Silencing The Secrets
Part 25
Sitting a distance from the louder party guests, a lone figure in black sat on a dock over the lake. Tuxedo pant legs rolled up and bare
feet dangling in the water, Duo looked like an overdressed Huckleberry Finn as he sat, lost in his thoughts.
//So much has happened.// He contemplated, kicking at the water gently, sending ripples outwards from his perch. //Everything since the
day after the war ended to now. It took a half a year, but this feels like coming home. I can't believe I'm a married man now. And
married to Heero, no less! A very *lucky* married man, that's for sure!//
A smile of contentment was on his otherwise peaceful face when a voice caught his attention.
"Penny for your thoughts, Uncle Duo?" Laurel smiled at him as she sat down beside him on the dock.
He glanced over at his niece and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Shi-chan, my little princess! How do you like having
Quatre and Trowa as your *real* daddies now? Happy finally, kitten?"
"Oh, yes!" Her smile radiated joy. The adoption ceremony had been over so quickly it seemed too short for Duo, but if the child was
ever to be free of the demons which haunted her, this was a good start. "I'm a very lucky girl to have two wonderful daddies, you know.
There's other kids who aren't as lucky as me. Did you see the new baby from the orphanage they brought to the party? It's really sad to
see a little baby not have a home, isn't it?"
"Hmm, why do I get the feeling you are setting me up, Laurel?" He asked this with a slight laugh knowing full well she rarely said things
like that without a reason.
Looking innocent was out of the question, so she just giggled. "Who, me, Uncle Duo? Set you up? No, far from it! The baby Uncle
Heero's playing with will go home with Aunt Celcia and Vash! I saw that in a dream last night!"
"What?!?" Duo looked around urgently, shocked that Heero Yuy-Maxwell was somewhere playing with a *baby* of all things! "What's
Heero doing with a baby, Laurel?" He was decidedly nervous about this news. He'd just gotten married but unlike Quatre and Trowa,
he had no plans whatsoever of having any new family beyond Heero for the moment.
This time she just smiled sweetly, "Why don't you go see, Uncle Duo?"
"Hmph! I'd better! He's been surprising me with a few too many things lately, a new baby is *not* on my agenda!" He got to his feet and
chose to just carry his shoes as he walked off to find Heero.
He never heard the little voice behind him, "Oh, yes one is, Uncle Duo, you just don't know it yet. His mommy and daddy would be
happy to know you're going to take care of him, even if it is hard going away like they have to. Plus, you get awhile before he is even
born and some time after that before, well, you'll see!" Impishly grinning, the girl ran off to see what her favorite cousin was doing.
"Oi! Heero!" Duo called approaching a small group of people.
Heero looked up with a broad grin on his face as he held a wriggling infant girl in his arms. "Where did you disappear to, koi?" He was
all smiles, Duo began to wonder if Heero's cheeks were going to hurt from smiling so much in the last two days.
"Needed a little down time, that's all." Duo wasn't going to mention the warning from Sally. He also wasn't going to mention that fact that
he felt like he would pass-out any minute due to the exhaustion that was finally catching up to him. "Who's your little friend, Heero?"
"Her name's Adeena," the Japanese man laughed as the baby recaptured his finger clamping down hard. "Ouch! Hey, Adeena has a
good grip here! Tell me, Sakura, why hasn't she been adopted yet?"
Sakura Kinomoto sighed, being an adoption official frequently lead to questions one would rather not answer. "Her parents died on
DH-1221 last week and we are still trying to locate any living relatives, but the colony's records were all lost when the EMPs hit. It will
be months before we know if she has relatives.
"I have a suggestion," Duo smiled. "Why don't you let Celcia Winner take care of her while they get it straightened out? She is a
wonderful foster mother and Vash would make a great older brother, even if it is only temporary."
Celcia had been standing there thinking the same thing and when Heero offered her the baby she smiled. "My son, not Vash, my
birthson, Eric, was her age when he died. She's so tiny." Celcia had tears in her eyes and Sakura felt another match had been made.
"How much longer will you be staying in the area?" Sakura asked. "We can't let the baby leave the immediate vicinity, I'm afraid."
"They'll be here through the end of the school term," Quatre volunteered entering the conversation with Trowa in hand. "They will remain
at the estate while we're gone on our honeymoon and then it's only fair to let Vash finish out the school year here with his friends."
"Then that will be just fine! Ms. Winner, if you would care to come by my office next week, we can file the paperwork for you to be
Adeena's foster parent for the time being if you like." Sakura was pleased and so were the representatives from the orphanage; it was
doubtful they'd identify any relatives anytime soon if at all.
"I think it would be lovely," Celcia smiled cradling the now yawning infant.
