Author : Akuma
Disclaimer : The boys are not mine.
Pairings: 2+1
Rating: PG 13
Warning : yaoi, sap, the rest is secret! (I can't put the warning without opening the plot story)

Confusion of the Heart + Part 3

Duo took Hitoe back to the city and promised to meet at the same time and same place tomorrow. Like the previous day, Hitoe refused to be walked home, so Duo had to settle for watching Hitoe walk away and leave him, well not before giving him another kiss of course. He didn't take his jacket from Hitoe since Duo intended to give it to the girl anyway.

Feeling happy, Duo decided to stop at a store and bought drinks for his friends at home. He will announce this new development in his life to his friends. Duo grinned like an idiot as he drove the bike to the edge of the city; he couldn't wait to see their reactions.

When he almost reached the edge of the city, Duo saw Heero walking towards the same destination. What stunned Duo was that the Japanese pilot wasn't wearing his usual clothing. Instead of his usual tank top and spandex, Heero was wearing a white turtleneck shirt and blue jeans.

So the Perfect Soldier finally felt cold, huh?. Duo grinned and stopped the bike right in front of Heero. "Need a ride, Heero?" Without waiting for an answer, Duo threw the helmet that Hitoe used before to his Japanese companion. Heero caught it with one hand since his other hand was holding his bag. He put it on and murmured a thank you.

As Heero mounted the bike, Duo felt a familiar feeling; the same feeling from when Hitoe sat behind him before. Duo smiled at the thought of the girl. "Ready, Heero?"

A snort came as a reply. Duo grinned and took off at a high speed. As he increased the speed, Duo felt Heero's hand tighten around his waist. Again, he smiled. This situation reminded him of Hitoe, making him feel like she was riding with him right now. Duo wondered whether it was the Japanese heredity between Hitoe and Heero that made them similar in behavior and attitude.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are we going to have a party here, Duo?" Quatre greeted Duo and Heero as Duo walked in with a plastic bag full of drinks. Heero walked pass him and quickly went to their room to put his bag away then joined them back in the living room.

"Well, you can say that Quatre. " Duo winked and gave the drinks to his friends. "My treat."

"What game do you wan to play now, Maxwell?" Wufei eyed the drinks suspiciously but took them nonetheless.

Duo gave a mocking expression of being hurt. "Not a game, Wufei. I want to celebrate something tonight."

"And what may that be?" Wufei raised one eyebrow and sat down on the sofa he sat the day before.

"Well, there are two things to celebrate to be exact." Duo smirked from the sofa he sat on and gave a look to his Japanese companion, who sat beside him. "First, to celebrate the day when Heero decided his tank top and spandex were indeed too thin for this cold weather."

"Hn." Heero snorted but didn't say anything to deny it.

"Looks like I'm right." Duo grinned. " But of all the possible things to trade your tank top for, why a turtleneck, Heero? You look like Trowa with that white turtleneck and jeans, you know."

"I don't want my neck to be cold." Heero's answer surprised Duo for he didn't expect the Japanese pilot to response to his teasing.

"Ever heard of a scarf, Heero?"

"Not efficient."

Duo made a face. Heero can be really irritating sometimes, and and why did he have this feeling that if Hitoe were asked the same question, she would answer just like Heero did? The braided pilot thought it was very possible for Heero and his girl to be brother and sister, judging from their similarities in personalities and physiques. But the thought was quickly interrupted by Quatre.

"Okay, what's the second reason for celebrating, Duo?" Quatre smiled. He and Trowa had settled down on the sofa, holding their glasses. The Arabian pilot could guess what had happened to the American pilot, judging from how cheerful he was. "Does this have any connections with the Japanese girl you met today?"

"Well..........She's my girl, now." Duo smiled and waited for his friends' reaction.
Quatre smiled. "It figures." Duo opened his mouth in surprise. He looked at the others' reactions. Wufei only snorted, Trowa nodded, and Heero ......

The Japanese boy lifted his glass. "Congratulations."

Duo smiled and lifted his own glass, clinking his with Heero's. "Thanks, man." Duo drank half the glass and then looked at his other friends. "You aren't surprised?? Damn, and here I thought I'd see some funny expressions from you guys."

"Not a chance, Maxwell. But may I know how did you get her to agree to be with a talkative and annoying person like you."

"Thank you for the praise." Duo stuck his tongue out mockingly, knowing Wufei was only teasing him. "I kissed her, Chang. What else?"

The Chinese pilot coughed for a moment and then he blushed slightly. "Your mouth isn't only fast in speaking but also fast in action, Maxwell. I hope she didn't slap you for that."

"Oh, on the contrary, Wufei. She liked it. I know that for she let me kiss her again and again." Duo smirked when the Chinese pilot blushed more.

"Dishonorable American......" Wufei muttered weakly.

"Hey, I heard that." Duo jumped and knocked Wufei from his chair. "You'll see how dishonorable I am." The Deathscythe pilot grinned and tickled Wufei until the Chinese pilot was out of his breath. Quatre giggled and snuggled closer to Trowa, watching his two friends wrestling on the floor.

However in his wrestling, Duo missed the look that Heero gave him. He was so focused in the wrestling that he didn't notice his Japanese companion touch his chest tenderly, feeling something beneath the shirt. And the others didn't seem to notice the gesture too, except for a certain pilot who studied the Japanese pilot from the corner of his eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The days passed in a blur of happiness for a certain American. He met his girl everyday, spending some time together at the lake when he managed to borrow the bike from Heero, talking, playing, and of course kissing. Duo liked kissing the girl. Not a day passed without a kiss. He would kiss the girl whenever and wherever he wanted and the girl didn't seem to mind. She would open her mouth and let Duo in, kissing him back passionately.

