"Conference? Why haven't I heard about it?" Une poured over her computer
files, for a long moment, and then grunted. She looked at Relena, on the vid
screen, over the rim of her glasses, speculatively. "A conference on the
hull integrity of older mining drifts? How does that concern you?"
"Why shouldn't it?" Relena demanded. "The people's concerns are my concerns. If mining drifts are being compromised by radiation leaks and sudden decompression, brought on by the lack of hull integrity, then it's my duty to convince the government to appropriate funds for their immediate needs."
Une continued to stare, as if she hoped for some weakness from Relena. When she found none, she turned to her computer again and checked out the security of the area in question. "That area isn't on a space route. You would need a veteran pilot. It's also doesn't have a police force. I would need to send a security detail to ensure your safety."
"I would expect the best agent and pilot that you have, of course, to be my personal body guard," Relena told her, sounding imperious and sure of her power to make it happen.
Again, Relena was treated to a hard look over round glasses. "May I remind you, Ms. Peacecraft, that these are men's lives, that we are speaking about? You should consider that when you request their services, for unimportant conferences, and place yourself, and them, in potential danger."
"If I have the very best, then that danger is minimized, surely?" Relena shot back with temper.
"Being 'the best' means little when an uncharted chunk of asteroid takes out your ship, Ms. Peacecraft," Une retorted.
"The chances of that are nil, of course?" Relena insisted, and then irritably, "I don't intend to be lectured by you, any longer, Commander Une. Please have your best agent on my personal shuttle by noon tomorrow."
"As you wish, Ms. Peacecraft," Une replied and managed to make that
dutiful response sound sarcastic.
_____________________________
"Not Duo Maxwell?" Relena paused in brushing her hair to glare at her servant.
He lifted an old eyebrow at her temper and repeated, "Agent Yuy called to confirm our departure time and to receive the specs of your personal shuttle. He seemed concerned with knowing it thoroughly before take off. A very prudent young man."
"But not the best pilot!" Relena tossed the brush away from her. "What is Une thinking? Why would she give me second best?"
Her servant frowned, confused. "You did request her best pilot and agent. While I understand that Agent Maxwell's piloting skills are unrivaled, Preventer's best agent is surely Mr. Yuy. I am certain that you will be in capable hands."
"That wasn't the point!" Relena exploded at him.
His old eyebrow arched even further. "What was the point, Ms. Relena?"
It was a subtle criticism, a way of telling her that he was well aware of her maneuvering. Embarrassed, Relena turned away, dismissing him curtly. When he was gone, she sat in front of her vid phone and scrambled for a reason to call Une and convince her that she had made a mistake.
When she was younger, she had been totally infatuated with Heero Yuy. Time and maturity had changed that, though, especially when she had actually spent time with him. As a member of her security detail, before he had left her to join Preventers, she had seen his dedication to duty, his stiff, formal, self, lacking in any hint of passion or interest outside of his work. Her own passion for him had been thoroughly snuffed out in that time. It had reawakened, though, when she had met Duo Maxwell.
Handsome, warm, and always ready with a laugh, he had been Heero's complete opposite. Meeting him as part of her Preventer security detail, during a charity event, she had instantly fallen in love with him. She could imagine him at her side, strong and tender, protecting her and loving her passionately. What would it be like, she wondered, to unravel that long hair, from it's braid, and have it loose about them while they...? She blushed and her fingers twitched, imagining them running through that cinnamon waterfall.
What else did Duo excel at? Relena racked her brain trying to remember something from the list that Une had rattled off in her introduction of the young man. Relena had been too caught up in staring into the man's large, unusual eyes. Were they blue, purple, indigo? They had sparkled with his personality, with his emotional warmth, his caring... Infiltration? It popped into Relena's head. Undercover work? How could she make that work into a conference on hull integrity?
When Une appeared on the vid screen, looking less than pleased at the interruption, it was hard for Relena to remember her story. She swallowed hard and firmed her resolve with difficulty.
"Yes, Ms. Peacecraft?" Une asked.
"Thank you for sending Agent Yuy," Relena told her, taking a pleasant route, first. "I feel safe, knowing that he will be both my pilot and guard during the event."
"But?" Une guessed.
Relena felt flustered by Une's bluntness. "I... well... I am interested in what these men really think, Commander Une. I don't wish to appropriate funds for them, if they aren't entirely committed to using them on behalf of the miner's."
Une nodded, but said nothing encouraging.
"I would like an undercover operative, someone in plain clothes, who can go about the conference and find out what I wish to know about these men," Relena told her in a tone that she hoped would stop any argument.
