Feels Like Home

By Shikata ga nai

~*~

Heero was tired. Very tired. But he had to go see Duo. He had to find out if Duo was doing all right. Even though all he really wanted to do was sleep. He bought a business-class ticket on the next shuttle to L2 and settled into the cushy seat for a nap, not really caring that he was splurging his limited funds.

He woke up once during the flight, and the stewardess winked at him and offered him a drink. He declined and pretended to go back to sleep, but sat there watching her from beneath mostly shut eyelids as she finished her rounds. She was very pretty.

He was awakened by the same stewardess later on. "Sir…sir, we're about to land…" She moved on to the next row. He blinked and rubbed his eyes; he hadn't meant to fall asleep again. He felt refreshed, though. When they landed, he pulled his backpack from the overhead compartment and hurried off the shuttle, into the bustling spaceport.

Half an hour and a taxi ride later, he stood in front of a brick building bearing a sign that said Maxwell Salvage and Auto Repair in large red letters. A bell tinkled somewhere when he pushed open the door and a woman looked up from the desk she was working at. Her hair was short and very black, and her eyes were a sunny sort of blue.

"Hello…" she said, but she was staring at him oddly. Suddenly her face lit up with recognition. "Heero!"

Hilde jumped up from her chair and raced over to give him a hug. Heero blushed at the unexpected attention.

"It's been too long," she said as she stood back. "You were supposed to come and visit sooner!"

"I'd like to tell my story, but I'd rather not tell it twice. Where's Duo?"

"He's back in the shop. Come on." Hilde took him by the hand and led him back to see Duo.

***

"That was a busy eight months," Duo said when Heero finished telling his story.

Heero smiled and took another sip of his coffee. He felt relaxed, as he had for a long time with Duo. Here, there were no pretenses, and he didn't have to reveal or conceal anything if he didn't want to. He could just be himself. "What have you done since the war, Duo?" he asked.

Duo sat up proudly. "I came home to L2 with Hilde and used all the money I had to start this business. I think at the end of the year, we'll be making a profit."

"Congratulations. It's good to see you're doing well."

They kept up a conversation for an hour or more, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Heero couldn't help but notice that Hilde and Duo seemed very close. It reminded him of Quatre and Dorothy, but on a much more casual level. He could see it in the way they looked at each other sometimes, and the way their arms occasionally brushed together, unnoticed, as they sat side by side and talked to him. It bothered him.

Stop that, he thought. I'm acting jealous or something. There's no need. Duo's happy, Hilde's happy, I should be happy for them. Think peaceful thoughts. He sipped his coffee some more, wishing for a distraction.

It came in the form of the phone ringing. Hilde bounced up from the table and answered it. "Maxwell Salvage, Hilde speaking," she said sweetly. "Uh huh. Yes. Just a second, please…" She cupped her hand over the receiver and spoke to Duo. "It's James Sorenson. He wants you to go pick up some junk from the construction site for him. He says he'll pay you on Tuesday. You should probably take the big truck."

Duo nodded and got up. "Tell him I'll be there in ten minutes," he said cheerfully. He turned to Heero. "You wanna go get some exercise? Lots of heavy lifting," he said winningly.

Heero grinned. "Let me get my jacket."

"Excellent!" He gave Hilde a very quick kiss on the cheek as they ran out the back door to the truck. "We'll be back before you know it…!" The words drifted through the door behind him just before it slammed shut.

Hilde sighed and flopped down on a chair in the empty kitchen. She stretched her legs out on a chair beside her and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. So Heero Yuy's back in town, she thought with a quiet smile. I wonder about him and Relena…

***

The 'big truck' was very big indeed. It looked like a small freighter. It sounded like a thunderstorm when Duo started it. The two young men sat quietly in the cab, letting the rumble of the engine and the sound of the radio keep them company while they pulled out of Sorenson's construction yard with their full load. It had been a very hot, strenuous, and fulfilling two hours, while they and three construction workers filled the trailer with debris, girders, and bits of twisted metal. Duo would be fishing out what he could and taking the rest to the dump, for a small fee.

Heero examined his hand as he sat in the passenger seat, leaning his elbow on his backpack. Despite all the sharp corners he'd handled, and all the heavy, rusting metal, the only wound he'd somehow managed to give himself was a paper cut from the forms he had been hanging onto for Duo at one point. He felt a bit stupid, but at least the cut was clean. He put the slashed finger in his mouth and sucked on it for a minute while they rumbled down the road.

Finally, Duo couldn't keep quiet any longer. "So how are things with Relena?"

Heero pulled his finger out of his mouth. "I don't know. I haven't seen her in four months."

Duo's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "You haven't kept in contact with her at all?"

"No…" Heero was a little puzzled by the thought.

Duo shook his head. "What a sensitive guy. You go out and get religion and values, but you can't find any manners or sense while you're at it."

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked a little sharply.

Duo signaled and took the turnoff that led to the salvage yard, pulling around to the back entrance. He backed the truck in smoothly, turned off the ignition, and climbed out. "I'm just saying," he said as he jumped onto the solid packed earth, "that you really haven't got a clue."

Heero got out and walked around the front of the truck to face Duo. "What makes you say that?" He was half mad and half genuinely curious.

Duo frowned at him. This could get rough, he thought. "Think about it, Heero. You're a smart guy. It all adds up…" He started walking towards the main building, where they'd left Hilde, ticking off points on his fingers as he went. "Relena tried to save you--from me--when we first met. She kept close tabs on you all through the wars. She would have walked through fire for you if you'd asked her. She saved you at your weakest moment, and nursed you back to health. She did," he insisted when Heero rolled his eyes a little. Unfazed, he continued.

"You stayed at her house for four months, making full use of her facilities while you were there. When you wanted to leave, she found all of our whereabouts for you, just like that. She gave you money and food and wished you well when you left, Heero. But she didn't want you to leave. She was probably hoping the whole time that you'd change your mind and stay, or at least, that you'd thank her and bother to keep in contact, to let her know that you weren't dead!"

The last syllable rang loudly through the air, and Duo smiled with grim satisfaction when Heero stopped dead in his tracks. I got him, he thought. Heero still looked confused, but there was a glimmer of understanding on his face. Duo watched him for a moment, then said gently, "She loves you, Heero. Do you feel anything in return? Is there a little heavy spot in your stomach? Guilt? Yeah? Do you feel guilty for treating her like dirt? Good," he said sharply before turning away. "At least that means that you feel something." And with that, Duo left Heero behind and walked back into the office, letting the door shut behind him.

Heero stood alone in the empty salvage yard and turned his face up towards the sky. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut as his guilty thoughts assaulted him silently.

**********