Running Smooth
by Juu-chan and Abandonment

Note: For all warnings, disclaimers, and notes, see Part One.

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Part Three: The Shopping Mall

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The two showered individually, dressed, and shuffled off to the kitchen. Sitting around the small table in the kitchenette, Duo cast a sideways glance at the other male, one that Heero noticed but said nothing about.

"Heero?"

"Yes?"

Duo opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head instead. "Never mind," he said, looking down at his food.
Heero picked up the toast on the plate before him, stared at it for a moment, apparently intent of finding the answer to life within the bread's center, and then set it back down on his plate. At the sound of Duo's voice he looked up from the tabletop.

"What?"

"Let's go shopping."

"What?" Heero asked again.

"It's just that … well, you didn't bring much with you, right?" Duo asked, although he knew the answer. "We should go shopping, get you something to wear. I'll buy," he added as an afterthought.

"I'll buy my own clothes."

Duo smiled. "Heero, listen to me. You're my guest, you didn't bring that much money, so I'll buy. Ok?" Duo rested his hand on Heero's, the other curling around his coffee.

After a moment, the Japanese boy nodded. "Agreed." His eyes were fixed on his hand and Duo's slender fingers wrapped around it. When Duo followed his gaze and saw their touching hands. He jerked away and refused to meet Heero's eyes as they stood, pulling on jackets.

"Let's go," said Duo, finally, and they left.

- - -

Many hours had passed by the time that the two males made their way towards the food court of the mall. They weaved though the crowd, carrying one solitary bag between the two of them. Duo spoke as they walked.

"Heero, I know you're not a big clothing person, but how can you only buy one bag's worth at a mall?" Duo lifted the bag for emphasis and then continued, "And it took fucking forever."

"Hn."

"Use a sentence, please."

"I don't need much. I don't want to spend your money. It would have only taken a few minutes if you hadn't insisted on dragging me to every store that could possibly have clothing in my size and try on at least three outfits - entire outfits, both pants and shirt - in each one."

"Man! Three complete sentences. I'm proud, Heero, very proud."
Heero sighed, but Duo didn't hear.

"All this shopping has really made me hungry," Duo said, swinging the bag as he walked. "Buy me something to eat, Heero. Consider it repayment for the clothes."

Heero frowned and took out his wallet. He pulled out some money, held it out to Duo, and reached for the bag. "I'll find a seat."

"No." Duo pushed Heero in the direction of the counters. "Buy it yourself," he said. "Two nachos, and a large Coke. I'll grab a table. You can find me." Turning, Duo walked towards the tables, leaving Heero behind.

Heero executed his task, ordering the snack in a monotone while thinking of other things. The woman at the counter, young and smiling falsely, handed over his order. He looked past her. Heero then joined Duo at the table he had chosen. Heero placed the food on the countertop and sat down, adjusting his feet so that the bag Duo had shoved beneath the table was safely between them.
Duo jumped at the food, then spoke with his mouth full. "Eat, Heero. It's good."

The Japanese male picked up a nacho and looked at it. He began to draw his hand to his mouth but stopped. The bright yellow fake cheese dripped from the chip, landing on the table. Replacing the nacho, Heero shook his head. "No. I'm fine."

Duo shrugged a 'suit yourself' shrug and resumed his attack. Heero watched the second male and thought.

Why is everything going so well? was his first though. Suspicion and doubt followed it. He had made it to Duo's house, Duo had welcomed him in, and in the course of 24 hours they had talked and had sex. Things appeared to be going well. This is what Heero doubted: things felt too good to be true. Things were not perfect, but they were better that they should have been after two years of silence.
Heero examined what he knew:

Duo worked at a dance club downtown - doing what, exactly, Heero did not know. When Duo returned he appeared depressed - although he tried to hide it, Heero could see through the smiles and the masks. He did not talk, then he offered to buy Heero clothes. He had remained somewhat passive and impersonal throughout - that was not in Duo's nature, at least not the Duo that Heero had known during the war. Something was wrong.

But what, Heero wondered, made it wrong? He was not even sure what he had expected. As Duo began on the second container of nachos, Heero thought about the past.

Their relationship during the war had not been a customary romance. It was not a usual teenage relationship - but then, they had not been usual teenagers. Duo had begun it, providing reasons that made sense to Heero's mission-focused mind. The sex, Duo had said, was a stress relief. There was a great deal of tension and adrenaline that they carried and it was not safe for it to remain, unspent. The emotional aspects, if any developed, could become distractions, but they also gave them a reason to live and something to fight for. If they played it right, their performance in battle could improve because of it.

Heero knew that to the others, neither their relationship nor the effects of it had been apparent: he had remained cold, removed, and quiet, showing very little change in his personality or attitude. But Heero knew that Duo had done something. Duo had stopped him from sinking. They were rebel soldiers, fighting a bloody war that could have no happy ending, battling on little resources and less support. The situation was beyond hopeless - it was damned. And yet, Heero fought the war he needed to fight and lived the life he had been given. Because of Duo, he had survived. The salvation of peace and Earth had been Duo's doing: because he had saved Heero, Heero had saved them all and had ended the war.

But when the war ended, everything changed. The foundation on which the relationship had been built crumbled. There was no longer any adrenaline, left in the bloodstream after a battle, to release. There was no longer an enemy to fight against. There was no longer a constant threat on both Heero and Duo's lives. The foundation fell, and the relationship was lost. Duo left Heero and Heero left Duo.

Again, the change in Heero had not been dramatic. Heero did not die, but only because there was nothing to kill him. He did not stop fighting because there was no one to begin fighting against and nothing to fight for. He was not tense and overflowing with stress because there was nothing to cause it. Instead, Heero remained the person he had been before the war only now without a purpose. He existed, survived, but did not live.
Peace, Heero thought, had killed him. He smiled, only just visible on his lips. /That/ was irony.

"Heero? Why're you smilin', Heero?"

Duo's voice made Heero start. "Nothing," he said, "I'm only thinking."

"About what?" Duo asked, carefully opening the cardboard nacho containers, now empty and clean, and laying them flat.

"Everything."

"Go on."

Heero sighed. He knew from experience that only an answer and luck could ever shut Duo up. "The war," he said. "That, and what happened afterward." It was part of the truth and good enough for Heero.

"Oh…" Duo fell silent, blinking and looking around the mall.

Heero resumed his thoughts.

He thought now about his suspicions. Duo worked at a dance club in the center of town, he had said. In the morning, when he had come home, Duo had looked exhausted and removed from the world - like he had seen hell. Heero knew that his knowledge of normal everyday life was limited, but he did know that after a night's worth of work Duo should not have looked that emotionally drained. It was enough to arouse his suspicion. Compounded by his charity, something that appeared guilt-induced, Heero did worry.

If Heero had been someone other than himself he would have confronted Duo and demanded to know what was going on. But he was not. Heero was more likely to remain silent and allow things to begin to play themselves out before he took action, especially if he was on new and unfamiliar terms.

This is the solution Heero then chose. He nodded.

"…and then I told him to back down or put up, which sounds stupid now but was really threatening at - Heero?
Why are you nodding?"

"Ne?" Heero, asked, his use of Japanese a reflex. He then corrected himself, "What?"

"You were looking past me like you'd forgotten I was here and then you started nodding. Why were you nodding?"

"No reason." Heero paused and then asked, before Duo could speak again, "Are you done?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's go."

The two stood to leave.

"Anyway - it was threatening at the time. He looked scared, but he rushed at me, so I sidestepped and reached out…"