Chapter 2

Duo's hand tensed on the couch, and he whispered the words over to himself. His legs felt weak, and he could barely see the screen, his head throbbing like it was. Images of Quatre floated before his eyes, the blond boy smiling up at Duo, the days they spent in Quatre's desert mansion, his laughter, his tears. Quatre, snuggling close to Trowa, Quatre, Quatre, Quatre...

Duo roared in anger. He kicked the table next to him, the wood splintering and sending the lamp on it crashing to the ground. He smashed the lamp into pieces and turned to the next nearest thing, a framed picture he had drawn. It was of the other four Gundam pilots, sitting on a rock outcropping. He tore it from the wall, hurling it to the floor. He tried to kick it, but the wire behind the frame snagged on his foot, and he tumbled to the ground among the glass. The shards bit into his hands and arms, blood trickling to the floor. Tears welled in his eyes, and he yelled again, cursing the world around him.

"Duo!" Heero cried, clamping his hand over Duo's mouth. Duo bit Heero's hand, but Heero did not withdraw it. "Duo, please, be quiet. Duo, calm down before you break down the whole house." Heero's voice shook as he said this, and without warning he pulled Duo close to him. Duo let out the sobs inside of him and cried on Heero's shoulder, clutching the Japanese boy to him tightly. The anger around him faded, giving way simply to grief.

"Why?" Duo cried. "Why?" Heero stroked Duo's hair, smoothing it back from his face. He blinked tears from his eyes, and they slid down his cheeks to drip onto Duo's head. Duo looked up, and wept all the harder.

"I don't know," Heero replied. He closed his eyes, and there, holding Duo in his arms surrounded by broken glass in their quaint little apartment with one of their fellow pilots suddenly dead he felt...helpless. He could do nothing to change it, nothing to correct it, could not bring about a consequence better from it. It was, and there was no changing that, no matter how much strength Heero had.

Duo fought to say more, but he couldn't, through his tears. Instead he made a pathetic whimpering sound, and Heero let out his first sob after shedding so many silent tears. He could make out the sound of the news in the background, drifting around them to solidify their tears.

"...killed by poison in his tea, though the substance is not identified yet..." Duo wailed, before falling silent. He closed his eyes, moaning, but his eyes were dry, the tears all but spent. Heero lifted him from the pile of glass, standing himself, and took Duo to the back bedroom. He set his lover on the bed, smoothing back Duo's hair from his face. Duo seized Heero's hand, clutching it tight.

He really is...so fragile. Ever since the end of the war, Duo had let his guard down, freeing the emotions he kept locked away during the war, but even then it was only around Heero. Still, he had never seen Duo this weak before, so broken. He had shed tears, laughed, hidden in depression, but never like this.

Heero tried to pull free, but Duo whined, and Heero could do nothing but settle next to Duo. He took Duo in his arms, and there they fell asleep, their heads swimming with the thoughts of Quatre, and the sudden, unexplained assassination of their dear friend and comrade.

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By the time Duo woke, it was midnight. There was a light on by his bedside, and Heero was gone. Duo looked around. This was strange...Heero never woke in the middle of the night, unless there was some type of danger. And why did he smell food cooking? Duo untangled himself from the sheets and made his way to the kitchen.

Heero was sitting at the table, a can of soda in his hand, a half eaten sandwich on a plate in front of him. Next to him was another sandwich, untouched.

"I cooked for you, if you want food," he growled. Duo sat beside Heero, but he pushed the plate away and drank his own soda.

"Not hungry," he replied. Heero shrugged, took another swig of his soda, and threw the can towards the trash. It hit the rim and bounced away. "So," Duo whispered, "Did it really...I mean, that wasn't a dream was it? With Quatre and all?" Heero shook his head.

"Go check the news again if you want. It's still all over the headlines. And Trowa called about an hour ago, still crying..." Heero gulped back a lump in his throat. His conversation with Trowa had been more to comfort the distraught Trowa. Heero tried to get him to move, do something, but Trowa said he had been at Quatre's house all of that time, which, in Heero's eyes, was bad judgment. He could end up dead himself. But Trowa had only left once, and that was to visit the body of Quatre, now that they had finished analyzing it.

