My Little Eye

The second part in my little trilogy, hopefully it will be to your liking.

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Waking up from the sweet slumber he'd been in, Duo gently rubbed his eyes and yawned. Reaching out over the edge of the bed, he grasped a T-shirt and yanked it over his head before rolling himself over to his stomach and pushed himself up with his arms. Seconds later he was out of the bed, scratching his back and tired as hell. Locating a pair of sweatpants, he yanked it over his hips before walking into the living room and switched on the light, yelping as the sharp light hurt his eyes.

Trying his best to ignore the frantic buzzing from the door-bell, Duo yawned again before walking towards the door. When he finally got the door unlocked and opened it, he leaned his elbow against the frame and stared at the person that had been ringing the hell out of his doorbell. "Oh... It's you... Nice to see you again..."

Heero stared at him from under wet bangs and growled. He'd been so caught up in getting to Duo that he'd forgotten to bring an umbrella with him, even though he knew it rained heavily outside. "How did you know?"

Duo blinked and yawned. "'scuse me? It's a little too late at night for any fortune telling jokes, buddy. I open at ten. If ya want another session, stop by then. If you've come to pay that fee, then just stick me the money and let me go back to sleep."

Heero ignored the sleepy voice and stepped closer to the braided man. "How did you know? My name, I never told you my name the day I was there. How did you know?"

"Oh, that." Duo chuckled lightly before letting out another loud yawn. "Listen, man," he mumbled and rubbed his hand over his shoulder in a sleepy matter. "I just knew, 'kay? That's my job. I predict things. I just happened to know your name because it popped into my mind. It happens."

Heero growled and took another step towards the young man. "I didn't want to know your profession; you already know what I think about that. What I want to know is how the hell you knew my name!"

Duo sighed and looked at Heero with a pair of tired eyes. "I can foresee that I won't be getting any sleep unless I explain this a little closer for you." Yawning loudly, Duo swung the door he was holding open before giving the Japanese man a slightly sour look. "Come in and I'll make us some coffee. This will take a while, at least if I hafta convince you as well."

Heero grunted, but still stepped into the apartment. It was just as he had left it, except the table now had a skull on it. Frowing as he stared at it, he wondered just what the hell the man had been doing.

"Client. Didn't bother to clean it away when her session ended, she was the last of the day anyway," Duo answered as he stepped past Heero and into the open kitchen to make the promised coffee. "He provides good company at night."

Heero frowned before looking over at Duo. "It's not a real human skull... Is it?"

Duo grinned and winked. "Everything I do and have is real." Snickering as the Japanese face went from annoyed to shocked, Duo shook his head help up his hand. "I'm just kiddin'. It's part plastic, part porcelain."

Heero grunted and stared at his shoes. The water had started to drip from his pants and hair, creating small pools on the floor.

"Don't worry about it," called the slightly raspy voice from the kitchen and Heero's head snapped back up to stare at the young braided man. Said man smiled and started to pour the coffee into a cup. "I have a mop. I'll clean it up later."

Heero looked from the water and back up to the man before asking. "How the hell do you know what I'm thinking!"

Duo chuckled. "Don't worry; I'm not a mind reader. Well, actually, I am, but not a very good one. But I do know how to think and put two and two together. Seeing you stare at the floor, or onto the water that's gathering on my floor to be precise, tells me that you're sligthly worried about it. If you didn't care, you wouldn't have noticed."

"And... And the skull?"

Duo smiled and walked over to the couch before sitting down, placing Heero's cup onto the table. "The same; you were staring at it."

Heero nodded dumbly and remained standing, cup clenched in his hand.

Duo laughed softly and placed his cup onto the table before getting up with a soft smile playing on his lips. "Get out of that jacket, Heero and I'll take it to the bathroom. I'll get you a towel so you can dry yourself up a little. I would have loved to offer you something to wear, but telling by your bodily looks, nothing I have would fit."

Heero blushed slightly, but still wiggled out of the soaked jacket and handed it to Duo. Duo accepted it before eyeing Heero's wet shirt and chirped. "Give me the shirt as well. I think some of my larger shirt may fit you."

Heero raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Just what are you playing at?"

