No warnings about this one either, just nice, normal plots against peoples lives, and all that fun stuff. =^_^= Oh yes, and a bedroom scene...*gasp!* =P

Disclaimer: I need one of those memorabilia stores that sells life-size cardboard cutouts of famous celebrities and movie characters. Why? Because I don't have any real Gundam pilots of my own, and I have to make them from scratch, that's why! *cries* I wonder how much paint it would take to turn a Han Solo cutout into a Trowa cutout...

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Episode Twenty-Eight: Little Things Mean A Lot

"Where there are friends, there is wealth." ~Titus Maccius Plautus

November 30th, 1901

In the months he had already spent at Bridlewood, Duo had gotten very used to the little luxuries he could never have afforded to buy for himself, including the all-important alarm clock. Waking up to a clanging bell had become quite acceptable; waking up to Dorothy pounding on the bedroom door and yelling had not.

"Shake a leg, you slackers!" she bellowed through the door. "It's quarter to seven already, and I've got deliveries to make!"

With a groan that started in his belly and grew in severity as it crawled up his throat, Duo prodded his bunkmate sharply in the shoulder and sat up. Amidst more pounding and shouting, the boys got up and opened the door for Dorothy, whose mind was too taken up with business matters to have any qualms about seeing two young men in their rumpled sleepwear.

"About flaming time!" she hollered at the drowsy youths as she pushed past them with a cloth-lined basket. "Now then, how are my darling sweeties this morning? Did you enjoy your last sleep in this ratty old attic? No? Oh, my poor babies..." Dorothy took on a sugary tone as she leaned over Heero's bed to take stock of the kittens. One by one, she lovingly picked them up and put them in the basket. "You're going to nice new homes now! And you're going to have the finest of everything! Yes, you are!"

Heero was standing by the writing desk with his arms folded, while Duo sat on the other bed looking forlornly at the scene. He had truly enjoyed having the kittens in the room with them, for many reasons, and it was a severe wrench to see them go. Heero made a mental note to take the boy out someplace nice later to cheer him up.

"...four...five...six! That's all of them!" Dorothy hung the basketful of mewling kittens off one arm and gingerly scooped up Anna Maria with the other, then turned around to actually make eye contact with the boys. "I suppose I should thank you for watching over them for me. You certainly saved me a great deal of trouble, and I'll be speaking to Miss Relena about a small bonus for your efforts." She flashed them a brief and matronly smile, then sauntered out with her collection of fur.

Duo pouted. "A bonus. Yippee. I'd rather have the kittens back. Money doesn't love you. Money can't lick your face and purr when you rub it's tummy. Well, maybe it can, but that just means it's time to quit drinking. Man, this sucks."

Heero wasn't listening to his partner moan about the loss; the part of his brain that was awake was instead replaying the sound of Dorothy counting the kittens and wondering what was wrong with it. It would have to wait until after his morning coffee, however, and well after he'd devoted his grey matter to more important things.

A slightly sleepy Hilde trotted in next, and picked up the cats' sandbox wearing Quatre's gardening gloves. "Miss Relena's letting us air out your mattress on the back terrace, and I'll be back for the linens in a minute," she said to Heero, only half-looking at him. As the girl turned to leave, she caught sight of Duo's miserable expression and cooed at him in sympathy. "Aw, don't be so cut up about it, Duo! They're going to have a better life now, with rich owners and all the salmon they can eat!"

"Mmph," Duo moped audibly as she left. He paused a few beats, looked up at Heero, his violet eyes dimmed by despair, and waited in vain for the other boy to offer some comforting words. None came. Gee, way to console me in my hour of need, Heero, he thought bitterly. Making another gruff noise from the back of his throat, he pushed himself off the bed and shoved past Heero on his way to the bathroom.

Heero wasn't sure what to make of it; to him, it seemed as if Duo was turning the kittens' departure into a far bigger deal than it should have been. Never mind...soon I'll have my own space back at last. The sigh of relief Heero indulged in set him up for a cosmic joke of the highest degree; as he bent down to pick up the pillow Dorothy had relocated carelessly to the floor, something moved out of the corner of his eye...something on his bed.

