I don't own anything, so please don't sue me. I am a loyal fan of Gundam
Wing, though, who likes to make up stuff and torture the characters; hence
the word 'fanfiction'.
*************Responses to Revered Reveiwers (alliteration.hehe) ***************
Phoenix: It's not just you, I like picking on Wufei. I don't hate him, quite the opposite. However, he IS my comic relief, so it seemed right that I exaggerate his self-indulgent side, but I did go a little overboard this time. I like Wufei, really, I do, but this fic was turning out so serious, I couldn't stand it. Wufei was the perfect little pawn. Sorry you didn't think it was funny; I tried. *shrugs* I never really thought about the possibility of selective amnesia with Heero, where the trauma finally got to him, but in the case, for the sake of not-having-thought-of-that-before, he remains being a true amnesiac. Thanks for the thought, though!
Lillie chan: Yea! My foreshadowing works! *checks off on lists of things to improve on and waves clipboard in the air happily*. Thanks so much for reviewing! You've made me so happy! Hope your predictions are correct, or else I'm back to the old drawing board *sigh*.
Eternal-Sleeper: I thought it would be interesting to have Heero snoring. I can imagine it, too. He just seems like the kind of person who would snore, if only so that it would be funny that he didn't know about it, don't you think?
Fei: lol. Of course there will be a happy ending. I love happy endings, and especially after really sad things. You're headed in the right direction of thinking with the Heero reading something on his laptop. I meant that to be foreshadowing, and I'm really glad it worked! I'm definitely going to keep with this story, although I don't know if it's going to turn out as tormenting as I thought. Thanks for your support. *smiles*
Kat: I just love Heero and Duo's personalities. They're so fun to write, especially when they're around each other, because they seem like complete opposites, but the more I write about them, the more I realize how little their differences are. Just a little food for thought, is all. Glad you like the story!
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Heero woke up with a jolt to the sound of construction outside the open window in Duo's room. The cool air from the wind outside was refreshing, and Heero quickly realized where he was, in Duo's bed. He realized that he must have fallen asleep in front of the computer the night before, and then Duo must have carried him into the room. Heero became very happy that Duo had been considerate enough to bring him to bed, but at the same time, cursed himself for not being awake. Heero had once again managed to put Duo through more trouble, but Heero smiled at the thought of Duo carrying him into the room. He would have given anything to be have been awake, with Duo's arms around him. The thought of it made him shiver with lust, but he quickly shook that off along with the covers as he got out of large, black bed.
Heero realized that he was still wearing the clothes he wore the day before. That made sense, he thought, and then unconsciously blushed at the alternative. It would have been really awkward to wake up and find himself in nightclothes.
It was very hard not to notice all the posters of rock bands and other pictures of people all over the American's bedroom walls. The floor was clean, but Heero quickly remembered Duo telling him about the rarity of this circumstance. An ordinary digital clock on the night table read 11:00, and Heero noticed Duo's bookcase across the room. It was filled with all sorts of magazines and odd papers, with the occasional great work of literature. It made him wonder at the two different sides of Duo's personality.
Heero walked hesitantly into the next room, accompanied only by the sounds of construction through the open window to the outside. He looked on the couch, where Duo was sprawled over, not even having bothered to pull it out into a bed. Duo was open-mouthed and drooling onto the pillow, with a book laid across his chest that he clutched gently in his right hand. His braid dangled over the armrest as Duo shifted in his sleep, but the American was completely unmoved by the noisy construction outside.
Heero learned very quickly in living with Duo that he didn't wake up until he was ready, and that could take hours. That's not to say, of course, that Heero ever wanted Duo to wake up. He was growing fonder of the American every minute, and the adorable picture would have been a sin to disturb.
Looking around the apartment, Heero decided that the best way to spend his morning was to show his appreciation by pulling his weight around the house, but what to do?
He first looked to the kitchen, where making breakfast would be a good idea if he could remember a good recipe. Heero thought he might give it a try. Looking through the cabinets for ingredients for pancakes, he found many interesting things. Who knew that Duo could keep so many things in the kitchen that were of absolutely no nutritional value? Heero even found a large, half empty container of shampoo. He put it on the counter where Duo would be able to find it, but he wasn't going to ask.
