Hehe. . . and you thought this fic was already buried six feet under. Not yet!

Sorry for the long time before I updated. I know. Stupid exams.

So here. I hope you like this part.

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CHAPTER 1

I'm dreaming again. I just know it. It's always the same dream that's been haunting me for ages. I'm walking at a dark path, and there're corpses all around me, grabbing my ankles, wrists, arms as I struggle to pass through. The faces are just looking at me with slimy stuff dripping from them, like blood. And their voices combined together make a very eerie music that gives me Goosebumps.

There's no doubt about it. They're the shadows of those people I've killed, coming back to haunt me. I've been killing people for as far back as I can remember, so I wouldn't wonder if these people haunting me in my sleep would end up killing me in one of my nightmares.

What's so surprising really is that, every time I come close to actually dying in this dream, the same thing happens that brings me back. I hear a voice calling my name, a very familiar voice that I just couldn't put my finger on.

Then the voice becomes a shadowed figure as he comes running towards me, but the ground suddenly cracks open and he falls into it. Me, being the stupid little me, goes jumping into the crack and holds my hand out to him. Then we are both enveloped in a bright light and I wake up.

My eyes sleepily flutter open as the morning light greets me. I try to sit up but falls right back down to bed when I'm startled by a sudden twinge of pain on my side. I lower the blanket and raise my shirt to reveal a bandage wrapped around my waist. What the heck, just when did I. . . Oh, right. I stumbled upon a drunken idiot last night harassing a little girl. Hmmm. . . wait a minute I remember Rei came to get Maria, then I got stabbed, and I ran back here. . . that's strange, I don't remember getting back here and tending to my wound. So who. . .

But before I could even ponder that, someone knocks on my door.

"Yo! Hee-chan! You awake already?"

Duo? What's this baka doing here? Don't ask me why he's still calling me that pathetic nickname. I don't know either. I don't even remember allowing him to call me that. But he just does. I've become used to it anyway. And I've learned the hard way that there's absolutely no way of winning an argument over this guy once when he. . . forget it.

Right, he must've imagined me telling him to come in, because the next moment, his head pops through the now opened door and he cheerfully walks in. I look at him nonchalantly as he walks closer to me and sits on the side of my bed.

"How ya doin?"

I flinch a bit at the touch as he removes a wet cloth on my forehead and feels my temperature. Then he sighs in relief.

"That's good. You're fever's gone down, but it hasn't totally left, so don't push yourself just yet." He reprimands. Idiot. He's acting like a big brother to me again. Of course, I just ignore him.

"So, what do you want for breakfast? You haven't got much stuff in your fridge, so the only things I can make for you are soup, oatmeal, or pan cakes." He asks cheerfully, totally oblivious to the look of surprise that appeared on my usually stoic face. What the heck, since when did he have the right to inspect my kitchen???

Resigned to the fact that this guy never falls for my silent treatment, which for a million times I wished he would, I decide to speak to him.

"Duo. How long have you been here?"

"Eh?"

He raises his eyebrows at me in mild surprise, but soon smiles again.

"Oh. . . you don't remember do you? I came to visit you here just last night. I decided that, well, since we'll both be alone for the holidays anyway, then I might as well come here and spend it with you."

He stands up and opens the blinds. My eyes squint at the sudden contact with bright sunlight. Then he continues to babble.

"I knocked for hours but you didn't answer. Then I thought that maybe you were out, so I waited for you at the porch for a few more hours. Just then, I saw you coming, about to collapse on the ground. I'm just glad I made it in time to catch you before your head hit the concrete floor."

He comes to my side again and plunges the wet cloth on a bowl of water placed on top of my bedside table, before squeezing it a bit and putting it back on my forehead.

"So tell me, what happened to you last night?" He asks, looking straight into my eyes.

I give him a brief summary of what happened, and don't ask me why the heck I suddenly felt like telling him, because I myself don't know. Since when did Heero Yuy ever feel obliged to take orders from Duo Maxwell anyway?

"What's this? It seems that Hee-chan here has a soft spot with kids." He says teasingly. That's it, I feel a nerve twitching.

"Don't start with me Maxwell." I say through gritted teeth.

"Oh but it's true. Don't you think it suits you Hee-chan? The perfect soldier, um, say, let's rephrase that a bit. The perfect KNIGHT comes to rescue a damsel in distress."

Then he starts making a really stupid, almost hilarious, pose of a knight. I would've laughed, of course, had I not started to strangle him to death, choking the living daylights out of this idiot.

"Hee. . . Hee-chan! I was. . . j. . . just. . . j. . . j. . . joking!!!" He manages to cough out.

Then I loosen my hold. He pants for a bit then walks out of the room with a childish pout. He yelled through the door that he'll make breakfast for me while I let my head cool down.

