SAVE ETERNITY FOR ME

[chapter two: come with a thought]

Sunlight filtered through the crack between the calico curtains shading Duo's window, creeping inexorably toward his eyelids. The eastward window was sometimes the only reason the boy woke up in the morning at all, unless his lover or section-mate took it on themselves to rouse him and drag him--often forcibly, by the hair--out of bed.

But there were other mornings--weekend days, like this one--when the last few moments of sleep were more precious than ever. It was that transition between the dreamworld and the waking one, when fragments of Duo's past life seemed tangible enough to touch, and the warm circle of Heero's arms around him promised all of eternity and, if it were possible, even more.

The profound contentment he woke up feeling, on those days, was stronger than any drug.

This was one such morning. He drifted into consciousness lazily, cherishing the fading memory of colourful seraph wings. He seldom saw them now. It hurt Heero to use them; they were furled and well-hidden beneath his skin, belied only by the slight, bony protrusion between his shoulderblades. To open them required near-heroic effort on Heero's part, forcing the muscles to burst free of his skin. Duo well remembered cleaning his lover's back after the first time, washing the blood from feathers and sinew and skin...there had been so much blood all over everything that day.

But in sleep, Heero looked very little like an avenging angel and very much like a beautiful--in Duo's admittedly biased opinion--and human young man. It was then that the shadows of doubt lifted from his face, that the tension eased his smooth visage into a real semblance of peace. If he had dreams of his own, he did not share them with his lover, and Duo never asked. His own were troubling enough.

Like the child. He wondered sometimes if he should share that one with Heero--it seemed important somehow, that whispered admonition of "find me," the warnings of trouble ahead. But whenever he meant to, he hesitated long enough to change his mind. Heero was easily worried, their repetitive discussion about Duo's research on demons was proof of that.

When he had a better understanding of what the dream meant, then he would tell his lover. In the meantime, he would in bed, warm and comfortable, and enjoy the fact that he could legitimately spend the entire morning wrapped in the other boy's arms.

As if in answer to that very thought, a kiss brushed tenderly across his temple. "Good morning, love."

Duo nuzzled into his chest with a kiss of his own. "Not morning...you're imagining things."

"No," Heero contradicted calmly, "I'm not. It's morning. And I /know/ I'm not imagining any of this," he added, abruptly shifting his weight and rolling them both over to pin Duo beneath him. "I couldn't be," he continued, pausing his explanation to make a concerted attempt to swallow his boyfriend's tonsils. "If I were imagining you, I'd leave out the morning breath."

Duo sputtered, pushing at him ineffectually. He may have grown into a slight advantage of size, but Heero was the one with inhuman strength in those delicate limbs. "/You/ kissed /me/, remember? Which you won't ever do again if you're going to complain about it!"

Heero blinked at him innocently. "Of course I will," he countered, before his mouth cut off any attempt Duo might have made at responding.

The not-so-subtle sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them, and a blush suffused Heero's face as he twisted, still hovering atop Duo, to shoot a glare at the intruder. It was, as always, hopelessly ineffective. Hilde Schbeiker was not one to be put off by a mere Glare of Death.

"Much as I hate to interrupt you boys--and do believe me, 'cause I would /love/ to stand here and watch you do that all morning--Mr. Treize wants to know if you're going into town with us today." Duo's section-mate leaned casually against the doorframe of his room, her arms folded across her chest, showing off her petite body to full advantage in a sapphire tank-top and cutoffs that only barely qualified as clothing. She had declared the summer too hot for her favourite raspberry beret--bought, she'd told them once, at a secondhand store just like in the old Prince song--and instead had Catherine help her streak her hair with bands of glittery violet. She was still trying to convince Duo to do the same.

"Hilde," said Heero patiently, making sure both boys were covered in at least the most strategic places by Duo's summer blanket, "do you mind? We're naked."

The girl licked her lips in melodramatic lasciviousness. "Don't I know it!" she laughed. "I have to enjoy the view while I have it, you know. I keep telling Duo that section-mates share /everything/, but he just doesn't believe me."

Heero narrowed his eyes and growled at her. Hilde just laughed.

"Come on...honestly. A yes or no will suffice just fine--are you coming to town or staying in bed to have sex all morning?"

Heero and Duo locked eyes. Oh, the decisions, the decisions...

"Town," they said at once. Sex was wonderful, but since they lived in the same building, they weren't exactly lacking in opportunity. Trips to town, for the students of the St. Gabriel Institute, were few and far between, and it had taken weeks of alternately begging, conniving, whining and threatening (not that threatening Treize Khushrenada did any more than entertain him thoroughly) for the sequestered teens to convince him a vacation day was in order.

"Good," Hilde said with an approving nod. "I'd think there was something seriously wrong with you, otherwise. So hurry up and get ready to go."

"We will," said Duo patiently, "as soon as you go away. We're not putting on a show for you, Hilde."

"Hmph. You're no fun," she pouted, rolling her eyes, but flashed the boys a grin as she darted out the door.

****

"You know," Duo remarked through his mouthful of cheeseburger, "I used to eat these out of dumpsters."

