Author: Sparkle Itamashii

Title: Inheritance

Warnings: Respect the rating. Please see my profile for details.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC is NOT MINE.


Chapter Six

I'd thought if I could make it home before Heero that I could search the house over for some kind of DNA but I was wrong. There was nothing. I checked his hairbrush and pillow, scoured the bathroom for hair or nail, checked his facial razor for blood- zip, zero, nothing. I'd known Heero was particular but I guess I'd never really noticed just how meticulous. I was tempted to think he didn't even shed skin, he was so neat!

After about three hours of searching I gave up, tossing myself down on the couch and flicking on the news. Heero would be home from work soon enough. It had to be easier to obtain a sample from him if he was here. Meanwhile I could catch up on what was going on in the rest of the world. One of us had to keep up with it.

That had always been something of a puzzle to me. As concerned as Heero was about everything that was happening, as paranoid as he was about something happening… he hardly ever watched the news. The only thing I could figure was that he knew I almost obsessively watched the news. Maybe he just expected me to tell him about anything really important.

One would imagine that Relena's murder would have caused more of a stir than it did but there was just no information. The same set of facts were being splashed across the front pages and the top stories since her death had been discovered. She'd been shot while shopping with her adopted daughter. No one knew who had done it, no one knew why. No one knew anything. The only new information was that they had officially put on a search, scouring the earth sphere and the colonies for any sort of clue.

What they'd found was a little more interesting than anything relating to Relena, even if it was still useless knowledge.

"-but specialists have not yet discovered a means of entry. The lab appears to be completely sealed, without openings. Sources tell us the land was leased to a scientist believed to have been involved in the development and creation of the Gundams."

I raised an eyebrow as I watched. Odd, that they had only just now found the lab. Then again I guess it wasn't so odd- they might not have needed anywhere especially large just to develop plans. I felt a little stupid as I continued watching. I'd never really thought about how long the war had been going on before we joined it. Apparently quite a few years, as the lab was reported as being built about twenty five years ago. The doctors could have been working together for five or six years before any of us had even been born!

Unfortunately it appeared that no one could get in, so it wasn't exactly world-breaking news, although it definitely made me think about the past, about the war. It was still difficult to live normally, even after almost four years. Everyone around us seemed able to adapt to peace- many people reveled in it. I can't say I blamed them. All I'd ever known in my life was war. I wasn't like some people; I couldn't remember anything else. There had to be folks out there who knew what peace was, people that could remember what the world had been like before the earth sphere and the colonies went to war. For them this was just a simple return to their former lives, not a complete displacement of everything they'd ever known.

I envied them but then again I didn't.

A part of me wished that I'd known a normal life; that I knew something to return to at the end. But there was a part of me that was grateful for my experiences. If I'd grown up like a normal person, in a world that wasn't torn by war, I don't think that I would have learned to appreciate life. I wouldn't be able to see the worth in the little things like how television shows had plots longer than the episode or two I'd caught on the run or the big white fluff-ball of a dog snoozing at my feet. I wouldn't have known how it felt to have my own real silverware, a bed to call my own for more than one or two nights, and more than a few articles of clothing. I wouldn't have been able to understand how good it felt to not have anyone out for my blood.

So in the end, I wouldn't change my past, even if I could.

When I looked up again, they had moved on to an interview with Dorothy Catalonia, about Relena's death; definitely something I could ignore. Strange- she had dropped and stayed out of the public eye for years now. Vaguely I remembered that she had spent a lot of time around Relena, but I wasn't sure that they'd actually been friends. From what she was saying, though, they had been; good ones. It was disappointing to realize just how much there was about Relena that I'd never known. It was worse that I knew now I would never have the chance.

By my feet, Artemis lifted her head, ears cocked forward. Someone was here and ten to one said it was Heero. I sighed, clicking off the television in the middle of a missing person report- some guy who hadn't been seen since the day of Relena's assassination. If I was right about whom it was, then I knew they wouldn't be finding him no matter how hard they looked. That's what you get for hurting people Heero loves, I guess. The thought brought a vague smile to my lips.

Artemis shot for the door when the handle turned, barking excitedly. I rose, tossing the remote onto the couch as I stretched. The door opened, creaking on its hinges. Artemis hopped around Heero, tail wagging furiously as he ran fingers down her back and scratched her ears. His eyes settled on me as he set down his briefcase.

"Duo?" He asked, slightly confused. "Where've you been?"

I gave him a completely unamused look. "I told you if you drove off I wouldn't come home. I went to Quatre's for the night when you left me at the agency."

Maybe I could guilt trip him into getting tested. It was worth a shot.

"You should have just gotten into the car." He said stonily, moving into the kitchen.

