Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Mission: Nerima ❯ Chapter 7
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Calic0cat 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Comedy | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 682 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Comedy | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 682 | Status: Completed
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Title: Mission: Nerima
Chapter: 07
Author: Calic0cat
Genre: Crossover
Pairings: 3+4/4+3, Ranma/Ryoga
Rated: FRT (Fan Rated for Teens)
Warning: Swearing, Angst
Archives: http://www.calic0cat.net
Disclaimer: Heero and Duo and the rest of the GW boys aren't mine. Neither are Ranma and Ryoga and the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Post series & Endless Waltz for Gundam Wing, post series for Ranma ½. Unless otherwise noted, all dialogue is in Japanese - so if there’s Japanese words sprinkled within dialogue, it’s because the language being spoken at that moment is something else.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
#################################################
The four ex-Gundam pilots entered the busy café, looking around for their fifth member.
"He said he was coming here after he finished the last placement test, but I don't see him at any of the tables," Quatre murmured, anxiously sweeping his gaze over the tables a second time. "He hasn't come home for supper in days, and he's been gone before breakfast as well. It's like he's deliberately avoiding us. Surely he's not still upset over the whole school thing? It's not like Duo to hold a grudge..."
"Braid-boy! Need table four wiped and order's up for Six!"
"I thought Ranma had the front, Shampoo!" a familiar voice responded.
"Had to take a delivery cross town, need Mousse and me both in kitchen and 'Dachi still out on other delivery!"
"'Kay, I'm on it," Duo called as he backed carefully through the doorway, pushing the swinging door open with his elbow while balancing a load of clean glasses. Friday night sure was busy around here. Not that he was complaining; keeping busy was a good thing. Placing the glasses on the counter, he grabbed a damp rag from beneath it, stuffed an order pad in his pocket, picked up the order from the kitchen window, and headed out into the dining area.
"*Maxwell*?" Wufei gasped in surprise. He'd expected to find the other youth dining at the restaurant, or perhaps engaging in a study session at a quiet corner table, not working as a waiter.
Busily passing out Table Six's order, Duo stole a quick sideways glance towards the new arrivals, his cheery grin faltering. Shit. Just what he needed. Not. Quatre's pointed inquiry as to his plans for the evening had made it clear that his avoidance routine wasn't going to be tolerated much longer, but he'd kind of hoped that they wouldn't *all* come chasing after him. At least they weren't likely to make a public scene, so he might get away with keeping the explanations to a minimum.
Duo gave a casual wave and forced grin in the direction of his housemates. "Oh, hi guys." He expertly wiped down a table as he asked, "You here to eat?"
"I guess we could have supper while we're here," Quatre said hesitantly, moving towards the table. That hadn't been the original plan, but it was obvious that Duo couldn't just leave with them immediately; the restaurant was clearly short-handed. And staying would at least give them an opportunity to keep an eye on him for a while. Duo's anti-social behaviour lately was a matter of considerable concern; Quatre wanted to know whether it was restricted to the four of them or not.
"You're - *working* - here?" Heero inquired disbelievingly.
"Oh, no, *working* here would require special permission from the school principal to have a job while attending school as a full-time student. Helping friends in exchange for homework help, a meal, and a share of the tips, however," Duo observed with a conspiratorial wink, "is a different story altogether." He handed menus to them, then hurried off to refill someone's water glass, glad of the excuse to avoid the inevitable interrogation for the moment.
"Homework help, a meal, and a share of the tips?" Wufei repeated in stunned disbelief.
"Obviously, he's doing it for the money," Trowa dead-panned, not bothering to add what was, to him at least, obvious. Duo was clearly missing the camaraderie that he had grown used to first with the Sweepers, then later with Hilde at the salvage yard. Having failed to find it where it *should* have been offered, namely at home with the other pilots, Duo had turned elsewhere for that odd combination of work, play, teasing, and friendship that seemed to be so essential to him.
Since Quatre had approached Trowa at lunch on their second day of classes, he and Quatre had been... preoccupied. The attraction had been there between them almost from their very first meeting, but building a relationship together meant really getting to know each other, something that they hadn't had the opportunity to accomplish until now. Over the past few days, they'd spent virtually all of their time together, learning about each other as people rather than comrades in arms. Trowa knew that Duo wouldn't begrudge them that private time, but it did mean that they hadn't been offering much in the way of companionship to him, or to anyone else.
