Duo's Christmas Gift

1/2

Disclaimer: I am broke, I have no job, and I own no one. Please don't sue.

It's Christmas Eve and I'm here all by myself. Heero swore he'd be back before Christmas Day, but I have a really bad feeling. In my heart I know something is wrong. He's been weird for days now and he refuses to tell me why. He smiles like he has a secret, yes the Perfect Soldier is smiling. I think he's in love with someone other than me. What will I do when he doesn't come back? What will I do if I see him with someone else? I know he loves me, but does he love someone more?

Wufei took a deep breath as he grabbed the phone from the nurse. He dialed a familiar number and it rang three times before someone answered it. "Duo, its Wufei. I don't really know how to tell you this except straight forward. You need to come to Mercy General Hospital as soon as possible. Heero was shot and he's in the operating room right now. They're trying to remove the bullet, but they won't tell me anything. They said I'm not his next of kin, but you are."

Thirty minutes later a frantic Duo went running down the hall of the hospital screaming, "Wufei!! Wufei!!" His eyes were red from tears and his face was pale. His trademark braid was messy and loose and the ever present grin non-existent. He hadn't even taken the time to change out of the black sweatpants and white tank top he had been wearing when he received the call, "Wufei!!"

"Duo, I'm here." Duo ran to him and Wufei hugged him. "Shh…It's okay to cry, Duo, but you have to keep in mind that he's a persistent jackass that would walk through Heaven and Hell for you. He's not going to go anywhere." Duo felt his world shift as Wufei held him.

Neither noticed the observer until he spoke, "Mr. Maxwell?" Duo lifted his head. "Mr. Maxwell, I'm Dr. Vaughn. We just finished operating on Mr. Yuy and there are some things we need to discuss. Please follow me." Dr. Vaughn led Duo and Wufei to a side room. He closed the door and Duo struggled to breathe, an anxiety attack was looming in the future. If he lost Heero there would be no future. He would follow him into the beyond whether it was Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. "Mr. Maxwell, Mr. Yuy has a lot of damage to his body. He was shot three times; one was a flesh wound to his left thigh. This is our least concerning injury. One tore through his right side, thankfully missing any organs. However, it is a bit more serious, it is still not our biggest worry. The last one; however, was a direct shot to the heart. Something which may be a miracle is the simple fact that it was unable to pierce the heart because of this..."

The doctor held a small item up to Duo. Duo took it and almost cried at the sight of the dry flecks of blood. The blood of his only love that he prayed daily to never lose. "What is it?" It was a small silver looking circle that had been crushed together.

The doctor took a deep breath, "Mr. Maxwell, I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but are you and Mr. Yuy involved?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Mr. Maxwell, the reason I ask is because there's an inscription in it which states something along the lines of "Ai Shiteru, Shinigami" and we think it might have been a wedding band. I wasn't always just a doctor, I was once a soldier too and I remember a soldier on the battlefields who called himself Shinigami. I also remember that same Gundam Pilot saving my family's life by sparing the barracks that night."

Duo looked at the doctor to see a genuine sadness before examining the item more cautiously and sure enough the inscription was there on the inside of what was once a ring. "Wufei, I think it's Gundanium." Duo began crying all over again. "I think this was meant for me." Wufei squeezed his shoulder. "Doctor, you said the bullet didn't pierce his heart, does that mean he's going to be okay?"

The doctor smiled, "I have always been hoping to repay you for saving my family, now I have been given the honor to return the favor, Mr. Maxwell. Now back to Mr. Yuy, the ring and a rib stopped the bullet from entering the heart. It broke the rib and tore some muscles, but nothing truly serious or life threatening. Mr. Yuy had to get a lot of stitches and he's lost a lot of blood. However, I'm confidant that he will be just fine in a few weeks. He's still recovering from surgery to remove the bullet and repair the wounds, but you can go in and see him if you would like." Duo nodded enthusiastically. "Right this way then."

Heero's body hurt, but he felt really fuzzy. He felt slightly happy too. He heard the door open, but was having a problem opening his eyes or making any sounds. He heard quiet sobs as a figure walked closer. "Heero…You just had to go get shot, hn? You were suppose to be with me tonight at home. It's Christmas Eve, Koi, and we're suppose to be laughing about stupid things. We're suppose to be planning and opening presents. We're suppose to making love by the fireplace. However, we are NOT suppose to be in a hospital room. You are NOT suppose to have bullet wounds. Most importantly you are NOT suppose to be worrying me."

Heero felt a small soft hand grab his and squeeze it. "Koi, I love you so much, but when Wufei called I thought that was it. I thought I was going to lose you forever. I couldn't help but think there would be no more smiles, no more laughter, and certainly no more love. It's been ten years since the Eve Wars and we've been together for five of those years. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives, but I don't want that to be a short time. I want it to last the ages and I want us to have kids to share it with. Heck, I wouldn't even mind a dog too. The more noise the better, ya know me."

Duo brought Heero's hand up and kissed it. "I have been so scared you would walk out on me Heero, but I've been even more afraid that you would die on me. I never told you that, but I always thought you understood. I thought you understood how much I loved you even though I couldn't say it. I'm so sorry for the time we've wasted dancing around each other. It's all my fault. I am going to try and tell you all of this when you're awake, but for now it's good enough. Please be okay Heero, I love you."

Heero smiled, "love you too."

"Heero!" His eyes fluttered open slowly. "Heero, oh Baby, you're awake. I love you so much. I'm so sorry, I should have told you."

Heero reached up a hand to smooth Duo's frazzled hair. "Koi, I'm sorry that you...that you thought I didn't know... I've always known how to read you... That's why we're so good together." Heero hummed a bridal theme for a second and Duo's eyes went wide.

"By the way, Koi, before I forget…The doctor said this stopped the bullet from hitting your heart."

Heero smiled a dazed drug induced smile, "yep, I had that made for you. When I self destructed Wing last time I took a part. I also took a part from Deathscythe. I had rings made out of them and I decided that one day I was going to be brave enough to ask you to marry me...I was going to do it tonight, but I guess someone had other plans."

Duo glanced wide eyed at the once was ring, "this was from Wing?"

Heero gave him a crazy look, "no, silly," he gave Duo a crazy look that said he should have known better. "The outside is part of Wing. The inside is Deathscythe. The other ring is just the opposite. I even had them both inscribed with small crosses on the top and I had yours engraved on the inside to always remind you how much I love you. The jeweler told me when I got the gall to ask you to bring the other one back, so he could write on it too."

"Oh…So you've had this for eight years now? It took you eight years to ask me? We've only been together for five."

"You're suppose to say yes." Duo turned to see Wufei standing in the doorway smirking for all he was worth.

"Yeah, you're suppose to say yes, baka. See, Wuffels, knows how it works, after all, he was married before. To an onna no less. Besides, I've had it for eight years because I knew you'd eventually cave to my charms and start dating me."

"Heero, did you just call him Wuffels?" Heero smiled. "What did they give you and can we get some more of it?"

"So you gonna' say yes or do I need to ask somebody else?" He received his answer by Duo nodding and kissing him senseless. A few minutes later Heero decided they were going to set some ground rules. "Koi, just so you know I will not be wearing a dress to the wedding. Also, we're going to adopt a kid or two maybe even five. One more thing, there will be great sex for the next 80 years or more. Got all that?"

"Whatever you want is fine with me as long as it's with you." Duo kissed him once more before adding, "besides you getting shot and scaring the hell out of me, I think this was a pretty good Christmas. Heck, this might just be the best Christmas gift ever. I love you, Heero, for ever and ever."

Heero smiled, "me too."