A Tragic Misunderstanding

-----part 1-----

Duo moaned, then cried out in ecstasy as he came, Heero coming with him and within him. He shuddered as their mutual climax wound down to what promised to be an especially sweet afterglow.

All at once, the tender moment was spoiled by the ringing of the phone.

Heero rolled off of Duo and answered the phone. "Yes?"

It was Relena. She was in tears. "Please, come." she sobbed.

Heero resisted saying that he just had, he didn't think it would cheer her up, and despite that fact that he felt no romantic love toward her, he did love her in the way that anyone would love a younger sister or a best friend. He had protected her so often in the past, that it was hard for him not to think of her as the little sister he never had.

"I won't be long." Heero told Duo as he got dressed.

"You felt pretty long to me." Duo teased, sleepily.

"What's wrong?" he asked into the phone.

"They told me to come to the new church..."

"Why the new church?" Heero asked, concernedly.

Relena said on the phone. "They said they were a charity... Said they wanted to ... to make a contribution... and then they..."


Heero was out the door instantly. If it was what it sounded like, Relena would need help. And Heero didn't take kindly to people hurting his friends.

Heero raced to the church and rushed in.

"Heero!" Relena was all smiles, and wearing a wedding dress. Heero stared at her and amazement. She'd lead him to believe that she'd been raped to lure him here to try and worm her way into being his wife.

"I told you, I'm not interested." Heero pointed out. "Relena, I'm in love with someone else."


Duo had grown bored waiting for Heero. Knowing where Heero was going, he arrived and walked into front doors, just as Relena wrapped her arms around Heero, near the altar, and kissed him full on the lips.

Duo stared at the tableau before him, and his heart shattered.

"Heero?" he whispered.

Heero looked up, but by then, Duo had already left.

"Relena, you have to learn to accept..."

"Accept what? This perverse, unnatural sickness you two share?" Relena shook her head. "I'm going to make you well, Heero. I'll find you a shrink and he'll show you how wrong it is to have those urges towards another man. I love you and I'll help you get better."

"It's not perverted, unnatural, or sick." Heero told her. "I know it's hard for you to understand that, but please..."

"Excuse me, " the priest asked them, "but do either of you know a young man with a braid?"

Heero nodded. "He's my..."

"Your boyfriend," the priest smiled. "Its okay, I did not come to judge you, but to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"Your boyfriend is standing on top of the church steeple." the priest replied. "I suspect it is not for the sake of the view."

"Oh dear God." Heero whispered, a half-plea, half-prayer of sorts. He ran outside and looked up, hearing Duo call his name.

Duo was standing there wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and his boots

"Heero! I love you!" he called as he threw himself from the steeple.

"Duo! NO!" Heero screamed as Duo hit the ground barely more than a foot away.

"Heero..." Relena began. She had wanted to split Duo and Heero up, but she hadn't expected Duo to...

Heero glared at her with all the hate in the world in his eyes. He would never forgive her.

"Heero," she began. "I didn't..."

"I hate you." he told her. "You took away the only person I ever loved. I hate you forever."

Relena sank to her knees on the steps of the church, and cried as the full realization of all that she'd just lost hit her for the first time. Up to that point, even though Heero didn't love her as a potential wife, he had loved her all the same, as one would love a friend or a member of the family. Now she didn't even have that. And they'd lost Duo, too.

-----part 2-----

Heero straightened out his dress blues, making sure the uniform was on properly. As he looked in the mirror, he remembered how he had wanted to wear this particular outfit at his wedding. He pictured himself standing there at the altar while Duo, similarly dressed, with flowers entwined in his braid. The two of them would smile at each other, in the daydream, and then Heero would reach down and lift Duo's chin, bending down to capture his lips in a warm kiss that would linger on both their lips when they pulled back.

"Heero, are you ready?" Quatre asked, "The funeral's in ten minutes."

Heero's daydream shattered as reality sank back in. There would be no wedding, no lingering kisses, no tender lovemaking. Duo was gone now. Heero would never again hear his voice and feel his warmth.

"Yeah, I'm ready." he nodded..

-----part 3-----

It was a private funeral, since the military would not pick up the tab. The four surviving Gundam pilots buried Duo in nearby field, marking the site with a headstone that Heero engraved with Duo's name, date of death, and an inscription from an ancient text which read :

That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons even Death may die.

in reference to Duo's reference to himself as Shinigami.


