Music in the Darkness Disclaimer: I don’t own any gundam stuff in any way, shape or form. I’m not getting paid for this, so please don’t sue! “Why is it that I always find things that wear me down?” Heero murmured, staring at the ceiling in intense concentration. “Does life always have to send me challenges? Does it purposefully find things designed to wear down my ability to keep my emotions in check?” Sitting up and looking around the luxurious room, he took in the finery without blinking. Their safe-house was quite a step above the shacks they were usually stuck in. Even Quatre hadn’t found anything to complain about here. Heero almost preferred the shabby places they usually stayed in… enjoyed the missions that kept them so busy they had no time to think. This mission would stretch out over months, it took delicacy and patience, not brute force and speed. Curling his lip, Heero sneered at the thought of diplomacy. Diplomacy is what got people killed.. all those self-important fools who would spend innocent lives on imagined insults. Prancing around in their finery while children starved in the streets. People like that who tried to grind people like the pilots into the dirt for what they believed in, while they sat back and sat on their hands, saying they could do nothing while the poor paid for their unwillingness to help. Choking back his anger, Heero pulled on his shorts and left his room to wander down the hall. He had to do something.. anything to stop thinking.. to stop feeling. Being alone always did this to him.. left him with no defenses left. If only Duo had been assigned the same room as he had… the noisy baka could help him keep control without even knowing he was doing so. Listening to Duo’s chatter took his mind off the things he didn’t want to think about.. and watching him forced him to keep his self-control firmly in place. Shaking his head, Heero wistfully thought of wrapping the braided baka in his arms. It would feel so good to finally let go… to reveal all the feelings he had been hiding. It wouldn’t take much, simply a word from Duo could damn him forever, forcing him to reveal his inner weakness. Luckily for him, Duo was oblivious to his feelings. Sighing, Heero sat down on a nearby bench and stared out the huge window behind him.  The night was so beautiful, so peaceful. It seemed like there was no war on nights like this. The fighting was so far away from here. But what would he be doing if there was no war? What would he do if he was separated from Duo? Pressing his cheek against the cold glass, Heero let a single tear fall down his cheek, to splash on the cold wood below him. Softly, music crept through the stillness, forcing it’s way through Heero’s mind. Such beautiful music.. it seemed to contain all the misery in his heart. Sobbing, Heero pulled his arms around himself, crying as he had never been able to before. Nothing could have prepared him for hearing his own hurts wafting through the darkness. Unable to move, Heero sobbed until he had no energy left. When the music stopped, he crept down the hall, to find a beautiful black piano sitting in the darkness, alone save for the couches and chairs that lined the walls. *** Typing on his laptop, Heero didn’t notice the door to his room opening until a soft voice spoke from directly behind him. “Hey Heero, you’re going to kill your eyesight working on that computer in the dark like that.” With a warm chuckle, a graceful hand carefully turned on the lights, ripping away the concealing darkness to reveal the bloodshot eyes and haunted expression on Heero’s face. “Are you ok?” Violet eyes met blue ones with concern as a friendly hand was placed on his shoulder. Nodding, Heero silently placed a hand over Duo’s, squeezing slightly. At the shock on Duo’s face, he quickly pulled it away, cursing himself for revealing even that much. Turning back to his computer, he felt his resolve harden once again. He couldn’t let Duo know how he felt, he couldn’t take away his chance to dream. Concentrating on his report, he mumbled something about having to have this finished in the morning for Quatre to take with him. Feeling Duo’s confusion like a cloud hanging over him, he waited until his friend had left the room before he buried his head in his hands, hoping he could hang onto himself. *** Nighttime again. Why was it always so much harder to be alone? It seemed like every night he fell further away from what he was supposed to be. And that music, it tore away at his shell, leaving him raw and hurting, but wanting more. Someone in this house felt the same way as he did. Someone could feel the pain that ate at him. It was a comforting thought, even as he hurt for whoever was playing. He hadn’t been brave enough to find out who it was, even when he could have easily walked in there while the music was still playing instead of sitting on his lonely bench in the hall. He hadn’t slept in three days now, but he had to stay up to listen. He wasn’t needed for this mission, and no one had seemed to notice he wasn’t around. Except for Duo that was.. he continued to come to check on Heero, though he didn’t know what was wrong. It tore at his soul to see Duo so concerned, but he couldn’t tell him anything without giving it all away. Shifting miserably on the uncomfortable bench, he finally decided to take a nap on the couch in the music room, since he still had a couple of hours before the music would start. *** Gentle hands brushed Heero’s hair out of his face,  tracing the black circles around his eyes. Music completely forgotten, Duo lifted Heero into his arms. Crying weakly in his sleep, Heero called Duo’s name against his chest. Unable to believe what he had heard, Duo carried the sleeping man back to his room, laying him carefully on the bad. “Heero.. what’s wrong?” Duo whispered, trying to figure out what had gotten the man he loved into such a state. Suddenly blue eyes opened, latching onto his with a force that nearly knocked Duo over. Grabbing him by the arms, Heero pulled Duo down onto him and kissed him.  Shocked and thrilled, Duo pulled his beloved roughly against him, eagerly returning every halting kiss or caress. “Heero…” he breathed, feeling the pain that held him lose it’s grip. Surrounded in love, the two drowned together, in the music of the heart. *** Wrapped in nothing but a blanket they shared, two forms ran down the hall, savoring the darkness that had brought them together. Finally seating themselves at the dark piano, ivory hands began to play a song of love, joined by another set of unskilled hands, the soft music rejoiced in the night.