"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND"

Written By: Stone Angel

 

Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^

AN:

 

SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:

CHAPTER 16: RECONCILIATION


Heero awoke the next morning with a mysterious pain is his heart. 'Nanda?' He sat up and remembered everything. 'I chased him away. The one good thing in my life, and I chased him away.' He stood up. 'It's daylight. And a school holiday. I don't have classes.' Heero wanted to grimace at the pain in his heart. 'How can anything be this painful? Even my ribs never hurt this bad. I would trade their pain for this one in a heartbeat. That's Duo. It's mind-blowing pleasure and fun or absolute, desolate heartache and anything in between. I can't believe this. I have to see him. I can't stand this. I at least have to KNOW what he wants. If he never wants to see me again. He wouldn't... He said he loved me. This couldn't change that. ...Could it?' Heero hugged his arms to himself as he walked to the bathroom to shower.

'I still love him. I just... I'll leave the subject alone. For now. I meant what I said.' He stepped into the shower, turning on the water and standing there for a moment. 'I never want to leave him. I don't want to waste away and leave him alone again. I died on him once. He said his soul shattered. Why won't he do this? Does he want to do that again?' Heero picked up the soap and began to wash himself. 'I'll go see him. As soon as I'm clean, I'll go see him. I remember how to get to his house. I'll go.'

* * *

Heero pulled up in front of the small country house and turned off his engine. He looked to his side to the white Jeep. 'Is it fair?' He looked up to the house that seemed to have no life within. 'I'm cornering him. It's day. He has nowhere to go. Is this fair?' Heero got up from the bike and walked to the door. He knocked. 'Too late now.'

Nothing. No sound. No movement.

'Of course not. It's morning. He can't open this door without getting burned.' Heero sighed and tried the handle. It was locked. 'Well. I came here for a reason. I could break it in.' He thought, recalling his above average strength. 'No. If I damage the door, I might get him in trouble. Plus there would be no way to keep the light out.
Maybe there's a back way in?'

Heero walked around to the other side of the house and found nothing but a window.
'Of course. He would choose a house with only one convenient way in. A way of guarding. But the window...' Heero looked at it. There was a window to his right as well. 'That one is Duo's room. This one is the extra room.' He carefully took hold of the pane of glass, covered from within by tin foil and began to lift and shift it, working it out of its setting and placing the heavy object down gently against the wall of the house. He looked to the place where it had been. A large rectangular opening in the wall, covered by thick curtains. He climbed up onto the windowsill and jumped through the part in the curtains to land in the extra bedroom in a slightly crouched position.

He looked up and his breath stopped.

Duo stood there with a shocked expression. No, shocked wasn't the right word. Stunned, frightened, surprised, wary, hopeful and fearful, all of these together best described the way Heero's lover looked back to him. He held with two hands a sword poised over one shoulder and Heero could tell by the angle that he had been ready to decapitate who ever had come into his house.

'He can't read me. I don't have an aura. Baka.' He silently admonished. 'I forgot. That was a stupid move. I could have been killed.' He looked back to Duo who had yet to lower his weapon. "Duo...kun..."

Duo's grip loosened upon the handle of the sword before it became tight again.
"Nanio? Why are you here?"

Heero stood slowly. "I... Gomen nasai... Duo. Sumimasen."

Duo's eyes looked sad and hopeful at the same time but the sword did not lower.
"Heero..."

Tentatively, Heero took a step forward, stopping immediately when Duo took a step back. "Duo. I... I had to see you... I came to apologize. I'm sorry. Please... Don't... Don't be angry... Duo."

Duo seemed to think for a moment before lowering the sword. "Yosha." He said quietly, looking at the floor in a resigned manner.

Heero slowly stepped to him and embraced him.

Duo let the sword fall to the floor and embraced him back. He rested his head against Heero's shoulder.

Heero felt the tears on his skin. 'I really hurt him. He feels strongly about it. I'll have to find a way to change his mind. But not now. Right now I just want to be with him.'
"Duo? Are you mad?"

Duo shook his head after a moment. "Iye, Heero." He tightened his hold on him. "I was worried... I thought you were mad at me."

Heero chuckled softly. "I think we both thought the same thing, ne?"

Duo nodded his head. "Ah."

Heero rubbed his back. "I don't have school today. It's Flex-Friday."

Duo chuckled and smiled against him. "Cool. What do you wanna do?"

