That Which is Not His
by Ponderosa
Part 3
"Elite students, you've got to be kidding me. I can't imagine any of them being welcomed into an OZ facility," Duo said, looking over at Heero.
"I doubt any of them are looking at you and thinking Gundam pilot," Heero replied under his breath. He glanced up from his laptop to the clock on the wall. The class would start soon and he'd be able to hack in to the teacher's station and set up the premilinary backdoors that would allow him to snoop without fear through the school's entire system.
"Yeah, but, just look at them," Duo looked pointedly at two boys rolling wads of paper and tossing them into the ponytail of a red headed girl sitting in the desk in front of them.
Heero looked briefly over at the girl and shrugged. Duo was shifting restlessly in the chair next to him and the Japanese boy glared as his partner stood up.
"I'll be right back," Duo said and before Heero could object, he threaded his way through the tangle of chairs to where the red headed girl was seated.
"Hi."
The girl looked up startled and stared blankly at Duo. He grinned and placed his palm flat on the desk in front of her. He leaned down closer to her and put on his most winning smile.
"I couldn't help but notice you had a biology book there," Duo said, flickering his eyes to the stack of books near the girl's right hand. She turned her head, automatically following his gaze and he snuck his free hand up, deftly picking out the small wads of paper from her hair and flicking them back at her tormenters without sparing them a glance.
"I'm new here, but you probably figured that already. You don't happen to have Mr. Houston for biology do you?"
"No," the girl answered quietly. She wouldn't raise her eyes up from her desk.
"Aww...too bad. I was hoping to find out what kind of teacher he was," Duo stood up straight and pushed his sleeve further up on his arm. "Thanks anyway."
"W-wait," the redhead stammered. Duo grinned broadly and was rewarded with a blush for his efforts. "I had him last year. He's very nice, but he gives lots of pop quizzes."
"Hey great, thanks a lot," Duo said. He was about to say something else when the bell rang and the other students around scrambled to take their seats. He gave the girl one last smile and made his way back to Heero.
"You've probably just made things worse for her," Heero said, looking at his friend out of the corner of his eye.
"Eh?"
"Those guys hate you now and they'll either take it out on you or her."
"Oh. I didn't think about that," Duo frowned and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He looked back over at the redhead and caught her staring at him; she paled and looked away suddenly.
Heero chuckled and Duo elbowed him in the ribs.
"Good morning class. We have some new students if you haven't noticed," the teacher spoke up from the front of the room. "Please, stand up you two and introduce yourselves."
The two boys stood up obediently.
"Heero Yuy," Heero said tersely and promptly took his seat again.
"...and I'm Duo Maxwell, " Duo took the time to look around the room. The redhead was trying very hard not to make eye contact, so he grinned and winked at her. He wasn't sure if she saw, but the other students in the room certainly did. Some attention would be healthy for the girl. "Nice to meet you all. Don't mind Heero, he's a little shy."
Heero scowled at Duo as the braided teen dropped back down into his chair.
"Class, please welcome Heero and Duo," the teacher said. Murmured welcomes punctuated by a few bold hellos rolled through the class. "Now that that's over and done with, let's begin today's lesson..."
The teacher flipped on the switch that brought to life the computers at each desk and Heero straightened. He set his laptop next to the workstation in front of him and patched it in through a dataport on the side of the monitor; a few other students with personal laptops were doing the same. Heero however, had far more interesting things to review than the daily lesson. A few swift keystrokes got him easy access into the teacher's account.
It was showtime.
-=*=-
"Well, we meet again," Duo said to the redhead from his first class after the teacher had him introduce himself and directed him to a seat. "So what's your name? You know mine, but I don't know yours," Duo sat on the edge of his chair and leaned across the small aisle to engage the girl in conversation.
The girl mumbled something.
"Sorry didn't catch that..."
"Iris," she replied shyly.
