Remember When Arc
Life loves a tragedy part 5
We
do not own the rights to GW! Never have and never will!
Warnings:
Angst, language, slight OOC
Archived
at: AFF, MM, and www.templeofthegoddess.com
Part
five of ‘Life loves a tragedy’ by Sparkling Diamond PG-SSM &
Saiyajin_Raven69
It
felt like a typical Friday in Duo’s book. He was tired, a little on the grumpy
side, but nothing out of the ordinary. He got up before his alarm went off,
dressing himself in the best clothes he owned. Simple black pants, a white
cotton dress shirt, and a tie that he couldn’t remember buying, but had been
in his closet for a long time. Duo never had been one to dress up, he had never
felt the need to buy a suit, but now he was kicking himself in the ass because
he knew he’d stick out like a sore thumb amongst his wealthy friends.
He
crept quietly from the bedroom, careful not to wake Aleana. He couldn’t afford
a cranky baby today, knowing that he’d have little to no chance of putting her
down for a nap in the afternoon.
“What
are you doing up so early?” A quiet voice startled Duo, coming from the open
doorway of the bathroom.
“I
could ask you the same thing.” Duo replied, meeting Wufei’s eyes in his
reflection in the small mirror over the sink.
“Same
as you, I suppose. It’s going to be long day; may as well get a jump on it.”
black elastic band, and turned to smile at Duo.
“You have a visitor in the kitchen, by way way.”
Duo
sighed loudly, rolling his eyes. He had one guess, and that would be Quatre, the
early riser. He strode the few
steps down the short hallway to the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
“Do
I look like Quatre? I swore I had a better figure than him.”
Duo’s
eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open, totally surprised at the unexpected
visitor. He gaped for a few moments
at the smiling face of his old friend, before wordlessly throwing himself into
her open arms.
“It’s
nice to see you too, Duo.” Hilde whispered, wrapping her arms around him,
squeezing him tightly.
“What
are you doing here? How’d you get here so fast? Who’s watching the yard?”
The
girl gave him an extra squeeze, and released the flabbergasted teen.
didn’t come for your baby’s funeral. The
yard is fine without me for one day; I’ve got some really great guys working
for me. They’ve got my number if
they need me, but I doubt that they will.”
“How
long are you staying?” Duo asked,
as his friend ushered him to a chair at the round table.
“I’m
bd ond on the red-eye shuttle home tonight.
The guys can do without me for a day, but I don’t want to push my
luck!” She winked at him.
breakfast.”
“Hilde!”
Duo glowered, giving her that look that meant he wasn’t going to accept it.
“Sit
down and eat! The last time we were together, you bought breakfast, so now
it’s my turn.” She said, with a
dismissive wave of one hand. “Wufei?
Breakfast.”
The
dark haired girl sighed, plopping herself down in a chair next to her best
friend. The flight fL2 wL2 was long, and getting to the apartment from the
shuttle port seemed to take even longer, in the tiny car she’d rented. She
hadn’t seen Duo for well over a year, and his pale, gaunt appearance surprised
her. She had seen him on the
vid-phone when he’d called two nights ago, but the darkness of the room hid
just how much he’d changed since she’d last seen him.
The
call in itself was shocking. She
tried to keep in touch with Duo as much as possible, usually through e-mail, due
to the exorbitant cost of phone calls between Earth and the colonies.
first day her friend had taken her in, but Miranda was a complete surprise.
“Duo?
I think Aleana is awake.” Wufei said, looping his tie into the perfect knot as
he entered the kitchen.
“Damn
it, I wanted her to sleep a little longer.” The longhaired teen grumbled,
getting up from the table, and stumbling from the kitchen.
at his friends as he walked away. “I
need to make a phone call while I’m in here; I need to let Mrs. Gregory know
about the funeral this morning. I’m
sure she’s wondering about the details. I
meant to call her last night. I’ll
be back out in a few minutes.”
“He’s
not himself.” Hilde noted, pushing around the scrambled eggs that clung
disturbingly to the Styrofoam container they sat in.
