Relena was so nervous, but excited at the same time. "Duo, please don't stop." she moaned soflty Duo was slowly unbuttoning her blouse while kissing her neck. Relena's mind was reeling. She kept thinking about how something bad was going to happen, but she stomped it down. She and Duo had been having this affair for a few weeks and no one suspected a thing. Sure, she loved Heero, but she craved the passion and danger that Duo presented. He obviously thrived on the thrill as well and kept coming back for more. She figured what Heero and Hilde didn't know wouldn't hurt them. They'd stop as soon as this got old. She pulled him by his shirt over to her bed, her lips searching for his as they made their way over there. She gasped as his hot breath grazed by her ear and she made quick work of whipping off his shirt. She rubbed her hands on his chest. He had a bigger frame than Heero. A few years gave Duo added height and filled him out quite nicely. He crawled on top of her and continued to drive her insane with his mouth.

The door to Relena's apartment was unlocked, which he found odd. Heero carefully crept across the apartment to her bedroom. the door was cracked open and he pushed it open slowly. He was afraid to see her hurt, or worse not there. He would of never opened that door if he knew what he would see. There was his best friend on top of his girlfriend, moving his hips against her, Relena moaning for more. Heero's grip on the doorknob tightened. He blinked, hoping that when he opened his eyes again, that the scene would vanish. It didn't. It was real. He heard Duo ask "Are you sure Heero won't come home?" She answered between kisses "He won't be home til 4. We have plenty of time." Heero felt his heart wrench. *They had planned to do this. It wasnt a spur of the moment mistake.* Duo looked at Relena before continuing. "Are you sure?" Relena sighed "Yes, Duo, don't worry, he won't find out." Both of them heard a click of a gun and the soft voice, tinged with danger. "Wrong, on both accounts." Duo swung around increduosly, staring into the face of Heero Yuy, gun in one hand, his other still gripping the doorknob. Relena sat up. "Heero?!" She exclaimed. She wanted to run. His eyes were so cold and filled with pain and loathing for her. He was staring straight into her, as if his eyes were asking 'how could you?'. She felt like his eyes were searching in her soul for an answer. Heero straightened up. "Get dressed." Duo slowly got up and pulled his shirt back on. Relena quickly buttoned her blouse, thankful he didn't walk in after they had gotten all their clothes off. Heero pointed the gun at them both. "We're going for a ride. Let's go." Duo didn't budge. "Where are we going?" He asked. Heero stared into his eyes and Duo looked down, unable to look his friend in the eyes. "For a ride. Get in the car." was Heero's reply. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't of stood for that, but Heero looked like he was waiting for an opportunity to use that gun. Duo conceded and the three of them proceeded to Relena's limo and took off. Relena kept her eyes nervously lowered. She would look up at Heero and found him staring out the window. How could she say she regretted what he saw. If she could take back this day she would in a heartbeat. Duo was looking out the opposite window, his expression deep in thought. He hoped that Heero would calm down by the time they got to their destination. The car finally stopped and Duo paled. Heero pointed the gun back at Duo, sure he was going to run. Duo debated it, but realized he didn't stand a chance against Heero's accuracy. He gulped and got out of the car. They were in front of his and Hilde's apartment.

