Hey Minna, this is my first Gundam Wing fic, and on top of that, it's shounen ai. Which means, for the niieve, that it includes male/male relationships, kissing, hugging, more . . . depending on how far I end up taking this endeavor. Don't flame me because you're narrow-minded and have homophobic tendencies. ^_^ k? Lemme see, pairings are 1+2 / 2+1, 3+4 / 4+3, implied past 1x3x4. All right then, enjoy!
"Shattered Diamonds"
By Ainoanime
Rated R for tons of swearing, and to keep the kiddies from reading . . . like that's gonna work. Ptth. It never worked for me.
Warnings: Shounen Ai / Slight to Mid-Level OOC / Slight to Mid-Level WAFF / 3+4 are already in a steady relationship at the beginning of this fic.
Disclaimers: Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing the boys for a while. ^_^ Also, The 'Advocate' is a Gay/Lesbian magazine. (I actually learned something useful on "Weakest Link") I don't own it. (Don't own Weakest Link either for that matter. Jeez, I think I'm the only one who'll have to write a disclaimer for my disclaimer. Grr.) Marlboro Cigarettes belong to Phillip Morris, and as much as I wish I DID own that company, I don't.
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"How did you con him into it?" Trowa asked his blonde haired boyfriend with a whisper. Quatre laughed.
"I just asked him if he wanted to hang out with us for a little while. You know, grab a drink or something. He agreed." Trowa had a puzzled look on his face.
"But why? I mean . . . he usually keeps to himself."
"How long do you think a person can keep to himself Trowa? The poor guy's living alone in an apartment built for two to three people. I never hear him moving around up there . . .
All he does is work, sleep, and eat. Has . . . sex RARELY . . . That's not the kind of life for a nineteen-year-old guy to be living!" Trowa sighed. Quatre was right, as usual. Heero didn't mingle with people. He just stayed inside, doing whatever it was he did up there. The second floor of the two family apartments seemed like it was vacant, save for Heero's car in the driveway. If the government hadn't bought them this house, Heero would probably live to be a hermit in some cave. Quatre smiled.
"What's going on in your head?"
"Worried about Heero." Trowa stated. Quatre nodded in understanding and agreement.
"It's sad, really. I mean, If he didn't insist on living up there, he could live on the first floor with us. Besides, when this whole living arrangement was set up, there were supposed to be two other people up there . . . Speaking of which, did you see this month's 'Advocate'? Duo got front cover again."
"Really. He's doing well for himself." Trowa said as he picked up the magazine. He smirked. The cover showed a picture of Duo holding up a neon pink shirt by the hanger, scrunching up his nose in disgust. Inside was an article about the braided man. He sure was getting popular with the guys.
"It's about that time." Quatre interrupted Trowa's line of thought. "And quit staring at Duo like that." The blond admonished. Trowa quickly put the magazine down. A jealous Quatre was not something he wanted tonight. He rose to his feet, smiled, and gave Quatre a chaste kiss on his forehead.
"I'll go warm up the car." He said simply as they both walked out of their door and into the hallway. Quatre nodded.
"I'll go drag Heero out of his apartment."
"Not necessary." Heero interrupted and walked past Quatre and out of the door. Quatre sighed. The man was still as rude as ever. Hopefully a few drinks would loosen him up. Possibly make him realize that they weren't at war anymore and that they WERE allowed to have a little fun. Hopefully. All three jumped into the car and headed out.
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Walking into the bar, Heero groaned.
"You took me to a gay bar." Quatre tried to hold back a snicker, unsuccessfully.
"Well . . . Heero . . . you are . . . " Heero glared at the blonde.
"Omae o korosu" Trowa was about to step up and help Quatre defend against Heero's wrath, but they were interrupted by someone's angry yell.
"Fuck you!" An unruly patron screamed at the man in front of him. "I don't give a shit what you say, I'm going to have fun tonight!"
"Listen. You know you're not supposed to mingle with these people. They may mob you if they realize who you are."
"They won't know who I am! They're all piss drunk! Shit, what kinda manager are you?"
"The kind of manager who wants to keep his star model safe. Besides, you have a movie coming up. You can't afford to get cut up in some fight."
"Who says I'm going to fight?! I just wanna have some fun, so THAT is EXACTLY what I'm going to do! You aren't stopping me. Call the fucking police if you wanna." The man yelled and hopped over the red velvet rope that separated the private booths from the rest of the bar. He laughed jubilantly at his manager's shocked expression, paying absolutely no attention to where he was running, until he crashed into someone and landed on the floor.
"Shit." He muttered and looked up to apologize. His mouth dropped open in shock.
"Duo?!" Came the unanimous sound of three voices, two shocked faces staring back at him, the other face sporting a raised eyebrow.
"Quatre . . . Trowa . . . Heero . . . " Quatre shook the shock off his face and offered Duo a hand. Duo took it and pulled himself to his feet. "Thanks Q-man."
"No problem. Haven't seen you in a while . . . " Duo smirked somewhat bitterly.
"I haven't seen myself in a while, either." Quatre frowned.
"Wanna talk?" Duos' face lit up.
"Hell yeah! I haven't seen you guys in YEARS! Why don't we go over to where all the private booths are and we'll catch up? That way my dumb ass manager won't spazz out."
Trowa and Quatre nodded. Heero stood still, millions of thoughts running through his head. He finally, slowly made his way to follow Duo to his booth.
Duo rattled on and on about his modeling career. He was doing extremely well and had built an insanely large fan base. The size of which was totally unprecedented for a homosexual male, even in this day and age. He was to star in an upcoming movie. However . . .
