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 ain't your style, it's your loss, it's not really my place to tell you what to wear.
In the Savage Garden
…
As everything went dark, Duo heard the voice on the radio cheerfully singing,
"Come a little bit closer
You're my kinda man
So big and so strong
Come a little bit closer
I'm all alone
And the night is so long…"
…
Farewell peace of mind kiss goodbye to reason
Up is down the impossible occurs each day
This intoxication thrills me
I only pray it doesn't kill me…
Ch. 4 – The Best Thing
Someone was calling Duo's name. It was faint though, and sounded far away. He felt like he was floating – a nice, if odd, sensation – and he didn't want to listen. Duo knew something unpleasant was waiting for him in the realm of consciousness, and he was not eager to return to it.
The voice was persistent, however, and refused to fade completely. On the contrary, it grew louder.
The pleasant feeling of weightless floating vanished, replaced by a throbbing pain in Duo's skull.
He forced his eyes open, swallowing a moan of pain.
Two deep blue eyes stared back at him from scant inches away.
Duo blinked
The blue retreated as the owner pulled back.
"Heero?" Duo managed to croak. Why is Heero here? Duo couldn't remember, his head hurt too much.
"How are you?" Heero asked; he looked worried.
"My head hurts," Duo admitted, slightly confused. Why am I on the floor? For some reason, he seemed to be holding his hairbrush. "What happened?"
"You fell," Heero replied, looking suddenly awkward.
"I fell?"
Heero nodded, but wouldn't meet Duo's gaze.
Duo managed a scowl, suspecting the Japanese boy was hiding something: Heero was a lousy liar. The younger boy tried to sit up. His head protested the movement, and a groan escaped before he could stop it.
"Be careful," the short-haired boy commanded sternly, steadying the smaller boy with one arm.
Heat flared at Heero's touch and Duo suddenly became very aware that he was sitting on the floor in his hallway with no shit and his hair damp and unbound. He also remembered why, as the pain in his head eased slightly and his memory returned. He groaned again.
"Duo?" Heero's face was once again etched with concern. At another time, Duo might have found it sweet, under the current circumstances, however, it just increased his embarrassment. "Is it your head?" Heero asked attentively.
"No." I couldn't have been out more than a minute, Duo realized, noting the radio was still mockingly playing Jay and the Americans.
"Something else?" Heero's concern deepened. "What hurts?"
"No," Duo said again, head in his hands, letting his hair drape around him, like a shield.
"No?" Heero was confused.
"Yes, my head hurts," Duo muttered to his palms. "No, that's not what's wrong."
"Then what – "
" 'Falling,' huh?" Duo couldn't bear to look up. "That might be the diplomatic way to put it, Yuy, but you suck at lying." Should have just told me I was a fucking clumsy fool who tripped over his own damn feet. Have done with it.
Switch POV
So that's it, Heero thought, relieved Duo hadn't been drastically injured, as his panic-filled mind had dreaded.
Then he noticed how dejected and miserable Duo looked, sitting half curled up under his loose hair.
(Come to think of it, part of Heero suddenly realized, I don't think I've ever seen him with his hair down before…)
A wave of embarrassment washed over Heero about the whole thing. He tried to fight it – Heero Yuy did not get embarrassed.
He hadn't really lied, Heero tried to reason with himself. After all, Duo had fallen, clumsily over his own feet, perhaps, but it had still technically been a fall.
Only… then Heero had fallen on top of him – also clumsily – and that had just been… awkward?
Awkward. Heero decided that was the best way to think of it. After all, anything else just wouldn't be appropriate at a time like that, and Heero was determined that whatever else happened – however this turned out – he would be appropriate where Duo was concerned; his long-haired friend deserved at least that. Duo was not Relena.
The embarrassment Heero was feeling over having been so clumsy himself as to fall on top of the other boy refused to fade. On top of that, the irritatingly paranoid voice in his head screamed that he'd somehow managed to botch the date, and thereby not only ruin any chance he might have had at a relationship with Duo, but he'd also likely destroyed their friendship – well done! And of course there was the equally annoying voice that kept calling him an idiot and telling him he was overreacting, it probably wasn't a date anyway, he was behaving like a stupid, overeager schoolboy with a crush, and it was foolish to have his hopes so high anyway – once Duo knew the truth, it would be over. The violet-eyed beauty deserved so much better. A third voice chimed in then, informing him that he was staring – and it was rude.
Heero started to laugh. He couldn't help it. It was all just too much.
Duo peered up at the messy-headed boy through his veil of hair. "What's so funny?" he demanded after a long, unsuccessful, moment of waiting for the laughter to cease.
