This is the sequel to The Sun, The Moon and the Drifting Wind ^___^

~Dedicated to everyone who ever felt a need for peace and reached for it, even when they didn't understand what it was~

#thoughts#

"Heero...." His voice was soft, but it pressed comfortingly through the trembling night with a strength that anchored Heero back to the present.

He didn't need to look back to know Duo was standing in the open doorway, hand trailing softly against the doorframe as he stood, slightly uncertain, slightly confident, head cocked the tiniest bit so his braid fell at an angle. Heero could see this all, see his beautiful form outlined by the gentle yellow glow of the houselights casting the shadow of Shinigami against the pristine white ground. Duo shifted but Heero continued to stare--first at the shadow, then at the sky, wondering as he did so what he wanted to say but knowing he had to make it right.

"Heero," Duo said again, softly, but Heero was drawn to the sound like a moth to a flame, unable to ignore him, unable to think beyond the urge to turn and drink in the sweet dream standing just a few feet behind him. "Heero, it's cold. Come in." It was more a request than a demand yet Heero could hardly deny the need to comply anyway.

Without turning to look back, Heero spoke into the night--a hushed tone, as if he were afraid to break some magical spell that had enthralled him, yet he could no longer hold his tongue. His voice swelled into the night comfortingly, reaching Duo's ears in a soft melody that made him sigh inwardly in relief. "I was thinking about the tide," was all he said, outlined in the gentle moonlight like an enchanted spirit from the past.

Duo paused, eyes widening the slighest bit. He hadn't expected Heero to remember nor care about that comment. Though their discussion that morning had implied so many scenarios, he wasn't willing to listen to any of them. He didn't want to work himself up for something that in all likelihood would never be. "Were you?" trailed his voice through the night, soft, amused, liltingly playful in a subdued sense.

Heero nodded the slightest bit. He stared down at Duo's shadow, so stark against the white, so brilliant in its absence of light. "Aa," he murmured very, very quietly to himself, then lifted his gaze to meet the canvas of the night sky. "Hai," he said louder, decisively.

"What about the tide?" Duo asked, the crunching of snow marking his approach. Heero listened to the fabric of Duo's clothing slide against its own folds, smooth and yet catching with a quiet shifting sound.

Heero paused. He really didn't know. He was just thinking that he would rather be the tide than the sun, since the tide could follow in the wake of the moon like a faithful yet turbulent shadow. He wondered if he could handle being the shadow of the moon, but he wasn't sure. He didn't want to be an aftereffect--he wanted to be an equal.

An equal who could touch the moon and not burn it like it seemed so many others had.

"Many things," Heero finally replied with a slight frown as Duo arrived at his left shoulder. They stood side by side, outlined by the gentle houselight still spilling into the chilled air, softened by the quiet moonlight pooling against their features, alternatingly turning their skin to striking nethertones and deepening shadows.

Duo let out a soft sigh in contentment, the crystalline cloud of his breath sweeping through the air, dissipating like smoke in the still winter night. "Isn't it strange, Heero?"

Heero glanced sidelong at Duo, hardly able to hold the small smile in. The corners of his lips twitched up, his cobalt eyes softened to sea blue. "Nani?" he asked in that hushed tone from before, afraid to break the spell of the fey creature standing beside him, almost completely lost in a fluffy winter coat that threatened to swallow him up whole. His braid snaked down his back, elevated by the extra layers, reaching for the ground almost yearningly.

Duo turned large, thoughtful eyes to Heero. He stared at him a moment then smiled softly. Leaning forward he breathed on a startled Heero's cheek. The warmth of Duo's breath swept intimately across Heero's face, heating him at the very touch, soothing his suddenly pounding heart, sliding across to his mouth, down his neck, like silk against his chilled skin.

Heero stared at Duo, an unfamiliar feeling rising from within. Were he anyone else, he would have blushed. As it was he was completely at a loss for reaction.

Duo smiled quietly, almost smugly, as if he had expected that response and was rather pleased with himself. "Feel that?" he asked softly, his warm breath puffing into the night in a cloud, hovering for a moment before disappearing as if it never existed. Heero hadn't noticed before Duo came out and began speaking, but it was cold enough to see Duo's warm breath in the chilled midnight air.

Heero numbly nodded.

Duo's smile widened until his eyes shined softly with a strange contentment Heero had never seen before. Duo looked... at peace. Just standing there beside him, the door to their current dwelling lying open and welcoming behind them, nothing but a sprinkling of stars and a shining full moon in front of them. Doing nothing, yet somehow at peace.

#Why?# Heero's mind surged, suddenly wanting to know more than anything he could remember in a long time.