Heero kissed his hair. "Be with you. That's all. I don't care what I do as long as you're with me."

Duo pulled back and smiled at him. The wariness in his eyes had never left but he hid it well. "Yosha."

* * *

Heero and Duo sat on the couch, cuddled against each other and watching TV.
Duo was laughing at the movie on the screen and Heero was smiling at his behavior.

"That is SOOOO impossible it's hilarious!" Duo laughed, watching as the bus flew across a large gap in a freeway. "There's a little thing called 'gravity' that everything has to obey. It is a law!"

Heero smiled wider. "You sound like my Chem teacher."

Duo grinned. "That's because we're right."

Heero laughed. "Smart ass."

Duo mocked a hurt look. "What? Can I help it if I'm always right?" He looked back to the screen, smiling. "How are they gonna get the bad guy?"

Heero blinked. "You've never seen this movie?"

Duo shook his head, looking back to him.

Heero smiled. "I didn't think that was possible. EVERYONE's seen it."

Duo smiled. "Everyone but me, apparently. I've heard about it but never seen it." He looked back to the screen, squirming. "So how do they get 'im?" He whined.

Heero laughed at Duo's childish behavior. "You'll see."

Duo groaned and cuddled closer to Heero. "But I wanna know now." He whined piteously. "Please tell me?"

Heero giggled. "Ok, Ok. He gets decapitated by a light fixture on the top of a subway."

Duo's eyes widened and he blinked. "Wow. I didn't see that one coming."

Heero laughed and Duo tightened his arms around him. He bent down and kissed
Duo's hair. "Anata wa kawai. You know?"

Duo grinned even as he blushed slightly, the tips of his ears a light pink. "Yep. I do."

Heero laughed again. "Duo, you're too much."

Duo smiled and reached up and kissed him before resting his head on Heero's chest, looking back to the TV. "So I heard they made a sequel to this on a boat. Did you see it?"

Heero shook his head. "Naw. Sequels usually suck. I don't even bother."

Duo nodded. "Sou deshou. This one's funny though. Something about Keanu Reeves makes me laugh."

Heero poked at Duo. "That's because he's cute, ne?"

"Oh, please." Duo laughed. "Like I care."

Heero was puzzled by Duo's words but looked back to the TV silently, holding his lover closer to himself. 'I love moments like these. Peaceful.' Laughter rang out into the room again and Heero sighed. 'Well, not peaceful. But serene. Ai shite ieru, Duo-kun.'

* * *

Duo clicked off the TV remote and looked to his lover.

Heero was sleeping, his posture relaxed and leaned back onto the arm of the couch.
His deep blue eyes that Duo loved so much were closed, the dark lashes resting against his cheeks.

Duo smiled at him and lay his body over Heero's. 'I could stay here forever.' He snuggled onto the chest below him, listening to the heartbeat. He smiled wider as Heero shifted and moaned, placing an arm around him. 'Hee-kun...' Duo kissed Heero's neck, smelling the scent there and putting a leg over his lover. 'He smells like daylight. Like sunrises and warm spring water and the new flowers of Spring. I love it.' Nuzzling the place where he felt the pulse, Duo thought about all the events of the last twelve hours. 'God. What a day.' He moved back and looked at Heero's sleeping features. "Hee-kun. I thought I had lost you today. Please... Don't scare me like that again. Please..." He rubbed his cheek against Heero's then rested his head upon Heero's chest, listening to his lover's steady heartbeat. 'I could never take this from him. Just this alone... It's so much. I couldn't bear to never hear this sound again. Hee-kun...' Duo drifted off to sleep, draped over his lover's chest, a leg wrapped around Heero's hips, as if to protect him from harm.

* * *

Heero awoke at Six. He tried to move but found himself somewhat restricted. He looked down and smiled.

Duo lay over him, his head resting on his chest, the braid hanging forward to drape over his shoulder and Heero's ribs, the tip resting on the carpet. His body was along Heero's, a leg over his hips, his arms wrapped around him. Heero smiled and felt himself become hard. "Duo-kun." He reached up and gently shook Duo's shoulders.

Duo mumbled in his sleep and hugged Heero closer to himself, wrapping his leg tighter around Heero's hips and nuzzling his skin.

Heero groaned. "Duo. Wake up. Wake up." Heero stroked his hair, kissing the top of his head. "Duo."

