Welcome Distractions
By Rapunzel
Chapter 10: Confusing Situations
Heero had barely come through the library doors when he heard Duo calling him. He quickly spotted his companion standing over by the stairs, waving at him.
"What's up?" Duo asked. "You said that you wanted to talk to me?"
Heero nodded. "In private," he said.
Duo studied him for a moment, wondering what this was all about, then shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Let's go find a spot."
The library was full that afternoon, and for a little while Duo was worried about finding a seat. His curiosity had been stirred, and he wanted to sit someplace fairly secluded, where he could be alone with Heero and not worry about being observed or distracted. However, the closest thing he could find to an empty area was on the third floor in the very back, behind the rows of bookshelves. Even that place wasn't completely vacant. A girl was at one of the desks, but her head was on the table, and judging by the way her mouth was hanging open, she was fast asleep. (1)
Duo chuckled. "I swear, sometimes I think people come here just to sleep. Everyday you see them, conked out in the window seats or at the desks. Don't they have anything better to do?"
Heero gestured at the open chemistry book lying on the desk next to the girl's head. "I think she was trying to study."
Duo leaned across the desk to peer at the book upside down. "Is chemistry really that boring?"
"Yes." Heero set his book bag down on an adjacent desk and began to pull out his folder and books. "Not that you'll ever have to find out."
Duo's smile was unabashed. "I love being a liberal arts person."
Heero gave him a halfhearted glare as he sat down. "Stop gloating."
Duo shut up, but it took him a little longer to banish the smirk from his face. However, presently, he became serious and asked, "What's up?"
"You said that you lived on the third floor of Clay last year, right?"
Duo's heart plummeted. The only reason Heero would bring that up again was because he finally realized its significance. That meant that the moment Duo had been both hoping for and dreading was here; the moment where Heero told him whether he was or he wasn't. Still, he took some comfort from the fact that Heero didn't sound particularly accusatory.
"Yeah, Quatre and I shared a room up there."
"Just a room?" Heero asked.
Duo went very red in the face. "We were roommates only. It's not like that!" /Great,/ he thought, chest constricting. /He's one of the homophobic types who thinks that the only thing gays are interested in is having sex./ Of course, for a large chunk of his life, sex had dominated his thoughts, but in that respect, he was not unlike most boys his age.
"I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you," Heero said, noticing that Duo looked upset. "I just wanted to know."
"Well, it's not like that. Quatre and I are friends, but he already has a boyfriend." He studied Heero, then asked, "Why did you want to know?"
It was Heero's turn to go slightly red. "No reason really... Just curious."
Duo raised an eyebrow. If Heero had simply shrugged and looked nonchalant, Duo might have believed him. As it was, it seemed that Heero was a terrible liar. Duo could only hope that he was right in his assumptions about Heero's real reason for asking.
"I wish I could be as lucky as Quatre is," he said clearly, watching Heero closely. "Having a great boyfriend and all. I hate being single."
"I'm surprised you still are," Heero said, face carefully neutral and betraying none of his thoughts. "There must have been other guys in the third floor who were interested."
Duo made a face. "Not really. At least, none that I was interested in. And not everyone on the floor was gay, just most of us. Anyway, the whole point of the thing wasn't so that we could find a date. The floor was created so that we knew we would have a place to live free from a lot of homophobic tripe and insults. Most of us were just happy to have friends, and we didn't worry as much about dating."
Heero shrugged and admitted, "I don't know much about the whole thing. I only learned last night what that floor was."
"Only last night?" Duo asked, still a little incredulous, even though he knew Heero could be a little slow on the uptake. Okay, more than a little slow sometimes.
Heero looked mildly embarrassed. "I guess I'm not very perceptive when it comes to those things."
Duo laughed out loud, almost forgetting about their sleeping companion. He managed to tone it down to chuckles pretty fast, but he was still grinning when he said, "Heero, no offense or anything, but that's the understatement of the year."
"I know," Heero said, hanging his head slightly. "It must be a pain sometimes."
Duo walked slowly over to where Heero was sitting. Leaning down, he put his face very close to Heero's. "Does it seem like I mind?" he said.
Heero looked up, an expression of slight surprise on his face. Still, Duo took heart from the fact that he didn't squirm or shift away uncomfortably. "You don't mind?" Heero asked.
"Not a bit," Duo said, reaching up to take Heero's chin gently in one hand. Heero swallowed slightly, but still made no move to remove the hand. Encouraged, Duo leaned in even closer. He was so close; his lips were mere millimeters from Heero's...
The girl at the desk stirred.
Instantly, Heero jerked, breaking Duo's grasp and turning his head to stare at their neighbor. Duo was considering taking Heero's face in his hands and trying again when the girl abruptly sat up. Pulling back her sweatshirt sleeve on one wrist, she glanced at her watch, then muttered a curse. Rising quickly from her seat, she seized her backpack, stuffed her books into it, and hurried off.
