[Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone]
--- Lyrics from 'Alone' by Heart
Life... Really Part 17
Jacob's head shot up with widened eyes. "You want to sit and wait?" he exclaimed. "With all due respect, Dekim, I think that we have waited long enough to have that neko back in our hands. I don't see how we are just to sit around now that we know where he is."
The old man sitting at the desk ran a hand over his grey mustache and replied calmly, "This situation is very delicate, Jacob. No one is more anxious than I am in seeing that we have that neko back in our hands, but we have to go about this wisely."
Running a hand through his hair, the younger scientist began to pace before the long desk. "We have worked for years in genetically splicing cells to mutate a human form. This discovery will benefit both the military and medical advances. We will be able to create countless mutations like that neko to be used for research however the government sees fit.
"The program was shut down because we had nothing to show for our efforts. Bringing that... that freak show into our possession will prove that what we have been working towards can be done. The government will give us a blank check to continue on with our developments," the brunette stated.
Slowly rising from his seat, Dekim walked over to the large windows that overlooked the city from his office high over the city. "You are not telling me anything that I am not already aware of, my friend," he began. "Remember that I have been researching this process long before I brought you on to my team."
The tall, grey-haired man folded his arms, still peering over the suburban town. With night just beginning to fall, there was a serene peace as the lights of the large houses began to twinkle on throughout the city. The peacefulness of the surroundings was a stark difference to the tension breaking in the large office.
Drawing a deep, even breath, Dekim warned, "Danielle Yuy is an astute and influential young woman in the world of law both on the Earth and in the Colonies. If she is truly allowing that neko into her home, we must go about this in a way that we do not make an enemy of her."
"And how are we going to accomplish that?" Jacob asked, the frustration clear in his voice. "Danielle and her son must know that neko's true form now. They would not willingly give him over to us."
A smirk tugged on the older man's lips as he turned to face his associate. With his arms still folded, he explained, "I have worked with Danielle Yuy in the past. That woman is as tenacious as I am. One thing that I do know about her is that few things are more important to her than saving face in the public eye. If it meant that her business would continue to grow and she would become more esteemed in her field, she would give up her own son."
Blinking in shock at that news, Jacob reasoned aloud, "If we had a way of disclosing that neko's identity to the public, she would have him back on the streets again. He'd be ours for the taking without any argument."
Dekim's smirk became more sinister and he nodded, "Exactly. So, we have to stay patient to find the best way of seeing that the disclosure takes place."
It was Jacob's turn to smirk and he replied, "It will take some time, but I think that I know the two people that would best help us out in that." At the intrigued look on the older man's face, he informed, "My son and his friend, Alex."
* * * * * *
"A dance?" Duo asked, his cat ears perking at the notion. Lying on his back with his head snug in Heero's lap from where they sat on the couch, the braided teenager's violet eyes sparkled with interest. The bandage at the back of his head restricted him from lifting it, as well as the fact that he was still recovering from his concussion.
Gazing down on his lover, the Japanese teenager smiled and shook his head. Ever since he had returned to spend time with Duo, the other boy's liveliness returned. He had just suffered another close call from what Noin and Zechs had to say in reference to their 'son's' demeanor following the incident with Muller, the cat-eared youth made a complete turn around the moment Heero returned home, in spite of his injuries.
Not caring what their friends thought, Heero gently ran a hand through Duo's bangs and was rewarded with a deep purr from the other boy. He wasn't about to let any slight discomfort of public affection keep him for showing Duo just how much he loved him and how worried he had been about him. The fact that their friends were around to spend the night wasn't about to stop him.
At her friend's inquiry, Relena smiled, "Well, the prom is still of few months off, but it is one of the perks that we get to enjoy as seniors." She suppressed the urge to giggle at just how cute the two boys on the couch looked together. From the moment she and the others arrived at the house to spend the night, Heero and Duo were even more inseparable than before. "It's still a few months off, but it's already a big talk around school now."
Duo smiled and chuckled deeply, "I get so jealous of you guys, getting to do all of this stuff." While his tone was in good humor, the wistfulness in his violet eyes gave away his sincere longing to partake in such activities like a normal teenager.
