Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me in any shape or form.

Note: Many thanks to KS for editing and to everyone who's reviewed.

Don't Shoot the Polar Bears:

AC 196. February 14th. 9.37 am. Heero Yuy's bedroom, Royal Palace, Sanque.

I have this morning planned exactly. Pack; 'phone Quatre; double check Relena's security arrangements with Wufei and Sally. Entertaining casual callers does not figure on my schedule, so I ignore the first knock on the door.

And the subsequent three knocks.

Go away. I'm busy.

'Heero? I know you're in there! Heero!'

Damn.

'Relena. Is there a problem?'

'Not exactly.' Relena edges past me into the room.; something I can't really prevent, short of physically pushing her back out. It's the first time she's ever been here. Always before, when she needed me, she's called me over the intercom or sent a servant to fetch me. 'It's just a silly little mistake someone made on my security roster for tonight. You're supposed to be escorting me to the Valentine Day's Ball but someone's put down Agent Chang instead.'

'That's not a mistake. I'm taking a couple of days off.'

'What?' She gasps. 'That can't be true. I've been looking forward to this for weeks.'

'I'm sure you'll still have a good time. And Wufei is a highly competent agent. He'll take excellent care of you.'

'I don't care about that!' Her eyes narrow suddenly. 'Has Commander Une authorised this leave?'

'I have informed her, yes.'

'But you'll be away on Valentine's Day. I had plans. I thought we could have supper together after the ball and …'

'I'm quite aware of what day it is, Relena. That's why I need time off; I want to be with Duo tonight.'

'Duo!' She snaps the two syllables of my lover's name. 'It's always Duo, isn't it? What does he have that I don't?'

I bite off the obvious answer; she is my current employer, after all. Besides, Duo has everything. Everything I could ever want. It's still a miracle, that he's chosen to be with me.

'I thought we were friends! We've spent so much time together over the past few weeks. You went riding with me on Saturday and last night we walked in the palace gardens for hours.'

'It's my job to do all of those things. I'm your bodyguard, remember?' Honestly. I have read that women suffer from hormonal imbalances at certain times of the month, forcing them to behave irrationally, but this is ridiculous. Perhaps I should research some sort of hormone therapy for her? Or Duo tells me that his friend Hilde gets chocolate cravings; I could have a quiet word with Relena's maid and suggest a small stash of chocolates should be placed discreetly in her bedroom.

'But…don't you like me?'

Duo has taught me about something called tact, so I answer carefully. 'I admire your integrity in holding to your principles, misguided and impractical though I believe many of them to be.'

She ignores this completely; so much for trying to be courteous and sensitive.

'I don't know how you can do this to me, Heero!' Her voice trembles slightly. 'I know you like me! You never killed me during the war, not once! And now you're abandoning me to Wufei and Sally. They'll be so busy making googly eyes at each other that they won't notice what happens to me!'

'Don't be so silly. Wufei and Sally are colleagues, nothing more. I assure you, he has no interest in her…romantically, and furthermore, I doubt very much if he's ever …googled an eye at anyone in his entire life!'

'You're the one who's being ridiculous, Heero! Sally likes him; women can see these things! Men are so stupid sometimes; they have to be shown what's best for them.'

'I think that's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said. Well, no, maybe not the most; some of your pacifist rants were particularly inane!'

There, that should offend her enough to make her stalk off. Hopefully. Instead, she glides over the carpet and strokes my cheek before I can flinch away.

'Oh, Heero. When are you going to stop pretending like this? We make such a wonderful couple; everyone says so. Why, we're even on the front cover of Hello this week!' She sighs soulfully, her expression suddenly filled with compassion. Dear God, this is worse than I'd thought. The girl is seriously delusional.

'Don't worry, darling. I understand completely. Of course, you can't become involved with me while you're still with that - Maxwell person. But you can't ruin both of our lives because you made one silly mistake. It'll be kinder in the long run, really, if you just finish with him. I'm sure you just felt sorry for him during the war; I realise that men have, well, needs and…'

'That's more than enough!' I snap, taking her arm and propelling her towards the door. Life would be a lot simpler if I'd just killed her the first time we'd met, like I was supposed to.

'I'll wait for you,' she squeals as I shove her out into the hallway. 'We're meant to be together! I'll be here for you when you finally realise I'm the one you want.'

