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"Warheads"Written By: ExecutiveShrimp Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it belongs
to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. Written for pleasure not
profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Post War, angst, fluff, psychological
issues, lemon Pairings: 2x1 Summary: Duo and Heero try to become more than
comrades in their attempt to be normal young men. They settle down
but find that peacetime is difficult to adjust to and with only each
other to rely on, it is a struggle, especially for Heero. " Warheads "
The night was crisp, almost cool as the warmth the sun had left as a present, on every grain of sand, blade of grass and leaf of the trees, was ascending back into space, carried along by a gentle breeze. I looked up, but there were no stars to see, only tall buildings lighting up the air, preventing the light from the stars to reach my eyes. The polite taxi chauffeur held the door open for Heero and then walked towards the other side and held the door open for me, closing it as I pulled my leg up into the vehicle and then the bearded man took the drivers seat in front of me. I noted with a secret smile the Hawaiian bobble head doll on the dashboard and the beaded rosary dangling down from the rear view mirror. In an exotic accent, living up to all stereotypes, the driver asked us where we were heading. I told him the address, immediately earning a frown. "That's industrial area, only offices and factories." He spoke, eyeing our expensive suits through the small mirror, adjusting it with short, stocky, dirty fingers to peer at us even better. "I know." He smiled an ugly, but inexplicably endearing smile. Of the three teeth he had left - that I could see - one was gold, another was a black, the last was a faded yellow. I suddenly became aware of the heavy smell of nicotine smoke that hung in the air. Smoking was an outdated but persisting habit. I worried the scent might get caught in our suits, but I realized I shouldn't fret, I had no time, we had to leave. The man eased his foot onto the pedal and the car slowly started moving, pulling into the traffic. It was silent for a while till he smiled his smile again and made eye contact with me through the mirror. "You kids wear tuxes to raves nowadays?" Knowing he may have just offered the only reasonable explanation why two young men were heading into an industrial area on Saturday night in high-end tuxes and more importantly: not willing to argue with the man or explain the situation as it was, I consented. He chuckled. "I am getting old." He proclaimed, barely minding the traffic as he weaved the car through, from lane to lane. He was running red lights and cutting in front of other cars. Even from the perspective of a former Gundam pilot, his driving was reckless and dangerous, but as Heero said nothing, I kept quiet too. "We, my generation, I mean, used to go to raves in torn jeans and shimmery shirts..." he looked at his watch, completely ignoring the honks of cars, "much later too." "Times change." I offered absentmindedly. "They sure do, young man. They sure do." He seemed wistful. "It's a different world now. Especially since the war came to an end." I felt my limbs stiffen a bit, afraid the topic would spark his memory of the event that was hosted tonight and that he might connect the dots. He didn't. He continued to talk about the old days, which he referred to lovingly and with the occasional dramatic hand gesture, sometimes letting both hands off the wheel. I didn't really listen to him, feeling like that wasn't the point. He didn't need me to listen, may not have even wanted me to, he just wanted to talk and relive his youth. I cast glances sideways at Heero. He was looking out the window. The yellow hue of the streetlights gave his face a warm glow. Wisps of hair were dancing around his sharp, exotic features, moved by the wind streaming in through the ajar window - to aid the smell, I presumed. He had his eyes narrowed to protect the intense orbs from the draft. He looked stunning, I shamelessly admitted to myself. I wanted to sneak my hand across the seat and take hold of his in the darkness, but I was afraid our chauffeur might notice and might disapprove. I resisted the urge with difficulty. Suddenly I wasn't looking forward to the festivity any more. I wanted to go home, change into comfortable sweatpants and shirts and just sit on the couch together, shoulder to shoulder. I would have to consolidate myself with the fact that Relena would absolutely hate seeing us together, I thought with a smirk that felt familiar on the face of the God of Death. The traffic diminished, till we were all alone on the road, surrounded by dark, concrete buildings. The light of the streetlamps was an eerie blue. "Here we are." Our driver announced, parking the car at the curb across the street from a large elevated parking lot. He nodded towards the heavily set building that seemed to rest on the earth's crust like a terrible weight. "That's it." I peered through the window. Five thick slabs of concrete, one suspended over the other by thick support beams of moldy concrete. The gated entrance was locked with heavy chains. The building had obviously been long abandoned. I narrowed my eyes to read a sign by the entry, white letters on a red background: NO TRESPASSING. DEMOLITIAN SITE. The desolate scene that was being created