Are You Feeling Happy?
by BadMomma
MoR 2006 Contest: Mission Get Together
Note to readers: Sorry guys, this fic was written almost 4 years ago and I only just realized I never posted it at . So as a Christmas present to my readers, I'm posting this and a few others that are missing from my FF archive.
Are You Feeling Happy?
Two men stood studying the map. Checking their current location against the list of targets. First order of business was to identify the location of each target. Second order of business was to determine the order in which to hit the targets with as little backtracking as possible. Maximum efficiency was always a plus.
"There're so many of them!"
"We have time."
They continued to scout their route; pointing, humming affirmatives, pointing out missed opportunities.
"I think I'm gonna need a massage when this is over."
"I think you're getting soft."
The retort was ignored. "Jeez, my feet hurt just thinking about it."
The one snorted, "I'll massage them, too."
"You would?" A look of almost awe blossomed on the man's face.
The corner of a mouth lifted just a hair. "Sure. If you wash them first."
The future recipient of the foot massage grinned, shrugged, and grinned some more; jotting down a target he'd missed on the first pass and drawing an arrow to where it belonged in the order of attack.
They were silent again as they continued their work. It didn't last.
"Duo, this is stupid. Let's just wing it."
"You sure?"
"It's not like we're going to miss them. They're all quite clearly marked. Regardless, a visual assessment would be needed before we enter."
"I don't know, man, I definitely think we need to have a plan. And there's more than one level!"
They studied the map some more; the long-haired man still jotting down target locations.
"I have a plan."
"Yeah?"
A grunt.
"Well what're you waiting for? Share with the class."
There was a moment of silence followed by an inquisitive grunt.
The note-taking stopped again. "What now?" He looked between his companion and the map.
"It's shaped like a mobile suit. Like a Cancer."
"Are you nuts?"
Snort. "Look. This hub area here," he pointed, "is like the cockpit. These two long, curving sections off the hub are like the arms of the suit."
A frustrated huff was his answer, accompanied by a mumbled 'completely nuts', and more note-taking.
"Are you listening to me?" Dark blue eyes bored into the side of Duo's head.
Pen still on the paper in his hand, he looked up. "OK, fine. Tell me your plan, Einstein."
He smirked. "You are here. Correct?"
A facetious nod was his answer.
"Alright, we head in this direction," his finger followed the line of the structure to the right. "Once we reach the end, having hit all targets on both sides, we proceed to the lower level." He tapped the three different methods listed that would allow them to move between the upper and lower levels of the structure. Wanting to make sure he still had his audience's attention, he turned to make eye contact.
"Got it. Keep going."
"Right. Once on the lower level, we work our way back toward the hub, in the same fashion. If we've accomplished our goal, we come up here, here or here," three taps again to indicate intra-level transports, "and retreat the way we arrived. If we're not done, we can stop for a rest - I believe there are mess facilities in this area -" his finger made a circle indicating an inner section of the lower hub.
There was an exasperated sigh. "It's called a Food Court, Heero, not a 'Mess Facility'."
"Whatever." There was a bit of humor in the word. "If we've not achieved our goal, we continue on the lower level", his finger traced the opposite side of the structure, "return to the upper level here," only one tap this time - his point had been made on the two previous indications, "and work our way back to center."
The scribbling and map-studying, which had continued off and on throughout the delivery of the plan, stopped suddenly. They looked at the map. They looked at each other. Duo shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He tucked the list and pen into his pocket and tugged lightly at Heero's sleeve. "What are we waiting for?"
Heero snorted again and fell in step alongside his friend. Within moments, their first target was coming into view. It was difficult to tell from their current location if it would be a hit or a miss.
"I really appreciate your doing this with me, Heero."
"It's no problem, really. I'd already planned the week off and booked my flight here; I might as well help."
Duo harrumphed an answer, but still felt bad. For the past two years they had planned at least one week of their annual vacation allotments together and gone on 'adrenaline junkets'. Last year, they'd hit MO-VIII; an old mining colony that had been converted into a spelunker's dream. The recently opened resort offered many vacation packages that included access to cave trails, of varying degrees of difficulty, that had resulted from years of mining.
This year, however, he had screwed up. When he'd marked his calendar, he'd put it a week later than he should have; never realizing, until it was too late, that the week he and Heero had agreed to was that of Hilde's birthday. By the time he had noticed his mistake, he'd already been too far into the planning of a surprise birthday party for his flat-mate with mutual friends. Payments had been made for a venue, catering, music, and other people's trips into town. Heero had been gracious about it and agreed to come visit anyway. There'd been no chance of changing his scheduled vacation time at that point.
