17-May-2000
Hai, you read it right, it's 10.0 :::dies::: Gomen nasai for keeping you guys waiting for so long ::::hides:::: What can I say? Work's been a <BEEP> and I had finals. O.O I'm working like 40 hours a week now, buuuut I got a promotion of sorts and I've only been working at my new job for a month and a half ::dances::: That means more money that I can spend on anime! Yatta! Okay one question, is anyone going to A-kon in Dallas? Cuz Lady Douji, Madame Blue and I are going and if any MLers are going we should met and gab about our favorite G-boys ^_~ I'm CosPlaying as Shinigami ^____^ I'll have some pictures if anyone wants to see 'em after A-kon BTW, but how about I get on with the story ne?
My standard warnings and disclaimers, ya know the drill I don't own 'em, it's shounen ai, sappy, angsty. Typical Sheira, K? Terrible spelling but that's cuz my compie sux and it lacks a spellchecker :::glares:::
Heero tensed slightly as the shuttle neared the colony. Duo leaned over in his seat and squeezed his hand slightly.
"It'll be okay, Heero." Duo murmured and Heero nodded fractionally. He heard Wufei and Meiran bickering behind him and he turned around to look at the two.
"What's your problem?" Heero asked frowning.
"Him!"
"Her!"
Heero, to his credit, remained expressionless at the two speaking in sync and he turned back to Duo. The American grinned and winked at Heero.
"Must be love." Duo said in a sing-song voice.
"Shut up!" Wufei and Meiran said in sync and Duo grinned wildly.
"Duo, stop goading them." Trowa interrupted. "We're almost home, can't you three stop fighting for a little while longer. When we're off the shuttle, /then/ you can fight to your heart's content."
"Spoilsport." Duo wrinkled his nose at Trowa and the taller boy shurged unperturbed. "At least he's not as hyper as before." Meiran murmured to Wufei.
"That's because he's got Yuy to distract him." Wufei muttered sourly as he looked out the window. He was dreading returned to L2, because once there, he and Meiran would perform the ceramony that would tie their clans. And then.then Meiran would have no need to associate with him, because then she wouldn't be obligated to marry him. The thought of losing Meiran scared Wufei a lot more then he was willing to admit.
"Meiran, should we inform our clans of our plan for the mutual adoption when we get back to L2?" Wufei asked softly in Chinese, not wanting the others to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"I don't know." Meiran said also speaking in Chinese, a delicate frown on her face. "I kind of want to tell them in person you know."
"Yes, it can wait until this term is over with. We'll go back to L5 together and we can perform the ceramony there." Wufei said, an odd lump in his throat. "Until then, since the whole matter of this ridiculous 'courtship' is over with. We can go about our own business, right?" Meiran's eyes flashed angrily and she stood up abruptly.
"Yes." Anger and ice threaded through Meiran's tone as she pushed her way past Wufei. "I wouldn't want to encroach upon your lifestyle anymore then I have. Excuse me, I must use the ladies room." Meiran told the others as stalked down the aisle.
"You hurt her feelings." Heero observed quietly. "You insulted her by calling your courtship 'ridiculous'."
Duo looked over at Wufei with disbelieving eyes. "You didn't say that to Mei-chan!?" Duo demanded scowling, then the realization that Heero understood what Wufei had said struck him. "Where'd you learn to speak Chinese!?!?"
"I picked it up." Heero said softly. "Wufei, you have to apologize to her, hurt feelings will only cause you both pain later on." "It doesn't matter, Yuy." Wufei whispered. "No matter what I do, I've lost her. Come the end of the term, there won't even be an official reason for Meiran to see me, let alone talk to me. And when we get back to L2, she and I are free to persue whomever we wish, I'd rather he be happy with someone she actually likes."
Wufei's ebony eyes were ancient and filled with deep sorrow and regret, along with a soft wistfulness rarely seen in the Chinese boy's eyes.
"Oh, Wu." Duo breathed, finally understanding what letting Meiran go was costing Wufei.
"You have to tell her." Heero said firmly.
"No, out of the question." Wufei scowled. "I won't have her feeling guilty or thinking about me when she's with some other guy, I'd rather she didn't know how I truly felt."
"You're a fool." Heero said softly, his eyes tiger bright.
"That I am Yuy, that I am."
When they departed the shuttle, Wufei made no move to follow Meiran as she hurriedly gathered her luggage and walked out of the shuttleport.
"What's the matter with Meiran?" Quatre asked confused as Wufei walked ahead of the others.