Wufei hadn't exactly been approachable either. He was spending most of his free time meditating and had been decidedly short with anyone who dared interrupt him. The hot-tempered Chinese youth was still tearing himself up over his involvement in the Mariemaia affair, plus he seemed to be having trouble dealing with the frequent, fierce arguments between the engaged couple next door.
As for Heero... well, he had yet to heal the breach in his friendship with Duo, and Trowa was beginning to wonder if maybe Heero had let it go for too long. Duo's gaze was no longer wistful when directed at Heero; it had moved beyond that and into something that looked an awful lot like hopeless despair. If something did not happen soon to resolve the situation, the distance between the two would reach the point of no return.
It was no wonder that Duo chose to stay away from the house - Trowa doubted that he considered it home at this point - from before sunrise to well after sunset.
Heero retreated behind the comforting familiarity of an icy mask. 'Homework help? Why wouldn't he come to... No, Yuy, don't lie to yourself. You know perfectly well why he wouldn't come to you. How many times in the past did you sneer at him, call him an idiot, and refuse when he asked you for help? He has no way of knowing that you thought it was all just an excuse to flirt and tease when you were already drowning in confusion over your feelings for him. And even if he did know that, he has no way of knowing that your reaction now would be entirely different even if it *was* an excuse for flirtatious teasing.
'How the hell am I going to fix this? How can I show him that I've changed when he's never around? Maybe this is fate's way of paying back all the times I ignored him, or at least pretended to. What am I going to do? What the hell *can* I do?'
Sighing quietly as he watched Duo bustle around the restaurant, smiling and joking with the patrons and staff, Heero had to admit that he had no idea how to fix things. His original plans had been dependant on Duo at least giving him a fair chance to show how much he'd changed. And that obviously just wasn't going to happen. A change in tactics was obviously in order, but what kind of change? He really didn't want to make things any *worse*.
Maybe Relena could suggest something.
***
"Relena, I just don't know what to do. Every single thing I try seems to make things worse, not better."
"Heero, maybe you're going to have to forget about a gradual approach. Maybe you need to just sit down with him and explain exactly what you feel *first*. Then, go back and explain your past behaviour if he asks about it."
Heero frowned. "I don't know, Relena. I'm not sure that I can just come right out and express my..."
A soft knock on the door interrupted him, then the door opened a crack and Duo peeked in, a hesitant but serious look on his face, "Oh, good, you're still up Heero. I was just wonderin'..."
As Heero shifted in his chair, turning to face Duo more directly, the vid-phone screen became visible to the youth standing in the doorway. Duo stopped in mid-phrase, a flicker of *something* passing through those expressive violet eyes, then pasted on a cheery grin. "Oh, hi, 'Lena, I didn't realize I was interrupting something. Sorry about that. Night, guys!" Then he was gone and the door was tightly shut before either of them could get a word out.
"Somebody up there hates me," Heero groaned bitterly, thumping his head repeatedly against his desk.
"Oh, Heero," Relena sighed. "I see what you mean. The first time you've called me all week, and Duo finally decides to come talk to you *right* at that moment...
"Wait a minute - why did he think he was interrupting something? Heero, you *have* explained to him that we're just friends, haven't you? He isn't *still* operating under the mistaken assumption about our relationship that you left him with *weeks* ago when you came to rescue me?"
Pause.
"Heero? I'm not hearing the response I should be. I should be hearing, 'Yes, of course I explained it to him, Relena,' not silence."
Silence, except for the dull thump of Heero's head hitting the desk.
"*Heero Yuy, if you don't get your act together, I'm going to take time off and come there and tell him myself, do you hear me?!*"
"But he won't even stay in the same room with me for more than a few minutes!" Heero moaned miserably, finally pausing in his self-torture to respond. "I can't even grab him and *make* him stay to listen because he won't even let me touch him!"
Relena listened in shock, thinking, 'Duo Maxwell, Mr Full-body-contact-hug himself, won't even let you touch him?! Oh Heero, I don't know if you *can* fix this...'
***
Upstairs, Duo buried his face in his pillow to muffle the dry, gasping, sobs that he could no longer choke back. "Why, oh why, did I ever listen to Q?" he moaned. "I shoulda known he was so far off on cloud nine over finally gettin' together with Tro that he's seein' champagne bubbles and happily-ever-afters everywhere he looks, whether they're there or not."