“How
did you come to that conclusion? He hardly said five words.” Wufei replied,
snatching up a small container of orange juice off the table, before taking the
chair across from Hilde.
“Because
if he were himself, he would have been
talking my ear off by now. Normally
he goes on and on about Aleana, school, work; I usually can’t get him to shut
up! Since his call the other night,
though, I’ve never seen him so…so defeated. No maniac grin, no babbling
about Aleana. He really thought when you walked out that he’d just lost one
more friend.”
“I
left to cool down. It would have done more harm than good to fight over…”
“I
know what the fight was about.” Hilde
interrupted. “Duo told me
everything, right down to him jumping your back about the foon hin his mind, he
was doing the best that he could, Wufei. It might have not been the right
decision on his part, but he sees it from your point of view now.”
“I
was just worried. You see what he
looks like. He’s so thin, and so
pale. It’s obvious that he
doesn’t take care of himself, he’s too busy taking care of the girls, and
trying to get his degree when he barely makes enough money to support
himself.”
“We
all worry about him. I know he thinks that we mother hen him to death some
times. He’s taken on so much since he left Heero. He’s trying to forget
about his past so he can move on.”
“If
I could be so forward, Hilde, why aren’t you two together?”
without looking up to meet the girl’s eyes.
Hilde
covered her mouth to stifle the laugh that erupted.
yes"> She smiled apologetically when Wufei looked up at her,
surprised at her reaction. “Sorry, but that’s funny, really it is. I love
him, but I don’t feel for him like that.
We’re like brother and sister. We wouldn’t make it as lovers, or
whatever. Now you on the other
hand…” Her eyes twinkled with
mischief as the Chinese teen stared at her, daring her to continue.
anything, Wufei. I just figured by
the way he talked about you the other night that something was going to happen
between the two of you.”
Wufei
frowned, unsure of where the girl could have gotten the idea of something
romantic going on from her conversation with Duo. He opened his mouth to ask
just what Duo had said, when the boy in question swept into the room, with
Aleana balanced on his hip.
“Say
good morning to Uncle Wu and Auntie Hilde, Sunshine.” The teen said in a
sing-song voice, proudly showing off his beautiful daughter to his friend who
had never met her.
Aleana
was wearing the outfit that Wufei had bought for her.
yes"> The dress was soft yellow, with tiny embroidered daisies
sprinkled over the skirt, with matching ruffled bloomers covering her diapered
behind. The saleswoman at the store
had thoughtfully pressed Wufei into buying matching sandals, which were white
with a small silk daisy on the toe straps.
The baby was busy thwapping her daddy with the white eyelet bonnet that
she obviously thought was a toy, rather than apparel.
“Oh
my, she’s even more beautiful in person.” Hilde grinned, taking the girl
from him, and sitting her on her lap.
Duo
beamed proudly, watching as his best friend became acquainted with his daughter.
counter, busying himself with making Aleana’s breakfast, and double checking
to make sure that he had enough bottles, diapers and toys in the diaper bag.
“Does
she walk yet, Duo?”
“Umm,
no, but not for the lack of trying.” Duo smiled, watching Aleana standing on
Hilde’s lap with a cross look on her face.
“She
doesn’t look happy. What’s the matter sweetie?” Hilde asked in falsetto,
making a grouchy face back at the baby, when Aleana broke into a wail.
“Ahh,
I don’t think that she likes me.” Hilde grimaced, holding the child out for
Duo to take, when Wufei scooped her up in his arms.
“Just
finish what you need to do, Duo. I’ve got her.”
“Thanks,
‘Fei.” Duo smiled, handing him a bottle, a bib, and a drool cloth.
“She’s a spitter. You’ve
gotta watch her pretty closely to make sure she doesn’t get any milk on
herself or you!” Wufei nodded,
frowning slightly, before taking Aleana out of the kitchen, and into the living
room.
