Disclaimer: The characters belong to Sotsu, Sunrise, Bandai Entertainment, I neither claim them nor certainly make any money off them!
Pairing: 6x2
Rating: Lemony in places
Time Setting: Post-series, three years later (minus events in Ground Zero, Blind Target, Endless Waltz as when I started this, I hadn't seen or read about these yet)
Summary: A chance meeting leads to the recovery of a wounded heart.
The call came five minutes after Zechs had left. Duo stretched and pulled his jeans on, then padded barefoot into the front room where the computer was, his sweatshirt in hand. He pulled it on and punched the receive key to open the transmission.
Gunter Kausch was on the other end. "Ah, Mr. Maxwell, isn't it? Er, the other one, I mean..."
"Yep, that's me, Heero's my brother. Did you need to see Mr. Peacecraft? I'm afraid he's out right now." Duo barely avoided yawning. [What the hell time of day is it, anyway?]
"I just got clearance from the authorities to call him," Kausch went on, a worried look on his face that caused Duo to sit straighter. "I'm afraid there's been a kidnapping here at Peacegarden here on C-125."
[Oh, shit... this is SO what Zechs's doesn't need to hear right now...] "At the orphanage? One of the kids?"
"Yes... Mr. Maxwell..."
"Duo, call me Duo, please."
"Yes, Duo..." Kausch looked like he was going to faint any second. "We do know what happened, but not where they are. Denis Unter took little Judo away with him after a visit without informing us. We got a call from him less than an hour ago... he's made certain demands..."
Duo thought *he* was going to faint. [Judo! Judo's been kidnapped, oh, SHIT!] "What's being done? What are the demands?" [Gotta call Heero... OH, SHIT, how the hell am I going to tell *Zechs*??]
Kausch was quick to reassure him. "We called the local authorities and, er, your brother..."
"You called Heero?" Duo flopped down in a chair with relief. "Good choice."
"Yes, and he's on his way to outer space with an associate of his. Unter has disappeared for now after telling us to free Danzer Quinze. He has promised the boy will come to harm if Danzer isn't released. We have 48 hours, well, 45 now." Kausch was mopping his brow with a handkerchief nervously. "I wanted to wait until I heard from Unter before calling Mr. Peacecraft."
[Three hours ago this happened... shit, you could have called Zechs *first*...] "Okay, fine, whatever... I'll tell Mr. Peacecraft as soon as I can. He's out at a business appointment right now. I'll make arrangements for us to travel back to C-125."
"Er, your brother told me to ask you to wait until he's made a preliminary investigation."
"What?" [Heero, damn you... oh, wait, let me guess, you wanted Zechs and me to have more time alone... shit. Stop playing puppetmaster, you!]
"Unter is not on the colony; that's already been verified. They're questioning Danzer Quinze now about Unter's allies. Of course he isn't talking." Kausch was shaking his head, frustrated. "I wondered if there was another group of former White Fang rebels still around. Unter mentioned what he called a more radical group named Dark Moon - Unter has obviously gone to them."
"More nutcases - just great!" Duo retorted. "So you're saying we should cool our heels here? Mr. Peacecraft isn't going to like that."
Kausch looked shrewdly at the young man, wondering why he was in Peacecraft's home. Was there something between them? Not that it mattered; if Milliardo Peacecraft had a relationship, that was certainly a good thing, especially at a time like this. Then Kausch sighed and nodded. "Have him call me when you get ahold of him, okay, Maxwell?"
"Yeah... will do." Duo controlled his expression, not wanting to convey the dismay he felt. "Do keep us informed."
"Absolutely," Kausch replied firmly, then signed off.
Duo didn't have a chance to call Zechs; there was immediately another incoming transmission. [It had better be...]
"Duo," Heero greeted him succinctly, nodding without a smile. Typical.
"I heard," Duo replied dryly. "No thanks to you. Why didn't you call us immediately?"
Heero Yuy sighed deeply. "It wouldn't have mattered. So, did you tell him? Is Zechs there?"
