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The Road to Kindness	By : shinigamiinochi Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7934 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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The Road to Kindness

Chapter 8
Part 4
　

Someone was shaking him. Why was someone shaking him? It was too cold and, for some reason, he knew it was too damn early for anyone to be touching him at all.

�Come on, Heero, you have to get up.�

The person shoved at him. At this point, he would have punched that person, but the voice nagged at him. An American accent. Who did he know that had an American accent and soft tenor? The person sighed heavily and Heero peered up at them through sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

�I mean it, Heero, don�t make me get a glass of water to dump on your head or something.�

Heero closed his eyes again. Duo. As annoyed as he was to be woken up, he couldn�t hit him. Since he couldn�t hit him, Heero decided to drift back to sleep instead. Duo shouldn�t be trying to wake him up. He should slip into bed with him and curl up against him. He bet that Duo would be warm and soft against him and the feel of that form would make sleeping even more pleasant. Maybe he would even let him throw his arms around that inviting waist or smell that silken hair�

Heero�s eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. Ok, now he was awake. Duo looked at him in a mix of bewilderment and amusement as his Japanese friend blushed deeply, assuming it was out of embarrassment for being so hard to wake up. Heero covertly grabbed at the covers hiding the erection that was tenting his pajama pants. He wasn�t sure if it was from the morning arousal he occasionally got or from his stray, betraying thoughts, but he thought of Duo seeing it and was horrified at himself. He glanced at the clock and saw that it really was insanely early. 3 o�clock. That couldn�t possibly be the time. Even on a school day that would be ridiculous!

�Give me one good reason why you�re waking me up before the crack of dawn?� Heero demanded grumpily.

It was something that he had never wanted Duo to figure out, but Heero was not a morning person, not even remotely. Even when he had been a kid, his mother had had to literally pull him out of bed in the mornings to go to school. And when he did get out bed, he was miserable until around nine o�clock. It had never been a problem before because usually his mom or Trowa woke him up, but Duo didn�t really seem to be annoyed by it, merely lifting one cinnamon colored eyebrow at him, looking as though he might start laughing at any minute.

�Your flight leaves at six. You know, your flight to London?� Duo reminded him cheekily, a small smirk on his lips.

Heero fell backwards onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes.

�I said a good reason,� he grumbled.

Having to go to London to confront his bastard of an uncle and his grandfather, who, the last time he had seen him, had been less than happy at his flippant attitude towards his grades and life in general, with his mother�s pride at stake, and being forced to be away from Duo for days, was absolutely not a good reason to be woken up at three in the morning. In fact, it was kind of like unleashing flesh-eating ants into an infected, deep wound. And then dousing it with lemon juice and salt. And, just for good measure, rubbing the whole thing with poison ivy. There was just not a single thing that Heero was looking forward to here. He really should just go back to sleep� To his irritation, Duo spun around and started to walk out of his bedroom.

�Your mom has everything packed and breakfast is ready. She says, by the way, that I am totally allowed to do something truly nasty to you if you don�t get up. Dumping ice water on you was the nicest of the things I came up with,� Duo said in parting, his voice somewhere between warning and humor.

Heero groaned loudly. He was rewarded by the sweet sound of his best friend�s laughter. He rolled onto his side and snuck a peek of Duo as he was leaving, noting his long braid brushing against his backside, still clothed in pajama pants that had little cartoon penguins on them. The bizarre, partially childish and adorable, partially sexy image burned into his brain. Sometimes he wasn�t really sure if his life sucked or rocked. London� he sighed and kicked the sheets off of him. He really, really didn�t want to go. He would rather have to deal with Relena then go back to London, just because, at least if Relena showed up, Duo would still be with him.

More than meeting his grandfather again, or even something happening to Duo while they were gone, Heero was worried about Mizu getting his way. Not because he was a jackass and it would suck if he won, which it would, but because of what would happen, how his own life would change. His mother would survive not being Yuy Corporations CEO anymore, he was sure. His mother was the strongest woman he had ever known, and only a part of that was biased. She had gotten through his father�s death and had somehow managed to raise him on her own, he knew that she would bounce back from this with even more grace. But what about him?

They hadn�t talked much about it yesterday, but it had remained in the back of his Heero�s mind all night. He hadn�t slept well at all. Even if Mizu got his mother demoted, his grandfather would never let the man take over the company. Technically, the next person in line was himself. His birthday was coming up soon, his eighteenth, and if this trip went wrong, he would be suddenly handed a billion dollar company with absolutely no idea how to lead it. He wasn�t ready for that. The very idea terrified him. His entire life, he had thought that he had already accepted that he would have to take ownership of the company, but now that it seemed a possibility, he wanted nothing to do with it. It wasn�t that he wasn�t prepared, he had absolutely no desire to own it. He had no ambition towards it. For the first time in his life, Heero wanted his future to mean something else.

All that power and control� in the past he had looked forward to it arrogantly, or he had thought that he had. Now, all he wanted was to hang out with Duo and play video games, to take walks on the beach with him, to feel him fall asleep against him and smell his long hair� Why would he want to live in the coldness of reality when he could play in Neverland with a sweet, kind, and beautiful Peter Pan? Well, Duo was more like Jane than Peter Pan, Wendy�s daughter who had been forced to grow up too fast and had had such a hard time believing and adjusting to Neverland. Though, he was pretty sure that Duo would hit him for equating him to a girl.

He understood, now, better than he ever had, Duo�s burning desire for normalcy. It wasn�t the big things that Heero looked to desperately, this big, white house or his mother�s wealth. It was the little things that everyone had, walking down the street with Duo to buy groceries, bickering with Trowa about who got the last slice of pizza, helping Quatre try to give the cats a bath� Heero glanced over at Angel, who was curled up next to him on the bed. After a little while, she had warmed up to Heero, getting used to sleeping in his room and had made several goes for his soft and warm bed. Heero had stopped picking her out of it every night and she had started to be something familiar and comforting, like a teddy bear. Cotton kept to the cat bed in the corner of the room, not quite as sociable as his sister.

