AN: Sorry this chapter took me so long to write, I have a lot going on in my life right now on top of the fact that I just couldn't find the will to write. I am also sorry that this chapter is so much shorter than the rest but I hope it's not horrible. Thanks so much for all the reviews 3

Chapter Fourteen

It was still early morning when Duo left the bedroom, fully dressed and hair braided. Wufei was close behind him as they made their way down the stairs towards the kitchen. The smells of breakfast being cooked floated towards them, drawing them towards it. When they entered the kitchen, they saw the head cook preparing breakfast. They greeted him and headed over to the breakfast nook. Quatre and Trowa were already there waiting. The Arab man had the morning paper in his hands and he set it down when he noticed Duo and Wufei sit down.

"Good morning you guys, did you sleep well?" The blond asked with a smile on his face.

"I slept okay," Wufei responded, grabbing the napkin from the table and laying it in his lap.

"I didn't sleep at all," Duo admited, running his fingers through his bangs. Just then the cook began placing food in the middle of the table. For a few moments there was silence as they all filled their plates and began to eat. Despite his anxiety, Duo found he was famished. He dug into the food, enjoying the taste. Halfway through the meal, a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Quatre," he hesitated as the blond looked up at him. "Where is Heero?"

"Oh, he's probably in his room still. He was going to leave, but he was pretty drunk and beat up so I pushed him to stay." There was a cautious look on the blonds face, as if he knew that letting Heero stay was risky.

Duo nodded and went back to his breakfast. At least Heero was still here and he could confront him. He needed to get it done and over with quickly though, before he lost his nerve. He finished eating and looked over to his lover. He was almost finished as well so the braided man waited until he was finished. The Chinese man finished his breakfast and stood to take his dishes into the kitchen. Duo followed suit; he placed his dishes in the sink after Wufei and then looked at the other man.

"Do you want to go and talk to him right now?"

Duo nodded, a firm confidence falling upon his face.

"Okay, lets got this done then." Wufei put his hand out to gesture Duo to lead the way. It dawned on Duo in that second that he had no idea where Heero's room was, so he made his way back into the breakfast nook to ask Quatre. Once he had gathered that information, he made his way back upstairs towards the room. The entire time he was filled with a strange mix of courage and fear.

Why the hell was he so fucking afraid? He had fought in a Gundam for fucks sake! He could handle a simple talk with Heero! Too quickly they were standing in front of the doorway to Heero's room. Duo stood there, staring at the door. He was trying to gather all of his courage. It's like facing all those mobile suits during the war. Its like facing all those Oz soldiers. Imagine you're in the war again. He stood tall, and knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence before the door was opened to reveal an angry looking Heero.

They looked at each other for a moment before Heero looked over Duo's shoulder to eye Wufei.

"What do you want, Duo?"

Well, he hasn't hit me yet, that's a good thing. "We need to talk Heero."

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" The Japanese man crossed his arms and leaned against the door way. It irritated Duo. How could he be so casual after what had happened the night before? He shrugged the feeling off and plunged forward.

"You don't own me Heero, and you can't control me anymore. I refuse to be afraid of you. You need to stay the fuck away from me because I'm done with you and all this bull shit. It's not my problem if you don't know how to deal with me leaving you - go get therapy or something. But don't take your anger out on me, because our relationship was fucked up and you know it. Yeah, I was wrong to leave you the way I did but that's in the past and you need to just move on. I sure as hell have."

He paused and Heero simply stared at him. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, leave me the fuck alone." A feeling of calm washed over Duo and he turned to walk away. Before he could get far though, Heero decided to speak up.

"Wufei isn't always going to be there to protect you, you know."

Duo spun around and spat, "I don't need him to protect me. I'm not afraid of you, I can protect myself." He spun back around and walked away. He heard Heero snort as he did but brushed it off. Bring it on asshole, you may be stronger then me but I'll make sure I'm ready for you if you come at me again. He didn't stop walking until he got to the room that he and Wufei shared. Once there, he leaned against the door and sighed. His lover was close behind, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You did good. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Duo sighed again. It hadn't been easy, he didn't feel nearly as strong as he had sounded. He had done it though and hopefully it was all over. Even if it wasn't, and Heero decided to come after him again he would make sure he was ready for him. He was a former Gundam Pilot after all, and he needed to start acting like one. "We should start packing so we can head out."

Wufei nodded and reached around him to open the door to their room. They both entered and began the process of packing their things. Duo felt relaxed as he packed, more relaxed then he had in a long time. He knew that Heero was crazy, and he knew there was the possibility that he would always have to deal with him, but he felt he could handle it. He was more confident about it then he had ever been, and he knew he could face the problem head on. He had Wufei by his side and he wasn't going to give up and let Heero get to him. He had decided that he wasn't going to live his life in fear anymore.

End Story