Inside the apartment Duo couldn't contain his emotions any more. Heero was having a bit of trouble too. "Heero! Why do you want to hurt her like that?!" Duo hollared. Heero sneered. "Me?! Your the one in the doghouse, if anyone hurt her it's you!" Relena was crying. "Please Heero, don't do this!" She wailed. Duo tried to push past Heero to get to the door. Heero shoved him back and pulled out his gun again. "Your not running." He stated. "Your going to tell her when she gets here and you're not getting out of it." "Tell me what?" Hilde asked from the doorway, confused. Relena was sitting on the couch crying as if someone died. Duo was standing a few feet away from Heero, looking at her with a worried expression. Heero had a gun pointed at Duo, and he looked like he was about to snap. Hilde turned a worried glance back at Duo. "Tell me what Duo? Whats going on?" Relena looked at Hilde and cried harder. "Hilde i'm so sorry!!" she wailed again and buried her face in her hands again. "Tell her." Heero said calmly. "NO!!!!" Duo yelled. He was so afraid to tell her, so afraid to lose her. "TELL HER NOW!!!!!!" Heero yelled back, losing his patience with the whole incident. Hilde was really scared at this point. "Tell me what?!" She asked again, louder. Duo looked at her and started to shake. He had no choice. He was trapped. "Hilde i need to confess something. and i want you to know i love you. I love you so much and i don't want to lose you over this." Hilde was shaking and had to grip her arms to keep herself calm. "What Duo? What did you do" He looked into her eyes. "I-I've been sleeping with Relena." Hilde felt like she was hit by a truck. "What?" she whispered. Her eyes were wide and began to fill with tears. "Hilde I am so sorry." Duo started to cry, guilt and fear eating at him. "Why?" "I don't know! I don't know why i did it, I love you Hilde, please don't leave me!" Hilde's shock began to wear off and hurt and anger began to take over. "You love me?! How can you say you've slept with my best friend and tell me you love me in the same sentence!!?" She screamed. Duo kept his mouth shut. Hilde turned to Relena. "How long?" Relena just stared at her, not knowing what to say. "HOW LONG!?" Hilde screamed at her. Relena started to cry again. "About a month." Hilde mouthed 'a month' silently. She was desperately fighting back tears. Duo came forward to hold her. Before he could touch her she snapped on him. She punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "How could you?!" she started to scream, tears falling freely. "How the fuck could you make love to me, tell me you love me, and fuck my best friend behind my back all this time." She ran a hand through her hair in agitiation. Duo was on his knees. After catching his breath he turned to Heero. "This is your fault!" he yelled at Heero, guilt and anger making him unreasonable. "My fault." Heero repeated. He started walking towards Duo. "Do you think i wanted to walk in on my best friend and my girlfriend in bed together? That wasn't in the agenda for my day." Heero said sarcastically. Duo growled and lunged at Heero, knocking him on the ground. Hilde's mind was whirling. *Heero caught them. Heero SAW them together. So that's why Duo confessed. Heero made him.* She started to sob. "Get out." The two boys fighting on the floor didn't hear her. Relena just stared, too stunned at everything. "GET OUT!!!!!" Hilde screamed hysterically. All eyes were on Hilde as she picked up Heero's gun and pointed it towards them. "Get... out.... now." Duo stood and walked to her, but stopped a couple feet away. "Hilde please don't do this." He pleaded. She was shaking, but held her ground, tears falling unchecked down her face. "You can come back tomorrow, Duo, just get out." He looked at her for a long while before his shoulders drooped, defeated. "I love you Hilde, you know that right?" "Just get out." was her quiet reply. He conceded and walked out the front door. Relena followed, turning to Hilde, she started to apologize. The stinging slap she received cut short any apology she was going to make. "Save it." Hilde sneered. Wide eyed and holding her cheek, Relena turned and followed Duo. Hilde slammed the door shut, not aware that Heero didn't leave. His expression was soft. He wanted to get back at Duo and Relena by making them tell Hilde. He didn't think of how hurt she would be. He cursed himself for his thoughtlessness. He shrank away from the heartbreaking sobs. Hilde was curled up on the floor by the front door, crying her heart out and breaking his in the process. He didn't know how to react. He stood there for several seconds. Finally he walked over to her. She flinched when he put his arms around her to pick her up off the floor. She turned to him and buried her head in his chest. "Why Heero?" He put his arms around her, trying to offer some sort of comfort. "I don't know, Hilde." He realized then that he could use some comfort of his own and held her close, finding solace in her embrace, and feeling his hurt through her tears.

