Title: Gundam Sleep and Chocolate
Warnings: Well…fluff? 1x2x1? Cute-stuff? =P That's not really a WARNING.
Disclaimer: Don't own, now stop making me depressed =P
SI; Cute fluffy stuff ^_^
Shinigami: For ONCE.
SI:What's that supposed to mean?!
Shinigami: Well..er…fluff
SI:On with the fluff!
Rain pelted both Gundam D-Hell and Wing-Zero as they landed with a splat of metal to mud outside the large hangar. A few picturesque forks of lightning brightened the sky, followed by an offending growl of lightning. Deathscythe landed fairly smoothly, and easily made it's way inside the large brightly lit building, which, consequently, was situated in the middle of nowhere. Wing, however, looked as if it had been to a bar that sells pure alcohol, and drank it all, as it barely made it through the door due to the damages to both suit, and pilot.
Duo winced slightly from his place in Deathscythes cockpit, eyeing Wing with dismay. So much damage, it'd take at least a week to fix it. Possibly more. What if there was any permanent damage? What if he couldn't do the next mission?…well who cared about the mission, what was the extent of the damage!?
Of course, he was referring to Heero. To hell with the Gundam.
Choosing to 'park' his Gundam in a randomly selected spot, setting it to lie down because of the risk of slipping in the mud, Duo practically kicked open the door, skidded through a layer of mud and came to a halt in front of the slouching Wing. Had he been a schoolteacher, and this his student, the comment "Don't slouch, young man!" would have been very appropriate. But since he was a sixteen-year-old pilot, he didn't have to issue the remark, however tempting it was.
His mind was still a bit dazed from the exhausting mission, seeing as it had taken all day. More than anything, Duo felt like he could just fall asleep right there on the spot, mud or no mud covering him from head to toe. But he folded his arms, rested his weight on one leg – horse style – and waited quietly for the inhabitant of the Gundam to immerge.
And he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By the time he'd shifted his weight for the seventh time, gone through his fiftieth yawn, and toppled over once, the door to the cockpit slowly slid open. A very muddy, soaked, and exhausted looking Heero shuffled out, standing there with his eyes half closed, arms dangling listlessly. In comparison to Wing…well let's just say, Wing looked better.
"Hey man…you don't look so good.." Duo commented from his place on the ground, hands on his hips and gazing up at Heero who was just standing there as if this was a fashion show for 'muddy' outfits and mud-caked hair. Duo could almost hear the creaking of a sore neck as that of Heero moved to face him.
"Need…help?" Duo offered kindly, grinning slightly to lighten up the half- dead atmosphere the appearance of Heero had brought with him. The smell of wet mud was lingering in his nose, and his eyes felt like a ton of bricks. No, Heero didn't look so good. And he didn't feel so very prim either.
"No."
But Heero did NOT, and repeated, NOT need any help. Easing himself off Wing and dropping to the floor, collapsing under his own almost non- existent weight and dragging himself up again, Heero walked in a drunken manner to the front of his Gundam to stand beside Duo, who was running a finger slowly up and down the bridge of his own nose, assuming a rather curious expression as he looked at the wreck the machine was in.
"Ya know, that could take a few wee-" Heero held up a hand, and shook his head.
"Don't even say it."
"Aa…it's not THAT bad though, and well…oh who gives two craps, what about you? Was a rough mission, how ya feelin'?" Dou rounded on Heero, making soft 'tsk' sounds at the sight of bruises across most of the pilots body, and a few unhealthy looking cuts and scratches. Combined with the mud and the tousle-haired look, plus the slouching posture, Heero looked a wreck.
Heero blinked several times. Well he didn't feel too good…but nobody ever asked him how he felt anyway. So what was he supposed to answer? He did the appropriate thing, and mimicked everyone else he'd heard respond to the question.
"I'm fine."
Ten points for the most stupid see-through lie of the century. Duo shook his head and sighed.
"You look like you've been to hell and back," he stated, grinning amusedly as a scowl made it's way to Heero's face and an 'omae o korosu' was sounded quietly. But he held back the urge to laugh, which wasn't so strong anyway. Here was Heero, looking like he'd been beaten up severely and about to faint, and he was just standing there. He suddenly felt very awkward, looking at the mud-man in front of him.
"Eh…you might want to…wash up. Yeah. There's some form of a shower out back, not the best but it's ok." he said with a smile, pointing in the direction of fairly small looking office jutting out of the side of the building, on the opposite side.
Heero looked over at the little inwardly build room. It was a whole twenty meters away. He could not walk that distance.
"Hn." He grunted, trying to with as little words as possible convey the huge distance he would have to cover in order to get to the other side of the hangar.
Duo, with much experience in the complex language of Heero, glanced at the journey which would have to be made and judged by the tone of 'hn' and the time it lasted, that no Heero Yuy was going to walk twenty meters to take a shower. Duo grinned slightly to himself, opting for the last solution – and, that being the preferable one to him – and took hold of Heero's arm.
"Old fashioned way it is then," he said a little more cheerfully than he'd meant, and slid his hand down to take hold of Heero's legs, wrapping his other around the almost lifeless boy's back, and hoisted him up into a moderately comfortable carrying position.
