The bell released the entire silent classroom to their feet in a rush, and like a giant weight lifted, the silence was broken by happy relieved chatter and the shuffle of feet moving anxious students out of the room. Books were shoved hastily into bookbags, pencils stowed, and every student dropped their tests onto the wooden desk under a teacher's watchful eye on the way out.
"Aiyah!" A young girl stared in dismay as she dropped her books, and tried to bend in the stampede to pick them up.
"Allow me, ojousan." A slender boy stooped beside her and scooped the books neatly off the floor, giving her a dazzling white smile. "Here ya go."
"D-doumo, Duo-kun," she stammered, a smile tugging her lips upward in response. She took the books and held them tightly to her chest, eyeing him with admiration.
"Be more careful," he admonished with another grin, then turned to the silent companion at his side, clapping the boy's shoulder. "Oi, Heero, ready for lunch?"
All he received was a slight grunt in response, and both boys turned to leave the classroom.
The girl stood for a moment, pressing a closed hand to her lips and still smiling, before she was bumped from behind by another girl.
"Arimi-chan no baka, stop staring!" the other girl teased her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the hallway. She looked after the two boys with an appreciative, faintly lecherous grin. "Tasty, aren't they?"
"Iie -- anou... e-eto... " Arimi stammered, clutching her books for dear life.
"They've only been here for two days," the second girl sighed, "and already they've captured our hearts... too bad they don't seem interested in anyone, ne?"
"Satsuki!" Arimi protested. "You're so... so mercenary! They've only just gotten here!"
Satsuki gave her an unabashed grin. "She who hesitates... "
"Duo-kun treats all the girls the same -- smiling, polite, and talkative -- so I don't think he's the type to play favorites," Arimi replied, casting her eyes down. "And Heero-kun... "
"Doesn't say a word to any of the girls, and barely talks even with his buddy Duo-kun," Satsuki finished for her, tossing back a handful of red curls. "I don't care... I've got my sights set on Duo-kun."
Arimi blushed furiously. "I don't think he's interested... " she trailed off, looking dubious. Duo's violet-blue, laughing gaze still winked clear in her memory at her.
Duo balanced his tray precariously on one open palm and looked around the cafeteria. The line was moving so slowly, he just knew he was going to die of starvation before they got to the end and finally ate. That, and he was plain bored. He grabbed his tray in both hands and jiggled from one foot to the other, eyeing Heero's impassive profile.
"So, whad'jya think of that test?"
"Hn."
"Boring? Easy? Hard? Mere rote routine? Quite below the levels of your more-than-mortal abilities, and therefore beneath your notice?" Duo reeled off, hoping to cajole the other pilot into a response.
Heero flicked a glance over at him from beneath unruly bangs, the word 'urusai' practically stamped on his forehead in glowing red characters. Duo pretended to cringe back and grinned weakly at him, tucking his tray defensively close.
"Eheh."
They shuffled a few more steps down the line and Duo exhaled a puff of air. He balanced his tray on one hand again and looked around furtively. He caught himself watching Heero's bottom moving and flexing in the uniform pants, and just barely stifled the accompanying sigh. So tempting. When they moved around the corner of the steam tray lunch line, Duo set his tray down on the bars, looked around again, grinned, and reached down to cop a good feel of Heero's behind. He'd never been *that* good at resisting temptation.
Heero jumped almost a good foot.
"Heero-kun, daijoubu ka?!" the girl next to him inquired, blinking at him with wide brown eyes.
"Yeah, Heero, are you all right?" Duo riveted him with a wide- eyed innocent gaze.
"Fine," Heero replied in steely tones, and the girl shrank back.
Heero turned to face him, cobalt eyes burning.
"Eh?" Duo smiled, all innocence and good cheer.
Heero leaned in close, his gaze darkly dire. "You'll pay later," he promised in a low intense growl, then turned back to his tray.
Duo scooted over. He clapped a hand to his head, dismayed. "Oh, God, no!"
Heero shot him a suspicious glance.
"Herring Surprise!" he mourned. "It's a conspiracy -- the third school in a row!" He gave Heero a wide, unrepentant grin.
Heero merely glowered, contenting himself with plotting revenge.
"Ahh... oh... " Duo's muffled groan was clamped off by a hand over his mouth.
"Shut up," Heero hissed.
Duo nodded vigorously and the hand withdrew. He arched back, gasping, as Heero returned his attentions to the skin bared by his half- unbuttoned shirt and pushed him prone onto the bed, settling on top of him. "Saa... Heero... if this is your idea of punishment, you can do it anytime... "
Heero gave him a feral, hungry look. "We haven't gotten to the punishment yet."
Duo blinked. "We haven't?"
It was hard for him *not* to make noise, when he enjoyed the touch of Heero's hands on his body so thoroughly. Everything with Heero made his nerves sing alight with pleasure. He'd never thought in a million years the Wing pilot would return his feelings with anything but disgust or a punch in the mouth or, at best, calling him a pervert... yet Heero had responded with equal sensual curiosity, and even raw need... Duo wasn't sure yet though if Heero was just satisfying lust, or had developed a true attachment. He was afraid to ask, afraid to jeopardize the heady, dizzying satisfaction of the relationship they shared.
He arched up again, struggling to clamp down the noise that was emerging from his throat as Heero traveled further, hands slipping down to cup his buttocks. The mouth fixed onto his bellybutton and he whimpered as a tongue dipped in, tasting him, then flickered in and out, rapidly. "Shit -- Heero!"
"Shut up, or I'll gag you." The voice was breathless but the threat very real. He knew from experience.
Duo ground his teeth together as Heero made a moist circle around the edge of his navel, then flickered in again. He punctuated this with a lazy flex of his fingers, digging into the flesh of his bottom, cupping him upwards. "Mmph... " Duo was fighting a losing battle. He squirmed, trying to achieve some friction against the contours of Heero's hard chest. Then Heero shifted and rubbed his cheek, cat-like, against the rapidly- hardening mound of his groin. "Ahhh!" A little *too* loud, he realized too late.
Heero's weight vanished abruptly from the bed.
"Shitshitshit... " Duo closed his eyes tightly as Heero returned to the bed, then warm fingers were prying his lips apart.
"Duo, you *know* why we have to be quiet," Heero reasoned with him. Duo scowled at him and opened his mouth. The fingers slipped inside briefly and he sucked at them, clamping down and trying to keep them inside, gazing up at Heero through heavy-lidded eyes. Heero caught his breath then tugged his fingers out, sliding them out of the slick hot mouth that had fastened on them so readily.
He bent and kissed him, a fleeting brush. Duo grabbed at his face with both hands but Heero was out of reach. He settled for hooking into the rim of Heero's pants and tugging hard, tumbling him on to the bed, pulling him on top.
Heero's breath rasped in his ear and Duo wound his arms around the other boy's waist, parting his legs with a low little noise as Heero tried to worm between them. They both froze for a quivering heartbeat as both of them felt the bulge of their erections press hard against each other. Then with a barely-audible groan Heero was moving on top of him, rocking forcefully. Duo opened his lips to noisily voice his pleasure and was stifled by Heero's lips descending on him, eating at his mouth with bruising force.
And both breathless moving bodies froze in earnest, as someone knocked on the door.
A pause.
A slightly louder knock. "Heero-kun?" The voice was muffled through the wood, anonymous, but sounded feminine.
"K'so," Heero uttered, quiet and bitter. He pushed himself up onto hands and knees.
Duo lay there, just breathing, feeling like every nerve in his body was throbbing. His world was encompassed by the mournful thought, "Why me?" beating through his brain. Moments away from teenage hormonal bliss...
Heero's head dropped briefly, nuzzling the hollow of his throat, then the Wing pilot was gone, running a hand through his hair and tucking the shirt back into his pants. Duo stifled a curse and hastily buttoned his shirt back up, hoping to God he didn't look *too* much like he'd just been laid.
Because, he tacked on pitifully in his thoughts, he hadn't... Just been achingly close.
Duo jumped off the bed and hurried over to his desk, pretending to tidy up as Heero opened the door. Anything to avoid looking like he'd just broken off an extended make-out session... he knew his lips were probably still swollen from Heero's heavy kiss.
"Konnichiwa, Heero," the girl at the door announced in a confident, public-speaking kind of voice.
Duo stiffened.
He knew that voice.
"Relena... " Heero's soft, surprised tone struck his ears like a bolt.
Duo suddenly, vengefully wished that Heero *hadn't* conscientiously locked the door, and that the Peacecraft had tried it.
"Heero," Relena returned triumphantly. "I've found you again."
"Why, so you have, ojousan," Duo said cheerfully, before Heero could reply. Knowing Heero, he wouldn't, anyway. Duo plastered on his widest, most inane grin and bounced over, slinging an arm around Heero's neck and leaning over his shoulder to peer at Relena through the half open doorway. He noted immediately how tense the hard muscles were against his chest. He sincerely hoped that this was because of Relena's unexpected presence, and didn't mean that Heero was about to deck him...
"Now that you've found him, what are you going to do with him, though? That's the question!" he continued, still smiling blithely at the girl. His partial embrace on Heero was quite a bit more than he'd normally be allowed in public, but this was *Relena*, and there wasn't any sign of anyone in the hall behind the girl. It'd take a crowbar to remove him from Heero now, and at this point he didn't *care* if the Peacecraft guessed the true nature of their relationship. She wouldn't anyway -- she was dense as a brick, as proved by the way she followed Heero wherever he went.
Relena flickered him a strange look, halfway between confusion and annoyance. He got that look from her a lot; when she bothered recognizing his presence in the first place.
He also noticed with glee that Heero wasn't doing anything to shrug off his arm.
"Heero... " Relena faltered, turning back to her target, once more ignoring Duo. Not that he *wanted* her focused on him, but that was a pretty harsh snub. He gritted his teeth through his smile. "Heero, I need to talk to you!" Relena got out in a rush.
Duo opened his mouth angrily, but before he could say anything, Heero's voice gritted out two short, hard words. "So talk."
He glanced over. Heero's profile was as stony as it ever got. His grin widened and grew a lot less forced. He didn't show it, but Heero was just as pissed at Relena as he was -- possibly even more so!
"Anou... " She wilted a little, then straightened and directed a hard look at Duo. "Alone?"
Duo stopped himself just short of sticking out his tongue at the chit.
"It's Duo's room too," Heero said tonelessly.
Relena blinked rapidly. "Demo... demo... Heero... "
Duo flinched at the whine in that oh-so-irritating voice. He did *not* like this girl! Even if she wasn't fixated on Heero, he didn't think he'd like her! He wouldn't despise her quite as much, to be sure, but he still wouldn't find her anything more than a spoiled brat.
"Heero," she repeated, a pleading little catch entering her voice.
Duo had had quite enough, thank you very much. He was good and fed up with "Miss" Relena's attitude, with the assumptions she placed on Heero, with her blatant snubbing of him, and most of all, she'd interrupted them in the middle of... of... well, of getting it on, to put it bluntly!
He leaned further over Heero's shoulder, plastering on his most offensively cheerful grin and waggling his fingers to recapture her attention.
The blue eyes snapped back to him, dismissive and cool.
"Heero! Oi, Heero! Heero... ne, Heeeeeee~eero!" Duo mimicked in a falsetto, nudging his partner in the ribs, eyes fixing on Relena's to judge the impact of his mockery.
The girl went brick red, a dull unflattering shade. Her mouth worked for a moment before she got her vocal cords under control.
"Heero, I came to talk to *you,* not to have *him* make fun of me," Relena appealed.
"I didn't ask you to come," Heero returned.
"How *did* you find us?" Duo demanded curiously, popping up on Heero's other side and casually draping his arm over the impervious shoulder. For a second time, Heero refrained from shoving him away, actually seeming to lean into the touch. Duo grinned from sheer cheekiness.
