Disclaimer: Not mine. Duh.

Warning: Super-Bitch!Relena. Written one hundred percent in order to get me back into the fandom, so probably horribly stilted.

Christmases Past

It was that pink limo. It had always kind've chafed, seeing something already gaudy turned super-ostentatious by that horrible paint job. And of course, everything it entailed about the woman riding inside. Frilly, frou-frou, sweet, innocent little Relena Peacecraft, the girl nearly like a child.

Duo pinched his nose and glared at the tuxedo Heero had rented for him. So he was being mean. Couldn't he be, at least in his own head? It wasn't his fault the girl was a brat.

He sighed and pinched a little bit harder. Okay. Heero wanted him to be there at that woman's horrible little Christmas Ball, and by God, he would make it. So what if they hadn't spoken to each other since the last time he'd seen that god-awful limo? She'd thankfully scrapped the piece of shit after the uprising and had gone for a sleek silver thing that Trowa ooh'ed and ahh'ed over every time he saw it.

And if he was fair, he wouldn't blame the poor, abused machine for what the bi – brat had chosen to do. And it was Heero. Never in his life had he been able to refuse a request made by that stoic bastard, and today would fall in line with the rest of them. He'd known that as soon as Heero had tentatively brought it up over dinner two weeks ago. The very first moment 'Duo, Relena's hosting a Christmas party' passed those lips, Duo knew he was sunk.

So here he was, in his room, facing off against the penguin suit Heero had graciously paid for (Duo wasn't a damn saint, he couldn't be expected to both attend and willingly pay money for a damn suit). He should just put it on. Gods knew he'd spent enough time primping his damn self in the bathroom; thank everything Heero had gone in to work to file a few documents (or whatever the excuse had been; it had given Duo some privacy and that was all that mattered).

Heero didn't know why Duo and Relena didn't get along. He didn't know why the two of them never spoke to one another. They went out of their ways to avoid even seeing each others' face. And no one could fool Heero Yuy; he knew something had happened. But Duo had always laughed it off and said, "princesses and paupers don't usually blend well, Heero," or some other nonsense, and Duo couldn't be arsed to care what Relena said on the matter.

That fucking limo. He grabbed the damn tux and got to work, pulling the pressed silk pants on and grumbling about that stupid pink car. He'd fallen for it, same as Heero and Quatre and Noin and whoever else had ever seen the wretched thing. Because he'd thought she was kind and innocent and the only reason they'd never really gotten along was because, well, because princesses and paupers usually didn't blend very well.

And he and Heero had managed to get past all the bullshit between them, Heero's stoicism and Duo's clown act, and beyond anything that could be conceived possible, they managed to form a relationship, and Duo had still been high on the idea of it all when she'd arrived in that horrid pink monstrosity and stood in front of him as he prepared to move his things from Hilde's salvage yard to Heero's condo. (Easier for Duo to just get another job than for Heero to give up his Protect the World mentality, after all.) He remembered beaming at the girl because what the hell wasn't there to beam about? He could actually understand the whole 'the world is rosy' shit that always appeared in romances.

He pulled on the silk shirt and struggled with the buttons on the cuffs. Who the hell invented these things? You needed a servant to put the stupid things on.

He took a deep breath through his nostrils and contorted his fingers until he could slide one button through its hole. The second took a little longer; he was out of practice with his left hand. He would have to go to the shooting range in the next few days, or else the weakness would keep him up at nights.

She hadn't been smiling at him. That had been his first clue, and back then, when the uprising had only been over for a few days, his entire body tensed. He was ready for a gunshot, for a declaration of war, for the news that Zechs, who had managed to ooze himself out of the Libra in time, had gone psycho again. He remembered the ache of adrenaline in his system when she called out to her butler and took the proffered brown lunch bag. He'd expected a finger, or a hand, and his need to find Heero had pounded through him until he'd felt like his stagnation was Heero's death knell.

Then she'd handed it to him and said, "stay away from him."

Duo nearly ripped the damn jacket sleeve off as he shoved his arm through. If it weren't for the limo, he may have seen it coming. It wouldn't have been as big a shock.

Well, again, the limo was not to blame. But as he looked back, he could see all those little things – the stalker-like qualities, the hero worship, the mad race to become everything he might want her to be – and then the things she would say – ordering Heero to come after her, demanding to see him, the constant need for him – he might have been able to guess it all.

