Solo slowly wandered down the stairs, looking dejectedly towards the door
to the hangar. Both pilots, looking rather ragged stood there, and Heero
met his eyes with a classic cobalt death glare.
"Hey you two." Solo casually walked over and leaned on a nearby wall, smirking as evily as he could towards the tanktopped menace.
"Where's Duo?" Trowa asked cautiously, he didn't want to interfere with the silent battle between the two.
"He was upstairs changing last time I saw him." With a final grin, Solo walked into the living room, leaving one extremely pissed, and one extremely confused pilot in his wake. Solo walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch. He was tired, after all, he hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of nights. 'I wonder how the kids are doing?' Despite how much he tried, Solo felt guilty about leaving his new gang on L2. They had come to rely on him ever since he'd found them in the alleyway. 'Right before I found Duo.' Suddenly, Solo realized that the tv was still off. He looked around, and finally found the remote control sitting a few cushions away. 'So.....far....'
"And the protocol pilot returns!" Duo shouted as he jumped the last four stairs and made his usual flashy entrance. Three sets of tired eyes brightened as they looked at the lively boy. He walked confidently over to where Trowa and Heero were still standing.
"Hey guys, how'd the mission go?"
"Well." Was all Trowa said, before continuing to stare at Solo cautiously. 'I still don't trust that guy. Something isn't right about him.' The rumble of his stomach made Trowa realize that he hadn't had anything to eat in a while, and he headed immediately for the fridge.
Heero, on the other hand, walked over to look at Solo on the sofa. Duo tried to think of something clever to say, but was coming up short, so he merely stood there. As Solo reached over to grab the remote control, Heero happened to glance down.
"What happened to your hand?"
Duo and Trowa both looked over as well, seeing as Solo seemed to have frozen in his tracks. On his hand was a large ring of red teeth marks. They had just barely broken the skin. When Solo looked up, his eyes went carefully to Duo, who was squirming.
"I..." Solo paused, looking over at Duo, then to Heero. Duo shot him a hopeless look, and even Solo couldn't stand up against it.
"I pet a cat, that apparently didn't feel like being pet at the time." Duo let out a snort with the breath he had been holding, and received a strange look from under Trowa's hair. 'Well kid, I didn't let out our little secret, and I didn't exactly lie, did I?'
"Hn." Heero picked up the remote he was reaching for and turned the tv on, before taking a place as far from Solo as he possibly could.
"So, what we searching for guy, a cooking show, soap opera, cartoons?"
Both Trowa and Duo just rolled their eyes and decided to take seats at various places, Duo next to Heero, who seemed indifferent, and Trowa next to Solo. As Trowa looked over towards his suddenly silent companion, he saw that Solo's gold eyes were staring at Duo and Heero. 'Oh, so that's what's been going on lately. A love triangle. Hm, better to stay out of it.'
Trowa had just begun to stand up when Heero found a channel worth stopping on.
"...huge amounts of damage was inflicted, as well as many casualties, the exact amount is still uncertain. Here is some of the video footage we managed to recover."
The image shifted from the new anchor in a suit and tie to a battlefield on fire. Mobiles suits were being thrown down in pieces, buildings were on fire and some continued to blow up as the raging flames found more explosives. In the middle of all this were four white suits, slicing and blowing away countless suits. It could not even be said that the enemy soldiers were fighting bravely, they weren't alive long enough to fight at all. The four young men watched the screen in silence. Two, recognizing the horrible vision of themselves, in the heat of violence, killing anyone that came near. Another, realizing that he too should have been in the middle of the bloodshed, and with the knowledge that he would have been enjoying it. The final, and perhaps most untouched by war, watched in something between reverence and horror. 'This many lives were lost in one single battle. Did they all feel that they were saving the world, and stopping this war by dying. How many have been killed by the boy that I saved and raised on the street. If it weren't for me, he would have been dead long ago, how many fates would have changed..."
"Like Trowa said, the mission was a success." Heero shut the tv off completely and walked away down the hall, towards his own room.
"I have work to do on the Heavyarms, alright Duo?"
"Sure Tro. I'll come get you if we need you." Trowa nodded and walked through the door to the hangar, leaving it open.
"A success, huh?" Solo stood up and began to pace around, before heading down the hallway after Heero. "That's the only time you'll hear someone say a massacre like that would be a 'success'."
