The Storm 3/3
Story II of "Chasing Down the Moon"
Rating: PG
Series: Gundam Wing
Genre: General
Pairings: 1+2+1
Spoilers: ..? Not to my knowledge
Warnings: shounen ai, tiny angst, lil' humor
By Moon Faery
Archived: Moon Faery's Garden (http://www.geocities.com/moon_faerys_garden/); FFN (http://www.fanfiction.net); Kiss of Death [my new site!] (http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/kissofdeath/); anywhere else that asks nicely.
Disclaimer: A statement created solely to save one's ass from becoming lawn for the proverbial legal mower. I do not own Gundam Wing, nor does anyone I know own it. However, this story line and plot are MINE. (Holds fic close to her.) Grrrr....
Author Notes: I recently graduated high school, so I'll have more time to work on my writing between now and college! ^^V This means that the next part of this series will be out sooner than I usually post. I appologize for the second-rateness of this part. ^^;; I hit a bit of writer's block, and only barely managed to chisle my way out of it.
I noticed that Duo's mood swings are a bit extreme in this fic. I'm afraid to admit that I think I feminized him. I didn't mean to, but that's how he's comming across to me. I have absolutly no excuse or reason for this, and I appologize if I accidentally threw Duo Out of Character. If this is the case, PLEASE tell me, and I'll throw it away and rewrite from scratch. However, to head off questions, Duo is not PMSing. And YES, Heero really is that clueless. Not that he's stupid, per se, just that he's not paying attention to the things close to home as much as he should be.
***
Duo blinked fuzily at the golden light shining directly through his westward facing window, peering up through a crack in his blanket. The sun was beginning its descent, reminding Duo's stomach that it had't gotten any of that morning's cheerios. It protested the abuse, growling loudly. Grumbling, he slipped from the bed and out the door, mumbling about traitorous body parts interupting nice dreams.
Quatre was puttering around the generic white kitchenet with a mop and a sponge. Every appliance had been move out of the tiny space, even the refridgerator. He could only assume that Heero had been the one to move everything, since it had been agreed that Quatre was no longer alowed to anything electronic in the kitchen.
"Hey, Q," Duo yawned, waving absently as he dug through the slowing warming fridge for something eatable. He grabbed a red apple and took a large bite, slamming the door.
"Hi, Duo!" Quatre chirped, wiping some dust off the tip of his nose. "Sorry about the refrigerator; I got bored and had to do something." He grinned and went back to scrubbing down the counter. "Did you have a good nap?"
Violet eyes rolled at the word "nap". "More like coma, Quate," he snorted. "And yeah, I did. I had the most interesting dream..." His long brown hair, still unbrushed, swayed around his hips as he shook his head in wonderment.
"Oh?" The little blonde glanced up from his work. "What type of dream?"
The currently unbraided one flushed up to his hairline, eyes glazing over slightly.
***FLASHBACK TO DREAM SEQUENCE***
Intense eyes glinted invitingly from behind yards of semi-sheer blue and amethyst colored curtains. They were almsot hidden by locks of hair who's color behind the hangings was indistinguishable as anything other than dark. He pushed his way through the clinging silk, every step pushing him closer to the barely-visible figure who's nudity was convientiently blurred by the sheer draperies. He reached out to push aside the last curtain...
***END FLASHBACK TO DREAM SEQUENCE***
"Quate..." Duo blinked, refocusing his eyes and trying desperately to push down the blush. "I really don't..."
His reaction didn't get past the small Arabian. Quatre's wicked streak reminded him that it hadn't been exercised lately. He grinned evilly and went to the sink to rinse off his hands. "Of course, I understand perfectly Duo. I'll stop working and listen." He grabbed a towel and dried his hands. "I'm about ready for a break anyways; I'm fed up to here," he guestured to his forehead, "with cleaning."
Duo blushed darker. "Really, Quate, it's nothing!" he protested, backing away, apple clutched loosely in his hand. "I'm just... uh, going to go get dressed now!" Duo turned and ran, metaphorical tail tucked between his legs.
The Winner heir waited until he heard Duo's door slam and lock before falling against the counter, laughing so hard his sides hurt.
***
Heero looked up from his work cleaning his gun when he heard Duo's voice outside his room. Seconds later there was the sound of feet rapidly running down the hall and a door shutting. He carefully set aside his gun and cracked his bedroom door, looking out with one blue eye as Quatre's slightly breathless laughter drifted up to him. It rose and fell like some obscure musical piece, echoing disturbingly off the drywall, creating an effect Heero could only liken to mad scientists in old 2D movies.
