Gundam Wing: The Never Ending Waltz Between

War and Peace

Fandom: This is a Gundam Wing fan fiction

Disclaimer: I do not own this great show, Gundam Wing!

Ratings/Warnings: This is a NONYAOI fan fiction rated 'T' for teen. It will have some violence, slight sexual contents, and very mild profanity. Action/Adventure/Humor/Romance

Chapter 2

"Heero!" Duo shouted. "It's you! It's really you!"

Hilde grabbed the groceries from Duo before he really did drop them. Chuckling to herself, she thought it would be a good idea to leave the room and give them some privacy.

"Heero!" Duo shouted again. "Man, where have you been! Come on! Sit down."

As Heero made himself comfortable on the coach, Duo stared at him in amazement. He was still the same mysterious guy that forever crossed his arms, and dressed in the green tank top, except this time he was wearing blue jeans instead of his classic black spandex. Even his facial expression didn't change. But his eyes were different. They weren't the same killing, ruthless eyes. They were softer, gentler and even curious. "So he has changed." Duo thought to himself, "Even if it is just a little."

"So Heero, it's been four years. What have you been doing all this time? Where have you been? Have you talked to the others? Have you talked to Relena? What has been going on?" Duo asked, while finally catching his breath.

"I..." he began. "I have been……fixing things."

"Fixing things?" Duo asked, tilting his head to the side. "Like what?"

Heero looked down and said, "I have been….making up for….all the wrongs I've done."

"Wow." Duo thought to himself. "He really does have a heart." Very interested in what Heero had to say,he leaned forward and put his hands under his chin. "So it took you four years to make up for everything. Are you finished?"

"I…I don't know."

"You don't know?" Duo asked, "Hmm. Well, when will you know?"

Heero squinted his eyebrows together showing confusion, like he really didn't know what to say. Duo picked up on this and said, "Well, I'm glad that you're here. I haven't seen or heard from you in about four years."

"Yes." Heero began. "It has been four years." And with that, he stood up as if he was about to leave.

Stunned by Heero's quick decision, he yelled, "Heero, wait!" He stood up and asked, "Are you leaving already? You just got here."

Heero stared at Duo again with that same puzzled expression, like he was deciding on what to do.

"Well." Duo began, "At least stay for dinner. Please?"

Heero looked at him one last time before nodding his head in approval.

"All right!" Duo exclaimed, "You won't regret this! Hilde is the best cook in the universe!"

Duo wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a twitch on Heero's lips. As if he might have smiled."Nah!" He thought to himself and led them both to the kitchen.

Hilde, Heero and Duo ate in the spotless kitchen (that Hilde made sure to keep clean) and sat down at the small table, eating a great dinner. It consisted of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and her specialty Apple Crumb Pie.

Duo talked the entire time about everything that was going on in his life. Even about his two previous jobs (although he left out the fact that he got fired from his third job today!). "….yeah and so then….ah….I mean….uh…so now I work at Bill's Burgers. Hee hee hee."

"Yeah." Hilde began shaking her fork at him, "And you always get in trouble for constantly eating his food. You know Duo, if you don't stop that, one day that man is going to fire you."

Duo sheepishly put his hand behind his head and started to laugh nervously, saying, "Ha ha ha. You don't say. Ahem. Well! Why don't we get started on that Apple Crumb Pie of yours? Heero, I promise, you will love this pie! No one can make Apple Crumb Pie like Hilde does." Duo turned to smile at Hilde. It was so cute that she couldn't help but smile back, and even blush too.

"Well, it's not that great. But I do hope you like it Heero."

"What are you talking about?" Duo beamed, "Stop being so modest. That pie is amazing!"

Chuckling, she said, "Well Duo. If you say so."

Hilde began to slice the pie. She cut a hearty piece for Duo, and gave Heero and herself a modest one. Before she even got the chance to set the plate down in front of Duo, he started to devour it. She sat Heero's plate in front of him and at first, he stared at it. Then he picked up his fork and took a bite. Both pairs of eyes were on him, waiting to see a reaction. He closed his eyes, but his facial expression didn't change. All he said was, "Hmm."

"Well?" Duo asked, "What do you think?"

"I think." Heero began while opening his eyes and staring down at the slice of pie on his plate, "I think…it's very….satisfying."

"Satisfying!" Duo exclaimed.

Hilde smiled to herself and said, "Well, I'll take that as a compliment coming from Heero Yuy." she smiled as she watched him eat his pie.

"Well, you do have a point." Duo said. After a few more big bites and huge gulps of milk, he was finished with desert. He began to watch Heero again and then a thought suddenly came to him. Why was Heero here in the first place? "Hey Heero." Duo began, "What were you doing here in the first place? I never thought to ask."

Hilde smiled deeply at Heero and said, "As a matter of fact, Heero is here because he saved my life."

"WHAT!" Duo exclaimed.

"I was on my way home from work and decided to take a short cut through the alley. A couple of guys stopped me and were harassing me. I took care of two of them easily. But more came from the shadows and I was outnumbered. Somehow, Heero just magically showed up and saved the day. Again, thank you Heero. And remember you are always welcome here." she said and smiled at him again.

