*The picture frames have changed and so has your face We don't talk much anymore* *We keep running from the pain...* "Duo..." Heero broke through Duo's memories, surfacing him. "Aa?" He said harshly. "You know how I feel. I wasn't lying...last year, you know. It's hard for me to show how I feel..." "I never doubted your 'feelings', Heero." Duo snapped. "I /knew/ that you loved me, that wasn't why I left. /I/ of all people know how it is for you to show how you feel! Why I left was this-- /you used me as a human punching bag!!/" Duo was a decibal away from screaming his lungs off. "So tell me why you came, damn it!!" Heero blinked and blinked again before staring dully at his knees. "Because I don't want to be your enemy anymore." *Who ever said you were...?* Duo thought, surprising himself. But deep inside he knew the truth...he still loved Heero, and he'd /always/ love Heero...he always had. During the war it hadn't been as strong, just a mere feeling inside to be Heero's friend, to help him when he needed it. "I know..." He broke off. Then he regained his breath and continued. "I know that we probably can't ever be together again...I don't think I deserve to be near you..." Duo held back the little angry voice that almost shouted, "Damn right you don't!" *But what I wouldn't give to see your face again* "But I just wanted to apologize, Duo." Heero finished softly. "And I had to come so that I made sure you knew I even cared for you from the beginning." Duo didn't respond. The moments before he spoke again were like years for Heero. "How did you get my address?" Duo locked eyes, suddenly feeling his will and confidence not to fall back into Heero's life again rise up. "Relena." Heero said quietly. "Should have guessed." Duo snarled. "She should have kept her damn mouth shut." "Duo." Heero said coldly. "She wasn't singing it from the top of a water tower. I asked for it." Duo just kept his gaze leveled. "I told you-- I /had/ to prove my feelings." Heero repeated. "Demo, you're here now and you've said your piece, so after you grovel a bit, I'll get you a flight back to the Sanq Kingdom so you can go and marry your precious hime." Duo said darkly. The bitterness in Duo's voice stung like the icy cold from Christmas. *Springtime in the city Always such a relief from the winter freeze The snow was much more lonely than cold, if you know what I mean...* And Duo himself was shocked at how he was acting. The internal conflict already fighting was now waging and all-out war. *You love him, he's said sorry, go back to the colony with him* One side said. *Listen Shinigami,* The other said, *He beat your face in like 20 times in like two years out of the four. Do you want that again??* "No..." He whispered. "I don't want that..." "Hm?" Heero asked, only hearing Duo mumble. "Nothing." Duo said. *I knew he loved me...I knew he didn't mean it...* *Everyone's got an agenda Don't stop, keep that chin up, you'll be alright* *Can you believe what a year it's been?* Don't cry, don't cry... He repeated mentally. Boys don't cry... *Aa, but you cried that one day, didn't you??* One of the voices cut him down. *Cried your damn eyes out. For /him/. Ready for that pain again, Shinigami? Fine then, follow him back up to the stars. Maybe someday if he hits you hard enough, you'll find a home out there with Treize and all those people you killed* "Duo..." Heero's voice broke in. "What are you thinking?" "I think you'd be better off not knowning." Duo said honestly. Heero took this and nodded, letting Duo return to his stupor. *Are you still the same? Has your opinion changed?* (With horror, AnimeCat realizes theres a lot more music...and she's coming to the end of the fic a little too quickly....) "Heero..." He managed to say, "That night...a year ago...you know, when I left... Why did you just hit me like that? What /did/ I do to deserve that? I mean, you take one step in the door, your boyfriend is waiting for you inside, all chipper and happy to see you, and then --WHACK!-- you hit him. What brought that on??" Heero didn't even give it any thought. After all this time, he finally knew why. "Because you told me it was okay, Duo."