The all white cat peered at him with half-lidded, deep blue eyes. She seemed annoyed, her stare asking �why are we awake?� Then those almond-shaped eyes slid shut again. It must be nice to be a cat and be able to sleep when you wanted to. He scratched the top of her head and she purred, making him smile. When had he stopped thinking of Angel and Cotton as Duo�s cats and had started to think of them as his, or at least theirs? He wanted this. To him, having a cat sleeping next to you as your best friend had roused him from a sound sleep to have breakfast seemed so novel, so normal, something that he could never have if he took the company from his mother.

What would happen to Duo if he did? What would happen this peaceful little niche Heero had found? Misery wrapped around his heart. Duo didn�t belong in such a world and Heero didn�t think he had the strength to balance the two worlds as his mother had. He was sure that he would drown and there was no way he was going to drag his love down with him. He would do anything for Duo, anything for this peace, as strained and painful as it was sometimes, and in that moment, if someone had come into Heero�s room and told him that he could give Yuy Corporations up, he would have jumped through hoops to do it. But it wasn�t that easy. It wasn�t just him he had to think about, there were families, employees, and his mother�s opinion of him, of course. All he could do was hope for the best, that they would find someone else to take over.

The sad thing was, even if his mother kept her job, eventually Heero would have to face this. As he rolled out of bed, he felt like he was going to face the executioner�s block. No matter what happened, it wouldn�t bring him any relief. At least Duo would be cared for, even if things got bad. That was the only ray of light in this and he clung to it. Heero took his shower quickly and got dressed, not really caring about what clothes he picked out or how annoying going through the airport was going to be. He could only focus on how miserable he felt. In the kitchen, everyone, including Trowa and Quatre, had started their breakfasts. A plate of sausage, white rice, and a mushroom, onion, and cheddar omelet, one of his favorites.

His mother smiled at him and passed him a steaming cup of black coffee as he sat next to Duo, who hated sausage and mushrooms, and was eating scrambled eggs with honey and apple crepes and a glass of milk. No coffee for Duo, even if he wanted to drink it. With his medication, he wasn�t allowed to have caffeine. For once, Duo was eating happily, instead of just poking at his food. His stomach must be feeling well today. It made Heero feel better, just knowing that Duo was feeling better. He doubted that Duo had accepted that they were going away, but he wasn�t tying himself in knots over it anymore. That, or he was so hungry from his stomach problems yesterday that his anxiety couldn�t put a damper on his appetite.

They ate in silence, all of them in a somber mood and feeling helpless. As Heero blushed his teeth and combed his hair (in vain), Duo followed him around like a lost, little puppy. It wasn�t annoying, but it did worry him. On the outside, Duo looked fine, but Heero knew very well that the violet eyed boy rarely showed what he was really feeling. Just because Duo had eaten all of his breakfast and wasn�t freaking out about this, it didn�t mean that their absence wasn�t bothering him. Going back to London for a couple days was hard enough for Heero and Name, he couldn�t imagine how hard it was going to be for Duo. At least he had Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei, but Duo had spent his entire life all alone, and now that he had a family, he couldn�t be happy that they were leaving him, even if it was just for a little while.

Duo�s sudden clinginess was disconcerting, but Heero also found it comforting after all they had been through lately, and his recent fears about the trip. They brushed their teeth together, though Duo didn�t actually have to get ready for school for another two hours, at least. When Duo finished rinsing his mouth with a cup of water, Heero smiled over at him and took his hand in his. Duo�s indigo eyes widened a little bit, then a soft look replaced it, the kind of look that made Heero�s heart flutter, and those pale fingers wrapped around his.

�I�m coming back,� Heero promised, squeezing Duo�s fingers.

Duo finally managed to smile at him and it relieved Heero.

�I know,� the longhaired boy said, and somehow seemed more relaxed just by hearing Heero say it.

Heero�s heart constricted. Duo believed him so� so unquestioningly. After everything he had done in his life� all the mistakes he had made, what a complete jackass he had become after his father�s death� how had a dick like him gained the unwavering trust of someone who had spent his life surrounded by people who had done nothing but hurt, betray, and dehumanize him? It was a gift that made him feel so happy, and so twisted up, like being given a beautiful glass ball. It was something special, but if he did something wrong, easily broken. He had thought that everything that had happened in Boston had destroyed that, but Duo had never seen it that way.

No one had ever looked at him like that, had spoken to him with such conviction. They looked at him like he was special because he was his mother�s son, but that was just a title. That wasn�t him. In reality, no one saw him as special, something worthy of their attention, because of who he was, what he was like. Duo was the first person to do that, without caring even one little bit about who his family was. To Duo, Heero was special, not because he was Heero Yuy. If he lost that name, Duo would still look at him that way, would still trust him. So, how could Duo ever think that Heero would never come back to this, to him?

They went down the stairs together. Quatre, Trowa, and Name were waiting for them by the front door, Heero�s suitcase standing next to hers. Heero got his jacket from the closet and shrugged it on. Name smiled at Duo, looking slightly pained. She hugged him tightly, Duo automatically hugging her back.

�Do what Trowa says, ok? While I�m gone, he�s the adult. Please eat, even when you�re stomach�s hurting. The last thing you need is to be thinner. Don�t worry about your grades, everything will work itself out. Call me if anything happens, even if it�s mundane, alright?� she urged, sounding worried and like leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.

�I will, Mom,� Duo assured her.

He felt frozen as he suddenly realized what he had just said. Had he really just let that slip out? He really did consider Name to be his mother, but� but this was the first time he had actually said something like that out loud. Name let go of him and Duo was dreading to see the expression on her face.

�I�m sorry,� he sputtered.

Did she think he was being ridiculous or childish? To his relief, her eyes were warm and wet, as though she were about to cry. She hugged him tightly again.

�Oh, sweetheart,� she said breathlessly, �Don�t be. You call me that any time you like.�

Heero felt his heart swell as the two of them let go, looking at each other as though something inside of them might burst with happiness. He was sure that he and his two friends had the same expression. Maybe it felt like Duo had always belonged here, but it was something that no one talked about and sometimes, maybe they should talk about it. It gave the subject power, calling Duo a part of their family. Even if he didn�t have their last name, he was. It was just like his mother had told Mizu, Duo was more a Yuy than he would ever be. Heero ignored the snide little voice down inside that pondered if that made his love for Duo incest.

