AN: GOMEN GOMEN GOMON NASAI!!!! :'( I am SOOOOO sorry… I really really meant to upate this like a week ago, but I have mock exams, coursework, I ha a mock German Oral exam an then the amn on my computer oesn't work so I ha to get eathseaughter….really loses the effect without the d, ne? to a in all the ds for me, an I don't get people to beta my Ans so, I guess this is just gonna have to stay d-less.

Isclaimer: Gunam Wing, all characters, storylines an objects belong to someone else, the plot is so cliché that it belongs to someone else too an as for the inspiration, that belongs to arkmus… with a d… Go I hate my computer!

Thank-yous

Arkmus- The start of Christmas… I should probably ad another chapter though as this only resolves one of the stories.

Rinkurocks-so sorry I don't upate sooner… sorry sorry! SORRY! L

Moomnmyst- more snow, as you requeste!

Kenren19- no sick uo, but yup, more Snow… no snow Heero this time though… ;)

Arizosa- Thanks, gla to know I'm gettting people in characer, though I think that Heero's slipped a bit this chapter. Just a warning there!

Violet-eyes- Heero's plan… reveale… mwahahaha! J

Golenwings- have another chapter, hope you aren't too annoye at the elay…

Eaangel- sorry about your name, but my d is seriously temperamental, like I mentione before… here's another chapter so this is officially still my longest one-shot… lol! Though I've started to get multipart plotbunnies a lot more than I want… meeeep! Hope you enjoy this…

Snow Heero 3

'Twas the night before Christmas and Duo Maxwell was about as far from fast asleep as you could get. His eyes were wide open and he was staring up at the ceiling, unable to banish the thoughts that flew through his brain.

Christmas eve, he thought to himself with a small smile, was possibly the most magical night of the year. He did not believe in magic, but Christmas Eve was the one night he thought it might just be possible that he did. It had always held an otherworldly atmosphere to it, the anticipation making it seem detached and unrealistic, almost as If it were just a hallucination or a dream. Not only was it the most magical night of the year though, it was also the one on which it was most difficult to sleep.

It had started when he was quite young, he couldn't remember when. He used to force himself to stay up, just to welcome Christmas in. He had wanted to be the first person to see it, and to feel the peculiar prickle at the back of his neck that indicated that it was here. Other kids had woken up at 5 in the morning to be the first to get to the meagre presents that were worth more than the world. But he had been there before them. He had seen the first moments of the day. It was a habit that had so ingrained itself into his consciousness that he did it automatically. It was a part of him now, as much as his braid or his joker personality.

It was strange, he mused, trying to pass the time, that someone who called them the God of Death and who didn't even follow the Christian teachings should find a day celebrating the birth of a God he did not believe in. It was just another of his little quirks. One of the things that made everybody love him.

A noise came from the next room and he sat up instantly alert. Noises in the night weren't all bogeymen when you were a Gundam pilot. He listened hard, barely breathing in case he heard anything else, but there was nothing. It had probably just been Heero moving in his sleep, he did that often enough. That guy was only silent when he was awake. He could toss and turn all night and keep Duo up whilst he was at it.

Ok, so maybe that was a slight exaggeration, Duo admitted to himself. It had only been the once that he'd kept Duo up and that had been the braided boy's own fault. After all what did you expect people to do if you put itching powder in their beds? He giggled a little at the memory, that had been a fun prank, even if he had not got any sleep.

His eyelids were beginning to grow heavy and he looked at the clock: 11:58. Almost time. He pulled himself out of bed and headed to the window, determined to see this new Christmas in. He pulled the curtain back a little bit and gasped at what he saw. Snow had fallen since the time they had gone to bed. It was lying thick fluffy and white on the ground, sparkling in the moonlight lending an extra magic to this moment.

He took a second to admire the moon again. He would never grow tired of looking at it, crescents, gibbous, half moon, full moon. It was almost full tonight, but not quite. It looked like an egg. A huge glowing white egg that was floating in mid air. His smile grew again. And he just watched Christmas appear. A tingle crept up his spine and a sudden calm came over the whole world. It was probably just his imagination, but for a split second everything just slid into focus and everything was right. It was almost precognition, but he couldn't tell what of. He just felt very calm and very peaceful.

