First published story!
What are all those disclaimers again...I don't own shit from the Gundam Universe. Let's leave it at that.
P.S. This story is Rated T for excessive swearing. The rating will likely change from chapter-to-chapter, with an M rating in the foreseeable future.
Chapter 1: 'Ouch'
It wasn't suppose to be a business trip, nevertheless a pool party, but when Duo arrived at the island house with sixteen acres of palm trees, exotic gardens, and a white stucko mansion with three stories and an infinity pool that stretched from the mansion's back deck to the sandy golden coast of the sea, Duo couldn't hold himself back.
"We're not here to go swimming. We're on a mission," Heero huffed as he watched Duo riffle through his luggage in the room they were sharing to find his swim trunks. There were plenty of bedrooms in the mansion, but Heero and the others thought it was best to pair up for safety. Wufei, of course, refused. Quatre and Trowa were seemingly fine with it since they'd been partners on multiple missions and had a long history of shacking up together. Duo assumed there was something else going on, but never knew quite how to ask. Sometimes the elephant in the room just needed to acknowledge itself. However, when Heero reaffirmed he'd be sharing a room with Duo, Duo felt conflicted.
Something about having to share a room, despite at least having two separate beds, made something of a knot form in his stomach. When Heero had first mentioned it, Duo felt like his throat tightened - squeezing his vocal cords to keep himself silent. Surely, spending the night in two separate rooms separated by two flimsy wooden doors and the width of a hallway as they had done multiple times in the past was no better protection should Heero try to kill him in his sleep, but at least the terrifying sound of wooden doors being split by an axe was noticeable. By sharing a room, Heero could stealthily climb on top of him and lock his hands around Duo's throat before he even woke.
It was something he'd figure out later, though, since the pristine, undisturbed surface of the pool in the backyard was his top priority since the sun was still up. The reality was Heero could strangle him at any time of day and in any living arrangement if he wanted to. If Duo was going to die tonight, he was at least going to go for a fucking swim first.
"Ah! Here they are!" Duo called happily as he pulled his swim trunks out of his bag. They were light blue - one of the few things we owned that wasn't black.
"Did you even hear me?" Heero groaned again, now sitting on Duo's bed to make eye contact.
"You mean that thing about this being a mission? Yup, didn't hear that," Duo said jokingly. Heero glared at him, but Duo had long since gotten used to it.
"You're obvious coercing doesn't work on me anymore, remember? You should just join me. The clients won't be coming in until late tomorrow anyways."
"We have a lot of things to set up before then."
"Oh please, don't be such a stick in the mud. I bet you Quatre and Trowa are going to go swimming too."
Before Heero could say anything else, Duo quickly scooted into the bathroom and locked the door. He could hear Heero groaning about something outside, but at this point, fuck him. Duo stepped out of his black clothes which had trapped in the baking tropical heat - feeling relieved to be free of the restricting garments. He wrestled into his swim trunks and secured them around his waist before looking at himself in the mirror. Unlike the other pilots, he hadn't grown much in the way of physical strength. Wufei, Heero, and Trowa had all easily bulked up (particularly in the arms), but no matter how much Duo tried he only got more lean. Quatre had the same problem, but Duo doubted how much he was really training himself nowadays. Judging by his paling complexion, Quatre had seen more of a computer screen than the outdoors.
Duo unlatched the door and stepped out, finding that Heero had closed the bedroom door and was leaning against it - blocking it. They made eye contact and Duo could tell he'd have to weasel himself out somehow.
"Are you fuckin' serious?" Duo called, folding his arms across his chest as Heero had done.
"I need your help setting things up. No swimming until we're done," Heero responded flatly.
"We're never done when you're around. If you lead this mission none of us will even see the outdoors!"
"I am leading this mission."
"Yeah, well, fuck you," Duo called back, turning his head angrily to look out the window. It was noon and the sun had just come out from behind the morning sea fog. It was beautiful with an anticipated temperature of 85 degrees that day.
"I don't know about you, but I don't get to see much sun on the colonies. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Duo muttered. The only hope now was appealing to that small sliver of Heero's humanity.
"They'll be other time after the mission, " Heero emphasized. Well that didn't work, Duo thought angrily. Heero wasn't going to move from the door. Logically, going out the door and down the stairs like a normal person wasn't an option.