She's mad. Utterly mad. Shaking my head, I finish my packing and then call Quatre. We send regular emails, but we haven't spoken in person for over a week. He'd been happy and excited then at the prospect of starting a new life at the circus with Trowa; now he looks terrible. He's always pale, but now he just looks fragile, even worse than he did when he was in the hospital. And his eyes are red.

'Heero! How wonderful to see you!'

'You look terrible,' I inform him flatly and it startles him into laughing.

'I really hope you don't talk to Duo like that.'

'I would if he looked anything like you do right now. What's the matter?'

'Nothing. I'm fine; a little tired, that's all.'

'Quatre, I'm not blind. Just tell me what's wrong. You're still not sleeping, are you?'

'Not really. Trowa's moved our caravan right beside the lions' cages, and they roar all night long. It's horrible.'

'Why don't you just move somewhere else?'

'Well, we could I suppose, but it's part of his job to look after them. One of the lionesses had cubs a couple of days ago, and he has to check on them every couple of hours during the night. I'm all right, really. I'm sure that I'll soon get used to it, and in the meantime I can take a nap while he's working.'

'You weren't sleeping when I called. You don't look like you've slept properly for days. And you've been crying.'

He sighs, shoving one hand through his hair. 'Today has been…rather stressful. Tro fell off the high-wire last night, when he was practising.'

'What? Is he all right?' As soon as I've asked the question, I know he has to be. I'd have heard otherwise.

'Oh, he's fine. He didn't fall very far, and there was a net underneath anyway.' He pauses, looking down and pleating the quilt in his fingers. 'It was awful, Heero. It was like…when he fell before, when I almost killed him. I just freaked out. And Catherine says I can't watch him anymore, until I have more control over myself.'

'She can't talk to you like that!'

'Well, she's right actually. I don't think Tro can concentrate properly if I'm there, and I couldn't bear it if he fell again, and it was my fault.'

'Oh, Quat.' I suddenly have the most ridiculous urge to wrap my arms around the vid screen. 'You can't go on like this. I can't believe Trowa doesn't realise how unhappy you are.'

'Heero, you can't tell him any of this! Catherine's the only family he has in the world. I've already taken him away from her once; I'm not going to do it again. They need a chance to spend time together. And I'm not miserable all the time. I get to be with Trowa a lot and that makes up for anything else.

'Besides, I'm not sure where else we'd go. I have to go back to L4 at some point, but I don't want to, not yet. I wish we could just go away somewhere, and be together for a while.'

'Why don't you?'

I feel a little prick of guilt as I ask the question. It had been Duo's dream after the war; that we could just walk away from everything that we'd done, that we were. The prospect had terrified me, and I'd bolted into a Preventers uniform. I had dozens of reasons to justify that decision, and I'd never told Duo the truth.

Quatre just sighs. 'That's what Duo thinks I should do. But I can't expect Trowa just to walk out on his sister. He's been looking forward to this for so long; I have to give it a try, for his sake. And he's so happy. He and Catherine stayed up for hours last night, talking about their parents. He's finding out all sorts of things about his past and it's so wonderful to see him enjoying himself.'

'I can't see him being happy when you're not.'

'I'm not unhappy! I'm just tired, really.' He slumps back on to his pillows. 'You know what Trowa was like after everything ended. He was saying that we didn't belong together anymore, that we were from such different worlds and that I should go back to where I belonged. I have to show him that I can fit in here, with his world.'

'The lion cubs must be very cute.' I say, trying to cheer him up. He'd been so excited about the thought of living with a travelling circus and having so many animals to play with.

'I imagine so. Trowa says they are, anyway. Apparently, mother lionesses are very protective of tiny cubs, and it stresses them out to have strangers near them. Tro says he'll take some pictures when they're older so I'll get to see them then.'

'When are you coming to visit us? With or without Trowa? We'd both love to see you, even if it's just for a couple of days. I know Duo misses you.'

'What, and you don't?' He teases, and for the first time, his smile is actually genuine, lighting up his eyes. How the hell can Trowa not see how unhappy his lover is?

'You know I do.' The smile deepens; talking to him is always so easy.

'Maybe in the next couple of weeks. I'd really rather not leave Trowa just yet.'

'Oh?' I lift an eyebrow at him. 'Something you need to tell me?'