caused a lump in my throat. Doubt welled up inside of me. Was still really the address? Maybe I had misread it? My train of though screeched to a halt as I heard a car door open to my right and I looked just in time to see Heero confidently get out. Composing myself, feeding off my partners determination, I paid the driver, giving him a generous tip because it was appropriate to do so and then got out. The sound of my door being thrown shut echoed off the buildings lining the abandoned street. I followed Heero, taking a stand by his side as he studied the old parking garage. The yellow cab started to roll away and then disappeared around a corner. We didn't have to wait long. No more than a second after the taxi was out of sight a man appeared, emerging from the shadow of one of the thick pillars supporting the second floor of the parking garage. He stepped over the low concrete barrier circling the ground parking lot and crossed the street, approaching us with a steady, manly gait. He looked very official in his tailored, black suit and with dark sunglasses - that seemed quite counterproductive considering the sun had almost completely set - on his large nose. His face was square and angular and as he got closer I spotted the earplug in his left ear, with a see-through coiled chord going to the back of his neck and disappearing into his stiff collar. The man was a giant with long legs, muscled torso, wide set shoulders and a thick neck. He stopped several steps away from us and asked with a heavy voice: "Mister Yuy? Mister Maxwell?" I bit my tongue before I could jest: "No, I'm the fairy godmother and this is Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer." I just nodded, awkwardly. "Come with me." He turned on his heels and walked back with the same large strides. To keep pace with him I was jogging more than I was walking. We crossed the street back to the parking garage and climbed back over the low barrier. I figured a car was waiting for us somewhere deep within the shadows. We disappeared into the darkness and I was acutely aware of the many tons of condemned concrete. over our heads. I spotted holes in the pillars, walls and ceiling. Holes drilled for the explosives that would come later. To calm myself down I started doing equations in my head, calculating the amount of explosives - of several kinds of explosives - it would take to make this building crumble and kneel. We stopped in front of the steel doors of the elevator, making me frown, obviously my car-getaway theory had been premature. The agent brought his wrist to his mouth and spoke something to the end of his sleeve. Seconds later the building came to life with a hum; the lights switched on, one of them sparking ominously, like in a bad horror flick, and the overhead display indicated that the elevator was on the third floor. We waited for it to come down and then stepped inside. The inside was completely stripped. The control panel was disfigured beyond recognition but the elevator started moving without the agent ever pressing a button. I noticed that next to Heero - who shrunk daily in comparison to me - the agent was impossibly tall. "So what's your name?" I asked to kill the silence as the elevator slowly moved up. "Agent Levelt." He answered curtly. "Preventers?" I innocently inquired. "Yes." I turned to Heero. "You know him?" Heero shrugged. "I read his file." Of course he did. "So, agent Levelt," I continued, "is this a typical Saturday night for you?" Finally the stiff agent turned to look at me. His eyebrows disappeared behind his sunglasses as he frowned deeply at my misplaced attempt to make small talk. "My typical Saturday night is confidential." I quirked an eyebrow. Was he messing with me? Was I missing a pun or was he being serious? I didn't ask, I simply accepted his answer, albeit mysterious and leaving me curious. I was not surprised, I had expected a "confidential" to pop up, seeing as it is Heero's favorite word to describe what he does as a Preventer. Silence fell between us as the elevator climbed agonizingly slowly. Agent Levelt turned away from me, I couldn't see anything but his tall, broad shoulders. The man was built like a tank but I had a feeling it was just a macho charade, inside beat a tiny heart. "So what's with the glasses?" I asked with a grin. Agent Levelt didn't respond but I noticed a red hue tinting his ears. I didn't say anything more, just quietly snickering. Finally the doors opened. Fresh air rushed in. We stepped out onto the top slab of concrete, five stories above ground, underneath a clear sky. The red sun was at the horizon, barely casting any rays on this hemisphere. Somewhere else on earth, dawn was breaking. I always thought that was pretty amazing. I smiled when I spotted bright stars dotting the dark blue cloak of the night. On L2 they simulate everything from sunshine to snow, but they can't simulate the stars. Stars are a privilege exclusive to Earth. I looked back down, around myself. All the parking sports were empty. The possibility of a car-pick up was fast becoming an improbability. I was about to ask what we were waiting for when a nearing rumble answered every question I might have had. It wasn't lightening, it was too monotonous and grew louder and louder, to a deafening roar. I scanned the skies but the sun came to no aid as it shied away behind the horizon. I didn't see it until it was so close my jacket was whipping around my body