"I'm getting sick of this." Duo said quietly, almost inaudibly to the three men before him. "I miss having time to have fun. Hell, I REALLY miss you guys. I mean, you meet a lot of people in showbiz and stuff . . . so I'm never really alone or anything . . . but . . . "
"You're lonely." Quatre finished for him. "Why . . . " Quatre looked to the floor. "Why haven't you kept in touch? I mean I KNOW Trowa and I have been worried about you . . . and Heero's been living in that apartment alone . . . " Heero's head shot up and he stared at Quatre. Duo smirked and interrupted the blonde.
"That reminds me . . . Heero, what are YOU doing in a gay bar?" Heero gave Quatre another death glare, then spoke to Duo.
"You've been gone a long time. There's a lot you've missed."
"So . . . you're gay?" Heero growled, and didn't answer. Instead he got to his feet and walked away from the table to get himself a drink at the bar. Duo laughed aloud as he watched Mr. Perfect Soldier walk off.
"Wow . . . " he smiled. Heero Yuy . . . gay . . . the possibilities . . .
"I don't even want to know what you're thinking." Trowa stated.
"Oh, I think I know . . . " Quatre grinned mischievously. "So, Duo, how long are you going to be around?"
"Let me see . . . well, the movie's being filmed on this colony, so I'm thinking about a year . . . maybe more . . . Why?"
"Simple. Why stay in a hotel or a trailer if you can be at home, right?" Quatre grinned. Duo ran up to the Arabian man and gave him a monster of a bear hug. Trowa laughed.
"Hey, Duo, lay off."
"It's not like I'm humping his leg or anything . . . " Quatre blushed. Trowa bit his lip to keep the image of a furry dog-like Duo humping his poor boyfriend's leg, from making him crack up. Duo released the man, and, as if a light bulb went off in his head, ran to the bar to go and talk to Heero about Quatre's plan for living arrangements. Trowa and Quatre watched him intently, and laughed their silly little heads off. Duo had finished talking and Heero turned to look at his glass, grabbed it, swallowed the whole thing down in one gulp, slammed the glass on the table, turned back to Duo, and nodded. Then he asked the bartender for another.
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Quatre ended up being the one to drive them all home. Trowa was more silent than usual, and Duo had passed out almost immediately upon entering the car. Heero was therefore left to his thoughts, though clouded by alcohol they were . . .
Duo was back. He looked over to the passed out man sitting beside him, slouched with his head resting on the car window. Baka. He was NOT going to be well when he woke up. Heero was sure he was going to hear nothing but whining and puking all night. Then again, that was better than the eerie silence that usually hung around his apartment. Heero laughed at himself. 'God. It's almost as if I missed him.' He looked away from the man, and then slowly back. 'Maybe. Maybe I . . . did.'
"Heero, we're here! You drag Duo, I've got Trowa . . . he's a little woozy too." Heero almost jumped, but caught himself and simply nodded. Quatre, not being one to drink, easily got to the other side of the car and pulled his boyfriend out, who smiled at him weakly and draped his arm around Quatre's shoulder. Heero sighed internally. It was NOT going to be quite so easy for him. He got himself out of the car, walked over to Duo's side and grimaced. The car had the locks where the door meets the window, and Duo was sleeping on them. He walked back over to the other side, scooped him up into his arms, and pulled him out. To Heero's surprise, Duo unconsciously snuggled closer to him as he was pulled out of the warm car and into the cold evening air. Heero stood there for a second in shock, then made his way into the house and up the stairs.
'Baka'
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"BBLLLEEEECCCHHH! DAMN IT!" Duo swore, vomiting violently into the porcelain bowl that had become inseparable from him for the last two hours. After about thirty minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom. "Fuck, I gotta quit drinking! Hey, Heero, you got a cigarette?!"
"After puking like you just did, you don't need one."
"MAN! So you DO have one! Gimme gimme!" Heero looked to the man and shrugged, walking into his room and coming back with a pack of Marlboros, throwing them to him.
"Yeah! Good old American Cowboy Killers! I didn't know you smoked!"
"I don't"
"Then why . . . " Duo started, then stopped, coughing and hacking, running to the bathroom and throwing the cigarette into the toilet. "Damn it. That hurt like hell!"
"I warned you . . . you've been throwing up . . . " Duo glared at the man.
"So WHY do you have them if you don't smoke?"
"Special occasions." The chestnut haired man grinned.
"Special occasions? Like what?!" Heero took his turn to glare at him.
"Guess." Duo's eyes lit up, and then opened the pack . . . there were three missing besides the one he had pulled out.
"How long have you had this pack?!"
"Four years."
"EEEEEEEEEWWWWW! No wonder why it tasted like . . . wait, so you've only had sex three times in the past four years . . . "
"None of your business."
"You brought it up!"
"Omae o korosu."
"Where have I heard THAT one before?!"
"Baka"
"BITE ME!" Duo screamed and then cracked up laughing. Heero felt a grin creep up on him. It had been so long since they had one of their pointless arguments.
"We should probably get to bed. It's almost 3AM."
"Yeah . . . but first . . . who'd you sleep with? Spill!"
"None of your . . . "
"Business." Heero glared at Duo.
"Fine. Trowa, Quatre, and I got drunk and . . . " Duo's eyes grew huge. "Well, that's the reason why Quatre doesn't drink anymore."
"Wha . . . what?" Duo immediately stopped his taunting
"That's also the reason why there's three missing. It was one for each of us."
"Heero . . . "
"We won't do it again. We were drunk. It fucked up our friendships for a long time. We acted on clouded instinct. It never should have happened."
"Heero . . . I'm sorry . . . "
"I'm going to bed." Duo nodded and watched Heero slip out of the room. He sighed. 'Trowa and Quatre, huh? You lost your mask to Trowa and Quatre?!' Tears started forming in lavender eyes. 'How long did I try to get you to show me . . . to show me the real you? I've been gone too fucking long! Four years is too fucking LONG!'
