Author's Note: Another quick update. Whoopie. Just one final notice, the poll ends on June 30th. You want your opinion known, time is running out. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: language, shounen ai, drug use

Divulging Solo's Past

Solo had no idea what was going on.

Truer words have never been said.

First, his old friends from back home come here and now he was being called out by that guy, whatshisface, you know, the guy who dated that slut with the eyebrows.

Suffice to say, he had no idea what was going on.

That wasn't the sad part. The sad part was that he wasn't high.

Oh well, at least he had Duo at his side, even though he was dragging the little guy behind him like a child with a rag doll or favorite toy. Oddly enough, Duo wasn't objecting to such treatment so the blond could only assume that either: A.) Duo was sick or B.) he was doing something right.

"What's up?" he greeted the guy (Walker! That was that guy's name!) as he stopped in front of him and the pink girl whose name he had also forgotten.

"I guess you've already forgotten," Walker jested, hands casually settled in his pockets.

Solo frowned. "Forgot what?"

"I recall making a date for a fight last week," Walker hinted.

Solo's face scrunched up in thought before finally making the connection. "Oh yeah, that's right! You mean you still want to go through with it? If you are, then I'm game."

Walker chuckled. "Naw, I'm alright. I just wanted to say sorry for how I acted. You were completely right about Dorothy and I just refused to believe it. I was acting like a jerk to ya and I shouldn't have."

"I guess the dance kinda put things in perspective, huh?" Solo stated.

"Yeah, it did," Walker admitted, bowing his head slightly. "I never thought that…"

He stopped as Relena put her hand on shoulder, gently squeezing reassuringly. "That's all in the past now," she said gently. "You need to put it behind you."

"You an item or something?"

Having not spoken the entire time, the question Duo raised had resulted in the other, taller three looking down at him surprised.

"I guess you could say that," Walker answered, resting his hand on Relena's. "We hooked up at the dance, believe it or not."

"Good for you, good for you both," Solo congratulated as he stretched out his hand. "I hope it works out for you both."

"You think we could be friends?" Walker asked, taking and shaking the offered appendage.

"Yeah, I think we can be Amigos," Solo replied. "You know, now that you aren't threatening me to my face, you seem like a pretty nice guy."

"What can I say; things change," Walker shrugged before sending an appreciative look at Relena.

"Well, we'll just leave you two lovebirds alone and let ya get to know each other," Solo said, excusing both himself and Duo. "See ya guys around."

As they headed back, Duo commented, "That was pretty nice of you. I would have never thought I'd see the day."

"Goes to show I'm more than you think I am," Solo stated proudly.

As soon as the duo returned to their previous business, that being Solo's old friends, Mueller grumbled, "So what was that all about?"

"Just some business I needed to settle," Solo answered.

"We're losing him," Mueller muttered under his breath.

"Wait, didn't you have a fight with Walker today?" Quatre recalled.

"It's canceled," Solo explained. "The reason for fighting was taken out at the dance last week."

"Dance? You went to a dance?" Mueller exclaimed.

"Yeah, I did, want to make something out of it?" Solo growled warningly.

"Just ignore Mueller," Sylvia interrupted. "However, he does have a point. Since when did you start going to school functions anyway? You didn't use to go before so what caused the turnabout?"

"Hey, I just felt like going, is that a crime?" Solo defended.

"You sure? Or was it the pussy you would have gotten out of it?" Sylvia commented.

Duo stilled next to the blond. Something about that comment didn't sit right with him.

"As if," Solo continued, blithely unaware of Duo's reaction. "No pussy is worth going to something like that."

"So it was a piece of ass, wasn't it?" Sylvia accused. "So who was it you boned?"

"That's none of your damn business," Solo hissed.

"That never stopped you before."

"Why don't you all just shut up and go to Hell," Duo suddenly snapped. "I'm out of here. See you guys at the house." Giving none of them the chance to respond or do anything, Duo roughly pulled himself away from Solo and shoved himself through the newly arrived quadruple.

"That was a bit rude," Sylvia commented as soon as the braided one was out of sight.

"Maybe it was because you were being rude yourself," Solo snapped.

"And when have you ever cared about that before?" Sylvia shot back.

"Yeah, since when have you ever cared what she said?" Mueller demanded. "Don't tell me you've finally conformed to their rules."

"Why don't you just shut up for once?" Hilde cut in, glaring at her two friends.

