Title: Learn from the past and live for the future
Pairings: 1×2
Chapter 15
"Duo, is that you?" came a raspy voice from Heero who was supposedly sleeping.
It was the dead of night and everyone was sleeping expect Duo. He was sitting on the window ledge of his bedroom looking out and keeping his eyes on sleeping Heero. Outside his window Shiny was standing, his head on Duos body letting himself be pet and slowly sleeping.
"Aha, it's me. I got home a few hours ago," answered Duo back.
Duos mind was running on autopilot, thinking about everything that had happened and what it had brought with it. It was the feeling of tiredness that didn't let him go to sleep. Also, the knowledge that Heero wasn't feeling good didn't help the matter either.
"Is there a reason you are sitting on the window ledge like a creep in the middle of the night?" came another question.
"No, not really." Answered Duo honestly. "I just can't go to sleep my mind doesn't let me, it's too active."
"That is a part of sleep deprivation" Informed Heero, Duo "When was your last good night's sleep?"
Before answering Duo had to think about it "It was the day before driving to get Tom's sister, I think."
"It is the same with me." Replied Heero honestly. "But compared to you, I was also attacked, abducted, had a electro shock treatment. But, I am still sleeping. So don't give me that bullshit. What is the real reason you aren't sleeping in bed?"
"I'm worried about you," added Duo quietly.
"About what?" the question sounded honest.
"The Perfect Soldier is around. I don't know how your other ego would take me sleeping next to you."
"Are you serious right now?" asked Heero. When only a nod came from Duo, Heero continued "My other ego, a perfect soldier as everyone is calling it, was always around and had never gotten away. In a time of war, he was a dominant part of me because I needed it. After the war, I knew I would have to change myself and start living. So he moved to the back of my mind. That didn't mean that he was gone. He is always watching out of my eyes, even now. That never stopped."
"Then what did change?" asked Duo in wonder.
"The memories, which I tried to push out of my mind came back with full force. Sometimes I am right in the middle of the war, or training with Doc. J again, the next moment I am in the present. The flashbacks are the problems now."
"What can I do, to make it better?" asked Duo.
"Nothing really. I need time to process those memories once more. Also, you don't need to worry about the perfect solder not accepting you. That part of me had his time of adapting to you and your personality in time of war. If he let you sleep in the same room at that time and didn't kill you, he definitely won't have a problem now. So come to bed and keep me company."
In respond Duo turned his head back to Shiny made some quiet conversation with him, then waited for Shiny to make his way towards the barn. The progress was watched and when he vanishes inside the barn, Duo moved away from the windows and closed them.
A few minutes went by before Duo was ready to join Heero in the bed. The whole time Heero's eyes followed Duo's movements around the room. When he was under the covers on his side of the bed, Duo turned toward Heero and said: "Are you happy now?"
"Hmm" was what he got as a response.
"Now, that is my Heero I know and love," Duo said with a smile.
For a few minutes, Heero just looked at Duo not knowing how to respond. He could recall the moment when Duo had found him in the Lab, because he was clinging to him, mumbling nonsense while touching him all over just to make sure he was okay. It was the touch and the voice that told Heero the truth.
"Why haven't you ever told me how you felt about me?" asked Heero, knowing if he didn't force Duo to talk about his feelings, he would never admit it to himself or Heero. He could tell from the surprised look on Duo's face that he wasn't expecting the question.
"Aren't you too tired and too hurt, to have such a conversation right now?" started Duo quietly.
"No," Came a harsh replay "now explain yourself."
For a few long seconds, Duo just watched Heero "Heero, I loved you from the moment I saw you. For me, you were like a falling star. That feeling never changed, it couldn't. At the same time, I couldn't tell you how I felt, because I didn't want to lose you as my best friend. And, don't let me forget how scared I was that you would kill me when you discovered the truth."
"What an idiot." Muttered Heero.
"Hey, I'm still here," started Duo "What would you have done? I saw how Relena was watching your every move. She was stalking you, and you were defending her every time. If she was in any trouble you were the first person to help her out. A white knight in shining armour."
"That was my duty. She was the icon of peace. I had to make sure she would survive." Heero defended himself.
"Exactly, you were too focused on her. She was your priority, her safety was your goal nothing else mattered." Replied Duo. "And after the war, you were still doing it. At that time, she started to wish you would start looking at her romantically. So, she was doing everything she could think of to make you stay at her side. At the time, I felt so angry with the two of you."
"Why me?" asked Heero.
"You were too focused on her," replied Duo promptly, then continued "and Relena for taking up all your free time. I hated her for it. At that point, I knew I had to go away and give her the dream she was hoping for. If not for her then for you. And, if I came back and you still weren't with her, I could tell you."
"I wish you would have told me before you disappeared. How could you to think I would've killed you?" added Heero disappointedly "I had many chances to harm you, but I didn't. No, in the end, I just always had to make sure you were okay. That wasn't fair towards me. Did you not consider, that maybe I would go with you and not stay with her? Have you thought about that?" responded Heero.
"Of course I did. But, if I had told you and you went with me, while not knowing how you felt." Duo at that point just shook his head "I would have robbed you of your happiness that Relena could provide. If so, you would hate me and I would never forgive myself. I would have also taken you from her, and she would hate me too."
"Okay, I understand now. Your point of view was valid and I got Solo out of it. So, I can only be thankful for it. But what about your happiness? Did you think about yourself?"
"Heero, your happiness was always my happiness. I didn't need more." Replied Duo sadly.
