Disclaimer: Again, I don’t profit from this. I wish I owned them, but I don’t. Alas.

Pairing: 1x2x1
Category: AU
Rating: PG
Warnings: Yaoi, lime, very mild language, potential cuteness and (don't choke on this) sappiness.
Spoilers: Not a one.

Note: Wow, only two parts. And I've got nothing even remotely witty to say. It must be one of those days. Oh, wait. I had to give Yume a swift kick in the ass to get the final beta. There, that's my amusing tidbit of the day.

Falling Sideways
Part Two
by Blue Soaring


Monday couldn't come soon enough for Duo. He was dying to move forward with the plan. The morning classes dragged on and on as Duo sat impatiently in his seat. He'd made plans with Heero to 'sneak' out to the ponderosa tree for lunch.

Finally, the bell sounded and Duo quickly gathered up his books. Just as he stood up to go, Dorothy came up beside him.

"You're even more fidgety than usual, Duo. What's got you so worked up?" she said, readjusting her backpack.

"That class was as dull as watching bread mold," Duo said, hooking his fingers through the belt loops of his jeans.

"Have you seen Heero since the party?" Dorothy asked, quickly switching the line of conversation.

"Yep, I slept at his house Saturday night. Why?"

"Relena mentioned something about plans for the break," Dorothy said, a bit too quickly.

Duo almost grinned. She was fishing for dirt on him and Heero. "What kinda plans?" he asked, unable to resist.

"A party, I think," she said. "Relena wanted some help in planning it."

"Oh, well, I'll be seeing Heero today, you want me to mention it to him?"

"Yes, please." She glanced at the door. "I'll see you later."

"Sure thing, Dorothy. Later." Duo headed out the door, delighted with their progress. Dorothy was beyond suspicious that there really was something going on. Trowa too, probably. The others hadn't shown any signs, but it was still early yet.

He crossed the lush grassy lawn, making his way to the tiny grove of trees. The ponderosa loomed large above him as he wove in through the trees. Heero was already there, sitting on his coat and leaning against the trunk.

"We've got Dorothy," Duo said, grinning.

"How do you know?" Heero asked, scooting over a little so Duo could sit beside him.

Taking the invitation, Duo sat, his leg brushing against Heero's. "Just the way she seemed to be acting after class. I think she was digging for dirt on us."

"Trowa is suspicious as well." The Japanese boy rooted around in his knapsack, taking out his lunch, which consisted of another salad, a juice box and some kind of muffin. He cracked open a packet of dressing and poured it over the salad. "The others haven't noticed yet."

"It's early, we just started this," Duo said, stealing a lettuce leaf. "Mmmm, cesar, yummy." He licked his lips, getting the last bit of dressing.

Heero watched him, then realizing that he was staring, said, "Have you thought of anything else that we could do?"

"Well, I was thinking we should go for coffee. There's a café near Scoops, it's got that whole dim an' sexy ambiance thing happening. Looks like a good spot for a date."

"I think you should take me out this time," Heero said, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

Duo gave him a look. Suddenly, his face changed, softening. He bent his head down, looking up at Heero through his eyelashes. "Heero," he breathed, "would you please go out on a date with me tomorrow night?" He smiled slightly, leaning forward and putting his hand on Heero's knee.

Heero blinked. Then he blinked again.

"Please?" Duo said, adding a very small, almost undetectable pout.

Gathering himself back together, Heero said, "Alright."

"Now, see?" Duo said, his expression returning to normal as he moved to get out his own lunch. "That wasn't so bad. Dating me is fun."

"Maybe," Heero replied. "But you're buying." He took a drink from his juice box, looking at Duo out of the corner of his eye.

"Aw, shit. Dating YOU is a pain in the ass, Heero Yuy."

"Maybe."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Coffee Cup, while not having a very imaginative name, was a pleasant and relaxing place. Outside, it didn't look like much. Inside, however, it was lit with the soft glow of candles and a few lamps. The tables were a rich mahogany brown, gleaming in the dim light. The chairs were comfortable and soft, with padded armrests and gently curving backs. Plants and small trees were spread around, a small fireplace unlit in the corner and a tinkling fountain set in the center of the room. Soft music played, the speakers hidden.