________________________________________________________________________
An
hour later, the baby had been fed without messing up her pretty clothes, and all
three adult occupants of the shabby apartment were dressed and ready to begin
their somber day, when the shrill ring of the vid-phone disturbed the quiet.
popped up on the screen when the call was answered.
Duo
sat down heavily in the chair in front of the view screen.
had been welcome, and he had been very glad that his friend hadn’t turned his
back on their friendship, he still was wary about the visit in general.
as he always had been, and although Trowa’s visit was brief, he had shown Duo
with no uncertainty that he was there for the braided boy.
yes"> There was still the presence of Heero to be faced, and Duo
just wasn’t sure that he was ready to take that bull by the horns.
the other end of their phone connection.
“Good
morning, Duo. How are you feeling
today?” the blonde boy asked.
“Hey,
Q-ball. I’ve seen better days.
The
small Arabian smiled fondly at the nickname that Duo had dubbed him with during
the first war. “I’m fine.
you two for Miranda’s services. Would
you like us to pick you up?”
Just
then, Hilde leaned over Duo’s shoulder, waving at Quatre.
limo, Mr. Winner?”
“Well,
hello Hilde!” the blonde smiled warmly. “I
didn’t know you were here! Of
course we have room for you.”
“Hey,
wait just a minute! Hold your
horses, you guys. I don’t want to
ride in a car with Heero!” Duo
said hastily. “You guys can meet
us at the cemetery; I can call a cab to come get us, here.”
A
look of consternation crossed the blonde’s face briefly.
talked Duo down from his strong feelings against his Japanese lover, but
apparently that hadn’t happened. He
almost wished that he had left the boy behind on L4.
yes"> His presence was obviously causing more stress for an already
frazzled Duo.
He
sighed heavily. “I’m sorry,
Duo. I’m between a rock and a
hard place. It’s my fault that
Heero is even here on Earth with us; he was fairly adamant against coming, but I
forced him to. Now, though, he is
just as adamant about making amends with you.
I don’t think I can keep him from attending the funeral.
to something.”
Duo
huffed. “Fine.
wherever he wants. I just don’t
have to deal with him. I’m
normal">not riding in a car with him, and that’s final.”
Hilde
broke in on the conversation. “You
know, I have a rental car. It’s
tiny, so I don’t think I have room for all three of us.”
yes"> She looked pointedly at Wufei.
“There’s really not room in the backseat for a long-legged adult, but
I can take you and Aleana.” She
said, returning her gaze to her best friend.
“Wu?
guys?” Duo spun in the revolving
desk chair to look pleadingly at the Chinese teen.
you can tell them how to get there.”
________________________________________________________________________
When
the black stretch limo arrived, Duo was strapping Aleana into the back seat of
the compact economy car that Hilde had rented at the shuttle port.
for the dingy little vehicle. She
had spent a large portion of her savings on the last minute shuttle trip to
Earth, so had too little left over to rent a larger, newer model.
yes"> She was relegated to accepting the cheapest car on the rental
lot, and was now sorry that she hadn’t splurged on the nicer sedan.
Once
the baby was safely settled in her seat, Duo backed himself out of the
pint-sized car, and turned to face Quatre and Trowa.
yes"> “So, did you manage to shackle Heero up to the back of a
city bus somewhere for me?”
“Oh,
Duo!” Quatre sighed, as he
embraced the braided boy.
Trowa
thumped his hand on Duo’s back a couple of times while the two smaller boys
hugged. “Sorry.
yes"> I could muzzle him for you, if you’d like.”
Duo
pulled away from the blonde boy, smiling wryly at Trowa.
yes"> He wasn’t sure if he was thanking Trowa for the
light-hearted comment that made him grin, or just for being there.
yes"> He did know that Trowa would understand either way.
An
indignant shriek from the back seat let them know that Aleana was getting
aggravated at being strapped into a car seat, and ignored.
yes"> Duo smiled sadly. “Guess
we’d better get this show on the road.”
All
the teens piled into their respective vehicles, directions in hand, and began
the 9 mile trek to the cemetery, which was located on the outskirts of the city;
far removed from the dirt, smog and poverty of their current surroundings.
