Chapter Two

This chapter is dedicated to gymnastics-lover and Angelic-Yuy for reviewing the first chapter and offering such heart-felt encouragement. Thanks guys.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Jimmy Eat World.

After the shuttle for L2 took off from Sanq, I pulled out my copy of Duo's vid-chip from Relena. I popped it in my laptop and the screen went black. For about a minute, soft percussive rhythms stewed until the view changed to the profile of Duo, or rather Keiichi, looking ahead.

"I don't care what you do

I'm getting out

No nothing ever shames me

Don't wanna thing from you

I'm going out

I don't care if you're angry."

The image exploded in fire, showing a black clad Duo on a strobe lit stage. He swerved and stretched to the music, the camera constantly flipping to a close up on his eyes. The singer was filled with Duo's anger and death. I was transfixed to the screen as the demon writhed on the floor of the stage. His inner darkness surrounded me and I was sucked in, I was lost, there was no more tomorrow. After the first song, I knew why Keiichi was such a hit, he was addictive as a drug.

The rest of the flight I watched Duo dance in his songs, and when I finished I went back and replayed my favorites. I started feeling ill towards the end of the flight. I was dizzy, my stomach was uneasy, and my skin was oscillating between very cold and very hot. I was sick with similar symptoms for months afterward due to my body revolting against the now lower levels of chemical additives and the awakening of my long-suppressed sexuality.

After I came out of the coma, I was gripped by a surge of fear. Something inside was telling me that my body was starting to fall apart and I was going to lose control. I knew that if I went back to Dr. J, I could get an injection that would fix it, but there was no way that was happening. I began to have worries and insecurities, something chemically impossible during the war, but deep down I was afraid of not having anything without a mission. Needless to say, Duo had always rid me of any issues in the past, so I knew to go to him first.

The shuttle landed on L2 and I took the short walk to the Maxwell Church Tragedy memorial and rebuilt Maxwell Church. Duo had really done a job, there was a window showing two teenagers managing a nursery. Across the cemetery and playground was a large building with a sign in the front that read, "Maxwell Church Academy for the Forsaken." I saw a couple of ladders leading to the roof around the side so I decided to ask there.

A boy about a year or two younger than me stuck his head over the side and I asked if Duo Maxwell was there. Another boy appeared and asked who Duo Maxwell was. The first boy turned back and hollered "Headmaster! There's someone here to see you." I heard the characteristic sarcastic voice come lilting over the rooftop.

"Well I don't see why anyone would need to come here, or –" With a swoop and flash of braid, a body flew over the side of the roof and slid down the ladder, landing within an inch of my face "-see me."

Our eyes locked, and for a second Duo's kept their skepticism, but then they quickly grew to the size of the school windows. "Heero!" In an instant he launched himself into my arms, holding me in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him and felt him tremor violently. We stood there for two minutes, me a little worried about his shaking. Several boys climbed down the ladders carrying various toolboxes and stacks of shingles. I heard one of the boys ask who I was, and someone else reply that I was probably a war buddy. After another minute, Duo pulled me back at arms length and stared into my face, he hadn't grown at all since the war, still just about an inch taller than me.

"It's great to see you." The look on his face clearly stated that he thought he had gone mad.

"Relena was caring for me. I went into a coma, I just came out four days ago. They had never expected me to survive after this long, I'm so sorry."

Duo's face softened, "Heero, would you like to stay for a while?"

"If I am not a burden."

After dinner in the school, the students retired to the study hall and Duo led me to the roof. We sat on the peak and watched the sunset.

"Well, since you've only been awake for four days, I can't really ask what you've been doing since the wars. Do the others know you're alive?"

"I met with Trowa and Quatre before coming here, I assume Chang will figure things out once I start with Preventors."

"You don't think he'd forget to notice that the great Heero Yuy has risen from the dead and is starting at his work?"

"Heero Yuy is still dead, I've applied as Shoibi Mihoru and I'm starting as the head of the new Special Operations Intelligence department."

"…Shoibi Mihoru, huh."

"That's the name I was given at birth. After the first war, I searched and found my mother."

Duo's head snapped in my direction. "Heero, I mean… Shoibi, that's great!"

I looked over at him, sprawled across the broken shingles, orange and red sunrays splashing across his torso and legs.

"Duo, is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, not really, it seems like everyone's found their place since the wars. 'Fei and Quat lost loved ones but still ended up with a family. Trowa Barton is now Triton Bloom, and Heero Yuy is Shoibi Mihoru, civilian from L1. I guess I've found a family too, I am always welcome with the Forsaken."

"You are now Keiichi Sei."

"So you know about me, eh?"

"Why are you doing it?"