"Quatre?" he asked, stepping out into the hall silently. The laughter paused as the petite boy gasped for breath before beginning again. He was starting to sound hoarse. In spite of himself, Heero began to worry about the blonde pilot's sanity. He padded out into the main room on bare feet, peering around the corner of the hallway as though expecting an attack. Quatre waved at him blindly before moving the arm back to clutch at his stomach.
One eyebrow raised slightly at the blonde's antics, but Heero just shook his head and turned around. Whatever had set the pilot of Sandrock off could eb determined later. What was imortant, however, was that Duo had finally woken up. With a purposeful stride, he moved down the hall and knocked on Duo's door.
***
Duo dug around in the small gym bag that held his belongings, dressed only in a pair of form-fitting black jean cut off shorts. A slight blush still stained his cheeks, but he'd decided that staying embarrassed would just give Quatre a chance to tease him again. So he concentrated on doing what he said he'd do: getting dressed.
Frowning, he pulled two shirts out the bag, his only clean ones. "Hm... black t-shirt or black priest's shirt?" He held one up higher than the other. "Black?" Switching the positions of the shirts, he looked at it closely. "Or black? Black or black?" So soon after waking, it was a difficult desicion, one that he was to kick himself later for debating over.
Something knocked on his door. Freezing, the God of Death eyed the door with studied mistrust. The knock came again, slightly louder, but with the military precision that announced louder than a death threat who it was. Rather than being relieved that it wasn't a certain blonde with a death wish, Duo's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Just when I was getting into a good mood," he grumbled under his breath, stomping over to the door and ripping it open, barely remembering to unlock it in time. "What do YOU want?" he demanded of Heero, who was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.
Heero looked back at him, the usually icy glare for once reasonably nuetral. His breath hitched slightly at the sight of Duo in the doorway, eyes flashing and wearing a pair of shorts that should have been much longer, by Heero's estimation. Luckily, the braided pilot never noticed. "To talk," he answered simply, shouldering his way into the small room and doing his best to regain his composure.
'It's just Duo,' he chided himself mentally, turning to face the other boy with his arms crossed.
"There's nothing to talk about," Duo muttered, glaring at him. "Get out of my room."
"No."
If anything, the glare intensified. Eyes that were usually a cheery violet turned to an icy hard indigo. "No?" he repeated softly, voice cold. "It's my room, Yuy." Duo wasn't even aware of why he was so angry. Heero ignored him all the time; a slight increase in the lack of attention was nothing to hold a grudge over. The logical part of his brain busily pointed out that what he was doing was potentially suicidal, generally stupid, and had no point other than to release emotions that had no reason to exist in the first place. His emotional side was busily shouting that part down, reminding him of how pissed he was. As usual, emotion won. "Get out."
Heero shook his head, staring at the wall over Duo's bare shoulder and doing his best to keep his attitude professional. 'Telling him how much it bothers me will only make it worse,' he reasoned. Duo wouldn't appreciate him getting upset about the matter as well. "Duo, you're mad about something. This emotional instability of yours going to do nothing except get you killed if it keeps up." He was pleased with how calm that sounded. Duo was sure to see the logic in his argument, and forget whatever it was that was bothering him, or at least set it aside.
For a second, something flashed across Duo's features, but it was hidden to quickly for Heero to even guess at what it had been. "Oh?" Duo snorted softly, voice calm. "So my 'emotional instability' is a detriment to the mission, hm?"
The pilot of Wing nodded, grateful that Duo seemed to be seeing reason. He didn't even notice Duo's fingers twitching towards where his gun was usally stored. If he had, he might have tried a different tactic. "I'm glad you understand the problem."
Duo was nodding to himself in time to his own thoughts. "Oh yes, I see the problem," he commented, staring directly at Heero. His reasonable tone was at odds with the barely supressed fury that was making his slender frame tremble. "The problem is that you are an uncaring, egotistical sonovabitch, and an IDIOT too! THAT'S what the problem is!" He stormed over to the toussle-headed pilot, grabbing him by the shirt and bodily throwing him over his shoulder, sending the perfect soldier tumbling out into the hall before he could stop himself.
"Do me a favor, Yuy," Duo snarled from inside the bedroom. "Next time, go find someone ELSE to screw with when you wanna talk, 'kay?" The door slammed loudly in Heero's face.
