Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Maybe It Was Memphis ❯ One-Shot

Warnings: yaoi, lime

Category: songfic, au

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: 6x2 leading to 1x2

Feedback: S'il vous plait. xxacidburnxx_1x2@yahoo.com

Archive: http://GWAddiction.com under Willow

Notes: 'Maybe It was Memphis' is sung by Pam Tillis (oooh she went to school with my dad! Mwhahahahaha!).

Disclaimer: don't own nothin, never will, i'm all about that.

Maybe it was Memphis by Willow/Shi-chan

The hills of the gentle countryside rolled on into plains and meadows and back into hills once more. Heero had never seen such a sight in his life. Weeping willows dipped their sagging limbs into the slowly moving brooks they grew beside; birds flitted merrily in the sunny pastures where cows grazed. All in all it was something to be amazed by; but then this was Heero Yuy and being Heero Yuy, he was never amazed.

The young man, in his early twenties, had come to the backwards world of the southern USA on matters of business, not to take in the scenery. He ignored his surroundings, focusing only on the road and getting to his destination.

-Memphis, Tennessee-

If you ignored the occasional sign bearing a cowboy hat and reading some imbecilic rustic title, the city of Memphis could have very well have been a miniature New York... minus the rude cab drivers.

Duo danced his way along the sidewalk, trying his best to weed his way through the crowd. He was in a hurry, running late once again. "Shit," he cursed as he twirled to avoid a rather large biker-type who was doing his best to take up the entire sidewalk. He looked down at his watch. "Patty's gonna kill me! I was supposed to be there a half an hour ago to help open up!"

He sighed slightly as he spotted the neon sign that announced to all that the rather large bar/dance hall that took up most of the storefront on this side of the road was "Denim and Diamonds" and that "Yes! We're open! Free longnecks till twelve and no cover-charge to ladies 21 and over!"

Duo groaned. He hated Thursdays. Ladies' Night meant he had to put up with more pawing than usual and pretend that he liked it.

"There you are!" Duo winced as Patty yanked him into the club through the side door. "I understand that you pretty-boys like to primp and look pretty and all, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to be late just so you can look like more of a doll than you already do. Now, c'mon, sugar, we gotta get to work! The big crowd's 'bout to start pouring in and we are short one bouncer and two waitresses tonight."

"Awe, Patty, s'not like I meant to!" Duo complained to his manager. "My roomy took over the shower and I refuse to come into work smelling like I just came from the gym -- which, by the way, I had."

"You keep spoutin' them excuses, sweet cheeks," Patty said, giving Duo's cheek a pat. "Maybe someday you'll stumble 'pon one that I'll buy. Now, scat! Get out there and get them ladies and gents a-dancin' and a-drinkin'!"

Duo wrinkled his nose, but did as he was told, working his way out onto the dance floor and up onto the small raised stage. "Welcome to Ladies' Night at Denim and Diamonds!"

-----

Heero sat in the boot and twirled his straw in his hand. He scowled at the choice of entertainment his new business associate had chosen.

"It'll be fun," the blond man had said smiling. "Denim and Diamonds is the hottest club in the area... And they have cute staff."

So now, here they sat. "Why did I ever agree to 'go out on the town'?" Heero asked himself, staring into his piña colada before taking a sip of the fruity drink.

"Easy," Zechs told the slightly younger man. "Because my offers are impossible to resist! Like this: Time for line dancing!"

Before Heero could protest, Zechs grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out into the middle of the floor.

"I don't know how to 'line dance'," Heero protested, feeling extremely dumb standing in the middle of the room where practically everyone could see him.

"Don't worry about it!" Zechs told him with a wink. "They have a cute instructor who gives all the newcomers a quick lesson in steps then comes out onto the floor and dances with the rest of us!"

Well, as long as he wasn't the only one who didn't know how to line dance and they would show him, it couldn't be as bad as he feared... He hoped.

