Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Morning After ❯ One-Shot

Title: The Morning After
Author: Sylvia Spivey (SS.)
Warnings: OOC, shonen ai 2+1
Summary: Duo reflects on his relationship.
Note: I wrote this in June 2003 after a party.

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9:18 a.m. Duo brushed his bangs from his eyes again, wrinkling his nose at all the dust that was coming off of the large drape he was folding. He had been with Heero over five years now ... soon to be six, he realized. He never thought he'd start to feel comfortable at the parties Heero and his friends threw, but he really was starting to feel like part of the group. Contrary to how most people saw him, Duo was actually pretty shy until he got to know people. He folded the heavy black drape in half, and eyed the yellow bin that it was supposed to fit into before folding the drape again in thirds. It was like Trowa had said to him earlier, when Duo joked that after five years he knew a whopping 10 people. Trowa had just smiled, and said that he felt the same way. A small core group of friends were what kept him throwing, and coming to, these parties.

Duo smiled himself at the thought that he was in that group. When he'd gone to his first rave, he didn't even know what the "Wing Collective" was. That was before he met Heero. A year later, they laughed at the thought that they might have walked right by each other at that party. Heero had been spinning in one of the small rooms for a few hours, as well as taking a site coordinator shift. He probably wouldn't have even noticed Duo in the crowd of glittery, glow-painted bodies that danced frenetically under the black lights. Duo snickered. He was actually pretty glad Heero hadn't seen him back then, covered in glitter and chunky plastic jewelry; he would've ended up being called a candyraver forever.

These days, Duo just made sure he wore comfortable layers. Spaces got warm when they were filled with a thousand sweaty bodies, but in the morning when everyone went home and it was time for Wing to strike the party, the space got cold fast. Shoving the drape into the bin, Duo slipped into his sweatshirt and wrapped his braid around his neck like a scarf before looking around for Heero. In the back of the warehouse, Hilde was packing up the makeshift shrine that she always set up at the parties. Duo stopped for a minute to chat before wandering into the next room. He found Wufei wrapping up cables and stopped to help for a minute, embarassed that he had trouble with over/under wrapping and finally settling for over/over with a wry grin. He couldn't believe he'd lived with Heero this long and had not learned to wrap cable properly.

Duo stepped around the lights and cables and walked into the next room, shivering a little at the cold air that blew in through the open door. Leftover flowers and fruit were scattered across a table, and Duo happily accepted a large bouquet of flowers. He spotted Heero through the open door, smoking and talking with Quatre. Duo walked out to join them, giving Quatre a big hug before he leaned up against Heero's side. "Hey," Heero said softly. "Cleanup's about done. You ready to go?" He snaked an arm around Duo's back, pulling him in a little tighter. "Sure," Duo answered as he reached up for a kiss. Heero nipped his lip lightly, putting his other arm around Duo's waist and deepening the kiss briefly before letting him go. Heero and Duo started saying their goodbyes to their closest friends as they made their way toward the street.

Duo remembered the first morning he had helped Heero strike a party. It was freezing, and they had all gone for pancakes afterwards. He couldn't count the mornings since then that he had helped with cleanup, sneaking glances at Heero as he raked his hands through his tousled hair. He loved the glimpses of Heero while he unbolted rigging and took down lights, loved the surety of the boy's voice as he coordinated transportation of gear, loved even the purse of Heero's lips around the unfiltered cigarettes he only smoked during parties. And when the party was over, when the morning was quiet and everyone was deep in their thoughts, he loved Heero's hand in his as they walked toward their car to head home.