Warnings: Yaoi.
Duo?
Chapter 20: Broken Bliss
Duo awoke and looked down at the boy sleeping soundly on his bare chest. He smiled and kissed the mess of chocolate brown hair softly. He didn't want to disrupt his love's sleep, so he turned his head in his pillow and thought back to the first time Heero realized that Duo slept in his bed...
:Flashback:
Duo curled up under the covers when the lights went out. A few moments later, he heard Heero, "Duo..." he said in a threatening tone. Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing. He turned and peeked out from under the blankets up at Heero, hoping to look too cute to turn down.
He blinked when Heero's mood didn't falter. "I don't have a bed," he said with a pout. Heero's eyebrows raised and Duo immediately defended himself, "Hey, ghosts need to sleep too!"
"You didn't sleep here last night," Heero assumed.
Duo grinned inwardly. He made his response casual as to irritate Heero, "Yes I did."
Heero's eyes narrowed menacingly. "You did!"
:End of Flashback:
Duo opened his eyes and smiled fondly as Heero stirred quietly. He made a muffled noise. 'Aw! He's talking in his sleep!' Duo thought and listened closely.
"Hold... me...," Heero mumbled. He sighed. "Don't... let... go..." he said as he tightened his hold around Duo's bare middle. Duo smiled and shook his head.
"I'll never let you go," he whispered.
Heero sighed deeply and fell silent again. A moment later he awoke and didn't seem to remember where he was or why he was lying with Duo like this. His eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up off of Duo's chest and glanced quickly around the room, then back down to Duo. Duo quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a strange look that hinted that he thought Heero was crazy.
Heero rolled off of Duo and onto his back next to him. He put one hand on his forehead and seemed troubled. Duo shifted to his side and putting his elbow on his pillow, rested his head on his hand. He smiled at Heero and chuckled.
Heero turned his head toward Duo but didn't move his hand. "How..." he started. Duo raised his eyebrows expectantly. "How did that happen?" he finished quietly. "I mean... I know that you can be felt when you want someone to be able to feel you... But..." He shook his head and brought his hand down. He stared at the ceiling. "Duo?"
Duo had lain back down on his back. "Hm?"
"What will you do once I move out? I mean... I'll come back, and my parents aren't going to move out or anything, but as I grow older, what will you do?" Heero asked without looking back at Duo.
Duo tilted his head. "I don't know... Just stay here and wait for you, I guess." Heero nodded slowly.
"I wonder if I'll be able to come back here when I die..." Heero said quietly. Duo looked at him in surprise.
"Heero, I'd worry about that when the time comes for it," Duo told him in a strangely stern tone.
Heero still looked worried, but nodded.
Duo bit his lip. He didn't know how to respond to that... He didn't know what was going to happen. He sighed. "Please don't worry too much, Heero... You shouldn't be thinking about death or anything remotely related to it at your age."
Heero looked at Duo sharply. "I'm the same age as you," he pointed out.
Duo shook his head. "You won't be. I've stopped aging, I haven't grown a day older for what... three or four months now. You are already passing my age at this point." Duo stopped for a moment. "When is your birthday, anyway?" he asked.
Heero sighed. "I'll be 17 on the 29th of January."
Duo nodded and leaned toward Heero and kissed him lightly on his cheek before suddenly having clothes on and getting out of bed. He grinned and left the room.
Heero also got up and dressed, and found Duo right outside the door braiding his hair. He looked up and smiled. Heero smiled back and went downstairs with Duo close behind.
He looked around the house for a while before going back upstairs. Duo followed without saying a word. Heero was about to walk into the bathroom when he stopped and turned around. "Duo... Why are you following me? You're like a big puppy," he said playfully.
Duo shrugged. "I dunno." He grinned.
Heero quirked an eyebrow and sighed. "I'm going to take a shower, and you are going to stay out."
Duo pouted and walked slowly down the hall. Heero glared after him. Once he got to the stairs, Duo happily sat on the railing and slid down out of sight. Heero shook his head and closed the door.
