((And here it is! The attempt to make a love story come out right.
Warning: Yaoi. Don't know what it is, don't read it. Kay?
Disclaimer: And no, they aren't mine. No matter how much I wish they were.
EarthGurl: [snicker] Hey! What're friends for, eh? If not to be mean and torture one another? [ignores Tex's cries of insolence in the background]
Akenna: I shall! I shall! Thanks for the encouragement. : )
And on with the show!))
Howe to the Rescue
'Socks. Why socks?' The thought rested in Heero's brain all that day. He had, characteristically (though none would have known it to be characteristic at all) lain the socks down, carefully, atop his dresser, ran his hands over their slightly soft surface, and then with a shake of his head, sat atop his bed, crossing his legs, and drifted into the confusion. What was he going to do now?
His face crinkled into concern, he thought back to the box and its contents. Perhaps it was a good thing Duo hadn't discovered the way in yet. Perhaps he needed to go down later... ah, yes. A mission perhaps. No, a mission for certain. His stomach twisted in knots and he stared at the socks gleaming black and silver on his dresser.
'Socks.' Mouth turned down, Heero shook his head to clear it and twisted to the right, plucking his bag from aside his bed and letting it settle next to his thigh, then opening it, pulled out worn flannel pajamas. Red and green things, they were hideous, but deliciously comfortable and Heero was a man for things just like that when he'd spent too much of his childhood with so little in the way of comfort.
Besides, they reminded him of his best friend.
Fingering the material, Heero glanced up again at the socks and frowned.
'Why socks?"
The day had gone perfectly, really. And but for the disparity in the gifts, Heero had found himself content enough. The walk to the river and then further to the quay, nothing more than four and a half miles total and all over flat, was a true stroll to the five young men, and they talked most of the way down, enjoying the sunshine and the quiet of the town, most of the world either asleep or curling up with family next to trees and piles of crumpled tissue paper.
"Why do you think that we put out snowmen?" Duo asked, his eyes all the more beautiful for the fact that they danced more in the sunlight than almost anywhere else.
"Hn." Heero shrugged and looked sidelong at Quatre. Behind the three of them, Wufei and Trowa sauntered a bit further back, heads together and arms around one another's waists. The two had found a comfortable means of showing affection and generally were more than willing to allow the rest of the pilots into their small world. But every now and then, they steeped themselves in the love they'd forged carefully over the years, a bond that was growing stronger, is such a thing were possible.
'But it is possible,' Heero thought to himself as he looked back at the pair, finding a spike of envy working its way into his heart. It was a bittersweet feeling. For what the two had was beautiful to see, but, he feared, unattainable. Considering the conversation that he had had the night that Duo had ... well, kissed him (was that a flush rising?) he could accept that of them all, he was most dependent on his friends and most likely to never find anyone who he could completely trust with his body, his heart, his love.
It was an unfairness which rankled. Heero had discovered over the years after the war, when his life began to open and limitless possibilities of being had opened spread before him like a great adventure, a banquet waiting to be taken, that he was, in fact, very passionate about many things. And the depth of feeling he had for his fellow pilots was unlike anything else in his life. He loved each and every one of them desperately. So much so, that a two of them, Quatre and Duo, were air to him and he would suffocate in the world without their being around, their being near. So how unfair could it be that he neither was practiced at showing the world the depths he held, not that the only beings in the world that he felt such depth for, were all men and all far more alive and able to live than he was?
Quatre
would, Heero could believe it while Quatre could not, eventually manage
to gather courage and ask Sally Po out. It seemed such a silly thing,
to date after saving the world. But Quatre would go about it the right
way, the proper way, and Sally would not object, being somewhat
traditional herself, despite the fire that was in her. A blind man
could have seen what emotions had been lingering with the pair of them
since only a few years back when Quatre had grown into his manhood and
taken on his father's business and discovered that he had an interest
outside of Gundams and family.
And Duo? Duo... was a man with
more heart and more courage than anyone Heero knew. He constantly
extended himself, reaching out with arms and a smile to embrace the
world. While he feared being alone, feared that he was broken, the
truth of the matter was that Duo was the least broken of them all. He
had a heart, torn as it was, and it beat so much fire that the young
man need only take his pick of the hundreds of loves that would lay
themselves at his feet should he call. Or even start to look.