But he'd been so happy, so caught up in those rose-colored glasses, and his mind was only on the end of the battles and starting a new life with Heero, that he refused to see it. So when he'd taken the bag – pure reflex – and opened it to find wads and wads of bills inside, he'd felt sick so suddenly he'd felt bile rise in the back of his throat. She'd been bribing him.

Bribing him. To stay away from Heero.

This time, he had to lean his head against the bureau to cool himself down. He fumbled with the tie for a moment, nearly tearing the thing in frustration when the knot wouldn't cooperate, when strong, callused fingers came from behind and plucked the thing from his hands. "Duo."

And he sighed again, his shoulders slumping. Heero. He let Heero undo the ratty tie and do it properly. Finally Duo met Heero's eyes in the mirror. They were dark, hooded, watching Duo's every move, and Duo knew it wasn't just because he'd come back from work. Duo tried on a grin, but Heero just narrowed his gaze further, and Duo sighed. He was doing that a lot. "Thanks," he said, and motioned briefly toward the tie. Heero huffed and slid it tight, finally curling the collar over it. "I hate these things."

Heero did, too, but he didn't bother to comment on it. They both knew Duo's reaction wasn't to the damn suit. So Heero was going to play the silent game and wait for Duo to cave in and talk.

But this time, this one time, he wouldn't. Because after he'd thrown the money into the little bitch's face – literally, to the point of gently snapping the cord around a wad of the bills and tossing them straight into her pretty blond hair – he'd never spoken about it again. He'd simply moved in, and he'd quickly learned that Heero considered Relena to be like a little sister. And he'd been so obsessed with Heero finding his own happiness that he'd kept his damn mouth shut about the entire thing, until it was too late and there was no point to it.

So he maintained the silence he'd begun four years ago and just picked at the tie, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong. Heero handed him a pair of black socks – silk, too, only these were bought, and Duo rolled his eyes. Of course Heero would go all the way with this, trying to please Duo. Obnoxious trait of his, and absolutely impossible to not love. And then Heero was changing, too, and Duo took his fill of eye candy. It was his due, after all.

Heero was even more gorgeous as a young adult than as a teen. As a teen, there were still some edges and corners that hadn't been filled out. Never enough to be considered gawky, but enough to make it apparent that he hadn't had time to grow. Now, though, now he stood just an inch above Duo, malnutrition at an early age stunting Duo's growth, and he'd filled himself out. His arms had the smooth ripple of deltoid to tricep to bicep. A couple of veins sat patiently along the edges of the skin of his forearm, trailing down into those hands, curling now around his own cuffs. Duo came over to help.

While he thought he looked like a fool in the suit, Heero was already filling it in rather admirably. His torso sunk just a bit into his waist, making a noticeable dip in the shirt until it tucked into his silk pants. Beneath, already hidden were the equally defined glutes and quads, hourglassing past his knees to his calves. Duo could feel the heat of Heero's skin beneath the thin fabric of the shirt. And while he studied the button and wondered at how he'd managed to get his own done on his own, he knew every inch of it all, and it made his breath stutter. His heart lurched in his chest.

The feeling was the same as the first, and he couldn't believe it. Other parts had mellowed with time – the excitement of having Heero return home every night, the way they'd hugged each other through their nightmares, rare now. The morning kisses. The dinners, kept warm until Duo returned to his job at the mechanic's. The laundry, such a new experience.

All that had faded into routine, some even annoying (the laundry topped that list), but this. These moments, when Heero's scent enveloped him and Heero's skin touched his, and this moment felt like the only one he ever needed. It didn't need the knowledge of how gorgeous Heero was or how perfect the man's hand around him felt. It was the knowledge that Heero was beside him, close enough to breathe in, and knowing without doubt that the man wasn't going anywhere. Security. Comfort. That elusive love. Duo reveled in it again, as he always did, from the first moment Heero had grabbed his wrist and pulled him in for a kiss and demanded they live together, that Duo never leave his side.

He held Heero's wrist even after he fastened the cuff, and Heero merely bent his own head down until they both stood together. Heero's other hand touched Duo's shoulder blade, testing the familiar resistance, and touched his brow to Duo's. The moment stretched, a trail of silk, not rubber, a thread in their tapestry, and it was perfect.

He would never give this feeling away. It was priceless.

