Warnings: Heero finally reveals his feelings! Kind of... And this is the second-to-last chapter! :)

Chapter 19: -ness

"A card game?! Have you completely lost your mind?" Quatre yelled, grabbed my shoulders and started to shake me.

"I told you he was cursed. But would you listen to me? No, of course not," Wufei chimed in but fortunately only shook his own head.

As soon as Zechs had accepted my impromptu challenge and—completely confident of victory—declared that the game was to take place the very next morning ("Gentlemen, I have a treasure to find and no time to waste playing silly games with you!"), my friends had dragged me back to the captain's cabin for another discussion – or rather to give everyone the opportunity to yell at me for trying to save the day!

"I-it's the first thing that came to my mind," I stuttered due to Quatre's furious shaking. "I had to stop Heero from doing something stupid!"

As expected, Heero had the nerve to look affronted. "There was no reason for you to interfere," he declared haughtily.

"I can't just let you sacrifice yourself for your sister!"

"That is none of your business!"

"Oh yes, it is! Zechs fancies the socks off you! And I—I…" I faltered. Everyone was staring at me expectantly. Ducking my head to hide my blush, I rambled on. "I mean, you can't just run off with our map! We made a deal, so it's our treasure, too."

That was a blatant lie and completely unconvincing so I was quite surprised that Heero seemed to believe it. He shot me a look that promised death (and not inconsiderable amounts of pain before death), then turned around and stomped off to our cabin—or maybe it would be more accurate to call it his cabin now; I had a feeling that he would no longer be willing to share it.

"Duo, you idiot!" Quatre resumed shaking me. "I can't believe you just said that?!"

"S-stop sh-shaking me," I snapped and extracted myself from his grip. "I really don't get why you're all so riled up about this! I won't lose the game, so don't worry."

"That's what you always say." Quatre glared at me and looked almost as intimidating doing it as Heero. Well, almost.

"This time it's true! Believe me. I won't lose." And when he still looked dubious, I added: "Seventy-six." As if that explained everything.

"What?!"

"Maybe you shook him too hard," Wufei said carefully.

I threw him a look and defianty raised my head. "I'll have you know that I won seventy-six games in the last couple of weeks on the island—in a row. The game against Zechs will be the seventy-seventh. I don't mean to brag but I probably relieved every single pirate on the island of their buttons and spoons—do you think I will lose now when there are lives at stake?"

Quatre rather looked like he wanted to go right back to shaking me, but Trowa interrupted him.

"Alright," he said calmly. "What's done, is done. Zechs had the upper hand as soon as he realised that we actually cared about what happened to Relena. He won't agree to a simple deal when he knows things are already stacked against us. So, as matters stand, there's nothing we can do, short of attacking the ship and that would not only put Relena's life in jeopardy. If nothing else… this game will at least buy us some time."

Quatre huffed, exasperated. "Have you all gone mad!?"

To be quite honest, maybe we had. But I wasn't really worried about their opinion just then. What my friends didn't seem to understand was that I knew I wouldn't lose the game. I hadn't lost a single game since everything went wrong with Heero and he still hated me! It was Fortune's strange way of keeping things in balance—lucky at cards, unlucky in love… And like any self-respecting pirate, I was terribly superstitious.

Just at that moment there was a hesitant knock on the cabin door.

"Come in," Trowa ordered distractedly, still looking at his first mate and probably wondering how he might cheer him up again. It was quite embarrassing to see how smitten he was.

The door opened with a creak and revealed a group of around twenty pirates, looking grim and somehow… determined.

Our crew members.

The men who had been promised almost fantastical amounts of rum if they brought Relena back to her father.

The pirate who stood at the front of the group, apparently elected to speak as their leader, straightened when he noticed that everyone's attention had come to rest on him. Casting a brief, fortifying look at his comrades, he noisily cleared his throat and addressed himself to Trowa.

"Captain, um, we've heard all this talk about maps and a treasure, between you and Mr. Zechs, Sir, and…"

"And…?"

"And we were originally hired to get Relena back to the island, Sir. We were promised rum for that!"

"Yes," Trowa said slowly. "We realise that…"

The men had come well-armed, I noticed, sporting rusty cutlasses and pistols blackened by gun powder, no doubt from frequent, indiscriminate use. If they were unhappy with the latest turn of events, it would be laughably easy for them to take control of the ship. Mutiny was a grave offence and generally punished with death, but not nearly as rare as people would like to think.

"Well, Sir… Scratch that!" the man suddenly declared and a good-natured grin broke out on his face. "We'd rather have a share of that treasure!"

I chuckled and heard Wufei snort in amusement.

So we didn't have a mutiny on our hands, which was good, all things considered. Then again, no one actually had an idea how substantial Sawdown's treasure really was (I definitely was no longer under any illusions when it came to the veracity of my friend Jack's stories); the only thing I did know with absolute certainty was that if we continued to promise parts of the treasure to everyone we met along the way, we might just end up in a lot of trouble…

But there was nothing we could do about that now, if we didn't want to find ourselves stranded on the island without a ship and crew, and Trowa seemed to think the same.