Duo stretched and yawned. He looked up at Heero and smiled. "Koban wa."

Heero smiled. "Hai." He squirmed, trying to move and Duo felt his erection.

He blushed. "I guess you just woke up, too, ne, Hee-kun?"

Heero blushed as well, realizing what Duo meant. "Iye. Your... Uh... Leg..."

*

Duo blushed deeper and removed his leg from Heero's hips. "Gomen." He yawned again and crawled backwards off of his lover to stand by the couch. He stretched his arms and back gracefully and looked down at Heero.

Heero immediately rose from the couch and stood in front of Duo, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him passionately, pressing himself against his hip.

Smiling, Duo responded, his hand wandering down to Heero's shorts, slipping inside.

* * *

Heero watched Duo get dressed from his bed.

Duo was humming to himself and smiling back at Heero. His hair was still wet from the shower, as was Heero's. He had insisted that Heero take his bed, so tired was he that he was nearly falling down. Duo had even had to bathe him as he could not do it himself. He walked back to the bed and sat by him, running his hand through Heero's hair. "Heero? Dai ja bu?"

Heero smiled at him. "Fine. I feel much better now."

Duo smiled. "That's cause you're laying down, Baka. If you stood up, I've no doubt you'd fall back down again. You... Uh... I'm... Going out. I'll be back in a little. I'm gonna hit the store on my way home. You need to eat something. You've been here all day. And then... You need to eat something to get your energy back up to normal.
What do you want me to bring back? I... I don't have much to cook with. I just committed the cooking shows to memory, never actually tried to do it. Whatever you want, it can't be anything too complicated. I don't have enough cash right now to buy stuff to cook big meals. I... What do you want within the limits?"

Heero smiled at Duo's slightly nervous look. "It's Ok, Duo. I don't really care.
Something with iron? Just hurry back. Ok?"

Blushing, Duo stood and nodded. "Hai." He reached down and playfully tousled Heero's wet hair. "I'll see you in a little." He waltzed out the door, winking to Heero over his shoulder. "Ja na."

Heero grinned, nodding as Duo left. He listened to the sound of keys being picked up and a door opening and closing. Then the sound of Duo's somewhat loud engine starting and leaving, soon inaudible. He sighed and lay back on Duo's bed. He smelled the pillows. They smelled of the perfume that only a light rain at night could bring. Like leaves and flowers and willow trees. Lavender and eucalyptus lightly touched the scent. Over all these scents, however, was the strong scent of night. Of moon and starlight and cold breezes. 'I love that scent. If they could bottle this, it would be the best selling perfume in the whole world.' He snuggled into the pillows more. "Duo-kun. Hurry back."

* * *

Duo walked down the streets of down town San Louis Obispo. His hands were in his pockets and his hat was on, the bill obscuring his eyes from others. He gave the impression that he was off in his own world, as if someone could stand in front of him and he would not notice until he walked into them. 'Just a little closer.' He listened and felt behind him, his advanced senses painting a flawless picture for his mind's eye.

A man in a leather jacket stalked him from behind, holding a sharp knife. He walked quietly, but Duo's sensitive ears picked up every sound he made, including his heartbeat. The man wore sneakers and jeans and his leather jacket sounded new by the unworn way it creaked lightly. His aura was deep red with burgundy wisps in it. The man was a murderer and rapist many times over. He killed and took his victim's money and when he wasn't doing that, he was drugging college girls or young men.
The man's thoughts were all too clear to Duo. He wasn't sure if Duo was a girl or boy, but either way, he planned to have fun with him before taking his life.

'Yeah. That'll happen. Let me make this easy for ya.' Duo coughed and pretended to stumble lostly into an alleyway that he knew to be thirty feet long and very dark with a high brick wall at the end. He walked in and stood at the end, seemingly confused.
He listened as his would be attacker entered the alleyway, then turned to watch him
when he was obscured completely by shadow to see the man blinking at the darkness as he stepped slowly towards him. Duo took the opportunity and pounced the man, with one hand, grasping the knife and taking it from him, the other shoving him against a brick wall and covering his mouth, the man's eyes slightly lower than his due to how Duo was holding him against the wall. Duo's eyes glowed brightly in the near absolute darkness. "Shh..." He held a finger to his lips, smirking at the man who nodded at him. He took his hand away from the man's mouth and looked deeply into his eyes, just to be certain that he had not made a mistake he would later regret. 'No. He's evil. Just what I needed tonight.'