Relena was surprised when Une replied, "That sounds more than reasonable. Preventers is often short changed because of a lack of funds. It's in our best interest to make certain that those funds are not wasted on behalf of corrupt individuals. I'll send my best agent, Ms. Peacecraft."
"Thank you," Relena replied, relieved. That best agent would certainly be Duo Maxwell. There wouldn't be a mistake this time.
___________________________________________________________
"Trowa Barton?" Relena stood on the tarmac, ready to take the connector to her shuttle. Her older servant was nodding. "Why Trowa Barton?"
"The young man called to confirm his cover story, as a passenger that you had graciously allowed to transport to his ill mother on L3," the servant informed her. "He gave me a list of his credentials. They are impressive Ms. Peacecraft. You can be assured that he is Commander Une's best undercover operative."
"I wanted agent Maxwell!" Relena fumed. "Now I'm forced to go to this ridiculous conference for nothing!"
"Nothing?" Her old servant could deliver a stinging reprimand expertly with just the tone of his voice. That one word said volumes.
Relena recovered her composure with difficulty. "No, not nothing," she amended."It is an important problem."
Her servant nodded, gave a small bow, and motioned her to proceed him into the connector.
_________________________________________________________
"Interesting outfit," Heero said irritably as Trowa settled into the copilot's seat.
"Don't take it out on me," Trowa retorted.
Heero gave him a look before continuing his lift off checks. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Trowa adjusted his threadbare coat and loosened the collar of his old tan shirt. He was supposed to be a dock worker, a poor man who had begged Relena Peacecraft to take him to his ill mother. He had needed to look like a man unable to afford his ticket, a man in desperate straights. A man officials might over look as unimportant when they spoke together of things they didn't want Relena to know.
"Duo was taking you on a weekend boating trip," Trowa replied. "Sun, water, alone time...."
"Fishing," Heero added. "I hate fishing."
"I think that you were hoping for more than fishing," Trowa pointed out as he belted himself in.
Heero spared him another glare. "As if this trip was going to be different, than any of the other ones, that Duo's taken me on?"
"It could have been, but now you won't get to find that out," Trowa sympathized.
"Duo has zero libido," Heero complained as he viciously flicked a switch that was beeping. "He doesn't react to women, to men, to anything."
Trowa snorted laughter. "Anything?"
"Me," Heero clarified.
"And you know this... how?" Trowa pressed, curious.
"Full disrobe in the Preventer showers," Heero said with some embarrassment.
Trowa grunted in amazement. "You never take a public shower. Everyone calls you Yuy the Prude. Well, the nice ones. The other guys just think you have a tiny... well, you know... and don't want anyone to know."
"You do know that you're about to die?" Heero threatened. When Trowa only laughed, Heero said defensively, "I'm gay. It would be like a straight guy showering with women. It doesn't seem... proper."
"But it was that day?" Trowa pressed.
"I had to know," Heero retorted. "He didn't even... look. All guys look, Trowa, even straight guys."
"And the verdict?" Trowa wondered.
"Verdict?" Heero repeated, confused.
"Well, is it small or..."
"You are seriously about to die, Barton!" Heero warned.
Trowa took a long moment to stop laughing, and then asked, "So why get angry over a fishing trip that you didn't want to go on, anyway?"
"You said that I was angry. I didn't," Heero corrected irritably.
Trowa checked the time and the weather as he replied, "I wonder who Duo's going to take in your place?"
"No one, unless they want to die!" Heero snarled.
"Really, Heero, 'die' is popping up in your vocabulary way too much," Trowa joking admonished. "besides, if nothing was going to happen between you two, then why worry about someone else?"
"I'm not worried!" Heero shouted back.
"Then give that stick shift a rest before you break it, Yuy," Trowa advised. "I do want to get to the conference in one piece. You'll need to be able to steer to make that happen."
Heero ground his teeth together and let up the pressure.
-------------------------------------------------------
"So, how's your sick mother?" Heero wanted to know as he flipped off steeled toed shoes and let himself flop backwards onto one of the beds.
"On the mend," Trowa said as he tossed his coat onto a chair back. "How's guarding your Queen?"
"She's not my anything," Heero grunted. His hand went out to snag a room service menu from a side table. He held it over his face and scanned the offerings. "Boring," he finally replied. "Very, very boring."
"Any normal food?" Trowa asked hopefully as he toed off his own shoes and contemplated a shower.
"If you mean 'normal', as in, nothing with an unpronounceable name in glaze' and covered in wine, then yes," Heero replied. "Sandwiches, protein mixes, fried tofu... normal."
