Chapter Six

The Next Morning

A throbbing pain brought Heero out of sleep the next morning. The light was shining through his blinds and piercing the confines of his closed eyes. He groaned and tried to cover his head with a pillow, cursing himself for leaving the curtains opened. His head was pounding in his ears and his body felt sore. What did he do last night? He remembered alcohol; lots of alcohol; and poker. He groaned again and rolled over…onto something. He froze. Slowly he raised the pillow from his head and opened his eyes. Lying next to him was a sleeping, naked, Duo Maxwell. Heero suddenly felt faint. How did Duo end up in his bed? He tried to remember. He remembered the talk in the woods and then he and the others played poker; and the alcohol – oh the alcohol – and more poker. Why couldn't he remember?

He sat up slowly so he wouldn't disturb the other and froze when he realized that he too was naked. Horrible visions began rushing to his mind of what might have occurred during the night and he felt a wave of nausea rush over him. He wouldn't dare…but then how did Duo get there? Surely there was a reasonable explanation for all of this. Duo shifted in his sleep and Heero turned to stare at him. Would it really be so bad if they had? Hadn't Heero, at one time, been attracted to the braided pilot?

"That was a long time ago…" Heero muttered to the sleeping form.

He carefully stood and looked around the room for wherever he discarded his clothes. When he found the floor empty, he moved to the dresser and opened it. Panic struck him when he realized he had not yet brought his clothes up from the living room. They had never got around to it. Heero turned and looked back at Duo, who had curled up and was sucking his thumb. Heero had to admit that his old friend looked endearing while he slept; so peaceful. He tore his eyes from the other man and searched around the room for something, anything, he could use as clothes. Finally decided on the discarded sheet from the bed, he wrapped it around his waist and carefully ventured into the hall. No one seemed to be up yet and Heero felt himself sigh with relief. To be caught by his friend in a moment like this…it could ruin him.

He crept silently down the hall and to the stairs. Sure enough, in the living room was his large duffle bag full of clothes. He cursed himself for being so brainless and walked over to them. Moving further into the room he noticed the table and the scattered cards. Visions of the night before came back to him. He was playing poker with his friends. His eyes traveled the length of the table and took note of the beer cans and wine glasses and the throbbing in his head reminded him that he was not exempt from the results of too much drinking. Then he noticed the discarded clothes on the floor near to the chairs and his face went pale. He remembered now.

Duo had suggested strip poker and no one had objected, all too drunk to care and Heero had brought Duo to his room…Everything after that was still fuzzy. He wasn't sure what happened once they collapsed on the bed but Heero prayed that it was only sleep. He reached down and picked up his bag and paused. Duo would need clothes too. He grabbed his friends clothes as well and turned to head back up stairs when he ran straight into Trowa. The taller man was also darned in a discarded sheet and his cheeks were a bright red.

The two friends stood and stared, both unsure of what to say. How did you greet someone in this situation? The silence was broken when Quatre bounded down stairs, also in a sheet and dressed in the widest smile Heero had ever seen.

"Trowa, I forgot to tell you where the cereal is." He froze when he saw Heero and a blush colored his whole face.

Heero turned to the small blond and nodded. "Quatre." He acknowledged.

Quatre recovered from his shock, though his face remained flushed. "Good morning, Heero." He glanced nervously at Trowa before walking to the kitchen. "I was about to make coffee. Do you want some?"

"Hn" Heero nodded as Quatre disappeared into the kitchen.

Heero turned to Trowa and raised a brow. "He's awfully cheerful considering the hangover he must have."

Trowa's blush darkened and he nodded but didn't answer. Heero smirked and brushed past the tall man.

"Not a word, Yuy." Trowa said.

Heero paused at the foot of the stairs, not turning back. He wasn't sure if it was a request or a promise, but either way, he nodded and continued upstairs. Back in his room, Duo sitting up in bed, looking just as miserable as Heero felt. Heero walked in and set the clothes on the floor before turning and closing the door.

"Ow! Not so loud Heero!" Duo begged covering his head with the pillow.

Heero rolled his eyes, despite the situation; Duo could be such a baby. He knelt next to his own bag and began stuffing things into his dresser. Duo, as though just realizing who walked through the door, lowered the pillow and stared at his friend. Heero could feel his gaze and it caused him to pause in his work to turn and meet the questioning eyes of the braided man.

"Heero…" Duo said. His voiced was soft and uncertain.

Heero nodded. "You don't have to say anything."

Duo nodded and looked down. "Do…do you remember anything?"

Heero turned back to his dresser and became very interested in a piece of black fuzz on a white shirt. "…no." He said finally.

Duo nodded and looked up again. "Neither do I." He threw his feet over the side of the bed and rubbed his temples. "All I remember is something about cards…and drinking…lots of drinking…" He groaned and closed his eyes. "God, I swear I will never drink again!"

Heero nodded, resuming his task of putting clothes away. Duo turned to him and tried to smile. "So…what do we do?"

Heero stopped and turned to him. "About what?"

Duo looked confused. "About…about what happened?" He said.

Heero stared at the man in front of him. What did he want to happen? That Heero would confess some undying love for him and fall into his arms and everything would be happy? Things didn't work that way; he would know. Heero's stare turned into a glare.

"I don't see a reason to do anything. As far as I'm concerned, nothing happened. We were drunk and we fell asleep in the same bed. End of story."

A hurt look flashed through Duo's eyes and he stood, holding the sheet around him and nodded. "You're probably right." He said, though it didn't sound believable. He walked over to his own bag and picked it up. "Thanks for bringing the bag up, by the way." He smirked at his friend, his eyes hiding any sign of pain.

Just like back in the war, Heero thought.

He grunted and continued stuffing clothes into the drawers as Duo left the room. Part of him felt bad for Duo. He hadn't meant to hurt him; he just couldn't admit that anything happened. He refused to believe it. He belonged to Relena; forever and always he was hers. He refused to give himself to anyone else…no matter how he felt for that person.