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" Better Than Fine "Written By: Presser DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is not written for profit. The author claims no ownership of the characters. Pairing: 1x2 Rating: PG Spoilers: The story refers to the final events of the series. Warnings: Post-series AU, light romance Summary: What do you do with a broken heart that never found the courage to say "I love you?"
Duo struggles to find the courage to confess to Heero, but before he can, Heero vanishes, leaving only a cryptic note that explains nothing. Weeks later, Duo finds a letter taped to his shower curtain. Who broke into his apartment to leave it? Why? Does this have anything to do with Heero's disappearance?
Better Than Fine answers these questions with
a surprise twist that will leave your pulse racing and warm your heart. "Better Than Fine "
9 "You clever bastard," Duo said as an evil grin spread over his face. Heero had scored the paper with a row of indentations using his fingernail, leaving a pattern that could be felt but not seen at first glance. "Only you would think of something like this," Duo said. "Maybe I was too clever." "How so?" "I wanted you to find it, didn't I?" Duo was only half listening. He was busy trying to decipher the code Heero had left him on the back of the note. Wufei smiled at Heero as though to say, "Leave it to you to find a way where there is no way." Quatre mouthed the words "Did you know?" to Trowa, who grinned and shook his head. "Two rows," Duo murmured, "one with horizontal marks and one with vertical ones. They don't make sense as dots and dashes no matter how you read them: left to right, right to left, take the spaces between the marks as --" Duo stopped abruptly and glared at Heero. "You want to wipe that smug look off your face and tell me what you did here, Mr. Brilliant?" "Hold it up to the light." "I told you I did that already." "Not since you discovered the marks." Duo frowned but did as Heero said. "What the hell, Heero? I can just barely feel the damn marks, much less see them, especially when --" Duo froze. He put out his hand and said, "Quatre, let me use one of your pencils." Quatre sat up with a look of surprise. He reached into his coat for an expensive mechanical pencil and held it out, but Duo wasn't looking at him. Trowa walked it to Duo, who took it without taking his eyes off the paper, grunting something that could have been "thanks." He looked around the room for something to bear down on, and Wufei handed him a book from a nearby end table before Duo could rise from his chair. He flattened the note against the book, backside up, tilting both until they were almost parallel with his line of sight. As he determined the exact position of each mark, he lightly filled it in with pencil. Once he was sure he hadn't skipped any, he went back and darkened each one, then flipped the paper over and held it up to the light again. "Now I see," he mumbled. Each vertical mark sat directly below a letter in Heero's terse message; each horizontal one was precisely centered over other letters. Everyone but Quatre sat still as stone as Duo deciphered the hidden message Heero had left him. "Stop it," Trowa hissed. "You look like you need to pee." "Do you know what it says?" Quatre whispered. "No," Trowa mouthed back, "but I can make a pretty good guess." Quatre's smile disappeared when he caught Wufei's disdainful expression. He stuck out his tongue; Wufei rolled his eyes. When Duo finished, he carefully put the book and note on the floor next to his chair. "Come here," he said to Heero. Heero didn't move, but he blushed deeply when Duo took his hands, pulled him into a standing position, and gave him a bear hug. "You don't know how long I've waited for this," he whispered in Heero's ear. "You don't know how long I've wanted to say it," Heero whispered back. "I can't stand it," Quatre said. Trowa grabbed at his hand and missed as he snatched the note hand held it to the light. The upper marks highlighted the letters of a single word: *[P]lease t[r]ust m[e]. Go Ha[v][e] to go. Ca[n]'[t] [E]xplain to you. -- Hee[r]o* The lower ones spelled out two simple words: *P[l]ease trust me. G[o] Ha[v][e] to go. Can't explain to [y][o][u]. -- Heero* Duo broke the hug. "You mean it?" Heero nodded slowly, not trusting his voice. For a moment, no one moved. Then Wufei, who had quietly stood, shifted his weight. Heero saw the motion and said, "Listen, Duo, the mission's not finished. We've made progress, but --" "I know," Duo said. "You have to go." "Things are... really delicate right now. And --" "I understand," Duo said. "I know you took a risk coming here tonight, and I know you wouldn't have done it unless you thought you could. And that means everything to me." "Duo, I --" "I'll wait for you," Duo said, putting a finger to Heero's lips. "However long it takes." He put his palm on his chest. "I'll be right here." Suddenly Wufei was next to him, the note in his hand instead of Quatre's. "What are you doing?" "I was against Heero doing this," Wufei said, "but he can be pretty obstinate when he's made his mind up. Still, we can't leave any evidence, no matter how insignificant it might seem." He pulled his cigarette lighter from his pocket, and quicker than quick, Duo grabbed his wrist firmly, smiling at Wufei's look of surprise. "You think I don't keep my skills up?" Duo gently took the note from Wufei. "Nobody touches this," he said in a deadly monotone, "nobody." He released Wufei's wrist only when he nodded, then turned to Heero. Heero was gone. "It's best this way," Wufei said softly. "No long goodbyes." "You know me well." "I do. That's why --" "You were never going to burn the note, were you?" Wufei gave a rare smile. "Come on," Quatre said to Trowa, his tone light. He made noises about everyone leaving surreptitiously and rejoining later to share a quiet dinner to celebrate. Trowa argued that they shouldn't be seen together, drawing Duo into the conversation. When Duo turned to ask Wufei what he thought, he was gone. "Well," Trowa said, "I guess we have his answer, don't we?" He took Quatre's hand. "Come on, love. Let's slip out the way we came in." Quatre reluctantly agreed and found his coat. "Okay there, Duo?" Trowa said. Duo was standing still as stone, a faraway look in his eyes. "Duo?" Quatre said, "are you all right?" Duo turned slowly, puzzled by Quatre's concerned look. He nodded absently and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked down at the note, then up again, his eyes shining. "Better than fine." He watched Trowa and Quatre leave through the back of the shop, then put the note in his wallet and slipped into his jacket. The night was colder than ever on the way to the bus stop, and the wind did its best to open Duo's coat, but he paid it no mind at all. Finis |