Heero stared blankly off into space for several minutes before finally coming back to his senses. "What the hell was that about?" he asked the door in Japanese. The door, of course, didn't answer. They rarely do.
***
Quatre, who had finally gotten over his amusement, kneeled down by Heero's side. "What's he mad about now?"
Heero shook his head, still sprawled on the floor. "I don't know."
The blonde Winner grimaced. "Let me rephrase that. What did you do?" he asked, joining the floored boy in staring blankly at Duo's door.
"I told him that he was a detriment to the mission," Heero answered, frowning to himself minutely. "There was no reason for him to..."
"Explode?" Quatre asked helpfully, shaking his head in exasperation. "Heero, Duo was right. You're an idiot." Getting up, he went to his own room and locked himself in. There had to be a book he could read; Heero and Duo's sex life was beginning to wear him out.[1]
***
Eventually, the morning breath flavor in Duo's mouth drove him out of his sanctuary and to the bathroom for some mouthwash and a good brushing. He threw on the T-shirt and crept out of his room. Luckily, he didn't encounter Heero. No matter how mad Duo was, he wasn't sure he wanted to face the other boy after litterally tossing him out of his room. Encouraged by not meeting his current arch-nemisis, Duo expanded his path to include a stop by the kitchen, which had been put back in order. Quatre was there, pouring himself a cup of cola from a can.
"Hi, Quate," Duo managed to say semi-sociably, pulling some left-over chinese out and digging through the container with a fork.
"Hello, Duo," Quatre answered, putting the can in the trash. "Care to explain why I found Heero in the hallway, staring at your door and muttering in Japanese?"
Duo grimaced, but reminded himself that it wasn't Quatre he was angry with. "Not really." He took a large bite of fried rice, tucking it inside of one cheek so he could talk without making a mess. "It's kinda personal."
The blonde nodded understandingly and took a sip of his drink. "Whatever you want, but you really should work it out with him."
"Hn," Duo grunted. "'Snot like he cares or anything," he grumbled sourly, poking an unidentified fried something-or-other with his fork.
Quatre just shook his head and resigned himself to the situation. Heero was going to have to fix this one on his own. "Whatever you say, Duo."
***
Heero was sitting on his bed, laptop stored neatly underneath it. He was staring intently at the floor, chewing on his lip in an unconcious habit he wasn't aware of having picked up. Mentally, he reviewed every piece of information he had on his partner, trying to pinpoint the moment when Duo's mood began to alter. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't find a cause for the shift. Frowning, he put the matter aside, promising himself that he'd figure out whatever it was after he finished reading up on recent explosives developments. Digging through his bag, his fingers brushed something that was out of place. Surprised, he pulled the soft cloths Duo used to polish his lock picks out of his duffle bag.
'Hn. He must not have had room in his own,' he mused, setting them on the pillow. 'That's odd. He should have used them this morning; it's been a while since...' Heero blinked, doing a quick count of the days that had passed been since Duo's picks recieved attention. It had been well over the usual week. With a determined scowl, he picked up the cloths and marched off to Duo's room.
The door was open, and Duo wasn't inside. A cough behind him made him spin around, the tiny squares of fabric clutched in his hand. Duo scowled at him. "Looking for someone, Yuy?"
"You left these in my bag," Heero said stiffly, shoving the polishing rags at the other boy.
Duo took them unenthusiastically, beautiful violet eyes flat and slightly tinged with a stormy shade of gray. He examined the cloths for damage, not meeting Heero's gaze. "Thanks." He didn't sound like he meant it.
The blue-eyed teenager gave himself a mental shake. His determination from earlier fled, leaving the usually composed pilot grasping for words. "Well... I thought you'd need them. It's been over a week since you used polished that one set of lock picks."
Duo glanced up, suprised. "You noticed?" The icy hostility that had encased him began to melt.
Without really stopping to think about his answer, Heero nodded. "It's hard not to," he answered truthfully.
For the first time all day, Duo grinned brightly at Heero. "Thank you!" He sauntered past the slightly stunned Japanese pilot and through his bedroom door. "'Scuse me, I've got some polishing to do." The door slammed with its usual energy, but somehow it lacked the angry edge it had earlier.
"NOW what did I do?" Heero asked it. Once again, the door didn't bother to answer.
***OWARI***
[1] Only note; I promise! Yes, Quatre still thinks they slept together.