"Heya, folks!" a chipper voice called out over the booming PA. "Everyone ready to learn the steps to this next dance? Those of you who know this one, help out those around you... I'll give ya'll a quick run through of the steps, 'kay?"

Heero stared as the young man up on stage tucked his thumbs in his tight black jeans and proceeded to explain the steps. The boy couldn't have been more than 18, 19 at the most. Slender and fair, his skin was pale as milk and his long hair -- very long hair -- was pulled back into a neat braid that reached the backs of his knees. Tucked into his black jeans was a purple and black flannel shirt with its sleeves rolled up and unbuttoned enough to show the black tee underneath.

Even if the young man's clothes hadn't been so differently colored, he'd have stood out. And Heero found he couldn't take his eyes off him as he swung his feet and body to the steps Heero assumed the rest of the room would soon be repeating.

His assumption was correct and Heero reluctantly tore his gaze from the young man to concentrate on the new dance he was being forced to learn and participate in.

-----

As the music started up, Duo jumped off the stage and waded through the crowd to find a place to dance in line. He spotted one next to a man he'd never seen at D&D before. He resisted the urge to giggle as he watched the tousle headed man attempt to follow the steps of the dance. He was getting the hang of it, but rather too slowly for Duo's tastes... Or maybe the young man just didn't want to see that gorgeous man make a fool of himself.

"Hiya," Duo chirped coming to stand in the open space next to the dark haired man. The man grunted at him in greeting. Okay, so he wasn't the most vocal of people, but that didn't stop Duo. "I'm Duo..."

The man paused long enough to glance at him. "Heero," the man said.

"Well, hiya, Heero," Duo grinned. "Ya look like ya could use some help... Want me to help ya walk your way through it?"

"Hn, sure, I'm sort of getting tired of looking foolish," Heero said, a tiny smirk stretching his lips.

"'kay!"

-----

By the time it was time to call it a night, Heero found he was having much more fun than he'd ever thought he could have a such a place. The music finally ended and Heero turned to the braided boy beside him, smiling a little as the boy smiled broadly at him. "Thank you, Duo," Heero told the young man.

"Hey, no prob," Duo grinned, pushing back his sweaty bangs with a fine bonned hand. "You're a natural." The braided boy winked at him and Heero resisted the insane urge to blush.

"Duo! Doll!" Heero blinked as Zechs swept Duo into a close embrace.

"Hey, Zechsy. Whatcha up to?"

"Need you ask?" Zechs replied, waggling his eyebrows at the much shorter man.

Duo blushed. "Perv."

"And?" Zechs said, grinning. "It's not like you have a problem with that."

Duo's blush deepened, but he didn't reply.

"So I see you and Heero already met, eh? Heero's my new associate... All the way from Japan, eh, Heero?"

Heero just nodded.

"Talkative, isn't he?" Zechs jibbed, drawing a laugh from the braided boy. "Yes well, Duo-sweets, as fun as this night could get--" he paused suggestively "--we have an early morning. So if you'll excuse me and mister motor-mouth here..."

Duo just grinned and shook his head. "You're terrible, Zechs, you really are. See ya tomorrow?" He asked, reaching up to place a peck on the blond man's cheek.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Zechs replied, grabbing Duo's chin between his fingers and kissing Duo's lips softly.

-----

"What's wrong, Heero? You've been quieter than normal since we left D&D..." Zechs commented as the two men climbed out of the blond man's RX-7.

"Nothing," Heero grunted. "Just tired... I don't usually dance and especially not that much."

Zechs laughed. "Yeah, it does kind of sap the energy out of ya." He punctuated this statement with a large yawn. "Ee, I'm about ready to collapse into bed myself."

Heero just nodded, following the other into the apartment that they would be sharing for the time being. Heero quickly made his way to the room that he'd been given to use and closed the door.

For reasons beyond him, Heero was angry. He'd never been this angry in his life. And, to make things worse, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he was so angry!