Relena's ball was as ostentatious as he'd feared. She'd rented the concert hall for the event, something which shouldn't be allowed on principle alone. It was decorated with as many silver-glitter items as the state could produce, and each sat on some corner of the wall or hung from the ceiling. It gave glitz to the monochrome glam on the men, which was fine enough, he supposed, only the women wore reds and yellows and greens and the silver sparkles weren't really helping any of them out. Except for Relena, Duo noticed instantly, because she'd chosen a pale pink dress (ugh, memories of the limo) that sparkled well with the silver.

Heero, at least, had the sense to not rush the reunion, and Duo was granted the dubious honor of meeting several people Heero obviously knew through work or association with Relena, and decidedly not because he enjoyed their winning personalities. Duo hated the pomp, but Heero seemed content enough. And it wasn't about meeting all of the morons Heero was forced to deal with through work, any more than Duo would care if Heero knew Joe, who broke his car once a month without fail, or Elliott, who hovered over Duo's shoulder when he worked on the man's twenty-year-old 'antique'. Duo knew he was there to be reintroduced to Her Highness, and by god, he would muscle his way through it.

He steered clear of the liquor, however.

It was over an hour before Heero dared bring Duo closer to Relena. Duo hadn't missed how she'd spent the entire night thus far avoiding the hell out of the both of them, and the lines on Heero's face were getting deeper and deeper by the minute. So Duo took the damn initiative and just walked over to the woman.

What? The night wasn't going to end until they'd gotten it the hell out of the way, and the place was starting to chafe against his nerves. Could a party be more boring?

Relena saw him coming and gave a panicked deer-in-headlights expression. He'd chosen a moment when she'd been engaged with some old fart's conversation, thus unable to escape, and she looked like she desperately wanted to bolt while Nearly-Bald went on with his spiel on last quarter's finances.

"Relena," Heero said, just behind Duo, and she finally excused herself from Chubby and came to greet Heero. Duo stepped happily out of the way.

"Heero." She held out her hands, and he clasped them. They stopped just short of kissing each other's cheeks. Duo nearly grimaced, but there was that tiny little smile on Heero's face, and he sighed. He was such a sucker.

She turned her gaze on Duo, and those baby blue eyes of hers frosted over. "Duo. How wonderful of you to join us."

Ooh, pretty pastry voice. He wondered if the taste of frosting in her voice was as poisonous as it seemed. "Relena. I'm not really the party type, so I usually just hang back."

She let go of Heero's hands – damn straight – and cocked her head a bit, her smile curling from polite to playful. "Oh, I'm certain you like parties well enough."

Duo opened his mouth to say 'real parties, yeah,' then realized that might not work out well for the whole get-along-with-to-please-Heero thing. "You'd be surprised," he said finally, unable to think of anything else that wasn't pithy, and looked around. So. Much. Glitter. "How's your holiday been so far?" he asked, flailing around for a topic.

"Good. Yours?"

Duo chanced a glance to the side, only to find Heero's eyes narrowed at the two of them. Well, hell. "It's going great. Heero and I both got off work for both Christmas Eve and Christmas, so it'll be the first time we're able to have both days off. I'm really looking forward to it."

It was true, but it had the added bonus of making Heero soften into another tiny smile, and that made Duo gushy and warm and fuzzy and completely unprepared, dammit.

"Oh? Can you afford to take both days off?"

The voice was pure concern, but Duo's back straightened, anyway. Her smile was perfect, not too large or too small, her head still tilted, though a little less, as if concerned. But those damn eyes were spitting at him, and he couldn't help but remember the last time they met.

"Keep your money. I'd rather go back to the streets than take this trash."

He took a deep breath. "Actually, we have enough money to start planning a vacation. Thanks for the concern, though."

"Oh? I guess even mechanics can make enough if they're with someone."

Duo didn't bother asking how she knew about his job; he knew a few things about her, and it wouldn't surprise him at all to hear Heero had spoken about him to her. It was nice, though, to know. Another warm fuzzy. "I guess so."

"That's wonderful. I would never have thought you'd manage it." She flipped back her hair and waved away another glass of wine from a passing waiter.

"Well, when you try, all sorts of things can happen." Duo waved him away, too, though he suddenly wanted to get hammered.

"All sorts, hm? I've seen even hard effort fail before, however. You must be lucky." Saccharine smile. Stupid pink glitter dress.

"Luck is a part of skill, you know." He tried to smile back.

"It must be hard, though, struggling through such a mediocre job. Heero must help out a lot."

Smile gone. Screw it. "I pull my own weight, thanks."

"Oh? I would think he would simply help you through, if you asked. Didn't he always do that for you during the war?"

"I wouldn't ask."

