Author's Note
Well here it is; the final chapter. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Just a quick note, but the film actually ends before the epilogue. I just added the extra stuff because I wanted to! Anyway, final reviews will be much appreciated as I'm interested to know what you all think (and whether I came close to doing the original film justice!).
I also wrote a sequel entitled 'Some Kind of Devotion' so I'll post that soon.
Stay lucky, Swordy.
Some Kind of Wonderful – Part 14
His misery was rudely interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Duo snatched up the cell phone as it lay on the passenger seat, debating whether or not to answer it. When he saw it was Quatre, he activated the handset.
"Hey, Quat, what's up? You're not still worried that I'm gonna total your dad's car are you?" he said, attempting to sound cheery.
Normally Quatre would have laughed, but instead he sounded distant and harassed.
"I'm just ringing to let you know that we're not going to Treize's party. Trowa broke his ankle at gymnastics so we're still at the emergency room," the Arabian babbled, "I know you really wanted us there to check up on Heero and Relena…"
"It's okay, man," Duo said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Quatre was evidently about to ask what Duo meant before the braided boy noticed the couple making their way back up the stairs.
"Gotta go, Quat," he said hurriedly. "I hope Trowa's okay."
Ending the call as Heero and Relena appeared, Duo was immediately drawn to the dazzling pendant nestling comfortably on Relena's chest, just above the neckline of her blouse. They were smiling and laughing as they walked hand in hand towards the car. Duo forced his face into a smile, which he hoped didn't look like the death rictus that it felt like as he slid off the bonnet of Quatre's car.
"Where now?" he asked, still smiling although his eyes continued to betray him.
"Treize's house," came Heero's reply.
Duo's smile slipped and he didn't bother to retrieve it. "Have you forgotten something? He wants to beat the crap out of you."
Relena glanced at Heero worriedly, fearful that the Japanese boy didn't know what he was getting himself into. "He's for real, Heero," she said quietly.
"I know," Heero replied, offering her a reassuring smile as he squeezed her hand.
Duo shook his head, his expression no longer friendly. "If you wanna do that then drive yourself," he said throwing up his hands in frustration and defeat.
Heero sighed. "I have to face him sooner or later."
"It's not just Treize, it's his friends," Relena pointed out, hoping she and Duo could make Heero see sense.
"I can handle them," he said, deadly serious despite his smile as she climbed into the back of the car.
Duo came to stand in front of the Japanese boy, determined to dissuade him from this insane course of action. "I can beat the crap out of you, you won't last six seconds!" he argued.
Heero fixed him with firm stare. "I know what I'm doing," he said finally, the tone of his voice indicating that this conversation was at an end.
Duo gazed at him for a moment, knowing that there was nothing he could say to make Heero change his mind. "Don't go overboard, Studley," he said quietly, without smiling although his eyes had softened slightly.
Heero smiled a deep genuine smile as he realised that this was Duo offering his blessing in a roundabout way. "Let's go," he said as he climbed into the back of the car.
With a deep and worried sigh, Duo shut the door and made his way back to the driver's seat.
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They arrived at Treize's house after following the directions Relena had supplied from the back seat. The house was across town from where the three people in the car lived and was part of an exclusive estate of large, multi-roomed dwellings occupied by the richest in society. Silence reigned once more and Duo considered using the opportunity to again try and talk Heero out of what he was about to do. He waited until the car had stopped and the three of them were stood nervously in front of the Khushrenada residence.
"You don't have to do this you know," he said, his violet eyes slightly fearful.
"Yeah I do," Heero replied quietly almost pleading with Duo for his approval.
"Okay…" Duo said relenting and offering Heero a brief yet concerned smile. "I'll be here."
"Thanks," Heero said gratefully, for a moment lost in the violet depths. He didn't know why he wanted Duo's blessing but for that brief moment, no one else existed in the world aside from himself and the braided American. He was drawn from his reverie by a movement and suddenly he realised that Relena was there and waiting for him. With a quick last glance at Duo, he took Relena's hand as they commenced the walk up the long gravel driveway. As he watched them go, Duo shook his head before making the sign of the cross. Heero was likely to need all the divine intervention he could get. As the couple reached the front door, Heero lifted their clasped hands up to eye level to remind Relena that they were to present a united front. She smiled back, although her trepidation was still clear, before they made their way inside.
The large, faux-Victorian house was currently wall-to-wall with rambunctious teens as they swayed and gyrated in time to the loud rock beat. Alcohol was flowing freely as Heero and Relena pushed their way into the elegant entrance hall.
