Duo was absent at dinner. The entire topic of the Gundams was avoided, as other guests were invited at the dinner table. Quatre was still a businessman, and he had lots of connections that he wished to entertain. He was kind and friendly, and so much unlike the hardened, tough negotiator who had proposed Heero his own Gundam that it was hard to think this was one and the same person. Heero didn't participate in the conversation, he only listened in as he ate. His adrenaline rush was over and he felt tired, as if he had run two marathons on his last energy reserves. He didn't care for the other guests and as soon as dinner was over, he excused himself. Quatre nodded at him before he left the room, reminding Heero that he wasn't a prisoner, but not exactly free to go wherever he pleased.
Quatre's staff was called the Manguanac Corps. Over forty men who were all extremely loyal to him; Rashid, the burly driver acting like a bodyguard, was the head of the 'private army'. They were all diligent and hard workers, and trained in several combat techniques. Heero tried to look for weaknesses and flaws before composing a plan of escape, but so far he couldn't discover any. He decided to talk to Duo first and held up a servant in the long hallway.
"Can you tell me where Duo's room is? Has he eaten anything?"
The man nodded. "Mister Maxwell has been served dinner in his room. Third floor, second door on the right, sir."
"Thank you," Heero said and left for the third floor. When he arrived, he carefully knocked on the second door.
"It's me, Heero," he said before opening the door. He peeked inside. Duo sat behind a desk, laptop in front of him, clicking away at the keyboard.
"I didn't give you permission to enter." His voice was cold, so un-Duo-like that it sent shivers down Heero's spine.
"I'm sorry, Duo-"
"About what?"
He didn't turn around. Heero hated talking to his back. "About everything."
"About how you lied to me? About how you used me?"
"I didn't use you, Duo, you've got to believe me. I couldn't introduce myself to you as a secret agent, now could I? I lied about my identity, but I didn't lie about anything else."
"It's nice to hear something honest, for a chance. I told you before I couldn't figure you out - now I know why. You're a fucking double-faced traitor of an asshole."
Heero winced with every coarse word. "I never got the chance to tell you something, Duo."
"As if I'm going to believe a word you're going to say!"
Heero closed the door and closed the distance between him and Duo. He put his hands on Duo's shoulders, feeling the other's body immediately tense up. He took a very deep breath.
"Duo, from the moment that I saw you… I knew that you…" Gods, this was awkward and difficult and weird at the same time, "I…I love you."
He leaned into him and kissed him on the top of his head, smelling the typical cinnamon scent of Duo's hair. "I really love you."
"You've got to be kidding me. Are you for real?" Duo's voice lacked vehemence. "Is this another one of your lies?"
"No it's not, and yes, I'm for real. Very real." Heero's heart beat faster. At least Duo didn't reject him, not immediately. He shifted his hands towards Duo's neck, thumbs caressing his skin.
"And now what?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've got it really going on for yourself, Heero. You really have made it for yourself!" Duo stood up, brusquely batting Heero's hands away. "I wanted to fight for the colonies, I wanted to fight for independency, and you take it all away from me!"
"What…" Heero started.
"You fucking waltz in, take everything you want, you drop a bomb that you're a fucking secret agent, you use me, then you suddenly claim to love me and you get a Gundam as a thank you present!"
"What, are you jealous?" Heero said, dumbfounded. It wasn't the best choice of words, he had no idea why he said it and he immediately regretted it - but he didn't have time to apologize, as Duo lunged at him and started pummeling him.
"You sick son of a bitch! Bastard! I thought you were on our side, I thought that you actually cared for the colonies, but you were a liar, just like everyone else! I should've known, you fucker!"
Duo's elbow swung at his face, and only because of trained reflexes and years of fighting experience, Heero managed to dodge the blow. "Duo!"