"She and Wufei got in a fight." Duo said frowning at Wufei. "He's under the impression that now that he and Meiran no longer have to marry, she won't want to be around him." Duo said as he angrily picked up his suitcase. "So now he's trying to 'free' her, in a twisted and convulted sort of way."
"I see." Quatre said as he watched Wufei walk away. "He's got it all wrong."
"Yeah well, what can I say? He's an idiot." Before Duo could continue, he saw Father Maxwell make his way through the crowd of people.
"Duo!" He called and Duo waved to him even as he sighed in dispointment. There went whatever private time he had with Heero before they had to go home.
"Hey." Father Maxwell walked over to Duo and nodded to Heero as he took Duo's bags.
"You ready to go?" Father Maxwell smiled over at Heero. "Hello, Heero. I had no idea you were going with Duo and his friends." Father Maxwell said, a confused question in his eyes.
"Yes, I met up with them by chance on L4. After that I simply hung out with them."
"Ah, I see. God must have been smiling down on you, to think you'd meet Duo and his friends on that one colony at the one time." Father Maxwell laughed. "That's quite a coincidence huh?"
"Yes, sir." Heero said softly, not meeting Father Maxwell's eyes.
"You're embarrassing him!" Duo growled as he tugged on Father Maxwell's arm.
"Oh, sorry Heero, I didn't mean to." Father Maxwell scratched his head self-consciously and looked down at Duo. "So are you ready to go?"
"Actually, I kinda wanted to hang out with Quatre and the others a little longer." Duo looked pleadingly at Father Maxwell.
"Duo, you've got school tomorrow."
"Please.." Duo gave Father Maxwell his best puppy dog look and the priest sighed.
"How will you get home?"
"I can give him a ride home." Heero interjected. "It's on my way home." Duo looked over at Heero and his blue-violet eyes twinkled.
"See? Heero's offering to give me a ride and everything." Duo pleaded.
"Alright, alright." Father Maxwell sighed. "I guess you're old enough to see that you get home at a decent time, and I do mean /decent/ Duo. No later then ten o'clock, you /do/ have school in the morning."
"Yes, sir!" Duo cried grinning hugely as he impulsively hugged Father Maxwell. The taller man smiled and hugged Duo back briefly. Duo grabbed his bags from Father Maxwell's hands and turned to Heero.
"Come on, let's catch up with the others." Duo waved to Father Maxwell and Heero bowed his head before running after the American boy.
"Duo! Matte!!" Heero cried as Duo raced to catch up with Quatre and the others. Father Maxwell shook his head and smiled indulgently.
"That boy, I swear."
"Quatre!" Duo yelled as he came barreling up to the blond outside of the shuttleport. The Arabian boy looked at Duo in surprise.
"I thought you're adoptive father picked you up." Quatre murmured; a puzzled look on his face.
"He did, but I convinced him to let me hang out with you guys before going back home." Duo grinned over at Heero as the Japanese boy came to a stop next to him.
"I think this is one of the few private times Heero and I are going to have for a while."
"Ahh, I see." Quatre said nodding his head sagely. "Trowa and I might be able to give you some pointers on how to steal moments."
"Ohhh, please do!" Duo said, his eyes alight with hopefulness and Quatre couldn't help but smile.
"Well let's all go back to Trowa's and my dorm and we can discuss it in privacy."
"Count me out, please." Wufei interrupted. "I don't feel much like socializing tonight, sorry." Everyone stared at the Chinese boy as he shouldered his bag and hailed a taxi.
"Another thing we need to discuss ne?" Heero asked softly as the Chinese boy climbed into the taxi.
"Yeah, definitely." Duo said frowing slightly as they walked through the shuttleport parking lot.
"Come, we'll talk back at the dorm." Quatre said as Trowa pulled the door of a dark car open.
He smiled brightly at his silent lover and climbed into the car.
"We'll meet you at the dorm." Heero said as he grabbed Duo's arm and led him through the parking lot to his own car.
"Yeah we'll see you there!" Quatre shouted out the window as Trowa drove off. Heero opened the door and placed his and Duo's luggage in the trunk.
"Ready?" Heero asked as he slide into the driver's seat.
"You bet!" Duo said hopping into the passenger's seat and he buckled his seatbelt. Heero smirked slightly and fastened his own. He turned the key in the ignition and the car came to life with a rumbling pur.
"Let's go." Heero put his car into first and took off in his usual break-neck pace.