Heero shook himself free of his thoughts and returned to gaze at Duo who was standing on the sidewalk, his head tilted to one side, staring at the snowman as if it should do something to prove its worth, its excuse for being here in this snowless world. Quatre leaned against Duo with a chuckle and then reached behind his back, an action which Heero noted, but was a complete surprise to Duo, and dug his fingers into Duo's side. Duo's reaction was predictably immediate and the pair broke off to run down the road ahead, screaming in laughter like a pair of children.
"What would we do without them?" Trowa's comfortable tone rung true as he and Wufei paused beside Heero.
"I'm sure I don't know.." Heero answered honestly.
"Have a quiet breakfast? And a quiet day? And a quiet life? An- mmmm" Wufei's sarcastic comment dashed to the ground by a kiss from Trowa and the chinese pilot laughed into Trowa's lips, chuckling as they broke apart. "It would be quiet."
"Not with you two," Heero cut in with a droll look at them both.
"At least, not since we've got the book," Trowa's grin could be nothing short of lecherous.
Heero cleared his throat and continued walking, finding that his friends kept to his side. It didn't bother him, actually. He enjoyed their nearness. But for some reason on this particular day, the sight of their happiness wriggled under his skin and left him with the uncomfortable desire to tear at his arms and legs to rid them of the need to do something.
"You know," Trowa continued after a moment's silence, "I've been wondering about Duo's gift to you, Heero. Socks? Am I missing some significance that you and he know about?"
Heero could sense his face paling.
The question had been bothering him as well. And it was tied up with an
equally disturbing thought. His gift to Duo. And the inequality between
the two. Granted, Duo hadn't opened the box yet. But it was only a
matter of time. "No." He ground out, his brow dropping in worry and
anger. "You're missing nothing I've not missed as well."
"Ah.."
Trowa's soft reply only served to bother Heero more and with a short "Hn," he sped up his walking to catch up to Quatre who had leaned against a fence and was laughing with Duo about something more than likely childish and funny only to the two of them. They really were close, Heero realized for the millionth time. Duo and Quatre, like two lights, two stars shining in the darkness of a life that had so little light in the first place.
Dammit.
"Hey Hee-chan!" Duo crowed and pushed off of the fence, "What would you do if you had a dog? What kind would it be?" and at the question, the pair dissolved into laughter again.
Heero would have preferred to stalk off under the pretense of a misunderstanding that his two friends were laughing at him. But that would have only led to Duo chasing after him and bothering him until he came clean or until he forgave them both. And he wasn't feeling up to having a ruthless Duo tagging along behind him with the normal run of Duo'isms to make him cheer up. They often worked and today they would only serve to leave him feeling more confused and hurt and ... afraid.
So instead he quirked a small twist of a smile,
hoping that no one was looking too closely to see it did not have the
same buoyancy as usual and shrugged. "A very large, very goofy looking
hound. The shaggier the better. With a vicious tongue and a habit of
never listening to anything I ever say."
"See? No lap dogs for
him! You're wrong!" Quatre pointed a finger at Duo and the group turned
the corner, heading down the two block path leading to the river's edge.
"Awe, but his dog would be cute, so I don't mind being wrong.. you've got good taste, Hee-chan.." Duo cozied up to Heero and laughed.
"Sounds like a dog form of you, Duo.." Quatre giggled.
A smirk raised on Heero's mouth and he looked at his friend. "Well, go with what you know.." and the other two broke out into peals of laughter.
Wufei and Trowa caught up with the three of them soon after and as a group they followed the river's edge by way of a community bike path overshadowed with trees, willow like shrubs, and lined with potted flowers. Following this down, they came to the quay where they lounged, gazing out into the far blue for a few hours, talking and watching Duo and Quatre make grass ropes, slender and light golden brown, before returning home by the same path where, as the final tradition of their holidays, they ate dinner and then opened up their stockings just before parting for their separate rooms.
Heero had expected, in a slightly unhopeful way, that there would be the true gift in his stocking. That making him wait had been Duo's idea of a very mean joke. But no such thing. Instead, he had the same orange, set of cheap pens, bottle of fingernail polish (his was purple), and miniature teddy bear with moveable arms and a red bow around it's neck.
