To Help Along Love - A Heero and Duo fic - Chapter 5

Reckon Mission

by: Ana

The bright morning sun shown threw the torn curtains and into the living room of the tiny house. There, sleeping on the couch was Trowa and Quatre, still cuddled in each other’s arms. Chris was fast asleep on Wufei’s chest. She had finally cried herself to sleep. He was still holding her even as she was slowly slipping onto the floor. And over by the front door lay Duo. He was lying on his stomach trying to feel the cold air from outside. He too hated being hot. And right next to the self-proclaimed Shinigami lay Heero. He was wide-awake and kept inching closer to the beauty during the night. He was so close at the moment that he could feel his breath on his face.

Chris awoke silently, rubbing her eyes. She looked down at the man she was sleeping next to and felt his arms around her tiny frame. She smiled warmly inside. She did get a tingly feeling whenever she looked at him. She slowly lifted her head to see where the others were. She saw Trowa and Quatre cuddled up together and smiled and then she saw Duo lying by the door and Heero so very close to him. She smiled brightly and simply melted inside.

Heero stared at the braided beauty for a long time. His lips were gently parted and his eyes softly closed. He lay on his stomach with one hand resting at his side and the other by his face. He would stir ever so slightly and gently flex his fingers. Heero sighed in contentment as he watched him sleep. He had really lost count of how many nights he would wake up and do this. Up at all hours just to watch him dream away. Heero took a deep breath and tentatively reached out and touched Duo’s cheek, brushing away his jagged bangs. Duo murmured something and leaned into the warm hand on his face. Heero smiled a real smiled and removed his hand. So very beautiful.

Suddenly a dingo howled into the sky and growled. It seemed to be right outside the door. Heero jumped to his feet followed by Chris and Trowa and attempting to get Quatre to wake. Wufei groggily stood up and Duo simply yawned and stretched.

"Mornin’ guys. What’s going on?"

"Shh…" Heero said, waving his hand in front of Duo’s face. He pulled out that mysterious gun from his spandex shorts and prepared to open the door. "Move, baka," he snapped at Duo. Duo rolled his eyes and groggily stood up, moving so that Heero could open the door. The dingo growled again and it sounded like it was attacking something.

The six carefully walked outside and into the muggy morning air. They stood on the porch and stared at the dingo shaking around something. What it was, they weren’t quite sure but having a dingo so close to your house was not a good thing. Duo rubbed his eyes once again and stared down at the "dog" in the yard and its prey then went white.

"HELEN!"

The five quickly turned to him and blinked and Duo paled more. He turned to Heero and grabbed his gun from him. He aimed and fired just past the dingo, he just wanted to scare it, not kill it. The dingo let of the little wombat and took off running from the loud gunshot. Duo dropped the gun and ran off the porch, followed by the others.

He ran and picked up the slowly dying rodent and held it in his arms. Tears were slowly leaking form his eyes as the tiny animal tried to breathe. Duo shook his head fiercely and held Helen close.

"No, no, please no," he cried as Helen stopped breathing and lay limp in his arms. Duo bit his trembling bottom lip and tried to keep himself from screaming. The others simply looked on. Chris slowly kneeled down and rested her hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off.

"Duo, it’s ok…"

"Not it’s not. It’s not fucking ok. Everybody and everything I love dies on me," he growled, placing Helen’s body down in the dusty ground. He slowly stood and turned to them with dark, tearful, violet eyes. He pushed by the little group and took off running over the river and out of sight.

"I don’t understand. It’s just an animal."

"Wufei! She was Duo’s pet, he loved her… and her babies."

"And how would you know of them, onna?"

"Grr… because he showed them to me!" she snapped and turned to Heero who hadn’t taken his eyes off the spot Duo had run to. She walked over to him and stood on her tiptoes. "Over the river and threw that little grove of trees you’ll find a hill. Go up the hill and you’ll find him," she whispered in his ear.

He turned around quickly and stared at her. She nodded and smiled slightly. He too nodded and stared after Duo. I knew you loved him.

"Oh dear, Trowa. We should bury it, shouldn’t we?"

"Of course, my angel."

"I know the perfect place too," Chris said quietly walking over to the large tree by the river.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero followed Chris’s directions and walked over the river and threw the grove of trees and up the little hill. There he found the sobbing pilot holding a tiny brown ball of fuzz. Heero blinked and noticed several spots of blood on the ground and two other balls of fuzz that weren’t moving at all. He walked over to Duo and slowly sat down beside him.