"Go talk to him," Quatre had said. "Heero cares about you and you're hurting him by avoiding him," he'd insisted.
Well, Quatre had been wrong. Heero had Relena, something he'd never actually denied. Why would he want anything to do with an L2 street rat? A *male* L2 street rat, at that.
Miserably, Duo reminded himself, 'Lena's a great girl and he obviously opens up to her; I should be happy for him. Part of me *is* happy for him, for both of them...
'...but the rest of me hurts so bad I just wanna curl up and die...'
***
Duo had managed to give his housemates the slip again that morning, but both restaurants closed a little earlier on Saturdays, which meant that he was now heading home again, much earlier than he'd have preferred. Most of his homework for the weekend consisted of reading assignments, so he hadn't even had an excuse to hang out and study with his new friends, since their assignments were also things that they really didn't need any assistance with. He didn't want to wear out his welcome amongst the group, so he'd decided that it was best to just go "home". Maybe he'd stay downstairs and do the damn reading assignments in the living room; being conspicuously home and *not* avoiding the others might be enough to get them off his back about the whole thing..
Sneaking quietly into the house through the kitchen door, Duo froze briefly in shock before beating a hasty retreat. Face flushed with embarrassment and stomach painfully knotted with envy, he changed his mind about the whole 'avoiding the others' thing. Avoidance sounded like a really, really good idea right at that particular moment, because as happy as he was for Quatre's - and Trowa's - sake, he really didn't think that he could take having their good fortune shoved in his face.
Outside the house, Duo wrapped his coat around himself tightly, chilled by something other than the sharp breeze. He could sneak in another way, but he wasn’t prepared to go sit alone in his room just now. He needed a distraction, some sort of activity to release the tension singing through his body. His ribs had been feeling better... maybe a workout was the answer.
Decision made, he headed next door to see if he could borrow the use of the dojo for a bit of stress relief.
***
Ranma blocked a punch, ducked a kick, and debated one last time the wisdom of what he was about to do. 'Am I sure about this? Really, *really* sure? I can’t do this unless I am - Ryoga deserves more than an experiment.
'I know for sure I’m not interested in girls, but I’ve never actually even kissed a guy - well, except Sanzenin, but *HE* doesn’t count - ick! I do know, though, that no one else makes my heart race just by *looking* at me the way that Ryoga did the other day. I’m startin’ to suspect that the funny tingle I feel when I watch him sparring or doing katas isn’t just appreciation of his martial arts skill like I always thought it was, 'cause I don’t get the same feeling watchin’ Shampoo - or even Mousse for that matter! And Ryoga’s always been important to me - it hurt when he showed up here in Nerima and was so angry and bitter towards me. Even when he was yelling "Prepare to die, Saotome!" and apparently genuinely meaning it, I was always glad to see him...'
Yeah, he was sure. Decision made, Ranma deliberately left himself open to a leg sweep, allowing Ryoga to knock him flat to the mat on the dojo floor.
Ryoga followed Ranma down to the floor, using his whole body to pin his sparring partner down. Any moment, he expected Ranma to throw him off - the pigtailed martial artist had to be up to something, that opening had been way too obvious. He wasn’t surprised when Ranma twisted one wrist free and reached up. He *was* surprised, however, when rather than pushing him away, Ranma wrapped that free hand around the back of his neck and drew his face down. Lips met for the first time and what started out as an almost-hesitant chaste, closed-mouth first kiss turned into something a great deal different in very short order.
Now that Ranma had shown an interest, Ryoga wasted no time in making his own interest clear. Increasing the pressure behind the kiss, he was surprised at Ranma’s initial resistance to opening his mouth. Just as Ranma finally yielded, allowing Ryoga entrance to his mouth, Ryoga remembered Ranma’s previous distinctly less-than-pleasant experience with a French kiss. 'Hibiki, you idiot, you almost blew this... Be careful, he expects this to be disgusting, gotta change that idea...’ Rather than immediately plunging his tongue between Ranma’s now-parted lips, Ryoga slid it lightly, teasingly, around the edge of those lips, allowing the very tip to dart inside for an instant before withdrawing again, gradually coaxing Ranma to reciprocate.