Energy renewed by his anger, Heero decided that a walk to calm himself was a very good idea. Perhaps he could walk off enough energy that he could get a decent amount of sleep.

-----

The heat of the Tennessee summer night dampened his clothes and plastered them to his skin, but Duo didn't care. He was used to the heat and humidity, but being used to it didn't mean he enjoyed it. No, but he had other things to think about.

Like that man that Zechs had brought to D&D with him tonight.

Duo felt his heart beat a little fast at the thought of the blue-eyed Asian man. What was getting into him?

He paused, leaning back against a tree and looking up into the clear night at the twinkling stars -- once you were out of the bright lights of the city, the night sky could be view in all its glory. Duo blew out a puff of air, blowing his sweaty bangs away from his equally sweaty forehead.

The braided man tried to think about earlier tonight, but his mind didn't want to process anything other than images of the young man at D&D.

He forced himself to stop thinking about how good those nimble looking hands would feel against his skin and concentrate on WHY he was thinking about someone that he just met when he already had a lover.

He loved Zechs, or thought he did... it wasn't like he'd really had any experience with love before, Zechs was the first man he'd ever been with... first person, actually.

So, going on the assumption that he loved Zechs... why was he having all these tingly feelings when he thought about Heero? Why did his heart swell at the memory of the Asian beauty smiling at him, so tentatively, so sweetly? Why did he have the urge to forsake all he knew just to have one moment with the man?

Was that love? Or lust? Or something else entirely?

-----

Heero grunted as he stomped along the moonlit trail. The mists had started creeping in an hour or so ago, and his clothes were clinging to his skin. In irritation he pealed off his flannel over-shirt that Zechs had insisted he wear, leaving only a thin blue tank top to cover his toned chest.

"That's better," he murmured, tying the shirt about his waist.

"Eh?"

Heero blinked, looking up to find himself staring into the dazzling violet eyes of the young man from before, sitting beneath a towering oak.

[Lookin' at you through a misty moonlight]

Heero felt his mouth grow dry at the sight before him.

Duo had taken off his flannel shirt and sat under the tree in jeans and tee. His long hair was partly out of it's braid, the slightly damp strands clinging to his arms. But neither of those things are what made Heero stare... The mist that clung to everything was illuminated by the light of the moon and gave the whole scene a surreal air. The elfin boy looked like a fae, some mystic creature that appeared with the mists.

[Katydids sing like a symphony]

Duo watched as Heero slowly approached. Over the pounding of his blood, Duo could hear the katydids singing away in the trees.

"Hi," Heero whispered, awe tingling his voice. What could the man be awed about? Duo thought. "What are you doing here out here this late?"

Duo raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same..."

Heero shrugged. "I wasn't tired, so I decided to take a walk."

"I was heading home... I just stopped to enjoy night sounds."

A strange light appeared on Heero's face. "Could I... walk you home, then?"

[Porch swing swayin' like a Tennessee lullaby

Melody blowing through the willow tree]

"Well, this is it," Duo said as they stepped up onto the front porch of the small farmhouse.

Heero looked around the porch. White washed planks and screened windows like so many other farm houses he'd seen in passing through to get to Memphis; Duo's house even had a porch swing that swayed slightly in the wind.

[What was I supposed to do

Standin' there lookin' at you]

"Would you, uh, like to come in?" Duo asked, hand resting on the doorknob.

"I wouldn't want to impose," Heero said, excusing himself, but Duo stopped him.

"It wouldn't be an imposition," Duo smiled. "I mean, after all, my roommate is off with his girlfriend and won't be back till, if not later, then tomorrow. Besides, you walked me all the way out here, it's only right that I ask you in."

Heero shrugged. "If you're sure it's not an imposition..."

"I'm sure," Duo said, smiling.

[A lonely boy far from home]

"So, how long have you and Zechs... been together?" Heero asked, taking a drink of his ice tea.

"Hmm, good question... Let's see, we started going out when I was a sophomore in high school, so... about 3 and a half years," Duo said thoughtfully. "He's the first person I ever went with... and we just kinda, stayed together."