Unbeknown to them, their arrival had been spotted by one of Treize's lackeys, who weaved his way through the throngs of people until he found Treize in the large living room. The football captain was lounging on the sumptuous leather couch with an attractive blonde when Anderson tapped him on the shoulder.
"Guess what?" the heavily set boy said when he had Treize's attention. "Relena brought him."
Ditching the girl and his drink, Treize and Anderson made their way back towards the front door.
"Welcome!" Treize said, grinning broadly "Glad you could come by, it was getting late. I thought you were going to disappoint us."
Realising that the blonde had followed him, Treize turned slightly so that he could kiss her on the lips. It was entirely for Relena's benefit and her stony reaction didn't disappoint. Treize continued to smile at his two guests, although there was a cruelty in his eyes that could only spell trouble.
"So did you have a good time?" he asked, pretending to sound interested.
"Yeah," Heero said nodding slightly nervously before he turned to look at Relena, who was responding similarly.
"She's susceptibly innocent isn't she? Clean… nice on the outside," Treize said as he cocked his head to one side and offered them both a tight-lipped smile. "Did she do you?"
There were a couple of sniggers from the party host's friends as Heero and Relena both looked away, now knowing for definite that Treize wasn't out to play good buddies.
"You see," he began before he started to laugh at his own joke, "The one thing that um… I'm glad about, is that you get her used."
For a moment time seemed to stand still as Treize's defamatory comment hung in the air. Within the throngs of now watching people, Relena's so-called friends listened but never attempted to defend her. Relena caught a glimpse of them and looked away quickly, hurt and yet angry that they had no intention of being there for her when it mattered most.
One person who had every intention of being there for her was Heero, who suddenly and without warning lunged forward and punched Treize squarely in the stomach. The football captain fell backwards, winded, and landed ungracefully on the bottom stair, knocking over a lamp that shattered at his feet. Heero had managed to get in another couple of hits before Anderson and another of Treize's henchman dragged the Japanese boy off his victim.
Angry and humiliated, Treize jumped up and straightened his shirt.
"That was not very smart my friend!" he growled breathing heavily. "I don't even care about you. She's the trash, you're just a fool!" He glanced at Anderson. "Take him outside and kick the shit out of him."
"Why don't you take me outside?" Heero snapped, still struggling against his captors.
Treize, obviously caught off guard by Heero's question, blinked as if he hadn't heard the Japanese boy correctly. Evidently the thought of fighting his own battles had never crossed his mind.
"W-w-what?" he stuttered, suddenly flustered.
"I said, why don't you take me outside?"
Treize attempted a look of distain, which failed mostly due to his reddened cheeks and nervous demeanour.
"I don't play that way, I would love to but you see I am the host here, I have guests," he said, waving his hand around in a gesture of self-importance. When nobody responded, he glared at his lackeys furiously. "I SAID TAKE HIM OUTSIDE, OKAY?"
"Treize, you don't wanna do this," Relena cried as she narrowly missed being knocked over by Heero and the two youths trying to drag him toward the door.
"Oh really?" Treize replied, relieved that the Japanese boy was now out of striking range.
"Yeah. You said yourself, I'm the trash, I got him into this so why don't you just deal with me, huh?"
"That's very touching," the blonde man said mockingly as he began to feel in control of the situation once more. "Standing up for your new man, I like that."
"Let him go," she implored, "Why don't you do something right for once in your life?
"Relena forget it, it's worthless," Heero said slightly out of breath as he continued to battle against the two larger boys, knowing that things were going to end exactly the way Duo had predicted, "You can't talk to him."
But she was determined to try. "What do you want?" she asked her ex-boyfriend, her voice trembling with emotion and fear.
"You know what I want," he replied, taking a step towards her.
"Okay," she said, glancing quickly at Heero. "You want me back, then I'm back."
She was shocked when Treize laughed in her face. "Come on, it's not that easy!" he said, grinning like a shark. "You're gonna have to convince me… I want you to beg."
He said it slowly, drawing the last word out to full effect.
"Let him go," Relena replied, her tone slightly pleading.
"You're gonna have to do better than that," Treize said scornfully, evidently loving every minute of this humiliation of a former girlfriend. "Come on…beg"
Relena glared at him, her cheeks flushed. "Bastard…" she muttered under her breath.
