-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…
****This is it minna! (Yes, this is the LAST chapter *sniffle sniffle*) I noticed that it was shorter than normal *raises a brow* But hopefully it'll do. ^__^; Chapter 20

Heero woke as they were wheeling him into the emergency room. "Dekim?" he whispered.

"Dead." My hand tightened on his. "Don't talk."

"Are— you— all right?"

I nodded jerkily. "Fine assassin you are. Why couldn't you shoot him or something? Did you have to jump between us?"

"He had his finger on the trigger. I was afraid— reflex action."

"So you let the son of a bitch shoot you."

"Not— my plan. Everything went wrong. I was waiting for Dekim. No time. He got there just before— you."

"I told you not to talk. Do you want to die, baka?"

"No." His eyes closed. "No, I want to live."

***************

"How is he?"

I looked up to see Wufei standing in the entrance to the waiting room. "Another hospital," I said wearily. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

"How is he?"

"He's in X ray right now. They think the bullet missed vital organs, but he's lost some blood."
"He'll survive. Heero's tough."

"Hai. But he's thickheaded baka. He had a gun and didn't use it. He let himself get shot. Did he expect me to be grateful?"

"He probably didn't think at all. Are you grateful?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything."

"Except that you're glad Heero isn't dead."

I was glad about that. Everything else was a blur. I leaned my head against the wall behind me. "You blew up the windmill."

"And the money and Dekim with it."

"Why?"

"It was the only way I could be sure that the currency was destroyed. I didn't want it confiscated and put in some security warehouse someplace. Your government is very fond of storing things for a rainy day."

I glared at him. "You worked with Dekim, you bastard."

He nodded. "My prime objective was always to get Trieze. He was the one who was going to demand the release of prisoners. I had to work with Dekim to make sure Trieze was erased from the picture." He smiled slightly. "It was my extreme pleasure to supply him with the bomb he used on Trieze's helicopter and the one he gave Catalonia to blow up the counterfeit installation."

"You could have stopped Catalonia from picking up the money."

He shook his head. "I didn't know the details. Dekim just used me as he used everyone else."

"But if it had come down to a choice between ridding yourself of Trieze or stopping Collinsville from happening, what would you have picked?"
Wufei was silent.

"You still would have chosen Trieze." I whispered.

"My country can't afford to have people like Trieze alive. We live with the threat of terrorists every moment of everyday. My wife died because of men like Trieze." His gaze was cold as he met my eyes. "Yes, I would have sacrificed a hundred Collinsville if it meant keeping those prisoners from being turned loose."

Heero had once said Wufei was more accepting than he was. It wasn't true. The man before me was totally relentless.

He smiled. "You're shocked. Remember I told you that we all have our priorities? Dekim just wasn't as high on my list as he was on yours. You might ask yourself what you would have sacrificed to get Dekim."

"I don't think I would have sacrificed you, Wufei."

His smile faded. "I hoped I wouldn't get you killed, but I had to destroy the currency. The only way I could find it was to tell Dekim to use it was a ploy to draw you into the trap." He grimaced. "If Heero had called and let me know what he had learned from Catalonia, that wouldn't have been necessary. By the way, the local police picked up Catalonia near the windmill an hour ago. He was screaming to high heaven about a deal he made with Heero."

I didn't care about Catalonia. "You just stood there. You were going to let Dekim shoot me."

"Was I?" He shook his head. "I was only waiting for my chance to be a hero. You and Heero didn't give it to me."

"You're not a hero."

"No, I'm only a man with priorities." He turned to go. "I'm leaving tomorrow night. I'll stop by in the morning to see Heero."

"Do you think he'll want to see you?"

He nodded. "He might be angry that I used you, but Heero understands priorities."

"Bullshit."

"Oh, he does. No one wanted Dekim more than Heero did, but he didn't take the sure kill last night. I think he understands priorities very well."

***************

Heero was sitting up in bed when I came in the next afternoon. "Are you supposed to be up?"

"I'm fine." He scowled. "But they won't let me out of here."