"He's going to a therapist," Duo answered tersely.
Heero studied Duo's image for a long moment. "That's good," he said finally. "Can I assume things are still a bit strained between you two?"
At that moment, Trowa appeared in the viewscreen, bending down beside Heero. "Duo," he greeted him succinctly, a hand on Heero's shoulder.
"Trowa," Duo acknowledged him, a bit puzzled. [Trowa's with him? I thought Heero was all hot over Quatre... unless that really is just a friendly hand on his shoulder. Hmmm... maybe Heero did see the light after all. Cool.] Then he looked back at Heero again. "Yeah, strained is a good word for it. He has these inner voices he's trying to beat, you know, those nasty little voices that tell you all sorts of stuff you'd be better off not thinking."
"I don't have voices; I wouldn't know," Heero replied coolly. "But you guys did talk."
"Well, yeah," Duo said with a frown. What was Heero getting at? "We talked! In fact, heh, we did a hell of a lot more than talking, but after that, he kinda flipped out on me. Talking shit like how he didn't feel anything, how empty he felt." Suddenly his eyes felt hot again, and he turned his face away. [What the hell am I telling *him* for? Shit, I'm acting like a baby...] He swiped in the general direction of his eyes, then looked back. "Don't shoot me, but I told Kausch you were my brother."
"I'm not going to shoot you, Duo, and you are my brother," Heero said quietly. He'd read a lot in Duo's non-verbals, and realized he should back off on the questions about Zechs.
"What?" Duo looked at him in shock.
Heero shrugged. "It might as well be the truth. I want you to listen to something, Duo. It's something that I think solidified for me when Trowa and I talked to Quatre today. We four - you, me, Trowa, Zechs - we were all orphaned fairly early in our lives. We don't have any blood connections. Quatre does... and although I know we'll always be friends with him and feel close to him, he doesn't need us as much as we need each other. Even Wufei has had more family while growing up, and although he's had his own great losses, he seems to have found his own connections elsewhere.
"But we only have each other, Duo. Yes, Zechs has Relena, but she's only just found out that he's even alive, so it's not like their connection is strong. We have a common bond because of the war... what we did... what we became. You know I don't hold anything against Zechs from that time..."
"Yeah," Duo sighed when Heero paused to let him respond. "And obviously I don't either. We've both seen how much he's changed."
By now Trowa had sat down beside his friend and they were both sharing the viewscreen though Trowa was still as yet silent. Heero nodded tersely as if accepting the other's closeness, then continued speaking. "I think we can be family to each other, Duo... and that's why I'm going to use your last name when I'm in the colonies. I haven't talked to Trowa about this, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think we orphans need each other."
Now it was Heero's turn to show a little emotion... finally. He ducked his gaze, looking down at his hands. "I'm sorry I didn't try to get in touch with you, Duo. I had no excuse other than the fact that I let my work take up most of my time. So... hopefully there's something good come out of this little intrigue."
[Heero *wants* to be my brother, to be family? He's nuts, right?] But Duo was far more moved than he wanted to let on. [Shit, now this on top of everything else...] "Yeah, well, it's okay, I've been keeping busy, too, you know? Time just slipped away. Here we are, three years later, huh?" But there was a slightly bitter note of irony in his voice.
Heero nodded, accepting the other's hint of derision. "Yes, and I've got a case to work on. But I do want to make a go of a sort of family thing with you when I can... if you like."
Duo wrapped his arms around his chest, feeling his throat tighten as he thought of the shattered heart of his own lover. "Yeah... that would be great..."
[Okay, it's a start,] Heero Yuy thought, seeing Duo's inner pain. "Listen, you go find Zechs and tell him what's happened. I'll be in touch with you guys again soon." He took a deep breath, extremely aware of the other man beside him. "I've got to talk to Trowa now."
"Huh?" Duo glanced back up and noted that Trowa was looking intently at Heero. "Oh, right..." [Something is definitely going on there... well, I'll have to get my 'brother' to tell me about it later!] "Yeah, I'll get ahold of Zechs. You're going to C-125, I take it?"
