Disclaimer: No I don't own Gundam Wing...darn it. Wish I did, but, hey, don't we all. Please don't sue me! I think this is a fairly original story, but I am not responsible for any bruised egos. I warn you: I wrote most of this while listening to A Hard Days' Night ( JUST DON'T ASK!) and taking swings from a very large can of root beer. So there's a bit of humor thrown in. WARNING: This contains yaoi so....Deal with it! I like constructive criticism, but anti-yaoi flames WILL BE LAUGHED AT. Thank you. Love and llamas for all. READ ON!

Matchmaker

Part 1 - By Zoogami

Summary: Everyone trusts Quatre with their deepest secrets. So what happens one night at a casual dinner party', when the Magunacs get Quatre drunk?? Let the problems begin! He spills some rather sensitive things....... *YAOI*, though I won't tell you who. This will NOT turn into a deathfic, so don't worry. Be nice, it's my first fic!

A braided teenager looked up at a rapidly darkening sky and sighed, his breath coming out in a cloud of faint white. Jumping up and down a little, and trying not to drop the bag of groceries he was carrying, he pressed the doorbell of the mansion again and again.

" C'mon, Quatre! " He whined, good-naturedly. He understood that his friend's house was huge, but could he please hurry it up and let Duo in? "C'mon, open the door!" Finally, his wish was granted and one of the large double doors opened to let him enter.

" Man, it's about time! Do you have any idea how cold it is out thrrrr...." He stopped mid sentence when he noticed who had opened the door for him. Heero Yuy stood there, leaning against one of the decorated archways of the front hall, giving the impression like he wasn't in the mood to hear Duo babble on and on. Not that he ever did. His dark blue shirt set off the cobalt orbs of his eyes, his unruly brown hair shining in the bright light from the chandeliers. All Duo could think of was how good Heero looked standing there, and was glad that his cheeks were already flushed from the chill night air, that they hid the blush he felt creeping up.

" Did you get the stuff?" Heero said bluntly.

" Yeah, yeah, stop interrogating me! The way you guys go on, you'd think you all work for OZ or something!" Duo grinned broadly at his own joke.

Heero didn't smile.

Duo saw his comrade's stony look and his face darkened.

" Well, you're no fun." The comment was practically mumbled. He sighed again, deeply, his braid winding behind him like a gentle snake.

" I'm not supposed to be having fun." Heero's voice was as monotone as ever. Duo stuck his tongue out at Heero and practically jogged up the stairs, his chestnut mass of hair bouncing along with him.

***

A mere half-hour later, Heero was back in his room upstairs. Not bothering to flick the lights on as he passed by the switch, he collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes.

He regretted how he had used such a harsh tone.

Why am I so indifferent, even to the person I love? He was so frustrated, though he didn't let it show. Sure, he'd had a crush on Duo for the longest time, but he knew Duo didn't feel the same way. Duo who always had a joke, who could make even him feel a little better. The silly voices that always crackled over the comm unit during MS flights, the serious face of his dark angel in battle. He thought for the umpteenth time how they had met; Duo had shot him, twice. It almost made him want to grin, but the Perfect Soldier never smiled.

I'm not perfect. He thought of how Duo had twisted his sensuous lips into a look of hurt, and Heero's only thought was how much he wanted to kiss those beautiful lips.......

Someone was knocking at the door.

" Heero?" Quatre. Heero didn't bother to reply, only wishing that he could be left alone to indulge in his fantasies.

The muffled voice continued.

"Heero, are you there?" Groaning, he pulled himself up and rubbed sleep out of the side of his face.

"It's open, Quatre."

A line of light spilled over the dark floor and the friendly blond entered. Squinting through tired eyes, he could just make out the other boy's silhouette.

" Just glad I'm not Relena, ne?" Quatre's attempt at a joke was met with an impassive death glare. " I was just wondering if you were going to come down or not."

" Huh?" Heero had completely forgotten about the little dinner party' the other Gundam pilot had planned for that night. " No."

Quatre was taken aback. Sure, Heero had never been the social type....but there was something genuinely wrong with the way he had refused. He sounded...upset.

