Hello! This chapter is gonna get on my nerves..i just know it -_-;; anyway, thank you SO much for the reviews...you DONT know how much they mean to me ^_^

And Congrats to silverspirit...the ride WAS dueling dragons, my absolute favorite one at that park ;) They couldn't get me off :P

Same Warnings and Disclaimers

This is sort of a double chapter...but there's a good reason...and I didn't have time to beta the second part so watch out for errors...*ducks head in shame* Sorry!! ^-^;;;

Ok, on to chapter 12!

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Heero noticed that his companion was unusually quiet as the exited the circus tent, but just as he was about to ask about it, he heard a familiar voice calling to them from the tent entrance that they had just left.

"Heero! Duo!"

Heero looked back and smiled a bit when he saw Quatre tugging on Trowas arm, leading him towards them. He grabbed Duo's arm, and when Duo looked up in question he nodded his head toward the two.

'That's strange, why didn't he hear them?' he thought to himself as he saw recognition finally hit the braided boy. Quatre and Trowa finally reached them, Quatres features seemingly permanently stapled into a large grin.

"I saw you in the tent from behindstage but I didn't want to ruin your show." Quatre explained, giving Duo a small wink as Heero nodded to Trowa in greeting. Duo managed somehow not to blush. 'I can't believe he followed me here!' his head screamed.

Trowa, as he often did now, chose to speak up. "I didn't know you were interested in amusment parks or the circus Heero."

Heero caught the knowing grin on his friends face and allowed a smirk to creep onto his face as he shrugged.

Duo's head finally shot up. "Crap! Heero, we have to get back to that coaster! See you later guys!" was all that Duo shouted as he now grabbed Heero's arm and began to pull him in the general direction of the ride.

Heero's eyes widened as he remembered they're tickets and he nodded. He looked back at their two friends and after a quick apology, managed to ask them to meet Duo and he at a restaurant down the street from the park for dinner all the while being pulled away by the arm by his companion.

Quatre grinned and looked up at Trowa, who was also smiling. "Maybe things will turn out alright after all" he murmered, remembering both of the boys happy expressions as they left. His boyfriend pulled him into and embrace from behind.

"Perhaps they will" Trowa agreed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After another round on Dueling dragons, Heero and Duo walked around in search of something else to do. Spotting a basketball booth, Duo tugged on his friend arms and gestured toward it. Heero nodded and they headed over.

"Five tokens for three shots! Three baskets large prize, two baskets small prize! Come try your luck! Ahh, hello, care to give it a shot?"

"Hell yeah!" Duo smiled as he handed the man his tokens that they have recieved at the entrance with their passes, his eyes obviously coveting the large prize, which was a black basketball with, oddly enough, had a picture of the grim reaper, holding a large scythe on its side.[1]

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero watched as Duo picked up the basketball that was placed before him and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth a bit in concentration. He couldn't help but smile a bit at that. It was definitely cute.

Duo took the shot and made it easily. With a whoop of victory he grabbed the next ball that was handed to him, but just as he was making the shot, a kid ran by behind him, distracting him, and he missed. Not having the heart to yell at the kid, who had not realized what he had done, he sullenly made the third shot and recieved a smaller orange basketball for his efforts and began to head away from the booth.

Seeing the look on his friends face, Heero threw out a hand and stopped him, digging his own tokens out and handing them to the man. Taking the basketball, he quickly made the three shots without any interruptions. The man looked amazed but handed him the basketball that Duo had had his eyes on.

Heero turned and handed the ball to Duo, and Duo took it, his eyes wide. At first Heero once again thought he had done something wrong when his companion remained silent, but suddenly the braided boy looked up at him happily, his eyes glowing, and heero relaxed.

"Thanks Heero!" he smiled and Heero gave him a small grin in return, grateful that he seemed to be doing his self-imposed job of keeping his friend happy. It seemed he was finally doing things right. Looking at his watch he noticed it was starting to get late and that they needed to leave soon if they wanted to beat the rush out of the park for dinner. Relaying the news to Duo they started to head for the exit.

They decided it would be easier to just walk to the restaurant rather than wait for a cab. It wasn't that far but they could see that Quatre and trowa had not arrived yet as they scanned the room.

"Trowa must have a performance just before" speculated Duo out loud. Heero nodded his agreement with the assessment.

"How many sir?" asked the waitress politely as she began to gather menus from the stand next to her.

"Four" replied Duo. She nodded, scooping up two more menus. "Will the others be joining you?"

They nodded and she smiled and gestured for them to follow her. The restaurant wasn't big but it was nice enough. Not too fancy, but not your average diner. It was just right. Duo suddenly spoke up.

"Are those seats by the windows upstairs by any chance open?"

The girl looked confused.