Treize grinned and nodded before his expression suddenly turned stormy. "You're gonna have to beg," he repeated more forcefully this time as Heero could only look on helplessly.
"I don't think that's gonna be necessary."
At the sound of the voice, everyone watching this encounter spun around to face its owner. Standing in the doorway with several large friends behind him stood Wufei who was managing to grin broadly and look menacing all at the same time.
Relena looked visibly relieved as Treize shifted nervously.
"You know, I didn't know Treize lived in a house. Did you know that?" Wufei said, turning around to his friends who shook their heads. "It must be a house 'cause I don't see nothing but chicken shit." The Chinese boy wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Look, I don't want any trouble with you alright?" Treize said, trying to sound authoritative but failing miserably. "My parents are gonna be home in a little while. If you leave now we'll forget everything."
Wufei stared at the football captain like he had spoken in a different language. Evidently Treize's pleas for mercy weren't washing with him.
"Let's cut the bullshit alright? Please?" Wufei replied, trying to sound polite. "I'm here to wipe the floor with your ass, and you know it, and everybody knows it, and you deserve it."
Treize looked suitably frightened now but Wufei hadn't finished.
"I think it's fair to say that this party… is about to become a historical fact". He stepped forward to begin administering his punishment but Heero held him back. Sensing that Heero wanted first shot, Wufei stood back and gestured for him to go first. Finding himself stood next to Relena, Wufei rested his head against her shoulder as if they were the oldest of friends. She glanced at him and smiled before their attention was drawn back to Heero, who was now stood almost nose-to-nose with Treize.
"Look," Treize stammered, "I'm perfectly willing to forget this. Okay? I see no reason in carrying this on any longer. It was a joke," he said, offering Heero a weak smile. "It's gone too far, it's over okay?"
"You want the truth?" Heero said, fixing the blonde youth with a stony stare. "You're over."
He let the words linger for a moment before he turned and began to walk away but Relena caught his arm. "Are, are you just going to leave?" she asked, incredulous.
Heero laughed as he looked Treize up and down. "There isn't anything I can do to him that he hasn't already done to himself."
Relena smiled wistfully but made no attempt to follow the Japanese boy. "I wish I could live with that," she replied, stepping towards Treize purposefully.
She stood in front of him for a moment, just as Heero had done, before she slapped him hard across the face, her expression showing her resolute determination to hit him as hard as she possibly could. Clearly however she felt he deserved more, so she repeated the action even harder this time, leaving a beautiful red imprint of her hand on his face, which appeared almost instantaneously.
Watching this unfold, Heero and Wufei exchanged surprised glances before, and with pure comic timing, they mimicked Treize's open-mouthed expression of disbelief. Humiliated in front of a crowd of sycophantic teens, Treize looked suitably wounded. His eyes searched for someone to come to his rescue but nobody moved. Evidently the sight of Wufei and several of his meanest looking friends was enough to dissuade even the foolhardiest of youths from retaliating. In a way, Wufei was right; this party was going to become historical as, after tonight, nobody at Seventh Street would be able to look at Treize in the same way again. Clearly aware of her participation in causing this shift in high school politics, Relena sauntered away from the blonde-haired young man with a large smile of satisfaction on her face.
"Good move, Relena. I approve!" Wufei said, grinning as he reached for her hand and shook it respectfully.
Heero smiled and clasped hands with Wufei when the Chinese boy had finished addressing Relena.
"Well thanks for everything, Wufei," he said gratefully, as he prepared to leave. Now that they had accomplished what he had hoped they would do, Heero saw no reason to stay. Since he had decided to pursue Relena, he had convinced himself that this was the kind of social scene he wanted to be part of but now, he realised that his heart would never be in this shallow existence of parties, fashion and popularity based on a person's bank balance.
He would be a hero in school on Monday but he now knew that he shouldn't be dazzled by any interest shown in him – it would be fleeting and over the second the next high school scandal came along. He also realised that he had seen Relena as his meal ticket to what he thought would be a better life. He didn't love her, he knew that now but he wasn't saddened by the fact as he also knew that, deep down, Relena didn't love him either. They would probably grow to love each other if they decided to give it a try but something in the back of his mind was nagging Heero that that wasn't quite what he wanted.
"No problem," Wufei replied in response to Heero's expression of gratitude. "You guys run along. We're gonna stick around here, try to crank up this party to a nice, respectable level, okay?" He grinned broadly before leaning closer to Heero and whispering: "Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not gonna mess him up, I'm not even gonna touch him. Just gonna make him cry a little bit, just by lookin' at him."
