After bringing the little boy to his hospital, he realized he had forgotten all about the Italian restaurant with Trowa that night. He quickly called Trowa's cell phone, and was relieved to hear Trowa was busy and he couldn't make it either.
Trowa knew Quatre had his cell phone off because he was in the hospital all day, so he left a message at the restaurant. He was also in the middle of an important case and he had to spend a night at his office.

"...I really need to see you... "
Quatre sighed and entered the room. The boy was still asleep, Quatre's warm coat around his body.

"What are you going to do with him?"
Alice asked quietly.
"I don't know.... Well, it's late... You should go home and get some sleep. I'm going to take him to my place for tonight..."
Alice nodded and left the room to get her belongings. Quatre sat where Alice was and stared at the boy's face. The hair, the lips, the nose... every feature resembled Duo Maxwell, the joker of the Gundam pilots.

"...Is he just some boy that looks like him?... Then why was he lying on Duo's grave?... Could he really... be..."

"I'm going home... You sure you're okay?"
Quatre nodded and smiled. Alice was always kind and concerned for him and he was thankful.
"I'm fine.. Good night."
"Good night. See you tomorrow."
Quatre exhaled loudly after Alice left the room. He stood up and got his things ready.
He picked up the boy slowly in his arms.

"Who are you..?.."





________________________________


"...Was he upset?"
Trowa cocked his eyebrow, startled. His partner rarely showed concern for anyone.
"No. He couldn't make it either... Something came up.. He said it was urgent..."

Trowa got back to the computer. He knew this could take a whole week. He was worried about Quatre. He hasn't used the word "urgent" since the mobile war days...

"...I can do this alone you know..."
Trowa turned to Heero, who was going through the files. He was truly amazed of Heero's improvement in these few weeks. He was starting to eat, although he wasn't sure "what" he was eating, but at least he was putting something in his systems. He was also beginning to talk to his fellow officers.
Trowa thought he was hopeless when he first found him in his apartment. He was bleeding in numerous places and all broken... like a little rag doll. When he brought him to Quatre, he almost fainted.
Heero was in a coma for more than 3 weeks. When he finally woke up, he immediately screamed and searched for a near by object to kill himself with. Quatre tried to convince Trowa that Heero needed a psychiatric help, but Trowa knew being with a complete stranger in an unfamiliar room wont help Heero.

----"He needs to be with someone he knows. And right now, we're the only ones he's got."--------

Trowa wasn't sure if he had made the right choice, but looking at Heero's progression made him confident that he has.

"..I'm fine.. How are those files turning up?"
Heero just shook his head in response.
Trowa grinned a little and went back to work. He had to finish getting information by tonight in order to capture his target... But deep inside, he couldn't help but to wonder what Quatre's urgency was about....





______________________________


Quatre unlocked his door and carried the little boy inside. He was expecting for him to wake up by now, but the boy was deep asleep. He took him to his guest room and placed him on the bed. He wanted to call someone that might know him, but the boy provided no help. He wasn't wearing any clothes, so it was obvious he wasn't carrying anything. Quatre was afraid he might have been physically abused, but there was no indication of beating. The boy was clean as a crystal.
He wanted to wait until the boy wakes up, so he started to read the DSM books. He recently became fascinated by the various psychological disorders out there.

After an hour, he finally gave up and head for bath. He sank his body in the hot water and finally relaxed. He leaned on the tub and closed his eyes.
"What am I going to do?... Should I call the police?.. No.. I should wait until I talk to Trowa..."
Trowa has said he would see him tomorrow, but Quatre wasn't sure. Trowa was selected for a very important case and Quatre didn't want to get in his way. But...

"..This is... different.... I have to tell him as soon as I can..."
He knew the boy just could be a total stranger and have nothing to do with Duo, but...

"What if he was Duo... What would Trowa think..?.... Or.. what would Heero think?..."

The last time he saw Heero was when he and Trowa went to visit him at his new apartment. Trowa was impressed by the cleanliness of the room, but to Quatre, it was too clean. It was so clean that it looked like no one lived there. There was no trace of life and it felt cold inside even though it was a hot sunny day.

"I wonder how he's doing... Trowa told me he's doing fine...but.."
Quatre still wasn't sure about Heero's mental condition. He still remembers how Heero looked when Trowa brought him in. He was a disaster...

Quatre quickly shook his head to get the images out of his head and reached out for his robe, realizing he had stayed in the tub too long.




Quatre gasped when he returned to the guest room. The boy was sitting up, the bed covers just barely concealing his lower parts. He was examining Quatre, showing neither fear nor suspicion. Quatre couldn't help but to notice those two big lavender-bluish eyes. The boy looked even more like Duo now that his eyes were opened.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"
The boy tilted his head as if he didn't understand what Quatre have said, but quickly gave Quatre a big friendly smile.