"Is Relena paying?" Trowa wondered as he sat on his own bed with a sigh.
"I'm charging her, or Preventers, for expenses," Heero replied as he took out his cell phone from his dress pants and began dialing. "I can't afford these drift prices on my salary."
"Me either," Trowa said and then ordered, "Protein sandwich with an orange soda."
"I'm calling Duo first." Heero replied irritably.
"Why?" Trowa wondered as he took the menu from Heero and looked over it himself.
"Because I want to," Heero retorted.
"Very mature," Trowa snorted. "What will you do when his new boy/girl friend answers?"
Heero glared. "There isn't one, at least not one that doesn't have my name."
"Awkward, if it's a girl," Trowa snickered.
"Duo?" Heero said into the phone. "I can barely hear you. Rough waters? Storm?" Heero sat up in alarm. "What's your status? Your location? Are you near port?" He listened, face tight with concentration. He relaxed a few moments later and said, "Good.. You're in dock. Yes, I do realize that you are smarter than a box of rocks. Just waiting for the storm to let up so that you can leave..? Well, the noise... I can hear the storm clearly... why wouldn't I think that you were out on the water, caught in it?" Heero blushed. "Yes, I was worried. You don't have to laugh. Roger? Who's....? In ballistics? Likes to fish? I'm not repeating everything you're saying, Duo. I just want the correct facts. Why? So that I can make certain that you aren't jeopardizing an asset of Preventers;One of it's best agents. Who else? Me, of course.... You don't have to laugh that hard about it."
Heero glared at the phone and then listened for awhile longer. He finally said, "All right. You were just joking? What? Uh....Yes, I'll take care of myself. Goodbye, Duo."
Heero let the phone drop onto his chest and looked disgusted. "I feel..."
"Like a complete idiot?" Trowa ventured as he took the phone and began to dial room service. When Heero glared at him, he shrugged with a smile and said, "He's having fun with... Roger... and you call to question his competence. Only people who are in relationships do that, Yuy, otherwise it just seems...invasive... belittling... stupid... Uh, yes, I'd like to order a protein sandwich on white with an orange soda... and?" He looked at Heero with a raised eyebrow.
"Tea and a tofu rice plate," Heero ordered as he flung himself off the bed and headed for the shower. "I don't want to be here," Heero grumbled, and tried not to imagine who Roger might be, what he might look like, and if the man was getting through to a seemingly sexless Duo, when he himself had failed so miserably.
---------------------------------------------------------
Relena went over Trowa's report, skimming it at first, because she hadn't really expected there to be subversive conversations, but then with more intensity as a thought came to her, that a situation might arise that could require a Duo Maxwell type of expertise. If Duo wasn't classified as the best pilot/bodyguard, though, or the best undercover operative, she had to wonder just where did his expertise lie? Full frontal assaults? Infiltration? Explosives? Weapons? Mechanics? He had been assigned as a general agent. Relena's memories of him, during the war, were too vague to be any sort of guide.
"Duo Maxwell, again, Miss Relena?" Her servant raised an old eyebrow at the man's picture on her computer screen. Grinning for the camera, Duo was rushing somewhere down a city street, leather jacket flapping and a scarf and braid swinging outward as if he was in the process of turning quickly away. The caption read, 'Ex-gundam pilot seen at Barney and Smith's upscale jewelry store. Wedding in the works?'
Months old, a wedding hadn't appeared, and everyone had been left to romanticize a breakup or a failed proposal, including Relena.
"May I suggest records, for information, not tabloid news stories?" Paragon bent and typed quickly over the keyboard. Duo's picture began popping up, looking more formal, in uniform, and far more serious. "Mission reports that are unclassified." Paragon explained and left her to look them over.
He hadn't criticized her in words, but Relena could feel his censure. As she read one dry, precise report, after another, she found it hard to care or to rethink her goal. She wouldn't harm anyone, wouldn't jeopardize anything for her attraction. There was nothing wrong, she thought, with some simple maneuvering, to get what she needed in the form of one particular Preventer agent.
It became clear, after the twentieth report, what Duo Maxwell's specialty was. When a nut needed to be cracked, in the way of getting through an enemies defenses, he was always the one Preventers called. Dangerous, reckless, but an expert without peer, a report read.
"Damn!" Relena whispered and put the photo of Duo, rushing down the street, back on her screen. She couldn't go as far as to manufacturer a hostage incident, or pretend a terrorist cell was lurking on a space drift. She had to come at it from a different angle.
"Paragon?" Relena called and the man appeared at her elbow. "I need Duo's personal phone number."
Again, Relena felt his censure like a heavy hand on her shoulder, but he nodded stiffly and reached to use the keyboard.
