First and possibly only foray into the GW fandom, though I adore the characters. Despite how old this thing is, I hope you enjoy it.

Only at Night

It was stifling hot. There was no respite from the continual heat even at nighttime. And the humidity didn't help at all, Heero thought, irritably swatting away a stray mosquito that had gotten through the netting that covered their tent.

On the two cots next to him lay Trowa and Quatre, the later snuggling peacefully into the protective hold of the Latin boy, mumbling incoherent phrases as he slept. And one more mat over yet, slept Wufei, body lax and limp, quite unlike it normally was during the day.

That left Duo. He was sleeping next to Heero. It had been that way for a long time, at first to the dark-haired boy's chagrin, then confusion, then general acceptance, and now expectance. If Duo didn't sleep next to him, then sleep came much harder, and the Asian pilot found himself longing for the warm skin and violet eyes to put him to sleep.

Tonight though, even having the self-prophesied Shinigami's lithe form underneath his arm and resting against his chest didn't help him fall back asleep. He had managed to fall asleep when they first went to bed, but the humidity and heat had kept him up after being woken. What had woken him up in the first place had been Duo's fitful thrashings.

"Mn… no… die… evil thing…"

Heero almost laughed, settling instead for raising his eyebrow at the sleeping orphan, as he muttered stray fragments of his dream. The Japanese boy wondered what the other pilot was dreaming of. Normally his dreams were very quiet and calm, a balancing counterpart to his hyperactive personality during the day.

Cobalt blue eyes softened as his lips reached over and gently skimmed over Duo's own, slipped open in a perfect 'o', small, rough hands tracing careful patterns over a smooth heart-shaped face, displaying tenderness that was never revealed in the daylight. Daylight found him rough and unsociable, calm and cold to the point that only the long-haired American pilot would stick by him all day long, instead of the couple hours at a time that the others were capable of.

The reason for that was simple. Though daylight found Heero antisocial and cold, privacy and quiet moments in secluded places found him as sociable and responsive as nighttime did. Duo knew that. Which was why he always made sure to find him when he knew the conditions were right. And luckily, that seemed to be more often that was thought. Their love was hardly clandestine during the night or in seclusion.

Duo had never told him that he loved him, though. After all, he knew that Heero wasn't the type of person who'd respond very well to a statement like that. In fact, the mere thought of how Heero would react was a source of never-ending amusement to Duo, to the point that he sometimes considered doing it just to get a good laugh. Instead, their understanding as lovers came from actions and gestures, and as said—a conscious, unspoken understanding. Initiated and maintained by Duo, though Heero needed it and treasured it just as much as the other, and if need came to be, he would maintain it as well.

Duo thrashed again, his face clouding as apparently troubling dreams upset his usually pleasant face, and Heero kissed him lightly again, frowning as his rarely initiated affections did nothing to ease the other boy's thoughts. Normally Duo would sigh lightly and smile, or wake up, even, but then things wouldn't be chaste kisses and touches anymore.

"Stop… don't get near me!" Duo cringed and whimpered, sounding desperate in his sleep, and the dark-haired boy's frown deepened, "Damn it, why won't you die?"

Was he having a nightmare about past enemies? That was certainly a possibility, and a very probable one. Heero reached out to shake Duo awake, but before he could do so, the other pilot let out a strangled shriek as his eyes flew open and he abruptly sat up, violet eyes swimming with fear, his body trembling.

"What's wrong…" Trowa muttered, groggily lifting his head, since sitting up was not an option with Quatre in his arms, until the Wing pilot motioned for him to lay back down, signaling that he'd take care of it. The brunette nodded and laid back down, snuggling closer to the blonde in his arms. Duo was Heero's problem, after all, just like Quatre would be Trowa's.

"Duo?" Heero asked carefully, turning to his war companion.

"Heero…" the shaky voice responded.

"Must have been a nasty dream to have you up like that," he observed. Duo nodded absently and edged himself into his lover, giving him a pout until Heero finally resigned and wrapped his arms tightly around the normally cheerful pilot.

"I only have nightmares of two things," the amethyst-eyed boy muttered as he burrowed his face deeply into the dark-brunette's neck, breathing in the calming scent of order and purity that was so Heero's.

"Which are?" Heero knew his voice sounded impersonal, but he also knew that Duo could always see through the cold exterior and knew he'd hear the concern threading subtly underneath.

"Losing you, and spiders attacking me."

