Notes: Heero POV. I'm super sorry for the long wait, everyone, I didn't realise it had been so long since I updated this last, but life and my newfound Harry Potter obsession kinda overwhelmed me.

This chapter is dedicated to Rashalla Entalio for all your wonderful reviews, and especially for noticing the coffee and lovesick monkey comments, I was a bit worried about how people would react to my little attempts at mild humour and was so relieved that you like them. Anyway, enjoy and review!

Mr. Walker's office was small and cluttered. I sat in one of the two straight-backed chairs and spent a few moments examining the files that littered his desk. Mostly files for students, a couple about next year's curriculum, and one about the budget cuts to be made next month.

I frowned and thought for a moment. We were in a lot of trouble, the best we could hope for was never-ending detention, the worst was expulsion, and we were probably looking at a long suspension. I didn't want to get suspended, Duo seemed to enjoy attending this school, and the only way out of getting punished would be to have an advantage over Mr. Walker. In other words, we needed something to blackmail him with. I glanced at the clock and saw that we'd only left the dance six minutes, and judging from how furious Mr. Walker had been, it wasn't likely that he would arrive in the next ten minutes or so. Good, I didn't even need half that time.

I stood up and walked around the desk to sit in Mr. Walker's chair, careful not to actually move it from the position it had been in.

"What are you doing?" Duo's voice was sharp with suspicion, and I glanced at him with a frown.

"Hacking his computer for blackmail material," I replied, and the 'of course' was implied.

"No."

My frown deepened, not understanding why he was refusing. Surely he knew that it was our best way of getting out of trouble. I said as much, and got a disgusted look from him before he flung himself to his feet and began to pace around the room.

"As much as I would love to get some dirt on that shitbag homophobe of a Principal, and as much as I would love to dance our way out of trouble, we're not doing either. We are going to sit here and take whatever punishment he dishes out."

"But-"

"I mean it, Heero!"

I sighed and grudgingly moved back to my own seat. I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at nothing. Duo noticed, of course, and sat back down so that he could reach over and touch my arm.

"I know you don't like this, Heero, that despite what people think you aren't really a masochist, but I want this."

"So does that make you a masochist then?" I snapped, instantly regretting it. Duo frowned, but not like he was upset, more like he hadn't really thought about it before.

"I dunno," he said thoughtfully after a moment. "I mean, I like my sex rough, and the idea of a little pain in with the pleasure is exciting as hell, but…. Hm. With the right person, namely you, then I guess I'll try anything once. But that really only works if you're a sadist or a dominant."

I understood the term sadist, I'd met too many of them not to know, but I frowned over the word 'dominant'. I know the definition of it, but the way Duo said it implied some other meaning. I decided to ask him about it later, because Mr. Walker decided to walk in at that moment. His skin was still flushed, and his hands were balled into tight fists, but other than that, he looked considerably calmer since we'd last seen him in the gym.

He sat down behind his desk and shuffled a few of the files, moving them out of his way so that he could rest his hands on the blotter. He looked at us with a very hard look that I supposed scared most of the pupils here but left Duo and I completely unaffected.

"I suppose you think that little stunt was funny," he said, and there was a harsh, growling edge to his voice that said he was struggling to contain his anger.

I glanced at Duo and he smiled easily, slouching down in his chair. "Sir, we were merely caught up in the romantic atmosphere of the dance like at least four other couples that I saw. The only difference being that we were the only homosexual couple, and though that is quite a large difference, it is illegal for you to discriminate against homosexuals and any disciplinary action against us will have to be carefully thought out on your part so as not to promote the wrong idea. Of course, you could have brought us here because that kissing is against the school rules, though I have noticed that it is a rule seldom enforced, but then I would have to wonder where are the other eight or so students who broke this rule, unless you are planning to talk to us individually, so to speak. Anyway, no, we did not think that was funny."

I bit my lip to keep from smirking. I should have known Duo wouldn't just sit back and take whatever punishment Mr. Walker wished. I also should have realised that my boyfriend is a lot smarter than he appears and makes it a point to study the laws of wherever we are.

I wasn't the only one who was surprised by Duo's answer. Mr. Walker was blinking rather owlishly at him, and shock was written all over his face. I was betting that he hadn't realised Duo was close to being a genius, or that he was well-versed in the area's laws, or that he was so cunning and manipulative. In that instant, I realised that we would win this little pseudo-fight with Mr. Walker, and the tension in my body eased considerably.

