A/N: Duo's not the only one full of surprises.

Also, no worries - I have effectively throttled my inner-angst writer! :)

Chapter 12

Dear Heero…

"Your Grace, Commander - you have letters from the provincial capital."

Trowa was the first to move, reaching out and accepting not one, not two, but three letters from the messenger at the door before dismissing him. Wufei had looked up as well, but upon seeing Trowa shaking his head, sighed in annoyance – Meilan hadn't sent another letter, which meant that despite the last one, she still hadn't forgiven him.

"Maybe she's busy," Heero suggested, just to be kind.

Wufei scowled. "With what – keeping the Duchess alive?" he scoffed.

Heero didn't reply. Going by the last few reports he'd received from Howard and Commander Broden, keeping Duo alive seemed to be difficult, for whatever reason.

Trowa handed Heero two of the letters, keeping one for himself. On Heero's curious glance, the green-eyed male flashed him the envelope's front so he could read the name of the sender: Commander Broden. Heero guessed Trowa's proxy back in the provincial capital was finally reaching out for advice.

As was his usual, Heero opened the letter from Howard first. Eyes scanning the page, he couldn't help the small scowl that crept up onto his face.

"Did they 'reorganize' the budget again?" Wufei asked.

"Trant Clark paid a visit."

Trowa came up to his side, silently supportive. Wufei's scowl deepened, and he straightened the documents he was reviewing with a rougher hand than usual. "It has been over a year," he sneered in contempt. Trant Clark was one of Duo's two lovers; a haughty, vindictive man who lorded his relationship with Heero's husband over him whenever he had the chance.

It wasn't unusual for nobility to take on paramours, but it was good manners to hide their infidelity; Duo, of course, had never bothered. He'd taken great pleasure in letting Heero know that despite their marriage, he'd never deign to touch the skin of someone with commoner blood. Duo may not have loved or even liked Trant Clark, but that was because the man was nothing more than another tool to use against Heero.

Heero's brows furrowed as he read Howard's report. "…Duo ended the affair," he summarized in confusion. It was a strange choice by the man; Trant Clark may not be the best bed partner, but he still had noble blood, good connections and standing, and was easy enough to manipulate. As far as tools, he was a good one.

"Clark may have annoyed him," Trowa pointed out.

Heero nodded. Howard hadn't gone into the specifics, but apparently Clark was now barred from the provincial capital…and from both his and Duo's eyesight. Heero wondered how Clark had taken the news.

That wasn't the only thing Duo had been up to; he had also made a significant donation to the provincial capital's orphanages, apart from Heero's usual donations. There was an additional report on the Bluefield orphanage, to Heero's dismay; the caretakers had been arrested or excommunicated, and there was a follow-up with other bureaucratic members of the clergy who had been overseeing it. Duo was involved, and in what seemed to be a recurring trend, he was injured again as well.

Maybe Broden was correct in his zeal to train the guards. Clearly they were lacking if Duo kept getting into trouble.

Setting aside Howard's report, Heero's eyes fell on Duo's letter with some minor trepidation. This letter would be in reply to the one he had sent… what would Duo say? How would he react to Heero's questions – would he actually answer them, or would he be offended that Heero even dared to ask?

Pulling out the letter inside, Heero was surprised to find not the usual one page, but instead three pages folded together. Unfolding the parchment, he began to read.

Dear Heero,

Are you doing well? The Autumn equinox is coming soon, I can tell by how much pumpkin I can smell in the air. Even then, I can't get my mind off the future – spring will be here in no time, and with it, you will be home.

I'm happy you liked the gifts! Whiskey sure has a strong taste, doesn't it? It's gotten fairly popular around here now; we've shared the recipe with some of the local brewers, so it may be a common good in the market by the time you return! (Crossed out: Try to keep it away from Howard, alcoholism is a dark hole to fall into.)

Also, your taste in food should never be considered unimportant! I'll be sure to organize a (Crossed out: damn awesome) wonderful homecoming feast upon your return, full of your favorites! Any requests?

I've been working more on my embroidery. I've gotten better at stitching our Coat-of-Arms but it's still a work in progress, (Crossed out: and I can't quite place Hilde's expression when she sees it). I'm excited to show you the fruits of my labor. The handkerchief I gave you was too small, wasn't it? I'll be sure to give you a bigger and better one soon!

Heero, are you interviewing me? I'm so shy~ You're curious huh~ Just kidding! You're making a funny face right now, aren't you?

The pink camellias mean "love and longing." Daisies mean "faith in you." (Crossed out: Was it too lame?) I thought you might miss some of the flowers from our home. And I also wanted to assure you that I didn't burn down the entire garden!

Oh wow, so you heard about Taketoyo's steam engines already, even down there? Or was it from Howard? Anyway, it's nothing too crazy so don't worry. A steam engine is a mechanical tool that uses steam to move it. It uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force is turned by a connecting rod and flywheel into rotational force for-

The letter cut off into a jumble of scratches.