"Damn it!" He said aloud, violently wiping his eyes.
"Duo?" Heero whispered from the doorway. Duo's head shot up. 'Shit. He heard me.' "Duo, what's wrong?" Heero asked gently. Duo looked at him questioningly. 'He sounds . . . concerned . . . but . . . but why?'
"Nothing. Go back to sleep Heero. You don't give a shit, anyway" Heero's eyes narrowed.
"Fine. If that's the way you want it . . . " There was a pounding on the door. Duo swore and went to answer it. Quatre.
"Guys . . . it's four in the morning . . . " Duo gave Quatre a death glare.
"Quatre . . . get the hell out of here."
"Wha?!"
"How could you?! I mean, I TOLD you things! You know how I felt about . . . Dammit Quatre!" Quatre's eyes fell.
"Heero told you . . . " He turned to Heero. "How did something like this come up?"
"Duo wanted a cigarette." Quatre turned bright red.
"HEERO! HE ONLY JUST CAME BACK!" Heero turned his head quickly, and Duo could have sworn he had seen the man's face go red.
"I'm going to bed." Heero practically ran out of the room.
"What the..." Duo managed to blurt out, then shook his head and turned to Quatre. Quatre sighed.
"Duo. I know what you've been thinking. That night meant next to nothing. We were drunk, and there was no love in it. It was just sex . . . Heero didn't . . . he didn't show any emotion throughout the whole thing. Lust aside, the only emotion in that room was between Trowa and myself. We didn't speak with Heero for months afterwards. He just stayed upstairs. Last night at the bar was the first time we've talked . . . " Quatre started crying. "I'm sorry, Duo. I know how you feel. I never meant to betray your trust . . . " Duo looked to the floor.
"I didn't mean to blow up at you either." He shook his head. "I guess I just got jealous. I'm really sorry Q-man."
"Yeah. Me too. You should get some sleep, and I've got to get back downstairs. I'll see ya."
"Good night." Duo closed the door behind Quatre and sighed. He had over reacted . . . then again, it may have been worth it . . . he could have SWORN he saw Heero blush. Duo chuckled to himself. Maybe . . . maybe things were possible between himself and the Perfect Soldier, after all. Duo jumped on the couch and fell asleep with his thoughts teasing him throughout the rest of the night. All two hours of it.
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Duo woke, not quite registering where he was. He squinted his eyes through the light coming through the windows. Then he remembered the events of the previous night. He sighed and pulled himself up to a sitting position, then swore. His head was pounding.
"Stupid beer . . . "
"You're up." Heero stated from the hall adjacent to the parlor. He walked into the room, carrying breakfast. "I don't remember if you like . . . "
"FOOD!" Duo exclaimed joyously, rose to his feet far too quickly for his hung over state, and fell back onto the couch. "Damn." Heero set the food on the coffee table and left the room, coming back seconds later with a bottle of aspirin.
"Here." Duo smiled.
"Thanks."
Silence.
"Ne, Heero . . . um . . . what have you been up to?"
"Nothing." Duo stared at his breakfast, poking at a piece of sausage and rolling it across the plate. He sighed, stabbed the offending piece of processed meat with his fork, and ate it.
"This is pretty good! How 'bout you give me the recipe?"
"It comes out of a box." Duo laughed.
"Jeez, you're still a diamond."
"A what?"
"A diamond. Before Gundanium, it was the strongest substance known to man. No other material could scratch it, and it could scratch the hell out of everything else. You're a living diamond, Heero. You don't let anyone in, and when you, on a rare occasion, let any of your emotions out, it usually hurts someone." Heero stared at Duo. 'He just read me. How did he . . . Damn it'
"Baka." Duo smiled and nodded, shaking his fork at Heero.
"Exactly. That's exactly what I was talking about. I freaked you out, and you have to go and call me stupid." Heero glared at Duo and walked out of the room. 'He did it AGAIN! How?!'
"I'm going for a drive." Heero called out to Duo.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you don't have your answer when you get back, you can swallow your pride and ask me . . . " Duo was interrupted by the door slamming and the sounds of quick footsteps down the stairs. He laughed, then smiled ruefully.
'I should have done this years ago.'
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Heero didn't really have a destination. He just drove. He couldn't believe what had just occurred. His mask, the one that he had been building for almost a decade now, was not as opaque as he had once assumed. Translucent probably, and only to people who knew him . . . but Duo hadn't talked with him in four years. Heero knew that he had built significantly on the mask he wore; he seemed to add a new layer every year. Duo could still see through it. How long had he been able to do it?! Why did Duo take the time to figure him out? Could he see . . . everything? Heero thought that was what was scaring him the most. He paused in his thoughts. Fear? Was he scared of Duo?! No . . . not scared of Duo, maybe scared of what he knew . . .
'I'd better just go home and ask him.'
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"That was fast." Duo said the moment Heero walked in the door.
"How?"
"How what?"
"What you did. How'd you do it?"
"Oh, calling you on stuff. Easy. I know you."
"How much do you know?"
"Not much. More than other people, though." Duo stared curiously at Heero. He looked . . . worried, maybe? Freaked out? "There's a lot of stuff I don't know though. I mean, it's not like you're an open book or anything. There's tons of stuff I'd like to know though. I just don't know how to ask you." Heero looked relieved. He seemed to take some of his guard down. "Be careful when you do that around me. If you don't want me to figure you out, then you better be on guard the whole time. OR you can save you and me the trouble and we can take this time to talk right now." Heero glared at him, and sat down.
"You've got three questions. That's it. After that, you're on your own." Duo grinned. Three questions. There was so much ground he could cover. The first one was the one sticking out in his head.
"Who made you realize you were gay?"
"WHAT?!"
