Jess: Silly Heero, here you thought that Nuriko was going to be cruel to you and all she did was set the stage for fluff.

Heero: Hn.

Nuri: You people always think the worst of me. ((pouts))

Duo: Well, we wouldn�t if you hadn�t shown us your evil side so many times�.

Nuri: Hmph!

Jess: On with the chapter!!

Lunar Symphony

Chapter 12: Heero POV

I awoke early as usual this morning. I know Duo was keeping something from me and I hated not knowing what it was. Last night, I had caught him sneaking into his office when I had been told that he was supposed to be working. I didn�t like the implications, but I didn�t want to jump to conclusions, that is why I agreed to give him until this morning to tell me what he was up to.

I stretched in bed, not liking the feel of it being empty and hugged a pillow to my body. I cracked open an eye and spotted a bowl of assorted fresh berries and a pitcher of water on a tray on the bedside table. I rubbed my eyes and spotted the note that was propped up against the bowl that read, �Eat Me� in Duo�s handwriting. When had he come in? I thought I told him to stay in his own room tonight.

I reached over and plucked a boysenberry from the top of the pile and popped it into my mouth, sucking the thing slowly. I loved berries for breakfast. I loved berries, period. I looked at the tray again and found a neatly sliced prickly pear fanned out on a separate plate. Where had Duo gotten a hold of that in SPACE? I�d have to ask him about it later.

Speaking of talking to Duo� I need to find out what he was doing all week. I don�t like being kept in the dark. I got out of bed and put on my wartime favorite: black spandex shorts and a green tank top and my old, ratty, sneakers. I�d be working out today before breakfast, and this particular get-up was the most comfortable.

I put the fruit bowl in the mini refrigerator I had in my kitchenette and figured I�d eat when I finished with my workout. First things first, though� what has Duo been up to?

I jogged downstairs bypassing the TV/Vid-disk player sitting in front of my bed and went across the grounds to Maxwell�s Haven. He just better have a good excuse.

�Hee-chan!� Duo exclaimed as I walked into the cafeteria that morning. He came up to me and hugged me tight, kissing me soundly before I could even react. I wrapped my arms around his thin body, his braid held possessively in my grip.

�Duo� you said you needed until this morning to explain yourself. Start talking.�

Duo�s eyes lost some of their spark as he looked up into my impassive face. �Didn�t you get your present?� He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

I shook my head. �Present? What for? I put breakfast in the fridge to eat after my workout and as for the TV/Vid-disk player, I appreciate the gesture.�

Duo looked positively deflated but tried to save face in front of the kids that were now looking our direction. �Oh�� he choked out. Was I missing something? �I guess you can look after your workout then��

�I don�t have time to watch television, Duo.�

I watched as he gave me a watery smile then turned around and walked towards his office. What was that all about? He knows I don�t watch television so the thought of his getting me a television was rather absurd. Still� I felt like I was missing something important. I grabbed his arm at the last second, and spun him towards me, holding him tight. I leaned in and brushed my lips gently against his; whispering �Love you, Koi,� before letting him go. He looked shell-shocked as he rushed out of the cafeteria�. He never even said he loved me back. Something was definitely off here but I needed to gain some control first� I don�t want to accidentally hurt him when I try to talk to him next. Honestly, that�s the biggest reason why I didn�t run after him.

With the kids giving me little pouts, I turned around and left the building, and went to the Preventer�s gym. Exercise always helped me when I had some emotional stress to work off. Call it my outlet, if you will. When I arrived, I found Trowa already there, water bottle in hand and a towel resting on his knee as he sat on a bench.

�Trowa,� I said. He looked up at me and gave a little nod.

We then began what had become our morning workout routine. It wasn�t until my third set of bench presses that I initiated a conversation.

�Ne, Trowa?�

�Hai?�

�Do you know what Duo has been up to lately?� I asked.

He quirked an eyebrow, �Are you asking me for information, or was that supposed to be rhetorical?�

�Duo is the one who asks rhetorical questions.�

�In that case, I might have an idea.� he replied

�Oh? Mind cluing me in?�

He looked at me oddly as we swapped places again, �I thought you�d have figured it out by now.�

�What do you mean?� I asked, playing spotter.