'This isn't easy for him either, you know,' he says softly. 'He thought he'd lost me, at the end of the war and he's blaming himself for it; he thinks he should have been with me. That if he'd found me sooner, he could have stopped it.'

'You're corrupting him. All that guilt of yours must be contagious.'

Quatre attempts a smile. 'Stop fussing, Heero. I can take care of myself, and Trowa. I just need to try a little harder to fit in; that's all.' His next question is carefully casual. 'How is Wufei?'

'God, I've no idea. I think he talks to Duo sometimes, but he doesn't say anything to me that isn't directly connected to work. I did try speaking to him about you, and he just stalked off. You know the way he is.'

He nods. 'I've left messages for him; he's never bothered to call back. I don't even know for certain what they argued about it, just that it was something to do with Tro refusing to join the Preventers. Trowa's refusing to talk about it; he won't even let me mention Wufei's name. I think 'Fei must have said something about me; you know how protective Trowa is.'

'I had noticed, yes. I don't know what to do, Quatre. He just seems determined to shut himself off from the rest of us.'

'This is all terribly hard on him,' my friend says quietly. 'He lost absolutely everything, didn't he? His family, his home, the girl he'd married. And his clan was so isolated; practically everything is a culture shock to him now. He kept going through the war, I think, because he had a definite goal. He doesn't really know what to do any more.'

'Treize's death hit him very hard,' I note carefully.

'Ah.' Quatre, our master strategist who can see into people's hearts, sits forward, regarding me intently. 'I did wonder if you'd guessed.'

'I met the man, remember? He had such immense charisma. I'm sure Wufei would have felt that, and then he was the perfect, honourable warrior, wasn't he? It's another thing Wufei won't talk about.'

'I'm not sure if he's admitted the attraction to himself, actually. He won't even acknowledge the possibility that he may be gay, and then it would kill him to be attracted to an enemy, however noble and honourable he may have been.'

'So what do we do?'

'Dear Allah, I don't know! He won't even talk to me; he blames me for Trowa not being in a Preventer uniform right now. Just … be there for him, Heero. Let him know you're still his friend, or trying to be anyway. Has Duo said anything about him?'

'Not really. You know he'd never break any confidences, but he's worried.'

'Oof,' Quatre collapses dramatically back on his pillows. 'My head is starting to hurt from all this.'

'I know the feeling. Listen, I should go in a few minutes anyway. I really rang to thank you for all your help for tomorrow.'

'It was nothing. Was it any help at all?'

'Some of it,' I tell him diplomatically. He'd sent me reams of information to do with traditions of Valentine's Day. Much of it had actually been useless; oysters, champagne, red roses. Duo dislikes seafood; neither of us drinks alcohol. I did buy him flowers once, but they died after a few hours. 'The chocolate part of it was very helpful. I asked Relena and she told me about a wonderful little shop near the palace that sells hand-made chocolates.'

'You asked Relena to advise you on something like that?' He sounds torn between amusement and shock.

'Why not? She lives in this city; it seemed sensible to use her local knowledge.'

'And you don't think she might possibly have….misinterpreted your reasons for asking?'

'You may be right, you know. We had a very strange conversation just before I rang you…Quatre, do you think she likes me?'

'Please don't be offended,' he smiles faintly, 'but blind people at the other end of the galaxy know that Relena likes you. The pair of you are plastered over practically every magazine cover in the galaxy.'

'They're just stupid tabloids! No one believes what they say…Do they?'

'I think people believe what they want to, Heero. After everything that's happened, people want to hear some good news; like a romance between a beautiful princess and the man who saved the planet.'

'That's stupid. I've never bothered to hide my relationship with Duo! Why can't there be stories about the two of us?'

Quatre laughs. 'You'd kill anyone who tried to sneak up and take photographs of you two for a start! And the hero is supposed to end up with the princess. That's what happens in all the best fairy tales.'

'Well, Relena knows I'm gay, at any rate. She knows I'm in a relationship.'

'If Duo were straight, and had a girlfriend, would you still be attracted to him?'

'Of course. But I'd never do anything about it.'

'What if you knew he was unhappy? And that maybe he'd made a mistake and you could help him?'

'But we are happy! I love him!'