Relena stared at him, her gaze hard, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Ah, ojousan, you haven't changed much," Duo told her, affecting a sad tone and wiggling one finger. "The first time we met you were trying to get yourself killed by this maniac." He patted Heero affectionately, hand slapping the firm midriff. Heero twitched but still made no move to disengage him.
"Well! Now that you've found us, we're just going to have to kill you." Duo gave her an angelic smile.
Relena's eyes widened until there was white showing around the rims of her irises.
Heero turned, toppling Duo off his shoulder with a yelp. Relena made an abortive movement to follow and he stretched leisurely, blocking the doorway. Her mouth contracted to a hard little point.
"Heero, where are you going?" she demanded.
"To get a *gun,* ojousan," Duo replied with just the right amount of astonishment and condescension coloring his voice. He eyed her like it were a matter of course.
"Heero?" she pleaded, ignoring him again.
Duo's brow twitched. That was the last straw. He grabbed the edge of the knob, then -- looking at her very deliberately -- slammed the door in her face. Her startled, outraged gasp was smothered by the satisfying bang it made.
"Heero!" she wailed, forlorn, her voice cutting even through the thick panel.
Duo clicked the lock decisively, then turned.
Heero met his eyes then rolled them upwards.
Duo shrugged, grinned, then glomped him. "Well, now that we're alone again," he began eagerly, nuzzling along his jawline, "whatever shall we -- oi!"
Heero took the direct approach and grabbed his bottom, drawing him in even closer. He tilted his head, appraising. "Let's play a game," he suggested, blue eyes sly and glinting.
Duo blinked at him. "Nani?" But he was grinning widely. He *did* so love Heero in a playful mood.
"Which piece of furniture haven't we christened yet... ?"
Duo rolled onto his stomach and crossed his arms over his pillow, planting his chin on them as he watched Heero through heavy lids. The sheets were cool and clean against his recently ravaged flesh, the mattress beneath him was soft, Relena was a memory, and all was well with his world. He was a little sore, true, but it was a good sort of soreness. Oh, yes! Very good...
"Heero, wh'tcha doin'?" he queried lazily. Heero was hard at work on his laptop. Ye gods! Didn't he ever give the computer a break?
Well, occasionally. For... recreational purposes...
Duo smirked.
"Finding a new school," Heero answered shortly.
Duo sighed. They'd only been here two days, but now that Relena- *sama* had come knocking -- literally -- it was time to move on. It wasn't any wrench, but what was disturbing was that she was finding them more and more quickly every time! Two days... Hell, at this rate, they'd probably find her *waiting* for them at the next school!
"I *don't* like her!" he verbalized, scowling as he buried his nose in the pillow beneath his arms.
Heero didn't reply. Not that he'd expected or wanted him to.
Duo turned onto his back, the sheet slipping somewhat, and stared up at the ceiling. "Wonder what she wanted, though." He cocked an ear as Heero snorted, and grinned a little. "Aw, I know what she *wanted*! I'm just wondering what she would have *said*!" He sighed gustily. "Wonder what's going on in that little pea-brain of hers."
"Why waste your time," Heero said emotionlessly as he shut off the computer and rose.
"Saa, Heero, done already?" Duo asked, blinking wide-eyed at the other pilot.
There was a slight quirk at the corner of Heero's lips as he crossed the room in two strides and whipped the sheet off Duo's naked body with a sharp motion. Duo yelped, taken by surprise.
"Actually, I've only started."
The cargo truck pulled to a straining stop, its headlights streaming over the figure by the road, head tucked down, face overshadowed by a cap, one arm held out with the thumb splayed up in the traditional hitchhiker's plea. The driver licked his lips -- a nice lean body, and a long fall of brown hair done up in a neat braid. The face that lifted to greet him with a wide smile was heart-shaped and lovely.
Then the lips parted. "Oi, thanks man, I thought I was going to have to wait here forever."
The driver facefaulted. A... a... b-boy! A very beautiful boy, but male nonetheless!
"What the hell are you doing out here, this time of night?" he blustered, a bit discomfited that he'd been thinking naughty thoughts about a teenage boy.
He sauntered up, still grinning, and put a hand to his hip. In spite of himself, the driver was captivated by the natural grace of his movements. Maybe... NO! It was a boy, not a girl, and he wasn't some pervert. Besides, a boy would be able to resist more.
"Just hitching a ride," he shrugged. He grinned up at him. "You going my way?"
He caught his breath and gulped. "Climb in."
The boy jogged around the cab of the truck and opened the door, climbing in. His grin was suddenly feral. "Betcha didn't know you were volunteering to pick up *two* passengers," he said.
"N-nani?" the driver replied, confused.
"Me, and my partner," the boy answered, that uneasy grin still sitting on his face. "Me and Death!"
A fist crashed across his cheekbone and he reeled. He groped out, snagging the boy's hair and jerking hard. The boy yelped, then fingers were jabbing into a sensitive angle of his jaw, and the clenched fist rocked across his temple again. The boy reached across him while he was still dazed, fingers loosening his grip, and opened the door.
"Sayonara!" the boy called gleefully as he tumbled from the cab.
The cargo truck went roaring off.
"Matte!" he yelled, trying to run after it. "Chotto matte, you little shit!"
Mocking laughter was the only answer as dust sprayed into his face.
"Ninmu kanryou," Heero muttered as he shifted the truck into gear. Things were going quite well -- he'd stolen a truck, he'd found a school that was obscure enough to throw Relena for a loop and neither of them were using their last names in this new enrollment, and he and Duo had enjoyed themselves quite thoroughly all afternoon in uninterrupted bliss.
It was strange. He had never really thought much about sex, or feelings, before Duo. Now he seemed to be thinking about both an awful lot.
At least he could express the one, if he couldn't do so well with the other. And for now Duo seemed happy with it.
It wasn't far to where he had hidden Wing Gundam in the thick clearing of untouched forest a mile from the school. Dumping the cargo was the most laborious part of the whole operation, and while he did it he thought mostly about Duo. Wondering why he did so, he trudged back and forth rolling the barrels out of the cargo hold, picturing Duo's sunny smile. He could practically hear his loquacious chatter, keeping him company. And himself, growling at Duo to shut up.
Then he started thinking again about what they'd done that afternoon, and paused, rolling the barrel to a stop by its companions. Why?
Why couldn't he get Duo out of his head?
Even when he was alone, and completing his mission in blissful silence, Duo would pop up inexplicably in his thoughts. Like now. He could practically smell Duo's scent, warm sunlit hair and musk and vaguely-citrus shampoo. He could feel the silky skin and play of muscles under his hands, and see the way Duo had arched up underneath him, reaching up to tug his head down for a kiss. It was absurd. It was a distraction.
With a growl Heero returned to the truck and finished rolling out the barrels, resolutely trying to ignore the alluring scenarios his mind offered up for consideration. He focused on his task, and then loaded Wing Gundam into the cargo hold.
Duo was still there.
His lip curled as he started up the engine. The school was a day's drive away, and he and Duo had agreed to stop for the night at a halfway point. Heero personally thought it was perfectly ridiculous. He would be just fine driving the whole night through. And Duo had given him a pretty absurd reason, too -- he wanted to sleep with him, and snuggle. Yet for some reason Heero had found himself agreeing. Albeit informing Duo curtly that *he* would have to make hotel arrangements.
He slouched down in the seat, and settled into the rhythm of the road.
And Duo's violet eyes and knowing smirk followed him the whole trip.
Duo grumbled to himself as he laboriously rinsed the conditioner out of his hair. He'd had to hide the truck quite a ways from the hotel, just in case, and it had been a long, dusty treck here. But he had to be careful; he could just imagine the police towing away and impounding a stolen vehicle, completely unaware that there was a Gundam hidden in the back!
Now that was actually pretty amusing! He chuckled to himself, good mood restored.
He'd arrived at the hotel before Heero, for a wonder, and had just grabbed their room. He wanted a bath badly, and Heero would find him.
Hopefully Heero *would* find him... Well, he'd agreed to meet here, and he'd yet to break his word to Duo. Besides, sometimes a guy just had to take a gamble. And Duo could feel in his bones that Heero would show.
He was toweling off his hair, trying to rub at a trickle of water that felt like it was *inside* his ear, when he heard movement outside the bathroom. He froze for a moment, examining the sound. Then a grin spread over his lips.
Duo whipped open the door, towel loosely knotted over his hips. "A-HA!"
Empty bedroom.
God-damn, he felt like a fool.
"Aaaa~ah," Duo sighed, rubbing sheepishly at his damp hair. "I wonder if he's going to show." It was really weird. Not like his whole universe depended on Heero showing up tonight -- it didn't; he would survive if Heero didn't show up "to cuddle," but this feeling of expectancy prickling along his skin... Absently he wondered what a virgin on prom night felt like.
He turned to grab his brush and work out the tangles before the long wet mass could turn itself into snarls.
A hand clamped over his mouth.
Duo's eyes went very wide as he was pulled back against a lean, hard body. "If I were OZ... " the impersonal voice grated in his ear.
"... you wouldn't be molesting me in a cheap hotel room," Duo completed for him, muttering around the fingers. "Oi, Heero, don't do that, man! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Heero released him, blue eyes scorching up and down as he assessed his state of undress. "You let your guard down."
Duo put a hand to his hip, tilting his head with a quirked grin. "I knew it was you."
Heero's snort followed him as he went back into the bathroom to retrieve his brush. The silver-backed thing was old in hairbrush terms, and stolen somewhere along the line from a super-mart, but it took a beating pretty well. It was missing some bristles but still serviceable. What made it irreplaceable, though -- the reason he'd kept it as they moved from place to place -- was that Heero was the one who used it.
He dangled the brush from one hand, still smiling a little. "Onegai?"
Heero shrugged and took the brush, his throat releasing another snort as Duo scrambled eagerly for the bed, sitting down delighted and shaking his long wet hair over both shoulders. But he followed, seating himself behind Duo and gathering the cascading strands into both hands before running the brush through the bottom edge.
He moved in long, slow strokes and Duo was nearly purring with contentment, his body thrumming with the simple sensuous tugs at his scalp, and Heero's proximity. The brush moved higher, tugging almost sharply at the hair plastered to his skull and Duo winced. Immediately the strokes slowed again, as Heero wordlessly combed through the tangles with the fingers of his free hand, then finished brushing it out.
Then he set the brush aside and Duo crumpled back, into his lover's arms, sighing with content. This was his favorite part.
Heero buried his face in the long fragrant dampness, turning into his neck and nudging. Butting up against him like a curious feline.
"I lo--" Duo started, caught up in the bubble of this perfect happiness, then cut himself off abruptly. Shit, what was he thinking!? *'I love you?' He'd probably shove me off this bed! And then leave!*
"What... ?" Heero prompted, after a pause.
"I think you'd better shower, too, and then we'd better get to bed," Duo returned lamely. "We have a long day tomorrow, ne?"
Heero was quiet. "Hmf," he finally snorted into Duo's hair, then pushed lightly. Duo scrambled out of his lap, flipping his hair over one shoulder and beginning to braid it. Concentrating on his hair was safe. If he watched every plait his fingers made, he wouldn't have to meet Heero's eyes.
The weight was gone from the bed and the bathroom door was clicking shut and Duo collapsed onto the bed, air leaving his lungs in a whoosh. "What was I thinking?" he repeated to himself. "He'd kill me. Iie. What *would* he do to me if I told him?"
Duo pulled a long face, refusing to think about it.
The shower noises started up from the bathroom and he pondered the door for a long moment, smiles gone. He was *afraid* to tell Heero. Because, when it came right down to it, when you loved someone...