"Could you excuse me a moment she sid uncertainly and went off behind the doors to the kitchen. Heero looked at his friend questioningly but Duo just smiled and grinned. The girl came out again, this time smiling.

"Ahh, so you must know the manager." she grinned as she picked up their menus and changed direction to head toward a tarp. Pulling it aside she let the two walk through and they stood facing an elevator. Entering it, the girl punched in some numbers and the three of them rode upwards for quite awhile it seemed. When they reached their destination Heero's eyes bugged at what he saw. The walls to the room were actually made of glass, showing a wonderful view of the town and in the distance, the ocean. There was no one else up there, and there was only one table.

"Please, have a seat" the girl told them, placing menus and place settings on the table. "I'll inform the manager that you're here and I'll bring up your friends when they arrive, could i have their names?"

Giving the girl Quatre and trowas names, she nodded and left them. Heero was still staring in awe and Duo was grinning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo congradulated himself. Looking at Heeros wide eyes he grinned, happy to have surprised him after a day that he felt had been designed especially by Heero for his personal enjoyment.

"You like?" he asked, already knowing the answer he would get out of the normally stoic boy.

"Very much" Heero replied, still staring, dumbstruck at the sight. Duo decided to take his seat and heero soon followed. They sat for awhile in a semi-comfortable silence.

"So, how do you know the manager of this place?" Heero asked, for once deciding to initiate the conversation.

Duo smiled, he had a feeling that Heero would ask that. "Ahh, you see, I helped design this place." He looked at Heero who looked impressed. "The manager is actually an old friend of mine that I met in the orphanage on L2." For a moment it seemed that his memories were going to make him lose his composure, but he shook it off. "I owed him a favor and he needed some money in order for him and his fiance, another girl I know, to get married."

Heero suddenly looked up over his shoulder and Duo turned his head to see the very same 'old friend' walk off of the elevator with his fiance close behind him. The girl looked around her future husband, and seeing Duo she laughed and ran toward him.

"Duo!" she cried happily as she flung herself to him, hugging him quickly she backed away and examined him. "You look well, she turned her head towards Heero. "Who's your friend?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero didn't understand what happened in his gut when he saw the girl fling herself at Duo, but the sick feeling went away when the girl jumped back and switched to clinging to the other strange boy, so Heero chose to ignore it. The girl was pretty, with dark hair and bright blue eyes, and the boy was also dark haired, but his eyes were of a much deeper shade of blue.

He heard the girl address him and he stood up politely. "I am Heero, it is nice to meet you..."

"Mayou, and this is my fiance, Suya" she smiled at him.

"you're Japanese?" he asked in surprise.

"The girl laughed. I guess I am, that's the first language I remember knowing...but I wouldn't know, I met these two at the orphanage."

Heero noticed that that Suya had begun a conversation with Duo without letting go of the girls hand. When they were finished the tall boy looked at him, then back at duo, and then it seemed somewhere in the middle of them. He smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to have met you Heero. Enjoy your meal." With that he dragged his fiance out by one hand, her other occupied in waving goodbye to the two boys frantically. Sitting back down he noticed that Duo was looking pensive. He decided to inquire about it.

"Duo?"

"hmm?"

"Is something wrong?"

Duo looked up, looked a bit confused for a minute, until he shook it off and smiled. "Nah, he just said something that confused me that's all..."

Before he got a chance to ask what Suya had said to him, heero heard the sound of the elevator, and looked to the other side of the room to see their original waitress step off with Trowa and Quatre in tow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo grinned at his friends as they walked in and started a bit of light conversation between the four of them before they ordered. When the meal arrived however, he ate in silence. He was still thinking about what his friend Suya had said to him.

/I'm glad to see you've finally found him Duo./
/What? What do you mean?/
/You mean you...i mean the two of you?.../
/As if.../
/......./

Normally, a comment like that he would have let pass withoug much thought. But from Suya, it was a totally different story. Ever since they were little, Suya, and the ever present Mayou, who seemed constantly stuck at his side, had been the town matchmakers. They seemed to always make the right descision and always seemed to have a keen sense of who was pining after who.

Duo figured that his feeling for Heero wouldn't have gone unnoticed by them, but why was Suya so surprised that they were not already together? It just didn't feel right.

Duo suddenly felt eyes on him and looked up to see Quatre's worried gaze resting on him. Trowa and Heero had begun talking about something or another, but Quatre seemed too concerned about his downcast aura to join them. Not wanting to worry his friend he smiled reassuringly at the blond and resumed the light chatting with his comrades.

But he never noticed prussian blue eyes that had been watching him out of the corner ever since they began eating...

Eyes that were determined to get to the bottom of their normally chatty friends queer silence...