"Now it's my time to tell you something so let me talk, okay?" Responded Heero. When Heero saw a nod he continued, "The first time I saw you I was fascinated by you. It was all of you, your hair, your outfit, and your proper manners that threw me. I knew I had to ignore you, if not I would be too focussed on you and that was something that couldn't happen. Not during war. So I decided to anger you by stalling your parts and ignoring you when we should have been working as a team. But no matter what I did, you never gave up on me. You always helped me when I needed it. I could count on you no matter what. You being with me became a given fact.
At that time I didn't understand what was happening or why I was more at peace when we were together. So watching out for Relena, making sure she was safe and okay became my hiding place. With her, I didn't need to worry about you, to obsess about you. She was a perfect excuse for me. Then the war ended and I started to look for a way to tell you how I felt, but then you started to avoid me. I saw you less and less. At one point you just vanished. What a shock that was for me. At first, I thought you done something to yourself."
"I am so sorry." Responded Duo desperately. "If I knew, I would have never gone away." Till now Duo was making eye-contact with Heero, but as soon as he heard Heero, he looked down and murmured more to himself than to Heero "I was sure if I went away for a while I was doing you and Relena a favour. She needed time to show you how she felt and you needed time to get used to her. From my point of view, I was only hindering your chance to be happy."
"You were too noble, too unselfish to look for your own happiness." Added Heero quietly.
"Oh, fuck you. I was never noble. I was just protecting my heart. And as you said, you got a perfect gift from Relena. Solo is the best little man you can wish for. He will surprise all of us one day."
For a while, nobody said anything, and Duo hoped they would both just fall asleep and maybe continue with that conversation later but was quickly negated with the sake of his shoulder.
"We are not sleeping. We need to talk about this first." Heero knew he wouldn't get a better moment to tell Duo what he felt. "Don't you get it Duo? I was always in love with you. No matter the time, or how long ago it was. My feelings toward you never changed, it couldn't."
The sentence came too quickly for Duo to register. "Can you repeat that please?"
In return Heero looked straight at Duo. "Duo, I love you. I always loved you and will always love you. That is something that will never change. When you let me and Solo live with you that was the happiest day in my life. Is that clear enough?"
As a reply, Heero only got a stunned nod from Duo who couldn't believe what he just heard. So Heero continued "Is there a chance, for us to work on a possibility of us, together?"
Too emotional to think clearly or to listen to his inner self, who would only tell him to wait and talk it out, Duo moved as close to Heero as he could. When his lips almost touched Heero's, he stopped. "Can I kiss you?"
"Yes, please."
And so they did. The first kiss they shared was as light and as careful as Duo could make it. Both just brushed their lips together. In a way, he still couldn't believe he was kissing Heero, but he did. When those kisses weren't enough they started to kiss harder and sloppier. Each wanting to get as much flavour from one another as possible. How long they were kissing nobody cared. Only the kissing, the caresses and the feel of each other mattered.
At some point, Duo moved as close to Heero as their bodies could allow. With each kiss, the wish to take the clothes off, to feeling Heero's skin, got harder and harder to ignore. So Duo knew they would need to stop. "Dear God, what a perfect kisser you are." murmured Duo while leaning into another kiss that brought a flow of more kisses to come. Next time they stopped Duo said it aloud "We need to stop now." so even Heero could respond to his thought.
In return Heero moved his right hand around Duos waist and pulled him back to his body "I know, but promise me, we will continue to explore that."
"We definitely will" Confirmed Duo promptly before few more kisses were exchanged. Afterward, Duo lay his head on Heero's chest. "Now I am grateful you insisted that we talked."
"Good to hear because I still need some more information out of you."
"Sure, I am in perfect position here, so I don't mind talking. What do you want to know?"
"How's Relena? Is she still alive?" asked Heero.
"The last time I saw her, she was still breathing and her heart was still beating." Responded Duo coldly "In what condition her body is, I cannot tell you. Maybe Wufei can get more information's from Preventers."
"Okay, will check that later. Now tell me, what happened after Trowa took me away from that building and brought me home." continued Heero.
"Let's see where should, I start."
"Start from the time we talked inside the car." Commented Heero.
And Duo did just that. Here and there, Duo had to take a break to get his feelings in order, but when he was okay, the report continued. During Duo's talk Heero just listened, not disturbing him. Afterward, Duo gave Heero the time to absorb all the information he was provided with.
"That was a clever way to deal with all of them, even Relena." Responded Heero admirably "I don't think I could do it. I would choose an easier way."
At that Duo wondered "What way? What would you do in my shoes?"
"The perfect solder in me would want quick lack of the problem. So I would probably just brake their necks and leave them there."
"That wouldn't surprise me," added Duo "at the same time, my way is more painful than yours."
"Explain." added Heero.
"You take their lives as a punishment, but at the same time you are taking away the pain from them. That is a quick pain and all is gone afterward. That is too easy, and a reward for them. So it's a wrong way. My way is a better way."
"That is my Duo, I know and love." Heero returned the sentence from earlier back to Duo.
Same as Heero earlier, Duo did not speak to that comment, he responded with a shy smile and a light kiss.
A few minutes went by and all they were doing was looking at each other. Then like a lightning bolt, Heero remembered what Duo was telling him about the new boy.
"What the heck was the boy, Luke wasn't it? Doing in a pantry?" was Heero's next question.
"That was the exact thing I asked myself after seeing him in there. At first, I thought I was seeing a ghost." Responded Duo with a smile "But at the same time you don't gain a thing if you don't take risks, not as a street rat."
"It's still a foolish move," chastised Heero "they could have discovered him and do experiments on him too. He would be a free sample for them."