With a sad smile, Heero continued to run his hand through his love's bangs and stated, "Don't worry, Duo. I won't be attending the dance, so you won't be missing it alone."
Sitting on the floor with the rest of his friends, Trowa snorted, "Proms are really for girls to get excited over anyway. It just gives them yet another excuse to get dressed up and show their elitism over their peers." He smirked at the end, unable to keep a straight face at his attempt to work Relena up, who just fell into fits of laughter while she mock slapped his shoulder a few times.
Quatre smirked, "I'd be careful making comments like that around Relena, Trowa, even if you are just joking."
"You're not kidding," Wufei piped in. "I still have bruises from the last time she hit me." The Chinese teenager chuckled deeply when the blonde girl stuck her tongue out at him as if to say 'serves you right'.
Duo suddenly yawned widely, his violet eyes closing and his long tail stretching along with his body. Glancing up at the clock, Heero noted that it was a few minutes after one o'clock that morning. Satisfied that his lover got his wish to spend time with their friends, the Japanese teenager smiled down to the braided youth, "I guess it's about that time, ne?"
With a yawn of her own, Relena stretched her arms and said, "I guess that's a good idea. I haven't been up this late in some time." Trowa, Wufei and Quatre nodded their own agreement to the idea of finally turning in. Heero left the room to seek Duo's medicine for the evening after saying good night to his guests.
Rising to their feet and gathering their blankets, the band of friends made their way upstairs to part ways to their separate rooms. Zechs and Noin smiled warmly as they said good night to each of their guests. The young maid promised to make breakfast in the morning, just as she had for their last sleep over. Kissing each other good night, Noin and Zechs parted ways to spend the night in the spare beds of the guest rooms.
Heero waited until Duo finished taking his medication before taking up the glass of water from him. An amused smile on his face, the Japanese teenager announced, "Your chariot awaits." Bending at his knees, he scooped his chuckling lover into his arms.
With a contented sigh, Duo rested his head against a strong shoulder and allowed his eyes to drift closed. The last couple of days had been... eventful to say the least and it was finally beginning to catch up with the cat-eared youth.
When they reached the bedroom, Heero closed the door behind them before carefully lowering his lover into the bed. Moving carefully, he removed the other boy's shirt to leave him in only his pale blue pajama pants. The soft glow from the moonlight that peered through the large windows across the bed was more than enough to illuminate everything in the room.
Shedding his own shirt, Heero crawled under the covers to lie beside his braided lover. Propped up on his elbow, he gently caressed Duo's cheek with his free hand. When sleepy violet eyes opened to watch him, the Japanese teenager smiled lovingly and breathed, "You're beautiful."
Even in the pale light, the faint blush on Duo's cheeks was plainly obvious when leaned into the touch, purring deeply. He smiled back the same, "So are you."
Lowering himself, Heero pressed their lips together for a few, chaste kisses. With a deep moan, Duo reached up to pull the other boy closer and deepened the kisses. When they finally parted, Heero propped himself back up a bit to gaze on his love for a moment.
After a companionable silence in their just watching each other, Duo bit his lip and frowned, "Heero, why won't you go to the prom? You should enjoy that sort of thing." Taking hold of his tail to hold it up, he smirked, "I have a reason not to go. You don't. And I'm sure that you would have no trouble finding a date for a dance."
With a shrug, Heero replied, "We both know that my mother would never allow me to attend such a thing." At the renewed, saddened frown on his best friend's face, his smile grew warmer. Running a hand through the long bangs covering those large violet eyes, he said quietly, "Besides, if I went with anyone else, I'd only be thinking about you and how much I wished you were there."
Purring deeply at the gently hand running through his hair, Duo's eyes closed and smiled. "You're just trying to butter me up," he chuckled deeply.
"I mean it," Heero whispered, his smile never fading. With a quiet hum, Duo nodded to let him know that he believe his words. Slowly, Heero removed the tie at the end of his lover's braid to unravel the long tresses. When the braid was undone, he ran his fingers through the silken strands.