Duo laughed and grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not going to use your clothes in a mysterious ritual in my bedroom or anything, but I will foresee a rather nasty cold unless you hand me your wet clothes so I can dry them for you. But if you're uncomfortable with me predicting your future, then just take it as a cheap excuse for me to ogle at your body. Oh, and take off your wet shoes and socks too. I'll lend you some nice, fluffy slippers."

Heero grunted, but still dragged of his shirt and handed it to Duo before bending down to slip out of his shoes and socks before handing them to the braided man as well. Duo smiled and accepted it before disappearing into the bathroom, not even giving Heero a second look.

Heero remained where he was, staring around in the apartment. It was just as nice and homey as the last time he'd seen it, but now that he studied it closer, he could tell that something was missing. Moving so he wasn't standing in the pool of water anymore, Heero studied the surroundings he was in.

The walls were in a soft peach colour, leaving the room bright, reflecting every little ray of light and send it around the room. The large window was now covered by the same light blue curtains he'd seen last time and the furniture was still in the same place. The TV was on stand-by and the table was covered by magazines and that skull. Big red and black pillows were now placed on the three-seat couch, giving it a more comfortable look.

Turning around, Heero spotted a shelf in dark wood, stashed with books and small things. Walking closer to it, Heero noted that the braided man was very organized. One of the book shelves was dedicated to books on tarot-reading, fortune telling and other titles from the world of the occult. The shelf under it had normal novel books; among the titles was authors like Edgar Allan Poe and David Brown. The other shelves were decorated with a big crystal ball, some small figures made out of porcelain, candle holders and a box with Chinese stress balls.

Frowning a little as Heero still thought something was missing, he glanced around the apartment until it hit him. Not one picture was present in the apartment.

Jumping a little as a towel was suddenly held in front of his face, Heero spun around to be face to face with the braided fortune teller.

Duo smiled and gently placed the towel around Heero's shoulders. "Sorry it took so long. Couldn't find anything to hang your clothes on."

Heero nodded and grasped the towel. "Thank you..."

Duo smiled and placed a t-shirt over the armrest on the loveseat and placed a pair of grey slippers infront of it. "Don't mention it. You're a guest in my home and I'll treat you like one, despite the fact that you actually came to hear me out."

Heero looked down and carefully covered his hair with the towel before slowly starting to dry it.

Duo chuckled and placed himself back onto the couch, legs pulled up under him and cup back in his hand. "Lost your nerve, Heero?"

Heero quickly shook his head and walked over to the couch where the shirt was placed. Placing the towel on the couch, Heero picked up the shirt and dragged it over his head while slipping his feet into the slippers. The towel was then placed around his neck before he walked over to the where Duo wasseated. Sitting down as far away from the braided man as possible, Heero picked up the cup and took a sip.

Duo just shook his head and let a small smile play over his lips while sipping on the black liquid. "You behave as if I'll bite or that I have some sort of disease."

Heero twitched and looked down into the cup. "Sorry, I..."

"Don't bother." Reaching over to the table, Duo placed the cup there before picking up a small pendulum that was located under the skull. Gently letting it sway from his left hand, Duo focused his eyes on it.

Heero watched the pendulum as well, wondering what kind of hocus-pocus Duo would show him. Hearing the soft chuckle from the braided man surprised him and he looked up, only to find the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen plastered on the face. "What are you doing?"

Duo laughed and smiled again while letting the pendulum sway. "I'm relaxing. If I'm to make this sucker work I need charts and stuff, so I mainly just use it when I need to sort my thoughts out." Lifting his hand up, he let the pendulum sway across his face, still with that smile playing on his lips. "Heero... You are a man that doesn't believe in the spiritual or supernatural. You believe everything has a logical explanation. That we are alone on this planet and that we are the smartest race that's walking on the surface."

Reaching over, Duo placed the pendulum over Heero's hands and let it sway. Without looking at the Japanese man, he murmured softly. "I knew you would come tonight... I have long time foreseen that you would..."

Heero snorted and gave Duo a look. "Sure didn't look like it. You greeted me with a sleepy face and sweatpants."

Duo chuckled and sat back, tucking the pendulum into his palm. "True. But I'm a man that loves his sleep, so instead of sitting up and waiting for you, I went to bed like any normal man would. Besides, I can't foresee the exact time. I only knew that you would come, but not when."

Heero placed the still full mug onto the table and crossed his arms. "How?"