„A fair share of the treasure," he acquiesced and offered his hand with a slightly pained smile.

The pirate's grin grew wider and they shook hands.

Since the game was set to take place the following morning, we had some time to explore the island and stock up on fresh water. Zechs and his men had set up camp at the northern end of the bay, beyond a shallow stream that bisected the beach before leading straight into the sea. So, with the northern part of the beach already occupied by pirates, we decided to land south of the stream and set up camp close to a small copse of palm trees that promised shelter from the sea winds and also hid us from prying eyes. Once that was done, the crew went about the usual chores, refilling water butts, collecting driftwood for the fire and catching fish for dinner.

When the campfire was lit and the first of our catch ready to be skewered on sticks and fried over the fire, the sun was just beginning to set in a dramatic spectacle of red and orange. Not surprisingly, our crewmembers were in much better spirits than during the long and laborious days at sea—they had a treasure to look forward to, which apparently even trumped the promise of free rum—and as night descended upon the island and the fire was dancing merrily in the breeze, someone produced a fiddle and a pipe and there was singing, boisterous and off-key, while every pirate quick on his feet (or peg legs) took to dancing around the fire.

I myself wasn't in the mood for celebrations, but fell into gloomy thoughts about Heero and the renewed distance between us. That might explain why I didn't notice when the object of all my brooding slipped away from the dancing crowd and disappeared into the growing dusk. When I finally did look up from my reverie (and the bottle of rum I had been nursing) and noticed Heero's absence, I completely forgot that he was still angry at me and really didn't need any saving. With Zechs' men so close by, it wasn't safe for him to just wander off on his own, regardless of his impressive strength and uncanny fighting skills! A moment later, I was on my feet and stumbling off into the darkness.

As it turned out, Heero was not very difficult to find at all. Sensible as he was, he had taken a lantern with him and I just had to follow the light to find him, a little way off, sitting on a large piece of driftwood beneath a palm tree. The lantern had been placed carefully into the sand next to his feet.

He didn't seem to have noticed me, sitting there lost in his own thoughts and looking up at the endless sea of stars travelling in mysterious motions across the night sky. For a long moment, I simply gazed at Heero gazing at the stars and felt quite heartbroken. Then I screwed up my courage and stepped closer.

"What do you want, Duo?" he asked before I had moved more than two steps in his direction.

"I—How did you know it was me?"

"You are sighing like a lovesick spinster."

I most certainly wasn't!

Then again, I thought it wiser to avoid a quarrel (at least for the time being) and just sit down.

"Are you thinking about your mother again?" I asked brightly, after a lengthy period of awkward silence when it became increasingly unlikely that he would stop ignoring me.

Heero shook his head. "No, Duo. I'm thinking about what I'll do if you lose tomorrow."

"I only tried to help you," I said waspishly.

"By using me as a wager in a card game." He turned to glare at me.

My eyes shifted guiltily.

He sighed and when I looked back at him, he had gathered his skirts (he was still wearing Relena's ball gown) and was just getting up to leave.

"Heero, w-wait!" I stammered.

He ignored me.

Yet when he reached the very edge of the small circle of light cast by the lamp he seemed to hesitate for a moment and eventually turned around again. "No matter what Relena thinks of me, she is my sister and I will protect her. I have to, Duo. I'm the only family she has."

Then he was gone.

"B-but it's madness to offer yourself to Zechs like that," I cried and sprang to my feet to follow him. "Heero!"

Stumbling after him into the gloom, I somehow got a hold of his hand. "Do you have any idea what Zechs would do to you given half a chance?"

He whirled around and even in the dim moonlight I saw his eyes flash like hot blue flames. "Then think about what he could do to my sister!" he snapped. "But you don't. You go around kissing people and then you just leave them to their fate!"

"How often do I have to tell you, Heero! I did NOT kiss Relena!"

"Why do you keep denying it!"

"Because it isn't true!"

Heero glared at me, eyes flashing. Then he snatched away his hand. "Stop lying to me!"

He spun around and was off again. I rushed after him, the sounds of breaking waves slowly growing louder, and suddenly the sand was wet and unyielding beneath my feet. When I finally caught up with Heero, I was completely out of breath and we both stood ankle deep in the water.

"Heero—please! Wait!" I panted, bracing my hands on my knees and gasping for air. "Yes, it's true. I woke up in Relena's bed once, but I swear I didn't touch her! I was dead drunk—I couldn't have done anything, even if I'd wanted to and I certainly didn't!"

He was scowling at me. "I saw you in the distillery!"

"But I only tried to get a look at her coordinates! That's why she'd taken off her dress—I tried to explain everything but you ran away and… and… then…"

And then I had kissed him and he had let me—at least until he'd come to his senses and boxed my ears.