Duo watched her go, then, when he was sure she was gone, turned back to Heero. For a moment, he felt like muttering a few curses of his own. Heero's face was down turned, and he looked at the floor. Still, Duo could see how red the tops of his ears were.
"I'm sorry," Duo said.
Heero didn't answer.
"I, uh, I've got to go," Duo said hastily, not sure he could stand to be around once Heero decided he did want to speak to him again. "I've got class in a few minutes."
Grabbing his own backpack, he started to head off, then stopped and turned back. Heero was still seated just as he had left him, his surprise evidently having not worn off yet. Still, Duo was unable to resist adding hopefully, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Heero still made no answer.
Sighing heavily, Duo went down the stairs and out the doors. Outside, he spotted the formerly sleeping girl wrestling with the lock on her bike. Striding up to her, he glared menacingly until he had her attention.
"You have the worst god-damned timing of anyone I know, do you know that?"
So saying, he strode off, leaving the girl gaping after him in surprise. "What did I do?" she finally managed to ask, but by then, Duo was gone.
~*~*~
Heero ducked his head as he opened the door and flipped on the light, sure that his face was still red after the incident at the library. He was easily embarrassed, and the thought that the girl at the table might have seen him was mortifying. He wasn't sure his face would ever return to its normal color again.
He was hoping against hope that not only would Wufei be out, but that his room would not prove to be booby trapped by Dorothy. As it turned out, only one of his wishes was true.
"You're back early," Wufei said from his bed.
"Yeah," Heero answered. "Duo had to leave early."
"Well, turn off the light, if you please," Wufei said. "You can use the lamp, but the overhead light is too bright."
Heero stopped to study his roommate, who he realized was lying in bed under a mound of covers. His face was a little pale too...
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"I'm coming down with something," Wufei answered. "I am not yet sure what, exactly, but if you will kindly turn off the light, I'm going back to sleep."
After turning on his small lamp, Heero consented to turn off the light. As he sat as his desk, trying to do his homework by the feeble light the lamp cast, he wished that he had been a little faster to recover himself earlier in the library. Maybe, if he had been, he might have arrested Duo's flight. As it was, they had a lot that needed talking about.
tbc
1) Ehehe... That would be me. I swear, they release sleep pheromones in the library or something. Every time I go there to study, I end up falling asleep. It's getting to the point where Renee's starting to think I have narcolepsy.
Chapter 10: Confusing Situations
Heero had barely come through the library doors when he heard Duo calling him. He quickly spotted his companion standing over by the stairs, waving at him.
"What's up?" Duo asked. "You said that you wanted to talk to me?"
Heero nodded. "In private," he said.
Duo studied him for a moment, wondering what this was all about, then shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Let's go find a spot."
The library was full that afternoon, and for a little while Duo was worried about finding a seat. His curiosity had been stirred, and he wanted to sit someplace fairly secluded, where he could be alone with Heero and not worry about being observed or distracted. However, the closest thing he could find to an empty area was on the third floor in the very back, behind the rows of bookshelves. Even that place wasn't completely vacant. A girl was at one of the desks, but her head was on the table, and judging by the way her mouth was hanging open, she was fast asleep. (1)
Duo chuckled. "I swear, sometimes I think people come here just to sleep. Everyday you see them, conked out in the window seats or at the desks. Don't they have anything better to do?"
Heero gestured at the open chemistry book lying on the desk next to the girl's head. "I think she was trying to study."
Duo leaned across the desk to peer at the book upside down. "Is chemistry really that boring?"
"Yes." Heero set his book bag down on an adjacent desk and began to pull out his folder and books. "Not that you'll ever have to find out."
Duo's smile was unabashed. "I love being a liberal arts person."
Heero gave him a halfhearted glare as he sat down. "Stop gloating."
Duo shut up, but it took him a little longer to banish the smirk from his face. However, presently, he became serious and asked, "What's up?"
"You said that you lived on the third floor of Clay last year, right?"
Duo's heart plummeted. The only reason Heero would bring that up again was because he finally realized its significance. That meant that the moment Duo had been both hoping for and dreading was here; the moment where Heero told him whether he was or he wasn't. Still, he took some comfort from the fact that Heero didn't sound particularly accusatory.
"Yeah, Quatre and I shared a room up there."
"Just a room?" Heero asked.
Duo went very red in the face. "We were roommates only. It's not like that!" /Great,/ he thought, chest constricting. /He's one of the homophobic types who thinks that the only thing gays are interested in is having sex./ Of course, for a large chunk of his life, sex had dominated his thoughts, but in that respect, he was not unlike most boys his age.
"I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you," Heero said, noticing that Duo looked upset. "I just wanted to know."
"Well, it's not like that. Quatre and I are friends, but he already has a boyfriend." He studied Heero, then asked, "Why did you want to know?"
