Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Wing anime series and I am not receiving money for this story.
Author Note: The pilots are a little OOC but only for silly and fluffy purposes. And I apologize beforehand for the oddly professional introduction but it was just the easiest way to give all the background info you needed. This story isn't perfect because it's really just a side-project of mine so I also apologize for anything that doesn't fit very well. Also, this story was greatly inspired by the song "The Walk" by Imogen Heap. If you haven't heard it, you should definitely listen to it! It actually got me thinking on a lot of the plot for this story.
Onward!
Misplacing the Blame
It was later in the evening as the five former Gundam pilots were sitting down to dinner in the dining room of another of Quatre's hidden mansions. It had been many years since the war but the pilots could never quite shake their need for privacy so they continued to frequent their old secret hideouts such as this one. The house was brightly lit for their meal as the sound of forks and knives clattering filled the room. Clad in their usual attire, everyone happily ate and enjoyed their meal. Pausing in his eating, Quatre smiled across the table at Heero who surprisingly blushed and smiled back. Duo rolled his eyes at his two friends and their newfound budding relationship. They made it no secret that they fancied each other as they were constantly flirting during dinner and other public occasions. They weren't officially in a relationship, they hadn't even kissed yet, but they still flirted to no end. Of course, Duo knew of their affections for each other for quite a while before now but was sworn to secrecy; however, now the two had not a care in the world for who knew. Trowa and Wufei really didn't care about the two becoming a couple and, if anything, they supported them with all they could. Most of all, all five pilots were happy to just be living normal lives again and it was evident that each of them had changed for the better since the war. Taking another sip of his water, Quatre cleared his throat and attempted to stir up conversation.
"So how was everyone's day?" While the pilots had most weekends off to enjoy some free time, during the week they all had full time jobs. Heero, Trowa and Wufei all worked as Preventers for Lady Une and many times had missions together. Duo, who sometimes dabbled in the affairs of the Preventers as well, held a job as an overseer of many construction projects including one of his own design; a new church that could provide housing for orphans or poor families until they could get back on their feet. As for Quatre, he of course was the head of Winner Enterprises and doing quite well for himself. Breaking the silence, Duo spoke with a mouth full of food.
"Well, my day went really well. I went to the site of my new building and everything was going as planned and even ahead of the schedule." Everyone had stopped eating at seeing the array of food bits flying from Duo's mouth and stared on disgusted. Wufei looked to him with a sickened look on his face.
"Maxwell…good gravy, please chew your food." Duo's eyes lit up at this.
"There's gravy? Where?" Quatre couldn't help but chuckle as Wufei sighed heavily at Duo's confusion. Heero smiled as well as he looked over at his crush who in the midst of his chuckling glanced back coyly at Heero.
"And how about your day Heero?" Quatre smirked at him as the brunette squirmed under the pressure.
"It was fine. I mostly did paperwork, end of the week type-stuff." Heero was content to think that tomorrow was Saturday and he could spend the whole day doing whatever he wanted. Interrupting his thoughts, Trowa spoke next.
"Well, especially considering we wrapped up that last case earlier than expected, we all had quite a bit of free time." Wufei nodded to this as well and silence fell upon the group once again. Taking one last bite of his food, Heero put his fork down and quirked a smile. Quatre, who had been staring at him of course, raised an eyebrow.
"Does anyone have plans after dinner?" Everyone looked up and over to Heero shaking their heads to which Heero smiled more. "Well, I know it's really cheesy but I rented us a movie. I thought we could all sit down and watch it if we didn't have anything else to do. It is Friday after all." Trowa nodded enthusiastically along with Quatre and Wufei; Duo on the other hand, spoke his mind.
"Aw, Heero you do care! Are you going soft on us?" Heero rolled his eyes at his long-haired friend but couldn't help the blush that rushed to his cheeks. Grinning from ear to ear, Quatre looked back to Heero.
"So what movie is it?" Heero smirked at Quatre's question and left the table shortly to retrieve the DVD.
"Well, it's a movie that hardly shows that I've gone soft." Heero spoke loudly from his position away from the table before he returned holding the movie "300" in hand. Duo's eyes went wide at seeing the selection.
"I have wanted to see this movie for so long." Duo continued to stare blankly at what Heero was holding and the cobalt-eyed teen was beginning to worry for his person and the possibility of being jumped by the now drooling braided teen. Ignoring Duo completely, Wufei spoke next.
