Heartbreak

by Guineapiglover

Heero catches his boyfriend Duo cheating with Trowa. Wufei is left to pick up the pieces. 1x5 2x3 YAOI SLASH

AN: cringe Don't hurt me. I got obsessed with Audition. Anyway, here's Heartbreak. Not exactly my favorite pairing...but I'm putting it up anyways.

Heartbreak

Chapter One:

Heero silently slid his key into the lock on the front door of his and Duo's apartment with his right hand as his left hand unconsciously brushed some stray droplets from his chocolate brown hair. It was only a short dash from the cab to the foyer of his apartment block, but Heero still hadn't been able to avoid getting somewhat wet by the pouring rain.

//And I'm supposed to have supernatural speed.// He snorted to himself. //Ironic.//

Heero allowed himself the tiniest of smirks as he thought of what awaited him on the other side of the door. Duo was always rather enthusiastic when Heero returned home after long trips. He never failed to give Heero hot, hard sex, citing that Heero's absence built up his need to unmanageable levels.

Heero gave another small, nearly unnoticeable smirk. They always had clothes-tearing, teeth-biting sex during those sessions. His scratches from the last time that happened had faded, but he didn't doubt that in the next ten minutes he'd acquire new ones.

Heero wondered exactly how excited Duo would be when he found out that Heero was home early. In the past few weeks, Duo had been somewhat distracted, and after some thought, Heero had come to the conclusion that he should probably spend a bit more time with his lover. That was why he'd pushed himself to complete the mission Lady Une assigned him in five days instead of the usual seven and why he was now sneaking into his own apartment. His reasoning was that he'd surprise Duo and show him how much he cared for him. After all, Heero was a man of few words; he conveyed his thoughts and feelings with actions.

He entered the apartment dropping his duffel bag to the floor even as all of his well-honed senses informed him that Duo wasn't alone in the house. By logical deduction it would be one of the other Gundam pilots since they never invited anyone else over. It wasn't unthinkable that Duo got lonely while Heero was away on missions. After all, Heero missed Duo when Duo was away on his missions, not that Heero would ever admit that. Never! Not even under torture!

Heero looked around the empty kitchen with some disappointment. There went his hot, wild sex on the kitchen table. Perhaps he could get rid of the other pilot with a few quick words, after all, tonight was supposed to be for Duo and him. Further, with the exception of Quatre, it wasn't like they didn't see the other pilots every day at work anyway.

Heero moved further down the hallway beginning to feel some surprise even if his outward appearance didn't show it. The kitchen was empty, the family room was empty, the lounge room was empty and the bathroom and toilet produced no pilots either. He approached the back area of the house where the main bedroom was located and began to feel a coil of something stir in the pit of his belly. It wasn't fear, Heero never felt fear, but it was definitely was a sensation he didn't like.

As he got closer to the bedroom he shared with Duo, Heero began to make out a very loud voice. Duo's voice, and he sounded like... Heero abruptly cut the thought off midway, no, Heero was thinking nonsense.

Heero's eyebrows furrowed as he heard Duo cry out. "Harder!"

Heero trusted his partner; there was probably a logical reason why Duo was screaming "Harder!" while he was with someone else in their bedroom. In all likelihood, Duo was probably doing something completely innocuous in there, and Heero would look a right fool if he allowed his emotions to overtake him. Heero wasn't about to do something stupid that would make Duo angry at him and which he himself would probably regret later. He'd never let his emotions rule his actions before and he wasn't about to start now. Anyway, he trusted Duo with his life.

"Duo." He gave a little rap on the door. "I'm home."

The door swung open. Heero looked down at the door handle with a mild frown of annoyance. Duo had pestered him before he left for his mission to fix that lock, and he still hadn't gotten around to doing it. It wasn't like him to procrastinate, but somehow he'd never found the time to do it. He'd do it tomorrow he resolved firmly. If there was anything Heero was not, he was not a procrastinator. Satisfied with his decision Heero looked up.

And froze.

J had trained him well. The shock he was feeling at seeing Duo and Trowa in bed naked, staring at him like startled rabbits never made it to his face. Startled rabbits. Hn, he noticed the similarities there. The air smelled so strongly of sex he was surprised he hadn't noticed it instantly.

Heero had always said that a person couldn't trust anyone but himself, and he was a fool for having allowed Duo to change his mind about that. The scene in front of him right now just proved that he was right all along. He thought with some bitterness that for once he felt no satisfaction at being right.

//It's over.//

Abruptly Heero turned around and strode down the hallway towards the front door. He didn't think, didn't want to think. Unconsciously he picked up his duffel – still sitting where he'd dropped it beside the front door – before slamming the door open and slamming it shut even harder behind him. The door rattled on its frame and a tiny crack appeared down the middle.

"Heero!" Duo called shaking himself from his stupor and knowing at the same time that it was useless.

He stared at Trowa wide-eyed who was staring at him blankly.

"You said that he wouldn't be back for another two days." Trowa finally managed to say in a tight voice.

"He wasn't!" Duo hissed frustrated as tears prickled at the back of his eyes. Heero's friendship was important to him. He didn't wanted to lose it, didn't wanted to hurt Heero. That's why he'd never told him that… His thoughts trailed off and he once again looked to Trowa helplessly.

Trowa just stared at him wordlessly and eventually said. "We should find him. Actually – " Trowa said cutting himself off. "We shouldn't, we should get one of the others to find him, he wouldn't listen to us right now."

Duo nodded frantically. "I never wanted him to find out this way. I'll call Quatre and tell him to search for Heero."

"Quatre's off planet at the moment." Trowa put in.

"Fuck it, I forgot." Duo swore in frustration before continuing angrily, "And I can't even call Wufei, he'll have a ballistic fit!"

"Call Quatre and ask him to persuade Wufei." Trowa offered calmly, although his stomach was a mess of knots. Neither he nor Duo had wanted Heero to find out in such a brutal manner.

Duo nodded frantically, and feeling no small amount of dread, made his way over to the phone.

Trowa got off the bed and began pulling on his pants as he listened to Duo talk to Quatre on the phone. From the yelling he could hear coming from the other end, it was obvious Quatre was pissed.

Eventually Duo hung up. Trowa raised an eyebrow at him.

"He said he'll call Wufei..." Duo said.

Trowa waited. There was obviously more to come.

"And Quatre said he wants to speak to us too." Duo said with dread.

The two stared at each other wide-eyed like scolded school boys. Quatre angry and defensive about any of his friends being hurt had more impact than a Mac Truck going at 200 kilometers an hour.

"Do you think – " Duo began hesitantly.

Trowa raised an eyebrow and waited for Duo to continue.

Duo swallowed and tried again, his voice somewhat husky. "Maybe we should have listened to Quatre and Wufei and told Heero from the beginning."

Trowa moved forward and wrapped his arms around his lover. "What's done is done".

"But what if he hates us forever?!" Duo howled. "I couldn't… I couldn't stand never having Heero's friendship again. He means so much to me. I… I just didn't want to hurt him." He sobbed. "I never wanted to hurt him." Duo whispered forlornly burying his face into Trowa's chest.

And all Trowa could do was hold Duo tightly, even as his throat tightened. They'd been waiting for the right time to tell Heero, but the right time had never come. And now it seemed that fate had conspired against them. He tightened his hold on the boy he loved most in the world and buried his face into those thick chestnut locks.

And so they stood there like frightened lost children, afraid of the dark, comforting each other as best they could.

Chapter Two:

Since it was two in the morning Wufei was happily asleep when the phone on his bedside table rang. Only half conscious, he rolled over in his large bed and began to pat his hand in the general direction the ringing was coming from. It took Wufei three tries before his hand finally made contact with the phone.

"What?" He muttered groggily into it.

"Wufei!" Quatre's voice came high-pitched over the phone. Wufei winced and pulled it a few centimeters from his ear. "Heero's found out about Duo and Trowa! He saw them and walked out! I need you to – "

"Congratulations and no." Wufei muttered cutting Quatre off mid-sentence before he slammed the phone down and buried his face back into the pillow. //No prizes for guessing what Quatre wanted.//

A few seconds later the phone rang again. //How was it possible that the phone could be even more piercing than before?// Wufei thought incredulously even as he snarled irritably into the phone. "What?"