"No? What a relief. Though I can't imagine he would like someone who couldn't pull their own weight in some way or another. It's good that you can. Though why aren't you in Preventers? Didn't they want you to join?"

He could hardly speak through his gritted teeth. "I wasn't willing."

"And they didn't offer you anything to get you to come? I'm surprised. They offered great deals to Heero for coming to join them."

"Guess I just can't be bought, then, huh?"

Duo stopped there, appalled. Relena had the deer-in-headlights look again. Adrenaline shot through his veins. His breath gasped in and out. Good god. His hands were even curled into fists. What the hell was wrong with him? He really was out of practice. Working as a mechanic was a lot more honest than being a thief or a Gundam pilot, but what the hell had possessed him to be that honest?

He turned on his heel and walked away.

What the hell had he been thinking? This entire horrible night was for Heero, and just like that, Duo had ruined it. Any chance to make up with the damn princess was gone; the old anger and hatred was churning up all over again. And dammit, it wasn't his fault! The little bi – brat was to blame for both fiascos. But he was in charge of himself. Even if he had no self-control when it came to this shit. For Heero's sake, he should have...

A light touch, and the wind was knocked right out of him. Just the tips of those fingers on his shoulder, and nothing else mattered. Even now. "Duo?"

He turned to Heero. The man's eyes were dark again, scanning him. Reading him to his core. And Duo could only give Heero a small smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. A tired smile, but one dredged up just for Heero. Something in his lover uncurled. Ridiculous that after all this time, Heero thought Duo's hatred could be turned on him. "Sorry, Heero. I guess we really don't mix, huh?"

But those eyes only narrowed, and those fingers dug gently into Duo's skin. "What secret are you keeping from me?"

Duo gusted out another sigh. How the hell many was that now? "It's not really a secret, Heero. Just some old shit that happened between us." He held up a hand. "It's old news, and it's not really my story to tell." He couldn't even come up with a reason to tell it. Not after all that time. "Just... I'm sorry. I know you wanted us to get along. And it's been so long, I guess I thought..."

But Duo didn't want to say anything that might hint that Relena was at fault, because they both knew damn well that Duo had a temper on him. But Heero's eyes narrowed, and Duo knew he'd filled in the blanks. I guess I thought we could, too. But I was wrong.

And Heero left his side.

Duo didn't have to watch Heero's retreating back to know the man was going after Relena. Well, shit. If that was how the night was going to go down, then there was no way he wasn't getting drunk. Or at least tipsy. Tipsy would be nice. Facing Heero down while drunk never really ended well for him, anyway.

It was only after he got the drink that he realized an even better idea would be to get his and Heero's coats and prepare to head the hell home. An argument in public wouldn't really sit well with either of them.

He headed to the front, only to get waylaid by Quatre. The blond was in a white suit, which looked remarkably good on him, and he was of course accompanied by Trowa. Duo grinned at the sight of the two of them. "Hey!" he said, finally happy to be meeting another person at the godforsaken party from hell, and Quatre drew him into a hug.

"Duo! I didn't think I'd ever see you at one of these!" And Quatre pulled him back and looked him up and down. "Don't you avoid Relena's parties?"

"Heero gave me puppy eyes," Duo said, and the words drew a snort from Trowa. Their greeting was one of clasped hands, but the warmth was there nonetheless. Duo grinned and asked after Catherine, and for a moment, things were perfect again.

And then Heero charged up, and there were no puppies in his eyes.

"We're going home," Heero said, as if Duo hadn't arrived at just an idea a few minutes ago. He grabbed Duo's hand, pulled his drink from it, and handed it to Quatre.

"Nice seeing you two," Duo said, and caught the silent 'puppy eyes, huh?' look from Trowa. He stuck his tongue out at the man. Only after Quatre choked out a laugh did he remember that he was wearing a tux.

Getting the jackets was an awkward, silent affair, and waiting for the car to be brought up was pure, freezing torture. Duo huddled into his jacket and scowled out at nothing before Heero finally sighed and pulled him close. Ah. He snuggled into the crook of Heero's arm. Angry, but not too angry. Good. Duo would've hated that.

But when they were finally in the car, the fight Duo was expecting didn't begin. Though he darted glances in Heero's direction, all he got were impressions of white knuckles around the steering wheel and that familiar scowl on that gorgeous face, until finally they were home.