"Oh please, by the time our mission is done we'll all be dead. There's no sandy beaches in hell," Duo said, exasperated. The only way out was the window, which made Duo nervous. The last time he'd escaped from a window he'd fallen off a trestle and twisted his knee - requiring surgery. Nevertheless, it was his only option. Duo stepped over to the window and threw open the latch. Their shared bedroom was on the backside of the mansion overhanging the West end of the giant pool. A small roof scaffolding sloped down to the watrl, but a long expanse of wooden deck still separated the roof from the edge of the pool. Duo considered the distance. He could totally jump it.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked. He finally unfolded his arms and stepped away from the door, but Duo's new plan was already in motion. Duo kicked out the window screen - sending it sliding across the wooden shingles with a clatter before dropping off the edge.
"Jailbreak," Duo answered simply. He gave Heero a sly wink and the middle finger as he hopped up into the sill and rolled out onto the roof. The sun was warm on his bare skin as he stretched out his arms - taking it in. The salty sea breeze wafted past him - coursing through his bangs - as he looked out over the green foliage of the tropical island from his high perch. This was by far the most beautiful mission he'd been on. Had he had another life - perhaps born into a family of wealth - this was exactly what he'd have strived to have for himself. Probably a girlfriend, too.
"Don't be a fucking dumbass!" Heero called from behind him - ruining the moment. Duo turned to see Heero crawling up through the window. He had to jump now.
"Ha! Never heard you actually cuss before!" Duo called over his shoulder as he started running down the roof. The deep end of the pool was on the East side which worked well. Duo could get enough momentum running down the roof to make the jump. Duo reached the last portion and timed his steps to the edge. With a leap, he launched himself off the roof.
Tumbling through the air, Duo did a single backflip before realizing he was going to get dangerously close to the railing of the wooden deck.
"Oh shit!," he cursed quietly as he tucked his legs and arms in. The water sped up to him, as did the deck. With a loud crack, Duo felt his right forearm smash against the wooden railing; spinning him to plop into the water with a flailing splash.
Ahhh son of a bitch, Duo screamed internally. The water smoothed up along his body, cooling him down from the hot sun, but his forearm throbbed with shooting pain. He tucked it into his chest to brace it against the current of the water swirling around him, but the pain refused to subside. He'd felt the same sensation before on multiple occasions and nearly in the exact same spot. It was broken.
But the hell he was going to let Heero know. He'd never hear the end of it.
Duo decided to stay under the water to hide his grimace until the initial, radiating pain subsided. It still hurt a hell of a lot, but he could easily act his way through it now. When Duo emerged to the surface and wiped the water from his eyes, Heero was already standing above him on the deck.
"You hit your arm," he accused immediately. His glare was piercing now - more than just the general disagreeing stare he always had. Deciding to jump off the roof was one of the few times Duo had flat out opposed with him without some kind of compromise.
"How did you get down here so quickly?" Duo asked, genuinely curious. Heero didn't answer.
"Did you break it?"
"I mean, the stairs are on the other side of the house," Duo deflected.
"Did you break it?" Heero repeated again.
"Only an x-ray could confirm that diagnosis," Duo finally answered smugly. It was times like this he wished he could just lie.
"I watched you smash it against the railing."
"Yeah, well, it spun off," Duo responded innocently. He had done a backflip, so he probably was still spinning to some degree when he hit.
Heero was silent for a moment, surely thinking of a question he could ask that Duo couldn't easily bypass. After a couple seconds, his expression changed to a slight smirk. Was he enjoying this?
"Does it hurt as if you broke it?" Heero asked, eyeing Duo for a reaction. Shit, Duo thought. How the hell am I supposed to answer that one?
Both of them were suddenly distracted by large, colorful pool toys being squeezed out the back door of the mansion.
"Hey!" Quatre called happily as he preceded the inflatables out the door. "I'm surprised you guys beat us down." 'Us' must have included Trowa who was hidden behind a large assortment of blow up animals and rainbow fun noodles hovering next to Quatre as they approached.
"Hey, nice timing," Duo called back gratefully. Heero's subtle anger was still a suffocating force even when his attention shifted. Duo decided to just stay still - like a rabbit anticipating danger.
"What are you guys doing?" Heero asked, obviously trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Duo had jumped off the roof and now Trowa was collapsing into the pool aboard a life raft of zoo animals. Quatre found the pool stairs and followed in after him.