Heero looked distinctly jealous briefly then glanced at Duo who looked more than a little tired even to him. Moving next to his new
husband and wrapping a supportive arm around his waist, Heero asked quietly, "How you holding up, koi? You look a bit pale."
Leaning a tired head on Heero's shoulder, Duo softly answered, "I feel pretty beat, love. Sorry, but I guess I should've listened to Sally
and stayed put a while longer."
As soon as he heard a doctor's name mentioned, Heero became concerned. "Duo, what did Sally tell you to do? Are you dizzy or
anything?"
Duo chuckled softly then kissed Heero's cheek, "Worry wart! No, I'm not dizzy, just tired. Sally told me to go relax for awhile, my pulse
was a bit fast, I guess. Probably my blood pressure again, but this whole day has been like the wildest rollercoaster I've ever been on in
my life. It's one Hell of a ride, but it's exhausting."
"I'm confused, koi," Heero admitted. "How is it you are so much stronger from the work you've done outside and yet you are still
effected like this? Shouldn't that have made the difference for you?"
Duo, however, didn't get to answer. Quatre had been watching his friend like a hawk all day and confronted the newlyweds. "No,
Heero, it isn't going to make the difference for him as long as he fails to take the blood pressure regulating medication he was
prescribed."
Duo turned on his friend angrily, "Hey, Quatre, you promised to keep this between the two of us, what's up with turning me in like this?"
The pain in the violet eyes showed how badly Duo felt betrayed.
A single aquamarine eye regarded him evenly, though. "True, I promised that as long as you weren't married I'd keep quiet about this,
but you're married now and Heero has a right to know."
"I have a right to know *what*?!?" Heero was exasperated by the conspiracy of silence that had just been uncovered.
Duo looked away, clearly displeased, leaving Quatre to finish revealing the secrets they had hidden. Quatre, however, did not feel the
least bit guilty for revealing a secret he had kept knowing full well it would last less than a few days. He'd only discovered the truth
himself two days before when he'd spoken to Akheem regarding Duo's progress recovering from all of the health problems. "Heero, I'm
afraid that you have got a new problem on your hands but it is one I'm sure you can handle. Duo needs to take medication twice a day
to regulate his blood pressure, but I found out he hasn't been doing so. If he had been," he glared at his friend who, knowing he was
already going to get harassed by Heero chose to stick his tongue out at Quatre, causing Trowa to stifle a chuckle, "then he never would
have collapsed at the rehearsal and he'd probably still be going strong now."
"Traitor!" Duo accused, then laughed at how ridiculous he was being. "Sorry, guys, but after everything that happened because of the
drugs Smith had me on I feel terrible about taking pills. Now, Heero, I'll try to work harder on remembering to take them, just don't
bitch me out on our wedding day, okay?"
Heero pulled him close and kissed him tenderly. "You act as if you expect me to not understand, Duo, but I do. What happened was
horrible and it has changed how you react to things, I can understand that. However, I promised you in the desert a couple of days ago
that I was going to watch over you, I guess I'll just add this to my list of things to do, that's all."
Duo suddenly grew suspicious, "'List of things to do'? *What* list, Heero?"
Smirking and pulling Duo in to tightly encircle him with his arms, Heero acted as if he had to think it over. Just as Duo started to squirm
he relented and started listing things off. "Let's see, how to care for one highly valuable and totally irreplaceable baka? Hmm, first, make
sure he gets enough sleep. That's easy enough given the proper tools. Next, make certain he eats well. As long as we stay with Quatre
that's no problem, but sooner or later we need to get a place for ourselves which means jobs, bills, etc, so we'll wait on that worry. Most
important of all, however," he nibbled on a tender earlobe, "make certain he is given plenty of love and affection. Preferably multiple
daily doses as often as possible; and make sure he never goes to bed lonely!" He winked at Trowa who had pulled Quatre into his arms
as well. Trowa chuckled unable to hold it in any longer.
"Okay, I can live with that!" Duo grinned and leaned heavily against Heero. "But right now, I think I'll go follow Sally's advice and rest
for awhile. I want to make sure you remember that last part later, no da!"
Heero, now chuckling as Trowa whispered into Quatre's ear sending little shivers of anticipation down the blond's frame and feeling an
echo of desire in his own body, simply swept Duo off of his feet and into his arms. "Sorry, Trowa, Quatre, but let me take Sleepy Head
here somewhere to rest. Enjoy the party without us for awhile."
As Heero started to walk away Trowa called out, "Wait a minute, Heero, we have something for you two, first."
"Oooh! A present? Goody!" Duo perked up happily mainly because he really enjoyed where he was right then and almost anything
would have been well received.
