Disclaimer:Don't own Gundam Wing or any affliated characters. You know that (...only 6 more weeks till My Duo Plushie gets here!)

A/N OMG, I HATE SCHOOL! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long! from now on I'll be posting every Tuesday. I PROMISE! If I don't, you all can flame me as much as you want!

This chapter is sort of just filler, and plot device, but oh well. I wrote a paper in 3 hours today, so I think I deserve a break.

On with the story...


Chapter 24: Presents

The next day was the twenty-second, and the last day of school before winter break. After school let out that day, I went straight home. When Diana got home from work, she was going to take me to the mall.

In my room, I sat on my bed and looked at all the presents I had gotten people. I had bought a stuffed cat for Jericho. She loved cats, but since Megan was allergic to them, she couldn't have one of her own. I had chosen this one because when you hugged it, it would meow, and if you petted its head, it would purr. It was like a real cat, minus the claws, and the shedding fur, and the hairballs, and the litter box.

But I still wasn't satisfied with the stuffed animal as a present for Jericho. It just didn't seem to convey my feelings enough. What I really wanted to get her was one of those lockets she had been looking at in the store. But the least expensive of those had been over a hundred dollars. I still had plenty of cash, but not enough to get both a locket for Jericho and a present for Heero.

Sighing, I fell back onto my pillow. I still had no clue what to get Heero. Why was Christmas so stressful? I felt so pressured to get everyone the perfect gift. But what's the perfect gift for a former perfect soldier?

Thinking about Heero reminded me of something. Right after Hilde's death, Heero took charge of the finances of the junkyard since I was constantly having flashbacks and nervous attacks, so I couldn't really handle doing anything for myself. After Lady Une reported me to the government, the financial assets from the junkyard had been placed in an account for me. Sally had been given the authority to control the account until I turned eighteen. I knew that there were several thousand dollars in that account. Glancing at the clock, I did some math in my head. It was the middle of the day up in the L2 colony where Sally was.

I picked up the phone and dialed the long string of numbers that would connect me to Sally. I felt sort of bad about calling the colonies because they were expensive calls, and the Christophers had to pay for them.

Finally, Sally answered at the other end of the line. "L2 defense department, Preventer Sally Po speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hey Sally, it's Duo," I said.

"Duo! Hi! What's up! It's been a while since we've talked."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And I'm really sorry, but I can't talk long. This is a really expensive call. I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, Duo, anything."

"Good," I said nodding, even though she couldn't see it. "I need you to transfer some money from the junkyard account into my bank account. Not a whole lot. A hundred bucks should do it. I need it to buy some Christmas presents."

I could almost hear her frown over the phone. "Duo, that money is supposed to be saved for when you need it."

"But I do need it Sally!" I cried. "Com'n. A hundred bucks. That's not that much!"

"Then I'd love to see what you consider 'much' money. Besides, the way the account's set up, I need to submit a written request forty-eight hours in advance. Even if the withdrawal were approved, you wouldn't get it until this time Christmas Eve. Sorry Duo. I guess you'll have to figure out some way else."

I scowled. "Fine," I growled into the phone. "Thanks anyway."

I turned off the phone and flung it onto my bed. God, it was just not my day. First James bashed me in the shin with a hockey stick, and now I didn't have enough money for presents.

"Who was that?"

I turned to find Diana leaning in the doorway. She was still dressed in her work clothes: a skirt, blouse, and black shoes. I guessed she must have just gotten home.

"Sally," I replied. When she gave me a questioning look, I sighed and shook my head, slightly perturbed. "I wanted her to transfer some money for me so that I could afford a few more Christmas presents, but she said she couldn't."

Diana made a funny sound in her throat, kind of like the hum those Zen-and-yoga obsessed people make when they're meditating. "I'm gonna go change and then we can go to the mall. Sound good?"

I shrugged. "Whatever." I was too depressed about my financial situation to really care about anything.