"Well, we knew you'd be mad if we told you we were going to the pool, so we decided to hurry down without letting you know," Quatre said frankly, yet somehow innocently. Heero didn't respond. Why was Quarte the only one that could talk to Heero like that and not get his ass kicked?
"See," Duo said quietly. Heero's lips tightened - which was the same as a huff.
Trowa, having plunged into the pool and mounted one of the floating lounge rafts, had also somehow acquired a mixed drink with a mini umbrella. "Trowa, did you get into the pool with that?" Duo asked, trying to change the subject. Three out of five were in the pool now. That counted as majority power.
"Yes," Trowa responded simply as he floated away. Leave it to the circus guy to flop into water without spilling a single drop, Duo thought.
"Maybe you should try backflipping into the pool from the roof with one next," Heero interjected. Trowa looked up at the roof, seemingly judging the distance. "No, it's too far. I'd probably hit the deck."
"You're right. Only an idiot would do that," Heero answered.
Duo felt his face flush from both embarrassment and anger.
"If you're not going to swim you might as well go do some work," Duo challenged. The hell if his day was going to be further ruined by Heero being a fucking jerk.
"No, I'll join," Heero answered simply. "I don't like working with Wufei." Duo looked around. Sure enough, Duo hadn't seen the last pilot since they'd departed the helicopter - where Wufei had been going on about establishing satellite communication to intercept something-or-other. Duo had been looking out at the water the majority of the flight and had probably missed some important mission details. Like anyone counted on him anyways, though.
Heero departed to get into his swim trunks and Duo pushed himself along the wall of the deep end until he reached a depth he could stand. The cool water felt good on his arm, but it still throbbed - particularly when he tried to flex his fingers. He made a grab at the steel pool rail to climb out and go make himself a drink to help ease the pain, but grasping it made the throbbing too intense and he had to let go. Apart from the stabbing pain, it felt like his bones were unstable and threatening to retch themselves out of place at any second. For now, it only seemed like a simple fracture, but with use he could easily injure it further. He'd just have to make it until nightfall without anyone - particularly Heero - realizing he couldn't use it.
Duo wadded his way around the pool and found a stairwell to walk out. "Quat', I'm gonna make some drinks if you want one?" Duo called, immediately realizing the flaw in his offer. How exactly was he suppose to grab two glasses?
"No, I'm good. Thanks though," Quatre answered. Duo sighed in relief.
"I'll take one," Heero said suddenly from beside him. Startled, Duo wiped around.
"Seriously, how the hell are you getting down here so fast?" he asked, eyeing that Heero was already fully changed into his green swim trunks after having only been gone for what seemed like two minutes - max. The stairs were in the front of the house and their bedroom was on the third floor, for christ's sake.
"You going to get me one?" he redirected. Duo was getting tired of being ignored.
"No. Make one yourself. I was only offering for Quatre," Duo answered cheekily.
Heero stared at him a moment. Although Duo tried to resist, he let himself gulp nervously. Without a word, Heero turned and headed back into the house to beat Duo to the kitchen.
Fuck. Now he was going to have to be one-on-one in the house with the asshole.
"Hey Duo, when you guys get back we'll play volleyball, okay? They have a net that we'll set up," Quatre called.
Wait, volleyball? Oh no, Duo thought. Taking hits off a broken arm would be excruciating, but he notoriously loved playing at the gym back at the Preventer base. Even Heero had started to play after months of coercing and together they had battled Quatre and Trowa in the annual Summer picnic tournament every July. Last year, he and Heero had won.
Duo waved nonchalantly with his good arm to avoid answering directly while he thought of an excuse. But wait, did he really want an excuse? He loved playing and now he was in a tropical paradise with his first opportunity to play volleyball in a giant rich-person pool. Duo made his way to the back door of the mansion, considering his options. Apart from telling the truth about his arm or simply disappearing to go for a walk around the island, Duo was settling on the option of just getting shit-faced so that he could play volleyball in a numb haze and deal with the physical repercussions afterwards when he sobered up. Spitefully, Duo decided it was a logical-enough plan.