"Well Iris, it's a real pleasure. Thanks again for the heads up about Mr. Houston this morning. Would you believe it, my first day and the guy springs a pop quiz."
"I'm sure he won't hold it against you if you did poorly," Iris said, daring a look over at Duo.
"Nah, it was no sweat really. I know my stuff," Duo said cockily. "Anyway, you're a part of that program right? The one at the military lab?"
"How'd you know?"
"I have my sources," Duo narrowed his eyes slyly, then broke into a grin and gestured to the girl's stack of books the same way he had two hours earlier. "Besides, you're carrying around an OZ rules and regulations booklet."
"You're a very observant person," Iris said opening up a bit. "W-why do you ask?"
"Just curious what it's like. Sounds like a pretty interesting program, getting to work with real scientists and maybe have an effect on the war." Out of the corner of his eye Duo saw the teacher frowning at him and he lowered his voice further, "Hey Iris, mind spending time with the new kid during lunch?"
"You mean you?" she whispered back in disbelief.
"Yeah! I'd like to talk with you more if it's no trouble... Although, I suppose a pretty girl like you is probably busy though," Duo let his voice trail off and scooted back fully into his chair.
"I won't be busy, it's no trouble," Iris said a little too hastily. Duo could see that she was silently reprimanding herself for sounding desperate.
"Great! Then I'll meet you at that big oak tree in the middle of the quad."
The girl's eyes widened and she opened her mouth when the teacher cleared his throat and gave her a warning look. The teacher's glare killed whatever she had been about to say and Duo didn't hear another sound from her; in fact, she didn't even look up again for the remainder of the class.
-=*=-
For his fourth class, Duo was scheduled with Heero in a tutorial period; in reality, the program didn't even exist, Heero had altered the school's system just enough to give them a reason to spend an hour together huddled at a library terminal.
Duo wasn't particularly looking forward to days of sifting through large amounts of data looking for the codes and procedures that would allow them to walk into the OZ facility without raising suspicion. Of course, if his instincts were right and he was able to get some useful information from the redhead, Duo wouldn't have to worry about all the boring grunt work.
"You're sure she'll be worth the effort?" Heero asked as he pulled up file after file on the girl Iris.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Duo said with a touch of regret. He felt a sharp twinge of guilt knowing that he had manipulated her just to be able to pump her for information, but like Heero always said: it was for the mission. "You saw what she was like this morning. The girl is attention starved. I don't feel right about playing her like this; it's cruel. I guess if it gets us the information we need all that much faster, it's a necessary evil."
"Hn," Heero closed his eyes and dipped his chin thoughtfully as he considered the information he'd just reviewed. "It seems she's one of the students with the highest levels of clearance. You couldn't have picked better, Duo."
"You make it sound like she's a mark," the Deathscythe pilot sighed. "I guess she is... You need me here still? ...or can I just head out to wait for her now. I need a few minutes to gear up for what I have to do."
Heero shook his head and told Duo to go ahead and leave. Having to so blatantly use a civilian to further their ends, an insecure female civilian nonetheless, was obviously weighing on the American. His eyes tracked Duo as the braided youth headed through the tall stacks of books towards the exit and he sat there for a long time reflecting on the complexity of Duo's personality.
-=*=-
Duo was resting up in the arms of the oak tree where he'd told the redhead to meet him. He was nestled in the crook between trunk and branch, one foot dangling down and the other planted firmly on the broad branch to keep him in place.
When he opened his eyes, he could see the sky peeking through the leafy canopy above and knew that the blue was interrupted by thin white clouds that stretched across the sky like the streaks left by a plane's wings or a mobile suit's thrusters. An occasional gust of wind tugged at his braid and his uniform, but Duo was comfortable in his arboreal cradle. If he didn't look down and he closed his eyes, he could imagine that he was floating up gently back to space. He was doing that when the shrill ring of the bell signaled the beginning of the lunch hour.