Story II of "Chasing Down the Moon"
Rating: PG
Series: Gundam Wing
Genre: General
Pairings: 1+2+1
Spoilers: ..? Not to my knowledge
Warnings: shounen ai, tiny angst, lil' humor
By Moon Faery
Archived: Moon Faery's Garden (http://www.geocities.com/moon_faerys_garden/); FFN (http://www.fanfiction.net); Kiss of Death [my new site!] (http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/kissofdeath/); anywhere else that asks nicely.
Disclaimer: A statement created solely to save one's ass from becoming lawn for the proverbial legal mower. I do not own Gundam Wing, nor does anyone I know own it. However, this story line and plot are MINE. (Holds fic close to her.) Grrrr....
Author Notes: I recently graduated high school, so I'll have more time to work on my writing between now and college! ^^V This means that the next part of this series will be out sooner than I usually post. I appologize for the second-rateness of this part. ^^;; I hit a bit of writer's block, and only barely managed to chisle my way out of it.
I noticed that Duo's mood swings are a bit extreme in this fic. I'm afraid to admit that I think I feminized him. I didn't mean to, but that's how he's comming across to me. I have absolutly no excuse or reason for this, and I appologize if I accidentally threw Duo Out of Character. If this is the case, PLEASE tell me, and I'll throw it away and rewrite from scratch. However, to head off questions, Duo is not PMSing. And YES, Heero really is that clueless. Not that he's stupid, per se, just that he's not paying attention to the things close to home as much as he should be.
***
Duo blinked fuzily at the golden light shining directly through his westward facing window, peering up through a crack in his blanket. The sun was beginning its descent, reminding Duo's stomach that it had't gotten any of that morning's cheerios. It protested the abuse, growling loudly. Grumbling, he slipped from the bed and out the door, mumbling about traitorous body parts interupting nice dreams.
Quatre was puttering around the generic white kitchenet with a mop and a sponge. Every appliance had been move out of the tiny space, even the refridgerator. He could only assume that Heero had been the one to move everything, since it had been agreed that Quatre was no longer alowed to anything electronic in the kitchen.
"Hey, Q," Duo yawned, waving absently as he dug through the slowing warming fridge for something eatable. He grabbed a red apple and took a large bite, slamming the door.
"Hi, Duo!" Quatre chirped, wiping some dust off the tip of his nose. "Sorry about the refrigerator; I got bored and had to do something." He grinned and went back to scrubbing down the counter. "Did you have a good nap?"
Violet eyes rolled at the word "nap". "More like coma, Quate," he snorted. "And yeah, I did. I had the most interesting dream..." His long brown hair, still unbrushed, swayed around his hips as he shook his head in wonderment.
"Oh?" The little blonde glanced up from his work. "What type of dream?"
The currently unbraided one flushed up to his hairline, eyes glazing over slightly.
***FLASHBACK TO DREAM SEQUENCE***
Intense eyes glinted invitingly from behind yards of semi-sheer blue and amethyst colored curtains. They were almsot hidden by locks of hair who's color behind the hangings was indistinguishable as anything other than dark. He pushed his way through the clinging silk, every step pushing him closer to the barely-visible figure who's nudity was convientiently blurred by the sheer draperies. He reached out to push aside the last curtain...
***END FLASHBACK TO DREAM SEQUENCE***
"Quate..." Duo blinked, refocusing his eyes and trying desperately to push down the blush. "I really don't..."
His reaction didn't get past the small Arabian. Quatre's wicked streak reminded him that it hadn't been exercised lately. He grinned evilly and went to the sink to rinse off his hands. "Of course, I understand perfectly Duo. I'll stop working and listen." He grabbed a towel and dried his hands. "I'm about ready for a break anyways; I'm fed up to here," he guestured to his forehead, "with cleaning."
Duo blushed darker. "Really, Quate, it's nothing!" he protested, backing away, apple clutched loosely in his hand. "I'm just... uh, going to go get dressed now!" Duo turned and ran, metaphorical tail tucked between his legs.
The Winner heir waited until he heard Duo's door slam and lock before falling against the counter, laughing so hard his sides hurt.
***
Heero looked up from his work cleaning his gun when he heard Duo's voice outside his room. Seconds later there was the sound of feet rapidly running down the hall and a door shutting. He carefully set aside his gun and cracked his bedroom door, looking out with one blue eye as Quatre's slightly breathless laughter drifted up to him. It rose and fell like some obscure musical piece, echoing disturbingly off the drywall, creating an effect Heero could only liken to mad scientists in old 2D movies.