He moved up his other arm to fend off Duo's next blow, but the other punched him right in the stomach, knocking all the wind out of him. Heero stumbled a few steps backwards. He might be a little taller and a lot stronger, Duo proved to be much more agile and faster. Blow after blow landed on Heero's body and he grunted, accepting the pain. He refused to fight back and injure Duo. He knew how to incapacitate someone without any bloodshed, but he simply didn't get a chance - Duo was so fast, moving all around, hitting him, kicking him, punching him, yelling at him.
Finally, he managed to get the upper hand; Duo swung with his arm, leaving his right side open and Heero tackled him immediately, wrestling him to the floor. He pinned Duo with his arms, breathing heavily in his ear.
"Quit it, Duo. Stop!"
"Get off of me," Duo hissed, "get off of me!"
He obeyed. Heero got up slowly, his eyes not leaving Duo. The other didn't lash out at him again; his chest heaving with the exertion. Heero extended his hand and it hurt when Duo didn't take it. Instead, he rolled away from Heero, got up on all fours and when he straightened himself, his hand went to his throat, eyes wide.
"What's the matter?"
"My…" Duo started to look around frantically. Heero was confused. He didn't understand what was going on, until he saw something next to his left foot; it shimmered a little, like silver. He bent to pick it up and when he opened his hand, he held a crucifix in his hand. The chain was broken. Duo gasped.
"Give it back!" This wasn't Duo. This low, menacing growl was animalistic, inhuman. It terrified Heero. "Give it back!"
"The chain is broken. I'm sorry, I'll have it repaired…"
"Fuck you!" Duo snatched the crucifix out of Heero's hand and the look he gave him was borderline homicidal. He stormed out of the room and threw the door shut.
For the first time in his life, Heero Yuy felt like he had failed everything and everyone, but mostly himself. He felt so empty that he sat down on the bed, fighting to get his breathing and himself under control again.
The next morning, after a night of restless sleep, Heero was surprised to learn that Quatre and Trowa had left the mansion and that a certain Trent had arrived to see him. He gathered quickly enough that Trent was going to teach him the basics of Gundam piloting, and he absorbed all the information as a sponge, fascinated by the subject matter. Duo was absent during breakfast and lunch and Heero went upstairs for the second time, hoping that Duo would be calmed down so he could talk to him. When he reached the door to Duo's room, he took a deep breath and knocked.
"Duo?"
He knocked again, waiting for an answer. He waited five minutes, to no avail. No answer. Heero decided to enter and opened the door. A flash of fear went through him when he saw the unoccupied room. Duo was gone. The bed was neatly made and it was obvious no one had slept in it. The closet was empty and the adjacent bathroom devoid of anything personal; no shampoo, soap or comb. With a sigh, Heero looked dejectedly around the room. Duo was gone, and so were his chances at anything remotely resembling a relationship…if there had been any chance at all to begin with. He suddenly noticed a white envelope on the desk. His heart made a double jump as he ripped the envelope away to reveal a letter. It was a short one: "Heero/Odin/whoever you are this week, you surprised me. I don't have an answer for you yet. Give me some time. I figure you're too busy with your Gundam training anyway. Listen to Quatre and follow his orders. We'll meet again. Someday."
The letter wasn't signed and it certainly didn't hold the promise of love a lifetime's worth, but Heero was relieved. Duo asked for some time; it wasn't a 'yes, I love you too', but it wasn't a 'no' either. He would take anything he could get. Heero folded the letter and tucked it into his pocket. He went downstairs to the Gundam factory, carefully avoiding the personnel of the regular factory. Quatre had told him that these people didn't know anything about Gundams and weren't aware of the secret activities, right under their feet. The noise of their equipment and the production lines covered up the noises of the cranes and machinery at work to rebuild the huge mobile suits. Heero searched out commander Sadaul and talked to him about the designs and technical details of the Gundams. Lastly, he asked about the other two, already finished, Gundams.