Students would pour out of the buildings soon and Duo knew he should probably climb down, but he wanted to enjoy his perch for just a few moments longer...
"Hey you, what the hell do you think you're doing up there?" a high nasal voice rudely interrupted Duo's reverie.
"Waiting for someone, you gotta problem with that?" he replied and peered down at the group of boys clustered around the base of the tree.
"Yeah, we do. This is our spot," the voice belonged to a tall youth with short blonde curls that Duo recognized as one of the two he'd pissed off during his first class.
'Just my luck. No wonder that girl didn't seem to like the spot I picked.'
"Go away," Duo said coolly and took a deep breath. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of guys with nothing better to do than make trouble.
"Why don't you come down here and make us go away? Longhaired pansy is probably too scared! Freak!" the taunts floated up from the blonde and his cronies.
One of them started climbing the tree and reached up to grab Duo's foot shouting, "Come 'ere you coward!"
That was the last straw.
Duo rolled to the side and dropped to hang from the branch. He used his momentum to kick the climber squarely in the shoulder. With a yelp, the boy fell and the others howled in outrage.
Duo released his hold on the branch and landed in a crouch in the grass below. He rose to his full height and crossed his arms. The bullies were not impressed, they felt they had little cause to be; most of them were taller and more heavily muscled.
"You look like a girl, I'll cut this thing off for you," the curly-haired blonde sneered and reached out to try and grab his braid. Duo stepped away from the attempt and dropped into a fighting stance.
"You've got one last chance to leave," he said menacingly and cracked his neck.
This time there were no taunts. Two of the heavier boys rushed him and Duo ducked down, striking an elbow into the taller one's groin and aiming a wicked kick at the other's ankle. The blonde shouted in outrage when his friends crumpled to the ground and he and one of his friends in a blue shirt leapt at the braided teen. The pair circled and tried to grab him and Duo wished he could just pull the knife from his boot and end things quickly.
It didn't take long before a small crowd had gathered to watch the fight and Duo picked out at least eight more boys with hungry looks that would probably be stupid enough to try and prove themselves against him. He easily avoided a punch aimed at his stomach and hooked his foot around the leg of the bully in the blue shirt; he fell backwards onto the grass and Duo drove his heel down on the boy's outflung arm as he ducked under another swing by the blonde.
The onlookers were really getting fired up and four more boys surged out of the crowd. Duo started to get worried as he found himself facing five opponents. He was thankful they weren't trained soldiers and had no concept of working with each other, but it was taking all his skill to avoid getting hit. A sixth figure entered the fray and Duo grinned madly.
"On your eight," Heero warned as he incapacitated one of the boys surrounding Duo.
The Deathscythe pilot whirled just in time to find a stocky boy in red was rushing him. He sidestepped the attempt and slammed his shoulder against his attacker to throw him off balance. Duo whirled around again and was surprised to find that there were no other threats.
He and Heero were standing in the midst of a dozen boys lying crumpled on the ground. Some of them were moaning and a few were outright crying. The only other bully left standing was the blonde who had instigated it all and even so, he was only on his feet because Heero had a hand on his neck.
"I believe you chose the wrong person to pick on," Heero said as his fingers dug into the blonde's throat. The crowd, who had been content to watch, started forward and shouted. The Japanese pilot kept his iron grip and his captive flailed his arms wildly and clawed at the hand cutting off his air supply.
Heero growled and removed his hand, only to drive his fist into the boy's jaw. The blonde crashed to the ground and his eyes watered as he gulped for air. The other students looked nervous and uncertain and melted away as the bullies slowly picked themselves up off the ground. The first few who had rushed Duo were helping the blonde up and half dragging him away.
"What took you so long?" Duo said as he flexed his fingers to make certain none of them were broken.
"I didn't want to ruin your fun," Heero replied wryly and ran a hand through his hair.
"Considerate of you, Heero."
"I try."