"Oh," Heero said, downing the last of his tea. "So... I know this isn't any of my business, but do you love him?"

[Maybe it was Memphis

Maybe it was southern summer nights]

'Do you love him?'

Duo sat there for a moment in contemplation. Did he love Zechs? Did he even know what love was?

"I... don't know," Duo admitted. "I mean, he's the only person I've ever been with... and sure, I like him and everything, but love him… I dunno... Thinking about it though... I am not sure what I feel for him is love, not like he wants it to be..."

-----

Heero's heart soared. Duo didn't think he loved Zechs, not that way at least.

Was this why he'd been so mad earlier? Jealousy?

Could he....

Could he have fallen in love with someone he'd just met?

It was possible, he knew, for people to fall in love at first sight. After all, hadn't Romeo and Juliet had such an experience?

Bad example, Heero decided.

But...

He knew he felt... something... for the younger man.

So... it was worth a try.

[Maybe it was you]

Setting his empty glass down on the coffee table, Heero slowly scooted across the couch. Duo was too busy contemplating the melting ice in his half empty glass to notice until the Asian man was right next to him on the couch.

"Wha--?"

Duo looked up, startled as he felt their legs touch, a thrill jolting through him. Then their lips were pressed together and they were lost in one another...

[Maybe it was me]

Heero slid his hands down Duo's arms to his elbows, pulling the boy flush against him.

[But it sure felt right]

The parted, breaths coming in short pants, mingling as they stared into one another's eyes.

"I... we... but Zechs," Duo mumbled, trying to form a coherent thought.

"Fuck Zechs," Heero clipped. "You said you don't feel that way for him... Tell me... what do you feel? What do you feel now?"

Duo shivered as Heero's thumb gently caressed the inner side of his knee through his jeans. All over he felt tingly and his heart was swelling. He could feel himself growing hard with want and need for this near-stranger.

"I..." Duo panted as Heero's lips brushed his neck, sending more chills down his spine. "Oh, God..."

"Ore wa Kami ja nai," Heero murmured against Duo's earlobe, flicking his tongue out to lap at the fleshy lobe.

"I... oh that feels good..."

"Better than anything Zechs made you feel?" Heero asked, breathing against Duo's cheek, planting soft kisses all over the younger man's face.

Duo nodded, unable to find words to describe just how much better. It was like he was in heaven, being seduced by an angel.

"Forget Zechs..." Heero commanded, receiving a rapid nod. "Do you want me?" he breathed into Duo's ear, nuzzling the stray wisps of hair that hung before the shell-like part du corps.

Duo moaned, glad he was sitting and not standing. He was sure, if he could, he'd melt into a puddle or his heart explode with this feeling that was causing it to swell so wonderfully, yet so painfully. "Yes," he mouthed.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Yes," Duo groaned out. "Oh God yes, Heero... I want you so badly!"

"Good..."

Duo didn't understand it, he felt like he was betraying Zechs, but at the same time... it just felt so... right.

[Read about you in a Faulkner novel

Met you once in a Williams play

Heard about you in a country love song

Summer nights beauty took my breath away]

Heero lay on his side, watching the younger man sleep peacefully. Duo was beautiful; there was simply no other way Heero could think to describe him.

Beautiful...

Violet eyes cracked open, sleepily blinking shut a couple times before remaining open.

"G'morning, sleepy head," Heero whispered, using a phrase he'd heard once in an American movie.

"Mmmorning," Duo purred, stretching up to kiss Heero's lips sweetly.

Silence then stretched between them, both knowing what needed to be discussed, but neither wishing to destroy the mood of the lazy morning.

Finally, after a good thirty minutes of just lying there, wrapped in the thin sheets and each other's arms, Heero broke the silence.

"What about Zechs?" He asked, resting his chin on the crown of Duo's hair.

"I don't know," Duo said truthfully.