"Are you really going to be so cold-hearted about it?" Quatre questioned. In the background Wufei could distinctly make out another male's voice. It was probably Zechs. offering Quatre advice on how to persuade Wufei. //Typical, work with the guy once and he thinks he knows everything about you.//

Wufei sighed and sat up. "Look Winner." He said impatiently. "There's not much I can do about it. As much as I'd love to, I can't turn back time, and even if I could, I wouldn't anyway. Yuy's seen what he needs to see."

"So you're going to leave him wandering around the city in his agitated state? You're a Preventer Wufei, you have a duty to ensure the safety of the people. Do you really want to be picking up bodies tomorrow because Heero decided to vent his anger on them?" Quatre argued convincingly. Wufei wondered who'd come up with that line of argument, Quatre or Zechs? Wufei pondered it for a few seconds and decided that it sounded more like something Zechs would say. Left to his own devices, Quatre would be going on about friendship and love and living in harmony... Wufei shivered as chills ran through his body. In retrospect, he decided he was glad Zechs was there with Quatre, he didn't think he'd be able to stand that other line of reasoning.

Wufei once more sighed heavily into the phone. He'd barely gotten four hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours. "And you want me to…?" He allowed his voice to trail off, hoping that Quatre would show mercy and not say what Wufei just knew he was going to say.

"Find him." Quatre replied immediately. "He shouldn't be alone right now. Please Wufei, I really need you to do this." He pleaded.

Wufei gave an exasperated huff although it was all for show. "You owe me for this Winner. And that goes for Maxwell and Barton too." He grumbled. Then he thought to ask, "Do you even have any idea of where he might be?"

"I don't know." Quatre answered truthfully. "Duo just said that he stormed out."

"Great." Wufei growled. "Just what I need. I'll see what I can do." Again he could hear Zechs in the background. //Didn't that guy ever go back to his own house?// Wufei gave a quick shake of his head and quickly hung up the phone. Never mind, he didn't want to think about that after all.

Turning, Wufei ran a hand through his hair, quickly pulling it back into its customary tail. Then he donned a pair of black pants and a jacket before making his way out to his garage. Climbing on his bike he gunned the engine and started it up before staring down the drive.

Great, to top off his brilliant night, it was raining. Someone up in heaven must really hate him. At times like this Wufei wished that he had a car. Still, there wasn't any point lamenting his bad decision making skills, so he put his head down and leaving the dry comfort of the garage, met the rain head on.

Being the intelligent person that he was, Wufei decided to head over to Duo and Heero's apartment and start from there. From what he could ascertain, Heero left on foot, therefore, by all rights he should still be in one of the streets in that area. Wufei cruised the streets for over twenty minutes – by which time he was thoroughly soaked – before he finally made out Heero's figure in the pouring rain. The customary messy chocolate hair was plastered to Heero's scalp. The man moved quickly. He was a lot further from the apartment than Wufei had estimated he would be.

Wufei pulled his bike up next to Heero.

"Yuy." He growled.

Heero ignored him and kept walking. Or perhaps he just didn't hear Wufei over the pouring rain and the loud rumbling ominous thunder. Wufei wondered just how safe he was on his bike. The thunder sounded like it was coming closer. He twitched when it seemingly rumbled almost behind him.

Wufei pulled off his helmet and climbed off his bike. "Yuy." He tried again, this time putting a hand on Heero's shoulder.

Heero turned and threw a punch.

Wufei already expecting such a reaction, moved, yet he still didn't manage to entirely avoid the punch. It clipped his jaw and he staggered before slipping in the muddy water.

Wufei sat where he'd fallen, staring disbelievingly at the sludge sticking to his favorite black pants, and then getting his bearings back, stood up and snapped with an anger he didn't feel, "Are you going to wander around outside in the rain all night? Because that would be a very bright thing to do and I'm sure Maxwell will just feel soooo sorry for you when he finds out."

One sarcastic Chang Wufei probably wasn't what Heero needed right now, but hell, at this particular moment in time Wufei didn't have enough brain cells awake enough to come up with a better way of making Heero listen to him.

Heero turned around, his face blank but his eyes shining with fury. "Shut up Chang."

Wufei ignored him. "Look, why don't you save us both some trouble and come back with me to my apartment."

"Maxwell sent you." It wasn't a question.

"No." Wufei replied. "Winner did."

Heero turned away and started walking again. "What's the difference?" He asked rhetorically. "It's typical," he continued with a sneer on his lips, "As soon as Maxwell lands himself neck-deep in shit he calls one of you to clean up the mess."

Wufei gritted his teeth but did not answer, what could he say? It wasn't like Heero's observation was untrue. After all, although he could be amazingly annoying at times, Duo had a soft spot in the other pilots' hearts. He was like the cute, adorable brother they'd never had, and so whenever Duo got himself into trouble, he knew that he could count on someone to bail him out. That had happened on too many occasions to even count. Perhaps they'd spoiled him a bit too much. Yet, of the five pilots, he'd had the worst childhood. Surely it couldn't hurt to spoil him a little? Wufei shook his head to clear his thoughts when he realized that Heero was speaking to him.

"What did Winner do to put you up to this Chang?" Heero sneered.

"Nothing." Wufei answered. "Come back with me to my apartment."

"Not necessary." Heero refuted immediately.

Wufei looked closely at Heero. Although his face was blank, there was something off about him. A certain tenseness Wufei hadn't seen since the war. Wufei wondered if Heero was still stable after finding out that his lover was cheating on him. Wufei thought that Heero was stronger than that, but then again, after only recently rediscovering his feelings, it could be that he was more vulnerable to them than people who'd lived with them all their lives.

"You can't stay out here all night Yuy." Wufei said calmly trying to reason with Heero. "Just come home with me tonight, and you can leave tomorrow if you want, but it's late and it's raining and you'll have a hell of a time trying to find somewhere to stay this late at night."

"There's always the bridge." Heero muttered sarcastically.

"It's under construction." Wufei shot back just as quickly.

Wufei watched as Heero pondered over the logistics of his statement before silently walking over to the bike. Wufei gave a little relieved sigh; no one could ever accuse Heero of not being logical.

He slid onto his bike nearly wincing when his clothes squished uncomfortably. He didn't even want to contemplate putting on his helmet, waiting instead until Heero was on the bike and had a firm grip on the back of the seat before he took off into the night.

It only took Wufei fifteen minutes to get them back to his apartment.

"Go take a shower first." He told Heero. "You've been out in the rain longer. There's a bathrobe on the back of the door. You'll feel better afterwards."

"Don't patronize me." Heero snarled.

Wufei glared right back. "I'm not Yuy! I'm being practical! But if you want to mope about in wet clothes, then by all means do so! Just don't drip on my furniture and don't expect me to nurse you back to health when you get sick!" Not that Wufei could ever remember Heero being sick. In fact, now that he thought about it, the very idea was laughable.

They glared at each other for a few more seconds before Heero eventually turned and stormed off.

Wufei waited until he heard the water running before picking up the phone and calling Duo and Trowa.

"Maxwell." He said as soon as the phone was picked up. "He's staying here with me tonight."

"Thank God!" Duo breathed. "But only one night Wufei?"

"It was all I could do to get him to come home with me." Wufei snapped. "Be grateful."

"Okay." Duo said. "Try to keep him there with you as long as you can okay? I'll come right over."

Wufei raised an eyebrow even thought Duo couldn't see it. "I don't think so Maxwell."

"What?" Duo asked, voice rising quite rapidly.

"You heard me." Wufei said. "I don't think you should be seeing him for a while. You've fucked up enough and I don't need you coming over here to make things worse. If that's even possible." He added as an afterthought.

"But –" Duo started to say before he cut himself off. In the background Wufei could hear Trowa saying something to Duo. "Okay Wu, you're probably right." Duo eventually said, his voice returning to normal pitch, "But take care of him for me okay?"

"Of course." Wufei said before hanging up.

Next he phoned Quatre. "Thank god!" Quatre cried relieved on the phone. "Keep him there with you Wufei, I'll come as soon as I can."

"Hn." Was Wufei's reply, even as he wondered how soon was soon. There wouldn't be a free shuttle until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. He also idly wondered how Zechs would take the news. Not his problem though.

Tasks accomplished, Wufei looked around. He was standing in the hallway leaving little puddles every time he moved. He could see a trail leading to the bathroom. He may as well mop all that up now.