Duo exploded with laughter and slung his arm around Heero's neck in the closest approximation of a hug that he thought the Wing pilot would allow. Duo was noticing that Heero didn't tense up in the least, when he spotted the redheaded girl hovering apprehensively nearby. He waved her over with his free hand.
"Hey Iris, glad you stuck around. Got myself into a little bit of trouble. Heero tells me I excel at that. It was bound to happen. I don't mix well with bullies," Duo smiled crookedly and rubbed the side of his nose.
"I saw..." the girl said and approached the pair slowly.
"Oh right, proper introductions. Heero this is Iris, she's in our first period class," Duo said loosing Heero and gesturing with both hands towards the girl, "and Iris, I'd like you to meet Heero, he's my-"
"Boyfriend," Heero supplied before Duo could finish the rest of his sentence.
Duo's voice stopped working.
Heero nodded respectfully to the girl and moved to stand just behind Duo, placing his hands on the braided boy's shoulders and pressing his cheek against the side of Duo's head.
Following suit with his vocal cords, Duo's brain stopped working.
-=*=-
"Oh. OH!" the redheaded girl's face displayed rapid-fire changes in emotion from nervous to shocked to embarrassed and finally settling on something that looked remarkably like relief.
Somehow Duo managed to get his synapses firing again and held up a finger, "Could you excuse us for a moment?"
Iris nodded and hugged her books to her chest. Duo spun and grabbed Heero's elbow and led him onto the other side of the tree. He peered around the trunk to make sure the girl hadn't followed, she hadn't, and he flashed her a quick smile before pulling his head back and hissing sharply, "Boyfriend? What the hell did you say that for?"
"To prevent hurt feelings," Heero replied evenly, low enough that he was sure his voice wouldn't carry. Your feelings, his mind helpfully added.
Duo's eyes bugged and he stared at Heero.
"It bothers you to manipulate this girl's emotions, correct? If she believes that you and I are a couple she will see your offer of friendship as just that.
"Given her insecurity and obvious lack of attention from the opposite sex, this will likely make her more comfortable..." Heero continued to explain methodically. The idea had come to him as he had dwelled over Duo's situation, but he hadn't intended to actually propose it to his fellow pilot. However, some mutinous portion of his brain disagreed and had taken control of his mouth and now he found himself outlining his plan.
"...she will also gain self-esteem and the respect of her peers purely by being a friend of yours. Provided she isn't homophobic, this benefits both her and us. It is an acceptable risk. If she does disapprove of homosexual relationships, then we will just fall back on our original strategy."
"Whoa, alright," Duo held up his hands and blinked at the lengthy speech. Was it revenge for him getting the gossips in an uproar before he left two weeks ago? Or did Heero actually care about not hurting an innocent's feelings? That didn't seem likely. With the way Heero spoke exactly as if he was giving a run through of a mission plan, this whole thing was probably a product of the Japanese pilot's typical 'for the mission' mindset. Disappointment nibbled at him, it was a nice thought imagining that Heero actually cared about someone's feelings.
"Since when did you become such an expert on interpersonal relationships anyway?" Duo scoffed and immediately regretted his words; Heero didn't need sarcasm in response to what was admittedly a decent idea. He waved his hand, "Forget I said that. I gotta admit, Heero, you never cease to surprise me. I hope you're right about this."
"We should stop whispering and get back over there," Heero prompted the braided boy.
"Oh, right! Come on," Duo dragged Heero back around the tree to where Iris was patiently waiting. "Sorry about that!"
"It's okay, Duo."
"I'll wait for you by the west gate after school, I've got some more studying to do," Heero said disentangling his arm from Duo's grasp, then turned to the redhead before he left. "It was a pleasure," he said with a nod and walked purposefully back to the library.