Duo walked into the kitchen and eyed Heero who had already scrounged around for his favorite liquor which was, surprisingly, tequila. Duo always wondered if the choice was due to the first time Duo had gotten Heero drunk at a back alley mexican restaurant with a bartender who was overly gracious - and possibly chronically drunk judging by his flushed face during every future visit - when pouring margaritas. Despite the nostalgia, at the moment, Duo just wanted to be mad.
Why the hell did Heero have to block the goddamn door? If he hadn't his arm wouldn't be broken and he could play fucking pool volleyball. Duo took the bottle of tequila, poured a shot, and took it. Heero watched him quietly until Duo went for his third shot.
"You want something to mix with that?" Heero asked. The question was probably more suggestively than snarkily, in hindsight, but unfortunately Duo was still listening to him through a filter of pure anger that made Heero's comment sound aggressive.
Duo bit his lip. He poured and shot the third drink - without a goddamn chaser.
"Taking shots isn't going to hide the pain," Heero said simply.
"Shut up or I'll deck you," Duo threatened. That comment hit a nerve.
"You're left arm isn't very strong. I doubt you'll use your right," Heero challenged.
"I fucking hate you."
"I'm not the one that jumped off the roof."
"No, you just blocked the door like your overcontrolling self as usual. They want to challenge us to volleyball, by the way."
"Can you play?" Heero asked sternly. Duo was listening for any signs of guilt, but if they were there, he didn't recognize them.
"We're on a tropical island mooching off some rich drug lords booze. I am not missing this fucking chance." The hell if he was going to let Heero win this argument.
"How much does it hurt?" Heero said louder this time. Duo looked away, debating whether he should just leave. They weren't listening to each other.
Heero grabbed the bottle of tequilla next to him, tightened the cap, and suddenly tossed it underhand at Duo. "Catch," Heero muttered. Caught off guard, Duo spun around and instinctively reached for the bottle with his bad arm - making a grasp around the neck. Stabbing pain shot up his arm, making him gasp as he dropped the glass bottle and watched it shatter on the floor at his bare feet.
Duo looked down and examined his legs. Trickles of blood were flowing down his ankles and seeping between his toes. Small glass shards had stuck into his feet and ankles, but the larger pieces had spread out like land mines in a large circle around him. Duo looked up at Heero, glaring.
"That bottle was suppose to help fix the pain, not cause more," Duo seethed. He hated making himself out as a druggie, especially since the others were onto him about his excessive drug use that he'd been trying to work on in secret, but the comment seemed right at the time.
"You're turning to drugs?" Heero asked angrily. Duo could tell Heero felt remorseful about the bottle this time, but Duo wasn't backing down now.
"No! That's not what I fucking meant!" Duo yelled back. "Would you just find a broom and sweep the glass away so I can leave!"
Heero didn't respond, but instead stared at Duo until he eventually diverted his eyes again. He felt trapped, like an animal in a zoo that was being watched through glass. Things started spiraling then. Not anger, that had been exhausted through fighting with Heero, but rather sadness. The truth was, no matter how much he wanted to have his vacation get away, things like this would always happen. Work, stuck-up bestfriends, pools that are too far away from roofs. Nothing ever worked out for him. Why, oh why, had he let himself get excited about this trip?
Duo's hand stroked through his bangs as his eyes had become focused on the shot glass in front of him. A thin film of tequila had dropped and pooled again in the bottom. Duo stayed quiet, just as Heero had, as they both stood silently in the kitchen. Neither moved. Duo was beginning to wonder if Heero had even heard him regarding the broom before Heero finally answered.
"Can you get up onto the counter from there? You can swing yourself over and away from the glass that way," Heero suggested. He signaled to the glass loitering around Duo's feet. Duo lifted his head slightly, keeping his eyes downcast for the most part.
"No. My arm is broken," he finally admitted. There goes my perfect vacation day, Duo thought flatly. They both stood silently again. Duo didn't want to look at his friend anymore. He was sad, but mostly embarrassed. If he could run, he would have.
"Hold on," Heero said, turning and leaving without any other comment explaining 'what for' or 'where to'. Duo continued to stand still, afraid to take a step. He felt utterly defeated now. Heero always had a way of knowing how to break him - like a stead being tamed by a rider. Usually, Heero hardly ever had to do anything. Duo would bury himself in his own hole with just a little bit of a nudge.
When Heero returned, Duo was expecting to see a broom or vacuum, but instead Heero had a pair of shoes on. "I'm going to carry you out of the kitchen, okay? Climb onto my back, " Heero instructed.
