If Heero had allowed himself to stoop so low as to feel such a thing as pride, it was pride over the fact that he could control his temper under any circumstance. Notwithstanding the times when he would reach out to passionately argue with a foe during battle, that was.
"Man, my stomach just made a weird noise," Duo muttered as he drug himself through the kitchen. He tossed the paper onto the dining table in front of Heero.
"Then eat something," Heero suggested as he pulled it out of its protective plastic wrap and unfolded it.
"Nah, I'm not hungry," Duo answered as he sank down onto the chair across from his best friend.
"Hmm," Heero murmured as he opened the paper and began to read. He felt the wall of newsprint between himself and Duo would be a loud indicator that he wished to be left alone. In silence. By himself. Privacy.
Solitude.
"I don't like to eat first thing in the morning," Duo spoke up suddenly. "And since you guys have said no coffee for a month, science experiment my foot, I might add. Speaking of, did you happen to tell Quatre to get those parts I put down on the list? I need a new motherboard, and I was hoping to be able to upgrade my video card. I'm thinking of overclocking my rig, I found this game online, man, it looks awesome. You should give it a try, we could team up and camp people out and you would absolutely kill in a PVP battle."
There was a soft drumming of fingers against the table top, and then silence. Heero felt the slight buildup of tension in his shoulders slip away. He rattled the paper and then turned a page.
"It might do you some good, since you're stuck in here. Man, Quatre sure did go overboard with the mother hen this time, don't you think? How long are you going to keep that cast on your foot before you cut it off? Remember when we first met and you set your own leg? I was watching a cooking show the other day and this guy had butchered a hog and when he pulled the shank away, it made the exact same sound. Gave me the creeps because you would not believe the mental image I got from that. What if you had torn your leg off on your way down that cliff? Huh? What if it had come off in the fall? I told you to open the chute, hot shot, but oh no, you just wanted to plummet to Earth face first."
Heero cleared his throat, a clear warning to Duo that he was starting to get on his nerves.
"I mean, the cast, not your foot," Duo spoke up after a few long moments of silence. A few long moments that gave Heero the false confidence that he would escape this rambling mess more or less unscathed. "I don't think I'd ever let you cut off a body part unless it was like, totally mangled beyond any kind of repair, you know? But, even if you had to, bionic regeneration is a pretty sweet thing. Or so I've heard. That reminds me, you want to try to grow a garden this year? I know other people in this apartment complex have little gardens out in the green. They use kiddie pools and put them up on cinder blocks, but first, you have to drill holes in the bottom so water can drain out, put in your soil and there you go. Grow things."
"If that's what you want to do," Heero said noncommittally, his bland voice a little tight. They had moved in together six months ago, into a modest two bedroom apartment. Heero had actually brought up the idea, arguing the point that since they were partners in the Preventers, that they should also share a living space as well. Carpooling was efficient.
"I want to put a humming bird feeder outside of the kitchen window. We're on the 7th floor, that's not too high up for them to find, is it?" The fingers drummed the table top again and a small line formed between Heero's eyebrows. Without thinking, he held the paper steady with his right hand as he gripped his water glass in his left. He took a sip and set it back down with a firm clap, though continued to hold onto it as he tried to finish his article.
"Trowa butt-dialed me yesterday," Duo said as he put his elbows onto the table. "He must have leaned his hip against something, but man, I got to listen in on a good argument. He and Wufei were bickering about something, I couldn't quite make it out, but Trowa can be lethal when you've pissed him off. Remind me not to piss him off. Or Quatre."
"Or me," Heero grunted.
"You? Nah, you're a pussy cat, Heero," Duo said and then chuckled. "I don't know who rubbed off on who, but I would hate to be tag teamed by Trowa and Quatre when they're mad at me. I think I'd rather jump out of a window than have to endure that."
"Then why don't you get a head start?" Heero asked.
"You're so loveable in the morning," Duo fired back after a curiously long beat of silence. Heero knew he had hurt his friend, and he did feel bad about it, but Duo was starting to drive him crazy and it wasn't even a quarter after six in the morning. "I swear, Heero, I could just reach out and pinch your face. Really hard. With both hands." He made a rude, squishing sound to accompany his pantomime of the event, even though that was lost from Heero's sight to the back of the newspaper. After another moment of silence, there came explosion sounds and the table shook as Duo began to slam an imaginary head onto the surface.
Heero sighed at the offended venom in Duo's voice, but pushed the feeling away. Duo was a big boy, he'd get over it. He lifted his glass and took another sip of water as fingers began to drum onto the table once again. "I thought I was a pussy cat," he couldn't help but to jab the braided ex-pilot, and was relieved when a warm chuckle came across the table.
