Disclaimers: I do not own or hold any rights to Gundam Wing in any way shape or form.

Authors note: Hello everyone! I truly hope that you enjoy this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Its my first fanfiction ever so please be kind when you critique me. I will gladly accept any advice given, I just ask that you be respectful while giving it.

Warnings: adult language, boyxboy relationships (don't like don't read, simple.), rape, abuse, drugs, and probably losts of other things that I can't even think to warn about at the moment. Its rated M for a good reason.

Chapter 1:

The War ended. They moved on, happily fitting back into normal life. That's the story everyone has been given anyway, but the truth is far less pretty. Not everyone is able to have a normal life after being a fighter, no matter how hard they try. Some spend years trying to fit back into society, others just find a path in life that allows them to continue to fight, but they will never be normal. A fighter will always be a fighter, a soldier always a soldier, there is no undoing of the years of training they underwent. The story of one soldier and one fighter is a perfect example of this. Heero Yuy, the soldier, and Duo Maxwell, the fighter, the perfect soldier and the solid fighter together working in a harmony that could only exist in a war. What happens when you throw those two together in a war and then take the war away? Distruction, broken hearts, and lost souls, that's what happens. Heres the story of what happened after the wars ended and soldiers and fighters tried to be normal.

Heero's POV

The war was over, I ended it. The truth is I really wanted to shoot that bratty little girl, but I was out of bullets by that point. I guess the threat alone served its purpose though. I raised my gun and pointed it right at her head, in between her eyes, "Bang!" I said pulling the trigger knowing nothing would happen. I saw her whisper something then my body finally caught up with me. I knew I had won by that point and that it was over. So, I let my gun slip from my hand to the floor before allowing the darkness to consume me. My last thought being that Duo was going to kill me if I don't recover quickly. I had made a promise to him not to die and I intended to keep it.

I woke up days later opening my eyes to a brightly lit room washed in white. A hospital, I hated hospitals. Security in them was deplorable. I knew I needed to get out of there as soon as possible. I was mostly healed at this point so it was ok, I could walk. I turned my head to better survey my surroundings when I finally noticed the weight next to my hip. I looked over to see Duo Maxwells head resting in his folded arms, while sitting in a chair pulled up next to me, asleep. I studied him for a moment wondering what he was doing here. He should be out celebrating with the others, not wasting his time in a place I know he hates.

Without realizing what I was doing I brought my hand up and gently ran my figures through his soft bangs before moving over his head and down to his braid. I gently grasped his braid and just held onto it, finding comfort in the small act. By the time my eyes made it back to his face his eyes were open, studying me. "Hello" he said before breaking into a soft yawn. "Hello Duo." I replied and even managed a smile. The smile that he returned was brilliant and warming and was like the sun finally shining on a place darkened for years. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, he was beautiful, he was life, and he was success. We had won, the war was over, and Duo was here with me. I couldn't contain my happiness.
"Good to have you back stranger." He said while standing up to stretch. He must have been here for quite a while. "How long have I been out?" I asked and then started to sit up, wincing as I realized I had a few broken ribs to contend with. He reached over a pushed a button on the bed, automatically sitting me up, before he went behind me and fluffed my pillows and gently pushed me back against them before making his reply, "Oh, I think its been about a week now, give or take". A whole week, well that explains why he wasn't celebrating. That was probably all done with now. "Have you been here the whole time?" I wondered aloud. He nodded, "Never left your side. They tried to make me, but I wasn't having any of it. I finally just told them I was your next of kin and they grudgingly let me stay." I blinked a few times in shock. He'd been here the whole time? "Why didn't you go celebrate with everyone else?" I was studying his face now curious as to his reaction.

"I couldn't leave you…" was softly whispered his eyes burning into mine the whole time. He was obviously embarrassed, his face was quickly heating up and turning red, but his eyes still never left mine. I raised an eyebrow in question and he slowly continued, "I was afraid you'd never wake up, I was afraid of losing you. You're important to me, to all of us. That and you promised you wouldn't die. I had to make sure you kept that promise." Now he turned his head looking around the room obviously hiding his embarrassment. I smiled and reached out to grab his hand, without thinking about what I was doing I acted purely on my emotions and brought his hand to my lips gently kissing the back of it before pulling him to me. Due to me being in a bed and him standing, he stumbled before literally falling into me. The impact jarred my hurt ribs but it was worth it. I wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace. During the first war I had told Trowa that it was never wrong to act on ones emotions, but I hadn't done that myself until now. I was holding onto Duo like he was life, and without him I would die. "Thank you" I whispered. I felt his smile as his arms came up to return the embrace.