Seriously, how hard is it to find a broom, Duo thought bitterly. He considered pointing out Heero's obvious lack of understanding of where broom closets are typically found, but decided against it. He just didn't want to argue anymore. Duo reluctantly nodded.
Heero turned, squatted down, and Duo climbed up on his back. Heero repositioned his hands to anchor under Duo's thighs, giving him a bounce up that Duo wasn't expecting. The sudden repositioning caused his broken arm to bump against Heero's shoulder - making him gasp again.
"Relax your arm down and let it dangle so it won't hit anything" Heero instructed. Duo noted his obvious lack of apology to be debated at another time. Heero turned and walked slowly out of the glass circle - passing the back door where Duo spotted Quatre and Trowa working on setting up the net. With cuts on his feet now, he couldn't even get into the water nevertheless play. This vacation - or mission, rather - was getting worse and worse.
Heero kept walking, out of the kitchen and down the front hallway to the main door.
"Hey, you can let me down now. You're just carrying me out of the kitchen, remember?" Duo reminded him. When Heero kept walking without a word, Duo became suspicious.
"Hey, you can let me down now," Duo stated again. Heero's arms were still securely around Duo's legs - locking them in place at his sides.
When Heero started walking up the stairs, Duo started getting nervous.
"Hey, what the hell?" Duo complained. "For fuck's sake, my legs aren't broken."
"I realized we should go to the bathroom upstairs to wash the glass out of your feet. We won't track blood along the carpet this way so the target's won't be alerted to us being in the house," Heero finally responded. Duo thought it was oddly delayed, especially for something that made logical sense. Usually it only takes him that long to respond when he's thinking up a good partial truth.
"You could have said that earlier," Duo pointed out.
"Did I scare you?"
"No! You were just weirding me out," Duo answered defensively and louder than was probably warranted. The comment took him off guard, but he found his own reaction was more surprising. Sure, Heero was carrying him at a snail's pace, but they'd been in much more awkward situations before. The worst was probably that time when they'd both lost their clothes and….
"Sorry for worrying you," Heero said after some delay. Duo - drawn back to the present - was taken back by the apology, as it was the only one he could ever recall. He felt like pointing it out, but decided against it. Saying that Heero was suddenly acting out-of-character was true, but there'd been minor changes Duo had been monitoring over the last few months. The most notable was that Heero was actually sleeping well at night.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Heero took a right to head down the long hall to their bedroom at the far end. Duo was certain Heero was walking purposefully slow now, which he attributed to making sure Duo's arm didn't swing, but the pace was a little unnecessary. Duo was beginning to find himself oddly comfortable, though. Something about being so close to Heero and making physical contact was putting his mind to rest. Heero's body heat, being mostly skin to skin apart from their bathing suits, was also intoxicating. Duo tried to take his mind off it, but he found himself wanting to nestle his chin into the crook of Heero's neck. He was so warm. By the time they'd finally reached their bedroom door and Heero had to let go of one of Duo's legs to turn the knob, Duo felt his eyes drooping.
They crossed the room and entered the bathroom. Heero helped Duo slide off his back. Duo felt reluctant, but hid his expression when Heero turned back around to face him. He should not have been having that reaction in the first place.
"You look better," Heero said simply.
"Huh?" Duo said, honestly confused. He probably looked less wild, if that's what Heero meant. Had he been on Heero's back for five more minutes he might have actually fallen asleep. Exhaustion from the pain was surely taking it out of him.
"You always look better after being touched," Heero responded nonchalantly. Duo felt his face flush as he stared back in horror. Why they hell would he notice that, Duo thought nervously.
"What? No!" Duo contested. He was caught off-guard by Heero's observation. "I mean, sure I'm touchy-feely sometimes, but it's just as a bro thing," Duo defended. Hold on, was Heero onto something, though?
"You touch me more when you're not feeling well. This time I figured I'd reach out to you first." Duo gulped.
"W-wait, is that why you were walking so slowly when you were carrying me?" he stuttered.
"Yes."
"Oh." Duo wasn't sure what else to say to that. Truth was, he did feel better, although now significantly more embarrassed.
"How...long have you noticed this?" Duo questioned nervously. Or, in other words, how long had Heero been letting him touch him for knowing it was more than just a bro thing?