After a moment of silence, Heero, Quatre, Wufei, and Trowa returned home with heavy hearts.

"It's awfully quiet," Trowa noted that evening.

"Too quiet." Heero muttered. "It's because Duo's not here to... " he slumped forward, dejectedly. "Oh, Duo..." he wept, tears falling from his eyes. He got up and walked out of the safe house.

"Duo," Heero said, as he stood at Duo's grave sometime later, unmindful of the raindrops that soaked his clothes, hair, and skin, "if only you'd waited. It wasn't what you thought. I never loved anyone but you."

"I know that now."

Heero spun around and saw Duo standing behind him. He was wearing a low cut black tunic that showed off his smooth chest and hung low on one shoulder over which was draped his long chestnut braid, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black boots. A pair of large and majestic black wings extended from his shoulder blades, elegantly shaped even though they looked a little worse for wear.

"Duo?!"

Duo smiled and caught Heero as the Perfect Soldier fainted.


-----part 4-----

Heero slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found himself in his room at the safe house. He was sure it wasn't all just a dream... was it?

"Wufei, did I go to Duo's grave?" he asked.

Wufei nodded.

Heero noticed Wufei had a stunned expression on his face. "Are you okay?"

Wufei nodded again.

Heero sighed and walked to the kitchen to get something to eat. He found Quatre in the kitchen, grabbing a snack himself. "Hey, how'd I get home?" he asked.

Quatre pointed toward a corner of the kitchen.

Heero looked and saw Duo, wings gently folded but still visible, happily enjoying an ice cream cone.

"I thought the dead didn't need to eat." Heero pointed out.

"You're thinking of vampires and other reanimations of the flesh, like zombies." Duo pointed out. "Angels are different, we are a physical manifestation of a person's spiritual self."

"So, what's with this particular look?" Heero asked. "And don't tell me you really *are* Shinigami."

"Shinigami-in-training, actually." Duo shrugged. "At least, I was."

"What do you mean you *were* Shinigami-in-training?"

"I asked to be sent back to our world so that I could continue helping you. They said yes, but I would have to forfeit my right to be the next Shinigami. I told them, I'd rather be Heero's Shinigami, so they sent me back."

"So, what do we do now?" Heero asked. "I mean, am I allowed to... you know... touch you?"

Duo nodded.


-----part 5-----

Heero pulled Duo into his arms and placed a long, lingering kiss upon the newly made angel's lips.

"My beloved." he whispered. "I've never loved anyone but you. Never."

"I know." Duo replied. "I'm sorry that I..."

"Shhh..." Heero whispered. "Let's not think about that. All that matters now is that you're here in my arms and this time I intend to leave no doubt as to how much I love you." He lifted Duo into his arms, being careful of his wings, and carried him into his bedroom

Heero traced a line of loving kisses from Duo's lips to his shoulders, then down to his smooth chest, licking and teasing a nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking it, gently. Duo let out a moan of delight and ran his fingers through Heero's hair, pulling his lover closer to him.

Heero reached down to grasp Duo's length. He stroked it gently, the way one might pet a very small kitten. The gentle touch made Duo arch against him, seeking a firmer grip, but Heero always pulled back, keeping the touch gentle and teasing.

"Please, Heero?" Duo begged.

"Soon, my love." Heero promised. He kissed his way down to Duo's manhood, then took it into his mouth, licking the head seductively then taking the full length into his mouth and slowly running his lips back along it until Duo was at the point of no return.

Heero spread a bit of lubricant onto his own manhood and gently used a finger to work some into Duo, deliberately missing that spot that always drove Duo crazy in life when Heero touched it. Then, he pulled his finger out of Duo and sat up, Indian style, pulling Duo onto his lap and carefully easing Duo's body down onto his manhood.

Duo moaned in ecstasy as Heero held him close, feeling the length of Heero's shaft as it thrust inside him. He moved with Heero, helping the Perfect Soldier find release, coming at the same time as Heero. As he came, he craned his neck upward and stretched out his wings. At some point, his braid had come loose and his hair now hung down in a chestnut-hued waterfall.

Heero looked over at the mirror and was treated to the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld in his life. He turned back to the vision he held in his arms and kissed him, fiercely.