Heero's eyebrows elevated by approximately a centimeter, as he looked up at the smiling face in confusion. Any idiot with three brain cells could tell that the expression clearly stated 'Cheese'. Or in this instance, 'Huh?'. Either way, it made perfect sense. Duo poked his tongue out at the befuddled looking companion of his situated between his arms, and headed with careful steps – so to avoid slipping with precious cargo – towards his Gundam, and in the situated in the wall beside it, the real reason for him heading in that direction – a hose.
Correct. Whether he liked it or not, Heero was going to have the dust particles and water mix, making mud, washed off him.
"You wouldn't…" Heero muttered, making an effort to raise his head from where it was nestled comfortable against Duo's shoulder. He quite liked being carried by Duo, actually. For once he wasn't needed to do anything, and could just bask in the comfort of being taken care of, and it was nice, to be imperfect and exhausted and…where did that thought come from? Perfect Soldiers do not think like that. It is wrong, utterly wrong. To satisfy the voice in his head telling him to at LEAST make SOME resistance, he kicked his left leg tiredly, not even enough to make Duo stumble with the shift of weight.
That was enough for the voice, obviously. Heero cast one last fearful look at the evil-ness that called itself a hose, and went back to half-sleeping peacefully in the arms of Shinigami, who was currently grinning from ear to ear, very satisfied with the way a tired Heero differed so greatly from a fully awake one. He had only received one 'omae o korosu' and hadn't been whapped or kicked or insulted in ANY way. Actually, it was slightly worrying.
"I would, actually. Like it or not, yer not gonna look like that when you fall asleep," Duo said with a hint of amusement in his voice, cursing the fact that he'd only had to walk a few meters to reach the hose, and now had no reason to keep holding Heero. Damn the constructors of the hangar for not making the hose far away from the entrance. Both pilots muttered in annoyance as Duo set Heero down carefully against a clean part of metal surface of Deathscythe, and grabbing the hose with his other hand, turning the water on.
"Shirt 'n shoes off." he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for anyone to say. But to Heero, it sounded strangely…weird. Duo was in essence asking him to…well, strip. Not that he minded terribly but…there was another evil thought. Heero made a mental note to murder the voices that were taking control of his logic system, or whatever system it was that controlled the odd conversations he was having with himself in his head.
And a slight grin crept onto Heeros lips, barely visible. Or maybe it was an evil smirk. But what it was, didn't matter, as Heero let his arms flop to the side and made no response to Duo's order. Duo, turning around with the hose in his hand to find a still fully dressed Heero, was slightly annoyed. In more than one way.
"Oi! Shirt and shoes?" He pointed at the offending articles of clothing, and got a quiet grunt in response, as Heero's head flopped backwards, a clear sign of, tired.
/=/ Never does anything I tell him…then again…this isn't so bad./=/ Duo thought to himself, glad that of all the skills Heero had, mind reading was not one of them. Who in their right mind would pass on the opportunity of partially undressing Heero without getting shot?
"Bein' a baby, are we?" Duo asked playfully as he knotted the hose so it wouldn't spray water everywhere, and crouched down to undo the laces on Heero's mud-caked shoes. Heero gave him a 'hmph' of disapproval, which could also have been interpreted as a victory song, very short and muffled because his mouth was closed, but a victory song nevertheless.
Duo quickly finished with the shoe, which looked more like a block of solidified mud - and dragged it off along with the sock, tossing it to some random corner, and did the same with the other one. He doubted the shoes would be of use for anything but cow-dung decoys.
"We always did this, when we had the chance." Duo said as he worked the remaining sock off.
"Hn?" Heero said, eyes still half closed. He could barely make out Duo shuffling closer to him, threading one of Heero's arms back through the sleeve-resembling area of his green shirt, which was still clinging frustratingly to his skin.
"Me 'n the rest of the street rats. When there actually was a hose, we could get a decent shower," Duo said, crawling over to Heero's other side and repeating the process of the arm there, until Heero looked…armless. He couldn't help but grin as he peeled the damp material away from Heero's torso and dragging it over Heero's head, which gave him a much clearer view of the pleasing lines that had been dimly shown through the shirt. Eye candy. It didn't matter if he had splashes of mud across his frame; Heero's chest and torso sure were a sight for sore eyes. Slightly tanned skin rippling under the fidgeting movement of tense muscles as Heero shifted to make himself a slight bit more comfortable, looked good enough to eat.
"Hn." It was a good thing that Duo failed to detect the obvious satisfaction in that extract of Heero language, because there sure had been a hint of it there. He woke up from his visualizations of what could be done with what was in front of him – a slightly lengthy visualization as the list was endless – and gave Heero a slight glare before proceeding the fold the sleeves of his own shirt up.
"You should be happy, that you've got a hose to take a shower with," Duo said softly, smiling a sad smile at the memory. Heero opened one eye a bit wider to catch the expression of Duo's face, one torn between happiness and grief. The braided pilot took a quick journey down memory lane; to the times when running water wasn't a priority. Staying alive was. And he remembered, how happy they'd been at having access to a simple leaky hose to wash the grime and dirt of more than weeks worth out of their hair, clothes, and skin.