"I don't even know if I LIKE most of this stuff," Duo said, staring at the menu. "But this is kinda nice, isn't it? I like it. Maybe I can get something besides coffee."

"You're having coffee," Heero said, not looking up from his menu.

"What?"

"You wanted to go on a coffee date, you're having coffee," Heero said again.

"Yes sir," Duo said, his eyes sparkling.

They were tucked away in a little corner; a large tree that Duo insisted was an orange tree leaning above them. A waiter arrived a short time later, taking both their orders and delivering them fairly quickly.

Duo took an experimental sip. "Not bad," he said, taking another taste. "Okay, so I like café mocha. How's yours?" He licked a bit of whipped cream from the corner of his mouth.

Taking a tiny sip and swallowing slowly, Heero waited a moment to answer. "Powerful," he finally said, his voice a little hoarse.

"What did you order?" Duo was trying hard to not laugh. It was a losing battle.

Heero shot him an annoyed look. "You ordered it."

"That'll be a problem if we come here again. I don't remember what it is."

"How is this going to contribute to our plan?" Heero asked.

"Maybe I just wanted to go for coffee," Duo said, taking another sip.

Heero's face went flat.

"I figure someone's bound to see us and think we're out on a date. Word gets around. And if it doesn't, at least we got some good coffee," the longhaired boy explained.

Eyes flickering to his own barely touched mug, Heero gave him a pointed look.

"Oh, here, try this," Duo said, shoving his mug at Heero.

Heero did, and was pleasantly surprised. "You're right, this is good," he said, cradling the mug in his hands and stealing another taste.

"Hey, don't drink it all," Duo protested. "That's my whipped cream you're stuffing in your face!"

Heero glanced down at the mug, which made his eyes cross a little. Duo grinned at him, reaching out to take back his drink. Heero held on long enough to have another mouthful, then reluctantly let him take it back.

"Yeah, s'right. My coffee, Yuy, mine," Duo said teasingly.

Heero gave him a half-hearted glare. Suddenly, his hand shot out and he scooped up a bit of the whipped cream, smearing it on Duo's nose and across his cheek. He smiled smugly. Giving his finger an appraising glance, he shrugged to himself and stuck it in his mouth, licking the cream off.

Duo was looking at him with a shocked expression.

Heero's smile got a little bigger, and he quirked an eyebrow at the other boy questioningly.

"I can't believe you just did that. You . . . you molested my whipped cream," Duo said, leveling his own version of a glare at his friend. The effect was ruined by the smear of white trailing across his face.

Heero carefully wiped the small smile from his lips and solemnly handed Duo a napkin. The corners of his mouth twitched with the effort of not grinning as Duo grabbed the napkin and cleaned the mess off his face.

"You know what gets me?" Duo said mournfully, staring at the napkin. "That' s a horrible waste of good whipped cream."

Despite his best efforts, Heero couldn't hold back the laugh that managed to escape.

"Oh, Dorothy said something today when I was talking to her, right before lunch," Duo said, ignoring Heero's quiet laughter. "Relena's throwing a party during the break, on Friday. And I think it's just what we need to clinch this thing."

"We have three days before break," Heero commented.

"Yep." Duo moved closer to Heero, leaning across the little table. "I think we should get caught at the party."

"Caught," Heero echoed. Duo's eyes really were a vibrant shade.

"Uh huh. I think we should arrange it so someone - I think it should be Relena," Duo added without explanation, "sees us in a compromising situation."

"Compromising situation," Heero echoed again. Very vivid flashes of 'compromising situations' stampeded through his mind.

"Heero, man, you sound like a parrot. Stay on the same wavelength, here. We won't really be doing anything, of course, but it'll look like we are. We should keep it so only one or two people actually SEE though. I'm not a total exhibitionist."

Abruptly, the pictures in Heero's brain took a decidedly different turn. "You're part exhibitionist," he said in what he hoped was a doubtful voice.

"I told you dating me was going to be fun," Duo said with a wink and a smile.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That night, long after Duo had gone home, Heero sat in the living room, a book open on his lap as he stared vacantly at the window. While he may have looked like he had entered some sort of stasis, his brain was operating at a fabulous rate.