Hilde managed to stay out of view for most of the trek to Heero's on the other side of town. She couldn't shake Duo from her mind. *What was he going to do? Should i have ran from him? Why am i so scared of him all of a sudden?* She couldn't help the sadness she felt at the thought of having to fear Duo. She had never had to fear him before. She saw someone walking down the street towards her. She slid against the side of the building to stay in the shadows. Holding her breath, she waited for the other person to pass. When he did she got a better look. It was Heero. "Heero?" She called quietly after him. He stopped and turned. Hilde sighed in relief. It really was him. She came out of the shadows and came over to him. He was leaning to one side and holding his ribs. *Maybe he's just tired from walking* she thought. "How did you get here?" He asked her, surprised to see her. She let out a hollow laugh. "I ran." "Hn." was his reply. "Where were you going to?" asked Hilde. They started walking back down the street. "I was coming to help you. How did you know where i lived anyways?" Hilde blushed. "I didn't. i just took off and i knew you lived somewhere around here. I panicked." Forty minutes later they made it. Hilde was curious why Heero was walking so slow. When the got in and he turned on the light, she gasped. His house looked like a hurricane had blown through. Heero didn't look much better in the light. He was still holding his side, his neck had bruises in the shape of fingerprints on it. Dried blood had matted itself in his hair and had dripped a little on to his face. "Duo did this?!" She asked ,shocked at the state of him. "Hn." was his reply. Hilde forgot everything else. She led him over to the couch.Clearing it of books that had fallen onto it, She sat him down. She started to check for further injuries. He let her, staring curiously at her. "Let me see your ribs." She stated, motioning for him to take his shirt off. He reluctantly agreed. He tried to hold back a wince when she pushed on his ribs gently. He was already beginning to bruise, showing what Duo's fit of rage did to Heero's body. "Hmm. They're not broken, just badly bruised. You don't seem to have a consussion, but you've got a mean bloody bump on your head that needs tending." She led him to the bathroom and sat him down on the toilet. Digging through his cabinets she found some peroxide and gauze. He reached for them. "I can do it." He said stubbornly. She held them out of his reach. "I can see your head better than you, let me do it." He reached stubornly for them again. She sighed, exasperated. "Will you just sit still and let me take care of you?" He looked up at her. "Take care of me?" He repeated, more to himself. He put his arms back down and Hilde took it as a sign that he had resigned. She worked gently, cleaning the gash on his head, wondering how it happened and most of all, why. *Why did Duo attack him like this.* It made her shiver, the thought that he might of done the same to her if she didn't get out of there. Finally she bandaged up his head and stood back. Heero was unusually quiet. He was always quiet, but over the years he had softened up and became a bit more sociable. This was like looking at the old Heero. Lost in thought, hiding, and confused. He probably didn't understand what was going on either. "Let's get you in bed." Heero shook himself out of his thoughts. "No. We need to leave tonight. Let's get going." He stood and winced. She ran to his side. "Heero, you can't travel in your condition." He smirked. "I'll be fine. I've gone through worse. Now let's get out of here. Our ride is waiting." She reluctantly agreed and followed him out of the bathroom. Picking up her bag, she waited for him. He came out of his room, a bag similar to hers in hand, and together they took their leave into the night.

The shuttle ride was a good 3 days journey to reach it's destination. They were on the last night of their journey. Heero looked down at Hilde, who had fallen asleep. Her head lay against his shoulder and he could see tears fall on to his shirt from time to time. She was putting up a good fight trying to remain calm. He knew she had to be scared, and most of all lost. He felt lost. He couldn't shake the image of Duo, laying on top of Relena, kissing each other and god knows what else. His world had been flipped upside down at that moment. He never saw it coming. He thought that she loved him. Hilde stirred in her sleep. She lifted her head up and wiped at her tear filled eyes. She looked down and saw the tear drops on Heero's shirt. "Oh, Heero i'm sorry." She said quietly, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall again. He pulled her head gently back down to his chest and stroked her hair. "It's ok Hilde, you don't need to be strong right now, just let it out." She did, sobbing silently against his chest, thankful she wasn't alone and grateful that Heero knew exactly what she needed right now. She had her head buried in his shirt and so she never saw his own tears welling up in his eyes..

