Disclaimers: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing nor it's characters. Merely borrowing them for a little torture.

Warnings: Shounen-ai (because I suck at yaoi) , mildly blasphemous in terms of my depiction of heaven. Not a death fic… ish. Usual 1x2, 3x4, and with 5 hanging in the wind. The poor darling.

Notes: Betaed by Keiran. Thank you.

Chapter 11: Meeting the Boys

Heero Yuy had never blushed a day in his life but he had to admit, he was blushing plenty right about now. Adrian was sitting next to him, his arms clasped tightly around his stomach, chuckling uncontrollably. Heero strayed from the term 'giggling' which was pretty much what Adrian was doing right now.

At first he had thought Adrian was dying. The boy turned an odd red, and slowly crept to purple. There was a frozen moment where Heero thought Adrian was going to keel over and pass out. It was then the laughter started. It began slow and shaky before getting to full strength. To Heero's amazement, it wasn't an amused type of laughing, but more of the… ticklish sort which has now reduced to giggling.

Adrian was losing his mind!

XXxxXX

Duo was still giggling, holding onto this his middle while Solo was determined to drive him crazy. An angel, tickling him just because he couldn't tell a joke. He shuddered, thinking just how close Heero had been to guessing his actual identity, hidden within the flesh of Adrian.

Channelling, that term should have been completely foreign to Heero Yuy's vocabulary but yet he was able to use it that easily. Perhaps he had been dipping into his tabloids a little too often? Egads, he corrupted Heero Yuy to the Maxwell way of idiocy!

"I totally agree," Solo said smugly, still a little cheesed off at Duo getting him into trouble with the Archangel and with God in general.

Duo ignored the peeved angel in the back of the car and tried to forget what happened earlier. When Heero had asked him that question, his mind went into total overload. What should he say, what could he say? Lie, wait, can't lie. Lie quota up for the millennium. Need to lie!

Then, Solo saved the day. "Laugh!"

Whoa, wonderful idea. But wait, braid boy was currently in too much of a panic to summon a laugh. Help! Make him laugh.

Solo saved the day again. "Imagine Heero naked!"

… or not.

Bloody hell, Solo. I always imagine Heero naked. This is not working! Duo felt something starting to flow into his nether regions.

"Pervert," Solo accused.

Damn it, Solo, Heero is looking suspicious! I need to laugh it off as a joke and my brain isn't screwed on tight enough to pull off a jester mask crap!

"Erm… uh…" Solo was also descending into panic. If someone alive found out about this, there could be severe repercussions… to his career.

Stop thinking about your career, asshole, Duo growled at him.

"Oops? I said it out loud?"

Solo, Duo warned.

"Oh, okay, joke. Why did the chicken cross the…"

SOLO! Duo growled.

So the angel did the first thing he could think of. Of course, Duo didn't appreciate being tickled in the least.

Duo peeked surreptitiously at Heero, hopefully feeling as embarrassed as him. The rest of the journey was made in utter silence. They arrived at Quatre's a little late and as usual, the blond was waiting for them on the porch with a displeased look on his face. Quatre was anal about a few things and being late was one of them. Heero smoothed the moment over by smiling softly at his friend, causing him to freeze in shock. Facial expressions must have been alien to Heero of late.

He turned and introduced him to Quatre. It was a tense moment for Duo. He knew that his friend was empathic and not psychic, but he couldn't help but fear that Quatre would recognise him for who he really was, a disembodied ghost that snuck into a body without filling up and filing the proper forms. Damn, he was getting more and more depressed.

Three days, Duo thought glumly. He had only three more days, before he had to leave Heero forever. With Heero revived from his state of… depression? Mother hen-ness? Whatever situation he was in that required him to take care of Adrian almost 24 hours a day. Okay, so perhaps his jealous side was still talking but Duo didn't want to quibble about it.

"Uh, Mr West?" Quatre winced and Duo realised in horror that he had squished, was squishing Quatre's hand in his.