At first, Ranma’s exploration of Ryoga’s mouth was surprisingly timid, but as he realized that this was an entirely different experience than Ukyo’s attempt at a French kiss, his usual confidence returned in full force. Suddenly, with a quick gasp for air, Ranma pounced, flipping the two of them over and diving back into the kiss with all the energy and enthusiasm he usually reserved for martial arts. The kiss turned from a cautious exploration to a sparring match in that single breath. Tongues tangled, teeth nibbled, hands wandered, legs entwined. By the time the two martial artists finally separated slightly to lie on their sides facing one another with their legs still entwined, Ranma’s hair hung loose around his shoulders, both of their shirts had disappeared, and they were both breathing more heavily than after a long sparring match.
"I take it," Ryoga puffed, "you’ve decided that you want to try something more."
"Don’t think there’s any 'try’ about it after *that*," Ranma answered, struggling to bring his breathing under control. That had been distinctly more than he had bargained for. For the first time in his life, he had experienced a passion that left his passion for martial arts looking pale in comparison. Any chance of caving in to parental pressure and going through with a name-only marriage to Akane had just gone up in flames. "At least - not on my side," he added somewhat hesitantly.
"Nor mine," the other boy assured him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Hasn’t been in quite a while. This just confirmed it."
"It’s gonna get real ugly," Ranma warned, shivering as he imagined the reactions his parents and Akane’s father were going to have to this news.
"I know. But you won’t have to face it alone. We need to tell the others, get ideas on how to handle this. I think we should definitely wait till Cologne is back before telling your parents, though. We may need her backup." Ryoga was silent for a few minutes and then, seemingly out of nowhere, remarked,"Your birthday’s too far off."
"Huh?"
"We need to get emancipated minor status for you," the Hibiki boy said, thinking through the best options for shielding Ranma from as much parental interference as possible. "My eighteenth is less than a week away, so I’m covered if my parents happen to react badly. But they do know I’m bi and they didn’t give me a hard time over it, so I think they’ll be okay anyway. But we *know* yours won’t be. It’d be best if they didn’t have any legal say-so over you when they find out."
"Good idea, I’ll call Nabiki tonight and get her started on it."
The two boys cuddled together in silence for a few minutes before Ranma spoke again. "Ryoga?"
"Hmm?"
"Kissin' and stuff is okay, though I'll haveta tell Akane right away - but I can't do anything more than that till the engagement is officially broken. You understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." Ryoga pressed a gentle kiss to Ranma's forehead. Just breaking the engagement was going to put more than enough stress on Ranma's sense of honour. There was no way that Ryoga would pressure him for anything that would add the least bit of discomfort to that.
Ranma lifted his lips to meet the next kiss, curious and eager to engage in a little more experimenting. He had a feeling that he was going to enjoy practising this just as much as he enjoyed practising the Art.
Just as things were starting to heat up again, the door to the dojo slid open and a voice called, "Hey, Ranma? Akane said you were out here, and I was just wonderin' if - eep!" Duo froze in the doorway in shocked embarrassment. 'Oh man, have I got lousy timing today or what? First I walked in on Q and Tro makin' out in the kitchen, now it's Ranma and Ryoga in a clinch in the dojo - hey, wait a minute! Ranma and *Ryoga*? He's supposed to be engaged to - oh, shit, *Akane* - she was right behind me!' Slowly, reluctantly, he turned to glance over his shoulder at Ranma's hot-tempered, violent fiancee, wondering whether he could get out of there before he got caught in the middle. He nearly fell over when he saw the smug grin on her face.
"Hah, guess 'Dachi won that bet after all! Ukyo thought you two would take two weeks to get together and I was starting to think she might be right," the short-haired girl said.
"You guys were *betting* on us!" Ranma exclaimed, reluctantly disentangling himself from Ryoga and sitting up.
"They wouldn't let me place one; said I had too many chances to interfere with the natural progression of events," Akane replied, making a face.
"Uh - wha - guys?" Duo finally managed to splutter, his gaze darting back and forth between the other teens.
"Oh dear," Akane said sheepishly, flushing, "I forgot you still thought we actually intended to go through with the engagement."
"And with all the fighting the two of you have been doing lately, poor Duo was probably wondering whether he'd survive being caught between you after walking in on us like that," Ryoga said, trying not to laugh at the completely dumbfounded look on the youth's face.
Duo sat down, hard, on the dojo floor as his legs finally gave out from the shock. "Would somebody *please* explain just what the *hell* is going on around here?" he demanded plaintively.
