A/N: Just as a tiny heads up, there's a tiny bit of Relena bashing in here, cause I really really really don't like the girl. Anyways, hope you all enjoy ^-^

What about Duo?

Bleary amethyst eyes opened to sleepy sunlight peeking over the windowsill and spilling out onto a floor half concealed by books and hastily discarded clothes, but it wasn't the early morning sunlight that had woken the owner of those eyes. The reason Deathscythe's ex-pilot was awake hours before he wanted to be was the incessant beeping coming from under a rumpled green tank top laying on the floor next to the bed.

With a groan that was muffled by the pillow the eyes closed again as a pale arm sneaked out from under the thick comforter thrown over his body and half over his bedmate's. Blindly fumbling along the floor, slim fingers finally found the top and lightly grasped it before tossing it to another part of the room and opening the beeping laptop to feel their way along the keyboard. When the beeping stopped and the room fell silent again a loud sigh of relief came from under chestnut bangs as the pale arm went limp against the side of the bed.

"Duo? What was it?" A sleepy voice from beside him asked, causing the already half asleep teen to groan again.

"Who cares? I've said it before Yuy, that laptop of yours can go burn in hell." Duo's voice was muffled again as he'd burrowed his face into his pillow, trying hard to block out his partner's voice and just go back to sleep.

"You're jealous of a piece of technology." There was an unmistakable grin in Heero's voice as he settled his body half on top of Duo's to get a better view of his laptop.

"Am not, and get offa my hair." Duo grumbled, trying awkwardly to bat Heero's body off of his in their position, but Heero wasn't paying attention anymore as he quickly scanned through the email he'd just received. Noting the ex-soldier's silence Duo lifted his head from his pillow to glance back at him. "Heero?"

"It's Relena." Heero said it a bit apologetically, especially upon seeing normally bright amethyst eyes darken considerably at the name. "She's requested I be her bodyguard at an upcoming convention between earth and the colony leaders."

"Course she did." Duo's voice was uncharacteristically hard as he abruptly stood up, dislodging Heero from his position on top of him, and had half a mind to kick the laptop on the floor out the window. "Even though the war's been over for a year now she never does anything or goes anywhere without her bodyguard because 'there are still people out there who are too blind to see the good of peace'." Duo said in a mocking tone as he stood in front of the window, glaring angrily out at the birds chirping in the tree right outside it.

Heero watched his partner standing there and, despite the anger evident on his face and the precarious situation, he couldn't help but be struck by the beauty in front of him for the umpteenth time. Long unbound chestnut locks were falling in waves down a smooth back to brush at the hem of Duo's black cotton pants he loved to sleep in. Wayward bangs rolled gently into expressive eyes that never hid anything from the observer, soft pink lips were pulled tight in determination as well as the strong set jaw leading into a slender neck and bare chest that bore the scars of Duo's life. Sighing, knowing the direction this conversation was going to go in, Heero untangled himself from the sheets and padded across the floor to stand behind his love and wrap his arms around Duo's waist.

"I just don't get it Heero." Duo said softly, all the anger and fight in him disappearing the moment he felt his lover's arms around him. "Every time she calls or emails or whatever you drop everything to go to her, even me." Eyes were trained on the window sill as his bangs did a good job of hiding the tears that were starting to form in them.

"Duo, that's not true." Heero tried to assure him even though he knew what was coming next.

"Yes it is!" Duo spun in his arms to face him, eyes filled instantly with anger again. "Sometimes it seems like if you're not in the Preventers' office you're with her 'guarding' her. She's seen more of you in the past six months than I have!"

Knowing that no argument he could give could possibly calm his lover down Heero closed his eyes in half exasperation and half guilt, for he knew that what Duo was saying was absolutely true. Opening his mouth to try and say something that would, at least, ease his love's feelings a little, Heero found himself beat to it.

"I know I'm being selfish, wanting you all to myself." Duo's voice was quiet again as he said his next part. "But it just doesn't seem fair that during the war she got to use the war as an excuse to keep you close, and now that we're in peace she still finds a way to keep you even though I'm the one who loves you." This time he didn't bother to hide the tears in his eyes.