Barely five seconds after Wufei finished cleaning up all of the puddles, he heard the shower stop, and soon after Heero appeared wrapped in nothing but the white bathrobe which normally hung unused on the back of the bathroom door. Wufei showed him to the guest room.

"Make yourself at home." He told Heero. He saw Heero raise an eyebrow sardonically but he ignored it and went to have his shower. He was cold, wet, tired and desperately needed sleep. Standing in the shower Wufei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As much as he liked Duo, he knew Duo could have his moments of stupidity like any younger brother.

And in this case Wufei couldn't help but think that Duo really was an idiot. He had the most priceless gem in his hand and he didn't even know how to treasure it. Wufei admitted to himself that he could see that Trowa was a better match for Duo, but Wufei felt that Duo could have handled it better. True, he'd been afraid of hurting Heero, but now he'd hurt him even worse than if he'd just broken it off properly.

Wufei leaned back in the shower resting his back against the tiled wall. If Heero was his, he'd never treat him the way Duo had. He'd cherish every second of every day he'd spend with Heero.

He'd always been jealous of Duo, and more than once his traitorous mind had told him to try to break them up, but he'd banished such disgusting thoughts as soon as they'd entered his mind. He'd never do such a thing to a brother. Then he'd frantically punish himself for even daring to think of such a thing by signing up for the most dangerous/boring mission he could get his hands on. Everyone else avoided those like the plague. Funny how such dangerous missions could be so boring at the same time, it was truly ironic. Weren't missions such as those supposed to be adrenalin inducing? How Lady Une managed to find such aberrations was beyond him, but he knew one thing, she really was a malicious bitch. Not that she wasn't a good leader he admitted to himself as a side note.

Wufei had gone on a few of those missions, those traitorous thoughts barely lasted three seconds in his mind, but he felt astronomical guilt all the same. No one could understand why every so often he'd choose those missions. Wouldn't they laugh their collective asses off if they ever found out what he was thinking. The great justice-loving-Wufei did not practice what he preached.

Wufei raised his eyes to the ceiling, Heero needed a friend right now, and Wufei was going to be that friend. Well, at least until Quatre arrived and could take over the role. Wufei wasn't really cut out for that comfort stuff. Then Wufei reached for the soap.

XXX

While Wufei was taking his shower, Heero stood blankly in the bedroom Wufei said was his. 'Make yourself at home', Wufei had said. Well fine, Heero would make himself at home. He left his bedroom and made his way to the kitchen, there he searched the cupboards until he found two bottles of whisky. Odd that Wufei would even have alcohol in his house. It just didn't fit in with the image Heero had of Wufei in his mind. Oh well, who cared, this should be enough for him. Making his way to the lounge room Heero sat down and opened the first bottle and proceeded to drink from it like it was water. When he'd finished the entire bottle three minutes later, he was still not feeling numb. Dammit, he didn't want to think of how Duo and Trowa had betrayed him. He opened the second bottle and started to drink that too. He ignored the stinging in his eyes, it was the alcohol, he was obviously drinking it too quickly. He ignored the voice at the back of his mind that was trying to tell him he was a pathetic liar.

What did he do wrong? It was evident it was his fault; it couldn't have been Duo's fault. Everybody loved Duo. He had many friends whereas Heero only knew his workmates by name. Obviously Heero wasn't human enough for Duo. He wasn't responsive enough and so Duo hadn't desired him. Was Heero truly so undesirable? Duo was so alive, and Heero was so, so dead. So unemotional. He gulped down yet more of the whisky. Perfect Soldier. He thought bitterly. He couldn't even hold onto his own lover. Why in the hell had he ever bothered to allow himself to feel in the first place? He'd been much better off when he didn't have feelings. Fucking Duo.

By the time Wufei got out from the bathroom, he felt much warmer inside, and a bit more awake, which was a bit odd. Seeing the light on in the lounge room he made his way there.

He found Heero sprawled on the couch with two empty whisky bottles by his feet. Wufei stared in shock. In the entire time he'd known Heero, he'd never seen him touch alcohol, and to think that now, he was breaking into the stash Wufei had been given as a house warming present. It looked like Heero's breakup with Duo was affecting him way more badly than Wufei had first imagined. All the same, he couldn't allow Heero to continue on his self-destructive path.

"I never thought you'd been one to turn to the bottle to drown your sorrows." He remarked coldly.

Heero barely managed to grunt. Wufei stared.

"You're disgustingly drunk." Wufei stated bluntly.

Heero ignored him.

Eventually Wufei sighed. "Come on," he said, "Let's get you to bed."

He managed to get an arm under Heero and somehow with Heero leaning on him like a deadweight, he hauled him back to the guest bedroom. //God's, Heero's no lightweight.// Somehow, using superhuman strength he didn't even know he possessed, Wufei got Heero onto the bed. Standing back to admire his handiwork, Wufei stared at the figure sprawled on the bed. It was amazing, but like this, drunk off his face and with barely any coordination skills, Heero still managed to look beautiful. Sighting and muttering about the unfairness of the world, Wufei reached towards the end of the bed and tugged the blankets up to cover the corpse that was Heero.

He was therefore more than a little shocked when he suddenly felt himself being grabbed behind his neck with a hard mouth pressing insistently to his.

"What the fuck Yuy?" He managed to splutter when he was able to struggle free. He found himself looking into glazed eyes as the hard hands on the back of his neck weren't letting him go too far.

"Fuck me." Heero said.

"You're drunk." Wufei said even as he felt a frisson of sexual awareness shoot through him. He was honorable though, and he wasn't going to take advantage of an emotionally weakened drunk man no matter how much he wanted to.

Heero stared at him with glazed eyes for a few seconds before pushing him back so quickly and so suddenly he fell onto his butt for the second time that day. "You dun want me either." Heero muttered drunkenly. "Too cold for you too huh Chang? Dun wanna sleep with someone un-, hic, undesirable like me, do ya?"

//Was that what he thought?// Wufei thought staring at Heero incredulously. //That he's undesirable?// Wufei stared at him in some puzzlement turning over the possible scenarios in his mind.

If Wufei didn't do what Heero asked, Heero was going to wake up upset tomorrow, with practically no self-esteem left to speak of, and probably angry at Wufei for turning him down. If Wufei did what he asked, he was going to wake up angry tomorrow and probably upset for doing what he'd asked, but at least he'd know he was desirable right? Argh! No matter how he looked at it, it was a catch-22 situation. Still, in Wufei's mind, there was no doubt about which memory he preferred to keep with him when Heero stormed out of his house tomorrow, angry regardless of which path Wufei took.

He leaned down towards Heero. "Just don't blame me tomorrow when you wake up sober." He muttered.

Heero stared at him, blinking owlishly and looking quite cute as he tried to blink the four faces hovering in his vision back into one. "Won't."

"Good." Wufei nodded before leaning down to kiss Heero.

Heero's lips were warm and dry and when Wufei slid a tongue in, he found that Heero tasted of whisky. He'd never liked the taste before, but now couldn't help finding himself rather addicted to it. His tongue searched out the rest of Heero's mouth rather frantically, wanting more of the taste. When Heero gave a muffled gasp and shifted up into him, Wufei paused for the briefest second to make himself comfortable on the bed, on top of Heero, and when Heero dragged him down for another kiss, he fell into it. His last thoughts before he let himself go completely was that he'd show Heero that he was a damn desirable human being, physically first, and maybe one day he'd have the chance to show Heero that he was a damn fine human being mentally and emotionally too.

Chapter Three:

When Heero woke up the next morning his head was pounding and his mouth was dry as sawdust. It tasted about as good too. He grimaced and opened his eyes. The room was flooded with sunlight. That was the first thing Heero noticed. The second thing he noticed was that the brightness was making his head throb painfully. Immediately he lowered his eyelids, resorting to squinting instead.

Although his senses were seriously dulled, he nevertheless still heard the bedroom door swing open. He turned his head quickly and the whole world tilted dangerously. Still, he managed to make out Wufei standing beside the bed holding a mug.

"Here. Drink this." Wufei said. "It'll help with the hangover."

Heero sat up in bed intending to reach for the mug when a sudden pain in his ass made him freeze.