Duo winced as the two doors down the hall slammed shut. With no one else around, Duo was left to contemplate his situation, the people around him, and the mission that he had been away from.
* * * * *
The rest of the day went by slowly, each keeping to his own, the stress of all the recent events catching up to everyone. Duo would occasionally try and make a joke to Heero or Trowa, but they were even more stoic than normal, if that's possible. Every now and then Solo would come by, looking for food, but even he didn't seem to want to talk or joke or even flirt with Duo. The sun had set long ago and the pilots and their guest had all had small dinners at different times. A deep, long, pained scream broke the silence that had been thick in the house since the pilots had returned.
Solo came running out of his room to almost run into Heero. But neither paused to bicker as they sprinted into the living room, the direction of the scream.
Trowa bolted into the kitchen and slid across a few of the tiles, his feet covered in oil, as well as the rest of him. After regaining his balance, he too sprinted into the living room, arriving at the same time as the others.
Duo was sitting on the couch, looking rather comfortable, and looked away from the tv to greet the his friends.
"Oh, sorry about that. It was way too quite in this house and you three were all being sulky."
Three jaws dropped, six eyes bugged out, and six very strong fists clenched angrily.
"Eep!" Duo was knocked onto the ground as three bodies hurtled at him. He felt himself being pinned by at least one person, and felt another trying to strangle him. In the back of his fading consciousness he could hear Solo yelling obscenities at him. Then, as his lips began to turn blue, the hands were pulled off of his throat.
"Calm down Trowa." Heero said, even as he continued to sit on Duo's ribcage.
"Hey, I think you're killing him."
Heero glared at Solo, and was about to yell at him about knowing when he was killing someone, but looked down to see a partially passed out Duo. 'Oops.' With some help from Trowa, Heero stood up and the three attackers looked down at poor Duo.
"Well, that's what he gets for scarin us to death like that." Solo said as he crossed his arms and stood with the other two.
A few coughs came up from the beaten body of Duo, before he smiled up at them.
"For cryin out loud. Go a little easier next time I do something bad, after all, three against one..."
"Duo, you know that any single one of us could take you on and win." Heero and Trowa groaned at the blatant challenge and quickly thought up excuses.
"Heavyarms is still broken, I think I'll stay up late tonight and work on it." Before Duo could protest, the emerald eyed throttler was gone.
"I'm going to bed, and Duo.." His eyes looked up happily from his place on the floor as Heero spoke his name, "If you scream again, we aren't coming to see if you're okay." With that, he too disappeared, the soft click of his door closing was the only sound that Solo and Duo heard.
"Hmm now, all alone and nothing to do..." Solo came to stand over Duo and looked down at him, looking every bit intimidating as he hoped. Duo gulped, and jumped up before he could be pinned.
"No no no no no. One time, an accident, that's it. No more." Throwing his hands up, Duo walked back towards his room.
"Plus..." he yelled back over his shoulder, "I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. You sleep on the couch." This door was also shut, but Solo could pick up the sound of a lock being turned.
Pouting, Solo pondered over where the sheets might be, but gave up and just pulled his jacket off to use as a cover. 'Oh yeah, that's a problem.' Solo glanced over his shoulder at the white feathers which had fallen and were drifting gently to the floor. 'Hmm. Oh well, I can always sneak into his room once he's fallen asleep.' Solo laid down on his stomach, with his feet hanging off the end of the couch, and managed to lay his coat over his back. With a sigh, he let himself fall into a light sleep, making sure he would be able to get up later.
* * * * *
A soft clinking sound woke Solo up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. There was no sunlight anywhere, so he knew that it must still be night. Leaning up till his head cleared the couch, his golden eyes swept through the darkness, searching for anyone nearby. 'Coast is clear.'
Standing up, Solo stretched his wings, hearing them crack. He sighed happily before throwing his coat over them. More metallic sounds came to his attention and he looked over towards the open door. 'One of the pilots is in the hangar working. Must be bang-boy. Ah well, he can't hear me in here anyway.' Solo stealthily walked past the couch and down the hall. Deciding it was worth the risk for the lack of clothing, Solo tossed the heavy leather back onto the couch. 'That stupid thing is too much work.'
Reaching into the back of his pants, he pulled the knife out of it's sheath. Playing around with it as quickly as he could, he undid the lock to Duo's room. 'Success.'
