1998

The Little Merboy by Shirin

It was a day like any other day; the cloudless blue sky blended with the rippling blue surface of the endless sea, creating a horizon that seemed seamless. With almost synchronised timing, long lines of white-topped waves rush across the sea's surface, signifying the endless rhythm of the ocean; the continuous song of life.

Across the blue sky, large albatrosses flew lazily, circling a ship that dared to seek passage through the realm of Neptune. The large, white bodies seemed to merge with the white sails that spanned above the ship, the image broken only by the dark tips of their wings and the loud, raucous calls that signalled their presence.

"It seems to be a fine day, Heero-sama. A fitting day with which to end the last leg of our journey." The captain turned toward the silent prince by his side. The boy had been silent the whole day, and at almost every moment, the captain had caught him staring out into the dark blue depths that surrounded them. "Is there anything wrong, my prince? We are almost home and your parents will be glad to see you, after almost a year away," the white-haired man prodded. Beneath their feet, the deck rocked gently with each rolling wave.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the dark-haired boy beside him tore his gaze away from the water. "I don't know, Captain Jae. Something doesn't feel right somehow. Don't you feel it? Like something's just waiting for you around the corner and yet, you can't see whether it bodes ill or otherwise?" The dark blue eyes burned in the boy's finely chiselled face and again the old captain found himself wondering how such a fine-looking boy had managed to evade the clutches of many an enamoured princess for so long. Which was the main reason for the boy's journey away from his home shores, almost a year ago. And belatedly, the prince discovered that he had escaped the lion's jaws only to face the gaping maw of the dragon.

So he had decided to return.

The old man chuckled. "You are imagining things, Heero-sama. By tomorrow evening, we will be within sight of Elwan; by tomorrow night, you will be feasting at the royal table and sleeping in your own bed. What can happen in so short a time?" A wicked gleam entered the old man's grey eyes. "Perhaps you should worry about what your mother will say when you step ashore?"

At that, the grim-faced boy smiled slightly. "Hai. I should really worry about that. Not to mention what other tricks she'll have up her sleeve."

Laughing, the captain threw an arm across the prince's shoulders, giving him a fatherly hug and pulling him away from the ship's side. The boy was almost like a son to him, and the year that passed had been good for the both of them. "Can you blame her, Heero-sama? It's every mother's wish to have grandchildren -"

"And every son's nightmare," the boy cut in curtly, shooting an annoyed glare at the captain.

It was always beautiful underwater. The bright glare of the sun was filtered by the many fathoms of salt water, turning the harsh white light into a soft green. It was so easy on the eyes...

"And boring!" Duo sputtered as he slapped away at the long, fat tendrils of kelp that twisted among the long strands of his own hair.

"What do you mean, it's 'boring'?" his companion asked, staring accusingly at him with large aquamarine eyes.

"Exactly what I said! It's boring! Everyday, it's the same thing; swim here, swim there. See?" The longhaired merboy pointed at a bright yellow fish with brilliant red stripes. "I must have seen that one a hundred times already! Today!"

"Duo, Duo," Quatre shook his head, sending ripples through his blonde hair as the seawater brushed against it lovingly. "What do you expect? Mer people live in the sea, and so do fish. It doesn't have to be boring. There're thousands of things to do," the blonde merboy shrugged as he fingered a brilliant pink anemone that blossomed against his touch.

Duo huffed, sending a large bubble rushing to the surface. Quatre *would* say that. His blonde cousin loved the sea, and its creatures - and they loved him back. Which wasn't to say that he, Duo *didn't* love the sea - he did. Just not as much.

"Oh yeah? Name one," Duo glared at the blonde, crossing his arms across his bare chest and flipping his tail angrily at an irritatingly curious clown fish.

"Building coral reefs... "

"Done that."

"Dolphin racing... "

"Hah! I always win. Boring!"

"Squid hunts... "

"Old hat."

"Shark watching."

"Phooey."

"I know! The dances!" Quatre volunteered eagerly.

Duo grinned mischievously. "Only because you get to ogle that new guard, right?"

"Anou, Duo!" Quatre blushed. Duo was his closest friend; closer even than the scores of mermaids that his father sired. Sometimes, Quatre thanked the Gods that Duo's parents had died early in his youth and the boy had come to stay with them. Often, this thought left him feeling guilty but it was hard being the only heir to Neptune's throne - and lonely.

Until the new recruits reported to the royal vanguard. And a certain brown-haired guard had caught his eye.

Perhaps in his rapture over the new recruit - Trowa, that was his name - he had been ignoring Duo. Could that be the reason for his cousin's restlessness? The last time he had seen the boy so unmanageable had been almost a year ago. But the spell had passed. But now, it seemed to have started all over again.

Quatre flicked his tail harder to catch up with the swiftly swimming Duo.

"Oi! Duo! Wait up! Where are you going?" the blonde shouted, as he saw the longhaired merboy veer sharply upwards -

The surface?!?

Neptune's beard, Quatre cursed softly. Duo knew how Lord Neptune felt about merfolk surfacing during the day. The world above was full of cruel humans who would kill for a glimpse of the sea people. And they wouldn't hesitate at killing each other, either. There were stories about how merfolk had been caught by the humans' cruel nets and killed.

Once, the merfolk had roamed the seas freely; but now that humans had learnt the secrets of travelling the oceans' widths, it was dangerous to show themselves in broad daylight.

K'so! Duo was asking for trouble.

"Duo! Stop it!" Quatre commanded. He hated using his position for this, but it was for Duo's own good, he rationalised.

Duo turned, stopping in his ascent. The boy frowned, his bangs floating before the dark violet eyes that flashed in the murky half-light. "Why?"

"You know why," Quatre sighed, holding onto one of Duo's wrists. "Otousama will have your hide."

"He won't know. Not if nobody tells him," Duo said softly, cocking his head to one side as he blinked innocently at the blonde prince.

"And what makes you think no one will tell him? You know how dangerous the surface can be," Quatre admonished, ignoring his cousin's 'lost' look. "Don't go, Duo."

"Quatre," Duo chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, it's almost sunset. By the time I get to the surface, the light will be so bad, no one will see me even if they were looking."

Quatre looked upwards, noting the decreasing amount of light that filtered down, and the different wavelengths they carried - more reds and yellows. Hai, it was almost sundown.

"But it's still too bright, Duo," Quatre pleaded, trying to get Duo to abandon his plans. The longhaired boy laughed in his face.

"Quatre, I'm a big merboy. I can take care of myself, alright? Don't worry!" Duo grinned. "Why don't you go back to the palace and see whether that new guard whatsisname is off-duty, ne? I'll be back by dinner, I promise," Duo assured him, winking rakishly as he flicked his tail and disappeared towards the surface in an upsurge of bubbles and long chestnut hair.

"You said you'd be back by dinner!" Quatre hissed at the dreamy-eyed boy that floated lazily into the room. "Dinner was over ages ago! If it wasn't because Otousama was called away just before, you'd have had it, Duo," the boy berated.

His scoldings fell on deaf ears.

"Oi," Quatre poked the longhaired boy that belly-flopped across the soft bed of sea sponges. "What's with you, Duo?"

"Huh?" Duo blinked, looking up into Quatre's concerned eyes. Grinning and shaking his head, he replied, "Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm just sleepy," he yawned, stretching himself and settling into bed.

Quatre stared back with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't often that Duo would saunter in, miss a meal and retire so promptly to bed. In fact, it had never happened before...

A loud snore interrupted Quatre's ruminating.

Huffing exasperatedly, the blonde swam out of Duo's room. Duo had better have a good explanation in the morning.

As soon as he heard the soft sound of the door shutting, Duo bolted up from the bed. Swimming swiftly to the door, he put an ear against it. Satisfied at the silence, the longhaired merboy slid down the cool door and settled on the floor. He hugged his tail to his chest and sighed loud and long, remembering what he had seen on the surface.

As Duo had expected, it had been a beautiful sunset. He wondered why Lord Neptune forbade his people to surface during the day when it meant that they would miss such a wonderful sight. Sometimes, in his more melancholy moods, Duo thought he'd risk death to be able to bask in the sun's warmth forever. But then, he probably would.

Risk dying, that is.

But, as rebellious as he could be, it wasn't worth incurring Neptune's wrath. Hell, his uncle could wield a mean switch if he wanted to. Being royalty was literally a pain in the ass. You were always expected to act so proper and dignified and disciplined.

Poor Quatre, Duo grinned. He didn't envy his cousin one little bit.

Which was when the ship came into view.

To Duo, it was a wondrous sight. The white sails were slowly being tacked down as the ship dropped anchor. He had seen many such ships before, and yet they had never ceased to amaze him; that such ungainly looking hulks could skim so effortlessly across the sea as though they flew in the arms of the wind. On deck, small lights twinkled like the stars that were beginning to peek through the darkening sky. And on the wind, soft sounds of music carried to his ears, tweaking his curiosity - not that Duo wasn't curious already.

Silently, he swam towards the ship, careful to dip beneath the surface should anyone peek over the railings. No one did, so he had a clear view of the goings-on on the ship's deck. In one corner, a man was squeezing a strange-looking instrument as his fingers plucked at one side of it. Strange-sounding notes came from it, but the squawking sounds blended harmoniously with another sound, one more melodious. The sound came from another man who held a carved piece of wood to his cheek with one hand and drawing another long, thin stick across it with another. Duo wondered how rubbing two pieces of wood together could make such a sound.

One sound spoiled it all, though. A short, white-haired man was singing as he held a tankard up in the air.

