Disclaimer: I don't own GW, Savage Garden, or anything else I may have alluded to, much to my sorrow, so please don't sue, all you'll get is pocket lint anyhow, and I'm sure you already have as much of your own as you could possibly want

Warning: fluffy cotton candy and citrusy goodness. Some Relena bashing. Shounen-ai, yaoi (if you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be here). AU. If this isn't your cup of tea, go drink coffee or something.

Apologies: sorry it's taken so very long to update! ::ducks rotten fruits:: life has been majorly hectic and often hell-like since school started up again, and I have very little time to write. Plus Heero's head is like a rock and very hard to get into, and doesn't like me as much as Duo's anyway, so this took a lot of time I didn't have to write. And I'm a Boston girl, so I've obviously had important things to be watching on TV!!!! Go RED SOX!! WE LOVE YOU!! Sorry, I'm a bit of a fanatic! Thanx to everyone who reviewed, please, bear with me, I know I'm difficult. I haven't forgotten you, and I loved your reviews, they give me the encouragement I need to write. I know this is shorter than usual, but I hope you like it!

In the Savage Garden

"Uh," Duo hesitated, not really wanting to say it, but it had to be said…

Come and stand a little bit closer

Breathe in and get a bit higher

You'll never know what hit you

When I get to you…

Ch. 2 – I Want You

… "Uh, Heero, you're kinda heavy."

Heero stared, then started laughing. Not chuckling this time either, but full out laughter full of relief.

Switch POV

Duo looked incredibly awkward after his statement, and more than a little uncomfortable lying there, pinned to the floor, but Heero couldn't help thinking how adorable Duo looked with that partially embarrassed, partially confused expression on his face.

"It's not all that funny," Duo grumbled, pouting a little as he realized that Heero was laughing at him.

Heero managed to stop laughing, but couldn't seem to stop grinning. He hadn't been sure what Duo would say, but he'd been expecting much worse, and was incredibly thankful that Duo hadn't suddenly changed his mind. He released the smaller boy's wrists and rolled off him.

Duo, however, didn't move. "Was it really that funny?" he sounded upset.

"No! I was just relieved you didn't – " Heero hurried to reassure Duo, then stopped abruptly when he realized the corners of the American's mouth were twitching as he fought to keep from smiling. He let out an exasperated noise. "Don't do that!" he growled.

Duo, smirking a little, sat up and rubbed at his wrists. "You're just so easy to tease, Hee – " he stopped himself, but Heero wasn't listening, he was staring with some chagrin at Duo's wrists, having just noticed the marks his fingers had left on the skin.

You ass, Yuy. Look what you've done now!

"Heero?" Duo quirked an eyebrow at the older boy, still gently rubbing his wrists.

"I'm really sorry, Duo," Heero managed to say at last, fighting to keep his face from going red in shame. Why the hell can't you control your own damn strength?

Duo immediately stopped massaging his wrists, his smirk fading for a moment, only to be replaced by a cheery smile. "Don't sweat it, I'm fine."

That smile looks so fake… "Don't bullshit me, Maxwell," Heero snapped, and winced inwardly at the harsh tone of his voice. Way to apologize, Yuy. You're already screwing this up, and it's been what, barely five minutes? Now presenting Heero Yuy, Master of the short-term relationship…

The smile had vanished from Duo's face, and in its place he wore a rare serious expression.

"I didn't really mean to hurt you," Heero said quickly, still inwardly berating himself. "It's just…"

Duo held up a hand, silencing him. "It's okay, Heero, really. I can take it. I'm a big boy. It's not that bad. I mean, you and Fei seem to make a point of knocking me on my ass at least once a week, and even Tro feels like he's gotta try it every once in a while. So I'm used to it by now. Besides, my head barely hurts anymore."

"Your head – ?" Of course, he hit it on the floor! Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. And it still hurts him… "I thought you didn't lie."

Heero could see Duo's blush even in the dim light. "I'm not lying," the braided boy insisted. "I'll be fine. Besides," he gave the Japanese boy a crooked grin, "who needs wrists anyway?"

"Duo…"

"I mean it. I'll be fine. Don't beat yourself up over it." Duo's grin grew cocky, and in the half-light his violet eyes glittered with mischief. "I don't mind it a little rough," he lowered his voice, even though no one else was there, and his voice could almost be described as sultry. "Hilde had quite the wild side, you know." He winked at the startled look on Heero's face, then promptly destroyed the effect by laughing.

Heero felt himself relax: Duo's laugh tended to do that to him. He sat back against the wall of the lift, facing the longhaired boy.

Duo, leaning against the opposite wall, glanced at the distance between them, then gave Heero a rueful look. "Guess the mood's ruined, huh?"

"Hn," Heero grunted. The mood was gone. But Duo… God, thought Heero. He looked quickly at the floor to keep from staring. Duo was… breathtaking. No matter how often they were together, no matter how many times Heero looked at his friend, it always felt the same: like the lights had gone out everywhere else and Duo was the only thing he could see.

