Thanks for the Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own them. I didn't years ago, and that has not changed. This is purely for pleasure and because I couldn't resist. The song Thanks for the Memories also does not belong to me, that is Fall Out Boy's domain.
Feedback is, of course, greatly appreciated. This was almost more an exercise to see if I could still write or not. So, we shall see. My apologies for how short it is, but New Orleans to Kansas City is a short flight and I was sleepy.

Every time it happened, it reminded him of a song from a long-forgotten past. An ancient track from some whiny bad that wore eyeliner… Sometimes he thought he didn't seek it out, but then he would remember that song and everything would come back.

He unlaced his fingers from the other boy's hair, an apologetic grin cracking his face. The eyes denied the apology, though. He thought he should be sorry, but wasn't. His body automatically pulled away, instilling necessary distance.

"Thanks, kid. I needed that. Didn't mean to get so carried away…"

The other boy, actually a year or two older than the first, stood up and tried to close the distance, his hands reaching. "I didn't mind. I mean…" His nervousness stopped him and he turned adoring eyes to the other's face. "I wanted to do that since I saw you walk in."

For a moment a hand came up, as if to caress the older boy's cheek, but it faltered and dropped back to the black-clad side. "I gotta go, kid. I'm a busy man." He began walking out of the cheap room, pausing at the door long enough to whisper, "Thanks for the memories," before he was gone.

On the walk to his car, he could feel his thick braid swinging down his back, the pounding of his heart, the clenching that always happened after these… occurrences…

And they happened every few months. He'd be perfectly fine one moment, and then he would suddenly be missing him more than any sane person could bear. So he would go out. He would dress pretty and act charming and flash his brilliantly violet eyes until he found the one he wanted, the next best thing. Next to the perfect thing.

Every time he went through the cycle, he had brief, rare moments when he could close his eyes and pretend like the flavor of the month was more than that. But then he would realize that, though they tasted similar, he had been sweeter. That one night stand had been sweeter than all of his subsequent conquests.

With the end of the Mariemaiah incident, though, Heero Yuy had disappeared, taking all of Dup's hopes with him. He got by now, living with Quatre and Trowa, meeting Wufei once a month for dinner. Working at Preventers. He didn't pine, either. He wished, he dreamed, he moved on. The only time he let it get to him, would find a man, fuck him, and then go home to sleep the sleep of the truly depressed. Once he woke up, he was fine, but his roommates knew better than to disturb him before then.

He was beyond it, beyond Heero Yuy. But he still wanted him. And, every time, on his way out the door, he would whisper to Heero, "Thanks for the memories…"