Duo screwed up his face at the offensive sound. When one lived in the comparative silence of the sea, every sound above the surface was amplified tenfold. When the sounds soothed and were pleasant, this was a blessing. But when the sounds raked across his skull like that man's screeching, it was torture.

Duo turned to dive into the depths once more when another voice made him stop. It was a deep voice, soft but clear enough for him to hear from such a distance away. The merboy stopped and turned once more, eyes searching for the source of that strangely alluring sound.

There!

It was a boy, much like himself. His dark hair fell across his eyes in an unruly mop, the condition not being helped any by the sea breeze. The boy was laughing at the white-haired man, his voice falling on Duo's ears like the sound of waves lapping at the base of a rocky outcrop. So rich, yet so velvety-soft...

Unconsciously, the merboy drifted closer, drawn to the sight of the laughing boy. Why was this human so fascinating? He was like any other human, the top half looking like any merfolk's but the bottom half ending with those two appendages humans called legs. And yet...

Perhaps it was because he had never seen a human being so close to his own age before, Duo surmised as he peeked from between softly rolling waves.

"A mermaid!"

The loud cry surprised him, and for a moment he was actually looking around to see which silly mermaid had been stupid enough to have been spotted by the surface dweller. When the music stopped and the sounds of feet tromping across briny wooden planks assaulted his ears, Duo realised that there was no mermaid.

There was just one idiotic, longhaired merboy.

Before the crew could manage to join the one man that had spotted him, Duo had disappeared into the dark depths, just barely hearing the man's slurred voice insisting that he had indeed seen a mermaid. Perhaps his mates would think him too drunk and that he had just imagined the mermaid. Duo hoped so. After all, the merboy grinned as he swam towards the palace, there wasn't any mermaid, ne?

In his bunk, Heero tossed and turned, trying to grab at sleep's elusive fingers. After nearly an hour of trying and failing, the boy sighed and sat up. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to pull it into a more sedate condition, but only succeeding in mussing it up more. Throwing off the covers, Heero walked towards the small cabinet at the far end of his cabin and poured himself a glass of red wine.

Settling into the one measure of decadent furnishing he allowed himself, Heero sat back in an opulent armchair as he sipped at the wine and looked around the sparsely furnished cabin. It was definitely not a cabin befitting a prince, but he did not feel himself one. The cabin looked like any other. It would have been more empty but Captain Jae had insisting on furnishing it with some semblance of comfort, despite Heero's vehement protests. However, often during the long voyage, he had been thankful for Captain Jae's foresight.

But he'd be damned if he admitted it, Heero smirked over the wineglass.

Slowly, he swirled the dark red liquid and watched it lap against the clear crystal. The soft sound of the moving liquid reminded him of the sea and the waves that pushed against the ship's hull, sending a softly rocking sensation throughout the ship.

*It should have rocked me to sleep*, Heero frowned in silence.

And yet, he couldn't sleep.

In his mind, his thoughts kept returning to the events earlier in the evening. A crew hand had said he spotted a mermaid - a being thought to be legend, existing only in tales of ancient seamen and lonely sailors. But the man had been drunk and after his crewmates had ribbed him, they had laughed and drawn the conclusion that mermaids were yet another figment of a drunk man's imagination.

It was a conclusion Heero would have believed in.

But he had seen the being. And he had not been drunk.

He had been sitting on an ale barrel on a raised platform when the crew hand had raised the alarm. Immediately, Heero had turned and he had seen what the man had said he saw. It was dark, but the light of the ship's lanterns had cast enough light to ensure him that he had not imagined what he saw.

It was beautiful. With hair that draped over slim, pale shoulders and features that sang of innocence and knowledge beyond its years.

And the eyes.

He could never forget those eyes, Heero mused as he sipped his drink. The large violet orbs that shone in the dark, lit up by lantern-light and the beginnings of moonlight. No, Heero thought as he gulped down the rest of his wine. The liquid trailed warmth across his insides, blossoming into a softly radiating heat in his middle.

He would never forget those eyes for as long as he lived.

As his eyelids drooped and his brain began to succumb to the heady liquid he had imbibed, one random, disturbing thought crossed his mind. As the crew had rushed to the side of the ship, the mermaid had turned and dived into the depths. Heero had caught a glimpse of a dark, silvery tail.

He had also caught a glimpse of a *very* flat chest.

Duo bit his lip as he spied the ship, tossed violently by wild waves that seemed to laugh with glee with each scream that erupted from the manmade vessel. He had spent the whole day trailing the ship from a safe distance. Quatre had been a chore to avoid, but for once that new guard had been a godsend. Duo had managed to convince Trowa that Lord Neptune had ordered a personal escort for his prince for the whole day. Quatre had been surprised when Trowa appeared at the door to his room, ready for the day's duty. But - Duo rubbed his hands gleefully from his hidden vantage point - Quatre had also looked very delighted at the prospect of spending a whole day in the young guard's company.

Which left Duo free to roam wherever he wished without someone endlessly reminding him to behave.

But today had been so different from yesterday.

Unexpectedly the skies had broken open and rain had poured down in sheets. And just as unexpectedly, the soft zephyrs had multiplied a thousand-fold, blowing across the sea and wreaking havoc wherever and whenever it could. The waves seemed to jump eagerly into the arms of the howling wind, enjoying the added power it lent them.

It was a storm that threatened to wipe out all that dared roam the ocean blue.

Between the metres high waves, Duo watched the ship as the storm steered it in directionless circles. He watched the water beat upon it angrily and gleefully. He watched as one by one, the masts broke and fell into the churning waters.

With his heart in his mouth, Duo watched his world tear the ship apart.

In a grotto as dark as the belly of manta ray, a young mermaid smiled as a bed of sea urchins rippled fearfully. Her plans were working wonderfully.

When her grand-aunt passed away, she had inherited all her powers and knowledge. And now her long years as her grand-aunt's apprentice were beginning to pay off. Her grand-aunt had been the palace's alchemist and physician and they had lived in the palace until her grand-aunt's passing.

Although she had learnt all that her grand-aunt had taught her - and Hilde knew she learnt them well - Lord Neptune was still not convinced that she had had the skill to continue on as the royal physician. So he had appointed another physician. It was bad enough that Hilde had been delegated the post of *assistant* physician, but her superior was someone her own age - but male.

At that thought, Hilde fumed and crushed a few anemones in her hands.

She could not take the insult sitting down, but she was loathed to leave the job, for that would have meant leaving the palace. And for all the anger she felt at Lord Neptune's decision, there was one being in that palace she could not bear to part with.

Duo.

The mermaid sighed, her eyes softening as she brushed away the remains of anemones from her hands. Picking up a turtleshell comb, she ran it through her short, wavy hair as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror of polished quartz. The merboy had stolen her heart from the very first moment she had laid her eyes on him. And she had tried her hardest to gain his attention - which wasn't very difficult, come to think of it. But Duo had treated her as a sister, a playmate - a mere friend.

Hilde pouted at her reflection and dabbed a touch of red colouring to her lips. She wanted more than that, Hilde thought as she smacked her lips noisily.

She wanted him, heart and soul.

But yesterday...

The young mermaid frowned, turning away from the mirror and swimming towards the large half-shell in the corner of the grotto. The cavern had been her grand-aunt's secret workshop, where she had practised her magicks. They didn't always work, but they were just a hobby for her grand-aunt.

A hobby that was proving very useful for Hilde.

The mother-of-pearl surface of the half-shell glowed in the dim light, and Hilde brushed the surface with a blade of soft, fleshy rhodophyte.

Yesterday, her shell had revealed the contents of her imagined lover's heart. Yesterday she had looked into Duo's desires.

And what she saw made her scream with rage.

For she did not see her own image.

Instead, she saw a human's face and a heard a human's voice. Instead she saw the world of the surface dwellers.

But - Hilde grinned in satisfaction as the image on the half-shell cleared - tonight she had taken care of all that. Tonight, she would destroy those unwanted desires.

Tonight, Duo would be hers.

Frantically, Duo swam in among the flotsam. All around him, bits and pieces of the ship floated among the lazily tossing waves. As suddenly as it had appeared, the squall had died down and the storm had subsided. As quickly as the seas had boiled over, it had calmed down to its more sedate self.

But the damage had been done.

In the distance, he spied the sole surviving lifeboat, heavy and overburdened with its barely living cargo. Carefully the merboy swam closer, scanning each face, each survivor.

But the one he searched for was not among them.

No!

With an angry flick of his tail, Duo dived once more through the waves, cutting through the water at a speed he never thought he'd be capable of. Breaking through the surface once more, the longhaired youth searched through the miscellaneous pieces of floating wreckage.

There!

A few yards away, he spied the dark head of hair that belonged to the laughing boy. Duo sighed with relief. He was alive! Now all he had to do was alert the crew to the boy's position...

Duo's face fell as the dark-haired boy suddenly disappeared from his view.

"Shimatta!" Duo exhaled, wasting not another moment as he dived under once more. This time however, he knew where his target was. This time, he could see him clearly.

Face grim, Duo swam swiftly towards the rapidly sinking body of the human boy.

He was indeed fascinating, Duo decided as he marvelled over the fine structure of the boy's face. Hesitantly, he traced the boy's features with one slender finger, wondering how beings so similar yet so different could exist on one world.

It had been a simple matter to grab the boy in his rapid descent through the depths. Duo had held the still body in his arms, shaking it to awaken him. But the boy remained unconscious. It was only moments later that Duo noticed that the steady stream of bubbles escaping the boy's mouth had died down to the odd, lonely bubble. Only then had he seen the blue tinged lips and the deathly pale face. Only then did Duo realise that the boy in his arms was dying.

Cursing himself as he carried the boy to the surface, Duo swam towards the not-too-distant shore. How could he have forgotten that humans couldn't breathe underwater?