Slipping inside, Solo strained his ears for any noises that might give himself away. His footsteps were incredibly light on the padded carpet and all he could hear was Duo's soft breathing. 'Good, he's asleep.' Solo unbuttoned the shirt he wore and, with some difficulty, slid it over his wings and onto the floor. Next his pants followed, until the boxer clad boy walked over to the side of Duo's bed. Having hung out in Duo's room for most of the night, Solo had memorized it pretty well, so he wouldn't hit his leg on a nightstand in the dark. Duo's bed was set up with the headboard against one wall, and the right side of the bed was against the other wall.
Looking down at him, Solo could barely tell where the kid was. The sheets were tossed around and he was tangled up in most of them. But after a while of looking, he discovered Duo's head was facing the wall. 'Perfect.'
Solo's hand slid under the mound of blankets and pried them open. Being as cautious as he could he layed down in the bed next to Duo. He held his breath as his weight caused the bed to move, but Duo didn't even stir. Placing the blankets on top of them both, Solo wondered about what would be the best way to do this. With a deep breath, Solo reached over Duo with both his hands. It was awkward, but he couldn't think of any other way.
With one quick motion, Solo clamped his hand down over Duo's mouth, then wrapped his arm tightly around the boy's waist.
Duo's eyes flew open and he tried to escape from whatever was holding him and at the same time tried to yell for help from the others. 'Oh crap, how did I not hear someone sneak into my room!' As he struggled, the person behind him held on tighter than before. Duo's heart beat faster and he flailed more violently. 'Man, I wish I kept a gun under my pillow like Heero does, but NO, I have to keep it safely in my closet.'
Before the boy could get away, or dislocate something, Solo grabbed onto him tightly and forced him against the bed. Swinging his leg over and kicking the sheets off, Solo rolled on top of him. Straddling his chest, Solo leaned down, staring into the frightened violet eyes.
As soon as the person straddled him, Duo felt a new wave of fear. 'Where are the guys when I need them, this guy is gonna...' The person leaned down at that moment, pushing his face closer. Before Duo's mind could register anything else, he caught a glimpse of golden eyes as the face moved through a beam of light.
'Solo?'
"Kid, quite struggling, it's just me for crying out loud!" Solo hissed at him in a whisper.
Feeling a little bit safer, Duo calmed down, and looked angrily up at Solo. Hoping that the boy was calmer than he looked, Solo removed his hand from his mouth and rolled off of him. 'Well, he hasn't yelled yet, or hit me, so that's a good sign.'
Duo rolled onto his side, and was surprised to see Solo's face as close as it was. Drawing back a little, he tried to calm down, but it was no use. When he tried to whisper at Solo, his voice betrayed the panic his body was still recovering from.
"What are you doing Solo! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Hey, you're the one who freaked out."
This was obviously not what Duo wanted to hear as a small growl began in his throat. 'Uh oh...' Solo thought as he prepared to block a punch from the angry boy.
"Jeez Solo! You pop up in my bed in the middle of the night, pin me, and expect me to take it calmly!" Duo's voice began to get louder and Solo tried to quiet him down.
"Okay, maybe I was wrong to do that, I should have woken you up first."
"Go away." Duo had finally returned to his normal self and rolled over to face the wall, hoping the blond would take a hint. No such luck.
"Look Duo," Solo shifted closer and tried to put his arm around Duo's waist again, but Duo shoved it back. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Then talk to me in the morning, you're getting on my nerves."
Obviously feeling persistent, Solo wrapped his arm around the defiant boy and pulled him close to his chest. Duo half-heartedly struggled, but in all honesty, it felt good to be so close to Solo. Giving up, he rested his head against Solo's chest and sighed melodramatically.
"What's the matter kid?"
"Oh give me a break Solo, we're in my bed spooning. Everything is wrong with that."
"There's nothing wrong with two best friends, or ex-lovers for that matter, getting a little close."
"Ex-lovers? That was what, 12 hours ago? Damn Solo, you really are bad with commitment."
"No, we are ex-lovers. There's a difference between sex and love. The shower thing, that was fun, but it was just sex and you know it. We haven't done anything out of love for the past two years, at least."
Duo was surprised at this, after all, he'd never have expected Solo to be moral or intelligent about anything.
