Jess: Silly Heero, here you thought that Nuriko was going to be cruel to you and all she did was set the stage for fluff.

Heero: Hn.

Nuri: You people always think the worst of me. ((pouts))

Duo: Well, we wouldn't if you hadn't shown us your evil side so many times….

Nuri: Hmph!

Jess: On with the chapter!!

Lunar Symphony

Chapter 12: Heero POV

I awoke early as usual this morning. I know Duo was keeping something from me and I hated not knowing what it was. Last night, I had caught him sneaking into his office when I had been told that he was supposed to be working. I didn't like the implications, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions, that is why I agreed to give him until this morning to tell me what he was up to.

I stretched in bed, not liking the feel of it being empty and hugged a pillow to my body. I cracked open an eye and spotted a bowl of assorted fresh berries and a pitcher of water on a tray on the bedside table. I rubbed my eyes and spotted the note that was propped up against the bowl that read, "Eat Me" in Duo's handwriting. When had he come in? I thought I told him to stay in his own room tonight.

I reached over and plucked a boysenberry from the top of the pile and popped it into my mouth, sucking the thing slowly. I loved berries for breakfast. I loved berries, period. I looked at the tray again and found a neatly sliced prickly pear fanned out on a separate plate. Where had Duo gotten a hold of that in SPACE? I'd have to ask him about it later.

Speaking of talking to Duo… I need to find out what he was doing all week. I don't like being kept in the dark. I got out of bed and put on my wartime favorite: black spandex shorts and a green tank top and my old, ratty, sneakers. I'd be working out today before breakfast, and this particular get-up was the most comfortable.

I put the fruit bowl in the mini refrigerator I had in my kitchenette and figured I'd eat when I finished with my workout. First things first, though… what has Duo been up to?

I jogged downstairs bypassing the TV/Vid-disk player sitting in front of my bed and went across the grounds to Maxwell's Haven. He just better have a good excuse.

"Hee-chan!" Duo exclaimed as I walked into the cafeteria that morning. He came up to me and hugged me tight, kissing me soundly before I could even react. I wrapped my arms around his thin body, his braid held possessively in my grip.

"Duo… you said you needed until this morning to explain yourself. Start talking."

Duo's eyes lost some of their spark as he looked up into my impassive face. "Didn't you get your present?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

I shook my head. "Present? What for? I put breakfast in the fridge to eat after my workout and as for the TV/Vid-disk player, I appreciate the gesture."

Duo looked positively deflated but tried to save face in front of the kids that were now looking our direction. "Oh…" he choked out. Was I missing something? "I guess you can look after your workout then…"

"I don't have time to watch television, Duo."

I watched as he gave me a watery smile then turned around and walked towards his office. What was that all about? He knows I don't watch television so the thought of his getting me a television was rather absurd. Still… I felt like I was missing something important. I grabbed his arm at the last second, and spun him towards me, holding him tight. I leaned in and brushed my lips gently against his; whispering "Love you, Koi," before letting him go. He looked shell-shocked as he rushed out of the cafeteria…. He never even said he loved me back. Something was definitely off here but I needed to gain some control first… I don't want to accidentally hurt him when I try to talk to him next. Honestly, that's the biggest reason why I didn't run after him.

With the kids giving me little pouts, I turned around and left the building, and went to the Preventer's gym. Exercise always helped me when I had some emotional stress to work off. Call it my outlet, if you will. When I arrived, I found Trowa already there, water bottle in hand and a towel resting on his knee as he sat on a bench.

"Trowa," I said. He looked up at me and gave a little nod.

We then began what had become our morning workout routine. It wasn't until my third set of bench presses that I initiated a conversation.

"Ne, Trowa?"

"Hai?"

"Do you know what Duo has been up to lately?" I asked.

He quirked an eyebrow, "Are you asking me for information, or was that supposed to be rhetorical?"

"Duo is the one who asks rhetorical questions."

"In that case, I might have an idea." he replied

"Oh? Mind cluing me in?"

He looked at me oddly as we swapped places again, "I thought you'd have figured it out by now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing spotter.

"Well," Trowa began, "I figured you for a smart man, Yuy, I would have thought that the present he made you would have told you all you needed to know."

"Present?"

"Oh for the love of-" he sighed, exasperated. He put up the weight he was lifting, hooking it onto it's resting bar, then sat up and looked at me sternly. "Heero, I'm your friend and as such, I'm expecting you to NOT shoot me when I tell you that you are the most hard-headed individual I've ever met! And yes, Yuy, that includes Wufei and myself." I blinked, taken aback by his outburst. He sighed gain and wiped his face with the towel nearby, "Have you spoken to Duo this morning?"