After the tearful scene, they all shared a round of hugs. It felt like they hadn�t all been apart for years, instead of months. When Heero wrapped his arms around Duo, for a moment he was shocked by how small and vulnerable he felt and Heero felt a lump form in his throat, like a warning. Something inside of him screamed not to leave him alone, no matter what. Then, Duo�s arms came around him, hugging him back just as tightly, and that slim form felt strong to him. He pushed the screaming voice away. Duo wasn�t like Relena. He wasn�t some pampered, little girl who was so pathetic, she needed a man to take care of her. Duo had been taking care of himself since he was barely old enough to walk. Heero would never make the mistake of sheltering Duo because he thought he was weak, only because he loved him.

�Good luck,� Quatre said with a bright smile.

Then, Heero and Name left their cozy home and the three, sleepy-eyed teens, got into the taxi parked outside, and left. Duo followed Trowa and Quatre into the living where they sat on the couch and watched early morning cartoons. The two lovers talked about the cartoons they used to watch as kids. Trowa joked that they should order pizza tomorrow morning, as early as the restaurants opened, just because it was something that Name never would have allowed them to do. He teased that they should throw a big party, something that they all knew they wouldn�t do, and Quatre hit him with a pillow. The two of them laughed as Duo looked at the television screen, but didn�t really see the show. Their laughter was loud, but the house seemed quieter than it ever had to him.

Duo felt like screaming.
*****
The airport was a mess. It wasn�t even that crowded, yet somehow it still took them longer than it ever should to get their luggage checked and through the body scanners. When the woman at the baggage check had asked for their ids and she had realized who they were, it had made it all that much worse as she tripped over herself trying to give them the star treatment. This was exactly why they used the company jet whenever they traveled anywhere. That was how they had moved to America in the first place, but it took too long and cost too much to use the jet and Name wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Flying first class on a public plane wouldn�t kill them once in awhile, it was just a hassle to be noticed and recognized.

Heero was silent the entire time, even when they stopped at one of the fast food places in the airport for some coffee and bagels, and when they sat down to wait for their plane to land. Name hadn�t expected anything out of him. She knew that she was dragging him through this against his will and felt bad about it, but Mizu and her father had forced her hand. She didn�t feel much like talking, either.

�I will, Mom.�
Name smiled at the memory. When Alexei had died, she had thought �this is it. Heero is my family now.� Sure, she would always love her father and step-mother, but she rarely saw them, even back then. Just her and her child, the two of them against the world. She had seen that then, when the grief had died down from shrieking to a dull roar enough for her to think anything else but how much it hurt. Now, she had Duo, too. In a way, hearing him call her Mom, so very out of the blue, had blindsided her at the same time that she had known he had felt that way for a long time now. But to actually hear it from him� Duo kept his feelings so close to the chest sometimes, hiding them, denying them� for him to say such a thing out loud was a very big deal.

It was a large burden, hearing that from him, bigger than any business negotiation she had ever taken part of. To mother a boy who needed it so badly, but didn�t even know what having a mother really meant. He had been on his own in the cold world for too long to really understand how to let someone take care of him. He would always have some sort of stubborn, independent streak to him, but somewhere deep inside of him, that lost little boy would always want something to cling on to, would always yearn for someone to cradle him. No matter what evidence Mizu had against her, she would whatever it took to give Duo a second chance at a stable life.

The flight was longer than Name had remembered it being when they had first come here months ago. Heero fell asleep the second they were seated in first class. Name smirked as she watched him sleep, his head lolled to the side, snoring lightly. He was still such a child sometimes. Back in London, he had thought he was being so adult, sneaking smokes and booze, swearing at his teachers, beating up other kids� She wondered if he realized that the only maturity he had ever shown was because of Duo. She remembered when Trowa had told them about Wes showing up at Duo�s job, how Wes had pointed a gun at Heero and how Heero had just stood there, unwavering, willing to get shot if he could have one chance to save his best friend.

Name�s smirk turned to a soft smile and she brushed Heero�s long bangs away from his face. That wild, dark brown hair and deep blue eyes� he looked so much like his father. He might have her stubbornness, but he also had Alexei�s kind heart. A powerful combination, considering how close he had gotten to getting killed by that hateful man. And then there was Duo, so mature, yet so childish. He had this intense pain inside of him and was adept at surviving, but when it came to animals and new things, his first taste of fried banana, or the first time he had seen his new room, he had experienced all them with the wide-eyed innocence of a toddler. She looked at the window as the plane rose higher and higher into clear skies. She wondered which one of her sons was going to end up driving her insane sooner.

Their plane landed in London at 5:08 London time. Looking at his watch as they were all escorted off the air croft, Heero realized that it was 12:08 in Maine at that moment. Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei would all be sitting in class right now, waiting to go to lunch at twelve thirty. He wondered if Duo was eating his lunch as well as he had eaten his dinner. It made him feel wistful and the sight as he looked out the airport�s windows made him feel even more miserable, wanting to be back in Maine. When they had left at six in the morning, the skies had been a clear blue, the sun bright and unfettered by clouds. London was how it always was, foggy, dank, and on the verge of rain. It was about ten degrees cooler than it had been in America, either.

Heero sighed heavily as they left the airport and found a limo waiting outside for them, the Yuy Corporations logo on it. He looked around at the looming buildings around him. It struck him at that moment. He was back in London, back from the place that they had fled from because of his own stupidity and arrogance. Back then, these buildings had been familiar to him. Now, they seemed strange and wrong. This was no longer his home. This was no longer where he belonged. The driver of the limo opened the door for his mother and bowed deeply to her.

�Ma�am,� he greeted with respect.

Heero realized that people on the street had noticed who the limo belonged to and were starting to take pictures. He fought hard not to glare at them.

�Did Mizu send you?� Name asked icily.

The driver shook his head.

�Master Yuy instructed me to meet you. He�s waiting for your presence. He says that wishes to start the meeting as soon as you arrived,� he assured her.

Name softened at that. The idea of Mizu sending a limo for her rankled for some reason, but she was happy to hear that her father was remaining professional about all this. The sooner they got this nasty business over with, the sooner they could go home. The two of them got into the limo and she frowned again as Heero remained quiet. He seemed to be giving a stern look to every building and landmark. Had he always hated this place so much, or was he just annoyed to be apart from Duo and it wouldn�t have mattered where they were? She shook her head to herself. No, while that might be true, she knew that Heero had always hated London.