and in the wind and I could feel my braid moving wildly, tugging at the back of my head. The black silhouette of a large military helicopter hung overhead, the rotors circling loudly and dangerously. I felt a strong hand land on my shoulder and pull me back a few steps as the chopper started to descend onto the concrete flooring of the garage. Normally a helicopter had several flashing lights and a bright front light, to ensure it would be seen in the dark sky. All of those were absent as this machine was clearly meant to go unseen, but not unheard. The side door that read PREVENTERS was swung open and a man in a black flight suit and helmet with shaded front gestured us to come closer. The hand that was still on my shoulder guided me to the helicopter. I ducked my head, even though the blades were too high to ever hit me. As I raised my right foot and planted it on the metal floor of the helicopters cabin I realized that in spite of all my adventures, I had never been on a helicopter. I climbed into it's belly, awkwardly and took the seat that was appointed to me. Heero climbed in effortlessly, making it look elegant. He sat next to me. We moved our hands to strap ourselves in and then the guy on board handed us headphones with a little mike at the front. Then he moved back to the door and exchanged some word with Agent Levelt - who did have to duck his head to prevent scalping. Levelt looked at us, waved and then walked back. The door was shut and immediately the blades were sped up to create more lift. I looked at Heero, grinned at him and gave him the thumbs up. He seemed completely comfortable. When I looked out the window we were already far above the ground. So high the ground looked like the starry sky had: dark blue with a few bright lights. Through the headphones - that not only protected our ears from the noise of the engine and rotors but also served as communication - I heard the cracked voice of the pilot welcoming us on board. And he added "Long time no see, Yuy." The other guy that was in the midsection with us was smiling at us. I knew better than to ask Heero how they knew each other, expecting nothing more informative than a: "That's confidential." We headed North, I recognized, even though I knew Relena's favorite mingling-mansion was to the South. It was a standard procedure to check for any tails and shake if necessary. Ten minutes into the flight we started to turn. We didn't fly back over the city, but around it to avoid detection. Beneath us the world momentarily turned pitch black as we left the city behind and passed over surrounding forest and countryside. To the far left I saw a string of equally interspaced lights, piercing through the blackness in a straight line. In the night the lights of the highway were like jewelry on the black velvet surface of Mother Earth, like an elegant pearl necklace draped across her regal neck. "We're almost there." The pilot sounded in my ears. "I'm going to make a hard left turn for my approach, if you look out the window you'll see the castle." I felt the chopper turn as indicated and my intestines turned with it. "Hard" was a modest description for the sudden change of course. As the pilot had announced, through the window the modern built mansion - aptly referred to as "The Castle" - with a classical facade appeared in soft lights like the gentle flame of a candle. The helicopter turned forward again and the mansion was out of sight. We remained at a high altitude till the aircraft came to a halt, hovering in a single spot and then began a rapid descent. I looked at Heero, then past him, out the window, where I saw the mansion once more. The landing was careful and precise by any standard, but still felt like a sharp jolt. The patch of grass in which the pilot had expertly maneuvered his craft was not a space I had felt comfortable landing in, in something as delicate as a helicopter. The open space was encircled with tall trees that looked like menacing ghouls in yellow spotlights to a backdrop of blue moonlight. We were in the back of the expansive botanical garden that stretched out behind the mansion, like a little secret it kept behind it's back, while at the front paparazzi had flocked in hopes to capture the event. The agent opened the side door, where two more agents were waiting, beckoning us to come outside. As I crawled out, I handed my headphones to the agent on board. I was careful not to damage my suit on any of the sharp metal edges. I had come this far, I'd be damned to ruin the suit. Heero wouldn't be pleased either, certainly he expected these suits to last our lifetimes. Cheapo, I thought with a smirk. Heero jumped out after me and though I'm sure he was not impressed, as he almost never is, I took my time to appreciate the building. The mansion was built up of large stones, set heavily in the landscape. All the windows were high and arched and had details of glass-in-lead. Along the entire length of the house was an elevated stone terrace where the festivities were centered. White Chinese lanterns were strung down from the trees and the walls creating magical lighting. As far away as we were, I could hear the collective mumble of the crowd. I was suddenly nervous, standing there as nothing more than a fancy dressed street rat. I felt dangerously out of my element but I knew better than to let the men of stature intimidate me. They were nothing more than fancy dressed hypocrites after all. The