Duo heard the shower turn on and chuckled to himself. He wondered what to do while Heero was busy. He'd already finished most of the interesting books in the house, and he couldn't go upstairs because Heero would sense him and think he was in the bathroom.
He sighed and wandered around the house until Heero was done. He did finish very quickly and Duo remembered how long it used to take him to shower because of his long hair. He smiled to himself and as he got to the bottom of the stairs he looked up at Heero who was standing at the top with his boxers on and a white towel around his neck.
"What're you doing?" he asked and motioned for Duo to come with him.
"Nothing," Duo answered in a very aloof tone. He followed Heero to their room and fondly stroked the petals of Heero's roses whilst he dressed.
Heero sighed and hung the towel in the bathroom and walked downstairs, Duo always following. "When's your birthday?" Heero asked as they went into the living room.
"December 10th," he answered quietly.
Heero nodded and the silence between them grew, although neither noticed because they were each deep in thought.
They jumped when the doorbell rang and Heero sighed and went to open it. Quatre greeted him cheerily, "Hello, Heero! How are you feeling?"
Heero smiled. "I'm doing ok," he answered and Duo came up behind him.
"Hey guys!" He flashed a grin and put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Of course he's ok, I took care of him!" he said happily.
Quatre chuckled and latched himself onto Trowa's arm. "We thought we'd come by to see if you wanted some company after being inside all this time?"
Heero nodded. "Yes, of course, come in," he said gratefully. It was incredibly boring and lonely without anyone there to talk to other than Duo.
Quatre nearly dragged Trowa into the house because he walked so much faster than Trowa and he wouldn't let go of his arm. "Hey Heero, do you know what school you're going to?" he asked as they moved into the living room and sat down.
Heero shook his head. "Nope, I haven't even really thought about it... When does school start here, anyway?"
"In a couple of weeks."
"I think I remember my parents telling me something about a high school... I can't remember the name, but I think it started with an 'H'," Heero said thoughtfully.
Quatre smiled. "Could it possibly have been Harrelson?"
Heero nodded. "That's it, Harrelson. My parents told me about that before we moved here, maybe I'm already enrolled."
Duo looked down sadly while Quatre started telling Heero about Harrelson High. He didn't want Heero to go to school, he wanted him to stay home. He looked up at the conversation taking place before him and it was plain that Heero was excited about starting school again.
Duo's eyes fell on Trowa who had been silently watching him. He gave Duo a strange look that told him to be happy for Heero. Duo blinked and wondered how he figured that out. He looked at Heero then back to Trowa, but he was once again listening to Quatre and Heero talking.
xxx
After talking through the afternoon, Quatre and Trowa left. Duo wondered if he should bring up his opinions on Heero going to school.
Heero sat back down on the couch next to Duo. "What do you think about Harrelson?" he asked almost uneasily.
'I wonder if he really wants to go...' Duo thought. "Well, I don't know... I think it's great, although I'd much rather you stay here with me." He grinned playfully.
Heero smiled back, but it faded as he looked down. "I don't really want to go, I'd rather stay here too. But I can't just stop going..."
"Well, you could..." Duo grinned. "But it wouldn't be a good idea. Thinking about college and all that good stuff."
Heero chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be gone five days a week, six to seven hours a day... But I know I'll be back at the end of the day," he pointed out. Duo nodded. "If you want me to, I can get you more things to do, like books to read," he offered. "I know you'll be bored."
Duo nodded again. "Sure, that'd be great." He bowed his head as Heero took Quatre and Trowa's glasses into the kitchen.
True happiness never stayed long for him; once he found a little it was taken from him. This was no different. What he'd found was being taken from him. He wasn't going to keep Heero awake at night just to be with him because of school, and he'd be busy with homework anyway. Heero would barely have time for Duo.
He sighed sadly. Just like always, it was being taken from him, his happiness... His Heero.