[1]Im not kidding about this! When I was at an amusment park...that was the prize at one of those booths..grim reaper and all 0.o lol, whats sad is that the first thing i thought when i saw it was "Duo would like that!!" -_-;; I can be such a fangirl sometimes :P
-----------------------------------------Part two-----------------------------------------------
When they arrived at home, all four friends were quiet. Mostly due to drowsiness. Even Duo, usually so full of energy was silently yawning and stretching his arms.

It was dark and upon entering the house, they realized that due to some work being done on the cities electricity, none of the lights in the house were functioning.

Tripping over the carpet in the hallway, Quatre also realized that the servants had probably already gone to bed. After all, it had to be after midnight by now. After the restaurant, they had headed over to a karaoke bar at Duo's suggestion, mostly to just watch the people make fools of themselves while they were drunk on stage. Heero and Trowa had seemed slightly amused and he and Duo had been nearly histerical with laughter.

Afterwards they had just talked while taking a walk through the cities large park. They had had thoughts about stopping at a bar for drinks, but by that time, it was so late that few good ones were open anyway.

Quatre opened a drawer near the front door and reached around in it till his hand came in contact with a couple of candles and a lighter. The flashlights unfortuantely, were in a back room. Groping blindly in the darkness, he called for Trowa to help him. Together they managed to get the candles lit. It was only then that they realized that heero and Duo had already disappeared. Shrugging, they both took one of the candles and headed to their room, trustin the former pilots to make it safely to their own.

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He had had a feeling that Duo wouldn't wait for Quatre to procure a light source. As they entered the house and realized that the lights were not working, Heero had heard soft footsteps, unusually sure in the darkness creeping out of the entryway. Following the sound, he realized that they were heading towards the bedrooms, and his suspicions were confirmed. Duo was avoiding him.

Heero felt a little hurt by that. Mind you, he didn't exactly know why Duo had decided to try and escape him, but it had been apparent after Duo's suggestion for the karaoke bar after dinner that he did not want to get caught alone with the stoic pilot.

What had gone wrong? he had thought that the day had been pleasent enough...perhaps Duo had thought otherwise? Whatever feeling of accomplishment in the area of friendship, and the bits perhaps could lead to something a bit more, that Heero had accumulated during the day suddenly vanished. He had let Duo down again. Maybe he should just stop trying...

He heard a door just ahead of him open and close. Duo's room. He approached the door carefully and stood outside of it, listening closely. He heard Duo's bag hit the floor and a distinct *fwap* that indicated that Duo had thrown himself on the bed.

Waiting, Heero started to think again. He knew that Duo knew he was there. Why was Duo suddenly upset with him? Perhaps Duo had realized that the Heero he was now was different then the one that Duo had imagined himself being with. He knew now that Duo wanted a real relationship with him, but when Heero couldn't even satisfy him as a friend...what kind of relationship would he ever be able to uphold?

He tried to remember when things had gone downhill during the day. He was sure that the both of them were having the times of their lives...until...until the restaurant...

Heeros eyes widened as he remembered the quiet conversation between his companion and Suya at the restaurant and how silently contemplative Duo had seemed afterwards. Suddenly, the support was gone from where he was leaning, and he realized that the door to duo's room was now open. The owner of said room was watching him from the doorframe, his form illuminated by the moons light coming in through the huge window.

"Something you need?" Duo aked him quietly, not sarcastic, not angry, but a bit resigned, as if he had known that the confrontation would happen, no matter what he did to avoid it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo had flopped on his bed in exhasperation. He had hoped that Heero would go away soon. That he wouldn't have to face him until he collected his thoughts...but he should have known that he would have no such luck. Sighing, he decided to face the inevitable and opened his door, quietly asking Heero what he wanted, but in a way already knowing.

" I think we should talk," was his answer. Duo paused for a moment but nodded and let him in. Better to get this over with...

"Duo, what was it that youre friend said to you that's gotten you this upset?"

Duo could hear the concern in his voice and realized that he thought that Suya had hurt him in some way. Duo quickly dispelled that idea.

"It wasn't anything BAD..per say...it just, made me think...that's all..." Duo realized that it probably wasn't a satifying answer for his friend, but he thankfully saw that he wasn't going to over persue the topic. The comment from Suya had made him think. Well, it really just set off a train of thought that had been building potential all day. What Quatre had said this morning, about giving it time...and especially the small hints that Heero had dropped, but never acted upon.

That was what confused Duo the most. That time at Panera's, when Heero had kissed his palm, when they were in the line for Dueling dragons, when heero had held his face so carefully, and when he had won the basketball for him, without a second thought. Duo had seen these as steps in a favorable direction, but unfortunately Suya's comment had set him back.

Even Suya had seemed to see something there...and yet...

In truth there seemed to be nothing.

They might have the outward appearence of being together, but in truth...they weren't. Perhaps it was heero who wanted to keep it that way? He had thought that perhaps Heero might have the same feelings when he had done those little things for him, and when he had seemed to be watching him at the circus...but maybe he was just trying to be friendly. Maybe he didn't want to hurt his feelings, but perhaps could not truthfully bring himself to feel the same way.