"Why Quatre?" Duo looked up. "Why was it Quatre?" he repeated. "I mean, of all of us, Quatre goes first. And probably all for the reason of money. Someone wants his money, so now he's dead. Dead! What had he ever done to deserve that? Of all of us, he deserves death the least." Heero said nothing. "But now's he's dead." Duo laughed a short bark of a laugh. "Almost funny, ya know? Here he lives through war after war, and now, two years into peace, he's killed by...a poison in his tea!" Heero almost shied away from the look in Duo's eyes. "Killed by goddamn tea, Heero, tea!" He slammed his fist on the table. "It's not fair, dammit!"

"He loved tea," Duo finished, his voice no more then a whisper. Heero looked up from where he had been studying the table. "Love and death, death and love...now Quatre's gone, slipped away, the first of us to go. I always assumed we would die young...but..." Heero's itched to reach out, hold Duo, still his shaking and quiet his maniacal words, but he dared not move, unless he broke Duo's thoughts into even more pieces then they were in.

"So, what should we do? His funeral will probably be in the colonies, but we can't go up there, but I don't want to miss..." Duo choked on a sob, and Heero shook his head.

"We can wait and see. Maybe we can leave, just for a day or so," Heero said softly. Duo nodded. His eyelids were heavy and the room blurred around him. He slipped forward in the chair, and Heero grabbed him. He lifted Duo into his arms, and Duo grabbed Heero's soft shirt, his eyes closed.

"So tired," Duo whispered. Heero nodded. He pulled back the sheets on the bed and set Duo down before crawling in himself. Duo was already snoring softly, a few tears collecting on his eyelashes. Heero blinked at his own tears, but they came again, a strong torrent of sobs. He gripped Duo to him and cried himself to sleep, for the first time in almost all of his life.

And so they slept, shedding their tears until dreams took them. Morning came, the light falling on the sleeping couple in their bed. Birds cried outside, and a harsh wind rattled the trees in back of the apartment. But neither stirred. It was not until around noon that they woke from their slumber. The alarm clock had beeped at both of them steadily, every half hour, and that was what woke Heero now. He sat up in bed, eyes wide, hearing the beeping. It sounded so much like the bombs in his dreams, as he and Quatre ran through corridors, trapped, and Quatre died at every turn and...

He hit the alarm. Duo stirred next to him, moaning for Heero to come back, but Heero was awake. Sure, he felt horrible, his limbs heavy and his head clouded, as if he had cried himself to sleep, which, as he recalled, he had. Heero slid his legs off the bed and stood, stretching. God, he was stiff.

"Heero?" Duo called. "Heero, where are you going?" He sat up, the covers falling around him. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them, if only for a little while. He stood behind Heero, wrapping his arms around the Japanese boy. He rested his head on Heero's shoulder.

"Come on," Heero said. "We should get some food. You feel like eating?" Duo shrugged. He followed Heero into the kitchen, never far from his lover. But once he came to the table, he sat down, and Heero dug through the cabinets for food.

"Soup sound good?"

"Sure." Heero's brow furrowed as he studied Duo. The light in his eyes was dimmed, and he looked so pale, paler then usual. He sat with his head bowed, hands in front of him, and his hair hung limp around his face. At least last night Duo had been talking. Heero knew that Duo and Quatre had been very close to each other, but now he wondered how deep of a blow this really was to Duo. Heero felt pain, of course. He shook his head and turned around, grabbing the can of soup.

When it was done, Heero set the two steaming bowls at the table. He grabbed a soda for himself, but Duo shook his head. Duo picked up the spoon and stirred his soup, lifting it up then pouring it back into the bowl.

"I don't know if I'm that hungry. I still don't feel like eating," Duo said. Heero pulled his spoon from his mouth, swallowing.

"Duo, you should eat."

"It makes me feel too alive," Duo said. "When one I knew is now dead. Hey, don't worry, man. I usually get back to eating eventually. At least, that's what happened in the past." Duo fell silent, and Heero shrugged. To both of them, the past was...the past, so they never asked about that. So, whenever Duo mentioned the past, Heero would keep silent, and if Heero ever hinted at something from his early years, Duo would laugh and change the subject. Except now, it appeared that the past had begun its awful cycle again, bringing the death into the present.

"Do you want my soup, Heero?" Heero shook his head.

"We can just save it until you want it. But really..."

"I don't feel like eating," Duo spat. He got up from the table. "I'm going out, Heero. I'll probably be home later. Right now, I need to be alone." He stormed out of the kitchen. Heero heard the door in the hallway slam, and silence descended on the apartment. Heero shook his head. Somewhere, he could hear a clock ticking, counting away the seconds. And maybe the occasional creak of a floorboard, but there was no one here. The clock ticked on, ceaselessly, as Heero sat still. His insides churned as he stood. Quatre was dead, and Duo had gone, leaving Heero here alone. He stumbled into the den and fell back on the couch.