two agents on the ground escorted us to stone steps at the edge of the grass clearing. The steps led up to a long stone pathway that would take us to the terrace. The banisters were wrapped in Christmas lights. Once we were up on the pathway I noticed a slim figure had come to greet us. For the occasion Relena had donned a long black dress, with boat-neck and high side slit, exposing her left leg as she walked. The outfit of course wasn't complete without the addition of a large satin and velvet, pink flower pinned just under her right shoulder. Her hair was up in her Queen-of-the-world-'do. Her eyes were murderous as they fell on me. She stopped in front of us, batted away the death threats with long, fake eyelashes and welcomed us sweetly. "Heero, Duo... It's so nice you both could make it." Neither Heero or I offered her a hand to shake or extended an invitation for a hug and Relena - surprisingly - knew better than to force the niceties. "Please," She turned back towards the mansion, revealing the low cut back of her dress, "follow me." We did and behind us the helicopter took off. "So," She started, with her back towards us as we followed her down the path, "you two live together?" She looked over her shoulder with an unreadable expression. "Yeah." I didn't elaborate because I knew wondering about it would drive her crazy. "That's nice." "It is." She looked back at me and was visibly displeased with my smirk. I didn't know when the animosity between Relena and I had started. I don't think there is a specific point in time to name. Maybe it had been a first-sight kind of thing. She had been very annoying. Of course, that all seemed paradoxal know. If Relena hadn't been there, blocking my shot, I would have likely killed Heero before I learned of his identity and before I had the opportunity to grow to love him. In a way I had Relena to thank for everything that was allowed to spark and develop between us and indirectly her role in the war was more substantial that I had thought. Yet I could not bring myself to like the girl. Even though rationally I had no convincing reasons to dislike her, aside from her brazenly obvious superior attitude and the way she shamelessly flaunted the wealth she had inherited by blood, rather than earned. The street rat in me opposed this, was disgusted by it. The rational part of me could only submit. She does have a nice ass though. I thought with a chuckle, stealing glances at her black-draped curves. With two final steps up, we were on the terrace. The crowd paid us little heed and I was comfortable with that. I looked at their faces, they were all unfamiliar. "Are the other pilots here yet?" "Yes, they are here. But first I want you to meet someone." "You" she didn't mean in the plural sense, but I followed her anyway as she took Heero by the hand and dragged him to a particular man amidst the others. He was old with a grey beard and receding hairline, but his eyes were wise and his body was tall, strong and proud. Other older men had gathered around him and seemed enthralled by every word that fell off his lips in between his tiny sips of expensive champagne. "Prime minister Leighton!" Relena said, injecting herself into the circle that had surrounded the man, pulling Heero along and I entered in their wake. "This is the brave young man I wanted you to meet." She presented Heero proudly. Heero looked uncomfortable and stiff, I wish I could help him but I knew we had to a suffer a few of these moments during the evening. There was no escaping it. "Heero Yuy." Her voice turned reverent and breathless with admiration. "Heero Yuy?" The man repeated. He reached his hand out, extending it into the empty space halfway between Heero and him. Heero looked at the man's face with a stoic expression, then down at his hand with his questioning frown, then back up at his face again. He said nothing. Relena chuckled, trying to brush Heero's strange and impolite behavior off as a joke. "Heero this is Charles Leighton. Prime minister of ESUN." She chuckled again. "Listen to me introducing you, Charles! Of course you are a man that needs no introduction! I think the same goes for Heero." She gave Heero a nudge, urging him to say something. "Hello." My boyfriend said monotonously and very much unimpressed with the company he was in. "Hello." Charles Leighton said back and he smiled. I instantly decided I liked him. "I owe you a well-meant thank you, young man," Charles spoke, "You are the reason why ESUN was possible. You laid the foundation of all the wonderful work we have been able to do, uniting Earth with the colonies and creating peace." Relena nodded. Heero just looked at him. He never liked to be thanked for what he did, because he knew of the horrible secrets surrounding the Gundam Pilots - and him in particular - that had been swept under the rug. People continuously seemed to forget that to obtain that peace that they reveled at, we had to kill sons, brothers, father and also daughters, sisters and mothers, with our bare hands. You don't thank for that. "You must be Duo Maxwell." Charles turned to me and we shook hands. "It's a privilege to meet both of you." I was somewhat prided to be recognized, even though I felt like my contribution paled in comparison to Heero's. "Do you follow politics?" Charles asked us both. Heero didn't answer, he seemed frozen with discomfort. I just shrugged. I did, but it would start a conversation that would