----------------------------
"Une sent you?" Heero stared at Duo as the man put down his duffel on the bed."Without contacting us?"
"You don't lie," Trowa pointed out and Duo looked nervous as he began tossing his things from the duffel into a drawer of a dresser. "Une gave you permission to come here, not orders, or she would have contacted us. Why did you drop everything and take a jump ship out here, Maxwell?"
Duo closed the dresser and confronted Heero. "Okay, you caught me. Relena called me. She said..."
"What did she say?" Heero wanted to know, mystified.
"That you were experiencing deep depression," Quatre said as he tossed his own suitcase next to Duo's. "Of course we came right away."
"To do what?" Heero demanded.
Quatre began unpacking a well."To offer support and counseling."
"An intervention?" Trowa snickered.
"Yes," Duo replied as he looked around the small room appraisingly. "We're here to show Heero our support and to convince him to enter therapy. Which bed is mine?"
"Not mine," Trowa warned.
"There are only the two beds," Heero said faintly, but then more strongly,"I don't need an intervention or therapy. I am not depressed. Trowa, tell them!"
"Y-You can share my bed, Quatre. It's a queen size," Trowa was saying.
Duo grinned nervously at Heero. "Guess that leaves us bunkmates, buddy."
"Why are you staying in our room?" Heero demanded angrily.
"Have you checked out the room prices on this drift?" Duo replied. "Can't afford that on my salary."
"And we need to be close to talk, Heero," Quatre added. "Come on, Duo,let's talk to Relena and let her know that we're here."
"Okay," Duo left his things to follow Quatre ut of the door. He paused in the door way to give Heero a serious look. "I'm worried about you. Of course I'd come, from anywhere, to help out."
They were gone, then, and Heero was left, confused and angry. "Why would Relena call Duo and tell him something like that?"
Trowa grunted, "Who cares?"
Heero glared at him."What are you saying? She's questioning my sanity!"
"I'm saying, that Quatre Winner, top of my hottest male alive list, is going to be sleeping in my bed. Don't screw that up. If they want to think you're depressed. Let them."
Heero blinked and then blushed deeply."D-Duo..."
Trowa grinned, "Will be sleeping in your bed, Heero. I suggest we shower and make ourselves very... presentable, don't you?"
"I'm first in the shower," Heero said eagerly and grabbed a towel. He paused and wondered,"What if nothing happens?"
"Two men in one bed?" Trowa replied pointedly.
"If it doesn't?" Heero insisted.
"Then Duo's going to need the intervention and the doctor," Trowa informed him. "If I wasn't completely after Quatre, I'd consider you next on the hot list."
Heero blinked, pleased, "Really?"
"Definitely," Trowa affirmed, "Now, don't blow your chance with Duo because of bad self esteem."
"Nice choice of words," Heero shot back. He gripped the towel tight. "What if something does happen? For either of us?"
"I don't think anyone is having sex, Heero," Trowa replied and then looked uncertain, "At least Quatre doesn't seem the exhibitionist type. For myself, I'm hoping for some 'connection', if you know what I mean? This is our chance to make them realize that they're interested in us."
"I see a lot of possibility for things to go very wrong," Heero complained.
"There's always that chance, but you have to take those chances if you're that serious," Trowa told him.
Heero nodded and then said, as he went into the bathroom, "If it does go very wrong, scatter my ashes in space, and apologize to Duo after he kills me."
"Roger that, Heero," Trowa replied with a chuckle.
_______________________________________________
"You're sleeping, together?" Relena asked in confusion.
"We're used to barrack like situations, Relena," Duo replied. "It's not a problem for us."
Relena blushed as she motioned to her immense suit. "There are enough rooms here, Duo, and I don't mind."
"It's about Heero, Relena, not our comfort," Quatre replied with a reassuring smile. "If we're all together, we can do more to convince Heero to enter therapy."
Relena felt desperate. "At least join me for dinner?"
"I wish that we could make this a lot more of a social visit, Relena," Duo said sadly, "because I am not looking forward to reconstituted protein pizza, but it really is a situation where we need a long, intense, one on one."
"I understand," Relena relented, feeling sick that her plan, once again, hadn't worked. It shouldn't be such an immense task to find time alone with Duo Maxwell, she thought, but everything was conspiring to make it so.
"Thanks again for calling us," Duo was saying. "Heero would have self destructed without anyone the wiser. He's such a contained kind of guy, hard headed, dedicated, a bit of a social goof, but a pretty great guy, that I'm sure not many people appreciate."