And so it was, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the socks on his dresser, contemplating the day and fighting the sudden rise of panic. Drawing the sleep wear up over his legs, and tying them off at his waist, Heero slipped into the sleeping house, making his way down the long curling staircase and turning at its base into the small sitting room they had occupied the night before. The servants had cleared the paper plates, the tissue, and the sleeping bags. But for the cheap toys, trinkets, and tree, and the stockings hanging from the mantle, the room was clean and showed no signs of having being occupied by five young men the entire day before.
Crossing the room, he knelt before the tree, peering at the conglomeration of gifts heaped, unwrapped and waiting to be taken home tomorrow. And there, under Wufei and Trowa's blanket, peeked the golden corner of the cedar box. Heero worked it out from under the tree with only a few casualties of tinsel on his shoulders and hair, and settling back cross legged, bent over the golden surface.
"You know, your feet will get cold," the soft voice from the doorway made him jump and Heero turned with what he expected was a guilty expression to find Duo leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his bare chest and his hair out of its braid hanging like a tumble of autumnal color over his shoulder, trailing down across his abdomen and curling at his hip.
Heero felt his heart drop into the bottom of his soul. Caught. His hands curled reflexively, his finger pushing inadvertently against the catch. The top of the box lifted with a silence and Duo's eyes widened. "Ah... so that's how you do it," His smile grew as he crossed the room and Heero was terrified to see that the black and white socks tugged at Duo's fingertips, lingering under Duo's elbow where his hand folded securely against his chest.
Heero turned, looking down into the box and snatched for the envelope, stuffed it behind his back and stood, leaving the box on the floor for Duo's inspection. His stomach was shaking and he wanted to go upstairs because he wanted to cry. And it wouldn't do to cry over something so silly as a disaster averted. Or hopes dashed to pieces.
[] [] [] [] []
Duo enjoyed his day. Well, except for the fact that something was off with Heero all day. Heero, always so calm, was struggling and Duo was sure he knew why too.
The socks.
He knew it was stupid, but he'd wanted it to be a surprise and he had hoped as well, that he might find a better time to make sure Heero found it. It just, well,... It was scary as shit and he wasn't feeling very brave.
Of course,
he had his own problems. He'd spent the entire time before lunch
puzzling over the box, looking for hidden seams and locking mechanisms.
But other than being able to see that there was a top that had to come
off somehow, and being assured that it didn't take much force from
Heero (presumably to keep Duo from breaking the box apart with a
hammer, a chisel, and a pair of pliers), he had come up with nothing.
A
box? It was driving him mad. And maybe he took it out on Heero a bit,
hanging with Quatre more than he would have. Not that Quat minded or
even noticed. Not that anyone noticed really. Duo didn't have the heart
to completely ignore his best friend, didn't want to ignore him, wanted
instead to...
Damn. There is danger in watching your roomie staring at socks and stroking their surface and looking all cute and unbearably confused. At least when you're in love with said roomie. Yeah, in love. He had told the truth to Howe at least. And now he'd told the truth to himself. Not like he could avoid it, seeing as how every time Heero had come up against him, near him, looked at him, talked to him.. hell, just Heero being within shouting distance was making Duo's heart race. He felt as if he was on the verge of a mental breakdown half of the time and the other half, he was enjoying his friendship, the solidity of Heero and him.
What a crazy place. He felt he might be going mad. Bi-polar or something. Just trying to keep it together was enough to almost rip him in two. Still, he held on tightly, a dying man's grip actually, to the knowledge that their friendship would continue and that he would only have to get through this particular storm. What difference was there in this? He'd dealt with emotional upsets and they always seemed to pass on, to die eventually, or at least to get easier. Hell, he had lost Father Maxwell and the kids and Sister Helen. He could manage a little bit of love sickness.
The day went well. The walk went well. Dinner went well. He got a kick out of Trowa and Wufei and he would have to ask later what story they liked so much. And even the talk after dinner with Quatre and Heero around glasses of wine in Quatre's far more finely decorated great room went well.
It was getting sleep that seemed to be the trouble. Duo paced in his room, fiddling with the waist elastic of his pajama bottoms. Until, with an exasperated sigh, he tore out into the hall and on silent feet, stole to Heero's room.
There
was no answer to his repeated knock and so he peeked in. Suitcase on
the bed, pajamas gone, it would be hard not to miss the glare of plaid
amongst the rest of Heero's things which tended toward more muted, dark
colors. The flannels were a gift from Duo three years before. A gift
that the rest of them rued and complained often to Duo about. Red and
green flannel were fine, but they had gotten old and ratty and frankly,
they just weren't worth wearing any longer. Only Duo thought they were
cute and he'd said as much. So yeah, he'd defended those pj bottoms.