"I have too actually. It's supposed to be fantastic in all aspects." Wufei stood to join Heero and glanced over the packaging of the DVD case. Trowa blinked and couldn't help but stare as Duo's eyes glazed over and he still wasn't moving. As Trowa was about to wave his hand in front of Duo's face, he was interrupted by Quatre's voice.
"Hey Tro? If you'll help me clear the dishes, we can start the movie sooner." Smiling, Trowa nodded to his blonde friend and helped him stack the dirty dishes but still kept an eye on Duo as well. Heero and Wufei, after saying that they would go ready the movie, were already sitting on the couch in the other room chatting and waiting for the DVD to load. Quatre turned to begin walking towards the kitchen with some of the dishes but Trowa put his hand up to stop him. The blonde teen looked to his comrade but Trowa only smiled mischievously back at him.
"Just wait a second."
As he had expected, moments later, Duo was returning to a normal state and, coming to find that Heero and Wufei had moved away from him, the braided boy gained a crazed look in his eyes. Without hesitation, Duo leapt from his chair in the dining room to the couch in the sitting room and jumped over it colliding with the unsuspecting Heero and Wufei on his way over.
"MAXWELL!"
Laughing loudly, Quatre was glad he had stayed and glanced over to Trowa who was laughing just as hard right along with him. The two boys watched as the chase ensued between Duo and Wufei and only laughed more before walking the dishes into the kitchen. Rubbing his head gently, Heero reclaimed his spot on the couch and looked up to see that the main menu was up on the screen.
"Hey guys...the movie's ready!" Within a second's time, Heero was suddenly surrounded by his four friends, with Wufei to his right on the couch, Trowa in the armchair next to Wufei, Duo in the opposite armchair to his left and Quatre of course sitting to his close left next to him on the couch. Before all chaos could break loose, Heero pushed the button on the remote and the five former pilots prepared for their cinematic adventure. 1
As the credits rolled by, the five pilots were unable to wipe the smiles from their faces just staring at the TV screen.
"That….was….amazing." Duo let out a deep sigh and leaned back into his seat unaware that he had been sitting on the edge throughout the entire movie. Next to Heero, Wufei too agreed with Duo's comment.
"That was an intense movie. Nice pick Heero." Wufei nudged Heero's elbow with his and the brunette smiled to him, noticing Trowa also smiling. Feeling cocky, Heero put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the couch.
"Well, you know, I try." Quatre chuckled at his actions before flinching as Heero was hit with a pillow slyly thrown from Duo in his chair. Duo made a silly face as Heero removed the pillow from his face where it had landed and glared at his braided friend.
"Why I oughta…"
"Go ahead and try your best!" Duo stood from his chair and got into a fighting position, ready for an attack. Quatre rolled his eyes along with everyone else.
"Duo, you know Heero could kick your butt." Duo shook his head.
"Not in a million years! And especially not now. After that movie, I feel invincible!" Duo maintained his focus on Heero, expecting the boy to take action, but he was caught off guard when Quatre jumped towards him instead. Falling to the ground, the two former pilots wrestled for a few minutes with the other three watching and shaking their heads. Eventually, the wrestling match ended with Quatre pinning a very shocked Duo to the floor as he looked up to his blonde captor.
"Holy crap Quatre…" The blonde grinned triumphantly as he held his position above Duo; still holding Duo's wrists to the floor, Quatre had his knees straddled across Duo's midsection while pinning Duo's legs down as well with his own. Needless to say, the two teens were in quite a compromising position and it was not unnoticed. Heero raised an eyebrow at seeing his crush on top of one of his good friends and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Duo laughed sheepishly as Quatre slowly pulled away.
"Well, you beat me…and pretty easily in fact…I'd better train tomorrow. Mind if I join you Wufei?" The Chinese boy laughed.
"After that performance, you might just be a lost cause." Duo glared at Wufei as the others laughed but eventually Duo had joined in as well.
Shortly after the wrestling match between Quatre and Duo, the five pilots had separated and retreated to their own individual rooms for the evening. Heero now sat in his bed, a book in hand, as his eyes quickly read over the pages. Hearing a light knock on his door, without looking from his book, Heero told the person to 'come in' and waited. Slowly, the door opened to reveal a pajama-clad Quatre. Heero glanced over to him and smiled at his silky pink pajamas; he figured that Quatre was probably the only one of the five that could pull that look and still not look completely childish.