#################################################
Title: Mission: Nerima
Chapter: 07
Author: Calic0cat
Genre: Crossover
Pairings: 3+4/4+3, Ranma/Ryoga
Rated: FRT (Fan Rated for Teens)
Warning: Swearing, Angst
Archives: http://www.calic0cat.net
Disclaimer: Heero and Duo and the rest of the GW boys aren't mine. Neither are Ranma and Ryoga and the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Post series & Endless Waltz for Gundam Wing, post series for Ranma ½. Unless otherwise noted, all dialogue is in Japanese - so if there’s Japanese words sprinkled within dialogue, it’s because the language being spoken at that moment is something else.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
#################################################
The four ex-Gundam pilots entered the busy café, looking around for their fifth member.
"He said he was coming here after he finished the last placement test, but I don't see him at any of the tables," Quatre murmured, anxiously sweeping his gaze over the tables a second time. "He hasn't come home for supper in days, and he's been gone before breakfast as well. It's like he's deliberately avoiding us. Surely he's not still upset over the whole school thing? It's not like Duo to hold a grudge..."
"Braid-boy! Need table four wiped and order's up for Six!"
"I thought Ranma had the front, Shampoo!" a familiar voice responded.
"Had to take a delivery cross town, need Mousse and me both in kitchen and 'Dachi still out on other delivery!"
"'Kay, I'm on it," Duo called as he backed carefully through the doorway, pushing the swinging door open with his elbow while balancing a load of clean glasses. Friday night sure was busy around here. Not that he was complaining; keeping busy was a good thing. Placing the glasses on the counter, he grabbed a damp rag from beneath it, stuffed an order pad in his pocket, picked up the order from the kitchen window, and headed out into the dining area.
"*Maxwell*?" Wufei gasped in surprise. He'd expected to find the other youth dining at the restaurant, or perhaps engaging in a study session at a quiet corner table, not working as a waiter.
Busily passing out Table Six's order, Duo stole a quick sideways glance towards the new arrivals, his cheery grin faltering. Shit. Just what he needed. Not. Quatre's pointed inquiry as to his plans for the evening had made it clear that his avoidance routine wasn't going to be tolerated much longer, but he'd kind of hoped that they wouldn't *all* come chasing after him. At least they weren't likely to make a public scene, so he might get away with keeping the explanations to a minimum.
Duo gave a casual wave and forced grin in the direction of his housemates. "Oh, hi guys." He expertly wiped down a table as he asked, "You here to eat?"
"I guess we could have supper while we're here," Quatre said hesitantly, moving towards the table. That hadn't been the original plan, but it was obvious that Duo couldn't just leave with them immediately; the restaurant was clearly short-handed. And staying would at least give them an opportunity to keep an eye on him for a while. Duo's anti-social behaviour lately was a matter of considerable concern; Quatre wanted to know whether it was restricted to the four of them or not.
"You're - *working* - here?" Heero inquired disbelievingly.
"Oh, no, *working* here would require special permission from the school principal to have a job while attending school as a full-time student. Helping friends in exchange for homework help, a meal, and a share of the tips, however," Duo observed with a conspiratorial wink, "is a different story altogether." He handed menus to them, then hurried off to refill someone's water glass, glad of the excuse to avoid the inevitable interrogation for the moment.
"Homework help, a meal, and a share of the tips?" Wufei repeated in stunned disbelief.
"Obviously, he's doing it for the money," Trowa dead-panned, not bothering to add what was, to him at least, obvious. Duo was clearly missing the camaraderie that he had grown used to first with the Sweepers, then later with Hilde at the salvage yard. Having failed to find it where it *should* have been offered, namely at home with the other pilots, Duo had turned elsewhere for that odd combination of work, play, teasing, and friendship that seemed to be so essential to him.
Since Quatre had approached Trowa at lunch on their second day of classes, he and Quatre had been... preoccupied. The attraction had been there between them almost from their very first meeting, but building a relationship together meant really getting to know each other, something that they hadn't had the opportunity to accomplish until now. Over the past few days, they'd spent virtually all of their time together, learning about each other as people rather than comrades in arms. Trowa knew that Duo wouldn't begrudge them that private time, but it did mean that they hadn't been offering much in the way of companionship to him, or to anyone else.
