Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.... Damn...

Pairings: 121

Warnings: Shonen Ai.

Author's Warning: Standard disclaimers, this one will have malexmale action, however light. Flames will not be tolerated and will be deleted at my discretion. This is a chapter that will contain material that may not be suitable for the yaoi impaired, do not flame me or leave insulting comments, I've had that happen before and I don't appreciate it. If you feel strongly against this, I Strongly suggest that you turn away from this page and find another fic to read, because frankly, flames only irritate me and insult others who like what we Shonen ai writers input in our stories. You have been warned.

In The Valley Of The Diamond Dogs

By Black Dragon62

Chapter 18: Through The Looking Glass

This book was funded by deliberately starving a family of four in Tennessee. -George Carlin.

Silence.

Crickets chirping.

More silence.

A stolen glance.

Silence.

The pair had been walking in awkward silence for 20 minutes, but it was 20 minutes too long for one Duo Maxwell. He looked at Heero from the corner of his eye, but saw that the stoic man walked with his eyes in front of him. Where are we going? This turn, that turn, cross the street cross that street. Hey look, a park. Heero turned and walked onto the dirt path that was Chidori-ga-fuchi Koen, a park that was lined with row upon row of beautiful cherry blossom trees.

The night air was filled with the sweet scent of Sakura blossoms and wet earth. How lovely it seemed, a perfect picture, a perfect dream, Duo thought. And with the perfect man.

They walked along the lakes edge, watching as the moon's crescent reflection hit the sable blue water, a perfect white scythe in the dark blue depths. Heero stopped and looked around for something, and Duo stopped and looked at him puzzled. Finding what he searched for, Heero walked over to a wooden bench, partially hidden by a cherry blossom tree. He sat down and looked out on the water. Duo took the liberty of sitting next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Duo took it upon himself to break the ice.

"So, what are we doing here?" Duo asked the silent man.

Heero gazed out onto the moon's reflection in the mirrored water, and took a breath, then slowly released it. "I like coming here. It's quiet, and peaceful, it's a place where I come to think."

"About what?" Duo said uncertain that Heero would actually answer.

"Lot's of things."

"Such as...?"

Heero looked at him, then chuckled quietly to himself. He looked up at the midnight blue sky and placed his hands in his pockets. Relishing the cool breeze blowing it's way across his face. "I think about the past mostly. The mistakes we, or I made, the way things played out. I also think about the present, my job with the children, and the people in my life thus far. I also think about the other pilots, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei, wonder how their lives are working out for them. Wondering if the have been happy and healthy, and enjoying life as it is meant to be. As you can probably tell, I have mellowed out quite a bit." He smiled. "I also think about my future, wonder if this is how my life will be led for the next 20 years or more. If I can retire and be an old man." He laughed out loud at the though of himself in a wheelchair, giving the nursing staff hell for thinking he needed a bed pan. "But what about you? All this time, we've been talking about me, but you never once brought yourself up in the conversation, that's not like you."

No, it isn't like me is it? But what can I say? I've been a rockstar for the past 6 years and have been thinking, dreaming, and wanting you every day and night since we left? I must be cracked to say that. "What about me?"

That caught Heero off guard. He blinked, startled at the question. "Well, what have you been up to? Besides touring and all that."

Duo sighed. "That's basically all I've done for the past couple years. Music has been my mission, I guess you could say. Not much else." Silence prevailed once again among the two of them.

Silence.

Wind rustling. Silence.

"Hey, let's get out of here." Heero said suddenly.

"Where are we going..." Duo looked at his watch. "At midnight?"

"Let's go to my place."

"Alright." Duo said a little shakily.