Heero lifted an arm from around Duo's waist to gently cradle his face in the palm of his hand as he leaned forward to kiss those lips. "She needs me. She can't protect herself and with the peace being so new there really are people who might try to kill her." Heero pulled back as Duo muttered, "I know." "But you're wrong in saying that she can keep me, the only person on earth or in space that could possibly keep me is you." Heero leaned in again, this time initiating more than just the chaste peck of before as he caressed Duo's lips with his own as his tongue led Duo's in a sensual dance.

When they pulled apart Duo sighed in defeat, his eyes closed as he rested his forehead against Heero's chest. "I hate it when you say stuff like that." He muttered.

"Why? You prefer me silent and stoic?" Heero grinned down at the head of chestnut hair shot with gold as the sun started gaining strength outside their window.

"No." Duo thwacked Heero lightly on the arm. "It's because whenever you say stuff like that it only makes me love you more. Bastard."

Heero burst out laughing as he wrapped his arms securely around his boyfriend and kissed the top of his head. "I promise to be back as soon as I can." Heero said quietly as he rested his forehead atop Duo's head, causing the slightly shorter teen to huff out a breath.

"Fine." Amethyst eyes looked back up with their familiar glint back in them. "But you're braiding my hair before you go, since you're the one who unbound it last night. And you're making breakfast. And I swear to Shinigami, I am dragging your ass back to bed and you are screwing me until I can't walk straight."

"Well then, if those are the conditions let's start right now." Heero said huskily into Duo's ear before sweeping him off his feet and carrying him back to bed.

Standing a couple feet behind Relena's chair, dressed up in a stiff formal suit and trying to look dignified, Heero couldn't help but feel himself grow rapidly tired of this old routine. Every time Relena requested him to accompany her to one of these things he always ended up just standing there trying not to look bored as all the females in the room gave him sidelong glances. It didn't help matters that the pink princess never let an opportunity to cling to him pass by and gush over him even though she knew he wasn't in love with her, nor would he ever be. How could he possibly love anyone else when what he had was so much better than all of the others combined?

Heaving a silent sigh Heero was once again reminded of his love's anger at yet another mission that involved having 'the pink brat' throw herself all over him while he kept a half-hearted eye out for any trouble, for if he was completely honest he highly doubted anyone would try and off the girl. This hadn't been the first time something like this happened, matter of fact it'd been happening more and more the past few months. At least this time there hadn't been anything thrown, smashed, or blown up in crossfire between the two. The first time Duo lost his temper at Relena's persistence it resulted in a practically demolished apartment after two hours of yelling and trying to shoot at each other. This time (as well as the last few times, Heero suddenly realized) Duo had been a lot more subdued with almost a defeated demeanor, even with his angry words.

It's not that Heero wanted to do this to himself and his lover, but the fact did remain that Relena needed him. Even if it wasn't quite necessary for him to be there for security reasons he knew that she always felt better walking into a room of people who usually had ulterior motives if he was there with her. He had told this to Duo repeatedly, and somewhere inside Heero knew that Duo understood that too, but Duo still didn't like it.

It's my job to protect her, Duo should get that.

"Heero darling?" Big, innocent blue eyes suddenly snapped Heero out of his inner thoughts as he looked up. The meetings seemed to have finally come to an end after nearly a week of discussions and occasional arguments.

"What is it Ms. Peacecraft?" Heero asked emotionlessly, looking into eyes that hadn't seen even a sliver of the evils the world held. Relena hadn't, and probably would never, see the kind of horrors Heero and Duo had been subjected to since a young age, and it had to stay that way. Only with that naïveté could Relena possibly still believe in this kind of peace, and the world needed that and thus needed Heero to protect this innocent girl.

"Oh Heero, I've already told you that formalities don't apply to us." Relena had stood up and come over to where Heero had been standing like a statue for a week, resting a small hand on his arm. Heero glanced down at it and noted that it was too tiny, too fragile, too smooth… nothing like the rough callused ones that could either relax or ignite a deep inferno within Heero with just a touch. "The meetings are done with. I think we've all come to an agreeable decision quite peacefully. Would you like to come back to my mansion for a few days before returning home?"

"Thank you for the offer Ms. Peacecraft, but if you are no longer in need of my services I shall be returning right away." Heero brushed her off as gently as he could.

