Ahhhh... this fic is getting out of control! It was supposed to be a one-shot. A one-shot I tell you! XD More WAFF, and blame shad0w118 for the lack of lemon scene :P I reconsidered, and we will wait a little bit more :P is evil

Title: The Herald
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue. Don't Kill.
Warnings: Not beta read. Possible citrus, swearing, AU, mild angst.
Pairings: 1+2, future 1x2. 5+R, The pool is still open about Quat and Tro, but seeing all the interest, I'd say that's a strong possibility
Rating: R so far. Probably NC-17 later.
AN: The names of the newspapers are made up. If a paper with a name like this does exist and Herald probably does it's not my intention, to compare the two. Enjoy the fic, and please comment.

Part 5

Friday at work was.. different for the both men. Every time Duo saw Heero, he blushed, and every time Heero saw that he smiled even wider than he already was. When at lunch he went to ask Heero about some work-related stuff, the other man asked him about their date that day, "What time do you want me to come?"

"About seven would be ok. But if you want to stay later at work today, I can make the dinner later..."

"No, no, seven is good. Actually, I was thinking about leaving work early today." Heero smiled at him, and Duo understood the reason for Heero's leaving earlier, blushing slightly.

"I hope you like Italian food, since that seams to be my specialty."

"It's ok. Should I bring anything?"

"No, no, I have everything. Just bring yourself and a healthy appetite!"

"I will," Heero came closer to the other man, grabbing him around the waist, and puling Duo to him. Then he leaned down and kissed him lightly, "I can't wait for tonight."

"Me neither." They kised again, slowly, savoring each other, enjoying the closeness. Suddenly, a click and then a shocked gasp sounded in the office, both men jumping apart when they heard Relena's stuttering, "Oh my... I'm-m sorry... I knocked but... I'm really sorry!" she said quickly with an unnaturally high tone voice, then quickly left them alone again.

Heero hugged Duo again, and the braided man hid his face in the crook of his neck. Heero felt Duo's cheeks, hot from the blush that was surely coloring them.

"That was so embarrassing," Duo mumbled into Heero's skin.

"Be glad it was Relena."

"Duo looked up, hearing Heeros emotionless voice, "Heero?"

The other man just shook his head slightly, and smiled down at him, "I'm sorry, it's ok. Relena knows my preferences, she was just shocked. And she's not the kind of person to tease you, and gossip around. So there's no need to worry."

"Yeah," Duo smiled back, and they slowly separated. With a last, "I'll see you tonight!" and a nod in reply from Heero, Duo left his bosses office, and went to his own, deciding to hide from Relena... just in case.

At 6:30 pm, Duo was running around the kitchen like a mad man. At 4 he took Hilde to her friends place, and on the way back, he got stuck in a traffic jam. He cursed, he fummed, and he prayed to God his old junker of a car didn't overheat. When he finally got home it was almost five. He grabbed a quick shower, which - even in quick mode -took about 30 minutes, plus another 20 for drying and braiding his hair. Not wanting to stain his clothes while cooking, he decided to change right before Heero got here.

He prepared the food, and while some of it was frying, made the desert, and putt it in the fridge.

Right before seven, he put the spinach casserole in the oven, and run to his room to change. He was just looking himself up in the mirror, adjusting his braid one last time, when the door rung. He ran to open it, smiling when he saw Heero on his door step. The other man was holding one hand behind his back, smiling happily at Duo. Then, he revealed the bottle of some expensive red wine, from behind his back.

"Awww... and for a moment there I thought you brought me flowers." Duo grinned at him, and let Heero in.

"I can bring you some on the second date?" replied Heero, as he passed Duo to get into the house.

"Naaaah... to girly for me anyway," joked the braided man, and took the bottle from Heero, "Heero, I told you not to bring anything."

"Ah... but that was me asking if you needed anything. This is a present."

"Thank you. And hello," Duo grinned at Heero.

"Hello..." his guest whispered, and kissed him lightly.

"Come," Duo grabbed his hand when the kiss ended, "Dinner is almost ready." He led Heero to the kitchen, where the table was tastefully set for two people, complete with candles, and wine glasses. "I bought some wine too, but yours is better, so we'll drink that instead. They didn't have any good stuff in the neighborhood."