"That's disgusting," said Wufei flatly. "Almost as bad as talking with your mouth full so I get to watch you chew it."

"Sorry," Duo mumbled, though he didn't sound very.

The students had just spend the past several successful hours on a self-imposed Treasure Hunt. They'd eschewed the mall in favour of a downtown row of artsy boutiques and antique stores--half were full of overpriced objects d'arte, the other half a conglomeration of junk. Dorothy and Relena had vanished almost immediately, promising to meet up with them again later in the afternoon. Trowa and Hilde found a set of runners for their dogsled and now faced the prospect of carrying them for the rest of the afternoon. Wufei had found a dusty sword in the corner of one shop that had captured his rapt attention for ten full minutes; reluctantly he had put it aside as too expensive, but Quatre and Trowa had exchanged meaningful looks and not too long later the Siren had gone mysteriously missing. Looking for a restroom, he said. It was plausible. Catherine had to stop and poke through any collection of shiny, glittery objects she could find, and had acquired a collection throughout the day of small bits of costume jewelry that caught her eye.

Duo reached up to touch his ear for probably the fourth time in as many minutes and fiddle tentatively with the small silver stud now gracing the lobe. It had been a spontaneous decision--he had money now, as Iria's ward, and no real idea of what to do with it. It was Trowa's idea-Trowa, whose small chrome hoop had decourated his own ear since he was eleven, and he continued to wear as a testament to the family who had not survived. Heero, while stating his support for whatever decision Duo made, had seemed utterly entranced with the idea...so a few minutes later there was Duo, trying not to hold his breath while a lisping blonde man held a needle gun to his earlobe.

It was over in seconds, and after the initial burning sensation had faded, he found himself reaching up to remind himself it was still there.

Heero noticed. "I like it," he whispered reassuringly, with a suggestive twist of his lips that made Duo both intensely glad he'd decided in favour of the ornament, and a bit disappointed that he'd have to wait until nightfall to take advantage of the situation.

"So do I," Hilde added, imitating Heero's smirk and then wiping her face into blank innocence. She was expert at the expression, but her friends knew better than to fall for it.

"Mm...me too," Quatre agreed, though he seemed less interested in Duo's earring than in threading his tongue through Trowa's.

"Spare me," Wufei interrupted dryly. "I'm already subjected to this toothache-inflicting sweetness out of the lot of you twenty-four hours a day. We're in public--can't you at least make an effort?"

"Awwwwww...." Hilde leaned across their picnic table to give the firestarter's shoulder a playfully condescending pat. "Feeling a bit left out and lonely, Fei-fei...?"

Though the years had strengthened Wufei's armour against Hilde's teasing, he stiffened under her touch and jerked away. "I'm surprised and disappointed," he said flatly, "that it would take so long for you to notice."

Repentance flooded the girl's pert face--her teasing was frequently merciless, but there was never any cruelty to it, and she hated the thought that she had caused any real pain. "I'm sorry, 'Fei, really I am. We'll be good for the rest of the day--won't we?"

"Don't be silly." He pushed himself up from the table, as if he needed only to put some distance between the happy couples and himself. "Do what makes you happy. Truly. I'll get over it." The smile he gave them was weak but genuine. "Some days around you people get lonelier than others, that's all."

"Maybe we should all find something else to do," Trowa suggested softly.

The words had barely left his lips before Catherine had picked up the thought--they had left behind the habit of speaking at the same time, but the telepathy between the twins was closer than ever. "We could go see a movie," she offered. "There was a Minako Takawa action flick playing at that place on the corner."

"Oh, joy," Wufei said deadpan, rejoining them at the table. "Then I can listen to you all make out in the movie theatre. No, thanks."

Cathy shrugged. "I lust after Minako just as much as you do, I promise I wouldn't take my eyes off the screen."

"Hey!" Hilde thwapped her girlfriend's arm petulantly. "What do you mean you're lusting after an action-movie actress? Just because she can do that spinning-kick-thing! Hell, Trowa can do every move she can--"

"Hilde," the doppelganger interrupted quickly, before she could do any real damage to his good name, "are you suggesting /you/ don't lust after everything with legs?"

The dark-haired sprite pouted. "Well...."

"You should have heard her this morning when she came to wake up me and Duo," Heero interjected helpfully.

Trowa nodded smugly and helped himself to one of her French fries. "That's what I thought."

But any further conversation they might have had on loneliness, lust, or the attractiveness of a particular Japanese actress were impeded by a shout in their direction.

"Guys!" Dorothy and Relena hurried toward them, the latter's wrist circled firmly by the taller girl's hand. "We have to get back," Dorothy said wearily. "Remember those people we saw protesting on TV? There's a big march starting down by the river. Miss Noin thinks we should cut things short and get back to the school."

They scrambled. If it had been Mr. Treize who issued the command, it would have been merely a precaution. But Lucrezia Noin was a clairvoyant, and if she felt it so necessary to leave that she would send Dorothy to hunt for them, then it was in their best interest to make their departure urgent.

"Well," Hilde sighed, tossing the last of her fries into the trash bin, "time for the freaks to head back into exile."

Catherine, who never seemed to mind being one of the freaks, just draped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

****