Ratings: Shonen-ai . . . PG for very mild swearing and homosexuality
Pairings: 2x1/1x2
Summary: Duo Maxwell accepts a challenge he regrets involving his best friend. But how will Heero react? *AU* Rated PG for homosexuality and very mild swearing
Author's Notes: Hey, sorry to anyone and everyone who's been waiting for chapter two! I've been getting things changed around on my comp, and haven't really had time for getting things updated...
Anyway, apologies to all who got annoyed with the HTML tags! I know they got extremely annoying... ::sob:: I swear, the ff.net system hates me! -_-;
Thanks for the reviews go to: Kedriaa, The voices in my head (the 'stuff' is the annoying HTML tags that I hadn't realized would show up- sorry!!), Shi Sensou (I wonder why the system hates me, too! T_T), Maxwell-Yuy (Heero and Relena are cousins because I needed to give him a relative, and have a thing against the G-boys being related), Jaya Lowe (as far as I know, I *DID* say it was AU), and Quatre's Angel! I love you guys!! *^_^*
Part Two: Heero's POV: Pained Expressions
I came into the room, nearly bumping into my cousin on her way out. Glancing into the room, I see Duo suck in a breath, a panicked look on his face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask, depositing my bag of groceries on the counter. He looks alarmed, as if he had just snapped out of a trance.
"Oh, uh, n-nothing!" he stutters before turning away abruptly. "Come on, let's get to work."
I glance at him again curiously, but he evades returning the look. Weird. Normally, Duo can sense when I'm watching him and always returns the look with some smart-aleck statement or a face.
But if he didn't want to talk about it, I wasn't going to push him.
"All right, what do you wanna go over first?" I ask. He glances at the pile of books on my bed and groans.
"Does it matter where we start? We're gonna have to learn the entire monstrous mountain of crap eventually anyway," he mutters. I smile slightly. That's a bit more like him.
He catches the smile, and his face flushes suddenly. A brief something flashes in his eyes and his expression looks pained before he turns away.
What was that all about? I wonder silently. Duo is very outgoing, not caring at all what other people think of him. He never changes his ways to suit other people, he never watches his behavior, he never EVER blushes. That's one of the things I love about him, how truly independent and unique he is. What on earth was wrong with him?
Half an hour later, Duo yawns and stretches.
"Hee~eero, this is sooo boring! Can we take a break??" He's looking at me with those big, cobalt eyes twinkling madly. There's no way I can turn him down when he's looking at me like that.
"All right. What do you want to do?"
A simple question. But the instant the words leave my mouth, another pained expression briefly ghosts over his face and is gone as quickly as it came. Maybe he's coming down with something. I suggest that to him.
"Coming down with something? 'Course not! Nah, I'm fine," he replies, grinning cheerfully. But I can't shake the notion that something's not quite normal. His tone is laced by something... is it anxiety? Yes, that's probably it. He's probably just nervous about finals coming up.
But a part of me knew that wasn't it. Duo didn't really care for grades. As long as his were high enough for him to pass, he didn't care if they were A's or C's.
"If you're sure..." I let the words trail off. He seems to be lost in thought. He has just turned over so that he's lying on his back, hands behind his head, and staring at the ceiling.
I dig around in my pocket and find what I'm looking for. A copper penny. I fling it at him, and he just barely catches it. "Wha-?"
"Penny for your thoughts, no refunds," I reply with a little smirk. The corner of his lip turns up, and the surprise in his eyes fade to good humor. He looks so beautiful... but I can't tell him that.
"Just thinking about nothing," he answers cooly, knowing that his statement makes no sense. I raise an eyebrow at him and he laughs. That laughter is getting addictive.
"So what's this nothing occupying you so heavily that you can barely study for half an hour?" He laughs again.
"Heero, have you ever known me to easily be able to keep still, even when I'm not thinking about something?" I pause, as if actually considering the question. After a few moments of mock concentration, I shake my head.
"Nope."
"Exactly."
"Don't get off topic. What's with you?" This is getting annoying. He's purposefully avoiding answering my question, and he knows I know it. So it came as a relief when he finally, sighing, sat up and turned to face me. He opened his mouth to respond...
And shut it.
I gave him a Look. A Don't-Toy-With-Me look. Finish-What-You-Were-Going-To-Say look.
He opens his mouth again and speaks.
"Heero..."
"Hn?"
Silence.
"What is it, Duo?"
He doesn't say anything for a bit. Then he speaks up.