Just then, he heard a bit of rustling in the living room followed by a loud yawn, and Heero peeked his head around the doorframe to find a disheveled Duo bringing his arms down from above his head as he finished the yawn, and stopping to widen, and then rub his eyes disbelieving at the sight of Heero.
A smirk crossed Duo's face as the events of the day before flooded into his mind, and he collapsed dramatically onto the couch with a groan, watching Heero's eyebrows raise slightly at the action.
"I never wake up this early," Duo whined, smiling as lay on the couch, putting the back of his hand over his eyes for dramatic effect, expecting some sort of sympathy from the Asian who was feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Heero stepped into the living room, where a smiling Duo bolted to an upright position and grinned. Heero was annoyed that he was so easily tricked and glared. It was a reflex, but it only encouraged Duo, because repetition had caused the threatening action to be anything but threatening. Duo was living proof of that, of course.
"No, Hee-chan, you didn't wake me, but what are YOU doing up so early?"
"Duo, it's really not early."
"Yeah, I suppose it's not for you, but we did go to sleep at 3, well, uh..." Duo chuckled a little, "I don't know exactly when you went to sleep, but it was before 3." Duo looked up, hopeful of something from the Asian besides the trademark glare. No such luck. Duo sighed in defeat.
"So, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Duo asked, and Heero shrugged. He didn't get anything done, except find a bottle or two of shampoo. There wasn't reason to mention anything else.
Duo watched as the dark mop of hair went back to the laptop. Just like old times, right? No. Duo had been trying to fool himself into believing that this was just him and Heero on another mission, but it wasn't. He was living in the past, and Heero still felt so lost, trying to block his feelings from his mind, and he was damn good at it, too. After all, wasn't that what Heero had done all through the war. Heero had finally lost himself, and needed to face his helplessness, but stubborn as ever, he refused to ask for any help.
"Hey, Hee-chan?" Duo leaned against the counter and looked at the handsome face that refused to stray from the laptop screen, and edged closer.
"Yes, Duo." The monotone voice continued typing as Duo pulled up a chair and looked-on.
"You wanna talk?" Duo asked thoughtfully with a hopeful smile, "I know that something's on your mind."
"I don't know what there is to say." Heero bit his lip and continued typing, as Duo tugged his chair just a little closer, close enough so that Heero could feel Duo's breath on his cheek. It made Heero shiver slightly to know that Duo was so close, but he refused to look straight into the beautiful lavender eyes that Heero knew were staring straight at him in concern.
"I..I don't need your pity." Heero stuttered, swallowing gratefully as he felt Duo's presence move farther away. The words stung.
"I suppose not, but you do need my help." Duo answered bitterly. He didn't know how else to get through to Heero. Duo began to leave, knowing that he had won this round, and it just needed to sink in, before Heero was able to face the facts. He had already shown Heero pictures and things, which did nothing. He had shown Heero friendship with Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei, and still nothing. Could the answer be love?
"Wait, Duo," Heero stood up from his chair in fear that Duo would leave him all alone. Duo turned around, surprised. Heero had never asked him to stay before, not in all the years they had known each other. Maybe Heero wasn't the perfect soldier after all.
"You said you wouldn't leave. In the hospital, remember?"
"Yeah, Hee-chan. I remember," Duo came and sat down once again as Heero did. Duo pushed the laptop aside, so there wasn't any distraction. Cobalt eyes looked at the hands that were fidgeting in his lap. He really was a nervous wreck, not just because of Duo, and the way his beauty made him weak at the knees, but because of everything. Just, everything, he thought as he felt and saw a warm hand come over his own in a comforting way. Heero looked up, shocked to see Duo was still looking at him. It was just another one of Duo's tricks, as Duo smirked. Heero had finally looked at him straight in the eyes and was lost again in them. The feeling was mutual.
"Hey, why don't we go grab breakfast somewhere," Duo asked hopefully, breaking the awkward silence. Heero came out of the trance and blinked, looking elsewhere, anywhere else, "Unless you want to cook, or you want spaghetti, that is." Duo broke into laughter and let go of Heero's hand when Heero forced a smile to show that he agreed with Duo's suggestion.
"Come on, buddy," Duo quickly rummaged through a bunch of items on the counter for keys and a wallet and headed for the door.
