by the Link Worshiper
~oOo@ Part III ~ Favourite Things @oOo~
Heero sat down beside him at the bar with a plate of penne, ignoring the question for a moment as he slowly began to chew his food. After he had eaten his way through about a fourth of his rather large serving, he said in a quiet voice, almost as if he dreaded speaking about the matter, "Tomorrow, very early in the morning. We'll have to leave at least at 4AM if we're to catch our shuttle. We meet Relena at her offices somewhere around nine o'clock the day after."
"Sounds like a plan," Duo said, dropping his fork on a plate devoid of any trace of food save a few smears of pasta sauce. "So where to from there?"
"It all depends on what kind of information the Vice Minister has for us," Heero replied simply. "I can't say what course of action we should take right now, because, quite frankly, I have no idea what kind of enemy we're up against."
"Do you think we should tell the others?" Duo asked as he sipped the glass of water he had taken with his meal.
"Wufei's with the Preventers. If any information needs to be given to either Trowa or Quatre, he'll make sure of it. It's none of our concern," Heero said. "All that matters is the mission at hand. We can't let petty things like that get in the way."
"It's always the mission with you!" Duo moaned. "The routine gets a little old, Heero Yuy! Try adding a little flavour into your life once and a while. It would do you a world of good. Besides, I don't understand what is so hard about contacting your friends about impending danger. They could help us out, you know."
"If I wanted their help, I'd ask for it," Heero snapped. "We don't need it. I could do this myself even! It's what I was trained to live for! It's what I was trained to die for! This is who I am!"
"Whoo hoo, excu-u-use me," Duo threw his hands up in defense. "I'm just saying that you could use some good old fashioned fun in your life. How is it that you can live every day of your goddamned existence this way?! Routines here and perfection there. Life isn't like that, Heero! Real life is not perfect! That's what makes it life! It's like you and your mathematics. When in your entire existence have you come across real data in the field that worked out with perfect numbers like the problems in a textbook? You gotta stop living your life like you're a fucking MS repair manual!"
"Are you saying that I'm not alive?" Heero narrowed his eyes, sizing up his roommate, trying to understand what Duo was saying to him.
"Come on, are you really happy like this? Don't you want to experience life? Don't you want to be happy?" Duo pounded his fist on the countertop, making the plates and silverware jump.
"I am happy," Heero declaimed in a completely unconvincing voice.
"You go on telling yourself that," Duo said with a sly grin. "You go on and think you're happy until you sit down and really ask yourself the question. Then you'll realize how empty your existence is."
Heero looked away, not wanting to admit that Duo might have been onto something with his accusations. He hated it when Duo was right like that. Though Heero may have been the one who could recite any bit of information from a science text or mech tutorial, Duo was most certainly the more philosophical of the two. And nothing drove Heero more insane than when Duo came out with such spiels declaring the importance of life and love, two things that Heero knew that he had absolutely no knowledge of.
"Aw, come on Heero," Duo said kindly. "Stop being that way. Look, look, let me treat you or something."
Heero turned his head slightly, gazing over his shoulder at Duo with his cold eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, hmm," Duo scratched the back of his head, trying to think of something. "Oh I know! Tonight, why don't you come along with me to the club? I'll get you a drink or two, we could do a little dancing, meet a few people, and you can hear me sing."
"That's not a place I'd like to be found in," Heero retorted, turning back away from Duo.
"There's your problem right there! If it's not part of your damned everyday habits, then you don't want anything to do with it! God knows it would do you a world of good to see something new and wild! Ple-ease, Heero? For me-e-e?"
Heero glanced back over his shoulder, to lay eyes upon a wide-eyed-sad-puppy-dog looking expression plastered on Duo's face. "Out of the question, Maxwell."
"You really are boring!"
"Go on and tell yourself that."
"Just like you'll just keep telling yourself that you're happy?"
"Is that what this is about?" Heero turned completely around again. "You want to prove to me that I'm unhappy? Let me ask you this: why?"
"Because I don't like to see you sad," Duo said, his fingers fidgeting in his lap. "You just always seem so sad. I don't like to see that look on your face, where it looks like you might break down and cry at any time. It makes me sad to see you that way."
"Would it make you happy if I came with you?"
"It would make me happy to see you try and live a little," Duo said hopefully as he looked up again.
"Fine," Heero said after a moment of staring at one another as if the one was trying to break the other's morality with his eyes. He hated it when Duo was right, and he figured it might as well pay off to prove to him that he could partake in anything the loudmouthed American could. "So long as you buy all the drinks."
"I get 'em free, heh heh," Duo grinned. "But you're serious? You'll go?"
"If it keeps you from crying like a three year-old girl."
"Boys don't cry," Duo said proudly, his voice trying to cover up the fact that he was indeed a softhearted individual.
Heero stared at him dumbly, knowing that he had indeed seen Duo with tears on his cheeks many a time, but chose not to mention anything about it, a move that was surprisingly generous of him considering his usual unfeeling demeanor and careless remarks.
"Just… just be sure to ask yourself what you want out of life, okay Heero?"