Duo blinked through his tears. He was about to pinch himself, thinking that he was dreaming. Never in a million years would Heero Yuy come and find him and sit with him. No way, never ever, ever would that be possible. This was, after all, the Perfect Soldier who just didn’t do things like that. He swallowed some of his tears and looked straight at Heero.

"H-Heero?"

"Nani?"

"W-w-what are you doing here? *sniffle*."

"Looking for you, baka."

"*sniff* Why?"

"Why not?"

"Um… I don’t know. You and I aren’t really… uh… close."

"Hmm… is that one alive?"

"Yeah, she’s really scared though."

"The others…"

"Iie. I’m a jinx I tell you. Everything I love dies… even wombats!"

"That’s not true."

"Oh really? Well, lets see here shall we, see if you, The Great Heero Yuy, is right or not! Hmm… my best friend died on me, my parents died on me, Sister Helen and Father Maxwell died on me, all because I loved them. I loved these little wombats… they were like my pets and they died on me too all because I loved them. So, Heero, name something or someone who I don’t love who hasn’t died on me."

"Ano… Aa… hmm…"

"Yeah, ya don’t know do you. Damnit all!" he sighed heavily and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. He stood up, clutching "Little Wufei" close. "I’m heading back, Heero. Are you coming?"

"Hai."

Duo nodded and started walking back. Heero sighed heavily and stared at the sky. I love you and I won’t die on you… I promise. He nodded slightly and picked up Solo and Max and carried them with him. He figured that they should be buried with their mother.

Duo and Heero walked back to the "base" and were greeted by Chris, who came running at them as soon as she saw them. Duo smiled weakly and placed "Little Wufei" in her arms.

"Is Little Wufei the only one left?"

"Hai."

"NANI!?" Duo and Chris turned to see Wufei staring blankly at them. "You named some… something after me?!"

"Yes, you missed HER naming process."

"HER?!?"

"*giggle* I think it’s cute," Quatre giggled, wiping the dust on his pants.

"Here Duo, come and look at where we buried Helen."

"Oh but…"

"I have them here," Heero said, placing Max and Solo in the tiny grave with their mother. Duo smiled brightly and Chris nudged him, giving him a cheesy grin.

"He’s so cute, isn’t he?"

"Nani?! Shut up!… onna," he snickered.

"Yeah, if I wasn’t holding Little Wufei here then I’d kick your ass for that one," she growled. He simply smiled and walked over to the grave under the huge tree. He stood and watched as Trowa covered it in dirt and patted it down.

"Should we say something?" Quatre asked, "I mean, in their honor?"

"Iie, that’s ok Little-Q. This is fine."

They other five nodded and Chris pulled out a tiny daisy and placed it lovingly on the grave. Duo smiled at her and sighed. He walked over and picked up two sticks. He pulled the band from his hair and let it fall down around him. He tied the band around the two sticks and made a cross then stuck it in the earth as a tombstone. He nodded and scooped Little Wufei up and out of Chris’s arms and walked back to the house, wind blowing his chestnut hair around and his tears. Everyone I love dies on me. That’s why I don’t want to love you, Heero… god, why do I have to love you? If you die on me, I’ll die too… I promise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about 8 o’clock in the morning and all of the pilots sat in the living room, with the exception of Duo who had retreated to the bedroom with "Little Wufei". The weather was heating up and they were bored out of their minds. Then Duo walked out of the bedroom, smiling weakly. Heero’s eyes locked on him and the tiny ball of brown fuzz he held in his hands.

"Hey Heero man, that damned laptop of yours is beeping. Turn it off!"

"Hn…" was all he said as he disappeared into the bedroom.

Duo sighed and walked over to the couch and flopped down next to Chris. She smiled and took "Little Wufei" from Duo’s arms. She then shoved the little wombat in Wufei’s face and made him jump back.

"Aww, isn’t SHE just so cute, Wufei?"

"Iie!"

"Aww, c’mon Wu-man, I think she does look something like you."

"Ahhh! Shut up Maxwell, she does not! I do not look like a rodent!"

"Ah, ya got that rat tail!" Chris giggled and Duo laughed.

Quatre giggled and Trowa smiled inside as they stared at the trio on the couch. It was a bit of relief to see Duo smile. They hadn’t seen him for hours after the ‘incident’ with Helen and her babies.

Heero walked out of the living room, interrupting the laughter. He stared at them all with hard cobalt eyes.

"What’s happening, Heero?" Quatre asked staring up at him.

"A mission."

There were some groans and nods as it sunk in. Duo looked up at the man of his dreams and smiled his same lopsided grin. "I guess it’s better than doing nothin’ all day. Where too, Heero?"

"We have to check out the other two bases… in pairs… meaning that two will have to stay here and keep an eye on things. It’s a simple reckon mission."