Sorry about the above! Hilde wrestled my quill away from me. By the way, isn't writing with a quill such a pain? I'm tired of it. I'm gonna (Crossed out: invent the pen) make something that's easier to write with, just wait! I'll give you a personalized one too.

Oh, Hilde said I can't talk too much about the steam engine in the letter because it's not secure. I'll explain it to you in person when you come back, okay? I have a bunch of schematics to show you too, like the one for the steamboat! A steamboat uses the steam engine to propel the boat forward through the water, it's a lot faster than rig and sail. I've been tinkering with some of the other schematics too, I think a steam engine train can be made much sooner than I previously tho-

The letter once again cut off into jumbled scratches.

Hilde doesn't want me talking about engines anymore. Sorry, Heero.

About the duchy's budget – it's not like it was bad or anything, but this way it's much clearer what's meant for the province and what's meant for our family, right? It's important for finances to have clear lines between personal and professional use. (Crossed out: Did Master Winner take a look at the new budget too?) Our family's finances are still in good shape, I've made a few investments here and there so the profit's been coming in as well.

I was interested in Aoba-ku because it's one of our poorer towns. I wanted to check if there was anything that could be done to help. Finding that iron vein there was just a stroke of luck! And don't worry about my run-in with the bandits or any of those other incidents, it was nothing so horrible! Everyone's just being (Crossed out: paranoid) vigilant. Also, if you receive any requests from Commander Broden about possibly purchasing a bear or any other large animal for training purposes, please reconsider. The guards don't need it. They really, really don't.

Lady Meilan has been great! She's become a good friend of mine as of late, and she's a (Crossed out: riot) pleasure to have at tea parties. She also helped to bring down the governor of Ishigaki during the human trafficking incident. We were lucky to run into her there when I just stopped by to meet a friend of one of the local merchants in town.

My health is fine, don't worry about me! I'm more worried about you. Please be safe, and we'll be praying for the safe return of you and your men.

Thinking about you,

Duo

Heero rubbed a hand over his face. Not only did Duo try to answer all of his questions, but he'd kept an almost fond tone throughout his writing. Then there was the repeated use of "our" in the letter: "our Coat-of-Arms," "our home," "our family." Duo had never done that before, had never referred to anything as jointly "theirs" as he didn't want to validate their marriage in any way. Heero didn't want to misconstrue it but going from the letter… Duo seemed to almost lik—

"Your Grace," Trowa interrupted his thoughts, although his green eyes were locked on the letter in his own hands. "Commander Broden is asking to purchase live bears…?"

"No," Heero replied instantly. Duo was right?

Wufei gave the Knight Commander a puzzled frown. "Why is he asking for bears? That's too much, even for a hunting party."

"He said it's for training the Duchess guards," Trowa answered.

Heero stared unseeingly at his husband's letter. Duo, what are you doing?!

"Quatre will figure it out," Wufei proclaimed, clearly just wanting to wash his hands of anything related to the Duchess. "He should get there soon. Whatever the Duchess is up to, Quatre will find out."

Heero couldn't help but agree. He hoped Quatre would figure it out quickly.

Had Duo really changed…?

Elsewhere, in Taketoyo…

Quatre couldn't help but stare.

"It's a steamboat," Abdul stated proudly, chest puffed out a bit under the incredulous stares of the other Maguanacs. He'd initially been disappointed he would have to stay behind in Taketoyo to manage the Winner family's branch store in the city while the rest of the Maguanacs were to follow Quatre out into the field, but he knew now how lucky he'd been to be present in Taketoyo after it was visited by the Duchess. "We're building more as well, they're much faster at transporting!"

"Abdul, where…where did you…?"

"The Duchess made them! Brilliant, isn't it?" Abdul beamed. "He met with Sir Marcus, the leader of the engineering guild, and shared the schematics. He drafted them himself, you know – he even wrote reports on possible functions, repairs, alterations, everything! I had no idea His Grace the Duchess was interested in engineering. He must be a genius!"

Quatre smiled back at him, "He must be. I'd love to see what else he's been up to too."

"Of course, Master Quatre! Let me show you the blueprints he made for the improved blast furnaces to smelt iron, I heard the guys in Aoba-ku have finished constructing them and the iron is turning out beautifully…"

Quatre continued smiling as Abdul babbled on, and kept smiling as blueprint after prototype after blueprint was presented to him, given alongside possible uses, theoretical improvements, future ideas for development, and detailed explanations of the inner mechanics – all (as Abdul was eager to tell) direct from the Duchess himself.

Quatre's smile never once wavered.

Rashid felt sweat break out along his brow. He prayed that everything Abdul said was the truth, because if the Duchess had been lying about it and taking credit for someone else's work – then Duke Yuy may not have a spouse anymore by the time he returned.

A/N: Quatre~ Is coming~ To town~~

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