As if he had read my thoughts, Heero suddenly froze and, standing so close to him, I saw his cheeks flush darkly. The angry fire in his eyes was gone from one moment to the next and his eyes were once again two clear, shining pools of dark blue.

A second later, he seemed to remember himself and quickly looked down at his drenched feet.

He must be awfully cold, I realised belatedly, still dressed in Relena's gown, without a proper coat or jacket. Looking down at his bowed head, I quickly took off my own coat and wrapped it around him. When he still wouldn't look at me, I realised with a sinking heart that Heero was right.

It really was time that I stopped lying.

So, ignoring the fact that it was the middle of the night and the two of us still stood ankle-deep in cold water, I sank down to my knees in front of him.

"I know I've told you all those stories about the beautiful court ladies I have courted, their fancy clothes and good manners," I said and slowly reached for his clammy hands. "I'm afraid not even half of it is true. And the rest was hardly as exciting as it seems in stories.

"I have never been the captain of that English three-master I told you about, or any other ship for that matter, until I came across the Deathscythe. I bartered her for a keg of rum and truth be told it wasn't even a bargain... she was barely seaworthy. But I poured every coin I earned into the repairs and in the end she was a splendid ship—that much is true—but then I lost her in the worst way possible, not in battle, not on some daring adventure, but in a simple card game."

I felt Heero's gaze on me, heavy as lead, and hung my head in shame. I wouldn't lose Heero like that, I vowed. I wouldn't.

"At first, all I really cared about was your father's gold. And to find out more about it, Wufei and I stole your diary. W-we didn't read it! But that doesn't make it right, does it? Then, after I'd found Relena's tattoo, I only got close to her to get a look at the coordinates. I didn't mean to hurt her, Heero, and she doesn't love me, so I doubt I could but… I ended up hurting you."

No matter how you looked at it, pursuing his sister to steal from his father was pretty despicable behaviour—even for a pirate. For a moment, I was so ashamed I almost lost the courage to continue.

But there was one last thing I had to confess to wipe the slate clean.

I glanced up at Heero. He was frowning. In his sodden ball gown and borrowed coat, he looked cold and wet and very comfortable.

I rose to my feet again and drew closer to him.

"I am not an honourable man, Heero. I am a pirate. And you could probably do much better but— I swear I never told a lie before I met you. I started to make things up and tell you all those stories so you would think as highly of me as I think of you. I don't know why no one else sees what is so clear to my own eyes—they must be blind to look at you and not see you for the treasure you are. You are worth far more than gold or jewels, fame or power and I would happily live like a pauper for the rest of my days, as long as I'd have you." I took a deep breath. "I love you."

Well, there it was.

A confession of my sins but also of my undying love for him. It would have been quite romantic… if Heero had deemed it worthy of a reaction.

Heero, however, merely continued to look at me as if I had just told him I wanted to marry Wufei—or something equally ludicrous.

Embarrassed, I shuffled my feet and was just about to deny everything, when he suddenly grabbed my shirt collar— and I braced myself for another slap in the face.

To my utter amazement, Heero didn't hit me.

He kissed me.

And what a kiss it was! Centuries seemed to whizz by as we shared the same breath. I saw stars whirling past behind my closed eyelids exploding in brilliant bursts of light and new stars flashing into life. It was even better than our first kiss and that had been quite amazing. Apparently, Heero was an exceptionally talented kisser - and a very thorough one, to boot.

When we finally drew apart and he slowly opened his eyes, there was a spark in them that was neither anger nor resentment.

"I-I should hate you!" he gasped, quite out of breath from our epic kiss.

"P-probably, yes—"

"But I don't!"

"You don't?"

"I-I'm very certain I don't!"

"Then, can we—?"

"Yes!"

And he kissed me again.

One kiss flowed into the next and we found that we couldn't stop. So we didn't.

When I woke up the next morning, again with someone in a bright pink dress sprawled on top of me, it was really Heero and not Relena. And well… Heero was definitely more undressed than Relena had been. I couldn't help smiling. My lips tingled. They felt like I had spent the whole night kissing him and retracing the lines and markings tattooed on his back - which I did.

I turned my head to take a closer look at Heero. The first rays of sunlight had turned his skin golden as if he truly were the treasure I had been looking for all along.

It was a pity I had to get ready for the game. Now that I'd had a taste of him, I was quite eager to get back to exploring. But first things first… By winning the game, I could save both Heero and Relena and everyone would have their happily ever after! Suddenly there was no doubt left in my mind that I would win the game, I felt like I could never lose again, no matter what I tried my hand at, because I had been lucky enough to win Heero's love and since nothing was better than that, my luck had surely proven itself boundless!

Oh.

No.

"What… have I done?" I asked aloud.

I had won Heero's love… but by the strange, inexorable laws of Fortune I had lost something quite important—

My luck at cards.

To be continued in the last chapter! Yay!