See part one for notes and disclaimers.
Comments greatly appreciated.
This part is from Heero's point of view...
I snapped awake as I always do and surveyed the room. Finding the other bed unoccupied and made, I gave an internal sigh and got up, intent on locating Duo.
The dorm room door opened, interrupting my hurried dressing, and Quatre entered.
"Heero... Where's Duo?"
"I'm about to find out." With that, I strode out of the dorm room, leaving a worried Quatre behind.
My first stop was Duo and Trowa's room. A quick reconnaissance showed that while he had left the majority of his gear behind, the American pilot had taken the items he valued. Knowing the other pilot couldn't be very far ahead, I hurried to where Deathscythe was hidden.
Seeing Duo up ahead, only a few feet from his Gundam, I broke into a run and tackled the braided idiot.
Duo struggled against my hold. The only result was Duo pinned to the ground on his back under me.
"You can't leave."
Eyes flashing, Duo growled. "Watch me."
"You leave, I'll shoot you out of the sky with Wing."
"Would you really shoot me?" Duo asked, looking shocked.
I stared back, my usual stony mask in place.
Nodding, Duo pushed against my arms and knees experimentally, trying half-heartedly to get free. "Figured as much. Now, get off me."
"You can't leave."
"We've already established that you won't do what it takes to stop me," Duo said with a sigh.
Knowing I had a trump card, I played it. "I've taken Deathscythe's navigational chip." After making my statement, I rolled off of the other pilot and stood up.
"You bastard!" Duo yelled as he scrambled to his feet. "You have no right!"
"I have every right," I replied calmly, not fazed. "You're running, and you don't have to. Not from me, not from the others, but especially not from me."
"But that's what I do. I run and I hide!" Duo exclaimed, throwing his arms over his head before resting his hands on his hips.
"But, you never lie. And, you're lying; you've been lying. Stop it."
His shoulders slumped as his hands slipped off his hips. His chin fell to his chest as he whispered, "How am I lying?"
"Every time you smiled and said you were fine when you weren't, every time you babbled about the inconsequentials to cover up the fact that you were hurting, you lied."
Backing away from me for distance, Duo braced himself against a
tree and then proceeded to slide down it. "I wasn't lying, I was
avoiding the truth," he said.
I stayed where I was. "And
there's a difference?" I asked.
He didn't look up at me when he answered. "We all hide things. You, Trowa, and Wufei hide your emotions unless someone knows what they're looking for. Quatre, he hides behind them. We all hide things. What difference does it make?"
"We don't go looking for a fight..."
Interrupting before I could finish, Duo yelled, "I'm not going to blow our cover or endanger the mission! I'm not that stupid!"
Idiot. I shook my head. "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you. And, so are the others."
Duo looked up at me when I said that. The look in his eyes wasn't distinguishable, the feelings behind them conflicted. He only asked, in a voice that was so quiet, "Why?"
"You're too good a pilot to jeopardise the mission," I replied, deliberately misinterpreting the question.
Duo shook his head. "No, not endangering the mission... Why are you worried about me?"
Looking the other pilot directly in the eyes, I gave the partial truth. "You're our friend." Silently, I added, 'and you're one of the few things that make my life worth living.'
Duo looked up at me again. "I don't know what to do," he said.
"Come back to the school with me," I told him. "We'll figure it out."
I watched as he stared up at the canopy of leaves above us. Several moments passed in silence before he sighed. "All right."
"Let's go," I replied as I held out a hand to help him up. After giving his hand a small squeeze, I let him go and turned to lead him back towards the school.
"So, Heero," Duo asked as he caught up to me, a small duffel bag over his shoulder. "What's on the agenda for today? No school. Missions? Intel gathering?"
"Talking." I had to forcefully stop the quirk my lips were trying to make.
"You want to talk?" Duo stared at me incredulously, barely side-stepping the tree in his path.
I didn't reply. The rest of the trip was silent and we were soon at the door to Duo's dorm room. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Duo heard the voices of the other pilots in the room. After squaring his shoulders, Duo pushed his way through the almost closed door.