Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or any of the characters. But I wish I did.

One-shot songfic. Heero/Duo Takes place after EW. Heero comes to an understanding, but will he get to tell Duo? Or is it too late?

Hotel California

By WhyteRoze28

Down a dark desert highway. Cool wind in my hair. Warm smell of Colitas, rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night

Heero Yuy grimaced as his car raced down the California Interstate. He'd known it would be a mistake to go to that damn reunion.

Seeing the other pilots again had only reinforced the feeling of being on the outside looking in that he'd always felt around them. Even Duo, the one he'd felt most comfortable with, had seemed distant tonight. Had seemed, in fact, like he was trying to avoid him as much as possible.

So, he'd drunk more than usual, and pretended like it didn't bother him. Drunk more than he could handle, apparently, and that was saying something. He was having trouble concentrating on the road, and he knew he'd have to pull over eventually, before he crashed.

Then he blinked, willing his eyes to focus. He had seen a building further down the road, and hoped that it was a motel, so he could sleep off this alcoholic stupor he was falling into.

As he got closer, he saw that it was an old Spanish Mission. 'A church?' he thought, amused. 'Well, it couldn't hurt. And I remember Duo telling me that they sometimes take in travelers.'

He pulled over, into the space beside the church, and stood looking up at it. 'Old,' he guessed. 'Probably early 19th Century, but still in excellent condition.'

He noticed that there were lights on in the windows, and stared as he felt something familiar coming from the building. He shook off the feeling, went to the door and knocked.

As he stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bells. And I was thinking to myself, This could be Heaven or this could be Hell

When the door opened, he gasped. Duo stood there... but not the Duo he knew. This was a Duo that could have been. He was wearing clothes that looked like they'd come out of an old vid-movie, and his hair only came down past his shoulder blades. There was no expression on his face, and he did not speak. He simply stepped aside to let Heero enter. Heero paused for a moment, uncertain what was happening here, then figured he had probably passed out somewhere along the side of the road, and was dreaming the whole thing. So he decided to follow along, and see where his subconscious led.

Then he lit up a candle, and he showed me the way. There were voices down that corridor, thought I heard them say. Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California. Any time of year you can find it here

The guy who looked so much like Duo stood back as Heero stepped inside. He closed the door, and then smiled. Heero had only seen a smile like that once before. He hadn't liked it then either.

Then the guy spoke. "Welcome to the Hotel California," he said, quietly. "This place has long been a refuge for weary travelers such as yourself. My name is... David, and I am the... innkeeper, for lack of a better term. Please make yourself at home. I hope you enjoy your stay."

Heero nodded, cautiously. 'David, huh?' he wondered. 'If I am dreaming, then why give him a different name?'

David led him down the hallway, and Heero couldn't help glancing around. It seemed as though there were people watching him, and whispering. But he couldn't quite make out the words.

His mind is Tiffany twisted, he's got the Mercedes Benz. He's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that he calls friends. How they dance in the courtyard, sweet Summer sweat. Some dance to remember, some dance to forget. So I called up the captain, "Please bring me my wine.". He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969."

David paused at the entrance to an elegant courtyard set up as, what could only be described as a bar. There was a dance floor, and tables set up around it.

Heero groaned, inwardly. He knew he didn't need any more to drink tonight. But, David said that his room needed to be prepared, and asked him to wait here.

So Heero sat down at one of the tables, and glanced around. He froze as he saw the other guests appearing from all sides of the yard.

His fellow pilots... and almost everyone else he had known from the war. He stared as they walked past him, taking no notice of him whatsoever.

He then noticed that they were all dressed strangely. In fact, they all looked as though they had stepped out of the pages of history. There were clothes from ancient Rome, Egypt, the old west, and even early Renaissance. He couldn't help wondering what he had gotten into.

'Maybe I didn't pull over,' he thought suddenly. 'Maybe I wrecked, and I'm dead.' That thought sobered him up quickly, and he realized that he didn't want to be sober just then.

He watched David come back, but instead of coming over to him, he headed for the dance floor with the others. He couldn't take his eyes off of the guy who looked so much like Duo, and he wondered why. Then he thought about the reunion again.

Duo had definitely been avoiding him, but why? He thought back, and as he did, he caught a fleeting glance that Duo had sent his way. His eyes widened in amazement as he now realized the significance of that look.

He motioned for one of the waiters, who had appeared with everyone else. When the man walked over to him, it was a moment before Heero could say anything. The guy looked like Howard! Was it his imagination, he wondered, or just a quirk of the afterlife? He pushed the thought away, and asked for a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

"I'm sorry, Sir," the guy said, not appearing to be, "but we haven't kept up with our suppliers, I'm afraid. That particular brand hasn't been on our shelves since 1969. Along with quite a few others."

Suddenly, David seemed to notice him sitting there, and walked back over. "I guess I just got caught up in the moment," he said, motioning for Heero to stand up. "If you'll come this way, your room is ready."

And still those voices are calling from far away. Wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say. Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California. What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

As they started up the stairs, Heero couldn't help but wonder why he was here. He'd never allowed himself to feel fear, but it seemed to be leaking in. He was definitely starting to wonder what was wrong.

Then he seemed to hear the whispering again. It was coming from all around him. He started to stop David, but decided against it.

They stopped at a room near the end of the hallway, and David smiled. For the first time, it seemed to be one of Duo's smiles, and Heero felt his heart speed up.

"This is your room," David said, turning to go. "I'll leave you to get some rest."

Heero grabbed his sleeve, forcing him to stop. "Please, don't go yet," he said, causing the other boy to turn around. "I've been having strange thoughts since I got here, and I wanted to ask you a few questions."