Duo balled his fists up and turned his face away. Then ground those fists against his eyes. Everyone he'd ever counted on had died. Even Heero hadn't been the most stable of individuals, when he'd met him. Hell, he'd tried to *kill* himself moments after they had met.
When Heero stepped out of the bathroom, the room was dark and quiet. Duo had made sure of that, flipping the lights off and curling up under the sheet. Heero paused for a good long while at the foot of the bed, making Duo wonder if he was really *that* transparent, and the Japanese pilot knew he wasn't sleeping. Then the mattress creaked with Heero's weight and the sheet was sliding over his body, bunching as Heero joined him beneath it.
Strong arms slid around his waist, pulling him close, and Duo allowed himself a tiny sigh of contentment. This was where he wanted to be.
"Duo... ?"
He forced himself to remain limp and relaxed. Breathing even and regular.
"Duo." A hand reached up, brushing over his cheek. One finger tracing the outline of his lips. "Oyasumi nasai, Duo." Heero sighed and pulled him close.
Duo woke first the next morning, by choice. This was too sweet and rare an experience not to take full advantage of.
One or both of them -- though it had probably been him, he had to admit -- had squirmed around in the night, and now Heero was curled up against Duo's chest, his face burrowed into the hollow of his throat. Duo felt delicious prickles radiating through his body from the gust of Heero's warm breath over his skin, but this wasn't the time for that. Contrary to what most boys his age seemed to think, there *were* things more important than sex.
And Duo was holding one of those things in his arms.
Pulling back a little, Duo squinted through the early morning dimness filling the small room. Heero's arms were like iron bands around him, but with a little squirming, he managed to get into a position where he could see his bedmate's face.
Now this, as far as Duo was concerned, was the perfect view to wake up to. He wished he could do so more often.
Heero stirred, frowning, and Duo caught his breath, afraid he'd awakened the other boy and would lose this most precious chance. He ran his fingers soothingly through Heero's short hair, stroking his thumb lightly over his temple. With a thick sigh, Heero sank once more into the realms of sleep.
Duo examined his face minutely, as well as he could in the lack of lighting. The darkness blurred Heero's features, softening them further, until the pilot of Wing Gundam almost looked completely unlike himself.
Duo wasn't altogether sure he liked it; this new tint of vulnerability. It was nice to see Heero with his shields down, his mask set aside, but that wasn't the Heero he was used to.
Still, it was all Heero. Duo cocked his head, eyes wandering over his lover's familiar body with new wonder.
A mop of thick, dark auburn hair that always looked untidy. He'd seen Heero brush it, had even grabbed the hairbrush and done it for him a few times, but still, it always appeared as though it had been tousled by the wind, or a friendly hand. Its rich, silken mass just invited such intrusion, and Duo felt his fingers itching to be buried in the soft strands. He resisted the impulse, however.
Heero's heavy brows were lightened in sleep, not the hard outline to his dark glowers that they usually were. Beneath the winging bands his lids were soft and lightly brushed with shadows above the sweep of his thick black lashes.
Heero's eyes were still. No dreams then. Duo wondered if Heero ever dreamt; who he dreamt about if he did. Did he dream about those he'd killed? Those he loved? Were his dreams anything like Duo's? He didn't suppose he had any way of ever knowing, and his chest ached a little at the thought.
Below the closed eyes, Heero's cheeks slid smooth and unblemished down to his strong chin. There was a slight fullness to their flawless lines, a hint of the child Heero ought to have been allowed to be. It was the only place on the whole of his exquisitely sculpted body that retained traces of the baby fat that had been burned away long ago. Duo knew that quite intimately.
A straight nose, elegantly flared nostrils, leading Duo's eyes unerringly to Heero's lips. He felt his own curving in a slight smirk as he allowed his eyes to linger over the fullness of Heero's mouth.
Heero's jaw was lax in sleep, his lips just barely parted to release his soft exhalations. Those lips were too often pulled in a taut line, but Duo knew very well what that mouth could do. Oh, yes, he knew...
As Heero had done to him the night before, Duo lightly traced the arching outline of Heero's upper lip, the full heaviness of his lower. The flesh was warm and gently brushed with color and he could feel Heero's breath wash heated and moist about his fingertip.
Duo frowned down at Heero's sleeping face. It really wasn't fair for someone to be so perfect, so beautiful. He hadn't ever had a chance to resist Heero. Not really.
Nor could he resist now. Removing his finger, he bent and replaced the digit with his own mouth, swallowing Heero's soft exhalation, then tracking his tongue over those sweet lips.
Heero's breath caught and he stirred, gleaming eyes slitting open as Duo pulled back a little. Duo offered him a misty smile, nuzzling his nose lightly.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Heero," he greeted, voice husky.
Heero merely grunted in answer, but his arms tightened around Duo's lean body.
Duo planted a decisive kiss on the hollow of his throat, then a sloppy one on his lips. Heero strained forward as he pulled back, intending to scramble into a sitting position, but the locked arms around his back kept him riveted.
Heero smirked at him, the barest twist of his lips.
Experimentally, Duo tugged harder. On the one side, he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with Heero for as long as humanly possible. On the other edge of the scythe -- the sharp one -- if he stayed like this much longer, if he allowed himself to be lulled by this beautiful dream and Heero started to coax him into sensuous pursuits, he might slip again. He might say it.
Those hands slid down from their locked position about his waist, one grasping his hip wedged against the bed, the other caressing down to cup the curve of a buttock. "Ohayo," Heero finally replied, flexing his hands.
The prickling sensation intensified, burning a line below his skin centered in the flesh Heero's hand cradled. His intake of breath broke in half and eased slowly in pieces past his throat.
"Heero... " It was a strained whisper, almost a plea, and the gleaming slivers of cobalt widened more, to better observe the effect. Duo wriggled back and Heero's grip tightened, almost painful. He grimaced and moved closer to Heero and was rewarded by a soothing squeeze and a kiss. Heero licked at his parted lips.
"Heero, aren't we supposed to get going?" he rasped, not *wanting* to remind his lover that they were on a schedule of sorts, but reality intruding. It was a comforting refuge, an alternative to sliding into the depths of this dizzying tryst.
"Later," Heero replied, eyes flicking briefly to the shadows sifting restlessly on the wall, assessing the dawn. He moved closer, taking Duo's mouth, the entire length of his body cleaving the sheet between them and moving to press up against him.
With a low groan Duo surrendered to the inevitable and parted his lips, Heero's tongue a demanding invader, plundering his mouth for the utmost in pleasure that this joining could afford both of them.
Duo was suddenly struck by an epiphany. If he kept his mouth busy, then he wouldn't be in as much danger of blurting out anything stupid.
Well, he knew he could manage that! And he rather doubted Heero would find any reason to complain...
Melancholy set aside, Duo met Heero's unexpected passion with an enthusiastic rejoinder of his own, setting out to prove he could be every bit as horny as the other pilot.
And here, he didn't have to be quiet!
Heero watched him through eyes drifted nearly all the way shut, his beautiful lover, Duo's head still thrown back from that last suspended moment with his mouth open and the lingering echoes of his shout ringing clear through the depths of his ears. It was flattering as hell, how noisy Duo got sometimes, even if it *was* damned inconvenient.
Most of the time. Not now.
He released his grip on one knotted thigh, rubbing at it to smooth it out, then brushed a hand over Duo's bangs, sweeping the sweat- tangled hair back from the heart-shaped face. Duo slumped back into the cool contrast of the sheets and Heero sprawled out beside him. Watching him.
"Mm... " Duo swallowed convulsively then turned against him, eyes still closed.
Heero fixed his eyes on the sun-limned blinds as he hooked an arm around the American's waist, suddenly feeling possessive. It was an odd feeling. To retain something more than a machine, a mere object... the thought of Duo as his was a peculiar intrusion on his ordered world, although at the same time completely natural.
Objectively he knew that it was a sensation triggered by the physical intimacy of having sex. In taking Duo, he considered him as his. It was perfect textbook psychology... and it reeked.
A frown tugged at his brow, an accustomed expression, as he shifted focus from the blinds to the silken shutter of Duo's eyelids.
He was a methodical person. He had to know *why* that simple, reassuring text definition rang false.
It was more than that. Before now, Wing Gundam had been the only thing in the world he could lay claim to. His life wasn't even his own -- it belonged to the mission. Yet in some strange way they'd found a place outside of their normal chesspiece existence. This feeling, it wasn't tangible. It wasn't something that could be bought or taken away or abandoned on some godforsaken colony.
That gave it permanence.
He ran a finger down the exposed line of Duo's neck, still trying to figure it out. It was a hundred little things he couldn't completely name. It was why he brushed out Duo's hair every night, the other pilot leaning comfortably against him. It was why he couldn't get that face, the voice, those eyes out of his mind. It was why he had agreed to stop for the night and "just snuggle" even though he knew he could drive all night without a break.
It was waking up to his smile, and his throaty murmured, "ohayo."
All those parts of Duo were his. And in taking that, Heero had given away more of himself -- without even saying a word, without even binding himself with a promise -- than he had ever shown to anyone in his entire short miserable existence.
With a small grunt, Heero tightened his arm. Duo's eyes fluttered open, amaryllis fixing on him with a quizzical, leisurely satiated look. It was only fair that he feel possessive. Because in return, Duo had taken *him*.
"Heero... that was absolutely wonderful," Duo breathed near his lips when he said nothing.
"Let's go," he told his lover, gaze hardening as Duo pulled a long face at him, wriggling his nose with defiance.
"What a romantic," Duo mocked him. "'Heero, honey, that was great.' 'Hn. We're leaving.' You really know how to suck all the fun out of those post-coital moments... "
Heero quirked an eyebrow at him then abruptly pushed him onto his back, straddling his hips.
Duo blinked. "Oi. We just did this."
Heero leaned down and brushed over the sensitive hollow of his throat. He warmed the already heated skin with his breath, then just barely flicked the tip of his tongue over the damp flesh. Duo's sudden intake of breath was a quivering fixation. He dabbled his tongue in the hollow again, then pressed his lips firmly against it.
Duo was breathing faster again as Heero sat up, tilting his head, obscurely pleased with the immediate response he'd evoked. "Now let's go."
"Okay... I'll forgive you... "
Heero snorted and climbed out of bed.
It was something he would fight for, now... to always get that response from Duo. Not just the willingness to screw. That came cheap. What he wanted, without even realizing it before now, was how Duo always gravitated into his touch. How the American always seemed to itch to touch *him*. And how it went beyond mere touch into a place inside of him that had been dormant, and itched for survival and release. *Always follow your feelings.*
Duo was tossing the long braid over his shoulder, following him into the bathroom and grabbing his toothbrush. He watched him through hooded eyes for a moment, the bright-eyed bundle of energy, then stepped into the shower.
"Hurry up," he informed Duo calmly. "We don't want to be late."
"Awright, awright," Duo replied indistinctly around a mouthful of toothpaste.
A moment later strong arms engulfed him and he nearly slipped on the wet slickness of the tub. "Duo--" he sputtered, as Duo nuzzled his ear, then let go and stepped around him, repositioning so that both of them were drenched in the shower spray. "What're you doing?"
"You said hurry," Duo reasoned, coiling his hair up out of the water's reach and giving him a wide, perfectly innocent smile. "This'll be faster." His grin turned more than faintly naughty. "As long as neither of us drops the soap."
Heero couldn't help but crack a tiny smile.
The whisper was a barely-discernible undercurrent to the class as feet shuffled, chairs creaked, and young girls eyed the two figures center-front, eyes gleaming. The teacher's frown wasn't enough to quell the sussurating speculations and finally he gestured to one of the two slim boys, an expression of annoyance crossing his face as he glared at his fractious class once more.
"Class, today we're joined by two new students." He gave the first boy a nod.
