  Trowa glanced over at Quatre.  The boy seemed to be lost in deep thought, as if trying to solve the problem of how to stop earthquakes from happening.

 

 After about 10 minutes of silence, Quatre yelled “I’ve got it!” startling Trowa, making him jump back and away from Quatre.

 

 “Got what?” Trowa asked, calming himself down and moving close to Quatre once again.

 

 “Trowa, you’re right.  I’m an important enough person to make people comply with what I want, right?” Quatre stared at Trowa, with big sparkling eyes.

 

 “I suppose” Trowa replied with a puzzled look.

 

 “All I have to do is schedule my appointments and such to meet where your circus is staying.  And in between meetings, I could come by and see you.  It’s not as great as living together, but that way you don’t have to travel with me and be alone over half the time.  We can make this work, if we want to.” 

 

Trowa looked into Quatre’s dazzling eyes “Sounds like a plan” Trowa said. 

 

As if on que, Ranamah once again came out of the back doors with the phone.  Quatre received it and laid back down on the grass, and the butler growing impatient with Quatre’s disobedience. 

 

“Hello?…My official day back is Monday the 3^rd…The 5^th, that’s fine…Canada?  Please hold.” 

 

Quatre pushed the hold button on the phone and looked at Trowa.  “Where will the circus be on the 5^th?” he asked.

 

  Trowa thought for a moment “Egypt” he replied.

 

 Quatre pushed the ‘talk’ button to get back with the other person.  “I’m sorry, but there’s no possible way I could meet in Canada..I have my reasons.  Now, may I suggest Egypt?…”

 

 Quatre mouthed the question “Which city?” to Trowa.  He mouthed back “Giza.” 

 

“How about Giza?” then Quatre crossed his legs and said in a valley girl tone. “There’s a fabulous hotel resort there, with a fantastic meeting room, we could hold the conference there!” 

 

Trowa was holding his stomach, trying to contain himself from laughing hysterically. 

 

“Ok then, see you at 3:00p.m. on the 5^th, chow!”  Quatre hung up and handed the phone back to Ranamah, who was standing there with his mouth open.  He couldn’t believe what Quatre just did.

 

 Meanwhile, Trowa had let go of his stomach and both were laughing uncontrollably.

 

 “Master Quatre!  I’d expect that kind of behavior from your acquaintance Mr. Maxwell, but never you!  I urge you to act more like a responsible adult. This type of behavior is not acceptable.  And I do wish you would not lie on the ground!” the butler whined. 

 

Quatre stood up and placed both hands on Ranamah’s shoulders.  “Of course, Ranamah…I don’t know what’s come over me.” he said with a big grin on his face, trying not to laugh.  

 

“Your friends, Master” Ranamah muttered.

 

                Quatre and Trowa were about to start their game again, when they heard the front doors slam open and two pairs of feet banging up the stairs.  Then they heard someone yell, “OOOW!” and a woman scream. 

 

“Ah, that must be Mr. Maxwell now, I’m sure that Mr. Yuy is with him” Ranamah said in a tired, calm voice.  He walked back into the house to close the front doors.

 

 Trowa looked at his wrist-watch, 1:00p.m.  //Is it that late already?// he thought.  Quatre signaled to a servant to bring him the runaway basketball.  The servant grabbed the ball from the ground and came running over to Quatre.

 

 “Here you are Master Quatre and Mr. Barton” the servant said kindly.

 

 “Thank you, Sinlaque” Quatre said, taking the ball. 

 

The two walked back onto the court.  Quatre threw the ball to Trowa, and Trowa caught it and spun it on his right index finger effortlessly.

 

 “What do you suppose Heero and Duo were in such a hurry for?” he asked, watching the ball rapidly spin.

 

  “I don’t know, I didn’t think the two really spent that much time together” Quatre replied.

 

 Trowa stopped spinning the ball and began the game.  About 30 minutes into the game, and right after Quatre finally got the ball from Trowa, they both stopped.  They each heard a strange noise.

 

 “What was that?” Quatre asked.

 

  “I’m not sure, it sounded like Duo, though” Trowa answered. 

 

Both looked up at Duo’s windows, noticing the black curtains were closed completely behind the glass.  Trowa and Quatre stood there staring, waiting to see if the noise would come again.

 

 “What did it sound like he said?” Quatre asked.

 

 “I couldn’t tell, but it sounded like he screamed Heero’s name” Trowa guessed. 

 

“Maybe we just thought we herd it” Quatre suggested. 

