Warnings: I actually achieve some shounen ai in this part.
Part 6
It seemed that sleepless nights were becoming the norm for Duo. Heero refused to admit that he wanted company, but Duo noticed that he twitched at the smallest noises, and he was far too tense. Heero was afraid, even if he refused to vocalize that fact, and Duo was reluctant to leave him alone. So he found himself spending another long night in Heero's room, lying in a sleeping bag on the floor.
Rolling over, Duo looked up at the bed and noticed that Heero was still awake. His eyes were wide open and he stared, almost without blinking, at the closed laptop on his desk. Duo shifted uncomfortably. Seeing Heero so afraid of an inanimate object was unnerving, to say the least.
Standing up resolutely, Duo snatched the laptop off the desk and left the room with it. After stuffing it into a convenient hall closet under some blankets to muffle any sounds it might make, he marched right back into the room. Heero had rolled over to watch him leave. Now, in the absence of his computer, his eyes fixed firmly on Duo.
"Relax," Duo said tersely. "J's not God. He can't reach down and smite you as you sleep."
Heero sighed. "It doesn't seem like that sometimes. He's had absolute control over my life since Odin died."
/Who's Odin?/ Duo thought, but didn't ask aloud. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to Heero and reached down to rub Heero's arm soothingly. "Well, he doesn't now," Duo said softly. "You're old enough to choose your own fate."
"I don't know how," Heero murmured. He turned softened, slightly imploring blue eyes on Duo. "Help me?"
For a moment, Duo was utterly stunned. Heero Yuy was asking him for help?
/Heero almost never accepts help, let alone asks for it./
Then he was delighted that Heero Yuy was asking _him_ for help.
/Well, what d'ya know? Get him away from the mission and the computer and he actually starts acting like a person. I might just be on to something here./
"Well," Duo said aloud, carefully choosing his reply, "first you need to decide what you want in life." He slide down so that he was half sitting, half laying next to Heero, and leaned down so as not to miss the softly spoken reply.
"I think I've found one thing," Heero answered, his eyes looking up to meet Duo's.
What followed was inevitable. One moment his face was close to Heero's and Heero was looking at him intensely, and then the next minute his eyes were closed and his lips were pressed against Heero's. There were no tongues involved, but Duo didn't really care. It was pretty good for a first kiss.
When Duo finally moved his head back and broke the kiss, Heero was still looking up at him with a strange mixture of hope and fear. "I probably shouldn't have done that," he said softly.
"I think it's a good thing you did," Duo replied.
Heero smiled at him very briefly. To Duo, who had never seen Heero really smile before, he was absolutely dazzling. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to talk to Heero while he was relatively relaxed and open, Duo settled himself down and got comfortable.
"So," he said. "Tell me about this Odin guy."
~*~*~
Blinking sleepily, Duo opened his eyes, only to get blinded by sunlight. He was lying on Heero's bed on top of the covers, just as he had fallen asleep the night before after talking to Heero for hours. His sleeping bag lay forgotten on the floor. Heero was tucked in beside him, still soundly asleep. Getting up quietly, Duo stole out of the room and into the kitchen to get breakfast. Heero didn't so much as twitch when he left.
Upon entering the kitchen, Duo was met with a glare from Wufei, a blank look from Trowa, and the slightly reproachful gaze of Quatre. He sighed. "Okay, what did I do this time?"
"Duo, where were you?" Quatre asked. "We couldn't find you."
"I spent the night in Heero's room," Duo said, and braced himself, half expecting them to rebuke him for his involvement in Heero's affairs.
"I knew it," Wufei growled contemptuously. "Hiding from us again."
Duo blinked. "Hiding?"
"Trust you to vanish when it's your turn to make breakfast," Wufei continued.
Duo stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Is that what this is all about? Geez, you guys don't really want me to make breakfast anyway. Do you really feel up to coffee and burnt toast? Why not get someone who can actually cook?"
His eyes moved almost automatically to Trowa, who looked resigned to his fate. "I'll cook, but you have to do the dishes," Trowa said.