"It's a simple question. Who made you realize you were gay? There's always a guy you look at in a less than platonic way, or you think of in such a way, that makes you realize that you're not quite walking in a straight line." Heero looked like he was about to explode.
"Why is it important?"
"Why? Well, because you're trying to avoid the question. Which makes me want to know even more." Duo grinned.
"This is stupid."
"You're the one who offered. Come ON Heero! What, did you think Relena was a man or something? Did you have the hots for Zechs . . . " Heero gave Duo his patented death glare.
"No and no. Zechs was good looking, but no. Happy? I answered two
questions." Duo swore at himself.
"Fine Heero, but you HAVEN'T answered the first one. Why are you avoiding it, unless you have something to hide?" Heero looked up at Duo and sighed.
"Because I am hiding something. You know how I told you about what happened between Trowa, Quatre, and myself." Duo nodded. "Well, as I said, afterwards, it messed up our friendship. I don't have many friends, Duo. Telling you, right now, the answer to that question, may make me lose my best friend in the world. I'm sorry. I just . . . can't answer it now . . . " Duo silently stared at the Japanese man. Maybe his imagination was running away from him, or maybe . . . He sighed. He wasn't about to push Heero into this. Not if he wasn't ready.
"Okay. Just remember, though, you owe me an answer." Duo solemnly got up out of his chair and started walking toward the parlor.
"Duo." Heero whispered and got up. Duo turned around and faced him as the other man walked up to him. Heero's mind was racing. 'He knows. He's acting like he knows...'
"What's up Heero? If you're not gonna tell me, I'm going to go watch some TV." Duo grimaced. He could hear his voice shaking. He REALLY wanted to know. Especially after that last comment. Why would Heero think he would lose his best friend, if he told Duo the answer to his question . . . unless . . .
"Duo . . . I'm sorry. It's . . . It's you." Duo gasped. "You're the guy . . . " Heero turned away to walk out the door. Duo jumped in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Leaving."
"Bullshit! I'm not going to let you!" Heero looked at Duo like he had grown an extra head.
"What are you talking about?" He didn't know what to think. There was no way Duo could be okay with him, after he had said something like that. No way that their friendship would hold after such an admission. What the hell was going on in that stupid American's little head?! At that thought, he started laughing . . .
"What's so funny?" Duo demanded, a little taken aback by Heero's sudden outburst. Heero laughed even more.
"I can't figure you out . . . I have no idea what's going on in your head sometimes . . . it's ironic, isn't it? You can manage to read through my mask, and I can't even begin to fathom YOUR emotions. You're like a girl, Maxwell."
"I am NOT like a girl, YUY!" Duo clutched his head. "Damn hangovers!"
"So you're going to move out of my way, then?"
"Hell no!" Duo yelled, clenching his teeth through the pain shooting through his head. "You're an idiot, Heero. What kind of reasoning is it to think that your being attracted to me is going to fuck up our friendship?! You're COMPLETELY stupid!" Duo's voice cracked . . . ; he felt like he was going to cry. He didn't want to. Not in front of Heero.
"Quiet down. Trowa and Quatre are going to hear you."
"Ta-"
"Trowa and Quatre aren't home!"
"Um . . . Tadaima . . . " Quatre called upstairs. Duo got distracted, and Heero disappeared out the door. Duo fell to his knees, and cried.
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Trowa caught Heero's arm as he was unlocking his car.
"Where are you going?"
"None of your business. Let go." Heero had fire in his eyes.
"And if I don't?"
"Omae . . . "
"Bullshit! Don't even start that, I'm not buying it! What happened?" Heero ripped his arm out of Trowa's grip.
"Doesn't matter. 'Bye." Trowa punched him. Hard. "What the FUCK!"
"You're not leaving. Not without thinking about what you're doing." Emerald eyes blazed red. "You're a goddamn fool, Yuy. Quatre and I worked really hard to find Duo for you, so you wouldn't be so alone . . . "
"You set me up?!"
"Damn straight we set you up. You told us you were attracted to Duo, that night after we . . . " Trowa shook his head. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're making a mistake. Are you REALLY ready to lose him again?" Heero dropped his keys.
"Fuck you, Trowa."
"Been there, done that." Heero glared.
"You have one lousy sense of humor."
"At least I'm taking the time to talk. Maybe you should try it sometime." Heero growled, picked up his keys, and walked back into the house, muttering curses. He didn't stop until he reached the top of the stairs and saw Duo curled in a ball, crying. He stared. He couldn't help it. There was something very wrong with seeing such a normally cheerful man sobbing like a child that had just scraped his knee. Guilt crept in on him like a tsunami; he had been the one who was making Duo cry.
"Duo . . . " Duo's head shot up, staring at him in embarrassment.
"I . . . I . . . Heero, I . . . " Duo took a deep breath. "I don't want you to leave . . . " Heero didn't think. He walked over to the chestnut haired man and put his arms around him.
"Don't cry. I'm not going anywhere." To Heero's surprise, this made Duo cry even harder, and the American man's arms embraced him in return.
"Heero . . . I love you." Heero's breath caught in his throat. He didn't think he heard correctly. He shifted his hands onto Duo's shoulders and forced Duo to look at him.
"What did you say?" Duo smiled.
"I . . . I love you, what'd you think I said?" Heero bit through a wide grin, coughing out laughs.
"I love you, too."
Duo halted his crying instantly and stared at the Japanese man, putting his hand on his cheek and rubbing with his thumb the area under his eyes. He stared for moments that seemed like hours, and then threw his arms around Heero's shoulders, whispering into his ear:
"Shattered Diamonds"
End
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La la la! That was a fun romp through Shounen Ai fiction. ^_^ Let me know if I should do it again! If you're reading this fic through fanfiction.net, please leave feedback on your way out. If you managed to find this thing somewhere else, my E-mail address is Ainoanime@japan.com
^_^ All feedback is appreciated. Even flames . . . I need a good laugh every once in a while.^_^
Ja!