Eventually he could hold the question in no longer. "Why?" he asked, bewildered, his tone highly confused as it breathed into the soft darkness.

Duo's smile became slightly less mirthful, slightly more of a smirk. "It's not so strange to feel my breath," he murmured, then moved so close his winter coat was pressed against Heero's side, "but it IS weird to feel my words so clearly, don't you think?" Duo said softly, his breath moving in quiet puffs against Heero's cheeks.

All he could feel was the warmth.

All he could understand was the need to feel that for all eternity.

His muddled cobalt eyes searched clear and bright violet. "Duo...?" he asked uncertainly, knowing what he wanted but not knowing what it was.

Duo smiled quietly. "I just find it strange," he commented as he began to pull away, "That winter makes mundane things seem so pretty."

Heero watched Duo almost warily, wondering what was going to happen next. He couldn't help thinking that winter wasn't the only thing that did that. He considered Duo's words for a moment, thinking about what Duo was saying beneath it all. "It's the only time you can see your words," Heero finally agreed, nodding. Duo's eyes widened, shock written plainly on his face as he stared at Heero, who was beginning to think he said something wrong. "You can hear the words and even feel them any time of the year, but no other time do you see them, hanging in front of you, waiting for an answer," he explained uncomfortably, unable to meet Duo's heady gaze.

Heero was surprised to feel the gentle weight of Duo leaning against his side. He looked over, startled, and was even more shocked to see Duo's eyes glittering up as if he had tears shining that would never be shed. "Duo...?" Heero asked in an urgent concern subdued only by the weight of the midnight hour.

Duo stared breathlessly at Heero for one long, passing moment before exhaling slowly. He relaxed as he did so, his whole body seeming to melt into Heero's strength. "You understand," he said wonderingly, quietly, almost as if he was afraid to say it any louder should it suddenly become a lie.

Heero's eyebrows twitched slightly down, "Understand what, Duo?" he asked, curiosity overwinning his concern. He tried to ignore the urge to put his arm around Duo's shoulders and hold him closer.

Duo's gaze slid to the moon above then to the quiet winter world surrounding them. "Everything. You understand... you understand me...." His voice was barely a whisper but filled with hope and wonder and overwhelming awe in one sweeping epiphany.

He sounded so happy, so free, yet almost lost. Heero couldn't help it. He gave into his desire and slipped an arm around Duo's slender shoulders, pulling him closer, wanting to breach all the distance between them. "Aa. I guess I do," he said softly, smiling in his tone though his lips barely moved. His eyes rivaled the midnight sky with their soft, brilliant beauty.

They stood there, caught in time, drawn away by their thoughts with no words to express their contentment. The moments passed leisurely, as if time itself was slowing to give the two teenagers more memories of happiness in the middle of a winter night.

Finally, Duo broke the silence. "The tide is tortured, but tragically content. It follows the moon's every whim, throbbing to meet its counterpart but never quite making it. Still, it's happy to be there, to know that every movement of its churning waters is because of the distant orb pulsing in the night."

Heero thought about that for a moment then finally pulled Duo a little closer, a little firmer. "I would be the tide," he murmured, "but I want to touch the moon."

Duo looked over, tensing in complete shock. He stared incredulously at Heero, mouth hanging open in surprise. After a few moments of Heero watching Duo with sincerity permeating his expression, comfort rolling from his body to Duo's, Duo managed to speak. "You--you don't mean--?" he began in a slow stutter, unable to get the idea out, blushing slightly as he thought maybe he'd misinterpreted.

Heero considered Duo for another gentle, weighty moment before he lifted his free right hand up, lightly brushing a calloused thumb over Duo's soft skin and trembling lower lip. Duo stared at Heero's face, frozen like the world surrounding him in a meandering churning as he tried to understand what was happening. Heero's fingers ghosted up Duo's slack face to sweep softly around his eyes.

Heero blinked slowly, the moment pressing down on him comfortingly as he considered his options. He could turn away, ignoring Duo like a small part of him urged him to do, but he knew he didn't have the strength or desire to do so. He could try to explain what he was attempting to say to Duo but since even he didn't know he knew that wasn't a very appropriate action. He could pretend this was nothing and just stand there in the comfort of Duo's arm now around his waist, but Heero realized that the more he thought, the more he wanted something else.

#Follow your emotions,# a part of Heero breathed suddenly, urgently in his mind.

Heero agreed.

Leaning over, he touched his forehead against Duo's, letting the heat rolling off Shinigami seep into his soul. He closed his eyes. "The sun is hot on the outside but cold within," Heero said mournfully, "but the moon is the opposite--seemingly cold without but brilliant on the inside."