12:01

He slipped back into his bed, yawning. He didn't have to stay awake anymore. Swiftly he drifted off into a dream-filled sleep.

****

Heero stood up. It was almost midnight. He should have gone downstairs before this, but he had had to be sure that all the other pilots were asleep. To check he kicked his bed slightly, making the sort of noise that wouldn't wake any of them up, but if they were awake would have them running in in seconds.

No one came.

Drawing on all his reserves of stealth he left the room and went downstairs, he had not changed out of his clothes earlier so he was already ready to go outside. The house was cold without the fire, but he barely noticed it. He was focussed on listening for the slightest sound upstairs and moving as silently as possible.

The main part of his plan would take place outside but first things first, he had to go about this mission in the right order or else everything could fall apart. This mission would be completed and it would be perfect. He walked over to the cupboard and opened it sliding out a medium sized cardboard box. He opened it quietly and red, blue gold, silver and green sparkled dimly in the darkness.

A smirk lit his face and his cobalt eyes reflected the colours from the box now settled in his lap. It was an Aladdin's cave of glitter and colours, full of decorations. Tinsel shone, wound up in itself, twisting and turning like shining snakes. Hanging decorations were folded neatly in one corner and then, beneath then were the plants, a holly wreath, some ivy, a miniature Christmas tree and the mistletoe.

His features blank he proceeded with stage one of mission: perfect Christmas.

****

Two hours later and the house was almost finished to Heero's satisfaction. He solemnly tugged at one end of the 'Merry Christmas' signs until it hung exactly perfectly right over the kitchen door, before stepping back to survey his work.

It was perfect. There was just the right amount of glitter in the place, all tastefully positioned and carefully colour co-ordinated. Not a single bauble was out of place. It was beyond a doubt the most festive looking place Heero had ever seen. Not that he had seen very many festive places in real life, but in research for this mission he had looked at several on the Internet.

Nodding to himself he walked over to the door, careful to avoid the tinsel that hung there, before swinging it open and surveying the winter scene outside, oblivious to the icy wind that bit at his knees. He had been correct in his assumption that it would snow tonight. He hadn't expected to be wrong, but it would have ruined his plans had he been.

The purpose of this mission was to make Duo happy. Over the last few weeks he had seen just how much Deathscythe's pilot loved this time of year. He'd chattered even more than usual, and Wufei's sword had disappeared more than 4 times in the last week. Watching him had started to create an emotion inside him that he wasn't familiar with. He felt his face smile when he saw him happy, he felt embarrassed when alone with him. He had found himself trying to justify anything he did to him, and barely managing to stop these justifications coming out of his mouth. He had even started comparing everything to Duo. He had had little idea what was going on at first but after much analysing he had realised what it was, and this was what he had to do to show it.

He smiled properly as he recalled earlier that week, in the garden, when this plan had first presented itself. Until then he had not truly been sure of himself, of what was going on, of what he was supposed to do. But then he had decided. This was the right course of action. Duo would understand this. And it had to be perfect.

Scooping some snow into his bare hands he began stage two.

****

It was 7 o'clock in the morning and Duo's eyes blinked open blearily. It usually took him at least an hour to get up, unless there was an emergency, but today, today was different.

Today was Christmas.

He jumped out of the door and ran to the room next to his… no Heero. Typical, every single day that guy was the first one up. No doubt by now he' be clattering away on his laptop and lamenting yet another day without a mission. Duo shook his head. Heero had to be the only person he knew who could be sad that he didn't need to go and blow a load of people up. Ah well… it was CHRISTMAS!

He ran into Quatre's room where the blond was sleeping peacefully, a tall brunet dead to the world next to him. Trowa ha obviously decided to make sure he was okay. They were so sweet; and they would make such a cute couple.

He elected to leave them sleeping and save them the embarrassment of being woken up by a fellow pilot. With a bit of luck if they woke up together they'd finally get over themselves. Not much chance, but it was still a possibility. Pity he hadn't been able to buy the mistletoe. Maybe next year, if they hadn't got together before then.

However, that still left one pilot.

"Oh Wu-kins… Wu-bunny… Wu-babe… wonderful-Wu?" Duo sang as he entered the Chinese pilot's room. He entered quietly, so as not to give the still sleep-blind Wufei a target for his pillow. Before he finally got the exact right angle.

