Chapter Five

Christmas Surprise

Christmas Eve was just around the corner and Duo was busier than he'd ever been at his mechanics shop. Everyone wanted their cars fixed before the holidays. Duo was even beginning to conceder hiring more hands. He and Hilde couldn't handle everyone on their own.

"Another one just came in, Duo!" Hilde called from the open door.

"Another one! But we already have ten backed up here!" Duo sighed. "Alright…bring it in."

Hilde nodded and ran from the room.

"This is ridicules!" Duo shouted in frustration.

"Need help?"

Duo turned to see Sally Po and Chang Wufei walk in, both with smiles on their faces, although Wufei's was more of a smirk.

"Hope you don't mind, Hilde said we could come in." Sally explained.

"Not at all. Pick up a wrench!" He called as he slide under the fifth car in an hour. "So what are you two doing here? Preventer work slow?"

"You could say that." Sally smiled as she walked up to the car next to Duo and opened the hood. "Guess the crooks are on Christmas break too." She teased. "Hey Duo, this one needs a water pump. You got any?"

"Yeah, over in the back room. Help yourself." He called from under the car.

Sally left in search of the part and Wufei approached a third car. Duo slid out from under the car, oil covering his coveralls, and smiled at Wufei.

"So Wu-man, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Do not address me so." Wufei snarled.

"I'll take that to mean you're good." Duo smirked and walked to the next car while Hilde drove the finished one out to its waiting owner.

Once Sally and Wufei began helping, the work went much faster and Duo was grateful. He waved as the last customer of the day drove off with their newly fixed car and he turned around to his friends.

"I don't know what Hilde and I would have done without you two. I owe ya one." He smiled.

"You owe us nothing, Maxwell." Wufei said. "A deed done in friendship requires no repayment."

"Yeah, Duo. We were happy to do it." Sally added.

"Well, thanks anyway. Hey, I have a great idea!" Duo exclaimed. "Christmas is coming up. How bout we get together and all go up to the mountains for Christmas! I mean all of us! The whole gang! It'll be great! What do ya say?"

Sally smiled. "That sounds like fun! I'm sure we have enough hands in the Preventers to manage a few days off."

"Hn…" Wufei snarled.

"Oh come on, Wuffers! You know you want to!" Duo begged jumping up and down next to Wufei.

"…very well. I will go."

"Yay!" Duo cheered and Sally laughed while Wufei grew red with anger. "Okay, I'll get Heero and Relena in on it!" He smiled.

"I see Quatre a lot, so I'll get him and Trowa." Sally smiled.

"And you send a message to Zechs and Noin, okay Wuffers?" Duo smirked.

"Hn" Wufei said and stormed off to the car he and Sally came in.

"He'll do it. I'll see to it." Sally winked.

"Great! See you at Christmas!" Duo waved.

Hilde and Duo closed the shop earlier than planned, Heero and Relena cleared it with her advisors (as long as Heero promised to watch out for her), Quatre took time off from work leaving Rashid in charge, Trowa asked Catherine to cover for him at the circus, Sally and Wufei took their vacations days from the Preventers, and Zechs and Noin flew over from their home in the Mars Terraforming Project. They were all currently driving up in one of Quatre's limousines on Christmas Eve.

"You didn't have to go this far, Quatre." Noin said sitting with Relena on the left side of the vehicle.

"I know, but I wanted to. It's a special time when we all get together. I wanted to celebrate." He replied.

"Well you won't hear me complaining!" Duo smiled lifting a glass of champagne to his lips. "Oh and thanks for the drinks Zechs."

"Think of it as my way of contributing." Zechs smirked.

The limo drove into the mountains and stopped in the driveway of yet another of Quatre's mansions. This one was four stories with enough rooms for each of them to have their own and still have leftovers.

The friends piled out of the car and looked in awe at the large house.

"Wow, you've really outdone yourself this time Quatre." Sally said.

"Yeah…this house is huge!" Duo exclaimed.

Quatre blushed and smiled. "Yes, this is one of my favorites."

"I get the room with a balcony!" Duo yelled and sprinted through the front door.

The others rolled their eyes and slowly began pulling their duffels out of the trunk. They all walked into the expansive living room just in time to watch Duo's braid disappear through the doorway leading to the circle staircase.