Turning back to face his friends yet refusing to set Duo down, he asked, "What's up, Trowa?"
Quatre smiled and reached into his tuxedo jacket pulling out a long ivory envelope. "This is our wedding gift to you both. Take a look!"
He smiled happily as he snuggled back against his beloved.
Duo studiously opened the envelope wondering what it contained and suddenly shouted, "All right! Wow! This is great!" He wriggled
free and hugged his friends then spun to show Heero what it had contained. "Look, Heero! They gave us tickets for a cruise and a
week's vacation at Disney's Fantasy Paradise! And the flight for the cruise leaves tomorrow! We get a honeymoon after all!" His face
shone radiantly as he pulled Heero into a deep kiss.
Quatre laughed. "Did you really think I was going to let you two spend it stuck at the estate? Trowa and I already had reservations for
the Mediterranean, and I thought it would be good to spend time alone, you two still have a lot of catching up to do."
"Thank you both," Heero said with a smile, "Only problem is we don't exactly have much gift wise for you two just yet. After Vash and
the snake had their little 'shoot-out' in the gardens, I'm afraid my gift died before it could get planted."
Sudden awareness hit Duo like a ton of bricks. "What? Heero, you mean you really *did* intend on that rosebush being your gift to
them? I figured it was just one of your schemes to seduce me. After all," he grinned seductively, "that *is* what happened because of it;
well, it almost happened."
"Baka!" Heero laughed gently, "Yes, it really was intended as my gift to them. I was told that white roses meant unconditional love and if
I've ever met a couple who personified that highest form of love it was these two."
Quatre seemed awestruck. Trowa found words, however, "Thank you, Heero, your words alone are the most wonderful wedding gift
any couple could hope for. Don't you agree, Little One?"
"Yes, Trowa, I certainly do." Quatre glowed happily as he embraced his two dear friends. "I dare say that will last longer than anything
else we've been given. Your words and your friendship; both of you are the dearest friends. We are lucky to have you."
The mood was suddenly broken as a laughing blur intervened. "Daddy! Daddy!" Laurel giggled. "Come see what my friends brought
you!" She was all smiles and neither new father even bothered to resist her.
"Excuse us, gentlemen," Trowa smiled indulgently at his daughter. "I'm afraid the woman of the family wishes us to attend to other
matters." Laurel just grinned at the term "woman", so grown up and mature for someone so young and small.
"Certainly," Duo smirked, "don't keep your daughter waiting! It's her birthday, after all!"
"That's right, it is!" Quatre grinned letting Laurel grab onto one hand as she reached for Trowa's as well. "So, my birthday girl, what do
you want us to see?"
"Wait and be surprised! Come on!" She laughed, tugging the pair away.
Duo had a flash of insight as they disappeared together, a happy trio. "It's her drawing," he said in awe. "The three of them heading off
hand-in-hand like that, it's her drawing! The one over Quatre's desk in the office!"
Heero was stunned. "You're right, koi," he was shaking his head in amazement. The girl had saved his own life through her clairvoyance
as well as Duo's and Quatre's plus Wufei's if his guess was right. Yet somehow this small matter of the crayon drawing, so indistinct that
the eye-patch hadn't even been noticed until a visitor commented on it a week earlier, seemed to shock him. "The girl is truly astounding
in her predictions, isn't she? And good thing, too, otherwise I might have lost you to the damned secrets six months ago!"
Duo chuckled, "Well, you didn't lose me then, Heero, you wont lose me now. However, I do still think a bit of rest is a good idea. After
all, I've got big plans for tonight!" He kissed his new husband before they resumed their search for somewhere a bit quieter for Duo to
rest.
The remainder of the afternoon went smoothly and when the reception wound to a close, Heero went looking for Duo and found him
fast asleep under a tent set up for party guests to sit in if the sun got to be too much.
Alone, curled up comfortably on a blanket, Duo looked adorable in his black tux, tie loosened, shoes off, and completely at peace. The
braid had found its way into one hand and in many respects he had an air of innocence few adults ever attained. Heero hated to wake
him, but when he did, it was most satisfying. Duo, still slightly sleepy, moved to curl up in Heero's arms instead of on the blanket,
yawned once and nuzzled Heero's cheek. Kissing his beautiful lover, Heero simply grasped the tuxedo shoes in one hand and easily lifted
Duo up into his arms to carry him back to the waiting limousine. Duo drowsed happily cradled as he was, but woke enough to get his
shoes on and walk to where his friends awaited them acting for all the world as if he hadn't slept most of the way there.
Heero chuckled at this and the afternoon ended nicely. All in all, as wedding days went, theirs had been an outstandingly good one and
they'd have wonderful memories to share with their two best friends for the rest of their lives.
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