Already glaring, Heero levelled his head and scanned the well-scratched bed sheets for movement. Then, something mewed. Heero cringed and whipped off the top sheet; the little charcoal grey kitten mewed again and looked up at him, proudly wearing the red satin ribbon Duo had procured for her.

Swearing under his breath, Heero picked up the stray feline and ran through the attic to the front storage room. By the time he reached the window and peered down at the street, Dorothy was already getting into Relena's carriage, with a warm blanket covering the basket on her arm. Trowa snapped the reins as soon as she was inside, and then it was too late; they drove off through the gently falling snow, not to return until the basket was emptied.

Heero looked down at the kitten in his hand and frowned. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Mew," the kitten said.

"What's the big emergency out there?" Duo called from the bathroom door. "Who's running?" He poked his head out and looked around for any signs of distress, while re-braiding his hair.

Heero slowly walked out of the storage room looking a little defeated and carrying the furry conspirator. Upon seeing them both, Duo's face lit up like a firecracker and he raced over to them right away. "Dorothy left this one behind, and I couldn't catch her in time," Heero explained solemnly.

"That's right!" Duo exclaimed, taking the kitten and cuddling her fondly. "She only counted six, and this one's number seven! If she's found homes for all the rest, then this one has nowhere to go! That means she's ours by default!"

"Duo, no..."

"Come on! She won't be any trouble, honest! I'll look after her, I promise! As long as Dot gets her money from the other adoptions, she won't miss this one! You saw her, she can't count! Pleeeeease?"

The rapid-fire begging combined with two pairs of dewy eyes hacking chunks out of his resolve were too much for Heero. He waved them off and shook his head, already in a bad mood. "Whatever. I don't care."

The boy stalked off in a huff, and Duo scratched his new pet under the chin and smiled. "Don't mind him, kitty...he's got a lot on his mind lately." Indeed, they would both have a lot to deal with in a few hours' time.

**********

When Heero began investigating the man who served as butler before Henry Wagner a few days earlier, he slammed into a brick wall. Relena refused to discuss him, and seemed more interested in pouring wine down Heero's throat and talking about moonlit walks through the park behind the estate. Doris and Bethany clammed up as well, though they were very apologetic about it. Heero didn't even try Treize, Otto, or Elsie, for obvious reasons.

That left Arthur as the sole member of the household who had been around long enough to recall the man. True to his word, Arthur came through for Heero once again, with enough information to kick off his search in proper fashion. Right after breakfast on Saturday morning, he and Duo left the house, nipped around the corner, and hailed a cab from there. The snow was falling harder now, and Heero made sure to bring enough money to buy each of them a warm winter coat on the way back, but first, they had some official business to attend to.

"So, where are we going?" Duo asked, rubbing his hands together briskly after pulling the cab door shut.

"I found out where he is, but it wasn't easy," Heero began. "His name is Pegan. He was in service for seventeen years before an apparent stroke sent him to hospital early last year."

Duo sat back and blinked rapidly. "Apparent stroke? How do you end up in the hospital with an apparent stroke? Do people get hit by apparent horse-drawn buggies too?"

"Arthur thought it was suspicious at the time, so he tried to find out if it was true," Heero continued, "but it seems that Lord Peacecraft himself ordered him not to pursue the matter, along with the rest of the staff. Pegan's name was never to be spoken again, and they were forbidden from trying to contact him. They accepted the order without question, and Relena eventually came to think that he'd been guilty of some hideous crime against the family, and was let go for that reason. She's never thought twice about her father's judgement, even to this day."

"But Arthur's not that gullible," Duo concluded for him.

"Thankfully, no." Every few blocks, Heero looked out the window to take note of streets and landmarks along the way. After a half-hour ride through the city, they arrived at the address he had put together from Arthur's helpful hints, as well as his own official inquiries. The carriage came to a halt. "We're here."