Heero laughed, safe in the knowledge that Wufei would keep his word. Passing the Chinese boy's friends on the way out he shook hands and high-fived each of them in turn, something that only a couple of weeks ago, he would never of dreamed of doing. Being in detention with them had forced him to get to know them, and they him. Wufei had even confessed that he thought Duo was cool; he just liked winding him up because he knew the braided boy would never 'wimp out on him'.
Once Relena and Heero had left Wufei turned to his friends, a broad grin still plastered across his face.
"Alright, let's cut the bullshit. We're gonna have ourselves some fun! Alright guys, these girls have been looking at you like I don't know what!" He spotted Dorothy in the corner and pointed, using his other arm to draw one of his large, meaty looking friends to his side. "See that beautiful lady there? She can't take her eyes off you," he said in all seriousness. "Yeah, you!" He had been joking so he was more than a little surprised when Dorothy raised one pointed eyebrow in his friend's direction and smiled seductively as she twirled her hair around her fingers. Perhaps it was going to be fun after all…
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The front door now closed behind them, Heero and Relena started back down the drive jubilantly. As the shock of what had just happened started to wear off, Relena realised that her hand was stinging from hitting Treize so hard. Her voice hitched as she half laughed, half cried as she tried to shake the tingling from her fingers, completely elated by what she had just done. A sore hand was a minor price to pay. Heero had a similarly large grin on his face as he straightened his tie.
"Remind me never to get you mad at me!" he laughed as he followed her away from the house.
"Did you see the look on their faces!" she asked, her cheeks still flushed.
He was about to respond before he realised that they were being watched by a figure leaning silently against the navy blue Bentley parked at the kerb. He looked up to be met by the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. Perfection personified, stood beneath the streetlight, its glow drawing out the honey tones in his long chestnut hair. At that moment, everything seemed so damned obvious to the Japanese boy who had been blind to his real feelings for so long. His mind flashed to the long lingering kiss they had shared only a couple of nights ago and in that instant, Heero knew he wanted more.
At his side, Relena had also stopped as she glanced first at Duo and then at Heero, whose expression indicated that his mind was somewhere far away. She knew exactly what Heero was thinking and suddenly she felt awkward and intrusive. Duo cared for Heero far more than she ever could; she had known that from the looks and the hurt she saw in Duo's eyes as his friend took her out on the evening's date. She just hoped than the Japanese boy felt the same about him. Judging by the dreamy expression on his face, she realised she didn't have anything to worry about.
The silence was lengthy and awkward before Duo spoke as he smiled shyly at the couple. "Nice move, I saw it from out here."
Heero continued to stare dumbly as Relena reciprocated Duo's smile.
"Well er… why don't you guys run along," he said quickly to prevent another clumsy pause. "I'm gonna walk 'cause my butt's asleep from sitting all night."
He laughed at his own joke but didn't move, indicating that he hadn't quite said everything he wanted to say. Nervous violet eyes searched the floor for the right words before he looked straight at Relena and offered her his hand.
"I'm sorry if I misjudged you," he said to her as she stood quietly next to Heero.
Relena smiled and shook his hand gratefully. "That's okay," she replied, proud that she had earned his respect.
Having made his peace with Relena, Duo turned to Heero to speak but the words seemed to stick in his throat. His face displayed his battle with his emotions and after a lengthy pause, the best he could manage was: "well, the keys are in the car."
With that, he spun around and headed off down the street, never looking back.
Heero watched him go, a wave of emotions crashing over him like the tide. He wanted to run after the beautiful boy but his legs didn't want to move. So lost in the maelstrom of thoughts, it took Heero several moments to realise that Relena was speaking to him.
"Remember how I said I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons than alone for the right ones?" she said, her face breaking into a smile of determination as she reached back to unclasp the cross around her neck. "Well I'd rather be right."
Heero watched her carefully, unsure how to respond but she continued.
"It's going to feel good to stand on my own," she said happily as she placed the cross in Heero's palm and closed his fingers around it. "Here," she added, taking in his puzzled expression, "In your heart you wanted to give this to somebody else."
Heero smiled, finally understanding what she meant but still he didn't move.
"Go!" she urged him, her eyes sparkling with tears, "go on."
Grateful that she could read his heart probably better than he could himself, Heero kissed her gently on cheek before turning and breaking into a run after the rapidly departing boy. She smiled as she watched him go; sad that she would never get to experience his gentlemanly ways but happy that he finally understood what, and who, he wanted.