All
was quiet in the small car, Aleana having fallen asleep the minute the vehicle
hit the highway. Duo leaned his
forehead against the cool glass of his window, idly counting the construction
barrels that slowly passed through his line of vision.
silence any longer, and decided to fill the space between them.
“So,
Duo…how did you come to have Miranda? I
knew about Aleana, but you haven’t told me the circumstances around how you
got the baby.”
Duo
turned his head and smiled wistfully at his friend.
yes"> “I wish you’d gotten to meet her, Hilde.
given her up.” He looked down at
his hands, not really seeing them, but seeing back in time to when he had first
come across the tiny girl.
“She
was just left at the free clinic that I take Aleana to for her check ups.
of the lobby, put down the car seat, and ran.
She was brand new. I’d had
her three days before her umbilical cord even fell off.
yes"> The docs at the clinic said she’d been delivered in a
hospital, ‘cause she had a bracelet on, but the mother’s name on it was
fake, so even the hospital where she was born couldnind ind her.”
“And
the people at the clinic just gave her to you?”
“Well,
I kinda begged.” He smiled
sheepishly. “They all know me
there, and if I hadn’t taken her, God only knows where she would have ended
up, an orphanage, probably. I
couldn’t sit back and let her be sent there, so I pleaded my case, and they
let me take her home. I hadn’t
adopted her or anything, yet. I
don’t think I’d even be allowed to adopt, being a single kid with no money.
Duo
looked back at the sleeping red-head in the backseat, and tears welled up in his
indigo eyes, as he looked at the cherubic face. “I just live in fear of the
day that someone comes and takes my angel away from me.”
Hilde
put her hand on her friend’s knee and squeezed tightly.
money, but you’re a damn good person. No
child could hope to have a better father than you.”
from you.”
He
wiped at his damp eyes, and turned his gaze back to the driver.
yes"> Sorry to get all blubbery on you.”
She
swatted the knee that she’d been holding with the back of her hand.
care for these babies. Don’t ever
be sorry for loving someone.”
________________________________________________________________________
When
they arrived at the cemetery, they followed the limo through a maze of hedges,
down a winding gravel pathway. When
the cars finally came to a stop, they were met by a beautiful vision of a
picturesque setting of evergreens and maple trees, surrounding the
well-manicured lawns of an area that was obviously designated for the burial of
children. Small headstones were
sprinkled across the greens, many with teddy bears, lambs or other childish
icons engraved into the granite, even more with graceful angels, their peaceful
faces cast downward to keep watch over the sleeping babies below.
Two
cars were already there, a gleaming black SUV, and an older station wagon, with
Mrs. Gregory sitting behind the wheel. She
bustled out of her seat when Duo stood from the small rental car, and
immediately rushed toward him to enfold him in a grandmotherly hug.
“Oh,
my sweet Duo!” She exclaimed as
she held him tight, tears tracking down her wrinkled face.
darling!”
He
returned the strength of her embrace, trying to keep his own tears at bay.
“I
just keep thinking that there should have been something I could have done for
her, but…”
“Shh.”
calling the ambulance. That’s all
I would have done myself. It’s
not your fault.”
He
pulled back from her arms, and gave her a small smile.
to see you.” He said, as he
turned and leaned into the car to release the just awakened Aleana from her
infant seat. He backed out with the
smiling girl, who squealed when she saw the older woman, reaching her arms out
to the only person other than Duo that had taken care of her in her short life.
Duo caught a glimpse of bright colors in his peripheral vision, and turned to
gape at the display of flowers arranged around the tiny gravesite.
“What?
He said to himself, as he walked over to look at the card on the largest
arrangement. “Relena?
He
circled the site, plucking the card from each bundle of flowers, his amazement
clear on his face as he read each tiny piece of paper.
Howie and the guys.” He turned,
scanning the faces of his friends. “How
did they know?”
Wufei
sheepishly raised his hand. “I
thought your friends should know what you were going through.
yes"> I called them all yesterday while you were out.
have been here, but they all send their love.”