"Hey, you're here. I'm glad." Heero smiled as Quatre approached. He put down his book as Quatre spoke and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Of course I'm here. I came to tell you good night." Quatre paused, "Where else would I be?" Heero's eyes grew wider as he wasn't expecting this question. Quatre cocked his head to the side as he waited for an answer.
"Oh…um…nowhere I didn't mean anything…" Quatre seemed unconvinced by Heero's obviously uncomfortable response.
"Come on Heero. I'm not buying your sketchy answer. What were you thinking?" Heero only stared back at Quatre determined not to budge.
"It was only going to be a joke. It's really not important Quatre."
"All the better reason to tell me then. I won't get mad Heero, I promise." Quatre smiled at his crush and raised an eyebrow with his next statement. "And besides, you know I'll get it out of you somehow anyway so you might as well tell me." Quatre watched as Heero gulped silently before he finally gave in.
"Well, I mean you were getting kind of chummy with Duo after dinner I thought you might be in his room instead of mine." Heero was joking of course but after taking another glance back at Quatre, his blonde companion did not look too happy.
"Excuse me?" Heero's eyes widened at the tone of Quatre's voice and he stumbled over his words trying to get out of this now bad situation.
"Quatre…I…I only meant…it was just…" With a huffy sigh, Quatre crossed his arms over his chest.
"I can't believe that you would say or even think something like that Heero. Duo's my friend…the only person I have feelings for is you…I thought that much was pretty obvious but I guess not." With that, Quatre stood from his spot on Heero's bed and turned, walking away and out the bedroom door. After staring sadly after his blonde crush and sighing to himself in defeat, Heero leaned his head forward letting it rest on his hand.
"What did I do…I'm in for it now."
The night had passed quickly as Duo yawned and stretched in his bed. Glancing over at his clock, he saw that he had slept in until 10, which was late compared to the times he had to wake up during the week. With a smile, Duo threw off his covers and was ready to take the day by storm, which of course meant thinking of something new to hide in Wufei's bed. Strolling down the hallway, Duo couldn't help but notice the lack of noise throughout the mansion. As he rounded the corner, Duo then noticed the door to Quatre's room was cracked and decided he'd close it for him; however, as he went to pull the door closed, Duo heard movement coming from inside the room. Tilting his head slightly and letting his curiosity get the better of him, Duo slowly pushed the door open and crept into the room. Once inside, Duo's jaw dropped at the sight before him.
The bed sheets were disheveled, the comforter hanging half off the bed, pillows were everywhere; Duo felt that he should look away but he just couldn't break his eyes from the sight. Pulling the sheets to cover his body more, Quatre glanced up for a moment and half-smiled at Duo before curling back up into the bundle he had previously been in. Duo still stood at the foot of his bed shocked.
"Quatre Raberba Winner! What are YOU still doing in bed? You're normally up way earlier than I ever am. Are you okay??? You have to be sick…something!" Quatre chuckled half-heartedly at his friend's very true comments but did not move as he responded.
"Yes Duo, I'm okay." Quatre spoke with such a forlorn tone that it caused Duo to approach his bed and kneel beside him.
"Quatre…what's happened?" Quatre looked away from Duo's gaze sadly.
"Heero and I had a fight…kind of…I don't really know but it wasn't good." His shoulders slumped; Duo frowned at his friend before standing again and motioning for the blonde to scoot over. Pushing the blankets aside, Quatre moved away from the edge of the bed enough for Duo to climb in with him. Once he was sitting on Quatre's bed comfortably, Duo pulled the covers back up around them both and wrapped a comforting arm around Quatre who had instinctively curled up next to him.
"Alright, now what happened and don't leave out any details." Quatre went on to explain what Heero had said the previous night and how he had reacted. Duo held his tongue as Quatre continued to explain.
"I don't know what came over me; I mean part of me really doesn't think that Heero would mean what he said but another part of me was just appalled that he would even say it in the first place. I mean, I've opened every door for him to make a move…I don't know Duo." Duo gave Quatre's shoulder a light squeeze to try and relax him before he put in his two cents.
"Well, first of all, I must admit that it is kind of shocking for Heero or even myself to picture the two of us as a couple…I mean, how weird would that be?" Duo chuckled as Quatre nodded in agreement but the braided pilot got serious again quickly. "But Quat, you do have to agree, you and I can get pretty snuggly at times."