'You met when you were both very young, at a very stressful time in your lives. It's common for teenage boys to develop feelings for one another, particularly in an all-male environment. You needed release, comfort, some form of companionship.'

'For fuck's sake, Quatre! You can't possibly believe any of that!'

'Of course I don't.' He gives me a sad travesty of his usual bright smile. 'They're all the reasons my sisters come up with to explain me being with Trowa. They're convinced that all I need to do is to meet a nice girl and I'll be cured. If people want something badly enough, they'll find some reason to justify it, to make it right.'

'How can you let them talk to you like that?'

'Well, I can't really stop them, can I? They're my family; I can't force them to change their opinions overnight. We were all brought up to believe homosexuality was wrong. I was lucky enough to get away and meet Trowa. I'm sure once they actually get to know him, they'll realise he isn't … any of the things they say about him.'

'Anyway, stop fussing about me. I know how Tro feels about me; I know he'd walk away from here in a heartbeat if he thought it was what I wanted. Now, you go home and show Duo how much you love him.'

'He knows. Quat….he doesn't mind all that magazine nonsense, does he? I mean, he knows it's not true; it's just some journalists making stuff up to sell stories.'

He is silent for long enough that I start to answer my own question. When he does finally speak, he is very serious. 'Heero, I know that Trowa loves me. I know it, more than I know anything in the whole universe. And it would still hurt me dreadfully to see him portrayed as being in a relationship with somebody else.'

'I see. Has he talked to you about it? No, it's all right; you don't have to answer that. I'll take care of it. '

He gives me a questioning glance. 'What are you going to do? You do realise that killing Relena may not be the best solution?'

'Very funny, Winner. No, that's not what I have in mind. I'll tell you later. But it should work; really, all I have to is spend less time with Relena. If we're apart, they can't make up stories about the two of us.'

'Hmm. What are you going to do; resign from Preventers?'

'Just from Relena's security. You know I can't resign totally. I've signed a contract for twelve months.'

'It isn't legally enforceable. I've told you that. You were pressured into it.'

'I still gave my word. And I wasn't exactly forced.' Not exactly. But in that first, terrible week after the war, when we hadn't really known what would happen to the five of us, it had been made very clear to me that the ESUN would take a more lenient view of us all, if at least some of us signed up for the Preventers. Something of a PR coup; the idea of all these former enemies signing up to work together to keep and maintain the peace. Particularly the one who was being heralded as the saviour of Earth.

'It's not as if I'm really achieving anything at the moment,' I reflect. 'I'm just a glorified bodyguard. This way, I may actually get to accomplish something. And hopefully, I'll get to spend more time at home.'

'I'm sure Duo would like that.' My friend's tone is elaborately, warily cautious and I suddenly realise we are on the verge of one of those moments. Quatre Winner and I are friends; apart from Duo, he is the person I am closest to in the universe. But Duo and Quatre are…something else, entirely. I'd been jealous of that once; I'd thought it meant there was an attraction between them. It still hurts, sometimes, to know that Duo is confiding in Quat rather than me.

Duo and I have spoken daily since I've been in Sanque, and each time he has been bright and breezy and brimming with plans for our house, the car he is working on, the part-time job he's found in a small book-shop. I can't believe now, that I thought he was the one who would have problems adjusting to our new world, who would need to be protected. It's been the other way around.

'He is…all right, isn't he?' I have to swallow to ask the question. 'I mean, he's handling all of this perfectly, better than any of us.'

'He misses you.' Quatre hesitates, obviously trying to decide what he can and can't tell me. 'Heero, I think you just need to spend some time together. I know how you two feel about each other. Just - don't forget that he needs you, even if he seems to be fine by himself.' He thrusts one hand through his blond hair; a gesture I think he's picked up from me. It always seems strange, to see him tousling his carefully brushed hair. 'Don't worry too much about it, will you? Just make tonight special for him.'

'I plan to. Quat, you don't think he'll think I'm being stupid, will he? With all of this?'

His eyes widen in obvious surprise. 'Of course not. He'll adore it. Trust me, Heero, he'll be over the moon to see you. Now, I think you have a flight to catch, and I have my own plans to make for later, since this morning was something of a disaster.'

'Do I want to know what happened?'

He twinkles at me. 'I brought Trowa breakfast in bed.'

'That doesn't sound too disastrous. Oh, wait, you didn't actually cook the breakfast, did you?'