"Hai! Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go, guys!"

"Hold on a minute there, Shinigami… whose going to stay and whose going to go?"

"Oh, Chris, I didn’t think of that?"

"Obviously."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Shut up! Whose going and whose staying, Yuy."

"It wasn’t assigned."

The six stood there for a moment trying to ponder this. Who would go and who would stay? But the ones who went had to go in pairs too. Duo bit his lip and was hopping he’d get "stuck" having to go with Heero. They all figured Quatre and Trowa would go together, somewhere. They never left each other’s sides. And there was a slight fear in leaving Wufei and Chris alone together; they’d probably end up killing each other.

Chris stared at the pilots before her and the gears in her head were turning. However she did this, she would have to make sure that Duo went with Heero. She knew they both had to be hoping they had to go together. She didn’t want to separate Trowa and Quatre. They both would probably be better off together anyway. But anyway that she pair the six of them up in her head, she was always stuck with Wufei. She sighed and put on her best smile as a little light bulb went off.

"Hey, I know!"

"What?"

"Quatre… we can go by numbers!"

"Say what?!"

"Duo, ya know, numbers."

"I don’t understand."

"You want us to pair up by how the Oz organization named our Gundams, right?"

"Yes, exactly right, Trowa. Like 03 and 04 go together, 05 and 06 together and 01 and 02 go together."

"Well that’s a good idea, Chris," Quatre smiled. "but, who will stay here and who will go to one of the bases."

"Wufei and I will stay here," she giggled, latching on to him.

"Ah, onna, off!"

"Alright, so it’s settled. Quatre and I will go to the base in Melbourne. Duo and Heero will go to Sydney and Wufei and Chris will stay here."

"Sounds good, Trowa."

"Oh yes, very good!" Chris giggled.

Duo grabbed her elbow and pulled her to the far end of the room. "You did that un-purpose."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"You like it?"

"Maybe…" *blush*

"I knew you would. Just sitting all day with Heero Yuy… fun?"

"Well, I don’t know how fun it would be but… I think my chest is going to explode."

"Aww! I am just a genius is all."

"Yes but, you have to spend the day with Wufei."

"So, just as long as we don’t talk to each other it’ll be fine."

"Right… *rolls eyes*."

"Hey Duo, you better pack up your stuff."

"Oh, alright, Quatre."

He smiled warmly at her and whispered in her ear, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

Duo nodded and walked off to the bedroom to pack up his stuff. Chris smiled and jumped up and down, doing the victory dance. Wufei stared at her a moment and really sweat dropped. She then caught his glance and latched onto his arm.

"Oh wow Wufei, a whole day together, what should we do?!"

"Stay as far away from each other as possible?"

"Hmm… good plan!"

Quatre giggled at the pair as he finished packing his duffel bag. He could tell that they seemed to be hiding their feelings for one another. Duo walked out of the bedroom beaming brightly. He slapped Heero on the back and gave him a cheesy grin.

"Finally got a mission, huh Heero?"

Quatre shook his head and sighed, and they weren’t the only ones hiding their feelings. Trowa walked up to him and wrapped a strong arm around his waist.

"Are we ready?"

"Yep."

"Good."

"Alright you two, don’t kill each other. We’ll be back before the sun is down."

"Okay, Duo-kun, have fun! *wink*"

"Grr… stop that!" he mouthed to her and she simply smiled as they walked out the door. Chris ran after them and Wufei followed. The four pilots got in their Gundams and took off. Chris waved happily at their departure; from the porch and Wufei just stood still.

"So, should we divide the house into two sides or what?" Chris asked, winking at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hot noon day sun shown in threw the windows of the tiny house. The land seemed scorched as the heat rose off it. There wasn’t even a breeze blowing around to make it somewhat cooler. Wufei lay on the couch, one arm dangling off the old upholstery and so was his leg. His other hand was resting on his forehead, trying to keep himself somewhat cool. Sweat poured off his face as he tried to be as still as possible. Chris lay on the wooden floor right underneath him. She was a bit cooler just because she was wearing her tanktop and shorts but she was still terribly hot and she hated to be hot. Her skin was nice and flushed and her hair was all matted to her face. She sighed and heaved her hand over her eyes as the sun blinded her.

"It’s soooo hot," she moaned.

"Hai."

"Soooo fucking hot…."

"Hai…"

"Tooooo damn hot…"

"Hmm…"

"WAIT!"

"Huh?"

Chris jumped up from the floor and stared into his face. She smiled brightly and grabbed his hand. "I know what we can do."

"What?"

"He-he, there’s that river over there, we can go swimming!"