"He was oblivious to what was happening inside. Luke explained that he was only looking for the staff he could steal and for food he could take." Explained Duo.
"That was the only good excuse I could see from it." Added Heero.
"And maybe what happened to you, had to happen so Luke could get the opportunity to meet us. That way I could offer him a normal life." Pondered Duo "That kid has a guardian angel on his side."
"That is your cup of tea, not mine. You know, I am too pragmatic to look it that way." Heero continued. "So we will give him a few months to see if he likes it here. If he chooses not to, we will help him out some other way?"
"Yes, that is the deal. But I hope he will stay. That boy needs a place he is welcome, and we can provide that." For a minute Duo went quiet then he continued "I hope you don't mind me offering him a place to stay."
"Why should I mind? It's not my decision to make. You opened your home to me and Solo, why shouldn't you open your home to a boy who needs it too. But there should be rules, even Solo got his."
"Don't talk like that. My home was always your home, even if you weren't here. Also, what rules does Solo have to follow?" Asked Duo in wonder.
The talk between Heero and Duo went on and on. They were talking about different things, some funny, some not, but they didn't mind. The most important thing was that they were together and safe once again.
It was 11 am when Heero woke up. Duos side of the bed was empty, and he was nowhere to be seen. At the same time, he felt the weight on his torso. It seemed his son was once again taking a nap on top of him while waiting for Heero to wake up.
It was exactly a week after Heero was found and brought back home. Although time had passed since the incident his body still needed more time to rest. It was like his body's batteries were filling up very slowly each day. That was also the reason he was waking up so late.
Just looking at his sleeping son brought peace to Heero. He was once again thankful nothing bad had happened to him.
"Solo. Solo," he murmured while playing with his son's hair. Solo, in turn, turned his head to the other side and borrowed more closely into Heero, attempting to keep sleeping. If Heero didn't have some work to do, he would've gladly let his son sleep awhile. "Solo, you need to wake up," was all he could do while waiting for his son to respond.
"Not yet daddy."
Knowing what topic would instantly wake Solo he asked "Where is your puppy? How come he is not with you?"
As expected Solo raised his head and look at Heero while replying "Uncle Duo and Luke took him when they went to take care for Shiny and other horses. Luke thinks Bubbles should be more independent."
"He usually chooses one person whom he is fateful to and ignores others around himself. I don't think being away from you will change how he feels. Do you agree with Luke?" asked Heero while remembering the first time he lay his eyes on the young boy for.
Luke was a very slim boy, due to a lack of regular meals. Luke had also appeared scared shitless of everyone around himself. Just from his stance and his eyes, Heero was sure the boy wouldn't have the guts to stay with them, even for a few days. But two weeks had passed and Luke was showing some improvements. He was more positive, he eats with them without showing fear, and he tries to communicate. He was also showing interest in what was going on at the farm. That told Heero that Luke had decided to try to trust them.
"Bubbles didn't want to leave me. But after I asked him to go with Uncle Duo he did so. I also asked Baba, Buch, and Shiny to watch out for him. So he'll be okay."
"You are a little doctor Doolittle." Responded Heero "Just make sure that other people won't take advantage of that gift."
At that Solo did not reply, he just put his hand on Heero's cheek.
"I am very happy you are my dad," responded Solo honestly.
"And I am very happy to have such a good-hearted boy," added Heero "are you worried about your mom?"
"I know she had to be punished, and I am not mad at you or Uncle Duo because of it. Was it my fault?"
"Solo, what nonsense is that," Heero was stunned to hear what his son struggled with, "Whatever you are thinking, stop it. You have nothing to do what happened with your mom. She was the one that started it, we were just the ones who had to end it."
"I feel like maybe if I didn't avoid her, or didn't show her that I knew what she was feeling, maybe then she would never know and everything would be okay. I could pretend to be normal, and she would go on without knowing the truth."
"Would you be happier if the truth wasn't revealed?" Heero asked his son.
"No, I like it that you know and you still love me without fear."
"Oh, Solo. You are my most precious person. I will always love you and will always stay by your side. You cannot get rid of me."
"Do you think I could go and see her?"
"For now, we need to wait and see how your mom is doing. From what your Uncle Duo told me, she would need a lot of time to get better. I even don't know how badly she was punished. So for now, we will have to wait. But when it's safe for you to see her, then I will take you to her."
"Okay," responded Solo calmly knowing he could trust his word.
"And now to the really important question. Did you save some breakfast for me?" while asking Heero started to tickle his son. For a few minutes, only childish laughter could be heard from the bedroom.
Two hours later, Heero was inside his office looking for the truth about Relena. She was, for the time being, the most important topic that everyone was reading or talking about.
From what Duo had told him, and what they got from Preventer's report obtained by Wufei, all those who were involved in Heero's experimental treatment with Relena survived. They were taken into a special facility where they were getting help. Each person was also questioned by Preventer agents but without any success. Heero wondered what kind of speech Duo gave everyone before he fried their brains out.
Whatever he said, it worked because nobody was talking.
Relena's condition was more critical than any other patient. Duo's handling beforehand was the key to it. Due to his help, she had to be sedated more than two times, she was also put on sleeping gas. Her body went into shock as soon as she was electrified.
From the doctor's report, she was severely brain-damaged and the doctor didn't know which parts of her body could still work. They couldn't take regular tests because her body wasn't strong enough to get true results. So, for now, they just took care of her and waited for her body to get stronger or her brain to get into a normal rhythm. To their relief, she was sleeping most of the time.
