Chapter Five

Duo’s ability to make an appearance whenever food is involved has never ceased to amaze me, so it shouldn’t really have surprised me when the braided American bounced into Quatre’s dining room just as brunch was being served. He stomped over to us and threw a folded newspaper in front of me, before flopping down into an empty chair. Quatre looked at Duo with wide eyes, as he picked up the offered paper.

“Duo, you look a mess! Must have been a big new years huh?”

“Pfft, I wish!” Duo grunted, reaching for a croissant and slathering it with jam. He gestured at the news article with his knife.

“I assume you guys were there for that last night?”

Looking over Quatre’s shoulder, I read the large headline.

A Match Made in Political Heaven!

A large photograph of Relena arm in arm with Justin was splashed across the page. She looked dazzling and almost glowed with apparent happiness. It seemed ironic that I knew otherwise. Quatre glanced up from the newspaper, and gave me an odd look. He turned to Duo, who was dishing copious amounts of scrambled eggs and bacon onto his plate.

“Yes, we went last night. Relena seems well.”

“Yeah well, surprise surprise, someone else was there as well.”

We both frowned at Duo, and waited for him to continue.

“I had a rather…. unexpected…. visitor late last night.” Duo pushed his eggs around his plate, his brow furrowed at the memory.

“It seems a certain obsessive ex-Gundam Pilot went to keep an eye on a particular Minister for Foreign affairs, as it’s become evident he has a habit of doing. Seems afore mentioned pilot slash assassin, took exception to the fact that she had brought along a new toy.”

Duo rolled his eyes at our stunned expressions, shook his head and then sighed.

“He turned up at my place completely smashed. Appears that Mister Heartless Control Freak proceeded to finish off three bottles of champagne as well as unaccounted for spirits. I must point out that an inebriated Heero is a scary thing.”

“What did he say?” gasped Quatre.

“Ah well, there’s the thing. He actually said a lot, but, well, I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. I think he groaned Reelleeena about 46 times, muttered something about angels and passed out. When I woke up this morning he was gone.”

Okay, this was probably the moment I was supposed to feel bad for the guy, and make sympathetic noises like Quatre was currently making. But, what can I say; I was pissed off at him. The Bastard.

“Funny,” I spat, with a tone laced with sarcasm, “when Heero told me to follow my emotions, I didn’t realise he meant to follow them to the nearest alcoholic beverage.”

Duo stared at me through narrowed eyes. Now would be a good time to back off, but hey, I guess my timing was off.

“You could try a little sympathy for Heero, Trowa, he is our friend.” Duo’s voice had a menacing edge, as the self-proclaimed god of death revealed loyalty to his partner. Quatre was quick to step in, forever the pacifier.

“I think we are all a little biased here, Duo. I believe Trowa spoke to Relena again last night; he is simply sensitive to her feelings.”

Duo immediately relaxed, his expression becoming imploring,

“Guys, if you had just seen him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. He was so… devastated.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“He didn’t seriously think she would just spend the rest of her life pining for him. Devote herself to celibacy simply because he used her and then moved on? You know her just as well as any of us! You can’t expect a woman who has so much love to give, to live without the devotion she deserves? If Heero’s not man enough to give her that, then maybe she needs to find someone who is.”

“Ah hell,” muttered Duo, “You sound just like Hilde.”

He paused again, as my words started to settle in. His features set back into a threatening glare.

“Someone else who’s man enough huh? So do you have any suggestions …friend?”

I tightened my jaw, and returned Duo’s glare. Quatre nervously glanced back and forth between us.

“No, Duo, I don’t. I’m just saying that I’m sick of watching him break her heart. Try talking to her yourself sometime. Maybe it’ll remove those rose tinted glasses you wear when Heero’s involved. Take a step back and realise, the guy’s being a jerk. He thinks he has to martyr himself, punish himself by removing himself from her, when all along he’s only destroying her. He’s a selfish clod.”

“He’s the best soldier amongst us,” shot Duo, obviously running out of steam.

“Yeah,” I shot back, “And the wars over.”

Duo scowled, his long fingers toying with his butter knife. He seemed to be rolling my words around in his head. Suddenly, his shoulders slumped, and his characteristic grin returned to his features. Reaching back, he clasped his hands behind his head.

“You’re right, I will talk to her. Hilde’s been dying to go visit, so why the hell not.”

Standing up, he began moving towards the door. Quatre stopped him.

“Duo, you’re not going to tell her about last night, are you?”

Duo stood for a moment, scratching the back of his head.

“Nah, something tells me there are some things that are better left unsaid. I can’t see it helping the cause somehow. I’ll talk to you guys again soon.”

He gave a wave of his hand, and was gone.

“Ah, and another insightful visit from the infamous Duo Maxwell.”

Quatre gave a slight shake of his head, and grinned at me. I smiled back. It was time for me to head home. Cathy would be wondering what was taking me so long.

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