Heero bit on his lip thoughtfully, leaning his head back against the cool metal again. He was lucky, wasn't he. Unable, or possibly not willing, to pursue the thought any longer, Heero closed his eyes again, forgetting for a moment what the hose held in Duo's hand was supposed to be used for.
Until a cold splash of water hit his face and he near yelped, suddenly able to open his eyes fully.
"What was that for!?" he snapped, a little more rudely than he'd intended, giving Duo the beginning of a death glare.
Duo held his hands up in surrender, smiling innocently, if innocent is a word you can sound with the name Duo.
"Hey, you didn't ASK if the water was cold or not," he grinned, directing the hose at Heero once again, suppressing laughter as Heero grunted in dismay at the cold spray, fidgeting and wrapping his arms around himself from cold.
"Oi, be a little helpful and wash the mud off!" Duo commanded, letting the hefty spray of water wash the dirt off Heero's hair. Heero, lips now growing blue with cold, was shivering furiously and couldn't utter a word. He simply attempted a half hearted glare at Duo, who issued another wave of water over him, raising his free hand to wipe the mud and grime swiftly off Heero's body with feather light touches. Scooting closer, he ran his hand down Heero's left arm, adding a gentle spray of water to remove the mud.
Heero couldn't help but grin slightly as Duo's hand brushed over his skin, accompanied with a satisfied smile on Duo's behalf. The numbing cold of the water was dimming, and replaced by a growing warmth at every touch of Duo's hand, carefully sifting the mud in a caring fashion.
"See? Better to be clean, ne?" Duo smiled and let the water trail over Heero's head, doing his best to get him washed up without having to ask for any additional help from Heero himself. Heero nodded quietly, letting Duo get on with the process, much to his own enjoyment.
"There! You owe me for this," Duo grinned as he reached back to turn off the flow of water, curling the hose up sloppily from whence it came, "I don't –wash people- for free." He smirked at his own comment. He didn't wash people for free, that was true. But this incident had repaid itself.
Heero heaved a long sigh, shivering slightly when the biting cold of the water started coming back after Duo withdrew his touch. Where was Duo's hand when you needed it…another hentai thought. This wasn't good…or maybe it was. Heero shook his head lightly, in hope of killing the thoughts plaguing his mind and concentrated instead of trying to ignore the cold.
Still dazed and tired, recovering from the shock of being drenched in cold water, he didn't complain when he was lifted again, letting his head droop heavily onto Duo's shoulder. Duo rolled his eyes sarcastically and proceeded to heave the limp body onto the Gundam, setting him down gently on the now dry machine, plopping down opposite Heero and smiling happily at the pilot.
"Feeling any better?" Duo tugged at his braid, a tone of exaggerated yet sincere concern into his voice as he surveyed the clean, but still bruised Heero.
"Hn." Came the reply.
"Pftz, you sure make a great conversationalist!" Duo retorted, casting Heero a look of dismay, but it turned into yet another warm-hearted smile. For some strange reason, Duo just couldn't' stay angry with Heero no matter how badly he was offended or pushed down. Shaking his head slightly, Duo eased himself into the still open Gundam, and rummaging was heard within the tight space of the cockpit.
A whisper of a smile crossed Heero's face as he listened to the melodious whistle issue from where Duo was working, probably on fixing any damages done to his Gundam. He was grateful to Duo, who always seemed to care more for the people than the machines, and the first thing he did after mission was check on whether Heero was ok or not, who cared if Deathscythe was in need of immediate repair.
And he was always so nice and helpful, and treated any insults lightly, joked about everything, he was just…just… Heero couldn't quite place a label on what Duo was, exactly. But one thing was for sure; being around Duo was strangely…pleasant. Beyond that, but his vocabulary didn't spread to a very wide rage of positive words, and none he knew would describe Duo in justified way. He watched the water on his arm slowly dry up, musing over the thought that Duo had actually insisted on washing the mud off him. Duo…did everything for him. Heero felt a slight pang of guilt at the realization. He had exactly treated Duo in a justified manner, but had never really thought of companionship in between battles as important.
With a goal resolutely set in his mind, he shifted his weigh slightly and cleared his throat.
"Duo?" he asked in a quiet tone, trying to sound as friendly as possible. It wasn't all that easy, considering that the name was often sounded with anger or aggravation. Duo's braided head poked up from inside the machine, smiling with a questioning look.
"Want another shower?" Duo smirked at the growl that issued from Heero's throat where he lay, and hoisted himself out from the depths of the Gundam, having retrieved what looked like a thermos and a cup, to Heero's surprise.
Duo grinned at Heero's confused look, and proceeded to pour some hot brown liquid into the mug, and the smell of chocolate rose into the air and trailed to Heero's nose. He drew a long breath of a drink he couldn't' remember tasting, and gave Duo an anticipating look, which Duo returned with a smile.
"You want it?" Duo held the cup just out of Heero's reach, earning another cold glare from Heero, who made no effort to reach it as of yet.
