Disclaimers: I do not own GW.

Warnings: General warnings such as OOCs, shounen ai.

Notes: This is the promised Sequel to A Place to Belong. Not a long story but I hope you like my attempt at 2x6x2 anyway.

Leaving the Past

Chapter One

"It has been too long since I've been here," he whispered, laying the flowers on the grave. "I am sorry. I hope you weren't lonely here." He looked around, taking in the serene view. Huge trees shaded the entire area while a soft breeze blew almost perpetually. It as really the perfect place for eternal rest.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I have been remiss in my duties, but I hope you understand. There were too many memories here. I had to leave before it drove me to suicide." He reached out and touched the rough stone lovely, almost as if he was caressing skin. "And I remember distinctively you told me that you would kick my ass back to the living plain if I died before I was old and grey."

He could almost hear amused laughter as he leaned back against the gravestone, enjoying a moment of silence. He wondered how long has it been since he experienced such serenity. Live had not been very kind to him for the past seven years. He wasn't going to say that he hadn't found happiness and peace during that time but it was just this utter silence in his soul, no constant worrying and thinking of what to come or what might have been, was missing for a long while now.

"Well, I'm back, my love," he whispered. "If only for a little while." He took a deep breath. "I also wanted to tell you something. I found someone." He sat there, stock-still, half expecting lightning to strike where he was. When nothing but the sound of birds remained, he spoke again, "I think you would have liked him. He makes me happy. Not in the way that you do. He understands that you will always have a part of me. He accepts that, unlike him. I also accept that he will always have emotional baggage to lug around."

He smiled. "Duo Maxwell would have bugged you to death, but I think you would admire his zest for life. He never gives up on it not matter how bad things get. I love him."

And I am glad… Came a soft whisper in the wind. He whipped his head around, his eyes wild. Was he dreaming? Perhaps it was just the breeze? But it could be approval, from the one person he so desperately wished would give it to him.

"I am getting married. To him."

He waited. Would there be any more voices in the wind to tell him he made the right choice? He was disappointed by the deep silence that ensued but something else was getting more and more apparent, a feeling of benevolent approval slowly enveloping it.

He got up, and for the first time in a long while, he smiled. It was an expression that was void of sadness, pain or regret. It was an expression that bespoke of acceptance and joy. It was over, he had finally managed to put his past behind. This one last deed that had been in the back of his mind ever since he told Duo Maxwell that he loved him.

He turned back to trace the gravestone again. "I will be gone again. But remember, where ever I am, whatever I do, you will always be in my heart. And I will love you forever more." He stared down at the words he engraved there himself.

Lucrezia Noin

My loving wife,

In my memory for always.

As he walked out of the graveyard, he could have sworn he heard something.

As will I, Zechs. Be happy always.

XXxxXX

Duo Maxwell woke to an empty bed. He felt a sense of loss and a tinge of abandonment before he realised where he fiancé probably went. With a despondent sigh, he threw the covers back over his head, trying to go back to sleep. He missed his human huggy pillow and as needy as it sounds, it was hard to sleep without his favourite pillow. Also, things that happened two days ago started to creep back into his mind. He threw back the covers in frustration, sleep no longer an option and headed for the shower. He would need to pack and check out before anyone found them. He wasn't sure if anyone would bother but still, he was used to covering his trail. He had been doing that for the past seven years and he wasn't about to stop now.

Hot water rained down hard on him, but it wasn't enough to drive away all the bad memories that decided to plague him that morning. And without Milliardo as a buffer, he was more helpless for it. He couldn't believe what had happened. He couldn't believe he went from victim to the evil, heartless bastard that tore Heero Yuy's heart out and left him for dead. He couldn't believe how much lies was told and the truth left in the grave just because he left. Perhaps he should have confronted them. But could he at that time? He had remembered feeling like his world had crashed and splintered. The two people he trusted more than anything that done something so completely unforgivable. They had betrayed him. Sure he loved Heero at the time, but the sense of love lost was nothing compared to the feeling of knowing your friends could do something like this behind your back. They were people he trusted with his life, but apparently, couldn't trust with his heart.

