Quite the Good Kisser

by the Black Rose

AN: This (apparently) isn't over, yet. This is part 2 of at least 3, possibly 4 (short chapters). Do beware that Heero says the f word to his computer code. Thanks for reading! Love, Rose.

Love, Rose

Chapter 2

Heero hit the enter key on his keyboard and watched the errors roll across the screen in bright red letters. Taunting him. He growled at the computer. "I've looked at this code a million times." The college senior ran a hair through the rumpled mess that was his hair.

"I need you to work." He pulled up his code editor and stared at the lines of his program for the million-and-first time.

The door banged open behind him and his rambunctious and inconsiderate roommate tromped into the apartment, declaring: "You are in some shit, now, buddy." Duo's boots scraped against the wood floor – and Heero's last nerve.

"Hn. Nice greeting." The college senior skimmed line after line. "You should write Hallmark cards."

Rustling erupted from the direction of the kitchen. "You could write cards, too." There was the sound of crinkling, then something – probably potato chips – crunched in his roommate's mouth. Amazingly, it didn't prevent him from talking. "Except they'd be completely blank."

Heero glanced up and shot his friend the 'go-away-you're-bothering-me' look. Unfortunately, after two years of rooming together, the goofy-grin and braid-wearing IT major wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Apparently, you've never kissed Relena."

Heero shut his eyes. It didn't help, all he saw was her face.

-
Her light blue eyes stared up at him. A soft smile graced her lips. "Heero..."
-

"How is this your business?"

"She's over talking to Dorothy and Hilde complaining that you've never kissed her." More potato chips crunched. "She thinks there's something wrong with her, and maybe you two aren't really going out."

Heero's eyes snapped open and he glared up at his friend.

Duo shrugged and shook his head. "Not good, buddy."

The college senior sighed and sunk back into his chair. The urge to bang his head on his computer monitor – or his desk – was sorely tempting. And had nothing to do with the senior project for his programming class currently thumbing its nose at the idea of compiling.
-
"Goodnight, Heero…" Relena closed her eyes. Her lips pressed together and protruded – like she was waiting for him to kiss her. His heart hammered in his chest and it took effort to remember to breathe—
-

"What gives?" Duo grabbed the other chair (the only other chair in their apartment), and straddled it.

Heero spun around in his seat and tried to return focus to his computer program. "Nothing. Go away." He stared, for the million-and-second time at the lines of code, willing it to show him where he had fucked something up.

"No, seriously…If you tell me what the problem is, maybe I can help."

Unfortunately, his program looked like computer gremlins had invaded his hardware and turned the code into a foreign language. "You can't help."

"How do you know?"

'Main, function…Dammit. I can't concentrate.' Heero spun his chair around and growled at Duo. "Because you can't. Now, go away. I have to finish de-bugging this program so I can graduate."

"Fine. Whatever you want." His roommate stood up to his full five feet, eleven inches and kicked the rolling chair back towards the wall. He started towards the kitchen. "But, when she breaks up with you to go out with a guy who will kiss her." Duo paused, turned his head and lowered his voice. "Amongst other things." He moved forward again. "Don't come cryin to me."

Heero grit his teeth. "I've…I've never…"

"Woah." His roommate stopped and whirled around. His eyes were wide and he stared at the programming major like Heero was a strange new quasi-fish in an aquarium. "You've never kissed a girl before?"

Heero shrugged and looked away. "No."

His roommate chuckled. "Well, it's the same as kissing guys, you know—"

"Knock it off." The college senior scowled at his friend. "I haven't been kissing anyone - girls or guys."

Duo's eyebrows knit together over laughing blue eyes. "So, we're having a little performance anxiety?"

"She has been kissed before." Heero ran a hand over his face. "What if I don't measure up?"

"Well." Duo pronounced as he retrieved the other chair. He plunked himself into the seat. "I am the kissing master. You can't measure up to me." His roommate grinned and cocked his head to one side. "BUT, Relena's a good kisser. She'll teach ya everything you need to know."

Heero raked his eyes over his supposed best friend. "You kissed Relena?"

"It was a while back, but yeah." Duo shrugged and rolled back a number of feet. "We went together for a few weeks. Didn't work out."

"Dammit. That makes three." Heero spun his chair back to the site of the code-programmer face-off. The one he was currently losing. "Is there any of my friends she hasn't kissed?"

"Huh?"

"She dated Quatre and then Trowa; apparently, she kissed both of them, too." The college senior spoke to the monitor.

-

Quatre placed a hand on Heero's shoulder. "You really should ask her out, Heero."

He glanced up into his friend's good-natured face. "Huh?"

"It's okay." His mouth stretched into a genuine smile. "We broke up over a month ago. But we're still good friends."

"That's probably one of the best things about her," Trowa added from his place –leaning back against the wall of the kitchen; his light-brown hair hung into his face and over one eye. "She forgives, so there's not really any mess with her breakups."

"Her breakups?"
-

"Eh. That is what happens when you date someone. Kissing is generally a requirement. Which is why the girl is rightfully upset about the lack of kissage she's gettin in your current, soon to be non-existent relationship."

Heero closed his eyes. "She didn't kiss Wufei, did she?"

"Are you kidding?" Duo exclaimed. "That wouldn't happen in a million years. Those two hate each other."

"Hn."

-
"She broke up? With both of you."

"Yeah." Quatre blushed from his cheeks to the roots of his blond hair. "She um, well, she said she knew when she kissed me…

That she didn't feel like we could be more than friends."

"That's what she told me, too," Trowa said.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Quatre frowned. "Do you think it's just a standard line?"

"Knowing Relena? No." Trowa uncrossed his arms and pushed away from the wall. "I think she's really waiting for proverbial lightning to strike. I don't know that it happens that way in real life, though."
-

"Here's what you do." His roommate's voice broke into his thoughts. "You ask her to the movies tonight. When the lights go out in the theater, you press your mouth against hers and let her coach you through it."

Heero gave up the fight with the bug-infested code, for the moment, and turned back around.

"I promise, if you'll do that, by the end of the movie, you'll be sucking face like a pro."

"You're sure…she wants…?"

Duo lifted an eyebrow and appeared to be laughing again. "She wants to kiss you so bad it's not even funny. So get over yourself and do the lip-lock tango. Who knows? You might even get lucky."

Heero's heart lurched. "If you tell me that any or all of you have slept with her, I'm going to kill each of you in turn."

"No way." Duo scooted the chair back another yard. "Relena's a good kisser, but she's terribly old fashioned." He stood up from the chair and leaned back against the couch on the border between the living room and the 'den' Heero used as an office.

"I just…she seems more 'into' you than she has been with anyone else."

The college senior arched an eyebrow.

"She had a crush on you back when she and I were dating. That's why it didn't work out. That, and well." Duo shrugged. "Hilde's better at keeping me in line."

Heero rolled his eyes. "As if that were possible."