"You are, you are," Duo agreed.
"Mmm…"
"So, anyway, Trowa butt-dialed me, I listened for a moment because for a second, I couldn't figure out why he would call me and start yelling at Wufei. I hung up, waited for a bit and tried to call him back, but it kept going to voice mail. That reminds me, I need to pick up your prescription from town today. Just go easy on those painkillers, man. Not because they're addictive or anything, which they are but I trust you on that, but because they can really bind you up, man. Trust me. Ask Howard. I once got stuck with him after he had a really nasty clog, man, he was miserable. Poor old guy."
Heero lowered the paper to lay it flat on the table while he pinned Duo with an open and incredulous look. "How… did one subject remind you of the other?" he asked slowly as he let his soldier mask slip into a more human one. Duo's grin was lazy as he propped his chin onto the heel of his palm.
"Because, the pharmacy called and left a message on my phone," Duo explained. The sheer joy of seeing Heero unmasked was clearly written in his grin, which continued to grow larger.
Heero continued to stare at Duo, his own expression of stunned disbelief growing with that manic grin. He gave his head a minute shake, narrowed his eyes and then rose to the bait that he was trying so hard to ignore. "Duo? Would you please just pick a subject and stick to it!?" he cried out in exasperation.
"What?!" Duo cried out. "I can't help it if my brain moves faster than my mouth!"
"Heaven help us all," Heero sighed as he pushed his hand through his bangs before slowly massaging his forehead. He enjoyed another long splendor of silence, and then took another sip of his water before going back to the paper once again. At this rate, he'd never get it read. "You are driving me crazy," he muttered.
"So yeah, if you want to not be clogged, just go easy on them."
"Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we not discuss this particular subject at the table?"
"Sure, sure. You want some coffee?"
"Not really."
"Coffee's great to get you rollin—"
"Duo," Heero warned.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Quatre Jr."
Heero grunted and tried to find his place in the article. He lifted his glass and had another sip as Duo rose from the table to get something going for breakfast.
"You don't have to bother for me, I'm not really hungry," Heero murmured as he turned his attention back to the paper.
"Yeah, I don't feed you and guess what? My scrawny carcass is heading out the first window because you know Quatre's gonna start in on me. And when he's frustrated, Trowa's frustrated because they share some weird, freaky… bond thing. I think Trowa's some kind of robot anyway, especially built for Quatre's amusement."
"Trowa's not a robot," Heero frowned.
"Yeah, I used to say that about you, too, but after pouring over your sleeping body one night trying to find the off button, I just… couldn't… what?"
Cobalt eyes pinned Duo with a glare that not only promised death, but a long suffering painful death that was sure to cause the braided wonder to expire at an extensibly slow rate.
"What?"
Heero's full lips slowly pulled into a fine line, the corners of his mouth tugging down. His hand gripped the water glass tightly as he glowered.
"What?"
A soft sound of irritation began to hum within Heero's chest, rising slowly, growing deeper as he lowered his head while keeping his eyes firmly locked into Duo's.
"What?"
Fingers gripped the glass tighter; the muscles in Heero's forearms began to stand out as the corners of his mouth drew down ever deeper. The sound of frustration began to grow louder and for a moment, a spark of electricity began to arc within his dark blue eyes.
"What."
"Don't touch me while I'm asleep."
"I can't believe you fell for that," Duo scoffed before opening the fridge. "So yeah, I have to feed you because if I don't, Quatre will jump on me, then Trowa will jump on me, then I'll get cranky and yell at you. You always yell at me when I get cranky and yell at you. Then I'll yell back at you and call you something inane, to which you tell me said insult wasn't actually a word, but somehow you were able to understand it." Duo came out carrying a package of bacon and the carton of eggs. He inhaled deeply and continued on. "Then I ask how it was that you knew what I meant anyway if it wasn't true, and then you spend the rest of the day ignoring me because you know good and well that I got the better of you."
"It's not a competition."
"What's not a competition?"
"Name calling."
"I don't call you names," Duo said as he sliced the package of bacon open. "I just point out facts, pal."
"And you're getting upset now for no reason," Heero countered as he released his death grip on the water glass. He lifted his paper and went back to reading as Duo put a pan on the stove.
"I was just sayin'," Duo said in a tone that showed he had no intention of starting an argument so early in the morning.
"I know you're just "sayin'"," Heero frowned. "You've been "sayin'" all morning."
"It bothers you that bad, huh?"
"What? The constant white noise that comes out of the cavern you call a mouth?" Heero frowned as he finally was able to turn a page and continue onto the next article.