“Wow.”
once more, reading over the sentiments written on each one.
giving him a sad smile. “Thanks,
Wu. These really mean a lot to
me.”
The
Chinese teen nodded in reply. Just
then, the officiant stepped forward and cleared his throat.
yes"> Are you ready to begin?”
Duo
looked at the tiny white casket, perched on the silver bars of the mechanism
that would lower it into the ground. Looking
back to the man, he sighed.“Yeah,
I suppose so. Can you open the
casket, though? I’d like to see
her one more time.”
“Of
course.”
When
the lid was unlocked and raised, soft gasps rose from all around the braided
teen, as those who hadn’t seen the baby got their first look at her.
satin, dressed in the christening gown that Wufei had bought for her, the girl
looked like a true angel. The
morticians that had taken care of her body had done a beautiful job in making
her look like she was just sleeping. She
looked so natural, with a slight rouge on her cheeks, and her chubby, dimpled
hands lying delicately at her sides.
Duo
let out a small sob as he gazed at her, reaching his hand out to lightly stroke
her cheek, as tears began to slowly fall from his eyes.
and found himself leaning slightly against him, as hands clasped onto his
shoulders in support.
Standing
back from the small group of friends, Heero felt his heart tighten at the sight
of his former lover’s sorrow. He
once again was overwhelmed by the knowledge that he was the reason for the child
being in the coffin, and he found himself stepping forward so that he could get
a glimpse of her. He choked when he
laid eyes on the tiny Asian girl lying in the satin lined box.
all at once. Anger with himself,
anger at Duo, the pain of the love he still harbored for the braided boy, the
bittersweet feeling of finally seeing his ex-lover in person after two long
years, the weight of the guilt he felt for the precious infant’s death.
home for him; once again, he had caused the death of an innocent.
He
made a sound low in his throat, somewhere between a growl and a moan, and
abruptly turned away from the scene. He
needed to be alone with his emotions; he couldn’t let them go in the presence
of his ex-lover. He briskly walked
to the limo, getting in and closing the door as quietly as possible.
seat, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, using every bit of control he
had to keep the tears that were threatening to fall at bay.
past his defenses.
Duo
turned at the sound of the car door closing, and saw that Heero was missing.
teeth together, interpreting the Japanese boy’s disappearance as a sign of his
indifference.
Over
the years since the wars had begun, Quatre had learned to have greater control
over his empathic ability to feel the emotions of others around him, and he was
rarely even affected by them anymore, unless he purposely let his guards down.
with all the powerful emotions rolling off of two boys in particular.
laid his hand against the former pilot’s face.
“Duo,
it’s ok.” He whispered, his
expressive blue-green eyes sparkling with concern.
on Miranda. Don’t angeanger mar your final moments with her.”
Duo
nodded at the blonde, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before meeting
the eyes of each of the rest of his circle of friends.
the service.
The
man spoke of angels and heaven, without getting too religious, as Duo had
requested. All too soon, it was
over, and the speaker pulled a single white rose from the spray that Relena had
sent, and handed it to Duo. The
braided boy kissed the flower, then gently stroked the baby’s cheek with the
petals, before laying the rose in the casket with her.
coffin for the last time.
Each
of his friends embraced him in turn, every one of them having been affected by
his sorrow. When he reached Hilde,
the girl who had been proud of herself for her composure burst into tears.
with her. A cry from Aleana, upset
at seeing her Daddy crying, broke the two apart.
“Oh,
Sunshine, I’m sorry!” Duo said,
wiping his face dry, and taking the whimpering girl from Mrs. Gregory.
her smile again.
“Duo,
let me take the little pumpkin home with me, so you can spend some time with
your friends.” The older lady
offered, reaching her hands toward the little girl once more.
“Oh,
that would be great, Mrs. Gregory. Could
you keep her for a couple of hours?”
“Of
course, dear. Just come by when
you’re ready to pick her up.”