The day went on as usual, Heero holing himself up in his room with his laptop, now doing some in-depth research on the past of this Stella character and Duo busied himself with odd things here and there to keep his ever-wandering mind preoccupied and his ever-yapping mouth shut, determined to get Heero out into the real world before they went parading into death's playground.
By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Heero seemed to have forgotten his promise to Duo that they would go out and Duo literally dragged Heero out of his chair and back to his bedroom where a short fight about clothes ensued. Duo had already dressed himself in a pair of tight leather black pants that laced up on the sides and a tight black sleeveless muscle shirt that had the word "Death" emblazoned across the chest in red letters. His eyes were lined with black eye makeup and his neck adorned with a choker of leather and metal, a little silver ring in his ear and an array of long black and violet ribbons entwined in his loose braid. Heero, refusing to wear anything other than his usual neat jeans, spandex shorts and green shirts, protested to no end and threatened to forget the whole thing if Duo went on being difficult.
"You're the one being difficult Heero!" Duo frowned at his roommate, a long stylish black button-up shirt and baggy dark blue jeans hanging over one arm. "Heaven forbid that you have to do anything different with yourself! It's not going to kill you to look just a little American for one night of your life! God, this isn't even that suggestive!"
"Maxwell, there's a difference between looking American and looking trashy," Heero snorted as he crossed his arms and looked away defiantly.
"This is not that bad. We're trying to culture you here, buddy," Duo said, pouncing on Heero, wrestling with his resisting arms as he tried to pin him against the wall. "Come on, I thought you were going to humour me tonight!"
"Humour you, not succumb to your morbid will," Heero managed to quip sardonically as Duo tried to make a grab at the buttons of the perfect soldier's shirt. Heero scathed, "And will you stop trying to ruin my clothes?"
"This would be so much easier if you would just put the damned stuff on so we can go!" Duo whined, his tone of voice not really an appropriate choice for trying to sway Heero in his direction.
"I'm not going anywhere with you acting like that. You still carry on like you're a little child," Heero accused threateningly.
"Aw, Hee-chan, I thought we were going to make this fun!" Duo said in a more natural tone, though the use of the pet name found Heero reaching absently for his firearm. Duo, noticing the action, grabbed Heero's wrists, keeping his grabbing hands from wrapping around the weapon. "Stop jumping the gun there, Heero. It's not a big deal!" Duo managed to laugh feebly at the poor pun.
"That name…." Heero grimaced, his eyes boring right into Duo's soul.
Duo threw his arms up in defeat, the clothes flying like sails in the wind over his head. "God, okay! We'll compromise!"
After that little fiasco and a few other minor setbacks (Heero refused to let Duo put makeup on him), Duo escorted Heero down the street towards D. Maxwell's in the black shirt and a pair of Heero's own tight-fitting jeans in addition to some black spiked bracelets and chains courtesy of Maxwell Wardrobe Inc. Heero had a look on his face that was a mixture somewhere between complete distaste and total shock that he was actually doing this with Duo.
Since Duo was an employee, Heero and he were able to skip the line forming along the pavement in the dim streetlamps' glow. Pushing their way through the crowd, Heero soon found himself milling through a mob of people congregated in the large room. A bar lit with neon lights and other assorted glowing gizmos dominated one wall while another was taken by a stage a few steps above the ground illuminated with strobes and fancy tech effects sat waiting for the band to grace it. There were multiple platforms and catwalks around the upper eaves of the place where more people hung over the rail enjoying drinks or dancing to the DJ's music. Strobes, black lights and all manner of blinding lights ruled the semi-dark place, flashing over the sea of dancing people, all hanging off one another like one great big orgy.
"Could it be any louder?" Heero winced as Duo ushered him towards the bar.
Leaning on the counter top and wiggling two fingers to the bartender for some beer, Duo said to his callous friend, "Well Heero, this is what it's about."
"Going deaf?" Heero shouted, slapping Duo deftly on the cheek for what the Japanese boy deemed as impudence. "I can't believe you waste all your time here."
"But at least I'm doing something that I love," Duo shot back defensively. "Can you say that about what you rush off every day to do? Don't tell me you actually enjoy locking yourself away in your dark old room with that laptop, hacking into this and that for other people."
Heero was silent for some time and did not say anything until the drinks came, waiting to down at least half the bottle before speaking. Then he said simply, "I used to like it."
Duo smiled knowingly, thinking to himself, Score: Duo – 1, Heero – 0. "Really. So, why'd you lose it?"
"What do you mean?" Heero looked at Duo suspiciously as though he suspected him of trying to pry information out of him.
"I mean, why don't you like it anymore?" Duo reiterated his question. "Things don't just stop being interesting for no reason. And that's not exactly the kind of thing that I'd expect you to drop without a reason."
"It… it got boring," Heero shrugged, drowning himself in the rest of his beer. He chose his next words carefully, constantly afraid that someone might pick up on his role against OZ even so long after peace had been attained. "During the war, skills like that were necessary if anything were be accomplished quickly and efficiently. The battles kept me alive, even though I knew that at any moment I was sure to die. But that was the thrill of it all. It was just a part of life then that was so natural to me that afterwards, it was the only thing I could think of to do with myself in an effort to blend in with a normal life. I guess I just over killed it."