Quatre scoffed at this comment, "But Heero knows that you and I are just friends. I mean it's been obvious for weeks now that I like Heero and that he likes me back. I mean, why would he even think those things?" Quatre looked up to his friend sadly but Duo only shook his head and smiled.
"Quatre…I'm almost completely positive that Heero was just kidding around and he probably only thought any of these things because he was just jealous that you and I are so close and that's only an even better sign of his definite feelings for you. I mean, he knows that you're just a touchy-feely person and so am I. But again, I must stress that he kind of has a good point. Just look at us right now." Quatre blinked up at Duo confused for a moment before he looked down at himself. It was just in that instant that he realized that he and Duo were basically cuddling in his bed and it clicked that maybe Heero did have a right to be a bit jealous. Duo smiled to Quatre as he thought and gave his shoulder another squeeze.
"And another point besides, you shouldn't give up yet because you two haven't even had your first kiss! The first kiss always tells all." Quatre smiled at Duo as he pulled away from him slightly. Taking a deep breath, Quatre spoke.
"I guess I had gotten so used to Heero being so emotionless all the time that I forgot that he could joke around too…and you're right. He does have a point about you and I being so close. Maybe I'll go and talk to him." Duo grinned at his friend and returned the embrace as Quatre leaned in to hug him. "Thank you Duo."
"No worries Quat. Now go get you a man!" Duo scooted off the side of Quatre's bed and followed the blonde as he made his way out of the room and down the hall to Heero's door. Taking another deep breath, Quatre lifted his hand to the door and lightly tapped on it…only to find the door creak open slightly. Turning back to Duo, who only shrugged in return, Quatre slowly opened the door and made his way into Heero's room. Following behind, Duo looked around the room and didn't notice that Quatre had stopped walking until he bumped into him. Duo moved next to his friend to apologize but at looking at his face, stopped short. Quatre stood staring blankly into the room with tears brimming his eyelids. Duo furrowed his brow and looked around the room again. Everything was spotless; the bed was made and perfectly flat, the dressers were cleared off, even Heero's laptop was nowhere in sight. Heero was gone.
Sighing heavily, Duo turned back to Quatre. "I'm sorry Quat…maybe you should try his cell?" Quatre looked to the floor for a moment with a sad look on his face but before any tears could fall, Quatre turned on his heel and marched out of the room. Shocked, Duo followed his friend into the hallway where he grabbed Quatre's shoulder and turned him around; Duo was even more shocked to find the glare he received in return.
"Quat? Are you…" Quatre interrupted Duo bluntly.
"I'm fine Duo. Don't bother. And I'm not going to try his cell…" Quatre paused to hide his pain but Duo could see it in his eyes even as Quatre glared more. "If Heero wants to leave, he's free to. It's not my business."
Furrowing his brow, Duo looked sadly at his friend and tried again to comfort him but Quatre only responded by walking towards the stairs.
"Are you hungry? I'm going to go and cook breakfast. I'll just cook everything…don't let me catch you snacking." Quatre stomped down the staircase leaving Duo staring wildly after him. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Duo talked to himself aloud.
"Heero…what did you do. You are so in for it."
After an extremely large breakfast at which he was forced to overeat by an overly stressed Quatre, Duo remembered that he had asked to train with Wufei today so, after changing into some workout clothes, he wobbled his way to the gym. Upon entering, he noticed that Trowa was also present and stretching to prepare.
"Hey, thought I'd join you two today." Duo nodded to Trowa before flopping down to the floor. Wufei raised an eyebrow and stopped stretching.
"What's wrong with you?" Duo sighed heavily and looked at his two companions frustrated.
"Well, I'm so full I think I could really explode because Quatre forced me to eat at least half of everything he made." At this point, all three were sitting on the floor and had abandoned stretching completely. Trowa furrowed his brow at Duo's comment.
"Why would Quatre make so much? I mean, he knows that Fei and I only occasionally eat breakfast so it's normally just you, him and Heero." Duo scoffed which only caused Wufei and Trowa to be more confused.
"Heero's the reason that Quatre cooked so much."
"Because he wanted to make sure that you wouldn't inhale everything before Heero came down?" Duo glared at Wufei but moved on.
"Well, that's kind of impossible considering that Heero's gone." Trowa and Wufei were both shocked to hear this.
"What? What do you mean he's gone?"
