August 14 1999
"Is it...?" Ryoga barely dared to breathe as the paper pulled away, revealing a gleaming new guitar case. Reverently, he opened the case, his fingers brushing delicately over the thin, veneered wood.
"Ooh, play it, play it!" Duo cried. Ryoga blushed again, and lifted the guitar from its case, still staring at it as though it might suddenly disappear, proving the whole morning to have been a dream.
"I don't know any Christmas songs..." he mumbled, his head down to catch the sweet tones of the guitar as his fingers cleverly strummed. Nobody interrupted, so he struck a minor chord, and gradually began the only other song he had written, "Haikei Akane-san." Tears rolled down his cheeks as he sang. When he had written it, he was separated from Akane by his own stupid lie and his directional curse... but now, the years spanned between them, and he could never see her again...
A long hush followed the end of the song, and then he felt Trowa and Quatre's hands on his shoulders, and looked up, brushing his tears away, to see the other pilots looking at him solemnly.
"Gee, Ryoga..." Duo started.
"What a beautiful song," Quatre sighed. "You have a real talent, Ryoga."
"And a beautiful voice, too," Trowa added.
"Thanks..." Ryoga said, carefully returning the guitar to its case. Playing the song had brought all kinds of emotion to the forefront, and he needed time to figure it all out. He smiled as Duo distracted him with the last of the presents.
"Oh!" Ryoga gasped, as he unwrapped the set of carving knives. The cheap knives he had purchased at the airport had barely survived carving his Christmas presents...
"Thanks, Duo!" Ryoga cried, enfolding the slender pilot in a grateful hug. This set was the very best quality. With these knives, he could carve anything... "They're great!"
Duo looked over Ryoga's shoulder to see Heero glowering at them. Well, hell. Couldn't he even hug the guy on Christmas without Heero getting jealous? He closed his eyes and deliberately extended the hug for a few extra seconds, pretending he didn't notice how angry Heero was getting.
"I'm hungry," Quatre said suddenly, and Ryoga broke off the hug on his own.
"Want me to make waffles?" he asked. Wufei started laughing, and it took a minute for him to compose himself before he could explain why.
"It's like the Christmas song," Wufei snickered. "Love and joy come to you, and to you your waffles, too."
"It's ‘wassail,'" Heero corrected.
"I know that."
"But ‘waffles' is funnier," Ryoga interrupted, grinning. "So, you want some? Since it's a Christmas tradition nobody knew about?" The group made their way to the kitchen, and everyone participated in making breakfast - waffles with fruit preserves, hand-whipped cream, sausage and bacon, and hand-squeezed orange juice.
As soon as they had eaten, Duo announced that he was going to go play in the snow. He, Quatre and Ryoga all raced to change into warm clothes, followed at a more sedate pace by Trowa and Heero. Wufei quietly went to sit by the fire and think.
"Let's make a snowman first!" Duo cried, tearing through the house with the others at his heels. Wufei stared after them until the door slammed shut, then heaved a deep sigh. He didn't have a chain for his new pendant, but he had carefully tucked it into his breast pocket earlier, keeping it near his heart. In the privacy of his own thoughts, he could admit to being very fond of Ryoga... having strong feelings for him... longing to see his toothy grin... longing to hold and caress him...
But Ryoga was obviously still in love with Akane. The look on his face when he was singing that poignant song had all but ripped Wufei's heart out. No, Ryoga obviously was off-limits for several reasons. Wufei sighed again. He hated getting emotionally involved. It brought chaos to his neatly-ordered world. Well... he couldn't just sit here all day, while Ryoga was- while everyone else was outside having fun.
"Ha! You'll never beat us!" Duo crowed from behind the sturdy wall of the snow fort he and Ryoga had made.
"Charge!" Quatre called, and he and Trowa made a run for it, trying to storm the fort walls as Duo and Ryoga pelted them with snowballs.
"Eat snow!" Ryoga called, laughing as the two pilots finally leaped over the wall and tackled the defenders, rolling them over in the white powder in an impromptu wrestling match.