Ainoanime
This fic belongs to Ainoanime, October 2001. You steal it, I send Heero over with a nuke. Have a nice day.
"Shattered Diamonds"
By Ainoanime
Rated R for tons of swearing, and to keep the kiddies from reading . . . like that's gonna work. Ptth. It never worked for me.
Warnings: Shounen Ai / Slight to Mid-Level OOC / Slight to Mid-Level WAFF / 3+4 are already in a steady relationship at the beginning of this fic.
Disclaimers: Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing the boys for a while. ^_^ Also, The 'Advocate' is a Gay/Lesbian magazine. (I actually learned something useful on "Weakest Link") I don't own it. (Don't own Weakest Link either for that matter. Jeez, I think I'm the only one who'll have to write a disclaimer for my disclaimer. Grr.) Marlboro Cigarettes belong to Phillip Morris, and as much as I wish I DID own that company, I don't.
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"How did you con him into it?" Trowa asked his blonde haired boyfriend with a whisper. Quatre laughed.
"I just asked him if he wanted to hang out with us for a little while. You know, grab a drink or something. He agreed." Trowa had a puzzled look on his face.
"But why? I mean . . . he usually keeps to himself."
"How long do you think a person can keep to himself Trowa? The poor guy's living alone in an apartment built for two to three people. I never hear him moving around up there . . .
All he does is work, sleep, and eat. Has . . . sex RARELY . . . That's not the kind of life for a nineteen-year-old guy to be living!" Trowa sighed. Quatre was right, as usual. Heero didn't mingle with people. He just stayed inside, doing whatever it was he did up there. The second floor of the two family apartments seemed like it was vacant, save for Heero's car in the driveway. If the government hadn't bought them this house, Heero would probably live to be a hermit in some cave. Quatre smiled.
"What's going on in your head?"
"Worried about Heero." Trowa stated. Quatre nodded in understanding and agreement.
"It's sad, really. I mean, If he didn't insist on living up there, he could live on the first floor with us. Besides, when this whole living arrangement was set up, there were supposed to be two other people up there . . . Speaking of which, did you see this month's 'Advocate'? Duo got front cover again."
"Really. He's doing well for himself." Trowa said as he picked up the magazine. He smirked. The cover showed a picture of Duo holding up a neon pink shirt by the hanger, scrunching up his nose in disgust. Inside was an article about the braided man. He sure was getting popular with the guys.
"It's about that time." Quatre interrupted Trowa's line of thought. "And quit staring at Duo like that." The blond admonished. Trowa quickly put the magazine down. A jealous Quatre was not something he wanted tonight. He rose to his feet, smiled, and gave Quatre a chaste kiss on his forehead.
"I'll go warm up the car." He said simply as they both walked out of their door and into the hallway. Quatre nodded.
"I'll go drag Heero out of his apartment."
"Not necessary." Heero interrupted and walked past Quatre and out of the door. Quatre sighed. The man was still as rude as ever. Hopefully a few drinks would loosen him up. Possibly make him realize that they weren't at war anymore and that they WERE allowed to have a little fun. Hopefully. All three jumped into the car and headed out.
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Walking into the bar, Heero groaned.
"You took me to a gay bar." Quatre tried to hold back a snicker, unsuccessfully.
"Well . . . Heero . . . you are . . . " Heero glared at the blonde.
"Omae o korosu" Trowa was about to step up and help Quatre defend against Heero's wrath, but they were interrupted by someone's angry yell.
"Fuck you!" An unruly patron screamed at the man in front of him. "I don't give a shit what you say, I'm going to have fun tonight!"
"Listen. You know you're not supposed to mingle with these people. They may mob you if they realize who you are."
"They won't know who I am! They're all piss drunk! Shit, what kinda manager are you?"
"The kind of manager who wants to keep his star model safe. Besides, you have a movie coming up. You can't afford to get cut up in some fight."
"Who says I'm going to fight?! I just wanna have some fun, so THAT is EXACTLY what I'm going to do! You aren't stopping me. Call the fucking police if you wanna." The man yelled and hopped over the red velvet rope that separated the private booths from the rest of the bar. He laughed jubilantly at his manager's shocked expression, paying absolutely no attention to where he was running, until he crashed into someone and landed on the floor.
"Shit." He muttered and looked up to apologize. His mouth dropped open in shock.
"Duo?!" Came the unanimous sound of three voices, two shocked faces staring back at him, the other face sporting a raised eyebrow.
"Quatre . . . Trowa . . . Heero . . . " Quatre shook the shock off his face and offered Duo a hand. Duo took it and pulled himself to his feet. "Thanks Q-man."
"No problem. Haven't seen you in a while . . . " Duo smirked somewhat bitterly.
"I haven't seen myself in a while, either." Quatre frowned.
"Wanna talk?" Duos' face lit up.
"Hell yeah! I haven't seen you guys in YEARS! Why don't we go over to where all the private booths are and we'll catch up? That way my dumb ass manager won't spazz out."
Trowa and Quatre nodded. Heero stood still, millions of thoughts running through his head. He finally, slowly made his way to follow Duo to his booth.
Duo rattled on and on about his modeling career. He was doing extremely well and had built an insanely large fan base. The size of which was totally unprecedented for a homosexual male, even in this day and age. He was to star in an upcoming movie. However . . .
"I'm getting sick of this." Duo said quietly, almost inaudibly to the three men before him. "I miss having time to have fun. Hell, I REALLY miss you guys. I mean, you meet a lot of people in showbiz and stuff . . . so I'm never really alone or anything . . . but . . . "
"You're lonely." Quatre finished for him. "Why . . . " Quatre looked to the floor. "Why haven't you kept in touch? I mean I KNOW Trowa and I have been worried about you . . . and Heero's been living in that apartment alone . . . " Heero's head shot up and he stared at Quatre. Duo smirked and interrupted the blonde.
