Beautiful Goodbye by: D. Usher

The Full Disclaimer

All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author, the lyrics are the property of Amanda Marshall and associated companies.

Beautiful Goodbye
(based upon the song "Beautiful Goodbye" by Amanda Marshall)
By Demetria Usher

Duo steps out of the pilot's recent safe house and shuts the door quietly behind him, and expression of almost sorrow crosses his face as he slowly makes his way down the front walk of the small house.

Almost hesitating as his hand readys' to turn the ignition on in the car that was parked in the driveway. He turns to look back at the house, a flicker of movement he noticed by the front window. His heart knew who it was, and knew that it didn't matter if one of the others saw by now, he was already determined to go.

"Good-bye, Heero." Duo whispered to the shadow in the window.

Duo shakes his head and starts the engine, and pulls out of the driveway.

It seems as though he had been driving along the nearly deserted highway for hours now, the silence is almost oppressive in the mid-summers night. The only thought in his mind was...

...Heero.

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Heero didn't know why he didn't leave Duo behind to sleep the alcohol out of his system, along with all of the other people that had been at the night club that night. Both he and Duo had been told to meet a mysterious informant. Heero and Duo had split up upon entering the night club and had gone off on their own in an attempt to locate the informant, because they really need the information about the supply route of an new piece of OZ technology that was being transferred to another military base.

After waiting for nearly four hours, Heero became annoyed with waiting and went to go search out his fellow pilot. To which he found a few minutes later.

Duo was sitting next to a man who looked to be in his fifties, and was utterly plastered out of his mind, and, unfortunately, Duo wasn't in any better of a condition, was giggling madly and rambling, slurredly about how much he hated velcro shoes, and then giggled again when he realized what he said.

"Duo?" Heero asked, tersly, as Duo looked up at Heero with a lop-sided grin on his heart-shaped face.

"Hee-chan! I wuz wunde-ering when yuuz was gonna get he-ere." Duo declared in a slurred, sing-song voice.

Heero glared annoyedly at the Shinigami pilot. "Did you find the informant?" he asked, before Duo suddenly grabbed out and grabbed a hold of Heero's white shirt, and tugged him firmly, causing Heero to lose his balance by the suddenness of it and fell into Duo's lap, with a stifled exclamation of surprise.

"Hmmm...now what have we here?" Duo purred as he leaned down and placed a alcohol drenched kiss upon Heero's lips, the latter to whom immediately shoved him away and sat up, and brushed his shirt off, an annoyed expression was glared at the other pilot, to whom chose to ignore it and fumbled for his drink, to which Heero automatically took it away out of Duo's reach, and Duo tried to give him a puppy-eyed look to guilt him, but failed.

"Did you find the informant?" Heero repeated, as Duo leaned back in the booth and attempted to pout.

"Yeah, this guys our informant..." Duo trailed off, waving absently at the guy sitting across from him, who was currently snoring loudly into his drink.

"The guy wouldn't talk to me unless I shared a bottle of some kind of drink with him, and the it took me nine shots of tequila before I even found out that he was the informant..." Duo wailed melodramically as he tried again for the half empty glass of alcohol that Heero held just out of his reach.

"Duo no baka. Did you get the information?"

"Hai!" Duo hiccupped as he dug into his jacket and sprung out a data disc.

"Let's go then." Heero said, tersly as he firmly grasped Duo's braid and dragged him out of the night club, much to Duo's protest, into the streets and attempted to make their way home.

"Hee-ero! What's the matter? You look mad." Duo mumbled, as he clamped onto Heero's arm.

"Let go." Heero growled, in annoyance, as he shrugged Duo off.

"Heero no baka!" Duo suddenly giggled, as he glomped onto Heero, his arms around his shoulders, stopping the other boy in his tracks.

"Heero, you're such a tease!" Duo murmured loudly, with a grin on his face.

"W-what?" Heero asked, surprised.

"You know what I mean." Duo whispered before kissing the other boy firmly upon the lips.

Upon seeing Heero's uncertain expression, Duo smiled, as he loosened his grip upon the other boy and then hugged him.

"Ai shiteru, Heero. I really do!" Duo declared into Heero's shoulder, and Heero's eyes widened.

"Duo, you're drunk, don't say anything that you'll regret in the morning." The Wing pilot chided, as he managed to detangle himself from Duo.

"I mean it Heero, the alcohol just gave me the courage to actually tell you. Do you feel the same?" Duo asked, uncertain.

Heero hesitated. "Duo, I...I think I do. I love you, too.", he answered slowly, meeting Duo's amethyst gaze.

The sincere smile that Duo gave him was all the answer that he needed. Knowing that there was none of the Shinigami pilot's humor or teasing in the smile, just an honest declaration of love.

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Duo sadly shake off the haunting memories of the night that he had found out that Heero actually *did* love him in return. But realized that that wasn't enough for them, to keep their relationship intact, but after that night, Heero had acted more cold towards him, ignoring him more then usual. Perhaps Heero didn't love him after all.