"You eat snow!" Trowa answered, and Ryoga was laughing so hard he could barely move, let alone defend himself, as the normally solemn pilot crammed a fistful of freezing snow down the back of his borrowed jacket.
"Wauk!" Ryoga cried, leaping up and engaging in a weird series of contortions that had the pilots roaring with laughter. Ryoga had to laugh, himself, as he wriggled most of the snow back out of his clothes. After all, the icy trickle slipping down his back was enough to make him uncomfortable, but it would never again be able to turn him into a pig.
"You're getting pretty red," Trowa commented, reaching out to brush one gloved finger under Quatre's chin. "Let's go in for a little while." Quatre nodded, and the two pilots clapped Duo and Ryoga on the shoulders as they made their exit, promising to come back after the wall had been rebuilt, and tear it down again.
"Do you think they knew why we wanted to come inside?" Quatre asked, shucking his snow-covered boots and jacket near the door.
"Probably," Trowa said, and pulled the shorter boy into a gentle embrace, kissing his cold cheek. "But you really did need to warm up."
"I can think of some interesting ways to get warm, too," Quatre murmured with a impish grin, and climbed up into the loft with Trowa following right behind him.
"Haven't seen Heero or Wufei," Ryoga commented casually as he and Duo patted one of the fort walls into something resembling its original shape.
"No," Duo answered a little shortly. Damn it, he couldn't help being jealous of Ryoga. Without even putting forth any effort, the Lost Boy had managed to get and keep Heero's attention. He sure didn't need to rub it in.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No..." Duo sighed. Ryoga was clearly confused, and obviously hadn't meant any offense. "You might not have noticed, but I think Heero likes you."
"Me?" Ryoga cried. "No way! Why would you think that?"
"Haven't you noticed that whenever we're together, he's always there?"
"Yeah," Ryoga answered with a grin.
"Well, I think... I think he's jealous."
"I think so, too," Ryoga said, still grinning. Duo shot him a hurt glare before he continued. "I think he's jealous over you."
"ME?!?"
"I think he's as nuts about you as you are about him."
"Not Heero," Duo denied hotly. "If he liked me, he'd have said something by now."
"Maybe he's waiting for you to make the first move."
"I've tried!"
"I mean, seriously, though. Not a safe move, where you can pretend you were just joking. I mean, really put it on the line, in a way he can't possibly think is a put-on."
"I can't do that! He'd hit me! Or... laugh at me... or..."
"You never know unless you try. Listen to me, Duo," Ryoga said seriously, pulling Duo's shoulders till the slender pilot was forced to face him eye to eye. "My one regret in this life is that I never told Akane how I really felt about her, and now it's too late. I'll never know how she would have reacted, and I wish to God I knew. This can't wait forever. You should tell him you love him. Just be honest."
"Maybe..." Duo hesitated. "Do you still love her?"
"Hey, this isn't about me," Ryoga said, trying to hide behind a pained grin. "Now, go find your Heero, and tell him. Just spit it out."
"You're right," Duo said, and forced a brave grin. "I'll tell him!"
"All right!" Ryoga cried, clapping him on the shoulder as Duo got up and started to make his way to the house, determined to keep his promise before he ran out of courage. As soon as the door had closed behind the long-haired boy, Ryoga spoke again.
"It's only fair if you go wait for him where he can find you. You can thank me later." He smiled knowingly as Heero stalked out from behind the trees and nodded to him, then quickly marched to the house in Duo's footprints. Ryoga grinned and chuckled to himself, then started on the fort wall again for lack of anything better to do. He sure wasn't going to interrupt by walking into the house right now.
"Having fun matchmaking?" Wufei's voice behind him startled him, and he turned to see the Chinese pilot smirking at him.
"Don't sneak up like that!" Ryoga exclaimed.
"A martial artist like yourself shouldn't have been so easy to sneak up on."
