Duo stood near the entryway to the safehouse's kitchen, his arms were crossed tightly against his chest and his face was pulled back into a frown as yet another one of the braided pilot's date nights with Heero came to an end abruptly. It had been their third date in a number of weeks to be exact, and the problem wasn't a mission nor was it Dr. J calling in to check up on his number one soldier. No, it was another nuisance, a nuisance named Relena PeaceCraft.
It was hard enough for himself and Heero to find time to spend together between their individual missions, but with the awkward side jobs they took to make a little, extra money to survive on, they hardly had any time to speak with each other and they had both grown frustrated.
Delight and relief had stirred within him when the other pilots had finally retired to their rooms for the night, giving them some privacy, but it had all gone to hell in a minute with a visit from Relena.
A low growl rumbled in his throat as he saw Relena wrap her arms around Heero. Duo had half a mind to walk over there and throw the rich brat out!
Sadly, Heero had told him to stay put whilst he dealt with the intruder. Perhaps it had been for the best; his decision had possibly saved the girl from a vicious, verbal lashing.
Duo sighed, uncrossing his arms as he stared at the two from a distance. From far away, he couldn't tell what they were talking about, but he hoped Heero was setting the girl straight.
A year ago, when they had first gotten together, Duo had tried to let Relena know that Heero was off the market, but the girl was thick. In fact, she was so impossibly thick that she had actually laughed at him for suggesting that Heero was already in a relationship.
Oh, how he wish he could have knocked that smile off her face.
"What's wrong, Duo?" Quatre asked him as he came into the kitchen for a snack. He grabbed his juice from inside the fridge and walked over to Duo as he took a sip.
"Do you think Relena has some sort of mental illness?" Quatre choked, his juice spilling from his mouth like a rocket and he leaned against the counter for support.
"What!" He said incredulously. "Why would you think that she has a mental illness?"
"Just, look at her Q," He said and they both glanced her way." I told her twice that me and Heero are together and yet every time we make plans to do something; she finds out and messes it up."
"If only I knew how she keeps finding out."
"Maybe Heero tells her." Duo's head snapped in blonde haired boy's direction.
" What did you say?"
'Nothing." He replied, nervously." Have you tried asking Heero to talk to her?"
"I did Quat, he doesn't want to upset her."
"Duo," He said, seriously. "If Heero loves you, then he should care more about making you happy instead of worrying about her feelings."
"Look at her." Duo did and he saw Relena linking their hands again. He breathed out deeply to calm his nerves."Duo, you could talk to her forever, but she won't understand until she hears it from the man she loves. "
"That we both love." Quatre smiled, it was sad one and full of pity wrapped his arm around Duo's waist.
"I understand Duo, but does Heero understand. He doesn't exactly look uncomfortable with her actions."
"He does Q, at least I hope he does. " Quatre sensed the hesitation in his best friend's words and it hurt, seeing him so sad and worried the exact opposite of how he usually is."Then he needs to make it clear to her before you get hurt.
"I'm going back upstairs, Good night." They hugged and Quatre left, leaving Duo to clean up the remains of his date with Heero. He watched them talk quietly and turned of the light. Heero didn't look to be in a hurry so he wouldn't wait and he headed upstairs to their room. His mind heavy with thoughts.
Once in their room, he laid down on his bed. Not bothering to remove his clothes, he kicked off his shoes and let down his hair. Lying down again, he stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before rolling on to his stomach.
He knew Quatre was right about having Heero talk to Relena, but he also didn't want to make Heero upset with him for forcing the issue. Duo just didn't know what he was going to do. He'd wait for Heero to come up and decide.
Twenty minutes had passed since Duo left Heero and Relena downstairs and he was getting worried. He knew it was probably nothing, but something inside of him didn't feel right and so he climbed out of bed and made his way over to the stairs.
He could see that the light from the front door was on meaning that someone was on the doorstep and he breathed a sigh of relief. Relena was finally going home. Duo walked over to the door, deciding to wait for Heero to come inside.
