"Snow on the colonies just isn't very real, is it, Duo?"
"Huh?" Duo looked up from the papers he had been hunched over, looking over at the blonde who stood at the window and stared out at the large, fluffy flakes floating down outside. Quatre turned and smiled at him.
"Remember the snow back on Earth? It just seemed more… more genuine than the snow here, don't you think?"
Duo chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. It's hard for anything to seem genuine when you know it can be turned on and off at will."
Quatre beamed. "Yes, that's it exactly!" Suddenly his eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together. "Duo! Let's take a holiday trip to Earth!"
The braided teenager blinked. "A holiday trip?"
"Yes! We can call up the others and just find some lodge in the mountains and spend some time together, catching up and reminiscing and all of that."
One corner of Duo's mouth quirked at Quatre's enthusiasm. Of all the pilots, he seemed to value the friendships formed between them the most, and did his best to at least stay in contact with the others, even if three out of four were sometimes almost impossible to find. Duo had responded the most readily to Quatre's friendly overtures, and so the two boys had ended up spending quite a bit of time in each other's company and had become very close. In fact, Quatre often joked that he should just offer Duo a room at his mansion and be done with it.
"Yeah, Quat… That sounds like a great idea." Duo's heart warmed at the smile of heartbreaking sweetness that lit his friend's face.
"Wonderful! I'll start tracking down the others right away and finding a place for us to stay."
Duo grinned as he gathered up his papers and stood, pulling his hat on. "'Kay. Gimme a holler when you get everything taken care of."
Quatre chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be back here long before then, Duo. You always are."
The other grinned and thumbed his cap low over his eyes. "What can I say? Keep feeding me, and I'll keep coming around."
The blonde laughed out right at that and shook his head. "Out! Out of my house, you lazy bum!"
Snickering, Duo left, lifting a hand in farewell as the door fell shut behind him. Quatre turned back to the window to watch as the braided man headed off down the sidewalk through the snow, and a triumphant smile spread across his pretty features. "Well, that was easy."
Duo stared in awe at the rustic twin-story lodge that stood before them, surrounded by pristine drifts of snow and dark pine trees and backed by the majestic Teton Mountains. "Holy crap, Quatre!" he exclaimed. "How'd you managed to get a place like this at this time of year?"
Quatre grinned. "I'm the 'Winner prince', Duo," he replied simply, making his friend laugh.
"And what the Winner prince wants, the Winner prince gets, right?" Duo smirked at him, and Quatre winked.
"Come on, let's get inside and see what the place is like." The blonde hefted his duffel bag higher on his shoulder and headed inside, with Duo at his heels.
The inside was no less as impressive as the outside, and as Duo stared around at the huge fireplace, vaulted ceiling, and massive leather sofas in the main room, he murmured, "Man, Heero and the others are gonna be sorry they missed this! Too bad they couldn't come."
Quatre shrugged. "Trowa was busy with the circus, and I simply couldn't find Heero or Wufei. You know how they are."
Duo laughed. "You're telling me! Come on, let's go look at the bedrooms!" With a show of his usual infinite energy, he bounded up the stairs, Quatre trailing behind and laughing softly at him.
The braided former pilot threw himself onto the giant king-sized bed and stretched out with a near purr of pleasure. "Oh yeah… I like this… Just leave me here forever, please." Quatre, who stood in the doorway after dropping off his bag in the bedroom next door, chuckled and headed over to drop on the edge of the bed beside his companion.
"Duo, you'd never be able to afford this place on a salvage worker's salary," he teased, and Duo glared playfully before shutting both eyes and stretching out again.
Quatre hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached to brush a palm along Duo's leg. Before he could make contact, however, the brunette leaped up again, eyes bright. "Let's make a fire!" And he was gone again, leaving Quatre blinking after him and chuckling in affectionate frustration.
By the time the young CEO got downstairs again, Duo had already stacked wood in hearth and was tucking a few pieces of crumpled newspaper and woodchips underneath for kindling. He looked around for a lighter, and found it held out to him by a slender, pale hand. Looking up, he found himself staring into a sweet smile and a pair of warm aqua eyes. Duo grinned and took the lighter, turning back to set the newspaper and woodchips alight. "Thanks, Quat."
The other sighed. Completely oblivious, as usual, he thought with an exasperated smile. But that's part of his charm.
The rest of the day was spent settling into their temporary home: unpacking, making sure all the utilities worked, and making the happy discovery of a heated wine cellar in the basement. Quatre used this to his full advantage, using his considerable kitchen skills to whip up a near-gourmet meal for the two of them to celebrate the beginning of their vacation.
Later, after cleaning up, the two teenagers settled on the faux bearskin rug in front of the roaring fireplace to share a bottle of wine before bed, all the other lights extinguished. Duo lay on his stomach, chin propped in his hands as he stared into the fire, and Quatre thought the way the flames flickered in his violet eyes was nothing short of breathtaking.
The blonde leaned back on one hand, his glass held lightly in the fingers of the other, tipping his head up and to the side a little bit to stare out the front window at the night. It was so warm and peaceful he found himself almost hypnotized, and his lashes lowered over his aqua eyes.
Just then, movement and a sudden weight in his lap brought him out of his daze, and he looked down to find Duo had shifted to put his head in Quatre's lap, his eyes closed. Quatre smiled, finding it to be the most natural thing in the world to put down his wineglass and begin running his fingers through his friend's bangs. Duo sighed in apparent contentment and snuggled closer, turning his face towards the Arabian as Quatre again lifted his eyes to look out the window.
Quatre wasn't sure how much time had passed when he became aware of white, feathery puffs floating down outside. "Duo…" he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Look… It's snowing."
Duo pushed himself up a little to look outside, and smiled. "Yeah…"
Again they were silent for a few minutes, watching as the flakes frosted the edge of the window. It was Quatre who again broke the quiet, still in the same soft tone. "This is really romantic, don't you think, Duo?"
Duo surprised him a little with a reaction that was rather unexpected. The braided boy shifted back into a sitting position and snuggled against Quatre's side, his lips close to the blonde's ear as he whispered, "Yeah…"
Quatre wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly he found his lips pressed softly against Duo's, his friend's arms wrapped warmly around his waist, and his own around Duo's neck. The kiss was warm and chaste, and after a few moments they broke apart, staying close and staring into each other's eyes.
"Quatre…" Duo smiled gently. "This was what you planned all along, wasn't it?"
The other young man turned a delicate shade of pink. "I'm afraid you caught me, Duo. I never invited the others… I just wanted it to be you and me."
"But why?"
Quatre blinked at him. "You… really don't know by now?"
Duo grinned his cheeky grin. "I want to hear it from your lips, Quat."
Again his friend blushed prettily, lowering his lashes. "Because I love you, Duo." Then, before the brunette could have a chance to reply, he leaned in and delivered another gentle, loving kiss. But it didn't stay that way for long. Soon Duo's tongue was probing his lips, and Quatre willingly parted them, gasping softly as his tongue was suddenly writhing against the other teenager's.
The pair made love with lips and tongues for a few long, heated minutes, until they were forced to break off for air, both of them panting lightly, eyes wide.
"How long, Quatre?" The words were barely more than a puff of warm air against the Arabian's lips.
"Since we first stayed together in the Maguanacs' home village," was Quatre's equally quiet answer.
Duo grinned, tightening his embrace. "Then we have a lot of time to make up for, don't we?"
Amidst quiet laughter and the faint crackle of the fire, the pair of them tumbled back onto the rug…
owari