'I'm afraid so. It was actually quite edible, believe it or not. Except that I forgot to turn off the stove. I almost burnt the caravan down, and it smells utterly disgusting.' He wrinkles his nose. 'So I really need to make tonight special.'

'You're not planning anything ridiculously extravagant, are you?' I ask suspiciously. 'Like giving Trowa the Taj Mahal or the Hope Diamond or something?'

'Of course not!' My friend's expression settles into mild affront for just long enough to make me feel guilty, and then he grins at me. 'I'd never give Trowa diamonds. Emeralds would be much more fitting.'

That keeps me smiling all the way to the airport and then doubts start to creep in again, as the memory of my friend's sunny smile fades. Maybe Duo will think I'm being an idiot. He doesn't really share my enthusiasm for Earth customs. He actually mentioned Valentine's Day a couple of days ago; the shop where he works has a small selection of cards, and he was laughing at how corny they all were, wondering why people would buy a mass-produced, impersonal card to declare their love, instead of just telling their partner.

I haven't bought him a card. But maybe he won't like the silly gift I bought for him; maybe it was a mistake. Maybe this whole thing is a mistake. We haven't seen each other for nearly three weeks; not since I was appointed to head Relena's security.

That's not something we've really talked about, but I know he doesn't like her. A feeling that is apparently mutual. I could, I suppose, have refused the assignment. I could have turned down a personal request from the former Queen of the World to be responsible for her personal safety, in favour of being just another agent-in-training under Commander Une.

He could have asked me not to do it. I'd do anything for him; he has to know that. Instead, he encouraged me to take the job, said it would be a great opportunity for me, and that of course he would be fine by himself.

Maybe…maybe he likes the idea of having our house to himself; of being able to do whatever he likes. If I'm not there, he can play his music as loud as he pleases, and not have to worry about me nagging him to pick things up, and eat properly.

No, I will not do this to myself. Duo has told me that he loves me. That he will never let anyone take me away from him. That all he wants is to be with me. All those things he said in my arms on Christmas Eve. He's never mentioned any of that conversation again, but every word, every syllable and pause for breath is branded onto my heart.

And he doesn't lie.

The taxi drops me home at four; an hour before he is due to return home from work. Plenty of time to get everything set up for the perfect romantic evening. I am heading upstairs, a bag in each hand, when I freeze. There is someone in our bedroom.

Duo found this house for us, a couple of weeks after the war ended. While I was still wrestling with my future and my past, he just went ahead and looked up property listings and presented me with a fait accompli. He'd even made sure it was within easy driving distance of Preventers HQ; a tacit little gesture of support.

It's the first home that either of us has ever had; our private sanctuary. I am going to kill whoever has dared to violate that.

When I fling open the bedroom door, I am looking down the barrel of Duo's favourite handgun, and my lover is glaring at me.

'Jesus, Heero.' The gun is thrust into the waistband of his jeans. 'What the fuck are you doing, creeping around like that? I could've blown your damn brains out!'

'I nearly shot you,' I breathe in an appalled whisper. My voice refuses to steady itself; my hands, thrusting the weapon away, are shaking.

'Oh, baby,' Duo gasps, wrapping his arms around me. 'It's OK. I'm fine. We're both fine.'

'You weren't supposed to be here!' I slump into the warmth of his embrace, feeling my whole body tremble. 'I thought you'd be at work, and your car wasn't in the drive.'

'I sprayed it last night. There was rain forecast, so I put it in the garage.' His hands trace slow, comforting patterns on my back, as he talks about little things; the car, what the weather's been like since I've been gone, some jobs he's been doing around the house. I will my breathing, my heart rate, to slow down; to let his voice and his touch wash over me.

'There's something wrong, isn't there?' he says suddenly. 'That's why you're here. Shit, it's 'Fei, right? Something's happened to him?'

'No! No, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to surprise you.'

'Oh!' He makes a sound that falls somewhere between a laugh and a choked sob, and I realise that he's just as shaken as I am. He's just controlling it better. 'Well, mission very definitely accomplished there, right?'

'I'm sorry. I thought we had an intruder; I just freaked out that someone had dared to break into our home. Stupid; it never even occurred to me that no one would be able to get past the security system.'

