Shinigami's Song Part 6
Duo raised an unsteady hand and just looked at it. No matter how hard he tried to hold it still, his limb just would not cooperate. He let it drop to his side with an impatient snort.
"'Che... I need a drink."
"I'm afraid you won't be having anything of the sort for a very long time Duo..."
He stared slack jawed at someone he'd never imagined he'd see again. "Relena?"
She quickly crossed the room and sat in the chair beside his hospital bed. "So you remember me?"
~How could I ever forget her?~ Duo eyed the girl with an icy glare. She was sitting in front of him as if nothing had happened, the woman who'd stolen his only chance at happiness. "What are you doing here, Relena?" ~Good, Duo, pull no punches... Just DON'T ask about Heero... they're probably married with five kids by now.~
"Well, when I heard that one of my old friends was in the hospital I just had to come!" She leaned forward and Duo almost believed in her sincerity... almost.
"So how have you and Heero been?" ~BAKA!~ Duo winced as he realized what he'd just said. ~After all these years, I still can't deal with the fact that he is gone?! What is the matter with me?~
~*~
"So how have you and Heero been?"
Relena could barely keep herself from jumping up and down. ~He's still crazy for him!~ Though she didn't want to think about it, there had been a small chance that Duo could have gotten over Heero since the time he'd written Shinigami... thankfully it seemed like that wasn't the case.
Attempting to stay cool, she answered carefully. "Heero? I haven't seen him in years!" Shaking her head and shrugging, Relena looked like the absolute picture of innocence. "He quit very shortly after coming to work for me... he couldn't put up with my childish behavior anymore I guess."
Duo raised an eloquent eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing.
"Yes, Duo, I realized long ago what a horrible inconvenience... not to mention risk I must have been to all of you." She reached out and grasped Duo's hand. "Can you ever forgive me?" Relena looked into Duo's violet eyes and wondered again how she could have been so blind to his devotion to Heero.
He finally gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Hai Ojousan."
~*~
Quatre walked through the empty hall; he could barely contain his excitement. ~Heero should be here any day now.~ He bit his lip and silently wondered if they were doing the right thing in interfering. Perhaps in throwing Duo and Heero together like this was doing more harm than good? Perhaps they were just not meant to be? Perhaps-
"It is too late for doubts now, little one."
Surprised Quatre almost jumped at his lover's voice. "Trowa?"
The solemn face regarded him silently. "You are doubting yourself. Listen to your instincts. What do they say?"
Closing his eyes Quatre meditated on the situation. He hadn't done this for years, but the answer was clear. "My uchou no kokoro says this is right, but-" Suddenly Trowa's strong arms encircled him and hugged him close, cutting off his sentence.
"Follow your feelings Quatre."
The blonde boy smiled sweetly at his lover's words... the same words Heero had told Trowa very long ago... and the same words Trowa had whispered to him on their first night together. "Follow my feelings... I think I can do that Trowa." He reluctantly pulled away from the embrace, trailing his hand down Trowa's arm as he began walking away. But then strong fingers laced with his own fingers and Quatre mutely turned to see Trowa still holding his hand.
Then the taller boy took the two steps that brought him to his lover's side and gently squeezed Quatre's hand before they continued down the hall hand-in-hand.
Quatre was elated! Trowa was showing affection in public! Only one thing could make this day any better.
"Heero?!" The name escaped a stunned Quatre and just seemed to hang in the air. Finally the dark head turned and he was staring straight into the cobalt eyes of the ex-pilot of Wing. He couldn't take any more shocks to his system today.
To bad for Quatre he would be shocked again when Heero actually smiled. "Good to see you two." Then his gaze turned thoughtful. "But Quatre... why princess Leia?"
~*~
Heero grinned as Quatre flushed a bright pink and Trowa seemed to smirk slightly. "So when can I see Duo?" Instantly the atmosphere chilled.
"Well... Heero, we sort of also had an ulterior motive for having you come here..."
Heero did not like the sound of this at all. He sent a frown that was a fraction of his usual death glare, to the blonde. "What do you mean... ulterior motive?"
"What Quatre is trying to politely ask is, do you still have feelings for Duo?"
Heero spun around to face his worst nightmare, Relena, and he had no gun. Abruptly, her words filtered into his brain before his sympathetic system could kick him into an adrenaline high. "... still have feelings..." Heero caught himself. "I care for the baka! Of course, he was... is my best friend!"
Relena shook her head and stood beside Quatre. "Oh please, Heero, we all know that you and Duo were lovers." Quatre and Trowa nodded their agreement. "Now you managed to screw it up," she held up a hand to halt Heero's protest, "with my help... we both were to blame." She shook her head sadly.
"Now I know for fact Duo still loves you." She held up her own copy of 'Shinigami'. "It's obvious, the question is... do you still love him? Do you want to be together? Will you protect him from whoever it is that wants to do him harm?"
The urge to scream the answers to all those questions burned inside of him, but a habit ingrained in hi over the years took over. "Ninmu Ryoukai."
"... H-Heero?..."
~*~
Duo practically danced down the hall, thrilled to finally be discharged fro this place. Winner Memorial Hospital was a nice enough facility, with a friendly staff and cute nurses, but Duo still hated hospitals. Hell, the last time he'd even stopped into a hospital had been when he'd rescued- but it's best not to think about that.
Duo merrily skipped around the corner, only to be halted in his tracks. Before him was a sight he'd never expected to see again... Heero. The boy was facing Quatre, Trowa, and Relena so he was unaware of Duo's presence behind him giving the braided boy a chance to observe his ex-lover.
Heero was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans that weren't too tight or too baggy. They were loose enough to be comfortable, but they still displayed that great ass Duo had always loved. On top of that he was wearing a loose black t-shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and showed off his biceps. ~He's certainly filled out!~ Duo swallowed his heart and tried to keep from running at full speed... in the opposite direction of Heero. ~What the hell is he here for?~
"Ninmu Ryoukai."
The implications of these two words sacked Duo in the face. ~No!~
"... H-Heero?..." He betrayed himself with a small stammer only to catch his breath as Heero turned.
If anything the former pilot had grown more attractive, the lanky youth had filled out into a man.
"No." Duo knew what Heero was here for... and he would have no part of it!
"What do you mean, 'no'? You agreed to one bodyguard. Here he is!" Quatre finished with an 'innocent' smile Duo just wasn't buying. He was the expert on fake smiles, and Quatre was not that good a liar.
"I said no!" Duo stomped his foot, fully aware that this was a tantrum, but what else could he do? Somehow he was sure things would become very bad for him very soon if he lost this fight. "No no no no no no no no no no! I don't agree to this!" He stalked up to the small blonde and put his hands on his hips in a defiant stance- "NO! And that is final!" Duo only barely registered the gentle touch on the pressure point in his neck before succumbing to the darkness and falling into Heero's waiting arms.
TBC...
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