"Quatre was right," Duo muttered into the wet, dark locks of the boy as he pulled him towards the shore. "I *am* an idiot."

The difficult part of the rescue had been dragging the boy ashore. Duo flopped onto his back on the smooth shale-covered beach, staring tiredly into the dark moonless sky. Obviously, tails were *not* meant to work on land, Duo concluded tiredly. Glancing to his side he stared at the still body.

Which was when he started examining him minutely.

Duo turned the boy onto his side, letting the excess water seep out of his mouth. He'd already coughed out almost the whole ocean earlier. Those eyes had fluttered a few times but had shut once more as the boy drifted into an exhausted sleep. Propping his head on his hands, Duo stared curiously at the unconscious boy.

"What do I do with you, ne?" he asked. "Shall I leave you here, and hope someone finds you in the morning? I'd take you home, but you aren't exactly equipped for it," he muttered absently, running his gaze over the boy's slim legs. "Besides, my uncle would probably kill you. Then he'd kill me," Duo grinned to himself. "Sou! I guess I'll leave you here, then, human. You're in your own world, and I'm sure you'll survive, eh?"

Duo ran his fingers through his hair, brushing away the bangs that fell into his eyes. They had that tendency when they got dry. And his hair tended to tangle up too, he cursed softly as he tried to comb some order into his hair with his hands. Ruefully, he eyed the receding shoreline. The tide was going out and the distance between where he sat - flopping like a landed fish - and the safety of the water was increasing with each passing moment.

"Aargh! Baka! Duo no baka! Look at that!" Duo scolded himself. Damn! He must have miscalculated the tide.

Slowly, Duo began his long squirm to the shoreline. But before he went, Duo turned once more to the sleeping boy. It would probably be the last time he would see a human this close up and he wanted to savour the moment and commit it to memory. Especially when the human was one as beautiful and as fascinating as...

Duo frowned.

Something was *not* right with the picture.

Squinting, the merboy noticed the small shudders that ran over the boy's still frame.

"Oh great!" Duo cried, throwing his arms in the air in a gesture of annoyance. "I leave you in the sea and you die of drowning. Now I leave you on land and you die of cold. What the hell is it with you surface people? How do you manage to live *this* long anyway?" he grumbled.

Longingly, he gazed at the retreating shoreline. But he couldn't leave the boy like this, Duo thought. He didn't go through all that trouble just to let him die now. Oh well, Duo sighed resignedly as he inched once more towards the shivering boy. He could stay with the boy till dawn and by then, the sun would have risen up enough to warm the boy up. And who knows, maybe the tide would come in early.

Fat chance, Duo grinned as he settled beside the boy.

Lying on the cold stone, Duo held the boy's shivering body tightly in his arms, wrapping his tail around the boy's legs. Slowly, the shivering subsided and slowly the cold body in his arms began to warm up.

Duo yawned and settled into a more comfortable position on the hard stony surface. The cold from the shale crept stealthily through his back, but he was used to the lower temperatures of the deep sea. Besides, the softly breathing body in his arms was nice and warm. And alive.

And somehow that thought alone made his heart sing.

Even as the feel of the warm flesh against him made his heart ache.

"Heero-sama! You're alive! Praise God!"

Heero blinked in the bright sunlight, the image before him fuzzy and blurred. Slowly his vision focussed the image and a girl's face appeared before him, blue eyes wide with obvious relief.

"Who... where... what happened?" Heero groaned as he sat up. His muscles ached and he felt stiff, but his skin was still warm from...

"Relena. I'm Relena, remember?"

Heero turned towards the girl. "Relena-sama? You mean I'm in Elwan? How... "

The girl smiled indulgently, a knowing look in her eyes. "God sent you back to me, Heero. He knew where your heart really belonged."

Heero blinked back, unsure of what to say, but knowing that whatever he would say -should he choose to say it - at that moment would *not* be complimentary.

Here was the reason he left Elwan in the first place, and yet this was the first thing that greeted him when he returned.

God was cruel.

"Are you strong enough to stand?" the girl asked. "Do you want to stay here while I get help? Or can you walk? My carriage is just over the ridge."

"Hn." Heero grunted as he unsteadily rose to his feet. Quickly, Relena grabbed his arm and threw it over her shoulder, lending him support. As much as he detested it, Heero realised he was in no position to refuse the over-eager offer of help. Submitting, he let the girl guide him away from the beach towards where her carriage waited.

"Your parents will be so relieved, Heero," the girl chattered brightly. "When the survivors from your ship came ashore last night, they were worried to death. They spent the whole night awake, keeping vigil, waiting... "

Heero listened absently, not paying attention to her strangely irritating voice. Somewhere, sometime, he remembered another voice. Deeper, more musical. And he remembered eyes the colour of the twilight sky. And last night...

Last night, after years of searching, Heero finally felt he had found peace.

"Duo, what the hell is wrong with you?" Quatre growled, shaking his cousin fiercely. The usually bright and chatty merboy had been sullen and withdrawn for days. It was getting on his nerves.

"Oi! Stop it, Quatre. I'm just not in the mood, okay?" Duo shook himself free of Quatre's hands and drifted back towards his chambers. Which was where he spent a lot of his time lately, Quatre frowned, swimming after the longhaired merboy. When he was actually in the palace, that is. Which seemed less and less nowadays.

The mer prince had sent Trowa to spy on Duo during his ever-increasing absences from the palace, and the information Trowa had brought back disturbed him. Duo had been stealing to the surface again. While this did not usually mean trouble, the news that Duo now went nearer and nearer to the surface dwellers' land did not sit well on Quatre's nerves. Steeling himself, Quatre closed the door of Duo's room behind him, his gaze falling on the moping merboy who sat by a window, playing with his hair.

"Duo," Quatre ventured, drifting towards his silent friend. "Tell me about it. What's on your mind?"

Duo turned to the blonde merboy, his eyes hard and coldly assessing. Nervously, Quatre flicked his tail, sending him scuttling slightly backwards. He had never seen Duo seem so cold, so calculating.

"Do you really want to know, Quatre?" Duo finally sighed, the hard look melting once more into the deep melancholy that seemed to dwell more and more deeply in his blue-violet eyes.

"Hai," Quatre nodded, swimming to Duo's side. "What's bothering you?"

"Who. Not what," Duo answered softly.

Quatre's eyes bulged. "Huh? What?"

"Who! Who! Not what! Didn't you hear what I said? Sheesh!" Duo swam away from the window irritatedly.

He had seen the boy walk - stumble, more like - away that morning, his arm around the human girl's shoulders. She had called him 'Heero'.

Such a nice name.

Duo had been glad when Heero had been found, obviously by someone who knew him, and probably someone he knew. He had been ecstatic when he saw that Heero had been strong enough to stand and walk, albeit with help.

So why had it hurt so much to see him disappear over the ridge?

For days after that, Duo had swum around the beach where he had left him. Perhaps he was hoping that Heero would return? It was a stupid thought, he knew. But he couldn't help it.

He missed Heero.

How that was possible after only one night together, Duo didn't know. How he could feel the way he felt for someone so different and so... so...

Shit!

"I heard," Quatre replied. Duo only vaguely heard him. He was too busy wallowing in his own thoughts.

Duo had finally swum up the river leading into the heart of the human settlement. The sights, sounds, smells - everything overwhelmed him, and for the first few days Duo just reeled from the rich sensory inputs.

Then he'd found him again - riding on a white horse over the brick-and-mortar bridge that spanned the river.

Finally, after a few days of covert spying, Duo had discovered where Heero lived - a palace by the sea's edge. And it didn't take long for Duo to find a perfect spot from where he could look at the boy without being discovered. Which was when he found that Heero would spend his evenings taking solitary walks on the stretch of beach near the palace.

Which was where Duo spent his evenings, swimming lazily in the water behind the silent boy walking on the beach.

Once in a while, Heero would turn towards the sea as though searching for something. Those were the times Duo enjoyed most, for he could pretend that Heero was looking for him, and he could gaze upon those darkly perfect features once more.

Duo sighed.

Against all odds, he had fallen in love. With a human boy.

Life was unfair.

"Wufei! You must have something for him," Quatre cried, dragging a noisily cussing Duo behind him.

"Like what?" the young physician asked calmly, shooting a glare of annoyance at the longhaired merboy struggling to loosen Quatre's grip on his arm.

"Maybe something that'll make him forget? Something? Anything!" Neptune's heir begged.

"Hn! Something to make him forget?" Wufei pondered. "How about," Wufei picked up a piece of broken stalactite, " a good bonk on the head, ne?"

"Waaa! Wufei! Don't you dare!" Duo wailed. "You're supposed to help people, not kill them, baka!"

"Well, that's what Lord Neptune would do to you if he found out, ne?" Wufei retorted. But he put away the stalactite piece, much to Duo's relief.

"But I don't wanna forget," Duo whined. "Quatre, please. Just forget I ever told you anything, right?" Duo begged, turning pleading eyes to his blonde captor.

"But you'd just keep going to the human's dwelling, wouldn't you? I know you, Duo. That's *exactly* what you'd do. Don't you try to deny it," Quatre growled.

"Well, so what if I went there? No one would know. I can hide. Nobody'll see me. What are you so uptight about?" Duo spat angrily.

"How do you know, baka? What would -"

"I know someone who could help you."

Duo blinked.

Quatre goggled.

Wufei gawked.

Hilde smiled.

"This is stupid," Quatre grumbled under his breath. Hilde had brought them to a dark cavern that reminded him of the insides of a sperm whale. It was too dark. And it stank.