She thought that moving them from Tokyo to here had been the biggest mistake she had ever made as a parent. Heero had been happy to stay in Tokyo, in the home that they had shared with his father, wanting to stay as close to his memory as he could. At the time, Name had thought that it was the right decision, but in reality, it had been the right decision for her. She had been unable to stay in that house. It held too many memories of her husband and it had hurt her, just looking at the wood and walls and windows of the place. Every inch of it had held some wonderful memory that had turned into knives in her heart. Knowing how moving to London had turned out for her son, would she have still made that decision? Would it have really made much of a difference?

Would she have been able to make that decision at all, or would she still have made the selfish choice? She wondered, idly as the limo brought them to the Yuy Corporate building, what would have happened if she had brought Heero to Maine right after his father�s death. The same town� would Heero have met Duo in that case, too? Duo would have been nine or ten at the time, so young, yet already two years in Wes� employ. If they had met back then, and what had happened would have happened the same way and they had discovered Duo�s dark secret, would they have been able to save him from five years of abuse? Or�

She imagined meeting Duo at nine years old, small, young, and wide-eyed, the same guarded look and the same fear of people, only on a younger face. Her hands curled into fists as an incredible rage filled her, her stomach twisting and making her feel sick. If she had met Duo back then, she was sure it would have broken her heart even more than it already had. The thought that, in some alternate universe, she might have been able to save the child that Duo had been from all those years, from the room with no light and the bed with chains, was a fantasy that made her feel a terrible pain. It was not a happy dream, it made her feel like she had failed him when, in reality, she had had no control over it. Maybe, it was fate that it had all played out this way. It was more comforting thinking about it that way.

If she was going to immerse herself in a foolish fantasy, she might as well imagine that, during one of her many trips to America when Heero had been much younger, back when Alexei had still alive, she had found Duo, years before Wes� shadow had ever so much as fallen on Duo and had taken him in, gave him a loving home while Duo was still slightly innocent and naive about the nastiness of life. She uncurled her fists, taking a calming breath. Hell, if she was really going to create the perfect fantasy, she might as well imagine that her husband had never gotten hit by that car and she could give Duo a proper father as well.

The driver opened the door for Name when they arrived, but Heero, who had grown out of such treatment in all the months he had been living in America with no pomp and circumstance, was too impatient to wait and got out of the limo himself. It wasn�t like he needed, or enjoyed, having an employee open a damn door for him. Suddenly, he heard Duo�s voice in his head, telling him about all the things he had had to do, just to eat. Killing rats, dumpster diving, stealing from other homeless people� and here this man was getting paid an over-inflated amount of money to drive people around and open doors for the wealthy. He didn�t blame the guy for it, he probably had a family to take care of like everyone else, but the whole system pissed Heero off.

Before he had met Duo, he had taken his wealth for granted. If someone hadn�t opened a door for him in this situation, he would have been annoyed, because it was expected. But now, he saw how silly it was. He realized, with pain, that Mizu had been right. If Duo had come with them, people like this driver wouldn�t have known what to do with him and it would have just made Heero angrier and angrier until he would have done something very stupid. As it was, he now understood why his mother had always insisted that they never have servants or staff at their home.

He had always thought, �well, the Winner�s have maids and cooks, so why can�t we? Aren�t we wealthier than they are?� Now, it was more like a relief. Maybe he couldn�t do the laundry or cook very well, but at least he could take care of himself if he had to. He tried to imagine Mizu trying to cook for himself, even something simple like macaroni and cheese out of the box, and snorted. The man would probably die having just eaten the stuff. People like that were like infants, needing people to take care of them all the time. At least Heero could survive on his own.

Mizu looked down on Duo for being on the streets, but there were a hundred things that Duo could do that Mizu couldn�t, and a hundred more that he could better. If someone dropped the both of them in a jungle with only a pen knife to survive, Duo would come out of it with a smile and Mizu would be dead within hours. There was no way the man would ever be able to survive in the real world. Understanding that, how could his uncle ever claim to having more power than his best friend? Duo was right. It was a messed up world that they lived in.

The London Branch of Yuy Corporations was a huge, looming building. In a way, it was quite pretty. It gave the illusion that it was made entirely of glass and that you could see everything that went on inside. Heero supposed this was supposed to send the message that Yuy Corporations had nothing to hide, but even he knew that the inner part of the building was still made of steel and concrete, like any other, and that it was impossible to see what went on in the offices and board meetings. As they went inside, another employee wearing the YC logo tried to escort them into the elevator, but Name waved him off, knowing exactly what floor they needed to be on.

At six o�clock at night, most of the workers had already gone home, but the more dedicated ones remained. Thankfully, the elevator they were on was a special one for members of the board, so no one else got on. It went all the way to the top floor, which made Heero roll his eyes. If he ever took over this company, he was putting his office and the board on the first floor. He didn�t care what kind of image it sent, it would drive him nuts having to go up twenty some floors just to go to work every day. He wondered if his mother�s job was always like this, or if other branches were different.

The top floor wasn�t the catacomb of offices that Heero had imagined. The walls were made of onyx granite with flecks of gold and silver, and there was just one hallway leading to one door that had his grandfather�s name and proper titled stenciled on it in gold. He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling anxious. The stenciling had been done perfectly, but looked old, as it should. His grandfather had been a powerful part of this company for� well, Heero wasn�t sure for how many decades, but it was impressive to say the least. He felt relieved when his mother didn�t seem to be intimidated at all, she didn�t even knock on the door, just going inside. And why should she? She was his daughter, and for the moment, CEO of the company.

Heero had expected that they would be meeting Mizu and his ojisan in the board meeting room, not his personal office, but it made him feel better, like this was going to be less of an inquisition, or execution. His grandfather was sitting behind his desk while Mizu was sitting in a chair by the door, looking irritated for some reason, but the second he and Name walked in, he sat up straight and an expression of cold professionalism came over him. Heero wondered what the two of them had been talking about before he and his mother had come in.

Hiroto Yuy, aptly named, despite his age, was an impressive figure. Though both of his parents had been Japanese, he was fairly tall. His short hair was completely white, the but with the intensity in his dark brown eyes, he carried the color with pride, as though any assumption that the whiteness might be connected with old age was offensive to him. He was neither scrawny nor fat, his chest and shoulders broad in the expensive suit he wore and what lines he had on his face didn�t make him look old, just more distinguished. With his cold, penetrating stare, he was as much the powerful businessman as he had ever been. And yet, when he saw Name, that stern expression melted away into tenderness.

