Three weeks went by. Heero and Serena got along alright, neither actually saying much to each other, but not really remaining completely silent either. One day, during the middle of the fourth week and when Serena was alone in the apartment, Duo visited. Even with the rule of not letting anyone in the apartment, Serena thought it would be okay. Besides, Duo looked terrible.
"Are you okay?" She sat next to him on the couch.
"Sere, have you ever promised someone something but no matter how hard you tried, you found it hard to keep?" Duo stared at his hands, unsure and nervous.
"Well, yeah, everyone gets that sometimes. Why? What did you promis and to who?"
"When I was a kid on L2, a guy named Solo sort of took me in. He was like my older brother. Solo and some other friends of mine got sick from the plauge some political asswipes put out, and before he died, I promised him that I'd try my damndest to stay alive. Y'know, the whole make something of your life routine. Oddly enough, I promised Father Maxwell and Sister Helen the same thing."
"Duo, are you thinking about suicide?" Usagi asked quietly. Now he looked at her. His eyes were filled with a painful kind of humor.
"Sure, I think about it every time I get into that damn suite or go on a mission." He waved a hand at some invisible pest. "Do you follow some sort of faith?" She didn't know where the rosary had come from, but there it was, in his hands. Duo's fingers rolled the smooth beads slowly, lovingly.
"Not really, but I believe in God."
"Do you know what agnostic means?" Instead of waiting for a reply, he continued. "It's what you call someone who finds it impossible to know if God exists. I know what to do and say during a Catholic service, I know the prayers, I know almost all the aspects of the Catholic religion...yet, I myself am a bit agnostic."
"Duo..."
"So, am I going to Hell? If that's the case, I'm living it, so then what?"
"You are NOT going to Hell. Lots of religious people question their faith every now and then; it's why we keep attending services or whatever: to find answers for our questions."
"Serena, I'm not very religious to begin with."
"Then why do you carry that rosary?"
Duo's smile faltered for a moment. "You keep it because you want to believe in the faith that was taught to you."
They continued talking for hours, holding each other when one of them cried. Serena prayed with Duo before he left. After saying he would keep it touch, he walked out the door and disappeared with an ease of practice over the years. When Heero came home and discovered that Serena hadn't followed his 'orders', he wasn't very happy.
"Don't you realize that was dangerous? There is someone out there trying to kill you."
"He had to talk to someone Heero! Besides, when you go on a mission, dozens of people are trying to kill you."
"That's different."
"How? I can't see much of a difference." She slammed a plate of steaming food on the table. "Here, you go on and eat. I'm going to bed." With that decleration made, Usagi stormed to her room and forcefully closed the door. Heero rearranged the food on his plate but gave up on eating, locked up, and tried to ignore the muffled sobs and go to sleep.
Black-Angel-001: took me long enough to type this up...