"Come on…chocolate…you have to want chocolate!" Duo sat down and held the steaming cup in his hand, taunting Heero silently until the said Japanese grudgingly got to his feet, shaking under his own weight and stumbled the odd steps it took to get to Duo. Halfway there, he tripped over his own feet to be caught swiftly by Duo.
"Uh..I..guess you're still tired." Duo excused himself swiftly for the reason to hug Heero, sitting down again and pulling the still tired and slightly damp pilot into his lap, letting him rest against his shoulder. Duo couldn't be happier. Under normal circumstances, Heero wouldn't even have let Duo touch him. And now he could freely drag him into his lap and cuddle him just as he'd always wanted to…though discreetly, so not to arouse suspicion. Life was perfect. All it took was having Heero there with him, and life was perfect.
"Hmph," sounded Heero's disgruntled reply, but he said nothing else. It wasn't that he didn't like being in Duo's lap. It was comforting, both physically and mentally, to be in the braided boys presence. The warmth radiating from Duo warmed him up in an odd way, more generated by something other than body heat alone.
"Heh…here, ya can have it now," Duo held up the cup of steaming chocolate to Heero's lips, and tilted his head back slightly allow him to cautiously sip the hot liquid. The sweetness hit his tongue and he gratefully lapped it up, pausing to catch his breath halfway through. Satisfied, he leant back against Duo's warm chest, sighing contently. He looked just about ready to fall asleep like that.
Duo set the mug down carefully and wrapped his arms protectively around Heero, leaning back against the metal frame of the Gundam they were sitting on. Duo's eyes were shining with happiness. It didn't matter if Heero was both wet, cold, and slightly heavy, the feeling of having him in his arms surpassed all others. Neither did it matter that he was normally the most evil human being on earth. Antisocial, grumpy, irritated…
"I love you anyway," Duo said quietly, completely unaware of what he'd just put into words, being slightly dazed as he was, and his eyes widened at the realization. He peered down at Heero, who was giving him an equally perplexed expression.
"Eh..er..I..um…sorry." Duo hurriedly excused himself, taking on a soft shade of red, trying to make up some more excuses than simply having a wandering mind.
/=/Shit…that wasn't meant to get out…what the hell have I doooone…/=/ Duo awaited his doom with wide eyes, staring down at Heero for the judgment that might just as well have huge impact, however badly planned it was.
Too the huge amazement of all present, Heero's otherwise motionless lips molded into a soft smile, as he peered up at Duo through tired eyes. He leant forwards and kissed Duo's lips swiftly. The soft skin of his lips felt like silk against Duo's, the owner who blinked several times in surprise. Content, he snuggled closer to Duo, wrapping his arms around Duo's waist happily.
Duo looked down at him, stunned. He hadn't expected Heero to react like that, much less that he would survive past it. He almost laughed in astonishment, resting his chin on Heero's head with an almost shocked expression on his face. It took him a while to get the thought clearly through his head, but he, Duo Maxwell, had just been told by the otherwise emotionless Heero Yuy that he returned the feeling, even though it might be small, through his own wordless way.
Heero picked up on a new word there, nestled blissfully in Duo's lap. He found an appropriate word to describe Duo. Or rather, that odd feeling any thought of Duo, or being around him, created.
"Ai…" he said carefully to himself, testing the word out, liking the way it just rolled off the tongue so easily, "Love…" he experimented, hugging Duo tighter as he voiced the word quietly. Nodding softly to himself he glanced up at Duo, and grunted a quiet 'thank you'.
"Hm? For what?" Duo asked, inhaling the scent of Heero's hair. It smelled of water, even if water didn't have a distinct smell. Maybe it was just Heero. In any case, he wouldn't forget it any time soon.
"Everything." Satisfied with that, Heero yawned and curled up slightly where he lay across Duo's lap, leaving Duo to make sense of the response. He took a sip of hot chocolate, staring thoughtfully ahead of him.
Everything, eh?
That could mean a lot.
Setting the mug down, he wrapped his arms securely around Heero again, rocking gently back and forth. Leaning back, he felt his eyes begin to droop. The weight in his lap was somehow making him sleepier for every second that went by. Sighing happily with the way a tired Heero and mud had turned out, completely unexpectedly, he yawned loudly and settled himself against the metal, which seemed oddly soft in Heero's company. And Duo, with Heero bundled up in his arms, drifted slowly off to a peaceful sleep. Despite the slightly ambiguous way in which it was stated, Heero's thank you was probably the easiest thing in the world to understand…it wasn't complex, or complicated, or a mess of emotions and feelings…it was just an irreplaceable thank you.
Thanks for everything.
A/N: Mwee…fluff fic ^.^ Or…cute-ish fic, at least. ^_^;; I've felt very uninspired lately…it's becoming quite a pain x.X Anyways…review-ish, if you can be bothered, reviews are good ^_^
Shinigami: You know…that wasn't…bad, actually.
Kame: You're just saying that because you like FLUFF, so there!
Shinigami: It's not MY fault you only like bloodshed and violence!