"Hilde!" Duo shouted and banged his fist on the table, causing everything to shake including Heero's slice of pie, "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from the alley! I understand that its way shorter, but it's too dangerous. If Heero wasn't there, I don't even want to imagine what could have happened to you."

Hilde, taken aback by Duo's passionate words and furious glare, looked down ashamed and said, "I know. Believe me, I won't do it again."

Satisfied with her response, Duo calmed down considerably, looked at Heero and said, "Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgement to Duo's words. Everything was quiet for a few moments until Duo interrupted the silence by asking, "So Heero. What brought you to this colony?"

"I had something to take care of." was all he said.

At first, Duo watched him intently. Then his expression quickly changed to a jolly one as he said, "Well, that's a good enough answer for me. You know, if you don't really have anywhere else to go, you could stay here for a while. You know, catch up on old times. Just hang out. I haven't seen you in years after all. And well…you probably haven't sleep on anything soft in ages, much less eat good food. Just stay for at least a week. Just to give your body a rest. Whaddya say?"

Heero looked down, apparently in deep thought as he pondered Duo's words. He looked up at Duo, then Hilde and back at Duo again. Nodding his head, Heero said, "Ok."

If anyone could hear Duo, you would have thought he had just won the lottery. "YYEEEAAAHHH!" he shouted and jumped up. "Alright! Hey Heero, you can have my room. Take it! It's my gift to you for the week. Let me show you where everything is."

And with that Heero followed Duo out of the kitchen while Duo kept talking about everything that they would do. Hilde watched them in amusement. Chuckling to herself she said, "This will be interesting."

As Duo lead Heero to his room, he gave him a little tour of the house. "As you can see, Hilde cleans this place. She keeps everything spotless. Everything that is, except my room. I told her 'Don't ever touch my room. Leave it the way it is. A man's room!' And she would just shake her head and say, 'Whatever you want Duo it is your room after all. As long as any of my friends don't see it, it's fine with me.' And I laughed at her. So yeah, as you walk down the hallway you will see Hilde's room to the right, the bathroom to the left, and my room straight ahead at the end of the hallway." he said pointing to his room. "Yep. My good ole' room."

Heero looked around, making mental notes of where everything was. He also tried to think of the best possible escape routes incase something happened. Once they reached Duo's doorway, he turned around and said, "Ok, I admit. I may have to pick up just a little bit, for your sake." He swung open the door and said, "Welcome, to the wonderful world of Duo!" Heero couldn't believe his eyes. This place was a mess. No, mess was too nice of a word. It was a pig style! Shirts and pants were scattered on his chair and dresser. His bed was messy and unmade. The pillows were thrown on the floor along with his socks, underwear (which some didn't look very fresh) and God knows what else.

Heero, "……………"

Duo turned around, all the while never loosing his smile and said, "Yeah I know, it's just a little junky. But I'll have it ready for you in no time." He walked towards his dresser and started picking up all the clothes that were on there.

Hilde appeared in the doorway and was just as shocked as Heero. "DUO!" she exclaimed. "I know you said not to touch your room, but really Duo, this is just too much. Here." She began making her way towards a hesitant Duo, "Let me clean this place up for you. I need to do laundry anyway. I'll wash Duo's clothes, bed sheets and everything else. Besides." she said while studying Heero, "You'll probably need to borrow some of Duo's clothes….."

"No!" Duo said putting up a fight, "No one touches my room or the stuff in it! This is a man's room! And it will be done a man's way! Yeah!" he said while raising one fist in the air as if representing man power.

Hilde, shaking her head and looking at Duo as if he was a fool, said, "You've been hanging around Wufei too long. And this may be a man's room, but it looks like an animal lives in here. Don't worry Heero, this room will be ready in no time."

"But no! I wanna do it! I wanna make Heero comfortable!" Duo whined, jumping up and down with his braid bobbing in the air.

"Believe me. If you let me handle this, you will make him comfortable. Very comfortable." she said.

"Fine then." he said pouting and crossing his arms, "I don't care. Just haaave your way. Little Miss Queen Hilde!"

Laughing, she made her way towards Duo and ruffled his bangs, "Sometimes you are just too cute."

Duo, as red as a tomato from embarrassment, turned around, stuck his nose in the air, and said, "I AM NOT!"

"Whatever you say Duo." she said shaking her head and laughing.

Duo turned around and watched her out of the corner of his eye with a slight smirk on his face. Heero raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, wondering what just happened between those two. They were arguing like mother and son one minute, yet the next minute they were flirting like boyfriend and girlfriend. It's obvious that they liked each other, but he wondered why they didn't say anything. Every time Hilde talked about Duo, her eyes would light up and she would have this dreamy expression. Whereas Duo would try to hide his true feelings through jokes. "I just won't ever understand relationships." Heero thought to himself and headed out of the room.