Duo reached down and felt the man's pants, checking his pockets. Feeling a large wad of paper, he smirked wider at the man. "What's this?" Duo took the money out of the mugger's pocket. He gaped at the thick wad of large bills. "Wow. You must have hit a lot of people." He looked down into the mugger's/murderer's/rapist's eyes as he stuffed the money into his own pocket.

They looked back up at him in fear. "Just… Let me go. Please. I didn't do anything wrong."

Duo looked down into his eyes with anger. "Tell that to all the girls and young men you violated. All the people you've killed. All the lives you've ruined." He held the knife up to the man's throat. "Do you know what death feels like?"

Shaking his head, the man choked on a sob and closed his eyes.

'Oh, I'm gonna like this.' "What about fear?"

The man nodded.

Duo smiled at him and shook his head. "Not till now, you haven't." He grinned, allowing his fangs to be visible to the man in the near perfect dark.

The man thrashed in his grip, eyes wide, trying to get away.

"Shh..." Duo moved closer to him, smelling the air. "Yes that's it. That, my friend, is fear." He smirked at the man. "Do you want to live?"

The man nodded furiously. "Yes. Please."

Duo smiled sweetly. "So I suppose I should let you go?"

The man nodded again, tears coming to his eyes.

Duo looked up as if to ponder the idea. "Hn... Nope." He turned back to the man, smelling and feeling the terror from him. ‘"Hn... Good. Fear me."’

He leaned forward and bit roughly into the neck, trying to give the man as little pleasure as possible. 'I hate it that I can't just make it painful.' He thought as he swallowed the blood leisurely, letting the man feel what it meant to have one's life taken from them slowly. 'I'm glad he's a little tall and bigger than that bum the other night. I can get more from him.' He bit harder, hearing the man yelp in pain. 'Good. Know what this is. You're going to die. And the sad thing is, all the lives your evil has touched will never be whole again. This gives them little closure. All this does is keep you from doing it to others.'

Confidant he would die, Duo stood back from the near dead man and bit his thumb, placing the drop of blood upon the two wounds, watching as they closed quickly. He was about to let the dying man drop when he looked to the leather jacket. It was light brown, textured looking with silver snap buttons up the front and two pockets at the waist. "Hmm... You don't mind, do you?" He said as he quickly divested the man of the jacket. He let the man fall to the filth covered ground and examined the jacket. He tasted the last trace of blood on his tongue. 'No diseases.' He slipped the jacket behind him and tried it on. The sleeves were too long and covered half his hands. The waist was just a bit over his hips. 'Well. It's too big for me and Heero is a little larger than I am. I think it would be perfect. I hope he likes it.' As he quickly removed the jacket, he looked down to the man who had stopped breathing. "Hn. Goodnight. I suppose I'll see you in Hell someday."

And with that, Duo walked towards his car.

* * *

Duo walked up to the door to his house and juggled the grocery bags into one hand, the other slipping the key into the doorknob and turning it. He stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind him, throwing the keys onto the table behind him with
precision. "Ta dai ma!" He called into the other room.

He heard footsteps and saw Heero walk into the living room, fully dressed and smiling at him. "Wacataio."

Duo grinned at him. "I got you dinner." He said over his shoulder, walking into the kitchen to put the grocery bags down onto the table.

"Arigato." Heero said. "I didn't want to eat that pie for dinner."

Duo nodded. "I can understand that. I didn't either." He grinned.

Heero laughed. "Yeah."

"So." Duo began to unpack the things he had bought. "What did you do while I was out?"

Heero smiled. "I checked out your CD collection. I think you have just a slight obsession with Collective Soul."

Duo laughed. "Yeah, admittedly so. But not without reason. They are really good. Did you listen to any of them?"

Heero shook his head. "I didn't want to mess with your stereo. I have bad luck with things like that."

"That thing?" Duo waved it off. "It's taken more abuse than my car! I don't think it CAN be broken. It's invincible." He grinned manicly.

Heero laughed. "Oh, I'm sure I'd find a way. I have the worst luck."

Duo shook his head. "I, somehow, doubt that." He held up a finger to silence his lover's protest. "I can crash a computer with a mere glance."

Heero's eyes widened. "Hounto?" He laughed. "Ok, you have me beat."