"That reminds me . . . Heero, what are YOU doing in a gay bar?" Heero gave Quatre another death glare, then spoke to Duo.
"You've been gone a long time. There's a lot you've missed."
"So . . . you're gay?" Heero growled, and didn't answer. Instead he got to his feet and walked away from the table to get himself a drink at the bar. Duo laughed aloud as he watched Mr. Perfect Soldier walk off.
"Wow . . . " he smiled. Heero Yuy . . . gay . . . the possibilities . . .
"I don't even want to know what you're thinking." Trowa stated.
"Oh, I think I know . . . " Quatre grinned mischievously. "So, Duo, how long are you going to be around?"
"Let me see . . . well, the movie's being filmed on this colony, so I'm thinking about a year . . . maybe more . . . Why?"
"Simple. Why stay in a hotel or a trailer if you can be at home, right?" Quatre grinned. Duo ran up to the Arabian man and gave him a monster of a bear hug. Trowa laughed.
"Hey, Duo, lay off."
"It's not like I'm humping his leg or anything . . . " Quatre blushed. Trowa bit his lip to keep the image of a furry dog-like Duo humping his poor boyfriend's leg, from making him crack up. Duo released the man, and, as if a light bulb went off in his head, ran to the bar to go and talk to Heero about Quatre's plan for living arrangements. Trowa and Quatre watched him intently, and laughed their silly little heads off. Duo had finished talking and Heero turned to look at his glass, grabbed it, swallowed the whole thing down in one gulp, slammed the glass on the table, turned back to Duo, and nodded. Then he asked the bartender for another.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quatre ended up being the one to drive them all home. Trowa was more silent than usual, and Duo had passed out almost immediately upon entering the car. Heero was therefore left to his thoughts, though clouded by alcohol they were . . .
Duo was back. He looked over to the passed out man sitting beside him, slouched with his head resting on the car window. Baka. He was NOT going to be well when he woke up. Heero was sure he was going to hear nothing but whining and puking all night. Then again, that was better than the eerie silence that usually hung around his apartment. Heero laughed at himself. 'God. It's almost as if I missed him.' He looked away from the man, and then slowly back. 'Maybe. Maybe I . . . did.'
"Heero, we're here! You drag Duo, I've got Trowa . . . he's a little woozy too." Heero almost jumped, but caught himself and simply nodded. Quatre, not being one to drink, easily got to the other side of the car and pulled his boyfriend out, who smiled at him weakly and draped his arm around Quatre's shoulder. Heero sighed internally. It was NOT going to be quite so easy for him. He got himself out of the car, walked over to Duo's side and grimaced. The car had the locks where the door meets the window, and Duo was sleeping on them. He walked back over to the other side, scooped him up into his arms, and pulled him out. To Heero's surprise, Duo unconsciously snuggled closer to him as he was pulled out of the warm car and into the cold evening air. Heero stood there for a second in shock, then made his way into the house and up the stairs.
'Baka'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"BBLLLEEEECCCHHH! DAMN IT!" Duo swore, vomiting violently into the porcelain bowl that had become inseparable from him for the last two hours. After about thirty minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom. "Fuck, I gotta quit drinking! Hey, Heero, you got a cigarette?!"
"After puking like you just did, you don't need one."
"MAN! So you DO have one! Gimme gimme!" Heero looked to the man and shrugged, walking into his room and coming back with a pack of Marlboros, throwing them to him.
"Yeah! Good old American Cowboy Killers! I didn't know you smoked!"
"I don't"
"Then why . . . " Duo started, then stopped, coughing and hacking, running to the bathroom and throwing the cigarette into the toilet. "Damn it. That hurt like hell!"
"I warned you . . . you've been throwing up . . . " Duo glared at the man.
"So WHY do you have them if you don't smoke?"
"Special occasions." The chestnut haired man grinned.
"Special occasions? Like what?!" Heero took his turn to glare at him.
"Guess." Duo's eyes lit up, and then opened the pack . . . there were three missing besides the one he had pulled out.
"How long have you had this pack?!"
"Four years."
"EEEEEEEEEWWWWW! No wonder why it tasted like . . . wait, so you've only had sex three times in the past four years . . . "
"None of your business."
"You brought it up!"
"Omae o korosu."
"Where have I heard THAT one before?!"
"Baka"
"BITE ME!" Duo screamed and then cracked up laughing. Heero felt a grin creep up on him. It had been so long since they had one of their pointless arguments.
"We should probably get to bed. It's almost 3AM."
"Yeah . . . but first . . . who'd you sleep with? Spill!"
"None of your . . . "
"Business." Heero glared at Duo.
"Fine. Trowa, Quatre, and I got drunk and . . . " Duo's eyes grew huge. "Well, that's the reason why Quatre doesn't drink anymore."
"Wha . . . what?" Duo immediately stopped his taunting
"That's also the reason why there's three missing. It was one for each of us."
"Heero . . . "
"We won't do it again. We were drunk. It fucked up our friendships for a long time. We acted on clouded instinct. It never should have happened."
"Heero . . . I'm sorry . . . "
"I'm going to bed." Duo nodded and watched Heero slip out of the room. He sighed. 'Trowa and Quatre, huh? You lost your mask to Trowa and Quatre?!' Tears started forming in lavender eyes. 'How long did I try to get you to show me . . . to show me the real you? I've been gone too fucking long! Four years is too fucking LONG!'
"Damn it!" He said aloud, violently wiping his eyes.
"Duo?" Heero whispered from the doorway. Duo's head shot up. 'Shit. He heard me.' "Duo, what's wrong?" Heero asked gently. Duo looked at him questioningly. 'He sounds . . . concerned . . . but . . . but why?'
