Heero POV

I awoke slowly, like I was coming out of some sort of haze. I was completely encased in a heavy warmth. Something soft and fluffy brushed against my nose and I opened my eyes to see what it was. Gently brushing my nose was the tip of a long, black feather.

The harsh reality hit me and I tried to sit up, only to have the arms around my waste tighten convulsively. Lying still and taking a deep breath, the arms soon loosened, though they still kept me captive. Taking stock of my surroundings, I found that I was in the bed with Duo, cuddled against his chest. The blankets had been shoved to the bottom of the bed and both Duo and I were covered by one of his wings. The other wing was tucked neatly behind Duo, obviously uncomfortable to lay on.

Duo hated me.

He had to, after what I did. How could I have been so stupid? It was more important to keep Duo safe and happy than clean and well-kept. Lord J would understand that...

...No, he wouldn't. But still, Lord J had punished me before and I had survived it, I couldn't survive Duo hating me, I knew it.

I sat up and looked down at Duo's serene face, so calm and peaceful in his sleep. Timidly, I reached out a hand and stroked his bangs away from his eyes. His brows furrowed and his eyelids slowly raised to revel two violet pools. Confusion quickly faded from Duo's eyes and he smiled at me. Not a full power smile, but a smile none the less.

And you couldn't smile at someone you hate, right?

Duo sat up and opened his arms for me, I leaned forward and fell into his embrace. For a moment, we both just enjoyed the feel of each other, but in a moment Duo sighed and said, "You know we're going to have to talk about last night."

I froze and struggled to get some space between us, but Duo held me firm.

"Enough, Heero, you're not going to get away," he said with a finality that stopped my struggles. "I'm not mad at you, I never was. I know this isn't easy for you, but you have to understand that I am trying to help. Heero, if you don't want me here, if you don't like what I'm doing, I can stop. I can leave. I know I really haven't asked your opinion on anything and I really hate when people do that to me, so tell me, do you want to go back to the way things were before? Did you like it better that way?"

"No!" I fairly screamed, tumbling away from Duo in an outburst of emotion. I fell back onto the bed and Duo reeled a bit, though he managed to stay seated.

No, please no. I couldn't go back to living like that.

Duo was looking at me with a mixture of wonder and confusion when I got onto my knees where I could see him. I couldn't judge his feelings from the look on his face, so I moved in for a hug, since Duo had always been open to those.

"Please, no," I whispered into his chest even as his arms came up around me, "I can't go back to that, I can't... Please, please don't leave me, I'll be good, I'll be..."

"Shh. Hush Heero, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. I won't leave you if you don't want me to and this is the last time I'll ask, I promise. I just needed to know that I'm not forcing to leave everything you've known, that you want to do this. It's going to be hard, but it will be better than this was. I promise, I won't leave you. Promise."

And Duo just cuddled me, putting to rest all the fears that his words couldn't. Treating me like no one else had ever treated me before; like I was precious.

"Heero," Duo asked when I had finally been lulled into a half-sleep, "What got you so scared the other night?"

I simply shook my head.

"Heero, you have to tell me. I know something got you upset and it seems that when you're upset you clean. Something upset you very badly last night. Tell me what it is."

"L-lord J was... upset with me," I told him hesitantly.

"And he's what got you so wound up?"

"I don't like it when he's mad at me. He scares me."

"I won't let him hurt you, you know that."

I nodded, but it didn't seem real. I knew Duo would protect me from anything. I knew Lard J was mad enough to try and punish me. But I simply could not see the two of them fighting over me.

Another thought preyed upon my mind and I had to ask, "Duo... is your hand okay?"

"Huh?" Duo asked, surprised, then it dawned on him, "Oh, that! It's fine. All better, look."

Duo unwrapped his arm to show me that the wound was gone only to leave a quickly fading scar behind. However, the scar itself was very long and I wondered how I could have been so careless.

"Duo, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean to. It was an accident."

"A-are you going to punish me?" I asked fearfully, knowing that he would be right to do so after what I had done.

Duo fell silent for a moment, then took my face in his hands and turned my head to look him straight in the eyes. His eyes are beautiful, but difficult to read. There are so many emotions that flutter through his eyes, it's hard to pinpoint just one. Looking deep into Duo's eyes, I could see that he was searching for something in mine, but I don't know if he ever found it or not. He pulled back and whispered, "How many people have hurt you, Heero? Is it so hard to believe that I will never hurt you?"

Slowly, yet deliberately, Duo moved forward and pressed his lips to my forehead in a sweet, chaste kiss. I could feel some new emotion flowing through me, making me feel defenseless and safe at the same time. Making me feel warm deep inside, in places that had always been frozen before.

Then he pulled away and the moment ended.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast," he said, smiling. I was loathe to leave the room, but followed anyway.

At breakfast that morning I wasn't able to eat as much as Duo wanted, but I did manage to eat more than I thought. We spent the rest of the morning playing chess in our room, then went down to lunch. After lunch, Duo conned me into helping him with his horse-back riding skills, which were not very good. We both washed up, in what Duo called a "shower", before dinner. Then I offered to give his sore back muscles a massage. It was nice to be able to do something for Duo, even though I was a little awkward because of his wings and, somehow, Duo managed to get me curled up beside him drifting to sleep before I was finished.