'I never thought of that either,' Duo admits, sinking on to the bed and pulling me down with him. 'I was listening to my iPod; never heard the door open. I just heard the third step creak when you came upstairs. I still haven't got 'round to mending that.'

'Maybe we should leave it; it's not a bad alarm system. Duo, you aren't meant to be at home now. You should be at work 'til this evening. Is everything all right?'

'Yeah. I guess. I quit my job this morning.'

'What happened?'

'I caught a shoplifter.'

'But…that's good, isn't it?' I ask uncertainly.

He shrugs, one hand automatically reaching to fiddle with the end of his braid. 'I guess. It was this skinny teenage girl. Probably not much younger than us. I kept thinking that maybe she'd really wanted the damn book, or that she was going to sell it to buy food or something…I thought I could just take the book back and let her go, but my boss insisted on calling the cops; said it was the store policy for shop lifters and I just felt so bad, like it was my fault…'

'No one needs to steal for food in this country, love. You know that. There's an excellent social welfare system.'

Another shrug. 'Yeah. It was just…too weird. Me being the one to catch someone for doing that sort of thing. It was always my job, you know. I was the quickest; I was usually the one sent out to get stuff. Solo used to try to make it sound like a game; us kids against these rich adults who had so much. But most of those stallholders didn't really have anything much either; just a few things they were trying to sell to feed their own kids. Sometimes they were really angry, and sometimes they just looked - sad. Defeated. Like they knew there was nothing they could do. I hated it when they looked at me like that. You don't know what it's like, Heero, when someone looks at you like you're dirt. I do.'

'Oh, Duo.' It tears my heart; when he talks about his childhood. There is never anything I can do, except hold him close. 'You can't leave over something like that; it wasn't even your fault. People make their own choices. No one forced that girl to steal.'

'You don't know that.' His mouth, his beautiful, sensitive, generous mouth hardens into a rigid line. 'Subject closed, 'Ro. I quit. End of story. I don't tell you what to do for your job; you don't interfere in mine. What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you meant to be in Sanque guarding her Imperial Pinkness?'

'Not anymore. I'm off her security detail. It was only ever a temporary posting, and there's no real reason for me to continue, now that the situation on Earth has stabilised.'

'Really? That's cool.' His face lights up at the thought, and I suddenly feel terrible for my earlier doubts. Of course he wants me in his life. I have to stop thinking those things; I just find it so hard to believe why he puts up with me. 'Will you be staying here for a bit, then?'

'I'm not sure how long, but Une hasn't reassigned me yet, so that could take a while.'

'Now, that is a good surprise!'

'Oh! That wasn't really the surprise; I wanted to be with you for Valentine's Day.'

'Seriously? All that hearts and teddy bears stuff? I didn't think you'd be into all of that.' He looks faintly surprised, but he is smiling. Maybe this wasn't a mistake.

'Well, I am.' I reach into my backpack and pull out a carrier bag. 'Speaking of teddy bears…I have something for you.'

It's actually a polar bear; they're one of his favourite animals. It's holding a heart between its paws and it is unbelievably soft and fluffy. I really, really hope he won't be offended. It's a bit of a joke, I suppose; this toy animal with the red plush heart, with the words Hug Me…please, inscribed on it. But at the same time, it's fun and romantic and a little bit corny. I think that's what this day is supposed to be about.

'Oh, that's so cute!' He exclaims. 'So…do I hug you or the bear first?'

'Me, please. Or I'll start to get jealous.'

The hug metamorphoses into a long, searing kiss, with lots of full body contact. We are both breathless when we finally draw apart.

'Snowy's turn now.' Duo grins at me. 'Or he'll be getting jealous.'

He doesn't hug the bear; just strokes his fingers over the soft fur, and then traces the words on the heart.

Things happen very quickly after that. Duo closes his hand over the red heart-shape, and a deep, growly voice starts to say 'I love you', something I'd thought was rather cute in a corny sort of way. It only starts to speak the message; at the first sound, Duo has his gun out and two seconds later, shredded bits of white fluff are drifting to the floor, like snowflakes.

'Shit. Heero, I'm so sorry! I just … wasn't expecting the thing to make a noise! It's that Christmas cracker all over again, isn't it?' I watch his expression flow into guilt-tinged remorse as he realises what he's done. Damn.

