The others having been called away to other commitments, Heero and Duo had some time alone together.
"I want to show you something Duo," Heero said as they walked along one of the streets.
Duo barely heard him. He was too preoccupied with his surroundings. Everything was so clean-cut, so orderly, so peaceful. It was nice... but the fact that everyone seemed to be wary of him was unnerving. "I thought the people here would be a little more accepting."
"They are," Heero told him. "You just stick out. That and all the attention around you. You're not exactly the safest person to be around."
"I get it..." he sighed, glancing at the sidewalk dejctedly.
"Hey," Heero prodded, "don't let it get you down. We're all putting in some good words for you, all right?" Heero grabbed Duo's hand and held it tightly. "This is nothing more than a formality. Soon you'll be back with us, and it'll all be fine. Got it?"
The corners of his lips twitched slightly, and Duo gave Heero's hand a squeeze. "Got it."
"Good. Now come look at this." They had stopped at a small building that Heero said was where he lived. Heero lead him straight to the back and out a screen door to a yard, essentially a cloud, with no fences. "This is where I've watched you from."
Duo looked at his friend in shock. "Woah... Cool... can you still see my house?"
"Yeah, come on," Heero replied, taking Duo close to the edge, where the two lay on their stomachs and looked over the edge. "There it is. They're moving your stuff out."
"Taking it to the orphanage," Duo added suddenly. "I left almost everything to the local one. The furniture, all my money... I gave my clothes to a charity... I think the local history museum got my pictures and stuff." He smirked. "Like it or not, the Gundams were part of history, weren't they?"
"Yeah," Heero answered. "We were part of one of the biggest chapters of history..." He turned around and lay on his back, arms behind his head.
Duo sat up, looking pensive, staring at Heero's distracted face. "You know it was only a matter of time after you went," he said offhandishly. "I was the only one left. All you guys, Hilde, Relena, Noin, all gone... Howard and the scientists had died ages ago." He paused. "I don't think I was living much after you died anyway. I was just a body then. It was only a matter of time..."
"I know, Duo. I know." He reached out one arm to the side, inviting Duo over. He smiled a little as Duo curled up next to him, head resting on his chest.
Duo almost instantly felt better, the steady rythm of his best friend's heart calming him down. It didn't matter how it'd happened. It was good to be with Heero again. He started to drift off.
Heero smiled down at Duo. He started to feel a little sorry for him - but then realized that Duo wouldn't like that and stopped. Heero remembered what Duo was called: a misplaced soul. The admonition had made him angry. Duo was not misplaced. He belonged right with the rest of the former pilots, in heaven. They'd been apart for too long for Duo to belong anywhere else.
It felt wonderful to be close to Duo again. Their last night together was still vivid in Heero's mind, partly because at four in the morning he'd passed away and Duo had the shock of waking up with a dead man in his arms. Heero gently ran his fingertips over Duo's face, remembering every contour like he'd only last touched him yesterday. His smooth forehead, his pointed nose, his high cheekbones, his slightly parted lips...
Startling Heero, Duo gently kissed the fingertips that ran over his lips. He reached up and held onto Heero's hand, intertwining their fingers. "I'm glad I can still kiss you," he murmured.
"I'm an angel, not a ghost," Heero replied, laughing a little.
Duo smirked and propped himself up on his elbow, scooting up closer to Heero. "And I am?"
"They say you're a misplaced soul. They are unsure of where you belong," Heero explained. "But I don't believe them. I think you belong right here. Right with me."
His words were almost cut off by a crushing kiss from Duo. Gasping for air afterwards, Duo breathed, "Thank you," and laid his head back down on Heero's chest.
Despite sounding severely confident that Duo would be allowed to stay in heaven, Heero had a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him otherwise. He frowned as that gnawing worked its way up his chest and into his throat, swallowing back the lump forming there. He would not cry. He would not...
He would. Duo knew it. "It's okay Heero," he whispered.
That did it. In his entire life, Heero had only allowed Duo to witness any kind of emotional breakdown, and even then, rarely. Duo could count the number of times he'd seen Heero cry on his fingers, and like he had on those few occasions before, Duo silently held his love close, the folds of the black robe he still wore resting protectively around him.
"The truth is Duo, I don't know if you'll make it here. I understand what they're worried about and that's what makes it so horrible," Heero choked out. "They presented the case to me without telling me it was you and I almost immediately told them to forget it. I feel horrible. You're too good for me..."
"No," Duo said firmly, "No. You are perfect just the way you are. And whether I make it here or not, I will still remember you and I will still love you. Understand?" When Heero nodded sadly, Duo smiled and hugged him tightly as they lay in Heero's yard. "Always..." he murmured, suddenly tired again.
It wasn't for three hours that either of them got up. They were awakened by a very worried looking Quatre who informed them that court had reconvened half an hour ago, everyone had been looking for them, and did they realize that this could put the entire case in jeopardy?
"Yeah, I know," Duo huffed, reluctantly getting up. The contented look he'd had on his face had faded a while ago, replaced with the cold eyes and scared expression.
When they walked into the courtroom, Heero escorted Duo in with his arm around Duo's shoulders almost defiantly. Duo sank into his chair, and Heero leaned across the table. "Just remember Duo, you belong here," he whispered. Duo nodded. The corner of Heero's mouth twitched up. "Love you."
After Heero had gone back to his place, Metatron came forward. "Quatre Raberba Winner, please proceed."