Duo turned back to the sunset. "Getting the money I need to take care of the orphans on L2. In the period between the two wars, Quatre contacted me and told me about W.E.I.'s status with L2 and how long it was going to take to buy it back. That's why I didn't return to the junk yard with Hilde after the Mariemaia coup, because I knew what I needed to do.

"L2 was owned by an American company that sold out due to pressure from the Alliance about seventy years ago. Now that both organizations are gone, L2 is stuck in the paperwork, but Winner Enterprises is trying to sort it out in court. Once he can buy the colony back, Quat will revamp the maintenance systems and start getting some law enforcement in here. Until then, the colony's war orphans and child gang members will go through high school here and get into college on Earth, and I'm going to make sure it happens."

I lay back next to him, looking at the stars, "I had figured we would be partners with Preventors once the Gundams were destroyed."

"I'm with Preventors, reporting on L2 and celebrity motives. I imagine I'll end up there full time once Quat gets a hold of L2 and my fame runs out."

He paused, I believe finally processing what I had said, "Why do you want us to be partners?"

"Together, you and I were the best after all, plus we relate better as ex-gundam pilots. There's no way I could work with someone who didn't fight in the wars or was with the wrong organization."

"Are you ready to go in?"

We climbed off the roof and circled the school grounds once before heading inside to the dormitory rooms. Duo had been quiet most of the walk, finally breaking the silence,

"So, are you and Relena in love?"

The question shocked me so much I didn't realize I had frozen on the spot.

"In love?" Duo stopped with me.

"Yeah, you know she was crazy about you since the beginning of the war."

I started walking again, "I'm not in love with her, I don't think I will be either. I've stopped chemical treatments with J, and the effects are starting to show since I came out of the coma. I've been hallucinating and sleep-walking, I imagine I'll go through some periods of insanity before I can begin to accept feelings like love and sadness."

Duo looked at me with one of those caring looks Quatre always uses for everyone. "You can stay here until you leave for Preventors, I have a couple of months off before I'm due on set in America. It might help to be with someone that also has the nightmares."

"Thank you, I would like that. So, have you found anyone, in that respect?"

"Love?" Duo smiled and looked down at the wood floor panels, shaking his head. "I had a love affair with Trowa."

"Trowa!" I again found myself stopped in the middle of the hallway. This time, Duo kept going.

"Is it that hard to believe? When the war ended and you were claimed dead, Quatre assumed head of Winner Enterprises and began peace talks with the returning members of E.S.U.N. Trowa returned to the circus and tested positive as Catherine's brother and attended her wedding, but left shortly thereafter. I saw him at a shuttle port on L3 and invited him to say at my apartment on Earth, since I was still trying to get started in my career."

"So… you two fell in love?" Something about all this just seemed so strange. For some reason, I had never pictured Duo being with anyone.

"Very deeply. We lived together for eight months, but when I got picked up by a recording company things started going downhill. Trowa took more assignments at Preventors, but it was driving us both crazy to not get to spend anytime together. One day I came home after being gone for six weeks, Trowa was sitting watching Quat on the news. He came up to me and kissed me and said, 'I have my angel back.' And that's when I said 'I am not an angel, I am a demon. But there is an angel for you, and he's waiting for you to come back to him.' I had so strongly been wanting to love someone, and Trowa had been there when I thought I had lost you, my best friend. I still love Trowa, but I know Quat did too."

"You mean Triton?"

"No. I fell in love with Trowa Barton, he will always be Trowa to me."

"What name will you call me?"

"I don't know, it depends on a lot of things, and who you are when you get the ability to feel back."

"Duo, don't worry about finding someone, I can't think of anyone that wouldn't enjoy being with you."

We stopped at the end of the cramped hallway. Duo pulled out a key, "Home sweet home. Do you mind sharing my room? There's so many of us here we have four students in one bed."

"We did it a few times in the war."

Duo's room was half the size of one of the dorm rooms. There was a dresser that you had to step around to get to the bed that stretched from wall to wall. Out of curiosity, I opened my arms and touched both ends of the room to confirm my suspicions. It was perfectly fine for two people used to a mobile suit cockpit or jail cell, but if I started sleep walking again there might be a problem.

I awoke when Duo scooted off the bed. He rummaged through the dresser for a minute.

"Believe me Natalie, listen Natalie, this is"

When he returned from the shower room, he sat down on the edge of the bed and began brushing his long hair.

"I'm coming out of my cage

And I've been doing just fine

Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all

It started out with a kiss

How did it end up like this?

It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss."

I lay there listening to him sing, completely content to watch him. I couldn't help but notice the sad tone to his good voice, and how boney his back was without his shirt on. In fact his entire body looked skinnier than during the war, practically skeletal.

"And I just can't look it's killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside."

After finally noticing I was awake, we got ready for the day and walked to the meal room.

