"You never know how much you love something, until it tells you how much it hates you..."
Roses are Red... and so is my Blood
Part 1
Sitting in the small office, Une glared at a returning glare of Wufei.
"I need you to be Relena's bodyguard for a week." Her nails rapping against the glass desk was grating on the Chinese's man's nerves.
"No." His tone was flat; he was angered that Yuy turned it down for plans. "I refuse to watch that... that..."
"That woman who pays triple for bodyguards then what Preventers pays...sorry if the opportunity to make more money was offensive." Standing up, a smile played on her features, she had the last card and knew his rent bills were late.
"Damn." Putting his hand down on the desk to fiddle with the penholder, Wufei looked up and growled, "you play dirty."
Falling back into the chair and crossing her long legs, her voice trailed out like a sweet sigh, "I know." Correcting her posture, the German woman continued, "I will put a payment for the next two months with your landlord through the Preventers accounts because by the time you get paid you won't have anywhere to live. I know you are a man of honor and will pay back as soon as possible." Her face seemed younger and more childlike as she played with her favorite chew toy of the ex-pilots, he fought back and lost most of the time, but it was better then the sullen expression of Barton or the near tears of Winner. Yuy would just space out and was too close personally and Maxwell just played with his braid...Chang was her favorite.
"Just pay for my back rent, I should get everything in line. Thank you on...onn...onna Une! Damn, almost had it." The smirking expression of the chief turned into a snarl as she threw her letter opening as Wufei ran out the door with a yelp.
As Chang made his way back to his desk and smacked Heero on the back of the head only getting a snort in reply.
"Because of YOU, I have to guard her royal High-ass." Leaning on the fake wooden desk, he crosses his arms and blew his bangs from his nose. After the wars, he had the front of his hair cut to frame his face, making it look thinner as he let the back grow into the traditional plait. This of course gave Duo all the fuss he wanted, and taught him how the American felt when someone decided to tug on it, especially a little red head bundle of hyper energy who enjoyed to toy with Wufei as much as her guardian.
Heero just looked up; his eyes sparkling with mirth as he licked the envelope then make a kissy sound that turned the Chinese boy red.
"What is with you, too happy."
The ever-present smile stayed on his lips and he leaned on his hands, "I have a date."
"No way! You mean he's going... and you... about time. Tired of you two waltzing around each other."
"Yup, he is coming to my place for a candle lit dinner and a bit of dancing. Then... what ever happens, happens. But I have a week taken off and Relena insisted not to have me take time from fun for once."
"Wondering how she would take it."
"Well, she said if I didn't do anything soon she would shoot me... but you know what that leads to so..." He made a few hand gestures.
Duo walked in and laid a large stack of papers on Heero's desk, and wiping his brow playfully with the end of his braid. "Ne, wish they would fix the air conditioner."
"Aw, you're just the only one that is hot Duo." Heero picked up the top folder and began to enter in the information into his computer.
"Thank you Heero, at least someone notices. See you tonight Yuy."
"Later." Walking away with an airy step, the tip of his braid would bounce on his calves with a seductive sway. Heero just sighed as he settled back into his seat. "I'm not sure if I can wait."
"Patience makes the heart grow fonder Yuy. Have fun while I'm in hell." Exhaling Wufei kicked off the desk, hanging his head down low as he got ready to leave for England.
"Oh and Chang, bring a suit... she is attending a Gala Ball for the premiere of some Opera."
The nerve that throbbed in the ex pilot's forehead was at the edge of bursting.
@~`~
The room was lit only with candles; they littered the coffee table, mantle, specially made holders and any flat surface Heero could find room for. His smile never left once since Duo accepted his invitation to dinner, it gave him hope.
‘Hope', that wasn't a word he used a lot.
"Maybe I changed..." Looking in the mirror that hung over the mantle proved it, his messy hair was still thick and caressing his nose, but longer in the back curling a bit at the nape of his neck. The large creases in his forehead from over thinking gave him and older appearance, but the deep set blue eyes kept him to still looking like a child.
Standing outside of Heero's apartment, Duo rang the doorbell. He was surprised that the Japanese man asked him to come over for dinner, he usually came by to visit or help finish up investigations, but dinner was something totally different.
Pacing in front of the white door wringing the sweat from his hands, Heero looked like a frightened animal when he heard the tinkling chimes of the bell, signaling that his date arrived on time.
Opening the door to the lavishly decorated room, Duo's smile had faded. "What's all this?" He looked to see candles all over the room as the ends of the table had two large silver domed plates nestled around the large white pillar candle. His face went white to red with anger.