When he was sure he got all the news, he closed down the computer and moved out of the house. The seats on the porch were the perfect spot for Heero to be outside but still be in the shadows. From his viewpoint, he could see Duo and Tom inside the horse paddock, grooming school horses while Luke and Solo sat on the wooden fences watching them. Shiny, Baba, and even Buch, with Bubbles running circles around wooden fence, sat by their sides.
"There you are," came Wufei's voice from beside Heero.
"How do you feel?" While asking, he moved to the next seat, setting himself down to face Heero.
"Little tired, but okay, for now." Responded Heero calmly then continued "Solo was asking about Relena. He wanted to know if she would be okay and if he could go and see her. So after talking to him, I went into the office to see what information I could get about her and her condition."
"Oh, what did you tell him?" asked Wufei, surprised by the sudden change of topic.
"I told him what I knew. I also told him that it would be a while before he could see her. Of course, I did not tell him about her condition. Maybe she will get enough functionality back in her body to be able to talk to him. For that to happen she needs time. And I hope that time won't come too soon. I don't want him to be near her. She is only poison to his soul."
"In some way, he does know how you are feeling, or...?"
"He does, but he is making sure that someday he will be allowed to go and see her. He is still taking my feelings into account, so he won't go against my wishes."
"He is still his daddy's boy." Responded Wufei with a laugh.
"Oh, shut it," replied Heero with a smile.
"I am actually out here because I had a long meeting with Lady Une."
"What does she want now?"
"She is pissed off because she is sure that what happened with Relena was all our doing"
"Of course it was, but that won't make us admit it."
"Anyway, she doesn't have the proof she needs to take us in."
"She will never have the proof she needs. The whole organisation is a joke, and she plays the biggest part in it."
"You are talking like Duo right now, are you sure you are okay?"
"We think the same most of the time. Compared to me, he is open-minded about it, and I am not."
"Okay, let's go on." Added Wufei, then continued "She is also angry because the information the Preventers had on us has vanished. They also don't have evidence as to when the act was done and that irritates her the most. The threat of suing us was the deal breaker. I have enough."
"Wow, what a day you had." Replied Heero calmly.
"Indeed."
"Did you set Quatre on her?" was the next question Heero wanted to know.
Before replying Wufei smiled "What do you think he's doing right now?"
"God help her now. When he's done with her, she won't be bothering us anymore."
Heero didn't care what Lady Une thought about them. She should never let the diary be looked at by anyone, not even Relena. Because of the broken promise, the trust was gone. Because of it, he could not trust Preventers with their personal information. He was burned once, and that was enough for him. Nobody else would have the same fate.
"What about you. How will that impact your work with them?"
At first, Wufei did not reply. It was like he was searching for the right words "I am thinking of giving them my resignation."
"Why? Do you think they won't be fair to you?"
"No, those thoughts were going through my mind for a while now. Most of it is related to Evan." Wufei admitted honestly "I just feel that I am not fair towards him. If we want to have a serious relationship, I need to be here."
"Those are deep thoughts, but I agree. If you want to have a long term relationship with him, you need to be here and give both of you the chance to build something together. And Duo will be ecstatic to hear that."
"But, what will I be doing here?"
"I was thinking of creating a business where I could offer my computer, hacking, and electronic skills."
"You're talking about cybersecurity?"
"Exactly, we could always hack in other businesses and show them their weakness. If they want to be secure, we would provide it and get paid. For now, the idea is just in my mind, and we would have to talk about it and bring it all on paper."
"Are you for real?" Responded Wufei.
Ignoring Wufei, Heero continued "I could use a partner in the business, too. Just think about it and if you don't have anything else to sort out, you are welcome to join me."
"Hmm," added Wufei "I hadn't expected that. How long have you been thinking about it?"
"I thought about it for a while now. It started when we moved here." Commented Heero with a smile.
"It's a good idea. And no, I don't have any other idea in my mind." responded Wufei.
"Good, Quatre would know more about it. So we can ask him for advice. He would know exactly what needs to be done to start it."
"He has more than enough knowledge about those kinds of things. Even Trowa knows more about that stuff." Added Wufei.
"After supper, we can get all five of us into the office and talk about it." Commented Heero absently while watching what was happening in the horse paddock.
"Sure, but what about Duo?" Wondered Wufei.
"I don't understand," responded Heero "What about Duo?"
"Have you asked him to join? The business, I mean." Continued Wufei.
"Why should I?" Pondered Heero.
"He is more than capable of doing everything you were suggesting."
At that Heero moved his gaze back to the paddock and directly towards Duo, while he was looking at him he continued, "You are right Wufei, but at the same time you don't see the big picture here."
"Oh, and what is the big picture?"
"What do you see when you see Duo right now?" Asked Heero in return.
"I see a young man goofing around with a horse and dogs. Being an idiot as always."
"Exactly my point. Duo bought the land, the animals, all just to get away from all the things he was good at. He chose to do new things, take things slow and take the days as they come."
"Yes, but it's a shame. When he believes in something, he cannot be stopped. He is like a hound, he will bite into it and won't let go for nothing. That makes him unstoppable. It is a very good character as an agent." Added Wufei. "Even Lady Une thought so in the past. But whenever she invited Duo to the meeting to recruit him, he did not accept it. He ignored her calls, her invitations, and even her pleas. He brought her so far that she was ready to use force just to get him to Preventer headquarters. But before she could, he just vanished."
"What are you talking about 05?"
At that point Wufei recognized that he was not dealing with Heero anymore. At some point when he was talking randomly about Duo, Perfect Soldier came out. The look Heero was giving him, and the tone he was using, was a tone of seriousness even Wufei couldn't ignore.
"It's not like it sounds." Started Wufei "It's in the past."