The pertinent building was on Duo's side of the cab, and he looked up at it in awe, not to mention squeamish fear. It was a sturdy brick monolith, bland and featureless except for tiny square windows without curtains or decoration, that punched dark holes in the stark, white-washed outer exterior. The few trees and shrubs dotting the property were scraggly and unkempt, their dead leaves blowing around the concrete front steps in miniature tornados of dust and snow. The tarnished plaque above the door read 'Our Lady of the Scapular, Sanitarium, Est. 1871.'

Duo shivered. "A sanitarium? Worse, a sanitarium run by the penguins!?" He snapped his head around, eyes bulging. "You know what it's bound to be like in there, don't you? It's a glorified mental institution! Look at the place!"

Heero leaned over to evaluate the building for himself, and his silence confirmed that Duo had a valid point. The lack of activity certainly wasn't indicative of a bustling health spa. "Yes, well...let's find out." He all but pushed Duo out of the cab and they jogged up to the imposing building, bracing themselves against the chilling wind.

Inside, they found only minimal staff, all holy sisters performing the Lord's work among the sick and the desperate. There was a mausoleum-like silence about the place, occasionally punctuated by a wild cry from...somewhere. Duo was right about it being a home for the sanity-challenged.

After a quiet word with the mother superior, they were led down a maze of bleak hallways, past dozens of wards filled with all manner of patients. Mobile and invalid, coherent and comatose, docile and maniacal, they were all there, filling up the spaces between the stained ceilings and bleached floors without purpose or pattern. The lucky ones weren't strapped down to their beds; the very lucky ones were allowed cutlery at mealtimes.

Duo was completely lost and felt a bit sick by the time they found the correct ward, and he clung to Heero's arm fiercely. They entered the room and the door was shut behind them, securing them inside with the ward's only resident, an elderly man in a wheelchair.

He sat calmly with an afghan draped over his legs, staring out the tiny square window at the wall of a neighbouring building. Thick white hair and a dignified matching moustache set him apart from the other inmates, who were in varying stages of physical decay, but it was the only noticeable difference, other than his silence. All he had besides the wheelchair, a blanket, and the clothes on his back was a bed and a table; no books, no knickknacks, nothing at all of interest. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, he sat and stared, ate and slept, then sat and stared some more. All day, every day.

The boys approached him slowly, standing beside the window but not blocking the man's view, what meagre view there was. Heero tried to catch his eye, but he was unresponsive. "Are you Pegan?" They waited patiently, but there was no answer. "We've come from Bridlewood Manor to discuss Lord Peacecraft. Will you talk to us?"

It wasn't even clear that the man could hear him. Duo pulled Heero aside and whispered to him nonetheless. "Are you sure he didn't have a stroke for real? There's something not right about him."

Heero shook his head. "I think he can hear, but I don't know how to communicate with someone who won't acknowledge me."

Duo smirked. "They didn't cover passive resistance in your subversion classes?"

"I must have been sick that day," Heero said, returning a bit of the lopsided smile. "We don't have much time. You try."

With a hopeful shrug, Duo walked in front of the window and crouched down below it, tugging his braid over his shoulder so he could keep it from dragging on the ground. "Hey there," he began in an uncertain tone, "we just have a couple of questions about the house, mostly. We'd ask his Lordship if he was still around, but...well, there you are. So, um...maybe you could fill in the gaps, 'cause Miss Relena isn't naturally helpful, and we've kindof alienated most of the rest of the household..."

At the mention of Relena's name, the man twitched and looked away. Duo knew he'd struck a nerve, so he gently pressed it. "You miss her? She hasn't come to see you, has she?" The man blinked uncomfortably. "I'm sure she meant to visit you, she just gets busy and forgets things. I bet we could get her to drop by for Christmas, would you like that?"

Suddenly, the man's eyes seemed to spring to life, like a switch being thrown, and he made visual contact with the crouching boy, showing attentiveness for the first time. He slowly looked up at Heero, then back down at the friendly foreigner. "They didn't send you," he said weakly. It was more of a realization than a question.