Further down the street Duo marched along, tears streaming down his cheeks. He had no reason to hide his emotions any longer; Heero would probably be in the car with Relena by now, driving to some place where they could get to know each other a little better. He was extremely surprised therefore to hear the sound of running feet accompanied by a familiar voice shouting his name.
'Crap' Duo thought as he made a half-hearted attempt to wipe some of the tears from his face. Heero probably couldn't figure out how to work the gears and now he was about to see Duo in all of his abject misery. 'Explain that one Maxwell' he thought dryly as Heero called his name again. Realising that the Japanese boy wasn't about to let him get away, Duo stopped and spun around to face him, knowing that Heero would have to be completely blind to miss the torrent of emotion spilling from his large violet pools.
Heero came to a stop several feet away from the boy he had thought he understood so well. However, seeing Duo's tear-stained face, he realised just how much he had missed. Duo looked at him askance before he started to smile, ever so slightly, as he was unable to mistake the look of love in Heero's eyes. They paused like that for several seconds before Heero rushed forward and scooped the smaller boy up in his arms. There, held in that embrace, their lips met in the long and passionate kiss that Duo had only ever dreamed about before. Gripping the Japanese boy's hair, he knew for definite that this wasn't a crazy dream any longer and if his mouth hadn't been so occupied, he would have smiled a broad and satisfied smile at the realisation.
Finally Heero lowered him back to earth but their stance wasn't any less close. As he gazed into the violet orbs, Heero looked suddenly sad and somewhat contrite.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know," he said quietly, looking away.
"Yeah, well you're stupid," Duo laughed, sniffing back his tears, "I always knew you were stupid."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Heero asked, smiling slightly.
"You never asked."
Heero nodded at this typical Duo response. Duo continued to gaze at him until he realised that something was being pressed into his hand. Looking down to see the white gold crucifix he laughed again.
"I wanted this," he admitted, his eyes twinkling happily. "I really wanted this."
"Well it's yours," Heero replied before he helped the braided boy to fasten the pendant around his neck. As Duo grinned at him broadly, Heero couldn't help but frown. "You knew you were going to get that, didn't you?"
Duo chuckled. "No, I didn't… I hoped, but I didn't know."
"You knew," Heero said smiling as he put his arm around Duo's slender shoulder before they set off down the street together.
"I had a feeling," Duo conceded eventually. "Well? How does it look?"
"You look good," Heero said happily as they strolled along in the moonlight, "… wearing my future."
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Epilogue
For a late autumn day, the weather was surprisingly clement. The sun had broken through the thin bands of cloud to bathe the ground in its glorious warmth and those that were free from classes were taking the opportunity to bask in its rays. On the large sports field not far from the athletics track, a boy lay flat on his back, fast asleep, his face turned towards the sun. He wore a smile of contentment as he dreamed; his peaceful sleep brought on no doubt, by being completely at ease with his life. Around his neck hung a beautiful white gold cross, which glinted in the sun as his chest rose and fell.
Just a short distance away, shaded by a large oak tree, two boys sat each happily engaged in separate tasks. The diminutive handsome blonde was ogling his equally handsome boyfriend as the brunette completed laps of the synthetic track, whilst the Asian boy to his right was sketching the sleeping young man ahead of them. Seeing that Trowa had almost finished training, Quatre turned his attention back to his companion.
"Duo told me you'd heard from Jefferson's", he said brightly as he twisted the grass beneath his fingers.
"Yeah," Heero replied, pausing for a moment, "they said they'll definitely be offering me a place next year."
Quatre grinned, knowing that Jefferson's was an art college with an excellent reputation. "That's great!" he responded, "How was your dad about it?"
Heero smiled for a moment as he absent-mindedly brushed an insect from his sketchpad. "He was completely fine with it. To be honest, he's been surprisingly calm considering all the shocks he's had lately."
Quatre continued to smile, knowing he was referring to the fact that he'd had to tell his parents that he and Duo were now more than friends.
"That's good," he said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
Bored now Trowa had disappeared, Quatre plucked a long blade of grass from the ground and proceeded to use it to tickle the sleeping boy's face. Disturbed by the sudden intrusion, the braided boy's nose twitched and he frowned, evidently thinking this was part of his dream. Quatre stifled a giggle as he waited for Duo to settle before doing it again.
