Everything I Want

Part 3

I ended up staying in the guest bedroom though I still haven’t unpacked my bags yet and it’s been three weeks already. I still can’t trust that I’m really here, with him. Well, them, actually.

Hilde was less than thrilled when I showed up, she just seemed to freeze, eyes turned glassy when Duo dragged us back into the house, soaking wet. I’m just glad that she was holding the casserole dish or else I’m afraid she would have castrated me. That’s one scary woman I’ll tell you, she sometimes scares me more than Relena, at least she’s a pacifist.

Hilde made us both change out of our wet clothes, secretly she wanted to throw me right back out that door, and sit and eat. I ate just to feed my body, her cooking is worse than some of the crap Duo tried to feed us when he started cooking in the safehouses. Ugh. I love him but I wouldn’t let him near the kitchen there’s some people who just can’t cook.

The whole time Duo’s jumping up and down in his seat like a little kid at Christmas, violet eyes shinning, a goofy smile plastered across his face. He hasn’t changed a bit.

Then came the bomb. “Where are you going to work, Heero?”

I cringed. No, really, I did. I hadn’t thought that far ahead and I was cursing myself, pushing the food around on my plate. Think of something, you idiot! If you don’t you have no reason to stay! “I-I’ve thought of-”

“We need some help at the yard, you interested, Heero?”

I snapped my head up and he’s just looking at me, head cocked and resting on his raised fist, braid curled over the opposite shoulder, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

I was frozen, I couldn’t think, just looking at him. “I would like that.”

His face bloomed into a full blown smile, all soft and warm. He really wasn’t a boy anymore, he’d grown up into a beautiful man. He was all I knew he could be and more. I just wished I could be by his side.

“Is that really necessary, Duo? I mean Harrison-”

I felt my dreams shatter as I realized Hilde was still with us and turned my eyes away. Who was I fooling anyway?

“Harrison has a cracked rib and twisted wrist from dismantling the last project not to mention we just got another shipment of suits and no one’s really qualified to take those apart except me. It will go a lot quicker and less dangerous if Heero’s with me.”

My heart continued to pound as blood rushed to my head, I could hear it in my ears. Hilde didn’t say anything else. I could tell that she was sulking.

The tortures dinner finally ended but Duo wouldn’t let me help with the dishes so I stayed to keep him company while Hilde went to “finish up some paperwork”.

Duo hummed as he washed the dishes by hand, saying it was soothing. He turned and winked at me over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Heero, she’ll come around.”

After that we went to different rooms, theirs was across the hall, I heard the muffled voices and just watched the darkness play on the ceiling of the room above the bed. Then I heard how he “persuaded” Hilde to let him keep me. I never want to hear that again. I spent the night with the pillow over my head and my face burning with betrayal and shame. He could never be mine and this just reinforced the knowledge though my evil heart ignored the facts. Stupid emotions. I should have eradicated them a long time ago. Stupid Duo. Sometimes I really hate him. Hate him as much as I love him.

After that night Duo and I spent the rest of the day in the Yard and tore apart the mobile suits. Don’t ask me why but I get a perverse satisfaction out of doing this. I even got to cop a look. Duo took his shirt off and I got to watch sweat trail down his stomach and back into the waist band of his pants. I kept my tank top on and thanked J for letting me control my body functions or I would have been so busted.

So that’s how I find myself now, we’re just finished with our first suit and working on the second. There’s a lot of these motherfuckers.

“Break, Heero!” Duo’s voice calls up to me. I look down to find him already on the ground, shirt still off, braid uncoiled from the top of his head and swinging down his back, gloves stuffed into the band of his pants.

I pushed my helmet to the top of my head and set aside my welding tool and lowered myself down the rope connected to my waist harness. That’s when I heard the sound. I looked over to the parts from the first disemboweled suit. The cords holding them in place weren’t tied properly and the metal started to shift. Damn Harrison.

I called out a warning, but Duo continued walking. Shithead forgot to unplug his ears. Fuck!

I hit the ground running, unhooking my harness with one swift movement just as the cords snapped and began to fall.

The large shadows began to move and Duo finally noticed what was happening. I saw it on his face as he turned to the side, horror and comprehension.

I was close enough, just close enough to-“Duo!” I shoved him with all my strength fuelled of fear and adrenaline. He went far enough not to be caught in the crash site, relief drained everything out of me as the metal came crashing down.

…
“-ro!”

What was that noise? I felt pain, pain I haven’t felt since the war, my eyes saw shifting colors, distant noises, and something lifting my body. God, it hurt!

I tried to focus, focus on that one desperate tone. What was that? Was it important? I couldn’t remember.

“Heero!”

My name? I couldn’t-

…

There was beeping.

I kept my breath steady as I let my mind rise slowly into consciousness. I couldn’t let OZ know I was awake, if it was even OZ that had me. It didn’t really matter now did it? I had no allies.

That’s when I felt it. A hand on mine.

I sensed around me but only found one body and opened my eyes. There, laying next to my left side was a brown head of hair with an extremely long braid attached. I looked down. So it was him holding my hand, strange.

I must have twitched or something, which was impossible, I controlled all my body functions. He’s a Gundam Pilot too, his instincts range up there with mine, he must have known I was awake.

What I saw shocked me to the core. His face, drawn with worry suddenly lit up with relief. “Heero, you’re-”

“You look older, 02.”

He froze. His violet eyes brimmed with fear and pain. “Oh, oh, Heero.”

And suddenly my heart hurt for no reason at all.