"Quatre?" he asked, stepping out into the hall silently. The laughter paused as the petite boy gasped for breath before beginning again. He was starting to sound hoarse. In spite of himself, Heero began to worry about the blonde pilot's sanity. He padded out into the main room on bare feet, peering around the corner of the hallway as though expecting an attack. Quatre waved at him blindly before moving the arm back to clutch at his stomach.
One eyebrow raised slightly at the blonde's antics, but Heero just shook his head and turned around. Whatever had set the pilot of Sandrock off could eb determined later. What was imortant, however, was that Duo had finally woken up. With a purposeful stride, he moved down the hall and knocked on Duo's door.
***
Duo dug around in the small gym bag that held his belongings, dressed only in a pair of form-fitting black jean cut off shorts. A slight blush still stained his cheeks, but he'd decided that staying embarrassed would just give Quatre a chance to tease him again. So he concentrated on doing what he said he'd do: getting dressed.
Frowning, he pulled two shirts out the bag, his only clean ones. "Hm... black t-shirt or black priest's shirt?" He held one up higher than the other. "Black?" Switching the positions of the shirts, he looked at it closely. "Or black? Black or black?" So soon after waking, it was a difficult desicion, one that he was to kick himself later for debating over.
Something knocked on his door. Freezing, the God of Death eyed the door with studied mistrust. The knock came again, slightly louder, but with the military precision that announced louder than a death threat who it was. Rather than being relieved that it wasn't a certain blonde with a death wish, Duo's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Just when I was getting into a good mood," he grumbled under his breath, stomping over to the door and ripping it open, barely remembering to unlock it in time. "What do YOU want?" he demanded of Heero, who was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.
Heero looked back at him, the usually icy glare for once reasonably nuetral. His breath hitched slightly at the sight of Duo in the doorway, eyes flashing and wearing a pair of shorts that should have been much longer, by Heero's estimation. Luckily, the braided pilot never noticed. "To talk," he answered simply, shouldering his way into the small room and doing his best to regain his composure.
'It's just Duo,' he chided himself mentally, turning to face the other boy with his arms crossed.
"There's nothing to talk about," Duo muttered, glaring at him. "Get out of my room."
"No."
If anything, the glare intensified. Eyes that were usually a cheery violet turned to an icy hard indigo. "No?" he repeated softly, voice cold. "It's my room, Yuy." Duo wasn't even aware of why he was so angry. Heero ignored him all the time; a slight increase in the lack of attention was nothing to hold a grudge over. The logical part of his brain busily pointed out that what he was doing was potentially suicidal, generally stupid, and had no point other than to release emotions that had no reason to exist in the first place. His emotional side was busily shouting that part down, reminding him of how pissed he was. As usual, emotion won. "Get out."
Heero shook his head, staring at the wall over Duo's bare shoulder and doing his best to keep his attitude professional. 'Telling him how much it bothers me will only make it worse,' he reasoned. Duo wouldn't appreciate him getting upset about the matter as well. "Duo, you're mad about something. This emotional instability of yours going to do nothing except get you killed if it keeps up." He was pleased with how calm that sounded. Duo was sure to see the logic in his argument, and forget whatever it was that was bothering him, or at least set it aside.
For a second, something flashed across Duo's features, but it was hidden to quickly for Heero to even guess at what it had been. "Oh?" Duo snorted softly, voice calm. "So my 'emotional instability' is a detriment to the mission, hm?"
The pilot of Wing nodded, grateful that Duo seemed to be seeing reason. He didn't even notice Duo's fingers twitching towards where his gun was usally stored. If he had, he might have tried a different tactic. "I'm glad you understand the problem."
Duo was nodding to himself in time to his own thoughts. "Oh yes, I see the problem," he commented, staring directly at Heero. His reasonable tone was at odds with the barely supressed fury that was making his slender frame tremble. "The problem is that you are an uncaring, egotistical sonovabitch, and an IDIOT too! THAT'S what the problem is!" He stormed over to the toussle-headed pilot, grabbing him by the shirt and bodily throwing him over his shoulder, sending the perfect soldier tumbling out into the hall before he could stop himself.
"Do me a favor, Yuy," Duo snarled from inside the bedroom. "Next time, go find someone ELSE to screw with when you wanna talk, 'kay?" The door slammed loudly in Heero's face.