But the happiness didn't last forever.

A week after he first met the girl, Duo received his next mission. The braided pilot cursed as the mission required him to leave the safe house right away. He would have to tell Hitoe about this, Duo mused about his girl while packing his clothes.

He frowned when he noticed his bag had worn out. Time to buy a new one but meanwhile, he would have to borrow Heero's bag. The American pilot rummaged around the closet and saw Heero's green tank top. He stopped his search and touched the shirt, finding himself missing seeing Heero wearing it. Heero had kept wearing the white turtleneck despite if the weather was cold or not. He often teased Heero for that, but the Japanese pilot only snorted and dismissed him.
Anyway, back to his original purpose. Where was the bag?? Duo searched to no avail in the closet. Heero must have put it somewhere else. Duo knew that he should have waited and asked Heero for permission first, but then again if he waited, he couldn't tell Hitoe about his departure. And God knows when the Perfect Soldier would be back from whatever he was doing. So Duo took the liberty and explored the room, trying to find the bag.

He finally found the bag under the bed. Duo pulled it out and noticed the bag wasn't empty. Running out of time, Duo decided to dump the contents onto Heero's bed. Heero would understand. Without looking at the contents on the bed, Duo quickly put his belongings in the bag, still thinking about his girl and how he would miss her.

When done with his preparations, Duo took his bag and walked to the door. He glanced once again around the room, making sure that he didn't miss anything and that was when his eyes fell onto the contents on Heero's bed.

The bag in his hand fell heavily to the floor with a loud thump as Duo acknowledged the contents. "What's the meaning of this?" Duo's voice wavered as he approached the bed. There on the bed were the clothes he had seen Hitoe wear. As Duo stood at the bed's side, he saw his jacket among the clothes. It was the jacket he gave to Hitoe and on top of the clothes, Duo saw a wig, a brown shoulder length wig. The American pilot took the wig and stared at it. "This is Hitoe's ...." Duo was really confused and surprised. Why did Heero have all of Hitoe's clothes? And most of all, why did Hitoe wear a wig? Was she bald or something?

Suddenly the door was opened and Duo looked up to see his Japanese companion standing at the entrance. Heero's eyes widened as he saw Duo holding the wig; his mouth opened but nothing came up. And that was when all the pieces of puzzle inside Duo's head began to form a complete picture.

Hitoe had a bruise on her shoulder and Heero also had one on his. Hitoe was cold and Heero was cold too. Heero started wearing a turtleneck shirt on the day Duo gave Hitoe his cross. All Hitoe's gestures felt familiar as if he had known her for a long time. No wonder because Hitoe was Heero!!! Hitoe was his Japanese companion, the Perfect Soldier Heero Yuy in disguise!!!!!

Duo felt anger welt up inside him, accompanied with hurt. Anger for being tricked and hurt for being betrayed. Hitoe was just an illusion, created by his Japanese partner. Of course, who else can pull off being the perfect girl, except for the Perfect Soldier? Duo chuckled. He had fallen for Heero's game.

"Duo.." Duo looked up and saw Heero standing in front of him, unsure of what to do. "I...."

"Nice wig, Heero. Or should I say Hitoe?" Duo cut Heero, talking in cold tone. And Duo wasn't disappointed to see the Perfect Soldier flinch at the tone of his voice. "So this was your game? Your revenge at me for teasing you?" Duo stepped forward while Heero took a step back.

"Duo, I.."

"Congratulations, Yuy. You managed to make me look like an idiot. I even professed my love to an imaginary girl. Oh, no, I've professed my love to you, an emotionless bastard." Duo threw the wig at Heero who didn't make any attempt to catch it and let it hit his face.

As the wig fell to the floor, Duo snapped again. "Very nice disguise, Yuy. You played your part very well, making me feel so happy, so comfortable, and so in love. You talked nicely to me while inside you laughed at me, didn't you? You laughed at how easily I've fallen for you. You even opened your greedy mouth to receive my kisses. I bet you'll open your mouth to anyone, won't you, whore?"

Duo felt satisfied as Heero flinched at his harsh words. Heero had hurt him deeply and now the Perfect Soldier was going to pay for it! "Yes, you're a whore, aren't you? Just like you said at the lake. A killer, a rogue, a scoundrel, and a whore! I've made a mistake when I saved you on that cursed night. You were enjoying yourself with those men, weren't you? Well, forgive me for stopping them. I should have let them have their way with you, slut!"

Out of breath, Duo panted. Heero had bowed his head in the middle of his harsh words. Was he hurt by Duo's words? Duo didn't care; he was hurt, hurt very deeply. He had thought he had found his mate, his life partner and even imagined about living together. But all of them were just imaginations.

Duo chuckled again. "Come to think of it, Hitoe never said she loved me, ne? You enjoyed every time I said my love to you, feeling smugly that you already captured my heart, didn't you? Well, Hitoe," Duo spat it sarcastically, "I'm going to finish a mission, sweetheart. I'd thought that I would miss you, that I'd be far from you know, but now I think I'm grateful for that." Duo took a breath and said his final words. "You can go and find another victim for your game. I won't fall for you again, whore."

The American pilot left the room, slamming the door loudly and racing towards his hidden Gundam. He took off at a high speed, trying to leave the safe house as fast as he could. Meanwhile in the bedroom, the Japanese boy was still standing, head bowed. As the sound of the engine faded and left him in silence, he reached inside his shirt and retrieved a silver cross. No sound was heard as one crystal tear fell on the cross.

The dream was over.

[part 2] [part 4] [back to Akuma's fic]