earn me angry glares. There were many aspects of ESUN - in general a good political head to lead the colonies and earth - that I did not agree with. Charles however caught on that there was something behind my casual shrug and inquired about it. Relena's eyes turned wide and crazy at the first word that I gingerly threw out there. "Well..." All eyes fixated on me. "Speak your mind, young man, you can be honest." Oh boy, I thought as words started to form in my head and worked their way to my sharp and decidedly apolitical tongue. "There are some hypocrisies in the administration that I don't agree with." The air turned thick with the smoke that was coming out of Relena's ears. "Maybe this isn't the time or the place to discuss this." She insisted. Charles waved his hand. "Nonsense, this is exactly the place. Where better to discuss politics than at a gathering of all the prominent politicians in the world?" Relena chuckled. "I think Duo's political insights are perhaps more suited for the school's amateur debate team. You did go back to high school, didn't you, Duo?" At that many men lost their interest in what I had to say and turned away, but I made good use of the small audience that remained. "Yes, I did. Why didn't you?" I turned to look at her. "I mean, you haven't finished high school, correct?" She turned red but tried to talk her way out of the insult. "Well, that hardly seems necessary, I have been studying at the best institute, which is politics. As the official ambassador of ESUN I have learned a lot. That is knowledge that can't be taught in the school benches." "But basically you are a student." I concluded. "A political student and already you have such a high function." I chuckled like Relena had, self satisfied and arrogant. "Personally I feel very uncomfortable knowing this. Like I would feel uncomfortable sitting in a bus and the chauffeur is a sixteen year old student-driver." She sputtered something incoherent and then fired back: "You should know that I have made many valuable contributions to the ESUN administration!" "I'm sure you have," I replied sarcastically, "like this party, with the champagne and lobster and caviar that is being served on silver plates by high-end waiters. I'm sure the starving children of L2 would be very appreciative of all your efforts." Some more "But"s and "Uh"s passed her rosy lips. I had her cornered and something primal and resentful prevented me from stopping myself. "Let's face it, Relena," I said with a sympathetic look, "you are about as useful to ESUN as an umbrella made of toilet paper in the pouring rain. It looks convincing on the surface at first, but you do a poor job at making anyone's life any better." It wasn't nice of me. I honestly didn't know what had taken over me. But I sincerely wanted her to just shut up and the God of Death had a fool-proof solution for her incessantly verbally expressed, belittling sense of superiority. "If you will excuse me," I said to the men curiously eyeing me, "I would really like to find my friends." I triumphantly spun on my heels, grabbed Heero's wrist and stomped away. Heero started tugging insistently on my hand, but I ignored him and held on till we were far out of Relena's sight, separated by the crowd dressed in tuxes and extravagant ball gowns. Finally, stopping at a banister overlooking the mysterious garden, I turned around. Heero's face was blank, even though I had expected it to be a little angry. "That wasn't very nice." He stated. I sighed. "I know." However, I refused to apologize. I turned back towards the garden, letting the soft wind caress the heat off my face. The guests may now very well think me to be mad. I wasn't sure yet if that bothered me. I looked back over my shoulder at Heero, who instantly looked down at his feet. But I had caught a glimpse. A glimpse that made me doubt my own eyes, doubt the very firing of the neurons in my brain. Trustworthy or not, the image I had captured was one of a bemused smile, gracing his lips, accompanied beautifully by a mischievous spark in his eyes. "Were you smiling?" I asked the face that was hidden behind bangs, incredulously. He looked up, his mouth was stiff and his eyes dead serious. "No." I grinned at him and pointed an accusing finger. "You were smiling." He shook his head but a hue came to his cheeks. "Don't flatter yourself. It wasn't even that funny." "Not even a little bit?" He stared at me for a long time. The corner of his mouth twitched but it became nothing. "Well... maybe a little." A smile tugged at his lips and there wasn't a damned thing the soldier could do about that. As Heero smiled shyly his eyes drew away from me, embarrassed, but I feasted on the sight shamelessly. I opened my mouth to tell him what I had thought in the cab - that I wished we were at home, just the two of us, together, but my name from someone else's lips made the words die halfway between my heart and my mouth. My eyes automatically moved towards the source. The first thing I saw was the white, crisp tuxedo. The second thing I saw was the platinum blond hair. "Quatre!" I called, excited to see my friend from a time that seemed like a different life, or a life that didn't even belong to me. Quatre closed the distance with his arms extended to the side and I walked into his embrace. "It's so good to see you." His words were muffled against the shoulder of my suit. "It's good to see you too!" I squeezed him extra hard and