drabble requests
by merith
|| for sharon, heero/duo, blue collar
At the foreman's shout, Heero set his shovel to the side, leaning its handle against the earthen wall surrounding him. He walked the ramp with heavy feet, mind half-numb, and body even number. The heat he had expected, the dirtiness of the job a given. It was the exhaustion on a daily basis that that didn't make sense. He was fit, had met and surpassed rigorous physical tests and maintained a strenuous endurance routine after he had left the academy.
Moving dirt was kicking his ass.
On the site's surface, he removed his gloves, shoving them into a back pocket of his jean. He took off his hardhat and scrubbed a hand through his hair, letting what air stirred to help in cooling. His steps still plodding, lunch was as far from appetizing as another nine-hour day working his shovel.
He nearly passed his bike, stopping in a Hollywood fashion to blink and do a double take. Someone was leaning on his bike. Someone he would never expect showing up at a jobsite, let alone come anywhere near 'the death cycle'.
"Duo?" he asked, wondering if he was daydreaming.
"Yeah," Duo said grinning. "Heard you needed some lunch." And he held the bag from a local sandwich shop aloft.
As he reached for the bag, his fingers brushing Duo's in the exchange, Heero's fatigue was suddenly far away, and hours ago. And lunch became very appealing in an instant.
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|| for sharon, heero/duo, chinese food
Duo was washing down the last table in the dining room when the bell over the door jingled. Ten minutes to closing, a paper to finish for morning class waiting, and some git just had to have late night low mien.
"Be right there," he called out, without looking up. Tossing the cloth into the sanitized water bucket, he schooled his expression, picked up the handle and turned to face the customer. Duo was gaping, mouth opening and closing before he snapped it shut. Business. This is business. And he nodded acknowledgement, and stowed the bucket away behind the counter.
"So, what will you have?" Duo asked, picking up the pad and pen.
"A special order," Heero told him. "It’s not on the menu."
His eyes widened slightly, and his lips twitched. It was a change from their last encounter; Heero’s tone less guarded, and the anger that had radiated in visible waves was gone. "This close to closing, I might not be able to fill a custom order."
"I am," and here Heero paused, closed his eyes for a moment and opened them before continuing. "I was a frequent customer, and you always filled the order then." Heero’s eyes seemed to bore through him. "If you could deliver it, I’ll make it worth the trip."
Setting his pen and pad down, Duo nodded. "Right then. One custom order coming up." And he smiled for what seemed to be the first time in over six months.
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|| for raz, trowa/quatre, blue collar
He found himself watching out the window again, breakfast forgotten in a congealing mess on his plate. Lower lip between his teeth, he wondered just how strong the man was, wincing in sudden sympathy with the barrow tipped, spilling earth in a lazy pile.
Just a gardener, his sister had dubbed him. But, Quatre knew this man was not just anything.
A call from the housekeeper pulled him upright, and he scrambled to his feet, bringing her his plate and juice glass. The minutes passing idle chitchat were minutes he couldn't pursue his new favorite pastime. Standing in the kitchen, cool tile under his bare feet, he decided to study outdoors that morning. And maybe the afternoon as well. Summer classes didn't begin for another week and a half, but it was a grueling twelve-week course crammed into eight.
Mid-morning found him in shorts and little else, stretched out on the grass by the shade of the old oak at the edge of Mother's gardens. To the minute, his total conversation repertoire consisted of "hi", "nice day, isn't it?" and "the flowers look nice." Quatre wanted the earth to open up and swallow him. Inane sophomore talk, especially since the new gardener had only been working for his father for two days, and had nothing to do with how the flowers currently looked.
He was scowling at his textbook, not daring to watch again. A slim bottle landed with a soft plop to the right of his book, and he blinked at it for a moment. Sunblock. He raised his eyes to see the new gardener standing less than two feet from his towel.
"You're getting red," the gardener announced without inflection. "You should put on a shirt if you don't want to burn." And those full, sensual lips curled into a slight smile.
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|| for jade sage, heero/duo, blue collar
Twenty miles from the truck stop, Duo drank the last of his coffee. Another two hundred miles, and he'd call it quits for a few hours - sleep, breakfast at Sapp's, and a shower, then back on the road again. Cross-country routes were tiring, but local deliveries were too predictable and boring.