"You understand I haven't done this before," Hilde reminded.

"So I'd be your guinea pig?" Duo asked nervously. Suddenly, this didn't seem to be such a good idea after all.

Hilde nodded with a grin. A decidedly *very* lecherous grin. "And according to the agreement, there has to be something given freely in return. You have to pay, Duo."

"Uh... how much?"

"Oh... nothing too expensive. Just your promise, on your honour, cross your heart, hope to die, that kinda stuff."

"Oh," Duo sighed, relieved. "Okay, what do I have to promise?"

"Wait a minute," Quatre interrupted. "Just what does this medicine do, anyway? What if it's poisonous?"

"Are you saying I don't know what I'm doing?" Hilde screeched, her hands on her hips and her tail swishing agitatedly.

"Saaa! No, I didn't say *that*," Quatre waved his hands nervously. "You did."

"Quatre-sama! God help me, I'll -"

"Whoa, whoa!" Duo swam behind the furious mermaid, grabbing her before she could carry out her threat to make Quatre the last of Neptune's lineage. Hilde melted into Duo's arms.

"Hmm..Duo," she smiled seductively, pushing back against him and caressing his tail with hers. "That feels nice."

"Cut it out, Hilde," Duo frowned, letting go of the mermaid and swimming back to where Quatre drifted. "And yeah, indulge me. What does this medicine of yours do?" Duo asked when he was sure Hilde wouldn't try to scratch out Quatre's eyes again. Damn, but those two were always arguing.

Hilde sighed, tossing her head affectedly as she sashayed further into the cavern. Duo and Quatre followed her, marvelling at the way the grotto was illuminated by various deep-sea creatures that looked as ugly as the day was long. Mostly blind, the bulky fishes moved sluggishly along the sea bottom, little lanterns of bioluminescence dangling from their monstrously ugly heads. Some of the creatures travelled around in a group, radiating soft light from their bodies as they shifted positions with the ripples in the water.

Finally, the trio stopped at a large, open area; light streamed through an opening in the roof of the cavern and upon closer examination, Quatre realised that they were probably in what was once a small volcano.

Hilde picked up a small container, shaking it slightly in her small hand. "My grand-aunt made it. I don't know what it's supposed to do exactly, but according to the notes she left behind, it'll hide merfolk from humans."

"You mean the surface dwellers won't see me? Cool!" Duo crowed.

"I guess," Hilde shrugged.

Quatre shifted suspiciously from behind Duo. Something didn't smell right - and it wasn't the fishy smell of the grotto - with this deal, and Hilde seemed a little too ignorant. For someone who spent her whole life in her grand-aunt's apprenticeship, she seemed to have suddenly forgotten a lot of what she should have known by heart.

"Wait, Duo," Quatre pulled at Duo's shoulder. "Hilde, what exactly will happen to him when he takes this - this medicine?" The blonde merboy eyed the small bottle in Hilde's hand. Granted, there didn't seem a lot of the stuff, but it never paid to be careless.

Hilde glared at him through slitted eyes. "I told you, Quatre-sama," she hissed icily. "I don't know what will happen exactly. It's not like I'm forcing you, you know. Are you afraid I'll poison him? Me? Poison Duo?" Hilde laughed, tossing her head back. "You, maybe," she mumbled to herself, unheard by the others. "Perhaps you'd like me to try it first? But there's only *this* much. But if it'll make you feel better... " Hilde tipped her head back and made as though to drink down the medicine.

"No, wait!" Duo cried, grabbing Hilde's wrist before she could manage to pour out the liquid. The mermaid turned to Quatre, giving him a self-satisfied smirk. Within, however, she almost screamed with relief. If Duo hadn't stopped her then...

"Okay, I'll take it," Duo said softly, taking the small bottle in his hand.

"Duo, maybe you should think it over first," Quatre advised. "What if something bad happens?"

"Then I'll take the antidote. There *is* an antidote, right?" the longhaired merboy glared at Hilde.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, yes!" Hilde nodded vigorously, grinning idiotically. "There's an antidote. Of course, there's an antidote. Don't worry."

"Alright then," Duo grinned. "Here goes nothing." Duo gulped down the contents of the small bottle.

And waited.

Nothing happened.

"Hey! Nothing's happening!" Duo wailed.

"You cheated!" Quatre cried, turning an accusing glare at Hilde.

"Why, Quatre-sama, I thought you didn't *want* anything to happen?" she smiled predatorily.

"Hilde! Why didn't it work?" Duo moaned, ignoring the invisible daggers that flew between the two mer people.

"You didn't make your promise yet, Duo." Hilde picked up a small, jewelled dagger from a shelf hewn into the rocky wall.

"Uh... what's with the knife?" Duo stammered nervously, eyeing the wicked looking blade in Hilde's hand.

"Hilde! What do you think you're doing?" Quatre growled.

"It has to be a blood pact, Duo," Hilde smiled sweetly, ignoring Quatre. "It'll just be a tiny little prick. Like this," Hilde dug the sharp point of the blade into her finger. A small drop of red welled up on the torn skin of the pad of her finger. "See? Nothing much," she smiled assuringly.

"Uh... okay," Duo agreed, hesitating just a little before holding out a finger. One which was duly pricked by Hilde's blade.

Hilde looked up into Duo's uncertain eyes. Her voice was sad as she asked whether he was sure about what he wanted to do.

"Do you promise to return to me if what you find on the surface is not what you wanted?"

That seemed like a fair enough promise, Duo thought. He nodded.

"So be it," Hilde sighed, pressing their two fingers together so that their blood mingled. She held up her finger to Duo's mouth, gesturing him to lap up the combined blood on her finger.

Tentatively, Duo took a small lick.

"This seals the spell, Duo," Hilde sighed, her voice resigned.

For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen and time seemed to stand still. Duo frowned. There still didn't seem to be anything -

The pain hit him first, and he screamed.

But the only sound that escaped his lips was a sharp gasp.

"What's happening to him?" Quatre yelled. Duo heard Quatre's voice through the red haze that clouded his eyes; felt Quatre's hands on him as the blonde merboy struggled to calm his violently flailing body.

Oh Lord, he felt like he was being torn apart.

What shit did he get himself into this time? Duo screamed as the pain tore through him, but his voice resounded only in his head for he heard nothing but Quatre's cries and the sound of water churning as he thrashed.

Then a new pain entered him. Never had he felt the like before. It was like breathing in fire - not that he'd tried that, of course. The new pain seared through him, burning his throat and his lungs. Duo felt like he was suffocating. He tried to draw in a deeper breath, but that action only succeeded in making the pain worse. And he felt a great weight press upon his chest, sending him into oblivion.

Quatre watched, horrified but enthralled.

Duo writhed in his arms, even as he tried to calm down the thrashing boy, soothing him with words that meant nothing and that probably fell on deaf ears. Even as he hugged Duo close, Quatre watched the transformation that took over his friend's body. He watched as the beautiful, dark, silver-scaled tail split lengthways, changing into the limbs that humans called legs. Fascinated, Quatre watched the scales fall off Duo's newly-formed legs and he watched as the skin rippled and changed colour.

An idiotically inane thought passed through Quatre's mind: Duo had nice legs.

Then the thrashing stopped and Duo's body fell limply against him.

Quatre looked up, alarmed.

"What's wrong with him now? Hilde!"

"He's human now, Quatre-sama," Hilde answered grimly from where she floated, watching. "He's drowning."

Unbelievingly, Quatre stared at the mermaid. "You... you bitch!" Quatre spat. Wrapping his arms around Duo's unconscious body, Quatre swam frantically towards the surface.

Hilde watched the merboys - no, only one merboy. The other was human - depart, a small smile on her lips. She knew what would happen. She had known all along.

First she had tried to wipe out the human distraction from Duo's life. But the fates had been kind to the human boy he was so fascinated with.

She had cursed and ranted for days when she discovered how deep Duo's feelings for the human had become. It was impossible! Against the laws of nature! It couldn't - shouldn't - happen!

But it did.

And she had had to resort to more desperate measures.

So Duo had wanted to be closer to his human paramour, ne? Fine, that was easily done. She would arrange it so that Duo would get a taste of the human world he lusted after. And after he had decided that he had had enough, perhaps then she'd tell him how to revert back.

At that thought, Hilde smiled once more. When that day came, she'd have it all: Duo's love, Duo's gratitude, the works. And she wouldn't have to worry about some snotty human brat taking Duo's attention from her. No, when that day came, she'd have it all. And she was patient.

And just to be safe, she'd made sure that his silver-tongued voice wouldn't function in his human form. Oh but her grand-aunt's potions were wonderful things, Hilde sighed contentedly.

Besides, it wouldn't be long.

Who could bear to live up there on the surface, anyway?

Quatre hugged Duo close to his chest as he floated on the water, Duo's head leaning against his shoulder. Worriedly, the blonde merboy glanced at the unmoving body of his friend. What was he to do now, Quatre wondered. He'd brought Duo to the surface, where the boy could breathe but he couldn't stay afloat forever. A scowl crossed the merboy's face when he suddenly noticed how cold Duo's flesh had become. And how blue his lips and nails had turned.

K'so! Humans were too damn fragile!

With a fierce splash of his salmon pink tail, Quatre swam towards shore.

As he neared the sandy beach, Duo began to stir in his arms. A soft, wordless moan escaped his lips and Quatre turned to his friend, concern overflowing in his wide aquamarine eyes.

"Duo?" he whispered, pulling the limp body onto the beach. The water lapped against them, pushing them further up the beach, but pulling at them as it rushed back out to sea.

