Just a Shadow

Disclaimer:- I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters!

Chapter 4: Why?

I'm not getting very many reviews for this fic, so I think I might put it on hold for a while. Maybe it will do better at a later date.

Normal – Present day

Bold Italics – Past/Flashbacks

"Hey guys?" Duo smiled as he wiped away some saliva from Heero's chin "Do you remember what Heero said after he realised it was us?"

"Not the warmest of greetings" Trowa replied, his lips twitching up at the corners

"At least he had some feeling to his voice!" Quatre defended on Heero's behalf

"What are you doing here!" Heero asked, clearly shocked "I never expected you to come and find me!"

"Well hi to you too Heero!" Duo replied angrily, clearly hurt "It's not like we came looking for you anyway!"

"Oh"

Quatre's eyes widened and he gasped slightly. He then turned to Heero who's face was downcast.

"He didn't mean it like that Heero" Quatre reassured "Honestly. He's just mad, so don't listen okay?"

Heero looked up at Quatre and the young Arabian smiled at his ex-comrade.

"I can tell how much you've changed Heero" he beamed

"Thank you" Heero whispered, he then took in their appearance and small smile crept onto his face "You all look terrible, do you want to come in?"

The pilots slowly entered Heero's house slightly wary, having not seen the man n 5 years and were ushered into the lounge.

"I never thought you were one for luxuries or a big place Pal!" Duo commented as he looked around in awe "Is it for your family? Do you have one now?"

"No" Heero answered quietly, feeling a little awkward under their gazes "I just … well … I …"

The stoic pilot gave up, bowing his head slightly in disappointment at not being able find the right words.

"I see your still not very social Yuy" Wufei remarked and Heero nodded

"So what are you doing here?" Heero asked

"We were meant to be having our pilot reunion" Quatre explained "But there were a few errors and we got stuck here with no place to stay"

"You could stay here if you want" the stoic man offered "I have the room and this is a pilot reunion isn't it?"

"I think we were all as surprised as each other at that offer!" Quatre smiled

"You can say that again!" Duo grinned "I think I was about ready to check myself into a mental hospital, I mean, the Heero that left us would have told us to be soldiers and stick it out!"

"True" Trowa added "I must admit, I was surprised"

"Yuy was known for his kind acts, but never to offer such things"

"I guess he never had anything to offer" Quatre mused

"I was the most surprised when I found out I had a room of my own" Wufei smirked

The pilots nodded in agreement smiled again at the memory.

"We couldn't possibly!" Quatre protested "I mean, wouldn't we be intruding?"

"Oh c'mon Quatre" Heero sighed waving a and to dismiss the thought "Staying when offered isn't intruding, now if you stated poking through my things and wearing my underwear – that would be intruding!"

"Oh. My. GOD!" Duo yelled "Did Heero 'stone face' Yuy just crack a joke!"

"Yes he did" Heero replied, and before anybody could protest he started to push them up the stairs.

Our rooms are represented by our numbers from the war, for instance, I am 01 – get it?"

"We … we have our own rooms?" Wufei gaped at Heero "But … why?"

"I … well … I'll tell you after dinner, so go and unpack your things – if you want to that is"

"Sure" four slightly dazed pilots replied.

All of the young men walked into their room s and gasped. All of the rooms had been decorated according to the heritage, hobbies and personalities of the pilots.

As Duo entered the room with the numbers '02' on, he grinned at the black décor. The bed was black satin and the carpet was also black with a grey rug. On the walls were various photos of the Deathscythe pilot with other friends, though you could tell e was the focus of all the photos. The thing that made duo grin the most though, was the plush Scythe that lay on his pillow and the Deathscythe plush on a shelf across from the bed. On the wall was a painting, signed by Heero of Duo with his Gundam in the background. The young man's smile widened and he dropped the bad he was holding and ran downstairs.

Meanwhile…

Trowa stepped into the room labelled '03' and his eyes widened. Though no sound escaped his lips, it was obvious that the Heavyarms pilot was shocked. The walls were beige and the carpet was green with a plush, deep green rug laying on the floor next to the bed. As with Duo, the bed covers were satin, though they were again green. The walls were decorated with photos and posters of the circus with Trowa as the focus. As with Duo, a painting signed by Heero hung on the wall of Trowa with his clown mask on and Heavyarms in the background. Trowa uttered the name of his host quietly, before dropping his bag and turning towards the stairs.

Meanwhile…

Quatre's eyes glistened with unshed tears of joy as he gently pushed the door labelled '04' open to reveal his room. It was decorated with Sandy colours such as yellow and beige. The carpet was beige wit the walls being a pale yellow. Again, there were pictures on the wall with the Sandrock pilot as the focus, and a painting signed again with Heero's name hung on the wall opposite the bed with the young Arabian pilot and his Gundam in the background. Quatre sobbed and gently ran his fingers over the gold satin sheets of his bed before placing his bag down and scurrying out of his room.

