CHAPTER THREE:

 

Duo crawled across the page of the manga, and plopped down in the middle of it, eyes reading each word with its usual intensity. It looked like Akira-san was finally going to confess his undying love to Toshu-kun. Ah, the joys of reading a well-written shounen-ai story. He crawled back to the end of the book and out of it, reaching down to turn to a new page. He crawled back up and continued, ignoring the rather loud sounds of Heero’s fingers typing away on his laptop.

 

Duo was currently on his bed, and raising up his eyes, he stole another glance at his silent companion. Sighing softly, he got back on his hands and knees and continued the page-turning ritual. Sometimes, he could swear that Heero was treating him a bit differently these days.

 

Two long weeks had gone by since his ‘shrinking’ incident and Duo was beginning to get used to his new height. Unfortunately, the earlier days had been filled with Quatre offering to help him in his toilette and the others wondering how he was ever going to use the bathroom. But, surprisingly, it had been Heero that had taken most of the responsibility. The Japanese pilot had assumed the role of Duo’s caretaker and had made that clear to every one else.

 

Much to the ex-pilot’s chagrin, he had found himself riding behind Heero’s hooded shirt whenever they went out. Yes, you got it. Out. Heero would offer to take Duo to a park or to the grocery on his turns. Duo felt that he ought to be embarrassed by the way Heero treated him, but yet, he couldn’t help feeling a bit pampered, spoiled and giddy with joy at the entire experience. If he were in normal size, Heero would have never done such a thing. His presence was always rebuffed or unappreciated and Duo couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter at the thought that his ‘little’ self was getting all the attention he had silently longed for. Big Duo was wailing inside.

 

“Hey…”

 

He snapped his head up as Heero came down to crouch beside the bed. Heero rested his head upon the bed and pinned molten blue depths on the kitten, a look that sent Duo’s pulses and tail and ears twitching in agitation. “What is it?” He snapped rather harshly, not wanting to betray how much the warm look was affecting him.

 

Please, dear readers, forgive Duo’s behavior, but having to deal with a cold and blank look most of the time and now this…it was too much.

 

Heero smiled and reached out to help Duo turn the next page of his book. “I have to go out for a while. Do you want to follow me?”

 

“Gee…I thought you were just going to dump me in your hood again and head on out.”

 

Heero shrugged. “I thought you liked me taking you out.”

 

“No, I don’t.”

 

Heero winced inwardly, but managed to keep his expression as neutral as ever. He refused to acknowledge that the little sentence had hurt…a lot. “That’s fine, Duo. You don’t have to come with me. I am sorry if I have been such a burden to you.” He rose to his feet quickly and reached for the jacket that had been lying across his bed. Shrugging into it quickly, he brushed his unruly locks and placed a quick smile on his face.

 

“See you in a little while. I just have to go return my books at the library.”

 

And hardly waiting for Duo to say a word, Heero walked out of the room.

 

“Nice going, Duo. He was offering to be nice and you just had to turn him down,” Sighing in defeat, Duo tried to focus his attention back to the manga before him.

 

Hn…looked like Akira-san wasn’t going to do the deed after all.

 

Like Duo…Akira was afraid to show his true feelings.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Heero stacked up his books carefully, before slipping them into his bag. Thanking the kind librarian with a slight bow, he walked out of the cool building and into the humid evening streets. The large clock in the middle of the town chimed for the new hour and the Japanese boy sighed heavily. He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, his thoughts not really centered on his destination. He couldn’t stop thinking about his little kitt…Duo, back home.

 

You act like you own him or something!

 

A slight giggle from his left caused him to raise dull blue eyes to the couple beside him. Two guys, who looked, oh so much in love, were holding hands and throwing coins into the large water fountain that was in the middle of the small park. Heero could vaguely hear their hushed wishes and felt something stir within him as he watched them seal it with a loving kiss.

 

That would never happen in this lifetime. At least, not with him.

 

“Why don’t you try to make a wish?”

 

Heero spun around quickly to stare into laughing black eyes. They belonged to a woman who looked like she might have been a gypsy or something.

 

“Who are you?” Heero asked softly, although his eyes had chilled into cold chips of ice.

 

“Oh…no need to get all homicidal on me, Heero Yuy…”

 

“How do you know my name?”

 

The woman laughed out loud in glee, her bracelet-laden wrists waving up and down as she twirled around in circles. Heero stole a quick glance around him to see if anyone else was staring at them. But to his chagrin, he found out that no one seemed to either care or even looked at his direction.

 

“They can’t see me, so you need not worry your pretty little head.”

 

Heero snorted and began to walk away. “Whoever you are, I am not interested. So go away and please leave me alone.”

 

“But I can’t do that, Heero-kun.”

 

“Stop calling me that! Now get lost, before I really lose my temper!”

 

The woman held a pained look of suffering on her face before breaking out into another wide grin. “Listen to me, Heero, after all this concerns Duo’s predicament.”

 

Heero froze in his tracks and tightened his hands into fists. “What do you mean?”

 

“I bet you are still wondering who did such a thing to Duo, ne? You have searched for me and haven’t found me for the past two weeks, right? Well, here I am! Ready and willing to help you!”

 

“I don’t need your help.” He began to walk away again, when his path was blocked.

 

“What do you mean, you don’t need my help? Don’t you wish to see Duo back to his normal size?”

 

When Heero didn’t answer, the woman’s eyes widened in dawning comprehension. “My word, Heero Yuy, that is rather selfish of you, isn’t it?”

