24 Aug 2000
The end is in sight! (If you can believe it, "Beauty" is the -short- first
section -- not counting the prelude -- of the big extravaganza that is
'Complicated.') <<hides head in hands>> When am I ever going to get any sleep? Enjoy!
-- Lilias
Shounen-ai (1x2)
Disclaimer: I don't own these delightful people (Sunrise and the Sotsu Agency do, and Bandai gets to pass them around), nor do I intend to infringe upon the rights of their owners. I don't own the song, either, obviously.
/Sometimes, she shines
And I know
Beauty has her way
With her hooks in your face
Beauty has her way/
He left his door ajar that night, but Duo never came back. New orders came down in the early hours of the morning -- blowing up a refueling station about a hundred miles down the coast. Both of them: surprisingly, it was tagged as a joint mission. Maybe not that surprising -- the American was the demolitions expert, after all. Now, where the hell was Maxwell?
The sun was all the way up before he heard movement in the hallway, and then a black-clad figure was at the opposite door. About time.
"Maxwell."
Duo flinched palpably, but turned. Leaning in his own doorframe, Heero watched him evenly.
"Where have you been?"
"Living the high life, what else? Hitting the red light district, turning tricks for pocket change, no more than you'd expect from <my kind>." His voice was barely audible when he started, but rapidly escalated in volume. Too loud.
Taking him by the shoulders, Heero steered him into his room without comment and shut the door. "Now. Where have you been? We've got orders."
"I know. Been sleeping in Deathscythe -- it's got better perimeter alarms than my room. Better defenses, too." Heero shot him a glare, but otherwise let it pass. "I probably got the call before you," Duo continued. "Did some recon. I'll be ready to hit it tonight."
"We're both supposed to go."
"Then I'll meet you on the other end. I'm out of here. Since when do you want to be on a team, anyway?" His hand was on the doorknob.
"Duo."
He wouldn't look up.
Heero felt unaccountably trapped -- he didn't have the words to get both of them out of this, whatever 'this' was. And now Duo did meet his gaze, watching him with those bottomless eyes (getting him to look up had definitely been a bad idea, Heero decided). He knew he had to say something. Almost in spite of himself, he reached out instead and touched the heavy braid with the very ends of his fingers. It felt resilient, almost alive: serpentine. When Duo didn't stop him, he lifted the plait, sliding his fingers around its cool weight. But there was something at once dangerous and fragile about the way Duo stood there, unmoving but barely breathing, head bent but every muscle tensed for flight. Heero gathered himself to speak. "I thought you wanted -- "
"I did. I do. That's the problem. Because you don't -- not the same way."
Heero carefully let go of the braid, measuring his words just as carefully. "You think you know what I want?"
"I've got eyes, Yuy. I don't pretend to know everything about the way your head works, but I think I've got a pretty good idea about most of the rest of you."
"You don't know anything about me." The tone was icy.
"Look who's talking."
Practically nose to nose, they glared at each other. Duo broke the staring contest first, almost snarling. "If this -- bonding experience -- is about over, I think I'll go get my gear ready. If that's all right with you."
His answer was the slamming of the opposite door.
End of Part 9
(:./lilias/beauty9)
