Author:  aomurasakiai

Warnings:  Cross dressing, Shounen ai, Fluff, Sap, Angst, AU, OOC-ness

Pairings:  1+2+1

Spoilers:  None

Rating:  PG-13

*Everything above may be subject to change*



Illusions (6/?)



"MIKA!"

"AIKO-SAN!!!"

Heero heard Haruko and Hisa's cries as he fell over the edge along with Mika.  His mind was going a mile a minute, desperately trying to formulate the best plan to save the human girl he was holding onto.  He couldn't revert to his angel self… Mika and the others would see and he would be in BIG trouble with Lady Une if she found out.  He'd be stripped of his guardian angel status and he could never come back down to Earth again.  So, that was out of the question.

Heero glanced down at the ground rushing towards them.  He didn't have any time left!  Without thinking, he rolled them both around in midair so that he was under Mika and would receive most of the impact.  In another split second, his upper back and head met with the unforgiving floor, stealing all his breath away.  The disguised angel just lay there, dizziness swirling around him from the ground's contact with the back of his head.  Darkness was creeping into his vision as Mika looked at him, almost in tears.

"Aiko-san!  Daijoubu desu ka?" Mika looked up to where Haruko and Hisa were… where she had been at just a few seconds ago.  "Oh my god… you saved me.  Arigato… honto ni arigato…" she whispered, on the verge of breaking down and Heero lightly touched her arm, the only comfort he knew how to give.

"It's okay," he tried to reassure her.  She buried her face in her hands and started to sob.  He himself almost sighed in relief, glad that she hadn't decided to hug him or anything.  With his rather flat chest, it might have been a dead give away that he wasn't a "girl."  Heero placed one hand over his eyes, trying to stop his head from spinning.  The sun seemed too bright all of a sudden so he rolled over to his side to get out of its glare and winced when Mika screamed.

"You're bleeding!!" Immediately Heero felt Mika's hand pressing the back of his head, applying pressure.  Her sobbing increased as well as a stream of apologies.  Fumbling with her bag, she retrieved a small hand towel from it and held that to the back of his head.  Heero blinked slowly at the new sensations.  As an angel he had never gotten hurt before, much less bled.  Now that blood was steadily seeping out from his head, the last thought he had was he hoped he didn't have to see any doctors; otherwise he'd have a tough time explaining why it wasn't as life-threatening as it looked.  Guardian angels could not die after all, no matter how much blood they lost.

Soon Heero heard the sounds of running footsteps coming closer and Duo's worried voice.

"Aiko-san!"  Dizziness returned with a vengeance when he felt himself being picked up, then cradled in Duo's arms.

"Don't move her too much.  She might have hurt her back," Shiro-senpai told the braided teen.  All Heero could do was shake his head negatively and Shiro-senpai leaned down to examine the now lightly bleeding wound.  He breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's not too deep.  You should be fine, Aiko-san." Duo sighed in relief as well and without warning, picked the disguised angel up to carry him back down to the car.  Heero felt heat rise to his face for some unknown reason as he gripped the other's shirt.

"Duo-kun… you don't have to carry me," he told the other teen.

"I don't want to risk anything, Aiko-san," Duo said, picking up his pace.  He tightened his hold on the guardian angel, pressing the other closer to him.  Heero's ear was right on Duo's chest and he heard the fast, worried heartbeat of the young boy.  Another new sensation rose within him… and it made him feel happy.  Content.  A small smile appeared across his lips and he let Duo carry him into the car.

~*~*~

"You may see her now," the nurse told Duo and the others before she opened the curtain and left the room to tend to the other patients, closing the door behind her.  The braided teen smiled at Aiko who was sitting on top of the hospital bed, her head was wrapped tightly in a bandage.  He reached out and gently touched the back, where it had been bleeding before.

"How do you feel, Aiko-san?" he asked.

"Daijoubu," Heero replied softly.  He glanced up to see Mika who had a relieved expression on her face before it turned into an 'I told you so!' look.  Her earlier words came rushing back to the angel and Heero couldn't stop the heat from rising up to his face again due to Duo's close proximity.  Even though it hadn't been that long since the last time he blushed, being in the braided teen's arms, the sensation still felt odd to him.  Mika saw Heero's pink face and immediately ushered everyone out behind Duo's back, closing the door silently behind them.  The American was apparently too preoccupied with the bandage around the guardian angel's head, adjusting it slightly here and there to notice that they were alone.

"Aiko-san… gomen.  I'm sorry that you got hurt," Duo whispered, his fingers unconsciously brushing the soft unruly-hair of the Japanese teen.  Heero shifted uncomfortably.

"It's not your fault, Duo-kun," the young angel said before getting off the bed, desperate to get away from the boy who was making the strange feelings rise within him.  Heero almost made it to the door before he slowed his steps, darkness seeping into his vision.  One hand came up to his head and the other reached out towards the door to steady himself.  But before it made contact, another pair of arms embraced him from behind and Heero gasped.

"Be careful," Duo whispered.  With the other teen pressed so close to him, Heero had difficulty breathing.  Belatedly he realized that Duo's arms were almost at his chest area, but thankfully it was low enough so the American couldn't tell he had a flat chest.  Duo's scent surrounded the guardian angel and Heero stayed still, trying to keep from trembling as he heard and felt every breath that the human took.