"What do you mean, they didn't send us?" Heero asked.

"Miss Relena...she's not allowed to see me. That's why you couldn't be..." The old man grabbed two handfuls of his afghan and shrank away from Heero. "Who are you?"

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you!" Duo insisted with a kind smile. "My name's Duo. I'm Relena's cook now...and that's Heero. He's the new butler."

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Heero said in a quiet but authoritative voice, "and tell us how you got here?" He took a step forward and the old man shied away again, but Duo sat right down on the floor and gave him an endearing smile to let him know that all would be well.

"You're...investigating inside the manor?" the gentleman whispered cautiously. Duo nodded, and the man sat back in his wheelchair to collect his thoughts; slowly and with great sadness creeping into his trembling voice, he began to tell his story. "You're quite right...I am Pegan. I was in service to the Peacecraft family for many years...until things started to change.

"Our family doctor, Benjamin Pritchard, went on leave suddenly, and handed all his patients over to other physicians. We became the responsibility of a Dr. Laval from France, whom I didn't know and could find no credentials for. It was he who immediately diagnosed Lord Peacecraft as having a weak heart. He insisted that his Lordship take a full physical, after which Dr. Laval prescribed some pills for him."

Duo and Heero looked at each other; this wasn't at all what they came for, but it sounded juicy. The questions about the hidden wall niches could wait.

"His Lordship began taking the pills, and all seemed normal," Pegan continued, "until I received an anonymous letter ordering me to double his dosage. Thinking it was a prank, I wrote back saying that I would do no such thing without word from Dr. Pritchard, and that if there was any more harassment, I would telephone the police and let them sort it out." He paused and wrung the blanket over his legs in silent agony. "Another letter came...saying that if I didn't do what was asked of me, I would be forced to leave Bridlewood and never return, and that if I told anyone about the letters, especially the police...something dreadful would happen to Miss Relena!"

He choked out a sob, and Duo got up quickly to pat his back comfortingly. Heero turned and started walking around the dinky room, running a hand through his hair as he weighed carefully the implications of Pegan's story. This man leaves, Treize puts Wagner in his place, Lord Peacecraft dies and Wagner disappears. It can't be a coincidence!

"I faked my illness to get away," the man sighed. "I hated leaving the family to battle forces unknown, but I couldn't bear having anything happen to Relena! She's a dear girl, and I've known her since she was a baby! I knew as soon as his Lordship died that I'd failed him...but there was nothing I could do...I had to choose between my master and his daughter, and I could never have any contact with the family again, or she'd be..." Pegan broke down again, for good, it appeared. Duo did all he could to calm him down, but finally being able to tell his secret after nearly two years of silence was liberation and a burden at the same time.

Heero could smell Treize's influence all over it. He had known since his arrival that Lord Peacecraft died suddenly and without warning, but now he had a voracious interest in how he died and what was in the pills he was taking. "What did Laval prescribe for his Lordship? Was it chlorodyne? Digitalis? A barbiturate?"

"I...I don't remember," Pegan stammered. "It's so difficult to remember small details anymore...I wish I could..."

"Don't upset him, Heero," Duo said softly, "his brain's been rotting in this place with nothing to do, it's not surprising that he's forgotten a few things. Why don't we ask Sally's opinion? She's the closest thing we've got to a medical expert, isn't she?"

"Oh, please don't involve anyone else!" Pegan begged, grasping Duo's arm. "I shouldn't have even risked telling you! If they find out I've spoken to anyone--"

"They won't! They won't!" Duo exclaimed, not even being sure who 'they' were. He crept nearer to the man and took hold of his arm to steady him. "We're on the same side here, I promise."

Heero took another step forward, a smaller one this time. "You have my word, no matter what happens because of this, Relena will be kept safe." The implications of his promise skittered around the room and out the door before he could give them serious thought, so in reality, the boy had no concept of what he was committing himself to.