The answer shocked the Japanese pilot into a moment of silence, and his hands ceased their gentle tracings on the other's back momentarily. It was as much the first part as the second. The first one awakened a rush of warm feelings for the violet-eyed boy, as well as an uncharacteristic rush of blood that quickly reached his cheeks. The second part shocked him out of the sheer ridiculous nature of it. A Gundam pilot afraid of spiders?

But it was a fear nonetheless, and had to be treated as such. Of course, knowing Duo, it was probably just a joke, and so as Heero leaned down to nuzzle his face against Duo's hair and nip his throat lightly, he asked, "So which one was it this time?"

"Spiders. It was a creepy dream," he responded, and smiled sheepishly as Heero paused in his intimate affections to give him a surprised glance, filled with more than a little doubt and ridicule. Duo ignored it and continued, tightening his arms around the cobalt-eyed pilot and snuggling his face in against his lean chest, "I'm serious, I was sitting in Shinigami, and first it was just one, and I could ignore that. In fact, I squashed it. But then more and more came, and there were flooding Shinigami! They were huge, and they had this stinger, and they looked like some creepy monster with a snake's tongue and the spider legs…" he shuddered in remembrance, "And I tried to get out, but the latch wouldn't open, and they were crawling all over me! And I tried to kill them—this water gun appeared in my hands, but they wouldn't die! And then I finally woke up…"

Heero realized that it had been a real nightmare, his doubts appeased. He still thought it was ridiculous, and made sure Duo knew it by the flat look he gave him, but nonetheless, he gathered the other pilot closer, stroking the long braid of hair now loose in a cascade of golden-brown.

"Did I wake you up?" Duo asked penitently, and Heero shrugged. Violet eyes looked up at azure ones guiltily, "Sorry… Can I give you a kiss as an apology?"

Heero could see that he was resisting the urge to smile underneath that guilty pout. But that had nothing to do with whether he wanted the kiss or not, so he shrugged, an automatic yes to Duo, who knew that Heero would never outright say yes—he had to play hard to get. A fact that amused Duo to no ends.

And now revealing the wide grin that had been veiled behind a guilty masquerade, Duo tilted his face up, grasping Heero's lips tenderly in his own easing it slowly into something rougher and more needy, the barrage of emotions he hid in public rushing out in a steady flow of touches and actions.

Duo pushed the thin Japanese pilot back forcefully to lie face-up on the cot, ignoring the humidity that made their kisses more adhesive, just relishing in the fact that the Wing pilot responded wholeheartedly, returning all the caresses and kisses, sometimes even more intensely than Duo's own. Yes, he did amuse Duo to no extent.

"I still think you were a slut in a previous lifetime…" Heero muttered as he broke away for a breath before diving in again, taking a strong hold of the amethyst-eyed boy's shoulders to turn him over, straddling him as they switched their positions. Both of their faces were lightly flushed, eyes shining with pleasure, but no lust.

"Naw, I got all my experience in this lifetime," Heero felt the smile against his throat before pushing Duo back down flat against the bed, and then it became all too visible.

"Really? I don't think I'll ever have enough time to hear where you got it all from, since you came to me fairly experienced already," the blue-eyed boy returned snidely, always surprising Duo with how much of a teaser he could be as well.

"I'm not answering that question."

"Good, or else you would have found yourself sleeping alone."

Duo delighted himself in the sly grin that tugged at his partner's lips, before giving a short 'oof!' as Heroo let himself collapse on top of him, drawing the breath sharply out of Shinigmami's pilot.

"You're light as a feather, but you can sure pack a punch when you want to…" he muttered.

"If only it wasn't so damn hot…" Heero ignored him and fanned himself as well as Duo at the same time, as their faces were next to each other.

"C'mon, you're a man. Besides, it's way hotter when we're dropping into the atmosphere anyway," Dup smiled, kissing Heero softly.

"Yes, but it isn't humid. And that's almost as bad as the heat."

Duo chuckled and patted Heero's back comfortingly, only to be retuned with an awaited glare. Awaited because Duo knew the calm-eyed boy would not take too kindly to being babied.

"What happened to you being the one needing comfort earlier?"

"I'm over those stupid spiders. Next time, I'll make sure I get a laser gun instead of a stupid water gun," amethyst jewels sparkled mischievously as he pulled his lover's chin roughly up, capturing lightly swollen lips again for another round.

"We should keep it down or else we'll wake the others."

"Ruin the fun, will ya?"

"Being quiet doesn't ruin any fun," Duo loved the mischievous smirk on Heero's face.

Thanks for reading!