"Hn, interesting," Duo smirked, leaning on one elbow. "So are you saying that now that we have peace, you're nothing?"
Heero shrugged, said, "Maybe," and refused to say another word on the subject. Duo shook his head and ordered another round of drinks and stood in silence beside Heero, casting curious looks at his melancholy friend between sips.
"You were a soldier back in the OZ days, eh?" a new voice said. Heero looked up from his third bottle of beer to see the bartender giving the countertop a quick polish with his rag.
"He doesn't like to talk about it so much," Duo cut in, throwing an arm around Heero's shoulders. He could feel the Japanese boy's muscles tighten beneath his touch and he knew that hardened look of contempt had been painted on Heero's face without even having to look at him.
"Hey Duo, what's going on?" the bartender greeted the chestnut haired boy with a cheerful grin.
Duo used his free hand to grip the bartender's hand in a hearty handshake. "Aw, not much. You know the usual. Hey, you know I'm going down to Earth tomorrow morning so I won't be around for a while. Figured I'd drop in before we all took off."
"Really? That should be nice," the bartender said wistfully, noting quietly to himself that Duo still had his arm around the stranger who had come in with him. "What for?"
"Business," Duo said vaguely, waving his hand around for effect. He felt Heero nudge him hard in the gut and stopped speaking right there.
"Ooh," the bartender nodded with a whistle. He had noticed Heero's quick jab into Duo's side and wondered to himself what that had been about. Deciding that he wanted to learn more about Duo's accompaniment and what exactly was going on between them to make the mood so tense. "So Duo," he said, "who's your friend?"
"Not his friend," Heero muttered under his breath. The bartender seemed to have heard what Heero had said, but was not quite sure he believed he had heard it right.
Duo also glared sharply at him, a little hurt by the comment. He let Heero know it by moving his arm from a lazy position over his shoulders to a tight headlock around his neck. "Heh, this is my roommate. He's not really a people person so try and make him feel welcome, right? It's his first time spending time amongst the living."
"Ooh so this is the infamous mystery roommate," the bartender whistled again. He leaned down close to Heero and spoke in a low voice, glancing up at the oblivious Duo. "You know, he talks about you all the time. All his stories are 'Well you should see what my maniac roomy did this morning' or 'Guess what happened with my old buddy back home.' You're pretty well known around here with Duo's friends, even if we've never seen you or even heard your name." At that the bartender looked up and addressed Duo, "Yeah, you know, I don't think you've ever mentioned his name."
Duo tried to look innocent and casual as Heero snapped up and looked intently at him. A quick triumphant play-by-play crossed Duo's head. Score: Duo – 2, Heero – still zip.
"Never did tell us," someone else said, joining the conversation. "So this is the roommate of legend." He flashed a grin at Heero only to have one of those trademarked Yuy death glares fly back at him.
"Well he's a big boy," Duo coaxed, rubbing Heero's back. "He'll tell you all when he's ready." That got a heated reaction from Heero, who turned his death stare from the newcomer back at Duo. Duo pretended to ignore the look and went on to say. "Hey, this is our drummer, buddy. Go ahead and say 'hello.'"
"Hn," Heero grunted in the drummer's general direction. He barely noticed the man's heavily tattooed body or his dark green coloured hair. He just bent back down and stared back at his hands as he had been before.
Duo flashed a grin at his other friend and imitated the dark look on Heero's face behind his back for the drummer's amusement. "That includes your name, my friend."
"I'll get to it when I'm ready, just like you said," Heero snapped.
Wince, ouch. Point for Heero.
"You gonna go dance or something? Just you wait 'till we get up there," Duo prodded Heero, making sure to be annoying and pestering about it.
"I'm content here," he said, his voice traced with that ever-present bad humour.
"Suit yourself," Duo said as he tapped his other friend on the shoulder, saying something about getting ready to go perform. Just as they were about to fade into the crowd, Duo bounced back to the bar, resting an arm on Heero's head as he said jovially to the bartender, a rather comical image considering the merry expression on Duo's face and the murderous gleam in Heero's eyes. "And let him have as many beers as he wants. I told him I'd treat him to all the drinks." Duo winked and planted a kiss on top of Heero's head, already feeling a little tipsy from the alcohol he had already had and deciding right then that he was willing to play it on the dangerous side as far as Heero was concerned.
And when Heero whipped out his gun (much to the shock of the surrounding crowd), looking up again to scowl at Duo for his actions, the American found himself bending over to kiss each of his cheeks and lay another on his forehead as he levered the weapon from Heero's fingers. Another wink in Heero's direction, "Hey buddy, don't hesitate to look us up if you want to try that whole 'fun' thing out, right?"
Heero was barely paying attention to his surroundings, making his own decision to just stake it out here by the bar with Duo's free drinks until the braided brat had decided that he'd had enough of the whole scene. Not quite sure how long that would be, Heero shook his bottle, asking in as few words as possible for a refill and only half listened as the crowd roared for Duo and his band and began to further tune out when they began to play.
But then Duo started singing….