Mr. Walker looked around the office for a moment before seeming to gather his wits and fix us with that hard glare again. "You disrupted the dance, and I believe you did it intentionally. While I would like very much to suspend you, that punishment seems a tad extreme." More like, if he tried, Duo could contest the decision and, if he really wanted to, sue him.

"But I am still going to call both your parents."

Oh shit. As usual, I had given detailed but false information on all the forms. If they tried to contact either my parents, they wouldn't get anywhere. I didn't let these thoughts show on my face, just glanced at Duo to find that he was still smiling that lazy smile of his.

"Of course. But Heero's parents are out of town for a couple of days on holiday. My father is, unfortunately, in the hospital recovering from having his appendix removed. You can, however, call my mother, but she's meeting a friend for dinner right about now so you should probably use her cell phone. Do you want me to speak to her?"

Suspicion showed in Mr. Walker's eyes for a moment before he nodded and pushed the phone towards Duo. "Do it, and tell her that she needs to come here immediately."

"Sir, please, don't ruin her date completely. How about tomorrow morning instead?"

"Fine, whatever."

Duo grinned and picked up the phone. I watched what number he dialled and realised that it was Sally's cell. For Sally to get here for the morning, she'd have to leave immediately and travel all night, but it was possible.

"Hi, Mum, it's me, Duo. How's your date going? Okay, so it's not a date, but close enough. Yeah. Yeah, the dance is great, unfortunately me and Heero got in a bit of trouble and we kinda need you to come speak to our Principal. Oh, really? Hm, okay, so this guy lives over by the cinema, yeah? Right, well I can give you directions to the school from there if you want. Great." He then gave a detailed list of directions, including enough street names that she could probably find the town anyway, but still ended with, "And then you turn the corner and come up with a big building that has a nice sign in front of it saying 'McKendry Secondary School'. Okay? Great. Thanks, Mum. Bye."

Duo hung up and looked at Mr. Walker with a happy smile. "So is that it?" he asked. "Can we go?"

After a rather longwinded warning about not doing anything like we had done in the gym ever again, Mr. Walker eventually let us go home. We stayed silent as we walked through the dark, empty corridors of the school. I was thinking about the possible ramifications of what we had done, and I had no idea what Duo was thinking about. We stepped out into the cool night air, and Duo paused, looking up at the stars as he was wont to do on occasion. I sometimes wondered what he thought of when he looked at the stars, I wondered what he saw out there among the glittering pinpricks of light.

"Duo, are you okay?" I ventured hesitantly after a few more minutes of silence. He nodded, smiling softly, but didn't answer or look away from the night sky.

"Do you mind us being… outed?"

"No. I have to say I'd rather it didn't happen, but… it's cool." He finally looked at me, and he smiled again. "I don't want to hide us."

Then he leaned forward and kissed me, a long, tender kiss that stole my breath. I moaned softly and reached out to pull him flush against my body. He let me, but pulled away a moment later with a wicked grin.

"I do not want to get in trouble again, 'Ro," he said firmly, and I frowned, but as I half-agreed with him, it was hard to argue.

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" I asked as we turned and started walking away from the school.

"I dunno, just relax, maybe read a little. No talking."

I understood what he meant, and nodded. While I did want to have another talk, wanted to try and heal him a little bit more, I knew that it wouldn't work unless he wanted it to. This had to be at Duo's pace or it wouldn't be worth anything. If I pushed, he'd draw away. I knew that, I did, but… I still wanted to talk, to push him just a little. Going at this slow, careful pace went against my basic nature, I liked things done quick and fast.

"Quit frowning, 'Ro," Duo said, bumping my shoulder with his. "We can talk tomorrow night."

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

Duo never broke a promise, it was worse than… anything, to his mind. So when he promised, I believed him, and was able to relax a bit more.

We spent a pleasant evening in the motel reading short stories on the Net, something that Duo was apparently fond of. It was nearing midnight by the time we finally went to bed, with me curled up behind him, holding him tightly to me.

"I love you, Heero," he whispered, the softest breath of sound, and I smiled as I drifted off to sleep.