"Ch’ what are you crazy, onna? That rivers not deep enough to wade threw let alone swim."

"Well… it’s really cold I’m sure… at least colder than it is in here. We can sit in it for all I care… I’m just too hot right now. We could suffer from heat stroke and die!"

"That’s only when you stop sweating."

"*gasp* I don’t sweat, I glow."

"Yeah right."

He rolled his eyes and she glared at him. She then smiled and pulled him to his feet. "We’re going swimming Wufei… c’mon Little Wufei, you can come with us," she laughed, dragging Wufei out the door with Little Wufei on their heels.

She dragged him down to the little river and pushed him in it. He splashed and sputtered as tried to keep his balance on the rocks. Once he did find his balance the water only came up to his shins, but it sure was cold and felt wonderful. She smiled and ran towards him. "Watch out, Wufei!"

"Ahh!"

She jumped at him and tackled him. They both went flying backwards and landed in the cool water with a mighty splash. She giggled as she moved off of his lap and sat on one of the rocks. He sat up and growled, rubbing his back. He was about to yell something when his mind went blank.

She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head rested on her arms. Her hair was damp and tiny drops would roll down her face and disappear under her shirt. She smiled warmly at him and he suddenly tried to find his voice.

"Ya ok, Wu-man?"

"H-huh? Oh… no!"

"Oh, *blink* Why not?"

"I landed on a rock when you tackled me!"

"Oops, I’m sorry."

"No you’re not."

"Yes I am."

"No you’re not."

"Yes I am!"

"No you’re not!"

"Yes I am!"

"You are not!"

"I am!"

"Not!"

"Am!"

"Grr… I am not going to argue with you… there is no dignity in it."

"Dignity my butt."

He huffed and turned away from her. She sighed and slipped back into the water, feeling the iciness lap at her skin. She crawled over to Wufei and smiled.

"Hey, can I do your hair… please?"

"Iie."

"Why not?!"

"I don’t want you touching my hair."

"Oh, if you’re worried I’d do something like I did with Duo’s, don’t be. I was just playing with him. It’ll look good, promise… please, let me."

She batted her eyes and smiled at him. He stared into those bright lavender eyes and seemed to be lost. He sighed and nodded his head. She smiled so brightly the sun would have been put to shame. She waded over behind him and sat down again. She pulled the little rubber band from his hair and let if fall. It went down to his ears and just past a tiny bit. She stared at the band in her hand and then her hand.

"How much hair jell do you use?" she giggled.

"Shut up, you’re lucky I let you do this."

"Wow, you didn’t call me ‘onna’ this time… so impressed."

"Just hurry up and get this over with."

"Fine. Ya have ta lay back. I wanna rinse all of that shit out of your hair. Ya know it’s bad for the roots, don’t ya?"

"Iie."

"Oh, well now ya do," she giggled, dunking his head underwater. He slashed and sputtered, coming up for air. He jumped to his feet and glared down at her.

"Are you trying to kill me, onna?!"

She giggled and said nothing. She stood up and pushed on his shoulders. "Sit down, baka. Let me finish. You wouldn’t have drowned anyway! So, shut up about it!"

He fell back in the water and she sat down in front of him. He glared at her and she simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. She placed a delicate finger on her chin and stared at him a moment. She then nodded and reached up, expecting him to pull away, only he didn’t. She smiled sweetly at him and started brushing a few stray hairs away from his eyes.

"Hmm… I know the perfect thing!"

She started to fuss and fiddle with his hair. She pulled a large amount of it back and tied it up with the rubber band but she just left some hanging. It hung in his eyes and bits around his ears. He looked like he was in a battle or something. She stood up and smiled down at him.

"There! Much better"

He gently touched his hair and blew it out of his eyes. He stared up at her and said nothing. "Well? Do you like it? It looks really good." He said nothing, only sat there brushing the hair out of his face.

"Wufei?" she asked, kneeling down to him.

He looked up at her, their eyes locking. She blinked, stunned by the intense look in his. He gently reached up and brushed away one of her wet curls. Her bottom lip trembled at the feeling that tingled threw her. He gently placed his hand on her cheek and ran his fingers threw her hair. He put his hand on the back of her neck and started drawing her nearer to him. When she was only inches away from his face he whispered, "Bishoujo…"

"Iie," she whispered, twisting out of his grip.

"Nani?!"

She pulled away from him and jumped to her feet. "Gomen," she bowed and ran out of the river and headed for the trees. Wufei sat there stunned. His heart just ripped right out. How could she do that to him? Did what he though he saw in her blind him?

"K’so," he swore, punching at the icy water around him.