"Wherever you go, you know I'll be there.
If you go far, you know I'll be there!
I'll go anywhere, so I'll see you there.
You place the name; you know I'll be there.
You name the time; you know I'll be there!
I'll go anywhere, so I'll see you there."
"I don't care if you don't mind.
I'll be there not far behind.
I will dare, keep in mind.
I'll be there for you."
Heero looked over his shoulder at the band rocking on the stage, having a genuine good time with their music. He was being as discreet as he possible could with his glances, a tactic that he was incredibly good at, though unbeknownst to him, Duo (who knew Heero's every trick like the back of his hand) was watching every move he made and noticed when he started making occasional glimpses over his shoulder to watch the show. Plus one for me. I'm still up two on you, Heero Yuy.
"Where there's a truth,
You know I'll be there.
Amongst the lies,
You know I'll be there!
I'll go anywhere.
So I'll see you there.
"I don't care if you don't mind.
I'll be there not far behind.
I will dare, keep in mind.
I'll be there for you!
"All right!"
"They're pretty good, aren't they?" the bartender commented to Heero, noticing how he had taken to constantly staring over his shoulder all of the sudden. The bartender wondered to himself whether or not Duo's enigmatic roommate was looking because he was beginning to get a feel for the music or if there was something more interesting than that up on that stage the stranger found worth looking at… namely Duo…. The bartender was not blind; he had seen the kisses and watched the hugging. He grinned to himself, figuring that this friend of Duo's was not the type to notice or pay any mind to flirtation. And, having seen it from Duo before, it was damn obvious that was what Duo trying to do.
"If you should fall, you know I'll be there.
To catch the call, you know I'll be there!
I'll go anywhere, so I'll see you there!
"Oh I don't care if you don't mind.
I'll be there, not far behind.
I will dare, keep in mind.
Oh I don't care!
I'll be there for you.
"I'll be there for you."
Duo was all the while going on with his seductive dancing and Heero, now well beyond his fifth beer, could barely tear his eyes away from the skin exposed between the laces of Duo's skintight pants or the rocking of his hips, the "come-hither" look in his violet eyes or the fine definition of his muscled arms as his lips virtually went on making love to the microphone.
They played a few more songs, most of which Heero barely paid attention to. Three more drinks later, he found himself too busy being completely in awe of Duo and everything about him. Maybe it was because Heero had never been so drunk before or maybe because of the obvious allure that Duo was specifically sending his way (or a combination of both thereof), but Heero Yuy was definitely feeling much different than he was used to. It was a sort of free released kind of feeling, like he was floating, and it was something like he had never experienced before.
"Hey," he vaguely heard the bartender say as a slightly familiar voice piped up behind him. "You guys kicked ass tonight. Good show as always."
"Thanks dude," the drummer replied. There was the sound of clinking glass and ice amid the blanket noise of the roaring droves of people around them. Then the drummer spoke again with a gesture towards Heero. "He's still here? Guess Duo was right in that he wasn't such a people person."
"Ah, we've been good," the bartender slapped another beer in front of the smashed Heero as the Japanese boy finished up his previous one. Heero feebly groped for the beer as though it were the very essence that was keeping him alive. "We've got an understanding here."
"He's going to drop dead," the drummer cautioned with a little chuckle.
"His choice," the bartender shrugged.
Heero looked up again and, realizing who was standing there, managed to say in a voice that was surprisingly well controlled and understandable considering all the alcohol he had been drinking, "Duo? Where's Duo?"
"Ah, he lives!" the drummer said in a sarcastically overdone stage voice.
"Can't you see him?" the bartender pointed over Heero's shoulder. The perfect soldier whipped around to see where the bartender was gesturing. "See, he's over there, dancing," the bartender let a sly grin fall upon his face as he spoke.
A sudden jealousy that others would dare be so close to his friend washed over Heero. Grabbing his beer, Heero pushed away from the bar without another word, shoving his way through the crowd towards the sensuous Duo. The drummer watched him go and then said to the bartender, "You just have to be in everyone's business, don't you?"
"Ah, even Duo would have trouble cracking that stone exterior. You know, Duo said he's known that guy for years, he's been living with him for nearly three, and he's always been that way," the bartender shrugged again as he cleared away the bottles left where Heero had been standing. "But you know what they say; in wine there's truth. Let's just say we're giving Duo's buddy a shove in the right direction."
"You're a dirty bastard," the drummer grinned.
"What can I do, I'm a hopeless romantic," answered the bartender. "Besides, haven't you been watching the way Duo's been looking at that guy? I've never seen him get a look in his eye quite like that around anyone else before, not even that cute Hilde girl that came to visit a bit ago. Never heard as much about her as we did about the roommate, even if he told us her name and all that. You know I'm right."
"I don't doubt you that there's something going on there," the drummer nodded as he turned to see Heero stalk right up to Duo and grab his shoulder, spinning him around to face him. "But you're just lucky that he's so damn drunk. I bet if he was sober, Duo would be a mess of blood and bullet holes on the dance floor with some of the shit he's been pulling with him tonight."
"Uh huh," the bartender whistled in agreement. "Ah, God, look at them! How can you not say there's something going on!?"
