Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Anything You Want ❯ 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Heero knew as soon as he woke up that morning that this was going to be a shitty day. No really. He was feeling grumpy - well at least, grumpier than he ought to be. He'd been roused earlier than usual, courtesy of the town mayor's decision to "re-urbanize" the neighbourhood - and the rather *loud* civil engineering that had resulted. Waking up to an orchestra of pneumatic drills, trucks, and other banging, crashing and yelling definitely wasn't the best way to set oneself in optimum condition for the day.

Getting caught up in the traffic jam caused by said civil engineering didn't help his mood any, either.

He arrived at Preventers HQ an hour late, thoroughly pissed and with the premises of what was going to be one of the worst migraines he'd ever had to live through.

He entered the office he shared with Duo, a dark scowl decorating his features. Well. A darker scowl than usual.

"Hey buddy." His partner greeted him. "What took so long?"

"I got caught in a traffic jam." Duo grimaced in sympathy.

"Ouch. No wonder you look so bummed." He peered at his friend. Heero looked rather pale. "You sure there's nothing else?"

Heero started to shake his head in denial, but found it to be a rather bad idea. The movement caused him a slight discomfort - shaking his head seemed to also shake his brain within the realm of his skull. It was a most unpleasant sensation. But Heero decided to ignore it.

"Of course not."

He sat down at his desk, readying himself to face a new day at work.

Duo shot him a look of concern. Heero wasn't looking very fresh today. Besides he was late - and normally Hell would freeze over before his conscientious partner was late for anything. He returned his attention to his computer, promising himself to watch Heero closely today. Just in case he wasn't as well as he claimed to be.


By lunch time, what had started as a merely annoying pulsing sensation whenever he moved too brusquely, had settled itself into a sharp, throbbing pain, all focused on one point right between Heero's eyes. His concentration on the task at hand? Long flown out the window.

Heero squinted his eyes and cupped a hand over his brow - for some reason, the computer screen seemed way too dazzling today. That wasn't doing his headache any good. At all. Not to mention Duo's chit-chat. Usually, it didn't really bother him - he'd grown very much accustomed to his best friend's cheerful banter. In fact, he actually enjoyed it. Sometimes, depending on his mood, he'd even go so far as to respond to it.

But today... Duo's voice just kept on echoing inside his head - so much so that Heero couldn't even make out the words. It was just one long, agonizing stream of a voice. Heero really would have appreciated it if Duo could shut up. Just this once. But he didn't say anything. He really didn't want to add more noise to what was an already sound-polluted environment. Heck, even the simple keyboard clicking sound managed to grate on his eardrums, the regular click click pounding into that sore point between his eyes like there was no damn tomorrow.

"Heero, I guess its time for a well-deserved break, dontcha think?" asked the long haired young man, spinning his chair around to face his friend. His cheerful grin melted down to a worried expression as his took in his partner's unusual pose - half sprawled across his desk, head buried in his hands. "Heero?"

He was answered by an incoherent groan.

Concern written all over his face, Duo immediately jumped out of his chair and hurried towards Heero.

"Hey buddy! You okay?" he asked again, resting a hand on Heero's shoulder.

".... No." was all the answer Heero could force out. He was lost in the throes of one of the most agonizing pains ever bestowed upon man, how the hell could he be okay?!

"Heero, I'm taking you to the infirmary. Now."

Heero painstakingly cracked one eye open with every intention of frying his friend on the spot with the heat of his disapproval. As it was, he only managed a half-hearted glare before returning to that blissfully *dark* place behind his eyelids.

But Duo didn't give a damn. He glared right back and hauled a very unwilling Heero to his feet, before proceeding to drag him out of the office.

As soon as Heero found himself in an upright position, he almost fainted. His vision blurred significantly, a deafening buzz settled into his ears and his knees wobbled, threatening to give away. Duo steadied Heero by sliding an arm around his waist and pulling Heero closer to him, partially supporting him. Heero gratefully leaned on his friend's lank frame... before remembering where it was they were headed.

He stiffened. Heero Yuy, going to Preventer's HQ infirmary because of a simple headache?

HN.

Granted, it wasn't just "a simple headache" - the agonizing throb inside his head was anything *but* simple. But still. Though, as proud as he was, Heero was also conscious of his own limitations. He couldn't work in these conditions. And he didn't really want to face Sally because of a migraine. A man has his pride.

He took in a deep breath and pushed the request past his lips.

"Duo, take me home please."

Duo stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You're really scaring me now, Heero. This isn't like you to want to go home in the middle of a working day, pal."

He stopped in the middle of the corridor leading to the elevator. "So now you're going to tell me what's wrong with you."

Heero scowled at him in annoyance. And also maybe because he was a bit embarrassed. Duo was making such a big deal out of nothing... yet a warm feeling managed to steal its way amidst the world of pain surrounding him. It felt nice to have someone - no, to have *Duo* worry and fuss over him. Really nice.