It was Heero's turn to go slightly red. "No reason really... Just curious."
Duo raised an eyebrow. If Heero had simply shrugged and looked nonchalant, Duo might have believed him. As it was, it seemed that Heero was a terrible liar. Duo could only hope that he was right in his assumptions about Heero's real reason for asking.
"I wish I could be as lucky as Quatre is," he said clearly, watching Heero closely. "Having a great boyfriend and all. I hate being single."
"I'm surprised you still are," Heero said, face carefully neutral and betraying none of his thoughts. "There must have been other guys in the third floor who were interested."
Duo made a face. "Not really. At least, none that I was interested in. And not everyone on the floor was gay, just most of us. Anyway, the whole point of the thing wasn't so that we could find a date. The floor was created so that we knew we would have a place to live free from a lot of homophobic tripe and insults. Most of us were just happy to have friends, and we didn't worry as much about dating."
Heero shrugged and admitted, "I don't know much about the whole thing. I only learned last night what that floor was."
"Only last night?" Duo asked, still a little incredulous, even though he knew Heero could be a little slow on the uptake. Okay, more than a little slow sometimes.
Heero looked mildly embarrassed. "I guess I'm not very perceptive when it comes to those things."
Duo laughed out loud, almost forgetting about their sleeping companion. He managed to tone it down to chuckles pretty fast, but he was still grinning when he said, "Heero, no offense or anything, but that's the understatement of the year."
"I know," Heero said, hanging his head slightly. "It must be a pain sometimes."
Duo walked slowly over to where Heero was sitting. Leaning down, he put his face very close to Heero's. "Does it seem like I mind?" he said.
Heero looked up, an expression of slight surprise on his face. Still, Duo took heart from the fact that he didn't squirm or shift away uncomfortably. "You don't mind?" Heero asked.
"Not a bit," Duo said, reaching up to take Heero's chin gently in one hand. Heero swallowed slightly, but still made no move to remove the hand. Encouraged, Duo leaned in even closer. He was so close; his lips were mere millimeters from Heero's...
The girl at the desk stirred.
Instantly, Heero jerked, breaking Duo's grasp and turning his head to stare at their neighbor. Duo was considering taking Heero's face in his hands and trying again when the girl abruptly sat up. Pulling back her sweatshirt sleeve on one wrist, she glanced at her watch, then muttered a curse. Rising quickly from her seat, she seized her backpack, stuffed her books into it, and hurried off.
Duo watched her go, then, when he was sure she was gone, turned back to Heero. For a moment, he felt like muttering a few curses of his own. Heero's face was down turned, and he looked at the floor. Still, Duo could see how red the tops of his ears were.
"I'm sorry," Duo said.
Heero didn't answer.
"I, uh, I've got to go," Duo said hastily, not sure he could stand to be around once Heero decided he did want to speak to him again. "I've got class in a few minutes."
Grabbing his own backpack, he started to head off, then stopped and turned back. Heero was still seated just as he had left him, his surprise evidently having not worn off yet. Still, Duo was unable to resist adding hopefully, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Heero still made no answer.
Sighing heavily, Duo went down the stairs and out the doors. Outside, he spotted the formerly sleeping girl wrestling with the lock on her bike. Striding up to her, he glared menacingly until he had her attention.
"You have the worst god-damned timing of anyone I know, do you know that?"
So saying, he strode off, leaving the girl gaping after him in surprise. "What did I do?" she finally managed to ask, but by then, Duo was gone.
~*~*~
Heero ducked his head as he opened the door and flipped on the light, sure that his face was still red after the incident at the library. He was easily embarrassed, and the thought that the girl at the table might have seen him was mortifying. He wasn't sure his face would ever return to its normal color again.
He was hoping against hope that not only would Wufei be out, but that his room would not prove to be booby trapped by Dorothy. As it turned out, only one of his wishes was true.
"You're back early," Wufei said from his bed.
"Yeah," Heero answered. "Duo had to leave early."
"Well, turn off the light, if you please," Wufei said. "You can use the lamp, but the overhead light is too bright."
Heero stopped to study his roommate, who he realized was lying in bed under a mound of covers. His face was a little pale too...
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"I'm coming down with something," Wufei answered. "I am not yet sure what, exactly, but if you will kindly turn off the light, I'm going back to sleep."
After turning on his small lamp, Heero consented to turn off the light. As he sat as his desk, trying to do his homework by the feeble light the lamp cast, he wished that he had been a little faster to recover himself earlier in the library. Maybe, if he had been, he might have arrested Duo's flight. As it was, they had a lot that needed talking about.
tbc
1) Ehehe... That would be me. I swear, they release sleep pheromones in the library or something. Every time I go there to study, I end up falling asleep. It's getting to the point where Renee's starting to think I have narcolepsy.