"Oh shit," Duo exclaimed, dropping Quatre's hand. "Sorry man. I just… well, just forgot." He avoided the sharp penetrating gaze directed at him.

Blank thoughts, think completely blank thoughts. My mind is completely empty, Duo chanted silently. Quatre must not be able to read into the maelstrom of emotions Duo had right now. Emotions that he just might find familiar.

"Not a problem there," Solo snickered. "It's been empty since the day you were born."

Duo glared discreetly at the angel that loved to poke fun at him at the most inopportune times. He looked back to Quatre frowning suspiciously at Duo, looking a little to side to exactly the spot Solo was!

Solo? Duo queried, a slight tone of panic entering his silent, mental question.

Solo remained still and silent, looking carefully at Quatre. There was a speculative and slightly contemplative expression on his features. He reached out and slowly nudged Duo, prodding him to get into the house. He knew his little brother was alarmed and more than a little confused but obeyed him. Duo gave Quatre a tentative smile and tried to inch past the penetratingly serious aquamarine eyes. The blond businessman finally made way for him to pass and Duo shot through like a piston, searching for a place to hide.

"What was that?" Duo gasped, finding one of the bathrooms and snuck inside.

Solo was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I think that blond can sense me."

"How?"

"I am not really sure, but the blond has some sort of sixth sense right?" Solo guessed.

"Yeah, he calls it a 'Space Heart'. He's an empath."

Solo sniggered suddenly. "Since he is blond, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it "Space Between His Ears'?"

Duo smacked his friend on the arm. "That's not nice to start spouting blond jokes. You're not too much of a brunette yourself."

Solo chuckled a while longer and then sobered. "You have to get out of here as soon as possible. We can't let the blond suspect that you are anything other than who you are."

"What difference does it make?" Duo questioned. "After all, they already know I am here."

"That's no excuse for…"

"Mr West?" There was a tentative knock on the door.

Shit! It's Quatre, Duo hissed at Solo. He quickly turned on the tap and pushing the flush.

"Are you alright?" Quatre's voice filtered through, sounding a little uncertain. "Do you need any help in there?"

Duo suppressed the urge to laugh. What kind of help would he need in a bathroom? He grinned as he thought of all the 'help' he got from Heero in bathrooms all over the place.

"Stop thinking shit, little brother and get rid of the empath," Solo smacked him on the head.

He yanked the door open quickly and almost pulled Quatre's shoulder out of its socket, who had been on the verge of barging into the bathroom. Heero was standing right next to him, his brows furrowed in worry. The moment the door was fully open, Heero all but push Quatre aside and reached for him.

"Are you alright?" Heero grabbed Duo's arm pulling him closer.

Duo nodded, a little shocked at Heero's vehemence. Almost instantly, jealousy flared again. Just what the bloody hell did Adrian ever do to Heero? Or for Heero? "Yeah," he said curtly, pulling free and walking into the dining hall. He didn't see the shocked expression on both faces standing behind him.

Small get together my foot, Duo thought. There were quite a large number of people already there, some he knew, others that were acquaintances. Wu Fei was there, practically hanging over the older doctor, Sally Po. He hoped that Sally could see through his stubborn Asian pride to notice that all his posturing was nothing but a gruff exterior to cover up the almost odd infatuation Wu Fei was having.

Then he saw Trowa, carrying a tray and serving everyone some odd looking green coloured things that everyone was trying to get away from. Hmm, Trowa was experimenting in the kitchen again. And that was probably the scariest thing Duo could ever imagine.

Commander Une was in a corner, exchanging idle chitchat with one of Quatre's many sisters, while Noin and Zechs were necking in another. That left Relena. She was sitting on the couch, staring toward the door. Duo could guess whom she was waiting for. From the way she brightened, Duo could guess who was standing behind him.

"Adrian, are you sure you are alright?" Heero's voice breathed closely in his ear and his warm hand fell on his shoulder.

Duo felt a stab of pain in his heart as he saw the hope, the joy, the life in Relena die. He felt like he had just driven a knife through her heart. He knew how this would look, with Heero being rather intimate with him. After patiently waiting for years, she would only face heartache again for an unknown stranger to cut in line?