Regardless of the risks, Pegan seemed to calm down after that. "Oh, thank you, sir! I don't know what made me tell this to you before hearing your kind assurance. I just feel so starved for human contact in this place...for Relena's safety, I made his Lordship forbid them all from visiting me." He leaned towards Heero with the first sparkle his eyes had shown in nearly two years. "Tell me, did Prudence have a baby girl like she wanted? And did Timothy hear from his brother in Wales? Does Rosemary still have housemaid's knee? There's so much I need to catch up on!"

The boys exchanged slightly uncomfortable glances, and Heero could tell that his partner wasn't up to dashing the old man's hopes that the manor had held itself together without him. "A lot of things have changed at Bridlewood since you left," Heero said, noting how the sparkle faded a bit. "We can't take you back with us, not yet...but we won't leave you here indefinitely."

Duo saw the petrified look on Pegan's face and caught Heero's eye. "What if someone finds out he squealed? What if they come after him?"

Heero sighed. Baka, you don't have to draw his attention to it! Sadly, he looked down at Pegan and saw that the damage was done; the man only stopped himself from trembling through a Herculean effort born of British pride. After a moment's thought, Heero lowered himself onto one knee by Pegan's side and took out his gold pocketwatch. He opened up the front cover and took out a round white wafer wrapped in transparent film, put it in his pocket, then held the watch out to him.

"We'll check in on you from time to time, but until we can get you out of here safely, I want you to keep this." He pointed to the dial on the side of the watch. "If anyone else visits you and you don't feel safe around them, set this watch to midnight and pull out the dial. The back will open, and the area within five feet of you will be filled with smoke. Don't inhale it." Pegan nodded at the strange instructions, unfazed, while Duo observed with intense curiosity, especially about the round wafer that had been removed from the watch. "The smoke will either knock them out or startle them long enough that you can call for help. Do you understand?"

The man nodded again, earnestly, and gratefully accepted the watch. "Thank you very much indeed. I won't keep you any longer, gentlemen...now, please go back to Bridlewood and watch over Miss Relena for me."

The boys rose and said their goodbyes, leaving the kindly old butler to the care of the nuns dressed as nurses. On their way out to find another cabbie, they agreed that it was a terrible shame, what had happened to him, but even worse was knowing that they couldn't help the man before knowing all the facts and finding out how Treize might have been involved. Unfortunately, they ran out of decent conversation waiting for a cab in the desolate corner of London, and stood shivering on the pavement in semi-silence.

Duo couldn't get the round white wafer out of his mind. Ever since he found out what Heero's real job was, he'd been diving into spy stories and knew all about master spies carrying cyanide tablets in case they were caught. It was unsettling. "Cool watch."

"Mm." If there was anything sinister about the wafer, Heero certainly wasn't giving out any free hints.

A sudden gust whipped snow in their faces and they turned away from the wind, squinting involuntarily. Duo clutched the sides of his black frock coat closer about him and shivered, inching towards Heero. "I hate the cold...it's the worst part of being homeless, you know. You can go for a month without food, a week without water, but if it gets cold enough, you can lose all your fingers and toes in one night."

Heero continued to look down the street, waiting for any vehicle for hire to happen along. "Don't worry. We're going straight to Henry Poole's next...get you a warmer coat and some gloves..."

Even Duo, with his lower class background, knew that Henry Poole & Co. were the most upmarket tailors to inhabit the prestigious Savile Row, and regularly outfitted the Prince of Wales; nothing but the best for Mr. Yuy's assistant. "First class all the way, right? Thanks." Duo stared at the side of his friend's head and wondered why the first thing Heero often did to solve a problem was to throw money at it. One of these days I'll make you see that your time is worth much more to me than your money. Too bad that your time seems to be the more difficult of the two to give away. "Shame we couldn't take that guy with us."

"Far too dangerous. I've already promised to guard Relena, I couldn't possibly protect them both all the time."