"I'm surprised you've survived, driving like this!!" Duo shouted while laughing maniacally. The rest of the... short... trip back to Quatre and Trowa's dorm was relatively quiet and the two boys made their way up the stairs to Quatre and Trowa's dorm room in silence. Heero knocked on the door and Quatre opened it immediately.
"Come on in, you just barely missed us."
"Sorry, we actually got lost." Duo admitted ducking his head.
"Yeah, because someone told me to take the B terminal instead of C." Heero said sardonically.
"Well it's a good thing we did, otherwise with you're driving we would have gotten here before them." Duo said with a good-natured grin and Heero rolled his eyes. "So it all worked out alright in the end, ne?" Duo said winking and Quatre nodded. He motioned for the two boys to come in and shut the door behind them. Duo and Heero sat down next to each other on one bed while Trowa and Quatre took the other.
"Well now the first thing you have to remember is that most people won't be too cool with your relationship." Quatre cautioned.
"Yes, even in this day and age, people are biaised against anything that goes against their sense of normalcy." Trowa said softly. "Some will even hate you for daring to love another male." Duo frowned and clutched Heero's hand.
"Hey, don't let that get you down, there's always a measure of risk in every relationship!" Quatre said smiling slightly. "Just be careful with who you let in on the true nature of your relationship okay? Obviously Trowa, Wufei, Meiran and I are cool with it but there are others who won't be, that's all I'm saying."
"It's stupid, why should we have to hide how we feel at all? Why do people have to be so stupid and narrow-minded?" Duo grumbled and Heero wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Because people are stupid and narrow-minded." Heero reminded him and Trowa chuckled.
"True. Duo, just consider it a safety precaution, imagine how your adoptive father would feel if he found out about Heero and you." Duo's eyes widened and he looked at Heero with panicked eyes.
"He'd..I don't know what he'd do. He might even hate me for it because it goes against the Christian religion." Duo looked so afraid at the concept, Heero hugged him to his side and stroked his arm soothingly.
"Then we won't let him find out." Heero said confidently and Duo nodded his head slowly.
"But... Quatre, how can we spend any time together if we have to keep our relationship hidden? Heero and I don't share a dorm room, at least you and Trowa have your room to retreat to."
"Well that's the tricky part, you have to make the time. Last year, we didn't have the same room so we had to find the time and the place. A good excuse to be together, is studying together. Especially if one of you has a lot of privacy at your house, as in, no one bothers you when you're in your room. Another good way to snatch time together is by hanging out with your friends who do know about you. Another option is to lie about where you're going."
"No." Duo and Heero said together and Quatre grinned.
"Well, don't lie, say you're coming over to Trowa and my dorm's and do come over, for a few minutes, then go off on your own. It's... creative storytelling." Quatre said with an innocent and angelic look on his face. "Also, you two might want to scout out a place where you know you're going to be alone and you can meet there every now and then. But that can get kind of dangerous because there's always the chance someone could stumble across you." Quatre blushed slightly. "That almost happened to Trowa and I last year." The green-eyed boy nodded, his cheeks a bit tinged with color and Quatre laughed. "I've never been so scared in all my life, I swear my heart nearly jumped out of my chest."
Duo grinned and nodded his head. "I can imagine."
After that, the talk slowly started to center around everyday talk and the four boys ordered pizza for dinner. Heero and Duo had taken up space on the floor and Duo was giggling as he fed Heero a slice of pizza, he missed a lot of times and flecks of pizza sauce covered Heero's face. The Japanese boy was taking this treatment with his usual stoic attitude but amused tolerance shown brightly in his cobalt gaze as he looked at Duo. Someone knocked on the door and Duo missed again. Heero grabbed a napkin and Duo moved from his place in Heero's lap. He grinned cat-like and finished off Heero's piece of pizza neatly as Trowa stood up and opened the door.
"Meiran." Trowa nodded his head in greetings and opened the door wider for the Chinese girl to walk in.
"I was wondering if Chang was here." Meiran said as she looked around.
"Mei-chan!" Duo cried gleefully. "Pull up a spot of carpet and have some pizza."
"Thank you for the offer, Duo. But I really do need to find Chang, he wasn't in his dorm and I was wondering if he was here. I guess he's not." Meiran frowned slightly in annoyance.
"Try the garage." Duo suggested as he grabbed another piece of pizza. "He's probably working on his car, he does that when he's upset." Heero elbowed the loud-mouthed American in the side none-too-gently and Duo scowled at him.
"The garage? I'll try that, thank you." Meiran said.
"Are you sure you don't want any pizza?" Quatre asked.
"Maybe you can take a slice to Wufei as well? Knowing him, he probably skipped dinner completely.