They found themselves standing, side-by-side, in front of what could possibly be their first stop. Both men gazed through the front window, checking the place out.
"What do you think?"
It was Heero's turn to shrug. He didn't know the girl as well as Duo did but - "It doesn't really seem to be the kind of thing she'd... wear."
Duo looked at his friend, doubt clearly written on both their faces. Turning and pushing at Heero's arm to get them moving again, he laughed. "Yeah, it all looks kind'a cheap and... gaudy."
Gracefully managing the unexpected shove, and getting himself headed in the right direction, Heero spared the contents of the display window a last thought. "Do women really... like that kind of stuff? I mean, it all looked... fake. And ugly." He shivered involuntarily, interrupting his stream of words. "I don't think I'll ever really understand women."
"I guess some girls must like it or they'd've gone out of business by now. But yeah, I'm with you, guys are much easier to understand. I think part of the problem is you're a down to earth kind of guy, Heero. And I'm figuring the only kind of girls you've ever known have all either been ass-kicking babes, techno-geeks, or regal princesses." He waggled his eyebrows on the last for emphasis.
"Give it a rest," the dark-haired man snorted, "and I do know Hilde," he smirked. "Somewhat."
"Yeah! And, trust me, she may not look it but she falls in that ass-kicking category." They laughed and then fell into silence, navigating the hordes of people in the mall, scoping out the location of their next possibility.
They had spent the first few days of Heero's visit looking for a present for Hilde. Duo had enlisted Heero's help, going as far as to ask him to put himself in the place of the recipient, in an attempt to divine the 'perfect gift'. That had puzzled him somewhat. Duo had seemed so intent on getting the right gift, saying it needed to be special, needed to make a clear statement that it was not just some last minute quick-buy. Why did Duo care so much? What kind of 'special' was he looking for? And what exactly was the 'statement' he wanted the gift to make?
"Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"What..." how to word the question? "Do you like -" No, perhaps that wasn't the right way to word it either, he was pretty sure he had the answer to that one.
"Eh?" They both faltered in step and exchanged a quick look before Duo was pointing at a jewelry store on the other side of the long hallway. "Look, over there." Heero was jostled into changing direction once again.
This place was much nicer than the first. The items in the display cases were elegant. Even though Heero could see a few items that reminded him of the first store, the majority of them ran the gamut from simple pieces - with a modest stone or a delicate design - to highly worked pieces of art - some with multiple stones or a single large one. There was men's and women's jewelry on display, watches, money clips, cigarette cases, pen-and-pencil sets.
They had unconsciously drifted into the store, lingering in a spot just long enough to take in all the items; the occasional 'That's nice', 'Too snazzy' or 'Oh wow' escaping one of them. Duo had just pointed to a simple, but nice, piece, commenting that he thought he might have found 'it', when they were approached by an attendant.
"Would you gentlemen like to take a closer look?" By the time they'd taken a good look at her, she'd produced the piece from the locked cabinet and was laying it across the back of her hand.
The woman explained the item was a relatively new design. It incorporated two half-moons of onyx and mother-of-pearl making a split circle, with a small square-cut white sapphire set at an angle in the center of a bar of white gold between the half-moons. The woman went on to state that the loop on the pendant was conveniently shaped so the wearer of the item could exchange the necklace it came with for perhaps a black velvet ribbon, a leather thong or a swath of lace. The piece had been designed so it could be dressed up or down, depending on the wearer's need. She also pointed to a pair of pendant earrings that made a matching set. They were all very reasonably priced.
Throughout the sales pitch, Duo had seemed mesmerized by the pendant, perhaps by the twinkling sapphire in the center.
"Is this a gift for a sibling or relative? Or perhaps..." the woman hesitated only momentarily before shaking her head slightly, "no, too young. For a girlfriend maybe?"
Both men stumbled out a hurried 'no'. Heero's slightly more vehement comment earned him a funny look before Duo turned his attention back to the attendant.
"No, it's... she's just a friend, a good friend, but just a friend."
The woman studied them briefly before breaking out a wizened smile. "Ah, and a very lucky one at that, I'd say. What with two such handsome young men attending to her!"
While Duo hemmed and hawed to brush off the compliment, Heero took a moment of almost insult at the outright flirting, only to realize that the woman was probably old enough to be their mother. He figured her age likely entitled her to do a little teasing. And anyway, he too thought Duo was rather handsome. At least she hadn't been lying. The words 'I'll give you boys a moment to talk it over' brought him back from his contemplations.
