FicWad

Part IV Chapter 1 Eavesdropping

Being very quiet, Duo and Natalie swiftly made their way through the hedge maze. At first, Natalie had looked from left to right wondering which way was the right way, but Duo knew better. Not only had Quatre designed the maze for all ways to lead to the center, but there was an even faster, more direct way. Duo picked Natalie up around the waist and lowered her on the other side of the hedge then vaulted himself over. Natalie would have clapped her hands and laughed, but a look from Duo warned her to stay quiet. This was the way to reach the center the fastest and with time running out before midnight, Duo knew Natalie and he had to fly.
They were just outside of the center when voices became audible. Duo easily recognized Relena’s somber tones and Heero’s smooth, if emotionless, monotone. Natalie seemed to not hear them yet and was looking at Duo with a curious look as though to ask him why they stopped. Duo put a finger to his lips to emphasize the need to be quiet and lifted Natalie over the last hedge. After getting over himself, Duo motioned for her to listen. The voices were naturally low and hushed, but Natalie could now hear them. Duo could hear more clearly than ever even if a two foot thick wall of dense bush separated him from the pond and the pavilion in the middle.
Natalie pulled Duo’s sleeve and motioned for him to come down close to her. She wanted to tell him something. Hoping Heero would not hear with his soldier’s ears, Duo squatted down beside her.
“Can we see them?” Natalie asked.
Duo thought for a moment before nodding. Adrenaline was beginning to pump through him at the familiar feeling of playing a prank rushed through him. He had played a practical joke on Wufei here once and to do it Duo had made a small hole in the hedge so he could see inside. Leading Natalie to the right, Duo ran his hand against the wall silently, but so he would be able to feel the depression where the hole should be. He found it and checked his watch. 11:40…enough time to watch a little before jumping them.
Duo had to pick Natalie up and balance her on one knee so she could see through the hole. Over here, the voices were crystal clear, but Duo was not paying attention to the conversation. He put his lips next to Natalie’s ear and whispered as loudly as he dared.
“What’re they doing?”
“Aunt Lena is saying something to Mr. Heero. They are standing in some kinda thingy on a lake. Mr. Heero is facing Aunt Lena, but she’s looking at the pond, I think.”
“That sounds like her. What’s happening now?” Duo asked.
“She’s turned around. Aunt Lena is still saying something, but I can’t hear it. Whatever it is, it’s hurting Mr. Heero.”
“What?” Duo said a little too loudly for his liking, but Natalie answered him without alarm. Whatever was happening, Heero and Relena were too wrapped up in it to notice his outburst.
“His body is all stiff like a dead person.” Natalie looked at him. “See for yourself.”
Duo moved to look into the hole. What he saw was a stiff Heero holding a half fallen Relena. She must have tripped. Heero was helping her up. Once standing, Relena did not take her arms from around Heero’s neck. To Duo’s infinite annoyance, Relena stepped even closer and rested her head on Heero’s shoulder. Heero’s hands were resting on her waist and though he was still stiff, he did not move away. Duo must have made some kind of strangled sound because Natalie whispered something in his ear, but Duo was riveted on the scene before him. He was straining to hear the pair’s words.
“Heero, you are so strong. I don’t know what I would do without you, because you see, your strength is my strength.” Relena said with her head still resting on Heero’s shoulder.
“Relena, I…” Heero started but Relena cut him off by placing a finger on his lips.
“Shhh, let me finish.” Duo wanted to rip her finger off for touching his Prussian-Eyed god’s lips, but she was much too far away. Instead he waited for her to continue. “I’ve wanted to say this for so long, if you stop me I might not get it all out.”
Relena picked her head up and looked into Heero’s eyes while Duo glared daggers at her. “During the wars I had no time to pursue interests of my own, I was to busy balancing the fate of the colonies and the earth upon my shoulders, but now…I’m still busy, but no where near as much. I have time to think of myself and my own pleasure. I have time to consider things that are important to me, that I like, that I love.”
Relena paused and looked right into Heero’s soul. Duo stopped listening because no one said anything more. Natalie was now whispering a bit loud and pulling frantically on his sleeve, but all Duo could think of was Heero. Pull away, please pull away. Instead of pulling away, Heero spoke.
“What are you saying?” He asked her.
“Heero, I’m saying that I…” Relena was lost for words momentarily before she took a breath even Duo could see and plowed on. “I love you.”
Duo almost laughed. The situation was so familiar. It was almost like it was he and Hilde again, except he had felt bad about Hilde and she had hated him for a while. Duo was sure that was not the way it would be with Heero and Relena. Heero would matter-of-factly inform Relena in his emotionless monotone that he did not love her. Relena would look away, pull out of Heero’s arms, gather herself, put on the famous Peacecraft smile and try to act like nothing had happened. She and Heero would go on in the same relationship they had always had, that of a client/bodyguard or, at times, that of close friends. Duo just had to wait for Heero to speak.