"Hello, Headmaster!" The group of students waiting for us chorused, many of the girls with a dreamy look in their eyes.

"Have you divided up the lists?" They nodded. "Alright, let's go pick up the monkeys."

We walked to the church. When we got there, Duo and the other students walked into a room full of squealing infants and toddlers, most of which swarmed around Duo. The students each picked up a child, the boys bending down to have a toddler climb on their backs. A little girl came up to me and reached up with her little hands. I was a bit confused about what she wanted at first, but when she jumped up and latched onto my leg, I got the idea. When I picked her up she screamed with delight and started playing with my hair. I let another boy climb onto my back.

The grocery store was four blocks away. All the chattering children would have made me agitated, but I saw how much Duo was enjoying everything so I followed his example. The group split up when we got in the store. I dumped the boy into a shopping cart, but the little girl refused to let me go. I liked holding her, her light brown hair and huge brown eyes reminded me of the girl I met on L1. Duo was carrying a set of twins, one in each arm. He's alternate letting each one take something off the shelf and drop it into the cart. Seeing Duo with those children just looked so right, talking back to the kids' babbles as if he knew what they meant, his hips swaying as he walked to compensate for their weight.

The young boy sitting in the cart asked me if I had fought in the wars. I said I was a mobile suit pilot. His face lit up, "What's it like to fly in space? What's it like on Earth? Tell me about the fights!" At this display I was shocked into silence, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Duo turned around to the boy, "Andrew, Mr. Mihoru doesn't want to talk about the war because fights are a very bad things. In the war, many people were killed for no reason, and Mr. Mihoru had to kill people to stay alive."

Andrew's face lost its luster. Once Duo had gone down a different aisle, he looked up at me, "Did you kill my parents?" I stopped the cart and just stared at him. What hit the hardest was that I couldn't say that I didn't kill them. Even thought the colonists supported Heero Yuy's pacifism, many on L2 had been forced to work for the Alliance so they could have a job and security for their families.

I leaned toward Andrew, "This one time, I had to sneak into an Alliance base and steal a disk from their computer system…" I heard Duo laugh.

I paid for half of the groceries with some of the money E.S.U.N. had designated as compensation to the Gundam pilots (Relena had applied it to building the memorial, but paid me back when I awoke). And we were off like a herd of turtles, those that could walk reliably now assigned to carrying a bag of groceries alongside us. Duo fell back to walk with me,

"I've tried to support Father Maxwell's teachings on spirituality and pacifism for this school, but it's still hard to since I clearly don't believe them myself. Some of the nuns here knew Sister Helen and Father Maxwell, but its just like when I was young – once a street kid, always a street kid. It's only because the former gang leaders have sworn off to go to school that the students get along so well. This senior class is all applying for the Preventors, we don't have any money for them to go to college, but Preventors can make good use of stealth experts."

"This senior class is a year older than us, right?"

"Yeah, just think Heero, instead of ending the war, we could have been going to a school."

Have you ever gone into a grocery store and left a changed person? I have. I left wanting this day to be repeated everyday for the rest of my life. I wanted to have children, I wanted to have these children. I wanted a partner, I wanted Duo to partner with me at Preventors. Unlike in the war, where I knew I played a vital role, I felt so insignificant compared with the School of the Forsaken. If I could do anything to help these kids get through this so they could better the world and not have to go through what the Gundam pilots and I went through, I wanted to do it.

The rest of the day was spent working on the roof. That night Duo told me he would be gone for two days for a magazine photo-shoot on L4.

I awoke during the night to a hissing sound. Duo was lying on his back next to me, his spine arching from the bed and his hands clutching the sheets underneath. He gasped again, all of his muscles tightening, mouth opening in the pain and a couple of tears coming from shut eyes. This was a nightmare of the war, any number of them. Duo had really done a hundred times more work than the rest of us in the war – when the other pilots were planning, resting, or observing, Duo was infiltrating and stealing without being ordered to, making preemptive strikes, or just appearing at a base and killing as many as he could. His Deathscythe never took much damage, but that doesn't mean the pilot didn't. He knew his god wouldn't take him when he still had a job to do. That's why I let him get capture in the Mariemaia incident – I knew he would escape, and he'd be alive.

I concluded that if I tried touching him I would be met with a quick death. Maybe if I talked to him, intercepted his dream.

"02, Status."

A smirk came to his face, he muttered something that sounded like "bastards." Then his whole body tensed his face a look of complete horror, "Heero…No No!" he screamed.

"I'm here, Duo. I'm here."

"No…" his body went slack, more tears streaming down his face. I ventured to touch his arm – he was cold as ice. Reaching over, I pulled him in to me, his head in the crook of my neck.

"Tro…"

"No, Heero. It's me, Heero."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, and please feel free to leave your comments! -Keiichi Sei