SI: Eh…muse fight…we'll just…ehehe…*Scene fades to black*
Warnings: Well…fluff? 1x2x1? Cute-stuff? =P That's not really a WARNING.
Disclaimer: Don't own, now stop making me depressed =P
SI; Cute fluffy stuff ^_^
Shinigami: For ONCE.
SI:What's that supposed to mean?!
Shinigami: Well..er…fluff
SI:On with the fluff!
Rain pelted both Gundam D-Hell and Wing-Zero as they landed with a splat of metal to mud outside the large hangar. A few picturesque forks of lightning brightened the sky, followed by an offending growl of lightning. Deathscythe landed fairly smoothly, and easily made it's way inside the large brightly lit building, which, consequently, was situated in the middle of nowhere. Wing, however, looked as if it had been to a bar that sells pure alcohol, and drank it all, as it barely made it through the door due to the damages to both suit, and pilot.
Duo winced slightly from his place in Deathscythes cockpit, eyeing Wing with dismay. So much damage, it'd take at least a week to fix it. Possibly more. What if there was any permanent damage? What if he couldn't do the next mission?…well who cared about the mission, what was the extent of the damage!?
Of course, he was referring to Heero. To hell with the Gundam.
Choosing to 'park' his Gundam in a randomly selected spot, setting it to lie down because of the risk of slipping in the mud, Duo practically kicked open the door, skidded through a layer of mud and came to a halt in front of the slouching Wing. Had he been a schoolteacher, and this his student, the comment "Don't slouch, young man!" would have been very appropriate. But since he was a sixteen-year-old pilot, he didn't have to issue the remark, however tempting it was.
His mind was still a bit dazed from the exhausting mission, seeing as it had taken all day. More than anything, Duo felt like he could just fall asleep right there on the spot, mud or no mud covering him from head to toe. But he folded his arms, rested his weight on one leg – horse style – and waited quietly for the inhabitant of the Gundam to immerge.
And he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By the time he'd shifted his weight for the seventh time, gone through his fiftieth yawn, and toppled over once, the door to the cockpit slowly slid open. A very muddy, soaked, and exhausted looking Heero shuffled out, standing there with his eyes half closed, arms dangling listlessly. In comparison to Wing…well let's just say, Wing looked better.
"Hey man…you don't look so good.." Duo commented from his place on the ground, hands on his hips and gazing up at Heero who was just standing there as if this was a fashion show for 'muddy' outfits and mud-caked hair. Duo could almost hear the creaking of a sore neck as that of Heero moved to face him.
"Need…help?" Duo offered kindly, grinning slightly to lighten up the half- dead atmosphere the appearance of Heero had brought with him. The smell of wet mud was lingering in his nose, and his eyes felt like a ton of bricks. No, Heero didn't look so good. And he didn't feel so very prim either.
"No."
But Heero did NOT, and repeated, NOT need any help. Easing himself off Wing and dropping to the floor, collapsing under his own almost non- existent weight and dragging himself up again, Heero walked in a drunken manner to the front of his Gundam to stand beside Duo, who was running a finger slowly up and down the bridge of his own nose, assuming a rather curious expression as he looked at the wreck the machine was in.
"Ya know, that could take a few wee-" Heero held up a hand, and shook his head.
"Don't even say it."
"Aa…it's not THAT bad though, and well…oh who gives two craps, what about you? Was a rough mission, how ya feelin'?" Dou rounded on Heero, making soft 'tsk' sounds at the sight of bruises across most of the pilots body, and a few unhealthy looking cuts and scratches. Combined with the mud and the tousle-haired look, plus the slouching posture, Heero looked a wreck.
Heero blinked several times. Well he didn't feel too good…but nobody ever asked him how he felt anyway. So what was he supposed to answer? He did the appropriate thing, and mimicked everyone else he'd heard respond to the question.
"I'm fine."
Ten points for the most stupid see-through lie of the century. Duo shook his head and sighed.
"You look like you've been to hell and back," he stated, grinning amusedly as a scowl made it's way to Heero's face and an 'omae o korosu' was sounded quietly. But he held back the urge to laugh, which wasn't so strong anyway. Here was Heero, looking like he'd been beaten up severely and about to faint, and he was just standing there. He suddenly felt very awkward, looking at the mud-man in front of him.
"Eh…you might want to…wash up. Yeah. There's some form of a shower out back, not the best but it's ok." he said with a smile, pointing in the direction of fairly small looking office jutting out of the side of the building, on the opposite side.
Heero looked over at the little inwardly build room. It was a whole twenty meters away. He could not walk that distance.
"Hn." He grunted, trying to with as little words as possible convey the huge distance he would have to cover in order to get to the other side of the hangar.
Duo, with much experience in the complex language of Heero, glanced at the journey which would have to be made and judged by the tone of 'hn' and the time it lasted, that no Heero Yuy was going to walk twenty meters to take a shower. Duo grinned slightly to himself, opting for the last solution – and, that being the preferable one to him – and took hold of Heero's arm.
"Old fashioned way it is then," he said a little more cheerfully than he'd meant, and slid his hand down to take hold of Heero's legs, wrapping his other around the almost lifeless boy's back, and hoisted him up into a moderately comfortable carrying position.
