Duo discovers something that Heero has been keeping from him... (shonen ai 1+2)

Disclaimer: The G-boys don't belong to me. ::sniffle::

The Black Book
by ReySolo

It was a peaceful afternoon. No more war to worry about, no more lives to save. Just five ex-soldiers sitting around enjoying one another's company. Wufei sat in a big yellow chair in the corner, reading serenely. Quatre lay draped over the couch, snoring softly, head resting on his love's shoulder. Trowa sat quietly watching the blonde sleep. Heero...

Wait, where were Heero and Duo? The thought interrupted Trowa's peaceful observation of his partner. He realized it had been too quiet. For the three of them to have remained undisturbed long enough for Quatre to fall asleep with Duo in the house meant something was wrong.

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered.

"Give that back!"

"Gotta catch me first!"

A braided whirlwind flew through the room, disappearing out the other door just as an angry Japanese boy came charging in behind him.

"When I catch you, you're dead, Duo!" Heero, too, disappeared through the same door.

The disturbance was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Quatre blinked up at Trowa, but the unibanged boy just kissed his forehead and whispered for him to go back to sleep.

Wufei stared at the door for a moment, muttered "baka," and went back to his reading.

It was a peaceful afternoon.

In another part of the house, it was anything but peaceful. Duo had attempted to hide in his closet, but Heero had seen the closet door shut. Now the braided boy was holding onto the door handle with both hands, pulling with all his weight in an attempt to keep his enraged pursuer from opening the door. He had the fleeting thought that the attempt would be rendered useless if Heero decided simply to shoot him through the door.

But he wouldn't do that... would he? What was in that black book that he'd grabbed, anyway? In his effort to get away, he hadn't had time to even look at the prize, and now both his hands were busy keeping the door shut. Besides, it was too dark to really see anything anyway.

"So, Hee-chan, what's in this book, anyway?"

"None of your business. Give it back." Angry hands pounded at the door.

"What's the magic word?"

"Give it back, NOW."

"Nope, try again." Duo realized Heero was probably super-ultra-hyper pissed at him now, but he'd already gotten himself in this far, might as well have some fun before he died.

"Duo. Open the door."

"Come on, would I make the password that obvious?"

"Give. Me. The. Book. Now."

Yup, definitely super-ultra-hyper pissed. "Okay, fine, I'll give you a hint: It's not in English."

"Omae o korosu."

"Hey, how'd you know?" Was that a gun cocking that he heard? "Okay, you win, I'll give it back." Pause. "After I look in it."

"Duo!"

Duo felt the yanking on the door resume full-force. He pulled back as hard as he could, but felt the door finally give way as he was yanked out into his room.

Somehow he landed straddling Heero. While not entirely disliking the position, he figured he had tempted death enough for one day, and quickly stood. Looking back into the closet for the mystery book, he realized it had fallen open when he'd dropped it.

Open to a picture of him.

Duo couldn't even identify when the picture had been taken. It looked like it had somehow been done without him even realizing he was being photographed. "Heero, why...?" He reached for the book.

Heero snatched it up before he could touch it. "I said, it's none of your business."

The braided boy looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean, none of my business?" he demanded. "That's a picture of me, probably taken without my permission, how is it not my business? What are the rest of the pages?"

Heero turned away, arms crossed over the book, clutching it close to his chest. The motion made him look strangely like a little boy after having been told he had to share his favorite toy with his brother. Completing the analogy, he stated quietly, "It's mine."

Duo was thoroughly confused. Why would Heero have a book with a picture of him? Possibly more than one? It would be perfectly logical for him to have a picture or two of the five former Gundam pilots, but why just him? And why was he so protective of it? "Heero?" he asked quietly.

The other boy stiffened, then turned around, a resigned look on his face. "You're right. I probably don't have any right to keep this." The braided boy watched in confusion as Heero gently placed the book on the bed, then walked quickly out of the room.

"Heero, wait!" Duo called. He wanted to go after him, but curiosity about the book was a stronger pull at the moment.

Duo sat on his bed and opened the book.

Picture of me... Picture of me... Quatre and me... Me... The guys and me... Heero and me—Hey, I like that one... Picture of me... What the—? A lock of hair? Wouldn't doubt that it's mine, but why? For that matter, why any of this?

Looking through the book, Duo could not think of a single reason for this. For those pictures to have been taken, for Heero to have them bound in a book, for him to be so protective of it...

Actually, he could think of one reason, but his mind denied it out of pure implausibility. He couldn't possibly like me the way I like him, could he? Heero Straight-as-a-board Yuy?

There was one way to find out for sure. Ask him. But how safe was that? Five minutes ago he looked ready to dismember me as painfully as possible. But... if this means what I think it means, he wouldn't do that. And what else could it mean?

Heck, I was a Gundam pilot. Living dangerously was my job. This should be a piece of cake.

Actually finding the Japanese boy proved to be a more difficult matter. After he'd searched the entire house, Duo found the other boy sitting in the back yard, staring out at the pond.

"Hee-chan?" Duo asked quietly.

When he got no reply, the braided boy moved to sit beside his silent friend. He was trying to come up with some way to approach the topic, when Heero spoke, surprising him.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"The book. The pictures. Keeping it from you." His voice was quiet but emotionless.

"Why?"

"I shouldn't have—"

"No. Why did you have it? And how did you even get all those pictures?"

"Relena helped me."

Now Duo was even more confused. What did Relena have to do with this?

"She... helped me compile that. When I finally managed to get through to her why I was never interested in her advances, she was surprisingly understanding. She even helped me to fuel my obsession."

"Your obsession with me."

Heero looked up, apology evident in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I understand if you are disgusted with me. I promise to stop stalking you, I'll leave, you'll never have to see me again—"

"Heero."

The cobalt-eyed boy shut his mouth and turned away.

Duo caught his chin and pulled his gaze back to make eye contact once more. "What makes you think I'd be disgusted? I'm... shocked, definitely, but I'm also flattered. And..." Not knowing how to say what he was thinking, he simply acted. Leaning toward the other boy, he stared into surprised cobalt eyes, then closed his own eyes as their lips met.

The kiss was soft and chaste. Duo pulled back slowly, curious as to what would happen next. If he'd completely misread the situation, he would have a fist in his face any second. But if he'd been right...

Heero opened his eyes, expression full of amazed wonder. "You...?"

Duo nodded. "I love you, Heero Yuy."

A beautiful smile grew on the Japanese boy's face, a smile that the braided boy hoped to see more in the future. "Ai shiteru, Duo Maxwell." He leaned forward, bringing their lips together once more. This time the kiss deepened, Heero pushing Duo back to lie on the grass, practically making love with their mouths.

Once the need for air overpowered the passion of the kiss, they broke apart. When the American boy caught his breath, he grinned up at Heero. "Damn. I wish I'd found that book sooner."

"If I'd have known the outcome, I'd have shown it to you the instant it was made."

"I'm gonna have to thank Relena. Who'd have thought that her unrivaled stalking abilities could be so useful?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "Baka."

Duo grinned. "But I'm your baka."

The Japanese boy held his love possessively. "You got that right." He then moved in for a third loving kiss.

It was a peaceful afternoon.

~owari~

I personally find Relena teaching Heero to stalk Duo rather humorous, but hey, maybe that's just me...

Yay, my second cutesy 1+2 get-together fic! Anyhoo, Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!