I was just about to say something else when a knock sounded on the door causing Duo to jump up and away from me. As soon as he was straightened a doctor stormed through the door. He was an older man with greying hair, large hardened brown eyes hidden behind thin wire framed glasses and a salt and pepper mustache covering his upper lip. Giving Duo an offensive look he charged over to my bed, "Mr. Maxwell, you should have informed us the moment he woke up!" he bellowed before roughly grabbing onto my arm to check my vitals. "Ah, well I was going to but, he wanted to talk a bit first. Who was I to say he couldn't?" he replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. The doctor audibly growled at this response but wisely didn't say any more on the subject finally turning to address me. "Mr. Yuy, how are you feeling?" he was now adding something to my IV. "I'm fine, when can I get out of here? And what the hell did you just put in me?"

"Mr. Yuy, you most certainly are not fine. You have 6 broken ribs, a broken arm, several bullet holes that were stitched together, and countless lacerations. I'm surprised you didn't die from blood loss alone before you were brought here. You have over a hundred stitches in you right now. You will need to stay several more days before I will allow you to walk around on your own. And I just put a pain killer in you to help you relax. I know that you need it. You've been in a coma, those don't do much to really heal anyone. Now, you rest and I'll come back in a few hours to check on you again. Good day Mr. Yuy." With that being said he stood and stormed back out of the room. I blinked a few times in shock before turning back to Duo. "What a jerk…" I commented, and Duo just burst out laughing at me.

I managed to stay in the hospital another few days before demanding to be let free. I could heal just as well without being here. I called the doctor in and demanded to be released. It didn't go so well as you can imagine.

The same old doctor stormed in, the man couldn't seem to just walk into any place, he always stormed in as though it was a matter of life and death that he get in there as soon as possible. "Mr. Yuy, you rang for me?" he asked calmly. "Yes," I replied "I am ready to leave, please have my discharge papers ready within the hour." He actually looked shocked at this, "Mr. Yuy, I haven't authorized for your release yet. You can't just decide that on your own." I leveled him with one of my patented glares, "Do you even realize who I am? You can either let me go freely or I can break out of here before you even realize that anything has happened. Besides that, I am stable now so you have no real reason to keep me, I can finish healing just fine elsewhere and would prefer to do so." He gaped at me like a fish for a minute before composing himself. "No Mr. Yuy, I don't have any idea of just who you think you are, but in here you are a young patient and with no family I find it my duty to keep you as long as possible to make sure that you are well healed before letting you out onto the streets. I am only concerned for your well-being. You are lucky you survived this war at all, it would be terrible if you died from something silly like infections at this point don't you think?" I growled ready to really rebuke him but was cut off as a voice from the doorway spoke up, "He is the reason the war is over Doctor Sampson, and you would do well to remember that. This boy saved the earth during the first war with OZ and again during the second war. He is the Gundam Pilot 01. He's more powerful and capable that you can possibly imagine. And that other boy you seem to hate so much is the pilot of Gundam 02. You should learn a little respect for the ones that saved your sorry ass." The rant ended as the person entered the room fully, revealing it to be Sally Po. I let out a sigh of relief as she walked over to the bed I was currently stuck in. "Hello Heero, you ready to go? I've come to get you."

It got a little crazy after that with the doctor sputtering unbelieving at who I am and who Duo is, but everything got straightened out shortly after and I was finally released from my prison and into Duo's care. A lot had happened in the two weeks I'd been in the hospital. Apparently Duo had been awarded some money as a war hero and had bought a house for himself. He was assigned as my care taker so I would be living with him for a while. It seemed too good to be true! I was deliriously happy when we got to Duo's house.