Duo shrugged and played with the pendulum, letting it dingle from his right hand. "I read it in the cards. I like to read a little by myself when it's night. It calms me." Fixing clear blue eyes onto Heero, Duo's face turned serious. "Listen, Heero. I know that you don't believe in me and what I know and do for a living, and I respect that. You can't convince everybody to believe in the same thing, that's impossible. But all I ask for is some respect in turn. I respect that you're not a believer, the least you can do is to respect that I'm both a believer in the occult AND that I practice the art."

Licking over his lips, Duo looked at the skull on the table and Heero halfway expected it to start levitation into the air. A soft chuckle snapped him out of his thoughts and he once again looked at Duo's face. He was still not smiling, but his face had a much calmer look. Fixing clear, blue eyes onto him, Duo opened his mouth again and started to speak. "I'm not going to sit here all night and try to convince you about my abilities. But I am going to explain a little bit further just what I can do. That is, if you're willing to listen and then draw your conclusions without slapping it in my face."

Heero nodded and Duo finally smiled. "Good. Now...Where to start..."

Looking down at the pendulum on his hands, Duo let the little jewel sway just inches over the palm of his left hand. After a while in silence, Duo looked like he'd sorted him thoughts out and was once again looking at Heero. Heero sat straight up, ready for whatever Duo would come up with.

"I am a medium," the braided man started and stopped the movements of the pendulum. "But I work as a fortune teller." Chuckling, Duo gave Heero a sheepish grin before continuing. "My powers are very limited; I think they are still under development since I notice something new or stronger about me everyday. I first became aware of my abilities in high school, after shaking my science professors hand and suddenly knew all the grades we got on a test of the people in my class. And I started yelling because I've got a D and I didn't know why. The professor accused me of snooping and I got detention. I had no idea how it happened, but that was the first time my abilities said hello. And it most certainly wasn't the last.

"I tried to ignore it at first, finding it more bothersome that anything else, but it came in handy at times, like when I lost my keys and when people stole and hid my text books." Shrugging, Duo waved a hand in the air. "I wasn't the most popular guy at school. People saw me as odd, a loner. And I suppose I was, but I didn't really care. I just didn't like to be around people."

Heero nodded in understanding. He could sympathize with the man; he himself had never been very popular at high school. People either were scared of him because of his strenght or looked upon him as a nerd. That and he was an involuntarily chick-magnet didn't help much either, especially when the guys started hating him even more because of it. Obviously they thought he had it all; a brain, a nice body and good looking to boot. He didn't understand them. He'd never seen himself as anything they saw.

Duo didn't seem to notice that Heero took his own trip down memory-lane and continued with his explanation. "But you didn't come here to hear the story of my life. You came for answers and answers you will get. Just thought that the start of it all would help you a little in believing in my abilities."

Heero just shrugged, but still gave Duo a little nod of acknowledgement.

Duo gave him a tiny smile in return before continuing. "Anyway. As I said, the start was at high school and as time passed my abilities became better too. I learned to accept what I could do and actually managed to make myself useful. I helped out the police with some cases, but because my powers back then were very unpredictable, it wasn't always I could see anything, I tried to make as little of myself as possible.

"I started as a fortune teller after reading the fortune for my friends many times and discovered that most of my readings became true. I started with this firm that had fortune tellers on the phone, but I got tired of it because nobody else that I knew of had the same abilities. It was all a fraud. So eventually I started on my own. Business was slow at first, but as the fortunes came true, the rumours started and soon I was at my neck in willing clients. I still help the police when I think I can, but mostly I do this for a living."

Heero nodded, but still frowned a little. "All that sounds well, but it's basically your life story. It holds no answers for me."

Duo chuckled and held up his hands in defence. "True, but I'm getting to it. My life has shaped who I am and what I know so I guess I wanted you to know."

Heero frowned even more. "Why me?"

Duo smiled and shrugged. "Maybe I've seen good things about you."

Heero let his eyebrow knit together, drawing a laugh from the braided man. "Okay, okay, I'll go straight to the point."

Smiling, Duo first placed a hand over his heart, then on his head. "I have powers. Why me I don't know. All I know is that I have abilities to see things other people can't."