"But you do?" Quatre wondered, looking at Duo with amused eyes.
Duo tensed and shrugged. "Well, yeah. What's wrong with that?"
Quatre smiled. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."
Relena felt as if the situation was slipping, more and more, out of her hands. She tried grasping back some control. "Remember, Heero and Trowa are here to protect me. I'd like to make you part of my security detail, as well, Duo."
"Sure thing," Duo replied. "These rooms are secure, with blast bulkheads. If you leave them, contact us and we'll mount an escort."
"Thank you," Relena told him and silently decided that Duo was going to be the only one that she requested in the morning.
"We had better get back to Heero," Quatre told Duo and Duo nodded agreement.
"See you in the morning," Duo told Relena cheerily.
She watched them go with a sigh, wondering how much actual time she was going to be allowed to court Duo Maxwell.
_________________________________
"They're brown," Heero was saying.
"Brown?" Trowa repeated with a slightly glazed expression. "That's very..."
"I know!" Heero replied with a groan.
"What's brown?" Duo unexpectedly asked.
They both turned in consternation. Duo stood in the doorway, with Quatre behind him.
Heero blushed, mind going blank, but Trowa smoothly replied, "Heero's dress pants. Relena is invited to a formal event tomorrow, and Heero doesn't feel that brown is appropriate."
Duo's eyebrow quirked as he moved to sit on the bed and Quatre shut the door. "I didn't know that you cared that much about fashion, Heero."
Heero gave Trowa a glare as he replied, "Relena minds."
Duo's expression tightened and then he shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Women are like that. I have a pair of black pants that you can borrow. They might be a bit loose, but they won't rattle Relena's fashion sense."
"Thank you, Duo," Heero replied.
"Speaking of clothes, I have to get out of this flight suit," Duo groaned as he unzipped the jacket. His braid flopped about as he pulled it off and tossed it to land on a chair. His shirt was next and he showed a tightly muscled, slim waist, and broad shoulders, while he dug for a tank top in his duffel bag. He was also showing brown nipples.
Heero swallowed convulsively, feeling his body temperature soar.
Quatre unzipped his own jacket, but he pulled his clothing, a white shirt and dark shorts, out of his duffel, and took them to the small bathroom to change. "I'm going to shower."
Trowa's eyes went wide and he stammered. "O-oh... uh... A-All right."
Quatre looked at him for a long moment, smiled warmly, and then flipped his clothing over one shoulder as he went into the bathroom and closed the door.
That, Heero thought sourly, was a definite Quatre Winner flirt. He felt a wave of envy as Duo finished pulling on his tank top, in a way that spoke volumes about how he felt about Heero. They might as well have been in the locker room, again, with Duo completely oblivious to any sexual cues Heero was giving him and not interested in giving any himself.
Trowa recovered enough to notice and gave Heero a shrug and a sympathetic look.
"I'm starving," Duo was saying. "Can we order some pizza?"
"Do you have a house to mortgage?" Trowa wondered sourly. "The prices here are incredibly high and I don't think Relena's going to keep footing the bill."
Duo snickered, "While you flyboys have been squandering all your pay on toys, I've been investing and saving mine. I can afford a drift pizza."
"But not your own room?" Heero wondered and then winced. He had sounded critical.
"I could,if you want me to?" Duo asked seriously. "I just thought that it would be better to hang together and not have to spend half of my savings on a room."
Trowa was glaring at Heero as Heero tried to recover. "I didn't mean that... I..." Heero couldn't find the words to explain.
Duo smiled knowingly and said, "I know this is tough for you. You shouldn't be alone, right now, okay?"
"Okay," Heero replied in relief.
"Okay, then," Duo said, pleased by Heero's response. "What sort of reconstituted, faux, food product do you want on your pizza?"
When Duo was on the vid, ordering the food, Trowa pulled Heero aside and growled, very low,"Don't screw this up, Yuy!"
"It's already screwed up," Heero shot back miserably. "You saw. I'm a zero, where he's concerned."
"He has a wall, definitely, but getting over it, is your problem," Trowa retorted. "Don't ruin my chance to sleep with Quatre."
"I won't," Heero replied dejectedly.
Trowa gripped Heero's elbow hard. "I think I saw, something, okay? I just don't know what it was. Keep trying."
"With Duo?" Heero wondered in disbelief. When Trowa nodded, Heero frowned and looked over at the man in question. What had Trowa seen and could he believe in it? He supposed that a night, that close together, in a small bed, would be his final proof of whether Duo was interested or not. Heero didn't know whether to look forward to it or dread it.
----------------------------------------------------
"So, you see, Heero, there's nothing wrong with admiting that you need help," Duo finished.