Heero's eyebrows elevated by approximately a centimeter, as he looked up at the smiling face in confusion. Any idiot with three brain cells could tell that the expression clearly stated 'Cheese'. Or in this instance, 'Huh?'. Either way, it made perfect sense. Duo poked his tongue out at the befuddled looking companion of his situated between his arms, and headed with careful steps – so to avoid slipping with precious cargo – towards his Gundam, and in the situated in the wall beside it, the real reason for him heading in that direction – a hose.
Correct. Whether he liked it or not, Heero was going to have the dust particles and water mix, making mud, washed off him.
"You wouldn't…" Heero muttered, making an effort to raise his head from where it was nestled comfortable against Duo's shoulder. He quite liked being carried by Duo, actually. For once he wasn't needed to do anything, and could just bask in the comfort of being taken care of, and it was nice, to be imperfect and exhausted and…where did that thought come from? Perfect Soldiers do not think like that. It is wrong, utterly wrong. To satisfy the voice in his head telling him to at LEAST make SOME resistance, he kicked his left leg tiredly, not even enough to make Duo stumble with the shift of weight.
That was enough for the voice, obviously. Heero cast one last fearful look at the evil-ness that called itself a hose, and went back to half-sleeping peacefully in the arms of Shinigami, who was currently grinning from ear to ear, very satisfied with the way a tired Heero differed so greatly from a fully awake one. He had only received one 'omae o korosu' and hadn't been whapped or kicked or insulted in ANY way. Actually, it was slightly worrying.
"I would, actually. Like it or not, yer not gonna look like that when you fall asleep," Duo said with a hint of amusement in his voice, cursing the fact that he'd only had to walk a few meters to reach the hose, and now had no reason to keep holding Heero. Damn the constructors of the hangar for not making the hose far away from the entrance. Both pilots muttered in annoyance as Duo set Heero down carefully against a clean part of metal surface of Deathscythe, and grabbing the hose with his other hand, turning the water on.
"Shirt 'n shoes off." he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for anyone to say. But to Heero, it sounded strangely…weird. Duo was in essence asking him to…well, strip. Not that he minded terribly but…there was another evil thought. Heero made a mental note to murder the voices that were taking control of his logic system, or whatever system it was that controlled the odd conversations he was having with himself in his head.
And a slight grin crept onto Heeros lips, barely visible. Or maybe it was an evil smirk. But what it was, didn't matter, as Heero let his arms flop to the side and made no response to Duo's order. Duo, turning around with the hose in his hand to find a still fully dressed Heero, was slightly annoyed. In more than one way.
"Oi! Shirt and shoes?" He pointed at the offending articles of clothing, and got a quiet grunt in response, as Heero's head flopped backwards, a clear sign of, tired.
/=/ Never does anything I tell him…then again…this isn't so bad./=/ Duo thought to himself, glad that of all the skills Heero had, mind reading was not one of them. Who in their right mind would pass on the opportunity of partially undressing Heero without getting shot?
"Bein' a baby, are we?" Duo asked playfully as he knotted the hose so it wouldn't spray water everywhere, and crouched down to undo the laces on Heero's mud-caked shoes. Heero gave him a 'hmph' of disapproval, which could also have been interpreted as a victory song, very short and muffled because his mouth was closed, but a victory song nevertheless.
Duo quickly finished with the shoe, which looked more like a block of solidified mud - and dragged it off along with the sock, tossing it to some random corner, and did the same with the other one. He doubted the shoes would be of use for anything but cow-dung decoys.
"We always did this, when we had the chance." Duo said as he worked the remaining sock off.
"Hn?" Heero said, eyes still half closed. He could barely make out Duo shuffling closer to him, threading one of Heero's arms back through the sleeve-resembling area of his green shirt, which was still clinging frustratingly to his skin.
"Me 'n the rest of the street rats. When there actually was a hose, we could get a decent shower," Duo said, crawling over to Heero's other side and repeating the process of the arm there, until Heero looked…armless. He couldn't help but grin as he peeled the damp material away from Heero's torso and dragging it over Heero's head, which gave him a much clearer view of the pleasing lines that had been dimly shown through the shirt. Eye candy. It didn't matter if he had splashes of mud across his frame; Heero's chest and torso sure were a sight for sore eyes. Slightly tanned skin rippling under the fidgeting movement of tense muscles as Heero shifted to make himself a slight bit more comfortable, looked good enough to eat.
"Hn." It was a good thing that Duo failed to detect the obvious satisfaction in that extract of Heero language, because there sure had been a hint of it there. He woke up from his visualizations of what could be done with what was in front of him – a slightly lengthy visualization as the list was endless – and gave Heero a slight glare before proceeding the fold the sleeves of his own shirt up.
"You should be happy, that you've got a hose to take a shower with," Duo said softly, smiling a sad smile at the memory. Heero opened one eye a bit wider to catch the expression of Duo's face, one torn between happiness and grief. The braided pilot took a quick journey down memory lane; to the times when running water wasn't a priority. Staying alive was. And he remembered, how happy they'd been at having access to a simple leaky hose to wash the grime and dirt of more than weeks worth out of their hair, clothes, and skin.