behind my closed eyelids I briefly saw us sitting together in a barely furnished room, admiring cracks on the walls and rips in the bedding. The scene I remember is different in hindsight, but at the moment - as we presumed Heero to be dead - it had been his wake. It had been one of the worst moments of my life, even now, but Quatre's mere presence had made it bearable. We parted and Quatre directed his attention to Heero. He didn't hug him or shake his hand, he knew better. He curtly nodded his greeting. I noticed with a painful clench of my heart that Heero wasn't smiling anymore, and I remembered the concerns he had shared with me about meeting our "friends" again. I wish I could make Quatre see that smile, the most beautiful thing in the world. I don't know why exactly, maybe just to prove it was real and not just my mind playing tricks on me inspired by my apparent desires. "Hello." Heero said. His tone was no warmer than when he was introduced to the prime minister; a total stranger. I supposed strangers they were, because the soldier never allowed anyone to meet the real Heero and he also never allowed the real Heero to meet other people. Except me, I reminded myself and my heart warmed anew. "I overheard your little speech to Relena." Quatre said with a snicker. "You did?" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yes, you evil genius." "Oh Quatre," I said in a posh voice, waving my hand in mock modesty, "I wouldn't say I'm evil." "I wouldn't say he's a genius." Trowa interjected. He handed Quatre one of the two glasses of champagne he had been holding and then shook my hand. "Trowa, good to see you." "Likewise." He nodded at Heero and Heero nodded back. "I didn't bring enough." He said, holding up his glass. "That's fine, I don't care much for the expensive stuff anyway and Heero isn't much of a drinker." I smiled but Heero was not amused. "Is WuFei here too?" Quatre nodded as he sipped from his glass. "Yes, he's right there." He pointed at a lone figure standing at a high table right by the edge of the azure blue pool. "We'd better go to him. As you all know, the mountain refuses to come to Mohammed." The three of us walked over to the stubborn loner. I just said hello, unsure of how to act around him. "Maxwell. Yuy." An awkward silence ensued. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei could hind behind and busy themselves with their drinks but Heero and I had no such awkwardness-proof shields. As soon as a waitress walked by, I called her to order a drink. "What would you like, sir?" "Martini. Shaken, not stirred." Even if I did say so myself, my Bond impersonation was dead on. I looked at Heero but he shook he head, he didn't want anything. When the waitress had left with my order WuFei dryly spoke: "I didn't get that." The other's nodded in agreement, except Heero of course, with whom I had watched many Bond movies. "It's from an old movie." I explained. And then the silence fell once more, pregnant with implicit distrust and estrangement. To have anything to talk about, I started: "I hear the press have been giving you trouble, with the whole Gundam-pilot-identity matter." Quatre nodded and placed his glass on the table. "Yes, they are very speculative. It makes me a little guilty that they will never have the satisfaction of being told they were right all along. It was quite an accomplishment after all, for them to figure it out. What about you guys?" "No one knows." WuFei said bitterly and then took a large swig from his drink. It made me wonder if he even had anyone to tell, should he want to. "No one knows about us either. Well..." I corrected, "our baker knows." "You told your baker?" WuFei's voice was accusing. "Of course I didn't tell her. She just knew. Maybe more people know but they don't mind, so they don't tell." "It's possible." Quatre said, but he didn't sound convinced. "I heard Relena say you went back to school." He tried, desperate as I was to keep the conversation going. It was a difficult task, aside from the war, which we all refused to talk about, we had little to nothing in common. We were five very different individuals. "Yeah." I said, not ashamed about it around him. "That's good, it's normal for kids our age to be in school." I smiled, those had been exactly my words, again from that other life, maybe we had more in common than I thought. I stole a loving glance at Heero. "What do you do, Heero?" "Preventers." He answered gruffly. "Oh, are you an agent?" "It's confidential." I rolled my eyes. "He's a hacker." I said. Heero lowered his eyes. Silence once more. Where is my drink? I wondered impatiently, stretching my neck to look over people's shoulders and heads to try and spot the waitress but I couldn't see her anywhere. "Gentlemen." I groaned inwardly as Relena wormed in between me and Heero. "Do you mind if I steal Heero for a moment, more people really want to meet the hero that saved the world." She continued. The four of us - the ones who no one really seemed to want to meet, because apparently our contribution to saving the world was deemed insignificant - glared at her. Heero happily joined in and gave her his best death-glare. Relena was unfazed, as expected, she followed him around the globe after all, even though he had sworn to kill her. She wrapped her arm around his and pulled him away from us. He looked back at me over his shoulder and I mouthed that it would be okay. His response was putting me