 

Heero still refused to reply. His face was now a mask of stubborn pride and it would take pliers or molten lava to burn his skin before he opened up to this psycho.

 

“So, you think that with Duo at this size, you can express the way you really feel about him without getting hurt in return, ne? But you are hurt, Heero Yuy. Beneath that tough façade and demeanor lies a heart that just wants to be free to love and care without any worries or fear of rejection. I am correct, aren’t I?”

 

Heero simply ignored her and began to walk away again. His footsteps were now heavy…with guilt, knowing that every word she said was right.

 

“If you really care about him, Heero, then you will have to help him! Once you have the guts to tell him how you really feel, then and only then can he get back to his normal height!”

 

“What do you me…?”

 

His words died in his throat as he seemed to have turned back a second too late. The gypsy had disappeared, leaving only the scent of some exotic perfume in her wake.

 

“Tell him…how I really feel…” He whispered, placing a hand over his chest as a low heat seemed to flow to his chest. “I…I…ca…”

 

“Hey mister! Wanna buy a flower? Please mister. Will you please buy a flower from me? Give it to the one special person in your life, please?”

 

Heero stared at the blind girl with the tray full of red stem roses. Her dog stood obediently by her side watching his movements with wariness.

 

“Hai. Here you go.” He paid for a dozen and had to smile at the girl’s excited ‘thank you’ in return. Cradling the flowers within the crook of his arm, Heero began the long walk back home.

 

I am going to tell him. I am going to tell Duo how I really feel.

 

And with that thought firmly lodged in his mind, Heero picked up his pace and ran all the way back to his waiting kitten.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Duo sat obediently in the small specially made - okay, it was actually a bowl - bathtub filled with soapsuds that almost threatened to drown him. Quatre was trying very hard to figure out a way to wash his tail, for his last few attempts had caused him to almost lose his finger to Duo’s teeth. Now at his wits end, he turned worried aquamarine depths to his partner.

 

“Will you help me with it, Trowa? I really don’t feel like getting bitten again.”

 

The uni-banged pilot nodded in acceptance. He walked up to the bowl and held out the tiny brush to Duo. “Do you want to do it yourself, Duo?” He asked softly.

 

“Where’s Heero?”

 

Quatre and Trowa exchanged glances with one another, before the blond decided to answer. “He isn’t back, Duo. I know it’s late and you would rather prefer him giving you a bath, but…”

 

Duo sighed and blew some bubbles from the suds. “It’s okay. You guys are doing a good job anyway,” he added with a reassuring smile. He spun around and offered his tail. “Make sure you get every part of it, but please watch how you poke that thing!”

 

Thirty minutes later, found a well-fed and contented kitty Duo, lying on top of Wufei’s hair - much to the Chinese boy’s dismay - curled up into a ball and half way to la-la land. Quatre and Trowa had…eh…retired for the night and from the noises coming from their room, it was one heck of a show that they were performing tonight.

 

“I swear, they get louder and louder every time,” Duo mumbled, unable to stop the pang of jealousy that flared through him.

 

“I thought you were asleep,” Wufei drawled lazily, as he flipped to another page of Achieving Nirvana.

 

His only reply was a grumble or mumble of something before silence reigned again. Wufei had to admit that although the silence was a welcome treat, not hearing the usual chatter from the life-size Duo was depressing in itself. Usually, at this time, when he and Duo were alone, he had been forced to play some wacky game or to watch some weird TV show, just because the American had thought it would be fun.

 

Wufei had usually caught the wistful expressions that would cross Duo’s face, whenever he glanced towards he and Heero’s bedroom, but he had always assumed that it was his imagination and nothing else.

 

“I miss you, Duo,” he softly, assuming that from the steady breathing, Duo had fallen asleep. “I miss having the noise and your cheerful company, much as I hate to admit it. I guess you are unhappy about being this size and feeling so helpless. But we all love you, Duo…even if we don’t show it or tell you. And I think…I think, Heero loves you more than all of us combined. You are just going to have to give him some time…huh?”

 

Black eyes blinked as something furry blocked his vision. Wufei’s face reddened as he held out his palm, watching Duo land on it with a wide grin on his face.

 

“Duo…”

 

“So you do love me after all, Wufei.”

 

“Don’t think that what I said ought to be taken seriously…”

 

Duo shook his head and tail and motioned for Wufei to lift him up higher. Once inches separated them, Duo leaned forward to place a light kiss on his nose, smiling warmly as Wufei’s blush deepened.

 

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of Wufei,” Duo said softly. He placed his palms against the hot cheeks and kissed the Chinese boy again. “I love you all as well. I love you…”

 

The sound of something falling to the floor, sent both pilots spinning around in fright.

 

Wufei gave a sigh of relief as he noticed who it was. “Ah…welcome back, Yuy. We were getting worried about you…Yuy?”

 

Heero looked stricken and pale. A dozen red roses had fallen to the ground along with his books as shimmering cobalt blue depths shimmered with pain and dull anger.

 

Duo felt it pierce through him and cursing his ill-fated size, he could only watch as the look vanished from Heero’s face. The cold mask that he knew so well was back in place and Duo could only whimper in dismay.

 

“Heero…”

 

“Sorry I missed dinner. I have some work to finish up.” The words had been spoken in a flat and toneless voice.

 

And spinning around sharply, he made his way out of the room, making sure that the door was slammed shut behind him. This left Wufei and Duo exchanging bewildered glances at the door and at the flowers on the floor in turn.

 

What in the world was wrong with Heero now?