Moving his hand down from his head, over his forehead and down to rest over his eyes, Duo continued. "I don't know how, but when I do certain things, I can see the future. I can see whatever I want in tarot cards; the cards almost speak to me and tell me everything I wanna know about either the future, present, past or even people. If I wanted too, I could whip up a deck of cards and tell you everything you may or may not want to know about yourself. The same goes with palm reading. One look at a persons hand and I can tell you your life story and what's going to happen to you in the future. Both your body and your mind is like a book I can read."

Moving his hand so Duo was still covering his face, but splitting his fingers so two clear, blue eyes was staring at Heero from behind his hand. "But that's not all, my friend. I have no need for cards, pendulums or a crystal ball to tell you about yourself or the future. The only thing I need is you. A person in the flesh."

Heero raised an eyebrow both in amazement and disbelief. "What do you mean?"

Duo chuckled softly and removed his hand from his face. "I guess you could say that I'm not just a fortune teller. I am, as I said earlier, a medium. A person with special powers and abilities."

Placing a hand he used to cover his face on Heero's forehead, Duo spoke softly. "By merely touching a human, I can read the persons mind, I can sence his or hers emotions. But I see the human mind as something private and I have no right to meddle there, just because I can."

Removing the hand, Duo smiled and moved a little closer to where Heero was seated. Leaning over, he picked up the towel Heero had been using from around the Japanese man's neck. "But that's not all. By touching something personal or dear to a person, I can get flashes from their past and presence. That's what I do when I'm a medium for the police. If a person is missing, I touch something of theirs and I can tell where they are."

Chuckling a little, Duo placed the towel around Heero's neck and smiled. "Of course, in reality it's a bit more complicated, but that's the gist of it. I touch it, I see it."

Heero blinked as Duo pulled back and swallowed. "Is... Is that it?"

Duo shook his head, still smiling softly. "Afraid not. There's more." Getting onto his feet, Duo walked over to the large window in his living room and stared out into the night. "Sometimes I just get flashes from both the past and the future without doing anything at all. I could be eating, watching TV, even taking a leak and boom! Suddenly a flash comes into my mind and I don't know how. Suddenly I just see things. That's why nobody wanna go to the movies with me. I just tell them the end."

Heero couldn't help but chuckle, but quickly bit the laugh back and turned his face back to it's normal stoic expression.

Duo chuckled and gave Heero a friendly smile. "You're pretty when you smile. You should do it more often."

Heero frowned and crossed his arms. "Just get done with whatever you have to say."

Duo chuckled and nodded. "As you wish."

Moving to stand in front of the shelf, Duo brushed his fingers over the crystal ball. "I can also see people's auras. I can tell by the colour, or energy, surrounding a human being what kind of person they are. And finally..." Giving Heero a little smile, Duo picked up the crystal ball and let it rest in his hands. "I haven't done one in a while, but... I used to be able to sense... Well, sense ghosts. Before you ask; No, I can't see them. But I can sense when something is in the room with me."

Heero clamped his mouth shut and looked down. Once again he'd got his questions answered before even asking them.

Duo placed the ball back onto the shelf and looked at it, having his back to the japanese man. "Well... Now you know just what I can do. I know I haven't really explained anything to you, but... At least you know just what I can do. If you choose to believe in me... Well, that's entierly up to you."

Heero nodded and looked down into the cup in his hands. Somewhere during Duo's tale he'd picked it up again, but he hadn't finished the coffee. He'd completely forgotten about the whole cup when Duo started his tale. Looking up as he heard Duo move behind him, he watched as the braided man walked into the kicthed and picked up the coffee mug.

"Want another cup, Heero?"

Heero shook his head and placed the cup down. "I think I've had my fill..."

Duo nodded and placed it back down. Returning to the living room, he picked up the two used cups before walking back to the kitchen and placed the two mugs in the sink.

Heero looked down the room while picking up the towel around his neck.

"Well... Guess I should release you now... I'll go and get your clothes, they should be dry now. I got heaters under the floor and they should have worked their magic by now." Moving out from the kitchen, Duo gave Heero a little smile and a little shrug.

Heero got up from the couch and walked over to Duo and gently grasped his arm, stopping him from moving into the bathroom. "Wait... I..."

Duo looked at where Heero was holding him before looking the Japanese man in the eyes. "What?"

Heero looked from Duo and back to the table. "Could you..."