No matter how many times he saw Duo with his hair down, Heero never ceased to be awestruck. He was the only person that the cat-tailed boy allowed to see with his hair loose, let alone touch it when it was free of its braid. The realization that such a beautiful creature trusted and loved him with such conviction, and how close he had come to losing him, overwhelmed him as small tears began to fill his cobalt eyes.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Heero whispered, "Don't ever leave me, okay?" His voice hitched with the last words and the tears began to run down his face on their own accord.
His violet eyes snapping open, Duo frowned deeply at the sight of his distressed lover. Cupping his cheek, the concern was clear in his voice in his quiet, "Heero?"
The other teenager shook his head with a small whimper and his body began to tremble. Forcing some control in his voice, Heero said quietly, "It's just... God, Duo, I was so scared for you when Trowa called me to tell me about what happened. You could have been killed if Trowa and Wufei didn't get to you in time and I never would have been able to live with myself."
With his body still trembling, Heero clung onto his lover all the tighter and continued in a wavering voice, "I'm having a hard enough time dealing with what damage was done to you. If I had just been here, you never would have been hurt again."
At the depth of emotion spilling from his best friend, Duo never felt more loved or safe in his life. Tears filled his own eyes and ran down his face as a warm smile lit his face. When Heero was about to speak again, he moved his hand to place them against his lips to keep him from continuing. "First off," he began, "you're not responsible for what happened."
Heero was about to protest, but Duo held his fingers against his mouth with a bit more force. Their eyes still locked, the braided teenager said firmly, "None of this was your fault, Heero. Okay?" As quietly as he spoke, his voice made it clear that there was no room for argument over the issue.
With a deep sigh, Heero nodded at last as his lover removed his fingers from his lips. "All right," he agreed. As the other boy gently dried the tears from his face, the Japanese teenager returned the favor and stated, "I just can't lose you, Duo. I've gone from not needing anyone in my life to needing you like air."
Reaching up, Duo gently pulled Heero's head down to capture his lips in a heated kiss. Breaking only for air, his lips brushed against the ones over his own as he breathed a heart-felt vow, "I'll never leave you, Heero. As long as it's within my power, you'll always have me."
One last, stray year rolled down Heero's smiling face while he leaned down to kiss his lover soundly. The kisses grew in their intensity for several more exchanges. His exhaustion catching up with him again, Duo yawned widely once more. Chuckling deeply, Heero gently brushed back his love's long bangs and smiled, "You really should get some sleep." At the pout on Duo's face, he promised, "We'll pick up on this later."
As much as he wished his body was well enough that he could put up some resistance to the sleep calling him, Duo's violet eyes drifted closed as he nodded with a mumbled, "'kay. Love you, Heero."
"Love you, too, Duo," Heero replied just as softly. Pulling the covers over them, he wrapped his arms securely against the smaller boy. Nuzzling into the embrace, Duo purred deeply as his arm and tail draped over his lover's chest. Placing one last kiss atop his best friend's head, Heero sighed deeply while his own eyes drifted closed.
* * * * * *
Muller looked up in surprise in finding that his father was waiting outside the prison gates. Here he had thought that he would have to walk home, knowing how infuriated his 'old man' was at him the last time he saw him. Instead, the tall man was actually smiling when he spotted him. Having to mentally shake himself from his state of shock, the teenage youth made his way towards the gates.
When the secured gates opened, Jacob approached his son and slapped the boy's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Good to see you, son," he greeted. Muller merely nodded, not certain whether or not he was imagining all of this. His father just seemed all too happy given the circumstances that landed him in jail for the last couple of nights.
Gesturing back to the car, Jacob grinned, "Let's head home. We have a lot to discuss." His grin became a mischievous smirk and he stated, "Something has come up and I believe that I have found some use for you, yet."
Something about the way his father made that comment put Muller at ease and he couldn't help but return the smirk. It was the same smirk that he wore, himself, when he last ran into that braided kid that had ruined him. His interest peeked, he looked forward to seeing what it was that they needed to discuss.