"Umm, Duo..?" Heero ventured, noticing Duo's disheveled appearance, mostly referring to the stray strands of chestnut hair protruding from the braided confinement, and Heero didn't take the time to look in the mirror that morning, but he took it that he didn't look too great either. Duo looked questioningly at Heero for a moment, seeing as his sentence hadn't been finished, but quickly realized what Heero was talking about.
"Oh!" He exclaimed with a unconcerned wave of his hand, turning back to opening the door, "they won't care about how we look where we're going. They're used to seeing me like this, especially on weekday mornings." He smiled.
"Duo, it's not morning anymore," the expressionless one raised an eyebrow at Duo again, as the braided one chuckled yet again, letting his friend through the doorway first, like a gentleman, which was almost laughable in itself. By the expressions of the two during this whole thing, an onlooker would have seen their actions as flirting, but neither of them realized.
It was a really shame that they didn't notice the laptop was still on in the room, because it had been the answer all along.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The sidewalks weren't very busy where Duo lived, because it wasn't in the center of the city, but it was a nice little block. Duo was making useless conversation about various buildings and people he knew who lived in them. Heero made the observation that Duo loved people and loved being around people, but he somehow could sense that Duo was very lonely, and that however happy Duo might have looked, it was mostly a type of façade to hide. Funny, Heero thought to himself, they weren't so different as he thought. They were best friends, Duo had said so in the hospital, then why did he feel so distant? Heero knew it was because he wanted something that he knew he couldn't have.
"Here it is." Duo pointed to a small place, " It's a family business; that's why I come here. They're really hard to find these days. Nice people, too."
Heero was still looking around at the city before him, amazed, and not really listening to what Duo was saying, so he was kind of surprised when he felt himself being dragged into the building with one arm by an excited Duo, who let go after one glare, because he hadn't the time to argue, he was too busy waving to the lady behind the counter, who seemed really busy, but so was the whole restaurant, for that matter. She had a phone on one shoulder, was holding dirty dishes in her left hand, and shouting to someone in the kitchen something about scrambled eggs. She saw Duo and smiled and answered with a quick wave before throwing a tantrum at the person on the other end of the phone line, hanging up with the last word and a sigh of relief.
It was in this moment of peace that the braided one chose to intervene.
"Terry! How've you been?" Duo bounded up, and dark blue eyes looked up in the annoyance of an older sister who doesn't have time to talk to her little brother.
"Same as I have been for the past week! What a day!" The overworked, older teen slammed the dishes down and ran her fingers through her hair in a frustrated fashion, and looked up at a still smiling Duo, "Where have you been anyway? And who's your friend?"
"This is Heero. He doesn't talk much." Duo looked at Heero, who wasn't all that thrilled about other people talking about him behind his back, right in front of his face, but Heero didn't have the chance to even glare, his breath was taken away by sparkling lavender eyes, which, of course, was noticeable to everyone in the diner except Duo. Terry sighed and shook her head as she watched Duo dragging Heero to his favorite table by the window, which they had to add a second chair to. She didn't leave much time for them to order, because time was money, and she already knew Duo's order.
"So, what'll it be today?" She looked at cobalt blue eyes that shied underneath dark brown bangs, and Duo decided to pipe in.
"I'll have a...."
"Duo, I already know what you want. Coffee, toast, and scrambled eggs," She turned back to Heero, unaware of the playful smile creeping over Duo's lips.
"I'll have whatever Heero's having." Duo announced cheerily, as he put his arms behind his head in a relaxed position, smiling contently. Both of the listeners slowly turned around with the face that said what-planet-are-you- from-anyway, only to find a pleased smirk on a pleased smirk on the American's face.
"Oookkaaayy," Terry looked back at Heero, "What will you both be having today?"
Heero hesitated as he looked at Duo, who would undoubtedly get the last laugh unless he did something, "Coffee, toast and scrambled eggs."
Duo jolted up from his shattered victory to find Terry unsuccessfully containing a chuckle, and a smirking Heero across from him. Duo, instead of throwing up his hands in disgust, or saying something rude, just sat there, very surprised. It seemed that Heero did have a personality, after all.