"Why don't you count that shower thing as love?"
Solo looked down at the top of Duo's head, and gently spun him around. Their legs immediately entwined, more out of habit than anything else, and Solo's arm hung loosely at Duo's back, holding him close. He looked down into Duo's eyes and saw what might have been hurt. He lifted Duo's chin up, till they were looking each other, eye to eye.
"Come back to L2 with me." Solo said quietly, but he never took his eyes off of Duo. The violet ones widened in surprise, and his jaw hung open. Not missing a chance, but also not wanting to force anything, Solo leaned in towards Duo. But the boy quickly shut his mouth and pulled his head away from Solo's hand.
"So that's what you wanted to talk about. Same old same old. You want me to stop fighting. To run away. No way Solo. I'm finishing this war."
"But why not just come back for a while, give it a try. I even got myself a new gang, they're a bit rusty still, but come on, I could use a good experienced hand with me." Solo flashed a smile and Duo felt guilty at how excited he looked.
"I'm sorry Solo, but I can't go back with you. I have to keep on fighting, I owe it to so many people..." Duo let his words trail off, as he stared into space, lost in his memories.
Solo grabbed one of his shoulders and shook him hard. Duo blinked and refocused on the honey shaded eyes in front of him.
"Duo, I want you back. To hell with beating around the bush. I don't care if it makes me look like a wimp or anything like that." Solo leaned his forehead against Duo's and pulled him into a semi-hug. "Please."
"Why, so you can just leave me again?"
Duo flinched at how harsh that sounded. For the first time in his life, Solo was asking him for something. And he could tell, if he said no, Solo would respect his wishes. But still he snapped at him. 'But....I want to be with him. I can't though....it wouldn't work out. I always get attached, and then poof, he's gone. That's why Heero is so perfect for me, we're both soldiers, we fight together on the same side, and I'm not trying to have anything long term with him. We have to live our lives expecting to be gone the next day.'
"Solo, do you really love me?" Judging by the sharp intake of breath he could feel through Solo's muscular chest, Duo could tell that his question had caught him off guard.
"Well?" Duo looked up at Solo, the determination obvious in his eyes. But he was confused by what he saw. Solo was looking around as if he was trying to change the subject. 'Oh, I see.'
'I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD!' Solo stared at the ceiling and bit down on his tongue to keep from yelling out what his mind was screaming at him. 'He already said he wouldn't come with me, what difference does it make.' Another part of Solo's mind yelled back 'What if it does make a difference, tell him.' Solo shook his head, then looked back down at Duo's downcast eyes.
"What about you?"
"Huh?" Duo looked back up, lost and confused.
Solo took a deep steadying breath and looked down at the beauty next to him. He began to run his hand up and down Duo's side, and was pleased to see that the boy gasped at the feather soft touch. His hand went from his shoulder, down to the boxers at his waist, then back again. Making sure he had the boy's complete attention, Solo continued.
"Duo, look me in the eyes." Duo stared up at him, even as he bit his lip to not moan as Solo's fingers trailed along his skin.
"I know you don't lie, or at least that's how you used to be. If you can look me in the eyes, and tell me that what you feel for me is real love, then I'll stay with you forever."
Duo felt choked up and stopped paying attention to Solo's fingers. 'Forever? Would he really not leave me?'
Solo leaned down, expecting an answer.
The words from two years ago came flying back to Duo. Professor G was standing there, explaining that Solo had left without a word or a goodbye. He had stood there, not believing what the old man said as he stroked the feather in his pocket, next to the knife. "He was just using you Duo. You're a soldier now, you can't have emotion or attachments to anyone. They'll just leave you because you're a soldier. How could anyone love a god of death." The old man had sneered.
"I can't love you Solo..." Duo's training whispered out, while his heart fought against it with all it's might.
Solo snarled angrily at this and his hand grabbed onto the shoulder he'd been caressing. With one sharp throw, Duo's back landed against the wall. He yelped in pain as his wings were pressed between his body and the wall.
Within a few seconds Solo was standing by the side of the bed, his wings out and his breath coming fast. Duo had never seen him so angry or dangerous looking.
"Go to hell you little whore!" Solo picked up the chair next to Duo's desk and threw it at the window. The glass and wood shattered into a million pieces and fell to the floor. Solo tucked his wings in carefully, and, with one fast jump, he was out the window. Duo could just barely hear the sound of gently flapping wings.