"I wanted to surprise you Duo... I-I have something I wanted to say to... you," taking in a deep breath his voice was shaky and he was afraid to loose concentration if he looked up into the young man's face.
If he did take a look, he would have noticed the clinching jaw muscles and narrowing eyes.
"I have fallen in love... with you." Looking up, Heero's crystal eyes glistened with the dancing light of the flames, but when his eyes came in contact with Duo's he cringed.
"What the fuck do you mean Yuy?"
"Wha...what do you mean? I love you Duo..."
Anger flared through his body and his fist balled up and landed a punch square above Heero's eye, splitting the flesh of his eyebrow as the bone made and audible crack. He fell hard on the floor, breath stopped as his blood began to flow cold catching in his chest.
"'Love'? Do you even know what the word means? Damn you're so fuckin' dense! How could I love a cold ass bastard like you? Huh?"
"But..." Hanging his head down he sat on hands and knees on the ground trembling as he held back to the tears that wanted to fall down his sharp face.
"But what Yuy? Huh? I can't hear you. Just fuck off Yuy! Oh wait your kind likes that!" Duo stormed out the door slamming it on his way out.
Banging his head on the plush carpet, the ex pilot screamed into the fiber threads, releasing all his hurt till he collapsed. Fine lines of tears slivered down his face mingling with the blood of his split eye.
The burbling toil of distaste and loathing he had for his once best friend fueled higher as he made his way back through the building and to his car. Picking up his cell, he dialed up a near by spaceport for the closest ticket off the dinky planet. He wanted as far as he could manage without seeing anyone that would know him or remind him of the past.
Stopping at the port, he went on, mind a total rage as he moved with his feet to purchase a one way ticket living no clues or signs of him leaving. Duo didn't want to be followed and any ID or credits used in his account would give everything away.
Putting everything in the car as he went through he journey from the ticket booth to the terminal, and finally at rest on a ten-hour trip to whatever colony his cash could provide. As the shuttle went along it's track, he felt the engines purring beneath him as he closed his eyes. "No one loves Shinigami and lives."
@~`~
Lying still on the floor, a hitched breath exhales as Heero regained consciousness. His brain tried to process what happened, but things hurt too much. Blood covered part of his white sleeve and a bit of the light green carpet.
A long groan escaped his throat as he tried to stand, ripping his arm away from the clotted wound creating another trail of gore along the same pathway as the original thick mess of blood. He was surprised too know that his chest hurt to, but finding no physical injuries, his brain turned again.
"Oh...that's why." It clicked a switch on the film projector in his mind. Duo hit him. Duo said he didn't love him. Duo said...
Cold crept over his skin, goose bumps prickling his skin as he grabbed his jacket to help warm him, but the frost of his heart quickened once again, and only one thing could melt it before and it left him broken on the floor.
Being alone in the romantic room began to set another set of tears, he need to get out for awhile. Air. Sweet air would help him a little then call Une to work...but then he would be there. Things piled up to make the situation worse and a walk through the park would make things seem better, he just hoped he didn't cross the Scythe's ex-pilot.
The night was crisp, fall was on it's way as the large trees lining the street were turning tinges of orange, yellow and reds. He watched as lovers walked down the street, a few looking back horrified at his swollen shuteye and half his face covered in a crust of blood. Every step quicken till he reached the crossroads racing across the busy street, fate holding his hand as he made it across unscathed till he ran into another couple. The hard sidewalk bit into his palms causing more of his life flow to venture out of his unknowing body, but he didn't feel it, pain was something else to him at the moment.
"Heero?" A deep feminine voice reached his ears as he turned his head to look out his good eye. The young girl beside her screamed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Uncle Heero! What happened?" The red headed child whimpered.
"Hey moon-girl..." (1) His voice was unfamiliar, not his usual deep tone...but more frightened, even broken.
Une helped pull the youth's limp body out of the way of passers by as she began to rummage through her purse for something to stop the wounds from weeping but looked into the usually stoic face, her body froze at the damage that was done to someone she admired. "What happened?"
"D-Duo." A small whimper erupted from his throat as he sat up against the large concrete building.
Her heart leapt out to him, she understood perfectly. Draping his arm over her shoulder she helped him to his feet as Mariemaia took hold of his other arm, clutching protectively to her ‘Uncle Heero'. Taking his semiconscious form up the block to his apartment, the girl ran to the freezer and pulled a bag from the cupboard and sat softly on the couch, holding the bag to the young man's face as her guardian went into the bathroom tugging along the first aid kit.