"Right." The chef told himself he should probably drop the subject, but as usual, he didn't listen. Braving the wind, he turned slightly towards Heero, who continued to stare up the street. "Is that how you see me, too? A liability?" There was little or no reaction from Heero, just a slight shift of tension in his neck muscles. "I hate it when you have to tell me to stay away from you because it's too dangerous, or because you can't focus on your work if you have to protect me. I don't wanna be like that guy, Heero! I don't want you to hand me a watch someday, telling me to pull the dial out if I get in trouble, when where I should be is next to you, no matter how dangerous it is!"

Finally Heero turned his head, but he didn't look pleased. Just one more thing to worry about on an overall irritating day. "What would you have me do?"

Duo froze. It was a legitimate question, but the speed at which Heero forced his hand took him by surprise. No use backing out now, he's gonna know I've been thinking about this for awhile no matter what I say. He swallowed. "Teach me how to fight." The other boy's eyes took on a curious half-glare, but Duo pressed on. "I know you've fought tooth and nail to keep me out of the gritty side of things, but if that's where you are, that's where I want to be, and the only way I can get there is if I can look after myself. You can show me how, and then I won't be a bad risk anymore. I...I really want this...please."

Heero listened to his arguments judiciously and weighed the pros and cons within seconds. Slowly, he nodded. "Alright."

The sudden agreement knocked Duo backwards about three inches, and his eyes bulged. "Whoa...really? You mean that?"

"It's logical, and not outside our means," Heero said plainly with a small shrug. "Not this week, though. Relena has far too much planned for me already. Next week, on Sunday. I'll tell her I have plans. Agreed?"

"Done," Duo said with a smile. He didn't mind Heero being overly business-like about it, as long as he followed through with his promise, and he'd never broken a promise to Duo yet. Soon after the matter was settled, a carriage for hire finally happened across the desolate street by which they stood, and they flagged it down with icy hands, chilled to the bone and glad of a bit of shelter. They drove off in search of warmer clothes, scarves, gloves, and anything else they might need for the long winter ahead.

**********

"She's really going on holiday to that drab little place in Hampshire?" the fashionable brunette scoffed, petting her newly-delivered caramel-coloured kitten. "How gauche! Everybody's going to Spain this year! Doesn't the poor girl read the society column anymore?"

Dorothy leaned back in the plush green chair centered in Lady Une's parlour and cradled her cup of tea. "Well, not exactly...I mean, Hampshire is probably where she will go...if I can convince her that it's the right thing to do. The thing of it is...if she goes to her country estate, she likely won't be taking Quatre with her. Why should she? His place is at Bridlewood, and the house in Hampshire must have it's own gardening staff, right? There'd be no need for him there!"

Lady Une stood at the window, watching the snow fall and nursing her own cup of tea. "So the house will be practically empty? And the poor little rich boy would be all alone with no one to comfort him in the night, how terrible..." She smiled her most devious smile and sauntered back to her chair, opposite Dorothy's.

"That's not quite what I had in mind," Dorothy said, remembering with distaste how badly she had failed in her previous attempts at seduction. "He's a wanted man, don't forget, and if his sisters are planning to make their move when the fewest possible witnesses are likely to be around, that would be the time to do it, when the house is empty. Starting as soon as possible, I could use some backup."

"Ah, I see," Une said, nodding thoughtfully. "I can recommend some darling men I often use as bodyguards. They're very good at what they do, and they're reasonably priced. A handful of them should keep you and your petit paramour safe while her Ladyship is away. I could have one or two watching him as soon as this Monday."

"Oh, would you?" Dorothy begged obsequiously. "I'd be ever so grateful."

"Now, now, my dear, I don't require your gratitude," Une sang between sips of the leafy brew, "just my rightful share of the money when it comes time to divide it." She let her new kitten snuggle warmly into her lap, and was impressed at how socialized it was, to be able to drift right off to sleep in the middle of a conversation and not be bothered by the human commotion around it.

Dorothy smiled. "Of course, m'lady. Our agreement still stands."