"Obviously you do. Why else would we be here, wrapped in a compromising embrace?" Heero asked, inhaling Duo's personal scent.

"I... don't feel the same about him as... as I do you," Duo admitted. "God, Heero, I don't know... I hardly know you, yet it's like I've known you forever..."

"I know, I feel the same way…"

"It's odd, huh? I mean, I feel at ease with you, yet at the same time giddy and yeah…"

Heero chuckled and kissed the boy on the forehead.

[What was I supposed to do

Standin' there lookin' at you

A lonely boy far from home]

All thoughts of Zechs ceased in that moment, nothing mattered to either of them except each other...

For hours, they just lay there in each other's arms, unwilling to move, to break the embrace. The day rolled on, morning passing into mid-day, mid-day into afternoon, afternoon into early evening... Only when the clock struck five did they stir from their embrace.

"Oh shit!" Duo cried, trying to pry himself from Heero's arms.

"Mm, stay," Heero murmured in the braided boy's ear, holding onto Duo as the boy tried to free himself.

"I can't! Heero, I have to go to work! And, shit, Zechs' probably wondering where you got off to--" Duo's eyes widened as he turned to glare at the chuckling Japanese man. "Perv!" he yelled, shoving a pillow into Heero's face and jumping off the bed. "He's probably wondering where the hell you are," Duo restated, pulling the tie off the end of his braid and combing out the woven mass.

That was right, Heero was reminded. He was here to work, not to... fall in love. Sobered, the dark haired man stood and walked over to his lover. "Duo... you -- you realize that I will have to go back, right? Back home to Japan?"

Biting his lip, Duo nodded. He knew, but he'd avoided thinking about it, praying that it would not be the case and that Heero was in America to stay. "I know..."

"C'mon, let's get dressed and not think about that right now... it's too far off at present to worry about..." Heero told him, kissing Duo's shoulder.

[Maybe it was Memphis]

Heero wandered around the city for a while after Duo left to go to work... and out with Zechs.

Was he being too hasty? He was certainly attracted to Duo fiercely, but was he being fair to him -- or himself, for that matter? He wasn't usually one to jump into things, preferring to plan them out and decide the best path to take, best move to make, etc etc.

Maybe it was the boy's ever-friendly demeanor… or the way he stood out in a crowded room that drew Heero's interest. Maybe it was the way his heart pounded in his chest when he thought of the violet-eyed young man.

`Or maybe it's just this damned town,' Heero thought.

[Maybe it was southern summer nights]

`… or the way the moon shimmered in his hair last night…'

[Maybe it was you]

`… or just he himself…'

[Maybe it was me]

`Hell, it could have been that I've not had a relationship in so long…'

[But it sure felt right]

He shivered as he thought, the hot air suddenly chilling the sweat on his skin. `But oh Gods, did it feel like we belonged together… like we were made to fit one another in every fashion…'

-----

[Maybe it was Memphis]

"Duo-love!" Zechs cried out from where he sat, staking out a small table in the center of the restaurant. The braided teen smiled and walked quickly over to the blond haired man. "I've missed you…" Zechs whispered as he kissed Duo's cheeks. "Knowing you, you haven't eaten since last night and are simply famished," he said, winking as Duo blushed. "So, let's order. Waiter!"

A dark haired girl stomped up, dark eyes narrowed at the tall man. "It's server, there's no waiters or waitresses anymore… Servers!" She sighed dramatically and ground out "May I -take- your orders?"

"Yes yes… let's see… I'd like a rack of lamb, medium. Make sure it's not bleeding, but mildly pink. And for the sides, I'd like the miniature cheese-quiche and the mashed potatoes with chives…" Zechs paused, then looked at Duo. "What's your fancy?"

[Maybe it was southern summer nights]

"Zechs…"

"Hm?"

"I… I'm sorry, but I just can't…"

"Can't what? Choose?" His ice-blue eyes sparkled as he chuckled. "I know, they've such a selection!"