Hilde
made herself busy pulling the infant carrier from the back seat of her rental
car, and put it into the baby sitter’s old station wagon.
in, and the wagon was moving slowly down the gravel road, Heero finally emerged
from the back of the stretch limousine.
Duo’s
fury, which had been suppressed during the services, flared back to life when he
saw the Japanese youth. “Yuy.”
here today. Just sit your sorry ass
back in that car, and stay out of my sight.”
While
he’d been sitting in the cool stillness of the limo, Heero had quietly
meditated, falling back to the method he had used during the war to find balance
when his soldier’s instincts raged against his teenage emotions.
was able to face Duo’s rage with his usual cool, detached demeanor.
“Duo,
I came here to speak with you…”
The
braided teen didn’t let him finish. His
fist connected with Heero’s chin, reopening the split bottom lip that Quatre
had given him just two days before. In
an instant, Heero was fighting back, and blows were hitting their mark on each
enraged boy. The sounds of flesh
hitting flesh, and angry growls and grunts filled the silence of the little
cemetery. Hilde screamed, and Wufei
rushed to break them up, but found himself caught from behind in Trowa’s
strong arms.
“Don’t,
Wufei. This has been a long time
coming. They need to settle things
between them. They always did
communicate better after a good fist fight.”
Trowa said in a low voice, directly into the struggling Chinese boy’s
ear.
“But
Yuy will kill him! Let me go!”
“No.
one of them hates the other enough to really hurt him.”
“Stop
it!” Hilde screamed, her tears
flowing again, as Duo landed a punch to Heero’s stomach that nearly winded the
blue-eyed teen. The two separated,th gth glaring death at one another as they caught their breath.
Wufei
broke away from Trowa, only to be stopped by Duo throwing a hand up to block
him. “Leave us alone, Chang!”
He snarled.
The
Chinese teen’s eyes widened at the venom in his friend’s voice.
“All
of you! Go away!
settle it on our own!”
The
astonished officiant looked at the bystanders, and raised his voice.
there. You are welcome to go in,
the doors should be unlocked.” He
looked once more at the fighting teens, then got into his SUV and drove away.
“Go.”
mourners, as he pulled a tissue from his pocket to wipe at the blood streaming
down his chin.
Trowa
wrapped his arm around Wufei, and Quatre followed suit with Hilde, and began to
lead the two down the gravel path toward the chapel.
yes"> Wufei turned his head, meeting Duo’s eyes to make sure he
would be alright alone with the irate and dangerously strong ex-pilot of Wing.
Duo
nodded at Wufei, then walked a short distance to a lone maple tree, throwing
himself at at the base of its trunk. “I’m
still pissed as all hell, but I’m too fucking tired to fight anymore.
no more pus, rs, right Yuy?” He
said in the direction of the quiet teen.
“Yes.
I
don’t trust him.” The young
Preventers agent said over his shoulder, eyes narrowed at Heero.
“Fine.”
his ripped suit jacket, and tossed it into the black car.
When
the four friends were beyond the line of trees, Heero walked over to the tree
Duo was seated under, and gracefully dropped to the grass a few feet away from
him.
“Why
did you come, Heero?” Duo asked
hotly. “Don’t you think you
hurt me enough the last time I talked to you?
Didn’t you realize that seeing you would make things even worse?”
“What?!”
Heero said incredulously. “I hurt
you?”
“My
baby is dead because of you, Heero!
his fists clenched in fury.
The
Japanese teen stood, as well, facing off with his ex-lover with just as much
fire burning in his eyes. “I
accept that her death was partly my fault...”
“
yes"> Duo hissed. “If
you had let me talk to Quatre, she’d still be alive!
“Fine.
truly am sorry, Duo. You know that
if I had known, that if I had understood the severity of what was going on, I
wouldn’t have denied you.” Heero’s
calm resurfaced, but the storm in his eyes belied the tempest that his emotions
were swirling in. “But you
aren’t blameless here, Duo. Maybe
I did hurt you purposely, but if I did, it’s because you hurt me first.”
“How
did I hurt you?” Duo shouted in
disbelief.