"What kind of organization did Preventers become? They unorganized, they don't keep the words they are giving, their servers are unsafe. And now you are telling me Une is exploits her own power?"
"No, she doesn't. She was just annoyed by being ignored by Duo. You know how 02 can be. She probably didn't mean it like she intended."
"When exactly was that?"
"That goes way back before he went underground to travel around. At that time he visited you, then he called all three of us and informed us of his intention. He also told me to tell Lady Une to shove it."
"And that is all you know?" came a cold response.
"Of course that is all," commented Wufei "Of course I went to Une, to inform her in diplomatic way to stop troubling Duo. I think even Quatre had a talk with her."
Wufei was out of words and didn't know how to make Heero at ease.
The presence of 01 was unnerving. Just as he thought he was out of options he heard footsteps getting near. To both of their surprise Duo's voice rang out "Hey, 01! Shiny needs to talk to you and show you his hiding places. Are you up to it? You need your exercise anyway."
"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." Muttered Wufei.
But evet Duo wasn't enough for Heero to reappear. Instead of this 01 send a cold stare toward Duo and his horse, then stood up turned and went into the house again. The whole event took place just under 3 minutes but even then it felt like time was stopped.
"OMG," started Duo "How did you bring out 01 again?"
While talking Duo moved toward the door and opened it to look inside. When he did not see any indication of Heero around, he once again closed the door and turn to Wufei with expectation.
"Do you know how long did it took for 01 to go back!? I had to talk to Heero almost an entire night to get what you saw in the morning. I don't know what to do now! How did you-!"
"We talked about Preventers and the way they are handling their business."
"They have a lot of holes, inside and outside the business, but that is nothing new and not a reason to bring 01 out. What are you not telling me?"
"I didn't know you were a topic he wouldn't like to talk about," replied Wufei.
"What kind of talk about me triggered that reaction?" asked Duo in wonder "He knew everything about me."
"Wrong, he didn't know the fact that Lady Une troubled you in hopes to recruit you for Preventers."
"Oh, the time she was annoying as hell, in hope I would join Preventers?" asked Duo. "But that was nothing, it's not like I had any problem because of it."
"They let Relena into the room which should be locked all the time, no matter who wanted to read it without exception. Then their security screwed up, and she was able to steal J diary."
"That of course led to Solo almost being taken away from Heero, and Heero to be up abducted to be tortured." Continued Duo without a flow.
"The trust is broken. We cannot trust them anymore. Not with our personal information, or with J Diary and the real facts about what happened in the building that night. The problem now is that 01 looks toward Preventers as a treat. The information about you was like the icing on the cake."
"So with 01, it's probably at that same moment hacking into Preventers servers and living a lot of different kind of viruses."
While they were talking Wufei still set while Duo moved up and down with worry on his face.
"What should we do? If, I go into our office 01 will probably point a gun into my face. That's what he has been doing in war time. It was always my head or a bullet."
"I would do the same," replied Wufei.
"Hey," responded Duo in disbelief.
"What? I was always wondering when your time would come. You were annoying him 24 hours a day. It was a surprise you lasted the whole war."
During the conversation, Quatre come out of the house with a questioning look on his face. "Why is Heero typing like crazy? He looks like he's going to kill someone."
So they told him what happened.
"Oh, so my talk with Une wasn't the last one. And I was so hoping it would be." Commented Quatre afterwards.
"If we count on 01 and the possibilities this presents, we definitely will. I am just worried about what he will do before that call comes."
"Maybe we should send Solo in there, he could calm him down or...?"
"It wouldn't be fair to Solo if we made him do that." Responded Duo "Let me try my luck first, Okay?"
"Be my guest," affirmed Wufei while Quatre only nodded.
Not wanting to bother Heero too much with his vendetta towards the Preventers, Duo quietly entered their office and sat himself at his own desk.
He actually didn't have much to do those days at his desk, not since Heero took over the finance side of the farm. That left Duo with a lot of free time with his horses.
Even so, he knew 01 couldn't ignore him for too long. So he made himself comfortable on his seat and moved his gaze toward the nature outside their windows. The landscape was always changing and looking at it was never boring to Duo, it was his own.
While he was sitting, he remembered that he never told Heero about the wolf he met a few years back. The wolf had her den in an old tree that was on the border of their land. Near the tree, large rocks were scattered around so she could lay upon them while watching over her den. Both he, Jack, and Tom liked to keep an eye on her to make sure that she was alright and that she didn't do anything foolish.
"Did you know there is a wolf living on the border of our land and the woods?" Duo started the conversation.
At the new topic Duo looked at Heero with a sparkle of interest in his eyes. That was telling him that 01 wasn't as upset as they all thought he would be. Good.
"Really? What kind of wolf and what colour?"
At Heero's question Duo didn't show any delight on his face even if his inner self jumped up and down like a little kid getting his lollipop. The question also told him that Heero was not as deep down as they feared.
"It's a female. She has a lot of different colours." Explained Duo "Her hide is mix of brown, grey, and white."
"What is her threat level?" That question was all 01.
Even so, Duo calmly replied. "For three years now, we've been watching over her. In that time frame she didn't show any aggression toward us. She is just watching us and keeping her own territory on the other side of our land safe from us."
"Are the woods enough for her?" Asked Heero.
"You know that was the main question we were asking ourselves when we saw her for the first time. The main worry was towards her digging through the fence to get to our animals. But, for now she is a keeping a distance." Continued Duo.
"Isn't a wolf a pack animal? So how come she is alone?" Heero continued.
"I don't know. Maybe she lost her mate."