He was thinking of Duo much more often than usual. The braided boy was in his thoughts regularly, this much was true, and he was, after all, his best friend. Right now, for example, Heero was replaying the night over and over in his mind, watching the shock emerge on Duo's face and smiling a little at the memory.

Heero was having fun. Mock-dating his best friend was fun. Gradually, Duo 's face appeared in his mind's eye, wearing that same expression he had used Monday under the ponderosa.

Head tilted to the side, warm chestnut hair falling about a slim face and pale neck. The warmth of a hand on his leg. Violet-blue eyes sparkling, peering up at him through lowered lashes. Lips curved up in a sultry smile, a little moist and parted slightly as a low, husky voice breathed a single word . . .

Heero's eyes shot open. His book tumbled to the floor, forgotten. He was breathing rapidly as he tried to gather his scattered wits about him. Looking around, his eyes found the large grandfather clock that sat in his living room. It was one a.m. He'd fallen asleep; he'd fallen asleep and dreamed about Duo.

A little shaken, Heero slowly got to his feet and retrieved his novel. And adamantly refused to dwell on what had happened next in the dream.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wednesday afternoon, Relena met Duo in the hallway during the class change.

"Hello, Duo" she said, a smile on her face and her eyes shining. "Are you and Heero certain you're coming to my party tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied, mirroring her smile.

"Perfect!" Then her expression clouded slightly and she peered intently at Duo's face. "That's odd, I never noticed before. What color are your eyes, Duo?"

"Heero tells me they're blue-violet."

"Heero said that?" Surprise registered on her face.

"Yeah, he should know, too. He sees them often enough."

After that, Relena excused herself quickly, darting off to speak hurriedly with Hilde before classes began.

Thursday morning dawned clear and bright. Heero looked around absently, enjoying the relative quiet of the early day. Ahead, he saw the lone figure of Duo waiting for him at the curb.

"It's working," Duo said happily. "Tomorrow's gonna be perfect."

The situation had progressed and Heero did his best to ignore his increasing preoccupation with Duo. They had agreed to tone it down before the party, returning to their usual habit of meeting off and on during the day. Duo had taken to touching him frequently, brushing his hand or leg when it really wasn't necessary.

Dorothy and Relena were wearing twin smug looks with rising frequency. Trowa had stopped narrowing his eyes every time the braided boy touched Heero, now barely giving it a second glance. Quatre, Wufei and Hilde were involved in many hushed conversations, which usually ended with Quatre beaming at both Heero and Duo every time he saw them and Hilde getting an odd gleam in her eyes. Wufei, for the most part, simply snorted and went around as if nothing had changed.

Heero grunted noncommittally. "We'll see."

"Have faith in me, Heero," Duo said. "See, I've got it all figured out."

Friday, as they walked home from school, Duo was oddly quiet.

"You're thinking," Heero said.

"Wha . . . ? Oh, yeah. Thinking 'bout tonight."

"What about tonight?"

"I'm wondering if we can pull this off."

"You're having doubts now?" Now, Heero thought pointedly, was not the time to have doubts.

"I don't doubt we've got everyone convinced we're together. Geez, even Wufei's got it figured out."

Heero remained quiet, waiting for Duo to explain.

"I was just thinking . . ."

Exasperation was not an emotion Heero experienced frequently, but he was heading in that direction now.

"You should kiss me."

Heero blinked. He'd heard that wrong. "Now?" he asked, his pulse rate speeding up for some reason. It definitely couldn't be that he was nervous.

"No, not now," Duo said. "At the party. Nothing involving tongue. Just a small kiss."

"Decide when we get to the party," Heero said, relieved that his voice came out normal.

"Right," Duo agreed.

And that was the end of that conversation. At least, it was the end of the spoken conversation. Heero replayed it over and over in his head once he and Duo had parted company. Duo was heading home to get ready; he and Heero would arrive about forty minutes into the festivities.

Standing in front of his mirror hours later, Heero was still thinking about it. 'It' being kissing Duo. He thought about having his lips pressed to Duo's. He thought about burying his hands in Duo's soft hair. He thought about having his body pushed firmly against Duo's. He thought about plunging his tongue deep into Duo's mouth. He thought about checking himself into the psychiatric ward of St. Gabriel's.