Then again, I suppose you have to have a conscience to be guilt tripped…

I let my knee buckle and followed him, trailing to a stop in the entrance. "Why are you being so weird about this, Heero?" I asked quietly, hoping that maybe he would take pity and inform me of whatever situation he had concocted in his brain. No doubt there was a hoard of paranoia rotting at his brain and I couldn't do anything until I had more specific knowledge of what sort. "Practically everyone has DNA on file, if that's what you're worried about. We're supposed to be normal citizens now, aren't we?"

Slamming the coffee mug he'd picked up onto the counter, he turned on me with a glare. "We are not normal citizens now, Duo. We were never normal anything and we never will be."

Though I wanted to be the civil one in this relationship, it was so damn hard when he got pissy. I was not someone who could just back down easily. "Are you saying that because we can't be normal or because you don't want to be normal, Heero? What's going on right now, if we handle it correctly, is just going to take us one step further into leading a normal life and you're resisting like you're afraid that's actually going to happen."

"What is your obsession with normalcy!" He snapped, turning from me again to pour rich black coffee into his cup. I wondered what he'd done the day before, when I wasn't home to pick up the pieces and keep both our lives in order. Would he make coffee on his own or just say screw it? What would he do without me here, if I left?

"I don't care if it sounds obsessed, Heero. I want a normal life." I replied hotly. "I want a normal life with you. Can't you understand that?"

He closed his eyes, taking a breath and letting it out as though trying to calm himself. It was beautiful to see him make an effort. "Then why can't you have a normal life with me… with just me?" He whispered quietly. "I don't…" I saw his jaw clench and remained silent, immobile as I waited for him to find his words. "I love you, so much, Duo. I don't want to lose you."

"Lose…?" I trailed off, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

A moment later, however, it dawned on me- hit me like a ton of bricks, really. I felt really stupid for not seeing it earlier. Somewhere in that brain of his he thought that if a child came into the picture that somehow I would love him less, that I would not be there for him like I was now. For whatever reason, he believed that bringing a third person into the house would destroy what we had. Guilt crept over my skin, leaving a tingling spider-web feeling. I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around him from behind and tucking my nose into the crook of his neck so that my lips brushed the skin at the nape.

"I love you, Heero. Nothing is ever, ever going to change that. I'm not going to go away just because there's a kid in the house." I pressed my lips against the skin behind his ear, right where I knew it tickled. He tilted his head to avoid the touch with a small noise and turned in my arms to face me. "You know I'm not that easy to get rid of. Whatever danger you think there is… I'll take it."

"You don't understand." He said softly, kissing my forehead. "I wish I could explain…"

"It's okay." I replied gently, leaning full body against him and tilting my head back to rest my jaw upon his shoulder. "You owe Relena one, Heero, for not coming to the front about this sooner. At least let the kid stay a couple weeks." I brought my hands up, reaching to encircle his neck in an embrace. "If you still think it's a bad idea, we'll start looking for a new home."

As carefully and discreetly as I was able, I plucked a few hairs from the back of his head. With ever last fiber of my being I wished that just talking would convince Heero but years of experience had shown me better. If I wanted Heero to do what I wanted I had to be a manipulative bastard. Taking a couple of hairs was probably the least of the crazy things I had done in the past.

Unfortunately I was less discreet than I thought I was being. I guess Quatre was right- asking me to be discreet was like telling setting a raging bull loose in a china shop and telling it not to break anything. As soon as I had pulled those hairs he jerked back, bringing up a hand to touch where I'd plucked. I smiled as innocently as I could, giving him a slightly confused look.

"What's wrong?" I asked politely.

"Did you just pull my hair?" He asked, utterly confused as he stared at me, gingerly rubbing the back of his head.

"A little." I smirked, pinning the hair to the inside of my palm with my thumb and slipping it between my index and middle fingers to hide it as I pulled away again. "I couldn't help myself; you should go take a shower and wash it." I suggested helpfully, hoping that he would leave so that I could do something with the three or so hairs I'd taken. I had to put them away before he saw, until I could take them in and get them tested.

"Did you just pull out hair, Duo?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

Damn, caught. This is one of those times where I began to wish that I could break my vows and tell a little white lie. Simply shaking my head and replying "no!" in a scandalized tone might have actually convinced him that I hadn't but I just… couldn't. Years and years and years of not lying, of protecting my morals through thick and thin wouldn't allow me to lie now.

"Maybe." I said neutrally. "Why would I do that, though?"

"Maybe because you're planning on taking them in and getting them tested for DNA for me, just in case I was unwilling to comply to your verbal wishes?" He suggested, raising an eyebrow in a gesture of wry anger.

It was really too bad that the years I'd spent around him had taught him just as much about me as they had taught me about him.

I still had faster reflexes in social situations, however.