When was the last time Duo ever sounded like that? In these two years, he and Heero had been inseparable. But...but maybe it wasn't the case. That look in Duo's eyes when he left, he almost seemed to be pleading with Heero to follow. He would probably call from a pay phone somewhere for Heero to get him soon. Or he would walk in within the hour.

Heero turned on the radio next to the couch and flipped through the stations. The news was almost always covering the death of Quatre, which Heero couldn't bear to hear more of, and the music playing made him sick. Finally, he found a station and turned the music low, leaning back on the couch. He needed to rest some more, not sleep, but rest.

"Dammit," Heero muttered, sitting up. The realization hit him that he had not called into school to excuse their absence. He should call, but he couldn't trust himself to speak too much without his voice wavering, or for his legs to support him long enough to get to the phone. So he fell back on the couch.

The phone rang.

Heero groaned and rolled off the couch. It was only in the other room, but he didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't want to see any smiling faces. He wanted to rest, clear his mind, wait for Duo. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to talk. Heero clicked the button on the phone, and Hilde's face appeared on the screen.

"Is Duo there?" she said. She sounded out of breath, frantic, and only then did he notice that she was calling from a public phone. Heero shook his head.

"He went out for a walk," he responded. Hilde sighed, closed her eyes. "But if you have a message for him..."

"I was wondering if he saw the news." Heero checked his anger at the statement. Of course he saw the news! How could he miss it? "Hey, Heero, you okay? You look a little pale."

"I was sleeping," he growled. Hilde made an "oh" with her mouth.

"Well, you can go back to sleep now. But just tell Duo that I'm sorry about what happened. It's so..." There was a click, and Heero watched the screen go blank. He lifted his hand from the "end" button, eyes closed. He didn't want to hear from anyone like that, who would speak apologies over the "tragic death," even if it was Hilde who said it. He knew Duo would yell at him for hanging up on Hilde, but he couldn't stand to hear any voice.

Heero looked back to the living room, but the couch was so far, so he just fell on the bed. The music drifted around him, barely audible over the tick of the clock and the rush of the wind outside his window. Am I falling asleep again? Heero wondered as he closed his eyes. He had not slept so much in years, slept like this, hour after hour. But he couldn't help but want the comforting blackness of his mind, where dreams fled from him and he slept in peace. In sleep at least he could escape.

Heero rolled over, and his mind went blank as sleep overtook him once more.

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"I wonder what happened to Duo and Heero," Legolas said as he left the school building. Aragorn shrugged. "I bet they just woke up late and didn't come," Legolas continued, looking up at the trees. He stretched and sauntered through the parking lot.

"Who knows," Aragorn responded. Legolas smiled, and as they rounded the corner he wrapped an arm around Legolas's shoulders. Legolas smiled and snuggled closer to Aragorn. "But I doubt they would do that on the second day." Legolas chuckled.

"You're probably right." They stopped at the bus stop, but Legolas tugged on Aragorn's arm. "Come on, Aragorn," he said. "Let's just walk home. I need time in the open." Aragorn groaned as Legolas dragged him along. There was a smile on Legolas's face as he walked through the streets, and Aragorn straightened out, walking beside his lover. Legolas looked up and hummed a tune under his breath.

"You're always singing, you know that? Or humming," Aragorn commented. Legolas shrugged.

"That's just how I am," he said, latching onto Aragorn's arms. "Do you have a problem with it? I mean, I have to keep my head somehow." Aragorn rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that! You know it's true. Even you have ways to keep yourself sane. Come on, don't tell me that's not the reason that you fence."

"I don't need that," he said. Legolas groaned and walked in front of Aragorn, skipping backwards.

"Then what's with fencing? You do that so you can..." Aragorn growled and turned down another path, leading towards the park. Legolas fell into stride beside him. "Well, it's true," he whispered. "I'm just stating that again, for you, so maybe you'd understand."

"I do, don't worry," Aragorn said. Rounding another bend, they were in sight of the park, its front gate waiting for them, the sign shining in the afternoon. There were very few people in it now, a scattering of young children on the playground, a few adults congregated with each other. Legolas scampered inside.

"Hey, Aragorn, isn't that Duo over there, on the swings?" Aragorn followed the direction of Legolas's outstretched arm, and sure enough, he caught sight of a braid swinging behind a figure that looked too large for the swing. Its head was bowed, the shoulders hunched, and Duo's braid swung idly from side to side as he moved.

