Heavy Thinking
by Stacy
Heero glanced briefly at the display on his wrist unit, grunted, and pulled the errant chip free from the board, tucking it into his hip pocket before it could go drifting across the dimly lit bay. The upgrade to the security system was going smoothly enough, if the off-key humming of his partner was any indication. Duo was floating on the end of his tether, upside-down relative to the designated floor of the bay, as he went over his own set of boards. Tools on their own cords drifted from his belt, joining the braid that had slipped free from the back of his jacket. In the null-g zone of the colony’s spindle, Heero supposed that up and down were arbitrary decisions, but the sight of Duo apparently getting ready to take a header into the floor was enough to make him twitch every so often. He deliberately turned his eyes back to his task. He was more of a groundling than he’d thought, something that Duo would give him hell about if he noticed.
His mind wandered, though. This assignment was not terribly challenging; the security team would go through tomorrow and if any corrections were to be made, they’d address them. He suspected that the reason they had this assignment is that they’d had the misfortune of being the first qualified agents to cross Sally’s path. She had looked a little hung over, he and Duo had not, so that most likely figured into the equation. Two days later, here they were.
Well. Sally. And Relena. And Noin. He heaved a purely internal sigh. He couldn’t help it if his hearing was much more acute than average. Generally, he could tune out most of the conversations that impinged on his consciousness, but he thought he could be forgiven for listening in on that one. And the one after that. And the next one. And again... that subject seemed to fascinate those three. In fact, the topic had started to occupy his mind for long stretches, especially in the hazy time before dropping off to sleep. He hadn’t decided on what side of the issue he stood on. Or if he had a stand on the issue. Or, if even it was an issue that involved standing. He wished he was sitting in a chair in normal gravity instead of floating free. Damn, but he wanted to cross his legs.
He wished those damn women had kept their mouths shut. Things had been... comfortable before. Duo was his closest friend, the person he’d rather spend his down time with. Now he was developing a hang-up about his partner.
Hang. Hanging. Hung. Well-hu...
Mind on business, Yuy, he sternly told himself.
He replaced the chip with another from his belt and glanced at Duo again. After spending all day in null-g, the long lines of his partner’s face had taken on a slight puffiness from fluid redistribution. It made him look considerably younger, especially with his bangs standing out from his forehead. Duo looked up from his work and cocked his head to the side. "What?" He asked. Heero just shook his head. "Nothing." He suppressed a smile and contemplated the risk to his person if he were to tell Duo he looked positively cherubic. He’d save that little gem for later. For when they were someplace with a mirror. It’d take a while for the puffiness to subside. He firmly steered his thoughts away from swelling. It took enough of his concentration that Duo’s voice didn’t register until a hand waved in front of his face.
"Heero? You OK?" Duo asked, peering into his face. "We’re done here, if that’s your last board."
Heero looked down at his board. Amazing. Evidently he’d assembled the damn thing on autopilot. "Yeah. I mean, yes. That’s the last one."
Duo took the board and stored it back in the rack. "You sure you’re ok? Man, you’ve been a million miles away today." He began collecting his gear, and after shaking his head, Heero began to do the same.
"Just thinking." He replied. Something had to give. He couldn’t function like this too much longer. "How about we have dinner at Jack’s?"
"Jack’s it is."
Jack’s just happened to have a wall of mirrors behind the bar. Heero smirked, wondering just how to work angels into the conversation. A beer, pizza, and indignation sounded good.
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