For a few seconds nobody spoke and Duo felt more confident. He got, if not 01, than Heero to relax. To temp his own fate and to prove himself a point, Duo stood up from his seat and moved around two tables to Heero, who was watching him with a confused look on his face. When Duo was at Heero's side, he pointed on his lap and said "give me some room, would you?" From 01's reaction, Duo saw a surprise, but 01 nonetheless did as he was told and moved his stool away from the table. When the space was large enough for Duos frame, he unceremoniously seated himself on top of 01's lap while circling his hands around his neck.
"Now, isn't that a more comfortable arrangement for both of us to have a nice conversation."
"Nice for whom? You or me?" asked Heero sceptically.
Before answering Duo leaned into Heero and kissed him with a slow caress to the other's jaw. When the kiss was done, Duo knew his Heero was staring out of his own sea blue eyes, not 01 anymore.
"So, what is on your mind?" asked Duo openly.
"I don't like Lady Une, and the whole Preventer organization." The tone with which Heero said that was dark and unhappy. Hearing the truth Duo leaned more into Heero laying his head on the crook of his neck while saying "Her two personalities; one sadistic and ruthless, the other diplomatic and peaceful creeped me out from the start. I really don't understand how anyone can accept a leader like that in such an organization as Preventers. She was a crazy chick during times of war, and she is probably crazier nowadays."
"Is that the reason why you never accept her invitations to meet?" as they talked, Duo could feel Heero's hands around his waist.
"She creeped me out in the past, and that feeling didn't change today. So why on earth would I go to a meeting willingly?"
"Hmm," came Heero's response "To my eyes she was always just my enemy, so for me she was just an unknown target."
"I knew it." Duo almost shouted while looking at Heero "why the heck did you give her the J diary then?"
For a few seconds Heero stayed quiet not responding to Duo's inquiry, but then he added "It was Relena who talked me into it. It was during that time when all of us decided to destroy our Gundams. In her eyes the Diary presented the past. She promised me that Preventers would keep it safe. Not wanting to argue, I let her keep it. I trusted her, she would do as she promised me."
"And she did," nodded Duo "at least until, she forgot about her promises and her stupidity won her over."
"What if her condition gets better? What if she tells everyone what you did to her? You know she is a liability to our and Solo's safety. Why did you let her live?" Those questions were asked by 01, even if Heero was still with him.
"Her condition will never get better. Her body suffered too much physical and psychological damage."
"We will still have to monitor her. If not for us then for Solo's safety."
"We would do that anyway. What will we do about Preventers? Lady Une, while talking with Quatre, announced that she wanted to have a team meeting. So the at 20.00 pm we will have to deal with her."
The questions Duo wanted to ask vanished out of his mind as soon as Heero leaned into him and kissed him on his cheek then on his forehead. Afterward Heero was giving him kisses to his whole face. The most satisfying one was when he gave him the kiss on his mouth. But with that kiss the longing, the need to feel one another cracked open. Both of them automatically opened their mounts and deepened the kiss.
It went so far that Heero demanded "I want to feel you so much," and Duo automatically stood up and seated himself once again, straddling the other while once again taking kiss after kiss, pulling Heero's head toward himself to be as close to him as possible.
The kisses, the touches, and the noises both made were increasing and Heero wanted more. So he hectically pulled Duo's shirt out of his waistband and over his head, then the other did the same to Heero.
When their torsos touched both moaned deeply while the kissing got more and more passionate. To Duo, it felt like he was flying and the feelings he was receiving from Heero were drowning him. It was like he was drowning in sea of desire, love, want, and wish. His soul was screaming for more, more, more.
"I love you." Duo gasped while giving and taking kiss after kiss, his hands roaming up and down Heero's torso.
"I need to touch you more, please let me touch you." Was all Heero could add.
"Yes, more. I want more. Give me more. I will never let you go, you are all mine." Duo was lost in Heero, lost in his touches, his kisses, and when he felt Heero's hands on his now released shaft he almost came there and then, but to his relief Heero squeezed him hard while saying "Not now. You cannot cum right now. I want us to do it together. I need us to do it together."
So Duo stopped what he was doing, while looking down on Heero's hands as one moved up and down Duos shaft, while other released his own shaft. Just the sight of it made Duo want to get on his own knees and take that cock in his mouth and worship him. But it was not time for that, Heero did not let him slide any further than he had to. Then he took both of their shafts together and started to move his hand up.
The kissing started once again, and finally both gave and grinded on each other while their pleasure grew more and more. The feel of Heero's hands on him was maddening. When both of them came, and the release ended the want and need didn't go away.
To Duo, it was like he couldn't get enough of Heero, he probably would probably never be able to. So it surprised him when Heero said, "Next time we do that, we will be in our room and I will slide into you and take you with slow and fast strokes. Then, we will try every position there is to know and hump like rabbits until we are satisfied. Because right now I am hot, I want you." To Heero's amusement he received only a nod.
Duo felt like he was dragged up, his feelings were screaming at him, and he couldn't move. All he could do was look at Heero's lips, remembering how they tasted and wished to feel them once again. So he did kiss him while Heero tried to talk. He did try to understand whatever Heero was saying, but most was lost on him. His focus was more on Heero's body, on a wish to feel what he felt earlier. Only when Heero recognized Duo's state he had to shake him to get his attention. Then he had to promise him they would repeat what they were doing before the day ended. Only then did Duo's focus move back to Heero and what he was saying.
"We need to stop, Love." Heero's torso was still slick with sweat and fresh bite marks.
"I know," responded Duo with longing as he took a quick kiss from Heero's lips. "But before we do, promise me we will repeat that. I need to know I will be able to feel you once again."