"Well for someone who doesn't talk too much, Duo, your friend sure knows how to strike up a breakfast conversation, and make things easy on the waitress," Terry smiled as she took the menus away and nudged Heero on the shoulder and said, hand cupped in a whisper that was only meant for his ears, "Hey, kid, take my word for it, Duo's a great guy. I've been his friend for a while, and he really likes you. I can tell." Terry winked and walked away, laughing openly at the protest following her from the table.
"You come back here, Terry!" Duo stood up and yelled so that he made sure she heard, "What the hell did you tell Heero?! He won't tell me, he just keeps smirking and..Terry!!?"
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
They came back from the diner in early afternoon. Heero had been thinking about what Duo's friend had said. Could it really be true? All through breakfast, lunch, or brunch, whichever you prefer to call it, Heero had been watching Duo, as someone from the outside would picture him. Duo partook in strange habits, like fiddling with the loose bits from his braid, and even though Duo spent the whole time talking to him, he rarely ever looked at him THAT way, well, at least not when he was paying attention. A few times when Heero was drinking his coffee, he absent- mindedly took to looking out the window. It was then that Heero noticed Duo looking different than usual. Heero had noticed this before, but maybe it was just because it was how Duo always had been around him, and not because it was a personality trait. Wishful thinking, of course, he realized. He didn't deserve Duo's affections any more than he deserved to be the one surviving that plane crash, and yet, he was still living, so just maybe..
"Whatcha doin' for so long on that thing anyways?" Duo rested a lazy arm across the back of the chair, where the Asian had been for the past few hours, but of course it was just another way of getting a little closer to Heero. He was really doing his best to drop all sorts of hints, but everything was being thrown right back at him. Heero was so oblivious and stubborn, and was so cute that way, too, but it could get aggravating at times. Duo knew he shouldn't push it, but it was so hard.
Duo inched closer till his arm was actually laying lazily on Heero's shoulders, and not his chair. Heero felt himself blushing yet again, but why? Why did Duo make him feel so good? It wasn't fair to Duo, because he didn't know him well enough, damn, he didn't know himself well enough to commit to any kind of feeling.
"I'm just trying to hack into my own files." Yeah, that did sound pretty funny, when Heero thought about it. Apparently Duo thought so to, judging by the smile, but Duo was always smiling, wasn't he? Heero didn't know Duo well enough to tell.
"Well, I'm going to take a shower," Duo said, and to cure the puzzled look that grew on Heero's face, he added, "It takes me a while to shower, you know, the hair."
"Hn." Heero answered, almost as if in agreement, and continued typing, and Duo headed out of the room, making hand gestures to the wall ahead.
"Geez. I wasn't asking your permission, or anything. I just wanted to warn you before disappearing for two hours."
"Baka."
"I heard that." Duo smiled as he closed the bathroom door behind him.
Heero quickly went back to work on his laptop. The perfect soldier may have forgotten who he was, but the imprints that J and his teachings had on him were pretty much permanent, as well as Heero's natural instinct for hacking. He was sure of what to do.
An hour or so later, Heero heard the water to the shower turn off and rolled his eyes, although he hadn't spent his time any better than Duo had. Practically nothing had come of an hour's work. It only made Heero think of how good at computers he must have been before, or of how much he didn't want anyone to see these files. It was very awkward. There was really only one other solution that he could think of that was left, and it actually looked like it was going to work this time.
After a minute's typing and deliberation, a popup came onto the screen.
'Access granted'
Heero opened up the file eagerly and found a kind of diary, each entry signed with his name, of course. He began with the first one, and his eyes widened with surprise at what he found. Of course, it explained his coming to earth and his first mission, but it also mentioned something he hadn't been expecting, but that he was actually happy to find.
'.I met a beautiful pilot about a week ago with lavender eyes and a smile that brightens my day every time I see it. I found out today that his name is Duo Maxwell, and I think that I love him..'
Meanwhile, in the next part of the apartment, Duo had just finished dressing and braiding his hair. He had put on particularly tight clothes that day, in hopes that Heero might notice him, and stopped to admire himself in the mirror for a moment before coming out into the living room, where Heero sat bewildered in front of the laptop, and easily snuck up behind the Asian's back to take a look at what had left his object of affection so stupefied.
It would change both their worlds for him to find out....
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Yea! Cliffhanger!