"Yes," Heero murmured. Out of sight of the viewscreen, he reached for Trowa's hand, twining his fingers with those of the other at his side. "This is going to hit Zechs hard, Duo. Be strong for him."
"You got it... brother." Duo smiled suddenly. "Hey, Trowa, I got a brother!"
"Yeah, Duo," the quiet man spoke up, giving him a small smile as he glanced at the screen again. "You certainly do."
Duo signed off, then sighed as he picked up the piece of paper Zechs had left with the therapist's name and address on it.
In the shuttle enroute to C-125, Heero Yuy turned to his friend and pulled him into his arms, then captured his mouth with his, kissing him deeply. Trowa tensed minutely, surprised, then melted completely against the shorter man.
After a very long minute, they came up for air, Trowa fairly gasping against his mouth. "Heero..." he managed to get out, staring at his best friend whose eyes were still closed. "tell me what this is, Heero, just so I know."
The dark lashes lifted, revealing beautiful eyes of Prussian blue-gray. "Something happened to me during my last visit to space, Trowa." Heero still circled the other with his arms, needing him close. "Zechs... and Duo. I think they taught me something."
Trowa smiled shyly, tilting his head. "What's that?"
"I already knew life was short," Heero replied, rubbing his nose lightly against his friend's cheek. "But what I didn't know is that sometimes you reach a point where, if you don't already have love in your life, if you don't have loved ones... you need them and you need to go find them. I'm tired of being defined by my work, Tro. I know I'm only eighteen, but I feel like I'm about thirty-five, and, well..." His voice dropped lower. "It's time for this... for me. I just hope you might feel the same way about it."
[He's lived so intensely in that short time,] Trowa thought, his heart melting. [And I guess I have, too. My own work for the Justice Department hasn't been so demanding, but even so...] "I think I do, Heero," he murmured, his pulse-rate increasing. "The only family I've known is Catherine. Since I left the circus to join the Justice Department with you, I've felt empty, although the work has been rewarding. I couldn't have stayed there with her, Heero. The war showed me that I have skills that are sorely needed to help the government with its security issues to maintain the peace. You know... I had my hopes about Quatre - and so did you - but I think there has been something simmering between you and me for a long while as well. Quatre is so easy to love... I don't expect to be like that..."
"You can't be serious," Heero murmured, caressing his back. "You're a stronger person than you think and I've never known anyone as loyal as you. I think... I think we will be good for each other, Trowa."
He paused, his hand rubbing at Heero's chest lightly, shyly. "Yeah? So you really want me in your life?"
Heero cocked his head at him, a gleam in his eye. "Yeah, that seems to be what I'm saying. Do you need more proof?"
[Uh-oh,] Trowa thought, grinning. "Yeah, I do."
"That's fine," Heero muttered then put Trowa aside while he went to the door of the shuttle's little galley where they'd called Duo from the public terminal. He locked the door, then turned and reached for Trowa again, pulling him back into his arms. The corner of his mouth curved, then Heero was pulling Trowa down to the floor with him, immediately rolling him over so the shorter man was on top. A sound of pleased surprise issued from Trowa before his mouth was captured again.
[This feels right and he's willing,] the former "perfect soldier" thought. [That's all I need to know. I'll let the future take care of itself like I always have.] Heero settled into kissing Trowa deeply and thoroughly, his hand already sliding up inside the other's shirt to feel his skin and find his nipples.
The light brush of Heero's fingertips against his nipples drew a whimper out of Trowa. [He... he *wants* me... do I believe as he does about finding loved ones? Catherine will always be my dear sister... but even she knows I must find my own love. She's been starting to date as well... she'll understand this perfectly, though it might be a shock to find that I'm with Heero... well, she'll have to get used to that...]
The shuttle trip to Colony C-125 took too little time, in the eyes of two former Gundam pilots, but when they disembarked, two best friends were now new lovers as well...