'It doesn't matter!' I say quickly, over his apologies, trying to reassure him. 'I should have warned you what would happen. It was my fault and I only bought it for a joke, anyway. This is your proper present.'

His eyes widen as I produce the small wooden casket tied with indigo velvet ribbons.

'Oh, that's nice.' He slides one finger against the grain of the wood. 'I needed a box to put stuff in and this is like a baby treasure chest. I like the different colours and patterns in the wood.'

'It's called Sanque Red Oak,' I tell him. 'And actually your real present is inside the box.'

'There's more? Seriously? You are way, way too good to me, 'Ro.'

He slides off the length of velvet and loosely ties it around the end of his braid.

'I - uh - there's something I got for you too. Well, I made it actually. I was going to post it to Sanque and then I thought you'd probably think this whole Valentine's thing was stupid so I didn't bother, and now I guess you don't so you might as well have it..'

He is talking faster and faster, his words rushing over one another, as he leans over to rummage in the top drawer of his dresser. A small cascade of items tumbles out; lube, a flick knife, a half-eaten chocolate bar, a box of his drawing pencils.

'Here you go.' He hands me a square white envelope, gnawing at his bottom lip. 'It's pretty mushy and all, but I guess that's the whole point of today, right?'

The card is a simple pencil sketch. We are sitting on a boulder opposite the lake; something we've done in real life a couple of times and watching the sun rise. His hair is loose and we're holding hands, something we never do in public. The colours are a soft wash of lemon and peach and gold; dawn colours. In one corner, there is the faintest suggestion of a rainbow; prisms of indigo and blue.

The message inside is carefully printed, unlike his usual illegible scrawl.

Dear Heero,

I love you more than anything. The only things I want for the rest of my life are to watch the sun come up every morning, with you; and to watch the moon and stars come up every night, with you.

Duo.

'I told you it was totally mushy,' he mutters. 'I figured I'd never actually dare to send it, so I sort of went overboard. Uh, there's something else on the back, too.'

The second sketch shows us in almost the same position, but this time we are leaning into each other, my arm around his waist. The colours this time are of twilight; indigo and blues and little sparks of light from a full moon and stars.

Underneath he has written, so faintly I can only just make out the letters.

Heero, you are the sun, moon and stars to me. Always.

'It's beautiful. It's perfect.' I already know it's going to become my most precious possession. 'Thank you, love.'

He looks pleased. 'It's not really that good. I've been practising a lot, but some stuff is hard to get just right.'

'It's perfect,' I say firmly, and then kiss him before he can say anything else. 'Now, open your present.'

He laughs as he takes out the carton of chocolate dipped strawberries. 'Oh, this is the new way to get me to eat more fruit, right? Cover the stuff in chocolate?' I can hear the crisp shell of chocolate crack as he bites into it, see the strawberry juice stain his gorgeous mouth. 'This is seriously good. Try one, 'Ro?'

He holds the little fruit firmly, making me lick and nibble at his fingers before letting me take it.

'Oh, I could get to like fruit like this! Now, what's next.' The sachets of flavoured cocoa are placed carefully to one side, and he smiles at the box of Sanque truffles. He'd developed a taste for them when we'd stayed in the palace; he'd charmed the housekeeping staff into always leaving a little tray of them in our room. That had been the first time we'd ever tried combining sex and chocolate.

'Wow! Food sex!' He exclaims delightedly as he pulls out the last item; a small glass jar of chocolate body paint. 'Please tell me Quat didn't put you up to this?'

'He most certainly did not!' I inform him haughtily. 'Unlike certain people, I am quite capable of coming up with romantic gestures without Quatre Winner's input.'

'Oh, yeah?' He pulls a truly horrible face at me. 'That's not what I heard. Plus I've seen those sites you look at on your lappie.' My breath catches as he opens the little jar, and swirls one finger around. Then I entirely forget to breathe, as he smears it across my lips, and bends in to kiss me. 'Mmm. Chocolate-covered Heero. I could get used to this.'

So could I….

He pulls back and winks. 'You know, Blue, we're both a bit overdressed, don't you think? We're going to get chocolate all over our nice, clean clothes. And maybe other stuff.'

'Excellent point.'

'So..what's the plan for tonight?' He grins at me when we're both naked, apart from a few chocolate smears. Getting undressed had involved a certain amount of bodily contact, and a minor food fight, involving chocolate paint. He has HY on his right forearm, and my chest is sporting a small model of Deathscythe.