He chose a simple yet beautiful house in a quiet neighborhood. It was at the end of a street tucked into the corner. Right next door to a wooded area that was part of a national park. He even had a couple of acres of land to claim for a backyard. The location was perfect, even from a soldier's point of view. The trees surrounding it kept it hidden from the air and from sight. If you were just driving down the street you wouldn't even realize that there was a house there at all. The house had trees all around it, including a tree lined privacy fence in between his house and the neighbors. The house itself was beautiful and suited Duo perfectly. It was small but tidy looking. It looked more like a cottage that you would see in those cheesy Christmas cards than a normal house. It had a tall pointed brown roof with a weather vane stuck at the very top. The Roof was different because it came down on the sides farther than on other houses. It came to within about 8 feet above the grass lawn on either side of the house, giving the house a distinct A shape. The front door positioned perfectly centered on the house was right in between two rectangular windows with rounded tops. The whole front of the house which was made of stone, had green vines with big red flowers growing all over it. It was quite striking to look at. The front yard was small, but was lined with a shorter fence than the side yards and had an inviting short wooden gate at the entrance. The front was done up to look like a garden of sorts, flowers were lined up along the fence on all sides in all different colors with the lawn itself well-manicured. It was very neat and well done. I looked around in fascination at all of this, my brain not allowing me to believe that this would be my home for the next while.

As I stepped up to the front gate Duo hurried in front of me, opening the gate for me. He sent a cheeky grin my way and waved his arm in the direction of his house. "Well this is it! I hope you like it!" he stated while gazing lovingly at his now home. I gave him a small smile and nodded, "Its perfect Duo. I don't know how you found it, but I truly think its wonderful." He blushed a little at the praise but quickly ushered me inside the yard and up to the front door. Upon first glance I had thought that the front door was painted red but now I realize it's actually made of redwood. I reached my hand out and ran it down the door marveling at the craftsmanship. "The door looks different from most of the house, the craftsmanship is amazing." As I looked closer I realized there were actual pictures carved into the door, upon closer inspection I gasped in surprise. Those were our Gundams! All around the glass that provided a window was pictures of our Gundams. There was Deathsythe on the right with Deathsythe Hell on the left, and then there was Wing on the bottom with Wing Zero on the top. Taking up the middle areas were Heavyarms, Sandrock, and Nataku. He had even included Epyon and Tallgeese. I laid my hand over the top picture of Wing Zero and sighed. I closed my eyes for a moment and jumped slightly when I felt another hand placed on top of my own. I looked over my right shoulder at Duo, head bowed eyes closed in a seemingly silent prayer. I studied him for a moment before he looked up at me and gave me a small smile. "I made this door myself; it's a constant reminder of what we did. Every time I walk into this house, I will know I earned it through blood, sweat, and tears, and I'll love it all the more for that." I smiled and pulled my hand away from the door and from his soft touch. Turning myself around so that my back was against the door I reached out and pulled Duo into a fierce hug catching him completely off guard. He went completely still in my arms for a moment before bringing his own arms up and encircling my waist, burying his head in my shoulder. "I still can't believe all of this." He whispered, his hot breath grazing my neck making me shiver slightly. I knew what he meant though; I could hardly believe it myself. Giving me one final squeeze he pulled himself away, smiled brightly at me and turned to unlock the door. Opening the door he ushered me inside, quietly closing it behind us. "Welcome home Heero." He stated. I smiled, "I'm Home Duo." I said looking right into his beautiful blue/violet eyes. I was home, right where I belonged.

Duo's house was small but cozy and perfect for two bachelors. Through the front door was the living room, complete with couch, love seat, recliner and larger flatscreen tv on the opposite wall. The living room was large it being the main part of the house, had high vaulted ceilings with a fan hanging right in the center. The couch made up of brown suede was set up in the middle of the room facing the tv which was on the wall to the right. There was a love seat to the left of the couch going against the far wall and a recliner was across from that making a square shape with just enough room to walk around all of it. All the furniture was brown suede with wood carved legs and on the arms. It was very rich but simple looking furniture and fit the house perfectly. The coffee table in the middle was made of the same dark wood and had a sort of swirl to it for the legs. It was eloquent and again simple. Behind the living room was the kitchen, completely updated and modern and also a very good size. The house really wasn't small, but it was all one story which made it seem small. To the left of the front door was another doorway leading to a hall which had three bedrooms going down it; a guest room, an office complete with top of the line computer, and the guest bathroom, followed by at the end of the hall the master bedroom and bathroom.