" What's wrong?"

" I don't think you'd understand."

" Really, Heero? Try me." Quatre saw the taller boy raise his head and look at him.

" I don't feel like sitting through another evening of watching Duo flirt with everybody, and thinking about what I can't have. Because if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to do that up here, in the dark, alone." It was said in a complete monotone, but the message of the statement was clear enough.

" What? Oh....OH!" Quatre's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He'd known it! He'd known that Duo was wrong when he said that he didn't think Heero cared for him back! After weeks of listening to that braided baka's romantic angst, he was finally going to get to play matchmaker! " You like Duo?"

An answer wasn't even needed.

" Don't worry about it. I understand, believe me."

" No. You don't." Uh oh. His voice was more subdued than usual, less commanding.

That must have been really hard for him to say. Quatre thought. Secrets could be deadly if you kept them bottled up inside.

" Why do you think me and Trowa always share a room?"

There was silence for a few moments.

" You...and he..?"

Quatre nodded, his cheeks getting redder by the second. " Are you ever going to tell Duo?"

"I can't."

The opportunity was too good to slip up. " Heero, go down to the party, I'll be there in a second...just..just hold that thought!! "

" Quatre, don't tell anyone." But the words were whispered, and Quatre was already out the door.

Quatre jogged through the house, his mind racing. He couldn't have told Heero that Duo liked him, too. He'd promised Duo he wouldn't tell anyone, and it would be wrong to betray that trust, no matter how much he wanted to. He would just have to tell Duo how Heero felt, and let Duo take it from there.

Now, where could that silly pilot be? Quatre had already checked the party downstairs, and Duo's quarters. The only place left would be curled up in the cockpit of Deathscythe Hell, in the mansion's underground hangar. He headed down.

When he got to the hangar he shuddered. It was freezing down there,..but then again, he knew Duo could, and would, sleep through anything. The cockpit of D-Hell was even colder. Where was he? A folded piece of paper lying on the pilot seat caught Quatre's eye. Picking it up, and realizing it bore some weight, he brought it over to the light to examine it.

It was a photograph, worn and faded, the creases showing it had been looked at many times. Inside was a small object....Duo's cross necklace, the one he never took off. Moving the little gold thing out of the way, Quatre wasn't surprised to find the picture was of Heero. The face was set in it's usual unrevealing expression, but the eyes showed warmth, laughter. Quatre barely remembered when this picture was taken; it had been months ago.

***

It had been a rainy summer day, and there were no missions. The five Gundam pilots had been sitting quietly in the library, reading and playing chess, with the exception of Wufei and Duo. Suddenly, the former silence was shattered.

" NO, MAXWELL!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" The Chinese pilot of the Altron had come running in, followed by his grinning pursuer.

" Come on, Wu-man!! I just want to take a picture of you actually smiling!!"

"INJUSTICE!!" Wufei had yelled .

" Will you guys stop it?" Trowa had demanded of them, concentrating hard on his next move.

" Fine." Duo had put the camera down, defeated. Then he saw Heero sitting in a nearby chair, reading a book. " HEY, HEERO!!! SMILE!!!" He had yelled and taken a

picture.

Then, Heero, who had actually been trying to keep up his soldier image and not to laugh at Wufei, had stood up and pushed Duo away, hard. He hadn't meant to, it had just been a reflex. But instead of making a joke and brushing it off as he normally would, the braided boy had stumbled out of the room silently. Heero had simply sat down and picked up his book again.

Concerned about Duo, Quatre had followed only minutes later. He eventually had found him, sitting in his Gundam's pilot seat, toying with the old camera and being quieter than Quatre had ever seen him.

" What's wrong?"

" Oh, nothing." The American had said too loosely." I'm just wondering about stuff."

" Like what?"

" Like, why doesn't Heero like me?" Duo looked down from Quatre's gaze, his thumb sliding over the smooth plastic casing of the camera.

" What do you mean?"

" I mean, I like him."

" As a friend?"

Duo turned the color of a tomato. " Not exactly."