"A long time," Heero admitted. Duo remembered a particular mission just after the war where he and Heero had been sent to infiltrate a base housing radical insurgents that were trying to mount a regional takeover. They had been running the base together, but at some point a lock-seal door had separated them and Duo was forced to try navigating the unfamiliar hallways alone in search for their rendezvous point. Since Heero had the hall map layout, Duo wasn't able to avoid the areas of highest activity and thus ran into a behemoth that quite simply beat him into the ground. Heero found him and took out the soldier, but Duo was already injured enough that he couldn't walk. Heero made the decision to haul him up into one of the ceiling vents to give him time to rest and bandage the few wounds that were outwardly bleeding.
Since the vent was so small, Duo had spent the entire time leaning back into Heero's body without the abdominal strength to sit up. Though he didn't realize it at the time, he'd fallen asleep in Heero's arms over a dozen times. Sure, he was hurt, but he wasn't so damaged to warrant that much rest. At no point did Heero try to wake him, either.
"I'm going to go get bandaging supplies," Heero said flatly, leaving the bathroom. "Keep an eye out for a broom for next time," Duo muttered sarcastically under his breath.
"I heard that," Heero called from outside. Duo winced.
Duo pillaged through the drawers in the bathroom cabinets until he found a pair of tweezers. Sitting down on the edge of the jacuzzi - fittingly, this mansion didn't have a single average tub - Duo started yanking the shards of glass out of his feet and ankles. Luckily none of them had gone too deep, but a few would require some kind of stitching in order to heal without a gaping scar. He dipped his feet under the warm stream of water and washed and rinsed the area with soap. Just as he was finishing up, Heero returned carrying a red plastic medical kit.
"Still no broom?" Duo joked. Heero eyed him without saying anything. Great, we're back to this again, Duo thought bitterly.
Heero sat down next to him on the rim of the jacuzzi and peered in to assess Duo's washed feet. The cuts had clotted enough that they were no longer streaming blood, but walking would likely caused them to reopen if not managed. "How many stitches do you need?" Heero asked
"Steri Strips would work fine. There's really only four and they're not that deep."
Heero rummaged through the kit and passed Duo a box of strips which he took out and fastened awkwardly over his cuts with one hand. Watching Duo's shotty one-handed workmanship, Heero stepped in and reapplied the Steri Strips so that they actually held the skin together. The other cuts only required Bandaids, but the final result of taping made Duo's feet and ankles looks much worse than the felt.
"This means I can't even go back in the pool now, huh?" Duo mused quietly. Forget his arm. No one wanted to swim around in his blood.
"You can do other things," Heero answered.
"Yeah. Lay on the beach chairs and watch you guys having fun, I guess."
"No, you just have to keep your feet out of the water. There's seats in the hot tub that you can use to sit on and prop your feet up on the pool deck."
"That sounds comfortable," Duo added sarcastically. "Sitting sideways with my feet way above my head and nothing to lean on would last maybe five minutes tops."
"You could lean against some of Trowa's fun noodles."
"I'm surprised you know those are called fun noodles," Duo mocked. He was in no position to be making fun of Heero, which was probably why he was doing it. Besides, Heero was the one that threw the bottle. He would at least have that leverage.
"During my training we used them to simulate a potential space cephalopod attack," Heero said flatly. Duo thought he heard a bit of sarcasm, but with Heero it was too subtle to really tell.
"What's a cephalopod?" Duo asked. Sounds like some kind of shuttle, Duo thought.
"Nevermind," Heero answered, smiling discretely. Duo gaped at him. This was the third time he'd ever seen Heero smile. What the hell was a cephalopod?!
Heero's noticed Duo's reaction and glared. "I do smile sometimes, ya know."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do."
"When was the last time, then?" Duo challenged.
Heero took a moment to debate the question before responding. "L-11." Duo thought back. That was the same colony where they had the mission that landed them both up in the vent.
Duo was considering asking about the specifics of the smile before Heero changed the subject. "Anyways, we don't have any casting material," Heero said as he gave another look through the med kit. "They must not have restocked it after the time you broke your ankle jumping out of a window."
Duo huffed. That sounded like an accusation. "To be fair, I still haven't thought of a better way out of that situation. It was either a broken ankle or a bullet in my ass."