Duo's violet eyes opened, but his gaze was unfocussed and after a few moments, he closed them again. Sighing dejectedly, Quatre looked around him. He saw only long stretches of pale yellow sand, broken in places by dark rocky outcrops. He'd never seen such a desolate looking place in his life. Why would Duo want this when he could be down in the water, frolicking among the corals? How could anyone want to leave the cool wet embrace of the depths and stay up here in the hot, dry air?

Sadly, Quatre turned his gaze back to Duo. The longhaired boy was stretched out on his stomach, his now-very-human body half in and half out of the water. His body shifted with each upsurge of the waves that sent his long hair floating up and down his back like long caressing fingers.

"What did Hilde do to you, Duo? What did you do to yourself?" Quatre sighed, dismayed at the day's turn of events. If only he'd been more forceful before. Then Duo would never have gone to the surface and set his eyes and his heart on that human. Sadly the blond youth reached out to caress one of Duo's cheeks.

A galloping sound rumbled through the sand. Quatre whipped his head around, searching for the source of the sound.

A horse! Someone was coming!

Frantically, the blonde leaped into the water, leaving Duo alone on the beach.

Heero pulled in the reins, his face twisted in a scowl when he spied the motionless body sprawled across the wet sand.

A castaway? A survivor of a shipwreck?

Curious, Heero jumped off his mount and ran over to the body.

It was a woman.

"Ojousan?" the dark-haired boy called softly, reaching out to give the cold body a shake. Blushing, Heero noted the state of undress the girl was in. He wondered what had happened to her, and why she was there. Again, Heero called out, this time a little more loudly. "Kega wa nai kai, ojousan?"

And this time, the body stirred.

Heero pulled off his jacket and draped it across the girl's naked shoulders, supporting her as she struggled to push herself up onto her elbows. Thankfully, her long hair hid most of her body from his eyes, although the way the wet strands clung to every curve of her back and the gentle swell of her buttocks, nothing was left to the imagination.

Heero tried to avert his eyes and concentrated on helping the girl into a sitting position.

Which was when Heero discovered that the girl was...

A boy?!?

The dark-haired boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head, as he stared at the dazed boy kneeling in the sand before him. The longhaired boy's face still remained mostly hidden by the cascade of chestnut locks that seemed to fall endlessly around him, but Heero could sense the confusion that seemed to radiate almost physically from the slightly shivering boy.

"Are you okay?" Heero frowned, noting the deep shuddering breaths the boy took. As though he hadn't breathed in a long time.

At his voice, the longhaired boy's head snapped up and Heero almost gasped aloud when he saw the boy's face.

Those eyes!

Hot, yellow streams of liquid gold poured into his eyes, stopped only momentarily by the thin skin of his eyelids.

Duo stirred.

*Where am I?* Duo tentatively cracked open an eye, only to be assaulted by the full force of the sun's rays streaming through a large window directly in front of him. Confused, the boy started - and discovered that he was lying in a comfortable bed and covered in a most wonderfully soft material that slithered over his skin like the thinnest membrane of a jellyfish.

"What the-" Duo started to say. He gagged.

Nothing! He couldn't hear anything!

Sitting up, the boy stared around him in panic, digging his ears. Why couldn't he - Wait!

Soft, melodious chirps wafted in from the window.

He could hear! Birds were singing outside the window and he could hear them! But why couldn't he hear his own -

Duo clutched his throat, his eyes wide. Slowly he tried to talk. His tongue moved. He could feel his vocal cords vibrating, but...

Oh great! Duo slumped back into the soft pillows he had been lying on. Hil~de! He wailed in frustration, the sound loud only in his head. Of all the fish-brained things to happen! How could he have been so stupid... .

"Ohayo."

The low tenor brought Duo out of his self- reproach, and apprehensively he peeked from between the soft, fat folds of the coverlet under which he'd buried himself.

Heero!

Duo stared.

Heero?

"I see you've finally decided to wake up. You've been asleep for almost two days; I was getting worried," his visitor said softly, walking up to the edge of the bed.

"... "

*Oh shit!* Duo groaned soundlessly. Here was the face of the being that haunted his dreams. Here was the voice that rang through his sleeping hours. Here he was, in the same room as the person he'd wanted to get so close to - and yet...

If Duo could scream, he would.

"How're you feeling? Are you up to eating something?"

At the mention of food, Duo's stomach rumbled. Turning a pretty shade of pink, Duo grinned embarrassedly. At least, that part of him still made *some* sound, he thought.

And obviously, by the amused look in Heero's eyes, the sound was loud enough.

"I take it, you're ready for some breakfast?" Heero's eyes twinkled, the corners of his lips quirking upwards slightly.

Duo nodded.

"Come on, then," Heero gestured with a toss of his head as he moved towards the door.

Duo slipped out from under the covers, and got out of bed.

And promptly fell flat on the floor.

Momentarily startled, Heero rushed to his strange guest's side to help him up. Pulling the fallen boy up by his shoulders, he noticed the pain in the boy's face.

"What's wrong?"

The boy looked at him mournfully, and if Heero didn't know better, there were tears in those large, violet eyes that he found so fascinating. *Can't be*, he dismissed. *Boys don't cry*. The boy looked away, turning his gaze on his legs. Heero followed the boy's eyes.

"Did you sprain something?" Heero asked, concerned. Instinctively, the dark-haired prince reached out to examine the boy's legs for injuries.

A sharp gasp interrupted him as a strong hand grasped his forearm.

Heero looked up in askance, and the look in the strange boy's face made fresh worry blossom in his heart. The boy's fine features were twisted in a grimace, and by the shimmer in the large eyes, Heero knew he hadn't imagined the boy's tears.

Duo shook his head, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over his eyelids. Why did those... those *legs* hurt so much? He hadn't realised their presence at first, only remembering when he swung them out of bed. But the moment they touched the floor and he'd put his weight on them, it had felt like they were being sliced by razor-edged coral. Did humans go through this? How could they move? And when Heero had touched them, even that gentle pressure had hurt!

Suddenly, Duo felt strong hands gripping his shoulders, pulling him up. Absently, Duo realised that he'd released Heero's arm, and now the human boy was beside him, helping him to stand.

*I can't!* Duo whined silently, alarmed. Whimpering soundlessly, he flopped against Heero's body, unable to hold himself up. Heero's arms instinctively went around him, holding him close to his chest.

*What's wrong with him?* Heero wondered, his dark brows puckered in a frown. It was as though it hurt him to stand. Yet, Heero couldn't see anything wrong with the boy's legs - in fact, they looked quite good - and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the rest of him...

"Perhaps breakfast in bed would be best for now, ne?" Heero whispered softly into the boy's ear. *God, his hair smelled good! Like the fresh sea spray on a cool, windy day... *

The boy relaxed in his arms, nodding wordlessly, a grateful look in his eyes. And Heero was suddenly reminded of another night when he'd felt this selfsame feeling of security and belonging. But who... ?

"Heee~ro!"

A sing-song voice carried into the room, moments before the door slammed open.

Startled, both boys looked up at the newcomer.

A pretty girl with long, dark blonde hair gaped at the sight that greeted her wide, cornflower blue eyes. "Heero?" she squeaked. "Why are you holding him like that?"

"Uh..Relena... uhm... I was..uh..he fell... " Heero felt his face flush, and he knew that he had turned a dark shade of crimson. Hurriedly, he half-dragged, half-carried the silent boy to the bed, depositing him unceremoniously on it.

Duo blinked, forgetting the pain in his legs in his surprise at the girl's entrance. Why had she seemed so surprised? Did he do something wrong?

"Uhm..I'll tell the servants to send something up for you to eat," Heero stage-whispered as he tucked Duo in. "I'll come by a bit later," he winked, before disappearing out of the door with an annoyed-looking Relena.

Heero walked silently, some ways behind the happily grinning boy that went from stall to stall in the teeming marketplace, pulling the reins to his horse. He marvelled at how the longhaired boy tried to communicate with the stallkeepers without uttering a single sound. He marvelled more at the fact that the stallkeepers actually seemed like they understood.

It had been several weeks since he'd first found the boy washed up on the beach near the palace. And in those weeks, he'd discovered that his new-found friend couldn't speak. A pity, Heero sighed. He'd imagined the boy would have had a nice, soft baritone - like a voice he remembered from a distant night, in one of his dreams.

He'd had a challenging time trying to guess his friend's name - and after a heated bout of charades, he'd finally discovered it: Duo.

A strange name, for an equally strange person.

Heero frowned, flipping a copper coin in exchange for two red apples.

"Duo!" he called, tossing one of the fruit to the braided boy, who caught it effortlessly with one hand. He held it up in a gesture of thanks before biting into it, laughing as he slurped at the juice that dripped from between his lips, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve.

Heero couldn't help but smile at the sight. He had finally managed to get Duo to sit still long enough to get his long hair braided, and the boy had been delighted at the result. While Heero preferred to see Duo's hair unfettered, it was more convenient in its plaited state. Especially considering the whirlwind-like speed with which the longhaired boy flitted from one object of attention to another.

One would think he'd never seen these things before, Heero smirked.

"Heero-sama!"

Heero turned from his contemplation of the boy peeking into an earthenware stall, curiously tracing the different shapes of the pots on sale. A messenger from the palace rushed up to him, breathing heavily.

"Heero-sama! Her majesty, the queen, requests your presence at once, sire," the young messenger gasped.

"Why? What is it about?" Heero queried. Duo had noticed the messenger's presence and had walked up to Heero's side, still munching on the half-finished apple.

"I don't know, Heero-sama. She didn't say." The messenger looked crest-fallen.

"Very well. Tell her I'll be right there," Heero huffed. Mothers were bad enough. They expected you to be at their beck and call.