Although it had surprised Quatre a little, in some ways he had already known it. So, Duo liked Heero. That explained a lot of things. " What makes you think he doesn't like you?"

" It's just...I don't know...the way he always shoves me away and tells me to shut up."

Quatre had grinned. That was how he had sort of felt when he first realized he liked Trowa. He had thought that everything negative was directed at him. But he knew now that that was an illusion of the mind, a deception of loving someone.

" Maybe he's just afraid of how he feels."

Duo almost mocked his voice."Uh, maybe not."

" If you don't want to believe me that's okay, Duo. But I honestly think you're wrong."

" Really?" He seemed so full of hope that Quatre had to resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.

" Yes."

" Thanks....even if you don't mean it. And Quat, do me a favor?"

" Sure."

" Promise me you won't tell anyone." His eyes were so full of trust that no one could have refused.

" I promise."

***

Now Quatre deeply regretted that promise. And where was the boy who should be slumped casually in the pilot's seat, looking at this picture?

" Good evening, Master Quatre." The energetic voice startled him.

" Oh, Abdul. You scared me for a moment."

" I'm very sorry, Master Quatre. Is there anything I could help you with?"

Quatre sighed, then busied himself with wrapping the necklace around the photo,

stuffing them both in his pocket. " It's alright. I don't suppose you've seen Duo around?"

" I saw your braided friend leave for the party a few minutes ago."

Another sigh escaped the blond Arabian. He had so wanted to catch Duo alone, but now he would have to wait. He just wondered desperately to the universe why his friends couldn't work out their own troubles.

" Master Quatre, if I may say so, you look like you're under a lot of stress."

This made Quatre grin. " You don't know the half of it, Abdul."

" Well, you know what I do when I'm under a lot of stress?"

" No, but I could definitely use something to help me relax a bit."

" Alright, well..." Abdul brought out a glass bottle from the folds of his tunic, which appeared to have water in it. He screwed open the top, took a swing, and held it out to his young master. The smell of alcohol omitted from it, strongly.

" Abdul! We...I can't! You know that's against Muslim code!" To this Abdul merely shrugged and took another swing.

Suddenly Relena's voice was heard screaming Heero's name above them. Quatre felt Duo's discomfort, Trowa's anxiety, Heero's frustration, Wufei's...well...just Wufei. Everyone's thoughts and emotions were swirling around in Quatre's head, a tornado that threatened to consume him.

Quatre put out his hand in a determined manner. " Abdul, I need that more than you!"

Meanwhile, ten minutes later, Trowa was getting concerned. It wasn't that he minded how he to sit next to Noin. It wasn't that he was getting sick of watching Heero and Duo pretend not to look at each other. He didn't mind the expensive foods and wine, which would no doubt make him groggy the next morning. He didn't even mind (that much) that Relena was there, although she made everyone often regret that they knew her. No, it wasn't any of these things. His beloved Quatre had said he would be right back, and that had been..what..hours ago? He'd said that he'd just go and find Duo and Heero, but they were both at the party...so where was Quatre??? Trowa's anxiety over what might have happened to his Little One was growing very intense, when a certain person raised their voice.

You guessed it. "HHHHEEEEEEEEEEEERRRROOO!!!!" If you could give Relena Peacecrap one thing, it was her timing. The look on Heero's face made Trowa cringe even though he was standing across the room. Wufei had started to laugh, but Duo was unusually silent, twirling the stem of his glass, his purple eyes looking examining the floor VERY closely. In fact, everyone looked generally ill at ease.

" That's it! I'm going to find Quatre!" Thought Trowa. He put down his drink with an uncharacteristic force that almost caused a hairline crack to appear in the otherwise flawless crystal. He walked over, tapped Duo on the shoulder, and whispered in his ear.

"......." Trowa emphasized. "..........!!!"

" Whoa, I couldn't agree more." Duo gave a small grin. " Good luck finding him."

"......?"

" Yeah, sure I'll hold the fort for you."

"......."

" Welcome!" The quiet boy left hurriedly. Duo's only thought as he looked at the revolting display before him was; Q, you sooo owe me one.