"Very well then." Relena sighed. "Escort me to my limo?" She asked hopefully, to which Heero gave a curt nod and offered his arm.

Someday I'll make him leave that idiot and realize how much he loves me.

When Heero walked into Preventers later that afternoon he immediately went to the office he shared with his long haired lover but found it empty, Duo's desk looking like it hadn't been touched in a while as it was actually neatly organized. Dropping off his stuff at his desk he set out to find out where his lover had disappeared to.

Striding down the hallway and keeping his eyes trained for any sight of his missing baka Heero didn't see the person coming towards him and ran headlong into the chest of someone quite a bit taller than himself. Stepping back a bit Heero looked up into familiar emerald eyes.

"Trowa." Heero greeted.

"Heero." Trowa replied with a nod.

"What are you doing here? I thought you and Quatre were still on L4 wrapping up business deals."Heero said curiously. Last he and Duo had heard from the two Quatre was off to close some deals for his family business with his tall lover in tow for protection or, as Duo had put it, someone to keep the bed warm.

"We just got back to earth a couple days ago and Wufei called us about…" Trowa trailed off and looked a bit uneasy.

"What happened?" Heero demanded, instantly back into his soldier mode as he sensed this had something to do with Duo.

"Come with me." Trowa turned back the way he'd come with an edgy Heero behind him.

Trowa led him to Wufei's office which was slightly cluttered with page after page of reports and records of known criminals and whatnot. Upon entering Heero caught sight of Wufei leaning against the edge of his desk, looking like he hadn't slept well in a week, and Quatre sitting silently in Wufei's office chair with a cup of tea before him that looked like it'd cooled hours ago without being touched. The two looked up as Trowa and Heero entered.

"Heero, good to see you again." Quatre stood up to give Heero a hug before standing back to give Heero a good looking over. "You look tired." Quatre noted.

"I just got off another mission guarding Relena." Heero explained.

"Another one?" Wufei muttered almost inaudibly.

"What's going on?" Heero ignored the Chinese as he turned to the bigger matter at hand, the one that had brought on this oppressive air around the other three ex-pilots.

"Well, you see Trowa and I just got back a couple days ago, and Wufei had immediately contacted us because-" Quatre looked uncertain how to continue and glanced up at his boyfriend who wrapped a soothing arm around the small blonde's shoulders.

"Maxwell got a mission the day after you left for yours and was supposed to return later that day, the next day at the very latest. He never showed up. We waited another day before sending a team to the location he was supposed to be staking out but found the place to be deserted, the terrorists were nowhere in sight and neither was Maxwell. We've lost all trace of them as well as contact with Maxwell." Wufei informed Heero with as little emotion as he could, not wanting the other to see how truly afraid for the missing pilot he was.

Heero just stood there, eyes wide as he tried to take in everything Wufei had just said.

"Heero?" Quatre ventured forward, laying a tentative hand on the unmoving boy's shoulder only to find it shaking.

"No." Heero breathed. "No! He can't be missing, he just can't be! Didn't-didn't he have any backup? Or at least a partner with him?" He demanded of the only other preventer in the room. Wufei just shook his head sadly.

"You know Maxwell, no one else can keep up with him. That only other time he took on a partner other than you he got shot in the leg due to the other's incompetence remember?" Heero felt as if his legs would give out from underneath him and, as if sensing this, Quatre quickly transferred him into Wufei's empty chair.

"This is all my fault. It's completely my fault." Heero could feel himself shaking all over. "If I had just listened to him and told Relena enough was enough I'd have gone with him and this wouldn't have happened!" He could feel himself getting hysterical and Quatre quickly enfolded him in a tight hug.

"It is not your fault Heero, you hear me? It's not. Duo knows how important Relena is to our peace, even if he doesn't want to admit it, and no matter how much he may not like it he knows you have to protect her." Quatre insisted.

"But what about Duo? Who's there to protect him?" Heero asked quietly, turning tear filled cobalt eyes towards the boy holding him. Quatre had to hold in a gasp at seeing the stoic emotionless soldier he'd known show so much tortured emotion. "I'd always thought that he was the invincible God of Death, just like he wanted us all to believe. But I should have known better, of all people I should have known. On the inside he's just as scared of the world as anyone else and needs someone to protect him, and it should have been me who did that. But I was too busy with my hero complex," Heero paused at that, half expecting Duo to laugh before remembering he wasn't there. "And I just left him alone."