"I think someone has a little crush on his roommate, hehe."
"Which one?" the bartender said with a hearty laugh, which the drummer soon joined in on, as the pair watched the entertainment unfolding before them.
What had ensued on the dance floor, had the two of them been close enough to hear, would have only furthered their speculations. And while neither of them really knew a whole lot about Duo, and even less about Heero, it usually tends to be the causal observer who notices those kinds of things before the people in question actually did.
"Hee-chan, he-e-ey," Duo winked when he saw it had been Heero who had suddenly spun him around, taking the braided boy totally by surprise. "What's up?"
"Drink?" Heero held up his beer, offering it to Duo. Duo, sticking his tongue out just a bit to look cute, took the bottle and gave it a quick chug before handing it back to the glazy-eyed Heero. The perfect soldier, after taking back his drink, wrapped his free arm around Duo's neck and pulled him close, saying simply, "Dance?"
"Hot damn, yeah," Duo, not entirely sober himself, murmured, with a quick lick of his lips as he threw an arm around Heero's waist, pulling him even nearer to his body. "Hmm, you're so adorable when you're drunk Hee-chan," he said, leaning down to purr softly into his friend's ear. Soon he had taken to gently kissing Heero's neck and jaw as they danced on, grinding lightly against each other.
"Duo," Heero found himself groaning against the American's shoulder. "Duo, Duo… Duo!" The chocolate haired boy was slinking down the length of his body, gently undoing the buttons of his shirt with his teeth as he went, kissing his flesh and soon nuzzling Heero in places that the perfect soldier never dreamed he would allow anyone to go.
"You're so pretty, Hee-chan, do you know that?" Duo whispered into Heero's thigh before sliding his way back up his dance partner's body, showering his stomach and chest once again with a flourish of soft kisses. They went on in that fashion for quite some time, Duo's lips taking full advantage of the intoxicated Heero. After a while, he looked up long enough to comment, "And you taste pretty too, did you know that as well?"
Not aware of what he was saying or doing, Heero taunted Duo by moaning against his neck. "Do I, Duo?"
"Mmm, like the rain," was the delicious reply. "Just—" Duo kissed Heero's neck again "—like the—" another kiss "—sweet—" yet another kiss, this time, upon his brow "—spring rain."
"I've forgotten the rain," he said in a sad voice, reminiscent of the regular Heero.
"Oh but I haven't," Duo went on, sliding the hand around Heero's waist underneath his shirt and up and down his back. "I won't ever forget it now, especially with you here."
"Hn," Heero grunted, just like the regular anti-social Heero everyone had grown to know and love.
Duo realized that the alcohol was starting to lose its influence over Heero and any moment, the Japanese boy would realize just where he was and what Duo was doing with him. And to save himself a pre-mature severe pounding (he knew he was in for a beating anyway), Duo figured he had to take action quickly. So some hasty thinking found Duo nailing Heero on that sensitive spot at the base of the neck until the perfect soldier fainted into his arms. Picking him up gingerly, he eased his way out of the crowd and slid back onto the street by way of the back entrance. Making sure he had a good grip on the boy in his arms, Duo started to head home, whispering into Heero's mess of brown hair, "Hey thanks, buddy. I had a really good time tonight with you. I hope you did too."
Heero groaned and rolled over as his alarm went off at three that morning. His head still hurt and he could not remember for the life of him what had happened the night before. And even though he was still dead tired, his mechanical clockwork forced him out of bed in the freezing hours of the early day and forced him towards the bathroom. He was still wearing the black shirt Duo had given him and his jeans, though by then it had become tussled and undone in his restless sleep.
Leaning over the sink, he splashed his face with a handful of cold water and groggily looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were dark as though he had not slept in weeks and his neck was covered with a series of mysterious reddish bruises. "Goddamn it, I'm starting to look like Duo," he muttered as he threw another splatter of water on his face. "I guess I had better wake the lazy bastard up or we'll never make it to the spaceport on time."
The one bathroom in the apartment connected the two bedrooms. Heero soon found himself opening the other door and picking his way through the darkened room over a floor littered with a carpet of clutter towards the iron-framed bed where Duo lay rather ungracefully in a deep slumber, a black pillow crushed between his arm and his head. Grabbing the black bed-sheets that were wound around Duo's body, he gave a harsh tug, ripping Duo right off the bed and onto the floor.
"Owww," Duo moaned, rubbing the back of his head. Looking up to see Heero standing grimly over him with the sheets draped over his shoulder, he said with a childish frown, "Aw, Heero, didja have to come and wake me up so rudely?"
"How else was I supposed to wake you?" he said crossly, folding his arms.
Duo crossed his legs and put a finger to his lips as he responded thoughtfully, his eyes tracing the spray painted lines on the ceiling. "Well, you could come in quietly and shake me gently while you whispered something like 'Time to get up, Duo,' in my ear. And then you could turn on the radio and put it next to my bed so that I could have some music to help the waking process."
"What do you think this is, a full-service hotel?" Heero snarled, throwing the sheets over Duo's head. "Get yourself ready quick. We have about an hour before we need to leave."