Down in the hangar, Quatre was feeling a bit tipsy. Things seemed very disconnected in some way, like all the parts of his brain had turned into different pieces of Jell-O. At first he couldn't quite figure out where he was, then he knew....but at the same time he didn't know. And he couldn't stop giggling. Plus, he suddenly had the urge to blow something up. Such is it when a Gundam Pilot downs a whole bottle of Moonshine.

" Quatre! Where have you been?" A bright, round ball demanded of him. It seemed very fluffy, but at the same time sounded like Trowa.

" Oh (giggle), up and down and sideways and thingy mahoozywhoppers (giggle)."

Trowa was totally and utterly beside himself.

" Are you okay?"

" Of couuuurrrssseee, seeeeeeeee?" And Quatre began to do a little dance. " Wow, Trowa, you're very sparkle-ish tonight."

"....?...." More and more giggling followed. " Heero and Duo showed up at the party so you can stop looking for them." Trowa offered.

Quatre stopped frolicking and looked actually serious for a moment. " They did?"

" Uh...yes."

Suddenly pieces of Quatre's brain-jello flew together and he came to a startling conclusion. " I have to tell Duooo! I was supposed to tell Duuuo that Heeeero's in looove with him!" And with this he bolted for the party room.

" What.....?....W-WAIT!!!! QUATRE!!!! DON'T!!!!" A very distraught and panicking clown followed him.

"Well, this is a perfectly dull evening. Especially with all these onnas around." The warrior known as Chang Wufei glanced at a few of the offending females, warily. It was a small get-together, the pilots and a few of their close associates; Noin, Zechs, Relena (not that Wufei considered her a close associate), Hilde, Catherine, How-

Shouts echoed from down the hall. " NOOOOOOO!!!!! QUATRE, DON'T!!!" Just as this reached their ears, the doors to the room flung open. Though them pranced Quatre, looking the worse for wear.

He danced around the room, or, rather, stumbled. " Help me!!!! I'm being chased by a bright shiny......la-dee-da!!" He shrieked in terror, then stopped and started to giggle uncontrollably. " You seeee," the drunken blond went on, " I learned a secret....and oh, there was a promise,...but then...then...he told me not to tell." He stumbled over his own feet, and fell.

Heero could feel nervousness like an iron hand in his throat. Was Quatre talking about the promise he had made to Heero?

The nearest people to the blonde were offering to try and help him up, but he slapped their hands away.

" I don't need your help!" It came out sounding like a chibi version of him, a little kid screaming at a group of adults. He clumsily got himself on his feet again." But YOU!" He pointed a finger at no one in particular. " YOU always need my help, don't you? Don't you?" His voice raised itself up to a scream, even louder than the last.

Duo's heart was in his throat as he listened. What if Quatre was talking about his secret?

" You alllll....." He gestured wildly. " I mean, what about Ms. Lieutenant over here?" All attention was on Noin. " Like you and Zechs shouldn't just GET A ROOM ALREADY!!!!" Both blushed and looked down at the floor. Everyone else looked on, tension mounting as they waited to see whose secrets would be revealed next.

" And Trowa! You know, I'm getting veerrry sick of all your little boy-band obsessions because I am muuuch cuter than Nick Carter!!" Trowa might have taken a swing at Quatre (even though he did think Quatre was very kawaii), had he not realized what was going on by now.

" Yes, Quatre you are." Catherine tried to help. " But you're also very drunk..."

" Not as drunk as Hilde was the night she got into bed with Relena!"

" ......"Mouths agape, everyone turned to stare at the two.

" But....oh HO-HO! It gets better." The maniac laughter continued, so forceful that it was a few minutes before he could utter anything else. But, finally, he got himself under control. Or so it seemed.

" No, no.....please don't let him say it!" A certain Wing Zero pilot prayed to a god he didn't believe in.

" Heeeeero + Duuuuoooo!!!!" Quatre sang. The glass formerly in Duo's hand was now shattered on the floor, and his mouth was stuck in an O. But no one seemed to notice, they were all too captivated by Quatre's little performance.