When Hilde had woken up again, there was light filling the shuttle. *We must be here* she thought and lifted her head up off her pillow, her pillow being Heero's chest. He was still fast asleep, holding her head in one hand, the other on her back. She grinned. She would never have thought to see Heero comfort someone while they were upset. He did a good job. She didn't remember when she fell asleep. He must of been uncomfortable all night like that. Poor guy. When she sat up, Heero opened his eyes. He looked around him with tired bleary eyes that stopped when they found Hilde. "He leaned over and looked out her window. "We're here." He stated. The shuttle began its descent to the spaceport.

Hilde looked around after they got out of the spaceport. She had no clue where they were. Heero was trying to flag down a cab. "Heero, do you mind letting me know where we are?" He turned to her. He'd totally forgotten that she still had no clue. "We're on colony L5b. Wufie was from L5 but it was destroyed. It was rebuilt, but there was another smaller colony built right next to it. A lot of people don't realize that this one is even here. Wufie prefers it. He use to come here to get away from everything. i asked him if we could stay here. Given the circumstances, he had no problem with it." *So thats why he was at the spaceport earlier.* The scenery was beautiful. It was picturesque with tall lush trees. The sky was a vibrant blue, not yet tainted with the pollutants that most of the busier colonies acquire over the years. Heero managed to get a cab to stop and grabbed Hilde's bag to put in the trunk. Hilde climbed in the cab. She almost felt like she was on a vacation until she remembered why she was here. They were both silent for the ride into town. Once they got there Heero asked "Are you hungry?" She realized she had not eaten since early yesterday. Her stomach wasn't feeling up to it. "Not really. But we can stop if your hungry." He wasn't up to it either. They settled on buying some supplies and food before going all the way to their house. After an hour of shopping, they took yet another cab to the country. After another 15 minutes of walking, because the cab wouldn't go any farther, they made it to Wufie's hideaway. It was like a small woodland cottage, fit for one, two at the most. It was cute and Hilde fell in love with it, always dreaming of having a small cottage in the woods. The inside was furnished with comfy couches, a small TV, kitchen, and 1 bedroom and bathroom. Hilde figured she'd take the couch, since Heero was injured and this was technically his place now. Heero dropped the bags he was carrying on the counter and walked to the bedroom. He put his bag in the corner and came back out. "You can take the room, i'll just leave my stuff in there." Heero stated and plopped on the couch. "No, Heero. You're injured. Take the bed, I'll be fine out here." Heero gave her a long stare. She sat silent, staring back. After several minutes she sighed. He had won an argument without even saying a word. She walked into the bedroom to put her bag in the corner, then proceeded to dig through the closet for some pillows and blankets for Heero. She at least could make him comfortable out there. Finally finding what she was after, she went to give it to them. Heero was fast asleep on the couch already, exhaustion finally taking it's toll. She lifted his head and put the pillow under it. She tucked him in with the blanket after that. Hilde sat staring at him while he slept. For such a tough man he had the face of an angel when he slept. The hard lines of his face were softened, making him look at utter peace. She gently brushed his bangs out of his face. He kept his hair the same over the years. At one time He had grown it out to his shoulders, but decided he liked it better the length it was at before. She thought he looked rather sexy with it long, considering she preferred men with long hair. She shook herself mentally. She shouldn't think about Heero in that sense. He was just a friend and someone who had his heart crushed. Then again so did she. She let it go for now and went into the bedroom, eager to catch up on some sleep as well. She couldn't help but think of Heero with his hair grown out again while she lie in bed. He was a real piece of art. She wondered if he knew that. She then started thinking about Duo. Her eyes welled up again. "Duo, why did you do it?" she whispered to herself. She cried herself to sleep, willing the pain in her heart to go away. She fell into blissful darkness.