"MAXWELL!" the shout was music to his ears as he burst into fits of giggles. He had jumped right on top of Wufei in the bed, and his friend was not feeling especially friendly at the moment.

"What's wrong Wuffles?" Duo asked innocently. His violet eyes were huge and full of a vapid shine that made him look the part of the innocent party. Not that either of them actually believed it.

"One of these days I will kill you, Maxwell, and Yuy won't be able to save you." He glared at the other young man and pulled himself into a sitting position. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep again this morning.

"That isn't the Christmas spirit, Fei-fei…" Duo admonished with a small smirk as Wufei shook his head and pushed him off the bed.

"Leave me alone Maxwell…" was the only reply he got and, bowing to his early morning victim he took his leave and slid down the banister.

…

…

"HOLY SHIT!"

The house was fully decorated. Walls had Christmas hangings on. There were streamers, and even fake snow on the Windows. It even had a colour scheme. Duo Maxwell was speechless. But a smile grew over his face, and his eyes sparkle with the reflections of the shining decorations. Reds, golds, and the odd patch of silver.

In awe he wandered through the rooms of the house, pausing to look at every single one. They were all beautifully decorated, each with a separate colour scheme. Black and purple, blue and silver, green and red, red and gold, white and blue. It was amazing, an every time he looked around he caught sight of something new, some little detail that made him pinch himself just in case he was dreaming.

There was even mistletoe and Duo felt his grin grow, maybe there was still a chance for a Christmas happy ending for Tro and Q.

Then he entered the kitchen, where, it seemed, all colour schemes and minimalist intentions had gone out of the window. In true Christmas tradition the decorator had taken the tacky to the extreme but had still managed, as Duo had never manage to do, to keep it tasteful.

And there was Heero, sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and sipping at a cup of coffee. He looked completely nonchalant about the mass of tinsel and sparkles he was surrounded by an only acknowledged Duo's presence with a flick of his eyes to the other pilot's face.

To tell the truth, Heero was slightly scared, and he didn't even have a real reason for it. He was scared that Duo wasn't going to like this. And if he didn't like this then what would he think of the rest of his present. He could hide his terror, he could squash it into a corner of his mind and pretend it wasn't there, but he was desperate for Duo's approval. This was important.

"Who…?" Duo's question fell from lips unused to such a long period of silence. Heero looked up at him and as their eyes met Duo's jaw fell open in surprise. "You… but I didn't think you… how… what? WHY?" Heero didn't answer. Duo liked it. He only had to look at those huge violet eyes to know that. With a bit of luck the next part of his plan would straighten out the rest of his questions.

He stood up, and put down his mug as Duo overcame his shock and began to chatter about all the little details he had seen and how much he liked it, also something about plans involving the mistletoe… There was something in there about wishing he had had the chance to put the star on the Christmas tree but Heero just let it wash over him. Duo was happy. He walked to the door an opened it, Duo following him as he went out.

"Oh… that's sweet, man… you even got a wreath for the door!" Duo exclaimed as he caught sight of that small detail. An arm was casually thrown over Heero's shoulders as he impassively led Duo into the garden. This was it, the scariest moment of his life so far, and he wasn't even in a life threatening situation. He mentally berated himself. He had been through scarier things than this. But through them there had never been the threat of rejection. Not from Duo anyway.

He just had to hope the baka understood.

****

Duo turned his eyes from Heero as they stopped, aware that he had to make them stop their feast now as Heero was obviously showing him something. Maybe he'd covered the house in tacky lights as well… nah, too obvious to enemies. Then he saw it. He could feel Heero tense up next to him as his jaw dropped open for the third time in one morning. That could not be good. But he didn't care.

Standing in front of him was a snow man, and from Heero's reaction, he had made that as well. Duo couldn't think of anything to say. What was in front of him seemed to negate all his words.

It was a perfect Replica of him.

But it was so much more than that, it was a message, a sign, a punch in the face.

He turned to Heero, who was still as stoic as ever beside him. He was staring straight ahead, rigidly controlling himself. Duo grinned and the words came back to him. Words always were his strong point, and actions it seemed were Heero's. He'd have to check that out when they got back to the house, but that was off topic.

"Aishiteru Hee-chan." He murmured with a smile, and was graced, by some Christmas miracle that he was going to have to remember to thank someone for at some point, by one in return.

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