“You
left me, Duo!”
yes"> “You didn’t give me a reason, you didn’t say goodbye,
you just fucking disappeared without a trace!
Did you expect me to just forgive you?
To forget you? I loved you,
you bastard!” Heero dropped
heavily to sit on the grass, and said through clenched teeth, “I loved you,
but you left me.”
Duo
moved back to his place at the base of the tree, and sat with his legs stretched
out in front of him. “I
couldn’t stay, Heero. I had to
run.” He chuckled ruefully.
“Why?”
defiantly at his ex-lover. “You
said you loved me. What did I do to
make you stop? I’ve gone over it
and over it in my head, and I can’t figure out what the hell I did so wrong
that it would make you not love me anymore.”
The
American boy stayed silent for long moments, idly playing with the end of his
braid. When he finally spokes
vs
voice was so quiet that Heero had to lean forward to hear him.
just needed a break. I needed to
figure out who I was. I needed to
get myself cleaned up before I could completely devote the rest of my life to
you.”
“What
are you saying?”
“I
didn’t know who I was, Heero. All
of a sudden, the fighting’s over, and no one has any use for an ex-God of
Death.” He said, meeting
Heero’s eyes. “I was able to
make it through the first few months, because I thought as long as we were
together, we’d mak, no, no matter what. Then
after awhile, though, love just wasn’t enough.
I needed a purpose, but was too busy drinking myself into oblivion to be
able to figure out what my purpose might be.”
He
paused for just a moment, but when Heero didn’t respond, he continued.
of my life drunk? I don’t think
you even saw what I was going through! You
just lived day to day sitting in front of your computer, working on whatever the
hell it was that you worked on, completely oblivious to what I was doing.”
“I
knew.” Heero said softly.
it. Didn’t know how to make you
stop the drinking, so I guess I just thought if I ignored it, it would go
away.”
“Well,
it didn’t. It didn’t go away
until I went away.” Duo said
bitterly. “I came down here to
Earth to get away from you, to get away from everyone who would try to influence
me to be something that I didn’t want to be.
I came here to clean up, and to figure out what it was that I wanted to
do with the rest of my life. By the
time I had sobered up, and knew that I wanted to go to school to become a
teacher, and realized that leaving you was the biggest mistake I’d ever made,
I found out that you’d moved on without me.
That you were with Tro and Quat. That
hurt like hell, Heero.”
“Oh
Gods, Duo!” Heero choked, as he
got to his knees and lunged at his ex-lover, clutching him to his chest
desperately. “I didn’t know!
yes"> I thought you were never coming back!
yes"> You left without a word, and I couldn’t find you!”
unbidden, and unnoticed.
Duo
hugged Heero just as fiercely, his own tears darkening the front of Heero’s
pale blue shirt. “I’ve missed
you so much, Heero.” He sobbed.
in my right mind when I left, and once I was, I just felt so damn bad about how
I’d handled it that I couldn’t face you!”
Heero
was reeling. It felt so good to
hold Duo in his arms again. Two
years of hurt and confusion had just been shattered by Duo’s admission that he
didn’t leave him for good; that he hadn’t stopped loving him.
and stroked his hand over his heavy braid, holding him as he continued sobbing.
to him that yet again, it all fell back to him.
He had failed Duo when he’d given up on him, and joined Quatre and
Trowa on L4. If he’d just had
faith in Duo, he’d have come back to him, and they’d have been happily
therther again; even happier than they had been once Duo had found what he was
looking for in life.
As
much love as he still felt for the boy in his arms, he had to admiat hat he felt
just as much for his new lovers. His
heart felt like it was being ripped in two.
He loosened his grip on Duo, and drew back to look at his face.
so long blinked up at him, then abruptly closed as the braided boy crushed his
mouth to Heero’s.
Four
startled gasps, and cries of “Heero!” and “Duo!” filled the silence as
Quatre, Trowa, Wufei and Hilde rounded the path from the grove of trees, and saw
the passionately embracing couple.
tbc