This was a challenge that was never fulfilled, is being reworked, and that I intend to finish... and hopefully soon.

Title: Domestic
Author: Ileana A. (babygray)
Main Pairing: Duo/Heero
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine. This is pure jest.
Notes: This is a 26-part story, made up of noisefics/drabbles/whatever. It's not chronological, but don't worry too much about that. Reworked, but rough and un-beta'ed. Also, I'm not very happy with how this chapter came out, and I'm still feeling drained from NaNoWriMo. I did my best, and I hope you're not too disappointed. In either case... Enjoy!

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--Sandman--

When Heero left the motel that morning, he was exhausted and feeling reckless. The way down the day before was a swift, 16-hour affair with a stop or two for the restroom and a burger while Relena sat beside him, switching from silent tears and heavy silence. The return trip didn't have the same sense of urgency, and took much longer than he wished, but he was hard-pressed to get back home, not so much for Relena's sake than for his own.

He didn't get off the highways until just before 3 AM. By that time, he was still functional only through the gracious help of a large cup of donut-shop coffee he bought so many miles back. By the time he turned onto his street some 15 minutes later, the coffee was all but failing him.

He slid into the spot behind Duo's red Ford, his eyes blearily making sure he didn't tap the station wagon with his bumper as he brought his blue-green Nissan to a stop.

He was functioning on auto-pilot. Radio, air, and the engine were turned off in that order, with the lights turning off on their own. He very nearly stumbled onto the ground as he climbed out of the car, closed the door softly, and activated the alarm. The activation sound was rather loud in the near silence.

He tackled the front door next, his feet falling noiselessly on the painted cement steps. His hand fumbled sluggishly with his keys as he yawned. What little caffeine he still had in his system seemed to be giving up so close to goal.

The black outer door unlocked with a sharp click and opened with a noisy shudder; the green inner door unlocked with a hybrid click-thud and needed a bit of nudging from Heero's shoulder before it could be pushed inwards.

He closed and locked both doors as quietly as possible, no mere feat when both doors refuse to be silent. A few clatters and thuds later, he moved towards the stairs. He toed his shoes off by the doorway and dropped his keys on the couch. The coat was draped weakly over the top of a dining table chair before it slipped onto the floor in a heap of synthetic materials as soon as his back was turned.

He took the stairs slowly, feeling his way in the darkness and keeping his feet from hitting a creaky floorboard unexpectedly and keeping himself from swaying too much from the exhaustion. He heard his father's snoring in the room to the immediate left of the stairs, the buzz-saw snores coming through loud and clear despite the closed bedroom door. There was a faint light glowing from underneath the door at the end of the hall to the right, the one that led to the bedroom he shared with Duo.

He went into the bathroom to expel what little he had in his bladder, using only the dim glow of a cheap, plug-in nightlight for guidance. He contemplated for a moment on taking a shower, but even as he decided against the idea, he realized that he was standing by the tub, naked except for his undershirt, his hand already turning the water on. Admitting defeat, he wearily moved his shed clothing and the undershirt towards the hamper with his foot and washed up as quickly as he could in the near-dark bathroom.

He dried himself off with his towel and placed his shed clothing in the hamper before tying the towel around his waist and walking to his bedroom. The light glowing underneath the door was a flickering blue, and the first thing he saw when he opened the door was the TV, tuned to an infomercial, muted and garish.

The second thing he saw was Duo, sleeping on the far side of the bed. He was on his side, with an arm tucked underneath his head. He was facing the TV and the door, with a magazine opened in front of him and the remote control by the fingers of his other hand.

Heero quietly cast aside the towel and searched for something to sleep in, a T-shirt and a pair of clean underwear, by the light of the TV

He dressed and closed the magazine, placing it on the bedside table. He turned off the TV with the remote control before laying that aside as well. He slipped under the covers carefully and snuggled into the warm blankets. He felt the exhaustion pulling his eyelids down as he settled onto his side, facing Duo. He stared at the other's relaxed features and smiled.

"If you weren't pretending to be asleep," he said drowsily, feeling his own face slacken wearily, "I would have kissed you by now." Duo's eyebrows twitched a bit at the words.

"What gave me away?" Duo asked in a soft voice, sounding only slightly more awake than Heero felt.

His slack features managed an amused expression, which, in the dark, Duo couldn't see even if his eyes were open. "You snore," he replied.

Duo snorted as he draped an arm around Heero's waist. They drew close to each other, enough so that Duo's nose bumped against Heero's. "I don't snore," he protested weakly against Heero's skin.

"My father says that as well, and he sounds like an outboard motor." Heero matched the arm around his waist with a hand toying with the loose strands of Duo's hair.

Duo grumbled out a few amusing, incomprehensible syllables in his defense into the air between them. Heero leaned his forehead against Duo's, his eyelids too heavy to keep open any longer.

"I'm sorry," Heero said. "For yesterday."

Duo snorted with some humor, but Heero couldn't tell if it was good-natured. "A more considerate man would have called before running away with his ex-wife," he mumbled as he tilted his head upwards and wormed his body closer to the warmth of Heero's body.

Heero, too tired to do much other than compromise and sleep, replied softly against Duo's hair, "She's practically my sister, Duo."

Duo mumbled something unintelligible against Heero's skin as his hand slid up Heero's clothed spine, mumbles that didn't amuse Heero as much as before.

Heero's fingers played with the loose strands of Duo's hair, feeling the fine strands slide between his fingertips. Sleep was being held back, just slightly, and for a longer moment than Heero had thought possible only minutes before. "Am I forgiven?" he whispered, finding his lips close to the lobe of Duo's ear.

"Do you think you deserve to be?" Duo whispered back, his head pulling away a short distance. His eyes were open now, only just, the whites of them faint and just visible.

"Only if you think so."

Duo's answer came in the form of a faint brush of lips against Heero's, a soft, transient warmth that lingered after the lips drew away.

"I'm glad you're home."