Author: aomurasakiai
Warnings: AU, Angst, Sap, Shounen ai/Yaoi
Pairings: 2+1, 1+2, 2x1
Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-13
*Everything above may be
subject to change*
Fragile Faith: Chapter 08 – No Matter What
"Well here we are." Duo announced upon reaching the mall. With his hand still entwined with the Japanese boy's, he pushed open the door and led the other inside. Heero looked up and his mouth parted slightly at the sight of so many people. It was incredibly noisy with no less than 15 multiple conversations going on at once and Heero stepped back a bit. To another person it would seem like he was trying to hide behind the braided American. Duo gave a small smile of reassurance and squeezed Heero's hand.
It was then that someone bumped - or rather *rammed* - into them from behind. Heero received most of the impact and it caused him to stumble forward and lose his balance. Duo reacted quickly and wrapped one of his arms around Heero's torso, steadying him.
"Watch where you're going!" he shouted at the person who turned out to be a young boy. The other stuck out his tongue and blew an extremely wet raspberry before a woman yelled out in anger. Duo assumed that she was the boy's mother and the boy immediately took off, heading for the escalators. Duo watched as the woman gave chase and disappeared to the second floor.
'Man… Thank god Lady Une's kids aren't like *that*…' Duo thought to himself in relief. At the exact moment when he thought of "Lady Une's kids", he realized that he was holding one of them in his arms right this second. He immediately flushed as he saw and felt that Heero was pressed up against him, his face buried near the crook of his shoulder, and one of his hands were clutching tightly to his shirt. One of his own arms was wrapped around the teen's waist. Duo swallowed hard and tried to work his voice.
"H-hey… you alright?" That seemed to snap Heero out of it because he quickly loosened his death grip on Duo's shirt and pulled away from the American.
"Gomen," he mumbled, not meeting the other's eyes.
"S'okay." Duo cleared his throat unnecessarily. "Shall we?"
Duo led Heero to the clothing store where he usually shopped. Waving to the cashier, he headed towards the back of the store where all the casual wear was located since he figured that it would be a good place to start.
"So…" He said when he noticed that Heero wasn't moving. "Go ahead and pick out what you like." He swept his hand to indicate all the clothes racks. It took a moment but Heero tentatively made his way to one of them. He hesitated before reaching out and pulled a hanger out. On it was a T-shirt with light blue and dark blue stripes. Heero glanced up at Duo who had his arm propped horizontally on the racks. Duo smiled.
"Give it a try." He nodded towards the nearby fitting rooms. Heero clutched onto the T-shirt and made his way there. Duo watched until Heero disappeared into one of the empty stalls before going over to lean against the wall. He crossed his arms as he recalled the scent and the warmth of Heero's body when he was pressed against him. He tried to quell the sudden urge to hug the Japanese boy again when the other came out, tugging self-consciously at the T- shirt.
Duo clenched his jaw to keep it from dropping. The T-shirt was incredibly tight, literally *clinging* to Heero's torso and it rode up with every movement the teen made.
"Wow Heero. You…" Duo tried to force out words during his moment of speechlessness while making gestures at the Japanese boy. "You look great!"
Heero froze and looked up at the American teen, surprise clearly evident on his face. Seeing Duo smiling at him he lowered his head and averted his eyes almost embarrassed. Before Duo could say anything else Heero turned around and headed back into the fitting rooms. When he came out again he had the shirt back on the hanger and he was once again dressed in the green tank top.
"If you like it… we can buy it. It's not that expensive." He grinned at the Japanese teen. Heero looked hesitant but he nodded slightly.
After going through all the casual wear and Heero changing more times than he ever had in his whole life, Duo was soon loaded with more than enough clothing. Duo then decided to go to the checkout lanes because he didn't think he could see Heero changing into another piece of clothing that seemed to have been made just for him alone. Everything he tried on was so… perfectly *him*.
They left the store with Duo holding two bags of clothing while Heero had one. Duo had insisted that he carried all of them since they weren't "all that heavy" but Heero wouldn't let go of one of the bags as he half-glared at Duo. As they made their way back to the entrance Duo blushed as he remembered what had transpired there. He kept walking, a bit faster than normal and never saw the small smile on Heero's face as the Japanese boy thought the same thing.
Once they reached the orphanage Duo unlocked the door with the key that Lady Une had given him. He was surprised that she trusted him so much already, but then again… His thoughts strayed to Heero who was standing just behind him. He had promised Lady Une that he'd take care of Heero. But now… now he wanted to do more than that.
Protect him, comfort him, and most of all… love him.
No matter what.
tbc…