Duo's lips turned down as he let out a harsh snort. "Fine," he said shortly and then began to put the meat in the pan. "If that's how you want it, I won't say another word to you for the rest of the day, buddy."
"Thank you," Heero retorted as he hunched his shoulders and went back to the paper.
It looked like Duo was being true to his word. He served their breakfast in silence, letting Heero eat at the table while he himself sat on the couch to enjoy his own meal in front of the television. When they were finished, he gathered their dishes in silence and washed them before grabbing his light jacket and heading out the door. Heero had called after him, asking where he was going, but the soft snick of the latch as it closed to was his only answer. When the ex-Wing pilot noticed the shopping list gone from the fridge, he easily surmised Duo's errand and retreated to his bedroom to put his leg up and catch a light nap.
When Duo arrived home two hours later, Heero gathered his crutches and came into the kitchen. The least he could do was offer to help put up the groceries. Duo gave him a gentle smile, accepted the offered help and then went to work putting their goods away, all the while, not speaking a single word. Then, after he had cleaned up from the ordeal, he pointed to the table, silently indicating for Heero to sit, and then went about making lunch.
For the time being, Heero was enjoying the silence. It held a special musical quality to it that he just simply enjoyed. It even seemed as if Duo were going out of his way if not to be completely silent, then to avoid making as much noise as physically possible.
When evening came, Heero returned to the living room to go over some files from a case that had gone cold over four years ago. With his downtime, he had requested to be kept as busy as he could while recuperating at the same time. Une had felt that that was a wonderful idea and made sure her agent was put to good use.
Duo was back in the kitchen, the smells of supper cooking tantalizing. "What smells so good," he asked as he shut the lid to his laptop. Silence answered him, so he gathered his crutches and hobbled into the kitchen. A heavy beam of light, the last of the day, fell across Duo's back, catching the reds and golds in his hair, illuminating them brightly within the thick braid. Duo didn't answer as he opened the heavy pot lid and added in some broth from a box.
"What are you making?" Heero asked with a heavy sigh. Point taken, Duo, I hurt your feelings and you're sticking to your guns with this silent routine. We both know it's not only driving you crazy, but me as well. This isn't you.
Duo turned and gave Heero his friendly smirk before pointing at the counter top. Flour littered the surface and small bits of dough from where he cut the dumplings were scattered about. Heero loved Duo's chicken and dumplings; it was something that could actually be considered one of his weaknesses. It was essentially the one thing Duo could count on to get Yuy to eat if he was in a foul mood, sick, or too busy to consider eating. Heero's shoulders fell softly and he let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry," he said. "For earlier."
Yes, he caved and he caved hard, but while there was no rambling prattle all that day to bounce his brain into distraction, he really had time to open his eyes. While he was busy recuperating and distracting himself with his case files while resting his broken foot and ankle, Duo had also taken leave to care for him. He was busy cooking and cleaning without complaint, going to the store to pick up supplies and more or less bending over backwards for Heero's own comfort. The gregarious man had even shut his trap for the day to give Heero peace and he didn't even seem to be holding a passive aggressive grudge over the whole thing either.
Duo gave Heero another smile, a thumbs up and then he turned his attention back to the stove. All he had left to do now was debone the chicken he had boiled earlier, get it into the pot after the dumplings had finished cooking and they could eat. Heero leaned forward on his crutches and moved closer before steeling himself. He leaned his right crutch against the counter, and then hobbled closer to Duo, where he reached out and firmly gripped his shoulder. When Duo turned around, his brow quirked in question, Heero made the move. He closed the gap between them, leaning down the scant few inches that he stood over the braided man and captured his lips in a firm, warm kiss. With Duo distracted in surprise, Heero set his left crutch aside and wound his arm around the slender waist.
Duo's eyes snapped open further at the added close contact, and then unfocused with dazed shock. He had meant to gasp, but as soon as his lips parted to draw in air, the tip of Heero's tongue snatched the opportunity and slowly trailed along his full lower lip. Amethyst eyes slowly drifted shut and Duo let out a soft moan at the sensation of Heero now working their lips together in a slow rhythm. His hand came up and cupped Heero's long neck, caressing the soft skin over the racing pulse beneath his fingertips.
Reluctantly, Heero broke the kiss and gazed into Duo's face. His eyes were still closed, his arched brows furrowed upwards as passion clouded his poor mind. When he realized that they had parted, his lashes fluttered before he gazed up to Heero in confusion.
"What was that for?" Duo breathed.
"I had to get you to talk to me somehow."
"Usually… kissing someone is how you shut them up."
"I never said you were normal."
Owari