He switched off the radio, wanting silence for a few miles when a low moan came from the sleeper. The rig nearly run off the road, Duo jerked the wheel whipping his head around. Cursing in violent terms, brakes stuttering on asphalt, he pulled his truck to the breakdown, slammed the gear to park, and armed himself with a foot-long phillips Craftsman.
It was a man, bloodied and bruised with swellings below an eye, both lips, and the right lower jaw. One eyelid parted only enough to show Duo deep blue eye color, and closed with a sigh of breath. Duo set the screwdriver aside and reached for the first aid kit, the jug of water he always carried, and the last clean towel from the locker under the bed.
For thirty minutes, he wiped blood, bandaged cuts, and slapped sterri-strips over gashes. He worked the denim jacket off, cut away the ripped and stained tee, and tested ribs, hoping, praying the bruises didn't mean internal injuries. Deciding scuffed knees were the worst the man had suffered below the belt, Duo left the khakis on, removing the man's boots.
He sat for a moment longer, watching the man sleep, for sleep is what the man did. Fatigue lined his face; black deep under the undamaged eye; his chest rose and fell in steady rhythm. Duo shook himself, rose to a crouch, and pulled his blanket up over the stranger's body. One last look, he bent to retrieve the Craftsman, and flipped the lights off in the sleeper cabin.
On the road for another hour, he was surprised when movement came from behind him, and his unexpected guest joined him in the cab. The blanket was wrapped over his shoulders, held together with one hand. He stood swaying in the minuscule space between the cab and the sleeper, his eyes switching focus between the road and Duo.
"Have a seat before you fall over," Duo told him casually, gesturing with a quick hand. He kept his eyes on the road, the stranger never quite out of sight.
"Thank you." The man's voice was raspy, his movements slow and careful.
Another mile or two passed in silence, Duo content to let the stranger speak - or not - in his own time. He wasn't going anywhere, he wasn't armed, and he was weak as a kitten. Or at least Duo kept telling himself that.
"I didn't mean to drag you into this," the man said quietly, his gaze steady on the dark road ahead.
His immediate response froze in his throat. He risked a glance as he asked, "This?"
The man sighed in a deep exhale of breath, and he rubbed fingers over his forehead. "I didn't have a choice. I-I had to get away, and your semi was unlocked."
"You're not running from the law, are you?" Duo's hands tightened on the wheel.
"No," the man snorted. "I am the law." He was looking at Duo, and Duo risked another long glance. "Special Agent Heero Yuy, FBI."
"Duo Maxwell." His chin bobbed, acknowledging the introduction. "So what's an FBI agent doing in the middle of bumfuck, beat to shit, and needing to hide in my rig?"
"I can't tell you that."
"But you can sure as hell get me involved in it!?" Duo glared at his passenger, ready to pull over once again, and kick the man out - gorgeous fucking FBI agent or not.
"Listen, Duo?" Heero had turned in his seat to watch him. "Not to sound cliché, but the less you know, the safer you are."
"And I'm safe now?" Duo's anger twisted into an ironic humor. "And cliché or not, forewarned is forearmed, buddy. I can't prepare for something if I don't know what that something is."
"Fair enough." But Heero's lips closed together, and turned back to watch the highway speed past. Another mile, and Heero asked softly, "Are you going all the way to California? No stops in between?"
Duo threw him a look. "Yeah. Barstow by noon Wednesday. Why?"
Heero was nodding, his head coming to rest against the seatback. "We'll be safe until then, at least." His eyes were closing, and he added, "wake me first, if you need to stop."
"Sure thing, agent."Duo was chuckling to himself as he watched his passenger drift back into sleep. Cross-country trips were anything but boring.
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|| for anne, trowa/quatre, anything i wanted (and this will continue one of these days, promise.)
The last time I saw him, he was giving me that special smile of his, walking backwards down the side of highway 101 somewhere in the middle of California. Acres of lettuce at my back, four lanes of traffic in front of me, and the only man I had ever loved, flagging down a Fairlane to disappear from my life.
The first time I saw him, I was entering my second year at UVA, majoring in business but studying music on the side. He was a guest at one of the dorm parties, and wound up sharing my bed. He stayed for two weeks, singing, and playing guitar on crowded corners in town. When he asked, I left with him.
In those first weeks, we lived off what I could pull out of the account my father set up for me. And when the money ran out, we found jobs where we could. I learned to short order cook, wash dishes, and panhandle. We stood in the rain, playing and singing for pennies and quarters, and God bless you if you toss in a buck.