"Nothing. Go back to sleep Heero. You don't give a shit, anyway" Heero's eyes narrowed.
"Fine. If that's the way you want it . . . " There was a pounding on the door. Duo swore and went to answer it. Quatre.
"Guys . . . it's four in the morning . . . " Duo gave Quatre a death glare.
"Quatre . . . get the hell out of here."
"Wha?!"
"How could you?! I mean, I TOLD you things! You know how I felt about . . . Dammit Quatre!" Quatre's eyes fell.
"Heero told you . . . " He turned to Heero. "How did something like this come up?"
"Duo wanted a cigarette." Quatre turned bright red.
"HEERO! HE ONLY JUST CAME BACK!" Heero turned his head quickly, and Duo could have sworn he had seen the man's face go red.
"I'm going to bed." Heero practically ran out of the room.
"What the..." Duo managed to blurt out, then shook his head and turned to Quatre. Quatre sighed.
"Duo. I know what you've been thinking. That night meant next to nothing. We were drunk, and there was no love in it. It was just sex . . . Heero didn't . . . he didn't show any emotion throughout the whole thing. Lust aside, the only emotion in that room was between Trowa and myself. We didn't speak with Heero for months afterwards. He just stayed upstairs. Last night at the bar was the first time we've talked . . . " Quatre started crying. "I'm sorry, Duo. I know how you feel. I never meant to betray your trust . . . " Duo looked to the floor.
"I didn't mean to blow up at you either." He shook his head. "I guess I just got jealous. I'm really sorry Q-man."
"Yeah. Me too. You should get some sleep, and I've got to get back downstairs. I'll see ya."
"Good night." Duo closed the door behind Quatre and sighed. He had over reacted . . . then again, it may have been worth it . . . he could have SWORN he saw Heero blush. Duo chuckled to himself. Maybe . . . maybe things were possible between himself and the Perfect Soldier, after all. Duo jumped on the couch and fell asleep with his thoughts teasing him throughout the rest of the night. All two hours of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo woke, not quite registering where he was. He squinted his eyes through the light coming through the windows. Then he remembered the events of the previous night. He sighed and pulled himself up to a sitting position, then swore. His head was pounding.
"Stupid beer . . . "
"You're up." Heero stated from the hall adjacent to the parlor. He walked into the room, carrying breakfast. "I don't remember if you like . . . "
"FOOD!" Duo exclaimed joyously, rose to his feet far too quickly for his hung over state, and fell back onto the couch. "Damn." Heero set the food on the coffee table and left the room, coming back seconds later with a bottle of aspirin.
"Here." Duo smiled.
"Thanks."
Silence.
"Ne, Heero . . . um . . . what have you been up to?"
"Nothing." Duo stared at his breakfast, poking at a piece of sausage and rolling it across the plate. He sighed, stabbed the offending piece of processed meat with his fork, and ate it.
"This is pretty good! How 'bout you give me the recipe?"
"It comes out of a box." Duo laughed.
"Jeez, you're still a diamond."
"A what?"
"A diamond. Before Gundanium, it was the strongest substance known to man. No other material could scratch it, and it could scratch the hell out of everything else. You're a living diamond, Heero. You don't let anyone in, and when you, on a rare occasion, let any of your emotions out, it usually hurts someone." Heero stared at Duo. 'He just read me. How did he . . . Damn it'
"Baka." Duo smiled and nodded, shaking his fork at Heero.
"Exactly. That's exactly what I was talking about. I freaked you out, and you have to go and call me stupid." Heero glared at Duo and walked out of the room. 'He did it AGAIN! How?!'
"I'm going for a drive." Heero called out to Duo.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you don't have your answer when you get back, you can swallow your pride and ask me . . . " Duo was interrupted by the door slamming and the sounds of quick footsteps down the stairs. He laughed, then smiled ruefully.
'I should have done this years ago.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero didn't really have a destination. He just drove. He couldn't believe what had just occurred. His mask, the one that he had been building for almost a decade now, was not as opaque as he had once assumed. Translucent probably, and only to people who knew him . . . but Duo hadn't talked with him in four years. Heero knew that he had built significantly on the mask he wore; he seemed to add a new layer every year. Duo could still see through it. How long had he been able to do it?! Why did Duo take the time to figure him out? Could he see . . . everything? Heero thought that was what was scaring him the most. He paused in his thoughts. Fear? Was he scared of Duo?! No . . . not scared of Duo, maybe scared of what he knew . . .
'I'd better just go home and ask him.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was fast." Duo said the moment Heero walked in the door.
"How?"
"How what?"
"What you did. How'd you do it?"
"Oh, calling you on stuff. Easy. I know you."
"How much do you know?"
"Not much. More than other people, though." Duo stared curiously at Heero. He looked . . . worried, maybe? Freaked out? "There's a lot of stuff I don't know though. I mean, it's not like you're an open book or anything. There's tons of stuff I'd like to know though. I just don't know how to ask you." Heero looked relieved. He seemed to take some of his guard down. "Be careful when you do that around me. If you don't want me to figure you out, then you better be on guard the whole time. OR you can save you and me the trouble and we can take this time to talk right now." Heero glared at him, and sat down.
"You've got three questions. That's it. After that, you're on your own." Duo grinned. Three questions. There was so much ground he could cover. The first one was the one sticking out in his head.
"Who made you realize you were gay?"
"WHAT?!"
"It's a simple question. Who made you realize you were gay? There's always a guy you look at in a less than platonic way, or you think of in such a way, that makes you realize that you're not quite walking in a straight line." Heero looked like he was about to explode.
"Why is it important?"
"Why? Well, because you're trying to avoid the question. Which makes me want to know even more." Duo grinned.
