A Classic Case of Irony

by IsabelleRose

Chapter 1: Mystery Guest

Heero's attention was split three ways. His eyes shot back and forth from his babbling braided friend on the vidscreen to his latest blueprints to the angel sleeping on the couch. More often to the couch than the other two places, but nobody said it was split equally.

"Heero, are you listening?" Duo shouted, face close to the screen, breathing heavily.

"Hn."

"This place is absolutely gorgeous. Quatre and the entire Maguanac Corp spend all of thier vacations there and it's totally decked out," Duo elaborated, waving his arms to further sell the idea. "You just gotta see it yourself!"

Heero's eyes drifted back towards the sleeping figure.

"Heero!"

"When?" Heero asked, forcing Duo to skip the fluff and get down to the point.

"Uh.. April..9? 10? Hang on, Hilde wrote it down for me. Oh yeah, April 15th. We're planning on staying for a whole week- making the most of the BEAUTIFUL facilities!"

"Hn. I don't know..." This time his eyes fell on the blueprints he'd been working on before Duo's call had interrupted him. The design lacked something- something that Heero was obsessing over.

"You've skipped the reunion for the past three years, Heero. We miss you, buddy," Duo pleaded, cursing his friends mentally for delegating this task to him. He watched as Heero's attention shifted once more from the desk to something off screen that Duo couldn't see. Heero's eyes stayed focused on the distant object as he replied.

"I'll come, Duo, on one condition," came his cool reply.

"Really?! Anything!"

"I'm bringing someone with me."

"What?!"

"I'll see you in a few weeks, then." Heero disconnected, leaving his friend to gawk at a blank screen.

"Well, whadaya know," Duo muttered, scratching his braided head. "Hilde! Heero's got a girlfriend!"

Mid-April found Heero Yuy, somewhat reluctantly, on a flight to Earth with the dearest person in his life. He couldn't help but question what had possessed him to answer 'yes' to Duo. He sat stiffly in his seat as they cruised through the inky depths of space. The Perfect Soldier was nervous. He felt as if he was taking one of the greatest risks of his life. Dr. J would have laughed at him.

He had no idea how his friends would react. They would be astounded. They would have endless questions and pry mercilessly. Overall, though, would they accept or reject? Heero didn't look forward to the experience.

Am I ready for this? He asked himself for the millionth time since they'd packed for the trip. Are we?

A small hand in his caused him to break from his thoughts. A single glance into those clear, beautiful eyes was all it took to melt the Perfect Soldier's heart. Everything would somehow fall into place. Just a short drive now to Quatre's resort. They'd get there together- that was all that mattered.

"Who do you think he's bringing?" Duo asked again. Wufei shot him a warning glance and Quatre offered a patient smile. Gossip had engulfed Quatre's home all morning as the former Gundam pilots speculated on Heero's 'guest'. If Heero's private lifestyle hadn't been enough to raise suspicion, the fact that this reunion was a closed affair certainly added question. Only the pilots and their closest friends were allowed attendance. Who could be so close to Heero that he'd bring them here?

"I'm sure we'll find out once they arrive," Trowa cooly pointed out. It was no use wondering. Heero kept to himself just as much now as he had during the war. It hadn't always been that way. Just after the war Heero had seemed a changed person, but something happened. Without warning, Heero had drawn his head back into his shell and cut them all off again.

Quatre ran his family's company for mining resources on Earth and in space. Since the war, he had invested himself in philanthropy, zen gardens, and writing memiors. His business prospered, his love life was... involving... and he was happy. Quatre had no secrets.

Duo's life was an equally open book. He and Hilde had wasted little time in getting married. They continued their scrapping business with the added perk of a partnership with Winner Enterprises. Although not quite ready to start a family, the Maxwells were happy and certainly never left their friends out of the loop.

Wufei was a successful preventer, and while he didn't necessarily discuss all that went on in his life, it was fairly obvious that he was busy on missions with partner Sally Po almost constantly. Besides, Wufei didn't hide things from his friends- he valued integrity too much for that.

Trowa was a little harder to get news out of, but what he didn't say, Cathy went into elaborate detail about. The two of them had recently inherited the circus from the retiring manager and were living thier lives happily, too. Cathy was a wonderful gossip and Trowa couldn't keep a secret from the gang if he wanted to.

Heero, on the other hand, remained aloof. He and Relena had been good friends for the first few years following the war, and for a while they got news of him through her, but it seemed that even she had been shut out in the past three or so years. They all knew he was a brilliant engineer- he was in the news all the time for his inventions- but not even the media seemed to know where he lived or what he did in his free time.

"Did he say anything about her at all," Cathy pried, anxiously. Her auburn hair bounced fitfully as she snapped her attention towards Duo.

"Nothing," he related regretfully.

"Relena, wouldn't you know?" Hilde hoped.

"You know that Heero and I don't speak anymore," Relena bit back. There was bitterness in her tone. The others couldn't blame her. She'd been so in love with Heero.

"You're better off without him," Zechs intoned moodily from an overstuffed armchair on the opposite side of the room. All this talk was making him wish he'd declined the invitation.

"Nobody asked you, Milliardo," she sighed.

"It's been so long, though," Hilde tried to amend. "It would make sense for you to move on."

"Who's to say I haven't moved on?" her eyes were ablaze. The conversation flickered and died for a few painful moments.

"More tea, anyone?" Quatre attempted weakly. His friends jumped on the change in subject.

"Oh, yeah, definitely!"

"Is this a black tea?"

"Hand picked from the gardens here."

"You'll have to show me the recipe."

"I'm a coffee drinker, myself."

Heero took a deep, but subtle breath as he turned down the last road. An hour's drive hadn't been long enough to calm his nerves, and his passenger was getting anxious after all the travel, too. Green landscape seemed to melt away before him as he urged the vehicle forward, not really desiring to reach his destination.

"Are we-"

"Almost," he practically groaned. A short giggle met his reply, causing the corners of his mouth to perk up. Just for a moment. Then he saw the sign marking the entrance to the private resort. His heart leapt into his throat. The car came to a shaky halt. Heero put it in park and turned to his strength, his angel, his baby.

He pressed their foreheads together and allowed his breathing to steady again. His fingers brushed chestnut hair out of blue eyes, away from the soft forehead so he could press a loving kiss there.

"I love you," he murmured. The words resonated in his deep voice.

"Love you, too."

He put the car back into drive and continued the last stretch of his journey.

They watched with baited breath as Heero's car pulled up to the front door. They cursed the tinted windows of the rental. In awe, they watched him step out of the car, run his fingers through his hair, and move to help his special guest out of the car, too.

All their expectations whooshed up at once- beautiful, smart, kind, graceful, humorous, patient, exciting, wild, wonderful, friendly, perfect- and left them for good.

Nobody said a word as their eyes beheld not a gorgeous woman, but a boy. Heero Yuy's special someone was a boy.

So I decided to take my fandom in a totally new direction with this little tale. I want to do something with Heero that isn't done often, but that's all I'll say for now. Enjoy as the plot thickens.

Izzy.

Ps. I don't own Gundam Wing. I think I'm obligated to say it.