We crashed where there was room, in an abandoned house, or the floor of impromptu friends. Wrapped in blankets at the park one night, and a mansion the next. By the time a year had passed, I'd been in every state and some two or three times. I'd gotten high, and thought I could fly off a bridge in Arizona, and he was there to anchor me. We made love in the desert, and fucked up in the mountains, fornicated in cornfields and wheat fields, hay barns and woodsheds.
I was tired. I was homesick and missed my family. My clothes were faded and worn to the point of indecency. I wanted to stop, needed to stop - for more than a handful of days. A month would have been good, a year even better. But. That wasn't his way.
On the side of the highway, he pressed his guitar into my hand, ran a hand over my head, hugging it close to his chest, and said 'see you around.'
Reconciling with dad wasn't easy, but keeping the length of the country between us helped. I finished school in California, found an old house in a little town north of San Fran, and made a living teaching the hard-working, over stressed young professionals how to 'find themselves'. In truth, I listened to them, gave them a room to relax in, and showed them how to appreciate what they had.
It's been over five years since I'd last seen him, but not a day passed that I didn't think of him. And as I sit on my front porch, strumming his old guitar, there wasn't a single thing I would give, that I wouldn't trade - today, tomorrow, and years down the road just to hold his body next to mine, for a single day I used to have.
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|| for haramis, wufei/relena, military/uniform
hmmm, well, it is EW and it could have happened - maybe set wufei on his road to doubting before meeting up with heero? maybe?
She hadn't been alone for more than a minute since arriving on the colony. So when her little jailor was called away, and hadn't returned for some time, Relena left the suite of rooms that had become her prison. The hallway was empty, her guard nowhere to be seen. Even while she thanked whatever deity was paving her way, she frowned at the lack of precaution.
Escape was impossible; she knew without attempting. The colony would be in lock down against shuttles arriving and leaving. Her desire now was only to deliver the warning, and try to talk sense into Treize's offspring. Listening and opening door after door, she found what she sought - an empty office with a communication line set up. Relena set to work immediately, hoping her message could be delivered before she was found.
"You shouldn't be in here," a voice said from the doorway.
Relena stifled the gasp, and looked up from the monitor and the blinking message. I only need another minute!
"I wasn't told I couldn't explore," she said, steadying her voice, raising her chin.
"Never the less, you will return to your quarters." The boy came closer, his steps determined.
"Of course, I will when I want, and not before." Her tone had taken on the same imperial timbre as Mariemaia used. "You have no authority to order me about." She pressed the send button, and watched with surreptitious eyes as the transmit bar grayed.
"Woman!" The boy's hand flashed out, pulling the plug from the back of the CPU. "You will return to your room now if I have to drag you by your hair."
Relena sat for a moment, watching the suddenly blank screen wondering if her message had completed. She nodded once, and rose with all the decorum her mother taught her. The boy became her guard and guide, a stiff and silent presence as they walked back down the halls she'd traveled minutes before.
"Oh," she gasped in sudden recognition. "Weren't you one of the gundam pilots? From L5, I believe?" Her companion barely acknowledged her question, his lips thinned. "What are you doing in that uniform? I had thought what you sought was to fight this sort of tyranny, the same sort OZ promoted..."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" his response was immediate, and harsh. "OZ oppressed, killed without honor-"
"And dropping a colony on innocents has honor? Civilians who have never seen war or wanted war, this is what you call honor?" Relena's voice was sharp and stiff in sudden anger.
"What do you know of honor?" he demanded.
"I know that this isn't the way to resolve conflict. This is-"
"So there you are, Miss Relena."
Relena was still watching her companion, waiting for him to show something, anything besides the confused anger in his eyes. She wanted to speak with him more, to shake him from this impossible destiny. "I went for a walk," she said calmly, continuing to watch her guard. "One of your men was kind enough to escort me back to my room."
"Good," the young would-be ruler said, coming to stand by her side. "I would hate for you to suffer an accident before our plans are complete." She nodded to the uniformed boy on Relena's other side. "Thank you, Mister Chang."
His heels clicked together, and he bowed deeply before straightening and marching away. Relena's eyes followed him, even as she allowed Mariemaia to lead her back to her suite. She hoped she'd gotten through to him, hoped that he cared, prayed her message had gotten through in time, and wondered why her heart ached at seeing his hidden pain.