'How do you know there's a plan?'

'I know you. There's always a plan. I'm the one who makes it up as I go along, and you're the one with a dozen contingency plans for every possible situation.'

'I am not!'

'Oh, you so are!' He pokes me in the ribs. 'Admit it, 'Ro. Or I'll make you.'

'Try it,' I gasp, knowing I'll almost certainly lose. I'm stronger than he is, but he's faster, and he's tricky.

Minutes later, I'm sprawled against the mattress on my back, with Duo straddling me, the weight of him a delicious pressure at my groin.

'Tickling…is a most dishonourable way to unman an opponent.' I try to sound severe, but my words are coming out in gasps and wheezes, as his fingers still search out my most sensitive areas.

Duo just laughs down at me. 'This guy once told me that a good soldier is prepared to use anything as a weapon. Sound familiar? Besides, I wouldn't say you're unmanned exactly. The opposite, if anything.' He shifts forward, very slightly, just enough to rub himself against my arousal, and we both gasp. It still takes me by surprise; the sheer jolt of feeling from such a simple touch.

'Oh, definitely not unmanned,' my lover muses, dropping his head a little so the tip of his braid, the strip of velvet, slide against me.

'Oooh!'

'Like that?' He flicks me a smile of sheer delight, tinged with a gleam of mischief.

'Yes.' I like it far, far too much; it is suddenly necessary to concentrate on other things - Quatre's cooking; paper-cuts. The sensations are almost unbearable; the things he is doing with his hair and fingers and that velvet ribbon. It's also the first time he's ever really taken the lead like this; he'd started to tease a little, the first few weeks after the war ended, but he backs off to let me take over when things get serious.

'So, I'm sort of guessing this mysterious plan of yours involves sex and chocolate, right?' Another impish little grin, and a chocolate smeared finger is tracing patterns on my chest. 'Right?'

I manage a nod and get a kiss as a reward. 'You're getting predictable, Yuy.'

One hand reaches behind his head to untie his braid, and a cloud of shimmering hair cascades over his shoulders. Oh, God. I could come, right now, just from the expression on his face. 'Duo, please. I'm not sure if I can last much longer.'

'What happened to all that will power of yours?'

'I think it's evaporated.'

'OK, Blue.' Leaning down to kiss me, he reaches one hand over to search in his dresser drawer. 'Hey, what happened to the lube? How'd it get on the floor?' He hands me the little tube. 'Care to do the honours, Blue?'

I love this part, love the tight grasp of his body around my fingers, the heat of him, the tiny gasps and whimpers. He throws his head back, and that glorious hair streams down brushing my legs. Usually, by now, he's lying sprawled beneath me but he seems quite content to be kneeling across me.

'Do you want to go on top this time?' I can't keep the surprise from my voice. He's done it a few times, but I've had to coax him. 'Maybe you should be the one doing this?'

He shakes his head, blushing. 'Not exactly. I just - uh - Quat was telling me about this position and I just thought we might try it. It just sounded.. kind of interesting. Like I get to be the one of top but you're still the one who's tossing. You know? Come on, Ro, I know you've downloaded The Joy of Gay Sex.' Just in case I don't know what he's talking about, he inches a little closer, close enough for another tiny electric shock when he nudges against me, and then pushes me flat on the mattress. '.

'I know what you mean.' Before we ever got together, I'd researched sexual techniques 'til my eyes crossed. 'I've read about it. It's not recommended for beginners, but the angle of penetration means that…'

'Heero! We agreed ages ago that you weren't going to start spouting all that technical stuff, remember? It's not very romantic.'

'Sorry. I'm sorry.' My hands travel up his legs, settling on the slight curve of each hip. 'You're being very adventurous today, love.'

'Yeah?' He hunches one shoulder, 'This whole thing, you being here and all; it's like a dream. Like something I've made up out of my imagination. I've been missing you so damn much and then you're suddenly in bed with me.'

'Oh, Duo. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long.'

'Long, huh?' He looks down between my legs and raises his eyebrows. 'It is pretty long, you know. Think maybe we should do something about that now? Or would you rather keep talking?'

Needless to say, that effectively puts an end to any further conversation. At least, of the verbal variety.