As he came closer, he could hear the two friends whispering quietly and he pressed his ear to the door frame.
"Heero, I love you and I want to be with you." She said, confident that she would be able to get through to him.
"I'm with Duo." He replied.
"I know," She said, laughing behind her pink scarf."Duo tells me every time I see him."
"But Heero, why are you with him?"
"He's my best friend."
"Do you love him?" And that was where she was sure she had him, Heero was with Duo because he was his friend, but he didn't love him like he loved her.
"I do." He said as she came closer, pressing her front against him and she stared up into his eyes.
"Ok, but do you love him like a friend or as a lover?" Came her question, that he couldn't answer.
Heero stared back at the heiress with his eyebrow raised in confusion. What did she mean by how did he love Duo? He just loved him. He never gave it a second thought, but he knew it was different from the love he felt for his other friends. He loved them like brothers.
So what kind of love did he have for his best friend, he didn't know. For the first time that evening, his eyes lost their steeliness as uncertainty crept in. His hesitance gave her all the ammunition that she needed and she pressed their lips together for a brief kiss as her car pulled up behind them.
Duo stepped back from of the door, he heard everything. Heero didn't love him. The roar of an engine startled him and he became aware of tears that came into his eyes. He wiped them away angrily. He would not allow Heero to see him like this.
It hurt, but he knew what he had to do.
As the car pulled away with Relena inside, Heero went back inside the house and locked the door. As he turned around, he stared back into the face of his lover.
His eyes glimmered brightly and they stared at each other for a few minutes, neither willing nor able to say anything until Duo broke the trance. "Heero, let's break up."
"I can't take this anymore, Heero." He said, biting his lower lip as he felt it quiver. He felt exhausted, standing here looking at Heero like this. All the trust and admiration that he had held in the Wing pilot was gone, leaving on disappointment and betrayal in its place.
"What can't you take anymore Duo?" Heero responded. He didn't know that Duo was there and that surprised him. Once upon a time, Duo couldn't walk even two feet behind him without him noticing his actions.
"This competition with Relena, Heero." Duo said, exasperated. He didnt want to be here and he didnt want to have this conversation, but he knew no matter how much they tried to dance around it, that it needed to be said. He was tired of complaining about her.
He was tired of everything. "I was listening through the door and I heard you both on the porch. You couldn't tell her that you loved me. That you were in a relationship with me, because you wanted too and that you loved me." There he said it. Duo was breathing heavily as he got everything that he had wanted to say off of his chest.
"You have this weird relationship with Relena that obviously means more to you than ours do."
" I don't have a relationship with Relena."
Duo laughed bitterly, Heero was in deep denial if he thought that their relationship was normal. " Yes, you do Heero. You keep saying that your acting like this because she is the princess, but you treat her better than you do me, your best friend and lover."
Duo watched him as what he said started to sink in. He grabbed onto his broad shoulders to look him in the eye, stepping on his tiptoes to make up for their height difference. " I love you Heero, but I have to do this. I can't keep waiting for you to figure out if you want to be with me or even if you love me. I want us to break up."
"Tell me Heero, honestly, what do you feel about me?"
He waited, watching Heero. " Are you in love with me?"
There is was, that question again. The same question that Relena had asked him, the question that he himself couldn't answer. He loved Duo. He really did, Duo was his best friend, the one who stood by his side and helped him experience emotions. But, he wasn't in love him.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, so quietly that Duo thought he had imagined it. But when he lifted his head and his violet eyes met the sad, cobalt blue ones of the man he loved; he knew he hadn't imagined it.
Duo closed his eyes, feeling his heart shatter into a million pieces and he backed away from the other boy slowly." I love you Hee-chan and I'll always be here for you, but I cant hang onto to you like this. It hurts too much."
"I'll pack my things and move out of our room." He said, turning on his heel and leaving Heero alone in the living room.
As he made his way back to his room, he sighed.
'I know im making the right decision.'