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|| for shini_yuy, heero/duo, military
It was the slightest noise that woke him, and for a moment, Heero lay still in the attempt to decipher what he'd heard. A soft grunt from the bed over, and a louder sigh told him enough. He sat up abruptly, staring across the distance at his roommate.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a harsh whisper. "If you get caught, you'll be sent to the stockade."
"Shit, Heero," Duo cursed. "Warn a guy, will ya?" He bent over and finished tying off his boot. "And, for your information, I won't be going to the stockade." Straightening, he stood, and pulled a BDU shirt on over the green tee he was wearing. "Nothing in the rules or standing orders says I can't run the course after lights out. Only says I can't turn on any lights to do it."
Heero threw his legs over the edge of the bed, shaking his head. "You're crazy, Duo. Reveille's in six hours, and you'll be running the course then."
"Go back to sleep, Heero. This is my problem, and I'll solve it my way." Duo shouldered his pack and weapon, tucking his cover in his side pocket.
"What problem? You passed the course! Who gives a fuck if it wasn't the best time?" He was standing now, grabbing hold of Duo's arm.
"I give a fuck," Duo told him quietly, pulling his arm from Heero's grasp. "And I'll be out on that fucking course, running it every night until I can run it in under ten minutes."
"Duo," Heero said, and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't listen to what the sergeant said. He's an asshole, and you know it. Very few people can run the course in under ten-I'll bet the sergeant can't even!"
"You did." Duo's voice was even quieter. His hand reached out and grasped Heero's shoulder. "Don't worry about. I'll be okay, and if it takes me the rest of the week to get there, I'll do it." He grinned suddenly, his teeth a white flash in the dark. "Just thinking of that asshole's reaction when I do it keeps me going."
Heero tried again, "Duo..."
"Go back to bed, Heero," Duo told him again, turning away and heading for the door.
*
He was at mile marker two when he heard the dirt and gravel crunching behind him. Duo looked over his shoulder without stopping, and released an explosive breath, recognizing the form running his way.
"Fuck, Heero! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He had instinctively slowed, letting Heero catch up.
A hand flashed out and grabbed his BDU sleeve, jerking him back into his run. "Keep running, Duo. You'll never make it if you stop."
Another mile or more passed in relative silence, but for the crunch of gravel and the occasional hoot of an owl. Duo was sweating, began to feel the burn in thighs and calves, and yet, he couldn't help the grin. He took a moment away from the run to look Heero's way, and caught the look Heero gave him in return.
"I'll be here every night until you make, Duo," Heero told him, even as they turned and headed up the three-mile hill.
"Hoo-Rah!" Duo shouted, and stepped up his speed. This crazy goal of his didn't seem as insane any more.
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|| for misao duo, heero/duo, office/career
He'd been with the company for less than a month when he was assigned to my project. Not bad in itself, the team could benefit from a good project manager. But, I found myself thinking of him when I should be working, when I should be sleeping.
I didn't let it interfere, at least not much. Putting in extra hours wasn't unusual for me, after all, we had a deadline. So if I drifted off in the middle of the day for a few minutes, I more than made up for it later that night. I can't say I was in love with the man, having never felt that particular emotion before, at least not in a romantic sense. But, the interest was there.
The question came to mind more often than not the longer I worked with him. And, I speculated on which team he rooted for. Friendly with both men and women, slightly flirty in the way some gregarious people can be, he didn't speak of a 'sweetheart', a relationship good or bad, a 'special' friend, or unexplained weekend plans.
It was getting late on a Friday night when he dropped in my office. "Thought I'd find you still here," he said with a grin. "Don't you ever go home?"
Looking up from the latest codex report, I almost didn't answer. His suit jacket was in one hand, his tie loose with the two top buttons undone, he was leaning against the door jam, watching me. "This is home," I joked, my return smile even weaker.
He looked like he wanted to frown, but came in and sat in the chair across my desk. "Really, Heero, you gotta get out more. Life isn't all about work, you know."
"Despite how it looks," I told him, sitting back and removing my glasses, "there are things I do outside of the office."
"Like what?" he challenged, immediately in my face.
"I run," I countered. "And I read. Attend the theater, visit friends." I stopped there, knowing how pitiful it would sound if I added any more.
"When's the last time you went to see a play?" He slipped his tie off over his head, and shoved it inside a pocket.
