A/N: Hi!!! WOW. O_O I never thought I'd get so many reviews!!! Thank you SO MUCH!!! I can only hope this chapter will be good enough.

*Warning* - There is sap, angst, and explicit content that young children should only read if they want to lose all innocence and have their minds plagued with indecent exposure. In other words, DON'T READ if this stuff scares you or disturbs you. There is also cursing, which I will ALWAYS have at least a little of in each chapter. What can I say? I'm a bad, bad girl. Bad me!

Disclaimer - Gundam Wing does not belong to me. The funny woman beside Heero is mine. Heero himself is not. Leave me alone about it. *cries* I hate fanfiction for having to make me say that. . .

I'm dedicating this to Starlight Soul, the first to reply to the 2nd chapter. Thank you!!! (Hint: if you want me to dedicate a chapter to you, you first have to REVIEW) ^_^o Heheh.

Footsteps

Chapter 3

The plane was about ready to land. Heero looked down at the journal, which he hadn't dared open since the last paragraph he'd read. His eyes hooded, he looked down the aisle and for once wished he'd taken the window seat. Screw old-time battle instincts; he needed some time to just STOP thinking. Because all of his thoughts rounded straight back to Duo. . .

He shook his head and sighed heavily, then caught himself and frowned. He never sighed. He never wanted the window seat. He never let himself. . .

Sitting bolt upright, he tried to ignore the flashes of. . . of whatever they were, but it didn't work. He imagined his tongue entering Duo's mouth, tried to imagine the taste that would be Duo's and Duo's alone. He imagined Duo's moan, his body molding against him, flattening, melting into him. Imagined himself grinding his hard erection on Duo's and. . .

Shit, he was hot. And hard. He desperately swallowed the groan that welled up in his chest. Oh, God. Duo. That fantasy was going to haunt his dreams, he just knew it. Shit. His pulse was pounding, his breaths ragged. He needed release.

He got ready to go to the bathroom when the light ding sounded for an announcement. "Everyone please buckle your seats and prepare for landing. Anyone who is using the restroom facilities please evacuate immediately. We will be landing. . ."

Heero did groan then, and the woman looked at him in sympathy. "Do you have to go, dear?"

He locked his teeth together as he slid back into the seat. "You have no idea," he growled, and she laughed. He moved to put the seat belt on, and the friction of his jeans on his erection made him have to bite his lip to keep from moaning his release right there. Shit. This was bad.

He somehow managed to get hooked, and found himself with a piece of fabric firm against himself. "Shit."

She giggled again. "At least they have restrooms at the airport, close to the terminals."

Heero feared he wouldn't make it. Or, perhaps, he would make it, and everyone would know what he was doing. Oh, shit. He leaned his head back, body tense. Shit, shit, shit.

The journal felt with a slap onto the floor.

Without even thinking, he snapped up and grabbed it, holding it close to his chest. He breathed the smell of Duo, which both excited and calmed him. He looked at the journal, keepint it away from his face, and felt it beckon to him.

He opened it.

What lay before him was the middle of a journal entry, a helluva long one at that. His eyes moved of their own accord. `. . . said he was dead. Oh, God. He's dead. He fucking blew himself up.' The words were scribbled down hastily, as if he wanted to write everything down quickly. As if he wanted to get it all out before it tore his system apart. `I was there. I could've stopped him. I could've done *something*. But he's dead now. Oh, God. I'll never see those eyes again, that hair, not even that obnoxious glare of his. . .' There was something more there, but it had been smudged by. . . water. Tear? Had Duo been crying? He read that piece of the passage over again, and knew when it had taken place without even searching for the date. It was a bit after he had pressed the self-destruct button. (A/N: In episode 10, because we all know that he didn't press that damn button just once, oh, no, let's make a HOBBY out of it. . .)

Heero's brows drew together, and he felt his erection finally start to give him a tiny bit of breathing room. He refused to think about it much, for he knew he'd go back to the fantasy. Shit. Journal. Read the damn journal, Yuy, he told himself firmly.

`I don't know what to do. I'm stuck here with Quatre, playing hide-and-seek with OZ. I want to fight, for him, whether it's suicide or not. He took every singly mission. He gave the ultimate finger to OZ. And what had I done? Watched. I just fucking sat there. Oh, God. Heero. Heero, Heero. I can't believe you're gone. You were invincible. Untouchable. You didn't have to do that. Why did you do this to me, Heero?! How could you?!'

*

Heero stepped off of the plane, numb. He hadn't seen anything wrong with his actions when he had done them, but now it had seemed fairly rash. But, he knew, he would do it again. But he had no clue of how it would hurt Duo.

Shit. He hadn't been thinking about Duo. He'd just followed the mission. He'd done as he was ordered. Was he just a machine? How could he love Duo, if he only paid attention to the mission?

He shook his head and headed for the bathroom. It would be expected, after all. The woman would -

He realised he was thinking in war-time thought, and forced himself to stop. He would go to the bathroom, then rent a car. He didn't know how to love Duo. All he knew was that he DID love Duo. They could go from there. Yes. One step at a time. He counted the steps to the bathroom, taking his new resolve a bit too seriously, but refusing to change it. He'd count every step he made if it would get him to Duo.

( I was gonna stop here, but I'm in a fairly good mood. So, on we go!!!)

*

He sat within the car and glared at the stoplight. Damn these things anyway. So what if they stopped accidents. They also constantly stopped HIM. And that just pissed him off.

The thing changed to green, and he nodded. Damn straight. Nothing survives under my gaze.

Except that Duo had. Duo had seemed oblivious to it. That had been the first thing he noticed about the guy, other than the braid. He'd dared to call it ponytail once and had been answered with a gun to his throat before even *he* could register it. That had made him think twice about both the word and the man.

Heero glanced at the place below his seat for a second, knowing that the journal was under there. He hadn't read it. He didn't want to. He was afraid that he would open up to that page again and see the proof of Duo's vulnerability. The signs that made him feel like he should be hog tied and roasted on a stick. For he had caused that pain. And that in turn brought him to his knees.

"I'm sorry, Duo," he whispered, turning into a fast food resteraunt to pass a light without actually having to go UNDER it. "I'm so sorry." He didn't know what else to say, even to himself. He couldn't say that he wouldn't do it again if given the chance, because he would. What he had done had made the colonies hesitate, if only for a little while. And he couldn't say that he hadn't meant to, because that was just absurd. He rolled his shoulders uneasily. And he had no clue of what he was going to say when he met his braided crush.

He wasn't ready.

A strange panic went through him, and he picked up the speed a bit. If he was afraid, he'd just have to face the fear.

He was going straight to Duo.

*

A/N: Hullo. Not much more in there, but I don't want to give out everything at once. That would mean that Kanashii doesn't get to torture all of you, and that would make her unhappy. Heheh. Don't hurt me! *Runs off*

Kanashii: Hello. Don't you just love me? *Smirks*

Ai: Please tell me what you think of this story. I'm really enjoying writing to all of you, and your reviews are truly an inspiration.

Kanashii: Yeah, Kayura would probably like them too. She checks like ten times every day, and more on the weekends. She's obsessed.

Ai: Thank you so much for your time. Excuse us, we must look for Kayura.

Kanashii: Yeah, yeah, Personally, I wouldn't mind her being lost forever.

Kayura: *From a far distance* Hey! Excuse you! Oh, please review everyone, it would make me SO happy, you have no idea!