And Duo had no idea. The cheerful actor joked about his looks often enough, but he didn't seem to really know how simply amazing he truly was. And there he was, lounging against the wall dressed in nothing but a worn pair of jeans, his ever-present cross, and a bit of a quirky grin, skin glistening in the faint light from the heat, braid slightly mussed from their… tussle: he was sin incarnate.

All Heero wanted to do was grab the longhaired player, wrestle him to the ground again, and thoroughly ravish him. God he wanted to. But for all Duo's flirting and teasing, the little devil was far more innocent than most people assumed. And far more innocent than Heero. After all, the charming brunet had taken being Hilde's boyfriend seriously, the commitment had meant something to him, as it had to her. And though he'd done his best to hide it, Hilde's decision to move out had really done a number on him. Had Duo been anyone else, he would have locked himself in his apartment for months. As it was, his personality was such that he couldn't do anything so drastic that it would be obvious to everyone how upset he really was, but he'd avoided going anywhere where he might have been forced to interact one-on-one with anyone who might have been a potential date.

That was the first thing that needed to be done, Heero decided, still staring fixedly at the floor. Duo had to start going out and having fun again. Parties, clubs, bars… There's that new club that just opened downtown, it's a bit eccentric, but I'll bet Duo loves it, in fact, it'd probably be perfect for him…

"You ok, Heero?" Duo's worried voice broke into Heero's planning.

Heero looked up, startled, and regretted it the moment the thrill receded. This is not the time, Heero told himself firmly, to tackle him to the ground again and – no. He sharply cut off his train of thought.

"Heero?"

Duo's tone made Heero forget all his inappropriate temptations in an instant. The American boy actually sounded nervous. It took Heero a moment to figure out why, and when it finally dawned on him, he felt the urge to kick himself. Duo thought he'd done something wrong, that Heero's sudden retreat and withdrawal behind his trademark non-committal grunts was because of something Duo had said.

"I'm fine," Heero told him, then, realizing more explanation was necessary, hurried to add, "I just needed to think."

"Think?" Duo still sounded apprehensive.

"About us," Heero said, and winced. Stupid. That sounds terrible. "I mean you." That's no better. "I mean, about what I, er, we should do." Definitely worse. "That is, um, how we could, uh, where we could, er, go. Out, I mean. That is, if you wanted to. Go. Out. Together. With me. Without the others. Together." He could feel his face getting warm. Since when am I a stumbling idiot?

Duo's smile was genuine, and filled with relief. "I'd like that."

"Yeah." Heero felt a responding smile cross his own face. "Maybe tomorrow – " he started to say, when the elevator gave a shudder, and plummeted.

Both boys screamed.

Then, as suddenly as it had started to fall, it jerked to a halt.

Heero and Duo, who had both frantically tried grabbing at the walls and floors and bags around them, stared at each other.

The doors inched open to reveal the ground floor lobby, followed first by the smirking green eyes of Trowa Barton, then the cheerful face of Quatre Winner, who was happily singing one of his old songs.

"Hey, there!" Quatre broke off singing to greet the boys staring up at him from the floor. "Been stuck long?"

"Hour," Heero replied, once he had recovered from the shock. "Maybe more."

"And Duo's still alive?" Trowa queried.

"You don't need to sound so surprised," Duo grumbled.

Tro shrugged. "Heero's been really on edge with you, lately."

Even Trowa noticed? Heero thought with chagrin. WHY is it so damn much easier to get mad and start hitting things than it is to just keep my mouth shut?

Quatre laughed in that irritatingly knowing way he had when both newly freed boys muttered "whatever," and hastily began to dress and gather their things from the elevator.

"Why didn't Fei release the elevator?" Trowa wanted to know.

"Maybe because he's not here," Duo's tone was slightly sour. "He abandoned us in our time of need." He sounded incredibly hurt.

"He's at Meiran's," Heero amended, "And he was already gone when we got here." He looked at Duo, though he continued to speak to the others. "Duo's just making up lies to elicit pity."

"I don't lie," Duo growled – Heero felt a pleasant shiver along his spine in response to the sound – "I was just trying to improve the truth, that's all."

"So you could have been stuck in there all night," Quatre commented, cutting in, a bit of a smirk on his face that matched Trowa's. "Just the two of you. How horrible. Aren't you glad our concert ended early?" Almost like it was an afterthought, the blond turned to his braided friend. "Say, Duo, what happened to your wrists? They look pretty red. That must hurt."

"Heero tried to kill me," Duo responded, not missing a beat.

Heero sent the younger boy a glare.

Duo gave him a quick grin in return.

Is he going to tell them what happened? Heero wondered silently. Do I want him to? Do I want them to know? Does he? Should I tell them if he doesn't? What do I do? What do we do? Is he as confused as I am? It's impossible to tell! He's too good an actor, and has had far too much practice hiding his true feelings.

Quatre and Trowa exchanged a glance, both looking smug.