At last, Heero finally managed to get himself under a semblance of control. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard – assuming, of course, that there had been a last time. "Just… everything," he gasped, breathless.
Duo raised a quizzical eyebrow, in what Heero had come to recognize as his "20 Questions" mode. He really did look ready to launch into one of his trademark streams of questions.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeep.
A buzzer was going off somewhere.
Saved by the bell, Heero thought with an inner sigh of relief.
At the same moment, however, Duo started, and lurched to his feet with a groan. He clutched his head with one hand and the wall with the other – presumably to keep himself upright – and made tracks for the kitchen at a stumbling run.
Heero retrieved the hairbrush from the floor where Duo had dropped it, and followed, half concerned, half amused. He found Duo by the microwave, poking unhappily at a somewhat crispy-looking pepperoni pizza.
"Is everything all right?" Heero asked, stopping in the doorway.
Duo lifted woebegone eyes. "It's burnt."
Another burst of laughter forced its way from Heero. Duo looked like nothing so much as a sorrowful puppy.
"I'm… sorry…" Heero choked out between laughs. "It's just… it's just… you… look… so…" he gave up. "I'm sorry!" he dissolved again.
Duo pouted.
(Adorable! thought Heero through his hilarity.)
"I didn't mean to burn it," Duo grumbled. "You landed on me, if you'll recall. Now I have two bumps on my head to thank you for."
Heero immediately sobered, feeling a wave of guilt.
Duo noted Heero's abrupt mood change instantly, and went bright red. "I'm not trying to say it was your fault, or anything!" he said quickly.
Heero, distracted from his self-disgust by his friend's vehemence, arched an eyebrow at the other boy (who was still very shirtless, Heero thought, trying hard not to stare at the way little droplets of moisture from the still-unbound chestnut locks formed on smooth skin).
"Well, in the elevator it was your fault – not that I'm complai – but just now it wasn't you, 'cause it's not your fault I can't keep my own damn feet under me, and – "
"Duo," Heero cut the rambling boy off.
A pink tinge colored the younger boy's cheeks. "Sorry," he muttered, looking intensely embarrassed.
He's nervous, Heero suddenly realized, feeling more than ever like an idiot for not seeing it before. I guess that makes two of us.
Duo started poking at the pizza again.
Say something, you jackass, Heero growled at himself. "It's not too burnt." He winced even as the words left his mouth. Oh, that was deep. Brilliant, really. Behold the genius that is me.
"I guess," Duo muttered, obviously still upset.
Heero decided to take charge. "Look, why don't you finish fixing your hair and I'll set up in the living room."
"What?" Duo looked up, startled, as if he'd been lost in his own thoughts.
"Your hair?" Heero held out the brush. "It's dripping." He suppressed the urge to wince again at his choice of words, the lyrics to an old Broadway favorite coming forcefully to mind (1), and hurried to add, "You'll catch a cold if you're not careful."
"Right."
Duo stared at the hairbrush for a long second, as if trying to recall what he was supposed to do with it, before shaking himself. He practically snatched the brush from Heero's hand, then fled in the direction of his bedroom.
Heero stared after him for a moment, then he, too, shook himself and set about getting plates and glasses.
Heero found Fight Club in one of the bags by the door (noticing as he searched that the various articles of clothing previously scattered across the floor had vanished).
From the hall, Heero could hear Duo humming along with the still-blaring music. The radio was still tuned into the American boy's favorite oldies station – he never played anything else in his apartment.
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (wo wo wo).
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin' Joe had left and gone away (hey hey hey, hey hey hey)…"
Heero found himself softly singing along with the last stanza as he set up the movie, then returning to the kitchen for the pizza as the guitar sang the last measures alone.
"You going to spend all night preening, or can I expect company for dinner?" Heero called, determined for the mood of the evening to lighten.
"Way ahead of you, man," came Duo's reply from the living room, and Heero realized the radio hadn't started a new song. Apparently, it had been shut off.
Heero brought the pizza into the large living room and discovered Duo already sprawled comfortably on his couch. He felt a flash of disappointment to see that Dup had not only braided his hair, but had also pulled on a shirt, grey with pushed up black sleeves, that went well with the black cargo pants he'd already been wearing.
Duo, seemingly over his earlier spate of nerves, grinned as Heero entered the room.
"I come bearing food," Heero announced, deepening his voice to a low boom, wishing his own nerves would leave him alone as Duo's seemed to have done. (Though he wondered, almost hoping, if Duo was really as calm as he looked, the other boy was, after all, a consummate actor.)