"They're in a safe, secured location," Sadaul answered him. "Master Quatre is widely known, and though he's careful, he runs the risk of being exposed every day. We've taken great precautions to protect that what we have rebuilt with such effort and difficulties, and we don't want them to be destroyed in fear. But let me tell you, those two are truly state of the art."
"Can you describe them to me?"
The man shook his head. "I certainly won't, Mister Yuy. You will have to see the grandeur for yourself."
Between the long hours of his extensive training, Heero was surprised again when Chang Wufei paid him a visit. As before, the Chinese warrior popped up out of nowhere; Heero hadn't expected to ever see him again. He was even more surprised when Wufei brought him news about Duo.
"Quatre asked him to go back to his colony, L2," Wufei said. "The rebel forces are extremely volatile, and the rumors that the mobile doll system originates there are growing stronger. Do not worry about him, Yuy. He can take care of himself."
It was strange to hear Wufei refer to him with his real surname. Heero had no illusion that Wufei wasn't completely up-to-date with the entire situation. After all, Gundam 05 was reserved for him. He was going to play an even bigger role in this entire situation, just like Heero himself.
"I know," Heero said. "I know he's not a fragile damsel in distress. He took the news about me… well, being someone different… pretty bad."
"Duo does not like being lied to. He is extremely touchy about that. He never lies, you know. Run and hide, but never tell a lie."
"What?"
"It was some kind of motto, a slogan he used to say. He runs and hides, but he never tells a lie. Lying to him destroys immediately any trust he had in you. And besides… you did save his life, did you not? He already feels indebted to you, and then it is revealed that you are a secret agent. Now he feels like you used him to get into our circle. You cannot blame him for being pissed off."
"I guess," Heero shrugged as if it didn't bother him. He couldn't tell Chang Wufei of all people that much more emotional issues were involved. "You seem to know him well. Did Duo ever tell you something about a church?"
"Bits and pieces. I do not ask. I do not pry. I know it is his personal demon, and I know that one day he will divulge it to me, when the time is ready. Not sooner, not later. I do not believe in chasing someone's personal secrets. Everybody has their own demons to bear."
"As do you with the Chang clang?"
Wufei narrowed his eyes. "That is hardly a secret. I am well aware of that particular demon. I would not shed a tear if people died in exchange for all the lives lost on L5. But I am still human enough not to wish that onto the people of Earth. There is no justice in blind vengeance, and I should know, as I went down that path for quite a long time. It took my friendship and some long talks with Winner on that part to show me the way of fighting together. I know that I am better off on my own, but I also know that once I fight alone, I am better off with my friends. So I follow Winner and fight for my ancestors and my people, so their sacrifice will not be in vain."
Heero pondered Wufei's words when a servant came to the table with a phone. Wufei accepted the call. Heero used the interruption to finish his coffee; they just had lunch.
"What? Yes. Yes, I will investigate." He gave the phone back to the servant and turned his attention back to Heero. "There is trouble brewing. Some of Winner's shipments are not making it through customs. It seems that someone is exerting a stricter control on Winner's manufacturing and production procedures. Which is strange, as he never experienced any difficulties before. Something you know about?"
"It has to be Zechs," Heero gritted his teeth. "He's abusing his new position to smoke Quatre out and force him to reveal his plans. Une must be warned that the real enemy is Zechs, not us. He abuses the secret service to find out who is with him or against him."
"That Zechs character is going up my hit list very fast," Wufei said. "Well, if he wants to flush us out, he is going to choke on all the crap he is about to dredge up." He rose from his chair. "I have to investigate this news. I suggest you stay here and continue your training, as much and as thorough as possible. It seems we are going to need your piloting Gundam skills sooner than ever."
Heero also rose from his seat. "It was nice seeing you."
A ghost of a smile tugged at Wufei's lips. "The feeling is mutual, Yuy."