"No…" Duo said quietly, "It's not that…"

The blond haired executive looked curiously at his boyfriend. "Then what is wrong?"

Duo looked up and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry…"

"You've said that already…"

"Yeah… I…" he couldn't find the words to explain, nor the heart to crush the other's. "I've got to go… good-bye, Zechs…"

Zechs watched the braided boy go, unsure of what had just occurred.

"Well," the dark haired server chuckled. "Looks like you've been ditched…"

`… good-bye, Zechs…'

The words rang in his head.

`… good-bye…'

[Maybe it was you maybe it was me]

Such finality colored those parting words… Duo'd left him. The braided boy gave no reason, just… left.

"Gee, you're looking awful glum," the young woman commented, seating herself across the table. "Care to talk? I mean, I see this all the time, working in restaurants and all… it's a shocker, yeah?"

Zechs only nodded, then looked at the girl. "Lu?" he murmured reading the name tag on the girl's blouse.

"That's my name," she chirped proudly. "And I take it yours is Zechs, since that's what he called you…"

"Yeah…"

"Care to catch some chat and a cup of Joe? My shift's over… and you look like you could use a friend…"

[But it sure felt right]

"Sure… why not…"

-----

[Every night now once I've been back home

I lie awake drifting in my memory]

It had been 7 months since Heero'd returned to Japan.

He smiled as he thought of the previous summer, dreaming of rolling fields, lush meadows, and country houses… and a single braided boy, with whom he'd spent that entire summer.

After Duo'd `left' Zechs, he and Heero had kept their… relationship… could one even call it that? Well, they'd kept it low, being no more than friendly… in public. But in private…

His cheeks heated as he thought about the time they had spent together, alone…

[I think about you on your momma's front porch swing]

No one but themselves, the old farmhouse, and the silent fields knew just what they did… what exchanges were made, what tender moments were shared…

[Talking that way so soft to me]

The kisses and the caresses… the softly spoken words… all of those things Heero locked in his memory to cherish.

One day, though, stood out, one moment that Heero would never forget…

They'd been sitting in quiet companionship on the rickety old porch swing Duo claimed was the only thing he remembered his mother ever having. The humidity and heat crawled along their skin like icky creatures, but the breeze helped…

For a long time they'd just sat there, neither speaking, just enjoying being together… like they did often over the month and a half since they'd met. The sun was beginning to set, the evening air cooling quicker than usual as a thunderstorm rumbled its approach in the distance…

[What was I supposed to do

Standin' there lookin' at you

A lonely boy far from home]

Duo'd snuggled back against Heero's chest, sighing contently as they watched the display of nature roll toward them.

"Ne… Heero…" the braided boy had breathed.

"Aa?"

"… I love you…"

Heero blinked for a moment before smiling and turning the boy in his arms to look at him. "I love you, too," he told Duo softly, tilting his head `til their foreheads rested against one another. "I love you, too…"

[Maybe it was Memphis

Maybe it was southern summer nights]

Heero didn't remember exactly what occurred next… but he didn't care. That moment was in his mind, everlasting.

They'd kept in touch, both eager to see the other again, the Japanese man emailing or phoning the braided American… each and every instant a happy prelude to their longed for reunion.

[Maybe it was you maybe it was me

But it sure felt right]

Five months after Heero'd returned, Duo'd rung him up and pleaded with him…

`Please come back this summer,' he'd begged. `I'd come over there, but with college and the house I can't afford to just yet… but I can't stand being away from you much longer!'

They had it bad, Heero thought, stuffing some loose, light clothing into his duffel. Another trip to Memphis, another languid summer, another chance to be with his love…

Whatever it was that had brought them together, Heero didn't care to know…

[Maybe it was Memphis

Maybe it was southern summer nights

Maybe it was you maybe it was me

But it sure felt right]

All he knew and cared about was that they were together… were in love…

[Maybe it was you maybe it was me

But it sure felt right]

And they were happy…

[You know it sure felt right...]

Owari