Title: The Devil Has Blue Eyes

By: Aina Song

Fandom(s): Gundam Wing

Genre: Yaoi (with some Het thrown in)

Rating: PG-15

Warning(s): Contraband; Fusion; Language; Death; Murder.

Pairing(s): Heero/Quatre (constant mentionings of Het pairings)

Reviews: Yes, please.

Author's Note: (I'm afraid my usual Disclaimer will not be enough this time, so bear with me.) I, Aina Song, hereby acknowledge the illegality of the following fusion fiction, which is based very thickly upon Clara Wimberly's The Jeweled Heart of Rosemont Castle. I do not claim any rights or privileges her book may have earned her, nor do I claim credit for the book itself. This fanfiction follows her plot almost to the letter, with few changes tossed in here and there, but I must again press that it does so without the explicit permission of Ms. Wimberly, her editor(s), or her publisher(s). This fiction was not written for money; I do not profit from this in any way, shape, or form. Please excuse the illegality of it all, and I do hope my own readers will try to look past my unlawfulness and enjoy the fiction nonetheless. Thank you.

Teaser: He did not care that he was the lost heir to a winery fortune - especially since he couldn't remember that earliest piece of his childhood. He only wanted to reclaim the family that had been kept from him. But there was another who was determined to unmask him as an imposter. And, at the same time, a strange cold presence stirred again at his return, anxious to finish what it had started so long ago…

Chapter Twenty-Five

"No," Quatre whispered. The words echoed again and again through his mind, and the room seemed to tilt crazily around him.

"Kami," Heero swore softly, reaching for him and pulling him back against the couch.

"I'm sorry," Duo sighed. "I am. But you came here for the truth, and I wouldn't insult your intelligence by lying about somethin' like this."

"Yes," the blond nodded as the room began to right itself again. "Yes, I wanted the truth."

Yet the finality of Duo's words hurt so that he could hardly breathe. The memory of her fragrance came rushing back to him, and for a moment he could almost feel her arms around him, rocking him just as she had when he was a child.

He took a deep, slow breath and sipped the lemonade that Heero held to his lips. The darker man was so close, so warm, that for a moment he strongly wanted to collapse into Heero's arms and completely break down. And he might have done that, if it weren't for the amethyst eyes watching him.

"Please… T-tell me what you mean," Quatre managed.

"I knew your mum," Duo affirmed. "She came to me from time to time, for medicinal herbs and tonics, or even just to talk. She was something else altogether; she rivaled Sister Helen with her goodness and high spirits. Everyone loved her. Treize practically worshipped the ground she walked on." He paused, glancing at Heero. "I'm sorry, kid, but you wanted the truth and it has to be said."

"Go on," he said quietly.

"Things began to change at the castle when Hiromi came. At first, Leia and Hiromi were closer than anything, but after a while people began to talk about Treize and his attention to his wife's maid."

Heero stood then and moved to the window, his back to the room. There was tension in his shoulders, as though he expected at any moment to shatter under the blow of Duo's words.

"You want me to stop, kid?"

"No," he growled. "I've heard it all before."

For a moment, Quatre wanted to stop the man himself, thought even of coming back alone so Heero would not have to be subjected to the story again, one that had likely haunted him since childhood. Before he could speak up, however, Heero turned around, his jaw clenched in attempt to restrain himself. "Go ahead, Duo. I'm no longer a little boy who needs your protection."

Duo's oddly gentle smirk told the blond a great deal about the companionship between the other two. Somehow, they had found each other - an outcast, strange-eyed man and a hurt, misunderstood little boy. Quatre wondered how often Heero had come to this place, how many times Duo had taken him in and listened to his troubles when it probably would have been easier for the ageless man to turn the child away. And Quatre felt an immediate kinship to the Demon, guessing how important Duo had become to Heero over the years.

"All right," Duo sighed. He turned his gaze once again upon Quatre. "Your mum started talkin' about the rumors every time she came over - which was happening more and more. The funny thing was that your dad came a few times himself. I was a sort of messenger between them, they were so proud and stubborn. It was obvious they loved each other, but they were young and unsure. And the rumors wouldn't stop. I can't tell you how often I beat myself up over never bein' able to convince them to just sit down and talk to each other.

"Zechs Merquise visited Rosemont that year. I guess it was unavoidable, the way Leia turned to him for comfort. I told her she was making a mistake, that her attention to him would only make things worse. Obviously she didn't listen. And I was right."

"Was that when Zechs painted her portrait?"

"Yeah… mistake after mistake in that place, I swear. The man was obsessed with your mum; he begged her to leave Treize and go back to France with him. You must've gotten to know Treize well enough again by now to know that he would never have believed his best friend had tried to betray him. But that's what happened."

"What about Rasid?" Quatre wondered. "They say he and my mother-"

"Lies," Duo dismissed. "There's not a doubt in my mind he loved her, but the man was too loyal to Treize Khushrenada to do anything about it. If I hadn't believed that, I never would've helped him."

"You…?" He blinked, realizing. "You're the one who wrote to him, who was always sending money. Did you help him find work for the caravan in Sanc?"

"Yeah, I did." Duo turned to Heero, "Sorry for never tellin' you, kid, but Rasid made me swear… said no one could know, that it'd put the little boy in danger."

Heero nodded solemnly, his mouth held tightly in a straight line.

"The last time your mum was here," he said, returning his attention to Quatre, "I could tell something was wrong. I dunno what it was; I doubt even she knew. But she was scared, that much I could see. She talked a lot about death, and was torturing herself over what would become of her kid if something happened to her."

"B-but perhaps that's why she ran away…"

"She didn't run, kid. Someone killed her. I know it, and so did Rasid. Leia loved Treize Khushrenada, and she loved you. She wasn't a quitter - she would've stayed and fought, before ever givin' up on your dad and the life she wanted with him."

"Then who do you think could've murdered her?" Heero asked, coming back to the couch and sitting beside Quatre. "And why?"

"You won't like it."

"Tell us."

"Please," Quatre said softly. "The truth."

Throwing his head back with a loud sigh, Duo swore viciously up at the ceiling. "It wasn't me in your room last night," he said suddenly. "You ever think about that? And if it wasn't me, then who was it? What'd they want? Were they just tryin' to scare you, or did they really mean to hurt you?"

Quatre felt a chill crawl up his spine, but no matter how he tried he would never have expected to hear what Duo said next:

"Your dad drank himself to oblivion, didn't he. My opinion, he's tryin' to forget. He can't have meant to do it - but maybe the jealousy was too much, and he snapped. Hate to say it, kid, but I've always thought Treize was the one to kill your mum."