* * * * * *
Two days later, Heero and Duo arrived back at the house following an afternoon of sledding and other activities in the park. They were both laughing and covered in snow when they entered and began shedding their coats and hats. When he was down to his last sweater, Duo let out a small sigh of relief when he was able to free his long tail from beneath it.
Once the pair entered the living room, Noin arrived with a warm smile and a tray with two glasses of hot cocoa. "I take it you two enjoyed you day outdoors," she grinned. Heero and Duo both nodded as they graciously accepted their mugs.
After the boys had a couple of sips, Noin handed a large envelope out to the Japanese youth and stated, "This came in the mail for you earlier, Heero."
Blinking his cobalt eyes in surprise, Heero accepted the envelope in his free hand and repeated, "For me?" The little mail that ever arrived at the house was normally addressed to his mother and involved her current cases or new clients. But sure enough, the yellow envelope was addressed to him.
In seeing the return address, Heero frowned in utter bafflement, "It's from the University of Visual Arts." With a sharp gasp, Duo's violet eyes widened at the announcement. He had completely forgotten that the winner of the art contest was going to be announced over the winter break. If the envelope held what he thought it held... Turning the envelope over in his hand, Heero wondered aloud, "What would they possibly be sending me?"
Forcing a bright smile, the cat-eared boy announced, "Well, I'm going to get changed into something dry." At that, he quickly finished his cocoa and set the mug down before all but dashing off upstairs.
Noin's gaze turned to the doors that her 'son' ran out with a confused look on her face. Something was up, that was obvious. Deciding that she would look into the matter later, the young maid gathered up the two cups and smiled warmly to Heero, "I'll go start of another round of cocoa for you boys."
Heero looked up from the envelope in his hand, broken from his spell of bewilderment and nodded, "Thank you, Noin." As the young woman left the room, he began breaking through the seal. Inside, a small, black square projector was the only content.
Sitting at the couch, Heero set the projector down and pressed the small 'Start Message' button in the corner. The small lens at the top of the black box turned on to give off a blue ray of light that rose nearly a foot. Within that light, the image of a young woman with short, blonde hair appeared. The girl could not have been more than Heero's age.
The girl on the projection smiled, "Hello, Heero Yuy. My name is Sylvia Noventa. This message is to reveal the results of the University of Visual Arts contest that you had entered in." At that's Heero's eyes widened in shock. What contest? He never entered in anything.
More questions instantly sprang into mind but the image of the girl named Sylvia continued, "This year, we had thousands of hopefuls send in their portfolios and the judging was not easy for those of us on the panel. My father and I chose some of the most prestigious names in visual art to look over each and every entry to give their critiques and votes."
Her smile growing, Sylvia announced, "I am please to announced that in the end, of the thousands of entries that were submitted, your work was unanimously declared the best show of raw talent amongst the panel." With a startled gasp, Heero's cobalt eyes widened all the more. "In winning the contest, you are the recipient of a four year scholarship through the university, along with free room and board."
Stunned, Heero remained frozen on the couch. The girl smiled all the more warmly, "My father and I are both well aware of how trying the last semester of high school can be, so we will contact you again before your graduation. This message is simply to announce the outcome of the contest. So, congratulations, Heero. My father and I look forward to meeting with you in person present you with your prize." With that, the message ended and the lens dimmed before fading off completely.
Unable to breathe, Heero's heart raced in his chest as he silently hoped and prayed that he had heard the message incorrectly. How was this possible? His path was decided... His path was already decided! He was not supposed to have another option! He never asked for this!
Realization suddenly hit like a bucket of ice water being spilled over him. Taking hold of the small projector, Heero tightened his fist around it and stalked upstairs with narrowed eyes. There was only one other person who knew of his interest in drawing. Of course! That was why he wanted to have some new drawings so badly months ago.
When he reached the bedroom, Heero gripped the doorknob and entered with a heated glare before slamming the door closed behind him. Duo was sitting on the edge of the bed, changed into fresh clothes and tail in his hands, nervously fiddling with it. At the loud slam, he winced with closed eyes, his cat ears drooping heavily.