�Na-na,� he said with a bright smile, using the nickname he had often called her as a child.

Name�s smile was identical to his as they embraced.

�It�s been far too long,� Hiroto scolded her as they parted, �Even though you�ve moved to America, I had thought you would have visited your father once in awhile.�

From where he was sitting, Mizu rolled his eyes. Hiroto�s eyes, reminding Heero of an eagle�s, noticed the movement and narrowed at him. Mizu, finally remembering his manners, stood up abruptly.

�I�m sorry, To-chan,� Name said, �Things have been so busy lately.�

�I�m sure they have, what with you training the street brat,� Mizu said with a dry smirk.

�Mizu,� Hiroto snapped.

Mizu stopped cold, unable to speak with his step-father looking at him with irritation. Those eagle-like eyes then fell on Heero, who had the same reaction as his uncle. Heero remembered the last time he had seen his grandfather, over a year ago. He had had a fight with his Chemistry teacher. He couldn�t recall what the fight had actually been about, if it had been about anything at all, which, in those days, wouldn�t be so strange, but he did remember punching the man in the face. Anyone else would have been expelled and arrested on assault charges, but not him.

The very next day, a fire had spread throughout the school. Thankfully, by the time it had reached some reactive chemicals in the science labs, everyone had been evacuated, so no one had been hurt. There had been something, something that he could barely remember now, about the accelerant used in the fire that had made it burn slowly, but had made it nearly impossible to put out. The chemical used had been something not sold anywhere near by, but they used in their science classes for experiments, so the popular belief had been that a student had done it. Naturally, because of his fight with the Chemistry teacher, all of his classmates and teachers had assumed he had done it. But, because he was a Yuy, the principal had found some other delinquent to blame (1) and the matter had been closed. A week later, they had all been shipped out to a nearby school.

Well, the matter hadn�t been closed for his family. His mother and grandfather had been equally furious. He wasn�t sure what had agitated them more, that he had punched out a teacher, or that Heero�s behavior had gotten so bad that anyone would actually think that he, a Yuy, had burned down the school. At least his mom and ojisan hadn�t believed that he had done something like that. Heero expected his grandfather to look at him with that same cold disappointment, but the man gave him the same smile he had given his mother and opened his arms wide.

�Well, are you just going to stand there gaping at me or are you going to give your grandfather a hug?� Hiroto teased.

Heero smiled in relief and hugged the man that he hadn�t seen in over a year. When he had been little, he and his grandfather had been very close. He would visit them at least once a week and would spend every minute of those visits with Heero. When his father had died, his ojisan had moved in with them to help his mother and him cope with the loss, even forsaking the business for them. Hell, Heero�s name had come from his grandfather. He wasn�t the cold, cut-throat businessman that the media loved to portray him as.

�Can we start the meeting?� Mizu said impatiently.

Hiroto let go of his grandson and gave his step-son a curt nod.

�Very well. As the head of the board, I must be partial to any evidence you bring forth about Name�s leadership, but know this, Mizu, if I find that you are lying or putting us through a farce, I will be forced to penalize you,� Hiroto warned, �Now, have at it.�

Mizu gave Name a sly smirk and she glared back at him.

�I�m sure you�ve heard about it on the news,� he said snidely, �Name�s sharing her home with some no-name little punk. Not only is she dragging the Yuy name through the mud and embarrassing us with such a story, there is no logical reason for her to take the boy in. I�ve seen him. He�s nothing special and he certainly has no manners. I guess that�s what you get for appointing a woman in charge of this company! All her decisions have been those of a weak-minded, sentimental girl! If it were up to her, the company would be nothing but a collective group of babysitters for any piece of trash that looks pitiful enough! And then there�s her moving to America at all, another completely irrational decision! While America is one of the centers for business, she admits that the only reason why she did it is to her help her son, who, I might add, has shown nothing but disrespect for this family with his wild behavior! A leader should have nothing but their company�s best interests in mind, yet she spends all her time helping some destitute little kid and cleaning up after her son�s mistakes! Neither of them are fit to make decisions for this empire! Do you know how many meetings Name has missed, cancelled, or stepped out on in the last five months?!�

Name glared at him, her dark eyes like chunks of razor-sharp ice as her son gritted his teeth, using every ounce of will power not to strike his uncle. She had known that this was coming. Not a single thing that Mizu was bringing up was a shock, but it still made her angry. So what if she didn�t make rational decisions? There was a big difference between rational and negligent and nothing she had done to help Duo had truly affected the company. She bet that, if Mizu had listed dates for all those meetings, they would have coincided with some event, Duo�s hospitalizations, attacks, or what had happened in Boston, but Mizu didn�t care about that. The way he made it sound, she was having an emotional breakdown or didn�t care about the company. Her father put up a hand to stop Mizu�s rant, the man, word by word, losing his calm composure.

�I know about all of this,� Hiroto said.

Mizu stared at him in shock. Name realized that he had hoped to through them all off balance and in doing so, he had gravely underestimated their father.

�Do you think I am a fool, Mizu?� Hiroto accused, �I know you�ve been keeping tabs on Name, waiting for her to slip up or show some weakness. I wouldn�t have agreed with this meeting if I did not think you had a point, however.�

Mizu�s black eyes turned to Name in triumph, but Name wasn�t ready to give him the upper hand. She was confident that nothing Mizu could say at this point truly showed that she was a bad leader.

�Bigotry is no basis for business,� Hiroto turned on Mizu, �Saying that Name is a woman, and therefore will make bad decisions is pointless and don�t mention it here again. But I am curious about this boy that my daughter and grandson have gotten tangled up with, as well as her logic for moving to America. What exactly would you have me believe is your reason for feeling that these decisions were poorly made?�

Good, Name thought, let Mizu make his case. As long as her father wasn�t agreeing with him outright for those choices, as long as he was giving her a chance to explain herself, Mizu was probably going to end up shooting himself in the foot over this one.