Of course, idiotic Heero didn't even know there was a line.

Relena then shifted her eyes on him and pinned him with the coldest look ever. Duo had seen her look at him this way when he was alive… when he was in his body… damn it, when he was Duo Maxwell. But later, when she accepted the fact that asexual Heero had fallen in love with a loud, brash, noisy American, she had tried to be friends with him. They had been civil towards the end, but there were times when hackles rose and there was a hissing and spitting match between the two.

"I'm fine," Duo said shortly, shrugging Heero's hand off. Then he got blasted with a full dose of hurtful blue eyes. Okay, Relena's stare he could take, but not Heero's. Did he ever mention Heero Yuy looking hurt made him think of cute little puppies bereft of their chew toys? He took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Heero," he moderated his tone.

Heero frowned, wondering at the change in Duo's demeanour until his eyes fell on the frosty stare from Relena Peacecraft. He narrowed his eyes almost threateningly. Relena quickly ducked her head down, her expression almost like a kicked puppy.

"Heero!" Duo hissed. "Be nice to her, just because she doesn't like me, doesn't mean the two of you aren't friends still."

Heero swung shocked eyes to his companion, making Duo wished he had bit his tongue. This was a very common argument between them. The Perfect Soldier was almost rabid about the people he cared for and murderous to those that disrespected them. And in his eyes, Relena was doing just that. Duo had brought this up many times, despite his own dislike of Relena's endless sniping and griping about him. The girl was jealous, that's all. There was really no harm in being jealous.

"Duo…" Heero's voice caught and Duo froze for a second. Was this it? Had he been caught? Would he and Solo spend the rest of eternity raking manure in the heavenly gardens while the Archangels threw crushed beer cans at them? "Duo used to say that as well."

Duo squelched the urge to exhale loudly in relief and from the corner of his eye, he noticed Solo doing the same. "Well… well…" Okay, his mind was completely blank. This was getting to be a really bad idea.

"Hey, Yuy," a voice Duo recognised as Chang Wu Fei called from his left. "Introduce us to your… friend."

Duo winced at this. From the inflection in the Chinese man's tone, he was certain that Wu Fei meant 'friend' in the most biblical of senses. He bristled at the implication. So this Adrian was more than a friend? He was going to go home and geld himself in the bathroom. Of course, he didn't pause for a moment to think how stupid this idea was, since he was currently using said body.

Heero turned toward his friend. "This is Adrian West." He settled an arm comfortably around Duo's shoulder while the other man resisted the urge to just melt into his boyfriend's side. It helped that he was stabbed several times by ice blue eyes from one Relena Peacecraft, itching to descend and protect her territory.

The expression of Wu Fei's face darkened slightly before the frown that creased his brow smoothened. Ouch, Duo thought. There was a slight element of blame there. At this point in time, he really didn't envy Adrian West. It was rather clear that even Quatre, the most forgiving of them all, did put some measure of blame on Adrian's shoulders of Duo's death. Of course, they were talking about the heart portion of it, Duo wondered just how indignant they would be if the whole sordid story were to be dragged out into the open.

"Wu Fei," Heero hissed a warning.

"Welcome, then," Wu Fei said finally, with a healthy dose of reluctance.

It took a while for everyone to finally fall for the Maxwell charm again, but Duo managed it rather well. Heero, of course, never left his side during the course of the afternoon, preferring to provide him with his own brand of protection. Aside from Wu Fei's earlier coldness, Duo couldn't feel anything other than welcome. Trowa had been his quiet self, Quatre he had stayed the hell away from, Une had her moments, Milliardo and Noin were accommodating and curious of his and Heero's relationship. Duo noticed Relena had turned abruptly and left the room at that.

Ouch again.

Duo took in everything, the hurt in Relena's eyes, the stiff posture as she walked briskly from the room, the concern shadowing Heero's expression as he watched her leave. So, his boyfriend did care for Relena, perhaps he would be able to make him care a little bit more. Of course, he remembered gloomily, he had only three days left, and no relationship can be built in three days.