on the receiving end of his glare. I just chuckled. Like Relena, I was immune due to over-exposure. "You two seem to get along pretty well." Quatre hid a smile in his champagne glass. "Yeah." For a moment I doubted telling them, but then I just blurted: "We're sort of together." "Congratulations!" Quatre practically squealed. "Don't act so surprised, you practically orchestrated the entire relationship!" I joked. Quatre blinked innocently. "Please! Suite 102? Subtlety is not your forte, my friend." "Gets the job done though." He said into his glass with a grin. I nodded. "Sure does." "So you're... gay?" Wufei eyed me questioningly. "No, I'm a woman." I deadpanned. WuFei just stared. Obviously sarcasm was lost on him. I looked at my cheap watch, clashing with the expensive fabric of the suit. "How long has it been? I think I'd better get soldier-boy back." "Soldier-boyfriend, you mean?" I shook my head with a chuckle and walked off to find my "soldier-boyfriend". I couldn't find him out on the terrace, so I headed inside through large double doors, stepping into a world even more lavish than the one created outside. The floor was marble with an intricate pattern, the walls were covered with gilded wallpaper and heavy crystal chandeliers hung down from the high ceilings casting playful shadows and shapes of light on the floor. Dispersed evenly throughout the room were little groups of aristocratic men, they were all talking about politics but some groups shared laughter and others shared serious faces. I spotted Heero rather easily: the only grey suit amongst them. He and Relena had joined one of the serious groups. One man was talking, very animated, moving his hand around in grand gestures. In one hand he held a champagne glass, but it was empty. He might have spilled it all over the floor with his wild movements. I noticed Relena was standing next to Heero, very closely, with one of her hands on his shoulder, like they were to be married. She sure pranced him around like a fiancé that would make any daddy proud. If only she knew the truth. With confident strides I walked up to the group and came to stand behind Heero, so close that our bodies touched. He looked over his shoulder and seemed relieved that I had come to save him and to my delight he leaned back into me. "Hello." I said, interrupting the story. "I'm Duo Maxwell, co-savior of the world." Some of the men greeted me, but looked at me strangely. "Duo, mister Wright was saying something." "Oh, I'm sorry. We'll just go then, so you can continue." I placed my hands on Heero's shoulders, brushing Relena's away and I guided him back outside. "Thank you." He said softly. "You're welcome, buddy." I stopped him for a moment and leaned over his shoulder from behind to kiss his cheek. Then I led us back to the table where the others were waiting for us. WuFei had composed himself, perhaps Quatre had convinced him that I had been merely joking. When we returned we finally had something to talk about: Relena. We shared quiet laughter at her antics. I recognized she wasn't a bad person, however I was not obliged to like everyone based solely on the goodness of their hearts. We hadn't returned for more than a minute when the waitress finally came with my drink. "Ah, perfect." I was about to take my first, victorious sip when again someone stopped me by suddenly calling out my name. "Duo Maxwell." Relena looked upset. She closed the distance between us and hissed in a demanding tone: "What was that kiss about?" "Excuse me?" "That kiss! You kissed Heero." I heard someone say: "Oh oh." It sounded like WuFei, it probably had been, he had the most to drink of all of us. "We're in a relationship." I didn't brag. I knew it to be a sensitive matter for her and I honestly didn't want to break her heart. But I wasn't going to lie either. She chuckled breathlessly. "A relationship?" "Yes." She looked at Heero, who had just spoken, with wild eyes. I thought she was going to say more. I thought she was going to scream and make a scene, but she stared at him quietly for a second or two and then turned around to walk away. My body relaxed but it was premature. She suddenly changed her mind and turned back towards me again, in two steps she was right in my face and all of a sudden I felt her hands pushing hard and fast against my chest. Before I knew it, before I could restore it, my balance was lost and I was falling backwards. On my way down, in slow motion, I saw her walk away. I kept falling and falling, my drink still in my hand and suddenly there was a loud splash that caught everyone's attention and water rushed into my open, surprised mouth and chlorine stung my eyes. I scrambled to get footing, flailing my arms and legs wildly. Luckily the pool was not deep and when I stood the surface of the water was at my waist. But the damage had been done. I was completely soaked. My suit clung uncomfortably to my body and my hair was heavy, my bangs covering most of my face. My eyes were wide and my face made no attempt to hide my shock. Instinctually I had held my hand up to protect my drink but all the martini had spilled from the glass and only clear blue, undrinkable, chemical water remained. I was about to get very angry when I heard someone laughing. And it was beautiful. With my free hand I wiped my bangs out of my face and looked at the front of the crowd that had gathered by the edge of the pool. Heero was right there, his grey suit standing out. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open. His lips had formed a perfect smile as he laughed; deep and strong. It sounded relieved, like a prisoner finally free, it was careless and innocent but the intensity made his whole upper body shake. He held his right hand over his heart, trying to still it, but his passionate, kind heart kept beating and with each beat the soldier cringed and cowered, and he kept laughing. I stared at him, no longer caring about my spilled drink, my ruined suit, my dented ego. It could have been an embarrassing moment but instead it would be one of the most amazing moments of my life. His laughter - worthy of Shakespearian poetry that I was unequipped with - finally died out, but a heartening smile remained as he looked at me with gentle eyes. Mischief returned to me. I moved towards the edge of the pool, where he stood. "You think that's funny, Yuy?" I asked as I moved my hand to innocently place my glass on the stone edge. "No." He denied, but then briefly chuckled. I gave him no warning and even if I had, the crowd had surrounded him would have prevented him to move away and escape my revenge. I jumped up and stretched my hands out. I grabbed the fabric of his pants at the front of his thighs and securely twisted my fingers into it and then with a powerful tug, pulled him down by it. I was submerged again as he fell right on top of me. We both quickly resurfaced and I laughed as he shook the water out of his hair. I walked towards him, the water slowing my movements but he waited for me, standing in the middle of the pool, looking at me curiously with a slight smile. I didn't stop till our bodies met. I kissed his forehead first, tasting chlorine. Heero tilted his head up, wordlessly asking for a different kind of kiss. I heeded his request. I wrapped my arms, heavy with the wet sleeves, around him and then descended my lips upon his. We weren't even aware of all the watchful eyes as we kissed each other leisurely. I tasted only sweetness. As always Heero let me take control of the kiss and I took it gratefully, teasing his tongue into a more intimate kiss. I realized I would remember that moment forever. "Sirs?" We abruptly broke our kiss and looked to the side. Two agents were judging us. "Please get out of the pool. The hostess has requested us to take you home." I was too giddy to feel wronged. Heero and I got out of the pool. Suddenly it seemed very chilly outside. I said goodbye to Quatre, my heart feeling a little weight down, but lighter again when he promised to keep in touch and to meet again soon. Before I broke away from his goodbye-embrace he whispered in my ear: "I am truly happy for you both. I hope it works out." I didn't really know what he meant with that last part, but at that moment I couldn't think straight, I couldn't be bothered. I let the two agents guide us back to where the helicopter was already waiting. The crewmember smiled at me as he helped me on board. Heero required no assistance. My suit felt like cement around my body, constricting and heavy but I focused all my attention on Heero and then nothing seemed to exist but the love-sick beating of my heart. Some thirty minutes later the helicopter landed on the top floor of the parking garage again, where giant agent Levelt was waiting for us. When we were at the elevator doors he whispered to his sleeve again, where a communication device was hidden and the lights went on. The elevator took us back down and I caught many of Levelt's unsubtle, curious stares at us. We got out on the ground floor, but Agent Levelt remained in the elevator, holding the doors open with one of his large hands. "I've arranged for a taxi, he should be here any moment." "Thanks." He retreated his hand and the doors closed. I watched the overhead display as the elevator climbed again. What a surreal night it had been. We walked back to the side of the garage where we had been dropped off earlier that evening and we took a seat on the low concrete barrier. I had started to shiver, but I didn't care. Heero didn't seem bothered by the cold. The perfect soldier was slowly coming back. It pained me a little, but I was comforted by the memory of his smile and his sweet laughter. I looked up and barely saw the black silhouette of the Preventer chopper disappear. Shortly after a taxi pulled around the corner and stopped across the road. We got up and walked over to it as the cab-driver got out. As luck would have it, it was the same bearded man as before. He looked at our ruined and disheveled suits and said nothing, just grinned at us widely. On the way home I never took my eyes off Heero. His face had frozen solid in his usual scowl as he gazed out the window. But my heart refused to be frozen. I imagined his smile, smiling myself, just thinking about it. There was an old painting, I thought, by an equally old master of the arts. It was world renowned and it's loss was grieved deeply when the Louvre was bombed during the Third World War and every canvas burned. The painting was of a woman, she wasn't anyone special but her mysterious smile captured the world. It was said to have been the most beautiful smile in the world. But I knew better. Heero's smile was more beautiful than any smile ever smiled. More beautiful and meaningful than even the smile of that mysterious woman in that painting. What was it called again?
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