And you know, I couldn't remember. It seemed to me it was at Christmas time, but I knew it hadn't been this past Christmas, since I was in the middle of the Star Wars project. I don't remember daylight while working then. I stared back at him while he watched me.
"Come out with me," he said softly.
"What? Now?" I asked, heart suddenly thumping heavily.
Duo was grinning at me, his mouth opened in a wide easy smile. "Yeah, now. We can grab a couple of beers and share a pizza at Starsky's, or check out what playing up at Indian Hills."
I had to look away, I wanted to tell him 'yes' to both. "I need to finish testing," I hedged, flipping through the blue-bar. "It's going to take at least two hours-"
"Bullshit," he interrupted. "I know as well as you that testing is ahead of schedule, and this can wait until Monday."
"But I like to stay ahead on testing."
"Then I'll come in and help you tomorrow," he said, standing and flipping the report closed. "Tonight, Heero Yuy, you are going out with me if I have to tie you up, throw you over my shoulder, and abduct you."
I was gaping at him just contemplating that image.
"Is that a yes?" He was grinning that twisted wry grin of his he uses when he thinks he's bested someone. "I'll do it, you know."
"Only if I let you." But I was grinning back at him, and turning to my computer, shutting it down for the night. "Tomorrow as well?"
"If that's how you ask a guy for a date, it's no wonder you work all the fucking time."
"No," I told him, standing. "It's how I ask the very few." He'd given me answers to the two most important questions on my mind about him, and I wasn't going to lose any more time. "The very few being - one." And I exited the office, leaving the very vocal Maxwell speechless.
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|| for cait, wufei/relena, military
He slammed open the door, entered the room with long, determined strides. "Woman," he started, his voice vibrating in controlled tones. "You have done some foolish things before, but this-" he waved a sheet before her, "is the stupidest!"
Relena slowly closed the book she'd been reading, and sat it aside, drawing a deep breath before speaking. "Please, have a seat." She indicated the empty chair opposite her. His nostrils flared, but he did as she asked. Once he settled, she sat back and gave him a slight smile. "Now, what is it about the decree that has you so-upset?"
"Upset?" he shouted, suddenly on his feet and towering over her. "I'm more than upset, you foolish girl!"
"Wufei!" her tone had taken a sharp note, her eyebrows drew together darkly. "That's quite enough, if you please."
"Relena!" Her name came through gritted teeth. "I'm not one of your lackeys you can command. Neither am I some weak-hearted fool you can bat your eyes at to do your bidding."
The words she was about to speak died, and she stared at Wufei for a long moment. "No, you are neither. But, I had hoped you are a friend. One who will offer support in-"
"It's madness, Relena!" The document crumbled in his fist. "Why now? After years of negotiating peaceful solutions are you building an army?"
"I would think it would be obvious to you," she answered, heat coloring her voice. "You are the military man, after all."
"Stop it," he demanded, pushing his face closer to hers. "What's the real reason behind this action?" Her lower lip trembled for a split second, and he released his anger. "It will not help. It's not going to bring him back," he told her, his voice softening.
The tears were sudden and stinging, and Relena blinked them back, turning her gaze from Wufei's face. "I wasn't looking to bring him back." She sighed and rubbed a hand over her expanded belly. "But, I want a better world for his son."
Wufei's look dropped. "Declaring war on his father won't make it right. This isn't what he wanted, and wasn't how he planned to defeat his father. I don't have to tell you that." Wufei touched her hand. "Willem died with honor defending his beliefs. Do not make a mockery of his sacrifice."
She straightened in her chair, all traces of her tears gone. "Don't you see, that's why I have to carry this through!"
Her eyes were shining, and at once, Wufei was reminded of the girl she had been. He almost turned from her, buried emotions resurfacing in a moment. He hadn't been ready then, and it was impossible now. "I don't see. Brendig's sedition will be curbed. The Preventers are already shutting the faction down."
"For now, but what about next time? And the time after that?" Relena's hand went to her belly again. "The Preventers cannot be everywhere, and are prevented from using forceful means to end-"
Wufei laughed, stopping abruptly when she smacked his arm. He kneeled on the floor by her chair, and took her hand in his. "When I was fifteen, I was angry and seeking revenge, looking for justice for what OZ and the Alliance had done to my colony." He glanced away, tilted his head to stare at the ceiling. "In the ten years since, I have come to realize a show of power, no matter the right of it, gains what is sought." Looking at her once more, he gently squeezed her hand. "Do not let go of the ideals you have believed in for most your life because of this."
