Chapter 2

"I have a mission to get to." He easily dodged Duo and was about to walk out of the room when Trowa stopped him, but looked at Heero and knew he wasn't in a good mood today."

That was how it went; the day that it first happened. Relena and Duo had been having a secret war over Heero's heart for a very long time, sometimes even daring to flirt with the stoic pilot who glared at the flirter. Who had time for love in the days of war?

After a certain moment when Relena was most infuriated with Duo, Heero was away on a mission. Sadly, the heat went to her head, which ended fatally with the braided pilot.

So, this is how he ended up this way. A cat. Yep, a cat that got kicked out of his own house since the other pilots didn't know who the hell he was. Figures, who would recognize a black cat (at least it was black, hence the 'Shinigami' nickname he dubbed himself with) and he had violet eyes.

So he wandered the streets. He had been traveling, sneaking onto shuttles, and being nice to children whose parents let them take him along since he was so well mannered. Then he found himself on the steps where Heero was currently residing.

Dr. J had given his previous foster parents custody over him for a month. A month or more to do his mission. Then he would be back with the other guys at the safe house that they had gotten, with Quatre's money of course!

He blinked and looked at the foreboding house. Heero would be attending Gabriel school, Relena Darlain's private school. A shadowed figure that was hunched against the chilling wind walked past him in the dark, walking up the footsteps to the door. The black colored neko followed the figure, blinking as he realized that the figure was none other than the said pilot!

"Meow!" He let out, mentally berating himself when he realized that he couldn't speak English, or even bits and pieces of Japanese to the bleak-looking pilot. 'What is wrong with him?' He saw the bruises riddling Heero's arms and his body.

Prussian eyes blinked as he turned his body, his bangs and features still as wild as ever. The light in his eyes seemed to be lingering slightly, what put it out left Duo questioning. "Mrow!" He let out again, pouncing on the person like a cat would, considering he was, and nudged his head against Heero's jeans.

He noted that Heero's eyes softened and he bent down, not even bothering to wince at the pain he felt. 'Damned people.' His mind whispered; the ferocity behind the words long gone. J had told him, no matter what, not to fail this mission. There was no way that he could, or would.

Heero's cold hand petted Duo's head and he heard the black cat purr at this. He let a weak smile come to his lips and he bent down, bringing the cat up as he stood and opened the door. Duo snuggled close to the cold body of Heero, trying his best to warm him.

The lights were out in the house, the other's having gone to sleep. The clock ticked away and the dismantled look in the kitchen showed that his father had come home in a drunken state, again.

He sighed quietly, being careful not to wake its occupants and Heero bent down, placed the cat on all fours, and took off his shoes, motioning for the cat to follow. Heero was amazed that it did, as if he understood what he was saying. There was no collar, so it was a stray. For some reason, this cat reminded him of someone.

He crept up the stairs and opened the door to his room, the black blur passing by him quickly and jumping onto his bed with a quiet 'meow.'

"Well," Heero said to the cat queitly. "I guess that I'll have to give you a name." He looked into those violet eyes and was shocked by their intensity. He could only think of one word, "Duo..." He said subconsciously.

The cat's ears perked up and he pounced off the bed and rubbed against Heero's leg. Heero's eyes softened a bit. "So, you like that name?" He questioned, getting a nodding head in return to the question. "Duo it is then." He said as the cat jumped onto the bed again.

The sound of the door opening sent Heero's nerves astray. He gulped inaudibly and turned around as the cat on the bed hissed. The face that he met was of a very angry foster father. The drunken stench still reeked on his breath, making Heero slightly retch at the stench.

"Well, well, where have hic ye be hic been?" He questioned through hiccups.

"No where." Heero said with a dead tone in his voice. A punch was his reply back. He staggered slightly at the angle it was thrown at but refused to stand down.

Heero straightened out and already knew that bruise would be another for the collection. He heard a hiss from the bed.

'Who the hell does he think he is?!' Duo's whole form was shaking with anger. He couldn't take it and let hisses out as he barred his teeth. He then pounced on the man but was caught in arms that were riddled in bruises.

"Why do you have a damned cat in here?!" The man bellowed, his wife already awake and hiding fearfully under the covers.

Heero protected the cat with his body, Duo feeling the lurch of each hit connecting with the teenager's rib cage. Heero fell to his knees after the fighting stopped. Or more like abuse since Heero did nothing to retaliate.

'H-heero!' Duo's mind whispered as if the boy that was holding him was glass. The cat looked at the boy with concerned eyes and Heero opened his eyes and looked at him. He set him on the floor, feeling the cat purr in his arms.

"I guess that you shouldn't try that again." Heero told the cat. "I'd never be able to live with myself if I let another animal die because of my mistakes..." The image of Mary's charred and burned body in his mind made him close his eyes. He opened them and got under the covers, letting the slight warmth that the threadbare blanket hold warm him.

'Other animal?' Duo questioned as he climbed under the covers with Heero who had thrown off his shirt and was now wearing the attire of boxers. Duo was sure he would have blushed at the fit form of Heero, but there were more matters at hand here. He crawled under the covers, snuggling close to Heero's cold form, hoping it would help warm him.

Heero moved closer to the warmth without even knowing it. The boy was already in a restless sleep. Duo would have until he heard the door creak open again.

TBC

Author's note:

Well, that's that! The question is, who will it be? His mother or his father! Dun dun dun! I'll try and add more romance but, yeah. I can't write that for crap so I'm gonna be practicing! OO hopefully it won't be too...fluffish as I say. Fluff romance. Love reviews, they keep me writing. You see...Shellie doesn't want me to update this because it's a yaoi fic, but oh well! People want me to update and have suggestions, please let me know!