He finished giving me the grand tour and I put what little belongings I had into the guest bedroom before walking back into the living room. Once there Duo plopped down on the sofa and reached for the remote to turn the TV on. I stopped him before he could. "Duo, "I started looking deep into his eyes "We need to talk." I knew we needed to get some things straightened out; I wanted to get everything taken care of before moving any further forward. He smiled, placed the remote back onto the coffee table and turned to look at me. I quietly sat down next to him and looked down at my hands suddenly nervous for some unknown reason. "What's up?" he asked starting to look concerned. "Duo," I began not knowing how to start. "This is your home, are you sure you're ok with me being here?" I couldn't look at him knowing I was being stupid. He shook his head laughing softly, "Heero, you're my best friend! I care about you! Of course I want you here! I can't think of anyone I would rather room with, not even Quatre. "I smiled, that was good that I had one up on Quatre I guess. "Duo, I just don't know what to do now. Once I'm fully healed, then what? I know I could be part of the preventers now, but I just don't know if I really want to do that. I'm tired of the killing and the espionage. I just want to live out the rest of my days in quiet comfort. Maybe do something with computers." Duo placed his hands over mine and squeezed gently, "Heero, whatever you decide to do I will support you one hundred percent. I understand what you are saying completely. I already decided not to join the Preventers; in fact I've gone into business with Hilde in the scrap industry. I start next week. You could come and work with us if you like. Or I'm sure the preventers have need of someone with superb computer skills such as yourself. No matter what you choose, I want you to know that you can always call this your home." He paused looking away from me and blushing slightly. "I actually had you in mind when I bought this home. I had hoped you would like it enough to call it yours as well as mine." My eyes widened in shock. He did all of this for me? I felt so elated at that point that I lost all reason within me and before I knew what I was doing I had Duo in my arms and my lips pressed tightly to his.

At first Duo was rigid in my arms apparently neither one of us could figure out what was going on. Before he could respond though, I pushed him back a bit and smiled a true happy full smile. "Thank you Duo, no one has ever given me anything so meaningful before. I would be happy to call this my home forever, as long as you are here to share it with me. It wouldn't be home without you here." Duo's eyes started to shimmer with unshed tears. There was a moment when we both just sat there in silence, Duo fighting back tears, and I lost in amazement. "I will always be here with you Heero." He finally stated through a salty tear stained smile. I decided to kiss him again. I knew exactly what I was doing this time and decided that since he hadn't punched me or pushed me away after the first one, then I should be safe. I very softly touched my lips to his giving him plenty of space and time to push me away if he wanted. When he did nothing I pressed a little harder, running my tongue along his lower lip tasting and feeling as much as I could. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Duo hesitantly kissed back parting his lips just enough to allow his own tongue to dart out and swipe across my lips. I moaned softly trying to hold on to what little control I had left. I reached out and grabbed him, crushing him against me. He gasped at the sudden body contact opening his mouth which I took as an invitation and quickly delved my tongue inside for a better taste. It was wonderful! Duo tasted of spice and honey and the feel of his tongue warring with my own was driving me mad with want. I couldn't believe this was happening. I knew that I had feelings for Duo, but during the war I ignored all of them. I had a mission to complete and could not let anything get in my way. Now that the war was over I could focus my attention on those feelings for the beautiful braided baka that had won the hearts of many.

I don't know how long we stayed on that couch just kissing and holding each other but it was almost completely dark in the room by the time we came back to our senses. I pulled back panting softly but kept my arms wrapped tightly around him, unwilling to let him go even now. He reached over to one of the side tables and flicked on the small lamp that was there. We both squinted at the sudden unexpected onslaught of light into the room. Slowly he disentangled himself from me and stood up. After a quick stretch he reached down and grabbed my hand pulling me up as well. "C-mon Heero, lets go make some dinner then hit the sack. It's getting late."