Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Moments in Time ❯ Tomorrow ( Chapter 14 )

Title: Tomorrow
Author: Mookie
Pairing: Heero/Duo
Warnings: Shonen-ai, implied m/m sex, a mite bit cliche
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 997
Notes: Based on a pic by Jurty for Sharon.

Duo stepped out of the shower and toweled off. He pushed the wet bangs from his hair and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Ten years.

It had been ten years since he'd stolen the mobile suit from the Alliance. Eleven years since he'd been taken in by the church.

Three years since he'd met the man waiting for him in the bedroom.

He combed his hair, carefully detangling it before picking up the ionic blow dryer. He took the time to run a brush through it until the strands were smooth and dry.

Duo began to set the dryer back in its cradle, then changed his mind and dumped it into the wastebasket. He turned to look at his reflection again.

He almost didn't recognize himself. It was odd, in a way. He'd never really spent much time in front of a mirror. He felt like a character in a story he'd read, an emaciated man who had reached toward a pane of glass only to see a monster on the other side.

It was as if he'd only begun to find himself. Perhaps it was his self-image, rather than his external appearance, that had changed.

He pressed his fingers against the glass and peered at his eyes.

All too often people referred to them as windows to the soul, but when one needed to connive and cajole and project, it was necessary to rid one's self of such an easily accessible door into the truth.

Heero had known the truth. Not right away, but he definitely had known that there was more to Duo than the image he'd carefully crafted over the years.

Crow's feet, he noted. He wasn't even twenty yet and he had crow's feet. Heero called them laugh lines. He couldn't help but smile, making the faint lines deepen.

The first time he'd heard Heero laugh, it had been almost frightening. The sound had touched that part of Duo that recognized the adrenaline rush of battle, the thrill of victory even through the guilt that gnawed at him.

It had been his hair that had gotten the first genuine laugh from Heero. Duo had been sitting on a low hanging branch at school, waiting for sunset, when Heero had walked past. Duo had dropped quickly to the ground and started to follow when he was brought up short.

The plait had tangled in the branch he'd been occupying.

Heero had heard Duo hit the ground, and had turned to notice his comrade's dilemma. He'd climbed on the branch himself and lifted it loose without a word, then gracefully dismounted.

Duo had expected a lecture on the impracticality of his hair, but Heero had said nothing, just tilted his head a bit as if assessing Duo's reaction.

"You're welcome," he'd said, then turned and walked away.

It had been an idle comment that Trowa had made aboard the Peacemillion about low hanging branches and how it seemed unfair that others would have to duck to walk under them, whereas they could all clear them drawn up to their full height.

Heero had glanced over at Duo, flicked his eyes to the end of the trademark braid, and snickered.

Everyone else thought it was Heero agreeing with Trowa, but Duo had recognized the shared memory, because it had gotten worse when Duo picked up the end of the long plait and stroked it protectively before letting it drop.

There had been plenty of signs, Duo supposed, that Heero had been fascinated with him. With all of them, in fact. He'd never suspected that Heero's interest ran deeper until fairly recently.

He shook his head at his reflection and removed his hand, leaving four round prints in the glass. He'd kept Heero waiting long enough before reciprocating his affection; Duo certainly didn't need to make him wait now, even if he knew Heero understood his procrastination.

He shook his head, feeling the hair tickle his back and buttocks, and took a deep breath before heading for the bedroom.

Heero was in the middle of pulling on a shirt when Duo appeared in the doorway. He waited for Duo walk past the threshold, then met him near the bed. He ran his fingers through the hair at the side of Duo's head.

"Are you sure?"

Duo swallowed, then nodded. "I'm sure."

"You realize there is no going back, Duo, once I've started."

"It's time," Duo said, his voice filled with resolve.

Heero pressed his lips against the Duo's temple briefly and then smiled at him.

"I've got everything we need on the bed."

Heero scooted up on the mattress until his back was propped up on the pillows and waited for Duo to join him. Duo crawled after him, giving him a smile of encouragement before turning his back to Heero.

Heero gathered all the strands of Duo's hair between them and combed through them with his fingers, pulling it straight nearly halfway down. The rest of it pooled on the mattress, covering Heero's groin.

He reached over with his other hand and picked something up, then hesitated, but he didn't ask again, and for that Duo was grateful. Duo was glad he'd insisted they do it here, in the very same bed where he'd first made love to Heero.

The soft whisper of steel kissing his hair wasn't as ominous as he'd thought it would be, and he felt the strands release from Heero's grasp, inch by inch, and brush the middle of his back.

It didn't take as long as he'd thought, and then Heero set aside the scissors and reached around Duo, drawing him back into a warm embrace.

"The rest of it tomorrow," Duo said, tipping his head back onto Heero's shoulder.

"Tomorrow," Heero agreed, kissing him lightly.

In that awkward position, Duo smiled against Heero's lips.

It had been a while since he'd lived every day expecting not to see the next. 'Tomorrow' had a damned nice ring to it.

20 October 2004

~~~

Additional inspiration goes to Natea's By Any Other Name.