The next day was just as good as the one before it. Duo and I both slept in and ended up having a "light" breakfast in our room, even though it left me feeling slightly bloated. Then Duo had Sara give us a tour of the stronghold and the lands around it. I knew every room and corridor of the fort as part of my soldier training, but I had never actually been in most of them. What I had originally thought of as Duo getting a strategical layout of the fort turned into something like a museum tour, as Sara showed us the library, the beautiful gardens and fountains, and the old armors that had been set aside for display in a hall far to the back of the fort. We ended up taking lunch in the gardens with Sara eating with us, though she was a little nervous at first. It was so beautiful and quiet in the gardens, more so because Duo was there, but still beautiful. When we got back it was time for dinner. Duo had us eat and go straight to bed, saying he had something special planned for the next morning. I was curious as to what it was and pestered him about it, but quieted and went to sleep when he winked and said, "It's a surprise." I had never had one of those before, I certainly didn't want to spoil it.

The next day, Duo woke me up earlier than usual, though it would have been considered late only days ago, and pulled me out of bed. We both dressed in warm clothes since it was still a bit chilly this early in the morning. Duo pulled out a beautiful parka with a snow leopard-fur lining to make it warm and dragon hide on the outside to make it strong and beautiful. It was gorgeous, with dark green scales on the outside and pure white fur on the inside. I assumed it was the surprise and thanked Duo, but he only smiled and told me, "Hang on, I'm not done yet." He grabbed a blanket and led me out into the castle and up the stairs to the highest tower in the eastern section of the castle. When we got to the top, he pulled me out the window onto a small ledge. Deftly, he helped me climb using his wings and his tail until we got onto the shingles. He pulled me down to his lap and wrapped the blanket around both of us, then gazed out to the horizon. I followed his gaze just in time to see the sun come up over the mountains and slowly light the forests and lakes below. It may have been the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I wanted to thank Duo, but the sight stole my breath and I couldn't speak. I don't think any words were needed though, because when I looked over Duo wasn't looking at the sunrise, but at me, and he was smiling like he had been given the surprise.

We spent lunch in the garden again, then went swimming in one of the lakes. There were several water fights in which no winner was ever discovered, but we both laughed until we were out of breath. At dinner I ate enough to please Duo somewhat and that night I fell asleep before Duo could tell me to go to bed, even if it was in an armchair reading a book and Duo had to carry me to bed.

Sometime later I realized that Duo was trying to keep me busy so I wouldn't notice how little work I was doing. It worked.

I opened my eyes the next morning to find Duo gone and Sara sitting in one of the chairs.

"Where's Duo?" I asked, alarmed. Sara looked up.

"He got called to meeting with Lord J and couldn't put it off any longer. They were supposed to discuss the dragon's migration pattern a few days ago, but Duo put it off because of his injuries. Anyway, he told me to take you down to breakfast then show you the orchards. Duo said he'd meet you for lunch there."

I was a little disappointing that Duo had to go back to his duties, but I could understand. It wasn't like he was still hurt and I had a strong suspicion that he had taken that time off for me. So how could I complain when he had to get back to his job? Sara and I had a fair morning, the orchards were lovely and overflowing with fruit. Sara even showed me how they made wine and jarred the fruits and vegetables for the winter. It was interesting, but I found myself missing Duo.

"You know, that jacket is beautiful, Heero. Did Duo get it for you?" Sara asked over lunch, moving closer to examine it.

"Yes."

"Oh! Is that snow leopard? Wow, that must have cost Duo a fortune."

"What?" I asked, I'd never thought about the cost before.

"Snow leopards. They're not rare or anything, but they live so far south of here it's hard to get their fur, even though it's so soft and warm. I bet Duo had to pay just to get the fur here, then again for the sewing. But, then again, when you're as important as Duo is you really don't have to worry about it that much. Imagine! Slaying dragons!"

I popped a cherry into my mouth and chewed it slowly, careful of the pit, as I thought of what Sara had said. No one had ever spent much money on me, now Duo was spending tons of it and I didn't even know. It made me think of how stupid I must be, not to realize these things cost money. And all the other clothes that had just appeared in my room must have been bought by Duo too, and I hadn't even realized it. Hadn't realized it, and couldn't understand it.

Something grabbed me from behind. I jumped and spun my head around, the cherry pit lodging in my throat. Duo was standing behind me, a mischievous grin on his face. I coughed and choked on the cherry pit and fell to my knees. Something abruptly pounded me on the back and the pit came loose. I took a few moments to catch my breath, then looked at Duo, who had worry written all over his face.

"I swallowed the cherry pit," I pouted. Soon, we were both laughing.

After lunch, we took the horses for a ride through the forest. It was a wonderful evening, but something was off. I finally realized that I would not be able to spend all my time with Duo like I had been and it made me fear being alone again. I was quiet through dinner and Duo questioned me about it as we went to bed. I tried to tell him not to worry about it, but I knew he was still worried. Still, he let it drop for the moment.