A mother who was a queen was worse.

Duo turned to Heero, tugging at the dark-haired boy's sleeve.

Heero grinned at the longhaired boy's worried face as he mounted his horse.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious, Duo," Heero chuckled. "I'll see you back at the palace, ne?" Heero said as he rode off, leaving Duo in the market place.

Duo waited until Heero disappeared from sight before he mounted his own steed and headed towards the beach.

Duo lay back upon the sand, sighing contentedly. It seemed like yesterday when he'd only dreamed of lying in the sun like this. How time flies...

A splashing sound drew his attention to the water.

A grin lit up his face when Duo saw the source of the splashing.

*Quatre!*

"Duo!" Quatre called out, laughing. He waved at the braided boy, who waved back. And who promptly waded into the water.

Duo laughed soundlessly, hugging Quatre.

*I missed you, baka!* Duo smiled. He thought he'd never see anyone from home again.

"How are you, Duo?" Quatre asked, trying to duck the other boy under the water. Duo twisted away, avoiding the merboy easily. It had become easier to move and manoeuvre on his legs, once he had gotten used to the pain. Now the sensation had died down to a mere ache - something he could live with.

*I'm fine*

Quatre nodded, understanding the happy look in his cousin's eyes. "I'm glad."

Chuckling, the blonde dived underwater and pulled Duo's legs out from under him...

"I have to go," Quatre said softly some time later. "It was great seeing you again, Duo. We miss you. Are you sure you don't want to come back?"

Duo cocked his head to one side, studying the blonde's face with an expression of sadness and uncertainty. Slowly, he got up from where he'd been sitting, almost chest-deep in the water, wringing seawater from his clothes.

*Hai.*

Quatre nodded, looking into Duo's silently pleading eyes. He knew the longhaired boy missed the undersea kingdom too, but there was something stronger that bound him to the surface. And until that bond was broken, Duo would not leave. Not of his own free will...

"I'll see you soon, ne?" Quatre grinned and waved as he turned to swim away, hiding the heaviness in his heart at saying goodbye.

*Sayonara Quatre*

Duo half-waved at the rapidly disappearing merboy. And when he could no longer see the trail of foam Quatre left behind, Duo turned back towards the beach.

The sight of a stock-still Heero staring at him froze Duo in his tracks.

"You!" Heero uttered the words accusingly. "You're the one!"

Duo groaned inwardly. Just when he thought that everything was going right, *this* had to happen. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to Heero?

Duo sighed.

*Guess it's time to face the music... *

Heero followed Duo's every movement with eyes that shone brightly in the late afternoon sun. He'd dreamt it; He'd imagined it; He'd wished it.

But never did he think that it could be true.

The eyes that haunted him; the voice he'd heard in his sleep; the touch that embraced him in his dreams. Everything coalesced into this slender figure that was walking up to him, peering shyly through long, brown bangs that dripped with seawater.

His dream was coming true.

Without thinking, Heero walked forward jerkily, intercepting the longhaired boy. Faintly surprised at what he was doing, and yet elated at the freedom he felt at doing it, Heero grabbed Duo in his arms and gave him a long, deep kiss.

Duo froze, shocked at Heero's actions, yet somehow ecstatic at the sudden turn of events. What the hell was the human boy doing?

But whatever it was, it felt good, Duo thought as he melted into the wonderfully warm sensation of Heero's lips pressed against his. Instinctively, his arms came up to wrap themselves around Heero's back, just as the dark-haired boy's hands stole up to hold his face in a position more convenient for the deliciously deadly assault on his already-muddled senses.

Hilde screeched, tearing at her hair in fury.

"*This* was *not* supposed to happen!!!" she cried, pulling the large half-shell off its perch on the coral ledge and flinging it into a corner of the grotto; it bounced off the dark wall and broke into two pieces.

Seething visibly, the young mermaid ranted to herself as she swam frantically from one shelf to another, peering at first one container and then the next for...

"Where is it?" the mermaid growled to herself, flinging containers with offending - they weren't the ones she wanted - labels to the seafloor. Finally, she settled for a flat, circular container that sloshed with a viscous, dark green liquid.

A satisfied, catty smile lit up Hilde's face.

This potion would do nicely...

He never thought he could ever feel this happy.

It was wonderful.

Heero ran his fingers through the damp, dishevelled chestnut locks, careful not to awaken the sleeping boy whose head lay upon his lap. From the first moment he found him on the beach, he couldn't help remembering the image of the violet-eyed mermaid he'd seen that night so long ago. He couldn't help wondering, wishing... .

But it had seemed impossible - a fantasy.

Besides, Duo was human. And he was *no* girl.

Indeed, how could he have guessed? Heero leaned back against the cool boulder, his eyes closed as he relished the coolness on his back and the warmth radiating from the slim body lying against his. Absently, his hand caressed Duo's bare shoulders, trailing lightly across the longhaired boy's ribs and back, eliciting a little wriggle from the boy. Heero smiled, noting the soft exhalation that marked Duo's contented sigh. No matter that the boy moving so deliciously against him could not speak a word; just his mere presence was enough.

Heero couldn't ask for more.

It didn't matter how Duo came to be here, in his arms. He didn't care what laws of nature had been defied to bring this certain being into his life. Frankly, he didn't give a damn.

As long as he had Duo forever.

Duo yawned, stretching cat-like. The feel of the sand coarsely grinding against his skin woke him up in a hurry.

*Huh? Where..*

His hand grazed against a cloth-covered leg. A leg that belonged to...

*Oops!*

Duo sat up in a hurry, suddenly remembering with amazing clarity the events that took place so recently. Heero's touch, Heero's kiss still burned against his skin in his all too-vivid memory.

It had to be a dream, right?

But the leg under his touch, the thigh he had been lying upon, and the boy leaning against the rock with the sharp cobalt eyes that cut through him oh-so-easily proved that it was not.

Flustered, Duo felt his face go red, the blood rushing to his face in uncontrollable torrents. Suddenly he felt so very naked, even though he was not. Well... .perhaps *half*-naked.

Quickly, the longhaired boy snatched at his shirt that he had earlier spread out on the sand. In the time that he had been asleep, the shirt had dried and Duo hastily pulled it over his head. Only then did he realise - much to his dismay - that his hair was undone.

Now the long tresses lay tangled around him, much of it mussed by his nap and - Duo suspected - something more. Warily, he eyed Heero, who stared back at him in silence.

After several moments, the shorthaired boy spoke, his voice low, laden with seriousness.

"You fell asleep."

*Well d-uh* Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. What a revelation, he grinned. He couldn't help it. It was the last thing he'd expected Heero to say! He'd been ready for anything - anger, remorse, guilt. Even indifference.

Not something so mundane.

Silently, Duo laughed, his body shaking at the irony of it all. Here he was, sitting in the sand, laughing because the one person he had literally risked life and limb for couldn't think of anything to say except for the very obvious.

Hidoi.

At the very least, Heero could say he was a passable kisser. Especially for one with zero experience.

Duo giggled some more, burying his head in his hands.

Heero frowned, puzzled at Duo's behaviour. What the hell was so funny?

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, his curiosity finally getting the best of him.

Duo peeked at him through long, slender fingers. Finally the longhaired boy looked up, flicking his hair out of his eyes. Smiling a little sadly, Duo mouthed: 'You'.

Heero blinked. "Me? What did I do?"

*Nothing.* Duo shook his head, dismissing everything. If Heero didn't even acknowledge what had happened, it didn't matter that it was one of the most important and desired events in Duo's short existence. If the one person that mattered to him didn't think him worth his time, then - Duo made a move to stand, brushing the sand off the seat of his pants - nothing else mattered very much anymore. Everything he had done had been in vain... .

Heero caught his chin, turning his face so that Duo faced the dark-haired prince, eye to eye.

*Wha-*

"Duo," Heero's voice whispered, husky. "I've been waiting for so long. Don't... don't ever go away again," the boy sighed, leaning forward to once more catch that tempting mouth, bruise those tempting lips. Duo had disappeared from his life once - no, twice! Heero was sure of it. He'd suspected it before, but now he was sure. The first time had been a night when a brief glimpse had left him with visions of dark pools of violet swimming in a sea of blue. That parting had nearly culminated in a very physical death. The second time had been the following morning. Heero had thought that he had imagined the voice, the touch. He'd wondered later if he had been hallucinating. Now he knew he hadn't. That second time had crushed him inside, knowing that he had finally come so close to something - someone! - that felt so right, so true. So very *his*! And that person had left him warm and alive on the outside, but cold and dying on the inside.

He would not let Duo go a third time.

And as his arms grasped the slim, silent boy closely to his unyielding body, Heero demonstrated just how *much* he wouldn't let Duo go.

"Relena-sama."

The blonde girl whirled, startled by the soft, lilting voice.

"Who... who said that?" the girl asked, scared but curious. There was no one in the gardens, beside herself. No sound could have travelled from outside the walls and yet still retain the clear tones the voice had. Where *had* the voice come from?

"Here... " The voice sharpened, focussing into one source.

Relena followed the voice, surprise and wonder obvious on her face as she saw where the voice came from.

It came from a small pool at the bottom of the garden.

Relena brushed aside the soft curtain of weeping willow branches and leaves, clearing a path for her to approach the side of the pool. The water flowed and ebbed, following the natural rhythm of the stream that fed the pool from beyond the palace walls. Frowning, the girl studied the pool's edge. There didn't seem to be anyone -

"In here!"

Relena started. The voice seemed to have come from where she stood. Or more precisely, where her *feet* stood beside the water's edge...

The blonde peered into the water, but all she saw was her own reflection, gazing back at her with wonder and amazement.