"I," he gave Duo a kiss, "promise," one more kiss, "you," kiss, "that we," kiss, "will," kiss, "do," kiss, "that," kiss "the whole," kiss "night," kiss.
Afterward Duo once again leaned into Heero, laying his head in the crook of Heero's neck and waited for his emotions and hormones to go down. How long they stayed in that position Duo didn't know, it felt too good to bring himself to care about anything else. If there hadn't been a knock on their door, he would've probably fallen asleep right then and there.
The house got quiet at the end of the day. While Tom, Joe, Ann, and the small baby Alex went home, Solo and Luke went their own rooms. Meanwhile, the Gundam pilots, sat around the round table in Duo's and Heero's office.
They were mainly there to discuss and prepare for the upcoming call from Lady Une. They all agreed, or rather Quatre announced, that they would be more prepared if they talked about it before the call was accepted.
"So, who will be leading the discussion, and who is for staying quiet?" asked Quatre.
"I say we vote on it," returned Duo. "Everyone who is for Quatre to lead the main discussion, raise their hands."
As it was expected all, save for Quatre, raised their hands.
"It's decided then," added Trowa "I for once have no intention to talk at all."
"I still don't understand why she needs to talk to us, she has to know we won't say a word about anything." Grumbled Duo "She didn't earn it."
"Maybe she will beg us to help out with the servers," responded Wufei.
"Or maybe she will try to unnerve us in order to say something we previously did not want to." Added Trowa.
"You think?" responded Duo with a chuckle then added "Then we should Heero handle her."
While all added something to the conversation, Heero quietly sat, on his seat, quietly clicking on his laptop. What he was doing Duo didn't know, and nobody would be foolish enough to ask, not even Quatre.
"Okay, I agree with it." Continued Quatre, not bothering with the unimportant small talk. "While all of you were doing whatever you were doing," continued Quatre "I made few pointers of what is wise to say and what to avoid in any circumstances."
To Duo's amazement, each of them got document of which topic should be avoided and what not to be and idiot and talk about. As he read down the list of things to avoid, Duo once again added "why would we even try to talk about her multiple personality disorder? Also, nobody wants to know why Mariemaia Khushrenada accepted Une's offer of adoption."
"Interesting," responded Heero "We can always use Quatre's not to talk about pointers to shake her."
"That is not why I..." Quatre started to say when the announcement of an incoming video call came in.
"Let's talk to the witch." Responded Duo.
"I don't think she would be very pleased to hear you talk about her that way," added Wufei.
"I can always call her a lunatic," responded Duo loudly while the video call was activated. Not bothering to be ashamed of being honest in front her own eyes, Duo continued with a jesting voice "Heero look, Une wanted to talk to us. Aren't we just so goddamn happy?"
At hearing his own name Heero looked up from his work, gave Une unimpressed stare and went back to his work.
"That's just cheating," continued Duo, not bothering to give Quatre opportunity to start the discussion "how come you are always able to do something on your laptop no matter the time of day. That is just not right." Of course they all knew what Duo was referring to "I demand you tell us what is so important that you are ignoring Lady Une."
The death glare Heero was sending him made Duo re-edit is own words "Okay, maybe not demand." When the glare still continued Duo added "Go on, go on. Nobody will bother you at your work."
At that Heero, once again continued with the typing, not bothering to add a word to the conversation.
"I see, you haven't changed at all Duo. You are still playing a jester." Responded Une.
With her eyes only on Duo, she waited, expecting him to respond or to say something back, but to the surprise of everyone in the room, Heero once again looked up from his laptop "Is there a reason you are bothering us with your presence?" asked Heero coldly.
"And 01, of course. It's good to see you. We all were very worried for your well-being."
When an "Ahm," came from Quatre's side both Duo and Heero got quiet. "I apologize Lady Une. Can we get to the point of your call?"
"As I was saying," Lady Une started "I requested to talk to each of you in hope the Gundam Pilots could help us with Relena's dilemma."
"Oh, but how the all mighty Preventers have fallen." Muttered Duo aloud, not talking to anyone specifically. "They need help from us? Just wow!"
"Maxwell, one more disrespect toward me and I will-," responded Une coldly, but before she could continue with her treat Heero looked up from his screen and interrupted her. "You will what? What Maxwell said is nothing but the truth. If the words hurt it's your problem. To treat someone that way because of it is childish and unprofessional."
Taking the words to heart, Lady Une continued like nothing had happened "Relena Peacecraft was kidnapped, tortured, and is fighting for her life as we speak. As Gundam Pilots it's your duty to help us find the responsible party and bring them to justice."
"Heero, she used the word duty, is that not ironic?" added Duo dubiously.
"We all heard, just ignore it." Responded Heero not even bothering to look up.
But Duo wouldn't be what he was if he would ignore it. So, when he next looked up towards Lady Une, his gaze wasn't warm and funny. No, his gaze was hard and cold. "Where were Preventers when Solo almost got taken by the unknown team? Where were they, when Heero took the force of the attack to save is son? What did Preventers do when days have passed and nobody moved a finger in help to find him? How many calls did we get from Preventers as a good will in hope they could give us a hand with the search?"
"Maxwell, Preventers did not get any request to help with the search so it isn't fair to throw that in my lap." started Lady Une'
To everyone's surprise it wasn't Duo who spoke up next, it was Wufei. "A Gundam Pilot who helped the whole World during war. The most important part of the puzzle as to why we won that war, was kidnapped by unknown people, was being held by them, experimented on, and Preventers need to receive a phone call from other Gundam Pilots in request to help? Is that what you're saying?"