After hours of more training, Heero was ready to simply dive into his bed and sleep for a week. He took a quick shower and tried to clear his mind. There was so much information to absorb, so many things to learn, and Trent was a merciless instructor. Piloting a Gundam wasn't the same as driving a Bentley. So many controls, so many instruments! He was sure it was going to haunt his dreams tonight. Heero pulled the covers over him and prepared for a night of rest. Not a few hours later, he was roughly shaken awake.
"Wake up! Wake up, now!"
Heero shot straight up, ready to attack the man, who bounced away from him as if he was a venomous snake.
"It's me, commander Sadaul! Hurry up! We've been compromised, there's no time to waste!"
Heero jumped out of bed, while the commander grabbed a duffle bag and started stuffing it with clothes and whatever he could find in the room.
"What happened? Tell me!"
Sadaul looked pained. "Master Quatre has been arrested! I don't know on which grounds, but he's being held on L4, his own colony! His shuttle was grounded and searched! He's now in secured custody, and Rashid is trying to get hold of our lawyers. I don't know what's going on, but I have strict orders to follow in case we were compromised. Please, do as I say!"
Heero quickly dressed himself. "What's going to happen?"
"Immediate evacuation of the premises," the commander answered. "Everyone who's not in Master Quatre's service has to leave, and a Gundam pilot in training would certainly raise questions. I don't have time for this, I have an entire mobile suit facility to dismantle. Get your stuff and hurry up! Quick!"
Heero took a gasp of breath when he saw Sadaul pointing a gun at him, but the commander trusted the weapon in his hands. He recognized it as his own Walther PPK .28, the weapon Auda had confiscated when Heero had entered the mansion.
"Go now," the commander ushered him out of the room. "There's a car waiting for you outside. You have to disappear! Hurry! I must ship the Gundam prototypes off before they're discovered and they're one thousand ways more important than your skinny ass. Now move!"
Heero thundered down the stairs, taking two steps at the time and ended up in the hallway, with his duffle bag in hand. "Where am I going to go to? What about the training?"
"The car will take you to the nearest spaceport," Sadaul said. "Make yourself scarce. They will find you sooner or later. First we have to do damage control. Master Quatre is important now. You're not my priority. Get out and stay low!"
Heero slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and left the mansion; it was dark and cold outside. The artificial climate control simulated the natural routine of day and night; somehow it made L3 seem menacing than ever. Heero refused to be intimidated and quickly walked over to the car, its engine running. He got in and barely seated himself properly before the vehicle sped off. Questions were running around in his head. Quatre Winner had been exposed, which meant that someone had rattled about his connections with the Romefeller Foundation, the Barton Foundation or worse, the rebuilding of the Gundams. All of Quatre's employees were loyal, especially the Manguanac Corps.. Zechs… Quatre had dealt with Zechs, and this reeked of his work method. Who knew how far he would go? He was systematically getting rid of his enemies, former and current ones, eliminating them one by one. But why? What was his reason, his motive? Had Zechs discovered that he, Heero, wasn't dead and that he'd been lied to, and this was his revenge? Why was nobody stopping him? Did he have such a strong grip on the Secret Service that even Une's hands were tied? Zechs wanted the conductors and chips for himself to progress the completion of his own mobile suits. Heero shuddered at the thought what Zechs would do with mobile suits on his own, including the mobile doll system.
He had to get his priorities straight. He couldn't contact HeadQuarters as he was still presumed dead. He had faced worse opponents. Zechs Merquise was nothing but a fly in his soup. A big fly, and he had Duo to worry about. Duo! Duo was his best chance to get everything back together. He had to get to L2 as fast as he could and search out Duo. Together, they would work out what to do. Right now, he didn't have any other choice. He was prepared to face Duo's anger or disappointment, or whatever the other was feeling just to get the chance to see him again and work with him again. Resolved, Heero walked into the spaceport to book himself a flight to L2 and a calmness came over him that was strangely comfortable.