'Solo....I love you.'
"Hey you two." Solo casually walked over and leaned on a nearby wall, smirking as evily as he could towards the tanktopped menace.
"Where's Duo?" Trowa asked cautiously, he didn't want to interfere with the silent battle between the two.
"He was upstairs changing last time I saw him." With a final grin, Solo walked into the living room, leaving one extremely pissed, and one extremely confused pilot in his wake. Solo walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch. He was tired, after all, he hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of nights. 'I wonder how the kids are doing?' Despite how much he tried, Solo felt guilty about leaving his new gang on L2. They had come to rely on him ever since he'd found them in the alleyway. 'Right before I found Duo.' Suddenly, Solo realized that the tv was still off. He looked around, and finally found the remote control sitting a few cushions away. 'So.....far....'
"And the protocol pilot returns!" Duo shouted as he jumped the last four stairs and made his usual flashy entrance. Three sets of tired eyes brightened as they looked at the lively boy. He walked confidently over to where Trowa and Heero were still standing.
"Hey guys, how'd the mission go?"
"Well." Was all Trowa said, before continuing to stare at Solo cautiously. 'I still don't trust that guy. Something isn't right about him.' The rumble of his stomach made Trowa realize that he hadn't had anything to eat in a while, and he headed immediately for the fridge.
Heero, on the other hand, walked over to look at Solo on the sofa. Duo tried to think of something clever to say, but was coming up short, so he merely stood there. As Solo reached over to grab the remote control, Heero happened to glance down.
"What happened to your hand?"
Duo and Trowa both looked over as well, seeing as Solo seemed to have frozen in his tracks. On his hand was a large ring of red teeth marks. They had just barely broken the skin. When Solo looked up, his eyes went carefully to Duo, who was squirming.
"I..." Solo paused, looking over at Duo, then to Heero. Duo shot him a hopeless look, and even Solo couldn't stand up against it.
"I pet a cat, that apparently didn't feel like being pet at the time." Duo let out a snort with the breath he had been holding, and received a strange look from under Trowa's hair. 'Well kid, I didn't let out our little secret, and I didn't exactly lie, did I?'
"Hn." Heero picked up the remote he was reaching for and turned the tv on, before taking a place as far from Solo as he possibly could.
"So, what we searching for guy, a cooking show, soap opera, cartoons?"
Both Trowa and Duo just rolled their eyes and decided to take seats at various places, Duo next to Heero, who seemed indifferent, and Trowa next to Solo. As Trowa looked over towards his suddenly silent companion, he saw that Solo's gold eyes were staring at Duo and Heero. 'Oh, so that's what's been going on lately. A love triangle. Hm, better to stay out of it.'
Trowa had just begun to stand up when Heero found a channel worth stopping on.
"...huge amounts of damage was inflicted, as well as many casualties, the exact amount is still uncertain. Here is some of the video footage we managed to recover."
The image shifted from the new anchor in a suit and tie to a battlefield on fire. Mobiles suits were being thrown down in pieces, buildings were on fire and some continued to blow up as the raging flames found more explosives. In the middle of all this were four white suits, slicing and blowing away countless suits. It could not even be said that the enemy soldiers were fighting bravely, they weren't alive long enough to fight at all. The four young men watched the screen in silence. Two, recognizing the horrible vision of themselves, in the heat of violence, killing anyone that came near. Another, realizing that he too should have been in the middle of the bloodshed, and with the knowledge that he would have been enjoying it. The final, and perhaps most untouched by war, watched in something between reverence and horror. 'This many lives were lost in one single battle. Did they all feel that they were saving the world, and stopping this war by dying. How many have been killed by the boy that I saved and raised on the street. If it weren't for me, he would have been dead long ago, how many fates would have changed..."
"Like Trowa said, the mission was a success." Heero shut the tv off completely and walked away down the hall, towards his own room.
"I have work to do on the Heavyarms, alright Duo?"
"Sure Tro. I'll come get you if we need you." Trowa nodded and walked through the door to the hangar, leaving it open.
"A success, huh?" Solo stood up and began to pace around, before heading down the hallway after Heero. "That's the only time you'll hear someone say a massacre like that would be a 'success'."