Duo was still feeling a bit flaky and disoriented after being thrust into this very unexpected situation. He watched Heero leave in a daze and felt his ears turn red when he remembered he had a job to do. This was exactly why he'd been trying desperately not to think about the subtle changes that had inserted themselves into his and Heero's relationship. During the weekend before he left, innuendo and at least on his part, awkwardness had slipped into what had been a very comfortable friendship. Heero on the other hand never seemed fazed by anything, even the most severe slip of the tongue.
Two weeks apart had dulled the edge of the awkwardness and as much as he feared the prospect, Duo knew he was dangerously close to forming a crush. He scratched a spot on his forearm and brought his attention back to where it was supposed to be.
"So Iris, still interested in having lunch with me?" he tendered, and a genuinely cheerful smile lit his face when the girl bobbed her head in an eager nod. "Great. Then let's get some food, I'm starving!"
-=*=-
It was twelve minutes past the final school bell and Heero was growing impatient waiting for Duo to show up. He had resolved to wait for only three more minutes when his "boyfriend" came strolling down the path that wound through the manicured expanse of lawn.
The longhaired pilot was walking with his fingers laced behind his head, turning to look from face to face as he talked with the latest batch of admirers to attach themselves to his side. They were all loudly complimenting him about showing up one of the meanest kids and gushing about this and that. Heero grabbed the extra helmet off the back of the motorcycle's seat and heaved it straight at Duo. The toss was overly forceful, but Duo caught it easily.
"Sorry I'm late!" he said with an apologetic grin as he tucked the cherry red helmet under one arm. Duo spun around and started walking backwards, oblivious to the glare shot his way. He said his farewells and waved as he turned back to Heero. He tugged the helmet down on his head as he swung a leg over the bike and wrapped an arm comfortably around Heero's waist. "Okay! Let's go!"
They sped down the streets towards the OZ research facility and Heero purposefully drove fast. It may have begun as a desire to get there as quickly as possible, but after a few blocks and a tight turn, Heero continued to speed because it made Duo scrunch up close behind him. He couldn't help but smile as he dodged between two large trucks and Duo's arms tightened further around his waist.
'What's he trying to do, get us killed?!' Duo clung desperately to Heero and ducked instinctively when the rearview mirror of one of the trucks drew closer. He blinked and did a doubtletake, staring up at the reflection in the truck's mirror as it flashed past. He had caught sight of Heero's face and the normally expressionless teen was smiling. 'He's doing it on purpose! Why?'
A quick swerve around a corner made Duo yelp and clutch tighter still. He felt Heero's stomach shake and Duo narrowed his eyes, 'He's laughing now? Is he's trying to scare me? Well, it's working. Shit!'
The light at the next block turned red. Heero slowed to a stop rapidly and it made Duo slide forward so far that he felt the button of the American's jeans digging into his back. Heero planted one foot on the ground to wait out the light and the shift in position effectively caused him to grind briefly against the boy behind him. He hadn't planned things that way, but he was honest enough with himself to admit he didn't mind in the least.
As the green light for vehicles turning left switched to those going straight, Duo let his deathgrip relax enough that his arms slipped down a notch. A flood of embarrassment stained his cheeks as he realized his thumbs had practically hooked themselves into the waist of Heero's jeans. His palms had ended up flat against the firmness of the other boy's lower abdomen and his fingertips were resting lightly on the heavy fold of denim right at mid-zipper. Duo was afraid to move; there was no way to reposition his hands naturally without brushing against Heero's stomach or hips and if he did that, he was positive his pants were going to get noticeably tighter. Duo settled for leaving them where they were and concentrated on the cars streaming past as he prayed to the gods of traffic for the light to change quickly.
-=*=-
Heero didn't speed as excessively the rest of the way and they made it in one piece to the small park where Duo had spent each afternoon timing the perimeter guards' rounds.
The wide expanse of grass was dotted with people enjoying the sunny afternoon and the two boys blended in easily. They picked a random spot and sat down side by side at the base of a tree. Duo started picking at blades of grass and splitting them in two with a fingernail before moving on to plucking and torturing the stems of little wildflowers. Heero drew his knees up to his chest and pretended to watch a group of kids playing in the distance.