"I love you, Duo." he whispered.

-----part 6-----

Duo was resting peacefully in Heero's arms a few hours later. Heero had just woken up and was gazing down at his lover with an expression of awestruck love in his eyes.

"Duo?" he asked, softly. "You awake?"

"Mmm." Duo sighed. "Yeah. I love you, Heero."

"I love you, too, Duo."

Quatre rushed in. "Get dressed, both of you." he ordered, "we're doing a raid on the OZ base tonight."

"Right." Heero disentangled himself from Duo's arms and legs and got out of bed. He tossed Duo his clothes and got dressed himself.

Duo dressed, also, then accompanied Heero to where their Gundams were hidden, his wings hidden under the cloak that was wrapped around him.

Soon, a battle was under way. Duo cheerfully flew Deathscythe Hell into battle, laughing as the enemy fell to his dazzling attack.

"We have to infiltrate the base." Quatre said. "Any openings?"

"Still checking." Heero replied.

"I have an idea." Duo told them. He powered down his weapons then headed back into the fray.

"Duo! What are you doing?!" Heero demanded.

All at once a number of OZ fighters shot down Deathscythe Hell, even as Heero and Quatre made an attempt to stop them.

"DUO! NO!" Heero screamed. 

"Fall back!" Quatre shouted. "That's an order!"

The four pilots fled the scene. But they didn't go to far.

//I hope you know what you're doing, Duo.// Heero thought to himself.

-----part 7-----

Treize locked eyes with Duo as soon as the young Gundam pilot was brought before him, still cloaked.

"Remove his cloak, you idiots." Treize ordered. "He might be trying to hide a weapon."

The 'idiots' in question pulled off Duo's cloak, revealing his raven-wings.

"What the hell?!" One of the guards exclaimed.

//I just have to get through this,// Duo thought to himself, //then when they toss me aside I'll be able to make my move.//

"Exquisite." Treize purred. "Strip him and pin him down. I think I'd like to have a little fun."

Duo struggled, as the guards fought to pin him down. They soon found out that the edges of his wings were razor sharp as they tried to grab them and pin them down. After a bitter struggle, Duo was finally subdued.

The next move was unexpected. Treize pushed an un-lubricated finger up into Duo, pumping it inside of Duo with no tenderness whatsoever.

Duo redoubled his attempts to break free as he heard the rustle of Treize's clothes as the other man stripped and positioned himself behind Duo.

-----part 8-----

Duo fought to free himself as Treize's erection was rammed up into him.

//Change of plans,// he thought to himself, //as soon as I get loose I'm killing everyone here.//

Duo thrashed about wildly, impaled upon Treize's length, pain driving him deeper into bloodlust, until somehow he managed to get a wing free. He sliced the razor-sharp edge against the guards holding him on that side, slicing them open. The other guards fled in terror, but Duo picked up a gun from the dead guards and fired at the others, killing him as well.

Treize was getting scared. He backed away, shaking his head. "I...I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry. Please forg..."

He never finished. A second later, his head was sailing across the room from the force of the impact of Duo's wing as it sliced clean through his neck.

Duo raced through the compound, the bloodlust still coursing through his veins, firing the gun at every OZ member there. Not a single person was spared.


Heero and the others were getting worried. Duo had been in there too long.

"I'm going after him." Heero raced toward the OZ building, just as Duo ran out, still naked, and took out the two guards who were standing in front.

Heero noticed Duo's state of undress and felt rage boiling in him.

"Those bastards." he swore. "They..." he ran into the building, intending to make them all pay for defiling his angel. "Holy shit!" he managed to say, somewhat awestruck by the carnage he saw before him.

The room was literally swimming in blood. It was at least ankle deep and there were bodies everywhere.

He ran back outside and saw Duo standing there, tense, angry, and still in the throes of his bloodlust. He took the angel into his arms and Duo started struggling.

"Duo, look at me." he said, turning Duo's face up so that their eyes met. "Duo, stop. It's all right. It's Heero. Calm down, Duo."

Duo eventually relaxed and slumped forward into Heero's arms.

"I love you, Heero." he whispered.

-----OWARI-----

Additional Clarification: Duo's bloodlust run through the OZ HQ was based on the first episode of "Aeon Flux."