"I mean, he packed up all his stuff and left. I mean, that if you were to go up in his room right now, it would be completely cleared out." The other two noticed, as Duo's voice grew louder with his frustration level and tried to calm him down.
"Okay then…why would Heero leave? Do we know?" Sighing again, Duo kept his cool and explained.
"He and Quatre apparently got into a little fight last night but I mean, the way Quatre explained it, it shouldn't be a big enough deal to where Heero would leave."
"What was it about?"
"Heero said that he was surprised that Quatre was in his room instead of mine because of our little wrestling match last night. I mean, he said that he was just joking but Quatre took it a little too harshly and kind of yelled at him. But even still, I don't think that Heero would leave over that." Wufei nodded in agreement.
"I completely agree; not only was Heero right in the fact that you and Quatre are a little too close for your own good but you're also right in that Yuy wouldn't leave over something as small as that." Again ignoring Wufei's remarks about him, Duo spoke again.
"Well, we need to do something. I told Quatre to try Heero's cell phone but he just suddenly got angry and said that it wasn't his business if Heero left or stayed and started cooking. Which reminds me, don't eat anything, Quatre's still cooking…he's moved on to lunch." Trowa's eyes grew a little wider at this.
"What's he making?" Duo shuddered slightly and shook his head.
"Everything in the fridge? If it's anything like breakfast, I'm going to need a second stomach." Wufei, passing up the chance to ask Duo if he was sure he didn't already have two stomachs, refocused the conversation.
"You guys, let's focus, for Heero and Quatre's sake…I think I have an idea." Duo and Trowa nodded and looked to Wufei for the plan but were shocked to find that even Wufei got a scared look in his eye for a moment. "…Maybe if we work fast enough, we can bypass lunch."
Literally throwing the noodles into the boiling water, Quatre maintained a constant glare as he continued to cook everything possible. He had already emptied the cupboards and now it was time to cook everything in the fridge and freezer.
'I just have to keep busy,' Quatre thought to himself but regretted his thoughts as he opened the refrigerator door. The blonde chef stopped for a moment as tears began to well up in his eyes; Quatre couldn't stop the tears from flowing as his wall of ice fleetingly melted leaving him with the raw emotion he had been trying to avoid. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Quatre swiftly wiped the tears from his eyes and moved to grab the milk from the middle shelf but as he turned around to face his cooking mess, he was startled by a figure behind him. After flinching and almost dropping the milk, Quatre sighed in relief.
"Duo, by Allah, you scared me." Noticing the frantic look on Duo's face, Quatre furrowed his brow. "Did you need something? Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, the second one, come with me." Duo's voice sounded almost as frantic as he looked and, stopping for a moment to turn off the stove and the oven, Quatre immediately followed the now jogging Duo. Extremely worried and confused by all of this, Quatre followed Duo through the sitting room, down the hall and finally into the office. Upon entering, Quatre saw that Wufei and Trowa were also in the room and watched as Duo turned to him.
"The computer's broken."
Quatre raised an eyebrow at his friends and the very serious looks that dwelled on their faces. "Hold on." The three stared at Quatre until he went on. "You called me in here and away from my cooking to tell me that the computer is broken?" Still staring, the other three nodded to the blonde. Blinking several times in confusion, Quatre merely shook his head and began to walk out the door before Duo jumped forward and grabbed his wrist.
"Quatre! This is serious!" Quatre quickly turned on his heel seemingly appalled by what Duo had just said.
"No, Duo, it's just a computer. I mean, really, one of you all can fix it." Trowa spoke up next trying to sound extremely sincere…especially considering he had been the one to really break it in the first place; it was all part of the plan.
"But Quatre, we've all tried different methods and we can't fix it. We thought you might be able to help us out, please, it won't take too long to at least try." With all three former pilots staring at him again, Quatre sighed in defeat, reentered the room, and sat in the computer chair.
"Have you tried rebooting it in safe mode and running scans?" Wufei, leaning over Quatre's left shoulder, spoke next.
"Yep and it did nothing. There's no trace of any virus or anything else that could've corrupted the system."
"And you've looked at the circuit board to see if there were any technical failures?"
"Did that one too and still nothing." Trowa leaned in to speak this time, "The only thing we've seemed to find so far is a wall blocking anything to be used on the computer." Quatre furrowed his brow again.
"Have you tried to hack it?"
"I tried every trick in the book." Duo spoke last but stopped short as Quatre stood abruptly. "Hey, where are you going now? It's not fixed yet."