"Chang, I understand the point you are making, but there are procedures we need to follow before anything can be done. At least you should understand that?" Responded Une defensibly.
The next who spoke was Quatre, but the topic drastically changed "I understand that Preventers committed themselves to safe guard J-Diary. The agreement was to keep J-Diary in specific room, into which nobody has access too. Is that agreement still valid?"
The question made each of them look up to see how Lady Une would respond.
"Of course it is!" came a defensive reply. "The Diary is still where it should be." The lie came out automatically. The tactic known to all of them was to lie, so long that the lie becomes reality. But to Lady Une's dismay, they knew the truth so it became a trap into which Lady Une fallen.
"So there won't be a problem in requesting the Diary be given back to us, will there?" asked Heero.
"Why are we talking about J-Diary right now?" responded Une defensibly "The agreement wasn't broken, so the request of getting the Diary back is denied. Also, there is a more important topic to talk about and that is Relena Peacecraft, and what happened to her."
"In all due respect, Lady Une," Trowa joined into the conversation "until we see the Diary in your hands as a token of good will, your word means nothing to us. So until then, we aren't agreeing on anything."
Not giving Une opportunity to reply Duo continued "But you can't show it to us can you?" responded Duo "Tell us the truth, the truth of how Preventers broke the deal."
"Fine," started Une sharply "How the information got out, I don't know. But be sure heads will roll for it." Before continuing she took deep breath and released it. "I am informing you, that we had an incident in Preventer's. The Diary was taken. I was informed about that too late to make any progress."
"So, if Preventers lost J-Diary then the agreement is broken. Also, we were not informed. If we had been, we could've looked for it on our own. So in a way, losing the J-Diary could also be one of the reasons someone wanted to take Solo and Heero."
"Now that is just a speculation, and not truth. It's unfair." Responded Lady Une "I agree, mistakes were made. The communications between us should be more open and frequent, but what is done, is done. And to my delight, Heero is back and healthy. Now can we move to Relena, and the help I can hope to get?"
"We are not the lapdogs of the Preventers." Responded Duo sharply "Just because Miss Relena got herself in trouble, doesn't mean it is our job to run to her rescue." His tone, eyes, and the way how he held himself told Quatre to take over the conversation. So with a squeeze of Duo's hand, the message was sent and received, and Duo went quiet.
"Lady Une, the request to get help from us was received, but won't be taken on. We did our duty in war time. Now we are only civilians, with no connections to the Preventers. Our lives are ours. So, making demands on us is denied. From here on, our services to Preventers are void. Only if something drastic happens, are Preventers allowed to call and inform us of what is happening and what is needed of us. Even then, the decision on helping will be in our own hands."
"Also, because we lost the faith in Preventers, we decided that information provided by us and about us won't be existing on Preventer's database anymore. In no circumstances are Preventers allowed to have any information about us on their servers anymore."
"Now wait a minute," responded Lady Une, in surprise "I will admit, loosing J-Diary is very bad thing, and we will do everything we can to get it back. But denying to help us is criminal. It is your duty to help. You have special training that other Preventer agents never completed."
"All due respect, Lady Une, just because we are Gundam Pilots, doesn't allow you or any other organization to use us as they please. If Preventers won't accept that, I will use all the money I have to sue you, and you don't want that to happen."
While Quatre spoke, Lady Une went quiet. From her facial expression and the body posture, all could see the angry that shimmered out of her. But to her dismay she couldn't force them into anything.
"So, what should we do about Relena and her incident?" asked Une coldly. When she didn't get any response, she continued. "When did all of you get so untouchable and cold?" Again no words were said and all of them just waited for her to click off and leave them peace. "I will never forgive any of you for that. Preventers will stop existing for each of you, and will never help you out in any situation, even lit it's a matter of life or death. So loose the phone number."
"I am crying a river over here! Heero, I need a handkerchief, my eyes are leaking!"
That was the last straw for Lady Une and the communication ended on both sides.
"You think we are free of her?" continued Duo seriously.
"Not sure," responded Wufei. "If she wants us to have problems in the future, she will try to find anything that could harm us."
"They won't have the time for it." Added Heero seriously.
"Okay, then tell us what the heck were you doing all that time. Is it anything good?"
Before responding Heero looked at Duo and gave him a smile meant only for him and him alone. Then he looked toward others and answered "Let's just say that I added a few surprises into Preventer's database."
"And," continued Duo with big smile, "do tell us, you devil you."
"Let's just say that in few months the word Preventers will no longer exist."
"What" responded Wufei with horror?
"Don't worry, I won't go there and blow them up. I just meant that whenever someone will type the phrase Gundam Pilots or our names in their browser, their system will be attacked and destroyed."
"So, that could happen to anyone?"
"Of course," commented Heero with satisfaction. "That way Lady Une will be forced to keep her distance from us. If she won't, I will change the apps to ban the word Preventers as well. It all depends on her."
"Damn, you really are a devil."
"We still need to destroy J-Diary." Added Trowa. "It is not safe to keep it or to guard it. We won't live forever so Solo and the others will just have problems if it gets in the wrong hands. The future is still unknown."
"Agreed," responded Heero.
"So let's make if a fun event and have a bonfire for the kids. We can tell funny stories, have games and afterward we burn J-Diary."
The meeting went on for few hours. When all was sad and decided upon, the time to end the day came upon them. So that's, what they done.
TBC
Okay let's end it here. The next chapter will be an epilogue. I hope you all like how the story continues.
Beta reader - I want to thank my beta reader "Don't Eat Dead Doves" you done marvellous work.