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.
---------
//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---