Duo looked up and noticed Heero was leaving. "Wait for me!" he shouted and followed behind Heero into the living room.

Finally, after everything was settled, they all rested on the couch in the living room and watched a little tv. At about 9:55 pm Hilde started yawning, stretched, and said, "Alright guys, I think it's about my bedtime. I'll see you guys in the morning. Good night."

"Good night." Heero and Duo both said in unison.

Duo watched Hilde as she left the room and made sure he heard the click to her bedroom door. Then he turned to face Heero, and with all seriousness said, "Ok Heero, so why are you really here?"

Heero stared back at him first and then said, "I told you, I had to take care of something."

"I know you had to take care of something. But what?" Duo began a little frustrated. "Every time you show up, that means something is about to happen. You only appear when there is a threat of danger. Heero, I may not know much about you, but I do know this, you have a reason for everything. Just tell me, what is the real reason why you're here?" Duo stared intently into Heero's eyes, but Heero looked away. He not only crossed his arms, but his legs as well. Showing a sign of discomfort. "Well?" Duo asked.

"The rebuilding of L5 Colony Cluster is almost complete."

"So, what else? What does that have to do with L2 Colony Cluster? Why did it bring you here?"

"I have my reasons." Heero said, finalizing it.

"Heh." Duo sighed, "Why do I even bother? You're not going to give me a straight answer. You haven't changed at all." Duo said, while running his hand through his bangs and leaning back on the couch.

Amused, with a slight smirk Heero said, "You too."

"Hmm?" Duo said, while looking up at Heero. "Did he just make a joke?" He thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a news announcement that appeared on the TV screen.

"Today on the 10:00 news, we have updated information about the L5 Colony Cluster. At 12:00 pm this afternoon, an important event took place at the L4 Colony Cluster with leaders such as Quatre Raberba Winner…."

"Hey look, it's Quatre!" Duo shouted while sitting up. On the TV screen, there was Quatre. He was dressed in a prestigious business suit and shaking hands with several important people around him. Duo, very excited to see his close friend on tv said, "Wow! Look at him! He looks just like a professional."

"He is a professional." Heero said matter of factly

"Well I know…it's just that….ah never mind."

"…..and Relena Darlian, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Earth Sphere Unified Nation…"

At the mention of Relena Darlian, Heero's attention immediately returned to the television screen. She was the same Relena Darlian as they remembered. In her white military suit with her long hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked so natural and graceful behind the podium. Then she began her speech, "Citizens of the Colonies and the Earth. I am honored to be a part of this monumental event and announce to you that the reproduction of the L5 Colony Cluster is almost complete." Waves of applause filled the air. Once it subsided, Relena continued her speech, "This could not have been possible without the generous help and support of such organizations as the Winner Foundation, the……"

"Wow, look at her." Duo said in awe, "She hasn't changed a bit. Well, except for the fact that she is even more beautiful than I remembered. She really blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Don't you think Heero?" Duo said teasingly.

"I'm trying to concentrate on her speech." was all Heero said.

"Yeah, I bet you're trying to concentrate. Concentrate on her beautiful face." Duo couldn't contain himself as he started giggling. But the death glare Heero gave him was enough to stop all laughter and jokes. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry." Duo said, waving his hands defensively.

"…..this colony will serve as a beacon of hope and new opportunities for mankind….."

"Hmmm?" Duo thought, "Maybe I could get a new job." He thought about Hilde. "And soon."

"…..thank you all again for your hard work and effort. Again, without all of you, this would not have been possible. It is most appreciated." After the end of her speech, flashes of lights and camera crews swarmed around Relena. With the help of her bodyguards, she made her way through the crowd and met up with Quatre. They walked side by side, apparently talking about what else needed to be done. Then the news-spokesman appeared and said, "With that all said and done, I'm really looking forward to the new L5 Colony Cluster. What do you think John?"

Duo turned the TV off. They both sat in silence for a few moments until Duo broke the silence by asking, "So, what do you plan on doing for the grand opening of L5 Colony Cluster?"

"I will make sure nothing goes wrong." Heero said, staring off into space.

"That sounds like you." Duo yawns and says, "I don't know about you, but I'm hitting the sack."

Heero nods, stands up and begins making his way down the hallway. "Hey Heero? Don't even think about trying to leave. I'll see you in the morning. Kay?"

Slightly amused, Heero turns his head and stares at Duo, "Is that a threat?"

"No." Duo said, "It's an order."

"Roger that." And with that, he left the room. Leaving Duo with his thoughts.

Author's Notes: Ok, it's been four years since the whole war. I don't think Heero will always remain as the cold-hearted ruthless killing machine. I mean, he's not going to be this soft and jolly guy. But he will HAVE a personality. And again, if you read the manga and really pay attention in the show, you will see that he does crack a few jokes and snide comments. I'm basing my personalities strictly on what I read and see in the manga and show, with a few changes of what I think could change over the years.

But if you do see something that you think may be too out of character. Then tell me. I really don't want to change who they are. I want to stick as closely to them as I can. Thank you.

Chao!