"You finished the errands, then?" Tro asked.

Heero and Duo both nodded, and handed off the requested items to their proper owners.

Tro nodded his thanks. "We're going back out in a bit for a late dinner, if you want to join us."

Quatre was humming a new song, another of the oldies Heero was unfamiliar with.

I guess I could go with them, if Duo does, Heero thought. And Duo's not likely to pass up a free meal.

"I think I'll pass," Duo said, just as Heero opened his mouth to accept. "I got a movie. I just want to stay in tonight. Thanks, though."

Heero shut his mouth, mind racing. Should I stay, too, then? Does he want me to stay here? Or is he trying to tell me he wants to be alone? Should I go with them? Maybe he's not sure either. Maybe I should stay, and ask him if he wants to do something. Or maybe I should just stay, and if he wants to talk or… whatever, I'll be here.

"Maybe next time," Heero finally said. "I don't feel much like going out."

"All right. See you, then." Trowa headed for the stairs.

"Stay out of the elevator," Quatre warned, a private grin on his face. "Wouldn't want you two to be trapped together again." He winked, then headed after his boyfriend singing again. "Celia, you're breaking my heart, you're shaking my confidence daily. Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to come home…"

Heero shook his head as Quatre's voice faded away up the stairwell, and glanced askance at the boy next to him. Say something, Duo. Please say something, 'cause I don't know what to say…

"So, uh, you're staying in?" Duo asked in a very would-be-casual kind of voice.

"Yeah." Don't sound too desperate, that's just sad. "Thought I'd just relax after running around all afternoon. Catch up on some reading, maybe."

"Oh, I see." Duo looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, me too. Well, no. I was gonna watch a movie. Not read. Just relax and watch a movie, you know. Eat. Nothing too exciting. Just kinda crash. Yeah." He fell silent, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He never could just be still.

Say something, Yuy! Heero yelled at himself. He wants to do something. You could watch the movie together. It'd be a start, at least. This is just damn awkward. And it's stupid. "So, um, what movie did you get?"

"Fight Club," Duo responded. "Ever seen it?" he looked slightly hopeful.

"'Course," Heero replied, then mentally kicked himself. Hard. "It's one of those movies you never get tired of watching again, isn't it?"

"Yeah! It is." Duo visibly brightened. "So, um, I'm just gonna microwave a pizza or something. Nothing fancy, but, uh… You wanna come over and watch with me?"

"Sure. I'd love to." Heero felt a smile on his lips as he gave an inner sigh of relief.

"Great!" Duo's eyes had lit up, and he led the way up the stairs with an extra little spring to each step.

Heero felt his smile grow.

They climbed in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm gonna shower and change," Heero remarked, hunting for his key as they neared the seventh floor. "I'm still kinda sweaty from the elevator." Wow, now that doesn't sound too awkward, Heero berated himself mentally, and quickly added, "Hope Quatre gets it fixed soon. Call me when you're ready to watch, all right?"

"Kay," Duo nodded cheerfully, braid bouncing, obviously either missing or ignoring Heero's verbal blunder. "Talk to you in a bit!" And he took off, bounding up the stairs, disappearing around the corner before Heero'd even gotten his door unlocked.

Heero entered his apartment and shut the door behind himself, automatically locking it. He dumped his load on a chair in his living room, glancing around out of habit.

All right, he thought, heading for his bedroom. Shower and change.

He opened his closet and started poking through. What the hell should I wear?!

A/N: So, uh, I realized I didn't exactly explain everything in Affirmation, and stuff… Medea is the title character of a Greek tragedy by Euripides, and Jason is the guy who dumps her after she's saved his life multiple times and had two sons with him (who she kills as part of her revenge fling, by the way). The play is pretty intense. The story takes place after the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, or before Theseus and the Minotaur, whichever way you want to look at it, though it's more connected to the Jason story. All those myths connect to each other, the geek in me loves six degrees of separation with characters from Greek mythology, which is probably more than anyone needed to know. So before this note gets to be longer than the chapter, the song Heero and Duo are listening to after the Junior Prom is 'I Knew I Loved You' by Savage Garden (naturally), in case you didn't pick up on that. Fight Club is a great movie with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, you have to see it to get it, and if you see it and think "that's not my kind of movie" give it a chance anyway, 'cause when I first saw it, it wasn't my kind of movie either, and I loved it anyway. What else, what else… oh, fencing. I fence, going on nine years now, it's a great sport, I'm foil, though I've done epée (which is a great crossword puzzle word, by the way!), and saber is cool to watch, though saber fencers can be scary (they yell a lot more than the rest of us). And if you don't know who Elvis is and was and will always be, you need some serious help. Not that I'm trying to be mean, mind you, I'm just blunt. Um… um… "Cecilia" is a song by Simon and Garfunkel. Did I miss anything? If I did, let me know, and I'll add it next time. ANYWAY… ::looks innocently off at the sky, twiddling thumbs, and whistling a merry tune::