A little sequel to this drabble from last year.
Woot! Only 1 behind now!!
The mugs gave me: Penagglan!Duo: costume, lonesome. Again, the sap is all my fault!
Halloween Drabble 41
Heero dodged two kids that were pelting down the street, sheets trailing behind them. Damn, he'd been so wrapped up in work lately that he'd forgotten what day it was.
Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd been trying not to think of it. Trying not to count. Not to admit that it had been a year since Duo had left...
He touched his throat, feeling the faint ridge of scar tissue. Barely noticeable. Nothing serious. Except that it had cost him the one person he cared about...
Duo hadn't meant to do it. Heero knew that. He'd told Duo repeatedly that it had just been an accident- nothing to worry about, nothing even worth mentioning again.
But Duo had left. Slipped out in the darkness while Heero slept and vanished. Heero had looked for him- but there hadn't been even the faintest trace.
As much as he hated to admit it... Duo wasn't going to come back. If only he'd been able to find the words to make Duo believe him... if only he'd never done the thing that led to his lover's accidental attack...
His street was full of kids in costumes, laughing, running, swinging bags of candy. A happy and cheerful scene- very similar to the one last year. Duo had been looking forward to handing out candy...
He stopped on the sidewalk in front of his building. His apartment waited, dark and empty.
Not tonight. He couldn't face it tonight.
Turning, he headed down the street, nearly bumping into a teenage girl in a pink lab coat, a pair of goggles covering her eyes. "Sorry," he said to her and she giggled.
"It's okay!" She reached into the plastic pumpkin that dangled from her wrist and handed him a candy bar. "Here you go!"
He took it reflexively, frowning a little. "Are you supposed to be giving away candy?"
She tapped her goggles with another giggle. "You look like you just lost your best friend. That won't help much, but it's all I've got."
"I did actually. Thanks."
"Hope you find him again."
"Me too."
She wandered off down the street and he stared bemused at the candy in his hands.
"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."
Heero froze at the familiar voice. "I wouldn't- considering it's got to have made me high just by touching the wrapper."
"Why would you say that?" The voice was behind him and to the right. The alleyway? Maybe up above? If he turned fast enough...
"I'm hallucinating."
"Not yet. Just a bad dream."
"If you're here then it can't be bad."
"Of course it can." A soft brush on the back of his neck, moving forward just enough to touch the scar. "A nightmare."
"No. This last year has been the nightmare." Heero forced himself to stay still. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too. I... know I shouldn't be here, but I wanted to see you. And then... well, I didn't want you to eat that candy bar..." A small laugh. "And... it gave me an excuse to talk to you..."
"You don't need one. I want you here..."
"Even now?" Another soft touch on his scar. "Heero- I can't. You know what I am..."
"And I don't give a damn. I never did." Heero interrupted. "Stay. Please."
"What if I hurt you again?"
"What if you don't?" Heero spun on his heel, reaching out to catch Duo by the hand. "The only way you'll hurt me again is if you leave. I've missed you too much."
Duo didn't pull away. He looked paler, Heero thought, stretched thin. Shadow over bone. "I've missed you too." He didn't resist when Heero pulled him close, wrapped his arms around Duo's shoulders.
"Let me take you home."
Duo returned the hug gently, as if Heero was made of spun glass. "I'd like that. But-"
"No. You won't. I know you. You'll be more careful than you were before- and you were damn careful then. Please. Just come home with me."
Duo didn't answer, but Heero felt the tenseness leave him, dared to let hope flare in his heart when Duo relaxed against him. Carefully, never letting go, he coaxed his lover down the street towards home.
OWARI
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