"Duo, don't be stupid," Solo warned. "You can't do anything in this short time. And don't you go playing around with God's fates." He could see the determination in his friend's eyes. Since Duo couldn't be with Heero, why not try to set him up? Even if it was a match made in heaven, Duo should not go meddling around in things he had no comprehension of.

I have only three days, Duo insisted, still studying the two of them with interest. Of course, at this point, he was severely cockeyed as Heero was still at his side and Relena was walking in the opposite direction. I need to make sure that he is at least happy.

"How do you know who makes him happy?" Solo asked, frustrated.

Heero doesn't really care about people other than his friends, and since they are all taken, except for Relena, who clearly cares for him…

"That's a stupid theory."

It was unfortunate the two of them didn't see a blond billionaire staring at them speculatively.

The party was almost over and Duo found himself hunting after Relena Peacecraft who had been surreptitiously missing for most of the afternoon. He knew that he was the one that had pushed her away. While she could snipe at Duo Maxwell, Adrian West was just a hapless bystander who would be severely protected if she tried anything.

"You shouldn't be doing this," Solo warned, reluctantly following Duo into one of the many dens that Quatre had around the house.

It took me forever to shake Heero off my case. I need to at least say something.

Solo sighed. "It's your choice."

Duo found Relena sitting in one of the rooms, paging despondently through what looked like a photo album. He recognised it. It was one of them. Quatre loved taking photos and keeping them. Memories, he called them. He slowed, nibbling his lower lip uncertainly. He really didn't know what to say to Relena, only knowing that he needed to say something. Should he disturb her?

"Mr West," Relena said, her tone frosty. "It is unseemly to lurk around in the hallways in ambush of polite folk."

Relena hasn't changed a bit. Her tongue was still as sharp. Feeling as if he was walking into his doom, Duo stepped into the room.

"Rel… uh, Ms Peacecraft," Duo greeted, desperately trying to remember that he was a complete stranger to her.

"I left because I wanted solitude," Relena announced, looking away.

You left because you didn't want to do me in, Duo thought. The silence that followed was heavy, oppressive and awkward as hell but Duo didn't know how to lightened the situation. 'Hey, don't worry, princess, I am your crush's dead boyfriend stealing the body of his latest crush so you really don't have to worry about anything' really just didn't cut it.

"I thought you stalked me because you had something to tell me. If you don't," Relena closed the album and stood.

"Relena," Duo started, deciding to hell with formality. "I didn't mean to steal him. I still don't intend to."

The blonde girl stiffened but kept her back resolutely turned. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Duo smiled sadly, thinking of what should have been. "Heero, Relena. I have no intention of stealing him."

"Go… good," Relena stammered and swept out of the room, the temperature suddenly feeling a whole lot warmer. Duo guessed it was partially due to the heat from Relena's blush. Even the back of her neck was a mottled red. Boy, can this girl blush.

Duo stared as Relena left the room hurried, closing the door behind her. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"I don't know if I can do this, Solo," he moaned, burying his face in his hands. He was a picture of dejection, hunched over himself, his body a mass of tense lines, pain lines.

"You have already decided to do it," Solo sat down next to his friend, laying a comforting hand across his shoulders. "But you really shouldn't mess with God's work."

Duo peeked at his friend. "God's work? God's work that their hiring process sucks? That due to that I died before I can make hot monkey love to Heero for as long as we both shall live?"

"Duo, the walls have ears," Solo hissed. "God has an amazing grapevine."

"Then he should perk his ears because Duo Maxwell is as pissed as hell. I didn't deserve this, and now I have to freaking match make the love of my life to someone who would rather tear my braid out by the roots." He turned and buried his grieving face into Solo's comforting chest.

Funny how something so insubstantial can be this solid.

XXxxXX

Outside the room, Quatre covered his gaping mouth in shock. No, this can't… this… it isn't possible. Duo Maxwell was dead…

…wasn't he?

Tbc…