"Looks ugly doesn't it," Duo said about the chainlink fence that OZ had erected when it appropriated the research facility for its own use. "Mobile suits in the middle of a city... it's depressing. Reminds me of the occupation of my colony."
"Hn," Heero nodded slowly in agreement.
"...well, so far, so good. They're all right on time. I got a good amount of info from Iris. That girl can really talk. I bet she'd have guys all over her if she'd lift her head up once in a while," Duo went on for a while until Heero gave him a sharp look prompting him to get to the relevant information.
Heero closed his eyes as he processed the new data and trusted that Duo was still keeping an eye on the timing of the guards. On it's own, it wasn't enough, they needed to know more about how the selected students got inside the facility and what their security clearance allowed them access too. He questioned Duo on how quickly he could get the information from the redhead.
"I'd say three days tops..." the braided boy tapped his lip thoughtfully and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah...three days should do it.
"Look! There it is. Shift change leaves that whole section of fence unpatrolled for a full five minutes." Heero followed Duo's line of sight and spotted the flaw in OZ's defenses that would serve as their escape route.
"Then as of now, we aim for Friday," Heero said.
"Friday it is," Duo grinned and tossed a tangle of gold and green into the Japanese boy's lap.
Heero hooked his finger into the mass and lifted it to dangle in front of his face. He looked sidelong at Duo, "Handcuffs?"
The braided boy grinned wider and nodded. Heero smirked and grabbed Duo's arm. Violet eyes widened as he slipped one loop of the little daisychained flower handcuffs onto the American's wrist before rising and offering a hand.
"You know I can get out of these anytime I want," Duo said with a laugh, before he slapped his hand in Heero's and let the other boy pull him to his feet.
Heero was pleasantly surprised when Duo ended up wearing the flowers all the way back to the school.
-=*=-
Unlike at the last school, this time the two pilots were sharing a dorm room. The hour was late and everything was quiet save for the click-clack of Heero's fingers on his laptop and an occasional tap-tap-tap from Duo hitting his pencil against the open pages of his textbook.
"Heero?" Duo dropped his pencil into the cleft of his book and lifted his chin up for the first time in an hour. Sitting cross-legged on the bed for so long had made his feet fall asleep and he wiggled his toes in his boots as he waited for Heero to spare him a bit of attention.
"What?" came Heero's eventual reply.
"What do you plan to do after the war?"
Heero stopped typing for a few seconds, then continued up again as he answered, "I don't know."
"Me either. Do you think we'll be famous?"
"Possibly."
"...or maybe infamous," Duo amended with a chuckle.
"Hn."
Duo toyed with the little wilted circlet still on his wrist and a small smile turned the edges of his mouth. The other half of the "handcuffs" had fallen off four hours ago and the remainder was threatening to fall apart. As he sat there, Duo's smile faded and his thoughts turned darker; he wondered if they would even survive the war.
"Something wrong?" the sound of Heero's voice snapped him out of his gloom.
"Just thinking about my past and my future," Duo was too absorbed in his melancholy to be surprised at the question.
"It's better to live in the moment," Heero said. He was still typing and Duo watched the muscles in Heero's arms twitch with every keystroke.
"Not the sort of philosophy I'd expect to hear from you, Heero," Duo said and lifted his gaze from Heero's arm to his eyes as the Japanese boy pushed away his laptop and looked over his shoulder.
Heero shrugged, but his own statement made him think immediately about his relationship with Duo and the attraction he felt. There were too many unknown variables that fate threw at you to waste time worrying about or attempting to outmaneuver the infinite possibilities of the future.
The American was right in that love was dangerous, but did it have to be incapacitating? If he allowed himself to forget his training and give in to the emotions that Duo evoked in him, would he be able to take up his training again and bury them if the necessity arose? As undesirable as the prospect was, someday Duo might be an obstacle to a mission. Heero thought about it and shook off an eerie chill. Here he was, not following his own advice and worrying about an unlikely possibility...
