The Benefits of Truancy
Part 1
by KM
/The two young men sat peacefully together on the deserted beach, enjoying each other's company while watching the sun paint the sky brilliant shades of pink and orange as it slowly sank lower and lower into the horizon.
"It's very nice out here," commented Duo, sifting the fine white sand through his slender fingers. "Too bad it can't stay like this forever."
"Mmm," answered Heero quietly. He tilted his head slightly and surreptitiously watched his partner out of the corner of his eye, careful not to be spotted.
Duo continued playing with the sand, oblivious, until he happened to look up, catching Heero in the act.
"What are you lookin' at?" he asked playfully, tossing Heero an easy smile.
Embarrassed, the Japanese boy quickly averted his eyes, but he could not hide the blush that colored his cheeks. "Nothing."
With a soft chuckle, Duo shook his head. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Heero."
A rather uneasy moment of silence stretched between them before Heero cleared his throat and addressed his friend. "Duo."
The aforementioned boy coolly turned his head toward Heero. "Yes?"
"There's something I need to tell you."
His interest piqued, Duo shifted his body closer to Heero and gave the other boy his full attention. "And what is that?"
Heero looked down at his hands for a moment, seeming almost unsure of himself, before bringing his intense gaze up once again, meeting Duo's eyes with his own. "You've been a very good friend to me during the short time that I've known you. But, for some time now, I have been feeling differently...about you."
"What do you mean, 'differently?'?" Duo asked nervously, hoping that Heero was implying what he thought he was implying.
"Differently in that I think about you more than I used to, and I want to be around you more than I used to. I've thought about it a lot, and what I'm trying to say is that...beep. Beep. Beep. Beep."
Duo stared at Heero, an expression of extreme confusion upon his face. "'Beep?' What does that mean, Heero? I don't understand!"
Instead of explaining, Heero only stared back at Duo, saying the puzzling word over and over, gradually getting louder. "Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"What the hell are you trying to say?!" Duo asked frantically, shaking Heero by the shoulders. "What's going on?!"
"Beep! Beep! BEEP! BEEP!/
_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_
"Oh, for the love of..." groaned Duo, his voice still thick with sleep. Reaching over to the bedside table, he quickly silenced his aggravating alarm clock.
//Why is it that whenever the best part of the dream comes up, that evil piece of machinery always manages to interfere? Why can't I have one, nice, uninterrupted dream? Why?!//
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