"So what'd'ya think? It's actually less than what I can afford - what I'd decided I could spend. And it's really pretty. It's got that dark and light thing going, too, which is sooooo Hilde." Duo had turned toward his friend, leaning on the glass counter, elbow bent, in a falsely relaxed pose. "But I don't know. Maybe we should look around some more. There might be something else, somewhere, that's better. You think they'd hold it for me for a couple of hours, in case I don't find anything else I like better? I mean, I kind of like the earrings, too, but I think the pendant is better, no?"
Heero studied the pendant, then Duo's expectant face, and nodded. "She'd be a fool if she didn't love it." It pleased Heero to no end when Duo's face lit up.
"You think?" Heero's decisive nod seemed to be enough to convince him. "Excellent!" Duo motioned to the woman standing a discreet distance away. Quietly asking Heero, "You think they'll wrap it? They do that kind of stuff in these place, right?"
Since she had already rejoined them, Heero directed this query at woman. "Can you wrap it for us?" At her nod of agreement, he smiled, "Good. Then please wrap the earrings, too. In a separate box, if it's alright." He halted the protest he knew would be aired with a wave of his hand. "I haven't bought her anything either, Duo."
"But Heero, it's too much!"
The attendant paused briefly in the act of removing the earrings from the case, but Heero spurred her on with a nod.
"You weren't even going to be here for the party. It's all my fault anyway, if I hadn't screwed up our plans, you wouldn't even be buying her anything."
Duo's exasperated huff in response to Heero's blank stare gave the attendant an opportunity to quietly excuse herself so she could prepare the items, promising to return shortly to finalize the transactions. Once she was out of earshot, Duo quiet grumbled, "Christ, Heero, now I feel like shit."
"Why would you feel bad because I'm buying her a present. It's not like I'd show up to the party empty handed."
"Well yeah, but you don't have to go spending so much. It's not like she's expecting it or anything."
"No, but I can well guess at what your budget was and I imagine the earrings would put you well over that, so - as much as you'd like to - you can't afford to buy them. And besides, you're already spending a lot of money on the party itself." At the sign of another attempted protest, Heero rather uncharacteristically covered his friend's mouth with his hand. "Shut up and let me do this. I'm sure she'll be thrilled."
He'd intended to leave his hand there until he was sure he had compliance, but the second time Duo's surprised eyes crossed, looking down at the appendage, he figured it was time to retreat. "Sorry."
Duo huffed an 'It's OK', turning to put his back against the display case with Heero mirroring his posture after a slight delay. Duo crossed him arms, casually scoping out the other people in the shop while they waited. After a moment or two, he let out a slight laugh which brought Heero's attention back to him. "You know, not half an hour ago you professed to not understanding women at all. All of a sudden you're so sure she's going to love this present?"
Heero shrugged. It wasn't so much that he knew women - or even this woman in particular - it was that he knew Duo. And Duo knew Hilde. Instead of answering he asked a question of his own. "Answer me this, and remember your old motto: If money was no object -"
"But it is!"
Since his own hands were in his pockets at the moment, he elbowed Duo before continuing. "I said 'if'."
Duo rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"Hn. If money was no object, would you buy both the earrings and the pendant? Honestly."
"Yeah, I guess."
"And it would make her happy?"
"Yeah, probably." Grudging acceptance.
"Probably?" Mild incredulity.
A huff of exasperation, or maybe capitulation, followed. "Yeah, alright, fine. She's gonna love them."
"And this would make you happy, right? It's what you want?"
A silly grin was followed by rolled eyes. They looked at each other. "Yeah, OK, it'll make me happy."
Heero smirked, settling against the glass more comfortably and nodding once. "Then my work here is done. I'm happy, too."
Duo shook his head as his body shook with quiet laughter. He leaned to his right slightly, snaking out the fingers still tucked under his right arm to pinch his friend. He was rewarded with a badly-faked disgruntled look. "It makes you happy that I'm happy, Heero?"
"Very" he was answered seriously. They both smirked.
Duo elbowed Heero. "For the record, then, I'm happy that you're happy."
To most people Heero probably looked rather serious at the moment, but the slight crinkles at the corners of his eyes gave him away to the few who knew him well. There was a sardonic grunt before he proclaimed, "You're happy that I'm happy. I'm happy that you're happy. We're both happy and it makes us happy. Together we are happy and that's the way it should be. I am ecstatic."
