A Silver Lining Part 6

Ever since Zechs and Noin had left for Mars after the Mariemeia incident, their visits to the Earth had been few and far between. They would still take the time to make appearances at holiday gatherings, but that was about the extent of it. It was rare to see them for more than twice a year, months apart from their visits. Of course, Relena heard more from them than any of the others when they were away.

When Duo had vanished, Heero recalled the now married couple expressing great interest in following up in how the search was progressing. It had been a satisfying wonder to think that two people who he once considered his enemies were suddenly showing their concern for the braided pilot's well being.

Like all the others, however, they did fear the worst in that Duo had died. Their aid in the search had ended. Regardless of their belief that any further hunt would be futile, there was no doubt on Heero's mind that they wished there was a better course of action. Still, it was quite a shock to see the two of them appear, seemingly out of nowhere, on the steps of his patio.

As they pushed themselves from the banisters of the front deck that they had been leaning against, Zechs and Noin approached the stunned pair standing by the porch swing. Heero shook his head slightly, snapping back to the present and gave them both a small smile.

Lady Une also broke out a smirk of her own as she broke the silence to chuckle deeply, "Well this is a pleasant surprise." She stepped forward first, embracing the two as they replied in kind, small and relieved smile of their own in place.

Once they had finished their greeting, Heero stepped forward, extending his hand to Zechs as he smirked, "Good to see you both. I never would have thought to see you here tonight, as busy as you are with your projects on Mars."

With a firm nod, Zechs clasped hands with him as he replied, "We came as soon as Relena told us that you had found Duo." Releasing their hands, the tall blonde continued, "We have matters of business to discuss with both of you, but that can wait until tomorrow."

Noin came forward to embrace the Japanese Preventer as she told him, "Mars will still be were it has always been, we wanted to be here for this." Heero returned the tight hug as she commented, "I hope that it is all right that we came unannounced."

When they pulled back, Heero shook his head and reassured them, "You're always welcome here. I know Duo will appreciate seeing the both of you."

Even as he mentioned his best friend's name, his smile faded to show his concern as he looked to the front door of the house. "Actually, I better go back in to see how he is." As he opened the door, he looked back at the others and invited them in after him.

Finding the living room empty, Heero walked back down the hall towards the kitchen. The familiar voices from within floated back to reveal the location of their friends. Instead of finding Duo along with the others, the braided pilot was out in the hallway, running his arms as he paced before the kitchen door.

When he heard Heero approaching, he looked up, his violet eyes filling with relief at the sight of his friend as he approached. Wincing inwardly, the Japanese Preventer remembered how he promised he would return from right away. He had been hoping that being around their friends would put some of his nerves at ease, but that obviously was not the case.

Duo walked up to him quickly, his shoulders relaxing when they were close again. His braided head tilted at the mischievous smirk on the other young man's face. "We have some late arrivals," Heero explained as he stepped back slightly.

His violet eyes widening, Duo gasped sharply at the sight of the pair approaching him. Both Noin and Zechs smiled warmly at him, the young woman chuckling at his shocked expression. The surprise faded quickly as a wide grin spread on the American's face as he was embraced by both of the newcomers tightly.

When she pulled back, Noin kissed the top of Duo's head and whispered brokenly, "It's so good to see you again. We were hoping that somehow Heero would find you." She wiped at her eyes and stepped back.

Zechs squeezed the young man's shoulder and nodded, "When we heard that you were missing, it... effected both of us. Regardless of what happened the Eve Wars, you Gundam pilots became our family."

As Duo blinked up at them in wonder, Heero spoke up to explain, "Zechs and Noin kept in touch regularly to follow up on the progress of the search for you. Any way they could, they offered their assistance." His best friend took a deep breath and nodded, lowering his gaze slightly, as if uncertain of what to say.

Gesturing toward the kitchen door, Heero offered, "Our friends all brought their own dishes for dinner and dessert. You're more than welcome to join us."