L2 lacked the impressive intimidation of the heavy artillery of L3, or the wealth of L4. The colony with the weakest government of all the colony clusters was abundant with poverty and the source of many rebel factions. L2 had received the brunt of the two previous wars and ever since then, it had been the birthplace of trouble. The economy was crippled, the government was corrupt and crime was widespread. If one would ask him about a dystopian society, L2 came to Heero's mind. Even now with the current fragile peace, the situation was still worse on L2 than on any other colony. It would be difficult to find Duo. Heero didn't even know if it was his real name, or a code name. Tired after the impromptu space flight, he decided to get some sleep first. Heero booked a room in a shabby hotel and refrained from shuddering when a rat scuttled alongside his leg.
When he woke up, he freshened himself up at the sink (no shower available) and dressed warmly. He walked down the stairs and approached the skinny woman who had rented him the room.
"Is here a church nearby - a well known church?"
She looked at him with a baffled expression. "Do you want to say your prayers? You've picked a lousy location for it, sonny. You need to pray on L2; pray that you stay alive, but rest assured, your prayers here are never heard."
"A church," Heero pressed, not liking being called "sonny". The woman shook her head.
"There aren't any churches around here."
"They're all destroyed?" He pressed again.
"The Maxwell Church," she said, eyes suddenly glazing over. "That was the first one to go. The Father was killed, the nun and everyone inside. It was big news, over fifteen years ago. It was the first church on L2 to get a monument." She shrugged, suddenly cackling. "Then all the other churches went down, and they got no monument or plaque. The news value was low and people lost their interest." She snickered roughly. "Everybody on L2 knows about the Maxwell Church, sonny. It's quite an end from here; you better go early in the morning, it's safer then."
"I'll go see it now, thank you," Heero said coolly and left the reception area, but he heard the woman clearly mumble: "Your funeral."
There was no such thing as taxi service and he was laughed out loud when he asked a bystander about public transportation. That left him the only option to buy a car, which was easily done; people dealt in everything at every street corner. He found himself a car, a vehicle ready for the junkyard, and he had to pay a price for it that would have Earth citizens baffled. The salesman didn't look surprised when Heero paid in cash, in fact, he preferred it - checks and bank deposits weren't guaranteed, hard coin was more valuable. When he added a few bills extra, Heero got excellent directions to the church and an air conditioner for the car.
Heero drove off, shaking his head. The colonists always complained that the skirmishes on Earth had transferred to the colonies, but it didn't seem that the people wanted to change here. Pure peace and weapon disarmament was only possible if everybody believed in it, but even after two terrible wars Heero still wondered if people truly wanted peace. There was always this power struggle, someone who wanted to be in charge of Earth, or a colony, and people opposing it. He shook his head again. Relena was perfect for the representation of the people and the perfect Queen advocating peace; but she lacked the understanding of the raw, primal feelings of fighting and destruction that had a home in mankind.
He turned on the headlights and stepped on the gas. The police force on L2 was just as corrupt as the government and he wasn't exactly worrying about getting a speed ticket. All that it took was to add some extra cash and the police officer would gladly let him off the hook. This came all out from his personal account; Heero couldn't return home, to Earth, to his quiet life, to his professional life as a secret agent before this was solved. Not only because of the public threat of the mobile doll system or the backstabbing of Zechs Merquise, but also because he didn't want to leave before he had a chance to talk to Duo and to get their relationship going. Duo had mentioned in his letter that he needed time. It had to mean something - it hadn't been a rejection, and if Duo needed time to think about it, he wasn't against to a relationship in the first place, was he?
I beg if I need to, Heero thought, grimacing. He didn't want to lose Duo before they even got started. He had memorized the directions the car salesman had given him, as road signs were completely non-existent. Heero drove for over 90 minutes at high speed, until he saw four skyscrapers in a star pattern. He took turns left and right until he ended up on a big square on the outskirts of the suburb. The remains of the church were clearly visible in the evening sky. None of the lanterns were working. The moon shone on the silver plaque that was mounted on a cross. Heero pulled over, got out of the car and walked towards the ruins.