"Heero?"
he queried into the room, sidling in and checking through the open
bathroom door. Turning to head back out and look elsewhere, Duo stopped
at the sight of the socks. With trembling fingers, he reached out and
touched them, picked them up, dug his fingers into their plush edges.
And sighed in relief. No. Not yet.
Catching up the socks, he
steeled himself to the inevitable and sauntered into the house on a
Heero Hunt. It managed to not be very long, for coming to the bottom of
the stairs, he saw the side lamp on in the sitting room and so he
headed that way.
It's said that the lost object is always in the
last place you look. Because after that you stop looking. So Heero is
in the last and first place Duo searches and something about that makes
his stomach roil. First and last. Yeah.
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the doorway, watching his best friend bent over... his box? He chuckled inwardly and tried to not let his breath catch nor his voice sound more husky than normal when he spoke. The sight of Heero's back, the rush of muscle like a force of water under satin made Duo's knees weak. 'Dammit.. this is your friend. Friend. And not just a friend. Your best friend. Back off, man,' Duo thought desperately to himself.
He
cleared his throat imperceptibly to get the last of the heart out of
his throat and then broke the silence, feeling almost sacrilegious in
doing so. "You know, your feet will get cold."
Ah shit. He
hadn't meant to say that. Of course, he wasn't sure what he'd meant to
say, but that, well that was a recipe for disaster.
Heero turned,
looked at him with a blank expression and with a turn of his body, what
he was bent over was plain in sight. And opening.
"Ah... so that's how you do it," Duo wanted to exult. His box. He was going to get a chance to look in his box.
Heero
turned and with a scrambling, stood up and backed toward the fireplace,
looking, Duo thought, somewhat as if he'd been caught and released at
the same time. Scared and relieved. But then, that was assuming a lot,
considering that his expression hadn't changed much. It was more in the
way he moved, the set of his body, his way of taking a step back and
leaving his foot just touching the ground, ready to turn and run or
step forward or...
"There's a catch. It's plain now, if you turn the box over," Heero's voice sounded strained and Duo looked at him, confused slightly but his joy at seeing inside of his box made him overlook everything else.
"Really?" Duo had to empty it first, but he felt under and found the small catch. Ah. There. Not to be deterred however, he leaned over the box and began to remove the contents. It was full of other small boxes, these with hinges. He gasped at the sight. "Heero.. this is amazing..." and putting the socks to the side, he looked up and beamed at his best friend. "Don't just stand there, come here and explain it all to me!" He nodded to the floor next to him and instantly went to opening boxes.
And
looking at the contents in confusion. Disks, red and black in one. And
black and white marbles in another. Some different colored stones in a
third. No wonder the box was so damn heavy. And at the bottom, four red
ribbons tucked over a half box snug in the first so that one could pull
on the ribbons and draw out the box to get at what was in it.
"It's.."
Heero settled by him and reached for the box of stones. "Mancala.." his
voice soft, made Duo shiver, realizing that he was enjoying this far
too much, the nearness of Heero and the mystery of the objects. "Ah,
Checkers.."
"Checkers?" Duo's eyes lit up. "These are games?"
he'd managed the bottom box out of the larger one and set it atop,
finding it had a split in the wood on the side so that he could see
that it was not closed, but open on the top, but with various wooden
layers. Pulling off one, he turned it over and smiled. "This must be
for the checkers.. and this.." another, "this is what?" unfolding it,
finding pits in the elongated box.
"That's the Mancala.. and
there's Backgammon as well in there and that bottom one is Chinese
Checkers. There's um... there's another set under that.." and Heero
reached in, taking out a last pair of boxes, set one on each side of
the box to hold the rest up. Heero opened it and held it out for Duo's
inspection. Inside, resting on red velvet, chess men stared blankly out
at the world and Duo gasped.
"Umm.. and some card games.." Heero managed at last, pointing out the various cardboard holders and smiled. It was his shy smile. As if he wasn't sure if he'd done the right thing or not.
"Oh man.. Heero.. this is amazing! This is so amazing!" Duo exclaimed over each and every piece, tracing the bumpy lines of a knight and then brushing his thumb and forefinger over the rounder, smoother sides of a rook. "I... this is amazing.."