"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"
The question completely took me by surprise.
"Huh? I've never really thought about it, I guess." There was no way that I was going to tell him I was... interested in guys. No, interested in HIM.
"Why? You know that you could have absolutely any girl at school wrapped around your little finger."
I shrug. "Not interested."
"Why not?" Damn, why was he being so persistent?
"I'm just not. Why does it matter?"
It's his turn to shrug, and he replies without looking at me. "Just that I've known you all these years, and you've never even gone out on a date or anything."
My turn to ask a question I guess. "Why are you worrying about my love life all of a sudden?" Yet another shrug.
His next question completely takes me by surprise. "What about guys?"
I can't help gaping at him open-mouthed. Was he beginning to suspect...? "What about them?" I reply resuming my cool facade.
He moves to the edge of the bed, no longer avoiding my gaze. There's an intensity in his eyes that I can't place; I've never seen him with such a look before, and it wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"You're not interested in girls. So what about guys?"
I fidget, slightly uncomfortable. Where was Duo going with this? And what's with the sudden mood change? The bluntness? The Duo Maxwell I've always known was outgoing, but at least had tact.
"Why?"
He leans towards me a little more. It takes all of my self-control not to pull him forward and kiss him- one of the much more minor activities I've fantasized about doing ever since I met him.
"Just answer the question."
He thinks he can order me around? Hn, we'll see about that. I turn away from him, barely able to wrench my gaze away from him. I open up my history book and pretend to be reading. Pretend. I'm very aware that his face is only a few inches away from me- his head is practically on my shoulder!
Then without warning, it is.
I can't help but jump slightly when he makes contact, but remain calm for the most part. I look over at him from the corner of my eye. "What do you want?"
A light blush spreads across his face again, but this time, he doesn't turn away. His head is tilted towards me, and his breath on my neck is sending warm shivers up and down my spine.
"You."
Freeze. My mind issues that single command to every nerve ending in my body. My hand just halts as it's turning the page and I swear that for a few seconds, my heart stopped. He knows I heard it, but he repeats himself softly, as if telling it to more to himself than me.
"I want you."
I turn my body to face him as he lifts his head away from my shoulder. My eyes are wide, and I know my mouth is hanging open. His cobalt blue orbs are locked on mine for a moment, then his gaze falls down to my gaping mouth.
He leans forward, and the next thing I know is... he's kissing me!
At first, it's just a feather light touch of lips to lips. He pulls away slightly when I don't noticeably react, but our faces are so close together that he can't see me blushing.
What the hell? I never blush! I'm even harder to get a reaction out of than Duo!
A low, confused whimper comes to my ears as he pulls away, and I realize that it's me. What was he doing to me!?
At the deep sound, Duo half shuts his eyes and leans forward again. I'm just about to say something- probably completely incoherently, for all my mind can function at the moment- when he covers my lips with his own once more.
It's not as gentle this time. He's pressing a bit harder, the touch almost begging to be reciprocated. At first, I'm too stunned to respond, and all I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears. A few seconds later, when some form of reason returns to me and I realize that I'm not just lost in another daydream, I do the only logical thing to do. I kiss back.
It's as if a trigger went off at that action. A slight tremble runs through his body, and he leans closer, demanding more. So I give him more, returning the attention with an equal amount of enthusiasm. But he still takes me by surprise when he gently bites down on my lower lip, and I gasp slightly. In that split second, he slips his tongue into my mouth, tasting and feeling. My mind is exploding from the sensations, and all I can feel is his warm, sweet lips like honey on mine, the soft tongue gently battling my own. He lifts a hand up to my face, and I cover it with my own.
My mind is screaming at me to wake up, that this can't be happening. Duo's my best friend, he has been for the past five years! We've graduated from middle school to high school together, leaned on each other for support during the recent war, been through heaven and hell side by side- how could I possibly not have known that he could house feelings for me?
But logic kicks in again with the reasoning that he didn't know how I felt, either. Or did he?
I can't stand being confused. So when we pull apart, there is more ice in my voice than I intend as I speak. "Duo, what are you doing?"
Wrong thing to say. Wrong way to say it.
Duo snaps back and presses himself against the wall by my bed, face burning bright red and hands covering his mouth. He curses under his breath. "Oh, shit, Heero, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I mean, I didn't, I-"
In the middle of his stuttering, he suddenly, leaps off the bed- knocking is textbooks to the ground- and tears out of my room like a bat out of hell.