�Well,� Trowa began, �I figured you for a smart man, Yuy, I would have thought that the present he made you would have told you all you needed to know.�

�Present?�

�Oh for the love of-� he sighed, exasperated. He put up the weight he was lifting, hooking it onto it�s resting bar, then sat up and looked at me sternly. �Heero, I�m your friend and as such, I�m expecting you to NOT shoot me when I tell you that you are the most hard-headed individual I�ve ever met! And yes, Yuy, that includes Wufei and myself.� I blinked, taken aback by his outburst. He sighed gain and wiped his face with the towel nearby, �Have you spoken to Duo this morning?�

I wasn�t expecting that question, but I nodded in the affirmative. �Is it safe to assume that you didn�t look at the gift he made you?� Another nod, �and so I�m assuming that things didn�t go too well this morning��

�I don�t know what everyone is going on about, Barton. Will someone just PLEASE give this to me straight?!� I practically yelled. I hate subtleties. If you want me to know something, just come out and say it. I thought that my friends would have figured that out by now.

Trowa looked at me, dropped the towel, nodded, and grabbed my wrist. I was practically manhandled into my bathroom and ordered to shower. He then closed the door behind himself and I was left alone to my thoughts once again.

Okay, Yuy, backtrack�. What has been going on lately?

I turned on the shower and stripped down. One: Duo has been missing for hours at a time for the past week. I stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade off my skin. Two: what was with the expressions he�s been giving me lately? First when I talked about adopting Mei and then when I came downstairs� I�m definitely missing something. I wash my hair and skin with my favorite cinnamon apple shampoo and body wash. Three: Trowa seems to know something that should have been obvious to me, judging by his reactions. I rinsed and reached for the towel hanging nearby. I dried off and wrapped the towel around my waist before stepping out of the bathroom.

When I came out, I found Trowa arranging a little folding table at the foot of my bed with the bowl of berries, plate of prickly pears and a pitcher of what I call lemonade (mostly water, about three lemons per liter, and four artificial sweeteners)�actually, it was hardly any better than water by Duo�s standards, but I liked the hint of flavor it had. On the bed lay an outfit I�d never seen before with a note resting just on top of the carefully laid cloth of the navy blue suit. Against the wall, facing the foot of my bed was the TV/Vid-disk player I had seen before, but this time, I noticed a note on it that said, �Watch me� taped to the screen. Interesting.

Trowa led me to the foot of my bed and sat me down so I faced my breakfast and the TV. �You are going to sit here and watch the vid, then you�re going to get dressed and get on with your day, understood?�

I nodded.

�Good. By the way,� he added, �Quatre and I are going to adopt Luc� if Duo lets us. I like him and Quatre has always wanted a family of his own.�

I smiled at him and nodded, �He needs a good family� and with your gymnast skills, you can really teach him how to work his upper-body muscles. In fact, Mei would probably be better off going with you and Quatre too� I was going to ask her if she wanted me as her adoptive parent� but� I think I�m getting cold feet about it.� I looked around myself, �As you can see, I�m not very good at picking up on the obvious�.�

Trowa smiled at me and gave me a pat on the back. �Watch the movie, Heero� we�ll talk about this later.�

I nodded and watched him leave.

(Time lapse)

I turned off the television and stared blankly at the screen. How I could possibly doubt Duo was a mystery. His present to me was� priceless. I finished my breakfast and went to my laptop to finish some paperwork, still dressed in only my towel. I�d be getting dressed to go out soon and I didn�t want to get dirty or wrinkle my clothes before leaving so I waited until the last possible moment to get ready.

I was really lucky to have Duo as my boyfriend. I loved him more than anything in the world� it�s just that I have trouble reining in my emotions and such. I began to walk down the stairs to where Duo had indicated, but since I was a bit early, I thought of a plan to try and apologize to him. I walked quickly to a little flower shop a few blocks down the street; I hoped I wouldn�t be late.

I got to the store and made my order and paid the lady at the cash register.

She smiled at me, �Special occasion, son?�

I nodded, �Anniversary�I had forgotten all about it�.�

She frowned a bit, �Well, at least this will help when you�re trying to get her to forgive you.�

I blushed a little, �uh� yeah� I hope he won�t be too angry at me��

I saw her flush at her assumption, but she just smiled and handed me my order, �Of course� good luck, sweetie.�

I walked briskly to my destination, the chat with the flower lady had taken me off schedule, but I couldn�t help but smile. The box of two-dozen mixed white and red roses lying in a bed of ferns and baby�s breath was sure to get me on Duo�s good side. �I�m really sorry I hurt you, koi� I hope you�ll forgive me.�

Jess: Short chappie, I know� but it ended sweet, ne?

Duo: ((blushes)) Hee-chan got me flowers?

Heero: Roses. Twelve white, twelve red.

Nuri: Aww� how sweet�

Jess: ((tries to hide from Nuriko))

Nuri: I see you! Don�t think I can�t see through your plot to make ME write out their date!!

Jess: ((looking innocent)) Umm� gotta go! ((runs away))