"No, not whatever Duo," she said, sounding stern. "I know you care about this, so stop acting apathetic. You either want to go to the mall or you don't. It's not healthy for you to go into the 'I don't know, I don't care' mode every time you're upset about something. When you do that, no one knows how to help you." Her face softened and she stepped towards me. "You've come a long way from how you were when you first got here Duo, but you still have a ways to go. Jon and I want to help you, but you need to help us help you, okay?" she said, holding out her arms to me.

I accepted her invitation and welcomed her hug. She stroked the back of my head while I my face was pressed against her shoulder. Even though she wasn't my real mother, there were times when she seemed to fall into that role so perfectly. This was on of those times. "Duo, you're a special kid. You're stronger than any person I know. But the thing is, sometimes the greatest show of strength is being able to let others see your weaknesses. Don't hide behind apathy anymore, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded into her shoulder. It felt so good to be held. I almost started to cry when she let go.

"Now, do you want to go to the mall, or not?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "I still need to get a few presents."

She smiled. "Good." She handed me the car keys. "Why don't you go start the car while I go change? I'll be down in a few minutes."

I went out to the car and started it up. I listened to the hum of the motor, and it reminded me of Deathscythe. I sighed. I wished I still had my Gundam.

I climbed over into the passenger seat and buckled myself in. Leaning my head back against the seat, I closed my eyes. I still had no way to get the locket for Jericho. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Every time I thought about Jericho, my thoughts tended to turn to Hilde. Perhaps by not letting me have the money, God was telling me that I was forgetting Hilde too quickly. And if I forgot Hilde, then who would remember her?

Diana opened the door and got into the driver's seat. She smiled at me, but her look turned to a frown when she saw the look on my face.

"Cheer up, Duo," she said as she reached into her purse. "Here." She pulled some folded bills out and handed them to me.

I stared down at the money she had handed to me, counting it. One hundred dollars. I looked up at her, confused. "What's this for?" I asked her.

Diana smiled at me. "I thought I'd help you buy those presents."

I shook my head. "No, I can't take this, Diana," I said. "Really, thanks, but I can't."

She ignored the offered money. Instead, she put to car in gear and backed out of the driveway. "Think of it as an early Christmas present, Duo," she said. "It's a gift from me to you. It's rude to try to give back gifts."

I stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks," I said. I looked down at the money in my hand. "Now I have enough money to buy Jericho that locket."

Diana grinned and glanced over at me. "So, you've finally realized that you like her, huh?" she asked.

I sighed and looked out the window. "Yeah, I have."

"Then why so down? The first time I realized I liked Jon as more than a friend, I was bouncing off the walls. You seem like that kind of person that should be bouncing off the walls too."

Frowning, I didn't reply for a while, not knowing exactly how to explain it. Finally, after a few minutes of thinking, I mumbled a name: "Hilde."

Diana just nodded. "I know it's still hard Duo, moving on after what happened. I know you miss Hilde, and you have the right to mourn her—"

"Don't say that word," I snapped, sounding a lot more forceful than I meant to. God, I hated that word. Mourn, mourning. Those words made it seem so formal and…cold. But what I was feeling wasn't cold. It was hot, burning in me, sometimes coming close to consuming my soul. It was always under the surface, waiting to show itself. It had shown itself a few times, and it hadn't been pretty.

Diana paused, then started again. "You have the right to miss her for as long as you want. But from everything you've told me, it sounds like Hilde only wanted the best for you. I'm sure that she would much rather for you to move on and be happy instead of spending the rest of your life dwelling on her." I didn't reply, but I knew deep down that Diana was right. "Anyway, you should talk to Jericho about this kind of thing. She knows a thing or two about moving on."

"What do you mean?" I asked as the car pulled into a parking space in the mall parking lot.

Diana just shrugged. "You'll have to ask Jericho. It's not really my place to say."

God, I hate it when adults say stuff like that, I thought.

.0.

I headed straight to the department stores where Jericho had been looking at the lockets. The lockets were still all in the case, shining beautifully.

"May I help you?" one of the sales women asked me.

"Um, not yet," I said. "Give me a minute or two."

Jericho wanted a large-ish locket, one that she could put her pictures in. Most of the lockets were really small. And most of them had really flimsy-looking chains.