"This is stupid."
"You're the one who offered. Come ON Heero! What, did you think Relena was a man or something? Did you have the hots for Zechs . . . " Heero gave Duo his patented death glare.
"No and no. Zechs was good looking, but no. Happy? I answered two
questions." Duo swore at himself.
"Fine Heero, but you HAVEN'T answered the first one. Why are you avoiding it, unless you have something to hide?" Heero looked up at Duo and sighed.
"Because I am hiding something. You know how I told you about what happened between Trowa, Quatre, and myself." Duo nodded. "Well, as I said, afterwards, it messed up our friendship. I don't have many friends, Duo. Telling you, right now, the answer to that question, may make me lose my best friend in the world. I'm sorry. I just . . . can't answer it now . . . " Duo silently stared at the Japanese man. Maybe his imagination was running away from him, or maybe . . . He sighed. He wasn't about to push Heero into this. Not if he wasn't ready.
"Okay. Just remember, though, you owe me an answer." Duo solemnly got up out of his chair and started walking toward the parlor.
"Duo." Heero whispered and got up. Duo turned around and faced him as the other man walked up to him. Heero's mind was racing. 'He knows. He's acting like he knows...'
"What's up Heero? If you're not gonna tell me, I'm going to go watch some TV." Duo grimaced. He could hear his voice shaking. He REALLY wanted to know. Especially after that last comment. Why would Heero think he would lose his best friend, if he told Duo the answer to his question . . . unless . . .
"Duo . . . I'm sorry. It's . . . It's you." Duo gasped. "You're the guy . . . " Heero turned away to walk out the door. Duo jumped in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Leaving."
"Bullshit! I'm not going to let you!" Heero looked at Duo like he had grown an extra head.
"What are you talking about?" He didn't know what to think. There was no way Duo could be okay with him, after he had said something like that. No way that their friendship would hold after such an admission. What the hell was going on in that stupid American's little head?! At that thought, he started laughing . . .
"What's so funny?" Duo demanded, a little taken aback by Heero's sudden outburst. Heero laughed even more.
"I can't figure you out . . . I have no idea what's going on in your head sometimes . . . it's ironic, isn't it? You can manage to read through my mask, and I can't even begin to fathom YOUR emotions. You're like a girl, Maxwell."
"I am NOT like a girl, YUY!" Duo clutched his head. "Damn hangovers!"
"So you're going to move out of my way, then?"
"Hell no!" Duo yelled, clenching his teeth through the pain shooting through his head. "You're an idiot, Heero. What kind of reasoning is it to think that your being attracted to me is going to fuck up our friendship?! You're COMPLETELY stupid!" Duo's voice cracked . . . ; he felt like he was going to cry. He didn't want to. Not in front of Heero.
"Quiet down. Trowa and Quatre are going to hear you."
"Ta-"
"Trowa and Quatre aren't home!"
"Um . . . Tadaima . . . " Quatre called upstairs. Duo got distracted, and Heero disappeared out the door. Duo fell to his knees, and cried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trowa caught Heero's arm as he was unlocking his car.
"Where are you going?"
"None of your business. Let go." Heero had fire in his eyes.
"And if I don't?"
"Omae . . . "
"Bullshit! Don't even start that, I'm not buying it! What happened?" Heero ripped his arm out of Trowa's grip.
"Doesn't matter. 'Bye." Trowa punched him. Hard. "What the FUCK!"
"You're not leaving. Not without thinking about what you're doing." Emerald eyes blazed red. "You're a goddamn fool, Yuy. Quatre and I worked really hard to find Duo for you, so you wouldn't be so alone . . . "
"You set me up?!"
"Damn straight we set you up. You told us you were attracted to Duo, that night after we . . . " Trowa shook his head. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're making a mistake. Are you REALLY ready to lose him again?" Heero dropped his keys.
"Fuck you, Trowa."
"Been there, done that." Heero glared.
"You have one lousy sense of humor."
"At least I'm taking the time to talk. Maybe you should try it sometime." Heero growled, picked up his keys, and walked back into the house, muttering curses. He didn't stop until he reached the top of the stairs and saw Duo curled in a ball, crying. He stared. He couldn't help it. There was something very wrong with seeing such a normally cheerful man sobbing like a child that had just scraped his knee. Guilt crept in on him like a tsunami; he had been the one who was making Duo cry.
"Duo . . . " Duo's head shot up, staring at him in embarrassment.
"I . . . I . . . Heero, I . . . " Duo took a deep breath. "I don't want you to leave . . . " Heero didn't think. He walked over to the chestnut haired man and put his arms around him.
"Don't cry. I'm not going anywhere." To Heero's surprise, this made Duo cry even harder, and the American man's arms embraced him in return.
"Heero . . . I love you." Heero's breath caught in his throat. He didn't think he heard correctly. He shifted his hands onto Duo's shoulders and forced Duo to look at him.
"What did you say?" Duo smiled.
"I . . . I love you, what'd you think I said?" Heero bit through a wide grin, coughing out laughs.
"I love you, too."
Duo halted his crying instantly and stared at the Japanese man, putting his hand on his cheek and rubbing with his thumb the area under his eyes. He stared for moments that seemed like hours, and then threw his arms around Heero's shoulders, whispering into his ear:
"Shattered Diamonds"
End
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La la la! That was a fun romp through Shounen Ai fiction. ^_^ Let me know if I should do it again! If you're reading this fic through fanfiction.net, please leave feedback on your way out. If you managed to find this thing somewhere else, my E-mail address is Ainoanime@japan.com
^_^ All feedback is appreciated. Even flames . . . I need a good laugh every once in a while.^_^
Ja!
Ainoanime
This fic belongs to Ainoanime, October 2001. You steal it, I send Heero over with a nuke. Have a nice day.