Don't hurt me *shields self with hands from all small low-flying objects*
Please Review! Thanks!
*************Responses to Revered Reveiwers (alliteration.hehe) ***************
Phoenix: It's not just you, I like picking on Wufei. I don't hate him, quite the opposite. However, he IS my comic relief, so it seemed right that I exaggerate his self-indulgent side, but I did go a little overboard this time. I like Wufei, really, I do, but this fic was turning out so serious, I couldn't stand it. Wufei was the perfect little pawn. Sorry you didn't think it was funny; I tried. *shrugs* I never really thought about the possibility of selective amnesia with Heero, where the trauma finally got to him, but in the case, for the sake of not-having-thought-of-that-before, he remains being a true amnesiac. Thanks for the thought, though!
Lillie chan: Yea! My foreshadowing works! *checks off on lists of things to improve on and waves clipboard in the air happily*. Thanks so much for reviewing! You've made me so happy! Hope your predictions are correct, or else I'm back to the old drawing board *sigh*.
Eternal-Sleeper: I thought it would be interesting to have Heero snoring. I can imagine it, too. He just seems like the kind of person who would snore, if only so that it would be funny that he didn't know about it, don't you think?
Fei: lol. Of course there will be a happy ending. I love happy endings, and especially after really sad things. You're headed in the right direction of thinking with the Heero reading something on his laptop. I meant that to be foreshadowing, and I'm really glad it worked! I'm definitely going to keep with this story, although I don't know if it's going to turn out as tormenting as I thought. Thanks for your support. *smiles*
Kat: I just love Heero and Duo's personalities. They're so fun to write, especially when they're around each other, because they seem like complete opposites, but the more I write about them, the more I realize how little their differences are. Just a little food for thought, is all. Glad you like the story!
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Heero woke up with a jolt to the sound of construction outside the open window in Duo's room. The cool air from the wind outside was refreshing, and Heero quickly realized where he was, in Duo's bed. He realized that he must have fallen asleep in front of the computer the night before, and then Duo must have carried him into the room. Heero became very happy that Duo had been considerate enough to bring him to bed, but at the same time, cursed himself for not being awake. Heero had once again managed to put Duo through more trouble, but Heero smiled at the thought of Duo carrying him into the room. He would have given anything to be have been awake, with Duo's arms around him. The thought of it made him shiver with lust, but he quickly shook that off along with the covers as he got out of large, black bed.
Heero realized that he was still wearing the clothes he wore the day before. That made sense, he thought, and then unconsciously blushed at the alternative. It would have been really awkward to wake up and find himself in nightclothes.
It was very hard not to notice all the posters of rock bands and other pictures of people all over the American's bedroom walls. The floor was clean, but Heero quickly remembered Duo telling him about the rarity of this circumstance. An ordinary digital clock on the night table read 11:00, and Heero noticed Duo's bookcase across the room. It was filled with all sorts of magazines and odd papers, with the occasional great work of literature. It made him wonder at the two different sides of Duo's personality.
Heero walked hesitantly into the next room, accompanied only by the sounds of construction through the open window to the outside. He looked on the couch, where Duo was sprawled over, not even having bothered to pull it out into a bed. Duo was open-mouthed and drooling onto the pillow, with a book laid across his chest that he clutched gently in his right hand. His braid dangled over the armrest as Duo shifted in his sleep, but the American was completely unmoved by the noisy construction outside.
Heero learned very quickly in living with Duo that he didn't wake up until he was ready, and that could take hours. That's not to say, of course, that Heero ever wanted Duo to wake up. He was growing fonder of the American every minute, and the adorable picture would have been a sin to disturb.
Looking around the apartment, Heero decided that the best way to spend his morning was to show his appreciation by pulling his weight around the house, but what to do?
He first looked to the kitchen, where making breakfast would be a good idea if he could remember a good recipe. Heero thought he might give it a try. Looking through the cabinets for ingredients for pancakes, he found many interesting things. Who knew that Duo could keep so many things in the kitchen that were of absolutely no nutritional value? Heero even found a large, half empty container of shampoo. He put it on the counter where Duo would be able to find it, but he wasn't going to ask.