"Deal," Duo said. "Thanks, Trowa, you're a real pal."
"And if you use soap on the cast iron pan again, I'll skin you alive," Trowa continued, his voice completely without inflection. "Or I'll just make you answer to Cathy, since it's hers."
The thought of an angry Catherine made even Duo shudder. "Okay! Okay! Don't threaten me with scary chicks!"
There was a snort from the doorway, and Duo turned to see Heero standing there. "Hey, good morning, Heero."
"Yuy, why in the world did you let Maxwell stay in your room last night?" Wufei demanded in an almost accusatory manner.
". . ." Heero froze, and the classic deer-in-the-headlights look came over his face. Mentally, Duo smacked himself on the forehead. Of all the bad timing. . . While Duo was thrilled that Heero seemed to be developing an attachment to him, he realized that Heero was probably having a hard time accepting it. The kiss the previous night had gone against his training, and although he'd been willing to break training in private, acknowledging that he'd done so in front of his teammates was another matter entirely.
Fortunately, before Heero could panic in earnest, Wufei went on. "I can't believe you gave in to Maxwell's childish whims and let him stay just so he could avoid cooking this morning."
"He was doing your digestion a favor," Duo snapped. "And who are you calling childish?"
Quatre interceded before a brawl could ensue, and by the time he got Duo and Wufei apart, Heero was his normal, inscrutable self again. Only by looking closely could one see that he was still too tense.
Breakfast was a relatively cheerful meal. Trowa had fixed omelets, which the other pilots devoured enthusiastically. Afterward, Duo was indeed forced to do the dishes, which he did with a token amount of whining. The day began in what was for them a normal manner. It was only after the food had been consumed and the dishes done that the problem cropped up.
Quatre had pulled out his own laptop, and was typing merrily away. He started checking his messages, and a look of consternation came over his face. "Hey, Heero," he said. "J still seems to be trying to get in touch with you."
Heero's head jerked up, his eyes flashed with fear. But the look was gone in a moment, and his face hardened again. He began to stride purposefully towards Quatre and the laptop. Seeing this, Duo almost panicked, and began moving hastily to intercept him.
Since his back was turned to them, Quatre didn't notice Heero bearing down on him. He continued to speak. "What is this Operation Apoptos. . ."
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! click, click, click, click.
Despite the fact that he had run out of bullets, Heero showed no signs of stopping until Duo finally reached him and jerked the gun out of his hand. Quatre had gone white, and his eyes moved nervously back and forth between Heero and the hapless piece of machinery that had once been his laptop. It sat on the desk, completely nonfunctional, and sporting several new bullet holes.
"Heero," Duo said firmly. "Calm down."
The hand that had held the gun dropped back to Heero's side, and his eyes began to look a little more sane. "Mission not accepted," he said.
Trowa finally regained his ability to speak. "You raving lunatic!" he snarled, with more emotion in his voice than was customary. "You nearly shot Quatre just to make a statement about not accepting a mission?!"
"You also just destroyed the only other working laptop in the house aside from your own," Wufei pointed out.
Trowa rounded on him incredulously. "Is the laptop all you're worried about?!"
"Chill, Trowa," Duo said sensibly. "He's not worried about Quatre because Quatre's all right, right Quatre?"
Quatre swallowed a few times before managing a small, "I'm fine."
"See?" Wufei said. "And as for the computer problem, we'll all just have to use Heero's."
Heero twitched.
Duo sighed resignedly. "I'll just go and get it out of the closet, shall I?"
"The closet?" Wufei asked. "What is it doing in there?"
"I hid it in there last night."
"And you wonder why I call you childish," Wufei remarked with a slightly teasing smirk.
"Hey," Duo defended himself. "There were extenuating circumstances."
And he left to fetch the laptop before anyone could ask him what those extenuating circumstances were.
Tbc
Author's note: Don't expect any more parts of this soon. With the way my classes are going right now, I may never write again. (Well, at least not until the end of the quarter.)