Wufei hadn't exactly been approachable either. He was spending most of his free time meditating and had been decidedly short with anyone who dared interrupt him. The hot-tempered Chinese youth was still tearing himself up over his involvement in the Mariemaia affair, plus he seemed to be having trouble dealing with the frequent, fierce arguments between the engaged couple next door.
As for Heero... well, he had yet to heal the breach in his friendship with Duo, and Trowa was beginning to wonder if maybe Heero had let it go for too long. Duo's gaze was no longer wistful when directed at Heero; it had moved beyond that and into something that looked an awful lot like hopeless despair. If something did not happen soon to resolve the situation, the distance between the two would reach the point of no return.
It was no wonder that Duo chose to stay away from the house - Trowa doubted that he considered it home at this point - from before sunrise to well after sunset.
Heero retreated behind the comforting familiarity of an icy mask. 'Homework help? Why wouldn't he come to... No, Yuy, don't lie to yourself. You know perfectly well why he wouldn't come to you. How many times in the past did you sneer at him, call him an idiot, and refuse when he asked you for help? He has no way of knowing that you thought it was all just an excuse to flirt and tease when you were already drowning in confusion over your feelings for him. And even if he did know that, he has no way of knowing that your reaction now would be entirely different even if it *was* an excuse for flirtatious teasing.
'How the hell am I going to fix this? How can I show him that I've changed when he's never around? Maybe this is fate's way of paying back all the times I ignored him, or at least pretended to. What am I going to do? What the hell *can* I do?'
Sighing quietly as he watched Duo bustle around the restaurant, smiling and joking with the patrons and staff, Heero had to admit that he had no idea how to fix things. His original plans had been dependant on Duo at least giving him a fair chance to show how much he'd changed. And that obviously just wasn't going to happen. A change in tactics was obviously in order, but what kind of change? He really didn't want to make things any *worse*.
Maybe Relena could suggest something.
***
"Relena, I just don't know what to do. Every single thing I try seems to make things worse, not better."
"Heero, maybe you're going to have to forget about a gradual approach. Maybe you need to just sit down with him and explain exactly what you feel *first*. Then, go back and explain your past behaviour if he asks about it."
Heero frowned. "I don't know, Relena. I'm not sure that I can just come right out and express my..."
A soft knock on the door interrupted him, then the door opened a crack and Duo peeked in, a hesitant but serious look on his face, "Oh, good, you're still up Heero. I was just wonderin'..."
As Heero shifted in his chair, turning to face Duo more directly, the vid-phone screen became visible to the youth standing in the doorway. Duo stopped in mid-phrase, a flicker of *something* passing through those expressive violet eyes, then pasted on a cheery grin. "Oh, hi, 'Lena, I didn't realize I was interrupting something. Sorry about that. Night, guys!" Then he was gone and the door was tightly shut before either of them could get a word out.
"Somebody up there hates me," Heero groaned bitterly, thumping his head repeatedly against his desk.
"Oh, Heero," Relena sighed. "I see what you mean. The first time you've called me all week, and Duo finally decides to come talk to you *right* at that moment...
"Wait a minute - why did he think he was interrupting something? Heero, you *have* explained to him that we're just friends, haven't you? He isn't *still* operating under the mistaken assumption about our relationship that you left him with *weeks* ago when you came to rescue me?"
Pause.
"Heero? I'm not hearing the response I should be. I should be hearing, 'Yes, of course I explained it to him, Relena,' not silence."
Silence, except for the dull thump of Heero's head hitting the desk.
"*Heero Yuy, if you don't get your act together, I'm going to take time off and come there and tell him myself, do you hear me?!*"
"But he won't even stay in the same room with me for more than a few minutes!" Heero moaned miserably, finally pausing in his self-torture to respond. "I can't even grab him and *make* him stay to listen because he won't even let me touch him!"
Relena listened in shock, thinking, 'Duo Maxwell, Mr Full-body-contact-hug himself, won't even let you touch him?! Oh Heero, I don't know if you *can* fix this...'
***
Upstairs, Duo buried his face in his pillow to muffle the dry, gasping, sobs that he could no longer choke back. "Why, oh why, did I ever listen to Q?" he moaned. "I shoulda known he was so far off on cloud nine over finally gettin' together with Tro that he's seein' champagne bubbles and happily-ever-afters everywhere he looks, whether they're there or not."