He stared at Wufei frozen, mouth parted just slightly, searching his memory desperately for the chunks of information that were so obviously missing from his brain. And suddenly like a floodgate had opened, memories of the previous night assaulted him. Him lying beneath Wufei begging for more. He'd never been bottom before! Memories of a mouth traveling all over his body, sucking on his nipples, his cock, bringing him to – He cut off his thoughts abruptly and his eyes flew up to see Wufei staring at him calmly.

Heero was just about to get up and firstly, accuse Wufei of rape and secondly, rip the bastard's balls off when snatches of conversation came back to him.

//"Don't blame me tomorrow."//

//"Won't."//

Heero flinched slightly at the memory, and then silently accepted the mug from Wufei, avoiding the other's eyes even as he got up and walked to the en suite where he quietly closed the door behind him.

Left staring at the closed door Wufei gave a sigh. What had he expected? He wondered what was going to happen now.

Leaving the bedroom, Wufei walked back out to the kitchen and made some toast. He didn't think Heero would be up to eating anything, assuming he even decided to stay for breakfast. Wufei wouldn't bet on it though.

He therefore wasn't surprised when five minutes later Heero appeared carrying his duffel bag, looking freshly showered and said, "I'm going."

Wufei didn't say anything, what was there to say in such a situation? He just followed Heero to the door.

//At least I'll have my memories.// Wufei thought somewhat wryly and wondered for the hundredth time since he'd woken up that morning if he'd made the right decision.

Heero pulled the door open just as Wufei opened his mouth.

"Heero."

Both men stared at the open doorway. Quatre was standing there with one hand poised to knock. He was the one who'd spoken. His eyes fell on the bag in Heero's hand and then he was pushing Heero back into the house and firmly closing the front door behind him.

"I'm sorry Heero." Quatre said smothering Heero into a hug which he easily managed to break out of. Then Quatre's voice hardened. "I heard about what happened, I'll have to have a few words to them about this." He cracked his knuckles threateningly.

Heero stared surprised. Quatre normally had such a mild disposition. As though noticing Heero's surprise, Quatre gave him a small tight smile. "I won't hurt them; I'm just going to give them a piece of my mind."

Watching the little blonde angel-turned-avenger, Wufei felt sorry for Duo and Trowa, it didn't sound like Quatre was going to go easy on them. Then Quatre was gabbling again and Wufei tuned back into the conversation.

"Where were you going to go Heero? It's tourist season, you'll have trouble finding a hotel, or even an apartment at this time. I think you should stay here for a while. After all, this is a Preventer apartment, there's space and it's close to your work. I think it's a good idea."

Wufei stood there suitably admiring Quatre's ability to gabble. Although Quatre hadn't said it, it was obvious to all three in the room that he didn't want Heero left alone.

"No." Heero said.

//Heero was always succinct.// Wufei thought wryly.

Quatre began to look worried and gave Heero his best puppy dog look before trying another angle of attack. "I promised Wufei I'd move in with him to keep him company but commitments off planet mean I can't do that. You'd be helping me if you could stay here with him to keep him company."

Heero looked like he was going to point out the blatant lie.

"Right, Wufei?" Quatre asked in a stern voice.

Wufei knew better than to mess with Quatre when he was so obviously not in a good mood.

"That's right." He replied.

"See?" Quatre said once again turning the full force of his puppy dog look on Heero.

Heero stared and opened his mouth.

"It's decided then." Quatre said clapping his hand. "Thank you Heero." Heero remained silent.

In fact, they all remained silent.

Eventually, unable to stand the uncomfortable silence anymore, Heero abruptly stood up, his chair scraping on the wooden flooring.

"You're going to put your bag away?" Quatre asked him giving him a sweet look complete with big blue watery eyes.

Wufei saw Heero swallow and didn't blame him. It was hard to deny Quatre anything when he begged using that technique.

"Hn." Heero said walking back to the guest bedroom.

Standing in the guest bedroom, Heero stood for a moment staring at the bed, and then he made a sharp turn and walked to the door again. Why in the hell was he even listening to Winner? When had he ever taken commands from anyone? As he pulled open the door hushed whispers reached his ears. He knew they were probably talking about him and that it wouldn't do him any good to listen, but some sick part of him refused to move. What he heard was not what he expected.

"How did you get here so fast Winner?" Wufei asked.

"I paid to get a different shuttle back here. Incidentally because it wasn't supposed to leave for another four hours I had to compensate everyone who was left stranded."

Wufei grunted. "I suppose Marquise wasn't too happy about your leaving either?"

Quatre gave a dry laugh. "No, he wasn't."

"Wufei." Quatre whispered, and though his voice had lowered, it was sharp.

"What?" Heero heard Wufei grunt back.

"Heero has scratch marks all over his shoulders, and at the juncture between his neck and shoulder he has a bite mark."

There was silence. Heero strained to listen.

"I…" He heard Wufei start to say. Then, "He was drunk – "

"Don't let me guess!" Quatre started, heat evident in his words.

"No, I – " Wufei cut himself off. "He was hurting, he needed comfort."

"Did you even stop to think of how hurt he'd feel thinking that it was a pity fuck?"

Heero started at that. Quatre was obviously upset, he never swore! Not that Heero could ever recall anyway, and he had an amazing memory.

"Dammit, it wasn't a pity fuck." Wufei growled still in his low whisper.

"I know that Wufei." Quatre said. "And you know that. But he doesn't know that."

Heero stared hard at the wall from where their voices were coming around from. //What did that mean?//

"Look." Wufei said. "You've managed to get him to stay here with me for a while, that gives me some time."

"Of course." Quatre said. "And then you'll stay silent like you did during the war and you won't get anywhere with him. You've already lost him once to Duo, are you going to let it happen again?"

Heero stared shocked. Was he hearing what he thought he was hearing?

"It won't happen again." Wufei growled. "I'll tell him."

"For your sake, I hope so Wufei." Quatre said. "The next person who snatches Heero up may not be as careless as Duo was, if you blow this chance…" He trailed off.

"I won't!" Wufei growled.

There was more silence before Quatre abruptly said. "I've asked Lady Une to give you and Heero some time off."

"Time off?" Wufei was startled.

"It will give Heero some time to rest and you can spend that time working up your courage."

Heero distinctly heard Wufei splutter.

"Anyway, I have to go." Quatre said interrupting Wufei mid-rant about injustice and weaknesses.

"Take care of him Wufei and take care of yourself, I just want both of you to be happy."

Wufei didn't reply. Heero heard footsteps and then heard Wufei suddenly say. "Winner."

"Hm?" Quatre replied.

"Thank you." Wufei said gruffly. "For before, for convincing him to stay. He wouldn't have listened to me."

"You'll have to repay me by showing me that I didn't do something stupid by convincing him to stay then." Quatre replied. Heero heard soft footsteps and then the front door opening. He retreated back deeper into his room to think.

Heero stayed in his bedroom for the rest of the day, only emerging for lunch and dinner. He didn't feel like facing the other pilot yet. The implications of what he'd heard were still churning around and around in his mind.

Eventually he fell asleep and began to dream.

"Duo!" Heero called walking up to his lover.

Duo smiled at him. "Hey Hee-chan. I'm glad you're back…"

"So am I." Heero replied.

Duo smile turned into a large grin. "… Because now you can watch us".

And as Heero watched, the scene changed. Now Duo was taking Trowa's hand in his and they were walking to the king sized bed that had suddenly appeared from nowhere and was now taking up the entire room.

"Duo?" Heero asked confused as he watched Duo begin to strip.

"No!"

Heero opened his eyes and had his gun in his hand before he realized who it was leaning over him.

"You were moaning." Wufei muttered. "Nightmare?"

"Hn." Heero grunted even as he put his gun back onto his bedside table.

He stared pointedly at the hand resting gently on his shoulder, but Wufei didn't remove it and so Heero continued to stare at it. It was so warm, so different from the cold he could feel permeating the very core of his being.

At that moment, Heero wanted that warmth more than anything else he'd ever wanted in his life. He wanted to forget about Duo. One hand reached up behind Wufei's neck and tugged his head closer. His lips were an inch from meeting Wufei's when he realised that he couldn't pull Wufei in any closer. He gave another tug and when Wufei still didn't budge he raised his eyes from those tempting lips to stare into deep chocolate ones.

When Wufei spoke, his breath washed over Heero's lips in warm waves. "I refuse to be a substitute for Maxwell. If we do this, you have to know who you're in bed with."