"Actually, I've bought this in France, two years ago. It was reserved for a special occasion. Such as this." he went to stand near Duo, as the other man took the casserole from the oven, and added some last touches to it. When he herd Heero's words, he smiled warmly at him, and then carried the food to the table. Heero grabbed the wine from the counter where Duo left it, and went to join the other man.

The dinner was delicious, which was no surprise for Heero. He complimented the cook, saying he didn't remember the last time he ate something this tasty, "Maybe you should reconsider your job choice? You'd be an awesome cook!"

"Thank you, but I think I'd stick with being who I am. They threw me out of cooking school for snatching up bits of the food I was preparing."

"What?"Heero laughed disbelievingly.

"Ok, ok, so they threw me out after I mixed up sweet pepper with the hot one... and made my professor, who tasted the food, drink water from the aquarium."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. Sure as hell did that. I was afraid to go to a restaurant anywhere in the town, since almost everywhere, there was someone from the school working there, and they laughed every time they saw me!"

Heero laughed at the story, Duo joining him, both men already relaxed and having a great time. Then Heero noticed, that Duo tried to subtly separate the risings that were in the casserole, so he wouldn't have to eat them, "Duo? You don't like risings?"

The braided man blushed, and looked down at his plate, "Umm... no, not particularly, no."

"Then why add them to the casserole?"

"Well.. It's my favorite one, and the risins add a particular sweetness to it. Without them, it wouldn't taste the same. But I have a small issue with raisings. When I was a kid, I ate a whole bag of them, and got very sick after wards. Since then I don't really like them."

Heero laughed again, "You're definitely one and only in your kind. In a good way, of course."

"Thanks." The bottle of wine was opened, and they finished their dinner, chatting about meaningless stuff, telling funny stories from their pasts. When they finished, Duo took the plates to the sink, and asked Heero to take their glasses and wine to the living room, while he brought desert.

Heero was already sited on one end of the couch, two refiled glasses of wine standing on the coffee table near him. Duo came to sit next to him, handing him one of the simple but tasteful fruit salads, with a bit of whipped cream. They ate in silence for a while, and then Heero moved closer to him, took one of the strawberries from his dessert, and lifted it up to Duos lips. Duo slowly opened his mouth, taking the strawberry in, licking Heero's fingers of the cream, as he slowly pulled them out, and reached for a grape. The motion continued, Heero's fingers staying in his mouth a little longer this time, Duo licking and sucking on them slowly, all the time looking into Heero's eyes. When the fingers were pulled out this time, Heero quickly covered Duo's mouth with his own, licking them slightly, and then slipping his tongue inside. They kissed like that for a long time, tasting wine, fruits, and each others, the sensation making them both dizzy. Heero reached out to put his dessert on the table, and then did the same with Duo's, all the time not braking the contact between them. Once their hands were free, they started touching, caressing, combing through hair, and sliding under shirts. Heero tilted Duo backwards a little, making the man lay down on the cushions under him. His hand caressing Duo's exposed belly, making the butterflies in them go completely crazy. Duo's own hands weren't idle. They slid under Heero's shirt on his back, sliding up, and then scraping lightly with his nails on their way down, making Heero shiver delightfully. Heero's mouth traveled down, kissing Duo's neck, finding the almost faded hickeys he did there not long ago, and making sure they were visible again. He licked the slightly salty skin, smelled the faint citrusy smell of Duo's shampoo.

They stayed on that couch for a few hours, just enjoying each other, and when the hour got late, just lying in each others arms, sipping their wine from time to time, talking quietly. When Duo yawned slightly, Heero followed him suit, and sighed, "I should probably be going..."

"Mmmm.. comfy. Don' wanna move..."

Heero just chuckled, "You want to sleep on the couch?"

"Uh-huh." Duo nodded slightly.

"Well, if you're sure..."

"I am." Duo looked up at him, from his position oh Heero's chest.

"Than I'll stay," Heero kissed Duo's forehead, and relaxed back into the cushions.

"Hilde is gonna have one hell of a surprise in the morning..." mumbled Duo into Heero's chest, his eyes already closing, and his breathing evening out. Heero just chuckled and caresed his hair. Duo fell asleep soon, but Heero stayed up a little longer, watching the sleeping wonder mostly on top of him, still a little unable to believe, that this was true. After a time, he fell asleep himself, warm and comfortable, with Duo in his arms.

TBC