Then, to her surprise and terror, her reflection began to blur and shift, revealing another face that was hers yet not hers.

Relena stared at her own face, aware that her mouth hung open in mute horror as her reflection began to talk to her.

"You love him, don't you?" Relena's reflection asked.

"Wha... Who?" Relena finally stammered after several long moments of silence.

"Heero," the disembodied voice sighed tiredly. "You want him to marry you, don't you?"

Relena bowed her head shyly. "H-hai. But... "

"But he doesn't want the same thing you do?"

Relena nodded, eyes blurring as they teared up.

"I can help you. I can help make you the centre of his world, his existence."

The blonde head jerked up. "How?"

"You will find a small jar in the water beneath your reflection. Mix the contents with his food or drink. He'll forget everything but you. You will be his whole life."

Hesitantly, Relena reached into the water. The freezing water sent chills up her arm, her skin breaking out in tiny goosebumps. Determinedly, the girl groped in the shallow water, searching until her fingers encountered something smooth and round...

Relena brought her find up. It was a small jar, with a viscous liquid inside it.

"Remember," the voice said again, fading. "You will be Heero's life and soul."

"How do I know you're telling me the truth? How-"

"You want him, don't you?"

The girl's silence marked her affirmation.

"Do as I say and you won't regret it."

"And what do you want in return?" Relena asked. If this was some trick of the fair folk, there *had* to be *some* form of payment...

"Nothing," the voice sighed. "If you do as I ask, you'll get your heart's desire. And that will be payment enough."

There was a smile in that voice, Relena noted. But if what it said was true, then...

Relena nodded, a small smile lighting up her shadowed features. Tonight. She would do it tonight...

Duo stared miserably at the happy couple.

Heero and he had just found each other. They had just grazed the tip of what promised to be the happiest moments of their young lives.

And suddenly, Duo's world had collapsed around him.

He'd barely had two days with Heero - really being *with* him. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally. They hadn't even... done whatever it was humans did, Duo sighed.

In two short days, his entire world had blossomed and crashed. It wasn't fair!

*What the hell happened?*

Trumpets sounded, bleating and blaring as they competed with the staccato tattoo of the drums that accompanied the couple aboard the ship. Duo lagged behind the noisy entourage that tossed confetti and streamers into the air, celebrating the engagement of the prince of Elwan and his childhood sweetheart.

**I want you to be my best man.**

Duo leaned against the rail, welcoming the feel of the hard, ungiving wood digging into the small of his back. From where he stood, he could see Relena laughing happily, every inch the blushing future bride. By her side stood the one person that could hold his attention for every moment of the day. Heero was smiling, nodding and once in a while laughing at some joke a guest cracked as he mingled with his guests.

He looked happy, Duo admitted bitterly.

** I'm getting married, Duo.**

Those words would have struck him speechless, if he hadn't been already. Even then, they had shocked him to immobility. Even Heero had been surprised.

How could Heero have forgotten so quickly? Had he lied that day on the beach? Had those words he said then been merely words?

Sadly, Duo turned his back on the engagement party, turning instead to gaze upon the foaming waters. Perhaps Quatre was right after all. Perhaps all this had been one big, fat mistake. He had followed his heart and his heart had betrayed him. In more ways than one.

Vaguely, Duo felt a tickling sensation travelling down his cheek.

A silent tear fell unnoticed amongst the rolling waves.

"What is it, Duo?"

Heero's query startled Duo out of his increasing contemplation of the ocean. Ever since the ship had left port a week ago for Relena's kingdom where the wedding would be held, the sea had seemed to beckon to him. During the wee hours of the morning, Duo sometimes imagined he could see arms waving to him from between the waves. Sometimes, he fancied he could hear voices...

Heero started. He'd never noticed the dark circles under Duo's eyes before. But now, as the longhaired boy looked at him, Heero could see the dark smudges that brought the violet irises out more vividly than ever before. The bright moonlight only served to highlight the hollows under his cheekbones.

Heero frowned. When had Duo lost so much weight? He had been slender before but now... He looked almost gaunt. And those eyes...

Duo's gaze lingered on him momentarily before the long lashes fluttered and the sad gaze turned once more towards the ocean. Heero shook his head sharply, trying to clear the strange fuzziness that clouded his mind every time he got near to this strange boy. Slowly, Heero lowered himself to sit cross-legged beside the silent boy.

"There'll be a full moon tomorrow," Heero said finally.

Duo barely nodded.

Heero glanced at him, wondering at the strange, longing look in Duo's face. Like he was wanting something he couldn't have...

Finally, the shorthaired boy huffed impatiently. "Alright, Duo! Out with it! What the hell's bothering you?" Heero asked brusquely. He'd known this boy for what seemed a long time and never had Duo behaved so strangely during their acquaintance. Deep inside, Heero felt as though he and Duo had been close - much closer than mere friends - before. But Heero dismissed the thought. How could Duo be more than a friend? But he had wanted Duo for his best man...

'More,' a small, nagging voice resounded in his head. 'You want him more than that.'

Heero pretended he was deaf.

Then he realised that Duo was staring at him, looking into his eyes as though he could see into his very soul.

And from the way Duo was staring, it looked like he was searching for something.

Then Duo sighed and looked away, disappointment clear in his face. Abruptly, the longhaired boy got up to his feet and walked away, leaving a puzzled Heero sitting alone in the moonlight.

Obviously, Heero didn't have whatever it was he was looking for.

Nothing!

There was nothing in those cobalt eyes that hinted at what Duo thought Heero felt for him. And that - more than Heero's engagement, more than Heero's inattention - had cut through his heart like a million, tiny shards of glass.

As he leaned against the portside, Duo gave in to the fact that he had tried to deny for too many weeks and cried.

"Duo."

The soft whisper calling him made Duo look up. At first, he could see nothing, the side of the ship he was on being in the shadow of the ship's gigantic sails. Then, as the ship continued its movement through the waters, he could make out the outline of someone in the water.

*Hilde?*

The boy saw the figure nod and as his eyesight adjusted to the darkness, Duo could make out Hilde's face, smiling at him.

Luckily, the strong sea breeze had dried up the tears on his face. Although Duo could still feel the stiff tightness of tear-stained skin, at least Hilde couldn't see them. He forced a grin and waved to the mermaid. Actually, it felt good to see someone familiar...

"Do you want to come back, Duo?" Hilde asked softly, bobbing in the water.

Duo stood, paralysed. A large part of him wanted to return. There was nothing left for him up here but pain. Even the pain in his legs were coming back. But there was also a small, stubborn part of him that didn't want to let go. That part still clung to the notion that perhaps, somehow...

"You can come back, Duo. You can come back to us," Hilde urged. "Where you belong."

Duo looked back, gazing back to where he had left Heero earlier. The boy was no longer there. The spot where he had sat was empty.

Empty.

"He doesn't love you anymore, Duo."

Hilde's words almost made Duo jump. He gaped at the mermaid.

*She knew?!?*

"How much longer are you going to suffer, Duo? How much longer are you going to pine for someone who doesn't even acknowledge your existence anymore?"

The words stung. They hurt.

Duo shook his head in denial, covering his ears to shut out Hilde's voice.

No! Heero couldn't forget him just like that! He couldn't!

But he had, hadn't he? Because Duo had seen it with his own eyes. He had seen the emptiness in Heero's eyes and Heero's heart.

There was no room for him here.

A soft thud came from the wooden deck by his feet. Duo looked down.

A familiar jewelled dagger lay embedded in the wooden planking. Duo bent down, picking up the blade and turning it over in his hands.

"Tomorrow, draw his blood, Duo," Hilde called out. " On the night of the full moon, let his blood break the pact. When he's gone, you can come back." Hilde's voice became softer as the ship drifted further away.

Until finally there was no sign of the mermaid.

Heero eyed Duo suspiciously. Something was definitely wrong with the boy. Duo had been wandering aimlessly around the ship the whole day, never staying in one place long enough for Heero to catch hold of him.

It was almost as though Duo was avoiding him.

During mealtimes, Heero had caught him peeking at him through those long bangs that bordered those violet eyes of his as Duo played with his food.

Until finally, after tea, Duo had just locked himself up in his cabin. And he had stayed there until dinner was over. Even Relena wondered about his absence...

This was too much!

Heero rapped on the door.

"Duo! Open up, damn it!" Heero gave up rapping when it elicited no reply. He banged on the door.

Still nothing.

"If you don't open this damned door, I'll break it down!"

Heero waited, listening carefully as something - or someone - shifted within the cabin.

A soft click.

Heero turned the knob, opening the door.

The darkness of the room surprised him. Duo had never liked the dark. Ever since he'd met him, the longhaired boy had spent every waking moment in the sunlight when he was outside or, when he was inside, he'd made sure every available lamp was lit. It was as if he could never have enough light.

Why the sudden change?

Heero felt his way to where he knew the table stood, navigating by the light entering through the open door. When he reached the table, the dark-haired boy felt for the table-lamp and lighted the oil-saturated wick. The soft yellow glow cast a warm light across the room. Adjusting the flame until it reached the desired brightness, Heero grunted in satisfaction. "That's better," he snorted.

He looked around the room, searching for the occupant

Duo was sitting on the edge of his bunk, slowly brushing his hair. His head was bowed, turned away from Heero.

The Elwan prince frowned. He moved to close the door, and then pulled up a stool and sat in front of the silent boy.

Duo glanced at him with what seemed like disinterest, looked away and continued brushing his hair.

Heero sighed. "It's me, isn't it?" he asked. "It's my getting married, isn't it?"

Duo looked up at him, his hand stopping in its rhythmic movement. He almost smiled at Heero's words. So close...