Mueller and Sylvia could only stare at the short haired girl, Mueller in shock and surprise and Sylvia in bemusement.

"Just leave him alone," added Alex. "It's none of our business and he has the right not to say anything."

That certainly surprised the rest of them. Solo gaped only for a few seconds before smiling gratefully at Alex. Hilde was also grateful since she felt more comfortable when one of her friends was backing her up. This time, Sylvia was surprised, not expecting such an action from the teen. Mueller was completely stupefied; there just weren't any other words that could describe the dark skinned teen.

"Thanks Alex, Hilde," Solo said, giving the two mentioned teens a small smile as he started after Duo. It didn't go past him that both Quatre and Trowa were also missing but they weren't what was important right now.

Hunting down Duo was.

--

If there was to be one thing that could be said about Duo, it was that he didn't lie. He may omit or refuse to say something but he didn't lie. Thus, that allowed Solo to conclude that Duo would be going straight to the mansion. If he wasn't there, then he would be there later and Solo would be waiting for him.

Luckily, when he came in through the front door, Quatre was there to nonverbally tell him that Duo was indeed in the mansion. Now, that only left one thing for him to do: hunt the braided one down and find out what was on that mind of his.

After flinging his school stuff into his room, he headed straight to Duo's room to check if the braided one was there. He was. And he was seated on his bed, looking straight at him as if expecting him.

Now either he was getting predictable or something big was up.

Hmm, now which one was the lesser of the two evils?

"It's about time," Duo said aloud, patting the spot on the bed next to him, telling the blond that he had to come into the lion's den. Despite everything the blond had done in his life, both the legal and the illegal stuff, Solo found that he was actually nervous about going in there and facing Duo. The way those violet eyes were boring into him did nothing to alleviate the anxiety that was slowly building up inside of him.

Since he had no choice, he entered the room, closing the door behind him at Duo's silent command. He sat down on the bed next to Duo without a word and waited for what was to happen next.

Finally, after what seemed to be a lifetime of silence, Duo spoke up. "You know, I realized something today."

Saying nothing, Solo waited for Duo to continue.

Taking the silent cue, Duo continued. "I don't know much about you," he stated. "Despite how long we've known each other, what our relationship is to one another, I don't have a damn clue as to you who were before we even met. Your friends definitely put that into perspective for me."

"What do you want me to say?" Solo inquired, keeping a calm tone. "You've never asked and I've never found reason to tell you. So, is that the only reason why you're saying this?"

"I know more about your uncle than I do you," Duo countered. "Hell, I know more about Wufei and Heero than I do you and they hate my guts."

"So what do you want, my life story?" Solo demanded.

"I just want to know that you trust me," Duo answered. "I've trusted you in telling you a bit about myself but you haven't even said a word about you. A relationship is a two-way street, Solomon."

"And how's telling you about myself going to help anything?" Solo demanded. "What purpose would it serve?"

"I don't know," Duo replied, "but at least it will be a start. After hearing what your friends said, I'd at least like to know if you're sincere, if you're not just with me because of the sex. Can't you give me that?"

"I thought I had proved that that wasn't the case," Solo grounded out. "You think I would have done all the stuff I have just because of a booty call? Why the hell do you think I would put that asshole Heero in the hospital, take you to the nurse, hell, take you to a damn Homecoming Dance and slapping the shit out of a blonde slut? Do you really think so little of me?"

"Actions may speak louder than words but sometimes words have more meaning and depth, Solomon," Duo said. "I don't want to know all the details of your life, like when you stopped wetting the bed or your first day at school. All I want to know are the basics, that's it. I haven't gotten this far in my life by just trusting people blindly, you know."

Solo sighed. "You're not going to like any of it."

"Try me. I've heard worse."

"If you insist. Did you know that I stayed in jail for two days because I got caught spraying graffiti on my old school?"

"You're a convict?"

"No, I was left there by my dad to teach me a lesson. I was a juvenile; I never went to the big house. I've done drugs, I've gotten into fights, I've done it all, even set fire to an abandoned building once and burned it to the ground."

"So you're an arsonist?"

"I guess you could say that; I've done a lot of shit in my life and I always had those guys at my side, Hilde not being there for most of it. Sylvia is the only other person in that group who comes from a rich family, the Noventas to be precise."

"So she's the black sheep, huh?"

"Yeah, just like me. Anyway, Alex is lower middle class and Mueller is dirt poor and has all these conspiracy theories that the government and big business is out to get him or some shit like that.

