Timeless
Part 23
by Nazarri
Relena stood her ground. Grim determination settled on her
face. "Heero, you did not answer my question. I deserve to know.
Do you love me?"
Heero turned his back to the gathered crowd. "This is not the place,
Relena." He slid into the car next to Duo and shut the door.
She watched the car pull away, leaving her to stand alone on the
sidewalk. Relena's hand slowly rose to the retreating car as if she
could some how draw it back to her. It felt so final; the symbolism
was not lost on her. She felt numb and void of emotion as she turned
toward her awaiting car and guests. Duty before self.
~*~
Tensions in the car had been thick as jell-o all the way back to the
palace. Hilde had a smug smirk of her face and she seemed to take
some sort of decadent pleasure in Duo's silence. The children were
silent too, as if somehow understanding that there was something
terribly wrong. Duo stared down at his lap not uttering a single
sound.
Heero could feel Duo withdrawing into himself with each passing
moment. A sense of dread fear washed over him when he could see
that Duo was not going to look up at him. Even when he shifted so
that their thighs were touching, Duo did not respond in any way. No
cheeky grin or knowing smile, he just stared at his hands in his
lap.
Knowing that seeing their mother killed would cause Duo's children
permanent emotional harm; Heero refrained from looking at Hilde. His
control was quickly flying out of the window and seeing her smug
expression would most likely be the end of her.
When they came to a stop in the tunnels under the palace, Duo bolted
from the car. He was so fast that the security detail was not
prepared for him. They were about to go after him when Heero stopped
them. "No, I'll deal with him. You take the children and their
luggage to their room."
Hilde started to follow but was grabbed by the front of her shirt and
slammed against the cement wall of the garage. She quickly looked
around hoping for some help. All but one person still remained
within sight and she knew that one to be Heero's personal bodyguard,
she would not get any help from him.
Heero tightened his grip on her shirt to gain her attention. "The
only reason that you still breath is because Duo wants it that way,
you treat him accordingly!" He released her, disgust written on his
face. Heero looked at his bodyguard and nodded.
The man took Hilde's arm and escorted her to her room as Heero ran
toward his suite hoping to find Duo there. He passed by several
people, but he just brushed them aside, Duo was in pain and that was
all that mattered to him.
Heero burst into his suite looking around for signs of Duo. He saw
his military overcoat draped carefully over the back of the
chair. "Duo!"
A noise from the bedroom informed him of his spouse's whereabouts.
He walked in to find Duo standing near the closet dressed only in a
dress shirt. Heero watched helplessly as Duo threw his bag on the
bed an unzipped it. His breath stopped, Duo was leaving! "No!"
He rushed over to Duo, grabbed and spun him around to face him.
Heero put his hands on Duo's shoulders, forcing the young man to look
directly at him. "Tell me what is wrong. I can feel your pain."
Seeing Duo like this caused Heero confusion. Frustration bubbled to
the surface and then anger took over. "Did that bitch say something
to you?" His mind going over the many different ways that he could
end the woman's life.
Duo just stood there looking into Heero's eyes. His sadness was so
deep, he wasn't truly sure whether he could express it or not. He
wanted the pain in his heart to stop; he wanted to go be with his
friends.
Heero waited, hoping that Duo was just to say what was in his heart.
He hadn't seen his spouse that sad since he picked him up that night
when Duo declared that he wanted to die. If Heero were to be honest
with himself, he would admit that he was a little frightened. "Duo,
please, just tell me."
For a moment, Duo just looked into Heero's eyes, the puzzlement clear
on his face. As intelligent as Heero was, Duo could see that the
whole picture was unclear to him. He yanked his shoulders from
Heero's grip as he backed away.
Duo's hands worked in the air as if trying to elicit help from unseen
source. "The world hates us together! Do you know that? How do
you think your loyal subjects would view what we do in this room
together? Would they see the love? Would they see the joy in what
we are, what we share? No they wouldn't! They see you and Relena
together and they see this perfect couple, something to be revered.
A shining example of what is romantic!" Duo bent at the waist,
grabbing his stomach. "Oh God, I am gonna puke!"
Heero reached for Duo, but the young man stepped back out of his
reach, still clutching his stomach.
"No! Don't touch me!" Duo screamed. He took a few deep breaths and
tried to control the shakes that trembled through his body. He moved
aimlessly around the room, not looking at anything as his mind and
heart screamed for something unknown to him. "You just don't get
it! This will never work! Never!!! We belong together, but they
will always be placing her in your life to create a living fairy
tale!"
"When they see the two of us together, it doesn't even occur to them
that WE could possibly belong together! Or that WE could be the
perfect couple! Oh no! Men don't love other men! We are scorned as
a product of sick and twisted minds! Turning to each other only
because we could not get what we needed from a "normal"
relationship. Because our love cannot be real! They are more
concerned about how good you two look together than what is true! It
doesn't matter how you and I feel about each other."
Duo turned to face Heero with a sigh, tears threatening to finally
spill as his eyes pleaded for understanding. "All I am or ever will
be is the third wheel, the one who broke up the perfect couple,
consort of the Crown Prince. I love you too much to allow you to be
dragged through the mud because of me."
Horrified by Duo's words, Heero could only stare in disbelief. He
shook his head silently, but his beloved was too lost in his ranting
to notice.
Duo snorted and wiped the wetness from his eyes as he looked up at
the ceiling. "Maybe some would allow me to be the secret thrill that
you and Relena share in your wilder passionate moments. But I will
still be on the outside! A few openhearted people might even imagine
that the three of us loved each other. But they will never allow me
to be with you, they cannot see the truth in us. Because they can't
comprehend that you love me and not her. You are the prince who fell
from the sky for Princess Relena and I am just a whore."
Duo found himself suddenly wrapped in Heero's arms. He struggled in
vain to free himself, pushing his hands against the rock hard
chest. "Heero! Let me go! I would rather die than let them destroy
you over someone like me."
"Stop!" Heero hissed at his struggling spouse. "NOW!"
Duo ceased all failing and relaxed within the circle of his love's
iron hold. He slowly raised his eyes to meet Heero's gaze. A
shiver coursed through his body as he saw the unbridled anger in
those cobalt eyes. Heero almost spit out the words, "I never want to
hear that word out of your mouth ever again!"
There was no need to ask what word he was referring to. Heero had
always hated when he would call himself a whore. Swallowing the
large lump in his throat, Duo simply nodded his consent.
The intensity of Heero's eyes touched his soul, he felt himself being
drawn in.
"Now you listen to me!" Heero hissed through clenched teeth. "I am
not some fucking prince that fell from the sky! I am a Gundam
pilot, a soldier, and a terrorist who was sent here for the mission
of peace, not for her." Heero's expression softened as he looked
over Duo's face, he was in total awe of the creature that he held in
his arms. "No. I am Heero Yuy, mated body, heart, and soul to you,
Duo Maxwell. For all time."
A warm smile washed over Heero's face as he looked at Duo. "No one
can change that fact. Let them have their little fantasies; they
mean nothing to us. We know the truth and that is all that matters."
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