Duo raised an eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look. "What?"

Swallowing heavily, Heero murmured out. "Could you give me another reading... In those... Tarot cards?"

Duo raised both his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Heero nodded, and then quickly added. "I will of course pay your fee and... I'll pay both of them, in fact. I'll just... I... I probably won't believe in the results or... But... It's the least I can do. I owe you a... Payment..."

Duo chuckled and shook his head. "I told you; pay me when the fortune comes true. You still have three weeks to find the person in your dreams and ask him or her out. Plenty of time." Grinning, Duo raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've already found someone and just don't wanna tell me."

Heero swallowed and blushed before shaking his head. "Afraid not. Not that I know of at least."

Duo chuckled and released his arm from Heero's grasp before patting his shoulder. "Well, as I said; you have plenty of time. Now, about a tarot-reading. You sure you want one?"

Heero nodded. "I'm sure. I'll naturally pay your fee and... And for disturbing you in the middle of the night. It's... The least I can do and..."

Duo chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, that's okay. I'll give ya a freebie, but then it'll be a pretty simple reading." Walking over to the shelf, Duo pulled out a drawer and fished up a deck of cards. Taking the cards out of the box it was in; Duo sorted them out until he was left with less than half of the deck.

Nodding towards the couch, Duo starts shuffling the deck. "Have a seat and I'll give ya a reading."

Heero nodded and went back to the couch and sat down. "What kind of reading will you be giving me?"

Duo continued to shuffle the deck while sitting down next to the Japanese man. "Well, we'll do something simple. I'll give you either a two-card reading or a three-card reading."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What's the difference?"

Duo chuckled and placed the deck down at the table, picture-side facing down. "Well, it' pretty much the same. When you do a two-card reading I find your card in the deck, then pull a card for your future. If you do a three-card reading, I do the same thing, but the exctra card is for a person of your choice. Basically, I draw a card for a person you choose. Like that blond guy you came with."

Heero nodded and though about if for a second. "I want the three-card reading."

Duo nodded and picked up the deck again. "Okay, then I will use the big arakana, or the "bigger secrets" cards. A normal deck of tarot cards has seventy-eight cards, but they're split in two; the little arakana, or "the small secrets", and the big arakana, or "bigger secrets". The little arakana is the biggest part and consists of fifty-six cards, while the big arakana has twenty-two cards. Kinda ironic when you think about it."

Heero just grunted, but still looked at the deck with fascination. There certainly was a lot he didn't know about the occult and the art of fortune telling. Obviously the hocus pocus was much more complicated than he originally thought.

Duo continued to shuffle the cards a little longer before stopping and placed the deck on the table in front of Heero. Placing a finger on the top card, Duo spread them out in one, fluid motion. "Pick your card, Heero."

Heero blinked. "Me? But you're the one doing the fortune telling."

Duo chuckled and nodded. "That's true, but only you can find yourself. I'm only here to read what's inside you. The other two cards I will find and read."

Heero swallowed before nodding. Suddenly he was terrified. The deck of cards was almost calling for him, yet was taunting him. What if he drew the wrong card? He could feel his hands tighten into hard fists where they were placed on his thighs and he was tensing up.

Feeling Duo's hand cover his, he looked into clear, blue and friendly eyes. "Don't be afraid. You'll find your card. After all, it's you."

Feeling a little calmer by the words, Heero nodded and reached over to touch the back of a card. Moving his fingers from one card to the other, Heero tried to feel which card was his, but realised he was getting nowhere. Letting his finger land on the back of a random card, Heero grasped it and flipped it over. He didn't dare to look at it.

"Well, seems you found it. And judging by how much I know about you, I'd say it's pretty correct too."

Peeking down at the card, Heero tried to figure out what Duo saw. It was a man, hanging up-side down from a pole by his foot. Heero frowned and he couldn't help the feeling of worry that suddenly crept over him. It was Duo's rich laugh that made him shake the worry of, and when Heero turned to face the fortune teller, all he could see was a bright and friendly smile.

"Don't worry; it's not a bad card. Look."

Heero followed Duo's finger as he pointed at the hanged man's face. "What am I looking after?"

Duo smiled and removed the finger. "If you look closely, you will see that there's no sign of pain in the man's face."