**********

No sooner had the intrepid investigators set foot back on Bridlewood territory than Relena popped out of a distant doorway and sped towards them with her managerial face on. Heero cringed inwardly, but there was nowhere to run.

"Heero," she addressed him regally, coming to an abrupt halt that her flowing dress only half obeyed, "you and I are going to the opera next Sunday, so be sure to wear something stylish for me." Her hands were neatly folded and held waist-high, and her chin was pointed boldly upward. She seemed to have been studying how to say 'my word is law' in body language.

The butler could just about hear Duo's face falling as he saw his first self-defence lesson evaporate in favour of her Ladyship's wishes, but Heero would have none of it. "Forgive me, m'lady, but I can't possibly--"

"Oh, of course you can! Wear your dark grey with the pinstripe. That's your nicest, for town." In a flutter of cranberry silk and lace, Relena turned and walked away before any further protests could be lodged. At the last moment before she disappeared altogether, she called out to him over her shoulder. "I'll be expecting you for lunch soon! Don't stand there too long!"

With that brief dialogue, Duo's world got a little colder, even though he was out of the snow. Without a word or even a glance in Heero's direction, he shuffled dejectedly towards the back stairs on his way to prepare lunch, thanklessly and mirthlessly, with his braid drooping and his head bowed. Heero watched him go and reflected on the rather strained week they had spent--or rather, had not spent--in each other's company.

Duo marched down to the kitchen, still wearing the thick black overcoat; he barely noticed its presence until he was slumped at the kitchen table. He took off his new scarf and gloves in their rich royal blue and set them on the table in front of him, staring numbly at the soft, luxurious fabric. Just another quick fix. Buy Duo a present and he'll shut up for awhile. The easiest solution is always the best one, right Heero? Well...I don't feel like anything's been fixed.

For the last week or more, Relena had come first in everything. Heero was at her beck and call more often than usual, and because of the way she relentlessly monopolized his time, there was none left for him to spend reading with Duo, or teaching him Japanese, or just to sit and talk, like they used to. Duo realized with bitterness that he should have known the promise of martial arts training was too good to be true. Painfully alone again, he sat and stared at the scarf and gloves some more, but the empty feeling wouldn't go away; they were a poor substitute for a best friend.

**********

As the moon rose over the perpetual cloud of fog and snow over London, Duo slunk into bed early, taking up the left hand side of the double bed, farthest from the wall, where Heero usually slept. Since he was going back to his own bed tonight, it hardly mattered whose side Duo was on. Now his sole companion was the charcoal grey kitten who was momentarily without a place to lay her furry head. She padded around the fluffy bedcovers, testing out the strange new landscape under her paws, and was too excited to sleep.

As soon as the chef heard Heero's unmistakable light footsteps on the stairs, he rolled over to face the wall and pretended to be asleep, tugging the covers tightly around him. The room seemed unbearably cold, but then even with the thick winter coat on, he was freezing from the inside out, so it was difficult to tell the difference.

After some shuffling around, Heero found a blanketed lump where the usually chatty chef should have been, and knew he was upset. However, rather than open his mouth, say the wrong thing, and make matters worse, he opted to simply go to bed and hope Duo felt better about life in the morning. He turned out the lantern, got into his old bed, and realized that, despite the fresh linens and setting the mattress out in the snow on the back terrace for twelve hours, it still smelled like cat. And the room was cold. And there were rustling noises and little meows to his left that wouldn't stop.

And he couldn't sleep.

Hours crawled by, slightly slower than a tortoise in a puddle of molasses, and nothing changed, except the rustling and meowing eventually subsided, but it was replaced by a different kind of noise, soft but unnerving. Before long, he concluded that Duo was shivering, and rightly so. Heero got back out of bed, long past midnight, lit the lantern and stood at Duo's bedside, staring down at him.

Apparently, the chef wasn't getting any sleep either, and each second that Heero's icy cold gaze painted snowflakes on the visible part of his chestnut head, Duo got closer and closer to leaping up and smacking the boy upside the head. Eventually, he snapped. "What!?"