"Well, those were my only ideas. I mean, you're the best hacker of all of us Duo so if you couldn't do it than why should I even bother?" Quatre began walking away and reached the doorway as Trowa spoke again.
"Well, the only other person who would be able to do it is Heero." Quatre stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of Heero and sighed for the millionth time that day.
"Yeah, that's quite true. Heero is a better hacker than Duo is. Maybe you should call him Quatre." Shaking his head in disbelief, Quatre turned around again.
"I find it kind of hard to believe that we, four former Gundam pilots, can't fix a computer without Heero having to come to our rescue."
"Well, technically only the three of us have tried to fix it." Shooting a glare at Duo, Quatre ignored him and continued through gritted teeth.
"However, I don't find it hard to believe that you three would sabotage my computer just so that it would force me to call Heero back here to fix it. So I'll ask, is that what's really going on here?" Knowing that they were caught, the three gave in and went with plan B, bugging Quatre until he called Heero.
"Quatre, please just call Heero. This whole thing is ridiculous; Heero wouldn't leave over something this small just talk to him." Shaking his head, Quatre turned to Duo.
"Well thanks for telling everyone." Duo looked down in shame and Quatre continued. "Look, you guys, I appreciate your concern but if Heero wanted to leave than that was up to him. I mean, this is my home but if any of you wanted to leave anytime than that's your prerogative, not mine." Quatre once again turned away from them and walked towards the door.
"Winner, come on…" Wufei sighed as Quatre continued walking out of the office and into the hallway. Not wanting to give up yet, Duo looked up again and spoke.
"You know that you want to." Duo paused to listen for Quatre's footsteps but the others urged him on. "Despite the fact that you want to respect Heero's wishes, you know that you want him back. And you can cook all that you want Quatre but all of this is going to catch up to you eventually." The three pilots waited patiently for any response from their friend and just when they were about to give up, Quatre showed up in the doorway of the office.
"What do I even say to him?" Smiling somewhat, Duo walked over to Quatre and pulled him for a hug before they all began to plan the conversation.
Wufei, Trowa, Duo and Quatre stood silently in the doorway of the office watching as Heero used his hacking skills to break Trowa's computer code. After much more persuading Quatre had finally called Heero's cell phone, told him about the broken computer, and simply asked him if he could come back long enough to fix it. Heero had told him that it would take him a short while but he agreed to get there as soon as possible. Not much had been said since his arrival as they now stood in awkward silence just listening to Heero's fingers moving over the keys. Quatre stared off sullenly unable to even look at Heero's back without welcoming tears of sadness. Duo frowned for Quatre's sake but also couldn't help but smile inside at the thought that their plan had eventually worked out and hoped that Heero and Quatre could talk things out. As Heero's fingers slowed, Wufei looked up from the ground and stared over at the former pilot. Eventually, Heero stopped completely and turned in the chair to face his friends.
"Alright, computer's fixed." Heero shot a smile to them as he stood from the seat. Perking up a bit, Duo nudged Quatre.
"Um…thanks Heero." Heero stared sadly at the blonde as he spoke but did not look back at him. Duo looked to Trowa and Wufei who shortly nodded to him.
"Yeah, thanks buddy. That was something, huh?" Duo walked forward to give Heero's shoulder a pat before backing away again. "Well, me and these two have got some major training to do so we're going to get to that and uh, yeah." Duo quickly ushered the other two out before grinning wildly and waving to Heero.
Shifting awkwardly on their feet, Heero and Quatre stood across from each other both staring idly at the floor. Sighing heavily, Heero looked back up at Quatre but his blonde friend continued to look at the floor.
"Quatre…I…."
"I know." For the first time, Quatre bravely looked up to face Heero. "It's okay Heero." Quatre looked longingly to Heero but his friend stared stoically back at him. Without a word, Heero began walking out of the office. Sighing to himself, Quatre closed his eyes trying to not to cry but he knew that he wasn't about to give up that easily; he was not going to let Heero just walk out again so he turned on his heel and ran after him
Around the corner, the other three pilots were peeking around to watch for any drama to unfold. After Duo had ushered them, aka shoved them, out of the office, they snuck around the corner and had been waiting there. Trowa shushed his other two comrades as he saw Heero round the corner coming from the office and start walking towards the front door.