"You're ass would have kicked me less if I were trying to bandage it," Heero said pointedly. He had a fair argument. Generally, when an injury occurred on the front of Duo's body, Heero tended to take the brunt of Duo's automatic counter attacks.
"Perhaps you're lucky there aren't any casting supplies, then" Duo relinquished jokingly. Again, Heero smiled. Man, he was on a role today.
"You should lay down for a bit and immobilize your arm. I'll get some ice from downstairs to put on it," Heero suggested as he rose from the jacuzzi edge.
"I'll just go out on one of the beach chairs so I can still be in the sun," Duo mentioned off-handedly. It was still going to be warm out even if he couldn't enjoy the pool easily.
"No," Heero answered sternly. Duo was taken aback and waited for an explanation. When it came, it was weak.
"I don't want the ice to melt. Plus we'd have to take one of the bed pillows outside to help stabilize your arm and it would get dirty."
Yeah, but we could just change the pillow case, Duo thought. He decided not to argue anymore since Heero seemed so adamant about it. What the hell was his deal, anyways?
"Just lay down. I'll be right back," Heero said as he departed. Fuck, is this guy's getting controlling again, Duo thought. Why the fuck couldn't he go out into the sun? Duo made his way to the bed, pulled back the top sheet, and grabbed an extra pillow that he could use to help prop up his forearm. He scrounged through his bag and pulled out a new pair of boxers, shorts, and a simple black button down shirt. It wasn't until he went to take off his swim trunks that he realized there was a problem.
"Shit," he said to himself as his right hand fingers ineptly tried to undo the double knot he'd tied at his waist. Despite tugging and using the hard plastic ends of the strings to try prying apart the knot, the strings were simply too tight for one hand to conquer alone. After a couple minutes he tried to just slip the trunks over his hips still tied, but only got them down a couple inches before they got stuck. He cursed again. His left arm was getting tired.
When a knock came at the door, Duo jumped. "Are you changed yet? I have ice," Heero called through the door. Oh fuck, Duo thought.
"Um, hold on, gimme just another minute!" Duo called back nervously. Suspiciously, rather, which didn't go unnoticed by Heero.
"Are you okay?" Heero called again.
"Yes! Just gimme a minute!" He needed to at least get his fucking shirt on. Duo slipped his bad arm into one sleeve first then spun the garment so that he could dangle his other arm in. With both sleeves on, Duo now realized the next problem with his garments.
"Why the fuck did I choose a shirt with buttons!?" he cursed at himself. At this rate it would take him an hour for his bad arm to accomplish just one.
"What did you say?" Heero asked.
"No, I wasn't talking to you," Duo mumbled stupidly. Now he needed to get his good arm back out of the shirt and find something else to wear. This was becoming a giant mess.
"I'm coming in, I hope you're dressed," Heero called again, this time turning the knob and opening the door to find Duo still standing, half out of one shirt and half in another with his swim trunks still drooping low on his hips. Heero's immediate reaction was, of course, to laugh.
"Fuck you," Duo seethed through his blue T-shirt that he'd chosen to replace the button down, but was now partially blocking his mouth. "I can't do the knots or buttons."
Heero laughed for a couple more seconds before finally recovering. "I'll help," Heero said, smiling yet again. Goddamnit. He walked up to Duo, set an ice bag down on the bedside table, and immediately went to the knot on Duo's trunks.
"Hey wait, can't I at least put a shirt on first?" Duo asked nervously with the shirt still smothering his voice. He was going to be starkly naked considering the T-shirt he'd chosen wasn't exactly 'on'. Heero, of course, ignored him and in one quick motion, slipped the trunks down Duo's bare legs. Duo gulped as stood there, speechless. And then Heero, non-discretely, looked down.
Out of instinct, Duo abandoned the T-shirt, reeled back, and caught Heero with a left-handed hook right in the jaw. Although Heero stepped back to absorb the hit, his eyes still remained downcast. "What the HELL!" Duo yelled, tightening his now aching fist again and preparing for another punch. Duo swung again at Heero's face, but this time Heero deflected the throw with his palm and quickly stepped forward to close the distance between the two so that they were centimeters away from touching. Duo's face turned bright red with embarrassment and anger. He was about to yell before Heero draped his other arm around around his waist, pulled his body flush into his, and pressed his lips against Duo's.