Heero looked again. The man was hanging in a position that in real life would be very painful. Yet his face showed no sign of pain or even discomfort.

Duo chuckled and folded his hands together on his lap. "The hanged man," he started and nodded his head toward the card. "It's looked upon as the strongest card among the twenty-two cards in the big arakana because of the calm nature of the man that is painted on the card. I could go into the history, the explanation and a lot of shit about the card if you want me too."

Heero swallowed and shook his head. He wasn't all too sure if he was up to another round of explanations. His head was spinning enough as it was. "Just... Read it for me."

Duo nodded and picked up the card. Holding it up for Heero to see, Duo started his reading. "The hanged man. In tarot, it's a sign of a break in your life; a sudden stop if you want. No chances can be done during this period, it's a time where you will rest and sort out thoughts and mind. It can be an approaching stop or, as I believe, you can be in the middle of it."

Heero frowned a little, but still gave Duo a quizzical look.

Duo smiled and continued. "Remember my earlier reading? The one where I said you'd just been in a bad relationship, that you're currently emotionally dead? You never confirmed it, but this card strengthens my believes in that reading. This card often comes up when a sacrifice has to be done, either at the home or in the form of a person. In your case, the person that broke your heart. It also can appear when you're grieving over something in your life."

Smiling, Duo put the card back in the deck and shuffled. "But there's still hope, you will get out of this stop with new energy. The only thing you can do is to accept that your time has taken a break, think about what you've gone through and learn from your past mistakes. The break will not last forever."

Heero nodded and looked quietly at Duo's hands as they shuffled the deck. Nothing was said and after a few minutes, Duo's hands stopped the task. "You said you wanted a three-card reading... Who do you want me to read now?"

"My fiancee," Heero suddenly said, keeping his eyes fixed on the deck.

Duo nodded and was about to pull out a card, but Heero's hand over his stopped the movement. Looking up with a slightly puzzled expression, Duo looked straight into Heero's eyes. Swallowing, Duo nodded towards the deck in his hand. "Umm... I was suppose to read-"

"No."

Jumping a little as Heero cut him off, Duo clamped his mouth shut and just stared at the Japanese man. He could sense that the man had something on his heart and he wanted to share what it was.

Heero sighed and released Duo's hand before looking back down at the deck. "My fiancée... She..." Swallowing, Heero bit his lower lip hard before continuing. "I was in a relationship with a woman not too long ago. We... We met three years ago when I was a computer assistance in her father's firm, we met at a party. We... Hit it off right away and after a few weeks of dating her, we started going steady. Last year I... I proposed to her and she accepted, but then... She changed."

Looking from Duo's hands to his own, Heero watched as his hands tightened back into fists, he could feel his nails digging into the soft flesh in his palm. "She started demanding things and I tried my best to meet those demands; she wanted a nice play to stay, the newest in fashion, she threw parties in our home... I was the only one working so I had to work hard to make sure all the loose ends were meeting, but then she started placing demands at me.

"I have never been the one to enjoy parties so I tried to avoid her gatherings as much as I could at the same time as I tried to please her. But I could only watch as she transformed from the sweet and nice girl I feel for to a spoiled and demanding brat. She showed me her true face. And when she tried changing me into something I couldn't be, something I didn't want to be... That's when I got enough..."

Sighing, Heero murmured quietly. "I tried my best to meet her demands; I tried to make her happy... But she didn't want who I was... She wanted something or someone else... I gave her my all; I gave her my heart... She accepted it greedily without giving me anything in return..."

Duo nodded and placed a hand over Heero's tightened fist before squeezing it gently. "You deserve better," he murmured.

Heero looked up and stared into deep Cobalt blue eyes and he could see the friendly glow that came from the deep blue pools.

"You deserve better," Duo returned and gave Heero a little, yet friendly smile. "You are, and I'm not kidding, one of the most fascinating people I've even met and you have so much to give to the right person. All I can say is that the one you choose to spend your life with is going to be one lucky person."

Heero snorted, but still gave Duo a smile of his own. "Thank you... Duo..."

Duo smiled and let go of the now relaxed hand. "Now... Not to be a mood breaker, but let's keep going with the reading, shall we?"

Heero nodded and started thinking about the next card. After a moment in silence, he spoke up. "You. Read yourself."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "You do know that if I read myself, the last card will be about our future, right?"