"Duo what have you done?" Heero shouted, holding out the projector in his tightened fist. "You entered me in a contest without even thinking of asking me first!?"
A small whimper escaped the braided teenager and he looked up with tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry, Heero," he pleaded brokenly. "I just thought-"
"Thought what?" Heero yelled before the other teenager could finish. "Duo, you know my mother. If she ever found out about this, she would have you out on the streets again before you knew what happened. I already have plans for what I am going to be doing with my life."
Even with tears filling his eyes, Duo glared back and yelled, "They're her plans, Heero, not yours!"
The words slammed into Heero just life a swift fist in his gut and what almost sounded like a small grunt escaped his lungs, his eyes widening. Biting his lip, Duo lowered his head and whispered, "Everything about your life is what she wants of it. I just wanted to give you something that was yours and no one else's."
Frowning deeply, Heero whispered, "Duo..." To actually hear, from someone else, how much his mother influenced his life had wracked him to his very core. He never imagined that the situation had upset the one person he cared about more than anything in such a way. The sudden turn of events catching up with him, he stumbled slightly on his shaking legs as he walked towards the bed.
When he sat beside his lover, Heero opened his arms and whispered, "Come here." Looking up, Duo threw himself into his best friend's arms, throwing his own around him to return the tight embrace. He buried his face into the other boy's shoulder and began to sob 'I'm sorry' 'I'm so sorry' over and over.
Gently rubbing the braided youth's back, Heero whispered reassurances and closed his eyes. Resting his head atop the one against his shoulder, he said quietly, "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, Duo. That wasn't fair of me. I should have realized that you were just trying to help me, like you always do. There are just some things that cannot be changed."
After a long silence, Duo finally began to calm and his sobs ended. He pulled back, wiping at his dampened face before looking up to meet the concerned gaze watching him. "I swear I didn't mean to cause you any harm, Heero," he said quietly.
With a sad smile, Heero nodded and brushed his lover's bangs back, whispering, "I know. It's all right." Taking a deep breath, he sighed deeply and looked down to the projector in his hand. Slowly meeting the saddened violet gaze, he grinned nervously, "My art won the contest."
Duo gasped sharply and his eyes widened. While there was joy and excitement in hearing that news, there was also fear and a sense of loss in it as well. "What are we going to do?" he asked breathlessly.
Shaking his head, Heero's smile faded and he replied, "Duo, you know that I cannot go against my mother's wishes. Doing that would mean that you would be forced to leave and I can't let that happen." He wiped at the small tears that built in his own eyes that had materialized from the thought of ever losing the person he came to need and love. His heart heavy over the grimness of their situation, Duo nodded and swallowed hard.
Heero cleared his throat and stated, "I am not going to be contacted again for several months to accept the scholarship. By then, I'll have thought of a nice way of declining the award so that the runner-up in the contest can have it. That way, my mother will never have a way of knowing about any of this."
The braided teenager bit his lip and nodded, "All right." With a sniffle, he fell back into the arms that opened for him. Heero kissed the top of his lover's head before resting his own there again.
As they clung to each other, Heero kept telling himself that he was doing the right thing. His course was already set for him. This was his only choice in life. This is what he wanted out of life... wasn't it?
* * * * * *
Noin smiled warmly at the sight that greeted her when she opened the door. "Hello, Quatre and Relena. This is a pleasant surprise," she greeted before stepping out of the way to allow the young couple inside. Smiling brightly themselves, the two teenager exchanged kind greeting in return as they entered the house.
Taking up their coats, the young maid said warmly, "Make yourselves at home. I'll go let Heero and Duo know that you're here." With that, she walked off to hang the coats.
Only a moment later, Heero and Duo entered the living room with surprised smiles. "Hey, guys," Duo beamed. "What brings the two of you here?"
Quatre grinned, "Well, we don't have much time, so we have to start getting ready."
With an amused snort, Heero asked, "Ready for what?"
The two blonde teenagers shared a look before turning back to face their friends. With a slight shrug, Relena answered simply, "For the prom, of course."
TBC...
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