The first took a step forward, blue eyes searing and assessing under a thatch of thick, dark hair. "Ore wa Odin Lowe, Jr. desu." Perfectly expressionless, his eyes flicked from one corner of the room to the other. "Yoroshiku." He stepped back with machinelike precision to a line on the tiled floor.
The other boy's step was filled with contained energy, his face radiating smiles and cheer. He tossed a braid of very un-regulation length long hair over his shoulder and broke out into a sunny smile. "I'm Solo Hellan," he replied, faltering over the words a little despite his upbeat, flippant manner. "Pleased ta meet'cha."
The teacher nodded, satisfied, then motioned to the waiting class. "There are two empty seats near the window; seat yourself, dozo."
Eyes followed their path from the front of the class to the empty seats. Heero could feel them burning along his back, but he ignored them all. He wasn't interested in getting to know any of these people; he and Duo would be here for however long it was necessary and then gone. There was no point in empty socialization.
That thought gave him pause. Initially, it was how he'd viewed Duo.
He had never asked for Duo to save his life. But Duo had, rescuing him from a heavily guarded military hospital and risking his own life. It was an obligation and he *had* repaid it, crushing a stealthy Leo before it had snuck up on Shinigami and taken him out. With that, he had discharged all debts. So why had he tolerated Duo as long as he had... ?
How had he given him the chance to slip past hardened defenses that had been perfected with years of being the emotionless soldier?
With a slight shake of his head, Heero seated himself and dismissed those thoughts. It was pointless to think over it now. Whatever he and Duo had, it was only the calm in the eye of the warstorm they lived. With the next mission it could change.
A small, nagging portion urged him to dream of a time beyond the war.
Heero crushed that even more firmly, and flipped open the book as the teacher directed them to a specific page in the reading.
He'd never learned how to dream.
"Heee~eero... Oi, Hee~eeroooo... "
Heero finally raised his eyes from the book he was studying and fixed the persistent annoyance with a dark stare.
Duo grinned disarmingly.
Heero returned to his book.
Duo scowled. Obviously more drastic measures where called for.
"Heee~eeero-cha--"
Duo flung himself out of the way of the fairly large, very solid projectile that suddenly sped through the air toward his head, alarmingly fast and unerring, then yelped as his movement rolled him over the edge of the bed and spilled him on the floor.
He peered sheepishly over the blanket as Heero rose and walked calmly over to retrieve his textbook. "That was hardbound, Heero!" he protested, levering himself up.
"I know," Heero grunted and turned a blazing glare on Duo, though the American pilot could have sworn the corner of his lip was twitching upward slightly. "What do you want?"
"Anou... " Duo blinked, then recalled the reason he'd been trying to get Heero's attention in the first place. "Oh! Heero, will you help me with my homework?"
Heero stared at him blankly. "You're not stupid, Duo. Stop playing at it. You're not some girl who needs help with her homework."
Duo made a face. "Yeah, but you're better at it than me!"
"That's because I'm better at everything than you." The words were spoken without inflection -- simply a statement of fact.
Duo grabbed a pillow.
The soft white goosedown lump smashed Heero in the face, stinging- sharp with the force, and as the Japanese boy tore it away, growling, Duo landed on top of him. His deadweight tumbled them to the immaculately-made bed.
"Duo... " That throaty growl never failed to raise the hairs on the back of his neck. But he had the advantage! Might as well seize it while he could...
Duo had a firm grip on one of Heero's wrists and the boy's other hand was occupied still with the pillow he was pulling away from his face. A foot clipped past his ear, surprisingly fast, and Duo yelped. They rolled off the bed and ended up in a painful thump on the hard, tiled floor.
"!" Heero subsided for a moment, laying his head on the tiles, eyes closed.
Duo blinked down on him, the first beginnings of concern worming their way into his breastbone. Had he cracked his head? "Gomen! I didn't mean to hu--"
Heero's cobalt eyes opened and he surged up, sweeping Duo out of his lap. The American pilot barely had time to squeak before he was pinned to the cold, cold floor. He blinked up into the eyes that were bare inches away, blurring in and out of focus. Heero looked very, very determined about something.
"Duo," the Japanese pilot said very calmly.
Duo gulped. "Eh?"
"I was studying."
Duo waggled his eyebrows. "Well, I was bored. Now you're not studying, and I'm not bored, so it all works out!" He grinned disarmingly. Then he softened the expression into a coy, demure look, fluttering his eyelashes. "And if we're not bored... "
Heero snorted and abruptly released him, climbing to his feet.
Duo sat up, sighed, and rubbed a hand over his mussed hair. "But I don't *WANT* to study physics... " he groused, eyeing the overturned text on his rumpled bed with baleful violet-blue eyes.
Heero threw an annoyed glance over his shoulder. "Duo. You're a Gundam pilot. You *should* know more about high school physics than the teacher."
"Maybe *you* do," Duo stuck his lip out, "but *I* left that up to Dr. G." He grinned and hefted himself to his feet with a mournful sigh blown from between his teeth.
Hands on his hips, he cast an eye at the offending physics text. Then he turned an eye to his desk. English and World Studies awaited. Iya, even worse! Well... they were only going to be here a few days... it wasn't as if he had a grade point average to keep up, when Heero could alter that as they hopped from school to school.
He turned.
Heero had retrieved his hardbound textbook and was reading it again, quite calmly.
Duo sweatdropped.
"Heeee~eero... " he set up his spiel again.
One gleaming steel-blue eye angled to fix on him, unamused. Duo pulled a face and flopped down on the bed. Sometimes there was just no getting anything from Heero, and this looked to be one of those times. He supposed he ought not to mind, considering how much Heero had given him in the past twenty-four hours, but...
"Oi, Heero?"
"Hn." Heero didn't look up from the pages, but Duo was laying on his back, hands tucked behind his head, gazing at the ceiling, and didn't notice anyway.
"How long do you think it'll be before Relena finds us again?"
Silence.
"Oh, excuse me. I meant, finds *you* again!" He snorted, pissed off. "As far as she's concerned, I might as well be a speck on her rose- color glasses!"
"You're the one who stopped me from killing her." The words were spoken tonelessly.
"Feh. I didn't know she'd turn out to be such a pain in the ass!" Duo frowned, thinking. "Besides, as much as she bugs me, I'm glad you didn't kill her. You already have enough guilt to deal with."
"Nani?"
Duo gulped, eyes widening in a sudden panic. He'd been thinking aloud, not really considering that Heero was actually *listening* to him! "Eto... anou... "
"Duo."
"Aa?" He winced as he heard Heero rise from the chair, and then the bed shivered and tilted as weight settled next to him. He kept his eyes stubbornly fixed on the cracked tiles above him, wondering idly how on earth someone had managed to leave a sneaker print up *there*. He refused to look impending doom -- Heero -- in the face.
"You--"
*Tok! Tok!*
Both young pilots glanced over at the door, startled. Then Duo gave Heero a shrug and a wide grin as he sat up, secretly overwhelmed with relief for the reprieve. "Maa, maybe it's our neighbors, wanting to get to know us!"
Heero's face was unreadable, even being accustomed to the minute shift of what play his facial features *did* go through.
Duo unlocked the door -- the result of Heero's automatic habit -- and was confronted with Them. A quartet of young, bright-eyed girls who were breathing with giggles and practically fell over the threshold when he opened the door.
"Hiiii~i!" the foremost one thrilled out. "I'm Izumi-chan!"
Another one squirmed her way into the doorway, batting long dark eyelashes over breathtaking green eyes. That is, they *might* have been breathtaking, under other circumstances. "We noticed you in homeroom," the second one added, shooting him what she obviously thought was a smoldering look.
Duo didn't have to force the wide grin that curved his lips up. He was genuinely amused. The girl didn't know the meaning of smoldering until *Heero* pinned her with that look, unmistakably intent on one thing.
"You're Solo, right?" yet a third added, nervously twisting a lock of dark red hair around her finger. She bit her lip and couldn't quite meet his eyes.
"Ah!" Duo nodded a few times, and heard Heero snort in the background. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "And that's my trusty yet silent partner Hee--um, Odin!"
"We know," Izumi giggled, craning her neck to peer at Heero, who remained stubbornly fixed to Duo's mattress. Then she gave him a doe-eyed glance. "We're not supposed to be here, but we wanted to make you feel welcome to the school."
"Well, thanks! That's really thoughtful of you," Duo grinned, putting one arm behind his head, smiling at them rather foolishly. "I'm sure Odin appreciates it, too!"
"Hn," 'Odin' contributed.
"Is there anything we can do for you, Solo-san?" the second one purred, butting up against the doorframe. All four of them aimed wide, sparkly eyes at he and Heero.
"Uh... ahh... no, thanks, we're just fine!" Duo waved his hands deprecatingly. "Thank you for thinking of us!" He was starting to feel trapped.
"Solo-kun, if there's anything we can do just let us know!" the heretofore silent fourth one blurted, her big amber eyes shimmeringly sincere. She peered up the corridor and released a small 'eep!' "Izumi-chan, Hikaru-chan, someone's coming!"
"Ja ne!" Izumi waved at them brightly.
"Byyyy~ye," Hikaru waggled her fingers, green eyes clinging to him.
Duo gave her an uneasy grin and shut the door at the first polite opportunity. He blew out a sigh of relief and locked the door. "Heh... looks like we've got another fan club, eh, Heero?"
"Hn."
The Japanese pilot was still seated on his bed, blue eyes piercing into him. It was an unnerving sensation, as if those cobalt searchlights could penetrate into the depths of his brain and rummage around for whatever he was searching for. Heero tilted his head, a tiny frown gathering between the dark bands of his eyebrows.
Duo chuckled and crossed the room, stepping close to the bedside. "What are you staring at?" With one finger he reached up and tried to smooth out the considering crease. It just deepened until Heero was glaring at him.
One strong callused hand closed around his wrist, yanking him off- balance and onto the bed. "Hey, watch it!" he protested, then squirmed until he was sitting cross-legged next to Heero. Strategically placed so he wouldn't have to face those intent blue eyes.
"Duo, what did you say earlier?"
Duo twiddled his thumbs and eyed the fascinating crack running clear through three consecutive tiles. "Nan demo." An elbow slammed into his ribs and he grunted slightly. "Oi! Nothing, I said! Why, whad'jya think I said?" He managed to infuse just the right amount of indignation and injurious offense into his tones.
Silence.
Finally, "Nothing... "
"Hhmph." Duo turned and gave Heero a sidewise glance. His lover was looking grimly pensive. He tapped him on the nose and received a cross-eyed glare in response. "What'cha thinking?"
Heero's gaze returned to the opposite wall.
Duo blew out a gusty sigh and began to fish through his pockets laboriously. Finally curiosity overcame habit and Heero bit.
"What are you looking for?"
"Hmm... Jaa!" Duo proudly displayed the small coin he'd managed to make his threadbare pockets cough up.
The frown between Heero's brows returned. "Nani, Duo?"
"It's not a penny," Duo explained, offering it to Heero. "But let's pretend it is. So, Heero... penny for your thoughts?"
Heero stared at the coin, not making a move to claim it. If he took it, that would seal a tacit agreement to talk, and he was *not* going to talk. Especially not after Duo had refused to explain his own peculiar words!
Guilt... That was the word Duo had used, in connotation to himself.
Would he really feel guilt if he killed Relena Peacecraft? Did he ever feel guilt? He was a soldier, trained not to feel guilt, not to think of those he killed. Not to think of the enemy, of their hopes, dreams, ideals, the families they left behind... These thoughts would only deter him in his course, distract from his mission.
He couldn't afford to feel guilt.
But what was that sick, burning feeling in his gut when he thought of that girl and her puppy... that day in the park, and the night in the burning city... if that was not guilt?