"I have a migraine. I don't feel very well." he mumbled. Duo blinked and twisted his lips in a wry grin.

"Oh. So why didn't you stay at home?" he asked. "There's nothing wrong in staying at home because you aren't feeling well. You're only human, yanno." he commented further, resuming his stride towards the elevator, his arm still around his friend's waist.

Even though his vision was still blurry and despite the pain, Heero didn't think he still needed Duo to support him. He'd identified the weakness that had assaulted him earlier as resulting from a sudden drop of tension, due to getting up from his chair too fast. Yet he decided to remain within Duo's protective embrace. He liked having Duo's arm around him in such an intimate manner.

On the way to the parking lot where Duo usually left his car, the braided young man pulled out his cell phone and dialed Wu Fei's number.

"Hey Wu-man..." Chuckle "Yeah, right. Anyway, I just called to warn you - Heero isn't feeling very well, so I'm taking him back to his place... no no, don't worry man, its nothing bad... yeah I'm sure, its just some nasty bug... he needs a little time off to get himself back in shape... yeah, I'll be taking the day off too... thanks Wu Fei, you're a life saver... 'k, have a nice day, pal." He clapped his phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket.

Heero peered at him.

"You're going to stay with me?"

Duo shot him a bright smile, violet eyes sparkling.

"Of course! Who else would have the guts to nurse a bear like you? Besides, you're so convinced that you're some sort of Superman, I'm not all that sure about leaving you all alone. I have to make sure you take proper care of yourself, buddy."

Again, the warm feeling managed to pierce through the red haze of pain shooting inside Heero's head.

"Do me a favor, then."

"Anything you want, buddy."

"Could you manage to *not* talk for a while? I mean, all this noise is going to make my head explode..."

Duo burst out laughing - a sound Heero normally found to be very pleasant. But there, it just rang inside his head. Over and over and over again...

"Duo..." he growled.

"Okayokay. I promise, I'll be very quiet."


By the time Duo pulled the car up in front of Heero's building, Heero could have sworn that a pack of hounds from hell had established residence inside his skull. One whole batch of them was playing soccer with his brain while another was hell-bent on pushing his eyeballs out of his head. At least that was how it felt like.

Getting out of the car wasn't a very amusing experience. Like previously, his knees were wobbly, and as soon as he got out in the sun, his head started throbbing even more insistently, pulsing waves of pain in a steady beat all throughout his body. Heero squinted his eyes tightly behind his dark sunglasses, his face tight and scrunched up. The pain finally receded, leaving a trail of nausea in its wake.

This was getting thoroughly irritating.

Heero dragged himself all the way up to the building, Duo in tow. He didn't even take his sunglasses off once inside the elevator taking them up to his floor - those damn neon lights were a curse for his over sensitive eyes.

It wasn't before the two young men arrived in front of Heero's door that Heero remembered forgetting his jacket at the office. He groaned - his keys were in that jacket's pocket...

"Shit... Duo, I forgot my jacket at the office. My keys are in it."

Duo chuckled and started fumbling in his own pocket.

"Well, its a good thing I always carry around that spare set of keys you gave me, then, isn't it?" he said, winking.

Finally, after much digging around in those unfathomable pockets of his, Duo pulled out a key-holder brimmed with a whole load of junk. He shuffled through the unholy amount of keys, figurines and other unidentifiable objects dangling from the key-holder, before finding what he was looking for.

As soon as the door was open, Heero pushed past an amused Duo, heading for the first place where he could finally lie down - the couch. His head was throbbing so hard, it felt like his personal bastion of hounds from hell had each caught a hammer and were furiously banging at the walls of his skull, intent on splitting his head open.

Heero laid himself down cautiously, not wanting to aggravate the pain. He kicked his shoes off and threw an arm over his eyes.

Duo flung his jacket over a chair and busied himself around, pulling all the room's curtains closed, fetching aspirin from the bathroom, then a glass of water from the kitchen.

He walked up to the couch and, with his free hand, motioned to Heero to sit up for a moment.

"Here, some aspirin should help a bit." he said softly.

"Thank you, Duo."

Duo smiled and shrugged, dismissing it. "Its normal. That's what friends are for."

Heero liked Duo's smile. It was warm, soothingly familiar and beautiful. In fact, to Heero, Duo was beautiful all over.

Duo sat beside his friend while he gulped down both tabs of aspirin and a mouthful of water. The violet-eyed young man picked up a cushion and plopped it onto his lap, motioning to Heero to lay down on him. Heero saw no objection to it and did as Duo suggested. He settled himself comfortably against Duo and closed his eyes.

Cool fingers pressed against the warm skin at Heero's temples and began a slow, circular movement. After a moment of this treatment, the fingers started to stray towards Heero's hairline, before plunging into the soft mass of brown locks, Duo alternating between soft scratching and gentle massage on his scalp.

It was soothing. The sensation sent little thrills down Heero's spine, it felt so good... Even the agonizing throb inside his head had become almost bearable. A little smile stole across his lips as he let himself slowly slip into oblivion.