Just then, he heard a bit of rustling in the living room followed by a loud yawn, and Heero peeked his head around the doorframe to find a disheveled Duo bringing his arms down from above his head as he finished the yawn, and stopping to widen, and then rub his eyes disbelieving at the sight of Heero.
A smirk crossed Duo's face as the events of the day before flooded into his mind, and he collapsed dramatically onto the couch with a groan, watching Heero's eyebrows raise slightly at the action.
"I never wake up this early," Duo whined, smiling as lay on the couch, putting the back of his hand over his eyes for dramatic effect, expecting some sort of sympathy from the Asian who was feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Heero stepped into the living room, where a smiling Duo bolted to an upright position and grinned. Heero was annoyed that he was so easily tricked and glared. It was a reflex, but it only encouraged Duo, because repetition had caused the threatening action to be anything but threatening. Duo was living proof of that, of course.
"No, Hee-chan, you didn't wake me, but what are YOU doing up so early?"
"Duo, it's really not early."
"Yeah, I suppose it's not for you, but we did go to sleep at 3, well, uh..." Duo chuckled a little, "I don't know exactly when you went to sleep, but it was before 3." Duo looked up, hopeful of something from the Asian besides the trademark glare. No such luck. Duo sighed in defeat.
"So, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Duo asked, and Heero shrugged. He didn't get anything done, except find a bottle or two of shampoo. There wasn't reason to mention anything else.
Duo watched as the dark mop of hair went back to the laptop. Just like old times, right? No. Duo had been trying to fool himself into believing that this was just him and Heero on another mission, but it wasn't. He was living in the past, and Heero still felt so lost, trying to block his feelings from his mind, and he was damn good at it, too. After all, wasn't that what Heero had done all through the war. Heero had finally lost himself, and needed to face his helplessness, but stubborn as ever, he refused to ask for any help.
"Hey, Hee-chan?" Duo leaned against the counter and looked at the handsome face that refused to stray from the laptop screen, and edged closer.
"Yes, Duo." The monotone voice continued typing as Duo pulled up a chair and looked-on.
"You wanna talk?" Duo asked thoughtfully with a hopeful smile, "I know that something's on your mind."
"I don't know what there is to say." Heero bit his lip and continued typing, as Duo tugged his chair just a little closer, close enough so that Heero could feel Duo's breath on his cheek. It made Heero shiver slightly to know that Duo was so close, but he refused to look straight into the beautiful lavender eyes that Heero knew were staring straight at him in concern.
"I..I don't need your pity." Heero stuttered, swallowing gratefully as he felt Duo's presence move farther away. The words stung.
"I suppose not, but you do need my help." Duo answered bitterly. He didn't know how else to get through to Heero. Duo began to leave, knowing that he had won this round, and it just needed to sink in, before Heero was able to face the facts. He had already shown Heero pictures and things, which did nothing. He had shown Heero friendship with Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei, and still nothing. Could the answer be love?
"Wait, Duo," Heero stood up from his chair in fear that Duo would leave him all alone. Duo turned around, surprised. Heero had never asked him to stay before, not in all the years they had known each other. Maybe Heero wasn't the perfect soldier after all.
"You said you wouldn't leave. In the hospital, remember?"
"Yeah, Hee-chan. I remember," Duo came and sat down once again as Heero did. Duo pushed the laptop aside, so there wasn't any distraction. Cobalt eyes looked at the hands that were fidgeting in his lap. He really was a nervous wreck, not just because of Duo, and the way his beauty made him weak at the knees, but because of everything. Just, everything, he thought as he felt and saw a warm hand come over his own in a comforting way. Heero looked up, shocked to see Duo was still looking at him. It was just another one of Duo's tricks, as Duo smirked. Heero had finally looked at him straight in the eyes and was lost again in them. The feeling was mutual.
"Hey, why don't we go grab breakfast somewhere," Duo asked hopefully, breaking the awkward silence. Heero came out of the trance and blinked, looking elsewhere, anywhere else, "Unless you want to cook, or you want spaghetti, that is." Duo broke into laughter and let go of Heero's hand when Heero forced a smile to show that he agreed with Duo's suggestion.
"Come on, buddy," Duo quickly rummaged through a bunch of items on the counter for keys and a wallet and headed for the door.