"Can't you see that I love her?"

Duo's knuckles whitened as his grip on the brush tightened.

Love? Heero had used that word in the same sentence with Relena, not him. It figured...

Heero's brow puckered when he noticed Duo's suddenly pale face. Then the boy began to brush his hair roughly, tugging viciously at the beautiful, brown locks...

"Duo," Heero reached out, grabbing the other boy's wrist. "Stop. You'll spoil your hair."

*Hah!* Duo felt like laughing. *My hair? You care about my hair? The hell with the hair!* Duo shook off Heero's grip and continued brushing, an angry scowl on his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The exasperation was sharp on Heero's voice. "Can't you be happy for me?"

At that, Duo was suddenly still. Heero didn't notice the lack of movement until the sound of the hairbrush clattering on the floor echoed against the walls of the cabin. But by then, Duo was already on his feet and walking towards the chest-of-drawers in the corner of the cabin. By the time he reached the chest, Duo had already braided up most of his hair. One lock of hair hung free.

The longhaired boy opened the chest and took out a small dagger, watched by Heero's curious eyes. Taking the blade, Duo took hold of the loose lock of hair and...

"Duo, wait!" Heero cried, realising what Duo was about to do.

... cut it off. The lock of hair hung limply between Duo's fingers, shining slightly in the lamplight. The braided boy tucked the dagger into the waistband of his dark pants and turned to Heero.

Looking at the silent prince, Duo placed the lock of hair in Heero's hand, closing the slightly trembling fingers over the chestnut strands.

"Duo... why?" Heero whispered hoarsely, his voice choked.

Duo kept his head bowed, his fingers still closed over Heero's closed fist. Taking a deep breath, the longhaired boy squeezed Heero's fist in his hand momentarily before letting it go and smiling sadly at Heero. Then he moved over to the door, and held it open, indicating to Heero in no uncertain terms that it was time for him to leave.

Heero stood still in confusion for a few moments before his feet moved him towards the door. As he dazedly exited Duo's room, the lock of hair still gripped tightly in his fist, he noted that Duo was still smiling at him.

But a tear was rolling down his cheek.

*He looks so peaceful as he sleeps. It is fitting. He will be forever at peace... *

Duo raised the dagger, prepared to plunge it down into the softly rising and falling chest of the sleeping boy. Heero lay half on his back and half on his side, his lips slightly parted in slumber.

Duo had sat long and alone, deliberating what he was about to do. He had finally reached his decision, had finally mustered the courage to act on it. Duo took a deep breath, steeling himself for the feel of resistance that the blade was bound to feel as it encountered flesh.

Heero stirred, grunting softly in his sleep as he shifted onto his back, his chest exposed. His hand moved from under the pillow where it had been tucked before.

The sight of a long lock of chestnut hair bound with a red satin ribbon curled around Heero's fingers made Duo catch his breath.

A soundless whimper of desperation escaped Duo's lips.

He couldn't do it. No matter how much he wanted to go back; no matter how much Heero had hurt him. Duo couldn't do it. He couldn't take Heero's life.

*I'm sorry Heero. Aishiteiru... *

Bending down in silence, Duo placed a last, chaste kiss on Heero's brow.

Strangely enough, there was no pain. There was the feeling of resistance he'd expected, but that disappeared as the skin gave way to the edge of the sharp blade. And as the warm blood flowed down his arms and over his hands, dripping onto the floor, Duo noted that there was very little pain. How strange...

Heero started, his eyes wide as he stared at the ceiling. His heart thumped like the hoof beats of a runaway horse. He'd had the oddest dream...

He rubbed his eyes, trying to bring some rationality to his thoughts.

"Eh..?"

There was some sticky liquid on his hands, Heero noted. Reaching to turn up the lamp, Heero peered at his hands.

Blood?

Panicking, the boy jumped out of bed. "K'so! What the -"

A small, jewelled dagger lay on the small table beside his bed, its blade dark with a reddish liquid. Heero's face paled as he remembered where he'd seen that dagger last and unconsciously his fingers flexed.

The soft strands tickling his palm brought his gaze down.

The lock of hair in his hand lay limp, its honey-brown strands shot with dark spots of...

Inarticulately, the shorthaired boy moaned as he set down the beribboned lock of hair beside the blade. Heero picked up the dagger, examining it. What had Duo done? What was all this blood -

"Shimatta!" Heero cursed at the small nick in his finger. Damn the blade was sharp!

Instinctively dropping the dagger, he brought his finger to his lips, sucking at the small cut. His blood flowed momentarily before it was quickly sucked away, together with the blood of...

"Duo!"

Heero's eyes widened as everything came flooding back. The storm, the shipwreck, the night before, the morning after, the kiss, the engagement. Everything! Heero reeled at the onrush of memories. It was as though someone had opened the floodgates in his mind and now he was drowning in ...

"Nooo!" Heero cried, falling to his knees in the semi-darkness. What had happened to him? Where was -

Heero's eyes fell on the dagger on the floor, surrounded by fat spatters of blood. His face fell as realisation finally dawned on him.

A small, keening sound of anguish left his lips as Heero ran out of his cabin, eyes darting wildly as he followed the ever-increasing drops of blood on the floor...

Heero found him on the ship's bow, leaning unsteadily against the wooden railing. Even as he ran towards Duo, Heero saw him teetering towards the sea.

"Duo! No!" Heero cried, putting in an extra burst of speed as Duo stumbled, toppling overboard. Throwing caution to the wind, Heero leaped forward, reaching for the falling boy. His hand grasped a slim forearm, but it was slick with blood, and Heero's grip slipped slightly. Scrambling to his feet, Heero pulled onto the dead weight of Duo's body but his feet lost their purchase on the wet deck, and Heero fell into the rumbling waters, his hand still gripping the arm of his unconscious lover.

As the seawater closed over his head, Heero pulled Duo's limp body close to his, enfolding him within his arms.

*Forgive me, Duo... for forgetting... Gomen... *

As consciousness left him, Heero saw the dark red streams flowing upwards from the cuts in Duo's wrists, even as he felt the boy's head pressed against his cheek. Heero didn't know which would claim them first - the sea or the sharks - but he didn't care.

Because wherever and whatever, Duo would be with him.

His grip around Duo's body tightened as they sank further into the murky depths, their passage marked by hundreds of tiny bubbles. And in the deepening darkness, a small smile curved on Heero's lips.

"Then? Then? Then what happened, 'jii-chan?" the little child cried, grabbing onto the hands of the smiling merman. The Lord of the Undersea smiled at his grandchild's precociousness. Youth was such a wonderful thing.

"Why don't you ask Hilde-baasan?" Quatre winked at the merchild. "She knows."

"Don't you? You know everything! You're the king!" the little child gazed adoringly at her grandfather. She wasn't his only grandchild; Lord Quatre had scores of them. But she knew that she was his favourite.

The old man laughed, his voice booming in the large chamber. Even underwater, echoes rang clearly through the depths. Quatre reached out to pat the child on the head, running his larger hand over her shining chestnut locks.

"I do, Deux. But Hilde-san could tell it better." Gently, Quatre pushed the merchild towards the physician's chambers. He had spent a good part of the morning story-telling and there were other pressing matters of state to attend to. Much as he preferred his earlier activity, as ruler of the sea, bureaucracy was a necessary evil.

Deux blew him a little raspberry, looking adorably comical as her small, fat tongue tried to produce the rasping sound but failed, succeeding only in a little hiss. Quatre waved an admonishing finger and got up from his throne, a mock-stern expression on his face.

The little child eeped and swam away in a hurry, searching for the ending to her story. "Hiii~ldeeee-saaan!!!" Her small voice rang clearly across the empty hall as Quatre swam towards the conference chambers where his ministers were waiting for him. He didn't look forward to the meeting, but he did look forward to meeting the Minister of Defense, an old childhood friend who'd been with him since... well, time immemorial.

In fact, Quatre smiled wryly, Trowa knew the ending of the story too. Almost all the adults thought they knew, but only the few of them knew the real story. Doubtless, Hilde would fill Deux's head with romantic endings of how the star-crossed lovers had been turned into sea spray, destined to be together until the end of time.

That was the standard ending.

As the blonde merman entered the conference room, he reminded himself that it had been a long time since he'd been to the surface. "Perhaps after the meeting," he muttered to himself as he sat to chair the meeting. There was a certain peaceful land where he usually went, where there were humans who were personal friends. There was a beautiful atoll where he could meet and chat with them - perhaps even enjoy a game of water polo.

Quatre sighed.

He missed Duo.

Oh well, Neptune's heir huffed. Doubtless, Duo missed him too.

"If he can get his hands off Heero long enough," Quatre chuckled softly.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?" his Defense Minister queried.

"Aa. Nothing, Trowa. I was just reminding myself that there're a few friends we haven't visited for some time."

A short, amused snort interrupted Trowa's knowing smile. Quatre turned towards the source of the sound. That could only be...

The Minister of Health smirked. "Those two, eh? They're still around?"

"Well, our Court Physician had very potent medicines, remember?" Trowa reminded. "They'll be around for at least as long as we will."

"Which could well be forever," Wufei huffed. "And now that Duo has his voice back, the upper world will be damned noisy."

"Maybe Hilde has something to make him shut up?" Trowa laughed.

"Oh, I don't think that would be necessary," Quatre chuckled, his aquamarine eyes glittering mischievously in his handsome face. "Heero manages that quite well, from what I remember."

Knowing laughter filled the conference chamber as the other officials gathered around the table silently wondered about what it was that amused their great ruler and his two closest ministers so much...

~OWARI~

Shirin

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