He thought he saw a glimmer of something on the other's face, but couldn't be sure. Then David leaned toward him. "What kind of strange thoughts?" he asked.

Again Heero saw the expression that had been on Duo's face, and stopped, amazed. He knew that this was highly unusual, but right now, he knew what he had to do, especially if this was a dream.

He opened the door to the bedroom, and let David walk in ahead of him.

Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice. He says, " We are all just prisoners here, of our own device." And in the master's chambers, They have gathered for the feast. They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can't kill the beast

The room reminded him of Relena. There was pink everywhere. The walls, the carpet, the bed, even the... champagne? He stared at that for a minute, confused. Then he glanced up. The ceiling was covered in mirrors.

'It looks like I wasn't the only one who saw something possible,' he thought to himself, as he saw David sit down in one of the chairs. 'But, why did it have to be pink?'

He stepped over to the table, and uncorked the champagne, letting it foam as he poured it into the glasses on the table. He handed one of them to David, and then sat down on the bed, patting the spot beside him.

As David sat down on the bed, Heero was struck again by how much the boy looked like Duo. His hair was shorter, but that was the only difference. Heero took a drink of the champagne to steady his nerves, and realized that although he had thought he was sober, the alcohol that he'd had earlier was still very much in his system. He began to feel lightheaded.

'So what,' he thought, 'It's just a dream.'

Then David repeated his question. "What kind of strange thoughts?"

Heero gulped. "I've been wondering," he said, quickly, "if I'm not dreaming this whole thing. You... and all the others I've seen here, look like people I know. Or..." He broke off, needing to calm himself before he brought this idea up. "Or, maybe I died, and this is the afterlife?"

David studied him, thoughtfully for a moment. "You're not dead," he said finally, then stood up and began pacing. "This is kind of like Purgatory. A place for souls to orient themselves. From what I gather, you did wreck, but you were taken to a hospital. At the moment, you're in kind of a coma."

Heero stared. "So, the people I'm seeing are... delusions? Taken from my own mind?"

David nodded. "We are. The forms you see here are based on people you know, which must be why I'm attracted to you. I wasn't created with feelings."

"So, I could be here forever, if I'm hooked up to life support there?" Heero asked, stunned.

David nodded. "Or, you could get better there, and leave here forever. Or... they could unhook you."

Heero lowered his eyes. "Which means I die, and go on to... wherever."

The last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find that passage back to the place I was before. "Relax," said the nightman, "We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

"Wherever," David repeated, slowly. "Yeah. It's not quite that simple. Your soul was assessed while you were in the courtyard."

"What does that mean?" Heero asked, warily.

David glanced at him. "It means that were you to die now, your soul would remain here forever. You've done some seriously wicked deeds, but they have been balanced out by the good ones."

Heero just stared. Kept in Limbo forever. Duo would never know how he felt... and if Duo survived as long as Heero hoped he would, then his soul might only pass through this place.

Heero suddenly jumped up, and raced out of the room. He knew he couldn't die yet. There were too many unfinished things left in his own world. Most important of all was Duo.

As he passed through the hallway leading to the entrance, he saw someone in front of him. It was Dr. J. But the old man was whole again. No robotics to replace missing limbs, or eyes.

"Hello, Heero," he said, stopping the boy in his tracks, "leaving so soon?"

"Out of my way, Old Man," Heero spat, trying to push past him. "I'm not ready to go yet. I'll fight my way back, even if I have to go through everything and everyone here to do it."

Suddenly, he heard the whispering again. And this time, the words were clear.

"I don't know if he can hang on much longer. His body appears fine, but we can't understand why he's not coming back."

"I know he'll make it." Duo! "He's been through worse than this, before. And he's always made it back to us!"

Heero focused on that voice, and noticed that the walls were becoming transparent. He felt the sensation of rising, and looked down. His body was fading.

Suddenly...

"He moved. Did you see that? I knew he'd come around."

"Duo?"

His eyes opened, and he saw the bleak white walls of a hospital room. Then, he saw the most welcome sight he'd ever seen, Duo was sitting in a chair at the head of his bead, eyes filling with tears.

"I knew you were too stubborn to die, Heero." Duo stated. "But, why on Earth were you driving so fast. You've always been the careful one."

Heero managed a weak smile. "I was drunk. Because I felt left out at the reunion. But, you're right," he added, as Duo started to look puzzled, "I am too stubborn to die. At least, without telling you what I have to say."

Duo shook his head. "I don't get it. What could you possibly have to say that's so important it could bring you out of a coma?" he asked.

Heero glanced at the doctor. "Could you leave us alone for a minute?" he asked, and the doctor stepped outside. "Duo, while I was... gone, I did some thinking."

"Gone? Do you mean in the coma?"

Heero nodded. "I'll tell you all about that later. The only thing you need to hear now, is that I realized something very important. Duo, I love you. And I can't die before I've had a chance to..."

But that was as far as he got. Duo threw himself at the figure on the bed, crying in earnest now. "Oh, Heero, I love you, too. I've been trying to pretend I didn't but it didn't work. Then I saw you tonight, and realized that I had to tell you, or it would eat me up inside. But you left early, and I had to follow you. If I hadn't..."

"You mean, you're the one that brought me here?" Heero asked, and stared as Duo nodded.

"Yeah, I saw you swerve, and managed to get you out. I had to drive you here, because there wasn't anywhere to call an ambulance from. There wasn't anything on the side of the road, except an old deserted mission..." he broke off at the look on Heero's face. "What?"

Heero was staring at him, amazed. "Did you say Mission?" he asked.

Duo nodded. "Yeah, an old Spanish one. It looked like it hadn't been used for a few hundred years though. Why?"

"Duo, you're not going to believe this..." Heero began.