Heero stared blankly off into space for several minutes before finally coming back to his senses. "What the hell was that about?" he asked the door in Japanese. The door, of course, didn't answer. They rarely do.
***
Quatre, who had finally gotten over his amusement, kneeled down by Heero's side. "What's he mad about now?"
Heero shook his head, still sprawled on the floor. "I don't know."
The blonde Winner grimaced. "Let me rephrase that. What did you do?" he asked, joining the floored boy in staring blankly at Duo's door.
"I told him that he was a detriment to the mission," Heero answered, frowning to himself minutely. "There was no reason for him to..."
"Explode?" Quatre asked helpfully, shaking his head in exasperation. "Heero, Duo was right. You're an idiot." Getting up, he went to his own room and locked himself in. There had to be a book he could read; Heero and Duo's sex life was beginning to wear him out.[1]
***
Eventually, the morning breath flavor in Duo's mouth drove him out of his sanctuary and to the bathroom for some mouthwash and a good brushing. He threw on the T-shirt and crept out of his room. Luckily, he didn't encounter Heero. No matter how mad Duo was, he wasn't sure he wanted to face the other boy after litterally tossing him out of his room. Encouraged by not meeting his current arch-nemisis, Duo expanded his path to include a stop by the kitchen, which had been put back in order. Quatre was there, pouring himself a cup of cola from a can.
"Hi, Quate," Duo managed to say semi-sociably, pulling some left-over chinese out and digging through the container with a fork.
"Hello, Duo," Quatre answered, putting the can in the trash. "Care to explain why I found Heero in the hallway, staring at your door and muttering in Japanese?"
Duo grimaced, but reminded himself that it wasn't Quatre he was angry with. "Not really." He took a large bite of fried rice, tucking it inside of one cheek so he could talk without making a mess. "It's kinda personal."
The blonde nodded understandingly and took a sip of his drink. "Whatever you want, but you really should work it out with him."
"Hn," Duo grunted. "'Snot like he cares or anything," he grumbled sourly, poking an unidentified fried something-or-other with his fork.
Quatre just shook his head and resigned himself to the situation. Heero was going to have to fix this one on his own. "Whatever you say, Duo."
***
Heero was sitting on his bed, laptop stored neatly underneath it. He was staring intently at the floor, chewing on his lip in an unconcious habit he wasn't aware of having picked up. Mentally, he reviewed every piece of information he had on his partner, trying to pinpoint the moment when Duo's mood began to alter. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't find a cause for the shift. Frowning, he put the matter aside, promising himself that he'd figure out whatever it was after he finished reading up on recent explosives developments. Digging through his bag, his fingers brushed something that was out of place. Surprised, he pulled the soft cloths Duo used to polish his lock picks out of his duffle bag.
'Hn. He must not have had room in his own,' he mused, setting them on the pillow. 'That's odd. He should have used them this morning; it's been a while since...' Heero blinked, doing a quick count of the days that had passed been since Duo's picks recieved attention. It had been well over the usual week. With a determined scowl, he picked up the cloths and marched off to Duo's room.
The door was open, and Duo wasn't inside. A cough behind him made him spin around, the tiny squares of fabric clutched in his hand. Duo scowled at him. "Looking for someone, Yuy?"
"You left these in my bag," Heero said stiffly, shoving the polishing rags at the other boy.
Duo took them unenthusiastically, beautiful violet eyes flat and slightly tinged with a stormy shade of gray. He examined the cloths for damage, not meeting Heero's gaze. "Thanks." He didn't sound like he meant it.
The blue-eyed teenager gave himself a mental shake. His determination from earlier fled, leaving the usually composed pilot grasping for words. "Well... I thought you'd need them. It's been over a week since you used polished that one set of lock picks."
Duo glanced up, suprised. "You noticed?" The icy hostility that had encased him began to melt.
Without really stopping to think about his answer, Heero nodded. "It's hard not to," he answered truthfully.
For the first time all day, Duo grinned brightly at Heero. "Thank you!" He sauntered past the slightly stunned Japanese pilot and through his bedroom door. "'Scuse me, I've got some polishing to do." The door slammed with its usual energy, but somehow it lacked the angry edge it had earlier.
"NOW what did I do?" Heero asked it. Once again, the door didn't bother to answer.
***OWARI***
[1] Only note; I promise! Yes, Quatre still thinks they slept together.