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They walked, they took the train. They walked some more. And all in silence. Turning this way, down this street, down that street. One more block, that turned into two, that turned into three. They ended up in a nice neighborhood after about a 25 minute walk from the train station, Duo was taking a look around. The neighborhood was very nice indeed, lots of small apartment buildings and houses were what made up the street. Heero stopped in front of a two story apartment complex, there was a stone wall about 7 feet high that separated the house from the street, with a little wooden block that had Japanese Kanji carved into it. Since Duo could not read Japanese, he assumed that it was Heero's name and the number of the house, which was in numbers, that read 422.

Heero pushed past the gate and walked up the concrete path to his front door. He looked back and saw Duo standing in the entrance way, he smiled. "Forgive me if it's a little messy." He said as he pushed his key in the lock and turned it, pushing the door open with a slight creak.

Duo followed him inside, and followed the example of taking off his shoes and leaving them on the ceramic tile by the door. All of a sudden he heard something that made the bile rise up in his throat.

"Max!" Heero hollered. "MAX! I'm home!" He yelled in no direction in particular. "MAX!!!"

"I wasn't aware-" Duo couldn't finish the sentence, for that was when a large German Shepard bounded out from a different room, and headed straight for Heero's open arms. Duo gaped as the large dog slobbered all over Heero's face, as he was playfully scratched and lavished with attention. "Um... your dog?"

Heero looked up from the dog's amber eyes to look Duo in his purple ones. He smiled as he wiped dog saliva from his face. "Yeah, this is Max. Max, this is Duo. Be nice you mongrel or you'll sleep in the backyard." He threatened as he introduced them. "He's a nice dog. Wouldn't hurt you if you're scared of him. Go on, pet him." Heero said with a smirk on his face.

"Um... No thanks, I think I'll pass." Duo said uncertainly.

"Come on, if you're going to be here for a while, you might as well get used to him. Trust me, he won't bite." Heero said, patting the dog on the top of his head.

Duo looked Heero straight in the eye. I swear if this mutt bites me, you'll never hear the end of it Yuy. He thought as he tentatively brought his hand out of his pocket, and slowly, ever so slowly, he reached the hand out to the dog. The dog looked at him puzzled, and carefully sniffed the hand that was offered to him. And he licked it. Duo smiled and patted the dogs soft hair, reveling in the fact that the dog absolutely loved the lavish attention.

Heero smiled, "I told you he wouldn't bite." He turned to put his jacket on the hook on the wall. Duo watched as he patted the dog's head, and slowly gulped. Someone's been keeping in shape... he thought as he saw Heero slip the jacket off of his well muscled shoulders, which rippled and moved with every move he made. "You hungry?"

Duo looked up startled by the question. "Not really." He stood from his crouching position and wiped his hand across his leg to rid himself of the dog hair. "But if you are, I'd be willing to join you."

Heero walked to a doorway, and reached a hand to the wall to find a light switch. "No, I ate. Would like a tour of my home?" He said offhand. He walked into a room that seemed to be the sitting room. A quite spacious and lightly decorated room that simply radiated peace. The low wooden table covered a cream colored carpet which stretched from end to end of the room. The maroon couches seemed plump and over stuffed, yet looked inviting. The white curtains made little contrast against the off white walls, the ink paintings hung serenely on their little hooks and nails. Small potted plants were littered everywhere, from ferns to traditional bonsai trees. It seemed so unlike Heero, yet so much like him it was frightening. "Please, sit." He gestured to one of the couches while he took an arm chair for himself. Max walked in after Duo, and made his way over to his master, and contentedly curled on the floor with his head in his over sized paws.

Duo sat on the couch, and took off his jacket, and carefully placed it next to him. He watched as Heero stared at the low table, one that was neat and tidy, not a single magazine out of place, and not a speck of dust could leave a trace. "Actually," Duo said, trying to make some noise in the impossibly quite abode. "I would like a tour..." He looked up to see if Heero had any reaction.

