Chapter 2
Wufei sat at the high bar of
Quatre's expansive kitchen, watching as he and Trowa gathered various dishes
and foods. As soon as they finished and
Duo returned with the beer they would all retire to the rec room for a night of
absolutely nothing. He sighed heavily
and stared at the bar's gleaming surface. When he had accepted Quatre's invitation he had been under the
assumption that everyone would be coming. 'That's what happened when one assumed.' They had all been here a week and still no sign
of Heero. He looked up at the other
two. "Do you think he'll come?"
Quatre shrugged, "When we sent out
the letter, his location was questionable—Relena's always moving around—but I
was assured by his department that he would receive it." He shook his head, "Maybe he just couldn't
make it. He seems to be rather busy."
Wufei snorted, his voice filled with contempt when he spoke. "Doing what? Protecting Relena Darlin? I should think his friends would be worth a small portion of his time."
Trowa piled a tray full of glasses
and plates. "We don't know the
situation. He may have been unable to
take time off. I'm sure there are many
variables we don't understand." Silence
flooded the room as each man considered the rumors lighting up the newsrooms. Was it possible?
"We're his friends, despite what he
and Relena may be planning." Wufei
slammed his fist down on the bar. "Why
he can't just—"
"Wait," Quatre held his hand
up. In the ensuing silence they heard
someone moving around in the room below the kitchen. "Duo must have come back. Although I can't imagine why he came in through that door."
"It's about damn time." Getting up from his seat, Wufei grabbed one
of the overloaded trays and headed towards the stairs located at the rear of
the kitchen. He turned right and began
his descent. He didn't care what door
Duo used to come in, he was just glad Duo had finally gotten back. He suddenly needed a beer.
At the bottom of the stairs he made
another right entering the room and came to an abrupt stop. His break was so sudden the items on his
tray threatened to topple and Quatre wasn't given enough reaction time to avoid
crashing into him.
"Damn. Wufei what are . . . you . . . doing . . .?" Quatre's gaze had finally landed on the
object of Wufei's distraction.
In the back corner of the room was a
spacious alcove sized perfectly for billiards. The surface of the table was a bright scarlet felt. The triangular formation of the balls gleamed
brightly under the light directly overhead, but that wasn't what drew their
attention.
Perched on the edge of one of the
corners sat an ominous and familiar figure. His dark hair was windswept and unkempt. He wore a tight fitting shirt that matched the color of his eyes
and accentuated his well-built, muscular form. His black slacks hung loosely from his hips and his boots were shined to
such a gleam they fairly glowed.
Quatre set his tray down on the
nearest surface and stepped forward. "Heero. We weren't sure if you
would make it." He offered Heero a big
smile, "I'm glad you could."
"The ballrooms were becoming
monotonous. Relena can do without me
for a week."
"So basically we're just an
escape." Wufei slammed his tray down on
the table they'd had set up and went back up to the kitchen to retrieve
another.
Heero's gaze followed him. 'You misunderstand.' But he didn't say it. He couldn't because then he'd have to
explain his reasons for coming. That
was impossible. He couldn't admit his
loneliness to himself; how could he tell his friends? Friends he hadn't seen for almost six years.
He felt Trowa's emerald eyes
watching him, and he turned to lock gazes with him. 'Could he see? Could he
see it barely hidden behind his eyes?' No, let Wufei think what he wanted, let Trowa do the same. In a week he'd be fine and they'd never know
the truth. Trowa watched him a few
seconds more then turned to busy himself with laying the foods and dishes on
the table.
Quatre kept his attention focused on
Heero. "We really don't have much
planned for tonight. Just sit around
and do nothing was the big plan." He
gave a wide sweep of his arm, presenting the room. "Make yourself at home and help yourself to the
refreshments. Duo should be back
anytime with some beer," the look on his face indicated he didn't truly care if
Duo returned with any or not, "If that's not to your liking there's a liquor
cabinet over there." He indicated a
large oak closet on the wall to Heero's right, just outside of the alcove.
Heero gave no indication that he had
heard. He merely kept his gaze trained
on the petite blonde before him. For
the most part Quatre hadn't changed. He
was still the soft-spoken rich boy. Oh,
he'd grown a bit taller, and he filled out his clothes better, but he still had
the same quiet air about him. Which
meant his temper was probably just as volatile.
Following that train of thought,
Heero shifted his gaze back to Trowa. He was still the tallest in the group. He was leaner than Heero remembered, but that only worked to enhance his
features. The corners of his mouth
lifted slightly. Trowa was the one
thing about Quatre that had changed. Seeing them now, it was hard to believe the two hadn't always been
together.
Footsteps could be heard coming down
the stairs. Heero narrowed his eyes and
watched the doorway. It was obvious
from Wufei's reaction earlier that he still held the same ideals and
beliefs. Heero felt relief that the
years of war hadn't tainted or tarnished them. "I believe Duo has returned. I
just heard the car in the drive way." Wufei made the announcement as he stepped into the room.
