….eh. Sorry, Miaka! I forgot to reply via email. (or did I… …. Damn my memory…)

Regardless, sure you can post my stories! I'd be flattered as hell.

Also…. Ixy. Please stop reviewing my hiatus stories to badger me about updating. I'll update when I find the time and inspiration.

This fic is winding down. It might end up being my first finished multi-part. –squee!-

Chapter 6 – No More Secrets

"He's not here?"

Mrs. Yuy shook her head with a frown on her face. "No, of course not, Duo. He's in school." Duo looked around at a loss, shuddering a bit from the cold. Heero's mother noticed and ushered him inside. "Why are you not in school?"

Duo adored Mrs. Yuy. She was a short, longhaired oriental woman who spoke heavily accented English and doted upon her son, and her son's best friend. She was only around forty years old, but she looked almost as young as Duo's own mother. She immediately set to removing Duo of his coat, reminded him to remove his shoes – Heero's shoes - and went to put on a kettle of water, all the while muttering in alternating Japanese and English. Duo assumed it had something to do with him and snow.

Then the kettle was on and Mrs. Yuy turned, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning. "So?"

Duo fidgeted under her stare. "So, what?"

"What are you not in school?" she repeated. "And why did you think Heero would be home? Did you have a fight?"

"I… guess you could say that," Duo muttered. "I sort of didn't tell him about something, and he's angry at me for holding out on him."

Mrs. Yuy snorted. "That's stupid." Well, the woman had always been blunt. Heero got it from somewhere. "Heero cares about you too much to get angry about that. Why are you bruised, Duo? Does that have something to do with it?"

Duo chewed on his lower lip, considering filling her in, before he finally decided to just get it over with. Once Heero showed up he'd tell him anyway. He moved into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Mrs. Yuy continued to stand next to the kettle.

"Well, y'see, a bunch of guys at my school don't really like me, Okaasan," he began, using the name Heero often used. He forestalled her objections and continued. "They like Heero, but they don't like me being friends with Heero. For whatever reason, they like to… beat up on me."

Mrs. Yuy's face converted to a snarl that never failed to remind Duo of her son. "You tell me who they are; I'll kick their butts." Duo laughed shortly and shook his head.

"No, no," he said. "That's just why I didn't tell Heero. I can't have people fighting my battles for me. But… I don't know, after a while it got to the point where I just didn't want Heero to find out. I guess I was mad at myself… because I couldn't fend for myself," Duo muttered derisively. "It's embarrassing."

"Heero would not judge you," Mrs. Yuy replied easily. The kettle next to her started whistling, and she moved automatically to shut it off and pour three mugs of hot water.

"I know," Duo sighed. "Heero's the best thing that ever happened to me, Okaasan. Don't know what I'd do without him. But I wanted to do this myself, for once! And I think he's mad at me because I refused to let him in and solve my problems for me. He left the school, I'm sure of it, so I figured I'd come here and… explain."

Mrs. Yuy didn't reply, and instead the tiny woman poured a powder into two mugs, and plunked a tea bag into the other. She grabbed the handles and walked over with the three. She placed them on the table, passing one to Duo and keeping the one with the teabag for herself.

Duo eyed the third steaming mug. "Who's the third one for, Okaasan?" he asked warily, already assuming the answer. It turned out Mrs. Yuy didn't need to respond, as the front door chose that moment to swing open and slam shut again, swirls of cold, windy air making their way into the kitchen even though the door was out of view.

"Okaasan!" Heero's voice called. "I'm home early!"

"Heero," Mrs. Yuy returned. "Come into the kitchen. I made hot chocolate!"

"Really, Okaasan, thank you but-" Heero's speech stopped abruptly as he came into view of the table, only to find Duo staring at him in surprise.

"I didn't expect to beat you here," Duo murmured.

"I… took the long way," Heero replied. "To clear my head."

The two teens stared at each other for a moment before Mrs. Yuy cleared her throat. The woman stood, reaching up and running a hand through her son's snow-covered hair and smiling. "Why don't you and Duo go drink your hot chocolate in your room, hm? I think you have some things to straighten out."

Heero's eyes snapped from Duo's face to his mother's, and then fell on the extra mug. "Hai, Okaasan," he assented softly. He reached out and cradled the mug, looking to Duo and jerking his head in a beckoning motion. He then disappeared around the corridor towards his room.

"Well?" Heero's mother demanded of Duo, somewhat impatiently. "Go kiss him already!"

Duo's jaw dropped. "What?" he squeaked. Mrs. Yuy rolled her eyes.

"Odin and I have been waiting for years for you two to just wake up!" she explained with a hint of exasperation. "So go work out whatever spat you're having!"