Heero lived on the seventh floor of a fifteen-story condominium, and they endured the awkward silence in the elevator before they finally reached their destination. Duo stepped in, ready to make for the living room, then stopped as Heero took his jacket. By the time Heero had hung both his and Duo's in the closet, Duo was at his wits' end. "Jesus, Heero, just fuckin' yell at me or something."

But Heero just stood there at the entrance of their home, watching Duo with those hooded eyes. Duo's heart leaped to his throat. But Heero had held onto him outside the concert hall, so he wasn't about to storm off. Right?

Duo cleared his throat. "I – when it happened, I didn't want to tell you. It – I mean – I dunno, I was mad, but I didn't..." Thinking back on it, he had no idea why he didn't rant about it to anyone. Even Quatre didn't know. "She was your friend. And, I dunno, your sister? And I didn't want you to choose between the two of us, because – I guess, at the time, I wasn't sure who you'd choose." He was not blushing. "And then it didn't matter, because it didn't work."

Duo watched those cobalt eyes dissect his words and then jumped as they narrowed. "She bribed you."

His words gave absolutely nothing away. Duo nodded.

"To, what? Help me choose her over you?"

Those words cracked a couple emotions in them, but they were so unexpected Duo stilled for a moment, uncomprehending. Then he stiffened all over again. "What the – she didn't tell you!"

Heero snorted and finally stepped forward. "Of course she didn't. When I demanded an answer, she just started crying. All she could do is apologize."

Duo tried to imagine the girl crying and apologizing and felt his brain crack under the pressure. "You tricked me!"

"You lied to me." That sharp glare pierced into Duo, destroying him for the first time. It had been so long since he'd seen it. "Why didn't you tell me she tried to coerce you? Did you not think it my right to know she was manipulating me?"

"She wasn't," Duo said. "If she tried to do such a thing–"

"If she wasn't trying to manipulate my life, then what was she doing?"

"She..." Duo blinked. Ah. "She wanted me to stay away from you."

Heero stilled. He actually stilled, frozen, a remake of the statue David, before storming up to Duo and clutching his arms. "How is that not manipulating me?"

Duo blinked, dazed by the fury in Heero's voice, amazed the fury swooped around him and not through him. "It was. I just didn't see it that way."

From the tension in Heero's fingers, the effort to not shake him was immense. "And just how did you see it?"

Duo licked his lips. Up close, Heero's eyes were always bluer than the deepest oceans. But now they were stormy skies, outer space itself, deep and dark and deadly. Cold. "She was trying to push me away from you. She wanted me gone from your side because she wanted to be with you. And all I could think was, no. No. I can't let her. I don't want to be kept from your side."

There was no warning. The feral growl was loosed the same moment Heero's lips devoured his own, nearly tearing into his skin, until Duo fell into the void and allowed Heero's tongue access, until Heero was pulsing into Duo's warmth and Duo was destroyed, inch by inch. Heero backed him into the sofa and pushed until Duo fell, nearly floundering, onto the cushions, and Heero surged over him, a dark insistent rush. Heero dug a knee into Duo's groin, rubbed until Duo keened ad jerked up into the motion, and Heero pressed him down again, and again, covering Duo's face with his hands, tilting his head back until Duo thought his spine might break, hovering over him like a hawk over its prey as he pulled every inch of Duo's nerves to his skin. And only then, when nothing else mattered, did he pull away and glare down into Duo's eyes. And Duo, after all those years, was lost. "I love you," Heero said fiercely, as if claiming victory over a hard-won battle, and those eyes glittered. "I love you. Never, never, never hold back from me."

Duo smiled. "I won't. I can't, idiot."

Those hands clutched tight to Duo's cheeks, those fingers digging into the baby hairs on Duo's scalp. "I won't lose you. Not to her. Not to anyone. Not ever."

Duo finally raised his own hands, traced a path from Heero's brows to his jaw, letting just his fingertips rest on that warm skin. "I'm never going anywhere, Heero. She could never buy me from you."

Heero growled and took claim once more, and Duo let him, giving freely, amazed as always that it could continue being like this. He nearly wanted to thank Relena for giving him this sign of Heero's love for him, and nearly chuckled at the thought.

"I will never let her near you again," Heero snarled, and he attacked Duo's neck.

Duo laughed, even as the need curled lower and lower in his gut. "That's good," he said. "Sounds perfect to me."

"I'll deal with her," Heero promised, his breath hot on Duo's neck.

"Mm," Duo replied noncommittally, raising his head to give Heero more access. "Have at."

And Heero did.