 

Just another moment later, they heard another scream. 

 

“That was Heero screaming Duo’s name!  They might be in trouble” Quatre yelled instinctively.

 

 Quatre was about to run in the house and try to see what was wrong.  But before he got too far, Trowa grabbed his wrist.

 

 “Trowa!?  What are you doing?!” Quatre demanded.

 

 “Quatre, it’s nice that you’re a good friend, but think about it.  Heero’s up stairs with Duo” Trowa said slowly. 

 

Then they heard Heero yell out.  Quatre looked back at Trowa, half embarrassed.

 

 “Are you saying that Duo and Heero are…?” Quatre asked, making sure his assumption was correct. 

 

Trowa nodded his head.  Quatre couldn’t comprehend Heero doing that with anybody, especially Duo.  Heero always seemed to be somewhat annoyed with Duo.

 

 “If we can hear them out here, imagine what they heard from us inside” Quatre realized with a shy smile.

 

 “Let’s just finish the game, I’m winning” Trowa said, not wanting to think about Quatre’s newest discovery. 

 

Quatre stepped closer to Trowa and suddenly began to tickle the Latin on the stomach, at the ‘special’ spot Quatre knew Trowa was ticklish. 

 

“I thought we weren’t keeping score!” Quatre laughed, trying to keep Trowa in his grasp

 

“I was!” Trowa exclaimed, and turned on Quatre.  Eventually, about 20 minutes later, their game was done.

 

 

________________________________

 

 

                Trowa and Quatre came through the back door, both hot and sweaty.

 

 “I can’t believe you ended up winning!  I was in the lead over half the time!”, Trowa said, still in disbelief.

 

  “I was being nice and letting you get the lead, but I wasn’t going to let you win!”, Quatre playfully lied.

 

  “No way, you were giving it all you had!”, Trowa protested.

 

 “Yeah, and it worked!”, Quatre said, winning the small argument.

 

 Trowa put his sweaty arm around Quatre’s drenched waist.  They walked past the kitchen and smelled pizza, and began to hear loud rock music coming from the den.  The couple entered the spacious den to find Heero and Duo laying on their stomachs on the dark blue carpeted floor in front of the 62 inch TV.  Both were wearing black jeans, and black shirts.  Trowa and Quatre guessed that Heero just borrowed some clothes from Duo.  Both also had wet hair, so they must of just gotten out of the shower, Duo’s hair was actually down for once, spread all around his body in damp locks.  Heero was feeding Duo a piece of supreme pizza fresh from the kitchen.  After Duo took the bite, Heero assisted Duo in catching the strings of cheese that fell from the slice.  Duo was laughing as Heero licked some of the pizza sauce that got on his lips.  They were ‘watching’ MTV’s hard rock station, obviously Duo’s choice.  Heero wasn’t known for listening to hard rock.  Trowa and Quatre cautiously entered the room, almost paralyzed at this new occurrence.  Both Heero and Duo looked up.

 

 “Hey!  What’d you two do all day?!”, Duo yelled above the music, mouth full.

 

 “Nothing much!”, Quatre shouted.

 

 Trowa walked over to the TV and turned the volume down.

 

 “What did you two do all day?”, Trowa asked, hiding his smile. 

 

Heero replied in his dry tone of voice, “Nothing much”, but then quickly smiled.

 

 Quatre was so amazed that he had seen Heero smile twice already in the same minute.  Trowa pulled on Quatre’s sleeve to make him sit down next to him.  Once the two sat down, they grabbed their own slice of pizza.

 

 “Did you see Wufei?”, Quatre asked.

 

 “Yeah, he’s gonna’ go after Sally!”, Duo blurted.

 

 “Something like that”, Trowa said.

 

About 10 minutes later, the pizza was gone.  Breaking the ‘silence’, Trowa decided to confront Heero and Duo.

 

 “So, Heero, do you plan on moving into Duo’s room, or is he going to move into yours?”, he asked, interrupting Duo’s favorite song.

 

 Heero looked at Trowa //is he blushing?// Trowa asked himself. 

 

Duo put an arm around Heero, “He’ll be moving into my room, it’s cooler”, he said proudly.

 

 Heero looked over at Duo, “That’s fine”, he just wanted to be with Duo.

 

 Duo smiled and leaned over to kiss Heero’s cheek, “Man, I love you!”, he whispered. 

 

 

~Owari~

 

[1] I don’t think it’s important to write yet another fic explaining how they fuck each other.  I leave that to your imagination if you want to visualize that sort of thing.