Duo smirked and flashed a victory sign. "Yeah. I took a night college computer class once. I knew how to type, had taught myself on the library computers, but internet and all that, I had no clue. Anyway, I got an A. I crashed a whole row of computers and the teacher offered to give me an A if I stopped going. I also threatened to mess with the scanner, but hey, means to an end and all." He grinned as Heero laughed. "So what do you want me to make?"

Heero shrugged. "What did you get?"

Duo looked over the things now littering his once clear table. "Turkey breast, roast beef, cheese, milk, bread, ketchup of course, tea, coffee, sugar, mayonnaise, mustard, ground beef, ramen, rice and cereal."

Heero blinked. "Um... Where are you going to put all that?"

Duo waved a hand at the damaged refrigerator. "I'll make room. So what do you
want? I can't make it if you don't tell me." He grinned.

Heero smiled. "How about some beef ramen?"

Duo smiled as well. "Aw. I was hoping for a challenge. Yosha. Beef ramen it is. I bought a couple of pots, a pan, some paper cups, paper bowls and some paper plates. Also some plastic picnic utensils. I'll buy some classier stuff later. They don't sell that at the market." Duo washed out the small pot he had bought and put the noodles into it, filling it nearly to the top with hot water from the tap and placing it on a high flame on the stove.

Heero came up behind him and hugged him from behind. "What about you?"

Duo turned to face him, a grin on his face to cover his unease. "I'm good. I went out.
It went well."

Heero nodded and hugged him closer to himself.

Duo smiled and rubbed Heero's back softly. "Oh!" He yelped with glee. "I got you something! Wait here!" He reached up and kissed his lover before leaving the room, running to his car and unlocking it, retrieving the jacket and running back up the stairs and through the pre-opened door. He closed the door with a kick and walked into the kitchen, hiding the jacket behind his back. "Close your eyes, Hee-kun."

Heero smiled at him and did so and Duo pulled the jacket out from behind him and held it up.

"Yosha. Open them." Duo whispered close to him. He watched as Heero opened his eyes and took in the sight of the jacket.

His eyes widened and he reached out to feel the fine leather. "Segoi..." Heero smiled widely as he took the jacket from Duo. "Duo-kun... This is new. Where did you get it at this time?"

Duo shrugged. "A target was wearing it. He had just gotten it from a rich guy he mugged tonight. It is new. And he didn't have any diseases. No one will look for it; they sell it at the gap so the guy can just buy another one." He grinned at Heero. "Try it on?"

Heero immediately slipped the jacket on to find that it was a perfect fit. "Duo...
Arigato..." He looked down at himself. "This is perfect."

Grinning wider, Duo waved it off. "I'm glad you like it." He turned back to the stove and the ramen that was boiling. "I've never seen you wear anything warm. Even when we rode on the motor bike you only wore that tank top and shorts. I figured you could use a jacket. Winter's coming and all."

Heero hugged him from behind again. "Arigato, Duo-kun."

Duo turned in his arms and grinned at him. "Hey, don't get all mushy on me."

Heero laughed. "When are we NOT mushy?"

Duo placed a hand behind his head. "Sou ka." He kissed Heero lightly. "Oh, I have to make the beef, too." He gently removed Heero's arms from himself and began to prepare the beef to be put into the ramen.

*

Heero smiled, feeling warm inside and out as he watched his lover. He looked down to the jacket he wore. 'This is the best present I've ever gotten. Duo-kun. Thank you.'

* * *

Heero quickly finished off the ramen. He had been craving meat and spinach, to no surprise of his or Duo's, as Duo had bitten him again when they had made love that night. Heero was thankful when Duo had brought home beef. However, Duo had forgotten to get spinach. But Heero figured he would live without it. 'I don't even like the stuff anyway.' He took the paper bowl and plastic spoon and fork to the trash and walked to the bathroom, quickly mouth rinsing before going into the living room where Duo was counting an extremely large wad of cash. Heero blinked. "How much is that?"

Duo looked up at him and grinned. "My favorite amount. A wad."

Heero laughed and sat down next to him on the couch. "No. Really. How much?"

Duo looked back to the large sum of money. "I'm still counting but so far I'm up to Eight-hundred and forty." He continued to count the bills.

"Wow." Heero looked at him, shocked. "Who did...?"

Duo sighed. "I acquired a stalker. He was a murderer, a rapist and a mugger. He figured he would do all three to me." Duo smirked. "Boy, did he get a surprise."