I wasn't expecting that question, but I nodded in the affirmative. "Is it safe to assume that you didn't look at the gift he made you?" Another nod, "and so I'm assuming that things didn't go too well this morning…"

"I don't know what everyone is going on about, Barton. Will someone just PLEASE give this to me straight?!" I practically yelled. I hate subtleties. If you want me to know something, just come out and say it. I thought that my friends would have figured that out by now.

Trowa looked at me, dropped the towel, nodded, and grabbed my wrist. I was practically manhandled into my bathroom and ordered to shower. He then closed the door behind himself and I was left alone to my thoughts once again.

Okay, Yuy, backtrack…. What has been going on lately?

I turned on the shower and stripped down. One: Duo has been missing for hours at a time for the past week. I stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade off my skin. Two: what was with the expressions he's been giving me lately? First when I talked about adopting Mei and then when I came downstairs… I'm definitely missing something. I wash my hair and skin with my favorite cinnamon apple shampoo and body wash. Three: Trowa seems to know something that should have been obvious to me, judging by his reactions. I rinsed and reached for the towel hanging nearby. I dried off and wrapped the towel around my waist before stepping out of the bathroom.

When I came out, I found Trowa arranging a little folding table at the foot of my bed with the bowl of berries, plate of prickly pears and a pitcher of what I call lemonade (mostly water, about three lemons per liter, and four artificial sweeteners)…actually, it was hardly any better than water by Duo's standards, but I liked the hint of flavor it had. On the bed lay an outfit I'd never seen before with a note resting just on top of the carefully laid cloth of the navy blue suit. Against the wall, facing the foot of my bed was the TV/Vid-disk player I had seen before, but this time, I noticed a note on it that said, "Watch me" taped to the screen. Interesting.

Trowa led me to the foot of my bed and sat me down so I faced my breakfast and the TV. "You are going to sit here and watch the vid, then you're going to get dressed and get on with your day, understood?"

I nodded.

"Good. By the way," he added, "Quatre and I are going to adopt Luc… if Duo lets us. I like him and Quatre has always wanted a family of his own."

I smiled at him and nodded, "He needs a good family… and with your gymnast skills, you can really teach him how to work his upper-body muscles. In fact, Mei would probably be better off going with you and Quatre too… I was going to ask her if she wanted me as her adoptive parent… but… I think I'm getting cold feet about it." I looked around myself, "As you can see, I'm not very good at picking up on the obvious…."

Trowa smiled at me and gave me a pat on the back. "Watch the movie, Heero… we'll talk about this later."

I nodded and watched him leave.

(Time lapse)

I turned off the television and stared blankly at the screen. How I could possibly doubt Duo was a mystery. His present to me was… priceless. I finished my breakfast and went to my laptop to finish some paperwork, still dressed in only my towel. I'd be getting dressed to go out soon and I didn't want to get dirty or wrinkle my clothes before leaving so I waited until the last possible moment to get ready.

I was really lucky to have Duo as my boyfriend. I loved him more than anything in the world… it's just that I have trouble reining in my emotions and such. I began to walk down the stairs to where Duo had indicated, but since I was a bit early, I thought of a plan to try and apologize to him. I walked quickly to a little flower shop a few blocks down the street; I hoped I wouldn't be late.

I got to the store and made my order and paid the lady at the cash register.

She smiled at me, "Special occasion, son?"

I nodded, "Anniversary…I had forgotten all about it…."

She frowned a bit, "Well, at least this will help when you're trying to get her to forgive you."

I blushed a little, "uh… yeah… I hope he won't be too angry at me…"

I saw her flush at her assumption, but she just smiled and handed me my order, "Of course… good luck, sweetie."

I walked briskly to my destination, the chat with the flower lady had taken me off schedule, but I couldn't help but smile. The box of two-dozen mixed white and red roses lying in a bed of ferns and baby's breath was sure to get me on Duo's good side. 'I'm really sorry I hurt you, koi… I hope you'll forgive me.'

Jess: Short chappie, I know… but it ended sweet, ne?

Duo: ((blushes)) Hee-chan got me flowers?

Heero: Roses. Twelve white, twelve red.

Nuri: Aww… how sweet…

Jess: ((tries to hide from Nuriko))

Nuri: I see you! Don't think I can't see through your plot to make ME write out their date!!

Jess: ((looking innocent)) Umm… gotta go! ((runs away))