Still, what if he did feel guilt? What would it matter to Duo? It was Heero's problem. His alone, to face alone. Duo probably felt even more guilt than he did.
Duo--
"Maa, forget it!" Duo's fingers clenched around the coin and he hopped to his feet, stuffing it roughly back in his pocket. Heero wondered why he was suddenly so pissed off. "I'm gonna go for a walk. You get back to your studying!"
He watched as Duo strode quickly toward the door. "Matte, Duo!"
"Eh?" Duo stopped, but didn't turn around.
Heero's mouth worked for a moment and Duo's slender shoulders twitched. He wasn't sure what to say, but Duo's body was so stiff, held poised to leave and for some reason he couldn't pinpoint, Heero didn't want that.
"Why?"
If anything, Duo stiffened further. "Why, what?" But his husky voice was low and soft.
"Why do you want to know what I'm thinking?"
It was incomprehensible to him. All his life he had been trained to school emotion out, taught to believe that what *he* thought didn't matter any more than his life did. If his thoughts -- his opinions -- weren't supposed to matter to himself, then why should anyone else be concerned? Guilt was irrelevant. What he thought and felt was irrelevant.
Yet they sought to contradict that adamantine training. First Odin Lowe, and now Duo.
"Duo... ?"
Duo swung around to face him, bright-indigo eyes snapping sparks, his cheeks flushed. "Why!? Damn you, Heero Yuy, are you really that oblivious?"
Heero frowned. Now he was more confused than before. Why was Duo so angry? And what did he mean by oblivious? "If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask," he replied quietly, lips taut. He remained seated on the edge of the bed.
"Because I care, you moron!" Duo exploded, taking a step forward with knotted fists. He stopped and his whole posture softened abruptly. The teasing gleam re-entered his eyes and he put a hand to his hip, head cocked. "I'm not a mind-reader, ne? Hasn't anyone ever asked you what you thought before? I just wanna peer around the drafty self- destructive spots of ol' Heero's skull, and maybe see what makes him tick. That's why."
Heero regarded him steadily for a moment. The outburst -- that had been the real Duo, railing at him for once. This teasing violet-eyed joker was covering up for a moment of desperate reality, a 'dai suki' that had popped out perhaps inadvertently. Dai suki. 'I care.' It could mean...
Duo was still smiling at him, eyes alight, but there was a measure of sadness to it. "Maa naa. It doesn't matter. I'm going for a walk, okay?"
Heero's brows drew together. He didn't answer, too busy trying to puzzle out Duo's behavior, his words, and the nagging voice in the back of his head that his choice of a nom de guerre had stirred up. Odin's *"Always follow your feelings."*
"Take it, anyway."
The whisper was a raw rasp across his senses and a gleaming object arced through the air.
Reflexively Heero caught it, looking up just as the door clicked shut. "Duo... "
The small coin winked up at him.
He scowled at it.
For Duo it came so naturally. He shared his thoughts as easily as he breathed. He communicated mood, needs, wants, with the motion of his hands, the shifts in posture and facial expression, his incessant chatter and the telltale wide, expressive indigo-purple eyes. He pressed against Heero readily when he wanted physical affection, whether it was just a snuggle or more amorous intentions.
It was fortunate Duo *was* so readily accessible, because Heero found it extremely difficult bordering on impossible to communicate more than his basic needs or the terse orders of a mission.
Their current relationship was still something of an ongoing astonishment to him. Duo had pushed, teased, and finally pressed his flirtatious comments and gestures too far one evening, shoving his already-high tension level even further to the breaking point with not-so-subtle sexual tension. So he'd pinned Duo to the bed and called his bluff.
It hadn't been a bluff.
Heero smirked at the memory. Pure physical desire, he understood. He was more than willing to meet Duo halfway, even to initiate. His sex drive had been close to nonexistent before Duo -- but now awakened, it was a match for the American's own raging libido.
The resulting emotional entanglements, and their deepening intimacy -- that was the source of boundless confusion.
At some point, he had begun to realize that Duo Maxwell meant more than an annoying American, a good Gundam pilot, and great sex. Precisely what 'more' was, he was still struggling to define.
"Baka," he accused himself. There, Duo was correct. But whether it was stupidity for involving himself with a potential weakness, or stupidity for his continued inability to understand or accept the full range of what Duo was offering, he remained unsure.
Speaking of stupidity... his reaction to those giggling girls had taken him aback. Because he had felt overwhelmingly possessive. Those girls running their covetous eyes over the American pilot had been checking out *his* Duo. His and no one else's.
He growled and stood up, fisting the coin.
The smart thing to do would be to shelve these useless, unproductive thoughts. He still had homework to do. But the nagging sight of those mutely-inquisitive, disappointed eyes had the power to break his concentration. He stood up.
A ghost of amusement twitched his lip. He'd jumped off buildings and tangled with explosives more times than he could readily recount... so the 'smart thing' had never been his forte.
Duo hadn't gotten much further than ten paces out of the boys' dormitory when he was called to a halt. He half-turned, hands buried in his pockets, a reflexive smile rising to his face. It wasn't Heero's voice.
"Eh?"
A boy his own age faced him, solidly-muscled arms crossed over a broad chest. The boy was taller and all-around bigger. Duo's smile turned a shade uneasy.
"You're the new boy," the stranger informed him like he wouldn't know, amber eyes fixing onto his face, overbearing with the weight of condescension.
"Solo Hellan," Duo offered, extracting a hand from his pocket and extending it.
"Solo-kun," the boy repeated, thoughtful. His sudden grin was glinting and uneasy. "I'm Akito. Remember the name. This school is MY turf." He ignored the proffered hand.
"Oh?" Duo said cautiously.
Akito glowered down on him. "Yeah."
Duo put his hands up. "Wakatta, wakatta," he grinned disarmingly, shaking his head. A fleeting thought of those swooning girls ran through his mind -- would their adulation cause more trouble? He dismissed it. "The school's all yours, Akito-kun."
Akito's face darkened. "You making fun of me?"
Duo stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "Not at all."
Akito studied him silently for a moment. "You're too pretty to be a boy," he sneered at last. "Especially with that disgraceful, feminine hair."
Duo blinked and considered taking a step back. Was the guy itching for a fight?
The bigger boy was scowling heavily at him. "Definitely way too pretty," he repeated.
Duo shrugged, forcing a cheerful grin. "Them's the looks God gave me, man."
Akito reddened. "You *are* making fun of me," he accused, stepping toe-to-toe with him.
"Oi. I don't want any trouble," Duo lifted a hand up, staring the boy straight in the eye. "You can have the school. I'm supremely indifferent."
The other boy bunched his fists and Duo prepared to dodge. "You're asking to get hit, pretty boy."
Duo was fed up. "Nah... asking to get hit would be calling you a big hairy gorilla full of wind and piss," he snipped.
Akito hauled off and swung.
Duo ducked under the ponderous punch then tripped the heavier boy as he staggered past. Akito leapt to his feet, breath hammering, chest heaving like a red-flagged bull.
"You're gonna get your ass pounded."
Duo quirked an eyebrow, stifling his automatic smartass response.
"Yamero."
The voice fell into the charged space between Duo and the bully, carrying flat deadly intent. Duo's mouth curled up involuntarily. "He--Odin!" he corrected himself swiftly. Part of him was pleased as punch. Heero had followed him! The other part was hoping wistfully that Heero would beat the tar out of Akito, but he knew they'd probably get kicked out if that happened.
Akito stopped, mouth hanging open, and his brow knotted as he stared at Heero, sizing the newcomer up. Heero came to stand beside Duo, slender body seeming loose and casual, but Duo could detect the wire-fine tension knotting up his shoulders, vibrating clear through his feet. Heero's eyes were cold and very hard.
"Che!" Akito finally spat, turning his nose up. "A pair of pretty boys. You two deserve each other." He turned on his heel and stalked away.
"Bbbeeeda!" Duo thumbed his nose at the departing bully, pulling down one eyelid. Then he nearly pounced on Heero, eyes alight. "You followed me! Ha! You followed me out here, ko--OOF!" He coughed and stumbled back a step as Heero's fist buried itself in his stomach.
"Duo," Heero said quite glacially, "not in public."
"Solo-kun! Solo-kun!"
Heero gritted his teeth. And he'd thought that Peacecraft girl's fanclub was bad! All those high female voices were about to drive him mad! But... if he admitted it to himself, his annoyance stemmed mostly from the fact that those persistent females were hounding Duo, *his* Duo.
Not that "Solo-kun" seemed to mind the attention one bit.
Heero narrowed his eyes, nostrils flaring. Duo was just eating up the attention, chattering, teasing, flirting... flirting! Of course, Duo flirted with everyone, even the school nurse, who was fifty if she was a day. But that didn't mean Heero had to like it!
How could he compete? Oh, not with the girls. Duo wouldn't be worth his time if he was swayed by any of those vapid, babbling females. But Heero was painfully aware that his own social skills were nil. He was lucky he didn't just hit the girls that got so annoying when they started flocking around him as well.
He had his own admirers, of course, as many as Duo. Just as vocal and prone to swooning. But since he didn't talk back they were forced to admire him from afar, as it were. Not up close and personal, like those that were crushing on Duo.
Duo seemed to be enjoying himself, seemed to be in his element. And what could Heero offer him? He couldn't carry on extended conversations about nothing, like those girls. He could barely carry on a conversation about a mission, and that was something he knew! For Duo, talking came as easily as breathing; more easily, it sometimes seemed. But Heero... It was a struggle for him sometimes to string together more than three words. And he was woefully aware of this inadequacy.
No, he wasn't jealous of the girls. He wasn't jealous of Duo either. But he was feeling very damn possessive of Duo, and very left out, and if this went on much longer, he was going to march over there and drag Duo away by that braid of his! And gossip be damned!
He knew that Akito asshole had been trying to spread rumors about them, but so far the poisonous words had fallen on barren ground. The girls were too enamored of both "Solo" and "Odin" to believe any such "nonsense". And the boys admired their skill in sports, and Duo had failed enough tests not to cause trouble there. In just two days, Heero and Duo had become two of the most popular kids in the school.
This was going to cause trouble, but Heero could handle Akito easily, without putting himself in any danger of expulsion. Bullies were small challenge for the 'perfect soldier'.
But what to do about giggling fan-girls drooling over his man... That was another matter entirely!
"Solo-kun, are you sure... !?" one girl asked him, with clasped hands and shimmering eyes. It made Heero want to snarl.
"As sure as I am of your pretty eyes!" Duo replied with that familiar, infuriatingly cheerful grin. He handed her the dessert off his lunch tray. "But share it with Midori-chan, okay?"
"Hai!" she bobbed her head, then scampered off.
Heero gritted his teeth. One down, a cohort left.
He wasn't sure what irked him more -- the girls and their incessant fawning and simpering, or Duo, for eating it up -- and flirting back outrageously. He was in his element and loving every minute of it.
"Solo-kun... !" another girl set up the spiel.
With a growl starting up in the back of his throat, Heero got up and stalked towards 'Solo-kun'. He'd watched long enough.
"Why, Sasumi-chan, your beauty quite took--"
WHAM!
Heero dusted his hands off with satisfaction. His aim was unerring -- his books had nailed Duo squarely on the back of his thick skull.
"Itai!" Duo whipped around, rubbing the back of his head and glaring. "Who--!?"
The bevy of girls was giving him murderous stares. Coolly Heero ignored them.
"Solo, we have a quiz to study for," Heero lied straight-faced, giving him a cold once-over. "And you asked for my help."
"We do? I did?" Duo made wide puzzled eyes at him.
"Yes." He grabbed Duo's thick braid in one hand and dragged him off, not caring how it looked. He heard a few snickers scattered throughout the cafeteria, mostly from Akito's section, before he dragged Duo out of the room.