"Aiko-san…" the braided boy said in a soft voice.

"H-Hai?" Heero felt the other tighten his hold around him briefly.

"Suki da." With that, Heero's mind froze and turned blank.  Darkness enveloped him and he slumped down, Mika's words echoing in his head.

//I think Duo-kun likes you too.//

~*~*~

A couple of hours passed before the guardian angel slowly blinked opened his eyes.  Glancing around he realized that he was still in the same hospital room but it was empty.  He laid one arm over his eyes, trying to contemplate what had happened.  Duo had just told him that he liked him, or rather… Aiko.  That would definitely complicate things a little bit… considering that now the human was far too attached.  What made it worse was that Heero had also taken a liking to Duo, which also made him too attached.  Plus, a relationship between a guardian angel and a human was forbidden in the heavens and should Lady Une or *anyone* find out about this, Heero was going to be in deeper trouble than he already was.

Quickly flipping his hand out, the Vigil Sphere appeared and Heero saw that the braided teen was walking down the hallway with some food, presumably for him.  After a quick check around Japan and seeing that nothing had gone wrong during his unconscious state, he waved it away right before the door opened.

"Aiko-san?" Heero glanced over Duo and couldn't help but give him a small smile before sitting up.  The other teen smiled hesitantly and presented the sandwich to him.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said, seemingly nervous.  The angel nodded in appreciation and took it from him, unwrapping it and taking a bite.  They were both awkwardly silent, Duo's confession still hanging over them.  Heero was almost done with the sandwich when Duo spoke up.

"Aiko-san.  I meant what I said." The guardian angel saw the other boy with his head bowed and his fists balled up.  Heero closed his eyes; he knew this was coming.  But, he couldn't risk his guardian angel status and the chance of never being able to come back to Earth (not that he could in the first place but he would be striped of his powers so he wouldn't be able sneak down!)  He turned his head away.

"Gomen nasai, Duo.  There's… no way it could work." Heero couldn't understand why it was so hard to say those words.  His own hands turned into fists on his lap and he lowered his head as well, his bangs hiding his eyes from the other teen.  When he felt his shoulders being grasped firmly, he looked up and saw determined violet eyes.

"Nande?  You care for me too, don't you?  Otherwise you wouldn't call me 'Duo'."

"Duo-*kun*," Heero said, stressing the honorific.  "You don't understand.  It's impossible between us."

"Why?" he asked again, feeling hurt.

"Because!  You don't know me." Heero said, frustrated at Duo's persistence.  "I'm not the kind of person you think I am.  You wouldn't feel the same way if--" Heero's eyes widened at the incredibly close proximity of the braided teen and something soft, yet firm pressing against his mouth.  Duo was kissing him…  Heero blinked but the braided teen's closed eyes didn't disappear from his line of vision and he could still feel the other's lips upon his own, moving ever so slightly.  The angel found himself slowly relaxing in the arms of the human holding him, despite the possible consequences to what was happening.  His eyes closed just when Duo pulled away.  Heero glanced up to see the other's furiously blushing face.

"Sumimasen, Aiko." Duo gave a quick bow and fled the room, shutting the door loudly behind him.  Leaning against it, the braided teen pressed his hand to his lips, remembering the kiss he'd given the young girl.  He drew a shaky breath.

"Baka… What have I done?"

~*~*~

"Duo-kun, what's wrong?  Why are you avoiding Aiko-san?" Mika asked as she forlornly looked over to where the unruly-haired girl sat, alone in the corner and deliberately not looking at them.  She thought it was strange that their sensei switched their seats again, putting her next to Duo again and Aiko in the back.  Mika looked at her American friend again.

"Did something happen?" she asked tentatively.  Duo's downcast eyes told her something had but he didn't explain what since the bell chose that moment to ring.  It seemed to drag on forever but finally lunch period came and Mika immediately got up and ran to catch up with Aiko who was already out the door.

"Ai-ko-san," she called playfully.  The guardian angel turned around and saw Mika smiling at him.

"Mika-san," he said, nodding to her.

"Aw Aiko-san, we're friends now, ne?  You don't have to call me '-san' anymore."  Heero smiled slightly until he saw Mika turn serious.

"Aiko-san, did something happen between you and Duo-kun?"

"What do you mean?" Heero asked, pretending he didn't know.

"I think you do," she sighed.  "I thought that you like Duo-kun and I *know* he likes you.  But ever since you were released from the hospital, both of you have been avoiding each other."  Mika pouted and Heero looked away, thinking about what had happened in that room.  The human girl was right though; he did like Duo.  Being in the braided boy's arms made him feel like nothing else mattered in the world.  Now, he longed for that feeling again even though it was forbidden by the heavens.  But, sooner or later Duo had to know the truth.  Maybe not the whole truth, just that he wasn't a girl to begin with.


"I do Mika-san, but I'm afraid of what might happen if he knows the 'real' me," Heero told the girl before walking away.  Mika watched sadly as the disguised angel disappeared around the corner.



tbc…

Author's Notes:  Why is it that I like Duo cutting Heero off with a kiss?  (Or vice versa, of course.)  Okay, just a little note… from what I understand (while watching Anime), when a person calls someone else by their first name only (with no honorific like -kun), then it means that they have a close bond of friendship (or deeper).  Calling a person by their last name + an honorific means you're acquaintances or you don't know them very well.  Or… something like that.