" NO!" Heero didn't want to wait around for the stares or the hate he knew he would receive from Duo. And so, when everyone was looking at the new entertainment that was his life in all its pitifulness, he slipped through the kitchen door and out into the freezing black night.

Distracted from the horror in front of him by a noise, Duo whipped his head around in time to see Heero run out the door. His heart stopped. It felt...his chest tightened...it felt like all the blood in his body was draining out..but...but...Heero was his blood....where...was....his Blood..going? Lights swirled in his vision and the room spun, all the elegantly clad figures spinning like they were in a laundry cycle. Oh, God...help me.....help...me....blackness.....sweet blackness....Duo let himself fall into the blackness. He lost all muscle control. My blood is gone, he thought.

" Jesus! Look at Duo!" Someone yelled, but their voice was far away. Blurry arms extended to catch him, but he surrendered to the blackness before he hit the floor.

***

The rain poured down hard, harder than it had before. The sheets of icy water pounded so hard against the windshield that it made it almost impossible for Heero to see where he was driving. And yet, he kept going, driven inwardly by the desire to get as far away from the house as quick as he could.

How could he have been so stupid? Why, oh why had he trusted Quatre? He cursed himself for thinking that he could finally tell his secret, and not get hurt. He hit the dashboard with a clenched fist. Ten times more the fool! He had thought he would be strong, strong like the dream of the perfect soldier he was supposed to be, strong like the dream of Duo's arms around him. But they were only dreams, never real. They never would be, and never had been.

Because eventually you awaken.

***

" It's hopeless." Hilde emerged from Duo's room in the latest attempt by the other partygoers to bring Duo back to them.

" Yeah." Trowa stared out one of the hallway's windows. He'd run out into the rain to try to stop Heero, but had only succeeded in dampening his clothes as he watched one of their cars speed away.

Wufei was rubbing the back of his head. " At least he did not throw shoes at you."

" He threw shoes at you?"

A few people pretended to chuckle, but it was no use. The situation before them was very serious, and it seemed like the one person who could have solved it all had been MIA for two days. And Duo.....

" The person in there is not Duo." The Chinese's thoughts were kept to himself. Although he never seemed to be a big fan of the most energetic and smiling of the pilots, Duo was his friend. But the shaking, murmuring, crying being in Duo's body, who had not eaten or slept or come out of his room for forty-eight hours....that wasn't Duo.

" It's all my fault! I don't think I'll ever forgive myself!" Quatre sat in the window seat. His whimpering was not helping anyone's mood.

Trowa scooted over and hugged Quatre to him. " Hush, it's okay." He glared angrily over Quatre's shoulder at Abdul, who was pretending not to be there. Stroking his angel's hair, he could only wonder, half with rage, half with worry, where Heero was.

***

As hints of pink appeared at dawn's edge, a lone figure lay sleepless in a cheap motel room. The thick plastic curtains were drawn, blocking what little light there was in the sky. The figure was sprawled on the creaky queen-sized bed, never slipping out of consciousness, never moving. He didn't see anything around him, only the image of shock and betrayal on Duo's face, playing over and over again in his mind.

He could never go back. How could he face them? How could he face Duo, who didn't love him in return? He couldn't bear to look into those violet depths and see the contempt they must hold for him.

Heero thought about this again and again, as he'd done for days. It was no use. Duo, his Duo, was lost to him forever. He would never again see that smile or hear that laugh, or know what might have been.

" BAKA, there would never have been anything, anyway."

Never again. It was like Duo had died, he was that lost to Heero. The pain was too true this time, too much. Heero gripped his sides, his face contorted in an expression of sadness that it wasn't used to. And laying there, isolated from love, all hope gone, Heero held himself and cried. The stone that was the armor around his heart cracked and fell away, leaving fragments like those of his life. Salty tears ran down his face, but he didn't care anymore, his sobs loud and violent and full of agony, his body shuddering.

He whispered through his own sobbing." Goodbye, sweet one.....goodbye."

End of Part 1

Whoa, sorry. Didn't mean to leave you hanging! I promise I'll post the next part soon! R+R please. Arigato -Zoogami