Author's Note: Very quiet on the home front. Well, I got a little surprise for you guys in this chapter, so enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: slight language, shounen ai

Everything a Teen Needs to Live

Duo was honestly beginning to wonder how many times he had sighed in the past few days. He knew it had significantly increased the day he had been introduced to Solo, that much he knew.

Well, he couldn't help let another one out as said blond was dragging him through the weekend crowd that usually populated the local electronics store.

Solo had been quite aghast to learn that he hadn't had the necessary electronic equipment that a teenager needed to have to live in this day and age; i.e. an iPod and other such things. They were things the braided one knew he could live without. He could satisfy himself with one of Quatre's compact CD players that he had lying about but Solo had deemed them ancient and declared that he would be taking him out to get caught up to speed with the technological revolution.

He had hoped the blond had forgotten about it but first thing on that Sunday morning, Solo had barged into his room and woke him up. After many obscenities and promises to disembowel the guy, Duo found himself having to quickly eat his breakfast before being kidnapped by said dead man for the day.

"And just how are we going to pay for this?!" Duo had demanded as he had been forced to ride shotgun, hoping to stop this madness before it had gotten too far.

Solo had simply given him a look and said, "Are you forgetting whom you're with? I got plenty of money in my bank account and I'll do whatever the Hell I want with it."

Knowing there was no way to get out of this, he had pouted the rest of the way before having to give it up as Solo dragged him out of his car.

He had no idea about all the stuff he found himself around. Sure, he knew about DVDs, video games, and CDs, but everything made no sense to him. In fact, it was Solo who was doing everything. The only thing Duo found himself doing was pushing around the shopping cart that the blond had stuck in his hands.

Might as well just go with it since it seemed there was nothing he could do to stop it…

"This is a good one!" the blond announced to him as he gently put the selected electronic into the cart. Duo simply stared at it and shrugged. It wasn't as if he understood all this stuff anyway.

"So, are we finished?" he asked hopefully.

Solo chuckled at him and rumpled his hair before leading him to another section. Once he learned exactly where Solo was leading him, he couldn't help but object.

"What are we doing with the computers?"

"One word: iTunes."

"Why the heck do I need an iTune? There's that iPod thing right here!"

"iTunes, not iTune," Solo corrected. "And you need the computer to use it so that's why I'm getting ya a laptop."

"Could I use yours or Quatre's?"

"I'm not gonna share mine cause there's stuff on it I don't want you to see and why should Q have to let you borrow his?"

"He can always get another one."

Solo raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment on it. Instead, he continued with his previous argument. "It'll be easier on everybody if you had your own, ok? Now stop complaining and let me concentrate. I can't let ya get a crappy one, no matter how new it looks."

Indeed, it was going to be a long day…

--

It was only after the "necessities" had been picked out that some more desirable accessories were collected, namely CDs. However, old habits were hard to break, even with a determined blond at his side who seemed to have some sort of teasing comment about his preferences.

Once that was all said and done, bought and paid for, Duo once again found himself in shotgun as Solo finished putting the purchases in the backseat.

The moment the blond got into the driver's seat, Duo popped the question that had been on his mind for the last few minutes. "How much do I owe you?"

It was a good thing that Solo hadn't been driving , much less had the car started when his head snapped around to give him a look. "What the Hell do you mean by that?!" he demanded.

Sighing, Duo elaborated, "How much money do I owe you for the stuff? A few hundred bucks? A thousand?"

Then for the first time since he had met the blond, Solo cracked up in laughter. Duo paused as he heard the noise, not out of irritation but out of surprise because it was truly a genuine laugh come from him. It was pretty mesmerizing how deep it was, as if it came from a dark recess within Solo's body.

Getting a hold of himself, Solo snaked his arm out and pulled the braided one up against him. "You don't owe me a thing!" he said as his body still rumbled from his laughing fit.

Unable to help himself, Duo frowned. "But—"

"No buts!" Solo cut off. "I got these things for you because I wanted to. Think of them as a gift, a gift between friends."

"But I haven't gotten you anything," Duo trailed off.

"Think nothing of it!" Solo replied. "However, if you do want to give me something…well, I'll tell you what you can give me later. Right now, I'm getting a little hungry. How about yourself?"

Blinking, knowing that there was no way he could win or even score some sort of victory, Duo answered, "Sure, why not? What are you in the mood for?"

"Don't know yet," Solo admitted. "I'll just stop off at the first place I see."

"But what if I don't want to eat at the first place you see?"

"Too bad, so sad."

--

Taking a swallow from his soda, washing down the remains of his Big Mac, Solo allowed himself to indulge in the sight of Duo stuffing those world famous French fries down his gullet. While some people would be repulsed by the sight of ketchup being smeared over a teenager's face, Solo couldn't help but thing it was a bit endearing if not adorable.

Yes, he used the word adorable. Want to make something out of it?

Back to the subject at hand, just by watching how the braided one was eating, he could only wonder how somebody could hate him.

Which brought up an old question that had been on his mind for quite some time.

"Hey Duo," he said, capturing Duo's attention. "Can you tell me what that China guy at school, Wufei I think his name was, seems to hate you?"

"I wonder about that too," Duo answered. "I haven't figured it out myself. It just seems like from Day 1, the guy has had a grudge against me or something. At first he just ignored me but then one day he started getting really nasty to my face and it's been like that ever since. I've tried to be nice to the guy and everything but no dice."

"I can't believe that somebody would hate you for no reason," Solo stated.