"It serves you right for getting shot." He didn't look well, but he looked better. His chest and shoulder were bandaged, and his color was almost normal. "Was Wufei here?"

He nodded.

"He said you'd understand."

"I do."

"Well, I don't. I feel... betrayed. I thought he was my friend."

"He was your friend."

"Friends don't make you bait in their little traps."

He was silent.

"I don't care about priorities. It's not right. He shouldn't have done it." My hands clenched into fists. "And I still like the bastard. That's not right either."

"What do you want me to do? Explain him? Make excuses for him?" He shook his head. "I can't do that. I won't do that. Any more than I would for myself. We both used you and betrayed you. No amount of regret will change that fact. You have to either forgive us or try to kick us out of your life."

"Try?"

"You might succeed with Wufei. You won't with me." He said harshly. "I need you. Do you know how hard that is for me to say? I won't let you go. I don't care if you think I'm a bastard. If you try to get away from me, I'll follow you. God knows I'm good at the hunt. I won't bother you but you'll know I'm there."

I shook my head.

"Don't shake you head. It's going to happen."

"Maybe it will. But not because you bully me."

"I'm not bullying you. I'm just telling you how it is." He paused. "Is it Quatre? Do you still blame me for Quatre?"

"No, no any longer. You didn't know he was going to Tenajo. I don't even blame you for sending me there. It was wrong, but I can understand. Those damn priorities again. You and Wufei are obsessed with them."

"No more than I'm obsessed with you."

"I don't want to be any one's obsession. I have enough obsessions of my own." And Heero could very well become one of them. He had dominated my life from the moment he had entered it.

"Do you think I'm talking about some sick fixation? We're good together."

"You mean sexually."

"Hell, yes, but more than that. And you know it." He hesitated. "I... care about you. I don't want you to walk out of my life. I want to stay with you."

And I wanted to stay with him. The knowledge came suddenly and surely. I wanted Heero more than anything else I had ever wanted in my life. But I couldn't have him. Not yet. Maybe never. "And do you want to talk to me about Nakoa?"

He stiffened. "What do you mean? I've told you about Nakoa."

"You haven't told me about your parents, your sister... You haven't told me about Midorikawa Hikaru. And don't tell me you're not that man anymore. Everyone's born with a soul, but it's experiences that make us what we are. I know Heero Yuy. I don't know Midorikawa Hikaru. I deserve to know both. I won't settle for anything less."

He was silent a moment. "I'll tell you."

"But you don't want to talk. For God's sake, do you think I want to force confidences out of you? I just want you to be able to let the past go. If you can come to me and say that you've done that, then maybe we'd have some hope of-" I stood up. "This isn't getting us anywhere. It's all too soon. Right now, I don't know how I feel. I'm sad and angry and grateful, but I-"

"I don't want your gratitude. I want you to— But I'll take the gratitude if you go along with it."

"It's too soon." I moved toward the door. "I can't deal with it. I can't deal with you, Heero."

"You're not going to learn by running away."

"I'm not running away. I have things to do. I'm going back to Collinsville and work with the CDC and make sure they have a cure in case this damn mutant anthrax surfaces somewhere else. I have to go to the hospital and check on Iris. Then I'm going to Canada to the ranger station where Trowa and Catherine left their car and wait for them to come out of the woods. It should be any day now." I had to steady my voice. "I have to be there to tell them about Quatre. I'm not running. I have a life, Heero."

"I don't. Not yet. But I'm trying. Just give me a little time and I'll get there." He said roughly. "Go on, get out of here. But you can be sure I'll see you later."

I walked out.

I loved him and I was walking out on him. At the moment when he was so alone. What would a man do when the obsession that had driven him for years vanished? I wanted to go back and tell him—

No, it was too soon for both of us. There was too much pain and regret to overcome in one day. Maybe later.

If there was a later.

*****

*raises a brow again* There you go minna. *thinks* Weeeeeeell, maybe this needs an Epilogue instead of ending here, neeeeeeeeeeee? *smirks*