He looked up to find Heero smiling down at him. No longer was there the worry or the fear. Their friendship had smoothed over a rough moment for them again and Duo didn't bumrush a hug on Heero to upset the balance they'd precariously set up.
But he did lick his lips and reach down, pick up the socks at his side and hand them over. "Your feet." He ventured and clutching the box watched Heero closely. Yes, there was that same pain again in those darkened blue eyes. Heero really thought that the socks were it. Duo grinned. "Put em on, you dolt." He couldn't contain his glee and that it was spiked a bit with pure terror didn't hurt either.
Heero stared at him and then nodding, compliantly put his left foot in one, then slipped the right in.
Duo waited.
A slight sense of irritation and confusion passed over Heero's face and he wriggled his toes.
"What's wrong?" Duo couldn't stop himself from grinning a bit in anticipation.
"Hn.." Heero, another of his inexplicable grunts. But this one meant he was trying to figure it out. Duo watched Heero pull off the right sock and turn it over. Nothing. It would have been stuck. So a moment after he reached in to pull at the toe and turn it inside out.
Duo could tell he knew the minute his fingers closed over it because Heero's face turned white. His eyes lifted to stare at Duo and Duo was shocked to see tears, just a slight glisten of mercury silver rimming the bottom of his lid. "Duo.." Heero whispered in shock and with a tremble, drew his hand back out.
Duo chewed on his lower lip and took a sharp breath to match Heero's shocked gasp. It was now or never.
"But..
this..." Heero stared at the glittering gold in his palm and his eyes
shot up to look at Duo's bare chest. It was just normal to see Duo
wearing his necklace, so he hadn't noticed when it had been gone.
"I..." Duo looked down with a grimace and a blush. "I just wanted you to know... how much your... your friendship means to me." That and so much more, but he wasn't ready yet to take that kind of chance. Not yet.
Silence met his admission and Duo didn't have the courage to look up. So he twisted his hands around the box and tugged it so close that it's edge cut into his ribs.
A rustle of paper and Duo blinked. Before him was an envelope, shuddering because the hand that held it shuddered. And as if embarrassed to see the paper dance, the hand that held it let it go, and they both watched it fall into the box and land on top of the four boxes of cards at the bottom, tipped sideways with its far end lifted across the container of black chessmen.
Duo looked up in confusion and saw Heero watching him with something unreadable in his eyes. "Open it.." Heero intoned, pure Perfect Soldier. A voice he only used when he was working hard at keeping his emotions in check.
Duo didn't manage a joker's smile to match the moment. Instead he ducked his head once more and lifted the envelope and pulled out the tri folded pages. Carefully he opened them and looked down at what was below him. Then, softly, he read aloud, "What Makes Him Smile... by... by... Howard's Boi."
"I... wrote it... umm... a week ago. But I wanted to give it to you... now." Heero's voice faltered.
Duo looked up in shock. "But... Howe is..."
Heero wasn't looking at him right then, instead, a flush suffusing his golden skin, he was tenderly stroking the edge of the cross in his fingers. "I - ah. I found the story site about a year ago. It took me a few months to work up the courage to try my hand at it, but I figured no one would ever find out. And besides.. it was a way... a way to... to express myself.."
"But Howe is ..."
"And so I wrote there.." Heero continued on stubbornly. "And it helped me keep things in check, to not do something stupid and ruin our friendship. Because it means so much more than anything else. I.. I don't know what I'd do without your friendship, Duo."
Duo shook his head. "But... Howe is, a.. a.. "
"Howe is me." Heero tried not to bend the cross as fear took him over. Had he misread everything? The cross, the words to Howe, the kiss? Even after all of the signs, had he still been wrong? With a wince, he looked up, staring into violet depths so shocked that they appeared darker, shot through with gold here and there, like interlaced fingers. And with a greater bravery than he'd know he could ever have, Heero whispered to those very eyes, "I love you. I do not know why. But I love you. I cannot help myself. I cannot stop myself. I only know that I must have you in my life, forever. From this moment on, I will not be able to let you go without letting my very heart leave my body. I have been waiting for you, wanting you, needing you, from the day I took my first breath. But I did not know it until this moment. Please, do not deny me. Do not leave me to this hunger which will eat me alive. Do not abandon me after I've found the sole reason for my life, to live for you and to make you happy. I love you. I do not know why. But I love you. I cannot help myself. I cannot stop myself. I only know that I must have you in my life, forever." His voice rose and fell, finding courage and losing it when no change could be seen on Duo's face and in the end, finished in an even smaller whisper than it had begun in. With a sudden blinking to clear his muzzled sight, Heero looked down at the cross he'd never thought to ever see anywhere but on Duo's chest, nestled between those wings of collar bone and sobbed a soft, "Please..."