Heero bit on his lip thoughtfully, leaning his head back against the cool metal again. He was lucky, wasn't he. Unable, or possibly not willing, to pursue the thought any longer, Heero closed his eyes again, forgetting for a moment what the hose held in Duo's hand was supposed to be used for.
Until a cold splash of water hit his face and he near yelped, suddenly able to open his eyes fully.
"What was that for!?" he snapped, a little more rudely than he'd intended, giving Duo the beginning of a death glare.
Duo held his hands up in surrender, smiling innocently, if innocent is a word you can sound with the name Duo.
"Hey, you didn't ASK if the water was cold or not," he grinned, directing the hose at Heero once again, suppressing laughter as Heero grunted in dismay at the cold spray, fidgeting and wrapping his arms around himself from cold.
"Oi, be a little helpful and wash the mud off!" Duo commanded, letting the hefty spray of water wash the dirt off Heero's hair. Heero, lips now growing blue with cold, was shivering furiously and couldn't utter a word. He simply attempted a half hearted glare at Duo, who issued another wave of water over him, raising his free hand to wipe the mud and grime swiftly off Heero's body with feather light touches. Scooting closer, he ran his hand down Heero's left arm, adding a gentle spray of water to remove the mud.
Heero couldn't help but grin slightly as Duo's hand brushed over his skin, accompanied with a satisfied smile on Duo's behalf. The numbing cold of the water was dimming, and replaced by a growing warmth at every touch of Duo's hand, carefully sifting the mud in a caring fashion.
"See? Better to be clean, ne?" Duo smiled and let the water trail over Heero's head, doing his best to get him washed up without having to ask for any additional help from Heero himself. Heero nodded quietly, letting Duo get on with the process, much to his own enjoyment.
"There! You owe me for this," Duo grinned as he reached back to turn off the flow of water, curling the hose up sloppily from whence it came, "I don't –wash people- for free." He smirked at his own comment. He didn't wash people for free, that was true. But this incident had repaid itself.
Heero heaved a long sigh, shivering slightly when the biting cold of the water started coming back after Duo withdrew his touch. Where was Duo's hand when you needed it…another hentai thought. This wasn't good…or maybe it was. Heero shook his head lightly, in hope of killing the thoughts plaguing his mind and concentrated instead of trying to ignore the cold.
Still dazed and tired, recovering from the shock of being drenched in cold water, he didn't complain when he was lifted again, letting his head droop heavily onto Duo's shoulder. Duo rolled his eyes sarcastically and proceeded to heave the limp body onto the Gundam, setting him down gently on the now dry machine, plopping down opposite Heero and smiling happily at the pilot.
"Feeling any better?" Duo tugged at his braid, a tone of exaggerated yet sincere concern into his voice as he surveyed the clean, but still bruised Heero.
"Hn." Came the reply.
"Pftz, you sure make a great conversationalist!" Duo retorted, casting Heero a look of dismay, but it turned into yet another warm-hearted smile. For some strange reason, Duo just couldn't' stay angry with Heero no matter how badly he was offended or pushed down. Shaking his head slightly, Duo eased himself into the still open Gundam, and rummaging was heard within the tight space of the cockpit.
A whisper of a smile crossed Heero's face as he listened to the melodious whistle issue from where Duo was working, probably on fixing any damages done to his Gundam. He was grateful to Duo, who always seemed to care more for the people than the machines, and the first thing he did after mission was check on whether Heero was ok or not, who cared if Deathscythe was in need of immediate repair.
And he was always so nice and helpful, and treated any insults lightly, joked about everything, he was just…just… Heero couldn't quite place a label on what Duo was, exactly. But one thing was for sure; being around Duo was strangely…pleasant. Beyond that, but his vocabulary didn't spread to a very wide rage of positive words, and none he knew would describe Duo in justified way. He watched the water on his arm slowly dry up, musing over the thought that Duo had actually insisted on washing the mud off him. Duo…did everything for him. Heero felt a slight pang of guilt at the realization. He had exactly treated Duo in a justified manner, but had never really thought of companionship in between battles as important.
With a goal resolutely set in his mind, he shifted his weigh slightly and cleared his throat.
"Duo?" he asked in a quiet tone, trying to sound as friendly as possible. It wasn't all that easy, considering that the name was often sounded with anger or aggravation. Duo's braided head poked up from inside the machine, smiling with a questioning look.
"Want another shower?" Duo smirked at the growl that issued from Heero's throat where he lay, and hoisted himself out from the depths of the Gundam, having retrieved what looked like a thermos and a cup, to Heero's surprise.
Duo grinned at Heero's confused look, and proceeded to pour some hot brown liquid into the mug, and the smell of chocolate rose into the air and trailed to Heero's nose. He drew a long breath of a drink he couldn't' remember tasting, and gave Duo an anticipating look, which Duo returned with a smile.
"You want it?" Duo held the cup just out of Heero's reach, earning another cold glare from Heero, who made no effort to reach it as of yet.
