Disclaimer: I don't own GW, or any of the boys, much as I would love to. Joey Mac owns 'Falling' not me. :sniff:

Warning: Shounen-ai. Relena bashing. Bad dancing? You have been warned.

…

"What did you call me?"

He instantly stopped laughing, looking suddenly like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. "What?"

Falling

Part Two – The Question

"You called me…" I paused. "'Ro?"

"Oh. Uh. Yeah."

For some reason, he'd gone slightly red.

"Why?"

He looked down, the color deepening.

I waited.

"I wanted to," he muttered at last, not meeting my gaze.

"Why?"

He looked up. "Does it bother you?"

Nicely sidestepped, Maxwell. "No. It's just that I've never had a nickname before."

"Oh."

I turned back to my computer and started typing again.

"So it's okay if I call you that?"

"Hn."

"Heero."

"Hm?"

"Turn around."

I rolled my eyes, but stopped typing again and turned.

"Is it okay if I call you that?"

Why is this so damn important to him? "Yes, you idiot," I told him, though my words lacked their usual bite. "It's okay if you call me 'Ro."

"Okay."

I watched for a moment as he played with the end of his braid – twisting it almost nervously – then forced my attention back to the report I was working on.

"What are you going to do about Relena?"

"Do about her?" this time I turned around immediately.

He nodded.

"I'd love to shoot her, but she's too important to kill."

He stared for a moment, eyes wide, then burst out laughing.

I never would understand him. He'd ask me a question, I'd answer him honestly, and he'd double up in hysterics. I suppose my answers were a little odd, sometimes, but I really didn't think they were quite that funny. Not that I was really complaining, I loved his laugh, and I have to admit, every once in a while I would say something that was "so typically Yuy" (as he put it) just so that I could hear that wonderful sound.

"I meant about the dancing," Deathscythe's pilot said when he'd managed to get himself under control.

"Oh."

He chuckled a bit more. "Not that I'm against shooting her, or anything, though I suppose you would have an awful lot of explaining to do if Princess Bitch turned up dead. She really does deserve a good shooting." He fingers lightly touched his cheek, a sour expression on his face.

My own fingers went to my arm. "Bullets don't always kill," I offered, feeling the scar with my fingertips as I gave an inner frown at the thought of Relena hitting the other boy.

His eyes followed my fingers, and he laughed again. "True," he said, and grinned widely. "So would you like to do the honors, or shall I?"

The corners of my mouth twitched as I fought a smile. "I doubt it would be good for politics if she got shot, even if she didn't die."

"I guess." He didn't sound thrilled. "Well, since you can't kill her, and you won't shoot her, what are you going to do about this dancing business? You need to practice, you know. You kinda suck," he looked slightly apologetic, but he wasn't really one to mince words.

I clenched my teeth for a moment. Great, I thought. Just great.

"Well?"

Why is he so interested?

"I don't know." I looked at him for a moment. "Why?"

He shrugged.

What's that supposed to mean?

He was fidgeting again.

I looked at him for another long moment. I could tell he had something he wanted to say. And it must have been important, because usually he would just come out with whatever it was instead of beating around the issue, like he was so obviously doing now. I knew him well enough that I was sure he'd spit it out eventually if I waited.

"So," he was picking at a loose thread on the blanket under him, now. "A bunch of us are going downtown later tonight. Most of the guys in our dance class need some help, and there's a club that's pretty popular, which is a helluva lot better than extra dance lessons from the professor."

What does this have to do with me? He goes out all the time.

I waited again.

"Did you, uh, want to come?" His eyes were fixed on the blanket.

"To a dance club?" I kept my voice carefully neutral.

"Well, uh, yeah."

"With the boys in our dance class?"

"Um… yeah."

"You want me to go to a dance club with a group of people I don't know." It wasn't a question.

"You wouldn't go with a bunch of people you don't know!" Duo said fiercely, head shooting up, either defensive or… what?

I wasn't sure.

"You'd go with me!" His eyes went wide and he clamped his mouth shut, as if he'd said something he hadn't meant to.

"You want me to go with you?" I was actually hoping he'd say 'yes.'

I couldn't believe I was actually hoping he'd say 'yes.' What the hell is wrong with me?

"I… you… it would give you a chance to practice without having to deal with Ugly in Pink," he said at last, avoiding my eyes again. "It wouldn't have to be like… that."

"Did you mean it like that?" I tried to keep any eagerness out of my tone, though I wasn't entirely sure what 'that' meant, anyhow, I knew what it sounded like it meant, and for some reason I couldn't explain, I wanted…

But there was a little voice in my head – that sounded surprisingly like my twice-damned trainer – telling me that it didn't matter what he'd meant, it's not like I would go anyway, I had work to do, and going out would only distract me. Another voice, that sounded almost like Quatre, was telling me that maybe I'd have fun if I went, and a voice that sounded eerily like my own was saying that maybe Duo actually did want me to go, and my going would make him happy. The first voice scolded the two others and said he probably hadn't meant it like 'that' anyway. But what if…

I waited.

Duo couldn't lie, but he wouldn't look up either. "Yes," he mumbled after a long silence. I almost didn't hear him.

"Yes?" I almost didn't believe it.

"Yes," he repeated, still almost inaudible.

Wow. That was…

Part of me was completely stunned. I really hadn't thought he'd actually meant it like 'that'.

Another part of me, the annoying part, was telling me yet again that it didn't matter, anyway. I had to focus on the mission. The mission was all that mattered.

"Okay." The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

He looked up, then, confused. "Okay?"

Stupid. Stupid, the annoying part of me growled. What the hell did you say that for?

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

Don't do it. Don't do it…

"I'll go."

Agh! Idiot!

His entire face lit up. "You'll go?"

Don't –

Shut up, I told the angry voice in my head. Look how happy he is. He wants me to go, and I want to go. So just shut up.

I felt a smile start on my own face. It felt strange.

"I'll go."

TBC

A/N: Please REVIEW! And let me know what songs you like…