"Fine. How are you?"

Quatre was shocked. Even his voice sounded like Duo, only Duo's was a little deeper. But when Duo was about this boy's age, Quatre had no doubt that it would've sounded like this.

"..I'm okay... Are you hungry?"
The boy quickly nodded his head. Quatre chuckled.
"Okay, but first, let's get something for you to wear."
Quatre went to his room and looked for something the boy could wear. He got a pair of pajamas, but left the pants and took only the shirt.
"Here we go.. It's a little big, but it's only for tonight so don't complain."
As Quatre thought, the shirt was big enough to go down to his knees. When the boy got out of the bed, Quatre giggled because of how adorable he looked.
"Why are you laughing?"
The boy tipped his head up to see Quatre's face.

"Oh, nothing. Let's get something to eat, shall we?"



So far, the boy provided no information. He didn't know where he lived, who he was, or who his parents are.

"You were in a cemetery.. Do you know why you were there?"
The boy shook his head, stuffing his mouth with his sandwich. The boy kept munching on his food like he hasn't eaten in years. Even his table manners reminded Quatre of Duo.
"... I need to find out who you are... or.... Is it possible that you..."
The boy suddenly stopped eating and looked at Quatre.
"What's your name?"
Quatre was startled. The boy looked so much like Duo that he had forgotten to introduce himself to him. He almost expected him to know...
"Sorry... My name is Quatre Raberba Winner... but that's just a name.. I am still a stranger to you...."
Quatre smiled, trying to hide his sadness. He wanted to believe that maybe... just maybe.. the boy in front of him could be the friend he lost years ago. But, of course that's not possible.. He saw his friend die right before his eyes.

"Why are you smiling when you're sad?"
Stunned, Quatre turned his attention back to the boy. The boy looked worried. Quatre felt he could hide nothing from the boy, just like how Duo managed to see everyone through their masks...

"..You remind me of.. a friend I knew..."
Quatre finally spoke.
"You mean him?"
Quatre's eyes followed the boy's pointed finger to see a picture of Duo.
"..Yes.. that's him.."
The boy got out of his chair and ran to see the picture up close. After a while, the boy nodded.
"He does look like me."
The boy giggled a little.
Quatre got up and advanced to the picture. He took the frame and smiled.
It was a picture of sleeping Duo in a grassy field. Quatre took the picture because he happened to have a camera in his hand at the time. It was after his photography class when he found his friend sleeping peacefully out in the yard. He has never seen Duo look so peaceful and quiet, he figured he had to take a picture.

"Where is he now?"
Quatre placed the picture frame down and smiled sadly down at him.
"He died during a war...."
The boy's eyes went wide. He faced down and turned to Duo's picture again. He observed the pictures on the walls left and right.
"You have lotsa pictures of him..."
Quatre looked at the different pictures on the walls. The boy was right. There were numerous pictures of Duo and himself. Those were the days when they were testing out the new camera Quatre bought for his class. But Duo was mostly fooling around with it.

"I KNOW!! I can be Duo!!!"
Quatre almost fell back by the boy's yell. The boy embraced Quatre's waist and smiled up at him.
"You can talk to me like you do to Duo and I'll talk to you like Duo!"
The boy laughed. Quatre was dumbfounded.

"... But your.. family could be worried about you and..."
"Duo's family is my family, remember? I am Duo."
The boy laughed and ran to see the other pictures.
"What have I got myself into?.."
Quatre sighed to himself. Not only does this boy look like Duo but he wants to be Duo. He doesn't know his real name or his family... Nothing.
At first, he thought the boy would have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, but the boy showed no fear to Quatre. The boy looked completely comfortable with a stranger in a strange room, which meant the boy didn't experience any physical or mental abuse.
"Could it be some type of amnesia..?.."
Quatre wondered. He had to look up in his DSM book again.

"Who is this?"
Quatre saw the boy pointing at a person who obviously didn't want his picture taken.
"That's Heero... He was very close to Duo..."
Quatre smiled weakly.
"Was he very sad when Duo died?"
The boy questioned. Quatre nodded.
"He.. went through.. some... trouble.. But my friend is taking care of him."
"That's good. Who's that?"
"That's Trowa, the friend who takes care of Heero. And that's Wufei... I haven't seen him in years.. I wonder how he's doing...."
"Who's that lady by Duo?"
"That's Hilde san, Duo's girlfriend. The lady in that other picture is Relena san, and on her side is Noin san..and that one is---"

Remembering the old days, Quatre and the boy talked hours and hours, not realizing the warm morning sun gently rising above them.

End Part 1
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