"Come on…chocolate…you have to want chocolate!" Duo sat down and held the steaming cup in his hand, taunting Heero silently until the said Japanese grudgingly got to his feet, shaking under his own weight and stumbled the odd steps it took to get to Duo. Halfway there, he tripped over his own feet to be caught swiftly by Duo.
"Uh..I..guess you're still tired." Duo excused himself swiftly for the reason to hug Heero, sitting down again and pulling the still tired and slightly damp pilot into his lap, letting him rest against his shoulder. Duo couldn't be happier. Under normal circumstances, Heero wouldn't even have let Duo touch him. And now he could freely drag him into his lap and cuddle him just as he'd always wanted to…though discreetly, so not to arouse suspicion. Life was perfect. All it took was having Heero there with him, and life was perfect.
"Hmph," sounded Heero's disgruntled reply, but he said nothing else. It wasn't that he didn't like being in Duo's lap. It was comforting, both physically and mentally, to be in the braided boys presence. The warmth radiating from Duo warmed him up in an odd way, more generated by something other than body heat alone.
"Heh…here, ya can have it now," Duo held up the cup of steaming chocolate to Heero's lips, and tilted his head back slightly allow him to cautiously sip the hot liquid. The sweetness hit his tongue and he gratefully lapped it up, pausing to catch his breath halfway through. Satisfied, he leant back against Duo's warm chest, sighing contently. He looked just about ready to fall asleep like that.
Duo set the mug down carefully and wrapped his arms protectively around Heero, leaning back against the metal frame of the Gundam they were sitting on. Duo's eyes were shining with happiness. It didn't matter if Heero was both wet, cold, and slightly heavy, the feeling of having him in his arms surpassed all others. Neither did it matter that he was normally the most evil human being on earth. Antisocial, grumpy, irritated…
"I love you anyway," Duo said quietly, completely unaware of what he'd just put into words, being slightly dazed as he was, and his eyes widened at the realization. He peered down at Heero, who was giving him an equally perplexed expression.
"Eh..er..I..um…sorry." Duo hurriedly excused himself, taking on a soft shade of red, trying to make up some more excuses than simply having a wandering mind.
/=/Shit…that wasn't meant to get out…what the hell have I doooone…/=/ Duo awaited his doom with wide eyes, staring down at Heero for the judgment that might just as well have huge impact, however badly planned it was.
Too the huge amazement of all present, Heero's otherwise motionless lips molded into a soft smile, as he peered up at Duo through tired eyes. He leant forwards and kissed Duo's lips swiftly. The soft skin of his lips felt like silk against Duo's, the owner who blinked several times in surprise. Content, he snuggled closer to Duo, wrapping his arms around Duo's waist happily.
Duo looked down at him, stunned. He hadn't expected Heero to react like that, much less that he would survive past it. He almost laughed in astonishment, resting his chin on Heero's head with an almost shocked expression on his face. It took him a while to get the thought clearly through his head, but he, Duo Maxwell, had just been told by the otherwise emotionless Heero Yuy that he returned the feeling, even though it might be small, through his own wordless way.
Heero picked up on a new word there, nestled blissfully in Duo's lap. He found an appropriate word to describe Duo. Or rather, that odd feeling any thought of Duo, or being around him, created.
"Ai…" he said carefully to himself, testing the word out, liking the way it just rolled off the tongue so easily, "Love…" he experimented, hugging Duo tighter as he voiced the word quietly. Nodding softly to himself he glanced up at Duo, and grunted a quiet 'thank you'.
"Hm? For what?" Duo asked, inhaling the scent of Heero's hair. It smelled of water, even if water didn't have a distinct smell. Maybe it was just Heero. In any case, he wouldn't forget it any time soon.
"Everything." Satisfied with that, Heero yawned and curled up slightly where he lay across Duo's lap, leaving Duo to make sense of the response. He took a sip of hot chocolate, staring thoughtfully ahead of him.
Everything, eh?
That could mean a lot.
Setting the mug down, he wrapped his arms securely around Heero again, rocking gently back and forth. Leaning back, he felt his eyes begin to droop. The weight in his lap was somehow making him sleepier for every second that went by. Sighing happily with the way a tired Heero and mud had turned out, completely unexpectedly, he yawned loudly and settled himself against the metal, which seemed oddly soft in Heero's company. And Duo, with Heero bundled up in his arms, drifted slowly off to a peaceful sleep. Despite the slightly ambiguous way in which it was stated, Heero's thank you was probably the easiest thing in the world to understand…it wasn't complex, or complicated, or a mess of emotions and feelings…it was just an irreplaceable thank you.
Thanks for everything.
A/N: Mwee…fluff fic ^.^ Or…cute-ish fic, at least. ^_^;; I've felt very uninspired lately…it's becoming quite a pain x.X Anyways…review-ish, if you can be bothered, reviews are good ^_^
Shinigami: You know…that wasn't…bad, actually.
Kame: You're just saying that because you like FLUFF, so there!
Shinigami: It's not MY fault you only like bloodshed and violence!
SI: Eh…muse fight…we'll just…ehehe…*Scene fades to black*