"So you mean I should waste my energy worrying about what's immediately before me instead of fearing what I can't control..." Duo said and continued talking for quite some time in the sort of thinking of loud mode that Heero found gave him endless insight - although not necessarily understanding - of the way the braided boy viewed life. "...but fear, fear is healthy; it keeps you alive."
"To a point. If you let it overwhelm you, you'll become paralyzed by it."
"That's true," Duo said and sucked on his lower lip. "I never really thought about how much these battles are like living on the streets. You have to just be glad you're alive for the good times."
"Hn."
"I never dreamed I'd be fighting alongside someone like you," Duo said with a small chuckle. "I don't mean that in a bad way...you remind me a lot of my best friend way back when. Even though he was older than me, he treated me like an equal. He expected me to do my part to help us survive and we were a team.
"Man, I miss him sometimes," Duo drew in a deep breath. There was wistfulness in his voice, but no sorrow. A yawn snuck up on him and Duo stretched his arms as he stood up. "Didn't realize how tired I was, guess I should get ready for bed."
Heero watched as Duo unbuttoned his shirt, but he turned politely back to his laptop when the boy reached for the buckles on his boots. Duo headed for the door to the tiny bathroom to brush his teeth and when he returned, Heero heard the quiet zip and hiss of the other boy's pants coming off. Heero's pulse quickened. The only other time they'd ever shared a room was back in that motel and although they had slept in the same bed; they had each been fully clothed and the situation was awkward. The fact that he'd seen Duo naked several times before when showering didn't even cross his mind.
"I really need to do some laundry," Duo sighed as he held up a shirt and wrinkled his nose. He crumpled the offending shirt into a little blue wad and tossed it towards the small circular hamper in the corner. "He shoots! He scores!! Hey Heero, can I borrow a tank top or something?"
"Third drawer, on the left."
"Thanks!" Duo pulled open Heero's dresser drawer and stared for a moment. It was meticulously neat. Socks balled on the right, biker shorts balled in the center and tank tops folded neatly on the left, but there was something vital missing. Duo fished around for a bit, then bells went off in his braided head. Heero didn't own any underwear! Which meant that, at this very minute, Heero was sitting five feet away from him in tight jeans with nothing beneath them but smooth bronze skin.
For the second time today, Duo's brain stopped working.
-=*=-
"They're those green things right there," Heero said near his elbow and he jumped and snatched one up.
"I know that. I was just...I...I was ju-," his voice faltered as his libido gleefully pointed out to him that Heero was now standing one foot away...in tight jeans...with nothing beneath them but smooth bronze skin.
Duo was trapped. If he turned, the erection jerking to life in his boxers would quite rudely make itself known. He cleared his throat, looked over his shoulder and said as casually as possible, "Think you could give a guy some room?"
Heero apologized and stepped away to go back to his computer. Duo dangled his arms down and made a big production as if he was rolling up the shirt and getting it ready to pull over his head. Through the ruse, he managed to take hold of his erection through the thin cotton of his boxers and point it upwards to pin it beneath the elastic waistband. Once the shirt was settled over his chest and tugged down, Duo twisted around to find Heero had turned off his laptop and was approaching him.
Duo stepped back involuntarily, his hands groping for support behind him. His fingers found the edge of the drawer and he gripped it nervously; he wasn't sure why Heero was advancing on him and a dizzy rush made his knees threaten to buckle.
"Duo," Heero stopped a few inches from him and Duo was certain that if any more blood was diverted from his brain, he'd go unconscious.
"Yeah?"
"Are you finished?"
"Uh-huh."
"Then can you move, or do I have to reach around you to get to my clothes," Heero asked with a smirk, and slowly extended his hand towards the open drawer.