Duo's expression was astonished. "What was that for?"
Wordlessly Heero gave him the evil eye.
"Fine. Don't tell me," Duo sulked, crossing his arms. Then a grin crept over his features. "Matte... Heero, are you jealous?"
Heero refused to dignify that with a response.
If anything, Duo's grin widened. "So what's the imaginary quiz we're studying for? Or did you just want some quality time with me? Hmm?"
"Hn," Heero sniffed, turning away to stalk up the corridor. "We've got class soon, anyway. And if you didn't act like such an idiot around the girls... "
"Is *that* what this is about?" Duo seized on the words eagerly, pouncing on him like an overgrown kitten. "You *are* jealous!"
"I am NOT jealous," Heero stated decisively, irritated, and just as those words emerged from his mouth the cafeteria doors opened. Duo disentangled himself with haste.
Akito stood regarding them in surprise for a moment then his features broadened in a malicious grin. "Nice'n cozy, aren't you two?"
Heero lifted an eyebrow.
Duo was still grinning like a madman.
"Wait till your fangirls hear about this... " Akito threatened, slamming a fist into his palm. "You pretty boys won't be popular for long."
"Akito, you're just plain stupid," Duo drawled in scorn.
The bigger boy narrowed his eyes. "Huh?"
Duo tipped his head, putting a hand to his hip combined with that smirk, the whole of which Heero knew from personal experience was infuriating. "You heard me. Stupid. Odin's jealous that I have more girls after me than he does." Duo shrugged. "What can I say? I've always had a way with the ladies... "
"Who are they going to believe?" Heero added, face cold. "You, or us?"
Akito stared at them for a moment. His fists bunched, and jaw muscles flowed as he clenched his teeth. "Faggots," he finally spat, then brushed past them roughly, tromping up the corridor.
Duo was chuckling softly, violet-indigo eyes filled with mirth. "What a jackass."
Heero's mouth quirked. He was still disquieted at his reaction to Duo's social prominence, and the awareness of his own painful lack of social skills. It made him wonder...
"Saa, it's almost time for class," Duo turned to him with a bright grin. "I'd better get going."
"Hn."
Duo nodded at him, cheer undeterred, and walked away.
Heero watched him go, almost mesmerized for an instant, then recalled himself with a little shake.
What did Duo see in him?
For a moment he stood brooding, his Monday mood plunged almost to absolute zero, then snorted. It didn't matter. Maybe he would ask, later. For now he had classes to attend, and it was better to let it go.
Duo bounced around the room wearing nothing but a towel and his good nature.
Heero glared at him with impartiality, his face feeling cold and precise as he checked the guns they kept hidden in the room, making sure the safeties were on, checking the clips, then wrapped them back up and stowed them away. Just these simple actions made him feel cold inside and he wanted nothing more than to grab Duo and bury his face in the fragrant wet hair, maybe pin him to the bed and...
He straightened up from stowing the weapons, trying not to look at the violet-eyed bundle of energy, source of his distraction. Fresh from the shower, nothing but a towel around his hips, it reminded him of the night Duo had teased him and tickled him with wet hair and purred sexual innuendoes in his ear and finally he'd growled and seized the beautiful flushed boy. Duo had expected him to hit him. Heero had discovered he hadn't wanted to hit him at all.
A smile tugged his lips, inevitable as the flow of kisses that had followed, then lowering Duo to the bed as the astonished boy gasped and clung to him.
His mouth twitched. Duo was perhaps the only good thing that had happened to him, but his desire right now was at odds with the cold soldier that he was. Cleaning the guns was a way to remind himself. But... the problem now was that he *wanted* to be something else, because of this laughing-eyed sexy boy. It was disturbing.
"Kiss me," Duo leaned over, voice husky. He was grinning like an idiot and spilling long wet hair onto Heero's trousered leg.
"Ch'. Didn't I tell you to take a *cold* shower?" Heero grunted.
"Why would I want to do that?" Duo replied, wide eyes mischievous. His arms wrapped around Heero from behind. He purred in Heero's ear, lips vibrating to tickle the rim. "It's been five days, koi... "
"Don't call me that." Heero jerked away, irritated. "Do something about your hair. You're dripping all over my leg."
Duo backed away towards the headboard, eyes wide. "K'e! Fine, then, Heero Yuy. Have it your way," he sniffed. In a rush of herbal- scented air he was gone, halfway across the room. "See if I care." His voice forced a jovial note, nearly cracking.
"Why... "
"Hm?" Duo turned back to him, already rubbing another towel through the wet masses of his damp-darkened hair.
"Why do you care?"
Duo blinked. Then he sat down on his own bed, with a heavy thump. His expressive mouth puckered in a frown. He tilted his head and eyed Heero, searchingly. "Why are you asking?" He offered Heero a sliver of his usual wide smile.
"I'm not like you. I can't smile -- and be cheerful -- and talk about everything and nothing for hours, like you do. Like they do." He scowled and examined his palms. "I don't understand why you want to be with me."
"Baka." Duo's voice was soft and fierce all at once and he was moving, off of the bed and seating himself on Heero's uninvited, settling next to him. The long line of his flank pressed against him and Heero leaned in spite of himself. "Heero, you idiot. I didn't fall for you because of your great conversational skills."
He avoided Duo's eyes still, not wanting to be cut by the wry tone, not understanding why he *was.*
"Heero, you understand the pain. You don't... " Duo faltered, and Heero almost looked up. Almost. "You don't hide it the way I do, not as well. But you feel it the way I do. Maybe worse -- hell, I've never tried to kill myself. I figured I was always too scared of Death. So I laugh at it. I pretend to *be* Death. It doesn't make the hurt disappear. But... "
"It makes it go away for awhile," Heero supplied, mouth dry. He did understand. When he pretended to be an empty vessel, it didn't hurt as much.
He could sense Duo nodding, could see the shift and tumble of drying chestnut hair. "See? You do know."
"Hn." He didn't quite know what to make of this, of what Duo was telling him.
"That's something that none of *them*" -- Duo made a dismissive, vague gesture, "will ever understand. But you do. And I need that. Because I'm so afraid that one day I won't be able to smile."
"Hunh?" Heero was truly startled now. He looked up. Duo's wide eyes were suspiciously damp, but he wasn't crying. Duo, afraid? Masaka. Duo... deprived of that infuriating, captivating smile? Even harder to believe.
Duo's mouth trembled, as if he were trying to smile, but failing.
Heero felt abruptly awkward. He didn't know what to do. Then his eyes searched Duo's, and he *did* know. He leaned forward and drew his lover into his arms, petting the shining waves of still-wet hair. Duo's arms wrapped around his waist and held him tightly.
"Do you understand now?" Duo breathed against his neck. "Or am I going to have to spell it out for you, in giant fiery letters six feet tall formed with a blazing thermal scythe?" The humor was back in his voice, and it relieved him. Duo wasn't meant for sadness.
"Can't," Heero returned, pragmatic. "It's not possible by the laws of physics."
"Omae--" Duo growled, pulling back. His eyes were still darkened, but his face was more cheerful. He cocked his head at Heero, then nestled against his collarbone.
Heero stroked his hair, breathing in his scent. "You still want to?"
Duo snorted. "Do you even have to ask?"
"Is the door locked?"
"Ye-ep."
"Hm."
There was a pause, unhurried by Duo's slow even intakes of breath. His slender legs were pale against the gray blanket, dry now from his earlier shower. The long spill of rippling chestnut hair brushed against Heero's arm, bare flesh peeking through in stripes. It was drying now too, and if Duo didn't take care of it soon it would become unmanageable later.
"Go take care of your hair," Heero prodded him.
Duo scrunched his face at him but got off the bed. The towel swayed, tempting, around his hips and he grabbed his battered old brush, beginning to work from the bottom up.
Heero sat on the bed and watched him, eyes shuttered. His movements contained unthinking grace, and a boundless energy he'd grown accustomed to. Maybe, to a certain degree, even *needed.* It warmed the coldness inside, sometimes to be part of Duo's heat and life. It was enough to get by.
The American boy finished braiding his hair and tossed the heavy, silken weight over his shoulder. He turned to Heero with a familiar, quirked naughty grin.
Tilting his head, the Japanese boy watched him approach, the knotted towel sliding precariously, swung low. Duo bent over him, placing hands onto his shoulders, and toothbrush-sweet breath wafted over his skin.
"Heero?"
He stared unblinking into warm violet irises. Duo looked as if he would lean forward and kiss him. "Eh?"
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"
Heero frowned at him.
Duo ignored it, curling up in his lap. The thick towel split around one leg, framing the lithe line of upper thigh. "I know what you're gonna say. We have to be extra special careful at this school, with jerks like Akito ready to yell 'homo!' But I just wanna snuggle."
With a sigh he put his arms around the slender boy's waist, drawing him in closer. There was that word again. 'Snuggle.' 'Cuddle.' For something that was -- on the surface -- such a waste of time, it made him feel awfully... .. warm.
Duo's head settled to his shoulder, the braid snaking between their bodies to rest against his belly.
"It's too early to go to bed, Duo."
"That's all right." A hand rubbed over his hip and pressed against his lower back, gathering into a loose fist. "I just wanna know that when we *do* turn the lights out, I can be next to you."
He rubbed his cheek over velvety-smooth bare skin. It was supple and butter-soft beneath his lips. "Suit yourself." But one hand lingered, possessive, over the muscles of his bared upper thigh.
Duo smirked as he jogged around the school building. Poor Heero...
Once the girls had heard that 'Odin' was jealous of 'Solo' and the other boy's popularity among the females -- these rumors helped along, and possibly even started, by the charming Solo-kun himself -- those who admired the dark, sullen Japanese boy had started an aggressive campaign of flowers, cards, love-letters, hand-knit scarves, worshipful looks, and even one or two daring gropes in the crowded halls.
Much to Duo's amusement.
And *much* to Heero's displeasure.
Duo snickered as he rounded a corner. Of course, Heero took out some of the frustration of not being able to kill all these nuisances out on the American pilot, but it was well worth a little abuse to see Heero squirm!
And besides, Heero would never *really* hurt him. Duo was as certain of that as he was of anything in this crazy war-torn world.
"HELLAN!"
Duo skidded to a halt, blinking wide eyes at the group of boys ranged out before him in loose formation. Hn! When had Akito managed to gather together so many goons? And how could there be *this* many boys *this* ugly in one school?!
"Whatcha want?" he asked brashly of Akito, who was standing right before him. He kept his hard gaze on the bully, even as more bulky idiots came up behind him, and the entire group spread to surround him, cutting off any means of escape.
There were roughly ten of them. No big deal. Duo had faced worse odds when he was twelve years old, living in the streets! And if he managed to trounce them all thoroughly, he could blame the damage on a fight between the gang. After all, which of these blockheads would admit to having been beaten by one slim slip of a boy? A 'pretty boy', at that!
Duo grinned broadly, an expression that seemed to infuriate Akito. Not that he could ever do anything that didn't piss the hairy ape off, Duo mused, idly eyeballing his opponent. Akito would be so easy to take down, it was pitiful. Truly pitiful.
"We've got business!" Akito growled, clenching a thick fist and sneering.
"Souka?" Duo's grin widened. "Well, I see you've brought lots of witnesses. Shall we proceed?"
Akito's nostrils flared as his face turned red. "You won't be talking so cocky once I mess up that pretty face of yours!" he roared.
Duo laughed, and tipped him a jaunty smile, flipping his braid. "Jealous of my good looks? Or maybe you just want me for yourself, Akito-chan!"
That did it! With a muted explosion, Akito barreled down on Duo. Within seconds one boy was flat on his back.
"Itai!" Duo shook his hand. "I think I wrenched my wrist! Dude! You need to lose a little weight!"