Heero nodded. "You mentioned that."

Duo shrugged and started shuffling again. "If it is what you want." Shuffling a couple of more times, Duo placed the deck on the table and spread the cards. Picking a card from the pile, Duo flipped it over and started at it. "I'd say it's my card, alright."

Heero started at it too and he could feel a shiver trail down his spine. He didn't need to be an expert in tarot to know which card it was.

He was staring at the card of Death.

Duo chuckled and gave Heero another one of those bright smiles. "Don't worry; it's not a negative card. All cards in tarot has a negative and a positive side, it all depends on how you're reading it. And the way we're reading it, it's neither negative nor positive."

Picking up the card, Duo held it up so Heero could see. "Death, my friend, is a card that shows that something is going to end. Suffering, problems, stuff like that. All in all, this card promises changes in one way or the other." Smiling, Duo placed the card back in the deck before shuffeling the deck again. "And that's why I'm here; to offer changes in their lives and steer them down other paths."

Heero nodded and let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

Duo just chuckled and shuffled the cards before placing the deck back down onto the table and spread them. "Now, lets see what the future has to bring us."

Heero nodded and followed Duo's hand with his as it travelled over the cards.

"Let me know if there's a card you have a good feeling for," Duo said and looked up at Heero, still with his hand travelling over the cards.

Heero nodded and by a sudden impulse let his own hand reach out and travel over the spread cards. The two hands continued to move over the cards before stopping by the same card, their fingertips barely touching.

Duo looked at Heero. "Is this the card you want?"

Heero nodded and pulled his hand back while Duo's hand reached out and flipped the card over. When the picture showed, Heero could feel his breath get caught in his throat.

The lovers.

Carefully glancing over at Duo, Heero could see that the young fortune teller had been caught slightly off guard as well. There was a nice red colour that coloured his cheeks and Heero knew that his own cheeks probably were the same colour.

"Erm," Duo stuttered out before swallowing and forced up a little smile. "There's several meanings to this card as well, both positive and negative, but all in all we'll get to know each other pretty well."

Heero forced up a stoic face, but his voice sounded slightly squeaky when he spoke up. "So what does it mean for us?"

Duo bit his lip and spoke quietly. "Well, this card is the most straight forward card there is, it means exactly what the picture shows, but... There's many ways to... Well... It can mean very much. It stands for a choice and in some situations it shows to the marriage within yourself, meaning problems you have with yourself, but since it's about two people..."

Heero got up onto his feet and started walking over to the door. "I think I should go now."

Duo nodded and picked up the cards. Getting up, he walked over to the shelf and placed the cards into the box before placing it back into the drawer. "I think you should," he murmured while closing the drawer before turning and faced the Japanese man. "I'll get your clothes."

"Don't bother," Heero said and looked at the bathroom door. "They're in there?"

Duo nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll change in there."

Duo nodded and watched as Heero walked stiffly into the bathroom and shut the door. Sighing a little, he rubbed his temples while staring at the drawer containing his cards. "Just great," he mumbled and let his hands drop from his head. "I finally was getting him to relax and actually take me serious and you have to pull a trick like that on me... Faith, you're a cruel mother fucker sometimes... You better have something good stashed into your sleeve or you might have cost me a potential friend, not to mention my reputation... But, hey... Maybe I'll get sued instead..."

Banging his head into the wall, Duo cursed under his breath until he heard the bathroom door open. Snapping his head back up, he watched as Heero closed the bathroom door and walked towards the front door. Following him, Duo opened the door and watched as Heero walked out.

Stopping for a second, Heero made sure that his back was facing the braided man's face. "Thank you for the clothes and for the coffee."

Duo tried to smile and shrugged. "My pleasure."

Heero opened his mouth to say something else, but nothing came out. After a moment in silence, Heero bit out a slightly strangled "Good bye" before walking down the hall and disappearing down the stairs.

Duo closed the door softly before leaning his back against it and let his head hit the door with a thump. "Good bye, Heero... May faith be kind with you..."

---

Author's Notes:

Information: The Great book about Tarot

Well, what do you think about it? Was it acceptable? Need feedback, I live for feedback. Remember to review. -points at the review button- It is your reviews that decides the outcome of this fic! Thankee!