'He doesn't feel bad about it. That's good. I guess when it's someone so bad, he has no guilt for their death. I'm glad. He won't have to scrub himself clean tonight.' He shuddered at the memory of Duo's thought from yesterday. "Wow. It's hard to believe that there are still people like that out there. I mean, here of all places. This is supposed to be a good county."

Duo nodded. "Yeah. Crime rates are up. Which I suppose is a good thing for me and I should be happy, but I don't feel that way." He finished counting the cash. "One-thousand, Seven-hundred and thirty bucks." He sighed. "That should hold me till next month."

Heero looked at the stack of cash. "Wow."

Duo nodded again as he lay back against the back of the couch, hands behind his head. "Yeah. I could get four times this much in L.A. But for my needs, this is fine. I'm... I'm saving up to buy a house. Hopefully near here. That way I don't have to move so soon. I have almost enough for it. I wanna get one out in the country with a high fence, locked gate and lots of land." He turned to Heero. "I like it here. Even though hunting can be hard. I find it... Serene."

Heero nodded. "Me, too. It's a nice place. Er, at least the parts of it I see are."

"Ah." Duo smiled wryly. "I get to see all the real shining gems of society." He shrugged. "But what are you gonna do? I can't change the world."

Heero took his chin in his hand and turned him to face him. "Yes you can, Duo." He smiled. "You do every night."

Duo looked back at him. "Hee-kun."

Heero smiled at him and moved closer, wrapping him in his arms and kissing him lightly, barely brushing his lips against Duo's.

Duo moaned quietly and wrapped his arms around him as well. ‘"Hee-kun."’

Heero smiled at the loving tone in Duo's mental voice. The two kissed for a few minutes before parting and breathing heavily.

Duo looked up into Heero's eyes, a grin upon his face. "Ne, Hee-kun? Not twice in one night?"

Heero blushed. "Iye."

Duo grinned wider and hugged him. "Good." He rested his head against Heero's shoulder. "You should probably go home. Oh, wait, what day is it?"

"Friday." Heero grinned. "As in; Flex-Friday. Remember?"

Duo blushed. "Yeah. Now I do. ...So you wanna spend the night?"

Heero smiled and kissed Duo's cheek. "I'd love to."

Duo snuggled against him and purred.

Wanting to pet him like a cat, Heero laughed and hugged him closer to himself.

The two cuddled for a few moments before there was a sound on the porch and a scratch at the door.

Duo was up and carrying Heero into his bedroom before the sound had ended.
Heero was amazed at how fast he had been brought to Duo's bed. 'I didn't even see the hallway. We were on the couch one second. Here the next.' He turned to Duo who was taking a hold of his favorite sword and a wooden stake from a drawer.
Duo looked to him, his manner all business as he held a finger up to Heero. "Don't. Move." His voice left no room for argument.

Heero nodded and Duo ran into the other room. He listened, terrified of what could possibly have Duo so scared. He was puzzled when he heard Duo's curse and then hysterical laughter. He wanted to move from the bed but was too scared and didn't want to disobey Duo's order. And it had been an order. Relief filled him when Duo called to him from the other room.

"Oi! Heero! Come in here and meet someone!" More laughter.

Heero walked down the hall and peeked around the doorway that connected the hall to the living room. The sight confused him.

Duo was lying on his back with a black dog licking his face. He was pushing at the dog gently and laughing. "Oi! Taskette!"

Heero smiled and walked closer, stopping when the dog turned reddish-brown eyes on him.

Duo stood and scratched behind the dog's ear. "Patches. This is Heero. He is a good friend of mine."

The dog walked to Heero and sniffed his shoes, his tail wagging. He sniffed his way up to Heero's thigh and then jumped up and licked Heero's face.

Heero laughed and pet the dog. "Hello, Patches."

The somewhat large black dog whined and licked Heero's leg again.

Duo sighed, resting his hands behind his head and leaning against the wall. "Mou. Patch, I'm hurt. You're not paying any attention to me." He grinned at Heero. "He likes you."

Heero smiled. "Ah. It's weird. Dogs usually don't."

Duo's eyes widened. "Hounto? I've met maybe three dogs in my life that didn't like me." He said as he looked down to Patches. "Patch here was my only friend in this place until I met you. Dogs like me. We have a... An understanding. Patches is surprisingly wise. And I think a bit physic."

