Title: First Kiss
Author: Mookie
Pairing: 1+2+1
Warnings: implied shounen-ai, strong language, TWT?
Response to fic request from Natea for this pic
Duo swore under his breath as a second explosion went off in the building behind him. He would have bet any amount of money that he'd have reached the base before Heero did.
It was, he supposed, a bit twisted, that he'd be making a competition out of it. They both had the same goal, at least it seemed that way on the surface. He had a second, rather personal, mission, in mind, but it had to take a backseat more often than not.
Of course, any time he could forage a stronger relationship with the reserved young man he was sure had just targeted the Oz facility would be nothing but beneficial to the overall success of...
Of what, Duo wasn't quite sure.
Sometimes he wanted to slink back to L2 and pretend he'd never snuck aboard G's ship, never laid eyes on the black Gundam, never taken a couple of pot shots at a certain suicidal lunatic.
The little boy in him protested that, reminded him that, he'd have never met the small band of youths he was slowly coming to consider his comrades-in-arms, if not exactly friends. That same little boy desperately wanted the latter.
Another part of him, the jaded and bitter one, was just as determined to go it alone, to avoid making the mistake of putting his trust in anyone but himself.
Heero's hitting the base first hurt his pride, but it also annoyed him as he'd had a flare of hope that it meant that the other pilot took his challenge as the offering of something more.
Damned if he knew what that 'something more' was that he wanted, but friendship was probably as good a goal as any.
Heero's attitude pissed him off, but his own reaction to that attitude, his own fascination with the seemingly indestructible young man, pissed him off even more.
It should have been a simple in-and-out mission, a hit-and-run, and a slew of other cleverly suggestive terms. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Of course it wasn't.
For some reason, they tended to think in very egocentric terms. Why hadn't they considered that there were other rebel factions seeking the same exact thing? Why hadn't they listened to the grapevine to know that the very same facility was being targeted by a vigilante group out for their own brand of justice?
Duo wasn't sure if he was more pissed off that neither he nor Heero had taken that into consideration, or that the idiots who brought the second wave of assault were not only wasting time and military resources - they were coming damned close to cutting off his escape route.
He wasn't surprised to see Heero running like the hounds of hell were after him. He was damned fast. Made Duo wonder briefly what Heero's childhood had been like before noting the direction the other teenager was running. Heero had apparently stowed his mobile suit in the same place Duo had, as that appeared to be his destination.
He'd nearly caught up to Heero when the second blast hit.
Heero's body flipped over with the force of the ground breaking in front of him, and Duo threw himself forward, heedless of his chances of success.
He breathed a silent prayer of thanks when his fingers closed around a slender wrist, only to grit his teeth and rethink that as his body was pulled forward with the dead weight.
"Heero?" he shouted into the newly formed chasm. "You with me?"
For a skinny boy, Heero Yuy's weight seemed like a ton of bricks, and Duo slid a bit closer to the edge.
"Shit," Duo said, trying to pull with all his might but unable to find an anchor with his feet. He had no leverage, lying on his stomach as he was, and with Heero unconscious - or dead, a small voice mocked - he had no hope at all of saving him. And if he didn't accept that, Heero wouldn't be the only casualty.
But the skin under his grip was warm, and he couldn't tell if the pulse he felt was his own or the other boy's, but he wasn't willing to give up just yet.
"Heero?" he said, his voice a bit stronger. Maybe Yuy was just dazed.
The smoke was still dense, and despite choking on the fumes, Duo retained his death grip on Heero's wrist. His boot managed to snag a clump of roots and he tried pulling again, but the strain in his back and shoulder, combined with physical exhaustion and a less than ideal posture, rendered his efforts useless.
The smoke burned his eyes, the resulting tears blurring his vision. He could make out Heero's limp silhouette, and he felt the weight of hopelessness on his shoulders. Still, he'd always had a bit of a stubborn streak, and despite a run of what he'd say was bad luck, if he believed in such a fickle thing as 'luck,' he wasn't yet willing to give up.
Especially not when he could feel a tremor through Heero's body. One shadowy arm lifted, reaching for Duo.
At least that's what Duo assumed, until he recognized the outline of the object in Heero's hand.
