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 09 – At the Aquarium

An angry "GAH!!" emanated from a room down the hall in the Wyatt Orphanage.

Duo was attempting to fit all of the new clothing he'd bought for the Japanese boy into the tiny closet in Heero's room.  Heero stood behind the other teen who was half-inside the closet and watched with barely contained amusement as some of the shirts refused to cooperate and slipped from the hangers, accompanied with curses from the American.

After a few moments of wrestling with the hangers, Duo decided that it was best to just fold the shirts and place them carefully on the small shelves inside the closet.  Wiping his brow he turned around, Heero quickly put up his mask of indifference.

"Hey Heero.  Wanna go somewhere?  I think you'll like it."  Duo grinned when he saw some interest on Heero's face.  He got up and gestured for him to change before heading out of the room to give the Japanese teen some privacy.

When Heero walked out of his room a few minutes later Duo almost had to catch hold of the wall to keep himself from falling over.

'Dear… god…' Duo thought as he had a tough time breathing.  Heero was wearing jeans, but they were incredibly tight… almost *as tight* as the spandex he always wore.  The short-sleeved, cobalt blue shirt wasn't as tight, but it certainly didn't hide Heero's body.  Topped with the fact that the top *three* buttons were left unbuttoned, and the American teen had to bite his lip when he glimpsed at Heero's chest.  He swallowed and laughed nervously.

"Hey Heero… maybe you should…" Before he could finish, Heero was already walking past him.  Duo sighed.

'Oh well…'

~~~45 minutes later~~~

Duo finally managed to find a parking space in the parking lot of the aquarium.  It was the first time that Heero had been inside his car and it was an extremely difficult trip.  Heero had his hands in his lap while looking out the window and watching everything that passed by on their way to the aquarium but Duo, on the other hand, had to make sure *his* hand behaved and rested *on* the gear shift rather than next to it like it wanted to.

When they made their way inside after paying, Duo smiled as Heero looked around at all the different tanks filled with various marine life.  They slowly made their way around the huge aquarium, stopping at every tank so Duo could comment enthusiastically while Heero looked on.  It was dimly lit throughout the place and Duo could feel himself moving closer and closer to Heero as he talked.

They made it to the porcupine fish tank and Duo saw that one of them was already puffed out.  As a child he loved to mimic them and even now, on the verge of graduating from college, it still hadn't dissipated.  Running up to the glass, he carefully placed both hands on it and puffed out his cheeks.  He saw the fish puff out some more, as if challenging him.  Quashing his want to laugh, he tried to puff out more but seeing he wasn't a porcupine fish, he couldn't.  The fish deflated before turning its tail and wagging what suspiciously looked like "Nyah nyah you lost!" before swimming away.  He sank down to the floor, laughing.

"I haven't done that in ages!" he said through his mirth.  It was then he heard something that sounded like muffled chuckling behind him.  When he turned around, he was shocked to see Heero with his eyes shut, his hand pressing against his mouth while the other arm was holding his stomach and his whole body shaking with laughter.  Duo blinked.

"Hee…Heero," Duo said in a surprised whisper.  Heero heard the quiet call and he stopped to look at the American.

"That… was the silliest thing I ever saw," the Japanese boy said almost deadpan but Duo heard the slight amusement in the other's voice and his small smile gave it away.  He stood up and on impulse he cupped the other's chin in his hand.

"You have a beautiful smile, Heero." He smiled when he saw Heero's eyes widen in shock.  Duo let his hand drop.

"Let's go.  We still have half the aquarium to explore!" And he walked off excitedly.

Heero stood there for a moment before relaxing and following Duo.

'What have you done to me?' he thought to himself.

tbc…