"Heero," Quatre, who always knew just what to say, was at a loss as to how to comfort the soldier now openly sobbing on his shoulder. He glanced up at the other two occupants of the room but they were both looking at Heero with identical shocked and lost expressions.

A sudden loud beeping noise made all of them jump and Wufei dive for his laptop. "It's a voice message!" Wufei scrambled to open it and suddenly Duo's tired, strained voice filled the haunting silence of the room.

"Hey Fei, don't know if this'll ever get to you. I was going to try sending it to Heero…but chances are he'll be gone for a while with…well, you know. Anyways, I just wanted to send this cause chances are I'm not gonna make it out of here." A slight raspy chuckle. "Yeah, you heard right, the God of Death is gonna be dead soon. I can't say much, mostly because I don't think I have the breath left for it, damn bastards are getting better with tying up hostages. Well, that, and because they're gonna come back to attempt to torture information out of me again soon. I just wanted to send this along…don't ask why. I'm weird that way. I guess these are my last words. Fei, you've been a great friend, even with the threatening and rants on justice. Find yourself a nice girl to settle down with, you deserve one and she'll keep you busy. I heard ol' Sally's been eyeing you. To Quatre and Trowa, you two are the cutest couple I've ever seen that for a while there before I had Heero I was insanely jealous. Never let go of what you've got together, and I don't care who does it but one of you had better damn well ask the other to marry him sometime soon or I'll be having fits down in hell." Another pause as a trembling cough drowned out the words, and when Duo started talking again his voice was much quieter and raspier.

"Heero…" This time the silence lasted over a minute, and for a moment Heero was terrified that Duo had left them. "I don't know what to say to you that I haven't already. I love you, more than anything possible. I love you to my very core, so much so that every time I see you it takes everything I have to not latch onto you and never let go, so much so that every time you walk away I shatter into a million pieces inside and I know that I will never be mended without you. I'll love you with every single beat my heart has left and long after time itself has unraveled. Please don't blame yourself for all this, cause it's not your fault just like I'm sure Quatre's said. I know you did what you had to, and I'm not in the least bit mad at you for it. I'm sorry for all the grief I gave you over the subject and for being so selfish." A distant scuffle could be heard and this time they all had to really strain to hear Duo's next words. "Well, looks like it's time. You guys have all been like brothers to me, the best thing that could have ever happened to me was piloting Deathscythe along with all of you. I could never thank you for all the love you've given me over the years, it's more than I could ever hope for or deserve."

The message ended and all was silent in the room once more. Glancing up warily Heero noticed that he was not the only one crying like a baby at Duo's words. Quatre was being held tightly by his quiet lover, who had silent tears leaking out from under his closed lids. Even Wufei wasn't trying to hide the tears making silent tracks down his cheeks.

"When was that message sent?" Heero asked quietly, his voice sounding so unlike his own that if his brain hadn't told his mouth to form those words he would have sworn it was someone else speaking them. Wufei glanced down at his laptop for a second before letting out a loud yelp and started furiously typing in commands.

"What is it?" Trowa looked up from over Quatre's head.

"It was sent at three a.m. this morning, meaning the connection just may be fresh enough for us to track its origin." Wufei replied, not slowing his typing in the least.

Upon hearing those words something seemed to spark inside Heero, causing him to leap up and practically push Wufei out of the way as he grabbed the laptop and took over. If there was any chance that his love was still alive and that they could find him…

Please Duo…please be alright.

They'd basically stolen a jet. Two preventers agents, the heir to Winner Enterprises, and a tall boy with hair that no one else but him could have pulled off burst into the hangar where the jets were housed and all clambered into the closest one before firing it up and speeding off. They'd deal with the consequences later.

Wufei had taken the wheel with Trowa in the co-pilot seat while Heero paced back and forth like a caged animal determined to wear a hole into the floor and Quatre fidgeted while trying to sit still. Flying towards the coordinates Heero had finally gotten from the transmission of Duo's message only one thing was on all of their minds. Duo.