"I don't see how talking to the mechanic, on transport number five, in the Preventer motor pool, about the death of your snake, Slinks, constitutes therapy, Duo," Quatre said impatiently.
Duo looked upset. "I loved that snake. He'd even curl up in my space suit, during out missions, and keep me company."
"In your space suit?" Trowa shuddered. "Didn't he ever...?"
"No, he wasn't a pervert snake, Trowa!" Duo snapped back. "He was a good friend and talking to Bernie in the motor pool helped me see that he's gone to a better place, and that I shouldn't feel bad about..."
"What?" Quatre wondered.
Duo looked uncomfortable. "The fact that he slithered into a reclamation unit and that I didn't notice when I spaced it."
"That's... terrible," Heero sympathized, sensing Duo's real pain. "I'm glad that Bernie was there to help you."
Seated on their beds, pizza boxes strewn around the room, they had been talking for awhile. Heero had made certain that Duo had ended up sitting next to him. Their eyes met, now, and Duo's were grateful for Heero's understanding.
Quatre cleared his throat, feeling that they should get back on topic. "You've heard Trowa, and I talk about our therapy, and Duo,as well, even though his was unconventional. Have we convinced you, Heero? Do you see that this could be a very good thing for you as well?"
Heero dragged his eyes away from Duo's, with an effort and lied, "Maybe I need that, later, when we get back Earthside, but, for now, I think that I need my friends close, tonight."
"Very close," Trowa piped in.
Duo yawned and stretched. Wearing a half tank top that said Preventer gym, and a pair of loose shorts, he still managed to make the move look controlled and pantherish. Heero had to turn away from seeing Duo's perfectly flat torso and the dusting of hair that traveled from his navel into the top of his shorts. "We can talk in the morning, again," Duo said after his yawn. "I'm space lagged and in definite need of some shut eye."
"That's a good idea," Quatre agreed, but then asked Trowa, "Are you sure that I won't be crowding you on the bed?"
"Not at all," Trowa replied and his voice went a little high. He cleared his throat and tossed back the covers. "Be my guest."
Quatre slipped under the covers, with a warm smile, while Trowa blushed. Duo was only concerned enough to say, as he got into bed, "If I crowd you, give me the elbow. I tend to sprawl out in my sleep."
"All right," Heero almost choked, mind imagining Duo sprawled over him. Duo turned his back on him, pulling his braid over his shoulder to keep even that out of Heero's way.
Heero looked up and found two sets of eyes looking at him sympatheically. Trowa and Quatre were watching from their bed. Even Quatre was aware of Heero's interest, it seemed, and Duo's lack. Heero found himself reaching for the light switch, unable to face anyone, and wanting the comfort of darkness to hide his disappointment.
They did manage to keep to their sides of the bed, but when Trowa began to snore lightly and Quatre was breathing slowly and deeply in sleep, Duo was suddenly rolling over and saying softly, "Awake, Heero?"
Heero had resigned himself to not sleeping the entire night, too aware of Duo and not wanting to touch, even accidentally, when his touch wasn't wanted. Duo was touching him, now, though, one hand on his arm and his knee pressed against Heero's leg.
"I'm awake," Heero whispered back. "Is something wrong?"
Duo sounded uncertain, but determined as he replied, "I didn't want to tell the other guys that I did have some therapy. It wasn't about Slinks, though. I.... I kind of had some bad things happen to me when I was younger, before I piloted Deathscythe. You don't live on the street, and watch a lot of other street kids die of a plague, without having some... issues. There was a few other things, but, what I'm saying is, it did help talking about it, because carrying stuff around in your head like that, can make you self destruct in ways that you don't even realize.
"Duo I..." Heero wanted to tell Duo the truth, but he suddenly bit down on the words. Duo had confessed something personal, because he thought that Heero needed help. He wasn't sure how Duo would react if he discovered that he had shared a secret for no reason. "Thank you," he finally said. "You're... You're a good friend."
Duo was sliding an arm around him in a tight hug that caught Heero off guard. His own arm was out before he could stop it, pulling Duo against him, full length, as he buried his face into Duo's neck.
Duo patted his back, after a moment, and said, "It's okay, Heero."
"It is?" Heero gasped, mind short circuiting as it processed Duo's approval. His lips were locked to Duo's not one second later.
Duo struggled and broke away, hands pushing at Heero's chest. "Heero! What the hell?" He shoved so hard that he fell backwards off of the bed, landing in a tangle of blankets.
Heero found himself talking to the darkness, in embarrassed confusion. "Duo! I'm sorry! I thought... Are you all right?"