"Better believe it," Duo muttered. "The entire school is that way. Sure, there are a few teachers that like me but that's it. Otherwise, I am America's most hated guy there."

"That's not right."

"Yeah but it's reality there and I've just given up on them. Except for you, Quatre, and maybe even Trowa, that whole place can go to Hell. I'm tired of being walked all over by those assholes."

"Then don't let them," Solo replied.

"Easier said than done," Duo said. "It just seems as if life itself conspires against me or something."

Solo snorted. "Don't think like that. It only seems like that cause you think like that and will come true if you continue to."

"Oh? And what do you suppose I should do?"

"Nothing," Solo answered.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive."

"That sounds just too simple."

"That's because it is."

Duo sighed. "If there is one thing I've learned about my life, it's never simple."

"Why's that?"

Looking sharply at the blond, Duo snapped, "It's none of your business Tree Trunk."

Not deigning to verbally reply, Solo just raised an eyebrow and picked up a fry.

--

After returning to the Winner estate and putting all the equipment that Solo had generously purchased for him, Duo had left the blond to set up the laptop and everything since he had no idea about what did what.

Hey, so he was a little backwards. It wasn't as if he had had all the privileges that every teen thought they were entitled to. He had been saving up money for years since he couldn't spend it all in one place without suffering the long term repercussions of such stupidity.

So, as he waited, he grabbed himself a snack and wondered about what Quatre was up to. He hadn't seen him since last Friday. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Trowa since then either and he knew that the unibanged guy was also staying here for the weekend.

Eh, no use thinking about it. He had a good idea of what those two were up to anyway.

Now, how long did it take to set up all that stuff anyway?

Feeling two strong arms suddenly wrap around him, he glanced up at the blond, curious about that grin the guy had on. Nothing good could come from that, of that he was certain.

"I remember you saying that you wanted to pay me back for the all that stuff I got you," Solo began.

Sighing, Duo replied, "I knew it. So how much do I owe you?"

Solo chuckled. "I don't want anything material, Short Stuff."

His face scrunching up in confusion, Duo squirmed around in Solo's embrace so that he could face the blond. "Then what the—"

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to finish what he was saying because his mouth soon became preoccupied with something else.

That something else just happened to be Solo's lips.

Solo had claimed his lips gently and yet so possessively that Duo's mind was still trying to process what was going on. It would take longer to do just that as Solo's tongue snaked into his mouth and Duo's hands grew minds of their own as they were clutched tightly to Solo, as if trying to keep him from being swept away by the sensations he was feeling.

Then, without warning, Duo found himself panting lightly, his eyes staring out into space as if it held all the answers. He was vaguely aware that he had a light blush and that a hand was rubbing his back gently.

"I think that covers it," a voice from above commented before he felt a hand pat his shoulder and the source of the voice turn and leave.

Only two things dominated the thoughts of the braided one.

One was the question of what had just happened.

And the other…

That guy is a good kisser!

--

Walking jauntily down the hallway, Solo was nearly giddy. Damn that had been good. Sure the Kid could improve a bit but his taste—!

It had only been a few minutes and already he was craving to have another.

"So what are you up to?"

Glancing to see where the question, he was mildly surprised to see Quatre standing about in the hall, dressed in a robe that practically covered his body, his arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he had been waiting for him to show up.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Solo answered teasingly.

"Actually I would," Quatre replied. "Don't think I didn't see what you did to Duo."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Solo said, getting defensive. "You gonna say I can't go near him again or something cause that ain't happening."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Quatre quipped. "I'm just looking out for my best friend. I just want to be sure you aren't jerking him around. He's had enough shit in his life already."

"And you think I don't know that?" Solo countered. "Look, I may not be the best kind of guy around but I don't string people along. I tell them straight up and front what is going on so that there's no hard feelings later."

"Have you told that to Duo?" Quatre asked, raising an eyebrow.

Solo was about to make a reply when he stopped. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't said anything of the sort to the guy. He hadn't even thought about it; everything he had done so far was…

Lowering his eyes sheepishly, he started scuffing his foot on the carpet.

If anything, that caused a smirk to grow on the smaller blond's face. "So, Solomon, what are your intentions towards my best friend?"

Swallowing, Solo answered quietly, "I don't know."

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief, Quatre pressed, "So why have you continued to flirt with Duo then?"

Much to his humiliation, Solo's face slowly became flushed. "I don't know."

"Don't you think you should at least figure out why you're doing this then?" Quatre asked.

Glaring at the smaller blond, Solo spat, "That's easy for you to say. You already have your hoity toity boyfriend who's willing to bend over backwards for you!"

"That's beside the point," Quatre replied. "I'm only interested in making sure that Duo doesn't get hurt."

"Is that it?" Solo asked. "I don't think you're doing this just for him."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Call it a gut feeling," Solo stated cheekily.

"Well, your gut feeling is wrong," Quatre said, frowning. "I am looking out for the one person that I have ever considered a brother and if you hurt him, not even being my cousin will keep you safe."

Raising his hands in the classic "surrender" pose, Solo grumbled, "Okay, okay, I got it. Don't get your balls tied into a knot over this. I'm not going to hurt Duo, okay? I could…" He suddenly trailed off, immediately catching Quatre's attention.

"Could what?" he pressed. "What could you do?"

Though he barely heard it, Quatre managed to make out the words, "…I could never hurt him…"

Not giving him the time of day, Solo turned on his heel and was gone from sight before he could say anything. Watching where the taller blond had vanished, a small smile grew on the Winner teen's lips.