Heero swore to himself that the second they found his Duo he was going to hold onto the boy and never, ever let go again. He'd apologize profusely over and over again for being so stupid and blind to what was in front of him and promise to spend the rest of his life by Duo's side protecting him and only him.

When the jet landed the four of them instantly leaped out only to be met with what must have been a warehouse, except for the fact that it'd been blown out from the center where a blackened crater now scarred the earth and there were large piles of rubble everywhere.

"Spread out, he's gotta be around here somewhere." Heero commanded before starting to shift through the nearest pile of rubble as best as he could.

The four of them combed through the piles of blown up cement for a good half hour, each hoping against hope that they'd find their missing friend in once piece. A half hour turned into one, and then slowly into two and then three. They found numerous dead bodies crushed by the rubble or torn up from a blade or gun, but none of them were the one they were looking for. The blood red sun was starting to set and they'd only gone through about three quarters of the blown up warehouse when a voice spoke for the first time in hours, breaking the silence that had only been punctured by the occasional rolling of a piece of rubble.

"No."

The word was spoken so softly, and Wufei had been a good twenty some feet away from Heero when he'd said it, but it was so filled with hollow sadness that Heero's ears instantly picked up the whisper as the gentle breeze carried it to him and he ran to where Wufei had knelt on the ground. Quatre and Trowa had hastened over as well and stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the battered body of Duo.

Pale skin was even paler than normal, covered in angry red gashes and cuts that were covered in dried blood. His Preventers' uniform had slashes and scorch marks covering it, cuts and bruises marred his face and blood matted his dirty unraveling braid. His right arm was deeply bruised at the forearm, most likely due to a break, and his side was thoroughly soaked with blood from a knife wound.

"Duo," Heero fell to his knees before his love's fallen body. Carefully, almost as if afraid of breaking his body even further, Heero cradled Duo to him as he let even more tears fall, sure that he'd cried more in the past six hours than he had in his entire life. "I'm so, so sorry." Heero whispered into Duo's hair as Wufei rested a hand on Heero's shoulder in silent comfort.

"What're you sorry for?" The words sounded like it took everything Duo had left within him to push past his lips as amethyst eyes fluttered slowly open. "You're not the one who had the crazy idea of blowing up a warehouse full of terrorists while you were still in it." He attempted his usual grin but could only manage a wan sort of half smile.

"Duo!" Four voices exclaimed happily, making the braided one wince and close his eyes again, burying his bruised and battered face in his koi's arms.

"Geez guys, keep the volume down before you wake the dead."

It really wasn't funny considering they were surrounded by the dead, but they all found themselves laughing anyways.

"Duo?" Heero asked sleepily as he padded into the apartment's living room, finding his lover standing before the window bathed in pale moonlight and gazing out at the world outside.

"Hey love, didn't mean to wake you." Duo turned to face Heero a bit apologetically.

"I can't sleep without you beside me no matter what, and you know it." Heero replied as he drew the other into his arms and held him tightly, resting his chin on Duo's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Duo laughed quietly as he held onto the soldier before him, his soldier. "I couldn't help but notice that you haven't gotten any calls from Relena. I've actually seen you every day for a full week straight." Duo joked, pulling back just enough so that he could rest his forehead against Heero's.

"That's cause it's time for someone else to protect her. I've got much more important things to do." Heero replied, placing butterfly kisses all over Duo's soft skin.

"Such as?" Duo asked as his breath hitched a bit when Heero found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

"Such as protecting you for the rest of our lives." Heero responded simply.

"Heero," Duo pulled away with a serious expression on his face. "I don't want you to neglect others just cause I had one slip up and-" Whatever Duo was going to say was silenced as Heero placed his next kiss right on his lips.

"Duo, kindly shut up and let me love you." Heero pulled back to say before going right back in for another heated kiss. Duo moaned into his lover's mouth as he wrapped his arms around Heero's neck and his legs securely around the other boy's waist, letting Heero carry him through their apartment to their bedroom before gently placing Duo on the bed with himself settled carefully on top.

"For the rest of our lives?" Duo asked as Heero quickly relived them of their clothing.

"For the rest of our lives." Heero promised, lips moving a breath's distance from Duo's own before kissing them again, and again, and again...

A/N: Well...the ending didn't quite come out as I had imagined, but I hope it still worked out in some way *hopeful grin* R&R please!