With replied of thanks, Noin and Zechs walked past them into the kitchen with Noin behind them. Placing his hand on the small of Duo's back, Heero gently led him into the kitchen.

In the large room that also expanded into the dining room, their friends were reuniting with Zechs and Noin excitedly. Relena's arms were already around her brother's neck as she stood on her toes, seeming to be one of the last to greet the couple. When their hug ended, Zechs kissed the top of the young woman's head and smiled.

Quatre bit his lip nervously behind Relena as he waved nervously, "Good to see you, Zechs." He finished with a nervous chuckle.

Sighing deeply, Zechs nodded, "Winner." The tension in the room was intense and thick as everyone watched from where they sat at the large dining room table with their plates of food.

Relena walked to stand beside the Arabian, taking his hand in hers as she glared at her brother and warned, "Zechs, you said that you would be nice. Quatre is the father of your nephew or niece, after all. In seven more months, it would be nice to bring them into the world with a happy family."

Unable to play the perturbed, overprotective brother any longer, Zechs laughed loudly, his head falling back. Quatre all but collapsed as his shoulders fell with a loud, deep sigh of relief. Relena just smirked and gave her own silent sigh.

Pulling Quatre into a quick, one-armed hug, the tall man stated, "Welcome to the family, Winner." Their eyes met and he raised a finger to point at the stunned pilot and winked, "But hurt my sister and no one will be able to identify your body parts."

Quatre nodded quickly, his eyes wide, as he replied, "Yes, sir." Zechs clapped him on the back before joining the others and his wife. Everyone fell back into their casual conversations. Heero and Duo sat beside each other at the last two seats that had been saved for them.

Throughout the entire meal, Duo remained silent, his head slightly lowered, as he sat closely beside his best friend. There was still a tenseness in his partner that Heero couldn't quite place. Were they alone, he would have asked him about it, but there was no real opportune moment to ask if they could be excused.

All of the food that was brought was delicious, and everyone soon reached their fill with plenty left over after dessert. It was agreed that Heero and Duo keep the leftovers once everything had been cleared away, to make their next week as easy on them as possible without having to worry about cooking.

When everyone migrated back into the living room, Duo would occasionally speak, but that was mostly when addressed or asked a question. Noting a few concerned glances between some of their friends, Heero assumed that they were picking up on the change in the braided pilot.

Finally, their guests began filing out as it was beginning to grow late, but not before hugging and kissing their long lost friend until they met again. When the house was empty again, Heero sighed deeply as he closed the front door.

Duo was nowhere in sight when he turned back around. After finding all the rooms on the first level empty, Heero frowned deeply in worry and headed upstairs. At the top of the stairs, he noticed that the door to Duo's room was cracked open.

Now realizing where his friend was, Heero went into his own room, just across the hall, to kick off his sneakers and strip from his blue jeans into a pair of grey sweatpants. Once he was changed, he closed his bedroom door and walked across to Duo's.

Knocking gently on the open door, Heero peered into the bedroom. From where he was lying in his bed under the covers, Duo jumped slightly at the knock, looking up to the door with wide violet eyes. His shoulders fell at ease again when he saw his friend there. The light of the moon peering through the sheer curtains was as effective as a lamp light, giving the space a soft blue glow.

A sudden wave of emotion flooded Heero all over again at seeing Duo safe in his bed. How many nights did he visit this room over the last couple years, hoping that one night when he opened the door, he would find his best friend safely lying there? It took a moment for him to fend off the tears that threatened to fill his eyes at gazing on that sight at last.

Heero gave his best friend a small smile as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. At the relief in the eyes before him following his actions, he finally understood some of what had Duo on edge. Since they were back at their own house, he had been worried that Heero would want to stay in his own room alone.

The Japanese Preventer removed his blue T-shirt and lied on his side to face his partner, pulling the covers over himself. Their eyes locked, he asked quietly, "Are you all right?" Duo turned onto his own side to face him and he nodded slightly, if not hesitantly.