Shaking himself out of his self-imposed daze, he checked over his outfit one last time. Duo had picked it out; it was the only way Heero would have ever stuck himself in dark red pants. Curious, he had glanced at the tag, trying to figure out what they were made of. He abandoned that quest as soon as he had seen that, whatever it was actually called, it consisted of an impossible blend of about seven different materials that felt nothing at all like it should have. They were soft to the touch and as tight as hell. It defied logic. Anything that tight should have been as hard as a beetle's carapace. The shirt was simple, black in color with three-quarter length sleeves and a low v-neck. It fit snugly, but not uncomfortably so. He added the same silver chain and black boots he had worn last weekend.

When he met Duo for the party, his thoughts hadn't changed much. And then he found himself paying much too much attention to what Duo was wearing. More specifically, how Duo was wearing it.

He was wearing straight-legged pants. Very snug leather pants with laces across the front that wound around his waist and trailed about halfway down the side of his leg. Silver accents set off the utter blackness of them. His shirt was webbed, long sleeves dropping passed his hands and cut in a wide flare that draped towards the ground. Underneath he wore a thin, sheer shirt that barely concealed his pale skin. A deep red choker with a black stone dangling in the hallow of his throat encircled his neck.

Heero stared. Then he blinked. Then he stared some more.

"Hiya, Heero," Duo said, leaning far in over the bathroom sink and staring at his reflection. He dabbed something near the corner of his eye and then turned around to face his friend. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing at his face.

Wondering why his mouth was suddenly dry, Heero asked, "What is it?"

"It's black kohl. Neat, huh? Damn sexy, too," Duo laughed. "Here, sit down." He pointed at the toilet seat and closed the door.

Heero sat on the seat cover, giving Duo an inquiring look.

"I'm gonna put some on you, too," Duo explained.

"Why?" Heero's eyes narrowed.

"Because it looks good, now clam it and tip your head up." Duo leaned over him, putting his face very close to Heero's. "Don't blink," he warned as he touched Heero's chin lightly to keep his head still.

Duo smelled like warm sandalwood and Satsuma. Heero blinked.

"Heero!" Duo said. "I just told you NOT to do that."

Heero glared.

"Don't do that, either." Duo blew a bit of hair up from his face. "This isn't working, the angle's all wrong," he mumbled, mostly to himself. He stared at Heero for a minute, then kicked the Japanese boy's legs together and plopped down on his lap. "There, that's better," Duo said, "now don't move, blink or glare. Stop breathing if you have to."

Heero had already done that when Duo had sat on his legs. Confused as to what he should do with his arms, Heero let them dangle by his sides. That was awkward. He went to cross them, but with Duo sitting on him like he was, that was awkward too. Eventually, he rested them lightly on Duo's thighs. His friend was staring at his face with a look of concentration and made no sign that he even noticed the warmth of Heero's hands on him.

"There," Duo said after several minutes. "That looks good." He scooted back off of Heero's lap and motioned towards the mirror.

Getting to his feet, Heero looked at his reflection. Duo had highlighted the edges of his eyelids, the line growing thicker and curving up near the outside corners. Only half of his bottom lid was traced, meeting the lop line and giving Heero's almond shaped eyes a slanted look. He had to admit, it did look amazingly sultry.

Duo capped the eyeliner and tossed it back on the counter. Glancing around, he nabbed a small tube of gloss, dabbing a bit on his lips. "Well, that's it. Let's go," he said, dropping the tube beside the kohl pencil.

And they went.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Relena's home was set against the ocean with a large terrace hanging over the calm waves. The beach was small, dotted here and there with rocks big enough for three or more people to sit comfortably on. The heart of the party was located in the large recreation room and spilled out on the veranda. Music flowed from the expensive stereo system set into the wall. People gathered in clusters, some around the refreshments, some poking at the many dials on the stereo, some playing with the gaming system connected to the wide screen television and still more grouped together just talking and laughing.

Duo and Heero wandered in, walking close together. Immediately, Quatre spotted them and waved them over to where he, Wufei and Trowa were standing.

"Hey, guys!" Duo said, smiling widely. "All decked out for the party atmosphere, I see."

"It's a great party, too," Quatre said, returning Duo's smile. "Relena knows how to do this right."