"Well.." A tiny smile flitted across Trowa's lips has he handed Meiran a paper plate stacked with a few slices of pizza.
"No buts." Trowa said firmly. "Make sure Wufei eats something okay?"
"Okay." Meiran nodded and accepted the pizza. "I'll see you guys later." Meiran called as Trowa shut the door behind her. Meiran tossed her long hair over her shoulder and walked down the stairs of the dorm until she reached the outside. It was a little hard to manuver the doors with her hands loaded with pizza but she managed and walked down the sidewalk to the school garage. Meiran noted that there was one light shining inside the garage and she switched the plate of pizza to one hand and tired the door, it was unlocked so she walked in without knocking. A rock band played on the radio and Meiran saw Wufei's bright red car positioned on some blocks. She saw two feet sticking out form beneath the car and smiled as she walked over.
"Chang." She said softly as she turned the radio off. Wufei sat up abruptly and hit his head on the undercarridge. He climbed out from under the car scowling and cursing softly.
"Dammit woman! You startled me."
"Well sorry!" Meiran shot back, "It's sad your instincts are so bad you couldn't even hear me walk up!"
"Hey!" Wufei scowled and Meiran grinned cheekily at him.
"Here, a peace-offering." Meiran said holding out the plate of pizza. Wufei's dark eyes lit appreciatively and he happily accepted the pizza. Meiran snagged a piece and sat down on the fender of Wufei's car. "So what are you doing out here so late?"
"Working." Wufei said around a bite of pizza and Meiran looked at him sceptically.
"Like you're precious car needs any work? I find that hard to believe Chang, you treat this like your baby." Meiran stroked the shiny red finish of of the car and Wufei shrugged.
"I was adjusting somethings on it I'd been meaning to do for a while. I couldn't have Nataku throwing a belt or worse because I didn't adjust the timing right."
"Nataku?" Meiran asked, her dark eyes wide with surprise and Wufei flushed slightly.
"Yeah, I named it Nataku, it's a strong name, a good one. A warrior's name." Meiran felt like she was oddly being complimented and she looked at Wufei questioningly.
"You always called me Nataku when we were children, you still do sometimes.." Meiran said softly.
"Yeah." Wufei said, his voice noncommital. "The name suited the car, I guess it reminds me of you."
"Oh." Meiran said softly. "I'm honored you think so highly of me, Chang." Wufei nodded his head but still refused to meet her eyes. "Well, I should be going off to bed. I'll see you around." Meiran left the garage without a second glance and Wufei stared after her, pain and longing apparent in his eyes. If only he could get up the nerve to tell his precious Nataku how he truly felt.
Heero and Duo waved goodbye to Trowa and Quatre as they walked down the hallways of the dorm. It was around eight-thirty and Duo didn't have to be home for another hour and a half and Heero was glad for the time alone he had with Duo.
"So what do you want to do?" Heero asked Duo as they walked to his car.
"Dunno, maybe go some place and hang out?"
"Aa." Heero said as he unlocked the car. He climbed into the driver's seat. "I think I know of a good place." Heero said as Duo buckled his seatbelt.
"Oh?"
"Yes, it's at the far end of Doctor J's estate, an old pond that no one goes to anymore. It's one of the few places on the ground with little lighting and no security cameras."
"Cool." Duo said smiling as he grabbed Heero's hand.
"Let's go." Heero looked over at him and the tips of his mouth turned up in the beginnings of a smile.
"Aa." Heero said as he started the car. Duo let go of the Japanese boy's hand so he could shift gears and Heero pulled out onto the main street. The short-haired boy drove to the far edge of Doctor J's estate and pulled the car over into a small drive hidden from the main road. He parked the car and turned to Duo. "We'll have to jump a small fence to get to the pond.." Heero informed Duo who nodded his head and climbed out. The American looked around at the small grove of trees they stood in slightly awed. He'd grown up in the heart of the colony, the slums, and they'd been lucky to see one scrawny tree. But to see a grove of them was almost like seeing the famed Central Park of old back on Earth. Heero tugged on the end of Duo's braid and he looked over at the Japanese boy. "Ready to go?" Heero asked and Duo nodded; grabbing Heero's hand. The two boys walked through the small grove of trees silently, their bodies occasionally brushing together.
When they reached the short fence, Heero boosted Duo over it and leapt over hismself smoothly. The clearing they were in was ill lite with only one safety light far away. The artificial stars overhead didn't really cast any light and the small mood hadn't risen yet.