"Umm, Duo..?" Heero ventured, noticing Duo's disheveled appearance, mostly referring to the stray strands of chestnut hair protruding from the braided confinement, and Heero didn't take the time to look in the mirror that morning, but he took it that he didn't look too great either. Duo looked questioningly at Heero for a moment, seeing as his sentence hadn't been finished, but quickly realized what Heero was talking about.
"Oh!" He exclaimed with a unconcerned wave of his hand, turning back to opening the door, "they won't care about how we look where we're going. They're used to seeing me like this, especially on weekday mornings." He smiled.
"Duo, it's not morning anymore," the expressionless one raised an eyebrow at Duo again, as the braided one chuckled yet again, letting his friend through the doorway first, like a gentleman, which was almost laughable in itself. By the expressions of the two during this whole thing, an onlooker would have seen their actions as flirting, but neither of them realized.
It was a really shame that they didn't notice the laptop was still on in the room, because it had been the answer all along.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The sidewalks weren't very busy where Duo lived, because it wasn't in the center of the city, but it was a nice little block. Duo was making useless conversation about various buildings and people he knew who lived in them. Heero made the observation that Duo loved people and loved being around people, but he somehow could sense that Duo was very lonely, and that however happy Duo might have looked, it was mostly a type of façade to hide. Funny, Heero thought to himself, they weren't so different as he thought. They were best friends, Duo had said so in the hospital, then why did he feel so distant? Heero knew it was because he wanted something that he knew he couldn't have.
"Here it is." Duo pointed to a small place, " It's a family business; that's why I come here. They're really hard to find these days. Nice people, too."
Heero was still looking around at the city before him, amazed, and not really listening to what Duo was saying, so he was kind of surprised when he felt himself being dragged into the building with one arm by an excited Duo, who let go after one glare, because he hadn't the time to argue, he was too busy waving to the lady behind the counter, who seemed really busy, but so was the whole restaurant, for that matter. She had a phone on one shoulder, was holding dirty dishes in her left hand, and shouting to someone in the kitchen something about scrambled eggs. She saw Duo and smiled and answered with a quick wave before throwing a tantrum at the person on the other end of the phone line, hanging up with the last word and a sigh of relief.
It was in this moment of peace that the braided one chose to intervene.
"Terry! How've you been?" Duo bounded up, and dark blue eyes looked up in the annoyance of an older sister who doesn't have time to talk to her little brother.
"Same as I have been for the past week! What a day!" The overworked, older teen slammed the dishes down and ran her fingers through her hair in a frustrated fashion, and looked up at a still smiling Duo, "Where have you been anyway? And who's your friend?"
"This is Heero. He doesn't talk much." Duo looked at Heero, who wasn't all that thrilled about other people talking about him behind his back, right in front of his face, but Heero didn't have the chance to even glare, his breath was taken away by sparkling lavender eyes, which, of course, was noticeable to everyone in the diner except Duo. Terry sighed and shook her head as she watched Duo dragging Heero to his favorite table by the window, which they had to add a second chair to. She didn't leave much time for them to order, because time was money, and she already knew Duo's order.
"So, what'll it be today?" She looked at cobalt blue eyes that shied underneath dark brown bangs, and Duo decided to pipe in.
"I'll have a...."
"Duo, I already know what you want. Coffee, toast, and scrambled eggs," She turned back to Heero, unaware of the playful smile creeping over Duo's lips.
"I'll have whatever Heero's having." Duo announced cheerily, as he put his arms behind his head in a relaxed position, smiling contently. Both of the listeners slowly turned around with the face that said what-planet-are-you- from-anyway, only to find a pleased smirk on a pleased smirk on the American's face.
"Oookkaaayy," Terry looked back at Heero, "What will you both be having today?"
Heero hesitated as he looked at Duo, who would undoubtedly get the last laugh unless he did something, "Coffee, toast and scrambled eggs."
Duo jolted up from his shattered victory to find Terry unsuccessfully containing a chuckle, and a smirking Heero across from him. Duo, instead of throwing up his hands in disgust, or saying something rude, just sat there, very surprised. It seemed that Heero did have a personality, after all.