"Indeed she does," Wufei agreed. "The punch is excellent."

"That's spiked," Trowa said, his face bland.

"As I said," Wufei replied, taking another sip, "excellent."

"You're priceless, Wu," Duo said, laughing.

"Of course I'm priceless, Maxwell," Wufei agreed. "There's only one of me."

"We hope," Duo said.

"Duo, Heero!" Relena said, making her way over to them. "You guys look wonderful, when did you get here?"

"Just now. Place looks spiffy," Duo complimented her.

Relena had taken the hint from Scoops and draped white and black lights across her ceiling, leaving trails of varying lengths dangling down. More lights were being used as curtains for the doorways. Shiny streamers glinted in the breeze and fiber optic lamps were set in various alcoves along the wall, turning slowly in circles.

"Thank you," Relena said, beaming. "Have a drink and enjoy yourselves, I have to go say hello to everyone. I swear, you miss one person and they think you've snubbed them. Oh, I'm pretty sure the punch was spiked about ten seconds after the party started, but the cans of soda in the fridge are safe if you want that."

"Sure thing. Once you've done your rounds, track us down from some chitchat," Duo said.

Heero gave her the small quirking of his lips that counted as his smile. "Thanks for inviting us, Relena," he said, catching the sideways glance Duo threw him.

Relena smiled and moved to say hello to the newest batch of people that had just wandered in. "Oh, I forgot," she said quietly, turning back to Heero. "It's fine for you and Duo to go anywhere in the house that's not locked," her gaze flickered over to the hallway where the stairs led to the second story quickly before she continued on her way.

Heero just barely managed to cover his surprise at Relena's statement. Duo, half listening to Quatre and half listening to Relena, broke out into a wide grin.

"Duo?" Quatre said.

"Huh? Oh, sorry man, I was thinking about something."

"Do share, Maxwell. You are grinning like the Cheshire cat," Wufei said calmly.

"I think I'm gonna get some of that punch and say hi to everyone. You coming, Heero?" Duo said.

Heero blinked, putting a halt to his wildly careening thoughts. "I would like a glass of water," he said to Duo as they weaved through the crowd.

"Not water, punch," Duo corrected.

"Why punch?"

"Because you have to at least try the punch. It's one of those unwritten rules."

Heero looked unconvinced.

"Maybe I just want to get you tipsy," Duo said, making a face.

"If you do that, it will ruin our plan."

"Ooooh, will it now?" Duo said, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Heero took the glass of punch Duo handed him and took a drink, swallowing past the lump in his throat. Duo raised his own glass to his lips, taking a long drink and looking around. Heero watched the muscles in his throat work, letting his gaze trail upwards to where Duo's lips touched the rim of the cup.

Heero frowned; he was staring again. It was just Duo drinking a glass of punch.

"Hey, hey, there's Hilde and Dorothy. C'mon, Heero, let's go mess with 'em a bit," Duo said, turning around and coming face to face with Heero's scowl. "Whoa, man, what's up with you?"

Heero smoothed the frown from his face with effort. "What did you say?"

"I said, let's go talk to Hilde and Dorothy," Duo said, frowning a little. "Where were you to?"

Heero grunted something unintelligible.

"Eh?"

"Didn't you want to talk to Hilde?" Heero asked.

"Yeah, I did," Duo said, still giving his friend an odd look.

"Were you planning on shouting across the room?"

"Nope," Duo replied and started walking towards the two girls with Heero.

A few hours later, a crowd had gathered around the widescreen television, watching a video Relena had pulled out. It was a humorous little movie done up by the school's film club, featuring the goings on about the school. Almost everyone in the school showed up on the screen once, and there were lots of laughs and comments.

Heero sat in one of the beanbag chairs, Duo sitting on the floor in front of him leaning back against it. One arm was draped casually on the seat, resting lightly against Heero's leg.

Heero resolutely kept his eyes on the screen. Despite his best efforts, he found them wandering back again and again to look at Duo. For some reason, he was hyper-aware of the body heat coming from the braided boy and seeping through the material of his pants.

Duo gave his leg a little nudge. Heero glanced down and Duo shot a glance at the terrace doors. Getting to his feet, Heero picked his way out of the room and into the cool night air.