"He looks sad," Legolas whispered. "Hey, Duo, how ya doing?" he shouted. Duo looked up from the ground to watch the progress of his companions. Legolas smiled at him, and Duo gave him a grin. "You doing okay?'

"Yeah, life's great," Duo said. He scuffed the ground with his boot, watching the particles of sand drift onto the black toe and collect on its shiny surface. Tears crept into the edges of his eyes. "Everything's damn fine." Legolas followed his boot moving as he gulped back the lump in his throat. "Yep, great, if you exclude my dead friend and all..."

"What?" Legolas whispered. Duo smirked.

"Yeah, dead friend, that's right. No, it's not Heero, just so you don't ask. If Heero died I'd have a bleeding wrist right now. But yeah, one of my friend's was assassinated, if you must know." Aragorn's grip tightened on Legolas; Legolas closed his eyes in hopes to block out Duo's image.

"Do they know who?" Aragorn said. Legolas shot him a glare.

"Nope, no idea," Duo said. Aragorn nodded slowly, contemplating. "Not that they'll find out. I mean, poison in his tea!" Duo rested his head in his hands. "Don't you understand? God, I feel like shit."

"Listen, I'm sorry," Legolas whispered. "That must be hell. I'm sorry, I really am." Duo said simply "hn," a habit picked up from Heero. Silence descended over them, only broken by the soft sobbing of Duo as he attempted to cover it.

"You don't have to hide," Legolas said, kneeling in front of Duo. Duo shook his head, hiding his red eyes behind his bangs, but two arms wrapped around him, and he found himself burying his head in Legolas's shoulder. "I know we only met yesterday, but you don't have to fear us. I'm here right now, Duo, so I'll help you. I've...I have lost friends before and understand your pain." Duo wept to himself, buried in Legolas's shoulder while Legolas shot glares in Aragorn's direction.

"What?' Aragorn mouthed. He turned away to study the children playing. They shouted and swung upon the bars, sliding down slides with each other, laughing, the small faces lit up by their joy. And the playground held beneath them, all those children running about it, but it suffered no damage. It was stable enough to support them.

"Hey, thanks," Duo was saying. Aragorn returned his gaze to Legolas and Duo, both of which stood. "Listen, I think I should head home; Heero's probably worried about me by now, and I need to get some sleep."

"We can walk you home," Legolas said, but a hand fell on his arm, and Aragorn stepped between them.

"I'm sorry, Duo, and I would love to guide you home, but we some obligations this evening. We can get you to a bus stop, though..."

"No, I'll walk," Duo said. He managed a smile, his violet eyes brightening, before the gloss of tears covered them again. "You two go on." He turned and shuffled away, his feet dragging across the sand to the sidewalk and down, hands stuffed in his pockets. His shoulders hunched as Legolas had never seen in Duo, his back bent, his braid limp. It swayed around his legs with little life, and his bangs clung to his head.

"What?' Legolas spat, glowering as Aragorn pulled him away.

"You're too involved," he whispered. "Let's get out of here and back home. I have some calls to make." He let go of Legolas's arm and stalked off towards the bus stop. Legolas shook his head in the direction of the trees, before sprinting after him.

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"Heero, I'm back," Duo called as he entered the apartment. Heero was sprawled across the couch, his mouth partly open, sound asleep. Tucked under one arm was a pillow. Duo smiled and curled up on top of Heero, resting his head on Heero's chest. The even heartbeat calmed him, stilled his tears, that sweet beating rumbling throughout him as Heero slumbered.

"I'm sorry 'bout earlier," Duo whispered. His eyelids drooped as the beating continued. "But I'm back, back with you." He yawned and reached back to his braid, searching for the end. He pulled the rubber-band free, letting the strands run through his hair and down his back. Satisfied, Duo stretched and closed his eyes to sleep, Heero's warmth covering him, the steady beating of his heart enough to calm Duo into his first peaceful sleep since Quatre's death.

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Well, hello to those that are reading this! I hope you liked that chapter! It took me a while to write. I don't know why, but it was much harder then the first chapter (which took me about a day...).

Well, more will me coming, don't worry! Writer's block is gone, for I have drowned myself in enough caffeine to last a lifetime, so expect a chapter by the end of the month...wait, make that next month, since this one's almost up! Hehehe...anyway, 'till next time!

Please review!