A light went on and Trowa was aiming a gun at them both, Quatre just blinking his eyes open beside him."What's going on?" Trowa demanded.
Duo was scrambling to his feet and saying quickly, "Uh, fell out of bed. Guess I'm too big to share. I'll..." He snagged on of the blankets and a pillow. "I'll take the chair over there. Everyone can go back to sleep."
Duo gave a look to Heero that said, clearer than words, not to say anything. As he made himself as comfortable as he could in a chair, Trowa raised eyebrows at Heero in question.
Heero shook his head, his faked depression suddenly becoming real, and fell back into the bed. A man couldn't reject someone else any more soundly. Duo didn't want anything except friendship and Heero might have damaged even that much.
________________________________
Trowa mouthed the word, Chair, and rolled his eyes at Heero as they dressed for the day and tried to decide on breakfast.
Heero growled as he shrugged into a clean shirt, not wanting to talk about it.
Duo said, as he stretched sore muscles, "Well, if you don't like waffles, what do you want, Heero?"
You, Heero thought irritably, but said shortly, "Tea and some fish... or what passes for fish, here."
"Fish?" Quatre was putting on shoes, "I'd rather have some toast and jam. At least I know they're real."
"They have a small service down section seven," Trowa suggested. "Let's see what they have."
"All right," Quatre was all smiles. "Should we check on Relena, first?"
"Since it's part of my assignment, yes," Trowa replied and led the way out of the room.
Heero and Duo lagged behind and Heero felt that Duo was struggling, as much as he was, to find words to apologize or ask 'what the hell?' Heero tried first.
"I'm sorry, Duo," Heero said, eyes on the carpet beneath his feet. "I assumed something that wasn't true and... disturbed you a great deal, last night. I don't want this to ruin our friendship. Now that I know that you're really not... interested... in me, that way, I'll never- I mean, now that you know that I'm... gay... I don't want you to be bothered by-"
"Heero, I knew you were gay," Duo interjected. "That doesn't bother me. I'm sorry that this intervention made you feel so emotionally compromised that you felt the need to... reach out. I want you to know that I would NEVER take advantage of you that way. We've been friends for a long time. I don't want that ruined."
Heero's eyes came up and he blinked rapidly, trying to understand what Duo was saying. He said his next words carefully, "Are you saying that... you could have taken advantage? That you...." He licked dry lips and fought to find the right words, "You're gay?"
Duo raised eyebrows. "I wasn't obvious?"
"No, not at all," Heero replied and then couldn't help saying, "You didn't seem interested... in anyone, actually."
"You either," Duo pointed out. "If Trowa hadn't told me-"
"Trowa told you?" Heero was surprised at that.
"He was drunk and he was mooning over Quatre, at that time," Duo smiled at the memory, "Those two really do have to get together."
"What did Trowa say, exactly?" Heero wanted to know.
Duo jammed hands in his pockets and looked embarrassed. "He said you were gay, too, and knew all about wanting someone as badly as he wanted Quatre. He also asked me if I was asexual, for some reason, and told me that I needed to take shots for it, or something, so that I could stop torturing guys with my lack of libido." Duo shook his head. "The guy is truly weird when he drinks. I mean, asexual? What the hell, right? Anyway, so, yeah, he told me that you were gay. It didn't bother me, then, and it doesn't bother me now, okay?"
Heero rubbed at his forehead.
Duo frowned in concern. "What's wrong, Heero?"
"Duo, you are King of Mixed Signals," Heero replied irritably. "I don't know what the hell you want. Please... I just want to know one thing.... Are you interested, at all, in me? Was last night an accident, or did you really not want me touching you THAT badly?"
Duo fiddled with his braid and shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Heero demanded, suddenly getting into Duo's face. "Why are you closed off like this?"
Duo was tense and silent, for a long moment and then, as if dredging it out of himself he replied, "Wanting is one thing, trying to get, means a hell of a lot of disappointment. I've learned, to just get through life and what happens, happens. That way, you don't get hurt when things get snatched out of your hands or it doesn't turn out like you wanted."
Heero tried to work that out and then he thought that he understood. "So, I should just...come into your space and give you what I want to give you... because... you won't ever reach out and take it?"
"I spent a lifetime having it taken away," Duo agreed in a small voice. "It's made me someone who's a chicken shit and, maybe, someone you don't want. I can understand, not wanting to deal with that sh-"
Heero kissed Duo deeply, cupping a hand under his braid and touching the man's neck to bring him closer. He made the kiss long and languid.
"They have fish and waff-" Trowa said from the doorway and then coughed and said, "Oh, well...." and went away smiling.