Duo waited several minutes. When he caught Relena shooting him furtive glances from the couch, he rose and trailed after the Japanese boy.

"Heero?" Duo asked, peering around the terrace and not finding his friend.

"What took you so long?" Heero asked from right beside him.

"Shit!" Duo hissed, jumping. "You scared me!"

Heero was leaning against the wall beside the door, almost completely hidden in a small niche in the wall. He made a vague grunt.

"I was waiting to see if anyone noticed," Duo said, choosing his words carefully. Relena was sneaky enough to have found a way to listen in on their conversation.

"Did they?"

"Nope," Duo said with a smile.

Heero took it to mean that someone had indeed seen them both leave.

"Follow me," Duo said, taking Heero by the hand. He led them down the winding staircase to the long strip of sand.

The ocean lapped quietly at the shore as they walked, Duo glancing back at the house every now and then.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked.

"There's a spot I saw from the veranda earlier that'll be perfect. You can' t see a lot of detail, but it'll work great for what we have in mind."

Heero wondered if what he had in mind was anywhere near what Duo was thinking. He had a feeling it wasn't.

"Here we go," Duo said, much too soon for Heero's liking. The braided boy sat down on a flat-topped rock, pulling Heero around in front of him to stand between his legs. Duo's face was a few inches lower than his, forcing him to look up at Heero.

"Move a little closer," Duo said, tugging on Heero's hand. "I'm sure Relena 's leaning halfway off the balcony trying to get a good look at us."

Heero complied, then asked, "How long are we going to stay here?" He was trying hard to not stare down at Duo. It wasn't doing him any good. If he didn't look at Duo's face, he was looking at the pale skin of his arms and how the muscles bunched and flowed with each movement.

"I dunno. I'll let you know when I figure it out." Duo turned his head to the side a bit, squinting at the house. "Oh, yeah. There's someone up there. Ten bucks says it's Relena. Give me your hands." Duo didn't wait, slipping his hands down the length of Heero's arms and placing his friend's hands on his hips. "Come here."

"She saw you follow me," the shorthaired boy guessed as Duo pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around Heero's neck. Duo was so close now, the warmth of his body and the scent of his skin filling and overwhelming the Japanese boy's senses.

Duo turned back to the other boy, grinning sheepishly. "Yep."

Heero gave Duo a half-hearted glare. His friend smiled recklessly, dipping his head down and returning the glare with that half-pout he did so well. A breeze blew the loose strands of his hair back, leaving his face clean and open.

He looked down at Duo, watching the light and shadow play over his face. He thought about the warmth radiating from his friend's body and the feel of the lean muscles underneath his hands. He thought about how easily Duo made him smile and how much he loved being around him. And then he thought about how much he loved . . . .

"Heero . . ." Duo said, watching the other boy's face gradually change. "Are you going-"

Closing the distance between them, Heero pressed his lips lightly to Duo's, cutting off the end of his sentence. His eyelids fluttered, then slipped closed. Heero hesitated, realizing that the soft warmth against his mouth and the sharp intake of a breath of air belonged to Duo. His already rapidly beating heart seemed to speed up, sending blood and heat rushing though him. The hands on his shoulders tensed and relaxed and then Duo tilted his head to the side, closing his eyes and rubbing his lips against Heero's.

Acting without thinking, Duo parted his lips, ghosting his tongue over the Japanese boy's mouth. Heero drew in a shuddering breath. Encouraged, Duo did it again, starting to lean back and drag Heero with him.

Heero responded to the pressure on his shoulders, taking one hand away from Duo's waist and bracing himself against the rock. He brought his leg up, sliding it over Duo's and half-kneeling above him. The braided boy kept falling backwards until he lay flat on the rock with Heero pressed tightly against him.

Heero's lips parted of their own volition. Duo took the opportunity and slipped his tongue deep into the other boy's mouth, tasting him. Heero groaned when Duo pulled away, tangling his hand in Duo's hair and plunging his own tongue passed the braided boy's lips, stroking Duo's tongue and biting at his full bottom lip. Duo tasted like oranges, warmed by the sun.

Duo's heart was pounding wildly against his ribs, his pulse thundering in his ears. He bent the leg Heero wasn't straddling up at the knee, rubbing it against Heero's body. Moaning into his friend's mouth, he nipped greedily at his lips.