Part 6
It seemed that sleepless nights were becoming the norm for Duo. Heero refused to admit that he wanted company, but Duo noticed that he twitched at the smallest noises, and he was far too tense. Heero was afraid, even if he refused to vocalize that fact, and Duo was reluctant to leave him alone. So he found himself spending another long night in Heero's room, lying in a sleeping bag on the floor.
Rolling over, Duo looked up at the bed and noticed that Heero was still awake. His eyes were wide open and he stared, almost without blinking, at the closed laptop on his desk. Duo shifted uncomfortably. Seeing Heero so afraid of an inanimate object was unnerving, to say the least.
Standing up resolutely, Duo snatched the laptop off the desk and left the room with it. After stuffing it into a convenient hall closet under some blankets to muffle any sounds it might make, he marched right back into the room. Heero had rolled over to watch him leave. Now, in the absence of his computer, his eyes fixed firmly on Duo.
"Relax," Duo said tersely. "J's not God. He can't reach down and smite you as you sleep."
Heero sighed. "It doesn't seem like that sometimes. He's had absolute control over my life since Odin died."
/Who's Odin?/ Duo thought, but didn't ask aloud. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to Heero and reached down to rub Heero's arm soothingly. "Well, he doesn't now," Duo said softly. "You're old enough to choose your own fate."
"I don't know how," Heero murmured. He turned softened, slightly imploring blue eyes on Duo. "Help me?"
For a moment, Duo was utterly stunned. Heero Yuy was asking him for help?
/Heero almost never accepts help, let alone asks for it./
Then he was delighted that Heero Yuy was asking _him_ for help.
/Well, what d'ya know? Get him away from the mission and the computer and he actually starts acting like a person. I might just be on to something here./
"Well," Duo said aloud, carefully choosing his reply, "first you need to decide what you want in life." He slide down so that he was half sitting, half laying next to Heero, and leaned down so as not to miss the softly spoken reply.
"I think I've found one thing," Heero answered, his eyes looking up to meet Duo's.
What followed was inevitable. One moment his face was close to Heero's and Heero was looking at him intensely, and then the next minute his eyes were closed and his lips were pressed against Heero's. There were no tongues involved, but Duo didn't really care. It was pretty good for a first kiss.
When Duo finally moved his head back and broke the kiss, Heero was still looking up at him with a strange mixture of hope and fear. "I probably shouldn't have done that," he said softly.
"I think it's a good thing you did," Duo replied.
Heero smiled at him very briefly. To Duo, who had never seen Heero really smile before, he was absolutely dazzling. Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to talk to Heero while he was relatively relaxed and open, Duo settled himself down and got comfortable.
"So," he said. "Tell me about this Odin guy."
~*~*~
Blinking sleepily, Duo opened his eyes, only to get blinded by sunlight. He was lying on Heero's bed on top of the covers, just as he had fallen asleep the night before after talking to Heero for hours. His sleeping bag lay forgotten on the floor. Heero was tucked in beside him, still soundly asleep. Getting up quietly, Duo stole out of the room and into the kitchen to get breakfast. Heero didn't so much as twitch when he left.
Upon entering the kitchen, Duo was met with a glare from Wufei, a blank look from Trowa, and the slightly reproachful gaze of Quatre. He sighed. "Okay, what did I do this time?"
"Duo, where were you?" Quatre asked. "We couldn't find you."
"I spent the night in Heero's room," Duo said, and braced himself, half expecting them to rebuke him for his involvement in Heero's affairs.
"I knew it," Wufei growled contemptuously. "Hiding from us again."
Duo blinked. "Hiding?"
"Trust you to vanish when it's your turn to make breakfast," Wufei continued.
Duo stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Is that what this is all about? Geez, you guys don't really want me to make breakfast anyway. Do you really feel up to coffee and burnt toast? Why not get someone who can actually cook?"
His eyes moved almost automatically to Trowa, who looked resigned to his fate. "I'll cook, but you have to do the dishes," Trowa said.