�I think it�s obvious,� the black haired man said pompously, �I think she�s being overly emotional, taking in some pathetic boy, because her little family isn�t whole anymore, like a little kid who�s lost a parent and takes in dogs from the street to compensate for it. She obviously hasn�t recovered from the breakdown she had when her husband died. After all� how can you expect someone who locked themselves in their room for three days straight, without even checking on their child, all the while weeping like a little girl, to be able to make reasonable decisions about a billion dollar company?�

Name paled and, for a moment, she remembered that time, those first few days after Alexei had died in the hospital. Maybe, the most shocking thing about what Mizu was saying was that none of it was a lie. She had locked herself in her room for three days, not eating or speaking with anyone. She had only done it after her father had arrived to take care of Heero, once she had been sure he would be fine, something inside of her had snapped. She had let go of everything and had just fallen to pieces, crying every second. During that time, she had survived on water from the bathroom tap, unwilling to open the door to let food in, and just as unwilling to eat it. She had slept in a pitiful, cold ball on the floor, unable to sleep in their bed with his scent still lingering there.

For the first time since she had boarded the plane, Name felt unbalanced. Mizu�s words had shoved her off her feet and she could only stare ahead of her in complete shock. Of all the things she had prepared herself to hear from him, this had never occurred to her. How could he use her husband�s death against her? Though she had never cared for him, she felt oddly betrayed. Next to her, she felt Heero tremble. She wasn�t sure if it was out of rage or a shock like hers, and was too scared to look. She felt his hand touch hers and she closed her eyes for a second, welcoming the comfort from her son, the only person besides herself and her father who really knew what had happened in those days.

�Silence!� Hiroto snapped, more angry than shocked at his step-son�s words, �You disgrace yourself, Mizu!�

Mizu took a step back, startled by his step-father�s rage, not having anticipated that Hiroto would be so passionate about this.

�Name was not the only one to suffer a loss that day,� Hiroto growled, a sound reminiscent of a bear, �And you have no right to speak of her grief in such a way! If your sweet, kind mother heard you utter such a thing�� he said coldly, �She would be utterly ashamed of you!�

That, more than his step-father�s anger, made Mizu pale. If there was one person in his life that he loved, anyone at all, it was his mother. He had never blamed her for remarrying, had never blamed her for anything at all, and the mere assumption that she would hate him for what he was saying struck a blow to him.

�The only thing I am concerned about,� Hiroto said in a near hiss of caution at Mizu, �Is Heero�s behavior, this recent move of theirs, and that boy I keep seeing in the newspaper. All I want to know from you, is if you think my daughter is being overwhelmed by her duties, not if you think she�s being overly emotional or sentimental!�

�Father,� Name interrupted with a respectful tone, �May I speak?�

Hiroto sighed, running his fingers through his white hair and suddenly looking very tired.

�Of course. This meeting involves both you and Heero, either of you may speak freely to defend yourselves,� he assured her.

�Mizu�s assumptions may be incorrect, but the facts are not. Heero�s behavior was a serious problem, you saw that for yourself. I did move the both of us to America for illogical, selfish reasons. And, I most certainly did take in a child, for no benefit at all to our business. However, he is wrong with his assumption that a leader must only ever be considered with their company, especially in this case. Yuy Corporations isn�t just a multi-billion dollar company, it�s a family business, and has been since it was created. I am just as concerned about this company as I am my own family. While my most recent decisions have not benefited the company in any way, they have benefited my family,� Name told him, starting to regain her senses again.

�Then you are willing to tell me what your reasons are?� Hiroto asked, nodding in agreement with Name�s assessment of YC being family orientated.

�Yes,� she nodded and put her hand on Heero�s shoulder briefly, �You know how Heero acted after his father�s death. Getting into fights, smoking, never doing his homework� when he put that boy in the hospital, I suppose it was the last straw. Ever since we moved to London, his behavior was getting worse. I thought the best thing would be to get him away, someplace neutral, someplace away from being a Yuy.�

Mizu snorted, saying nothing, but his expression clearly said that any Yuy actually wanting to get away from their wealth and reputation was ridiculous. They all ignored him.

�And you thought America was that place?� Hiroto asked.

�There were several mergers in New York and other places in New England that I needed to work on,� she explained, �As I prepared for those meetings while we were still in London, I did some research, and pondered if New England could be a new home for us, a place where Heero might detach from his recent cycle of behaviors. He had become so arrogant, so listless. It wasn�t until he hurt that boy so badly that I really decided to do it. I�m not an idiot,� she smirked self-depreciatingly, �I know it�s practically impossible for either of us to get away from our notoriety, but a little town in Maine seemed perfect, away from the spotlight, but close enough to larger cities for me to continue with my job.�

Heero blushed as he listened to his mother detail his behavior. He really had been a miserable son to her. He had not treated as he had his teachers and other teenagers, but she had had to put up with a lot of shit from him. He hadn�t realized that she had been thinking about moving them for so long. He barely remembered that fight, why he had started it, but it had gone out of control. Anthony Clarence, a homophobic, racist prick that had gotten on his nerves one time too often and on that day, he had done something to irritate Heero to the point when he had decided to shut him up for good.

He hadn�t meant to dislocate the boy�s jaw, or break his ribs and wrist, or nearly crush his throat in. Remembering the fight, it almost made him shudder as, for the first time, he realized how close to the edge he had been. If he had remained in London, if he had continued in the self-destructing spiral he had been in, just how down would have pulled himself, and his mother? Would he have ended up like Zechs, bullying kids that couldn�t defend themselves, assaulting people who didn�t irritate him, but were just there? Name glared at her step-brother and pulled a piece of paper out of her purse.

�I came prepared,� she said, almost in a warning, and handed the piece of paper to her father.

Hiroto studied it for a moment, then, his eyes widened in surprise.

�These are Heero�s grades?� he asked, his voice just as surprised as his expression.

Name smirked.

�As you can see, as irrational as the choice was to move us to Maine, it worked. In the last five months, Heero hasn�t acted out once. His grades have improved, along with his behavior,� she boasted.

The teachers� comments said pretty much the same thing, that Heero was a model student, smart and kind to others, but Hiroto didn�t put much stake in teacher�s comments. It wouldn�t be the first time they had lied on one of Heero�s report cards, even as the grades themselves reflected something completely different. But the letter grades told him everything that he needed to know. His warm, brown eyes met his grandson�s blue ones and he smiled.

�I�m proud of you, Heero,� he said.