Duo winced as the two doors down the hall slammed shut. With no one else around, Duo was left to contemplate his situation, the people around him, and the mission that he had been away from.
* * * * *
The rest of the day went by slowly, each keeping to his own, the stress of all the recent events catching up to everyone. Duo would occasionally try and make a joke to Heero or Trowa, but they were even more stoic than normal, if that's possible. Every now and then Solo would come by, looking for food, but even he didn't seem to want to talk or joke or even flirt with Duo. The sun had set long ago and the pilots and their guest had all had small dinners at different times. A deep, long, pained scream broke the silence that had been thick in the house since the pilots had returned.
Solo came running out of his room to almost run into Heero. But neither paused to bicker as they sprinted into the living room, the direction of the scream.
Trowa bolted into the kitchen and slid across a few of the tiles, his feet covered in oil, as well as the rest of him. After regaining his balance, he too sprinted into the living room, arriving at the same time as the others.
Duo was sitting on the couch, looking rather comfortable, and looked away from the tv to greet the his friends.
"Oh, sorry about that. It was way too quite in this house and you three were all being sulky."
Three jaws dropped, six eyes bugged out, and six very strong fists clenched angrily.
"Eep!" Duo was knocked onto the ground as three bodies hurtled at him. He felt himself being pinned by at least one person, and felt another trying to strangle him. In the back of his fading consciousness he could hear Solo yelling obscenities at him. Then, as his lips began to turn blue, the hands were pulled off of his throat.
"Calm down Trowa." Heero said, even as he continued to sit on Duo's ribcage.
"Hey, I think you're killing him."
Heero glared at Solo, and was about to yell at him about knowing when he was killing someone, but looked down to see a partially passed out Duo. 'Oops.' With some help from Trowa, Heero stood up and the three attackers looked down at poor Duo.
"Well, that's what he gets for scarin us to death like that." Solo said as he crossed his arms and stood with the other two.
A few coughs came up from the beaten body of Duo, before he smiled up at them.
"For cryin out loud. Go a little easier next time I do something bad, after all, three against one..."
"Duo, you know that any single one of us could take you on and win." Heero and Trowa groaned at the blatant challenge and quickly thought up excuses.
"Heavyarms is still broken, I think I'll stay up late tonight and work on it." Before Duo could protest, the emerald eyed throttler was gone.
"I'm going to bed, and Duo.." His eyes looked up happily from his place on the floor as Heero spoke his name, "If you scream again, we aren't coming to see if you're okay." With that, he too disappeared, the soft click of his door closing was the only sound that Solo and Duo heard.
"Hmm now, all alone and nothing to do..." Solo came to stand over Duo and looked down at him, looking every bit intimidating as he hoped. Duo gulped, and jumped up before he could be pinned.
"No no no no no. One time, an accident, that's it. No more." Throwing his hands up, Duo walked back towards his room.
"Plus..." he yelled back over his shoulder, "I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. You sleep on the couch." This door was also shut, but Solo could pick up the sound of a lock being turned.
Pouting, Solo pondered over where the sheets might be, but gave up and just pulled his jacket off to use as a cover. 'Oh yeah, that's a problem.' Solo glanced over his shoulder at the white feathers which had fallen and were drifting gently to the floor. 'Hmm. Oh well, I can always sneak into his room once he's fallen asleep.' Solo laid down on his stomach, with his feet hanging off the end of the couch, and managed to lay his coat over his back. With a sigh, he let himself fall into a light sleep, making sure he would be able to get up later.
* * * * *
A soft clinking sound woke Solo up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. There was no sunlight anywhere, so he knew that it must still be night. Leaning up till his head cleared the couch, his golden eyes swept through the darkness, searching for anyone nearby. 'Coast is clear.'
Standing up, Solo stretched his wings, hearing them crack. He sighed happily before throwing his coat over them. More metallic sounds came to his attention and he looked over towards the open door. 'One of the pilots is in the hangar working. Must be bang-boy. Ah well, he can't hear me in here anyway.' Solo stealthily walked past the couch and down the hall. Deciding it was worth the risk for the lack of clothing, Solo tossed the heavy leather back onto the couch. 'That stupid thing is too much work.'
Reaching into the back of his pants, he pulled the knife out of it's sheath. Playing around with it as quickly as he could, he undid the lock to Duo's room. 'Success.'