Duo laughed. "And right welcome."
Heero set the pizza down next to the plates already on the table in front of the couch. He stood for a moment longer, unsure, then sat determinedly next to Duo on the couch, leaving enough space for an elephant to sit between them.
"Oy, Heero. You forgot the drinks!" Duo complained.
"Crap," Heero grumbled, and started to rise.
"Nah, I'll get 'em." Duo shoved Heero back down on the couch and scrambled to his feet. "What's your poison?"
Heero blinked.
"I've got everything," Duo went on. "Diet. Caffeine-free. Diet-caffeine-free." He chuckled. "Whatever sparks your fancy."
Oh, soda, Heero thought. Of course. He knows I don't drink. "Anything's fine," he said, then, when Duo continued to look at him expectantly, he added, "Surprise me."
A wicked grin spread across Duo' face.
Oh, shit. "On second thought," Heero amended quickly, "A diet soda sounds good."
Duo laughed. "Diet it is." He vanished in the direction of the kitchen, the sound of his laughter trailing behind him.
Heero just sat there, determined to retrieve his customary cool façade. He couldn't lose his head. He'd have to tell Duo everything, and if he let himself get carried away, he might just blurt it out, and that would be, plainly, bad.
He wanted Duo to be able to trust him. He knew how important truth was to the boy who never lied. He'd seen how much Duo and Hilde had trusted each other; it was a big part of the reason they had worked so well together and lasted so long. And it was also a big part of why Heero was so confused by Hilde's abrupt decision to break it off. (He wondered briefly if Duo actually knew Hilde's reasons, the American boy had never said.)
"Think fast."
Heero's hand shot up automatically and caught the can that had been flying straight towards his face.
Duo was back.
Switch POV
Duo shook his head in wonder. "Nice catch," he said, and meant it. It always amazed him how fast Heero's reflexes were. He and the others never tired of testing them.
"Good thing," Heero drawled. "Was that supposed to be payback for landing on you in the hall?"
Duo snorted, flicked off the living room lights, and plopped down on the couch, slightly closer to the other boy than he'd been before. It was taking all his strength to just act casual: inside, he was a wreck. It didn't help that Heero had gotten over his own initial nerves so quickly, not that he had seemed particularly nervous to begin with, just a little shocked to see Duo answering the door half dressed. Not that that's surprising, Duo berated himself. I took absolutely forever to get ready. He probably never even had to wait that long for Her, and she's a primper if ever I saw one.
There was a snap and fizz as Heero popped his soda. "Want to start the movie?" he asked, reaching for the remote.
"Sure," Duo somehow managed to get out, miraculously sounding calm. He snapped open his own Diet Aliuqet, counting softly as he flipped the catch back and forth until it broke off at eight.
As the small piece of metal fell off into his hand, he realized there was a pair of dark blue eyes fixed on him.
"What?" he asked, fighting a blush at the intensity of the stare.
"What are you doing?" Heero queried.
"Oh." Duo felt the blush take over, and hoped the light coming from the hall and the TV screen wasn't strong enough for Heero to see it. "Um, counting."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
Duo's face got even hotter. "Good thing you asked then," he informed the other boy, feigning ignorance of the heavy sarcasm.
"Why were you counting?"
Duo bit his lip, desperate to say it was for no reason, but he didn't lie. "Old superstition," he muttered at last.
In the dim light, Duo could see Heero's raised eyebrow.
Duo sighed. Great, he thought. Now he's gonna think I act like a stupid girl as well as taking as long as one to get ready. "You count as you flip the tab," he explained. "The number of times it takes before it breaks off matches up with a letter of the alphabet. Then you flip the tab, like a coin," he did so, "and if it lands top up, like that," he pointed, "it means that the letter is the first letter of the first name of the person you're going to marry. If it lands bottom up, it's the first letter of the last name."
"What number did you get?" Heero didn't sound like he was making fun. In fact, he sounded genuinely curious.
"Eight," Duo replied, then mumbled, "It's always the same."
Duo could see Heero counting in his head, then saw the slight widening of the other boy's eyes.
"Eight's H." It almost sounded like a question.
Duo nodded. "Hilde always said it was fate – " Duo stopped. Shit. I can't believe I just said that. You're sitting here with Heero and you bring up Hilde. Smooth, Maxwell. Very smooth.
"Hilde. Right." Heero shifted away slightly.
"I didn't mean…" Duo broke off. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. "Heero starts with H, too," he blurted, then stuck his fist in his mouth, biting down. He wanted to sink into the ground. What the HELL was that?