"Heero, you keep it," Duo said, digging his fingers into Heero's flesh hard enough to break the skin. "You'll need it when we get out of here."
The click of Heero's releasing the safety was surprisingly audible, considering the ringing in Duo's ears from the blast.
"Heero?"
As the cloud of dust slowly cleared, Heero's glare became visible. It was surreal, Duo thought. Was Heero going to kill them both?
"Let go, Duo."
Heero's voice was determined, but Duo wasn't about to be swayed by the tone of command. He could be just as mule-headed as Mister Personality.
"No."
The gun moved slowly, and it was aimed, Duo was sure, right between his eyes. He could feel the telltale tingling, although his gaze was fixed on Heero's face.
"Let go, Duo," Heero repeated.
"I said no, damn it!" Duo shouted back.
"Duo," Heero said, his voice softer, but none the less forceful. "Go. You have a job to do."
"So do you, for fuck's sake, Heero! Don't you dare tell me what to do! I'd manage this a whole lot easier if you'd help me!"
Heero's gun didn't waver. "Let go."
"Fuck you!" Duo practically screamed in frustration. "I'm no more afraid to die than you are!"
"Duo."
He could swear he saw Heero's finger start to squeeze the trigger, and he tried one more time to pull the stubbornly defiant asshole up, just to spite him, but he couldn't do it. He wanted to punch something, but it was all he could do to keep his lower body still before the ground relinquished the tangle of roots.
You've always been a bit of a bullshit artist, Duo, where's that silver tongue now?
With my heart, somewhere lodged in my throat.
"Heero," he said, doing his best to keep his voice level and calm. "I'm going to pull you up, alright?"
"If you could, you'd have done it already."
"Impossible odds are rather an exciting challenge, don't you think?" he said, his arm completely numb by now.
"Let go, Duo." Heero sounded tired now.
"I'm calling your bluff." The words came out in a rush. "It's not over 'til it's over, Heero. You're not dead yet, I'm not dead yet. The colonies need us, the other pilots need us. Two heads are better than one, don't ya know."
Duo would swear Heero glared even harder.
"Don't do this to me, Heero," he said, his voice cracking. He closed his eyes as a stray breeze blew more of the settling smoke into his face.
He opened them abruptly when he felt Heero's wrist squirming in his grip, just before the previously lax fingers clamped around his forearm.
The gun was nowhere to be seen, and Heero growled "you'd better be right about this" before he swung his right arm up toward Duo's dangling appendage. Both of his hands were now clinging to Duo.
"Remember, you asked for this," Heero warned, before climbing up Duo's body.
Duo gritted his teeth as he felt the roots start to give way, and then Heero was up and over his back. He got kicked in the face by a surprisingly large boot, and wanted to laugh bitterly as he realized he was going to need help getting to his feet.
Heero's hands were working on freeing Duo's ankle from what was left of his tiny anchor, and then they quickly skimmed over Duo's body, looking for signs of injury.
Duo returned the favor, but as soon as he reached one hand to Heero's chest, it was trapped between their bodies as Heero enveloped him in a bone-crushing embrace.
There was barely enough time for Duo to register the cloying scent of destruction on Heero's clothes and in his hair, to feel the grime on Heero's skin beneath his lips, before it was over.
Heero stood, a bit shakily, and offered his hand to Duo, the same hand that had held the gun. Duo accepted the gesture, placing his hand firmly into Heero's.
They remained like that for one second, then two, before Heero pulled him to his feet. Two more seconds went by before he dropped Duo's hand and turned his back, muttering under his breath.
Duo followed slowly as they made their way to where they'd concealed their Gundams.
It wasn't until later that night, when Duo was stretched out on the ground, under the stars, when Heero's words played back in his mind.
Duo was sure Heero was making a rather poor joke, which in itself, was encouraging. There was hope for Yuy yet.
On the other hand, if he meant something more by it, all the better.
He laughed quietly.
Both his laughter and the softly uttered response to those words carried through the stillness of the night and to Heero's ears.
"But what about on the second date?"
Heero closed his eyes and smiled.
The End
(:./mookie/kiss)