Too stunned to reply with anything other than bewildered glances, Duo collected his own steaming mug and followed after Heero.

The door to Heero's bedroom was closed behind him as he entered. He'd been expecting it. He continued walking forward, not turning to confront Heero just yet, and took a seat on Heero's single bed. Then, and only then, did he looked up at his best friend.

"Why couldn't you tell me?" were the first words out of his lips. Duo frowned.

"Because I didn't want you to know."

Heero grimaced. "Why the hell not?"

"Because I wanted to defend myself for once." Thus far the conversation was going calmly, but Duo expected it to escalate at any time. He hoped Mrs. Yuy didn't get too angry when it did.

"I want to be able to help you," Heero said through gritted teeth. Duo arched an eyebrow at the cryptic comment. "I want to be the one that helps you."

"What do you mean? You are Heero, and I know it's a change tha-"

"Mueller and Alex, Duo. Why couldn't you tell me?" Heero blurted out, letting out what had been eating away at him for the past hour.

Duo's eyes went wide. "What? How… how… did you find out?"

"How did I find out?" Heero repeated. "I walked outside and found Wufei with Alex and Mueller lying in the snow at his feet!"

"…What?" Duo's voice was raspy, and the mug in his hands threatened to fall from his fingers.

"Wufei, Duo! He beat the shit out of them! How the fuck could you tell him but not me?"

"But I didn't tell him!" Duo protested. "Heero, no way, I didn't! I wouldn't!"

The blue eyed boy shook his head and looked pained. "But you did. I know you have pride, Duo, but… you're my best friend for God's sake. I just…" Heero studied Duo's face for a moment before shaking his head again. "Why did you have to tell him, and not me?"

Duo's head was shaking back and forth in denial, and he stood from his perch on Heero's bed. As an afterthought he placed his mug on Heero's night table, next to Heero's own, and moved towards his distraught friend. "Heero," he rasped, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Heero. I would not tell Wufei and then not tell you. I'd never do that! I don't know how the hell Wufei found out at all! I… I didn't tell anyone, Heero. I swear!"

Dark, pained blue eyes regarded him seriously. He apparently accepted Duo's explanation as the truth. "Why can't you just let me handle things?"

Duo laughed, but there was little humor in it. "I'm not a girl, Heero. I don't want a big, bad jock taking care of me. I want to fool myself into thinking I can take care of my own problems." A tanned, slim hand reached out and stroked his cheek. Duo inhaled sharply.

"I know... that you're not a girl, Duo," the Japanese teen murmured. His eyes followed over the ugly bruises marring Duo's face where his hand was touching Duo's skin. He didn't seem to realize how close they had gotten. Duo did, however, and his breathing had picked up as Mrs. Yuy's words rang through his head.

'Go kiss him already!'

Did he want to kiss Heero? He wanted to yell at Heero some more, sure. He wanted Heero to be his best friend forever, sure. He thought Heero was a very attractive guy, sure. But kiss him? Did he really feel attracted in that way to Heero? And more importantly, did Heero feel that way about him?

'Go kiss him already!'

It seemed like Mr. and Mrs. Yuy had already been talking about this. What would his own mother think? What would their friends think? What would Trowa and Quatre think, seeing them together, smiling, holding hands, kissing…? How about Noin, and Milliardo? Would they even be allowed together in school? Were there policies against that sort of thing?

"You're thinking too hard," Heero mumbled. "You're worried about something."

"Have you ever wanted to kiss me?" Duo blurted. He immediately regretted it as Heero sucked in a breath and moved back. "I mean… I…. oh my God…" Duo pulled away from Heero, head shaking back and forth as it had just been doing. "I'm sorry. Holy shit. Oh, God. I can't believe I just said that." Louder, he said, "Damn you, Mrs. Yuy, and your corruption!" Then he looked at Heero again, staring at him like that, and his breathing picked up speed again. "Oh, shit, I gotta go…"

Duo moved towards the door, but a hand latched onto his arm and pulled him back. He was suddenly confronted with Heero's face and stared up at him, waiting for anger and harsh words and the end of their friendship… but instead, Heero's face merely got closer, and closer, and closer until… a brief, chaste press of warm lips against his and then Heero backed up again.

"Yeah," his friend said, in response to Duo's earlier question. "For a long time now."

Duo processed this information, felt the weight of his mind's previous questions weighing on him, and then proceeded to ignore it all. He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Heero's shoulders and pressed their lips together again.

It was a few moments before either moved back. When they did, their eyes met and they smiled.

"I think I have, too," Duo told him. Heero grinned and kissed him again.

End Chapter 6 – No More Secrets

As I said at the beginning of this chapter, this fic is winding down.

Maybe one, maybe two more chapters. ;