Running the back of his fingers against the other pilot's cheek with a warm smile, Heero replied, "Quite a bit of excitement for one day, ne?" At that, Duo nodded more enthusiastically, causing the other pilot to chuckle deeply.

They stayed in companionable silence for a moment, just watching each other. Biting his lip, the braided pilot whispered, "It still doesn't feel real... being back."

With a deep breath, Heero nodded and sighed, "I know. There have been times these last few days that I've had to convince myself that you're really here."

At that, Duo gave a small smile as his eyes closed. He leaned ever so slightly into his friend's touch. When he opened his eyes again, he commented, "I suppose we're going to have to meet with Lady Une and the others tomorrow."

Frowning slightly, Heero nodded and asked, "Are you all right with that? You don't have to do anything that you're not up to." The sincerity in his voice with the last statement warmed Duo, the smile tugging at his lips showing his appreciation.

In the brief silence, the American did consider it for a moment before shaking his head and answering in his now normally quiet voice, "I... think that I'll be all right. If there is any discussion that involves me, I'd like to be there."

With understanding in his cobalt eyes, Heero nodded. The side of Duo's lip quirked up as he shrugged, "Besides, you'll be there with me, too, right?"

The Japanese pilot smiled warmly, "Of course." Wrapping an arm around his best friend's shoulders, he pulled him into a tight hug and said softly, "By the way, I'm very proud of you for what you did today."

Against his shoulder, Duo's surprise was clear in his tone as he replied, "Really?"

Pulling back and replacing his arm at his own side, Heero nodded, "Really. You went through a lot these last few hours. You didn't have to go through with the questioning. Even after that, you didn't have to agree to see anyone after the fact. I know it meant a lot for the others to see you tonight. So, I'm proud of you for going through all of that."

Duo yawned, "Thanks, 'Ro." His heavy-lidded eyes closed completely as he hummed quietly.

Heero ran a hand through the other pilot's bangs as he chuckled deeply, "And on that note, good night, Duo."

With his eyes still closed, his partner mumbled, "'Night." His breath soon fell into a soft, steady rhythm, his chest rising and falling slowly.

For a while longer, Heero just lied on his side, watching his best friend sleep, a small smile on his own face. Sighing deeply, he closed his cobalt eyes and drifted off.

*   *   *   *   *   *

"Have you ever been in love before?" Heero asked as he and Duo lied on their backs in their cell, looking up to the ceiling.

Ever since their discussion of the 'Silver Lining Theory,' the former Wing pilot felt a new kinship with the once deemed 'God of Death'. Duo had opened up and shared with him his childhood life prior to meeting with Doctor J. With a better understanding of his comrade in arms, Heero actually found that he enjoyed discussing things with him... things which he never would have talked about with anyone.

At his side, Duo shrugged, "Can't say that I have been. I mean I loved Solo, Sister Helen, Father Maxwell and a lot of the kids that I knew from the streets, but not 'love' love."

Turning his head to the side to face the other pilot, Heero frowned, "I thought that you and Hilde..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his braided partner laughed loudly, "Oh, God, no!" His laughter grew as he shook his head, "We would have ended up killing each other if we ever dated!" Wiping a tear from his eye, he managed to control his laughter to a small chuckle as he explained, "Hilde and I were always more like brother and sister."

"Oh," was all that Heero could reply, blinking his surprised cobalt eyes.

At the confusion that still filled the eyes watching him, Duo's laughter ebbed and he smiled, "I only moved back to L2 to help her business get off the ground. I was never planning on staying there."