Duo caught his breath, not knowing if he wanted to run or cry or hide or what. In the end, he laughed. "I think most would say, according to that, that I'm the sun and you're the moon," he murmured, amused.

Heero's eyes opened suddenly, staring intently at Duo's startled amethyst eyes only inches away. "Exactly," he said in a voice laden with importance. He moved back only enough to regard Duo better as he spoke. "You are the moon in so many ways, but you hide more of your brilliance than you understand. Still, you seem tired sometimes, like there's an emptiness inside that eats at you. I seem so cold but I feel... I just can't explain... I don't understand... and it makes me cold but warm at the same time. Like...." He paused, searching for the perfect word.

"Like the brilliant smile caught on a dead child's face, or when you're so intensely cold you feel hot," Duo supplied, looking off in the distance, voice coming from farther than the few inches away he stood. "Like the emptiness of space even though you know it's full of energy and life. Like frost on your warm cheek, snow on your burning tongue, freezing rain on a scorching summer day. Like life--hard and fast but soft and slow. Like now--surrounded by ice but heated by emotions."

Heero let himself smile this time as he nodded. "Aa. Like a paradox that never quits, refueling itself until there's nothing but an eternal cycle before you."

Duo smiled at Heero, leaning his head against Heero. "I want to touch you, too," he said so softly it was barely even a whisper.

Heero's breath caught in his throat and for one wild moment he thought he must be dreaming, must be imagining this all, this entire night and especially this warm moment in a life of cold stone. He had always been able to feel, he had always been thinking and knowing and listening. He just never understood before what it meant to be content, to feel whole even when you never knew there was an emptiness inside.

But now he understood completely.

This warmth was his heart, beating soothingly, calmly. Duo's breath was his own, or maybe his was Duo's, or maybe they never were separate in the first place--always Duo's and Heero's, Heero's and Duo's.

It didn't matter.

All that mattered was this moment stretch into oblivion, becoming their own eternity, their only future.

Heero couldn't even find the words to say anything but he realized he didn't need them. Turning his soft, shimmering eyes that wanted to cry but were too happy to do so to Duo, he leaned forward. Duo smiled understandingly, sliding his eyes shut at the same moment as Heero when their lips brushed each other's gently. A moment passed, heated breath mingling in the night, before Duo moved in this time. He feathered a kiss against Heero's cheek, his nose, pressing his cheek to Heero's as he stepped in to face Heero completely. He trailed one hand through Heero's hair, the other wrapped securely around the Japanese teenager's upper torso. Heero let one of his arms fall to Duo's lower back, pulling his stomach securely against his own. His other arm wrapped around Duo's ribs, his hand pressed between Duo's shoulder blades. He closed his eyes, burying his face in Duo's sweet scented hair.

Duo swallowed, shuddering and trembling at the feelings coursing through his veins like cleansing wildfire. Looking at Heero's unruly dark brown hair in the netherlight of midnight, he felt his heart pulse almost painfully with emotions so strong he felt breathless. A yearning to express his feelings pressed against his ribcage, making his heart beat at a frenzied rate, slowly matching the now heightened heartbeat of Heero. Duo desperately needed to tell Heero what he was feeling but the words would never leave his mouth, at least not then. He knew there was no way to express his feelings to do them any sort of justice. He would have had a panic attack at the intense emotions with nowhere to flee to if it weren't for Heero's comforting arms securely wrapped around him, drawing him in to his Perfect strength.

Slowly, Heero lifted his head, as if sensing the distress Duo was under. Duo stared pleadingly at Heero, his amethyst eyes literally pulsing with a need both teenagers felt but neither understood. Quietly, wordlessly, they slid their eyes closed, moving in again. Their lips brushed softly, then became a little more firm but never harming. The passion was within their arms holding each other desperately, within the feel of their hearts beating to the same tune, their lips pressed comfortingly against each other. Their breathing melded into one slow movement that burned away their doubts and replaced it with an almost frightening strength and peace.

They pulled away, eyes speaking silently in the night, breath puffing into the cold night air in mini clouds of starlight. Slowly, Duo rested his head against Heero's shoulder, drinking in the warmth and strength of his newfound soul mate. Heero let his chin rest against Duo's neck, burying his face in his hair as he tried to meld completely to Duo's body. He wanted only to hold Duo forever, touch him for eternity and care for him beyond.

As the moment swelled their breaths continued to depart from their mouths in slow, cloud-like waves; the words they could not yet express visible in the warming night.

Possible continuation beyond this point. Otherwise,

~Owari~