Heero paused. He didn't want Wufei to be a substitute for Duo. In fact, he wanted Wufei to make him forget Duo, and, he wanted… he wanted what Wufei had to offer him.

"Wufei." He murmured into the silence.

He could feel Wufei tense under his fingers but he didn't move.

Eventually Heero pulled his hand back from behind Wufei's neck. So that was it. Wufei could no more understand Heero's actions than Duo could. He couldn't see how important that one word was to Heero.

Heero turned his head away. "Goodnight." He said, and was not surprised by how cold his voice sounded.

"Oh it will be." Wufei purred and then he was sliding into the bed with Heero.

Surprised, Heero turned around only to find his mouth captured in a demanding kiss…

XXX

The next morning Heero woke up early, his internal body clock hadn't allowed him to sleep in even though he'd been up half the night… Heero could feel himself stir even as he turned his head sideways to stare at Wufei. He remembered last night in very vivid detail. He'd only partially remembered their first time together and from what he could remember it had been all hard and fast. Last night though, Wufei had been gentle. It was definitely at odds with the warrior he had in his mind. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it though. He shifted slightly and felt a slight twinge when he moved. He wondered about that. When he'd been with Duo he'd always been top, and now, being bottom… Well, it felt weird but also, nice in a way.

All of the confusion he'd been feeling the previous day came back to him as he continued to stare at Wufei. Then, those chocolate eyes opened and he found himself caught in an intense gaze.

Heero Yuy hated feeling confused. It wasn't something he'd ever felt prior to the earth-shattering revelation that Duo was cheating on him. Everything had always worked out, even when he'd slowly begun to accept his feelings. Duo loved him, he loved Duo; it was perfect. Now looking at Wufei, he wondered what was happening. Eventually he decided just to ask the other damn pilot. There was no way he was going to live with the confusion. He was Heero Yuy, everything had to have an explanation. He needed to get his life back on track!

Although… He didn't want to appear unnecessarily weak…

What the hell, it wasn't as though Wufei hadn't already seen him at his lowest moment. How could this be any worse than what Wufei had already seen?

He finally opened his mouth and Wufei watched him. Then he closed it again, not wanting to look stupid. //After all,// a small part of his mind pointed out//Wufei doesn't like emotions either. Speaking about it would probably be even worse than downing his alcohol and forcing him to have sex with you.//

Wufei shifted and sat up in bed before speaking. "I can be whatever you want me to be. I can be your friend, I can be your boyfriend, lover, a mere acquaintance or even a flat mate you never see if that's what you want."

Heero's eyes opened wide and he stared at Wufei in shock, then he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Why would you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Why not?" Wufei countered.

Heero stared at Wufei as if he was crazy. "I'm not human."

Whatever Heero had been expecting, Wufei bursting out laughing had not been it. He watched astounded as Wufei just continued to laugh his beautiful heart-stopping laugh.

Eventually Wufei did stop laughing, and then he turned serious eyes to Heero. "Just because you don't show your emotions doesn't mean you don't have them." Then he swung his legs out of bed and stood up and started walking towards the door. Heero's eyes widened imperceptibly when he realized that Wufei wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. //Of course not.// His mind decided to helpfully point out. //Did you forget what the two of you were doing last night? Duh!//

Wufei had only just reached the door when Heero suddenly blurted out. "Boyfriend."

Wufei paused at the door and without turning around he said. "It's yours." Then he disappeared through the door.

Heero continued to sit in his bed staring at the empty doorway in shock. Everything that had happened to him since breaking up with Duo had happened almost too fast for him to comprehend, but when he'd seen Wufei walking out the door, he'd suddenly felt an insane desire for a relationship with Wufei. It probably had something to do with the conversation he'd overheard between Wufei and Quatre. Because if Wufei had wanted him since the war, surely that had to count for something. His deepest fear which he'd never utter aloud, which he only allowed to flash through his mind for the briefest second was that Wufei was going to be disappointed with what he got, just as Duo had been.

Chapter Four:

Heero wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when Wufei had said that they would be boyfriends, but for the two of them to do normal things wasn't it. His relationship with Duo was different from the one he had with Wufei. With Duo, they had hot wild sex and then took off to do their own thing. That meant that when the two weren't on missions, Duo would work on his scrap machines while Heero worked on his laptop.

Wufei, for whatever strange reason it was, seemed to want to spend time with Heero. The first thing Wufei did after Heero made the decision to be his boyfriend was move all of Heero's things (which was really only his clothes and laptop) into his own bedroom.

At the time Wufei explained to Heero that his bed was bigger and therefore more comfortable, but Heero had seen Wufei's blush when he'd delivered the explanation while trying to make it look casual. Heero felt amusement when he thought that perhaps Wufei didn't have too much experience with relationships either.

Whenever Heero was working on his laptop, Wufei would be in the same room reading. Occasionally Wufei would drag him out for a walk along the beach, or the park, or to the shops, whatever happened to take Wufei's fancy. At night, Wufei would force him into the kitchen where Heero surprisingly found himself enjoying the time they spent making dinner together. Heero couldn't understand why Wufei wanted to be so actively involved in everything Heero did, why he wanted to spend so much time with him. It wasn't like they spoke much anyway. He wondered if Wufei was happy. Heero thought… he felt… that he was happy.

Quatre dropped by every day for the first three days severely putting a hole in his, 'I'm working off planet lie', but Heero didn't point it out. He wanted to thank Quatre but he didn't know how to say it. He had the feeling Quatre understood though.

There was that one time when Wufei was getting dessert and Heero and Quatre were left alone at the dinner table. Heero had opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat. He wasn't an expressive person. He couldn't change who he was, not for Duo, not for Wufei and unfortunately, not for Quatre.

But then Quatre smiled at him, gave him an understanding smile that just made Heero want to squirm before he'd said. "No problem." And that was that.

Heero absently wondered when Wufei and Quatre had learned to read minds. They'd been surprisingly adept at reading his mind. Anyway, once Quatre worked out that everything was fine between Heero and Wufei he'd been happy. He'd congratulated them and then took off. They hadn't seen him for a while; he'd probably gone back to his lover.

XXX

A week later Heero and Wufei returned to work.

Heero wasn't surprised when he entered the building and groups of people stopped talking when he walked past. He expected it and some part of him marveled at how quickly personal news traveled. Now if only the Preventer's intelligence network was just as good, they would stop crime in no time.

Heero ignored them all, pretending that he couldn't hear what they were saying about him and eventually made it to his work station. Still, he sagged in his seat when he made it there, his breathing just that little bit more uneven than usual.

Although Heero didn't want to admit it to himself, his experience with Duo had made him somewhat vulnerable. Before this, before he'd gotten back in touch with his emotions, he'd never have given a fucking damn about what they said about him. But now, some part of him wondered if what they were saying was true.

Wufei certainly didn't think so, but how long would it be before even Wufei couldn't take his silences, his lack of obvious emotions? He shook his head and stubbornly buried himself in his paperwork. Wufei liked to spend time with him. That last week had proved it, and Wufei still hadn't shown any signs that he didn't like the person that Heero was.

Mid-morning it got worse. Heero left the room to retrieve a file for the Haydon case, and when he returned there was a cluster of Preventers standing on the far side of the room talking about him. They obviously assumed that Heero was too far away to hear them, but his Gundam training allowed him to hear every word.

"Did you hear? Duo and Heero have broken up. Apparently Duo's with Trowa. I heard Duo ask Une to send him off planet because he wanted to keep it quiet, out of respect to Heero or something like that."

"Oh, he wanted it kept quiet, so why are you telling us?"

"He's got a big mouth that's why. He doesn't understand the word confidential." Someone laughed.

"I'm not surprised that Duo broke off with Heero though. I mean, who'd want to date a machine? He's like ice and Duo's so passionate!"

Sitting there at his workstation Heero's fist tightened on the files he was holding, he didn't notice that they were crunching up beneath his hand.

//Who would want to date a machine? Why was Wufei dating him? Was it pity? He'd heard Wufei say to Quatre that it wasn't a pity fuck but…//

"AREN'T YOU PEOPLE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!" The familiar bellowing dragged Heero from his depressing thoughts.

Looking up he saw Wufei standing in the centre of the room pissed as hell.

"DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YOU JUDGE HIM WITHOUT EVEN PROPERLY KNOWING HIM. WHAT'S WORSE IS THAT YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO STAND THERE AND GOSSIP ABOUT HIM IN FULL HEARING RANGE! YOU…"

And like that Wufei continued, going on for some time. By the end of his tirade everyone's ears were throbbing, and those who'd been gossiping felt lower than mice.

Striding over to Heero, Wufei grabbed him and pulled him from his workstation. "Let's go get lunch." His voice was tight with anger.

Once the two left, the remaining Preventers looked at each other. To be blasted by Wufei! He was the one everyone looked up to, someone they all respected. He went out of his way to help them and although he was stern and ranted about justice, he'd never looked down on any of them. He answered their stupid questions. They glanced at each other guiltily.

"Nice foot in mouth moment." Someone murmured from behind.

They turned to look at her. "What?"

"Well you all know I live in the same apartment block as Wufei right?" She paused for a moment and then said thoughtfully. "You just insulted his lover."

There was a stunned silence.

"Heero is Wufei's lover? How do you know that?"

She smiled. "I have my ways."

She might have been pleased, but she'd just effectively made the others feel even worse. But perhaps that was her plan.

To think that they'd just insulted the partner of the person they all admired and respected.

One of the girls ventured hesitantly. "If he's Wufei's lover, he can't be bad right. I mean, Wufei wouldn't date someone…" She trailed off.

"We should probably apologize." They all shuffled their feet and avoided each other's eyes.

XXX

Heero and Wufei had only gone a few steps from the room when Heero pulled his hand from Wufei's grasp and stalked off to the bathroom. He wanted to be alone. He heard footstep behind him.

"Piss off Chang." He snarled.

He entered the bathroom and turned to lock the door behind him only to see Wufei slip in too.

He glared.

Wufei stared back stubbornly.

Heero turned away and checked all of the stalls then he came back and locked the door.

"It's over." He said.

"Like hell it is." Wufei shot back.

Heero glared some more.

Wufei glared right back undeterred.

"I don't need your pity." Heero shouted. "I don't need your fucking pity. I don't need a fucking pity fuck." His eyes shot daggers at Wufei, his breathing coming out harshly. Inside he felt shocked that he could even lose his temper like that. He was Heero Yuy. He never allowed his emotions to control his actions. Never. Not even when he'd caught Duo and Trowa in bed, so his outburst was just as surprising to him as it was to Wufei.

He was even more surprised when he found himself being grabbed by the collar and slammed against the wall. "Idiot!" Wufei exploded. "I've never fucked someone just because I feel pity for them. If that was the case I'd be too busy to work!"

Heero stared at the close up he had of Wufei. Wufei looked absolutely livid. "For Nataku's sake Yuy, I love you!" He suddenly froze as though realising what he'd said.

Heero froze too and stared wondering if he'd heard what he thought he'd heard.

His eyes widened when he saw the blush that was threatening to overwhelm Wufei's face. He watched with interest as it started on Wufei's nose, then spread across his cheekbones before his forehead, cheeks and neck began to light up. Wufei's face was so hot Heero could actually feel the heat reflected on his own face.

"That's right." Wufei said looking at Heero challenging. "I love you. Do you have a problem with that?" Although his voice was aggressive, his face was still red.

So Heero had heard what he thought he'd heard. And just like that his doubts were gone and nothing mattered anymore except this man pressing him to the wall.

"No." He muttered in answer to Wufei's question and then before he knew it, he was moving and giving Wufei a hot, hard kiss, suddenly needing everything Wufei could give him.

He hauled Wufei up into his arms, pushing him back into the wall, grinding into him. He suddenly wanted to claim Wufei, make him his, just as Wufei had done to him so many times before.

He shifted slightly, one hand sliding down Wufei's legs and pushing his shoes off, before moving back up and the pants started to slide down too.

"Wait." Wufei gasped, freeing his mouth.

Heero paused, he didn't want to wait. He moved instead to nibble at Wufei's neck.

"Lube. Left pocket." Wufei got out.

Surprised Heero lifted his head from Wufei's neck and stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. He watched as Wufei shifted uncomfortably and then he was reaching in and sure enough there was a little tube of lube.

He didn't know why but suddenly he felt like laughing. He smirked instead and raised an eyebrow.

Wufei didn't even bother to reply, he instead writhed against Heero, distracting him, and then Heero had finished pushing his pants off and they had no more breath for words…

XXX

Later, sated and once more reasonably presentable, the lovers made their way back to their workstation having completely forgotten about lunch. In the west corridor they were intercepted.

"Lady Une wants to see you immediately." Wufei was informed.

Wufei paused. There was no way he was going to let Heero go back and face those hyenas on his own. He actually felt somewhat disappointed. He'd thought they were good officers, and to have been so wrong about them… No, he definitely would be there for Heero.

"I can take care of myself." Heero intoned quietly before turning left and leaving. Watching him go, Wufei felt pride. No one could ever call Heero weak. Then worriedly and chewing on his lower lip, Wufei turned right and followed the secretary to Une's office.

When Heero entered the room, all was quiet. He walked over to his workstation and sat down. He didn't care about what the others thought about him, as long as Wufei wanted him, that was enough. Why should he even give a fuck about what they thought about him anyway? He was going to get his life back on track, and if by chance one of his workmates were stupid enough to insult him to his face, he was going to let them get very well acquainted with his fists. He hadn't had a good fight in ages. His blood began to hum in anticipation.

He therefore very nearly punched the person who set a mug of coffee on his desk. He barely managed to control his reflex and squashed the disappointment. He looked up.

A nervous young man was standing before him. "It's black with one sugar."

It was how Heero liked his coffee. Why would the man care how he liked his coffee? Why the hell was he even getting coffee? Then he noticed that there were others standing behind the young man.

"Sorry." The young man said. "We were rude. We shouldn't have said such things when we don't even know you."

Heero just stared wondering what they wanted him to say.

"So we want a chance to make it up. We want to get to know you better. Maybe you'd like to have lunch with us tomorrow."

Heero stared. He didn't know what to say. None of his fellow Preventers had ever wanted to get to know him before, although that probably had something to do with his "stay away or die" attitude, he floundered. Lunch? He'd rather they said he could punch them. A fistfight was what he needed right now, not lunch!

When Heero still didn't answer, the guy suddenly began blushing and stuttering. "S..s sorry. You're still upset. We understand. We're sorry. We won't bother you."

He started backing away looking hurt? They all started shuffling backwards looking upset.

"Lunch sounds good." Heero got out feeling his insides curdle. He didn't like the idea but they obviously wanted to make up, and if he had to look at that guilty, hurt look on all of his workmates all day he'd probably go insane.

"Cool." and suddenly everyone was surrounding him asking him if he wanted sushi, or ramen and he found himself overwhelmed, was that because they were so nice, or was it because some of the women had really potent perfume on? Heero couldn't really tell.

"Okay. That's enough." A new commanding voice said.

Looking up, Heero saw Une watching them. She had a twinkle in her eye and standing beside her was Wufei looking amused.

"You can all decide what you'll have for lunch later, in fact, I'll pay for lunch, but right now I need work done."

There were cheers before everyone hastily returned to their seats. Heero took a gulp of fresh air feeling relieved.

Lady Une approached Heero while Wufei returned to his seat.

Reaching his desk she dropped a file on his desk. "I'll need you to have a look at this for me."

Heero nodded. Before she left though, Une gave him a friendly smile and said in a low voice. "If you ever need anything, you know where to find me." And then she was gone leaving Heero behind feeling stunned.

//It was odd,// Heero thought//How when you thought you had nothing left, you suddenly discovered friends in the strangest places//. He'd always thought Une was a bitch. //Sorry,// He thought offering her a mental apology. And then with a light hearted feeling he returned to his work, thanking his training which allowed him not to blush when Wufei winked at him.

Still, Heero felt a little freaked out as his workmates kept flashing him 100-megawatt smiles for the rest of the day. //Would the hurt and upset looks have been better?// He couldn't decide.

Chapter Five:

Wufei wasn't too surprised when there was a knock on his apartment door a week and a half later. He'd been expecting Quatre to pay them another visit for a few days now.

He opened the door to find, as expected, Quatre standing there looking serious. "Duo and Trowa want to speak to Heero." Wufei was informed.

Wufei frowned but before he could offer any protests about the wisdom of such a move, Quatre continued. "I think they all need closure."