"Aw, what's in this all for me? You're the one always asking me these… favours," Duo said, lifting the sheets from over his eyes.
"If you're good and hurry up, we'll see what's in it for you," Heero said with a sly grin as he started to walk back towards the bathroom.
"I didn't think you swung that way," Duo called after his roommate as he stood up and rearranged himself, dusting off some imaginary filth from his shirt and pants and attempting to fix his messy half braided hair.
Heero leaned back into the room long enough to give him the death glare while holding up a hand in a rude gesture.
Duo returned the motion, shoving his middle finger up with a goofy sneer on his face. "Didn't think you had the balls to pull a move like that! Hehe, Hee-chan's growing up!"
"I'll kill you!" Heero's voice rang from the bathroom irately.
"It'd be a fucking pleasure to die! Come and let me have it, Hee-chan! Be my guest!" Duo retorted with a laugh. "Come off it Hee-chan, and stop being so damn serious all the time! It's so depressing!"
Heero did not say anything in return, tired of this useless banter and the battle of wits. He hated to admit that Duo was actually better with words than he was and the sooner that he ended the whole conversation meant less reminders of it and no more of Duo's annoying guttural voice. If there was one thing that Heero could not stand, it was the thought that there was something, anything, which Duo was better at than him.
And then there's that goddamned name he keeps insisting on calling me! Not even that Relena has a stupid pet name like that for me. Heero was thinking as he went about brushing his teeth quickly and almost too efficiently, even for him. But he always rushed through things when he was preoccupied with thought…. Then again, Duo I could let get away with it. If that damned Relena so much as even thought of trying to call me… Hee-chan… I'd fucking kill her so fast she wouldn't even know what hit her! He spat into the sink, rinsing his mouth out with a quick swig of water. God, it's going to be a long day.
Soon he and Duo were standing outside the apartment, Duo throwing their belongings into the back of the car and Heero busy pampering the hood of his car with a soft rag, the smear some inconsiderate bird had left on the blue body, driving his near obsessive compulsive nature mad.
"God, sometimes I get the feeling that you love this car more than you love me," Duo said with a sigh as he hefted his guitar bag onto his back, straightening his priest's collar as he did so.
"I do," Heero said simply without looking up, though there was a grin of triumph obvious on his face.
Shit, point, Heero. What's the score since last night, three for me, two for him? Duo shook his head hopelessly, pulling the baseball cap off his head and smoothing his chestnut coloured hair before slapping it carelessly back on.
"So what is it with you and that stupid guitar of yours?" Heero asked a little later in return to Duo's comment about the car as he started on the task of pulling back the convertible roof for some open road driving. "You take it everywhere we go. Is it really necessary to bring it with us for this? Just extra unneeded weight if you ask me."
"Well I'm not asking you, am I? It's a comfort, like that transistor radio I got lying around," Duo answered as he gently laid the guitar in the trunk before slamming the lid down.
Heero rolled his eyes as he strapped the brown ragtop down, "Don't tell me you're dragging that thing as well."
"Damn straight I am," Duo replied indignantly. "Can't go anywhere with out it. You can kill me first."
"It could be arranged," Heero said grimly as he opened the door on the passenger side.
"Hey, I'm the one going with you because you're too chicken to go see the Vice Minister alone. And what are you…? Hey, aren't you driving?" Duo looked a little confused as he watched Heero not take his regular spot at the wheel. Usually, Heero was so overprotective of his car that it made Duo want to be sick. He had never taken so much care in even his Gundam, more or less a stupid car… even though he had to admit, a BMW Z3 was a very sexy vehicle. For one brief moment, he wondered what it would be like to kiss someone, perhaps Heero again, in such a sweet machine.
"No," Heero said, throwing the keys at Duo, who caught them deftly. "You are. Now hurry up and get in here or we'll miss our shuttle." Quite frankly, Heero still felt a little lightheaded from all the beer he had the night before, and his head was hurting so much that he felt that his precious ride might even be safer in Duo's hands than his.
"I'm not going to ask, because I'm sure this is all some kind of weird fantasy dream and any minute I'm going to wake up," Duo said, twirling the keys round on his finger as he hopped into the driver's seat. He was going to pinch himself just to make sure but then decided against it, realizing that a dream this good could not be wasted so casually. "Ha, but then again, how do I know what reality really is? Maybe what I call my 'waking life' is just another dream…."
"Scratch her even a little, and I'll run you over with her," Heero warned darkly as Duo pulled out into the empty street, not wasting any time in hitting the gas full throttle on the tiny road.
"Aw, I got you covered. Don't worry, she's in good hands," Duo said with a cheerful grin in Heero's direction.
"Don't you dare," Heero barked coldly at Duo when he saw his companion's hand snaking towards the radio. "Keep your damn eyes on the road. I want to get there alive."
"No fun at all, Hee-chan!" Duo pulled that childish pout again, glancing quickly up into the rearview mirror. "Guess I'll have to do the entertainment myself. I can't deal with such a long drive in stone silence."
"What the hell…?" Heero wondered aloud at what Duo meant.
