In The Rain 1/1
Rating: G
Genre: General
Pairings: Take a wild guess. **coughcough1x2cough** Why is everyone
glaring at me?
Spoilers: N/A

Warnings: Strange things, semi-beta'd

By Moon Faery

Disclaimer: A statement created solely to save one's ass from becoming lawn for the proverbial legal mower. I do not own Gundam Wing, nor does anyone I know own it. However, this story line and plot are MINE. (Holds fic close to her.) Grrrr....
***

Heero woke to hear the pounding of the rain against the vinyl floor of the dorm room. It danced aross the glass, sliding down the pane to dribble inside, creating a puddle. Every few moments, a lightning strike would lightup the room, followed by a crash of thunder that shook the walls. The wind howled through the room, making the sheets flutter and loose papers take flight.

In the middle of it all sat Duo Maxwell, legs dangling outside as he perched on the windowsill. The boxers and t-shirt that were his normal sleeping clothes were soaked, sticking to his skin, and his long braid had left a puddle all its own in the floor, testament to the water it was retaining. His face was turned away, but Heero could see that he was watching the storm, appartently enraptured by the force of nature just beyond the window.

"What are you doing?" Heero demanded of the teenage freedom fighter, sitting up.

Duo leaned farther out the window, not even bothering to look at his irate partner. "I'm watching the rain."

"Get back in bed and close the window," the blue-eyed boy ordered. "You're making a mess."

"So?" Duo leaned back, taking a deep and laughing breath as a gust of wind hit him squarely in the face, blowing his bangs back to reveal blissfully closed eyes. "It's only water, after all."

Heero snorted, sliding out of bed and stalking over to Duo. "It's only a storm. Now get back in bed."

"There's no such thing," Duo replied absently, still watching the clouded sky. He had a wild, not entirely sane look on his face, similar to the one he wore when piloting Deathscythe.

"What?"

"There's no such thing as, 'only a storm', Heero. Didn't you know that?" Duo eyed him sidelong with wicked violet eyes that seemed to glow with a life all their own.

"Hn."

The pilot of Deathscythe turned back to the veiw outside. "You don't believe me, do you?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead shifting his weight and sliding silently out the first story window onto the manicured lawn.

"Duo!" Heero brushed his slighty soggy bangs out of his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Duo grinned up at him, throwing his arms wide and twirling. The image seemed to freeze for a moment as lightning lit the sky, seeming to dance in his glorious eyes. "I'm proving my point!" he called, barely audible over the thunder that followed. "C'mon!"

"You're going to get yourself killed!" the other boy warned, slipping out the window and into the inclement weather.

"It won't hurt me!" Duo threw his head back, feeling the thunder roll over him. Almost as an afterthought, he reached behind him and took off his hairtie, letting the soaked strands unravel in the howling wind, the rain drops beating against him like a drum. He laughed again.

Heero finally worked his way to the other boy, dodging potentially hazardous mud puddles and the occasional tree limb. "DUO!" He had to shout to be heard over the storm. Reaching out, he grabbed the braided boy's arm, keeping him from doing anything else that was stupid.

Duo looked at him with that crazy grin. "Can't you feel it?" he asked, somehow not having to raise his voice.

"You're insane!" Heero answered over the noise, beginning to drag his partner back to their room. Somehow, Duo slipped out of his grasp, sliding behind him to wrap damp arms around his bare shoulders. He pressed close against the Asian boy's back, resting his chin on one muscled shoulder.

"Heero," Duo's voice whispered over his skin. "Don't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Heero growled, frustrated with the games the braided one was playing.

Duo leaned into the other boy, resting his cheek on Heero's shoulder. "Just listen," he murmured, lips barely brushing across the skin of Heero's neck.

Heero would have retorted, but the sky lit up again, filling the air with electricity and sending a tingling feeling down his spine. It blinded him for a moment, blocking out everything except the feeling of the rain against his skin, and the rhythm of the thunder in his bones.

"Do you feel it, Heero?" He could feel Duo smile against his shoulder as he stilled, the other pilot a warmth against his back. The raging storm didn't seem so dangerous anymore.

Heero swallowed, closing his eyes against his returning sight. "It's... alive," he breathed wonderingly, lost in the feel of the earth's heartbeat against the soles of his bare feet. He couldn't understand why he hadn't felt it before; the steady pulse of the earth was imposible to miss, now that he knew it was there.

"Mm-hm," Duo answered softly, hugging Heero back against him. "Now do you understand?"

He nodded, eyes darkening to midnight as the lightning flashed around them again. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, she is."

***OWARI***