One blackened wall still remained standing up, pointing upwards angrily. Heero read the names on the plaque and almost choked when he read "and fifteen young souls, taken too early from us". Children had died in this accident where Duo was the only survivor of. He walked back to the car, but not until he made sure that the invisible, silent eyes watching him had noticed him.
Heero returned to the site the next evening and the evening after that. Even though no one approached him, he knew he was being watched. He was curious if the underworld of L2 worked as fast as the others he'd encountered; sooner or later, Duo would learn of his presence. It was a big risk to take, but a risk he had to take if he wanted to see Duo again. It was either this, or searching for the scrap yard Duo had mentioned after he had just met him. Somehow, he had the feeling that visiting the church would bring out Duo faster than searching all over L2 for him at different scrap yards.
The fourth night found him again at the base of the monument, and this time it felt different. Someone else was coming, and Heero knew Duo made his steps audible on purpose. If he wanted to, the thief could sneak up on you unnoticed and kill you before you even noticed you were being killed.
"Fifteen young souls," Heero said softly.
"Shinigami had no mercy that night," he was answered, as softly as his own voice, but with the unmistakably deep baritone. "When he showed himself to me, I thought it was fitting to take his name, after he'd taken everything from me."
"It must've been so hard for you." Heero didn't move. "The crucifix… was it your only memory?"
"She gave it to me with her dying breath." Duo's voice came from behind him. "Sister Helen blessed me and still talked about peace and love when blood spilled out of her. Her hair was matted with blood and she could only think of how to bless me and to teach me how to be forgiving."
"I'm sorry I broke the chain. I now realize what it meant to you."
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you. And it worked, because you're here."
"The kids in this neighborhood still look out after each other. It's something I taught them; no matter what the circumstances, always look after each other. They spotted you on the first night of course, but hesitated if I should be told the news. They can't decide well enough yet if I want to be bothered with news about the church or not." He kicked a pebble aside. "Sometimes I think I'm cursed with bearing the tragedy of the church alone, though I want to leave it behind me so badly."
"Or maybe someone can help you carry that burden." Heero whispered.
"I've encountered nothing but lies from someone," Duo retorted. Heero didn't flinch, but clenched his fists instead, a movement that didn't escape Duo.
"We need to talk. Have you heard the news?"
"Follow me," he heard Duo say and Heero turned around. Duo already walked in front of him, braid tucked away under the black cap. Truly, he was a creature of the night. They walked a slight distance to a dilapidated building and Duo held the cracked door open for him.
"Come in."
It probably used to be an office, Heero thought as he looked around. The floor hadn't been swept or mopped in ages, and the chairs and desks were sticky and tagged with graffiti. Duo stood behind a small kitchen counter, grinding coffee beans as he was boiling the water.
"Did you hear the news about Quatre?"
Duo nodded tersely, focused on the coffee. When he got out the mugs, he spared Heero an unfriendly look.
"Why didn't you return to Earth, to your Secret Service and let them deal with it?"
"Right," Heero snorted. "Let's see: hey guys, here I am, not really dead, and the one you've promoted in my place is backstabbing you and swiftly killing and eliminating his enemies, using your facilities and when he's ready he'll overthrow you too. By the way, he has his own space ship and intends to drop a colony on Earth."
Duo laughed his rambunctious laugh. How Heero had missed it! He smiled himself.
"You're right. But I guess you've dealt with similar missions before? Quatre offered me a look at your file, but I didn't feel like it."
"Wow, when I return, I have to convince Une to switch security systems if my file is that publicly accessible."
Duo shrugged as he poured the coffee. "Quatre has a lot of influence, literally and figuratively. Maybe it has been one of your own that put the files in his hands."
Lucrezia Noin? Sylvia Noventa? Heero's mind was automatically processing and eliminating candidates. Both Noin and Noventa had access to personnel files- the idea of the secretaries giving out secret files had him baffled.
