~H~

I followed Duo back out through the gap in the fence. Of course he wouldn't use the main entrance, the drive located just another block up. A casually camouflaged hole in the wall was much more his style.

Duo strode ahead of me, his braid bouncing off his back.

Tantalizing.

I reached out and caught it. Duo froze in his tracks.

"Heero?"

I'd frozen too. His hair was even softer than I remembered.

"Sorry." I muttered, dropping the braid.

"so uh… How's the Queen of the World."

"Relena is… well. Her new position suits her."

Duo flashed a grin,

"She always was the perfect politician."

"I believe she'll do well."

Duo nodded, grinned again and turned the corner. I fell into step beside him, but the silence between us grew despite the smile plastered on his face.

"Hilde seems… well."

"Oh you know, fire and vinegar and everything." I watched the tension start to bleed out of Duo's shoulders as he talked. "But yeah. She's got a real good head for business and her scrap art is starting to sell. I think Quatre's got something to do with that. He bought a couple for a garden, and you know how it goes. All of L4 has to follow whatever Winner does." He gave a wry chuckle. "I suspect Quat knew that would happen. But it's been really fun, getting the yard up and running with her."

"You seem to be adjusting well."

Duo grinned again and shrugged nonchalantly.

I've always wondered at his ability to move like that. He's got the languid fluidity of a cat, lazy and graceful all at once.

"Yeah. I guess Hilde's a good influence. Who knew I'd ever settle down in one spot? If I get any more domesticated she'll probably have me down on one knee." I stumbled a step. Duo's laugh faltered,

"You okay?"

"Affirmative."

But my head was spinning and there was a tightness in my chest I couldn't shake. Like my entire ribcage was constricting around my lungs. I tried to take a deep breath. Duo was staring, concern etched in eyes, a fake half-smile frozen.

Get it together!

I nodded and Duo turned slowly and led me another few blocks to a crumbling row of buildings.

"Well uh, this is it."

"This is what?" I glanced skeptically at the partially boarded up storefront. A graffiti covered piece of plywood filled the largest window, and the place looked dim despite the open sign hanging crookedly on the door.

"Um… groceries?"

I raised an eyebrow. I was quite sure there was nothing in that derelict building that anyone should be eating, but I followed Duo inside.

I was pleasantly surprised. The store was not brightly lit, but not nearly as dark as I had first suspected. It appeared clean and was well organized, though there was a distinct lack of fresh food and only 4 short isles and a wall of freezers.

"Sorry" Duo laughed nervously "L2 tends to specialize in canned cuisine."

I raised an eyebrow. We'd spent the entire war living off canned food, why would he apologize for its availability now?

"I bet you eat a lot better with the princess, huh?"

Again, I was failing to follow him.

"Relena…"

"Hey peaches!" Duo darted across the isle "Hilde loves these things!" He shot an oddly guilty look at me "I'll pick these up. Don't worry."

I extended the basket I'd procured on my in. "I believe Wufei's instructions were that I would pay. What do you suggest for a main course?"

Duo spun in a few slow circles before his eyes landed on a boxes of pasta.

"Pasta?"

I held out the basket again, waiting for Duo to make his selection.

"Wufei'd probably freak if I fed you guys mac'n'cheese, oh I know, spaghetti, that's adult food right?"

"I like macaroni."

Duo shot me a startled look and then broke into a genuine grin. I felt myself returning his smile. There's something exhilarating about getting Duo to truly smile.

Quatre phrased it best "…Duo's smiles… Have you noticed? He smiles all the time but his eyes, they're flat. But then when he really smiles, his eyes could make the stars dance."

We made our purchase and I followed Duo back to the scrap yard. My head was dancing with the smile plastered across his face, he was looking forward to having Wufei cook macaroni and cheese, but I couldn't shake the tightness in my chest.

I thought about the mission Une had assigned.

Duo was clearly happy here. Apparently he even had plans to propose to Hilde. There was no reason to suspect Duo's mental state. My own was probably much more fragile.

Wufei and I would leave after we had eaten. We could sleep on the shuttle.