I finally settled on an oval locket with a thick, but still pretty chain. On the front of the locket, a phrase was etched. "Aimez jusqu'à l'éternité." I didn't know a word of French, but Jericho did. In fact, she was practically fluent in it. I bought the locket, and even though it set me back a little more than I had planned, it was worth it. Besides, Heero had never really liked extravagant presents anyway.

In fact, I wasn't sure if Heero liked any kind of presents at all.

I wandered through the mall, looking for something to get Heero. Books didn't seem his thing, and I was sure he had everything he could ever want as far as computers went. I could get him a movie or a CD, I thought as I browsed through a media store. But I bet he'd just loan it to Relena and never ask for it back.

After an hour of searching, I had almost given up. Heero wasn't human, and I doubted if he ever realized that Christmas was coming.

I sat down on the edge of a planter to rest and sighed. "If I don't find something soon, I'm giving up and sending Heero a stocking full of coal," I grumbled to myself.

I people-watched for a while, trying to get my mind off a present for Heero. A few stores up from where I was sitting, a family came out of a store. It was a mom, a dad, and two little kids. The dad was carrying the little girl in his arms and she was talking very quickly, waving her arms and laughing. Her father was smiling at her like she was the only thing in the world for him. The little boy was carrying a shopping bag in one hand and holding his mom's hand with the other. He looked a lot like I had when I was a little kid. I watched the happy family as the walked off into the crowds, the little boy and girl shouting happily about going to see Santa.

I wanna go see Santa too! I thought as I stood up and began to walk in the same direction that family had gone. As I passed the store they had come out of, I stopped and looked in the windows. It was a store that sold only snow globes. Would Heero like a snow globe? Figuring I had nothing left to loose, I went in to look around.

I had never seen so many snow globes in such a small space. I browsed through the shop, not really expecting to find anything. Most of the snow globes were cutesy and stupid looking, but as I made my way to the back of the store, I found a display of snow globes that played music. One caught my eye. Inside the globe were a girl that looked a lot like Relena and a young boy in a kilt that looked a lot like Heero standing on a green hill holding hands. The boy had a gun over his shoulder and looked like he was about to go off to war, and the girl looked really sad. I picked it up and turned the knob at the side to hear the song it played. The music sounded familiar, like I had heard it somewhere, but I couldn't place it.

Maybe Jericho will know what it is, I thought.

Looking down at the snow globe, I knew it was something Heero would like. It seemed kind of strange, getting him a snow globe since he wasn't really a snow globe kind of guy. But then, what kind of guy was Heero? I still had my doubts about him even being human.

Shrugging, I figured I'd just keep the receipt and if he hated it, he could return it and use the money for something else.

.0.

"You got Heero a snow globe?" Jericho asked me later that evening. She was lying on her stomach on my bed, reading a book while I wrapped presents. Diana had helped me wrap Jericho's presents after we had gotten home.

"Yeah," I replied. "I wasn't sure what else to get him."

She laughed and picked up the box the snow globe was in and pulled the globe out. "It plays music?" she asked, eyeing the turnkey at the side.

"Yep. But I don't know what song it is. You think you could tell me?"

She raised an eyebrow and turned the key. She listened to the music play for a few moments. "O Danny Boy," she said after a moment. "It's a song about a guy going off to war, I think. Kind of fitting for an ex-Gundam Pilot."

I smiled and took it from her and put it back in the box.

"Hey, Duo, do you wanna go to the Christmas Eve service at my church with me and my parents?" Jericho asked me as I wrapped Heero's present.

I frowned. I hadn't been to a church service since the Maxwell Church had been destroyed. "I dunno…"

"Please Duo?" Jericho asked, rolling off the bed and kneeling beside me. "It's gonna be a candlelit service. I think you'd like it."

I looked up at her, into those big eyes, and I knew there was no way for me to refuse. "Okay," I said with a nod.

"Yay!" Jericho threw her arms around my neck

If all I had to do to get her to hug me was go to church, I should of started going a long time ago, I thought with a grin.


Please review!