~)-0-(~

Later that afternoon I went out for a walk. Er, rather, I ~sneaked~ out of the house for a walk. Duo will never let me go out of the house. Heck, he didn't even let me out of my room, saying crap like 'You have to get better first' et cetera. . . But I can't stand staying inside for even an hour. Staying in one place makes me think too much. I guess I got too used to walking a lot, it keeps my mind off things, and lets me drift even just for a while.

Great, I'm beginning to feel dizzy again. Damned fever. I look around for the nearest bench and sit down. There are children playing with the snow. It's so nice to look at. I never had the chance to play with snow when I was young. Right, remind me I never even had the chance to BE young, because from the moment I was born, everything simply had to be perfect. . . to form me into their so-called 'perfect soldier'.

Sometimes I wonder how it could've been if I had a normal childhood. . . and a normal life. But I guess I'll never know. And even now that I'm given the chance to start over, I feel like it's too late. I'll never have a 'normal' life because I feel so. . . tainted. My hands are stained with blood after all. So much blood. Who am I then to be given the chance to live a happily. . .?

Memories. . . so many memories of blood and killing are haunting me again. Every time I get into this train of thought it always comes down to this. What was the point of my life? Why did I have to be the one to pilot 'wing' and kill all of them? Why did I have to live through it all, only to be eaten up by my guilt and regret? Sometimes. . . I think it could've been better if I died somewhere along the way. Then I would've been able to finally rest.

I'm shivering. . . why did I suddenly feel so cold? Heh. I guess this coldness I'm feeling isn't just from the outside. . . but from within me. Sleepy. . . shut my eyes and let the darkness take me. . .

Then warmth.

I feel something wrapped around me. Open my eyes.

"Duo?"

"I told you not to go out." He says with a childish pout. Kind of cute really.

He wrapped his coat around me. So that explains the warmth.

"Come on I'll take you home."

I try to stand and end up wobbling from side to side. So Duo takes my arm and wraps it around his shoulders supporting me as we walk back to my house.

It was pretty dark already by the time we arrived. I didn't even bother opening the lights as we walked in, because right now, I desperately want to go back to y bed and sleep. I haven't realized until now how tired I got from going out, even if it was just a very short walk. I open the door to my room and lie down.

"Oyasumi. Hee-chan"

Then he kissed my forehead. It wasn't long before I doze off.

~)-0-(~

I groggily open my eyes, and the dark surroundings tell me that it's already late in the evening. I get out of bed, and upon opening the door what met my sight made my eyes go wide. The living room is decorated with a bunch of tiny shimmering lights, Christmas lights? And there's a four-foot pine tree with ornaments standing on the center table.

"Oya! Hee-chan. You're here."

Duo greets me from the kitchen, and I miserably hold myself from laughing upon seeing him actually wearing an apron. What the heck is this guy thinking?

I walk over and see what he's doing (and also to make sure that my kitchen is till intact). The table has been filled with different mouth- watering delicacies. Really, despite his, well, being Duo, and no matter how impossible it may sound, this guy can cook. And he does it good mind you.

"It's Christmas Eve after all, so I decided we might as well have a little celebration don't you think?" he says upon seeing the blank look on my face.

Oh, right, Christmas. So it's already been a year since we last fought using our gundams. And. . . it's been a year since I've been wandering.

"There, this is the last of it. So you hungry? Let's eat!"

Really, what comes along with his skill in cooking is also his bottomless appetite.

"Sure." I shrug. I'm not about to let him see that I'm actually happy about this. . . and the fact that this is the first time I actually spent Christmas Eve with someone, and it's him.

After that we spent the rest of the night talking (or at least Duo was having a monologue and I just kept on grunting) and admiring the fireworks display. Then we had a drink, and made a toast for each other's happiness. And that is why this idiot here is flushed, obviously drunk. His hiccups tell me that any minute now he'll fall asleep, and tomorrow he'll have a nightmare of a hangover. Idiot. I told him not to drink too much.

He grabs my shoulder all of a sudden and pins me down on the couch.

"O. . . oi!"

"Merry Christmas, Heero." He said, his violet orbs glimmering, as he looks straight into my eyes.

It's the first time he ever called me by my first name, and not that silly nickname he came up with. Shake that thought off my head. He's drawing nearer.

"What are you mmph. . ."

He silenced my question by locking his lips with mine. . .

And promptly falls asleep on top of me. Idiot.

=^w^= So? How was it? Suggestions? Comments? It'll be much appreciated.

Reply to reviews:

Lie-chan and go go gadjet: So here it is! Thanks for the review!!! It was just what I needed to continue this fic.

HeeroDuo4eva, Water-chan and Leaf Zelindor: Waiii!!! Thanks for reviewing. I promise I'll try to keep this as interesting as I can.

his infernal majesty: *bows with awe to the great sponge* Yes your majesty! As you wish. ^_~

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