Relena covered his hand in hers and held his gaze. "I never would have believed our positions would ever reverse themselves." She gave a little laugh. Sobering just as quickly, she chewed the inside of her cheek. "Brendig's aggressive acts require some sort of retaliation," she mused.
"Place sanctions against the colony, and have the Preventers patrolling air space," Wufei advised immediately. "Cut off the head, and the body dies."
"Maybe you need to make my decisions for me," Relena told him softly.
Wufei snorted. "No thank you." He extracted his hand and stood. "About the declaration," he began, and Relena waved her hand.
"I hadn't sent it off anywhere, yet. I wanted to think about it for awhile longer."
"Good," he said, planning to burn his copy as soon as he returned to his office. "Is there anything you need?"
"No, I'm fine for now," she said with a small smile. "Though if you have time this evening, I would appreciate the company."
"I'll be back before dinner, then." He gave her a slight nod, and turned to leave.
"I didn't mean for you to become a prisoner as well," she told him softly. He started, turning mid-step. Relena's smile weakened. "I know you'd rather be out there," her hand flipped gracefully in the air, "than being stuck babysitting me for the duration."
Wufei drew himself up straight. "Heero and Duo might be leading the task force in the Brendig situation, but my duty is as important." He rocked on his heels, and gave her a slight smile. "And remember, I volunteered to keep you in check." He inclined his head as she laughed. "Until dinner," he said and left the room, closing the door as softly as he had opened it abruptly minutes before.
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|| for kaz, heero/duo, office/career
"God damn it, Heero! What the hell's wrong with this program?"
Heero had barely entered Duo's office, moments after receiving the 'get your ass in here now!' summons. He hesitated at the door, snorted softly and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong with the program," he said calmly, closing the door behind him and approaching Duo's desk.
"There is! It keeps giving me back garbage and not what I'm asking it." Duo shoved his keyboard back, pushing his chair away from the desk. "Just look at that mess! What am I supposed to do with that?"
"What are you trying to do?" Heero asked, pulling Duo's side chair around the desk, and sitting to look at the monitor display.
"I want transfer statistics for last month by client." Duo's voice had become almost sulky.
Heero glanced at him, nearly smiled at the glare directed at the computer, and bent to pull up the query screen. "You used a period," he stated. "It acts as a wild card within the program. It returns all data after its use." He pressed a couple of keys, and hit enter. "There, is that more like what you wanted to see?"
Duo looked at the figures newly displayed and grunted softly. "Who's idea was it to use periods as wild cards? What kind of SQL is that?"
"It isn't, and it's standard practice." Heero sat back in his seat to study Duo's face. "It a hard stop in your command line, bringing all data within the initial query string." He smirked. "Basic programming command in any language."
"Okay, so it was an invalid query," Duo admitted, transferring data from the program display to a spreadsheet. "How about you?" he asked with a twist of lips and a raised eyebrow.
"What about me?"
"Do you respond as well to commands?" Duo clicked back to the primary menu, watching Heero from the corner of his eyes.
"Depends on the command." Heero was watching Duo type, smiling slightly.
"This one?" Duo asked, nodding to the screen.
Heero read the prompt line, half grunted at the command string. "A wild card, huh?"
"Sure." Duo was grinning, leaning forward with his arms resting on his legs. "For whatever comes after. No hard stops."
EXE PGM /KISS ME/ *
Reading the command string again, Heero turned from the monitor, edged closer to Duo, and told him quietly, "I think I can handle that."
"Then do it already," Duo demanded, reaching a hand out to circle the back of Heero's neck.
"Executing," Heero murmured, his lips closing the distance between them.
and these two are both written in the 'when we were growing up' universe
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|| for misanagi, duo and quatre, friendship / school fic
"Hey Duo," Quatre whispered loudly in the darkened room. "You asleep?"
By the half-snuffled snort, and sigh that followed, Quatre knew he'd woken Duo. But, somehow, it was right for Duo to be awake with him. After all, it was partly Duo's fault that he couldn't sleep.
"Yeah, what is-it?" his question was punctuated with a yawn.
"What do you think of Trowa?" There, he'd said it out loud, and held his breath waiting for Duo's answer.