He simply stood. "Alright." He began to walk into another room. The dog was content to stay put and sleep. "Right this way." He said as he flipped on another light switch. The one lighted a sparse kitchen, that seemed so clean and sterile that Duo got the perception that one needed a haz-mat suit to enter. "This is the kitchen. I just cleaned it, so watch your step, you might slip and fall on the tile." He said as he walked across the tiled floor to another door way. Another switch was flipped on. "This is my study. I have my computer and books here, this is where i work mostly." He said as he walked across the same cream colored carpet as the living room. He walked to another doorway, this one was already lighted. They had walked in a circle.

They were now standing in front of the door. Though Heero was facing a stair case. "Let's go to the second floor." He said as he walked up the carpeted stairs. Duo followed, looking at the different pictures on the wall. A Monet, a Manet, a Degas? I didn't know he was into impressionism... His train of thought was derailed as he stepped onto the landing of the second floor. "Over there is guest room, the bathroom is that room there," He pointed to one room and then another. The he walked to one room whose door was closed. "This is my bedroom." He said as he put his hand on the knob to turn it. He hesitated, but only for a millisecond. He pushed the door open with a slight push, the dark room was illuminated by one solitary lamp on the bed side table. Heero reached over and turned the light on.

The room was in full light now. A bed stood by the window, it's light blue sheets and white pillow case showed tidiness. The dresser and bureau were a deep brown, the cream colored carpet was immaculate. A small bed side table was the same color as the rest of the furniture, yet this one was the only thing in the room that seemed to stand out. A lone photograph stood proudly in the middle, next to the lamp. The glare of the ceiling light made the image impossible to see, but as Duo moved closer, he saw the image reveal itself, and his mouthed opened the tiniest bit to let out a breath.

The photograph stood in a silver frame, the only other bit of color that was revealed in the lightly furnished room. Duo picked up the cold piece of metal and glass, and turned it over and over again in his hands. The he looked back to where Heero was standing. He hadn't moved. He was still standing in the doorway, with his head low and his hand on the wall switch. Duo turned his attention back to the picture, and placed it back on the table, where the image looked back up at him, with smiling eyes.

The image consisted of himself, with his arm slung around Heero's shoulders, smiling. He looked back to his friend.

"This is the only picture I've seen in your house." He said, referring to the picture on the table.

"I know." Heero said, without looking up.

"Why? And why is it in your room?"

Heero shrugged, and finally looked up. "I don't know." He walked over to where Duo was standing, and sat on his bed. "Maybe I thought it was the only one worth keeping. And I keep it in here because-" He stopped and stared at his sock covered feet. "Maybe because I couldn't sleep unless you were next to me. Maybe not physically. But remember, we shared rooms in boarding houses for years. And, this well, made it feel like that again. Maybe it made me feel like you were there when you actually weren't. Maybe it's the last thing I see when I go to sleep at night and the first thing I see when I wake up in the mornings. And it comforts me. I've come to terms with what I've been struggling with for the past few years, and, I just know that I needed you beside me." He ended his statement by looking up into the heart shaped face of his friend. "I needed you beside me."

Duo looked down into the face of his best friend. The only one that he could give that title to. And he knelt down in front of him, and placed a comforting hand on his. "Why didn't you say so?" He tilted his head to one side, and moved closer. Heero did the same, and their faces neared to one another. Their eyes closed in unison and for one brief moment in their eternity, their lips touched. Duo moved back a nanometer, and launched himself forward into Heero's arms, wrapping his own around the strong man.

After everything... Finally... He thought as he was lost in a delirium of pleasure and happiness. Bodies pressed together, lips melded to one another. For a few brief moments, life... was.... good...

To Be Continued..................

Gomen Nasai for the extra long break!!!! I really didn't mean to be away for so long, it's just that, well, I was procrastinating. I'm sorry! Hides. But I promise that there are only.... counts on fingers about two more chapies left. And I know all of you, if you still are reading, are very excited. Leave me reviews! Thank you! Since school is over and I'm taking a break, you can bet there will be more writing in store! Ja mata!