"Oh no…he can't be leaving again…" Duo whispered and looked worriedly to Trowa who only frowned back. Wufei huffed at the sight.
"My question is, where the heck is Winner to stop him?" Duo raised an eyebrow at Wufei's comment and turned on him looking mischievous.
"Why do you suddenly care so much Fei? I mean, I know you would kill or die for any of us but it seems like this really concerns you." Wufei glared at Duo shortly before defending himself.
"Look, first of all, I am allowed to care and secondly, I really just want to make sure that my plan works out."
"Suuuure you do Fei." Trowa once again hushed the two fighting teens as he saw Quatre then emerge from the office doorway.
"Shut up, there goes Quatre." Wufei and Duo were immediately silent and pressed their noses to the wall as they stared around the corner at their two friends.
Quatre slowly jogged out of the room and finally caught up to Heero in the sitting room. "Heero, wait!" The brown-haired teen stopped at Quatre's request and turned to face him again. Quatre took a deep breath before he looked Heero dead in the eye and spoke forcefully.
"You know what, it's not okay. Heero, you can't leave, you just can't." Quatre spoke pleadingly as he kept his gaze. Smiling only slightly, Heero took Quatre's hand in his own.
"Quatre, I have to go a…" Heero was cut short as Quatre pulled him forward and into an intense kiss. Heero stared wide-eyed for a moment before he immediately began to kiss Quatre back. Tenderly, Heero pulled the blonde closer and wrapped both of his arms around his back. Quatre moved both of his hands to cup Heero's jaw as he intensified the kiss even further never wanting it to end. Unfortunately, Heero moved his own hands to rest over Quatre's pulling them down slightly as the two parted, both breathless. Quatre searched Heero's eyes for what he hoped to be the same feelings he had for him but Heero showed no emotion. Tears welled up in Quatre's eyes as Heero pulled away from him slowly.
"Quatre…I have to go." Heero turned away from him and walked again towards the front door leaving Quatre with tears running down his cheeks.
Still hiding behind the corner, Duo could've cried himself at the sight before his eyes. He felt so guilty for saying anything to Quatre about the first kiss and what it could tell about anything and he cursed himself for even saying something. Trowa and Wufei looked gloomily at the situation as well as they all watched Quatre slowly sit down on the nearest armchair. Duo was about to walk over to him when Wufei's arm stopped him. Duo looked to the Chinese boy confused but upon following his gaze, understood.
Quatre felt nothing as he slowly sat down in the armchair facing away from the front door and anything else that could remind him of Heero's retreating back. He didn't even bother to brush away the tears streaming down his face because he knew that more would be there to replace them. All he knew was that he wanted to go to his room and cry it out.
Just as he was about to stand, Quatre heard someone clear their throat behind him. Closing his tear-filled eyes, Quatre frowned.
"Not now Duo…I'm just going to go upstairs…"
"It's not Duo."
Quatre's eyes opened again at the voice behind him and he turned his head to look not believing his ears. There before him stood Heero holding probably the largest bouquet of flowers Quatre had ever seen or could've possibly even imagined. Slowly, Quatre stood and made his way toward Heero completely shocked and surprised.
"I know it's cliché but...Quatre, I'm sorry that I got so upset last night. It was uncalled for and I was wrong, I know that you and Duo are only friends, I just shouldn't have said what I said." Quatre smiled as Heero continued to ramble on. Catching himself, Heero stopped and recomposed himself. "Quatre, I hope that you can forgive me. I spent all morning looking for the perfect bouquet for you." Heero stopped scared as Quatre's eyebrows furrowed.
"Wait…you were out looking for flowers for me? That's where you were?" With his eyes wide, Heero nodded to Quatre.
"I mean, I got a few other things but that took the longest amount of time." Quatre was still confused.
"So, you didn't leave. I mean, for good, you didn't leave for good. You just went out for the day?" Again, Heero nodded and tilted his head at Quatre. Putting the bundle of flowers down on a nearby table, Heero walked towards Quatre and took his hands in his own.
"You thought I left and wasn't coming back?" Feeling sheepish, Quatre just nodded to Heero who frowned back at him before pulling him into a hug. "Oh, Quatre, I would never leave over something that small. What made you think that?"
Quatre pulled away just enough so that he could look Heero in the eye but still be in his arms. "Well, I looked in your room and everything was spotless and cleaned out…I just thought…I guess my mind just figured the worst-case scenario." Heero nodded just remembering himself.