"Anyway, I wanted to be with you," he started. "To talk about... what happened."
"Wufei was exposed at a deal," Duo said, voice curt, eyes lingering on Heero. "A routine transaction was blown by a mole. Wufei never talks, so I'm sure that the information on Quatre has never come from him. Someone else must've blabbed, someone from the inside."
"What was the transaction about?" Heero accepted the mug of watery coffee. "Chang never struck me as the person to do dealing and bargaining."
"He doesn't," Duo confirmed. "But don't forget that Wufei isn't working for Quatre exclusively, just like me. We're just hired for the job. We've known each other for years now and I wouldn't hesitate to call us friends, but we work on separate contracts… separate business, freelance if you'd like to call it that way. I don't know what he's doing, and often he doesn't know what I'm doing. That way, we could never compromise each other. It might be that Khushrenada is involved with the botched deal. I heard about some… misgivings between him and Quatre."
Heero sniffed at the coffee. He'd kill for some good java. "Strange. Maybe it's all tied together even more than we think. The binding factor is Zechs Merquise."
"The rat that double-crossed you in the Service?"
"Exactly."
Duo mumbled something inaudible and took a swig of the coffee. He grimaced a bit, but didn't comment and stirred the concoction some more.
"As I've said, Wufei isn't the person to talk. They'd have to rip out his fingernails and even then he wouldn't scream."
"What?"
"I've seen it before," Duo said. "He can bring himself into some state of suspended animation. He can lower his heartbeat so that you'd think he's dead. As if he's left his own body. Creepy, but fascinating. Anyway, he's not going to babble at the sight of the first torturing device."
"Okay, so what if Khushrenada tried to frame Winner. What would his motive be?"
"What do you think?" Duo snorted again. "We're talking Gundams here. Everybody is going after the Gundams as symbol of power: control the Gundams, control the world. That would even make the most regular tattle tale go haywire."
"Sadaul kicked me out of the mansion so I wouldn't be found if they were going to search."
"Wise man," Duo nodded.
"He was going to dismantle the factory. If everything went all right, there's going to be nothing left but a little scrap metal."
"Trust Quatre to think and plan ahead." Duo sipped the coffee.
"So… what are we going to do now?"
"I have my own contacts. Howard, at a ship in the Pacific. If things turn ugly, I only have to go see him. He knows Quatre as well, and he knows what to do in a situation like this." Duo put down his mug. Heero looked at him. He was rewarded with a lopsided grin.
"Quatre is arrested, Wufei is gods know where and Trowa's whereabouts are also unknown," Duo said. "What do you think, secret agent? Ready to save the world once more?"
There was a silence that Heero found difficult to decipher. Duo looked at him anxiously, mirth sparkling in his eyes, his boisterous attitude present and energetic. With one swift motion, Heero closed the distance between them and grabbed Duo at the shoulders, pulling him closer for a bruising kiss. To his excitement and joyous relief, Duo returned the kiss. When they broke up, Heero said simply: "Only with you at my side."
"Let's do it, then," Duo answered and smiled.
He put his hands against Heero's chest but didn't push him away. Heero didn't press. As Duo craned his neck a little, Heero noticed the thin silvery line of the crucifix he was wearing.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"I'm sorry too," Duo answered and parted his lips. They kissed again, this time slower, but no less intense. "I realize you couldn't introduce yourself as who you really were. I felt used, I was afraid of all those lies…"
"So you ran and hide..."
"Remind me to kill Wufei the next time I see him for reminding you of my tagline," Duo said. "God, I'm so sick and tired of that one."
"We got off on an extremely wrong foot," Heero said. "If only we could make a fresh start."
"A fresh start, we begin with now," Duo answered him.
"Yes, Yoda," Heero said and when he caught Duo's eyes widen in surprise, he laughed and took the opportunity to kiss him again. Duo didn't protest.
Chapter 9 | Chapter 11