Wufei nodded reluctantly able to see the logic in that and stepped aside so that Quatre could enter.

Duo and Trowa appeared from behind Quatre and carefully avoiding looking at Wufei, followed Quatre into the house. No doubt they still remembered the blasting Wufei and Quatre had given them. Wufei supposed that the combination of himself in Justice-Mode and Quatre in Avenging-Angel-Mode hadn't been too easy to swallow. //Ah, those were fond memories.// He closed his eyes and allowed himself to savor those memories for a few seconds. Then he reluctantly closed the door and followed them.

Arriving at the lounge room, Wufei was greeted with the sight of Heero sitting frozen in front of his laptop staring at Duo and Trowa who looked equally frozen. //Looked like none of them had prepared themselves mentally for this confrontation. Or perhaps they had prepared but the reality was too different from mental imaginings.// Wufei mused.

Duo cleared his throat.

And then cleared it again and made an attempt to speak. "H..Heero."

Heero remained quiet.

Duo coughed again, and then took a deep breath and started talking. Although he did stutter somewhat, he managed to say what he wanted. "I n..never wanted you to find out like that."

Heero just stared and Duo squirmed under his intense gaze before bravely continuing in a small voice. "I just didn't know how to tell you."

Heero still remained silent.

"Honestly." Duo said. "You were always gone, and Trowa always visited me to keep me company and then..." His voice trailed off, but he persevered. "I just couldn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you." This time Duo's voice broke and his anguish was apparent to everyone. It was also obvious that Duo really meant what he said, and judging from the shine in Trowa's eyes, he felt the same way. Wufei noted this information mentally, knowing that Heero wouldn't miss it either.

Heero looked at Trowa and Duo's joined hands. They were holding each other so tightly their hands were turning white from the pressure. Seeing him look, they quickly pulled apart.

Heero raised an eyebrow and eventually spoke. "It would have been better if you'd told me."

"I know that now." Duo said brokenly. There was more silence.

"I know you probably don't trust us anymore." Duo mumbled. "Give us a chance to rebuild our friendship. That's all I'm asking." He stared at Heero earnestly, his violet eyes shone with unshed tears and his lips trembled.

Heero remained silent for a while longer. Wufei wondered what his answer would be.

Eventually Heero nodded.

"Thank you." Duo whispered fervently, and it was echoed by the quieter Trowa. Everyone could see that the two were deeply moved.

Quatre clapped his hand dispelling the emotional atmosphere. "Why don't we have some tea?"

Wufei shook his head in despair.

XXX

Later that night Wufei and Heero lay together in bed after an intense session of lovemaking. Eventually Wufei gave up trying to sleep; the stiffness of the body lying next to him made it impossible anyway. Rolling over he leaned up on his elbows and said to Heero.

"Well?"

Heero stared blankly up at him.

Wufei sighed. "You're not sleeping, so talk!"

Heero gave a shrug. "They should have told me."

"That's right." Wufei said. "That's what Winner and I told them, but they were truly afraid of hurting you. Those two are too softhearted."

Heero turned his head away slightly and said stubbornly. "They still should have told me."

Wufei sighed. "Although I don't think they went about the right way of doing things, they only had the best of intentions in mind. It's important you remember that they didn't want to hurt you, because that's the truth."

"I know." Heero muttered.

Wufei gave a relieved sigh, and then did a double take when Heero started smirking.

"What's so funny?" He questioned cautiously. Heero smirking was never a good sign.

"Nothing. Just wondering when you became so understanding." Heero answered clearly amused.

"I'm always understanding, it's in my genes." Wufei replied tartly before he was tugged into a warm embrace.

He settled into the hug, "Do you think you'll ever get that close friendship you had with Duo and Trowa back?"

Heero shrugged. "Time can heal all wounds."

Wufei smiled and closed his eyes with a little sigh. Inside he felt happy; he knew that none of the pilots could ever truly be happy if the friendship that tied them all together was broken. At least Heero was saying there was a chance.

XXX

And so, things had been somewhat cleared up.

Unburdened now, Wufei and Heero continued exploring their new relationship. Soon days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, and before anyone knew it, two months had passed and it was the Christmas season.

And it was exactly one week before Christmas that Quatre rang suggesting a get-together.

Wufei pulled the phone from his ear to stare at it, and then realising what he was doing, put it back to his ear again. "A get-together?" He inquired surprised.

"That's right." Quatre said. "To give Duo, Heero and Trowa an opportunity to be together. I mean, since their last meeting, they haven't really said anything more than 'hi' and 'bye' to each other at work. This will give them a chance to rebuild their friendship."

Wufei stared at the wall thoughtfully. It was true, Duo and Trowa still scuttled around Heero like he was a live bomb. And Heero and his expressionless face weren't doing anything to help matters either. If Heero would just smile at the other two, they probably wouldn't be so afraid of approaching him!

On the contrary, Wufei thought amused, Heero's relationship with his workmates seem to have improved. The only drawback was that they weren't as scared of him as they used to be. Heero complained bitterly about this, but Wufei thought it was cute the way they managed to draw him into their group while innocently not noticing his scowls. Wufei thought that for all his harsh words, Heero enjoyed the conversations (monotonous answers on Heero's part) as much as the other officers. Wufei was unable to stop the tiny smile from making it to his face.

"Wufei. Wufei are you still there? Will you come?"

Wufei jerked startled. "Okay." Wufei said quickly. "We'll be there." Hopefully this would be the perfect opening to properly rebuild that lost friendship and trust.

After hanging up the phone Wufei looked around. Now what on earth could he get Heero for Christmas? He'd originally wanted to get house keys or something of the sort to show Heero that they'd be together forever, but then Heero already had the keys to his apartment and the apartment was convenient for them both. Perfect size, perfect location, good neighbors, although one of them was a bit too nosy for her own good. Wufei recognised her from work. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the house keys idea was ruled out because they weren't going to be getting a new house.

Wufei had tossed around the idea of buying Heero a ring, like a wedding ring, but he had a feeling Heero would knock him out if he tried to put it on Heero's finger. Even with emotions, Heero was still as stubborn as a block of granite and Wufei didn't think his love for the other man would have changed Heero's viewpoint so dramatically. No, a ring was out of the question too.

He locked the door to his apartment and made his way to the mall. It was nearly Christmas, surely he'd find something at the stores! Arriving there, and seeing the masses of people milling around, Wufei couldn't help giving a little groan. This was going to be a nightmare!

Three hours later Wufei's feet were killing him. //How did women do it?// He was also a little bruised from being bumped into. After the first three times that had happened, he'd put on his 'touch me and die' face (learned from Heero of course) and since then he hadn't had a problem moving in the crowds and hadn't had to worry about being bumped into. Sometimes Heero really was useful Wufei mused.

Still, Wufei still hadn't found the perfect gift for Heero. How was that even possible? There were so many stores! But Wufei wanted something memorable. He supposed that was the problem, there just weren't any memorable gifts around. Wufei wanted a good gift to celebrate Heero and his first Christmas together. A gift which would also convey the message that they would spend the rest of their Christmases together. Computer parts just weren't going to do the trick, although Wufei knew that Heero wouldn't mind that type of gift either.

Sighing Wufei turned yet another corner, and then he saw it. The perfect gift.

XXX

Christmas Eve found the five pilots and Zechs seated together in one of the spacious rooms in Quatre's mansion. The only people really talking were Duo, Zechs and Quatre and they were talking to each other. Every so often, Duo would glance at Heero, but he didn't address him directly. The same could be said for Trowa when he did speak. He would address Wufei, Zechs, Quatre or Duo, but would avoid saying anything directly to Heero, instead he'd glance at him every so often, parting his lips, but no sound would come out, and then he'd go back to addressing Quatre, Zechs, Wufei or Duo.

Eventually the atmosphere began to get a little strained and Wufei tried desperately to think of something to say that would enable the other three to talk to each other.

He unfortunately couldn't think of anything to say and felt relieved when Quatre cheerfully said. "Let's play twister."

Okay, that came out of the blue. Wufei was relieved but he wasn't happy. He certainly didn't want to embarrass himself playing Twister. His dignity was important!

But it wasn't like he could say no, it was either play Twister or spend the next few hours sitting in uncomfortable, stilted conversation. He glanced at his partner. Heero still wasn't smiling. Oh well, maybe Twister would loosen him up a little.

