Title: Letters from Home :: Dreams come True
Part: 7/7 (epilogue on the way) (plus maybe another related series.)
Author: Oriana
Pairings: 1x2
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Uh, it's confusing me too. *pats readers*
Notes: I know this part took me forever. You see, all my muses had packed up and left me. Add that to the fact that I was in a pretty deep depression and couldn't spit out any sap if my life depended on it. *returns to typing up the fanfic*
Oh, and the quick little lyrics are from the opening theme of Star Trek: Enterprise
P.S. This part is in Duo's POV.

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//It's been a long road
Getting from there to here
It's been a hard road
But our time is drawing near//


I was napping on my couch, a favorite pastime as you may have already guessed, when I slowly became aware of a soft, insistent knocking on my door. "Nnngh... Coming..."

Dare I to hope? I'd been dreaming a wonderful sort of dream, one that involved a certain golden-skinned man... I pushed those thoughts away before my mind could run amok with them, and made for he door as the knocking became louder.

"Dammit, Duo, why can't you get a doorbell...?" The comment was muttered quietly in the hall outside, but my heart leapt as I recognized the voice that it originated from.

I still swear I flew the rest of the way to the door, flinging it open and launching myself into his arms. I felt him laughing softly as I clung to him, burying my face into his shoulder. It wasn't until I felt a gentle tugging on the end of my t-shirt that I noticed the small girl standing beside the man I was currently glomping. I reluctantly detached myself from the lovely warmth that was Heero, kneeling down until I could greet her at her own height. "Hi. My name's Duo."

She smiled, a dimple popping up in her cheek. "I'm Emma. Heero talks about you a lot. He told me ALL about you, 'specially how he wants to mar-mmph!" The little girl glared up at Heero, who had clamped his hand over her mouth.

I choked back a laughing fit that dared to overtake me, staggering back until I hit the couch and motioned for them to join me. I was more than a little bit surprised when Emma scrambled into my lap, but Heero just grinned - he actually GRINNED - and ruffled her hair.

"Don't scare Duo, sweetie... He's not used to you." He plucked the little girl from my lap then, depositing her on his own.

Huh.

Interesting.

I propped my chin on my fists, leaning forward and staring at the pair that they made. She was ensconced against him, auburn hair mixing with chocolate brown as he bent down to listen to something she was saying. I felt a sudden, irrational flash of jealousy at how close they were. She'd had him all to herself for almost a year now, unbeknownst to me, while Heero and I had only recently been re-united.

Emma's stomach growled, and I laughed and pointed to the kitchen. "There's drinks and snacks in the big cupboard on the left. Ice is in the refrigerator."

She was gone a second later, clattering sounds emerging from the next room. Taking advantage of that temporary fact, I edged closer to the man beside me. "Na, Heero..."

He slid an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. "Hai?"

"Does she know?"

His brows knit together in confusion. "Know what?"

"About..." I waved a hand helplessly through the air, starting at me and ending on his chest. "You know."

"Aa..." His eyes lit in understanding. "Yes, she does."

"How much DOES she know, exactly?" I don't know why I was pressing him about this of all things. I just -- my thought pattern was cut off short when he leaned in close to my face, fingers ghosting across my mouth.

"She knows that I love you."

I swear to whatever gods there are that my heart almost stopped, right then and there. It at least skipped a few beats.

I mean, he'd said it before, but suddenly it seemed immensely real, as it had not the first time. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out - and then he had covered the remaining distance between us, and his lips were on mine.

===========


I was thoroughly enjoying myself, halfway sprawled across Heero's lap, when a jumble of sounds shoved their way through the haze that was comfortably surrounding my brain. I pulled away; I could feel my face heating as he gave me first an odd look, then realized why I had stopped.

"Oh..." His face joined mine in all it's crimson glory, straightening his shirt collar and sleeves. He reached out to do the same to me, then apparently though better of it and walked the short distance to the kitchen, poking his head around the door.

I followed, relieved to see Emma sitting peacefully at the table and having no idea what had been occurring in the adjoining room. This was most definitely a good thing - Heero had said she knew how he felt about me, but I really didn't feel like giving a small child a talk about the birds and the bees, and how when some birds like other birds... well, yeah, you get the picture.


Grasping Heero's hand, we entered, and I smiled at the snack she'd fixed herself. Spread out on the table were three different kinds of chips, a large glass of foaming orange soda, and a half-peeled banana that had been abandoned in favor of a stack of Oreos. My kind of girl. "Mind if we join you?"

She looked up at us, swallowed, and favored us with a milk-mustache framed smile. "Sure! I mean, it IS your kitchen, huh?" The little girl handed me a cookie, and I poured myself a tall glass of milk before pulling up a chair and joining her at the table. I hid a smile when Heero settled himself behind me, arms leaning on the back of my chair.

"Well, actually, it's his and his partners..." He raised an eyebrow. "Where IS Wufei, by the way? You didn't kick him out or anything, did you?"

I placed a hand against my heart in mock horror and shock. "Me? Would I do something like that?!" I shrugged sheepishly at the look he gave me, adding hastily, "Nah; he's off visiting Sally. He left two days ago, so it's just been me here for a while. You have no idea how glad I am to see you. You don't want to know what I've been doing to amuse myself..." I caught myself and clamped my mouth shut, remembering small ears in the vicinity.

Heero rested his chin on the crown of my head, his breath tickling my ears as he turned his head to the side. "No, I probably don't." One hand idly reached down, toying with my braid. "'missed you."

"Missed you, too, Mr. Emotional. Almost drove Wufei nuts."
A laugh. Gods, how I love to hear him laugh.

Glancing over at Emma, I saw she'd fallen asleep on the table, face obscured by her hair and pillowed on her arms. I grinned, placing a finger of my mouth and pointing silently to her.

Heero leaned down and whispered in my ear. "She must be exhausted...do you have an extra room?" He straightened, scooping her up in his arms and looking around uncertainly. Taking his arm, I led him to Wufei's room, currently unoccupied.

"Please ignore any katanas or justice banners...I don't know if he took them with him or not." Pushing the door open, I breathed a sigh of relief - Wu'd taken his precious katana with him. No one would be losing fingers any time soon, not to mention more important body parts. I pulled down the covers as Heero gently tugged off Emma's shoes and set her down on the bed, draping the blankets back over her.

I jumped slightly as I felt an arm slide sneakily around my waist. "Heero!" I glanced pointedly at the sleeping girl.

"I know." A devilish smirk appeared on his face and he swept me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, one hand pinching my ass as he nearly sprinted out of the room and tossed me on my bed in the other room. My eyes bugged out as he jumped on top of me, and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

He pulled away, a perplexed look spreading across his features. "What?"

"That was just so...so...random.... of you!" I drew my arms out from between our bodies and pushed his hair out of his face, staring up into his eyes. "So untypical! What possessed you?!"

He nuzzled my neck, rolling off of me and pulling me against his chest until he was spooned comfortably around my body. "I have no idea. But if it gets me next to you, it can come back for a visit anytime."

I rolled my eyes. "You're nuts."

"Takes one to know one." He planted a sloppy kiss on my lips before I could respond, grinning as I wiped my mouth off and glared at him, though my heart wasn't in it.

I turned over in his arms, burying my face in his shirt and inhaling deeply, not wanting to forget this moment. //Everything's gonna be all right for now...as long as...as long as...// I fought to keep my train of thought, but my body had other ideas and I could feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep. My eyes slid slowly shut, warmth overcoming me.

I dreamed about Heero.

---end Letters From Home, part 7---