Duo stared at his best friend. Heero. Best friend. They sat in silence, that please echoing. And then Duo dropped his gaze and began to read. Heero moved slightly, wanting to get up, but Duo's hand landing on his knee held him as if a three ton rock had landed on him. Duo could feel Heero trembling under his palm as he read. The story filled with so much more than any of the others had held. This one was a true story, or a true fantasy. It was, Duo suspected, what Heero, or Howard's Boi, had meant when he said that he wrote private things from which the stories came from. This one, instead of watching a story from a distance, was from Heero's heart. This was the soft things that whispered behind the fictions, the tenderness, the watchfulness, the pure need, the fear, the love... oh there was so much love there. He was finishing the last page when Heero's panted fearful laugh breaks in.
"It.. it was in the box. I didn't know what to do though.. when you gave me the socks. And you'd written how you had found the perfect gift.."
Duo looked up, staring at his friend as Heero trudged into the moment blindly. With a soft smile, Duo placed the box to the side, the story dropped inside as well, the last paragraph unread but known anyway. Because the entire writing had reflected his own heart, his own thoughts, his own feelings. Heero had been aware far longer and his emotions were matured, but they still longed, still needed, still wanted, and still burned bright as Duo's.
"So then I got confused about them. I just... wasn't sure what to do so I thought if you didn't get the box open I could sneak it out and you might not guess. There's.. there's Gotcha in there too.." his laugh sounded desperate and Heero clutched the necklace.
Duo reached out, taking up the end of the necklace and pulling it lightly from Heero's grasp. A soft muffled sound came from the other man's mouth and he all but bent in half. Duo blinked, shocked at the sudden show of abject misery and then realized what it must seem like. So with a patient smile and tears in his own eyes, he kneeled, taking his hand off of Heero's knee and putting it on Heero's shoulder, and shuffling behind, reached around. Carefully, the cross still warm from Heero's hand but the chain chilly, Duo fastened the pendant around his love's neck and bent with a whisper of breath, and kissed the smooth skin, the light hill of Heero's spine where his neck and shoulder joined.
A soft gasp littered the ground and Heero looked down, hand touching the cross. Then turned to meet the smiling eyes of Duo. No, not just smiling. They were blazing with a million things Heero would have never thought to see, never hoped for, never did anything but dream of. Still, he feared. "I... I should have told you..."
"Yes... you should've.. but enough should'ing on you, hmm?" Duo's beautiful eyes sparkled in laughter. The one time when his eyes were more luminous than in the sunshine was when Duo was sharing something private, some beautiful private joy, and he was so close that you could feel him breathe, you were sharing his air. That was the moment, years before, the same moment when Heero had realized that he loved his best friend, his compatriot, his fellow pilot. That moment when he'd first seen the dance of light in those joy filled eyes, just as he could see them now.
"I just wasn't sure.. and you seemed so scared. And you didn't know... so I thought that if I kept on just being here, that maybe you'd find out on your own. Or maybe I'd know for certain and I could put it aside. I mean, if you weren't interested in m-m-me.." Heero's voice faltered as Duo's fingers slid silken across the skin of his neck and the hot palm of Duo's hand fit to his jawline. "Then... then I could.." he continued breathlessly, staring in shock at the violet perfection that was nearing him all the time, his mind stalling and every single nerve in his skin singing in exultation, "Could, umm... at least back off and be sure that.. that I didn't do anything.. any... thing... st-stupid.. l-l-like I wanted t-hmmmmm..." and the last of his words died, captured and transformed into a sigh as Duo's lips covered his, stopping all further conversation.
((Dang, nothing cuter than an absolutely nervous Heero. No Citrus in this fic, everyone. The boys are just beginning and I'll be hanged if they jump into bed right off the bat. That would be almost cheating. But there ARE two more chapters coming up! So not done completely. Not just yet. Just don't kill me cause there be no citrus beyond that fic of Howe's.))