Slipping inside, Solo strained his ears for any noises that might give himself away. His footsteps were incredibly light on the padded carpet and all he could hear was Duo's soft breathing. 'Good, he's asleep.' Solo unbuttoned the shirt he wore and, with some difficulty, slid it over his wings and onto the floor. Next his pants followed, until the boxer clad boy walked over to the side of Duo's bed. Having hung out in Duo's room for most of the night, Solo had memorized it pretty well, so he wouldn't hit his leg on a nightstand in the dark. Duo's bed was set up with the headboard against one wall, and the right side of the bed was against the other wall.
Looking down at him, Solo could barely tell where the kid was. The sheets were tossed around and he was tangled up in most of them. But after a while of looking, he discovered Duo's head was facing the wall. 'Perfect.'
Solo's hand slid under the mound of blankets and pried them open. Being as cautious as he could he layed down in the bed next to Duo. He held his breath as his weight caused the bed to move, but Duo didn't even stir. Placing the blankets on top of them both, Solo wondered about what would be the best way to do this. With a deep breath, Solo reached over Duo with both his hands. It was awkward, but he couldn't think of any other way.
With one quick motion, Solo clamped his hand down over Duo's mouth, then wrapped his arm tightly around the boy's waist.
Duo's eyes flew open and he tried to escape from whatever was holding him and at the same time tried to yell for help from the others. 'Oh crap, how did I not hear someone sneak into my room!' As he struggled, the person behind him held on tighter than before. Duo's heart beat faster and he flailed more violently. 'Man, I wish I kept a gun under my pillow like Heero does, but NO, I have to keep it safely in my closet.'
Before the boy could get away, or dislocate something, Solo grabbed onto him tightly and forced him against the bed. Swinging his leg over and kicking the sheets off, Solo rolled on top of him. Straddling his chest, Solo leaned down, staring into the frightened violet eyes.
As soon as the person straddled him, Duo felt a new wave of fear. 'Where are the guys when I need them, this guy is gonna...' The person leaned down at that moment, pushing his face closer. Before Duo's mind could register anything else, he caught a glimpse of golden eyes as the face moved through a beam of light.
'Solo?'
"Kid, quite struggling, it's just me for crying out loud!" Solo hissed at him in a whisper.
Feeling a little bit safer, Duo calmed down, and looked angrily up at Solo. Hoping that the boy was calmer than he looked, Solo removed his hand from his mouth and rolled off of him. 'Well, he hasn't yelled yet, or hit me, so that's a good sign.'
Duo rolled onto his side, and was surprised to see Solo's face as close as it was. Drawing back a little, he tried to calm down, but it was no use. When he tried to whisper at Solo, his voice betrayed the panic his body was still recovering from.
"What are you doing Solo! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Hey, you're the one who freaked out."
This was obviously not what Duo wanted to hear as a small growl began in his throat. 'Uh oh...' Solo thought as he prepared to block a punch from the angry boy.
"Jeez Solo! You pop up in my bed in the middle of the night, pin me, and expect me to take it calmly!" Duo's voice began to get louder and Solo tried to quiet him down.
"Okay, maybe I was wrong to do that, I should have woken you up first."
"Go away." Duo had finally returned to his normal self and rolled over to face the wall, hoping the blond would take a hint. No such luck.
"Look Duo," Solo shifted closer and tried to put his arm around Duo's waist again, but Duo shoved it back. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Then talk to me in the morning, you're getting on my nerves."
Obviously feeling persistent, Solo wrapped his arm around the defiant boy and pulled him close to his chest. Duo half-heartedly struggled, but in all honesty, it felt good to be so close to Solo. Giving up, he rested his head against Solo's chest and sighed melodramatically.
"What's the matter kid?"
"Oh give me a break Solo, we're in my bed spooning. Everything is wrong with that."
"There's nothing wrong with two best friends, or ex-lovers for that matter, getting a little close."
"Ex-lovers? That was what, 12 hours ago? Damn Solo, you really are bad with commitment."
"No, we are ex-lovers. There's a difference between sex and love. The shower thing, that was fun, but it was just sex and you know it. We haven't done anything out of love for the past two years, at least."
Duo was surprised at this, after all, he'd never have expected Solo to be moral or intelligent about anything.
"Why don't you count that shower thing as love?"