Quatre laughed. "I don't know why he's in a hurry. There are plenty of rooms."

"He's Duo. Does he need a reason?" Zechs replied.

"Good point." Quatre smiled and placed his duffle on the floor. "Well, there's one bedroom on this floor, four on the second, four more on the third and one on the forth. Help yourselves!" He smiled.

Wufei headed straight for the forth floor and took the room there. He made the excuse that it was right next to the training room, but everyone knew it was because he wanted his privacy. Hilde and Relena took a rooms on the third floor that were right next to each other while Zechs and Noin did the same on the second floor. Trowa was just picking up his bag again when Quatre ran up to him.

"I'll get it, Trowa!" He smiled warmly.

Trowa hesitated for a minute and then handed it to him. "…thanks." He said and left the room. Quatre frowned every so slightly and turned to Heero.

"I guess you'll be with Duo, right?"

Heero paused and then nodded. "Hai." He said and walked upstairs to find the room Duo had chosen.

It was on the third floor and Duo was already staring out from the balcony when Heero walked in.

"Heero you have to see this!" He pointed to the distant mountains.

"Hn" Heero grunted and began unpacking.

Duo turned around and smirked. "No, I think you're going to like this."

Heero raised a brow skeptically, but he knew that Duo wouldn't leave him alone unless he looked, so he walked to the balcony. "I don't see anything…" He said looking at the mountains.

"Not that!" Duo smirked. "That!" He pointed to the side.

Heero turned and blushed when he realized that the balcony outside his and Duo's room happened to be joined to the balcony outside of Relena's room and she was standing right in front of him. Heero blushed and looked at Duo.

"I knew you'd like this room!" He chuckled.

"…thanks." Heero said and smiled at Relena who blushed.

Okay, I know this whole bedroom thing can be a bit confusing, so for anyone who's interested, follow this link – http/ – and it will take you to my website which has a blueprint of Quatre's house. WARNING: Slight spoiler in map

Once everyone had unpacked, they all joined in the dinning room where Quatre was about to make an announcement. Everyone was already sitting at the table and Quatre was standing at the head.

"What is it, Quat? I'm hungry!" Duo complained laying his head on the table.

Quatre laughed. "Patients Duo. I have a surprise for everyone."

"What is it, Quatre?" Trowa asked.

Wufei raised a brow. "You mean you don't know? I would have thought you'd be the first to know."

Trowa looked down at his lap. "Yes…so did I." He muttered.

Quatre frowned momentarily but recovered quickly. "Okay, okay, here's the surprise!" He clapped his hands and young men and women began pouring from the kitchen carrying large platters of food. "Merry Christmas everyone!" He smiled.

Duo's eyes widened. "Woah! You're the best Q-man!" He shouted and began grabbing at foods as they passed him.

"Impressive, Quatre." Zechs smiled.

"This is great, Quatre. Thank you!" Noin smiled.

"It's my pleasure!" The young Arab smiled. "I've got something for everyone. Wufei, I've got your favorite, Char Siu Bao. And Heero, I found some Unaqi for you! And Zechs I know how much you love Roast Beef."

"Wow!" Relena smiled. "You even got Yorkshire Pudding!"

"Yup. I didn't leave anyone out!" He smiled and then turned to Trowa. "I…I even got Soufflé au Fromage. I know how much you like it."

Trowa smiled half-heartedly. "Thank you."

Quatre smiled but the light in his eyes was gone. Duo noticed this over the mountain of fried chicken he had on his plate. It broke his heart to see Quatre hurting, though he knew he wouldn't show it. He tried to ignore the pain he felt for Quatre but it wasn't working too well. He suddenly wasn't hungry. He turned and watched the others, laughing and eating, and suddenly he felt sick to his stomach.

"Uhh, Quat? Which way to the bathroom." He smirked. "I gotta make room for more!" He chuckled.

Quatre looked at his untouched plate and then to him. "Uhh, just outside. There's one on each floor."

"Thanks man!" He said and left.

Heero watched him leave and frowned. He knew Duo was hurting to be near the person he loved and not being able to say it aloud. He felt the same way with Relena. At least with him, he was able to tell Relena about his feelings.

"Shouldn't you go after him?"

Heero turned. Wufei was looking at him.