"Oh, yeah?" Ryoga asked, and Wufei nodded solemnly. "... You're right," the Lost Boy finished lamely. "Wanna spar?" Wufei smiled at him, and as Ryoga leaped to his feet the two began their intricate dance, dodging, striking and weaving.
"Do you still love her?" The question caught Ryoga flat-footed, and Wufei landed a solid kick against his ribs.
"Don't you still love Nataku?" Ryoga countered, throwing a series of kicks that Wufei barely dodged.
"The heart moves on after time," Wufei answered enigmatically, weaving in between kicks to land several lightning-quick punches.
"But the old feelings never really die," Ryoga said, pressing forward doggedly.
"So you still love her?"
"I'll probably always love her," Ryoga said honestly, dropping his guard for an instant. Wufei threw himself forward in a flying kick that sent both boys sprawling into the snow wall.
"Oh, hell," Ryoga muttered, as they shook themselves and stood. "Now I'll have to do the whole thing all over again."
"I'll help," Wufei offered, and they worked on the wall in a somewhat companionable silence.
"You know..." Ryoga said quietly after a few minutes of silent work. "I always thought that Akane would be my one and only. That there would never be room in my heart for anyone else."
"Ah," Wufei answered. "And were you correct?"
"No."
"Ah." The two of them continued working in silence, while Wufei pondered on all Ryoga had said.
"Duo," Heero said quietly, and the boy turned to face him, violet eyes going wide with something akin to terror.
"Uh, H-Heero!" he gulped. It was now or never... but before Duo could say anything, Heero crossed the distance between them in one swift, decisive move, and kissed him passionately and thoroughly.
"Hee-" Duo tried to speak, and Heero stifled the words with slow, hot kisses, gradually unbuttoning the boy's long-sleeved shirt and pushing it off his shoulders, pushing him down onto the couch by the fire.
"Heero..." Duo gasped as Heero, his beloved Heero, pushed his undershirt out of the way and fastened his mouth over one nipple. Duo squeaked wordlessly, arching up into Heero's hands as they explored his body, his own fingers tangling in short, dark hair as Heero moved to the other nipple, tormenting it with gentle nips and licks.
"Heero, Heero, Heero..." Heero smiled against Duo's warm skin and gradually trailed his tongue across the flat planes of his stomach. He should have known that even in this situation, Duo wouldn't be able to stop talking. He reached up and placed one hand gently over Duo's mouth, and the slender boy parted his soft lips and sucked on Heero's fingers, as Heero's other hand stealthily unbuttoned Duo's trousers.
Duo moaned loudly and lifted his hips as Heero tugged his pants off. A chill raced over his body in spite of the warm afternoon sun pouring in through the windows and the fire's heat beating down on them. In a few moments, Heero covered him with his own warm body, and Duo shivered again as their hardened shafts rubbed together.
"Heero, are-" Heero kissed him again.
"Stop talking," the pilot said gruffly, his eyes heavy-lidded with passion as he looked down at Duo, his mussed hair, his flushed cheeks, his pouty lips bruised from the force of their kisses. Heero bent and kissed him again, because he could, and because Duo's needy eyes begged him for it. Heero started tracing his mouth across Duo's body again, and this time the slender pilot bit down on his own knuckle in an effort to keep himself quiet - anything not to break the spell. Heero's hot, wet mouth was trailing down across his stomach, his tongue flickering into Duo's navel and making him squirm, and Duo thought he could die right there from the delicious torture, and he'd die a happy man.
Duo groaned in wordless pleasure as Heero's mouth finally engulfed his aching shaft, and he strained upwards, trying to prolong the contact as Heero broke away for a moment. A frown flitted across Duo's brow before his wide, violet eyes opened, but by then Heero had begun again, this time with his fingers thoroughly lubricated. Duo whimpered as one slick finger penetrated him, and he struggled not to cry out from the sheer pleasure of it, rolling like an electric shock all along his skin, not just because Heero was pleasuring his body with a knowledgeable touch, but because it was Heero, it was his precious Heero...