"Go talk to him," Quatre had said. "Heero cares about you and you're hurting him by avoiding him," he'd insisted.
Well, Quatre had been wrong. Heero had Relena, something he'd never actually denied. Why would he want anything to do with an L2 street rat? A *male* L2 street rat, at that.
Miserably, Duo reminded himself, 'Lena's a great girl and he obviously opens up to her; I should be happy for him. Part of me *is* happy for him, for both of them...
'...but the rest of me hurts so bad I just wanna curl up and die...'
***
Duo had managed to give his housemates the slip again that morning, but both restaurants closed a little earlier on Saturdays, which meant that he was now heading home again, much earlier than he'd have preferred. Most of his homework for the weekend consisted of reading assignments, so he hadn't even had an excuse to hang out and study with his new friends, since their assignments were also things that they really didn't need any assistance with. He didn't want to wear out his welcome amongst the group, so he'd decided that it was best to just go "home". Maybe he'd stay downstairs and do the damn reading assignments in the living room; being conspicuously home and *not* avoiding the others might be enough to get them off his back about the whole thing..
Sneaking quietly into the house through the kitchen door, Duo froze briefly in shock before beating a hasty retreat. Face flushed with embarrassment and stomach painfully knotted with envy, he changed his mind about the whole 'avoiding the others' thing. Avoidance sounded like a really, really good idea right at that particular moment, because as happy as he was for Quatre's - and Trowa's - sake, he really didn't think that he could take having their good fortune shoved in his face.
Outside the house, Duo wrapped his coat around himself tightly, chilled by something other than the sharp breeze. He could sneak in another way, but he wasn’t prepared to go sit alone in his room just now. He needed a distraction, some sort of activity to release the tension singing through his body. His ribs had been feeling better... maybe a workout was the answer.
Decision made, he headed next door to see if he could borrow the use of the dojo for a bit of stress relief.
***
Ranma blocked a punch, ducked a kick, and debated one last time the wisdom of what he was about to do. 'Am I sure about this? Really, *really* sure? I can’t do this unless I am - Ryoga deserves more than an experiment.
'I know for sure I’m not interested in girls, but I’ve never actually even kissed a guy - well, except Sanzenin, but *HE* doesn’t count - ick! I do know, though, that no one else makes my heart race just by *looking* at me the way that Ryoga did the other day. I’m startin’ to suspect that the funny tingle I feel when I watch him sparring or doing katas isn’t just appreciation of his martial arts skill like I always thought it was, 'cause I don’t get the same feeling watchin’ Shampoo - or even Mousse for that matter! And Ryoga’s always been important to me - it hurt when he showed up here in Nerima and was so angry and bitter towards me. Even when he was yelling "Prepare to die, Saotome!" and apparently genuinely meaning it, I was always glad to see him...'
Yeah, he was sure. Decision made, Ranma deliberately left himself open to a leg sweep, allowing Ryoga to knock him flat to the mat on the dojo floor.
Ryoga followed Ranma down to the floor, using his whole body to pin his sparring partner down. Any moment, he expected Ranma to throw him off - the pigtailed martial artist had to be up to something, that opening had been way too obvious. He wasn’t surprised when Ranma twisted one wrist free and reached up. He *was* surprised, however, when rather than pushing him away, Ranma wrapped that free hand around the back of his neck and drew his face down. Lips met for the first time and what started out as an almost-hesitant chaste, closed-mouth first kiss turned into something a great deal different in very short order.
Now that Ranma had shown an interest, Ryoga wasted no time in making his own interest clear. Increasing the pressure behind the kiss, he was surprised at Ranma’s initial resistance to opening his mouth. Just as Ranma finally yielded, allowing Ryoga entrance to his mouth, Ryoga remembered Ranma’s previous distinctly less-than-pleasant experience with a French kiss. 'Hibiki, you idiot, you almost blew this... Be careful, he expects this to be disgusting, gotta change that idea...’ Rather than immediately plunging his tongue between Ranma’s now-parted lips, Ryoga slid it lightly, teasingly, around the edge of those lips, allowing the very tip to dart inside for an instant before withdrawing again, gradually coaxing Ranma to reciprocate.