Duos heart clenched at the thought that his friend might have been simply putting up with him for his sake...to make him happy, without really thinking about his own interests...

"Do you want to sit down?" he asked, keeping his voice calm and indicating to the window seat, which was well illuminated by the moonlight outside.

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Heero watched the braided boy as he seemed to go off into his own world for a moment after answering him. He stood there until he heard Duo offer him a seat. Heero graciously accepted and they both sat down on the seat by the window.

Heero founf himself waiting again. He knew that his friend wouldn't hold out on him for too long, and he was happily proved right as Duo began to speak uncertainly.

"Heero...why did you take me out today?"

Heero looked at him confusedly. "I wanted you to enjoy yourself..." he answered, dreading what he thought would be the reply, that Duo had had a terrible time.

But Duo didn't say anything. He just had a sad look. Like he had had something unfortunate confirmed for him, yet something he had known all along.

"I see..." he whispered, looking down.

Heero's heart clenched when he saw the upset violet eyes through the dim light. "Duo?"

Suddenly, Duo's voice seemed angry. "Just stop it Heero...stop pretending!"

Heero was honestly confused at the outburst. Pretending? Pretending what?

"You dont have to always make things better for the people around you you know. It's a nice gesture, but this is too much! Why would you take all this time to make sure that I'm happy whe you KNOW that you cant stand to be around me!?" Duo tried to keep his voice down, but the emotion in his words was becoming apparent.

"I know now that you dont even want to be here! You only stick around because you know that I'm miserable! That I'm only happy when you're here!" Duo paused for a long time before drawing his legs up to his chin and whispering to himself. "It's not fair..."

Heero now sat, wide-eyed with shock. How could Duo think something like that? Heero thought for a moment. When he had decided to work on a relationship with Duo...it HAD been to make him happy. He hadn't wanted to see him upset at the time, and he still didn't. Then he noticed something different.

As Duo had said, in the beginning, he had not wanted Duo to be unhappy becasue it felt wrong to do such a thing to a friend. At least, that was what he had come to think. He had never really been put to the test...until he met Duo.

Heero suddenly realized that those heart-wrenches he felt when he upset the violet eyed boy were genuine. It hurt HIM to see the boy upset. He reached out towards the still furious face, stubbornly bent at a downward angle. Duo stiffened when his hand came into contact with the blazing skin of his face, but didn't draw away.

Heero scooted a little closer, his face still blank, yet his mind moving at a mile a minute. Heero realized just how many new emotions the braided boy had exposed him to;

Sadness and pain, when he realized how he had upset him;

Guilt, when he realized that he could never be good enough to keep his friend happy;

compassion, caring, both from his friend, and in his feeling that things could only be right when Duo was smiling...

and perhaps....

Heero tilted Duo's head so that he was forced to look at him.

There were no tears, but he could see the pain that lined the violet depths, their stunning color unfortunately filtered out by the moonlight, but no less expressive. Without quite realizing it, he began to move closer, watching as those orbs grew nearer and nearer until without much thought, he pressed his lips against the one below him softly. He had decided to let his emotions take over as the rational part of his mind struggled to find a reason for his sudden urges.

He didn't know why he did it.

But it didn't feel wrong.

He noticed that Duo's eyes had grown at least four times in size and he smiled a bit. Finally he spoke.

"No Duo, I dont stay just to placate you. I didn't bring you out today to ease any type of guilt...I did it because it hurts me to see you so upset," he spoke truthfully, Duo's eyes, if possible growing even wider. "And there's also the fact...that I'M really happy...when im with YOU..." he whispered, leaning in close to Duo's ear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo was convinced that he was dreaming. He listened as Heero soothed his troubled thoughts, his lips still tingling from the contact. Then he felt Heero lean even further to whisper in his ear.

Yep, definitely dreaming.

But the breath on his ear felt so real, the hands on his face firm. He covered one of them with his own, still staring at Heero's calm face in shock. He felt like he was seriously going to have a heart attack when heero gave him a genuine smile, but instead, he felt as if a dam had broken and he threw both of his arms around heero, his eyes still wide and disbelieving.

He wasn't lying to him...

He had stayed...because he wanted to...

Heero wasn't simply feeling sorry for him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and smiled as her felt strong arms come around him and Heero's lips touch the top of his head.

Maybe things were finally looking up.

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*cracks knuckles* ok I KNOW....I KNOW this was supposed to be done...*looks at calander* three weeks ago (-_-;;) but neverfear! I will finish it! Mark my word! I knew this would happen...I'd promise the next chappie the next day and then the chapter would give me a hard time *mumbles* anyway...finally looking up! as duo says...see you in the next chappie...what was it that duo forgot...anyone know? ;)