Despite - or maybe because - the whole dizzying thought had been delivered completely deadpan, Duo barked out a laugh. When a few heads in the place turned toward them, he fell silent; both of them turning to look anywhere but at each other in distracted embarrassment. "You need to get out more with other people, Yuy, you're seriously starting to sound like me."
"I am, aren't I?" Heero snorted, "I don't know how happy that might make anybody else, but I'm OK with that." As an afterthought, he elbowed Duo for good measure, "And I do 'get out' with other people some times, they're just not as interesting or imitable. I'd much rather spend my time with you." He looked over his shoulder, seemingly to check if the attendant was on her way back yet, trying to hide a smile.
Duo was not in the least bit surprised at hearing those words from his friend. They had skirted this whole being together thing once or twice before and Duo wondered if maybe they weren't both being a little too cautious. Their visits with each other were made with quite a bit of regularity. Aside from their annual one-week adventures, they always managed several long weekends together a year. Duo had always walked away from their time together with a sense of regret. It was a feeling, he believed, Heero might share. Maybe it was time they threw caution to the wind.
Since his fingers were still in their previous location, Duo reached out, tugging on Heero's sleeve to make sure he had his attention. Without actually making eye contact, he quietly offered, "You know hanging out with you always makes me... happy."
Heero turned his head, futilely trying to catch Duo's eyes. He elbowed his friend again lightly, pressing for the contact. When he got it, he nodded seriously, saying, "Me, too."
He was answered with a nod of acceptance. They smiled at each other for a moment before turning to observe the other patrons and attendants again.
Within just minutes they found themselves entering an empty car on the colony rail-system. With their goal achieved, they had paid, gathered their gifts, thanked the lady and agreed to head back to the apartment; all with the minimum of discussion. Once the doors closed behind them, Duo leaned against the plasti-steel partition by the doors and Heero took up a position by the nearest hold-pole. There would be two stops, short distances, before reaching the end of this sector, then they would have a longer ride in the outer hull sections before reaching their final destination in the next sector.
Silence was their companion until they'd passed the second stop. No one had boarded their car so they were guaranteed privacy for the remainder of their trip. They both began to speak at the same time, then stopped, offering the other a chance to go first. When they did it again, they laughed together for a few minutes before Duo finally took the lead.
"I uh, you... I'm glad you came, Heero, and I don't just mean to the store - although I'm extremely glad you joined me on that one, because I think I would've gone nuts trying to do that by myself, so thanks -"
"You're welcome."
"Right, so... What I wanted to say - or what I was talking about - is that even though I screwed up our plans, I'm really glad you still came to spend the week, you know. I mean, you could've just changed your ticket for another date, right? And now you'll be here for the party, too, which'll be cool, because we never do stuff like that when we get together, and I think it'd be a nice change of pace, no? Something different that, if we both like it, maybe we can start doing when we do get together."
"I never really thought about it but -" A jolt in the railcar caused Heero's shoulder to slip off the pole he was leaning against. Instead of repositioning himself against it, he moved forward, leaning sideways by Duo against the partition. "I wouldn't mind. You'd... want to go dancing with me?"
Duo looked up hopefully. "I, uh, yeah maybe," he grinned. "You?"
Heero smiled slightly, "I think I might like that."
"Good." Duo nodded, looking away for a moment, pleased that he hadn't been too far off the mark. "Hey -" Shifting Hilde's present from one hand to the other, he turned to face Heero, giving him a sly grin. "You, uh, you do know how to dance, right Yuy? 'Cause I could give you some pointers, if not."
Heero feigned thinking it over, "Hmm, I think I could hold my own, but... maybe you could show me some of your moves later?"
"I could -" Another jolt of the railcar brought them crashing into each other. They steadied themselves, but didn't move as far away from each other as they'd been before. Still holding Heero's bicep - for balance - Duo took a slow breath, "I could... show you some moves tonight. If you're up for it."
Heero smiled, inching closer, "I might be up for it."
"Would it... make you happy?" He wiggled a sly eyebrow.
Heero cocked his head and answered that raised eyebrow with one of his own. "Possibly."
Without further thought or pause Duo leaned forward and brushed lips a few times with Heero before pulling back with an inquisitive look. "Yeah?"
"Definitely," Heero smirked.
"You know, Hilde's spending the night at a friend's. Think we might be able work up a little more happy when we get -"
"Ryuoukai."
Duo didn't get to finish that thought, Heero'd already committed to working on it.
The End