Akito staggered to his feet, and Duo noted with a sharp tug of anxiety that there was a smug leer on the jerk's thick face.
"You're going to regret that," he said softly.
Duo took a ready position, eyes wary. Something was up... but what? "Make me."
"Ah!"
Duo blinked as Akito snapped his fingers. He half expected the collected minions to fall on him in a rush. He could handle that.
What he didn't expect was the sudden flare of light that filled his sight an instant before he heard, more than felt, the dull, ringing thud against the right side of his skull.
Someone must have thrown something!
Oh, shit... All he could think as he began to lose his grip on consciousness, was that Heero was going to be so *pissed* at him...
"Odin-kun, I made this for you... "
"Odin-kun! Would you like part of my lunch?"
"Odin-kun! Oooooo~odin-kun!"
Heero winced at the high-pitched tone of that last. Almost as bad as Relena! A sharp flick of his fingers, a negative shake of his head, mute glares and a flatly-spoken "iie... " None of it deterred them. The bevy of girls continued to press him for attention, and give him their unwanted favors.
He gritted his teeth, the laughing-eyed idiot's face crossing his mind's eye. Normally he had no problems keeping his admirers at bay but Duo's encouraging rumors had sprung the fillies from their stalls, and now they pranced champing around him.
Thoughts of Duo made him glance around reflexively. No doubt the joker was hanging around somewhere nearby where he could enjoy Heero's discomfiture, dwelling on the results of his scheme with boyish and short-lived -- once Heero got his hands on him -- pride.
Hm. No sight of Duo anywhere. That was odd. During the lunch period he usually accepted tribute from his own admirers on the edge of the basketball court. But a long-braided boy with violet eyes was nowhere to be seen.
Something caught at the back of his mind, a piece of his instincts rearing up to prompt him. He did another once-over of the school lawn.
No Akito, either.
"Excuse me," he muttered, pushing free of the girls clustered around, hope in their eyes. They were too much like Relena's coven of followers for him to have any interest. Especially when he compared their looks to his Duo's.
"Hellan!"
The cry was faint but the challenge trumpeted to the sky.
Heero paused. Duo should fight his own battles. And if he went charging onto the scene, it would just give Akito and his cronies that much more fuel for vicious gossip. But they wouldn't be *rumors,* because it was true.
Another once-over of the manicured lawns of the school's front yard revealed that most of Akito's cronies were absent, too.
"K'so," he muttered, breaking into swift strides. Duo could take Akito down, of that he was sure and he'd probably make jokes while he dusted him. But twenty-to-one odds were shitty. And Duo might not see a rock -- or even a knife -- until it was too late.
He rounded the corner of the building and froze.
Duo hung limp from one of Akito's ham-handed fists, and by his lolling head and utter bonelessness Heero could tell he was unconscious. The bigger boy was punching him, landing hard hooks to his gut and cracking across his face.
One of the other petty little thugs cried a warning to their boss then gasped at the pure white mask of rage fixed onto the Japanese boy's face, combined with the sheer stunning speed of his rush.
Heero attacked Akito without really recalling the details.
One moment the boy was lifting a hand to slap Duo again, the upturned nose already trickling blood. The next freeze frame it was Akito sprawled on the ground, his eyes flared wide as he clutched at his own bleeding nose and aching gut.
The bully blinked several times. He appeared to be in shock.
Heero squared off to face him and his pack of delinquents, ignoring Duo's fallen body behind him.
Later. He'd think of him later.
If he did it now, he might not be *able* to think straight.
"You hit me!" Akito wailed, eyeing the blood on his hand with a horrified sort of disbelief.
Heero snorted briefly. Like all bullies' illusions, they crumpled with a good hard poke in the gut. The boy had probably thought himself infallible, since no one before now had been able to knock him down.
"Care to try again?" he invited, his face and voice wooden. He clenched his fists to hide the eager trembling. It would be good to thrash him, satisfying, but counterproductive. And Akito was too high-profile.
Akito's breath streamed from his mouth like some ruffled, angry animal. He met Heero's eyes briefly then flicked his gaze away, a dull angry red creeping up his neck. "Thought not."
He turned to scoop Duo up. Akito didn't know how lucky he was. He'd had to consciously prevent himself from killing the boy. As angry as he was, and with the difference in height between them, it would've been easier to smash his palm into the underside of his nose, driving the splintered fragments into his brain. It had been an effort to simply punch him.
"You *are* a faggot with him," Akito accused, voice shaking.
He picked the negligible weight of Duo into his arms. Duo's face was slack and unconscious, the fair skin already beginning to bruise. Another wave of anger rocked him. Had Duo been careless, or had they really given him a brutal rush? He could not risk turning around, or even answering the nasty accusation, or the anger might take control again.
What Akito said didn't matter. The truth was there, even if the words used were ugly. They'd be leaving this school as soon as he could arrange it anyway. He'd already more than half decided this, with the fan- girls hounding them, but now there was no choice.
Because if they did not leave...
The words were nothing. But what Akito had done was unforgivable. Heero had controlled himself once, but he couldn't continue sitting in the same classes with Akito, seeing him every day, and resist the urge to kill him.
It might be gratifying. And it certainly wouldn't harm anything if one loud-mouth braggart suddenly vanished, or had an 'accident'. But Heero knew without being told that Duo wouldn't approve. No matter that the bastard had beaten Duo while he was unconscious, no matter that Duo would probably be pissed as hell when he regained his senses, no matter that Duo would probably love to see Akito brought down, humiliated, beaten as badly as he had beaten Duo... Heero knew in his heart that if he killed Akito, Duo would be the one who would be hurt by that action. For some insane reason that Heero didn't, couldn't understand; something having to do with the "guilt" they *hadn't* discussed earlier.
He sighed heavily and shifted Duo's head to rest against his shoulder as he kicked the door to the nurse's office open. Something snapped, as the door had been latched, but he hadn't had the patience to bother turning the knob. Duo was hurt, and while he was almost certain none of the wounds were life-threatening, there was not any time to waste.
"Lowe-kun!" The nurse stood from behind her desk, her kindly, age- softened face blurring further in surprise. Then her eyes sharpened as she caught sight of his burden. "Through here."
He followed silently as she led him to the inner room, and laid Duo carefully on the cot she indicated. He was strangely reluctant to release the boy from his arms, but the nurse carefully pushed him aside, and he stepped stiffly back.
The nurse 'tsk'ed as she examined Duo quickly but carefully. "Oh dear. What sort of trouble did Hellan-kun get himself into this time?"
"Akito."
"Ah." She nodded in response to this one word reply. "Mouthing off?"
Heero repressed a snort of amusement, liking the lady in spite of himself. His tension level lowered slightly as she began cleaning and bandaging his partner with efficient, gentle hands. She didn't seem too worried, so Duo must be going to be okay. "I got there late, but probably," he offered, surprised at himself for speaking such a long sentence. Must be the relief.
"Thank you for bringing him in, Lowe-kun," she looked up to smile at him, the faded blue of her eyes nevertheless bright with some spark, a kindly emotion he couldn't put a name to.
Heero shrugged. "Unh."
"You should get back to your classes," the nurse reminded him, a trace of smile still lingering. "Hellan-kun should be just fine. The knock to his head was enough to put him out, but I don't believe he'll have a concussion."
Heero's shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly as the tight painful band drawing them together slackened by degrees. He nodded to her and looked down at the silent boy once more, his brow marred in a tiny frown as his fingers itched to rake the overlong bangs back from his smooth forehead. Then he turned abruptly, realizing that his wordless contemplation of 'Solo' could rouse curiosity in the elderly school nurse. He'd heard somewhere that old women made the worst gossips, and while nothing at this school mattered anymore -- not their reputation, or their test grades, or Akito's bigotry -- disappearing in the wake of sudden intense scrutiny could call unwanted attention to them. They couldn't afford it.
The halls were empty and echoing; the bell must have rung already. He moved unconcerned through them, back to the dormitory. They would leave now, tonight, as soon as Duo returned from the nurse's office. That required him to find another school post-haste, and have all their records cleared out of this one.
This time, it would be an all-male school.
Duo watched silently as Heero packed their few things with swift, hard efficiency. He hadn't been too badly hurt by Akito -- not as badly as he could have been, at any rate -- but in addition to a split lip and blacked eye, he also had a very sore stomach and ribs, and thanks to the head wound, he got dizzy if he tried to move too quickly. And as Heero seemed in an inordinate hurry to be shed of this place, Duo had been relegated to the sidelines.
Not that he minded too much. Packing was a chore, and he never seemed to do a very good job of it. But the fact that he couldn't, even if he'd wanted to, underlined the niggling doubts that were bouncing around in the back of his head; eating away at his usual air of confidence and self-reliance.
He fiddled with his braid, eyes fixed on Heero, for probably the first time *not* admiring the lean, compact grace of the other boy's limbs, but instead, taking note of the jerkiness of his movements.
Shimatta. He knew it! Heero was--
Duo's eyes widened as Heero abruptly came to a stop in front of him. He looked up, almost fearfully, blinking at the other boy. Heero's hands were on his lean hips, his eyes narrowed.
"Out with it."
"N-nani?" Duo stuttered, taken by surprise.
Heero raised one brow, the rest of his face stony, and something unreadable burning in his intent blue eyes. "You're thinking too hard; there's something wrong. What is it?"
Duo flushed slightly and glared. "Oi! Can't a guy have a little quiet time?!"
Heero snorted and folded his arms. "Not if he's Duo Maxwell. Is your head hurting?"
"Yes," Duo replied with exaggerated dignity. His poor abused skull *was* throbbing, actually, but that wasn't the problem, and he thought that Heero probably knew this.
"I'll get some aspirin," Heero said shortly, turning and striding to one of the bags he had just packed. Duo sighed and gripped his ribs lightly. Man, he was sore!
After Duo had regained consciousness, Heero hadn't said more than a word or two as he dragged the limping American back to their room, and dumped him on the bed. It might have been because Duo had been complaining loudly the entire time, but Duo sort of doubted that Heero would have said anything, even if he'd been able to get a word in edgewise. His lover was clearly lacking something in the area of sympathy -- in short, his bed-side manner sucked. But then, Duo couldn't expect more from him than he could give. Heero was Heero, and that was a fact Duo had accepted long before they'd become lovers; almost before they had become friends.
Duo knew why Heero was so quiet -- even more quiet than normally. The sane, self-preserving portion of his brain told him to keep his mouth shut and accept the silence for what it was, not to push the issue.
"Oi, Heero... " Of course he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He was Duo Maxwell, after all.
"Nn?" Heero continued rooting through the duffel.
Duo blew out a hard breath, then winced as that jarred his split lip. He straightened, aching body protesting the movement, trying to dredge up a shitload of courage. Because that was what this was going to take. "Are you... " He gulped. "Y-you're mad at me... aren't you?"
Heero turned, staring at Duo in what was quite obviously utter incomprehension. "Mad at... ?" His thick brows drew down in a confused frown. "Why in the hell would I be mad at you?!"
"Anou... " Duo hung his head miserably, mostly to avoid those piercing eyes. "For letting my guard down... " He toyed with his braid, feeling like such a wimp. Stone or no stone, Akito had nearly wiped the floor with him. If Heero hadn't saved him... He was supposed to be Heero's partner, dammit! Partners took care of themselves; they didn't need rescuing like some stupid damsel in distress! "For... for getting hurt," he plunged onward, eyes still fixed on his hands. "It might have been worse, and I could've slowed you down. I might have even got killed, and then you would have had to go to all the trouble of finding some way to safely get rid of Shinigami... " He faltered, for once unable to verbalize what he really meant, the shame singing through his veins. He'd let Heero down, and that was something that just couldn't be born. Heero had a perfect right to be furious at him. Not that that made it hurt any less...