The whole place kid of unnerved Duo so he stood close to Heero. The Japanese boy grasped Duo's braid in on hand and Duo's hand in the other.
"Where are we going now?" Duo asked whispering.
"To a small gazebo. It's kind of run down but it's standing." Heero said as he led Duo to the small structure made of wood.
"So you mean no one comes here?" Duo asked looking around.
"No one, the security dogs rarely even come here. And even if they did, they wouldn't give us any trouble. They're familiar with me."
"Yeah but what about /me/? I'm sure they'd love to make a nice little snack out of me." Heero chuckled and brushed the back of his hand across Duo's cheek.
"I won't let them hurt you, I promise." Duo smiled slightly, the corner of his mouth turning up as a tender look crossed his face. Heero sat down on a bench and pulled Duo into his arms. The Japanese boy wrapped his arms around Duo's body and laid his head against Duo's shoulder. With a happy sigh, Duo leaned back into Heero's embrace and the two just sat there for a while lost in their own thoughts.
"Hey, Heero.do you think we can do this?"
"Do what?" Heero asked softly.
"Make this relationship work. I'll be honest with you, I've never been in a serious one and it doesn't sound like you have either."
"If we can't make it work, so be it. But I'd rather give it a try instead of quitting without at least giving it a try."
"Yeah."
"What's on your mind Duo?" Heero asked, a concerned look on his face.
"I was just wondering how we're going to keep this a secret from everyone else. I mean, what about your friends? They love to torture me at school, how are you going to react to that?"
"That's simple, I won't let them do that anymore."
"It's not that simple, Heero. If you defend me they might turn on you." Heero shruged.
"Let them, they're not my real friends anyway. I'm really considering just telling them off and hanging out with you and the others. In one week, you guys have proven to be better friends then they have in one lifetime." Duo looked over at Heero, his blue-violet eyes bright with pain.
"I'm so sorry, Heero."
"For what?" Heero asked confused.
"For your life, you've missed out on so many things. Friendship, love, a family... all the things most of us take for granted and you've never even had them."
"Duo, it's okay." Heero tightened his grip on Duo.
"I've got you now and I've got a new group of true friends. As for family, there's more to family then blood, it's the bonds we all share that makes a family. So in essence, you, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Meiran, you're all becoming a family of sorts to me."
"I shudder at the thought." Duo said with a dramtic shudder and Heero looked at Duo not understanding. "If we were related, I couldn't do this to you." Duo said grinning as he kissed Heero in a distinctly /un-brotherly/ fashion. Heero smirked at Duo when they broke away.
"Yes, I guess that wouldn't be kosher, would it." Heero said, amusement in his eyes.
"Yeah, nor would half the ideas that go through my head when I'm near you." Duo admitted, with a slight blush.
"Only half?" Heero asked with a sardonic look on his face as he bent to nuzzle Duo's throat.
"Okay, maybe more then half." Duo admitted breathlessly as he Heero nuzzled his throat.
"That's more like it."
Heero glanced over at Duo as he drove down the American's street. He pulled over in front of the church where Duo lived and grasped his hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Heero promised as he squeezed Duo's hand. "I'd give you a kiss goodnight, but I don't think you're parents would like that."
"Heero!" Duo cried embarrased. "I'd think not." He hissed and Heero smirked at him.
"Goodnight, baka."
Duo said rolling his eyes as he climbed out of the car.
"Night." Heero said as he unlocked the trunk for Duo. "You got everything alright?"
"Yeah, see ya tomorrow at school, Heero!" Duo said as he waved to Heero. He walked up the path to the door and knocked on it. Sister Helen opened it nearly immediately and hugged him.
"I missed you." Sister Helen said as she released Duo. She glanced over at Heero and waved to him. The Japanese boy waved back and pulled away from the curb. Duo watched him drive away and turned back to Sister Helen with a manic grin.
"So what's for dinner?" Duo asked as he walked into the brightly lit church. Sister Helen chuckled and shut the door behind Duo. Heero drove past the house one last time, his gaze wistful when he saw the warm and brightly lit church shining almost like a beacon of light in the darkness. The Japanese boy looked one last time and drove away, heading back to his own dark and cold home.
:::ducks::: That's all folks, and I haven't even
started on 11.0 gomen nasai! But tomorrow is my /only/
day off...Today will me by 7th day of working a in row
and I only get one measy day off ::::whine:: They're
tryin' to kill me I tell ya!! :::sighs::: Okays! Also
I've got a sequel to Sayonara ready and I'll prolly
send that out next. Then I gotta get ready for work.
Ja ne minna!
Sheira