Heero opened his mouth, but did not speak. As Duo watched, Relena pushed herself up and captured Heero’s lips in a kiss. Heero tensed up but did not take his hands from her waist and most definitely did not pull away or make any move to stop her. It was like a scene from some of the sappy movies Hilde had always watched. The couple takes some kind of moonlight stroll, stop by a charming scene by a lake or maybe a bench in a park and confess the love they have for each other, then they kiss. It looked just like that, Heero and Relena standing there in a picturesque embrace, partially hidden under the pavilion with the water sparkling with moonlight as though it were alive, acting as though there was nothing in the world but them. It was a picture that would make any woman or hopeless romantic sigh at the pure love, but Duo pulled away from the hole as though struck.
Duo sat on his ass where he landed, Natalie looking very worried at him. Far off the came a loud cheering. Numbly, Duo looked at his watch. It was midnight. It was midnight on New Year ’s Eve and instead of being surrounded by a million meaningless kisses, Duo had watched his Heero kiss the biggest bitch in the world. Hearing the cheering Natalie turned to him and whispered.
“Mr. Duo, is it twelve?”
Duo took a moment to answer past the lump in his throat. “Yeah, you’d better go get Heero. Door’s that way.”
Duo pointed to his right and watched long enough for an excited Natalie to round the corner. The second she was out of sight, Duo sprang up and ran right through the hedge maze, uncaring of the damage he was causing. He ran back to Quatre’s mansion and up the stairs. Many quests stopped to stare at him, but unlike earlier, Duo was very happy not to run into somebody he knew. Please, if there is a God and he’s hearing me, please let me get to the study before I start to feel again. Duo silently prayed.
Down the hall, turn the corner, down another hall, they all seemed to melt together as Duo raced toward Quatre’s private study. He was running so fast that Duo hit the door face first when he finally reached it. Hoping no one was inside, Duo opened the door and went in. The first thing that registered in Duo’s brain was black. The room was complete dark, there was not even a fire burning. Somewhere a sigh of relief sounded, and Duo looked about wondering if there were someone else standing with him in the darkened room, but he quickly realized it was his own sigh. Somehow, it was better with the room dark. A fire would have been too comfortable for some reason. Pain and comfort did not mix.
Stumbling his way over to Quatre’s liquor cabinet, Duo felt for the handle. Finding it, he yanked not caring whether he broke a lock if there even was one. The door came open hitting him in the face yet again.
“FUCK!”
Rubbing his nose with one hand, Duo reached into the cabinet with the other and pulled out the first bottle he touched. He did not bother with a glass, but quietly stumbled his way to the chair he had sat in just a few oblivious hours ago sipping brandy. Sitting down heavily, Duo let himself feel. The first thing he felt was an incredible pain. It was like being hit over and over by one of those big demolition balls that are on cranes, but this pain was worse. It was on the inside and Duo could not put any amount of cream on it to make it go away. Tears sprang to Duo’s eyes and he let them fall. Here, in a darkened room, with a bottle of something in his hand and a big ball slamming him into a wall over and over again there was no reason to hide behind his mask of good-natured humor. Duo put his one hand over his face and just cried. The pain was so intense, he could almost feel his soul, something completely intangible, ripping physically into tiny pieces.
Oh, God! Is this how Hilde felt? Duo found the stray thought filtering through his pain and pushed it away. He did not want to think, or feel, or anything. Duo just wanted to be numb. He wanted the steel ball to hit something else. He wanted his soul to just leave and get it over with. He wanted to shut down and never feel again. He wanted to die. Ha, you’ve tried that already. It’s never worked remember… Duo’s thoughts taunted him.
“Well, I know one way to die, at least kill these stupid feelings.” Duo told the voice in the darkness.
“Did you think he would run to you?” The voice reverberated around the room, mocking Duo. It would not have been so bad if the voice had not been his own.
“Shut up! Just SHUT UP!” Duo yelled at the voice and raised the bottle.
“You can’t escape from your own thoughts. I will always be here.” The voice laughed at Duo.
Unscrewing the cap, Duo raised the bottle of liquor to his lips and took a sip. The liquid seared a path down his throat to rest comfortingly in his stomach. “Tequila? Yeah, Tequila! See if this doesn’t shut you up!”
With that, Duo raised the bottle and took a long draft. Eventually, the voice in the dark was drowned by the tequila as was everything else. During some point, the darkness of the room and the darkness of oblivion melded. Duo was unaware and barely conscious when the bottle slipped from his hand. It bounced on the floor once and lay there. In the moonlight that crept into the room, the bottom of the bottle could be seen, completely dry.