�You shouldn�t be,� Heero protested and looked down at the floor in shame, �I acted like an ass, a spoiled brat. I knew that I was hurting you and Mom, and I did care, I just couldn�t stop. I pushed everyone that loved me away, because I was so worried about losing someone else. I didn�t realize that, no matter how hard I pushed, you wouldn�t stop loving me and I could never stop loving you. I�m sorry.�

�I understand,� Hiroto nodded, �It doesn�t excuse your behavior, but I understand. I felt the same way when my first wife died. I didn�t react the same way you did, but it�s understandable. And you think that living in America enabled you to cope with your father�s death appropriately?�

Heero�s expression turned sad and introspective, affectionate and lost at the same time. Hiroto had never seen such an expression on the boy�s face before and couldn�t figure it out.

�The boy that Mom took in� Duo� his name is Duo� he gave me perspective. He made me understand that what I was doing was just hurting myself. He made me understand how selfish I was being, that I�m not the only one in pain and that, by pushing everyone away, I wasn�t protecting myself. I was just making myself lonely and hurting everyone around me,� Heero murmured.

Hiroto turned his gaze back to Name.

�That is what perplexes me the most about all this. Why did you take this boy in? You had to have realized that you are putting your family at risk by doing so! He could be anyone, a thief, assassin, someone trying to bring this family down or benefit from us some way. You had to have seen this coming, that we would question you about this. How could you take such a chance?!� he demanded.

His rant was cut off by Name�s intense stare, a look that she had never given him in her entire life.

�No one in this room can damn me for taking Duo in!� she snapped, angry at her father�s accusations, �If I�m demoted for that� then I don�t want to be this company�s CEO!� she took a deep breath, �If you want to know why I did it, fine, I�ll tell you, but I have one condition.�

Hiroto crossed his arms over his chest, considering her for a moment. More than anything, the board meeting, Mizu�s accusations, he wanted to figure his daughter out.

�Fine,� he agreed.

�I want Mizu to leave,� Name said.

Mizu laughed.

�Are you joking?! This is my inquisition!� he exclaimed.

�No, it�s mine,� Hiroto corrected, �Leave.�

�Father!� Mizu protested.

�Do you have anymore evidence to provide?� his step-father asked coldly.

Mizu hesitated, then grudgingly shook his head. Name had to fight not to smirk at him. He had no more cards, there was nothing else he could do, it was all up to their father.

�Then leave,� Hiroto ordered.

Mizu glared at his step-sister, then with a huff of breath, stormed out. Heero sighed in relief. He didn�t want the asshole to be around while his mother tried to explain why they had had to take care of Duo. They stayed silent until the door closed behind Mizu.

�All right, what is this about and why is such a secret that you don�t want Mizu to know about it?� Heero�s grandfather asked.

�It isn�t so much a secret,� Name said, �as Mizu does not need to know it, and does not have the respect to hear it. Duo� I guess the simplest way to put it was he needed me. Needed us. And I�ve never regretted taking care of him. He and Heero are best friends, have been since the first week of school. From the moment I met him, I knew there was something about Duo, something� wrong, but he made Heero happy and seemed harmless enough. Then, one day, Heero and Duo had an argument and Duo went missing. We looked everywhere, but no one could find him. The address he had given at school was a fake.�

Hiroto almost demanded to know why Name had let the boy stay with them, then, if he had indeed turned out to be a fake, but knew that the story was far from over.

�And when we did find him� he was almost dead,� she murmured, hating talking about this, hating her memories of Duo sitting in that hospital bed, telling them about being raped, but her father�s shocked expression bolstered her forward, �Heero got him to the hospital and he survived. He had been living with a man since he was seven years old, a very� dangerous man, who had been abusing him very severely. Duo doesn�t have any family, no one to take care of him and this man had taken advantage of that. He had turned him into a slave.�

Name didn�t talk about the prostitution. She didn�t have the right to tell her father about that and it was something that, she knew, if she did talk about, she wouldn�t be able to get all the way through it. It still hurt just to think about it, the sweet boy that she knew, being forced to do those things, especially as a little child.

�He needed a home,� Name murmured, �He needed love. After what that man had done to him, he had surgery and could barely handle just� being alive, let alone finding a place to live or going back to school. I felt responsible for him. I have enough wealth to take care of hundreds of children for the rest of their lives, how could I possibly let a boy that I had known, whom my son cared for and I had let into my house, be pushed aside, or worse, end up on the streets? I paid for his hospital bills and promised to take care of him. I won�t apologize for that.�

Hiroto shook his head.

�I don�t know if I would have made the same decision,� he confessed, �I don�t know if I would have been able to trust a boy like that into my home. Make sure he found another family, yes, but my own��

Name smiled at him.

�To-chan, if you had seen him in that hospital bed� he�s so small, so hurt sometimes, but there�s this� strength and stubbornness to him� I truly mean it when I say I have never regretted my decision. You would have made the same choice, I know it. You�re a kind man,� she said.

�Perhaps. But what you did� what you did wasn�t just kind, it was humane. You always did have a big heart, but this was beyond any sense of responsibility,� he pointed out, �Even if he�s Heero friend, he still isn�t your responsibility.�

�Yes, he is,� Name argued, �Duo is a part of my family now. Mizu wants you to believe that my judgment is clouded, that my decision to take Duo in is foolish and will hurt the company, but Duo has only strengthened my resolve to run this company right. Maybe our main directive has been to make as much money as we can, to sell products, but there is absolutely no reason why this company can�t be even greater, why we can�t help people like Duo that just need a boost in the right direction.�

Hiroto smiled lovingly at her. He felt a burst of pride seeing her so convicted, for having, somehow, raised a child with such a moral spirit. But, as sure of this boy as Name was, he couldn�t help to have his doubts. Their family had been targeted so many times, how could he not doubt whether or not this child was really trustworthy? The only way he would be able to relax was to meet this Duo, but he knew that the time wasn�t right. His parental instincts knew that there was no way Name was going to let him interrogate this boy. Something had happened, something about this boy had wormed into his daughter�s heart and now she was protective of him. She wouldn�t have run Mizu out of the room if she wasn�t. But, even more importantly, that protectiveness and her arguments had given him all the information he had needed.

�Tell Mizu to come back in,� he told his daughter.

Name didn�t ask why, she understood his expression and opened the door. Mizu was impatiently waiting out in the corridor and strode back into the office.