A brief silence filled the room and Duo twisted his fingers together, misery hunching him even smaller where he sat on the mattress.
A rush of air wafted over his face and the American pilot flinched reflexively, then opened his eyes. Heero was squatting on his heels before him, hands placed flat on the bed to either side of his thighs. He flinched again at the look in those Prussian eyes -- piercing, incisive, and *hard.* Heero's bedside manner, he decided unsteadily, definitely had room for improvement.
"Baka," Heero uttered, the word clipped. "Idiot. You *idiot.* The only thing that mattered was making sure you weren't hurt. That's all."
He stood up abruptly and turned away, his movements stiff. With efficient, rapid movements he resumed packing. Duo shifted, uncomfortable and self-doubting again. Heero couldn't really have meant... what it sounded like he meant...
Could he?
"You really think so little of me?" The question dropped into the charged air and hung between them. It was produced in Heero's customary emotionless tone but Duo could read the subtext, and all of a sudden his answer made a *big* difference in the scheme of things.
*Great, so I'm the bad guy now, again?* he wondered to himself. But his answer *was* important.
"No... I just--" He stopped, his voice very small. "Well, I thought you were mad."
Heero came to a stop in the middle of the room and turned to face him again. The look in his blue eyes was exasperated, impatient... but there was something else there, a quality Duo couldn't pinpoint easily.
"I was. I am."
"Oh." Duo wanted to sink into the floor. At the very least away from the scrutiny of those *eyes.*
"At Akito," Heero clarified with a scowl. "So we have to leave."
"Oh!" His eyes widened. Suddenly Heero's inordinate haste, his barely-controlled tension, and the charged atmosphere took on a whole new context.
Suddenly the world was a warm place. Duo smiled tremulously, ignoring his sore lip. His face was bruised, his head ached, his ribs and stomach hurt no matter how he held himself, but all this was unimportant. There was only one thing that mattered to him right now. Heero might not want to admit it, but he cared! Duo wasn't sure how much, and to be honest, he didn't really want to know. Not right now. Right now, it was enough to know that Heero *did* care. That in itself was amazing, impossible and yet wonderful, and the knowledge would hold him for quite a while longer.
"Oi, Heero?"
"What now?!" Heero turned in exasperation, slinging both their duffel bags over his shoulder. The rest of their meager luggage could be shipped to the new school.
Duo grinned foolishly. "Arigatou."
"What are you thanking me for?" Heero asked flatly, his voice discouraging any pursuit of intimacy. But that wasn't what Duo was after right now, anyway. He was stupid, but not suicidal.
"For not killing Akito." Duo squeaked in pain as Heero levered him up off the bed, slinging Duo's arm over his shoulders. "I~tai! Damn!" He grimaced.
"Are you so sure you should be thanking me for that?" Heero asked, the barest traces of dry humor flavoring his level tones.
Duo chuckled, then winced, falling against Heero's bracing warmth. "Hai. I still hope the bastard ends up face-down in a ditch someday... but I'm glad you didn't dirty your hands."
"My hands are already so stained, it wouldn't make much difference."
Duo blinked, wondering if he'd imagined that quietly spoken, almost whispered sentence, as Heero dragged him toward the door of their room.
"Still, I'm glad," he whispered back.
"Hn."
Heero could feel his face set grimly as he half-supported, half- dragged Duo through the empty halls. It was fortunate that it was time for the evening meal now. He would have left at any rate, but this was more convenient -- no foolish questions to ignore, no whiny fangirls, no fuss, no bother.
This was easy. As easy as Heero could be, at any rate, when his thoughts were in turmoil.
He glanced over out of the corner of his eye. Duo was being strangely quiet once again, and he found this even more disconcerting than his own showings of weakness earlier today. Heero had been with Duo so long now that silence was unused and uncomfortable. Duo was a constant source of noise, and Heero hadn't realized that he had come to expect this clamor, to welcome it. It drove away the silence inside him, filled the emptiness. But now... now...
Duo's brows were knit, his lips drawn thin in pain as Heero helped him through the empty halls. But he wasn't complaining, as he had been on their trip back to the room an hour before. Perhaps he had a modicum of intelligence after all. Or perhaps...
Heero frowned. Too much. He was getting in too deep, getting too deeply involved, and he didn't understand his own feelings. This was dangerous. Duo was dangerous, in some strange way Heero couldn't define. What the American pilot felt and thought shouldn't matter to him. The dark bruises blooming across that high cheekbone and sharp jaw, ringing the skull socket beneath the one visible eye... should not hurt him as though the blows that had caused them had fallen upon his own flesh. More, even. He could take pain; had been trained to function flawlessly under conditions that would have killed a normal human being. Pain was nothing to the perfect soldier.
But to see the dark echoes of deliberate antipathy against his--
His... His...
What exactly *was* Duo to him?
Partner... friend... lover? What were they to one another?
Lovers?
But in what sense? They had sex. Not exactly on a regular basis, though Duo would have liked that -- and so would Heero, if he would admit as much to himself. But rooming in a crowded dorm was enough of a risk. Their "encounters" were thusly forced to an erratic pattern of snatched minutes and, when they were occasionally so lucky, hours.
So, in that sense, they could probably be designated to be lovers.
But there was another definition to the term, and it involved the root word...
Heero's 'perfect soldier' self-defenses kicked in, and his brain rejected that thought before it could fully form.
No! He wouldn't -- couldn't -- go there! That didn't fit in his black and white world, didn't fit the mold he had been forced into. There was no place in his harsh life for such weak, dangerous feelings!
Heero shook his head sharply, angry at himself, and Duo squawked a protest, slurring out a curse worthy of a sailor.
"What the hell, man?" Duo demanded, coming to life vocally once more. "You lost in your high'n mighty plans--"
"Are you going to be able to drive?" Heero interrupted him curtly, glad for the distraction from his uncomfortable thoughts.
Duo shut his mouth abruptly and gave him a long look. Then his gaze dropped and he shook his head, lips compressed. "No, I... No. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
"Hn."
"You should... " Duo stopped, and made a frustrated noise. "Heero, leave me behind. I'm a liability to you. If you needed to go out on a mission tonight, I'd just be--"
"That's enough," Heero cut him off. "A good soldier doesn't leave his partner behind." Partners. Yes, that's what they were. At least at this moment in time. "We go to plan B."
Duo cocked a cynical eye at him. "We have one of those? Where'd you stow it away, those tight little black shor--"
"Urusai," Heero muttered, jolting them into action again and Duo hissed.
"Hanasee," he whined. "Lemme go. It'll hurt less if you let me walk by myself."
"This is faster," Heero countered, telling himself it didn't matter that he was causing Duo pain. They had to get out of here as quickly as possible. This school held *far* too many disturbing memories, of various kinds. The next school had *better* treat them better! No more fangirls, at least. Next time bullies would be quelled before violence against Duo occurred. And hopefully Heero could shut away these strange feelings and thoughts before they even arrived at the school, never to have them rise up again.
They made it to the middle of the parking lot and Duo leaned heavily against one of the cars as Heero jimmied the door open, tossing their duffel bags inside. Then suddenly he felt Duo scrabbling at his shoulder insistently.
"Heero... oi, Heero, man... you're not gonna like this."
"Heero?" a puzzled female voice reached his ears. "Heero... what are you doing?"
That was it, Heero thought with a certain deeply ingrained sense of fatalism. That was the one thing this whole horrible day had been missing. Now the wretchedness was complete.
He couldn't control the urge to roll his eyes up. Beside him, Duo grinned, wincing at his split lip, but undeniably amused by the expression. Relena was behind him, so she hadn't seen, but he wouldn't have cared if she had. That girl wouldn't take a hint if it shot her between the eyes! If only Duo hadn't stopped him that first time... He could have killed her then! Now she was too important to the future of this war-torn world. He couldn't kill her. Though it sure would make *his* life a hell of a lot easier!
Ignoring her, he half shoved Duo into the car, grimacing as the American yelped in pain. He didn't *want* to hurt Duo, but if they didn't get out of here immediately, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions. He was a wire pulled taut, ready to snap. First dealing with all those fangirls. Quickly following, the urge to kill Akito that had needed to be restrained. Then in rapid sequence; his worry over a wounded Duo, their near-fight in the bedroom, and then his own welter of uncomfortable thoughts.
If he escaped this encounter without punching the girl in the face, they'd both be lucky! It all depended on how persistent she was going to be.
Unfortunately, the name "Relena" seemed synonymous with "persistent". Or, perhaps, "stubborn", "dogged", "stupid"!
"Heero?"
Damn! She was closer!
"Heero, what are you doing?"
He refused to turn. She was asking again? How dense *was* she?!
"What does it look like?" he gritted, as Duo rolled down the window and leaned out, battered face tensed with some strange mixture of emotions.
"Ojousan, Heero's had a tough day." Amazing the way Duo's somber voice was echoing his own thoughts. "You'd better let it go this time."
He heard Relena give a little sniff behind him, and he could just *see* her tossing her head. Duo's good-natured features darkened with more than a hint of irritation; anger, almost. Even Duo could be pushed too far, and he hadn't had such a great day either.
Heero wondered at the sudden surge of protectiveness that rose in his chest. He didn't want to see Duo sniped at by the bitch behind him, and yet, he had the uncomfortable feeling that if he stalked to the other side of the vehicle and got it started, she'd physically stand in their way until he replied.
A slow growl started up in his chest. How the hell were they going to get out of this one gracefully?
"Heero—"
"We're *leaving,*" the words broke abruptly from Duo's mouth, "because the situation has been compromised and our cover nearly blown, and you're not helping matters by being here with your private limo, ojousan. We can't afford the publicity of your visit."
There was a startled pause behind him. "Demo -- watakushi... " Relena fell silent, thinking this over.
Without words he thanked Duo with his eyes, and thought he saw the boy's lip quirk up.
He half-turned to skirt the truck and caught her face in the corner of his eye -- puzzled, but strangely resigned. Maybe she was getting accustomed to the abrupt nature of these visits. "OZ won't come after you," he pointed out with no trace of emotion, "but they'll come after *us.* I don't have the time to spare right now to kill you, let alone talk to you."
The truck's window squeaked as it was rolled up hastily.
"Then I'll leave," Relena told him, with the attitude of someone conferring a favor. She didn't fear him anymore, and he was the one to blame for it -- a moment of weakness, extending the giant metal hand of his Gundam to shelter her from falling rubble. Her, the one he'd sought to kill. "But I will see you again."
He gritted his teeth as she turned and walked away, her shiny black heels clicking over the asphalt. Yes, undoubtedly she would see him again -- she'd make sure of it. He yanked the door open and Duo was hunched down in his seat, wheezing with chuckles. He looked up at Heero with bright eyes, trying not to smile and stretch his split lip.
" 'Can't spare the time to kill you... ' " Duo repeated, breathless with soft laughter. "That was priceless. Think she recognized it as an insult?"
"Glad you're amused," Heero growled back, starting the truck with a decisive rumble.
"It definitely made me feel better," Duo assured him, lapsing back into his seat and buckling his seatbelt. "So, where are we going next?"
A smile touched his lips, full of a sort of dark mirth. "Someplace Relena can't follow so easily -- an all-male school that would require a note and a damned good reason for any female to get in."
"Ah, good idea... " Duo hummed, gaze drifting out the window, then his eyes snapped back to Heero. "Wait a minute -- all boys!? No fanclubs? No girls for me to ogle? No flirting?"
"Oh, you could flirt," Heero raised a brow, "if you want more than a split lip and sore ribs."
"Bastard!" Duo railed at him. "You did this on purpose!"
Heero merely smirked.
End Part 1
Talya Firedancer and Kuwabara no Miko
(:./knm/theone)