Duo looked down at the slumbering young man in his lap. He reduced the pressure of his fingers in Heero's hair to a mere caress, running them through the silky, chocolate coloured locks. He let his digits trail down the side of Heero's face, softly tracing the contours of a cheekbone, fingertips grazing over his nose, across his cheek, along his jawline. Then, slowly, hesitantly, Duo let them drift towards Heero's slightly parted lips. He pressed his fingertips underneath Heero's chin, letting his thumb run across the soft, moist skin of the Japanese man's lower lip. A small, tender smile tugged at the corners of Duo's mouth. Tinged, perhaps, with a little bit of longing.


Heero opened his eyes, a bit surprised to find his face pressed against something warm and heaving at regular intervals. It took him a few moments to gather all his wits and remember his location and what time of the day it was. He also remembered falling asleep on Duo.

Heero turned his head to look at his friend, and found that he too had fallen asleep. The braided young man had taken his tie off and loosened the collar of his shirt. His head was resting on the back of the couch, head slightly tilted to the side, and his long chestnut braid hung over his shoulder, currently pooled on Heero's chest.

Heero gazed at Duo's smoothly chiseled features, now relaxed in what seemed to be a peaceful sleep. It made him smile... Duo had come such a long way since the war. They'd both come a very long way. It had taken quite some time to erase the haunted look from Duo's amethyst eyes. And it had taken about the same amount of time for Heero to figure out that because the world was now at peace, it didn't mean that he no longer had any purpose.

They'd always been there for each other - in the good times as well as the bad. They'd mutually supported each other. They'd licked each other's wounds. They'd been haunted by the same nightmares. No one understood him better than Duo, and there was no one in the world that Heero trusted as much as he trusted his partner. No one he cared for as much.

Duo's eyelids fluttered open and he sleepily looked around him, taking in his surroundings. He lowered his gaze to find Heero staring up at him. A lazy smile spread across his lips and he reached down to ruffle Heero's hair.

"You feeling better, buddy?"

Heero thought about that for a moment, then nodded cautiously.

"Yes, I'm feeling much better." He caught the hand that was playing with his hair and brought it to his lips.

"Thank you, Duo. For everything." And he pressed his lips against the palm of Duo's hand.

Duo's breath caught in his throat. His heart was pounding inside his chest. He stared into Heero's beautiful blue eyes, hardly believing the depth of emotion he was seeing there. Heero wasn't just thanking Duo for spending the afternoon with him, Duo was aware of that. Heero was trying to tell him something else.

Before Duo could think any further, Heero propped himself up one elbow, his other hand sliding up Duo's chest, over his shoulder to finally curl over the nape of Duo's neck, and he reached up to gently graze his lips over Duo's.

At first, Duo was too stunned to react. He couldn't believe that Heero was actually kissing him. But soon, he let himself melt into the kiss. Heero's lips were so soft and warm, the whole feel of Heero's body against him - it felt so natural. So right.

He applied more pressure against Heero's mouth, and flicked his tongue over the other man's lips. Heero parted them in response, sucking Duo's tongue inside.

It was a heady sensation, tasting each other. It was wonderful. The kiss was soft, tentative, tongues meeting and entwining in a slow, hesitant dance. Lips moulding against the others. Discovering. Fingertips touching, caressing the other's face. The pad of a thumb running along the line of one masculine jaw. A callused palm cupping the other's cheek.

Finally, with one last peck on Duo's lips, Heero broke the kiss, sat up straighter and leaned his forehead against Duo's.

The braided young man took in a shuddery breath and opened his amethyst eyes to gaze in Heero's own blues. A smile crept up on his lips.

"Well. That was. Unexpected. Very nice, mind you. More than nice... But unexpected."

Heero laced his fingers with Duo's and brought the other man's hand to his lips.

"Did it... bother you?" He asked.

"Not at all, Heero." Duo smiled. "In fact, my opinion would be that I'd like it to happen again. I'd even like to have it happen on a more... regular basis." His smile turned a bit sheepish.

Heero smiled back at him.

"Sounds good to me."

He paused and looked away, pondering something.

"Duo?"

"Hmmm?" He was busy savoring the feel of Heero's skin against his, lazily rubbing the back of the young man's hand with his thumb.

"Will you stay for dinner?" Heero asked, his little smile returning with a little hint of nervousness.

Duo nuzzled Heero's cheek tenderly.

"Is this a date?"

Heero chuckled. "Sure."

"Then, yes. I accept your invitation." He smirked.

Heero felt a swelling sensation in his chest, a large bubble of happiness he was willing to lose himself in. It was true that Duo and himself had come a long way since the war. But they knew there were still things they needed to work out. It wasn't easy to forget or accept their pasts - they'd seen and lived through too many tragedies, been the cause of too many deaths.

But now at least, they were out of the dark. All they needed to learn was what it meant to really live. And they weren't alone - they had each other.