To make things worse, even Quatre hadn't believed in him. Quatre, who he thought knew him the best. Quatre, his supposed best friend. The blond didn't even have faith in him, didn't even stop to consider that something might be wrong for him running away and not for the sake of running. Who needs enemies when they had his friends?

A resounding smack echoed through the bathroom as Duo, in a fit of frustration, tried to punch a hole through the bathroom tiles.

Arm surrounded him, pulling him close to another warm body. "Stop hurting yourself, Duo."

Duo leaned against his ground pointing, panting. He barely heard the litany of reassurances Milliardo whispered in his ear as he was guided out of the shower stall, dried and lovingly dressed in a large fluffy robe. He was sat in front of the mirror and his hair was being gently dried before he joined his lover in the present. He sheepishly met Milliardo's gaze in the mirror.

"Sorry," he muttered. He felt stupid. Completely idiotic.

Milliardo smiled softly and dropped a kiss on Duo's crown. "It's alright. I shouldn't have left you alone anyway. Not after what happened."

Duo reached up to grasp his lover's hand. Milliardo took too much on his own shoulders, he blamed himself too much for everything. "Just because I'm a screw up doesn't mean you can't have your own life and visit your wife's grave." He stared steadily into ice blue eyes.

Milliardo's shook his head, keeping silent. Sometimes it was better not to say anything at all. He continued to run a brush through Duo's hair, drying it out. He loved Duo's hair. It was soft and thick and ran like silk through his fingers. It reminded him of everything that was Duo. He looked fragile, but underneath it all, he was tough as nails.

"Do you feel better now?" Duo asked, peeking at Milliardo. They both needed closure. And both could be found here. Milliardo's was harder to obtain, since all he wanted for their future was Noin's consent.

Milliardo nodded slightly. "I think perhaps it was the wind, but I want to believe she spoke to me." He seemed to be far away. "She said she wanted me to be happy."

Duo stood, turning to face his lover, gently taking the brush out of his hand and laying it on the table. He cupped Milliardo's face in his hands. "Oh Mill, I am so happy for you. That's all you ever wanted." He leaned in a pressed their lips together softly.

The blond pulled back and stared critically at his partner. "And now we have to make sure you get all you ever wanted."

Duo pushed away with a disgusted huff and started braiding his hair with quick efficiency that bespoke of years of practice. "Please, I've had enough of acting like a child, crying over things that apparently means nothing to them and angsting for years over issues for no particular reason. It was time I grew up and moved away from my childhood."

Milliardo watched Duo's nervous movements and shook his head. No matter how old Duo grew, he would never stop running from the things he couldn't control, and it didn't necessary mean physically. He watched his lover closely, more worried than anything else as the American tied off the end of his long hair and walked out to the balcony.

Duo stood outside, resting on the railings. His eyes were closed as he breathed in the beautiful Sanq air. It was odd but perhaps he did see this as home, and not the L2 colony, but he did miss Sanq more than any place he could remember. He smiled as Milliardo came up behind him, resting his hands on his shoulders.

"They were more than your childhood, Duo," Milliardo reasoned.

Duo exhaled in frustration and whirled around. "Look, Mill, I really don't want to talk about this. I took your advice to come back here to get my damned closure and it turned out that I did nothing but stir up the hornet's nest again. I don't need it anymore! Why can't you just let me go home? Just go home and live happily ever after?" He buried his face into Milliardo's shoulder, releasing a shuddering breath.

Milliardo sighed. Perhaps Duo was right. He really didn't want to see his partner in the condition he was yesterday when he had dropped everything to come down to Sanq to comfort Duo. The American had been pale and shaking and for a moment, Milliardo had been worried sick when Duo just looked past him. And as usual, after a short period of weakness, Duo pushed everything aside as he always did. Milliardo didn't like it, his partner kept too many things to himself but that was how Duo dealt with things. He was just worried that Duo might just collapse from the strain of repress emotions one day. He did that so many years ago. It was only after that horrible incident that he started to heal. Milliardo wasn't about to let that wound fester again.