Heero's mouth left him abruptly, and Duo choked off a sob of protest as he was left on the brink, bereft... and then he felt hands under his knees, lifting him up, hardness pressing against him...
"Yes..." Duo mumbled, and Heero pushed his way in slowly, mindful of each pained whimper and passionate groan. Duo's tight body unfolded slowly, and Heero groaned as well, his shaft throbbing with need. All of his years of learning how to control his body barely enabled him to resist the urge to just start thrusting.
"You Ok?" Heero asked instead, feeling Duo's body clenching and unclenching around him as he remained perfectly still, buried to the hilt. He tenderly stroked Duo's cheek, brushing a lock of hair out of beautiful amethyst eyes.
"Uh! Don't talk NOW!" Duo whispered urgently, struggling to thrust up against Heero. Heero grinned then, and slowly began building up to a solid, irresistible rhythm. Duo writhed beneath him, crying out unabashedly as Heero's slick fingers wrapped around his length, stroking him in time with his thrusts, and the pleasure built and built... And Duo exploded in release, still writhing violently as his manhood jerked in Heero's hand. Heero buried himself in Duo's body with a final groan, hiding his ecstatic grimace against Duo's slender shoulder. The two boys wound down slowly, their bodies glistening with a light film of sweat, their breathing synchronized.
"You had something you wanted to say to me?' Heero asked at last.
"I love you," Duo sighed, smiling, and kissed him again.
"Trowa, what do we do?" Quatre whispered anxiously, pulling the bed sheet a little higher over his chest.
"Whatever you want," Trowa answered, slowly sliding the eager length of his manhood up against Quatre's thigh.
"What if they hear us?"
"Can't help that. Besides, it would only be fair. We heard them."
"Ahh..." Quatre sighed, and smiled, and Trowa smiled back.
"Shall we pick up where we left off?"
"I think that would be... lovely," Quatre answered with a contented smile. Heero and Duo had finally gotten honest with each other. Now if only Ryoga...
Ryoga looked around and muttered a curse. He had just been at the snow fort a moment ago! And now there was nothing but bare trees and undisturbed snow drifts all around... tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and tightened his throat as he realized he was lost yet again. He slowly turned in a full circle, verifying that the house was nowhere in sight, then grinned as he remembered his Christmas present. Blessing Trowa for his thoughtfulness, he huddled down in the snow and pressed the button on his watch, and waited.
"Ryo-?" Wufei gasped in astonishment as he turned in time to see the Lost Boy vanish before his eyes. A glimmer of blue flickered in the spot where Ryoga had been, and dissipated without a trace. Had Ryoga created a dimensional portal somehow? Wufei rubbed at his eyes and then took off at a run for Shenlong. Surely Ryoga would think to use the homing device.
By the time Wufei made it to his Gundam, the homing device was projecting its signal. Wufei blinked in surprise. Ryoga was in Canada? It had to have been some kind of dimensional... well, there would be plenty of time to worry about that later. For now, he'd concentrate on retrieving the Lost Boy.
"Ah, Heero..." Duo sighed, writhing uncontrollably as Heero's mouth gradually worked its way from his toes up along the inside of one thigh. "Heero..." He could feel Heero smiling against his flesh, his sweet mouth moving closer and closer to the eager length of Duo's manhood... and then slowly traveling back up his stomach.
"Heero!" Duo growled, frustrated as his lover moved away from his thrusting hardness.
"You want me to stop?" Heero asked quietly, pressing a hot, wet kiss against the side of Duo's neck.
"I want you to start!" Duo cried in exasperation. Heero merely smiled at him and traced the tip of one finger along the fine line of Duo's jaw.
"I like doing it my way," he said with a hint of a devilish grin.
"Your way is driving me crazy!" Duo moaned, as more kisses rained down across his flushed chest.
"Short drive."
"Heero!" Warm lips closed over Duo's, and he whimpered in relief as Heero pressed against him, letting him grind his manhood against Heero's. Finally!
End Part Nine
Yoiko ^__^
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