At first, Ranma’s exploration of Ryoga’s mouth was surprisingly timid, but as he realized that this was an entirely different experience than Ukyo’s attempt at a French kiss, his usual confidence returned in full force. Suddenly, with a quick gasp for air, Ranma pounced, flipping the two of them over and diving back into the kiss with all the energy and enthusiasm he usually reserved for martial arts. The kiss turned from a cautious exploration to a sparring match in that single breath. Tongues tangled, teeth nibbled, hands wandered, legs entwined. By the time the two martial artists finally separated slightly to lie on their sides facing one another with their legs still entwined, Ranma’s hair hung loose around his shoulders, both of their shirts had disappeared, and they were both breathing more heavily than after a long sparring match.
"I take it," Ryoga puffed, "you’ve decided that you want to try something more."
"Don’t think there’s any 'try’ about it after *that*," Ranma answered, struggling to bring his breathing under control. That had been distinctly more than he had bargained for. For the first time in his life, he had experienced a passion that left his passion for martial arts looking pale in comparison. Any chance of caving in to parental pressure and going through with a name-only marriage to Akane had just gone up in flames. "At least - not on my side," he added somewhat hesitantly.
"Nor mine," the other boy assured him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Hasn’t been in quite a while. This just confirmed it."
"It’s gonna get real ugly," Ranma warned, shivering as he imagined the reactions his parents and Akane’s father were going to have to this news.
"I know. But you won’t have to face it alone. We need to tell the others, get ideas on how to handle this. I think we should definitely wait till Cologne is back before telling your parents, though. We may need her backup." Ryoga was silent for a few minutes and then, seemingly out of nowhere, remarked,"Your birthday’s too far off."
"Huh?"
"We need to get emancipated minor status for you," the Hibiki boy said, thinking through the best options for shielding Ranma from as much parental interference as possible. "My eighteenth is less than a week away, so I’m covered if my parents happen to react badly. But they do know I’m bi and they didn’t give me a hard time over it, so I think they’ll be okay anyway. But we *know* yours won’t be. It’d be best if they didn’t have any legal say-so over you when they find out."
"Good idea, I’ll call Nabiki tonight and get her started on it."
The two boys cuddled together in silence for a few minutes before Ranma spoke again. "Ryoga?"
"Hmm?"
"Kissin' and stuff is okay, though I'll haveta tell Akane right away - but I can't do anything more than that till the engagement is officially broken. You understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." Ryoga pressed a gentle kiss to Ranma's forehead. Just breaking the engagement was going to put more than enough stress on Ranma's sense of honour. There was no way that Ryoga would pressure him for anything that would add the least bit of discomfort to that.
Ranma lifted his lips to meet the next kiss, curious and eager to engage in a little more experimenting. He had a feeling that he was going to enjoy practising this just as much as he enjoyed practising the Art.
Just as things were starting to heat up again, the door to the dojo slid open and a voice called, "Hey, Ranma? Akane said you were out here, and I was just wonderin' if - eep!" Duo froze in the doorway in shocked embarrassment. 'Oh man, have I got lousy timing today or what? First I walked in on Q and Tro makin' out in the kitchen, now it's Ranma and Ryoga in a clinch in the dojo - hey, wait a minute! Ranma and *Ryoga*? He's supposed to be engaged to - oh, shit, *Akane* - she was right behind me!' Slowly, reluctantly, he turned to glance over his shoulder at Ranma's hot-tempered, violent fiancee, wondering whether he could get out of there before he got caught in the middle. He nearly fell over when he saw the smug grin on her face.
"Hah, guess 'Dachi won that bet after all! Ukyo thought you two would take two weeks to get together and I was starting to think she might be right," the short-haired girl said.
"You guys were *betting* on us!" Ranma exclaimed, reluctantly disentangling himself from Ryoga and sitting up.
"They wouldn't let me place one; said I had too many chances to interfere with the natural progression of events," Akane replied, making a face.
"Uh - wha - guys?" Duo finally managed to splutter, his gaze darting back and forth between the other teens.
"Oh dear," Akane said sheepishly, flushing, "I forgot you still thought we actually intended to go through with the engagement."
"And with all the fighting the two of you have been doing lately, poor Duo was probably wondering whether he'd survive being caught between you after walking in on us like that," Ryoga said, trying not to laugh at the completely dumbfounded look on the youth's face.
Duo sat down, hard, on the dojo floor as his legs finally gave out from the shock. "Would somebody *please* explain just what the *hell* is going on around here?" he demanded plaintively.
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