Heero grinned and looked down at the dog. "Is that why you came? You felt someone with Duo and didn't want them to take your friend?"

*

Patches ran over to Duo and Duo knelt on the floor and pet him. "Why are you here, buddy?"

Patches whined and licked Duo's face again and Duo felt a wave of protectiveness and concern from him.

"Oh." He stood up and looked nervously at Heero. "He came to check up on me."

"What do you mean? And how do you know?" Heero cocked an eyebrow at him and then looked down at the dog.

Duo sighed. "I told you. We have an understanding. Mentally and emotionally. We know what the other is thinking and feeling." He patted the lab's back. "Ne, Patch?"
He looked back to Heero, the nervousness returned to his eyes. "And, when I got home last night, I was... A wreck. Patches spent the night with me. Kept me company." He looked into the dog's expressive brown eyes. "He's great." He grinned. "Better than a lot of ningens I meet."

Heero smiled. "Ah."

Duo stood and walked into the kitchen. He took a small piece of turkey breast and held it out to Patches. He smiled as the dog ate it quickly and rubbed his head against Duo's pants. He looked up at Heero who was watching them with a smile. "Nani?"
Heero shook his head at them. "You two are like peas in a pod."

Duo looked to himself and the dog. Both were 'wearing' black and standing, looking to Heero. He chuckled. "Sou ka." He smiled at Patches once more before he began to put the groceries away. He stopped halfway to the refrigerator, turning to Heero and grinning. "Ne, Hee-kun? Why don't you take Patch out for a mo? There's a tennis ball on the porch that he loves. Sound fun?"

Heero nodded, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "Sure." He turned and left, Patches tailing him closely.

Duo let out a breath, thankful that Heero had not pressed the matter. He quickly opened the refrigerator, moving as many of the bags of blood as he could to one side and placing all the perishable foods on the self. He closed it and put the rest of the food into a cupboard. Once done, he joined his lover outside to play ball with the dog.

* * *

"So... Tomorrow night. What are you going to wear?" Asked Duo, his head resting on Heero's chest, the two of them lying in his bed with the blankets around them.

Heero shifted. "Hmmm... I dunno. Most my clothes are the same. Except for a suit that I got from my aunt. But that would be too formal, ne?"

Duo nodded. "Ah. I wonder if I have clothes that would work." He said lazily, his voice quiet while his fingers played over Heero's skin in leisure and random patterns. "I have some clothes aside from the priest suit. Not many, but they're there. I wonder if any would fit you." He looked up to Heero. "Ne? If none of them fit, I'll take you shopping." He rested his head back upon his lover's chest.

Heero nodded. "Yosha. What are you going to wear?"

Duo seemed to think about it. "I have a long sleeved, black button up shirt. I think combined with a pair of dark blue jeans and white shoes, I should be quite the stunner."

Heero chuckled again and Duo smiled up at him. "Yes. I'm sure you will be a stunner. I think you can make any outfit look good, as long as it's on you."

Duo grinned and then looked bored, checking his nails for effect. "Ah, sao ka. What can I do? I'm a hottie."

Heero laughed and kissed his hair. "Yes. You are. MY hottie."

Duo grinned and moved up to kiss him.

Heero responded to the kiss and Duo pulled away after a moment and returned his head to the place over his heart. Heero sighed. "Watashi no bishonen."

Blushing, Duo looked back up and smiled at him. "You, too, Baka."

Heero laughed. "I doubt that."

Duo grinned. "Then you're just gonna have to take my word for it." He nuzzled Heero's skin over his heart and Heero moaned, all arguments cut off abruptly.

Heero sighed after a moment. "I'm sooo tired."

Duo nodded. "I'm not surprised. You don't look like you got too much sleep last night."

Heero shook his head. "Iye. I didn't. You?"

Duo looked down and shook his head as well. "Iye." He kissed Heero's skin before resting his head against him.

Heero sighed and rubbed Duo's back with one hand, the other holding Duo close to himself. "Let's try to get some sleep. I mean, it's Four in the morning. A good compromise, ne?"

Duo nodded as he yawned. "Hai. Oyasumi... Bishonen." He giggled and poked Heero’s ticklish side, making him squirm briefly.

Heero groaned. "Oyasumi, Tenshi."
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Awww……. Hey I told you about the sap beforehand. It’s not my fault if you didn’t believe me now is it.
Laters!
Leia



Chapter 17

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