It didn't help that Relena had also tried to rip Duo a new one when they met up for dinner last night. Duo had told him to expect it, seeing how close she was to his former lover. But Milliardo hadn't been prepared for the venomous, scathing remarks her sister had thrown at his fiancé. He could see Duo trying to be blasé about the whole thing but deep within violet eyes, hurt bloomed deep and true. Duo had quickly intervened when Milliardo was about to rebuke his sister for the 'gold digging slut' comment. He explained later Relena knew nothing of their lives for the last seven years. It wasn't fair to yell at her for something like that.

"Then why don't you let me explain it to her?" Milliardo had snapped at Duo, yanking his shoes off irritably. The whole dinner left him with indigestion.

Duo shrugged, changing into his pyjamas. "Does it matter? I don't really care what people think of me anymore." He turned to face his lover, his expression vulnerable and his eyes shimmering with hurt. "I only care what you think," he whispered. Then he practically threw himself into Milliardo's arms.

Milliardo was sometimes at a loss when it came to Duo. In so many ways, he was older than his age, having lost so much at such a young age and surviving on the streets. Yet, there was a part of him that was inherently a child and needed to be protected and loved to be coddled. Duo was independent and completely dependent at the same time. Childish and mature together, love and hate rolled into one. He was at once at peace and at war with himself, and in other words, completely confused. He could help someone how needed his assistance, like how he hauled Milliardo from the deepest pits of depression all those years ago but he couldn't help himself.

So it was Milliardo's turn to help him. If he wanted help that was. But then again, Milliardo was just as stubborn as Duo can sometimes be. For now, he would back off and let Duo have his way. Something told him that this would come to head again. And probably soon.

XXxxXX

"He what?" Relena Peacecraft shrieked, her voice sharp and shrill even over the vidphone.

Quatre resisted the urge to back up a bit at the onslaught. Trowa winced and plugged his ears with his fingers. Since he was out of the camera's range, he could get away with it. He wondered yet again how Heero managed to get through the war with his hearing intact. The thought of Heero soured his mood immensely.

"Yes," Quatre said, half growling.

"Oh no," Relena wailed, paling. Her expression was one of pain and guilt.

"What?" Quatre asked, sitting forward, instantly alert. Unbeknownst to him Trowa also edged closer to the vidphone.

Relena looked at Quatre, her blue eyes shimmering with tears. "I told him he was a gold digging slut for wanting to marry my brother. Oh God, what did I just say?"

"You what?" Quatre yelled.

"Duo and Zechs?" Trowa exclaimed at the same time.

Then they chorused together. "You know where he is?"

XXxxXX

They sat apart from each other. It was the first time in a long time that they weren't touching each other in any way when they were this alone. They were immersed in their own thoughts, buried in their own shame, drowning in their own guilt.

"Heero," Wu Fei looked over at the form of his miserable lover. "I think we need to talk about this."

Heero grunted.

Wu Fei rolled his eyes. Trust Heero to retreat back into grunts and moans. He got up and stood before his lover, grabbing by the collar and hauling him up. "Suck it up, Yuy. We screwed up, alright? Both of us. We did it so badly that if we are to keep hiding here, we are going to lose every single friend that we have."

Heero looked away, unable to meet Wu Fei's sharp stare.

"Heero," Wu Fei snapped, shaking his lover. "It's over. Our putting guilt on him is over. We betrayed him. Yes, we agreed it was a one time thing. Yes, we agreed it was to see if you made the right decision. Yes, we never expected him to come back so early. Yes, you had decided you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him but you still cheated on him. And I helped you." He dropped Heero and sank deeply into the couch, burying his face in his hands. "And freaking helped you," he moaned softly. "And I hurt Zechs, even after I promised Noin I would take care of him."

There was a long silence before Heero spoke, his first words in nearly the entire day. "He really was the love of my life. I really wanted to be with him. I was going to ask him to marry me," he whispered, his voice filled with pain.

Wu Fei looked up, his own dark eyes now rimmed with red. "I know. But no matter what we said, no matter what we felt, it doesn't matter anymore. We owe him. We owe him a lot."

Heero nodded tightly. "I know."

tbc