"Deal," Duo said. "Thanks, Trowa, you're a real pal."
"And if you use soap on the cast iron pan again, I'll skin you alive," Trowa continued, his voice completely without inflection. "Or I'll just make you answer to Cathy, since it's hers."
The thought of an angry Catherine made even Duo shudder. "Okay! Okay! Don't threaten me with scary chicks!"
There was a snort from the doorway, and Duo turned to see Heero standing there. "Hey, good morning, Heero."
"Yuy, why in the world did you let Maxwell stay in your room last night?" Wufei demanded in an almost accusatory manner.
". . ." Heero froze, and the classic deer-in-the-headlights look came over his face. Mentally, Duo smacked himself on the forehead. Of all the bad timing. . . While Duo was thrilled that Heero seemed to be developing an attachment to him, he realized that Heero was probably having a hard time accepting it. The kiss the previous night had gone against his training, and although he'd been willing to break training in private, acknowledging that he'd done so in front of his teammates was another matter entirely.
Fortunately, before Heero could panic in earnest, Wufei went on. "I can't believe you gave in to Maxwell's childish whims and let him stay just so he could avoid cooking this morning."
"He was doing your digestion a favor," Duo snapped. "And who are you calling childish?"
Quatre interceded before a brawl could ensue, and by the time he got Duo and Wufei apart, Heero was his normal, inscrutable self again. Only by looking closely could one see that he was still too tense.
Breakfast was a relatively cheerful meal. Trowa had fixed omelets, which the other pilots devoured enthusiastically. Afterward, Duo was indeed forced to do the dishes, which he did with a token amount of whining. The day began in what was for them a normal manner. It was only after the food had been consumed and the dishes done that the problem cropped up.
Quatre had pulled out his own laptop, and was typing merrily away. He started checking his messages, and a look of consternation came over his face. "Hey, Heero," he said. "J still seems to be trying to get in touch with you."
Heero's head jerked up, his eyes flashed with fear. But the look was gone in a moment, and his face hardened again. He began to stride purposefully towards Quatre and the laptop. Seeing this, Duo almost panicked, and began moving hastily to intercept him.
Since his back was turned to them, Quatre didn't notice Heero bearing down on him. He continued to speak. "What is this Operation Apoptos. . ."
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! click, click, click, click.
Despite the fact that he had run out of bullets, Heero showed no signs of stopping until Duo finally reached him and jerked the gun out of his hand. Quatre had gone white, and his eyes moved nervously back and forth between Heero and the hapless piece of machinery that had once been his laptop. It sat on the desk, completely nonfunctional, and sporting several new bullet holes.
"Heero," Duo said firmly. "Calm down."
The hand that had held the gun dropped back to Heero's side, and his eyes began to look a little more sane. "Mission not accepted," he said.
Trowa finally regained his ability to speak. "You raving lunatic!" he snarled, with more emotion in his voice than was customary. "You nearly shot Quatre just to make a statement about not accepting a mission?!"
"You also just destroyed the only other working laptop in the house aside from your own," Wufei pointed out.
Trowa rounded on him incredulously. "Is the laptop all you're worried about?!"
"Chill, Trowa," Duo said sensibly. "He's not worried about Quatre because Quatre's all right, right Quatre?"
Quatre swallowed a few times before managing a small, "I'm fine."
"See?" Wufei said. "And as for the computer problem, we'll all just have to use Heero's."
Heero twitched.
Duo sighed resignedly. "I'll just go and get it out of the closet, shall I?"
"The closet?" Wufei asked. "What is it doing in there?"
"I hid it in there last night."
"And you wonder why I call you childish," Wufei remarked with a slightly teasing smirk.
"Hey," Duo defended himself. "There were extenuating circumstances."
And he left to fetch the laptop before anyone could ask him what those extenuating circumstances were.
Tbc
Author's note: Don't expect any more parts of this soon. With the way my classes are going right now, I may never write again. (Well, at least not until the end of the quarter.)