Heero broke the kiss and looked into Duo's eyes. Duo's expression was needy and warm. "If you give me the chance, I'll make you believe in me," Heero promised.
Duo looked down and whispered, "Your depression, this is not a good time..."
"I don't have depression," Heero admitted. "I'm not sure why Relena thought that, but it isn't true. I lied, because it brought me closer to you."
Duo looked up again, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but then he didn't, restrained by his fears.
"It's all right," Heero told him as he slipped a comforting hand down Duo's back. "We have time. Let's have breakfast."
Duo smiled and nodded.
----------------------------------------
"So, you see, Relena, Heero isn't really depressed," Duo
was saying as Relena sat in her room and stared up at the man that she loved.
Duo was smiling, relaxed, and so handsome, Relena thought. She had tried every
trick that she knew to get him here, alone, and available for her to say something
to him. That he had showed up after breakfast, completely on his own, had left
her flatfooted and speechless.
"I have to thank you, though, for inviting me here," Duo continued, looking embarrassed, now, his hands going into his pockets and his shoulders hunching a bit. "Some things became a lot clearer to me and Heero because of this visit. If it wasn't for you, we could have kept being completely stupid about how we felt."
"How you felt?" Relena repeated as her hands fidgeted and locked together in her lap. She cleared her throat and tried, "Duo, could we talk about this, later? I'm glad that Heero is all right. He's a dear friend. What I want to talk about, now, is future happiness."
"And he has a chance for that now, and so do I," Duo interjected with a pleased grin.
"You do?" Relena felt a flutter in her heart, her breath catching as possibilities chased each other through her mind.
Duo looked even more embarrassed. "Yeah. You see..." he paused as if trying to choose appropriate words. "We lived hard lives, from the day that we were born," Duo finally said. "We learned not to trust in anything. I guess that I took that more to heart than anyone else. I knew how I felt, but I wasn't about to admit it, to open myself up and get hurt. I thought being friends was good enough. Stupid, I know. It was driving both of us crazy, I'm sure."
"Both?" Relena blinked. Was he really saying...? "Duo, I'm so glad that you finally understand your feelings, that you can see what's been in front of you all of this time. How I have longed to hear you say these very words."
"Really?" Duo asked, looking relieved. "You're all right with it, then? I wasn't sure. I didn't want you to get angry, to reject-"
"I would never reject you!" Relena exclaimed.
"It's Heero I was worried about," Duo said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "He cares a lot about you, your safety, your opinion, all of that. I think he really would get depressed if you hated him for being gay, for having a relationship with me."
It was as if the world stopped along with her heart. Relena felt even her fingers go ice cold and numb as she said stupidly, "What are you saying...?"
Duo was quick to reassure her,"I knew that you were bigger than that, that you weren't a bigot, or anything. That's why I felt safe coming to you and thanking you. Heero and me had a good talk, and we both realize that we can have a future together, that we've always wanted to be together."
"Of course," Relena's voice was on autopilot, ever the smooth politician even as her heart broke. "I'm so glad that I was instrumental in your new found happiness. I hope that you will both continue to blossom in your relationship."
Duo blushed, "Uh, thanks, Relena." He turned to leave, but then sidestepped someone else entering, "Fei?" he said in surprise.
Coolly, Wu Fei said, "You will all pack your things and get off this drift. You have all been pulled for reassignment."
Duo was flustered. "Oh, well, okay. Not like we were doing much here anyway. Relena's safer than being in maximum prison. I can't imagine any terrorist bothering with this boring-"
"Enough, Maxwell," Wu Fei cut him off. "I want you packed and out of here in one hour."
"Yes, sir," Duo replied, giving a smirk and a cocky salute as he left.
Relena stared at Wu Fei as he entered the room, face dark and scowling as he confronted her.
"After some research," he said, "Une discovered that there wasn't any reason for you to come here. She is not pleased and requests that you stop endangering lives, unnecessarily, for your own purposes, and return at once."
Arrogant, chin lifted, dark eyes snapping temper, and slicked back, black hair in a pony tail, Wu Fei was both commanding and handsome. That he could deliver such news while her heart and her dreams crumpled into dust...
Relena nodded stiffly. "I'll pack and be ready to go."
Wu Fei gave her a slight incline of his head and turned to go. His back was straight, shoulders showing some strength.
"Are you gay, agent?" Relena asked suddenly.
Wu Fei paused, eyebrow lifted. "No. Why ask that?"
"A girl needs some hope," Relena replied shakily.
He nodded, as if he understood what she didn't understand herself, and left her to pack.