Without saying another word, I slipped out of his grasp and made a mad dash for the door. It took him only a split second to follow me as I dashed over the couch, landing like a cat on the other side. The hairs were still clutched tightly between my fingers. If I could just stash them- but I really didn't have time for that because instead of playing which-way-around-the-couch, the ever practical Heero had just leapt over the back as well, coming straight for me.

I yelped, taking half a bound for our shared bedroom before being tackled to the floor by him. Flailing as best I could, I managed to at least turn onto my stomach to fight him. Unfortunately he was still just a tiny bit stronger than me and managed to wrestle my hands above my head as he straddled my hips and pinned my legs with his ankles.

We were definitely in a position I can't say I would have minded on a normal day. However, it put me at a distinct disadvantage at the moment and knowing that he was already switching his hands to try to hold both my wrists was not helping me calm down. I squirmed, trying to get out from beneath him before he could open my clenched hand and retrieve the hairs but that only earned me pinched skin.

"If you'd just give up and hand them over this would go a lot easier for you." He growled in a low tone- one that said he wasn't quite yet serious about the situation and I still stood a chance.

"If you'd just give up and take her in this wouldn't be an issue, now would it?" I panted, bucking my hips in an attempt to throw him off. It worked less well then I'd hoped, only managing to settle him into an even more uncomfortable position.

With a wicked sort of smile, he managed to pry my fingers loose by pressing on my wrists until they began to lose feeling. I groaned, knowing that he was already winning even as my hands opened weakly.

"Aw, c'mon, Heero. That's no fair!" I complained gamely, "You know I'm just going to get up and chase you down once you've gotten them. It's not like you haven't got a whole head full of 'em, right?"

He tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow as he retrieved the hairs. "So are you saying I should shave my head?"

"Dear God, no!" I exclaimed hastily, instantly trying to imagine Heero with a shaved head and hating what I saw. No. Nothing was worth letting Heero shave his head. "Don't you ever shave your head, Heero Yuy, or I'll disown you!"

He did the most unexpected thing, then- he laughed. A real, honest-to-god laugh from his heart. I stared at him for a second as though he'd turned into a goat, trying to decide what to do now. Part of me wanted to join in and part of me wanted to run like hell. Most of me, however, wanted those hairs back and his grip had loosened as he laughed so I tore my wrists out of his grip and made a grab for them.

Now, I've seen Heero in good spirits before in my life. True, those times were generally more rare, at least the genuine times, but I'd seen them probably more often than anyone else on the planet. When he gets happy he begins to do some really strange things. Paint the kitchen black to match my favorite color. Take apart the toaster and leave the pieces on my side of the bed to remind me we needed a new one. Sit in the backyard in the middle of winter and play ball with the dog; long after the dog had quit fetching the ball.

There was some kind of connection missing in his brain, I was sure, and for the life of me I was certain I would never figure out what it was. I didn't know what made him do things the way he did, instead of like normal people. Normal people would have gotten up and thrown the hairs away- or maybe burned them. Flushed them down the toilet. Something. Not Heero, though.

Without any warning, he pulled away from my grasping hand, leaned back on my hips… and whistled. In the other room I could hear Artemis giving up whatever she had been doing, hauling her great white body into our midst and staring at Heero expectantly. He smiled to me before laying the hairs on his palm and holding them out to her.

"Who's a good puppy?" he asked her in the same voice he used to ask her if she wanted to take a walk. Her tail started up and she moved forward to smother him and his hand with licking dog-kisses, effectively bringing and end to any plan I'd had for DNA testing. When he looked smugly back to me, I only gave him a flat look.

"That was totally cheating."

"Artemis is my loving friend and willing ally." He informed me in a 'you should know better' tone.

"Unwitting ally, maybe." I shot, bucking my hips in an attempt to throw him off so that I could get to my feet again. "She'd befriend anyone who pet her enough."

With a swift motion he released her and grabbed hold of my braid. My hands flew to the back of my head, worrying that he was going to pull, but he didn't. He very gently brushed the tip of it against my lips, smiling in a falsely polite manner.

"If you go after my hair again, I will go after yours. Are we clear?" He asked silkily, never losing eye contact with me. When I nodded just a fraction of an inch, he thumped a hand against my chest and rocked back on his ankles, pressing my thighs into the carpet as he stood and shook his head. "I'm not going in for a DNA test, Duo, and by the looks of it you're not going to get anything of me without my consent."

I let my head drop with a thunk onto the floor as he walked back to the kitchen. Artemis watched him for a second before licking my face and trotting after him. I could hear him whistling something to her as I let my eyes close. A smile stole over my features, though it was of the bittersweet variety. I knew I'd just lost but it was as amusing as hell to think about him being so cheerfully nasty about it and he'd never told me to stop entirely, so perhaps I hadn't quite lost completely.

After all, he'd only forbidden me from taking hairs and that still left all sorts of options.


/End Chapter Six, Inheritance/