"Stop it," Heero chided him gently, "I'll never draw him if he moves!"
He couldn't help but laugh however at Duo's facial contortions as he continued to react to the distraction. Quatre's teasing came to an end as Trowa, now changed, flopped down onto the grass beside him. He kissed the blonde boy gently before greeting Heero with a smile. His attention then turned to Duo, still locked in sleep, as the braided boy began to snore.
"I just saw Wufei," Trowa said, addressing his two non-sleeping companions. "He asked if we were bowling this Friday."
Heero nodded as he began to sketch again. "I guess so," he replied, "Unless he's trying to get out of it after last week's thrashing."
"Hey!" Quatre interjected, "We weren't that bad!"
Trowa and Heero exchanged knowing smiles.
"I think you were, love," Trowa replied teasingly, giving the blonde boy's hand a squeeze. "Although you did get that strike…"
"In the wrong lane," Heero added, laughing.
Quatre blushed and pretended to sulk. "Why isn't Duo awake to defend us?" he huffed crossly.
Before anyone could reply, their collective attention was drawn to the sound of an approaching motorbike. It didn't take a genius to work out who it was since motorbikes were banned from the school field. The rider, with a large companion riding pillion, spotted the group of relaxing boys and did a u-turn, crossing the entire length of the field balanced precariously on one wheel. The three sitting in the shade were amazed that Duo didn't wake even when Wufei pulled up beside them, revving his dirt bike's engine furiously.
"Hey, turkeys!" the Chinese boy called out affectionately, his voice raised above the noise of the motor.
"Speak of the devil," Heero said quietly, shooting a grin at Quatre and Trowa. "Hey Wufei, we were just discussing bowling this Friday."
The plans were made for Friday night before Wufei spotted Duo, still sleeping soundly.
"Hey!" he said, his onyx eyes twinkling mischievously, "If I can find a ramp, can I practise jumping over him on my bike?"
Heero shook his head firmly, indicating that Wufei should forget that idea immediately as Quatre and Trowa burst into fits of laughter. Clearly disappointed, Wufei climbed from the bike, allowing his friend to ride it away as he came to sit beside Heero. As conversation ceased temporarily, Wufei and Quatre amused themselves by tickling the sleeping boy with grass once again. Trowa looked on amused, as Heero continued to sketch, smirking slightly as his beloved twitched under assault by plant life.
As they chatted amiably in the bright sunshine, Duo finally awoke from his slumber. He stretched like a cat, surprised to see that Heero had company as when he had gone to sleep it had just been the two of them.
"Hey, guys," he said sleepily before flopping back onto the grass where he proceeded to rub his eyes vigorously. "Man, I've just had the strangest dream. All these flies kept landing on me and I swear it felt real!"
When they all burst into fits of laughter, Duo eyed them warily.
"Okay, what's the deal?" he said suspiciously, violet eyes flicking between the group.
Before any of them were forced to explain why Duo's dream had felt so real, they were distracted by the sound of approaching students.
"Hiya, guys," Relena said cheerily as she and Sally joined them on the grass after setting their shopping bags down first. "Watcha up to?"
With the ease of good friends, the expanded group chatted and laughed in the shade of the large oak. There was no animosity between Duo and Relena and, since they had discovered they shared a passion for manga, Duo and Wufei had also become good friends. Relena had in turn been introduced to Wufei's girlfriend Sally, who was genial as well as intelligent and since then, Relena had found herself spending more time with her new friends and less with Dorothy and her shallow clique of wealthy companions. Heero and the others had nothing to hide and were not ashamed of who they were and where they were from and Relena liked and respected them for it.
Treize Khushrenada was also just a distant memory. He had a new trophy girlfriend and a new bright yellow sports car, which had gone some way to restoring his tarnished reputation, but since the ill-fated party, he had steered clear of Heero and his friends.
When the conversation took a natural hiatus, Heero looked around at his assembled friends and realised just how content he was with the way his life had changed over the last couple of months. As Duo's head rested in his lap, he absent-mindedly stroked his shiny chestnut hair, enjoying the silky feeling beneath his fingers. No one had reacted badly to their declaration of love for each other; although many, and none more so that himself, had been shocked that the taciturn Heero Yuy had fallen in love… with another man. But it wasn't about being male or female the Japanese boy had realised. He loved Duo because he was Duo; the wonderful, smart, funny and handsome boy that he had overlooked in his search for love. And now that Heero had found some kind of wonderful, he wasn't about to let him go.
End.