Kayura: Thank you, everyone, for being so patient with me. This is awesome, getting so many reviews, and I just don't know how to say thank you well enough.

Kanashii: Nor does she know when to stop when she's said it enough.

Kayura: Shut up. I'd love to say thank you to each and every one of you, but I'm eager to get to the story. So, thank you, everyone! You're all the best! And Starlight Soul, you have no idea how happy I am with all the goods. SUGAR RUSH!!! Hahahahahahah!!! Expect many, many chapters with that stuff as my reward. ^_______^ *Eats pixie stix* Mmmmmmmm. . .

*Warning* - YAOI. Dunno what that is? LEAVE. There's also sap in this, with a little angst near the end. Uhmm, anything else? I don't even know if there's any cursing. O_O WOW!!! . . . Okay, wait. Yeah, there's cursing. Whew!!!

Disclaimer - The gundam guys aren't mine, and neither are their gundams, which are long roasted at this point. ^_^o Anyway, I don't have anything to lose, so it wouldn't be in your interest to sue me, unless you thrive on wasting both of our time and money. . . and I don't have enough of that to waste. Thanks!!!

Footsteps

Chapter 7

And indeed it was. Heero found himself tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable. He groaned, then tried to muffle it, thinking of Duo upstairs.

He snorted. What else would he be thinking about? It certainly wasn't the discomfort of sleeping on the couch; he'd slept in much more austere locations, described as disgusting as best and fucking-horrendously-like-a-sewer at worst. Hell, he thought wryly, he *had* slept in a sewer once.

And since that brought up memories best left buried, he pushed it out of his mind.

He got up again, silently going out side for a minute. He had forgotten about Hero, he set about to barking immediately. Heero winced and put a finger to his lips, but it did nothing to calm the animal. Heero had wanted only one thing: the journal. He marched over to the dog and grabbed its muzzle shut. "If you wake up Duo, omae o koroso," he snarled, and shoved the dog away. He knew he was being mean to the poor animal, but it had the dog's mouth trapped better than duct tape. It didn't even whimper.

Satisfied, he walked over to the car and unlocked it, digging under the driver's seat. He left the light on to read a bit out here. Hell if he was gonna be caught with the thing. Talk about not getting off to a good start.

`May 18, A.C. 195,

I'm hiding right now, avoiding OZ and generally the world at large. Hell if I'm gonna get into details. I don't have the time. I have to stay on the run.

I just wanted to record a couple things really quick. One: I'm probably not going to survive this suicide mission.' Heero stopped and tried to figure out which mission this was, but couldn't, which meant that either only Quatre knew or everybody was in the dark. He continued. `This is completely insane, what I'm doing. About to go into an OZ base and get my brains blown out. And why? Hell. To get rid of files the enemy has on 01.'

Heero was shocked. When the *fuck* had they managed to get any information on him at all?

`It seems they had taken classmates hostages and had managed to catch someone who had been really high on him. She told them every nuisance of his appearance, and then everything she knew about his attitude and past. There wasn't much on his past, thank God, but there was plenty on his personality. Apparently, he'd given a rather elaborate opening speech to the class on wars and violence, and she'd just happened to record it. So they also have his voice.

`I've been tortured by these bastards, and I've seen what they can do. I won't let that happen to Heero. It was a miracle that he survived. . . that one time. . . I won't let him get hurt again, not if I could help it. I don't want to feel that pain again. I don't want to lose him again. . .'

Heero sighed and slowly shut the journal. He'd never get enough of this thing, he knew. If he could hear every single thought that had ever passed through Duo's mind, he could never get bored.

And the fact that Duo had cared for him all that time, even when he'd been such an asshole and had treated him like the scum from the bottom of the sewer he remembered once sleeping in, had him shivering. Or maybe that was the cold.

He decided to go the hell back into the house and. . . do something.

But once he'd safely hidden the journal again and locked his car tight, he turned to stare at Duo's golden retriever and walked towards it, smiling gently. It was watching him warily and lying on the ground, face on his paws, staring up in that funny way that dogs could. He stretched out a hand for the dog to sniff, and he slowly came forward. Patient, he waited until the dog started wagging its tail before petting it.

He played with it then, rolling around on the ground and forgetting that it was early morning. He wrestled with it and got pinned to the ground, where the dog promptly started licking his face, tail thumping against his thigh as it swung back and forth. He laughed and rubbed behind its ears, trying to get into a sitting position and failing miserably. He ended up trying to cover his face to stop it from smelling too much like dog breath. Hero left him for a minute, and he took the time to take a breather. He felt a small object hit his stomach and cautiously peeked out from under his arms to see a tennis ball lying on him, dog slobber getting into his shirt.

So he got up and played with the dog some more.

He didn't notice how long he'd been playing until he realized that the sun was all the way up. He smiled at the glory of it and bent to hug the dog as it came back to him with the messy tennis ball. The dog suddenly dropped the ball and barked loudly, its tail wagging double-time, and it turned. Heero knew without looking what was beside him, but stood anyway and turned. "Good morning, Duo."

Duo looked a mess, his braid mussed up and his jeans wrinkled. His chest, though, was still wonderfully naked and his droopy violet eyes were gorgeous in the morning light. How had he gone without this for so long?

Duo grunted in reply. "You both can come in," he yawned, leading the way inside, almost falling from Hero's excited barks and tumbling feet. Heero himself wasn't so far behind.

Duo, it seemed, had been up just long enough to start breakfast. Bacon was on the stove and eggs were sizzling right beside them.

"I though you couldn't cook?" Heero said in remembrance, and won a tired chuckle.

"I can't," Duo answered honestly. "But at least my bacon and eggs are edible."

Heero smiled softly and nodded; Duo turned his head and took a big whiff. A smile bloomed across his face, making Heero's heart flutter. "You can wash your face in the bathroom right there," Duo pointed, and Heero went inside, grateful. By the way he smelled, it was a wonder Duo could breathe near him without thinking him a werewolf.

He came out, having also tended to his bladder, and helped Duo finish up cooking breakfast. He set the table for them and finished scrambling the eggs so that Duo could focus on draining the fat from the bacon. They walked around each other in silence, which somehow surprised Heero. Duo had always been a chatterbox when he'd been around. Why was he so quiet now?

They both placed the food on the table and sat down. Heero tried to not be so shocked that Duo didn't say grace. Just because he wore a priest's outfit didn't mean he was too religious. After all, didn't he always used to wear that stupid smile?

And it was then that Heero noticed that Duo was NOT smiling.

"Duo?" he prompted, and gained a little sigh.

"Heero. . ." he started, and looked down to study his hands. "Why did you. . . stay? Why'd you even come back?" He glanced up through his bangs. "I. . . think we need to have that talk."

Heero nodded and braced himself, getting ready to say words that he didn't know how to say. Words he thought he never would say.

And prayed that Duo might believe them.

*

A/N: Hi! I'm here to remind you all to REVIEW PLEASE and keep them coming. I love reading you guys' reviews, even the ones that just say `continue'. It's great to know that my story doesn't suck, and makes me really wanna hurry for you all!!!