Lying on his side with his head propped on his hand, the braided pilot kept their eyes locked as he commented, "I always thought that you had something going on with Relena-" Heero only moaned loudly with a mumbled 'Hell no' as he covered his eyes with his arm. Duo's bubbly laughter filled the cell again.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Shaking his head to bring his thoughts back to the present, Heero only caught the tail end of the statement that had been made. Sitting at the large round table in the Preventer Commander's office with Duo close to his side, the Japanese pilot scanned the faces that joined them for this meeting. To his left and around the table in order, Zechs, Noin, Sally, Wufei, Lady Une, Trowa, Relena and Quatre all gathered together to discuss how they were going to put an end to the White Out Organization.

Sally watched Duo closely throughout the discussion, making sure that he looked to be handling the situation well. She had wished that he could have been kept out of such a meeting, opening fresh wounds so quickly, but really it could not be helped. Still, the braided woman wanted to make sure that this did not do more harm than good for him.

"I still don't see how an order such as this could have existed for years now and we only now heard anything about it," Wufei growled deeply across from Heero and Duo. "There's no telling how many people are involved."

"All that we need is a few names," Noin stated. "Once we have those, we can run background checks, find their histories of acquaintances. From there, we would be able to pull up any and everyone linked to the organization."

Quatre rubbed his chin as he frowned, "Sometimes finding just a couple names could prove to be challenge enough."

Relena smirked, "That's where I come in. I have a great deal of pull politically. I have access to records that cannot be released to anyone, not even the Preventers. Anywhere else I can be of assistance, I will use every resource I have."

Taking a deep breath, Lady Une sighed in relief, "That's a good start. There is no telling right now how high this goes." Nodding to Noin and Zechs across the table from her, she added, "With Preventer Wind and Preventer Fire reporting in for duty, they have their own resources from Mars that will be helpful as well."

As she made a few notes in her notepad, Sally added, "I will talk to some of those prisoners we just placed in secure homes. I am sure that they will be willing to offer whatever information they may have learned while they were being held."

Zechs nodded, "We can't leave any stones unturned in this. Too many opportunities could be lost if we don't go about this efficiently.

"While this is a personal issue to each of us," Trowa began, "I also would like to express my interest in being sent on duty whenever necessary." Also dressed in their Preventer uniforms, Quatre and Wufei joined his sentiments.

Duo tensed in his seat, his hands squeezing the arm rests as his eyes narrowed. "Personal?" he repeated in a quiet hiss. "Who the hell do any of you think you are saying this is personal to you?"

All eyes turned to the braided pilot, wide and filled with shock. Everyone sat straight, stiffly as the American rose to his feet. Beside him, Heero whispered in concern, "Duo?"

Sally began to rise from her own seat, speaking gently as if trying to calm a skittish, wild animal. "Duo, I had a feeling that this was a bad idea," she frowned deeply, extending a hand out to him as an offer. "We can step outside together so that we can talk."

Heero knew that she meant well, but also knew from the tenseness in Duo's shoulders that he was beyond wanting to discuss anything further right now. He licked his lips nervously as all he could do was watch his best friend, frowning deeply in worry.

"I'm tired of talking to any of you right now," Duo snapped, his voice still reserved but filled with grit. "This is a personal matter to me. No one else here, with the exception of Heero, can say the same. He went through hell the last couple years while I was gone, just as I had."

Those wide eyes watching him blinked in confusion. Quatre leaned forward as he pleaded, "Duo, we all went through a hard time while you were gone. This is still personal to us because we're all your friends, not just Heero."

Closing his eye as he lowered his head, Duo chuckled deeply. The humorless sound drove a sharp chill up Heero's spine. It was the kind of dark laugh that he would hear from the braided pilot before he was about to unleash his wrath on his enemies. When he opened his violet eyes, there was an emptiness that made Quatre turn pale and Relena gasp sharply.

Leaning towards the blonde pilot, Duo spoke slowly, quietly. "He was not the one who left me for dead like the rest of you. Remember that?" Everyone recoiled in their seats, as if delivered a blow to the gut at the truth in those words.

Kicking his chair out the rest of the way behind him, Duo quickly stormed to the door of the conference room. Heero jumped from his own seat as the door opened as he cried, "Duo!" The door closed after the braided pilot just before he could reach it in time.

