Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to them, not to me (probably a good thing). Lyrics/translations of "UNDO" (sung by Cool Joke) are by Aoi-Anime.
Title: Finding Myself
Author: aomurasakiai
Pairing: Hint of past Heero/Duo… but they get back together again ;;
Rating: PG
Warnings: Vagueness, OOC-ness, Slight Angst/Sap, Shounen Ai
gw500 challenge: #02 - "turning of the year"
Word Count: 756 (without lyrics)

/douka douka jikan wo tomete
kimi no omokage wo kono mune ni kizandekure

moshimo moshimo yurusarerunara
subete wo gisei ni shitemo ii
ano egao wo mou ichido/

Changing out of her formal outfit into her nightwear, the young Vice Foreign Minister walked over to her window to stare out into the wintry city. It has been one year since the end of the Second Eve War and peace was slowly settling into the minds of the people. She touched the glass, feeling the cold on her palm but she smiled, knowing that there would no longer be any more battles or lives lost to war. Her heart went out to all the ex-soldiers who had survived… especially the ex-Gundam pilots and most of all to a certain Japanese teen down the hall.

About eight months prior, Heero had shown up at her door and asked to be her personal bodyguard. Shock and disbelief rose and she declined his offer, wanting him to find a better, happier life for himself. She already had enough guards by her side and there wasn't really the need for a personal one. But to see the once calm and collected teen look suddenly so lost, whispering that he couldn't adjust to the quiet lifestyle yet; she relented. In her limited way, she understood how hard the sudden changeover to peace might be for people who had spent their entire life preparing for war. Heero just couldn't revert back to the boy with kind eyes that Dr. J had once mentioned to her yet…

The door slowly opening made her turn away from the window and there stood Heero with his duffel bag in hand. She smiled and walked over to him.

"So, Heero. Are you leaving?"

"Aa…" Heero nodded, trying to gauge her reaction to his decision.

"Do come and visit me again," she said, smiling. "Won't you?"

"I will. But, you're sure…?"

"Yes, I am. You deserve support that I cannot give." She reached out to pat his arm, trying to comfort him, if only a little. "Don't worry about me, ne?" Heero just nodded, somewhat dejectedly.

"Do you think…"

"I know he will," she answered without hesitation.

With that, Heero gave her a small smile for the first time in a year.

----

Hearing the cheerful Christmas carols from within, Heero hesitated before pushing the button next to the large double doors. Inside, he heard the bell chiming and almost immediately the door opened.

"Master Heero, you made it," Rashid said with a hint of relief and quickly ushered the unruly-haired teen into the mansion and towards his young blond master. After taking the other's duffel bag, assuring that it would be placed in one of the guest rooms, the large Arab man left them alone.

"Heero!" Quatre stood up and embraced the teen warmly. "You made it! How have you been?"

"I apologize for my tardiness," Heero said, bowing slightly. He paused, thinking how he should answer the other's question. "I've been… doing a lot of thinking these past months."

"I see. Come, the others will want to see you." Quatre smiled and led Heero through the crowd of people. Trowa and Wufei stood in the corner, conversing quietly and stopped in surprise at seeing Heero walking towards them.

"Yuy, finally decided to show up?" Wufei asked with a smirk while Trowa just smiled. Heero nodded to both young men, feeling more at ease than he had been in a long time.

----

"Two more minutes until the New Year, everyone!" Quatre announced to his guests and the crowd murmured to each other in anticipation. Heero smiled softly; a year had passed since the last war and he had never thought that he would be here, alive, to celebrate it. It was more than he had expected… more than he had hoped for.

"Heero, so here's where you were hiding."

The young Japanese man turned around to meet the one person he hadn't seen all night.

"Been avoiding me?" His lips twitched up into a half-smile before falling again and violet eyes averted from cobalt blue, the owner not wanting the other to read his feelings so clearly reflected in them.

"60 seconds! 59…58…57…"

"Duo." The braided boy closed his eyes, unconsciously savoring his name being spoken with that voice. They were both silent, the countdown still being shouted around them, but even that couldn't break the tension between them.

"10… 9… 8…"

"Gomen nasai."

With those soft words, Duo let out a strangled sound and quickly closed the distance between him and the other, whose awaiting arms caught and held him tight as cheers erupted on the ground and fireworks exploded in the black sky.

(Please… please, stop time.
Please carve yourself into my heart.

If it's not... If it's not allowed,
I wouldn't mind sacrificing everything
to see your smile once again.)

Owari

Notes: What had happened between Heero and Duo can be open for interpretation.