Meanwhile…

Wufei's mouth hung open as he entered the room labelled '05' and he gaped as he looked around. The walls to the room were painted white and the carpet was a peaceful light blue. Along the walls, hung a number of Chinese symbols in frames and scrolls. There were also pictures with the Altron pilot as the focus like in the other pilots rooms. Above the bed hung a painting of the Chinese pilot with his Gundam in the background. A soft white rug lay next to his bed and the bed had white silk sheets. Wufei noticed that one of the Chinese symbol read 'tranquility' and smiled before dropping his bad and running out of the room.

All of the boys met in the hallway and smiled at each other.

"I take it your rooms are as personal as mine?" Wufei asked and received numerous nods.

"It must have taken his so long to collect all of this"

"Why do you think he did it?" Duo asked

"He said he would tell us over lunch, so why don't we go down?" Trowa replied

The pilots all started to make their way along the hallway and were about to go down the stairs when Duo spotted a large scrap book on a small pedestal. He walked over and stated flipping through it.

"Hey guys?" Duo called "You should come and see this"

The young men walked over to Duo ad scanned the book. Soon they all smiled as they realised what it was.

The book contained newspaper and magazine clipping and various advertisements and posters involving all of the pilots. There were Employment advertisement for Quatre's firm and Advertisements for Duo's junkyard. There was even a poster of the circus and a newspaper article of an award Wufei achieved after numerous successful missions in the Preventers.

The pilots looked at each other and continued walking down the stairs.

"I never thought he would have missed us that much" Quatre commented "I mean, I know I missed him, but I didn't think he would miss us!"

"I guess that just proved how little we knew about him" Duo stated and the pilots flinched "Sorry guys, I guess I'm just a bit pissed that you guys left him after … after…"

"You don't have to say it Maxwell" Wufei sighed "But we couldn't all give up our jobs – our lives!"

"And you think I wanted to!"

"Nobody asked you to Maxwell!"

"Nobody had to Chang," Duo spat "I'm a good enough person to stay with my friend when they need me!"

"Please guys" Quatre begged "Don't do this? Please?"

The men glared at each other before both huffing and sitting back in their seats. Do suddenly stood up and walked into the kitchen, returning with a yoghurt and a spoon.

"Hey buddy" he greeted quietly "Ya hungry yet?"

Duo opened the yoghurt and dipped the spoon in feeding Heero. The other pilots turned away and the braided man frowned.

"What's the problem guys?" he asked angrily "You were so eager to help in the car!"

"Can … can I?" Quatre asked warily, reaching out a hand.

Duo flashed him a brilliant smile and switched seats with the blonde. Whilst Quatre fed Heero, who managed t get most of it down his top rather than in his mouth, the other pilots continued reminiscing about times passed.

"FUCK!"

At the sudden yell of there usually silent friend, Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei shared a worried glance before rushing to the kitchen. When they got there, they were greeted with a very unusual sight.

They watched dumbfounded as Heero danced around the kitchen holding his foot, having failed to notice the four pairs of eyes on him. He kicked a pot turned upside down on the floor which he had dropped, and slipped on the soup spilled all over the floor.

The pilots watched as his feet slipped from underneath him and he fell to the ground with a sickening crack. All of them winced as he contacted with the floor, and were too stunned to move.

At first, Heero's face contorted in pain, but as soon as he spotted his audience it was masked and calm. The pilots glanced at each other and then back to the man lying in the chicken and sweet-corn soup on the floor before walking over to help.

"You okay Heero?" Duo asked concerned "Nothing broken right?"

"Heero!" Quatre exclaimed, spotting the cast on Heero's left arm "What happened?"

"Nothing" the stoic man replied monotonously, emotionless mask in place "Just an accident a few days ago"

"You didn't hurt yourself again did ya?" Duo asked checking him over, but Heero jerked out of his grasp and quickly moved away from the other pilots.

Heero gazed at Trowa for a while and they stared at each other for what seemed like hours. The other pilots waited with bated breath, not knowing what the exchange meant.

All of a sudden, Trowa spoke up and the other pilots turned to him.

"I understand" he stated quietly, ushering his friends out of the room "We'll leave you alone for now"

"No way!" Duo shouted "I'm staying right here!"

"As much as I hate to admit it" Wufei added "I must agree with Maxwell – Yuy is injured and may require our assistance"

"No Wufei" Quatre objected as he gently pushed the Chinese man from the room "Heero needs a little time alone" he then turned his voice to a hushed whisper and moved closer to his friend "After all, you wouldn't want people's help when you just embarrassed yourself right?"

A light of understanding came to Wufei's eyes and he nodded sharply before leaving. When they were all gone, Heero leaned against the nearest wall and allowed himself to slide down with a sigh.

After a while, he left to change his clothes and have a shower. When he returned, all of the plots were waiting for him in the lounge.

"Hey Heero!" Duo greeted smiling "Thanks for the room bud! I love it!"

"You … do?" Heero replied somewhat shocked and slightly nervous

"Just one question though man"

"What?"

"Why'd you do it?"

Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope it was okay. As I mentioned before, the characters will be OOC I mean, it has been 5 yeas since the war! Anyway, what do you think?

Until next time!

Clarobell