A birthday gift for The High Queen of Angst. It's late, but I hope it was a happy one!
Birthday Conundrum
Heero continued to type, ignoring the light knock at his door. After a moment, the door opened and a meek voice questioned entrance. "Hey Heero?" His fingers stopped tap-dancing across the keyboard and he locked eyes with Duo, whose head was peering into his office.
"Duo." Heero pulled his hands back from the keyboard and pushed his chair away from the desk. Taking it as a welcoming, Duo stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him. Heero scanned the other and noticed his hands holding a few files. He was shifting his weight on his feet, a nervous habit.
"What's wrong?" Heero could feel a dull ache in the back of his neck at the thought of adding more work to his already overwhelming schedule. He had just finished a month long investigation with the Preventers and access to the net was denied during his field investigation to prevent leaks from breaking his cover. He arrived back to headquarters six hours ago. The stress of being undercover for three weeks was wearing on him, but rest would have to wait until he was caught up.
"Have you been home yet?" Heero's eyes narrowed at Duo's question.
"What is wrong with my apartment Duo?" The pain in his neck quickly traveled to the back of his head.
"What?" Duo looked up, confusion in his eyes. "Oh, no nothing. I just noticed you hadn't changed out of your civies." His hand tightened on the papers and his other nervously scratched the back of his head.
Heero exhaled in relief and looked down at the large hoodie he was wearing above a pair of tight dark blue jeans from his undercover work. His own clothes. His own bed. The thought of them made him wistfully sigh, but he resigned himself to the few more hours of work that lay ahead.
"Something happen then?" He stretched his neck, fighting the looming headache.
Duo hesitated and then crossed the small room to sit in the chair across from Heero's desk. "Not really. Just a question." Heero patiently waited for Duo to collect his thoughts and gave him a small nod of encouragement. Releasing a sigh Duo pressed on.
"What do you put on your paperwork for DOB?"
Heero silently thought about the question and tilted his head slightly, uncertain if he had heard him correctly. "I put my date of birth." He flatly stated.
Duo sighed. "I know, but-" he glanced down at the papers in his hands, "you don't know your real birthday right?" He looked up at Heero, afraid the question sounded insensitive. Heero shook his head no, not phased by it. Birthdays were something he never really thought about before.
"I use the date Dr. J assigned me." He watched as Duo's eyes fell back to the files now resting on his lap. "What is this about Duo?" Sincerity had slowly developed in his voice since the war's end, and he saw Duo welcome it with a small smile.
"I always just picked random dates whenever I needed a DOB." He raised the papers. "But Une is getting annoyed, since having so many is messing up the files and what not." He lifted and then lowered them in defeat.
Heero leaned forward across his desk. "So pick one." He watched as Duo's brow furrowed at the simple suggestion.
"How do you just pick a birthday?"
"Well, first start with the year. Is there one you tend to use the most?" He asked in a thoughtful tone.
"Sure, I usually use the same one. Unless I feel like being difficult..." He grinned impishly.
"Then that leaves you with a month and day." Heero began to break down the problem of picking a birthday in a strategic manner. "Do you have a favorite date?" He watched as Duo's eyes flashed with dark amusement.
"Not too many positive events in my life." Heero nodded his understanding and pressed on.
"Then how about a favorite number?" He offered and watched Duo close his eyes in thought.
"Nothing comes to mind." He slowly answered and a look of guilt crossed his face. "Sorry man. Your busy, this is silly." Duo began to stand.
"No." Heero motioned to the papers neatly stacked before him. "It can wait Duo." Heero paused in consideration. "02 was your Gundam code name. So how about February is your month?" Duo nodded at the logic and eased himself back into the chair. Heero thought in reflection and then nearly grinned. He tapped his finger on the edge of the desk and when satisfied with his thoughts, he continued.
"There are five of us. So what do you think about the fifth of February?" Duo nodded, mulling the date over in his mind.
"That is easy to remember, and I guess it has meaning behind it." He silently repeated the date over.
Heero looked at the mound of papers on his desk and gently pushed some of them aside and grabbed the flat desk calendar hiding below. He stood and tossed the calendar to Duo.
"Happy Birthday Duo." Surprised, Duo caught the calendar and looked at the date. 02-05. He smiled and shook his head at Heero's cleverness.
"Come on. Let me buy you a beer."
Duo's face filled with a happy grin. "That sounds great."
Heero waited for him before closing the office door and leaving the workload locked inside. He turned and smiled at his friend. He was going to make sure his first birthday was a good one.