Epilogue Part 1 ::  I've Found Happiness
			     Here With You

I never expected it to turn out so well after such a long and bumpy road.  
Heero and I are still nothing more than friends, but there's something 
deeper than friendship somewhere in there.  I'd trust him with my life and, 
I think, he'd do the same with me.  I finally broke down and took him back 
to his old apartment, telling him that the place he had been staying at 
was my home.  He didn't seem to mind.

In fact, he asked to be alone for a few minutes, then reappeared with a 
bag.  "Would you mind if I moved in with you then?"

I beamed inwardly, but just smiled outwardly.  "No problem at all."

We've been living together ever since.  

Every so often Heero has his nightmares again.  They wake him up late 
at night and I can hear him moving around in the kitchen, cooking or 
cleaning or doing something to keep him awake.  He doesn't scream 
anymore though so I think he's working through his problems.  

Heero's finally accepted his humanity - even if it did take him forgetting he 
was the Perfect Soldier.  

Yeah, it's a round-about way to giving up the pain, but he did it.  That's 
really all that matters.  I know he has to remember sometime or 
another...but that sometime will come when he wants it.  Don't yell at me 
if I'm not exactly jumping at the opportunity to bring back all those 
memories either.  If he asks, I'll tell him.  If he even seems like he wants 
to know, I'll tell him.  If we're eating dinner and making conversation, like 
hell.  

Smiling at that thought, I drop the wrench back in its box and clamp the 
lid down tight.  "Hey, Anthony!  I'm heading out for the night!"

"All right, Duo!  See you tomorrow!" the garage owner shouts back.  His 
voice echoes in the large enclosure and for a moment I can imagine 
Aibou standing there next to me.  I wonder if Heero misses Wing the 
same way I miss Deathscythe.  Hn...there's a thought.

Driving home, I pick up the week's groceries and slip a couple movies in.  
Heero said he didn't want to do much tonight, but I can't just sit there and 
stare at blank walls until the wee hours of the morning.  He writes stories 
in his spare time, but I don't know what they're about.  Maybe one day 
he'll show me.

"Down Periscope [1]....I heard this was good," I murmur, lifting the tape 
out of its bag.  "Comedy too.  Even better."

I wander upstairs and juggle the bags in my arms, gently kicking the 
apartment door open.  Heero's home because his shoes are sitting neatly 
by the entrance.  I told him this isn't a Japanese house, but he still 
insists.  "Heero!  Tadaima!"  Yeah, it's not a Japanese house, but he has 
me trained to say that.  Funny...I thought he'd lost that knack after his 
accident.

No response.  I blink and walk out of the front entrance, glancing around. 
 My eyes come to rest on a hunched over figure in a stiff-backed wooden 
chair.  His hair is obscuring his face as he sits there, hands resting on 
his knees.  He's a mirror image of  that day...

"H-Heero?"

He lifts his head and looks at me, his eyes distant.  

Please...don't let it happen again.  My mind races as I envision a pill 
bottle rolling over to my feet.  My gaze flickers to the empty floor, then 
returns to him.  He stands and smiles softly.

"Okaeri, Duo."

Thank God it's not the same anymore.  I smile tentatively back at him.  
"Picked up the groceries and a couple movies for tonight."

He nods and comes to help me.  It's good to know he isn't what he used 
to be.  I don't know if he could have survived a second bout with that 
broken man.  He still has a few of the behaviours of his older self though. 
 His affinity towards being quiet, the intensity in which he works, his love 
of the words 'aa' and 'hn'.  He speaks more now, actually hooking other 
words along with the grunts.  Sometimes I laugh when he uses one word 
answers and he looks at me in this cute, puzzled way.  

He still doesn't get it, but that's okay.

After the incident at his work, he changed jobs.  He underwent a 
psychological examination and applied for a job at a computer software 
company near the apartment - of course he got the job.  He works out 
everyday before coming home which is why I can afford to stay out as 
late as I do.  He expressed an interest in a cooking class at the 
community college and I urged him to take it.  Sure, it'd be funny to see 
Heero Yui in an apron to most people, but I see it every night now.  

He's a good cook, sometimes he's better than me.  I'd never admit it to 
him though.  Gotta keep that Shinigami pride, ne?

"Duo?"  I blink and turn to him.  "Ready to eat?"

Grinning, I nod and say, "I've been ready all day.  You know how hard it is 
to work at a garage?  Man, I'm starving!"  

Yet another uneventful night at the Maxwell/Yui home.  It's nice to say it 
that way...Maxwell/Yui...  Maybe someday it'll be permanently that way.  
Maybe not.  I'm hoping for the maybe.

We watch the movie and both of us laugh.  He has such a rich, beautiful 
laugh when he lets himself go.  It's not the manical one he had in 
battle...this is natural, fun-loving...it's Him.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice an envelope on the desk addressed 
to him in elegant handwriting.  Must be from a friend of his.  He follows 
my gaze and blinks.  I can't be sure, but I think I see him trying to hide 
something from me.  I hate it when people hide things from me.

In his case, I'll make an exception.  

"Heero?"

"Yeah?"

I should say it, but I can't bring myself to say it just yet.  Wait a few more 
months until I know he won't run away...then I'll tell him.  Can't say the 
"L" word until I'm perfectly sure...

"I'm glad you're here with me."

A pause.  

A smile shared.

"I'm glad too."

--Owari--

[1] Down Periscope is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.  It stars 
Kelsey Grammer (sp?), the guy who plays Fraiser on TV.  If you need a 
good laugh, this is the movie to see.  That or Monty Python, take your 
pick.

Heero's POV is coming up for this last scene, so there's one more 
epilogue in store...