More Than That
by Tayles
Dark hair, tousled more than usual in sleep, splayed across a
starched white pillowcase. Darker lashes rested on flawless skin,
eyelids moving occasionally as dreams drifted behind them. One
tanned arm was coiled partially under a slender body; protective of
the bruising received in yesterday's battle. The straight eyebrows
furrowed for a moment on the delicate face before soft lips parted
and a sigh escaped gently.
Duo took all this in even as his mind shook free from the foggy
confines of sleep. He had expected a sharp shock; a startling
surprise as he realised who he had spent the night with, as the
memories came back. He felt neither of these.
He felt peaceful.
There was a rightness about the situation that struck him as very
wrong. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Last night -
frantic hands, hungry mouths, demanding bodies - that was supposed
to happen. This soft and hazy quiet of the morning after just didn't
fit. Things never went this way. One-night-stands never saw dawn's
light.
No, Duo thought coldly, he was supposed to wake up alone, sheets
tangled around him and nothing but the scent of sweat and gunpowder
to convince him that Heero's presence in his bed had been more than
a dream. Then he was supposed to get up and on with daily routine,
as if it had never happened. Wasn't that what always happened? They
left whilst he slept and gave him nothing but the memories to keep
him sane.
Or maybe… Maybe it was him who was expected to leave. Collect his
scattered clothes and thoughts and leave the Perfect Soldier to his
mission.
Duo raised his head the tiniest of fractions to peer over Heero's
shoulder at his own bed against the far wall. It would be an easy
task to slip from this bed and return to his own, silent as death's
retreat and stealing away into the shadows of the new day.
But it wouldn't be far enough.
It would be awkward, their eyes meeting as they rose to meet the new
day, uncomfortably avoiding the topic of what had happened between
them. Well, it would be awkward for Duo. The ever-focussed Japanese
youth would easily sweep away the lingering thoughts of their
unexpected intimacy without hesitation.
More than that. It would hurt.
To see that look of indifference on Heero's face after Duo had given
him everything he had to offer… that would cut deeper than the
sharpest blade.
Yes, he had to get away from the situation. Run and hide, just stick
to what he was good at. It was early but a quiet and concise
clattering from the kitchen confirmed that Quatre was up and
preparing one of his healthy breakfasts for the group. Bless the boy
for a saint, Quatre always knew when to ask questions and when to
simply accept the situation without comment.
With the plan of going to the kitchen with his usual too-cheerful
grin firmly in place, Duo rose up on his elbows and slipped one leg
off of the bed. Holding his breath in the hopes that it would make
him silent and unobtrusive to the hair-trigger that was a sleeping
Heero Yuy, he drew away from the forbidden heat that the other boy's
body offered in the chill of morning and slipped from beneath the
sheets. Dropping into a defensive crouch and making himself as small
as possible, he cast a glance around their shared room of the safe
house. His black pants were in the furthest corner from Heero's bed,
hanging from the back of the desk chair. It defied logic, how they
had flown a good ten feet across the space, no matter how fervent
they had been the night before.
Straightening with a slight creak of tired joints, Duo placed one
foot in front of the other and prepared to take his first step away
from the bed, from Heero, from his whirling emotions, and from the
whole painful situation.
"Where are you going?"
Duo's breath caught in his throat and he turned slowly to find one
bright blue eye watching him.
Heero rolled languidly, just enough so now both eyes were open and
able to scrutinise the other boy. One arm was thrown across his
forehead in a poor defence against the weak light filtering through
the blinds and his face gave nothing of his thoughts away. "I asked
you where you were going."
"I…" Violet eyes darted nervously towards the door. Run and hide,
run and hide, run, run, run…"I-I was…"
A flicker of a frown passed over Heero's face. "I see."
Duo blinked, eyes suddenly wet and his tongue heavy in his
throat. "No… I mean… I d-didn't…" Ever his allies, words had decided
to abandon him. He couldn't leave it like this. There had to be more…
Heero's eyes were no longer on him; having dropped to the light
scratch on his arm accumulated only hours earlier. "Understood.
After all…" A thick lump was swallowed before he continued. "… it
was only one night."
Even as the words struck their blows against Duo's heart there was
more. More than what Heero was saying. It was in the way he now
curled so dejectedly, pulling the rumpled sheets around to press
beneath his chin, back to Duo and eyes fixed solidly on the spot
where the braided boy had lain beside him.
And now it was in Duo's hands. He could make it more: more than one
night, more than friendship, more than sex… More then he had hoped.
Stepping cautiously into Heero's line of sight, Duo looked down at
the boy. He'd never really thought of Heero as having emotions on
the same wavelength as his own. He always associated Heero with
stoicism and strength. He never once considered that maybe, just
maybe, Heero was as lonely as he was.
"Hey," his voice had lowered to a whisper without his conscious
thought. "Heero?" A shuffling brought the sheets down a little and
Duo could just make out those striking eyes looking at him through
the veil of unruly hair.
"Hn?"
"Scoot over man, you're hogging the covers." Without looking to see
if he'd got it right or not, Duo quickly lay down next to the other
boy, grabbing two handfuls of the sheet and pulling it over his
naked body. Flopping over, he snaked an arm around Heero's waist and
squeezed gently. "Much better."
Still hiding behind his mess of hair, a faint tinge of pink could be
seen gracing Heero's cheeks. "Your hands are cold," he said quietly,
not really scolding.
"I'll find a way to warm them." Further fidgeting resulted in said
hands being tucked firmly around Heero, with Heero's arms returning
the embrace. They remained still; holding that easy position for a
long moment until Heero shifted uneasily.
"Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"Last night. Does this make it-"
"Last night was more than just sex, Heero."
The Japanese boy nodded, nose brushing against Duo's as he did. "So
are we-"
"-more than friends?"
"Hm."
Duo let his lips rest over Heero's as he answered, "If you want us
to be."
In response a strong hand wrapped around his bicep and pulled him
into a deep kiss, both pairs of eyes fluttering shut and minds
abandoning higher thought processes. Duo knew then that no matter
what he and Heero shared, it would always be more than that.
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