Diamond Dogs
by Jade
Part 3
The bus ride soon went from a novelty to commonplace; before Heero could
realize it, he found he had adjusted to the fact that what seemed like a
living room was actually traveling along the interstate at 70 mph. He and
Zechs sat down and discussed plans for the tour. Zechs showed him the
itineraries, and Heero booted up his laptop. He connected via his wireless
modem, and soon was pulling up seating plans and maps of the various venues.
Quatre watched for a while, but quickly got bored and wandered off to snuggle
with Trowa. Duo sat nearby, scribbling in a notebook. Heero tried
surreptitiously to read what the singer was writing, but he couldn't. He
tried to concentrate on the task at hand; this was what he was getting paid
for. Heero had some concerns about some of the auditoriums, and he and the
blond man agreed to hire extra security for some locations. The came up with
plans, and backup plans, and then they moved on to hotels.
"If cost is not an issue, I recommend reserving at least two rooms on either
side of Duo's, just in case there are connecting doors or balconies," Heero
explained.
"Good idea," agreed Zechs. He was impressed with the knowledge and efficiency
of the bodyguard; Heero knew what he was doing. The man had thought of angles
that he had completely overlooked. Treize had done well in hiring the best.
This could well be the tour that launched Duo from semi- to super-stardom.
They couldn't afford to cut corners. Shinigami's new CD was selling well.
Duo was listening as best he could while appearing to work. He was trying to
write a new song, but he couldn't concentrate. The song kept turning sappy,
and his audience wasn't interested in love songs. He scribbled out yet
another line of fluff, and frowned. Then he heard something that piqued his
interest.
"Trowa and Quatre can take one of the adjacent rooms, and I can have the
other. That will optimize the arrangement. Of course, you will be staying
with Duo in his room, right?" Zechs went on.
Heero's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. "Uh..."
Duo felt he had to protest. "Fucking great! I can't even get any privacy in
my own room?"
"Duo, how can Heero protect you 24 hours a day if he is not with you?" Zechs
said reasonably. To Heero's confused look, Zechs said, "That won't be a
problem, will it, Heero?"
"No, of course not," he replied neutrally. Inside, his mind was racing and
his body was cheering.
"Do I get to go to the bathroom alone at least?" Duo shot back sarcastically,
mostly to cover the fact that he couldn't stop thinking of being very close
to the bodyguard. Really close. "Or does the robot have to hold it for me?"
Heero looked at his laptop, trying to rid himself of that mental image.
"Ignore him, Heero. He will get over it. If he wants to keep me as his
manager, of course," Zechs said evenly.
"Fuck you," Duo replied automatically, not really meaning it.
"I didn't think I was your type, Duo," teased Zechs, trying to distract the
singer from his anger.
Duo grinned, warming to the banter. "You look too much like a girl, Zechsie.
I don't like girls."
"Speak for yourself, sweetie," shot back the blond man. Your hair is longer
than mine. And I don't wear makeup."
"Oh, and that makes you so macho, then, does it? I get it. And what if I want
to get laid, huh? Does Mr. Robot get to watch?" demanded Duo.
"Duo, that's enough," Zechs interjected. "I really don't think that is going
to be a problem."
Heero had been following this dialogue intently. Was everybody in this bus
gay? At the same time he was thinking that, however, he realized he was
intently watching Duo's sexy stomach as the shirt rode up. He realized he was
being hypocritical. He sighed and decided that yes, he did want Duo. And he
really didn't mind one bit that he had to share a room with the gorgeous
singer. Too bad he didn't want anything to do with him. At least he could
fantasize.
They didn't have too far to travel for the first day; after about 3 hours of
traveling they pulled up at the first hotel. Heero, not used to sitting on a
bus for hours, was glad to get off. The bus pulled up in front of the hotel,
letting off the passengers, before disappearing into the parking garage.
Though the location wasn't secret, Duo's popularity was on the rise and they
didn't want to publicize their location too much. Duo wandered around the
massive lobby, looking at a tropical fish tank. Heero followed behind him,
glaring at the front desk staff who were looking at the longhaired singer
dubiously.
Finally, Zechs announced that they were all set, waving a handful of room key
cards. They headed for the elevator. The bags would be brought up shortly,
but Heero had his computer bag, and he picked up Duo's backpack for him.
"I'll take that," Duo said, walking over to Heero.
"No, it's fine, I've got it," Heero said.
Duo stared at him for a long moment, then apparently decided not make an
issue of it. "Thanks," he said, frowning. He walked past Heero, heading for
the elevator. Heero followed, trying not to stare too much at Duo's ass.
Trowa walked up next to him, and Heero looked up, in time to see Trowa smirk
at him. The bass player had seen exactly where Heero's eyes had been. Heero
looked away quickly, blushing slightly.
They took the elevator up to the 12th floor, and Zechs led the way to their
rooms. He handed Heero the key card to 1212, and said, "Trowa and Quatre are
over there. I'm on this side. Why don't you try to get some rest? Sound check
is at 5pm. A limo will pick you up at 4. I'll already be there, and Heero,
I'll have a report on security for you. Opening act goes on at 7. Other than
that, you're free to..." the blond trailed off and smirked, "Do whatever you
want."
"Zechs," Duo said in a low, warning tone. "Stop it." Heero was holding the
door open for him, and he turned to go through it with a long look at Heero.
As they went through the door, Heero's acute hearing picked up Trowa's soft
comment, "But who will protect Heero from Duo?" He tried to hide his blush as
he shut and locked the door securely.
When he turned, he saw Duo fall back onto the bed nearest the door. He sighed
with relief when he realized there were indeed two beds. This would be bad
enough without having to sleep in the same bed with the longhaired singer.
But... "No, I have to take that bed, it's nearer the door," he stated, trying
to ignore the fact that they were alone together for the first time.
Duo looked up at him, and tried to joke, "What? You're not going to sleep on
the floor, in front of the door, to protect me?" But he moved to the other
bed, trying to keep from staring at Heero's body. Alone at last...
"I will, if I feel it necessary," stared Heero in a monotone, reverting to
robot-like behavior to deal with the fact that he was becoming aroused from
looking at Duo sprawled on the bed like that. He was becoming aware of some
alarming new facts about himself.
Duo rolled his eyes as he scooted back on the bed and fumbled with the clock
radio. "Whatever. I'm going to catch a couple hours of sleep." He stabbed at
several buttons. "How the fuck does this piece of shit work?" he said
impatiently and threw it down on the bedside table.
Heero sighed and walked forward, picking up the offending clock and looked at
it for a moment. "What time do you want to wake up?"
"3:15 or so," said Duo, and sullenly watched as Heero set the alarm.
"There. All set. Now rest," said Heero mildly, trying to ignore how close he
was to the other man.
"Yes, sir," smirked Duo, and he saluted Heero. "Whatever you say."
Heero resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'll be over here if you need me,"
he stated, sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling off his socks and
shoes.
Duo watched intently to see if anything else was coming off, but that seemed
to be it. "Right," he said, and pulled back the covers and got under them. He
rolled over so his back was to Heero and closed his eyes.
Heero watched Duo's back for a long moment, then turned off the light. He lay
back on top of the covers and tried to relax. He had a feeling it was going
to be a very long night.
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