"Well for someone who doesn't talk too much, Duo, your friend sure knows how to strike up a breakfast conversation, and make things easy on the waitress," Terry smiled as she took the menus away and nudged Heero on the shoulder and said, hand cupped in a whisper that was only meant for his ears, "Hey, kid, take my word for it, Duo's a great guy. I've been his friend for a while, and he really likes you. I can tell." Terry winked and walked away, laughing openly at the protest following her from the table.
"You come back here, Terry!" Duo stood up and yelled so that he made sure she heard, "What the hell did you tell Heero?! He won't tell me, he just keeps smirking and..Terry!!?"
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
They came back from the diner in early afternoon. Heero had been thinking about what Duo's friend had said. Could it really be true? All through breakfast, lunch, or brunch, whichever you prefer to call it, Heero had been watching Duo, as someone from the outside would picture him. Duo partook in strange habits, like fiddling with the loose bits from his braid, and even though Duo spent the whole time talking to him, he rarely ever looked at him THAT way, well, at least not when he was paying attention. A few times when Heero was drinking his coffee, he absent- mindedly took to looking out the window. It was then that Heero noticed Duo looking different than usual. Heero had noticed this before, but maybe it was just because it was how Duo always had been around him, and not because it was a personality trait. Wishful thinking, of course, he realized. He didn't deserve Duo's affections any more than he deserved to be the one surviving that plane crash, and yet, he was still living, so just maybe..
"Whatcha doin' for so long on that thing anyways?" Duo rested a lazy arm across the back of the chair, where the Asian had been for the past few hours, but of course it was just another way of getting a little closer to Heero. He was really doing his best to drop all sorts of hints, but everything was being thrown right back at him. Heero was so oblivious and stubborn, and was so cute that way, too, but it could get aggravating at times. Duo knew he shouldn't push it, but it was so hard.
Duo inched closer till his arm was actually laying lazily on Heero's shoulders, and not his chair. Heero felt himself blushing yet again, but why? Why did Duo make him feel so good? It wasn't fair to Duo, because he didn't know him well enough, damn, he didn't know himself well enough to commit to any kind of feeling.
"I'm just trying to hack into my own files." Yeah, that did sound pretty funny, when Heero thought about it. Apparently Duo thought so to, judging by the smile, but Duo was always smiling, wasn't he? Heero didn't know Duo well enough to tell.
"Well, I'm going to take a shower," Duo said, and to cure the puzzled look that grew on Heero's face, he added, "It takes me a while to shower, you know, the hair."
"Hn." Heero answered, almost as if in agreement, and continued typing, and Duo headed out of the room, making hand gestures to the wall ahead.
"Geez. I wasn't asking your permission, or anything. I just wanted to warn you before disappearing for two hours."
"Baka."
"I heard that." Duo smiled as he closed the bathroom door behind him.
Heero quickly went back to work on his laptop. The perfect soldier may have forgotten who he was, but the imprints that J and his teachings had on him were pretty much permanent, as well as Heero's natural instinct for hacking. He was sure of what to do.
An hour or so later, Heero heard the water to the shower turn off and rolled his eyes, although he hadn't spent his time any better than Duo had. Practically nothing had come of an hour's work. It only made Heero think of how good at computers he must have been before, or of how much he didn't want anyone to see these files. It was very awkward. There was really only one other solution that he could think of that was left, and it actually looked like it was going to work this time.
After a minute's typing and deliberation, a popup came onto the screen.
'Access granted'
Heero opened up the file eagerly and found a kind of diary, each entry signed with his name, of course. He began with the first one, and his eyes widened with surprise at what he found. Of course, it explained his coming to earth and his first mission, but it also mentioned something he hadn't been expecting, but that he was actually happy to find.
'.I met a beautiful pilot about a week ago with lavender eyes and a smile that brightens my day every time I see it. I found out today that his name is Duo Maxwell, and I think that I love him..'
Meanwhile, in the next part of the apartment, Duo had just finished dressing and braiding his hair. He had put on particularly tight clothes that day, in hopes that Heero might notice him, and stopped to admire himself in the mirror for a moment before coming out into the living room, where Heero sat bewildered in front of the laptop, and easily snuck up behind the Asian's back to take a look at what had left his object of affection so stupefied.
It would change both their worlds for him to find out....
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Yea! Cliffhanger!
Don't hurt me *shields self with hands from all small low-flying objects*
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