But Heero had a strange, almost relieved, look on his face. "Yeah," he said after a minute. "It does."
Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
"So, movie?" Heero asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah." Duo nodded.
Heero started the film, and sat back against the cushions, handing Duo a plate and a slice of pizza and munching on another himself.
It was one of Duo's favorite movies, but he couldn't seem to focus on it. His mind was a whirl of confusion.
Is this a date, or not? his mind was demanding. If it is, have I already screwed it up beyond repair? Or are we still ok? How do I know if it's a date? Do I ask him? What if he laughs? What if we're really just hanging out? I don't wanna look like more of an idiot. But if it is a date, what do I do
"Um… Duo?" Heero's voice suddenly broke into Duo's thoughts.
"Huh?" Duo tore his eyes away from the screen where, unseeing, he had fixed them.
Heero pointed in reply.
Duo followed the finger's trail to his plate, and saw the neat stack he'd made of the pepperoni he'd pulled off his pizza. Fighting another blush with all his worth, he looked back at Heero. Forcing a casual shrug, he explained, "I don't like pepperoni."
"Then why – " Heero began.
"It was in the freezer," Duo cut him off. When Heero looked ready to say something else, Duo quickly added, "Don't sweat it. I don't mind picking them off."
Switch POV
Duo clearly meant that to be the end of that conversation, for he turned back to the movie with a trace of finality in his movement.
But Heero's thoughts had started spinning again, and he could only stare blindly at the screen.
The pizza had been Hilde's, Heero realized now. Pepperoni was her favorite. Why hadn't he realized it before? He knew Duo didn't like pepperoni, had known it for years. It was one of those little quirks Heero found so… endearing, if that was the right term. The boy who could, and would, eat anything hated something as simple as pepperoni.
Idiot, Heero growled at himself for the millionth time that night. You just keep finding ways of reminding him of her. The soda can, and now the pizza… What if he starts to compare you to her? You could never match up. Once he knows, he'll never even trust you. He trusted her.
I can be different, Heero argued back. I am different. I can be good. Just because I was like that with Relena doesn't mean I'll be like that with him. Relena didn't mean anything to me, and I didn't mean anything to her. We both knew it, and we dealt with it. That doesn't meant that's who I am. It's not. It's –
"Heero?" Duo's voice startled the Japanese boy out of his inner rant.
"Hai?" Heero's head snapped around to face his companion.
"I was wondering…" Duo trailed off, fidgeting with the end of his braid, eyes fixed on the movements of his fingers.
Heero waited, mind frozen.
"Um…" Duo paused again.
What could have him nervous like this?
"Uh…"
What?
"Er, is this…" Duo suddenly looked up, incredible violet eyes locking on Heero's blue. "Heero, is this a date?"
…
A/N: :laughs wickedly:
(1) The lyrics go back and forth between two people. It goes a lil' sumthin' like this:
"Ouch."
"Oh, the wax. It's – "
" – dripping. I like it between my – "
"– fingers, I figured. Oh, well. Goodnight."
Name that musical! It's my personal fave. I'll try to think of some way of honoring anyone who gets it right! Bonus points for naming the song and the people singing it :laughs: … bonus points… :laughs again:
So, sorry if the apartment layout thing is confusing! It's confusing me, too. I have random scraps of paper with terrible sketches all over the place (I'm a horrible artist). The apartments were originally based on the home of a friend of mine, but then I realized it wouldn't do, since Quatre's family is loaded, and it would only make sense (in my head, anyway) for the apartments to be big, and nice, even if the elevator is a piece of shit. So I started expanding. I've decided I'm never going into any kind of job connected with construction or architectural design.
Regular notes: umm… "Mrs. Robinson" is by Simon and Garfunkel. And the can thing, I don't remember when I first heard that superstition, but I've been doing it for years… for a while I always got a first name starting with "G"… hmm…
Anyhoo, Review please!
Oh, and one last thing! (I know my author's notes are almost as long as the story itself, that's just how I am.) I'm on a search for sexy outfits for my boys! Simple or… not, I suppose is an easy way to put it, you decide! I won't guarantee I'll use all of your ideas, since I do have some of my own, and I'm picky, but I'd appreciate some input. And, no, "Birthday Suit," while undeniable sexy, does NOT count! I'm looking chiefly for Duo and 'Ro, but the others as well. Be creative! (But, please, they're going out in these, and it is NOT Halloween! I've seen plenty of Duos in bunny ears, and while I drool, it's not what I'm looking for) Thankee all kindly! Love you :showers all reviewers with kisses:
