8:30pm, or just after sunset.

They had flown out to their narrow strip of beach beyond the marsh (it was faster than going by boat) in a rented Piper Cub. Maringouin beachisn't really a sand beach, but one made up of seashells carried in on the tide and pounded repeatedly into a sort of gritty powder. It's fine to walk on, but you certainly wouldn't want it in your shorts.

"Hey Heero," said Duo. "Let's make a sand castle."

"A what?"

"Sand castle. People used to make them before they moved into space. You just take some wet sand and shape it. You can make anything you want, as long as it stays wet."

"I'd rather not," said Heero shortly.

"C'mon, Heero, it'll be fun. We'll build a modern-day tower of Babel, high enough to reach the colonies." Duo waved his hands high in a wide arc.

Heero snorted disbelievingly. "Go ahead. I'll pass."

"Fine," said Duo, and then he plunked himself down on the beach, seemingly as happy as a boy on Christmas morning. "I'm gonna have me some fun." and get my mind off his problem for awhile. . .

"You're not listening to me," said Heero with a touch of exasperation. "I'm not doing it. Besides, you're getting your clothes all dirty." He sounded really annoyed.

"You have to get a bit dirty to build a kingdom." Duo looked up at his partner, grinning. "And besides, you already told me you aren't, and I already told you I am."

"You'll get the plane dirty, too."

"I'll pay the cleaning bill. Don't worry."

"It's getting dark out."

"So? Where's the bogeyman?" Duo looked around in mock trepidation. "I don't see him anywhere."

"That's not even sand," Heero said, making a last-ditch attempt to forestall Duo's 'project'. "It's seashell fragments. Just the exoskeletal remains of dead--"

"It'll pack," said Duo. "C'mon, Heero. It's not as much fun building a sand castle alone. Better in twos."

"Hn-n." Heero shook his head.

"What? Got something better to do?" Duo asked mischievously. Heero was so much fun to tease when he knew nobody else was around.

The former pilot of Wing Zero frowned thunderously, but he settled down across from Duo and began working his hands into the coarse seashell remains. "I can't think of why I'm doing this." He threw a handful onto the pile Duo had started. chunk

"So don't think," said Duo. "Just do it. That's the Heero Yuy I know."

"Well, the Shinigami I know is annoying," chunk "and a blathermouthed baka," chunk "who doesn't listen, and doesn't know when to shut up and leave well enough alone." chunkchunk

"So why're you helping me?" Duo asked, all wide-eyed with curiosity. This was the closest he'd ever seen Heero come to throwing a tantrum. at this rate, the castle might not get very big he thought.

Why am I help--?? ?! !! Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Shut up and build." chunk

Because you're being really annoying, Duo. And you won't shut up unless I do. You're an irritant.

Yes, those were all possible answers, but not very good ones, although they all held clues pointing to the real reason, which he couldn't bring himself to admit. So he helped Duo build a 'sand' castle, there in the moonlight, and they used ground-up alabaster and cowries and cockleshells, with Duo humming the melody from 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' the whole while. And when it became too high to stand on its own, Duo waded into the clayey, oily water to gather kelp, which they mashed up and used to cement the grains together. It was actually well worth looking at when they finished it a couple of hours later. It was about four feet high, and it had towers, and turrets, and battlements, and buttresses, and windows poked in the walls. Heero, who had thrown himself into his work according to his usual habit, had even made a catapult out of sticks and seaweed and placed it over the main 'gate'.

"Would you look at what we've done here," breathed Duo in awe, amazed by their fantastic, glittering creation, which glistened mostly white and green in the full moon's light. "It's almost like an emerald-ivory tower. How utterly magnificent."

Heero was itchy and grumpy from getting ground-up seashells in his shorts. "My ass itches," he complained rudely, scratching himself even more rudely in the offending spot.

"Well, I did warn you this morning about those low-riders," said Duo, referring to the trendy retro jeans that Heero was wearing--his version of 'going off on a wild tear'. "I mean, I know you like them, but--"

"I wasn't expecting to build any sand castles today," Heero shot at him.

"Well, I didn't hold a gun to your head or anything," Duo shot right back. "They're your fashion blunder, not mine." And then he smirked.

Heero suddenly realized he was grinding his teeth. "We built it too close to the water,"he said, forcing himself to calm down, and notdwell onwhy the longhaired jokester next to him bothered him so. "The tide will come and wreck it for sure."

"Hey, stop being gloomy," said Duo, grimacing. "Let's just appreciate it while it's here. It's a good castle."

"But it won't last," Heero griped. He jabbed a thumb toward the water. "Why did we build it here?" scratchscratch

"Because," Duo explained, jabbing a thumb inland, towards the marsh. "There's about a million-and-a-half bloodsucking mosquitoes that way. Don' know 'bout you, but I like my blood where it is, and I've already donated anyhow."

"It'll get swamped."

"So what if it does?"

"But--"

"Heero," said Duo, sternly. "Quit raining on my parade."

Heero fell silent. He went and sat down on a large piece of driftwood, facing the water.

Great, thought Duo, mentally smacking himself. My parade? I meant to say our parade! Damn. Looks like I've stuffed him back in his fucking shell again. After a moment's hesitation, he went and sat down beside him. "Sorry," he said.

Heero said nothing, just kept scratching.

"Hey, if you keep doing that your fingers'll fall off," Duo joked lamely.

Heero just ignored him, and went right on scratching.

"Yeah, either that or you'll end up sawing yourself in half."

"I thought you wouldn't want to be around me in such a gloomy mood," Heero commented moodily.

"Fine," said Duo. "You go your way, and I'll go mine. 'Cause let me tell you, I'm almost at my wits end, here."

Heero didn't look like he wanted to do that. In fact, he showed absolutely no inclination either way, so Duo said, "You still don't trust me, do you?" He blew out a frustrated snort. "Let's get real here, Heero. What the hell do you think I am, anyway, your new mission? I mean, is this 'Operation Keep the God of Death from Blowing Up the Whole Fucking Universe?', or something like that? 'Cause Heero, I told you already, the God of Death is DEAD. Underline that! He's not coming back! We've been through enough together, you know I don't lie. Hell, I was even starting to think we might be friends. What do you say, Heero?" He wound up his tirade, and feeling completely drained, he put an arm around Heero's shoulders tentatively and rather awkwardly, as if for support. "It should be quite a new experience, don'tcha think? Being actual friends, I mean, as opposed to me trying to get through to you and figure you out while you just sit there like a lump, scratching your ass off."

Their eyes locked for a long moment. Duo thought he'd never seen Heero's face so carefully neutral, nor his eyes so absolutely uncertain. He prided himself on his ability to read people, but everything about Heero at that moment--the set of his shoulders, the rate of his respiration, even the faint heartbeat he could feel on the side of his neck--was completely normal, thanks to his utterly abnormal 'training'. If it weren't for the eyes, he wouldn't have been able to read him at all.

"We'll see," Heero said at last, gently but very firmly taking Duo's arm off his shoulders.

"Pff. Whatever."

A half-hour later (around 11pm):

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TBC. Poor Heero. Please read and review.

maringouin--(fr.) mosquito