�I�ve come to my decision,� Hiroto announced.

Heero tensed. So soon? How could he just decide when there were so many more arguments Heero could come up with why his Mom was the only person who could lead this company? Again, he feared the worst, that his Mom was going to be demoted and he would be� Mizu�s smirk diminished as Hiroto looked at him fiercely.

�You have no standing here,� the older man said sharply, �All of your� points have been argued, and I have to agree with Name. Her reasoning is sound, yours is not.�

�Sir!� Mizu tried to protest.

�I have followed her progress just as much as you,� Hiroto interrupted, �Yuy Corporations has flourished. Not a single one of her recent decisions has harmed the company, even slightly. I will not penalize her for possible, future mistakes.�

�And what about the media?!� Mizu nearly screamed, quickly losing control, �What about all the stories they print and air, calling her a fool, speculating all sorts of embarrassing things because of her actions?! Because of her and that� that street brat, this company�s reputation is being dragged through the mud!�

�The media has always concocted sick, little stories about this family,� Hiroto dismissed with a wave of his hand, �And they will continue to make such stories, no matter what is really going on,� he narrowed his eyes at Mizu, �Besides, I know why you are really here, why you have tried to bring all of this to my attention, and it has nothing to do with concern for this company. Know this, Mizu: Even if Name�s actions had hurt the company, I never would have appointed you as CEO. Surely, you must realize that by now. You clearly don�t have what it takes to lead this company, if you�re coming here with such pitiful evidence. You should be commending your sister for helping someone who needed her, instead of trying to bring her down for your own selfish needs.�

Mizu turned red in the face and started to breathe hard as he realized that he had lost. He turned and glared, not at Name, but at Heero, his rage growing as Heero just smirked at him, hiding his relief. Mizu stormed past him and slammed the office door behind him so hard, the pictures on the walls rattled. Hiroto shook his head.

�I�m sorry for his behavior,� he apologized.

Heero really didn�t care. He felt� elated. Was it really over? Could they go home now? He had thought that this ordeal would drag itself out for days, but at this rate, they could leave tomorrow morning! He didn�t have to take over the company, Mizu hadn�t gotten the last laugh� everything was going to continue on, exactly how it had been.

�It isn�t your fault,� Name said, �Mizu�s problems are his own.�

�Perhaps,� Hiroto nearly agreed, �Or maybe I should have been more active during his childhood.�

�Some people are just born assholes,� Heero groused, thinking of Zechs.

Hiroto burst out laughing at his grandson�s mood, shaking his head.

�You really are your mother�s son, aren�t you?� he teased.

Name raised an eyebrow at him.

�And what is that supposed to mean, father-dear?� she grumbled in the same manner that Heero had.

�Is this really all settled?� Heero burst out.

His grandfather nodded.

�Actually, I must confess, knowing Mizu as I do, I had already made most of my mind up when he first brought this issue up,� he said.

�And you dragged me and my son here anyway?� Name asked incredulously.

Hiroto smiled.

�I wanted to spend some time with my daughter and grandson,� he informed them.

Name and Heero shared a look. Heero knew what his mother was thinking. How often would they be able to have the three of them on the same continent? His concern for Duo niggled at him. They should be going back as soon as possible� but he hadn�t seen his grandfather in so long and he did want to spend some time with him�

�It�s up to you,� Name said softly.

Heero hesitated.

�I guess�� he murmured, �Just for a little while.�

�I know it�s been a trying time for both of you,� Hiroto said, �Why don�t you two go to your hotel and we can have breakfast tomorrow, maybe we can walk around tomorrow with your grandmother, do a little shopping?�

�I�m sure Duo would love a souvenir,� Name suggested.

It was that comment that won Heero over. He couldn�t go back home to Maine without something to give to his best friend. He imagined Duo�s eyes widening with excitement if he gave him some special gift, a light flush over those pale cheeks� yeah, he definitely couldn�t leave without souvenirs. And� Duo could take care of himself, couldn�t he? He had Trowa and Quatre, after all� a little more time away couldn�t hurt and it was unlikely that they would have flown back tonight anyway. He nodded.

�Ok, but no restaurants that only have five things on the menu,� he warned.

He wasn�t the same person that had left this country all those months ago. He would never be that person again. No more expensive restaurants where he couldn�t even pronounce the thing he had just ordered. No more fights or stolen liquor. No more thinking he was the most privileged person in the world. Because, as nice as it was to see his grandfather again, as nice as it was to be with his family and back in the world he had always known and understood, where tall, blonde predators posing as pimps didn�t try to shoot him or rape his best friend, he was still going back and as soon as he did, the very first thing he did was to share a slice of pizza with the boy he loved. If there was one thing that he had learned after all these months, it was that, sometimes, the thing that made you the happiest was also the simplest thing in the world.
　

　

End Part 4
(1) Um, anyone remember this? It was back in chapter 4. It was the reason why Alex messed with Duo, because he got expelled for a fire that, he believed, had been Heero�s fault, but knew that Heero would never get blamed for it. So, who did start that fire?
　

For readers of the original version of this story, I�m smack in the middle of drawing Alex. It�s going to take me awhile since I haven�t drawn non-smut in a few years, and I want to get him just right, but I will post a link to the pic on my live journal when finished. Since I�m on Fur Affinity and yaoi.y-gallery.net(which is about a million times better than Deviant Art), I�ve been contemplating drawing for my original fiction. So far, I have rough sketches for Beck, Will, and Josh from A Change of Heart, an overabundance of Lilu (I have two pictures of him already finished on FA) and an even greater abundance of Ian in� um, compromising positions (I�m a perv, ok?), Nate and Fox from Definition of Love, Tasha from El Lupe en Tora (not yet posted in originals), Shin from Ethereal, Frey from Stagnation of Love, Inigo and Cale from Solstice, and Camdyn and Zander from The Silver Ring. I really want to also do pics of Cale and Vel, Samael from both Death and Incubus, Kaleb and Izel, and Kosuke and Seiko, but I�m having trouble with them (I�m not used to drawing Cale�s longer body type, Izel is just complicated and a half with all those adorable spots, and I suck at drawing Seiko�s kimono and scars) I let you know if I actually finish anything, but don�t hold your breath. *sigh* I yearn for commissions from people who actually draw.
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The Road to Kindness