"My God," Heero whispered as he stared at the closed door, his shoulders sagging. That explained the real source of tension that he sensed from Duo the night before at the party.

Before his hand could finish its way up to panel to open the door, Lady Une called gently, "Heero." When he turned, he assessed those sitting at the table.

Sally was back in her seat, her hands folded before her with her elbows probed on the flat surface. Wufei was rubbing her back soothingly, his head lowered and eyes shimmering. Tears were running down both Relena and Quatre's faces, the Arabian's arm wrapped around his lover's shoulders for support.

Zechs' head was rested atop Noin's as they had their arms wrapped around each other. Trowa was leaning back in his seat, his own head lowered so that no one could see his eyes past his long bangs.

Lady Une approached, rubbing at her eyes as she sniffed quietly. The thin line of mascara under her eyes was running as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue. Seeing the Commander in such a state left Heero reeling mentally. His mouth moved, but he couldn't find his voice.

Finally, he knew what he needed to say and told her quietly, "He's not ready for this. He needs some time." Licking his lips, he looked towards the door as he requested, "I'd like to be with him... help him through this, if I could."

With a sad smile, Lady Une nodded, "You realize this is the first time you ever requested some time off. Take all the time that you need."

Heero met her eyes again and replied sincerely, "Thank you." Turning to the others at the table, he took a deep, shaky breath as he searched for the right words to console the only family that he knew.

Shaking her head, Relena kept him from speaking as she told him gently, "You don't have to explain anything, Heero. Duo's absolutely right in what he said."

Noin sat up and nodded, "We should have been better friends, to both of you. As much as it hurts, what he said was true."

Clearing his throat to keep his voice from cracking, Wufei asked quietly, "Please let him know that we are sorry. We all want to be there for him whenever he is ready to come back."

"I will," Heero promised in little more than a whisper. At that, he was finally able to leave the room, as he wanted to, in search of his friend.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Duo gazed out the large window beside him to the skyline of the large city as the sun began to set. His legs hugged against his chest, he sat in the corner of the office that he and Heero shared. He sniffed as he wiped at the tears that continued to run down his face.

The sound of the door sliding open caused him to jump, his head snapping up. Footsteps making their way around his desk moved in certainty of where they were headed. Duo lifted his head when the familiar pair of speakers appeared to stop before him. When their eyes met, Heero smiled sadly, "I thought I would find you here."

Moving to sit before his best friend, the Japanese pilot opened his arms as his partner stifled a sharp whimper when he fell into his embrace. With his fists gripping onto the front of Heero's shirt, Duo buried his face into his shoulder as he sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly. "I thought that I could get through that meeting, but I just..."

"Shh," Heero whispered before kissing his partner's temple. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. You were right. As much as I hate to admit it, the others did need to hear that."

As he pulled back enough so their eyes could meet again, Duo wiped away the fresh tears that wet his cheeks. "I just can't act like what they did doesn't hurt," he said brokenly.

Biting his lip, Heero nodded and whispered back, "I know... It's hurt me, too." He took a deep breath and sighed, "But we can't forget that they did not act out of malice. They're still our friends and they really do love you." There was a pause of silence for a moment, but the braided pilot finally nodded.

Heero reached up, cupping Duo's face in his hands, drying the tears that had fallen anew down the heart-shaped face. "Let's get away from here," he suggested quietly. "Stay at the summer house that we bought in the mountains for few months."

Those violet eyes widened in disbelief and Duo whispered, "Y-you mean it? Just you and me?"

"Yea," his best friend replied with a warm smile. "We have a lot of discussions that we need to get caught up on."

Duo blinked his wide, shimmering violet eyes as his head tilted a bit, watching his friend in awe. "You really have changed," he breathed. Unable to help it, Heero chuckled deeply at that, not really sure how else to respond.

TBC...

 

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