"I'm thinking of my soul's sovereignty,
And I know everything you hate is me.
Fill me up with over-pious badgering.
Throw them up, one of my favourite things.
Too bad the things that make you mad,
Are my favourite things!"
Duo sang loudly and drummed his hands on the wheel as the sped along the road out of the colony's downtown district towards the spaceport. He would twist his head to the side, leaning it on his shoulder as he glared mischievously at Heero with the last line of each verse. Aw, pissing Hee-chan off should be made a sport or something! It's so much fun… and so-o-o easy! Duo laughed aloud at the thought, which just got a confused angry stare cast at him from Heero before returning to his song.
"Remember all the lessons fed to me.
Me, the young sponge, so ready to agree.
Years have gone; I recognize the waking dead,
Now aware that I'm alive and way ahead.
Too bad the things that make you mad,
Are my favourite things!
"And I'm so happy!"
"What?" Duo asked, his voice cracking a little as he spoke, when Heero sighed and leaned his arm on the door, looking away from the braided American.
"You're so… so not what one would expect in a soldier," Heero said coarsely as he watched the landscape rush by at top speed.
"I'm not a soldier anymore, so you can't say that," Duo said with a shrug as he accelerated the car, his braid whipping out behind him in the wind, his hat threatening to be lost to the violent breeze. Heero glanced briefly over his shoulder to see the braid fall out, Duo's hair flying free and loose all around his face as he took to singing (or screaming, whichever) again. There was something very different about his appearance without the braid, though Heero was not quite sure what that difference was.
"I see you looking, I know that you're thinking,
That I'll never go anywhere.
The things that I've done and the things that I've seen,
I don't really expect you to care, CARE!
Too bad the things that make you mad,
Are my favourite things!
"And I'm so happy!
Too bad the things that make you mad are my favourite….
Too bad the things that make you mad,
Are my favourite things! Yeah!"
Duo was head banging along with the tune that was playing in his head. Heero, never really one to pay attention to music or anything of the like, just watched Duo out of the corner of his eye with fascination, wondering if it was an American thing to be so loud and obtrusive with songs. When his eyes were not focused on Duo and his wild musical ways, Heero was staring at the scenes that sailed by alongside the road, a joy that he never could relish when he was behind the wheel, concentrating on the road. And then, he sometimes found his eyes falling upon the mirror on the side of the car, where he watched his gloomy reflection stare sadly back at him from behind the shinny surface. His fingers traced his jaw and stroked the side of his neck, his fingers playing over those still present marks, as he sized that reflection up, wondering what it was that made those eyes in the mirror so lonely and unhappy all the time. "Stop the car, Duo," he said suddenly.
"Huh?" Duo looked over his shoulder at Heero, who was still staring out the side of the car. "Why do you want me to—"
"Stop the fucking car!" Heero roared, cutting him off, still not looking to Duo, though the tone in his voice said all.
Without another word of protest, Duo pulled the car over onto the shoulder of the lone road that ran through the colony's countryside, wondering what was on Heero's mind. "So, what's up Heero? You want to drive now?" He knew it had been too good to be real.
"No, that's not it," he said plainly, still staring at his reflection in the mirror.
"So-o-o, what is it?"
"Duo, do you really think I'm unhappy?" he asked, still refusing to look Duo in the eye.
Getting over the initial shock of Heero actually using his first name, Duo swallowed and said after some hasty thought, "Well, I don't know, Heero. You never tell me anything about what's really going on between those cute little ears of yours so I really have no idea what to think."
"You told me you thought I was," he said glumly.
"It would seem that way to the casual Heero Yuy observer," Duo said, leaning on the steering wheel. "But that's just what I think, and I'm never right, so don't listen to me." Duo laughed nervously, his effort to cheer an obviously newly lost and confused Heero falling short.
"I don't know what to think anymore," he answered. "You said that when I asked myself if I was really happy, I would realize that I wasn't. Dammit Maxwell, you were right about that."
"What, you asked yourself if you were happy?" Duo asked. "Didn't know you were into all that kind of deep thinking and shit."
"I'm not," he said quickly, curt and defensive, as if he had something to hide. "But I…."
"You're confused?" Duo prompted.
"I'm always confused," Heero said sadly, looking for a moment at Duo.
"You never seem confused," Duo said seriously. He slapped the wheel, "Goddamn it, the one person I thought had a handle on the way stuff works is breaking down right in front of me. What am I going to do if my Heero Yuy can't get a grip on life anymore?"
"I think you're the one with any real grip on reality," Heero said, another comment that shocked Duo entirely.
"If you think that, then we're both screwed," Duo retorted with a smile. He noticed the faintest of grins on Heero's face as he said that. But it was so brief and minute, that Duo was sure that he had only made up seeing it.
They sat there on the side of the road, the weather system's artificial light beginning to fill the air as the colony spun slowly around the Earth into the sun's warmth. Duo watched the half natural, half simulated sunrise (it was all solar energy) with eyes as large as a schoolboy's, reveling in the simplicity of its beauty whilst Heero sat beside him, lost in thought as he stroked his neck, watching his reflection in that side-view mirror, his eyes still dark, like he might start to cry. But boys don't cry, just like Duo always says, he found the soldier's part of himself thinking. So I won't cry. It's weak. I'm perfect… a perfect soldier….