As if on cue, a door upstairs
slammed shut and was quickly followed by a shout. "Hey guys!" Footsteps
sounded loudly as Duo trekked through the kitchen and down the stairs to the
rec room. "Sorry I took so long, but I
got there and realized I didn't know what brand we all liked; so I spent some
time deliberating over it." He appeared
in the doorway carrying two cases and walked over to the mini fridge beside the
table. Opening a box, he knelt down and
began stacking them into the refrigerator. "Anyone want one while I'm here? Wufei? Heero?" He continued piling them in. After a few seconds his hand stopped moving
and he snapped his head around. His
mouth widened into a grin and he raised a hand in salute. "Hey, Heero! You're a little late buddy." He turned back around and continued loading the beers.
-----------
It took all Heero's willpower not to
openly gape at the young man who had just entered the room. It was all he could do not to trace the
muscular—alluringly so—curves of his body with his eyes. All he could do to remain rooted to the
floor, fighting the urge to walk over to Duo and act upon the unbidden desires
racing through him.
It was all he could do to breathe.
Realizing he had yet to release the
breath he hadn't known he was holding, Heero gently exhaled. Taking shallow breaths, trying to calm his
racing heart, Heero focused his attention on the other people in the room.
Wufei had wandered over to Duo's
side and was now leaning over to inspect Duo's selection. Heero envied Wufei. Blocking that thought, he looked away to
find safer territory. Quatre had left
Heero to assist Trowa in laying out the refreshments. Heero sighed mentally, thankful none of them had noticed his
unprecedented and involuntary reaction. 'What is this feeling? What's
wrong?'
He was interrupted from his musings
by the sound of his name. He turned to
see Duo waving a bottle at him. He
raised an eyebrow in question, trying not to notice the beautiful lines of
Duo's face.
"Heero? You want one?" The room
instantly seemed become hotter and he pushed back the sleeves of his shirt. He gave an abrupt shake of his head; he definitely needed something
harder.
He straightened and crossed to the
cabinet on his right. He threw open the
doors and automatically reached for a glass, his eyes searching the shelves for
the desired drink. He spotted the
decanter and drew it from the shelf, yanking the stopper out off and pouring
himself a liberal amount of the amber liquid. He drank it in two swallows, willing it to calm his frantic nerves. After a few seconds he felt some semblance
of control. He refilled his glass and
returned the decanter; however, he left the cabinet open, knowing he was likely
to make a second trip.
Turning away, he walked to the
plush, blue chair he'd thrown his jacket across earlier when he'd first come in
and sat down. Taking a sip of his
brandy, Heero leaned his head back against the cushions and stared up at the
intricate spirals on the ceiling. For
what seemed like the hundredth time, he asked himself why he'd come. And for the hundredth time he reminded
himself. 'You're lonely.' It kept chanting in his head, and as he
stared up at the ceiling he wondered when he'd developed a need—no desire—to be
around others. He couldn't find a ready
answer.
He heard a sigh and the sound of
something heavy hitting the cushions in the chair next to him. Heero turned his head to find Duo seated
with his back against one arm of the chair and his legs hanging over the other,
grinning at him.
'Damn, he's beautiful.' Heero stared blankly at Duo. 'Where did that come from?' Heero considered moving somewhere else, but
noticed that unless he chose the floor or the billiard table, he was pretty
much out of luck. Quatre sat at one end
of the sofa and Trowa was stretched out across the rest, using Quatre's lap as
a pillow. The only other seat was the
love seat, which Wufei had claimed as his own.
Heero decided the discomfort from sitting
so close to Duo was preferable to the discomfort from sitting on the
floor. He took another sip of his
brandy and tried to ignore the man beside him. No use; his efforts were ruined when Duo spoke.
"So Heero? What made you finally decide to come?"
Wufei answered from the other side
of the room, his tone scathing. "He was
tired of all the parties and conventions and decided to take a break." His glare could have melted ice.
Duo rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You didn't really expect him to say he actually missed us did
you?" Duo's grin only widened at
Wufei's shocked expression—'That's exactly what I thought.' Wufei folded his arms across his chest and
made an indistinguishable sound. Duo
took a drink of his beer and looked back up at Heero. "How long have you been here? Can't have been too long since I was only gone for half an hour."
"Not more that ten," Heero was
staring into his glass, trying to avoid the disconcerting violet eyes gazing at
him.
"Was the door unlocked?" Heero looked up at Quatre's question. Quatre pointed to the door behind
Wufei. "Was it already unlocked or did
you unlock it?" They all knew what he
meant, Heero didn't have a key to the door.
Heero shook his head. "When I drove up I saw one of your servants
leave through it—I had only just
entered the gate when I saw him—but I figured since he had come out that way
you were all in there." He shrugged and
took another sip.
Quatre nodded. He wasn't really concerned either way. It had been a nice surprise to enter the
room and see Heero waiting for them. "Well, now that we're all here, what should we do?"
The question started a variety of
discussions topics, and so the night began with friendly bantering and stories.