Heero broke away, trailing his lips over Duo's jaw and lower, closing his mouth over the soft skin of the other boy's neck. Duo arched his back, baring his neck for Heero to taste. The cobalt-eyed boy bit down gently, then traced the mark with his tongue. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against Duo's collarbone, breathing heavily.

Duo lay beneath him, gradually opening his eyes and staring up at the sky. His breathing was ragged, his lips still tingling with the sensation of Heero's mouth pressed to his. Swallowing and licking his lips, still tasting Heero on them, he looked down at Heero's bowed head.

"Wow . . ." Duo said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll bet that sure as hell was convincing," he added softly.

Heero stayed very still, not moving except for the deep breaths his body forced him to take. His clothes had grown tighter, the material pressed against his groin by Duo's body. The thought sent tiny thrills traveling up his spine.

"Very," he said dryly, but his voice came out deeper and rougher than normal.

"Okay," Duo said, trying to pull himself together. "We're going to get off this rock." He took a deep breath, catching a small hint of Heero's scent. Closing his eyes, he tried to slow his rushing thoughts.

Heero nodded, slipping his arms underneath Duo and lifting him up. Duo let out a surprised yelp, wrapping his legs around Heero's waist and holding tightly onto his shoulders to keep himself from falling. Freeing one hand and using the rock to brace himself, the Japanese boy lowered them both carefully to the sand with Duo still holding him tightly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Damn it!" Relena hissed, yanking the set of opera glasses away from her eyes.

"What?" Quatre asked, looking from the girl to the rock she was glaring at. "What happened?"

"They just went on the opposite side of the boulder, I can't see them anymore."

"See who anymore?" Wufei asked, strolling out onto the terrace.

"Heero and Duo were making out on top of that rock over there," Quatre said nonchalantly. "Things were just getting good when they decided to get down on the sand. On the OTHER side of the rock."

Wufei's brow creased. "You were watching?" he asked, stunned.

"Of course," Trowa said from where he sat on a patio chair. "Although Relena did get very greedy over the binoculars once Heero was straddling Duo."

Wufei started to sputter.

"Wufei?" Quatre asked. "Are you alright?"

"No, I am not!" Wufei said indignantly. "How could you do this!? And you call yourselves FRIENDS!"

"Wufei," Relena began as Quatre paled visibly.

"No, I do not want to hear it," he said, glaring at her. "Next time, you will not leave me out of this. I am appalled that you didn't even THINK to ask me if I wanted to see." He crossed his arms over his chest, still glaring mightily at the lot of them.

They all stood frozen, eyes wide and gaping at the Chinese boy.

Then Trowa started to laugh.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Heero sat on the sand, his back against the rock with Duo sitting on his thighs. His hands were hot against Duo's back as he held him. Duo leaned forward, resting his head on Heero's shoulder. Then the braided boy started to chuckle. Heero glanced at him quizzically.

"I guess the joke's on us, huh, Heero?" he replied, letting his hands drop down from Heero's shoulders to tangle in the webbing of his own shirt.

"I'm not joking," Heero said softly.

Duo looked back up at him, dark lashes shielding his eyes. Heero was lost in Duo's face, watching the play of emotions behind his eyes and only catching the tail end of what he was saying.

". . . you mean?"

"I mean that I didn't kiss you to convince anyone that we were a couple," Heero said, his shoulders tensing.

"Why did you?" Duo asked quietly.

". . . because I wanted to . . ."

Duo was silent, listening to the rhythm of his breathing match Heero's.

"I think I . . ."

"That's enough, Heero," Duo said suddenly.

Heero's eyes widened.

"I . . . I already know," the chestnut haired boy said, getting to his knees and moving closer to Heero while still straddling him. "It just took me a while to figure it out." He placed his hands lightly on Heero's chest, looking down at the Japanese boy.

"It's strange," Heero said, watching his hand run up and down the length of Duo's braided hair.

"What is?"

"That everyone else was right all along," Heero said with his little half-smile.

"We aren't going to tell them that, though, are we, blue eyes?" Duo said, lowering his face closer to Heero's.

"No," Heero breathed against Duo's lips seconds before they closed over his own.

owari

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