"Trowa?" The question was a living thing in the room between them. "He's okay, I guess. Plays a killer trox, and shares booty."
"No, I mean..." Quatre rolled over in bed, tried to find Duo on the floor next to the window. "Do you-do you think he's..." And suddenly he was glad for the darkness hiding the flush he knew heated his face.
"Do I think he's what?" a sly tone laced Duo's voice.
"Duo," Quatre managed before falling back on his bed, wanting to pull the covers over his head.
"Do I think he's a space alien? Not really, but you gotta admit, he's got some damn long fingers." Duo was snickering. "Do I think he's got a hot ass? Well, buddy, he might have a mighty fine one, but between you and me, Heero's is better."
"Duo!" Quatre choked out, and Duo exploded in laughter. "You are such a-bastard, Duo Maxwell!"
"I know, ain't it great?" Duo chortled out. A minute passed, and Duo said quietly, "You like him, right?"
Quatre didn't answer right away, not wanting Duo to laugh at him again. Finally, he whispered a quiet, "Yes."
"Then what does it matter what I think, or Heero, or Wufei? It's between you and him, and if he likes you back, then great. If not, I'll kick his ass for you."
He snorted softly, smiling in the dark and staring at the ceiling. "You're right," he whispered finally. "But if his ass needs to be kicked, I'll do it myself."
"Right." Duo was already sounding groggy again. "No matter what, I'm still your first."
"What?" Quatre sat up, staring in Duo's direction.
"Friend, dummy. Your first friend." Duo was back to chuckling softly.
"Bastard," Quatre mumbled, lying back down. Thoughts of Trowa crowded out his mild annoyance at Duo. Trowa lying on his back in the grass during lunch, reading. Trowa telling him how he worked at the family circus during the summer months, and the promise to teach him how to swing on the trapeze. Strong images of Trowa running track, long legs eating up laps, stirred, and Quatre sighed at the ceiling.
"Duo, you awake?" he asked in whisper again, but this time, there was no answer. Quatre continued to stare at the ceiling, imaging Trowa's face, and the way his hair fell covering a good part of it. Imaged Trowa smiling at him, in that quiet almost shy way of his.
And sleep was a long time coming for Quatre that night
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|| for porc, heero/duo, school fic
He found Heero on the sport field, straddling a bleacher seat, math text open, and notebook on one thigh, pencil in hand. Duo flashed a quick book around, seeing how quiet it was, and how no one else was close. Pulling the strap of his backpack tighter, he began to climb the risers.
"There you are," he called out, and grinned when Heero looked at him. "I thought we were eating lunch together."
Heero snorted, reached down, and lifted up a brown paper bag.
"Cool." Duo dropped his pack and sat facing Heero. "Bring enough for me, too?"
"Yes," Heero's answer was short. He set the bag in front of Duo, and picked up his pencil again.
Duo pulled a couple of sandwiches from the bag, peered at their make, and set one aside, returning the other to the sack. "What's with the math stuff? Homework?"
"Yes," Heero said without looking up. "Trig right after lunch."
"You didn't do your homework last night?" Duo lowered the sandwich from taking a bite to stare at Heero.
"I was at your house last night." Heero's eyes flicked upward, and back, his pencil still moving over notebook paper.
"Oh yeah." Duo was grinning. "Guess it was kinda late when you left."
"Don't you have any homework?"
Duo shrugged. "It's dialogue in Spanish, and a test in Government." He pulled lettuce from his sandwich and let it drop to the ground under the bleachers.
"Consiga trabajar en su gobierno." Heero transferred his answer from worksheet to answer sheet.
"Alright! Alright!" Duo finished off his sandwich with one hand and rooted through his bag with the other. The government textbook was thick and heavy, making the bench jump slightly when Duo thumped it in front of him. "Who cares what the cabinet is responsible for, anyway," he grumbled, flipping pages. Heero continued to work on his math problems without looking up.
Less than five minutes passed, and Duo tapped his foot on top of Heero's sneaker. "You going to come over tonight?"
Heero snorted softly. "Yes." He looked up sharply. "Unless you don't want me to."
"No! I want you..." Duo's look was just as sharp. He flushed, and dropped his gaze. "Last night, it was fun."
"It was," Heero said just as soft. He tapped his pencil to Duo's text. "Study, or Howard'll ground you again."
"Yeah, yeah," Duo grumbled. But, he left his Nike pressed up along side Heero's Reebok.
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