"Uncle Heero?" She was so used to calling him that. After being shot, Heero took a protective stance to the girl, knowing the feeling of the lead in soft flesh.
Usually he was stuck babysitting and helping her with her homework as Une worked late at the Headquarters; he took on the male role for the growing girl with pride. She never understood the meaning of his nickname for her till they looked at the moon through the telescope, bringing along another good memory.
No male took such a special position in her heart for her ‘Heero', not her grandfather and surly not the father that abandoned her and her mother at a young age. She began to study her grandfather's intentions of Operation Meteor after she began to heal and thought it was an honorable execution of the man and people that humiliated the Barton name. But Heero didn't make her feel unwanted or like the little bastard she was, but a human being stuck in the world.
Nuzzling his shoulder a thin arm wrapped around her as lips pressed against the fiery red locks.
"I'm sorry Moon-girl."
"S'kay uncle. You've seen me at my worst. ‘Bout time I seen you."
A tear snuck down his cheek as he grasped the warm body, holding her tight in his arms for comfort. Une came up to sit behind him, placing her reassuring arms around the still child formed in a man's body. Her memories filled up to the top of her eyes and she buried her head into the crook of his shoulder until the shaking stopped. How she thought she loved someone so much she wanted to please him that he formed a more aggressive role until it took over, it was until she looked at herself closely and proved she worth more being herself than something for someone else, even for love.
Mariemaia fell asleep in the young man's arms as Une pulled off the icepack to reveal the nasty wound to clean it.
She was happy to hear of Yuy's pursuing of Duo, she even helped by loaning recipes and fixing up the candles. Everyone thought that Maxwell wanted more by the way he walked and looked when Heero was around, even his mannerisms changed from professional to flirt as he went by. Seeing him wrapped around the child as if she was a teddy bear while her long fingers curled up at the hairs on the base of his neck tore at her respect for the longhaired youth.
He stirred a little, looking up with a now turned hazel (2) eye towards to his superior officer, "Thank you."
A bright smile graced her lips; "Just lucky she has no school tomorrow. I'll see if I can transfer you in the morning to another section if you want."
"No...have to face it." He put the icepack back on his eye and groaned.
@~`~
Standing above the large busy street, Duo yawned as he nursed the bottle of tequila. The view was beautiful from the tall building, he felt like he could reach up and touch the buildings circling above him. Lights twinkled like stars from the night sky reminding him on earth. His alcohol-clouded mind wandered back and forth, "Why am I here...oh...wait." Standing on the thin ledge and tipped the bottle back taking another swig of the burning liquid; his Adam's apple bobbed as it slid down his throat, eyes hazy as he looked past his feet down twenty stories below himself.
Waving his foot over the open air he giggled to himself till reality hit him, pushing him back on the tarred roof. Groaning he picked up the bottle and swirled the clear solution around the dead worm. Looking up at the buildings above him, he squinted his eyes and pushed his head back down. "I remember now...Heero declared his love and I punched him." He pushed his body up like a rag doll to the sitting position to run his fingers through the thick burnt umber locks. "But no one loves me and lives...Solo, Helen, Father Maxwell, my parents...no one." The thought was good; it made a hell of a lot of sense.
'But who lived to love Heero, hm Duo?' A new voice came to mock him in his drunken state.
'What kind of selfish bastard are you?'
'Here someone says they love you and you push them away.'
'Someone who never was able to share emotions openly...'
'And you hit him...'
'You killed him!'
'Killer!'
'KILLER!'
Holding his hands against his head, Duo screamed as the bottle fell off the edge and dropped to the ground shattering to millions of little pieces.
The voices droned on and on till his feet touched the ledge.
"I-I hurt the only person that I loved...and for what?" Tears dripped down his face as he body went limp falling to the streets below.
Notes:
(1) Mariemaia or the Maria (Mar-ee-ah) is the dark side of the moon...I just think her name is so close to the word that it's been itching me to see if others agree, but not sure if anyone else took astronomy but I think moon-girl fits the little space case.
Well, you also saw some reasons why I hate Treize...full rants are on my page when I get the section up...good greif.
(2) Yes...it is possible that Heero can have Cat's eyes, meaning that your eyes change color to the set of your moods. I have that; my eyes will be hazel when I am upset or sad, violet or deep blue when I am upset, soft blue when I am happy and green when I am sullen.
Next Part: Violets are Blue...And so were your Eyes.
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