"Are you seriously going to keep that animal in here?"

Duo propped himself up on his elbows and glanced down at the foot of the bed, where the kitten was nestled sweetly into the blankets. "Yeah, I seriously am," he declared defiantly. "A whole bunch of us were in the kitchen with her after lunch, trying to think up a name, although you're probably too busy to be remotely interested in what we picked..." He didn't lie back down, as if taunting Heero to give in and ask.

At first, Heero didn't budge, even folded his arms and pasted on a look of indifference. It didn't last. "Alright, what?"

"We named her 'Shadow', because she follows you around all the time."

Heero flinched. "She does?"

"Constantly."

"...I never noticed."

Duo sat up forcefully and rubbed his arms from the cold. "Yeah, well...you don't notice a lot of things anymore. I know it's your job to look after Relena, but she's got you on such a short leash, it's not even funny! That's why you don't notice these niggling little details."

"I noticed you were cold," Heero said. "It's the worst part of being homeless."

"Wow, you listened to me one time," Duo drawled, rolling his eyes. "Doesn't mean you're going to make a habit of it." He'd had about enough for one day by then, and slumped back down beneath the covers. Heero continued to stand over him, and in mere minutes, the braided boy was shivering again.

"Something's wrong with the central heating," Heero said. "It's not going to improve anytime soon, and neither one of us can sleep like this."

"So?"

"So move over."

Duo was instantly torn between his grudge and his crush, but he was never one to waste an opportunity. "No way, pal, this spot's nice and warm. If you want in, you crawl in on the other side. Just move the cat first."

Grateful for some small bit of progress, Heero reached over to the right side of the bed and picked up the kitten with both hands, so gingerly, so tenderly that she didn't even stir in her sleep. Duo watched in awe that someone he knew to be deadly could be gentle just as easily, and just as well, and his angry facade began to melt.

Heero looked around on the floor for a box or a cushion, but found none. "Where should I put her?"

Duo shrugged. "Put her back in your bed. She's your shadow, after all. She only follows you, so you owe her."

Tentatively, Heero looked down at the warm ball of fur in his hands and honestly tried to convince himself that the kitten's young nose couldn't tell the difference between him, his bed, and her mother, but the possibility that Shadow followed him because she...liked him...it was nicer. He found he preferred it, and regretted not noticing her sooner. With unerring gentleness, he set Shadow down in his own bed and tucked the blanket loosely around her; then, having used up all his grace for one night and turning out the gaslamp for the second time, he clambered brusquely right over Duo and into the other half of the double bed, ignoring the playfully painful complaints of his bunkmate as limbs were knocked about in all directions.

Duo squeezed his pillow and bit his tongue. Don't you dare make me laugh! I'm still mad at you!

"Duo..."

"What?"

"The opera doesn't start until seven in the evening. We can still go to Catherine's basement for some sparring practice. It's up to you." Heero rolled onto his back and settled in comfortably, though his elbow bumped the wall once or twice. "Even so...I would have found a way to do both, or even lied my way out of the opera. I'm sure it's very educational and comes highly recommended, but right now, an afternoon's workout would be preferable."

The clouds lifted. Suddenly, Duo didn't feel like a forgotten detail anymore. "Honest?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Honest."

The chef happily snuggled into his pillow, secure in the knowledge that he had some importance after all. It was only then that he started to feel the cold slipping away and the warmth creeping in to take it's place, and the treasure of sleep would soon be theirs. He smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."


~~~~~~~~~~

Next, in Episode Twenty-Nine: Heero's schedule is brimming with pages and pages of social events, but the oddest ones of all will be karate lessons followed by a night at the opera. Duo conveys a message to Sally, who must be let in on some vital information, and Quatre receives another letter and answers it, the consequences of which could be deadly.

Yes, I'm taking some small liberties with Pegan, but it's all in a good cause, as I'm sure you can see! =^_^= Next episode is due out December 8th! Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? =^_~=