"I don't know how your relationships go, Chang, but I typically don't follow my boyfriend to the bathroom."

Wufei flushed slightly and turned back to his plate. No one spoke much after that and Duo never came back. The sun set over the mountain tops and everyone slowly wandered to their individual rooms.

"Good night! See you in the morning!" Quatre waved to his friends as he walked into the room he shared with Trowa.

Trowa was just pulling off his shirt when Quatre came in. They both froze and stared at each other. Finally Quatre tried a smile. "Great night, huh?"

Trowa nodded. "Yeah."

Quatre looked around the room. "I hope you like the room. This one is my favorite." He smiled.

Trowa nodded. "Yes, it's fine."

They stared again.

"…I'm going to sleep…so…"

Quatre nodded. "I think I'm going to shower first. Go ahead and get to bed. I'll try not to wake you." He smiled and walked out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Only after he closed the door behind him did he allow himself to cry.

Elsewhere, in Heero and Duo's room, Duo was "testing the bed" by jumping on it while Heero worked on his laptop.

"You're going to break it, you know." Heero said as he watched Duo in the reflection on his screen.

"No way! Quat only buys the best. This bed won't crack under pressure like something cheap w-" Duo was interrupted when a loud CRACK echoed through the room.

He froze. "Uhh…" Then he heard laughing. He turned to the balcony doors and saw Relena laughing with a broken board in her hands. He glared at her.

"That wasn't funny!"

"I thought it was." Heero chuckled, not looking away from his laptop but holding a very wide smile.

"Oh sure! Let's all have fun on Duo's account! You guys suck!" He pouted and sat on the bed with his arms crossed over his chest.

Relena smiled and walked into the room. "Come on Duo, it's all in fun."

"He knows it is," Heero said closing his laptop. "He just wants pity."

"I do NOT have to put up with this!" Duo exclaimed and raised his index finger. "I'm leaving!" He huffed and stormed out. He walked to the end of the hall and was about to open the bathroom door when he heard the water running and a male voice singing.

Rats, Zechs got to it first…He thought and turned back down the hall. He was about to go back into his bedroom when he heard Relena giggling and thought better of it.

They deserve to be alone…

Remembering what Quatre said, he turned to go to the second floor and find another bathroom to shower in. He found the second floor bathroom without much trouble and opened the door. Quatre was sitting on the edge of the bathtub crying his eyes out. Duo felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.

"Quat? What happened?" He asked rushing over to him.

Quatre started and looked up. "Oh Duo!" He tried to wipe his tears. "I just…I stubbed my toe and…"

Duo reached over to Quatre and cuped his face in his hands. "Quatre…what happened?"

Quatre looked into Duo's eyes and more tears began to fall. He fell into Duo's open arms and cried.

"Oh Duo…I don't think Trowa loves me anymore!" Quatre cried.

Duo held Quatre and ran his fingers through his hair. "Shh, it's okay, Quat." He cooed.

Quatre sniffed and looked up at Duo. "I think I've known it for a long time…I just…I didn't want to admit it." He said sadly.

Duo nodded and tilted his chin up and they locked eyes.

"Quatre…do you love Trowa?"

Quatre hesitated. "I…I…" He sighed. "No…I suppose I don't. I don't think I've loved him for a long time…I…"

"You just felt so comfortable with him that you didn't want to say it aloud." Duo finished.

Quatre nodded. "Yes…how did you know?"

Because that's why I never left Heero…He thought.

"Listen Quat…" Duo said, avoiding the question, "I think you should talk to Trowa. You wouldn't want your friendship to be ruined because of this, would you?"

Quatre shook his head. "No. No I wouldn't want to loose Trowa! He's so wonderful!" Quatre looked down. "But how can I talk to him about this? I mean…"

"How can you not talk to him about this, Quat?"

Quatre sighed and looked down. "You're…You're right, Duo." He stood up. "I…I guess I should go now."

Duo stood up and rubbed Quatre's back encouragingly. "You can do this, Quat. You're one of the strongest people I know." He smiled.

Quatre blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Duo. You're wonderful too." Quatre leaned forward and kissed Duo's cheek before hurrying off to his room again.

Duo flushed madly and held his cheek. He frowned after the boy he loved. "I hope he's okay…" He said and ran the water for his shower.