Oh, how he wished that he could stay together forever with Heero, but sadly acknowledged that that wasn't possible.

Duo's eyes glance upon the picture that was sticking out of the rearview mirror. A picture of both him and Heero, sitting upon a towel at the beach, both in swimming apparel, Duo with his arm around Heero's waist and kissing him upon the cheek, a mildly surprised expression upon Heero's normally expressionless face.

Duo smiles, wistfully.

A single tear falls down upon the wrinkled photograph, blurring Duo's face.

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[Two Years later...]

It had been a little over two years after Duo walked out, and not a word had been heard from the Shinigami pilot. But now, Quatre had found Duo, and was bringing him back to the others, in a mini, informal reunion of the Gundam pilot's, since the war had ended almost three years before.

Heero's heart skips a beat as Quatre guides a slender teen in behind him, was unmistakably Duo, although by the looks of it, the three years had not been kind to the former Shinigami pilot.

The braided boy looked around uncertainly and then quickly lowered his violet eyes again. It looked as though the boy had lost a lot of weight, there were dark circles beneath his eyes, and there seemed to be no sign of the cheery personality that made the boy notorious as a maniac.

Heero remembers the night that Duo had snuck out, thinking that all of the other pilots were sleeping. He had watched Duo stride purposefully to the car and hesitate, looking briefly back at the house. Heero backed away from the window, so that Duo wouldn't see him.

He knew why the other boy was leaving. After all, it was his fault. Him being to prideful and not telling Duo how he felt, had drove the other boy away from him had drove the smile from his beautiful face.

A single tear wove it's way down the former Wing pilot's cheek, completely unnoticed, as haunted, amethyst eyes meet his, a look of longing is mirrored in both of their eyes, at they both quickly look away.

'Because I was afraid...I was afraid to let him know that I loved him, because I was afraid of getting hurt...' Heero thought, regretfully.

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Heero watches as Duo begins a subdued conversation with Wufei, noting that the formerly hyperactive Duo almost seemed withdrawn, and emotionless...much like him.

He knows in his heart that he is the one that has caused Duo to feel such pain, and caused him to act like this. But, the voice in his head just told him that it couldn't have been helped in any case, although Heero tried to deny the fact.

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Duo knew that Heero was watching him from the far side of the room, although he pretended not to notice.

He wished that things could have worked out different, even though that things probably happened the way they did for a reason, even though his heart hoped against that reasoning.

In a way, Duo was glad that he had never soberly repeated his love outright, that would of made things so much harder in a way. But, this time away had given him some perspective, he didn't really *need* Heero, there were more people in the universe that he could meet and fall in love with, not just the one who kept threatening to kill him on a daily basis.

Duo glanced sadly over at Heero, who, was watching him with almost the same expression.

But, *did* he want to fall in love with just anyone else?

Heero was the only one that he would ever love, Duo knew that now.

Duo smiled weakly over at his former lover, who blinks in surprise and then looks away in...regret?

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"Heero?"

Heero whirls around in surprise to see Duo standing behind him, an uncertain expression upon his heart-shaped face.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Duo said, determined to meet Heero's cobalt blue eyes.

"Sorry?" Heero asked, after a minute of regarding Duo, who fidgeted before him.

"Oh, Heero!" Duo cried and he threw his arms around Heero, who stiffened subconsciously, as he uncertainly placed his arms around Duo, as the other boy, seeming not to care, unceremoniously sobbed into Heero's shoulder.

'I'm sorry, too, Duo. I should have known not to let you go that day. I should have told you the truth.' Heero thought, as he laid his head down upon Duo's shoulder.

"Why didn't you try and stop me?" Duo whispered softly into Heero's ear.

Heero pulled away and his eyes met with Duo's reddened ones, Heero reached up and gently brushed away the tear that fell from Duo's eye.

"Because I loved you enough to let you go." Heero answered.

Duo's eyes widened in surprise. His mouth opens and shuts several times before he gave up trying to reply.

If you love someone, let them go...
If they come back to you, they were always yours,
If they do not, they never were...

Duo had come back, and Heero had been waiting. They both knew the truth now, their love was enough to bring them together again, with a little help.

Duo smiled at Heero, and Heero allowed himself a faint smile in return.

"I have always loved you, Duo. I can admit that now. Before I was just afraid to tell you." Heero explained, still holding Duo in his arms.

"I think I always knew that, Heero. Deep in my heart. I left because I thought that you hated me, but I understand now. You did what you did out of love. Even if you didn't know it at the time." Duo said, nodding.

"Do you think that we could try again?" Heero asked, sounding unsure.

Duo smiled.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Keeper of Shinigami's Scythe
Co-Guardian of the Silver Battle Angel
Keeper of The Angel of Death's Sword
Master of the Chibi Dragon-Neko
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
Demetria Usher
The Deathscythe Mistress
The Silver Battle Angel Guardian
shinigami_chan@hotmail.com
queyganue02@icqmail.com
ICQ: 62806658
~ * ~
http://www.oocities.org/shin_no_tenshi/
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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