Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Frozen Heart ❯ Chapter 8

Frozen Heart 8

Quatre crossed the room swiftly, stopping only a few feet away, directly in Jason's line of sight, and waited. He felt a small burst of satisfaction at the guilty widening of the blue eyes the moment their eyes met. It was mean, because he knew Jason meant none of them any harm, but he couldn't help but feel a fraction of the jealousy Heero was experiencing.

Duo was part of his family too, and Jason was doing his level best to take him away. Quatre knew that as a fact, though he would never tell Heero for fear of what the latter would do. Quatre sincerely doubted there was anything on the face of the earth that could stop the Perfect Soldier from tearing Jason apart once he realized just how badly the younger boy wanted Duo.

Allowing his aquamarine eyes to harden, he jerked his head towards the exit. Jason hesitated, then nodded his understanding.

"Ah, Max, there's someone I need to talk to." Jason fumbled, flushing.

**Your ex-boyfriend caught me making a pass at you and is probably wanting to pound me to a pulp.**

Duo nodded.

"Sure." He settled back on the stool Jason's enthusiastic hug had dragged him off from. "Go. Have fun. I think I'll stay for another drink or two before hauling my ass back home."

His attempt at lightheartedness sounded flat even to his own ears.

"Oh no, don't you go anywhere without me. This will only take a minute." Jason retorted. "Besides, Derek will have my hide if I let you wander back on your own."

I'm not an invalid. The words sprang easily to Duo's lips, but he bit them back. Jason didn't deserve that. So he nodded instead.

Heero watched with narrowed eyes as Jason stepped away. He was still struggling against the sudden fury that had blanketed his mind at the sight of the other boy embracing Duo. Suddenly he was glad that Quatre had insisted on partnering him tonight. Alone, confronted with that scene, he might not have been able to control himself.

**Were you expecting this, Quatre? Was this why you wouldn't let me go alone?**

Cobalt blue eyes fixed intently at the lone figure against the bar and he squared his shoulders as he determinedly made his way past the crowd.

He stopped exactly one foot away.

Duo's skin prickled. He shivered. Slowly, he straightened away from the bar, his head cocking in an attempt to get a fix on that presence he felt.

"Duo."

He froze, his heart skipping a beat.

**Oh God.**

Duo's heart started beating triple time. He turned a little too quickly, almost losing his balance.

A hand shot out to steady him, but as though sensing the movement, Duo recoiled, his eyes moving frantically, trying to pin down the owner of that voice.

The vulnerability that flashed across his mobile features twisted Heero's heart.

**Don't be afraid of me, Duo. Please. I can take your anger, but not your fear.**

He stepped closer.

"Duo." He repeated in a low voice.

The overwhelmingly familiar nasal tone washed over his senses like liquid honey, and Duo shuddered violently.

**OH GOD!**

-o0o-

"Look, Q-"

Quatre held up a hand to forestall Jason. He knew that the other boy thought he had a relationship with Duo, and though it puzzled him how Jason had arrived at this conclusion he allowed the misunderstanding. He didn't have the energy or the time to explain the truth. He spared a quick glance inside the club. Damn, he needed to be inside before Heero put his foot in his mouth again and totally alienated Duo.

"I don't want to hear it." He cut in shortly. "I know what you're trying to do. I understand why you're doing it. But it's not going to happen, Jason."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jason snapped back defensively, stung.

Quatre's mouth thinned with impatience. "You're infatuated with D -Max, and you're using his vulnerability right now to tie him to you." He spelled out crisply. "It's not going to work, Jason."

"I'm not doing anything to Max." Jason denied heatedly. "He's adjusting to a difficult situation and I'm trying to help him."

"You don't have a crush on him?" Quatre shot back.

Jason reddened. "So what?" He countered. "Max is a free agent. Whatever you had is over and he has every right to choose someone new."

Quatre shook his head. "You can't have him, Jason." He felt a flash of sympathy for the other boy. It really wasn't his fault that Duo was such an attractive person. Hell, if it weren't for Trowa he would have a difficult time not falling for Duo too. He just had that effect on the people around him.

Even the Perfect Soldier had succumbed, after all.

Jason raked a hand through his hair. "Why not?!" He fairly yelled.

"Because we have first claim on him, and we're not giving him up." Quatre told him bluntly. "No matter what."

Jason blinked at the vehemence in his voice. There was nothing soft about Quatre at that moment. The aquamarine eyes flashed with hard steel, his usual mild tone heavy with purpose.

"Max-"

"-is angry with us right now." Quatre intercepted firmly. "But that will pass and sooner or later Max will want to come back to us." His tone softened. "We're a family, Jason. We're his family. Nothing can change that."

"I'm not trying to take your place." Jason protested, shaken by the strength of the other boy's conviction. "I just want to be his friend."

Touched by remorse at the hurt that had crept into his tone, Quatre reached out to pat his shoulder.

"I know you mean well, Jason. I do." Quatre said. "I also know you would never knowingly hurt Max." He chose his words carefully. "I just want you to understand that no one can take away what is yours, just as you can't have what was never meant for you."

"Like Max?" Bitterness crept into Jason's voice.

"Like Max." Quatre agreed somberly. He regretted having to hurt the younger boy, but sometimes you really had to be cruel to be kind.

end Part 8