Oh who was Wufei kidding? Heero never smiled! Well, except in bed, when they were... Wufei quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things.

So everyone eager to get away from the conversation (if it could be called that), agreed to play Twister in hearty voices. Well, except Heero, he merely grunted.

Wufei and Quatre set up the mat and then stood back and stared at it.

"Let's start then." Zechs said, obviously wanting to support his lover who was looking as though he was wondering if he'd made the right decision.

Quatre gave him a small smile of gratitude. "You can go first." He said.

Zechs smirked. "Sure."

And so they played Twister. Only five minutes into the game and they were all in some pretty horrible contortions. Wufei regretted ever agreeing to such a game. His face was too close to Heero's groin for comfort and he was afraid any minute now he'd just lose control and to hell with the consequences and bury his face into his lover's groin.

Lucky, Heero's move was right foot blue which moved him away from Wufei and therefore he was unknowingly saved. Although the question of whether Heero would have considered it a save is probably debatable.

Quatre was unfortunately the first person to go. He was not nearly as flexible as the rest of them, and laughing he fell onto his ass. Carefully he extracted himself and took over spinning the arrow for the rest of them.

After that it was Zechs who fell. Wufei had the sneaking suspicion that he'd done that deliberately so he could join his lover.

Next to go was Heero. He was strong but he certainly wasn't flexible. Actually, Wufei would never admit it, but he was glad Heero was the next one out. He didn't think his hormones would be able to stand another minute of the torture.

//Twister is supposed to be a family game,// He mused//Were the inventors sick or what?//

Now with only Wufei, Trowa and Duo left, Wufei was able to get his hormones under control and concentrate. He had no intention of losing. Chang Wufei never lost in anything he did, even if it was something as trivial as Twister.

The next unlucky person to go was Duo. He was flexible but unfortunately not as flexible as Trowa and Wufei. Trowa was flexible because he worked in the circus and Wufei was flexible because of his martial arts.

Wufei stared at Trowa. "I'm going to win." He muttered.

Trowa smirked and shook his head. "I am."

"We'll see." Wufei grinned and easily flipped himself to put his left foot on the green circle.

The other pilots watched as Trowa and Wufei twisted and turned and struggled to get themselves into the most painful contortions. Neither pilots looked like they were interested in losing. It wasn't long before they were getting into some very compromising positions.

Duo started wolf-whistling.

Heero watched the two pilots as they played and frowned. Those positions looked like something from their bedroom scene. He'd already lost Duo to Trowa, he wondered if he was going to lose Wufei to Trowa too.

He stared hard at Wufei's crotch trying to see if he was getting aroused. Unfortunately because of the black pants Wufei was wearing, Heero couldn't see much at all. He glared some more.

Eventually, balanced delicately under Wufei's body, and trying to get his left hand into a new position, Trowa fell.

Wufei smirked and looking up he saw Duo handed a fifty over to Quatre. Seemed like they'd been betting. Duo was more the fool for not betting on Wufei. Humph!

Heero didn't even notice. He was deep in thought. He stared hard at Wufei as he walked towards him, needing to know if he'd been turned on by Trowa and wishing that Wufei was wearing his normal white pants instead of the black ones he was currently wearing.

He looked around, Quatre was putting his money away and Zechs was teasing him about being a gambler. Across from them Duo was comforting Trowa. No one was looking in his direction. Okay, he was safe. Quickly Heero put out a hand and cupped Wufei. He felt Wufei's limp member spring to life.

In shock Wufei spat up the drink he'd just taken a large gulp of and everyone turned to stare at them. By this time Heero's hand was safely back in his lap and Wufei hurriedly trying to mop up the mess he made with a handful of napkins. There was also juice on his shoe.

"Sorry." Wufei said apologetically. "Spilled my drink. I'll go clean up in the bathroom. Where is it Winner? Actually –" He said before Quatre could reply. "Yuy knows where it is, he can direct me." And then he grabbed Heero and pulled him from the room.

Confused, Duo stared at Quatre. "Why would Wufei need Heero to direct him to the bathroom?"

Quatre gave a small smile. "He probably wants some alone time."

Now both Duo and Trowa stared confused. "They're together." Zechs explained to them gently.

Hurt flash for the briefest moment over Duo's face but then it was gone.

"Duo." Quatre said gently reaching forward to pat his knee. "You've found someone you want to be with, Heero deserves the same."

"I know." Duo said quietly, "And I am happy for them, it's just that I've lost my best friend."

Quatre gave him a small smile. "You've progressed a lot today. Soon you'll have him back. Not as your best friend, I think Wufei is that now, but you'll have him back as a good friend."

"It's more than I deserve." Duo said looking at Quatre.

"No Duo." Quatre said firmly. "You do deserve it. You'll get your friendship back."

Duo gave Quatre a watery grin. "You're the best Q."

"Easy now." Zechs murmured lazily leaning over and draping his arm around Quatre. "He's mine."

Duo laughed and Trowa smiled.

XXX

Wufei dragged Heero into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

"What the hell was that about Yuy?" He demanded.

Heero looked away. "Hn." He grunted evidently not intending to offer an explanation.

Wufei stared at him. Shit. He had a feeling he knew what the thing downstairs was about.

"Dammit." He sighed. "I'm yours." And then he leaned forward slowly and gave his partner a long, lingering kiss. Pulling back he smiled and staring into Heero's eyes said again, "I'm yours," before planting gentle kisses all over Heero's face.

XXX

When Heero and Wufei returned some time later, Duo raised an eyebrow at the clock. Wufei shifted. "Heero couldn't remember where the bathroom was and didn't bother to inform me." He told them. No one pointed out his obvious lie – Heero had perfect memory.

Duo snickered. "Sure Woof Woof."

Wufei glared at him. "Maxwell, how many times have I told you? It's Wufei!"

Duo grinned and Wufei shook his head in despair.

The six friends continued with the rest of the celebration. It did appear that the Twister game had lightened the atmosphere. The conversation certainly flowered much more smoothly than before and they started having fun. Although perhaps that was just because of the alcohol.

Wufei noted that Duo and Trowa kept sneaking little peeks at him and Heero. He figured that either Quatre or Zechs had told the other two about Heero and Wufei's relationship.

It was when Duo was sneaking yet another glance, that Heero looked up and caught his eyes. Duo cleared his throat obviously embarrassed about being caught but wanting to say something. "I'm happy you've found someone Heero." And from his husky tone of voice, they could tell he meant it. Heero offered him a small smile, and Wufei felt that their friendship was on the road to recovery.

They spent the evening catching up on everything they'd missed in each other's lives and talking about the past. Duo and Trowa were even happily chatting to Heero. Although it was more like Duo was chatting and Trowa and Heero listened. Wufei, Quatre and Zechs prudently spent the evening talking to each other to give the others a chance to rebuild their friendship. So deep in their conversations, it wasn't until half past eleven that the pilots went to bed that night.

Lying in bed that Christmas Eve, Wufei waited until he heard the old Grandfather clock chime twelve, before he rolled over and gave Heero a sweet kiss.

"Merry Christmas Heero." He murmured when they finally broke apart. After Heero's display after the game of Twister, Wufei was sure the present he'd gotten Heero would be perfect for him. Before, he'd had some doubts when getting it, but now he was one hundred percent sure it was what Heero needed.

"Mmmm…" Heero mumbled back distractedly, trying to seek out his mouth again.

"Don't you want your present?" Wufei asked pulling back slightly.

Heero pulled back and looked at him. "Yes?"

Wufei smirked and lay where he was. "Why don't you unwrap it then?" He murmured saucily.

That was all the cue Heero needed. Immediately his hands moved to the buttons of Wufei's pajamas and started unbuttoning them.

It was when he was pushing the shirt off Wufei's body that he paused.

There, a little above Wufei's right hipbone, was a little tattoo of Heero's Gundam 'Wing'. He stared at it, reading the words inscribed inside the miniature picture. 'Eternally Heero Yuy's.'

He continued to stare unblinking, unable to believe that Wufei would allow himself to be branded like that, and all for Heero too.

"This is forever?" Wufei said, staring at him intently from where he was lying beneath Heero.

"Yes." Heero whispered hoarsely. "Yes it is." And then he was leaning down to kiss Wufei's tattoo. He knew now, without a doubt, that this was his forever.

The End.