Duo was reaching for the ignition when Heero grabbed him suddenly by the arm and held him in place. "Not yet, Maxwell. There's still one more thing…."
Duo put on his best cheerful face and looked happily at Heero, ready to try and make him smile again. "Sure, go for it Hee-chan!"
"You… what happened last night?" he asked, shaking his head a little as Duo watched him stroke his neck again, his fingers still playing over the red marks where Duo had kissed him so passionately the night before, aggressively and yet softly at the same time.
Duo, deciding it would be in his best interest to try and avoid saying what he knew would get him thrown out on the side of the road, kept his explanation simple. "Aw, you just got real drunk and passed out." A nervous chuckle came from Duo's lips as he went on, "Had to drag you all the way home. You know, you're not that light!"
"Then what are these," he pointed at his neck, his eyes hard and cold as he stared at Duo, trying to dig the response out of him with that intense gaze.
"This," Duo said, turning to face Heero with a smile and a wink, one elbow resting on the wheel as he touched his index and middle fingers to his lips and blew Heero a kiss, a sly and slightly seductive look on his face, long hair falling around his cheeks and down his shoulders.
"Kiss?" Heero asked, his obliviousness towards such romantic actions quite deep, almost pathetically so. His eyes narrowed as he said in a suspicious tone, "From whom?"
Duo just pulled his hat down over his eyes and winked again, licking his lips with the tip of his tongue. "Payback's hell, Heero, old buddy."
"You?" his face twisted in the contorted look of a madman. "You're the one who marked me all up like this? Dammit Maxwell, they're everywhere!"
"What can I say, you taste good," Duo reached up and pulled some of his hair behind his ear. "Besides, you shouldn't be the one getting all mad about it. You started it after all."
"What are you talking about?"
"You kissed me first, Hee-chan," Duo wrapped an arm around the back of his seat and used the steering wheel as leverage as he leaned forward just a bit so he could get in Heero's face about the whole issue. It was the first time either of them had addressed the incident so blatantly. Aw, I should get three points for this: Duo – 6, Heero – still just 2. "Don't argue; you know I'm right."
"That was a little different," Heero said, leaning forward, towards Duo, their noses practically rubbing against each other, his ire starting to rise within. He simply could not believe that Duo had done that to him! All those kisses… it almost got Heero worried about what else Duo had done while he was drunk. Their noses were still inches apart as they just glowered at each other, Heero oozing with anger and confusion, Duo bursting with sardonic triumph.
"A kiss is a kiss," Duo said, his eyes dancing with sarcasm. "Ha, I bet you liked it. Getting Relena out of the apartment my ass. You just couldn't resist charming sexy little old me!"
Heero rolled his eyes, his hands nearly flying forward to choke the breath out of Duo's throat. "Don't be absurd or perverse. You know why we did what we did that one time and it was all legit. We got rid of her, didn't we!? And if anyone was enjoying it, it was you."
"Me?" Duo put a hand on his heart, drawing back with a huge sucked in breath, feigning supreme astonishment and insult.
A slight smile formed on Heero's face as he said, his voice beginning to mount with the passion of argument. If there was anything that living with Duo had taught him, it was how to get a good rejoining comment into a fight. "Yeah you, with that tongue of yours and your stupid arms all around me. Please, how can you say that you didn't like it?"
"Never said I didn't," Duo snapped back quickly with that suggestive smile tacked on his face once more.
"You're sick," Heero grunted under his breath, settling back regularly in his seat and crossing his arms, that ever-so-classic Heero Yuy death stare on his face.
"Not that it matters or anything," Duo shrugged absently, trying to shake that frightening glare of Heero's off of him. "Guess you really do miss Relena. Otherwise this wouldn't be such a big deal for you. Probably feel like you betrayed her or something."
"I've never kissed her, never even wanted to, so there's nothing to compare with," Heero responded, his voice bland and devoid of passion once more.
Duo's eyes became wide, a huge (hu-u-u-uge) grin of realization spreading on his face as he began to add two and two together. "No way, Hee-chan! That was your first kiss! Ha, I gave you your first kiss?"
Heero frowned, crossed his arms and looked away. "So what if it was? It's not like it meant anything."
"Tch, yeah, right," Duo grinned as he reached for the ignition again and started the car's engine. "You go on and tell yourself that. You know you want me."
"Stop joking. You know I hate your cynicism," Heero growled softly.
"Just as much as I love yours," Duo laughed as he pulled back out onto the road. "Come on, cheer up. We'll really be late if you keep this up. So just smile, Heero! We've got a whole new mission, just the two of us, in store, so you better at least pretend to be happy once in a while."
Br> "That's just what I'm afraid of," he mumbled, turning away to stare at his reflection again, his arm resting once more on the door.
"So serious all the time. It's gonna be the end of both of us, I swear!" Duo reflected out loud (though more to himself) as he floored the gas again and shot off down the road towards the spaceport, knowing that only some serious speed was going to get them to their flight on time.
