Just a Tree
By Misanagi
Rating: PG
Pairing: 1x2x1
Summary: Heero celebrates Christmas for the first time.
Archive: Gundanium Line
Notes: Gift ficlet written for Karen, the Huntress. Merry Christmas!
Thanks to Anne for the beta.
Heero Yuy didn't know much about Christmas. It wasn't part of his culture and it certainly hadn't been part of his training. Over the years he had picked up a thing or two, mostly from watching the vid or reading books that talked briefly about the subject. However, he had never been in any type of Christmas celebration.
Now he had a Christmas tree in his living room. 'Our living room,' he corrected himself, mentally. Duo had moved in a few months ago, when Heero had finally decided to settle down. The apartment was filled with little things that made it Duo's as much as Heero's, and everything seemed to fit just right, everything but that weird pine tree. Trees were supposed to be outside, not dying slowly inside one's apartment. Heero would have thrown the thing out if he hadn't known that Duo would be deeply hurt.
Christmas seemed to be an important time for Duo. Everything about the season made him smile and the tree was the symbol of all the good things. Duo had decorated it with some gold and red ornaments, and Heero had to admit that, as bizarre as that was, it made the tree something more than a pine decaying in his living room.
Duo walked into the room, smiling. The snowflakes on his slightly damp hair were proof that he had been out. He took off his coat and hung it in the closet before walking towards Heero.
"I didn't know you were out," said Heero.
"I went to get something from the bank," answered Duo, sitting on the arm of Heero's chair.
Heero raised an eyebrow. "The bank?" That wasn't a place any of them frequented. They made all their payments by computer. Few things required a trip to the bank.
"Yeah," said Duo, taking something out of his pocket. "I needed to retrieve this from the safety deposit box." He extended his hand to Heero, revealing a blue box with a red ribbon. "It's for you. Merry Christmas."
Heero was confused. He knew that it was customary to give gifts for the holidays but he thought that they weren't supposed to exchange them until Christmas Day, and they still were a few days early. He looked at Duo, waiting for more instructions about the gift.
Duo grinned. "Open it. That's not /the/ Christmas gift. It's just a little something I thought you would like to have." He scratched his head with one finger. "Actually, I'm not even sure it's a gift, since it was yours. I've just been keeping it for you."
Deciding that knowing the contents of the package would clear the confusion, Heero opened it. Inside was something that Heero hadn't thought he would ever see again. He took the gundanium feather out of the box and stared at it. It was in perfect condition.
When they had destroyed the Gundams after the Marimeia revolution, Heero had tried to find some salvageable parts of Wing Zero. There was none, and he had resigned himself that Zero would live only as a memory, and nothing else. However, he was now holding a perfect gundanium feather; it wasn't damaged at all. "I... where did you..." Heero shook his head and looked at Duo, doing his best to give him a sincere smile. "Thank you."
"It's nothing," said Duo, smiling. He stood up and kissed Heero softly on the lips. "Come," he said, extending his hand, and guiding Heero to the tree. "I made a small ring for it, so we can hang it on the tree."
"An ornament," said Heero, looking at the round ones already on the tree.
"Yes, but this one is special," replied Duo. "It's yours."
Heero looked at the feather and then at the tree. Maybe it didn't have to be just a tree. Maybe it could be something special. It could seem weird to hang a reminder of war on a Christmas tree, but war had been a part of Heero's life. War had been where he had learnt to care, discovered friendship, happiness, and love. Without war he wouldn't be able to live in peace.
Taking hold of one branch, Heero hung the feather on the tree. Then he turned to Duo and said the words for the first time in his life. "Merry Christmas."
- The End –