Solo looked down at the top of Duo's head, and gently spun him around. Their legs immediately entwined, more out of habit than anything else, and Solo's arm hung loosely at Duo's back, holding him close. He looked down into Duo's eyes and saw what might have been hurt. He lifted Duo's chin up, till they were looking each other, eye to eye.
"Come back to L2 with me." Solo said quietly, but he never took his eyes off of Duo. The violet ones widened in surprise, and his jaw hung open. Not missing a chance, but also not wanting to force anything, Solo leaned in towards Duo. But the boy quickly shut his mouth and pulled his head away from Solo's hand.
"So that's what you wanted to talk about. Same old same old. You want me to stop fighting. To run away. No way Solo. I'm finishing this war."
"But why not just come back for a while, give it a try. I even got myself a new gang, they're a bit rusty still, but come on, I could use a good experienced hand with me." Solo flashed a smile and Duo felt guilty at how excited he looked.
"I'm sorry Solo, but I can't go back with you. I have to keep on fighting, I owe it to so many people..." Duo let his words trail off, as he stared into space, lost in his memories.
Solo grabbed one of his shoulders and shook him hard. Duo blinked and refocused on the honey shaded eyes in front of him.
"Duo, I want you back. To hell with beating around the bush. I don't care if it makes me look like a wimp or anything like that." Solo leaned his forehead against Duo's and pulled him into a semi-hug. "Please."
"Why, so you can just leave me again?"
Duo flinched at how harsh that sounded. For the first time in his life, Solo was asking him for something. And he could tell, if he said no, Solo would respect his wishes. But still he snapped at him. 'But....I want to be with him. I can't though....it wouldn't work out. I always get attached, and then poof, he's gone. That's why Heero is so perfect for me, we're both soldiers, we fight together on the same side, and I'm not trying to have anything long term with him. We have to live our lives expecting to be gone the next day.'
"Solo, do you really love me?" Judging by the sharp intake of breath he could feel through Solo's muscular chest, Duo could tell that his question had caught him off guard.
"Well?" Duo looked up at Solo, the determination obvious in his eyes. But he was confused by what he saw. Solo was looking around as if he was trying to change the subject. 'Oh, I see.'
'I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD!' Solo stared at the ceiling and bit down on his tongue to keep from yelling out what his mind was screaming at him. 'He already said he wouldn't come with me, what difference does it make.' Another part of Solo's mind yelled back 'What if it does make a difference, tell him.' Solo shook his head, then looked back down at Duo's downcast eyes.
"What about you?"
"Huh?" Duo looked back up, lost and confused.
Solo took a deep steadying breath and looked down at the beauty next to him. He began to run his hand up and down Duo's side, and was pleased to see that the boy gasped at the feather soft touch. His hand went from his shoulder, down to the boxers at his waist, then back again. Making sure he had the boy's complete attention, Solo continued.
"Duo, look me in the eyes." Duo stared up at him, even as he bit his lip to not moan as Solo's fingers trailed along his skin.
"I know you don't lie, or at least that's how you used to be. If you can look me in the eyes, and tell me that what you feel for me is real love, then I'll stay with you forever."
Duo felt choked up and stopped paying attention to Solo's fingers. 'Forever? Would he really not leave me?'
Solo leaned down, expecting an answer.
The words from two years ago came flying back to Duo. Professor G was standing there, explaining that Solo had left without a word or a goodbye. He had stood there, not believing what the old man said as he stroked the feather in his pocket, next to the knife. "He was just using you Duo. You're a soldier now, you can't have emotion or attachments to anyone. They'll just leave you because you're a soldier. How could anyone love a god of death." The old man had sneered.
"I can't love you Solo..." Duo's training whispered out, while his heart fought against it with all it's might.
Solo snarled angrily at this and his hand grabbed onto the shoulder he'd been caressing. With one sharp throw, Duo's back landed against the wall. He yelped in pain as his wings were pressed between his body and the wall.
Within a few seconds Solo was standing by the side of the bed, his wings out and his breath coming fast. Duo had never seen him so angry or dangerous looking.
"Go to hell you little whore!" Solo picked up the chair next to Duo's desk and threw it at the window. The glass and wood shattered into a million pieces and fell to the floor. Solo tucked his wings in carefully, and, with one fast jump, he was out the window. Duo could just barely hear the sound of gently flapping wings.
'Solo....I love you.'