"I went along with them because I had money and nothing to do with it. I did everything that a teenager does in four years at the age of fifteen. Yeah, that's when I had a lot of sex and became damn near addicted to it. At sixteen, I got into an orgy with the Sandstorm Ballet."

"I already know about that. Damn, what the hell was going through your head?"

"Nothing, I guess. Maybe that's why I hung out with those guys in the first place."

"I'm going to have to agree with that."

"Yeah, yeah, poke holes in my self-esteem why don't ya? Anyway, other than all that, I got into a lot of fights and just made an ass of myself at school. I knew the principal's office by heart by the time I was fourteen and was suspended five times before I became a sophomore. Almost got expelled earlier this year and then I was sent here. I guess that kinda wraps things up."

"So let me get this straight. That whole 'bad boy' act wasn't an act? You are, or should I say were, just like most of the assholes I've had to grow up with? What happened to make you change so much?"

"As sappy as it sounds, it was you. You just acted like yourself and didn't put up with any of the bullshit I put you through and you kinda put a lot of things in perspective for me. I got the chance to see what I could end up with and that it was just dumb luck that I have a rich family. Honest to God truth."

"You're right, that does sound sappy."

"Truth's the truth."

"So," Duo began, "you said you did drugs. What did you do?"

"A lot of it. Cocaine, heroin, weed, LSD, ecstasy, all that kind of stuff."

"Haven't seen you do any of that stuff yet. You go cold turkey or something?"

"Had a bad trip once; scared the piss out of me. Plus, except for the weed, it just wasn't worth it."

"'Except for the weed?' Don't tell me you still do that stuff."

"Damn right I do. Brought some with me when I moved in and hid it so my uncle wouldn't find it. Would you believe it that I hadn't touched it once and it's already gone missing?"

"Missing? You think someone took it?"

"Bet your ass someone took it. It was some good stuff too!"

--

Trowa breathed out a long string of smoke. "Where'd you find this stuff, Quat?" he asked, passing the joint he held over to the blond.

"I found it under a chair cushion in one of the guestrooms," the blond answered as he took another hit. "It was just sitting there and I couldn't resist. Do you feel hungry?"

"No, but this stuff is kicking my ass," Trowa replied, before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

--

"It's a shame; I paid good money for that stuff too," Solo mused as he reclined onto the bed.

"Damn, you're nothing at all what I thought you were," Duo commented, staring at a wall in contemplation.

"Well, what do you want me to say? I'm not Quatre," Solo stated. "I kinda feel sorry for the guy; growing up with all those sisters, I'm not surprised he turned out gay."

"You have a point," Duo acknowledged, sighing. Now was the time to go in for the kill. "So, can you answer one last thing for me?"

"Shoot."

"What am I?" Duo asked, looking straight down at the blond. "Am I just a piece of ass, are you just using me?"

"Duo," Solo sighed. Extending an arm, his hand lightly grabbed the end of Duo's braid and gently tugged on it. Without resistance, Duo let himself fall back onto the bed where Solo gathered him up and held him against his body. "I'm going to say this once so shut up and listen.

"You are not just some piece of ass to me. You aren't a booty call, you aren't just some living blow-up doll that I can fuck whenever I want to. Believe it or not, I really do care about you. It hurts when you doubt me. It really does. I hate it when you're hurt, when you're down, when somebody disses or upsets you. From the moment you told me about your dad, I've just wanted nothing more than to beat the living shit out of him.

"You are the only person who has made me feel like this. I may not know everything about you right now but I'll tell you this: I would willingly give up my life to save yours. I know I haven't said so in these words but…

"…I really do love you Duo. I really do."

Duo remained silent but for a moment before saying, "You know, you really got sappy there at the end."

"And you are ruining the moment," Solo retorted.

"That's me in a nutshell," Duo replied as he snuggled into Solo's torso.

Solo bit his lip as silence reigned. Finally, after a few minutes, he broke it. "Duo? Do you…?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you…feel the same way?"

"You mean, do I love you too?" Duo inquired, tilting his head up to look at Solo's face. "Yeah, you can say that. Just, don't expect me to say it out loud. I still have a lot of shit I need to deal with first. Would you wait though?"

Solo smiled gently. "Of course. I'd do anything for you, Short Stuff."

"Thank you for understanding," Duo said, leaning in to place a kiss on Solo's lips.

Solo felt his heart flutter but only held Duo tighter. He could wait. For Duo, his Duo, he'd do anything.