Baby It's Cold Outside

"Maxwell, you are not going anywhere in this storm."

Even by candle light Heero's glare could kill lesser men, but Duo was determined not to let it affect him.

"Heero, you have no power. That means not TV, no heat, no internet," Duo jingled his keys in his hand, "I'm going home."

"It's been snowing for over 6 hours now, and if my power is out chances are so is yours."

Duo flinched a bit. Heero was probably right. Duo only lived on the other side of town, but that was a good ten minute drive when there wasn't two feet of snow on the ground. His stubborn mood prevailed though as he tightened his scarf and opened the door. The snow had drifted terribly high against Heero's apartment building and the five foot drift that blocked the door fell in on an unsuspecting Duo.

"Baka," Heero muttered as he helped his friend up and closed the door against the midnight gusts that began piling the snow high again.

"What the hell man," Duo cursed as he brushed Heero off, feeling embarrassed at having been humiliated.

"I tried to tell you," Heero pursed his lips, "Now don't move until you've stripped out of those clothes, I'll go get you something dry to put on."

Heero disappeared down the hall, candle in hand, muttering to himself. Duo huffed but knew that now he definitely wasn't going anywhere. Resigning himself to Heero's edicts, Duo stripped off his now soaked shoes, socks, jeans, and t-shirt and waited shivering in his boxers and beater for Heero to return. Soon the other man returned with a pair of flannel sleep pants and a dry shirt which Duo gladly put on. Heero also had a long, flat box tucked under his other arm.

"What's that?" Duo eyed the box curiously.

"Well you said you'd be bored so I got us a board game to play," Heero shrugged, "I remember how much you like silly little games so I bought some just in case something like this happened."

"Chutes and Ladders?!" Duo squealed, "I love that game!"

Heero sighed but couldn't hide the small smirk that danced across his lips.

Soon they had enough candles situated just right so they could see the game board without having to squint. They played two full games before Duo was yawning.

"Alright baka, time for bed," Heero packed up the game and got a few blankets from the hall closet and an extra pillow so Duo could sleep on the couch before going to his own room.

Heero stared out his window at the still falling snow and shivered. He could see his breath as he huffed at the cold. With no heat it was going to be a very cold night. After crawling in bed and covering himself up with three extra blankets, Heero tried in vain to sleep. For almost an hour he tossed and turned, trying to get warm before a soft knock on his door broke the silence.

"H-heer-r-r-ro?" Duo's teeth were chattering so hard they felt like they would break. Even with the blankets wrapped around him, Duo felt like his blood was freezing.

"Hm?"

"It-t-t's s-s-so cold!" Duo shivered even more, "C-c-can I s-s-sleep-p w-w-with y-y-you?"

Heero sighed and threw back his blankets, "Get in here, baka."

Heero wouldn't admit it, but he was glad for the company. More body heat meant he might actually warm up enough to sleep. Duo squirmed into bed and Heero threw the blankets his friend had brought with him over them so as to pad them more. Heero tucked them both into the bed and pulled Duo close to him in a spoon.

"What are you doing?" Duo complained.

"Warming you up," Duo's skin was ice cold to the touch so Heero rubbed his arms under the blankets to try and warm his friend up.

Being this close to Heero and having him rub his skin made Duo's stomach do funny things. Heero was his friend but he was also one of the cutest guys Duo had ever met, though he'd never tell the blue eyed man for fear of getting punched. Duo wasn't exactly shy about his bisexuality but neither did he flaunt it. Heero probably didn't even know, not that he would have paid that much attention anyways. Duo sighed to himself. He was feeling warmer yet on the inside he felt a little colder. He was so close to someone he probably truly loved beyond friendship but there was nothing he could do.

"Thanks for taking care of me Heero," What he really wanted to say was I Love You but a simple thanks would have to do.

Heero could hear the resignation in Duo's voice. He wasn't stupid. Duo's feelings, no matter how hard he tried to hide them, were blatantly obvious. Heero knew how the braided boy felt about him even before Quatre had pointed it out a few weeks before. The problem was Heero wasn't sure how he felt about Duo. He cared for him, more than for anyone else ever. But was this love? His brain didn't work like everyone else's. Sex and attraction wasn't something he was familiar with. Sure he and Relena had sex a few times but it wasn't something Heero was really into. As he continued to rub Duo's arms, he analyzed what he was actually feeling for his friend, if it was something more than what he shared with the others.

Duo had been slipping even more into misery with every stroke of Heero's hands. Finally he couldn't hold it in anymore. He was going to tell him.

"Heero."

"Hm?"

Duo's resolve suddenly failed, "Ummm…have you ever, ya know…loved someone?"

When Heero didn't respond, Duo slipped even further into his rising depression and made to get out of the bed till Heero pulled him back down surprising Duo as he looked up into soft cobalt eyes.

"I don't know," Heero's voice was barely a whisper as he looked down on Duo, "I think…"

Heero slowly leaned down, giving Duo enough time to pull away if he wanted to, before he finally pressed his lips into Duo's. The man beneath him melted into the bed as Heero kissed him more passionately. This felt so right and so good that all of Heero's self-imposed questions began to answer themselves.

Duo was so surprised at what was happening that he laughed causing Heero to pull back.

"What?"

"Nothing, just didn't see this coming."

"Is this ok?" Heero studied Duo's violet eyes for any trace of unsettledness.

"This," Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's neck and pulled him back towards his lips, "is perfect."

They continued to kiss passionately as the snow piled up outside and the cold wind blew, but neither noticed too much.