"That's right…my room. Well, there is an explanation for that." Quatre looked at Heero expectantly, but the teen pulled away from him again. "Um, can you just hold that thought for a few seconds? I've just, I've got groceries in the car that probably should've been in the fridge ten minutes ago." Forgetting his question completely, Quatre looked curiously at Heero who only smiled back at him. "I'm going to make us dinner." Quatre's face lit up at this as he grabbed Heero's hand and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'll help you unpack the groceries." Heero smiled back at him as they walked hand-in-hand outside to the car.
"Awwwwwwwww! How cute!!!!!" Wufei rolled his eyes at Duo's over-excitedness but couldn't help also smiling himself at the fact that the two were finally officially together. Trowa's ever-wise voice was the next to be heard.
"Well, this is exciting although…Heero's not going to be able to cook when he sees that Quatre's cooked everything else in the mansion."
"Ooo…yeah, that might be a problem." Duo looked up in thought for a moment before grabbing the other two and dragging them to the kitchen.
After Duo had begged profusely, the three pilots spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the kitchen to prep for Heero's special meal that evening. After thanking them a thousand times, Quatre and Heero got to work in the kitchen cooking up a big meal with plenty of time for make-out sessions in between.
Shortly after dinner, Heero and Quatre retreated to the sitting room where they sat cuddled up on the couch with some cheesecake for dessert. After feeding the last bite to Quatre, Heero put the plate on the table and turned to the blonde with a serious look.
"Quatre?" The blonde in question looked to Heero curiously, urging him to continue. Heero closed his eyes for a moment preparing for what he was about to say.
"The reason that my room was all packed up…it's kind of embarrassing for me to admit this but…" Quatre smiled to Heero trying his best to help him relax. "Well, after last night, I realized that I was just jealous about you and Duo being so close and I can't help it but I want to be that close to you. And I know it might be too soon…but I packed all of my stuff up hoping that, if things went well today, that…." Heero paused to grab Quatre's hand and hold it in both of his while looking into his eyes hopefully. "I was hoping that I could move into your room with you."
Quatre remained silent as Heero's request ran through his mind. Taking the silence as a bad thing, Heero began to ramble.
"I mean, of course only if you're okay with it, I mean, I wouldn't ever want to rush things and we don't have to do anything that you aren't ready for I wouldn't ever…" Heero was interrupted for the second time that day with Quatre's lips pressed against his own. After a few tender moments, Quatre pulled away and smiled.
"Yes Heero, I would love it if you moved into my room with me." Heero couldn't help but grin as he stared into his love's eyes. "The only thing I guess I don't understand is what I did to deserve all this." Quatre smiled as he spoke but Heero still detected the guilt laced in his words. Lying down on the couch, Heero slowly pulled Quatre's shoulders to rest on his chest and spoke.
"Quatre…You probably already figured this…but I'm still not very good with my emotions. One thing that I do know…I have feelings for you; every part of you."
"But Heero, this is all too much. I'm so overwhelmed…in a good way of course but I don't deserve all this, all I've done is yell at you for something completely ridiculous." Heero shook his head and gave Quatre a squeeze as he spoke from his heart.
"But you have done so much more. Quatre…you've changed back into a person that I never thought I would be again; someone who feels something all the time and someone who wants, and hopes, to feel things back. I could never thank you enough for that." Quatre looked up to Heero smiling warmly.
"Heero…that was so beautiful." Heero smirked at the bundle in his arms.
"Well, you know, I blame you for all of this…You and your love that made me all mushy inside." Quatre chuckled and looked to Heero who merely smiled back at his blonde lover before leaning in for another tender kiss.
End
1 – I personally LOVE the movie 300 and I would suggest it to everyone I know so if you haven't seen it and you have any interest, SEE IT. I mean, if you don't know anything about it research a little first because it is quite bloody and full of gore but it is really worth it if you can take that sort of stuff. Also, realize that I don't really know what would watch as far as DVD or VHS or computer disk or whatever so I'm working with what I've got. I apologize but you'll just have to bear with me on that one.
Well, what do you think? After reading over it completely, I found it to be actually quite choppy compared to what I was hoping for, but to be honest, this really was just a side project that sprouted from an idea I got and I'm proud because I committed myself to finishing it. Though I really don't expect much attention for this fic.
Anyhow, hopefully it was enjoyable! Please tell me what you think with a review!
Thanks for reading!