"I'm done!" Duo yelped and sidestepped the arm that was trying to reach past his hip. "Just uh, hit the lights will you?"
The Japanese boy didn't say anything as he pulled a pair of shorts from the drawer and Duo hastily retreated towards his bed. In the span of a few minutes, they were both in bed with the lights off.
Sleep eluded Duo. All he could think about was Heero laying three feet away...in skintight spandex...with nothing beneath them but... He squinted his eyes shut tighter and tried to will away his hard-on. If he hadn't already gone to the bathroom, he'd be in there taking care of the problem, but it would seem weird if he disappeared in there for the second time in ten minutes.
He shifted onto his side facing Heero's bed and glared at the sleeping Wing pilot for putting him in this position. First the episode with the motorcycle and now this! Duo could barely make out Heero's profile in the dark. His lips were parted and quivered slightly with each intake of breath.
'Good enough to eat,' Duo thought to himself and licked his lips as he remembered that day two weeks ago when he'd first thought of Heero as anything other than just his friend. He closed his eyes and relived the moment.
-=*=-
///
...Duo closed his textbook and maneuvered himself so that he was sitting with his back to the aluminum cafeteria table. He stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankle and leaned back to rest his head on the table.
Heero was finishing his food, eating precisely and methodically as usual. A little glob of salad dressing clung to the side of his mouth. Duo snaked a hand up and scraped it off onto his finger, when Heero caught and held his wrist.
Duo gasped and tried to pull his arm away, but the Japanese boy smirked and pulled Duo's finger into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he sucked the slim digit firmly.
"Do you like that Duo?"
"Yes," he breathed.
"Do you like this?" Heero asked and shifted his grip as he trailed the point of his tongue down the inside of the braided boy's arm.
"Oh God yes."
"And this? Do you like this also?" Heero said into his ear as he pinned Duo's arm back...
///
-=*=-
Heero shifted in his bed and Duo was jolted out of his fantasy. His breathing was heavier and his hand had long since been busy beneath the sheets.
'Fuck! What if he heard me?' he thought frantically. 'Does it really matter; I mean he knows I jerk off, right? So who cares? He doesn't know what I'm thinking about.' Duo had a sudden ridiculous flash of terror imagining that somehow Heero _could_ read his thoughts.
Heero shifted onto his side away and Duo almost moaned aloud. He had been pointedly avoiding looking at the other boy as he got ready for bed and now that his vision was adjusted to the dark, he became gloriously aware that Heero slept bare-chested. His eyes were fixed to where the covers had slipped away and revealed the dips and hollows of Heero's shoulderblades and the curve of his spine as it disappeared into shadow.
Duo made up his mind and swallowed his pride. He couldn't take it anymore and pulled a Kleenex from the box resting on the table between their beds. His heart was pounding and he was positive that Heero would awaken from the thunderous sound of each beat. He rolled onto his back again and bent one knee to lift the covers slightly. As he closed his eyes, he conjured up a new fantasy and his fingers crept back down his belly.
-=*=-
Three feet away, Heero was very much awake. Duo's coarse breathing and the rhythmic whisper of his hand riveted him. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and add visuals to the deliciously erotic sounds. Duo's breathing was getting louder, as if he had gotten over the fact that he wasn't alone; in contrast, Heero had practically stopped breathing.
A squeak and loud rustle told him that Duo had given up trying to be discreet and had kicked off the covers. Heero had never been so hard before in his life and he thought he was going to explode in his shorts. He couldn't resist and started stroking himself through the layer of spandex. Another squeak and a shuddering gasp sent Heero over the edge and a patch of wet heat soaked his shorts.
It didn't take long for Duo to fall deeply asleep after his own orgasm, but Heero waited a good half hour to be safe before he snuck out of bed to change his clothes.
'If Duo does this every night, I'm going to have to double my trips to the laundry room,' Heero thought sleepily as he slipped back under his covers.
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